One of many to come

I was so excited when I moved my car this morning and got this kick phenomenal spot directly in front of my building, I mean how great is that especially in the city. I come out two hours later as I need to at least check for chalk every two hours and was horrified to see I had received a ticket. How could I have gotten a ticket in such a short period of time? Turns out it is not just good practice to turn your wheels toward the curb, in the city it is actually the law. I got a ticket for not turning my wheels toward the curb, I have learned that lesson.

Tonight I am having a open-house welcome to the city party with a bunch of my friends from both the city and the south bay. My apartment is actually looking good (pictures will be posted soon) with almost all my boxes unpacked and disposed of. I will have to take it relatively easily since I need to be up and out of my place at 6:00am tomorrow to head on down for another red cross event. Amongst my other things I did today I got tickets to the high holiday services here in the city at a San Fran temple, a good way to continue to keep getting integrated with the city.

As for this day in history in 1918 Will Rogers opened his first movie, Laughing Bill Hyde. I would like to say something about the movie, however never seeing it or any of his movies I find it tough. I only mention this one because I found it interesting

Big BIg BIG Oops.

As many of you know I donate platelets every two weeks in a process called aphaeresis. This is where they put a needle in your arm pull blood out run it through a centrifuge take out the platelets and then put the rest back. To keep this procedure safe they emphasize over and over and over and over do not move your arm. For two hours this needle is in your arm pulling and pushing blood at high pressure.

Well today was my 2 gallon mark (keep in mind when you consider you can only do 2 pints of platelets at a time) and so they had a little celebration going on in celebration. Well I was exceedingly tired and since I am going to be in this nice warm chair for two plus hours it is a perfect time to take a nap. Now I have slept before during this procedure without any problem, but this time was a little different. I fell asleep watching Toy Story and ended up having some crazy dream, maybe falling into REM sleep, I wake up with a start and jerk my needle arm all the way across my chest.

Three nurses run over in a panic, alarms are going off all over the machine, suffice to say I woke up very very quickly. They did an emergency shut down on the machine, however not before a whole bunch of blood was pushed back in except instead of the vein into the muscle itself. They pulled the needle but extreme pain and one hell of a bruise started to form. I felt SOO bad not really for the pain but for really causing so much angst with all the nurses, this is not something they like to see happen. Well I left and somehow drove home but now I am sitting on a couch with a ice pack on the arm and extreme pain right in the bicep muscle. Note to self next time I plan on falling asleep have them tape down the arm just in case.

Ouch ouch ouch ouch!

What a day, what a week, what a life?

This is my first commute week from the crazy city and its really not bad. The highlight of the commute was when I was driving on one of the most congested highways in the region home from a long day, I look over to the right and stunningly a good friend of mine was driving right alongside me. I didn’t really believe it until I called his cell phone and we both shared a good laugh over it. But the best part of the commute on the way home is it’s a great time to talk to friends and family and catch up. For years I have taken calls from others who are in their commute and bored, well now is my turn. So if you happen to get a call around 5 or 6pm PST from me, it is probably not urgent, just me wanting to catch up.

Yesterday was an interesting and crazy day. Besides leaving my house at 5:15am to make it down to the south bay in time to go to they gym, then a full day at work, I had to make a return trip to the dentist. There are many people who you really want to be perfectionists, I am not sure if dentists are one of those people. He was poking and prodding during my 6 month check-up and he finds something that is just barely, maybe kinda could be a cavity. So why not let’s drill and fill it in. There was one of those plus two chipped teeth that he wanted to rebuild to make look just spectacular (his words not mine). So now being kinda numb I make my way back to my old apartment to finish clearing out my old stuff and turn in my keys. That chapter is officially closed. Drove on up to the city where I grabbed a quick dinner and was thrilled to meet up with one of my friends whom I have not seen in a while at the local karaoke bar. Great time catching up, although I am hurting today after only getting 4 hours of sleep and a few drinks, nothing a little sweat at the gym didn’t resolve.

So I need to take a second and just take a jump and kick my heels. Although I am still single I am at a place where I am having a great time going out with friends and just living life. T asked me if there was a reason for all these changes in my life and I think it is partially due to life events I have talked about a month ago which helped bring to mind how critical it is to live life everyday, and I am attempting to do just that. Not just go to the city, but go outside the comfort zone and try new things. Finding new restaurants, new bars, new friends are just some of the things on the agenda. But it has paid off already, I am having fun with old friends and look forward to meeting new ones.

In light of living your dreams and living everyday on this day in 1988 the first woman ever to climb Everest reached the summit and claimed the honor. At 29,035 ft above sea level this brings new meaning to reaching for your dreams. Congratulations to Stacy Allison from Portland Oregon. Granted you don’t need to go climb a mountain today, but look at something that you have always wanted to do and take that first step TODAY. Sign up for a class, reach out to a friend, tell someone how you feel about them, or go to the gym and try some new exercise. Today is the day!

Customer Service….A little lacking

Today was my day to wait for wonderful vendors to come and help supply my new apartment with much needed urgent necessities. First would be gas, and by this I mean natural gas, as well as my internet connection. Now both PG&E as well as Comcast were supposed to be at my place by noon. PG&E was at my place bright and early at 10am ripped and ready to work. In less than 10 minutes my apartment was filled with gas and the oven was working like a champ. At 1:00pm my Comcast was still not at my apartment, neither were they there at 2 nor 3:00. Finally at 4pm he finally showed up. Keep in mind that I was supposed to be doing some real work during the day and were it not for my new Treo phone that gets corporate email I would have been completely lost. When I called Comcast they apologized but said that if not today, they would definitely be there tomorrow. Great because I have nothing else to do with my life but take off from work and spend time waiting for bad vendors to show up. When I mentioned a penalty for their tardiness they immediately agreed, apparently they have a guarantee on their service calls, the penalty, $20. So the penalty for being 4 hours late, double the amount guaranteed is barely the hourly rate for minimum wage. Clearly this will be unacceptable and I will be talking to their management concerning proper compensation.

But with all this free time during the day with no internet connection I spent much of the day cleaning my apartment, and boy is it starting to look almost liveable. Quite excited by that even if not all of my stuff will fit inside a small studio. I am pleased to say that of all my belongings the only thing I can find that did not make it in one piece was a single picture frame where the glass broke. I think a small price to pay for an entire apartment move.

So lets go to more exciting and titillating subjects, the colorful personalities of San Francisco. Apparently this weekend was the love festival which is exactly as it sounds. There were an ample number of male individuals with chaps and nothing underneath, as compared to leather thongs and briefs barely large enough to be considered a brief. I think there is a fine line between being proud of your sexuality and directly flaunting it to the entire world and then some. However, I am ok with this I understand that this is going to be the world I will be living in for the next year, but it does take some getting used to. On the other hand going to the local supermarket I can honestly say that a vast majority of the people here are single or at least not married. Whereas the preponderance of individuals in my old neighborhood were not only married but usually had children, here it is the exact reverse, definitely refreshing. If I can get past the ones that are not interested in straight men, I might actually have a chance. Here’s to that eventual opportunity, cheers.

Did you know today in 1957 West Side Story had its first opening day in Broadway. Back in my Freshman year of high school this was one of the first major productions I was ever part of, I believe I ran sound for that show, running over 2 dozen portable microphones and 16 stage mics, not to mention sound effects and all else that went into a major production. What an adventure, one of the first that brought me into the theater. As a side West Side Story in its first run played 732 consecutive showings, not so shabby.

City Living!

First let me just get this off my chest, OYE!!!! Moving is tough and stressful. Ok now that I am done complaining let me do a couple of thanks. To Rick, Emily, Beautiful wonderful Savannah, Andrea, and Christopher thank you so much for helping me pack up my 17ft U-haul on Thursday night. I rented this beater of a truck and drove it to my current apartment and as I stood looking at this 17ft beast, I am like there is no way I have enough stuff to fill it up. I debated bringing it back and getting a smaller one, but knowing they would charge me I decided I would just have some free space. Two hours later I am glad I did not, we filled it almost completely up. Wow! A couple of pizza pies later and my volunteers were happily sent on their way to chiropractors and masseuses.

Friday I then drove the beast up the peninsula into the city. Now this is no small truck, let alone the fact it had 178,000 miles on it, suffice to say it was an interesting drive, but I arrive at my new home and double park in front. Meet with the manager for all the paperwork and keys and his recommendation was the following, “The meter maids are vicious, do you hear me vicious. Fill up the lobby with all your stuff, then park the truck then move everything upstairs” Sounds like extra work but I am not going to chance a $200 ticket so I take his advice and empty the entire truck by myself. But salvation is on the way in the form of another friend Janet. She arrives and quickly begins to help bring things up the vintage elevator to my fifth floor apartment. Literally 2 hours after arriving the two of us have lugged everything up into the new apartment, phew. We get some lunch, return the truck and I spend the rest of the night trying to unpack enough stuff so I can actually sleep the night.

Saturday my goal was to spend the entire day unpacking, organizing, cleaning the new apartment. Taking a look at the mass of boxes I decide that my time would best be started by walking just down the street from my apartment for a morning Jamba Juice (fruit smoothie). Finally around 9:30 I tackle the job. Now most people would probably go about it in an organized fashion, I am neither organized or fashionable. I complete like half of every room (which when you count bathroom and kitchen I only have three rooms). Around noon I hear noise out my window (besides normal city noise) I take a look and there is this massive throng of people going down Market street. Not like I need any excuse to get out of work, but I grab some clothes and head over to check it out. Apparently it was a national anti-war and simply anti-bush protest. Literally over 30,000 people attended with signs of all shapes and sizes. If anyone has seen the movie PCU (political correct university) this was a living reenactment of the movie. People protested everything from the war, to taxes, to closing fire stations, to the traffic problems of the city all coming together in one show of solidarity for the cause of well protesting. I decide to walk the route with the crowd and check it out. It only became a little tense when you had the Israel’s on one side of the street shouting for protection and the Palestinian’s on the other with full face masks shouting death to Zionists. Not the greatest of situations on the other hand a very clear reenactment of what it must feel like everyday out there in the Middle East. But the cops kept everything orderly with almost no involvement just gentle recommendations and slight modifications. Definitely love the enthusiasm and veracity of the city.

So I go back to my place and decide that with all the cleaning and excitement maybe I will just chill back with a movie and a frozen pizza. Of course the gas in my apartment fails to work until Monday, so I am forced out into the street in search of food. Not an arduous task I quickly find out. A great Tacoria is just 2 blocks away right next to a vintage used book store with really good literature. So after a tasty dinner, and a couple of books to occupy what little free time I don’t have, I head on back to the apartment. I am maybe 1000 ft from my front door and pass a little bar I have passed throughout the couple of days of running errands called the Mint. Well hell no guts no glory, I venture in by myself. It is a dimly lit bar with this off-key music in the background. Turns out it is a 7-day a week Karaoke bar. Except for the woman who was singing when I first entered the singers were quite good (maybe the alcohol lessened some of the pain). The two woman on my left and the bartender quickly introduced themselves to me and bought me a shot to welcome me into the neighborhood (thanks bartender Daddy Diggs). Nice to have a fun bar to come home to if ever a stressful day.

So overall although I had some trepidation about the drive into the city, and the parking situation and possible crime against my car, I think I am really going to enjoy this city living. My next entry will discuss some of the interesting characters I am beginning to see in the city. Trust me an entry you will not want to miss.

Keeping with my new theme on this day in 1957 under the US Army’s 101^st Airborne division 9 black students entered a formerly all white school. Imagine the strength it must have taken them to go into an openly hostile environment to make a stand for freedom that our country is so proud of, and integration which we are still struggling with. Next time something seems like the right thing to do but just a little difficult, think of 9 scared teenagers just wanting to worry about Prom or Sadie Hawkins dance, being forced to fight just for their right to go to school. Thank goodness they did what they did!

New addition to the random ruminations

As I was reflecting on my previous entry I realize how little sometimes remember our own history and of course not remembering ones history condemns one to repeat it. So I am going to add something new to my entries here, and that is a small blurb from this day in history. I will research it to ensure accuracy but I encourage you if something is interesting also do some of your own research, knowledge is a wonderful and powerful tool.

Thus on this day in history, in 1959 in the height of the cold war the Soviet Union leader, Nikita Khrushchev, was barred from going into Disneyland. This was during a trip to have an extended summit with Eisenhower, but he added his own small agenda requesting to see a taste of Hollywood. While most of the day went well with Frank Sinatra leading him around and a quick trip to Twentieth Century Fox to watch the taping of Can-Can the movie, tempers flared as the president of Fox made some scathing remarks about communism and some earlier public comments made by Khrushchev. Later in the day he was barred by our government from visiting Disneyland saying they could not guarantee his safety with the large crowds.

Although ideology is many times cast in a negative light, that being the ideology of extremists, terrorists, dictators and madmen in general, it is also the very fuel that drives patriotism. Why else would we sign up to serve in the military if not for a bigger cause, for the thought of freedom and equality? It gains its strength by the fact that we do not question it, we believe it to our core and will fight for it. Unfortunately this leads to conflicts, major and minor depending who is involved when ideologies conflict and heated discussions erupt. Point in fact the cold war. So although ideology is critical to driving groups of people, always be cautious as to what you are following.

The date of my move is quickly approaching as I begin to call all my suppliers (gas, electricity, cable, dsl, etc) and begin the arduous task of changing my address. This is really starting to kick in that indeed I am moving, but am also getting more and more excited. I am having friends tell me about the things they did over the weekend and some of the community bars and restaurants that just sound so cool. Just need to finalize the packing, get the truck and hit the road!

What happened to the vigor of youth??

A few weeks have now passed after a terrible wind, a wind that raised the ocean and leveled the earth. Every newspaper, magazine, radio and television station could talk of nothing else. As our President and government was shocked to the point of inaction a nation was to weather one of the worst storms in the history of our mature country. Hurricane Katrina, derived from the word Huracan, the Amerindian storm God.

How quickly our minds wander as we television stations go back to their normal scheduled programs. At one time our youthful country was the envy of the world, we were the scrappy child who could not be held down, neither war nor famine not strife or oppression kept this country bay as we continually rose to a challenge. Now in relative old age of a country I need to ask have we passed our prime? Have we become so arrogant and forgotten history that we will follow in the past of so many other former great nations, we see them rise and then of course fall. It is of arrogance of their own greatness that defeated Napoleon, the Monguls and of course even the Soviet Union. Are we next?

In literally hours a major city was converted from a normal orderly and calm city to lawlessness that rivaled Lord of the Flies, without a conch shell to be held. How well we balance on a wire between chaos and order. With our own sense of importance we continue to create policies and protocols after the fact, a level of bureaucracy rarely seen in the history of governments. Here in recent events we actually saw it paralyze us to inaction.

I raise this as hopefully a wakeup call. As we continue to help the victims of this storm god, and we must continue for as long as it takes, even if it is years, we must also ALL look to what went wrong and how we can change. This is not exclusively for government officials, each and everyone of us can do something to prepare for the future. If you have any medical training from boy scout first aid to more advanced, sign up with the red cross or community emergency response teams (CERTs) to assist in the case of regional situations. If you are a technology geek, volunteer for the same teams to help create communication systems, as these are more important that even medical aid. A good doctor can help dozens, a communication system can affect thousands. We need people with tech skills. If you have neither, sign up to be able to help distribute food or blankets in the future.

There was a time when we felt that being a citizen of a country required us all to take a ownership role and help where we can, not necessarily as a job but as a volunteer, as a citizen. This is our wake-up call, to survive the next century when other countries want to become greater than us at all cost, and some praying daily for our demise, we need to come together and WANT to be citizens, we need to remember it is a privilege and we can help. Not all of us need to fly to the southern states, we can start preparing for the future, by volunteering today. So asses your skills (teachers, medics, engineers, social workers, etc), pick your favorite organization and sign up to help.

God Bless America.

A wonderful quote from Walt, however I have to disagree. The greatest resource is the imagination of both children and adults alike. 

I wonder what this golf ball really looks like from space. 

Yes Walt, Mickey and I make a great trio. 

A stunning view from the happiest celebration Disney has ever hosted. 

The view coming home from Orlando, Disney. A beautiful view to keep the spirits up. 

Cleaning my apartment, here is 30 binders, every note I ever took in college. They have now made their way to the recycling pail. 

Addictions?

I am going to take a second to get something off my mind before returning to the narrative of my usual fascinating observations. As I finally fly home I realize how much work I truly have to get done in the next couple of months. I need to apply to grad schools over the next month or so for my MBA, where I am going, well that is an excellent question. Lets see where I get in. I need to complete my CEs (continuing education) and re-test for my EMT renewal which expires like many other things at the end of the calendar year. Of course I am moving this week, which means I need to really pack this week before I fly out on Saturday night for yet another work event. All this needs to take place in the free hours when I am not stressing about the inordinately large amount of work we have gone on right now. If I wasn’t busy I would simply be bored, and we can’t have that.

In my next entry I desire to tell you about one of the speakers I saw at the convention I attended. A man who did not know excuses, but a sense of humor to rival Robin Williams. I only do not begin the description now as I have notes that happen to be checked in my bag below the plane which makes retrieval challenging to say the least.

Instead a couple of other things. As I spent a couple of my evenings in the theme park I could not help but be surprised by some observations I wanted to share here. First when people went on rides they left their strollers packed simply outside the ride, unattended and unsecured. Even more surprising was they left entire bags of the days staples without a care in the world, to take it to a whole new level, they are as safe as if they were in the theater with the parents themselves. I think what makes the theme parks so much fun is watching the interaction between people, anywhere else large crowds, 90+ degree heat and 40 percent humidity is a recipe for short tempers and selfish behavior without much need for stirring. Yet there were countless times when people gave up heavily protected spots that had to be reserved for over an hour for some live event, only to surrender it to a toddler who just arrived. Spots were given up in line, and a helping hand to their fellow guests. Even on the bus rides you saw both private cars and public busses yield to others in a display that is as foreign as a dandelion in the middle of grand central station. This of course begs the question, is happiness addictive?

It only takes one person to kill an entire mood in a large group, I believe this is called a buzz kill. I however believe that the reverse is also true, that someone’s generosity and kindness can also be addictive. Watching a single person give up a seat to another’s child is never going to be immediately rewarded and yet I sure they will do the same for some other at a later time, at least we would hope so. Clearly silliness and humor can be addicting, why else would we all think ourselves unbelievably talented comedians after any professional comedic performance. On the other hand at certain parties one person who just decides to let it all loose, can cause others to let their hair down and not as prim and proper. Although not a scientific study I believe this does imply that some of the positive traits in others can be addicting and not simply the negative or detrimental ones. I challenge each of you to try it, who knows it may pay off for you as well someday.

On a lighter note there is very few things more humorous that a small child repeating something they heard in a different context. This is of course compounded when the said child is actually from a foreign land and speaking with an accent such as those of our former parental figures, England. A child no more than 6 was traveling with her group of 6 consisting of two families. While waiting for the fireworks she grabs one of the Sprites resting on the ground and begins to take a swipe, completely forgetting her bottle is in her back pocket. Her mother stopped and corrected her. Whereas normally some smart remark is expected, instead we heard (of course you will have to imagine the British accent) “Oh terrible sorry mum, I fear it slipped my mind, cheerio” Now how could you be mad at your child when faced with that? Simply put you could not. The British were the predominate ethnic group at the parks including Americans, must be a better time of year for them to travel. Sometimes a slightly rowdy crowd, but always polite and courteous.

So a good time was clearly had at the parks in the limited time I could attend, definitely was the stress relief I was needing for quite some time.

Tourists, what a breed

Part of the fun of going to any amusement park is people watching. Now I don’t like generalities or stereotypes, but I think many of you who have engaged in the sport of people watching will agree with many of these. Please don't take these personally, there are many many who do not fit these molds, these are just observations from the day.

First the Japenese. They love taking pictures of everything, from the fun designs on the garbage cans to the carvings on the floor. It is a wonder what they were able to do before digital cameras and wonder how many rolls of film they must have developed. For the girls under 25 no matter how much they are going to be walking through theme parks and in rough terrain, they insist of wearing high heals of at least 3-4 inches. How they are able to stay on their feet for a 15 hour day in them never ceases to amaze. The umbrellas the older woman bring with have the most intricate and delicate designs. They are even more noticeable when they smack you in the head as they fail to look where they are going so busy staring at the characters running around. Very sweet and always willing to help take a picture of you upon request.

Then you latinos. An incredibly family oriented group who brings out their entire family on their trips. They don’t leave the kids with a babysitter and go off on their own. They definitely have their own fashion and the ladies of all ages deck themselves out with makeup regardless of the temperature or what they plan on doing. They always look their finest and never appear to have a hair out of place or ever caught off guard, even when juggling a couple of kids, drinks, strollers and backpacks.

Then you have the British. The British and definitely a fun loving breed with a love of beer, a pub and a good time. They only get slightly miffed when asked for the 20^th time in a day if they are Australian, but quickly regain their humor when people start trying to list the cities they actually have heard of besides London (does everything have shire in the name?). They tend to be a little loud, especially with their love of the brew, but their good nature attitude is addicting even if they think football is a sport to be played only with their feet.

Finally we come to the finest of what our country has to offer, the southern and middle folk from the country, sometimes some might be referred to as rednecks.Disclaimer: This is a very small group of people and does not reflect the majority of great people in this country at all! Now I know this is free country and all but wearing t-shirts that say, “ I can be a cowboy if you ride me for 8 seconds” or better yet “Save a virgin, sleep with me instead” at Disneyworld is I think shows a little lack of respect. Now it is a bit warm here in the late summer and sure many of us are warm, and taking off your shirt is probably marginal in terms of acceptable standards (when not wet from Splash Mountain), but then wading in a fountain up to your knees to cool off right when the guard is trying to pull kids out, probably crosses the line. The like to smoke anywhere in the park where their fixen’ is a needed, regardless of who is around. Alas sometimes even to me the rides can be just a little cheesy, but that doesn’t mean you ridicule it loudly to all the kids in the room, especially when you swear. Sometimes you just want to duck your hear and go what is this country coming to.

The parks however were a ton of fun, partly because they were so empty. Actually when I first went in on Saturday it was a little eerie how quiet it was. There was never more than a 5 minute wait for any and all rides, many times you could ask to stay on for another ride and they would acquiesce. When I told one of my friends that I was going to the park they inquired if I was going by myself. When I said yes, they said that was kinda weird. You know what, I don’t think so. Granted going to any theme park with others is much more fun that by yourself, but why should I let a little thing like company stop me from enjoying something fun. Watching a kid in a wheelchair who probably spends a good deal of time getting stared at and pointed at by others their entire life, get special attention from every costumed character and then seeing their smile just makes it all worth it. The thing I only found out now, is during the parade they will actually go to the kid on either side of the one in the wheelchair to ensure he or she does not feel like they are being singled out. Sure the entire place is make believe, a fake false utopia paid for at a steep price, but you know what, that’s ok. I don’t mind suspending reality for a little while and believing that people can actually be nice to each other for a little while. A place where strangers can be courteous and sometimes even helpful to each other especially when juggling kids, food, drinks and strollers. I don’t mind an idea of a place where people feel both equal and welcome. I think that is a noble idea and I don’t mind the fakeness of it.

Today was the first day of my conference and it was not forgotten by anyone that at this meeting of the national association of state telecom directors that it was 9-11 the 4 year anniversary. A small moment of silence was held as they recounted how much their and all of our jobs have changed since that day forever immortalized. Then the director from New Orleans stood up and although a true southern strong man, amidst tears and with a cracked voice recounted some of the devastation they have gone through and the unbelievable outpouring of equipment, personnel, supplies from every other state present. This is what will always save our country, it is the way we all stick together when faced with adversity or a catastrophe. On a lighter note there is at least one representative from every state, being just a little reminiscent of a very off Ms. America pageant with each state listed on their badge.

May everyone have a good week and remember if you can help out the red cross they are going to need help for months to come. Remember that there are now shelters with people in every state save Hawaii and Alaska at this time, you might even be able to help in your own hometown.

Another Day in Paradise

After waking up at 4 am to make a 6am flight out of San Francisco I was rewarded by one of the most remarkable and breathtaking sunrises seen from the window seat of a Boeing 777. I will try to upload a picture of it when Blogspot gets their picture function working again.

So now I am in Orlando at the Wyndham hotel on the Disney property literally across the street from Downtown Disney (DD) and Pleasure Island (PI). Getting in at 7pm into Orlando didn’t leave much time for anything besides getting some food and walking around DD and PI. The two could not be more different if it was something out of Alice and the Looking glass. In Downtown Disney the area is of course their typical scrubbed environment without alcohol or smoking, an attempt at a haven for children. In Pleasure Island there are ample amounts of both including everything that comes from a city full of night clubs and bars. It is refreshing to see both ends of the spectrum meeting in such a way.

Tomorrow I get a half day off and I will spend the time take some much needed R&R. The conference will start in the latter part of the day and throughout the week. More updates as the week goes on.

Volunteers

So I had an interesting conversation with one of my fellow volunteers in the emergency medic organization I am apart of at my company. Now this is in regards to an entry I made a couple of weeks ago. Keep in mind I have enormous respect for those I work with or for both in their skills medically as well as their leadership talents. One of her concerns is as a volunteer organization we do not give directives we make requests to our fellow volunteers. Well this brought up some questions with me.

A volunteer Firefighter who is not paid but part of a professional trained organization takes directives or orders if you will from whoever is in charge of the incident. Same with volunteer auxiliary police, etc. So what about us. We are a group of highly trained volunteers in an group that is sometimes placed in situations that can be life threatening. It is our position to help protect each other as well as the people we work with. So the question is do we always have time to make requests and explain them to our fellow volunteers?

Now I know I have a very strong personality, especially when the adrenalin is coursing the veins. So I am sure I have at times been much more direct that the situation probably warranted and that is something I will have to work on. But also to some extent as a semi-professional volunteer organization I would also hope we would all be aware we are under the same stress of literally lives at stake.

Overall this did present a new view point and something I will really need to watch in the future and try to be more understanding of certain personality traits.

Ok new subject. I have officially placed a security deposit for a new apartment in the grand ol’ city of San Francisco. Officially it is in the Upper Market/Castro district. It is in a fun neighborhood yet also very close to the highway I will need to traverse to get to work. Little nervous but definitely excited about the prospects of living in the city. The culture shock will be compounded by the fact I am moving from a 2 bedroom apartment into a studio, but hey how much room does a guy really need? I think it just feels good to finally have a plan and have a place to move into. Anyone want to help me move, yeah I didn’t expect to see all the hands go up at once. Pictures of the apartment to follow.

The Hunt Continues

Fear not loyal readers this is not the hunt for either food or a mate (although both of those are always in a constant state of affairs), rather this is the hunt for a new domicile. A place to lay my head, along with the rest of my body, and my belongings. Yes I am looking for a new apartment in the city, and what a challenge. Drove up to the city last night from work, leaving the south bay area at a comfortable 72 degrees and just a hint of clouds on the horizon. I then entered the city that was a chilly 61 degrees and completely overcast, a little depressing when looking for housing. But I hiked up my britches, metaphorically of course, and began the quest to find the perfect place.

I found one place that was previously owned by a Scandinavian couple who really wanted to remember home. It had wood paneling on both walls and ceiling to give the appearance of a log cabin from the old country, as well as a stain glass ceiling leading to the sky light in the bathroom. The vintage pot belly stove in the living room was the only source of heat and the oven was from circa 1908 still having a place to heat up the old fashion cast iron irons. None of this was a problem, but seeing an oven to small to even fit a frozen pizza, well that would be a challenge for the bachelor cooking.

Another place was listed as a 1 bedroom but that one bedroom was actually a former closet. In fact I couldn’t find the bedroom and actually had to ask, and he pointed to this closet. He said fear not a twin mattress just perfectly fits in the walls, you just need to climb in from the head/foot of the bed. The extra bonus of course it is impossible to fall out of bed, there is walls on three sides of you. Can we say coffin?

Another place that I looked at previously had a tilt of literally 10+ degrees, you found yourself standing at a weird angle the entire time. Could you imagine the hell you would have trying to hang up pictures when your entire life was living at an angle. Sounds like something out of “Being John Malkovich”. Another place had this industrial sink in the bathroom but absolutely no table top space. I was curious as to where you would put a drain board. The manager opened the one and only cabinet by the sink which was just below the window. Instead of a rear wall behind the cabinet it was actually a vent and the shelves were metal grids. An interesting concept except being directly on Market street (one of the busiest streets in San Fran) I am not sure I want a fine layer of smog and grime on all my dishes.

So as you can tell the search continues. I do have to pick a place tonight as I fly out tomorrow for another work event and by the time I get back I really have to start the move. So wish me luck as I trot my way around the city on a quest to find the perfect apartment.

Friends and decisions

The past couple of weeks have been challenging to me personally. With lots of things to deal with it is no secret I was struggling just a little bit. I would like to say that I have some of the best friends a guy could have who have really supported me and have gone above and beyond the call of duty bringing me back to a really good place. Although I will be specifically thanking them in my own way in person, I just wanted to take a second and thank them here as well. Treasure your friends for they are the ones that will be there for you when you need them the most.

The search will continue for an apartment tonight. I have high expectations and hopes to finding the perfect place in the perfect location tonight. I feel tonight is the night!

Ever wonder what life would be like if we made different decisions. Every day we make hundreds if not thousands of decisions as mundane as do I go to the bathroom before this meeting or wait until afterwards, or as drastic as where I should go to school or live. These could have profound influences in our lives in terms of who we might meet to date or where we end of placing our professional life. I think it is important to take some time periodically and look back at the choices we make and the doors they either opened or closed. Just over two years ago I decided to dabble in the medical field becoming a field medic and since then so many new opportunities have arisen from volunteer to new friends. I also decided to stay in the suburbs for an inordinately long time probably limiting my social calendar just slightly. I wouldn’t bore you with a linty of my choices but think back, what decisions have you made today and looking back would you make the same ones. It is said that those that ignore history are cursed to repeat it, and that means more than just world history, it is also our own. Overall I think I am happy with the choices I have made, some I think I should not but we take actions to correct them. Let us never lose sight of where we have come and thus where we are going.

On that note let me note a new addition to my friends list on the left side of the screen. Go ahead take a look I will wait for you to come back. It is the last one on the list, labeled Christine. Did you find it? Ok take another look, right under Andrea. There you go! Anyway Christine is a close friend from work who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She is just beginning treatment which has already included a couple of surgeries, MRIs, and so many more pokings and prodings. The amazing thing about this remarkable young lady is her ever present optimism, sense of humor, and love of life that is simply addicting. There is no doubt in any of our minds that she will beat this, this is merely a bump in the road, but it is important to keep up the encouragement and know she is not in this alone. So check out her page (http://christinechristine.blogspot.com) and leave her a comment. It is unbelievable to me how many people are touched by this monstrous disease every year and yet we hear of mostly other more trendy diseases on the nightly news. I know everyone has a story to tell, I am just wondering what yours is? If you have the time leave me a comment with a friend or family member who has had this. Everyday I hear of new survivors and it gives so much hope to others.

Family Trip

Sometimes it just takes a couple of days away with family to help clear the head and help the heart. Well this weekend was just that, I flew down to Florida for a small party for my sister who has been abroad for the past year working for a non-profit group saving the world. Family from as far north as Hartford and Baltimore came down and spent some time both on the side of the pool as well as around the dining room table. It was good to get away, it was great to be around family as crazy as they can be at times!

On the way home talking to the stewardesses (one of my favorite pastimes when traveling as it gets me out of the cramped seats for a little while) they estimated my age to be between 34 and 36. Although promising it is not because I look old, just act very mature. Oh good! Aren’t people always supposed to guess ages lower, even if you know it to be a lie?

A woman I was talking to in the ocean (meeting random people in the ocean is an interesting activity especially in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region) I estimated her age to be 28 whereas in reality is was closer to 44 years of age. Oops. However she really did look exceptionally young for her age, maybe that came with her profession as a professional exotic dancer she clearly took care of herself. Either way it is amazing who you can meet randomly by just saying hi to someone. Ever wonder about stories of others when you just take the time to talk to them? Honestly it is pretty interesting.

So now I am back in town for three days before heading on out again this time to Orlando for another show. I did find out that my company was able to send 50 specific tech volunteers out to New Orleans to help with the relief effort which is why I was not activated over the weekend. They are looking for another shift to go probably in October so more on that later I guess. The great news is that so many people are offering to help both locally and abroad. That is what being a citizen of your country really means, makes you proud when you realize the true generosity of people to others.

I will continue my apartment hunting this week, in the evenings which will really give a taste of the commute. Probably could not have picked a worst time considering the gas prices going up as they are, but better late than never.

Heart Wrenching/Bubbles to Haven

I want to talk of the ceremony as it was truly something to see. But yet something so much more important is going on as we speak. Of course I am referring to New Orleans and the Katrina emergency. It is horrifying to see the lack of timely relief coming from our own country to our own people. This is no longer a situation across an ocean away but right in our own backyard. At this point I want to help and so I battle the voice telling me to help and the voice telling me how much normal work I have as well and everything else that is going on in my life. Emergencies never come at the right time, and are rarely scheduled.

My company is helping out and I am desperately attempting to volunteer to offer specialized skills such as setting up network services to help create a list of survivors. This is probably second only to life saving efforts to start bringing families together or at least helping them find out about friends and loved ones. Unfortunately our government is having a tough time even identifying what they need, thus can’t even ask until they know what they need. Hopefully they will figure something out soon and we can dispatch and start assisting.

To plan a funeral for a child is never easy. To make it truly a celebration is virtually impossible, and yet the family did just that. A ceremony with almost 500 people in attendance was supplied with hundreds of Kleenex, and yet with the help of almost 100 children the ceremony truly became a celebration. We arranged it so there was a large mat right in front of the stage where all the children were welcome to sit on the floor. Playing with Benjemon cards they were given on the way in, they ended up stealing the show. While dad was speaking to a packed crowd the younger brother stood on the directors chair on stage and waved to the crowd and said, ‘hi everyone’. After the fourth time, the crowd could not stop laughing. The service ended with everyone blowing bubbles to the sky (picture to follow).

The reception had a little bit of everything for everyone. A 36 foot jump house for the children (and the occasional adult including myself), balloon artists, pokemon trading stations, cup cake walks, videographer interviewing area, scrap booking area and of course a 500 picture slideshow with pictures from the whole family. While mingling the crowd truly kept it a celebration of his life, which was the point. The conclusion truly topped it all with a loop covering almost the entire cul-de-sac while everyone held a candle lit by a single candle by the family. The moment of silence was punctuated only by mom saying the occasional word and finally concluding with two songs, the final of Celine Dion singing, “I’m Alive”, reminding us that it is now time to be there for those who are still alive and live life to the fullest.

For me the day was emotionally and physically draining, and yet healing. That night for the first time in almost a week I had a good night sleep without waking up in the middle of the night. The next morning I got on a plane to Florida to see my sister home from Egypt and the rest of my family. More on this later.