In defiance of "average."

Firefly

2009-12-31T03:40:02Z

Watched six episodes with Kelsey (interrupted for food at Mother India). I'm a fan of both now. :D

I think Dad would like Firefly. Except for, you know, companions and all. But really, he would.

Also, I apologize to my car for being bad to it. >

Somehow I don't think I'm going to work tomorrow.

2009-12-25T18:07:02Z

This is the second blizzard in two weeks, and I'm not quite halfway up a steep, unplowed hill.

Merry Christmas?

Also, I had another one of "those" conversations with the parents last night.

"Where do you get these ideas from?"
Where do you get your ideas from?
"You know where I get them."
You think through them and you decide you believe them. Same as me.
"...Let's go open presents."

Could have been worse.

I lol'd.

2009-12-15T01:30:09Z

There is no freedom to be had with an automobile.

2009-12-14T18:49:33Z

The mechanic first thought the rack and pinion system needed to be replaced. That was going to be about $600, half parts and half labor. It turns out that the cam connected to my power steering jammed. We were quoted $1500 in labor alone to fix it. Considering that I bought the car for $1000, and have so far paid half of $1800 for subsequent repairs...well.

I can still turn, after a fashion, so I'm just gonna keep driving it at my own peril until it's paid off.

After that?

Keeping this car running has kept my savings essentially flat, and that's only with my family picking up repair bills and letting me make payments on them. (Dad wanted to forgive me the rest of what I owe him, in light of the steering issue. That's not fair to either of us.) As I predicted when I started filling out applications, I took a job to pay for a car to get to the job to pay for the car.

If I get a loan for a slightly newer, more expensive, not necessarily more durable car, that cycle is going to continue. In the event I do run out of tuition before I get my degree, I'll have to take out student loans, too. Not to mention, if I were to crash my second car and die (I don't think it's entirely unlikely), since my parents have said they would co-sign a car loan, they would get to pay for my funeral and what's left of the car.

So I'm going to drive Isis until everyone is paid off, and probably continue to drive her until she suffers an even more irritatingly catastrophic failure. After that, depending on the season, I'm planning on asking to borrow my parents' minivan, or taking the bus, to work on weekends. Savings unburdened by repair payments, loan payments, insurance payments, gas, oil, windshield wipers, refrigerant, tires, brake pads, carbon offsets...

The sucky part is that, in the end, my savings will probably have to go to another money pit of a dissatisfying American dream.

Four more months.

2009-12-10T02:56:43Z

Went back home today for mom's birthday dinner. For those unaware, the Midwest got roughly a foot of snow all over yesterday. Since the snow ended by this morning and I was taking the Interstate, I figured it'd be at least as safe as driving during the snow Sunday night.

Funny thing about taking a 25mph onramp at 25mph after a heavy snowfall... Okay, so the road was here (gesture), and my wheels lost traction, I panicked, spun the steering this way, spun the steering that way, quickly came to rest here (parallel gesture) parallel to the road, with my wheels in the snow on the shoulder. Friendly people came to push me out right as I finally got my act together and was gonna get out to ask.

There's no excuse for my trying to get up the hill to home after that. Sure, there were previous tire tracks going up. But a 4x4 SUV my Alero is not. I'm not sure, either, that I could have gotten down again without sledding straight across 30th (a busy thoroughfare in any weather) and anything taking up space thereon. Again, friendly people appeared to push me out, and, humbled, I parked in the Walgreens.

Think I may have blown my power steering from that incident, though...at first, I thought it was packed snow from running into the hill, blocking the wheels. I scraped all of that out of the wheel wells, and I still gained some muscle mass driving home (very, very carefully). I guess we'll see.

Not of this World

2009-12-07T06:02:04Z

First winter driving in some time, and first winter driving on fresh-fallen (and falling) snow. The world and the road were deathly quiet, and as I felt my way down the Interstate doing some 40 miles an hour, I was lost in this enveloping, Floyd-esque Petra song and album. It really was otherworldly out there, and I wondered for more than a moment if I was scoring my funeral. Not a religious experience, but certainly one of my spirit.

Black Friday virginity taken

2009-11-28T05:07:37Z

On the receiving end of it, no less.

Figuring that attempting a full block of sleep was useless and/or unnecessary after an evening nap, I watched Cowboy Bebop until 1 in the morning, then slept 'til 4:30. Apparently I did time my sleep cycles pretty perfectly, because I woke up feeling nice and refreshed, and I haven't slowed down yet.

To the credit of a sliver of humanity, only a dozenish people were waiting outside OfficeMax when I got there at 6:30. (There were a couple of somewhat creepy requests to "send your managers out to us" to confirm or explain details of the "we open the store, you enter and buy stuff" process.) After a brief huddle and exhortations by the managers to sell sell sell, we milled around inside until 7:00, and I watched in curiosity and mild bemusement as three or four dozen people steadily streamed into the store.

It took about thirty seconds until the first customer hit my register, I took a breath, and then I looked down at the screen and it was 7:30. I inhaled again, and sold a few more cameras and shredders. By virtue of sheer volume of opportunities, I sold a ton of replacement plans, definitely a few hours' worth of pay. People were as receptive or stolid about them as always, but the managerial folk seemed content. I jump through hoops for pocket change on a daily basis, but there is definitely a drive of competition (with other associates, with myself) to see how well I can convince someone that they need something extra, even extraneous. (Insurance on flash drives is silly. But cameras are ever at the mercy of 9.8m/s², as I well know.)

The Christmas music kicked in without fanfare by about 9. It was kind of refreshing compared to the stale 50- or 100-song standard maintained year-round by Muzak. Mainly because I have plenty of respect for Mr. Sinatra's vocal talent. But, Julie said she was going to kill someone by the end of the week. Luckily, she isn't working on Saturday.

By 10:00 my knees and thighs were burning from standing virtually solid the whole time (a fine idea, working Black Friday after a week off for theater), and I took to leaning more weight on the counters; it kept my knees from buckling at one or two points. The flood of consumers tapered quickly after 7:30, but we were still steadily busy, with only a few quiet spells, by the time I left at 3:00. It still didn't often occur to me to stretch my legs or dive back for a drink of water, for which I'm still facing silent reprimands.

On the way out, I doubled back to aisle 3 to examine a certain item that had passed under my scanner several times and caught my eye. A good deal, but not so good it was gone; one holiday shopping item is out of the way. If you can resist the temptation until the time is right, working retail is probably the best way to find the bargains.

Speaking of, Dad bought a clearance laptop (and only the laptop, to my managers' chagrin -- but who knows my parents' "total solution" better than I do?). 'Bout time.

"My life is awesome"

2009-11-23T20:23:33Z

I wound up staying at the house for about six hours last night, because laundry takes an ungodly amount of time, and I split it into three loads instead of the usual two. The holdover was pretty annoying, but I realized I had a lot of free time and the replacement stereo for the Alero. The fact it was dark out and we don't have a garage didn't deter me, although it took me a minute to realize I needed a flashlight. You can't very well work under the dome light when you've disconnected the battery.

So 8 PM found me in the driver's seat holding a flashlight, prying at the dash with a screwdriver. Didn't look suspicious at all, when you consider the hood was up, the keys were in the ignition (can't remove the key when you've set the car in "drive" -- having a floor shifter, that's the only way to make room to pull the stereo cover out), and I had a full socket and spanner set on the passenger seat. Plus an extra identical stereo. I'm sure any cop walking his beat would have had a good time with me.

Took about half an hour of fumbling, but I now have a CD player that (hopefully) works consistently, and I have a tape player that just plain works. Given my extensive cassette library (250 or so?), this is a major plus (and is why I went with "just" another stock stereo; I couldn't find any aftermarkets with both tape and CD). And now I can use the tape adapter for the MP3 player. It was very nice to finally play my Simon and Garfunkel Concert in Central Park tape on the drive home last night.

How about today? We just went over homework in math and don't have that class tomorrow, so I had lunch for once, delicious hot wings (I love hot wings, they convince me the universe is innately good), and now I'm killing time before homework. Japanese class tomorrow and then it's Thanksgiving break.

...I'm trying to figure out how much of my stuff I "have" to haul back home to make it in comfort there 'til Sunday night. I really wish food service stayed open constantly, 'cause breaks annoy me now, and that's no good.

But hey, hot wings! :D

Mashup!

2009-11-20T05:27:08Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT5eJwgAtvY

"Sweet Dreams are Made of Seven Nation Army"
And honestly, I think Annie Lennox and Jack White together would be a great collab (you know, if done for real).

Ouran High School Host Club

2009-11-13T06:18:38Z

I just watched the last couple episodes, finally.

AND NOW I AM VERY SAD.

(Come on, why didn't Tamaki and Haruhi kiss?)

P.S. I'd totally cosplay Tamaki, particularly because I love the various Host Club outfits, but I'm not willing to cut my blond locks that short. :P

Petty unenthusiasm

2009-11-11T02:32:53Z

I think it's just gonna be one of those weeks, you know? It could just be that laziness is my nature (if there was a way to confirm this, I wouldn't bother), but I'm in one of those positions where there are many things I could and should be doing, but none I really want to move on. As if I haven't posted this entry a hundred times before.

Here's what I could be doing, and why I'm not.

Getting a flu shot. I actually just called the pharmacy, and, nope, they're still out. They should have gotten more shots in last week. As long as I don't get ill while I wait...
Cleaning my room. Really? For whose benefit?
Studying calculus. My test grades continually surprise me. Plus I think I finally got what's going on this chapter. Except when they write problems requiring weird and crazy algebra tricks that don't even begin to occur to me.
Watching movies. That's probably in the cards for later. I watched Mad Max 2 last night and it was the awesomest thing since awesome came to awesometown. I'm thinking Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome next. I'm happy to say I've been watching more movies lately; but there's also this particular image of the movie-watching escapist that nags at me. It isn't that bad, though.
Biting my nails. Actually, I am doing that again. Grr.
UNO theater stuff. Well, not right now, because if I needed to be doing it now, I'm sure I'd be effectively fired already. But I'm debating doing it later, as in "after-this-show" later. It's my first semester, I'm still not amazingly involved -- even for a tech -- but so far I'm lacking that mix of busyness and the right people that I enjoy about drama. Also, I miss acting at the Rose, but I'm not sure I want to commit to anything beyond just teching right now, because the amount of rehearsals and the amount in my bank account are likely inversely proportional. I can do that for three weeks of tech and performances, but I'd like to keep up the pace at which I'm paying my car debt.
Collaborative playwriting stuff. Probably later, when fatigue depresses my self-consciousness/inertia regarding writing fiction for other people. Although this project I got myself involved in is the present compromise between acting and income, and between acting and not.
Hanging out with people. It's "late" to be going out (by my standards), and my high school friends are less able to do that than I am, anyway. People in the dorm? I'm acquainted with some, but that basically goes as far as talking in the cafeteria and saying "hi" in the halls. I'm not actively reclusive, I'm just not outgoing in the face of the unfamiliar. At all. I'm not really complaining, except that I feel weird about the fact I keep to myself when I do run into people as soon as I step outside my room. I could probably go a day or two without talking to anyone in person, if left to my own devices.
Snacking. 'Cause I didn't stuff myself at dinner. My food supply for when I'm hungry and the cafeteria is closed (mainly on days I work) are a couple cans of orange soda and some ramen. I'd stock more various and healthful items, but usually I do get all my food from the cafeteria; if I got anything fresh or even opened-but-refrigerated it would probably have gone bad before the next time I raided the fridge. Constantly buying food for myself to keep a good in-and-out flow costs money.
OmahaFeed. I need to redesign the engine (which currently fetches and formats various types of feeds with individual functions) to do all the formatting in one function, with a feed type parameter. Then I need to learn AJAX so people can refresh feeds without refreshing the whole page. But that's so much work, you know...
Programming. Oh shit, I do need to study for that. Now.

Work schedules

2009-11-07T16:45:28Z

Friday, paper tech day, submitted the time-off request a month ago -- can probably change.
Sunday, playwriting meeting, submitted the schedule change two weeks ago -- can't change.
Transition period between paper and electronic time-off request systems -- unavoidable.

Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

This is my church.

2009-11-03T05:22:03Z

Listening to the KLF Chill Out. If you have any taste for electronic or ambient music, my suggestion is to obtain a copy, dim the lights, put on headphones, and listen quietly for 45 minutes. Chill Out, the album, defines "chill out," the genre; it's a conceptual journey by the two Britons through the American South at night, built on pad synths and reverb, samples of songs and newsreaders and evangelical radio, and the lulling heartbeat of the trains. Ambient music like this, introspective instead of pretentiously new-age, takes me far away. It's a good followup to The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (particularly considering Jimmy Cauty co-founded the Orb).

Two defining tracks: "Wichita Lineman Was a Song I Once Knew" and particularly "Madrugada Eterna" together are a microcosm of the overall album, and are two of its longest tracks.

Now Open: OmahaFeed.com

2009-10-27T02:56:06Z

I'm pleased to announce the launch of my new site, OmahaFeed.

OmahaFeed's gimmick is that it brings together mixes of RSS newsfeeds into a few simple pages, grouped by broad subject -- Omaha news, national, sports, entertainment, etc. It's really pretty nifty, and even if you don't live around here, maybe check it out for a second just to see, hmm?

It's the first site I've brought live (as a personal project) in a few years, and represents months of work on-and-off -- mostly off -- screwing around in the GIMP, gluing together open-sourced JavaScript and PHP by trial and error, and learning page layout all over again, but with CSS. There's a lot of tweaking to be done, a couple more pages to add, and more interesting/relevant tie-ins to be placed on the pages, but I felt I might as well launch, because it was better than letting the code continue to sit unseen. And there's definitely something satisfying about having my own site again, and on its own domain name, even.

So there it is. Visiting's appreciated, and comments doubly so. Enjoy? Maybe, please?

Most e-cigarette regulation is a solution looking for a problem

2009-10-26T19:53:23Z

I picked up USA Today earlier (yeah, yeah), and saw an article on the bottom of the front page about an apparent flurry of legislative action erupting over the rising popularity of e-cigarettes.

Basically, e-cigs are a battery, an atomizer, a cartridge of liquid nicotine, and maybe a pretty LED that lights up when you puff. That's right, you aren't inhaling a burning pile of leaves (which, intuitively, is bad for you); you're inhaling a fine mist of mainly nicotine. That's a lot better than taking in the 1000-some products of additive-ridden tobacco combustion, most notably tar. And, secondhand smoke is basically a non-issue; it's not like it's constantly trailing smoke from the tip or you're exhaling like a chimney.

So what do I read? California tried to ban selling e-cigarettes (the Governator said no). Oregon's gotten retailers not to sell them. A New Jersey Assemblywoman wants to restrict them in the same ways as regular cigarettes. A NJ town wants to subject them to the cigarette smoking ban.

Granted: The FDA's found some carcinogenic products in the e-cigarette liquid. These products are usually made overseas and shipped here, and since they're a pretty new invention (the last few years), nobody important has really paid much attention.

The solution? Regulate it. Say "these things can't contain any of these chemicals that are bad for you." I'm sure that manufacturers eager to tap into the American markets will be happy to adjust their formulae accordingly, just like they usually don't paint children's toys with lead oxides anymore. And sure,ban minors from using e-cigarettes, just like they can't buy cigarettes, cigars, chew, or Nicorette patches. Taking this action would be both reasonable and consistent with what we expect the FDA to do: keep us safe and don't let the children have it.

Then, I vote, stop there, before leaping across the line that separates reason from moral panic. Why not let people use e-cigarettes indoors, while they work at the office or relax in the bar? No smoke, no carcinogens (after the FDA does what it's supposed to) -- no problem. Do you have a problem with the Coke can on my desk, full of (wonderful) psychoactive, addictive caffeine? I'm not pouring it down your throat. I'm not even slurping. Does the act of lifting a can to my lips, drinking, and setting it back down distract you that much? Having to watch someone smoke is quite possibly the only danger to others that using an e-cigarette indoors could pose.

So what's so bad about people puffing on e-cigarettes, keeping the mist and the nicotine quite to themselves? Especially when you consider that a lot of people, even most of them, aren't going to quit -- they just aren't, even if they try a dozen times. Nicotine addiction is rightly called such. Addiction aside, some people actually like smoking -- the physical act, the image, the nicotine buzz (really?). So be realistic. Your lifelong-smoker employee is going to be more cost-effective when he's typing away, vaping an e-cig in his cubicle, than when he's stepping outside every half-hour to light up, then eventually not coming in at all because he's dying of lung cancer and your health insurance plan is paying for it.

I have an idea: If we didn't pay legislators to do their jobs, they wouldn't feel the need to legislate for the sake of legislating. They'd solve the real public-safety concerns, and then move on with their lives -- and let us move on with our own.

Disclaimer: I've never even used an e-cig.

Got a few minutes before I leave for work, so.

2009-10-25T16:32:44Z

I went to see Funny Girl at Mercy on Friday (for the sake of my younger friends in theater :P). The costumes and set were excellent, the singing was pretty good, the mere act of tap-dancing is an impressive feat. I thought the plot itself was a little incoherent, but the cast still did a fine job. It was basically just an evening well spent.

Then last night I saw You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at North. My dad played piano for a one-act production of the same when he was in high school, and when I was a little kid I'd listen to the tape Grandpa made of it, over and over again. So I definitely knew most of what was coming, which didn't stop me from laughing, applauding, and thoroughly enjoying myself. The set was suitably cartoonishly bright and simple. The singing was amazing, pretty perfectly harmonized. And, of course, I knew basically everybody on stage, but to pick favorites while playing favorites: Rachel always, always pulls off the evil sweetheart role (even in real life), and the added existential angst was hilarious; who wouldn't like Katie's flamboyant Snoopy?; and, of course, Stephen was the ever-hopeful and earnest Charlie Brown.

It was so weird, though, to suddenly run into almost all the people from North who I used to see so much, after...well, half a year of not. Especially since DJ, Matt, Richard, and I went to Rachel's afterward to watch Shaun of the Dead (first time I'd seen it, excellent comedy); so it wasn't just the current underclassmen I was seeing. It's a scene I miss, and people I miss, and I'm probably gonna continue failing to keep up with everyone like I should and like I want to. It was so much easier when we all happened to be in the same building, eating the same (quote) food (unquote), taking the same classes, doing the same shows. And Facebook is not the easy solution. lol

Removal of eBay listing 260493447362

2009-10-21T00:10:42Z

To whom it may concern:

My eBay listing, number 260493447362, titled "Windows 7 Ultimate, full
version, CDs and key -- NR!" was recently removed from the site
"because it violated eBay policy." This was done at the behest of
Microsoft's NetSafe team, claiming unauthorized distribution of
Microsoft software.

The notification e-mail I received, regarding the listing removal,
noted consequences up to and including the suspension of my account in
response to various possible violations that my auction may have
committed. None of these violations apply. The copy of Windows 7
Ultimate which I offered for sale was authentic, full Microsoft
software, obtained from a Microsoft Expert Zone promotion. As such, it
was not a backup copy, pirated, duplicated, bootlegged, academic,
beta, or OEM software; nor was its sale a case of unauthorized
distribution, as is made clear by the case of Matthew Elder.

Several days ago, Mr. Elder attempted to sell a Windows 7 Ultimate
party pack on eBay, which was subsequently taken down at Microsoft's
behest, with justification similar to what I received today. I would
like to remind the NetSafe team, as Mr. Elder did, of the "first-sale
doctrine." I legally was given authentic Microsoft software by the
company itself or its authorized agents, and as such have the right to
resell the software.

Please refer to the federal court ruling allowing the reselling of
promo CDs ("UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Troy Augusto et al".,
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/umg_v_augusto/LA07CV03106SJO-O.pdf),
as well as "Microsoft Corp. v. Zamos" (which Microsoft lost),
concerning the right of a student to resell academic-discount copies
of Microsoft operating systems on eBay. For further reference, the
neowin.net article concerning Mr. Elder's dispute with the NetSafe
team may be found at
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/10/16/man-wins-right-to-sell-windows-7-party-pack-on-ebay
-- I should note that Mr. Elder's auction was subsequently reinstated.

I would appreciate it very much if my auction listing were similarly
reinstated. Furthermore, I request that the NetSafe team notify eBay
that I was not in violation of eBay policies, that I might not be
subject to penalties for violations which I did not commit.

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to a timely reply from
your team, and/or the satisfactory resolution of this matter.

Regards,
(name)
eBay user attacca12

I gots new shooooooes.

2009-10-05T19:55:32Z

Mono-black chucks, just like my last ones. But less holey. *rimshot*

Mr. Billings

2009-09-14T04:52:47Z

Apparently Mr. Drew Billings died a couple of days ago. As my technical director, mentor, and comedian during the brief time we worked together on Aida, he'll be missed very much.

Atheism, death, fear thereof

2009-09-12T03:14:41Z

I wonder about death a lot, and about living until dying. As an atheist, I do find it accurate to say that "When you die, nothing happens." Callous though that may seem, I also freely admit that death means very much: to the dying, until he is dead; and to his friends, family, and acquaintances for some time after.

The key word is until. It's logical for a conscious person to fear the loss of that consciousness, because consciousness is self, and self-preservation is instinct. And I do fear it. But when my consciousness is lost, that loss ceases to matter to me.

Common sense, of course, can be freely acknowledged even as we are beset by, or indulge in emotionality. For example, though we're not being tested for any reward or consequence, most of us want to leave a certain mark on the world, or on our own selves before we cease to be.

In light of that, I submit a quote from Off the Map, which I've been reading off and on lately. Unfortunately, taken on its own, this quote may seem trite, but in the context of the rest of the book (worth the $2 -- yes, seriously -- and far more), I think it really is an explanation, a calling, and a comfort to us irrational human beings.

Hibickina and I walked through Tarbes, talking about Jean-Pierre and all of the stories that sit untold in the hearts of older people. We're all fed such false messages about success in life, made to believe it's a point of arrival. So most of us spend our whole lives waiting to arrive. We expect that once we get there, the long story of the life we just lived will be infused with meaning. But while we're waiting our voices dry up. They forget how to ask, they forget how to listen, they forget how to tell.

Keep that in mind, even if you think this life is just one chapter.

Math, I has it

2009-09-09T05:03:43Z

I find "misplaced" items twice as quickly as I did in my old room, which was four times the size of my present digs. This suggests an inverse square relationship between room size and item location, and proves the futility of sleeping in my closet in an effort to seriously expedite recovery.

Oh well. Found my bath bucket, anyway.

Got the stereo hooked up and I'm good.

2009-08-23T05:55:46Z

It's a cozy 8x11 box. The bed's lofted, the other wall's already lined with my bookshelves, the closet's filling, and I expect to monkey my way around here for the next nine months. Once I put up some posters to cover what the bookshelves didn't, and drag in another computer (and temporarily acquire some flatscreens, because this desk cannot take my beloved Trinitron behemoths), and maybe haul in all my 8-tracks -- yes, there's room -- it'll be a worthy substitute for home.

I love my old bedroom, essentially a studio apartment without the facilities, but I also like a cozy space. When I was a kid and we lived in the house on Redick, I made a clubhouse out of the walk-in closet (3x9, if that). Tied a flashlight from the hangar rack, set up some chairs, added books, and called it awesome. It's all about the atmosphere and the stuff; I was surrounded by stuff in the bigger room, and about half that stuff surrounds me in here in the smaller one. Cheery paint job there, plenty of room for posters here.

But uh, dragging it out in nine months is gonna be a royal pain. Why no year-round lease? And where's my hot tub?

Five-second rule!

2009-08-21T05:38:14Z

So today was the first of two "Durango Days" to get incoming students pumped for life at UNO. We had an orientation type thing, which wasn't particularly stimulating, but the recruiters and helpers put on skits about good decisions, there were prizes (didn't win any, got a T-shirt anyway), and there was delicious food.

I met Glenn, one of my soon-to-be roomies, when we were in line next to each other. He spoke up first (you know I wasn't gonna) and we chatted, and eventually we became part of a small group of froshes (are university freshmen still froshes?) and non-newbies. A girl and I decided to add each other on Facebook, and I found out about/got invited to a pancake feed at 10. Which made having tacos for dinner kind of weird.

The security lady waved me through, and I wandered down toward the dining room. As good luck would have it, I ran into D'aante (sp?) and Dan, and was quickly introduced to Chris and...Alex? and...uh...I'll get everybody's names, eventually. We had pancakes flipped at us (I was 1 for 2 -- see subject), enjoyed them muchly, then headed up to a lounge, whereupon we wrecked the feng shui to create space to play Signs. It was fun, and I wasn't even stuck in the middle that much. :P

Corny as it sounds, I'm not so nervous anymore. The guys took me in from moment one, kept me talking, drew me out of my shell a bit, and it was a lot of fun. In five hours I have to get up for a service learning expedition (good thing I got that case of NOS...), and then I'll spend my last night here, packing up the essentials -- stereo and PCs.

Mixed bags

2009-08-16T07:49:15Z

Had an excellent time -- more than excellent -- hanging with Northies and ex-Northies, eating good Mexican, wandering through downtown and the parks, laughing my head off at every sophomoric moment of Superbad. (Note to self, need that soundtrack, badly.)

At the same time, I drove home with one of those random, unsettling premonitions that something horrible was going to happen. A mugging, freak car accident, intruder in my room, something dire and maybe fatal. I get these from time to time, and I guess it shows my late apprehension and doubt that I can really rely on myself, alone and only.

I'll sleep fine, but still conscious of the fact that I'm jumping out of the nest in a week.

The day pirate Facebook went too far.

2009-08-09T14:21:33Z

"Todd _dad be claimin' you swam from her depths"

Even if the e-mail notifications didn't consistently reverse gender references... oh wow.