Still Working @ Home

And loving it... What a great week! I'm definitely going to try to work at home more. I guess I don't have a great "work space" but I think that concept might be a bit overrated. I got this nice cloth & wood chair with a matching ottoman, my laptop, a big cup of Dunkies, and my noise canceling Bose headphones. No need to mess up a good thing. Speaking of which, check out the new links in the right-pane: I've added a couple links to a great radio program on Drum and Bass radio. The show is called Liquid Lounge and it is a good selection of softer DnB - check it out! (Note: During the 4/16/07 set there is a hilariously bad "train wreck" at about the 62:45 mark...)

I'm looking forward to more NBA playoff basketball this weekend. Even though I'm in the habit of only watching the 4th quarter the games they are still very entertaining. Tonight is a big night for Bulls. If they win tonight I see them going to the Finals. I think they can beat Heat and, if they do, I think they can beat Detroit in the next round too. Don't get me wrong, I love Shaq, but I think he needs help from Wade and if Wade isn't %100 (which I suspect he isn't) I don't think they'll win. There, I said it. Now we wait and see...

Working @ Home

My boss is on vacation this week which means I have a full week without any meetings and since I can save three hours a day by not traveling to and from the hospital I've decided to use this as an opportunity to work from home. For the most part I've found it to be quite nice. I can concentrate just as well as being at work but I don't have to wear pants. I've spent the last few days syncing the development environment on my laptop at home with my desktop at work (which is actually an important exercise as I will have to do it again on the machine we use for our usability testing later in the summer) and have been keeping quite busy. Once I'm up and running on my laptop I'll be able to work from home whenever I feel like it. Anyway, I should get back to work!

Ozomotli Rocks!

On Saturday night I went to an Ozomotli show with Alex, Diane, Prahbakar, Chris and Jessie. This was my third Ozo show and it was awesome! I danced all night! I think they put on the best show of any group or musician I've seen. I've got a bunch of tickets to the John Brown's Body show next Friday but Alex, Prabhakar and London are all gonna be out of town so hopefully I can find enough people to come with.

Friday....

Another Friday. Just what I needed. The weekends for a working man are a sacred thing. I'm looking forward to some good food and plenty of relaxation. The NBA playoffs start this weekend and I'll definatley be watching. The best first round match-up in the East is the Bulls/Mami series. I'm predicting the Bulls are gonna surprise a lot of people but I never bet against Shaq. I think this will be a great series.

Next Year

So here is "that list for another time". So there are lots of factors to consider but I think the big issue is weather I want to live at home for another year. Lets pro/con it:

Pros:
Save money. This is huge. If I can suck it up for just one more year I'd have a pretty nice "nest egg". I'm not saying I won't be able to save otherwise but the difference is huge.

TLC from mom and dad is super nice: full fridge, access to car(s), no utility bills etc (even though I do try to pay for most of my shit) When I move out I bet I'm gonna be surprised at how many of the adult "little thing" responsibilities an errands I've forgotten.

No roommates! I have a great living relationship with my parents. Granted there is the occasional irksome "honey, what/where are you going" type questions but in terms of keeping things clean and staying out of each other's way - this is as good as it gets (unless I live alone or am shaking up w/ a girly).

Con:

Sex life. Bottom line: if I live at home I won't get laid. Obviously I can't bring girls home. Not ever. So, of course, why not just "stay at her place"? My parents know when I don't come home and I god damn know for a fact that when i do get home they are gonna want to know where I've been. This is a conversation I am not having. I don't want to lie to them and I don't want them thinking I'm some womanizing male slut.

Social life. At no fault of my parents, I just don't feel totally comfortable having friends come to my parent's house. Back in the day when I had my own space I loved having people over - I loved being a host and I loved taking care of my guest. It been a long time since that has happened and I miss it.

Undecided:

Boston. I really do love it here. Do I want to be here forever? Most likely. I want to be close to my sister, mom and dad. I think what I need is a proverbial "bachelor's party" before settling down. I'm pretty sure that a little time away will "make my heart grow fonder". But what if I actually like it more somewhere else? All for the better right? Or an experiment gone terribly wrong.. There is more to this but lets save it for another time...

Profession. This really was my first year in the profession of "computer programmer". Do I want it to become my career? I think so. I like how challenging it is and how it requires continuous learning and growth. I want job security (but I'm wary of working for a defense contractor or anyone else I deem morally ambiguous) and I want a competitive rate for my work. I'd love to get in the video game or film industry (just cuz it seems sexy and fun) but I don't want "burn out" stress. Anyway, in terms of living at home, I shouldn't have trouble finding work that is a reasonable commuting distance from my parents house.

Feeling Shitty

I always get this seasonal shitty-ness. Things get warm and then things get cold and it goes back and forth and so on - typical Boston bullshit. I'm kinda in that tricky space of "too sick to do shit" yet "not too sick to try to do shit" that becomes very frustrating. I go out thinking I'm gonna have a good time and when I get there I end up feeling crappy and wanting to go home. Anyw ay, otherwise life is good. Had a rough time last week re-adjusting from my DC trip but I just chalk it up to the natural ebb and flow of life. Some weeks you get shit done some weeks you don't. I'm getting close to the point where I need to begin to asses what I want to do next year. I'm not totally sure of it but (assuming the project finishes on time and properly) I probably will get an offer from Children's Hospital to return for another one year stint. Regardless, I still need to consider what I want to be doing next year, where I want to do it and how much I want to do it for. But thats a list for another time.... Anyway right now I'm sitting in the upstairs lobby of the Somerville Theater at The Books show waiting for the opening act to finish. From out here it sounds like this "musician" is panning in and out one long monotonous note. Its creating a sort of "sound wall" that keeps bashing against my head (resulting in a slight headache and nausea). I know the Books are gonna be doing some video art with their music but at this rate I might just stay out here.

GTTH Story #4

Success begets success while failure is infinite and bottomless. ..

A young man attending a prestigious college has everything one could want. A beautiful girlfriend, a perfect body, and a 4.0 gpa. He sees where he is headed: a life of financial success and accomplishment. A carbon copy of the people who brought him into this world. But he wonders "Am I 'missing out'?. What would it be to be someone else, anyone else? Isn't life intended to have strife and struggle? Whats the point if there is nothing to overcome?"

So our young protagonist decides to take fate into his own hands. In quick succession he destroys his body (knocking out his own teeth and becoming obese), tanks his classes (drops out of college), and disconnects from his family. His girlfriend leaves him. Time passes. He has hit rock bottom and forgotten how he had intentionally sabotaged himself. Nevertheless he finds a spark. Something from his former life - the will to succeed. Unfortunately his failure has no bottom but rather created a ceiling and our protagonist's plight is now the vicious circle of failure.

GTTH Story #3

An ER doctor at a children's hospital is miserable. He has seen things no man should see. He is on the brink of total exhaustion and decides he needs a break. He travels the world but everywhere he goes he sees the same thing: sick and dying children. He goes home realizing there is no real escape. A once brilliant young doctor becomes a drunk unable to accept the harsh realities of our modern world - "everywhere we go there is inescapable misery". The doctor settles into menial work in a rustic town mostly to support his drinking. He meets a woman at his bar. She is new to town but also seems to be trying to escape her past. The doctor likes this woman but the idea of a relationship seems only to lead to the inevitable status quo: picket fences, marriage and kids. He can't deal with her emotionally. ("Sure we'll get married and it will beautiful. We will share our love with each other. We will share our over-flowing love with the children we bring into this world. But nothing lasts and there is no equity. Good people don't win and innocence is an illusion.")

GTTH Story #2

A man is ascending to heaven - as we see him riding an escalator into the clouds a figure appears. The figure says "As you know you are going to heaven. What you don't know is that you have a choice. You can go to heaven now and remain there for eternity or you can do a mission for god and perhaps one day join him at an even higher, more transcendental place. If you do this mission that we are asking of you, you will be sent back to earth as your former self. You will begin your life again but you will retain all that you have already learned. This in itself is a gift. In return we ask that you take upon a mission for us. We can't tell you now but you will know when it has been asked. If you succeed you will join God."

The man accepts the proposal and he begins life again. He grows to become a young man in his early 20's and is very much a normal person but someone with "wisdom beyond his years". He notices that things (culturally, historically, socially) are mostly the same from his "first life" but there are some strange little discrepancies that nag at him. People are mostly the same as before but most have different names. He discovers that he has been given a new ability - he can draw beautiful pictures but all of them depict either heaven or hell.

And while his second life is fairly similar to his first life the protagonist does experience a few novel things. Particularly he meets a woman. She is someone he didn't know from his past life and he is convinced that she is god's messenger (and that he has met her because of all his divine knowledge and proper decision making) He thinks she is the conduit for the mission he had been told of. But the woman is not a messenger from god - she was sent by the devil. She easily seduces the protagonist and over time he forgets his mission. Time passes. The protagonist now has forgotten his mission and his divine gift (knowledge of his past life). Totally engulfed in the love of the temptress he leads life like a waking dream. The protagonist continues to draw pictures although he must do so in private as she won't allow it. When he looks at his private collection of drawings something gnaws at him.

GTTH Story #1

Suburban Sleuthing. A post-college slacker (early 20's) living back at home with the rents with a penchant for getting high (pot) in his bedroom. He has a routine of walking around his peaceful suburban enclave (while high or drunk) and looking into neighbors windows. He starts creating imaginative plot-lines to connect what he sees going on. Very slowly he begins to realize that things are not what they seem and the people he is snooping on know he is watching and may in fact be trying to warn him about possible danger. One night while snooping on a neighbors house and seeing some bizarre behavior, a young woman (whom the protagonist knew and crushed on in high school) comes running out of the house, past him, and down the street. He follows her. But before he can catch up to her the police suddenly arrive and bring him home to his parents and inform them of his "snooping habit". While more or less on house arrest the protagonist passes time by smoking pot and looking out his window. One such night a car comes howling down the street and drives onto the neighbors front yard tearing up the grass and shrubs. The same young woman emerges from the car and starts pounding on the front door. Quickly the door opens and she is let inside. The protagonist takes a hit and passes out. He wakes up the next morning and all is calm with no trace of what transpired last night.

"Gun to the head" creative writing

I want to get more in touch with my creative writing muse so I think a little exercise is in order. I will call it "Gun-to-the-Head Creative writing"". Here's how it works: a stranger approaches and puts a gun to your temple. He says "Tell me a story - and make it good". Hence the exercise. Lets also assume that our assailent is fairly literate and would call me out on any derivative or plagiarised material.

Good Times

Just got back from DC last night and I had a great time! Here are some of the highlights in no particular order: guitar hero 2, Grindhouse, the lounge at the Ritz Carlton, VIP table with champagne and raspberries, meeting Joe's sister Adina, the Woodland Park Zoo, and quality "non-stabby" Mexican food.

DC!

Yeah baby! The nation's capital! I'm going to DC. This is my first real vacation since I started my job and I'm psyched. Granted I went skiing a couple times during the winter but this my first real trip since last summer when I went to a wedding in Syracuse. (Don't go to Syracuse unless you have to.) Anyway, this weekend is the big "Cherry Blossom" event in DC and I have no idea what that actually means but I bet there will be a bunch of tourists doing the tourist thing. I don't really care what we end up doin - all I want to do is eat some good food and have fun.

Fantasy Baseball

I just joined a fantasy baseball league with Aloma, Alex and Divakar (and a few other guys I don't know). It's only the first day and I've already found it to be a welcome distraction at work (becuase I really do need a distraction once in a while). Anyway, as a newbie I've already learned some lessons and got slightly screwed by my inexperience. We did an auto-draft and since I didn't properly manage my pre-draft list I used two fairly high drafts picks to select two different players both on the DL and out for the remainder of the season. Ouch. Anyway, I've got a couple trades in the works and there are a few decent guys on the waiver so my teams certainly on the way up!