Agonotheta

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March 31, 2005

Looking Forward To:

Here are some things coming up in the next few days I have to look forward to:

Tonight I'm seeing a pre-show of Sin City. Next Wednesday I'm seeing the Reverend Horton Heat in concert. But the best thing about next week, and possibly this entire year, is that I'm seeing Jerry Seinfeld live on Thursday. I'm so excited for it, it's really beyond words. It's incalcalable. Also, in about a month, on May 2 I'll be seeing The Killers live.

Word to the wise: be careful when you're at work and you type in sincity.com for a link for your blog. You'll get some interesting stuff popping up ... on your computer screen.

March 31, 2005

Sunny Days Lie Ahead

Well, I'm completely burned out from work the last couple of days. Since returning to work after my mini-vacation I've been deluged with work, had a multitude of appointments to look at homes to buy, and generally have so many spring errands to run it's getting pretty draining. I am not the type to get emotional, but I received some bad news leading up to my vacation and last night after having a particularly drab meeting with a real estate developer I completely broke down and lost it, crying uncontrollably. I am not ashamed or too caught up in my "manhood" to admit it. I just couldn't help it. Everything seemed to be caving in around me and I had nobody to talk to about it.

After feeling bad for myself for a few minutes and finally drying my eyes, I ended up going to the gym and riding a stationary bike for an hour. I came home feeling a lot better, not perfect, but definitely better.

Today I've listened to Bob Marley all day which usually helps cheer me up. Here's one of my favorites.

March 30, 2005

Buried

I'm trying to dig my way from under the literal and figurative snowstorm that I've found myself in today. Of course, being buried alive should be expected since this is my first day back in Salt Lake and work.

March 25, 2005

Scapegoat

I'm on the flight right now to Detroit. About two minutes ago I was in a pretty bad mood because the ghetto, 8-Mile, interracial teen couple in front of me needed to change their love child's poopy diaper and it reminded me of reason #10,279 why I don't want kids: poop stinks. Sure, one can endure the odors produced by his own body, but it takes love and selflessness that I don't possess to suffer the putrid stench that is infant feces.

Ah, but yes, I did say that I WAS in a bad mood. So, what turned it to a good one?

I soon realized that in about two hours the obligatory fart from sitting in that awful position that would begin to rumble in my stomach would need to be released. And what better opportunity would be presented than to blame it on the baby in front of me?

March 24, 2005

HOLIDAY!

The three best things about working for the public school system are:

1. Getting all the school days off.
2. Getting about 10 days off every year over Christmas and New Years'.
3. Getting several Fridays off every summer to save on building cooling expenses.

So, yes, the best thing about my work are the days off.

This week and next I only have to work four days, so I decided to use the long weekend to make it an extended weekend by taking off Tuesday as well. What am I going to do with all this time off?

Well, tomorrow morning I leave to visit my old roommate Noah in Michigan. Apparently, he and his wife Regan are even planning a big party for me on Saturday night.

Sure, it'll be cold, but I'll be with good friends. So it'll be a good next few days for me.

March 23, 2005

Call Me Snake

Yesterday I had to drop something off to my sister at her work during my lunch. She's a stylist in a hair salon, so while I waited I introduced myself to the pretty blonde receptionist staring at me behind the counter.

She was very cute and had an even cuter British accent when she said that I look just like a friend of hers in England.

She even laughed when I made the obligatory "he must be good looking" joke.

"Yeah, I haven't seen Snake in years now. We dated for several years," she said.

"Snake! That's his name?" I replied.

"Yeah, I don't even think I know his real name, but seriously, you look exactly like him," she said staring at me, or rather, through me as if remembering the good times.

This got me thinking, I may have better luck with women if my name is Snake. So from now on, call me Snake.

March 22, 2005

Wrong Place, Right Time

One night last weeknight (St. Patty's) after several hours of hanging out in bars, I attempted my 10-minute drive home. Oh wait, that sounds really bad. Sure, I had been in one bar or another for about 6 hours, but I hadn't had a drink in the last three or so. The second bar I went to was actually Brewvies, so I was watching a movie, not drinking.

As I got a couple of blocks away, I realized I couldn't make a left turn on the street I was on. So I made a right and continued down the street and made a U-turn. Within seconds of making the U-turn, I saw red and blue lights in my rear-view mirror.

It was obvious he was simply pulling me over because I grabbed his attention. As he approached my window I presented my license and registration. He simply took them and asked if I'd been drinking. I replied honestly with a yes, but that it had been a few hours since I'd had a drink. It was almost as if he didn't hear me.

"Can you step out of your vehicle?" he barked.

I complied with this request and every other for the next half hour. Luckily while I stood in the cold rain I had many activities with which to keep warm. I walked a straight line, one foot in front of another, I balanced on one foot and said the alphabet, and wriggled and writhed attempting to coerce him into letting me go.

After the above roadside olympics, he concluded that he was 93% sure I was intoxicated. For final proof, although he admitted it wasn't admissible in court, I blew into a "breathalyzer," where I blew a .059. The legal limit in Utah, and most states as far as I know is .08. At that, he gave me a quick lecture on driving after drinking and sent me on my way.

I was pretty much frazzled and agitated for the rest of the evening. I didn't sleep well that night thinking how closely I had come to getting a DUI. The following day, I was a wreck. Completely tired and in a bad mood.

Sure, I was upset because I felt he pulled me over for no reason at all, but I was also pretty pissed because I felt completely and totally fine at the time. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I've driven a couple of times where I knew I probably shouldn't have. At these times I was never out of control, I was never swerving wildly all over the road the way the drunks on Cops do. But I'm positive my reaction time was pretty slow. But this time, I honestly couldn't even "feel" the alcohol.

This whole experience has made me realize that what I think is "ok" is probably not legally "ok." I honestly doubt I'll ever drive after having more than one drink. I knew a DUI was really bad, but I was not aware until after just how bad it is. First, the ticket is $1500 along with a night's stay in jail. Second, you have to pay to have your car towed and then to get it out of tow. Third, there is therapy and counseling that has to be done. Finally, your car insurance sky rockets. On my car it would probably be something like $1000 a month or so. I'd have to get rid of it because I couldn't afford to have it insured. By the time everything is said and done, I've heard it is as bad as $10,000-15,000.

Wow.

How stupid do I feel? Pretty stupid.

So needless to say, I'm going to end up paying for a lot of taxi rides from this point on. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than a DUI.

March 21, 2005

Prestonite

Over the weekend, I met a girl from Preston, Idaho.

She was nice, but a little naive. Exactly what you would suspect a person from Napoleon's hometown would be like.

March 19, 2005

What If...

One man's real and imagined lives, in pixel art.

March 18, 2005

Riddle Me This

I love riddles!

March 16, 2005

My Clock

My clock ticks ever so slow. But ever on. Ever mocking, yet rejoicing. Holding dear every second, but waiting for the day. I yearn to speed it on, but wouldn't want to lose the time. An evil paradox that I praise. It quenches the pain and stings the kiss.

March 14, 2005

Local Meet

Yesterday afternoon, I met up with about 40 or 50 fellow Subaru enthusiasts in my area and caravanned up to Park City for a drive. Despite 95% of us driving quite conservatively, we still ran into some severe problems with the law. About half of our group got separated because the police set up a road block to better control us. While this roadblock took place several cops raced (completely out of control) ahead to stop the other pack. Being in this first pack we were completely oblivious to the problems behind us. We continued to the designated meeting spot to wait for stragglers and anybody who got left behind.

Apparently the officers, who were panicking because they had all seen Fast and the Furious, knew exactly what high-performance import cars do when they gather. I say they were panicking for several reasons.

1. A couple of them got out of their car and started yelling at each other.
2. One squad car, upon entering the freeway, fishtailed uncontrollably for several moments before finally getting control.
3. A second squad car, upon seeing the first car out of control, lost control himself and ended up in the median of the highway.

I bring this episode up not to say, "look how much of a ruckus we WRX and STi owners can cause," but to point out who was the real problem yesterday. I'm actually quite surprised that there wasn't an accident. But rest assured, the vehicles involved in it wouldn't be driven by one of us Subarus who were abiding by the law.

March 07, 2005

Hobbes Durden

Sort of funny comparison between Calvin/Jack & Hobbes/Tyler

March 07, 2005

Homeless

I don't think it's too early to tell you that I will (most likely) not be buying the loft I was looking at. I was, and I guess still am, in a waiting game. But recently I've gotten an email from the developer and it is just looking like they are going to cost too much. Sure I could afford them, but I don't think I want to dedicate that much of my paycheck to a house when I know I can be paying much, much less, possibly even half.

I like my lifestyle too much to change it. I like being able to go to concerts, buy cd's, go to movies and go to dinner. If I were to get one of those lofts, I doubt I'd be able to do any of that even 5% as much as I do now. My life would completely change. Sure, maybe I'd live in the heart of the nightlife, but I wouldn't have any money to go do anything in it. What would be the point?

So, I'm still on the list to see the available units when they come up, but I really doubt I'll end up getting one.

I've also contacted a couple of friends who are real estate agents and given them an idea of what I'm looking for in a house so they can begin looking for something. I've told them stuff like area, 2-3 bedrooms, 1200-1500 square feet, small yard, garage, hopefully updated and remodeled, etc.

We'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted. In fact, this will probably become a pretty heavy topic on here as I get into the process.

March 06, 2005

Get A Real Job

Has anybody seen that commercial for a vacuum cleaner of some sort where its British engineer is speaking?

In it, he says that the vacuum "creates 100,000 times the force of gravity."
100,000 times! Can you believe that?

He then goes on to humbly say, "I just think things should work properly." The combination of these two phrases blew me away. I think this guy has definitely wasted his potential. I mean, if you can create 100,000 times the force of gravity in a small vacuum, you need to be working for NASA or something, my friend.

I can just see him going to his parents house for dinner and the conversation that ensues.

Mom: Bobby, you're so smart you could be doing so much more than designing vacuums.

Dad: Your mother's right, Bobby, you haven't reached your potential.

Bobby: Mom, Dad, we've talked about this before and you're still not going to change my mind. I love vacuums and maybe I'm not impacting the world the way you'd like me to, but I impact every mother out there that uses my vacuum. Vacuums are my passion and I just want them to work properly.

March 04, 2005

You Know I Love You, Baby!

I've slacked on my writing this week, I know. I've been swamped at work finishing some big projects and I had to take part in a focus group that took a lot of time. But to top it all off, it seems the cold i had a couple weeks ago has resurfaced. So while I'm at work I have to focus 100% on my work because I'm not completely with it.

But anyway, today I'm doing a lot better and I have some fun plans for the weekend. I'm seeing Modest Mouse in concert tomorrow night, then meeting a couple friends that are in town for a drink, then Sunday I'm going tubing. I'll talk to you Monday (hopefully not feeling more sick)!