test one

so i want to play this song:

father christmas

india

so i have arrived. and i mean that more as a mindset. i am here, and i am doing it. things are going well now that i have all of my luggage and personal effects. i have a routine and i love it.
so here is rundown of my day.
wake up
eat
work
eat
work
eat
work
sleep.
repeat.
sweet huh?

awww, that's sad. or brilliant

so today as i was walking from one class to another i say this kid carrying around a tripod with a little camera on it.   i feel it is important to note two particulars.  the first is that all the legs on the tripod were extended all the way out.  the second is that the man holding the tripod with the tiny camera attached to it, did not appear to originate from this country.  at least not utah.  so knowing these two little tidbits of information you will in no doubt understand that my first thought was, what in the h is that guy carrying around a tripod with a little camera on it.   so i decided to slow down a bit, maybe amble even so i could watch him as he slowed.   he soon stopped, at the top of some stairs that continued down two flights and led into a building.  my interest was really aroused now.  so i do what any beginning voyeur would do.  i promptly stopped right where i was and quickly untied my shoed so i could retie it.  this deft move of stealth bought me just enough time.  when i looked up from fastening the laces of my previously secured shoes i saw the person i was now hunting proceed  to a place where you could easily see the name placard "social behavioral sciences" on the building. then set up the tiny camera, that was already firmly affixed to the tripod with the legs extended, about 5 feet away.  with a quick check of the viewfinder he then pressed the button, walked 5 feet in front of the camera and  struck a nice wide smile.  the little red light flashed and the sound of a memory was made.  

whaaaaaaattttt????

who was this guy?

as i passed him i tried with all my effort not to completely just stare at this guy like a circus clown just walking around on a mid-major university campus.  

we need to review the following.

he had planned this to the detail.  and after watching the thing go down, you can tell his mission was that of style of a ninjitsu.

in 

out

no wasted time.

he had the tripod.

he had the legs extended.

he had the camera on.

and he had it already set to the timer function.

unbelievable.. 

so now my thought as i am doing everything in my power not to burn holes in him with my eyes that were aflame with curiosity asto how a person like this existed i realized....

oh, sad,  he has no friends..

bummer.

but then at the bottom of the two flights i walked down to go into the building that the guy just mission completed taking a picture of himself in front of to surely send to a loving parent not from this region,  i realized.....

that man was brilliant.  look at the alternatives.  not taking the tripod with the legs extended for the tiny camera he had would have meant the following:

waiting at an ideal spot for someone to walk by at 6 pm with it being 33 degrees Fahrenheit.

going through the awkward asking, showing how the camera works, posing, lightly jogging/hearty paced walk back to see if the person took the picture to his specifications.  

awkwardly thanking that person for taking the time to help him share his life with his kin.

then, as i open the door to the adjacent building where my class is held,  i think again to my involvement.  i would have been that person.  i would have been bugged that he asked me, i would have cheerfully obliged, while in the back of my mind plotting ways to drop him in a mixed martial arts move and cause him much pain for delaying my trip to class.  accepting his expressed gratitude while rueing the missed opportunity at snapping his forearm with my vicious arm-bar. and then letting his preposterous nerve of asking me to take his picture mess with my test review.

man, that guy is brilliant.  

dream a little dream of me

i should be studying for my survey of jazz class. but my mind is elsewhere, more specifically in mexico.
i have been having very vivid dreams about once a week for the last little while. last night i dreamed that i was on a road trip in mexico. i remember it pretty well actually.
there were two of us, and i don't know exactly who the passenger was, but i just remember two voices singing along to the tom petty "wildflowers" album. this struck me as odd as i haven't listened to that album in over 4 or so years. but like the old t-shirt or friend, i was able to pick up right where we left off, and felt completely comfortable yell-singing the lyrics to "it's good to be king" at 68mph with 105 degree heat billowing in through both of the rolled down windows. it seemed a lot hotter than 105, cause the heat waves were visibly rising from the black asphalt. they seem like tormented souls fleeing the depths of hell. or maybe thats what i imagined since the air conditioner was out, and my eyelids had that thin blanket of sweat, making them stick, which is one of my least favorite sensations. i hate sticky skin. hate it.
to find relief i kept sprinkling water on my face and the back of my neck. the momentary relief of the beads cooled by the ripping wind in the car felt clean compared to the dust expanse that surrounded us.
i have never owned a saab and probably never will now. but there we were, hurtling down highway 1 in a white saab 930. it was a two-door, probably one of the early 90's versions with the sloped rear window that looks like a complete old porshe 911 rip off. with no air conditioning and a blown rear-left speaker that would crackle when the high hat and high E were played. more than slightly annoying.
but the sun that basted my left side made up for it. it was not a cruel sun that one typically experiences as you get closer to the equater. it was a warm pleasant one. one the hugs you, welcomes you, and eases you. it felt good.
life was good. we were free. no cares, and no worries.
i felt satiated.
both in life and in my stomach.
we passed a road sign alerting us that we were about 48 kilometers north of Ensenada. the sun had started its slow arcing decline. it reminded me of a diver from the top platform. except the taped has been slowed way way down and you just see the diver slowly descending with the water looming in the background. with the satiation came a slightly bloated feeling and that's probably cause we stopped at a little roadside shrip and lobster place i've heard about. it one of those little places with a hand painted sign out in front. the catches were fresh and the food incredibly cheap. i dont speak spanish so i just hand the weathered senorita a wad of pesos. she looks mildly surprised and then grateful. i definitely overpaid. but i feel good. i feel full. i would have given her almost anything for the feeling i then felt.
it was worth it.
the track skips a little and i snap out of the trance that the memory of the womans eyes had put me in. there is a bay in front and to the right of us. the waters look cool and refreshing and i long to jump in them. i don't know if i have a swimsuit, but i don't care.
i really hate sticky skin.

how has this not happened.......

so today i picked up a copy of SLUG (Salt Lake Under Ground) magazine, which is a rag i aways see, but rarely grab. (mostly because i don't wear skinny jeans, have not died my hair dark, nor do i really have a great deal of angst; and am therefore not hard-core enough to be a regular reader). anyway after a short 6 pages into it, i noticed that about 30% of the ads in there were for smoke shops. this got me thinking about why there are so many smoke shops in the valley*. i mean, this is utah. do we really need 6-10 smoke shops? and why is the demand for hookahs off the charts right now? one would think after reading this magazine that hookahs are the next cabbage patch doll. this lead to a grave concern i have about all the smoke shops. they all, and i mean all, have really crappy names.
aztec highway
uprok
wizards and dreams (i bet these guys get at least 10 calls a day for dungeons and dragons crap)
knuckleheads
one stop smoke shop
smokey's
and my personal favorite..... pipe dreams.
so here is the rub. in a place where religion is so prevalent, and most the people are so over the top. why on earth, or at least "the valley" has nobody opened a shop called "holy smokes" yet? this kills me. i didn't think it possible that this brilliant name, and the vast quantity of shop owners could have somehow managed to not hook up. (at least we don't have "the hookah up". but give it time, if the crappy smoke shop name trend continues)
i don't smoke. but i would be tempted to go to that shop just by the shear factor of it's delightfully cleaver name.
who do i need to call to make this happen. it kills me.


* From now on i am officially calling salt lake as "the valley" as i just don't like to say salt lake (it sounds harsh and doesn't roll off the tongue. especially compared to "the valley") and it makes me sound local; which subsequently is why everyone should start calling it "the valley" cause i don't know why anyone would ever move here and pretty much everyone here is local anyway.)