Victory @ Traffic Court
i have to write about yesterday, because it was so great.
i had to go to traffic court for a speeding ticket that i got 3 weeks ago, for going 75 in a 55. i got the ticket at 3:30am on a monday morning on the toll road going home from the bus station. i had just returned from nyc and was with erica. between getting the ticket and appearing in court, i found an ebook online called pay no fine which tells you how to contest a traffic ticket. i read the book and prepared some questions in a line of defense, and it miraculously worked. the charges were dropped, no points were assessed, and i didn't have to pay anything (not even a court cost). that was the first omen. 
then i return to my office around noon and while i'm checking SH/SC on SA i find a thread about a dell rebate. it was an instant rebate that was good only for one day, $750 off any inspiron notebook over $1500. i'm typing this journal entry on my thinkpad, which i love and is great, but it's also old. i wanted a new laptop so i could run newer versions of the software that i use (i only have photoshop 7 on here, for example), but i didn't have a few grand to drop on a serious upgrade. anyway, i got an inspiron 8600 with the following specs:
Pentium 4-M 715 Processor
15.4" uxga display, 1920x1240 resolution
512mb DDR
128mb Radeon 9600 ProTurbo
40gb hdd
dvd-rom
wi-fi
$900 not incl shipping and tax
as soon as i got it i knew that i had to sell this laptop, since i don't need two. i was hoping to get $700-800, but i already found a buyer willing to pay $800. now i just need to sell two desktops.
i saw team america: world police the other night with esfand. i wanted to see the movie and heard it was hilarious, but i wasn't sure if it was worth seeing in the theater. we got blazed and needless to say, i laughed as hard as i can remember laughing in a movie theater. i downloaded the soundtrack off nmp3s and it is exceptional.
tomorrow is my last day here in the office, and on friday i go on vacation for 9 days. life is really sweet just before you're hopelessly broke. 
currently listening to: America, Fuck Yeah!
Cooking
weekend is just about over. i'm doing a great job at being frugal. in the past week i think i've eaten one meal in a restaurant, and i'm enjoying cooking more and more. i spent almost an hour cooking today, an actually had a good time. i'm not really that good at it, so i enjoy the challenge, and eating the fruit of my labor is great. delicious sustinance.
four more days of work left, then vacation for 7 days, then vegas for 2!
Spinning with Avik
i'm over at aviks now, dropping tunes and hanging out. soon as i walk in the place we go behind his house and get high in his huge supercool garden where his family grows unfamiliar exotic vegetables. i pulled out a crate records 3-4 years old and we're taking turns mixing this old stuff. some of it is really old klute and 31, great stuff that i haven't heard in a while.
i'm not sure what i'm doing tonight, because i really don't know what's going on that doesn't cost money. my attempts to be frugal have been for the most part really successful. i sold my home theater last night, which kind of hurt, actually a lot. i consider that one of best electronics purchases i've made, but i couldn't take it with me. how much it has devalued actually really shocked me.. i bought it for $550 i guess about 2 years ago, and i ended up selling it for $220. that's how it goes though i guess, an onkyo home theater isn't a technics turntable. i'm trying to sell off some more stuff that i won't be able to use, or that i have lying around. i need to go to my sisters house and pick up the stuff that i have stored there, because i don't need any of that stuff. that includes 90% of my records, but i don't know if i can handle selling those yet. i'm almost more inclined to store them at the farm where they'll get old and dusty than sell them at $2 a piece or whatever they're worth.
tomorrow i'm finally seeing aram. i'm supposed to give him a wake up call at 10 and then meet him at his place at 11, at which point we'll go to his office and get that dental work done. it's cool personally knowing a dentist, and also him being such a kick ass outstanding individual.
also, directly after that kevork says he's dj'ing a wedding party. some of his friends that were in the jet program just returned from living in japan for a few years, and while over there they got married. the party for their domestic friends is tomorrow from 2-5pm, i think i'll check it out. meet some new people, hang out in the nice weather, and what have you.
sunday i don't have any plans, but i know that my mom wants me to photograph some things that she wants to sell on ebay. although, i think that when she says sell something on ebay, she really means have me sell it.
my turn..
currently listening to: avik mixing
TEFL Progress
i'm quickly going through my TEFL course. 8 units left..
currently listening to: DJ Shortkut - Inna Dancehall Style
Workplace MP3 Acquisition Project
i'm getting all the mp3's that i've downloaded over the years off of my work pc. i'm burning them all onto dvd's, i have 4 filled so far. 
Geico Lizard #1 Fan
i finally got a hold of the Matthew Dear album that i've been looking for.. titled Leave Luck to Heaven. i can't find my shure e2's though, so i'm listening quietly through speakers at work. should be some supreme old school, minimal detroit techno. i love that stuff. plus, i can relive the incredible live pa of his that i saw when i was in detroit last may.
i'm looking up airfare for flights to china. elaine said she got round trip airfare to hong kong for US$500. i don't know how the fuck that is possible. cheapest i can find is just over $400 one way to chengdu. that's $340 to beijing from los angeles and then another flight from beijing to chengdu for about $80. i'll have elaine book it for me if i need to, must find cheaper!
i'm talking to mady online over aim about her recent separation from her significant other. she seems pretty bent, but it's not surprising since she always seems to be in short term relationships, except for the year long one she recently had with jess. i recommended Sea Change to her, since it was so pivotal for me when i split with Kat. i got the recommendation from esfand, which was fantastic. recently i've been listening to a previous album of his, Mutations, quite a bit. also really pretty excellent stuff.
i signed up for new auto insurance, this time under Geico. i was with progressive, which sucked ass. need new insurance before i embark on my journey across the country. looks like billy is leaving on the 1st of november, possibly we can coordinate and make the trip together.
currently listening to: Matthew Dear - The Crush
Dyed Hair, Again
shayda just left and i'm listening to getz / gilberto 2. fantastic tunes. i can't find my e2's (they're around somewhere), but i've been using the ipod earbuds since i misplaced them and find them to be fantastic. sound quality isn't quite as good, but it's very listenable and the comfort level is very high. because of the flat design of them, i can wear them comfortably while lying in bed on my side, or even sleeping with them on, unlike the bulky e2's.
i dyed my hair bright blonde this evening. i got the box of dye a few days ago when i was at CVS picking up a perscription for an antibiotic as i was recovering from illness. now seemed like a good time to dye my hair again, since i'm wrapping up at haifinance. i remember before i started working there, and even the first year that i was there, i was dying my hair on a fairly regular basis. it's fun every once and a while. because my father and grandfather are both completely bald, i'm pretty certain that i'll also be bald, so until that happens, i'll ride this motherfucker (hair) till the wheels fall off.
Sweet, sweet health
i'm back to life.. i've been completely disabled the last week, really sick. sunday through wednesday i didn't eat anything and could hardly talk. i'm at about 90% now.
went to my cousin anne's wedding over the weekend, it was huge. over 400 people at the reception. she's in my immediate family and i hardly knew anyone at the place. the groom was oddly missing, though.
spent some time with the family on sunday at my dads weekend house in charlottesville. celebrated the old mans birthday, got to catch up with todd and cass.
spoke to billy today via aim and he told me he's putting in his 2 weeks this friday and leaving for santa monica. he's never been to LA, but he's driving across the country to live there. major props for the guts to do that. i'm also planning on driving across the country, i'm formulating my plan now.
currently listening to: Fout Tet
Sonny & Sarah’s Wedding Photos
some photos from last weekends wedding that i photographed are online.. i'll be adding more to this page when i get time: http://www.cmoseley.com/SarahandSonny/