hope that i get old before i die…

ok, so one of the first orders of business when i moved into my own place was to get some furniture. it’s only natural to *not* want to sit on the floor all the time right? well, i don’t like the look of a bed in the middle of a studio apartment, so i decided i would pick up a futon, that way when i feel like it i can fold it up and it doesn’t take up the whole room. (plus if i happen to have a girl over we can sit on the “couch” instead of the bed, at least at first. don’t want any awkward moments after all )

well, i searched high and low on craig’s list for just the right piece of furniture that would suit my needs. really i only half-assed looked around, but once i decided i needed to do something about it i finally did find something that i actually like. it was owned by this sort of geeky guy who reminded me a little of the “UBS” guy from madtv, only not quite as hyper. we kind of chatted a little bit and he said he was moving to another state because he was “tired of LA” and he wanted to study accupuncture, which apparently isn’t taught here, or at least not well enough.

anyway, somehow we got on the subject of dating and he mentioned that he was bi and that should mean he has more chance of finding the right someone but it wasn’t working out for him. he helped me load the futon into my car and mentioned that he had a small dining room table and chairs he would sell me but i wasn’t really that interested in them. then he says he would also give me a massage if i wanted one (he was a massage therapist before accupuncture, or so he said). at this point he turned into total creepy guy but i figured that we were done talking because the transaction for the futon was over.

so the next day he sends me a text message on my phone asking if i wanted the table and chairs. i said no thanks, you go ahead and sell if you can and he assured me that was the end. well, 3 hours later he *calls* me asking if i want the table and chairs. when i said no, he says if i help him move his shit into storage he’ll give me $10 off the table whoopee…. “oh it’ll only take a few hours” he says o_O anyway, i tell him that i’m definitely not interested in helping him do anything and he said that would be the last time he calls. and i thought we were done for good now.

but you know what they say about speaking too soon…. two days ago he calls and says that my phone sent him a text message. not recognizing the number, i know i didn’t send any messages recently. but no, it’s not a recent message, it’s from THREE WEEKS AGO when i said i wasn’t interested in the table and chairs. now i’m really getting annoyed with this guy, not only for being a total creep, but for acting on messages from three weeks ago?? again, WTF?!?!?!?!?? and then he calls again tonight pretending like he’s looking for some lodge or hotel or something. now i’ve decided to save his number so that next time he calls my caller ID comes up as “stalker” and i’ll know to just ignore it……

New US rules for interrogating detainees

The US defence department has outlined new rules that could allow terror suspects to be imprisoned on the basis of hearsay or coerced testimony.

i originally thought of the play “the crucible” by arthur miller when i read this story and the events of the salem witch trials in the early history of this country about which it takes its inspiration. but then i read a review of the play which mentioned it was written in response to the mccarthy anti-communist hearings, itself yet another witch hunt for the 20th century. and now here we go again in the early stages of the 21st century, only this time instead of “witch” we’re yelling “terrorist”. but the case against some of these people are just as flimsy as the cases against the “witches” and “communists” we once found among us.

and once again, we find ourselves with a situation of our own design in which we let our zeal for blood and vengeance, as well as our xenophobia, clouding our collective judgment. nevermind the fact that we’ve had these people locked up without charging them with a crime (for the most part) for well over five years. or the fact that the US has been basically illegally rewriting its own laws and international law in order to justify keeping all these detainees locked up without any kind of legal recourse at all. this whole entire affair needs to be resolved ASAP. there is absolutely no reason to be keeping any of these people for as long as we have. there are just too many other things in this country that need to be taken care of to continue sinking money not only into a perpetual war without end, but also into the fallout from that war. for a country that expects instant gratification and results, it is more than bizarre that nothing has been done here for so long….

well, i finally got a place of my own here in la-la land. because of the move and the stupid monopoly on cable internet i have had no internet of my own for the last few weeks. so to those of you who i read religiously, i’ll be back to visit again very soon. and to the rest of my loyal (and random) readers, i’m back posting again. so here’s a quick recap of the last few weeks in case anyone really wanted to know

- had a great christmas time with my family back in texas. convinced my boss i should have the time off and he actually let me have it. which was great because he was being a total dick for that whole week so i desperately needed the vacation time away from that place. it’s too bad that i can’t just take a week off whenever i want to….

- the job still sucks, but at least i know what it is they expect of me. unfortunately for them i have a slightly better paying offer from the job i left to come here, plus they’ll give me benefits for coming back — something they didn’t have when i left or else i would’ve probably stayed there. so now i have to weigh my options and find the right course for me. going back to the old job means having the free time to do what i want with my life instead of being married to my career, plus it was a lot of fun. staying with the current job means being incredibly close to the position i have said i wanted to be in for my career, but it also means a lot of stress and constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody is keeping tabs on me (which i just know there are a couple of people reporting back to my boss about my every move, and i’m not being paranoid about this).

from a personal standpoint, i much prefer the old job and i am leaning towards going back because of the level of freedom. not to mention that they give me a level of trust and confidence in my abilities which my current position does not. the only thing that holds me back on the current job is the fact that i can probably milk them for a lot of perks, and they should be able to accommodate my salary wishes better than the old job. but there are a few big “what-if’s” floating around here and it’ll take me a little while to make sure i’m making the right move for me.

- as always, i’m meeting new people to hang out with all the time. my old group of friends has been phasing me out since the week before christmas and i’m not sure why, but it’s their loss if they don’t want me to be around anymore. it will always bother me when people do this to me without telling me why, but such is life. as the old adage goes: “there’s plenty of fish in the ocean”. and in a town with a metro population of well over 14 million people, i’m living in quite a large ocean indeed

- and for those of you in the los angeles area, be sure to check out the following bands and musicians. some of these are friends and the rest are just really cool people that you should support because they are just that awesome

dave yaden — this guy is a great songwriter and a friend who plays some killer piano. he plays in a band called the weight which is on the verge of breaking into the “big time”. for now you can still see them at some small venues around town but i would count on that changing over the next year. oh, they also go through drummers faster than spinal tap, but don’t let that stop you from going to see them play

ashleigh haney — another very talented songwriter who also works with dave yaden a lot. her songs are all well crafted and she has a great voice.

laura jansen — the little girl with the big voice. her songs are all straight from the soul and her voice has an amazing range. i actually just saw her for the first time last night and she was phenomenal.

skyler stonestreet — i’ve mentioned her here before and she is another talented songwriter with a very smooth voice, even when she’s rocking out

ernie halter — ernie is one of those guys who just blows you away with his voice and his musical abilities. he’s also a great performer on stage and so far has never disappointed. oh, and he’s releasing a new CD next month which has some great songs on it, so definitely go check him out if you get a chance!

amy kuney — she’s another talented songwriter who has somewhat of a cynical side to some of her songs. but her voice is so smooth and rich that it’s easy to just get caught up in her music without even realizing it.

well, that’s it for the locals for now. i’m sure i’ll be filling these pages up with more good music as always. and since i didn’t post for a few weeks let me take this time to say happy new year and welcome to all the folks who come here looking for buddhist chants. i appreciate your patronage, even if you don’t stay for very long i’m hoping 2007 proves to be even better than 2006, but really, who doesn’t want things to get better every year?