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August 06 Will Post for Money It's not that I don't love you all... it's just that I haven't felt like writing much recently. It's kind of a hard time for me right now: I'm not getting enough time at work, and the trip to California ended up being a pretty expensive endeavor. I further found out that it was likely in my best interest to pursue job opportunities away from Johnson, Graffe, Keay, Moniz, and Wick as there "could be no promises made" and that it would "make sense to keep my name out there". I got the message, so I went back into full gear last weekend. I have some things in the works, but until anything is more conclusive, I'll reserve my progress. Needless to say, I've done a nice job of updating my resume to include my new experiences here and I've contacted several local firms to "get my name out there". I'm at work today and there's nothing to do so I'm writing a post. I left early on Monday because there was no work for me. I will probably end up having to do the same. I need to start making some money... any money. I realized I'm down to about 2 weeks worth of reserve. Not good. I'll probably have to leave early again - I can't justify sitting here getting paid for doing nothing. I just don't feel right about it. I like to work when I'm at work. Perhaps the fool, given these financial challenges, I recently purchased the first personal/discretionary items I've purchased in several months. I've been studying Japanese but I've felt a definite challenge in understanding the gramatical structure of the language using the immersive method that Rosetta Stone employs, so I purchased a $7 grammar book from my local Borders and have been 'enjoying' 'reading' it. I also purchased a pleasure book (something I ran out of 4 months ago) that both Alaya and Jason had recommended to me in the last couple of years. I started it last night and read the first little bit. We'll see. You know Jason and Alaya: inherantly untrustworthy, what with their getting engaged and moving to Boston and buying iPhones. You know who you are. Jon bought BioShock for my Steam Account as a bar-passing gift and I've been having a blast with it. I actually spent nearly 3 hours yesterday drudging through Neptune's Bounty. I love the combination of the AI in the game and the diversity of tools you get with which to interact with the wonderfully immersive environment and creepy opponents. Plasmids are genetic upgrades your character can inject himself with to reprogram his DNA to permit amazing new abilities. You get some really fun ones. There's something wonderful about using Incinerate to melt down a pool of ice to uncover an explosive barrel, using the Freeze plasmid to freeze a guy so he's a brick of ice and then using Telekinesis to hurl the explosive barrel at the frozen guy and watch him shatter into 1000 pieces and the blow up with the barrel. It's awesome. And really, best audio in a game, ever... seriously. Here's a Gamespot Review with pictures. It's a beautiful game - check it out if you've not heard of it. Uncle Jerry is coming to stay with me for 3 days, starting tonight. This should prove interesting considering my (we'll be generous and call them:) "spartan" living conditions. Oh.. my neighbors offered me a super ugly love seat as they got a full sectional couch hand-me-down for their apartment (it takes up 80% of their living room). So I took it. It looks ridiculous in my 'living room', just sitting there. I've never sat in it.. but I figure it'll at least give Jerry a place to sit while I play more BioShock ;-) I mean, really, it's hideous and utterly useless on its own: I don't have a coffee table; it's not comfortable enough to supplant my computer chair as a place to sit; my computer monitor is too small that I can sit on the 'couch' and watch shows. But at least it makes my apartment feel slightly less empty (I think...) I need to find some good chocolate. When Jerry's here, we're going up to Seattle and I think I'll have to spring for a good chocolate bar - and, in fact, the chocolate shop near Pike Place is already a destination to get a good Michel Cluizel or Domori origin bar. Okay, I better go ask if I can do anything for anyone again. July 23 Xel'ha and Tulum As a special honor, and for only the second time in history, I have requested the services of a guest writer for my site. Considering the amazing enthusiasm and intense feedback I received regarding my lengthy post about my Mexico trip with my family (two comments.. one from my guest poster!) , I have decided to fill in the gaps of my personal experience (if anything that could be classified as a 'gap in my experience' has any relevance...) with an account by our very own Mr. Wingard (haha.. Mom). I have been told that things happen when I'm not around. I'm not sure I believe it. I have, however, recently received this account which attempts to refute my position. Decide for yourself: Joe and I decided that we wanted to see some Mayan Ruins - after all we were in Mayan country here in the Yucatan. We had already planned to take an excursion to Xel-Ha as Nancy had described it in such glowing terms and made it sound so inviting, I had to see what she was talking about. We could combine Xel -Ha with a trip to Tulum, a smaller ruins site down the coast from us, in one excursion so we decided to do that the day that the rest of our party went to Cozumel, snorkling, As far as ruins go, the premier site is Chitzenitza, very large, very old and very impressive. The drawback to going there was the distance - up to 2 1/2 hours each way by bus so even though it is supposed to be spectacular, we decided Tulum would do it for us, The day started early - we had to meet our bus at 8
am in the Plaza Playacar, a small tourist shopping area next to our hotel.
It was hot and humid, even at 8 am and the big, comfortable air-conditioned bus
was a relief. Tulum, while newer that other ruins and not as impressive,
has location going for it. It is located on a cliff above the Carribean, an
amazing location, which during its heyday protected the inhabitants from the sea
direction. It would have been impenitrable from that side. Our bus
included people who were only going to Xel-Ha so we stopped there first -
the two attractions are only minutes apart - and dropped off those people who
were spending the entire day at Xel-Ha. We were advised by our tour guide
to use the restrooms at Xel-Ha and stock up on water. When we reached the "town"
of Tulum - and I call it that lightly - a bunch of ramshackle tourist shops
strung together, our guide, Pepe, who was actually Mayan, began his narrative
about the ruins at Tulum and about Mayan culture generally. To get to the
ruins, we followed a road, walking, for about 10 minutes. We could have
taken a tram but we walked. It became clear to me why we went to Tulum
first - the temperature was already in the high 80s and it was bearable but
getting hotter all the time. Once we reached the entrance to the ruins we
followed a very densely forested path to a kind of anteroom with ruined walls
where Pepe explained the significance of Tulum and how it fit into the
Mayan world. Tulum was a much later site and was still active at the
time Spaniards came to the Yucutan. It never came under the Spaniards but was
actually abandoned by its inhabitants. Pepe told us that Mayan culture did
not disappear nor did the Mayan people. The theory is that the population
grew too big and the lower caste people upon whom the burdens of building and
doing much of the work fell, rebelled and moved away to small settlements.
Pepe also told us that about half the people in the Yucatan are Mayan, many
nearly pure, who still speak Mayan, and when a Mayan baby is born, they have a
blue spot just above their tailbone which goes away as they grow out of
childhood. He also talked about the physical characteristics of the Mayan race.
As we walked up on the plateau where the ruins were located, Pepe told us about
the different structures and what they would have looked like and how they would
have been used. Originally the buildings would all have been stuccoed and
brightly painted. The Mayans had a very developed knowledge of astronomy
and mathematics and the buildings exhibit this with their placement. Everything
they built was carefully placed to face exactly certain directions and fit into
their picture of the world. Similar to Stonehenge these buildings were
built to have certain places where the sun or moon came through certain holes or
places at certain times. All very orderly and mystical. At the cliff side
of the ruins, there was an incredible wooden staircase down to one of the most
beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Lots of people went down to the beach
and took a dip while they were at Tulum. I can certainly understand the dip part
- it was terribly hot and humid. Our clothes were soaked. We ended up
sitting in a shaded area under some trees and watching iguanas for a
while. I was glad we saw the ruins but I think I would have appreciated it
more in the evening which we understood is quite beautiful. They light up
the entire area and it being up on a cliff, the sight must be quite
spectacular.
So it was on to Xel-Ha and we were ready for
water! Xel-Ha is a natural inlet from the Carribean Sea, with fresh water
underground springs bubbling up and meeting the ocean water. The name
Xel-Ha means waters meeting. It is a beautifully developed park with all
kinds of water features and things to do. We had been advised to eat first
which we did. The buffet we chose (food and drink was all inclusive)
was very pleasant, though outdoors. Fans kept it relatively cool and the
food and drink was varied and quite interesting. We needed to cool
down after Tulum so the break of sitting and eating and hydrating was quite
welcome. The grounds of Xel-Ha were beautifully manicured, though
still jungle. There were dozens of beautiful macaws just outside of
the restaurant and after eating we took some pictures of them. We got our
snorkeling gear and lockers and went snorkeling in the lagoon. It was a
great success! The only other time I had tried snorkeling, I had failed
miserably so I was stoked to be swimming around and looking at fish. They
put a life jacket on you which makes it quite easy to snorkel. At
first we did not secure the life jackets correctly and it got all messed up
but when we finally figured out how to work the straps, everything fell into
place. The lagoon had natural rocks in it and the fish tended to
congregate near the rocks. I had a ball in there but when I got
out, I had moved quite far away from where we went into the water and was
totally lost. I guess I got out of the lagoon on the other side, probably
several hundred yards away from where we went in. It took me some time to
find my way back to our original location and poor Joe was nearly frantic.
We then decided to go on innertubes from a long arm of the inlet where the
current moved you automatically toward the main lagoon. This was
supposed to take about 45 minutes. It took some time to reach the starting
area - we walked for a good while and then took a tram. At the beginning
of what they call "the lazy river" you put on a life vest and
they drop an innertube into the water and somehow you are supposed to get
yourself into the innertube. This was not easy for Joe and me as we
are both older and portly to say the least. We both kept falling out.
Finally I got going and started floating down the narrow river. It
was unfortunately not very comfortable. I had to hold my head up all the
time. Joe finally had to go and get a double innertube, meant for two people and
that worked better for him. The first part went fine but after about 3/4 of an
hour I was terribly tired and not feeling too well There was
a headwind that kept pushing us backward and we were not making any
progress. About 2/3rd of the way to the end, I was exhausted and we
decided to get out and walk to the end. Now we didn’t have any shoes as
they had sent our shoes down to the end, so we walked on dirt paths - not very
comfortable - for about 10 minutes until we got to main path and then
for about 15 minutes to the place where we picked up our shoes etc.
It was getting late and we had to meet the bus at 5 pm so we got our stuff out
of the lockers, had a cold drink - God knows we needed one! - and met the
bus. We were tired and hot but it was a good day. Both of us fell asleep
on the bus back to Riu Tequila. We slept like rocks that night.
Thank you, oh honorable Mom, for your quick response to my call for assistance. You enrich our very beings with your generous sharing of time and exposition of amazing detail in ways that only future generations of scholars will have the pleasure of understanding. July 17 Mexico Trip and a chance to visit friendsAs many of you know, I recently embarked with my family on a
trip to Quintana
Roo in Mexico for a week long vacation at the Rui Tequila resort in Playa del
Carmen. If you don't know about it yet, I would highly suggest taking a
look at the photo albums I posted from the trip about a week ago. It was
a beautiful place and quite an amazing experience. I've included a bunch
of links to pages about thing I'm discussing if you're interested in a little
more information. July 10 New Photo AlbumsI just posted 6 new photo albums from our vacation to Quintana Roo, Mexico last week. Check em out.. no, really.. check em out! I'll post some verbage at a later date.. I don't feel like it now though :) Oh, by the way, these aren't all my pictures.. They are actually pictures from my camera, Leah and Chris's camera, my mom's camera, and Joe's camera... so just assume the ugly ones are mine :) And this only comprises about half the pictures we took! Good challenge though - try to figure out who took what (though the file names give away the different cameras: One Panasonic Lumix FZ-15 (mine), 1 Canon Powershot G3 (mom's), 1 Canon Powershot S3-IS (Joe's) and 1 Olympus FE-330 (Leah and Chris). Oh, and "Horse Repair" rules. June 21 Leaky-mobile.Took my first trip to the Olympic Penninsula today and I happened up on the neatest little seaside state park: Shine Tidelands State Park, right near the Hood Canal Floating Bridge between the Kitsap and Olympic penninsulae. I just saw a sign for a state park and pulled off the highway to check it out.. Boy was I in for a neat treat. It's really made up of just the area next to the water and there is a sheer cliff that is very highly vegetated (one of the pics shows the density..) But the narrow tidal flats are filled with life: interesting plants, animals, rocks, shells, old pieces of wood, dead trees. I could have taken hundreds of pictures there, really.
Oh yes. In case you didn't already - look at the album I posted shortly before composings this:
If this doesn't work, just click on the thing to the right. Make sure you use the Full View button - it does a full page slide show rather than the little one and it does it near full resolution and loads really fast. I hate to think of people looking at my pictures in tiny form!
I found some lovely critters, plant and animal both, which proved highly photogenic :) If you come to visit and we have the time, I'll take you up there... and on the way back, you can drive on North 101... goings south. That's right, the end of the 101 actually comes back down south to Olympia.
So, bad news. I found out I can't drive back to CA next week - my car just won't make it reasonable. Today's trip was just around 190 miles.. I had to add power steering fluid 4 times (I figure it empties the resevoir about every 40 miles) - This would require, in a trip to home and back, just north of 60 stops for adding fluid in an otherwise uncomfortable and not terribly enjoyable or fuel efficient vehicles. Further, I was figuring on about $400 for gas, $100 for food, and about $150 for lodging (just for transportation), where I can get a flight from SeaTac for $202... after taxes. I guess I'm flying.
I got my official membership cards from the WSBA (get to know this abbreviation: Washington State Bar Association) . I'm WA Bar member #40229. This means I've been sworn in, certified, given a bar number and anything else they can do to get in my way before letting me practice... which means now I can walk out into the street and start given legal advice as I please. Be warned.
Actually attended my first bar social event on Thursday, too.. a little evening social sponsored by the Young Lawyers division of the Pierce County Bar Association (PCBA). Got to meet some of the younger and older members of the bar too. It was fun. And they paid for drinks (microbrew beers for me!) and bought gourmet pizzas as appetizers from the place it was held at. It was fun.
Let's see. I've started a little tradition on Saturday mornings. Nothing serious.. but I sit around and listen to Car Talk, Wait-Wait-Don't-Tell-Me, and This American Life while playing Puzzle Quest, preparing breakfast and drinking coffee. Considering I'm nearly done with what I want from Puzzle Quest, my guess is the tradition will be short lived.
Okay.. I'm going to study some Japanese and then figure out some din. Enjoy your weekends!
June 13 Another Postcard with ChimpanzeesOkay okay.. so I guess I'm not all bad. In a recent gesture, the crazy downstairs neighbors gave me a dresser. They came up one afternoon and knocked on my door like they were trying to knock it over. I thought the police had come for me.. but I opened the door and there was all 4'11" of punchy old lady with a big smile on her face.
"You wanna dresser? We got one we're just gonna throw away."
"Sure! I'll take it!"
It sure ain't pretty. Dark green, cheap veneered wood with drawers that are falling apart. And the bottoms of one of the drawers looked like it sat under my car for 10 minutes (puddle of oily stuff... <sigh>) But I'm happy to have a big dresser thing. Makes my room look at least 3x less empty. It's pretty big mofo.. had to carry it up the stairs on end 'bout 5 1/2' wide x 3' tall and maybe 2' deep. But it's an improvement!
And it meant that I could reconfigure the ugly wire storage racks I got from Target for $12 into some 'computer accessory tables'. It's pretty clever, really...
And it meant I could use my "printer table" as a handy new "notebook/bedside table".
And then she brought me a small vacuum cleaner. And a broom. And left a plastic footstool outside my door one night (currently sitting awkwardly in my living room).
A lady at work, Jackie, also provided me with some hand-me-downs. A crock pot and a set of ceramic jars :)
Okay... so what else?
Oh yeah - I'm a lawyer now. I had my swearing-in ceremony last Thursday. Went down to courthouse in my fancy suit and tie and swore an oath, had a reception, and was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association, entitled to practice law. Kinda crazy really: someone like me <wink>
I got to interview my first witness last Friday, too.. that was kinda fun.
And my car is still broken. I went, on the same day I was being sworn in, to install the part I had gotten from Audi. They looked at the car some more and said, "Oh.. this isn't the problem. You need something much more expensive ($1500)" So I returned the part and ate the 15% restocking fee. And am continuing to feed my car power steering fluid in roughly equal amounts as gas (well maybe not that bad). As long as it gets me down to California and back, I suppose it's done okay. I may really consider getting rid of it then.
Japanese study is going very well. I'm far exceeding my 1 hour a day requirement (probably closer to 2 hours/day). It's fun.. some parts are really hard, but others I'm getting along very well with.
I just finished another Jdrama called Galileo which I really enjoyed (see my jdorama profile for a review.. if you care) and before that a great one called Koi ni Ochitara. I'm about to start one called Seikei Bijin (Artificial Beauty).
Been gyming a lot. The temp gym is okay.. but the new one is going to be spectacular. They say it'll be open by the end of July.. but I don't believe them. And on the days I don't gym, I'm taking long walks around Tacoma, trying to get to know all the nooks and crannies worth knowing in my immediate area. Checking out the cool local stores.. you know, coffee places, barbers, produce and meat sellers, home decorators.. I've seen everything.
I've actually got a wonderful Etheopian Harrar I purchased from a local roaster (Origin 23° - http://www.yelp.com/biz/origin-23-tacoma) I'm currently treating (not currently currently - I'm actually have a glass of 2002 Sockeye Merlot as I write tonight - not recommended - overly tanic, thin flavor) my sorrows with :) It's a nice coffee place and they have an indonesian I'm going to be getting at my next visit which is truly wonderful. They're also reasonably priced - like just around $10/lb.
And I got my hair cut from a local barber (he's about 3 blocks away).
The area is really lovely to walk in. Very interest variety of houses and people are super friendly. It's pretty this evening.. but it hasn't been pretty the last couple of days. Dreary, really. It stays light until after 9:30.. and really doesn't get to be "night" until like 10:45. It's kinda crazy.
Okay.. enough - time to study! Besides.. I'm tired of listening to Berlioz now. June 01 Enemy of the PeopleI've now been in WA for 5 months and today I am officially an enemy of the community. A threat. A terror. A deliquent. A hooligan.
My landlady called me this evening and told me that two people complained about my loud music yesterday. The funny thing: I didn't listen to music yesterday. In fact, I wasn't home much of the day. And when I was home, I played Puzzle Quest (and much of the time, the audio was muted because I was on the phone). There was a cleaning lady cleaning out the apartment next door who was playing a loud radio with the door open. Grr.
Now there are times I've played my music loudish (nothing approaching remotely offensive and just barely audible outside the window - I stood outside and listened from different points) and there is a couple I already found out to be ultrasensitive (my guess is both complaints were from husband and wife (they live next door to each other in two different studios - the man has a scary security camera in his window and he told me that the lady beneath me was a meth-head and that he was glad there was finally a normal, decent person moving in. He also sits in a chair just inside his place right in front of the window.))
Now I know this place is older. And I know it's built with nearly zero sound insulation (I hear my neighbors regular voice conversations). But I listen to my music at a level barely what most people would consider normal television viewing. In fact, when I'm in the kitchen, it is barely audible. Now, to be a good citizen, I've not only turned down my subwoofer control to the lowest level, but I've actively reduced the bass (31, 62, 125hz to -10.6, -10.3, -6.8 db, respectively) in my sound card's control panel . Basically that means, for those of you who aren't audiology experts, that means the sound pressure between the lowest key on the average piano (Sub-contra A - around 27.5 hz) to the next two octaves up (great A - 110 hz) is being muted by a factor of 10. I've toyed with the graphic equalizer to make it as limited an impact as possible.. but it makes music sound funny, no matter what you do. Fortunately my speaker system overcompensates that range some, so it isn't as catastrophic a loss.. but it's still very noticible.
And I'm irritated about having to do it. I don't have any entertainment in my apartment other than my kitchen, computer, and bed. And two of those features are greatly enhanced by audible accompaniment in the form of some music. I have precious little to be excited about when coming home and it seems they are determined to deprive me of just those amenities. And honestly, people's kids make way more noise than I ever have - they scream all the time.
The reality is, that any music, even if played very softly, can be heard outside the window and if they want to make my life difficult, they can. So I made a little change. I'm going to continue playing my music at whatever volume I have, however. If they really wanna complain, I'll have Helen (my landlady) come and we'll do an evaluation of exactly what is reasonable at given times of the day, given specific locations and states of the window's openness on a convenient chart I will be happy to put together in Excel. Oh it'll be fun. And then I'll be counting the days until November 30th and taking every opportunity to chide people taking out their garbage after 8, walking too noisily or talking at anything above a whisper.
<sigh>
So what else is new? I joined a gym yesterday. LA Fitness. I prepaid 3 years membership to get a better rate and renewal rate. It was a lot of money but it's not like it's something I'm not going to use and to pay a little more upfront means that in the long run, I can save money. I'm okay with that kind of investment - it doesn't depreciate - it actually gets cheaper as the rates inflate and I'd have to make close to 40% per year in growth to make up the savings over 3 years, so your time-value of money argument is pretty hard to support (whoever you are!) It's actually really great. I got in on a great deal because they haven't opened up the new $13 million facility they're opening up next month, so I get to use the temporary location (they bought out another gym and improved it) until then. Even the temporary facility is really nice. I had a great workout yesterday and it was wonderful to get back to it.
So wonderful, in fact, I did it again today. I went to the one in Federal Way which was just recently finished (to get an idea of what the new Tacoma one is going to be like) and it's beautiful. It's enormous, extremely well stocked with very high quality weights, machines, and cardio equipment, very nicely appointed with wooden faced lockers and frosted glass entrances, big windows, big open spaces. It's not too noisy, it's really clean and there is so much equipment, even if it's busy, there's plenty to use. It's pretty cool. Not only is it cheap, it's gonna be a great gym. So maybe it means I have to wait 3 more months on my knives and table, but I think it was worth it.
I also took a couple of steps towards become more Washingtonian. I have WA license plates now and a temporary WA driver's license (the real one is in the mail). So, $150 later, I'm more of a resident than I was the day before :)
Next is health care and auto insurance. Gotta get those, yeah.
I'm being sworn in as an attorney in Pierce County on Thursday of this week. My firm said they'd give me a little bump in pay too.. that sure would be nice.
My car is still unhappy. The part has been ordered (a high pressure hose for the power steering pump) and should be arriving within the next few days. It was nearly $400 and installation will be another $100. My car died again at idle today (with the air conditioning off) so I'm not sure I'm out of the water yet.
I'm learning Japanese. I'm trying to spend an hour a day right now. My goal is 5 years - basic ability to speak and understand Japanese and Chinese. Reading is undecided. I started a week ago and have been working hard. It's been really tough at times but I'm enjoying it.
I went to sushi last night. It was a gift from Aunt-Cousin Leslie given for my passing the bar. I did a search on Yelp for Tacoma sushi places and ended up at Fujiyama. Fish was great: super fresh, lovely selection for the sashimi plate! Preparation was so-so. And, it's the first time I've ever been to sushi where none of the sushi chefs were Japanese.. or even Asian. I was served by Reyes and Juan. Now I didn't have a huge problem with that, in and of itself, but I'm afraid my chef, Juan, just wasn't as skilled as some of the better chef's I've had. His cuts were sloppy. I'm not sure if I'd go back. The price was great for what I got, but it just wasn't the same experience as that other place I've been to up in Southcenter I liked so much, Miyabi. Fujiyama does have a really cute Japanese server .. that always helps :)
But now, I've gotta get started with my language lessons before bedtime! I'll update with some of my smaller household purchases for the week in a few days.
Ciao! May 24 Tacoma LivingThis is a long post. It's got good news and it's got bad news. If you just wanna see where I moved to, look at the albums I posted. If you wanna know what's going on, enjoy:
We'll start with some good news.. I'm writing this while enjoying some Trader Joes fish tacos with steamed bok choy and a glass of Barnard Griffin Fume Blanc (which is really lovely). I was late in defrosting another meat today, so I had to go with a convenience product - a rare occasion for me.
Oh, and you guys are going to love this: I've gotten referals from search engines for my previous header name "Phlargo's Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man". There was a referal from someone who searched for "Wacky+Waiving+Inflatable+Tube+Man". (S)he apparently came and read my page too..
Four days ago, I moved out from the Stone family home in Federal Way to my new apartment in Tacoma. I had been looking for a new place to live for about the last week and a half. I found that Tacoma apartments were quite reasonably priced and really nice - if you found the right place to live (some of Tacoma is not very nice, other places are really lovely). So here, I am, paying $550 a month for a nearly 500 sq ft 1 bedroom less than 1 mile from my work. I would like to try and start walking there in the mornings now that the weather is getting nice. I've attached two new photo albums. The first is a set of pictures I took before I moved in and the second is pictures I took today, four days into my tenure here.
I ended up with this place after spending a week ago Thursday looking at 7 different places (it was my third day of hunting). This was the first place I went. There was another place I liked (a two bedroom less than a mile from here for $650) but they wanted a 12 month lease (this place only wanted 6 months). I didn't think that was the right move right now, so last Friday, I went and filled out an application for this place. Tuesday at noon, the manager called and told me I had passed muster. I asked her what time we could meet. She said 3:30. I packed my stuff and moved out that day. Sure I had no furniture, no dishes, no supplies. Just my clothes, my computers, my toiletries, a few kitchen things, and some food. But I slept here Tuesday night. On the floor with a foam matress I had borrowed from Jesse Stone.
Since then, I've been to to the following places to look for furniture and supplies: Target, Walmart, Kmart, Costco, Ikea, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Fred Meyer, Nordstrom, Frys, JCPenny, Macys, Sears, Metropolitan Market, Trader Joes. Wednesday night I bought a kitchen cart, a lamp, and a few other odds and ends from Ikea. I got my matress and cookware from Costco and my desk from Office Depot on Thursday. I got my internet connection on Friday. That's the extent of my furniture so far (yeah.. internet connection is officially furniture). It's very empty right now, but it works. The kitchen is tiny and the stove/oven is only one step larger than an EZ-bake. So, cooking is a challenge, but possible
So I splurged on two things. A memory foam matress and a nice set of nonstick cookware from Costco. I've spent months questioning both and the matress was the easier decision to make. I knew that getting a good matress was a smart idea - sleeping is important. I was looking at $599 for a queen/box spring set, but I had always wanted to go memory foam... so I ordered one from Costco's website because they hadn't had them in the store. It was $699 and I was going to have it shipped to my work (they said it was fine). But on a subsequent trip to Costco, I found out that the Tacoma store actually had a rebranded version of the exact same matress in the store for $599. I sat in the store and cancelled my order online and got the in store version. Two things about this matress.. it comes deflated (think about the size of a small refrigerator) and weighs about 120 lbs. Sure enough, I hoisted it into my cart alright... but getting into the car was another issue. Me and two Costco employees managed to massage it into my back seat after 15 minutes of pushing, prying, and forcing. It resulted in a small tear (5 inches or so) in my rear seat.. but I don't really care. This was the easy part.
Getting it out of my small car by myself again and up the stairs into my apartment.. that was the hard part. Once I parked at home, I spent probably another 20 minutes trying to squeeze the huge box through the door. I found that no matter what I did, there was no way I could alone apply the right force to bend it around the steel door frame. I ended up taking the massive pouch out of the box and strong-arming the whole deal all the way across the path, up the stairs, and into to my room. That was not easy - no handles, nearly 3 ft in diameter and at least 4 ft tall and about 115 lbs - up a steep, narrow, dilapidated wooden staircase. When I move out, I'm getting help. No matter what. I bought two queen sized fitted sheets from Fred Meyer ($17 (250 t.c. tope) & $19 (300 t.c. muted olive)) to accompany my new baby.
So the matress spent the next 36 hours inflating on the floor next to my makeshift bed, working out all the creases and bumps. I slept on it last night for the first time. It's wonderful. It's like sleeping on the ground (it's hard and supportive) except the ground is shaped exactly like your body, no matter your position. It's super comfortable (in fact, I last night before bed I tested it out and didn't get up for nearly an hour). I think it'll be a great matress for many years to come. Now.. to find a bed (I actually have one from Ikea I really like.. but it's another $299.. so it's going to wait a while - it's doing just fine on the floor, thank you. Besides, it has a matching dresser which I think is pretty cool too).
The other splurge was $200 on a set of cookware. I got the same 11 piece set that Leah and Chris got for their wedding - the Circulon 2 Commercial from Costco. I've been using every opportunity to enjoy it (pancakes this morning, boiling water for coffee, eggs, steaming vegetables last night, etc, etc, etc..) and I will definitely enjoy it. I did a ton of research prior to buying it though - I've been looking at it and competitors for months. I had nearly planned to go piece by piece, but I found that with the 3 basic pieces I wanted to start with, I was already at $120, no matter how I did it. And they would have no matching lids - so I now have a set with an 8, 10, and 12 inch skillet, a 14 inch covered skillet, and 2.5q, 4q, and 8q saucepans with lids. It's not everything I want, but it'll certainly do fabulously until I can afford the last couple of pieces - a griddle ($35-100), a cast iron skillet ($25), and a stainless saucier ($110).
So what's next? Furniture and knives. I need a filing cabinet (~$100) and/or printer cart (~$80)and a dresser ($150-200) as soon as possible. My underwear, socks, t-shirts and shorts are in my suitcase and duffel bag. My papers are stacked in a paper shopping bag. It's mean. I hope to correct this within a month. A bed ($200-350) will be fine down the road.. I can probably live fine without for several months. It's not pretty, but it works. A lamp ($15-45) for my bedroom would be nice, so I could read by my bed.. but that too can wait. Much further down the road are a little dining table ($200) and some chairs (4 x $50-75)- so I don't have to eat at the computer... but I could probably do without those for 6 months (maybe 'til I move - the bed could probably wait too) Eventually maybe a small couch, a coffee table and an entertainment center (with media pc, of course).
In the kitchen, I will soon want an electric kettle ($50), a microwave ($90), and a toaster oven ($75 - I have a $6 place holder toaster from Walmart). And a couple of good knives (still not 100% sure on make though I'm waffling between Kershaw Shun ($300) and F. Dick ($250). And bread pans ($30). I really wanna make my own bread again soon.
I obviously need tons of other kitchen gear, but I strategically chose the most multitasking items I could think of in my initial purchasing to complement my current arsenal (1 small silicon turner, 1 silicon pancake turner, 1 nylon turner, 1 large bamboo cutting board, 1 8" stamped Victrinox Forscher chef knife*, 1 4" paring knife*, 1 Petite Carver Cutco knife, 1 12" salmon knife, tea and coffee supplies, 2 mugs, 1 hard-anodized non-stick 12" square grill pan, 1 cheapie Walmart wok*).
Here's my initial purchases for your critique:
* - items that are placeholders - eventually I'll get a better one but it was cheap enough that it made sense to get something
I agonized over this list, making sure that everything I was purchasing would be used regularly and nothing would be wasted. So far, in just two days, I've used just about everything (all, except the 8 cup measuring cup, baking sheet, and second drinking glass and wine glass, and 3rd trivet).
Why so careful and so reluctant to furnish all the way? First, I don't need it all right away - I can live pretty spartanly and do okay. I'll miss having comfort/luxury... but I haven't had it for a while. And secondly, well, I've done the math. If I work 24 hours a week at Johnson, Graffe, Keay, Moniz, and Wicke, LLP and I subtract my rent and student loan payments, I end up with less than $700 a month. This has to cover: all initial purchases (so far around $1700 - household purchases plus $300 deposit/cleaning fee), gas, car insurance, health insurance, internet, cell phone, electricity, and food. In my estimation, I'll be running about $300-500 a month in deficit for the time being. I'm going to try to pick up another job on Tuesdays, Thursdays (and maybe Saturdays and Sundays) to make up the difference, but it's not guarenteed yet, so I'm officially broke.
And I got some bad news today.. my car died on me twice while idling. I've been losing power steering fluid at nearly 100% per trip (I need to refill every time I drive the car). I'm taking my car to a local place on Tuesday to figure out what I've gotta do. I did figure out that the car stopped dying if I turn the air conditioning off - so that's good news.. I can live without air conditioning. But the power steering problem is getting really annoying. I need to figure out if I need to just dump the car and go from there. Knowing this might be a possibility, I stocked up on food today (nearly $200 worth), so that if I need to be without a car, at least I'll have stuff to eat for the next two weeks or so and should be able to supplement with the local meat and produce place (I hear it's awesome - and it's only about 2 blocks away - I may check it out tomorrow).
It's a little scary right now - new place (mostly empty) and a new bank (mostly empty). Ironically, while things seemed like they have been just on the up and up, it seems the real challenge starts here. May 03 Mayday! Some things to share...It's obviously been too long since my last post, which means that you all are due a long and detailed record.. right?
I decided that the best thing to do would be to start from today and move backwards... well, except for one little detail I'll save for the end (don't cheat!) I'm right now listening to Feist, an indy-rocker who was featured on an episode of the Colbert Report this week. I really like what I heard, so I'm giving her album (The Reminder - 2007) a shot. This was preceded by the new Portishead album (first one in like 10 years!) which is quite good. I can't wait to set up a more permanent music listening area - I really enjoy music. I want to have nice speakers and a good listening environment with which I can enjoy all sorts of music.
I've just spent the last hour or so posting on Jdorama.com (the website where I've learned about and engaged in discussions of Japanese dramas I've been watching - if you wanna see what I've been watching and how I feel about it, check out my profile: http://jdorama.com/viewprofile.37210.htm) and drinking a wonderful Sumatra Mandheling I procured from Victrola coffee when I was up in Seattle on Monday. That was preceded by some fantastic pancakes and a very late waking time (11:30 for those who are wondering).
Why did I get up so late? Well.. last night I watched the end of a J-drama called Orange Days until like 5 AM. I don't know if I had planned to or not, but I ended up watching to the end (I think I watched 5 eps last night) because I decided I had nowhere I needed to be today. So, I figured: go nuts! It was a great show and the final scene made my cry like nothing else. I actually have watched those last few seconds like 5 times since I finished it. Miraculously, every time I see them, I get very wet cheeks. I don't want to spoil anything (as I've got an increasingly large following of people who are jumping on the jdramawagon again), but it's such an amazing moment for both the characters of Sae and Kai.. the culmination of every Kai worked for in supporting her and Sae facing her worst fears. Truly legendary. The show gets far from a perfect review, but I'm so glad I saw it - a touching and wonderful experience (more detailed review on my profile there).
Last night I took myself out for some Thai food. I had planned to go out for lunch or dinner like 6 times earlier this week, but I managed to wait until Friday. I had a seafood dish with curry and sauteed basil at a local place called Indochine which had been recommended to me by Wendy and Lowell some months ago. It was a really wonderful meal and I topped it off with a nice Thai beer. This nice outing was followed by a trip to H-mart (Korean Supermarket) where I got piles of vegetables and a beautiful piece of fresh salmon for $12. It's really the best deal around here for produce, by a long shot. And they have all kinds of sashimi grade fish too (hmm...) I bought a couple green bean buns from the baker there too and had a nice little treat when I got home.
I've been playing an infernal game called Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords which is like Bejeweled with spells and role playing elements. It's a great background puzzle game to play while watching all my shows (at least the ones in English). It's dangerously addictive though - I've found several nights getting a little too late for their own good at the hands of that game.
Last weekend, I visited a little bakery in Kent, WA called Haley's Corner (http://haleyscorner.com/). I heard about it on one of my local NPR stations, KUOW - there was an interview (http://www.kuow.org/mp3high/m3u/SoundFocus/SoundFocus20080102.m3u). A gluten free bakery that was started a woman who had a friend who's daughter (Haley) was gluten intolerant. For years she had been baking for Haley trying to create delights that would reflect her unique needs. At the beginning of the year, she decided she would try and make a business out of it. So, after having searched several times for it, I finally got to Haley's Corner. I talked with the employees and saw the fabrication process at work and got several great samples while I was there. I walked out with a gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin (this was a real winner!) and proceeded back to another place I know in Kent for a little something to drink to go with my special baked goods, Xiu Xian Teas (http://www.xiuxiantea.com/). Mako was there, as usual, and treated me and a young lady who was contemplating buying loose tea for the first time to a lovely tasting and tea discussion. I bought a couple of ounces of an unfermented Puh-Er which is a wonderful fragrant, floral tea. But sorry.. there was almost none left, so you'll have to visit me in the next month or two if you wanna try it :) I also made a stop at Kohls where I enjoyed a part of one of my Christmas gift cards. I purchased two blue shirts. One textured tealish modal/poly polo and a button down muted royal blue linen/rayon blend. Also a pair of olive/grey slacks (my current ones are very tired!). All good deals and all things I really thought looked nice. Thanks Mom and Joe... they are nice things. I'll need to buy some more soon, but it made me feel special with some new clothes.
I got a very special treat last week from Leah and Chris. They sent me a wonderful package of special things they collected for me on their trip to Japan. It was so sweet and really made my day. I had come home and Jesse hade made an amazing mess (he's been sick and even less conscientious than usual) and was kinda pissy. But I got a pretty box with special goodies. Teas (a sencha, a handmixed genmaicha, and an exceptional gyokuro (the only one I've gotten to try so far) and a cherrywood tea scoop (so pretty!), and bookmarks (a foil one with a temple on it, a painted bamboo one with handpainted owls on it, and a handmade paper one from Thailand (the reason for the bookmarks was that the one Leah gave me several years ago was falling apart)), rice crackers, a beautiful postcard with sweet words, some 'hotel coffee' :), and a lovely, if non-japanese, basil-lime chocolate bar from Rococo. Oh yes, and an extremely explicit hentai manga (basically cartoon porn) that's in Japanese but involves some of the most comically large breasts (probably something like 44EEE) and explicit sex scenes I've ever seen. I would describe it more.. but i know I have a very diverse audience so I'll leave the rest to your imagination. I actually had the pleasure of telling Leah and Chris that they supplied me with the first pornography I've ever owned! But, in the light of an unpleasant homecoming, there was such a wonderful treat that really lifted my spirits. Leah and Chris once again prove to be the masters of gift giving and packaging!
I also met with Jonathan Forbes for dinner last week after going to an utterly useless job fair (it really was a waste of time). We had a lovely dinner at Chutney's in Bellevue as well as an enjoyable conversation. MS is coming up next month and we're all gonna try to get together! I also used the day to visit Microsoft's visitor's museum (which I found out is up for replacement in Fall '08 - it's pretty outdated right now) and drive some around Redmond and Bellevue. I went back to Bellevue's fantastic Whole Foods and couldn't help but walking out with two bags of exquisite coffee (a Papua New Guinea Peaberry and a Kenya Grand Cru), both of which have proved their worth since. Allegro coffee does some good work.
I've been feeling good. Positive, rejuvenated. IAlthough I desparately want to get back to the gym and get some physical exercise (and will do so the very day I establish a more permanent living space), but I feel so much better than I was feeling. Why the sense of freedom?
Well, starting a week and a half ago, I got a job. I had expressed to several people that I wasn't happy with how the job search was going and, within a couple of days, no less than 5 of you had suggested something I already kinda knew - maybe it was time for a change of strategy. I started a targetted law firm search (in addition to my "many hour scour" of the job search sites) where it was my intention to make 10 directed solicitations to researched individuals of small firms a day, with strict followup and recording procedures. I created a little database of my contacts and started the process two weeks ago on Monday. Tuesday, I got an email from a partner at a firm in Tacoma indicating that he had no jobs for my, but would be willing to meet with me to offer some suggestions. I immediately emailed him back, expressing my enthusiasm and excitement.
Wednesday morning, Chris Keay from Johnson, Graffe, Keay, Moniz & Wick, LLP (http://www.jgkmw.com) emailed me back and said that if I wanted to meet that that afternoon would be best as he expected to be very busy for the next two weeks. I got my clothes on and was there in 35 minutes. He sat down with me and gave me a bunch of great local contacts and told me about his practice and what he was working on. His demeanor changed throughout our meeting. I could tell he liked me, saw potential, and knew that I was greater than the sum of my parts (though my calves and fingernails are pretty great).
We talked for a little while more and he asked me to walk with him to the kitchen to go fill up his coffee. On the way back, he stopped abruptly by an office and stuck his head in and said "Phil, this is Daniel. What do you think of him? I think he seems like a good guy and pretty intelligent. I think he's going to do some part time work for us". So I met Phil. He then stopped by another office.. and I met Wade. We walked back to his office and he handed me a document and said, "Come in Friday and you can research this. How about Friday and Wednesdays you come in and help us out?" So.. I came in Friday and did the research. The other legal intern comes in Tuesdays and Thursdays, but for this week and next, she's out of town, so I've been going in full time since Tuesday and will be there all next week. So far, it's been really great. The people are really great and I really like the firm. I don't have any permanent promises there yet, but it's a good start and I appreciate the change. It's amazing experience - I'm having to figure out everything by myself and develop procedures and processes for getting whatever thing done I am asked to do. I'll post more details about what I'm doing in a later post. Needless to say, it's great. I can't move out of here yet (on part time salary...), but it's a huge step forward and things are looking up. And, in the end, 3 days after changing my strategy, I got a job. Makes you realize how much one's approach matters.
So.. something happened that many of you might be wondering about at this time. While writing this email, the mailman came. He had a letter from the WSBA (Washington State Bar Association) which was more than happy to inform me that I was to be admitted to the WSBA because I had passed the WA bar exam. As I've long promised everyone.. I'm taking myself out for sushi tonight. And there will be sake. And quite possibly beeru :)
Get Ready to Feel the Power of Attorney!
April 15 Disgusted.So.. I had planned to respect the privacy of my cohabitants here but after recently being accosted for "late" rent payment last month and this (an agreement I had no knowledge of) and an awful run of messiness, the gloves are coming off. I took these pictures yesterday of some choice areas of the house I'm living in. I had really planned to keep it from you all.. but I'm pissed right now and I think it's a fitting retribution. I'm tired of being treated like I've done something wrong. I've only helped do my best to keep the house clean (I washed the kitchen floor by hand two days ago because I felt physical revulsion at its former state).
Here you are.. enjoy. I'm not.
"Dining Room":
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