He dreams of trees

Not that I want to spoil things if you thought that this image was interesting (you'd have to appreciate the subtle detail by clicking on the image to enlarge it), but this photograph was taken by leaving the shutter open and shining a million candle power flood light around for a few seconds. As a photo geek, I was pretty happy with the results (originally spelled resluts – which makes less sense, but is far more entertaining).

I had the strangest dream ever the other day. You know that quote about a man dreaming that he was a butterfly, but upon waking could not determine whether or not he was a butterfly dreaming he was a man? I dreamt that I was me, but in an alternate universe. I woke up in my bed and was in a very colorful room filled with all this art that I had created.

The really weird part needs some context… you know how you simply know where you grew up and how you spit up food when you were 15, who you went to the prom with, etc.? Memories of a lifetime lived, but not at the forefront of your consciousness but that you could recall instantly if somone asked because it was your history? In my dream, I had an entirely different life, repleat with old memories, but I also remembered who I was in this life and was confused as to why I was in a different life. I was basically the same person, but in an alternate reality.

The dream was so real that while in the dream, I thought to myself, "This is so real, it cannot be a dream." And I started to pick up and move objects to test my new reality (a painting off the wall, and some books on a table I think). Everything worked and felt the way it would as if it were real until I tried to exit the room.

When I went to go to the door, instead of thinking "If this is real, I should be able to leave through that door", in the dream I decided to say it aloud. In the waking world, I felt myself start to move my mouth and vocalize the words and that shot me out of my dream state and back to my room at home.

It took me a few moments to realize where I was and that it was all a dream. But never before have I felt about alternate realities as I do now. I feel without question that I got to peek into a different world than the one am in now.

Red Bull is my friend and keeper

For the first time today, I purchased a BART ticket with my credit card. It was easy. It was fast. And it was bereft of fees. Why the hell didn't I ever notice that before??? I've been carrying around change and singles all these years for nothing! Well, at least now I know and I will join the rest of the Bay Area in the ease and convenience that is BART.

I convinced my project manager to give me the day off tomorrow, so no commuting into the city! I know I'm turning down money, but it'll be great to catch up on my other projects as well as some sleep.

Lately I've been having a complex with my blog. I wonder if anyone reads it. Am I that boring? Is everyone just busy? Maybe I need to advertise. Hell, advertising got me to go see shitty ass War of the Worlds, it certainly could get me a few readers. Then again, what if it's just me and I'm posting to myself? Would it be hubris or cathartic? Oh what the hell do I care? I just downed a Red Bull and bought 3 cases of Pepsi. That's right, 3 cases of Pepsi! On sale at Target for a mere two fiddy each. Fuckin' A, man, fuckin' A… I'm feelin' goooooood!

Burritoquest

I just came back from getting a delicious burrito from a nearby Taqueria. On the walk back, I forgot what part of town I was in. So when I saw a place called "Sizzle" that proclaimed itself as a fine dining establishment, I immediately thought, "hmmm fajitas? steak medallions on a hot plate? sounds good!". But as I continued to pass by this establishment, I noticed that the pictures of the interior went from showing shots of white table cloth tables to scantly clad women (wah-hoy!). "Oh yeah! I'm on Broadway! Duh." Deja Vu and Centerfold's is across the street and the taqueria I went to was across the way from the Velvet Lounge.

I'm not clueless, really I'm not (mostly). I just now know where to go when I have a hankering for some burritos AND boobies. Sometimes it's fun being an adult.

Kid with balloon

Hooray! My uploading of pictures works once more :) Here's a photo to keep you company while I dream about my next blog post…

The greatness of words

For some reason, I can't seem to upload images to my blogger pages, so until I figure it out, things will consist of soley boring ol' words. I'm kidding of course, and to prove it I'll share with you one of the best quotes I've read – maybe ever. There's an article in the April issue of National Geographic about reclaiming the battlefields of the civil war from urban sprawl. Get this, a used car lot is currently on top of where Gettysburg was fought. I know, I know, you just want to see the quote already…

"Generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream."

— Union General Joshua L. Chamberlain

O if I could be even half as poetic I'd be happy. But I revel in the loveliness of words and how they impart their meaning upon me. Let it never be said that I was not moved by words, but that on the contrary, I would feel deeply by all that is written or spoken deserving of such response.

Subliminal minimalism

Good god I'm tired. Why do I always stay up so fucking late? Time to shower and rest. Tomorrow I garden my various yard type areas. Hopefully I won't have to chase kids off my property. Damn kids! I'm sure I'll shake my fist in the air as I do, too. I'm an old, old man.

I think I'll wear my fighter plane helmet while I drive around town. Time to spice things up a bit. If I get pulled over, I'll just say I'm a Chinese pilot who's defecting to the U.S. Then I'll have diplomatic immunity and I'll be able to park in handicapped spots and shoplift with no consequences. That would be sweet.

Happy as fuck!

I just love how the flash picked up the falling snow in this shot. I believe this was from unValentine's day 2005. This was definitely good times. After taking this shot, I retreated into the warmth of the cabin and ate potato chips and drank Pepsi. Fuckin' A, man – fuckin' A.

So I cut my hair and the snazzy helmet fits like a glove (ha ha). But my head got used to the extra warmth that was provided by the 1/2 growth. So now I'm walking around and my head is cold. Damn. I guess it's back to knit hats for me. Maybe it's just getting colder. Isn't it almost October or something?

Recently I survived having a small meal of Popeye's Chicken. Mmmm... I ate a wing, a thigh, a bunch of 'cajun' batter fries, and an oily buttery biscuit. It was delicious to be sure, but I seriously think I dodge death every time I consume that stuff these days. I think my body became incapable of processing that much oil and grease after I turned 30. Again. Damn!

One last thing, the song Stay by Oingo Boingo has been looping in my head. I forgot just how good it is. I love rediscovering stuff. I was reminded about that song because it was in Donnie Darko. A seriously fucked up, disturbing movie! I highly recommend it.

Your helmet is so BIG!

Yesssss!!! My fabulous PRC* fighter helmet replica arrived today in the mail. Aside from the weary FexEx driver who almost hit my car while I was backing into my garage, this eBay purchase went off without a hitch.

I've been a little lazy cutting my hair, so it got to be almost a half inch long. Because of my giant melon sized head, the helmet fit was kind of snug. I look forward to shaving my head again soon to its proper length, thereby giving me a more comfortable fit :) I have no idea how pilots deal with the weight though. I think we should look into the history of war and see if the side with the lighter helmets always won because their necks didn't tire from holding up their fucking heavy ass helmets.

For the Fuck This Blog faithful, you may have been wondering where I've been. Aside from purchasing snazzy helmets on eBay, I got to see the Tibet exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in SF. The artifacts "recovered" by the Chinese government are truly amazing and beautiful. Definitely check it out if you can before they leave town. The museum's permanent collection also houses a magnificent jade objects section.

I feel better now. I blog, therefore I am.

*People's Republic of China

Stolen from Overheard In New York dot com

Okay, so it's probably bad to steal humor and put it on your site, but this was too funny and disgusting to ignore. It must be publicized!!!

[the following is from overheardinnewyork.com]

Guy #1: So, yeah, I walked in on my grandparents having sex one time.
Guy #2: Gross.
Guy #1: Now I can't eat raisins.
Guy #2: Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Guy #1: It's not what you think, because raisins are wrinkly and stuff. He was putting raisins into her vagina.

--1 train

Bugs Bunny didn't get away *this* time!

Well, I suppose it's not the real Bugs Bunny, but it's what remains of him on a warm September day. I share with you this partially melted, half eaten, cartoon character popsicle so that you too can have a sweet, tasty memory that reflects the days when you ran after the ice cream truck. Who knows, maybe you still do. Maybe we all should. I'm sure the weirdo ice cream truck driver guy would like it. Like baby pigeons, has anyone ever seen an ice cream truck driver gal? And if so, did she look like she could work at Hooters, or did she look like truck drivin' Large Marge from Pee-wee's Big Adventure?

On a side note (well, who am I kidding, this entire blog is a side note), I incorrectly thought that Blogger was bought out by Yahoo! - they were actually bought out by Google. No wonder it works so well!

Have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend everyone :)

You've got jury duty! (lost out to "You've got mail!")

More stuff from the Monterey Bay Aquarium… Chihuly did glass sculptures inspired by jellyfish and they were on display (the special exhibit was all sorts of jellyfish that month). Absolutely beautiful stuff! If you've ever been to the Bellagio in Vegas, he also has an installation there. I've seen that one though, and in my professional artistic opinion - meh.

Tonight as I was driving home from the evening's festivities, a car gradually approached behind me and just hung out. I figured, "Hey, this guy isn't being a dick by tailgating me, so I'll just move aside and let him pass." As he did, I admired his shiny black and white paint job and golden emblem on his door. Yep, it was good ol' Highway Patrol! I remember the days when I could tell that a car was a cop just by how it drove. Now, I've got cuffs on and I'm in the back seat before realizing, "Whoa, this car's a cop!" I should probably stop taking all those designer recreational drugs. They're deleterious to my perceptiveness I would say. Or maybe not. I can't tell.

Vegas, baby!

Vegas, August 2003. Not the best shot in the world, but I do so love the neon glow.

So my word of the day: copacetic \koh-puh-SET-ik\ adj : very satisfactory

Although I know the word, I don't think I've ever used it in writing or in speech. But for some reason I find it amusing. The next time someone asks me how my day is going, I'm going to answer, "It's fucking copacetic, man!" (even if it's a girl who asks - BIG points coming my way!!).

All that and a bag of chips

Mmmmm… San Francisco Sourdough Snacks, one of the saltiest, crunchiest, tastiest snacks ever created! This photo was taken during my last Tahoe trip in February 2005. I love how the flash reflected off of everything inside the foil bag.

So I stayed up late again but this time I was muy productive. I all but finished the design on my new business site, so in the coming days wjdesign.com will finally look like a designer lives there.

I was up until about 6am so I got to watch Bush come out to talk about the Katrina disaster. Every time words come out of that dude's mouth, he just personifies the phrase "uninspired leadership". At this point, I think our election in 2008 should be decided by finding a "CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU ARE NOW THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" sticker in a Cracker Jack Box. Seriously, we'd be better off!

I saw Kofi imploring other nations to help us as we have always been there for them. I can't believe he said that with a straight face! Ha ha ha!!! I wonder if he realizes that the US is like soda. Tastes great, looks great, feels great, but rots your teeth, makes you fat, and bombs your country if you have strategic value but do not share it's ideals (okay, it's almost like soda). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this country. Just refer to my previous blog about kicking repeatedly in the crotch and then launching certain persons into the Sun.

Never mind the buttocks, here's my pistol

Crappity crap crap!!! I just opened up my Rotozip tool and found out that the cooling fan is fucking defective. Thank you to those on Amazon.com who reviewed this pricey POS power tool and said that they found the same. So I might fix it or more than likely, I'll probably just replace it. Really, would anyone want to use a "fixed" tool that spins at 30,000 RPM next to their face? Fuck no! Fuck Rotozip! Bastards!!! Sigh… me and my Rotozip, we cut many splendid things together and now you must die a useless death.

In calmer news, this photograph is from Burning Man 2004. I was on the playa at the same time last year, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a photo from that experience. In a way I wish I was there! Perhaps next year - the year where BM will cause me to lose the remainder of my OCD cleanliness habits.

It's midnight and I'm going to take out my Rotozip frustrations by cleaning the house. Lemon-fuckin'-aid, yo! Can't wait for the coming day!

p.s. I just fixed the archive links. Apologies for anyone who tried to use them and was greeted by an error page. Apparently, it helps to know how to spell achive.

One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish

So I've decided that I'll post cool photos (by my estimation, anyway) that I've taken over the years as well as firing off the titular random thoughts. This shot was taken at the Montery Bay Aquarium. It's of a cool looking star fish and he's wrapped around some other animal that looks like chopsticks, but I can't remember what those are called. I accidentally called Jen P one day and on a whim decided to join her in Salinas. The trip was fun, the weather was sunny, but it's also most likely the place where I picked up my chicken pox (all those snot nosed kids running around putting their hands on everything you know - little fuckers! Can you tell how I'm not bitter about it though?).

I'm hankering for some ribs. Really good BBQ ribs. Damn. What's up with that?

This last paragraph is for Julienne… no big or special poops today. All is normal. Maybe I'll start making a photo journal and send it to you for your Christmas gift. I think it qualifies as a gift that keeps on giving. I'll call it, "#2".

Something growing in my pot

Check out my orchid. After chopping off it's main flowering stem which dried out, it grew another one and these blooms are on the end of it. I will always marvel at the resilency of nature.

Stan is a dancin' MACHINE

Okay, so I'm probably violating some international laws here, but I've been dying to show this footage of my friend dancing in a tutu. Of course it's all fun and games and it's fucking hilarious. I can say for a fact that he normally does not wear tutus.

But I think he does dance like that.

Yup, I'm back. Homies.

So it's been forever since I blogged. Ever and ever. I reactivated my blogger account and ever since it was bought out by yahoo! (was it bought out by them?), it now works better and I can actually get it to function with my hosting service. You know what the coolest part is? Now I can blog from anywhere (I'm writing this from my parent's computer right now), so I'm sure there will be more updates and tidbits. I'm also planning not to make things too personal, so folks won't feel embarassed to read my blog (i.e. I took a HUGE dump last night and guess what I found in the biggest log?)

So stay tuned. I'm sure once I figure out more stuff, I'll upload pictures and movies. What will never change though is that I'll probably use this blog to vent. Hoorah! Damn taxes! Damn Bush! Damn war! Rude people can all get repeatedly kicked in the crotch and launched into the fucking SUN!!!!

Thank you. Come again.

The albatross

Lately I was feeling a bit blah - blah as in kinda down and I didn't know why. I had a nice talk with Haydee and she reminded me that I needed a vacation. Just the reminder helped a lot I think. I was ready for a vacation back in August, but never got around to it due to my fun filled bout with chicken pox. Financially I am unsure if I can take a week off, but mentally I know I probably need it.

So anyway...back to my sucky mood...last night Merima wanted to meet up at the Albatross. I was tired and I knew I needed to work out, do some work at home, etc. etc. But I decided to go anyway and something odd happened. As soon as I arrived, was greeted by Merima, and sat down, I felt a wave of calm and happiness wash over me (it's always good to see Merima, but this time she had popcorn, too!). I then spent the next 20 minutes or so finding out about what Merima does at her work. I hope she didn't get bored explaining it to me, but it was absolutely fascinating! Maybe it was because it's so different from what I do, but I've always been interested in science - I just didn't have the wherewithal to do it. So anyway, while I was rifling through Merima's lab book and soaking in all the cool images and numbers, she went off and got us the pool table. We then played pool for a bit before Amit showed up.

I'm sure he was happy to see us, but I knew he was really looking forward to the hot serving wench that works there (she's actually really nice and sweet, and as far as I know - not a wench - but since I cannot recall her name I will refer to her as "the hot serving wench"). Amit keeps calling her by name, but I keep forgetting (translate: not paying attention) about what he's talking about. So between watching Amit hit on the wench, throwing popcorn at each other, using pool cues inappropriately, and sucking horribly at playing pool, I had a GREAT time and felt more relaxed than I had in weeks.

Too bad my neck is still a little tweaked, but I think that'll remedy itself soon enough. I keep stretching and popping my neck and every day it gets a bit better. Speaking of relaxing, I better get on top of getting tickets for Portland soon. Maybe by then I can add my "what I bought at Target" section!

bah

So I just got back from a fabulous weekend of camping! Yosemite was most beautiful and the hike to vernal falls wasn't even that bad. Of course, I only made it to the point where you're looking down onto the pond below the falls. Amit, Sarah, and Collin went on to the top and then onward to Nevada Falls, but I stayed with the girls and hiked back to camp.

When we got there, everyone was beat and there was talk of showers and buying pizza from the village establishments. In the end, we decided to just pick up some firewood and ice. We used the rented SUV to do so and it felt good doing it because technically I'm not supposed to be driving it around. So I got in with all the girls (I'm such a pimp) and drove to the store. It was about a 2 minute ride (if that) so it was really funny - especially since there was seven of us to pick up some beer, ice, and wood. It was a short, but thoroughly enjoyable jaunt.

On the way home, we drove, ranted, and listened to music. We also got another treat of In-N-Out burger. Boy that food is delicious! So now I'm left to upload all the photos I took and to ponder the next trip. Hope it'll be fun!