Yeaer in Rearview

Looking over my 2010 shoulder, last year was a fairly interesting one. Let me give you a summary:

Dec 31-Jan 1- New Years in Seattle with friends

Two words: Family Game

Jan 4 through March 7- Lived in Urubamba, Peru

I learned a little Spanish, met a some great people, lived at 10,000ft, worked at 11,900ft. Stood out (like always) on bus rides full of Quechuan people--whose lives have been the object of my thoughts lately, and I haven't yet decided whether they should be helped by us, or if we are the ones who need help.

March 11- June 26- Spokane, WA

Living with Parents. Sleeping on couch in basement. Using hot tub often, if not more.

June 27-29- Interview in Queens, NY

(parked my truck in Queen Anne, Seattle) to JFK, NY on red eye interviewed for a job in Jamaica, Queens, slept at Motel 8 took bus to Boston, MA stayed with friends, walked the freedom trail and back to Seattle slept on bench in airport, woke up found truck and drove back to Spokane in time to watch Hoopfest

June 29-Aug 12- Spokane, WA

Relaxation. Red Lion Hotel. Looked for jobs. Parents couch. Accepted job with Pathways to Housing in East Harlem. Preparation, etc.

Aug 12-15- Spokane, Bismark, Chicago, somewhere in Connecticut, NYC

Took this route with friend, Evan who was kind enough to detour on his way to NC

Aug 15^th- Sept 20^th- Upper east side Manhattan- started job in East Harlem—a quick subway ride up to 125^th street station- steep learning curve, crappy, small room and weird roommate offset by starting my own life, 5 blocks from central park, exploring NYC, getting lost, finding myself far from everything that I knew, but finding myself loved. Stress, stress, stress.

Sept 20- Dec 22- Astoria, Queens

moved into my own apt. Work, work, work. Fun and lots of learning. Getting to know Harlem and the Bronx. Also spent Thanksgiving in Durham, NC with friends.

Dec 23-29 Spokane, XMAS

Back to Spokane for Holidays

Dec 29- Present- NYC

As a bit of a bonus, here are some of my top memories from 2009:

#3 re-using my own toilet paper Urubamba, Peru

(I’m almost positive it was my own)

3a- Macchu Piccu with two old friends Peru

3b- Cuzco with my Peruvian brothers

#2 my interview trip to NYC…can’t believe I did that, it’s long story, but I’m giving myself a pat on the back for that one

2a after sleeping in the seattle airport, taking the train to my truck and making it halfway back to Spokane, I decided to brush my teeth because my mouth needed it. Spitting out the toothpaste at 75mph is the same as drooling down your neck, arm and seatbelt

#1 This isn’t so much a memory as a reality—the reality is that no imagination is more interesting than real life. Come work in my job and you will find out why…

1a- taking ____ to the doctor and then to a local Cuban restaurant to eat and watch america’s funniest home videos

1b the cross-dresssing, drug peddling, scam artist/dental hygenist on the first floor of my office. Get paid to get your teeth cleaned. Figure that one out!

1c- the smells, the people, the history—they are all good memories being made

Thanksgiving in NC

Don't worry I'm watching plenty of football and eating lots of food in Durham, NC with Dave and Evan for Thanksgiving. I took a day off work and flew down here for some needed rest. So far I've seen a little of Durham and walked around the Duke campus. We watched Gonzaga eek out a win against Cincinnati last night to win the Maui invitational, which was the first time I've watched TV for an extended time in several months. It was great, but I do not have high hopes for the Zags this year. We're having Thanksgiving dinner with some friends of Evan and Dave this afternoon. I will be returning to NYC having been refreshed, and will be ready to get back on the job. Next up, Xmas in Spokane.

In the news

I don't have internet or TV, and haven't been keeping up with the news, but today I did some laundry, and picked up a copy of The Times while my quarters went to work. I sat on a chair in the sun and read about the shooting at Fort Hood, the Health Care reform passing in the House, people living in poverty directly on top of enormous oil fields in Iraq--these were all in the front section--in the other sections we had stories about "the decline and fall of the bachelor pad" in NYC, 40 pages in the Auto section, some sprawling story about Sesame Street or Big Bird, etc. In between these stories were ads about the Yankees recent victory, music events and real estate.

If you take a train from Brooklyn and get off up in the Bronx, it's like reading the weekend Times. You see so many things that are so different that you get weary just from traveling across that spectrum--from weighty and interesting to trite and airy--and then back again. It's hard to see things that you dislike existing so close to the things that you think are more important. fashion should go to hell. hell should leave the people alone.

And what do you do about it?

You update a blog and make split pea soup. yep, that's definitely what you do.

new place + lost in the bronx

Welp-

I will finally be moving out of this 70 sq ft piece of garbage room and into my own apartment. I found a small 1 bdrm apartment in Astoria, Queens, which is quite a great place, I do say. Hopefully next weekend I will be up early on Saturday with a Uhaul van moving my stuff and getting furniture. Right now the only things in the apartment are a refrigerator and a bed, but I am so proud that I forced myself to by a shower curtain for the bathroom, which I would normally put off doing for a good while. I doubt there are many people on earth who hate shopping for home decor more than I do, but since I'm going to be the one living there, and will have to show it to people, I'm going to attempt to make my own home respectably decorated, organized, etc.

For the most part, I haven't had too much trouble finding my way around. But I often, and far too consistently get lost in the Bronx. We finally got a GPS in the cars last week, but before that I was driving around and getting stuck in traffic with way too many things left to do, and not enough time to do them. Wait, that's the job no matter what, but it makes it worse if you discover that you accidentally crossed the Triborough Bridge into Queens when you have a clients blood you had just drawn, which is only good for a certain amount of time--that is not fun.

Also, I am trying to decide whether I want to get a TV or internet in my place. I'm thinking that I won't. But maybe I'll give in.

that's all

crackers in my bed

So I made the mistake of trying to open an already opened box of wheat thins while laying on my bed last week. I was planning to eat them while continuing to lay there for two very good reasons: 1) I can do whatever I want, and 2) It's one of two places in my room where I can comfortably eat.

After opening the wrong side and wrestling with the package, I came to realize that crackers and crumbs were spilling all over me and my sheets. This was both amusing and frustrating, as I have a history of bed-food incidents, not only with crackers, but also scalding hot tea, a milkshake, a subway foot long, and most notably a candy bar (imagine scene from Godfather where man finds horse's head in his sheets and substitute horse for chocolate and almonds). Please refrain from making the obvious suggestion here, people. The point is that I have a problem; a food-in-my-bed-problem, and I hate to admit it, but the crumbs are not all gone because I forgot to wash my sheets last weekend. It's not the worst problem ever. You know what a worse problem is? Trying to figure out how a person on SSI should shop for healthy food in Harlem. You know what an even worse problem is? Being the person who has diabetes and mental illness and trying to figure out how to eat healthy and manage your weight on SSI while getting mugged semi-frequently. I mean, this guy might want crackers in his bed, right?

In other news:
President Obama was in NYC today, and apparently he was at The Met tonight, which is right near my place, and is along the route that I run on the way to the glory that is central park. Anyway, you wouldn't believe the amount of police officers who were around The Met. I literally saw more cops than people, which is significant, but the things is that they were all just standing in groups of two or more...just talking...getting paid. It made me resent police officers and our 44th president for requiring so much attention. I think NYC is rubbing off on me as I was annoyed by such a slight inconvenience. Or maybe it was the fact that, uh, THEY WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING!! I hope they all spill cracker crumbs on their sheets.

In alternative news:
I went to a Yankees game a couple weeks ago and spent way too much on a burrito and got semi-soaked, but also saw derek jeter surpass Lou gehrig's (sp?) as all-time hits leader.

Tetris and the Compassion Rebellion

You know when you are about to lose at tetris, and you start to panic and think, "oh, sh**, oh sh**" as the blocks seem to be coming faster and the rows move higher quicker? Well, I was born playing a brand new, beginner level tetris game. If you are born into poverty and have a mental illness, an abusive past, a poor education, addictions, no support, no dignity, are treated without respect, are sometimes given bread but never roses, are surrounded by violence, live in a society that is individualistic and calloused, well...I started out talking about tetris, but now I don't think a computer game is an appropriate analogy, but, you get the idea. Oh, sh**, oh sh**, you're f***ed (unless someone is willing to stand by you with a pocket full of quarters, patience, encouragement and teaching) this is just the way it seems to be. And most people don't spend a lot of time in arcades...I know I don't.

Upcoming events this week:
1) ultimate frisbee in central park
2) yankees game
3) will either give myself a haircut or pay for one
4) not writing another blog

Also, I will be composing a list of things that kill your soul. Feel free to comment on your own "soul-killers". I have two for you:
1) standing in line. this is just the worst ever!!!!!!
2) Shopping/thinking about stores like American Apparel- save your soul. don't do this.

PS- This is called blogventing (which is a term i just created). No need to comment or analyze. Just let it happen. Pictures to follow someday.
PPS- I found this link to be pretty simple way of presenting our health care problem in America