Saturday, February 15th, 2003
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11:37 pm
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Thursday, January 23rd, 2003
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11:07 am
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To sum up.
The slow move is the way to go. Rather than doing everything over a weekend like a normal person, we've been lucky enough to have nearly half a month to move. Well, sort of. Our favorite deaf Romanian refugee landlord keeps pushing our move out date closer. We've decided to make a stink if our deposit refund is less than satisfactory. Until we find that out, he'll be at the apartment doing minor jobs here and there until we either move out, get tired of finding plaster on anything that we haven't taken to the new place, can't stand the paint fumes, have to use the bathroom, etc. His tact is out shined only by his terrible handyman skills. Landlords. The Fiesta has been hollowed out (excluding the driver's seat, of course), thus allowing me to actually fit things in it. The fun part is watching the expressions of amazement on other peoples faces as I pull, say, a dresser out of the back of the thing. No smoke and mirrors here, folks. The new place is both very cute and very expensive. It's one of those bungalow type things in a complex that is 3/4 bungalow, 1/4 motel style studios. To our left is Hal (a.k.a. "The Doctor") and Phyllis. Phyllis is senile and has been known to wander into peoples houses. We've been told to lock our doors. At the end of the complex is a drug house. Why, just two nights ago we caught the tail end of a bust, helicopters and all. Unfortunately, the place is still occupied and the traffic continues. We've been told to bolt our doors. A few weeks ago, I received a flyer in the mail from Dr. Donnica saying the following:
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Blindness? Kidney failure? Impotence? Amputation? Stroke?
What is it going to take to get you to take your diabetes seriously? What are you waiting for? You've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and haven't done anything about it yet?Maybe the list above might help you to break down the wall of denial you've built up around yourself and your condition.
Let's back up. The last type I went to a doctor was to get shots for school. So, naturally, I was a little shocked to find this flyer in a 1st class envelope addressed to me ( I think I might have let out a yelp upon reading the thing).
Must move crap now. I'll be without cable and internet connection for about a week. I hope I'll survive.
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(4 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Wednesday, January 1st, 2003
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3:57 am
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Thursday, December 5th, 2002
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12:42 pm
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As much as it pains me to say it, I was wrong, everybody else was right. I waited too long to file for unemployment, now I'm fucked. At present, I have roughly $200 in the bank and the first check won't be coming in for another 2-3 weeks. Also, due to government logic, the first week of claimable unemployment benefits are actually not claimable. It seems to be taxable, however. I don't know, it's hard to make sense of it. At any rate, the result is a short rent check, unpaid bills, no money to move, living off others like an angry, parasitic lump with a promising career in pencil whittling.
The thing that really bugs me is this ridiculous outlook that I've gained. I feel exactly like I did 10 years ago. I'm like a little brat of a teenager boiling with attitude and rage and a deeply self centered depression whining about how everything is shit because the world is out to get me, all without the benefit of knowing that my mood is perfectly normal and, therefore, somewhat excusable. I'm a melodramatic suck-hole. What I need to do is shut off that part of my brain, or at least push it out of the way and call it Chinatown, so I can Get Shit Done and everything will be happy and mellow again.
All in all, I suppose it could be worse. I could be at the Travelodge.
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(3 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Tuesday, December 3rd, 2002
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3:07 pm
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odraduck: Bork Bork nervalienne: Darsjke Dee ze Schokolade Mousse! odraduck: I posted an angry rant on a design message board. odraduck: I'm so ashamed. nervalienne: What sort of angry rant? odraduck: (regarding some guy's super-hip portfolio) 12/4/2002 >> Looks great. Looks really great. The problem that I have with it is that it looks just like every other designers' site. Everybody seems to have hooked their claws into the same style, so much that I can scarcely tell the difference between any of them, leaving me both disappointed and unemployed because I'd rather do something a little unusual. Sorry for the rant, I'm just a little bothered by the lack of ingenuity out there. Brandon Sowers odraduck: I would have gone on, but I was limited to 450 characters nervalienne: Hmmm. Hopefully he doesn't work at a local company with openings. :) odraduck: I think he's in Sweden. They're all in Sweden. odraduck: Bork bork.
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(1 poke | poke me in the eye)
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Monday, December 2nd, 2002
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9:15 am
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In last night's dream I remember seeing my neighbors dressed up as Colonel Sanders and Darth Vader.
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(3 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Saturday, November 30th, 2002
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2:26 pm
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How to get rid of door to door sales jerks if you're too much of a wuss to say Piss Off.
Keep a form that looks like it's from the EDD by the door. Wait for sales jerk to finish talking. Hold up said form and point out how odd it is that he/she would ask for money when "it just so happens" that you just received your first unemployment file and are, sadly, "dirt poor".
In other news, it looks like apartment hell may not be avoided.
Trying, with no success, to not be a big stinking nihilist, Brandon
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(1 poke | poke me in the eye)
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Friday, November 29th, 2002
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1:21 pm
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Monday, November 25th, 2002
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2:33 pm
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I'm now waiting for my first unemployment stuff.
It's difficult to shrink a 6 minute video clip into a decent size, say, under 35 mb.
Windy as hell.
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(3 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Saturday, November 23rd, 2002
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10:47 pm
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Wednesday, November 20th, 2002
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1:39 pm
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Wednesday, November 13th, 2002
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1:28 pm
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A woman enters the Diedrich's patiofrom Wendy's carrying a tray with a carton of chili and a medium beverage. She hears the birds twittering and throws a cracker on the ground. A dog barks at the far end of the patio. "Go home Black Dog, go home." The dog, who is not black, rather, it's a golden retriever, barks again. "Drive yourself home, Black Dog, go home". This dialogue continues for a bit until she finishes her carton of chili and medium beverage and leaves as shrouded in mystery as she was when she strolled onto the patio, bumping into any chair she could.
Now, there's a completely different story for that exchange. I've decided that if I'm unable to get a job and end up homeless, I'll have to be a loon and understand what exactly that other story is.
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(2 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Monday, November 11th, 2002
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2:15 pm
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2:14 pm
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Friday, November 8th, 2002
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12:17 am
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Day 78. Still no sign of job. Down to last bits of shoe leather. Travelodge clerks circle overhead. A few bits of art have been made. No flash since the crash.
Perhaps it's time to start collecting unemployment.
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(6 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Monday, October 28th, 2002
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5:00 pm
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Thursday, October 17th, 2002
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12:50 pm
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Red (who suddenly developed strep) and I will be heading up north as soon as she gets off from work. My mother would like to have some kind of fun on Saturday, possibly taking the ferry into the city. All interested, Bay Area parties are welcome to join us. You have our numbers.
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(5 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Wednesday, September 4th, 2002
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3:10 pm
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Watching the tube yesterday, which I've probably been doing too much of, I noticed that seeing the word September followed by a digit that isn't 11 seemed so very strange.
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(1 poke | poke me in the eye)
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Monday, August 26th, 2002
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3:33 pm
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So I've been able to look at this as a good thing. First, I did actually want some time off. I've been rather stressed lately, not just work stuff, but with my mother moving away and realizing that I'm an adult, I've been wanting some time off to collect myself. Certivo was getting scary anyway. Making graphics for Ashcroft didn't make me feel too terribly comfortable. I had actually written an anonymous letter to the CEO laying out my various opinions on the whole deal last Monday. On the way home I had a minor anxiety attack which augmented my sour feelings. My days there were numbered, the lay-off just kind of did the work for me (and allowed me to get a severance check). Finally, I really wanted to do something a little more than what Certivo was providing. Sure that sounds snooty but I'd really like to make pretty pretty graphics that don't involve brushed metal and that terrible eggplant color. I know that any job will have a thing that makes me feel ill, but it's nice to imagine a kind of design Xanadu (but without the roller skates). Also, the buzzwords were stealing my soul (though I really doubt I can avoid that in this profession).
At any rate, I'm pretty sure I can survive for a while. Thanks for your concern, it's muchly appreciated.
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(poke me in the eye)
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Thursday, August 22nd, 2002
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7:06 pm
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10:34 am
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Monday, August 19th, 2002
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8:45 am
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Guy on cell phone behind me in line orders, quite loudly, before his turn. It was then that he shared his wisdom with everybody regarding the toll road: People don't see the Beauty of The Road, they just see the dollar sign.
Thank you, guy on cell phone that disregarded the queue system. For you have shown me the way. You have shown me... the Beauty of The Road.
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(5 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Monday, August 12th, 2002
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10:30 pm
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Mom and cat in Mill Valley. View was amazing. Uhaul was too big. Stairs weren't fun. Feeling a bit weird about it all. More later.
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(3 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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Wednesday, August 7th, 2002
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9:47 am
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Last night's dream:
I'm working from home on the Photoshop 7. Because it's a new version, I have trouble finding the layers palette. After an exhausting search, I give up and decide that having a cigarette in the backyard would be swell. On the patio table, next to my smokes, is the damned layers palette. Sneaky little bastard.
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(1 poke | poke me in the eye)
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Thursday, August 1st, 2002
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12:51 pm
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Flash seems to have a sense of humor. So I'm minding my own business, making a mask layer for a Gawd-Awful animation, when I notice that I'm out of ram and flash is, er, twitching. After I reboot and start up the program, I see that my mask layer runs longer than the rest of the movie. Anywhere between 60 and 100 thousand frames longer. By far the best Flash glitch I've ever seen.
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(poke me in the eye)
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11:55 am
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2002
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3:29 pm
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I will not go bonkers on company time. I will not go bonkers on company time. I will not go bonkers on company time. I will not go bonkers on company time. ...
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(5 pokes | poke me in the eye)
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9:05 am
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All morning I've had the "Off with his head, man" bit of Paranoid Android stuck in my head. Just that 2 second bit on repeat in me noggin. I'll not call it an omen just yet.
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(poke me in the eye)
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Thursday, July 25th, 2002
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7:12 am
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Monday, July 22nd, 2002
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3:43 pm
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