YouTube message response

December 28th, 2010 by carpedick

I posted a comment on a video and received the following in a message addressed to me. I’ve left all the spelling as original, and have only fixed the formatting for readability. Below that is my response.

SUBJECT: God is real friend

One would seek him according to his word you will find him, and clearly see that he is real. I lived for satan, and I lived for God. They both do very much exist.

God’s word is truth, and health to all that find them. God is a man that he can’t lie. God is a rewarder who those who earnestly, and diligently seek him. Its a process of acceptance of reading, and doing his word. If you did the research, choose God, and the prayer of repentence giving your life to him sincerely you would see that he NEVER lies. I can tell you what is coming from what God has said. If I told you what is coming you wouldn’t believe me.

I can say one thing that 911 is child’s play to what is coming, and from the same demonic origin that brought 911 is bringing other catastrophies of what the world calls terrist attacks, but one problem. America doesn’t see the spiritual side they only see what the government, and media tells them. This is of the demonic. According to the word of God that he is a revealer of secrets the Bible says. That means that God can reveal things of the past, present or future. For instance There will be a series of 26-27 nuclear suitcase weapons that will be set off across the U.S.

God will provide, heal, protect, bless, etc…. if one chooses him. Bad times are coming in my lifetime. Things that you let me put it simple. “People will die from FEAR alone”. My trust is in God i don’t have anything to worry about. i could tell you what I am going through right now that some people in the world would be about ready to do something crazy, but God will help me through what I’m going through. I will come out better in a short time then what I am presently going through.

God is real. My word may fall short, and doesn’t measure much, but God’s word abides now, and forever. Gods word is based on truth, and by seeking God. It doesnt matter WHATEVER you may go through God will provide an open door to be there in his timing.

Shalom

I grew up as a bible thumper. I went to summer camp every year and was indoctrinated fully. I never questioned the bible and never thought that it might be remotely untrue.

Then I grew up and realized that in order for the bible to be true, in order for god to exist, I must suspend logic. Now, what kind of creator would want his creation to suspend logic, one of the things that he must’ve imbued us with for a reason. Why on earth would he give us this ability to reason and then insist that it apply to everything except for him?

That doesn’t make sense and after much soul searching, I realized that I must hold God and his word to the same standards that I apply to every other aspect of my life. And his word and the proof of his existence didn’t stand up. So I ceased to believe.

Additionally, the option of living a life for God and living a life for Satan aren’t the only options. There is living a selfless life, one in which you value yourself as part of a community. You treat others the way you would want to be treated and you contribute to society so as to leave a mark on those who you come in contact with.

The only option shouldn’t be to live for God at the threat of death and hell. What kind of goodness is that, that only exists out of the fear of such a horrible place? How much better is it to live a good and worthy life out of the value of that life, rather than out of fear of punishment?

Have a great new year.

Ritz Camera is a piece of shit company

August 11th, 2010 by carpedick

So, I’m a little flustered/floored at a recent experience that I had with a Ritz Camera employee. And not even just that, but then subsequent experience trying to complain via their website. The response I received? “We are sorry to know of the kind of service you received at the store. It is unfortunate, and we truly regret the inconvenience. However, RitzCamera.com and the Ritz Camera stores are two separate companies, and we work with different policies.”

Upon contacting them via their live chat, I was told the same thing. Not only that, but that they couldn’t give me the name or phone number of the manager or store. Interesting, since I can click on “Store Locator” on their website and enter my zip code and have the phone number right there, instantly available to me. Apparently, the technology on their website exceeds their abilities. Quite a paradox.

I’m sorry, but I think at the least, if you’re going to provide the store information via your website, so that you have an intrinsic link. Then maybe you should have a few other details about the store as well. Crazy, right?

Basically, I was contacting them because of a recent bad experience that I had at their store. Here is what I wrote them:

Recently, I went to your store at 22nd and J Streets in
Sacramento. I spoke with a sales associate by the name of
Josh. I was checking to see if I could hold and check out
the build quality of a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS lens, a
$2000 lens. I was told that a contract was being
negotiated, but that no canon lenses were currently
available to view.

He then told me that I could see the comparable Nikon
lens, but that “after seeing this, the Canon will feel
like a toy” I don’t appreciate this. I understand that
there are those that like Nikon and those that like
Canon, and when weighed against each other, the 2 are
basically equal. So to turn around and blatantly tell me
that the product I was looking into was crap, was a
little unnecessarily biased and didn’t need to be said in
order to explain to me why the item wasn’t in stock.

Additionally, only after having told me this, and showed
me the Nikon lens, did he tell me that btw, there is a
Tamron lens that would work for the Canon. Which in my
mind, should’ve been the first thing he mentioned after
telling me the Canon lens wasn’t available. Rather than
taking the first attempt to show me a lens that wouldn’t
work and then to subsequently bash the product that I was
looking for.

I understand that opinions are what they are. It would be
appreciated if in future discussions with sales staff,
that they were a little more even handed when it comes to
discussing the differences between brands, rather than
outright bashing them.

And that somehow couldn’t even be bothered to elicit a response giving me the manager’s phone number or email address at the store. It’s ridiculous and poor customer service at best. Complete BS at worse!

How do I feel about that?

June 17th, 2010 by carpedick

So, I’m not quite sure how to feel exactly. My boyfriend and I had a sit down, like we have in the past. And it seems like whenever he has time to sit and reflect it always comes out bad for me. Because he inevitably he realizes how unhappy he is with our current arrangement. So it seems my only option is to keep him constantly occupied, or fix what he doesn’t like.

The downside…fixing is hard, and takes effort. Also fixing makes me look at myself, reflect, and realize that some of the things that I do, put people off. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, I put a wall inbetween myself and other people. Making my personality and the way I come across, one of “happy go lucky Paul” who will make fun of things and point things out that people otherwise might not have noticed. On the upside, this usually gets a laugh, and looks of “omg, I can’t believe he said that”. On the downside, it tends to make people feel as if that’s all I’m good for.

I will concede some of the points that he made about me last night. Mainly that I do tend to do that, and that it is a sort of a defense mechanism, left over from when I was younger. And I will say that the flip side of what not doing that would do, would be my ideal space to be in. That being one of an approachable person who feels like they can actually be talked to, rather than someone to go to when you need a laugh. The hard part will be figuring out some sort of balance. See, I’ve noticed and been told that my joking helps some people who have had hard situations. It makes them forget about it for a second, or just look at it from a more humorous point of view. And I like being able to do that from time to time. I also like being able to joke in public when at parties and that sort of thing. What I’ve got to learn is when to turn that off and on. My main concern is that if I turn it off, what else do I have to offer? “Hi, how are you?” “Oh really, that’s interesting.” I mean…it just seems to droll and boring.

I do think that while the perception is mostly right. And that it is something that I should change if I do want to be more approachable. I also think that he is oversensitive in that area. Not necessarily in a bad way, mind you. Just that he was made fun of quite a bit and tended to other attach himself to other outcasts. I think some are fun to hang out with, but the ones I don’t know might be the type of fodder that I’d use when making fun of someone when just walking by them on the street.

Apparently, this makes him cringe all the time. And now that I sit back and think about it for a second, it makes perfect sense. He sees in them, something in himself, because people made fun of him the way they did. As such, when I make fun of them, he takes every joke or whatever as an attack on him, and who he is/was perceived as. This makes a whole lot more sense, and is that much more of a motivator not to do that.

That being said, that’s a rather large undertaking. Honestly, I am going to try my hardest, but it’s just one of those things that is rather ingrained in who I am. I literally had to stop myself from saying something about one of his friends who he’d just mentioned, because I realized that it was just negative and there was no point in saying it. I guess the ole adage is what I’m going to try and stick to, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”.

So, basically that’s where I am now. And it’s going to be a struggle. But it’s worth it, if it makes him want to stick around and just and on the side makes me a better person.

I’m also going to be taking more of a proactive approach to getting out of the house. Basically going to work on limiting myself to 1 hour of TV when I get home, just to unwind. And then activities within the house, or getting out of the house after that for at least an hour or 2. Mainly because I need to exercise and need to start living my life free of the tangles of always staying at home…

In that vein, I’m actually going to be making some inspirational wallpaper for my iPod. So that the motivation hits me every time I see it. Coincidentally, an acquaintance posted something on her Twitter account last night that was just the type of saying that I needed. So I’m going to use that, and hopefully it’ll help me. :D

That’s all for now. I’m going to try and write in here more often to chronicle how things are going. Especially since I’ve been sucking it up recently as far as actually posting anything to the interwebs.

Much love.

A Little Clarity on the whole Health Insurance thing

March 30th, 2010 by carpedick

We all know that preexisting conditions will no longer be a reason for denial of coverage or cancellation of coverage.

We also know that certain people will be required to get coverage in one form or another.

Additionally, the antitrust exemption that health insurance companies had will be removed, meaning that health insurance companies will have to compete for your business AKA lower premiums.

Also, Today, an individual with a yearly income of more than approximately $33,000 does not qualify for a public subsidy for insurance. In 2014, the limit will be approximately $43,000.

Today, a family of four with a yearly income of more than approximately $66,000 does not qualify for a public subsidy for insurance. In 2014, the limit will be approximately $88,000.

Parents will be able to keep their children on their health plans longer, until the age of 26.

Small employers with low-wage employees will be provided tax credits in 2010 to help them pay for insurance coverage.

Employers with 25 or fewer employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 can qualify for tax credits, beginning in 2010. They must contribute at least 50% toward the premium for a health plan for their employees.

From 2010 through 2013, this tax credit will offset up to 35% of the employer’s contribution, depending on the company’s size and average annual wage.

In 2014, the maximum credit will increase to 50% of the employer contribution for coverage purchased through an insurance exchange.

The federal law creates new employer penalties. They will start in 2014 and will apply to employers with more than 50 workers only.

There will be a penalty on employers that do not offer health insurance coverage. It will be $2,000 per each full-time worker. The first 30 works will not count toward the calculation of this penalty. For example, if an employer has 60 employees, the fine will be 30 multiplied by $2,000, or $60,000 total.

There will also be a penalty for employers who offer health insurance that is not considered affordable under the new federal law.

Ref - https://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServlet/Health%2520Care%2520Reform/Overview/National%2520Reform%2520FAQs.pdf

Additionally, the mandates require that all Americans carry a minimum level of health insurance or pay a separate tax for every month that they are without such coverage. For individuals this is a maximum of $750 per person annually, up to $2,250 per household annually.

Because these penalties would each apply on a monthly basis, individuals and employers would have to pay 1/12th of the maximum penalties for each month they failed to comply with the mandates.

Ref - http://cnsnews.com/news/article/63181

I realized today, that I don’t write enough personal stuff on here

March 29th, 2010 by carpedick

I used to more, moreso when I had all sorts of shit and drama going on. But less so now, since things are going smoothly, and to be honest in the past when things were going smoothly.

I definitely like this as a way to get things out of my system. I think that I used to fear what I would put up here, thinking that people who were in it could potentially see it, and that was a semi-detractor, because who wants to get in trouble for venting in a area that’s meant for venting. Like getting in trouble for driving fast on the freeway…no, not TOO fast.

Anyway, things have been going pretty smoothly with my relationship. I mean, sure we have our rough patches. Times when we both just need to get away from each other, or when outside circumstances have an overwhelming feeling and end up making both of us tense and on edge. But overall, things are progressing. I used to think, god it’d suck to have to go back to dating and I would worry that that would happen at some point, that we’d break up. But that is less and less of a factor these days. I more worry about something bad happening and me losing him that way… :/ it sucks to think like that…but I used to do the same thing when my parents would go out for the evening. I’d pretty much stay up all night listening for their car and then the sound of the front door opening and them talking…and then I could go to sleep.

Right now I’m downloading a few old songs while I work. Foo fighters actually. A friend quoted the lyrics on Facebook and of course I had to look them up and I was like “oh hey! I like this song!”, so yeah. It’s a thing to do. I just have to get motivated to do this web page now. It really is tedious. I’m weird like that tho. I dread tedious work, but then once I start it, I get into it. I hate that. It’d like I’m bred for the assembly line…put tab a into slot b times 10000 and there’s my 8 hour work day. I mean who wants to be that type of person. Bred for boringness. Thus the reason why I try and break out of that rut frequently…

And now I’m trying to motivate myself to edit and upload pictures. I feel bad, cuz my in-laws were here 2 weeks ago and I still haven’t uploaded them. I mean…I dunno. I’ve never been that motivated. Most of the time if I can just get the pictures off the memory card, I’m doing amazingly well. But then nothing more comes of it. And now it’s such a huge task (not just this most recent trip, but all of them over the past years) that it just seems a bit daunting. I know I have some amazing pictures in there, that I’d love to upload and put on websites, but I just can’t seem to feel the motivation. Plus, I personally think they’re all average, nothing particularly outstanding… Which I hear is something that people who do anything that is sort of creative can suffer from. “I work long and hard at something, but it’s still not perfect, or not that great, or whatever”

Anyway, now I’m off to work and finishing downloading these songs, just felt like getting some stuff off my chest and filling this space with something so that I can say that I post relatively frequently, and not huge massive posts that make any first time reader immediately shut the page… shut? really? ugh… bye

Budget, I Love You

February 26th, 2010 by carpedick

The sense you make is amazing.

Here are Budget’s rates for cars. The price on the left is the price with a discount. The price on the right, is the price with the discount and (theoretically) another discount for paying early. Let’s see if you can figure out what’s wrong…

121.99 - economy - 124.48
131.59 - compact - 134.28
140.41 - intermediate - 143.28
145.71 - standard - 148.68
146.59 - full size - 149.58
330.50 - standard convertible - 337.24
375.65 - premium - 383.32
402.21 - luxury - 410.42
441.00 - mini van - 450.00
470.40 - standard SUV - 480.00
608.57 - full size van - 620.99

I like writing, yes I do, I like writing, how about you?!?

February 24th, 2010 by carpedick

So yeah, long time since I’ve posted anything on here. Not quite a year, but it’s getting up there. I almost contemplated downloading an app for my ipod, but I doubt it’d have the same functionality, plus I really can’t bear the thought of writing a post, let along a long one, with just my thumbs. Somehow I feel that I would get eternally frustrated and eventually give up.

Now, seeing as how I’ve gotten that out, I’d like to update folks who don’t care, and probably no one, given the amount of visits I’m sure this page receives, as to my goings on and the trivialities of my life.

As of late, I’ve been trolling along. Back before I went on vacation, I was advised that I’d been underpaid for 3 to 4 years. After visions of piles of backpay money played in my head, I stupidly believe that the backpay would be quickly forthcoming. And considering that I was leaving on vacation in under a week, I naively thought that it would come before I left…time passes…during my vacation…time passes…as soon as I get back…time passes…a MONTH after I get back!

Fuckin…lame. So yeah, got my bucks, but only my last years bucks. Apparently I have to wait on another government agency, god forbid, to process the rest of the transactions to correct everything and bring it all current. Theoretically that should put the rest of the money in my hand by the beginning of March, we’ll see if that’s actually the case. Given past performance, I’m not hopeful.

Vacation, yes, Keagan and I went on vacation. We went back East for 3 weeks to visit his family and his hometown. Needless to say he had loads of fun, enjoyed seeing friends and his new nephew and family, of course, and grew to remember what he hated about that town. There is nothing to do there! And I don’t mean nothing as in, limited. I mean nothing as in the past-time of teens in the town is hanging out at home, hanging out at the town Circle K, or hanging out at the WalMart 20 minutes away in a slightly bigger town.

The trip back was a pain, the train leaving from Chicago was canceled, awesome, eh? And when we got on the first train, no one thought it’d bear mentioning that “oh by the way” the majority of people traveling to the West coast are el-fucko-nigre. So, yeah, we ended up hurrying and managed to get on another train. This one would take us to Los Angeles, through a MUCH less scenic trip of a lot of flatland and a lot of boring states. Then we get to take a bus to the bustling shit town of Bakersfield, train to Stockton, then another bus to Sacramento. Where we only arrive 5 hours later than we would’ve on the canceled train, but the plus is that we get to see the ass crack of California and the ass crack of the United States, oh and our luggage won’t arrive for another 4 days. Nevermind the fact that at each step of the process I was advised, “yup, they’ll forward it”, “yup, they know the train situation”, “yup, it’ll make it there”, “lol, jk, it sat in Chicago while you traveled here, then it got sent to Sac via the first train out of Chicago (our canceled train), which left on Tuesday” (we arrived on Sunday) “and will arrive here on Thursday” (fuck…you…)

Magic, right?

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that for the time being. New post later hopefully, depending on how motivated I am to actually start writing in this bad boy again. Oh and on a side note, Keagan’s parents are coming to visit us at the beginning of next month. So that’ll be fun, no seriously, it will be. His dad’s a character…

Oh and I actually have a blog, on an actual website, I’m just waiting to upload all my old journal entries into it. See, it turns out that I had backed up my Old Journalspace account relatively recently (and yes, I’m sure I posted something regarding this recently, but I really don’t care, my middle name is rehash) and I have backups in my MySpace and LiveJournal and Facebook and now on here. And all of them get to be mushed together, but the downside is it takes time. A LOT of motherfucking time. I mean it’s ridiculous how much time it’ll take. Right now I think I’m up to 1996 or 1997. Copying and pasting is a bitch!

That is all.

Is god a crutch?

May 21st, 2009 by carpedick

I grew up in the church. Believed everything in the bible. Consistently got born again over and over again, because I feared that I would sin and die, right before I had a chance to ask for forgiveness. I remember that the only thing I knew of the bible, was what had been said to me. I rarely even cracked it, because everything I needed to know was coming from the pastor’s mouth, so why bother.

I only started questioning when I came out as a gay and realized my story didn’t fit. I couldn’t be gay. I didn’t come from an abusive or broken home. I hadn’t been molested or treated in some way that would make me “turn gay”. But in an attempt to quell these feelings I realized that I should go to a bible study for those struggling with being gay. There I went week after week and shared as everyone else did. I eventually stopped going as I slowly realized that I wasn’t like these guys. These guys weren’t struggling with being gay, they were struggling with the lust for sex. They would do well, and then fall and meet up for random sex and the like. But I realized that wasn’t me. I didn’t want to have random sex. As crazy as it was, I wanted something similar to my parents. I wanted a long relationship that would ideally last my entire life.

This led me to start to research the 7 verses that are most often quoted in reference to homosexuality. I started to realize that these verses had controversy surrounding them, surrounding their interpretation and the hebrew words used and how they were translated differently in different parts of the bible. That some areas where it references homosexual sex, it’s referring to prostitution and similar types of things that are wrong in either straight or gay relationships. But that these references were generalized to all homosexuality, rather than specific instances. I mean if we take a verse that states that doing such and such in a heterosexual relationship is wrong to mean that all heterosexual relationships are wrong, how is that less rational than doing the same thing to gay people.

So I started researching and finding out more and more. Realizing that there were discrepancies in the bible. That led me to researching what exactly the bible said and realizing that the bible contains some gospels and does not include others. Which left me thinking why would they only include some, why not the rest? Why should such an important decision be made by someone else, why should I not be trusted with being able to view all the information available and then make an informed decision.

At that point I started to realize that a lot of what I’d been taught was based in ensuring ignorance. It was to listen to the pastor and repeat what he said if ever queried by anyone. Not to read outside texts, or research more, or even to listen to “secular” music. It made me mad that I felt like I had been taken advantage of when I was younger. That my youth had been exploited to make me believe something, to have that thing take root before I even had any clue about what spirituality was, other than watching what the adults did around me or telling me how I should feel and repeating like a good automaton.

That plus the initial question of why certains texts were omitted and what was included and reading that there were problems with interpretations of the bible hundreds of years ago led me to research what sort of discrepancies there were and looking into textual criticism of the bible. This led me to realize that the book we have today, very likely is hugely different from what was written years ago. Now, I’m all for spirituality, but spirituality based on a book that has been largely influenced by man and his views, and changes being made to ensure no conflict with church doctrine (how’s that for backwards) and the like, led me to realize that the bible was not something to be relied upon.

How could it? If, as a number of textual critics have indicated, “…the errors are as numerous as the words in the new testament.” What I would read. What I would base my faith and spirituality on. Was nothing more than a cobbled together group of books that contained little, if anything, of the original text.

I then started thinking about what this meant for my spiritual life. I started reading and realizing that to be spiritual doesn’t require a god. It doesn’t require a set of rules to live by. Social morality is enough to govern anyone, and that morality existed long before the bible came into being. It’s the rule that has always been around, even before it was referred to as the “Golden Rule”. I also realized that I can relate to people, share my experiences, help people, be giving and loving, and none of this required a god. Or for that matter a threat of neverending doom and torture if I don’t accept his unconditional love. (BTW, threatening hell is a condition)

Then I started reading more, watching the news, becoming informed. I realized that all sorts of people acting under the influence of various gods had done horrible things. I realized that they continue to do horrible things. I saw that they continue to spread ignorance even in this country. They segregate people and treat them like lepers. They spout things like intelligent design has as much proof as evolution, when the two have nothing to do with one another. But it’s what their pastor said, so because of that, it must be true. And they yell it, all the while never caring enough about their own faith, to test it.

I don’t get how knowledge and faith have to be diametrically opposed to one another.

“Have faith”, “Take it on Faith”, and the like were phrases I heard a lot as a kid. But what faith is there if the highly touted bible isn’t from god. What basis is there? Faith on what you used to believe before it was disproven? That’s just ignorance. So I can’t go back to that. I can only live and base my life on social morality. I can appreciate those around me and how I affect them, whethet positively or negatively and live a life to show others that life is amazing.

Recoculous

April 29th, 2009 by carpedick

So, I’m just gathering a random smattering of facts about the whole Swine Flu thingy. And quite a variety it is. I’m trying to actually sift through and figure out which shit is true and not true. The virus is the H1/N1 virus.

Initially it seems that some of what I’m hearing is that the Swine Flu is similar to the Avian Flu in that it responds to the same vaccination that was given to those when the Avian Flu was all the rage.

Second, a number of media sources are saying to wear masks, however it’s also being said that masks don’t help whatsoever and that the best protection is to wash your hands often, take showers, stay in well ventilated areas, eat healthy, and avoid sick people. (does that sound familiar to anyone else? isn’t that basically what you should always do in order to avoid getting sick?)

Third, on average per year there are 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations out of the average 25 to 50 million infections from the normal flu virus.

I think this helps gain a little perspective about what’s going on with the current potential pandemic.

Also in 1957, an Asian flu pandemic (similar to the Swine Flu) infected some 45 million Americans and killed 70,000. Eleven years later, lasting from 1968 to 1969, the Hong Kong flu pandemic afflicted 50 million Americans and caused 33,000 deaths.

I think the fact that this was caught early on is awesome, but in reality, deaths happen when the flu is involved. So the precautions should always be a factor, especially during flu season.

It seems like this is the next big thing. We went from being fearful of terrorists for 7 years, to being fearful of money, and now they’re trying to ignore the economy and make us fearful for our lives.

Don’t the newspeople just realize that if they had interesting stories, we’d watch for that. That they don’t have to keep us in a constant state of fear to have us tune in.

A fun weekend, full of blah!

April 26th, 2009 by carpedick

Ok, so things went pretty well this weekend. I’m trying to update this thing more frequently even when things are going good, so that it can actually consist of stuff that’s interesting and not just me bitching during the infrequent pissy times that I have.

Anyway, on to the important stuff. I had an awesome time yesterday hanging out with Vic and Reuben and Vic’s mom, although it was unfortunate that Vic’s mom was making some comments and doing some stuff to make him uncomfortable. It’s her way of dealing with Vic coming out, but nonetheless, there are better ways to do it that wouldn’t end up in your son’s progress being set back.

On the crappier side, I realized when going out to take some trash out that Keagan’s bike got stolen. Which sucks balls. It was a little big for him, but nonetheless worked and would’ve provided a little cash, if sold, to buy a bike which fit better. I’m annoyed because this is the 2nd or 3rd incident we’ve had recently. And we think it’s the skeezy folks that our neighbors bring by. In addition to being loud and annoying and obnoxious, their choice of friends is especially crappy, and tend to be the type of folks that I’d avoid if I saw them on the street. The other 2 incidents were my bike pump being stolen from my bike and Keagan’s mph meter being stolen…mind you, not the wire and the indicator that measures the mph, but just the meter display at the top ( can we say idiots?)

Today was a lil better, it was very relaxed which was nice. A lot to talk about. I walked Keagan to work, came back and proceeded to fix a drawer that’s been broken for a while. After that I brought in my bike, one of the few still remaining in the outside area, and cleaned it all nice and purdy. Surprisingly this is the first spring/summer time when my bike has survived without getting a random flat tire (without having had me ride it at all, figure that one out).

Then I got a call from Keagan asking me to meet him, so we tried 2 or 3 sushi places, all closed. Finally we settled on P.F. Chang’s and had a nice little lunch, after being forgotten about, remembered, having Hot and Sour soup that smelled EXACTLY like the animal area at the State Fair, random but surprisingly accurate. Had good food delivered sans silverware, awesomeness. Then he headed home to meet up with his Big, and I rode my bike to the bike shop to check out their pumps. Nothing struck my fancy so I rode home, but the bike still appears to be in good condition.

I ended up chilling at home, cleaning a little. Then wanted to start re-entering all my old entries that were lost on my old online journal account. Double-click on the icon for my usb drive “Please insert drive” (crap, but it’s inserted!). Take it out, re-insert it “USB device not recognized” (awesomeness). After proceeding through a series of maneuvers, I finally come to terms with the fact that my USB drive has taken a crap. And, lovely as it where, I haven’t backed it up since I first got it and copied everything over from my first drive. Fortunately I still have that, but everything is 3 months old and not updated since. Now I get to try and figure out if I can get my old data back or what.

In the meantime, I’ve been updating my journal with my old entries. Almost at 100…only 600 or so to go…whee!

I think that’s all I’ve got. Nope…We’re moving to one of the front apts. We are currently in a 670 sq ft apt that runs $800 a month. The new apt is roughly 900 and is $975 a month. My only worry is getting the….thicker pieces of furniture inside, namely the sofas, the bookcase, the fridge, and the desk. Whee fun!

Ok, now that’s it. Back to re-entering the old journal and watching old stuff off the DVR.