Homeowner!

Hi folks!  It's been a while since I blogged, so I thought I'd catch everyone up.  I just bought a new house on September 30th, and I'm still living out of boxes.  Luckily, the internet is installed now, and I can get back to business as usual to some degree.  I really enjoy owning a house.  There's always something to do, and now I have a chance to work with my hands like never before.

The other nice aspect is that my girlfriend moved in.  I honestly expected it to be more of a transition than it was, but things are going very smoothly.  Plus, it's nice to have someone to cook for me here and there.  My cooking is pretty crappy.  My neighbor on one side is a retired meat cutter and handyman that was really good friends with the previous owner.  He has been very helpful with getting acclimated to the neighborhood.  On two sides of the house, I have an empty field that occasionally contains show horses.  They pretty much keep to themselves, though.  In the back, I have a jungle.

I am co-authoring a new blog called Nerdy Homeowners.  There, we are planning to share our experiences with basic home maintenance and other projects.  I've been dreaming about this for years!  Life is so exciting right now (but also busy).  I'll keep you updated as things unfold.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:
I've been running into cute girls here and there.  The other day I met a girl named Cindy at Cicero's.  She was the hostess and helped save me from a crazy homeless man that had been following me for a while.  I was ordering carry-out.  After handing me my food, we had a pretty good chat about our experiences in the loop (that part of town) and various other things.  I was to chicken to get her number though.  Maybe next time.

I've actually been home long enough to go grocery shopping.  It's been aaaaages since I last went, and it felt good to make my own food for a change.  This time at home has reminded me that there's a lot of neat things for me to do when I'm actually in town.  Now I just need to make sure I'm capitalizing on those opportunities.

The Bad:
My medical situation is still going on.  I feel like I've been running the longest marathon ever, and sometimes it really wears on me.  Seeing goathouse a few weekends ago helped me snap out of it some, but there's no resolution in sight as far as I can tell.

I feel like nothing I do matters, and thus I don't really care about anything.  The only thing I'm invested in are my friends, and everything else is pointless.  Survival really does seem to be the only higher purpose in life.  Sometimes I think of everything as a giant game of evolution, like we used to play in Res Life.  =/

The Ugly:
Pugs - Why does that breed of dog exist?

Day ??? - No Time

I sense a growing discontent with things, and I'm not sure why.  I thought I wanted companionship, so I sought and found companions.  This has not really improved things so much as made for some drama-filled experiences.  I have also experimented with indulgence.  I got wasted this weekend with friends and partied to my limit, but it brought me no lasting peace.  Perhaps pouring myself into my job will help things.  Ha!  Nope, that never works.

Regardless of what I do, there is an emptiness that I cannot seem to fill.  Additionally, I have found myself contemplating my mortality more than usual.  Nothing good ever comes of this, but it seems that I cannot avoid it forever.  We will all be dust in the blink of an eye, and we will never be here again.  There is nothing after this, and I find no solace in the fairy tales we tell ourselves to sleep better at night.

In spite of all of this, I continue my quest for happiness.  I think that, perhaps, the only real point in life is survival.  The rest is immaterial.  The question remains, "where do I devote my time and efforts?"  Do I give up everything for a fresh start, or do I just focus on one or more areas of my life in the hopes that they prove a worthy distraction?

Days 9-12: Jet Lag

Days 9-10

 

Days 9 and 10 were huge travel days (Thursday and Friday). My first flight from SFO got delayed due to a mechanical failure, so I had to spend the night in Denver. This sounds great until you realize that there's a blizzard and you're getting in at 9-10 PM. On the bright side, I was in Denver! It's an amazing city, especially in the summer. Lots of good eats and nice people. The hotel was very comfortable - best bed I have ever slept on for sure.

 

Day 10.5

 I didn't really plan to go out Friday night, but Jon managed to talk me into it. We went to the Urban Chestnut, a new brewery that a mutual friend works at. They have a number of tasty beers, but my favorite is "Myth". It's an exceptionally smooth and flavorful dark beer. I could drink it all day! Anywhoo, Jon and I played every game we could think of in the bar. We played cards (which he killed me at), chess (which I killed him at), and darts (which we broke about even at).


Eventually, his friend Chris showed up and offered to bring a couple of girls over to his place if we wanted to party. Of course, we accepted the invitation. By the time we got to Jon's it was already really late, and I was tired. Finally, Chris arrives with one really pretty girl (which he has dibs on) and this other girl. My interest wasn't really peaked, so I decided to bail and get some sleep for a change. :) It was definitely the best decision I made that night.

Day 11-12

 

Saturday was filled with bar hopping and watching The Wizard of Oz to the tune of The Dark Side of the Moon.  Thanks for all the crazy times, Pink Floyd!  Of note - we checked out the Twisted Olive.  I've been fascinated by it ever since I first laid eyes on it.  This has to be the most inaccesible bar I've ever seen.  Go up the hidden stairwell three flights, walk across the upper catwalk, and you will find the door to the Twisted Olive.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very smokey and loud bar.  It was very small with an older demographic.  We decided not to stay.  The evening concluded with watching Hot Fuzz.  I suppose it was for the greater good.  ;)

Sunday was filled with eating, sleeping and gaming.  You know, the usual.  Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of my crazy life.  Cheers!

Days 7-8: Celebrations

Apologies for not posting more pictures.  I left the cord that hooks my phone up to my computer at home.  The picture above is from a triple work birthday party on Tuesday.  As a gag gift, my boss got this co-worker a sash and fake mustache (he didn't have to wear the mustache through dinner).  We got a lot of good laughs out of it!  Birthday dinner was held at an elegant establishment called "Uncle Yuu's".  (The name is a bit deceiving, but it really was nice.)  I had beef tenderloin medallions and beautiful orange prawns.  There was wine, smiles, and combat over the lazy susan that held our appetizers.  All in all, it was pretty amazing.

Also, I have a bit of good news.  The doctor completed his tests on my grandpa and found that he is 100% cancer free.  My family and I are breathing a collective sigh of relief.  Big thanks to everyone who expressed their concern.  :)

In the work world, I started my first week of training (ever).  Most of my class sizes have been small, but I've really enjoyed interacting with the workers and bringing them up to speed on how to use our software.  We bribe them to pay attention with candy.  :)  I find it highly effective when I don't eat all the good ones myself.

Tonight, I ate dinner with my friend Toni and her fiancee.  We went to a new place called Sushi Station where the tea was luke warm (but tasty), and the sushi was decent.  In terms of value for our dollar, I think we did fairly well.  It was also neat to learn about the goings on at Toni's work.  She has a cool opportunity coming up, and I'm excited for her.

When I finally got back to the hotel, I joined my co-workers in a game of "Cards Against Humanity".  It's like the messed up adult version of Apples to Apples.  Best of all, the game is relatively free.  It costs about $6 to print the cards at Kinkos.  You can download it here.

Lastly, my romantic life is still going pretty slow again (not the worst thing ever).  I did manage to patch up some hurt feelings with one of my ex's, which makes me happy.  Hopefully, we continue to make forward progress as we get to know each other again.

I was remarking to my friend John that I'm starting to feel like the old, light-hearted Lancifer is rising to the surface again...long overdue in my opinion.  It's really hard telling where tomorrow will take me, but this week has been a good start to what could be some vast improvements in the quality of my life.

Well, it's time for a  little sleep.  I'll catch you all later.

Days 5-6: Conflict

I continue to consider who it is I want to be.  I realized today that I am a very uncompromising person.  I tried to be uncompromising in terms of truth, but I've come to think that truth is often detrimental.  When someone asks how you are, a lot of times you should probably tell them, "Good," even if you're not.  I think that negativity tends to build on itself, and sometimes it's worth the lie to be happy.  I will continue to consider this throughout the week. 

Instead of my normal pictures and spiel, I'd like to post this music video and lyrics.  They seem to capture the struggle I'm having with happiness versus becoming the ideal version of myself.  It's like the voice inside my head cheering me on.  ;)

When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son, when you grow up
Would you be the savior of the broken
The beaten and the damned??

He said, "Will you defeat them
Your demons and all the non-believers
The plans that they have made?
Because one day, I'll leave you
A phantom to lead you in the summer
To join the Black Parade"

Sometimes I get the feeling
She's watching over me
And other times I feel like I should go
And through it all, the rise and fall
The bodies in the streets
And when you're gone we want you all to know

We'll carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on
And in my heart, I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it

And while that sends you reeling
From decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all

So paint it black and take it back
Let's shout out loud and clear
Do you fight it to the end?
We hear the call to carry on, we'll carry on

And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
You're weary widow marches

On and on we carry through the fears
Disappointed faces of your peers
Take a look at me
Cause I could not care at all
Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part

Won't explain or say I'm sorry
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer for all the broken
Listen here, because it's only

I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
Just a boy who wanna sing his song
Just a man, I'm not a hero
I don't care!

We'll carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on, you'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
You're weary widow marches on
Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on)

Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on)

Days 4-5: When It Rains It Pours

(My buddy Jason messing with Popeyes workers)

(My Friday night diet - chips and juice)

I had an epiphany today.  I don't miss Jenny (romantically).  Sure, I miss having someone close that I can confide in and take comfort in, but I don't specifically miss her.  I think that is an important distinction to make.  I hope that she gets done soon with whatever she's doing to move on with her life.  I'd like to re-establish our friendship if possible.

My quest to get whatever I want whenever I want has been put on hold temporarily.  I found out today that my grandpa has a mass on his stomach and is getting it checked out on Monday.  The doctors suspect cancer, but that remains to be seen.  For those of you who don't know, my grandpa is among my top two role-models and a very important person to me.  I know that he is getting old and that his days are numbered, but I don't like acknowledging that he is mortal.  It's like Lex Luthor actually killing Superman.  You just don't think about it.

Regardless of how things work out, I have a lot of great memories from the time I've spent with my Grandpa.  I guess that's the most important thing.

On a side note, I've resolved to talk up one stranger per day (as opportunities present themselves).  On my plane flight back, I met a lady from Spokane, WA.  She was flying with her youngest of six children.  The family resemblance was uncanny; every detail from their long slender noses to bright ginger hair were identical.  I learned that she grew up in Arizona but didn't do much sightseeing when she lived there.  She hasn't even seen the Grand Canyon, which made me laugh.  Her husband is a mechanical engineer from the University of Idaho.  He did not ride with them, though.  We shared a lot of other conversation, but I don't want to bore you with the details.

Well, back to science.  Toodles!