"I know that you and Janine do stupid shit that I would never do. But I don't say anything. Mom, grandma, grandpa... they ask me to watch you two or what's wrong with you two but I tell them don't worry. I know you guys do things that I think are mistake, but I won't tell you guys anymore what to do. I trust you both, and you can trust me. Live your lives and be happy. Make mistakes and fall in love. Just remember though that no matter how much you wish differently, life is more than just for you. You have your whole family's dreams and wishes on your shoulders but they're also beneath you holding you up. behind you moving forward. Have pride. Make yourself proud, and everyone you've ever loved will follow suit. You and Janine should know that even though I never wanted to be a kuya, it doesn't mean I don't want to be your big brother."
- Charles Joseph Alonzo Palafox
I'll always love my big brother.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Boots&Cats
boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&boots&cats&
Lame
This song has no title and is currently called "Lame." I recorded this ridiculously rough demo so I could get this down before I forgot it.
you know a girl
who's been burned too much
she can't even touch
to feel her own skin
and after you've tried it all
thought you broke down the walls
but you still can't get in
so maybe it's time
to throw away discretion
it's definitely time
to head in a new direction
and so you say
just remember to fall in love
cause in the end
that's all there is
that's all there is
you know a girl
who's been burned too much
she can't even touch
to feel her own skin
and after you've tried it all
thought you broke down the walls
but you still can't get in
so maybe it's time
to throw away discretion
it's definitely time
to head in a new direction
and so you say
just remember to fall in love
cause in the end
that's all there is
that's all there is
Thursday, May 20, 2010
"When The Moon Sets"
Melody written, but lyrics are in progress. It used to have a melodica riff in it but it didn't gel with the vibe of the song. Sounded cool though.
Oh and recording tambourine effing hurts if you have no rhythm and keep messing up. So it may be a little off time, but my arms hurt too much for me to care anymore.
Oh and recording tambourine effing hurts if you have no rhythm and keep messing up. So it may be a little off time, but my arms hurt too much for me to care anymore.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
"Oceans"
I am recording stuff. Because I can. This is the intro to a song that I'm doing now. With tentative lyrics, title, and arrangement.
drag the air straight to your chest
hold it there and let it rest
cause like and love come and go
in waves too fast and waves too slow
the images washing over you
of sunkissed skin and windswept hair
coming hand in hand till they disappear
and sink into the setting sun
you're running just to catch your breath
and every stride is another step
back
so put your hands to your ears
anytime you want to hear
the sound of oceans nowhere near
drag the air straight to your chest
hold it there and let it rest
cause like and love come and go
in waves too fast and waves too slow
the images washing over you
of sunkissed skin and windswept hair
coming hand in hand till they disappear
and sink into the setting sun
you're running just to catch your breath
and every stride is another step
back
so put your hands to your ears
anytime you want to hear
the sound of oceans nowhere near
Thursday, May 6, 2010
This Is How I Write Papers For School
I haven't written anything in a while so I'm going to copy/paste this here. It will probably be boring.
Christopher James Palafox
ENGL482 – Tutoring Narrative
May 6, 2010
My Life As A Tutor or How to artificially reach a page minimum with a title that’s too long (that’s what she said)
I told myself that this reflection would be easy. All I had to do was start at the beginning and then go until I reached today. I mean how hard could that be? I was just taking a year of my tutoring life and putting it on five sheets of paper. But then I couldn’t decide where the “beginning” would be. The final weeks of class have explicitly tied teaching and tutoring in a way that takes my experiences at the writing center and contextualizes it in a way that in the very least has given me meaningful labels to my philosophies (I say “my philosophies” as if they are solely original and not just stolen from previous scholars- but don’t worry I stole them from people much smarter than myself). I mean I’ve learned about feminist theories and its different waves, but I never drew the connection that I was in fact a feminist (which oddly is totally liberating). It’s not quite like finding out that I was dead for the entire movie, but it was pretty eye-opening. Anyway, I know this was supposed to be a tutoring narrative, so logically the start would be when I started tutoring. But the connection with teaching and also how much of tutoring deals with the subconscious thoughts rising from preconceptions made me question my starting point. Clearly I wasn’t going to start when my ideals and preconceptions were formed because that would be too broad, vague, and impossible, but I tinkered around with the idea of starting with my decision to be a teacher or at least the start of my methods courses here at UIC. Ultimately, I decided to go the easy route and just start with 222 with Chartianne because it is the formal start to my tutor training.
I just realized I’m being really meta about this assignment and am in my defense going to say that I’m merely being post-modern- something we talked about in class so this is just an example of me taking something we learned and applying it in a meaningful way. (Move over Mr. Armstrong there’s a new “stretch” king in town).
Coming into 222 and having to go through the trouble of getting approval by bringing in a writing sample and letter of recommendation, I came in with a feeling of WRITING SUPERIORITY to others on campus. Which sounds terrible when I type it out (and not because it’s in ALL CAPS so it sounds like yelling but) because it seems in conflict with the idea and spirit of “peerness” that is championed at the writing center. Don’t get me wrong, I think peerness is a wonderful ideal, but no matter how much or little self-consciousness is put into being a peer, it’s hard to erase the idea of being one of the chosen ones with the secret “Key of Academia” that only teachers and tutors have. This applies to the writer as well as the tutor. For my first semester and a half of tutoring I carried this idea with me- the idea that I could never be a “perfect” or “ideal” tutor for the center because I was merely “playing peer” and not being one. But this last semester I realized that I was had too rigid preconception of the idea of a “peer.” I think that constantly thinking about how we think and perceive things allowed me to realize this. What matters is not actually having to be a perfect peer insomuch that you are equal, but to keep the spirit of peerness. By realizing that “playing peer” is not completely wrong, but also that just because I know more about writing does not eliminate the idea of being a “weaker” writer’s peer. The idea and spirit of peerness is more fluid as to allow that. Being a peer is opening up a dialogue where the writer is allowed to speak about their writing and their process. The fact that I have more experience in writing does not make me any less of a peer if the two parties involved work together in discussing the writing and what can be done- which is possible in any tutoring session. I would like to emphasize that this is always possible but not always likely to happen.
Okay now I’m going to transition to a different area, possibly one I said I wasn’t going to delve into, but my stream of consciousness is taking me here so let’s just go with it. Before I formally tutored at the writing center I was always involved in some sort of tutoring within my friends and family- I was the boy who wanted to be an English teacher and so obviously I wanted to “fix” everyone I knew’s papers, because everyone loves unpaid, time consuming work (I hear it builds character). But the “tutoring” that occurred here was decidedly not one of a peer. I would proofread and possibly ridicule portions of writing that seemed unnecessary or written poorly- which in the short-term can be very helpful and lead to good grades, but is terrible for self-esteem and for creating lifelong writers and learners. Besides this informal form of tutoring I also volunteered briefly at a Homework help/Daycare/Tutoring center called 826CHI before I began my writing center career and this again mainly involved proofreading and me offering “suggestions,” which is code for “do this or you will FAIL.” At the time I felt I was really helpful, but in hindsight (fun fact: in flashbacks I never wear glasses because hindsight is 20/20… *ba dum tish*) I was severely limiting, possibly demoralizing, and most likely not very helpful. Here is where I say I’m not any of those things anymore, but the truth is the methods I use today can still have the same effect. Dialogue can be limiting if you don’t actually talk about what the writer wants, or you misinterpret what they want. Dialogue can be demoralizing if done incorrectly because a writer feels like they don’t get anything done. And the not being very helpful thing can happen for a variety of reasons, even when you take into account what a writer wants and you feel like you did the best you could. But at least now my tutoring is rooted in theory and ideas from more experienced scholars who sound like they know what they’re talking about instead of someone who still uses “that’s what she said” jokes.
My growth as a tutor stems not only from the breadth of theories we’ve read and discussed, but most evidently from experience. As tutors or teachers, we know that converting theory into practice does not occur instantaneously, and it may in fact never fully manifest- but the ideas are always present. The Condon and Villenueva readings about anti-oppressive, race issues are ideas that I carry with me, but in practice I am rarely ever confrontational about possible race issues. I am aware that these issues exist, and while I do not avoid the issue, I do not pressure a writer into delving into something they do not want to talk about. I may simply point out a possible interpretation of certain lines of text, but I do not make it an agenda of mine to delve deeper to issues that may not deal with their paper.
Taking Charitianne’s class, and being placed as an ESL/ELL “specialist” I think severely limited my tutoring for my first semester. While it was very informative and I think I did good work, I spent most of my time honing my skills in cheerleading- letting a writer know that they can write. This is an invaluable skill, but not the only one I needed to become an effective, rounded tutor. But more importantly from that first semester of tutoring I learned how to connect with writer’s and break down the idea of tutor as a surrogate teacher because many of the ESL/ELL writers I had met with came in with the preconceived notion that I was a grammar checker and proofreader (which I am, but that’s not ALL that I can or want to do).
From there I feel like the ideas of writing center as a safe place and peerness became more intrinsic parts of my practice and that I could concentrate more on thinking about the moment- the paper and the writer. That first semester I felt like I was concentrating more on the feeling of a session, than the actual “work” of a session. Through time and experience I have taken what was once an ever present weight in my mind, so something that I happened even if I wasn’t thinking- like breathing (which apparently you can breathe incorrectly too, so I run the risk of that here too, but no one’s died yet so I think we’ll be cool).
So this was the year of bringing theory to practice which is both exciting and disheartening at the same time if we’re to look at my possible future as a teacher. Because my teaching philosophy is pretty set, and I think I know the theories I would want to implement- but only experience will tell. At the time I thought I had a firm grasp on the theories I was learning, but my implementation didn’t manifest itself until the next year. So I know that I can implement these ideas, but does it have to take so long for it happen? But to recap, as a tutor I started out as an insensitive grammar Nazi and now I’m a sensitive grammar Nazi that knows that what’s important are global issues as well as local. Obviously, I still have lots of growing to do as a tutor and a future teacher, but I think I’ve done a lot of that over this past year. The thing is I never would have realized it without these constant reflections- the way I tutor now is not something that I feel that my past self couldn’t do- it was just the way he didn’t even knew existed. Because honestly, I never stepped into the writing center before I started tutoring and never knew this sort of discourse was available. In fact, I never used to think of writing as an ongoing process- or a way of merely thinking on paper- but now these are things that I tell writers that come in all the time (I also happen to believe these things now, I don’t just like telling writers things to make myself sound cool). And hence just like I learned that writing is a process and is under constant revision, this can be applied to myself- as not only a tutor and a teacher, but as an individual. Much like how writing is in constant revision- so is an individual. And so this is me- for now at least.
Christopher James Palafox
ENGL482 – Tutoring Narrative
May 6, 2010
My Life As A Tutor or How to artificially reach a page minimum with a title that’s too long (that’s what she said)
I told myself that this reflection would be easy. All I had to do was start at the beginning and then go until I reached today. I mean how hard could that be? I was just taking a year of my tutoring life and putting it on five sheets of paper. But then I couldn’t decide where the “beginning” would be. The final weeks of class have explicitly tied teaching and tutoring in a way that takes my experiences at the writing center and contextualizes it in a way that in the very least has given me meaningful labels to my philosophies (I say “my philosophies” as if they are solely original and not just stolen from previous scholars- but don’t worry I stole them from people much smarter than myself). I mean I’ve learned about feminist theories and its different waves, but I never drew the connection that I was in fact a feminist (which oddly is totally liberating). It’s not quite like finding out that I was dead for the entire movie, but it was pretty eye-opening. Anyway, I know this was supposed to be a tutoring narrative, so logically the start would be when I started tutoring. But the connection with teaching and also how much of tutoring deals with the subconscious thoughts rising from preconceptions made me question my starting point. Clearly I wasn’t going to start when my ideals and preconceptions were formed because that would be too broad, vague, and impossible, but I tinkered around with the idea of starting with my decision to be a teacher or at least the start of my methods courses here at UIC. Ultimately, I decided to go the easy route and just start with 222 with Chartianne because it is the formal start to my tutor training.
I just realized I’m being really meta about this assignment and am in my defense going to say that I’m merely being post-modern- something we talked about in class so this is just an example of me taking something we learned and applying it in a meaningful way. (Move over Mr. Armstrong there’s a new “stretch” king in town).
Coming into 222 and having to go through the trouble of getting approval by bringing in a writing sample and letter of recommendation, I came in with a feeling of WRITING SUPERIORITY to others on campus. Which sounds terrible when I type it out (and not because it’s in ALL CAPS so it sounds like yelling but) because it seems in conflict with the idea and spirit of “peerness” that is championed at the writing center. Don’t get me wrong, I think peerness is a wonderful ideal, but no matter how much or little self-consciousness is put into being a peer, it’s hard to erase the idea of being one of the chosen ones with the secret “Key of Academia” that only teachers and tutors have. This applies to the writer as well as the tutor. For my first semester and a half of tutoring I carried this idea with me- the idea that I could never be a “perfect” or “ideal” tutor for the center because I was merely “playing peer” and not being one. But this last semester I realized that I was had too rigid preconception of the idea of a “peer.” I think that constantly thinking about how we think and perceive things allowed me to realize this. What matters is not actually having to be a perfect peer insomuch that you are equal, but to keep the spirit of peerness. By realizing that “playing peer” is not completely wrong, but also that just because I know more about writing does not eliminate the idea of being a “weaker” writer’s peer. The idea and spirit of peerness is more fluid as to allow that. Being a peer is opening up a dialogue where the writer is allowed to speak about their writing and their process. The fact that I have more experience in writing does not make me any less of a peer if the two parties involved work together in discussing the writing and what can be done- which is possible in any tutoring session. I would like to emphasize that this is always possible but not always likely to happen.
Okay now I’m going to transition to a different area, possibly one I said I wasn’t going to delve into, but my stream of consciousness is taking me here so let’s just go with it. Before I formally tutored at the writing center I was always involved in some sort of tutoring within my friends and family- I was the boy who wanted to be an English teacher and so obviously I wanted to “fix” everyone I knew’s papers, because everyone loves unpaid, time consuming work (I hear it builds character). But the “tutoring” that occurred here was decidedly not one of a peer. I would proofread and possibly ridicule portions of writing that seemed unnecessary or written poorly- which in the short-term can be very helpful and lead to good grades, but is terrible for self-esteem and for creating lifelong writers and learners. Besides this informal form of tutoring I also volunteered briefly at a Homework help/Daycare/Tutoring center called 826CHI before I began my writing center career and this again mainly involved proofreading and me offering “suggestions,” which is code for “do this or you will FAIL.” At the time I felt I was really helpful, but in hindsight (fun fact: in flashbacks I never wear glasses because hindsight is 20/20… *ba dum tish*) I was severely limiting, possibly demoralizing, and most likely not very helpful. Here is where I say I’m not any of those things anymore, but the truth is the methods I use today can still have the same effect. Dialogue can be limiting if you don’t actually talk about what the writer wants, or you misinterpret what they want. Dialogue can be demoralizing if done incorrectly because a writer feels like they don’t get anything done. And the not being very helpful thing can happen for a variety of reasons, even when you take into account what a writer wants and you feel like you did the best you could. But at least now my tutoring is rooted in theory and ideas from more experienced scholars who sound like they know what they’re talking about instead of someone who still uses “that’s what she said” jokes.
My growth as a tutor stems not only from the breadth of theories we’ve read and discussed, but most evidently from experience. As tutors or teachers, we know that converting theory into practice does not occur instantaneously, and it may in fact never fully manifest- but the ideas are always present. The Condon and Villenueva readings about anti-oppressive, race issues are ideas that I carry with me, but in practice I am rarely ever confrontational about possible race issues. I am aware that these issues exist, and while I do not avoid the issue, I do not pressure a writer into delving into something they do not want to talk about. I may simply point out a possible interpretation of certain lines of text, but I do not make it an agenda of mine to delve deeper to issues that may not deal with their paper.
Taking Charitianne’s class, and being placed as an ESL/ELL “specialist” I think severely limited my tutoring for my first semester. While it was very informative and I think I did good work, I spent most of my time honing my skills in cheerleading- letting a writer know that they can write. This is an invaluable skill, but not the only one I needed to become an effective, rounded tutor. But more importantly from that first semester of tutoring I learned how to connect with writer’s and break down the idea of tutor as a surrogate teacher because many of the ESL/ELL writers I had met with came in with the preconceived notion that I was a grammar checker and proofreader (which I am, but that’s not ALL that I can or want to do).
From there I feel like the ideas of writing center as a safe place and peerness became more intrinsic parts of my practice and that I could concentrate more on thinking about the moment- the paper and the writer. That first semester I felt like I was concentrating more on the feeling of a session, than the actual “work” of a session. Through time and experience I have taken what was once an ever present weight in my mind, so something that I happened even if I wasn’t thinking- like breathing (which apparently you can breathe incorrectly too, so I run the risk of that here too, but no one’s died yet so I think we’ll be cool).
So this was the year of bringing theory to practice which is both exciting and disheartening at the same time if we’re to look at my possible future as a teacher. Because my teaching philosophy is pretty set, and I think I know the theories I would want to implement- but only experience will tell. At the time I thought I had a firm grasp on the theories I was learning, but my implementation didn’t manifest itself until the next year. So I know that I can implement these ideas, but does it have to take so long for it happen? But to recap, as a tutor I started out as an insensitive grammar Nazi and now I’m a sensitive grammar Nazi that knows that what’s important are global issues as well as local. Obviously, I still have lots of growing to do as a tutor and a future teacher, but I think I’ve done a lot of that over this past year. The thing is I never would have realized it without these constant reflections- the way I tutor now is not something that I feel that my past self couldn’t do- it was just the way he didn’t even knew existed. Because honestly, I never stepped into the writing center before I started tutoring and never knew this sort of discourse was available. In fact, I never used to think of writing as an ongoing process- or a way of merely thinking on paper- but now these are things that I tell writers that come in all the time (I also happen to believe these things now, I don’t just like telling writers things to make myself sound cool). And hence just like I learned that writing is a process and is under constant revision, this can be applied to myself- as not only a tutor and a teacher, but as an individual. Much like how writing is in constant revision- so is an individual. And so this is me- for now at least.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Love/Life explained through musical theory
I have this theory. That uses musical theory. To explain universal truths. It's really convoluted and nerdy. This a reminder to myself to write this out for other people to read. But not now since I have 13 more pages of work to type up in 7 hours.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Rejected Stand-Up Bit #37 aka Talk Nerdy To Me
The following is a portion of my notes from my 3 hour long Special Education class:
There's nothing sexier than a girl who can spell well and knows her grammar rules.
"DAMN, that girl can really punctuate a sentence."
AND there's a lot more in my notebook. And if you can believe it, it's even worse than that. At least it's better than that one time I wrote down potential tweets and counted how many characters were in each one during my Film History class. One of them was about the Marriage Ref- if that's not scraping the bottom of the barrel then where did all the monkeys go?
The problem with these classes is that everyone that I'm friends with take it so seriously because it has to do with their "future" or some other lame excuse, so no one wants to by cynical and ironic with me at the back of the class. Maybe if I brought cigarettes and berets, but I'm pretty sure I can't pull off a beret because my French sucks. Hence, me writing jokes to myself.
In conclusion, school is boring.
There's nothing sexier than a girl who can spell well and knows her grammar rules.
"DAMN, that girl can really punctuate a sentence."
AND there's a lot more in my notebook. And if you can believe it, it's even worse than that. At least it's better than that one time I wrote down potential tweets and counted how many characters were in each one during my Film History class. One of them was about the Marriage Ref- if that's not scraping the bottom of the barrel then where did all the monkeys go?
The problem with these classes is that everyone that I'm friends with take it so seriously because it has to do with their "future" or some other lame excuse, so no one wants to by cynical and ironic with me at the back of the class. Maybe if I brought cigarettes and berets, but I'm pretty sure I can't pull off a beret because my French sucks. Hence, me writing jokes to myself.
In conclusion, school is boring.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Two Weeks Is A Lot Longer Than It Used To Be
On Saturday, March 6, 2009 I put my two weeks notice in at the Deli.
Or so I thought. As of now, a full SEVENTEEN days later, I am somehow still employed there- the place where dreams go to die and learn new definitions for the words "two" and "weeks" (although you have to admire their "never say quit" attitude). So unless you're a sandwich loving Hispanophile, making a shit ton of sandwiches and learning how to say "I need more fruit dip" in Spanish may not be your dream job. (But if you are, my GOD what are you doing here? RUNDONTWALK to the nearest meatbread factory you can find).
Last Friday this exchange occurred:
Manager1: Chris, there have been these rumors going around here that I think we need to talk about.
At this point, I'm excited because I LOVE rumors. But excitement is quickly replaced by utter confusion.
Manager1: I heard through the grapevine that you might be quitting.
What I Should Have Said: Huhwhat? You "heard" that I was quitting? I AM quitting, I already told Manager2 a week and a half ago. And more importantly, who still says "heard through the grapevine"? My last day is tomorrow. Jesus.
What I Actually said: Well, um... yeah I thought I... didn't you talk to Manager2?
Manager1: Well I just wanted to ask you if you were happy.
Sidenote: saying that you wanted to ask and ACTUALLY asking are two completely different things. So I'm not actually responding to a question because one was never asked, but I'm just being a douche so let's continue.
Me: Of course I'm happy.
Manager1: Okay, good. We were worried you were going to leave.
Obviously this is where I should have cleared the air and said that I was actually going to leave, but instead choose to go home because I was hungry and confused. In hindsight this was a good decision because I had Chipotle.
Then on Saturday I was ready to tell them that "oh hey today is my last day good luck," but they decided to have the closing manager be someone completely new (who looks exactly like Gollum/Smeagle from Lord of the Rings... that's not really important but it is hilarious/unfortunate). My message had to wait until Monday because I'm a sucker.
Monday comes around and I finally tell them. Mind you these past two weeks ALL the employees know that I put my two weeks in because I told them I did. Their reactions ranging from the usual "I'll miss you" to the "stop being a little bitch and don't quit" (which coincidentally I think is Spanish for "I'll miss you").
Manager3: So you want to put your two weeks in?
Me: No. I already did. Two weeks ago. Technically, I'm not even here, but my name is still on the schedule. I thought it was a little weird.
At this point, my manager begged me to stay at least for the rest of week so I could train a new hire. Wanting to avoid this song and dance again, which at this point had reached Macarena status, I agreed.
But as my last act of defiance I'm not shaving. Take THAT anti-facial hair policy. Plus they might send me home early if I don't. I'm really sticking it to the man.
Or so I thought. As of now, a full SEVENTEEN days later, I am somehow still employed there- the place where dreams go to die and learn new definitions for the words "two" and "weeks" (although you have to admire their "never say quit" attitude). So unless you're a sandwich loving Hispanophile, making a shit ton of sandwiches and learning how to say "I need more fruit dip" in Spanish may not be your dream job. (But if you are, my GOD what are you doing here? RUNDONTWALK to the nearest meatbread factory you can find).
Last Friday this exchange occurred:
Manager1: Chris, there have been these rumors going around here that I think we need to talk about.
At this point, I'm excited because I LOVE rumors. But excitement is quickly replaced by utter confusion.
Manager1: I heard through the grapevine that you might be quitting.
What I Should Have Said: Huhwhat? You "heard" that I was quitting? I AM quitting, I already told Manager2 a week and a half ago. And more importantly, who still says "heard through the grapevine"? My last day is tomorrow. Jesus.
What I Actually said: Well, um... yeah I thought I... didn't you talk to Manager2?
Manager1: Well I just wanted to ask you if you were happy.
Sidenote: saying that you wanted to ask and ACTUALLY asking are two completely different things. So I'm not actually responding to a question because one was never asked, but I'm just being a douche so let's continue.
Me: Of course I'm happy.
Manager1: Okay, good. We were worried you were going to leave.
Obviously this is where I should have cleared the air and said that I was actually going to leave, but instead choose to go home because I was hungry and confused. In hindsight this was a good decision because I had Chipotle.
Then on Saturday I was ready to tell them that "oh hey today is my last day good luck," but they decided to have the closing manager be someone completely new (who looks exactly like Gollum/Smeagle from Lord of the Rings... that's not really important but it is hilarious/unfortunate). My message had to wait until Monday because I'm a sucker.
Monday comes around and I finally tell them. Mind you these past two weeks ALL the employees know that I put my two weeks in because I told them I did. Their reactions ranging from the usual "I'll miss you" to the "stop being a little bitch and don't quit" (which coincidentally I think is Spanish for "I'll miss you").
Manager3: So you want to put your two weeks in?
Me: No. I already did. Two weeks ago. Technically, I'm not even here, but my name is still on the schedule. I thought it was a little weird.
At this point, my manager begged me to stay at least for the rest of week so I could train a new hire. Wanting to avoid this song and dance again, which at this point had reached Macarena status, I agreed.
But as my last act of defiance I'm not shaving. Take THAT anti-facial hair policy. Plus they might send me home early if I don't. I'm really sticking it to the man.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friday Night
Lately, on Fridays my brother goes out with Jen and my sister goes home, which gives me the option of wasting my Friday night doing whatever embarrassing thing I want. Usually I have band practice on Fridays so I don't actually get that much time to myself.
But today I did. So I drank a beer and started recording a song I started to write which will eventually go on my non-existent album of songs no one will listen to. I used to do this all the time, but that was when I had a laptop. Luckily my brother is gone so I'm hijacking his computer.
Anyway. My boredom in digital form.
But today I did. So I drank a beer and started recording a song I started to write which will eventually go on my non-existent album of songs no one will listen to. I used to do this all the time, but that was when I had a laptop. Luckily my brother is gone so I'm hijacking his computer.
Anyway. My boredom in digital form.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I talk to myself a lot
So if you ever want to read my half-assed jokes. You should read my twitter.
http://twitter.com/chris3point14
I make myself laugh. But that's because I'm really self-absorbed.
http://twitter.com/chris3point14
I make myself laugh. But that's because I'm really self-absorbed.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
ENGL233
The one legitimately cute girl in my History of Film class is only made more attractive by the fact that she spends all her class time doing the Red Eye crossword instead of paying a modicum of attention to her "education." While everyone else in class is intently listening to the professor (or at least pretending to), their ears pricked up, their bodies leaning forward. She listlessly fills in the puzzle's boxes, her body in a constant sight, her head resting on her free hand, while I glance over every now and then, flipping between feigned interest in the lecture and being a creepy stalker.
The people who speak the most in class are either extremely smart yet too showy (as evidenced by their need to hear their voice), or are extremely dumb yet can't help but let everyone know that their IQ is lower than everyone else's. Obviously this leaves the people who don't talk and don't seem to care- the smartest people in the class. Cute girl falls into this category (coincidentally, so do I. Funny how that works). This is supremely attractive to me. So girls, just letting you know that aloofness is hot.
On the flipside of this, any outward and unnecessary show of intellect makes me want to vomit. Bragging, cockiness, or just talking about yourself too damn much will physically pain me. Confidence is sexy when it is silent. Which is why I hate it when someone is asked to describe themselves either in a Facebook "About Me" or anything like it and they put a simple, "I'm awesome," which simultaneously says nothing about someone and everything about their insecurities or their self-love- both of which are terrible qualities. In my life, these issues manifested themselves in my longest relationship to date. This girl, who will hereafter be referred to as "Sandy," (Luckily, this is also her actual name. Also, I'm not very creative) is one of these "I'm awesome" people. Which I'll give you, can be endearing (aka, thing that should be annoying but you delude yourself into liking) up to a point, until you realize how vapid and self-serving that statement is when verbalized or written out.
Obviously, people should think they are awesome, but should do this by just being awesome. By our 2nd or 3rd break-up pretty much all our "conversations" became an implied, sub-textual pissing match. I frequently disagreed with her just for the sake of disagreeing because her "I'm so smart, look at me" attitude clashed with my "I'm smarter than you, stop overcompensating" attitude. To everyone's surprise, this relationship was destined to fail.
But here's the thing, I think I'm awesome. I just don't like to advertise that fact. I want to be secretly the coolest person you know. When people say "OMG, I didn't know you ______ !" I like it like that. People constantly redefine themselves and the "you" in the moment is the only real "you" there is. The fact that I work in two restaurants, that I tutor at a writing center, that I'm in a band or that I want to be a teacher is not always relevant to who I am.
Ugh. Now that I've done all this talking about myself I feel gross. So um... in conclusion I suck, I have a terrible sense of humor and I look funny.
There we go. That's better.
PS. An hour later and she's doing the Sudoku now. Hot.
The people who speak the most in class are either extremely smart yet too showy (as evidenced by their need to hear their voice), or are extremely dumb yet can't help but let everyone know that their IQ is lower than everyone else's. Obviously this leaves the people who don't talk and don't seem to care- the smartest people in the class. Cute girl falls into this category (coincidentally, so do I. Funny how that works). This is supremely attractive to me. So girls, just letting you know that aloofness is hot.
On the flipside of this, any outward and unnecessary show of intellect makes me want to vomit. Bragging, cockiness, or just talking about yourself too damn much will physically pain me. Confidence is sexy when it is silent. Which is why I hate it when someone is asked to describe themselves either in a Facebook "About Me" or anything like it and they put a simple, "I'm awesome," which simultaneously says nothing about someone and everything about their insecurities or their self-love- both of which are terrible qualities. In my life, these issues manifested themselves in my longest relationship to date. This girl, who will hereafter be referred to as "Sandy," (Luckily, this is also her actual name. Also, I'm not very creative) is one of these "I'm awesome" people. Which I'll give you, can be endearing (aka, thing that should be annoying but you delude yourself into liking) up to a point, until you realize how vapid and self-serving that statement is when verbalized or written out.
Obviously, people should think they are awesome, but should do this by just being awesome. By our 2nd or 3rd break-up pretty much all our "conversations" became an implied, sub-textual pissing match. I frequently disagreed with her just for the sake of disagreeing because her "I'm so smart, look at me" attitude clashed with my "I'm smarter than you, stop overcompensating" attitude. To everyone's surprise, this relationship was destined to fail.
But here's the thing, I think I'm awesome. I just don't like to advertise that fact. I want to be secretly the coolest person you know. When people say "OMG, I didn't know you ______ !" I like it like that. People constantly redefine themselves and the "you" in the moment is the only real "you" there is. The fact that I work in two restaurants, that I tutor at a writing center, that I'm in a band or that I want to be a teacher is not always relevant to who I am.
Ugh. Now that I've done all this talking about myself I feel gross. So um... in conclusion I suck, I have a terrible sense of humor and I look funny.
There we go. That's better.
PS. An hour later and she's doing the Sudoku now. Hot.
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