Re-energized

I'm not entirely sure what it was, but I feel better about work after today. Maybe it was riding the cable car to work after getting an extra hour of sleep. Maybe it was nearing the end of my monstrosity of a project. Maybe it was talking about the new code base with a clear separation between the data, the business logic, and the presentation. Maybe it was the warm welcome of FxCop. Maybe it was the fact that it is payday, that never hurts.

And They Clapped

When the credits rolled on Batman: Dark Night I clapped too.

Just a Guy

As much as people may jib an joke about me having a big ego after an off statement here and there, I have a self-perception disparity. The things I do, I do them because in my mind "That's what any other good person in my shoes would do." I pick up an extra empty bag of popcorn on my way out of the movie theater, I taught people to fence, I befriended someone in need, I bought sandwich makings for a hungry couple, I drove across the Midwest to help a friend in need.

I did these things, and many others, not because I wanted to shine, but because I wanted to be average. But from the reactions of people, I can only judge that these are not the actions of the average man. By trying to be just another guy, I've stood out, created something exceptional. It wasn't my intent. What I think it speaks about me, it speaks volumes more about people in general - that they do not very often go above and beyond the call of duty. Sometimes they don't even listen to the call of duty.

The people I keep closest to me, they are the exceptions, the ones who do go the extra mile, who listen at 3AM when you call. They show me how to live best. They are exceptional. Me? I'm just a guy.

California Will

Will

I decided that if I was an action figure, that after the market was saturated with the standard issue Will Read with type-action, they'd have to make special Will's. This picture represents "California Will". A lot more hair, foo man chu facial hair, and comes with kite-boarding accessories. Still the same steel blue eyes and grey tuft up front.

The same, but different.

First Glass Flame working Class

There you have it, my first task in class, melt a cylinder of glass into a sphere. It took an hour and there's a crack inside where I made the glass fold over itself and it is a little lop-sided because it was still warm when I set it down in the mold.

It's tough because you can't shouldn't put your hand or tools in the flame. So you either hot seal or cold seal a stick of glass to one side. Hot seals are where both parts are hot, so the glass mixes and it holds really well, then you use the flame to cut it off when you don't need it. The cold seal is where you heat the stick and stick it on the (cold) piece. It's a weaker bond, but if you do it right it comes off clean and just a little flame polishing gives you a nice finish.

The second project was still hot when I left (class is 4 hours once a week). Another marble, this time with a mushroom inside and some decoration on the outside.  I didn't get to the decoration part, and my mushroom was tiny because of insufficient heating. If it is still there next week I'll try to finish it, otherwise I may start over.

Either way it was fun. I got burned when I grabbed hot glass. I want to do more!

Week Of Destiny!

It's my 27th birthday on July 24th! That's Thursday! Yahtzee!

AND

I start a Glass Flameworking class on Wednesday! Bingo!

AND

This weekend I get to see the newly weds, Matt & Lauren! Jackpot!

AND

Who knows what else could happen!!! (Or what other game slogans I might shout out)

Double Feature

I went to see Batman, it was sold out. So I got a ticket for Hancock. When I came out I snuck into Hell Boy 2. I think it is the first time I've stolen anything worth more than two cents.

Weighing in on "Wall-E"

It's an ok movie. It isn't great, and the social commentary that everyone seems to think it provides is undone in the credits. At best this is a love story done in CG.

You have a lonely guy, a very lonely guy named Wall-E. He's a robot, the last of his kind. He lives by scavenging parts from his deceased kin. He is tireless in his duty, but he longs for companionship. That companionship arrives in the form of a slick, but evil looking robot named Eva. Yeah, it's cool that she was designed by the same guy that designed the iPhone, BUT, she's evil. Sleek, dark faced, and very little to offer in the way of emotional feedback. Despite this, she turns out to be the true love of Wall-E after the predictable choosing of her duty over love that she has never felt.

Meanwhile, people got fat. That's good because aside from the group that did the Final Fantasy movie, no one has figured out that we can't CG normal humans and have people buy into it. Anyway, our tubby ancestors forget all of their American ideals - freedom, creativity, and love. But this isn't commentary on how technology makes us lazy. In the movie they explain that "space" is the cause for the change in physicality.

So the bad guys get zapped, the misfits help out, and the guy gets the girl, and the credits role as the humans are setting foot on earth, less educated than when they left and read to "grow some pizza". The credits then show stills of the humans returning to their old shapes, and their old ways. Reliving our own history, rebuilding the same things that led to our trash-filled downfall. The stills do not depict the use of solar or wind power, they don't show people recycling right from the get-go, they don't show people who live in harmony with nature as the animals did.

They show exactly what we want to see, that our way of life can be maintained, they pander to us, they roll over. They have no backbone to make the statement people so desperately want them to be saying. It's just another movie.

I Hate Baseball... Less

Football is terrible for the bench seating, but baseball has a special place in the dark part of my heart. Bunch of guys, standing around in the grass, hoping that the man up front can't hit anything, yeah, that's excitement. But it makes me un-American to hate baseball, so when it is on, I don't protest too much. I've recently come to realize that there is some entertainment value though:

Batters look hilarious when they swing and miss - especially when they're convinced they're gonna get all of the ball. It is hard to look at a splayed out batter and think "professional", but really easy to think "HAHAHAHA".

Saw What I Needed To See

This weekend was Matt & Lauren's  wedding. It came off without a hitch... wait, there was one hitching, so I guess hitches are good inthe case of weddings. It went smoothly. I was the MC, which I do and I don't exactly understand why I was selected for the role. I think there are a number of their friends with enough personality and comfort with crowds that could have done just as good of a job as I did. That being said, I am happy that I was picked for the job, and that I got to stand in their wedding.

A few months back I had visited Matt & Lauren when they were living in Illinois. It was one of the first times I got to see them otogether on their home turf. We played some Settlers of Catan and I ended up being on the periphery of some very competitive conversations. And I have to admit it made me worry about them and their ability to resolve conflicts.

I saw what I needed to see this weekend though. During the days that proceeded the wedding there were a handful of surprise challenges along the way. I saw Lauren weigh the value of he bridesmaid's happiness against the logistics of adding a very late guest. She identified that the happy bridesmaid was very imporant to her own happiness and took action accordingly. I also saw Matt & Lauren faced with another challenge where they both were able to communicate the level of importance to th other and again, take action.

They were not paralyzed by choices. They worked together. They were not stubborn. I am not certain that I could have done the same myself in this stuation, so I am happy to see them together, to see them growing, and to know that they will make it, that this marriage will last. They are important people in my life, and I am glad to see they have the tools they need to e successful.