Wednesday #19

April Fool's Day.
A personal favorite of mine. I'm such a prankster that almost everyone gets paranoid (or more so) around me this day.
But fear not. My "new thing" today is to not tease, prank, or joke anyone. Nope. I'm gonna be normal. Quite a challenge, I assure you.





P.S.- This will be my last "Wednesday" flavored blog. I think they've run their course.

P.P.S.- No P.P.S..

Wednesday #18

Not much "new" happened today. Still busy with the move.

I did experience a whirly-gig of emotions though.
Got up- everything was dandy. Ran some stuff over to the new place. Then I decided to go to the Unemployment Center. See, the Post Office f'ed up (imagine that) and started forwarding my mail 10 days early then stopped when they realized they messed up. This meant that everything in the 3 days that they stated to forward went to a different Post Office and would be returned at some point. My unemployment check was amongst those.
As I said, I went to the Unemployment Center downtown. They told me that I had to go to 50th & Broadway and they would help me there. I did, and the "help" consisted of a bank of telephones to use for free to dial the Unemployment toll-free number. Not direct lines, mind you....
195 calls I made before getting placed in queue. I counted- 195. 12 minutes later an actual person came on the line. When I explained what my issue was, they said they had to transfer me. Another 12 minutes on hold. This next woman put me on hold 3 times before she hung up on me.
I tried 3 more time (GRAND TOTAL- 198 calls) before I made a scene (not going into it) and was given a live person. After 14 minutes, this person said there was nothing they could do today and I would have to call again tomorrow.
I was furious. Boiling rage was bubbling in my head. One more annoyance and I would have destroyed someone.

I went home and guess what? The missing check had finally arrived- along with everything else! I rushed to the bank and deposited it.
What relief! I could pay my rent (which was now 3 days late)! This was the first time EVER I have been late on any bill. E-V-E-R. I pride myself on always being on time.

Later on, my best friend from college called. Always a pleasure to hear from.

Even later, I spent several minutes getting a large toad out from under my car in my garage. I didn't want to squish it in the morning when I backed out.

Then, only moments ago, I checked my bank account online to find out my CA refund had finally dropped in. All this AAARRRGGGHHH today over money and now I actually have some.
Figures :)

Wednesday #17

Didn't do anything except pack and move stuff.
Oh, the excitement!

HEY!! I jumped out of a plane last week! You can't expect me to entertain you all the time, people!




Also- I recently changed this blog's title to "A Wasted Miracle" to differenciate myself from this other site entitled "Wasted Miracle".
Mine was first- NAH!

Wednesday #16 REDUX

PLAY ME!

Wednesday #16

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SPLAT!





Kidding.

Barring the slight nausea I feel, it was great!! The rest of the first-time jumpers consisted of not-quite-21yo's, but we were joking around the whole time. The only really freaky moment was when we first jumped out 'cause we were spinning so all I saw was sky-ground-sky-ground. Much of the video (which I'll post soon) explains any other... oddities about the experience.


A personal amusement for me is how excited my mother was about the whole thing (I told her after the jump). Didn't figure on her being so "wow" about it. Go fig.

Wednesday #15

My "new thing" this week was very simple: I hosted a Birthday party for a friend.
It really wasn't much- all I had to do was clean my place a bit and supply the drinks & snacks. Oh, and I blew up some balloons. Unfortunately, I couldn't get hold of anyone who knew her age in time to purchase ones with the correct number so (according to the balloons) she turned 1.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!

Wednesday #11 REDUX

Finally got a couple of the pics from the SF trip. Not all the ones I wanted, but....

Wednesday #14 & 16

Yep, this one's is taking up 2 nonconsecutive Wednesdays. I made the arrangements yesterday and (weather permitting) will complete the task on March the 11th.

In just under 2 weeks, I'm gonna try and kill myself by throwing myself outta plane.
That's right, boys 'n girls (and really, really slow persons)-

SKYDIVING!!!

This task is a particular interest to me as I'm not especially great with heights and thus (in my twisted mindset) have always wanted to try it.
I'm going to pay the extra and get either videos footage or pictures, which I'll post.


Any takers (besides myself) that I'll be high-pitched screaming the entire way down?

Wednesday #13

Today was like any other day, only less so.
I've been ignoring things lately. Almost every thing I possibly can. My diet borders on ridiculous, almost to the point that I go out with friends just to force myself to eat with them. My household chores go undone. My playtime with Fred is at a minimum (in my defense- the weather has been very unpleasant). My personal grooming... well, look back to my statement concerning food & going out with friends and you'll get the idea.
I have become completed unmotivated. No job, unemployment is running out, old people I like keep dieing, and frankly- my new "people friendly" persona is weighing on me (ever try to brood with a smile on your face?). Even drinking is no longer effective- as a motivator or a pain-killer.

But I did do something today: I made a decision to move. I've spent a lot of time, effort, and money making this place my home, more than any other, but I can't manage it much longer.
However the decision isn't complete. I still need to figure out where to go. At this time, I have 3 choices and all of them seem like... crushing defeats compared to my current home. With all of them, I lose room, independence, and certain freedoms.
Aside from the simple and very real ache of losing this house, there's also breaking my promise to myself that I would never again live with someone who wasn't "The One". Apart from being late, breaking my word (even to myself) is what I loathe the most. Sadly, my choices are too limited to afford living alone.
And the urge to stay in this city is both lessening due to 2 friends moving away and strengthening due to a growing connection. Relocating to either 1 of the other 2 choices means a different state and relatives (can't you almost hear the sound of canned Halloween screams in the background?).


So I have 10 days to decide my fate. Well- my housing fate. :)

Wednesday #12

This day sucked donkey ass by 9:45am.
The pain meds for my hand caused me to fail a drug test for a job, so I had to go to Kinko's and fax a buncha paperwork- which cost $9.03.
$9.03....
For faxes....
Then I had a phone interview which was just... bad.

I have scheduled myself to drink myself ignorant and watch sci-fi and cartoons for the remainder of the day.

Enjoy!

Wednesday #11

Yesterday was my friend Powder's Bday. As a treat for her, a bunch of us pooled together and took a roadtrip to San Francisco for the day.
Despite living so close for almost 7 years, I've never spent much time in SF. I've been to Berkeley and Oakland plenty of times, but never The City proper.

The trip there was filled with laughter, even when my carne asada beef jerky caused the others to complain their eyes were stinging.
First we went to the beach and had a picnic, frolicked in the surf, fed the gulls, and collected stones and shells. Then we went to a park which I remembered from a scene from The Rock. All the time we were taking loads of goofy pictures, including (at the park) where we pretended to be squirrels dashing from one tree to another. If I get some of them, I'll post 'em on the blog. Finally we went to Pier 39, did some shopping, rode the carousal, and ate.
The way back was fairly quiet, especially for me with my pain meds knocking me out.

All in all, a most enjoyable day. Makes me want to take another trip there and see more sites.

Wednesday #10

I thought I'd actually try one of the new things on my original "Wednesday" writing: learn to play the ukulele.
First thing to overcome- where the hell d'ya buy a ukulele in this city? Most smaller music stores only have the larger instruments. Fortunately, Guitar City had one. Literally- one.
Then I had to go online and find some kind of "how-to" for ukuleles. And also, music. Again- not an easy as it may sound. I lucked into what I needed after some searching.
Finally came tuning the ukulele. I took it out of the box only to discover the "strings" are plastic and on out of the correct order.
So now I have to find better ukulele strings.

*sigh*
Some days, nothing is easy....

Wednesday #9

OK, 2 things:
1) this didn't fall on a Wednesday, and
2) I'm using this to cover last Wednesday and today.

Saturday and Sunday, I hosted a yard sale. "Hosted" because I was the one who started the idea and I also had the only yard. My friends Powder and Lemon Drop also sold items there.
While not new, a yard sale is something I haven't done in a long, long time. In fact, the last (and only) yard sale I was involved in was when we moved from Wisconsin to Texas. I was 6, and my sister and I were in charge of making the signs. When I showed my dad the sign I had made, he pointed out there is no "b" in the word but "garbage sale" was probably more accurate.

We had a pretty good number of customers Saturday- one lady came back 4 times and bought more items on each trip. Sunday was very slow, with more people looking than buying. Overall, we each made some extra $$ and got rid of stuff we didn't really want/need. Although I found it funny that each one of us bought stuff from the others.
For myself, the best part was sitting around and chatting with my friends. On Sunday, I bought pizza and we sat there having a belching contest (still WINNER!).

Wednesday #8

Damn, this is embarrassing but I forgot it was Wednesday. No job for 3 months and suddenly the calendar has no meaning....


But to make it up- here's a damn cute picture of a puppy:

Wednesday #7

OK, my task (if you recall) was to get along with all my relatives during our family reunion in Arizona. Overall, I did well- I was genial, funny, and accommodating. But I am sad to admit that I failed.

The real snag came from my crazy, crazy-rich aunt. Within 4 hours of my arrival, she took me aside and asked if I wanted to give my mother the best present ever. My only reply was a raised eyebrow. She then proceeded to tell me I should shave off my facial hair and keep it off as the gift.
Without saying a word, I turned around, walked off, and did not talk to her for 3 days.

I am reminded of the saying that you should choose your friends with care because you have no choice in your relatives.

Wednesday #6

OK, I can't actually say I did anything new today.
I had a lot of little things to do: errands and tasks and chores- OH MY! All were time/date sensitive. Basically, I was too busy to get anything new done.

But as for this week- yeah, it was something new. I spent virtually all my time since Sunday in my PJs, bumming around the house. I had little to do, the weather's sucked, and I'm depressed. The lack of money/job, and general loneliness are weighing down on me. Plus I figured the "me time" was good as next week will be the opposite: I'm off to Phoenix for a family reunion of sorts.

I love my family- from a distance. They're good people, they love me, and mean well. But some of them tend to really strain my nerves. The last time I went there was for 3 days and with 1/3 of number of relatives. I literally did not have any liquids that did not contain alcohol. This time, I'm there for almost a week. And I'm not certain my liver can take it.

So my "new thing" for next Wednesday is to be social, not get overly stressed, and be genial to my family.
But just in case- I'm bringing lots of thick books, extra batteries for my mp3, and my best pair of hiking boots.

Wednesday #5

I don't get it.
What is the fascination with indoor rock climbing? Is it some sad attempt to control every aspect of "the adventure"?

I've been rock climbing. REAL rock climbing. Outdoors- where you have to compete with the weather, wind, wildlife, and a vertical arena that follows no pattern and does not guarantee you safe handholds. All these aspects which make it worthwhile are removed when indoors. Hell- it's even required you wear safety gear. It's quite rare you have access to overhead safety ropes when outdoors.
To see some of these people at the rocknysium or whatever they're called- you'd think they just single-handedly climbed Everest when in fact, they were never 100 yards away from a toilet and vending machine.

Where is the challenge?

OK, fine. Obviously not everyone has the time to drive somewhere they scale an actual cliff. And yeah- it's good practice and excellent exercise. Barring my right knee and left shoulder (which I seem to have spent a great deal of my life destroying), I feel great- like I did 2 workouts at once.

But for me, the sense of accomplishment is missing. I was not able to conquor the elements, to stand atop a precipise and see the landscape below me.
It was an empty victory.

Wednesday #4

Wednesday #4 was cancelled due to helping someone move today.

But for the hell of it, let's say I tried something new anyways. Um... uh... masturbating with day-old cupcakes or something marginally insane like that. Yeah- that sounds reasonable in reference to me. Yeah.

Wednesday #3

Pretty boring this one, but necessary. I partly chose it due to Thanksgiving and the increasingly poor weather.
All I did was some home repair, although it was a bit more in-depth than normal. Typically my highest extent involves painting or something with a hammer- hence how this was somewhat "new" for me....
I fixed both toilets: one had that annoying "drip-drip" noise and only needed some fiddling with the ballcock (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!). The other was constantly running and I needed to completely redo the workings in the tank area. I had zero idea what I was doing (Example 'A'- forgetting to turn off the water to the toilet before I took it apart) but whatever I did- worked.
I also had to take the iron frame off my backdoor (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!) and reset it. The frame had somehow shifted over time and the door wasn't locking anymore. Well, it would lock but as the locks weren't in line with the bolt holes, the door could simply be pushed open. Overall this wasn't too difficult except trying to hold the frame in place and re-attach it at the same time. Took a bit.


I know there are those of you going: "What the hell? Where's the fun? Where's the excitement? Where's the accident we're so desperately awaiting from 'Mr Safety' here?". I did have an "oops" afterwards while boning some pork butt (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!!) for tomorrow's feast. Ended up with a 3-inch slice along my right forearm.
It's a beauty too- curved, skin only, with a nice raised part. It's a pity my comic book-like healing will clear it before December begins.

You always hear not to "drink and drive", but what about "drink and bone"?

Wednesday #2

I had to keep today’s activity something I could start and stop and start again as I had appointments.

I drove downtown yesterday and checked out an art shop. Wandering around the aisles, I decided on sketching- cheap, faster than say- sculpting, and less messy. I purchased a sketch pad (80lb stock), a good eraser, and some pencils & graphite sticks.

So after I returned home from my first appointment this morning, I began.
Or tried to.
I sat there for hours completely blank on anything to draw. Nothing visualized. I ended up wasting several pages on scribbles. I even tried “patterns”- where I close my eyes, randomly drag my pencil on the paper for a minute, and then see if I can find a face within the lines. That’s hit or miss. Frequently I only end up with swirls.
There is one thing, one memory, I thought about trying to sketch but I soon realized that any attempt to capture such a perfect moment would forever stain it.
So I sat there making swirls on 80lb stock.

Kinda disappointing to discover my muse is MIA.