If you can read this, WordPress for Android has been configured properly.
It is really hard to type when three very commonly used keys are not functioning correctly. wtf?
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of seeing Fever Ray perform at the Henry Fonda Theatre. I’d been looking forward to that show for months, and can’t begin to describe how mind blowing it was. For an hour Karin Dreijer Andersson transported the audience to another world of sights, sounds, and smells.
I’ve been a fan ever since I heard Royksopp’s “What Else Is There,” to which she lent her vocals. I was thrilled to hear her on several tracks from their new album, and quickly became a fan of the Knife and her solo work as Fever Ray.
I’m looking forward to attending more shows and reliving some of my days as an indie kid…except less kid, and maybe less pretentious about the indie part. ;)
I thought I had everything figured out months ago, but somehow I allowed myself to get distracted. I think I’m finally starting to understand where I want to go from here. Goals are becoming a bit more clear.
Time to return to that plan I originally laid out for myself.
3 months! I started working for Global Conference Partners exactly three months ago on April 14, 2009. I wouldn’t have imagined it possible to find a job that brought me nearly as much personal satisfaction as did working for Hot Topic Media, but here I am. I work with a great group of guys, that continue to blow me away with their skills and knowledge. It has taken a little adjusting to being the apprentice rather than the guy with all the answers.
GCP is a provider of conference calling solutions, offering both free services such as Free Conference and Instant Conference as well as Enterprise services such as Global Conference. As Operations Manager, I wear many hats. Along with the two other Operations guys, I provide second tier support to end users (under my alias Anthony Morgan). I contribute to the maintenance, design, and support of all systems in our corporate office in Glendale. By far the most challenging and enjoyable hat I wear relates to my role in helping to design, build, and support conferencing bridges and all customer facing systems. My background in telephony is admittedly fairly weak, but I enjoy the daily challenges and take lots of notes. I’ve learned more about unfamiliar technology in the last three months than I probably have in the last few years.
The office is pretty casual, although I aim to at least wear a collared shirt every day (even if I’m wearing shorts). Many people socialize outside of the office, and I’ve even found at least one coworker already connected to my circle of friends (thanks Facebook!). The benefits are very generous: fully covered medical/dental, 401k with matching contributions, decent number of holidays and PTO accrual, and stock options (that might actually be worth something someday).
What was initially meant to just be a weekend fling has unexpectedly grown into something far more profound. I type this entry from a hotel room in San Antonio after spending the day with Ike while on his town pass for the day. He graduated from Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB on Thursday and I’ve been here to spend every minute of free time with him during these four days.
Today was an amazing day. We started out with breakfast at Twin Sisters in Alamo Heights, where a major in civilian clothing covertly covered our tab. Since Ike is in his blues, it’s quite obvious that he is a recent graduate from BMT. I guess that was her way of congratulating him for his accomplishments, which was rather touching. After breakfast we went to the McNay art museum just down the street, after seeing a flier for an Edward Gorey exhibit (!!!). Ike had some familiarity, in the context of the Gashleycrumb Tinies. Everyone knows that book…but few have the opportunity to experience Edward Gorey with the depth the museum provided. I was thrilled to be able to share with Ike something I’ve enjoyed so much for so many years.
Swim trunks were purchased, swimming at the hotel’s pool, followed by a nap together back in the room. After being apart for two months, waking up next to him even after a snort nap was so fulfilling. It’s impossible to describe just how content I was laying in bed together.
I’m sitting in that same bed now, many hours later, alone, sad, but still feeling the afterglow of spending a day with the boy I love.
Tomorrow is another day, albeit far less liberal as we get to spend the day on base. Oh well. Soon enough we’ll have that alone time again, and hopefully DADT’s days are numbered.
So I’ve already failed at keeping this up to date. I’ll categorically go through several topics over the next few days that require some updating. A lot has changed, complicated, evolved, improved…
Stay tuned.
A regular Sunday activity for me is a trip to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market on Ivar between Sunset and Hollywood.
Today I coordinated my trip with Pierce, which meant having a ride rather than taking the bus or metro. Plus being able to hang out a bit with him before he took off for Sunday Fun-day brunching was nice.
I spent $20 on the following items:
6 ears of sweet corn
1 basket of juicy gigantic strawberries
4 portabello mushroom caps
1 bunch of large beets
1 chicken and cheese pupusa with all the fixings
The best part about the beets was acquiring extra beet greens for free. I noticed people asking the workers to chop the “tops” off for them, which were then tossed into a box. I asked what they intended on doing with the beet greens and was informed that they return them to the soil as composting material. I voiced both my approval of their practice of composting and my shock that people were missing out on the deliciousness of the greens themselves. He then offered me a large bundle of greens for free. Score!
Beet greens are absolutely delicious and incredibly healthy for you. Saute them briefly with a little bit of olive oil, garlic, and salt and they’re a perfect side dish (or even just a snack!)
Tonight was a double feature night on the rooftop of the Haas Building, which I’m moving into next Friday. The penthouse suite is operated as LoftSEVEN, a private space used to host events for the downtown community.
This was the first installment of the first Wednesday movie nights during the summer, and I think it was a success even if the turnout was lower than I’d anticipated. I took the 704 from Jared’s in Silver Lake and picked up some pad thai chicken from Thai Me Up Cafe on Hill Street on my way to the Haas Building. I brought along two bottles of Bulls’ Blood from Trader Joe’s to share, which was perfect since it was a communal wine bar.
First was “The Lost Boys,” which I swear I’d seen before, but managed to forget every minute of it. Second was “The Goonies,” which to date is still my favorite movie from the 80’s. I still trip out on the super long video for the title track:
Jared showed up early during the first movie, and brought along some delicious spaghetti salad to enjoy. Dustin, Seth, Paul, and Neil arrived just as “The Goonies” started. I’m looking forward to sharing the roof with my friends throughout the summer as more 80s movies will be shown including Legend and Labyrinth.
One week down, seven to go.
