Checksum Arcanius

I left Detroit at about 1:30 on Friday afternoon on a Greyhound Bus headed to Cleveland. We made one stop in Toledo on the way. For short rides like this, Greyhound is a pretty good way to go. It is still not suggested for long, cross-country hauls.

Upon arriving at the Cleveland station, I was immediately accosted by a homeless man who, after learning I was from Seattle, wanted to talk about the Seahawks, and of course money. I gave him some food, and then Scott picked me up. We headed to Scott’s old apartment, where I enjoyed his very big screen TV (56″) and we made soem banana bread. He then took me to an overpriced mexican joint where he main reason for going appears to be a smoking hot waitress. That establishment better hope she never leaves. That night, I slept fitfully on his couch; it was too warm all day.

On Saturday, I helped Scott move. Yeah, he just happened to be moving the weekend I showed up. It was alright though; I got to meet Ben (a jew!) and Scott kept feeding me the whole weekend for my help. Scott’s new place is a lot nicer than his old place; he is now on the ground level, has more space, a built-in air-conditioner, laundry a door away, and an attic to store his plethora or worldly posessions (as he continuously says, he is a consumer whore. Saturday night, Ben, Scott, Emma, and I went to the Boneyard, a Gameworks-like place, where we proceeded to have a good deal of fun, before searching endlessly (and fruitlessly) for a Taco Bell, before we gave up and went to one of the seven or so Wendy’s that we passed during the search.

Sunday, we lazed around, had a late breakfast at Denny’s, I got a tour of Progressive Insurance’s campus (and its extensive art collection) and then we ate again — Mexican (but not with the hot waitress), and then I was depositted at the airport, where I breezed through security, hacked into the wireless network, and had my flight delayed an hour. After meeting a Volleyball player from Trinity Western University who sat in my row, we landed in Seattle around 11:15, and Kunlun picked me up promptly after my baggage arrived just before midnight (Thanks!).

Now I am back, safe and sound in Seattle (well, as safe as that can be!)

Sunday Evening, Jeana got married. The ceremony took place at the Eastridge Christian Assembly in Issaquah, and it was a very traditional, convervative, religious Christian ceremony. Unlike the Greek Orthodox ceremony that I attended in Baltimore, I got the distinct feeling that this one was much less about tradition and much more about faith and what the bride and groom wanted.

After the ceremony, whose only fault I felt was the pastor refering to plastic cups (and not the wine therein) as representitive of the blood of Christ, we headed out for Renton, where the reception was held. A couple hundred people all enjoyed some of the best catered food available. The salads were fresh; the main dish was very good, and presentation was a worthy performance as well.

After dinner, dessert, and some toasts, the music came up, and the festivities really began. There was dancing, which normally I don’t enjoy all that much, but among friends (and hot girls you knew in high school), its hard to not enjoy yourself.

Throughout the night Jeana was beautiful and beaming, and Seth was (understandably) no less happy. They seem to be a great couple, and I wish them all the best.

After taking the CSE 326 final, which I finished up by 10:50, I headed back to my place to pack for the trip and to consolidate the rest of my stuff into my room. I finished that up around noon, and then headed to Bellevue to meet up with the parents before heading out to Utah. One truth about my family is that no matter how much time you take, someone in my family will always take longer. So, my mom didn’t show up until well after 3:00 (the Highlander needed to be washed, of course), and yet my Dad (who had all morning) didn’t finish packing until after my Mom was done. Then, of course, my mom needed to make herself some food. I managed to get us out the door (after watching most of Minority Report) before 5:00, I think.

At any rate, we stopped in Baker City the first night, then made it to Salt Lake yesterday. I stayed with Ben and Kaylee last night, and then attended the graduation this morning. After touring the BYU campus (so much the same, but also some very new buildings as well), we headed back to my Brother’s place, got the U-Haul, and started loading it up. And up, and up. Now almost everything is in the Truck. Tomorrow morning sometime, I’ll be on my way to East Lansing, Michigan!

My roommate Adam had the birght idea of leaving his computer on playing music, locking his door and window, and then leaving the house (although I didn’t figure that out immediately). Even though it was annoyingly loud, I didn’t give a fuss until I was ready to go to sleep a few minutes ago. I went and knocked, recieving no answer. So I knocked louder. Still no answer. At the suggestion of Kunlun, I checked outside, and sure enough his Jeep was gone. I called him, and he didnt answer. So I tried for a while to drown out his music with my own — which worked, but wasn’t a successful way to get to sleep. Finally, I had had enough. I gave one more series of knocks which could not be ignored, then told my other roommates “I’m going in,” which I proceeded to do. Hollow doors are depressingly easy to kick open, I have learned. Moments later, his speakers were off, his comptuer shut down, and his audio cables unplugged. The door even closed and locked afterwards, although it was somewhat worse for the wear. He might not notice, but for the angry message I left on his phone where I ended with “and no, I won’t pay for the door.” Mind you, this is before I had made the decision to go in. I don’t know if I would have used such fighting words had I already done it.

Ryan: I hate retard roommates
Joe: what’re they up to?
Ryan: ok, I grab some milk
Ryan: and its not cold. I’m like, wtf mate
Joe: uhh
Ryan: so I go back to the fridge. Someone has it turned all the way down. its been that way for at least a couple of hours, judging by the temperature of my milk (not warm, but not cold)
Joe: why…
Ryan: and I think I figured it out. The roommate thinks “1” is coldest
Ryan: when clearly, “9” is the coldest
Ryan: there’s no other reason for it to be there, as he just put his own stuff in there
Joe: umm…
Ryan: anyway, I know that if I were to bring it up, the roommate who is to blame would get defensive, so its really not worth it
Ryan: so its back to normal, but omg retard roommates
Joe: wow
Joe: good job him?
Ryan: and my milk fscking isn’t cold
Ryan: I’m pissed off
Ryan: I only like cold milk
Joe: well.
Joe: yea
Joe: who like semilukewarm milk?
Joe: that’s nasty
Joe: hot milk is ok
Ryan: yeah, just above that temperature where its not quite cold
Ryan: so, its above above cold
Ryan: not even just above cold
Joe: yeah
Ryan: meh
Ryan: anyway
Ryan: how’s your fridge?

Is, of course, being able to commit minor “crimes” without worrying about getting caught. Since cops never come here, my roommates and I felt pretty confident exploring the explosive qualities of Everclear (190 proof alcohol) and depth charge firecrackers. It turns out that everclear, while it burns very well by itself, and fuses, while they burn very well by themselves, do not burn well when combined. It was a sad night in Seattle indeed.

Via Daniel at Carrotlife

1) Four Jobs:

Pacific Landscape Management
Polaris Resturant Server Assistant
Blockbuster Video CSR
Microvision Intern, Software Test

2) Four things I wish I had done earlier:

Made a plan
Found the truth
Broke the habit
Learned how
(And I’ve only done one)

3) Four places I have lived:

Bellevue, WA
Issaquah, WA
Provo, UT
Seattle, WA

4) Four countries I have been to:

South Korea
France
Mexico
Italy

5) Four countries/places I would like to visit:

New Zealand
Australia
China
Mars

6) Four of my favorite foods:

Lightly grilled copper river salmon with pepper and lemon juice
Carnal Tacos!
PBJ Sandwhiches
Nachos!

7) Four sites I visit (almost) daily:
google.com
gmail.com
Craigslist Seattle
Checksum Arcanius

8) Four software applications I cannot live without:

Firefox
Thunderbird
foobar2000
putty

9) Four things I’ll never forget:

Geysers of Flame in Orlando
The kindness of my friends
The fallibility of humankind
My own unworthiness

10) If you read this, you are tagged.