Need to ignore things around me

I'm at a coffee shop sitting next to one of the most annoying women.  The place is packed and I can't escape anywhere else.  Hopefully she doesn't look over while I write this; that could make it really awkward really quick.

She's calling people on her cell phone (sounds like she wants to buy a bookshelf on craigslist).   So far every call she's made, it goes something like this "Hi, I saw that you were selling your bookshelf.  My fiance and I are looking for a bookshelf because after we get married, we're going to move in together in Spring Valley.  He has a lot of books because he has his Masters degree and we need a new bookshelf to hold all of our books together.  Blah blah blah going on about the wedding.  Anyways, I'm interested in buying it so please call me back soon at XXX-XXX-XXXX."

Every. Single. Call.

Girl is crazy.  To add to the annoyance factor, she has this irritatingly high, nasally voice.  I feel bad for her fiance.  Hopefully they're equally annoying and are made for each other.

Annoying is one thing, but when someone is being a jerk, it really gets under my skin.  It gets to the point where I can't help but do something about it.

Earlier this week, a nice Mercedes pulled up into a handicap parking spot at a busy restaurant.  The driver was a young guy, well built (obviously not handicapped), and had no visible handicap parking sign.  He walks into the restaurant and waits in the long line to place his order; it was going to be longer than a minute.

I wrote on my receipt how he was an asshole for parking in a handicapped spot.  I was about to place the note on his windshield when a friend stopped me.  She said it would prompt a fight.  I didn't care about the fight, but since it was putting her in an uncomfortable position, I didn't do it.  (Though in my opinion, if I was being confrontational, I would've walked straight up to the stranger and said it)

I get why people don't speak up when strangers are annoying.  I don't get why people don't speak up when strangers are deliberately being jerks.

f(x)

Sometimes I think in terms of math. It's kind of funny because I'm not too good at it.

So when I'm thinking of relationships and soul mates, it's weird that I default to formulas and statistics.

Let's say two people are together. At that very moment, I'll think "x = y". Well, people are more complex than a simple x or y, but I think we're all slaves to our genetics and life's experiences (for simplicity's sake let's say that sums up to a nice equation of sorts).

Then we need to factor time into our equations. People aren't constants, people change. Johnny started drinking and Susie really let herself go. We're more like f(x) and y(x).

What's the odds that you'll grow out of your partner and want something completely different? Were you the same person you were a year ago? 5 years ago? 10 years ago? How will your partner react if you're not the same person he/she married?

So we're each a unique formula that's changing, some more so than others. Not only do we have to find the right formula that matches us, we also have to make sure we're on the same timeline. I could be a x^2 and she could be an x^2, but if I'm at x=3 and she's at x=5, we're at different places in life.

Communication and time helps manage expectations and solidifies who you are, but maybe some formulas are too different. Maybe some people don't have any single soul mate.

Maybe some of us are a variation of pi. Or maybe this is all crazy thinking and I'm just being irrational.

Love is a verb

Love is a verb, an action occurring in the present. Without working on it constantly, it just becomes the past.

Data Analysis - Politics

I love how raw data can be converted into an easy to understand, informative, and interactive chart. With elections coming up tomorrow, I found this neat infographic regarding the shift of political priorities over time.

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1010/political-climate-chart/interactive.html

:)

<3

Mix CD

Had a fun time making a mixed cd for someone. Here's the song list with some of my comments in italics.

1.) 'Little Boxes' song by Death Cab for Cutie (Intro from Weeds)

I can't believe Malvina Reynolds made this in 1962 and how the social commentary is still (or even more) relevant in 2010. The TV show 'Weeds' did a lot of variations on this song and while there's better covers, I think Death Cab's version really changed the song into their style.

2.) 'Single Ladies' cover by Pomplamoose from their 'Tribute to Famouse People' album

Pomplamoose actually modifies part of the song and sings "Don't make me sing this part of the song, the lyrics are so bad, so I'm gonna skip ahead to the Single Ladies part instead". I like this version more than Beyonce's.

3.) 'My Freeze Ray' by Neil Patrick Harris from the 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' soundtrack

Neil Patrick Harris + Sing Along = Awesome.

4.) 'Home' by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

Right on fellow hippies! "Home is wherever I'm with you"

5.) 'The World at Large' by Modest Mouse from their 'Good News for People Who Love Bad News' album

6.) 'Marching Bands of Manhattan' by Death Cab for Cutie

7.) 'Californication' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Thought this was a witty line, "Cobain can you hear the Spears singing station to station"

8.) 'Lawyers, Guns and Money' by Warren Zevon

9.) 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead

10.) 'Angel' by Jack Johnson

I listened to this song after a bad breakup and it gave me hope. "She gives me presents with her presence alone" I know it may sound a little cheesy, but it sounds more like genuine love.

11.) 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I want' by The Smiths

12.) 'Might Have Ben Hur' by Switchfoot

Used to listen to this song when I had my first crush on a girl back during middle school

13.) 'Streets of Philadelphia' by Bruce Springsteen

14.) 'Heart of Gold' by Neil Young

15.) 'Neon Bible' by Arcade Fire

16.) 'Be Yourself' by Audioslave

Like the message that we could only be ourselves, including our mistakes. Also has rad effects on the guitar.

17.) 'The Authority Song' by Jimmy Eat World

Used to listen to Jimmy Eat World during college and it brought back good memories.

18.) 'I'd Rather Dance with You' by Kings of Convenience

19.) 'Moondance' by Van Morrison

They don't make music like they used to. Probably one of my top songs that I'd love to hear live.

20.) 'I'm Hoping You'll Stay Around' by Flight of the Conchords

Girlfriends from the Past: "He doesn't cook or clean, he's not good boyfriend material...."

Boyfriend: "Oooooh, we can eat cereal"

Heard it somewhere...

Old men speak about what they did, young men speak about what they're currently doing, and foolish men speak about what they're going to do.

HTML5

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Arcade Fire's 'interactive' music video; content that changes based on your hometown (location). Neat.

Ethical Relativism

Currently studying at a local coffee shop (LeStats) and stumbled onto some text regarding ethical relativism by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He states that judging a particular action is dependent on the circumstances of the time and culture in which it occurs.

It'd be interesting to juxtapose 'fundamental' precepts across different cultures. How do Western ideas of sexism, racism, and genocide compare to Eastern? It's ironic how this human concoction of morality has no absolute right or wrong.

New Surf Board!

I finally replaced my fiberglass longboard with an epoxy shortboard. I bought the used board at a local shop, and I normally make a big effort to buy local, but was a little disheartened to see the prices on the wet suits. I quickly googled the $200 wet suit that I was interested in and found it for half the price online. That's not even competitive :(

Oh well. I'm so psyched, I can't wait to take out the board tomorrow, but I need to wait for my wetsuit to arrive first. I've long acclimated to this constant perfect weather and now I find 70 degree F water teeth chattering cold. To my cred, I didn't factor in wind chill...

Odd Feeling

I always wondered why 'rich' people worried about their millions. I always assumed that they shouldn't miss much if they lost a small % of their fortune.

And now I find it oddly peculiar; the more money I have, the more I'm concerned about my money. I worried about money when I only had 2 to 3 digits in my savings account. When I had four digits, I didn't really worry about anything. Now I'm worried again after hitting the 5 digits range. Strange.

Neat quote

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Dr. Howard Thurman

Believing in Fate

Tomorrow's an important day. I have an interview for the Technical Manager position at my non-profit. If I get the job, I switch to management and we hire someone to replace me as one of the data analyst / database administrator. I would step far outside my comfort zone both in my current abilities and ideology.

Society seems to place a high status on managers, though I never really understood the reasons why. While I don't think of managers as the grossly inept people commonly portrayed in the mass media, I did think that a small professional staff could easily write off a manager as unnecessary overhead. Plus, I thought middle management was an antediluvian concept.

A couple events recently changed my mind. First, my boss went on vacation for a week. It was the end of the quarter/fiscal year so our staff should have all been busy. Without getting into the details, the office instantly turned into a wreck. I guess you don't appreciate someone for what they do until they're gone. Up until this point, I hadn't yet realized that my boss was the glue holding us together. After she came back, she was able to quickly bring the team back into a cohesive unit.

I also recently read "It's Your Ship" by D. Michael Abrashoff, a recommendation by my roommate, and it's helped change my perspective on what management means. I think the term management has a negative stigma associated with it; I think people still think of it as the "We do this because I'm the boss and I said so" mentality. As I read the book, I noticed the subtle, yet powerful messages that a manager can send to those around him/her. If I hadn't just seen my boss' invisible hand fix our company, my pessimistic self would have written it off as 'management bullshit'.

If you asked me a couple weeks ago whether I would hire an intelligent programmer or a competent manager, I would have easily chosen the programmer. They produce tangible results that you can see. Now, after seeing the crippling effects that even one negative employee can have on staff (and its negative effects on productivity), I would have to pick the competent, down to earth manager.

Although I believe in the company's mission, I'm still a selfish person. If I don't get this position, I think my time with this company would be closely approaching an end. I would want to stay around long enough so that the company can hire new employees, have them become proficiently trained, and then I really would wish them the best. I feel like I haven't challenged myself recently and I owe it to myself to do so, whether it's this new position or by facing the unknown again. I think fate will decide whether I get this position and where my life will go from there.

Good Feeling

I have a really good feeling about the rest of this year. I'm not only happy where I am, I'm also looking forward to where I'm going and what I'll be doing.

Movie List

I've been such a couch potato. Not only have I been watching almost every match of the World Cup, I've also been hitting up my movie list as another form of procrastination.

What I recently watched/re-watched:
Match Point
The Princess Bride
Avatar
Hannah and Her Sisters
Annie Hall
City of Gods
Stardust
500 Days of Summer
180 Degrees South
Stander

Future movie list:
Casablanca
Goodfellas
Dr. Strangelove - Updated 7/4/10 - Just finished
North by Northwest
Bus 147 - Updated 7/4/2010 - Just finished

My Dream Car

My roommate and I purchased cable this month so we could watch the World Cup. After the World Cup is over, we'll cancel our subscription. Until that moment, we're taking advantage of the extra channels.

I walked into the living room while my roommate was watching 'Top Gear', a car show where they review some of the fastest, most luxurious, and subsequently unattainable cars engineered. The last car ran at a maximum speed of 250 mph, faster than some small planes.

I don't get it. I don't get why people want cars that can go X times past the speed limit when in the United States, we still have a speed limit. I've been on the German autobahn, a place where they have an advisory speed limit, but no cap (except for certain types of vehicles and certain dense areas). I can understand why some people would want a very fast car there; the engine can roar to life... legally. I don't get it here.

So when people ask me what my dream car is, I don't have the typical answer. For me, cars get me from Point A to Point B. Don't get me wrong; I marvel at the genius of whoever created the internal combustion engine. Perfecting the firing time of pistons to generate movement sounds like magic to me. However, I don't see the real worth of accelerating from 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds instead of 9. I'm in no hurry.

Instead, I thought about what was important to me in a vehicle. I did a little research and came to the conclusion that my dream car is 'The California' made by Volkswagen. The vehicle is technically a campervan with all the accessories that would make any outdoor enthusiast envious. It has a pop-up roof (for sleeping), 4 seats (front two that swivel), a worktable, a two burner stove, sink, and a reclining bench. With it, I would cram in all my climbing and hiking gear. Ironically, it's only available in Europe.

Anyways, it's always nice to fantasize. I guess we all just have different fantasies. I could see how living out of a car, hiking in the woods, and moving constantly might not be appealing; kinda like a 3 second car.

Many interpretations

Just finished watching "Hannah and Her Sisters". Great movie; they don't make them like they used to. I loved this Leo Tolstoy quote that they used: "The only absolute knowledge attainable by man is that life is meaningless"

Another fast weekend

Friday Night:
Been having insomnia lately; by Friday night I hadn't slept for over 24 hours straight. After work I went to hang out with a friend. We went to an art fundraiser for a local nonprofit, then had wine and dinner since we were downtown.

Wine makes me sleepy. I should drink more so I can sleep easier. I agreed with friend in doing an "8000 meter challenge" (where you run up and down 3 mountains in 24 hours). Some say the challenge is tougher than a marathon. It should be in September so we don't have much time to train. My little brother called; he wanted to borrow my truck for a month. I agreed to that too. Maybe I shouldn't agree to things while drinking. Got home 'early', fell asleep immediately.

Saturday:
Woke up early. Packed my gear in preparation for a day hike up Mount Baldy; it's one of the three mountains that's part of the 8000 meter challenge. This is part of our training and we're not wasting any time. Picked up friend, drove to LA. I decide to try this hike in beach flip flops just to see if I can.

Made the hike up and down in 4 1/2 hours including breaks. We're both out of shape (at least relatively). Hiked up to 10,084 feet elevation. Saw snow on top. Neat.

The US vs Ghana soccer game was recorded. Coming back, we avoided looking at our text messages/calls. I had 3 missed text messages and friend had 6. We're tempted to ask a random stranger to look at our text messages to screen for world cup comments. Friend buys whiskey before watching the game; good for celebration or for numbing the pain of a loss. We do burritos and whiskey. Yum.

My little brother shows up. We finish watching the game and then watch new Futurama episodes. Such a disappointment on both fronts; we continue drinking.

Sunday:
Woke up. Started to watch Germany vs. England recording. Shitty refereeing. Again. What's with this World Cup? Too early to start drinking? My older brother visits. I don't remember when all my brothers got together. It feels surreal seeing everyone; I feel like we're in middle school. We grab pizza and watch the Argentina vs Mexico game. Even more shitty refereeing. Ok, now I can grab a beer.

I clean out my truck and move my gear into my younger brother's vehicle. I find cleats, shin guards, climbing shoes & harness, soccer ball, sleeping bag, sleeping mattress, ski jacket, frisbee golf discs, and other misc. items in my truck. My brothers leave and I hurry to play on my co-ed soccer team at the YMCA. Then I grab beers with the other team after our game. I arrive back home and do laundry. Now it's time to read and write.

Tomorrow's Monday again. Where does the time go?

Currently...

Listening to Frank Sinatra Christmas Classics at the start of a San Diego summer on a random 3:00 am.

Barefoot Running

I've always been terrible about taking things slow. When I get an idea, I might do a little initial research, but I usually start running before I fully comprehend walking. Switching to barefoot running was no exception.

My first barefoot 'test' run was over 3 miles on concrete and blacktop. To my credit, I started at a very slow jog, getting used to my first steps without the protection of cushioned soles. Almost immediately, my surroundings seemed to come alive.

On a normal run, I could drown out all my thoughts. My body simply placed one foot in front of the other ad infinitum. Although barefoot running is still essentially the same as running with shoes, it was also slightly different; I became conscious of a new layer of thoughts and feelings.

Now my actions needed to be very deliberate; my mind and eyes had to race through each individual step, calculating where it was safest to land. If I stepped on what I previously considered even the most minuscule of rocks, I could find myself flinching in pain. I'm far from a sadist though. If there were only pain involved, I would have quit easily.

However, where there's bad there's also good. The positive aspects was being able to feel everything from the gritty dirt on the road to the blades of grass passing through my feet with each stride.

Aside from what I was stepping on, it was more important focusing on how I stepped. Running barefoot naturally forces your feet to land on your soles first instead of the heels. Initially it felt slightly awkward; for lack of a better description, it was like tip toe running.

As I picked up speed, I noticed how light my feet felt (and it wasn't simply the missing weight of some absent shoes). My feet felt lighter because I used less force when landing.

When wearing shoes, I would strike the ground without being keen on how much pressure was placed. (I wonder if this is why many runners have bad knees.) By not wearing shoes, I instantly felt the jolt of my first few misguided and harsh steps. I learned very quickly to only use the bare minimum force between strides. Not only did I expend less energy, my knees were also grateful.

I completed my run quicker than usual. Once again, there's a positive and negative side. I looked at my feet, finding that I had a few blisters. I probably should have built up my callouses by walking barefoot first. Even with the blisters, I found it interesting. My right foot is more dominant and had more blisters. Hmm, that makes sense, but I wouldn't have thought about it like that.

Some people say that I shouldn't run barefoot for a number of reasons, safety being one of them. Like with anything in life, I take the precautions I think are necessary and then leave the rest up to fate. (If we all lived sheltered lives, we wouldn't have things like motorcycles - which I have my license and think is far more dangerous than barefoot running)

While I can't say that barefoot running is better or worse, I can say that it is a unique experience. I'm glad that this instance of "running before walking" didn't turn out disastrous.