Emperor:

There were a lot of dark jedi on the metro today, if you get my drift.

On my commute, it's pretty easy to tell apart those who know what they are doing and those who don't travel that way normally. For some reason I find small enjoyment in showing off amidst all the tourist. Like knowing the exact timing between stops. Or completing a hard sudoku while standing and not holding on to any rails or leaning on any walls. Just having a comfortableness that says "I'm pro at this, try to stay out of my way" ... it's strangely gratifying.

Remember:

Items of nostalgia at the moment:
- Kanye West and warm weather driving
- Chick fila rituals
- Tidal basin walks

I want to take a vacation. I think it's about time to start the planning phases.

Alterations:

1. Jacket size taken down to a 36 S (R will do if they don't have it).

2. Pant inseam taken in 1.5 inches, length unhemmed .5 inches.

3. Shirt sleeve taken in 2 inches, shortened 1 inch.

4. Shirt back taken in 1 inch, lower back 1.5 inches.

5. Haircut 10 days prior to event. Hair product choice, pending.

By the third round, I should have this pretty figured out. Guys- don't bring your dates. Ladies, try not to swoon so bad.

Dancing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHj1Gv4HNEg

These guys are definitely going to win. They're the sickest.

Sometimes when I watch enough YouTube of people doing amazing things, I think "oh yeah, I can do that". But then reality kicks in.

Routine:

Whenever someone has recently asked me how things are going, my answer has been "routine". These past few weeks especially, I have done nothing outside of eat, watch TV, sleep, drive, and work during the week. And even going out on the weekends has become routine. While each weekend presents a different fun event, the schedule is still the same and the feelings of excitement ending in extreme fatigue are the same weekend to weekend.

Basically, all I'm saying is that I've been uncreative and unmotivated and I think it would be nice to have dinners in the District again, to take weekend trips, or to plan a spectacular cookout. You know, mix it up a little.

400:

Happy 400th post, blog. Thanks to all the supporters and commenters who have made such a feat possible. What they say is true- there really are some angels in this city.

Ticks:

The manager of my department (two levels up from my position) is a pocket change jingler. I think that speaks volumes about what kind of person he is.

Vegetables:

Yesterday I had the day off from work. I woke up with the energy and determination to make it a productive day with some laundry and actually getting out of the house to run a few errands at the mall. But soon after I hit a road block- trying to get my hair cut. The first place I went was too crowded and the other place I had looked up I couldn't find. Then I figured I could just go home and either cut it myself or walk over to Knockout cuts two blocks away. Instead my momentum fizzled out when I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.

I know that I actually need that time to not do anything and relax to offset the time I spend at work and the energy I spend going out to events and such. It just feels like a waste of time, and it sucks having stuff that I failed to get accomplished still hovering over my head throughout the rest of the work week.

Next week I will be changing over to the 4-10 hour work days and will be having Mondays off. I didn't want to fight with my other coworkers over getting Fridays off, and plus nobody's really doing that much work on Fridays anyway so I figured it would be best to skip out on Mondays. I hope that with my added day off I will find the motivation to use that time well.

Rather:

If you were in an arranged marriage situation...
would you rather:

have your mate be a shallow supermodel and spend time developing a deeper personality with them

or

have your mate be an interesting, but physically less attractive person... but have a lot of money for physical modifications?

you know, like if he was just like all the way there but had a little something to remind me of the good old days.

Jumbles:

I haven't taken much time recently to do much thinking. I don't think I've been able to sort out my feelings lately, nor do I think I really want to. It's probably a formula of one part numbness and one part neglection. Of course, the result is some form of self-ignorance or denial. Whenever someone asks me what I'm thinking about these days or how I am doing, I can honestly answer with, "I don't know" and just leave it at that. Soon, I'm sure, I will have some time to sort out and talk about my insides, but until then... it's kind of like having a cluttered and messy room with dirty laundry everywhere and saying "eh, whatever."

Jobbing:

I don't write that much about work on here, which I find strange since I spend so much time at work and also generate all of my posts from work. So here's a tidbit regarding work.

My supervisor is pretty awesome. While she is rather intimidating and runs a lot of people over (if you get in her way, she will destroy you with her massive intellect), if you have a good attitude then she is totally supportive. Yesterday I chaired my first customer meeting for a subdivision project. To me, customer meetings are always a bit surreal. Here I am, a lowly engineer, shaking hands with the VP of an electrical firm or the property owner of this multi-million dollar lot or an architect who's designed all sorts of buildings in DC. The fact that I am supposed to be telling these bigwigs what they need to do is daunting and seems silly.

Before the meeting my supervisor pulls me aside and tells me, "You seem to be too tentative. They are your applicant. They are asking for your help, so take more control. You know this stuff so I want you to be in charge of the situation." And then after the meeting she stops by my cube and says, "That was good in there. Good job." I truly believe that the boss can make or break the deal for any job position.

For a while I've been tinkering with the idea of going to another company. I might be able to get a pay increase (doesn't really matter) and reduce my commute to 10 minutes (would be really sweet). I know they are hiring because they've just picked up a friend of mine who just graduated and also have made offers to two of the engineers from my workplace. The main reason I haven't been hard pressed to apply is because my supervisor doesn't deserve the pains that come with hiring and training a new person and covering all the work until that person is up to speed. If I were to be moved to another section (which is entirely possible with all sorts of people leaving the department), though, I would be looking elsewhere in a heartbeat.

That's my story.

Genesis:

Also, happy New Years all. I'm sorry if I am unable to spend the beginning of 2008 with you; I really wish I could be at a dozen places at once.

(I have fond memories of playing the Sega Genesis on New Years Eve, watching the ball drop, then returning to the game console to play Sonic the Hedgehog or NHL 1990 something.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne
I have no intention of ever trying to remember the words.

Listen:

Is it just me, or do you have a voice in your head too? Sometimes I think I can hear myself debate myself, and my own thoughts are so loud and clear that I feel like I might as well be talking outloud to myself. While I can see the advantages of having a strong sense of self, I don't think this innervoice of mine finds very much resolution in whatever it has to say. For example, I never hear myself think, "oh, it is what it is.. that's cool." Instead it's more like, "...but, what about... and what if...? oh scheisse." I'm probably just going crazy and need to figure out how to let go of things. Some medication would probably help.

Blogs:

With the sudden explosion of blogger's popularity, the purpose of my blog has been brought to question in my mind. I tend not to have very many funny anecdotes to write up in here. Even if I did, I know my story telling skills are subpar so I wouldn't even try. I don't have a lot of deep-though-stuff posted; only on occasion will I spill my mind out onto the web. But looking through the past couple of years, I can see that I have recorded a lot of memories and random thoughts which show to me how I have changed and evolved recently. It's very intriguing to read something and think, "wait, I wrote that?"

Hence, I will continue to post every now and then. And stalk other peoples' blogs vigorously. And post for the sake of trying to draw out comments. Because comments make you feel good. Don't deny it.

Brown:

This morning I dressed in the dark. I try to avoid turning on the lights because the blasting incandescent yellow is not so pleasant at 5 AM. Instead I've been lighting up candles in both my room and while in the shower. Today I was too lazy to light the candle while I dressed and grabbed what I thought were my black pants. What I ended up putting on were dark navy slacks that were of similar material and fit as my black pants. A tragedy indeed, for they didn't quite go with the black shoes and belt or the brown shirt. I've been trying to hide out in my cube as much as possible today. I knew there was a reason I don't typically wear brown and red.

Thanksgiving:

Happy turkey day, all. I hope you had your fill.

Something about this holiday makes me feel old and young at the same time.

Feelings:

I've recently learned that feelings are not something that can be controlled. The choices and actions that are a result of emotional stimulation certainly can, but the internal reaction is often inevitable and inalterable. So I've come to realize that I might as well embrace whatever I feel. Strangely elementary.

Capitalism:

I was walking to Barnes and Nobles yesterday to pick up the new Jay Z album and saw a Starbucks that I didn't know existed. I searched "starbucks near" my work address in Google maps and found about 30 stores within a 1 mile radius, and about 15 of those were under a .5 mile radius. Now that's just outright ridiculous. Excessive.

Pie:

No Ned! Don't do it!!

Lately, my TV schedule has been:
Monday- Chuck
Tuesday- House
Wednesday- Pushing Daisies (top pick)
Thursday- Smallville and The Office
With the occasional Jeorpardy, King of Queens, and Family Guy thrown in at random times.

What can I say? I enjoy the occasional romantically tense situation.

Meetings:

I suck at meeting new people. I find that I have a fairly pessimistic view on the general practice of trying to initiate a bond with a stranger, unless they have been highly recommended by another friend. This evening I went to a construction networking event where we (a few people from my office went) were supposed to meet and chat with contractors and companies from the area. What they ended up doing is after a while of mingling, they split everyone up into groups and began the "Speed Networking" portion of the evening (haha yes, they said they got the idea from speed dating... Anna). So I made small talk for 2 minutes and exchanged business cards with ten people, which wasn't difficult or painful... but was certainly pointless. I learned nothing about their company, what they do really, or who they are as a person. Once we were done with that, I had no desire whatsoever to shake anyone else's hand or pursue further conversation with anyone... I mean, what did I really have to gain from investing my energies into anyone there in the room (exception- coworkers of course)? I find myself leaning more and more towards that anti-new-social school of thought, and just asking myself "what's the point?"

P.S. I really enjoy spending time out of the office with people from work. It was a real treat that my supervisor came out to this event. She's pretty awesome. Beer/Open bar is a plus.