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January 1st, 2009

10:38 pm - Here it comes I don't post much anymore, but it being the first day of a new year I thought I ought to collect my thoughts on the past year and spew them in your face. Lydia began working at Logos shortly before the beginning of 2008. We actually forgot that Logos was closed on New Year's day and the WTA buses weren't running, so we actually drove downtown only to remember 'oh yeah, today is a paid holiday.' We remembered today. My mom officially retired from the Air National Guard in March. In April I found out that the FDA would be banning CFC asthma inhalers because a new brand with an "environmentally-friendly" propellant had been released (which just happens to cost 4 times as much as the generic CFC inhalers). Effective today, we have to buy the new HFA inhalers. I'm going to get a new prescription so I can use our new health care provider's mail order service and save a few dollars. As soon as we got our economic stimulus check we tried to buy two new guns, a Remington 870 shotgun and Ruger Bearcat revolver, but I bought a different model Remington than I wanted and waited for months to sell it on consignment and we couldn't find the Bearcat for a reasonable price until just last month. Around June we got a tent and other camping gear and roughed it up on Mount Baker a couple weekends. We also spent a lot of time exploring the different trails and parks around Bellingham and Whatcom county. I bought Lydia an American Girl doll she has wanted since childhood for her birthday in July. I had it delivered to Logos so that I could surprise her, but now I'm getting American Girl catalogs at work. Toward the end of September we moved from our apartment on Northwest Avenue right by the I-5 on-ramp to a bigger, quieter and better laid out apartment off of Old Fairhaven Parkway. It was a little hectic packing, moving, cleaning, changing internet providers and getting rid of the stench of cigarette smoke in the new place, but I think we're pretty well settled in our Hobbit-hole now. We still need to get magazine subscriptions and notify some people of the incorrect street address we gave them when we first moved. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in October by visiting Vancouver, British Columbia and then relaxing for the rest of the week at home. We had planned a more elaborate road trip that would take us to San Diego and back, but with the cost of time and money for moving we opted for something simpler. If anyone is wondering when Lydia and I are going to start having kids, the answer is: Never. I was disappointed with the election results in November. I do not believe in the "hope" of Obama's "change" to subtly redistribute the wealth of productive citizens through new and expanded social programs, particularly state-funded health care. Do you honestly think, like Michael Moore, that Canada's health care is the example we should follow? I am not alone in preparing for an attempt to resurrect the ineffective and flawed Assault Weapon Ban that thankfully expired a few years ago. The snow in December would have been really nice if we could have taken the time off from work to enjoy it. I was so stressed out trying to accomplish so many things in the weeks preceding Christmas that I don't feel like I really got to enjoy the holiday as much as I usually do. I still feel bogged down by the list of things I think I ought to be doing. Maybe this will be the year I really get organizized. Current Location: Fairhaven Current Mood: tired

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October 23rd, 2008

07:50 am - Are you afraid of guns? You're not alone if you are. There are a lot of things to be afraid of and many of them ought to be feared. You could easily fall off of a tall building, so a fear of heights isn't entirely irrational. A man in a ski mask pointing a gun at you could easily shoot and kill, or possibly rape you, so a fear of armed robbers, home invaders and/or dark, deserted alleys and parks isn't entirely irrational. But is there any reason to fear a firearm in and of itself? Not really. In the hands of an evil person, yes, a gun is dangerous. But the fact is that you could take that gun away and put a knife or a steel pipe or a bottle of poison in that same evil person's hand and they would still be dangerous. On its own you are far more likely to injure yourself with an inanimate knife than an inanimate gun. While writing this ask yourself how many times you have accidentally cut yourself and how many times you have accidentally shot yourself. The only purpose of a gun is to kill people. That is simply not true. Yes, guns can and are used to end human lives, but they are used for many other purposes. The first and most obvious is hunting, either for sport or sustenance. Guns are also used in defense against aggressive animals. A firearm is the fasted, safest and most humane way to put down any animal infected with rabies (think Cujo). If you're hiking with no intention to hunt down and kill an animal, but are suddenly confronted by a bear or mountain lion, you are not going to be able to call the police and have them show up with their guns in time to save you. Another perfectly valid and legal reason to use a gun is for sport, target and competition shooting. Did you see the Olympics this summer? Have you ever actually visited a firing range? If you get over your initial fear of firearms you might just discover what literally hundreds of millions of people around the world have already found out; shooting guns is fun. You don't need to superimpose the face of your boss or enemy on the target or fear for your life to have a good time slinging some lead. Many ranges have firearms which you can rent at very reasonable prices, so you don't have to go out and buy a gun before trying out this immensely popular sport. So why are so many people afraid of guns? There are lots of reasons, but hoplophobia is primarily caused by negative and inaccurate portrayals in media, ignorance about the actual mechanics of firearms contributing to a supernatural mystique and inability to control and punish violent behavior in humans. I own a movie in which a semi-automatic rifle is given the sound effects of a pump-action shotgun (clack-clack, boom!). Coincidentally, this "shotgun" was being used to kill cute, little puppies (the movie is Equilibrium, watch it before you assume that I just like to watch animals being killed for no reason). In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling, in keeping with predominant British thought on firearms, describes a gun as "a kind of metal wand that Muggles [non-magical people] use to kill each other". This not only ascribes some sort of magical power to firearms, but dismisses their non-violent use. Maybe if fewer people in Great Britain thought like J.K. Rowling does they would have more talent to draw from and brought home some more gold medals for their country from Beijing. The 1994 ban on "assault weapons" in the United States showed that legislators are some of the most ignorant people when it comes to real-life firearms, despite the fact that their bodyguards and security likely used some of weapons they were attempting to ban. Many of the features banned had nothing to do with the function of the firearm, but were purely cosmetic. A pistol grip does not make a rifle fully automatic, but allows legislators to ban anything that looks like an M-16 or AK-47. A barrel shroud does not make a pistol more accurate or powerful, but allows legislators to ban anything that looks like a TEC-9. Being limited to having 10 rounds in a magazine didn't stop Seung-Hui Cho from killing 32 people; he simply reloaded again and again. Heaping more and more legislation onto law-abiding citizens is not going to reduce violent crime. Do you honestly expect a bank robber to obey the speed limit while they make their getaway? Why would you expect a suicidal murderer to opt for a knife instead of a handgun because of stricter gun laws? The bottom line is that we cannot stop violence. As long as people have free will there will always be some who choose to harm and kill others. That is simply a fact of life. Passing laws to limit legal access to possible means of violence does not prevent violent behavior. Human ingenuity will most often discover to way to achieve a desired result. If someone wants to kill a lot of people you are not going to stop them from doing so by taking away their guns. Educating and training people about firearms would reduce the occurrence of accidental deaths and more accountability for negligence would protect the rights of trust-worthy, law-abiding gun owners. If you've fired a gun and don't care for it, that's fine, but don't turn around and try to take away the constitutional right of protection as well as sport in firearms that I and millions of others value. You will not succeed. Current Mood: awake

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May 25th, 2008

12:09 pm - That time of year (long post) The average temperature is rising. Female clothing is becoming less and less appropriate for public. The smell of charcoal and burning fat wafts through the air. It must be summer, or getting close to it. It's time to start thinking about barbecues, swimming, fishing and camping. Seasoned steaks, bratwurst, potato salad, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon, fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, pop, marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers (getting hungry yet?), swimsuits, Crocs (the new flip-flops), sunscreen, aloe vera, towels (Towelie says, don't forget to bring a towel!), tackle boxes, lures, jigs, bait, hooks, poppers, swivels, 10-pound line, poles, reels, boats, motors, tents, tarps, sleeping bags, fire wood, flashlights and, of course, campsite reservations. As the summer months draw close and I look ahead to having fun with my wife, I can't help but look back at summers past and reflect on all the moments worth reliving. Last year Lydia was just finishing school. She had moved into a little house on E Street at the beginning of May, had gotten a job at Fred Meyer on Bakerview and was concerned about what was in store after graduation. I was working, saving up vacation time for a honeymoon, clearing some more in my apartment for another person to start living there and spending much of my free time playing video games. I remember one afternoon, in particular, when I was talking on the phone with Lydia while she was visiting her parents and I was explore a new county park trail, thinking about how much I'd like to get the .22 single-action revolver that Lydia and I just ordered (after the phone call, not while talking to Lydia). We were also both putting time and energy into planning our wedding that would be only a few months off on October 20th. Of course, that would never have happened without what happened the summer before that. Two summers ago I had only been back in Bellingham for about half a year. Only a day or two after I'd been back the FBC College Group hosted a murder mystery dinner about Rock N. Roley, based on a game by Canada Games Company, the same company that marketed Pogs and went out of business when everyone stopped caring about them. In those months I had been sitting aside as much money from my paychecks as I could to buy a very special ring. I remember walking up to Western from Sehome Village, talking to my parents on the phone about the new jeans I'd just bought from Wal*Mart, going to meet Lydia on campus after class and thinking about which brands of rifles I'd like to get in which calibers some day. Lydia was taking some summer classes, still living on Garden Street and working at Cresswell Boggs downtown on Railroad. I talked to her father just before our friends Kris and Lawrence were married and proposed on July 28th, just after our other friends Megan and Gabe Andaluz were married, in Zuanich Point Park just after sunset. We spent the rest of that summer ordering wedding bands, reading marriage counseling books and brainstorming ideas for our ceremony. The summer before that I was getting ready to graduate. I had failed two math classes that were required for my Bachelor of Science in Mathematics degree (though I had walked in the spring commencement ceremony), so I changed my major to Bachelor of Arts in General Studies, took three upper division classes in the six-week summer session and graduated in August of 2005, though my last class ended July 27th and my lease would expire at the end of that month. I had not found a job yet, so I moved back in with my parents. I had just started going out with a girl named Lydia on December 27th of the previous year and the time apart was hard for us. It was much easier when we were both at Western, but she had gone back to live with her parents for the summer after moving out of Nash Hall. When I went back to live with my folks we would be a little closer (mine in Puyallup, hers in Kent), especially when I took a couple temp jobs at Meteor Communications near Kent, but after she went back to Western in the fall I would be motivated to find a job in Bellingham and establish myself there in order to propose. I won't go into as much detail for preceding years, but before that I worked as a counselor at Camp Arnold (after my junior year), before that as a counselor at Fircreek Day Camp (after my sophomore year) and before that I stayed with my parents and volunteered for a week for an armed service family camp (after my freshman year). Well, Lydia's awake now, so I'd better go entertain her. Current Location: Bellingham, WA Current Mood: nostalgic Current Music: Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do

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April 24th, 2008

09:12 am - Environmentalists don't care about asthma sufferers First, let me explain asthma. It's basically a condition which, when triggered by certain antigens such as cigarette smoke, pollen or pet dander, causes the parts of the lungs that absorb oxygen from the air you breathe to stop working. This is a potentially fatal reaction that is treated by administering a drug, most often albuterol and usually in the form of an inhaled mist, that causes the lungs to resume absorbing oxygen. Most people diagnosed with asthma carry a small, portable albuterol inhaler in the event that they suffer a sudden, debilitating asthma attack. The entire purpose of this device is to quickly deliver the drug that will allow the victim to breathe again. In 1987, the United States participated in the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to stop the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a compound shown to deplete the ozone-layer, which leads to increased solar radiation reaching the Earth. Sounds like a good idea, right? For the most part, it was. CFCs weren't really necessary for most purposes, exactly albuterol inhalers. To ensure that asthma patients wouldn't be left without the means to treat their condition in the event of an asthma attack, the American Lung Association (ALA) made asthma inhalers exempt from the ban. In the time since the ban, inhaler manufacturers have researched new delivery systems to replace the CFC-spewing, ozone-destroying inhaler that I and many others carry in their pockets. The result, an albuterol inhaler that uses hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) instead of CFC and doesn't effect the ozone-layer. So everything is fine, right? Not quite. The functionality of these HFA inhalers in comparison to the old CFC system has been brought into question. Shouldn't we make sure we're giving asthma suffers equally effective inhalers before we ban their old ones? In addition to the questionable functionality, the new inhalers require more care than the old ones, needing to be rinsed and dried all day or overnight when they get clogged, which they do more frequently than CFC inhalers because HFA doesn't propel the mist as forcefully as CFC, causing more to build up in the inhaler and clog it. What happens if you have an asthma attack while your HFA inhaler is drying? Hope you have a back-up or you're out of luck. Another consideration is the price. HFA inhalers cost, on average, even with medical insurance, twice to three times as much as CFC inhalers. That means the budget of poor families with children suffering from asthma will get a little tighter after December 31, 2008. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided, despite the lack of any definitive proof that CFC asthma inhalers produce enough of the compound to effect the ozone-layer, that HFA inhalers are good enough for asthma victims and have set a ban to complete eliminate the sale of CFC inhalers after December 31, 2008. Unless this changes, every person who has a CFC inhaler will have to (1) get a new prescription for an HFA inhaler as existing CFC prescriptions cannot simply carry over to HFA, (2) buy two or more inhalers at a time to ensure continued protection during cleaning (3) pay at least twice as much for those two or more inhalers, and (4) pray that the HFA inhalers perform as their manufacturers claim when they are really needed. Current Mood: aggravated

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April 19th, 2008

11:45 pm - Is man an ape or an angel? I just saw Ben Stein's documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed and found it quite fascinating and thought-provoking. To start with, if you want to label me as an ignorant conservative Christian, please do so and don't bother commenting. I've wasted enough time arguing about issues with people who misinterpret or outright manipulate definitions and ideas. I don't need another Icelandic girl telling me that weather systems are not subject to the laws of physics because we humans cannot accurately predict them. One important point that Stein and other raised is that if an idea or theory is true, then those presenting it should not fear criticism. If you have such little confidence in your beliefs that you flee or lash out at anyone who questions your position, then you need to reevaluate your standing (this is true of all beliefs, scientific, politic, religious, etc.). This is why anyone considering Scientology should examine how the "Church" responds to any form of criticism, with threats of litigation. Another interesting concept Stein presented is that the idea of Intelligent Design is not the same as Creationism. Creationism is the concept that the Judea-Christian God of the Bible created the universe and all life in it. Intelligent Design is merely the idea that a more intelligent and powerful entity or entities created life on this planet. Even Richard Dawkins presents a form of ID in his argument that God doesn't exist. You can ascribe to ID if you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or even if you believe life on this planet came from aliens. All Intelligent Design proposes is that some force directed the formation of organic life. The last issue that I really found interesting was discussing the complexity of animal cells, particularly DNA. To this day, the existence of DNA remains for me one of the most deciding evidences of Intelligent Design. The genetic code in DNA means nothing without the means to decipher and translate it. The possibility of both these encoding and decoding systems randomly forming from jumbled bits of amino acids leads me to seek an answer that doesn't depend on mathematical impossibility. If I were to randomly see a kanji character written on a wall without knowing what it was, I might be able to simply disregard it as a random splotch of ink, but if I were to open a Japanese novel and see hundreds of these characters on a page, all lined up and duplicated numerous times, I would have no choice but to admit that it was a result of intelligence. Current Location: A Free Country Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: The Beatles - Happiness Is A Warm Gun Tags: evolution, intelligent design

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April 12th, 2008

09:58 am - April is child abuse Note to self: 100% completion of Grand Theft Auto III not as deeply fulfilling as expected. We finally get some good barbecuing weather while I've got some bratwursts and potato salad, and I go and catch a cold. Waspinator has a headache in his whole body. Last Friday I had some bad pork and felt like I was going to throw up for the better part of the weekend. This is not being a good month for Ryan. Current Location: Where the wild things are Current Mood: sick Current Music: Queen - You're My Best Friend

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March 14th, 2008

08:58 am - This day In Japan (or at least in anime, I'm not certain about the real Japan), March 14th is White Day, a kind of sister holiday to Valentine's Day on February 14th. On White Day men (and sometimes women) buys presents, typically white-colored candy or non-consumables, in return for chocolates received on Valentine's Day (which women usually give to men). March 14th is also Pi Day, a celebration recognizing the fist three numbers in the irrational number representing the ratio between any circle's circumference and diameter. This holiday is usually observed by consuming pie, a homophone of the common English pronunciation of the Greek letter π (though in Greek the letter is pronounced more like "pee", so you can probably see why pie is a better means of celebrating). For anyone interested, the exact value of the mathematical pi is four times the sum from n equals zero to infinity of negative one to the nth power divided by 2n (two times n) plus one. There are also a number of famous people born on this day. The first and most widely known is physicist Albert Einstein (born 1879). Einstein's famous, but often misunderstood, equation from his theory of relativity has virtually nothing to do with the inevitability of witnessed future events as supposed by Arnold Rimmer after seeing what he believed to be a vision of shipmate David Lister dying while traveling faster than the speed of light, but instead states the relationship between energy and mass, claiming that any object's energy is equal to the product of that object's mass multiplied by the constant speed of light (299,792,458 meters [take that, Limies!] per second) squared. March 14th is also the birthday of actor Billy Crystal (born 1948). Crystal is possibly most well known for his appearances on Saturday Night Live and classic roles as Harry Burns in When Harry Met Sally… and Mitch Robbins in City Slickers as well as many other roles, including Miracle Max in The Princess Bride. This is also the birthday of [Jordan] Taylor Hanson (born 1983) from the band Hanson. An interesting fact about Taylor Hanson is that he married his then-girlfriend when she was three months pregnant with their first child. Today is also the day I turn a quarter-century old. Now I can rent a Ferrari! Current Location: Bellingham, WA Current Mood: recumbent Current Music: Hanson - MMMBop

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February 26th, 2008

08:36 am - Wake up It's awfully hard to wake someone up in the morning when they look so cute asleep. Current Location: In bed Current Mood: awake Current Music: Van Morrison - Moondance

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February 24th, 2008

04:57 pm - My conversation with my wife this morning Her: What am I doing sitting up here? Me: I dunno, ask the bear. Her: Bear, what am I doing sitting up here? Me: Raaaarrr! Her: The bear is useless. Current Location: In bed Current Mood: amused Current Music: Gap Band - You Dropped a Bomb on Me

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February 6th, 2008

10:27 pm - Who is this guy? From what I can tell, some guy named [unspecified person] put the [unspecified document] for [unspecified object] in his name sometime in [unspecified time] or [unspecified time]. I stopped receiving [unspecified documents] in [unspecified time] and received [unspecified document] from [unspecified group] for around [unspecified amount]. In [unspecified time] I received a photocopy of [unspecified document] for [unspecified object] through [unspecified time] from [unspecified group] with the [unspecified part] containing the [unspecified information] and [unspecified information] missing (not photocopied), which I [unspecified action]. Today I received [unspecified document] from [unspecified group] telling me to [unspecified action] in my name or they would allow [unspecified group] to discontinue [unspecified service] to [unspecified object]. Along with [unspecified document] was [unspecified document] of another [unspecified document] for [unspecified object] from the middle of [unspecified time] to [unspecified time], this time containing [unspecified information] and [unspecified information], though it was not my [unspecified information], nor the same [unspecified information] I had before [unspecified time]. Obviously I will [unspecified action] the [unspecified total] for [unspecified time], but who would put someone else's [unspecified document] in their [unspecified information] if they didn't intend to [unspecified action] it? I'm sure it is a misunderstanding, but isn't that something you would notice right away, getting an [unspecified document] for someplace that's not your [unspecified object]? [Entry edited to [unspecified action] the [unspecified information] of the [unspecified adjective].] Current Location: Bellingham, WA Current Mood: irritated Current Music: The Wind

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January 19th, 2008

07:57 pm - Left turn, eh? I have seen some pretty ridiculous vehicular maneuvers from British Columbian drivers (drastically speeding up and slowing down for no reason on the interstate, suddenly changing lanes or turning without signaling and other negligent and/or reckless behavior) but what Lydia and I saw Thursday evening beats anything I have or probably ever will see as far as stupid driving goes. We were walking home from Logos Bible Software, headed northbound on the west side of Cornwall Ave. We reached the intersection of Cornwall Ave and Ohio St/Halleck St where we waited for the crosswalk light to change to "Walk". Just as the light changed, before we could start walking we noticed movement coming toward us from the intersection. A car with "Beautiful British Colombia" license plates was driving from Ohio St directly at us, diagonally across the intersection. We stepped back from the curb and sure enough the Canadian driver drove right up the curb ramp, over the sidewalk and into the parking lot behind us. As they drove slowly by us standing dumbstruck on the sidewalk, we noticed that the occupants were an elderly couple. I can't be entirely certain, but I'm pretty sure I saw the women in the passenger seat throw her arms up in exasperated surrender, though she may have simply been upset that the old man didn't use his turn signal while executing such a move. I don't even know what kind of traffic violation to classify that as. One thing is certain though: Washington sidewalks are no longer safe while the Canadian border remains open. Current Location: Cornwall Ave and Ohio St Current Mood: confused Current Music: James Taylor - You've Got a Friend

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December 15th, 2007

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October 10th, 2007

02:37 am - High Threat Gamers Rumors circulate that "video game and school shooting expert" Jack Thompson will soon be turning his attention to Nintendo after discovering that in the 1996 game Super Mario 64, the main character, Mario, picks up Bob-ombs (explosive devices with cartoonish eyes designed to desensitize children) and hurls them with little or no regard to the well-being of surrounding persons or property. "Mario," claims Thompson, "is an electronic version of Emperor Hirohito and the spearhead behind Japan's 'Pearl Harbor 2', a clandestine campaign to corrupt the youth of America." According to Thompson, we should expect to see massive bombings throughout the country in imitation of Mario's blatant disregard for law and order. "It doesn't stop with bombings," continues Thompson, "in his games, Mario advocates arson, reckless driving and assault with household objects such as fans and hammers." When reminded that the game was released over a decade ago, Thompson fervently replied, "Gamers cannot and will not give up their addictions. They will continue to play these same games the rest of their lives." Thompson initially lobbied to ban Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo 64, but redirected his efforts when informed that none of them games are currently in production, nor is the system, having been phased out with the introduction of Nintendo's GameCube in 2001, itself phased out of production in 2006 by Nintendo's seventh generation system, the Wii. Thompson is reported planning to sue Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for corrupting America's youth by desensitizing children to violence at a younger age with the intention of causing mass rioting and chaos to destabilize the United States' infrastructure in order to make America more susceptible to invasion by the Japanese military. Current Location: here Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster

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October 9th, 2007

12:53 am - I am not making this up In the state of Massachusetts, for all legal purposes, pepper spray is considered "ammunition" and subject to all restrictions that apply to firearms (Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 140: Section 121). To legally carry pepper spray in the state of Massachusetts you must possess either a Firearm Identification card or License-To-Carry. Only residents of Massachusetts can obtain an FID card, so any non-resident much obtain an LTC. The application fee for an LTC is one hundred dollars and not refundable. In summation, if I wanted to carry pepper spray for self-defense in Boston, I would have to pay $100 for a one-year license. How gay is that? Current Location: Washington Current Mood: pissed off Current Music: Cheers theme song

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October 1st, 2007

12:40 am - Why not celebrate every day with cake? All right, I realize this is my third post in 24 hours and at least the third time I've listened to this song while posting, but before my last couple posts, I hadn't updated in nearly three months, so maybe I have to make up for it or maybe I just can't sleep or something. Two years ago in October, just two months after I had graduated from WWU, I quit my job at Safeway before being forced to join their union in order to continue my employment. I then visited Bellingham and had the left front tire of my car popped by a piece of sheet metal that flew out of the back of a pickup truck driving in front of me on I-5. I had my car towed back to Bellingham and had the tire replaced the next day. This was also when Lawrence told me about the Book Designer position at Logos. I submitted my resumé when I got home and six months later was offered a job in Bellingham. Tonight, Lydia and I finally made the German chocolate cake we've been meaning to for the better part of the week, ever since we got a hand mixer (well, two of them actually) from Lydia's first bridal shower. It actually turned into a triple-layer cake because we wound up with so much batter, so I might have to take some to work to share. Perhaps I can dedicate it to the celebration of Oktoberfest, which my sister will be celebrating in Leavenworth for her honeymoon (which is why she is getting married on a Tuesday if anyone is still curious). I still can't help but think about all the charms of Bellingham I never discovered during my four years as a Western student. Before I started working at Logos I had never been to the Teriyaki Bar downtown, visited Whatcom Creek, looked out over the city from the Sehome Hill observation tower or visited Elizabeth Park (which, for anyone who hasn't seen it, is located right around the Elm/Dupont St and Broadway intersection and definitely worth investigating). I love that this city still has hidden treasures to find, especially in all its little parks. There are also a few new additions, such as the fancy, new crosswalks on E Holly St downtown. I also noticed a while ago when I visited Western's campus again that the old bus stop across from the Viking Commons had finally been removed and a lot of the surrounding ground that had usually been dirt and mud was covered with new brick. There's also the new education or whatever building they're constructing on South Campus. I also kind of want to get into Higginson Hall just to check out the renovations. Sometimes I wish I had spent less time playing Starcraft/Shogun Total War/Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and more time exploring this city. Current Location: Bellingham, WA Current Mood: calm Current Music: ELO - Don't Bring Me Down

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September 30th, 2007

07:17 pm - Oktoberfest Good gravy. It will be October tomorrow. This means three things. One, Fall Quarter has just started at Western Washington University. Herds of freshman moved into their new residences on Saturday and Sunday last week and began attending class on Wednesday. Do you remember the feeling? Registration, moving-in, buying books and supplies, adjusting to new roommates, eating in the dining hall for the first time, going to new classes and finally having a whole two days of leisure time (maybe) in a new town where you barely know anyone? It can be a bit overwhelming, and if any Western freshmen are reading this, you aren't alone in feeling lonely and homesick. Many, including myself, have felt the same thing and many are feeling exactly how you are now. It will be okay. I actually kind of dove into learning something new on Wednesday myself, a new programing language and IDE (Integrated Development Environment, not Integrated Drive Electronics, another computer-related acronym) application at work, so I was relieved when the weekend came. Second, Lydia and I are getting married in 20 days. This is both exciting and somewhat intimidating, as marriage is a very large and life-altering decision. Most of the planning and preparation is taken care of, but I'm sure more issues than I could imagine will arise a day or two before. We just got Lydia's getaway dress and cash for the marriage license fee. It's really feeling real now. Third, Halloween is coming. Visions of caramel apples and popcorn balls keep running through my head. The Great Pumpkin and Charlie Brown, Garfield and a band of pirate ghosts. I remember last year when Lydia and I decorated with construction paper and paper lanterns and I got a tarp to cover my bicycles on my balcony, but the wind ripping the little mounting screws out of the wood, so I had to bungee chord the tarp around the corner railing to cover just the bikes, not the whole balcony. I even dressed up as a ninja for any trick-or-treaters that came by, but only a small group of about five kids showed up. Well, I think Lydia needs attention now, so I'm going to go tickle her. P.S. My sister is also getting married in two days. I suppose that's significant. Current Location: Wal-Mart Current Mood: drunk Current Music: Jackson Browne - Just a Little Bit Longer

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03:50 pm - Change The new milk jug at Costco makes it more difficult to drink directly from the jug :( Current Location: here Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: The Guess Who - Won't Get Fooled Again

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September 25th, 2007

09:16 pm - You can't use ketchup for blood transfusions because it has a different pH Classes start at Western tomorrow. This is the first time I have been in Bellingham and not participated in the Info Fair/Red Square Days. I still feel a slight urge to go back-to-school shopping (maybe buy some new jeans and shoes), but the demands of saving for a honeymoon are greater than the minor nostalgia for the smell of new plastic from binders and fresh wood from pencils. Spanish still does not make any sense to me. Our new toaster is no longer cherry. I wanna hear some funky Dixieland, Pretty mama, come and take me by the hand. Current Location: here Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: The Doobie Brothers - Black Water

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June 28th, 2007

10:27 pm - The End of an Era I'm making an obscene amount of chili. The Blood Gulch Chronicles is ending after five seasons. I remember when I watched my first episode. Gabe sent me the link when I was living in Edens Hall room 420 with Andrew Behler. Wedding planning is overwhelming. I might have to go for a walk. I have too many lists. I still don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. Current Location: Bellingham, WA Current Mood: pensive Current Music: Mr. Mister - Broken Wings

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June 12th, 2007

09:19 pm - The Subtle Connection I just finished reading the sixth Harry Potter book, Half-Blood Prince. Lydia finished reading it two years ago during a family reunion in Minnesota. I wouldn't want to live in Minnesota because it's too far away from the ocean. The difference between the worlds of Tatooine and Manaan in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic illustrate the drastic difference between oceanfront and landlocked areas. Current Location: Kashyyyk Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: ELO - Don't Bring Me Down

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