11.30.2006

Empyrean Sinuations

as i was walking across campus, delivering professor evaluations to the appropriate authorities, a string of red balloons caught my eye as it floated from behind a row of trees along trousdale. it rippled like a mellifluous serpent, writhing gently in the chilly afternoon air. i wonder if someone let it go, or if it escaped its earthly tether to rise skyward as though a serendipitous metaphor for my soaring aspirations in this, my last semester at 'sc.

11.27.2006

End of the Beginning

as you may or may not have noticed, skp magazine is gone. probably never to return again. yes, i'm lazy and uncreative and unmotivated. and it was sad to see it just sit there collecting dust, new material coming after longer and longer intervals. i'm just trying to keep this one alive. my creative impulses may manifest themselves in a new form in the coming months, but for now it's down to the old insular jot.

i may be getting a paid gig at the los angeles times next semester. nothing important or worthwhile, for those getting all giggly and excited. news clerk. management speak for glorified coffee bitch. i'm supposed to talk with someone and come in for an interview and a tour of the newsroom (like i didn't see it during my time at west, which was on my resume, which is how i came to be considered for the position in the first place). so we'll see how my schedule next semester gels with what they are looking for in a strapping young man needed to lift heavy objects and mop the brows of furiously typing metro writers.

it's been getting a bit nippy in the evenings around here, which is great, because i can actually drink coffee without dying of heat exhaustion. and i can wear warm clothes. i seem to have a problem regulating my body temperature. constantly hot. wonder if that's related to good looks. (here's where you insert lame quip about my ugliness relating to my inability to control my temperature).

one more football game. the big bad ucla bruins (oh man, i kill myself sometimes). should be a fun little weekend. classes, done. work, done. thinking, done. well. except for a few pockets of studying for finals. so less thinking, more drinking may become a recurring theme in the coming weeks. half-kidding, of course.

11.26.2006

All Over Town

my last home game. it was all i hoped it would be. a crushing defeat of a bitter rival. in my four years at usc, i have never witnessed a defeat at the coliseum, or in person. only three losses. it's pretty impressive. now to see if we can make it three out of four in national championships. few will be able to say that. i doubt i'll return for many games, if any. it won't be the same, not being in the student section, standing the whole game and screaming fanatically. it's been a good run, and i'm glad i was a part of it.

i spent part of this afternoon roaming around campus measuring bathrooms for disability access compliance. yea, loads of fun. so far, most of them are complying. the only major problems have been a lack of insulation on the pipes under the sinks and mirrors that are too high. forshame, usc, forshame.

one week of classes left. yes, quite frightening. and i have my first final on tuesday. guitar, should be a breeze. then a redrafting of my magazine story, a write-up of my disability access investigation, and a cinema class final. then i'm done. and it's christmas. all over. again.

11.21.2006

Gramercy Bequeathment

you must feel so neglected. lost in the world without my pearls of wisdom. starved for my ego-gratifying sojourns into the swirling chaos of my day-to-day life. i seem to have forgotten about you for a few days. you were lost in the midst of the cal football game, a magazine story deadline, and the commonplace minutaie that keeps me from my computer and out of the blogging state of mind.

i'll be traveling via rail to the heart of the central valley early wednesday morning, hoping for thick, blanketing fog. i'll be returning to the city of angels on friday, so grab a hold of me while i'm available. for a limited time. happy turkey day and beat...the irish!

11.15.2006

Kick Up the Dust

i need to find a way to convert ruckus media files to something i can burn onto a cd. so much good stuff!

got a big weekend coming up. waterpolo versus cal, #1 against #2, should be intense. then football against cal, for the pac-10 title and to keep the national championship hopes alive. then either a celebration party or a drink-to-drown-the-sorrow party.

i only have one final during finals week. the rest are during the last week of class. is that a blessing, or a curse? i haven't decided yet.

11.12.2006

Wishtful Thinking

my voice is fading fast. great game. a glimmer of our '03 and '04 selves. gotta keep it rolling next week against cal.

tomorrow it's buckle-down-and-do-some-work time. (right...)

11.11.2006

Hustled

my girlfriend is a pool shark.

11.09.2006

Sticks in Sunless Nether Regions

two letters that appeared in the daily trojan today:

I am shocked to see that the Daily Trojan is publishing an article about a gay student as if he's a role model. ("MBA student vies for Mr. Gay International," Oct. 26) Ashley Archibald should apologize for writing such filth. Homosexuality is immoral. I don't care how buff he is or how smart he is. That young man's lifestyle is sinful, unhealthy and unnatural. You all should write about our young men and women in uniform who are studying among us. They're the ROTC, and they're going to risk their lives for your freedom in a couple years.

David E. Engel
junior, political science

The Gay International competition is just another tool in the radical homosexual movement to normalize and validate their perverse, immoral lifestyle. I'm shocked to read about such a competition. And I thought swimsuit competitions were for females, not males? The homosexual movement will stop at nothing to promote its unnatural lifestyle choice in society. Homosexuality is detestable in the eyes of the Lord (Leviticus 18:22). I don't support this competition and think it is shameful. Americans need to take a stand before all of our traditions and institutions are overtaken and destroyed by the homosexual movement.

Crystal Chavez
senior, business administration

why am i not surprised that they are majoring in political science and business administration? these are the people that want to run our country. sick. way to stick up for women's rights and fight that double standard with that swimsuit comment, crystal. and exactly what institutions are being overtaken and/or destroyed? and are they worth saving? this '50s mentality is getting old. literally.

11.08.2006

Lame Ducks

we started playing all these seventh chords in my guitar class. like a minor7 b5. yea, fun! seventh chords are the new barre chords. i feel just as frustrated and annoyed as i did when i tried that fifth string root b flat chord. hopefully it's the same sort of learning curve. (fingers crossed...and twisted and contorted, trying to figure these things out).

late late late game on saturday. time for a duck hunt. yeeeehaaaw.

Down Goes Donny

the rumster hits the dumpster. pretty damn good week we're having here. first we replace a bit of evil incarnate with a bit of evil semi-incarnate in d.c., and now this. could be cause for celebration.

11.07.2006

Apoplectic is a Good Word

sometimes, when i see people riding their bikes with no hands, i want to ride up next to them and say, oh, we're all very impressed.

11.06.2006

KitKat Attack

hoowee, it was hot today. the santa anas are kicking in big time. naturally, conquest can't open the fully completed and operational pool and spa area because they haven't finished construction on the locker room area. surprised? don't be.

please, people. get your halloween candy leftovers away from me. every office i go into, not to mention the one where i work, is stocked for a candy apocalypse. and i have no willpower.

bbq tonight. i think. depends whether i feel like biking to ralphs for supplies or not. as hot as it gets during the day, the temperature plummets as soon as the sun dips below the western horizon.

The Raven

i slept for over 13 hours last night. and i had a number of crazy dreams. which i naturally forgot. now all i have is two hours and 45 minutes of work stretching out in front of me. then it's off to work on my magazine story and maybe a little job at the track. the perfect monday.

vote vote vote vote vote. as patton oswalt wisely did quoth in 2004, 'all of you out there that say, 'oh they're both evil, it doesn't matter,' not this time, not this fuckin' time.' and as zach galifianakis did quoth in 2004, 'the only time it's okay to say 'i have diarrhea,' is when you're playing scrabble, because it's worth a shitload of points.'

11.05.2006

Not So Mellow Yellow

time is seeming to stand still and zoom by at the same time. a little freaky. i need to finish a confederacy of dunces. i need to make some steamed rice also. and other things. time to get to work.

denis leary is an angry man.

11.02.2006

Dismissed

waaaah! i'm so sorry i haven't been posting. i'm lazy. i'm stupid. i'm not worthy. wait a second. why am i apologizing? you guys should be happy with what you get. damn! alright. so here's the deal. i have two major projects in the works, and they are both weighing heavily on my creativity stores. i'm going to try to set aside some time every now and then for a little blogger release, but i can't promise anything. so relax.

i'm working on the physics newsletter again. very excited. actually, the issue is almost done. i have one or two more stories to write up and a little layout adjusting and it should be good to go.

the steel strings on winter are still painful. owie. i'm thinking i'll be spending a little more time on sera's slinky strings. so much easier on the ol' phalanges.