Approximately 15 hours and 30 minutes of Commute Time Later....

Yeah, so I know I’ve been a big blog bum lately. I attribute this to myspace and myjob. I’m in my second week and things are going pretty well at the grind. It is nice to be back in a professional environment. Everyone is really nice and the guy who’s training me seems to be putting up with me ok. I am definitely out of practice on some things but I feel like I’m catching on. As with any new job, I feel the pressure to prove that I can do the work and do it well especially in a predominately male occupation. I was pleasantly surprised that I have not had to do the usual fighting to carry stuff myself or doing the ‘heavier’ duties on my own. I think they are either trying to see what I am capable of (willing to do) or they aren’t as sexist, I mean chivalrous, around here. I work around mostly minorities so maybe the diverse populace lends itself to a more diverse mindset but ultimately I’ll go with the initial reaction and save the politics.

All in all, I feel blessed to have this opportunity and though it seems like it will turn out to be a good, steady job I am still holding out for that fateful day when I get the call, “The FAA would like to hire you to work at ___________.” Hopefully, that blank will be filled with something pleasant. Until that day, I will be dealing with a poopy commute to my descent job. I actually am starting a vanpool tomorrow which will hopefully cut my traffic woes down significantly but the bad thing is I have to work an earlier shift. This translates to rising at 4am, nice.

I think Christie and Brent can relate to me when I say that myspace is officially addictive. It adds a whole different perspective to the blog. I have made contact with people I lost touch with up to eight years ago. Plus, other connections/reconnections have been made through friends of friends. It’s so simple but fascinating. Any of you thugs that read this and don’t have an account yet need to get with the times. Plus, I need some more legit friends. I have a self-proclaimed friend count competition with Brent and he’s beating me bad.

Thanks to all for your well wishes and inquires over the past week and a half. Once I get my schedule all figured maybe I’ll be back to this more consistently.

And lastly...I've been hearing this song on indie 103 lately it's meloncholy has been sticking with me.
The Funeral - Band of Horses

What is the data transfer rate of a DS-1 line?

Just as I thought I would not get much into blog when I started, I feel (felt) the same way about MySpace. I had been reluctant to dive into that world since every time I browsed around my impression of its contents was the same. Just a bunch of people's profiles with sultry or weird pictures, comments that I'm not sure anyone reads (especially those with like a cagillion friends), and the comments were mostly pretty lame, "thanks for the add" "you're awesome" "i love your art/music" "i miss you". So I joined the ranks and set up an account yesterday. Now I'm trying to amass "friends." At this point, I feel like it's dumbed down blog. I did find some people that I know that probably wouldn't give a flip about reading this drivel but are folks I wouldn't mind having contact with. I was surprised to find even my bro-in-law has a space. I have a pretty good hunch on who the culprit(s) were on that one. It's just one more way the internet has become my new tv.

Anyway, I got word this week from my new employer that I start on Mon, 8:30am. No more free (or I should say poor) ride. I will be happy to be better occupied, making bacon, and feeling like a functioning member of society again. I'm not looking forward to the commute though. I'll probably have to leave here at 6:30am on Mon to allow ample time to make it to Irvine from here (where orientation is). I still don't know what shift they are ultimately going to give me but as much as I love sleeping in I am hoping for something very early to avoid the poop traffic coming and going. It should be an interesting week. At this point, I feel pretty good about how everything has worked out so, hopefully, I can avoid nervous/stress vomiting but we'll see what happens.

So in my final days of unlimited free time the plan is to go to Santa Monica today to shop for a few birthday gifts for my "cousin-in-law's" (i.e. Covina Fam's) daughters, try to find some khakis minus the tight butt with big gap of fabric in back, visit a few galleries at Bergamot Station, and just maybe look at the ocean. I'll have to fly this one solo since Brent's a workin' man. Sat. there's a pre-birthday party for one of the aforementioned kiddos and then possibly some hang time with some friends. Good times.

On the movie front, Little Miss Sunshine looks pretty good and for giggles I don't think you could go wrong with Talladega Nights.

Michel Gondry rocks, The Science of Sleep is a for sure:


Speaking of sleep....

Bob Burnquist is a Hottie

So, I made good use of my time this weekend and watched X-Games. It was pretty bad ass. I'm not much of a sporty person but I love seeing the unreal progressions these athletes make year after year. If you missed the broadcasts, I definitely recommend catching the recaps on ESPN. I've included a few highlights just to whet the appetite. Of course, I'm always going to be partial to skateboarding but Pastrana's moto x double back flip was madness. Danny Way is a legend. He brought big air to xgames three years ago and has rightly won gold every time. Too bad Shaun White couldn't quite stick the 1080 for best vert trick but he got very close. I could say more but I may sport myself out.

Danny Way 2006 X Games Skateboard Big Air Backflip Gold


Travis Pastrana - Double Backflip At X Games 12 Recap

I Can't Help It If Some of My Friends Lack a Complex Palate

After my big rant about the terribly hot weather, there was a quick end in sight. By last weekend, the temps started to drop and now things are quite pleasant in Cali-land. I love the cool evenings. So now it's nice again, I was able to fire up the stove and actually get back to cooking some delectable meals.


Last night's menu:
Coconut Chicken w/ Spicy Apricot Sauce
Glazed Carrots
Balsamic Roasted Potatoes

I dorkily captured the moment before consumption. Ah, I've developed a fondness for home cooked meals.

It looks like Costa Mesa gallery hopping is on the agenda tomorrow and since we'll be oh so close, the beach will be the next stop. It has been too long. I will miss our weekday outings on Brent's days off since he's never off on the weekends and I will be.

And finally, I watched Syriana last night. I thought it was pretty good. It lived up to what I had heard about it. There was a bunch of stuff going on but I liked that it wasn't dumbed down for mass consumption. There were a lot of ultimately interconnected characters to keep track of with varying perspectives and happenings from CIA to Washingon big wigs to oil contract companies and employees to princes to poor immigrant refinery workers. I feel like I missed quite a bit but I understood the gist of the story. It's a good renter.

The Colbert Report is one of my favorite shows. He makes me laugh lots.
Colbert Report - Better know district (DC)

Does Hollywood Make Some People Jacked Up Kooky Pants or Were They That Way to Begin With?

Dit, dit, dit, dit, ma, ma, ma, ma, I got a job! Finally. I had an interview the week before last and got a call on the following Friday with a verbal offer. After turning in some paper work and a specimen donation, I will hopefully get word on an actual start date soon. I’ll be working as a Senior Electronics Tech on in-flight entertainment systems. The work looks interesting and it will be nice to be somewhere that’s developing new technologies. I am definitely looking forward to being gainfully employed once again. I have enjoyed parts of my unemployment year but ultimately I am the type of person that likes and needs to work. Sadly, I don’t do well with idle time so this transition back to full time work will be good on many levels.

There is so much still up in the air that life is very day to day for us. Who knows where we will end up. Brent turned his app in to Fuller so hopefully he’ll be starting school soon. We'll be flying to KC at the end of Sept so we are looking forward to visiting distant relatives, family and friends.

I know once we leave here I will miss our Covina family. Patti just gave me this awesome quilt she made as a graduation present. Jeremy’s got the greatest family here. They adopted us from our first visit here as we were frantically trying to find somewhere to live within a week. I’ve been so grateful to them for so many things.

On an unrelated note, I rented a few movies the other day. Cache (French for Hidden but I’m sure Catie knew that) is about this family who receives video tapes of their house and other things as if they are under surveillance. It was a kinda thriller, a little slow moving and had some extended tonal shots. I enjoyed it though for the very reasons I prefer foreign and independent films. It wasn’t cliche, it dealt with deeper issues like trust, conscience, and ramifications. The other movie , Syriana, I plan to watch this afternoon.