Tuesday, January 27, 2004
well, anothe day in the life... tuesdays are fairly swell for me, seeing that i only have one class. but, then i work from 12-6pm, and that always makes me really tired. i swear, i never get enough sleep, because i'm usually thinking about something too much to fall asleep, or i'm just not tired... or i have to write something for a class. bleh.
i hate people who's parents pay for their schooling... or those people who don't have jobs. they have NO idea what it's like to have to worry about your classes and things, and then have to go to work on top of that. i see those commercials where the father is holding a newborn baby, and the voice says, "have you thought about how YOU'RE going to pay for you college education??". Heh... i can imagine my own parents having this same conversation over 20 years ago and thinking... "wait, i know how we can afford college!!! We won't pay for it at all!!". Nah... well, i mean, it's true... i've paid (or more correctly, will continue to pay for many years to come) for my college education myself and in all, it's been a rewarding experience.
there are a couple things that aren't so cool... i don't own a car, and the way things are going, i don't see me owning a car for several years, because i can't afford it, and i don't expect one to come in the mail any time soon.
now, i know i can't judge people because their parents have provided them with a vehicle, but that's a huge deal, and many times it doesnt seem fair... especially when that person has done nothing to deserve it. now, honesly i don't know a lot of kids like that, but they do exist.
well, i'm dozing off here, wondering if this shift will ever end. travis called and needs me to fix his internet connection... so, i got that going for me.
i hate people who's parents pay for their schooling... or those people who don't have jobs. they have NO idea what it's like to have to worry about your classes and things, and then have to go to work on top of that. i see those commercials where the father is holding a newborn baby, and the voice says, "have you thought about how YOU'RE going to pay for you college education??". Heh... i can imagine my own parents having this same conversation over 20 years ago and thinking... "wait, i know how we can afford college!!! We won't pay for it at all!!". Nah... well, i mean, it's true... i've paid (or more correctly, will continue to pay for many years to come) for my college education myself and in all, it's been a rewarding experience.
there are a couple things that aren't so cool... i don't own a car, and the way things are going, i don't see me owning a car for several years, because i can't afford it, and i don't expect one to come in the mail any time soon.
now, i know i can't judge people because their parents have provided them with a vehicle, but that's a huge deal, and many times it doesnt seem fair... especially when that person has done nothing to deserve it. now, honesly i don't know a lot of kids like that, but they do exist.
well, i'm dozing off here, wondering if this shift will ever end. travis called and needs me to fix his internet connection... so, i got that going for me.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
ahh, yesterday was MLK Jr. day, and a nice break from the rigors of college life. kären and i spent the day browsing through thrift stores, and we found some great stuff. i spent quite a bit of time looking through the vinyl racks, and ended up with Cat Steven's 1971 lp "Teaser and the Firecat" , and a more worn copy of Wings' classic "Band on the Run" .
kären found some fabric and a cover for her couch, among other things. our last stop at the goodwill on coburg rd. was rather eventful as i ran into a copy of the classic nintendo game "Excitebike", one of my favorites and definitely one that i've been looking to find for a while. it's funny how now, collecting video game systems that are no longer being made is so delightsome... probably because i can afford to own all the things that i wanted to own as a kid. still looking for kid icarus at a decent price, though.
american idol started last night, which is a show that i paricularly love, mostly because i like guessing who's going to end up winning (and it's loads of fun to see people getting slammed for their obvious lack of any musical ability). however, the commercial breaks every 3 minutes are enough to drive someone clinically insane. "my big fat obnoxious fiancee" has a cool concept, and i think it's great they chose a girl with such an anally retentive family. i can guarantee that if i had to scam my family into thinking i was marrying some girl, they would be like, "well, that's nice..." and go along with it just fine... especially if they ended up with 250 k afterwards.
kären found some fabric and a cover for her couch, among other things. our last stop at the goodwill on coburg rd. was rather eventful as i ran into a copy of the classic nintendo game "Excitebike", one of my favorites and definitely one that i've been looking to find for a while. it's funny how now, collecting video game systems that are no longer being made is so delightsome... probably because i can afford to own all the things that i wanted to own as a kid. still looking for kid icarus at a decent price, though.
american idol started last night, which is a show that i paricularly love, mostly because i like guessing who's going to end up winning (and it's loads of fun to see people getting slammed for their obvious lack of any musical ability). however, the commercial breaks every 3 minutes are enough to drive someone clinically insane. "my big fat obnoxious fiancee" has a cool concept, and i think it's great they chose a girl with such an anally retentive family. i can guarantee that if i had to scam my family into thinking i was marrying some girl, they would be like, "well, that's nice..." and go along with it just fine... especially if they ended up with 250 k afterwards.
Sunday, January 18, 2004
i saw the movie "radio" today, and i liked it. it was kind of slow, but the message was good, and for once in a movie, the football team DIDN'T win it all at the end. that in itself was pretty refreshing. not that i'm against teams winning it all, of course... but, the same formula of the team that overcomes all odds to win the championship, with the help of a special person... well, it's been done quite a bit. cuba gooding, jr. is a good actor, and this film might help us forget such debacles as "snow dogs".
i found an old disposable kodak camera that i had never developed, and found that it contained pics from my high school grad night, and random pictures from the summer of 1998. it's kind of funny, looking at my life now, nearly 6 years later, and seeing how things have changed. then, i was a 17 year old kid from a small town who had everything i had ever really wanted: a high school diploma, tons of friends, a steady part time job, a car to drive, and to top it all off, i was dating a girl that i had liked since i was about 7 years old.
now, at 23, i'm a senior in college, i served a 2 year mission in Ecuador as an LDS missonary and as a result, I'm now a fluent spanish speaker. i've lost touch with a lot of the people that i used to know in high school... some becuase of distance and time, others simply because i haven't made the effort. so many of my good friends are now married, with a few starting their own families. i don't make it back home to hermiston that often... usually a few times a year for holidays and special events. my life is so different now than i think i ever expected it to be, and yet, i'm fine with that. i love college life, i have a great house with awesome roommates and i have a wonderful job. i'm finally doing something that i actually like and can see myself doing for at least part of my adult life to provide for myself. i have the greatest girlfriend i could ever ask for who actually challenges me as a human being, and really makes me feel like i'm alive. honestly, my life is great... and i'm incredibly blessed.
and really tired, also, too, as well. goodnite.
i found an old disposable kodak camera that i had never developed, and found that it contained pics from my high school grad night, and random pictures from the summer of 1998. it's kind of funny, looking at my life now, nearly 6 years later, and seeing how things have changed. then, i was a 17 year old kid from a small town who had everything i had ever really wanted: a high school diploma, tons of friends, a steady part time job, a car to drive, and to top it all off, i was dating a girl that i had liked since i was about 7 years old.
now, at 23, i'm a senior in college, i served a 2 year mission in Ecuador as an LDS missonary and as a result, I'm now a fluent spanish speaker. i've lost touch with a lot of the people that i used to know in high school... some becuase of distance and time, others simply because i haven't made the effort. so many of my good friends are now married, with a few starting their own families. i don't make it back home to hermiston that often... usually a few times a year for holidays and special events. my life is so different now than i think i ever expected it to be, and yet, i'm fine with that. i love college life, i have a great house with awesome roommates and i have a wonderful job. i'm finally doing something that i actually like and can see myself doing for at least part of my adult life to provide for myself. i have the greatest girlfriend i could ever ask for who actually challenges me as a human being, and really makes me feel like i'm alive. honestly, my life is great... and i'm incredibly blessed.
and really tired, also, too, as well. goodnite.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
today was quite the day... no classes on fridays, but still quite a bit to do. a phone call from tiffany austin woke me up... she's in idaho for another "sabbatical", this time in rexburg. she wanted to know what happened to mp3.com, but i really only knew that they had gone under, or changed hands, or something to that effect.
work started at noon today... lots of ballots to hand out, though many of them didn't go anywhere because students have moved. looks like ballot measure 30 is going to be an important one for the state... i hope it passes, because i'm seriously sick of tuition always rising, even if i'm getting a "steal" on my education.
at 3pm, i went to costco to get some photos that i had dropped off a few days ago. i seem to remember the days when costco wasn't always incredibly crowded, but that might have just been the tight wallets of eastern oregon/washington not wanting to pay the membership fee. it pays for itself so quickly... cheap gas, and the coolest return policy in the world... if you buy something from there, it's guaranteed pretty much forever, regardless. my dvd player started to go south about a year after i bought it. i took it back, no receipt (though, i did have the box), and full refund. same with a printer and scanner that lasted A LOT less than i expected them to. it's nice knowing you're covered... all of my things tend to die about a day after the warranty expires.
so, i got the pics, then ran to the band office. banquet is sunday, and i want to be in the annual collage that hangs on the wall. i'm debating whether to go back for that 5th year, mostly because i convinced myself that i was done after this year. but who knows, it's still a blast, and i have fun with the younger kids. we'll see... still plenty of time.
kären and i grabbed some mongolian grill at 5:30, then i went to work at 6pm... she took the car to go to an art folk gathering at her prof.'s place. i watched "chinatown", then played "vice city" for a while until she called to tell me she'd be late... finally, i ended up walking home just before 1am.
and now it's time to go to bed... an old episode of "wings" is on nick at nite... they're practically screaming at me to go to bed, an almost blatant attempt to scream, "look, we can't do any better than this, it's 3am... you might as well call it a night". and so i shall. chao.
work started at noon today... lots of ballots to hand out, though many of them didn't go anywhere because students have moved. looks like ballot measure 30 is going to be an important one for the state... i hope it passes, because i'm seriously sick of tuition always rising, even if i'm getting a "steal" on my education.
at 3pm, i went to costco to get some photos that i had dropped off a few days ago. i seem to remember the days when costco wasn't always incredibly crowded, but that might have just been the tight wallets of eastern oregon/washington not wanting to pay the membership fee. it pays for itself so quickly... cheap gas, and the coolest return policy in the world... if you buy something from there, it's guaranteed pretty much forever, regardless. my dvd player started to go south about a year after i bought it. i took it back, no receipt (though, i did have the box), and full refund. same with a printer and scanner that lasted A LOT less than i expected them to. it's nice knowing you're covered... all of my things tend to die about a day after the warranty expires.
so, i got the pics, then ran to the band office. banquet is sunday, and i want to be in the annual collage that hangs on the wall. i'm debating whether to go back for that 5th year, mostly because i convinced myself that i was done after this year. but who knows, it's still a blast, and i have fun with the younger kids. we'll see... still plenty of time.
kären and i grabbed some mongolian grill at 5:30, then i went to work at 6pm... she took the car to go to an art folk gathering at her prof.'s place. i watched "chinatown", then played "vice city" for a while until she called to tell me she'd be late... finally, i ended up walking home just before 1am.
and now it's time to go to bed... an old episode of "wings" is on nick at nite... they're practically screaming at me to go to bed, an almost blatant attempt to scream, "look, we can't do any better than this, it's 3am... you might as well call it a night". and so i shall. chao.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
sitting here watching conan... he's talking about how he spent last week in seattle, and it snowed. last week was crazy here in the pacific northwest... eugene was a sea of ice and snow. still, all the ducks had to go to school while the rest of the state got the day off... back home in hermiston, they had school but one single day. crazy.
texas was fun... i saw elder day in el paso, and we talked about the old times. so many of my friends are married now, having babies, etc. it's so strange to see people that are 2, 3, even 4 years younger than i not only married, but having kids of their own. hmm... i think i'll wait a bit.
homework calling... from the faraway towns, or something like that. goodnite.
texas was fun... i saw elder day in el paso, and we talked about the old times. so many of my friends are married now, having babies, etc. it's so strange to see people that are 2, 3, even 4 years younger than i not only married, but having kids of their own. hmm... i think i'll wait a bit.
homework calling... from the faraway towns, or something like that. goodnite.
