Living the SLO Life

I'm noticing that these summer blog entries are all going to be fairly limited in detail. Oh well...I'm sure we're all staying busy enough so that we don't have to kill time by blogging and facebooking and whatnot.

I have (again) just a few scattered events of interest to report:

--I got a job!! After going into the store over and over again only to be told the manager on duty was busy, I finally got an interview. (The manager later told me she wouldn't have hired me had I not been so persistent.) So, long story short, I'm going to be working at Blockbuster this summer. They're paying $7.25/hour to start, which is pretty much as good as I could have hoped to make for a short-term summer job. Plus, I get five free rentals each week and 20% off all merchandise in the store. So that's just dandy. But what's probably more important is that I think Blockbuster will be a fun place to work...something at least partially interesting to do with my time. I also asked if I'm able to transfer up to the SLO store, and evidently I am able to do so. It's more likely that I won't want to work fall quarter (with all the band), but Liz (the manager) said I could also quit here and reapply to the SLO store at a later date. So overall I think this is a good situation for me.

--I'm also going to be volunteering with the SD Blood Bank! I have an orientation thingy at the downtown blood bank HQ on Tuesday, and after that I can start helping out at blood drives. I'm excited to find myself becoming passionate about different things (giving blood being one of them). I don't know what has come over me, but I'm so glad I'm wanting to volunteer and lead and participate, etc. Life is good.

--I haven't been overly thrilled with my experiences at Catholic masses lately, so I decided it was a good idea to try something new. This morning I went to church with Alena at the Christian church off of Pomerado Road. Long story short, I enjoyed this service a lot more. It was hard to get used to it in a few ways (e.g. the pastor was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and slacks and not traditional priest's robes). But I found the lesson to be much easier to understand. Catholic mass has lots of old traditions in it...unfortunately for me, I wasn't raised to be thoroughly religious and as a result I have a tough time following it. As a general rule, I get to the end of the mass and realize I can't remember a thing about what was said. I also feel a lot like I'm being guilted into doing good instead of being inspired to do good. I didn't have any of these problems with the service today. I'll skip the details, but the whole thing seemed much more cheerful and applicable to everyday life. I really enjoyed it. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about my (partial) Catholic upbringing. I think another denomination may be more well-suited to my own personal beliefs. I'm not sure how some people close to me will take this news, and to them I have this to say: Isn't it better that I figure out what I believe and follow the religion that helps me along that path? The bottom line is that I believe in God. I trust in Him and I want to live my life according to His teachings. If I can find a religion that helps me do that better than I'm doing it now, wouldn't it be insane not to follow it? I think so. So for now, I'm searching.

Those are the major things. Here are a couple of minor things:

--Went to RB's graduation last Wednesday at Cox Arena at SDSU. Not really exciting at all, but I'm happy for all the new graduates. Congratulations, Class of 2005!

--I went to the Padre game last Thursday with Dad and Steve. It was a good game until the Padres lost it in the 8th: they allowed the Dodgers to tie the score. Then in the bottom of the 9th, the Pads had the winning run on 2nd with only one out. But the pitcher was able to pick off the runner while he was dozing off with a phat leadoff. So extra innings it was, where LA scored the winning run. Sigh. But it was fun anyway. I was SO close to getting up on the bigscreen. The camera man was five feet away from me, filming the people in the row in front of me. I did all I could to get in the shot, but to no avail. Oh well...I guess I'll just have to go back to Petco Park (like...uh...this Saturday!)

--Spent the day with Lauren yesterday, doing a bunch of random things to pass the time. It was lotsa fun. I also went over to Alena's to help her set up her iPod and to help her sister burn an mp3 disc. It's fun to be the computer genius once in a while, which I am most certainly NOT in most situations. Woot woot for simple problems.

--Mom got a new dog. It's Tessie's brother (from the same litter), and we're calling him Cooper (after Cooperstown...because all of our male dogs are named after stadiums). Cooper's original owner was diagnosed with a disease (I think) and she's no longer able to take care of him. So Mom to the rescue! Cooper has turned out to be a mellower dog than Tessie, which I like. He's very friendly, too. So I'd like to extend a big "welcome" to the newest member of this household.

And that's about all I need to talk about. So now I'm going to go to bed, and I'm going to sleep in tomorrow.

He really loves that dog,
Josh

mood: all right
music: Friends on in the background
location: Mom's house

Quoted Randomness:
[These quotes are from a while ago, and I've just forgotten to put them in here.]

"You're so useless...you're like the male nipple of the setup crew."
--Jamie Albin

"I should drink more caffeine. It would keep me from falling asleep and drowning in the mayonnaise while I'm making a sandwich."
--Friendly Sandwich Factory Worker

[On the speakers at the commencement ceremony]
"They're ASI guys. Technically, they're my bosses. Actually technically...I hate them."
--Mike Juner

I've got four tickets to this Thursday's Padres game (vs. Los Angeles). Dad and I are going, so if there are two of you out there who would like to go then let me know! The game starts at about 12:30.

I also subscribed to Blockbuster's online movie rental service (a la Netflix). So if anyone this summer wants to watch a movie, doesn't want to pay the price to rent it or spend the time to rent it, and doesn't mind watching it with me, then I've got you covered. Let me know.

Act now,
Josh

mood: excited for baseball, movies, graduation, and possible jobs
music: zip
location: Mom's house

Scattered randomness from past couple of weeks:

--Campus Dining (in their infinite wisdom) closed pretty much every dining establishment on campus on the last day of finals, which was (coincidentally) the last day our plu$ dollars were any good. But I'll be damned before I lose money to Campus Dining! Courtney and I found a vending machine that read our cards and in the span of about twenty minutes blew about forty bucks between us on assorted candy bars, chips, and cookies. I didn't really want all the candy...but the experience of having about fifty candy bars piling up in the bottom of the machine was worth the cash. I thought it would have been fun to leave it all there, so that when some unsuspecting kid reached in to pull out the bag of Skittles he just bought, there'd be enough candy in there to gas him up for weeks.

--Finals went well; I was actually quite proud of myself. There were problems I didn't immediately know how to do, but that I was able to figure out given a little time. I won't bore you with the details (in part because I don't really remember them all), but long story short I got all A's. So woot!

--The drive home on Sunday was a long one. Traffic in Santa Barbara was horrendous; it took us 45 minutes to go about fifteen miles. Sigh. But we stopped in Ventura for about an hour to visit my dad's Aunt Geri (spelling?), and that broke up the trip sufficiently well. It was kinda sad, though. Dad, Courtney, and I had breakfast at IHOP just before leaving, and I had to say goodbye to Courtney for the summer. :-( I miss her a lot. A big fat lot. But at least there are plans for her to come down here or for me to go up there at some point (4th of July?).

--I saw Star Wars: Episode III with my Dad. At the end of the movie, he leans over and whispers, "So I guess this is like a prequel to the original movies." It was pretty darned hilarious. I guess Dad was never really the Star Wars fan.

--I saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Joanna. I really liked the movie, although it went on for just a tad too long. The action was cool, though...and I enjoyed the mix of awesome explosions and gunfights with comedy. So hooray.

--I gave blood.

--I went to the 2005 grad party at the Dubinas' house. There, I saw many people whom I haven't seen in a while, including my high school band directors. Oodles of fun.

--I had dinner with Alena on Tuesday and went over to Lauren's for a while on Wednesday. I have missed them, and it was good to see them again.

The rest of my time here at home can be summed up in two words: "job search." I've submitted many applications and sent of at least a dozen resumes. But, alas, no one seems to want to hire me for just the summer. I completely understand the employers' viewpoints, but still...I want a job. What the heck am I going to do with myself this summer if I can't find a job? Here's a quick summary:

Places/Jobs to/for which I've applied:
Blockbuster
Circuit City
Costco
Albertsons
Vons
Borders
Barnes & Noble
Target
Hallmark
Hilton Garden Inn
Receptionist - HTK Structural Engineers
Receptionist - Pomerado Publishing
Office Assistant - Mytee Products
Administrative Assistant - RescuePetStore.com
Office Assistant - about five other businesses that didn't give their names in the classified ads
Volunteer - San Diego Blood Bank

Places from which I've heard back:
Circuit City - not for just the summer
Barnes & Noble - not for just the summer
Hallmark - not for just the summer
HTK Structural Engineers - not for just the summer
Mytee Products - not for just the summer, but there might be a temporary project they can put me on
RescuePetStore.com - interview later this week...seems promising
Vons - had interview, checking with management...possibly a cashier, bagger, or online order filler


So yeah. The RescuePetStore.com one is a guy who works out of his house. It has something to do with designing webpages, which is mildly related to my field of study (maybe not...but it's a hell of a lot closer than a Vons bagger). He emailed me a little test...I had to get on his website and find some pieces of info about a couple of products and their associated webpages. I wasn't entirely sure of what I was doing, but the guy seems to think I did fine. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one. It's only part-time, so I figure if I get it I can try to find another part-time job, or volunteer (like with the blood bank). So we'll see.

Okay...well...I'm bored of writing now. There isn't much more of interest, anyway.

Do they clean this think in between clients?
Josh

mood: fine
music: "Mambo Swing" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
location: Mom's house

I'm home! Finally! Finals all went well, and after a couple of days off Dad drove up to SLO to help me haul all of my stuff home. I arrived in beautiful Rancho Bernardo at about 8:00 last night. I'm still working on unpacking...I have to figure out how to divide my stuff back between Mom's and Dad's. But I'll get it figured out soon enough.

For now, I've got enough to do that I don't want to sit here and type a whole entry. Unpacking and finding a job and RELAXING are on the top of my list...so here I go.

Have a good summer,
Josh

mood: a little SLOsick, but basically happy to be home
music: Prelude from West Side Story on my new computer speakers (which I stole from Mom's old computer)
location: Dad's House, Ramona, CA

The title was going to be included under Quoted Randomness, but I feel that it kind of applies to what I have to say. I saw it on a Tshirt, under a picture of a hot dog.

Please forgive me if the following entry isn't the most well-organized and coherent. There are a few distractions that will be keeping me from concentrating, namely Kevin and his quarter-past-eleven-on-the-night-before-finals viola practice. I'm drowning it out (no offense to Kevin...he's a good player, but he is practicing and not playing) with some iTunes, which will probably just distract me further. Add that to the fact that I only have scattered stories to tell you and...well...just give me a break with the writing, okay?

So class ended last week, and finals start (for some) tomorrow. I personally have my digital design final on Tuesday morning, my two math finals adjacent to each other starting at 7am on Thursday, and my circuit analysis final on Friday. I'm coming into all of them with good grades, and thus the amount I'm worrying about them is minimal. I will say that each of these finals is 35% to 40% of my grade, so I can't really blow them off. But I figure that since I've done well on midterms then I'm likely to do well on finals, too. So that said, I haven't had a whole heck of a lot to do this weekend. Lots of sleeping in, reading, running errands, and playing some classic Goldeneye 007 on N64. It's good to be a little bored every once in a while, but I am looking forward to coming home and finding a job.

I don't mean, however, to give the impression that I've done nothing of interest over the past few days. So here are some highlights:

The bookstore had a phat 30%-off-everything sale on Thursday, and I went a little crazy. I bought myself four Cal Poly Tshirts, some Cal Poly gym shorts, a "Cal Poly Mom" sweatshirt and bumper sticker for Mom (as per her request), and a "Cal Poly Cow Tipping Team" Tshirt for Joanna. I also did some shopping for Father's Day...maybe at the bookstore and maybe not (tune in in a couple of weeks to find out!). I know...I went a little overboard. But the prices were good and I couldn't resist. Funny story though...as I was walking out of the bookstore I was reading over my receipt (the cheapskate that I am) and discovered that they had charged me for one too many Tshirts. So I went back in a got my $12 back. It was lucky that I looked over the receipt then, because it would have been pretty darned impossible to prove that I didn't walk out of the store with that Tshirt at some later date. So hooray.

Our windO concert was last night in the PAC. I'm sure I've mentioned before that both our concert and the wind ensemble's concert was completely dedicated to the music of Eric Ewazen (a composer from Julliard). He flew in to SLO from New York on Wednesday and was present at both our Wednesday and Friday rehearsals as well as the concert itself. Working with the actual composer of the music was a new and unique experience; I enjoyed it. Mr. Ewazen is a very amicable man. He gave us lots of suggestions without ever talking down to us. So yay. The concert itself went very well; I was completely thrilled. It was one of the rare instances where the best performance of the music actually happens at the concert instead of in a rehearsal. The little solo/soli thingy Singh and I had at the start of "Hymn for the Lost and the Living" wasn't flawless, but was about as good as anyone could have hoped for. And I personally thought Singh and I had never played "Celtic Hymns and Dances" better. As for the windO trumpets playing the bugle parts for windE's performance of "Legacy," it was a blast! We got to stand up in the balcony above the stage, all spotlighted and everything. And at the end of the piece the audience gave a standing ovation without it even being the end of the concert! Ahhh...it felt so good to be halfway competent at a concert! So excited...so excited...

After the concert was the much-awaited end-of-the-year party at the Chop house. I had, of course, been debating all week over whether I wanted to go or not. I was given the option to go with Rosalie and Heather for coffee and/or frozen yogurt, and that was an appealing choice because I haven't really spent much time with either of them lately. But I decided in the end that I would rather go to the party and have a horrible time then to not go and to spend hours worrying about whether or not I should have gone. Besides, I could have a good time, right? So off to the Chop house I went. When Courtney and I arrived I found the party to be very different from the one I experienced a few weeks ago. There were a lot more people there, and the people who threw the party went all out. There was a DJ and a disco ball and a bar inside and another bar outside and people at the door charging to get in...the whole shebang. I won't bore you with all of the details, but suffice it to say that I found it very much easier to enjoy myself at this party than at the others. For one thing, having more people there made me feel like just one in the crowd. I could do/not do what I wanted and not feel pressured (as much). For another, there were a lot more people there whom I know and with whom I could carry on a conversation. So that was exciting. As far as alcohol goes, I had a strawberry daiquiri and a shot or two of peppermint schnapps (as part of a Chop tradition...toasting and whatnot). I don't think it was a whole lot of alcohol, but I'm pretty sure I could feel the effects of it anyway. I was a little woozy walking around...so I sat on the couch for a pretty good while. I don't know if I had had enough so that other people could tell that I had been drinking; you'd have to ask Courtney. I decided I had had enough partying for one night at about 2, so Courtney drove me home in my car, which she drove back to the chop house so that she could take other people home in their cars. (She and I drove back there this morning to retrieve my car.) I was asleep about fifteen seconds after hitting my pillow.

I really don't like that I had stuff to drink at the party. I'm fine with beer and wine...in time...but I don't think I'll ever want to drink other, stronger liquor. I know I was only slightly tipsy and nowhere near "drunk," but I absolutely hated the feeling. I don't have a problem with other people drinking, but I hated not being in control. I hated having to rely on someone else for a ride home. I hated not feeling responsible. (Not that people who drink are necessarily irresponsible...drinking just isn't good for me personally.) I'm sure a large portion of those of you reading this are thinking that I need to learn to "let go" a little more, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion. But I have my own set of values, which I have seen lately being warped and compromised by what everyone else thinks is good and right. Well this is one instance where I'm not going to let that happen. I'm Josh Parker, and I don't drink. If that makes me a dork/a square/a loser/whatever the hell you want to call it in someone else's eyes, then fine. Think that about me. At least I'm sticking to what I believe in. At least I can be satisfied with myself.

Okay...well after that I think I'm good for blogging for now. I really hadn't planned on all of that coming out here. But so it goes. I'll talk to you all soon.

Carpe diem,
Josh

mood: there's something in the back of my mind I can't put my finger on that's bothering me
music: Abba's "Dancing Queen" as sung by Rockapella
location: dorm