Dreams from my past...

Yesterday I cleaned up the mess I had made in the garage for my Christmas projects. After I finished I decided it would be a good time to go through my boxes of junk and see how much stuff I could make myself get rid of. In a box of books and old notes I found a legal pad. From what I could tell it was from a little over a year ago. The first few pages had notes about tools I needed, to do lists, and thoughts on readings. Pretty typical, but then I flipped the page and came across this:

'Last night I dreamt I attended a party for teenage vampires. I stayed because I was in love with one.'

I wish I could remember her name...

Achtung maybe...

This is simply a warning: there are ninjas in Joshua Tree National Park. Beware!

The return of the...well, me

WARNING: This video is rated PG-13 for mild profanity and brief nudity.



I have been lax in posting for some time now but I assure you, faithful reader(read family member) that that is all over, as is the presidential campaign. Thank the Good Lord!! I have no more patience for hearing about it. Some of the other voters and I were joking this morning while waiting in line that next election we should take a vacation to a remote location the week before and return in enough time to read up and vote, thereby avoiding the media over-saturation. By tomorrow morning, barring any 'hanging chad' fiascoes, we will have a new president, and they can stop campaigning and start preparing for the demanding job. But I digress. I'd like to turn your attention from the carnage of the presidential race to carnage of a nother sort entirely.

A couple months or so back now, I finally got a real vacation and headed north. My uncle has been white-water rafting for some 30-odd years, and invited me to join an excursion down the 'wild and scenic' Rogue River in Southwest Oregon. It was a wonderful trip and I should have some pictures posted, or at least linked by the end of the week(I hope). For now I will treat you to the highlight of our first day. Here's a video of my uncle, my cousin, and I attempting to traverse the middle chute of Rainey Falls. All was going well until the river decided to spin us. My cousin and I got tossed while my uncle managed to free himself. We made it out alive, and relatively unscathed. We were left with no doubt of the fearsome potential power of the Rogue as it made claims on what it could strip us of. As you will see, I think I got the better end of the deal. It stole my hat and cut my hand a little bit, but it got my cousin's shorts and a little bit of his pride.

The sun'll come out tamale

Sometimes life is stressful. Lately this is a common occurrence. In these times we come to appreciate the little things that bring joy. A few weeks ago I stumbled across one of these things. In between appointments a friend and I stopped at Cinco de Mayo Tacos in Culver City where we discovered the tamale pena. A seemingly ordinary green corn tamale containing a glorious pineapple and raisin center. One bite and your troubles are forgotten for the moment. Whoever said money couldn't buy happiness never spent two dollars on one of these delicacies. Their loss. VIVA LA PENA!!

California Grothes, I wish they all could be

Well, technically they're Gotholds but family is family.

It really is a blessing to have family out here on the west coast. Getting established here is taking time. Finding/making community, establishing healthy boundaries around the edges of work so that it doesn't become the only thing I do, using my time outside of work for doing things I enjoy rather than sleeping to rest up for going back to work. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy my job and am thankful for the challenges it presents. I am positive about the opportunity for growth it provides for me, not to mention the service it provides for others. The thing about it right now is just that it provides not only the opportunity but the necessity for growth, rapid growth, in many areas at the same time. Often times it's overwhelming, and I feel the lack of the solid support network I left in Baltimore so the little time I am able to hang out with my family here is precious as, well you know, precious stuff. Like gold and silver and little babies that try to climb into the pool backwards.

Yesterday the Christopher Gothold family, soon to be triple the size it was last year, joined family and friends at a baby shower thrown in their honor. They received munchkins, booty/ies, a transformer/carseat, a family heirloom disguised as a crib, and many other infantile gifts. We ate some great lasagna, hypothesized about possible names(Tim suggested Thaddeus, pointing out that there seems to be a serious shortage of Thaddei in the U.S. these days), and had a couple contests. One was a baby trivia quiz. Did you know that babies are born without kneecaps? Neither did I. They are also born with extra bones, 300 in toto, that fuse together later. The other quiz was a survey of baby animal names. I am proud to say that I came out the winner. Knowing what a cygnet was paid off, in a Target gift card. Who knew? I thought that would only come in handy if I ever make it onto Jeopardy. Incindentally, does anyone know what a baby alligator is called? Without looking it up on the internet? That turned out to be the stumper.

After all the gifts were opened and packed up, and the house was returned to normal, we trekked off to Chris' mother's house to eat Gothold burritos, drink tea, and distract Chris from his studies long enough to play a rousing game of Scrabble. Kirsten, Bert(baby Gothold), and I got some quality car time on the drive out. Kirst and I did all the talking, but Bert's a really good listener.

All in all, it was a great day. A wonderful break and respite from everyday life. Since my nephew-to-be had grown significantly in his watery home since I last saw his bulge at Thanksgiving, I was hoping to feel signs of life. Alas, he was rather docile, only kicking once, though I did feel a little knee. I guess he was as calm as I was, knowing he was surrounded by friends and family who will love and accept him, even if he doesn't have any kneecaps.

But is it Art ? pt .II

Much of my job involves driving around South Central L.A. there are many things of note in this wonderful area but these are some of my favorites so far. All the time I spent in Baltimore, none of the graffiti art was as interesting as the pieces I've seen out here. Maybe we can implement some sort of coast-to-coast exchange program or internship for imagination-less taggers to come out here and soak up some creativity. I mean, there's grant money out there just waiting to be put to good use right? Imagine Mt. Vernon or Hamden awash in the vivid technicolor designs of free-wheeling artists whose Krylon cans have been liberated from the tyranny of tagging wars, engaged in a city-wide beautification project piece by glorious piece. Or maybe not.

The graffiti art here is better than in B-more.