Shelter from the Storm
(30 June - 9 July 2004)

9 July 2004
-So I've been saying for years that all the so-called box office records are complete bunk based only upon the ever-escalating ticket prices of movies.  Finally, when trying to determine whether "box office gross" means total ticket sales (which I think) or ticket sales after the movie theaters take their cut (which Fish thinks), I ran across the ACTUAL box office record holders, as defined properly, by ticket sales.  You have to scroll down a teensy bit in the article to discover the graph of the top 20 movies of all time, by number of people who saw it in a theater.  You may also note that this list is from May 2002, though I just discovered it today.  Especially interesting is that only 4 of the top 20 are from the '90's & none since 1999.
-The World Almanac continues to be one of my best friends.

8 July 2004
-Steve-o Rabin apparently wrote the script for this flash presentation.  It's about John Ashcroft & does not include a terrifying twist at the end like some flash presentations.  (This is me glaring forever at Russ).  Regardless, Steve-o continues to stick his toes out into the political water after being credited on the last Al Franken book.
-Ah FIFA, how you can consume the hours.  I just wish the PS2 2003 FIFA weren't so hard!

7 July 2004
-It's amazing what people can do to other people.  I think self-interest is the ultimate bane to rational thought.
-My boss & I are once again on great terms.  I feel like this relationship is governed by the same sine-curve laws that dominate so much of my emotional reality.  But when things are on the up-&-up, it's all good.
-Wow, what a good move.  Potentially.

6 July 2004
-A smooth & easy day, with a good start for the new kid.  You never know when problems will arise so just bank as many of the good days as you can get.
-That's more like it.  I'm playing good poker again.

5 July 2004
-It's so hard to be away from Emily.  But so nice when she comes home again.
-This is kind of fun.  As of today, check out #50.
-Big online poker tournaments, even if one only comes away 80 cents ahead for some major effort, are such a rush.
-Setlist for 2 days ago is in.

4 July 2004
-CC show last night at Konocti Harbor in Kelseyville may have been the 5th-best of their shows I've attended.  You'll note I've attended five total.  This, however, I should stress, does not mean that it was in any way a bad show.  It was, in fact, an excellent show.  As I figured out on the car ride home, it was the first of their five shows to fail to make me cry... & I think that tells a lot of the story of the night.  Some of the really moving stuff, such as the alt of "Goodnight Elisabeth", I had already seen.  This particular version of "Miami" was truly amazing, but it didn't bleed right into "A Murder of One", which didn't appear at all.  & of course, I FINALLY (first time out of 5) got "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby".  By no means was this a bad show.  It was just more upbeat & sort of pure fun... Adam was jesting with this girl he knew in the audience & apparently his parents were there too.  I prefer the slightly more brooding, or the mix of fun & brooding.  There was a very nice "Black and Blue" on the brooding side & even "Sullivan Street" had elements there, but it was meant to be a fun night, mostly going for a circus feel.  I think it was nearly the perfect setlist for Fish, however, so that was spiffy.  & Adam overriding the Konocti staff, who had everyone sit down during the opening "Rain King" & then told everyone to stand back up saying that this was the polite thing to do, this was a classic moment.  The magic was still there.
-A ridiculously long holiday, with 15 hours of non-holiday pay.  Oh yes, the holiday pay comes tomorrow, mostly for staff who did not give up their 4th of July.  Mind you, I don't care two bits about this holiday, but it's still a tough day to work because everyone else called out.
-Bigger challenge incoming.  Still not a time for decisions just yet.

3 July 2004
-DONE with notes for June!  Finally!  I really need to stop putting this off, but the exultant feeling of finishing is quite something.
-FIFA is universally one of the most fun experiences one can have in the world of video games.
-Crows tonight!!

2 July 2004
-Jaque & I get very theoretical whenever we hang out.  I find it really fun because he's so mired in the science world & I'm so mired in philosophy that the bridge of perspective is often bizarre.  The main conclusion I have right now is that there should be more cool projects & especially indices on the internet.  Also, the concepts of absolute zero & (to a lesser extent) maximum speed being where they are according to physics is utter nonsense.  These join the long line of scientific theories that are surely bunk.

1 July 2004
-A momentous day.  As in, tremendous momentum.  Jake arrived from Albuquerque & Stina took off for Boston.  In the meantime, I attempted to finish my absurd backlog of notes for work from the month of June & discovered that I would not end up serving on a jury this year.  2 quick phone calls were all the service my country needed, & I feel that this is fitting given the social contract limbo that I hold in my heart.  It still would've been fun to try to make it on.  Now there's mostly just fun times ahead, if I could ever get that paperwork done!
-Sadly, our kickball season is over after a bitter first-round exit to a team we beat in the regular season.  We were certainly the underdogs & the 9-6 score certainly wasn't shameful.  Emily kicked in two runs & made a stellar snag at 3rd base.  I managed 2 hits to finish the year 11-18 (.611), though I only scored one of those two times.  But the game was definitely angry & bitter & our team lost a rally with one out & runners at the corners on a rough double play.  The season overall was great & there may be another in the fall, but it's mighty sad right now.

30 June 2004
-Today was a picnic for Seneca staff that I thought would be vaguely okay, but nothing special.   It wound up being a fantastic time instead, featuring some cards, some food, & then the main events of volleyball & football.  Though my teams lost every game we played, I did surprisingly well as an individual player, especially in volleyball where I have never exactly excelled.  Just having some sports activity, though kickball has been wonderful, for hours on end with good people was a true joy.  As I was leaving Lake Chabot to head home, sore & exhausted, I crested the hill & saw the entire Bay Area below me, with the San Francisco skyline perfectly centered, aswirl in clouds, fading in from the sky as though it were misty void taking solid form.  I felt so centered that my mind was almost silent.  Whether this is the eye of an impending hurricane or the nature of a powerful positive change, I cannot say.  I can say that it felt like being in the right place at the right time, regardless of past & future.  That's an exceptional place to be.
-Now the mundane reality of being behind on paperwork at month's end is slapping me in the back.  But my collegiate attitude of ambiance with cliffhanging work has never really left me.  I'll be fine.

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