amc_chandler

back to school

Jan. 13th, 2012 at 10:29 AM

I'm halfway through the second week of this quarter and the anxiety is starting to kick in. Not about the amount of work, I think I've got that under control this time around, but my final projects are going to be horrendous. So naturally I stayed up past midnight last night watching episode after episode of Buffy so that I could avoid facing today. But oh look, here it is. Funny how that never works. I've just send emails to both of my professors because once again they've messed up. My preservation economics test from last week had questions on topics that we are dealing with in this week's class. And my preservation law class has a discussion topic this week that goes with next week's readings. These people make my brain tired without even trying.

Link

conversations with dad

Jan. 4th, 2012 at 4:18 PM

Oh. You still don't have your CA drivers license after 6 years because you need cataract surgery? And you haven't finished your divorce? From 3 years ago? Huh. You don't believe your insurance covers hearing aids because no one else at your work has one. And you can't afford to take time off work for your hernia surgery. But you've got new components for your computer because you don't think it is running quickly enough. Okay then.

Oh, and you missed my birthday last week. Not sure if that's worse or better than the year you called only to ask for money. Grow up and handle your shit. Life doesn't sort itself out. You actually have to actively participate.

Link

lazy people

Dec. 20th, 2011 at 8:10 AM

Why can't reporters (people in general, actually) construct a basic sentence? I seriously want Mom to make them diagram their sentences. "Senate leaders attempted Dec. 16 to negotiate a yearlong extension of the payroll tax cut."

They "attempted Dec 16?" How in the hell does that work? Last I checked, either it was the 16th or it wasn't. Oh! You mean, "On Dec 16, Senate leaders attempted to negotiate...." Well that makes more sense. grrrr

Link

Dec. 19th, 2011

10:06 AM

As much as I bitch about my sister, I'm really glad to have her around. I have a lot of friends with only one child and I feel so bad for those kids. You need a sibling as an ally against parents. To reenact stupid holiday traditions. To help remember family stories. To say, "hey, stop acting like Mom." Sure, it doesn't always work out like that with siblings and I'm really lucky that my sister and I are as close as we are. Who else could I tell to walk around the streets of San Mateo to find a candle I saw months ago that I want to give to my aunt and I'm not quite sure the name of the store or maybe it was in Burlingame but the candle smells wonderful and you'll know it when you see it. And yes, she found it.

Link

the king

Dec. 14th, 2011 at 10:45 AM

In March, my sister and I will be going to Graceland for Mom. And for us. It will be five years since her death and it just seems like the right place to go. It was her last vacation trip and the last time she was happy and not in pain. But that's not the point of this. The point is this awesome shirt I found that I'll be wearing when we go.

Link

happy birthday kid

Dec. 8th, 2011 at 9:33 AM

My sister's 10 years sober birthday is this Saturday. I'm so happy for her. For being as messed up as she was between the ages of 12 and 24, she's really come a long way. That's a lot of growing up time that she missed and had to make up for. She's having a big party on Saturday to celebrate. But I didn't get invited. Because she forgot. So yeah, that hurts a bit. It would have hurt less if it was just her AA people, but the family she's living with and a bunch of her old school friends are going to be there too. Oh well. I have plans this weekend now. And I know that's just how she is.

Link

no holiday family

Dec. 3rd, 2011 at 8:46 AM

This will be the first year in eleven that I have not had a family to shop for during the holiday season. Not having an office means not having the resources to adopt a bunch of kids and buy them coats and beds and bikes and shoes and all that other fun stuff that I'm so used to doing. I know that I can drop a toy off at the fire station or a coat at Sleep Train, but that's just not the same as seeing the faces of the family you are helping. But since I'm living on unemployment, it's not like I can do all that much anyway. My sister and I are still going to do our bagged lunches down at SF's civic center on Christmas morning. Though it has turned into more of a toothbrush, gloves, cough drops, PopTarts goodie bag. But that's okay, we still manage to get 20-25 bags put together. I think we've been doing this for almost as long as I've been doing the holiday families at work. I guess this just means that next year I'll be able to do twice as much.

Last year's holiday family bounty. Plus beds and mattresses. And gift certificates.

Link

geek music

Nov. 11th, 2011 at 1:21 PM

Only at a geek rock concert do get an open bar that doesn't lead to stupid people, juggling, shadow puppets of X-wing and TIE-fighters, mocking of William Shatner, and a shout-out to a used book store. And an accordion. Thank you Jonathan Coulton and They Might Be Giants. We'll have to do this again some time. At a venue where I can sit down, preferably.

Link

turkey time

Oct. 28th, 2011 at 8:39 AM

Thanksgiving is supposed to be about gathering friends and family near and all that bullshit. For me, it's about the food. My cousin invited us to their place this year and I was tempted, since that's where my aunt will be. But then I started thinking that I wouldn't have any of my food. My turkey is never overcooked or dry. And my gravy kicks ass. The only pumpkin pie I like is my sister's. They don't make red cabbage at my cousin's or candied yams with the caramelized brown sugar. Or cook the mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker. And without that stuff, it's just not Thanksgiving.

Link

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

Oct. 9th, 2011 at 7:10 PM

Dad and I played with train on Saturday. Well, I played and he did a lot of talking and explaining. I know more about how the brake system on trains has evolved than I will ever need to know. But Dad's a good teacher and I like learning about almost anything, so it works out. I enjoyed that the place wasn't a museum, but had a working roundhouse and just a huge lot of old train and parts. They had the trains used in Back to the Future 3, and Gunsmoke, and Little House on the Prairie, and lots of other movies. Oh, and the ambulance car from the old Hetch Hetchy railroad line. And yes, we went to a few spots that said authorized personnel only, but hey, they shouldn't have had so many interesting things in my line of sight. http://www.railtown1897.org/railtown/doc.asp?id=285