Random Smandom

I’m being bombarded by a cacophony of random thoughts at the moment. Feel free to skip around.

Random thought #1
I broke down and bought a homeless guy food today. I’d say the homeless problem in SF has slowed down a bit now that you can’t get free cash anymore however, it is still a problem. I’m a big believer in tough love. I absolutely refuse to give them money. I will however, provide food. I was headed into Taco Bell for a very nutritious work dinner and this guy asked if he could get some chicken. His demeanor and attitude just sort of struck me as “needy.” I bought him a ‘snacker’ and he was grateful.

Random thought #2
I’m starting to kick ass on Gears of War. Hardcore mode is more about strategy and planning vs just “shoot and kill”. The bad guys are more organized and work as a team.

Random thought #3
Besides being somewhat disappointed in my current state of muscle loss, I’m back into the gym on a consistent basis again. Today, I was down at the one on Brannan and it was a slush pool of hotties. One guy in particular I couldn’t help but drool. I almost ran into him coming out of the shower. There he was standing there in all his naked glory. Dayum! He was yummy. Totally new meat too. I didn’t have time to flash him w/my gaydar but on hindsight my guess is yes.

Random thought #4
Speaking of the gym, I know quite a few people are “resolved” to get in shape and hit the gym as part of their new years goal. A suggestion if you please. When you go into the steam room or sauna after your work out, please have the decency to wash the nasty stank off your balls. These two old fuddy-duddies come waddlin’ in today and go straight into the steam room, stank and all. They park their big bloated asses right down on the bench. Forgetting for a moment, the rapid sure fire way to spread staff infections, no one wants to sit in your body soil. Just a thought…

Withdrawal

OMG! This has got to be a new record. I’ve been online less than 2, 5, 10, 15 minutes today total. For someone who lives ‘on’ the grid, that is a new record.

Its my Friday and I’m off to catch up on the afore mentioned stuff I don’t have enough time to do lately. Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far.

Oh and whoever sent the IM, I did’t ignore you, I missed it. Forgive me.

News? What News?

I’m folding my news blog. What was I thinking? I don’t have enough time to get laid these days1 much less manage a news blog. I keep hoping someone will design a custom plugin for pulling stuff off of Originalsignal.com (My favorite news aggregator). This one site allows me to scour a weeks worth of headlines at a glance. Talk about multi-tasking!

I may end up doing a side page here that I update w/plugins from other sites on news I find interesting. While this blog isn’t about world events, I often feel the need to weigh in at times. Besides, I’m almost never w/o something to say.2

1 Ok, that is stretching it a bit but you get the point.
2 Confirmed by the 42 saved posts in my draft folder. I keep thinking one day I might need to use one of’em.

Another Year…

…flies by and it is time to look ahead once more. Where was I then, where am I now, and where am I going? Of course, it is also a time when everyone invades the gym in the hopes of working off the excesses of the holiday season. They show up in their new workout gear, shiny new ipod and otherwise are completely clueless as to their rude behavior. But I digress, focus Moby focus.

Where was I? Oh right. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping last year’s resolutions. The debt is well under control. It has gone up w/the purchase of the motorcycle however, I’m in a much better place to manage it now. I also found a great apartment in the ghaytto.1 And speaking of, I did get the motorcyle as anticipated. I’m very happy with it. The only thing I didn’t do was work on getting my teeth fixed. I procrastinated until the year was finally over so it has to go top of the list for this year.

I also have 80% of my required EMT hours in now so come the fall, I can start school again. That gives me almost a 6 month reprieve from very busy days. It also gives me a chance to work on my gym schedule that has suffered greatly in the last 6 months. I think I might hire a trainer to help push me along at the gym. I’m pretty knowledgable on the body and workouts2, I just need someone to help push me. I get distracted easily and knowing I have to be there w/someone keeps me focused.

1 The castro is commonly referred to as the ‘gay ghetto’. I kinda like that however, it is fast losing its neighborhood feel. That is a rant for another day though.
2 Nutrition, muscle kinetics, fiber recruitment, blah blah blah.

Bass Ackwards

I don’t know if I read it or dreamed it but I remembered someone discovering they’d put their underwear on backwards. I thought, “I never do that“.

Of course, that is the fallacy of saying never. I get to the gym today and discover…

…My underwear were on backwards. No one noticed but me. I do think I looked pretty funny suddenly bursting into laughter for no apparent reason though.

Looking Ahead

The debriefing was last night. It was very sad as expected however, it gave all of us involved a chance to vent and share our grief together. The paramedic who treated the fallen officer was there. You could tell he was really struggling with it and was grateful to have been included.1 We all got a chance to talk and share the experience from our own perspective. I think the PD units were visibly surprised at the deph of concern that we showed.

The meeting started off on a funny note courtesy of my absent-mindedness. My bud had given me a tshirt for Chrismas that read “I have a black belt in crazy” on the front of it2. I didn’t realize I’d warn it underneath my sweater and upon taking my sweater off it sparked a few laughs. I was so completely embarrassed.3 Ironically, I think it set just the right tone for the debriefing to get under way.

I also have to give props here to a certain shift manager who gave us the rest of the evening off. In the past, she has been my arch-enemy on union issues however, she really did show compassion thru this ordeal.

So now, I’m left to focus on the future and the year ahead. I have a reprieve from school for the next 6 months and will have my required EMT hours in by the end of January. Maybe, just maybe, I can squeeze a little bit of a social life in there somewhere.

1 We were happy to invited as well. We are almost always never included. It was frustrating to discover it was not PD that was leaving us out but our own previous management team.
2 I’m fond of saying, I don’t know karate but I do know crazy. The tshirt was a spoof on that.
3 A rare emotion for me.

Christmas

Today, I’m trying to look beyond the tragedy to the season itself. Not being a “christian”, Christmas has never had the same meaning for me. Christmas is the one time of year when you put the bickering behind you and you share in the spirit of closeness, be it a lover, family, friends, co-workers, whatever. Forgetting the woes of the outside world, you rejoice in the spirit of togetherness and humanity. You take a moment to remember we are not alone in this world and that connection should be celebrated. That is the meaning of Christmas to me.

Back when I had a social life, I would always host a party for anyone who didn’t have a place to go for Christmas. I’d even invite people I wasn’t overly fond of if I knew they had know where else to go. Some of my favorite Christmas’s were spent that way. This year, I can’t host a party but I can be close to those I’ve grown to care about. That is enough for me.

I’ve also made quite a few blog friends in the last 3 years and while I can’t be with you this holiday season, you are in my thoughts and I wish you a very safe and happy holiday.

Moby