Accountable Infinity However (Letters to Myself)
28 feb 2009
oh, onion;
Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse? ¶ 20:35 0 comments
Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse? ¶ 20:35 0 comments
24 feb 2009
23 feb 2009
Everything is a non sequitor when you have no common frames of reference.
¶ 21:14 0 comments
22 feb 2009
a table in the middle of the road when you're going 80 may be adventure, but it could also kill you
i had a wonderful last few days in Bellingham. Lots of random good times with Brenda, Heidi, Ian, Kendall, Zach, Brandon, and my new friend Aspen; got most of my stuff that was in storage with Brenda sorted out and sent to their proper resting places (some goodwilled, some consignment shopped, some boxed up for return to Wisconsin); worked on some collages; only took photos of cats the entire 2 weeks i was there; re-learned how to play cribbage; and did too much shopping with Heidi & Brenda (so pretty sure i never have to shop again yay!).
i also started knitting again, which so far is a HUGE disaster, and i should really be committed before i waste too much yarn, but i do hold out hope for better dexterity to develop before MaRy has to flay me. i realized that i don't have too many actually useful talents, and the closest thing i can claim is sewing... and since sewing machines are heavy, require setup and space, i can't exactly practice that right now. Knitting, however, is closely related, and does not require much storage space or lifting of heavy objects. i found my 'latest' knitting project in storage in Bellingham, a project that i started over two years ago (and, as mom so helpfully noted, at least three of her hair colours ago), immediately got really excited, and forgot all logic in a frenzy of yarny joy that nearly brought Heidi & Ian to tears with its not-at-all-properly-shaped shapeliness. Photos will be posted someday, when this beautiful project is near completion, and hopefully salvaged into beauty with the many tassels i'm planning for it. i hope to someday do the Tectonics Scarf, but for now i don't even trust myself with purling or counting, two very useful knitting skills. Honestly, all is sadness! On the positive side, however, i have advanced enough since the last round of knitting-attempts to show Heidi how to knit square--and thus future-rectangle, ie, future-scarf--shaped things instead of triangle-shaped things, so progress is happening!
Monday my boss said i could work today, which was great. Unfortunately he also said that i would be working in Brawley, California, which for all practical purposes is next to Mexico. So in the last 2.5 days, i have driven all the way from Bellingham to Brawley, almost entirely down I5, only an hour short of driving from Canada to Mexico. i missed Sam in Seattle, he had to work, it was sadness; saw Clara in Portland, got a wonderful tour of Reed with all its murals, including a terribly geeky one featuring Sandman that Clara commissioned! and rode a couch-swing!; very briefly saw Evan in Eugene; and for most of the rest of the ride was very, very bored. i stopped a few random places to hike, found yet another bookstore in yet another city, and got stuck in the traffic in LA (i am NEVER going to LA on purpose, what a nightmare!), and arrived at both my last two stops absurdly late at night. i'm not a fan of arriving places i haven't been before at night, i don't like not knowing what's around me, and driving mountain roads (northern CA, San Diego--here) in the dark is particularly unfair: i know my surroundings would be beautiful if only i could see them; in the dark it's just hazardous.
Despite the insane drive, i'm delighted to be working here, this area is very developed geothermally (if that's a word?), so it's nice to finally see that. The rigs up near Bakersfield were interesting, sure, but not exactly what i wanted to do, and Colusa was a wonderful area, but again, natural gas is not exactly what i signed up for. Today is weird, i relieved a co-worker i had trained with near Bakersfield, and am working nights--but since they're not drilling right now, my entire job tonight is to stay awake just in case the H2S levels go above 5 ppm--which they probably won't, since it's only happened a few times ever--and literally hold the trailer down. Weirdness (hence the long post). i'm a little unsure of how much i can/should actually write about my job, since some details are not only unclear to me, but (and?) the little i do know may actually contain trade secrets, in which case i shouldn't tell all of the internets... suffice it to say that the set up here is different from the other places i've been, so i'm nervous about not knowing enough to do my job properly--but, conversely, absolutely nothing is happening today that i actually need to do/worry about.
As for Brawley, so far, i don't even know. It's flat, below sea level, and i've pretty much only been awake here in the night. The hotel is nicer than any so far that my company has put me in, so that's nice, and luckily there is a fridgeµwave again, so no more of the ol' apples & granola bars & mexican take-out and nothing else for days routine. Brawley is small, and pretty unpromising as far as things to do/people to meet go, but i'm sure it'll be okay (palm trees make everything better?).
The Salton Sea is just north of here, and i'm pretty excited about seeing the mudpots one of these days. If you haven't heard of the Salton Sea before, it is bizarre. It's both an ecological disaster and an ecological blessing, depending who you ask. Apparently in the early 1900s the Colorado river breached a dam, and this (then-dry) valley was flooded, so the modern Salton Sea formed... and while everybody was freaking out that whoops, there's way too much water here, OMG!, birds (and then celebrities) started flocking to it, and now it's a huge migratory bird reststop (nevermind that the birds stop here now because we've drained several of their former favorite lakes). Then, since basically no rain falls here, it started drying up, and everybody started freaking out that whoops, there's not enough water here, OMG!, and there's all these crazy ideas about how to get more water into the 'Sea.' i really need to see this documentary about the Salton Sea, and then go check out those places for myself since i'm so close. And the whole thing is compounded by the fact that pretty much all of California is dealing with water issues lately.
In other crazy news, yesterday Robin told me to come home in early April for her wedding, and then later in the day Dad said they still haven't decided if they're getting married. Either Robin is getting married to someone else--and if so, why would i be invited?--or she has a really amusing plan up her sleeve! OMG, my life! (logically, this whole thing is probably one of them miscommunicating my way, but i'm choosing to believe their messages as written/told to me)
an understanding beyond understanding ¶ 02:36 1 comments
i had a wonderful last few days in Bellingham. Lots of random good times with Brenda, Heidi, Ian, Kendall, Zach, Brandon, and my new friend Aspen; got most of my stuff that was in storage with Brenda sorted out and sent to their proper resting places (some goodwilled, some consignment shopped, some boxed up for return to Wisconsin); worked on some collages; only took photos of cats the entire 2 weeks i was there; re-learned how to play cribbage; and did too much shopping with Heidi & Brenda (so pretty sure i never have to shop again yay!).
i also started knitting again, which so far is a HUGE disaster, and i should really be committed before i waste too much yarn, but i do hold out hope for better dexterity to develop before MaRy has to flay me. i realized that i don't have too many actually useful talents, and the closest thing i can claim is sewing... and since sewing machines are heavy, require setup and space, i can't exactly practice that right now. Knitting, however, is closely related, and does not require much storage space or lifting of heavy objects. i found my 'latest' knitting project in storage in Bellingham, a project that i started over two years ago (and, as mom so helpfully noted, at least three of her hair colours ago), immediately got really excited, and forgot all logic in a frenzy of yarny joy that nearly brought Heidi & Ian to tears with its not-at-all-properly-shaped shapeliness. Photos will be posted someday, when this beautiful project is near completion, and hopefully salvaged into beauty with the many tassels i'm planning for it. i hope to someday do the Tectonics Scarf, but for now i don't even trust myself with purling or counting, two very useful knitting skills. Honestly, all is sadness! On the positive side, however, i have advanced enough since the last round of knitting-attempts to show Heidi how to knit square--and thus future-rectangle, ie, future-scarf--shaped things instead of triangle-shaped things, so progress is happening!
Monday my boss said i could work today, which was great. Unfortunately he also said that i would be working in Brawley, California, which for all practical purposes is next to Mexico. So in the last 2.5 days, i have driven all the way from Bellingham to Brawley, almost entirely down I5, only an hour short of driving from Canada to Mexico. i missed Sam in Seattle, he had to work, it was sadness; saw Clara in Portland, got a wonderful tour of Reed with all its murals, including a terribly geeky one featuring Sandman that Clara commissioned! and rode a couch-swing!; very briefly saw Evan in Eugene; and for most of the rest of the ride was very, very bored. i stopped a few random places to hike, found yet another bookstore in yet another city, and got stuck in the traffic in LA (i am NEVER going to LA on purpose, what a nightmare!), and arrived at both my last two stops absurdly late at night. i'm not a fan of arriving places i haven't been before at night, i don't like not knowing what's around me, and driving mountain roads (northern CA, San Diego--here) in the dark is particularly unfair: i know my surroundings would be beautiful if only i could see them; in the dark it's just hazardous.
Despite the insane drive, i'm delighted to be working here, this area is very developed geothermally (if that's a word?), so it's nice to finally see that. The rigs up near Bakersfield were interesting, sure, but not exactly what i wanted to do, and Colusa was a wonderful area, but again, natural gas is not exactly what i signed up for. Today is weird, i relieved a co-worker i had trained with near Bakersfield, and am working nights--but since they're not drilling right now, my entire job tonight is to stay awake just in case the H2S levels go above 5 ppm--which they probably won't, since it's only happened a few times ever--and literally hold the trailer down. Weirdness (hence the long post). i'm a little unsure of how much i can/should actually write about my job, since some details are not only unclear to me, but (and?) the little i do know may actually contain trade secrets, in which case i shouldn't tell all of the internets... suffice it to say that the set up here is different from the other places i've been, so i'm nervous about not knowing enough to do my job properly--but, conversely, absolutely nothing is happening today that i actually need to do/worry about.
As for Brawley, so far, i don't even know. It's flat, below sea level, and i've pretty much only been awake here in the night. The hotel is nicer than any so far that my company has put me in, so that's nice, and luckily there is a fridgeµwave again, so no more of the ol' apples & granola bars & mexican take-out and nothing else for days routine. Brawley is small, and pretty unpromising as far as things to do/people to meet go, but i'm sure it'll be okay (palm trees make everything better?).
The Salton Sea is just north of here, and i'm pretty excited about seeing the mudpots one of these days. If you haven't heard of the Salton Sea before, it is bizarre. It's both an ecological disaster and an ecological blessing, depending who you ask. Apparently in the early 1900s the Colorado river breached a dam, and this (then-dry) valley was flooded, so the modern Salton Sea formed... and while everybody was freaking out that whoops, there's way too much water here, OMG!, birds (and then celebrities) started flocking to it, and now it's a huge migratory bird reststop (nevermind that the birds stop here now because we've drained several of their former favorite lakes). Then, since basically no rain falls here, it started drying up, and everybody started freaking out that whoops, there's not enough water here, OMG!, and there's all these crazy ideas about how to get more water into the 'Sea.' i really need to see this documentary about the Salton Sea, and then go check out those places for myself since i'm so close. And the whole thing is compounded by the fact that pretty much all of California is dealing with water issues lately.
In other crazy news, yesterday Robin told me to come home in early April for her wedding, and then later in the day Dad said they still haven't decided if they're getting married. Either Robin is getting married to someone else--and if so, why would i be invited?--or she has a really amusing plan up her sleeve! OMG, my life! (logically, this whole thing is probably one of them miscommunicating my way, but i'm choosing to believe their messages as written/told to me)
an understanding beyond understanding ¶ 02:36 1 comments
7 feb 2009
this is why i find my writing so awful when i'm in a good mood: i cannot handle excessive exclamation points.
(the first draft of the previous post was much more honest/happy, but unbearable) ¶ 03:30 0 comments
(the first draft of the previous post was much more honest/happy, but unbearable) ¶ 03:30 0 comments
miles miles miles miles away
Back in Bellingham! Wonderful!
This place is my favorite, no doubts about that. i'm staying with Brenda & Kendall for the week, and it's been wonderful so far. i love seeing them, i love all of Brenda's animals, i love everything about this town. Sunday i won a game of Trivial Pursuit against Ian, Monday we all went out, Thursday i went hiking at Larabee state park with Kendall, tonight finally saw Zach & went out with Heidi, and in between i internetted and read Antarctica and generally appreciated everything that is here.
On the way up, i stopped at Lava Beds National monument and crawled through a few lava tube caves. i love lava tube caves, but not quite as much as i thought i did--halfway through the day i realized i'm not terribly hardcore, and as much as hiking on the plateau was worth it (great scarps!), i really wanted to see someone i knew and have indoor plumbing after camping for two days. So i drove to Eugene, and luckily Evan let me stay with him once again (unfortunately for probably the last time, as he's soon to be on his way back to MN). On the way i drove through the Cascades, accidentally followed the southern route of the Oregon Trail, and almost got icicle-murdered to death. Good times.
The day after that i stayed with my uncle Micheal in Hillsboro, Oregon, which was surprisingly wonderful. i really enjoy my two cousins Hannah & Rebekah, and it was lovely seeing them, probably for the first time in my life without my dad or anyone in my branch of the family around. Hannah might roadtrip with me when i come back to WI in August, which should be really interesting, as she wants to spend some time with everyone in WI/MN, and i'm really excited about that now! Micheal is amazing, he's like the Eddy uncle who got all the good traits (ie, smart/funny) and none of the Eddy bad traits (snarky/inconsiderate/etc), and he/Dorreen/their kids all seem really close, which is just fun to observe.
mmmm... good times here so far, more details later, and maybe even photos if i get the technologies to work!
too important ¶ 01:52 0 comments
Back in Bellingham! Wonderful!
This place is my favorite, no doubts about that. i'm staying with Brenda & Kendall for the week, and it's been wonderful so far. i love seeing them, i love all of Brenda's animals, i love everything about this town. Sunday i won a game of Trivial Pursuit against Ian, Monday we all went out, Thursday i went hiking at Larabee state park with Kendall, tonight finally saw Zach & went out with Heidi, and in between i internetted and read Antarctica and generally appreciated everything that is here.
On the way up, i stopped at Lava Beds National monument and crawled through a few lava tube caves. i love lava tube caves, but not quite as much as i thought i did--halfway through the day i realized i'm not terribly hardcore, and as much as hiking on the plateau was worth it (great scarps!), i really wanted to see someone i knew and have indoor plumbing after camping for two days. So i drove to Eugene, and luckily Evan let me stay with him once again (unfortunately for probably the last time, as he's soon to be on his way back to MN). On the way i drove through the Cascades, accidentally followed the southern route of the Oregon Trail, and almost got icicle-murdered to death. Good times.
The day after that i stayed with my uncle Micheal in Hillsboro, Oregon, which was surprisingly wonderful. i really enjoy my two cousins Hannah & Rebekah, and it was lovely seeing them, probably for the first time in my life without my dad or anyone in my branch of the family around. Hannah might roadtrip with me when i come back to WI in August, which should be really interesting, as she wants to spend some time with everyone in WI/MN, and i'm really excited about that now! Micheal is amazing, he's like the Eddy uncle who got all the good traits (ie, smart/funny) and none of the Eddy bad traits (snarky/inconsiderate/etc), and he/Dorreen/their kids all seem really close, which is just fun to observe.
mmmm... good times here so far, more details later, and maybe even photos if i get the technologies to work!
too important ¶ 01:52 0 comments
