madeofglass

rachael put this on and then left the room.

its weird. rather, spending 24/7 with someone is weird. we havent been apart for more than an hour for the last two weeks. i twisted arms at home so that we could sleep in the same room (seperate beds) and im sleeping in her bed with her here at her parents. when i wandered away for an hour at the museum the other day (and then later into plan 9) were the longest id been away from her since i picked her up on the 17th.

this simple fact says something. the fact that we have had only 1 fight and not even really any major annoyances in the last 14 days lets me know something about how she and i communicate.

this isnt to say i dont have my concerns. but even with me continuing to question what i need out of life to be happy and content, its nice to know that i am with someone i have trouble not getting along with. and yes, of course, there are things i would love to change. about us, about her, about me. but i also accept it all for what it is and what it continues to be.

well, thats not what i intended to say in this post, but ive gone and done it now. so ill call it a wrap on 2003, look forward to the 2004.

its going to be a low key night here at one of roxys friends house. (apparantly me and 3 or 4 girls. i cant complain.) i hope everyone gets good and sauced, manages to have a good time and stay safe. remember we have that code orange in effect. (rachael mentioned how sucky it would be if something happened in times square. be safe miss linda.)

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’ve been noticing more and more that life isn’t comprised of large, life-changing experiences but instead it is a series of small “vignettes” that when added up complete who we are. I was at a loss of words to describe what’s been going on in my world the last week or so, but I’ve found that the need to come up with something profound is unnecessary. I was sick. I went to Oregon. That’s pretty much it. Those were the big events.

But it’s the small moments that happened in passing that were the most enjoyable and entertaining to me. The following three moments were things that struck me as amusing and added something whimsical to the past couple of days of my life.

1. I figured out things were wrong when the driver told me he had a DUI three years ago. No one wants to hear that their taxi driver has ever had one of those. But one really doesn’t want to hear that when you are on an icy highway traveling 55 mph at 6am. As if that weren’t enough, you start to really fear for your life when your driver starts professing things like, “Boy, I tell you what: that Keanu Reeves can act! He started out with some crappy movies, but then he really found his own when he made Speed.” One slowly starts to realize that he is going to die when the driver informs him that, “You know, that Will Smith really blossomed as an actor on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” You learn to thank the god you don’t believe in that you made it to the airport in one piece.

2. Working in an airplane serving people has got to suck. Having worked in the service field before (as a busser and waiter), I know just how crappy this job can be, but nothing seems crappier than working as a stewardess. Particularly a male stewardess (a steward?). The hours seem long, and I can think of nothing worse than having to be in a plane for hours on end every week waiting on people who want nothing to do with you. Plus, it seems so boring, and that point was made very apparent to me by my male stewardess. While handing out complimentary chips and salsa, my stewardess Randy made a point of saying something “witty” to every person he served. He’d say something like “Here’s those chips you ordered!” or “Here’s your favorites!” or “You know you like it!” to EVERY PERSON. All I could think of is that this must be the highlight of his day. It’s the one time he gets to be clever while working, and no one seems to appreciate it. I would have felt bad if it wasn’t so annoying and pretentious. I mean, please, since when are organic tortilla chips my favorite?

3. I was on my way to Amoeba when I saw star of stage and screen Forest Whitaker. It appeared that he had just left the Arclight Theater after seeing a movie, and the first thought that went through my head was “Aw man, he was one of those crazy bastards in Battlefield Earth.” Just then, some guy behind me says, “Yo, what up Forest!” In the following seconds it becomes painfully clear that the random yeller has never met Mr. Whitaker in his life. All he was doing was trying to be the ‘cool guy’ and impress his friends because not only did he recognize Forest, but he had the balls to yell out his name. I thought that Forest was going to deck him. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to put up with this guy’s bullshit. Forest ended up being the bigger man and walked away, but it got me thinking. When I am rich and famous and powerful, I think I will just knock the shit out of them. I mean, I’ll have the cash to buy my way out of the situation, and the public will learn a powerful lesson: fear celebrities.

Popularity: 1% [?]

im sitting in the den trying to do a few things online and watching jessica and nick on mtv. i dont have cable in dc, so home is a treat with mtv. if i had cable in dc, i wouldnt get a thing done, which is most of the reason that i dont have it.

everyone i know is getting engaged. it’s funny to watch. heather will be engaged soon, which is pretty much my only close friend who is so serious. but my high school boyfriend became engaged to his college girlfriend this holiday, two close sorority friends are married, elisa is married, some friends from dc are married (although theyre in the minority), two of my gay friends are with people they plan to spend their lives with, etc, etc. it makes me a little sad because i dont want to be married this young and i dont really understand why these people do. i feel like theyre going to miss out on more good, independent times. alex and i were laying in bed last night being tired after dinner, and we decided we were going to push-off marriage for as long as possible. i just dont know how im going to live with someone 24/7.

otherwise, life at home in richmond is the same-old. filled with random run-ins, filled with time away from a city. good times.

Popularity: 1% [?]

well, in less than 3 hours, im in a car to dc. then im in dulles for a couple of hours. then im on a plane to portland oregon. im there for 10 days, then im back in la.

even 3 weeks wasnt enough in some respects. i miss parts of richmond. there are people i didnt see (trevor, andru, andrea, goose, susan [surprise. except not.]), things i didnt do (as always). i didnt get enough nice time with my family. but things like living at home are also a bit nutsy and i miss a lot of my routine (and items) that live in la.

i failed to mention my fight the other day with circuit city. i dont have the energy to recount it right now, but i will once we get to portland. i know chris also has a good circuit city story from this holiday season and i hope that he will post his as well. the combo of these two stories should convince you to never shop there ever again. (the item i got for christmas was the first time i have shopped/recommended/asked for something to be purchased there in over 5 years. it is also a mistake i wont repeat again.)

oh fine, ill type it up here and now.

black friday had all sorts of gameboy specials. most came with a free game – circuit city offered mario kart, target offered donkey kong country, toys r us/amazon offered super mario advance 4 (which is just super mario 3 from the nes). i wanted mario kart, so i let my mom know. then i found it on their website. my mom had already trudged up to the cc near our house at about 10am to find them all gone (of course). i called my sister and im-ed with her to share the link i found on circuit city’s site. ordered. whew.

santa brings an envelope on christmas day. i open it and out falls a gameboy. and nothing else. no headphones, no game. oops.

i knew it was going to be a problem, everything with circuit city always is.

i dont open the gameboy and get up at 9am to call circuit city on the 26th. i know form the bottom of my heart this is going to be a super pain in the ass.

i am on hold. and hold. and hold. even though they open the lines at 9am and thats when i call, i wait and wait. finally i get through. and get disconnected. thanks circuit city. i call back. this time my call is routed differently, as i get different hold messages. all with indian accents. finally i get through and get a new number i get to call.

i call and get connected with a woman named diania. i explain that we ordered this package online but they shipped just the gameboy. she imforms me this has happened before and they are probably out of the package. she assures me that i can run down to a store and pick up a game and headphones individually.

she asks for my nearest store and then puts me on hold to call. (time elapsed thus far: 30 minutes.)

she returns to the line, saying she had spoken to the ops manager at the store. oops. it appears that no, we didnt really order the package after all. but being a kind manager, i can have the headphones if i want. i explain patiently that i am sure we ordered the package (or at least were under the impression that we had ordered it from the website) and that i wanted the game.

we go back and forth on this for a while, as i explain that she will be providing me the game.

she tries a number of devices to convince me it was my mistake (things like: it would have shown up on the invoice if we had ordered the correct package [my counter was that it showed up as a gameboy and i wasnt aware what would show up on their receipt], that i searched for the product, which would have not shown the ‘weekly specials’ [i didnt search, i found it through the specials], that they dont list weekly specials on their site for ordering [except that the gameboy had an order button underneath the special]. my favorite part was when she told me i couldnt have found it by clicking online. i explained that i click many things on the web and i didnt remeber how i navigated there. but that she couldnt make sure sweeping statements about how i browsed. anyway, it made more sense we were fighting.) (time elapsed: 50 minutes.)

i ask her to try another store, another manager. she lets me know that she wont call another store and the manager at the store she did call is out. if i am willing to hang up, she will call me back in 24 to 48 hours with an answer. i tell her im leaving town in 48 hours and i want it resolved now. i let her know im not hanging up without my game. she tells me that it wont be two days, only up to 48 hours. i remind her 48 hours is 2 days. she suggests i talk to her supervisor. back on hold i go. (elapsed time: one hour.)

the supervisor, named kurtis, comes on the line. he repeats the same mantra over and over: “im sorry sir, there is nothing we can do.” i remind him there is something he can do, he is choosing not to do it. he offers me a 15 dollar gift certificate and the headphones. i stall more, asking why he wont make me happy. he tells me that this problem has been investigated already and it was my mistake not theirs. i remind him i am certain of the order button and that i know how to use the web. i was not confused as he likes to say. i also would like to point out that if it has been investigated, it means im not the only one complaining.

finally, im about to wear out. he wont stop repeating himself and wont do anything to let me get anywhere. i point out that we are arguing over 15 dollars (they have offered the headphones and 15 dollars, the game is 30). not only 15 dollars, but ive wasted an hour and a half of their time. and mine. i ask him to check another store. back on hold. (elapsed time: 1 hour, 25 minutes)

he returns, saying that the ops manager of the west broad store would honor me. i thank him, collect names and hang up.

a drive across town and i get what i thought had originally been ordered. the upside is that i also got to exchange teh color of my gameboy (as you didnt get to pick in the original package – it came silver). a small reward for massive inconveince.

so thats it. i wasted an hour and a half of my life, plus running all over town, plus not being able to open my present because circuit city fucked up their website and then tried to not honor their deal to me. i fought and i won.

and you can bet dimes to dollars that i will never ever even consider shopping there again. i would love to convince you of the same thing.

and now id like to pass the mic to chris and let him give you round two…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sometimes you’re lucky, lucky enough to realize something for what it is.

Tonight as I readied Reed for bed, he lay gazing up at the light fixture overhead, singing to me his sweet baby lullaby. The lights from above sparkled from his eyes, as though refracted from diamond. Entranced, I stood there listening to this little eighteen-pound troubadour’s song. For a moment, the world had stopped. There was only the innocent string of vowels and consonants flowing off his tongue for my ears to hear, the twinkle of his gazing baby blues for my eyes to see. The father in me leaned over and kissed his soft cheek. Now he is tucked away to sleep and the dark of night has enveloped my family. Those sweet sounds of his voice linger in my ears like a word just spoken. But that twinkling light from his eyes, it stays with me.

There are but a few perfect moments in a lifetime. This was one of them.

Popularity: 1% [?]

this happens to me every year. this time of year, too. surprise. i wonder what held me back before. i fucked this one up good and realize i will probably never have the chance to make things right. but i am determined to be good. i may not deserve better, but i know he does.

news of last night’s drunkenness has been wildly overexaggerated. i drank a good amount and was silly. that’s about it. i did bet trippy he was too much of a p-u-s-s-y to drink 2 flaming vodka shots back-to-back, all the while feeling not unlike an SAE hazer as i watched his chin wobble as he knocked back the second. but i make good on my bets and will have a nice andrew jackson (?) for tripp next time i see him.

now it’s 1.40pm on a lazy saturday afternoon. i have been napping all day and i just ordered a shitload of chinese food. melrose place is on the style network until 3, when a rich girls marathon starts on mtv. mmmm, gluttony.

Popularity: 1% [?]

i’m surprised that tripp has let me get away with not posting in so long. i suppose he’s getting too much of me in person and so doesn’t need more of me online.

ah winter break. its nice to be out of california. i like being somewhere where i need to put another layer on when i go outside.

its been a nice break so far. started to become more relaxed. the first part was a whirlwind of travel in planes and cars. no sense repeating what has already been said, i don’t need to run down other than to add my own impressions. new york was fun. i have now met everyone who posts. it was super kind of mr and mrs chris’ parents to host. after seeing new york briefly it has not been crossed of my list. if i ever did live there it would have to be in or near the city and i would need a long vacation at some point in the year to someplace else. i need my trees.

i really like meeting people that i hear things about because i am so awful with names that i get all stories totally jumbled up in my head. i’m looking forward to tripp being in portland and finally getting to know some of my friends a bit. i think i’m going to miss some people. sequoia is leaving early on which bums me out because i have been waiting for six and a half years to go drinkin with her and she is leaving before my birthday.

i feel substantially more comfortable around tripp’s family than i have in the past. i think they made a real effort to make me feel at home and included. hannukah flag on the front porch, waiting for me to pick and decorate the christmas tree, vegetarian cookbooks in the kitchen and a multitude of other kind gestures.

i have to go finish a puzzle.

Popularity: 1% [?]