i had coffee at nystire's after training, and a quick shower (which definitely made the travelling back more bearable). i plan on forgetting today in the next ten minutes.
i've been watching battlestar galactica while travelling, and that's very cool. i'm actually sorry i haven't been using the phone as a media player until now :)
huh! i actually was productive last night. and today - my sideline project (which has become my primary one already) is already proving itself useful ^_^
other than that, it was a bit of a strange day, but good. one of those forgettable, "normal" days that almost never happens.
oh! it started with a lecture that nystire and i had been in during the first leg of last year's course... the lecturer was amazed that we didn't fall asleep.
training was good - a couple of kids i haven't seen in almost five years were there, and they kicked the crap outta me. we had fun :)
nystire seemed to have enjoyed himself - i hope enough to find his way back. i did warn him that his legs were going to hurt in the morning :P
the bus back from training was insanely crowded - school holidays? unbelievable. i had to get the kids to stop playing their tinny crap-hop at top volume so that i could hear my headphones...
i ran into spot's mother on the way home, had a nice chat.
i got home to discover that in the present heat i need to put bananas in the fridge... the last one melted. at least i got to it before it began to smell.
i wanted to go to the alternative party tonight, but i've definitely arrived home too late :/
george carlin on dick-waving
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 09, 2009
an odd week starts
not a bad day at all: i almost missed my bus, but i didn't. and i couldn't sleep, because i got totally stuck into one of the most beautiful and bad-ass "neo noir"* films i've ever seen: angel heart.
another phenomenal classic that flew straight under my radar... i'm very grateful that spinnit mentioned it the last time we met.
* neo noir: it's noir, but in colour. jeez.
i walked into my old cubicle this morning, took stock a moment, then found my new one. i cannot express the difference! our pointy-haired boss arrived to make some bright-spark remark - probably intended to say something about the brad pitt hint i left him - and i took the opportunity to dig in and twist about something that's been staring me in the face for years:
there is one thing in the military that nobody of any rank has. his dignity.
i had an exceptionally productive day. the only real mistake involved purchasing timtams: again?! i never learn. too - much - good - chocolate.
there's a freaky kid in our unit, i've mentioned him before (can't find where). i heard the hand-dryer's noise as i got to the door of the bathroom, and decided to wait for it to stop before entering. it didn't stop. i waited some more... and it still didn't stop. so i pushed the door open, and found the kid drywashing his hands with a blank look on his face, which was held at an awkward angle.
i walked over to the sink behind him - still not stopping. i looked at him, stared, stared some more, and was about to say something about not wasting electricity when he got a strange smile on his face and skipped outside.
i had a chat with my mum regarding my near-future plans, and i think i'm going to take her advice. it's sound, but not an easy decision to make.
i thought a lot about the man in the suit (who eventually called me back) and what i'm going to say to him. i know it's not smart, but i have this weird condition that requires me to try to fix broken things. the sentence that popped into my head?
i'm one of the good guys, and you're playing cowboys and injuns with toy guns.
i was enjoying the ride home, still watching the movie... right until the cheeky shit opened his fat mouth about how it's not fair that i'm not doing him a favour and taking the bus instead of him: the route is defined by where *i* live, because *i'm* in the permanent force and the shuttle is for *us*.
i told him no, explained to him why, and then out came the gem: "but i have to carry a gun! it's not fair that you're exempt!"
little bastard has no manners; i let him have my best scowl and low-voiced threat (it all came out so naturally), and he shut up and turned back. i think i'm going to have words with the guy in charge of the shuttle.
shaking that wonderful experience off, i went to visit the hardware dude and help him with his printer... it's a bitch of a setup, but i managed to find a way. i hope somebody does him a favour and finds a better one.
i ran into one of my old neighbours and invited them for coffee, but it's their anniversary tonight. i'm trying to sort out something with another friend to help the first ones, so there are now two hosting evenings in the pipeline :P
shopped, posted, and now to get something productive going.
another phenomenal classic that flew straight under my radar... i'm very grateful that spinnit mentioned it the last time we met.
* neo noir: it's noir, but in colour. jeez.
i walked into my old cubicle this morning, took stock a moment, then found my new one. i cannot express the difference! our pointy-haired boss arrived to make some bright-spark remark - probably intended to say something about the brad pitt hint i left him - and i took the opportunity to dig in and twist about something that's been staring me in the face for years:
there is one thing in the military that nobody of any rank has. his dignity.
i had an exceptionally productive day. the only real mistake involved purchasing timtams: again?! i never learn. too - much - good - chocolate.
there's a freaky kid in our unit, i've mentioned him before (can't find where). i heard the hand-dryer's noise as i got to the door of the bathroom, and decided to wait for it to stop before entering. it didn't stop. i waited some more... and it still didn't stop. so i pushed the door open, and found the kid drywashing his hands with a blank look on his face, which was held at an awkward angle.
i walked over to the sink behind him - still not stopping. i looked at him, stared, stared some more, and was about to say something about not wasting electricity when he got a strange smile on his face and skipped outside.
i had a chat with my mum regarding my near-future plans, and i think i'm going to take her advice. it's sound, but not an easy decision to make.
i thought a lot about the man in the suit (who eventually called me back) and what i'm going to say to him. i know it's not smart, but i have this weird condition that requires me to try to fix broken things. the sentence that popped into my head?
i'm one of the good guys, and you're playing cowboys and injuns with toy guns.
i was enjoying the ride home, still watching the movie... right until the cheeky shit opened his fat mouth about how it's not fair that i'm not doing him a favour and taking the bus instead of him: the route is defined by where *i* live, because *i'm* in the permanent force and the shuttle is for *us*.
i told him no, explained to him why, and then out came the gem: "but i have to carry a gun! it's not fair that you're exempt!"
little bastard has no manners; i let him have my best scowl and low-voiced threat (it all came out so naturally), and he shut up and turned back. i think i'm going to have words with the guy in charge of the shuttle.
shaking that wonderful experience off, i went to visit the hardware dude and help him with his printer... it's a bitch of a setup, but i managed to find a way. i hope somebody does him a favour and finds a better one.
i ran into one of my old neighbours and invited them for coffee, but it's their anniversary tonight. i'm trying to sort out something with another friend to help the first ones, so there are now two hosting evenings in the pipeline :P
shopped, posted, and now to get something productive going.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
on speeches and shrieks
i'm extremely pleased that so many people turned out - over 70000, according to the police reports. some of the speeches made were brilliant, and hopefully one day could even apply to people like myself... those who know me well will understand why i think of myself as "in the closet", even if it's not for sexual reasons.
two things that bothered me:
the first, justified, was one of the people who were injured in last week's attack - he gave a good speech, but he was crying and really belting his words out.
the second, unjustified, was a group of lesbians and arab homosexuals who began making a noise to be represented in particular. whether they're under-represented or not, tonight was not the night for them to be showing discord within the community - it could only harm their own interests.
tonight was the night for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and beliefs, to acknowledge the basic rights of every citizen to be free to be himself. hell, even the president was on board for a speech.
---
after a day spent idly, i got into work mode and made serious headway into the c++ project. the second i figured out the simple method, it all fell into place ^_^
i went to help the chef and his girlfriend with moving, then rushed off to the rally. i left towards the end, already thinking of waking up at 5.30am (aw, crap), but got caught by two of the girls at coffeeholic along the way for a very interesting conversation.
but now it's shower-and-bedtime.
two things that bothered me:
the first, justified, was one of the people who were injured in last week's attack - he gave a good speech, but he was crying and really belting his words out.
the second, unjustified, was a group of lesbians and arab homosexuals who began making a noise to be represented in particular. whether they're under-represented or not, tonight was not the night for them to be showing discord within the community - it could only harm their own interests.
tonight was the night for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and beliefs, to acknowledge the basic rights of every citizen to be free to be himself. hell, even the president was on board for a speech.
after a day spent idly, i got into work mode and made serious headway into the c++ project. the second i figured out the simple method, it all fell into place ^_^
i went to help the chef and his girlfriend with moving, then rushed off to the rally. i left towards the end, already thinking of waking up at 5.30am (aw, crap), but got caught by two of the girls at coffeeholic along the way for a very interesting conversation.
but now it's shower-and-bedtime.
love-lazy
i was just hit by a sudden realization:
"love is an affluence that a regular man must work hard to achieve; i, like any good pirate, would rather - nay, expect to come across the buried booty by chance whilst dealing with the bodies from some previous enterprise"
late friday, home alone
and the answer to all my problems is? not to convert. although the codec sync issue doesn't make it ideal, it means no conversions necessary and i can skip bits.
mpeg or avi, movie quality on my phone is brilliant. i'm as impressed as i was watching tropic thunder on an iphone.
first avi transferred? mythbusters moon landing hoax episode. now i can share it with the office.
i should've gone out. i think i'm going to bed. i don't know why i picked hitman hart: wrestling with shadows, but it's quite interesting.
mpeg or avi, movie quality on my phone is brilliant. i'm as impressed as i was watching tropic thunder on an iphone.
first avi transferred? mythbusters moon landing hoax episode. now i can share it with the office.
i should've gone out. i think i'm going to bed. i don't know why i picked hitman hart: wrestling with shadows, but it's quite interesting.
Friday, August 07, 2009
a short breath
i woke up this morning embarrassed and sad and angry and worried, with different angles of the up-and-coming conversation with the man in the suit flogging my neurons. and i think it's time i let him know what i think: if the security of my country is in your hands, we're all in deep shit.
i cleaned my apartment this morning, musing on how much easier it is than cleaning my head. while cleaning, i listened to the filthy muthas 2009 mix and the beeping of my cpu warning while the conversion worked hard to fail.
i suddenly realized that it was high time for pre-training food consumption, so i took my book of milton for a beef parisian and some sunshine. today's weather wasn't too bad, it's the first time in weeks that i left my windows open instead of using the air-conditioner :)
training: i went looking for a fight, and i found one. i began with some work on the heavy punching bags (the MMA guys were a little bewildered, i really did go nuts), and thus wore myself out before the warm-up. aside from a few seconds of weakness and feeling like i was going to throw up, the rest of the training was fine.
especially the fighting.
i don't remember ever managing to pull it together like i did today, i scared the bejeezus out of the lower ranks and scored appreciation from the black belts. no less important, i satisfied myself.
we also had a rather important debate about standards today, which most of us agreed upon. we're training with our instructor because they're high, she really doesn't need to treat us like anyone else would.
i came home, showered, inserted chords where i felt they were needed, and went shopping. once i got back home i sat catching up online and eating my sandwich (followed by a not-yet ripened mango, not great), then fought and won with the video conversation.
the painting above was something that just kinda came out... i think it's time i learned to layer things. i'm disappointed not only in my lack of technique, but also in its simplicity.
i'm shocked that it's this late already! and i thought i'd get some work done on the c++ project. i mean, i thought about it a little, sure...
linkage, or: should'a been working
we, the people - do you have to be an american to appreciate this?
no, no you don't. you also don't have to be an american to fail to listen to this guy. democracy is ours! and we give it up because we're lazy and distracted.
something made me revisit the archives, and remember a very good idea. one day, if i'm filthy rich and not merely filthy, i might back a venture along those lines.
mike krahulik totally rocks d&d! [it's the last post of the day]
and one of penny arcade's fans realized a sweet script of theirs :)
i'm reposting a repost of elizabeth gilbert - she's smart and she's right.
what is it? a cure, or immunization? TLDR, although i did scan the intro :P
no, no you don't. you also don't have to be an american to fail to listen to this guy. democracy is ours! and we give it up because we're lazy and distracted.
something made me revisit the archives, and remember a very good idea. one day, if i'm filthy rich and not merely filthy, i might back a venture along those lines.
mike krahulik totally rocks d&d! [it's the last post of the day]
and one of penny arcade's fans realized a sweet script of theirs :)
i'm reposting a repost of elizabeth gilbert - she's smart and she's right.
what is it? a cure, or immunization? TLDR, although i did scan the intro :P
the buzzing that didn't go away
keywords: ubuntu convert avi dvd mpeg mp4
that, and the file didn't convert properly. so i finally decided to go another route.
my comment to nystire: "after about half an hour installing, i finally got it working. and by working, i mean the app has frozen and my cpu temperature warning is going crazy."
there were stops along the way:
so i can now convert avi files to mpeg4! and watch movies on my phone. now i just need to find a better player for my n95 than the default, which doesn't allow one to move back and forth.
that, and the file didn't convert properly. so i finally decided to go another route.
my comment to nystire: "after about half an hour installing, i finally got it working. and by working, i mean the app has frozen and my cpu temperature warning is going crazy."
there were stops along the way:
- discovery
- installation error
- multiple "unknown encoder" errors
- (the solution to the previous error)
- the missing installation from the previous solution
(libavcodec-unstripped-51)
so i can now convert avi files to mpeg4! and watch movies on my phone. now i just need to find a better player for my n95 than the default, which doesn't allow one to move back and forth.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
the factory
it's something i've never had to build before - i'm so glad it popped into my head! although i've made some headway into the c++ project, i'm beginning to think fuzzy so i'm taking myself to bed.
after lots of annoying buzzing i was disappointed to discover that the video conversion didn't work. i'm now performing it again with a different codec, but i have no guarantee that it'll come out alright.
i just can't seem to make the buzzing go away :(
i'm shocked at the news:
do i have to worry about being arrested? granted, i wasn't in active service during the operation... but still, this is absolutely ridiculous, disgusting and absurd
this bit hardly lessons the blow
after lots of annoying buzzing i was disappointed to discover that the video conversion didn't work. i'm now performing it again with a different codec, but i have no guarantee that it'll come out alright.
i just can't seem to make the buzzing go away :(
i'm shocked at the news:
do i have to worry about being arrested? granted, i wasn't in active service during the operation... but still, this is absolutely ridiculous, disgusting and absurd
this bit hardly lessons the blow
momma grizzly
they shouldn't have poked the cub, because there's an eye twitching and opening. i'm feeling very much alive for the first time in a very, very long time - and i'm ready to go head-to-head.
---
i was inside-out when i woke up this morning, luckily i managed to stumble out without making too much mess. i got some good work done, then moved to the cubicle on the other side of the partition: what the hell?! how did i not go postal during the last six months?!?! i've suddenly got room to breathe, and my TL isn't sitting back-to-back with me anymore - the difference is astounding!
lunch - the stupid girl from across the hall tried to explain to me how pointless literature is. i eventually gave up. nystire tried to convert a movie i put on my phone to an n95-readable format... it was taking way too long. i'm doing it in the background now, but every minute or so the cpu begins to overheat (or at least, it *thinks* it's overheating) so i have to pause it :(
my attitude has made a huge switch since yesterday, i'm sick of the games and the bullshit. it's time to get out of my current situation and do something with my life.
the day ended with melted timtams (i consumed most of the package - i was sugar-dizzy for a while) and meeting some important objectives in the fun project :)
the stupid girl, the kinder and the creationist had a highly amusing argument in the shuttle on the way home... i'm glad i wasn't a part of it. i got in, changed, and had a long chat with yogi on my way to dizengoff center - their wasn't a show there. at least i had something else that needed doing: i paid my tattoo-artist a visit, and he explained to me the intricacies of foot tattoos :P
i stopped by coffeeholic for an iced-soya irish coffee, and have now returned to get some work done.
i was inside-out when i woke up this morning, luckily i managed to stumble out without making too much mess. i got some good work done, then moved to the cubicle on the other side of the partition: what the hell?! how did i not go postal during the last six months?!?! i've suddenly got room to breathe, and my TL isn't sitting back-to-back with me anymore - the difference is astounding!
lunch - the stupid girl from across the hall tried to explain to me how pointless literature is. i eventually gave up. nystire tried to convert a movie i put on my phone to an n95-readable format... it was taking way too long. i'm doing it in the background now, but every minute or so the cpu begins to overheat (or at least, it *thinks* it's overheating) so i have to pause it :(
my attitude has made a huge switch since yesterday, i'm sick of the games and the bullshit. it's time to get out of my current situation and do something with my life.
the day ended with melted timtams (i consumed most of the package - i was sugar-dizzy for a while) and meeting some important objectives in the fun project :)
the stupid girl, the kinder and the creationist had a highly amusing argument in the shuttle on the way home... i'm glad i wasn't a part of it. i got in, changed, and had a long chat with yogi on my way to dizengoff center - their wasn't a show there. at least i had something else that needed doing: i paid my tattoo-artist a visit, and he explained to me the intricacies of foot tattoos :P
i stopped by coffeeholic for an iced-soya irish coffee, and have now returned to get some work done.
moonlit harbour concert
i haven't heard shlomi shaban in ages, the man is absolutely incredible!
after posting, i took myself off to coffeeholic for a superb salad while continuing to read paradise lost. on the way back i stopped in at the hardware store to say hi, and that turned into a very long and interesting conversation.
i came back home to work on the c++ project, and found another version of the same paper in my inbox. same paper, different author, legible, logical. hmmm... he suspects. there was only one problem that i could see, and on the phone with the guy i'm helping i managed to figure out a way around it.
that phone call wasn't in front of my pc, rather it took place on my way to the harbour. the harbour is not a place for tel-aviviim, but einav jackson cohen had the warm-up for shlomi so we couldn't miss it :)
my mum called just before einav went up on stage, and we had a critical review of the day's events... as usual, we're of the same mind. it's time for me to get off this train.
after the show we went for ice-cream... "best ice-cream in the country!", say people who aren't familiar with the tel-avivi vaniglia. suck it, foreigners :P [i'm such an elitist when it comes to my city ^_^]
after posting, i took myself off to coffeeholic for a superb salad while continuing to read paradise lost. on the way back i stopped in at the hardware store to say hi, and that turned into a very long and interesting conversation.
i came back home to work on the c++ project, and found another version of the same paper in my inbox. same paper, different author, legible, logical. hmmm... he suspects. there was only one problem that i could see, and on the phone with the guy i'm helping i managed to figure out a way around it.
that phone call wasn't in front of my pc, rather it took place on my way to the harbour. the harbour is not a place for tel-aviviim, but einav jackson cohen had the warm-up for shlomi so we couldn't miss it :)
my mum called just before einav went up on stage, and we had a critical review of the day's events... as usual, we're of the same mind. it's time for me to get off this train.
after the show we went for ice-cream... "best ice-cream in the country!", say people who aren't familiar with the tel-avivi vaniglia. suck it, foreigners :P [i'm such an elitist when it comes to my city ^_^]
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
anger, dismay - a perfect morning
i was a bit stressed, but the morning was great! i woke up around 7.45, had a long and excellent breakfast while reading paradise lost and scribbling furiously...
on my way home to change into uniform i was struck by the sudden, searing heat. an omen? i got there on time, found myself quite comfortable... and the talking until the test itself was mostly alright....
...
not only did i discover that i've had wool pulled over my eyes, i've also discovered that i'm possibly the dumbest person i know. regardless of the earlier regret being very well-placed and having it sharpened today, i have learned that i really do care too much and it is clear to me that that will only cause me grief.
but hey, i can't really stop caring. i can't stop being a good person, and i can't not do what i believe is right. so as of this moment, i'm making a conscious decision to not care about my inability to fail to live up to my own expectations.
i'm still upset, but that last sentence just made my day better.
on my way home to change into uniform i was struck by the sudden, searing heat. an omen? i got there on time, found myself quite comfortable... and the talking until the test itself was mostly alright....
...
not only did i discover that i've had wool pulled over my eyes, i've also discovered that i'm possibly the dumbest person i know. regardless of the earlier regret being very well-placed and having it sharpened today, i have learned that i really do care too much and it is clear to me that that will only cause me grief.
but hey, i can't really stop caring. i can't stop being a good person, and i can't not do what i believe is right. so as of this moment, i'm making a conscious decision to not care about my inability to fail to live up to my own expectations.
i'm still upset, but that last sentence just made my day better.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
a quiet memorial
a small gathering, for a few speeches and lots of debate. it was a very tasteful affair.
my old team-mate came over for coffee, and we talked about both fun stuff and army stuff. as for living arrangements, he's definitely been bitten by the same bug - he's decided it's time for him and his fiancé to move to the big city :)
[for hebrew readers: דירה להשכיר תל-אביב 2009]
i was going to go blading tonight, but i realized that aside from being very tired, i probably shouldn't mess *too* much with my leg.
my old team-mate came over for coffee, and we talked about both fun stuff and army stuff. as for living arrangements, he's definitely been bitten by the same bug - he's decided it's time for him and his fiancé to move to the big city :)
[for hebrew readers: דירה להשכיר תל-אביב 2009]
i was going to go blading tonight, but i realized that aside from being very tired, i probably shouldn't mess *too* much with my leg.
didn't miss training
[monday night]
and extremely glad i didn't, we've moved to a gym that kicks ass ^_^
a pity that my toe's out of commission... but i made the most of it anyway.
the explanation of the previous statement: we had a surprise visit from a very sweet girl who did the first leg of last year's course with nystire and myself, and then i went to wait lots for the surgeon to take a look at me.
it was a good opportunity to be amused by the wonders of this month's wired - it's full of good stuff, and something in it smacked me upside the head with an inspiring idea :D
i got called inside about two hours after arriving, to have the surgeon laugh at me and inform me that the general doctor who'd referred me had misdiagnosed, and all i needed was to have two arbitrary growths burned. fantastic! and i only had to wait a month for the appointment!
fortunately, the girl at the dermatologist's took pity on me and had me seen within ten minutes, the work was done and i was on my way back to base. i didn't even need an anaesthetic.
it was super-hot and humid as hell, i practically melted back into my office...
i've been having an argument with the office of the chief of staff over a magazine that i keep receiving and don't want. this argument has lasted most of this year. yesterday, a girl there who finally understood what i'm trying to achieve and agrees with me told me that giving up might be a good idea.
she suggested letting go of the current line of inquiry, and instead of trying to fix something broken to just request a basic favour from them instead. on my way to the fax machine i contemplated finding an ink pad so i could sign the request with my penis.
[pause: guests arrive, blogger does something weird with my post]
one of the guys i did the third leg of the course with was around, so i went with him and his SC for lunch off-base. i understand that that was a wise move, and after today's experience i filled my calendar with a daily lunch appointment entitled "make an effort to consume trash".
our new "system engineer" (product manager) asked me a question. i answered, and his response solidly indicated a complete lack of understanding. so i began explaining...
"but i know that!"
i continued explaining, after which he responded with "oh... got it"... and then i got to the point. "oh! we knew that!"
then don't waste my ****ing time. dickhead.
... spinnit's been popping into my head quite randomly...
my previous team-mate invited half the base for leftovers from saturday evening's picnic, which was fun. i had an embarrassing incident with my current team-mate, someone from our section and a comment about nipples :/
our SC and project manager have begun wearing bluetooth headsets, so i tacked the cover of this month's wired to each of their screens :P
we spent a half a busy hour coming up with cool names for our TL's future kids. productive! i left the base feeling a bit crazy.
training was excellent. there was a big section farewell party for our village idiot, but when i called him he told me there wasn't enough time to make it worth joining them - and this morning everyone wondered why, because there was plenty... instead, i had a good chat with my mum and did some quick shopping.
having guests that i'm not overly-friendly with (my team-mate and his girlfriend) was a little awkward, but i'm pleased that they were comfortable :)
we got to wake up late today! 6.30am is late. i had an entertaining debate with our ride to the base about the upsides and downsides of living in tel aviv... we were near the base when she threw what i consider to be a whopper: "people who don't want kids are pathetic".
i couldn't let that slide. i firmly believe that everyone can define his existence however he likes, and in this day and age it's not necessarily a bad thing for people to forsake procreation in order to make (what they consider to be) the most out of their lives.
our team had an argument today over the happy tree friends vs. the mandrake root from pan's labyrinth :S
: sense-of-humour failure (maybe to do with tomorrow?); contemplating the wisdom of my adherence to my values; overwhelming exhaustion and identifying with the wall's "pink"; eating constantly; discussing the future with the kinder :
i finally finished the primary workload, and got somewhere with the fun stuff. unenthusiastically, but it's good.
i just got home - i passed out on the shuttle and awoke with a start from a strange dream discussing maps with my second mom O_o
and extremely glad i didn't, we've moved to a gym that kicks ass ^_^
a pity that my toe's out of commission... but i made the most of it anyway.
the explanation of the previous statement: we had a surprise visit from a very sweet girl who did the first leg of last year's course with nystire and myself, and then i went to wait lots for the surgeon to take a look at me.
it was a good opportunity to be amused by the wonders of this month's wired - it's full of good stuff, and something in it smacked me upside the head with an inspiring idea :D
i got called inside about two hours after arriving, to have the surgeon laugh at me and inform me that the general doctor who'd referred me had misdiagnosed, and all i needed was to have two arbitrary growths burned. fantastic! and i only had to wait a month for the appointment!
fortunately, the girl at the dermatologist's took pity on me and had me seen within ten minutes, the work was done and i was on my way back to base. i didn't even need an anaesthetic.
it was super-hot and humid as hell, i practically melted back into my office...
i've been having an argument with the office of the chief of staff over a magazine that i keep receiving and don't want. this argument has lasted most of this year. yesterday, a girl there who finally understood what i'm trying to achieve and agrees with me told me that giving up might be a good idea.
she suggested letting go of the current line of inquiry, and instead of trying to fix something broken to just request a basic favour from them instead. on my way to the fax machine i contemplated finding an ink pad so i could sign the request with my penis.
[pause: guests arrive, blogger does something weird with my post]
one of the guys i did the third leg of the course with was around, so i went with him and his SC for lunch off-base. i understand that that was a wise move, and after today's experience i filled my calendar with a daily lunch appointment entitled "make an effort to consume trash".
our new "system engineer" (product manager) asked me a question. i answered, and his response solidly indicated a complete lack of understanding. so i began explaining...
"but i know that!"
i continued explaining, after which he responded with "oh... got it"... and then i got to the point. "oh! we knew that!"
then don't waste my ****ing time. dickhead.
... spinnit's been popping into my head quite randomly...
my previous team-mate invited half the base for leftovers from saturday evening's picnic, which was fun. i had an embarrassing incident with my current team-mate, someone from our section and a comment about nipples :/
our SC and project manager have begun wearing bluetooth headsets, so i tacked the cover of this month's wired to each of their screens :P
we spent a half a busy hour coming up with cool names for our TL's future kids. productive! i left the base feeling a bit crazy.
training was excellent. there was a big section farewell party for our village idiot, but when i called him he told me there wasn't enough time to make it worth joining them - and this morning everyone wondered why, because there was plenty... instead, i had a good chat with my mum and did some quick shopping.
having guests that i'm not overly-friendly with (my team-mate and his girlfriend) was a little awkward, but i'm pleased that they were comfortable :)
we got to wake up late today! 6.30am is late. i had an entertaining debate with our ride to the base about the upsides and downsides of living in tel aviv... we were near the base when she threw what i consider to be a whopper: "people who don't want kids are pathetic".
i couldn't let that slide. i firmly believe that everyone can define his existence however he likes, and in this day and age it's not necessarily a bad thing for people to forsake procreation in order to make (what they consider to be) the most out of their lives.
our team had an argument today over the happy tree friends vs. the mandrake root from pan's labyrinth :S
: sense-of-humour failure (maybe to do with tomorrow?); contemplating the wisdom of my adherence to my values; overwhelming exhaustion and identifying with the wall's "pink"; eating constantly; discussing the future with the kinder :
i finally finished the primary workload, and got somewhere with the fun stuff. unenthusiastically, but it's good.
i just got home - i passed out on the shuttle and awoke with a start from a strange dream discussing maps with my second mom O_o
Sunday, August 02, 2009
exploding sheep
i don't know where to begin, so i'll start with last night's horror: [the news links i posted are no longer valid, so here's the wikipedia entry]
everyone is shocked, the community is angry and frightened, and all i can think of is this:
any monkey can pull a trigger. not every monkey can communicate. what can we expect from a country where education is replaced by laws or religion (which is the same thing, really)? what have we done to ourselves?
and to think that last week we mourned the destruction of both temples, the primary cause being "senseless hatred".
my morning's response:
johnny's a bit slow, can't tie his own laces
so give him velcro instead
he can't handle a knife and a fork
let him eat with his hands
our johnny will never go very far
maybe just as far as the local pub
he'll never be a shining star
nor president of the debate club
the poor kid just couldn't manage to read
so put him in front of the telly
he'll always be a little short on love
he thinks he knows what he deserves
and anyone can use a gun
---
a thought struck this morning: how can one be successful when one has developed a culture of dishonesty?
my upper arm's been hurting randomly, and i don't know if i've strained something or if it's got to do with my neck - and my neck's been very sensitive of late: i'm constantly terrified that my slipped disc is going to press on an important set of nerves...
ha, that reminds me that the man in a suit recommended i go to a chiropractor :P
the pilot episode of house got stuck in my head :P
this morning was spent pulling off the craziest prank - we totally got him. half the unit participated, i captured some brilliant footage (he didn't even realize he was looking at a camera, i was distracting him with my other hand ^_^), and i got into character completely and didn't even feel like laughing. the guys are still giggling whenever someone quotes from my little speech halfway through :)
nystire and i ate lunch on our old unit's base with his first SC, which was quite pleasant. i was surprised to be brushed off by the kid's brother, but whatever...
i got back in time to teach the new kid about my first big project, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting so much work done that my eyes were sore when i left the building.
--- i don't know what came over me, but wr and his cute new friend were here and they began reading my latest: why would i try playing it for them? i suck! and i was super embarrassed. oh, well, back to the beginning of that story:
there was a small march and a vigil held at the gay community centre, and i met wr and a girl he met on the bus on the way to join them. it was a very sombre experience, and afterwards we got coffee and went to sit in the park. the conversation got very interesting, including an amusing misunderstanding - blow-up sheep / exploding sheep sounds the same in hebrew - hence the title of this post.
anyway, i'm undergoing surgery tomorrow to remove something from my leg, so i should be getting to bed soon. i'm annoyed that i'm going to miss training :(
everyone is shocked, the community is angry and frightened, and all i can think of is this:
any monkey can pull a trigger. not every monkey can communicate. what can we expect from a country where education is replaced by laws or religion (which is the same thing, really)? what have we done to ourselves?
and to think that last week we mourned the destruction of both temples, the primary cause being "senseless hatred".
my morning's response:
johnny's a bit slow, can't tie his own laces
so give him velcro instead
he can't handle a knife and a fork
let him eat with his hands
our johnny will never go very far
maybe just as far as the local pub
he'll never be a shining star
nor president of the debate club
the poor kid just couldn't manage to read
so put him in front of the telly
he'll always be a little short on love
he thinks he knows what he deserves
and anyone can use a gun
a thought struck this morning: how can one be successful when one has developed a culture of dishonesty?
my upper arm's been hurting randomly, and i don't know if i've strained something or if it's got to do with my neck - and my neck's been very sensitive of late: i'm constantly terrified that my slipped disc is going to press on an important set of nerves...
ha, that reminds me that the man in a suit recommended i go to a chiropractor :P
the pilot episode of house got stuck in my head :P
this morning was spent pulling off the craziest prank - we totally got him. half the unit participated, i captured some brilliant footage (he didn't even realize he was looking at a camera, i was distracting him with my other hand ^_^), and i got into character completely and didn't even feel like laughing. the guys are still giggling whenever someone quotes from my little speech halfway through :)
nystire and i ate lunch on our old unit's base with his first SC, which was quite pleasant. i was surprised to be brushed off by the kid's brother, but whatever...
i got back in time to teach the new kid about my first big project, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting so much work done that my eyes were sore when i left the building.
there was a small march and a vigil held at the gay community centre, and i met wr and a girl he met on the bus on the way to join them. it was a very sombre experience, and afterwards we got coffee and went to sit in the park. the conversation got very interesting, including an amusing misunderstanding - blow-up sheep / exploding sheep sounds the same in hebrew - hence the title of this post.
anyway, i'm undergoing surgery tomorrow to remove something from my leg, so i should be getting to bed soon. i'm annoyed that i'm going to miss training :(
first worm
wow - that may have been a big mistake: watching the pilot episode of house. i may have to watch more.
i was picked up a little before 6pm by one of my old team-mates, and we went to see michal geva perform. problem is that she performed at plastic, a three-floor fashion exposition. the oestrogen:testosterone ratio was through the roof, and being two guys didn't help much. it was like walking into studio b (dance and aerobics) alone... quite uncomfortable.
the performance itself was really good, and as it was up to me to repeatedly get the dj to lower the volume (a bit inconsiderate, that) i felt like i'd contributed :P
from there i went to a birthday picnic for a more recent ex-team-mate, which wasn't too bad. my snowboard buddy from january arrived, and we took a walk to the ozen bar to hear the ramirez brothers. unfortunately, they'd finished before we arrived :/
we walked back to my place so he could shower before heading off to netanya, and we got into a very interesting debate about different attitudes towards partying and different styles of music.
it's now too few hours to wake-up :/
i was picked up a little before 6pm by one of my old team-mates, and we went to see michal geva perform. problem is that she performed at plastic, a three-floor fashion exposition. the oestrogen:testosterone ratio was through the roof, and being two guys didn't help much. it was like walking into studio b (dance and aerobics) alone... quite uncomfortable.
the performance itself was really good, and as it was up to me to repeatedly get the dj to lower the volume (a bit inconsiderate, that) i felt like i'd contributed :P
from there i went to a birthday picnic for a more recent ex-team-mate, which wasn't too bad. my snowboard buddy from january arrived, and we took a walk to the ozen bar to hear the ramirez brothers. unfortunately, they'd finished before we arrived :/
we walked back to my place so he could shower before heading off to netanya, and we got into a very interesting debate about different attitudes towards partying and different styles of music.
it's now too few hours to wake-up :/
Saturday, August 01, 2009
quick saturday list
slept well,
improved the song i referred to yesterday,
ate well,
did laundry,
hung up a new whiteboard,
uploaded party videos,
heard about hedwig and the angry inch,
found myself sitting mesmerized by pj harvey - when under ether,
was impressed no end by barry schwartz,
was blown away by ESRAh - lilith and emar - tumare darshan,
and am currently being driven crazy by the c++ project: the paper is badly written and contains so many contradictions it's unbearable... but i'm trying anyway.
that ant... is still walking back and forth across my screen...
improved the song i referred to yesterday,
ate well,
did laundry,
hung up a new whiteboard,
uploaded party videos,
heard about hedwig and the angry inch,
found myself sitting mesmerized by pj harvey - when under ether,
was impressed no end by barry schwartz,
was blown away by ESRAh - lilith and emar - tumare darshan,
and am currently being driven crazy by the c++ project: the paper is badly written and contains so many contradictions it's unbearable... but i'm trying anyway.
that ant... is still walking back and forth across my screen...
...
i've had sand in my toes, and i've stood on a...
... burning cigarette... not an entirely unfamiliar experience...
i was surprised by the speed with which ru55 arrived... we made it to the designated place quickly, but the party had moved... we then made a mistake finding the new venue... the new venue was the same place i was at last party...
the crowd was amazing... the set-up extremely festive... some of the tattoos blew my mind...
i had a surprising half an hour of agitation on the dancefloor caused by last night's news... not helped too much by a couple of people being aggressively trashed and in my face (i wouldn't have minded if they'd been a half a metre away)... and texas faggot played some incredible stuff but most of his set was a little too weird for me...
haltya started off a little awkwardly, but when he warmed up: damn...
ru55 was feeling tired, so we left early... i have got to find party-buddies who go the distance... the drive back was pleasant...
being awake for the other side of a sunrise makes it so much easier to appreciate a beautiful morning...
an ant... is walking back and forth across my screen...
... burning cigarette... not an entirely unfamiliar experience...
i was surprised by the speed with which ru55 arrived... we made it to the designated place quickly, but the party had moved... we then made a mistake finding the new venue... the new venue was the same place i was at last party...
the crowd was amazing... the set-up extremely festive... some of the tattoos blew my mind...
i had a surprising half an hour of agitation on the dancefloor caused by last night's news... not helped too much by a couple of people being aggressively trashed and in my face (i wouldn't have minded if they'd been a half a metre away)... and texas faggot played some incredible stuff but most of his set was a little too weird for me...
haltya started off a little awkwardly, but when he warmed up: damn...
ru55 was feeling tired, so we left early... i have got to find party-buddies who go the distance... the drive back was pleasant...
being awake for the other side of a sunrise makes it so much easier to appreciate a beautiful morning...
an ant... is walking back and forth across my screen...
Friday, July 31, 2009
planned out
oh, well. i'm quite disappointed. but even if she's not ready / interested, at least i met and spent time with someone i know i really like. when it comes to girls, that just doesn't happen very often.
trained!
and fed, now bed.
i hope spinnit and i actually meet up tonight, 'cause that's the plan and we haven't been sticking to those very much :(
training was great - i credit the pre-arrival energy drink with being able to keep up :P
we spent about an hour afterwards discussing the gym's current situation: it's high time our instructor left the organization and put her own name on the card, and we need sponsorship so we can send kids overseas to compete.
she's unsure how to begin, but that's like everything in life. things worth doing are never easy, but once you get going the way becomes clear.
i hope spinnit and i actually meet up tonight, 'cause that's the plan and we haven't been sticking to those very much :(
training was great - i credit the pre-arrival energy drink with being able to keep up :P
we spent about an hour afterwards discussing the gym's current situation: it's high time our instructor left the organization and put her own name on the card, and we need sponsorship so we can send kids overseas to compete.
she's unsure how to begin, but that's like everything in life. things worth doing are never easy, but once you get going the way becomes clear.
step back
i managed to obtain a copy of noble brats - life in this order, although it was apparently sold out at my usual haunt... i borrowed the drill, have just put up (finally!) the soap / shampoo holder in the shower and a matching toilet roll holder next to the toilet, and decided to risk it and put up both clocks with nails instead.
seems good :)
now to return the drill and contemplate pre-training breakfast!
seems good :)
now to return the drill and contemplate pre-training breakfast!
ha! a nap, he thought.
damn! i woke up at 7.30am... nuts.
oh, well. at least i have an achievement already: one of the inspiration particles that hit on wednesday was for a video short, and this morning i pieced together a song that would make a perfect match! only now i need to practice, because i don't have the skills to keep it smooth :P
squid - one in a million made it into the finals! i don't understand how it's possible to vote, though. 528 matches in 22 hours??!? there's not enough time! (even if i didn't leave the computer for the next 22 hours :P)
the noble brats album is available! i'm off to buy it now ^_^
i'm going to pick up a drill on the way, only i'm concerned about drilling for a heavy clock... particularly because i haven't a clue how one knows to avoid wiring...
oh, well. at least i have an achievement already: one of the inspiration particles that hit on wednesday was for a video short, and this morning i pieced together a song that would make a perfect match! only now i need to practice, because i don't have the skills to keep it smooth :P
squid - one in a million made it into the finals! i don't understand how it's possible to vote, though. 528 matches in 22 hours??!? there's not enough time! (even if i didn't leave the computer for the next 22 hours :P)
the noble brats album is available! i'm off to buy it now ^_^
i'm going to pick up a drill on the way, only i'm concerned about drilling for a heavy clock... particularly because i haven't a clue how one knows to avoid wiring...
Thursday, July 30, 2009
thank the gods, thursday's over!
the tail end of a discussion on deborah (דבורה) and yael's ability to overcome revulsion and do the do... and wolfmother - woman came up on the playlist :)
there's been so much effort put into pulling a prank on the new guy that i was certain he'd suspect something, but apparently he's completely taken in. i'm glad i have a role to play, and it's being a right bastard :P
yesterday's forgeries' severity continued to be debated. one highlight:
"i really think that you're a great guy - sympathetic, upstanding, and a really cool dude"
my response? "i may be upstanding, but that's the only thing you got right. i'm just not as cool as you."
on a slightly lighter note - nystire informed me that a major i sent an email to months ago explained his lack of a response: "i didn't understand the mail, so i binned it". i sent him an explanation of how to reply with question marks.
...
i drew pictures.
i'm really impressed that i'm still going on two hours' sleep and two cups of coffee. i even enjoyed work today! a couple of solid milestones on my side-project that impressed the hell out of my TL.
i have tickets to tomorrow night's party - haltya and texas faggot are both playing ^_^
on the way back from the acquisition, i stopped to pay the chef a visit and let him impress me with a corned-beef salad that put classy food advertisements to shame - and tasted amazing :D
shite! is it 9pm already? all i did was shower and open facebook for just one second... nap!
there's been so much effort put into pulling a prank on the new guy that i was certain he'd suspect something, but apparently he's completely taken in. i'm glad i have a role to play, and it's being a right bastard :P
yesterday's forgeries' severity continued to be debated. one highlight:
"i really think that you're a great guy - sympathetic, upstanding, and a really cool dude"
my response? "i may be upstanding, but that's the only thing you got right. i'm just not as cool as you."
on a slightly lighter note - nystire informed me that a major i sent an email to months ago explained his lack of a response: "i didn't understand the mail, so i binned it". i sent him an explanation of how to reply with question marks.
...
i drew pictures.
i'm really impressed that i'm still going on two hours' sleep and two cups of coffee. i even enjoyed work today! a couple of solid milestones on my side-project that impressed the hell out of my TL.
i have tickets to tomorrow night's party - haltya and texas faggot are both playing ^_^
on the way back from the acquisition, i stopped to pay the chef a visit and let him impress me with a corned-beef salad that put classy food advertisements to shame - and tasted amazing :D
shite! is it 9pm already? all i did was shower and open facebook for just one second... nap!
a shocking morning meat discovery
is it possible that my TL is right??? less meat?
at least somebody's on my side of the prohibition fence this morning :)
at least somebody's on my side of the prohibition fence this morning :)
push 'n tug
and half an hour before giving up and taking a taxi instead of a shuttle... at least i got the opportunity to inform a taxi driver that there's no point in creeping over the pedestrian crossing at the red light.
i had a good chat with my mum: i'm really glad i have someone to share the irony of today's events with :)
we watched a really good movie - strangers (israeli meets palestinian in berlin) - and we've fallen into a kind of a groove where things are strangely-comfortably-awkward. i'm hoping this will change now that her friend's going back to france and we won't have a chaperone anymore :P
anyway, T-2.5 to wake-up.
i had a good chat with my mum: i'm really glad i have someone to share the irony of today's events with :)
we watched a really good movie - strangers (israeli meets palestinian in berlin) - and we've fallen into a kind of a groove where things are strangely-comfortably-awkward. i'm hoping this will change now that her friend's going back to france and we won't have a chaperone anymore :P
anyway, T-2.5 to wake-up.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
humidity rising
i thought yesterday's was bad... today was disgusting. i felt like the wickedest witch of the west after the bucket hits her. and being in uniform didn't help, either.
speaking of which, the feeling i got from the man in the suit today was positive. i'm praying that he's as honest as he comes across.
[i've never heard of anyone being told "TMI" in these situations]
[john milton - paradise lost: book ii, 236..249 - it's frightening how appropriate these verses are to both my current situation and my general outlook on life]
on the way to meet the man, the bastard bus driver "did me a favour" and told me i'd reached my stop about ten icky minutes' walk (and a slight navigational error) away; i found out when i left that the line stops right outside.
i made it back in time for the presentation of hive (tahoma was surprised), and lunch. we have a new kid who's hysterically unwittingly funny (he's trying to establish himself... badly...), and i was still giggling when i picked up the soup ladle. if i'd stopped to take a breath maybe i wouldn't have dropped it in the soup tureen :$
when we got back, it was time to hogtie and dowse the kinder, the cadet and the new kid (all at once). we were all having a raucous, grand old time - right until the unit commander appeared and put a stop to it.
even the victims were disappointed, it's a sign of respect. i had a go at the guy in charge for not checking beforehand that the unit commander was otherwise occupied.
i returned to an inbox containing a couple of mails between me and a kid with whom i share mutual disgust... someone else had been cutting and pasting mails to make it look like the two of us were having an online altercation. i sent a very serious threat (which i *really* hope nobody pushes me to carry out) to deal with any further forgeries in an official manner. that will not be fun.
our entire unit was subjected to a presentation, one of the highlights being that someone was written about and somebody else's picture was displayed - causing mass hysterics and embarrassing the person responsible no end. the picture was of someone with the same name as mine, and later on our pointy-haired boss came to my desk to make a joke about my picture being splashed all over the place... maybe i shouldn't have climbed into him for not recognizing me, as usual... [it was one of the points i raised a couple of weeks ago: he can't differentiate between us at all]
nystire and i have been pretty good about exercising every day! today was really sweaty.
i've been introducing another section's commander to the israeli indie scene after he expressed interest, and i've continued to bring him discs even though his positive responses seemed a little off... i realized today that he's really not into any of it. oh, well.
on the way home i was hit by two giant inspiration particles. then i went shopping, and came back feeling even more inspired. and then these two happened:
"i don't care if they *DO* call themselves heinz, mustard is NOT supposed to turn into juice"
"when בגל'ה go bad" [bagelleh, pretzels]
i'm back judging indie rock; squid hit the semi-finals ^_^
nap-time, then heading off to spinnit's to watch a movie. it's the 9th of av, a severe mourning day so we won't be going out. almost everything's closed, anyway.
i miss the animaniacs; i think i'm gonna buy a dvd or two.
speaking of which, the feeling i got from the man in the suit today was positive. i'm praying that he's as honest as he comes across.
[i've never heard of anyone being told "TMI" in these situations]
[john milton - paradise lost: book ii, 236..249 - it's frightening how appropriate these verses are to both my current situation and my general outlook on life]
on the way to meet the man, the bastard bus driver "did me a favour" and told me i'd reached my stop about ten icky minutes' walk (and a slight navigational error) away; i found out when i left that the line stops right outside.
i made it back in time for the presentation of hive (tahoma was surprised), and lunch. we have a new kid who's hysterically unwittingly funny (he's trying to establish himself... badly...), and i was still giggling when i picked up the soup ladle. if i'd stopped to take a breath maybe i wouldn't have dropped it in the soup tureen :$
when we got back, it was time to hogtie and dowse the kinder, the cadet and the new kid (all at once). we were all having a raucous, grand old time - right until the unit commander appeared and put a stop to it.
even the victims were disappointed, it's a sign of respect. i had a go at the guy in charge for not checking beforehand that the unit commander was otherwise occupied.
i returned to an inbox containing a couple of mails between me and a kid with whom i share mutual disgust... someone else had been cutting and pasting mails to make it look like the two of us were having an online altercation. i sent a very serious threat (which i *really* hope nobody pushes me to carry out) to deal with any further forgeries in an official manner. that will not be fun.
our entire unit was subjected to a presentation, one of the highlights being that someone was written about and somebody else's picture was displayed - causing mass hysterics and embarrassing the person responsible no end. the picture was of someone with the same name as mine, and later on our pointy-haired boss came to my desk to make a joke about my picture being splashed all over the place... maybe i shouldn't have climbed into him for not recognizing me, as usual... [it was one of the points i raised a couple of weeks ago: he can't differentiate between us at all]
nystire and i have been pretty good about exercising every day! today was really sweaty.
i've been introducing another section's commander to the israeli indie scene after he expressed interest, and i've continued to bring him discs even though his positive responses seemed a little off... i realized today that he's really not into any of it. oh, well.
on the way home i was hit by two giant inspiration particles. then i went shopping, and came back feeling even more inspired. and then these two happened:
"i don't care if they *DO* call themselves heinz, mustard is NOT supposed to turn into juice"
"when בגל'ה go bad" [bagelleh, pretzels]
i'm back judging indie rock; squid hit the semi-finals ^_^
nap-time, then heading off to spinnit's to watch a movie. it's the 9th of av, a severe mourning day so we won't be going out. almost everything's closed, anyway.
i miss the animaniacs; i think i'm gonna buy a dvd or two.
aww - that wasn't it at all!
i meant to nap for an hour, not sleep for eight! i haven't been rollerblading in ages :/
at least i remembered to take out the laundry :P
nystire and i suspect that someone in our office wrote this
at least i remembered to take out the laundry :P
nystire and i suspect that someone in our office wrote this
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
if nobody ate meat...
then nobody would raise cattle. therefore we can infer that if you were to reduce your personal red-meat consumption by fifteen percent, less cattle would be raised, which would reduce carbon-emissions.
- my glorious team leader
one really super-awesome thing about the bus station at 6.30am: super-awesome if you love flies, that is...
i spent my morning bleary-eyed and struggling with c# - the event system is so convoluted that while i've got sound logic on an incredibly useful tool i've written, i can't make all the functionality available because the events begin calling themselves... in spite of my having built in fail-safes.
*grumble*
i blame both parties for the prang we were in this afternoon - the driver of our car wasn't scanning obsessively while reversing, and the other driver was a complete **** who inserted his car neatly behind ours a) at an odd angle and b) when it was obvious that we were reversing (the motion and the lights are a bit of a give-away, i think).
i'm shocked that i had an appetite, actually - i got the next phone call. tomorrow isn't a big day, as such, but it is portentous.
while the morning was okay, the afternoon saw me incapable of coherent speech and physically unable to keep my eyes open - that's after two post-lunch cups of coffee (strong, black as usual) and even a couple of energy bars :S
we went off to see the kinder's promotion, with pleasant, dreamy music in the beginning and then der kommissar to wake us up when we neared the place. it was a nice ceremony, although the major handling it looked a bit... mmmm... empty.
the humidity was unbearable on the way home (it still is). i sat down to make a mess with the last mango, and am about to crash for an hour before rollerblading :)
- my glorious team leader
one really super-awesome thing about the bus station at 6.30am: super-awesome if you love flies, that is...
i spent my morning bleary-eyed and struggling with c# - the event system is so convoluted that while i've got sound logic on an incredibly useful tool i've written, i can't make all the functionality available because the events begin calling themselves... in spite of my having built in fail-safes.
*grumble*
i blame both parties for the prang we were in this afternoon - the driver of our car wasn't scanning obsessively while reversing, and the other driver was a complete **** who inserted his car neatly behind ours a) at an odd angle and b) when it was obvious that we were reversing (the motion and the lights are a bit of a give-away, i think).
i'm shocked that i had an appetite, actually - i got the next phone call. tomorrow isn't a big day, as such, but it is portentous.
while the morning was okay, the afternoon saw me incapable of coherent speech and physically unable to keep my eyes open - that's after two post-lunch cups of coffee (strong, black as usual) and even a couple of energy bars :S
we went off to see the kinder's promotion, with pleasant, dreamy music in the beginning and then der kommissar to wake us up when we neared the place. it was a nice ceremony, although the major handling it looked a bit... mmmm... empty.
the humidity was unbearable on the way home (it still is). i sat down to make a mess with the last mango, and am about to crash for an hour before rollerblading :)
wanting for more
dammit! i just got home, and i've still got tons to offload... i just sat with spinnit at a really cool bar (*really* cool, the music was absolutely insane, the bartender was actually pleasant and the crowd was friendly) and we talked for a helluva long time...
daylight points:
a) i found a phone on the cistern in the men's room this morning, sending out a message to the entire unit tactfully wasn't very simple. when one of the girls sent a response asking if she'd understood it correctly, i sarcastically answered "however did you guess?"... she responded with an explanation.
b) our SC has understood that the lack of translation software is a problem. i actually had to take one of the guys from another team to help me write out an investigation this afternoon - to be fair, it was a formal investigation into the causes and possible solutions for one of the girls failing to eat ice-cream without ruining her shirt :P
i slept like a baby on the shuttle home, and in the hurry to evacuate when we arrived at my stop (hey, you! this is your stop!) i almost took out my headphones. i thank protoplasm, he taught me a nifty looping trick in january that saved them :)
i hurried off to the mall, bought red ribbon and the gift (i convinced the guys to go with hive), stopped to grab a sandwich in preparation for the 8-11pm training and had already begun tucking in when our master called to ask where i was.
"bwff iff fwonly fich firty!", i mumbled, "training is at eight!"
apparently, during the last three or four years the times have been moved... now from 6-9pm. crappola!
the bus took an hour to get there, so i arrived at 8.20pm. what went down well was that a few of the guys could stay longer, so i got two hours of training anyway ^_^
and good training, serious work on the sack, painfully great stretching and good exercise in the forms :)
i feel good! and even better for having managed to go down to florentin to meet spinnit and still make it back in time for a couple of hours' sleep.
daylight points:
a) i found a phone on the cistern in the men's room this morning, sending out a message to the entire unit tactfully wasn't very simple. when one of the girls sent a response asking if she'd understood it correctly, i sarcastically answered "however did you guess?"... she responded with an explanation.
b) our SC has understood that the lack of translation software is a problem. i actually had to take one of the guys from another team to help me write out an investigation this afternoon - to be fair, it was a formal investigation into the causes and possible solutions for one of the girls failing to eat ice-cream without ruining her shirt :P
i slept like a baby on the shuttle home, and in the hurry to evacuate when we arrived at my stop (hey, you! this is your stop!) i almost took out my headphones. i thank protoplasm, he taught me a nifty looping trick in january that saved them :)
i hurried off to the mall, bought red ribbon and the gift (i convinced the guys to go with hive), stopped to grab a sandwich in preparation for the 8-11pm training and had already begun tucking in when our master called to ask where i was.
"bwff iff fwonly fich firty!", i mumbled, "training is at eight!"
apparently, during the last three or four years the times have been moved... now from 6-9pm. crappola!
the bus took an hour to get there, so i arrived at 8.20pm. what went down well was that a few of the guys could stay longer, so i got two hours of training anyway ^_^
and good training, serious work on the sack, painfully great stretching and good exercise in the forms :)
i feel good! and even better for having managed to go down to florentin to meet spinnit and still make it back in time for a couple of hours' sleep.
Monday, July 27, 2009
glimmer of hope
i got a phone call last night - i *really* didn't expect a phone call. maybe the spinnit story isn't over? we shall see.
i worry that my ring-tone is shortening my lifespan... i certainly don't miss phone calls, but maybe jumping out of my skin whenever someone tries to get hold of me isn't healthy.
i just had a financial moment, and checked my bills. i thought i went a bit nuts this month, but looking over the numbers i'm doing just fine ^_^ [i can't wait to earn a real salary, though]
i worry that my ring-tone is shortening my lifespan... i certainly don't miss phone calls, but maybe jumping out of my skin whenever someone tries to get hold of me isn't healthy.
i just had a financial moment, and checked my bills. i thought i went a bit nuts this month, but looking over the numbers i'm doing just fine ^_^ [i can't wait to earn a real salary, though]
Sunday, July 26, 2009
a whine-song
behold, i send you forth as a wolf in the midst of sheep
i have sold my soul
to pay for my crimes
to live out my days
with pure reason, without rhyme
wearing my woolly coat
i snuck into the flock
to bump and chow and bleat
to the beat of a shepherd's clock
while my teeth become blunted
my eyes remain sharp
while my neighbours are scared
they know not of what
my brethren behold me
shake their heads disbelieving
convinced that it's only myself i'm deceiving
i watch them with envy
as they play with their claws
and i salivate as fresh blood drips from their jaws
i laugh bitterly
as sheepdog chases his tail
with self-loathing i placate him
with compliance and wail
and forget myself
and run circles
and back
despising my comrades,
but my brothers must eat
i ruminate on my dispo(sit/ssess)ion,
contemplating the wisdom of that earlier decision
hiding tears of anguish
while i quietly languish
my pack awaits, i pine
i dream wolf-dreams
intermittently my eyes do shine
for one day
my task will be done
and i'll return
from whence i've come
i have sold my soul
to pay for my crimes
to live out my days
with pure reason, without rhyme
wearing my woolly coat
i snuck into the flock
to bump and chow and bleat
to the beat of a shepherd's clock
while my teeth become blunted
my eyes remain sharp
while my neighbours are scared
they know not of what
my brethren behold me
shake their heads disbelieving
convinced that it's only myself i'm deceiving
i watch them with envy
as they play with their claws
and i salivate as fresh blood drips from their jaws
i laugh bitterly
as sheepdog chases his tail
with self-loathing i placate him
with compliance and wail
and forget myself
and run circles
and back
despising my comrades,
but my brothers must eat
i ruminate on my dispo(sit/ssess)ion,
contemplating the wisdom of that earlier decision
hiding tears of anguish
while i quietly languish
my pack awaits, i pine
i dream wolf-dreams
intermittently my eyes do shine
for one day
my task will be done
and i'll return
from whence i've come
a day full of quotes
our SC:
"you know there are companies that don't have babylon?"
- they've just removed it from my computer, i was explaining to him that that's going to cost them in productivity. at least he tried to make it seem like a joke after i glared at him, instead of explaining (as is his wont) how much better it is to be in the army than in hi-tech.
my TL:
"but we knew that from the beginning!"
- after i just fixed the bug that's taken me more than two VERY frustrating weeks to find... so why didn't you freakin' TELL me in the beginning, brainiac?!
[whoever is responsible for that bug deservs to lose his fingers, it was a really dumb one and he didn't have the excuse of not understanding what he was trying to do]
my morning ride (although he's on holiday, it popped into my head to aggravate me this afternoon):
"if i can't understand it, it doesn't have meaning"
- on songs that use metaphor; also, he is of the opinion that people who live in the city and participate in the events and parties are doing so only because they feel that their lives are missing something.
the goto guy and i had a very amusing fight about which squid song (one in a million or not used to) he originally claimed sounds like the theme from doom 2 - i organized a meeting called "SQUID CHECK" which he forwarded on to others without context.
ourstage.com refers to me as a "gavel god". finally! the respect and recognition i deserve!
...
OR it could be that they're that grateful that i've judged so many rounds. 152 and counting... [out of 190]
i just went looking for a birthday present for an ex-team-mate. after giving up at the puzzle store, i went in to the gaming one... i got stuck there for longer than i expected... but at least i have a couple of ideas. one is a five-in-a-row tic-tac-toe with swiveling quarters, and the other is hive.
yeah, i was singing out loud - but not loud, like under my breath - on my way home. good songs. excellent songs. the two girls sitting on a bench on my way home didn't just snicker... they bawled. i think that was unnecessary.
cows.
i don't actually have anything to do this evening, so i think i'm gonna play some more final fantasy.
"you know there are companies that don't have babylon?"
- they've just removed it from my computer, i was explaining to him that that's going to cost them in productivity. at least he tried to make it seem like a joke after i glared at him, instead of explaining (as is his wont) how much better it is to be in the army than in hi-tech.
my TL:
"but we knew that from the beginning!"
- after i just fixed the bug that's taken me more than two VERY frustrating weeks to find... so why didn't you freakin' TELL me in the beginning, brainiac?!
[whoever is responsible for that bug deservs to lose his fingers, it was a really dumb one and he didn't have the excuse of not understanding what he was trying to do]
my morning ride (although he's on holiday, it popped into my head to aggravate me this afternoon):
"if i can't understand it, it doesn't have meaning"
- on songs that use metaphor; also, he is of the opinion that people who live in the city and participate in the events and parties are doing so only because they feel that their lives are missing something.
the goto guy and i had a very amusing fight about which squid song (one in a million or not used to) he originally claimed sounds like the theme from doom 2 - i organized a meeting called "SQUID CHECK" which he forwarded on to others without context.
ourstage.com refers to me as a "gavel god". finally! the respect and recognition i deserve!
...
OR it could be that they're that grateful that i've judged so many rounds. 152 and counting... [out of 190]
i just went looking for a birthday present for an ex-team-mate. after giving up at the puzzle store, i went in to the gaming one... i got stuck there for longer than i expected... but at least i have a couple of ideas. one is a five-in-a-row tic-tac-toe with swiveling quarters, and the other is hive.
yeah, i was singing out loud - but not loud, like under my breath - on my way home. good songs. excellent songs. the two girls sitting on a bench on my way home didn't just snicker... they bawled. i think that was unnecessary.
cows.
i don't actually have anything to do this evening, so i think i'm gonna play some more final fantasy.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
the yawn fantastic
final fantasy xiii was a fantastic way to end a day filled with... not much. that's what i call a great weekend!
now to prepare for another 5.30am... that can only be done with a pillow.
now to prepare for another 5.30am... that can only be done with a pillow.
judgemental
i spent a surprising amount of today sleeping, and almost all of it indoors. most of the time where being indoors didn't intersect with sleeping, i spent going from battle to battle judging indie rock at ourstage.com, and have discovered a number of great songs in the process.
in particular: graffiti sun - el diablo, elephant gun - mexicana, browniesshow - slipping away, russell stafford - everytime i come down :)
and simultaneously practising scales... i'm not any good, although i'm definitely improving :P
i think spinnit is a non-happening, she's seemed on/off the last couple of days, and today: nothing. i don't get it, but whatever. a pity.
i'd forgotten how hard clipping in the ball of a piercing can be... and it's made much harder when it's not on your body. leverage is complicated on a metal ring.
glue! why didn't anyone else think of that?!
in particular: graffiti sun - el diablo, elephant gun - mexicana, browniesshow - slipping away, russell stafford - everytime i come down :)
and simultaneously practising scales... i'm not any good, although i'm definitely improving :P
i think spinnit is a non-happening, she's seemed on/off the last couple of days, and today: nothing. i don't get it, but whatever. a pity.
i'd forgotten how hard clipping in the ball of a piercing can be... and it's made much harder when it's not on your body. leverage is complicated on a metal ring.
glue! why didn't anyone else think of that?!
184 minutes
of surfing, browsing, reading, catching up...
doof 2009: i suddenly regret missing it :(
a mistake i don't want to make with texas faggot and haltya (next week!)
yay! brian malow explains my worldview far better than i do!
interesting space news (although a few days old)
present: spacex commercial satellite launch
future: ionic potential
i found bizarro's bunny blues very amusing. even more so was the story behind the previous comic.
blazblue looks like fun! i wonder what my life would be like if i had gaming buddies.
i don't know if it's really necessary to see the comic in order to appreciate tycho's take on profanity censorship
ojingogo - what a beautifully drawn comic!
doof 2009: i suddenly regret missing it :(
a mistake i don't want to make with texas faggot and haltya (next week!)
yay! brian malow explains my worldview far better than i do!
interesting space news (although a few days old)
present: spacex commercial satellite launch
future: ionic potential
i found bizarro's bunny blues very amusing. even more so was the story behind the previous comic.
blazblue looks like fun! i wonder what my life would be like if i had gaming buddies.
i don't know if it's really necessary to see the comic in order to appreciate tycho's take on profanity censorship
ojingogo - what a beautifully drawn comic!
Friday, July 24, 2009
sleepin'
i started walking to the beach, but soon realized that my legs weren't going to carry me that far. i was just woken up by two phone calls - i answered the second one, it was wr having an interesting moment - and i think i'm going to go back to bed.
*way* too tired to go shopping, and i have no food :/
spinnit sent me an sms earlier, it has an odd tone... i'm beginning to lose the initial excitement and feel a bit... dispassionate.
*way* too tired to go shopping, and i have no food :/
spinnit sent me an sms earlier, it has an odd tone... i'm beginning to lose the initial excitement and feel a bit... dispassionate.
stretched and tender
... but i'll go play frisbee anyway :)
today was good - i got to sleep around 3am, woke up at 7.30am and managed to catch another two hours anyway :)
i did some shopping (another whiteboard) and had a cup of coffee with the hardware dude, then went to coffeeholic for an absolutely brilliant breakfast (the chef went a bit crazy) before going to train.
training was pretty good, and my new pads are big enough, comfortable and shiny :)
i was a bit irritated at the mall - they closed all the exits but one and there weren't any helpful signs around :/
eventually i got out, and have just had a shower. now it's beach time!
today was good - i got to sleep around 3am, woke up at 7.30am and managed to catch another two hours anyway :)
i did some shopping (another whiteboard) and had a cup of coffee with the hardware dude, then went to coffeeholic for an absolutely brilliant breakfast (the chef went a bit crazy) before going to train.
training was pretty good, and my new pads are big enough, comfortable and shiny :)
i was a bit irritated at the mall - they closed all the exits but one and there weren't any helpful signs around :/
eventually i got out, and have just had a shower. now it's beach time!
"spit" and roll
i left an open door
i left an open door
so you could get to know me
my keys are hanging just inside
the inner walls are lonely
you'll find inside my style of death
you'll see through it to yourself
close by, not quite locked away
my story on a shelf
if you look deeper just through there
my nature splashed around
the half-formed pictures of my mind
their whys cannot be found
locked away deep in the back
the tools and space
to view my world around me
and turn it over
inside out
reflect it back for all to see
danny gilboa and his band were amazing tonight! that's two excellent performances in a row ^_^
gco called me up just before i left, and really annoyed me. i don't appreciate his attitude towards me, i don't need friends who don't respect me and i certainly don't need to waste my time with people who talk a lot and do little - or at the very least, think that *my* talk is cheap.
i left on time, arrived only a little late, and discovered that i'd been misinformed and that the theatre / club was only opening half an hour later... oh, well. i went to olive and had a sandwich, scribbling notes and laughing at some of the things i wrote half a year ago. i have filled the sketchpad i bought in december, it's now time for a new one :)
the addition of an electric guitar and a synth made an enormous difference, and it was a night of serious rock 'n roll - i thoroughly enjoyed myself. i walked back slowly, stopping for great frozen yoghurt on the way, and have been plucking my guitar and learning about sound and will soon get into bed.
i had a good laugh at myself on the way back - my conversation with the man in the suit has put me in a bit of a bind aside from the obvious stress of my future's uncertainty: i promised to really behave myself until the end of my service, and that's an awful long time :P
i left an open door
so you could get to know me
my keys are hanging just inside
the inner walls are lonely
you'll find inside my style of death
you'll see through it to yourself
close by, not quite locked away
my story on a shelf
if you look deeper just through there
my nature splashed around
the half-formed pictures of my mind
their whys cannot be found
locked away deep in the back
the tools and space
to view my world around me
and turn it over
inside out
reflect it back for all to see
danny gilboa and his band were amazing tonight! that's two excellent performances in a row ^_^
gco called me up just before i left, and really annoyed me. i don't appreciate his attitude towards me, i don't need friends who don't respect me and i certainly don't need to waste my time with people who talk a lot and do little - or at the very least, think that *my* talk is cheap.
i left on time, arrived only a little late, and discovered that i'd been misinformed and that the theatre / club was only opening half an hour later... oh, well. i went to olive and had a sandwich, scribbling notes and laughing at some of the things i wrote half a year ago. i have filled the sketchpad i bought in december, it's now time for a new one :)
the addition of an electric guitar and a synth made an enormous difference, and it was a night of serious rock 'n roll - i thoroughly enjoyed myself. i walked back slowly, stopping for great frozen yoghurt on the way, and have been plucking my guitar and learning about sound and will soon get into bed.
i had a good laugh at myself on the way back - my conversation with the man in the suit has put me in a bit of a bind aside from the obvious stress of my future's uncertainty: i promised to really behave myself until the end of my service, and that's an awful long time :P
Thursday, July 23, 2009
when the lord giveth,
the lord reserveth the right to make baa'ing noises. i began my day at the train station being struck repeatedly by inspiration particles.
here's the worst news of the week: i discovered today that i could've been getting up at 6.30 instead of 5.30 - the girl i wanted to get a ride with hasn't been on holiday, she simply wasn't getting my messages. i'd scream, but i guess it figures.
our SC was standing next to me when i exclaimed that getting up at 5.30am is inhuman. his response:
"what? i've been getting up before then for the past ten years!"
and i couldn't help myself - in a voice way louder than i'd intended and with most of our unit standing around... "BUT SIR, YOU'RE NOT A HUMAN BEING!"
... the funny bit was him trying unsuccessfully to pull a rescue, and then i went and twisted the knife by asking how all the interviews are going. at least if i get court-martialled for insubordination, it'll be justified :P
later on, outside his office my team-mate asked me how to sign for his interview with the SC; i told him (maybe a little too loud) "authorized absence", and that got everyone giggling...
i was so tired today that i needed a cup of coffee in order to go and buy more... and then i needed a nap before i had enough strength to raise the cup to my lips...
... work-wise: i got frustrated with the primary project and spent most of the day on the side one. it was slow going, though - c# still feels alien to me :/
... spinnit-wise: are things still good? it seems so, and i'm constantly surprised. i hope i get the hang of this without complicating anything :P
i'm going to see dani gilboa (דני גלבוע) tonight, it's always great to see him perform. i think i'm going to ask him for some mentoring.
here's the worst news of the week: i discovered today that i could've been getting up at 6.30 instead of 5.30 - the girl i wanted to get a ride with hasn't been on holiday, she simply wasn't getting my messages. i'd scream, but i guess it figures.
our SC was standing next to me when i exclaimed that getting up at 5.30am is inhuman. his response:
"what? i've been getting up before then for the past ten years!"
and i couldn't help myself - in a voice way louder than i'd intended and with most of our unit standing around... "BUT SIR, YOU'RE NOT A HUMAN BEING!"
... the funny bit was him trying unsuccessfully to pull a rescue, and then i went and twisted the knife by asking how all the interviews are going. at least if i get court-martialled for insubordination, it'll be justified :P
later on, outside his office my team-mate asked me how to sign for his interview with the SC; i told him (maybe a little too loud) "authorized absence", and that got everyone giggling...
i was so tired today that i needed a cup of coffee in order to go and buy more... and then i needed a nap before i had enough strength to raise the cup to my lips...
... work-wise: i got frustrated with the primary project and spent most of the day on the side one. it was slow going, though - c# still feels alien to me :/
... spinnit-wise: are things still good? it seems so, and i'm constantly surprised. i hope i get the hang of this without complicating anything :P
i'm going to see dani gilboa (דני גלבוע) tonight, it's always great to see him perform. i think i'm going to ask him for some mentoring.
who can live like this?
these hours should be reserved exclusively for people who haven't gone to bed yet!
it took me fifteen minutes to get out of bed - i was deeply into a really good dream... before that, i couldn't sleep without making some noise - and with that sensation alone the guitar has paid for itself :)
it took me fifteen minutes to get out of bed - i was deeply into a really good dream... before that, i couldn't sleep without making some noise - and with that sensation alone the guitar has paid for itself :)
total-dark-waste
it's very painful having another slice of reality thrown in my face: i have squandered the most enjoyable and lively years of my life being serious and productive. if you don't have soul, that's excusable... if you don't have an inner beast, you might not even notice.
i have only one justification, and i'll be damned if i don't manage to make something of it.
---
what brought this on was me searching for spinnit* in florentin at an hour where everyone's out and about (the sane people, at least) and all i could think of was waking up at 5.30am. that's a stupid time for anyone to get out of bed. particularly if it's for work.
*sigh*
panic ensemble were absolutely phenomenal! as usual, i guess :) i felt like a bit of a heel for making the girls hurry when the performance began almost an hour late... and spinnit was exhausted so she left early.
* after her friend and i discovered that she wasn't at home after the show, we couldn't get hold of her. eventually she did call, and i stopped looking and made my way home.
at least i managed to tune my guitar.
i have only one justification, and i'll be damned if i don't manage to make something of it.
what brought this on was me searching for spinnit* in florentin at an hour where everyone's out and about (the sane people, at least) and all i could think of was waking up at 5.30am. that's a stupid time for anyone to get out of bed. particularly if it's for work.
*sigh*
panic ensemble were absolutely phenomenal! as usual, i guess :) i felt like a bit of a heel for making the girls hurry when the performance began almost an hour late... and spinnit was exhausted so she left early.
* after her friend and i discovered that she wasn't at home after the show, we couldn't get hold of her. eventually she did call, and i stopped looking and made my way home.
at least i managed to tune my guitar.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
out of tune
my body, feet included, matches my guitar: not good.
i had a long day, the bug i've been attempting to correct has been producing horrors unimaginable - or extremely confusing at the very least. i feel like i'm making headway, but it's slow going.
we went out for humus for lunch... i discovered that adding meat more than doubles the price and rediscovered that it's too heavy a meal to consume before going back to work.
i had a long day, the bug i've been attempting to correct has been producing horrors unimaginable - or extremely confusing at the very least. i feel like i'm making headway, but it's slow going.
we went out for humus for lunch... i discovered that adding meat more than doubles the price and rediscovered that it's too heavy a meal to consume before going back to work.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
swollen feet, lumpy legs
i can't believe i made it to training tonight! i can't believe i didn't drop dead from the sprint there!
the day was terrible, i was absolutely exhausted and doing the most draining of chores imaginable. i kept passing out, only to wake up in a worse state than before. two cups of strong coffee and an energy drink didn't help at all, a boring hour-and-a-half meeting put half-ton weights on my eyelids, and having to flee at a dead run* prior to lunch definitely didn't make it any easier.
* including a couple of serial-killer-movie style moments, one of which involved me holding my assailant at bay behind a door that he had better leverage with. i took a deep breath and launched myself at the next door (which thankfully swing outwards) and he missed me by an inch or two at the most as i hit the stairs and made it down them faster than him**.
** ah, yes. the story: my team-mate got promoted, to celebrate i organized a "washing". this meant catching him, wrestling with him until we had him under control, hog-tying him (nystire did a neat job), carrying him like a giant sack of potatoes and then drenching him with about six buckets of mucky water.
because it took a while to get organized once we had him tied, i took to tickling him while the other guys stuffed his mouth with grass and covered him with dirt. once he'd managed to free himself (with a little assistance from someone's pocket-knife... he was tied really well) he took to trying to hug us, to share his grimy state.
i had a haircut today. i don't like getting my hair cut :(
i got my copy of dork whore back, and found myself giggling at random snippets. definitely worth a re-read. one of the ultra-religious guys in our unit came over and looked at the cover... then ran away when he realized what he was reading }:D
i kept passing out on the train, but when i was nearing my stop i began to psyche myself up for the run. i got home, switched clothes and ran all the way to dizengoff center, joined the group and actually survived a couple of fights.
a pity that the last few moments of the last fight went like this:
a) a wince, a pause, and a couple of seconds hobbling around to avoid putting pressure on my right foot
b) resume fighting
c) two seconds pass, another attack, an even bigger wince, and then awkward shifting from left to right as both of them were out of commission
d) bowing out of the fight
e) discovering the damage to my legs about two minutes later - they're actually lumpy
i'm paid up for the next month, and am formally back in training. by next week i should have my pads, so at least this week's performance won't be repeated :P
i stopped by coffeeholic for an excellent post-training dinner and good talk with the chef and his girlfriend, then came home, showered, ran laundry, caught up with my mum, had a very funny / awkward conversation with spinnit and am now going to bed.
here's an interesting article on the internet's effect on how our brain works
the day was terrible, i was absolutely exhausted and doing the most draining of chores imaginable. i kept passing out, only to wake up in a worse state than before. two cups of strong coffee and an energy drink didn't help at all, a boring hour-and-a-half meeting put half-ton weights on my eyelids, and having to flee at a dead run* prior to lunch definitely didn't make it any easier.
* including a couple of serial-killer-movie style moments, one of which involved me holding my assailant at bay behind a door that he had better leverage with. i took a deep breath and launched myself at the next door (which thankfully swing outwards) and he missed me by an inch or two at the most as i hit the stairs and made it down them faster than him**.
** ah, yes. the story: my team-mate got promoted, to celebrate i organized a "washing". this meant catching him, wrestling with him until we had him under control, hog-tying him (nystire did a neat job), carrying him like a giant sack of potatoes and then drenching him with about six buckets of mucky water.
because it took a while to get organized once we had him tied, i took to tickling him while the other guys stuffed his mouth with grass and covered him with dirt. once he'd managed to free himself (with a little assistance from someone's pocket-knife... he was tied really well) he took to trying to hug us, to share his grimy state.
i had a haircut today. i don't like getting my hair cut :(
i got my copy of dork whore back, and found myself giggling at random snippets. definitely worth a re-read. one of the ultra-religious guys in our unit came over and looked at the cover... then ran away when he realized what he was reading }:D
i kept passing out on the train, but when i was nearing my stop i began to psyche myself up for the run. i got home, switched clothes and ran all the way to dizengoff center, joined the group and actually survived a couple of fights.
a pity that the last few moments of the last fight went like this:
a) a wince, a pause, and a couple of seconds hobbling around to avoid putting pressure on my right foot
b) resume fighting
c) two seconds pass, another attack, an even bigger wince, and then awkward shifting from left to right as both of them were out of commission
d) bowing out of the fight
e) discovering the damage to my legs about two minutes later - they're actually lumpy
i'm paid up for the next month, and am formally back in training. by next week i should have my pads, so at least this week's performance won't be repeated :P
i stopped by coffeeholic for an excellent post-training dinner and good talk with the chef and his girlfriend, then came home, showered, ran laundry, caught up with my mum, had a very funny / awkward conversation with spinnit and am now going to bed.
here's an interesting article on the internet's effect on how our brain works
it's another late night, but...
no, this one was also worth it. can we continue to be this comfortable? unfortunately, spinnit's coming down with something, so we couldn't go out. this was excellent, because it afforded us an hour or so just talking quietly while her friend who's staying with her busied herself around the apartment.
on the way home i sat with idiot girl on the bus, and our conversation was inane and pleasant. also, i find it much easier to deal with her when i can say that i'm seeing someone - she instantly becomes less pushy.
i must hit the hay... it was an odd day and tomorrow includes taekwondo and rollerblades.
on the way home i sat with idiot girl on the bus, and our conversation was inane and pleasant. also, i find it much easier to deal with her when i can say that i'm seeing someone - she instantly becomes less pushy.
i must hit the hay... it was an odd day and tomorrow includes taekwondo and rollerblades.
Monday, July 20, 2009
the zombie theme runs through it
from joyous wake-up to the base i felt like i was sleepwalking. i slept strangely on the shuttle, and managed to damage my foot in the process :/
nystire jump-started my day by hitting the back of my noggin with a hard-boiled egg... those things frikkin' hurt. i spent the morning working on the frustration that's been dragging my brain into a vortex of boredom for the past couple of weeks - and was so excited when i found the solution that i actually *did* river-dance!
a pity that towards the end of the day we discovered that my solution was only partial, that there's another related bug that i wasn't aware of :'(
our SC is already blatantly ignoring our discussion yesterday. how surprising.
i had a very weird hallway experience - one of the guys caught up with me because the head of our unit had informed him that i was someone to speak to in terms of future plans for working in the space industry. that was very sweet.
i gave him my perspective and let him know which direction i'm planning on taking, and he expressed interest :)
around lunchtime spinnit got in touch with me via sms... we had a conversation that left me feeling so awkward that i had to call her to discover that i hadn't left a bad impression. i think i'll stick to voice responses.
i spent the latter half of the day discovering weaknesses in c#, and achieved another milestone in my side-project.
almost at home i realized that i hadn't place the order for the wedding gift telephonically... they really surprised me, it was ready when i got there - and it came out beautifully! now for the garnishing ;)
aside from having left 4k dead thrown at me, showering, eating, failing with skype's sound settings and catching up on cartoons, i've had a very nothing evening. so i'm going to do a little bit of c++ work before spinnit picks me up.
nystire jump-started my day by hitting the back of my noggin with a hard-boiled egg... those things frikkin' hurt. i spent the morning working on the frustration that's been dragging my brain into a vortex of boredom for the past couple of weeks - and was so excited when i found the solution that i actually *did* river-dance!
a pity that towards the end of the day we discovered that my solution was only partial, that there's another related bug that i wasn't aware of :'(
our SC is already blatantly ignoring our discussion yesterday. how surprising.
i had a very weird hallway experience - one of the guys caught up with me because the head of our unit had informed him that i was someone to speak to in terms of future plans for working in the space industry. that was very sweet.
i gave him my perspective and let him know which direction i'm planning on taking, and he expressed interest :)
around lunchtime spinnit got in touch with me via sms... we had a conversation that left me feeling so awkward that i had to call her to discover that i hadn't left a bad impression. i think i'll stick to voice responses.
i spent the latter half of the day discovering weaknesses in c#, and achieved another milestone in my side-project.
almost at home i realized that i hadn't place the order for the wedding gift telephonically... they really surprised me, it was ready when i got there - and it came out beautifully! now for the garnishing ;)
aside from having left 4k dead thrown at me, showering, eating, failing with skype's sound settings and catching up on cartoons, i've had a very nothing evening. so i'm going to do a little bit of c++ work before spinnit picks me up.
popcorned
it's been at least ten minutes, and i'm only now beginning to wake up from a terrible nightmare. it was so bad, in fact, that i've been unable to shake the feeling that it's a real external malevolent force, that it's something sharing the space i'm occupying.
this is an ugly feeling.
what reason could i possibly have for bringing out these emotions? what really scares me? how am i dreaming of ultra-violent assailants who refuse to die regardless of the kinds of wounds i inflict upon them? why am i forcing myself to watch my comrades die?
and why, when confronted with a forced image of empty midnight streets am i filled with a complete dread that gives me the sense that i could physically immerse myself in it? i actually felt that if i did so i would "open" my home to real bad spirits...
i don't know how to deal with such an irrational fear, especially not one so strong.
this is an ugly feeling.
what reason could i possibly have for bringing out these emotions? what really scares me? how am i dreaming of ultra-violent assailants who refuse to die regardless of the kinds of wounds i inflict upon them? why am i forcing myself to watch my comrades die?
and why, when confronted with a forced image of empty midnight streets am i filled with a complete dread that gives me the sense that i could physically immerse myself in it? i actually felt that if i did so i would "open" my home to real bad spirits...
i don't know how to deal with such an irrational fear, especially not one so strong.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
"poetically hectic"
* the above phrase hijacked from moonflake
wr just left after spending a couple of hours passing along english literature material from his bachelor's degree (and leaving me with absolutely wonderful books and things!). i'd forgotten that he loves william blake - tiger so much that he has a tiger tattooed on his chest, and he liked my response (dead eye) ^_^
it was really a lot of fun pouring over the material with him - the two of us and literature are like two little children with a chest of cool toys :)
i talked with spinnit on the phone a couple of times today, and it wasn't at all uncomfortable. that's actually very unusual. we agreed not to meet up tonight because we've managed, during the course of a week, to realize that we can't trust ourselves to meet alone and say goodbye in a short span of time. i'm very, very pleased. so pleased, in fact, that i'm also very, very worried that this is merely an illusory excitement...
and hell, i haven't figured out yet if we're playing the game or not. either something very good, or an aneurysm is on its way :P
stretched
a heart stopped
silence, dead
slow, agonizing pressure building up
and holds
an eon passes... and then
an explosion, fiery warmth flooding in
a tidal wave
rolling, slamming against the chamber wall
and the heart beats once again
---
today was a big day: and it began with a lucid dream. i don't remember what was a long and detailed back-story, but i do remember the bit where it suddenly turned into a crazy action movie, from a shoot-out in the street to being surrounded in an old-age home by our attackers.
i needed to wake up at 5.30am (and i'll need to repeat that for the next two weeks), but i forgot to set my second alarm and so woke up with only ten minutes to rub my eyes, shave, dress and exit. the fact that it's possible doesn't make it suck any less.
nystire made a terrifying point today: we really are living out dilbert. it was my turn to talk to the pointy-haired boss today, and i threw a full page essay on the things he does that demotivate me.
to be fair, i really didn't expect his response to be as mature as it seemed. he started off making notes of his responses, and towards the end read my comment on his responses and justifications... this caused him to go back and re-read it from the top. we had a very interesting and positive-sounding discussion afterwards, and as i wrote at the end: i'm certain that nothing good will come of this, but i feel better for having the weight off my chest and i can always hope that some miracle will occur.
a kid in our sister unit got killed in a horrible accident on thursday, so our building was in the dumps today. it was in very poor taste that nystire and i had a laugh at the announcement, printed throughout the site, with dates that made it seem like the guy had been buried a month before he died...
the work i managed to get done today confused me. this bug-hunt i'm doing is extremely challenging.
[i don't know if nystire still reads my blog, but if so then congratulations are in order.]
the train home was nice; i had time to think, and there was a guy juggling in our car and that brought a smile to my face. i went straight to the mall to verify that the wedding gift i've been working on is good, and aside from positive technical confirmation the woman at the store pointed out a couple of "misses" which i'm really grateful for. i tidied those up when i got home, and will have the gift on order by tomorrow :)
but for now... to bed!
wr just left after spending a couple of hours passing along english literature material from his bachelor's degree (and leaving me with absolutely wonderful books and things!). i'd forgotten that he loves william blake - tiger so much that he has a tiger tattooed on his chest, and he liked my response (dead eye) ^_^
it was really a lot of fun pouring over the material with him - the two of us and literature are like two little children with a chest of cool toys :)
i talked with spinnit on the phone a couple of times today, and it wasn't at all uncomfortable. that's actually very unusual. we agreed not to meet up tonight because we've managed, during the course of a week, to realize that we can't trust ourselves to meet alone and say goodbye in a short span of time. i'm very, very pleased. so pleased, in fact, that i'm also very, very worried that this is merely an illusory excitement...
and hell, i haven't figured out yet if we're playing the game or not. either something very good, or an aneurysm is on its way :P
stretched
a heart stopped
silence, dead
slow, agonizing pressure building up
and holds
an eon passes... and then
an explosion, fiery warmth flooding in
a tidal wave
rolling, slamming against the chamber wall
and the heart beats once again
today was a big day: and it began with a lucid dream. i don't remember what was a long and detailed back-story, but i do remember the bit where it suddenly turned into a crazy action movie, from a shoot-out in the street to being surrounded in an old-age home by our attackers.
i needed to wake up at 5.30am (and i'll need to repeat that for the next two weeks), but i forgot to set my second alarm and so woke up with only ten minutes to rub my eyes, shave, dress and exit. the fact that it's possible doesn't make it suck any less.
nystire made a terrifying point today: we really are living out dilbert. it was my turn to talk to the pointy-haired boss today, and i threw a full page essay on the things he does that demotivate me.
to be fair, i really didn't expect his response to be as mature as it seemed. he started off making notes of his responses, and towards the end read my comment on his responses and justifications... this caused him to go back and re-read it from the top. we had a very interesting and positive-sounding discussion afterwards, and as i wrote at the end: i'm certain that nothing good will come of this, but i feel better for having the weight off my chest and i can always hope that some miracle will occur.
a kid in our sister unit got killed in a horrible accident on thursday, so our building was in the dumps today. it was in very poor taste that nystire and i had a laugh at the announcement, printed throughout the site, with dates that made it seem like the guy had been buried a month before he died...
the work i managed to get done today confused me. this bug-hunt i'm doing is extremely challenging.
[i don't know if nystire still reads my blog, but if so then congratulations are in order.]
the train home was nice; i had time to think, and there was a guy juggling in our car and that brought a smile to my face. i went straight to the mall to verify that the wedding gift i've been working on is good, and aside from positive technical confirmation the woman at the store pointed out a couple of "misses" which i'm really grateful for. i tidied those up when i got home, and will have the gift on order by tomorrow :)
but for now... to bed!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
the weirding way
meeting up with spinnit and her friend was strange today. lunch was amazing, but we were all being awkward... the way back was covered by tool and dredg and i'm feeling a bit better, only a bit inexplicably irritated.
the ai kicking my ass in tekken didn't help, either.
tycho was having a moment, and i really enjoyed the writing
the ai kicking my ass in tekken didn't help, either.
tycho was having a moment, and i really enjoyed the writing
revival of the dead + glory + gloom
i woke up yesterday morning at 4am.
4am???
4am.
i had a productive morning, particularly with the gimp and turning dead eye into a song i actually like ^_^
i even went through the insurance stuff, but i'll be damned if that doesn't get more frustrating every time i look at it :/
i went to the post-office to pick up a final we're-going-to-sue-you-soon from the hospital, which i'm going to have to deal with on sunday... they're supposed to know that the army has a habit of dragging its bureaucratic heels.
breakfast was going to be "me time", i took a book (milton) and went to coffeeholic for my almost-traditional beef parisian. unfortunately for my plans, the guy next to me took an interest in my book and caught me up in conversation until it was time to get ready for taekwondo. seems like a nice guy, with interestingly similar tastes to my brother - war / history buff kind of guy but interested in literature as well.
taekwondo was murder. not only was i reintroduced to the realities of stretching (as in, myself in tears and the guys around having a good laugh), but we all suffered from a lack of oxygen (the gym is a transformed bomb shelter that has terrible ventilation - even for a bomb shelter) and i just couldn't hack it. i even began forgetting my forms, which was kinda embarrassing.
i left early after two hours, because i *had* to find out what the techno roof party was all about... i'm very glad that i did. the guy whose advice i took last week to stay, a bunch of frisbee friends (one of them being the organizer of the party), and karnaf were all there, and i picked up spinnit and a friend of hers on the way. the music was great and the vibe was excellent, and i was really sorry to have to break off early for dinner. next week, i'll be staying until it ends :)
her sister picked me up, then her and her dog (the cutest little bulldog!), and we went to their parents' place for a really nice evening. i ate too much, again, this time so much so that i really didn't have place for dessert - which involved hot chocolate sauce that smelled like pure decadence.
i got a ride back to tel aviv, took two seconds to drop off my sunglasses and figure out where "the block" is, then took a walk to meet with spinnit. sadly, my adventurous moment on the way found me stuck at a dead end in the middle of the giant new park near azrieli... pretty, i'll go there again, but that wasn't the right time.
the party? seemed like a nice crowd, the people who weren't being so aggressively excited at least. the bartender upset me by ignoring us, and the bathrooms were nice although slightly confusing (you can identify a design flaw when everyone's standing at the sink and scratching their heads: how do i turn on the tap?!). the music? there were a couple of good tracks, especially notable the one we eventually walked out on. the rest was constructed from uninspired, empty beats with neither melody nor bassline. "he's a great scratcher"? but he can't freakin' beat-mix!!
i spent a lot of the evening standing and staring at everyone "dancing", feeling sorry for them that they're obviously not exposed to enough of the good stuff. i mean, the guy played cypress hill - i want to get high which then turned into an arbitrary collection of banging sounds (no, really, think of dwarves mining and silence otherwise)... and nobody seemed to notice.
also, next time i go partying with spinnit i'm definitely going to take earplugs, she and her friends were stationed right in front of the bass bins and i'm sure we'll all be paying for that one...
my left arm's been killing me since yesterday, the same kind of random, dull pain that built up and caused me to pass out last year. i need to be careful, only i can't figure out what triggers it.
i think i have comics to catch up on while drinking my marshmallow-mocha :)
digital samsara -stop the earth is an awesome track that just came on *grooves*
4am???
4am.
i had a productive morning, particularly with the gimp and turning dead eye into a song i actually like ^_^
i even went through the insurance stuff, but i'll be damned if that doesn't get more frustrating every time i look at it :/
i went to the post-office to pick up a final we're-going-to-sue-you-soon from the hospital, which i'm going to have to deal with on sunday... they're supposed to know that the army has a habit of dragging its bureaucratic heels.
breakfast was going to be "me time", i took a book (milton) and went to coffeeholic for my almost-traditional beef parisian. unfortunately for my plans, the guy next to me took an interest in my book and caught me up in conversation until it was time to get ready for taekwondo. seems like a nice guy, with interestingly similar tastes to my brother - war / history buff kind of guy but interested in literature as well.
taekwondo was murder. not only was i reintroduced to the realities of stretching (as in, myself in tears and the guys around having a good laugh), but we all suffered from a lack of oxygen (the gym is a transformed bomb shelter that has terrible ventilation - even for a bomb shelter) and i just couldn't hack it. i even began forgetting my forms, which was kinda embarrassing.
i left early after two hours, because i *had* to find out what the techno roof party was all about... i'm very glad that i did. the guy whose advice i took last week to stay, a bunch of frisbee friends (one of them being the organizer of the party), and karnaf were all there, and i picked up spinnit and a friend of hers on the way. the music was great and the vibe was excellent, and i was really sorry to have to break off early for dinner. next week, i'll be staying until it ends :)
her sister picked me up, then her and her dog (the cutest little bulldog!), and we went to their parents' place for a really nice evening. i ate too much, again, this time so much so that i really didn't have place for dessert - which involved hot chocolate sauce that smelled like pure decadence.
i got a ride back to tel aviv, took two seconds to drop off my sunglasses and figure out where "the block" is, then took a walk to meet with spinnit. sadly, my adventurous moment on the way found me stuck at a dead end in the middle of the giant new park near azrieli... pretty, i'll go there again, but that wasn't the right time.
the party? seemed like a nice crowd, the people who weren't being so aggressively excited at least. the bartender upset me by ignoring us, and the bathrooms were nice although slightly confusing (you can identify a design flaw when everyone's standing at the sink and scratching their heads: how do i turn on the tap?!). the music? there were a couple of good tracks, especially notable the one we eventually walked out on. the rest was constructed from uninspired, empty beats with neither melody nor bassline. "he's a great scratcher"? but he can't freakin' beat-mix!!
i spent a lot of the evening standing and staring at everyone "dancing", feeling sorry for them that they're obviously not exposed to enough of the good stuff. i mean, the guy played cypress hill - i want to get high which then turned into an arbitrary collection of banging sounds (no, really, think of dwarves mining and silence otherwise)... and nobody seemed to notice.
also, next time i go partying with spinnit i'm definitely going to take earplugs, she and her friends were stationed right in front of the bass bins and i'm sure we'll all be paying for that one...
my left arm's been killing me since yesterday, the same kind of random, dull pain that built up and caused me to pass out last year. i need to be careful, only i can't figure out what triggers it.
i think i have comics to catch up on while drinking my marshmallow-mocha :)
digital samsara -stop the earth is an awesome track that just came on *grooves*
Thursday, July 16, 2009
long zombie day
i was fine most of the morning, and okay for lunch (even if the soya sausages were super dodgy and tasted and felt like rubberized tofu), but after that it all went downhill. i've been on the verge of collapse until i caught some z's on the way home, and now i'm just feeling impatient.
i'm *really* glad that all the evening's plans got cancelled, because i need to crash for a bit.
...
oh, and we had a section meeting today - the village idiot gets mad props for broaching the subject of our issues, and i've taken the reins as first to be interviewed and i've been preparing a list of topics for discussion. as i told him, i don't expect results, only to continue to be as disappointed and frustrated as i am already... but it certainly won't make it worse.
i'm *really* glad that all the evening's plans got cancelled, because i need to crash for a bit.
...
oh, and we had a section meeting today - the village idiot gets mad props for broaching the subject of our issues, and i've taken the reins as first to be interviewed and i've been preparing a list of topics for discussion. as i told him, i don't expect results, only to continue to be as disappointed and frustrated as i am already... but it certainly won't make it worse.
again? even better?
i'm on a bus on my way home again, and this time my alarm's already going off...
frisbee last night was crazy, that was extreme exercise and the guys who were there were all of a decent level and up. blading there and back was a good idea, although due to uneven flagstones and construction i almost face-planted a couple of times. the people who witnessed these occurrences were either shocked by my lack of skill or impressed with my ability to rescue myself, i couldn't really judge.
i had a shower when i got home and then hopped the last bus to spinnit's. things were a bit awkward at first, but for the first time that i can recall we were able to talk through the awkward.
in fact, we ended up having an amazing night and although the sleep deprivation is going to hurt i know it was worth it ^_^
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
on rain in july
how did i forget?? on the way back last night, it began to rain!
yesterday afternoon, i looked outside the window and said to one of the guys: "smells like it's going to rain", and he laughed at me. i didn't think of it again until the realization that there were water droplets on the windscreen struck home :)
this morning was crazy - i missed the bus by a minute and had to wait another half an hour for the next one :(
the second bus wasn't too much of a problem, though - i kept passing out, and although none of the sleeps could have been more than a few minutes, they were very good :)
i was too late to enter the useful side of the base, but was fortunate enough to get a ride with someone from my unit... i then discovered that while i was napping on the bus, it had rained again :)
the day didn't begin well: the stickers that i'd printed were no good. that'll teach me to play with transparency. i just got them redone, so tomorrow we can finally hand it over...
i had a fight with a girl who really doesn't dig me - she's been curt for a while now, but we had to work together today and we didn't stop getting on each other's nerves. at one point she began screaming at me, and one of the guys in her office was recording her... she's not impressed with him, either :P
anyway, because she's a bit of an idiot *i* had to have a busy-doing-nothing morning. when i got back onto my primary project, i discovered that i had some really unpleasant grud-work to do. i called over nystire, and together we ran a quick design for an application to grind through it. i wrote a proposal, and after a bit of wordplay managed to convince my TL that it's a good idea. now i have to take it to our SC...
this is the bit i'm not so happy about. chances are that he won't approve it and we'll have to do it in secret - and then he'll be thrilled that he made us "more efficient" and take the credit for it.
i don't sound bitter, do i?
i think i made some headway during the afternoon, but boy was i pleased to get out of there.
SxS called me on the way home, and it's always nice to chat with him. someone was trying to convince him to try some disgusting homeopathic seed extract, so he handed him the phone and i explained that prayer would be more effective and less distasteful.
yesterday afternoon, i looked outside the window and said to one of the guys: "smells like it's going to rain", and he laughed at me. i didn't think of it again until the realization that there were water droplets on the windscreen struck home :)
this morning was crazy - i missed the bus by a minute and had to wait another half an hour for the next one :(
the second bus wasn't too much of a problem, though - i kept passing out, and although none of the sleeps could have been more than a few minutes, they were very good :)
i was too late to enter the useful side of the base, but was fortunate enough to get a ride with someone from my unit... i then discovered that while i was napping on the bus, it had rained again :)
the day didn't begin well: the stickers that i'd printed were no good. that'll teach me to play with transparency. i just got them redone, so tomorrow we can finally hand it over...
i had a fight with a girl who really doesn't dig me - she's been curt for a while now, but we had to work together today and we didn't stop getting on each other's nerves. at one point she began screaming at me, and one of the guys in her office was recording her... she's not impressed with him, either :P
anyway, because she's a bit of an idiot *i* had to have a busy-doing-nothing morning. when i got back onto my primary project, i discovered that i had some really unpleasant grud-work to do. i called over nystire, and together we ran a quick design for an application to grind through it. i wrote a proposal, and after a bit of wordplay managed to convince my TL that it's a good idea. now i have to take it to our SC...
this is the bit i'm not so happy about. chances are that he won't approve it and we'll have to do it in secret - and then he'll be thrilled that he made us "more efficient" and take the credit for it.
i don't sound bitter, do i?
i think i made some headway during the afternoon, but boy was i pleased to get out of there.
SxS called me on the way home, and it's always nice to chat with him. someone was trying to convince him to try some disgusting homeopathic seed extract, so he handed him the phone and i explained that prayer would be more effective and less distasteful.
40+ and swimming
yesterday was a really, really long day. i'm still not feeling so great; apparently six hours of sleep for over forty missed isn't quite enough :P
i spent most of yesterday staring hopelessly at my screen. i got a couple of phone calls - one from csn's friend and one from spinnit (like, "spin-it", the girl from monday's date). i wasn't really in a good state to be talking on the phone...
during the last couple of weeks it was announced that my TL would be replaced in the near future. i got all excited because i've been in this team since february / march and miserable since i got there - now he's going to be TL of my previous team and someone else (a definite improvement) will be replacing him!
the pointy-haired boss came over to happily inform me that i'll be moving back along with him.
i can't win :'(
it was nystire's 30th birthday, and the day began with cake and us making "over the hill" jokes. when i got back to tel aviv, i rushed off to secure a part of his gift - of course they hadn't prepared the order like i'd asked - and then came back home to switch into civvies and bus to his place for a surprise party.
it was nice to see his family again - they're all a bit crazy and loads of fun, but i was completely trashed and when ptsd needed to head off to tel aviv i joined her. i chatted with my mum, talked quickly with spinnit*, ate a sandwich and then crashed.
* i don't know if i'm supposed to be playing a push / pull game when everything seems great, but it's to early to tell and i'm worried about screwing things up for either of us by getting too excited :/
i just found out that my usual ride's not available - getting to base is going to be hell :(
i spent most of yesterday staring hopelessly at my screen. i got a couple of phone calls - one from csn's friend and one from spinnit (like, "spin-it", the girl from monday's date). i wasn't really in a good state to be talking on the phone...
during the last couple of weeks it was announced that my TL would be replaced in the near future. i got all excited because i've been in this team since february / march and miserable since i got there - now he's going to be TL of my previous team and someone else (a definite improvement) will be replacing him!
the pointy-haired boss came over to happily inform me that i'll be moving back along with him.
i can't win :'(
it was nystire's 30th birthday, and the day began with cake and us making "over the hill" jokes. when i got back to tel aviv, i rushed off to secure a part of his gift - of course they hadn't prepared the order like i'd asked - and then came back home to switch into civvies and bus to his place for a surprise party.
it was nice to see his family again - they're all a bit crazy and loads of fun, but i was completely trashed and when ptsd needed to head off to tel aviv i joined her. i chatted with my mum, talked quickly with spinnit*, ate a sandwich and then crashed.
* i don't know if i'm supposed to be playing a push / pull game when everything seems great, but it's to early to tell and i'm worried about screwing things up for either of us by getting too excited :/
i just found out that my usual ride's not available - getting to base is going to be hell :(
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
semi-spontaneous
i don't even know where to begin - that was undoubtedly the most interesting date i've ever been on. she called me as i got up from the pc, so i didn't get a chance to nap...
1. it was all perfect until it went sour... and then things improved just after the police arrived.
2. neither of us attempted to climb through the window from the 3rd floor stairwell; although we both reckon we can do it.
3. i didn't have to fake surprise when i discovered that she's older than me.
4. standing knee deep in the sea on a beautiful summer's night rocks.
5. the guys at the bar nearby her magnificent apartment + studio not only welcomed us in past closing time to use their facilities, but offered us free drinks as well before they heard our story.
6. the locksmith and i had a misunderstanding on the telephone, but although he arrived ill-equipped he did the job beautifully.
7. i left her place at 5.45 and arrived in time to turn off my 6am alarm, shower and shave, have breakfast and get ready to begin the new day.
8. i'm not going to train today, i will probably die if i do.
9. i just realized that her mother might call me from france today because she no longer possesses a phone. that could be awkward, as i don't speak french.
10. i know i shouldn't get too excited, but i think in this case it's appropriate. time will tell, obviously.
1. it was all perfect until it went sour... and then things improved just after the police arrived.
2. neither of us attempted to climb through the window from the 3rd floor stairwell; although we both reckon we can do it.
3. i didn't have to fake surprise when i discovered that she's older than me.
4. standing knee deep in the sea on a beautiful summer's night rocks.
5. the guys at the bar nearby her magnificent apartment + studio not only welcomed us in past closing time to use their facilities, but offered us free drinks as well before they heard our story.
6. the locksmith and i had a misunderstanding on the telephone, but although he arrived ill-equipped he did the job beautifully.
7. i left her place at 5.45 and arrived in time to turn off my 6am alarm, shower and shave, have breakfast and get ready to begin the new day.
8. i'm not going to train today, i will probably die if i do.
9. i just realized that her mother might call me from france today because she no longer possesses a phone. that could be awkward, as i don't speak french.
10. i know i shouldn't get too excited, but i think in this case it's appropriate. time will tell, obviously.
Monday, July 13, 2009
no need to run
it's even hotter and more humid than yesterday... and there i was, in uniform, hurrying in the blazing sun to buy something and get on the bus in time to organize the rest of it... but the bus took forever to arrive, and the antsy, irritable driver* scraped someone and it took that much longer to get home.
so i'll have to organize it tomorrow. oh, well - that kinda screws up my plans a bit.
* we stopped to pick up some people, and he turned around and began yelling at me for getting on at the back. i thought he was talking to someone else, so i turned around to make myself useful... only this aggravated him more. he got up and clambered over, calling me "kid" the whole time (i found it quite complementary, actually), and i actually laughed when i realized it was me he suspected :P
---
i woke up this morning to regina spektor, who makes great music! i especially love the calculation, but laughing with is the best video i could find.
today was definitely an improvement over yesterday, possibly helped along by my TL being on holiday, and definitely helped by a lot of chocolates (a lot) and excellent cakes at my ex-team-mate's daughter's farewell. and maybe by my achievements with my side-project (which impressed a number of people). and of course, without any doubt, it was improved by the vote.
every half-year our SC harasses us to vote a "person of the period" (like "person of the year", or "person of the month", only less inspired). this period was no exception, but i came up with a plan. i told everyone we need to vote for him, which would be our most ironic response possible. it's a way to poke fun at him, which we all need because - as i said yesterday - we can't really do anything about his being a miserable, pathetic failure.
the guys thought the idea was cute, but not serious. we have a lot of talkers around, so i can understand that... what they didn't expect was for me to send our SC a response with everyone else bcc'd -
"i vote for you! for your incomparable performance, for representing in every way possible the success of our projects - when i think of success, i think of you!"
incomparable? definitely. representative? our projects have all been sloppy and behind schedule since he took command. hysterical laughter could be heard throughout the section, and a number of the guys have joined in...
even better was his response... he thanked me heartily ^_^
i ran into a buddy from last year's course, and heard that the personnel situation of their side is almost worse than ours... our chain of command is headed by people who need to be beaten within inches of their lives with clue sticks. lots of clue sticks. wielded by us.
one of the more painful examples that he shared with me is that now all office doors are to be kept closed at all times, and access to offices will be granted with a keycard only. you want to see if your friend next door is available for a chat or a cup of coffee? send him an email, or knock and hope.
while on the topic, i caught up with the academic studies officer for a two-minute "tough, bye" conversation. it appears that it's not the end of the world if i choose to study without permission, but it is against regulation, the direct result of which is that if anything happens to me while i'm on campus i'm not insured. what a load of crap.
oh, and still on topic - we were unable to rescue lunch with sweet-chili sauce, which usually works on everything. it looked like kebabs. it probably wasn't.
i had a terrifying experience this afternoon - i thought it would put my evening plans on hold (but they're not, the french aerobic instructor is going to call me later for a drink). gco called me, and as i answered the phone something got into my eye. i don't know what it was, all i know is immediate pain and my eye opening and shutting uncontrollably - whatever it was seemed to have caused a scratch on its way, and for the next hour or so i was in pain every blink unless i held my eyelid at an awkward angle.
i was expecting it to stay that way for a lot longer, but i'm thrilled to say that while my eye's still uncomfortable, it's not stinging anymore ^_^
it got better just in time to go and celebrate by hogtying someone, then soaking him with water. this is the usual, but at the end nystire pulled out a finishing touch - a bucket of rancid wine. i didn't see that coming.
i did some grudwork on the horrible, primary project before the end of the day, and our exercise session went well (although it was quite a sweaty one, a pity that our air-conditioner's on the blink).
now to play with the gimp again (i'm enjoying all the graphic stuff), and then eat and nap before going out tonight.
so i'll have to organize it tomorrow. oh, well - that kinda screws up my plans a bit.
* we stopped to pick up some people, and he turned around and began yelling at me for getting on at the back. i thought he was talking to someone else, so i turned around to make myself useful... only this aggravated him more. he got up and clambered over, calling me "kid" the whole time (i found it quite complementary, actually), and i actually laughed when i realized it was me he suspected :P
i woke up this morning to regina spektor, who makes great music! i especially love the calculation, but laughing with is the best video i could find.
today was definitely an improvement over yesterday, possibly helped along by my TL being on holiday, and definitely helped by a lot of chocolates (a lot) and excellent cakes at my ex-team-mate's daughter's farewell. and maybe by my achievements with my side-project (which impressed a number of people). and of course, without any doubt, it was improved by the vote.
every half-year our SC harasses us to vote a "person of the period" (like "person of the year", or "person of the month", only less inspired). this period was no exception, but i came up with a plan. i told everyone we need to vote for him, which would be our most ironic response possible. it's a way to poke fun at him, which we all need because - as i said yesterday - we can't really do anything about his being a miserable, pathetic failure.
the guys thought the idea was cute, but not serious. we have a lot of talkers around, so i can understand that... what they didn't expect was for me to send our SC a response with everyone else bcc'd -
"i vote for you! for your incomparable performance, for representing in every way possible the success of our projects - when i think of success, i think of you!"
incomparable? definitely. representative? our projects have all been sloppy and behind schedule since he took command. hysterical laughter could be heard throughout the section, and a number of the guys have joined in...
even better was his response... he thanked me heartily ^_^
i ran into a buddy from last year's course, and heard that the personnel situation of their side is almost worse than ours... our chain of command is headed by people who need to be beaten within inches of their lives with clue sticks. lots of clue sticks. wielded by us.
one of the more painful examples that he shared with me is that now all office doors are to be kept closed at all times, and access to offices will be granted with a keycard only. you want to see if your friend next door is available for a chat or a cup of coffee? send him an email, or knock and hope.
while on the topic, i caught up with the academic studies officer for a two-minute "tough, bye" conversation. it appears that it's not the end of the world if i choose to study without permission, but it is against regulation, the direct result of which is that if anything happens to me while i'm on campus i'm not insured. what a load of crap.
oh, and still on topic - we were unable to rescue lunch with sweet-chili sauce, which usually works on everything. it looked like kebabs. it probably wasn't.
i had a terrifying experience this afternoon - i thought it would put my evening plans on hold (but they're not, the french aerobic instructor is going to call me later for a drink). gco called me, and as i answered the phone something got into my eye. i don't know what it was, all i know is immediate pain and my eye opening and shutting uncontrollably - whatever it was seemed to have caused a scratch on its way, and for the next hour or so i was in pain every blink unless i held my eyelid at an awkward angle.
i was expecting it to stay that way for a lot longer, but i'm thrilled to say that while my eye's still uncomfortable, it's not stinging anymore ^_^
it got better just in time to go and celebrate by hogtying someone, then soaking him with water. this is the usual, but at the end nystire pulled out a finishing touch - a bucket of rancid wine. i didn't see that coming.
i did some grudwork on the horrible, primary project before the end of the day, and our exercise session went well (although it was quite a sweaty one, a pity that our air-conditioner's on the blink).
now to play with the gimp again (i'm enjoying all the graphic stuff), and then eat and nap before going out tonight.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
staring into the screen
dammit - i spent most of my evening doing nothing.
i thought i'd get some work done on the c++ project, and i couldn't figure out why, no matter what i did, i couldn't get the compiler warnings to go away. then i realized that all of my changes were in the backup file. no shit.
the purity test: a girl i work with keeps doing really, really lame facebook ones, so i sent her the link... only now i'm in the middle of it. genius.
but i'll go to bed as soon as i'm done.
i thought i'd get some work done on the c++ project, and i couldn't figure out why, no matter what i did, i couldn't get the compiler warnings to go away. then i realized that all of my changes were in the backup file. no shit.
the purity test: a girl i work with keeps doing really, really lame facebook ones, so i sent her the link... only now i'm in the middle of it. genius.
but i'll go to bed as soon as i'm done.
a little misunderstanding
today's post written in the order of my little memory-map-style sketch that i did on the bus while ignoring the policewoman making eyes at me. kind of cute, but still - a policewoman.
that jerk i was talking about the other day? nystire informed me today that he's actually the tool pushing the policy to see how far he can take it, and i think we need to tell him that he's taken it too far.
i had to suffer our SC in all his glory this morning; unashamedly passing the buck (and this time i actually said to him, "if everyone had your attitude nothing would get done"), and coming up with plans so pathetic that they border on ludicrous. and the giggling from others in the background doesn't really make it easier to deal with.
that's a huge issue for us - we have so many points to bring up about his mismanagement and there isn't any politically correct way to do it. the results will be very similar to those if we don't say anything, but we'll have to pay for anything that comes out of our mouths... there are still a number of us who don't feel that they can stand idly by any longer, even if the only possible reaction is to slam our feet into our mouths.
there's been definite improvement in the daily exercise - i'm doing way more push-ups :)
my primary task: a bug hunt that keeps resulting in dead ends. i've spent ages hunting through spaghetti code and i still don't know where to begin.
the cereal that i brought back from the party got put to good use today, although in real terms that means that i ate too much junk as usual. it's not unhealthy, but i need to lose the belly and it's not helping.
i at least made some headway in my side project, but i didn't spend enough time on it to make up for the disappointment of the other one.
the goto guy informed me today that because i don't like metallica - s&m my musical opinion is suspect - not only do i consider that blasphemy in and of itself, but the kid HAS NEVER HEARD any of their real, pre-load albums. DAMN.
i passed my copy of yael deckelbaum's album to one of our SC's, as part of an agreement whereby i introduce him to a bunch of indie artists. i also made it abundantly clear that because it's indie all the proceeds are important to them :)
i tried to meet with the girl in charge of the unit's external academic studies program to see if i can organize permission in spite of the bureaucratic blocks. i failed. i'll try again tomorrow.
our SC tried to make nice this afternoon with some really stupid comments. how surprising. he was trying to be funny about violence in south africa, so i shared an unsympathetic perspective and then shocked him with the story of the last "fight" i was in.
damn - finding that story got me browsing my archives again; how did i get through all that shit?!
the end of the day was cut short by cleaning the office, so by the time 6pm rolled around i'd already done some shopping and had a driver get all excited when he saw me in uniform and bouncing in a manner that can only indicate good psy-trance ^_^
speaking of uniforms - it's stinking hot outside and they don't help.
speaking of speaking of uniforms - i've been in touch (thank you, facebook!) with the only girl i've ever written letters to :)
*SHUDDER*
far too much sauce on the tuna salad.
that jerk i was talking about the other day? nystire informed me today that he's actually the tool pushing the policy to see how far he can take it, and i think we need to tell him that he's taken it too far.
i had to suffer our SC in all his glory this morning; unashamedly passing the buck (and this time i actually said to him, "if everyone had your attitude nothing would get done"), and coming up with plans so pathetic that they border on ludicrous. and the giggling from others in the background doesn't really make it easier to deal with.
that's a huge issue for us - we have so many points to bring up about his mismanagement and there isn't any politically correct way to do it. the results will be very similar to those if we don't say anything, but we'll have to pay for anything that comes out of our mouths... there are still a number of us who don't feel that they can stand idly by any longer, even if the only possible reaction is to slam our feet into our mouths.
there's been definite improvement in the daily exercise - i'm doing way more push-ups :)
my primary task: a bug hunt that keeps resulting in dead ends. i've spent ages hunting through spaghetti code and i still don't know where to begin.
the cereal that i brought back from the party got put to good use today, although in real terms that means that i ate too much junk as usual. it's not unhealthy, but i need to lose the belly and it's not helping.
i at least made some headway in my side project, but i didn't spend enough time on it to make up for the disappointment of the other one.
the goto guy informed me today that because i don't like metallica - s&m my musical opinion is suspect - not only do i consider that blasphemy in and of itself, but the kid HAS NEVER HEARD any of their real, pre-load albums. DAMN.
i passed my copy of yael deckelbaum's album to one of our SC's, as part of an agreement whereby i introduce him to a bunch of indie artists. i also made it abundantly clear that because it's indie all the proceeds are important to them :)
i tried to meet with the girl in charge of the unit's external academic studies program to see if i can organize permission in spite of the bureaucratic blocks. i failed. i'll try again tomorrow.
our SC tried to make nice this afternoon with some really stupid comments. how surprising. he was trying to be funny about violence in south africa, so i shared an unsympathetic perspective and then shocked him with the story of the last "fight" i was in.
damn - finding that story got me browsing my archives again; how did i get through all that shit?!
the end of the day was cut short by cleaning the office, so by the time 6pm rolled around i'd already done some shopping and had a driver get all excited when he saw me in uniform and bouncing in a manner that can only indicate good psy-trance ^_^
speaking of uniforms - it's stinking hot outside and they don't help.
speaking of speaking of uniforms - i've been in touch (thank you, facebook!) with the only girl i've ever written letters to :)
*SHUDDER*
far too much sauce on the tuna salad.
eye-scrubbing
everything's a little sensitive at the moment...
my sister sent me an email that got me worried for my safety, but snopes put me at ease.
i forgot that someone mentioned that south african army medics replaced striking health workers...
being succinct is very important.
my sister sent me an email that got me worried for my safety, but snopes put me at ease.
i forgot that someone mentioned that south african army medics replaced striking health workers...
being succinct is very important.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
conclusions
a) less than an hour's sleep after deprivation and exercise: difficult to wake up from
b) all the meat left in the fridge, straight out the packet, makes a decent protein source
c) brushing my teeth twice - smooth
d) the truth: sometimes rather heartening
e) tamar eisenman is made of awesome, and i'm very glad i bought her albums
f) uploading pics and videos before going to bed... probably not a good idea, it's taking forever.
g) getting in touch with the french girl: definitely good timing :)
b) all the meat left in the fridge, straight out the packet, makes a decent protein source
c) brushing my teeth twice - smooth
d) the truth: sometimes rather heartening
e) tamar eisenman is made of awesome, and i'm very glad i bought her albums
f) uploading pics and videos before going to bed... probably not a good idea, it's taking forever.
g) getting in touch with the french girl: definitely good timing :)
the beginning of a new season
i actually did clean my pad yesterday! between rooms, i went hunting for a birthday present and an element of a wedding present. i found a couple of options for both the former and the latter, and bought two copies of michael chabon - the amazing adventures of kavalier & clay (one for me, one for a gift).
i also got started on the wedding present itself: it's begun nicely, i hope i prove good enough for the finishing as well :)
then i went to train. i got to the mall a little early, so i went hunting for another element of the wedding present - a nose ring. it's very difficult to persuade tattoo-parlour workers that you're buying a ring and not planning on inserting it into your body.
the training was insane. i spent most of it working myself to dizziness, which meant stopping every now and then to breathe before rejoining the fray. this worked fine until the fighting: in the middle of a round, my body just stopped responding. that's very bad, in case you're wondering, and i had to "soak damage".
we ended the three hour training with stretching and massages. the latter was unexpected, and i taught a couple of kids a thing or two - there was much awe and wonder when i sorted out the neck and back of a girl who suffers chronic pain in the area. there is much good to be made of being a chronic sufferer myself.
i met up with karnaf for a beer and a chicken salad that was way over the top both in taste and quantity, then took my smelly self home for a shower and a two hour nap. i spent half an hour getting ready for the party, then hopped into the car with gco, his girlfriend and a friend of his from the last israeli trance party i went to (please notice the date - that's messed up).
we did some shopping at tiv tam, where i bought cupcakes. i was the only person who seemed to appreciate them. we hung around until directions to the party became available - i'd already noticed that his girlfriend wasn't at ease with the rest of us. on the way there, things turned sour and she eventually decided she was going to leave us at the party and go home.
it took gco a long time to calm her down, during which time i got to know his friend and discover a naive know-it-all ultra-liberal pseudo-politically aware ne'er-do-well. he's not a bad guy, though, and after a lengthy discussion - i'd like to say debate, i think it might well have been - we began to get along in spite of our differences.
i ran into a couple of old friends at the party, which was extremely lucky because gco's girlfriend and friend decided at 8am that they were ready to go.
faders.
and the party only got interesting about two hours later...
aside from the chicken salad and the cupcake, i had a really decent shuwarma at about 2am. since then and until around 3pm all i ate was handfuls of a really tasty cinnamon cereal, which gave a lot of people the willies and the impression that i'm a health freak. in fact, one of the guys i met later on asked me what hell someone like me was doing at a party like that :P
friends: i made a couple of new ones, really nice guys. i met them through one of the old ones, and when it was time to go i took the role of designated driver which they were all really grateful for. and i was too, both for being able to get home and for the fun of driving a manual vehicle :)
music: minimal minimal. that translates to "very boring" and "difficult to distinguish", but around 10am the dj's began injecting groove and i had a lot of fun.
people: LOVED the people! excellent crowd, beautiful faces and great big smiles, loads of silliness and the guy who got hit on the back of the neck with my frisbee didn't strike back. we did put the frisbee away, though.
venue: really nice spot, dusty as hell. excellent mist system above the dancefloor ^_^
weather: OMG. it was fantastic right until the moment the sun came out, at which point it turned into "fiery annihilation". lots of sunscreen, hats, shirts, water, and stomping in the shade (and grinning into the mist) ensued.
i wore my orange overalls, and i was surprised to get comments on how great my outfit was :)
i did manage to sleep an hour before daybreak, but i'm still amazed that i was still digging (although by that stage it was more like "patting" :P) by noon when the sound went down.
we stopped by the organizer's apartment for a couple of hours, exquisite espresso and alfajores, fun conversation, brilliant music and the intermittent passing out. i just got dropped off at home, and now that i've had a shower and set the washing machine running:
i can see my feet! now i'm clean, but how am i going to unpack my bag? do i call up the french girl from thursday night yet? i MUST brush my teeth, emergency! sleep is for mortals! zzzzzzzz...
i also got started on the wedding present itself: it's begun nicely, i hope i prove good enough for the finishing as well :)
then i went to train. i got to the mall a little early, so i went hunting for another element of the wedding present - a nose ring. it's very difficult to persuade tattoo-parlour workers that you're buying a ring and not planning on inserting it into your body.
the training was insane. i spent most of it working myself to dizziness, which meant stopping every now and then to breathe before rejoining the fray. this worked fine until the fighting: in the middle of a round, my body just stopped responding. that's very bad, in case you're wondering, and i had to "soak damage".
we ended the three hour training with stretching and massages. the latter was unexpected, and i taught a couple of kids a thing or two - there was much awe and wonder when i sorted out the neck and back of a girl who suffers chronic pain in the area. there is much good to be made of being a chronic sufferer myself.
i met up with karnaf for a beer and a chicken salad that was way over the top both in taste and quantity, then took my smelly self home for a shower and a two hour nap. i spent half an hour getting ready for the party, then hopped into the car with gco, his girlfriend and a friend of his from the last israeli trance party i went to (please notice the date - that's messed up).
we did some shopping at tiv tam, where i bought cupcakes. i was the only person who seemed to appreciate them. we hung around until directions to the party became available - i'd already noticed that his girlfriend wasn't at ease with the rest of us. on the way there, things turned sour and she eventually decided she was going to leave us at the party and go home.
it took gco a long time to calm her down, during which time i got to know his friend and discover a naive know-it-all ultra-liberal pseudo-politically aware ne'er-do-well. he's not a bad guy, though, and after a lengthy discussion - i'd like to say debate, i think it might well have been - we began to get along in spite of our differences.
i ran into a couple of old friends at the party, which was extremely lucky because gco's girlfriend and friend decided at 8am that they were ready to go.
faders.
and the party only got interesting about two hours later...
aside from the chicken salad and the cupcake, i had a really decent shuwarma at about 2am. since then and until around 3pm all i ate was handfuls of a really tasty cinnamon cereal, which gave a lot of people the willies and the impression that i'm a health freak. in fact, one of the guys i met later on asked me what hell someone like me was doing at a party like that :P
friends: i made a couple of new ones, really nice guys. i met them through one of the old ones, and when it was time to go i took the role of designated driver which they were all really grateful for. and i was too, both for being able to get home and for the fun of driving a manual vehicle :)
music: minimal minimal. that translates to "very boring" and "difficult to distinguish", but around 10am the dj's began injecting groove and i had a lot of fun.
people: LOVED the people! excellent crowd, beautiful faces and great big smiles, loads of silliness and the guy who got hit on the back of the neck with my frisbee didn't strike back. we did put the frisbee away, though.
venue: really nice spot, dusty as hell. excellent mist system above the dancefloor ^_^
weather: OMG. it was fantastic right until the moment the sun came out, at which point it turned into "fiery annihilation". lots of sunscreen, hats, shirts, water, and stomping in the shade (and grinning into the mist) ensued.
i wore my orange overalls, and i was surprised to get comments on how great my outfit was :)
i did manage to sleep an hour before daybreak, but i'm still amazed that i was still digging (although by that stage it was more like "patting" :P) by noon when the sound went down.
we stopped by the organizer's apartment for a couple of hours, exquisite espresso and alfajores, fun conversation, brilliant music and the intermittent passing out. i just got dropped off at home, and now that i've had a shower and set the washing machine running:
i can see my feet! now i'm clean, but how am i going to unpack my bag? do i call up the french girl from thursday night yet? i MUST brush my teeth, emergency! sleep is for mortals! zzzzzzzz...
Friday, July 10, 2009
neuron-gargling
oh, man - not even a hangover can keep me in bed, apparently. this is most unexpected {]:/
oh, well. maybe i'll clean up a bit.
tenser, said the tensor: i understand that this is good to know? maybe i should read it.
contraband on amazon: the final source for all your solutions
oh, well. maybe i'll clean up a bit.
tenser, said the tensor: i understand that this is good to know? maybe i should read it.
contraband on amazon: the final source for all your solutions
mixed drinks and a number
buffalo boots were amazing! and that said in spite of the terrible sound - the sound man's obviously a bit deaf.
i ran into csn's friend and a very cute french friend of hers, and then one of the mongoose's friends joined me. all in all, the evening was great fun and i got the french girl's number, in the form of a business card in response to mine :P
i ran into csn's friend and a very cute french friend of hers, and then one of the mongoose's friends joined me. all in all, the evening was great fun and i got the french girl's number, in the form of a business card in response to mine :P
Thursday, July 09, 2009
jumpy - did it skip a beat?
i slept through the night after posting, but i didn't feel better for it. i was sour for most of the day, although it did have its successful moments.
regarding our unsuccessful ones, however:
a) i work in an environment where nobody gives two shits how unproductive you are, just as long as you put in the mandated hours, kiss the right butt and suffer the indignities silently. how did it get so bad?!
b) our new security policy is run by that jerk that everyone loves to tease just to see how much of an ass he can make of himself. the new implementation: executables are a potential source of viruses, so software developers are now forbidden to compile to their own disk space. we can only store and run binaries in centralized locations.
my response would have been* to send a mail informing everyone that in order to save electricity we've been instructed to disconnect our physical keyboards and use the on-screen accessibility one instead.
* although everyone agrees with me, i was advised against it.
---
i'm now having my entire system jump-started by furious and excited - grabs me: i'm not certain if the energy i've got is from the week having ended, having exercised during it, having bought tickets to tomorrow's trance party, doing some unintentional shopping which resulted in my possession of two very cool, very twisty wall clocks and both of tamar eisenman's albums, or very good coffee and company at coffeeholic.
or, it could be because i'm now leaving for tonight's performance by buffalo boots :)
regarding our unsuccessful ones, however:
a) i work in an environment where nobody gives two shits how unproductive you are, just as long as you put in the mandated hours, kiss the right butt and suffer the indignities silently. how did it get so bad?!
b) our new security policy is run by that jerk that everyone loves to tease just to see how much of an ass he can make of himself. the new implementation: executables are a potential source of viruses, so software developers are now forbidden to compile to their own disk space. we can only store and run binaries in centralized locations.
my response would have been* to send a mail informing everyone that in order to save electricity we've been instructed to disconnect our physical keyboards and use the on-screen accessibility one instead.
* although everyone agrees with me, i was advised against it.
i'm now having my entire system jump-started by furious and excited - grabs me: i'm not certain if the energy i've got is from the week having ended, having exercised during it, having bought tickets to tomorrow's trance party, doing some unintentional shopping which resulted in my possession of two very cool, very twisty wall clocks and both of tamar eisenman's albums, or very good coffee and company at coffeeholic.
or, it could be because i'm now leaving for tonight's performance by buffalo boots :)
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
raining out
the day started off all wrong: i realized as i walked out that i'd left my sunglasses at the gym last night.
i can't believe i let my TL put me in such a pissy mood today - i'm still irritable in the extreme. some of it's to do with tiredness, but the majority of the day was overshadowed by his constantly walking in and out of the office, staring at my screen and making snide remarks if anything other than Priority One was open.
by the end of the day i'd developed a headache, had been staring at the same piece of annoying code for almost an hour and had had enough - and i let it out. an unpleasant couple of minutes, but he seems to understand what i'm getting at (kind of, it's more like he'll let me work like i normally do if i think it'll cause less outbursts)... we'll see what tomorrow brings.
something clicked into place during a conversation today: during the big talk i had a couple of weeks ago i was told that one of the possible outcomes is that nothing will happen. i suddenly realized that it really is possible, and it really is the worst outcome i can imagine at the moment. how is my work environment getting me this down?!
i can't decide if i should sleep or go for a run. i just came back from the gym, where i found my glasses, and i was broody the whole way there and back. not cool.
i can't believe i let my TL put me in such a pissy mood today - i'm still irritable in the extreme. some of it's to do with tiredness, but the majority of the day was overshadowed by his constantly walking in and out of the office, staring at my screen and making snide remarks if anything other than Priority One was open.
by the end of the day i'd developed a headache, had been staring at the same piece of annoying code for almost an hour and had had enough - and i let it out. an unpleasant couple of minutes, but he seems to understand what i'm getting at (kind of, it's more like he'll let me work like i normally do if i think it'll cause less outbursts)... we'll see what tomorrow brings.
something clicked into place during a conversation today: during the big talk i had a couple of weeks ago i was told that one of the possible outcomes is that nothing will happen. i suddenly realized that it really is possible, and it really is the worst outcome i can imagine at the moment. how is my work environment getting me this down?!
i can't decide if i should sleep or go for a run. i just came back from the gym, where i found my glasses, and i was broody the whole way there and back. not cool.
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