Landscapers outside are scrambling my brain.
So I'm just sitting here and feeling like my laptop is looking at me funny. "Write something", it nags at me. It's a blog, not a flippin' will that you visit whenever you like. So here I am. Writing out of guilt. Awesome.
Really not much going on, except today we're just sitting around waiting for the insurance guy to show up to assess the water damaged ceiling in our place. Somehow our tub or pipe upstairs in the bathroom has produced a leak, and it's made a nasty hole on the downstairs ceiling. So maybe after the guy shows up, we'll go to a playground or maybe Renton, since Renton seems to be the bomb when we're bored.
I think the biggest worry I'm having isn't really the recession and the major companies cutting so many jobs, but it's Christmas. Although I'm not really strapped for money, it's a combination of listening to the headlines and acting with caution and also the fact that we simply have more people to buy for this year. People we know procreating and what not. So perhaps this year, we're trying to adhere to some sort of budget. I did a quickie budget that if we spent 50 bucks for everyone we knew, it would be somewhere in the 700 dollar park. Which freaked me out. So we'll have to trim it, or spend a little more wisely in order to make Christmas not be such a dreaded pocketbook event.
We watched "Kung Fu Panda" last night on DVD, and my two thoughts were "I need a better TV" and "This is actually a pretty good movie." The fighting was pretty good as was the action, and the comedy was also not as forced as I expected it to be. Jack Black seems to me to be one of those celebrities who people point at and say, "Laugh at him, he's funny," rather than being naturally funny. Will Ferrell is halfway like that, whereby half the time I think he's murdering a concept to make it funny, but he is naturally funny as well. But Jack Black did enhance the character instead of overwhelm it, so I recommend it as a fun watch. But tonight, I think I'm going to take my wife to "Zack and Miri make a Porno." I've become a bit of a Kevin Smith fan, although I would say more of the person than the filmmaker. His Smodcasts really showcase his comedic nature, but also his skills as a storyteller and his brutal openness with his life is just refreshing in this world of spin. But the thing that motivated me to watch the movie was a review by the folks at Filmspotting, a podcast based in Chicago which I'm growing to really like. Their review of "Zack and Miri" really created this urge to catch the film and support Kevin Smith.
Alright, enough blogging. There's a bunch of chores I need to do now.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Being 33 and seeing the Duck Ghost
Alex either doesn't know how old he is or is always just wanting to be slightly older then he is. I sometimes suspect the latter as he really really wants to attend kindergarten. So this week when I took him to yet another doctor appointment I told him the lady there was going to have him practice homework to see if he could go to kindergarten yet. He was quite excited to show the lady that he was ready for kindergarten. As the doctor came into the meeting room and asked Alex if he was ready to go in, Alex was quick to jump up. The doctor had stopped to talk to me for a brief moment as Alex stood paused in the doorway, leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets with the most serious look on his face waiting patiently. The doctor then kneeled down to his level and asked Alex how old he was. In a serious James Dean sort of expression came Alex's reply "ahh... thirty ..three" Usually he is only 6 or once in a while maybe twenty one. But this week he has spent three entire days being in his thirties because as he explains to me. "I growed up more."
So as the week continues and I am doing housework I get called into my bedroom by Ms. Zoe. She is telling me that "It is really the truth I saw it. It's not made up, it's real Mommy." Just as serious as she can be. The she pauses as I say "ohh" and she continues hand behind her back standing on my bed "It's true I saw it. It's the Duck Ghost." "Ok," I say and continue on with my Mommy life and walk downstairs to do some computer stuff.
A moment later, Zoe comes downstairs in tears with Alex lagging behind her. She is scared because why? Alex told her the Duck Ghost is invisible and right behind her about to eat her. I guess it's no fun being a thirty three year old brother if you can't sometimes scare your little sister with stories of the Great Duck Ghost. And he IS REAL too according to Zoe who believes and even when she needs more information now she ask Alex what color he is. And if you ask Alex what the Duck Ghost eats of course the answer is "People's ears."
Posted by Mommy.
So as the week continues and I am doing housework I get called into my bedroom by Ms. Zoe. She is telling me that "It is really the truth I saw it. It's not made up, it's real Mommy." Just as serious as she can be. The she pauses as I say "ohh" and she continues hand behind her back standing on my bed "It's true I saw it. It's the Duck Ghost." "Ok," I say and continue on with my Mommy life and walk downstairs to do some computer stuff.
A moment later, Zoe comes downstairs in tears with Alex lagging behind her. She is scared because why? Alex told her the Duck Ghost is invisible and right behind her about to eat her. I guess it's no fun being a thirty three year old brother if you can't sometimes scare your little sister with stories of the Great Duck Ghost. And he IS REAL too according to Zoe who believes and even when she needs more information now she ask Alex what color he is. And if you ask Alex what the Duck Ghost eats of course the answer is "People's ears."
Posted by Mommy.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Living in an Obama World, Day 1
Last night as my wife and I watched the election coverage, I felt waves of emotion sweep over me. My eyes welled because it felt as if finally, enough Americans like me had banded together to change the system. Enough of us had placed our trust in the electoral voting process to elect one of us, a politician who was from modest means, had not been treading in the tainted waters of the system, and who seemed humble and burdened when he stepped up on stage to make his speech. I felt as if we had finally taken a look at where we were, and decided that after all, we needed to do something drastic to survive. We couldn't drown in the moat that we had dug.
Watching the newscasts, I wasn't sure if it was intentional or just the fact of the matter, that McCain supporters were primarily white, whereas Obama supporters were decidedly mixed. Everytime they cut to an African American supporter, I wondered if the press was making a concious judgment call. I had been listening to a lot of NPR election coverage, and this election has really brought racial relations and prejudice front and center. People started to wear their prejudices on their sleeves. Some were honest about it, others hid it under the labels of inexperience, religion, and even loose associations with terrorism. I didn't really want to look at it that way, figured it was just those middle states, whereby they were mostly Republican and not progressive thinking.
But this morning when I went to work, I witnessed the kind of bitterness in McCain supporters that I honestly didn't expect. They were almost spiteful in their attitudes. I didn't flare up when Gore lost, but I was upset when Bush got his second term because it seemed evident that America was heading in a terrible direction. But Obama really doesn't have the history to signify that he was going to lead the country in a bad direction. He didn't seem to have any radical ideas or overt promises that would lead us astray.
So to be upfront, most of the people I work with are Asian immigrants, mostly Southeast Asians, and some from the African nations. They are also mostly at most high school educated also. So in the morning, one of the more vocal assemblers, a 20 some year veteran, was sarcastically cheering for Obama. Then as work progressed, my immediate co-workers, some of which didn't even vote, starting talking about Obama.
"4 years of hell."
"He's going to give tax breaks to hip-hop artists."
"What does Michelle Obama do? Freebase."
It's one of the moments when I get absolutely disappointed with humankind, our potential to hate without reason, to judge with extreme prejudice. It's a crushing feeling because it's human nature at it's ugliest. It's like someone scraped the bottoms of our dark souls and stuck it on the tip of our tongues. I may not be able to state Obama's stance on healthcare, education, or his policies, but I simply refuse to talk to anyone who cannot look past the color of his skin. I'm not saying that I'm impervious to casual prejudices and generalizations, but outright bile like the shit I hear at work makes me angry. Not because they are mocking my candidate and our future president, but because they are expelling hate toward an individual who has not warranted any of that aggression past the color of his skin.
Obama has a tremendous burden to bear, to live up to the expectations of Democrats, Republicans, African-Americans, and world leaders. It is a bittersweet victory to see Obama get elected, and at the same time see all the racism that's been simmering in so many souls.
Watching the newscasts, I wasn't sure if it was intentional or just the fact of the matter, that McCain supporters were primarily white, whereas Obama supporters were decidedly mixed. Everytime they cut to an African American supporter, I wondered if the press was making a concious judgment call. I had been listening to a lot of NPR election coverage, and this election has really brought racial relations and prejudice front and center. People started to wear their prejudices on their sleeves. Some were honest about it, others hid it under the labels of inexperience, religion, and even loose associations with terrorism. I didn't really want to look at it that way, figured it was just those middle states, whereby they were mostly Republican and not progressive thinking.
But this morning when I went to work, I witnessed the kind of bitterness in McCain supporters that I honestly didn't expect. They were almost spiteful in their attitudes. I didn't flare up when Gore lost, but I was upset when Bush got his second term because it seemed evident that America was heading in a terrible direction. But Obama really doesn't have the history to signify that he was going to lead the country in a bad direction. He didn't seem to have any radical ideas or overt promises that would lead us astray.
So to be upfront, most of the people I work with are Asian immigrants, mostly Southeast Asians, and some from the African nations. They are also mostly at most high school educated also. So in the morning, one of the more vocal assemblers, a 20 some year veteran, was sarcastically cheering for Obama. Then as work progressed, my immediate co-workers, some of which didn't even vote, starting talking about Obama.
"4 years of hell."
"He's going to give tax breaks to hip-hop artists."
"What does Michelle Obama do? Freebase."
It's one of the moments when I get absolutely disappointed with humankind, our potential to hate without reason, to judge with extreme prejudice. It's a crushing feeling because it's human nature at it's ugliest. It's like someone scraped the bottoms of our dark souls and stuck it on the tip of our tongues. I may not be able to state Obama's stance on healthcare, education, or his policies, but I simply refuse to talk to anyone who cannot look past the color of his skin. I'm not saying that I'm impervious to casual prejudices and generalizations, but outright bile like the shit I hear at work makes me angry. Not because they are mocking my candidate and our future president, but because they are expelling hate toward an individual who has not warranted any of that aggression past the color of his skin.
Obama has a tremendous burden to bear, to live up to the expectations of Democrats, Republicans, African-Americans, and world leaders. It is a bittersweet victory to see Obama get elected, and at the same time see all the racism that's been simmering in so many souls.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Elation
Today is a great day to be an American, when one of our own is elected to be the next President. We were peeking at the news when Obama had 207 to McCain's 147 and I was getting nervous, then we switched to the Backyardigans for the kids. Halfway through my mother in law called, we checked the telly, and sure enough, he had gained 90 more votes to secure the election. A lot of welling up of tears, but I go to bed feeling hope and pride.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Throughly Exhausted in a Good Way
I had to work yesterday because it was the end of the 2nd quarter and we hadn't shipped more than a handful of orders, so all of yesterday was overtime. Thing was, I've heard rumors of late night overtime, but seriously, the whole day yesterday from 5:30 AM, I worked till 10:15pm. Basically 18 hours of overtime plus 2 hours of double time. Not that it didn't possibly take some years of my life. Actually, I did pretty well the whole day, up until 8 something in the evening when I started to feel numbness in my body parts, around the same time when my iPod decided that it didn't want to entertain me after all. But for the whole day, it was pretty good to me.
Actually, I spent a good amount of time listening to Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier on their Smodcast, and I actually appreciate their podcast a lot. Kevin's a pretty funny guy in nature, but he also has the natural gift of storytelling, whereby he can make a rather simple story sound nothing short of an adventure. Peppered in are some celebrity stories, but really nothing to rub in your face - his celebrity encounters are either matter of factly friendships, such as with Affleck and his stars in his movies, or he is just as enamored as all the rest of us are. He also has a line of logic that is intellectually stimulating and idiotic at the same time, but not in a bad way. Really, I think he is so honest in his access to his life that you can't help but like the guy.
So even though I had a full night's of sleep, I'm still a little tired from yesterday. Was pretty much on my feet the whole time, but luckily the sucky portion of the crew either called in sick or just worked somewhere else, so I had a pretty good crew. One of my co-workers, Sam, is really not compatible with me personality wise, but he has work ethics as strong as I have, which is really something. I think even I goof off more than he does.
Today we're just taking it easy. Played a bit of Rock Band with my wife, who is mastering Medium as I do okay on Hard on the Guitar before I tire out. Was in the store and I saw Bioshock and Dead Space. Seriously got to finish my rental and try to get a hold of that. I want me some FPS goodness.
Well, now I'm just yammering for the hell of it.
Actually, I spent a good amount of time listening to Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier on their Smodcast, and I actually appreciate their podcast a lot. Kevin's a pretty funny guy in nature, but he also has the natural gift of storytelling, whereby he can make a rather simple story sound nothing short of an adventure. Peppered in are some celebrity stories, but really nothing to rub in your face - his celebrity encounters are either matter of factly friendships, such as with Affleck and his stars in his movies, or he is just as enamored as all the rest of us are. He also has a line of logic that is intellectually stimulating and idiotic at the same time, but not in a bad way. Really, I think he is so honest in his access to his life that you can't help but like the guy.
So even though I had a full night's of sleep, I'm still a little tired from yesterday. Was pretty much on my feet the whole time, but luckily the sucky portion of the crew either called in sick or just worked somewhere else, so I had a pretty good crew. One of my co-workers, Sam, is really not compatible with me personality wise, but he has work ethics as strong as I have, which is really something. I think even I goof off more than he does.
Today we're just taking it easy. Played a bit of Rock Band with my wife, who is mastering Medium as I do okay on Hard on the Guitar before I tire out. Was in the store and I saw Bioshock and Dead Space. Seriously got to finish my rental and try to get a hold of that. I want me some FPS goodness.
Well, now I'm just yammering for the hell of it.
Friday, October 24, 2008
End of the quarter, so they've got me working overtime, possibly a 12 hour stretch. It's okay though, since it has been a long time since some OT money has come my way. Blogging from work as it were, since I'm trying to conserve my ipod battery for the rest of the day.
Well, my time management experiment seems to be making me a slighty better father. I sat on the couch away from the computer last night and came pretty damn close to plunging into a fatigue coma, but through watery eyes and a foggy mind managed to witness my kids reenacting the famous Gene Kelly sequence from Singing in the Rain. It was as cute as you'd imagine. I still got some Rock Band in though, you just gotta.
Speaking of which, the game of which I seem to revolve my life around continues to discriminate my taste in music, whereby I'm slowly moving away from techno and rap back to rock and alt rock. RB2 has introduced me to a few new songs that are kinda cool, like Float On from Modest Mouse, Pump It Out from Elvis Costello, and some other ones which I've forgotten the titles of. I'm a much better drummer than when I started RB, jumping right into hard and skipping the medium setting. I do like the new featues quite a bit, although I still think the tour mode is a little crazy sometimes, trying to figure out what path is the best way to go.
Well, my time management experiment seems to be making me a slighty better father. I sat on the couch away from the computer last night and came pretty damn close to plunging into a fatigue coma, but through watery eyes and a foggy mind managed to witness my kids reenacting the famous Gene Kelly sequence from Singing in the Rain. It was as cute as you'd imagine. I still got some Rock Band in though, you just gotta.
Speaking of which, the game of which I seem to revolve my life around continues to discriminate my taste in music, whereby I'm slowly moving away from techno and rap back to rock and alt rock. RB2 has introduced me to a few new songs that are kinda cool, like Float On from Modest Mouse, Pump It Out from Elvis Costello, and some other ones which I've forgotten the titles of. I'm a much better drummer than when I started RB, jumping right into hard and skipping the medium setting. I do like the new featues quite a bit, although I still think the tour mode is a little crazy sometimes, trying to figure out what path is the best way to go.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I had a bittersweet victory tonight, and sure, its not really something to be proud about, but it happened and here I am, hopefully wiser. Ever since I got Rock Band 2 on Sunday, I've spent a lot of time on it everyday trying to play "Rock N Me" by Steve Miller. Because RB2 is structured like a tour, you have to play different songs to unlock more song, and with a 80 something playlist, I wasn't quite sure which end of it it is.
Well, I finally spotted it in the middle of a 7 song Classic Rock playlist, so I started on it while the kids were watching. But during "American Woman", a somewhat weird song to play through, the kids were so noisy and boisterious that it distracted me and I bombed out. So I put the kids to bed a little cranky, played on a bit and cooled down, then went up again to apologize to Zoe at least, since Alex was fast asleep. Went down, played one of my all time favorite songs ever, and felt a little bad nonetheless for spoiling an otherwise good evening with the family.
Next week I think I'm going to try a limited tech access week. Like just an hour of any tech a day so that I can focus on people again. Its gotten probably a little too invasive in my life whereby I just bury myself in the computer or ps3. Sigh. That and a no sugar diet I think. I'm starting to look ridiculous.
Well, I finally spotted it in the middle of a 7 song Classic Rock playlist, so I started on it while the kids were watching. But during "American Woman", a somewhat weird song to play through, the kids were so noisy and boisterious that it distracted me and I bombed out. So I put the kids to bed a little cranky, played on a bit and cooled down, then went up again to apologize to Zoe at least, since Alex was fast asleep. Went down, played one of my all time favorite songs ever, and felt a little bad nonetheless for spoiling an otherwise good evening with the family.
Next week I think I'm going to try a limited tech access week. Like just an hour of any tech a day so that I can focus on people again. Its gotten probably a little too invasive in my life whereby I just bury myself in the computer or ps3. Sigh. That and a no sugar diet I think. I'm starting to look ridiculous.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Week in Me
Seriously, like all week I do have interesting things that go on in my life, but I just can't find the time or don't have the energy to put anything to keyboard. But after my funky nap this afternoon, I'm now blogging on my PS3 on a big 22 inch LCD. I think each individual letter is as big as a Cheeto, because as we all know, the Cheeto is now an international standard of measurement.
Work's been slow, so I did take the afternoon off to have a fake long weekend, like a 3 and a half day weekend. It's not that great on the paycheck, and considering my unofficial plan to take the family to Disneyland next year, likely a bad move. Yes, I thought about it after listening to Kevin Smith talking about how sick of Disneyland he was on the Smodcast, and then I remembered how happy it made my wife and how much fun it would be to see the kids enjoying that vacation. I enjoyed Disneyland myself, mostly because it's a vacation, but my wife really just ate it all up. It was like she was 9 and a kid again. When we went I believe she was more impressed than Jael was at the time, and she was like 12.
Maybe younger. So I would imagine 4 and 5 is a pretty good age for the kids, since they still get a kick out of giant cartoon characters.
I'm really digging the PS3, and will probably love it more later this week. They finally implemented Flash 9 into the browser, which improves the viewing pleasure of certain video sites like blip.tv where you can find PIZZA BENTO and on hulu, which is where I watched the Simpsons yesterday. It's stupid they even took so long to do the damn thing, but better late than never. Also, this Sunday means Rock Band 2, and later in the week Little Big Planet. I still don't know how I feel about the game, I feel like I should get it because there's all this hype and it might be appealing for the kids, even though I'd rather go all adult and wander into Far Cry 2, Dead Space, or Bioshock. Damn. Crazy shooters. I dunno, I suppose in the long run, LBP might have more mileage because of the infinite possibilities.
The absentee ballots came in the mail today, which was a bit of a relief because I wasn't completely sure if I was still in the system. I voted earlier this year, but I was a little foggy about whether or not they'd forget me. But that's cool. This is going to be a big year. And I wish I had Spike Lee's complete committment to his belief. I heard a couple interviews whereby he says, "No, not if Obama gets elected. When he is elected, he'll be...." And even Obama himself is reminding people that no matter what the polls say, don't get complacent and then it's all cinched up. You gotta go out there and place that vote and not expect that it'll go that way.
Well, kids' show is over. Gotta go take care of stuff.
Work's been slow, so I did take the afternoon off to have a fake long weekend, like a 3 and a half day weekend. It's not that great on the paycheck, and considering my unofficial plan to take the family to Disneyland next year, likely a bad move. Yes, I thought about it after listening to Kevin Smith talking about how sick of Disneyland he was on the Smodcast, and then I remembered how happy it made my wife and how much fun it would be to see the kids enjoying that vacation. I enjoyed Disneyland myself, mostly because it's a vacation, but my wife really just ate it all up. It was like she was 9 and a kid again. When we went I believe she was more impressed than Jael was at the time, and she was like 12.
Maybe younger. So I would imagine 4 and 5 is a pretty good age for the kids, since they still get a kick out of giant cartoon characters.
I'm really digging the PS3, and will probably love it more later this week. They finally implemented Flash 9 into the browser, which improves the viewing pleasure of certain video sites like blip.tv where you can find PIZZA BENTO and on hulu, which is where I watched the Simpsons yesterday. It's stupid they even took so long to do the damn thing, but better late than never. Also, this Sunday means Rock Band 2, and later in the week Little Big Planet. I still don't know how I feel about the game, I feel like I should get it because there's all this hype and it might be appealing for the kids, even though I'd rather go all adult and wander into Far Cry 2, Dead Space, or Bioshock. Damn. Crazy shooters. I dunno, I suppose in the long run, LBP might have more mileage because of the infinite possibilities.
The absentee ballots came in the mail today, which was a bit of a relief because I wasn't completely sure if I was still in the system. I voted earlier this year, but I was a little foggy about whether or not they'd forget me. But that's cool. This is going to be a big year. And I wish I had Spike Lee's complete committment to his belief. I heard a couple interviews whereby he says, "No, not if Obama gets elected. When he is elected, he'll be...." And even Obama himself is reminding people that no matter what the polls say, don't get complacent and then it's all cinched up. You gotta go out there and place that vote and not expect that it'll go that way.
Well, kids' show is over. Gotta go take care of stuff.
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