This Apple

I just went to Wild Oats and bought a single, red apple of the organic variety. I think it could be the best apple I've ever had in my life.

That is all.

The Big Picture

Copied and Pasted from Elsewhere on the Web.

"If you're letting the little things get to you, perhaps the big things aren't compelling enough. When your focus and direction are feeble and ill-defined, the smallest, most trivial distraction -- whether it is positive or negative -- can swirl you around like a feather in the wind.

Where are you headed? What do you intend to accomplish? What undeniable purpose is pushing you forward? Answer these questions with confidence and clarity, and there's almost nothing that can stop you.

It's impossible to be focused, if there's nothing to focus upon. Yet when the goal is clearly visualized and meaningful enough to you, it becomes almost impossible to ignore. With a destination that is clear and compelling enough, you'll do whatever it takes to find your way there."

Round Four

Two weeks into school now. I'm taking this semester as a challenge to myself. I'm kind of seeing how much I can take on in an effort to maximize my time management and focus.

That being said, my weeks are deadly. Allow me to describe my schedule. I haven't worked all 3 Ice Cream days yet, but will starting the third week in September - and then I think it's actually 4 days a week because I'm working Sundays too. You'll see what I mean.

Monday
8-10:30am: Work at Career Services.
11-1:30pm: Hold office hours at UMC Hillel Office & Eat Lunch.
2:30-10:45pm: Work at Ice Cream shop.

Tuesday
9:30-10:45am: Advertising and Promotions Management.
11-12:15pm: Product Strategy.
12:15-1:59pm: Lunch Break.
2-3:15pm: International Marketing.
3:30-4:45pm: Introduction to Finance.
5-6:15pm: Business Law.

Wednesday
Any time-1:30pm: Hold office hours at UMC Hillel Office & Eat Lunch.
2:30-10:45pm: Work at Ice Cream shop.

Thursday
9:30-10:45am: Advertising and Promotions Management.
11-12:15pm: Product Strategy.
12:15-1:59pm: Lunch Break.
2-3:15pm: International Marketing.
3:30-4:45pm: Introduction to Finance.
5-6:15pm: Business Law.
6:30pm: Hillel Board Meetings (alternate Thursdays).

Friday
9:30-3:30pm: Work at Career Services.

Saturday
2:30-11pm: Work at Ice Cream shop.

Sunday
Day off.

To save you the math. I'm taking 15 credits. Working 8 hours at Career Services, working 24+ at the Ice Cream shop. Involved in Hillel (holding office hours basically 4+ hours during the week - which is generally akin to study-time, since no one shows up). Good times. Can you dig it?

Alas, it is 11:16pm, and time for bed, seeing as I got up at 6:15 this morning to catch up on some reading that I didn't do. TGIweekend. Parents are here so call at your own risk. *hugs*

Round Three

Schusterman Leaders Assembly. Clayton, GA. August 16th-21st.

OMG. Most amazing week of my life.. so far, I think.

I was there for six days. Tuesday at 2pm to Sunday at Noon. For the entire time I was there, I got a total of 17 hours sleep. That's right folks, I averaged less than 3 hours of sleep per night, for six nights. And school started the next day.

There were some 300 people from all over the world. There was a waterfall. A forest worth of trees. Humidity that gave the feeling you'd just come out of the shower, every time you'd step outside. Bugs of all shapes and sizes that ate indiscriminantly (Did I just make a new word?). It was amazing.

I took home information from 65 different people. 5 guys - you do the math. Including 7 amazing girls from Stanford - excluding the 7 girls I went with (from CU). I went to the waterfall twice. I took 128 pictures (most of which are me holding the camera with my left hand, my right arm around someone - usually a girl - me on the right, them on the left). Email me for links to the pictures.

Just an all around amazing time. I wish I could go again.

Round Two

I got on the bus the other day and was seated across from one of the local.. how shall I put this.. persons facing challenges in their everyday life. I don't know that the man was homeless. I don't know what problems he has, but he definitely has them, and I shall leave it at that (aside from this).

One time, Mari and I were walking down 28th Street (one of the main North/South roads in Boulder) for whatever reason. It was dark, not quite late at night, but just night time. We were talking and when this man (the same man from the bus) began approaching us, we suddenly got quiet. The man had an angry gait to his step. Like he was marching toward someone he was going to pound the ever-living shit out of. Quiet is the natural reaction, I assure you. As he got within a few steps of us, he took a large one, and shouted at us, "FUCK!" and continued his march onward. Mari had turned towards me, arms covering her chest, hands clenched in fists. I don't know what my reaction was, but I can't imagine it was that much different. Anyway, the moral of this story is that I knew him to be unstable before I sat down on the bus.

So, I was sitting across from this man, attempting to mind my own business. Refraining from making eye contact, and just generally looking elsewhere, for fear of setting him off, because honestly, you never know.

He was looking toward the bus driver and posed a question, innocently enough. I did not hear it, so I can't tell you what it was, or for sure that it was benign even. However, I can tell you that when the bus driver did not acknowledge the man's inquiry he was rather upset. He stood up from his seat on the moving bus, crossed the white line and leaning on a pole began a rant at the driver.

The driver responded with some words of his own, which didn't settle the man any further - quite the opposite really. We came to a stop, and the driver asked the man to get off the bus. The man turned toward the door, seemingly to comply.

It was then that the bus driver chose, for who knows why, to push this man in the back. The man fell forward two feet, toward the ledge of the bus steps before catching himself. He was almost pushed off the bus! He removed himself from the bus, turned around and began taunting the driver, inviting him to step outside and join him on the street for a physical conversation - if you will.

An innocent lady got on the bus between the quarreling men. She took the man's spot, the driver closed the door and began to drive off. Last I saw the exiled man was trying to jot down bus information into his notepad.

At the following stop, the driver asked for those witnessing the events to fill out an "incident report" of what happened. Mine was a more concise version of what happened here. I indicated that the driver pushed the man in the back, almost throwing him from the bus completely. A few stops later I gave my completed card to the driver before getting off.

Somehow, I don't think it got to where he'd hoped it would be going when he asked me to fill it out. And, I think this is further evidence that I shan't engage in polite conversation with this man next time I see him. I'm just sayin' is all.

Round One

At work the other day, I helped this old guy - probably in his 60s. Made him a smoothie. He paid, I gave him change. I went on to the next person. A woman - probably in her 30s, with a small child - about 5-6? years old. She ordered ice cream. As my back was turned, something took place between them, that pissed the lady off something fierce. The man was like "Whatever," went outside, sat down and started drinking his smoothie. I filled the woman's order. She paid me, I brought her change. As I gave her the money, I noticed she was eating a small purple fruit looking thing.

She took the money, her ice cream, and her now eaten fruit outside. Swinging the door wide open, she stepped into the heat of the Summer sun, shouted some specific words she had chosen inside, cocked back her arm and let the fruit fly. I could scarcely believe my eyes. This 30 year old woman had just thrown food at this old man! Meanwhile, the door was now swinging back on the woman's daughter and almost hit the poor girl. It didn't, but there was a tense moment. The airborne fruit hit the man just inside the left shoulder. He was confused for a moment, and then enraged.

The woman began walking away with her daughter in tow. The man must have shouted some words back as he picked up the fruit, and began a charge toward her - smoothie in one hand, fruit ready to complete its round-trip in the other. When he got within two steps of her, he threw the fruit back at her. The woman, now further incensed, shoved the man old enough to be her father - while she was quite possibly still holding the ice cream she had just purchased from me. The man pushed back, one hand clutching the smoothie I had prepared.

Further words were exchanged, and the scuffle ended as abruptly as it had begun. The woman walked off with her daughter, and the man went back to his chosen seat for further consumption of his smoothie. The End.

Oh wait, no, no it's not. Ten minutes later, the police showed up. That's right, the woman called the cops on the old man. Inside the shop, we were abuzz over the tiff on our doorstep. The bossman wanted to know what happened, and I relayed this version of events to him before walking off to do some dishes. Before I had taken ten steps toward the back, my name was being called. There was a police officer who wanted to hear what I had to say.

I railed off the story to the officer, leaving off the more amusing details. He nodded intently with each sentence, trying to stifle a smirk but failing. When I was done, he thanked me and asked me if I would be around should he need me further. I pointed to the logo on my shirt and nodded, "I won't be going anywhere for a while." The End.

Oh wait, no, no it's not. The police continued to talk to the man for the next fifteen minutes. It was cuh-razy! Finally, they left, and the man went back to staring off into space, sipping from his smoothie.

Shortly thereafter, he came back inside, asked to use the telephone. Did, and then went back to a table outside, sipping from that smoothie I made for him, back when times were easier and life was simple. And then, he disappeared, just as fast as he had come into existence in my world.

I take from this two things; One, I make a damned good smoothie. And two, well, no actually that's it. I make a damned good smoothie.

Best Quote

At work tonight, I had just filled a woman's order. Handed it to her, and she took this opportunity to ask me a question.

Her: "Do you have a girlfriend?"
My response: "Nope, I do not."
Her: "Boyfriend?"
Me: "No.."
Her: "Well, you're very funny, you should have one!"
Me: "Thanks..."

In other news, since May 26th..(67 days) I've walked 500,000+ steps. For an idea, if you figure 2,500 steps is one mile (rather conservative estimate), I've walked 200 miles now (in 67 days).

The Blockbuster Video

This happened a few weeks ago, I just haven't got around to posting it. So, it's probably new to you!

First things first, there's a Blockbuster Video next door to our store.

I helped some lady, rang her up, and saw her off. Helped some other lady, rang her up, and saw her off. Then some kid came in, and asked for change. I gave him 40% of what he wanted - since we're really not supposed to do that, and he wasn't buying anything. Mistake #1.

As I had approached the kid, he was leaning on the counter, holding his money over a Blockbuster Video. As the kid ran off, I said, "Hey, don't forget your video." because I had no reason to think it wasn't his. And if it wasn't his, why would he take it?

Naturally, it belonged to the first woman, who a few minutes later came in, looking frantically for her video. Alas, it was gone with the munchkin. She left irate. How could *I* have betrayed her so, and just given away her video like that?

About twenty minutes later, I was in the freezer to swap out some ice cream, and the boss comes over with the phone. "You've got a phone call." I take the phone, "Hello?" It was the lady. Long story short, the lady felt it was an honest mistake, but she needed to talk to my manager about it - because she was so bothered by it.

(We are not responsible for lost or stolen items in our store.)

However, we are responsible for carelessness and negligence. This instance falls somewhere in between. I wouldn't have had a video to give away if not for the fact the woman had "lost" it in our store. I was careless in failing to ask the youngin whether or not the video was his.

The lady came in to talk to the boss the following day. She was that pissed. Meanwhile, the movie hadn't been missing 24 hours yet - and you have two weeks for it to be returned. WTF? -- Anyway, twice during their conversation, he had to say, "Listen lady, if you don't calm down I'm not going to continue this conversation." Ridiculousness.

The conclusion they came to is that if the video was returned, I think I get sacked with the rental fee. If it wasn't, I get sacked with the purchase price. Nice!

Regardless, I'm far more conscientious of people with Blockbuster videos now.
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In the following week, at Safeway, I was given the wrong item at the deli counter. I wanted Maple Turkey, but got Maple Ham (which I wouldn't open, let alone eat). And at Red Robin I was overcharged $2 in tips (I paid with a debit card, and left the tip in cash.. so there shouldn't have been a tip).

I went to both places and straigthened them out. The Turkey cost me $1.60 extra, and I got the $2 back on the same trip. Aside from my lost time, I broke even, no? Weird stuff.

July 4th Edition

Twas my first Independence Day since turning 21. What did I do having enjoyed my rite of passage, having the world as my oyster? I worked. For ten hours. I just about missed the fireworks at Folsom for the first time since I began my studies in Boulder. I caught it a few minutes after they commenced from a vantage on the corner of 28th and Arapahoe. A locale I might choose to enjoy them from next year, if I remember. The hours at work crawled by, speeding up and slowing down as the stream of customers would ebb and flow. If nothing else it was a productive day for me, if only speaking in monetary terms...

And fireworks aside, that's a pretty good description of my 5th, and 6th of July as well. The 7th, on the other hand, was entirely different. I awoke uncharacteristically early, and readied myself for a day of relaxation and enjoyment. I was to attend a Dodger game for the first time in two? summers. This game, though, was not at Dodger Stadium however. It was, in fact, at Coors Field - my first game there. I went with my friend Arwen. We acquired some seats in the right field bleachers (in the shade) from the ticket office. We found them and went off to buy Denver Cheese Steaks. Lame. It was o-kay.

The game was rather interesting for the first few innings. Dodgers were up 5-0 by the end of the second inning. I might've been more entertained had I been familiar with more than one player from either team who was actually playing. I was looking forward to seeing Jeff Kent, among others, but alas, he had the day off. I only knew Todd Helton (of the Rockies) and Derek Lowe (of the Dodgers, formerly of the Red Sox). I was surprised at how many players on the Dodgers DL (disabled list) I knew. But they weren't playing, now were they?

The Rockies came to life sparked by a pair of Todd Helton home runs. He might be coming out of that slump I almost read about. And the Rockies ended up winning 8-5.

Arwen and I bussed back to Boulder. I finished the book I was reading and dazed in and out of slumber with the straining of my neck - which would wake me up. Back at the Park-and-Ride, we put some gas in Arwen's car, and headed to Happy Hour at The Med with her co-workers. An enjoyable time. I was the youngest person at the table by five days.. which came as quite a surprise to me. Who knew?

After that wrapped, I wandered Pearl Street, killing time before I was to meet up with Deena, Noodle (Ross) and some of his friends (Sam, Justin). Everybody was late. And I was stuck playing the waiting game. Ain't being on time a bitch? Together, we wandered trying to decide what to do. We ended up at Old Chicago, where we the guys split Italian Nachoes, Deena had a Calzone, and the other guys (not me) split a pitcher of beer. From there, Deena split to write a paper, while the rest of us waiting for Hapa's Happy Hour to start. We all got Sushi, while Sam and Justin tried some more alkyhaul. Noodle became the DD, and I wasn't interested in drinking. We met some more of Noodle's friends who come to Sushi on Thursday nights, and had a jolly time. Yada yada yada. Bar. Yada yada. Didn't drink, ran into people I had classes with. Yada yada. Bored, ears hurt. Drunk people. Yada.

Worked Friday.

Saturday I hung around the apartment waiting for time to pass before seeing War of the Worlds with Dalis, Ian, Jay and Troy. In my solitude I caught Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy on HBO and found Steve Carell to be the most entertaining part. Followed a distant second by the slew of cameos. Before the movie I got dinner at Falafel King with them and some girl named Rachel that I think Jay might be dating. While we were eating, Jay turned to me, completely at random and said, "Hey, this is a really un-macho thing to say, but have you lost weight?"

"Since when?" - I have lost weight, but not so much in the last 7 months. Of course, I haven't really seen Jay for more than a few minutes at a time since before March, so whatever.

War of the Worlds was good. I think my quotable quote from it is going to be, "Whaddya mean, like Europe?" A somewhat obscure line, but one I enjoyed nonetheless. We'll see if it gets much use this Fall. (I'll probably forget.)

Worked for six and a half hours today. Came home, went grocery shopping, came home, watched Family Guy, made dinner, and generally sat about, before deciding to write this up.

Next day off: Thursday. Going to eat dinner at Rhumba and see the Fantastic Four with Rachel-who-goes-to-Barnard.

Ten Hours My Ass!

Lately I've been sleeping about ten hours each night, but have been waking up completely ex-hausted. Straight up, I-don't-want-to-move,-fuck-the-world-tired. Most of my body aches, the only possible reason is because I walk everywhere, all the freakin' time on shitty ass sandals.. and then spend hours upon hours standing to serve ice cream to people (yummy, delicious ice cream. Mmmmm.) It usually goes away with a shower, but seriously people, what the hell is goin' on here?

Boulder is beautiful this time of year. Sunny in the morning, rainy in the afternoon, and then gorgeous once the sun goes down. Lovin' it. Although I have been living a rather solitary life. Between work and running errands I'm finding that I have little free time... but that's not true. It's really because I've been sleeping til noon (which is because I've been going to bed at 2am. Which is because I don't get home until 11, and would rather not go straight to bed. So I watch tv, play games, and generally chat online... because no one is around during the day.) Ah-ha!

The problem is that no one is around when I'm free, and I'm usually busy when the folks I would hang out with are free. That and there are only so many people in Boulder that I even want to hang out with at the moment. Blah.

Tami is coming to sleep on my couch in a little over two weeks. That'll be fun! Although I only have one key to the apartment, so coordination of that should be rather interesting. But I don't think there are all that many people here she wants to hang out with either (other than yours truly, ha!). Good times will be had, until we have to move.. which is a completely different story.

I've been reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini - it was suggested by my Marketing prof this past semester, and another book I had been reading. Two recommendations from completely different sources sparked my interest, and I'm about 4/5ths through it. If you've got the time, I'd definitely pick it up. It's insightful, enlightening and just plain useful. And I would almost bet that your local library has a copy.

I'm looking at getting an iPod. Likely by the end of summer. They just released a new version of the 20gig with a color screen, a battery that lasts up to 3 hours longer, and it holds photos. But I'm worried that they're going to release a new generation of the iPod in the fall, and I'll be stuck with this new (now) old (then) iPod. And who wants one that is outdated?! (The new-old (now.. the one they are replacing) is on sale for $30 off the regular price, but it's already outdated, and those 3 hours are definitely worth my $30. To wait, or not to wait. Alas, I will likely buy one from Circuit City before I go to Atlanta, and return it when I get back.. to wait and see if they end up releasing the next generation.

Need to see War of the Worlds and Mr and Mrs Smith.

Fin.

Stood Up.

I was supposed to go see Mr and Mrs Smith with Tami's friend Shaela tonight. Alas, due to phone problems and who-the-fuck-knows (for the time being), I am still at home. And don't particularly feel like going to the last show alone - as it means busing then walking home around midnight.

Instead, I've opted to stay in ("opted" being the operative word - what the fuck else was I gonna do?), and have had a nice chat about guys and girls with my friend Sarah. We're seeing Batman Begins tomorrow night. Woohoo!