today was annoying

but the weekend was sweet. anyone do anything cool?

my golf game sucks. i'm now just bad at golf. i'll be lucky to get back to where i was 2 years ago, but of course the ultimate goal is to improve. i had a pretty bad round yesterday, but on the bright side i hit 2 of the best drives of my life with my new driver. so maybe i'm getting there.

last call

dominique and i have lived in the city for almost a year now. personally, i'd say it's been about 11 months too long. that's not entirely fair, because there was definitely a period of time during which it was novel and interesting. but eventually the realization that living in a city meant living amongst a lot of other people kicked in. and it stuck.

despite living in the "good" part of the city (i think "best" is more accurate since it's a much more relative term), it's getting a bit out of hand. ignoring the often shitty neighbors, the lack of privacy, the parking issues, and the more expensive rent, there are still a lot of problems. a perfect example is last august when our bikes were stolen out of our garage. now i accept some responsibility for that because we forgot to lock them up before leaving town for the weekend. however, i also feel that ideally you shouldn't have to lock up your bikes, even if you live in a city. ideally. but that's why idealists are stupid.

but last night was the last straw. one of our neighbors who lives upstairs from us had her car broken into last night. in our driveway. her car was parked right behind mine, and 2 out from dominique's car. the person broke the passenger side window to get in. unfortunately for the poor planning piece of shit, there wasn't anything enticing in the car, so it was all for nothing. when the neighbor discovered this, she was hysterical (and who would blame her?). she reported it to the police this morning, and was told that 3 other cars on our street were also broken into last night.

the (not really) worst part is that i think i may have heard it last night. as we were going to bed i heard what i would describe as a tapping sound outside. but it had been raining a little and i thought it could've been water running out and dripping on something. i got up twice and looked out a couple of our windows. except for the darkness, i might've even looked at the person (or people) out the kitchen window. i even contemplated going outside to see if i could locate the sound. who knows whether that would've been a good or bad thing.

i was before, but now i'm really happy we're moving in a month or so. but this still really pisses me off. it'll probably make me somewhat neurotic every time i hear a sound outside. do i have to go back to the pennsylvania days of sleeping with my spare 2-iron next to my bed? (there were reports by my neighbors that someone had tried to get into my apartment one summer.) maybe, i don't know. would it do any good? maybe, or probably not. either way, i'm really fucking pissed off that i'd even have to consider it.

tonight dominique and i went out to dinner. when we got back, a house at the end of the street was having a party. there was a live band outside, it was nice. we took the dogs and grabbed some chairs and hung out outside because it was warm. we grabbed a few beers and some cigars. while just trying to have a nice evening, we saw numerous, numerous sketch-as-all-fucking-shit cars pass by down our road several times. what the fuck? we can't even sit outside our own fucking apartment and enjoy the night without being totally sketched the fuck out. i can guarantee you that there is nothing in our neighborhood that would warrant doing laps like this.

the city is extremely frustrating. i hate that it is impossible to mind my own fucking business and not bother anyone but yet not feel safe in and around my own fucking house.

fuck this bullshit, fuck the city, and most of all, fuck people.

unsettling in

lately i've been experiencing something interesting. normally, the better i get at something, the less frustrated i am with it. but my job is going somewhat differently.

overall, i still like my job. i really like the people i work with, and the work atmosphere is great. i'm finally settling in to the position and into an area with which i was completely unfamiliar prior to this job. each day is different, and i'm required to use my brain as opposed to being some mindless drone performing useless busywork.

that said, some days are more frustrating now. i do my work better, i know more, and i'm much more self-sufficient than in the past. i'm not bored during the day, and i always have plenty to do.

i think the problem is that my job requires a lot of daily interaction with customers and non-coworkers. as i was still learning, i probably just didn't notice the ignorance or stupidity around me as much because i had to focus on what i was doing and what needed to be done. but now that i'm better at my job and i'm more familiar with the necessary processes, i am better able to focus on the other people with whom i deal. in one respect that's probably a good thing, because it probably improves the quality and efficiency of my work. but on a personal level i'm beginning to find it bothersome.

it's just amazing how stupid many people are, or how little they care. how self-centered they are, and how they think they deserve everything after doing nothing. how they're just rude in general.

i like my job, and i like the people with whom i work. but sometimes i question the choice to work in such a public-oriented position.

i'm back baby!

no, i didn't get my computer fixed (or a new computer). but i did have a good weekend.

friday i went to the casino with a buddy from work. it was the first time in a few months and it was pretty sweet. he finished about even and i finished up a decent amount at poker. my friend brought some pretty good cigars so after we were done in the poker room we walked around the casino with those. on the way out, we figured what the hell we had a good night let's play a spin or 2 of roulette. so i put 20 down and hit and ran. the good old birthday paid off to the tune of $175. good for something.

saturday dominique and i finally found a new apartment. it's ours if we want it so i think we'll be heading in july 1. it's a 2 floor townhouse in a complex of the same. nobody above or below us. minimal interaction with neighbors unless we want to interact with them. unlimited parking. a grassy area in the back and a park up the hill. nice.

then at night we went to a bonfire with some friends and a couple beers. good times.

today i called my mother and then we went up to visit dominique's mom and we made a nice salmon dish with grilled garlic corn on the cob. i even got to see the end of the player's championship.

i don't really want to go back to work tomorrow (who ever does), but at least it's after a good weekend.

ugh

it's been an interesting week.

we're going to a wedding in june in san francisco. we just got the official invitation with the confirmed dates a couple weeks ago. right now the cheapest tickets we can find there are like $500 each.

the other day at my job i talked to a 26 year old. during the conversation she mentioned to me that she couldn't get a rental car because the company required a deposit and she didn't have a credit card or cash to put down. there was a possibility to waive the deposit, but she didn't have 2 utility bills in her name to prove residence and she didn't have a recent pay stub because, oh right, she doesnt have a job and is on welfare. oh and has a kid (who is probably really well provided for). what the fuck. 26 and no job on welfare? listen, i know its not at the top of anyone's list, but get a fucking job at mcdonalds or something. the fact that i work 40hrs a week and only net 66% of my "earnings" part of which goes to stupid bitches who get knocked up and dont do shit kind of pisses me off. honestly, there are some jobs that will take anyone. it's not always glorious, but take some fucking responsibility for yourself. i can see if someone is older or is unable to work for some reason, but this was just someone who was irresponsible.

and it wouldn't be a good ranting post if i didn't mention how much dell fucking sucks. it was probably a long time coming now, but my computer is all fucked up again. it wont turn on. it kind of does, but the screen doesnt show up. it sometimes flashes my desktop for a split second and then the screen goes black. it just started happening yesterday, and today it's just a useless pile of shit taking up space. hopefully i can get all the shit i have on there off. i think the hard drive should be ok but who the fuck knows, it is a dell. and who knows when i'll replace it. not really on top of my to do list lately. especially for the cost of new computers. maybe i wont get one. all i do on my computer is fuck around online.

i've just sat here for 5 mins and literally cant think of a way to wrap this up. so i'm just finished for now.