today's another exciting day here on the "fram". day one of true unemployment, though whether i've really ever been "employed" is subject to debate. digging 1000 to 2000 cubic holes for tower footings "backinaday" may have been "real work", though i ain't sure i really attacked it the way i was supposed to. i really just enjoyed rolling rocks down the hill and watching where they went, even when we were sposeta keep all the spoils by the footing for backfill. i worked at the safeway pushing carts for two years, which most teenagers think of as real work, but i started at twenny and kept at it until they got tired of having the bald guy doing sixteen year olds' work and gave me a checkstand. the only time checking was hard was when i'd done a tuesday overnight price changing shift, skied my brains out wednesday, worked at crystal thursday and then gone back to the safeway thursday evening for a checking shift. pumpimg gas in high school was more just getting paid to do my homework and write poetry and check out the women driving by. while a liftie i sometimes hadda dig a buncha snow, but in the end, i averaged two hours a day skiing and really just stood there making sure no one ate shit on my ramp. long story short, i don't hafta work for the foreseeable future.
that said, i'm checking the noaa forecast discussions every few hours just in case. a "translation" of this follows:
"... Today is the front format, will be applied during rain and cool
The system moved west to Washington. Tonight, as applied wind
Developed a strong pressure gradient. Articles After calming
Tuesday ... more aggressive system will bring rain and snow on the mountain
Wednesday, Wednesday night. Cold weather and a chance
Precipitation is expected late this weekend."
i'm also arranging the "iTunes" bidness on this mac. there's abuncha songs that are, according to kris kristofferson, most definitely "country", and yet, according to "iTunes", are "rock", "pop" or "folk". shame. shit needa be right, yo!! so i'm puttin in my time.
in other news, i totally just slayed a "muga" righteous "raspberry zinger tea". this takes some serious concentration. "raspberry zinger" is the "rye whiskey of herbal teas", as you may well know. very aggressive, with a subtle tang off the back. just a hint of argentine malbec with a cliff lee curveball of oats 'n hunny. maybe a smack'em of toasted almonds.
speaking of malbec, saturday the ballard qfc was hosting an "open house", which really just consisted of lots of free food. if you din't already guess, i'm down with free food. qfc was my "goto" for lunch this summer, entirely cos a the free cheese samples out by the southwest entrance. at any rate, the head sommelier was giving out free one-ounce shots of four types of wine, of which i tried two. the first was a "layer cake malbec". (mid-length aside--i just checked how to spell "sommelier", and i found two differing opinions. one of them was a dude reviewing, oddly enough, a "layer cake shiraz", which was one of the options being flogged by the qfc dude. the blogger claimed to "know what a sommalier is and even how to spell it", but the other opinion was none other than the "free merriam-webster dictionary", which, though i am wrong every day, i think would be more right than some random dude, and it said "sommelier". anyway.) the second was some other kind i don't remember. two ounces of wine and i was done. not drunk or anything, but done with wine for another year. there were also more cheeses and all kinda random shit layed out, including "eggnog" that was more 7UP and ice cream than anything else (a very good thing) and some random layer cake. (again with the stretched connections.) we almost had our fill right there, but we also got some sushi from the "bar", something i've been warned against by three coworkers, yet i continue to do for a couple reasons: 1) i have a cast-iron stomach and 2) i could give a shit about "pure" sushi. the stuff at qfc tastes real good despite all the pretentions to the contrary.
in other other news, my back has been flooded for about two weeks. i had it licked, almost, but yesterday i slept in about two hours too long and now i hafta go through a routine of a long walk, heat, massage and stretching before it loosens up enough not suck entirely. this gettin old shit is gettin old.
maybe i needa take a book outa the charlie kelly bible and start drinkin beer, sniffin glue and eatin cat food before bed so i can get sick and fall asleep and forget my "problems".
15 November 2010
11 November 2010
waiting time again.
as is the wont of cascade weather patterns most novembers, it's not snowing. the air is cold and wet, the clouds are rolling along briskly--and most importanly, not stopping--and as such, it seems like it should be snowing, and maybe it is somewhere, but not here. in alignment with this somewhat contradictory weather, i am, even as a skier, kinda happy. i will be out of work until it snows, and i totally could use a few days off. i've been geetting paid to hold up benches for over 12 months straight, and dammit, i need a rest!!! it's hard work convincing people that turning barrel adjusters and pushing skis through machines (that do all the work) is hard work. i hafta get myself all dirty and sweaty so they think i'm "getting a lot done" when i reality, all i'm doing is getting a free season pass and cheap bike parts. with all my prairie lutheran guilt, you'd think i'd care about this poorly crafted "career", but i don't. i'm worth way the heck more than 15 bucks and hour, as my alter-ego can attest. in the land of my dreams, experienced ski/bike mechanics earn $30+ an hour, have free health care, get paid to go to "shamrock finding school", have grapes fed to them by naked slaves and ski all day without getting tired. oh, they also get weekly "makeovers" from that one chick who hosts "america's next top model". and wear patagucci flannels that are pre-distressed so that they can look even more "authenticated".
in other news, today is moving day #2 of who-knows-how-many. we are moving a bed and some other "schtuff" that requires use of my father's pickup truck,
"lucky", which has satellite radio and everything. i totally dig the idea of four different country stations who, in stark contrast to the state of seattle "radio", all play remarkably different styles of country and as such DON'T REPEAT EACH OTHER EVERY TWELVE MINUTES. it's kinda nice. i can hear justin townes earle and flatt&scruggs and dwight yokum and brad paisley all at once. i don't know why i'd need to, but the oportunity's there.
driving to "psp"--no, not the sony "portable entertainment system", but the pizza joint in the "vast" "opera district" of tacoma--last night i saw a sign for a stove and fireplace store. it has an electronic scroller sign that they never have scroll which causes them to only be able to post two words that they hope draw the customers in. last night's post was "wood insert". while i know what they meant, i almost fell out of the car laughing. i guess we're all looking to hard for that kinda joke. my roommate's answer was "that's what she said". oops. or as a more "pc" version (not a "mac" version, obviously) goes, "someone said it". i don't even know what that means.
in other news, today is moving day #2 of who-knows-how-many. we are moving a bed and some other "schtuff" that requires use of my father's pickup truck,
"lucky", which has satellite radio and everything. i totally dig the idea of four different country stations who, in stark contrast to the state of seattle "radio", all play remarkably different styles of country and as such DON'T REPEAT EACH OTHER EVERY TWELVE MINUTES. it's kinda nice. i can hear justin townes earle and flatt&scruggs and dwight yokum and brad paisley all at once. i don't know why i'd need to, but the oportunity's there.
driving to "psp"--no, not the sony "portable entertainment system", but the pizza joint in the "vast" "opera district" of tacoma--last night i saw a sign for a stove and fireplace store. it has an electronic scroller sign that they never have scroll which causes them to only be able to post two words that they hope draw the customers in. last night's post was "wood insert". while i know what they meant, i almost fell out of the car laughing. i guess we're all looking to hard for that kinda joke. my roommate's answer was "that's what she said". oops. or as a more "pc" version (not a "mac" version, obviously) goes, "someone said it". i don't even know what that means.
01 November 2010
what is following?
so, at the bottom of the "blogger dashboard", there's a button that reads "what is following?" while i din't bother to read what it said, i do have a good idea. however, ima hafta make up the definition cos the oxford english dictionary, "the definitive record of the english 'languish'", is available by "prescription" only. sounds like pre-gutenburg bible times.
following: verb, present tense, meaning to take other people's steeze by an underhanded nature. as in "i am following that peewee herman guy. he's got righteous style!! i like big forks."
anyway, it's raining, and as such, i'm burning lots of calories just being awake. to sate my needs, i'm schralping energy foods samples from the "interbike" festivities back in september. the first was a "stroopwafel" made by "honey stinger" and flogged on the packaging by none other than lance "trek-livestrong" armstrong. it had a pleasant cookie taste and somewhat gooey texture, waffle shaped, yes, but not at all like a stereotypical "belgian" waffle. (or, i should say, an american belgian waffle.) from which i garnished 160 calories and 4% of my iron for the day. no anemia for this sami! (incidently, there's an association of stroopwafel addicts.)
the second was a "NOWtm NO OPPORTUNITY WASTED ENERGY BAR". flogged by PHIL KEOGHAN Host of The Amazing Race. it tasted like an amalgamation of too much stuff, resulting in a kinda neutral ickiness. it is, however, "Powered by WITH NEW ZEALAND MANUKA HONEY WONDER PRODUCT". written in that annoying circular overlay that's meant to be read middle last, for effect. i know it's sposeta read "with new zealand wonder product, MANUKA HONEY", but i refuse to do that.
totally productive morning.
in other news, my roommate of the last month just left to grab the bus to taiwan. i'm conflicted about this. on the one hand, i've only known him a month, but on the other hand, i feel like i know him fairly well for my being someone who hates to get to know people. i can't imagine what it's like to walk out of a house in rural not-quite-tacompton and grab a bus and by the end of the day be not only in crowded, industrialised taiwan, but also in the future. seems like such a mindfuck that i have know way of understanding it. or even conceiving of it adequately. i imagine it's like dying. or going into a coma. one night you're hanging out with friends and the next night it's actually two nights later and no one around you speaks the same language and the maple tree that's shedding it's leaves rapidly in the heavy november downpour is gone, replaced by, what? i don't even know. my self-serving lesson is to never leave the country. or at least to never end up in such a starkly different place. i'm sure it's a symptom of my lack of desire for growth, but i'm happy not breaking too far outa my comfort zone. i also have no desire to visit chicago. or la. or nyc. or seattle, for that matter. i'm happy living in places with pastures or rivers or open spaces for back yards. i like have elk stare me down while i'm eating my cereal in the kitchen. i like hearing about a wolverine that my boss saw out his window before work. i like seeing cows and hearing chickens and watching the trees shed their leaves on open ground and having a good view from my bedroom that doesn't include another house. i liked growing up on a farm and hope that one day, if i ever have kids myself, they will enjoy the same sort of childhood i got to have. there's a kid who frequents the shop in ballard who knows most of the clerks at qfc by name. he seems so damn bored. all he has is a bike and some pavement. i had dirt and grass and trees and pasture and a huge, largely undeveloped neighbourhood. only a few country roads splitting the properties up. we could roam for miles and still be around people we knew from school. i don't know how anyone can live in a city, and yet so many people follow so many other people straight in. i feel like there's this bank of lockers surrounding the city, and when you move in permanently, you hafta put something of yourself in one, and forget it until you move out again. i think i put my control over my anger in the bank when i moved in this summer, and have since got it back after moving out. i don't plan on losing it again.
if i stare at the clouds long enough, i can make out the shades of gray whipping past. they are largely unbroken, in that november in washington way where you know it ain't gonna stop raining for a long time. and it's gonna keep raining hard while it's at it. fine with me. i ain't gonna do shit today, and ima like it!!!!
following: verb, present tense, meaning to take other people's steeze by an underhanded nature. as in "i am following that peewee herman guy. he's got righteous style!! i like big forks."
anyway, it's raining, and as such, i'm burning lots of calories just being awake. to sate my needs, i'm schralping energy foods samples from the "interbike" festivities back in september. the first was a "stroopwafel" made by "honey stinger" and flogged on the packaging by none other than lance "trek-livestrong" armstrong. it had a pleasant cookie taste and somewhat gooey texture, waffle shaped, yes, but not at all like a stereotypical "belgian" waffle. (or, i should say, an american belgian waffle.) from which i garnished 160 calories and 4% of my iron for the day. no anemia for this sami! (incidently, there's an association of stroopwafel addicts.)
the second was a "NOWtm NO OPPORTUNITY WASTED ENERGY BAR". flogged by PHIL KEOGHAN Host of The Amazing Race. it tasted like an amalgamation of too much stuff, resulting in a kinda neutral ickiness. it is, however, "Powered by WITH NEW ZEALAND MANUKA HONEY WONDER PRODUCT". written in that annoying circular overlay that's meant to be read middle last, for effect. i know it's sposeta read "with new zealand wonder product, MANUKA HONEY", but i refuse to do that.
totally productive morning.
in other news, my roommate of the last month just left to grab the bus to taiwan. i'm conflicted about this. on the one hand, i've only known him a month, but on the other hand, i feel like i know him fairly well for my being someone who hates to get to know people. i can't imagine what it's like to walk out of a house in rural not-quite-tacompton and grab a bus and by the end of the day be not only in crowded, industrialised taiwan, but also in the future. seems like such a mindfuck that i have know way of understanding it. or even conceiving of it adequately. i imagine it's like dying. or going into a coma. one night you're hanging out with friends and the next night it's actually two nights later and no one around you speaks the same language and the maple tree that's shedding it's leaves rapidly in the heavy november downpour is gone, replaced by, what? i don't even know. my self-serving lesson is to never leave the country. or at least to never end up in such a starkly different place. i'm sure it's a symptom of my lack of desire for growth, but i'm happy not breaking too far outa my comfort zone. i also have no desire to visit chicago. or la. or nyc. or seattle, for that matter. i'm happy living in places with pastures or rivers or open spaces for back yards. i like have elk stare me down while i'm eating my cereal in the kitchen. i like hearing about a wolverine that my boss saw out his window before work. i like seeing cows and hearing chickens and watching the trees shed their leaves on open ground and having a good view from my bedroom that doesn't include another house. i liked growing up on a farm and hope that one day, if i ever have kids myself, they will enjoy the same sort of childhood i got to have. there's a kid who frequents the shop in ballard who knows most of the clerks at qfc by name. he seems so damn bored. all he has is a bike and some pavement. i had dirt and grass and trees and pasture and a huge, largely undeveloped neighbourhood. only a few country roads splitting the properties up. we could roam for miles and still be around people we knew from school. i don't know how anyone can live in a city, and yet so many people follow so many other people straight in. i feel like there's this bank of lockers surrounding the city, and when you move in permanently, you hafta put something of yourself in one, and forget it until you move out again. i think i put my control over my anger in the bank when i moved in this summer, and have since got it back after moving out. i don't plan on losing it again.
if i stare at the clouds long enough, i can make out the shades of gray whipping past. they are largely unbroken, in that november in washington way where you know it ain't gonna stop raining for a long time. and it's gonna keep raining hard while it's at it. fine with me. i ain't gonna do shit today, and ima like it!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)