I love that I can find a video clip of that waterworld scene in <3 seconds. Go INTERNET!
First off, Kim's cousin, Gina came to visit a few days before Christmas. A 4 day trip, this 14 year old girl continually cracked me up. I haven't spent any decent amount of time around a teenager, well, since I was a teenager. She was naive and insure in an honest way -- it really makes me wonder what I was like at that age. Actually, I remember exactly what I was like at that age -- doing anything in my power to finagle some girl into making out with me. Sad, really. Anyway, her flight took off on Christmas Eve night and Kim had to stick around to see her off. After sticking the teen on her plane, Kim hoped on her own.
A week before the trip, I ensured that I had procured a new subwoofer in my car. For the record -- I'm not into making sure you also hear my bass, at .75 miles away, I just enjoy having a nice aftermarket system with a solid low-end. Blah. Anyway, the 10" JL I had in my trunk died suddenly (while listening to the Talking Heads, for the record.) I found a guy on craigslist who was selling a nice 12" JL and sealed enclosure for a decent price. It's always a bit awkward to intersect your life with a random person for a brief amount of time, well, at least enough to complete a transaction.
The subwoofer guy, he was in his early thirties with a thick Spanish accent. He drove an Escalade, but his townhouse was totally unfurnished, save a giant TV. He kept trying to hype the speaker up. I knew what I was looking at and didn't really need to hear "the bass -- it's just so ... clean" spiel he gave probably 5 times during the exchange.
...
Anyway, I pay for the thing, shake his hand and get in the car. As I'm about to drive off, he runs back to my car and taps on my window. I roll it down. In his thick accent, he says: "Your probably gonna' hear notes you've never heard before." Imagine if Tony Montana was delivering the line. Classic.
For the record, it sounds wonderful. No new notes, but a tight sub-75Hz.
Equipped, I drove back home the night before Christmas while rocking out to some badass mixes by Sledg (I'll post them if anyone is interested). I crashed early and spent Christmas eve day wrapping presents and communing with my parents. When Kim's flight came in, I was at the airport to pick her up. We stop by her mother's house before making our way to my homestead. The rest of the night was spent in parental conversation over tequilla.
Christmas day was wonderful. We opened up our gifts (I made out like a viking!) and ate some nice breakfast. Kim and I then took the renegade[1] out to celebrate Jesus' birthday. He is the reason for the season, you know. We tore around the fields and threw lots of mud around, giggling like little bitches the whole time. Then we shot guns. It's so sexy when Kim brandishes a pistol...
MERRY CHRISTMAS AMERICA.
[1] -- "The Renegade" -- a machine built by my father for farm work and general mischief. A 1986 Subaru GL hatchback with the rear-half removed, welded shit and turned into a flatbed. The rear window has a gunrack. Coffee-cans with speakers are strapped behind the seats, hooked up to a tape-deck with Neil Young's WELD stuck inside. The low 4x4 can climb a tree.
In terms of gifts, I decided to get Kim a laptop. I should have gotten her a nice new laptop, but I got her the computer I would have purchased to use myself -- an IBM thinkpad t23. It's a brick-shithouse. Plus, it's got more than enough power for the girl. It's a sexy little machine. Solid.
I also made a painting for her. My most ambitious stencil work to date. Got sprayed on a 12"x24" canvas. Pink. It's probably the fruitiest thing I've ever created, but my girl secretly still likes unicorns (but not horses -- she fucking hates horses). It's also kind of tounge in cheek. Stencil drawing is below. Took me ages to cut out, despite me being a master extacto-fu. It turned out really nice.
She's about to raid a glue factory and kill all the workers.
Ms. Kim had to catch a ride back to the Portland area with a friend on account of her work schedule. I stuck around for one more day and hung out with the parents. I spent much of the morning in the shop with the old man, fashioning a box for the trunk of my car. It holds my jack, my tools, and ensures that they wont be sliding around all wishy-washy. It looks and functions real nice. Fascinating, I know.
The drive back was horrible. Snow covered the first half and a torrential downpour blanketed the second. 5 hours of full-on, white-knuckle driving. I make it 272 miles back -- the place in the journey where I exit Interstate 5. The "Home Stretch," as they say.
Anatomy of Eric's almost-car-crash:
Time: 7pm
Weather: really really really really wet.
Visibility: Limited.
Music: Relationship of Command (LOUDLY).
I'm traveling in the right lane, which is clear for the next mile or so. The lane in the left is stopped, since it is a merge lane with the interstate. I'm clipping along at 45mph, glad to be back in Portlandish area.
Jerkdick decides he's going to hit his blinker at the same moment he cranks his wheels and starts accelerating into my lane. This happens in a jiffy, which is exactly 1/60th of a second.
I cock my wheel and hit the breaks. There is a lot of water of the roads. I lose traction and slide, at an angle, across the line. The black bar in the picture is a concrete wall in real life. For a moment, I was totally out of control of my vehicle. Withing a snap, my wheels catch traction and I swerve back into the lane. How I did not hit their car or the wall is a fucking miracle. It was an amazingly narrow path. I would like to thank the plastic 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' figurine I purchased from a $0.25 vending machine. Ay dios mio!
I slept it off, saying prayers to the patron saint of car accidents. I then spent the next 4 days either doting on my lady (ie: working bugs out of her laptop) or teaching myself Flex.
Flex is amazingly effective. It's not the right tool for every web-app, but dang, it's so damn slick. It also looks the same in every flash-compatible browser, which is so nice, coming from the wicked world of HTML/ CSS rendering issues. I'm redoing my current gallery with it. It's in progress but I'll post a link when I'm done.
New Years was spent with the woman. I drank Tequilla, which I didn't really regret in the morning -- not *too* much. Also, Dick Clark needs to stop. Please, Dick, stop.
I love you all.
other than that, so nice to read your words. we miss all things oregon over here. updates are sweet currency to reluctant NW ex-pats.
be good.
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