i've never been a conspiracy theorist. but i think i've found one that's true.
skip to after the ---- if you don't want the long story.
my green GMC sonoma was given to me as a hand me down from my father when i was 16. since my junior year of highschool i have loved this little truck. it's had it's share of close calls, battled a deer and won, gave me the sympathy needed to get 'warnings' instead of 'tickets', and had a bad experience with red slushy drinks in the passenger seat when i hit the brake too hard. it's a beautiful vehicle and i want all my vehicles to be just like this one.
when i received my truck in 2001, i was very grateful. my dad bought it new and had acquired around 125,000 miles on it. mentally, i told myself that i would care for this truck till it reached it's 200,000 landmark. at that point i would stop putting money into it, and when something happened that required a big fix, it would be time to get a new car.
as the miles crept closer and closer i got more and more excited to get to 200,000 miles. i imagined buying a bottle of champagne and putting it in my car. then whoever my destination was to see at 200,000 miles we would share in our joy, and drink to my green-hail-damaged friend. even if i was getting gas, then the gas attendant and i would share a glass of bubbly.
last weekend i drove to manhattan. at 199,554 miles on the odometer, my beautiful, magnificent, full of life vehicle, began to limp. true to my promise, i fixed it. a final last big fix before 200,000 miles.
the conspiracy comes in 2 forms. 1-if you make plans, something will challenge those plans at the last minute. i had a difficult time deciding whether to put these final big bucks into the vehicle or not. 2-if you take your car in for a quick tune up or oil change...you will have major problems directly after.
the sticker in the top left corner of my windshield said "next oil change 190,521 or 11/2009." when it turned "199,300" and it was "8/2010" i decided that i should probably take it in to change the oil. i had no problems with my beauty, but it was time to be safe. 1 week later and only 200 miles down the road i was calling AAA to get it towed.
-----
basically what happened to my car is that i took it to the dentist to get a cleaning after a LONG time of not seeing the dentist. 1 week after the dentist, my car cracked a tooth. it's just not right.
i'll still probably put that champagne in there. so invite me over if you want to be the big winner! probably sometime in the next 2 weeks.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
My life as television...
I have seen every episode of these television shows. I have ranked them from favorite to least favorite. Keep in mind that if I watched every episode, I obviously loved the show. Some shows I started, realized how dumb they were, and stopped (Grey's Anatomy, the O.C., etc...) Some shows are still going, others ended a long time ago.
FRIENDS - everything can be traced back to an episode of friends. especially now that I am 24, which is the age all of the characters started in Season 1 of FRIENDS.
LOST - if you've never watched LOST, now is the time. It's 6 seasons of amazing writing. no show has kept me more engaged for so long. 24, eat your heart out.
West Wing - if you want to know about the government, political ideas, why democrats do what they do, then watch the West Wing. the speed of the conversation almost needs a few watches to understand, but once you do, you can't stop thinking about this show.
Arrested Development - best ridiculous comedy out there. like scrubs, but about a family, and much more funny.
How I Met Your Mother - things in HIMYM remind me of FRIENDS. while the writing is better, and the characters are more funny, you don't find yourself identifying with the characters the way you do on Friends.
Rescue Me - most intense show i've ever seen. i found myself watching most episodes with my eyes wide open and shocked at what ends up happening. and the comedy catches you off guard so it ends up being hilarious.
Scrubs - if you ever need a pick-me-up, pop in Scrubs. so ridiculous and you love the characters.
Gilmore Girls - fast and hilarious. i believe that if this show had a different title, that tons of guys would love it. but they dismiss it because it has "Girls" in the title. so funny.
Dorm Life (webisode) - you can find these at www.dorm-life.com. so so funny. ridiculous characters, and you can waste a lot of time watching these 10 min. long videos. so good.
Freaks and Geeks - good writing. rough acting. it's only 2 seasons so it's worth a watch.
House - House is rough. it's interesting, and intense, but after watching it once, I never find myself wanting to watch it again.
Dragonball Z - 6th grade. how i miss thee. from the vegeta series to boo, i watched it all. we would watch them while playing starcraft and where in the world is carmen san diego.
Sopranos - after a while, this show slows way way down. the first season is good, but after that it just became a grind to finish. but unlike a lot of people, i really liked the way it ended.
i'm debating which show i should watch next. anyone have thoughts:
- Weeds
- Dexter
- Breaking Bad
- Mad Men
- Criminal Minds
- other...
FRIENDS - everything can be traced back to an episode of friends. especially now that I am 24, which is the age all of the characters started in Season 1 of FRIENDS.
LOST - if you've never watched LOST, now is the time. It's 6 seasons of amazing writing. no show has kept me more engaged for so long. 24, eat your heart out.
West Wing - if you want to know about the government, political ideas, why democrats do what they do, then watch the West Wing. the speed of the conversation almost needs a few watches to understand, but once you do, you can't stop thinking about this show.
Arrested Development - best ridiculous comedy out there. like scrubs, but about a family, and much more funny.
How I Met Your Mother - things in HIMYM remind me of FRIENDS. while the writing is better, and the characters are more funny, you don't find yourself identifying with the characters the way you do on Friends.
Rescue Me - most intense show i've ever seen. i found myself watching most episodes with my eyes wide open and shocked at what ends up happening. and the comedy catches you off guard so it ends up being hilarious.
Scrubs - if you ever need a pick-me-up, pop in Scrubs. so ridiculous and you love the characters.
Gilmore Girls - fast and hilarious. i believe that if this show had a different title, that tons of guys would love it. but they dismiss it because it has "Girls" in the title. so funny.
Dorm Life (webisode) - you can find these at www.dorm-life.com. so so funny. ridiculous characters, and you can waste a lot of time watching these 10 min. long videos. so good.
Freaks and Geeks - good writing. rough acting. it's only 2 seasons so it's worth a watch.
House - House is rough. it's interesting, and intense, but after watching it once, I never find myself wanting to watch it again.
Dragonball Z - 6th grade. how i miss thee. from the vegeta series to boo, i watched it all. we would watch them while playing starcraft and where in the world is carmen san diego.
Sopranos - after a while, this show slows way way down. the first season is good, but after that it just became a grind to finish. but unlike a lot of people, i really liked the way it ended.
i'm debating which show i should watch next. anyone have thoughts:
- Weeds
- Dexter
- Breaking Bad
- Mad Men
- Criminal Minds
- other...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Canal Diving, Bike Riding, Electricity...
Better late than Never. A story from Africa...
Our first day at the Drakensburg Amphitheatre. After being shown around and eating some lunch we rented bicycles and went on a ride. First off, the bikes s u c k e d. (i'm trying this new spacing thing on words I emphasize...we'll see how it goes). My bike had a flat tire and the brake would constantly rub on the wheel, Tedder's tire went WAY flat and couldn't change gears, and our new friend Mohinder (not his real name...i don't remember his real name), his bike had a bad seat, tires rubbed on the brake, and his gears didn't work. Yikes.
Riding along the grass in the open field was rough, with bumps and holes all over the place. Tedder and Woodard had a bet to see who was going to fall first. Woodard both lost the bet, and was the one who fell. The field was tough to navigate through because our map was hand drawn and had things like "fence" and "pathway" as markers (the whole place was filled with fences and pathways). Eventually we made it to a gate and canal where we stopped and took pictures. We stood on the ledge that bridged across the canal. Woodard, slightly afraid of standing on ledges, thought death was imminent if we fell. I disagreed, and led to me discovering just how deep the canal was. The only way to discover...experiments!
I don't know why stuff like this makes me so happy. I love the random side adventures that come with traveling. Tiny moments where you have to decide to do something a little dumb and a lot of fun. Jumping in lakes fully clothed, going up to strangers and talking to them (not attractive girls though, that's too terrifying), being the first to jump off the cliff at Pillsbury...moments like that. They are tiny moments that remind me that life is supposed to be fun and experienced.
So after getting into the canal, and discovering it's well over my head, we adventured onward. I put my clothes back on and started riding down a dirt road. We were all separated by about 50 yards or so and I was in the front. While I was riding, all of a sudden, I felt something sharp poking me in my leg. It felt like a sharp object poking me in my inner right thigh. So I adjusted, but then it felt like a sharp object in my inner left thigh. It hurt like hell, so I stopped my bike and got off. Then something started poking my hand. It freaked the hell out of me!
As the rest of the boys caught up to me I heard them all saying things like "ow", "what the hell", "something is stinging me". Then we all looked up. We were riding under some MAJOR electric lines. These are the heavy duty ones with about 20 wires, thick wires, going along a highway. The electricity from those wires, over 6 stories above us, caused us to get shocked by any metal we touched. So the metal just under my seat was touching my thigh and when I braked, my hand touched a tiny metal screw next to the hand brake.
We sprinted away from under the wires. Still a little spooked. It's scary to think that you are getting poked or stung all over your body without seeing the reason.
Our first day at the Drakensburg Amphitheatre. After being shown around and eating some lunch we rented bicycles and went on a ride. First off, the bikes s u c k e d. (i'm trying this new spacing thing on words I emphasize...we'll see how it goes). My bike had a flat tire and the brake would constantly rub on the wheel, Tedder's tire went WAY flat and couldn't change gears, and our new friend Mohinder (not his real name...i don't remember his real name), his bike had a bad seat, tires rubbed on the brake, and his gears didn't work. Yikes.
Riding along the grass in the open field was rough, with bumps and holes all over the place. Tedder and Woodard had a bet to see who was going to fall first. Woodard both lost the bet, and was the one who fell. The field was tough to navigate through because our map was hand drawn and had things like "fence" and "pathway" as markers (the whole place was filled with fences and pathways). Eventually we made it to a gate and canal where we stopped and took pictures. We stood on the ledge that bridged across the canal. Woodard, slightly afraid of standing on ledges, thought death was imminent if we fell. I disagreed, and led to me discovering just how deep the canal was. The only way to discover...experiments!
I don't know why stuff like this makes me so happy. I love the random side adventures that come with traveling. Tiny moments where you have to decide to do something a little dumb and a lot of fun. Jumping in lakes fully clothed, going up to strangers and talking to them (not attractive girls though, that's too terrifying), being the first to jump off the cliff at Pillsbury...moments like that. They are tiny moments that remind me that life is supposed to be fun and experienced.
So after getting into the canal, and discovering it's well over my head, we adventured onward. I put my clothes back on and started riding down a dirt road. We were all separated by about 50 yards or so and I was in the front. While I was riding, all of a sudden, I felt something sharp poking me in my leg. It felt like a sharp object poking me in my inner right thigh. So I adjusted, but then it felt like a sharp object in my inner left thigh. It hurt like hell, so I stopped my bike and got off. Then something started poking my hand. It freaked the hell out of me!
As the rest of the boys caught up to me I heard them all saying things like "ow", "what the hell", "something is stinging me". Then we all looked up. We were riding under some MAJOR electric lines. These are the heavy duty ones with about 20 wires, thick wires, going along a highway. The electricity from those wires, over 6 stories above us, caused us to get shocked by any metal we touched. So the metal just under my seat was touching my thigh and when I braked, my hand touched a tiny metal screw next to the hand brake.
We sprinted away from under the wires. Still a little spooked. It's scary to think that you are getting poked or stung all over your body without seeing the reason.
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