28 Apr 2003
God, I LOVE San Francsico. Spent the whole weekend there, living it up as 11 DSP chapters got together and initiated and partied and got drunk of our asses (not as bad as last WRI, when people went to the hospital. We hosted that WRI, quite fun). That's right, it was WRI or Western Regional Initiation, hosted by the San Fran chapters. Bussed down on Friday afternoon (did stop by in Auburn at In & Out Burgers), and walked around SF all the night. Stayed at a great 4.5 star hotel, the Hotel Nikko, and got hardly any sleep. Saturday morning, Initiation, which went well. Then the Banquet, which was okay, and more city walking, which was nice. Like I said, I love SF. Too many panhandlers, but it was fun. Slept all the way home. Yippee. Wanted more out of this weekend, though. Didn't get happy drunk, didn't get high, didn't get any. Even met some nice English chicks at the Irish Pub, but couldn't make anything happen. Nor did I get any good bonding in, thought Shlek and I had some good conversation, as well as Martín. Just wanted more. But it was a good weekend, will be a good weekend.Am now back in Reno, back in reality. Got to spend last night doing a Speedy Gonzalez translation, then went home to hang out a little, then bed. Didn't work this morning, because the Weather Channel said there was a 70% chance of rain today and tonight. I would like to state for the record that it's mostly sunny outside. Assholes. So, there's $40 down the drain. Oh well, I got to hang out with Mom. She went to an interview today for a job for Fluke Pharmaceuticals that she really wants, which will pay very nicely. Two other companies have called for interviews, including Don Wier's Reno Dodge and the Nevada Appeal. I hope she gets the really good paying one, though, because I need her to have a good income to back me up in Europe. I also want her to be happy.
Anyway, want to send you over to Fi's site, since she was so kind to send you to me. I just love how she pasted the whole email in. It's cool.
22 Apr 2003
I am so evilly happy right now. There's this guy in my marketing class, whom we'll call Jay. He is, well, I'll be blunt, somewhat of an asshole. I first met him when he came to a couple pledging events for the frat. He ended up not pledging, not because of our rejecting him, but we're "too young" and it seemed to him that it was "just an excuse to get together and drink beer." He tied up Tiff for half an hour on the signing party night. He is also the one who corrected the speaker we had come in for the prospectives, elevating himself while bringing our speaker down. Our speaker handled it with aplomb, but he shouldn't've had to. Anyway, so today in marketing, these students, calling themselves "Black Rock," used our class as guinea pigs to practice for the "Super Bowl of Advertising", a very nice presentation proposing an ad campaign for the Toyota Matrix. They presented an extremely nice, very well thought-out and researched campaign, complete with TV and radio ads, billboards, and a great slogan: "your life (Toyota image) your stories. Get the feeling." It was pretty cool and, to my untrained eye, seemed very very professional. For one of their print ads, they showed a Spanish-language ad featuring a bunch of clubbers. They told us they called it "Dancing," and as they said that, one of the guys gave a little twirl to one of the girls. Cute, inoffensive, just a little tie-in that added some nice spice to the presentation. They labelled the car's target audience as "Gen X.5" since we fell between the more traditional groupings, and the Matrix was right in the pricerange of the first-new-car buyers.. After the presentation, Jay started his little commenting rant, getting after them for using a ballroom-style dance instead of a mambo or samba or tango. Riiiight. Then, he accused the group of not talking about if it were a wagon or a hatchback or something, when some girl in the back of the room shouted, "Well, he doesn't count, 'cause he's not a Gen X.5!" This elicited huge applause from the whole class, who has had to deal with him all semester, and especially me, who found it most rewarding. It was so nice that the asshole got what he's been dishing out for so long. I know it's horrible of me, but he's just so arrogant, it's nice to see him brought down a little. I'm sure next class he'll be his normal self, but for now...Other than that overlong and cruelly funny story, not much been happening. Didn't work on Sunday, thanks to Easter, but did have a huge long Deltasig meeting. Tried working on stats, but Shar had to do something else. Did have a great time with Margarita (Damasa's sister), and a cig outside, which I must've done right because I felt sick. Hmmm. Then last night tried to do my stats (I think I did it right, hardee-har-har), along with Mr. Personality (Fox' on-par replacement for Joe Millionaire), Crossing Jordan, Jon Stewart and Jay Leno. Then went to bed. Missed talking to my WT teacher today, but we'll do it Thursday. He agrees we need to talk about the C I got on the last paper; I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean. But now I'm going to exercise and maybe go out for Jorge's birthday, which is going to be a drunkfest, I imagine. I mean, the guy's no stranger to tequila. Maybe a stripclub too.. Well, I've got to do something productive to make myself feel human.
18 Apr 2003
Wow. Okay, here's the past few days:Wednesday, the rain kept the car wash too slow for me to work. So, I went down to hang out with Mom. We watched TV, she did my laundry (God bless her), and we shopped for used elliptical cross-trainers (no luck). She also cooked those fabulous grilled cheese sandwiches of hers, and we just had a great day.
Thursday was fairly uneventful, until about 7. Went to Chels' birthday at Louie's Basque corner, and we ate and drank and were merry. Then took the party to Chili's, where I met her dad. Then moved on to the Wal, where I hung out with Zach, up from Vegas, and Tiff. She got mad at me for smoking reds, so I'll move on with the next pack. Went home early because I wanted to wake up on time to go to work.
Friday, woke up nice and early, and I'll be damned if it wasn't snowing! Neither the Weather Channel nor the NOAA predicted it. It was nice, gone by 10am, but it still meant I didn't get to work. So, I have a grand total of like 3-4 hrs on my timecard right now. I will be working tomorrow (barring another freak storm), but that's pittance compared to what I need. Oh well. I'll be getting together with Shar tonight to work on the accounting project, so that should be fun, despite the material. Love having that piece of plastic! 3:10pm
15 Apr 2003
What a full day! God, I woke up at 7:30 to study for marketing, and read my WT work. Showered without soap. After WT, talked to Bernie and he said he'd get me my letter of recommendation. Then got my other letter from Brau with a nice little chat in Spanish, as well as with some of my fellow students in the class--good times. Went to the pledges' speaker at lunch. Took my marketing test, and got out early enough to go shopping for soap, shampoo, and toothpaste. Then went to stats. Turned in my application for the NEWTRAC (Nevada World Trade Council) scholarship with my two letters of recommendation and personal statement. Hung out for a bit, then Andrea stopped by like we planned last night. We went to the DC and had dinner with Shar from DSP, then rented "True Romance" with a bunch of big-name stars. It was actually a good movie, some humor and a lot of action, though the pace was a bit jumpy. Enjoyed it. Then went back to Wal-Mart to get another light bulb (discovered that both the side marker and left middle rear tail light were out). Fixed the tail light, but couldn't make the light assembly come out to fix the side marker light, so it's still out. Managed to chip the paint trying though. Ugh. Then came back about 11:45 and watched a Bermuda Triangle documentary on TLC. (Marge: The Learning Channel? Oh, honey, I don't think you should be watching that. Lisa: But Mom, I'm hardly learning anything!) Now I'm going to bed since I have to be up at 7 am tomorrow. But there's a 20-40% chance of rain in Carson, depending on the source, so I may or may not have tomorrow off. That'd be good for the sleep deprivation but bad for the paycheck. But this week's paycheck made it in; thank god for direct deposit--why didn't I use it before! God, I'm tired. But I am refreshing my lyrics page to reflect the lyrics I've already collected, rather than transcribing everything. We'll see. Also, all the community/service events have been approved, so we got those ten points, as well as the points for regalia, so we're back on track. Big whew!, much unlike this time last month. Thank god! 12:58am on April 1613 Apr 2003
I have so many things to do this evening, and here I am writing in my journal. Prioritizing! At least I finally emailed Jose Ramon back; we'll see. Okay, so I woke up this morning at 7:45, and it was snowing. It was still snowing at nine, when I really got up. So, no work. Did do a bit of translating, but I don't yet have down the lingo, so it's going really slowly. Then came Interviews and the meeting, followed by a night out at Chili's. Now the Family Tree stuff. So, I haven't gotten any of the things I need to do done. Not a good thing. One scholarship is due Tuesday, and I need two letters of recommendation for it. Going to get those tomorrow from Schopen and Brau if I'm fast enough. Nervous; so much to do, and I don't even know where to start. UGH. Frustration. And I still don't have any soda in my room. Must actually do work. Okay. Yeah. 10:58pm13 Apr 2003
I'm not sober!!! Yippee! It was a full Pledge for Active. I ended up in front of a sink, like last semester. But I'm good now. Angelak drove me home, God bless her. SUCH A GOOD TIME!!! J.D. and I took shots (I now know what to get him for tomorrow--a bottle of Jack), and I drank and I hung out and I took pics and had such a good time. And this time, I didn't spend half the evening next to a garbage can. I probably have one more in me (two are already out), but they may not happen as I've already gone to bed and for some reason (I guess since I drank his beer at the end of last semester) donated my entire new pack of Coronas (and the lime) to Jake and Roy, who live next to Robby in succession. Save them a trip. But I'm out the dough. Oh well, it's making up for last semester. I hope Dawn, Fi, and Cris are okay after I bought liquor for them last night before the party. I'm sure they are; Cris is overprotective, which is a good thing when you're drunk. Okay, I need sleep. I probably won't have to work tomorrow, as it's predicted to be worse than Saturday, but I need to prepare anyway. Hopefully I'll get a few Coronas back. Whatever. I'm cool. Can't wait to see how we all are tomorrow. Haha. 1:22am12 Apr 2003
I am the par-TAY guy this weekend. Got some good alcohol last night at the chapter birthday, hung out, didn't make an ass of myself. Did, however, just turn my alarm off this morning, not waking until 7:44. Course, it was a very slow day and I wasn't needed. But no one returned my calls like they said they would (neither Jorge nor Janet would call me until one had called the other--sheez) so I drove down to work. Clocked in at 9:30, out at 9:44. Whoo-hoo! But I did have lunch with Mom as we went over USAC stuff, and avoided Dad 'cause he's in a foul mood again. Worked on developing a tolerance without addiction for tobacco as well. Then came back to Reno to do my two hours for the Lion's Club White Cane Day for Amber, in the drizzle. But I apparently got the most money of anyone, so I'm thrilled [add.: $80, out of $180 for Deltasigs, and like $600-700 for the event]. Now comes the Pledge for Active. I'm not sure about this one, because I have no costume. All I've got is that stupid light they have on their heads, in reality a nonfunctioning flashlight bulb tied on with rubber bands that won't last long. I'm going as "Doctors without Borders" if I can find khaki pants. I know I have some, but I don't know if they fit. Off to the party...! Around 9:30pm9 Apr 2003
Fuck this shit. God fucking dammit! I just got out of accounting, and that was probably the WORST test I've ever taken. Ever. Period. I'm not using hyperbole. Even worse than that stupid test I took in math in seventh grade, when I got a D. Fuck. 7:05pm9 Apr 2003
Past the halfway point! Didn't do shit last night, electing instead to goof off, watch Cher's last concert, and get a decent night's sleep. Woke up this morning at a quarter to seven, packed up my computer, and hauled it down to Carson to work on my essay at work. Also finally did my Marketing project, so major thanks to Janet. Got back to Reno, printed my essay, and turned it in. So, now it's CRAM time for my Accounting test, then it's relax!! Do have a test on Friday still, but it's Physics, and who gives a shit about that?? 2:59pm8 Apr 2003, pt 2
Two down, three to go. And right now I'm cool with it. Just got out of the stats test, and I think I did really well. Had all the problems on my cheat sheet, so it was very easy to just apply different numbers and get the right answers. Yay! And, José Ramón emailed me, so it looks like I'll start doing translations for him and his Property Admin group. Extra dinero for me!! In fact, as we speak, I'm talking with Paul about it, learning how the Spaniards do property--it's quite interesting. Fincas are indepently owned property, which is more common in suburban America, whereas most Spaniards live on viviendas, which are subdivisions of estates (which were, before being divided, their own fincas). Since you do buy the property you live on, but you're still part of the estate, you end up paying for your little piece, and paying monthly your land's portion of the expenses. Quite nifty. Anyway, it's nice to relax, and, after Paul and I are done, I'm going to bed. Will write the physics essay later, oh but SHIT, I also have to study accounting. Well, I'll get it all done. I'm essentially halfway there! And I'm so upbeat my good test! Yay! 4:33pm8 Apr 2003
Well, one down, four to go. It took a couple cans of Diet Pepsi, several No-Doz, and three hours of sleep, but I turned in my WT essay just now, and I feel okay about it. That probably translates to a C, but we'll see. Anyway, I managed to BS my through the quiz (I thought we were reading Neil Caputo, not Leslie Silko) and say something semi-relevant, so I got as many points today as I possibly could. But now I have to have read all of Silko by Thursday, so there's another thing to add to my list. Shit. On to stats! 10:33am7 Apr 2003
The week from hell has begun. Didn't get near enough sleep last night, so I was tired and achy all day. My voice just about disappeared today at work, thanks to this goddamn cold. My WT essay and a stats test are tomorrow, meaning I'm going to be up all night writing, reading, and studying. Wednesday, I've got a Physics essay and an accounting test, so I won't be getting much sleep tomorrow night either. But, I'm feeling much better than I have all day. I got some cough drops and some No Doz at Walgreen's, so I'm awake and my throat is feeling much better (I've been sucking on those things like candy). Also got some muffins for midnight snacks/breakfast. So, I just finished watching part of my last WT video, so now it's time to buckle down and get this fucking thing written so I can start studying. It'd be so nice to get an A, or even a B, tomorrow on the exam, but I'm already feeling a C coming on. Dammit, where's my enthusiasm?? If I feel good about something, I tend to do better on it. Must get the positive vibes going. Also got a message from Paul in Spain that his former client, Jose Ramon, will be emailing me about translations. Shit, but I might start making money here too!! That would be SO awesome. But I've wasted enough time today (five hours at work, three napping, two in accounting and dinner), so I need to get going. Wish me luck! 8:47pm4 Apr 2003
Yeah, so tonight was weird. Not doing that again. But, I didn't have to work, which was nice, but wasted the whole morning. Then I went to class, dropped some photos off for Katie (she's so happy at Macy's), and went home, got my IRS refund in the bank, and got my new personalized plates on the car. Yeah! So, I'll take some pics tomorrow so I can show them to the frat. Was a good day, not so good evening. But then I talked to Katie, who's studying for the SATs tomorrw, then I talked to Rosita, who helped out. Then I talked to Diane for half an hour, which really truly helped. It's nice to hang out with a girl, and hopefully that wasn't a faux pas in that one part about relationships. So, c'est ma vie. Kinda weirded out right now, but talking to friends did help some. Enh. Gone. 11:18pm3 Apr 2003
I'm not sober! Okay, I need to stop using that. But, I had a great time at Sarah's birthday party, hanging with my lil bro, and everyone else, for that matter, at Chili's. Lotsa fun. Rosita even took me out for a pre-b'day martini at Roxy's, which was nice. Ended up having a great time all around. And hopefully the fact that I didn't have dinner will make up for all the beer I drank. Ivan and Paul chatted with me tonight as well. It's been one of the most social evenings I've had in a very long time. Now, to keep this going... See y'all later. 11:45pm2 Apr 2003
So, apparently Mother Nature decided we needed a bit more winter. We're expected to get 2-4 inches of snow between seven and nine o'clock. It's coming down like blazes out there--I can barely see the Hilton! Absolutely mind boggling how we go from very nice Spring to very nice Winter in a week; something bass-ackwards about that, if you ask me. So anyway, trying to be a better big bro to J.D. Went out to his car (walked from the Business Bldg to north of the parking garage by Lawlor in the snow!) to sign the contract. Now I have to get ahold of Tiffany and demand she bring me all the family tree shit so that I can get it ready for the new pledge class. Got to do this while Chelsea's still around; otherwise that info may never be recovered. Did get off work today, though, so I went down to Carson anyway and Mom cooked the absolutely BEST grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. We watched a good "Law & Order" before I had to come back up for Physics. Got my oil changed too, and right on time. Been a nice, relaxing, money-/gas-losing day! Okay, that's the (somewhat) personal shit. Harrah's has officially disappeared. I LOVE the snow. And there's a new "Law & Order" tonight (yeah, no obsession). Que sera sera, I guess. 8:45pm1 Apr 2003
I'm not sober! This time, it was for Tiffany's 21st birthday. Started at Roxy's, moved on to the Hilton's Sapphire Lounge. Ended up vomiting. But still had a fabuloso time, dirnking with Chalissa, Sally, that girl from Bowling Night, Tiff, and the other Sarah. Was SUCH a good time. Ended up having a much better time on her b-day than I did on mine, and I thanked Tiff for that. Got lots of hugs on the way out--just ended up being such a good evening.