| Date: | 2009-09-27 04:41 |
| Subject: | Zardoz! |
| Security: | Public |
Good gods, has anyone ever seen that movie? I'm quite curious because after watching the trailer it looks so terribly, horribly, inconceivably AWESOME (TERRIBLE?), that now I kind of want to see it. Besides, someone making that movie clearly loved using projectors to put images all over everything, and if that's not awesome, I don't know what is!
So, I keep meaning to take notes as to what I think of the wines I drink, and I never remember to do it. But rather than use that archaic paper stuff, I guess I'll just do it on here!
So this is the 2008 Yellow Tail Shiraz - Grenache. First off, it's cheap. Normally I hear it goes for 6-8 bucks a bottle, but my store has it on special right now for $3.99, so I couldn't resist! It is 80% Shiraz and 20% Grenache and comes in at 13.5% alcohol. It is, as one might expect a deep purple-red in color. The nose was candy-like with vanilla hints, raspberries and a slight chalkiness that reminds me of sweet-tarts. Seriously! Don't look at me like that.
Upon tasting, raspberries were definitely the at the forefront of the pallate, though vanilla wasn't far behind. The vanilla tasted more like imitation vanilla extract, and added perhaps a bit too much sweetness to the affair. I suspect they were trying to make it taste like it was oaked,when I don't think it really was. This strange sweetness was, however, balanced out by a fair whollop of acidity that counters it well. I also noticed a bit of peppery spiciness, a hallmark of Shiraz. The finish remained a tad tart, which I don't mind, but I can imagine not everybody would feel the same way. The only thing I'm really a tad put off by is that vanilla weirdness.
While it's not exactly going to set the world on fire with its awesomeness, I'd easily recommend this wine. It's approachable, flavorful, and cheap!
Now... wines generally seem to be reviewed on a 100-point scale, with 100 being an orgasm or two in a glass and 1 being some sort of nasty poison that ends up killing me. Granted, you'll never get to see a 1 from me because I'll be dead. So, if I'm dead and you see a spilled glass of wine next to my stiffening corpse, find the bottle, hack my LiveJournal and post that that bastard was a 1-point wine! And don't drink any.
2008 Yellow Tail Shriaz - Grenache. On the Tobyn scale of wines this comes in at, let's say 86 points.
It'll take me a few days to finish the bottle, if anything worthwhile comes of further tasting, I will let the world know!
| Date: | 2009-08-20 02:33 |
| Subject: | Books! |
| Security: | Public |
From Kathryn:
Copy this. Put an 'x' next to those you have read (watching a movie version doesn't count!) Tag other book nerds.
( Read more... )
| Date: | 2009-06-10 00:48 |
| Subject: | Perry Mills |
| Security: | Public |
This article brings back some memories.
Apparently the issue WWU had with Perry Mills back in the day STILL isn't resolved. The article is a decent read, but the comments on it are much more interesting! Kathryn, I can't remember, what did you think of him?
I had exactly one class with him, film, and I found him to be, while something of a smart-ass, a hard-ass, and maybe just plain an ass, very VERY devoted to what he did. I had a wonderful time.
| Date: | 2008-12-07 21:52 |
| Subject: | Music thing! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  silly | | Music: | A bunch of stuff! |
Borrowed from Rachael!
1. Put your iTunes (or any other media player you may have) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Place to Be (Nick Drake)
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Untitled (R.E.M. on the album Green)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Hold Her Down (Toad The Wet Sprocket) ...that's just not right.
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Sway (The Kooks)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Love Everybody (PUSA)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Hook 'em Cow (Boiled in Lead)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Sofa Song (The Kooks)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here (Weezer)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
It's a Hard Life (Queen)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Thunder (Gumball)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Nifelheim (Therion)
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Breña (A Perfect Circle)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
In The Gallery (Dire Straits)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Catch Me If You Can (Carrie Akre)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Monty Got A Raw Deal (R.E.M.)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Highroids (Kaiser Chiefs)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Growing In Dirt (John Popper)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Robin's Complaint (Boiled in Lead)
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Nutty (Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane)
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Eddie's Gun (The Kooks)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Halloween (Jerry Seinfeld)
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Last Girl On Earth (PUSA)
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits)
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Railroad Worksong (The Notting Hillbillies)
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Money For Nothing (Dire Straits) Mark Knopfler city here, man!
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Scare Easy (Mudcrutch)
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Dawna (Morphine)
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
A Man I'll Never Be (Boston)
| Date: | 2008-02-05 07:45 |
| Subject: | Mixed up SOB |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  chipper | | Music: | Mixed up SOB! Duh. |
New Presidents single! Why go all the way to Myspace (blech!) to listen to it, when you can hear it RIGHT HERE, baby! Mmm, hmm!
Aww, that's right!
Sarah, as per usual, you were ahead of your time. ;)
( Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros )
So... indescribably awesome.
| Date: | 2008-01-22 02:24 |
| Subject: | Kitteh Kitteh! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | happy | | Music: | Radio Paradise, baby! |
Rachael and I have "adopted" a stray cat! He's been around the apartment complex for a while now, and we just assumed he had owners somewhere around here. Several months ago he stopped by for a brief while after showing up on our 3rd story balcony (cats are crazy). He ate some food, left, and all was good. Last week, though, he stopped by our place again, we fed him, and he just did not want to leave. Finally we convinced him to go out on the balcony when we were doing some errands and for the night while we were sleeping. In the morning, however, he was still there! We found out later that he had been living in the woods behind our complex for at least a month or so, so we decided to take him in on a potentially permanent basis. The only real caveat is if he doesn't like the place, or doesn't like Rachael's cats who will be moving in soon. Then we'll take him to a shelter so's he can find a good home. Hopefully, though, we'll get to keep him, even if is a food-grubbing, begging cat!
The cat always wants food and meows most piteously at me every time I go into the kitchen, even if he just ate! It's a bit annoying and hard to ignore when he jumps up on the counter right in the middle of the yakisoba I was preparing! /tosses the cat off the counter. He's gotten a bit better over time, but he still begs constantly! Hopefully he'll realize that he's never going to be out of food here and will stop begging for human food! The crazy cat has eaten potato chips straight out of the bag, dry spaghetti noodles, pizza (everything but the crust) though on one occasion JUST the crust, and even alfredo! One rather amusing moment was when the cat got a hold of a white cheddar kettle chip and was eating it in a most voracious manner. Every few seconds he'd stop and kind of dry-heave, which can't have been pleasant, but he'd just keep eating the chip when he was done! Weird-ass cat!
Anyway, we named him Alfredo, or Fredo for short, as he was so excited about eating the alfredo that he got splatters of noodles on his face, ear, and sides! I wish I had pictures of that, but I don't. I DO, however, have a few pictures of the kitty being cute. So, here, have a look!
( Kitty Pictures ahoy! )
These are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users as of 9/30/07. Bold what you have read, italicise what you started but couldn't finish, and strike through what you couldn't stand.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and punishment
Catch-22
One hundred years of solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel
The name of the rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and prejudice
Jane Eyre
A tale of two cities
The brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and peace
Vanity fair
The time traveler's wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The kite runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great expectations
American gods
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius
Atlas shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury tales
The historian : a novel
A portrait of the artist as a young man
Love in the time of cholera
Brave new world
The Fountainhead
Foucault's pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A clockwork orange
Anansi boys
The once and future king
The grapes of wrath
The poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels and demons
The Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver's travels
Les misérables
The Corrections
The amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Dune
The prince
The sound and the fury
Angela's ashes : a memoir
The god of small things
A people's history of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A confederacy of dunces
A short history of nearly everything
Dubliners
The unbearable lightness of being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The scarlet letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
The mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger abbey
The catcher in the rye
On the road
The hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The three musketeers
It has been an interesting month or so. There has been emotional excitement a plenty, some good good beer, and more than one reference to both Clamato and the clap, neither of which I care to have any time soon. Or ever.
I'm not going into any details here, and you're just going to have to wonder why the saying "I'd rather have the Clap" is totally going on a t-shirt. Except that it's hilarious, that much is obvious! And also pretty much the only reason why it's totally going on a shirt. Damn.
On to business. I've made some long-ish term plans that are finally something that I WANT to do. It took a great deal of soul searching on one matter in particular; perhaps the one that matters most emoitionally. I emerged from the battle with myself a bit tired, itchy, and utterly devastated at how much I hurt someone I cared for so deeply.
I am going to continue to temporarily abandon my degree at Western, but this time in favor of two things that make me far more excited. One: I'm going to pursue design as a career. Two: I'm going to live with Liz for a year or so, and then (hopefully) we will both move back up here. I've spent entirely too much time with desire and logic warring in my head with the end result being me doing something that succeeds at neither and gets me absolutely nowhere. I'm finally doing something I WANT to do, something I KNOW I can do, and something I will enjoy. Coming to that decision is one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time. I think I'm finally putting myself on the right track; one I want to be on.
That bit was the good bit of the emotional stuff. Finally having a plan of sorts, or at the very least a direction to go in. The bad bits involve a relationship that I never planned on having and the inadvertent effects that it caused. Sometimes I'm not the smartest person in the world. There is no way I'm going in depth regarding that on LiveJournal, so that's all you're getting from me here. Should you desire more, my email box is always open (and smelly with spam).
As far as timelines go, my current plan has me leaving within the month. Liz has a big event at the end of July, so I either leave before or after, but it can't interfere! I think I'll be leaving before, but I'm just not sure yet. It seems so fast! Arg! Oh well, things will work out, and I'll be pondering. That's me, though. I'm always coming and going and going and coming... (and always too soon.)
I'm tired! (hehehe) It is indeed bedtime for me.
| Date: | 2007-05-15 00:51 |
| Subject: | A survey? Me? |
| Security: | Public |
| Music: | Dirty Dozen Brass Band - What's Going On |
Sure, why not? I haven't completed a survey in a long, long time, and the one that Kathryn did looked like fun. So... here goes!
1) first name: Tobyn
2) middle name: Thomas
3) age: 24
4) birthday: April 23
5) height: 6' or so
6) hair color: Brown
7) eye color: Brown
8) ethnicity: "Just because I'm as white as a saltine doesn't mean you can call me a cracker!"
9) do you have braces: Sure don't. Hated them things
10) is your hair long or short: Short
11) where were you born: Mt. Vernon, WA
12) current location: Oly
13) zodiac sign: Taurus
14) how many languages do you know: Just the one, really.
15) what languages would you like to learn: Spanish, Japanese, Canadian
16) naturally straight or curly hair: Straight
17) bad habits: I'd list them all but I'm too lazy
18) piercings you have: Not a one
19) piercings you want: Not even one
20) tattoos you have: None for me
21) tattoos you want: None
22) today's date: 14 May, 2007
23) the time: 10:13pm
24) are you still in school: Nope, but I will be again!
25) overall gpa: Much lower than it likely should have been
26) favorite grade: A+++!
27) least favorite grade: K (Much worse than an F)
28) favorite subject: Anthropology
29) least favorite subject: English or Math.
30) play any sports on the school's team: No
31) are/were you popular: Everyone loves the Tobyn! But popular? No, never.
32) favorite dance: Happy dance
33) least favorite dance: Hmm
FAVORITES
34) number: 4
35) clothing brand(s): oh-em-gee, I totally gotta wear clothes.
36) shoe brand(s): New Balances are comfortable.
37) saying: perhaps, "Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick!" I still like that one.
38) tv show: Mythbusters
39) sport(s) to play: Tennis
40) sport(s) to watch: Baseball
41) vegetable: the humble carrot. (Take that, asparagus, you pompous bastard!)
42) fruit: Grapes!
43) movie: Uh... I have many favorites.
44) magazine: EGM, Games for Windows (though I HATE the new name, used to be Computer Gaming World), Stereophile...
45) actor: probably Harrison Ford
46) actress: Sally Fields, I think
47) candy: cocolate covered raisins
48) gum: er... not sure
49) candy bar: 5th avenue
50) ice cream flavor: Phish Food
51) junk food: Jalapeño potato chips!
52) scent: The air after a spring or summer rain, the ocean, the forest
53) color(s): deep green
54) season: Summer
55) holiday: X-mas time
56) singer(s): Hmm, not really sure
57) group(s): PUSA
58) rapper(s): Blackalicious
59) type of music: Rock
60) thing in your room: big-ass pile of laundry
51) place to be: With the one I love
62) tv channel: hmm, G4, when I can watch it
63) overall food: the tasty kind
64) store: Hmm, I don't really have a favorite
65) fast food: Jack in the Box (but In & Out is awesome), and Sonic for the Cherry Limeades!
66) restaurant: Koibito (at least locally). Daniel's Broiler in Seattle makes some puddle-o'-drool-worthy steaks and incredible popcorn shrimp appetizers. (Sorry Liz!)
67) time of day: Night
68) state: Washington
69) boys name: haven't given it much thought
70) girls name: this one either
71) shampoo: The kind that works and doesn't smell bad.
72) car: Something zoom-zoomy, quiet, efficient, and pretty
73) word: superfluous (or you can do it the other way: "BALLS!")
74) month: December
75) team: Go team!
THIS OR THAT
76) hot or cold: Hot
77) winter or summer: Summer
78) spring or fall: Spring
79) summer Olympics or winter Olympics: Summer
80) skiing or snowboarding: er... haven't done either.
81) rollerblading or skateboarding: Rollerblading
82) black or white: White
83) orange or red: Red
84) yellow or green: Green
85) purple or pink: Purple
86) Hot Topic or Pac Sun: Hot Topic
87) inside or outside: Outside
88) weed or alcohol: Booze, booze, we all love liquor, drink too much and you've never felt sicker!
89) cell phone or pager: hahaha, pagers...
90) pen or pencil: Mechanical Pencil!
91) Star Wars or Star Trek: Star Trek
92) tattoos or piercings: Tattoos
93) prep or punk: Punk'd have to be it: better hair.
PRIVATE LIFE
94) do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend: Yep!
95) do you have a crush: Yep!
96) do you love anyone right now: Yep!
97) have you ever been in love: Well, if 96 was true, then this one must be, too!
98) how many people have you kissed: probably around 10...
99) who was your first kiss: I suppose my cousin when I was 4 doesn't count... so... a girl named Brandy in 2nd grade.
100) how many hearts have you broken: Perhaps one... :(
101) how many people broke your heart: None
102) do you go by looks or personality: Personality FTW!
103) ever kiss a friend: Yep
104) are you still friends: Well, yes for some, no for others, though never because of the kiss. (More like just lost contact)
105) do you smoke cigarettes: Ew, no
106) do you smoke weed: No
107) beer - good or bad: Beer. It's what's for dinner. Domestic beers are generally flavorless and crappy. Microbrews are where it's at!
108) do you like wine coolers: Meh... so-so.
109) do you like Smirnoff Ice: Yep
110) prefer water or alcohol: Water 95% of the time
WOULD YOU EVER
111) bungee: No
112) sky dive: Maybe...
113) swim with dolphins: Yes
114) scuba dive: Yes
115) go rock climbing: Awesome!
116) lie to the police: Why? You're not a cop are you?
117) run from the police: If you are, I swear that gerbil was alive when I stuck it in there!
118) lie to your parents: Oh, it's happened
119) walk up to a stranger and kiss them: Probably not. A girl could get away with that, but a guy would probably get arrested or beat up...
120) walk out of a restaurant without paying: No
FRIENDS
121) best friends: RJ, Liz... so many more fantastic friends!
122) known longest: RJ, methinks
123) wish you talked to more: Sarah, Evan, Derryck, Molly, Kathryn, Lynsey...
124) wish you saw more: See above.
125) how many friends do you think you have: Oh, a fair number!
126) who drives you insane after a while: RJ, Liz, Sarah, Evan... okay, pretty much everybody if I spend toooo much time around them.
127) who can you stay around forever and never get sick of: Nobody, really, I need my alone time every now and again.
128) ever lose a good friend because you started dating: Nope (hooray!)
129) craziest: Oh, probably Liz. (I love you!)
130) loudest: Nobody is too terribly loud, which is good.
131) shyest: Derryck, most likely
132) best hair: Well, Evan's new style is pretty awesome I think, but I love Liz's hair.
133) can always make you laugh: Liz, RJ.
134) best eyes: Liz
135) tallest guy: oh, RJ probably
136) talented: well, Lynsey is 30 different kinds of smart, Saja is fantastic on the fiddle, Liz is incredible at art... I could never decide! Everyone has their own talents. (Mine is being lazy; ain't no one better!)
137) best singer: Liz or Molly, but I haven't heard Molly sing in a long time.
HAVE YOU EVER
138) flashed someone: No
139) mooned someone: No
140) told the person you liked how you felt: Yes, and it usually works out quite well! At least it takes a load off my mind.
141) been to Michigan: Random! I don't think I have
142) gotten really REALLY wasted: No, it's too expensive and I don't like being more than pretty tipsy
143) gone to jail: No
144) skateboarded: No
145) skinny dipped: Sadly no.
146) stolen anything: I don't think so.
147) kicked someone's ass: Literally, yes, many times. Figuratively, no not so much.
148) pegged someone in the head with a snowball: I'd imagine so.
149) gotten into a bar, under-aged: Well, yes, but the intent was never to drink. (Nor did I)
150) kissed someone of the same sex: Yep
151) gone on a road trip: Yep!
152) gone on vacation without parents/guardian: I can tell this was meant for folks younger than 24 :)
153) been to a concert: Yes
154) been to another country: Yes
155) talked back to an adult: I'm an adult and I talk back to myself all the time!
156) got pulled over: Yes
157) got in a car accident: Not while I was driving, but I've been in a few when other people were.
158) broken a law: Oh my yes. I'm a naughty trespasser on construction sites.
159) given money to a homeless person: Yeah, a little
160) cried to get out of trouble: Maybe when I was little, I don't really remember
File this one under "Google Oddities." Go ahead, I'll wait.
So, I was doing a search on google for information about using carburetor cleaner on a throttle body assembly in a car. The exact search terms were, "carb cleaner on throttle body." What was the third site on the list? Why, Bratz.com the Official Bratz™ website! Yes, that makes perfect sense.
About the only thing I can think of is that if you used carb cleaner on a Bratz doll, it'd probably eventually melt the doll into a pile of goo, and that would be pretty cool (not to mention a huge improvement).
| Date: | 2007-05-04 02:34 |
| Subject: | Rhymes |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | relevant elephant | | Music: | None |
Orange gets all the rap for being the word that no one can rhyme anything to. But have you tried elephant? Nothing works! Maybe "relevant" but that's kinda cheating what with the ph sound versus the vuh sound!
Also, give "feeble" a try. Anything? I can't think of a thing.
Even "doctor" is hard! The only thing I can think of is "proctor". Nothing else seems to work.
Darn those rhymes!
Also, this is what happens when I have a little bit of rum with my coke. And my watermelon fruit punch. And some more rum in the coke because it's good. Yum.
I'm not swear, I drunk! Honestly. (Though I am tipsy enough that I find that sentence funny somehow. Le sigh.)
| Date: | 2007-05-04 01:44 |
| Subject: | Earmuffs! Wait, no... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | No Complaints | | Music: | Afro Celt Sound System |
Nothing new or particularly exciting to report, but I felt like posting anyway! I have yet to reach a decision of any sort regarding my short-term job outlook, but ponderation is proceeding pleasingly, or at least as well as can be expected.
I've been hanging out a fair bit with a new friend I met at work, so that's been fun! We saw Hot Fuzz, which was quite funny and random, and generally had an enjoyable evening. Earlier in the same day I purchased myself a present with my berfday money. Wanna know what it is? Too bad! Mwa ha ha ha! ... ...
Okay okay. I got myself a super-awesome pair of headphones! Grado SR-125's. Awwww yeah. I auditioned them and a couple other pairs at Desco A/V across town. These ones by far kicked the most ass for the price. They are more revealing of detail than any other speakers I've ever had. Acoustic guitar sounds amazing, the chords have real texture, I can picture every finger, hear every string being strummed. I hear details in music I've never heard before. It's not just a guitar being played through headphones, it sounds like a REAL guitar, it has texture, depth, warmth, I can hear all the details of fingers moving up and down the frets... Okay, I'm gushing. Suffice to say, I'm quite happy with my purchase.
The only bad thing is that when hooked up to my receiver playing through the digital output of my computer, the music doesn't have quite as much depth or texture. Granted, it still beats the bejeezus* out of any other music-reproducing device I have, but it doesn't sound as good as it did on that expensive store equipment! I gotta hook up my DVD player and see if it comes closer. Oh well. Thus is the life of a broke-ish audiophile.
Hmm... any other news? Ah, I'm going to a PUSA concert tomorrow! WOO! *Does a happy monkey dance*
Generally life is proceeding just swimmingly.
*We don't like that Bejeezus fellow.
It's been a little while since I've posted, and even longer since I've posted anything meaningful. Also, I don't think I've ever posted anything where I haven't complained at least a little bit (damn these sunflower seeds are stale). Okay, now that we've gotten THAT out of the way...
As of late I've been pondering quite a bit. This is a very dangerous thing for me to do, as it leads to drastic actions, or at the very least a lot of difficult cleanup after my head explodes. Those blood stains are SO stubborn. There's usually a good reason for such ponderings, though, and this time is no exception.
Some of you may know that several months ago, before I came back up to the land of rain and banana slugs, I was considering going out on the truck with my dad for a year or two, to drive as a team, make lots of money, and grab the world by the berries and give em a good twist. Everything but that last bit, at least. I'm not sure where my head goes sometimes. Anyway, thanks to a generous donation of money paying off my Gigantic Terrible Credit Card of Doom®, and the insistence of my mom's side of the family that trucking would be a terrible idea, I wouldn't last two weeks, the schooling would be wasted, and hey aren't those my socks you're wearing, etc... I decided my best bet would be to go back to Western ASAP and get that darned degree before they decided I wasn't worth it and just sent me a sympathy letter with a "hug me, I'm stupid" t-shirt.
However, the same problems that plagued me the last go-around haven't changed much. I'm still lazy, I still sleep all day and stay up all night, and when you ask me what money is I say, "Oh, you mean that stuff I just traded for this big pile of good-bad chinese food?" Alternatively, I might also say, "Baa". Then there's the fact that I'm getting an anthropology degree, which, while I love anthropology, is about as useful as an english degree. Long story short, I'd better start practicing saying "Would you like to super-size that for only 49 cents?" As my mom (who has been the biggest proponent of me returning to school, save maybe my aunt) recently put it, "Once you're done with school, you're going to be in the same boat you're in now." Succinctly put, thank you.
So, would someone mind telling me, then, what on earth is the big deal about going back and getting a degree that will essentially only put me on the top of the resume pile at my local McCrappy food place? I can picture it now. I'll become famous for my insightful essay published in the latest issue of Anthropology Today: "I'm Fat, You're Fat, We're All Fat: A Look Inside America's Culture of Obesity." Good stuff right? Actually, that has a good ring to it, except it's been done to death. Sigh. If I had gone to trucking school in October, I could have been out on the road in November, and by now I could have made around $25,000. Instead I've made around a grand and a half doing sales at Sears. Woo. Of course, some of that is my own laziness at not wanting to get another job, but even a best case scenario would have me making maybe 4-5000. It doesn't begin to compare.
With the kind of money I could make in two years of trucking, I could pay off all my debts, put $30,000 into a long term savings account, have enough to finish school as well as a few more quarters to get a minor (or maybe a major) in computer science, where I could then go get a job doing web monkey stuff somewhere. I can't tell you how nice it would be to not be in debt for the first time in 6 years.
Last, but certainly not least, if I were to do the trucking thing, I'd be based out of AZ, and I'd get to go "home" every other weekend. This means that I'd get to see Liz every other weekend, and I must admit, I'm darn sick and tired of not getting to see her.
So, that's what's been rolling around in my head. I had such a steady plan, to go back to school, finish it up, and THEN see what my options might be. However, the more I look at it, the more dismal it seems. So, I not only needed to rant, but I'm actively seeking any input that you might have. I already know the opinions of my mom, my dad, my mom's family... I've had enough of that. I guess I just need help making sense of all this, and some new viewpoints to see what I might be missing. Don't feel obligated, of course, but comments are more than welcome. It's just so frustrating, not knowing what to do, being broke all the time, having such an uncertain future----
Well, crap. There goes my head. Time to get out the scrubber again... darn stubborn bloodstains... and do you have any idea how long it takes to put my brain back together again?
| Date: | 2006-08-10 17:04 |
| Subject: | Holeee crap! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  sleepy sleepy | | Music: | Baka Beyond - Spirit of the Forest |
The future is here! Or, at least it should be here relatively soon...
This keyboard is probably about the coolest thing I think I've seen in a long time! (Okay, okay, I lead a sheltered life.) Seriously, though. Programmable keys that have screens that display in full color what they're being used for, and can switch on the fly for different programs. It looks so cool! I'm kinda scared, though, to think how much it will cost...
| Date: | 2006-07-18 09:59 |
| Subject: | Places I been. |
| Security: | Public |
| Music: | Richard Thompson - Walking the Long Miles Home |
I been lossa places in the U.S., but not many places outside!
create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.
Kansas looks pretty lonely there, in that sea of red. Never been there, though! A lot of the places, particularly the eastern-most states I've been to, were just passed through on the road with my dad. So, it's more than just stopping at an airport, say, but still, I've never really spent much time in Lousiana!
I'd post the countries list, too but it's kinda sad with just the U.S. and Canada!
This is somewhat related, as Bruce Springsteen is great road music, but I finally got around to looking up the Lyrics for "Blinded by the Light". I've spent many years wondering what the real lyrics were. All I can ever hear is, "Blinded by the light! Wrapped up like a douche, a roadrunner in the night." I kinda figured that I probably wasn't hearing it right, but no matter how hard I listen, that's all I can hear! Turns out it's, "And she was blinded by the light! Cut loose like a duece, another runner in the night."
Now, cutting loose a duece doesn't make much more sense to me than wrapping up a douche, but at least it's not quite as... crude. :)
| Date: | 2006-06-26 21:20 |
| Subject: | My kind of USB drive |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | No complaints | | Music: | Weird Al - You're Pitiful |
Any USB drive that involves taking the head off of a teddy bear earns a big thumbs up in my book!
| Date: | 2006-06-16 02:11 |
| Subject: | I DO exist! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  Meh! | | Music: | DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... |
Just like usual, it's been forever and a day since I've updated this livejournal! Seems like I say that every time. I felt it was a good time to let everyone know that I'm still alive and kicking (inanimate objects, mostly). The news from my neck of the desert is mostly good. I've begun work with a company called American Energy Management Systems, working on and helping to install energy management systems (go figure). It's moderately interesting work, though I'm sure it will get better as I figure out more about it, thus spending less time sitting there watching other people do work, and more doing work myself!
Apart from work, I haven't been doing too much. Liz is up in Flagstaff, so I head up that way to visit her as often as I can, and we have many great adventures, at least one of them involving raw fish and people dancing with snakes. Excitement! I do believe that the remainder of my time has been either playing Rome: Total War, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, or hunting down new music to buy on the internet. Music is tasty-good!
I miss being in Washington quite a bit, and I miss all three of you who are reading this, I'm quite sure! I don't know just yet exactly when I'll be back, but I wager sometime around the end of summer.
Finally, for those among you who have not yet heard, Clerks 2 is on its way! Hooray! ... I think.
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