/blog-gone

And I'm still a few days away from 29.

Yesterday I drove horribly and got pulled over by the police but they gave me a break because my bday was just around the corner! LA cops are much better than parking ticket happy Pasadena cops. The other day, everyone on Oak Knoll got tickets because Pasadena installed a no overnight parking policy even though they don't have any signs indicating on the street notifying the public. A smart lawyer should organize a class action lawsuit against Pasadena. In fact, this incident has lowered my view of Pasadena. I'm done with it.

There are four saturdays in August. Three of them will wedding dates of friends from UCSD. I'm amazed and incredibly happy for them. I've been itching to keep in touch with people better and this just might be the way to do it. Maybe I'll throw out /mike during the banter. Of course, then I have to make the site more respectable...

Only a few more days to get the 'employee discount'. I thought seriously about getting a 9-3. Did my research but as one might expect, I decided that it just wasn't the right time.

I've noticed a new Saab in my garage too. Everyday it mocks me.

Did it pay to play along
That’s where I’m coming from
I’ll roll it myself
or just let it be
Cause I never got them and they never got me
No I never got them and they never got me

Can't wait to get the weekend started. The nights are incredibly hot in LA. Taking a walk around midnight and still feeling thick air is disorienting and nice. Air conditioning is nicer.

Vacation, had to get away!

I've got quite a bit of time on the books-over 5 weeks! I'm going to use some. Maybe I'll stay in Seattle after Sam's wedding. Maybe I'll wander LA like a tourist...

My intentions were to simply return a trash can, but I came home with I had a brand new tv in my back seat. Somehow, I also bought East of Eden and some bright red Angel shorts.

No more sleepy dreaming

For the most part, I don't really interact with anyone after work. I may chat on the phone for a bit but that's about it. I don't mind. I like to have a baseball game on in the background while I do whatever I do. The Angels have been off for the past few days so I've had the tv on instead. I only get channels 7 through 13, but I'm not really paying much attention anyway.

Yesterday, I saw Brat Camp and have been taken in. I suppose I like watching do-gooder reality tv. And reality tv (much like baseball) is ideal background programming for multi-tasking. It's awfully drawn out. Everything happens slowly. They don't even have enough footage for the entire show. Clips are repeated at least five times over. So I'm onto page 60 of mah book now. That Lenin sure was a weird one. Not a nice guy, either.

Back to Brat Camp. Part of the process is about stripping the brat of their environment and getting them to learn about themselves through some wilderness living. No more identity through their clothes, music, jewelry, friends, food, tv, etc. They break down their identities and eventually help them find themselves again through life out there, I suppose. I've only seen one episode.

Watching the process reminded me of something. Why does the Brat Camp concept seem so familiar? Oh yeah. Scientology! And cults! To a lesser degree, even mainstream religions, academia, and the military all use that same strip down/build up concept to shape people as well. Wasn't there even a book about relationships with all the same power and control manipulations? I'm not putting a blanket moral judgement on everything. I'm just noticing the subtly similar tools. It's kinda like cult deprogramming. You steal a person away, isolate them, and get them to change their mind -- probably the same way they got into the cult in the first place.

Anyway, I'm all for transforming the brats. Why not? This guy stabbed his twin brother... this girl is addicted to drugs... this kid is just an annoying brat... and so on. A bit frightening, though, isn't it?

I'm lucky enough to get a window office. Recently, there have been a large number of birds hanging out along my side of the building. They are staining the windows, crashing against it, and generally making a huge racket out there. The girl next to me thoroughly loathes birds too. She calls them "flying rats".

What's going on? If they were crows, I'd be very afraid.

I bought a book for my Dad but he wasn't too interested in reading it. So I then took it with me and tried reading it myself. While I'll tell you that I find it fascinating, it has been months and I'm only on page 42. Granted, this particular history book is very dense. I've reread the pages multiple times to keep the words from simply washing over me meaninglessly. It probably doesn't help that I only pick it up when I'm ready for bed, either.

Toured the local area, including my first Korean restaurant and supermarket. I'm looking to find the Golden Deli of Koreatown.

Saw Sunset Boulevard at Hollywood Forever cemetary. This is my second time seeing this one. It's just as disturbing and even more impressive than I remembered. Next week is Kubrick's Lolita but in order to do it right, we need to get some low to the ground lawn chairs.

Went through most of the weekend without both the internet and a phone. It wasn't very practical but I did feel a kind of perverse joy in its isolation. BTW, phone is back and DSL should be set up in a few weeks.

Attended a Doorknobs planning party and found out that the name was actually a clever acronym. Of course, anyone interested in finding out what it is will have to participate. And the next planning party is going to be at my place.

Last weekend's baby shower was adorable and elaborate, as you might guess from any party organized by the "B" crew. The Cham house with packed with delicious food, delightful people and lots and lots of baby gifts. Special highlights included a quilt making craft table and baby trivia game. All in all, a great start for the expentant parents and "Cham Jr.".









MORE PICTURES

I've needed to research tvs, sofas, mattresses, and now broadband internet access options. Thank goodness for consumer reports.

From parking garage to parking garage, my morning commute took a half hour. The drive down Vermont to the 10 Freeway was 8 minutes. Granted, today's time might be a bit deceiving. A lot of people are taking the day off.

Staying here is like being in a LA hotel, in the best possible sense.

My brother and his wife had a huge baby shower bash yesterday. Cham Jr has got quite a bit of loot coming his way as well he should. I took some pictures that I will post later. Right now I've got to get back to packing...

Hope everyone has a great weekend. It looks like I will have a busy one.

You know, no matter where a person sits on the political spectrum, I hope we can all agree that supporting the men and women who serve in the American military is a good thing.

Go to the America Supports You website and write a thank you note. It only takes a few minutes. There is also a page that links other ways to help. The sheer number of organizations was a bit daunting but I eventually chose TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors).