Apparently my friend Nolong has been trying to contact me for a month or two now. I finally talked to her on Monday, the first time in about 10 years. She was pretty much my best friend for most of high school (along with Melissa, who usually manages to track me down semi-annually or so). It was weird, surreal almost. It was after Memorial feast-day at Maria's so I was stuffed and content. Paul's phone rang and he thrust it at me with a "for you" shrug. So I pick up and say hello and am treated to a hi and some giggles. I ask who it is and she says guess. I'm on a cell phone and her voice has definately altered somewhat, but the giggles give it away. Nolong...more giggles...I can't believe it...

Nolong has a strange story (well who doesn't right?, but just wait...you'll think it's strange). She is the offspring of parents who met while doing missionary work in Africa. She was actually born there and lived there a short time too. Her parents moved back and had some more kids from there..she has 5 or 6 (maybe more at this point) siblings, most of which (except Harry Jr.) also bear striking names of African origin. We met in high school, at the Las Vegas Academy for Performing and Visual Arts and International Study (heretofore referred to as LVA). It was a magnet school and so I started out only knowing a couple random kids from my own junior high who had also chosen to attend.

LVA was a strange school. No sports, and no mascot to speak of (though we did have these strange stickmen on our yearbook covers), we were to a certain extent all outcasts of one sort or another (though most would say voluntary outcasts). Nolong sang and so did I, we had choir together, which meant 2-4 periods together a day. Choir at our school was the replacement sports team for us (or Band/Dance/Musical Theater...). It sucked up our lives. I rarely ever took the early bus home (which left at a normal 3 or 4), almost always the late bus for those of us in rehearsals or doing projects or shows. Wow this is rambling...it's just Nolong was such an integral part of my high school life that it all needs explanation.

Well anyways, so let's get back to her. Her parents converted to Mormonism when she was young and all the kids were raised as Mormons. This is a little weird, there just really aren't that many black Mormons...in fact she's probably one of the first I ever met, and there's a whole lot of Mormons where I'm from. At the time we met I was also Mormon which meant we had all the more bonding time (especially since Mormon high-schoolers are expected to spend their lunches in Seminary learning the Gospels and stuff). So we talked a lot about that and our spirituality and our problems and dillemas. She, a black mormon, me a gay mormon (though at first not "out" to anybody at all), we were just meant to connect.

Well, she was a year older and graduated, leaving me to my fate. My senior year was a bit dramatic. I managed to get kicked out of HS (though I still oficially graduated). I finally "became" gay, left the church, had my first drink/smoke. Yeah, I started late but tried to hit every base. Somewhere around this time Nolong and I had a falling out. It wasn't anything overly-dramatic, but a couple comments which weren't appreciated, some others that were misunderstood, the normal stuff that 17 year olds say I spose looking back. But we just never got back to that level of friendship. And then we went to college, Nolong moved off to Utah, and that was it.

She has three kids now! Wow! Her daughter's name is Abele (a-bell-eh) I think, which is a beautiful name. She is divorced now, which came as kind of a surprise to me, with the whole Mormon thing, which she still is. She, like me, has a job that has nothing to do with her passion. What does she look like? The same? Who cares really.

She was the same old Nolong. It was weird how everything kinda snapped into place. Even though I can't remember half of what happened in high school, I still remmeber the essential her. Her weird little giggles, her directness, her ability to sense when something is unsaid. Honestly it kinda freaked me out. I mean I'm such a different person now, or at least like to think so, and it was strange how vulnerable she made me feel. Somehow I kinda feel that she can rip me up and tear me to shreds. Not that she wants to do that or has any intention too. Maybe it's just how it made me think of that time and look back at all the intervening life-decisions that I've made. I don't know...

So she says she's coming to visit me. Which is so like her. There's no, okay...ummm...maybe we'll see each other, or well, I come to visit a lot, or all the other platitudes that you could say. It was alright well I'm gonna look at flights and call you back. I was like whoa! But happy and excited and apprehensive. It's one thing to have an hour long chat and another to have a weekend. But I think it's a good thing. I truly miss her, and she played such a big role in making me, well, me.

What'dya think, is she coming?

As further reference to just how close the proposed casino will be to poverty, please reference the Google map below. I obtained the map by googling municipal housing, buffalo, ny (GOOGLE - municipal housing, buffalo, ny). Result D, which is shown on the map, is the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority Employment Opportunity Center (though sadly it's actually mispelled). The casino would be less than a block from multiple housing projects. (e:joshua,142)

Happy Birthday, my lover.

hard to eat with chopsticks

My phone broke. I didn't buy the insurance. I had it for about 2 months, maybe less. I didn't even do anything to it, it just broke. So, I sent it to the manufacturer, which was LG (with a circle 'round it), though the Spint people said it was Samsung first. I thought it was odd, what with the large LG on the front of my phone. So I paid my postage and sent it to Alabammy to get fixed.

Give or take 2 weeks later. A package arrives. Yay, phone is back. But, no, the battery is back, all by itself.

A week or so later. Yay, phone is back. And this time it really is. Alas, phone doesn't work.

Call Sprint.
Menu: 1 minute
Hold: 5 minutes
Talk: 1-3 minutes, decide I need to be transferred.
Hold: 10 minutes
Talk: 5 minutes (with "Angel" who begins by asking me why I've been transferred)
Hold: 2 minutes while Angel does something or other
Talk: Angel obviously has no idea how to get my phone to work.
Hold: 10-15 minutes (Angel tells me he's calling the Help Desk
.
.
.
Eventually about an hour or so later Angel decides that he has fixed the problem. I say thank god and thank him for his "service".

This morning the phone still didn't work. This evening, phone still didn't work. I called Sprint again and got someone who was able to fix the problem in about 5 minutes. Well, honestly, the phone still doesn't work, but she did say 2-4 hours... I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt...I'm not sure how I am going to act if I have to call again. Most likely very belligerent...maybe some mild threats... hah

St. Matty's is Sat. All should come. I mean who wants to go to the parade without a hangover already?

We went X-country skiing yesterday in Allegany. [inlink]matthew,692[/inlink] Somehow I always seem to pick the wrong trails. I have memories of these awesome exciting trails, but everytime we go it ends up being fun but quite exertionesque. Yesterday we definately managed to go uphill like 300% more than downhill. And while I realize this confounds the laws of physics my shaky legs will attest to it. So, in order for us to not repeat the same mistakes this time we actually drew arrows on our little map indicating which direction not to take next time. We'll see...

Today is rainy and gray. What to do? (e:matthew) wants to go to Home Depot to get new tortoise care building supplies. Which may end up being it.

We got X-Men Legends 2 the other week. We are about 2/3rds of the way through but the games keeps freezing at this one point. We've tried like 5 times to get past it and are very frustrated. The whole rest of the game worked fine, I think that there may just be too much going on for my three year old Gamecube. The disc itself looks fine-no scratches or smears. I also tried replaying various other parts and they seemed to be fine. The freeze just plays this really irritating buzzing noise until you turn it off. Any Gamecubers out there have any suggestions, or experienced anything similar? I will be so sad if I don't get to whomp Apocalypse's ass!

Thanks for the party-space, (e:jessika). Wish we could have talked to you more, but your couch was so comfy (and at that time not puke-covered).

And, after a two week period of diminishing pain, my back is "back" to normal.

So, at the aforementioned party, I joined the discussion mentioned by (e:paul) with (e:ejtower). It was pretty fun. I forget sometimes how much fun it is to have a purely academic discussion. Makes me almost miss school...almost.

His post hits on some of the points that we talked about. He and I are agreed that true innovation and invention are best inspired by free markets. They inevitably tend to maximize effectiveness and reduce cost without any outside interference. We both think any "green" revolution must be market driven. We both think that federal/governmental intervention oftentimes stymies this same innovation. Why make the next energy/food source when the one you're banking on is guaranteed profits not through marketability but through government subsidies? He managed to convince me that he's a pretty smart guy. Who counters your argument that energy is necessary for cyborgs to work with an argument that oil is just another energy-rich oil, many of which are growing right now in a field near you?

We differed in our opinions on government. (E:jtower) wants to abolish government. That may not be quite right: he wants there to be no government (we didn't really discuss the method of disposal). According to him, government inhibits the natural rights of people, or in his words, government "justif[ies] our infringements on each other's right to life". My question is, without government, who protects your individual right to life? I suppose we are all responsible for protecting our own rights, unless we have powerful friends/relatives who decide to help us. I think one of the purposes of government is to provide a base level of survival for everyone. It makes those people who would just die, I guess, able to survive, if minimally. It gives everyone (or at least most) an opportunity to compete with those with lots of powerful (can we just say rich?) friends/relatives. Of course it doesn't always work that way. Most people have no chance of becoming powerful. But, at the same time, most people have the opportunity to survive, without having to earn it on the free market. If you believe in the right to life, shouldn't you want everyone to have this opportunity, regardless of connections to already existing power?

So we could have another discussion on the function/effectiveness of government (which I'm sure the Larson brothers would happily participate in). But I just can't see how a realistic anarchy (and I do mean in the political sense) would ever come to exist. And I worry that ideas of unfettered marketplaces play right into the hands of the entrenched power that exists in our world. Does Wal-mart really need less government oversight?

P.S.: If any opinions expressed here don't actually belong to the owners expressed above, please feel free to comment or clarify.

Ridiculously for a 26 year old who is not obese, I am getting ever worsening back problems. Yesterday I woke up and had horrible shooting pains whnever I moved my left leg in the wrong way. The pain is centered somewhere between my lower back and left hip. It is very hard to locate exactly, it seems to come from deep inside, there's no massage that even touches it. So I went to work and sat through another ridiculous lesson (at my job we have a week of training every year, and after 4 years of the same lessons they are becoming intolerable) with pain shooting through me with every sublte movement. I dosed myself up with Advil which worked mildly, then Motrin (which perhaps worked better or maybe the pain was naturally wearing off). It is so embarrasing to have to gimp around the workplace. There's nothing outwardly wrong, just a weird hesitating half-limp.

Today the pain was better, and now it's almost gone. I realized that this happens everytime around training time and am hesitantly attributing it to the extended period of sitting that I have to endure. Now, my job in general is sitting, but at least I can move around, take a stroll, and just stand up and stretch more. I think I will use my newly-gotten health insurance (first in over 5 years!) to go to a doctor and, even if they can't do anything-which I suspect, at least get some real pain meds (which would be the first time I was taking them for pain :) )

We Are Scientists, huh? Well I guess maybe I'll see someone there. Maybe even someone who'll talk to me. I do have a position for friend that's recently opened. Any takers?

After what seems like weeks and weeks of house guests, visits to family, and best friends leaving (I already miss you, (e:flacidness)), I am finally sitting here typing in an otherwise empty house. Very nice.

Today I did what seems to be my favorite thing to do. I leisurely woke up, had a nice cup of really strong coffee, and surfed the web as I slowly came to life. Next was a bit of cleaning, the dishes, followed by the creation of egg salad. I'm in the process of eating the newly-cooled goop right now...yummy.

I decided I should try out my Christmas gift from (e:paul)'s momma: a big ole crock pot. I looked for a likely recipe in the slow-cook cookbook which was also from mother maria. Then I headed down to the coop for the ingredients. I learned what herb de provincal is from a nice lady there, I think she might have been a volunteer, but alas they didn't have any. She suggested I use a combination of marjoram, thyme, and maybe a dash of tarragon, since garlic and pepper were already ingredients. Hope it works. Then I tramped all the way to the Hodge liquor store for the requisite dry white wine. Not a bad day for a walk at all.

My Chicken Stew Provencal is currently crocking away. It smells good so far.

Now I just need to convincce my sugar daddy that this is what I should do everyday! :)

Haruki Murakamii.

Good read. Just read what I believe is his first novel, A Wild Sheep Chase. I've read a couple others, maybe even posted about them...Wind-up Bird Chronicles was also very good. So far his protagonists are without names. Not that they don't have one in their world, just that it's not ever shared with us. How important is a name anyway? In the Wild Sheep Chase, I don't think anyone has a name: just her, me, he, etc... A world where everyone is a pronoun (it's interesting that even at this level, we still can tell who's a boy and who's a girl).

His main characters are almost always normal, even übernormal. Then somehow through seemingly coincidental events become involved in very strange happenenings indeed. Through it all the main character stumbles, generally using his ordinariness to good advantage. It's the adventure that we all want to have, the once in a lifetime complete removal from mundania (anyone ever read Piers Anthony?).

If you're still not interested then I'll give you one final thought to get excited about: whale penis.

Enjoy, gentle readers, enjoy!

...drink 6 white russians.

When you pull a (e:lilho) from your couch and look back and find her face down on the flo', maybe it's not a good idea to pull her ass up and put her in the car. About three minutes later on Main St. (which, by the way, was just infested with the po-pos last night), (e:lilho) decides she needs to blow chunks. So, I pull over, but there's cops all over, so I start to pull into this parking lot. Suddenly (e:paul) screams and I look in the rear-view and see (e:lilho) slither right on out the car. (e:Paul) is like stop, stop, sarah fell out of the car. (e:Flacidness) is busting a gut so hard he can't even speak. Frieda and me are just like, wtf?!?

So, I guess you know it's a good time when someone is thrown from a moving vehicle, righ?. The best part is that we didn't let a little thing like that stop the party. No, we went right on out, left (e:lilho) to continue her conversation with her inner guts, and danced for a couple hours. Fun times.

(e:paul)'s version: [inlink]paul,3995[/inlink]