turtlemadness

THIS IS JUST TO SAY, by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

The mascot for my first elementary school was a Roadrunner. At four years old, I thought roadrunners were the coolest thing on the planet and wanted nothing more than to be one when I grew up. My sister, five years my senior and much smarter than I, informed me that, "No stupid, you can't grow up and be a roadrunner."

She was wrong. In January of 2010, I will be a Metropolitan State College Roadrunner. Having been in the workforce for just shy of three years, I come with some life experience and plenty more left to attain. My chosen major is English, my native language, with a minor in Writing. My reasoning for this is simple; I love the crazy language that we have created through borrowed words and mangled meanings. Some people say English is a trite language, too confusing and with so much complexity – but this is what makes it beautiful.

I have selected the Writing minor with the intentions of becoming a technical writer. My work in technical support allowed me to discover one of my talents – the ability to transform technical jargon into a format fit for human consumption. I find such enjoyment in documentation. My father always found it amusing that when we rented a car, the first thing I would do was open the glove compartment and tear through the vehicle's manual. On occasion, I'll read technical books or product manuals for my own enjoyment. The strangest thing is that I'm still a hit at parties.

Being that I am in my early 20's, I am not a wealthy man. While I am afforded steady income thanks to my employment, it is not without its limits. I have attempted to budget what I can for school, but find myself coming up short. While attending Metro State, I will be working part-time to cover the majority of my expenses. I have applied for financial aid, and will take out federally-subsidized loans if available to me. I have been living on my own since graduating high school in 2007 and have not received any assistance from my parents. A scholarship of any sorts will allow me to focus on my studies now. The less work I have in the office translates to more work with the College. The sooner I graduate, the sooner I will be writing product manuals for people who threw them away with the box but realized it far too late so that they have to dig through the trash to find my writing – and when they do, I become their hero, even if only for that moment.

It's a wonderfully beautiful 46F here at 11th and Broadway. That means it's cold enough to build a playlist based on The Postal Service. The first song was Such Great Heights, and Genius recommended Marching Bands of Manhattan next. I really do like that song. Whenever I build a Postal Service/Death Cab playlist, I'm always recommended Australia by The Shins. Not a bad song, it's just funny that it always shows up.

I'm cooking dinner (chicken and stuffing) after laundry and when I'm done with this, I have a little bit of work to do. I plan on doing some updates to turtlemadness also. It's way past-due.

I've started to record my eating habits on livestrong again, so feel free to check that out. I posted it a few...posts ago. I'll add it to my ben@ links here when I do updates.

I'm back to work.

I want to sit up straight. I want to walk around with my shoulders back instead of being slumped forward. I want to eat better. I want to lose weight. I want to join the Coast Guard. I want to save money. I want to read even more. I want this coffee to cool down faster. I want to start a garden. I want to go places. I want to do laundry. I want to get up earlier. I want to work out more. I want another bike. I want to go hiking. I want to go skiing - cross country and downhill. I want new wheels for my rollerblades. I want a longboard. I want to go to the doctor. I want help with all of this.

Not that I went anywhere, but I'm back. I'll describe more later, probably.

Woofer. A macroblogging service. It's like twitter, but with a 1400-character minimum.

I posted the following to woofer:

I'm not surprised at the amount of "test messages" and "1 2 3 4 5" woofs I'm seeing here. When you're forced to write way more than what you'd be comfortable with, or than what you would be used to, it might seem difficult. Plenty of woofers have submitted the work of others, maybe not as their own, but certainly without authorization. All of this said, maybe I should actually provide some kind of update as to what I am doing. That is, after all, the point of woofer.

I've actually checked twitter twice during writing this. I finished dinner about twenty or thirty minutes ago, I can't decide if I'm still hungry. I've thought about walking over to the 7-11 and getting some kind of candy, but I really shouldn't. I got bored and ate like shit last night (BLT, Cherry Dr. Pepper, a FastBreak, and some honey roasted cashews) and then played Battlefield 2 for hours.

I was considering going for a run tonight, however I think I'll leave that for Monday. I do need to get back into a routine. I'm getting tired of working the late shift, since it's almost the autumnal equinox. That means it gets darker earlier, and I don't have as much time during the day to enjoy the sun and go out jogging while it's still light out - or warm, for that matter. Maybe I should start going in the mornings. I've never been good at getting up early, though. This might be a good start.

I've also been looking at college again. I should have started this earlier, but the last thing I wanted to do right after high school was more school. I think I'm better for it - I've got real work experience, I pay my own bills...that's not to say there are no college students who are responsible and put themselves through school, but they seem to be the exception, not the rule. I'd like to visit Oregon State and Portland State. Both schools have Air Force ROTC programs, but I'm not sure if that's what I want to do. I might move to Oregon and join the Air National Guard there while establishing residency. I would likely stay in Portland, were that the case, since the OANG is based at PDX.

Heh, look at that. I'm at +700 characters.

Since my last update, I've been working out consistently and mostly eating better. I did end up in Vegas for DEFCON, where I drank lots, walked several miles along the strip (both whilst drinking, drunk, and entirely sober), played some slots (disclaimer: i did not play slots*), met new people, got back into my geek groove, and wondered why I don't have a smartphone.

I just purchased the T-Mobile myTouch 3G. It should be arriving next week, though I have no idea how to pick things up now that I live in an apartment, since I'm assuming they're not just going to leave it on my 'doorstep' or something similar. Finally, a new phone, and one that supports Google Voice also. Which reminds me, I have a new number that can be used for everything - 720-239-BEEJ (2335).

I just watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which features my favorite Zooey Deschanel. Here is a picture of her legs:

Ben, Lea, and myself will be going to Mayan sometime soon to watch (500) Days of Summer, which stars Ms. Deschanel. I cannot express my excitement.

I've got some short stories to write, so I'll be posting them here when complete, or in progress, or whatever. Hurrah!

I leave you with Zooey's head in some kind of Space Toaster:

*this is a lie

My workout log
LiveStrong/Daily Plate (calorie) log

WHY?

I'm joining the Colorado Air National Guard. Kinda need to be in shape for that.

Just in case anyone cares, I've dumped the photos from my phone (since I don't have a real camera) and uploaded them to Flickr. GO CHECK DAT OUT YA HEARD?

"I have your brain scanned and permanently backed up in case something terrible happens to you... which it's just about to. Don't believe me? Here. I'll put you on. [in a high pitched voice] Helloooo! [normal voice] That's you! That's how dumb you sound! You've been wrong about every single thing you've ever done, including this thing. You're not smart. You're not a scientist. You're not a doctor. You're not even a full-time employee. Where did your life go so wrong?"

It's obviously been a while between entries, but I attribute that to moving and work. Yup, I'm all moved in, at the corner of 11th and Acoma, in the Golden Triangle. I love it here. My studio has a gas range and oven, absolutely no counter space, the fridge is about ten feet from my bed, and I finally got my Internet hooked up last Thursday. That also kept me from writing.

I made some awesome chili last night, and then visited Ben, Lea, and Logan at the old place. Kevin has been working on the Ecto Magnum, which is coming along really well. He's putting a lot more time and effort into this one, and it really shows. That's not to say the old Ecto was just a piece, but you can tell he cares more about the new one. Such humble beginnings.

I felt some need to pick up my car, even though I can only park it here on the weekends and after five. We ended up going to Jerusalem Restaurant in University Hills. I got coffee and baklava, both of which were completely delicious. Ben crashed the Jetta he just bought (sad) and broke his leg! I didn't stick around for too long, but I did pick up a few things I forgot. We exchanged comics (I finished Demo, he finished Scott Pilgrim) and I drove back to my place.

Today has been fairly uneventful. I walked up to the library (love how I can do that now) and picked up 100 Bullets #1, Tank Girl #1, Shutterbug Follies, Sin City #1, and some other stuff, including a Doctorow book I've read before, but wanted to pick up again. I stopped by Target to pick up some essentials, and was disappointed to find out that Ore-Ida doesn't make waffle fries in the Extra Crispy variety. I watched some Firefly, and then started watching A Scanner Darkly.

It's raining a little bit now, and Poncy is coming down from Fort Collins, I guess he needs to meet some family here tomorrow morning? He'll be staying in the guest room (the closet, or by the front door, wherever his sleeping bag fits best) and we might go to Boulder and visit friends, or just hang out here in Denver.

I got to meet with my landlord today to sign my lease and pick up the keys. I can't start moving things in until Friday at the earliest, since they've got some work left to do (read: exterminator for summertime) on Thursday. I'll start moving stuff in on Friday night, so I can reduce my workload for Saturday. I've been walking around my new neighborhood a little bit. I went up to the Whole Foods and saw more bikes in the parking lots than cars, and the place was dripping with beautiful women. The Whole Foods by my old place was mainly filled with cougars.

I borrowed Demo from Big Ben, which was also written by Brian Wood. I didn't even notice until later, but when we were at Barnes & Noble looking at stuff, I picked up a few of the graphic novels he had written without realizing it, mostly because I liked the art. It's one thing to have pretty pictures, but it's nothing without a great story. I'll probably be reading some more Local during lunch today. I've been bringing lunch instead of buying it in hopes of saving some money, but I always seem to dash my own plans during the weekend.

It's kind of strange to have most of your stuff packed up, but still be completely functional. I'm thinking about getting rid of some more things, because when I was packing my things, I realized just how little I use. I'll need to buy a new stereo receiver soon enough. One with RCA outputs so I can actually use my existing speakers. I also need to find a few chairs for my kitchen table. I'm not completely sure how I'll set up my apartment yet, but I think I know where my bed is going, and knowing is half the battle.

Remind me to pick up a bag for my laundry.

I've got a new place. I'm right at 11th and Acoma - one block west of Broadway, in the Golden Triangle. It's a little 600ft² studio, for only $100 more than what I paid at Norman Court. It's really close to work, shopping, food, all that stuff. I'll be moving in on the 13th, the same day as the Westword Music Showcase, in my neighborhood. Should be fun! Just about all my stuff is packed, and fits in the Jetta. I'll also have to find parking for my car, which I'm not so excited for.

Mom and Lynn are coming down on Saturday. I'll be taking them to the Columbine Steakhouse, and Mom wants to take me shopping for some furniture and the like. I can deal with that. All I really need is some chairs, a microwave, and a toaster. Shit, I'm excited for this move. Not as exciting is all the work I'll have to do to get stuff up and running (Xcel, Qwest, etc.) but on the whole, it'll be grand.

I also promised butter:

Since my last update, I got my Sidekick, returned my Sidekick, went on vacation/family reunion in Fort Worth, didn't get to look at a new place to live, spent way too much money, had my room flood, and did a lot of reading.

So yeah, the Sidekick LX 2009? Neat phone, but it's got some wonky features. The "push" email, which used to work flawlessly on the Sidekick iD, often took hours to arrive. None of the applications I needed (like Terminal) were available in the catalog. I couldn't set custom MP3 ringers, I had to buy them. It was 3G, and mostly handy, but not the device for me. I returned it to T-Mobile, and I'll stick with my Sony Ericsson z780i for now.

Fort Worth was great. I love getting drunk with seeing family. Ali and I got to hang out, we made plans for Austin City Limits later this year, and I slept on a comfortable couch in a Hyatt Place for $60. The breakfasts were great, too. Ali and I presented the gifts at my Grandma Jones' funeral mass. I found it odd that it was asked of us, as neither one of us are very religious, but it was perhaps more spiritual or symbolic than an actual religious rite. I'll miss Grandma Jones.

The day after Memorial Day, I thought I had an appointment to look at an apartment. I showed up about five minutes early and stuck around for fifteen minutes past. Nothing. I called the management company, and they still haven't returned my call. It's a great location right on Speer and Logan, and the price is right. I have a few other places I might be interested in, and I really need to just ride around and look for 'now renting' signs in the area.

Oh, it rained a whole lot last weekend. That was awesome. Awesome in that part of my room flooded, soaked my floor, nearly shorted out my surge protector, and made the carpet stink. I pulled up the carpet and cut out the soaking part of padding that had obviously been replaced before. The carpet is drying, and the room doesn't stink anymore. I'll need to pick up new padding, and maybe some new spike board since it's all rotted out. How lovely. Basement rooms are great, no natural light and always prone to flooding!

Since I forgot to bring a fork, I'm going to pick up some lunch now. Some delicious lunch.

Remember that whole 'get the hell out of Denver' attitude I had a few months back? Right around the time I got home from Portland? I've figured it out, and it's so obvious. I've romanticized vacations to that awesome city. Maybe I should take Gov. McCall's advice, "Come visit us again and again. This is a state of excitement. But for heaven's sake, don't come here to live." I love love love Portland, but I love love love Denver. Pretty sure I'll be here for a while. I've found a place I'd love to move into, just off Speer and 4th. I'm saving money, my line of credit is almost paid off completely, I've almost hit break-even on my car loan (and someone might be purchasing it) and I'll be able to buy a road bike in a few months.

On top of all that, I'm looking into joining an ultimate league this fall. Kevin, Shauna, Ben and I piled into the Jeep and drove down to REI, where Kev bought this year's glow-in-the-dark Frisbee, then romped around downtown for a bit. We ended up at My Brother's Bar, where I got the Boulder Burger - veggie patty. We threw some Frisbee in Riverfront Park and headed home. The house was a toasty 83 degrees, so I climbed on the roof and removed the metal sheet blocking the airflow from the evaporative cooler.

Hopefully my books get here soon...I'd love to have something to read on the trip to Texas this Friday.