The Hills Are Alive (with the sound of kitch)

Over the river, through the mountains and snow we traveled yesterday to a small town named Leavenworth. It's styled after the old Bavarian villages. All of the store fronts and fonts on the signs and such. You could practically add "Ye Olde" to most signs and it would have been totally appropriate. But we weren't the only ones with this quaint little plan. This lil' burg was SWARMING with people!!

You wouldn't believe the cold. Well, with the mounds of snow and sledding, yes I guess you could. Seeing all of the snow on the sides of these roads and mountains thinking. If it all came down, that would be a bad way for a Texan to go out...

But here's an example of those "ye olde" signs.

But it was a cute little town filled with shops with items like Nutcrackers, beer steins and other old world goodies, and even a hat store, that was apparently quite the rage, stocking hats as diverse as old style conductor and bowler hats to big christmas trees for the top of your head! The insane thing about this store, however, was the line way out the door! Who knew stupid hats were so popular? Or these crazy cat figurines for that matter? (I hope I am actually very wrong)

As the sun set on this (faux) old town the wandering and cold had gotten to us, and we headed inside for very nice Italian dinner, opting out of the street vendor kielbasa and elk burgers for finer dining. But not before snapping this beautiful shot:
Now dark, we waddled back into the streets for some last minute shopping for loved ones before we headed out onto the dangerous now dark snowy mountain passes. Intermittently stopping for great photo ops, we drank coffee and harassed the tourists. All in good fun.



Trudging with icy bricks for fingers and toes we made our way back to the frozen car and began the long, dark journey back to Seattle and said Auf Weidersein to the little Bavarian village.


Happy Holidays Gentle Viewers!

The Weather Outside Is Frightening.

Yeah, nothing to do with that wretched song. Some holiday songs just get under my skin and make me want to throw up in my mouth. Sorry. I guess that's not the right spirit. Now if only it could be EGGNOG Flavored vomit! Then the holidays would I feel, inside and out.

But last night there was an insane wind storm. Like all of the trees were going apeshit, swirling around in some chaotic dance. I have rarely witnessed wind so threatening.

"Whatever Jarad, it's just wind. At least it's not that rain you whine about."

WRONG TOTO. Look at these pictures. Taken by me, right outside my friggin' apt.




Oh, I guess I'll chat a bit about what I've been up to. Unemployed. SIGH. Don't wanna talk about it. But I've kept busy. For more details on this, stop on over at Kim's blog and read up about Jesika's visit, a great Pogues tribute concert and other adventures.

Tomorrow should be a great day. Going to some small town in the mountains that's been pitched to me as Washington's Fredricksburg. And then that night going to see my favorite Aussie band (no, not who you think, though I am perpetually in love with "Thunderstruck") The Living End!! Yaaaah! Hopefully there will be photography afoot.

Oh, and monday I start a job programming fax machines. I AM the boring job monkey.

But hey, if film guys in Oahu are reading this, HIRE ME.

Until next time, Gentle Viewers...

Snow and Such

I thought I'd spare you more musings this time, and instead just show some pictures of the weather around here recently.

Enjoy my Gentle Viewers!






(This last one looks very ominous, don't you agree?)

There and Back Again...A Turkey Tale

So I have something to admit my Gentle Viewers...

I'm sometimes lazy, and the blog things, well they don't write themselves. But enough with the excuses, and more with the update.

Two holidays have came and went since we last spoke. Halloween was fairly uneventful, but I did walk around that day wearing a hockey mask and got a lot of great stares from people. As I walked about like a Voorhees, I went and picked up the new Deftones album, Saturday Night Wrist. I have to say, I'm very impressed with it. Definitely a return to form, and much better than the self-titled release of 2003. The songs for the most part can be described as violently beautiful, and has probably gotten more spins than most albums for me lately. I'm completely re-infatuated with the Deftones. I agree with whatever review it is that I read that said something to the effect of, "if you don't have any heavy albums in your collection this should be the first." I would recommend it to new and old fans alike.

I've also been to 3 shows since last we shared:

Electric Six - This was such a fun show. Dick Valentine (which is the coolest stage name imo) has great stage presence, a great sense of humor and rapport with the audience and the band were tight. I danced the night away listened to them non-stop afterwards. This is a band that is more than the "Danger! High Voltage" song. I have a feeling they'll be making fun, danceable music for years to come.

(As a side note in a similar vein, check out the new Rapture album Pieces of the People We Love. Brilliant stuff, and makes me do a happy jig.

Beirut - Wow. That's all I can say. I've never been to a show like this before. It was at the intimate Crocodile Cafe and it was the perfect setting for the band. The 10 or so members squished together on stage, blaring out the best gypsy music this side of the Balkans. The main guy crooned and played trumpet, and the band flowed through song after song of beautiful, exotic music, at times even encouraging the audience to get into the act by wandering around the crowd with tamborines and trumpets. It felt more like a house party than a formal concert. Plus, openers A Hawk and A Hacksaw (main guy was the drummer of Neutral Milk Hotel) were fantastic, definitely setting the mood for the the music to come.

Because of this concert I have really been into Eastern European music, and in specific, the music of the Balkans and Gypsies. I've grabbed discs where I can and have been trying to absorb it all. It just takes me to a far away place in my mind, most of the time back to wander the small cobblestone streets of Stare Mesto, Praha. I feel this passion and pull towards the area. I feel as if I'm destined to return there someday. Hopefully to stay for a while, teach English, live. Even though I value stability, and I like having nice things. I just can't see me as a "company man" who keeps the same job for 20 years with a new plaque every few years on his desk. More heart yearns for more, and my mind wants to absorb everything this world has to offer. It's just that right now this is the forefront in appealing. Egypt is somwhere on that list too. As is Turkey, Thailand, and Antarctica.

Kool Keith - Hey thanked the "Seattle Organization." A LOT. He asked ladies to put on thongs over their clothes while he played "Girl Let Me Touch You There." Even after most of the crowd was gone he was still ranting about "sniffing the artwork" and "No more camera phones." It was a crazy show, and fun as hell. He did hits, he did more obscure tracks, new ones, and even flowed a couple of times. It was a show to be remembered. I'll forgive how long it took him to get out onto the friggin' stage because he was so spot-on. The weirdest thing was when he was playing a song called "The G Spot" and some trashed looking girl with a mohawk stumbled onstage and started dancing provocatively and after the song he ramble about it being "so exotic" and like "being in the Navy. I'm on the water for 2 minutes, I'm in the navy." Whatever that means. She proceeded to stay on stage and bump into the DJ, who got PISSED OFF and had her removed from the stage. Haha. A night of hip hop to remember.

I got a job for a while working at the UW Medical Center in the Materials Mgmt Dept. I did inventory in all sort of creepy places and put speculums in a bag! It was boring and sucked. I never saw my boss, and people were always telling me different things to do. Plus there was NO formal training, so it was basically sink or swim. So eventually they decided that even though they didn't see me hardly at all, but somebody always had something for me to do, which someone else thought was wrong, I decided I "wasn't working out." But I guess you figured that from my use of past tense from the very beginning. Good on ya. Have an interview at the Mac Store tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Maybe I can be a sales monkey...again.

So, on to more recent things like Thanksgiving holiday! I arrived home last Tuesday night, after missing my original flight that morning. I was angry, but it was no big deal. We had a great Italian dinner, and afterwards I hung out with the Suttons, Fer Fer, Robert and his wife, and Blunck! We talked, drank, etc. It was so great to see everyone. I was so freakin' happy about it, especially to see Blunck, who I haven't seen in around a year. I really missed that fool. Every night I got to see more and more familiar faces, including my awesome sister LeAnne, Mark, Crab, Mike Jones, Pookie, mi hermano Marshall, Robert, Jennifer "Ruth" German (!!!) and many more. Drank, smoked, talked, laughed, video gamed, and I loved every minute of it. (Even the inevitable shopping where I found the monkey slipper below)

On a different note, I got to spend quality time with my Grandmother, who turned the big 8-0 this past Saturday. We had a huge gathering at our house with relatives, food, champagne, and even a vocal performance from my mostly MIA cousin. It made her so happy, and it was great to see her get all of that attention and care. She needs and deserves it. She lives in a nursing home, and I won't even get into how awful I think that is.

The last day of my trip home my mom and I went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We saw an IMAX film on Greece that has inspired me to make it a goal to sail around the Greek islands. We wandered through the exhibit halls, seeing dinosaur bones, African wildlife, shells, precious gemstones, and much more. It was fun and educational day, and good bonding thing to do with my mom. She really enjoyed it, which shows me that my parents can do fun and interesting things, they just need a push to think outside the box of movie theater and mall.

So now I'm back in Seattle. It's colder than witch's teat here. In the 20s. Snow still on the ground and rooftops. All I have is a stupid radiator, which I don't think is very effective, so I'm wrapped up in a blanket. I think I'll go make some hot chocolate and take a shower. Think warm thoughts for me. Oh, and while we're thinking about it, think high-paying job thoughts for me too.

Cheers.

Don’t Call It A Comeback (Or, The Countryside Search for the Great Pumpkin)

Just when the blog world thought I fell off the earth into obscurity or real life pursuance, here I am, ready to give my Gentle Viewers another peek into the controlled cyclone that is my life.

Well, since I last spoke, a lot has changed. The biggest is that I’m now a resident of Seattle, Washington. Got an apartment up on Capitol Hill, a pretty hip area with coffee shops, grocery stores, and concert venues all within walking distance. It’s a nice place to be if you don’t have a car. Downtown’s even a brisk walk downhill and no problem. Even have a pretty sweet view of Queen Anne and the sunset when it happens. So all of that is great.

That aside though, things have been tough in the job dept. I’ve been searching for a while, trying to find something not only that I could enjoy, but make money at. I’m tired of crap jobs, and unless it comes to the absolute worst I don’t want to do it again. I did an after school thing when I first got here, but it sucked a lot. I worked only 3 hours a day, and commuted an hour each way, so it just wasn’t’ worth it. So I quit. Been trying the temp agencies too, offering me various things when they’re not busy giving me tons of typing tests and other menial quizzes like, “can you delete icons from the Windows desktop?” Uh, yeah, I think I can handle that. Oh, after all of that testing you still don’t have anything available or if you do it isn’t until a month or two from now? Oh, thanks for your help. Even worked a day at a T-M0bile event. It was really stupid and pompous. There was giant ice block carved with their logo and new campaign name that they poured punch through and such pretentious fluff items as a chocolate fountain and a DJ. For what? Just to pump up the people working in their call center. My role in this shenanigan? Folding and handing out shirts. But for $11/hr, sure, whatever. Better than not making money…

Last Sunday was really awesome. Kim and I got up really early and went to Nanette’s house and Kim cooked this awesome big breakfast. There’s something sacred and all-important to the point of almost ritual when it comes to breakfast. No other meal ever fills quite as fulfilling. I mean, there’s bacon involved, how could you go wrong?! After that, we went to Redmond and to a PUMPKIN PATCH!! We wandered around for about an hour sifting through pumpkins and picking ones we’d like to take home. It’s so much more rewarding than walking up to a grocery store and grabbing one from out front.

Even Thom got in on the action….


Representing for Texas too!

Once we got back, we began carving pumpkins and watching Night of the Living Dead. Nannette made a delicious apple pie and pumpkin soup. I had never had pumpkin soup, but it was delicious and curry-based, so with a good piece of bread for dipping (is that a Southern thang?) It was quite filling…well, with room for pie of course.

One thing I thought about while I was watching the movie. In many ways, this movie is an advancement for African Americans. The main character is one, and he is obviously the most clever person in the movie, and survives…well until the coming of the ignorant white folks…what do you guys think? I think it’s a positive image, but don’t really know how it was taken at the time, or whether that aspect was discussed (I’m sure it was).

But this is just an example of one awesome day. This weekend we might even go to the San Juan Islands! I’ve heard such good things about it with whales and whatnot, even if they’ve probably already gone by this time of year, sadly…

HOLD ON! What about your job crap Jarad? It seemed somewhat unresolved a few paragraphs back you scatterbrain! Tell me about the fucking golf shoes!

Ok, so right now I’m in the process of being hired for a pretty sweet Americ0rps job. The pay wouldn’t be great, but it would be an awesome opportunity. It would be doing events and such with a local center for at-risk/homeless kids. I would be heading up a film club/dept. where I would teach them how to make films and such. Getting the arts in the hands of those less fortunate. That would be such an enriching opportunity, and I’d have a job that involved film, so hey, I would be very happy with that.

FUCK. Blog FLASH UPDATE. Right as I was writing this, I was called and informed that when my name was input into the computer for some survey the corporate side of things, I was in the “control group” which means I’m not eligible for the job. They can’t hire me, even though they really wanted to. I’m so fucking pissed. Not because of qualifications, but just randomly I’m shut down. FUCK THIS. FUCK AMERICORPS. I hope they read this. See what fucktards they are. That they could have had a person make a good, positive difference in the community and instead he’s kicked to the curb because of some 1’s and 0’s on a computer. Need any more evidence technology is used for evil purposes? I’m fuming.

Fortunate for my ass, like the cocoa powder Mexican chefs put in spicy foods to dull the burn, the guy from UW Temp calls and offers me an office job for the next 2 weeks. Pay’s decent and it’s something to keep me busy until my fall-back temp job kicks in—call center bullshit for Starfucks coffee. Whatever. I guess I wasn’t destined to work for the betterment of mankind and humanity, but instead to be a corporate tool. For now anyway…

The job chase is like waiting for the Great Pumpkin. You do everything you can to wait, to know your subject, but in reality he’s never going to come. You just end up looking like a fool. But I guess that’s really negative. Maybe he will show up. Someday.

I gotta go, I’m too scatterbrained and raging to blog anymore, but hey, I’m back.

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!

Just when you thought it was safe...

So there I was, all ready to write my gentle viewers a nice blog about my long, tiring but rewarding summer job being over and my stressful search for a new job and new life, not to mention all of the stress and sadness of the decline in health of my grandmother, when like Michael Corleone said best, "they pull me back in!"

I'm in Angleton on Wednesday, packing my bags to head back to Austin to begin the job search again and to have some distance from the Angleton homestead, when I get a call from the illustrious iD Tech, telling me that they lost a counselor "literally, at lunch." And they want to know if I will fly to Conencticut TONIGHT! Geez louize! So after thinking about it for a bit, I decided that I would indeed do it. I hopped on a 7pm flight and FINALLY ended up in the not so big CT around 1:30am, after arriving in NYC at 11:30 and having the regional manager pick me up from the airport and drive me. But she was really nice, so it was cool.

But what is so sad as well is missing the departure of my dear friend Matt, who is going to Russian next Saturday for the semester! I'm going to miss him so much and I don't even get to see him off! ARGH!! Take care dear sweet matthew, I love ya much.

So here I am now. In CT at Sacred Heart University. Away from my pretty gal. Teaching a class that I haven't taught all summer and that by all sense I shold be able to do because I got a freakin' degree in film, but it's a bit tougher than one might think. And most camps run only 7 weeks. I am now in my NINTH week of teaching and counseling. I am burnt out to the max. It's too much. I mean, I'll do it, it's a paycheck and all that, but I just feel stretched thin. Too much of my time dedicated to kids and not my own life. It would have been better if I was a commuter, not being here all the time.

But the really AWESOME thing about being here in New England is getting to see my old buddy Stephen Sutton!

I haven't seen him since like beginning of January, so it was great to spend time with him and his girlfriend. We watched cartoons, played video games until the wee hours, went to bars and even saw a shakespeare play where there were turkeys roaming around out front!


I'd call that a pretty good weekend in all! I just wish I wasn't up here so long. I need to get on with finding a job and getting place and setting up a life and all of that jazz! I thought I was done with camp, trying to move on and all that! Argh! We'll see how all of that develops in the next few weeks. Pray for Mojo.

P.S. Miss you Kim!

Summertime, and the livin's BUSY!

So here I sit in my dorm room in Dallas. Yup. I'm in Dallas. The regional manager said to work this week I had to travel to SMU to teach. At least I'm teaching Game Modding and not something else that I have no idea about like 3D game design or something... Anyway, it's not so bad here. The cafeteria food is better, and the staff is pretty cool, esp. my roommate. They're just a lot smaller of a camp and a bit more unorganized. The kids are ok, except for a few. Blargh. But it's ok. I just feel constantly busy, that's all. I only get 1 full day off at a time, and that is NEVER enough. Like this Friday I drive to Angleton to see my parents and grandma, which will be a 5 hour drive, chill saturday, and then have to be back in Austin to begin another week of camp on Sunday @ 3pm.


But on the positive side, I flew Kim to Austin for her birthday to be with me. That was great. We went kayaking and other cool stuff. DAMN I wish we took pictures, but never thought of it until after the fact. Grrr... these blog things are so much cooler when you have pics to go along with them. So take this one I guess...

Better than nothing, right? Sure...

I'm supposed to be looking for jobs in LA and such, but it's hard to find the time/will. The few free moments I have I want nothing more than to chill out in front of a movie or video game, preferably with libations of some sort. Right now I'm watching the Faith No More concert "You Fat Bastards." Oh, long haired Mike Patton, you're silly. I prefer him with short hair and a sleeze stash, fits his persona more. See:

Speaking of Mike Patton, the Peeping Tom album is fucking rad. It's one of my top albums of the summer and it's in heavy rotation. Every track grabs my ear. It's so good to hear Mike Patton actually singing melodies and such again. I like Fantomas as much as the next guy, but he's got such a nice voice and never really uses it. The standout tracks are "Mojo" and "Your Neighborhood Spaceman." Listen to it, trust me. Instant pimp juice and the likes.


The other "feel good album of the summer" is without a doubt Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere album. I know there are those such as Chris Mikesell that don't like it, but it's so much fun. Some sort of mix of hip hop beats and neo-soul. It's an ass-shaking album, and those don't have to be profound or anything, just something great to jig around to. The single "Crazy" is of course infectious but boderline played-out already, but "Smiley Face" and "Transformer" are quite rad, and worth a listen/download. This album is an instant dance party. Pick it up and let the groove begin!


Having to watch over kids limits your music listening time. I wish I had more of that. These are the only two albums I've really even had the chance to focus on and really appreciate. Well, that and tons of Ryan Adams as always...

But if you have some cool new music to recommend to me, just leave me a comment about it, and I'll try to check it out.

Hopefully next time I can yak about something other than camp and my busy work schedule.


Until then Gentle Viewers.

Argh...and some update.

So I just wrote a long blog about how I'm doing, how camp is, how much I love and miss my girlfriend and then this stupid computer in the lab crashed, and I lost it and everything. SOOOO frustrating. After that happens, you don't really have the will to write it again. So here it is again, in bullet form:

* I love Kim VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY much and miss her terribly. She told me the boat guys are douches and picky eaters. She also said she's getting a Volkswagen Bus (green & white) when she gets back. That's AWESOME.

* 1st week of camp went well, only had 2 students. I like getting paid to play with Warcraft III.

* The weekend was fun, partied @ Em's birthday bash, and looked through record stores with Mark, finally saw Pirates of the Caribbean. I really liked it.

*This week is going to be harder. I have 5 students, and all very different. It will be a challenge.


Until I find the will to brave it again, my Gentle Viewers,

Jarad.