The boring life of an international rockstar

More from Berlin

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 01:27:04 GMT

After a day of recovery consisting of only sleep, food and a marathon session of "Pimp My Ride" on MTV Europe, I was almost fully recovered. The next day was spent wandering around Berlin, checking out the sites and buildings. We went to the Guggenheim there, and to be honest, I didn't really like it at all. We saw the Brandenburg gates, various other impressive buildings, the condos that were built over hitler's bunker, a 1001 Horsepower car, the remnants of the wall.. but I think by far the most impressive place there was the Holocaust Memorial. It's a series of stone blocks, all different sizes, on very uneven ground. As you approach it, it looks like a sea of blocks roughly 2 feet tall, but as you walk between them, the ground quickly drops and you realize that some of these blocks are massive. We arrived there at dusk and emerged when it was completely dark. It's hard to do it justice by writing about it, truly something to see if you ever go.

That night we went to Victoria Bar, a very chill lounge were we just relaxed for our last night in Berlin. They also were the first bar during my entire trip to actually have Captain Morgan, so I did my part to catch up on lost drinking time. On the ride home, we passed some lighted street and I asked if it was Checkpoint Charlie, to which the cab driver indicated it was. He then took a left turn and stopped the cab.. in front of our hotel. Apparently, we had been staying about 3 blocks from the Checkpoint the entire time. Who knew?

We went to the Checkpoint today during the day to see what was there and buy some touristy crap. We then went to the Olympic stadium and off to the airport. We're all back in Basel now. Tomorrow we're heading to Interlaken for the day, off to see the glaciers.

I've pretty much stopped taking pictures since Greg and Ryan arrived, since they have better cameras and know how to use them a lot better.

Greg's Pictures

Ryan's Pictures

enjoy.

Broken in Berlin

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:23:16 GMT

Ryan and Greg arrived a few days ago. We wandered around Basel the first day, took them to see the sights, including the Muenster (sp?) which is an old ass, big ass church. We climbed to the top of it, which was pretty cool, it may be one of the tallest buildings in Basel.

The next day, we headed down to Saas Fee to go snowboarding on the Alps. When we arrived in Saas Fee, we realized our hotel was in fact, not there. It was two towns over. Luckily we were able to walk into the closest hotel and find an availability.

We got pretty torn up the first night.. since we arrived with only an hour left for the slopes, we started boozing early. The music embargo against europe is in full effect in Saas-Fee. At one point, a swiss guy walked up to Ryan and said something incoherently german. When asked if he spoke english, he replied with "a tiny bit" then said "do you have papers I could use for rolling a joint?" .. apparently "a bit" involves asking for drug paraphenalia now.. I remember when it was limited to asking for women of loose moral fibre and beers.

The next morning we hit the slopes. They hit me back. Hard. Within the first 15 minutes I had dropped full weight on my tailbone. After a few hours I had made it down the beginner slope one full time, almost broke my wrists and generally won't be confused for a pro. But, I learned how to snowboard on the alps, did you? No. (If you did, I don't actually want to know, so I still feel special)

That evening, we headed back to Basel. The next morning, right around breakfast something bad happened inside me. I am not sure what, but within the hour I was pacing and mumbling incoherently carrying a plastic bag. What happened next will only be described as "probably food poisoning". It was very very unpleasant. And we had a plane to catch to Berlin. Eventually I managed to pull myself together enough to follow everyone into the airport, ingest some nausea drugs and make it to the hotel. I tried to join everyone for a beer, but I made it about 20 minutes before I gave up and went back to the hotel.

I didn't sleep well that night, as everything that could go wrong with my body seemed to. The next day (new year's eve) I stayed in bed until close to 6pm. At this point, I had recovered from some of my maladies enough to make the most I could of the night. We ended up, after a terrible Irish pub, in east Berlin and a giant party/park/what have you that had about 10 rooms. It was tons of fun. Alcohol made me feel a lot better. We got in at 7am, making it a 12 hour new years bonanza!

Today has been a day of recovery and rest. And for the second day in a row, nothing is open in this city. Why? why are there not even slightly convenient stores?

-cam

What the deuce have I been doing?

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 03:20:05 GMT

Yesterday.. I went rock climbing with Iain and James.. it's been a long time and really something I need to pick back up when I get back to the ATX. So anyone interested, hit me up. After a few hours break, my brother arrived and we rejoined Iain and James dowtown to get retardedly drunk, mouthing off to total strangers as is customary when drinking in a foreign land.

Today was spend christmas shopping. I think I've reached the point where I no longer have any idea whatsoever of what is a normal price range for gifts. (hint: high maintenance ladies, get your wishlist in before I learn).. but I finished the bulk of the holiday shopping today, with minimal subterfuge. After my evening nap, craig and I went to a local bar for a few drinks with his swiss friend Andre. Once we had enough to drink we agreed to go to a local dance club called A2. A2 is like the worst of the canadian cottage/dance bars with a room dedicated to shitty german techno and top hits from 1994. I got to groove to Rhythm is a Dancer, and the song from night at the roxbury. It was so tragic that it was amazing. I also learned that you can get shot down by a girl, despite not speaking the same language. Over, and over. And over. The women of switzerland can be somewhat attractive, but for the most part, it's nothing to write home about.

The craziest thing about tonight was the club doesn't take cash. You get a card when you enter, and it's a credit card. you pay as you leave. 6 drinks cost about 50 CHF. By drinks I mean beer. Which isn't that much, but I was trying to keep it reasonable. If anyone wants to open a bar using this method of payment, I would gladly help run it. We'd be millionaires by february.

I <3 me.

-cam

Milan

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:54:56 GMT

I just got back tonight from a 2 day trip to Milan, with a stop in Lucerne. Pictures are here

The creepy skeleton pictures are in Lucerne, at the death bridge. Unfortunately, I forgot my memory card, otherwise I would have more of them.

Milan is an interesting city, in that it's really just a normal city with older buildings covered in dirt and graffiti. There are some nice ones, but you can't look at them for too long or a random driver will probably hit you. Regardless of where you are standing. Everyone there also honks their car horns non-stop. Probably because they all suck at driving.

The fabric store Ryan found online had closed down, so I wandered the streets looking for the perfect pair of eurotrash brashionista sunglasses. Naturally, I ended up at D&G. Let me tell you, they get worse than what I ended up with, but that's only because I couldn't find any jewel encrusted ones for men. I also checked out the Versace store, and found a really nice dress shirt, for only 450 euro. I didn't buy that.

Other things I noticed in Milan:

- I by far wasn't the best dressed, but I wasn't the worst either.. fair-to-middlin to be precise
- Witch shoes aren't going anywhere
- Hair is going to be shorter than long, but longer than short in Austin in the year 2012
- Ragged cut t-shirts are still on the way in, so I was right. Not that anyone listened. Also, I don't know if I mentioned that out loud anyways.
- Stores with glass elevators are expensive.
- Everyone smokes, sometimes two at a time.

That's it. I could write more, but I'm tired and if you cared you'd ask.

...wouldn't you?

After sleep catches up...

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:59:23 GMT

So I did eventually arrive in Switzerland. After 18 hours of planes and planes and another plane. I did however, once again, almost fuck it up. This year I made it through ticketing, through security, to the gate, and then fell asleep. Luckily another friendly traveler woke me at final boarding to ask if that was in fact my flight I was about to miss. It was, I woke up and then began the long journey.

Only one thought from that ordeal, if asked if you want chicken, or vegetarian indian food, say indian.. the chicken is shitty. Oh one more thought, if you fly overseas, don't even hope for a good movie. I saw a movie about an inner city foster kid learning to dance with art school douches and an animated movie about talking cows then I finally managed to fall asleep to cirque du soleil.. wtf thinks acrobatics makes for a fun plane ride? and why show a kid's movie that has no appeal to anyone else at 2am? seriously.. also.. ALL COWS ARE FEMALE.. don't pretend some are male.. bulls are male.. they even had a bull at the end, so they know bulls exist. wtf.

So then I made it to Zurich, in and through customs quickly. When I arrived at my parent's apt, we set up the room I am now sleeping in. Not right now, I sleep there later. Then we wandered down to the rhine, and downtown Basel, saw my mother's horse in the village where they are moving to. At which point I became comatose. Not sleeping eventually catches up with you.

Today I woke up being fairly allergic to my parents' cat, then we walked around and this time I remembered to bring my camera. After this, we drove to Kayserburg which is a village that looks like it's from a disney movie, but it's a real village. I think. The coolest part of this was really the drive through part of France. There's some windy roads. No, really windy. I doubt you can imagine the actual windiness of these roads.. take four steps forward, then turn 89 degrees then 8 steps the -87 degrees.. see? like that.. and there was ice. the views were amazing.

After we got back, I went for beers with friends of Craig's that my mother introduced me to. It was nice to talk to someone other than my parents, and have a beer outside of this room.

Ok, it doesn't sound wicked-awesome yet, but hey.. I'm in switzerland and you aren't.. so take what I give you AND LOVE IT.

Tomorrow Milan, although I haven't been able to find out where to buy fabric there yet, I may just settle for very expensive clothes instead (sorry Margot, I know you're disappointed).

Pictures are HERE: http://flickr.com/photos/58976646@N00/sets/72157594428700417

burnt cornflakes

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:43:26 GMT

After a week of sleeping in far too late, I decided earlier today that the best way for me to not end up on standby this year was to pull an all nighter and sleep on the plane. Unfortunately, I did not also have enough will-power to stay in all night as well. After several cans of coke, three 5 minute naps, two international phone calls and re-watching DWMC for the eleventy-billionth time, I am both awake and starting to sober up at this point in the morning. My bags are packed and I'm ready to bust out. All that is left is for the airport taxi to arrive in half an hour and me to try to remember what it is I'm forgetting to bring this time.

passport - check
visa approval papers - check
laptop + power cord - check
swanky clothes to impress or at least fit in - check
three different hair products - check
nicotine patches - check
cold weather gear -check
... [this is where I'm positive I'm forgetting something] ...

Zurich, Basel, Milan, Zermatt, Berlin... here we come.. the question is: are they ready for the texanadian experience?

.. Is it possible that we were so wasted last night that we bought a lifetime supply of pudding and forgot about it? ... I'd say it's *entirely* possible ..

just fyi

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:41:25 GMT

When
you buy four plane tickets from Zurich to Berlin on an american credit
card, then go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch the bank will flag your account
and disable it until they can verify your identity.

Another side effect is that you are now broke.

(sidenote: I just got a firefox plugin to do my blogging for me, so we'll see how well it works.)

When you make up as much shit as i do..

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:20:31 GMT

So a long time ago, I realized that if you say totally ridiculous things with a straight face, people have a tendency to believe you. This has two consequences, the first one being hilarity by the fact that you can smugly know that you have totally messed with someone's world view. The other being the fact that you have no idea where to draw the line and end up spewing so much bullshit that you start to forget what you made up and what you didn't. The overall effect is that you're somewhat of a total asshole, but as long as it's entertaining, who cares?

Now apparently there is a third consequence. Eventually, if your crap seems plausible, one or two things end up actually being true. I generally have a good sense of direction for no real reason, when asked why by various people I'd make up some shit about how people have iron deposits in their nose which reacts off the earth's magnetic fields and apparently I had more (sometimes I'd attribute it to drinking Guinness).. I guess I wasn't that far off...

From The Register (www.theregister.co.uk):

Do humans have a compass in their nose?

Asked by Lee Staniforth of Manchester, UK

Some years ago scientists at CALTECH (California Institute of Technology in Pasadena) discovered that humans possess a tiny, shiny crystal of magnetite in the ethmoid bone, located between your eyes, just behind the nose.

Magnetite is a magnetic mineral also possessed by homing pigeons, migratory salmon, dolphins, honeybees, and bats. Indeed, some bacteria even contain strands of magnetite that function, according to Dr Charles Walcott of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, "as tiny compass needles, allowing them [the bacteria] to orient themselves in the earth's magnetic field and swim down to their happy home in the mud".

It seems that magnetite helps direction finding in animals and helps migratory species migrate successfully by allowing them to draw upon the earth's magnetic fields. But scientists are not sure how they do this.

In any case, when it comes to humans, according to some experts, magnetite makes the ethmoid bone sensitive to the earth's magnetic field and helps your sense of direction.

Some, such as Dr Dennis J Walmsley and W Epps from the Department of Human Geography of the Australian National University in Canberra writing in Perceptual and Motor Skills as far back as in 1987, have even suggested that this "compass" was helpful in human evolution as it made migration and hunting easier.

Following this fascinating factoid, science journalist Marc McCutcheon entitled a book The Compass in Your Nose and Other Astonishing Facts.
Stephen Juan, Ph.D. is an anthropologist at the University of Sydney.

He's crafty, he gets around...

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 17:53:16 GMT

Thursday at lunch I finally bought my first sewing machine. It's a Huskystar C10, computerized with some interesting features and about 50 stitches I'll never use. The price was good and it felt comfortable.

So, later that night, I made my first tshirt. By "made" I mean I took two pre-existing shirts and cut them apart and sewed them together into a final product that fits better. The sleeves were a bit off from what I had hoped, but overall it's not something I'm embarssed to wear outside my apt, which is more than I could say for the white shirt the sleeves originally came from.

Pictures here:

and here:

Manifesto

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 05:20:56 GMT

---
Excerpt from my text messages "Sent Folder":
---
Reality as a whole has given way to the dull, the dreary, the "everyday" .. There comes a time in history, where this gives way to art and beauty. This is referred to as a renaissance. What we need is a reality renaissance, and it is our job, the group of us, to usher it in.
---

In the past week, I won 145 bucks in poker (as opposed to the generic losing everything), I dropped my sidekick in a river, rendering it useless. I got a new phone, which has been referred to as "the phone batman would use, if he used a phone, and wasn't a fictional character".

I've been getting a lot more sleep lately, but there's no physical evidence of this. Still look tired as hell. Still groggy in the mornings. But hey, what ya gonna do?

I saw Cut Chemist at waterloo park with the live video mixing thing that will probably be all the rage in years to come. Todd was there, so was another Todd, and Stu. It was hot, and dirty, but good. Later on, Cut Chemist DJ'd a set at Beauty Bar, which was fun, and hopping and all the cool kids were there. Well, I was.. which c'mon, really, what's cooler than me?

Any call that takes place at 3:45 AM after a fucked up friday night is bound to be odd. Last friday was no exception. What tends to be worse are long, drawn out goodbyes for no reason. The only thing worse than that is no goodbye at all. That lack of .. anything.. just tends to eat away at me. Maybe it's a personality disorder, maybe it's just other people being dicks. Whatever, I'm getting used to it.

I came to the realization this week, that despite my best efforts, my apartment refuses to learn to clean itself. I've tried being friendly, tough love, total ignoring and nothing. I'd ask the roomba for it's opinion, but it's been nursing that bottle of Crown all night and it's a bit of a surly asshole when it's drunk. So instead I gave in and cleaned my bathroom with my new found saturday morning.

-c

ps. I don't read the news or anything else with stories that make me sad, maybe I'm simpler for that fact, but just for the record.. no, I probably didn't notice whatever it was anyways.

everything is not going to be ok.

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 22:07:11 GMT

yes it is.. but I saw the premiere of "A Scanner Darkly" on wednesday night. It was interesting.. different, but I think I liked it. The film and animation style was extremely cool to watch. Richard Linklater and Rory Cochran (the dude from CSI: Miami whose character got killed a few seasons ago) were in attendance and did a Q&A after the film.

Then there was the after-party, filled with the odd pretentious people that go to movie premieres and after parties at art galleries and talk about how they themselves are important people because they make independent films that nobody watch. The beer tasted like grapefruit and pretty much everything consisted of tofu. Now, we all know that I am very much incapable of even pretending to be the super macho dude that crushes beer cans, goes to football games and only eats red meat, but c'mon.. does EVERYTHING have to have tofu. It's not a miracle food.. it's a bland chunk of gelatanous crap that happens to have more nutrients than your average filler ingredient. Also, what kind of women think wearing a gypsy dress with jeans underneath is even remotely acceptable.. it looks as tacky as guys wearing wrestling t-shirts outside of their houses. Serious. High brow my ass.

Then there was the after-after-party. This was less uptight, at a bar, with more normalish people. Linklater and Cochran showed up here eventually as well. This is when I had the sheer brilliance to open a dialogue with Cochran.
"Hey.. thanks"
"Uh, what?"
"The movie, you were really good, I liked it, thanks"
"Oh.. uh.. thanks" .. at this point he starts to look for an exit
"Mind if I ask you a weird question?"
"uh.. sure"
"Is it awkward doing celebrity appearances?"
"uh.. yeah, kinda.. haha but.. whatcha gonna do? right?"

at this point we went separate ways, as I had accomplished my mission of asking the most bizarre, yet not annoying question of the night.. After that I went on to drink myself retarded.

Before I was entirely capable of accomplishing mission number 2, I met a hot, female fashion nerd who sat and discussed random shit with me for a good part of the night. I ended up with her phone number after agreeing to hang out with her at the lake at some point this weekend. I think. I'll probably find out later tonight. She also agreed to come along when I go to purchase my sewing machine, so as I don't get swindled on a crap machine. Currently I'm more excited about that than the lake.

The next day, most people didn't make it into the office until noon or later (it was a company sponsored event, so naturally most people were very hung over).. when he did show up, I was talking to another coworker who had been out that night and he mentioned that he goes surfing regularly at South Padre Island, and has some spare boards. So this means I'll probably be able to make it out surfing here this summer without having to fly to cali or wilmington.

Last night I went out again, but made a point to not drink. It was the first time in a long time I'd been out, yet not drinking. It was interesting, and I think I'm going to drastically cut down on the alcohol consumption if not stop altogether. Until I am svelte, like Derek Zoolander.

This weekend entails the warped tour, which should be interesting, since I've never been, I just hope I'm not 10 years older than everyone else there.. luckily rob and cody are coming too, so I won't be the only weirdo.

-c

Cancel the Apocalypse

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 04:38:25 GMT

I survived montreal. On a whole it was an interesting, educating affair. Also, I spent too much money, but that was to be expected. For the first time in a long time I met a lot of new and interesting people at a conference. I left with a large list of things for me to work on when I get back to the ATX.

I've been back in Burlington for about 24 hours now, it's amazing how much somewhere can change in eight months. It's also amazing how everyone who sees you can say, "Wow, you've uh.. gotten bigger". I purchased more supplies for the underscore and realized how much more I have to learn before I'll even be competent with it. I should be ready for demonstration wednesday night provided my flight lands on time.

I had a few friends in university whose parents were from asia, but they were born here. They all, at one point or another, mentioned how they tended to be brought up with the cultural and morals of the nation their parents left, and found it interesting that people from the same countries who had just moved over from asia did not seem to display these same cultural traits. When someone leaves, they take with them the memory of the exact moment in time they left, and it is natural for people to forget that whereever you left will continue to change and evolve regardless of your presence. I guess that is where the saying "You can never go home again" comes from, despite being false on the surface it really just indicates one would need a sliding scale of what home actually is.

Clarity. It could be described as a tractor trailer coming full tilt at 100 mph.. I am driving an Audi A4 this week, it's automatic, but I think it's got the torque to get me out of the way in time. I'm halfway to redemption, but feel no better.

- c

unsubscribe

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 08:02:11 GMT

hola.

bitchtotheEtotheZ-E-D

wherami

whoami

bash-$ ok

it's been aa while coming, but I am alive. Right now I am eighteen hundred and ten percent. In a week and a half I will be in montreal. After that I will bein the GTA, hanging with my compadres, in my former homeland. That is what is pushingme at the moment.Looking forward to seeing the people who made up the past qc++...

Retrospective.. prospective.. here we go.. out of sight, out of mind, I hope not.. la-la-la-la hopefully it doesn't matter, because I thought I was done with that and nintendo seems cooler than you could possibly comprehend. AE gone crazy, as affirmed by a third capital P, so any possibility of doubt has been ixnayed my friend.

Last weekend I was in the weird double you suburbs of southern aych town and I ate sick sushi, drank massif quantities then lost said sushi in bushes that have seen their fair share of my contemporaries. The coolest thing about hanging with optyx is the fact that you can just fucking relax and be yourself. The second coolest thing about hanging is everyone that lives with him, just being themselves. The third coolest thing is that when you're about to pass out, you have the most amazing prose life imagined half typed into your sidekick, and myspace rejects it and you delete the post.. unmatched expressions..lost forever before they were even concieved.

The underscored chapter of my next life begins tomorrrow. What the eff? Can you keep a secret? so can i, so you'll just have to wait.

I realized something yesterday. What I was missing, was one of those things that no longer existed, like the sabre-tooth, except less pointed. I was called out on an accident and it came full thrust. You. I. There is no I in you, and that is for the best.

I miss nothing, as I am attentive. There is pasta in the refrigerator.

Wednesday morning, I fear yet look forward to you. From this point onwards, every wednesday I will be there, here and broadcast.

Cheers.

yo.

Not sure if it's worth it at this point

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 14:35:38 GMT

I start week 5 of non-smoking tomorrow. I was told by rohan that it would fuck up my dreams, which it did for about a week. I wish that was still happening to be honest, because at least it would mean I was asleep.

Two nights ago I was tossing and turning when I was woken up by a sprinkler starting outside my window. That is weird because I'm a notoriously heavy sleeper (The only tornado I've ever been around, I slept through).

Last night was by far the worst, I got home at 3am (events preceding this were fine) and assumed I'd be tired the next morning, but was prepared to deal with that. I then spent the next 5 hours staring at my ceiling, turning off my alarm clocks one by one as they notified me "it ain't gonna happen".

So right now, I'm at work (first time ever here at 8:30, it's a fucking ghost town).. Also, I weighed myself this morning, I've lost almost 10 lbs in the last week, which is also scary, since I haven't been to the gym in over a week.

Ugh.

On the inevitable failure of.. failure?

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:15:20 GMT

Today is day 1 of the patch.

... holler at the DJ to reeeeee-wind a sec...

I've given quitting smoking a few (several many) tries in the past. Cold turkey, Zyban, Gum, Self Hatred, etc. The longest I've made it is 9 months, but that was about 4 years ago. The shortest I've made it is two hours.

Now since I've moved to Texas, my job is far more interesting and enjoyable. I'm far less stressed about money. I also have a robot to vacuum for me. You would think that I would be less stressed, but in fact I'm smoking pretty much a pack a day. Up from half a pack in Canada.

... F-f-f-f-f-fast forward to now ...

So today is day 1 of going on the patch. So ingrained into my lifestyle is this smoking thing, that the response given by Pedram was simply "my prediction. 3 days. before you smoke." .. Feeling invigorated, I countered with 9. That's right after nine days, he will have to pay for a steak meal at Sullivan's. Cody wanting in on this, thought 9 was fair. So if I am still totally smoke free in 9 days, they owe me dinner.

Now I know what you're thinking... you're thinking "cameron.. if you lose, you buy two dinners, but if you win, you only get one." That is indeed true. There are two reasons I don't care about that. The first is that I expect to be eating a lot over the next couple months as I get used to not smoking. The second is that I won't be losing anyways, so it's a moot point.

Just as an aside, wanna know how I made it the 9 months before? I made a bet.

boo
yeah.

-n

One day, I will learn to read!

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 06:17:11 GMT

So, I decided I would start cooking for myself more regularly. Bought some cookbooks and seem to be perpetually buying kitchen things. Today was a food processor and an oil spray thing. Tonight's meal? Barbadian Jerk Chicken... yeah yeah.. home-made jerk sauce.. ha. ha. I went to Barbados once, and I'm pretty sure it should be called Bajan or Baijan or something.. not Barbadian.. but to be honest, they could have called it "You ain't eatin tonight chicken" because after you make the sauce and cut the chicken, you see in the middle of the recipe.. "now marinade for at least an hour".. I looked at the clock.. 10:30pm. fuck.

The past few meals I've made have turned out pretty well, and I'm starting to get a hang of what I actually have in stock so I can plan ahead. The weird thing I've found though is that all the recipes I make say they serve usually 4 or 6. Since I am simply one person, and all my dinner invitations seem to go unanswered I'm forced with two options: eat it all at once, or freeze it and eat the same thing for three days. So far I'm on the three day route, simply because I'm too lazy to go grocery shopping every day.

Last weekend, I went to Houston (well, a suburb of Houston) to see a friend of a friend for his birthday. It was very interesting, I'd tried to post about it while down there, but was too drunk to type fast into my sidekick and the session timed out. In a day and age where people seem to run screaming when they encounter the core of my being, it was odd and very reassuring to meet someone so comfortable with himself, but also willing to make the most awkward person relax. We got drunk, watched his girlfriend sing Hong Kong karaeoke, ate sushi and pizza, discussed computer related nerdery.. and I was far outnerded.. I left feeling refreshed, and energized.

Well, another 10 minutes and I can start to cook my dinner.

-c

Consolidation

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:31:31 GMT

This week I paid off my car. Not totally, but adjusted the payment scheme to have myself debt free in 3 months. Although I now officially own my car. Totally.

This all happened because my insurance company told me I needed to get a Texan driver's license. So, I called the people who issue that (DPS not DMV) and they said I needed to have proof of insurance and have my car registered in Texas. The registration people are a different office. I called them, they said I needed an inspection. I took the 2.5 hours to get it inspected. I called them back and as I was hanging up the phone, they asked me if I had customs papers for it.

At this point I remembered that I wasn't technically supposed to leave the country with the car I didn't own outright. I set in motion the plan to have the car paid for by the time I made it to customs. Unbeknownst to me, the payment hadn't arrived by the time I went to the customs people. The customs people didn't notice. Not because they didn't check. No. Because they took one look at my plate ownership form and said:

"Your VIN starts with a J, that means Japanese. You need your car to be EPA and DOT certified before you can import it. Bye." I told him that it was Canadian, and the laws there are more strict, he wouldn't have any of it. He just kept pointing to the J.

Later that day, the payment made it to the financing company. Although Mazda has yet to contact me back about how to prove my car is ok.

On a side note, I've been told I pronounce Mazda wrong before this. I pronounce the 'a' like in cat or happenstance. Down here everyone pronounces it "Mahzda".. so when I was showing the customs agent the form (despite the fact it says right on there what brand it is) the exchange went like this:

"What make is your car?"
"Mazda"
"What?"
"Mazda"
"uh.. what?"
"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazda"
"uhm.. is that some weird brand?" (note: They are common everywhere, even texas)
"No. It's a Mazda Protege. Mazda. It's common"
"uh.. do you mean Mahzda?"

Seriously people, even if I have an accent, it should be obvious. GUESS THE CAR COMPANY: M*zda

fucking hell.

It's paid for. That's the point. And by 2008 I should be legally allowed to drive it here.

I am indeed alive

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 06:33:44 GMT

Rereading the last entry makes me want to kick my own ass for being so tragically emo. But fear not, I am alive and well. No sitting in the bathtub making poptarts wearing spiderman underoos and writing poetry in crayon. NO SIR!

I was in Australia for 3 weeks in December. It was interesting.. The nightlife really isn't great unless you have a guide. I found a guide.

I was in Washington, DC last weekend. There were a lot of computer nerds. I wasn't my usual scene-whoring self. At least, not to the degree I once was. Maybe because I was recovering from .au, maybe other factors.

I think I found a new hobby, non-computer related. I am going to keep it a secret until I decide if I'm going to lose interest in it.

Boo
Yah
Grand
Ma.

Also, my mother is visiting Austin in 2 days. I really need to clean my apartment. I'm not sure why I'm sharing that fact, but if you read this far all I can say is "HAH, Sucker!"

It came from the ph

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 07:46:21 GMT

Ten thousand people in a seething, roaring mass. In the centre of which, I am an island. The novelty of wandering sixth on your own fades after about seven minutes, so the second day becomes monotonous. Six dollars cover for a band my grandmother would have found lame. Handing out multiple rags for liquid inclusion, but they're not taking hold.

With the drear of the everyday, the face upon face of stories I'll never know, I wander aimlessly. My index and thumb trace the lack of vibration as I hopefully enter venue after venue. A vague outline of someone I think I recognize appears, but disappears before I have a chance to focus. I continue on my path, trying to remember what it was.

What I would not give for the off-center smile or the downward eye roll. Neither to be seen tonight. Thoughts reflect back to the back of the hand covering the mouth as a unintelligible sound comes from the reddened face, but I know that is far away, and will never be seen again. All three set sail long before I lifted anchor. Tonight is like any other night, and tomorrow is to be expected. For the first time in my life, I wish the next weekend wasn't long.

Is drinking alone in a crowd better than simply drinking alone?

I bought new shoes today. They are brown.

.. Two weeks until the proxy L-B. It's not coming soon enough, and hopefully I'm not expecting too much.

Isolated Introspection

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 17:04:40 GMT

I've finally started to get used to living here I think. Most of the time I'll hang out with Pedram or Cody (my coworkers). I've made another friend on my own as well. Even still, sunday nights I've found are the most quiet. Where everyone I know is either busy or monumentally hung over from the night before.

It's very strange to go from a place where there was always someone around to call when you wanted, and if not, there were multiple restaurants or coffee bars, where the staff knew you and you could hang out, to the exact opposite.

Even still, this is where I wanted to be, doing what I wanted to do. I wouldn't have it any other way. So until I've gotten into the groove, I'll just continue to rock out in my living room at night with the blinds closed and pretend nobody can hear me.

At the suggestion of a girl I met, I've started to use myspace as well. I may mirror some entries here and there, but worry not my loyal fanbase, the truly emo ones will only be here!

Darkansas

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 04:12:36 GMT

I'm still alive so far, about 2000 kilometers into the journey. My car is fine, but I'm sure the suspension is looking forward to not supporting all my crap.

A few notes on the trip:

- 12 hours on any mapping software is not 12 hours.
- If you leave at 2pm, 12 hours is impossible
- If you buy a rooftop bag for your car, and don't realize it comes with car clips, look harder. Because the 3rd party clips you end up buying will suck, causing you to use your left arm to hold the bag to your roof for half of Michigan.
- I did not get out of my car for Illinois, nor for Missouri
- I'm running on one meal a day. I think I'll eat three tomorrow.
- Mapping software says 7 hours left. So probably some time next week.
- Friendship, Arkansas is a scary place at 10pm.
- Other than Little Rock and Texarkana (which is half Texas anyways), the rest of Arkansas has no lights, but that doesn't stop huge trucks from blowing by you when you're doing 90 mph.
- 90 mph is too fast for my car when it is full of my stuff.
- Interstate 69 is nowhere near as fun as advertised
- There are a lot of dead animals and tire fragments on the side of every interstate in middle america

I am tired. Will post something more grandiose when I get to Austin.

I'm seriously moving

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 03:49:56 GMT

So I think I found a buyer for my house and the piano.. there's just everything else.

If you think you want anything I have, it's going super cheap. Check the link.
http://tinyurl.com/chsc9

26ers and airports

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:03:50 GMT

I've started leading a more healthy lifestyle lately. Sure, for me more healthy could mean eating from and sleeping in dumpsters. Seriously though, I have started climbing regularly again, I went rollerblading 5 miles on monday and it felt awesome. I had forgotten the rush you have after a decent exercise. Despite the allergy hell I'm experiencing, I'm feeling a lot better lately than I have for a long time.

I've also taken it upon myself to learn how to actually cook meals more complex than peanut butter sandwiches. Last night's endeavor was a swiss chard cannelloni. I rushed through the directions that called for 2.5 cups of parmesan, and didn't notice until the end that it said "and finally take the remaining 1.5 cups of parmesan and sprinkle on top.." so it was a bit cheesy, but then again, so am I.

The next few weeks are going to be a fast paced blur I think, things are still up in the air, but I know for sure I'll be in San Diego for Toorcon. I'm looking forward to that, as I missed Defcon this year. It'll be fun to see the people that I only see at cons, show off the newest version of Absinthe, and maybe a little of my other side projects. After that, it looks like a little bit if hustling and some minor bustling, but hey baby, I like it raw.

-nummish

Vision and Altruism

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 21:43:32 GMT

I decided on the glasses (#4 for those of you in the know) and now have them in my possession (carefully hidden on my face).. It took a bit of getting used to.. seeing clearly, except in the periphery. Reflections of green catching me every so often. I had only been wearing contacts for a month, and I had forgotten what wearing glasses was like. It's interesting how quickly you can forget about stupid things, yet still remember random other crap. Might be just me.

Yesterday was the first time I've ever given blood. In my office they had the blood clinic people show up and set up shop in a conference room. It was an interesting experience. I found the iron content test (a prick on the middle finger) hurt more than the actual needle that sucked out a pint of my crimson blood. It was interesting to watch it pump out, as I was surprised how dark the colour was. Almost a burgundy.. I'd assumed it would be more red. While waiting, they give you a booklet to read, primarily about HIV. Apparently people who have been in prison for 48 hours or more are considered "high risk".. I think that's pretty fucked up.

So after I gave the blood, I was given as much juice and cookies I wanted (yes, they had oreos), and a pin stating I was a first time donor. One of the nurses mentioned that generally they just have time to test the blood before it's sent out (chances are someone received it last night).. that's kind of crazy.. I just sort of assumed that it went in a fridge somewhere for a while. Knowing that someone who really needed it was able to get it gave me a feeling of usefulness and general wellbeing. Most people who know me, know that I spend a very large portion of my life being a colossal prick. I'd forgotten what it felt like to just generally be kind. (I'm generally quiet, passive and amiable.. but that imho is different).

Two different friends are pushing me to move. To get a different job and uproot. Both to different places. Different jobs. Both are appealing. One involves a bit more travel possibility, and one is a nerdy wet dream. Both places are substantially warmer climates. It will be interesting to see if either pays out (or both, but really I haven't had a great track record in that dept. ever) It's more than likely within 6 months I'll have moved and started anew even if these two don't happen. The biggest problem with any ambition I've had is that it's never been focused. I know vaguely what I would like, but it's not unlike walking into a grocery store and asking them to direct you towards the food aisle. It's been said that if you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there. This has been true so far, but now I'm looking for a specific path.. one that ends up not here.

- nummish

nietzsche and plagiarism and all that jazz

Tue, 17 May 2005 22:10:43 GMT

My pants didn't fit. They hadn't fit for a while now, and there was a thread that was separated and digging into my skin. She asked why I looked so uncomfortable. When I told her, she cocked her head to the side and asked my why I didn't just remove it. So I did. After a quick yank, the thread was still loose, so over the course of an hour as I would fidget I pulled more and more. With each pull, the pants seemed to fit better and I relaxed.

Eventually I pulled harder and heard the rip as I realized I had pulled until there was nothing left that resembled pants of any sort. So there I stood in the dark, alone, with no pants.. and that, my friend, is when the ice weasels came.

A few months ago, over beers at 2am, Peter told me that canadians were the most passive aggressive people he's ever met in his life. If he had a nickel for every time I proved him right, he would.. well.. have a very very large bag of nickels.