...good deal.

Went to my friend Autumn's Mom's boat in Colchester to see their fireworks display. Autumn was there, her mom was there, her son Connor was there, her brother Glenn was there, my parents were there, and a bunch of folks I've never met were there. A good time was had.

Went rollerblading earlier today on the Burlington Bike Path; my dad was on his bike. I went about the same distance--call it fourteen miles--as I usually do on the BGT (it's time I started abbreviating 'Burke-Gilman Trail'), but the Burlington Bike Path has a lot more in the way of hills, and there are bits of it that are desperately in need of repair. Still, it was fun, and kinna nostalgic.There's a lot I hate about this place, and I couldn't have been happier to move away, but there've definitely been things I've missed.
Like...there's something about the east coast. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly--and it's stronger on Cape Cod--and I think it might just be the moisture in the air, but...I always feel in the summers here like something paranormal could happen at any moment. Something E.T., Cocoon, Explorers, or even The Last Starfighter-like. I like that, I miss that. Not enough to move back here, but...well, I always kinna half expect to see a UFO flying in over Lake Champlain to settle in over my parents' house and finally take me home! Heh.

But anyway, yeah...today was a pretty good day, for one spent in Vermont with my parents.

Tags: friends, parental units, rollerblading, vermont
Current Location: my childhood home
RocketMood: tired
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

...I'm sure there's some justification for it, but I don't know what it is.
But they were pretty cool, regardless.

Bumped into my old friend (and, frankly, completely unrequited high school crush) Autumn as my parents and I were leaving the airport. Was good to see her and her year-old son, Connor, and we're likely to go up to Malletts Bay to watch the fireworks there on the fourth; her mom has a boat up there.

Tags: friends, vermont
Current Location: parental units' place
RocketMood: tired
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

...winging my way to Vermont to visit the 'rents.

Thing is...the last two trips I've taken have been very weird. Not the trips themselves, but the going.
Like, it used to be that when I would fly somewhere, there'd be this anticipation: I'm Going Somewhere™. You know?
But the last few, it's been very la-de-da. Flying has lost its mystique somehow. It's a kind of been-there-done-that sort of feeling. Hell, I don't even have that low-grade nervousness anymore...you know the kind I mean, that little gut feeling in you that you're taking your life in your hands, that you could easily be on a crasher and never know it until it's too late. I don't get that anymore.
In a weird way, I see this as a loss; you wouldn't think I'd get nostalgic about air travel, but...well, there it is.

Anyway, I will leave you with a few of my patented Weird Thoughts™:

You know what I've never seen? Polyester candy.

When "The Star-Spangled Banner" finishes, do you hear a little voice in your head shout, "PLAY BALL!"?

One of these days, I'm going to take a Monopoly set out and add up the values of all the cards under both Chance and Comunity Chest. The idea is, if you were allowed to buy either one and then were given (or owed) the money listed on the cards, would you wind up with a net gain or net loss?
I mean, okay, there's variables like those wacky cards where they make you pay taxes on houses and hotels, but forget those for a moment...would buying Chance or Community Chest--or both--be a Good Thing™ or a Bad Thing™?

Tags: travel, weird thoughts
Current Location: home
RocketMood: nostalgic
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

...and I still really need to find a good rollerblading avatar. Heh.

Still, the exercise did me good. I think I'm starting to build up more endurance, too; I wasn't as worn out by the time I got home. Might want to consider going further soon...though I have to remember that any amount further I go is doubled, since I have to come back.

I intend to bring my 'blades when I go to Vermont. The Burlington Bike Path is probably still there, and I used to routinely go from my parents' place to Leddy Beach (which is pretty fucking far, now that I think about it), and I'm curious if I can still do that.

Anyway...TO THE BAT SHOWER!

Tags: rollerblading
Current Location: home
RocketMood: rejuvenated
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

I fly out later tonight; I've got all damn day to do whatever I please.

So here's the brainworking: I'm gonna do something I don't normally manage, namely go rollerblading before noon strikes. It's warm enough, it's sunny enough, and I'm awake enough...why not?
Actually, I've off-and-on wanted to be one of those people who gets up early and goes running/jogging/'blading/whatever for a long time. You know the folks I mean...they run five miles before breffix, then go to work? Sometimes I think that's cheesy as fuck, like a bad made-for-TV-movie about "the triumph of the human spirit" and "conquering against the odds" an' shit, but other times I wish I could do that myself. And if Seattle were this warm year 'round...I probably would have been one of those folks long before now.

So, that's my plan for the day; beyond that, and packing, I got nuffin' till my flight leaves.

Also...I always feel weird, now, going to the airport with nothing but a confirmation number.
I'm all for the digital age and stuff, but somehow I miss having a physical ticket in my hand when I get to the counter, yanno? It makes everything feel more official, more real. Like I won't be cheated out of my flight on a computer's say-so. I know that's mostly irrational, and I'd feel just as better if I had, say, a small digital USB device with my ticket on it...it's just that feeling, that knowledge that you're holding your flight info. Does that make sense to anyone?

Tags: rollerblading
Current Location: home
RocketMood: okay
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

Would you do meth if it was legalized?
Not a chance.

Abortion: for or against?
For. In fact, fuck, make it mandatory; humans suck. :P
Seriously, though, I'm for it. Under any and all circumstances. Your body; you get to decide who or what uses it, and nobody should be allowed to tell you otherwise, not for any reason.

There's a 2 month old child and a 65 year old man who has the cure for cancer but hasn't had a chance to announce it yet; one of them has to die... which one?
This is the kinna thing about which I get cold-blooded. The two-month-old? Hasn't done much, doesn't understand much, is potential only; the 65-year-old with a cure for cancer has the potential to benefit millions. It's simple math. I'll miss the two-month-old, and I probably went, "Awwwww...!" when I first saw the li'l fucker, but I'm sorry, kid, yer just not cute enough to outweigh saving millions of lives.

Would our country fall with a woman president?
Not enough data; it depends entirely on the woman.
Or, to answer the question they're REALLY asking...no. And it's no more (nor less) likely to fall than under a male president, and you can go right ahead and go fuck yourself for even asking such a sexist question, thankyouverymuhcindeed. :P

Do you believe in the death penalty?
My usual answer to this is, "Yes...they've executed people; the existence of the death penalty is hardly a faith issue."
The REAL answer is..."I d'know." My feeling is that the justice system is--and should be--about justice, not about retribution. Punishing and rehabilitating wrong-doers, giving as much compensation as possible to the wronged...and as such, I think the only time the death penalty should be used is when rehabilitation is deemed impossible.
...but there have definitely been times when I've been a bit more bloodthirsty and wanted to see specific people be snuffed. But it's times like that when people less vindictive than I need to step in and say, "No, no...this one still has a chance; let's try rehab first."

Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
For purely selfish reasons, NO. I'm so fucking allergic to that horrible shit; in fact, it would not surprise me to learn that my noggin-flogging massive headache-and-a-half from yesterday was a remnant of walking through that cloud of pot at Cal Anderson the day before.
...but I think that medical marijuana should be legal. I just think it should be one of those in-your-own-home-only kinna things.

Are you for or against premarital sex?
I think there should be a whoooooole lot more fuckin' goin' on; might make those asshats who seem to think that everybody else's sex lives are their business relax their damn grip.
But on the specific question, I'm definitely FOR. Let's put it this way: I wouldn't buy a car I hadn't test-driven EITHER.

Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
You're asking a lesbian this? C'mon...duh!

Do you think its wrong that so many Hispanics are moving to the USA?
The fact that they're Hispanic makes no difference, so it matters whether or not the question is asking if it's wrong that so many people are moving to the USA...or if the question is specifically about Hispanics.
Now, I do agree that it would be best if they followed the legal path to citizenship, but I also think that path has to be streamlined; the reason so many illegals are hopping our fences is because becoming an American the legal way is simply an unacceptable delay.

A 12 year old girl has a baby... should she keep it?
Again, this is where I get cold-blooded. The answer is "probably not". A 12-year-old girl needs to finish school, probably can't financially support the child, and the realities of the world we live in means she'll have a kinna fucked up life. So...she should probably give that kid up, for the benefit of the child if nothing else.

Should the alcohol age be lowered to 18?
I actually don't give a rat's ass on this one. But then, I didn't drink till I was 24, by choice.

Assisted suicide is illegal... do you agree?
Yes, I agree that assisted suicide is illegal...I don't think it should be, but I agree that it IS. (I really HATE the phrasings, "...do you believe..." and "...do you agree..." when the question is not asking about existence. Can you tell?)
Your life, your body, your choice. In all things. I believe that as strongly as I believe in any principle.

Do you believe in spanking your children?
I do not agree with physical trauma--however mild--as punishment.

Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Absolutely. A flag is a physical object, and you cannot destroy what it symbolizes by destroying that object. Ever.
So you might as well have asked if I'd burn the Sunday New York Times as far as I'm concerned, and all this attachment to flags is just a lot of pointless sentimentality. I think that if your patriotism hinges on your treatment of symbols--as opposed to your attachment to and expression of the ideals of your country--then your priorities are way out of whack.
And hey...a million bucks! :)

A mother is declared innocent after murdering her 5 children in a temporary insanity case... opinion?
I take issue with the idea of "Innocent by reason of insanity,"...it should be "GUILTY by reason of insanity!" If you've done a thing, you've done a thing, and your reasons will never change that. Your reasons may have a bearing on your punishment, but they have nothing to do with your guilt.
Of course, this brings up a very interesting point that I've often taken issue with in sci-fi movies: if someone takes control of your body through some means--mind control, cybernetic implant, whatever--and makes your body do all kinds of crazy shit, I don't think you are guilty; the one making the decisions is the guilty party. But the characters in these sci-fi shows always act like they are the ones who should be punished, because "they" did these horrible things. Bullshit; you weren't in the driver's seat and would have tried to stop those things from happening if you could have, so you share none of the guilt.
It seems the "innocent" verdicts in insanity cases assumes that the person wasn't making their own decisions, wasn't in control. I kinna disagree...they may not have been rational, but they were in control, in the body's driver's seat, regardless.

Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
They probably will; people judge other people all the time. What's the be worried about?

Tags: meme
Current Location: home
RocketMood: satisfied
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

I think every police car in Seattle just zoomed past my apartment, going west on Pike.

...anyone know what's going on? Oh, I see. Thanks, guys!

Tags: just sayin'
Current Location: home
RocketMood: curious
Ambient RocketSound: Lots of sirens

'Sunrise' is not a fucking alarm clock.

Kthnxbye!

Tags: sleep
Current Location: home
RocketMood: awake
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

And now, it's time for some Weird Thoughts:

You know what I wonder sometimes? Has anyone in the history of the world ever been mugged while only carrying their debit card, so the mugger forces them to go to an ATM and withdraw a buttload of money at gunpoint?

Having just attending yet another Gay Pride Parade, you know what I'd really like to see? A lesbian Muslim in a rainbow burqa.

So why is it that, when there's a lot of really distracting noise, people usually say that they "can't hear jack" or they "can't hear shit", but they "can hear jack shit"?

It seems to me that a 'neighborhood' ought to be a state of being, the state of being a neighbor. Yet...it's a place instead. What the hell is that about?

Does anyone else have this problem? I find it difficult to picture a car's gas tank. I mean, I can picture a one-gallon milk jug, and I can sort of picture ten of those, and so I can sort of picture a gas tank. But it's still hard to conceive of how much fuel you're actually putting into the tank because you never see it going in; you just plug the nozzle into the gas tank and start pumping gas. And then you drive away, only coming back once the tank is empty. At no time do you ever actually see gasoline. For all you know, cars have been running on gasoline-scented water since the 1950s and the whole thing is just a big sham.
And then there's gas mileage. Just try to picture a gallon of gasoline, realize that represents, oh, maybe thirty miles worth, right? So try to picture how much gas it takes to go the length of a city block. Try to picture how much gas a car is actually using every second, how much gas is going to the engine, how big that hose is, how much it lets through. I wonder how far you'd get on a shotglass-worth of gasoline.
Unless you've actually researched it, these things are mysteries...which means that to most people, these things are mysteries. We only really know about fuel consumption in the abstract: how much money gas is worth, the readings on gauges; we never see the gasoline, we never watch a tank slowly empty as we travel.
That sort of thing really makes me wonder, makes me think. Not so much about me, but what other people think, whether they take this stuff for granted too. Oh, like I said, there's bouncd to be people who know how far that shotglass of gas would get you, people who'd seen--even installed--gas tanks, but in general...for most people, a gas tank is even more mysterious than their stomach. At least with a stomach, you can see the fuel going in...but do you know how many steps a green bean is worth, or how many heart beats are in a broccoli tree? Think about that...then apply it to your car.

Random Mischief
Things To Do To Make People Twitch
- Get drunk at a funeral/wake
- Bring a karaoke machine on an airplane
- Bring a DVD of nothing but plane crashes on a cross-country flight and watch it on a laptop while laughing with gusto the entire way

Tags: weird thoughts
Current Location: home
RocketMood: weird
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

I'll be gone from the 2nd to the 9th; making the annual obligatory visit-the-parents journey to Vermont.

Speaking of which, I don't s'pose anybody'd be willing to give me a lift to the airport Wednesday night, leaving at about 7ish? I usually take the bus, but I'm likely to have actual luggage on this trip and, well...

Tags: parental units, travel, vermont
Current Location: home
RocketMood: curious
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

Went for a walk with anna_mcann in Cal Anderson Park. Got a chance to talk about what that last entry was about--no, it wasn't directed at her--and that was good. Cathartic.

But we were sitting not too terribly far away from some old--and probably homeless--dudes smoking a joint, and I'm way allergic and way sensitive; I feel strangely loopy right now, and I think that might be a headache coming on, too. Yeah...we shoulda moved.

Anyway...Keight doesn't forget those who were there for her when she needed it. Thanks, anna_mcann. :)

Tags: friends
Current Location: home
RocketMood: loopy
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

So...LiveJournal; what do we use it for?
Mostly, I use my LJ to describe my day and how I'm feeling at the moment. Or, I suppose, to brag. And also to whinge, though I try to keep that at a minimum.

Thing is, I can't help but feel I've been whinging a lot more lately. Maybe not as much as some people, but there's been a slightly higher proportion of drama on my LJ over the last few months than I frankly prefer. Mostly internal, thankfully; having big knock-down, drag-out fights with other people on LJ sucks. I've seen that on other peoples' journals--and about two years ago, maybe three, had some of it on my own--and, honestly, it seems unflattering to all involved, and I'd rather not be that myself. So...that most of my whinging is actually about me rather than other people is a Good Thing™. Mostly.

Thing is...well...frankly I've been holding back; there's a few things I've been leaving very, very unsaid because the interpersonal drama potential of them is, well...high. And my LJ is no longer a safe space to express negative feelings and criticism; to avoid hurting too many people, I'd have to make so many filters that maybe three of you would get to read what I have to say, and it wouldn't be relevant to any of you.
I'm trying to find a way to say what I have to say without ruffling feathers, without being passive-aggressive, without causing drama, while still actually communicating...and just plain not finding it.
I made a No Context Theater post a few days ago that actually touches on the root cause of this...but you'd probably have to live in my head to grok it. And, hell, this is one of those things where to state the problem is to render the solution potentially insincere. I don't know if that makes any sense...it probably would in context.
I have a few extremely round-about ways of saying what I want to say, ways that might make the situation make sense BEFORE saying something that amounts to, "...and that's quite similar to what you've been doing to me." But, dammit, to me that IS passive-aggressive; I prefer the direct approach. I actually deeply HATE passive-aggressive, the saying-but-not-saying shit where you allude to what you're trying to say and hope the other person gets it. If I hate something when it happens to me, I consciously try--succeed or fail, I fucking try--not to do it to anyone else.
(And, yes, I realize the irony in this statement, since this entire entry is essentially one big passive-aggressive rant. But fuggit...what else can I do? ...besides not ever saying a word and letting this shit fester?)

*psigh* I hate these gorram minefields, I really hate damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situations. If it weren't having a palpable impact on my life, I wouldn't even bring it up. And if it hasn't been apparent from some of my more recent posts where I wax elated at the reversal of this trend, my self-esteem has been seriously in the shitter lately, which is kind of unusual for me.

Ah, well...never mind.

Tags: just sayin', no context
Current Location: home
RocketMood: distressed
Ambient RocketSound: Nuffin'

Wow...I got kinna dark yesterday.

It took a while for my skin to fully react to the massive dose of solar rad