Side Of A House Works Just As Well

Week two showed a little more progress in terms of getting out and about.  For example, today I went to a new Church.  Unfortunately, like last time, the tabernacle was no where in sight.  And while there was an extremely attractive girl whom I saw as I was leaving, she was with younger people which made it difficult for me to determine her age.  That's a really difficult problem when it comes to trying to meet people.  Like I may see a person, guy or girl, and want to strike up a conversation and later find out I'm talking to an 18 year old.  Now there's nothing wrong with that at all, just talking to people, but it puts a major block on just asking people out.  Like I cannot just go up to a random person at a grocery store, and ask a girl out only to find she is really young and just picking something up for her parents.  That would just be terrible and I would probably have to go to the hospital when my body stops functioning.  So the trick in that situation is to be a bit of a creep and try to make sure that the lady is older.  Like maybe she has an alcoholic product in her buggie.  Or something like that.  Anyway, these are just some things to think about if you're going to just go and try approaching random people on the street or at Church.  Oh well, next week I'll try yet another Church in my quest to find one with a tabernacle where I can see it.  For all my non-Catholic readers who do not know what I'm talking about, I would be perfectly fine with this tabernacle:

Speaking of images, this is the first one I've uploaded since the new blogger design and it's so much better than before.  Before I had to hand edit a bunch of html code in order to get them where I wanted.

Anyway back on topic.  Today I also went to a tennis center to inquire about their clinics.  On the way there I passed by a driveway that had a brick fence and immaculate landscaping, which snaked through some woods off to some mansion I imagined.  I started thinking this tennis center must be nice if hidden mansions are in the neighborhood.  Then I realized I missed my turnoff.  That driveway was the entrance to the tennis center.  This "tennis center" was actually more like some sort of sport center resort.  It had everything from a heated outdoor pool, to those types of classy locker rooms that scream English refinement.  So in short the place was very nice.  But I just wanted to play some tennis and when I got a view of the required membership fees I decided this was not the place for me.  And for more than just the money.  See I am allowed to participate in a discrete amount of tennis clinics as a non-member.  And the thing about the clinics is you have to call ahead of time and register because if not enough people sign up then they don't hold the clinic.  Yesterday I called and asked to be in this morning's clinic.  And just 8:00 this morning I got a call saying not enough people had signed up so the clinic was canceled.  Now if I were a paying member and I heard this I would be really upset.  I don't want to pay $100 a month, on top of the cost of participating in the clinic which is $21, just to find out the one thing I want to do is canceled.  So I asked the clubs representative who was showing me around if this sort of thing is typical.  She said in the summer time a lot of people are on vacation and that the tennis program experiences a lull in signups.  But in August it picks back up.  That was not what I wanted to hear.  Because in August school starts up.  So if tennis picks up it's because the types of people who are playing it are families.  I don't want to meet families.  So this palace of sports is a no-go.  But there may be others that offer clinics.  Not that I've found any yet, but maybe something will turn up.

Then the other day I got an e-mail from a dating site saying I'd get a discount if I signed up that day.  Well I've done this before and had absolutely no good things to report about it at all.  None.  But I decided to sign up anyway for the 3 month period for the price of a new video game.  Sigh.  So far I've written 6 women.  Two have read my e-mail, and of those one actually looked at my profile after reading it.  I kind of was excited about her too, she reminded me a bit of number 13 from House.  I've also had one wink from an Agnostic 25 year old whose 'for fun' section includes " judo chopping people when I'm drunk."  Positively she is a social worker who specializes in child abuse, so that's good, but I'm going just be flattered by the wink and keep looking.

Japanese for Good Morning

For a week and a day now, I've been living under a new roof, and there has been a flurry of activity.  There are just so many things to do, and most of it involves unpacking.  Things are different here, but not all are for the worse.  For example, I seem to be in the ice-cream capital of the world.  All of my favorite brands are back, with more flavors and sizes.

As far as social activites go, I'm still scoping the area out.  Tonight, I may be playing tennis.  It looks like a fun event, however it is expensive.  About 7 dollars more than I'm used to for one hour less time.  Okay maybe 7 dollars isn't that much, but week after week it adds up.  Plus there are more than one tennis event per week that look interesting.  Church this Saturday past had a Priest that gave a borderline perfect homily but a strike out on single folks in general.  But I don't know how much more I'll be going back because the sanctuary (that's the place where the Priest walks around) had no tabernacle.  In fact it was no where in sight.  It was in a separate room in it's own special Chapel.  That got me mad, because I felt like I walking into an empty house, and I had no idea where to genuflect and all those little things that are based on Jesus being actually in the room.  And any Church that decided to put Him in His own little room off to the side is circumspect in my eyes regardless of how nice the homily was.  We don't put Baby in a corner.  But anyway, rant aside, there is a university Church somewhat nearby to try.

There's two more things worth mentioning.  Yesterday in the parking lot I ran into a co-worker who has been at this office for about three years, and used to sit in the same office I just moved from.  We hadn't seen each other yet (this new building is large), and stopped to chat.  She said she is moving back to where I just came from and is going to work from home.  After three years she hasn't made any real good group of friends and has found it really difficult to find social activities where she could meet people.  And she is tired of going out by herself all the time.  Well that didn't instill a great deal of hope in me.  But I guess it's good to know what I've gotten myself into, and makes it all the more necessary for me to stick my hand out and say "hi".

The second thing is that despite that letdown I still have plans to meet people.  In particular, I have a few old friends who live nearby.  No, I couldn't be so fortunate as to have people I like living in the same city as me, that would be too much, but, unlike my old residence, now my nearest friends are only an hour to an hour and a half away, rather than two and a half to three hours.  And I've been contacting them one-by-one.  One person I contacted is one of those friends that became my friend after we cooked a little.  Like we weren't besties in high school and certainly not elementary school, but we seemed to click at the reunions since high school graduation, as though it was a maturity thing.  So anyway, she is married but she is a friend and in a way this works better because by not being single we can just be friends and not worry about all those emotional things that come when two people are single and looking.  But while I do actually like her company, there is a benefit.  She happens to have connections.  It turns out she is way up in a particular chain of stores that can be found at most malls that sell ladies under clothing.  I could name the place, but I don't like how companies find me (look at the keyword in the link).  So maybe she happens to know some single ladies that would be just right for me.

Sarge's Day

Yesterday was memorial day.  And today we remember Sarge's Day.  Everyone say happy birthday Sarge!

A few weekends ago I went to Kansas to visit my favorite people, a few old friends from my undergraduate days, the Italian nuns.  Only one knew I was actually coming.  The way it worked is that they were hosting a weekend long celebration (when they party they tend to go all out), and I thought then would be as good a time as any to visit.  Since graduation, I've only seen two of them, and haven't really spoken to any of them.  Which I realize is rather lame considering that I just said these are my favorite people, but it was still a big deal for me to go see them.  Like I have dreams about seeing them.  In my undergraduate years, I was friends with the lot of them, but I also met one-on-one for spiritual direction with their mother superior.

So I showed up in Kansas, about an hour late, and merged into the large group of people unbeknownst to them.  Eventually I went up to Sr. Susan (the only non-Italian at the time), my old director, and said hi and gave her a big hug.  Having her hands full and rushing off to the next stage of the party, she didn't know who I was at first, and just said hi, thanks for the hug.  But then she recognized me and basically erupted with joy.  She then pulled me into a room full of strangers and said, "everyone this is my friend I haven't seen in 8 years."  Then she looked at me and simply said "share".  So I had to talk in front of a room of strangers what I had been up to the past 8 years.  It was a bit embarrassing, and I rambled a lot, but Sr. Susan had a hard time putting sentences together at first, so I think all in all it went okay  A little later I went and said hi to Sr. Clara, who I taught English to when she came to America many years ago.  She is a little more animated than Sr. Susan, and she too didn't recognize me at first.  But when she did, if Sr. Susan erupted, she exploded.

On Saturday, they invited me over to dinner at their place with the other nuns and the girls who are thinking about joining.  I can't get anyone to respond to me on the dating sites, but I can get dinner with 9 unavailable girls no problem.  Before dinner we had to get their house ready for the final party on Sunday, and I was asked to help with some yard work.  I started whistling that tune to Lilies of the Field, and they started singing.  But only Sr. Susan, the American, got the joke.  The others knew the song, but hadn't seen the movie.  Sr. Susan was displeased by this, so hopefully she'll lay down the law and force them to watch it.  Anyway, once I finished what I had to do, I noticed they had a lot of wild onions growing in their flower garden, and I set to picking them.  During this time, Sr. Clara walked by.  Think of a young women, maybe late 30s early 40s, whose short with dark hair, and speaks very good but Italian-accented English.

Sr. Clara you've got too many weeds growing in your flower garden.

Really?

Yes, you see these?  These are weeds.  They are called wild onions.

No, these aren't weeds.  They are food.

No, sister you don't want to eat these, these are no good.

No, you see the bottom, that's the onion.

Yes, but you don't eat that.

No?

No, they are weeds, these aren't onions to eat.

Oh, but they have a pretty blue flower.

No, no, they aren't flowers either.  They're weeds.

But the flower is pretty.

Sister dandelions have pretty yellow flowers but they are weeds.

Haha, that is true!  But, mmmm (smelling sound), they smell good.

Sister, they do not smell good!

No, look here at the bottom, they smell.

Yes, they smell, but they are not good smelling.  These are weeds, you're supposed to pick these.

Oh, I see.  Okay, I'll help you pick them.

Okay good.  Now look here, you see how I removed a bunch of them?

Yes?

Well it looks really good now.  It took a little amount of effort and the result looks really good.

Uh-huh.

Well let's learn some more English.  We say, "I got a bang for my buck."

"Bang for your buck."

No, no.  You want to say, "I got a bang for my buck."

Ah, okay.

Do you understand it?

No.

Think of when you wash a dirty or dusty white surface.  It looks so much better when it's clean.

Uh-huh.

And now think of a brown surface that you wash.  It doesn't look any better.

Ahh, yes, I understand.

Later that night.

Sisters this new house of yours is amazing.  I still can't get over it.

Sr. Lory:  I liked our old house.

Everyone else:  Ahhh! (the place could only charitably be called hovelish)

Sr. Lory:  No really, the only part I didn't like was the kitchen floor tile.  No matter how many times I washed it, it never looked clean.

Sr. Clara:  Yes, you didn't get a good bang for your buck.

Wheeling and Dealing

Jaguars have always grabbed my attention. The cats are awesome, but in this case I mean the cars. There’s something about Xj6/8 models that just scream British class. The outside model looks beautiful and it has that wonderful “leaper” emblem that jumps off the hood. The insides are also stunning, and have a ton of leg room in the back and even picnic tables. The picnic tables are like the trays that are on the seat in front of you in airplanes, except these are too small to be of any use. But it’s still cool to see them there. Another neat feature is that they had only one wiper blade. It was these sorts of subtle details that made the car a standout amongst the others in its class. The others tend to do 1 or 2 of 3 things right. The three being, exterior, interior and engine. And generally only the jaguar gets the exterior right in my book.

I had always wanted one, and a few years ago for fun I decided to look on Craigslist and see if any were for sale. At this point I had no knowledge of Jaguars other than that I thought they looked very nice. I didn’t even know there were multiple models. There are three if you’re curious. And I was looking for fun, because I thought they were going to be very expensive. At the time this was my first time of ever looking to purchase a car. So I had really no idea about prices, and all the other things that go into a purchase.

So I was rather surprised when not only did I find one going for what seemed a very reasonable price but also really close to where I live. The listed price was for something like $8000. When I went to look at the car the sale sign on it said $7000. But I was sold at $8000. The car was beautiful. I had never seen one up close and it was amazing. Then I got to drive it and I was astounded at how wonderful it felt and handled. I had been in other “luxury” cars and they weren’t even close to this experience. To me the car felt like an old man who is confident in his abilities but doesn’t feel a need to show them off. If necessary he will display all his might and muscle, but otherwise he is happy to just remain at peace. The other models I was in were more like teenagers, who have their flavor of the week music always on loud, and want to instantly go from 0 to 100 back to 0 again. They were a jerky mess, with the exterior and sometimes interior stylings associated with the fads of the youth.

Clearly I wanted to purchase the car. But I already had a mini-van. But this was no ordinary mini-van. This was the 1998 Honda Odyssey. That model came out in 95, and it was, in my mind, revolutionary. The van had 4 doors, which in 95 was unheard of. And they opened like car doors, not those sliders that we still find today. It had power windows, not the push out ones found in vans back then. It had a 6-CD changer, and sun roof. Sure it wasn’t masculine but it was still awesome, and it handled great. But it was time to say bye to it. I had put on a ton of miles and it was starting to experience some mechanical problems.

The man who sold me the Jaguar wanted to purchase the van from me as a mother’s day gift for his Mom. He drove it for a short while and made me an offer. The conversation went like this:

Him: What would you like for this van?

Me: I haven’t given it much thought yet, so how about you make me an offer?

$500

No way. This van is worth more than that.

$800.

No, I haven’t gotten a price in mind yet, but that is much too low.

Make me an offer then after you’ve thought about it.

…sometime later …

Okay, I would like $1800 for it.

I will give you $1500.

Okay. I will think on it, tonight and let you know tomorrow.

…after much thought that night…

Hi, I will sell you the car for $2000.

Wait, I thought you had said $1800 yesterday.

Well, I thought about it and decided it really is worth $3000, and I’m going to put it on Craigslist. But to if you save me the hassle of having to deal with all that, I’ll give it to you for $2000.

What about that $1800 price?

No, it’s $2000.

So you won’t sell it to me for $1800?

No. That was the price yesterday. Today is a brand new day. The car is worth $3000, I will sell it to you for $2000. It’s a great deal you should take it.

Okay, I’ll take it.

….

Later that night we both had misgivings. In my blinded by love moment, I quickly learned that this Jaguar was going to cost me in terms of necessary upkeep. And when I called him up to ask about one issue in particular I was seeing, he said he felt hustled by me. Apparently he found out that the transmission was about shot in the van. Well we both played the fool, and were both taken. Still despite all the problems I had with the Jaguar over the years, I would still love to have another. But not this recent bunch. Shame on them. They took that beautiful-classy design and it turned it into another run of the mill looking sport car.

Hopefully From Ill to Oh Much Better

What a wreck. I'm gone for just a little while and I see that the dialogs used to write these posts have completely changed. They were working just fine before and now I have to learn how all of this works. Fortunately the blog itself still looks great. Although sadly one of my links to a wonderful website no longer works because that website no longer exists.

Repetition tends to be the way for me. Sunday after Sunday, bead after bead on the Rosary, and Frosted Mini-wheats Monday through Sunday. Change can be fine, I just like being informed well in advance, in writing and in person, with a demonstration and justification. Unless of course I initiate the change. Then it can be spontaneous. For example, maybe on Wednesday (hey that's today!) I decide to have Frosted Flakes instead of Frosted Mini-wheats. As for when others implement a change that affects (did I get that right, affect vs effect?) me then I want those guidelines followed. For example, in early Feburary I learned that the office I work in will be closing at the end of June. That was a nice 4 month advance notice which was given in person and later in writing. The justification was totally lame, but one was given. And the demonstration is the fiasco currently being played out by the company in the city where I will be moving.

So yes, work gave me the choice, I can relocate or I can find new work. I took the relocation option. There is work available where I currently live but after some thought, moving seemed like the best choice. And so right around July I am heading off to be much closer to home. Just last Wednesday I sold the Jaguar and signed a lease with the new apartment. Leaving where I currently live will likely be the hardest part of the move. Where I live is best described as a country club, and nothing where I will be moving comes close. But I believe I was given a sign from above in finding the new apartment. The complex allows pets, and during my first trip out there, while in the leasing office I looked out the window and saw a Basset Hound being walked. I sort of made a small scene when I saw this. Additionally I will now be able to easily walk to work, and I will be the first tenent in the particular apartment I have selected.

Raphael's Beauty

There was a study done recently by the Washington Post. A very talented violinist who gets $110 a ticket for his performances, played in a New York City subway. The violinist proceeded to play the songs he was going to play later that night at a concert. The songs are supposedly some of the greatest and most challenging violin songs known and the violin he was playing with is worth over 3 million dollars. The study was to see if anyone would stop and listen.

After he finished playing it turns out that no one stopped for more than about half a minute. And the only ones who really appeared intrigued were the children who were dragged away by their parents. He made about $30 from people dropping money to him.

The study supposedly gives us insight into how people perceive beauty. No one seemed to realize the fact that one of the world's greatest violin players, with one of the most beautiful violins in the world, was playing the most beautiful violin songs right in front of them. I suppose a lot of conclusions could be drawn here. But I think too much is being read into this study. First off beauty is really hard to objectively define. It is extremely subjective. However, there do seem to be some universally accepted themes of beauty. Such as a beautiful sunny day with green grass. I doubt many if any people are going to argue that they tend to prefer overcast days with brown grass.

In the case of the violinist I think part of the problem is that more likely than not, most of the passerbys in the subway had no way of appreciating the music. Everyone can appreciate a sunny day. But not everyone is going to appreciate what to them is a random violin song. Instead, maybe only someone who has an ear can see the beauty in the violin music. I myself probably would have been one of those people who just walked on by. Although, I have always loved watching performing musicians on the street so I just might have lingered for a bit.

Anyway, so my point is that unless we've been trained or have experience with the subject, we may not be able to appreciate the greatest beauties the subject can offer. Another example is art. I love art and going to museums. And I think most people can appreciate it to some degree because we've all drawn on paper before. In fact I don't know a child who doesn't love to draw. They want to pick up a crayon or a stick and just go at that paper or mud. They are so eager to create. And when we find ourselves in a boring lecture, we may find ourselves continuing to doodle at a rather advanced age.

Recently I finished a drawing, and I like it and want to share it. Now in order to not sound like a braggart I am also including a picture of the original that I tried to recreate. And it gets back to my original point. Many people may look at the original and say that's amazing. Because like I said, all of us have taken pencil to paper, and we can appreciate the masters. But after trying to actually recreate this drawing, all I can say is that Raphael's practice sketch is my best. You can click on them to make them bigger.

I've hung this up next to the entrance door of my apartment. I tried to make the two look a little happier because it's my way of making my guests feel welcome. Both the young and old are excited they are here.

Here's mine:



And here's Raphael's:



Finally here is Raphael's painting. See if you can find the two. They don't appear quite so welcoming.

Making Snowflakes

It has certainly be awhile since we've met. Nearly a month. So you might be thinking that I have many marvelous stories to share with you. No. I had hoped to have all sorts of good things to share, but now I think I'm going to call this year the year of stand ups. There are two ways I define being stood up. The first is when someone extends an invitation to another and that other person acknowledges the invitation and does not say no but then offers no further response. So if the invited person says yes and both neither shows up nor calls to cancel that is being stood up. If that person says I'd like to but I'll have to see, and does not call with a final confirmation one way or the other, that in my book is being stood up. If the person just gives a non-commital response then I don't consider it being stood up if that person doesn't call with a final confirmation, but I do think it's rude.

The second way to stand up someone is by offering an invitation and not following through. So if someone invites another to partake in an activity, but then does not show up to that activity and also do not call to say it is canceled, that is standing up the invited person.

So going by those two definitions, in just the past four days I was stood up 6 times. Twice Sunday, once Saturday, once Friday, and twice Thursday. 6 times I had plans with people who agreed to partake in an activity with me, either by my invitation or their own, and then both did not show up at the planned time and did not call saying not to expect them. In fact not only did they not call, but in all cases I never even got a call after the fact. I know these things shouldn't be taken personally, because far more important things do come up that can distract our attention. Still this was all in just the past four days, and it's no fun being completely forgetable. But yesterday, Sunday, while I was trying to come up with new plans when it became apparanet that my two activities were canceled I had a laugh. Here I was upset about being bailed by a couple people when probably earlier that day Jesus had millions of people not say "Hi". So I guess I have nothing to complain about.

Nevertheless I do have one story to share. After watching a little bit of "Elf" and seeing that scene where he decorates the store overnight, I wanted to revisit the craft of making paper snowflakes. It had been years since I had made a paper snowflake, particularly because I was never any good at it, and I wanted to add some Christmas-time decorations to my apartment. So about two Saturdays ago, I spent a few hours figuring out how to properly fold the paper and create a snowflake. I'm still not any good at creating something geometrically pleasing but I can create scenes, like of snowmen. Eventually I came up with a design that I snapped a photo of on my phone and sent home. Dad said it was the most impressive thing I've done all year and Mom said it was so beautiful I should sign it and frame it. Well I don't know about all of that, but I was impressed about how nice it came out. It's one of those things, where minimal effort can create something that looks amazing. I would attach a picture but I don't have a camera at the moment. But yes, paper snowflakes do look impressive and they aren't too hard to make.

Now that Saturday evening I had a date. Yes, I had a date. I had been talking with a girl on one of these dating websites. She is Catholic, in medical school, lives in town, and, as I soon discovered on the date, is quite attractive. But the date itself wasn't too great. It just never felt at any point in time that we clicked. Things felt almost a little tense. So after the date, I told her that I would like to hear from her again, but she never got back in touch. I thought about calling her again but decided against it. It turns out that she is only in town until June, then she is going to Ohio for the last two years of medical school and she wants to permanently live there. Also she works until 9 PM Monday through Friday. So I didn't see a relationship coming out of this and decided not to pursue the matter any more. But it's not like she called me back either. For my part, I tried to be charming and pleasant on the date. But maybe she didn't like my responses to some of the questions she asked me. For example, this is how one of the questions went. Her: "So what did you do today?" Me: "This afternoon I spent a few hours making paper snowflakes."