those crazy iranians. seeing more evil imagery in random logos that glenn beck.
my left eyelid has been twitching once or twice a day for the past few weeks. cause? probably lack of sleep, stress, etc. still can't get used to this whole "getting up before 7" thing.
2.28.2011
2.24.2011
life in the fast lane
it's been a while, but it's because i've actually had some work to do. things seem to be picking up, which is good for my sanity and sense of ethical duty to actually do something worthwhile before picking up my paycheck. i have to admit, that recent post about bad driving in northern california is being amended here. i took a drive down to irvine and san diego last weekend and the folks on the road with me were just as obnoxious as those in norcal. my mistake.
just to rant about one more thing, while i'm on that topic, i had the most ridiculous experience at trader joe's the other night. hitting the store anytime between 6 and 8:30 is usually a bad idea, but i chanced it. the placed was moderately busy, and there was actually some food left on the shelves. i grabbed my stuff and headed to the checkout line. after a quick survey, i settled on the "express" lane, as the other registers had several people with packed shopping carts waiting in line. i had three people in front of me. at the register, a woman stood digging through her pockets. her items had been bagged and placed in her cart, and she was apparently trying to come up with exact change. after about a minute of jamming her hand around, she failed to come up with the requisite amount needed to settle the tab. so after spending another minute on math problems, trying to figure out how to get the least amount of change back, apparently, she finally handed over some more bills. then she asked the cashier to place plastic bags around her paper bags, a process that is much faster if they aren't already bulging with groceries. so the cashier kindly did as he was told. then the woman received a call on her cell phone. rather than telling the caller to wait a moment, she chatted on amiably as she attempted to gather her spilled coinage from the checkout stand and stuff items back into her pockets. the next customer in line had paid and left by the time she completed the process. as i waited for the last customer in front of me to pay for his bottle of wine, the woman finally tottered through the doors. but she paused outside, seemed to think of something, and then turned back to the store, her phone still clutched to her ear. after checking her pockets, she apparently found what she was looking for, and returned to her cart. after buying a basketload of items, i headed to my car and noticed the same woman, still on the phone, trying to load her bags into a poorly parked mercedes. luckily, i escaped from the parking garage before she joined the line of exiting vehicles. i can only imagine how long it took her to figure out that she didn't validate her parking pass.
just to rant about one more thing, while i'm on that topic, i had the most ridiculous experience at trader joe's the other night. hitting the store anytime between 6 and 8:30 is usually a bad idea, but i chanced it. the placed was moderately busy, and there was actually some food left on the shelves. i grabbed my stuff and headed to the checkout line. after a quick survey, i settled on the "express" lane, as the other registers had several people with packed shopping carts waiting in line. i had three people in front of me. at the register, a woman stood digging through her pockets. her items had been bagged and placed in her cart, and she was apparently trying to come up with exact change. after about a minute of jamming her hand around, she failed to come up with the requisite amount needed to settle the tab. so after spending another minute on math problems, trying to figure out how to get the least amount of change back, apparently, she finally handed over some more bills. then she asked the cashier to place plastic bags around her paper bags, a process that is much faster if they aren't already bulging with groceries. so the cashier kindly did as he was told. then the woman received a call on her cell phone. rather than telling the caller to wait a moment, she chatted on amiably as she attempted to gather her spilled coinage from the checkout stand and stuff items back into her pockets. the next customer in line had paid and left by the time she completed the process. as i waited for the last customer in front of me to pay for his bottle of wine, the woman finally tottered through the doors. but she paused outside, seemed to think of something, and then turned back to the store, her phone still clutched to her ear. after checking her pockets, she apparently found what she was looking for, and returned to her cart. after buying a basketload of items, i headed to my car and noticed the same woman, still on the phone, trying to load her bags into a poorly parked mercedes. luckily, i escaped from the parking garage before she joined the line of exiting vehicles. i can only imagine how long it took her to figure out that she didn't validate her parking pass.
2.15.2011
blarney
looks like we'll be getting some rain this week. no waves, of course, besides the slop that usually washes up during a storm. ireland is getting walloped by a massive swell; 40-50 foot waves expected in some areas. i told my girlfriend that, and she responded by saying that the water must be freezing. that wouldn't be my biggest worry if i were out in a swell like that.
got an hour before i jet out of here. only a few minor things to work on. ready for a heavier workload, for sure.
got an hour before i jet out of here. only a few minor things to work on. ready for a heavier workload, for sure.
2.14.2011
driving school
i hate to generalize, but northern californians have some strange driving habits. my experience this past weekend led me to conclude that there are a few rules to driving in the bay area (and generally north of the central valley). first, if you are on a freeway and in the fast lane, you need to drive at least 3-5 mph below the speed limit, and preferably at the exact same speed as the driver in the lane to your right. bonus points if you can line up enough drivers across the lanes to clog up the entire freeway. secondly, if an opportunity presents itself to cut someone off, by all means, have at it. bonus points if you succeed in reducing their speed by 10 mph or more. added bonus if you then realize you don't want to be in that lane, and slam on the brakes before cutting someone else off and veering across multiple lanes.
all these events took place on repeated occasions during my recent trip to san francisco (with the girlfriend for her mfa auditions). but the kicker was on the return trip, after a long day, with a six-hour drive stretching out before us. as we headed onto the 152 through pacheco pass, trying to jog from the 101 to the 5, i had an opportunity to pass a minivan before the road narrowed to one lane in either direction (with no passing allowed). but everything seemed kosher as we cruised through the last vestiges of fast food joints and gas stations. the driver was hitting the speed limit and displayed no signs of insanity. that theory crumbled as quickly as the road narrowed, leaving me trapped behind as the driver periodically slowed to 30 mph, apparently fearful that vehicles heading toward us might leap across the double yellow, given his propensity to slam on the brakes whenever a semi approached. despite signs clearly marking the speed limit at 55 mph, with the occasional curve dropping that limit to 50, the driver continued to plod his way along the gently curving stretch, gradually building an impressive collection of pissed off motorists in his wake. my blood wasn't quite boiling by the time we reached the passing lane as the highway heads into the pass, but it quickly became apparent that said boiling point had been reached and breached by many of those lined up in tailgating rage, as they began screaming by at unholy speeds. glad to be free of the lunacy on both ends, i settled into a reasonable pace and finished off the trek with hardly any trouble.
all these events took place on repeated occasions during my recent trip to san francisco (with the girlfriend for her mfa auditions). but the kicker was on the return trip, after a long day, with a six-hour drive stretching out before us. as we headed onto the 152 through pacheco pass, trying to jog from the 101 to the 5, i had an opportunity to pass a minivan before the road narrowed to one lane in either direction (with no passing allowed). but everything seemed kosher as we cruised through the last vestiges of fast food joints and gas stations. the driver was hitting the speed limit and displayed no signs of insanity. that theory crumbled as quickly as the road narrowed, leaving me trapped behind as the driver periodically slowed to 30 mph, apparently fearful that vehicles heading toward us might leap across the double yellow, given his propensity to slam on the brakes whenever a semi approached. despite signs clearly marking the speed limit at 55 mph, with the occasional curve dropping that limit to 50, the driver continued to plod his way along the gently curving stretch, gradually building an impressive collection of pissed off motorists in his wake. my blood wasn't quite boiling by the time we reached the passing lane as the highway heads into the pass, but it quickly became apparent that said boiling point had been reached and breached by many of those lined up in tailgating rage, as they began screaming by at unholy speeds. glad to be free of the lunacy on both ends, i settled into a reasonable pace and finished off the trek with hardly any trouble.
2.11.2011
travails
i feel like taking on some painful and arduous journey for the sake of self-exploration, etc. i'll admit the impetus for this desire; reading the story of two men who walked the camino de santiago, the 500-mile pilgrimmage across spain, was enough to set me off, despite the long, graphic descriptions of thumb-sized blisters and dingy hostels. i'm not sure about spain though. maybe something in california; there's the pacific crest trail, but that's 2,600 miles, if you count oregon and washington. a bit much to start with. i'll have to come up with something shorter.
in other news, one of the escalators in my building is down for maintenance. while there are elevators that serve most of the 30 floors, the escalators run from floors 1-4, and are much more convenient. but when they shut down, they are truly a pain. well, not the escalators themselves. it's the damn building management. instead of simply allowing people to walk up the escalators as if they were steps, they set up yellow barricades around the broken segment. that's fine, i suppose, but then i end up going down one floor and finding the next escalator broken. then i'm taking the elevator to or from the second floor, and i get glares of death from other people heading up 10 stories, who believe i'm the laziest sad sack in the city. he can't even ride the escalator for one floor, the pathetic, servile, wretched waste of human life, their slight shift upon seeing me enter the elevator seems to say. and this isn't some occasional occurrence. oh no. these escalators break down more than glenn beck on one of his patriotism kicks. it's really unacceptable. on the other hand, the building management reworked the toilets (you'll have to scroll down to my earlier post about their inadequate flow rate) and now they suck with the force of a jet engine. more green and efficient than flushing three times to, ahem, clear the decks? that's debatable.
in other news, one of the escalators in my building is down for maintenance. while there are elevators that serve most of the 30 floors, the escalators run from floors 1-4, and are much more convenient. but when they shut down, they are truly a pain. well, not the escalators themselves. it's the damn building management. instead of simply allowing people to walk up the escalators as if they were steps, they set up yellow barricades around the broken segment. that's fine, i suppose, but then i end up going down one floor and finding the next escalator broken. then i'm taking the elevator to or from the second floor, and i get glares of death from other people heading up 10 stories, who believe i'm the laziest sad sack in the city. he can't even ride the escalator for one floor, the pathetic, servile, wretched waste of human life, their slight shift upon seeing me enter the elevator seems to say. and this isn't some occasional occurrence. oh no. these escalators break down more than glenn beck on one of his patriotism kicks. it's really unacceptable. on the other hand, the building management reworked the toilets (you'll have to scroll down to my earlier post about their inadequate flow rate) and now they suck with the force of a jet engine. more green and efficient than flushing three times to, ahem, clear the decks? that's debatable.
2.08.2011
smoke out
internet was down this morning at work. how do they expect me to get anything done without the occasional sudoku break to clear the mind? sheesh.
the girlfriend had a rude awakening this morning. a knock on the door, then a quick turn of the key before she could jump out of bed and get dressed, or even yell loudly enough to be heard. turns out the maintenance guys wanted to change the smoke detector. the landlord apparently left a message last night, but it wasn't received. seems a little rude, but all was sorted in the end.
been watching rescue me, the fx show about new york city firefighters. well, more about the carousing, booziness, and general mayhem of a few firefighters in particular. it's already shifting into nip/tuck territory, with the list of illogical and seemingly impossible events expanding exponentially each episode. oh well, it's pulp entertainment, and at the end of the day, i'm not looking for much of a strain on the old noggin.
the girlfriend had a rude awakening this morning. a knock on the door, then a quick turn of the key before she could jump out of bed and get dressed, or even yell loudly enough to be heard. turns out the maintenance guys wanted to change the smoke detector. the landlord apparently left a message last night, but it wasn't received. seems a little rude, but all was sorted in the end.
been watching rescue me, the fx show about new york city firefighters. well, more about the carousing, booziness, and general mayhem of a few firefighters in particular. it's already shifting into nip/tuck territory, with the list of illogical and seemingly impossible events expanding exponentially each episode. oh well, it's pulp entertainment, and at the end of the day, i'm not looking for much of a strain on the old noggin.
2.04.2011
rebound
why must fridays drag by so slowly. here's a good thing to do on the fourth day of any month. email or announce excitedly to your friends or coworkers, 'happy star wars day!' when they look at you quizzically, proudly pronounce, 'may the fourth be with you!' well, that's enough silliness. ready for the weekend to be here. work is sluggish; i need something to do here, folks. other than that, i can't really complain. taking a quick trip to san francisco in a week, so there's something to look forward to. and this crappy winter (wave-wise) can't end soon enough. ready for some summer south swells.
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