I find it funny that people are offended by stereotypes. By definition a stereotype in sociology is \ . "a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group". Stereotypes are there for a reason. Ideas and concepts about certain groups don't just pop out of nowhere and without previous example. Russians drink Vodka....in fact they really do....a lot of it. Italians talk with their hands....they most certainly do. Black people like watermelon and chicken? You tell me. When a black kid makes a youtube video proclaiming how much he loves chicken, it only feeds the stereotype further. And really what the hell is so wrong with saying that??
People are so stuck on racism and prejudice that any "majority" rule gets taken with such offense. Nobody is saying that ALL Russians drink Vodka til their liver cries for help, or that ALL black people can't live one day without fried chicken and watermelon! It's a matter of majority...and people really need to calm down with the defenses.
I'll say this much, if you don't like a certain stereotype you've been placed into, become a contradiction...an outlier to the norm. I'm Russian, and I can't stand alcohol, let alone Vodka. So the first thing people say when they find out I'm Russian is "oh cool! you must drink tons of Vodka". No, I don't, but some of my family members sure do cover that stereotype FOR me! You don't see me getting my panties into a twist over it.
Go out, be free. Live up to your cookie cutter, or be the dough that's outside the cutter. Whatever you do, just be YOU.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
One for the books
Here's a stat sheet for the day:
1 crack on the noggin from the truck lid
1 busted knee
1 minor electricution
1 iPhone in the toilet
1 massive headache from heat exhaustion/dehydration
I'm glad this day is over. I'm pretty sure I was on a mission to get killed. I've successfully wrapped myself in bubble wrap and crawled into bed. Tomorrow, please.
1 crack on the noggin from the truck lid
1 busted knee
1 minor electricution
1 iPhone in the toilet
1 massive headache from heat exhaustion/dehydration
I'm glad this day is over. I'm pretty sure I was on a mission to get killed. I've successfully wrapped myself in bubble wrap and crawled into bed. Tomorrow, please.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Inception
I want to preface by saying that I'm writing this at 6:00am after a full night of insomnia on a day where I was falling asleep and couldn't keep my eyes open to save my life. I hit these bouts of sleeplessness and sometimes my brain decides to have fun with me by trowing out completely random and obnoxious thoughts. So here it goes...at the risk of sounding completely bonkers...take nothing I write for face value because most likely I won't even remember writing this after I finally sleep:
Have you ever pondered the idea that maybe the reality we live is just our subconscious? That in fact our conscious is something other than what we see as reality...maybe we don't actually physically exist and the reality we live is just a figment of our minds or souls. Maybe what we experience are just moments of memories in our souls floating along until we find another body to occupy. What if the reason some things that SHOULD make sense, don't because they aren't real.
I remember watching "a Beautiful mind" and being absolutely blown away by the idea that this man lived his life thinking he had those people in his life...and in the end...in reality, he was completely alone. Granted he was clinically crazy, but it's the same idea. We live life surrounded by family and friends and memories and activities...who's to say they are in fact...LIFE.
Another way to think of it is kind of like the Matrix...maybe we took the blue pill? Would certainly explain Deja Vu! Because I swear some days I feel like I wake up knowing a whole lot more crap than I did the night before! Maybe the insomnia is what I feel while another program is being uploaded into my brain. I should ask to be uploaded with some mixed martial arts program..see if I can tackle Neo in the next fight.
I should really stop watching those kinds of movies. Clearly my brain takes them too seriously.
And so it is...this is where my brain goes at 6:00am. Don't mind it. I'm sure sleep will make everything normal again.
P.S. It's now midnight the next night, I JUST watched Inception and I am now fully afraid of my mind. Having never seen the movie before, my brain went exactly into the same idea that the movie depicted. Sometimes being dumb is much easier than having really deep thoughts.
Time for sleep.
Have you ever pondered the idea that maybe the reality we live is just our subconscious? That in fact our conscious is something other than what we see as reality...maybe we don't actually physically exist and the reality we live is just a figment of our minds or souls. Maybe what we experience are just moments of memories in our souls floating along until we find another body to occupy. What if the reason some things that SHOULD make sense, don't because they aren't real.
I remember watching "a Beautiful mind" and being absolutely blown away by the idea that this man lived his life thinking he had those people in his life...and in the end...in reality, he was completely alone. Granted he was clinically crazy, but it's the same idea. We live life surrounded by family and friends and memories and activities...who's to say they are in fact...LIFE.
Another way to think of it is kind of like the Matrix...maybe we took the blue pill? Would certainly explain Deja Vu! Because I swear some days I feel like I wake up knowing a whole lot more crap than I did the night before! Maybe the insomnia is what I feel while another program is being uploaded into my brain. I should ask to be uploaded with some mixed martial arts program..see if I can tackle Neo in the next fight.
I should really stop watching those kinds of movies. Clearly my brain takes them too seriously.
And so it is...this is where my brain goes at 6:00am. Don't mind it. I'm sure sleep will make everything normal again.
P.S. It's now midnight the next night, I JUST watched Inception and I am now fully afraid of my mind. Having never seen the movie before, my brain went exactly into the same idea that the movie depicted. Sometimes being dumb is much easier than having really deep thoughts.
Time for sleep.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
On the up
The last month has been one of the best months in a long while. I'm finally starting to feel like my old self...which makes me wonder if my old self was as good as I thought I was back then. I took a lot of things for granted. Like being able to work out every night, playing intense sports like hockey (and living to talk about it the next day), going out almost every night, seeing endless shows every week, going to sleep at the wee hours of the night and waking up at 6am every morning half asleep, working 10-12 hours a day...I definitely burned the candle at 6 ends without putting much thought into my body not being able to handle the physical strain I was putting on it along with the insane amount of mental stress. I'm absolutely understanding how I got myself into this predicament in the first place. It's definitely easier to pace yourself than to dig yourself out of a deep hole!
I'll be starting a normal workout routine again very soon along with starting to skate again. This time, I'll try to limit my physical strain and eliminate the mental stress all together.
It's looking up. I don't know which change in my life has gotten me here, or perhaps it's the entire combination of events...but I like it...I like it a lot.
Happy Hallows eve! Nothing better than avoiding the slut-fest which we call Halloween parties, here in Los Angeles, by enjoying some low key BBQ time with amazing company. Hope the "ladybugs", "nurses", and "vampires" brought an extra skimpy layer, it's bloody COLD tonight!!
I'll be starting a normal workout routine again very soon along with starting to skate again. This time, I'll try to limit my physical strain and eliminate the mental stress all together.
It's looking up. I don't know which change in my life has gotten me here, or perhaps it's the entire combination of events...but I like it...I like it a lot.
Happy Hallows eve! Nothing better than avoiding the slut-fest which we call Halloween parties, here in Los Angeles, by enjoying some low key BBQ time with amazing company. Hope the "ladybugs", "nurses", and "vampires" brought an extra skimpy layer, it's bloody COLD tonight!!
Friday, October 29, 2010
But offislur...
I want to know once and for all if it is in fact a myth that CHP and traffic police have a monthly quota that they have to hit...
I drive the same route daily and it never fails, at the end of the month I see the same speed trap set up at the same stretch of road.
First, I'd like to call bullshit on cops when they completely deny having a quota to fill. Just admit it. Like every other agency, there are certain rules, regulations and practices that must be followed...and I believe monthly quotas are one of them.
Secondly, the people that drive this same route and get pulled over...you've no doubt seen others get pulled over for speeding in the same trap every month, I can't help but point and laugh when I see you pulled over. I know these spots and when driving past them, I simply slow my roll. So stop irritably going around me and giving me the evil eye. Maybe next time you should follow my lead and avoid a ticket and traffic school.
Cop friends, please clarify this once and for all for me...quota or no quota?
I drive the same route daily and it never fails, at the end of the month I see the same speed trap set up at the same stretch of road.
First, I'd like to call bullshit on cops when they completely deny having a quota to fill. Just admit it. Like every other agency, there are certain rules, regulations and practices that must be followed...and I believe monthly quotas are one of them.
Secondly, the people that drive this same route and get pulled over...you've no doubt seen others get pulled over for speeding in the same trap every month, I can't help but point and laugh when I see you pulled over. I know these spots and when driving past them, I simply slow my roll. So stop irritably going around me and giving me the evil eye. Maybe next time you should follow my lead and avoid a ticket and traffic school.
Cop friends, please clarify this once and for all for me...quota or no quota?
Missing: common curtesy, please call if found.
So I wrote this last night and forgot to post it...rather, I fell asleep while posting. Anyway, here it is. Another one is coming tonight.
I will admit to having a lot of pet peeves and expecting certain things from the human race as a whole. That being said, I also believe there are the bare minimums of common curtesy that people should come with that qualify you as a human.
Please explain to me why people go into "10 items or less" express lanes with a basket full of crap and are shocked when the cashier tells them to please not do this next time. Ok so usually this would irritate the hell out of me but this time I just laughed it off along with the other 4 people in line behind this lady....until.....she pulls out her check book...REALLY lady?? You just raped the cashier with 6000 items and you're gonna whip out the check book?? AND she asks for cash back....
It's things like this that just make me wonder what in the world is going on in this lady's head that she completely disregards 5 other people in line with 2 items or less and does what she wants.
I don't know if it's this city, this state or this country, but I'm seeing less and less common curtesy and it's really depressing to realize it.
I will admit to having a lot of pet peeves and expecting certain things from the human race as a whole. That being said, I also believe there are the bare minimums of common curtesy that people should come with that qualify you as a human.
Please explain to me why people go into "10 items or less" express lanes with a basket full of crap and are shocked when the cashier tells them to please not do this next time. Ok so usually this would irritate the hell out of me but this time I just laughed it off along with the other 4 people in line behind this lady....until.....she pulls out her check book...REALLY lady?? You just raped the cashier with 6000 items and you're gonna whip out the check book?? AND she asks for cash back....
It's things like this that just make me wonder what in the world is going on in this lady's head that she completely disregards 5 other people in line with 2 items or less and does what she wants.
I don't know if it's this city, this state or this country, but I'm seeing less and less common curtesy and it's really depressing to realize it.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Just another day
I'm still trying to figure out if Oct 27 was a day from hell or if it's just something to learn from and laugh it off. I'll do this blog time-line style and try to figure out if I want to laugh or cry later.
8:45am: Wake up from an intense dream in which I snap on someone, push them to hit me first only to end up bashing their head into the ground, having my nose broken and throwing up blood while they end up unconscious.I have no clue what to think of this...except that there has never been ONE single person to ever push me to that edge...and somehow this person did.
9:00am-9:30am: Lay in bed in a soaking wet shirt from sweat gasping for air wondering what the hell just happened in my dream.
11:00am: Move on from the dream, shower, get dressed and get on the road to downtown to the garment district.
11:00am-12:30pm: Sit in traffic with strange windy but hot weather where neither having the window up NOR down seems to feel right. Get off the freeway (aka stopway) to get some food. Get back on the freeway, sit in more traffic.
12:30pm: Finally arrive in downtown, park and get going.
12:30pm-2:30pm: Operation "takeover" is in full research mode. A lot gets done in these hours. Everything we planned to get done actually gets done and we are able to run around Santee Alley just for the hell of it, shop a little, eat a hot dog(I opt out if one) and some chilli mango (I have one piece). This is important info for future reference.
2:45pm-3:00pm: Walk back to the car....reach for keys in my pocket....no keys. Search backback....no keys....search purse....no keys.
3:00pm: FUCK. I lost my car keys.
3:00pm-4:00pm: Trace back every single step of the last 3 hours....twice....no keys. Security, police, ganitors,sales people....not a soul has picked up my keys, or has reported them, or returned them to any authority. Great news...NOT.
4:00pm: Realizing this is now a lost cause we head back to my car (which I may remind you is a 1984 Cadillac El Dorado....I have (had) the only set of original keys that are now in someone else's pocket). Calling AAA in hopes of maybe getting towed to the house so I can deal with this later.
4:15pm: AAA lets me know they can have a locksmith come out and duplicate both the ignition and door keys (two different keys) AND they cover up to $100 in parts and labor. Sweet. Send them out please.
4:30pm: Locksmith arrives. Opens the door in all of 30 seconds. I'm thinking I may not even need a door key at this point. He gets out a set of about 20 keys that he proceeds to try one after another in the ignition in (both of our) hopes that one will match and we can both get on our marry way. No such luck. He informs me he will need to remove my steering wheel to get to the ignition mechanism to do his magic. Sure thing, batman, do what you gotta do...I'm gonna sit back and watch you do this because at this point I am tired, hungry and just want to sit down.
4:45pm-6:20pm: This is where I mention the fact that the lot in which we parked closes at 6:30pm SHARP, as it's so nicely written on the sign right in front of us. Everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong in the process of removing and replacing the steering wheel. my steering wheel seems to be the most supperest of all duper steering wheels ever made, bolts don't fit, screws get stripped, he has to re-thread some things while trying not to break anything in the process, the horn attachment is a pain in the ass that keeps popping out JUST as soon as he ALMOST finishes...fyi my car comes equipped with an air horn...so every time the fucking thing slipped, the entire parking structure is filled with the most alarming air horn, waking up half the neighborhood and some people in China. Did I mention that we are parked right above Santee Alley and some jackass is selling some kind of toy that sounds like nothing we'd ever heard...a weird mix between a crying child and an animal in dire need of a nap?! This is mixed in with a random sound of another sales person demonstrating what seems to be a tazer gun...between those three sounds, I'm now twitching at every sound I hear.
6:20pm: It's looking more and more like we may be spending the night in this parking structure, so I decide instead of also dying of hunger, I may as well go down the street for my second meal of the day....a hot dog. We walk down the street...and up the street...all hotdog vendors are closed. All restaurants are closed. Any form of food is CLOSED. I spot a vending machine so I can at least get some juice or some kind of sugar in my system...annnnd it's broken. Awesome. Well, I might as well go pee. Sure!....not so much. That's also closed.
6:25pm: Upon my return from my unsuccessful venture for food and pee break, Manuel lets me know he finally got everything back the way it needs to be, hands me two keys, takes $95, and we are fucking OUT of there with 3 minutes to spare before the lot closes for the night. Thank you Manuel.
6:28pm-8:15pm: Two words: FUCKING TRAFFIC. After about an hour and a half we finally get out of the nightmare that is Downtown Los Angeles traffic, and pull off the freeway to get something, ANYTHING to eat. Between the hunger and the exhaustion, the delirium had caught up with both me and LL. We are 2 seconds from crying as we are laughing hysterically and singing anything from Journey to Adam Lambert.
8:30pm: Stop. Drop. Roll. I literally stopped for 2 seconds as I dropped off LL lol I had about 3 more minutes of sanity left in me and i needed to keep it for the drive home. This is where I have to thank her for being there with me today, because without her and my Buspar prescription, I believe there would have been some bodies and a news report. Thank you, for, once again, keeping me sane through what seemed to be a bad nightmare.
8:40pm: Home. Shower. Rest.
9:00pm-present: Trying to figure out how I managed not to snap and re-enact my dream from last night. I have blisters on my toes, my face hurts from this stupid windy cold weather, my head is pounding from going WAAAAAAYYYY too long without food for being a hypoglycemic, my entire body is sore from walking for hours, my wallet hates me for spending an extra unnecessary $95, my brain hates me for being stupid and losing keys...and yet, I still feel really accomplished.
I'm gonna just call it a day. Lesson learned. Advil and happy pill....I am done with this day.
8:45am: Wake up from an intense dream in which I snap on someone, push them to hit me first only to end up bashing their head into the ground, having my nose broken and throwing up blood while they end up unconscious.I have no clue what to think of this...except that there has never been ONE single person to ever push me to that edge...and somehow this person did.
9:00am-9:30am: Lay in bed in a soaking wet shirt from sweat gasping for air wondering what the hell just happened in my dream.
11:00am: Move on from the dream, shower, get dressed and get on the road to downtown to the garment district.
11:00am-12:30pm: Sit in traffic with strange windy but hot weather where neither having the window up NOR down seems to feel right. Get off the freeway (aka stopway) to get some food. Get back on the freeway, sit in more traffic.
12:30pm: Finally arrive in downtown, park and get going.
12:30pm-2:30pm: Operation "takeover" is in full research mode. A lot gets done in these hours. Everything we planned to get done actually gets done and we are able to run around Santee Alley just for the hell of it, shop a little, eat a hot dog(I opt out if one) and some chilli mango (I have one piece). This is important info for future reference.
2:45pm-3:00pm: Walk back to the car....reach for keys in my pocket....no keys. Search backback....no keys....search purse....no keys.
3:00pm: FUCK. I lost my car keys.
3:00pm-4:00pm: Trace back every single step of the last 3 hours....twice....no keys. Security, police, ganitors,sales people....not a soul has picked up my keys, or has reported them, or returned them to any authority. Great news...NOT.
4:00pm: Realizing this is now a lost cause we head back to my car (which I may remind you is a 1984 Cadillac El Dorado....I have (had) the only set of original keys that are now in someone else's pocket). Calling AAA in hopes of maybe getting towed to the house so I can deal with this later.
4:15pm: AAA lets me know they can have a locksmith come out and duplicate both the ignition and door keys (two different keys) AND they cover up to $100 in parts and labor. Sweet. Send them out please.
4:30pm: Locksmith arrives. Opens the door in all of 30 seconds. I'm thinking I may not even need a door key at this point. He gets out a set of about 20 keys that he proceeds to try one after another in the ignition in (both of our) hopes that one will match and we can both get on our marry way. No such luck. He informs me he will need to remove my steering wheel to get to the ignition mechanism to do his magic. Sure thing, batman, do what you gotta do...I'm gonna sit back and watch you do this because at this point I am tired, hungry and just want to sit down.
4:45pm-6:20pm: This is where I mention the fact that the lot in which we parked closes at 6:30pm SHARP, as it's so nicely written on the sign right in front of us. Everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong in the process of removing and replacing the steering wheel. my steering wheel seems to be the most supperest of all duper steering wheels ever made, bolts don't fit, screws get stripped, he has to re-thread some things while trying not to break anything in the process, the horn attachment is a pain in the ass that keeps popping out JUST as soon as he ALMOST finishes...fyi my car comes equipped with an air horn...so every time the fucking thing slipped, the entire parking structure is filled with the most alarming air horn, waking up half the neighborhood and some people in China. Did I mention that we are parked right above Santee Alley and some jackass is selling some kind of toy that sounds like nothing we'd ever heard...a weird mix between a crying child and an animal in dire need of a nap?! This is mixed in with a random sound of another sales person demonstrating what seems to be a tazer gun...between those three sounds, I'm now twitching at every sound I hear.
6:20pm: It's looking more and more like we may be spending the night in this parking structure, so I decide instead of also dying of hunger, I may as well go down the street for my second meal of the day....a hot dog. We walk down the street...and up the street...all hotdog vendors are closed. All restaurants are closed. Any form of food is CLOSED. I spot a vending machine so I can at least get some juice or some kind of sugar in my system...annnnd it's broken. Awesome. Well, I might as well go pee. Sure!....not so much. That's also closed.
6:25pm: Upon my return from my unsuccessful venture for food and pee break, Manuel lets me know he finally got everything back the way it needs to be, hands me two keys, takes $95, and we are fucking OUT of there with 3 minutes to spare before the lot closes for the night. Thank you Manuel.
6:28pm-8:15pm: Two words: FUCKING TRAFFIC. After about an hour and a half we finally get out of the nightmare that is Downtown Los Angeles traffic, and pull off the freeway to get something, ANYTHING to eat. Between the hunger and the exhaustion, the delirium had caught up with both me and LL. We are 2 seconds from crying as we are laughing hysterically and singing anything from Journey to Adam Lambert.
8:30pm: Stop. Drop. Roll. I literally stopped for 2 seconds as I dropped off LL lol I had about 3 more minutes of sanity left in me and i needed to keep it for the drive home. This is where I have to thank her for being there with me today, because without her and my Buspar prescription, I believe there would have been some bodies and a news report. Thank you, for, once again, keeping me sane through what seemed to be a bad nightmare.
8:40pm: Home. Shower. Rest.
9:00pm-present: Trying to figure out how I managed not to snap and re-enact my dream from last night. I have blisters on my toes, my face hurts from this stupid windy cold weather, my head is pounding from going WAAAAAAYYYY too long without food for being a hypoglycemic, my entire body is sore from walking for hours, my wallet hates me for spending an extra unnecessary $95, my brain hates me for being stupid and losing keys...and yet, I still feel really accomplished.
I'm gonna just call it a day. Lesson learned. Advil and happy pill....I am done with this day.
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