friend of the built environment

Back and still alive. I’m a little tired, my clothes are all a little more restrictive, but I’m happy nonetheless. Coming soon: random thoughts on the northwest, and Seattle in particular, as well as a radically revised Trips page. Right now I’m just trying to sort through the massive amounts of data, and get it [...]

I feel like a real loser. For all the quirks and troubles we have, I really like my parents, and it really bothers me when I fail to appreciate them.
I promised my Mom and Dad that I would come by tonight for dinner to share some souvenirs and video with them from the road. By [...]

Maybe it’s just post-vacation depression or something, but the past couple days I’ve been getting deeper and deeper into a heavy-duty funk. Today was even worse, and I really haven’t felt like being at work. I have been unusually productive, though, since it helps the days go by faster. Paydays should make me happy, but [...]

My funk has indeed made me slightly more productive. I almost got my inbox cleared out, had coffee and fries with Buffaloe, and even composed a new essay.
Unfortunately, it has done nothing to improve my mood. Maybe the approaach of the weekend will help.
Maybe a good night sleep will. As if.

I have a feeling my funk is pretty much over, and that today is going to be good. For several reasons:
Lauren referred me to an excellent new dermatologist, and this is important, considering I’m a pale whitey with bad skin, and I’ve been perpetually disappointed in all my other derma’s so far.
David is coming over in [...]

I have looked at my home often as a sanctuary. Growing up in a very closely-knit family meant that privacy and time by myself were often an afterthought. My strong desire for solitude is in part a type of survival instinct. I often feel that without it, I’ll end up getting depressed or taking out [...]

Some things on the agenda this week (however run-of-the-mill they may be):

Try to finish putting together my FileMaker music database 
Try to set up some more music trades 
Hang out with Amy 
Get my satellite system installed 
Get a new bio section and photo gallery up at The Hyaena 
Move the journals to their own directory 
Record a new show for [...]

There’s a new marine layer that blew in last night. It seems to have come in so fast that you can still smell the fishy saltiness in the air. What a change from this time yesterday, when it was at least 90, and the air still and stagnant. Now I feel like I’m in Monterrey… [...]

Aside from almost emptying my email inbox and getting some more data entered into my FileMaker music databse last night, I spent precious little time on the computer. Instead, I got a rare bit of reading in, polishing off the latest issue of The Economist and revisiting a book which has remained half-read for close [...]

A nice weekend with David, during which I managed to catch The Shroud live at The Starline and record it on both video and audio, got my satellite system installed (try getting me out of the house at all, now), and generally lounged around with David and overate.

We did a new hire today. It’s no secret that our sales “team” has been woefully deficient the past few years, and most of the cold calls and sales have been conducted by my dad, who already has enough to worry about with bidding jobs and trying to keep the company afloat. He multitasks well, [...]

In order to solve what had become a minor wardrobe emergency, I was forced to go to the mall this evening to seek out something which would match my awkward body’s need for covering as well as my wallet’s usual slim credentials. I was putrified and dumbfounded to find that the mall is an even [...]

Siouxsie & the Banshees 
Covering lots of ground around San Francisco with David 
Meeting Sarah finally. 
Lots of snogging 
Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz and the scenic route up the Penninsula. 
Chinatown 
Ever more gluttony. I love it.

Now to deal with a rather dry May as far as trips are concerned. Next weekend is a show I want to see here [...]

I’m getting really sick of the media creating new scandals as soon as real news runs dry. What makes me even sicker is when the lemming-like masses follow the media’s every word as if it were the most intellectual of discourse. Today I’m thinking of the new gas-price scandals, but there are numerous other examples [...]

Another thing about the media that’s pissing me off today: all these headlines saying “Musharraf Faces Referrendum”. How can a military dictator be “facing” a referrendum when he called it and can veto its result? In all likelihood, he’ll win the poll and get 5 more years of faux-legitimate rule in Pakistan, but that won’t [...]