30.1.05

I GOT RED SOX TICKETS!!! against the braves, in may. in a related story, virtual waiting rooms suck. also, they should never have gotten rid of same-day standing-room tickets (6am solidarity, werd). so, that made my day =D especially after u2 was sold out before it even went on sale, *including* the extra show they added on sunday. jerks.

in other news, born-again christianity scares and angers me. especially when its preacher proselytizes during funerals. fuck that.

27.1.05

i moved into my (semi)permanent office today. corner office, baby! only, in the corner furthest from the windows. well, there's one window. it looks out on the hallway, and has cardboard taped over it. but i do have a brand-new computer! that stays with the company after i leave. i'm still considering whether to look into telecommuting once i do move...

i thought i'd have more to say, but this hasn't been the greatest week in the casa de robinson/fredriksen... love would be much appreciated...

The Blizzard of 2005


George
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
So, there's my poor car, buried in the snow.

the weather people are calling it the blizzard of 2005. but only because they're sensationalists. but, it was still a shitload of snow. it snowed saturday night, and some schools cancelled monday and tuesday! but, not the one at whose afterschool program i work...

23.1.05

Help Wanted

So some newspaper article was discussing what the generation currently between something-teen and 30 should be referred to as. It suggested we be called "the twains" or something like that (the "twixts?" i can't find the article and it's too late at night to care). In any event, it's dumb. Then again, so is anybody trying to think up names for the youth generation anyway. Especially if they're, like, 40.

So, I was going to ask, fellow members of the something-teen to 30 generation--what are we? But then I thought, that's dumb. But here is what some of us are:

-too young to have capitalized on the .com boom, or to find computer jobs easily before they all moved to india
-old enough that our parents advised us to study computers because "it's the only way you'll find a job when you graduate"
-old enough to own a flannel or two, and perhaps even to have owned spandex pants and scrunch socks
-too young to remember reagan very well
-old enough to remember how excited our parents were when we had the first democrat president of our lives
-old enough to have seen the breakfast club, better off dead, and sixteen candles... on video
-too young to have any idea what to do with our lives
-too old to like this whole replacing-lighters-with-cell-phones-during-slow-songs-at-concerts trend; in fact, very, very frightened by it

Ok, maybe those are just me. At least, they're mostly pretty specific to the 20-24 age bracket. Whatever.

Anyhoo, I've added another job to my repertoire, further testing the limits of how many part-time jobs a person can have and still work less than 40 hours per week. For those of you not keeping track, this makes four. And this makes me a caffiene drinker again.

10.1.05

Drunk Bay


Drunk Bay
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.

Rainbow over Coral Bay


Coral Bay Rainbow
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
After the picture, the rainbow started heading right for us! It got, like, way closer... only, rainbows are just light, so it wasn't technically moving i guess... but it was still pretty cool

Sunset


Sunset
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
as seen from the villa.

Termites


Termites
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
They live in these giant nests in trees, but they go down to the ground to eat dead wood and make dirt. So, it's like mutual aid or... something

Sugar refinery ruins


Sugar refinery ruins
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
This is where the slaves would refine the sugar cane into sugar.

Casa Yaya


Lack of windows, Casa Yaya
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
Check out the non-windows. It's like sleeping outside! I mean, I guess it kind of is sleeping outside... only with a bed.

View from Casa Yaya


View from Casa Yaya
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
... where my parents were staying, with friends

View from the villa


View from the villa
Originally uploaded by ertzeid.
... where TFR (my little bro) and i stayed
people have linked to my blog (yes, right here!) via yahoo searches of "heteronausic", "homonausic", and "PCU Wesleyan". hm...

9.1.05

ahhhhhhh. that was great. y'know those stereotypical vacations with beaches and sun and pina coladas, that people on tv do for their honeymoons? that was last week, for me. only, minus the honeymoon, and replace the pina coladas with rum punch. and many other drinks involving rum. and some beer, usually corona but i branched into heinekin and carib too.

so, my family went to st. john, in the us virgin islands. wow, it was *amazing* (in that sadownik roll-eyes-into-head-to-emphasize way). i'll put pictures somewhere soon. ish. i didn't get that many, but that just means it won't take so long =)

there was sailing, and swimming, and snorkeling, and snorkeling from the sail boat, and shopping, and lying around on the beach, and more snorkeling. and there was rum. lots and lots of rum. only, i was usually the designated driver, so i didn't have as much. then, irony of ironies, i got sick from the juice i was drinking when everyone else was having wine/beer with their dinner. but, i was better by morning. oh then there was the fruit-infused vodka. i'm *definitely* gonna try that at home.

so, they drive on the left of the road down there, just like in the uk, ireland, japan, australia, and new zealand. unlike the uk, ireland, japan, australia, and new zealand, however, the steering wheels are still on the left side of the car. this makes it a bit of a challenge. plus, the roads are all so windy (as in, twisty-turny) and hilly you can't really go faster than 25, ever. mikki (the woman who owns a house there with her husband steve) like this, because it's easier to talk to people on the side of the road that way. there is lots of hitchiking, and just lots of not being in a hurry, so stopping to say hi to a friend is usually fine. as long as you don't take *too* long.

there are also all kinds of bugs. and mosquitos that carry diseases. there's a spider whose web is so strong that people used to use it for thread. there are also tarantulas. and scorpions. and tons of sharp/thorny/stinging plants. some, you're not supposed to stand under when it rains or you'll get a rash ("i want to take shelter... in the poison rain... where the streets have no name" i mean, the streets on st. john do have numbers, some of them, and bono was singing about something else, and those aren't the correct lyrics, but it sure as hell reminds me of the place). oh and there's fire coral, that burns you when you touch it, and sometimes jellyfish. and feral goats. ok, the goats aren't dangerous, unless maybe you're driving too fast and have to swerve to avoid one. there's donkeys and pigs and chickens wandering around all over the place too. but, i managed to not have any run-ins (knock wood... still can't be sure i didn't get bit by a denghei mosquito i guess). it's an adventure =D

but, mostly, it was amazing. and i didn't even think about any real-life anything for a whole week. i didn't even check my email, and not for lack of internet connection. i had no clue what was going on beyond the island, and it was so nice. it was like heroin. but, not something i could do permanently of course. tho, that boat co-op, live in the caribbean idea is sounding better all the time... =)

1.1.05

my prediction:

lupin will come back to hogwarts teach harry occlumancy.