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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
Thanks for stopping by! 
October 27, 2010 at 3:03pm October 27, 2010 at 3:03pm
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Haven't had a lot of time on WdC lately... probably something to do with getting a job (at last!), buying a car (ugh), studying for the GMAT (double ugh), finishing up my grad school applications (triple ugh!) and preparing for NaNoWriMo (well, about to start preparing...). I discovered that I've been using WdC as a crutch... while I was unemployed, I volunteered for a TON of stuff on the site - auction packages, guest judging, creating contests and forums, etc. - and realized that in the absence of a full-time job, I was kind of treating WdC as a work surrogate, picking up assignments and responsibilities with deadlines, filling up most of my time with things to do...
Not that it hasn't been great to spend so much time on WdC... but I think now that life seems to be taking off again, I'm going to have to re-prioritize. Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere... and I'm not going to drop the ball on anything I said I was going to do. But from now on, I'm going to have to be more selective about the things I do volunteer for. You know, since I might only be able to check in on WdC a few times a day instead of being online ALL day... 
So yeah... that's what's going on in my life. The car has been purchased, the job is falling in line... the GMAT is on Saturday, and applications are due early next week, but are almost done. So I'm thinking Sunday's going to be a happy day.  |
October 18, 2010 at 5:14am October 18, 2010 at 5:14am
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This is one of my musical addictions of the moment. I heard it when I went to see Easy A last night (great movie, by the way), and it's been stuck in my head (and on repeat on my iTunes) ever since:
"Good Life" by OneRepublic
Woke up in London yesterday
Found myself in the city near Piccadilly
Don't really know how I got here
I got some pictures on my phone
New names and numbers that I don't know
Address to places like Abbey Road
Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want
We're young enough to say
Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life
To my friends in New York, I say hello
My friends in L.A., they don't know
Where I've been for the past few years or so
Paris to China to Colorado
Sometimes there's airplanes I can' t jump out
Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now
We are god of stories but please tell me-e-e-e
What there is to complain about
When you're happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in
Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life
Hopelessly
I feel like there might be something that I'll miss
Hopelessly
I feel like the window closes oh so quick
Hopelessly
I'm taking a mental picture of you now
'Cuz hopelessly
The hope is we have so much to feel good about
Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life
To my friends in New York, I say hello
My friends in L.A., they don't know
Where I've been for the past few years or so
Paris to China to Colorado
Sometimes there's airplanes I can' t jump out
Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now
We are god of stories but please tell me-e-e-e
What there is to complain about
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October 13, 2010 at 4:29pm October 13, 2010 at 4:29pm
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I didn't even bother watching the California gubernatorial debate on television last night. And from the sound of things, I didn't miss much. Most of the news reports today are talking about how the vast majority of the debate was focused on bashing the other candidate, with particular emphasis placed on one of Jerry Brown's campaign aides having been overheard calling Meg Whitman a "whore" during a phone conversation... and Meg Whitman's former housekeeper supposedly being an illegal immigrant. I'm sorry... and pardon my language here... but what the fuck do either of those two issues have to do with the qualifications of these people to run a state, and with their proposals for how to get California out of its downward spiral? 
I'm really tired of all the trash-talking. This campaigning has been going on for months and months... and we're just now hearing the candidates' platforms... and even then, almost exclusively as an afterthought to an entire promotional spot that talks about the economy when Jerry Brown was governor the first time... or Carly Fiorina shipping jobs overseas when she was CEO of Hewlett-Packard... or Meg Whitman and her housekeeper... or Jerry Brown and his foul-mouthed campaign aide. And when we do hear the platform, it's empty promises that sound good, but have absolutely no chance of doing anything. Really, Meg Whitman? You're going to get rid of the illegal immigration problem for good? Really, Jerry Brown? You're not going to raise taxes a single cent for anyone without voter approval? I think I've heard both of those campaign promises before...
Seriously, I'd like to actually hear what the candidates have to say about the issues, and hear a realistic plan for achieving those goals. Where they stand on education reform, economic recovery, the obscene unemployment rate, the state tax structure across all socioeconomic levels. You know, the things that kind of, well, matter more than trying to prove that your opponent is the worse choice for the job. When did, "At least I'm not as bad as my opponent" become a valid campaign platform?
I guess we'll see what happens during the elections in a couple weeks. It doesn't seem to matter whether you're Democrat or Republican... none of the candidates are saying anything relevant to the job they intend to do if elected.  |
October 11, 2010 at 5:07am October 11, 2010 at 5:07am
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Way back in January - you know, that pesky time of the year when you make a whole bunch of resolutions that usually end up unrealized - I resolved to read 26 books this year... an average of one every two weeks. Surprisingly, with more than ten weeks left in the calendar year, I'm proud to say that I've reached my goal and actually achieved my New Years' resolution (one of them, anyway ). The books that I read this year are:
FICTION
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Code to Zero by Ken Follett
Cross by James Patterson
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Dealbreaker by Harlan Coben
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Desperation by Stephen King
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Inca Gold by Clive Cussler
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
The Broker by John Grisham
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon
The Poet by Michael Connelly
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Two For The Dough by Janet Evanovich
NON-FICTION
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles
There's still plenty of time left in the year... my new goal is to get to thirty by the end of the year. Hmm... ten weeks... four books... I think I can do it! |
October 10, 2010 at 3:18am October 10, 2010 at 3:18am
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I'm at that frustrating stage in NaNo prep where I don't know what the heck I want to write about. A million ideas are ricocheting around in my head, and I'm having a hard time sorting through them all and settling on one in particular to explore. I'm not even sure what genre I want to write in this time around. My first NaNo (2008) was erotica, and last year (2009) was action/mystery. I'm not sure if I want to do something completely new (maybe sci-fi, horror), or give mystery another chance, since I only got 20,000 words into my novel last year.
I've got a couple characters I'm mulling over, but I really need to get my rear in gear and do some serious prep work. I'm not going to fall short on NaNo two years in a row, and I've got a long way to go before the first of November. |
October 9, 2010 at 4:32am October 9, 2010 at 4:32am
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My Kindle arrived today (or I guess technically it was yesterday).  My wife and I bought ourselves a Kindle to share as a joint-anniversary present, and I have to say that so far... it's awesome. The Kindle itself is incredibly light and portable, and the screen is amazingly clear. Although the coolest feature of all is WhisperSync, which allows you to synchronize your Kindle handheld with all the other Kindle readers you have. Which means that if I download a book on my Kindle and start reading it, I can set down my Kindle and open up the Kindle reader on my laptop to the exact same page I left off. I even have a Kindle reader for my iPhone, so all the books I read sync instantly between the Kindle itself, my laptop, and my iPhone... all but guaranteeing I'll never be without a book again.
When I go on trips, I can take dozens of books on the Kindle, rather than doing what I usually do, which is try to cram half a dozen books into my tiny suitcase. When I'm waiting at the doctor's office, or for a table to open up at a restaurant, I can read those dozens of books on my iPhone without having to carry one under my arm all the time. And if the storage on my Kindle ever runs out (it holds 3,500 books), I can archive the ones I've already read on my computer's hard drive.
Not to mention the fact that I can download and subscribe to magazines and newspapers.
To start off, I downloaded Trunk Music by Michael Connelly (the book in his Harry Bosch series that I left off with), and The Killing Floor, the first book in the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. I imagine there will be quite a few others joining this pair in the coming months, but I didn't want to get too many too quickly.
It may still be the first 24 hours of having one... but I highly recommend the Kindle. It's great. |
October 6, 2010 at 11:02am October 6, 2010 at 11:02am October 3, 2010 at 11:24pm October 3, 2010 at 11:24pm
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So I'm back from the hospital, and since it was all so sudden, I thought I'd fill everyone in now that I have some time. Here's what happened:
On Thursday afternoon, I started to get pretty bad stomach cramps. I had sushi for lunch, so I assumed it was a bit of food poisoning, and nothing I hadn't experienced before. But through Thursday night, I could barely sleep as the abdominal pains got worse. By Friday at noon, the pain was almost unbearable, and I went to an Urgent Care facility to see what was wrong. After blood and urine tests, X-rays, and several examinations, they sent me right to the hospital emergency room to test for appendicitis; I didn't even have a chance to go home and get a change of clothes or anything. The surgeon on call (who also happened to be the hospital's Chief of Staff) asked a few questions and did a few exams of his own, and promptly scheduled me for surgery around 9:45 p.m. on Friday night.
Surgery only took about 45 minutes, and by 11:00 p.m., I was in a hospital room and recovering. I spent all of Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday morning at the hospital, hooked up to an IV, being constantly monitored, and sustaining myself on a clear liquid diet of tasteless soup broth, Jell-O, and fruit juice. Apparently, my appendix was in pretty bad shape... the surgeon said that it was very close to rupturing or bursting, so it was a good thing I came in when I did on Friday night.
The surgeon came to visit me this morning, said I was actually recovering very well. No nausea from eating, the pain was manageable, etc. So he discharged me around 1:00 p.m. today and I've spent the rest of the day at home on the couch. It's going to be semi-solid foods (mashed potatoes, pudding, regular soups, etc.) for the next few days, and a gradual work up to solids. I'm stuck in bed or on the couch for the next week, at which point I'll go back and get the staples taken out of my incision, two weeks after that before I'm pain free... and in about a month, I should be able to exercise and get back to my normal life.
Everyone was great. The surgeon, nurses, doctors, and everyone at both the hospital and Urgent Care were attentive, helpful, sympathetic, and kind. It was my first real surgery (not counting wisdom teeth), and I know my family and my wife were worried. My mom flew in yesterday to stay through Tuesday and help take care of me so my wife can get back to work... and all the medical staff did a wonderful job of reassuring, explaining, and helping us figure out what I need to do for the next few weeks.
It was scary to have such an urgent surgery pop up so quickly and unexpectedly... but as far as surgery goes, this one couldn't have gone better. I'm home now and at least I have my laptop and WdC to keep me company on the long road to recovery.
I'm sorry if I worried anyone with my sudden status update, but as you can see, it all happened a bit quickly for me too!
Thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes and personal notes. It's good to know I have such wonderful friends who worry about me. |
October 2, 2010 at 4:59pm October 2, 2010 at 4:59pm © Copyright 2025 Jeff (UN: jeff at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Jeff has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
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