Yay!

So, I started my new/old job today. I'm going to be a teacher's aid again, but apparently I'll be working with my favorite of all the teachers once the summer semester is over in three weeks. That makes me happy! Also, a lot of people dropped by to welcome me back... certainly making me feel wanted, and a little bit missed.

Things went well, and I'm even going out with the guys from work this weekend. Should be an adventure... keep your fingers crossed that I come back in one piece!

Eh, this was the past few days...

Nothing much is going on here. Well, I can't say that... I greeded myself out of a lot of money in the lottery. There's an amazingly good random number generator in my head, but I don't trust it when I should; I picked some number, and then some more... and it turned out that I'd picked 5 of the 6 powerball numbers correctly, but spread them between 2 tickets; total winnings of $7. Oh well, it was fun to daydream.

My roomie's in Seattle, safe and sound. Well, he was safe and sound when I talked to him two days back. At least I've got a place to stay when I come visit, and I'm penciling that in for the first full week of September, so I can also see my sister in Bend and a friend in Portland. Hopefully it'll still be warm enough for a little bit of camping on the coast. God, I miss actual bodies of water...

Hmm, what else? Been gaming too much, but I've also dragged my butt to the gym two days in a row. Today was actually useful, because I walked there (6 blocks in the triple-digit heat), and managed to lift for an hour. It'll be the same thing tomorrow, but mostly leg work instead of the arms I did today.

Also, been reading more today. George Martin's getting a little better, because he gave me some characters to hate about 3000 pages ago, and it seems that they're finally starting to pay their dues. Of course, the way this guy molests a plot line, they might end up as the heroes!

Finally, I've rewatched Lady in the Water twice in the past 36 hours. I love that movie, but I don't know why. I think the "pushed over the edge" fantasy of the flick, plus the horror movie shades are the things that draw me.

The last thing is that I can't start work until Wednesday. My immediate supervisor is on vacation until then, so apparently there wouldn't have been anything for me to do. But I'm kinda excited for it now. At least I know exactly what I'm getting into this time!

Random updates, thoughts, and venting

Well, it's Friday night. I'm at home, alone. Wasn't invited out to anything, so I'm messing around on the computer... primarily because Oblivion got tough again (I was killed about a dozen times today, compared to about three times all of last week), and I needed to give my eyes a break.

I had my orientation for the rehiring of my new (old) job. I actually felt missed, and that I was welcomed back with open arms; to the point that one of the therapists interrupted our meeting because the thought that was me out in the lobby, and wanted to say hello. I should get a promotion in about a month, because I get to skip a lot of the training process... I'm still annoyed that I have to drive 26 miles to go to work every day, instead of walking 5 blocks, but at least people want me to be working there.

Hmm, no new movies to critique, sorry.

Internet dating is such a total crapshoot. I'm only dabbling in it now, because I'm too old to go out to loud bars and try and get lucky on any kind of consistent basis (not that I'm looking for a one-night stand anyhow, but evening going in order to meet new people is essentially impossible). So the online scene in Denver is lame; I've made contact with some awesome-sounding women, but only one has gone as far as meeting me. Now, here's the peculiarity to internet dating: nobody wants to meet in person. If I got someone's e-mail address in the grocery story, a bar, at the gym, etc., future meetings would be easy to coordinate. But online, despite sending e-mails back and forth for months, getting a whole profile on the other person, and all that crap, people are terrified of actually meeting. Kind of contradicts the idea of "dating," if people never get together for a date...

So, I've got to try and plan some things for the weekend. My dad's out of town, my roomie's in Seattle (have fun, don't fall off anything too high, and give everyone a hard time!), my brother's busy getting ready to move, and the friends I'm in contact with in town are all working this weekend. Blah, people suck! So, it's going to be a combination of fishing, the gym, reading and gaming. I really should get back into writing, too... the break on that's been way too long. But I have a line of a poem stuck in my head... just need to write the poem to surround it now:

You cares for the scars that life has left behind?

Admission of Failure

I almost made it. I could've made it, if there were more time. I'm a fat and lazy bastard, and that's why I didn't make it... it being the summit of Mt. Sherman in Fairplay, CO. I did make it 2/3 of the way up, but by then my super-fit brother/hiking partner was on his way back down. We guessed that I had another hour to go before hitting the top, and he didn't want to sit there for over an hour and wait on my flabby behind. So we called it good, and we'll hit it again in a week or so.

However, the best part was the snow slide down (except for the rocks)! There was a saddle that never melted, which ended in a huge flat snowfield; Eddie took my jacket, and I put on some neoprene pants (ya know, cause I look cool that way, and cause they're basically made of slick plastic), and we slid about 50 feet to the bottom. Somehow, I slipped a touch too far to the left, and ended up grounding myself on two softball-sized rocks, but everything's still working right thus far.

So, despite my total inability to breathe the thin air I've been living in for nearly 2 years, and the toll that takes on my hiking capacity, it was a good day. Some of the photos will be posted as soon as my lil bro e-mails them back to me.

Grab the popcorn!

I've watched a few movies over the last few days, and here's what I thought of them:

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was really good. A lot better than Spiderman 3, anyhow. The ending was predictable, but at least the writing was strong enough that you'd have accepted a different ending, or the one they showed us. (There's some additional footage after the credits start to role, but you don't have to stay for the very end of the credits to see it.) I think Stan Lee may be my new creative hero, too. Maybe not worth paying full price, but if you have a student discount, see this in theaters.

Primeval was a lot better than I'd expected. Mostly reminded me of Jaws, but the politics and exotic setting made it cooler than most of the other neo-monster movies. Lots of realistic blood, and some very raw emotional stuff. Rent this or get it on pay-per-view.

Pan's Labrynth was awesome! Alice in Wonderland plus some The Shining along with some dudes Jim Henson wishes he had credit for. Dark fairytale, my favorite kind... and for those who get the reference, watching this movie was a lot like reading one of George Martin's novels (it really pisses you off in parts, but you love it anyway). See this movie twice, and pay full price both times!

Secret Workings of the Inner Mind

Okay, so I'm halfway through my rehiring process. I'll be driving farther than I want, but the pay is in line with comparible jobs, and the hours are good, as well as the opportunity for overtime on a pretty consistent basis. I'm still going to win the jackpot in the lottery, though, so it'll all be moot.

Hmm, since my last posting, I've seen a few movies, hung out with my dad for Father's Day, and overhauled my fish tank.

The tank thing was pretty simple. Too much algae, but I didn't know where it was coming from. I'd transplanted something with a ton of little projections and crevices (a plastic Banzi tree) from another tank, to help set up the microbe content in the new water... which was a good idea at the time. However, the algae eater ignored the buffet, and the water was turning green. So I yanked out the tree. Also, there was a huge underwater waterfall in my bedroom tank; looked fantastic, but it blocked a lot of flow to the filter. Pulled that out, too. I replaced things with a jaguar skull for my guys to play in, and an artificial trunk from something you'd find in the Amazon rainforest, one of those trees with the spindly leg-looking trunks. Then I asked the guy at the fish store what was causing all the greenness in the water... too much sunlight! Duh, sometimes I'm just not thinking of all the angles. So I've had a towel covering my tank in the daytime for 4 days, and it's gotten noticably better. Also, I bought a new fish named Pride, a pictus catfish. He plays tag with my albino shark (Ire) a lot.

Ouch

Man, I've got a headache. One of those "back of the head, someone please shoot me" kinda pain. But I'm already into an online card tournament, and I'm one round out of the finals, so I can't just log off and take a nap! I think it started when an obnoxious car alarm started whooping in the parking lot, near my open bedroom window.

I am listening to the new Linkin Park CD, Minutes to Midnight. It's pretty good, a lot more mellow than Hybrid Theory was, but it's got their trademark edge to it. So far, it's been a good listen.

Spoon!

Yo, it's Thursday. We had a carnival at work today, I was half of the face painting crew. It went pretty well, until I got a little girl who spoke no English, and started screaming that she wanted a butterfly done by brush on her hand... I got "buttlerfly" and "hand," but she kept shrieking some other word that I couldn't make out... nor could any of the 5 people who were trying to translate for me! I've got to learn Spanish, that's all there is to it.

Tomorrow is my last day of work. I'll be starting a new job as soon as they get back to me, schedule to be determined. It sucks, because the last time I interviewed with these guys, I was working within 2 days. But I'll muddle through somehow, no doubt.

Funnies from Work

Okay, for those who don't know, I'm presently employed as a Teacher's Aid at a school for children with special needs. I get to teach Creative Writing and Reading classes once a week. Now then, I've been in this field of occupation for nearly five years, and can't see myself being happy in any other type of work (except maybe writing, but that would be a different sort of joy). I love to help people, and bringing joy to these young adults is my gift to society and to the world.

Of course, in this line of work, you hear things... and I thought it time to share some of the things I've heard.

* There is no Christmas in China.

* How old is your grandfather? - He's really old, like in his 30's or 40's.

* "I am the eye of the tigger!" as a written threat.

* My mom's friend is from another country. She's from Philadelphia.

* Can anyone name a famous Native American? - Batman!

* [string of profanity, including lists of gratuitous sexual acts and forms of sodomy]... AND CHEESE!!

* I just want some bitch tacos!

* If we got trapped in the museum, we'd die because there's nothing to eat... only skeletons.

* I don't want to be on TV, because we don't have cable at home.

* I just don't know what you're gonna do with me today, Bob.

* I like to talk to female staff about inappropriate things. It's like my hobby.

* You could've saved yourself a lot of trouble if you'd gone potty in the toilet.

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