#223 - my life on the inside

so, on my fourth day of quarantine, things start to get a little nuts. it's so weird, i feel like i'm living a completely different life. but some good things come from staying inside all day, first of all, how great is it to be able to stay home all day in your own home! no one to bother you, it's super quiet, you can watch whatever you want on tv, listen to whatever music you want, plus i really like this place. i put in a lot of work to try and make this place my own and making it somewhere i feel very comfortable and happy in. so if there's a silver-lining to this quarantine it's a super-awesome appreciation for the luckiness to have been able to get this place.

also, i figured out why i'm so cold all the time... i keep the lights turned down. it's amazing what a huge difference three light bulbs can make, but tonight i kept my main lights on all night and it's toasty and warm in here! i usually try to limit myself to natural light (i have this philosophy about natural-ness and try to keep myself in sync with the sunrises and sets to fix my circadian rhythms) and so when it's night-time i try to keep it night-time by only turning on the essential lights (i.e. not keeping all the lights on at all times, just because). and i guess that's why my rooms are so cold all the time. i never imagined just a few light bulbs made such a difference, huh.

of course, there are other ways of turning up the heat... like watching dollhouse!so this is the third week and i'm still completely in love with everything that is dollhouse (and eliza dushku). i've seen three episodes and i think it's just great. i don't like to speculate too much about theories or try to predict what's gonna happen when i watch shows like this, i trust that joss whedon is gonna steer me right and make it a good ride so i'll keep quiet and follow along, but right now i'm liking that computer guy, i'm thinking he's got something to do with the leaking memories... for a good reason, a purposeful reason. but that's just my suspicion. i'm also liking that other girl, the unusual-looking one (dichen lachman, she's australian and tibetan!):she reminds me of kaylee from firefly and serenity (and i really liked her). well, i mean, the entire show is filled with beautiful people... including...amy acker, who i'm really liking as this conflicted doctor lady, so how can you NOT like this show? i mean, everything from the shortened commercial breaks to the absolutely enchanting opening sequence, this show is all sweet, sweet goodness... yum.

#222 - idol and eo

well, what else am i gonna do? i'm stuck inside on the couch all day. but i'm actually pretty happy with this week's idol results. i went 2 for 3. i'm really glad kris allen got through, i really like him and i don't think he would've had a chance in the wildcard show so it's a good thing he made it through tonight with a cool performance of "man in the mirror" (although he did have help from the other guys on the show tanking). i actually almost bought the song on itunes, and then i regained sanity and bought michael jackson's version instead (i also bought "another part of me," does anyone remember that song? it wasn't big at all, but it was on captain EO at disneyland, y'know, the 3-D movie? i loved that show, it was weird though). and allison iraheta was a pretty easy pick for the girls. i can see why that weird emo-guy got through, but i still don't like him. i think he's unbearably (and embarrassingly) tacky, the very opposite of what i like about that kris allen guy. but then again i can see why my other pick, matt giraud, didn't go through, he sang a crappy song (i think so at least, despite what the awards shows say, i can't stand that song) and a junk performance. so, here's my running list for the wildcard show:

- ann marie boskovich
- anoop desai
- matt giraud

oops, that's only three... i really don't care to hear much anyone else, so what the hell, let's throw in tatiana and norman gentle again, just for kicks. ha.

wow, okay, i just googled "captain eo" and read the wikipedia description of the storyline... man, someone was definately on shrooms when they made this movie, just read this:

man, it's funny what we'll accept as kids huh? i mean, if i had never seen this before and just watched it for the first time today i'd be totally freaking out! it's so gross all those puppet creatures and whatever... eeeewwwww! see what i mean (and imagine it in 3-D too)?


for some reason i thought this was so awesome! man, and that fricken' elephant, why the hell did they keep him around, all he does is crap up everything, geez! i used to pretend i was michael jackson and say "we're going in..." before every ride at disneyland after watching this. and then my aunty would pretend to be the evil queen and say "you... think me... beautiful?! ahh!"


c'mon, you know you were walking out of that theater singing "another pwat-ta me" right? but man i loved it when i was a kid, and i was so sad when they replaced it with "honey i blew up the audience" or something... what a sad, mislead child i was. but i guess there's just something about disneyland (and places called "the magic eye theater") that compells and almost forces you to love creepy things huh?

#221 - quarantine

first of all... OW! pure, freakin', bloody, ass-monkey, damn, stinkin', crappy OW! geez, this shingles thing sucks balls. and here i am, stuck at home with nothing to do but sit here and hurt. so i'm trying to make myself sleep through it on the couch (except i can only lie on my left side because my right side hurts like a mutha) by watching daytime tv, but "attack of the show" keeps coming on and olivia munn is hot! plus, she's a super dork so that kinda makes it even hotter. also, i really like the name olivia, it may be kinda old-fashioned, but it seems like all olivias are super-hot right?

anyway, i've been watching G4 network all day (i kinda feel like i should since i'm stuck at home with no social interaction for the next week), attack of the show, ninja warrior, unbeatable banzuke, and even old episodes of lost. i'm totally geeking it up. but i don't think i could touch those dorky japanesies. i mean, you watch one episode of unbeatable banzuke and even all the athletic people who do those hand walk challenges and are all super ripped and can walk up 30 degree ramps on their hands are super frickin' dorks! it's such a waste of a cool talent (being able to walk on your hands) being that embarassingly dorky. too bad. but olivia munn is a very awesome kind of dorky, in that she can dress up like a fattie and still be both dorky and hot at the same time:

or dress up like sarah palin taking it from billie mays:

wow, see what happens when i can't leave the house for the whole day and i feel like a human pincushion and my own skin makes me want to barf? ugh.

seriously, i've been going from bed to couch to shower to couch and back to shower again all day. half because i just feel disgustingly dirty from having all these pustules on my skin and half because the only relief i get all day is running warm water over my skin. seriously, it's inappropriately awesome. after getting needles stuck in my skin for all the other seconds of the day running that water over it feels so much like a very "different" kind of feeling, except this one lasts way longer and i can keep it going as long as i stand under the shower. haha, okay, sorry that was gross. but then everything about me is pretty gross right now so too bad.

argh... all i do is count down the hours until i can take my medication again, which really doesn't do much to help my mood, i mean, i know it's helping heal, but it give me no instant relief like cold medicine would do. i fell asleep for 30 minutes an hour ago, that was the best 30 minutes of my day.

grr... okay, time for distractions... and that's what this season of american idol is, a complete distraction. seriously, it's totally whack-o. first tatiana, now norman gentle this week, what am i to think? okay, well, as i sit in pain and unscratch-able torture i will comment on tonight's idol performances:

1. jasmine murray - junk. i didn't like her since before (i think it's because her too-far-apart eyes make her look kinda evil) and i still don't like her. no vote.


2. matt giraud - i really liked this guy in the early rounds, but i agree that this performance was not good. still, i would really like him to get through because i like his voice/style, so i will vote for him.

3. jeanine vailes - not good enough. no vote.

4. norman gentle - wow, what is going on here? are the producers really that desperate for something different? is having good singers not good enough? i guess now that there's 12 people singing each week they want to spice it up? whatever, so ridiculous. i mean, entertaining, yes, of course, but the most entertaining thing is that this guy has the exact same chances as anyone else of getting through to the top 12, 1 in 4. how about that? haha.


5. allison iraheta - what kind of last name is that? anyway, i liked her, good song, good singing, pretty weird, but i think she's got potential so i'll vote for her.


6. kris allen - i really liked this guy, i thought it was a pretty cool performance, and i like that he picked a non-"rock with you" kind of michael jackson song, i thought it was a great choice and i like his style. i'll definately vote for him.

7. megan joy corkrey - weirdo. i thought it sounded really halting. well, i guess she picked a pretty good song for her style, but i can't hear her singing anything else. her voice is too stylized, and i don't really like her style. so, no vote.

8. matt breitzke - not good enough. also, dances like a weirdo at karaoke. no vote.

9. jesse langseth - okay, i thought her performance tonight was pretty cool, but i think her voice would totally fall apart after a few more performances, not very versitle i think. so, good enough, but i won't vote for her.

10. kai kalama - is this guy from hawaii? i don't like the squints and the smirks. there have been an awful lot of them this season (from lots of different people). just sing regular! i guess maybe they can't, or it's too much habit already. anyway, this guy = not good enough. no vote.

11. mishavonna henson - again, kinda cool, but only good, not great. i wouldn't mind if she went through, but she won't get my vote.

12. adam lambert - weirdo emo-guy. he sings too high, it's kinda creepy. oh, no actually, he's very creepy. eww, i actually don't like him at all. he totally sounds like he's in a musical on stage. i don't like it. i think it's a really tacky style. sure, he has vocal skills, but i can't stand listening to it (or watching it). no vote.

so, in summary, here's who i want to go through this week:

- allison iraheta
- matt giraud
- kris allen

but, again, i highly doubt that's how it's gonna turn out... we'll see. and i will definately see because where the hell else am i gonna go tomorrow? i'll be the human pincushion with the disgusting festering blisters writhing on the couch all day. ugh.

#220 - how gross is this?

okay, i'm going to try and make this first paragraph really long so that if you don't want to see the gross-ness it won't smack you in the face as soon as you open up this page. i was considering not posting the disgusting-ness at all, but then i thought, what the crap, if i'm going through all of this (and i think this is a pretty unusual occurance, at least for me) then i should just go for it right? anyway, i am currently writing this post at home. at home, you ask, but shouldn't you be at work right now? yes, i answer, i should be at work, but instead i am at home... quarantined. because i just found out that i have shingles! gross! it's so disgusting, i don't know how it got it either. my doctor was stumped too, because once you get the chicken pox (which i got when i was in 3rd grade) then the virus lies dormant in your nerves, then if you've got a period of high stress or something taxes your immune system then you it can turn into shingles. but i haven't done anything different the last month or so and i'm no more stressed than i usually am, and i actually think i was in a pretty healthy period. i mean, i got sick two weeks ago, but that was just a head cold and i gave myself time to recover from it (remember my sick day post?). but you can also get it from someone who has the chicken pox, but most kids nowdays get the chicken pox vaccine so i didn't think i got it from work, but then we have a lot of kids from like marshall islands and stuff and they probably never got the vaccine, so my doctor suspects it might be from one of them. still, i feel a little defeated that i got it. i mean, i think i'm a pretty healthy person, so i feel like a failure that i let it get me. haha, well, anyway, let me give you a timetable of what happened:

wednesday - after volleyball i went to longs and safeway, but had to rush outta there (and i mean RUSH outta there) and book it home 'cause my tummy was way upset at me... but i didn't think anything of it, i figured i had some bad poke

thursday - regular day, kinda itchy on my back, i figured i got a bug bite

friday - regular day, still itchy on my back, checked it out best i could in the mirror, figured it was a spider bite, but maybe a pretty nasty spider, worked out in the afternoon

saturday - went surfing, kinda embarrassed to have this weird ugly spider bite on my back, but whatever, it was sun and salt water so it was cool, kinda sore, i figured it was from working out at the gym the day before

sunday - went to tennis, more sore, but i figured it was from surfing since i hadn't surfed in awhile, at night went to a family b-day party, tummy kinda mad at me again, then felt kinda queasy, but figured i just needed to eat something, and i felt better after i did, so i didn't think much of it

monday - went to work, started worrying about the weird rash (it had kinda become a rash now, spread out a little more) on my back... hoped it would go away, mostly though just because it was ugly and itchy

tuesday - woke up, went to work, PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN!! the grossness of the rash intensified and i was getting stabbed all over my back every second. couldn't even sit still, i'd wince and grimace at each needle poked into my skin. so, i went to the doctor, and bingo = shingles. gross.


see how disgusting that is? i can't stand that it's on my skin. eww. and i think skin is pretty gross anyway, i mean, the bump-ular-ness of it. i don't like bumpy things. or, i don't like when there's a multitude of bumpiness. or a multitude of anything really. i think swarms are absolutely disgusting and i hate when they magnify pictures of like pollen and stufff and it's just all little irregular (or even regular) bumps. eww. so when my rash started getting all bumpified and irregular, ugh, i was about to barf. just the thought of all that pustular-ness on my skin is so much worse than the pain, although the pain is very crappy. it's kinda like a jellyfish sting, a whole lot of them, every second, when i'm not even doing anything! i can understand when you roll an ankle and it hurts when you put weight on your ankle, but this is retarded. i'm not doing anything, just sitting still and i get stabbed... repeatedly. just like a damn jellyfish. at least sharks and stuff bite you to try and eat you, but evil jellyfish hurt you just because they dumb-assedly go floating by you, retards.

so shingles sucks. the weird thing is that it's always only on one side of your body, mine's all on the right side, and it's usually always in a distinct pattern. luckily mine is not so bad yet, kinda confined, and now they've got anti-viral medication to stop the spread of the rash and hasten the healing, so i'm on that now. still... PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN! argh!

so now i'm stuck at home for the next week.. good because it's like a mini-vacation from work, but bad because it also means i'll have to skip working out and volleyball and yoga and tennis and surfing and church too. pretty much any contact with the outside world.

so it looks like i'll be giving up social interaction for lent. and also i'll have to give up lying on my right side... ouch.

ps - this sucks!

#219 - catch up

whoa, a whole week of missed posts, i actually did have a lot to say in the past week, but they were all either really little things (like, not worth a whole post) or i when i thought it at the time it seemed worthy of posting, but then when i sat down to write it, it seemed dumb. so, let's do a little catch up on the past week:

1. fuzzy apple - part of my apple, by the stem and the anti-stem (y'know, the end of the core opposite from the stem, what else would you call it?), was fuzzy. i wasn't going to eat it, but my co-worker said to cut it off and it'd be fine. so i did. i hope it was okay.

2. work dreams - twice this week i either dreamed about people at work or i dreamed that i had waken up and gone to work, but i actually didn't. that makes me really mad because then you wake up and you're still in bed and you have to wake up and get ready to go to work all over again. grr. plus, i don't like even thinking about work when i'm not there (and sometimes even when i am there), so i definately don't want to think about it when i'm at home (or re-live it when i'm asleep!)

3. tow companies are full of crap - i know this well (from personal experience). it is a total conspiracy that towing companies are allowed (and actually enabled through law) to run they way they do. their "business" has got to be one of the most despicable out there. but no matter what i think about the companies themselves, i always think about the people working for them, and how they go about their day, and what they must think about the job they do daily. not just the tow truck drivers, but what about the people behind the window at the tow company lot? how do they get through their day (or, most likely, night) knowing the kinds of problems their business create? perhaps they can justify themselves by thinking about how they help unblock fire hydrants or whatever, but they have to know that the majority of their income comes from unfortunate people being in the wrong place at the exact wrong time right?

4. cold - man i've been cold since november, it's been a constant thing forever. i sleep with a heavy down comforter, i wear my jacket at work all day, i keep a blanket on the couch. i mean, i love the cool weather and being able to wear jackets and stuff, but give me a break sometime yeah? i went surfing on saturday and even with the sun beating down it was still cold. it's like the sun was not even powerful enough to dispell the cold. brr.

5. volleyball - is fun. i like it.


6. psych-dvr-marathon-friday - is awesome. five episodes, one day? what? see, this is what i miss all day working with all females and this is what growing up with all sisters has deprived me of, i need some male influence in my life, i think. too much girlie vibes, no one understands my jokes at work. it's sad.

7. rashes - are gross. see next post for more, if you're not easily grossified...

#218 - this. season. sucks.

wow, that was mean.

i don't like the way this season of idol is going. first two junk-os go through to the top 12 already and then they totally toy with that crazy tatiana girl (knowing that she's gonna crumble), and then they put the only possibly good contestant in that last awkward position with tatiana and totally made him seem like a jerk-off in all of two seconds after they announced the results. does anyone else think that they totally killed any and all likeability that guy may have had? well, we all know who's voting now don't we? i.e. = white folks, haha.

well, now i've gotta bank hard on that wildcard show huh? already i've got anoop, anne marie, tatiana, and jackie to root for (although only seriously annop and anne marie).

very disappointing.

there was only exactly ONE thing good about tonight's show, a reminder of how great last season was (they were all good singers, interesting, likable, and most importantly, they all liked each other, genuinely... that's something this batch of contestants need to learn):

#217 - it starts...

okay, here it is, first american idol post... well, the REAL posts, the ones that count. this is not going to be pretty. i will be brutally honest, maybe not impartial, or even fair, but straightforward in my opinions at least.

so let's get this out of the way right at the beginning... by this point, everyone is a good singer. in fact, they may all be great singers, but i don't really care about that. i care about who inspires me to vote, who gets me to sing the songs in my head the next day, who i actually want to hear again, and most importantly, who inspires me to buy their music on itunes, haha. so i promise i will remember, when i'm making my comments, that these people made it here for a reason and they deserve to be there for a reason.

that said... i was suprised how up and down both the contestants were and the show in general. what's with them walking back up the stairs and the talking to the parents after they sing? i was actually really disappointed that they went back to this top 36 format with voting people through instead of off. i like the top 24 with voting people off much, much better. anyway, it was a live show and there were so many breaks and off-camera stuff, and awkward moments, kind of embarrassing for the show.

but, back to the contestants, let's start at the beginning:

1. jackie tohn - i liked her through the early auditions, thought she was interesting and i liked her style, but actually she's a bit crazy and i think may get a little annoying. i didn't think the song was good enough, it might have been good enough in the old format, but not good enough now. still, i will vote for her.

2. ricky braddy - okay so, yes, he can sing very well. but i didn't like it at all. just my preference. i do not want to hear it again, and that means he will not get my vote (even though, yes fine, he can sing good).

3. alexis grace - again, in bits and pieces parts of the song sounded good, but altogether there was no connection from one measure to the next. i didn't like it. but i bet haole military wives loved it, haha. no vote from me.

4. brent keith - blah. he blew it, anytime you pick a "country rock" song you're gonna sound like you're at a country fair right? oh well, his voice was not that strong anyway so it don't matter.

5. stevie wright - wow, she REALLY blew it. poor thing. i feel sorry for her, but, in her defense, since there are 4 judges their advice is always all over the place, so maybe next time don't listen to them that much, eh?

6. anoop desai - i like this guy. and i'm so glad that SOMEONE finally sang a song that's not, like, 30 years old. i will vote for him.

7. casey carlson - yikes, i don't like one single thing about her. from her disgusting facial expressions to her way too big open mouth singing. wow, that sucked. see, this is more convincing evidence for having only a top 24 and not a top 36... get rid of the junk. although... she did good by crying at the end, very smart.

8. michael sarver - does this guy not look like some kind of vegetable? like he was living life as a vegetable first and then someone magically turned him into a singing human? anyway, sucked.

9. anne marie boskovich - she kinda looks like a witch huh? hmm... i really like her, but i really think she should've picked a softer, sweeter song. i think her voice is really pretty, but trying (and failing) to do this kinda power belting/singing thing really did not sound great. i agree with kara on this one, something by sara bareilles (maybe more like "gravity") would have been much better. but, i still like her and the little bit of her afterward sitting on "the hard part" sold her for me, ha. so, i will vote for her.

10. stephen fowler - karaoke. not worth anything. also... is there a live band this year? are they behind the partition? the background music sounds very karaoke, that doesn't help the singing.

11. tatiana del toro - voting for tatiana doesn't seem like such a crazy idea anymore does it?! even before she started singing i had decided to vote for her (because all of the other contestants were so pathetic), then i think she picked the perfect song, and i think she did a pretty good job, i actually liked it! i will vote for her!

12. danny gokey - i see great versatility in this guy, i think he can go through very far, and i like him. this song always kinda drags though, no matter who sings it, so i'm not too keen on it as an american idol choice, but he sang well. so, i will vote for him.

but, overall, the first real voting american idol show = unimpressive.

well geez, y'know from the first three singers i was thinking damn this is gonna be a hard decision because i guess the talent really is pretty great... but then after that it became apparent that there really was a reason why there's a top 36. why even keep those lesser singers in there? get rid of the fodder, go back to top 24.

i still find it SO hard to believe that everyone is picking such OLD songs! only anoop picked something within most of the viewers' lifetimes.

so... in the end, i voted for:

1. jackie tohn
6. anoop desai
9. anne marie boskovich
11. tatiana del toro
12. danny gokey

and, of them i hope that danny, anne marie, and anoop go through. but i'm doubting that's what's gonna happen... we'll see...

#216 - v-day 2009

woo for terminator!

so it's valentine's day again. didn't buy myself any presents this year, nope instead i gave myself a mental/emotional present, i gave myself a break. i didn't make myself feel guilty or embarassed that i didn't have plans for v-day this year. i didn't feel sorry for myself because i'm 27 and still single. nope. i think it's just fine. i like it, in fact. what else should i do but like my life right now? the other options (feel pathetic, try and be something i'm not, complain my ass off) are pretty crappy. so i chose better for myself and had a great valentine's day.

first, i slept in, not too much, woke up at 8:30 but let myself fall asleep again until 10, which was a little later than i would've liked actually, but i felt energized after that. anyway, so i woke up, said good morning to my dino-buddy, took a quick shower, made breakfast (some leftover hash patties, an egg and rice), watched last night's terminator (again), then went to workout at 24hr (i like it on saturdays, not too crowded and there's a lot of different people there than just the regulars i see all week), treated myself to some maui taco for lunch, then went over to my parents' to help them move some furniture, took the dog out for a walk...
i haven't seen the dog in a long time, so it was really nice to play with her again, poor thing, i think she's neglected, well, probably not, but i just think that if you're a dog all you do all day is sleep, eat, and want attention, so if that's all you do all day how sad is it if your owners don't give you attention all day? well, not really, but y'know, so it was good to take her out for awhile. after that i went home, played some valentine-y songs on the piano, had dinner (my parents went to jp spaghetti so i got me some yummy pasta), watched basketball (poor UH, can't close the deal) and the final day of the sbs open... poor michelle wie, can't close the deal... but for those damn golf commentators, get over it, stop hating on wie, the women commentators sound like total snob-bitches to her, at least the male commentators are a little more objective, giving constructive criticism, but still, if you're michelle wie and you have the opportunities that she was presented with, why not take them? how can you fault her for that? after that i caught one more episode of man vs. wild, then watched the news and wrote this blog, next i will go to bed not feeling sorry for myself that i'm single on valentine's day (and i'm not even being sarcastic!).

i mean, it's not that i wouldn't like to have a romantic-type valentine's day, but that's just not what today was, no big. of course, it's much easier to think that way when you're not constantly hassled by people asking what your plans are for v-day (like all my co-workers did all last week), i think the week leading up to v-day is way worse than the actual day. of course, it's not like my co-workers didn't try to change that... since i'm like one of 4 males at my workplace (and the only young, single, and handsome one, haha) and all my co-workers are motherly-type semi-older ladies, they all feel like like it's their weekly goal to set me up with girls. of course, there's really not a lot going on at the workplace, but actually yesterday we went out to ruby tuesday and the waitress there was super pretty and sweet, i was semi-flirting with her (as much as i could while sitting at a table with three mom-type co-workers, haha) and by the time we left they were all telling me to leave my phone number on the credit card receipt, haha. i didn't, but it was a nice little pre-v-day encouragment, some random hot-ness to bring a little spark into my day. don't need to make a big thing of it, but definately a good day (and will have me thinking about going back to ruby tuesday very soon, haha).
besides, who needs v-day when you've got summer glau and eliza dushku on back-to-back on friday the 13th?! terminator and dollhouse together are totally awesome!! i love them both. what else can i say?
also, psych is actually on fridays (the new episodes). yesterday's episode was funny, it was on friday the 13th so it was kind of a spoof of camp horror movies. this is exactly the type of show that i like, i don't know what it's called so i'll call it "anti-seriousness." buffy had it, angel too, and firefly did it very well, terminator has just a little bit of it and you know that dollhouse will have it too. it's like, the opposite of shows like 24 or csi or law & order or heroes, those shows hammer the drama into you until every trip to the kitchen is a life or death event. the dialogue in those shows have two dynamics, whisper and frantic shout. those are the kind of shows that bore me to death. now, shows with "anti-seriousness" make light of the most dramatic situations, they realize that in real life people make mistakes (a lot of them very humorously), people get scared, people slip sometimes when they walk through the hall, no one speaks correctly all the time, and not all coincidences need to mean something. y'know what i mean? that makes good tv. just check out one of those shows and you'll see what i mean.

okay, that's it, goodnight and tomorrow it'll be february 15th.

#215 - i'm sick, rawr!

rawr! i hate getting sick. i hardly do it and so whenever it happens i feel defeated, like i've failed at life. haha, but especially because it seems like everytime i get sick it's for a good reason and i could have anticipated it each time. this time, for instance, i didn't get my 8 hours of sleep any night for one week. usually if i can get at least one night with 8 hours of sleep during the week then that's enough to recover, but if it lasts for one week continuously then i'll get sick. so that's definately something that could have been prevented. anyway, the good thing about getting sick is time off! it's a perfect excuse for blowing off all other responsibilities and giving yourself a mini-vacation.

however, this vacation, like all the others, was too short. i was starting to feel a bit scratchy-throated on saturday night, then woke up with a sore throat on sunday morning so by the time monday morning rolled around i was absolutely amped to call it in sick and spend the rest of the day drinking soup on the couch, and that's what i did! would've done the same thing on tuesday too, but i had a team meeting with a very crappy parent so i went in just for that meeting (but then it got canceled! argh! and so i went in for nothing) and after that i was thinking, well, if i went in when i felt bad like that, then on wednesday, when i was actually feeling better, i went in and i went to work today, although i regreted that... but tomorrow is a waiver day so no problem. damn it though, if it wasn't for that meeting i'd have had a great week in bed. oh well, i got one sick day out of it and i totally blew off my workouts so i've had lots of time to watch my dvr-ed tv:
so i finally took nicole's advice and started watching "psych." thank you nicole, you were absolutely right i love it. ha. it's dumb/silly kind of funny, not so serious like most other detective shows, and the writing is pretty great, i think. so, add that one to my weekly dvr line-up. another one to add on is "big bang theory." this one was suggested to me by my co-worker/friend, it's completely stupid, their voices are maddeningly annoying at first, but after awhile you get used to it and then if you don't worry about criticizing the acting or anything it's so nerdy that it's hilarious (also kinda scary because i actually understand a lot of the nerd-related jokes, but i guess that's why i laugh at it so much... well, what do you expect, i am a nerd after all...). so now, my new dvr schedule is:

mondays: man vs. wild, the big bang theory, two and half men, the city
tuesdays: the office, american idol
wednesdays: mythbusters, psych, american idol, lost
thursdays: bones, the office, 30 rock
friday: terminator, dollhouse
saturdays: snl
sunday: discovery channel, national geographic channel, the science channel

sweet right? y'know what else is super sweet? NEW FOX FRIDAYS! why, you ask? let me tell you, better yet, let me show you:

yup, first terminator then dollhouse, and my friday nights are complete. haha. okay, so i'm still not completely sold on dollhouse, we'll have to see how it actually plays out, but i'm getting super excited to have them both on the same night, back to back, summer glau and eliza dushku... hotness! so i will definately be watching that (or dvr-ing at least)! yay for celebrity crushes, eh?

anyway, back to real life... so this is how i spent much of my sick day, making myself a new friend. here's how you do it:

step 1 - be a dork and buy yourself a do-it-yourself dinosaur lamp from thinkgeek.com (my new favorite website, by the way)

step 2 - read the instructions (or just look at the pictures)

step 3 - assemble pieces one by one

step 4 - try not to talk to your dino-buddy before he's fully assembled

step 5 - remember... no sweating allowed, don't feed pac-man, and have a baby

step 6 - give your dino-buddy a name, his name is t-wreckx-n-effect

step 7 - put your new dino-buddy by your bed to protect you from dino-cavemen at night

step 8 - say good morning to your dino-buddy when you wake up, rawr!

#214 - future thinking

future thinking is very dangerous. and i'm an addict.

i don't consider myself much of a worrier, but i am a victim of years and years of people telling me to plan ahead. being prepared and conscientious about the future has been instilled in me as a preferred character trait, and although i can appreciate the merits of being responsible, i think that all the pressure to be constantly planning ahead has done some negative things to my psychological well-being.

it wasn't always like this. i remember in middle school and high school i couldn't even envision myself being old enough to be in college. it was not something i could comprehend at the time. and when the big college rush came around junior and senior year, i was at a complete loss because i could barely picture myself being out of high school let alone picture myself living and spending every day in this college versus that college. what would i do with all the hours of the day when i was not in school? i couldn't formulate even a guess at the time.

but the good part about life is that it just goes on, whether you're ready or not. and so even though i couldn't imagine what my future would be like at the time, i didn't have to because it just happened, no matter what i thought about it. but now as i get older i have a lot more to think about. the possibilities are so much greater when you have more means and resources by which to live your life. and now that i have passed such milestones like landing a steady job, buying my own place, etc, there's much more to think about in the future and where i'm getting myself rattled is in that thinking. not just about the big stuff (y'know, marriage, kids, retirement) but the small and current stuff as well (weekend plans, what i'm going to do about this hobby or that). but what do i have to be worried or anxious about? when i start to worry about the future, about what i'm going to do about therapy at work on monday, or nervous about being in a new situation and meeting new people next week, or how much longer i'm going to stick it out in that orchestra, or when i'm finally going to meet a nice girl, or what i'm going to get my nephew for his birthday next week, and on and on and on... when those thoughts start to creep into my head i try to think back to these verses:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about your clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown in the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, "What are we to eat?" or "What are we to drink?" or "What are we to wear?" All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for day is its own evil. Matthew 6:25-34

or, more simply put:

"live in the NOW man!" Garth Algar

y'know what helps with that? distractions... such as: the lonely island, they're those guys that do the funny digital shorts on saturday night live (by the way, snl is getting good again, weekend update is pretty great, and the recurring impersonations are awesome, bjork, charles barkley, etc). tonight's was "i'm on a boat" with t-pain. ha. i love it because they make it very realistic musically and visually, like a real rap video but with ridiculous words... so, like a real rap video. so for a good distraction to keep you living in the now and not thinking of anything remotely serious or important at all, check out this website (you can tell that it's a great site because one of the sites listed under "favorites" is realultimatepower.net, haha).

#213 - four things: starting with "why are haircuts absolutely impossible?"

1. that's it. i mean it this time. no more supercuts.

i know every single time i get a haircut i tell myself that's the last time i'm ever going to supercuts... i've been saying that since high school, but by the time 1-2 months rolls around again i start feeling confident again and i say, screw it, let's give it another shot... and i always pay for it. i don't know why i don't learn, no wait, i do know, it's the media. supercuts advertises as a place where guys get haircuts. guys don't go to salons. old guys go to barber shops, but young guys go to places like supercuts. also, guys don't care much about their hair so it's okay for a guy to decide one day, "i think i'll get a haircut today," call them up, drive on down, get it done, split a $20 and get outta there. and supercuts is the best place for that. that's where my brain gets its' logic... but in reality, supercuts is where military guys go to get crewcuts and old guys like my dad go when they finally get tired of their wives nagging them to cut their hair.

so, where do real people go? i can't be the only person who's tired of getting $20 haircuts right? i'll pay for a better haircut experience. this last time i got an old korean lady (who, to her credit, at least made it a pleasant haircut, meaning she was quick, didn't try and make too much small talk, and did a reasonable job considering what COULD have happened), but i think the stylists at supercuts only know how to do one cut, because everytime i go, no matter what i say and how i try to describe what i want done, it always comes out the same... yesterday i told the lady "cut an inch OFF from the top" and instead she cut the top down to one inch LONG!
see? you can see my scalp. i don't want people to see my scalp. plus i was liking my longer hair, it was finally to a length that was easily manageable and comfortable. i just wanted a little trim to keep it longer, but i think those ladies at supercuts are so used to doing military cuts (probably especially in mililani) that they just do every head the same way. still, it wasn't a horrible haircut at least, i did have to go home and trim some strays from off the sides that she missed, which at the time i figured is just something i'd have to do, but if something like that happened with any other purchase you made wouldn't that be cause for customer dissatisfaction? if you bought a new jacket and had to go home and rehem the sleeves because they were uneven wouldn't you consider that a bad buy? same should apply to haircuts right? i should be able to go home and not have to do any kind of adjust on my own right? so i think the problem is i'm setting myself up for failure by going to these haircut chain stores. and i've been trying to look for a real place to get my haircut but it's so hard to find a place that's dumb-guy who doesn't really know anything about hair but just wants a good cut-friendly y'know? so here's my plea: please, ask all your co-workers and neighbors and whoever other guys you know where they get their haircuts, let's start a survey, where do people ACTUALLY go to get their cuts? do guys go to the kind of salons that look like only girls go to? are there places out there beside the $20 chain stores that cater to male clients? is it, in fact, possible at all to get a nice haircut once in your life? it remains to be seen... but mark my words... supercuts, NEVER AGAIN!!


2. okay anyway, this is something funny i just read, people on the mainland have been hacking into traffic road alert signs writing messages like this one:
yeah yeah, it's dangerous, blah blah, but c'mon, that's hilarious. i'm glad that whoever did this (sure, it's a crime, but a kinda funny and clever one) was nerdy enough to write things like this. there also have been signs saying "DAILY ROAD CLOSURES DUE TO ZOMBIES" and "RAPTORS AHEAD - CAUTION." haha. i like it.


3. american idol hollywood round - i don't like the group round. i think it's crap. the only reason they do it is to stir up drama among otherwise-likeable people. i don't want to vote for anyone after seeing them fight and swear at all their "friends." plus, there's only ONE winner, so who cares about what they sound like in a group? they want everyone to be individuals and have their own styles so why put them in a group? hmm... actually, maybe they just want to weed out the people who are good singers, but don't stand out, i guess that might be a good way to do it actually. i don't think i was too disappoined with anyone who got the boot so far (except for that one pink-haired girl who sang "barracuda," i thought she sang very well, but she bombed twice in the hollywood rounds so no need keep her), although i don't know much about anyone, but i think my early favorites are:

- the guy with the nerd glasses whose wife just died
- the girl who they told to get a make-over and then she came back and sang "bubbly"
- the nerdy indian guy


4. and finally... i was watching tv today and found another good explanation of what i do at my job all day (click here to see the first example). the last one was about the "speech" part of speech-language pathologist... here's an example of what i do for the "language" part: