week in review: earthquake drills, donkey shows, & the cat6

at work we had the annual earthquake drill. i'm the first aid guy, so the principal brought me kids on whom i was to practice bandaging broken limbs with gauze and pieces of cardboard. as exciting as this may sound i was envious of those who got to wear hardhats and search the bungalows and main building for anyone who may have been left behind. if anything it was the hardhat i was jealous of. i guess i'd rather play dress up than doctor.

we went to norms the other night where outside we were approached by a vietnam vet who told us about this huge pot party in calabasas, where the "fascist mayor" outlawed smoking in one's backyard. he then graced us with this tidbit of wisdom, or nonsense: "you hear about it, your friends have heard about it, but you'll never meet someone who will die of second hand smoke. just like the donkey show," he said matter of factly.

on a more surreal note, a dear friend to a handful of my dear friends passed away last week. i knew him primarily through them, and less so through my college stint as an RA; to me he was that person to whom you were always reintroduced even though you rarely forget names and the faces that go with them, and he didn't seem to be the type to either. so then you'd shake hands as if for the first time, when really it was the fifth or sixth, while cordially laughing and reminding your mutual friend that you have indeed already been introduced many times over. then came the sparked lighters and small talk. thus another bullet point is added to this year's lists of firsts: this was the first death of someone i knew-albeit fleetingly and remotely--in a long time. as mentioned in several conversations i've had with those who knew him, you know you're getting older when those around you move on.

standardized testing is upon the public schools of california, which means i need to be up early to administer and proctor those stupid things.

the previous evening was spent

with pals whom i haven't seen in months for some stupid reason or another (i.e. me working and being boring). we met at hollywood thai, where a middle-aged asian man in a sleeveless denim vest sang billy joel songs on stage accompanied by electric guitar and karaoke machine; on the stool next to him was a plastic jar labeled TIPS THANK YOU, but from where where we sat seemed to plead TIP HANK. the place was empty and dark save for the stage lights and the flourescent glow from the fishtank and television; as i mentioned to matt when we got there, if i ever feel the need to drink my feelings this is where i would do go.


hugs were exchanged. beer flowed. current goings-on and future plans were mused upon. as much as i love kids and lunchladies and fourth grade teachers, i needed to be around people my age. people who speak my language, kindred spirits who somehow manage to live and love despite understanding all too well what it means to be broke, jobless, and without a clue--more often than not in the same breath. ah, to remain dangerously and relentlessly optimistic; it's an artform.

three months and one week

into 2006 i attended my first party of the year. if i keep living at this rate i have three more to go before auld acquantance be forgot. anyway, i consider tonight to be one of life's mini milestones and a very big first: the first social function of my first job out of college.

throughout the madness of free drinks, chips, salsa and laughs i felt so, how you say, grown up. hell i even wore a freshly-ironed dress shirt with a tie, not because it was required but because (get this) i wanted to. i just assumed that's the type of outfit worn to these sort of things. but a suit's just a suit. reminders of my youthful inexperience revealed themselves whenever i was caught in conversation about things which i have neither a fucking clue nor the desire to know about. matters such as house-hunting, cheating spouses, and proctologist visits. but seeing as i'm the second youngest person at work, i'm not sweating it.

it went down at a mexican restaurant on la cienega a few blocks down from the school. present were pretty much all staff members, a few parents, and a handful of both in the tipsy (is this word still used?) category, myself included. i can't really describe what it's like being around drunken elementary school teachers and playing (read: winning) bingo in said company then stumbling outside to loosen my tie and have a cigarette outside a closed trashy lingerie store under an indigo sky illuminated by neon signs promising LIQUOR and TOTALLY NUDE GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS.

if anything, the evening was oddly reassuring and reminded me that for the most part, i'm doing all right.