Squidzaus.

a musical note

Something just dawned on me. Maybe it's not the making of music that exhausts me. Maybe it's all the necessary relating to the other people making the music with me.

posted by Patrick @ 9:45 PM

Golden Birthday

Tomorrow I'll be 31 years old, on the 31st. That means I'm supposed to get tons more presents than usual, and it's supposed to be a super special day. I'm expecting neither because I'm older that 14. And because who else has ever heard of this? I heard abut it when I was in elementary school, which is probably the only time it matters.

Tomorrow, I'm going to buy myself some super expensive whiskey. Or 'whisky', since it will likely be single malt scotch. Also, I bought the 8-player expansion for Twilight Imperium, though that's less a birthday present from myself and more just plain awesome.

Also, I just noticed that I lost all my links when I changed blog templates. Fantastic. They were over there because I can't remember them otherwise. Arg. Well, If you're reading this and want me to read your blog occasionally, send me a link in an email.

posted by Patrick @ 6:13 PM

Poison Ivy and unhatched bird

Last Thursday I had the utmost privilege of hacking down a forest of poison ivy with a garden rake and a hoe. It was growing up the side of a two story rental, and I'm now the primary rental maintenance guy. I took precautions and didn't let any of it touch my skin directly, but I still ended up developing it all over my forearms and some on my lower legs. I guess that's what happens when you chop a 6 foot path through thick vegetation around 3 sides of a house, when 30-50% of that vegetation is poison ivy.

It's a strangely and sickeningly reinforcing feeling to scratch the absolute hell out of it. Like, scratching it til it bleeds, then not stopping because it feels good to keep scratching. I cleared up my lower legs in the shower this way, but there's too much on my arms to make it practical. So, I bathe myself in caladryl. It seems to work, as long as it stays cool.

As part of this job, I also ran into a very strange situation. There was a bird's nest in the middle of the brush I was chopping through. It had one blue egg in it. I thought the egg might be abandoned, so I picked it up and gently squeezed it into my palm. After a few seconds, I could feel the baby bird inside the egg moving around. It was just one of those moments. I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, there are birds all over the place, and one fewer wouldn't hurt anything. But the idea of destroying it in the name of a rental seemed...off. So I decided to move the nest to the crook of a nearby tree, but I think the parents of said egg abandoned the nest after I moved it. When I was back the next day, I didn't see the parent bird flitting around in the brush the way it had been when I was hacking the bramble.

posted by Patrick @ 7:29 PM

Batt-a-tat-tats

Squidzaus has some fresh batteries in it. Well, I found em in the junk drawer, so I guess we'll find out how fresh they actually are.

I continue to find that I have thoughts that I want to tell people. I'm still dealing with life, that's what it really comes down to. And public blog posting doesn't seem like the best place to do this, but for lack of a better place, here we go again. But this time there will be no comments. Just me. And if you really have something to say about whatever I'm off on, then you are also mostly likely a person who will know how to find me. I like conversation over hot beverages or alcoholic ones, and I have much more time than I often claim to have.

Maybe none of this belongs on the web, but I want to talk about stuff, and I really don't find enough contexts to do the kind of talking that I enjoy. The kind that helps move things and make sense of why we're here and what we should be doing with our time.

posted by Patrick @ 7:23 PM

A deliberately delicate and daunting decision

Just go along with it. Because you have to, the story says so.

You are approached by an omnipotent being, who tells you that you, and only you, must make a decision. You must choose a specific group of people, using categorization of your choosing, except age. All of these people will instantly die, with no mistakes and no exceptions. You cannot delay your decision. What group do you choose?

Think of your answer before you go poking around at whatever comments might already be on this post. Post your own answer.

posted by Patrick @ 12:28 PM 9 Comments

Winter Wonderland

Something occurred to me today, and I'm now wondering why no one ever mentioned this before.

Later on, we'll conspire
As we dream/drink by the fire
To face unafraid, the plans that we made...
Walking in a winter wonderland

"Conspire"? what are those people conspiring to do? Particularly when those plans force them to "face unafraid"?? What plots were they hatching??? This song reeks of sedition.

posted by Patrick @ 8:29 PM 2 Comments

William Wilberforce

I think you should see the movie Amazing Grace. It's about the man who headed the movement to end the slave trade in Britain in the late 1700's and early 1800's.

I feel a deep harmony in stories like these, but also some guilt or something. The people who care this much, actually DO things. I don't. I wait for someone else to come and do things, and I try to help them do things. Or I distract myself and do nothing. But I hold hope that I'll do something someday.

posted by Patrick @ 11:55 PM 0 Comments