My grandpa's doing a lot better. He's home, he's walking around a little bit- my mom (who is down there now) says that in a week, when he puts on a hat, he'll look pretty normal.
Speaking of "in a week", I'm going down there in a week. Rock! I'll be gone Friday (6/30) at like 3 PM to Tuesday (7/4) at like 9 PM. It'll be great to see them again. And, as a bonus, I'll get to see my Uncle Jim and Aunt Conny before they jet off to Australia and New Zealand.
I love flying! I was considering taking an 8-hour flight from Tampa to Pittsburgh just so I could have a 3.5 hour layover in New York. But then I found out JFK airport is like 30-45 minutes away, so I probably wouldn't be able to see anything without sweating out the safety margins. I guess it'd be different if I weren't going to New York in a month and a half. Wheeee!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
WOW. WHAT A CHAMP.
I don't use capital letters much, but look at this!
Where the hell is Matt?
In other news, I have not too much to say. Wait, yes I do. I'm ME, I always love to spout what's on my mind! Went to Ohiopyle with my family last weekend. Father's Day. It was nice. Nice is a good word for it, because it was bourgeois. The kind of "hike for a mile, then stop for ice cream" kind of trip that my parents love and that bugs me for no good reason (look, if it makes my family happy, then quit whining, right?)
I've had this argument with myself before, and it always ends up with me being petty and immature. The solution is to just grin and bear it, and travel on my own. Hello, spring 2007!
Umm... in serious news, Gramp is doing worse. The other day it was looking like he might not even come home (from the hospital, where he has some kind of complications from chemotherapy in his lung). Now, it looks like he might, but it's looking like a question of "how long", not "if." I may fly down there soon. I'm not going to avoid mentioning the word "death" like it's some taboo (which, in our society it is); in Gramp's own words, "whatever happens, will." So I realize he might die, which is kind of unfair (he was pretty healthy, exercised regularly, kept active, etc) but what can you do? It's a part of life. I'll keep you posted, loyal blog readers, but I'll be straightforward with it; don't mistake that for being disrespectful.
Enough of this, I'm going to play some guitar. Better get in all the practice I can before my enjoyment of it wears thin in a week, just like everything else I ever start. But I'll leave you with a happy thought: Man, if that guy can travel the world, well, it gives me hope.
Where the hell is Matt?
In other news, I have not too much to say. Wait, yes I do. I'm ME, I always love to spout what's on my mind! Went to Ohiopyle with my family last weekend. Father's Day. It was nice. Nice is a good word for it, because it was bourgeois. The kind of "hike for a mile, then stop for ice cream" kind of trip that my parents love and that bugs me for no good reason (look, if it makes my family happy, then quit whining, right?)
I've had this argument with myself before, and it always ends up with me being petty and immature. The solution is to just grin and bear it, and travel on my own. Hello, spring 2007!
Umm... in serious news, Gramp is doing worse. The other day it was looking like he might not even come home (from the hospital, where he has some kind of complications from chemotherapy in his lung). Now, it looks like he might, but it's looking like a question of "how long", not "if." I may fly down there soon. I'm not going to avoid mentioning the word "death" like it's some taboo (which, in our society it is); in Gramp's own words, "whatever happens, will." So I realize he might die, which is kind of unfair (he was pretty healthy, exercised regularly, kept active, etc) but what can you do? It's a part of life. I'll keep you posted, loyal blog readers, but I'll be straightforward with it; don't mistake that for being disrespectful.
Enough of this, I'm going to play some guitar. Better get in all the practice I can before my enjoyment of it wears thin in a week, just like everything else I ever start. But I'll leave you with a happy thought: Man, if that guy can travel the world, well, it gives me hope.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
I am not succeeding, and I don't blame anyone else.
First: how's life? I hate coding so much. What am I even doing in this industry? The people at work are pretty cool, and they're not asking me to do anything particularly great, but I just can't get anything done. And, of course, I want to do a good job, and I'm not so far. I think. Who knows? In summary, I am hating my job, and feeling bad about myself for doing so.
How lame is that? That is not the way to solve anything. With a couple more hours of sleep in me, maybe I can do better.
Listening to some good music, though. Abbey Road and Rubber Soul have been on the ol' iTunes, along with Tally Hall and OK Go, and a little bit of Eels. Abbey Road is pretty good, except "Her Majesty", despite what you think, Ram. Tally Hall is pretty good, and varied, and so good for them! But one of the genres they go into is "boy band". They'll have to work on that.
I'll be gone this weekend, at Ohiopyle w/ my family. Should be neat. I'll be back on Sunday (for the concert on Sunday night, anyway)
As the Eels have said, "That's Life!"
As for last year: the story is mostly told. What happened the rest of the semester? A lot of not very much. I became an instigator in the group, then eventually left the group after meeting other folks who I found more interested in things that I found fun. That's life too. Somewhere in there, I ended up getting a couple of Facebook groups and the Fence named after me. I guess life works out for the Beta male.
Wait, except, remember how in wolf packs, only the alpha male and alpha female mate? I'd argue that life at CMU is similar to life in a wolf pack. (for example, both places, sometimes you wake up next to a bear.) To be honest, I am not finding anyone particularly interesting (nor vice versa) and I can't keep blaming CMU.
Which brings us to this year. I'm meeting this group, performing very well in this social game, if I do say so myself. But I'm not particulary spending a lot of time with them, because I'd rather spend time with my current friends. Which is fine. Except I'd still like to meet more girls. See Beej's previous comment. I mean, really, that's it. Which is why it's kind of lame because I've been doing stuff like playing poker and ultimate frisbee with this group's alpha male's high school friends (all dudes.) I don't even like poker! And, well, in ultimate frisbee, the one time I really got to throw the frisbee, I, uh, threw it into the next field.
"That's Life!"
And then there's The Tao of Pooh, which is making me think about my world once again. It's pretty neat. I mean, the author's pretty much a condescending dick, but he (or rather the Taoists who wrote the stuff that he read) makes a lot of great points. "Don't worry." "Deal with it." It's so laid-back. (another interesting bit is that, just as I'm thinking that I'm in the wrong field because I hate programming, I read the chapter about Tigger in "The Te of Piglet", and how we modern people are always starting new things and never finishing, and we never stick it out and accomplish anything. Coincidence?)
I'd write more, but probably the main problem with me right now is the lack of sleep. As always, right? I'm off to the dream world now. See you all Sunday.
How lame is that? That is not the way to solve anything. With a couple more hours of sleep in me, maybe I can do better.
Listening to some good music, though. Abbey Road and Rubber Soul have been on the ol' iTunes, along with Tally Hall and OK Go, and a little bit of Eels. Abbey Road is pretty good, except "Her Majesty", despite what you think, Ram. Tally Hall is pretty good, and varied, and so good for them! But one of the genres they go into is "boy band". They'll have to work on that.
I'll be gone this weekend, at Ohiopyle w/ my family. Should be neat. I'll be back on Sunday (for the concert on Sunday night, anyway)
As the Eels have said, "That's Life!"
As for last year: the story is mostly told. What happened the rest of the semester? A lot of not very much. I became an instigator in the group, then eventually left the group after meeting other folks who I found more interested in things that I found fun. That's life too. Somewhere in there, I ended up getting a couple of Facebook groups and the Fence named after me. I guess life works out for the Beta male.
Wait, except, remember how in wolf packs, only the alpha male and alpha female mate? I'd argue that life at CMU is similar to life in a wolf pack. (for example, both places, sometimes you wake up next to a bear.) To be honest, I am not finding anyone particularly interesting (nor vice versa) and I can't keep blaming CMU.
Which brings us to this year. I'm meeting this group, performing very well in this social game, if I do say so myself. But I'm not particulary spending a lot of time with them, because I'd rather spend time with my current friends. Which is fine. Except I'd still like to meet more girls. See Beej's previous comment. I mean, really, that's it. Which is why it's kind of lame because I've been doing stuff like playing poker and ultimate frisbee with this group's alpha male's high school friends (all dudes.) I don't even like poker! And, well, in ultimate frisbee, the one time I really got to throw the frisbee, I, uh, threw it into the next field.
"That's Life!"
And then there's The Tao of Pooh, which is making me think about my world once again. It's pretty neat. I mean, the author's pretty much a condescending dick, but he (or rather the Taoists who wrote the stuff that he read) makes a lot of great points. "Don't worry." "Deal with it." It's so laid-back. (another interesting bit is that, just as I'm thinking that I'm in the wrong field because I hate programming, I read the chapter about Tigger in "The Te of Piglet", and how we modern people are always starting new things and never finishing, and we never stick it out and accomplish anything. Coincidence?)
I'd write more, but probably the main problem with me right now is the lack of sleep. As always, right? I'm off to the dream world now. See you all Sunday.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Group Dynamics, unit 1, chapter 3
This week was turbulent. That's not a bad thing.
First, jobwise, because that's easier. It got worse, because I worked for about a week, and felt like I didn't really accomplish anything. I'm just befuddled by all this coding- I don't know what the hell to do. I don't want to ask for help every five minutes, because then I'm not being "independent" (plus my boss is really busy), but I do need the help.
(obvious solution, right? just ask for help! if he's given me an assignment that I can't do, I should ask for help. of course my next argument is "it's not that simple," right? well, maybe it is, and I'm just not assertive enough. well, what can you do. ask me in a week how my job is, and I'll probably be all smiles)
Still with me? Good. This is the more interesting part: Meeting a Bunch of New People.
The other interns that I've met seem mostly all right. Some of them are from the PSLC (where I work), some of them work elsewhere, and I just happened to meet them because they live in New House along with the people that I work with. As a whole, they seem like pretty normal people, not a bunch of programmers. (this is because most of them actually aren't programmers.) They seem to be winners, too- not proverbial dumb jocks or preps or any other stereotypical group that doesn't really exist but kind of does. And there's a decent male/female ratio, I think. That's good. So they've earned my respect, and as a result, I want to earn theirs. Fair enough.
But how does this work? I don't remember at all. The last time I met a group of people that I respected from the start who were equally unfamiliar with each other was freshman year, in Henderson House. You know, the Dorm Friends that you meet at the start of college. The last time it had really happened like that before then was the beginning of high school, and I don't think my voice had changed yet. That doesn't really count.
Anyway, I was desperate to appear a Cool Dude. Aren't we all? You want to be the biggest fish in the pond, or risk being scorned and relegated to a lower pond, right? And at a lower level, it may all go back to the instinctual desire to impress the opposite sex.
(before I go on, I'd like to note that I'm talking about status as if it exists. I know, in an ideal world it doesn't, and everyone's equal, and everyone is friends with everyone. But come on. Think of four people of higher status than you. Now think of four lower. That didn't take long, right?)
(oh yeah, and I'm also talking about this all as if I'm a professor. I know that I don't know any more about people than any of you. If anything I say sounds wrong, or if you have other input, let me know. Thanks!)
Anyway, so it's freshman year. I want to appear cool. From the first night we sat around the lounge and played the game where you add an adjective to your name (e.g. "Dangerous Dan") and try to learn everyone's names, I could tell who would become the "Big Man on Campus" of the house. Well, I picked two, and was half right. This guy, as Alpha Males are everywhere, was smart, athletic, energetic, genuinely interested in about everything, had a couple of areas of expertise, and was pretty good at everything. Oh yeah, and above all else, good looking, because let's face it, if you're good looking, you get a whole lot of leeway. (For reference, I'll call this alpha male "Alf.")
So it went; whenever he suggested a plan, others jumped on board. I was one of them. I developed a bit of a rapport with this guy- I was a little like a right hand man, in that I'd want to do things too, but lacked the natural charisma to be the Alpha Male. I'd usually agree with Alf's plan, and when two people do something, well, then, everyone does it. And here's the funny thing: even if I disagreed with him, I'd end up agreeing with him. We played soccer a lot, I think. I don't even like soccer. (of course Alf was good at soccer.)
As for the instinctual urge to impress the opposite sex, well, I did as well as I could, but clearly didn't "connect" with anyone in the way that that happens. in movies. Such is life. It should be noted that the Alpha Male can have any girl in the group that he wants.
But then school started and Alf, being an architect, went to studio forever. He slowly dropped out of our lives, leaving a power vacuum, right? As a result, we became sort of amorphous, with no real leader. The whole group would go out to dinner or whatever, and we'd all have to go: a couple instigators who wanted to go on the trip, a couple of friends they'd ask, and a lot of barns.
("barn" = "barnacle"- it's someone who just tags along, uninvited, or "barns along." Unfortunately, you can't tell a barn he's not invited, because, given the hive mind of college, it's assumed that everyone's invited to everything all the time. Also, barns happen all the time- I don't want to suggest that they are unique to this power vacuum that happens when an Alpha Male leaves a group)
Anyway, I apparently have a lot more to say than when I started. I think I'll try to chronicle what exactly happened freshman year, and then how it relates to what's going on now. I'm seeing the exact same things, and it's weird and frustrating and fun again. I'll try to pick this up later.
The point of the whole story, though, is that now I have to balance the new friends with the old friends, when really I'd love to just hang out with my existing friends all summer. It's so much fun. But you grow by meeting new people, right? It'd be nice to make friends among my summer coworkers. (and let's not forget the instinctual drive below all of this, eh?)
First, jobwise, because that's easier. It got worse, because I worked for about a week, and felt like I didn't really accomplish anything. I'm just befuddled by all this coding- I don't know what the hell to do. I don't want to ask for help every five minutes, because then I'm not being "independent" (plus my boss is really busy), but I do need the help.
(obvious solution, right? just ask for help! if he's given me an assignment that I can't do, I should ask for help. of course my next argument is "it's not that simple," right? well, maybe it is, and I'm just not assertive enough. well, what can you do. ask me in a week how my job is, and I'll probably be all smiles)
Still with me? Good. This is the more interesting part: Meeting a Bunch of New People.
The other interns that I've met seem mostly all right. Some of them are from the PSLC (where I work), some of them work elsewhere, and I just happened to meet them because they live in New House along with the people that I work with. As a whole, they seem like pretty normal people, not a bunch of programmers. (this is because most of them actually aren't programmers.) They seem to be winners, too- not proverbial dumb jocks or preps or any other stereotypical group that doesn't really exist but kind of does. And there's a decent male/female ratio, I think. That's good. So they've earned my respect, and as a result, I want to earn theirs. Fair enough.
But how does this work? I don't remember at all. The last time I met a group of people that I respected from the start who were equally unfamiliar with each other was freshman year, in Henderson House. You know, the Dorm Friends that you meet at the start of college. The last time it had really happened like that before then was the beginning of high school, and I don't think my voice had changed yet. That doesn't really count.
Anyway, I was desperate to appear a Cool Dude. Aren't we all? You want to be the biggest fish in the pond, or risk being scorned and relegated to a lower pond, right? And at a lower level, it may all go back to the instinctual desire to impress the opposite sex.
(before I go on, I'd like to note that I'm talking about status as if it exists. I know, in an ideal world it doesn't, and everyone's equal, and everyone is friends with everyone. But come on. Think of four people of higher status than you. Now think of four lower. That didn't take long, right?)
(oh yeah, and I'm also talking about this all as if I'm a professor. I know that I don't know any more about people than any of you. If anything I say sounds wrong, or if you have other input, let me know. Thanks!)
Anyway, so it's freshman year. I want to appear cool. From the first night we sat around the lounge and played the game where you add an adjective to your name (e.g. "Dangerous Dan") and try to learn everyone's names, I could tell who would become the "Big Man on Campus" of the house. Well, I picked two, and was half right. This guy, as Alpha Males are everywhere, was smart, athletic, energetic, genuinely interested in about everything, had a couple of areas of expertise, and was pretty good at everything. Oh yeah, and above all else, good looking, because let's face it, if you're good looking, you get a whole lot of leeway. (For reference, I'll call this alpha male "Alf.")
So it went; whenever he suggested a plan, others jumped on board. I was one of them. I developed a bit of a rapport with this guy- I was a little like a right hand man, in that I'd want to do things too, but lacked the natural charisma to be the Alpha Male. I'd usually agree with Alf's plan, and when two people do something, well, then, everyone does it. And here's the funny thing: even if I disagreed with him, I'd end up agreeing with him. We played soccer a lot, I think. I don't even like soccer. (of course Alf was good at soccer.)
As for the instinctual urge to impress the opposite sex, well, I did as well as I could, but clearly didn't "connect" with anyone in the way that that happens. in movies. Such is life. It should be noted that the Alpha Male can have any girl in the group that he wants.
But then school started and Alf, being an architect, went to studio forever. He slowly dropped out of our lives, leaving a power vacuum, right? As a result, we became sort of amorphous, with no real leader. The whole group would go out to dinner or whatever, and we'd all have to go: a couple instigators who wanted to go on the trip, a couple of friends they'd ask, and a lot of barns.
("barn" = "barnacle"- it's someone who just tags along, uninvited, or "barns along." Unfortunately, you can't tell a barn he's not invited, because, given the hive mind of college, it's assumed that everyone's invited to everything all the time. Also, barns happen all the time- I don't want to suggest that they are unique to this power vacuum that happens when an Alpha Male leaves a group)
Anyway, I apparently have a lot more to say than when I started. I think I'll try to chronicle what exactly happened freshman year, and then how it relates to what's going on now. I'm seeing the exact same things, and it's weird and frustrating and fun again. I'll try to pick this up later.
The point of the whole story, though, is that now I have to balance the new friends with the old friends, when really I'd love to just hang out with my existing friends all summer. It's so much fun. But you grow by meeting new people, right? It'd be nice to make friends among my summer coworkers. (and let's not forget the instinctual drive below all of this, eh?)
Monday, June 05, 2006
I might always want the opposite of what I have
This job is getting me a bit down. It doesn't make any sense: it's exactly what I feel like I want to be doing. Computer science plus AI plus teaching is great, right? Maybe it's because I'm not doing much AI/teaching yet. It's been a lot of code hacking. It's tough for me to dig in to a project that exists (hundreds of thousands of lines of code) and do anything. The more I learn, the better it will get. And sooner or later, I'll do something actually neat.
Today I walked outside after work, felt and saw the setting sun, and thought, good God, how I'd like to be climbing a mountain right now. I've done this once in my life, and by "climb a mountain" I mean "do some basic climbing on the side of a mountain." I can't say I feel some particular great holy closeness to nature. It's very pretty, to be sure, and runner's high combined with the feeling of having climbed a mountain make it nice, even as heat/cold/bugs/etc make it bad.
(sidebar: that doesn't explain why I then went inside to lift weights, and am now sitting in WRCT, in the basement, ripping CDs)
Point is, climbing a mountain is a lovely "life resume" piece. Like the other day, we were going around the table at this reception for the interns where I'm working, and we had to say one interesting things about ourselves, and this one professor said that he'd hiked the entire Appalachian trail. How cool is that? If I could say, for example, that I'd climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, that'd be pretty neat. But who am I trying to impress? Good question. Maybe myself? You're always your own worst critic.
Also, yesterday, I was in a bookstore, and I saw a book about "how to plan your bike trip from Pittsburgh to DC"- that's cool too! And I heard about a challenge to hike the 34-mile Rachel Carson trail (north of Pgh) in one day, sunup to sundown, and I thought how cool that would be too! I just want to do all these sweet physically challenging things. While I'm young. While I can do these things. So that, when I'm 70, or even when I'm 50 and have failing joints, or when I'm 30 and have cancer, I won't have to say "I wish that I'd climbed a mountain." or "I wish I'd biked more than 30 miles in a day" (for all my biking, I still haven't done that, I think. That's small change to bikers, right? See, I have to get my act together!)
Meanwhile, I'm stuck in a job sitting at a computer all day. Of course, if I had a job planting trees, I'd want to be in an office. See the title of this post: if I go on this way, I might never be content. I'm trying to get myself to live with minimal worldly attachment. But I still want to do all this sweet stuff. This is quite the trite internal debate, isn't it? Maybe I'll just live minimally AND do all this great stuff.
Aiii... there aren't enough hours in a day, or a life.
More posts to come, intermittently, whenever I have my computer and am not on the clock. Look, I'm not going to blog at work. And part of living minimally is living without a friggin computer sometimes. So there you go!
Today I walked outside after work, felt and saw the setting sun, and thought, good God, how I'd like to be climbing a mountain right now. I've done this once in my life, and by "climb a mountain" I mean "do some basic climbing on the side of a mountain." I can't say I feel some particular great holy closeness to nature. It's very pretty, to be sure, and runner's high combined with the feeling of having climbed a mountain make it nice, even as heat/cold/bugs/etc make it bad.
(sidebar: that doesn't explain why I then went inside to lift weights, and am now sitting in WRCT, in the basement, ripping CDs)
Point is, climbing a mountain is a lovely "life resume" piece. Like the other day, we were going around the table at this reception for the interns where I'm working, and we had to say one interesting things about ourselves, and this one professor said that he'd hiked the entire Appalachian trail. How cool is that? If I could say, for example, that I'd climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, that'd be pretty neat. But who am I trying to impress? Good question. Maybe myself? You're always your own worst critic.
Also, yesterday, I was in a bookstore, and I saw a book about "how to plan your bike trip from Pittsburgh to DC"- that's cool too! And I heard about a challenge to hike the 34-mile Rachel Carson trail (north of Pgh) in one day, sunup to sundown, and I thought how cool that would be too! I just want to do all these sweet physically challenging things. While I'm young. While I can do these things. So that, when I'm 70, or even when I'm 50 and have failing joints, or when I'm 30 and have cancer, I won't have to say "I wish that I'd climbed a mountain." or "I wish I'd biked more than 30 miles in a day" (for all my biking, I still haven't done that, I think. That's small change to bikers, right? See, I have to get my act together!)
Meanwhile, I'm stuck in a job sitting at a computer all day. Of course, if I had a job planting trees, I'd want to be in an office. See the title of this post: if I go on this way, I might never be content. I'm trying to get myself to live with minimal worldly attachment. But I still want to do all this sweet stuff. This is quite the trite internal debate, isn't it? Maybe I'll just live minimally AND do all this great stuff.
Aiii... there aren't enough hours in a day, or a life.
More posts to come, intermittently, whenever I have my computer and am not on the clock. Look, I'm not going to blog at work. And part of living minimally is living without a friggin computer sometimes. So there you go!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Jesus Saves!
... is the name of the wireless network I am piggybacking on. (Is that the right word? If not, I can't think of the right word right now. And I'm in a hurry because I want to get this post up before I lose the connection again.)
I don't officially have INTERNETS until June 11, when the cable folks come over. I do have a sweet apartment, complete with futon; a job that is so-far unfulfilling but promises to get better; three days of a vegetarian month completed; and a summerful of time with a yearful of optimism and energy.
In short:
Thank you for everything; I have no complaints whatsoever.
I don't officially have INTERNETS until June 11, when the cable folks come over. I do have a sweet apartment, complete with futon; a job that is so-far unfulfilling but promises to get better; three days of a vegetarian month completed; and a summerful of time with a yearful of optimism and energy.
In short:
Thank you for everything; I have no complaints whatsoever.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Three highlights of today, each of which made me think
I will go from the not-so-good to the really good.
1. Mulch. My dad got 5 cubic yards of mulch delivered today, as he does every year. Well, okay, last year he got 10. Have you seen a cubic yard of anything recently? That is a large measurement. Anyway, it takes a lot of time to spread 5 cubic yards of mulch. Like most yard work, spreading mulch annoys me. It's particularly irksome because it's so cosmetic (and otherwise pointless). It's all about the Very Green Lawn (or in this case, the Very Brown Mulch Beds in the Very Green Yard). He could just not do it one year, and the plants would be fine.
So, okay, whatever, he has his interests. If he wants to go all out for his Very Green Lawn, that's fine. But the problem is, he drags us along with it. We can argue about the reasons behind it, but then the mulch people deliver the mulch, and, well, there is a Huge Pile of Dirt in our driveway, and we've got to move it sooner or later. So either we help or we feel guilty.
Ultimately, though, the net result? I do about 2 hours of yard work. Hell, that's good for me. So, as the rest of this post will continue to drive home, I have no right (nor desire) to complain.
2. Ultimate Fighting Championship. My friend Kemal invited me over today, because there was a big UFC fight on TV. Apparently this guy Royce Gracie, a previous champion, came out of retirement to fight Matt Hughes, the up-and-coming all-star. Now, when I heard about this professional fighting thing, what did I think? Well, first, pro wrestling, which is ridiculous. Then, pro boxing, which I've never seen, but I know it involves Don King and a lot of punches. Then, well, Ultimate Fighting Championship- is this one of these extreme cage-match sort of competitions where people break limbs and gouge eyes?
In my mind, it's unlike, and more respectable than, any of the above. There are a few rules: no eye gouging, there are a few places you can't hit, but other than that, it's pretty much fair game. The match ends after one fighter is knocked out, one fighter surrenders by "tapping out", the ref ends the match, or three 5-minute rounds have passed. So there's some punching and kicking, and there's some wrestling ("grappling"). There's a lot of technique to it- the champs have to know lots of different fighting styles- jiu-jitsu, submission wrestling, etc.- in order to win. Yeah, they have to be strong too.
There was a remarkable lack of trash-talking, scantily clad women, and people getting hit with folding chairs. I mean, these elements showed up, (except the folding chairs) but that's to be expected, I guess, given the fact that it's the ultimate display of machismo, right? A lot of the fighters were very cool about the whole thing- they helped each other up, even hugged each other after a good fight. Yeah, some of them drew blood, but ultimately, it was a sporting contest, not a bitter fight between rivals, and certainly not a scripted melodrama.
Oh yeah, and Matt Hughes demolished Royce Gracie. Some of the other fights (they had about 8 fights, Hughes-Gracie was the "main event") were much better contests.
3. Chez Francois. Yeah, that's the name of the restaurant my family and I went to tonight. Yeah, it was as extravagant as it sounds. The reason started off as a belated Mother's Day event for my mom, but then sort of morphed into a celebration of my birthday. That is pretty clever: there's no way I'd let us go to a place that indulgent for my birthday.
The food? It was so good. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head how many courses there were. Let me count through them:
1. A little asparagus soup, topped with a red pepper soup, served in what looked like a double shot glass with a tiny spoon. I mean, it looked like a green and red layered shot. Compliments of the chef. Big points for presentation, and it was a neat little pre-meal.
2. Appetizers: we shared some lobster bisque (with a very airy puffed pastry on the top) and some shrimp in kataife phyllo (looks like shredded wheat) served with a pineapple and raisin (maybe?) chutney. The bisque was particularly great (the pastry was a nice touch); the shrimp, particularly interesting. Next time I go to a Greek store, remind me to get some of this Kataife stuff. It's neat.
3. Salad: Man, I almost forgot this, and it was really good. Hmm. What were the greens? I don't remember. Some fancy greens. With onions, bacon, and hard-boiled egg crumbled on top and a "champagne vinaigrette" dressing. Points for the dressing. Also some french bread, with honey butter. The bread was unremarkable, but the butter was very good.
4. The Main Course: Wow, what did I get? Okay, it was a special, so I can't find it on their menu, but here goes:
Barramundi (a fish, originally from Australia. Supposedly, it's like sea bass. Pronounced "Bear Monday.") with a crispy coating (... not the official description), served over thinly sliced onions and (some special kind of) mashed potatoes, with whole fingerling potatoes and asparagus on the side. Man, that was tasty! The fish was mild enough for people (like my dad) who don't like fishy fish, but the coating was interesting. I have to learn to cook asparagus like the fancy restaurants do. I think the secret is a lot of olive oil.
My dad got Filet de Boeuf au Stilton- "Center cut filet mignon, grille, topped with Stilton Blue cheese, garnished with a cheese crisp and a potato gallette with a ruby port wine sauce." I had a bite, and man, I think that was even better. Very rich, though, very heavy. But the super-tender steak with the creamy cheese- man.
My mom and sister split Suprême de Volaille aux Noisettes et aux Crustacés- "A roasted French breast of chicken, served with Maine lobster, cold water shrimp, and a hazelnut sweet potato mousseline, sauced with a mushroom and apple Frangelico cream sauce." Also great, but I feel like if you get chicken at this place, you're missing out. I don't think I quite appreciate lobster yet- well, I've had it about twice in my life, and each time just a bite or two.
I really enjoyed this main course. I was the last one done, and not even because I was mopping up remains from everyone else (Although I wasn't too proud to steal my dad's asparagus. He didn't want his asparagus?!). I'm proud of that. Eating slowly, actually savoring it- I'm not used to it yet, but I'm getting there.
5. Dessert- wait, there's more! We split chocolate cheesecake and ... dang... some other thing that I can't find on their online menu, because the dessert menu's not online. It was a chocolate molten cake ("It's sort of like a flourless cake. Although he did use flour."- Joan, our ever-gracious waitress), with freshly made vanilla bean ice cream. Oh yeah, and it looked like this.
As for the beverages, well, they offered us a selection of two different brands of bottled water, or tap water. A "water selection" ! Ridiculous. A fine wine list, I'm sure; I would have ordered a glass, because it's the kind of thing I should get used to doing. Plus, I like it. But when they asked me, I was caught off guard, having just told them I was 20 when they asked whose birthday it was. I enjoyed an Irish coffee with dessert though- a bit ironic at a French restaurant, maybe, but I wanted to get in one little bit of Feeling Like An Adult Although I Guess I'm Not Yet For One More Year.
They did have a "cheese selection" with dessert too, if you're into that sort of thing. The full extent of this place's extravagance can be found here.
So, enough about what food I ate. It was a birthday celebration! Also one of the most pleasant evenings I've had for just a while. My parents gave me some cool gifts, notably money to attend cooking courses here and there at Pittsburgh places and a (apparently very famous) cookbook called "the Joy of Cooking." It was also nice when I realized that this is an occasion to celebrate, and that my family wanted to celebrate, so I shouldn't do what I normally do at restaurants when I'm not paying: order one of the less expensive things to eat, and nothing to drink. They wanted me to get whatever I wanted, so shoot, I did. I think a great thing in life is the ability to recognize when someone wants to be generous, and to give them that opportunity.
But more than the gifts or the extravagant food, it was nice to be together with the family again. Any more description I could give is probably trite, because you know what I mean, (I hope) so I won't keep talking, using my hammerful wordly powers* to describe this feeling of being together with the family. I love, and will miss, them.
*What I mean is that my command of language is like a hammer, whereas a skilled writer has a precision screwdriver. Yeah, it gets the job done, but it's not usually eloquent. Except there. I think "hammerful wordly powers" is one of the most eloquent phrases I've used in a while. So I'll end this post on a high note.
1. Mulch. My dad got 5 cubic yards of mulch delivered today, as he does every year. Well, okay, last year he got 10. Have you seen a cubic yard of anything recently? That is a large measurement. Anyway, it takes a lot of time to spread 5 cubic yards of mulch. Like most yard work, spreading mulch annoys me. It's particularly irksome because it's so cosmetic (and otherwise pointless). It's all about the Very Green Lawn (or in this case, the Very Brown Mulch Beds in the Very Green Yard). He could just not do it one year, and the plants would be fine.
So, okay, whatever, he has his interests. If he wants to go all out for his Very Green Lawn, that's fine. But the problem is, he drags us along with it. We can argue about the reasons behind it, but then the mulch people deliver the mulch, and, well, there is a Huge Pile of Dirt in our driveway, and we've got to move it sooner or later. So either we help or we feel guilty.
Ultimately, though, the net result? I do about 2 hours of yard work. Hell, that's good for me. So, as the rest of this post will continue to drive home, I have no right (nor desire) to complain.
2. Ultimate Fighting Championship. My friend Kemal invited me over today, because there was a big UFC fight on TV. Apparently this guy Royce Gracie, a previous champion, came out of retirement to fight Matt Hughes, the up-and-coming all-star. Now, when I heard about this professional fighting thing, what did I think? Well, first, pro wrestling, which is ridiculous. Then, pro boxing, which I've never seen, but I know it involves Don King and a lot of punches. Then, well, Ultimate Fighting Championship- is this one of these extreme cage-match sort of competitions where people break limbs and gouge eyes?
In my mind, it's unlike, and more respectable than, any of the above. There are a few rules: no eye gouging, there are a few places you can't hit, but other than that, it's pretty much fair game. The match ends after one fighter is knocked out, one fighter surrenders by "tapping out", the ref ends the match, or three 5-minute rounds have passed. So there's some punching and kicking, and there's some wrestling ("grappling"). There's a lot of technique to it- the champs have to know lots of different fighting styles- jiu-jitsu, submission wrestling, etc.- in order to win. Yeah, they have to be strong too.
There was a remarkable lack of trash-talking, scantily clad women, and people getting hit with folding chairs. I mean, these elements showed up, (except the folding chairs) but that's to be expected, I guess, given the fact that it's the ultimate display of machismo, right? A lot of the fighters were very cool about the whole thing- they helped each other up, even hugged each other after a good fight. Yeah, some of them drew blood, but ultimately, it was a sporting contest, not a bitter fight between rivals, and certainly not a scripted melodrama.
Oh yeah, and Matt Hughes demolished Royce Gracie. Some of the other fights (they had about 8 fights, Hughes-Gracie was the "main event") were much better contests.
3. Chez Francois. Yeah, that's the name of the restaurant my family and I went to tonight. Yeah, it was as extravagant as it sounds. The reason started off as a belated Mother's Day event for my mom, but then sort of morphed into a celebration of my birthday. That is pretty clever: there's no way I'd let us go to a place that indulgent for my birthday.
The food? It was so good. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head how many courses there were. Let me count through them:
1. A little asparagus soup, topped with a red pepper soup, served in what looked like a double shot glass with a tiny spoon. I mean, it looked like a green and red layered shot. Compliments of the chef. Big points for presentation, and it was a neat little pre-meal.
2. Appetizers: we shared some lobster bisque (with a very airy puffed pastry on the top) and some shrimp in kataife phyllo (looks like shredded wheat) served with a pineapple and raisin (maybe?) chutney. The bisque was particularly great (the pastry was a nice touch); the shrimp, particularly interesting. Next time I go to a Greek store, remind me to get some of this Kataife stuff. It's neat.
3. Salad: Man, I almost forgot this, and it was really good. Hmm. What were the greens? I don't remember. Some fancy greens. With onions, bacon, and hard-boiled egg crumbled on top and a "champagne vinaigrette" dressing. Points for the dressing. Also some french bread, with honey butter. The bread was unremarkable, but the butter was very good.
4. The Main Course: Wow, what did I get? Okay, it was a special, so I can't find it on their menu, but here goes:
Barramundi (a fish, originally from Australia. Supposedly, it's like sea bass. Pronounced "Bear Monday.") with a crispy coating (... not the official description), served over thinly sliced onions and (some special kind of) mashed potatoes, with whole fingerling potatoes and asparagus on the side. Man, that was tasty! The fish was mild enough for people (like my dad) who don't like fishy fish, but the coating was interesting. I have to learn to cook asparagus like the fancy restaurants do. I think the secret is a lot of olive oil.
My dad got Filet de Boeuf au Stilton- "Center cut filet mignon, grille, topped with Stilton Blue cheese, garnished with a cheese crisp and a potato gallette with a ruby port wine sauce." I had a bite, and man, I think that was even better. Very rich, though, very heavy. But the super-tender steak with the creamy cheese- man.
My mom and sister split Suprême de Volaille aux Noisettes et aux Crustacés- "A roasted French breast of chicken, served with Maine lobster, cold water shrimp, and a hazelnut sweet potato mousseline, sauced with a mushroom and apple Frangelico cream sauce." Also great, but I feel like if you get chicken at this place, you're missing out. I don't think I quite appreciate lobster yet- well, I've had it about twice in my life, and each time just a bite or two.
I really enjoyed this main course. I was the last one done, and not even because I was mopping up remains from everyone else (Although I wasn't too proud to steal my dad's asparagus. He didn't want his asparagus?!). I'm proud of that. Eating slowly, actually savoring it- I'm not used to it yet, but I'm getting there.
5. Dessert- wait, there's more! We split chocolate cheesecake and ... dang... some other thing that I can't find on their online menu, because the dessert menu's not online. It was a chocolate molten cake ("It's sort of like a flourless cake. Although he did use flour."- Joan, our ever-gracious waitress), with freshly made vanilla bean ice cream. Oh yeah, and it looked like this.
As for the beverages, well, they offered us a selection of two different brands of bottled water, or tap water. A "water selection" ! Ridiculous. A fine wine list, I'm sure; I would have ordered a glass, because it's the kind of thing I should get used to doing. Plus, I like it. But when they asked me, I was caught off guard, having just told them I was 20 when they asked whose birthday it was. I enjoyed an Irish coffee with dessert though- a bit ironic at a French restaurant, maybe, but I wanted to get in one little bit of Feeling Like An Adult Although I Guess I'm Not Yet For One More Year.
They did have a "cheese selection" with dessert too, if you're into that sort of thing. The full extent of this place's extravagance can be found here.
So, enough about what food I ate. It was a birthday celebration! Also one of the most pleasant evenings I've had for just a while. My parents gave me some cool gifts, notably money to attend cooking courses here and there at Pittsburgh places and a (apparently very famous) cookbook called "the Joy of Cooking." It was also nice when I realized that this is an occasion to celebrate, and that my family wanted to celebrate, so I shouldn't do what I normally do at restaurants when I'm not paying: order one of the less expensive things to eat, and nothing to drink. They wanted me to get whatever I wanted, so shoot, I did. I think a great thing in life is the ability to recognize when someone wants to be generous, and to give them that opportunity.
But more than the gifts or the extravagant food, it was nice to be together with the family again. Any more description I could give is probably trite, because you know what I mean, (I hope) so I won't keep talking, using my hammerful wordly powers* to describe this feeling of being together with the family. I love, and will miss, them.
*What I mean is that my command of language is like a hammer, whereas a skilled writer has a precision screwdriver. Yeah, it gets the job done, but it's not usually eloquent. Except there. I think "hammerful wordly powers" is one of the most eloquent phrases I've used in a while. So I'll end this post on a high note.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Categorizing sports
I was in the shower, you know, down time for the ol' noggin, so I decided to create more of my world by naming, categorizing, applying value judgments to things. In this case, sports. For example, soccer and hockey are really the same game- you're trying to get the ball (or puck) down the field and put it in the goal. So soccer and hockey go in the same category.
At first I was amazed at how few categories there are. Then I was amazed at how many. Without further ado, here are the categories as I have decided them:
Football-type: Soccer, Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Lacrosse, Water Polo, Team Handball, Tlachtli
Clearly the most popular category.
Race-type: Track, Cross Country, Cycling, Downhill Skiing, Speed Skating, any other kind of race
The idea is to cover a lot of ground, either through a course or just straight, as quickly as possible. Sometimes hardly even a sport, like track: it's difficult, but come on, running as fast as you can? It's not very original.
Tennis-type: Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, Handball, Volleyball
These all have the objective of making the ball land twice (or once) on your opponent's side. Racquetballish games differ only in that both sides are in the same court.
Gymnastics-type: Gymnastics, Figure Skating, and a lot of the "extreme sports" like half-pipe snowboarding and skateboarding
These are a bit different in that the winner is determined by a judge (or panel of judges)
Baseball-type: Baseball, Softball (if that's a different game than baseball, which I'd argue that it's not), Cricket
Why so low on the list? Really, they don't make sense. Hit a ball and run around bases? Who the hell came up with that?
Fighting-type: Boxing, Wrestling, Fencing
Again, simple. But we have to classify these somehow. Mano a mano games in which the object was once to kill the opponent.
Golf-type: Golf, Bowling, Curling, any kind of target shooting
Well, these are obviously pretty different, but the objective in all of them is to do something difficult that requires precision over and over again. Also, your opponent can't really affect your score at all.
Any I missed?
It should be noted that sports don't necessarily fall into one category, although most do. For example, the Best Sport, freestyle mogul skiing, is race-type and gymnastics-type, because speed and judges' points both matter.
At first I was amazed at how few categories there are. Then I was amazed at how many. Without further ado, here are the categories as I have decided them:
Football-type: Soccer, Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Lacrosse, Water Polo, Team Handball, Tlachtli
Clearly the most popular category.
Race-type: Track, Cross Country, Cycling, Downhill Skiing, Speed Skating, any other kind of race
The idea is to cover a lot of ground, either through a course or just straight, as quickly as possible. Sometimes hardly even a sport, like track: it's difficult, but come on, running as fast as you can? It's not very original.
Tennis-type: Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, Handball, Volleyball
These all have the objective of making the ball land twice (or once) on your opponent's side. Racquetballish games differ only in that both sides are in the same court.
Gymnastics-type: Gymnastics, Figure Skating, and a lot of the "extreme sports" like half-pipe snowboarding and skateboarding
These are a bit different in that the winner is determined by a judge (or panel of judges)
Baseball-type: Baseball, Softball (if that's a different game than baseball, which I'd argue that it's not), Cricket
Why so low on the list? Really, they don't make sense. Hit a ball and run around bases? Who the hell came up with that?
Fighting-type: Boxing, Wrestling, Fencing
Again, simple. But we have to classify these somehow. Mano a mano games in which the object was once to kill the opponent.
Golf-type: Golf, Bowling, Curling, any kind of target shooting
Well, these are obviously pretty different, but the objective in all of them is to do something difficult that requires precision over and over again. Also, your opponent can't really affect your score at all.
Any I missed?
It should be noted that sports don't necessarily fall into one category, although most do. For example, the Best Sport, freestyle mogul skiing, is race-type and gymnastics-type, because speed and judges' points both matter.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
You can take the kid away from the video games...
but you can't take the video games out of the kid. Something like that. This week, I've realized why it's fantastic that I haven't bought any video games for years now. If I did, I would become woefully unproductive for a while (as I have been this week). They're like breakfast cereal: fine in small doses, but I am unable to consume either in small doses. But at least I know that, which is why I don't (usually) buy cereal or video games anymore.
I just cooked for 11 people and it turned out perfectly! Granted, the menu was uninspired (chicken, burgers, corn, fruit, salad, bread) but the timing was impeccable, if I do say so myself, and everything turned out well. It was all done at the same time! The chicken was particularly tasty. And, well, timing is at least 50 percent of cooking. My uncle (who is a great cook) says he might* be able to show me how to cook a rack of lamb this weekend... sweet!
*Might, because both his real mom and his foster mom are dying this week. I think that's who they are. Both really nice old ladies, especially his foster mom. She's incredible- I only met her a few times, but she was this old black woman, the nicest person ever. I guess she became like the social hub of her nursing home even. Everyone knew her, everyone liked her. His real mom (I think that's who the other one is) was also really nice, I guess, but I knew her even less. Anyway, they're both very at peace with the world right now, which is a topic for a much longer and heavier post, but it is also very good. It sounds like they're both ready. Which is pretty incredible. Offer them your well wishes as they cross on into that Greatest Adventure of All, death and/or afterlife.
On lighter topics: I got a blender, too! I, uh, picked it out. And bought it. My grandma (who is not the best at getting around to places) said, after I mentioned I wanted a blender, "How about if you go pick out a blender. And then you can just buy it. We can pay you for it later. Do you want me to give you the money now? Or later. Either way." So I did. I make her sound very insensitive, and that's not fair. They're sweet. Just sometimes a little out of touch with reality.
I've been spending some time with them both these last couple weeks, which is good. They are very nice people. Again, sometimes a little crazy (for example, my grandma wants my dad to re-stain her deck. He built her this deck like 2 years ago. It was a herculean effort. Restaining it would be equally ambitious. And unnecessary.). But as grandkids, we don't have to deal with all the pecadilloes- to them, we're golden! They love us to death, right? So it's nice to be able to spend some time with them- playing golf with my grandpa, going to lunch with my grandma, etc.
She also has the best sayings. The way she delivers them. She'll be unable to find the right words, so she'll just say whatever pops into her head. Tonight, she called me a ball of fire. "Dan, you're just a, ah, uh, ... a ball of fire!" Last weekend she called my dad a "brat from China." It's great.
I just cooked for 11 people and it turned out perfectly! Granted, the menu was uninspired (chicken, burgers, corn, fruit, salad, bread) but the timing was impeccable, if I do say so myself, and everything turned out well. It was all done at the same time! The chicken was particularly tasty. And, well, timing is at least 50 percent of cooking. My uncle (who is a great cook) says he might* be able to show me how to cook a rack of lamb this weekend... sweet!
*Might, because both his real mom and his foster mom are dying this week. I think that's who they are. Both really nice old ladies, especially his foster mom. She's incredible- I only met her a few times, but she was this old black woman, the nicest person ever. I guess she became like the social hub of her nursing home even. Everyone knew her, everyone liked her. His real mom (I think that's who the other one is) was also really nice, I guess, but I knew her even less. Anyway, they're both very at peace with the world right now, which is a topic for a much longer and heavier post, but it is also very good. It sounds like they're both ready. Which is pretty incredible. Offer them your well wishes as they cross on into that Greatest Adventure of All, death and/or afterlife.
On lighter topics: I got a blender, too! I, uh, picked it out. And bought it. My grandma (who is not the best at getting around to places) said, after I mentioned I wanted a blender, "How about if you go pick out a blender. And then you can just buy it. We can pay you for it later. Do you want me to give you the money now? Or later. Either way." So I did. I make her sound very insensitive, and that's not fair. They're sweet. Just sometimes a little out of touch with reality.
I've been spending some time with them both these last couple weeks, which is good. They are very nice people. Again, sometimes a little crazy (for example, my grandma wants my dad to re-stain her deck. He built her this deck like 2 years ago. It was a herculean effort. Restaining it would be equally ambitious. And unnecessary.). But as grandkids, we don't have to deal with all the pecadilloes- to them, we're golden! They love us to death, right? So it's nice to be able to spend some time with them- playing golf with my grandpa, going to lunch with my grandma, etc.
She also has the best sayings. The way she delivers them. She'll be unable to find the right words, so she'll just say whatever pops into her head. Tonight, she called me a ball of fire. "Dan, you're just a, ah, uh, ... a ball of fire!" Last weekend she called my dad a "brat from China." It's great.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Sports and Lawns
- Most things are arbitrary. Pro sports doubly so. How ridiculous is it to have an event in which a team represents your entire city, and you get all psyched up about it, then you feel great if they win and bad if they lose? Why do people cheer? If the team wins, good for them; if they lose, whatever. Your cheering won't change the outcome at all. Not to mention, have you been to a sporting event recently? It is the most Pavlovian thing in my usual experience:
"Fans! Get up on your feet and make some noise, because we've got some hot DiGiorno pizzas, and we're giving them out to the loudest fans!" I swear, they could give out loaves of bread. Heads of cabbage. Bananas. What better to easily stimulate people than tasty food?
"Turn your attention to center court, where you will now be entertained by this team of breakdancers!" Pander to me, please! I can't go a couple minutes without some lame throwaway entertainment!
"It's time for the Taco Bell ball toss!" I'm not even making this up... they throw these worthless little plastic balls into the crowd, and people scramble for them.
or the usual
"It's time to get loud!" "De-fense!" BOOM BOOM "De-fense!" BOOM BOOM... Make noise, because we tell you to! You have to support the home team!
At this last game I went to, they gave us towels, and they kept putting a sign on the scoreboard that said "Whirly-bird" which meant that you're supposed to wave the towel around. You know, like a Terrible Towel, except they're prompting you.
All I'm saying is, most of the typical brainwashy dystopias have this sort of event somewhere ingrained in their society, and it really helps with their mind control schemes... let's hope The Pro Sports People never use it for evil.
- Mowing the lawn is a little bit of an atrocity. "Let's shape nature to our own selfish desires." Those needs include pushing a gas-spewing motor across it every week in order to prevent any sort of organic growth pattern. And inventing another chore that a lot of people hate to do. And maybe some artificial fertilizers would help. The best is when you bag up and throw away the grass that you pick up.
I'm sorry, that last paragraph was very snide. I apologize for the sarcastic tone. My point is that it's kind of artificial to want a very green lawn. Oh dear, I'm becoming a hippie again. Good grief, I better stop writing now.
"Fans! Get up on your feet and make some noise, because we've got some hot DiGiorno pizzas, and we're giving them out to the loudest fans!" I swear, they could give out loaves of bread. Heads of cabbage. Bananas. What better to easily stimulate people than tasty food?
"Turn your attention to center court, where you will now be entertained by this team of breakdancers!" Pander to me, please! I can't go a couple minutes without some lame throwaway entertainment!
"It's time for the Taco Bell ball toss!" I'm not even making this up... they throw these worthless little plastic balls into the crowd, and people scramble for them.
or the usual
"It's time to get loud!" "De-fense!" BOOM BOOM "De-fense!" BOOM BOOM... Make noise, because we tell you to! You have to support the home team!
At this last game I went to, they gave us towels, and they kept putting a sign on the scoreboard that said "Whirly-bird" which meant that you're supposed to wave the towel around. You know, like a Terrible Towel, except they're prompting you.
All I'm saying is, most of the typical brainwashy dystopias have this sort of event somewhere ingrained in their society, and it really helps with their mind control schemes... let's hope The Pro Sports People never use it for evil.
- Mowing the lawn is a little bit of an atrocity. "Let's shape nature to our own selfish desires." Those needs include pushing a gas-spewing motor across it every week in order to prevent any sort of organic growth pattern. And inventing another chore that a lot of people hate to do. And maybe some artificial fertilizers would help. The best is when you bag up and throw away the grass that you pick up.
I'm sorry, that last paragraph was very snide. I apologize for the sarcastic tone. My point is that it's kind of artificial to want a very green lawn. Oh dear, I'm becoming a hippie again. Good grief, I better stop writing now.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
"It's only minor Dickens"
My friend Erik was talking about his hoity-toity ivory-tower professor, who said that about David Copperfield, I think. It sounds like a spam subject line. Or maybe a bookstore in the entertainment complex*: Minor Dickens.
...or a life motto. (Look at that, a dramatic line-break/ellipsis!) A lot of things don't matter, yet we act like they do. For example, gas prices. None of us is going to be forced into poverty because of $3/gallon gas. (especially those of us who don't drive, but that's beside the point) Let me know if you are, and I'll come back and get a better example. But we'll just buy fewer things. (Great!)
Or this: my sister's choir director forced them all to go see this choral concert on Mother's Day, so some people got all pissy. First of all, the director shouldn't care. Second, students, if it's that big a deal, just tell the director why you can't go, and don't go. Third, get over it! So you wasted a couple hours at a concert. Big deal.
Erik put it pretty well: No single event in your life is going to have a huge impact, positive or negative. So you try to do the best you can at as many things as you can. And don't worry about it if something goes badly.
This is getting wordy and abstract, and I think I've made my point, so I'm done.
*I should really keep a list of what's in the Entertainment Complex. So far, I think we have:
Have Table (King Arthur themed; everyone sits at semicircular tables.)
Dick in a Round (a theatre in the round, only performs Richard II, Richard III, or one-man shows featuring an actor named Richard.)
Up (restaurant in a skyscraper, about halfway up. Brick walls inside the skyscraper walls, no windows to the outside. Bar and grille. Serves beer in frosted mugs.)
Wootrant (restaurant serving one dish each day. When that dish runs out, we start making something else. Gourmet food, cheap prices. See woot.com)
What's In Store (a store. It sells whatever we want to sell. When people ask what it sells, the answer is "What's in store.")
Minor Dickens (bookstore. Details are still under review.)
...or a life motto. (Look at that, a dramatic line-break/ellipsis!) A lot of things don't matter, yet we act like they do. For example, gas prices. None of us is going to be forced into poverty because of $3/gallon gas. (especially those of us who don't drive, but that's beside the point) Let me know if you are, and I'll come back and get a better example. But we'll just buy fewer things. (Great!)
Or this: my sister's choir director forced them all to go see this choral concert on Mother's Day, so some people got all pissy. First of all, the director shouldn't care. Second, students, if it's that big a deal, just tell the director why you can't go, and don't go. Third, get over it! So you wasted a couple hours at a concert. Big deal.
Erik put it pretty well: No single event in your life is going to have a huge impact, positive or negative. So you try to do the best you can at as many things as you can. And don't worry about it if something goes badly.
This is getting wordy and abstract, and I think I've made my point, so I'm done.
*I should really keep a list of what's in the Entertainment Complex. So far, I think we have:
Have Table (King Arthur themed; everyone sits at semicircular tables.)
Dick in a Round (a theatre in the round, only performs Richard II, Richard III, or one-man shows featuring an actor named Richard.)
Up (restaurant in a skyscraper, about halfway up. Brick walls inside the skyscraper walls, no windows to the outside. Bar and grille. Serves beer in frosted mugs.)
Wootrant (restaurant serving one dish each day. When that dish runs out, we start making something else. Gourmet food, cheap prices. See woot.com)
What's In Store (a store. It sells whatever we want to sell. When people ask what it sells, the answer is "What's in store.")
Minor Dickens (bookstore. Details are still under review.)
Friday, May 12, 2006
This is interesting
This.
Not because of it being Zacarias Moussaoui, but because of the dynamic that must have been in that room. ... "We all agree. Except one of us."
And what if you were that one guy? Would you sit quietly? Would you speak in favor of the death penalty? Because you know you better not let anyone know who you are. If the jurors knew, shoot, they could practically blackmail you. If the public knew, you'd probably get death threats and stuff.
Not because of it being Zacarias Moussaoui, but because of the dynamic that must have been in that room. ... "We all agree. Except one of us."
And what if you were that one guy? Would you sit quietly? Would you speak in favor of the death penalty? Because you know you better not let anyone know who you are. If the jurors knew, shoot, they could practically blackmail you. If the public knew, you'd probably get death threats and stuff.
And... scene!
And I'm done with another year. Halfway done with college. Possibly about 20% done with life as a student. Entering my third decade on this planet in exactly two weeks. Passing milestones without noticing.
Looking back, I notice I posted this in September:
Post title: I HAVE SIX PLANS
Post content:
1. Become a tour guide next semester, to show people what it's really like.
2. Go vegetarian for a week, just to try it.
3. Invite people over next week or next next week before a rehearsal and make a bunch of burritos.
4. Organize a ski trip over winter break.
5. Organize a cooking group to try new recipes and stuff.
6. Invest some money in a mutual fund or other high-yield investment.
Well, I did 3, 4, 5, and 6. I couldn't do 1, because the job's just not available. All they said was "look on Tartantrak," which I did a lot, with no luck. I'll have to talk to Alex DiClaudio- I think he's a tour guide, actually.
#2 is the month of June. June is vegetarian month! At least for me. I'll post more details on .vomit (or .events if that gets big) and you can join me if you want. The reason: when it comes down to it, it's hard to justify eating meat, especially the way we do now, and here's why:
If animals have feelings, then eating meat is clearly wrong, and we're torturing some huge percentage of the mammals on the earth. If they don't, well, then it comes down to efficiency. It's a lot less efficient to grow a field of grain and other foods, feed them to a cow, then kill the cow, than to just eat the grain and other food. Why don't people in developing countries eat much, if any, meat? I figure, to help limit my personal footprint on the earth, it wouldn't hurt to try eating no meat for a month.
Oh yeah, and you ever see those photos/videos of meat factories and industrial "farms"? Ayyy. EVEN IF those are just dumb animals who can't feel pain (may or may not be true...), I don't want to put something that's grown under those conditions into my body.
Side note: damn, when did I turn into such a hippie? Don't worry, I still shave!
Point is, I set out to do things, and I did them. Let me try again, but this time with goals, instead of plans:
1. Study abroad! Somewhere!
2. Be the best TA that Concepts of Math has seen since Matt Szudzik. Hell, be better! Be that one recitation that people actually go to, because it's interesting.
3. Rock a lot in the research over the summer.
4. Get into a sweet grad school. (And go there.)
5. Get back in better shape. My exercise routine has drifted off.
Note that these are much longer term goals, and I won't be able to post in a year and say that I've done all of them. Most of them, though!
And maybe I should tack on a #5 1/2. Enjoy summer a little bit. Relax a bit. Become more carefree. Because, when it comes down to it, most stuff doesn't matter.
I'm reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut now. It's great.
Looking back, I notice I posted this in September:
Post title: I HAVE SIX PLANS
Post content:
1. Become a tour guide next semester, to show people what it's really like.
2. Go vegetarian for a week, just to try it.
3. Invite people over next week or next next week before a rehearsal and make a bunch of burritos.
4. Organize a ski trip over winter break.
5. Organize a cooking group to try new recipes and stuff.
6. Invest some money in a mutual fund or other high-yield investment.
Well, I did 3, 4, 5, and 6. I couldn't do 1, because the job's just not available. All they said was "look on Tartantrak," which I did a lot, with no luck. I'll have to talk to Alex DiClaudio- I think he's a tour guide, actually.
#2 is the month of June. June is vegetarian month! At least for me. I'll post more details on .vomit (or .events if that gets big) and you can join me if you want. The reason: when it comes down to it, it's hard to justify eating meat, especially the way we do now, and here's why:
If animals have feelings, then eating meat is clearly wrong, and we're torturing some huge percentage of the mammals on the earth. If they don't, well, then it comes down to efficiency. It's a lot less efficient to grow a field of grain and other foods, feed them to a cow, then kill the cow, than to just eat the grain and other food. Why don't people in developing countries eat much, if any, meat? I figure, to help limit my personal footprint on the earth, it wouldn't hurt to try eating no meat for a month.
Oh yeah, and you ever see those photos/videos of meat factories and industrial "farms"? Ayyy. EVEN IF those are just dumb animals who can't feel pain (may or may not be true...), I don't want to put something that's grown under those conditions into my body.
Side note: damn, when did I turn into such a hippie? Don't worry, I still shave!
Point is, I set out to do things, and I did them. Let me try again, but this time with goals, instead of plans:
1. Study abroad! Somewhere!
2. Be the best TA that Concepts of Math has seen since Matt Szudzik. Hell, be better! Be that one recitation that people actually go to, because it's interesting.
3. Rock a lot in the research over the summer.
4. Get into a sweet grad school. (And go there.)
5. Get back in better shape. My exercise routine has drifted off.
Note that these are much longer term goals, and I won't be able to post in a year and say that I've done all of them. Most of them, though!
And maybe I should tack on a #5 1/2. Enjoy summer a little bit. Relax a bit. Become more carefree. Because, when it comes down to it, most stuff doesn't matter.
I'm reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut now. It's great.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
I'm a TA!
I got the job as a TA, for 21-127, Concepts of Math. I got the 9:30 section... but if you're taking Concepts, for whatever reason, sign up for it despite the early morning. I'll make it worth it. Yeah! Rock!
Monday, May 08, 2006
I like Indian and Greek food a lot.
India Garden is very good. If you want to go to the lunch buffet there anytime this week, give me a call.
Or, if you'd rather try the Greek Food Fest this week, that's very good too. I got some sort of meatballs ("Souvakakia"? not Souvlaki, that's different), and Moussaka (which is GREAT) and something called "Green Beans and Zucchini Yhannia" maybe? Plus grape leaves. Mmm. Oh yeah, and then we went to the pastry table and said "I'd like one of everything." The winners were, in my opinion, some kind of cake that started with a K and had nutmeg in it, as well as "Kataife"?, which looked like Shredded Wheat with nuts in the middle and drenched in honey. Really great.
And I think I'd like Brazilian food a lot too. Anyone want to go to Green Forest? Or is that too much great food for a week?
Or, if you'd rather try the Greek Food Fest this week, that's very good too. I got some sort of meatballs ("Souvakakia"? not Souvlaki, that's different), and Moussaka (which is GREAT) and something called "Green Beans and Zucchini Yhannia" maybe? Plus grape leaves. Mmm. Oh yeah, and then we went to the pastry table and said "I'd like one of everything." The winners were, in my opinion, some kind of cake that started with a K and had nutmeg in it, as well as "Kataife"?, which looked like Shredded Wheat with nuts in the middle and drenched in honey. Really great.
And I think I'd like Brazilian food a lot too. Anyone want to go to Green Forest? Or is that too much great food for a week?
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Sometimes I'm a sap, but
I thought the board sleepover/Ritter's was a lot of fun. Something about having an unusual group of people and doing something unusual. Even if it is playing a game like "loaded questions" (which is fun, and I'll fight you if you disagree) and going to a diner at 4 AM, after we're all drained from Scotch on the Rocks and strike. Whatever. It was fun. (plus a chili omelet is pretty good)
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Someone gave me a great compliment tonight:
"You're a sophomore? I took you for a senior!"
However, this contributes to the problem of inward focus in social situations. Note to everyone: It's not about you! The more you focus on other people, the better off you are- you're more social, you're more enjoyable, you have more fun.
This is true only to a point. And it's arguable. But it's often great advice for those of us with big egos (myself included). Or those of us who think that we have small egos but then spend a lot of time talking about ourselves, be it in a braggadocious OR self-deprecating way.
But it was a nice compliment to get. Thanks.
However, this contributes to the problem of inward focus in social situations. Note to everyone: It's not about you! The more you focus on other people, the better off you are- you're more social, you're more enjoyable, you have more fun.
This is true only to a point. And it's arguable. But it's often great advice for those of us with big egos (myself included). Or those of us who think that we have small egos but then spend a lot of time talking about ourselves, be it in a braggadocious OR self-deprecating way.
But it was a nice compliment to get. Thanks.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Oh, how about this weekend, when I was a hippie.
On Friday, I participated in part of something that's pretty great: Critical Mass. This biking group, it's not even a group, they just meet outside the Carnegie Library in Oakland on the last Friday of every month at about 5:30, then they just go on a bike ride. The kicker is that, at least when I went, there were at least 100, probably 150 people there. So we took up multiple lanes of traffic- sometimes the entire road. Man! That was cool! Ever ride a bike through what traffic would be like if there were no cars? It's a cool thing!
It ended at the Paint and Body Shop in Wilkinsburg (now I guess an art gallery/concert venue or something) and there was a party with food, so I went. They were serving pasta and sauce, and when I was in line for food, the question wasn't "Do you want meat or meatless sauce?", it was "vegan or non-vegan?" Actually, it was "is anyone here not vegan?" ... it was a pretty hairy group of people. I soon left.
In their defense, their cheap beer of choice was Pabst. The same cannot be said for Joe and Connor, unfortunately, as they elected to purchase Natural Ice for beer pong on Saturday. Nevertheless, that party was one of the best in a long time. (see the log I posted on .vomit for details)
Today: I went to the Mattress Factory, and got FREAKED OUT. I like to think I'm usually pretty brave (that may be true or not. I still haven't given blood.), but something about that place was so terrifying. Like the dark room with just a big blue rectangle... there are so many ways that could become scarringly frightening. (for example, if you turned around and the walls on the way out were covered in something scary) (Note that none of it actually was frightening- I mean, it wasn't a haunted house) But it was fascinating! The room with mirrors in all directions- you can't experience that anywhere else! I felt like that was modern art that, maybe I didn't understand it, maybe I didn't appreciate it, but maybe I started to appreciate it. Yeah, it's pretentious. Of course it is. But unlike most pretentious shit, as I was observing it, I thought, "Wow." If you'd like to go, let me know, because I'd love to go back- there's a lot I didn't see.
And now I'm getting the music sentimentality. If you ever listen to the radio, listen to my show tomorrow (10AM-12PM, 88.3fm, wrct.org) because it's my end-of-semester wrap-up, and it'll be amazing. Listening to my favorite songs of the semester means reliving the semester, which means nostalgia. Again, when it comes down to it, I like being a connoisseur of pop music, hipster as it may be.
And speaking of nostalgia, I'm starting to get the end of the year blatz. Shit! I want to hang out with every single one of you! Especially the seniors! I will try not to let my schedule get filled with other noise.
It ended at the Paint and Body Shop in Wilkinsburg (now I guess an art gallery/concert venue or something) and there was a party with food, so I went. They were serving pasta and sauce, and when I was in line for food, the question wasn't "Do you want meat or meatless sauce?", it was "vegan or non-vegan?" Actually, it was "is anyone here not vegan?" ... it was a pretty hairy group of people. I soon left.
In their defense, their cheap beer of choice was Pabst. The same cannot be said for Joe and Connor, unfortunately, as they elected to purchase Natural Ice for beer pong on Saturday. Nevertheless, that party was one of the best in a long time. (see the log I posted on .vomit for details)
Today: I went to the Mattress Factory, and got FREAKED OUT. I like to think I'm usually pretty brave (that may be true or not. I still haven't given blood.), but something about that place was so terrifying. Like the dark room with just a big blue rectangle... there are so many ways that could become scarringly frightening. (for example, if you turned around and the walls on the way out were covered in something scary) (Note that none of it actually was frightening- I mean, it wasn't a haunted house) But it was fascinating! The room with mirrors in all directions- you can't experience that anywhere else! I felt like that was modern art that, maybe I didn't understand it, maybe I didn't appreciate it, but maybe I started to appreciate it. Yeah, it's pretentious. Of course it is. But unlike most pretentious shit, as I was observing it, I thought, "Wow." If you'd like to go, let me know, because I'd love to go back- there's a lot I didn't see.
And now I'm getting the music sentimentality. If you ever listen to the radio, listen to my show tomorrow (10AM-12PM, 88.3fm, wrct.org) because it's my end-of-semester wrap-up, and it'll be amazing. Listening to my favorite songs of the semester means reliving the semester, which means nostalgia. Again, when it comes down to it, I like being a connoisseur of pop music, hipster as it may be.
And speaking of nostalgia, I'm starting to get the end of the year blatz. Shit! I want to hang out with every single one of you! Especially the seniors! I will try not to let my schedule get filled with other noise.
Re: my last post. Also, regulating accounts.
See, there are days like that, and then there are nights like last night, when everything sort of works out right. When I realize that all (or most) of my closest friends (in Pittsburgh) are there with me, and that there are at that moment no responsibilities, and that I can step out of my overanalytical control-freak shell and enjoy a moment, and wish that the night had 1400 hours in it.
It doesn't happen often; I feel bad at organizing get-togethers. I feel like it's a good idea to expand friendly gatherings beyond the few hours of Friday and Saturday nights; if 5/7 of your week is straight work, that sucks a little bit. Or if your only encounters with friends are through business (like rehearsal). But then I organize a gathering and it's a bunch of people sitting around, bored. What I'm trying to do is spend time with friends without spending it putting food or drinks into ourselves, or spending money. There's got to be more you can do. Are we just not very creative?
About this whole in-and-out-flow of food and money thing: we spend most of our lives doing it.
You eat food, it's tasty. You exercise, it's difficult. (often it's fun. but it's still difficult, whether you're running or biking or whatever.) Food goes in, food gets burned off.
You work, you get money, it's difficult. (and maybe, hopefully, you like your job; it's still difficult) You spend money, you do something neat or you get things (or maybe you even get food), it's fun.
Obviously, the examples aren't complete. Sometimes you eat because you have to; sometimes you spend money because you have to. Sometimes you love exercise or your job so much that it's easy, and you do it a lot.
The point is, so much of your life is dedicated to these two tasks: your bank account and your food account.
Is that good? I feel like it's animalistic, especially the food account. Any animal can do that. And any idiot can spend his whole life chasing after money. I don't really want to get into a big discussion of "what is meaningful in life" yet, because I don't have any new insight since the last time I talked to you. Yes, you. Whoever you are, if we've had that conversation once, I don't really have any new bright ideas. If we haven't, we should! Given that people who read this are probably my friends, if you're reading this, I'd like to know what's driving your life- it's kind of an important issue, and one that really lets me get to know you, I think, much moreso than "how's it going?" Plus, maybe you know the secret, and you can let me in on it!
But I got sidetracked. I feel like I want to minimize the time spent regulating my food account and bank account. So if you have an idea for a Thing To Do that doesn't involve those, please, let me know! (of course, I still like doing those things: if I'm eating dinner, or going to a movie, or playing Whirlyball, or what have you, with friends, I'm spending time with friends, which, in my book, is in the top five things in the world. Even above skiing. Which is really saying something.) I'll repeat the previous sentence, not for emphasis, but just to get back on the same train of thought: So if you have an idea for a Thing To Do that doesn't involve those, please, let me know!
It doesn't happen often; I feel bad at organizing get-togethers. I feel like it's a good idea to expand friendly gatherings beyond the few hours of Friday and Saturday nights; if 5/7 of your week is straight work, that sucks a little bit. Or if your only encounters with friends are through business (like rehearsal). But then I organize a gathering and it's a bunch of people sitting around, bored. What I'm trying to do is spend time with friends without spending it putting food or drinks into ourselves, or spending money. There's got to be more you can do. Are we just not very creative?
About this whole in-and-out-flow of food and money thing: we spend most of our lives doing it.
You eat food, it's tasty. You exercise, it's difficult. (often it's fun. but it's still difficult, whether you're running or biking or whatever.) Food goes in, food gets burned off.
You work, you get money, it's difficult. (and maybe, hopefully, you like your job; it's still difficult) You spend money, you do something neat or you get things (or maybe you even get food), it's fun.
Obviously, the examples aren't complete. Sometimes you eat because you have to; sometimes you spend money because you have to. Sometimes you love exercise or your job so much that it's easy, and you do it a lot.
The point is, so much of your life is dedicated to these two tasks: your bank account and your food account.
Is that good? I feel like it's animalistic, especially the food account. Any animal can do that. And any idiot can spend his whole life chasing after money. I don't really want to get into a big discussion of "what is meaningful in life" yet, because I don't have any new insight since the last time I talked to you. Yes, you. Whoever you are, if we've had that conversation once, I don't really have any new bright ideas. If we haven't, we should! Given that people who read this are probably my friends, if you're reading this, I'd like to know what's driving your life- it's kind of an important issue, and one that really lets me get to know you, I think, much moreso than "how's it going?" Plus, maybe you know the secret, and you can let me in on it!
But I got sidetracked. I feel like I want to minimize the time spent regulating my food account and bank account. So if you have an idea for a Thing To Do that doesn't involve those, please, let me know! (of course, I still like doing those things: if I'm eating dinner, or going to a movie, or playing Whirlyball, or what have you, with friends, I'm spending time with friends, which, in my book, is in the top five things in the world. Even above skiing. Which is really saying something.) I'll repeat the previous sentence, not for emphasis, but just to get back on the same train of thought: So if you have an idea for a Thing To Do that doesn't involve those, please, let me know!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Two more weeks...
I just keep telling myself that... two more weeks...
For all the good times I'll remember about college, there's a lot of crap that I won't. Like now, staying up till 5 staring at a take-home test that doesn't make any goddamn sense, for a class I don't even want to be in, that's not even helping me graduate. Geez! Of all my classes right now, only AI is fulfilling at all. Maybe German a bit too, although why the hell am I learning German? I could go study in a lot of places without spending lots and lots of hours learning another language! But that's a different issue.
5 days a week, I'm a zombie. (not my fault! for God's sake, I eat healthier than a pro athlete; I exercise at least a reasonable amount, usually 5+ days a week; I sleep a lot, usually 7-8+ hours. I don't know what else I can do.) Then it's the weekend and I forget all about it. I think I know why people drink heavily. Not that I'm going to start doing that- the only thing dumber than going through this weekly pattern is going through this weekly pattern with a tad of alcoholism tacked onto the end.
I'm so tired of being tired.
For all the good times I'll remember about college, there's a lot of crap that I won't. Like now, staying up till 5 staring at a take-home test that doesn't make any goddamn sense, for a class I don't even want to be in, that's not even helping me graduate. Geez! Of all my classes right now, only AI is fulfilling at all. Maybe German a bit too, although why the hell am I learning German? I could go study in a lot of places without spending lots and lots of hours learning another language! But that's a different issue.
5 days a week, I'm a zombie. (not my fault! for God's sake, I eat healthier than a pro athlete; I exercise at least a reasonable amount, usually 5+ days a week; I sleep a lot, usually 7-8+ hours. I don't know what else I can do.) Then it's the weekend and I forget all about it. I think I know why people drink heavily. Not that I'm going to start doing that- the only thing dumber than going through this weekly pattern is going through this weekly pattern with a tad of alcoholism tacked onto the end.
I'm so tired of being tired.
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