Thirtieth Entry
In what can only be described as a complete and total brain fart on the part of the Rotu tribe on CBS' Survivor, I have learned, from a decently reliable source, that they axed Gabe!! How could they do that?? Don't they see that Sean and Rob are going to be the troublemakers? What happened to the love in love tribe???? I am way way disappointed.
I got this info off of a message board somewhere in CyberSpace, so I am not sure if it is true or not. I am praying that it isn't...I can't stand to be in last place anymore!!!!! AAAHHHHHH!!!!
3.28.2002
3.27.2002
Twenty-Ninth Entry
I attempted to show Clueless to my class today. Only one class watched it intently...the class with mostly girls. The guys think that the movie is a girl flick. I tried to explain that the movie is a lot more about rich LA stereotypes than about girls in high school. Oh well. And another thing, nobody was laughing at all. They did not get the jokes. I told one of the kids that if they were to watch "Clueless" in about 5 years, they would think it was a hilarious movie. I will have to think hard about which movie to bring in tomorrow...maybe something Disney, but not too Disney.
As I was leaving school today, I ran into Zulma! I was happy to see her. We talked for a few minutes in the middle of the parking lot. She is finishing in June and is studying to be a doctor! Very good.
I am tired. I am going to nap.
I attempted to show Clueless to my class today. Only one class watched it intently...the class with mostly girls. The guys think that the movie is a girl flick. I tried to explain that the movie is a lot more about rich LA stereotypes than about girls in high school. Oh well. And another thing, nobody was laughing at all. They did not get the jokes. I told one of the kids that if they were to watch "Clueless" in about 5 years, they would think it was a hilarious movie. I will have to think hard about which movie to bring in tomorrow...maybe something Disney, but not too Disney.
As I was leaving school today, I ran into Zulma! I was happy to see her. We talked for a few minutes in the middle of the parking lot. She is finishing in June and is studying to be a doctor! Very good.
I am tired. I am going to nap.
3.26.2002
Twenty-Eighth Entry
After watching the Series Premiere of "The Court" on ABC, I realized that a lot of new series' premiered recently. I have seen a few of them and I feel the need to express my attitudes towards them.
I have developed a rating system to help you decide if the show is worth your while or not...it is the "Adjusted Thumb Rating System". Instead of just thumbs up or down, there will be a rating of no thumbs, half thumbs down, and half thumbs up.
First show..."Leap of Faith"
Made by the creators of "Sex in the City". It is an interesting show. The recent "Boob Wall" episode had its moments. But I think they harp too much on Faith's misfortunes in love (her botched engagement), and Patty's over-sexuality. Interesting. Cynthia is too cynical and Andy is too stereotypically male. Faith seems to me to be the hopeless romantic type. I think "Leap of Faith" is going to become more and more like "Sex and the City" than it already is. But the show has promise, and in the meantime it is funny and witty.
CONVERSION CHART
Faith=Charlotte
Cynthia=Miranda
Patty=Samantha
Andy=Carrie
Rating=Half Thumbs Up
"Watching Ellie"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus at her best. I love the concept of the show being essentially timed. I love the clock at the lower left corner of the screen. I love how it is in real time. Although most of the issues dealt with in the show are typical sitcom issues, the fact that they have to be dealt with in 22 minutes is fascinating. It takes a lot of good writers and actors to be able to pull that off. Too bad the ratings are way down from when the show premiered.
Rating=Thumbs Up
"The Bachelor"
The reality show where a man, Alex, gets to meet and date 25 women and send home the ones he doesnt want. Every mans dream. The drama quotient is extremely high for this show. Not to mention that all the T&A and the making out will keep people tuning in. I like the show because it is different from the "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire" fiasco in that the women have more of a chance to get to know and socialize with the bachelor, Alex. Something to watch out for...cat fights once the women move into close quarters.
Rating=Thumbs Up
"The Court"
The only branch of the government that does not currently have its own TV drama is the Legislative Branch...but who wants to see a Strom Thurmond look alike flap his gums on TV? The series premiere was a good one. Good writing and good acting. This show has the potential to be another classic like Law & Order or Hill Street Blues. Sally Field is pretty good as Justice Kate Nolan. I was skeptical at first...Sally Field is known more for playing the "victim" rather than being in a position of taking charge, but she did good.
Rating=Thumbs Up
Thats it...no more. I guess it should be known, or is already known, that I like to watch anything that is on TV. I am a pretty easy person to please. Just don't make me watch Real World: Chicago.
After watching the Series Premiere of "The Court" on ABC, I realized that a lot of new series' premiered recently. I have seen a few of them and I feel the need to express my attitudes towards them.
I have developed a rating system to help you decide if the show is worth your while or not...it is the "Adjusted Thumb Rating System". Instead of just thumbs up or down, there will be a rating of no thumbs, half thumbs down, and half thumbs up.
First show..."Leap of Faith"
Made by the creators of "Sex in the City". It is an interesting show. The recent "Boob Wall" episode had its moments. But I think they harp too much on Faith's misfortunes in love (her botched engagement), and Patty's over-sexuality. Interesting. Cynthia is too cynical and Andy is too stereotypically male. Faith seems to me to be the hopeless romantic type. I think "Leap of Faith" is going to become more and more like "Sex and the City" than it already is. But the show has promise, and in the meantime it is funny and witty.
CONVERSION CHART
Faith=Charlotte
Cynthia=Miranda
Patty=Samantha
Andy=Carrie
Rating=Half Thumbs Up
"Watching Ellie"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus at her best. I love the concept of the show being essentially timed. I love the clock at the lower left corner of the screen. I love how it is in real time. Although most of the issues dealt with in the show are typical sitcom issues, the fact that they have to be dealt with in 22 minutes is fascinating. It takes a lot of good writers and actors to be able to pull that off. Too bad the ratings are way down from when the show premiered.
Rating=Thumbs Up
"The Bachelor"
The reality show where a man, Alex, gets to meet and date 25 women and send home the ones he doesnt want. Every mans dream. The drama quotient is extremely high for this show. Not to mention that all the T&A and the making out will keep people tuning in. I like the show because it is different from the "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire" fiasco in that the women have more of a chance to get to know and socialize with the bachelor, Alex. Something to watch out for...cat fights once the women move into close quarters.
Rating=Thumbs Up
"The Court"
The only branch of the government that does not currently have its own TV drama is the Legislative Branch...but who wants to see a Strom Thurmond look alike flap his gums on TV? The series premiere was a good one. Good writing and good acting. This show has the potential to be another classic like Law & Order or Hill Street Blues. Sally Field is pretty good as Justice Kate Nolan. I was skeptical at first...Sally Field is known more for playing the "victim" rather than being in a position of taking charge, but she did good.
Rating=Thumbs Up
Thats it...no more. I guess it should be known, or is already known, that I like to watch anything that is on TV. I am a pretty easy person to please. Just don't make me watch Real World: Chicago.
Twenty-Seventh Entry
Today I was at the lovely John Muir Middle School. I have been retained for the rest of the week. Apparently, the teacher fell ill two days after the class started last week and hasn't been back since. In case you are wondering, the class is an English/History core (1st and 2nd) and wood shop for the rest of the day (3rd, 4th and 5th). The class started last Monday along with the 3rd quarter of the school year.
The kids have not done anything at all as far as learning or wood shop goes. All we do is watch movies. We watched "The Nutty Professor". I got tired of it so I took some movies of my own to class during lunch time. I took, "Clueless", "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me", "Dumb and Dumber", and "Liar Liar". I let them choose which one they wanted to watch. 4th period chose Dumb and Dumber, and 5th period chose Austin Powers. I rallied for Clueless, but to no avail. I think I am going to show it tomorrow in Core (1st and 2nd).
Apart from the movie watching, the classroom is well stocked with board games and other games like Guesstures and Balderdash. The kids are pretty well behaved.
I have a conference 6th period, so I get to come home early.
Any suggestions as to what movies I should show tomorrow?
Today I was at the lovely John Muir Middle School. I have been retained for the rest of the week. Apparently, the teacher fell ill two days after the class started last week and hasn't been back since. In case you are wondering, the class is an English/History core (1st and 2nd) and wood shop for the rest of the day (3rd, 4th and 5th). The class started last Monday along with the 3rd quarter of the school year.
The kids have not done anything at all as far as learning or wood shop goes. All we do is watch movies. We watched "The Nutty Professor". I got tired of it so I took some movies of my own to class during lunch time. I took, "Clueless", "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me", "Dumb and Dumber", and "Liar Liar". I let them choose which one they wanted to watch. 4th period chose Dumb and Dumber, and 5th period chose Austin Powers. I rallied for Clueless, but to no avail. I think I am going to show it tomorrow in Core (1st and 2nd).
Apart from the movie watching, the classroom is well stocked with board games and other games like Guesstures and Balderdash. The kids are pretty well behaved.
I have a conference 6th period, so I get to come home early.
Any suggestions as to what movies I should show tomorrow?
3.25.2002
Twenty-Sixth Entry
Today was an interesting day in the world of substitute teaching. Never before have I had to teach a class without any lesson plans! It was quite scary. There was no note from the teacher. She did not call before class started to at least give me some direction. I had to wing it.
It was a class of 1st graders. Usually teachers of classes that young actually care about their students enough where they will at least call the morning they are absent and tell the sub whats up and what the class can work on. Of course, there is always the possibility that the teacher was seriously injured or someone in her family was seriously injured, but then they would have retained me for the next day.
But, since they were 1st graders, an age where lying and deception is a bigger sin than murder, they were more than happy to tell me what they should be doing. We wrote stories, drew pictures, played alphabet and number bingo, played heads-up seven-up, read books, learned about the countries that speak Spanish(it was a bilingual class), worked in the math workbooks, etc. So I spent the whole day asking the kids what they should be doing. And they responded...all at once!!
At about 2:05 pm, I was informed that today was the annual Jog-a-Thon. I had missed the window when I would take my kids to run. I was supposed to take them at 10am, but since nobody told me anything about the class, I had no idea. So only the late birds got to go at 2:05 with the Kindergarteners and the Special Ed kids. All they did was run around the Basketball poles and some of the teachers kept count. I couldn't help but think that most of these kids did not know why they were running; they were just running and running and running and then walking and walking and running. They were treated to cold water and oranges after the running was over. I guess that's what they were running for.
After class was over, I came home, exhausted due to only 4 hours of sleep the night before, and I helped my dad move the trailer back into our driveway and push the porsche into the tiny space behind it. It barely fit between the trailer and the gate. Great fun.
I came inside and watched TV. Fred came home and immediately started playing with his new Nextel "waste of money" phone. It is a cool phone, but he did not need another one...he just needed a new service. Nextel is good as a company phone for its radioing capabilities, but not as a personal use phone...too expensive.
I quickly got tired of the constant beeping of his phone as he was radioing back and forth with my cousin, who actually has a business use for his Nextel service, and went upstairs to sleep.
I awoke to the annoying and incessant chirp of that stupid phone of my brothers. He was in his room, but the noise was loud and woke me up.
I taped "The Bachelor" and just finished watching it. I will be watching it weekly. It is very interesting. I especially liked it when the blonde girl at the end of the show started crying because she didn't get a rose. I thought to myself..."Serves you right for being a fake ass bitch". It helped that she was really ugly, or else I might have felt sorry for her. And for that other girl...the curly brown hair girl who couldn't figure out why she wasn't picked..."It's the gap in your teeth...lookin like a Hillbilly or something." I am interested in this show because the drama possibilities are great and I know this show will deliver. As far as going on TV to find a wife/husband, thats kinda "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?"-weird, but at least in "The Bachelor", they are giving the guy a month or something to pick out his potential wife.
Another note, I like the deliberation room. It's a good idea. I think ABC may have a hit (gasp) on their hands.
Tomorrow another day of substituting. Mamma mia! That's a spicy-a meatball!
Today was an interesting day in the world of substitute teaching. Never before have I had to teach a class without any lesson plans! It was quite scary. There was no note from the teacher. She did not call before class started to at least give me some direction. I had to wing it.
It was a class of 1st graders. Usually teachers of classes that young actually care about their students enough where they will at least call the morning they are absent and tell the sub whats up and what the class can work on. Of course, there is always the possibility that the teacher was seriously injured or someone in her family was seriously injured, but then they would have retained me for the next day.
But, since they were 1st graders, an age where lying and deception is a bigger sin than murder, they were more than happy to tell me what they should be doing. We wrote stories, drew pictures, played alphabet and number bingo, played heads-up seven-up, read books, learned about the countries that speak Spanish(it was a bilingual class), worked in the math workbooks, etc. So I spent the whole day asking the kids what they should be doing. And they responded...all at once!!
At about 2:05 pm, I was informed that today was the annual Jog-a-Thon. I had missed the window when I would take my kids to run. I was supposed to take them at 10am, but since nobody told me anything about the class, I had no idea. So only the late birds got to go at 2:05 with the Kindergarteners and the Special Ed kids. All they did was run around the Basketball poles and some of the teachers kept count. I couldn't help but think that most of these kids did not know why they were running; they were just running and running and running and then walking and walking and running. They were treated to cold water and oranges after the running was over. I guess that's what they were running for.
After class was over, I came home, exhausted due to only 4 hours of sleep the night before, and I helped my dad move the trailer back into our driveway and push the porsche into the tiny space behind it. It barely fit between the trailer and the gate. Great fun.
I came inside and watched TV. Fred came home and immediately started playing with his new Nextel "waste of money" phone. It is a cool phone, but he did not need another one...he just needed a new service. Nextel is good as a company phone for its radioing capabilities, but not as a personal use phone...too expensive.
I quickly got tired of the constant beeping of his phone as he was radioing back and forth with my cousin, who actually has a business use for his Nextel service, and went upstairs to sleep.
I awoke to the annoying and incessant chirp of that stupid phone of my brothers. He was in his room, but the noise was loud and woke me up.
I taped "The Bachelor" and just finished watching it. I will be watching it weekly. It is very interesting. I especially liked it when the blonde girl at the end of the show started crying because she didn't get a rose. I thought to myself..."Serves you right for being a fake ass bitch". It helped that she was really ugly, or else I might have felt sorry for her. And for that other girl...the curly brown hair girl who couldn't figure out why she wasn't picked..."It's the gap in your teeth...lookin like a Hillbilly or something." I am interested in this show because the drama possibilities are great and I know this show will deliver. As far as going on TV to find a wife/husband, thats kinda "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?"-weird, but at least in "The Bachelor", they are giving the guy a month or something to pick out his potential wife.
Another note, I like the deliberation room. It's a good idea. I think ABC may have a hit (gasp) on their hands.
Tomorrow another day of substituting. Mamma mia! That's a spicy-a meatball!
3.22.2002
Twenty-Fourth Entry
As if an omen, I woke up this morning with a terrible stomach ache and "digestive troubles". The stomach ache is gone, but the "digestive troubles" persist. So now I guess I get to do the stuff on my list from yesterday, but I will have to break often to relieve myself of these "digestive troubles". I think I should go to the store and get some medicine, but I hate taking pills for every little thing...that can be a bad habit.
So now I will start working on Fred's bday present.
As if an omen, I woke up this morning with a terrible stomach ache and "digestive troubles". The stomach ache is gone, but the "digestive troubles" persist. So now I guess I get to do the stuff on my list from yesterday, but I will have to break often to relieve myself of these "digestive troubles". I think I should go to the store and get some medicine, but I hate taking pills for every little thing...that can be a bad habit.
So now I will start working on Fred's bday present.
3.21.2002
Twenty-Third Entry
I was not called in to sub today...partly because I did not call in to tell Karen that my Jury Duty was over. Oh well. I am debating whether or not I should go in tomorrow and sub, if she calls, because I have quite a few errands to run:
- I have to call Cal Poly because someone "misplaced" a very important document. A document without which I cannot get my diploma. My Tech Elec form.
- I have to call the guy handling the insurance stuff from my accident because the other guys insurance sent me some papers to fill out.
- I have to work on and finish Fred's birthday present. His birthday is on Sunday in case you were wondering.
- I have to go to Office Max and purchase file folders and possibly organizing trays to make my room even more super efficient.
- I have to go through all the job postings on the net that I have neglected since last week.
- I have to run a few AutoCAD drills for my midterm on Saturday.
- I have to maintain the extreme cleanliness of my room throughout the day. Of course, if I went to work tomorrow my room would not get any dirty.
- I have to read up on more of my CE texts to try and jog my memory as to all the CE stuff I "forgot".
Of course, the last two will be an ongoing effort and not just tomorrow, at least I hope.
Is anyone else as upset about the Survivor plot twist? I absolutely did not like the way they just switched up the teams like they did. I believe it was an attempt at breaking the spirit of the "Love Tribe" and the "Relax Tribe". Three things can come of this for Rotu:
- The original members gang up on the new members and systematically kick them off when they get a chance. (most likely situation)
- The original members take heed of how the new members live and become lazy, kicking off anyone who pushes them too much. (least likely situation)
- The new members become hard workers like the original members are. (somewhat likely)
For Maraamu, the situation is different. Gina now has friends instead of having to deal with Sarah and her shady cronies. Gina can and is willing to work as hard as the new members are used to. She will fit right in. However, I think that at the next tribal council for Maraamu, there will be a tie as to who gets voted off between Kathy and Paschal, or whatever his name is. I have been banking on Paschal getting voted off for a while. An alliance between Kathy and Gina versus and alliance between Neleh and Paschal. This is just a thought though.
So tonight, instead of watching my usual 5 million hours of TV, I drew in my notebook. I drew a squidlike being hovering over a planet, not necessarily ours, and drawing two human like beings in to one of its three tentacles. Why three you ask? My hands got tired of drawing the tentacles. I also just drew a flat bubble drawing which is just a 9x12 inch sheet of paper covered in these shapes that kind of look like empty balloons.
I have been trying to wean myself from watching TV and rely on VCR instead. I had a dream the other day and I was gobbled up by the advertising and the media. It sent a clear message that being bombarded by car after car, cereal after cereal, beautiful person after beautiful person is just going to rot my brain and drive me insane. My dream went a little like this:
I was working for a huge advertising company as a security agent. Everytime I would walk into my entrance, instead of plants and flowers in the lawn, there were live peoples heads in the ground. Of course, I thought nothing of it. The people were beautiful. Like Cover Girl models or something. Things inside the office were good. The vice-president had just taken over the company due to the CEO's recent retirement. Things were great....
Day after day, the mood in the office was kicked down a notch. The peoples heads in the ground, which were happy and talkative towards each other at first, started to get old and they talked less. I went inside the office one day and talked with the new CEO of the company about this. He threatened if I ever told anyone what was going on, I would pay with my life!! I started to get nervous. The CEO could sense that I would be a weak link in the chain and after I left his office, put an order out to the rest of security to not let me leave alive.
I was running and had to get out of this cesspool of vanity and commercialism! Running and running!! The heads in the ground, which were not much more than skulls at this point, were laughing at me and saying I would never be able to leave!!!
Then I woke up. Very scary. I'm too old for nightmares. I might have a heart attack from them someday.
Hey, is anyone interested in hitting the Karaoke place in Hayward this weekend? Come on!!! I'm in a singin mood.
I was not called in to sub today...partly because I did not call in to tell Karen that my Jury Duty was over. Oh well. I am debating whether or not I should go in tomorrow and sub, if she calls, because I have quite a few errands to run:
- I have to call Cal Poly because someone "misplaced" a very important document. A document without which I cannot get my diploma. My Tech Elec form.
- I have to call the guy handling the insurance stuff from my accident because the other guys insurance sent me some papers to fill out.
- I have to work on and finish Fred's birthday present. His birthday is on Sunday in case you were wondering.
- I have to go to Office Max and purchase file folders and possibly organizing trays to make my room even more super efficient.
- I have to go through all the job postings on the net that I have neglected since last week.
- I have to run a few AutoCAD drills for my midterm on Saturday.
- I have to maintain the extreme cleanliness of my room throughout the day. Of course, if I went to work tomorrow my room would not get any dirty.
- I have to read up on more of my CE texts to try and jog my memory as to all the CE stuff I "forgot".
Of course, the last two will be an ongoing effort and not just tomorrow, at least I hope.
Is anyone else as upset about the Survivor plot twist? I absolutely did not like the way they just switched up the teams like they did. I believe it was an attempt at breaking the spirit of the "Love Tribe" and the "Relax Tribe". Three things can come of this for Rotu:
- The original members gang up on the new members and systematically kick them off when they get a chance. (most likely situation)
- The original members take heed of how the new members live and become lazy, kicking off anyone who pushes them too much. (least likely situation)
- The new members become hard workers like the original members are. (somewhat likely)
For Maraamu, the situation is different. Gina now has friends instead of having to deal with Sarah and her shady cronies. Gina can and is willing to work as hard as the new members are used to. She will fit right in. However, I think that at the next tribal council for Maraamu, there will be a tie as to who gets voted off between Kathy and Paschal, or whatever his name is. I have been banking on Paschal getting voted off for a while. An alliance between Kathy and Gina versus and alliance between Neleh and Paschal. This is just a thought though.
So tonight, instead of watching my usual 5 million hours of TV, I drew in my notebook. I drew a squidlike being hovering over a planet, not necessarily ours, and drawing two human like beings in to one of its three tentacles. Why three you ask? My hands got tired of drawing the tentacles. I also just drew a flat bubble drawing which is just a 9x12 inch sheet of paper covered in these shapes that kind of look like empty balloons.
I have been trying to wean myself from watching TV and rely on VCR instead. I had a dream the other day and I was gobbled up by the advertising and the media. It sent a clear message that being bombarded by car after car, cereal after cereal, beautiful person after beautiful person is just going to rot my brain and drive me insane. My dream went a little like this:
I was working for a huge advertising company as a security agent. Everytime I would walk into my entrance, instead of plants and flowers in the lawn, there were live peoples heads in the ground. Of course, I thought nothing of it. The people were beautiful. Like Cover Girl models or something. Things inside the office were good. The vice-president had just taken over the company due to the CEO's recent retirement. Things were great....
Day after day, the mood in the office was kicked down a notch. The peoples heads in the ground, which were happy and talkative towards each other at first, started to get old and they talked less. I went inside the office one day and talked with the new CEO of the company about this. He threatened if I ever told anyone what was going on, I would pay with my life!! I started to get nervous. The CEO could sense that I would be a weak link in the chain and after I left his office, put an order out to the rest of security to not let me leave alive.
I was running and had to get out of this cesspool of vanity and commercialism! Running and running!! The heads in the ground, which were not much more than skulls at this point, were laughing at me and saying I would never be able to leave!!!
Then I woke up. Very scary. I'm too old for nightmares. I might have a heart attack from them someday.
Hey, is anyone interested in hitting the Karaoke place in Hayward this weekend? Come on!!! I'm in a singin mood.
3.20.2002
Twenty-Second Entry
The case is now completely over. The jury has deliberated, and the verdict has been delivered. It is all over.
Two things:
-Being able to watch a court case on the inside instead of on TV has been extremely interesting. Although it was not completely like Law & Order, it was still very interesting.
-I was super surprised at the quickness of the case. Five days total. Very cool.
I am now going to sleep.
The case is now completely over. The jury has deliberated, and the verdict has been delivered. It is all over.
Two things:
-Being able to watch a court case on the inside instead of on TV has been extremely interesting. Although it was not completely like Law & Order, it was still very interesting.
-I was super surprised at the quickness of the case. Five days total. Very cool.
I am now going to sleep.
3.19.2002
Twenty-First Entry
At approximately 2:30pm today, the Defense rested. Yay. Tomorrow, both sides get to say their closing arguments. Then the jury, thats me and 12 others, get our instructions as to how to deliberate and stuff like that. Jury deliberation may begin as early as tomorrow afternoon. It is all coming to a head as the case goes to the Jury...it is my time to shine!! I am excited because now it is time for us in the Jury to mull over the case and come up with a verdict. High drama!!
At approximately 2:30pm today, the Defense rested. Yay. Tomorrow, both sides get to say their closing arguments. Then the jury, thats me and 12 others, get our instructions as to how to deliberate and stuff like that. Jury deliberation may begin as early as tomorrow afternoon. It is all coming to a head as the case goes to the Jury...it is my time to shine!! I am excited because now it is time for us in the Jury to mull over the case and come up with a verdict. High drama!!
3.18.2002
Twentieth Entry
My room is still clean...it has passed the 24-hour test. Every un-furnished inch of floor is walkable. Very good. The piles on top of the dresser and nightstands are considerably smaller too. It is a truly beautiful sight. I have a sense of accomplishment. After six months of stagnating after coming back from my trip, I feel like I have arrived.
What led up to this feeling of self-motion again:
- I started to work as a sub, giving me a daily routine that my post-Europe life lacked.
- I finished labeling my pictures from Europe, bringing a sense of closure that I had been holding on to post-Europe.
- Having a "near death" experience with my accident. Although Bullet did not come out of the accident unscathed, I did.
- I cleaned my room. It had been in its messy state without change since the day I came back from Europe. Being able to walk into my room without having to tip-toe is a great feeling.
All of these factors, and probably a few more I cannot remember, contributed to my new self-motion. I was in an unbelievable funk for the past week or so, but now its all good.
My room is still clean...it has passed the 24-hour test. Every un-furnished inch of floor is walkable. Very good. The piles on top of the dresser and nightstands are considerably smaller too. It is a truly beautiful sight. I have a sense of accomplishment. After six months of stagnating after coming back from my trip, I feel like I have arrived.
What led up to this feeling of self-motion again:
- I started to work as a sub, giving me a daily routine that my post-Europe life lacked.
- I finished labeling my pictures from Europe, bringing a sense of closure that I had been holding on to post-Europe.
- Having a "near death" experience with my accident. Although Bullet did not come out of the accident unscathed, I did.
- I cleaned my room. It had been in its messy state without change since the day I came back from Europe. Being able to walk into my room without having to tip-toe is a great feeling.
All of these factors, and probably a few more I cannot remember, contributed to my new self-motion. I was in an unbelievable funk for the past week or so, but now its all good.
3.17.2002
Nineteenth Entry
In what could be a turning point in my life, I completed the task of cleaning my room in a marathon of arranging and vacuuming which combined took about 4 hours (2 last night on the Kylie Minogue high, and 2 this morning on a Starbucks caffeine high). Soon the "Get Well Soon, Bullet" shrine will be constructed and they'll be beating a path to my door from as far as the eye can see...which incidentally from my house is the San Leandro hills and the houses down the street...
Its raining...yes!
In what could be a turning point in my life, I completed the task of cleaning my room in a marathon of arranging and vacuuming which combined took about 4 hours (2 last night on the Kylie Minogue high, and 2 this morning on a Starbucks caffeine high). Soon the "Get Well Soon, Bullet" shrine will be constructed and they'll be beating a path to my door from as far as the eye can see...which incidentally from my house is the San Leandro hills and the houses down the street...
Its raining...yes!
3.16.2002
Fifteenth Entry
Wicked.
That is the one word to describe my Karaoke experience last night. The Karaoke place in Hayward has regained my respect by adding several of my favorite singable dance tunes: Little L by Jamiroquai (my favorite band), Let's Dance by Five (now defunct British boyband), Can't Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue (the most gorgeous artist in the world at the moment...if you can read this Kylie, please come to the US on tour!), etc. They also, somehow, got their hands on Flowers in the Window by Travis (my second favorite band).
I sang my ass off, and it was fun. I guess I was just in one of those moods last night...working off a week full of aggressions: substituting, jury duty, and other things I do not care to mention at the moment.
I was infinitely happy with the Karaoke additions!!! I hope to go back soon and share the new additions with the folks that missed out...you know who you are.
Wicked.
That is the one word to describe my Karaoke experience last night. The Karaoke place in Hayward has regained my respect by adding several of my favorite singable dance tunes: Little L by Jamiroquai (my favorite band), Let's Dance by Five (now defunct British boyband), Can't Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue (the most gorgeous artist in the world at the moment...if you can read this Kylie, please come to the US on tour!), etc. They also, somehow, got their hands on Flowers in the Window by Travis (my second favorite band).
I sang my ass off, and it was fun. I guess I was just in one of those moods last night...working off a week full of aggressions: substituting, jury duty, and other things I do not care to mention at the moment.
I was infinitely happy with the Karaoke additions!!! I hope to go back soon and share the new additions with the folks that missed out...you know who you are.
Fourteenth Entry
So today was my weekly AutoCAD class. We were supposed to have a test, but in light of the fact that so many people are behind in the class, the prof postponed the test until next Saturday. Very good.
I really like the class, but it is getting increasingly hard to get up on Saturday mornings to go to it. For the past few classes, I had been getting pretty bored. I was always done way ahead of time, and found myself with nothing to do but go home. Today, however, the prof felt kind of sorry for those of us that were ahead and gave us some extra work. Those who know me, know that I am not too keen on extra credit work. But, I actually enjoyed all the extra work today. I am beginning to love AutoCAD...at least as much as a man can love software.
Since I have nothing to do tonight (Am, Car, J & Lis are in SJ tonight and Lou is with Tim), I was thinking of working more ahead on my AutoCAD tonight but decided to make attempt number 5 at cleaning my room. Perhaps I will also create that "Get Well Soon, Bullet" display that I was hoping to do.
So today was my weekly AutoCAD class. We were supposed to have a test, but in light of the fact that so many people are behind in the class, the prof postponed the test until next Saturday. Very good.
I really like the class, but it is getting increasingly hard to get up on Saturday mornings to go to it. For the past few classes, I had been getting pretty bored. I was always done way ahead of time, and found myself with nothing to do but go home. Today, however, the prof felt kind of sorry for those of us that were ahead and gave us some extra work. Those who know me, know that I am not too keen on extra credit work. But, I actually enjoyed all the extra work today. I am beginning to love AutoCAD...at least as much as a man can love software.
Since I have nothing to do tonight (Am, Car, J & Lis are in SJ tonight and Lou is with Tim), I was thinking of working more ahead on my AutoCAD tonight but decided to make attempt number 5 at cleaning my room. Perhaps I will also create that "Get Well Soon, Bullet" display that I was hoping to do.
3.13.2002
Thirteenth Entry
Today was Jury Duty. Guess who gets to be on a jury??
MEEE.
It promises to be an interesting experience. I want to see the lawyers go all Law and Order on the witnesses. If its not like that, I want my money back...just kidding.
Of course, I am not at liberty to discuss the nature of the case, nor the proceedings themselves.
The Judge promised that the case would only last 4-6 days. This will be interesting.
Goooooo Jury Duty!!!
Today was Jury Duty. Guess who gets to be on a jury??
MEEE.
It promises to be an interesting experience. I want to see the lawyers go all Law and Order on the witnesses. If its not like that, I want my money back...just kidding.
Of course, I am not at liberty to discuss the nature of the case, nor the proceedings themselves.
The Judge promised that the case would only last 4-6 days. This will be interesting.
Goooooo Jury Duty!!!
3.12.2002
Twelfth Entry
The verdict is in...Bullet is going to undergo an extensive recuperation in the capable hands of Moeller Brothers.
Total damage: $18,000 +
I will now pray for his prompt and successful recovery for the next FIVE WEEKS. I have decided to turn one of my walls into a "Get Well Bullet" shrine. People will come from all over to see it...at least they will once I clean my bedroom up and it becomes walkable again (misplaced modifier??).
According to my dad, who saw Bullet on Monday, he is half naked. They removed the whole back half of the body (truck bed, etc.) and the hood and the front-side panels. I kinda want to see it, but I dont know if I can handle seeing Bullet in so much pain.
On a lighter note...I have to report for jury duty tomorrow in Hayward. I hate jury dury.
The verdict is in...Bullet is going to undergo an extensive recuperation in the capable hands of Moeller Brothers.
Total damage: $18,000 +
I will now pray for his prompt and successful recovery for the next FIVE WEEKS. I have decided to turn one of my walls into a "Get Well Bullet" shrine. People will come from all over to see it...at least they will once I clean my bedroom up and it becomes walkable again (misplaced modifier??).
According to my dad, who saw Bullet on Monday, he is half naked. They removed the whole back half of the body (truck bed, etc.) and the hood and the front-side panels. I kinda want to see it, but I dont know if I can handle seeing Bullet in so much pain.
On a lighter note...I have to report for jury duty tomorrow in Hayward. I hate jury dury.
Eleventh Entry
Its been a while.
Thursday, March 7th was my latest foray into the world of live music. For my brothers birthday, which isnt for another 4 months, I took him to the Gorillaz concert at the Warfield in San Francisco. As you all know, the Gorillaz are an animated band. I guess the real band members are too ugly to be seen so they need even uglier cartoons to make them look good...except they are never seen...whatever.
The opening act SUCKED!!! It was some random DJ and he was spinning the crappiest rap records. When he tried to scratch, his suckiness became even more apparent. It was just horrible. And he was on for an hour. BOOOOOO.
The Gorillaz were really good. On stage was a screen. The top half of the screen was video of the cartoons. The bottom half of the screen was like four sheets of some sheer fabric. The actual band members were right behind it. They had a bunch of lights behind them and you could see their shadows on the four screens. It was a cool effect. The music was really good. After a few of the songs, they would play some funny cartoon clips. One had Noodle pitted against Russel in a sumo wrestling match while 2D and Murdoc watched and made jokes. It was comedy.
After watching the excellent Gorillaz, Firmino and I made our way to the BART station and waited for what seemed like an eternity for the Dublin/Pleasanton train. We looked at the stickers they gave us at the concert. We lamented the fact that we forgot to get some posters.
After boarding the train, and after the West Oakland station, a guy sat next to Firmino and started ranting about his incompetent paralegal. He was a lawyer and said that Firmino would probably do a better job as his paralegal than this "stupid bitch". After the paralegal bashing was done, I commented on his cell phone. Very nice. Firmino said that people at his school had it. Then started the Asian and African-American bashing. My first instinct when I heard this was to laugh out of shock that he would say these things to kids he did not even know.
He later promised Firmino that he would recruit kids for the legal profession at his school, and that he never forgets a face...sounds like a horror movie.
Its been a while.
Thursday, March 7th was my latest foray into the world of live music. For my brothers birthday, which isnt for another 4 months, I took him to the Gorillaz concert at the Warfield in San Francisco. As you all know, the Gorillaz are an animated band. I guess the real band members are too ugly to be seen so they need even uglier cartoons to make them look good...except they are never seen...whatever.
The opening act SUCKED!!! It was some random DJ and he was spinning the crappiest rap records. When he tried to scratch, his suckiness became even more apparent. It was just horrible. And he was on for an hour. BOOOOOO.
The Gorillaz were really good. On stage was a screen. The top half of the screen was video of the cartoons. The bottom half of the screen was like four sheets of some sheer fabric. The actual band members were right behind it. They had a bunch of lights behind them and you could see their shadows on the four screens. It was a cool effect. The music was really good. After a few of the songs, they would play some funny cartoon clips. One had Noodle pitted against Russel in a sumo wrestling match while 2D and Murdoc watched and made jokes. It was comedy.
After watching the excellent Gorillaz, Firmino and I made our way to the BART station and waited for what seemed like an eternity for the Dublin/Pleasanton train. We looked at the stickers they gave us at the concert. We lamented the fact that we forgot to get some posters.
After boarding the train, and after the West Oakland station, a guy sat next to Firmino and started ranting about his incompetent paralegal. He was a lawyer and said that Firmino would probably do a better job as his paralegal than this "stupid bitch". After the paralegal bashing was done, I commented on his cell phone. Very nice. Firmino said that people at his school had it. Then started the Asian and African-American bashing. My first instinct when I heard this was to laugh out of shock that he would say these things to kids he did not even know.
He later promised Firmino that he would recruit kids for the legal profession at his school, and that he never forgets a face...sounds like a horror movie.
3.02.2002
Tenth Entry
Congratulations! You are the tenth entry!
As I sit at home, bored stiff on a Saturday night because I chose to be, I am thinking of how much it sucks to live paycheck to paycheck. Although I have only gotten one paycheck, I can already sort of see the cycle that I am getting into. I didn't have enough this month to pay all my bills due to the fact that I started to work half way through the last pay period. But I can already see that with a whole paycheck, I will barely be able to pay all my bills. Damn bills and debt!
More and more I am becoming afraid of debt. All but one of my bills are to pay off a debt. I cannot wait until I send in the last payment for each and every one of those debts. Of course, by then I will have incurred another debt...mortgage payment, another car payment, and probably more credit cards. It is a vicious cycle of debt. No fun. At all.
I must scrimp and save from here on out. I need to work at getting rid of the debt faster. I got it...a Garage Sale!!! That would suck.
Congratulations! You are the tenth entry!
As I sit at home, bored stiff on a Saturday night because I chose to be, I am thinking of how much it sucks to live paycheck to paycheck. Although I have only gotten one paycheck, I can already sort of see the cycle that I am getting into. I didn't have enough this month to pay all my bills due to the fact that I started to work half way through the last pay period. But I can already see that with a whole paycheck, I will barely be able to pay all my bills. Damn bills and debt!
More and more I am becoming afraid of debt. All but one of my bills are to pay off a debt. I cannot wait until I send in the last payment for each and every one of those debts. Of course, by then I will have incurred another debt...mortgage payment, another car payment, and probably more credit cards. It is a vicious cycle of debt. No fun. At all.
I must scrimp and save from here on out. I need to work at getting rid of the debt faster. I got it...a Garage Sale!!! That would suck.
3.01.2002
Ninth Entry
I moseyed on down to Moellers Body Shop today cuz they called. I got the preliminary estimate for the repairs on Bullet today...$13,450. Very high. I was reassured though that all I am going to pay is the $500 deductible, if that. Thank God for auto insurance.
The guy (Mr. Moeller perhaps?) also said that the repair could take up to 3-4 weeks! Arrrgh!!
With the preliminary estimate came digital pictures of Bullet. The pictures show the front end all squashed, but do not accurately depict the severity of the damage done to the bed.
At the top of the estimate, the letterhead for the Body Shop included a little bit of Body Shop humor which gave me a good laugh. It said, "We meet some of the nicest people by accident..."
My neck still hurts, it was harder to drive today than yesterday. Because my neck is sorer than yesterday, I cannot completely look over my shoulder when backing up without considerable pain. I am positive it is just a pulled muscle and will heal in a few days or so. At least it better be...no health insurance!
What else happened today...I did not sub today. I think Karen was waiting for me to call to say I was OK to sub today. Its probably more likely that they just had enough subs today. Duh...
I moseyed on down to Moellers Body Shop today cuz they called. I got the preliminary estimate for the repairs on Bullet today...$13,450. Very high. I was reassured though that all I am going to pay is the $500 deductible, if that. Thank God for auto insurance.
The guy (Mr. Moeller perhaps?) also said that the repair could take up to 3-4 weeks! Arrrgh!!
With the preliminary estimate came digital pictures of Bullet. The pictures show the front end all squashed, but do not accurately depict the severity of the damage done to the bed.
At the top of the estimate, the letterhead for the Body Shop included a little bit of Body Shop humor which gave me a good laugh. It said, "We meet some of the nicest people by accident..."
My neck still hurts, it was harder to drive today than yesterday. Because my neck is sorer than yesterday, I cannot completely look over my shoulder when backing up without considerable pain. I am positive it is just a pulled muscle and will heal in a few days or so. At least it better be...no health insurance!
What else happened today...I did not sub today. I think Karen was waiting for me to call to say I was OK to sub today. Its probably more likely that they just had enough subs today. Duh...
Eighth Entry
I can't sleep. My neck hurts. It hurts more than it did before. It is just sore I guess, but its enough to cause pain when I try to use the muscles in my neck. Tomorrow I will feel better maybe. After my neck and thumb get better, it will be time for the "Family Flu". Donations of Chicken Soup or Jamba Juice are welcome during this time period.
I went to In 'n Out today with Louish. It was in celebration of my "near death experience". Then we went and looked for my beloved and befallen Bullet at the Body Shop he was admitted to. He was in the Intensive Care Garage and not outside where it would be visible to gawkers and little children. **sniff**
I got my first paycheck today. It was good enough to pay two student loan payments, and two credit cards. I will now try to perform the "Jen's Brothers Credit Card Balance Shuffle". It can be done.
Must sleep.....
I can't sleep. My neck hurts. It hurts more than it did before. It is just sore I guess, but its enough to cause pain when I try to use the muscles in my neck. Tomorrow I will feel better maybe. After my neck and thumb get better, it will be time for the "Family Flu". Donations of Chicken Soup or Jamba Juice are welcome during this time period.
I went to In 'n Out today with Louish. It was in celebration of my "near death experience". Then we went and looked for my beloved and befallen Bullet at the Body Shop he was admitted to. He was in the Intensive Care Garage and not outside where it would be visible to gawkers and little children. **sniff**
I got my first paycheck today. It was good enough to pay two student loan payments, and two credit cards. I will now try to perform the "Jen's Brothers Credit Card Balance Shuffle". It can be done.
Must sleep.....
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