on being handy

i got a flat tire the other night. it was right before i was going to see jazz show, so i decided to deal with the mess once the show was over. (sidenote: surprisingly, some high school jazz bands and funk bands are actually quite amazing and fun) i called roadside assistance and they responded rather quickly; i was duly impressed. i was also impressed that the tire guy changed the tire in about 15 minutes all while giving me a rundown on the '06 san francisco earthquake and how alameda/oakland were relatively unaffected - and that alameda was the third city in the states to have electric street lights. san francisco still had gas lamps and that was why most of the city burned after the earthquake. the things you learn from tire guys at midnight on a tuesday night while you are standing on a street in the middle of oakland.

i drove home on my spare tire, which must also work really well as a wheel for a moped. yesterday was a minor wild goose chase of discovering that i would have to get a new tire - said tire not being at big o tires nor on the internet, and going to the honda dealer only to find at the honda factory was closed by the time the parts guy called to inquire. this whole time i thought, "man, i wish i knew a trade. or at least was somewhat mechanically/automotively/technically inclined." no matter the economic climate, mechanics, plumbers, elevator repairmen will always be needed. for now i am one of the many degreed (even doubly so!) schlubs who is scraping around for a job and would be living at home with her parents if it weren't for generous great people from church.

i'm a little grouchy. i remain hopeful. but i am a complex person, full of complex emotions! so when something like this flat tire happens, this is where my thoughts go. simply because i wish i could do all that stuff for myself, instead of shelling out the cash for labor in addition to the parts.

don't hate the player, hate the game

man, i got sick of looking at my smug mug under a palm tree. sorry about that, virtual friends.

so the recession continues, and everyone waits for obama's magic touch. i have more realistic expectations for the man, and am hopeful for the future. i am hoping i am gainfully employed soon. in the meantime, i still take things one day at a time, and marvel at how God seems to provide for me anyway (i.e. mansion-sitting, free tickets to the mexico-sweden soccer game, having friends who like to buy me food, etc.). i hope hiring freezes are things that pass, like the seasons. the blossom of the job spring is coming!

i also have a confession to make - i have become a gamer, to a small degree. back in december, i discovered how to turn on the ps2 in the place i was staying. most of my time in this house has been figuring out how to use all the dang appliances that are supposed to make life easier. but i digress.

anyway, i found the lego star wars game and heard great things about it, so i started to play. at 10 pm. a little while later, i thought "i ought to stop, i've been playing long enough. probably about an hour or so." i checked the clock in the kitchen... 2:45 am. really? i am 32 years old and i had been playing a video game for almost 5 hours? crazy. i tried to keep better control after that, but to be totally honest there were 1 or 2 more nights like that. took me about a month to complete the game. i was a little obsessed. like i actually set little goals for myself - i can't do this with say working out or other important things in my life, but i can with a video game? at least i don't have to wait on things when i am playing as boba fett. oh reality, how you disappoint me sometimes.

which brings me to my next minor addiction: call of duty. a lot more violent and gory than lego star wars. i can't explain the appeal really. but it is a game my brother really likes and something we do together. rather, he destroys me and i get mad and he laughs and laughs. he doesn't seem to get tired of it. i went to see him in san diego and he killed me many times through a variety of methods: grenades, sniper rifles, flame thrower, machine guns, etc. etc. one day i will get my revenge, it's probably what drives me to try to get better at this game. the added geek factor here is that i now own an xbox 360 myself and have been playing with him and my cousins online. visualize me wearing one of those headsets and yelling at my cousins to quit calling me a "noob." yeah. it's pretty bad. yet i game on. suggestions for a funny gamertag? help me out with a name here.

stay classy, san diego

what climate change?

if only i could just talk faster...

then i could really pretend to be a gilmore girl - i already have the pop culture references down. if i did my math correctly, i am right in the ballpark of lorelai gilmore's age, if i did get pregnant at 15 or 16. i'm not that much of a hardcore fan that i would know their actual ages on the show. i am also in the ballpark of lorelai's number of neuroses, so i also have that going for me.

i was teen-sitting for a weekend because the parents went out of town. i don't think i'd do this for just any family, especially when i discovered that i had been appointed pre-winter ball photographer by "rory." now, i think most of my friends my age would run far far away - but because i am weirdly equipped to hang out with youth, i was rather intrigued by the idea. it was actually a little overwhelming and bizarre - i only knew like 3 of the kids in the group going to the ball, and i didn't know any of the parents. so i didn't really know who to talk to or where to stand, since the last time i did something like this, i was the one actually going to the dance. standing with the parents and taking pictures was the most odd; "rory" laughed really hard at the perplexed look on my face. mostly i just wanted to start laughing, because who else like me is doing this on a saturday night? when the mother of the house offered me a glass of wine, i gratefully and emphatically accepted. then one of the kids informed me that she thinks it's odd to see me partake of alcohol - she said she forgets that i am over 21. and in reality, WAY over 21.

i find it odd that i can cross age boundaries so easily. yet it comes pretty easily to me; i take it for granted most of the time.

just to be clear

i was wearing a pirate hat, along with regular clothes that stayed on. dan, i hate you sometimes, but i suppose i walked into that comment on the last post. at this particular moment of the photo, i am inspired by my fellow countryman, the new lead singer for journey, arnel pineda.

year of the extrovert

much like i decided may of '06 was salsa/ nacho/ grilling month (my housemates and i remember this fondly), i think that '09 will be year of the extrovert. or at least me pretending to be an extrovert. i don't know how long this will last, but right now i'm willing to give it a shot. to play on tina fey's (as sarah palin) words, "i ask myself, what would an extrovert do? and then do that." i'll let you know how it works out, as i feel myself to be vehemently introverted. it shall be a grand experiment.
what i've done so far:
-went to trivia night even though none of my regular friends could make it, and joined a random team. we came in 2nd. also offered to help co-host on some nights.
-went with a friend to see an 80s cover band (one that had played at another friend's wedding and rocked). a led zeppelin cover band on before them - and i swear the woman singer was robert plant in drag. not really, but she was vocally spot on. anyway, struck up a conversation with a guy, ended up going for donuts after the show and we shared a giant donut. i'm not kidding - it was giant. the donut lady gave it to us in a box that normally holds a dozen donuts. the way to my heart is through donuts.
-went dancing with some friends for 80s night at a club (80s music is good to me). someone decided that we should all wear funny hats. so i found myself dancing on a small platform wearing a pirate hat, while singing along to "don't stop believing" with a goofy chilean dude.

i mean, this is probably like how people start working out all the time at the beginning of the year and then lose motivation (which i am also doing). at least it's good times.

because you never know when a pommel horse will come in handy

that's former gold medalist kurt thomas, people. this may be the worst fight scene i have ever seen. and the most awesome. no, the most awesome is milla jovovich in the fifth element.

'09 is so fine, '08 was pretty... good

so it's 2009...
what i hope for this year:
world peace ('cause you're always supposed to say that, don't you watch beauty pageants?)
knowing people that are different than me
a job = preferably one that i would like to do for more than a year or two, but i'll settle for an income i can live on
muscle tone
my own space
being a better cook

i suppose these are resolutions, but this involves less guilt should i not actually follow through.

good stuff about '08:
going to new orleans twice and eating a lot of fried food and meeting great people
seeing my brother graduate from college
reuniting with old friends at a wedding in vancouver this summer
feeling more rooted in community here
living in a mansion for free
reading a ton of good books, which i may or may not tell you about here on the blog
seeing anne lamott twice
volunteering at st. anthony's
remembering how to hope