Category: Uncategorized

Banned books I’ve read

I’m very clever with words. I do things with them all the time.
Constantly twisting them into new configurations, and making little
strings of paper dolls out of them. If you play with symbols long
enough, they start to play back, and whisper secret meanings, and
deeper insights

Are these epiphanies, or simply the lucid delusions of a mind hooked
on its own machinations?

Feeling rather down on my lunch break that I couldn’t read what was being written today, I realized that I could at least start in on what I have to say here, and post it later.

First, my thoughts on temping. Temping is tolerably boring.

Representative sample:

I got in today at 8:37 (supposed to get here at 8:30). The first bit of work for me crossed the desk shortly after 9, and was done before 10. I had no more work until after lunch around 1:30, and that was completed by 2:30. I have no network access. My only sources of entertainment are the things I’ve brought with me. My laptop which has Master of Orion 2 (no master of magic), and a livejournal client (I used M-x doctor earlier today for about 30 seconds as a sample of just how bored I am). Howard Gardner’s book, Extraordinary Minds. It’s a good thing that this is a job that simply processes other people’s work, and thus, not a single monolithic project, but a series of momentary distractions from the fitful tedium of my own biological processes, and the lives and office politics of the people whose cubicals surround mine. Otherwise, as warned me against, I might find myself having finished the 2.6 week job on the first day.

That having been said, other than my inability to engage my net friends, it’s better than sitting on the couch at home worrying about the next month’s rent. However. All my noble thoughts of being able to survive on $7.50/hour aside (and I could, but ewwwww), $13/hour isn’t all that much. It also astounded me that the labor I am performing would be thought worth that quantity. Until I looked at it as a daily wage. And what I could purchase with that daily wage. Assuming standard expenditures (rent, student loans, taxes, etc) are deducted automatically from my wages, I would be making about $15/day in general spending money. Minus the $2.20 for the roundtrip commute, minus meals. That leaves me maybe $8 in recreational spending per workday assuming I’m cryofrozen (for free) over the weekends. Again I say “ewww”. So even fiscally, this is a parachute, not a platform, and I’m still falling.

…

Insert supervisor lady telling me that they overestimated the amount of worker they’d need, and underestimated the amount of marketing experience they’d need. Color me amused. Especially when she was all apologetic. And Adecco was all “we’ll place you with the next available company”. And I’m all, ” Don’t worry about it, I have a job offer from a friend for half again what I’m making here; I was coming here because you said you needed it, and I said I’d do it. =)”

I guess playing video games in a cubicle for better than half the day is a clear sign that I’m underemployed. =) I wish them the best of luck with their next sap. Meanwhile I’m going to check out a) the opportunity with the friend. b) bike messengering. And there’s always c) the actuarial tests in early november. =)

Plus adecco was apologetic, so I can probably swing something there, should push come to shove. We shall see.

Or something like that, anyway.

I got mail this morning from one of the cool guys I volunteer with at the clinic, talking about a potential part time employment offer situation for me. Turns out it’s computer visiony foo. But mostly research/algorithm stuff. Very little coding, and not in the painfully detailed level of C. It is computer science work. It’s sorta software development, sorta not. I doubt it will be deeply stimulating and fascinating, but not exactly like office-gofer is going to be that either. And he’s offering more than I’d be making working for ye ol temp agency. Regardless, the temp agency assignment is just that, temp. 2.6 weeks, and it’s over. And he is cool with waiting for my availability.

Hmmm. I think this is going to call for some investigation. Chat it over, and maybe give it a try. I mean, I like computers (duh). I understand their operation as a whole far better than most graduates of either bachelor’s program I partook of (or so I’d like to think). And I’ve hated every code development project I’ve ever been on. I do small things in code from time to time. I really don’t know how this is going to work out over all, but I’m not slamming the door on it just yet.

Also, yum homemade pasta sauce. Zuchinni & mushroom & spinach, oh my. =)

Friday Evening

I’ve filled out like 20 billion forms listing my home address in oakland, but seeing it in my lj profile is still a little odd for me. Dunno why.

I have a temp assignment, from the 25th through october 11th. 13/hour, full time. This should help. =)

Motherfucker!

I had posted a big, long soulful, angsty thing, and was just about to post it when I accidentally clicked on a link. So much for that. “oops”.

There’s no way I can summarize this. There’s no way I’m writing this again on less than 10 hours sleep since friday after a more than 11 hour shift of volunteer training and work today.

It won’t be the same post, and, in fact, since it’ll come after I get some sleep, it’ll probably be far more sensible. But, for the curious, I’m giving up gay.com (deleted the program), and cruising for sex and/or dates online. (will probably compensate with an increase in conscientious onanism) Not giving up on meeting or making friends online. Long story tomorrow. Good night.

When all your hopes are ashes
Whose pyre you watched burn
When all your dreams are gone
Where is it that you turn?

Take up your book of matches
Give us all another urn
Expose the truth about the con
You can help others learn

When all your hopes are ashes
Whose pyre you watched burn
When all your dreams are gone
Where is it that you turn?

Dole out the bloody lashes
Give them what they earn
Yourself the role of Master don
Bring Order fierce and stern

When all your hopes are ashes
Whose pyre you watched burn
When all your dreams are gone
Where is it that you turn?

Keep all your broken wishes
Pretend to not discern
Think only of the lost anon
Never cease to yearn

When all your hopes are ashes
Whose pyre you watched burn
When all your dreams are gone
Where is it that you turn?

Survey your wounds and gashes
Old ways now overturn
Unveil your eyes to the dawn
Let true hope return

-Stephen C. Ulrich jr. (with assistance from rhymemaster, )

Oh yeah, last night I had a really weird dream. It involved congress, parliamentary procedure, ousting bush, and me with neat Storm-like powers (without the tell-tale glowy-eye indicators of just who was doing it) providing a ‘Sign from God’. And only one person in the crowd realizing it was me. Hmmm. Should I analyze this or just document it?