2008 4th of July Weekend in TC

We drove down the night of the 3rd and it was pretty uneventful. We listened to the Beatles Love CD, which was pretty cool with the scenery going by and it was somewhat inspiring.

On the 4th, my whole family and Zach went over to the neighbor's at around 9 because they were having their annual neighborhood potluck brunch and flag raising. The food was pretty good and it was nice and sunny out but it was fairly boring with no one to talk to (mostly everyone there was really white, suburban, and/or Mormon) and after the flag raising, Zach and I left to go down to Columbia Point where Zach's bro and family were holding down a BBQ spot. It was pretty chill since Zach's nephew and nieces weren't there to actually do stuff in the park, so we all just sat around and ate and I knitted a bit. It was pretty windy out though. Then we packed up and headed back to Zach's place where I got to try out WiiFit. I got 313 on hula hoops! Then we played some Rockband and sat around and chilled. Zach and I walked back to my house at around 6:15, and after some deliberation about what was going to happen on the 5th, we decided it'd be best to walk back to Zach's so I could drive the car back and use it tomorrow morning. Then I had some good home cooked grub. Afterwards, my Dad, brother, grandma, and I played some Mahjong. By the time we quit, around 10:30, I was pretty ahead in chips. I headed back to Zach's where it turned out that they had just left for Home Depot or something and I sat around with Zach's dad and brother, who was doing calc homework, and ended up sort of starting his English essay and writing down some writing points/focuses. I stayed until midnight and then went home to sleep.

On the 5th, my mom, grandma, and I went to the Pasco Farmer's Market. I didn't buy anything, but we got some cucumbers, squash and snow peas I think. We finished a bit early, at 10:30 and needed to kill some time, so we went over to the Asian market and got a few items there. By that time it was around 11 and since we didn't have anything else to do, we headed over to the Hawaiian restaurant around the corner where we had all agreed to meet up for lunch. We ended up waiting there for like an hour and a half since my brother didn't get out of volunteering at the hospital until noon, but then my dad was at Wal-Mart getting the oil in the car changed so by the time they had gotten there, we had already ordered and pretty much finished eating. My brother rode in my car and we went home and then I immediately left to go to Zach's and we were supposed to go to Casa Mia to see if it'd be feasible to do the wedding reception there but Zach had called earlier and it didn't seem like it'd work out. So I just tagged along with his whole family as they went to Some Bagels (a super delish bagel sandwich place). They even had gelato. Then they dropped me off at my house and my brother drove me to Smoovies, this smoothie/food place that has several game systems and other stuff to do. His friend was there and one of my friends came by as well and we all sat around and had a good chat and then played some card games. Then my brother and I went over to Zach's where we played some more Rockband and WiiFit and ate some yummy grub that Zach's mom cooked up. Zach changed the oil in the car in the meantime. By then it was getting pretty late and we needed to start on the drive back to Seattle so my brother and I went back to our house where I packed everything up and then we sat around playing cards until Zach showed up. The drive back to Seattle was pretty uneventful too, except that there was some heavy fog at one point. We got home at around 12:30 so it was pretty much unpack the stuff we needed, email my parents to let them know I got home okay, and then crawl into bed.

It was a short trip but I got a lot done, saw a lot of people, and I guess got a tiny little bit further along with the whole wedding plan things :)

Rumor! Text! Internet!

Yayz! Soon I will be getting a new shiny cell phone. The proposed candidate is the Sprint LG Rumor in Green.

The picture really doesn't do justice to the green color, it's a bit lighter and more jello-y looking. It's pretty cute though and I think I'll really like the sliding keyboard feature and finally learn how to txt. The plan that I'm getting will have UNLIMITED texting and data, so I'll have plenty of opportunity to use the hell out of it. Though don't think that my standards will be lowered by it, I'm pretty sure I'll keep the same level of grammar and spelling as I do currently in my IMs...in fact, it'll be like IMing on the go!

I suppose I'll have to find out from all the people that I could potentially txt whether or not their plan supports txting and if there should be a cap on my txt harrassing :)

The Art of Blogging

I've been feeling extremely restless lately, dissatisfied with my current hold on life, and hence, I guess, the desire to pick up blogging again. However, the more I think about what I want to say, what I can say, and then what I SHOULD say, it feels like Web 2.0 and the utter mesh of everyone you have ever known being able to find it is completely killing the spirit and healing nature of the blog. No longer are blogs solely for the narcissistic emo mind dump and gossip, they're respected independent news sources, educational mini-discovery channel type feeds and basically are supposed to serve some sort of purpose. For the greater good of all that is.

That was actually what this blog was supposed to do...but I've found that giving my opinions and thoughts about random news articles is not a creative enough outlet to fulfill the void. Yet I don't feel ready/up to par to actually sit down once or twice a week and pound out a few pages for my "book". Ugh...maybe I'm going to have to go back to writing poems. Break out the razors.

But really, how can blogging make any sense when you can't mention work and can't mention most personal things (because work might be reading and stalkers...or is that redundant?). Blogging has become an inside joke. Oh sure, of course you could say, "F the Man, if they want to take offense then fine, I'd rather be fired." But the whole firing thing aside, the internet is no longer as private as it used to be. I should know, I have successfully found people's "secret" livejournals. Which then brings up the question, why not just keep a "blog" offline? I would probably have to say narcissism and maybe the fact that the world is so wired, so interconnected all the time that things that happen "offline" aren't as real or worthwhile.

Okay. Back to the subject of the first sentence....nevermind.

These are the Times We are Living In

Airlines are now run by the mafia. They don't allow you to bring hardly anything useful in your carry-on, forcing you to put things like toothpaste and contact lens solution in your check-in luggage, where you can't get to it AND forcing you to pay $15-$25 for that "privilege".

Visibility to messy mergers are commonplace and kitchy names like Microhoo are splashed around, though the reality may be more like Microsoft-hoo.

Speaking of Microsoft, Bill Gates, the founder of the Blue Screen of Death is now "retired". It's the end of an era.

Let's not even get into the fact that the CANADIAN dollar is suddenly worth more than the US dollar. Though I do get a little chuckle now when I see mail orders and the price of books that are higher priced for the Canadian $ than the US amount...suckers.

There's a news article for every single time gas is mistakenly priced at some outrageous price like $1.40...though that was a perfectly normal price for gas a few years ago.

"Organic" is now a huge, thriving market of its own encompassing everything from fruits and veggies, canned soup, frozen food, eggs, and milk to dishwasher soap, detergent, weed killer, and various skin care products.

Hummers, the ultimate American car, is no longer in production because of the high price of gas and the economy conditions. Now how are we supposed to pretend to be as elite as the military?

Cell phones are no longer sought after for being as small as possible. Instead, they're going back to brick-size...thin, light-weight bricks.

The Democratic Primary was more exciting, well covered, and had higher voter turnout than many actual Presidential Elections. Potential candidates spent millions and millions for the opportunity to actually qualify to race. Before this year, I would say an extremely small percentage of voters even knew how the Primaries worked. I personally thought some important players in the Democratic Party got together at the Convention and picked someone. No public involvement.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), which before was an unknown, uncared about agency that sucked up tons of taxpayer money, is a bitterly laughable farce. Two national disasters have knocked it on its ass, Hurricane Katrina, and the flooding in Iowa. Though the flooding in Iowa gave FEMA plenty of time to get its act together, again, it was caught sleeping on the job. President Bush was no better either.

Foreclosure + banks + morgages + loans = thousands of homeless Americans, and making it difficult to sell or buy houses.

One Laptop Per Kid

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/H/HUNDRED_DOLLAR_LAPTOP?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-11-07-10-56-03

http://www.laptop.org/

This promotion is going on right now!! The promotion is buy one to give one for these cute little GREEN laptops. I read about this a few months back and was very much interested in participating. It took a little bit of searching, but I managed to find out that the age range for the laptop is apparently 6 to 16! I bought one for Zach's nieces/nephew. They'll be perfect test subjects to see how much the laptop really teaches kids and their interest in it.

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm really excited for this program though, the people who put this together are really dedicated and I really think it could change the world.

Blue Scholars Lyrics: Blue School

I've been listening to a bunch of Blue Scholars and after unsuccessfully searching online for some of their lyrics, have decided to devote my time to producing a few. Now, I'm not the best listener of rap so if you see a mistake, let me know and I'll fix it! Enjoy!


Microphone check (x5)
One, Two
I'm a Blue Scholar working,
studying the art of of labor to create
flavor to relate to listeners
alleviate the danger associated with strangers
Isn't it strange how we estrange ourselves from our neighbor
Enables us through music to connect
Release some fluids in our neck
With the rhythmic forward movement of our heads and back again
Indeed as we succeed the pioneers maybe give back
All that we've taken through the years
I bleed for what I believe to be the truth
Nurturing the seed planted in the fertile youth
The poetry hanging from the branches eat the fruit
Pluck the most succulent to suck upon the juice
So what's up with you
frequently they ask
been hibernating
writing till the last page
deciphering the past days by
Bypassing the lies and the bullshit
Get off the mic and save it for the bull pit

In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)

I'm an exile, motherland stepchild
metropolis-dwelling Middle America's prisoner of war
combat the papers til the blankness is gone
listen now talk about the beat after the song
Astronomical 'cause that is just a modest measurement
of my ability to represent my family correct
because I be about it
ain't no other way to say it
discovered my potential
and I stay late to tape it
in the basement
with an ancient karaoke stereo
in lieu of a studio
We made do with everything laying around
And if I'm not mistaken
Isn't that improvisation what hip hop is all about
If you popping at the lip then I will sock you in the mouth
sonically to render you the opposite of loud
Apology accepted in advance
I think it's kind of cool at one point that you thought you had a chance


In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)


A veteran's fate
written on pages of mixed tapes
I'm all about a government that citizens dictate
sick of fucking dealing with the President's mistakes
sit back and rant is just misplaced anger
so I cradle pens
from now until the fable ends
taken friends for granted
but now I gotta make amends
Calling out the big talk small walk
Towers high above the ground
yo we're shaking down your towers demanding our money back
plus reimbursement for parking and shit
I put my heart in this shit
And now my arteries connect to the amplifier wire
Music make the flames in my inner fire higher
I reinvent the language in the image of a dancer
contorting where the floor becomes an answer

Blue school graduate dawg
After this last verse when the revolution come
we gonna shoot your ass first

In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)

Class is in session
ask us a question
give us suggestions
yo strapped for protection
whatever you do, whatever you say
step up front
be good at what you do
at least be good at something
writing, reading
producing, DJing
cooking, cleaning
doing laundry
something
learn an art, a trade
be somebody


In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)

Maine Middle School to provide Birth Control

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/18/middleschool.contraception.ap/index.html+

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/19/national/main3384673.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3384673

Can middle school students (11-14 yr olds) be trusted to remember to take birth control pills in a timely fashion? If the birth control pills were the kind that is "seasonal" where you only have your period every three months, the chances of unknowingly being pregnant for a whole trimester can easily happen.

But all that aside, would they then also be providing access to the emergency contraceptive pill?

I honestly can't remember that much about being in middle school, but I'd definitely say by that time there was some hanky-panky going on. And that was a decade ago! With the teen pop stars and TV and movies these days, those kids are not innocent. Even more so if they're not as sheltered as some more "privileged kids".

Saving the Monies

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21548538/

retirement calculator: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21563675/

Man, I hope retirement is all that it's cracked up to be. There'd better be some awesome games 40 years from now! Hopefully, there'll be some worthwhile stuff still standing to visit and that the smog won't ruin the view. Hopefully, the kids (if there are any) won't turn out to be bums that live at my house still and the world in relative peace to make traveling safe enough.

I can't even begin to fathom life in 40 years. Hopefully I'll still be around.

Reality TV...for Gaming!

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/topheadlines/~3/178564050/pl_games

Man, the Japanese think of everything great! If this caught on here, it would super boost the gaming industry as well as make gaming more accepted as a somewhat type of sport. Maybe a split screen of the gamer and the game. All those gamers out there that gave up on the game because it was too hard would be able to finally see the ending and stuff. Or in the case of poorly planned (re)formats, when the game file gets wiped and it's too much trouble to go through it all again. Perhaps this is the idea that Zach and I have been waiting for and I should be podcast gaming?

Non-Picture Exhibit C, D & E

Ugh, uploading pixs to Blogger is horrendously difficult. These don't really need pictures to be enjoyed anyway...

Exhibit C: Las Vegas
For Rae's 21 Birthday extravaganza, she decided she wanted to go party it up in Vegas. Ironically, very little partying happened, most of it being done by Zach, Andy, and me. I took extremely few pictures during the trip because Zach and I had stayed in Vegas for about a week last year and pretty much saw everything noteworthy then.

Highlights from the trip:

• Getting a bruise the size of a half dollar on my elbow because of getting knocked around so much on the New York New York roller coaster ride. My shoulders were also sore for the rest of the stay.
• Warily watching the Harley Davidson motorcycles sway back and forth as they were lifted up above us while eating at the Harley Davidson Cafe.
• Learning to play Craps! And then promptly losing $40 each that night during our first Craps experience. However, later on Zach and I played again and won $25 each.
  Only losing $5 total on gambling! Comparatively, Pat lost several hundred dollars playing poker.
• Playing an abridged version of pool volleyball where the rules were expanded a bit and the score didn't matter.
• A random convo with some Brits...after some very very cramped clubbing, we were sitting on a bench in one of the malls and this group of British chaps came over and we had a bit of a row about how three of their shoes were piss poor and the bloke at the club wouldn't let them in. Bugger that! It was pretty entertaining.
• Watching Zumanity. They had a couple who had been married for 40 years go up and do a 'romantic slow dance' which they didn't look all that enthralled about and halfway through the dance they up and decided they had done enough dancing and tried to get off stage. Unfortunately, they just stood at the edge and looked down because they didn't go to a spot that had stairs...poor old people, not up to the stage jumping.
• Watching Spamalot. Only Zach, Slava, and I went because everyone else thought it'd be lame. How can getting a grail filled with strawberry daiquiri be lame?! And the Holy Grail store afterwards had the fanged bunny slippers that made Zach almost cum in his pants.

Exhibit D: Housewarming Party

The housewarming party was a long time in coming. I put it off so I would have ample time to finish getting unpacked. Ha, as if. There's still a couple boxes in the living room. It was super fab though, I had yummy spinach dip, fresh veggies (the sugar snap peas went like crazy) with dill dip, chips (the delicious Hawaiian chips that come in a purple bag), and bagel bites. And of course GUITAR HERO!! Though I didn't get to play much it was probably for the best since the whole slowing of the brain signals to the hands makes doing any song on Hard REALLY hard. Again not many pictures though there are a lot that my friend Megan put up that I subsequently stole from her facebook.

Exhibit E: Wild Mushroom Show

Yum! Mushrooms galore! The best part of this show, which was at the UW Horticulture Center (which was also the place for my Tech Comm graduation) was that we were allowed to bring in mushrooms that we found for ID. So that morning, I went to the front yard to dig up some mushrooms that were growing aplenty and after looking closely, noticed that there was another kind too after digging that one up, I noticed yet another kind. Then I turn around and there's this quite large mushroom growing right behind me! So I found FOUR different kinds of mushrooms in my front yard. Later on, Zach and I went into the backyard and found at least two other kinds. The big mushroom turned out to be a shaggy mane, which is apparently quite edible. Unfortunately, there was only one and I haven't seen any others growing yet. It was really great though because at the show, they had a bunch of shaggy manes and I was all like, Lookit here, I have one too! There was also a chef cooking mushrooms and I got to have a little taste. Speaking of mushrooms, the stuffed portabella mushroom food item ( Champignon Gefullt mit Knoblauch und Kase, mit Spätzle und Gemischtem Salat) at Fierabiend is delish.