Random Access

I’ve spent the better part of the day trying to decide what I wanted to say about the tragedies in New York, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. In some cases, words are not enough to accurately describe the full scope of what one wants to say. Sadly, this is one of those occasions.

The day, for me, started with a phone call from my Jess’ mom. She knows that I have family and friends in the D.C. and N.Y. areas and wanted to ascertain whether I was aware of what happened and ask if I knew if those people were all right. After her call, I got up and searched the Internet for news… like millions of others. I didn’t think about it at the time, but the problems that I was having accessing the news sites were due to the increased traffic that the events had caused. I turned on the television and watched as the surreal nightmare unfolded.

Then I started making phone calls. I called my father, in Maryland, to check family members there – they were fine. One of my sisters was supposed to go D.C. this morning, but wound up oversleeping. It may sound silly, but I am grateful for that. I called my mother, in North Carolina, to see if she had heard about the crashes in N.Y. My uncle, her brother, lives about a half-hour from N.Y.C., and I wondered if she had heard from him. She hadn’t heard anything about the attacks – she is a teacher and was in the middle of a class at the time. I gave her a quick rundown of the events and told her that I would try to get in touch with my uncle. I also told her that either he or I would call her back to let her know that everything was all right. I got a couple of calls through to New York, but did not wind up getting through to my uncle until 6:30 pm MDT; he was fine. My stepsister, who works in D.C., was also fine – it turns out that she did not have to go in to her office today. Yet more to be thankful about.

At work, the shock of the morning’s events was almost palpable. In the nearly three years that I have worked in the Salt Lake City REC, today was the most quiet that I have heard it during standard working hours. Most of my co-workers know that I am from the Maryland/D.C. area and a few of them asked if anyone in my family had been affected; I explained that I did have family in those areas, but that they were all fine, as far as I knew. I also rediscovered an odd “fact:” People here are a somewhat “geographically impaired” about the relative sizes and locations of states on the eastern half of the country. Conversely, I know many people at home who know VERY LITTLE (translation: “almost nothing”) about the western states. I had to explain to some people where my family lives relative to the crashes. It kept reminding me of lyrics from the song “Territories,” by Rush: “We all figure that our homes are set above other people than the ones we know and love.” Odd, but true.

On a personal level, trying to grasp the events of the day was like trying to grab smoke. I could “understand” what had happened logically, but the emotional components were… ethereal and elusive. I didn’t really figure out what was bothering me – aside from the wanton destruction and loss of life – until I was on the way home: I kept remembering my visit to N.Y. and trip to the World Trade Center (WTC) two years ago. Then-girlfriend Peggy and I had gone to N.Y. to visit a couple of friends and my uncle. One of the highlights of the trip was going to the WTC. My friend, Joe, and I took my girlfriend into the plaza between to Towers 1 and 2, with her eyes closed, and then let her see just how tall the buildings were. Her reaction was priceless – worth the entire trip, in itself. We also went to the observation level and the roof and looked out over the city. It was an AMAZING view. Joe told us how the original bombing attempt at WTC, in 1993, had been planned: The idea was to topple WTC 1 into WTC 2 and have the buildings fall across Manhattan. Looking down to street level, I shuddered to think of the utter chaos that would have caused. Here are some pictures of that trip:

Me on WTC 2
Me again
Joe’s pictures (then and now)

Today, I recalled all of those thoughts and feelings and watched as the twin towers collapsed in heaps of steel, glass, wire and rubble.

Today, I thought about the fact that I will not be able to share that amazing and awe-inspiring view with my future children or grandchildren. I can’t even share it with Jess.

Today, I knew that the classic New York City skyline would never be the same again.

Today, I realized how poignant the adage “There, but for the grace of God, go I…” truly is: If this had happened two years ago, I would have been one of the people in the middle of that maelstrom.

Today, I was sad. And angry. And confused. And numb.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of all of those lost in this senseless act. I ask that you remember these people in your thoughts and prayers, as well. Hopefully, we will see the responsible parties brought to justice and we will find a fitting way to honor the memories of the deceased.

Peace.

All-in-all, I can’t complain about the day. I mean, the day can’t be bad when it starts with an e-mail from Mom with the subject “Nothin’ Special…” Have I mentioned that I have the coolest ‘rents in the world, lately? I do. I [heart] my mom.

Made it to the gym and did a leg workout. Yes, that’s right. A leg workout on a Monday. This means that I’ll get two leg days this week. I must be a glutton for punishment. No, that can’t be it. Well, maybe it could be… I dunno.

Work, for a Monday, went by pretty quickly. No major snafus… at least, there were none that adversely affected me. They did call overtime on some employees, but I was in one of the groups that wasn’t called. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that!” I seem to have pulled/pinched/stretched/strained something in my back while stretching -of all things- at work. *sigh* At least the pain has diminished since earlier this afternoon… but it’s still a bit sore.

Came home, had a bite to eat, and generally relaxed; although, I’m a little torqued about the fact that the station that shows DS9 arbitrarily and capriciously decided to change the time it’s on without consulting me!!! It’s now on at 1 am, which is a “good” thing. Of course, I didn’t discover this until 2:10 am. But, now I don’t have to worry about staying up till 4am versus taping it.

And, in the words of one Mr. Forrest Gump: “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

Peace.

Sunday in the valley…. and one of the canyons.

• Woke up and prepared for…. ~drumroll~ FOOTBALL…. only to be disappointed. I was geared up to watch the Ravens whoop up on the Bears, but the Fox broadcast that we had here on Outpost Colony: Utah was the Tampa Bay/Dallas game. *GAH* At least Tampa Bay won. Hoo-HAH! I did find out later that the Ravens did beat Da Bears, so it wasn’t a total loss.
• Angie came over and she, Jess and I went to Oktoberfest at Snowbird, one of the ski resorts. It was nice, but much smaller than I was expecting. Also, this was the first time that I had been to Snowbird since moving out here; I’d gone once, about three years ago, when I had come out here to visit my then-S.O. It was a little… odd. We stayed up there for an hour or so, but we may go again next weekend or after we get back from Disneyland. I did discover a tasty snack (or, to use the Utahnics word: “treat”) there, though: Kiermaier Bavarian Roasted Almonds. Did I mention that they were VERRA TASTY?! They were.
• Went to the inlaws’ for Brian and Jenny’s (one of Jess’ sisters) combined birthday and belated birthday, respectively, dinner. And FOOTBALL! Do you see a theme here? I also FINALLY got around to reinstalling the NIC in my laptop…. which puts me one step closer to having my network running again.
• We came home around 11 pm, which left only an hour until the Sisko Show, which I watched. And so, a few conversations, a cupcake and glass of milk, and a brushing of teeth later, I am ready to hit the rack… which is good since gymtime comes in the morning! And then, work. Yay. Whoop-de-doo. Repeating to self: I [heart] my job…. I [heart] my job…

And that’s a wrap. Until tomorrow night….

Peace.

This was written around 2 am in the morning, pre-sleep, but something was up with the servers, so I couldn’t post. *shakes fist*

A relaxing Day 1 of the weekend. Didn’t do a lot, but what I did was fun. After taking Jess to work, I came home and waited for Dee to come down. The original plan was to play a little EverQuest and then watch some boxing…. and then check out Christopher Walken on the too-often-lame Saturday Night Live. Everything was fine up to the “play a little EverQuest” part – Jess’ puter didn’t want to cooperate, so most of the playing time was spent trying to get her system to do what it was s’posed to. We finally settled on Typing of the Dead; this was a good choice. Angie came over a little later and mopped the floor with us; we used to call her “Machine Gun” because of her typing speed. And, I missed a perfect opportunity to once again prove my dominance at SoulCalibur. *FEH*

The boxing matches were good. The first fight (Jirov vs. Letterlough) was called in the 8th round – Jirov won by TKO. The main event (Barrera vs. Sanchez) was stopped in the 6th round – Barrera completely worked Sanchez over. According to Dee, it was a very good technical fight. It was like watching a doctor at work. There was no emotion. There was no malice. He simply went in and did his job.

And then, there was SNL. I haven’t watched that show, with any regularity, for a couple seasons. I just don’t find the new cast very interesting. *shrug* But, if there is a host that I like or a special event, I’ll watch it. Mr. Walken qualifies. There was even a cameo featuring Kevin Nealon on the “Weekend Update” sketch as an added bonus; I think that he and Dennis Miller were the two best “anchors” that they’ve had in a long while. Overall, the show was pretty good.

Dee left shortly after SNL and Ang left a little while later. Tomorrow: Oktoberfest at Snowbird. Of course, that will be AFTER watching the Ravens’ game; tomorrow – technically “today” – is the start of the 2001 football season. That’s right, seventeen weeks of National Football League goodness. ~bliss~ Good thing that the Ravens play early (1 pm Eastern/11 am here) and the Dolphins play late (8:30 pm / 6:30 pm) – I can watch the hometown team wreck shop on Da Bears, go to Oktoberfest, and then go to the inlaws’ and watch the Dolphins work the Titans over. Life is good.

That about wraps it up from here. Going to finish watching The X-Files, possibly play a little EQ, and then call it a night.

Peace.

Today was a pretty standard day.

I did get to have a little bit of fun: I got to fight with my computer over whether or not it was going to recognize my video card properly. Long story, short version: I won. This is good because I can now feed my returning EverQuest addiction.

Today’s Quotes (yes, “quotes,” plural) of the Day from Dee:

• “Superman has Kryptonite, You have me.”
• “I’ll grant that she’s naive, but I think she’s naive because she’s stupid.”

Well, I’m pretty tapped. I’m going to call it a relatively early night.

Peace.

It was a pretty standard day.

• Woke up.
• Went to the gym. ::: flex :::
• Came home for work prep.
• Went to work…. and left after 3-1/2 hours – not just due to low mail volumes, today was Jess’ nephew’s birthday. So…..
• Went to the inlaws’ for dinner, cake and ice cream…. and the “Whose Line” season premiere. I even edited a paper Jess’ brother and reconfigured some wiring on their network to make it a little more easily accessible.
• Came home.

And that’s been about it… As John Lennon said “Nothing to get hung about…” I don’t think that I have anything to get up on the soapbox and rant about tonight, either.

And, in keeping with tradition: “Hola” to my friend, and new LJer, shpdog.

Peace.

Postscript: My dad called at 1:30 am. It was a little… odd, to say the least, that meant that it was 3:30 am where he lives. He called to relay a message – not a bad one. The reason that he waited so late to call: Knowing that my work schedule has a tendency to be changed at a moment’s notice, he didn’t want to bother me at work. Have I mentioned that I have the coolest parents in the world? I do. Okay… gone.

West Jordan, Utah has been spared the sweet oblivion of eradication.

That’s right, friends and neighbors, I have broadband once more. And life is good again. I won’t, however, mention the fact that my computer took me through all Nine Circles of Hell to get certain things up and running. That’s not important. The important things are: I was appeased and I didn’t have to shut off almost 100,000 minds at once and turn this town into a wasteland. I was scheduled for installation between 11 am and 2 pm; the techs were here at 10:33 am… and the whole thing was in and ready at 11:30. And they were pleasant gentlemen, to boot! This reaffirms my opinion of the people who work for Sprint Broadband.

I was productive today, too – I was a wee bit domestic and did laundry. Four loads. I considered doing the dishes, but I didn’t want to seem overly ambitious. But four loads, washed, dried, folded or hung, and put away….. that’s not too shabby. During a break, I was rereading something. I think that it’s worth sharing…

“This is just the story of a boy.

“Adults get the opportunity, eventually, to choose who they are. Children do not.

“Children come into this world with no say in the matter. No one asks you what kind of parents you want. No one asks you what environment you think you would do best in.

“You just wake up one day — and you’re in the world. You wake up and look around you… and see the hand that’s been dealt you. What the world has in store for you…

“Contrary to popular belief, we do live in a world of equals. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to make themselves feel superior or perhaps even inferior. Some of us have ethnic diversity. Some of us have sexual diversity. Some of us — some of us can even fly. Some of us are Peter Pan.

Every once in a while the world surprises even the most jaded — of which I must include myself — with someone like Timmy. Timmy was born into this world just like the rest of us… and, like many of us, he has spent every single conscious moment of it trying, trying, as best he can, to tune it all out. Because just like the rest of us, no one asked Timmy who he would like for parents. No one asked Timmy what kind of environment he would like to live in. Certainly, no one told Timmy that sometimes life just isn’t fair. That sometimes people can be mean for no good reason. That people who say they love you, can treat you badly.

“But most importantly, no one bothered to tell Timmy that these things are not his fault.

“Many people have said to me: Who cares about a guy named *name omitted*? And I say: Certainly not I. In my moral dictionary, that man lost his membership rights to the human race a long time ago. They can leave him where they eventually find him.

“I care about a remarkable little boy named Timmy. And what makes him so remarkable to me? When faced with no other choice, Timmy rose up and faced his mortal fear head on. He did this and came out the other side to tell about it. And though I’ve met a lot of different types in my time, I can honestly say I don’t know a lot of people who can claim such a task. But I wish I did. I wish I was like Timmy.

“…and I just wanted to tell you his story.”

The above was taken from issue #19 of Daredevil, from Marvel Comics’ “Marvel Knights” line. It was written by Brian Michael Bendis. I had not read much of his work prior to his becoming lead writer on another title, but from what I have read of his work since then, I will follow his writing more carefully. I bought this issue “blindly,” I just thought that it looked interesting. After reading it, however, I know that it was one of the best random purchases that I have made. It speaks volumes to me that in a twenty-three page story – and one where at least one-third of it was “silent” – you can be given a brief view into someone’s “life” and think “Wow.” Even more than that, it’s a great gift to be able to write something, regardless of the format or the length, and make someone just stop and think; I hope to be able to do that with my writing.

I’ve known a few Timmys in my life; I can even recount a point in my life where I was Timmy. Possibly, we all have. Conversely, we may know someone who never knew, or never accepted, the fact that they do have control over parts of their life. The only thing that separates Timmy from you or me is that he is a character in a book and lives in a world where people can fly or breathe water or shoot some sort of “laser beam” from their eyes or hands. Timmy is you. Timmy is me. Just someone trying to get through life one day at a time.

“I wish I was like Timmy.” And if I can do what he did, and possibly find a way to use that knowledge and fortitude of character to help someone else, then I don’t think that being like Timmy is a bad thing at all.

That’s something to think about.

Peace.

The day:

• Woke up.
• Gym.
• Hygiene rituals
• Work.
• Dinner.
• Home.

Highlights of the day include:

• Being the day after a holiday, mail should have been fairly heavy. It wasn’t… not that I am complaining. I even managed to get a little bit of drawing done during some of the downtime. Bonus. Not a lot of drawing, mind you, but I did get a couple of nice practice sets of eyes and mouths done.
• The Quote of the Day. Today’s verbal gem of wisdom came from Dee shortly after 7 PM. We were talking about some of the people with whom we work and commented on some co-workers’ lack of moral fiber and… umm… “intestinal fortitude.” When that led into talk about some of the supervisors and managers, he singled out one person with the comment: “That bitch has got balls, in spades!” And, he’s right: she’s Hell on wheels incarnate. (NOT to be confused with Chili Con Carne.) How do I get along with said person? I tolerate her and respect her position in our team, otherwise she’s pretty much a non-factor in my world. But, I couldn’t pass up that quote – it just fit TOO well.
• Dinner: I was having a craving for Italian food, so I suggested a trip to Romano’s Macaroni Grill to Jess, Dee, Gary, Julia and Land. Dee had to head home right after work, but everyone else decided to go; we invited Angie on the way there and Gary brought his wife – who also happens to work with Angie. My dinner choices: Calimari Fritti, Fettucini Alfredo with grilled chicken and a glass of Chardonnay.
  Dinner GOOD!!! ::: handgesture :::We closed the place down… and then stood in the parking lot and talked for at least another :30. It was a nice way to wind down the evening. And, to quote Captain James T. Kirk, “It was… fun!”

I’d better hit the rack. Tomorrow (Wed) is “Do-or-Die” day: the day that I either get a broadband connection or wipe this city off the face of the earth through sheer mental force. I realize that destroying everything (and everyone) like that may be a little… umm… “over the top,” just for a broadband hookup, but no one expects to live forever. This way, I’m just helping people cut out a lot of the middle steps. I’m all about helping out my fellow man like that. And… I did warn my friends and co-workers who live in the area to avoid the city – I don’t want them, or their families, to get caught in the psychic backlash. Nominates self for “Good Neighbor” award.

Peace.

You know that it’s going to be a good day when the alarm – which was turned on and the volume turned up – makes NO sound at the appointed hour. *sigh* Methinks I need a new alarm clock. We made it to the gym, nevertheless.

Work continued the “fun.” We got more mail than we were expecting – a site decided to send mail even though they said that we would not process mail for them today… AGAIN. (At least it wasn’t the same site that did it on July 4th.) On top of that, we had skeleton crews all day. And on top of that, I kept starting to nod off. Not good combinations, no matter how you stack them up. Thank God and Pepsico for Mountain Dew®.

After work, came home and basically killed a couple of hours until I had to go back and pick Jess up from work. Then we came home. Tomorrow, we get to do it all over again.

And that was my Monday. The end.

Peace.

“Another Pleasant Valley Sunday…. here in Salt Lake City-lannnnnnd!”

Umm… did I say that aloud? I did? Oh.

::: jedi mind trick:::
There was NO singing
Drawing at the pool was almost a non-factor today – I was too busy talking with the inlaws and such. And, might I add… I don’t think that I fully grok some kids today. I remember doing silly/crazy/stupid things as a teenager, but I can’t recall anything that could really be considered “life-threatening.” Of course, at that age, NOTHING is considered “life-threatening.” *shrug* Anyway… Jess’ mom, dad and brother came up to our complex to swim, one of her sisters and nephew live here, also, so it was basically “Family Day” at the pool. The pool is surrounded by a fence, as is normal in most/all apartment complexes. This fence has ornamental spikes on the top and is also segmented by brick and concrete columns. Some of the teens were climbing the fence, standing on the columns and then jumping into the pool. Did I mention that the pool is only five (5) feet deep at it’s deepest point? It is. Yet, in they dove. Repeatedly. *sigh* A number of people asked them to stop – not only because of the safety/danger factor, but also because there were young children there and this was not exactly setting a good example for them. Yet, in they dove. And the blatant disregard that they exhibited towards whether or not they splashed water on anyone else (namely US)… I don’t think that they could have cared less. BRAINCRAMP In fact, that was one of the leading factors in our leaving the pool area. I think that I will mention this to someone in the leasing office tomorrow.

And how’s this for contradictory behavior: A couple of the divers were the same ones of whom I had made comments only minutes earlier about being courteous to others in the pool. One of the kids was horsing around and nearly swam into a small child. His friend told him “Watch out, there’s a kid right behind you!” And his response: “Oh! Sorry!” and then swam away from the child. In the words of Chuck Berry:“‘C’est la vie,’ said the old folks, ‘It goes to show you never can tell.'”

The rest of the day was relatively calm:

• Picked up this week’s take at Ye Olde Comics Shoppe;
• Jess, Angie and I went out for lunch;
• Jess and I headed to her parents for a while… I had to work on the puters (again).
• Our friend Heather came to the inlaws’ and gave me a full-body massage; she’s a student at the Utah College of Massage Therapy. She’s about a month away from graduating. And the massage was wonderful.
  Massage GOOOD! :::handgesture:::

• Came back home, and Angie came over. She and Jess watched… some movie… while I read this week’s comics.
• Watched the Sisko Show.

I should try to get into bed at a decent hour since tomorrow begins Week 3 of GymQuest, which is going pretty well. And then, I get to go to work. Yay. And I won’t try to predict what the mail volume will be like. If it’s heavy, it’s heavy. If it’s light, then that will be a bonus.

And before I forget, this is for creampopp: Check this out. I think that you’ll like it.

Sleep beckons.

Peace.

On the whole, a nice Day 1 of the weekend:

• Took my car to the shop – it’s being a little recalcitrant.
  I took it to have a friend of mine look at it… which he did. He said that the response from the testing machine wasn’t one that he recognized, so he looked it up. It wasn’t in the manuals that they had in the shop, so he called DaimlerChrysler directly. Whomever he spoke to told him that they “could not release that information” to him. This means that I have to take the car to a Dodge/Chrysler dealership. BRAINCRAMP
• Dropped a book-on-tape off at the library for a friend.
• Had lunch at Guru’s with Jess, Peggy, sivvy, Larry and Mycah.
• Took Jess to work.
• Stopped by Adrian’s to see what was going on and to drop off something from Jess’ dad… and wound up completely spacing off the whole “dropping off something” part.
• Cruised down to the inlaws’, but they weren’t home… so I had the whole place to myself (except for the cats).
• Went to Barnes & Noble with Peggy for “Coffee Chat” after an unsuccessful search for a TCBY.
• Came home.
• Went to pick up Jess.
• Came home again and watched the Sisko Show.

While we were at lunch, Jess and Peggy, through the course of conversation, wound up talking about me. No big surprise there. Sivan was surprised, no make that “astounded” at how casual and open they were in talking about me… especially with me sitting there! Have I mentioned that I have the coolest girlfriend and ex-girlfriend in the world recently? No? Well, I do. Jess is even fine with the fact that Peggy and I hang out. Hell, THEY get along so well that they even do things together when I’m not around. Coolest girlfriend and ex-girlfriend EVER. I am a lucky man.

And now, I think that I’ll retire and wander the wildways of The Dreaming for “Poolside Pencils” is tomorning! Melody won’t be coming, though – she will be out freestyling on her bike. *sigh* I shall draw alone, unless I can convince Angie to stay out of the pool and draw with me. We shall see.

Until tomorrow…

Peace

And on the today’s menu…

• Gym… and “Yes, my legs still ache.”
• Work.
• Home.
• Out to dinner with Jess and Angie.
• Sisko Show.
• Drawing – interspersed throughout the day.

Oh the whole, it was a good day and rather uneventful. Can’t complain about that… especially on a Friday.

Some good news that I heard today: A friend of mine, who has been having some medical problems, FINALLY (and I mean “finally” as in “this took WAY too long”) got a complete and correct diagnosis for his condition. He had seen someone about it a while ago; he was sent to another doctor, a specialist, for more tests. Fun. BUT… the tests determined that the first diagnosis was not only incorrect, but also that the treatment that he was being given only exacerbated the condition. *sigh* But, that’s not the important thing here. The important thing is: His condition is not even remotely as bad as he had feared AND it is a relatively short-lived condition, given the proper treatment. This is important for a few reasons:

• He is going to be fine. Very important
• There isn’t any doubt about what he has.
• He, and his family, can get on with their day-to-day lives and no longer have to expend mental energy worrying about “What ifs…”

I am glad and thankful about this news. I was also glad to notice a marked change in his demeanor with the this new information – He’s a good friend and I don’t like it when my family and friends are troubled (especially when there is nothing that I can do to help). And that, alone, made the day “good.”

Tomorning starts my weekend; I am only getting two days off since I volunteered to work on the holiday. What a good little Capitalist I am. It was academic, really: Work on Labor Day, get double pay (hours worked AND holiday pay), and then I can take Wednesday off and not have to worry about using eight hours paid leave or losing a day’s pay. Yup, that’s a definite no-brainer. That, along with the fact that the mail should be light on Monday, means that it should be a pretty light workday. Of course, I said the same thing on July 4th and look what happened…

On that note, I think that I’ll call it a night.

Peace