shard

Last weekend was the Chinese New Year. I took the bus with Janet down to Chinatown, which was the way to go.

The fire department delayed the start of the parade forever because of all the firecrackers going off in the street.


It's the year of the rooster. Considering the commander in chief, I refer to it as the year of the cock.


beauty pagent beauties


My people! Why they have bagpipes in a Chinese parade, I'll never know, but I love hearing pipe bands.




Chicken!


My fave, the dragons




Robbie & Tracy


We went to Hop Louie's for drinks & to meet up with friends


The girls get down


The Wishing Well. Robbie gave me a shitload of pennies. I got Love, Luck, Long Life, Health, Wealth, & Wisdom! I hope it is a good year.


Then, we went to Phillipe's for some eats.

Beef sandwich w/ Bleu Cheese & hot mustard

It was a really good time. I was fortunate that some of my friends were kind enough to sport me a few brews. I'm going to be returning people's kindness for a very long time, probably perpetually. As long as I am able to, that's cool with me.

Afterwards, we went to some art gallery opening in Highland Park. Micki got sick from too many Mai Tais. We were so beat that we hopped on the train, got off at Union Station, and then took the bus home. I walked Janet home and then konked hard after she gave me a ride.

My first week on the new job was fine. Everyone is pretty cool. It's a lot more relaxed environment than my last job. The money's the same, but the benefits are better. I get health care after 30 days, which is great because I don't have to spend $260 this month on Blue Cross!

I need to be careful with the diet. The new job has had some kind of treat every day. Tea cakes, donuts, bagels, strawberry shortcake. I must exercise constraint because in my world, free=MINE!

I've mainly been learning the weird custom software they use for tracking media in house. Basically, everything gets a barcode and an event in logged on the computer any time it is moved. We have to look for incoming jobs, new media that needs to be barcoded before it goes to QC, etc. I haven't gotten to the shipping end yet. The guys showing me how to do everything are really cool. The only problem I see is that they are frustrated because they are young and they have greater aspirations. I'm only 6-8 years older than them, but I feel like I am giving them some helpful insight.

We see stuff from just about everyplace, MGM, 20th cent Fox, Paramount. I had to sign papers saying I wouldn't copy anything. We see media that hasn't been released yet.

Three guys have already approached me about helping them with music because they know I'm an Audio Engineer. I alrady gave Joe, the guy that's mainly showing me how to do shit, a disk of Photoshop LE. He wants to learn how to use it and I said I could help him with that, too.

I haven't told anyone about going back to school and I'm not sure if I ever should. It might be better to keep them thinking that I want to move up within.

The rain has been cool, but it's also been inconvenient. I've been driving my van to work, so I dont' have to ride my motorbike in the rain, but it burns more gas. I had to borrow $20 from Misti so I could get through the weekend and I hope I have enough gas on Tuesday if I have to drive the van. Things will be easier next month once I have some cash flow.

Unfortunately, I picked up a bug. I got an itchy throat on Thursday and I've been fighting it ever since. Lots of echinacea, zinc lozenges, green tea, and lounging. I haven't done anything but watch movies and read all weekend. It's really nice. I don't have to work on Monday and it sucks that I have a three day weekend and can't really sing. Also, since I'm still on probation, I won't be getting paid for the holiday.

I'm just happy to be working. I keep wondering if taking things for granted is human nature and do I really have to experience loss before I can fully apreciate things? I mean, I've been trying to tell the guys at work that a dead end job is better than no job. You have to have vision. You have to be able to see a future for yourself which you create. Not one that someone gives to you or one that falls from the sky. If you listen to your heart you will know what you really want. If you are not deluded into thinking that the secret to your happiness comes from material circumstances, you can find happiness in almost any situation.

I'm just happy to be alive. I have so many wonderful friends, a family that loves me, food in my belly, a place to sleep. Art, music, education. My life could be a trainwreck or paradise depending on your viewpoint. I tend to go back & forth.

I know that this job isn't where my future lies. I just hope that it provides the stability I need right now.