Blatant Obfuscation

So I should be working but I am not. I find it absolutely funny after all these years that the sheep explode in Warcraft. I enjoy playing it. I play it too much I know.

So I have a singular complaint. Every time emails come into my inbox, I am informed of it (okay so really it is checked every 10 minutes). But am I the only person that hates it when people are so rude as to Reply to All on huge mass emailing lists for offices. And today it has been a huge chain of emails all of which are have no purpose other than to complain about not having wireless internet access in our building.

If there ever were a cause to merit the going out and shooting people over senseless crap this would be one of them.

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I sit here working and I have decided to take a minute and empty out some thoughts that I have.

Yesterday I returned to Provo for the upcoming school year. As I moved things out of my brother's basement and into my living space for the year I determined that I would remove some of the clutter that I so naturally accumulate. So I spent a lot of time last night going through notes and pages of homework to determine if I should keep it or toss it. I have a big stack of papers to throw out now, but I came across a few things that I am undecided what I should do with them.

I took a creative writing class a year ago, and mind you I have felt that most of the crap I produced in that class was a load of BS to say the least. There was nothing that sparked my interest (although the short story section did a bit). So I was scavenging through such paper work trying to eliminate clutter and separate things out into "useless garbage" and to "recyclable stuff". I would never label myself as a truly "eco-friendly" individual, but I hate throwing out stuff that could be recycled. In going through the papers from the creative class I came across a couple of items of some worth one might say.

There was this girl that I thought was cute, but due to my ineptitude I never got the guts up to ask her out. Alas, I came a across her old number/email address and I was thinking about emailing her, but then my gutless self wouldnt know where to begin

Then I came across the story that I worked hard on and felt that I did well on. So I started to save all of the drafts and revisions and corrections I made on it. I must be a pack rat of the worst variety cause I ended up saving a lot of what I did in that class cause it had some connection to the short story.

Then I started going through other papers from other classes. I sat there debating the worth of keeping old homework assignments from Math classes. I was about to make a list of why I should keep them, and then I was hit over the head so to speak with reality and they immediately fell into the recycle pile.

Now I have less stuff cluttering my life, although the two stacks are still in my room. I feel like I have done some thing over the last two evenings. Now I just need to rid the room of the two piles of stuff.

All other things aside, thus far the week hasnt been too bad. I have been able to move in, get "organized" and prepare for the fall. I did decide in an executive manner that my 5 class 15 hour load was going to increase to 6 classes and 17 hours this fall. It is all in plans to get out of here as fast as I can. I am getting the cabin fever syndrome with being in school.

And thus we see the downfall of man...

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It was a good plan, no it was a great plan. And somehow it failed...

The idea occurred to me a week ago, a friend was flying up today from Texas for some wedding somewhere, that wasnt really important to me. The important part was that he was coming to the Provo area while he was here and would be able to bring me something if I wanted. Well I thought about it and I desired a burrito from a restaurant known as Freebirds. (Okay so it was 2 burritos) So I went online, saw what they had to offer and then called another friend who frequented Freebirds to pick me up my order.

The entire plan was get the burritos last night, hand them over to the transporter, have him refrigerated them overnight, and then bring them with him on the plane from Austin to Salt Lake. I think the failure to retrieve them from the fridge is unacceptable. Now I have 2 burritos sitting in a fridge in Little River, Texas hundreds miles away from me.

At this point I think I can justify the homicide. The transporter was paid off in a burrito of his own (which BTW he called to tell how good it was) and neglected to bring me mine.

Live and learn I guess...what I am really wondering is the overnight option on getting the burritos here.

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This weekend is the last one I have before I move back down to Provo. In reality, I am not really planning on anything major happening. I have packed up 90% or so of my crap so the move should be putting clothes into bags and loading up a car.

So does mean the summer is over...do I really have to go back to school?

I guess it would be too bad, but I have taken way too long in my opinion to get to where I am currently at. Now granted, since I am paying for my own education, it was way better for me to piss away the time and money at a junior college trying to figure out my plans than going to some university and trying to sort that all out. I am pretty sure that over time that I saved more and had better life lessons going the way that I did, but damn...

So I sat down last night and reviewed my Fall schedule (I continue to contemplate another class) and then took the time to review a full course of classes I could take and where that put me graduating. (BTW BYU is have summer commencement exercises today). I figure if i did it just right I could wing the Winter semester of 2007...maybe have to delay it to the summer of that year, but that would be it...

Onward I guess…only a few more hours of work and then it is to go play...

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Back in December I started to work on my brother’s basement, and finish out a portion of the area to be two bedrooms and also frame in the bathroom. It has been a project that he and I have worked on, off and on for the past 9 months or so.
We had "finished" one room in April so that I could have a room to myself. That is to say, the sheetrock work was done and paint went onto the walls to allow for my brothers office to be moved to the basement of the house out of the "boiler room" that became my room for the summer.
To make the space work well we decided to put the two bedroom doors on 45 degree angles into each room as to "maximize" space. Well the room that was finished the doorframe went in beautiful. It had caused no problem what so ever. It was the other doorframe that has been causing me grief and the main reason that the other room wasnt finished anywhere close the first. See, although everything says the frame is level and square, the door frame was off...big time, and so in hanging the door so that it closed correctly the doorframe looked utterly wrong. and then making the doorframe flush with the rest of the mesh made the door not shut right.

Last night, I spent 2 hours installing the door frame flush (I had put up sheetrock and therefore the doorframe had to comply). My brother and I then spent the time to try and make minor adjustments that had huge consequences in the hanging of the door. So after trying a could of different things we ended up doing the only thing we could see that would work. We took of the bump plate from the frame hung the door so it would close correctly and then put the bump plate up to make the door look closed.

The phrase that my mother had used growing up "A man on a galloping horse couldnt tell the difference so why should we" came to mind at that moment. It looks wrong, but since a man on a galloping horse wouldnt be able to notice the many many problems with the doorframe, why should I?
It isnt like my work standards are lowered, I am sick of that damn door. And that is what I am calling it, that damned door. I sit, there and curse it over and over and over again. I dont know how many times I have hung that door, it doesnt really matter. It is hung and it wont be changing.

I have to look forward to finishing the sheetrock work over the next couple of days (my sister in law wants the room finished before I go back to school). I should get it close...I think....

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This morning I slept in. It happens from time to time. Well needless to say, it probably would have been better if I had not slept it and gotten to work as early as possible. Well I did sleep in and now I am trying to get at least 4 hours of work in today, and it has become harder and harder.

First, the building I work in is a condemned building (literally) that is scheduled for demolization no latter than December 2006. It should have been gone years ago but was kept around to house various departments for BYU. Well, in an effort to consolidate where people are at (there are two wings no one is supposed to go into) they are doing work in the empty space across the hall to house some people who have been displaced due to changes in "usable" office space in some part of the building.
Okay so they are drilling through concrete and making a bunch of noise. No big deal, or so I thought. I put in my ear buds and was listening to music, this is where the second major snag of the day came it. My laptop stopped recognizing that it had a CD/DVD-rom in it and my CD was replaying the exact same track over and over again. I didnt feel like re-booting at the time, I had been making progress on a assignment I had been given, and re-booting would have taken time from the great progress I was making.
So I was using a single track on eternal repeat to drown out the noise of drill and construction work to get my actual work done.
Then a third snag hit: the server I am doing all my work on wasnt responding any more. Well it was but the server had no available memory to do what I needed it to do, therefore when trying to execute a build on a file it failed, and when trying to load the web-based app it timed-out.
So I am sitting here, contemplating walking out the door and going home for the evening, as nothing is working. I want to get 4 hours of working time in today but at the same time I am sick of the setbacks in the day. I wonder if tomorrow will be any better.
So after a few minutes, I rebooted my computer, which is a much easier said then done process, because in order to do it "right" and not mess with any of my files, I had to got through and close each file. And then I had to make sure each of my terminal windows to the server were disconnected correctly (I have been emailed about my numerous post failures at this).
So I get my computer rebooted. I get things reopened and now I cant connect to server. I feel it to be the final blow in the day. I am going home.
If it needs to be done I can be done tomorrow.

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So right before I headed out the door at lunch today, my cell phone rings. Well it hardly ever rings as I have this hatred of talking on the phone and the number of people who have my current number isn't that many. I more use the phone for a clock than anything else. So back to my tirade. so my phone rings. It is a friend from Texas (Johnny) who wanted to call and tell me what he had for lunch (Dickie's BBQ). He just happened to be in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for work, and happened to be near a Dickies and so he just had to tell me all about it.
For those of you are wondering why I am posting a blog about a phone call to tell me about BBQ, need to be informed of my obsession with 'good' BBQ. I spent a good deal of time once I got my driver's license searching for good places to eat that were within a reasonable distance from home. Some time after high school I got into this BBQ and down home cooking phase, and spent a good portion of each weekend driving around looking for restaurants to eat at. I found Dickie in the interim, and fell in love with the food. It wasnt 'BBQ cookout' quality of food, but it was pretty good, ready to order food that never took too long to order. I really liked the sauce.
So over the years I began taking people to the various places that I had found or had been told of. I can remember various trips to Austin and Dallas and trying to get people to stop at Dickies to eat, but for the most part to no avail.
Even when I was in Texas I wanted to eat at a couple of places I had missed over the past year (I have this thing for Chicken Fried Steak), and I ended up going to a BBQ place, but not to Dickies as it was out of the way for the terms of the week.
Well I made mention the other day that I was looking for some good BBQ to Johnny. You know brisket and sausage. I find that when you dont have both beef and pork it really isnt BBQ, it just isnt the same. Well anyway today the bastard called and told me that he went to one of my more favorite places to eat BBQ and had to rub it in...like pouring salt in an open wound...it hurts...

Okay I guess I can et over the tirade now....

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I dont know why, but something has been eating at me for that last few days. I dont let people really know about it, but there are those times that I just feel like the bubble is about to burst and the world seems to be crashing down on me. I just cant seem to explain it. Something bad is coming.

I remember seeing one of the coolest sites before, and I dont think you would quite understand it unless you have seen it, but let me try to explain. I was out in West Texas (okay more of the panhandle) on my way to or from somewhere not really important. Let me illustrate the scenery, the area I was driving through is relatively flat. It is flat for miles and miles. You just see farmland and an occasional house and buildings. I had stopped in a little town to fill up my car and to stretch my legs for a bit, when I looked out towards the western horizon. There I saw the ominous dark clouds of a Thunderstorm as they were making their way east. I went in to pay for the gas and asked the attendant how much time until that storm hit. He had looked out the window towards the west and responded "about a day or so."
I had grown up with the notion that when you saw those dark almost black clouds on the horizon it was time to call it quits cause you maybe if you were lucky had an hour.
Right now, I am at one of those moments. I am filling up at the pump and see the storm clouds forming a ways off, but now there isnt someone here to tell me when the storm is to hit.
It might just be me, but I feel like something is up and coming. A change or something that will throw stuff out of balance for a while.

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You have no clue the desire I have to scream right now.

So I am 24, I started driving at 15, so that is 9+ years of driving experience (we wont include the various "borrowed" times before 15). Now I admit I have had a good share of accidents, and that in truth I have not always been the best driver out there, but hell, I know I can drive better than those I see around me.

I went out to lunch today, and in going to Carl's Jr to get lunch. It is not a hard drive. It is down two blocks maybe three from where I work. I have mellowed out over the past two years and so I was in no hurry to get there. Well coming down the street and crossing a busy intersection, a car coming from the other direction (late model Honda or Toyota) decides that it has to turn into a parking lot before I get through the intersection (I was almost through). Well the car turns in front of me and I hit the brakes coming within inches of the vehicle. Well the driver had to been scared out of her mind, because for the next 45 seconds she sat there, in the middle of the road. Finally as my patience had waned and I began to beat on the horn, she pulled into the parking lot letting me continue down the block to Carl's Jr.

Had I not developed this fascination with Guacamole burgers, I would have forgone the food altogether and just gone home. But I really like the burger.

So, my general question has become: Do they let any idiot and moron in Utah to get licenses? This hasn't been the first time that I have had a near accident (I tend to be able to "out drive" most situation now). They installed things known as "turn indicators" and I remember taking a form of "driver education" before being able to drive a car.

Just my two cents though...take it for what it worth...

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I have been struggling with this all summer.

So for a little back history here. About 3 years ago, I was working at the USDA ARS research center in Temple, Texas. I had been a lazy person and hadnt gotten a hair cut in over a year (I think the actual count was 15 to 16 months). Well I was given a bunch of shit for having hair down to my shoulders. So after a few months of my co-workers, people at church, and friends continually giving me crap, I decided to get a hair cut.
I went to the cheapest place I could find (I spent the afternoon going to different places) and sat there and waited to get a hair cut. After an hour of waiting I just left. I called a friend who had gotten into town to see if I could borrow his mother's hair trimming clippers. I figured I could cut my hair just as well as any one else. I went hog-wild and trimmed my hair with a little help and had a buzz cut....a nice short buzz cut. I looked in the mirror, pulled out my razor and shaving cream, lathered up and shaved my head bald for the 1st time.
So the next day at work, I was first mistaken for some random person as I was working on whatever I was working on, and then after realizing who I was, I was given shit for shaving my head bald (I couldnt win for loosing).
Well, so I let my hair grow for a month after the first bald head shaving experience, and decided I kind of liked the bald head, and so I shaved it bald again. This didnt bring too much surprise to people as they had seen my head bald a month earlier. And that was the 2nd bald head experience.

The third experience was 15 months ago and having been the fruggle person I attempt to be, I hadnt gotten a hair cut in a period of 6 months or so. Well I let someone cut my hair, knowing full well that I could shave it off if it was bad. Minding that the hair cut wasnt too bad being the persons first experience at it, and I tend to wear a hat most of the time, I was fine with keeping the hair cut. Well I was wielding on some project at work, when a piece of slag jumped onto my head and burned a patch of hair to the scalp. I am not one to have a singular bald spot on the crown of my head, so I did the only thing I could. I shaved it bald.

So a few weeks ago, my sister-in-law had been harping at me to get a hair cut (again I had gone a few months with out one). So I contemplated where I could go to get one done quickly. I settled for the neighbors (they offered to do a buzz cut for free). So I had a ..2 buzz cut for a week, and the entire time, I was thinking how much cooler my head would feel if it were to be bald. So a week ago, I returned to the neighbors and had them do a ..1 buzz to see if that were any better. I should note that at this time, my sister-in-law had been vocalizing her opinion against me having short hair or shaving my head bald.
Yesterday, I returned a second time to the neighbors for a hair cut, only this time I brought my razor and cream. After 45 minutes of carefully shaving my head (didnt want to cut it), I returned with a bald head.

I kind of like it. Only now I have to keep it ‘lotion’-ed. Dont want it to dry out or anything.

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Okay I am going to be rather honest here...I like the phrase "what the hell" a lot, a whole lot. I find it better then the obligatory WTF that people love to use, and it is by far less offensive compared to the WTF phrase.

So yesterday, I purposefully stayed later in Provo to accomplish some tasks on my ever increasing, rarely decreasing To-do list. I should have check bus schedules before being so rash and making choices like that but, none the less I did decide to stay. Well I failed to account for the bus schedule and found my self at the mall for 40 minutes as I had to wait for next bus to take me to the vehicle I am currently using (BTW land rovers suck).

So i continue to say to myself, as I do almost frequently...what the hell...

I dont know if anyone remembers the short lived comedy one ABC called Sports Night, but I find it rather amusing. Well somewhere in the second season, the character played y Joshua Malino is at a bar talking to this woman. He comments to the affect that it normally took the girl to hand him a sign and hit him across the forehead, before he could act. Well I find myself in that situation. Well I have found myself in that situation since moving to Utah. I find that I am never sure of what to do/say next. It is perplexing.

So i sit here...and I work on this blog, I find that I get distracted easily...

But to my line of thought...so a few weeks back I had a nice (would say lovely, but not quite the right word) conversation with a girl on the bus. Which was great, well hesitant as I have become, I missed a prime opportunity to ask for her number. I wish right there and then she, or anyone would have held up an obligatory sign and slapped me upside the head.

But this dilemma has been going on for months. I think Utah is affecting me somehow, and it aint good. Do they put something in the water here?

Until next time...

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Okay so I am just excited. I have had 5 profile views within 24 hours. Now that makes me feel special.

Well...it is Wednesday and that is good. Although I am not sure how that is good. I have no plans for the weekend. I hear talk of heading up Saturday morning to an art festival in Park City, but other than that I might just be in a basement working on sheetrock. Fun and exciting stuff I know.

Well if I get motivated I might actually work today at work, but that would require my boss getting back to me with an new assignment. I am not sure why I get pleasure out of this, but I just do. Yesterday I was getting ready to leave and I was able to finish off my two assignments. Well as I left I told my boss that he could report them completed and that I would need something to work on today. Well I got to work, no sign of my boss. I checked my email, no emails telling me what to do. So I have been surfing the internet, reading conspiracy theories from the moon landing to the hanging chad of 2000.

Well I might get motivated and post another blog entry later....until then

Posted by James at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So work is great. Work pays the bills and lets me eat. But work also means dealing with other people who under another circumstances I am sure that I wouldnt associate myself with unless absolutely forced to. I have found that I enjoy the people I work around, they dont chatter about things, it is a nice and quiet environment to get things done. Good thing. I work at being anti-social, and I tend to succeed.

So, I have a pet peeve...and I find myself more aggravated by it here in Utah (especially going to school at BYU) than I ever had a problem with it growing up. See the notorious "f-word" is something that I dont necessarily take issue with, rather the substitutes that proliferate the air. I sat reading Bertrand Russel's History of Western Philosophy as I have been for the last month. It seemed that every time I got myself engrossed into the ideas expressed in the chapter, some random person would say something that contained one of the many substitute "f-words" (freak, frick, frack, flip, etc.) emphasized in a way that mentally I heard "blah, blah, what the F***." It wouldnt have been bad. No it would have been tolerable had I been anywhere else other than sitting on campus.
So the advantage I am told to attending BYU (I have yet to experience this) is that you are surrounded with people with similar standards as yourself. Well, I remember signing the honor code thingy which address your speech as an area that falls under honor code violations for vulgarity. But since the substitute words arent the actual word it must be okay to use them. That is getting annoying being around people who purposely at this point use these substitutes in place of that actual word.
If I only had a soap box....

Off my soap box now. My weekend was nice and relaxing. I finally got back to what I somewhat enjoy doing. Last December, my older brother and I start to tackle finishing out a portion of his basement. Well in April when I moved up to his place for the summer we rushed to get his office done and then being burned out we kinda came to a halt on the other room to be finished. Saturday I hung several pieces of sheetrock that were lacking in the room and hopefully by this coming up weekend I can have the room to the taping and floating phase. The middle of the month is fast approaching and with every successive day I really feel like finishing that project off...

But last night I would have none of it. I got home latter than I wanted to. So I looked at options and then decided I need to get my hair cut. It had been a while, and my niece had discovered that she could get big tuffs of hair in her hands. So I had it cut. Originally it was a #1 buzz cut. I felt that was too long, so the guy cutting my hair told me the only other size he had left was the blending comb. So my hair is short. I like it.

So I might as well go get some lunch.

...just my two cents anyhow....

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