Archive for September, 2005
Memoirs of Coolness, Weirdness, Geekness
15 September 2005The past week or so has been pretty interesting. First of all, got back to chatting with Genelle quite a bit last week–always enjoyable, but particularly amusing last week. I think she was going a bit stir-crazy cooped up in her house or something. Got together with her Friday, and amazingly, there was zero awkwardness or tension there. In the past, even in the case of “good” get-togethers, there was always a lingering uncomfortable silence. With very few exceptions. Even when we got together by AZ Mills late this spring, though I could tell it was better–there weren’t any strange expectations getting in the way, there were still a few awkward moments. This weekend, none. It was like hanging out with Kaleena: that casual, with perhaps even less… *ahem* tension, believe it or not. Unfortunately we didn’t get much accomplished–I was there to help her convert her old videos to DVD–and I made a fool out of myself, sitting on & breaking her dog’s little step stool, and spilling my (fortunately clear) drink not once, but twice. Oh well, we couldn’t quite expect perfection, could we? :-P
Hey cool, Erin just logged into AIM–hailing from Kazakhstan! (After speaking with her for a few minutes…) Well, she’s doing alright, not the best though. She’s got a cold, her classes were messed up when she got there, and her “home stay” family is giving her the Cinderella treatment–extorting her w/ the rent, making her cook, clean, & what not. But she hopes to be out & with another family by the weekend. Wow, she’s 13 hours ahead of me… That makes her the person with the most drastic time difference I’ve ever chatted with. (Used to chat with a few girls from Australia, but that’s only like 8-9 hours behind concerning time of day.) Ah… You know, it’s moments like these that I really appreciate how awesome & interesting my friends are, even despite the fact that we may go days, weeks, or months without talking. They’re always good for exciting stories & recollections, and hopefully I’m good for… reflection & stuff. It’d be marginally cooler if I, too, were globe-trotting… But then we’d probably never talk.
Anyhow, back to the post, the weekend wasn’t wholly easy & stress-free. Can’t go into to much detail, but suffice to say I found out someone likes me (as in, is sorta crushing on me) who (a) I never would’ve expected to like me, and (b) isn’t in the best of circumstances for liking me. Just sorta awkward. Because of the circumstances, I’ve just never considered her in the same way–I’m not sure if I would similarly “like” her if given the opportunity, I think I might–but more significantly I simply can’t consider her in that way. (And no, I will not elaborate on the circumstances… Just use your imagination, and assume it’s something cool & unrealistic like Thom turning a lesbian straight or something. Pssh, yeah right.) Puts us in a tight spot, as it seems now that she’s gotten this secret off her chest, she expects to be able to confide in me emotionally more so than before, but… nothing’s really changed, y’know? In fact, it might be the opposite–it might be harder for me to accept her confidences now, for fear of conflict of interest. Oh well… Hopefully, we can just move past all this and not be too weirdly affected long-term. After all, I’m friends with practically all my exes and sorta-exes. I’d think this situation wouldn’t be too different, except for any sense of being unfulfilled or unrequited on her part.
Eesh, it’s getting too late. Anyhow, I did wanna geek about SMART-POPCORN.com once more, real quick. Since unveiling Version 3 of the site last month, our daily visits nearly doubled… instantaneously. Between August 21 & 22, they jumped from 1200 per day to 2000, and have maintained an average just shy of that ever since. Ok, maybe it didn’t quite double, but it’s jumped a good 50-60% minimum. Next on the platter, we’re doing podcasts (new term: a sort of downloadable Internet radio show). In fact, we already recorded the first one Saturday, and it’s available for download here. (MP3, 15 MB) I’ve got the feed pretty much finished, so soon we’ll actually be able to list it in iTunes! It’s just so cool to see your own name in iTunes.
Alright, that’s about it. I snoozed for a good 3-4 hours tonight, but I’m looking at just 3-4 more if I hit the sack now. Which I’m gonna do. Goodnight. :-)
Vroom Vroom…
6 September 2005Well… I got a new car today. And almost more than just “new”. Practically NEW.
2005 Hyundai Elantra, 15k miles, automatic, power everything. Sticker price was $16,999. I got it for… Let’s just say I have connections. O:-)
This is a nearly identical Elantra… In fact, it was on the same lot.
I’m happy with it. The payments are up there, but still comfortable even with my current job. If I get the job with Town of Gilbert I’ll be doing quite well.
I do need to consider some upgrades.
- Tint, just because my cousin Matt can get me the hook-up. Nothing too dark.
- A new deck. It’s only got a tape player, no CD. I’ll need something that works with my iPod Shuffle though.
- Rims. It’s just got wheel covers right now.
But how cool, eh? A practically new car. This is totally different for me.
Twilight Zone
2 September 2005Ever see the episode of the old Twilight Zone where the old man obsesses over his grandfather clock, believing the perpetual swing of its pendulum to be directly linked to his own life & well-being? I think I might have a similar relationship with my truck.
I’ve noticed in the past that, as I’ve had the occasional bug or bang-up, my truck seems to also have problems–the clutch, the shocks, etc. Well now, in the past few months I’ve been having these abdominal pains–my gall bladder–and at the same time my truck has been getting progressively shakier to drive. This week, it’d gotten so bad–I was becoming afraid to drive it–that I scheduled an appointment w/ my mechanic.
Wednesday, after work, I was going to swing by Wal-Mart and Auto Zone to get oil, a filter, and an oil plug, then drop it off overnight at Wes’s Auto (my mechanic) for a check-up/tune-up/oil change the next day. Well… I didn’t make it that far. A quarter-mile from Wal-Mart, the shaky “thud” sound turned into a clingy rattly sound. I managed to get it to the Wally World parking lot, looked underneath, and the front right shock had jumped out of its place! It’s hard for one mechanically-challenged person to explain it to another, but the front shocks connect to the frame via fairly long rods, capped off by a rubber stopper, washer & nut on top. I watched Phil & his auto buddies put them on.. It takes quite a bit of effort just to compress the shock enough to install it… Let alone trying to get the shock to “fall out”. So it’s taken quite a bit of jarring to knock it loose over the past few months. (I haven’t been off-roading or anything… Wes thinks the washers weren’t installed, and the rubber just wore out.)
Anyhow, what’s this got to do with my gall bladder? Not much, really. But it was my front right shock. The gall bladder is in the right side of the abdomen, which for me is about the front-most part of my body, standing up. So… Connection? When my truck finally fizzles out, am I going to die too? (Perhaps in a car accident–that’d make sense.) Probably not, but I’d rather minimize my chances. This weekend, I think I’ll start looking around for a new car. Perhaps a Corolla or a Sentra or something.
Let’s see… What else is new? I’ve applied for a new job. With the Town of Gilbert, another techie job, and it pays nearly $18/hr. I’ll take it! =D I got a lead on another job for Chandler that would pay $57k/year, but I know I’m not (yet) qualified for that job. But it encourages me to learn ASP .NET and Microsoft SQL. (In layman’s terms, programming/database languages different from the ones I know.) It’d kick so much butt if I got the Gilbert job… I’d be bringing in nearly $1000/paycheck, up $350-$400 more than I do right now. Sure, I wouldn’t have summers off, but I’d have vacation time.
Not much else is up. I’ve *sigh* taken a break from my book right now, not because I’m discouraged, but simply because I’ve been distracted (and, in fact, pretty excited) by my work at SMART-POPCORN.com. The new version has gone live, if anybody has yet to check it out. Very cool things going on.
Genelle is back in AZ for a month or two, starting sometime in the next week, I think. (G, you’d better e-mail me or call me or something. :-P) I hope to hang out with her a few times… Not that we were speaking frequently before she went to Holland, but conversation has been so sparse since then (and pretty enjoyable) that it’s about time to get back to our more frequent (but hopefully not more awkward) norm. And Kaleena’s being a bit antisocial. (Not that I can talk.) We were supposed to see 40 Year-Old Virgin this weekend, but I couldn’t get ahold of her via phone or e-mail all weekend. Oh well, it’ll come around as it always does. Still gotta hang out with Bink some more–she may be getting Eagles tickets, and dammit I’m jealous–and haven’t spoken to Erin… I presume she’s already in Kazakhstan. And I’m here. :-P That is all.