Sour Particles

Man's best friend for sure, but everyone's best friend is what Shasta actually is. If only more people I knew were more like her.

I've put more miles on my free rental car in a week than my actual car has total. I guess it helps that mine doesn't have that many miles on it, but I'm still proud of pushing 1500 miles (so far, return it on Monday so I have over 24 hours left, but they said not to go in to Mexico with it...) on a rental car that I didn't even think I'd have to begin with. And I get a free tank of gas with it.

So I went looking for a single bottle of Cachaca, but I couldn't find a place that stocks or has even heard of it. Finally yesterday I found one place with one type of Cachaca, but not the exact one I wanted. The owner was really friendly and said she could order whatever I wanted. While I was there the distributor was in the store, and he began to show me what he could get. I saw one that I've tried previously. I asked if there was a discount for a case. She quoted me a price for a case, I almost passed out it was so cheap. As long as there are limes, there will be a caipirinha in my hand. Hopefully that is an exaggeration, since I probably won't keep all twelve bottles for myself.

Done walking for the day, walked over 10 miles. Started in downtown San Francisco where we saw some protesters laying in the street get zip tied and put in vans by Police in riot gear. I got the feeling the most of protesters were really fake, the kind of people who just like attention and acting. Well the ones who covered themselves in fake blood and were running around and screaming at least. Protesting seems pretty trendy. I wonder how many of them (the ones who were being really dramatic, not the ones chanting and holding up signs off of the road) got are failed actors / actresses. Honestly I would be much more affected by photographs that a lady running around and screaming about something horrible happening to her. I actually do not even know what she was trying to convey with it. Was she supposed to be an Iraqi woman? It didn't seem like she was supposed to be a solider's mother. She was calling out to Americans for help, did she want American citizens to pull out our troops because they are the ones who attacked her? The signs said impeech Bush, pull our troops out. Maybe I am just really stupid and everyone else who looked confused around her really understood what she was supposed to represent. Word to anyone who wants to protest, I'm open minded but stop the horrible acting and make sure your message is clear and not a confusing drama class gone bad soap opera. Anyways, next we walked down to the curvy Lomard street via Union square and some really big church.. Then to the warf for a beer and snack. And ofcourse we needed some sweets, ice cream, chocolate, etc. Then the almost final leg was all the way to the vista point on northern side of the Golden Gate bridge about six more miles. And then back across the bridge, it was dark by then so taxi to the BART station. Never a dull moment.

I was showing a friend the local natural foods grocery place, which by the way doesn't even have wild salmon. Most of the people shopping there are pretty much hippies and do not look like the kind of people who would use a good soap. But my friend found his secret soap there, I was reluctant to try it because I associated it with the dirty hippies (by the way, I have no issues with most clean hippies) because that market carried it. My friend assured me that they sold it at Trader Joe's back home, which eased my mind a bit. The label was insane, you have to read it to believe it, religious babble it seems mostly.

Here is a quote,"Each swallow works hard to be a perfect pilot-provider-builder-trainer-teacher-lover-mate, no half true hate! So each day like a bird, perfect thyself first! Have courage and smile my friend. Think and act 10 years ahead! And the man without fault? He's dead! Do one thing at a time, work hard! Get done!" And it keeps going, that's only a small fraction of the stuff written on the label.

As far as the soap goes, I like the peppermint cool burn it has, and it isn't a harsh soap. It does seem to make the water bead off my skin after a certain point during my shower, so I use a normal body wash every few showers, because I'm paranoid of some kind of oil buildup.

Ingredients: Water, Saponified Organic Coconut & Organic Olive Oils (w/ Retained Glycerin), Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil, Organic Mentha Arvensis, Citric Acid and Vitamin E.

If anyone has any opinions or facts regarding its cleansing abilities, let me know. Or if you are interested in it, visit their website.

One of them actually still works. Amazing, the buttons were locked up, so I poured some rubbing alcohol in the gaps, and sprayed some canned air inside it, apparently from the looks of what blew out, I or someone else, spilled soda on it. Works perfectly now, makes me feel better using these than my Ipod. Just imagine if Diamond actually knew something about marketing, maybe they would be in Apple's place right now? Maybe it was just bad timing, not as many people with broadband and whatever. This is taking up way too much of my time. By the way, this phone sucks right now.

Between the zero visibility dust and rock storms, roadrunner that came within inches of his death, flying tumble weeds from hell stuck in to the car, heavy rains in heavy traffic. Weel, I'm just really quite amazed at how smooth this weekend is going for being unplanned, even though I've know about it for months. Last night, in Santa Monica, was a nice change from the usual Thursday, which this week was pretty good actually. All I have to do is a bit of shopping here and make it an hour north in about an eight hour time span. Wish me luck.

There were some taxidermy birds covered in wax in one exhibit. It looked kind of odd. Then by the same person, there was some stuff made out of hair, again kind of odd. Then there was some stuff by Andy Warhol, interesting and fun to look at. And then there was some robot exhibit, nothing seemed special in there, it wasn't interesting at all except the balloon floating thing that had no real description of what it did. The 3D computer thing was nothing special, and was pretty boring. Sushi place for lunch was pretty good though, I didn't get my miso soup though. By the way, my room is still clean, I did all the regular upkeep this weekend besides vacuuming, because I couldn't find the vacuum. Back to art, I don't hate all contemporary art, but there is a point when people see something in a piece just because the name or description next to it implies it, I like art that actually speaks for itself and doesn't let the plaque next to it do all the talking. Maybe one day I will get one of my paint by numbers in to a museum.

I was never any good at paint by numbers; I always have to have them exact. The brushes are blunt to begin with, and they get worse as you paint. And when I spend time making sure you have not gone over the lines, which becomes progressively harder, you end up running out of time. Sometimes I wish I would decide to do one quick and just be happy with the way it turns out. With stuff other than painting, which I have no natural skill at, I can actually finish them and be happy with the quality. I think I hate painting by numbers, but I will never give it up. I think this whole concept of by the numbers could relate to life in general.

This is actually the same bar so I was kind of lying, but I'm going to collect all of their stamps though. The weekend has started, and it is a good start. Got big plans for the weekend. If I can remember what those plans are tomorrow then it should be a fun weekend.

Okay this might not look like anything, but it is actually a porcupine that was in the street in front of our house. I got out of the car to take this photo with my phone, it is a pretty horrible photo but I just have to say that thing was a lot bigger than I expected. It was also really slow too. It didn't seem too smart, but I guess you don't need to be when you have all those sharp barbed quils.

Not the best food, but I'm hungry and it is very decent. The beer, Liquid Amber, is actually pretty good, although I wanted Pine Tar. I've always wanted a growler of Pine Tar, but the world is against me. Apparently it is not legal to drink that big of a alcoholic beverage in the bar, it is only for take out, and now they are all out of Pine Tar until the summer. I am cursed.

I've always wanted two of these beanie Peeps, I just didn't know it until today when I saw them at the store. They are made of really soft cloth and filed with beanie stuff. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. If nothing else I'm sure somebody I know would like them. I actually made progress on the room, and its not just in my head, people have noticed. I'm turning a new leaf or page or something. Anyways, it should be interesting around here.

It feels like it should be Friday, but it is only Wednesday. I am not feeling very motivated, but after a long vacation you will have some coverage of the progress I make organizing my room. It will be almost like an early Christmas, but without a tree. On a different note, have you ever felt like you made a big circle in life but this time something was different? I know I make mistakes on each loop I make, but hopefully less of the same ones and not too many new ones. I'm really stubborn though sometimes. Actually quite often, maybe I can change that this time around. Today revolved around food, but if not food, what then? Banana cream pie shakes are perhaps one of the best fast food items ever produced.

For some reason on Monday, going to the mall to shop for jeans was a welcome comfort. I'm usually picky, but I found a pair that seemed right, it gave me some stability in a world lacking stability. Or maybe it just simply means I really needed new ones, but that wouldn't be profound, and actually doesn't make sense to me, so let's stick with my first idea..

I was happy to to just have the souffle rise up in the oven. Even if it just made it that far along, I would have been proud of it. I made it with: butter, cream cheese, chocolate, cream, eggs, Grand Marnier, sugar and water. It didn't taste too bad to me, and people said it actually tasted good. But, you never know if they just bit the bullet and ate it even though it tasted atrocious. At any rate I don't think souffles are my thing, at least to eat, but they are fun to make. Oh, Christmas was fun, wet but fun.

It is probably time to take a nap. The last week was really fun. I did a wide range of activities. I saw some movies, from very different sides of the movie spectrum. I ate some good food and had plenty of Guinness to go along with it all. Good people, good times.

Every year as you get older Thanksgiving activities get more confusing. When you're old enough to understand the concept of time, thats when it first starts to get really confusing, what time does the turkey start, when do we eat, I thought we were going to eat three hours ago. When you change venues for Thanksgiving, confusion. Then when there are multiple possible places for you to go on Thanksgiving, more confusion. When the food is something other than the same thing you've had for the past decade or more, confusion. And you get the point. Oh and you should donate some blood.

I used to use a Sonicare electronic toothbrush, but I am pretty brutal on toothbrushes. Traveling with it was never easy either. The feeling after brushing with it was pretty amazing though. I went to normal brushes, and stumbled on the Oral B CrossAction Vitalizer Toothbrush. I prefer regular size and medium bristles. I'm sticking with this brush.

My room is still a complete mess. In fact it is pretty much a lost cause, but you know me, I love lost causes. After my fairly probable crappy morning, I will start the relief effort.

My room has seen better days and not too many worse days. It is not rock bottom yet either though. There is hope, a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Do you ever order something online, and they brag about three day shipping being standard. But they do not ship your order which is in stock and they say time to shipping is one to three business days. And you want to get a hold of them because you want to know what's happening, but they have no real way to contact them, but they are the best bet place to order that thing from. So you eventually get tired and want to take your business elsewhere, but you can't even cancel your order. Weeks go by. I hate that.

Where my room is actually close to being clean, but I don't feel like writing about it. It was a good weekend though. Steak, Ahi, Guinness, rum in Cacti shotglasses, movies, sunburning, cleaning, relaxing, smiling, laughing, hot sake, thats just the begining, it's too much more to list. No regrets.

I was cleaning my room up a bit looking for a key that I figured was in the room somewhere. Finally I gave up and guess what? The key was not even in the room, so I was less motivated to organize it since it was clearly in a way organized, had the key been in the room, I would have found it long ago. I also did some laundry, especially towels. Found the solarcaine too, that wasn't in my room either, but I knew exactly where it was. Last time that stuff was needed was back in May.

If you forget memories, what will you have to talk about when you are old, besides how rock music makes kids do drugs. Something I didn't learn until it was too late was that if you give up what you believe in you are left with a bunch of stuff that you don't believe in and it is hard to convince yourself that they matter. You can never control what happens in life, but you can control your actions, sometimes it is just hard, but you will thank yourself later. My next action is sleep, I bet you expected me to say I was going to clean my room, but that will have to wait because I have to pack now, but I will try to clean as pack, because it's what I do, i'm a neat freak, ask anyone I know.

The Peppermint Schnapps has to be the 90 proof one or Rumple Minze. And you must use a chilled cactus shot glass as pictured. Oh and the room is making good progress too.

Getting ready to go to Los Angeles in a few minutes, the weather here is so nice, it actually feels warmer than 80 like the weather forcast said. I'm going to play some Lumines (awesome game) on the plane i think. Planes boarding, bye.

The week was so long that it was actually more than a week. I did quite a few things while I was here, lots of suprises, lots of rain, lots of fun. I was actually semi productive, but eaisly distracted. I feel like I have more direction now than I had before, and actually more than I've had in as long as I can remember, but you never know what the future will be like until you are there, but what you do at this exact moment as you read this will change your life forever, it changed mine too..

Frenchy turned twenty-one, highlights (if you can call them that) of him for the evening would be loudly whispering to me "she's a big girl... ...she heard me huh?" referring to a large chested girl talking to us, falling down a 2 or 3 foot curb face first, getting kicked out of one bar and kicking a garbage can after I let him go on his way out causing two nearby bouncers to yell profanities and start to chase him down until we calmed them down, going in to the last bar and sitting down his elbow knocked over an amp which also took out a cello and caused half the people in the bar who were related to the band to want to beat him down, after leaving that bar punching a metal street sign and getting a big gash on one of his fingers, getting blood from his finger on everyone else around him and not even noticing he is bleeding at all, plus a lot of other things... ...and there was the random drunk dude who tried to start something with me, I pushed him aside and kept walking, then ten seconds later he's in a fight with everyone else, alcohol makes people act funny.

Not only has it been a long day, but this whole week was pretty tiring, but tomorrow is my last real weekday of the week. This week I rediscovered how much I enjoy music yet again. Maybe I will review the various music hardware / software / services that I'm looking at and trying right now and in the next few days. Actually no, I'm not that bored, but if I like your product I might give a shoutout to you. Tonight, I made pasta, it tasted pretty bland. Starting tomorrow I'm going experiment with new things to cook. Friday should be fun, I need to catch up on some sleep too. Nothing I have written today, both on here and other places seems to make sense to me when I go back and look it over.

We went to The Office, and there might be some gaps in the storyline, this is just the things I remember, but I don't have like blank spots in my memory, just it was a long night. So I had a Guinness and sliders, which is a pretty good deal at $4.00, if you get like any other beer its $3.00 for it and sliders. Sliders are little mini burgers by the way. The first ten minutes of the hour at 8 and 9 are one dollar Jager shots, had one with Niels at 8. Ordered another Guinness and hot wings (boneless, cost a bit more than the normal 4 wings for a dollar, but it is less of a pain to eat and they taste better). Then Niels ordered two Screaming Nazis, and Kyle didn't want the one put in front of him, so I offered to take it. The bartender, she said it was Thursday so it was okay to have a few more beers. She gave Mikey some free samples of Beer he hadn't tried, but she cut him off from the samples when he asked for a sample of Malibu. Can't remember if I had anything besides Guinness in between that Screaming Nazi and the drink in the picture, a Leg Spreader. It was a rather large shot, and it didn't taste bad. But I just looked up what's in it, see below. I'm actually surprised, it didn't seem to bad, but as far as that drink goes, that's the most unoriginal drink I've heard of. I'd like to thank my brother for picking up my tab (Mikey you know the joke), Niels for taking some shots with me and for smoking constantly, that was great, my liver will be shot and I will have cancer, Mikey for providing excellent entertainment, and Chris for driving.

Leg Spreader (as made by Jessica)
Ingredients:
* Rumple Minze
* Southern Comfort
* Bacardi 151
Mixing instructions:
Mix in glass and enjoy

Well, I got distracted and my room is still not done. There has been some positive things though, and I did make some progress on my room. I stayed up until 6am last night, details are top secret though, and that was before I remembered i didnt have to wake up until 2pm. I guess I had some good luck.

My bedroom is so messy, today my goal is to get it all the dirty clothes washed, old papers and junk on the floor put away, and vacuum. I think I might also want to move my desk and bed, although I can't really picture how I want them arranged. Not on my list of goals for this project today is to get the closet done, that is just a ridiculous amount of work right there, especially since most of the stuff from my room when I clean will end up in the closet. Lucky my closet is pretty spacious, in fact when I first moved in I slept in my closet because there were no blinds in the house, and my empty bedroom faced south. I even have electrical sockets in my closet, I had my computer in there for a while, just because I didn't want it in my bedroom. So now to stop writing and get to work!

I was bored, so I decided to setup a webserver with a photo gallery and one of these "blog" things, I don't think I am the type to actually publish everything that happens in my life and my feelings on the internet, but I will give it a shot. I will post later for real, if I feel like it, so there's a chance this place will remain unchanged with no posting for months, you will just have to check back here periodically to see if I got bored enough to add posts...