As I Collapse Into My Comfy Chair...

Ended up staying up until two Friday night getting everything fully unpacked and organized, which made waking up at 7 pretty rough. That and the fact that I hadn't practiced getting down from my bed, and since my obnoxiously loud alarm was going off I was in a bit more of a hurry than I should have been, and that caused some problems. Alas, you live, you learn. Interesting thing about mornings, my window faces east now instead of West, so the sun comes streaming in bright and early. I prefer that actually, I should be up anyway, and that helps. Besides which, as I sit here right next to the window I can literally get a tan without leaving my room. Very cool. I even started working on my bullentin board, so I have actual pictures up, which generally doesn't happen until like 6 months into the year when I finally decide to get my act together.

Had our house meeting last night, with just about everyone in attendance, which was interesting. Turns out there's a total of 8 people on my floor, that's it. Three doubles, and one other single besides myself. On the 2nd and 3rd floors they have 12, and on the 4th only 8. This totals up to 40, which is interesting since last year just on my floor and the one below it we had 50. Seems like it's going to be a much more optimal setup. I've met 5 of the other 7 guys on my floor so far, and don't forsee any potential problems. Turns out even though the house is almost entirely juniors and seniors, only 3 of us are 21. Two of them being in singles. I'm sure that'll be interesting. My R/A seems cool, first female one I've had, previous 3 years were all male. She's on the first floor as well, but on the other side of the lobby, which requires going through two different interior doors. I'm also nowhere near either staircase and as far away as possible from the elevator, so I figure even though I'm on the first floor I'm not going to see much traffic. The one negative aspect of it is security, if my window is open I can see someone finding it quite easy to get inside if I'm not here. That and even a prank like a water balloon chucked into the screen would nail my monitor and everything else on my desk pretty good. I'm sure in that case there would be consequences for the moron responsible, but to be safe I'll probably keep my window closed and the fan on instead most of the time.

Today the other half of the dorms move in, but all of Manzanita moved in yesterday, so I'm not working or anything. Snagged most of the books I need for school minus one class, which cost a lovely 324 even though it was only like 5 thin books. Gotta love the two $100 ones that look like they were made for 50 cents. Still no bike, but I'll finally be able to move my car once my permit gets here either tomorrow or the next day, since they of course had to mail it to my permanent address after 5 working days, and given we were only allowed to request it 4 days before I came, that didn't work out all that well.

It's really cool that just about everyone I know on campus is in this Quad now, so we're all a hop skip and a jump away from visiting each other. Should be quite the cool year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..." :)

Friday The 13th, Good Thing I Wasn't Doing Anything Important.

Felt amazingly good sleeping in today. I even woke up at like 6 by myself, then like 8 by myself, but purposely kept falling back to sleep until like 10. Then eventually had to get up for a dentist appointment. Found out that apparently I'll be working next week Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, up in Westwood. So instead of sitting on the 110, I'll be sitting on the 405. Change of scenery anyway. Finally, one week until I'll be back at school. Counting the days. The minutes even. 1080, give or take.

Headed over to see the West High football game tonight, and support the ol alma mater. We ended up taking a huge lead by halftime, and wiped the floor with South by a score of 56 or so to something smaller. The numbers got big, I lost count. Speaking of smaller, high school students seem to be headed that way. Couldn't possibly be me getting older. Some interesting fashion statements seem to be "in" as well. A few of the so called "cool" guys that walked by wearing the latest duds literally almost had me rolling. Utterly ridiculous. Whatever keeps them in the "in crowd" I guess. Also ran into the little sister of a friend of mine, who's not so little anymore. She recognized me even though I hadn't seen her in 5 years or so, I figure that's a good sign, I haven't changed as much as I thought maybe? It was her older sister I went to Magic Mountain and had a blast with a few weeks ago. Also ran into a few of my buddies who I've known through various things who are still in high school. That and was forced to make small talk with various sets of parents who apparently recognized me as well. It's rough being famous. Heh, well maybe in my head.

Changed my AIM profile for the first time in a long while, it needed it. I'd like to think I'm no longer searching for anything and the title of this page is now irrelevant as well, but subconsciously that'll never be the case.

September 11th, Plus One Year.

The young man steps out from the doorway of the parking structure, into the chorus of taxi's horns and roaring engines. The sunlight streams between two of the skyscrapers, blinding him temporarily. He walks towards the corner, past a shady niche in a nearby building where an elderly homeless man has taken up refuge from the sun. Squinting upwards, he faintly mouths the words "Good for you, sonny" as the young man passes by. He arrives at the crosswalk, and waits for the signal to change. It does, and he and the rest of the wave of men and women step forth into the street. Another wave approaches from the other side, and he happens to meet the gaze of a middle-aged African-American man in an expensive business suit. He smiles and gives a thumbs up sign as their paths cross. As the young man approaches the building at which he'll begin his day of work, he greets the door-opener as he has each day, for many days prior. "Way to represent, Sir" is the reply he receives as he enters the building. He pushes the elevator button, and while he waits for the car that will expediate his journey to the 29th floor, he notices a young woman approach, wearing a bright red dress, with a blue blouse. "I like that" she says with a grin, indicating his clothing. "Thanks" he says, grinning back, as the bell dings and they both step into the elevator. As he doors close, the metallic surface shows a crystal clear reflection of the young man staring back at him. Glancing down, he acknowledges with pride the bold American flag emblazoned across the chest of his t-shirt with three huge letters. U. S. A.

December 7th. June 6th. November 22nd. Jaunary 28th. And now, September 11. Every generation has its Day of Days. You may not know the significance of all the above dates. That's probably because you weren't alive, then. For those who were, these dates probably mean more than most when they write them on a check, a homework assignment, or any other document. An entire nation was affected, on each of these tragic days. People say that this is the first time the United States has ever been downright attacked on our own soil. Clearly, they've forgotten 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. They say that this will be the most daring War the United States has ever been involved in, and the most necessary. Cleary, they've forgotten the most famous Day of Days of them all, D-Day 1944. They say it's the first time the nation as a whole has grieved. Yet everyone knows where they were in 1963, when Kennedy was shot. They even say the reason it's so painful is the fact it was so shocking, so unexpected, and that it's more saddening because the people involved had no idea it was coming. Although I was too young to fully understand, I remember watching the video of the Challenger explosion in 1986, which unexpectedly took the lives of those much too young to lose them. Unfortunately, there is now another tragic date that will be remembered, year after year. I wonder where I'll be in fifty years, and how many of these days I'll have lived through, only to have them haunt my memories.

When considering what I would write tonight, I was at a loss. Just about everyone in the world has said something about that day, what it meant, what it will lead to, how it affected them. The truth is, the latter is where I differ from the majority. I was lucky enough to not know a single human being personally that perished that day. The emotional and psychological loss that thousands of people across America have felt for the past year, is foreign to me. I know only the numbers involved, but can't imagine the faces, or the people, behind the 3,025 dead. I've read more about September 11th than any other day in my lifetime. The magazines, the newspapers, the media in all its forms, have helped me learn more about what happened that day, and helped me understand what my fellow Americans are feeling.

September 11th for me, was simple. I woke up at 11am or so, Pacific time. It was all over. I saw nothing live, witnessed nothing as it happened. As people died instantly when the planes hit the towers, I slept. As thousands of others died in the aftermath, I slept. I know not what I dreamt of that night, but I certainly had no idea that devestation was taking place on the other side of my own country. Reading my blogs from that day, and the next, and later that week, it only took me a few days to get back to business as usual. Same old jokes, same old stories, same old visible me. Invisibly, I was different. I remember thinking it would be a long time before I could really vocalize what I was feeling. I've always been somewhat articulate, but the situations in which I need to be most desperately, I'm always at a loss. There are many images from that day that are burned in my memory, but one more painfully affects me the most. The image of one of the thousands of people who had lost a loved one, holding up a picture to the camera, their husband most likely, with the words "Missing from Disaster" across the top. The look on their face on the surface is one of hope. Look closer though, and you can see that fear and a deeper sadness are taking over, even as we watch.

I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be there. To be the firefighters rushing toward the building after the first plane hit, thinking only of their job, and how to get it done, having no premonition that there might be a second plane, or that either building might actually collapse. To be the people in the street, staring upwards at flames a thousand feet above their heads. To be the people in the tower itself, feeling the initial explosion, confused, wondering, what would happen next.

As I sit here I'm watching the CBS special 9/11, for the second time. It's truly unbelievable. People from all over the world in the streets, afraid. I read a fact today, that people from 91 countries lost their lives. That number is staggering. This was not an attack on one nation's people. This was an attack that did not spare women, did not spare children, did not just kill U.S. citizens, and instead killed mankind indiscriminantly.

When asked why I've made the decision to join the military, one answer is easy. To defend this country to the best of my ability, and prevent this kind of terror from ever happening again. My generation was innocent to this point, living their lives as if they would never have to lift a finger in order to defend the freedom this country stands for. These attacks have shown that nothing comes free. I don't see myself ever being happy with a job where I merely reap the benefits of this country and its freedoms, without ever making any sacrifices to preserve them. Sitting in a cubicle somewhere, completely unaware that all over the planet, people are fighting to protect this bubble of a world we're living in. Maybe aware from a history book that sometime long ago, countless people died to create this country, and preserve its values. That oblivious kind of life is not one I will ever choose to lead.

Whether or not I spend my life following orders in the skies, or end up serving the country and its people in another form, such as firefighting, paramedics, or law enforcement, that's the only way I'll avoid having an empty feeling inside, an empty soul. This is not a perfect world. We can only try to pretend. We can only try to make it a better place for those that come after us. We can only try to prevent terrible things from happening to those we love. We can only try.

I feel like I have no right to be saying any of this. My life continues. Basically unaffected, on the surface.

To all those negatively affected by the greatest tragedy I've lived to see:

As time passes, all wounds heal. Scars remain. They serve as reminders of the past, so that we'll never forget.
You learn, you change, you remember, you live. Most importantly, you live. So many people lost the chance to do so, unwillingly. Too young, too soon. Never take for granted a day that you spend alive. Remember the terrible cost of freedom. Remember the terrible price of peace. Remember those who lost their lives, and those who were responsible.

Remember September 11th. May nothing like it ever come again.

The Day's Eve.

On this day at this time a year ago, I was in the dining room tinkering with new computer hardware, trying to get my computer working again.

It was a night like any other night. Unfortunately the next day would be different.

Unfortunately I'm working tomorrow, but will be writing on the subject tomorrow night.

Isn't It Time To Go Back Yet?

Another dull day at work, although less dull than usual. Spent most of the day downstairs in the Kaplan center in the mall running tests, which involves putting a scantron form through the machine and then waiting for it to print out an 8 page results form thingy... Over the past few days I've had to do about 400, and I have at least 300 more to go. Luckily since I'm down in the mall I'm not under any kind of supervision, so I have a good time chatting up a storm with the friendly people who man the front desk down there. That and lunch is closer, no wasted time in the elevator. I got my hours switched to 9:30 to 5:30, since this whole staying til 6 and not getting home until 7 thing is getting real old. I even got a dinner date for tomorrow! Well sort of. Anyway.

Finally got around to finishing Band of Brothers the other day, which I now consider pretty much required viewing for anyone pondering the military track through life. Even if you're not, it's quite powerful and educational viewing, I learned a lot about the second World War that I had never been taught previously. Going to have to get around to watching a lot of the war movies I've missed out on over the years, including a few of the classics. The miniseries though was very well done, which didn't surprise me given it was directed by Tom Hanks and produced by Steven Spielberg.

Under two weeks to go I guess, can't wait to see how huge my new room is.

The Theme Song Ends...

Luck was a lady... this morning...

Turned out the last table I played at ended up the best, as I walked away with loads of twenties after an excellent stint of blackjack on the way to the car. Was just using a 7 for 5 coupon thing, ended up getting up to forty bucks, then decided to throw the rest all up for the last hand since the father was in a hurry, and low and behold got blackjack and walked away with a fat wallet. Always nice to end your tirp on a high note. That put me just about even on the trip, and given the room was free, and the father was picking up the food and gas bills, so everything worked out quite well.

Also headed out on Saturday to visit the grandparents, which became interesting since we took my grandfather's old rifles, shotguns, and various other weapons out to the shooting range in the middle of the desert (he lives in Boulder City, near Lake Mead and Hoover Dam about a half hour out of Vegas) and blew some stuff around. I'd never fired a gun in my life prior, so it took me a bit to get the hang of things, but it was surprisingly easier than I expected. The crowning moment was when we set a 7up can I'd just finished drinking about twenty five yards out and braced it with a rock, and I backed off a ways and fired off the first 7 shots of an 8 shot magazine, and managed to put them all clean through the can, incluidng one right through the middle of the red dot. :) The 7th shot knocked it over, so the silver bottom was facing me, so I managed to put the final shot through the bottom of it slightly off center, tearing a hole clean down the side of the can. The .22 I was firing for that clip ended up being my favorite, was quite fun. Also got a chance to blast a 12 gauge, and figure out the definition of the term "recoil." I avoided the 16 gauge after that, especially once the .22 pistol we had brought as well blew out my hearing for a good couple of minutes. That thing was LOUD. Hearing protection is always an intelligent thing to bring. So needless to say I got pretty comfortable with the concept of knowing how to shoot a gun, should the situation ever require it.

Interesting thing about driving around with my Dad in Vegas, is he's one of those ppl who just refuses to read signs or follow directions. There was not a SINGLE parking structure in which we didn't go the wrong way down an aisle, through a Do Not Enter sign, or end up having to back up a great distance to fix a mistake. That and of course the first available spot close to the elevator is never the one we take, as there's always supposedly a "closer one," which we spend several minutes circling trying to find. Then there's the freeway exploits, swerving around trying to find the "best lane." Nothing like a little extra stress on vacation. The concept of utter relaxation is lost on many people I guess.

Who knows, maybe one of these months they'll send me another thing for free rooms, and I'll get to go back. It's a very long drive from school though, would have to have an entourage along with me to keep it interesting. :) Believe it or not I have a friend or two who have never been there, boy are they in for a treat.

Alas, I go back to work tomorrow, it was a three day weekend for me, and it passed so quick. Luckily squeezed in a haircut today, it was gettin pretty ridiculous. I'm quite cheerful at the moment, hope working doesn't downgrade the mood.

The Theme Song Starts to Play...

Luck be a lady...
Luck be a lady...
LUCK BE A LAAAAADYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, TONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!

I'm off all, back Sunday a richer/poorer man.

Bubble Here, Bubble There.

You know how when you take the SAT you have to go through like a whole page of bubbling your first name, last name, birthdate, gender, school address, etc etc etc? How it's really boring and teacher spends like an hour explaining how to do it? Well it's officially, about 10% of you are complete morons. My job for yesterday and today has been to go through a stack of about 600 of these scantron forms, and fix all the mistakes. There's people who choose to do every other column, randomly on either the pink or white alternating columns generally depending on their gender. There are people who write it and don't bubble in at all, or people who bubble without writing. There are even people who bubble in all the letters of their name in the SAME column, making it impossible to tell what their name really is if they didn't write it in. My fun doesn't stop there though, I then get to write in and bubble in a four digit test code on every single sheet, luckily it's always the same. No such luck for the ten digit student ID however. After alphabetizing the entire stack of 600, I then give the first student the number 0000000001, the second 0000000002, and so on until 0000000600. That's right, I have to bubble in all ten bubbles for each of those. So fourteen bubbles per page, and yesterday I finished about 200 students, so roughly 2800 bubbles. Not including the fixing the names fiasco. My hand felt like it was going to fall off, being ambidextrous would have been nice. And I still have the largest stack to go. Then I get to go downstairs and run them all one at a time through the feeder to score them. I hear I'll get to do some of that this morning before I go back to bubbling.

The good news is, I was sent a thingy in the mail that gave me two free nights at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday night. So I said I was "unavailable" for work tomorrow. I suppose the $150 I make over these couple days will be nice in the long run. I'll probably even go back on Monday just because I don't have anything better to do. This weekend though, I'm gonna relax and live the good life. Even with the concept of free, didn't find anyone interested, mainly due to the short notice and people having other plans. So it looks like myself and the father will be trooping out there, which is nice because then I don't have to drive, and can get some quality book reading in.

Lastly, I'd like to give a booyah to Kelly Clarkson for taking home the American Idol crown last night... I haven't been a diehard fan, just started watching in the last couple weeks, but still witnessed some pretty amazing performances. Downloaded both her upcoming single "A Moment Like This" and her version of Mariah Carey's "Without You", the latter of which is my favorite performance from the entire show. Also going to plug a song I've been trying to remember to download forever and finally got around to snagging. Live's "Lightning Crashes" is one of those songs where the melody is so simple, and yet you can't help but sway along with your eyes closed, envelopd by the music. It gets louder later, but my favorite part is those opening riffs.

Now it's off to work, all the live long day.

A Welcome Change.

Got my housing packet info thingy in the mail yesterday, and received quite a surprise when I opened it. Back in the Spring when I applied I put down Manzanita Village, the brand new still being built at the time dorm area as my first choice, and San Miguel, the dorm I'd been in for three years running, as my second choice. When I got the initial acceptance of my contract, it showed me as getting a single again in San Miguel. I spent the next few months talking myself out of Manzanita, for reasons such as the possibility construction wouldn't be finished, major utilities or the internet might not be working, and reasons such as a greater distance from most classes, and the 217 freeway, as well as proximity to IV. Well, it turns out something got bumped along the way, and I ended up getting into Manzanita. There actually are a lot of pros to go with the cons, the largest of which is that of the 800 or so slots available in that dorm, only 400 will be given to freshmen, so there will be a lot more upper classmen there. I've dealt with freshmen for a while, and I'm pretty bored of them. Another plus is that everything will be brand new, assuming it's all done and working. I'll be eating at Carrillo instead of Ortega, which is the brand new dining commons that's been under construction for over a year since it was previously an eatery for those living in San Rafael. The description seems to say on a daily basis things will be "cooked to your order" so to speak, including stations like Mongolian Barbeque. My building is the closest one to the food, which should be nice. :)

So, for all your stalking needs, I recommend checking out the Las Encinas Quad in Manzanita Village at UCSB, and I'll even narrow it down to Arguello House. To be even more discrete, I'll complain about how I did end up on the first floor. The good news is my building is four stories instead of three like most of them, but of the 17 buildings in the Village, mine has the smallest number of people. That means 40 people in the building divied up over 4 floors. In comparison, just on my floor back in San Miguel, there was 25 residents, with 50 total being on my "unit hall" of my floor and the female floor below us. Seems like there will be a lot less traffic, with only 10 people or so living on each floor. I'm wondering how the exterior door keys will work, if it will be the same one for only Arguello House, or all of Las Encinas Quad, or all of Manzanita Village. Needing a different key for each building would be pretty lame. You'd think they'd at least allow you into the buildings in your quad. More good news from the phone usage front, they've gotten rid of the old stupid way of hitting flash then dialing *01 to answer call waiting, now only the flash key is needed. That was really annoying, because no one ever did it right. So starting September 19th you can start mailing me at my new address at school.

PO Box 15324, UCSB
Santa Barbara, CA 93107

And the countdown begins. I'm up early because I'm working back downtown at the place I was for today, I figure more spending money isn't a terrible thing since I didn't have plans today anyway.

Bigger, Better, Beautiful.

That's right, I'm talking about my new monitor! AHAHAHA yes I'm sure at least half the people who read that sentence immediately moved on to another one of their bookmarks. Assuming I was bookmarked in the first place, hah! Anyway, after like years of mumbling about it, and countless hours surfing the web looking for the best deal, and a few times coming tantalizingly close to winning an auction and then losing, I've finally ended up with a flat panel monitor. Aesthetically, it's actually better looking than I thought it would be. It's the Dell2000FP, that's 20.1 inches viewable. The final kicker was the price, when the Dell site decided to cut the prices of all monitors by 25% for a short period of time, that placed the monitor only slightly more expensive than most 18 or 19 inch viewable panels. The main reason 20 is such a good size is that its native resolution is 1600 x 1200, which is a size you basically can't use on any smaller sized monitors, due to text and everything else being so tiny. I ended up gaining two inches on my old monitor, as well as losing the two feet of depth I used to have to deal with. It's lighter, will give me a ton more room, and its already very clear how much easier on the eyes it will be. Even after a few hours straight of gaming or staring at it, there's no noticable effects like the typical headaches or whatnot one would normally experience. And hey, it even draws like 90% less power or something, so when I start having to care about electric bills (i.e. when I'm paying them) it'll help! :)

So all those who come over to watch movies this year will be much more pleased with the new addition. Cost a pretty penny, but I consider it a very good investment, since I paid several hundred less than it sells for retail, and I'm planning to have it for quite some time, as I move around from place to place over the next few years. My eyes sure will be thanking me.

My physical got delayed, as my recruiter figured out I needed the full on flight physical and not the general one all the non-rated applicants go through, which is going to put it sometime in October. Which means a trip down to LA at some point, probably on a weekday when I'll be forced to miss class. Oh well, as long as I know in advance I can probably make arrangements to counteract any possible problems.

That was strange. A very loud airplane just passed over my house. I live very close to LAX, but I'm not in the flight path, so that's not a normal thing. Sounded like a very large jet. It's a different world we're living in, when the first thing that crosses my mind when I hear an unexpected sound of a plane in close proximity, is whether or not its headed for me.

Three Hundred Sixty Five Days of a Lifetime, in Words.

Believe it or not, I've been writing in this Blog for a year. Doesn't really seem like it. Reading the first entry, much of it would be identical if I was writing it as we speak. If you've actually made it through the whole thing I salute you, you've covered approximately 229 pages single spaced, and 529,000 plus characters. You're one of 3,400 plus people who've visited the page for one random reason or another, just short of 10 a day or so. Many of you probably happened upon this page from a random search engine query, such as one of the many hilarious one's I've reposted. Others might be friends of mine, or family. The truth is, although I do check the counter info on a regular basis, if that was all I was interested in, this blog wouldn't be here. I'd be filling it up with words I knew would generate hits from search engines, along with links, popups, and the other lame things sites do to gain hits. Instead, these pages are filled with words of my own, that I just felt like saying at the time. I often go back and read entries from a month prior, a few months prior, a year prior. The funny thing is, I input these things so fast, that even a few days later, reading the words makes me feel like I'm reading someone else's novel. I literally laugh at my own jokes. It's quite pathetic when you think about it.

Have I succeeded in what I set out to do? I think so. This has been a journal that could never be replaced by pen and paper. The amount of time saved that's allowed me to be as articulate or convoluted as I wish without straining my hands is uncountable. I have this backed up to two different hard drives, so even if something happens to the Blogger server or one of my drives, I'll still have this journal to look back on, to see what life was like during my junior year in college. That's over now, it's now the month of September, in a short twenty days I'm headed back to school. I have a new career goal, a new path to follow, a new life to lead. There will be new people to meet, old faces to recognize, plenty of work to do.

Looking back, it's been a pretty good year, as have all of my years of college. No personal tragedies, no horrific injuries or illnesses, and although there was both physical and emotional pain of various kinds, there was always a rainbow through the storm at some point. Sometimes a new day, sometimes a friend to help, sometimes just a sentence uttered by someone, that cheered me up like nothing else could.

September 1st, 2001, was ten days before the event that shook the foundation of this country. In that respect, the world is a very different place than it was when I started this Blog. Then again, I feel I've also changed as a person as a result. In a good way.

Here's to you, the Reader, for sharing this last year with me. Believe me, you aint seen nothing yet.

I mean really, one of these days/months/years I'll be filling this with pages and pages about an actual DATE! :)

Yes Sir Captain Sir.

Whole lot of firsts for me on Thursday. First time meeting a Captain in the AF, first time on an actual AFB, first time on the LA AFB, even though it's only like 10 minutes north of me. The day started with me travelling up to SaMo to finish filling out a lot of the holes in my paperwork, and finish squaring away my package for the Board. Got to answer all sorts of interesting questions like I had on many forms, more along the lines of "have you ever done anything bad, ever?" but also some new one's such as "are you opposed to being responsible for discharging a nuclear weapon on an enemy?" Much of it was psychological, questions about whether you're anti-war being the most important I'm sure. They had the big word for pacifist on there, treating it as a religion, asking if I was a member of that group. I have friends who are, but I have always felt the price of the lifestyle that we live and the peace that we live in, is war. Not all the time, not continuously, but at times it is necessary. Squared away all the physical paperwork, just have to call back on Monday since I never actually found out where to go for it next Thursday.

We then caravaned down to the Base since I wasn't entirely sure where I was going, which ended up being more interesting that usual because I had to cut someone off to stay behind the recruiter who had just dived down a random exit ramp, and then he proceeded to get cut off pretty horribly at least 3 times during the remaining journey. Ahhh L.A. drivers, they keep you on your toes. I was thinking it was going to be with an O-5 or 6 (Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel) but it ended up being with an O-3 (Captain). The ranks in the Air Force when it comes to officers go from O-1 (2nd Lieutenant) which you start out as immediately out of training, all the way up to O-10, with O-7 through O-10 reserved for the four levels of generals. I'm sure I would have been intimidated regardless of his rank. It kind of sucks to be a civilian, while your enlisted recruiter is going through his reporting statements and salutes and so forth, and you're standing there with your thumb up your nose wondering what you should be doing. He really made his best effort to make me feel comfortable though, and as a result I ended up not using the word Sir as much as I'd been planning to. Alas its not like I have any experience with the concept growing up, but I'm sure I'll learn it in a hurry when it becomes necessary. It really felt like an AcaDec interview all over again, except for the fact that it was about an hour instead of a timed seven minutes. Covered just about everything about me that could be said in that amount of time, focusing on my past performance in life, basically. I really feel it couldn't have gone any better, although I stumbled over trying to find the right word at times, my typical ability to blab up a storm about everything in a very articulate way with a multitude of sweeping hand gestures reigned supreme. He seemed genuinely interested in everything I said, and had clearly done many of these types of interviews before, it was clear his questions followed a predetermined path. Made me all giddy inside when he said out of the dozens of interviews that he'd personally handled and officers that he knew on a personal basis, my AFOQT scores were by far the best he'd ever seen or heard of.

So, I might as well explain how the selection process works. As previously mentioned mid October the Board meets (it's made up of O-6's) and rates all the applicants on three categorys. Multiple officers rate each person, and the scores are averaged. In each of the three categories, ratings are given that range from 2 to 3.3 in .1 increments (weird I know). Thus, the worst possible score is 6, and the best score being 9.9. The three categories are:

Education/Aptitude: This consists of Academic discipline, AFOQT scores, GPA, and Transcripts
Experience: This consists of Military Experience/Performance if prior, Letters of Recommendation, Demonstrated Leadership, Community/Base involvement, Athletics, and Skills/Hobbies.
Potential/Adaptability: Finally this consists of Evalutation of Interviewing Officer, Letters of Recommendation again, Work Experience, Communication Skills, and Law Violations.

One thing you have to remember though, is you're only competing against people in your category. So although the Non-Tech selection percentage in the last few boards had been between 15 and 30%, the Navigator selection percentage has remained steady at about 80 to 90%. With those numbers in mind, I find it hard to believe that I'll be in the lower 10 to 20% in any of the categories, and thus feel pretty good about my chances. You can now begin talking about counting my chickens before they hatch any time now.

November 7th is the day my life will now revolve around, although there might be delays. More later, this post is getting lengthy.

Progression

So, I can now move both arms individually without any kind of major pain. Haven't blogged for a few days because well, there was nothing to blog about. Just a lot of sitting around, taking a cool bath once or twice a day, unable to really do anything.

Last night I rewatched the first two episodes of Band of Brothers, the only two I'd seen previously. My plan is over the next few days to finish watching the series. Kind of sad I haven't gotten around to it sooner than this, given all the good things I've heard. Given my new career choice however, I'm going to make a point of watching these kinds of things, and although it will never tell me what it's really going to be like, I can at least see what it was like for the people who helped give me the way of life I currently lead.

Speaking of which, I received a phone call from my officer recruiter today, letting me know that someone had been forced to cancel their interview appointment for tomorrow at 1pm, and thus there was an available slot. I of course jumped at the chance, knowing this could really speed things up. So it appears I'm to be up at his office in Santa Monica tomorrow morning at 11am, in order to fill out a bunch more paperwork and finalize my package, then we'll drive over to LA AFB for the interview. I'm sure I'll be nervous, but no more nervous that I was during AcaDec interviews, when I knew I was being graded from the moment I stepped into the room until the moment I stepped out. With the amount of training I've had, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure I'll be practicing answers at some point today though. :) I also found out to my surprise that my physical has also been scheduled, for next Thursday Sept 5th. This is both good and bad news, good because it's sooner than I thought, bad because there's the possibility that the sunburn might still be around. Other than having to explain what happened, I don't see how that can affect me negatively though. It's just all the what ifs, that get you. I'm four pounds under the max weight, even with clothes on I'm a few under, and with a week to go I'm sure I can drop even further into the safe zone. Who knows, having not had a physical for about 5 years, there's always a chance they'll find something wrong I didn't even know about. The good news is that just about everything is waiverable, if you have the time and patience.

So it turns out that I will in fact have everything done before the deadline for the October Board. According to the schedule, that Board actually meets from October 15th-18th, and the estimated release date for the results is November 8th. Bit earlier than expected, but welcome just the same. It's the first Board of the Fiscal Year 2003 for the military, so that could work to my advantage, as there will be plenty of slots to fill. The last few boards have been somewhat selective in many of the fields, that should be less true with the new FY. Of course, the release dates for the least few boards have been delayed quite a bit, with the July release coming out around 2 or 3 weeks late and the August release so far 1 or 2 weeks late itself. "Hurry up and wait."

All in all though, I'll still know by mid November at the latest what the deal is. Worst comes to worst, I'll be rejected the first time and automatically go to the second Board which meets in November, and releases the results in December. If you get rejected twice you have to wait at least six months I think it is, so that'll be it at that point until I graduate at least. Although I haven't been completely ignoring the fact I might have to consider other options, this has been my main focus for a while. Will just be nice to finish up these last few steps and be done with it, so I can get back to doing other things.

I do believe it's time for that 3rd BoB ep. Haha BoB. That looks funny.

Blisters Hurt

Never had an experience with sunburn blistering until today. I'm in more pain than I have been in oh, about five years.

Didn't help that I was having to meet and greet people which involved hugging and shoulder slapping extensively at the party. That probably screwed it over actually. I'm proud though, I didn't complain once to anyone outside my family who were smart enough to not do those kinds of things.

It's my own fault, I guess. More later on how cool the party was, when I'm able to do things like type blogs without flinching from the searing pain through my shoulder.

Sunburned to Bits

You want funny lookin sunburn, I got one for ya. Picture this. You're going on a hike, and the last time you got a bit sunburned, so this time you grow a brain and take some lotion. Beforehand when you get out of the car you lather up your neck and face to be sure that it isn't a problem this time. Your t-shirt and shorts getup covers everything else possibly lighter in color, as your arms and legs are tan enough for it not to be a problem. You decide about a half hour in to roll up your sleeves and create a tank top effect. You leave your upper arms and shoulders exposed to 90 degree heat for approximately 8 hours. Voila! When you get home and remove the T-shirt, it now appears that you are wearing something with red sleeves. Plenty of white in between, but amazingly bright red long sleeves from the shoulder down. Ah, intelligence.

The good news is my back isn't burned, because trying to sleep with that is the worst. My arms still hurt like the dickens, but I suppose I deserve it. Unfortunately have the big party tomorrow, so I'll have to dress of spiff and make attempts to cover the evidence.

More good news is we made it to the top, again, and even got back before dark this time. I'm gettin pretty good at this, I should be a tour guide or something. Even more good news I'll probably be really light tomorrow morning. :) Well a new low anyway. Man, even my sockline shows a clear difference in shade, when there wasn't one before. At least I was smart enough to switch wrists on my watch like halfway through, something I hadn't done for like 5 years which felt really whack, but did the trick and avoided serious lines there. The strange thing is, it was much hotter the last time I went, and I didn't get much darker at all, and no really painful burns to speak of. I guess it was a different UV rating today, or something.

Ah... blowing air on my arms sure feels good. All I need is like a fan doing that at all times, but some sort of sleeveless thing to keep me warm meanwhile. Actually blowing on them just makes them burn more a few seconds later, nm. Well, if I can't sleep I'll be back. :/

Spring Cleaning, in August

The big 30th anniversary thingy bobber for the parents is on Sunday, and some cleaning ppl are coming tomorrow morning to give the house a whoopin, so everything in my room has to be decent looking by 10am. I tend to live out of boxes during the summer, so the place is pretty trashed. Really annoying to have to box stuff up and put it in the garage, when you're just going to have to take it all out in a few weeks and get everything together making sure you didn't forget anything to take it to college. Least I get to move in on a Friday this year instead of during the weekend, that should give me a few extra days to get into the swing of things. Something tells me they got rid of the week before classes start though, and they probably start early the following week, which would be lame.

I conned another friend into climbing Mt. Baldy tomorrow it looks like, so we'll see how that goes. Now that I've conquered it again, I won't be as disappointed if we have to turn around halfway. That and I'll actually know where I'm going this time. :)

The new job basically sucks ass, your classic data entry, which is good for oh about four hours, then your eyes start going blurry and you start getting really bored and it seems like motivating yourself to do each new record takes like five minutes at a time. If you actually get going time sort of passes, but gets old after a while.

Highly doubt it's going to last much longer, I'm doing everything relatively as slow as possible without drawing attention, but still getting through the huge amount of entries pretty quick. They didn't even want me back on Monday, but they do Tuesday, which is strange. Oh well as long as I get a day next week out of it that's at least one more paycheck. Then I'm supposed to call the other job at Kaplan back on the 6th and see if they need me some more there, so I should be able to eek out some more money before I head back to school.

Remnants of my shins started being annoying today, which is not such a good sign, since I even took a day off yesterday. I guess I'm going to not run for a few days, the Baldy trip tomorrow will do plenty. Gah, when is move in day when you need it.

Nine To Five

Think that was a song in the 80's. Alas it's time to go see what the new job is like. Hopefully won't be anything terrible. Probably going to last at least a few weeks, so hopefully it's the brainless type of stuff that makes time just flow on by. Maybe after the first day I'll be able to take a discman or something, if it's just hardcore data entry in some cubicle by myself.

Didn't go running today, felt some soreness yesterday while running the Entradero Park course, and figure I should just take a day off whenever my legs feel like they need it if I'm going to be running every day other than that. So I figure a random day off every 3 days or something instead of a set 2 days per weekend off will be better for my legs.

Went to a Mongolian BBQ place for the first time last night for a friend's bday, which was fun. Bout fifteen people or so, not all of which I knew, so it was neat meeting new people. For the first time in a while, I met a friend's boyfriend and didn't immediately have a negative opinion of him. Of course, I only talked to him for like 5 seconds, so I suppose there's still a chance once I discover all the skeletons. :) Was nice seeing all those ppl again, we had the usual grand ol time hootin and hollerin at various jokes. I wasn't a big fan of the fare at the restaurant, I guess I just don't like the whole wok concept. Too convoluted. Too much stuff mixed in maybe. I like things more simple. Always good to be branching out and trying out new things though.

Gah, guess I should get in the shower already, delaying will just make me late.

Peanut Butter Lathered Apples

Mmmm. Was treated to some of those while up at a friend's place, she and her best friend and I had a grand ol time cookin dinner and chowin down on some yummynummy food. We worked up an apetite while wandering all over West L.A. looking for a Home Depot and ended up at the one closest to my house, go figure. One minute I'm having fun with tape measures, the next time I turn around I see the two girls playfighting with hammers, until one of them gets a big thumb. Luckily they were using those big rubber ones rather than the metal kind. Could have been worse.

Dropped off all the material for my package, after stopping by a few places to pick up various items. Took a data entry form based test at my temporary agency when I stopped by to pick up the Letter of Recommendation from them, apparently they hadn't tested me since '99 and wanted to update my records. I found out that on average I type 11,000 keystrokes per hour. I'd always known sort of a range of words per minute, but never keystrokes per hour, which is what a lot of companies use when looking for potential data entry personnel and whatnot. I always though I was around 8k which is the minimum for most jobs, with 10k for some of the more high paying ones. Cool to know I can hang with the big boys (as if it's something to brag about). The plus is I have a new job starting Thursday that should run at least through the 13th which still pays $11 like the last one, but is much closer. No freeway driving involved. It's 9 to 5, which means again probably not a 40 hour week, but who knows there might be overtime possibilities or whatnot. Saving the five bucks a day for parking and taking my own lunch should save me tons of money there anyway. I'm quite satisfied with working right up until the day before I leave for school, $ is $.

Oh and I almost forgot the biggest news of the day. Did a mile and a half time trial over at the track, and not only smashed my best mile time in a few years, but also ran UNDER the required time for the PFT at OTS for the first time in about as long. Don't laugh when I say 11:49, with a 7:47 mile. Hey I've only been training a week, gimme a month or two and we'll see how those numbers change. :) The reason this news is so good is that a 12:00 is all that's required during the "hell" that is OTS, so not having to worry about the physical aspect of things and spending more time on the mental should be an advantage. Of course in Alabama with major humidity and ninety degree heat even at 5am, things might be a little different. That's assuming I get accepted, of course. No need to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. Hell, it'll be nice to be in shape regardless of what I end up doing.

One Eighty Nine Point Five

That's right, the barrier has been broken! :) Another nine and a half pounds in the next five weeks and I'll be one happy camper. Got all the way around the pier again this morning, without even a running partner this time. Very promising. Going to do another time trial tomorrow, and probably stick with distance on MWF and some sort of timed workout on TR. Then when school comes around, planning to add on a swimming or sport workout in the evening on top of running in the morning. Haven't really started in depth training for arms and abs yet, that'll probably come easier once I've gotten into shape a bit more. The lighter you are, the less you have to lift. :)

Hopefully this is the last day working at this place. My transcripts got here on Saturday amazingly, just 24 hours after I ordered them online. So hopefully I'll be able to trek up to SaMo on Tuesday to drop everything off.

Bummer, I typed this up this morning and forgot to post it. Luckly it's still sitting here. ;)

Yeah, it was my last day. I am quite pleased.

You're the One!

I'd like to say hi to the one person that visited this page yesterday. Come to think of it, it was probably me. :) Was there some sort of party I didn't know about? Some sort of gathering? Did internet connections all over the country get cut off simultaneously? Just weird I guess. Blah, I've always said ppl who count hits are lame, I guess I should take some of my own medicine. :)

I feel like I should put up something rewarding for the next person to see this. Something like a pic maybe, or some sort of representation. Maybe I'll do that.

Today's movie review is Blue Crush, which I'd have to give uhhhh hmmmm 4 M's. It was actually more entertaining than I thought it would be, and there was some very neat camera work throughout. Definitely the most advanced surfing photography I've seen. Some were clearly computer generated, and some you could tell the faces of the actresses had been added in, but some of the waves they were actually riding. Was actually pretty funny occasionally, could have been worse. Maybe 3.5 M's is more accurate. They did replay the flashback where she hits her head on the rock like 8 times. That was like 7 too many. No, 8 too many. Cringed every time I saw it. Blah, way past my bedtime. Gnite all. Er, I guess I mean gnite, you. :)

I Swear The Pier Moved Further Away...

Thanks to friendly companionship, I managed to make it all the way down to the Redondo pier this morning, out around it and up to Vet's park, then all the way back home. That's 3 to 4 miles or something. Making progress anyway. The legs feel a little weaker today, but on the way to work I really felt like I had a lot of energy. Strangely the 190 barrier is still somewhat inpenetrable, I've hit it multiple times without managing to get below. Something tells me now that I'm running again that will soon change. Just knocking on wood that the concept of shin splints is not going to reappear.

I felt pretty tired while I was running, but that's probably because I was launching into stories from time to time, and it's hard to handle a narrative when breathing heavily at the same time. Was good conversation though, and that's all you can ask for while pushing your body around. She's headed off to Knott's Berry Farm tomorrow, might run again in the morning beforehand though, going to check with me later online. I've only been to Knott's once, and not since they put in their newest roller coaster the Xcellerator, so at some point I'll probably have to make a return trip. Six Flags is free though thanks to the season pass, so it's hard to make the switch.

Finished "Ender's Shadow" a few days ago, and got started on "Shadow of the Hegemon." Technically it's the 6th book in the Ender's game series, although any of them could be read as standalones. Basically the only sci-fi series I've ever read, and I've enjoyed them all immensely. After this I'll have to start knocking out "The Two Towers" in preperation for the movie release in December.

More news on the AF front, going to be heading up to SaMo early next week to deliver a lot of paperwork including copies of my SSN and DL cards as well as transcripts from college and various other forms. I didn't know you could just order transcripts online and have them mailed to you, which sucks because I could have done that weeks ago. Probably only takes one or two business days though so should get here in time for this visit. I was thinking I was going to have to make an extra trip to SB and back in order to deal with those, quite pleased that it won't be necessary. Also found out that the physical and BAT test (hand-eye coordination test basically) will take place at LA AFB and not Edwards, so I won't have to drive long distances with my pupils dilated. Even better, I could get someone who loves me to drop me off and pick me up! (wink wink)

Well given I'm at work I probably shouldn't be blogging. Pretty sure this is my last day here though. I certainly hope so.

When You Need A Smile...

They always tend to make an appearance in one way or another. Was out running this morning for the 2nd day in a row (MY GOODNESS) which in itself was a feat, because due to my injury I haven't been able to accomplish that goal in about a month. So far, so good. No pain whatsoever in the last two days, as I gradually am increasing the distance I run.

I had my usual hat and headset getup goin as I plowed down Henrietta on the way back from the little two mile loop deal over yonder, listenin to Rick Dees in the morning, which tends to help a lot when compared with just listening to yourself breath and get tired. Anyway, I ran smack into a buddy from high school, or rather, the same high school as I went to We were never actually there at the same time, we've always been the same grade level so when she was a freshman in high school I was a freshman in college, and ditto now that we're both seniors. She went through the AcaDec program as well, so we share some common feelings and attributes. It was quite random we'd be running at the same time, I guess the X-Country team is up in Big Bear for the week but she had to work, so she's just running on her own this week. Ended up turning around and basically running with me back to my house, which was fun. It's amazing how running with someone else can help you forget about the fact that you're tired. Well, other than having to pause every six words to take two full breaths. :) The nice thing about her is she's somewhat close to my pace, or was at least making me think that. That's the real bummer with trying to find running buddies, one person is always more in shape, or has a much faster pace. She suggested we run tomorrow too though, so I guess I'm not that hideously slow. She just has to go run another three miles or something after dropping me off. :)

It's weird, when you least expect something to cheer you up, alakazam, there they are.

Twice.

That's the number of times I visited the hospital yesterday.

That's also the number of times I'd been in the hospital in the twenty years prior to that. I've been lucky. Never broken a bone, never had a stitch, never been involved in many of the not so wonderful things that require a hospital visit. It was interesting though, seeing the brand new wing at Little Company of Mary, visiting my Mom, trying out the food, (which actually wasn't so bad) and just being aware of all the types of people around me, who were there because they needed help, in one form or another. I really don't mind hospitals that much. I guess I don't have any negative memories associated with one, so they don't carry the same stigma that the do for some people.

Finally decided to start knocking out some of the 159 movies I have that I haven't seen. As of today that's now 158, as I finally witnessed The Shawshank Redemption 7 M's out of 7. People are very right when they say this movie is good. It's a view into a prison, and the life that long-term inmates lead. The acting is just phenomenal, with everyone playing their characters perfectly. I was especially impressed with some of the secondary characters. From the stuttering friend, to the heartless captain of the guard. The scene that affected me most though involved Brooks, the inmate who'd spent 50 years in the prison. I won't spoil it for anyone (although if you haven't seen it, put this one as close to the top of your list as possible) but the music played around that scene, and the voice the elderly actor uses while describing life on the outside, really makes you feel. The music all around was perfect, not too dominant, yet always there, eerie notes when required, slow melodic tones as well. The acting though, is what sets this one apart. Attempting to portray someone who has spent the majority of their life in prison cannot be easy. Yet every actor does a marvelous job. That's another building I've never visited, I suppose I've been lucky there too, although I'd like to think that was much more a conscious effort on my part.

Working today again, although the person I've been doing the most stuff for left last night for a month long trip, so I'm assuming they'll run out of stuff and send me home early for good. 9th day working at this place, I don't mind the 550 or so after taxes I'll end up with, but I'll be extremely glad to be doing something else.

More Info...

Apparently the cause of the blast was a gas leak in a house that was being fumigated, with a spark eventually setting off the catastrophic event. Luckily, this means no one was inside at the time, and from what I've heard there are only minor injuries to surrounding neighbors.

The house is just simply leveled, with many surrounding houses sustaining heavy damage.

Once again though, I'm fine, and unfortunately it appears I'll still have to go to work today, after stopping by to visit the mother in the hospital as she recovers from her surgery.

I'm Safe...

All those lucky enough to be watching CNN this morning, no need to worry, I'm fine.

The houses that were obliterated by a massive explosion at about 5:45am are located about six blocks from me. There are reports of damage in a wide radius, with glass breaking at houses more than a few blocks away, but we haven't found any damage to ours.

So if you heard the name Torrance and panicked, I appreciate the concern, but go back to bed. :)

More later as I receive more information. I won't be sleeping anymore given the number of sirens and choppers circling outside my window. The major news channels all just switched over, feel free to check it out.

When It Rains...

So, my mother is currently recovering having undergone a hysterectomy this morning, apparently the procedure went as planned. She's expected to be in the hospital until Wednesday. Another really poor day at work. I was going to say shitty, but after a bad experience this weekend with someone lighting me up for swearing, and realizing that it's outlawed at OTS, I might as well cut it out of my vocabulary now. It's not like it's necessary, and it certainly doesn't help my image. I swear far below the average person, but I see no reason to do it at all Forgot to get lunch money, so I just went without. During the lunch hour my usual reading spot in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency next door was disrupted by jackhammers on the floor below. Traffic was worse than usual.

Then to top it off, I get a random e-mail then an IM from someone I'd planned on avoiding since coming to the realization in May that we were just different people. I'm stupid enough to reply, and later respond, and my reward is a conversation in which she proceeds to knock everything about my career choice, and myself in general. There were a few highlights, one of which was her informing me that she will happily be the person sending me off to war in some foreign country to die in order to protect her way of life while she spends her millions on material things. The one that really topped everything off though, was her informing me that in the "grand scheme of things," I'm just as much of a slut as she is. Now, I tend to censor this blog, in a way. I refrain from personal attacks, I never mention names, and I leave out much of the less flattering information I run into about people. In this case though, I'm not at all concerned with any reactions. As has probably been figured out, tonight's encounter was once again with the most recent ex. I've finally blocked her permanently, through all forms of communication that I have access to. I am no longer of the opinion that any sort of interaction would bring anything but negative results. In the years since our relationship ended (yes, years) she has taken up smoking, getting drunk on a regular basis, and sleeping with various people just to satisfy her physical need, including a neighbor, just because he was there. Those who know me, know why I unfortunately regret having ever been in a relationship with her. The three habits stated above are basically the least desirable traits a friend, or even a person, could possibly have. Granted, her side of the story will be different, if you ever have the displeasure of running into her and hearing about it. In my own defense, I can only say it has been over two years since I've received anything more than a hug from the opposite sex. Sad in a way, but true. I'm sure this helps you realize what a ridiculous statement the above quote really is, if you compare the two lifestyles. Why I even let it affect me, I have no idea. That's the last time. Alas, all I can say is my life will be much better off in the future, with her forgotten.

I can't thank my friends enough for being there over the last few years as I've moved through various stages of transition. I can only hope to follow your example and repay what you've given me, any way I can. The subject for that blog in May was "One Door Closes, Another Door Opens." Interestingly enough, it was still cracked enough for even more negativity to shine through. If there's a way to slam it harder than I just did, I'm not sure how.

Let it be known, this is the last blog in which she will be mentioned, permanently. Along those lines, if I give you the cold-shoulder in person when asked about the subject, back off.

Not Much To Say...

Drove out to Timbuktu also known as Hemet, California on Saturday for a memorial service, that basically took up the whole day as I spent a few hours each way in the car. There's not a whole lot to say about that, it's not the most cheerful thing in the world, and I don't suppose dwelling on it helps.

Today was basically sit around day, as I despair over having to go to work again tomorrow. More hours on the road, more hours doing nothing, trying to strech 10 minute jobs into hour long ones, so that I can at least get a 7 hour day before they say "well, guess that's all for today" and tell me to come back two days later. Least my first paycheck in a while should be here in the next day or two, and then I'll have at least two more coming after that. Still have a long way to go before I've made any progress towards a decent amount on the summer, though. I could tell them to take me off this basically part-time job that I dislike greatly and is totally inconvenient, but there might not be anything else available. Then again having this go on all the way through summer would be like sticking a 5 inch splinter under my fingernail.

Props to two of my friends for being the highlights of an otherwise dreary weekend, one for a lengthy conversation along the beach during a nice sunset, and the other for letting me blab cell to cell nonstop while bored as all heck driving alllllllll the way back across LA on the way home yesterday.

The Magic at Six Flags...

Man, slept in longer today than I have in quite some time. I have a good excuse though, got few hours of sleep the night before having to get up early and head out to Six Flags. Ended up not getting home until after midnight, and I was pretty drained by that time.

Two bummers put dampers on the day, one of which was X being closed for the whole day which was disappointing, the other being I strained my neck pretty good on the first ride we went on, and was having problem rotating my head to the right the remainder of the day. That said, I pretty simply had a ton of fun for the entire day. The person I was with is someone I've always gotten along with, and regardless of the length of the line, I was never bored. I barely even noticed the heat, which stretched into the mid 90s for most of the day. We got on most all of the big rides, and although they were out of my California rolls at the sushi bar, the Tsunami ones weren't too bad. My voice was pretty much gone this morning, but now seems to just be a bit hoarse. I tend to do my share of hootin and hollerin on the big dips. :)

Managed to take a wrong turn coming home as I missed the turnoff to the 405 from the 5 a bit south of the amusement park, ended up not being that big a deal as we just took the route right past downtown on the 110, had been a while since I'd seen the L.A. skyline at night. That also allowed us to use the carpool lanes on the 110, which are neat because they're about a hundred feet above the freeway itself, your own little highway in the sky. So then I managed to miss the turnoff to the 405, and we ended up having to get off the 110 further south and double back. Apparently I was engrossed in the conversation. I've driven the 110 to the 405 route every day I've worked for the past few weeks, yet still managed to blow right by it. Go figure. Two retarded moves in one trip, can't even remember the last time I managed that. Yet I'm going to be a navigator for a living, HAHA. Er um.

Hopefully going to be seeing more of that friend than I have in the last few years, she's quite the neat person.

Managed to run across a song I hadn't heard in forever, James Taylor's "Fire and Rain." It's a nice friendly cheerful head bobber type. Turns out I don't have a social calendar for tonight, but I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to gallumph out to Hemet.

Monday Dunday.

Well technically it's Tuesday, but since I didn't work today and I'm working tomorrow, it feels like it will be Monday. Who knows how long this job will last, it's becoming more of an every other day thing, and that's not really going to work this week. I apparently actually have a social calendar, as one of my friends is taking advantage of the fact that I can take someone to Magic Mountain for free both this week and next, and wants to go on Thursday, and then I'm possibly filling in as a friend of mine's "guest" at another function, someone's wedding anniversary I believe.

Then comes Saturday, when it appears I'm going to attend the first memorial service/funeral of my life. Going to be making the trek a couple hours out to Hemet, California, the hometown of my father's brother and sister in law. She's had cancer for a number of years, and passed away a few days ago. On the bright side, she's the first of my parent's generation of the family to pass away, but still at an unfortunately early age. I'd been hoping to escape off into the military before having to attend the multitude of weddings that will start happening as my fifteen or so cousins all start getting married off at once, and I'd certainly not planned on attending any funerals before finishing college. I guess though, I should be very thankful I've never had to attend one before now. Things could be much worse.

Don't get me wrong about weddings, it's not that I don't like them, it's just that I don't like the questions associated with the event. When you end up being the oldest person unmarried at the place, all sorts of fingers get pointed and questions get asked about your "progress" with the opposite sex. It's just not a priority for me right now. Answering the same question eighty times to eighty different relatives isn't much fun. No, I'm not seeing anyone. No, I didn't come out of the closet. Yes, they are smart to have stayed away from me, and you're quite clever to have said that, given the six people before you had the same quip.

Oif. So the high from the weekend has waned, and it sounds like it'll peak on Thursday/Friday, and then slash its way back down for the weekend.

Here's to long life, may all of us be lucky enough to live one.

Me Tho Pwoud.

Okay okay I skipped a few days. Believe it or not, I was actually getting some WORK done around here! Ended up leaving an hour early Friday too, and they don't need me Monday, but want me Tuesday. It's turning into more of a part time thing, but I still get like 250 a week out of it, so I guess I can't complain, since it's not like there's a multitude of alternatives.

The last couple days I've impressed even myself by deciding to move full ahead with my package for OTS, first by doing the HUGE application Thursday night and Friday morning, answering a berzillion questions that basically all boiled down to "have you ever done anything bad in your life, ever" to which I of course said NO! :) Then yesterday I managed to not only finish up my Personal Statement and Resume, but also get the ball rolling for Letters of Recommendation! Usually getting paperwork done with me is like pulling teeth, ESPECIALLY when I end up having to contact other people, set things up, ask them for favors, etc etc. Go figure though, I typed up the whole format for the Letters of Rec, and copied it into a Word doc along with my Resume and Personal Statement so I could send all the info to my endorsers, then wrote out lengthy personal e-mails to all of them making the requests, then even got a few e-mails back so I could send them off the info! This may not sound all that interesting but it feels really good to be taking care of stuff that was going to be hanging over me. Already two of the four people have answered in the affirmative, with the other two not being able to receive the initial e-mail until most likely Monday. Only need 3-5 Letters, but 4 would be a good number. I have a few other possibilities in mind in case these don't work out.

So we stand about two months away from my Officer Recruiter's deadline of October 2nd, for packages that will be going to the November 2nd Board. This appears to be the ideal one to apply for since I'd then find out the results in December, and if I get rejected it automatically goes to the December Board and I'd find out in January. After that if I don't get in it's basically over, and that will leave me like 6 months and two full quarters of school to secure an alternative option for my future if necessary. I'm not too worried though. My Personal Statement is something I'm really proud of, one of my better pieces of writing that had to be restricted to one page. That's thanks to the help of various friends and family members who all chimed in with their two cents, of course. The recruiter is requesting my physical next week, which I assume then will be within a month or something maybe. That's the only other real possible hangup, as the flight physical for rated applicants (people doing jobs in the air) is quite extensive, and something might be found that I didn't even know about. Most everything is waiverable, you just have be patient enough to sit through that process, and that would delay things a bit. You actually don't need to have passed the physical to send your package to the board, you just have to have an appointment made. So I might get accepted, and yet still get delayed due to the physical or a possible waiver for who knows what. Hopefully with the 6 month leeway I've added in I should be able to make the July 1 class of 2003. That would leave me a couple weeks to enjoy life after graduation before I actually ship out. Still don't know whether I'd drive or fly, or maybe take the train or something. They pay for expenses either way, and it's easier to take all your stuff if you drive, but then again travelling light might be smart for training. After training if I move on to technical training in Flordia almost immediately depending on the class date it would be a pain to have my stuff shipped though.

I guess there's plenty of time to ponder such issues. :) I'm just happy that my package is shaping up in a hurry, I should be able to give him my Personal Statement, Resume/Applicant Profile, and Letters of Rec by the end of this week maybe, or possibly next. Then I hear there's many many many more forms to fill out, but that's all easy stuff. Last step is an interview with an actual high level officer, which I hear is pretty pivotal. If you gain their vote and they write you a good recommendation, you're pretty much set. Thanks to all my interview training through AcaDec, I should do fine. So, the nice thing although I'll have to get transcripts from school, I go back like the 20th and will be able to get those as well as make an appointment with a counselor to discuss my schedule this year, and make sure I've got everything set for graduation, and thus get the form that shows my expected graduation date and how I'm going to achieve it with what classes, etc etc. I'll probably have to make one more trip down to the Santa Monica office after I've gone up to school, but I think we generally have a week before classes start anyway, so I'll just pop down and finish any last forms or paperwork, and be done maybe evern EARLY (go figure) before the October 2 deadline.

Only bummer then is I'll be done, but I'll have to wait almost a full quarter at school before I find out the results, assuming there are no delays. Alas, the infamous "hurry up and wait" slogan of the military.

Other than that, I went running for the first time in two weeks (shin splints knocked me out of it as you recall) with my new shoes. It literally felt like I was running on foam padding, it was great. I even did the stretch where you put your feet behind you and sit down on your heels, stretching that shin muscle and the muscles on top of your foot, which used to be too painful to even attempt a few weeks ago. No pain whatsoever. The bad news is my time for just the 1.5 miles that I started with like 6 weeks ago as a starting point is basically back to square one. I think it's just due to the 2.5 week gap though, I'm sure things will get up to speed much faster than they did the first time, and this time I'll have a solid 7 weeks before school starts to lower my times. The right shoes, no pain, and things should definitely improve at a faster rate than before. Just have to worry about properly stretching that muscle, so we don't have any repeats of the beginning of the summer. In related news, I'm only 1 pound off my all time low as of today, with that low coming having done that marathon hike up Mt. Baldy. So within the next week or so I should be down into the 180s for the first time since maybe high school?

To recap, proud of my Air Force package progress, proud of my promising progress in getting back in shape, proud of my current weight decline, very happy with the way things are going at the moment. :)

I have tomorrow off, anyone up for Magic Mountain? Walking all those hills and tensing up all your muscles on roller coasters is always a good workout. :) Good sushi there too!

A Beam Of Light In the Dark...

Glad everyone got a good giggle out of yesterday's story. Hilarious really. [scowls] :/ I'm not supposed to be old yet. I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toyz R Us Kid. Anyway.

Yesterday's flick was Reign of Fire which I went to see basically because I'd seen everything else decent at the theater, and my friend wanted to meet up and watch a movie, so watch we did. I actually expected it to be largely lame other than some pretty cool dragons, and it was somewhat better than expectations. Some very cool dragons, and although the whole concept of dragons ruling the world is somewhat weak, there was some pretty good action whenever they attacked. Had to go check my rating scheme and example movies to decide where this one should fall, and I think I'm gonna have to go with 4 M's. Seems like just about everything I see these days is 4 or 5 M's with the occasional 6, but I guess that's because I try to avoid the really terrible stuff, and certainly don't pay to see anything that I think will fall into the 1-3 M's area. Maybe when I start catching up on all the old stuff I haven't seen we'll see more excitement in the ratings. Only disappointing thing here was not only did I actually pay the full student price of 7 bucks because it was a night show, but I forgot to use my AMC Moviewatcher card when I would have gotten a free movie popcorn and soda for reaching 100 points on it. BUMMER. Guess next time I hit up the movies I'll have to see something good, and bring a date even, can't eat all that popcorn by myself...

Managed to get the people I work for to run out of dirty work for me to do today a little early, so left around 5 instead of 6. Better yet, I pointed out they probably won't have anything for me tomorrow early, and I might as well just skip a day and come on Friday. Yeah, it's less money that way, but I figure I'm wasting my time if I'm not even getting a full eight hour shift and am spending all that money on parking gas and food. Sushi place downstairs sure is good though. Actually I think I'd like just about any place that made sushi, I'm not too picky. It's good stuff. Going to have to get a lot of exercise tomorrow, working commuting and sleeping doesn't leave much time for it when I have to go all the way to LA. :/

It Starts.

The young man wanders across the mall, killing time before he's to meet a friend. He's early as usual, so he spends some time browsing. He ventures into the Disney store, his favorite as a child. Confused at first, he sees nothing but costumes: princesses, Buzz Lightyears, Peter Pans... He ponders to himself for a moment, and figures out that Halloween is a mere three months from the following day. Never too early to start promoting, he supposes. As he shuffles past the counter, an elderly woman with a nametag calls out to him. "May I help you with something today, Sir?" "No thanks, just looking around." replies the man with a smile. After a pause during which the woman gives him a once over as he watches the music video playing on the big screen, she grins helpfully and exclaims "We have some very nice costumes for little girls..." with a genuine smile. He gives a polite chuckle, thinking she was referring to possible changes in his wardrobe. It is only a few seconds later he realizes the true intent behind her words when she adds "And if you have a boy, some very cute ones for little boys as well." He stops dead in his tracks as he realizes his mistake. "No thanks," he stammers, as he makes his way towards the exit in as expedient a manner as possible without being impolite.

I'd managed to go 21 years of my life without someone thinking I was old enough to have children. Alas, someone from the general public has now made that mistake. My how the years have gone by. Wasn't too long ago I thought I was cool because I got into rated R movies by myself. Now some people obviously think I'm old enough to have a child. I suppose retorting back "CHECK WITH ME IN TEN YEARS" would be a bit much. I suppose I'm just around the corner from lines like "You don't look a day over 50." Well maybe over the river and through the woods even.

Today went only slightly better than yesterday at work, but since I caught a movie afterwards and am spending two and a half hours on the road commuting each day, not a whole lot of free time involved. I'll talk about it tomorrow, maybe.

Corporate America, and Why I'd Rather Chew Glass.

Well, it's taken me one day to start hating work again. One day in some random office in downtown Los Angeles where everyone is in their own little world inside their cubicle, somewhere between "I'm a total loser I have the one closest to the door" and "wow I'm so neat I have a corner office with a view." Everyone hoping they're on a path to somewhere, a bigger cubicle maybe, maybe even one on the END. The whole concept of an office basically causes the gag reflex. I can't even tell you how many times I've had to take care of the most retarded work because someone was bored of getting stepped on so they hired someone else to do the dirty work for them. The WORST kind of jobs however, is when they don't really need you. You end up sitting around, looking over their shoulder from time to time, waiting for work to be given to you. Once you're given it you finish it in a short amount of time, and therefore need something else. They become irritated that you're always in their face, and decide they're better off being irritated about having too much work to do, and you're forced to move on to the next job.

Today was no different, other than for some strange reason they wanted me from 10-6 this week. What that means is when I'm forced to take lunch just because they are and there's no more work, I end up with a less than 40 hour workweek. Of course the paycheck is already hacked into from the $30 I'm paying for parking on the week. Oh and then there's the gas. The fun part was trying to FIND the parking structure, which although it has an address of 818 W. 7th St, actually has no entrances or address numbers of any kind on 7th, and actually has its entrance on S. Flower St, on the complete other side of the block. Luckily I always leave an extra half hour on the first day of temp jobs, knowing I'll probably get lost somewhere along the way. It's interesting walking around downtown, even though I'm from Los Angeles, I've probably actually walked around the downtown area with the largest buildings maybe a dozen times in my life. There's just nothing really there, other than a major hub of Corporate America.

The really irritating part of today was the fact she didn't get back from lunch until 4:30, having left at 1. I was back from my quick break by 3, having not left until after 2, since she said she'd be back "for sure no later than 3." Well, I sat around reading Ender's Shadow for an hour or two, and then finally one of the other cubicleites from across the way noticed I wasn't actually doing anything, and decided to try to give me work to do. "Yeah, do me a favor and um, research this company on the internet they're one of our competitors, just you know, facts and figures and basically come up with a proposal on how we can better compete with them than we are already." Riiiight. As if I even know what she's talking about, have any experience in the field, or even care. Eventually she comes back and decides I'm incapable of that task and gives me a list of colleges to call and find out who their Director of Admissions is. Seems simple, until you realize I got the list at 4pm, long after all the eastern and central timezones have closed for the day. Eventually the person I'm supposedly working for comes back, and says at 5:45 she's going to show me what I'm going to be doing tomorrow while she's in a meeting. She then spends (not exaggerating) thirty full minutes trying to figure out her password into one of the systems they use. She tries four different combinations of logins and passwords, over, and over, and over, as if the 9th time through they'll work. Finally she sighs and says "I guess we'll do this first thing in the morning" before going back and engulfing herself into her laptop and her cubicle, not saying another word to me. I take my book and leave, quite irritated that this is what I'm having to do in order to earn money this summer.

What's sad, is I actually look FORWARD to the traffic. The commute is actually interesting to me. I'm actually DOING something, and can see progress being made. The radio is on, and generally something entertaining is being said, or good music is blasting. You can stare at all the other drivers, trying to figure out who they are, and what their life is like. It's just a world constantly changing, as you plod along from car to car. UNLIKE a cubicle, and a clock, which only changes once a minute, every minute, for the whole day.

This is the most irritated/bitter I've been in a while. I just wish I could find some work available that I actually enjoyed. Unfortunately the economy is not ripe these types of jobs, and so I have to take what I can get, as irritating as it might be.

Check back after the end of this week, I should be better. Who knows, maybe there will actually be stuff for me to do tomorrow. I'd much rather spend time copying and collating a six foot high stack of paper than just sitting there, pretending to be busy when people walk by really you have nothing to do. I was even playing chess against MYSELF today. Like on a piece of paper, erasing and writing where the pieces are, treating each move as if I was playing it to the best of my ability. Black was winning I think before I decided to read instead. Maybe I'll finish the game tomorrow, who knows. Good book by the way, the 5th in a series by Orson Scott Card. Basically a parallel novel to Ender's Game, possibly the best Sci-Fi novel I've read. Quite fun for little boys anyway.

You'll have to excuse me, I've been home for four hours but it's time to go to sleep so I can immediately wake up and leave again so I can hurry up and do nothing.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho...

And you know the rest. Supposedly for at least this full week and possibly next I'll be employed. We'll see how that goes. At least it's 10-6, no need to wake up too early in the morning, the bummer being it's right in the heart of Downtown L.A., everyone's favorite place to sit in traffic.

Relatively uneventful weekend, as I sat around awaiting the impending doom that is work. Stopped by my old middle school during my bike workout, and was pretty amazed at the differences ten years will make. The place is basically a sea of portable classrooms, with half the playground/blacktop area now covered with them. Guess that's one way to increase the number of classrooms without actually breaking ground on a new building and spending more $. Very few places are still recognizable, other than the Resource Center (otherwise known as the library) where I spent many a morning waiting for the librarian to show up around 7am before school and unlock it so I could go in and read or play games on the computer. Can't even remember the games they had, must have been something really old.

Trying to decide how long to give the shin splint thing to heal, I think one more week and then I'm going to go for some easy runs on padded areas like grass and sand to see how they feel. Hoping to get moving with that again, this week marks the beginning of more regular arm and ab routines, and being able to work the running in would be quite helpful. Still got eight weeks before I head back, can make a lot of progress by then.