Birthday in the 'Water' Park

My Saturday was spent at Samuel P. Taylor State Park which is about 15 miles west of San Rafael. The place was full of redwoods and a small creek that many families were swimming in. I was there because my friend asked me to go with her to a birthday celebration that was being held there today. Normally I do not take part in a party full of strangers but I made an exception, and I'm glad I did. I had a lot of fun. I met a lot of new 'comrades' there who were inquisitive about my college career (they spotted the CAL logo on my shorts). I hiked a bit and had some hot dogs. But one of the best events was the water fight that I had with a 7 year old boy and a 9 year old girl. These two kids were quite stubborn and vicious. In their darkest of the battle, they loaded their buckets full of mud and rocks to throw at me. Lucky for them I am more mature than that....................I only threw the rocks(j/k)



Now Playing Star Trek III: The Search for Spock by James Horner

Sparing the Fares

The BART was completely free today so I was able to save $11.80 on my travels. The freebie came as a courtesy through the Spare the Air program that pays for the Bay Area to ride for free on the public transportation system.

It is sort of outrageous that these free days are so seldom. The idea is reduce the amount of pollutants in the air by reducing the drivers on the road, but when someone like me has to pay $11.80 a day to commute ala BART, why not just do the driving and save some time. There are days and obstacles that do not allow me to drive everywhere, but if these programs are a bit serious about their pollution concern, them maybe they should organize a Spare the High Fare program that may encourage more people to ride the rails.


Now Playing Sinbad: Legend of the High Seas by Harry Gregson-Williams
*Excellent score. Epic.

The Small Things

I am feeling very serene today. I think its because this weekend was very good to me, even if nothing too extraordinary had happened.

There was my 'casual' friend who I met on Friday for some drinks at a bar and a movie afterwards (A Scanner Darkly). Saturday there was basketball, a birthday party, a poker game, and a potential plan for a vacation. Today, I had my weekly lunch with a friend at Quiznos. Played witness not to one, but two arrests. Practiced some archery in GGP with the CB's, and then ditched them afterwards to enjoy a steak dinner with D. Also, and very notably, I received a charming reply from 'Jail' containing several xoxo's:)

.....Silly boy, I am.


Now Playing X-Men: The Last Stand by John Powell

The Late Shift

It was the first late shift I've had at work in awhile. I liked it a lot. The pace was calmer and the people were friendlier. Maybe I am a night person after all. We'll see.


Now Playing the Charlie's Angels Soundtrack

Tuesday Night Basketball

We had sixteen people show up tonight for pick-up basketball at the HA. The games were played really well. There was no arguing, no fighting, and no disrespect. Everyone came just to play the game.
This Tuesday night basketball tradition has been going strong for almost two years now. The year prior to that we had to beg people to show. Most of the time it was just V and I playing one on one. It is so nice now, and even a bit honoring that we consistently have at least fifteen people who want to play in a game that I organize every Tuesday night. I hope we can keep it up.


Now Playing The Greatest Game Ever Played by Brian Tyler

Deadwood Hopes

Deadwood is beyond magnificent. I have just finished watching episode 5 from the 3rd season and my blood is pumping. Bullock and Swearengen- my heroes! How dare HBO send such characters off into the sunset! Rarely do we see anything on screen with so much distinctiveness and originality. If only they would consider letting this show air as long as The Simpsons, then at least I could be partially satisfied.


Now Playing Ocean's 11 by David Holmes

Victims of Life

On the entertainment page tonight:

I am almost done watching Hollow Man 2 starring Christian Slater. It is a straight to DVD sequel which surprisingly has some pretty good production values. The movie is never quite boring but unfortunately it is never quite captivating either. It just is......1.5 hours of my life.

In the city section earlier in the day:

A customer who shops regularly at my store ("most likely") stole a wallet from one of the tourists. Surprisingly, when I told the victim that this incident will most likely leave him with a bad impression of our city (SF), he replied, "I live in Holland. It's much worse over there."


Now Playing Lost by Michael Giacchino

'Paying' for Free Shipping

Amazon.com offers free shipping if you purchase more than $30.00 worth of product, however this is just a gimmick because they completely resent the consumer who chooses the free shipping option. I ordered three cd's from them nearly a week ago and they are still 'preparing' them to be shipped. In total, they estimate that they will arrive about 2.5 weeks after I ordered them (I am being throttled!). This service policy is so ridiculous because it is so obvious that they are trying to deter the customer from choosing it for a second time. I know that if I had paid for the shipping Amazon would have been on the ball and very timely, but because I didn't, it doesn't mean that they should send my package by boat, does it?



Now Playing 25th Hour by Terrance Blanchard

My Belt in Two Pieces

It makes very little sense that I will spend an endless amount of time and money on movies, yet I will spend very little of either on my own fashion. I am not particularly proud of the way I dress, I am not that ashamed of it either for that matter, but I know that it can be better. Today I went to Macy's with K, S, and W to pick up a few items of clothing. They chose the items and I tried them on and I eventually bought them. I am happy with my purchases and I hope that this starts a trend of buying clothing on a more regular basis. The only regret I have is that I didn't throw K to the floor after he snapped my old belt into two as I was paying for the new ensemble.


Now Playing Lost by Michael Giacchino
-One of the best scores of 2006

On Ned's Terms

I took about 25 of my collegiate books to Ned's today to take advantage of their 'buyback' program. The deal of course is at my disadvantage. Most of the books went for a couple of dollars, and only two out of the twenty sold carried any significant 'Ned' value. I estimate that I paid around $400 for the titles that I sold today. I received $66. Four books were rejected because they were old editions.


Now Playing Star Trek: Voyager by Jerry Goldsmith.
( In Oak, I used to watch this show at 10pm during the week. I miss those nights.

Fireworks From My Window

The day has been moving in slow motion and it seems that the holiday has brought a sort of calm to the area. The normally busy streets of San Francisco were rather empty. People were a little less loud. The best team in baseball timely toned down their offense against the defensive minded Atheltics, and my basketball night at the school was disappointingly slow. I think I will finish up the day by watching the fireworks from my window and then going to sleep. After all, I do have school tomorrow.



Now Playing An American Tail: Fievel Goes West by James Horner

Stay Where You Are

I don't often get to acknowledge the people who are there to help me, but Sunday someone was there to push me over a hump and to boost my morale and I wish to acknowledge it. I wasn't in any particular crisis that day, but a situation arose where this person knew she could be doing good simply by telling me to "stay where you are." Most of the time someone would complain about being in that spot that I was in (deep in human traffic), but I thought that this particular gesture was fantastic. Thank you, MAS.



Now Playing the Legend of Zorro by James Horner

Overwhelming

"She'll only break your heart, it's a fact. And even though I warn you, even though I guarantee you that the girl will only hurt you terribly, you'll still pursue her. Ain't love grand?"
-Great Expectations (1998)

I saw her again today. Our rendevous lasted for almost two hours and it was fantastic, though I wish that the time wouldn't have flown by so quickly- so very quickly. I sat just opposite of her at the green coffee shop in the Richmond District and it was wonderful. She was really there, gazing brightly, smiling beautifully, speaking warmly, listenening attentively, and looking absolutely stunning. I know I spoke to her - and that I listened as well, but it is always very hard for me to focus while I'm in her company. She always overwhelms me. Damn.



Now Playing Good Will Hunting by Danny Elfman

Life in Mono

In 1998, I became hooked on a song I that I had heard at the conclusion of the Great Expectations trailer. I didn't know what the song was called and unfortunately the soundtrack wasn't due for a release for many months ahead so I wasn't able to check the album. All I knew was that the melody was repeating teasingly in my head and it seemed that their was very little that I could do. One solution thait came to me was that I should call Atlantic Records who was producing the album and ask them. Well they wouldn't tell me anything about it either leaving me to stew anxiously until its January release.

The song itself was really catchy. It had this bell-sounding thematic beat mixed behind a female voice singing dhu... dhu, dhu, dhu....dhu, dhu in a repeating pattern. I was hooked immediately and I wanted more. This small longing I had for the song is very much like the story of Great Expectations itself, in which a boy falls for a girl who will only tease him and make him miserable. I was lucky with my song because the studio finally released this melody after several months, however in the story of Great Expectations the anxious waiting never ceased, the girl just teases the boy for years leaving both of them rather unhappy.


Now Playing Life in Mono by Mono on the Great Expectations album.