When I started high school, I wanted to be a writer.

I kept saying to myself, you have all the time in the world - spend some of it improving your writing, and it will pay off in the end. And that became my mantra- anything is achievable, if I just spend some of my time working on it.

At some point recently, however, I turned around, and realized that I need to re-evaluate- I don't know when the last time I had a free moment was, and my to-do list has escalated to many many lifetimes of achievements that will never see the light of day.

I have two full time lives - the one at work, and the one at home, and I work very hard on both. But the balance got off, and most everything else in between has been lost.

I have a blog to write in, but I never write in it.
I got a guitar, and over the last two months can finally play a single chord (sometimes.)
My Swedish has not really improved much over a 1st grade reading level, and I read the same stories over and over without really getting any closer to holding a conversation.
I can't count the number of friends and family I have been out of touch with.

But tomorrow will be a different day, because tonight I did spend some of my time writing; and however small, to me that is something.

I've been spending time working over at some friends house, where they just had a baby & are in the middle of remodeling by themselves at the same time, & could use a hand. And what I've discovered is... it's really rewarding to spend a day doing 'chores' (yard work, demolition, painting, drywalling, whatever) when you don't have an emotional attachment to the job. I mean, if it was my yard and I needed to be cleaning up the droppings of a large number of pine trees over the winter, I don't think it would be such an enjoyable task. Well maybe that's not so profound, but I am nonetheless surprised how enjoyable it can be to do a good day's work.

"Last updated 85 weeks ago". Ouch.

So a few thoughts on doing Honolulu well:

1. Hawaiian Airlines can get you there for a good price & they serve meals on the plane (and they have POG!)
2. A good snorkle and mask are a must; make use of them at Hanama bay
3. Good dinner: Arancino (try the Spaghetti with Tobiko and Calamari)
4. Be waterproof during the days- you never know when you'll end up in the water.
5. A waterproof camera helps. The Olympus 790SW is reasonably priced & takes great pix; and you can get it at Target.
6. Renting a car lets you see the rest of the Island; $106 will get you a workable cheep-jeep-like thingy for 3 days at VIP rentals (on Wikiki at Beachwalk south of Planet Hollywood)

"Make Open Source the 6th Element of Hip Hop" - Hmm? http://graffitiresearchlab.com/grl_how_to/step_0.html

One of the secrets posted today was from Tucson...

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/994/593/1600/forgive.2.jpg

Makes me wonder if I might know them.

It's been a while! I've been quite caught up in getting comfortable with my job, exploring Seattle, and adventuring with Jess. Of course I'm much better telling the story of my life through pictures then entries, so I've started what will be a week job of adding 2,400 pictures to my website that show what I've been up to. http://jacob-pitts.fotopic.net/

-Jacob

Okay... I could have done better, but:

Expert You scored 74 Knowledgepoints!

I dare say you are. Not that Scandinavian-knowledge might me something to brag about when meeting your friends (unless you're maybe a metalhead who's totally obsessed with Opeth and pronouncing Mikael Åkerfeldt in the right way), but wow, you've got my respect.

Link: The Basic Scandinavian Knowledge Test written by kittiwake on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Rosa Parks, the woman who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, who's arrest lead to Martin Luther King's 381 day boycott of the city bus system, died Monday morning. I was fortunate enough to meet her once when I was a child. Of Parks' life, Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright said:

"She changed the world and she never fired a shot," he said. "She never raised an arm in anger against anyone."

Ok David, here goes.

Post this in your journal, and then post a link to something interesting you've found online. It could be anything. Some clip, website, blog, picture, something cool that you just bought.

I found this guy by accident while searching for some other music on the web late last semester, and don't know where I'd be without him today.
This guy is freekin' awsome. And his sets are free .mp3 downloads.

http://www.djblighty.nl/

As far as I can tell, he remixes music of other artists who put their .mp3s online, as opposed to big name groups/djs.

The Transphere Radio's Rising Stars mix (one of the march ones...) is my LIFELINE.

There's a cute pub across the street. It's no Kalmar... but it will do for now.
Working on updating my photos, maybe even my webpage someday. Seriously missing sweden...

my no-longer-so-secret life...
http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Demos_InfoPath_Server/1120847877

I put my Sprint phone to rest this evening- for me, it is the end of an era. It's not as if I have used it in forever, it has sat un-charged in my suitcase since I moved, but the way I see it my phone number was the only thing that remained unchanged over the last 5 years of moving in and out of dorms and other countries, and now it too is a thing of the past. So long, 520-971-3899, I'll never forget you.

The moving van will be here any minute... things are in disarray... omg they're here. help.

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

Misdirected emails to the actor Jacob Pitts...

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/~jpitts/wrongjp.html

Sangria Attempt #1
------------------

1 750ml Bottle Cabernet Sauvignon (Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's)
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 Orange (half juiced, half sliced and laid on top)
1/2 Lemon (half juiced, half sliced and laid on top)
1/2 Lime (half juiced, half sliced and laid on top)
1 Peach (wedged and thrown in)
1 White Nectarine (wedged and thrown in)
2 Dozen Cherries (halved, seeded, and thrown in)

Let to sit out uncovered in a large glass bowl for 2 hours; then covered with plastic wrap and left in the refrigerator for 24.

(should be ready tomorrow if anyone's interested... :)

This lady called up CSPAN today and was (in between saying how much she loved President Bush as a man) saying how she distinctly hates liberals; not Democrats (she says there are some good ones), but liberals.

It got me to thinking what I mean when I tell people I am a liberal, which got me in turn to question what other people might think I mean when I express myself as such.

When I say I am a liberal, I do not intend to communicate that I am necessarily a Democrat, or furthermore that I am for or against any particular parties. I do not mean to say that I am an anarchist, a muckraker, a pessimist, or anti-American. I think my intentions are most clearly shown from the definition of 'liberal' found on dictionary.com:

1a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
1b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

I think that says it best. Thinking that is not limited, and free of bigotry. Open for reformation and progress, tolerent of others. These are the ideals I live by, and the reasons that I call myself a liberal.

I'm watching C-SPAN currently as the house debates an intelligence bill, and find myself appauled by the lack of logic and overuse of scare tactics that the Republican representatives use. Basically the argument over the treatment of prisoners we have in Iraq are being treated boils down to the following:

Democrats: The US should observe the human rights of the prisoners as they have not been convicted of any crimes- the prisoners should have the rights to be treated well (with respect to all the reports of abuses confirmed in the news recently), and should have the right to defend their innocense in front of a judge in a trial.

Republicans: One or two of the people we are holding have committed horrible crimes of terror. Terrorists have done so much worse than the abuse prisoners are recieving that they are getting what they diserve. And we should remember 911 and support our troops.

WTF?

How can these people call themselves Americans and condem prisoners as guilty without trial? How can they say they uphold "American Values" (Rep. Mac Thornberry's favorite phrase of the day) and fight to vote _against_ having an independant investigation into numerous confirmed cases of abuse, favoring dropping the issue entirely?

More in a bit. Thoughts welcome.

Star Wars Meme by sailor_phobos
1st 2 Ltrs of 1stname + Last 3 Ltrs of last name
1st 2ltrs of moms last name+Last 3ltrs of city brn
Sith or Jedi	Jedi
Skin Color	Black
Eye Color	Purple
Light Saber Color	Blue
How close you are to switching sides: 14%
Username
You're Random Star Wars Quote:	A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master
Your Padawan (if you're a jedi)	bvokt
Your apprentice (if you're a sith)	groovyhippo
You're Master	priyaz
Quiz created with MemeGen!

"I fundamentally believe that this is a company that does the right thing," she said, "not just because it's right but because it's also good for business." says Tina Podlodowski of Seattle about Microsoft's policy to support "domestic partner benefits to gays and lesbians".

"It's not just a nice-to-do thing. It's a requirement to be successful in the private sector," says John Hassell of Hewlett-Packard on the same topic.


... Do these stances not have their priorities reversed? Should it not be "not just because it's good for business, but more importantly because it's the right thing to do?"