| Coincidences... |
[ 08 November 15:45] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 amused |
] |
This morning, driving to work at the ungodly hour of 7:30, I was listening to Kevin and Bean. Silly morning talk radio on KROQ that I typically pay half-attention to. Today, they were interviewing a transgendered woman (male to female), something I find interesting, so I was actually paying attention. As they started to discuss the genital surgery, I passed the derelict grocery store on Centinela. And on the building was a large banner advertising:
AAA SUPER JUNK REMOVAL
This may very well be the high point of my day.
Cheers. ;D
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| Low balling... |
[ 15 September 19:26] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 annoyed |
] |
Dear people, stop trying to lowball everyone on a price. This is especially inadvisable when you have been a return customer for nearly 5 years. This is an indicator that you obviously feel the services are to your benefit, so pay the going rate. Don't be a cheap fuck.
Decrypted: A customer whom I've been helping with his aeronautical knowledge for a very long time wants a discount on ground instruction. Yes, it can be bought cheaper from other schools/instructors. But fuck man, you keep coming back to me after you fuck up with other instructors. What do you think that means?
RAWR
This probably wouldn't annoy me so much if I weren't hungry. I'll fix that now.
Cheers. ;D
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| Don't stop me... |
[ 04 September 22:29] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 creative |
] |
So I have, on numerous occasions, lamented my total lack of creative ability. I can't draw, write, play an instrument, or sing. Maybe I just lack the drive to practice to get any good, but I also think that you need to have a certain amount of innate talent to build on (which I lack).
I'm not trying to start a pity party, I'm just here to say that if I could pick anything to do, I think I'd want to be able to sing like Freddy Mercury. That man was a fucking badass. And Google made a pretty awesome birthday tribute that is worth watching.
Now that everyone has had their dose of awesome, I'll take my leave.
Cheers. ;D
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| Moment of weakness... |
[ 02 July 18:21] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 hot |
] |
So, it finally happened. A Steam sale got me. Half-Life 2 for $2.49. HOW COULD I NOT! I don't even play shooters...but...it's supposed to be so good, and it was for Mac, and...and...TWO DOLLARS AND FORTY-NINE CENTS!
Damn you, Gabe.
Cheers. ;D
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| Civic duty... |
[ 28 June 17:36] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 tired |
] |
Getting up at 6:15am sucks. Getting up at 6:15am and having to drive downtown sucks. Getting up at 6:15am and having to drive downtown for jury duty sucks.
And so my day began. It was mind numbing. Worse than that one day of Saturday School I had in high school. At least there you just had to watch the clock and then leave. With jury duty, you are tense every moment, hoping you don't get called to actually sit on a jury panel, dreading you might actually get stuck on a case. I did get on a panel. It was a 2 month insurance fraud thing. Thankfully, I told the judge I only get paid when I fly and I was let go. After that, I just spent the rest of the day (until 3:55pm) hoping I didn't get called to another panel. I didn't and I managed to get home before 5. Thankfully the guy who did our orientation was pretty funny...so it made things slightly less painful, at least at the start.
Amusing side note: The judge whose courtroom I was in looked incredibly familiar, and sure enough I was right. Judge Lance Ito, who we all remember from our childhood as the judge for the OJ Simpson case. Ha. Actually a rather amusing (and smart) guy.
And so my civic obligations for the next 12 months are complete. Hot damn. I suppose I should be happy that I don't live in Libya or Egypt...although at least then you can participate in some armed rebellion and kill people. Oh well. The good ol' US of A for me, I guess.
Cheers. ;D
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| A man's man... |
[ 25 June 14:13] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 dirty |
] |
So I'm dusty and my hands are covered in paint (plus a drop on my shoe I'm pissed about). For the past 3 days we've been painting my office, which means it's a mess and I'm messy too. And I had a headache all of yesterday, likely due to the fumes. Obnoxious. Oh gee, it seems to be creeping back in on me. Damn. So other than doing real MAN WORK...uh...work is work.
I've been experiencing periodic "life panic" since graduation. I took a week off afterward, and since I've been back (this week, basically) I feel like things aren't happening fast enough for me. Obviously I have absurdly unrealistic expectations, but that doesn't matter...I still go crazy. Hopefully I settle in and feel like I'm moving forward soon. Moving out will help that a lot I think. I need to start exploiting connections to find different airplanes to fly. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me start to go loopy.
And now I have to wash up, check weather, and prep for my next flight.
Cheers. ;D
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| Finally the final final... |
[ 08 June 10:50] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 relieved |
] |
And so at exactly 10:00am by the UCLA clock, I walked out of Powell Library having completed my last final of my college career. The bells were ringing and everything. It was cool!
I am beyond relieved. 18 or so years in the making and it's all over.
Cheers. ;D
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| Pomp... |
[ 01 June 00:41] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 anxious |
] |
I have a tendency to break time up into little chunks. So instead of thinking "I graduate in two weeks" I think about that today was the last time I had to write a reading summary for my anthro class. It was the last time I printed and stapled a paper together. Possibly the last time ever...depending on if I do grad school of course. Tomorrow will be my last discussion section, ever. After that will be my last day or classes, ever.
And a week from today (Wednesday), I'll be marching up those awful stairs for the last time. Ever.
Alright I have to go up again for graduation but that doesn't count.
Not sure how I'll feel when it's all over, but I know I'll have an amazing week ahead of me.
Cheers. ;D
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| Quading my cores... |
[ 16 May 09:45] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 ecstatic |
] |
So. I HAVE A NEW COMPUTER!!! I am so happy, omg. I didn't even realize all the stuff I was missing. And the resolution is so fucking ginormous that my LJ layout is broken. And...and...and...::hyperventialtes.::
Right now, I'm installing Warcraft III while also downloading a screensaver and listening to music. OH AND I'M DOING IT ON BATTERY POWER! Well I'm not this moment, but I was. The battery on this thing is obscene. If you keep the screen dim and minimize excess stuff (CD drive, hard drive access, etc.) you will see as long as 6 or 7 hours on the time remaining. Last night I was on my couch and my power adapter was in my room. It was spectacular.
I'm also working my way through Portal 2, so I connected my Steam account (PSN finally came back last night), and I plan to get L4D next time it's on sale.
I've also taken a liking to talking to Sabrina on the webcam, which is awesome. Video chatting has been a staple of long distance couples for years, right? Well, I'm finally joining the in crowd.
I will say, the computer is quite large, but I don't mind. I'm happy to have the screen real estate in exchange for it being a little big, especially since it is still pretty light. I'm also having to get used to this keyboard. XD
I should resume the productive stuff I have to do but...meeeeeh THIS IS SO MUCH MORE FUN!
Cheers. ;D
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| Times like these... |
[ 25 April 10:35] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 overwhelmed |
] |
Attention professors: Do not send things to me by email with typos in them. Especially when you already seem like a ditz and have your PhD in Communications. And here I thought my opinion of you couldn't sink much lower.
I've got midterms this week, which sucks. Hopefully I do okay, right? >> A little studying would work wonders here I think. I shall endeavor to do just that. I found out that one of my midterms is going to be on a computer! Woooooo. How novel. That's next week though.
We got a new computer at work, and the day and a half I spent setting it up reminded me how much I despise working in Windows. Everything that should take 12 seconds takes 104 hours. Do the math, you'll see I'm right. I'm getting a new computer for myself very soon, so that'll be exciting.
Everything has been moving so fucking fast, it's amazing. It took me weeks to believe it was already April, and now when I see something with an early 2010 date on it I think "gee, that wasn't that long ago..." IT WAS A YEAR WTF! Midterms this week, one next week, then my birthday in two and a half weeks, then finals a couple of weeks after that, and then graduation. I think all the things I've sort of pretended won't happen are pushing their way into my consciousness. The first day of the rest of my life is just over the horizon. Unless I go to grad school! 8D
Back to academia.
Cheers. ;D
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| Singing in the shower... |
[ 18 April 22:08] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 clean |
] |
As most of you (read as: all) know, my bathroom has been under remodel nearly 3 months. Well, as of a week or two ago, it was functional as a toilet room (toilet and sink only...I think they call that a powder room). As of yesterday, it was functional as a shower! However, the shower was sad. The hot water took forever, the pressure was too low, and one of the two shower heads (that's right, two) didn't work. So I was disappointed.
But tonight...THE RECKONING! Doug and I both took off a shower head on his suggestion, and lo and behold, they were full of crap! Looks like someone emptied their shoes in their after going to the beach. Also, someone was here today messing around with the water heater. So...I was able to take my shower! And it was glorious. And I am so happy. And I have a custom shaving mirror built into the wall. Doug measured me for it, because I'm a pimp like that. I'm so happy...my mom's bathroom was awful to have to live in.
Although the tub doesn't drain........oh well.
tl;dr shower makes me happy
Cheers. ;D
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| AvWank... |
[ 17 March 11:06] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 stressed |
] |
So I'm reading a forum post on Airliners.net about why LAX is the worst airport in the US. It's all based on an amusing little article from SF Gate found here.
Now, needless to say, most of the thread is wank about LAX being great or being terrible (aviation has wank that I believe dwarfs all other wank...it is truly spectacular, particular on Airliners.net which is full of it's own special 'spergs.) But I think the airport is a fucking nightmare (don't we all). And someone posted this picture to prove their point. It's hilarious. Now, that was apparently taken during a power outage in Terminal 1 (on the right), but I've seen (and stood in) lines nearly that long. Alright, maybe half as long, but that's pretty fucking long! I've flown out of terminals 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and the international terminal, and nothing can be as awful as Terminal 1. Oh god it's so bad.
I'm sharing this because everyone who reads my journal has flown out of LAX and possibly SFO, which is mentioned a bit at the start of the thread. I thought others might get a kick out of it.
In other news, this has been one of the hardest weeks in recent memory. I can't wait for it to be over, which it will be in...26 hours after my last final. Until then, I need to read articles on cannibalism, syphilis, and skeletal health. It sounds like more fun than it is. =/
I need a haircut and new clothes.
Cheers. ;D
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| Something positive omg... |
[ 07 March 16:33] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
pleased |
] |
So today when I got home, I had had a kind of...Monday sort of day (imagine that on a Monday, herp) and therefore was tired and a bit moody. But I knew I needed to call my bank because they double billed me for a credit card balance I paid, and I also needed to call Zappos because I'm finally admitting that my new shoes are a bit too big. Damn. I steeled my nerves, opened my computer, and decided to to the bank first.
I was on hold for over 10 minutes, which was infuriating. But once the person answered, we literally spoke for 3 minutes. I told her the problem and she said the charge would be put back to my checking account within 5 business days. That's it. Done. I was shocked. Having to hold for so long to get it done sucked, but frankly I figured I'd have to jump through hoops of fire and poop to get them to reverse the charge. A pleasant surprise.
Next were the shoes. I wasn't expecting this to be too painful, but I also have distrust of phone help lines. They generally involve long hold times (see above) and them bullshit. But I was hopeful, afterall, it says "Zappos.com: Powered by Service" on the box my shoes came in. For that phone call I was on hold for maybe 2 minutes, and a very nice and helpful guy answered the phone. I told him I wanted to exchange for a smaller size and he set it up for me. He also enrolled me in some VIP thingy they have so I get one day shipping. He assured me they don't sell my email address. I'm flabbergasted. No charges to pay, I just have to return my too-big shoes within 14 days with the pre-paid (free) shipping label he emailed me. Wow. Just...wow.
So there you have it. A rare positive experience with corporate America. Two of them. i expect my next contact with a corporation will result in me being tortured and burned...afterall, my luck has to turn around sometime. Honestly, the only company I deal with on a semi-regular basis is Jeppesen who provide the data for the GPS units in the airplanes, and that's probably because we do thousands of dollars of business with them.
I am in a decent mood...shocking. I'd better eat something before my mood deteriorates. :)
Cheers. ;D
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| Indian country... |
[ 23 February 22:07] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 nerdy |
] |
So I just saw a TV commercial for a Jeep Grand Cherokee that contained a voice over that discussed "building the nation" and "honoring the founding fathers".
Now, perhaps this makes me a geek, but I thought that was beyond hilarious. Using patriot statements to sell a car called a Cherokee...
Yeah. Ironic much?
Cheers. ;D
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| Bottles of suds... |
[ 15 February 20:41] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
cranky |
] |
I've decided the best description of lawyers ever is from this movie: "Bunch of ball washin' bastards!"
I hope my bathroom gets finished some day...it's going really slowly.
Other than that I'm just trying to make it through the week.
Cheers. ;D
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| I'm the goddamned... |
[ 14 February 16:37] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
tired |
] |
So after a shit day yesterday, in which very little is likely to be resolved in the long-term, I was very happy to find this story on the UK IGN.
Arkham City to be single player only.
I'm also thrilled with this guy's reasoning: Multiplayer would take away from the single player experience. I'd just like to add that I don't think the game, assuming it is similar to Arkham Asylum, would lend itself to multiplayer very well. I think it's been proven that stealth-oriented multiplayer experiences are never quite as popular or well received. I'm thinking of Splinter Cell in particular.
Not every game needs multiplayer, and I applaud the Arkham City team for actually thinking about the game instead of the sales figures. And I'm quite confident they'll be validated in the end.
Now I'm gonna watch a movie on Showtime that I haven't seen before and sounded interesting...which is something I don't often do.
Cheers. ;D
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| H1N1... |
[ 29 January 14:13] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 miserable |
] |
I'm dying. -_- I haven't been this miserable in quite a long time...ugh. Why the hell do people get sick, anyway? Put a man on the moon but I still have to suffer through the horrible aches and pains of illness. I barely slept, my chest hurts, my legs hurt, my head hurts, my cough hurts...
::Dies.::
Cheers. ;D
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| Money money... |
[ 13 January 17:11] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
content |
] |
So, on the upside of things: I seem to have finally made back all the money I lost when the stock market crashed. That only took...a couple years. Yay.
On the downside, I seem to have had completely forgotten to write my tuition check to Joyce at the beginning of December. (She pays the tuition on her Southwest credit card, I pay her back and get a free flight.) Now, this is disconcerting because I don't forget...stuff. Especially important stuff like that. And I swore I had written the check. Very upsetting. >>
Other than that: School, work, etc. Just running out the clock (on my life?) and waiting for what's next.
Cheers. ;D
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| Relationships that aren't mine... |
[ 29 November 13:57] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 productive |
] |
It's kind of remarkable how people can behave in certain relationships. I'm referring specifically to when someone expects something that clearly isn't there. And instead of trying to cope and move on, they just become hostile towards that person. Or they should try to adjust the terms of the relationship and their expectations to fit more with the "problem" person. This is especially true if it becomes clear that the person isn't going to change. In no way am I condoning the behavior. Everyone in their relationships should strive to better them, or at least prevent them from getting worse. But the fact is that not everyone is capable of that. I certainly have had my flaws that I've tried to better, or at the very least tried to help others cope with my oddball nature. I've also had to alter my expectations of others radically, and it's hard. I still have trouble with it sometimes. Even when the behavior is repetitive and goes on for years in the exact same way, I'll get annoyed when they do something that I think is inappropriate, rude, or just not in keeping with any expectations. And that is, of course, my problem.
But I suppose if one person can't change, then there's a chance the other person can't either.
Cheers. ;D
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| McKong... |
[ 21 November 23:22] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
mellow |
] |
So first of all! I am a guest writer on a blog today. A food blog! Edited by my sister but hush. >> I still get to be a guest writer on a blog. It makes me sound very...bohemian. Check it out here! And feel free to comment here or on the blog. Or both.
In other news, Donkey Kong Country Returns came out today. It is awesome. An outstanding update on a classic. The graphics are engaging, the level design is brilliant, and does a marvelous job of incorporating depth into the movement of your characters. I'm sad that the kremlings (the enemies from DKC1, 2, and 3) seem to be absent, but they could show up as the game continues. The new moves are mostly welcome additions to "jump" and "roll". And most importantly: The game is challenging. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) burningvigor and I played for many hours and died many many times. Full of minute differences in the collision detection that are the difference between life and death. Some call it cheap. I call it sport. >D Donkey Kong Country Returns is an absolute joy whether you are familiar with the series, or looking for a (rare) great game on the Wii.
I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend...I might go try the Black Friday thing and get a TV...but I'm having doubts now.
Cheers. ;D
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