The Return (From Vacation)

Good evening everyone.

Moab was awesome (to say the least)! It was a very relaxing and restful and adventurous two days. And I say two days because it was one full day of hiking and two half days of driving. We departed my house at about 9:30 or 10 am, and went straight down I-15 to Scipio. That was a weird little town, I guess. We were there for all of about 15 minuets or so. There was a cool old gas station there, next to an old saloon looking red building. So we took some pictures:


After that we went down US 50 to Salina, which was a little more of a disappointing town. When I say disappointing, I mean that it being an old small town and such you would think that it would be more ‘picturesque’. Alas, it was not. So here are photos from our drive on US 50:

Then we took I-70 over to 191. Here are pictures from our drive across I-70:

this is the view from a cool rest area:

Then we arrived in Moab. That town I like. It has a nice hippie relaxed vibe to the place. It seems like a place where you can go to just feel the rest of the world melt away. And that’s just what happened. We got there and checked into our hotel. It wasn’t the dump I thought it would be:

this was our view:

Then I needed a nap, so I made use of the bed. Then it was time for dinner, and wanting something ‘local’, we went to the Moab Brewery. They had amazing food (sorry, no pictures of food):

We also went to what I affectionately call ‘the hippie rock shop’. This is a vary cool little place where they have stones and fossils galore plus more inside, all in a cooky atmosphere. Here are pictures from that place (taken with permission):

Yup. Hippies.

wonder what's in here then?

Yup...Trash.

Then it was back to the hotel to rest up for the next day’s adventures of hiking.

Granted these pictures aren’t my par. The ‘nice’ ones, or the B&W’s will be up on the photo blog soon. That is going to do it for me tonight folks. Because, honestly, I’m just not in the mood to blog.

T

The Vengeance of Dionysus and Movies Galore!

Good afternoon everyone.

If you have survived yesterday’s long winded pissing and moaning, then I guess you really like me. After all, I think that every one should whine about this or that from time to time. Because when you do so, especially to some one who just listens, the situations at had seem to become all that much more possible, and it helps you to put things into perspective. Sometimes all you need is a good friend or family member who will just listen. I am blessed with many of you.

Now back to the updates in my life. I spent the better part of yesterday doing nothing finally, because I had a lot of that stacking up. Last night From Russia with Love and I went to a going away party for my friend Bubbles. She has accepted a position in our place of employment that is going to require her to move out of state, and she will be missed.

Before we went to the party, From Russia with Love had to tend to some animals that she is watching while a friend of the family is out of town. We went to her place so she could feed the dogs. And birds, and cats, and whatever miscellaneous creatures lurk inside that house and its badly papered and gaudy walls. And yes, there were cats there. So upon our departure, my eyes were itching something terrible.

When we got to the party, there were quite a few people that I did not know. In fact, other that myself and From Russia with Love, Dr. MookieLove and Bubbles, I did not know anyone there. Granted, there were a few people that I had met before, but not said more that two words to.

I spent most of the time with Dr. MookieLove and Bubbles when I could. From Russia with Love spent most of the evening socializing with the other girls that were there, and disappointing other gentlemen with the phrase: “Sorry, I have a boyfriend” (that’s just because you are too cute. I love you honey!). Between the two of us, we snapped about 100 pictures of the party. Bubbles even designated me the official ‘paparazzi’ for the evening.

Beverages and good times were had by all. And contrary to the title of this post, I am not hung over. I just thought that it would make for a good laugh. If only he was the God of being out too late as well. That would be more fitting for my situation (I’m just tired). That about sums up the party though. Nothing extremely exciting happened. Just socializing and goodbyes. Not ‘big’ goodbyes however, because I do plan on visiting as soon as my schedule and wallet permits. After all, there’s nothing like having the ‘hook-up’ in Vegas!

Also, during spring break and on, I have decided to do a multiple part project on my blog. As all of you know, I love movies (like, more than a friend). So I am going to be posting my favorite movies of all time by genre. Let me get some clarifications out of the way first before we dive into them:

Firstly; this is not an entire list of my favorite movies. That would be a list too hectic to count. These are just ones that have come to mind. However; in searching for a point to start, I thought from my childhood to present; and from that it got a little crazy. I have decided to group them into genres, and post them by genre periodically because the list became quite extensive.

Secondly; they are in no particular order. I just wanted to list some of them. There is not a limit I set on the list, i.e. ‘top 10’ and such, because that seems a little dishonest in categorizing, and they are in there for different reasons. So there is not a method to this madness. I am going to give you the ‘why’ they are on there though, so hopefully you may reconsider or reaffirm your stance on these gems of cinematic greatness.

Thirdly; let’s be more specific on ‘favorite’. There are a lot of kinds of movies, and favorites can vary greatly from genre to genre, and not only that, but why they are your favorite is important. These movies are the ones that have affected me, or moved me, or opened my mind to new things, or just plain enjoyed for dumb fun.

So, here we go the first genre. My favorite horror movies:

Alien- this movie was incredible. It’s the paradigm of ‘Art Horror’ in my opinion. You have the chief science officer that you find out it actually a traitorous robot, many classic scenes (including the thing jumping through the guy’s chest) and a scary and intimidating monster. The best part is the monster, because for the first part of the movie you do not actually see the thing, and you are scared only by your imagination. That can be a powerful tool of fear. Going back to the ‘Art Horror’ topic, the monster is a classic. It is cold, reptilian, unfeeling, brutally violent and holds no element of human decency sacred (for example: the willingness to eat women and children indiscriminately, and the scene where it is in the room with Sigourney Weaver’s character while she undressing. If that doesn’t scream vulnerability and ‘predator-prey’ relationships, I don’t know what does). That and the whole tone of the movie is just creepy. Brilliant!

Fire in the Sky- this movie scared the piss out of me when I was little. And it still does. I remember after having watched this movie, I did not sleep for days. It was the foundation for many nightmares when I was a child. And after it is all said and done, isn’t that what horror movies are supposed to do? Scare you? This one did its job and more on my little brain. In fact, I still recommend it for those who are in the mood to be freaked out. Because it is indeed; quite freaky.

Night of the Living Dead- This one also warped my little brain. I was deathly afraid of this one. Both the original and the remake. I have the poster for the remake on here, because it was the first one I saw, or the first one I remember seeing. Why do I like zombies, and why did they freak me out? Well, what I find scary is that they are marching death, and they do not stop. No matter how fast you run, kick and scream, they are still coming. And there is nothing you can do about it. They are hideous, cannibals and emotionally confusing because they are in the form of you’re friends and family. They are just cool marching death. Even in real life, you think of these fictional characters and they still stay with you. They stayed with me at least, reminding you that you can keep running, but your own mortality will catch up to you.

Ghostbusters1&2- To put things in a lighter note, these movies were great when I was a kid. I loved them because they were so amazing, funny and made me want to be a scientist (well, one of the many reasons). I did want to put them in the sci-fi list, but I ended up putting it in here. Just check them out for fun. Copious amounts of fun. Over and over again. That’s what I do! And so many funny and quotable lines!

Poltergeist- This is yet another movie that scared and enthralled me as a child. There was something that seemed a little close to reality in the presentation of the ghosts and haunting, and a lot of curiosity in the, well.. lets just call it for what it is: just plain goofy scenarios. I always wondered what it was like to be in the other world, were I could jump through a portal and communicate through the TV. And it was also a lot of fun to watch.

Pet Cemetery- This movie was a little taboo when I was a kid. To be more specific, Mom hated it and I was not allowed to watch it. So when I finally saw it, I was amazed. The character of the dead jogger, the creepy old neighbor, the cat Church (cats are just creepy animals anyway), and of course the cemetery. This leaves so much to the imagination and at the same time not. The cinematography was also cool and scary for what is was back in the day. I also read the book, which isn’t half bad. Check it out if you have the chance.

Hellraiser- The reason I love this movie is because of its originality. The movie took me by surprise, because it was not just a ‘monster! Kill! Kill!’ type, but the movie is about a guy who escapes from hell, and the deamons (lead by the infamous Pinhead) are released to bring him back, but the demons are taking everyone they can as well. Granted that may not be the most accurate plot description, but it has been a while since I have seen it. That and the cinematography I thought was cool, and just the ambiance of the movie gives me the willies.

Nightmare on Elm Street 1- This is mostly for the same reasons as the above movie. It took me a little by surprise, but the originality was lacking here. However, this movie had launched the infamous character of Freddy into the nightmares of American pop culture. Not to mention the character of Freddy is a little unorthodox and even funny at times. The noticeably low budget this movie was shot on I think forced the hands of the crew to be more creative with the special effects. That has given us one of the most infamous death scenes is all of horror (in my opinion) when Jonny Depp (yes, he was in it) gets sucked into the bed and the blood shoots up and pools on the ceiling. That is just plain eerie.

Freddy vs. Jason- this one goes in the dumb fun category. It takes itself a little too seriously for knowing the type of movie that it is, but still a treat to watch. Complete with all of the tacky clichés from both horror movie franchises. If you want a movie that will simply entertain, and make you chuckle at how ridiculous it is, this is for you.


Jason X- This one is on here because of the differences in the above movie. This one seems to be taking itself too seriously for what it is at first, but as the movie progresses, the inherent flaws are made light of. That is a little harder to notice if you don’t watch these types of movies often. But worth a gander and a chuckle if you have a couple of hours to kill (no pun intended!)


The Shining- One of my favorite scary movies of all time, and probably my favorite of Stephen King’s stories. This movie has given so much to pop culture, such as famous scenes, quoteable lines, and a very classic performance by Jack Nicholson. There are points in the movie when you know what is going to happen, but you are still on the edge of your seat anyway. Even when you first watch it, there are moments when you know the formula, how it should end etc., but you still question how it will end. That just brings so much more to the story.

Evil Dead 2&3- The Evil Dead movies are classics. I don’t care what you say. Poking fun at horror movies themselves, these movies are actually comedies for those of you who are not familiar with them. Brainless action, great one liners, bad/hilarious effects, ridiculous story lines and fight scenes that are only outshined by The Tree Stooges. Many tributes to this have been made to in several other movies and cartoons. They have inspired a generation of filmmakers and showed the flexibility of their director. Excellent watching. Very well done and badly done at the same time.

Interview with the Vampire- This movie I praise because of the different light that it puts vampires in, showing the world in which they live in gruesome detail. The actors brought the characters right out of the pages of Anne Rice’s classic horror novel. This is a heavily stylized and cynical film, with an odd sense of humor and emotionally heavy in the most crucial plot points. The cinematography was superior, especially right at the climax of the film, when Brad Pitt’s character goes out for vengeance. That is one of the most memorable scenes in all of horror as well (in my opinion, yet again).

Bram Stoker's Dracula- This movie was not as spectacular as the one above, but it was almost a direct adaptation of the novel. Granted, there were a few creative liberties taken, but still excellent. The book I loved, and the character of Dracula is a very cool one, surrounded in myths, and once again, contributed much to pop culture. Last but not least, there is the fantastic performance of one of my favorite actors: Gary Oldman.

The Granny- this one made the list because it is just flat terrible. The story centers around a grieving family fighting over the inheritance left to them by “Granny”. Then she returns from the dead to have her vengeance on the greedy family, and gore ensues. The best part of the film was near the end. The Granny resurrects her dead husband, who is nothing more that a skeleton covered in rotting flesh, to join her wave of violence/hilarity. Then, she kisses the corpse. I laughed at that for hours. The rest of the film had cleches abound, but still so much fun.

That will do it for me today folks. My fingers are tired. I'm off to Moab tomorrow! Yay!!!

And one last thing, back to the above: we will miss you Bubbles!!!


T

Oasis

Good afternoon everyone. In fact: Best afternoon everyone.

The week from hell is behind me… for now. There will be more to come I’m sure of that, but now it is time to rest. This last week has been terrible. For those of you who have not heard my grumblings, I have had a minimum of 12 hour days. That is 12 hours minimum of constant work. That means 0 free time. That is not exactly true, because there has been an hour or two here and there where I just flat needed a break. But more or less it has been constant work from wake to sleep, minimum 12 hours a day (four of them were 16 hour days of work from wake to sleep, 0 free time). The fact that I have only had a half hour or so of free time here and there in 12 to 16 hours of solid work, study and class time is an important fact for me to get across (reason to come). “What have I been doing that could keep me busy for that many hours in that many consecutive days?” you might ask.

Well, there was the two midterms in Theoretical Electromagnetism. Those were the combination of one midterm that was split into two parts because “we have covered too much material for just one test”. To my delight and disappointment, they were open note, open book, or simply open whatever. That means that the tests were hard enough that the use of other materials is useless. Boy oh boy, did that point get driven across. The good news is that he is only going to count the better of the two for our grade.

There were the two assignments that I had to do. Both massive. One was for Quantum Mechanics and Relativity, and the other was for Thermodynamics. These assignments are not just simply of the ‘question, equation and find the right answer on the calculator’ type, but are written to take you hours to complete. The lecture notes and the text book are rendered useless at times.

There was also the midterm in Thermodynamics. That was taken this morning. And my fear on that one is that it went horribly bad. Even after studying for hours. The reason is simple (and all too common): 2/3 of the points on the test was from a small portion of the notes, and only talked about briefly in class (all of 10 minutes or so). I spent what little time I had to study on the ‘wrong things’. These ‘wrong things’ were the main topic of all the lectures. “How can a professor justify this kind of test?” you are probably wondering. The answer to that one is: “you need to be familiar with all of the material. Not just most of it” they say. Because it is obvious we have that class and that class only, with no work (because college is free, and no one needs health insurance) and no other type of life to speak of, because family and friends are for suckers. And on that note: sleep is for suckers too (all to be said in heavy sarcastic tone).

Oh, and I had to work… 40+ hours.

I ramble on about this not because I am looking to manipulate pity from my family and friends, or to brag and make you feel bad, but simply because I am proud of myself for accomplishing what of that stuff I did. I could not have made it through this week without everyone’s support. After it was all said and done, I did the best I could. Just like From Russia with Love said that I would. There is no use in crying over spilt milk, and I do not know for sure if what I have done was insufficient or in vain, or just enough to get me through. The latter is what I am hoping for.

So now it is just a couple of slow days at work until I leave for Moab on Monday. I am going to spend a couple of days there to unwind… and take pictures… which is what I want to be doing… and now can do, finally.

That is the feeling that I am trying to push across to all of you, my dear friends and family, because that is the one I have now. Without all of you helping me, if not just listening to me gripe and whine, I would not have been able to accomplish what I did of the tasks presented. I want to now share the feeling of relief, victory and accomplishment, however well they are or are not deserved. There are times when I feel regret and a bit guilty, thinking that if I had just pushed myself a little harder I could have done more. But those are useless emotions at this stage, because I know what is needed and what is not next time, because believe me; there will be next times. Next times that I will be ready for, and be able to do much, much more.

The feeling is incredible. Like the first breath of fresh air after being underwater. Reminding me of the time I was at a 311 concert with my friend Double A. The place was packed so tight that one could hardly move, and so much stuffy and smoky air one could hardly breathe. The stuffy air was so hot that sweat did nothing. My shirt was drenched, feeling like I was wearing a parka in July. The feeling was heavy, that all you wanted to do was break out and un-burry myself from the oven that was my own clothes and body. I could feel the heat coming off me like a steam, where sweat rolls down you’re face and you can feel the throbbing under your skin, with every beat of your heart pushing the heat up to the top of your face making your head ache. Then the thirst hits you bad, like you would sell a kidney for one drink of water, or anything cool, any relief from the Closter-phobic inferno when no end was in near sight.

Then someone opened the doors. The cool night air rushed in, blowing hard over me in a great wave. It moved over my skin, wiping away the thoughts and feelings of dispair, angst and fatigue from before. Lifting me free from the sticky humid trenches to some kind of heaven, where the breeze wrapped itself around me, and seemed to shift my soul to new heights and ecstasies, making the concert just that much better, if not completely worth it.


Oh, and the answer to the question I asked of myself in the “The Pressure Is On” post. For those of you who do not want to read down, the question was about personal limits, so here it is again:

“You never know what your limits are until you test what you think they are. And once you have done that, you can keep pushing. And after that, what do you become?”

And the answer that I have found:

TIRED AS ALL HELL!!!

Have a good night and sleep well everyone. I know I will.

T

A Small Break In The Clouds…

Good afternoon everyone,

Well, the worst of the school/work week from hell is behind me, but I am not out of the woods yet. Only one more midterm to go. Wish me luck, because the degree of burnout is staggering. This is where the checklist stands right before spring break:

Quantum mechanics and Relativity- The week’s work in this class mostly just consisted of an assignment. A massive assignment. A massive assignment that I turned in this morning, after spending the better part of last night putting the finishing touches on it. There is some stuff on there that I know I did not do well on, but with all the other tasks at hand I think it was pretty good.

Theoretical Electromagnetism- The midterms in this one were terrible. Thoughts of the results are the elements of the worst nightmares of the worst people. Thinking about how I fared on these tests would make a lesser man turn to a life of crime. The tests themselves were a crime against humanity of the highest order. I’m working on the email to the UN.

Thermodynamics- Still not out of the woods… yet…

As a matter of fact, that’s how I feel about everything lately. These proverbial woods are far denser than previously expected. More on this tomorrow… maybe... if my brain is still able to function enough to type.

Plus the answer to the limits question I posed earlier (see “The Pressure is On” post below)…

Stay tuned.

T

The Pressure Is On

Good evening everyone.

Well, I have three midterms next week, the first on Monday and the others on Wednesday and Friday. To say the least: I am feeling the weight. Not only that, I have to work 20 hours over the weekend. Do you feel it too?

The weight of it?

On your shoulders forcing you to take deep breaths and spinning your head?

I do... And it’s bad.

“How am I going to pull this off?” both you and I are wondering.

And the answer is: I don’t know. But I am going too. You never know what your limits are until you test what you think they are. And once you have done that, you can keep pushing. And after that, what do you become?

I’ll let you know on Friday.

T

The Mentally Taxing

Good afternoon everyone,

Well, once again, there has been nothing new or eventful to really jump and holler about since my last post. Things age going well I suppose. Or maybe they are just going, whether I keep up or not. Not a lot has happened in school, other that the usual dribble. Theoretical Electromagnetism is having two midterms, one right after the other before spring break. That is making me stress slightly. I also have another one in Thermodynamics too. That is 3 tests next week. Wish me luck everyone. Or I may not need luck. Take that to mean what you will. I know I do.

Work is getting a little stressful. The desk that I work on is incredibly short staffed for the time being. There is no let up in sight until we complete the move. They have marked my previous work station for demolition (taking apart the cubicle), and I have now been placed in a temporary work station, which is smaller and away from everything, out in the open and complicates interaction with my coworkers. Long story short: it sucks.

So, I am working like a dog, studying like a dog and hopefully not behaving like a dog. So this is my apology in advance to any one I may or have been short with, because things are just crazy. Moreover, I am technically living in my car, going from place to place. I just go home to eat and sleep, then it’s all repeated. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Now I am officially tired of complaining. Off to the books I go. I am going to have my nose in them for a while to come.

Oh, and one more thing: remember the no energy drink thing a while back? And remember I would tell if I slipped? Well, I did. I had a RedBull this morning. I was tired though, and coffee was not doing the trick….

T

Academic frustrations and Sweet, Sweet Zen

Hello everyone,

Not much with the exception of work and school has happened in the last couple of days. Both have been busy enough to keep me on the fringe of insanity, and not busy enough to push me over the edge. Here is hoping that is stays at just that magic point with a hope for a bit of a roll back. I would rather the roll back, but in all practicality that is not a likely outcome in the coming weeks. Work has been getting slower and busier at the same time (figure that one out). And speaking of the Devil, here I sit with not a lot to do, and a lot to do at the same time. I won’t bore all of you with the tedious nature of what I am (or am not) doing, so here is the School update:

Thermodynamics- The studying I did has paid off. I received a 90% on my last homework assignment, which is spectacular considering it was on the hardest material to date.

Quantum Mechanics and Relativity- Well, I took a mid term in this course last week (remember my grumblings?) and the results came back today. I said this before about Thermodynamics, and now I get to say it again about this class: I HATE it when the Professor goes over the solutions and CAN’T TAKE HIS OWN TEST! The monologue in front of the black board consisted of WAY too many “oops, where did I screw that up!?! And: oh well, if you plug the numbers in, it works out.” Yeah, that’s fine for you, but we are graded on this! Does that mean that I can put that as an acceptable answer next time? Does this mean that I can say: “Oops, well, it will work; trust me. I think” and get an A? Speaking of which, my grade wasn’t as bad as I had thought, but I still need to step it up a bit. Especially if the problems are tough enough to stump their author. *sigh*

Theoretical Electromagnetism- It just keep going and going and going and going……..

Other things haven’t been going at all. All work no play make T a tired boy. I have said that before, but damn if it ain’t the truth.

Fortune Cookie Today- I love it when my lunch gives me advice and inner peace and the Men in White Coats don’t come after me. Here’s today’s sugary enlightenment:

“There are lessons to be learned by listening to others”

Considering the above rant about school, I have been forced into a deep meditation on the peculiar situation over the revelation in my mystical baked goods: Is my food mocking me?

T