The power went out on 9/27 and I got scared.

The power is out. I have 6 hours and fifty-nine minutes left on my computer battery. Ohps, it just went up a minute and then down a minute.  We’re at 6:58 people.  And now suddenly 6:44.  Ok, that is getting annoying.  To me.  I am annoying myself.

So, obvious ponder of the moment: we are so freakin’ dependant on power!  After watching the horror of my TV switching off as if it had a mind of it’s own, my first inclination was to go and check the internet to see how long the power would be out. Yeah, not happening.  The WiFi dispenser, as I like to call it, is plugged into the wall. So. I’m thinking to myself, well, no bother I can’t watch TV, I’ll just go and watch some hulu on my laptop.  How funny for me to have this thought, as if the internet I was going to use before to check the news was somehow different from the one used to supply me my hulu.

So phones still work right? Wait, let me check. NO! They don’t.  A rotary dial would though, right?  Why don’t I have a rotary dial somewhere? What if there is an emergency?  I can’t find my cell phone in this dark madness, and what happens when it runs out of juice? What if the candles I’ve lit burn the house down?  6:47 now which is kinda odd, eh? Obviously I’m not that distraught about the emergency....and now 7:16! Blast! What is going on macbook? Has the lack of power made you go nutty? Or is that just me?

Seriously though, I hate to say it, and actually don’t even want to type it, but wouldn’t this be the perfect time for a massive terrorist attack? These are the things running through my head. Ugh. But, I mean, I really have extremely limited contact with the outside world right now.  My cell phone, to be exact, which as I stated earlier I can’t find, and it is kind of a piece of shit that runs out of power after about 45 minutes of talking.  No phone.  No internet.  I literally don’t know what’s going on right now.  I don’t know why the power is out, when it will be restored, if aliens are invading, nor can I call 911 when I fall down the stairs later in the horrible, horrible darkness.

My cat almost just licked the flame of the candle.  Weird.

Anyhow, the thing is, I don’t want to sound like a whiny biznatch that can’t survive without hulu.  I don’t feel that way.  I just can’t think past that way right now because my brain is still in ‘check the internet every hour’ mode.  Let’s face it, a few days no power, we’d all be reading constantly and outside doing activities and finding plenty of happiness in the world around us.  Talking to our neighbors more, digging through the attic for the old rotary dial, or going to Target to buy one, if they even have them anymore.

My general point from my ‘the power is out disaster’ frame of mind is that we are SO dependant on power that even if we don’t mind it being off, we are in danger with it off.  At least at a major disadvantage.

Well, I guess its time for bed.  I miss you TV.

Rant Inspired by Jon Stewart's Rally To Restore Sanity

One big idea is never enough to revolutionize.  You don’t just fix giant socio-economic problems by changing one thing.  Even if it is a big thing and a big idea to match, for change causing.  People are different, this is something we know to be true and is easy to accept. Some people are nutty craze-o’s who don’t understand difference.  They see that people are different and what that means to them is that some people like hamburgers and some people like hot dogs and some people have brown hair and some people are blonde.  They see things like religious belief and sexual orientation as choices you can make, implying a right answer.  People naturally gravitate towards what makes sense to them based on their life experiences and who they innately are.  You don’t really make the choice to be Christian, you are because it makes the most sense to you, and it is your only choice.  Upbringing is factored into that.  Any other choice would take intense effort, and is unlikely in most cases, although, certainly not unheard of.  (I’m not saying, however that I think you can choose to be gay, its more like, how you stay in the closet is the choice.) Some people say they are Christian, but are truly atheist on the inside; they just can’t admit/deal with it yet because of how it would affect their lives due to any number of potentially oppressive forces like parents and culture.  They are not choosing to be Christian; they are Athiests, who lie. 

You can be liberal as all get-out and still be a close-minded xenophobe.

The problem with the one idea, one change, the right way, is that it involves labeling, as everything does, but in a very intense way.  This is right, this is THE idea; leaves no room for exceptions and anomalies, making them wrong for not being quite right.

I’m not offering a solution I just think it would help if people started thinking differently about what it takes to make change, why it is necessary, and why things cannot be universally true.

For instance, people talk about Catholic priests molesting children like it is something unique to Catholicism.  They don’t even necessarily believe this to be true, but because it is not spoken about in depth, but people simply read headlines of “another priest molests child” without any “why” behind it and people begin to think of it as an innately Catholic issue.  The real problem seems to be the power dynamic between adult and child and a lack of responsibility used to investigate the adults involved in those relationships nor monitor potentially precarious situations.  It happens in families and in schools all the time, it is not surprising it happens in the Catholic Church. 

There is no one right answer and our current political and media system does not innately support this, and as such it is important to remember to do the extra thinking that is not given to you in a headline.

I’m not editing this.  I like it better all nuts.

Pretty Good Picture

I took this picture of myself today, and I've got to say, my eyelids are looking seeeeex-y!  I find that not often enough do people embrace this aspect of their physiognomy.  Perhaps, we should adorn our lids with some kind of colored powder or jewels so as to bring out their best qualities.  We could even line them so as to say, "Hello, I am an eyelid, I exist, ignore me no longer!"

Eyelid Power.

Adventure

Hotel bars are really funny. The decor is always either in the style of the hotel, which is generally the least barish decorative styling possible.  Featuring, like, African masks and paintings of sparrows perched on gnarled branches with the morning sun glistening off the dew bespeckling their delicate wing feathers...for instance...OR in some tackytaculously wonderawful theme a la “Tiki Tom’s” (who is this ‘Tom”?) or “The OK Corral Saloon” (how original).  I find this lovely.  I only want to go to hotel bars from now on.  I mean, I’ll go other places too, but as far as bars go, I want to keep it in the hotel category. 

Irvine does not have a single bar...in the traditional sense.  There is no corner pub, no neighborhood “spot” if you will.  There are strip malls with restaurants that often feature a bar section.  There is the Irvine Spectrum; a spectacle of an outdoor mall, with a Dave and Busters, a Ferris wheel AND a merry-go-round, some strange themed clubs (which do not count, because they involve dancing/entertainment, and we’re talking BAR here), an Improv, lots of shopping and restaurants, and an Edwards 21 movie theatre with an IMAX.  This is where you go if you are age 12-18 on a Friday night, well before 10pm so as not to stay out past the 10pm city curfew.  You might also end up here on Friday night if you are kind of gross and from a city far away where there is even less to do than Irvine and you always wear shorts and a tank top no matter the weather.  Still, not even one true bar exists in this complex of “fun”.

One awesomely convenient thing and also just plain awesome in general thing Irvine does have is an airport.  It’s called John Wayne, which is rad cause I love cowboys, and it has a giant statue of him in a cowboy get up.  There are postcards of this, one of which I happily own.  The airport’s code is SNA for Santa Ana, which is super dumb, because it is clearly in Irvine.  Anyhow, there are tons of hotels nearby the airport, which are definitely in Irvine as they all have Irvine before their name, such as the Irvine Courtyard Marriott. Last night, my friend and I went to El Torrito for margaritas, as you do, which is also right by the airport, next to IHOP and a place called Gulliver’s. For Gulliver’s Travels, which is cute, I guess, because of its proximity to an airport, which is clearly all about travel, so there’s that connection.  I needn’t mention what a menagerie of choice these restaurants offer to the hotel guest’s discerning palettes.

So, we’re at El Torrito and we’re talking about this Irvine debacle.  We’ve both lived in other cities, that are actually city-like, have bars within walking distance to housing and corner stores and homeless people and hookers and the like. I like Irvine, more than I could’ve imagined as an idealistic teenager wanting to experience “real” life (I use quotes a lot...and parenthesis).  However, the lack of bars is kinda annoying, especially since there is absolutely no alcoholic drinking opportunities within walking distance.  We were talking about how there are so many bars in Seattle, where I went to college, and that people would go drink at the hotel bar near my school after school, or even, haha, in between classes.  And thus, the brilliant idea was born.  We were literally surrounded by hotels.

After a second margarita, made super especial, especialmente for us by the kindly bartender at El Torrito (the little bull) we were off to the Hilton.   This bar was decorated in the style of the hotel, meaning there were these strange giant gourd-like things everywhere and giant light fixtures on the walls that looked like piles of sticks.  It was also kind of in the lobby, which was a little strange.  We were the youngest people there by 20 years and it was a little awkward at first.  We hunkered down at the bar.  Football was on which my friend liked as a football fan, and I liked as a girl who likes to watch strong men run around in tight pants.

After a few minutes a 50ish year old man sat down next to us and we started chatting with him.  I was immediately skeezed out.  Best news of the evening: He was in no way creepy, and did not overtly hit on us.  There was a bit of flirting at the end of the evening, when we’d all had a bit to drink.  And he was married, so that was a little weird.  But whatever sexual whateverness that ended up being there was in no way the point of anything that was going on.   He was genuinely nice and personable and happy to be there.  And yes, we hung out with him all evening at the bar.  I had an awesome time.  It was the best time I’d had in awhile.  Not exactly true, cause my best friend’s wedding was two weeks ago, and unbeatable in the best night ever category.

I can't get over the fact that yesterday was a normal day and I just kept on doing normal things, decided to hang out with a good friend and I had SUCH a good time.  I want every night to be the best night and every day to be the best day, every TIME to be the best time.  It is so possible.  Mindset you know. Not caring you know. Not worrying. Being available.  The best part: it doesn't even have to be in a hotel bar!  You can have the best time anywhere without even trying.  In fact, trying, usually makes it not good.  Alls you gots to do is just live that life and be happy.

Thank goodness for hotel bar adventure number 1.  Actually, lets face it, I was one of those students that would (occasionally) drink in between classes at the hotel bar by my college.  BUT, I wasn't aware of the hotel bar adventure possibilities, so lets compromise and call this one 1.5.

<3