Partially Moved In To The Coolest Place Ever...
And that's basically all I really have time to say... Finally got all the wiring done, and now trying to unpack everything else... Have to be up at 7am to work my shift on the move-in crew and I probably won't get this squared away until around 1 or 2... Lots of stories to tell, basically all great news, the more I learn about the way this year is going to be the more I look forward to it. More when time allows.
Thursday, September 19, 2002
Back in SB, Sort Of...
Well, I got bored with the whole waiting game, so I decided to just get off my ass, get packed, and come up a day early. Of course, I can't move in until sometime tomorrow, but I figured I could hang out here with my friends rather than hang out at home alone. Busy abusing their internet connection, since it's here.
Ride up was pretty uneventful, other than almost getting screwed when traffic went from 80 to 0mph north of the airport even faster than usual, and the gigantic Ryder truck behind me had to swerve onto the shoulder since it couldn't brake fast enough. Ended up basically next to my car, pretty nerve racking. Had my usual cold cut trio at Subway on monterey cheddar, mmmm mmmm good. Pink lemonade to wash it down, and I was a happy camper for the rest of the way. Subs are good one handed driving food, and the one I always go to is just about right at the halfway point, so it works out well.
So, my entire life is basically in the back of my van, waiting to get moved into my new home. And oh what a home it is. I had to go up to campus to take care of a form for the Air Force through the Registrar's office, and decided to go see if I could peek in at what the new dorm looks like. Apparently construction is still not quite done, although the insides of the buildings look squeaky clean, they're still working on some of the terrain and walkways outside. The greatest thing about the fact that there were still hundreds of people workin away was that all the buildings were unlocked. I headed into mine and found my room, and proceeded to analyze its layout in the hall and try to visually gauge how big it was. Turns out since I'm on an interior corner I have a hallway on two sides, a bathroom on the third, and a window out to an open grass area and pathway. Therefore, no possibility of someone loud on the other side of the wall. Very cool. After wanding around and finding an open room it suddenly occurred to me that mine might be unlocked. I went back and tried the handle, and upon looking in, was quite astonished.
I'd heard they were bigger, but this was still shocking. You could fit two of my old rooms in this one. Actually a little more. It's a little deeper, but at least twice as wide. If that wasn't enough, there's then an alcove in the back left where an entire extra long bed fits lengthwise front to back of the room. So not only do I have twice the floorspace, if I bunk the bed I even have the room under there. I could literally fit like 100 people in my room if they all got cozy. Apparently I'm going to need more furniture. I'm literally overjoyed at the way things turned out. Better than expectations by far.
Tomorrow is the fun part, moving everything in and finding out just how cool I can make it. Going to be pretty busy over the next couple days, will update when the opportunity presents itself.
Well, I got bored with the whole waiting game, so I decided to just get off my ass, get packed, and come up a day early. Of course, I can't move in until sometime tomorrow, but I figured I could hang out here with my friends rather than hang out at home alone. Busy abusing their internet connection, since it's here.
Ride up was pretty uneventful, other than almost getting screwed when traffic went from 80 to 0mph north of the airport even faster than usual, and the gigantic Ryder truck behind me had to swerve onto the shoulder since it couldn't brake fast enough. Ended up basically next to my car, pretty nerve racking. Had my usual cold cut trio at Subway on monterey cheddar, mmmm mmmm good. Pink lemonade to wash it down, and I was a happy camper for the rest of the way. Subs are good one handed driving food, and the one I always go to is just about right at the halfway point, so it works out well.
So, my entire life is basically in the back of my van, waiting to get moved into my new home. And oh what a home it is. I had to go up to campus to take care of a form for the Air Force through the Registrar's office, and decided to go see if I could peek in at what the new dorm looks like. Apparently construction is still not quite done, although the insides of the buildings look squeaky clean, they're still working on some of the terrain and walkways outside. The greatest thing about the fact that there were still hundreds of people workin away was that all the buildings were unlocked. I headed into mine and found my room, and proceeded to analyze its layout in the hall and try to visually gauge how big it was. Turns out since I'm on an interior corner I have a hallway on two sides, a bathroom on the third, and a window out to an open grass area and pathway. Therefore, no possibility of someone loud on the other side of the wall. Very cool. After wanding around and finding an open room it suddenly occurred to me that mine might be unlocked. I went back and tried the handle, and upon looking in, was quite astonished.
I'd heard they were bigger, but this was still shocking. You could fit two of my old rooms in this one. Actually a little more. It's a little deeper, but at least twice as wide. If that wasn't enough, there's then an alcove in the back left where an entire extra long bed fits lengthwise front to back of the room. So not only do I have twice the floorspace, if I bunk the bed I even have the room under there. I could literally fit like 100 people in my room if they all got cozy. Apparently I'm going to need more furniture. I'm literally overjoyed at the way things turned out. Better than expectations by far.
Tomorrow is the fun part, moving everything in and finding out just how cool I can make it. Going to be pretty busy over the next couple days, will update when the opportunity presents itself.
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
A Special Kind Of Person...
The ride home is always a particularly pensive time for me. Whether it's a commute home from work, a short distance from a friend's place after dropping them off, or coming back to LA from SB, I always tend to spend the majority of the time deep in thought. Tonight was no different, except it was happier than usual, in a way. It's amazing how a simple compliment, or a gesture of caring, can affect me. It generally just takes a minor statement from an important source to keep me smiling all the way home. In other instances like tonight, it's just a hug, that ends up making me feel inherently warm for the whole ride home. During times of lonliness, a hug from a special kind of person can do more than words ever could. I really can't say enough about the friend I was out with tonight. She's one of the few people in the world I feel utterly connected with, as if we're at the same point in our lives, the same maturity level, the same situation. When we hang out, it's nothing but smiles, I feel as comfortable with her as I would my own family. Unfortunately, I don't see her very often. There's not much I can do about that though, and it just makes the rare occurences even more memorable. I can tell that someone means a lot to me when during the ride home from time shared with them, I'm already missing them and their company, and looking forward to the next time we see each other.
I guess I sound pretty gushy. No, nothing's going on. Yes, she's the coolest thing since sliced bread. No, nothing's going on. Seriously. People talk about the concept of a soul mate, generally in reference to "the one" or their eternal love, somewhere out there in the world waiting to be found. I think of it differently, in terms of the idea that you can feel that someone is so important to you, that you couldn't live your life without them. I don't feel that there's only one singular soul mate for every person in the world, but I do feel I've found one of mine. She's someone I hope I keep in touch with, as the years go by. Sometimes to erase a year's worth of sadness, all you need is one smile, one kind word, or one loving hug.
I suppose there's the chance she might end up reading this at some point in the future, so I guess I'll just say thank you, for being you, an amazing person in general, and for being a part of my life.
The ride home is always a particularly pensive time for me. Whether it's a commute home from work, a short distance from a friend's place after dropping them off, or coming back to LA from SB, I always tend to spend the majority of the time deep in thought. Tonight was no different, except it was happier than usual, in a way. It's amazing how a simple compliment, or a gesture of caring, can affect me. It generally just takes a minor statement from an important source to keep me smiling all the way home. In other instances like tonight, it's just a hug, that ends up making me feel inherently warm for the whole ride home. During times of lonliness, a hug from a special kind of person can do more than words ever could. I really can't say enough about the friend I was out with tonight. She's one of the few people in the world I feel utterly connected with, as if we're at the same point in our lives, the same maturity level, the same situation. When we hang out, it's nothing but smiles, I feel as comfortable with her as I would my own family. Unfortunately, I don't see her very often. There's not much I can do about that though, and it just makes the rare occurences even more memorable. I can tell that someone means a lot to me when during the ride home from time shared with them, I'm already missing them and their company, and looking forward to the next time we see each other.
I guess I sound pretty gushy. No, nothing's going on. Yes, she's the coolest thing since sliced bread. No, nothing's going on. Seriously. People talk about the concept of a soul mate, generally in reference to "the one" or their eternal love, somewhere out there in the world waiting to be found. I think of it differently, in terms of the idea that you can feel that someone is so important to you, that you couldn't live your life without them. I don't feel that there's only one singular soul mate for every person in the world, but I do feel I've found one of mine. She's someone I hope I keep in touch with, as the years go by. Sometimes to erase a year's worth of sadness, all you need is one smile, one kind word, or one loving hug.
I suppose there's the chance she might end up reading this at some point in the future, so I guess I'll just say thank you, for being you, an amazing person in general, and for being a part of my life.
Monday, September 16, 2002
Hopefully, Never Again...
After a immensely horrendous day, I called up my temp agency and left a message saying I was unable to work tomorrow and the next day, effectively going inactive. I'm basically just fed up with working. Today's job was just as bad as any of the others from this summer, and it's just not worth it to me. I'd rather get through the year with less money than suffer through more of that kind of thing. I look forward to just about everything about UCSB at this point. Waking up early, going for a morning jog, then hitting the reccen for a refreshing swim. Heading off to my "ready whenever I get there" breakfast and enjoying the morning paper. I'm even looking forward to class. Actual learning, rather than wasting my time completely just to make money. Even homework. Getting stuff done, moving on to other stuff, getting that done too. Heading to an intramural soccer game or friendly racquetball excursion that night. And the best part, knowing that if I open my door and walk down the hall or wander across a floor or two, there's always dozens of people around. Call me crazy, but I love dorm life. Everyone going through basically the same stuff, whether its a 2am fire alarm, or staying up until 4am to watch the US play in the World Cup. Late night Freebirds runs, or cramming for finals, there's always people. Depressing thing is that it's my last year. Going to do everything I can to make sure this one is by far the most enjoyable. You only live life once, as far as I know.
Going to through out some tunes that have recently invaded my playlist, from "the other side" of Kid Rock we have "Only God Knows Why" and "Lonely Road of Faith," both of which have been sung along to many a time in the hallways as people walked past my door. Also an oldie but goodie, "There is Love" by Gordon Lightfoot, which your parents have probably heard if you haven't.
Actually, when I look back at my four years of college life, I think those will be the best memories. The spontaneous moments. Groups of guys in the hallway, belting out the tune reverberating through the walls in whatever key they've random chose, creating a cornucopia of sound unique to that group, at that moment in time. The road trips, sun roof and windows down, belting out "Livin on a Prayer" or an equal outburst of a song. The walks along the peninsula in the moonlight, the personal conversations, the emotions shared.
I actually have a whole lot to say there, but I don't think this is the right time to go into it. Besides, after this year I'll have a lot to add. Check back in June, and something tells me I'll have an awesome remembrance on display.
After a immensely horrendous day, I called up my temp agency and left a message saying I was unable to work tomorrow and the next day, effectively going inactive. I'm basically just fed up with working. Today's job was just as bad as any of the others from this summer, and it's just not worth it to me. I'd rather get through the year with less money than suffer through more of that kind of thing. I look forward to just about everything about UCSB at this point. Waking up early, going for a morning jog, then hitting the reccen for a refreshing swim. Heading off to my "ready whenever I get there" breakfast and enjoying the morning paper. I'm even looking forward to class. Actual learning, rather than wasting my time completely just to make money. Even homework. Getting stuff done, moving on to other stuff, getting that done too. Heading to an intramural soccer game or friendly racquetball excursion that night. And the best part, knowing that if I open my door and walk down the hall or wander across a floor or two, there's always dozens of people around. Call me crazy, but I love dorm life. Everyone going through basically the same stuff, whether its a 2am fire alarm, or staying up until 4am to watch the US play in the World Cup. Late night Freebirds runs, or cramming for finals, there's always people. Depressing thing is that it's my last year. Going to do everything I can to make sure this one is by far the most enjoyable. You only live life once, as far as I know.
Going to through out some tunes that have recently invaded my playlist, from "the other side" of Kid Rock we have "Only God Knows Why" and "Lonely Road of Faith," both of which have been sung along to many a time in the hallways as people walked past my door. Also an oldie but goodie, "There is Love" by Gordon Lightfoot, which your parents have probably heard if you haven't.
Actually, when I look back at my four years of college life, I think those will be the best memories. The spontaneous moments. Groups of guys in the hallway, belting out the tune reverberating through the walls in whatever key they've random chose, creating a cornucopia of sound unique to that group, at that moment in time. The road trips, sun roof and windows down, belting out "Livin on a Prayer" or an equal outburst of a song. The walks along the peninsula in the moonlight, the personal conversations, the emotions shared.
I actually have a whole lot to say there, but I don't think this is the right time to go into it. Besides, after this year I'll have a lot to add. Check back in June, and something tells me I'll have an awesome remembrance on display.
Sunday, September 15, 2002
Another Weekend Trods By, But It's The Last One!
Did inventory on all the boxes I had sitting out in the garage, going through my checklist to figure out what I have to go shopping for... Time will be of the essence assuming i actually work Mon Tue and Wed this week, Thur will be the only day to pull everything together. I'd put it at about 50/50 that I'll actually work all 3 days though. The commute will probably be like 2 hours each way, and with 10-6:30 being the hours that's like 13 hours out of the house. I'll probably call the agency up tomorrow midday sometime and say sorry, find someone else to work the next two days, if it sucks that bad. They aren't even paying for parking, and they didn't even tell me what I was being paid, I guess I should have asked. It's never very tactful though. I guess I don't really care after this I'll hopefully never temp again. No need to burn bridges, but they really need to find people closer to these jobs to fill them with anyway. I'd be quite glad to use the remaining days burning cds and getting organized for school, I don't really need any more money. Managed to burn 18 movies today, but I have another 18 or so to go. That's not even counting all the other stuff I need to burn. The goal is to clear up massive amounts of space each year to start the school year, so at least for a while I can abuse the connection there for all its worth without having to worry about lack of space slowing me down.
While I burned I finally watched Casino which is pretty old but ended up being worth my time. I'l go with about 4.5 M's on this, definitely entertaining, De Niro is always fun to watch, and hadn't seen Joe Pesci in much since his Home Alone fame. Hard to be intimidated by a supposed mobster muscle man who's that tiny, though.
Guess I'll turn in early, going to probably leave at like 8:30, and I'll still probably end up late. Like I said, I'll take the money if they give it to me, but if it crosses the line to where its not worth it to me anymore, I'll probably end up bailing after the first day. I'm not usually so apathetic, but after four summers of temping, this one has been by far the worst, and has just given me even greater motivation to avoid ever being involved with corporate America again.
On a brighter note, I got a really kind e-mail from a friend last night, and that kind of thing really makes my day. I was wrong about a decision I'd made a few weeks ago, and I apologized. Those who know me or anyone else in my family for that matter know that earning apologies is generally like pulling teeth. I felt one was merited in this situation however. Glad to see they decided to accept it, and make me feel better at the same time. In the words of my pal Pumbaa "You've got to put your behind, in your past, Urrrr, Uhhh..." :)
Did inventory on all the boxes I had sitting out in the garage, going through my checklist to figure out what I have to go shopping for... Time will be of the essence assuming i actually work Mon Tue and Wed this week, Thur will be the only day to pull everything together. I'd put it at about 50/50 that I'll actually work all 3 days though. The commute will probably be like 2 hours each way, and with 10-6:30 being the hours that's like 13 hours out of the house. I'll probably call the agency up tomorrow midday sometime and say sorry, find someone else to work the next two days, if it sucks that bad. They aren't even paying for parking, and they didn't even tell me what I was being paid, I guess I should have asked. It's never very tactful though. I guess I don't really care after this I'll hopefully never temp again. No need to burn bridges, but they really need to find people closer to these jobs to fill them with anyway. I'd be quite glad to use the remaining days burning cds and getting organized for school, I don't really need any more money. Managed to burn 18 movies today, but I have another 18 or so to go. That's not even counting all the other stuff I need to burn. The goal is to clear up massive amounts of space each year to start the school year, so at least for a while I can abuse the connection there for all its worth without having to worry about lack of space slowing me down.
While I burned I finally watched Casino which is pretty old but ended up being worth my time. I'l go with about 4.5 M's on this, definitely entertaining, De Niro is always fun to watch, and hadn't seen Joe Pesci in much since his Home Alone fame. Hard to be intimidated by a supposed mobster muscle man who's that tiny, though.
Guess I'll turn in early, going to probably leave at like 8:30, and I'll still probably end up late. Like I said, I'll take the money if they give it to me, but if it crosses the line to where its not worth it to me anymore, I'll probably end up bailing after the first day. I'm not usually so apathetic, but after four summers of temping, this one has been by far the worst, and has just given me even greater motivation to avoid ever being involved with corporate America again.
On a brighter note, I got a really kind e-mail from a friend last night, and that kind of thing really makes my day. I was wrong about a decision I'd made a few weeks ago, and I apologized. Those who know me or anyone else in my family for that matter know that earning apologies is generally like pulling teeth. I felt one was merited in this situation however. Glad to see they decided to accept it, and make me feel better at the same time. In the words of my pal Pumbaa "You've got to put your behind, in your past, Urrrr, Uhhh..." :)
