Wallop
I once met a guy named Steve. Or, at least I think that was his name. Anyway, I met him at Stockton when I was making a social call to a friend's on-campus apartment. Once I arrived and the introductions were made, we all ventured outward to cause harmless havoc on the unsuspecting campus with our first stop being a first-floor apartment somewhere in.... F-court?? Well, we had been pre-gaming beforehand and already had a good buzz going before we even arrived. Once we entered the apartment, though, I encountered one of the most amazing sights I had ever laid eyes upon. The ceiling, walls, furniture, and people all had some nebulous blue light swirling around them with little green specks randomly gliding about. It was soothing, mesmerizing, and mystifying all at once and I knew that I had to get such a device for myself one day. I asked the hostess of the party where she got it. At the time, she told me that it wasn't sold in America. Luckily, times have changed since then.
That wasn't the point of this story, though. But I must say that light show was pretty awesome. No, the point of me talking about Steve, if that was even his name, is that he was one of those people who had a strange impact on my life, even though I only met him once or twice. At that same party I was talking about, he convinced me to go over to a group of girls and chat with them. On my own, I probably would have stayed put where I was and continued drinking, playing Beer Pong, or whatever I was doing at the time. But this guy Steve wanted me, specifically, to walk over with him and talk to the ladies instead of the two or three other friends of his he had there with him. For whatever reason, that stuck with me. I've been poring over my pen and paper journals trying to find out exactly when this blue and green, girl-talky, wine-bottle smashy party happened. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I accidentally bumped into an unopened bottle of wine belonging to one of the residents of the apartment who was asleep. It fell to the ground and exploded in a tremendously amusing explosion of sour grapes and glass. Thankfully, she never woke up. But I still used paper towels to (mostly) completely mop up the mess. The odor remained, though. Anyway, that Steve dude talked to me as if I were a good drinking buddy of his from the get-go, which I found kind of strange. I'm never one to reject socialization, but if it's too strong too quickly, I become suspicious. Either way, he left a small but discernible impression on my life back in my junior year... or maybe it was my senior year... of college. I'm pretty sure this party happened in late 2006 or early 2007 because the party happened way before this online journal even existed.
Anyway, I actually DIDN'T get a Dalí calendar this year, so there will be no monthly painting show you all. I did, however, receive a calendar of fractals and a Hubble Telescope calendar each with impressive visuals. I'll only show you the Hubble images, though, because the fractal images look cheap and kind of tacky. (I had no idea it was possible to make fractals look like shit!) So, here is this month's Hubble image. It's a galaxy known as NGC 604 and is teeming with new stars all the time. Visually, I will admit that it isn't quite as appealing as other iconic images we've come to expect when we think of the cosmos. However, just about everything in the night sky is awesome to look at and there are certainly more in the future.
In the work sector of things, Sean and I are now pretty much an even match in the realm of ping pong. Just a few days ago, he and I engaged in an epic battle of table tennis that took well over half and hour. Typically, we would have had work to do, but the recent changeover to a new inventory system called WMS or something caused mass confusion and a lock-down of the system itself (probably totally our fault), so there was literally nothing else to do. So, we exchanged masterful shots, blocks, spins, and counters. I would say that I'm the better all-around player, but he is more aggressive while I tend to prefer defensive play with lots of spinning and low shots. In any case, he ended up winning the series: seven games to my six. Also, I'm not trying to make excuses, but I did switch up my playing style numerous times throughout the games. More often than not, I play back hand, which is definitely my strongest form. But for some of the games, I gripped the paddle with my palm beneath the opposite side, thumb placed where the handle meets the rubber, and pointer finger along the outer edge. Good for spinning but not very powerful otherwise (at least not yet until I learn how). So the outcome of our little tournament might have been different if I had played backhand from start to finish. Regardless, though, we have a good game just about every time.
Other than all that, I'm just updating to let my readers know that I'm still alive and doing things. I've already begun writing my third novel, which is already turning out to be a comedy having to do with dreams. Could this be the one? I'm already excited about it... I do feel bad that I haven't taken a single look at my other two novels since, though. They must feel unloved in their unedited state...
And before I go, I'd like to pose a question like I always do. If you could pick up and play any one musical instrument in only three or four lessons, which instrument would you choose, and why? For me, I would go with the harmonica because I got one for Christmas, and I already had one stored away in one of my desk drawers to begin with. Now that I have two, it's kind of unimplied that I must learn how to play it or else let a good potential talent go to waste. Beside, when I think of a harmonica player, I visualize a hardened world-weary traveler who has seen and done many things, both positive and negative. And the harmonica is his medium though which his story is told, either by upbeat songs with a chipper harmony, or slightly melancholic songs with a haunting harmony. What about you all?
Three day weekend!-
Bryan
That wasn't the point of this story, though. But I must say that light show was pretty awesome. No, the point of me talking about Steve, if that was even his name, is that he was one of those people who had a strange impact on my life, even though I only met him once or twice. At that same party I was talking about, he convinced me to go over to a group of girls and chat with them. On my own, I probably would have stayed put where I was and continued drinking, playing Beer Pong, or whatever I was doing at the time. But this guy Steve wanted me, specifically, to walk over with him and talk to the ladies instead of the two or three other friends of his he had there with him. For whatever reason, that stuck with me. I've been poring over my pen and paper journals trying to find out exactly when this blue and green, girl-talky, wine-bottle smashy party happened. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I accidentally bumped into an unopened bottle of wine belonging to one of the residents of the apartment who was asleep. It fell to the ground and exploded in a tremendously amusing explosion of sour grapes and glass. Thankfully, she never woke up. But I still used paper towels to (mostly) completely mop up the mess. The odor remained, though. Anyway, that Steve dude talked to me as if I were a good drinking buddy of his from the get-go, which I found kind of strange. I'm never one to reject socialization, but if it's too strong too quickly, I become suspicious. Either way, he left a small but discernible impression on my life back in my junior year... or maybe it was my senior year... of college. I'm pretty sure this party happened in late 2006 or early 2007 because the party happened way before this online journal even existed.
Anyway, I actually DIDN'T get a Dalí calendar this year, so there will be no monthly painting show you all. I did, however, receive a calendar of fractals and a Hubble Telescope calendar each with impressive visuals. I'll only show you the Hubble images, though, because the fractal images look cheap and kind of tacky. (I had no idea it was possible to make fractals look like shit!) So, here is this month's Hubble image. It's a galaxy known as NGC 604 and is teeming with new stars all the time. Visually, I will admit that it isn't quite as appealing as other iconic images we've come to expect when we think of the cosmos. However, just about everything in the night sky is awesome to look at and there are certainly more in the future.
In the work sector of things, Sean and I are now pretty much an even match in the realm of ping pong. Just a few days ago, he and I engaged in an epic battle of table tennis that took well over half and hour. Typically, we would have had work to do, but the recent changeover to a new inventory system called WMS or something caused mass confusion and a lock-down of the system itself (probably totally our fault), so there was literally nothing else to do. So, we exchanged masterful shots, blocks, spins, and counters. I would say that I'm the better all-around player, but he is more aggressive while I tend to prefer defensive play with lots of spinning and low shots. In any case, he ended up winning the series: seven games to my six. Also, I'm not trying to make excuses, but I did switch up my playing style numerous times throughout the games. More often than not, I play back hand, which is definitely my strongest form. But for some of the games, I gripped the paddle with my palm beneath the opposite side, thumb placed where the handle meets the rubber, and pointer finger along the outer edge. Good for spinning but not very powerful otherwise (at least not yet until I learn how). So the outcome of our little tournament might have been different if I had played backhand from start to finish. Regardless, though, we have a good game just about every time.
Other than all that, I'm just updating to let my readers know that I'm still alive and doing things. I've already begun writing my third novel, which is already turning out to be a comedy having to do with dreams. Could this be the one? I'm already excited about it... I do feel bad that I haven't taken a single look at my other two novels since, though. They must feel unloved in their unedited state...
And before I go, I'd like to pose a question like I always do. If you could pick up and play any one musical instrument in only three or four lessons, which instrument would you choose, and why? For me, I would go with the harmonica because I got one for Christmas, and I already had one stored away in one of my desk drawers to begin with. Now that I have two, it's kind of unimplied that I must learn how to play it or else let a good potential talent go to waste. Beside, when I think of a harmonica player, I visualize a hardened world-weary traveler who has seen and done many things, both positive and negative. And the harmonica is his medium though which his story is told, either by upbeat songs with a chipper harmony, or slightly melancholic songs with a haunting harmony. What about you all?
Three day weekend!-
Bryan