I've Gone Out of My Way, Big Blank Slate Every Day

Big, blank canvas staring at me, every day.
'Revenge' - Spoon

A blank slate is right, at least in terms of living arrangements. The long awaited move is over, and I find myself in an absolutely fantastic three-bedroom townhouse in East Redmond. While there was a time where the location displeased me, at this point I don't care because it's so nice here. Makes the horrifically long day of moving worth it. Left work early on Friday so I could get more done, getting home around noon. We didn't get done with everything until 6am Saturday morning. If Joe (1) and Jeeves (2) hadn't come to help, it probably would have taken even longer. I shudder at that thought. I found the most humorous side effect of a late night was that by sleeping in until 2:30pm, I had apparently 'dropped off the face of the earth.' Or so those who couldn't reach me said. But even though it took what seemed like forever, the weight it lifted off the shoulders was immense. No more being couped up in an apartment that was not mine. No more stress about looking, and possibly not finding, a new place. With that over, I could do something more important, like having fun.

I expected to be unpacking Sunday, but that quickly went by the wayside. My first plan was to put together my desk, but I couldn't find all the parts. By the time I did, I went to run errands with Alex (3) for a few hours. Not long after that Shell (4) and her friend Sara (5) came and gave me a full size bed. Given the piece of crap I'd been sleeping on for longer than I'd like to remember, it was a considerable upgrade. I am currently accepting applications for people to help me break in the new bed. You may feel free to sign up in the comment section of this page, however no appointment is necessary. The only downside is that it takes up a larger portion of the room than one might like. However what is the point of having space if I don't use it. Oh, and almost forgot...the numbers you see after each persons name. We've had a running joke here at the house that your ranking in terms of friends is determined on what order in which you've seen the house. Congratulations Joe on being our new best friend. To everyone else that has visited so far, congratulations on being close to the top. If you haven't been here, well then you're missing out.

Elsewhere, work is getting interesting. We're 5 weeks out from our yearly Inventory count, and there is a fucking ton of work to do. I will be working roughly 173 hours per week until October 7th. On the plus side, doing work that is vastly beyond my pay level will hopefully succeed in making that pay level higher. And regardless of that, I happen to be enjoying my projects. At least I get some reward out of this job (of course I say that on Labor Day...hooray for work holidays).

We Didn't Read the Invite, We Just Danced At Our Wake

All our favorites were playing,
So we could shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
'Missed the Boat' - Modest Mouse

Download Festival at the Gorge. Modest Mouse, Incubus, Presidents of the United States of American, Nada Surf, The Thermals, and more. You know you've had a good time when you get home and can barely move or hear. The burns, bruises, and beatings were well worth it, even with having to be back for the meeting at work this morning (which many of you I'm sure can bare witness, I probably looked like shit). It was my first time at the Gorge, and holy god, I can't believe it took me this long to get out there. That place is absolutely amazing. And it was pretty cool because there were chances to chill with the bands, which was pretty fun. Ended up meeting Matthew and Ira from Nada Surf, Andrew from the Presidents, and the first band that played, Back Door Slam (who if you're into rock with a heavy blues influence...damn this is good).

Those good times were preceeded by three straight nights of more good times with differnet friends...and at least some alcohol. Woulda been damn near perfect if it weren't for the fact that it meant I didn't get to sleep in my bed...at least one of the couches was comfortable :p. The body may hate me right now, but the mind...well I think that all things considered, its been a great week. Good change of pace.

And as for the ongoing house saga...its almost over. We found a place, still in Redmond, that we sign the lease for and move into Thursday/Friday. Thankfully that nightmare will go by the wayside, leaving more time for things like that concert. And maybe time for sleep, which has been in short supply lately. In fact I'm going to do that right now. That stupid meeting this morning really through a hitch in my idea of sleeping in. All that meeting did was prove to me that one day you will all find me in a corner, in the fetal position, screaming about how much I hate my coworkers. Ok, maybe not, but the image amuses me.

One Night and One More Time, Thanks for the Memories

'Thnks fr th Mmrs' - Fall Out Boy

I had two goals last night. First was to have pure an unadulterated fun, something that has been all too rare lately. And second, and to help facilitate the first, was to drink enough that I couldn't feel feelings anymore. I am happy to say I was successful on both counts. I have enjoyed trying to figure out over the past half hour what my last coherent memory of the night was. Haven't really got an answer to that yet. But seriously, thanks to everyone who came. It pained me that I haven't been able to be out with everyone for so long, so it definitely felt good to be back in the loving embrace of everyone there.

And thank you to everyone that helped function as my prostethic legs. Walking is a highly overrated skill anyway.

Oh yeah, and in the middle of all of it...I have almost crafted an answer to one of the pressing issues of the past few months. But like any good puzzle, just when one answer is found, more questions arise. Fortunately the answer was sufficient enough though to almost entirely close that bad chapter.

I Sure Don't Mind a Change, But I Fell on Black Days

How would I know, that this could be my fate.
'Fell On Black Days' - Soundgarden

I'm getting really sick of writing these blogs about bad shit. Soon I'm gonna need to hunt down new music just to get songs with appropriately sad/angry/depressing lyrics for my titles. Just when I think I can stop the hemorrhaging, stabilize everything that has gone so horribly wrong, something else gets thrown on the heap. Fortunately another disaster was averted, but it has, perhaps for the best, rekindled the fire of trying to find new living accomodations. We have made a rule that no one is able to ask 'what else can go wrong.'

Anyway, I will almost undoubtely be moving again in three weeks. This was going to be the end result, just maybe not this month. Our landlords pretty much made this decision for us though. Well maybe tonight will go better, but that is yet to be planned out. I guess if I can't hold on to at least a little hope, than what is the point. A question I've been asking myself a lot these days.

We Didn't Start the Fire

No we didn't light it, but we're tryin to fight it.
'We Didn't Start the Fire' - Billy Joel

So the title of this may be slightly misleading, because one of us obviously did start it, but we'll never know for sure who. Many of you are aware of the living situation that I have been forced into, but here is the short version for those that don't. Due to circumstances beyond our control, three of the five people that were moving into the grand house that we'd planned, are now forced to live in the apartment next to where I have been living. This weekend has been spent moving all my belongings approximately 30 feet. I live in the dining room, which has been given privacy due to my ingenious contruction of the grandest box fort ever crafted.

However all of that came inches away from being destroyed. During the course of moving things into the kitchen, the stove got bumped on, albeit to low, but on nonetheless. My microwave was near enough to the one that got turned on that it caught fire. The part that almost made it worse was that, also in the interest of privacy, a bedsheet has been hung on one wall of the dining room, the one that looks into the kitchen, by the stove. Had the flames gotten another six inches toward the dining room, the sheet would have gone up, and from there....well I hate to let my thoughts wander there. Thankfully I have owned a fire extinguisher for quite some time, and it was very accessible as it was one of the few remaining items left in my old place. Aaron quickly grabbed it and extinguished it. So now I can say that thankfully all that happened is that the kitchen, as well as almost all my belongings are coated in fire extinguisher powder. Certainly a better fate than nearly befell us.

Someone Told Me Long Ago, There's a Calm Before the Storm

I know, it's been comin for some time.
When its over, so they say, it'll rain on a sunny day.
I know; shinin down like water.

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain,
Comin down on a sunny day?

'Have You Ever Seen the Rain' - Creedance Clearwater Revival

So as most of you know, we have been searching for a house for quite sometime. We have hit a variety of roadblocks, some from bad luck, some from people's unwillingness to rent to a non-family. However things were starting to look up. We found a place that was nice, and I seemed to have convinced the landlord that we were good people.

Elsewhere, I took some time off work, which allowed me to focus on the aforementioned house search. While I was at it I tried dealing with other problems, with mixed levels of success. It was good to get away from my job for a while as it had been wearing me thin, especially since I haven't had time to actually hang out with people after work.

It seemed like things were headed in the right direction. A house soon, an imminent raise at work, slowly working on getting things back in order. But then it all came crashing down in a heartbeat. I believe I can honestly say that this ranks as one of the single worst days of my entire fucking life. A shame I can't take solace knowing that misery loves, and has plenty of, company.

I have, for once, decided to deal with this in an unhealthy way. Drinking until I can't feel feelings anymore. Or at least doing shots and beers until I'm totally obliterated. I feel its ok because its not to ease the pain, but to make everything around me funnier. I don't know why I felt like justifying it, but there I go.

It has been said that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. I stare at the incarnation of that and wonder if I can summon the divine and be forgiveful. I also wonder how to pick up the pieces of that which has been shattered. And do so while remaining silent on so many things that bother me, for the greater good.

It's the Terror of Knowing What This World Is About

Watching some good friends scream, let me out.
'Under Pressure' - David Bowie and Queen

I agree with what many people have said, that it is best to call things as you see them, to give the complete truth as best as any person can. But on the other hand, one has to wonder what battles are worth fighting. I almost started one such battle last night, but realized that no good could come of it and I walked away. In fact I had to do it twice in rapid succession, though that second one I threw out a bit of a warning shot. And the third battle that probably is worth fighting is, unless something happened at the time it was being fought, would be illegal. It's great realizing how much of it is completely futile. I will take solace knowing that people saw things in much the same light that I did.

It's a shame that the weekend ended on such a stupid note. However in spite of that it was good times all around. Good retirement party for Grandpa Win, good random BBQ Sunday evening, good music Saturday morning (and Sunday as I watched stuff I missed).

Though back briefly to the point of fighting battles. Life would be much easier for everyone if they would just listen to me. I believe I mentioned once that I instructed a man to take care of someone very dear to me and he failed. The width and breadth of his failure has became clearer to me today. The last time someone threatened those I care about to the degree that this person has, my intervention was swift. I sincerely hope to avoid such a scenario again. As my self-proclaimed trainer has said, it is my moral imperative to fight injustice wherever it may rear its ugly head. Oh how very right he is.