This is an actual journal entry, or something resembling one...
Last week I was pretty up and down, emotionally speaking. Thursday and Friday were difficult. A lot of that is because I was bored and feeling lonely (but now I have a line on a couple potential friends). I ended up staying awake all of Friday night just to cool down and get a few things done. And, play City of Heroes of course. Recreational sleep deprivation isn't for the faint of heart.
So, no sleep, powered only by caffeine and willpower, I drove to Denver. I have a friend whose wife is involved with the local roller derby teams as a referee. It was quite a sight, lemme tell ya. Attractive women in yellow or purple fishnets roughing each other up in a quest for victory? Amen to that. The teams grew quite a crowd. There's a lot of support for the ladies and their passion for derby. I got to kick it with friends I don't often see and enjoy a few hours at a sporting event. Then I ducked out early for a birthday party.
Paul made it to 34 years old, which means he outlived Jesus. Quite an accomplishment and one I'll soon be able to say about myself. I was pretty out of it once I made it to the pub. At this particular pub you can still shoot pool, drink alcohol, AND smoke cigars or cigarettes all under the same roof. I think I've said before that this is... was... my holy trinity. After I got some water in my I headed off to the pool tables and got a few friends to join me. I usually won though half the time it was by sheer accident I did so well. I was at least able to pull off a few good shots. My hands were kinda shaky from lack of sleep but I finished the night with a bank shot to drop the 8-ball in the pocket it was resting close to. /WIN.
On an unrelated note, my change in health habits has me dreaming and remembering the dreams more often. Last night was particularly interesting. I dreamed I was in a bookstore that suddenly turned into a college course about dreaming. The professor asked me "And what of dreaming ahead? Do we dream of the future?" and I gave a surprisingly coherent response considering it was a dream. I told him "Well, dreaming of the future is of no interest. One must recognize the dream as the future but also understand the symbology and Jungian archetypes present within the dream to be able to interpret or even speak of them." Wow. I guess reading the words of Joseph Campbell and then starting in on "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" has been creeping into my subconscious.
Then after answering the professor it all shifted. I was suddenly tasked with caring for a friend's cow in his absence. I wanted to do the best I could for my friend's cow so I put it in a U-Haul moving van and gave it a pot of water. Looking back putting the cow in a U-Haul truck is a horrible, horrible idea. If it didn't die of heatstroke during the day it would fill up the truck with cowpies. Lose/lose situation. So don't do that if you're entrusted with a cow.
The subconscious significance of caring for a friend's cow is still lost on me.
Anyhow, I got clever. I bought this new webcam to participate in "Month at the Museum" (http://www.msichicago.org/matm/) and I don't like how it's designed to be positioned. So I built a frame for it out of Legos that I can sit on my laptop screen. It ain't pretty but it works. Dad says that "You're your Grandpa Besselsen's grandson." Function > Form. Grandpa B. was a mechanical engineer who helped design the Honest John rocket for America way back in the day. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and we could both analyze the apple's fall and optimize it for desired results...
So, no sleep, powered only by caffeine and willpower, I drove to Denver. I have a friend whose wife is involved with the local roller derby teams as a referee. It was quite a sight, lemme tell ya. Attractive women in yellow or purple fishnets roughing each other up in a quest for victory? Amen to that. The teams grew quite a crowd. There's a lot of support for the ladies and their passion for derby. I got to kick it with friends I don't often see and enjoy a few hours at a sporting event. Then I ducked out early for a birthday party.
Paul made it to 34 years old, which means he outlived Jesus. Quite an accomplishment and one I'll soon be able to say about myself. I was pretty out of it once I made it to the pub. At this particular pub you can still shoot pool, drink alcohol, AND smoke cigars or cigarettes all under the same roof. I think I've said before that this is... was... my holy trinity. After I got some water in my I headed off to the pool tables and got a few friends to join me. I usually won though half the time it was by sheer accident I did so well. I was at least able to pull off a few good shots. My hands were kinda shaky from lack of sleep but I finished the night with a bank shot to drop the 8-ball in the pocket it was resting close to. /WIN.
On an unrelated note, my change in health habits has me dreaming and remembering the dreams more often. Last night was particularly interesting. I dreamed I was in a bookstore that suddenly turned into a college course about dreaming. The professor asked me "And what of dreaming ahead? Do we dream of the future?" and I gave a surprisingly coherent response considering it was a dream. I told him "Well, dreaming of the future is of no interest. One must recognize the dream as the future but also understand the symbology and Jungian archetypes present within the dream to be able to interpret or even speak of them." Wow. I guess reading the words of Joseph Campbell and then starting in on "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" has been creeping into my subconscious.
Then after answering the professor it all shifted. I was suddenly tasked with caring for a friend's cow in his absence. I wanted to do the best I could for my friend's cow so I put it in a U-Haul moving van and gave it a pot of water. Looking back putting the cow in a U-Haul truck is a horrible, horrible idea. If it didn't die of heatstroke during the day it would fill up the truck with cowpies. Lose/lose situation. So don't do that if you're entrusted with a cow.
The subconscious significance of caring for a friend's cow is still lost on me.
Anyhow, I got clever. I bought this new webcam to participate in "Month at the Museum" (http://www.msichicago.org/matm/) and I don't like how it's designed to be positioned. So I built a frame for it out of Legos that I can sit on my laptop screen. It ain't pretty but it works. Dad says that "You're your Grandpa Besselsen's grandson." Function > Form. Grandpa B. was a mechanical engineer who helped design the Honest John rocket for America way back in the day. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and we could both analyze the apple's fall and optimize it for desired results...