4 days alone
sergio is in salt lake city and portland for a few days. the, when he gets back, he's off to germany for a few days.
:-(
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
One of ,my top 10 fave songs.
Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead
Her green plastic watering can
For her fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
It wears her out, it wears her out
It wears her out, it wears her out
She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins
It wears him out, it wears him out
It wears him out, it wears...
She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And It wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out
And If I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted all the time
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
I'm back.
Everyone, I recently moved to Richmond, VA and have been lazy in posting. But, I will be posting more very, very soon.
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All About Eric
Odds and Ends
- Apparently, I have a southern accent. I know I do because too many people point it out to me. It's actually been desrcribed as a slight southern twang. I never really realized it until I moved away from the south.
- My philosophy is simple. Life is for living. I don't want to be an old man who says, "I wish I'd done this or I wish I'd done that". I'm gonna do everything now, while I can. I find it somewhat annoying when I hear people say, "I've always wanted to go to Europe (or wherever)". My response, "What's stopping you?"
- I am a fast typist. I have spurts of 100+ WPM. I remember taking typing my freshman year in high school. I thought it was so useless. Little did I know that it would be the most valuable thing I'd learn during my 4 years at Fayette High School. Thanks, Mrs. Hilgedick!
- I'm kind of a romantic. I didn't really realize this until a few years ago. I like to spend quality time with a potential mate, walking on the beach, talking, sharing ideas, cuddling, candlelight dinners, sweet nothings, etc.
- I'm not a big fan of television. Growing up, we only had one tv and my dad controlled what we watched, and it was usually something that didn't interest kids. I never got to watch the popular sitcoms in the 70's and 80's. Because I worked 2nd shift for over 10 years at a hospital, I NEVER watched tv from the early 90's until the early 2000's. People are shocked that I've never seen "Friends" or "Seinfeld" with any regularity. I do like watching movies on HBO or Showtime, but I can't really say that I know anything about the "popular" shows that are on TV now.
- I like to pop my fingers. I've been doing it for at least 30 years. I can crack each finger 3 different ways. Not only do I crack my knuckles, but I also pop my neck, toes, wrists, knees. I do it without even thinking of it. It's automatic.
- I used to be addicted to tanning. About 8 years ago, I started tanning in a local salon. I would go at least 3 times per week. I was soooo dark. I gave it up when I moved to CA though. I miss it, but it's way too expensive here. I'm thinking about taking it up again, but not like before. Maybe only once a week or so.
- I am an excellent, yet very impatient driver. I've been driving (tractors, lawnmowers, cars) since I was 7 years old. My dad used to let me drive his truck on the country roads all the time. One of the benefits of growing up on a farm. In 25 years of legally driving, I've only gotten one speeding ticket. I guess I'm not only impatient, but very lucky too.
- I have experienced pain that was a 10 on the scale of 1-10, twice (both times were due to kidney stones). When I was 24 years old, I woke up one morning with a dull pain in my lower back. I didn't pay attention to it and went to work. An hour later, I was in the emergency room with the sharpest, most painful sensation that I have ever had. It was unfathomable pain. It truly is the most painful thing in the world. Let me just say that I was in the fetal position until the demorol kicked in. It hurt so bad I wanted to cry...but I couldn't. It happened again about 8 years later. Thankfully, I have not had one since. But I do keep some Vicodin handy, just in case. LOL
- Beer. I love beer. My beer of choice is Bud Light. As a good German boy, I should like something a bit more refined. But, I just like the taste of it. I loathe dark beer, I think it has a harsh taste. My friend Stacey says that if you sprinkle salt into a harsh tasting beer, it'll tame it down. Never tried it though. I like beer because you can control how tipsy you get. If you drink a libation, you never know how much alcohol you're getting....but with beer you do. Three beers and I'm chatty, four and I'm basically drunk and it's time for me to go home.
- I'm pretty much over the Castro scene. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy going out every now and then and meeting up with friends and drinking and having fun, etc. But for the most part, I think that the Castro is a very unforgiving place and that saddens me. It's kind of difficult to put into words. I've made some good friends there, but I've also met people who turned out to be only interested in one thing. I touched on this briefly elsewhere, but I've always had a problem with people who are friendly with me one day, then shun me the next because they failed at "conquering" me. I'm the one who does the conquering (just kidding, maybe). LOL
- I tend to be a sentimental person. I don't know whether that's good or bad. I save things, movie ticket stubs, etc. I have a few voice mails on my cell phone that I've been saving for more than 4 years. One of the voice mails is from a dear friend that called me late at night several years ago. He said, "Eric, I just wanted to let you know that I love you and I'm glad you're my friend". I thought that was sweet. I just keep saving the voicemails every few weeks. I know one day I'll forget to do it and they'll be gone forever. Maybe it's time to delete them anyway.... Another voice mail was from Christmas Eve two years ago. A bunch of friends in Virginia called me and got on speaker phone and wished me a Merry Christmas on my voice mail. I was feeling a bit low at the time, it was my first Christmas alone (all of my SF friends were out of town). It just touched me a bit, and made me shed a tear or two. It made me realize how lucky I am....
- I like quotes. My favorite quote is: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind". It's my signature on my email.
- I'm addicted to Coca-Cola. I MUST have at least one a day, preferably in the morning. It's very common in the south for people to drink Coke in the morning instead of coffee. (and none of that diet crap either).
- I’ve always been fascinated with meeting/seeing movie stars and famous people. Over the years, I’ve laid eyes on: Kelly Preston, Jon Voight, Richard Simmons, Paula Poundstone, Ann B. Davis (the maid from the Brady Bunch), Elton John, Rita Moreno, Gus Van Sant, Cyndi Lauper, Faron Young, Tom Wopat (had a nice chat with him), Jennifer Beals, Sean Penn, Kathy Griffin (I talked to her), Peggy Fleming (had pic taken with her), Bruce Vilanche, Bea Arthur (I was mere inches from her, she smiled at me thru her drunken haze) and many others. I used to be very nervous about meeting them, but not anymore. They’re human just like I am.
- I adore Supertramp. You know, the supergroup from the 70's/80's. I first started liking them when their album "Breakfast in America" was released back in the late 70's. I love them. They are my favorite music group ever.... My favorite song by them is called "Even the quietest Moments". I could listen to that song over and over. It's a great song to listen to when you're driving on the open highway, don't ask me why. To me, the song is about falling in love. But, in reality it's a love song to God.
- I collect pens (writing instruments). I have a few hundred of them. I mostly have rOtring, Lamy, Schneider. I mostly collect pens that are mid-range in price, although I do have a Mont Blanc pen. My favorite pens are Schneider K1 or K2. They are not sold in the USA though..but I have a stash to last until my next trip to Deutschland. **update: After years of checking online, I finally found a new website that sells the type of Schneider pens that I love (K1, K2, and K3). They don't sell K2, but K1 and K3 are just as good, IMHO. www.passion4pens.com. I ordered a bunch recently . I guess I won't have to travel to Germany anymore to get them. I guess I'll just go to Germany for chocolate now.
- I suffer from a relatively rare condition called "helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome". It's not as bad as it sounds though. It's a sneezing disorder that is caused when I look at a bright light. Sometimes it's triggered by something as simple as a light bulb, but mostly it's caused by the sunlight. It's also called "Photic Sneeze Syndrome". It affects 10% of the population.
- I'm hearing impaired. I've always had limited trouble hearing things clearly. I've got about 15-20% hearing loss. I function normally, but at times, have a hard time with people who don't speak directly to me...i.e. look away from me when they speak. Crowded/noisy restaurants are the worst. I put a LOT of effort into hearing a person, but sometimes I just can't. Not everyone knows that I have some hearing loss and probably wonders why I always ask them to repeat things.
- I like having my picture taken in front of phone booths in foreign countries. It's often the only landmark one can find that puts you in a specific place. I used to have a lot more pics, but my ex has them....
- I once wrote a Haiku in 2nd grade that was published in "weekly reader" (a childhood mini-magazine). I still remember the haiku too. So, I can say I'm a published poet. :-) See, I even had a Japan fetish back then...
- I'm addicted to lip balm. I go thru about 1 tube every 3 weeks. I'm very particular though, I only use Labello, which is mostly only sold in Europe. Labello was recently bought out by Nivea, but the familiar lip balm has remained unchanged, except for the packaging.
- I'm allergic to bananas. If I eat one, I get itchy bumps on my lips and inside my mouth. It only lasts for an hour or so, and is more annoying than anything. I do get a craving for a banana now and then, and I do partake. However, I can usually only eat half of it. I'm also allergic to raw potatoes and carrots. I also have an adverse reaction to garlic, so I try to avoid it.
- I'm not really as shy as I seem. When I meet a person, I tend to stand back and 'guage' them....to see how they might react to my raucous sense of humor. Once I know a person, I open up...full throttle. (mostly).
- I am a former smoker. I smoked at LEAST a pack of Marlboro Lights 100's per day for TWENTY years!!!! Thankfully, I quit 5 years ago and never looked back. I've heard from many sources that quitting cigarettes is harder than quitting heroin. I've never done drugs before, but I do know that quitting cigarettes was the hardest thing I've ever done.
- I have NO sense of direction and I have a hard time with maps. If San Francisco weren’t surrounded on three sides by water, I’d be screwed. Actually, San Francisco is the easiest city to maneuver that I’ve ever been in.
- I hate repetitive noise. I used to work with a lady who had a chronic cough. She would have coughing fits every 5 minutes or so. It literally drove me crazy. I hate, hate, hate noise. Jackhammers, loud trucks, pens tapping on desks, idle chatter.
- I have asthma. My first asthma attack was at the tender age of 2 weeks old. I had asthma attacks regularly throughout my life. Fortunately, I have not had a significant attack in several years. I keep it under control with inhalers. However, there have been a few times where I thought I'd surely die as a result of an attack. One time stands out. I was 15 years old and had spent a hot summer day hauling hay, that night I had the worst asthma attack I've ever had. I think I came dangerously close to kicking the bucket that night. Pretty scary stuff. And yes, I know smoking wasn't the brightest thing to do...
- I’m punctual…too punctual. If I tell you I will meet you at 7pm and I’m not there waiting at 6:55pm, something’s horribly wrong. Although I am punctual, I don't insist that everyone else is too.
Things I Don't Like
- Dishonesty. I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Deceit hurts. I would have a very difficult time ever trusting someone again if I discovered that they've lied to me.
- Stuff...just because other people like it. I don't like stuff simply because it's popular. I think this can be quickly determined when you look at a list of my favorite songs. I don't like the mainstream media telling me what's popular. I'm my own person.
- Rush Limbaugh I think of him as the Bush regime's "propaganda minister". If I could meet him in person, I'd challenge him to say something positive about Bill Clinton and something negative about George Bush. Limbaugh is a bad Missourian.
- Hardcore Drugs Never tried em, never will...I actually had a really nice/cute guy come up to me a while back. He readily admitted to me that he was under the influence of ecstasy. Not interested. That said, I don't judge people for what they do. Everyone has a reason for what they do. It's just that I, personally don't like it.
- Fake People We all know them. People who are nice to you one day, then they realize they can't get what they want from you (i.e. sex), then they drop you like a hot potato. It's probably for the best though.
- Whistling Ok, this is where my weirdness comes in to play. I HATE it when someone is walking down the street, whistling a song. It literally sends chills down my spine. And if it's a song that appears to have been made up on the spot, it REALLY sends chills down my spine. Don't ask why, it just grates on my nerves. One of the many oddities of my being.
- Bad Kissers It's a deal-breaker. Fortunately, bad kissers are relatively rare, in my experience. But they do exist.
- Ageism So, I’m 41. So what. I hate it when I hear people talking about Twin Peaks being “the glass casket” or “gods waiting room”. The guys there are doing something right. I met one of my dearest friends there two years ago. The first night we met, he told me personal memories of knowing Harvey Milk & Sylvester. I was mesmerized and felt enriched for knowing him.
- Rudeness (when done in a meanspirited way) Yep, I have a low tolerance for rude people. I can understand if someone is having a bad day, we all have those. But, there’s no need to make everyone else have a bad day too.
- Organized Religion Also known as large “for profit” organizations. I have a problem with it. I believe in a higher power, but I don’t need somebody telling me that I’m gonna go to hell…. More people have been killed in the name of religion than any other cause. Kinda sad.
- Ignorance Unfortunately, this is quite prevalent in our society. When I say ‘ignorance’, I don’t necessarily mean intelligence. I’m talking about people who have closed minds, people who won’t accept new ideas.
- Ostentatiousness. Probably one of my main dislikes. It’s a bad quality and is designed to belittle people. I remember telling someone that I loved the spaghetti from Jollibee. I was admonished for liking such inferior spaghetti when there are so many nice Italian places in North Beach. It’s freakin’ Jollibee! LOL. Whatever.
Things I Like
- Urban Blight (Commercial). I'm not a fan of poverty by any means, but there's something about seeing an old, dilapidated, abandoned building that's fascinating to me. Not so much of it on the west coast. The best area for this is NJ, PA. I especially love huge, abandonded warehouses, with weeds and such grown up around and broken windows. It gives me a longing/nostalgic feeling which I can't describe. Yeah, I know it's weird, but if I don't like it.....who will???
- Travel. I didn’t really travel that much until the last 15 years or so. I’ve been to 45 states, the exceptions being Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, Alabama, and Montana. Maybe sometime I’ll hit those states, but it’s not a goal. I also enjoy foreign travel. I’ve been to Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, England, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Iceland, Monaco, and Italy. Germany is by far my favorite place to visit. My most recent trip to Germany was on 5/18/07. I went to Germany for less than a day and then flew back to SF. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. My dream trip is to one day (soon) go to Japan. I love going new places, but I like the aspect of getting there too. I love going to the airport, I love sitting and watching everyone run around. I love planes.
- The Color Purple & Welcome to the Dollhouse & Grease My three favorite movies of all time. I usually watch each of them at least twice a year.
- The Beach. One of my favorite things in life is walking on the beach, which is odd because I grew up in landlocked Missouri. The nearest “beach” was over 1,000 miles away. It wasn’t until I moved to Virginia that my love of the ocean developed. I can often be found at Ocean Beach, walking along listening to my iPod.
- Stars. I could (and have) spent hours staring into the night sky, gazing at stars. I would like to find a place which is not too far from SF where I can go to look at stars without all of the light pollution of the city. Stars fascinate me. Once, I was driving thru Nevada at night. I stopped to get gas and noticed that the stars were very bright. I ended up finding a place to park and watched the stars for about two hours. It was amazing.
- Shortwave radio. I have listened to shortwave radio since I was a little kid at my grandma’s house. She lived way out in the country and the only thing I had to keep me company was a shortwave radio that had belonged to my grandfather. I have spent MANY nights scanning the airwaves for faraway transmissions. I still get out my old Grundig and scan the dial at night from time to time. I also like DX'ing, which means 'distance listening' on the medium wave (AM) band. When I was young, I would stay up late at night and log all of the radio stations I could pull in. Chicago, New York, Dallas, Denver. I wonder if my mom knew why I was always so hard to wake up in the morning?
- Sea Glass This ties in with my love for the ocean. Sea glass are pieces of broken glass (from beer bottles, etc) that have been washed up on shore after years and years of being polished by the sands on the ocean floor. Some examples can be quite beautiful. Ocean Beach is a good place to search.
- Rhodia Notebooks.. I love small notebooks, since I like to write a lot. I’m a note taker, list maker. I especially like Rhodia notebooks. They are so nice to write on. They are made of acid free velum paper and have a grid. They have a large following. They are made in France and not to easy to find though. I have tons. I actually have a drawer full of various notebooks that I’ve collected. I really, really like to write on exquisite paper. Is that pretentious? :-)
- Prank Phone Calls Jerky Boys anyone?? I love prank calls. I have made my fair share of them in my youth, and even now.
- Podcasts. I love listening to them on my iPod. My favorite by far is Yeast Radio. It’s a hoot. Not for everyone though, you can’t have sensitive ears and listen to this one
- People Watching. One of my great pleasures in life is to people watch. San Francisco is an ideal place to do this. I love to sit down in a busy area and just watch what goes on around me.
- Origami aka the Japanese art of paper folding. Most people are shocked to learn that I’m an origami freak, still even more people don't even know what it is. I first started with origami about 16 years ago and have become quite good at it. My favorite form of origami is modular origami, which consists of small pieces of folded paper interlocked with each other to make elaborate spheres, shapes, etc. I actually carry a small container with me most of the time with origami paper in it. You never know when you'll be kept waiting in a dental office with time to kill.
- Music. I love music. I think my mother is responsible for that. When I was a kid, the radio was always on (tuned to KCMO-AM in Kansas City, MO). Back then, it was a pop music station that played a variety of music. I remember listening to the Starland Vocal Band, Glen Campbell, and loving those songs. Then, in the late 70’s, I got an AM/FM radio for Christmas (cutting edge in those days, lol). I started listening to the local rock station, KFMZ. They played everything from Queen to Supertramp and everything in between. I was never into classical music that much, but I do LOVE Chopin, especially the “raindrop prelude”. It sends chills down my spine when I hear it (which is pretty often, since I have it on my iPod). I think music has the power to take you back to a specific time and place, effectively being some sort of time machine. Although you’re not really at that specific time and place, your feelings and memories come flooding back when you hear a familiar old song. Whenever I hear “Afternoon Delight” by Starland Vocal band, I am immediately transported to a hot summer day in 1976, sitting at the kitchen table with my brother and sister, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches…anticipating 1pm so we could go to the local public swimming pool. Ahh, the memories.
- Music Videos from the 80's. IMHO, this was the BEST era for music video. The videos for "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads & "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper are pure genius. It bled over into the 90's a bit, but I fear that that we'll never see videos of that ilk again.
- Modern Japanese Culture. I’ve always been fascinated with Japan, but not with “old” Japan. I am obsessed with Japanese pop culture. I want to go to Japan so bad. I'm planning on going to Tokyo within the next year, but I don't want to go by myself. I think it would be a lot more fun to go with someone. I don't mind going alone, but Tokyo seems a bit intimidating to do alone. I've done Europe alone before though and had a great time.
- Making up new words. I really like making up new words, most of the time they are silly. I also like to mis-pronounce words on purpose. Normally, I only do this when with friends. I like to pluralize proper nouns (especially first names of friends) and also add an "st" sound at the end of certain words. Yeah, I'm a freak for sure.
- Loud Music. I love loud music while driving. I normally have my iPod hooked up to my car stereo and listen to it with lots of bass and volume. I am fortunate to have some high end speakers in my car. You can hear me from miles away.... I like to listen to the music as well as feel it, literally.
- Honda's. I bought my first Honda, brand new, back in 2001 and am still driving it. I’m amazed that it requires so little maintenance. Since buying my Honda, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with their products. I will always drive a Honda. As of April 2008, my car only has 70K on it. I always thought I'd drive it for at least 150K, and probably will. I thought about getting a new Honda, but I'd probably cry when I got the first ding, which in SF would happen within a day or two. I'll hold off on a new car for now.
- Good Times The sitcom from the 1970's. Another oddity. I NEVER watched this when it was on in the 70's. Sitcoms were verboten in my house. My dad didn't like them, and we only had one tv. I own every season on DVD. If I'm flipping channels on TV and I come across "Good Times", I will always stop and watch it. The only other TV shows I will always watch are "The Waltons" and "Three's Company".
- Good Friends. I am very fortunate in this department. Although I have only lived in SF for three years, I have made some good, good friends...the kind of friend that I can call at 3am to bail me out of jail and they won't be mad. :-) I also have several good friends in Virginia that I talk to daily or at least a few times per week.
- Germany. What can I say? I adore Germany and all things German. I’ve always had a deep fascination with Germany, ever since I was a kid. I used to listen to my grandma tell stories of her mom and Germany. It wasn’t until 1998 that I made my first pilgrimage there. I was hooked. I have been to Germany about 10 times total and will continue to go back whenever I can. The most memorable trip there was when I went with my dad. He’d never been there before, we had a great time exploring Germany and Austria. He wants to go back soon and I’ll probably go with him. I’ve been all over, but never to Berlin. I think that will be my next trip. I’m very fond of Munich though. I’ve been there about 4 or 5 times. I never tire of it.
- Edward Hopper. I adore his artwork. In 1930, he painted 'Early Sunday Morning'. It gives me a weird/longing feeling when I see it. Ties in with my love for Urban Blight, I guess. All of his paintings evoke a sense of lonliness, without being depressing. I think if I had been an artist, I'd have painted a lot like Edward Hopper.
- Container Ships I love transportation. Seeing a HUGE container ship going thru the bay en route to Oakland makes me happy. I sometimes go to the wharf with binoculars to read the verbiage on the containers.
- Candy. I love candy. I have a sweet tooth so bad, I'm surprised all my teeth have not fallen out yet. I expecially love chocolate, but don't limit myself. If it has sugar in it, I'll probably like it. When I was a kid, I spent every dime I had on candy. I remember thinking, "When I'm a grown-up and have a job, I'm gonna have as much candy as I want". Well, I have drastically cut down on my candy intake in the past several years.... It's funny how your priorities change. My favorite candy when I was a kid (and as an adult) are plain M&M's, Skittles, Starburst and Hubba Bubba Bubble gum. I was also quite fond of cherry Lifesaver's.
- Astronomy I’ve always been interested in planets and stars. . I could spend hours gazing into the night sky. It’s amazing just how big the universe is. If you could travel at the speed of light thru space, you’d NEVER stop. This fact has made me realize that Earth is a mere particle of dust in this vast universe. I definitely believe that there is life elsewhere. Earthlings are one of (probably) millions of life-forms in the universe. Some are more intelligent that us, and some are less intelligent than us.
- Airline Memorabilia. I don’t collect it as much as I used to, but I do love airline stuff. My favorite airline is Lufthansa. They are so stoic. I also love to go near the airport (SFO) in the mid/late afternoon and watch the big planes come in and leave. There’s something about seeing a B747-400 soaring thru the air at a low altitude. I also like Airbus A-340’s. However, I think that Boeing is technologically superior to Airbus. I have a very large collection of Lufthansa flatware from the 1950's to the present. I have over 200 pieces! Probably enough to start my own cafeteria.
What is the perfect man?
My Absolute, Favorite Songs....Ever!
Quote of the Day
