Wow. I’ve had a rollercoaster ride for the last few months. I really truly am trying to get back into things here but life has gotten in the way. Let’s see…
Started a new job
Started school
Got in a car accident
Finished school for summer
Hathyr gets a car from her Mom
Her Mom gets sick
Find out that some friends of mine now have a kid together
Kid has some sort of disorder that can be treated
Find out that another friend of mine has Marfan’s syndrome and her kid probably has it too
Went to Mexico for a family reunion/Grandad’s 75th birthday
Hathyr immediately leaves to Boston for a week
I have Jury duty and end up getting picked and even worse it is a long case and I’m in for the duration (2-3 weeks!)
The new job is good. I aced both of my classes in school. The car accident sucked ass as there was $3000 worth of damage. The body work has been done but there are still problems, like the powerstearing no longer works so it drives like a truck. So I still have to get that taken care of. I also had to pay a $500 deductable which I may take the kid that caused the accident to court to get that back as I wasn’t at fault. Want to know the stupid thing about insurance? You are better off getting hit by a driver with no insurance than one with lousy insurance. It is CA state law that your insurance has to pay in full, no deductable, for accidents caused by noninsured drivers.
Hathyr goes home to pick up the car from her Mom and then it turns out her mom has something weird going on with her blood and she gets admitted to the hospital. We still aren’t sure what is going on but she appears to be doing okay. Meanwhile Hathyr visits the old vet clinic she and I worked at and find most of the old crew still there. Two of them now have a kid together (which is funny because she didn’t seem like the idea of having kids). Their kid has some sort of condition which fortunately is treatable. Another person who works there recently found out she has Marfan’s syndrome, which can be fatal, and had to undergo openheart surgery. Her baby, now a few years old, appears to be okay but it is a genetic problem and her kid could still have it. It has run in her family and never went diagnosed.
The day that Hathyr returned I left for Mexico. Coincidentally this was also the same day as my final for my class, which was only a few hours earlier in the evening. Our pets are so confused. I drove down to meet one of my Uncle’s in San Jose (2 hour drive from Sacramento). We then drove to San Diego to meet up with my Mom and my other Uncle and his two kids (my youngest cousins) and then took rental cars across the border. You have to be careful to make sure to get all the proper paperwork done for driving into Mexico with a rental as they are stolen often.
Mexico is pretty much what I expected it to be, at least what parts of it I saw, which was Baja. An incredibly poor wasteland. Think of what they show you on TV of the gaza strip, for example. It has that built up but never finished and then torn down but never quite torn down look. Not quite post-apocolyptic but pretty damn close. Anyway, he lives in a very well-to-do area in a gated community. I almost felt embarrassed to be there as the difference between poverty and wealth is startling. I always had the feeling like I was in Cuba before the revolution and everyone around was going to rise up and try to take some of what they didn’t have.
Anyway, my Grandfather’s home is nice enough to forget where you are and it has a nice view of the ocean. He hadn’t changed much, he was just older, which I think we would have been happily surprised if he had changed and say, mellowed with age but alas that is not the case. However nice it was I was happy to return back to the old US of A. For all the bullshit politics we have here, at least you know there is bullshit politics protecting you. All I could imagine was something like drug sniffing dogs finding that the previous person to rent our car had packed cocaine or something in there and I’d end up spending the next 10 years in a Mexican prison. By the way, I have no plans of ever going back. No, it wasn’t an aweful experience it was just something I have no desire to return to.
So after 13 hours of driving (from Sacramento to just a bit south of Ensenada, MX) two days of no sleep, a big birthday party and then some relaxing, all of which is a big haze as I can’t remember what happened what day due to lack of sleep, we drove home (13 hours back). I also found out that my youngest Uncle’s best friend died sort of tragically which saddened me as I liked him a lot and remember him fondly from when I was a kid. I couldn’t believe it but about 8 miles from my house I really started to lose it as I was almost falling asleep on the road. You might ask why I didn’t fly, and that is a good question. I hate flying and will only do it when I absolutely have to. Funnily enough, I probably have more miles in flying than most people. I also find it strange that while I hate flying, I love airplanes. Weird.
So I finally get back and go to bed for a few hours (got home at 1a) and the next morning Hathyr leaves for Boston. I go to work the next day and get what I can get done in a very sleepy haze. The next day I show up for Jury duty and get picked. Now I’m serving for the next few weeks. Grrr… It is however interesting when it isn’t boring as hell. Nothing like you see on TV. The worst part though is that I don’t know if my job will pay me while I’m serving. $15/day + mileage doesn’t pay the bills.
Later this evening Hathyr gets home. I might be going out to the CA Extreme show with a friend in San Jose, but the later it gets the less likely that is going to happen. The fun doesn’t yet end as I still have to get my car finally fixed, Hathyr’s car seems to be having brake issues.
Anyway, it has been interesting but exhausting. Hopefully things will return to some sanity soon. However, fall classes are starting in a few weeks and I have to find a way to manage my time around them. I guess that is what it comes down to and that is my biggest problem. I’m lousy at it.
So, yes, I will hopefully return to writing articles, making some adjustments to articles that folks have asked for, updating pmachine to expressionengine and updating the layout of the site and generally be more responsive to email… I think I need an assistant. Seems easier than figuring out that time management thing. I wish!
Oh, quicky reviews, mostly late:
Movies/TV:
Star Wars III: Sucks donkey balls!
Kung Fu Hustle: WOW!
Battlestar Galactica S2: Neato!
Music:
Weezer’s newest: Great!
Louis XIV: Awesome!
Bright Eyes neweset: Get it!
More to come soon!!
-hollywood
