Tuesday, December 28, 2004

dig deep, dig shallow, just DIG

<>Before you say to yourself "I'm too poor," please consider the difference in meaning, of what you consider "poor," and the poverty that exists on a daily basis in much of Asia. Now consider that even those low means of living have been wiped out completely for hundreds of thousands of people. The death tolls from the tsunamis are incredible, but what's really going to hurt is the struggle after.


If you give 10 bucks and skip your lattes this week, someone might get clean drinkable water so their kids don't die. If you then pass this on and each of your friends gives 10 bucks, well, it grows and grows, so quickly, and so easily, doesn't it?


http://www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp
The website is bogged down right now, but be patient, it will load (I hope this is a good sign)

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

All I want for Christmas is for you to stop bitching

<>I baked assloads of cookies this weekend, but did not send out the Christmas cards I bought, and even started to write in. I am about 75 percent Christmas ready, and ready to blow the rest off so I can lounge in my boyfriend's empty apartment for the next couple of days.

I miss him, like, a LOT. His cat is an incredibly sorry substitute for his presence, but I figure we can commiserate about not having someone to feed us and rub our chins until we drool.

And I am going to LOAF for the next two days.
Before Christmas. That rocks.

And, I want to take a moment to address all the obnoxious people who keep saying things like "I hate the holidays," "I can't wait until the holidays are over," "No presents, I hate Christmas," or whatever your fucking problem is...
If you don't like Christmas, shut the fuck up and get on with your life. Don't go out and feel like you have to buy shit because of Christmas. Go spend time with your friends and family, go do something nice. Do not go to the mall. If you really don't like Christmas, don't fucking participate! But complaining is just rude to those of us who DO enjoy Christmas.

I did some shopping and stuff, but the things I've enjoyed the most this year (and in years past) is the time I get with the people I love. I also love the Christmas music and lights, the crispness of the air, and the thouroughly-ingrained-despite-my-having-left-the-church-ages-ago sense of anticipation and wonder.

Christmas is totally about gifts. YES. From a religious standpoint, it might be the gift of god's son, or hope. I've received priceless gifts of friendship and love throughout the year, and it's this time of the year when we all think of the people around us dearly. Some may get material gifts to signify this, others may not. I had the gift of a wonderful dinner with friends last Sunday. And then I have family coming up this weekend. If you're reading this, you have the gift of life, and we all know a few who don't have that this year. It's a gift you ought to share with others around you like RIGHT FUCKING NOW, because you don't know which of us won't be sharing it next year.

Sometimes I've not been able to do gift-buying for christmas. One year, I was hospitalized just before the holiday, and sick too much before and after to shop. Didn't make a damn bit of difference to anyone around me. Trinkets are cool. But don't kid yourself. You don't really care about them, and neither do the people around you. They care about the gift of you. So give it up, scroogey, and stop yer bitching.


I am done with christmas shopping, now I have to come up with a bridesmaid dress.


<>Comments:
Charles: Presence, not Presents
Posted by Charles on Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 6:53 PM

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

creeping death

Current mood: sick

Now entering Week 2 of the Creeping Death cold. It just gets worse and worse. Last night I couldn't even get through the night-- woke up at 2am and couldn't stop caughing. For like an hour. After which, I finally decided to take ANOTHER dose of Nyquil (on top of the dose I took before going to bed but after a giagantic glass of wine)
Waking up and getting my shit together this morning was difficult. If I weren't so goddam busy at work, I'd stay home. But there's piles of shit to do, and more coming in all the time. I'm sick as shit and people just keep giving me more crap to do. Hey, here's an idea... if I'm the only one staying until 8 every night, maybe you should give that work to someone who is leaving at 5? My one comfort is the knowledge that they're all walking out of my office with a colony of Creeping Death germs. I hate it when work gets like this. I hate it more when I'm totally fucking sick.
Bitch, moan, complain. I hope this will ease up next week. I think it will.

It's all just distraction from the most miserable part of this, which is that Paul's away right now. Blue Christmas, indeed. Aaargh! three weeks is too long! I'm too busy with working to even do anything weird like go to his house and make a scarecrow from his clothes, or smell his pillow or something creepy. I'd make a terrible stalker.

And speaking of Christmas, I picked up something really cool for my sister in-law (assuming I actually get my ebay stuff in time) and now I'm really just stumped by my dear old dad. Dads are so difficult!

hack cough ugh

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Or my personal favorite:

Current mood: cranky

Sorry! an unexpected error has occurred.

This error has been forwarded to MySpace's technical group.


I don't know about everyone else, but I'm thinking, after the first hundred or so times, how "unexpected" is it, really?

Dear Myspace: Don't you ever get tired of sucking?

Current mood: aggravated

Error Occurred While Processing Request

Error Diagnostic Information

An error occurred while attempting to establish a connection to the service.

The most likely cause of this problem is that the service is not currently running. You can use the 'Services' Control Panel to verify that the service is running and to restart it if necessary.

Windows NT error number 2 occurred.

Back to The One I Love

Current mood: excited

Saturday we breathed life back into the DRZ. It had very sad valves, and we put the new shims in, fired it up! Not only does it run again, but it feels like a new bike! More power, happier in general, still need to fine tune the idle and all that, but for now, it RUNS!
And, as I took it around the neighborhood to test it out, I was very immediately reminded of the way riding used to make me feel. Corner once, twice, and oh HELL yeah, this is the bike for me! Lately I'd been very much NOT enjoying riding. I never used to say "couldn't we just go somewhere in walking distance" so much (unless there's liquor involved) and I was getting more and more depressed about it. All of that was gone as soon as I pushed the bike down under me to take sixth street. You can tell the bike is pushed down enough when you are looking at your teeth in the opposite mirror. Would the SV take that? Uh, no.
So all is well again. At least, enough is well. I am in heaven on that bike.

The SV finally got its new battery and is safely off of the street and away from the meter maids. It will sit there for a few weeks until Paul comes back, during which time I'll hopefully formulate a better plan of action. And, most importantly, ENJOY riding again. Then I'll be in a better frame of mind to approach the thing.

So far, the things floating around in my head:
-numero uno: replace fork oil. For $12 and a pan of brownies I can get this little thing fixed, and maybe make a little improvement.
-numero dos: someone to help me set the rear suspension properly. I suspect it's set up for someone heavier, though I don't know why, since the previous owner was my size. Might this help keep it planted in the turns?

Other considerations:
-tires: I'm tired of EXPECTING the tires to slip at least once in every ride. Last night it was when I got off of the freeway; the ride home before that was when I was on West Hill leaving work. Whatever. I don't know what it is, but it's nerve-racking. Rain Race Tires? The tires I have now are good for trips to Seattle, but how often am I really riding to Seattle? I know sticky tires are not long-lasting, but maybe it would be worth it to get rid of some of the icky feeling.
-Suspension: if I keep the thing, and the fork oil and rear shock don't work for me, that's a thousand dollars to sink into my bike. hmph.
-Selling it: which seems sort of logical, but I don't think there's a more suitable bike that I can think of. (except that SV dirtbike conversion?) Which leads me to believe that I might do better to just work on the one I have. Also, I DO like the motor. A bunch. And it's such a pretty blue.


Now, I don't have any real understanding of suspension, and I probably never would have noticed it had I stuck to crappy bikes like my first bike. But the DRZ has me spoiled. It feels so solid, really strongly stuck to the ground, anchored. Beautiful. The SV feels like it is rolling around, but not in a sticky tire sort of way; it feels like marbles on glass, gliding around this way and that, no real connection to the ground. That and all the clunkey stuff. I don't know how much of that is just my spoiled DRZ-riding ass, and how much of it is a nasty combo of suspension, fork-oil, and hard tires.

I DO know, that I am thrilled to have my real bike back up. And to enjoy riding again, and feel perfect again. The DRZ is like my own pair of legs, completely natural, and wonderful...

9:53 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

dead battery, and hope

I'm stuck at home today. My bike would not start this morning, and there isn't really any way for me to get to work without wheels. Nevermind all the work I was complaining about piling up on my desk. It's a beautiful day to spend at home, work will wait. It has to.


So it's Christmas time, I've become a little reflective.
This is what's inspiring me today:
http://sorryeverybody.com/


I've also looked just a tiny bit (not enough yet) into where some of my money goes. It's too much to handle perfectly, but I've found that several of my favorite retailers are BIG republican funders.

Victoria's Secret? WTF?! Do I need to remind them that their bread and butter comes from the sexual revolution, which, in a world where we aren't allowed to to discuss anything but abstinence, DOESN'T FUCKING EXIST!
WTF? Damn, but that's just as well, think of all the money I'll save on shit I don't really need.

Sadly, they are part of the Limited, Co., and that includes my very favorite place to buy clothes. Goodbye Express. Oh, and I have two shirts I bought a month or so ago I need to return to the store now.

And since Christmas is coming up, I've been thinking about gifts. I'm making something for some people, other people I'm not sure. But I do now have this handy list to keep in mind:
http://www.projectbluechristmas.com/
Nobody I know needs anything besides more time with the people they love, anyway. I'm making something for my sister that she will really like. I don't know about my dad yet.
Anyway, I've been meaning to look into changing banks for a while.

Our politicians are on a mission from God. They say they want to unite, but the actions show otherwise. They know that roughly half of the country does not agree with them, but they look forward blindly into what they want to see. In short, they don't give a shit about what you think.
But their financial supporters DO care what you buy.
Boycott, make informed choices. TRY. Make micro-movements, follow up with a letter.