The Long and Winding Week

Ah, another week at an end. It’s been a busy one. Lots of work at work, plus roughs and projects due at school. I’m feeling pretty wiped, which I don’t like much. Tomorrow I’m going to try to get some computer work done, plus I need to work some on a project for design class.

In the mean time, I’m kind of relaxing, kind of cleaning my apartment. It really needs/needed it. I now have some more furniture, which is good. I now have a kitchen table, an allegedly comfy chair, and a great little couch. The chair is actually not that comfortable, so it might leave at some point. I haven’t decided yet. My current problem is figuring out where to fit my bike. I’ve been keeping it inside, just to keep it safe, but I don’t really have much space anymore. At this exact moment, it is suspended from the ceiling, but that solution is awkward at best, and not too aesthetically pleasing.

Long, Long, Time Ago

It’s been awhile. Life has been busy, as usual. This last week I worked almost fifty hours, but it didn’t seem that bad. I was the lead technician for a couple of solar-electric jobs, which was good. I’m getting more comfortable with leading jobs, but still have a lot of work to do. Clean and clear delegation is not something I’ve practiced much in my life. I’m used to people taking initiative, and just getting stuff done. I don’t yet know how to strike a balance between hovering over my co-workers, and totally leaving them alone.

In the larger picture of things, I realize that I’m only 21, and shouldn’t really kick myself too bad if I’m not the greatest supervisor in the world. But I’d like to get better.

School is pretty good, and not too stressful. I just finished an assignment last Tuesday, and I have another coming up in a couple of weeks. But at the moment, I’m keeping up with stuff. I’m really enjoying the camaraderie of my design class, since I now know everyone in the class pretty well.

I also spent a little time yesterday drawing. I haven’t done any drawing in ages, but I was pleased at how it went. I think that it really helps me to draw when I don’t have to, and don’t feel under pressure. Good stuff.

Second Wind

Well, I had a good day at work today. Even though things took a little longer than I hoped, it was still a productive day, and I got home at about five. On the way home I stopped at a local Mideastern food store. It’s fun to walk into the place, since most of the people there are speaking Arabic, and it smells like a grocery store should smell—of food. Not of nothing, or of cleaner, like you would smell in most big grocery stores. I got some pickles that I’m fond of, some pita bread, and some great “crackers”—actually hard breadsticks with sesame seeds on the outside. Basic, healthy, and quite tasty.

Now I’m home, and I recently ate a big dinner. I’ve been on the run so much the last couple of weeks that I haven’t been eating very well. As a result (and maybe other stuff), I haven’t been feeling very well. I’m taking it easy this evening, and I’m hoping to get to bed soon, and catch up on a bit of sleep. I should have a busy day tomorrow. I’m heading down to the Tombstone area. I don’t have one big job, but a few little ones. It wouldn’t be too hectic except that I have to be back in time for school. I have this thing about being on time, and having enough time to take a shower and eat something. Ok, I’ve got to go get my laundry out of the dryer, and do some other stuff.

Butterflies

Today I was driving home from a job, and I had a nice little event. I was sort of meditating, in the driving way. Just enjoying the mountains around me, and thinking about stuff. All of a sudden, a big butterfly came right at my windshield. I thought it would certainly splat on the glass, but at the last second it was deflected upward, safely away from the truck.

It suddenly came to me how much life can be like that. You’re going along, and stuff is coming at you at fifty or sixty miles an hour, and it sure looks like you are going to splat on the windshield of some problem on another. Then, you find that in facing the problem, and doing best, you not only survive, you got pushed to a higher place than you were before.

Libraries

Libraries are a good thing, especially for an egotist like me. Ok, let me explain. If you think you know everything (which I don’t really, but anyway…), when you go to a library, you are sure to understand that you don’t know much at all. Kelly and I went down to the University of AZ library a couple of days ago, so that she could do homework, and I could get some books for the paper I’m writing. There is so much out there to learn, so much interesting stuff, but so little time. Such is life. Speaking of which, I’ve got to get to bed.

Procrastination Station

Well, I’m sitting in Bookmans (a local bookstore) using their Wi-fi hotspot. I should be doing research for a paper in my design class, but I’m not yet. I’m writing about how the Roman alphabet vs. the Chinese alphabet influenced educational systems. Or didn’t. I haven’t found out yet. In other news, I’m very glad it’s the weekend, but I will have a busy weekend. My apartment is starting to shape up, but there is much more to do.

Oh, and yeah. I really like living, and life. Even if it is hard sometimes. I was just thinking how much of a gift from the Lord it is that we are alive. I’m only 21, and I’ve been able to do some pretty sweet things in my life. I’m looking forward to the rest of my life. Should be good.

Employee of the Quarter

Well, some good news amongst my busy life… I was selected as The Solar Store’s Employee of the month, which is cool. It means I get a prime parking space (which I won’t really need for my bike), and a gift certificate. But I think what I like most is the recognition. Good stuff. I’ve got quite a bit of homework to do, but don’t really feel like it, since I’m feeling pretty wiped. But I think a shower and nap might help me to feel better, so I can get my homework done.

Old Friends

One of my goals is having my own space is to remind myself of stuff I used to do, but don’t do much anymore. Stuff like ham radio, photography, and flying. In that spirit, I set up my ham radio transceiver last night, and have been listening to some short-wave radio. It really brings back a lot of memories for me. Good memories, and not so good memories. I really enjoy the listening, but it does remind me of times in my life when I wasn’t so happy. It’s certainly a mix.

I’m planning to get a few more of my photos printed in a 8X10 format, and frame them. I have few from Ghana that I want printed, as well as some others from other various times of my life. Should be fun. When I’ll find the time to do this, I don’t know. I really should be doing homework, but I also need a break.

Last week was kind of crazy, since worked almost 50 hours, and moved, etc. And I wasn’t feeling that well. I’m still feeling wiped, but I think it’s getting better. I’ve also asked for a less hectic work schedule. I’m going to have a short day once a week, starting in a couple of weeks. It’s at least a start toward sanity. I suppose this stage of life is inherently insane in some ways, but it’s gotten to a point where it’s too crazy for me.

Actually, it’s kind of interesting the way it seems to work. I am doing quite well at work, and I am doing well at school. I find that other parts of my life suffer the most—stuff like my relationship with the Lord, with Kelly, and my general state of “aliveness” and happiness suffers greatly.

The House of Orange

Ok, I’ve had folks asking about my new place, so I thought it might be appropriate to write a bit about it. It’s a small studio apartment, close to where I go to school, and close to where I work. It’s painted very white at the moment (the title was just a decoy). I plan to add plenty of plants and Ghana cloth and such to liven it up. Most of my stuff seems to reasonably fit in the space. I still do have a lot of setting up to do, and I have many things that I probably “need,” like pots, pans, and dishes. But I’m hoping to go low-budget on those, and get some stuff at yardsales, thrift shops, etc. I don’t need much anyhow.

My stove has an oven of reasonable size, suitable for baking foodstuffs. My refrigerator is older, noisy, and needs its thermostat adjusted so the ‘fridge portion of the unit doesn’t freeze water. This freezing could also be attributed to the fact that I have almost nothing in the ‘fridge.

I can see the mountains from where I am sitting at my desk. They are partially obscured by trees, a cell phone tower, and telephone lines, but it’s a better view than my last place. My carpet is non-descript, but fine. My cabinets are painted white, and have rather stiff hinges at this point. My window blinds are new. My closest has quite a bit of space, which I have already managed to fill with lots of junk. I’ve got to get rid of some things… Questions and comments welcome, as always…

Fast Car

Yup, I’m talking about Kelly’s 1984 Buick LeSabre. It’s really fast. It can actually make it up to 85 MPH on level ground. Really. But no, that’s not my primary subject.

Kelly took me to a Tracy Chapman concert up in Phoenix Friday night. It was a “get out the vote” event. Lots of interesting people and great music. Tracy played lots of good songs, had the audience singing along, etc. Actually, the audience was really enthusiastic, and would clap even before the song was finished, and yell stuff out, etc. I find that pretty annoying, because I wanted to listen to Tracy, not to the sound of two hands clapping. (I could have dealt with the sound of one hand clapping).

Anyway, it was a great concert, and Tracy is now definitely of my “must see” list of artists. She has a great energy and stage presence, as well as a great voice and good material. Good stuff. On the way back, we got off at an exit, and ran into a big deal with a bunch of cops. They were directing cars to turn around, which we dutifully did. We couldn’t see if it was a big accident or what, but there were tons of cops there, so it must have been something big. Or they were just bored…