Hi.

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm still in San Diego awaiting yet another Craigslist potential buyer/murderer.

But I saw my condo posted on craigslist. My landlord lives 150 miles away; we've never met so we go through a third party. It's odd, watching others rent out your place before you've left, without telling you about it, without coming in to look inside. Even in this economy, the rent's going up to $1400. What fool is going to pay that?? My neighbor crams 5-7 into his place. You'd need that many to justify the rent.

Here's a second floor version, I like how their layout is just like mine. I don't know them but we have the same rug-sofa-tv-bed setup, almost down to type of furniture, color, general ghettoness except for the awesome tv. I like that it's messy, uncoordinated, large animal(?) on the rug. And I bet his tv actually belongs to someone else too.

My Foreclosure Story & OCD

You know what happens the day after you pass the bar exam? You realize that you still don't have a job. And you've now lost your only excuse. The economy is not an excuse for not getting a entry-lvl law jobs, only Asian parents wish this was true.

But I'm getting very good at telling my foreclosure story.

Furniture Buyer: So where are you moving?

Me: San Jose.

FB: (Look of horror). Well, I hear the jobs up there pay really well.

Me: I hope so because I can't get a job here, so I have to move back in with my parents.

FB: Oooh. (Awkward silence). (Looks around at the HDTV, the Nordstrom bag, the case of wine, the Kindle on the floor). How much does this apartment cost? Did you consider moving someplace smaller?

At least she bought my table.

To save myself from ridicule...only the Kindle is mine and that was a gift from my brother who's made more at age 25 than I'll make in my entire life. And ya, Kindles are awesome.

Probably adding on to why I can't get a job, I am socially retarded. You see, in times of economic distress, those of us with borderline OCD find comfort in restoring geometry and order to the universe. I created a Canada collage, mounted on pieces of moving boxes. This took me way longer and was much more comforting than going out with normal people.



And here, because I dont want to make a post just for this picture, is Old Mission Dam. Located in Mission Trails Regional Park, maybe just 4 miles from Qualcomm stadium, but very remote.

Things I'll Never See Again

For some insane reason, I went to Julian over the weekend. Julian borders the Anze Borrego desert so with a storm coming, I thought I'd catch a desert flash flood. Like the awesome ones on the nature shows, complete with the fast-forwarding of the clouds. Sadly sometimes reality just isn't reflected on television.

For example, it did rain. But it was ice-rain. And I found no refuge in town, every city dweller in their best pair of Uggs and faux-Northface gear lined up out the door of every pie shop. And flood...only the road flooded. Not a good thing when you don't have an off road vehicle.

Here's Lake Cuyamaca @ 39 degrees. Colder than Chicago and Ann Arbor and all the places I've visited this year.



Oh and San Diego doesn't know this yet and San Diego wouldn't care, but I'm leaving. I still think it's a piece of paradise and those that live here are the luckiest people in the world. But they won't let me stay.

I used to commute to work on these freeways. Both of them at different points in time.

Halloween Part 2 But Real

You know how the xkcd people have a crazy obsession with velociraptors? I've got one with spiders. Except spiders aren't extinct. First came the large black ones with antlers. It took me 3 years to figure out how to get rid of them. I spray them with water, put a bucket on top and then vacuum up their bodies a few weeks later.

Well, they came for revenge. They (the spider people) sent a Giant Furry Striped Spider. It's perched outside my window.

Size comparison:



This "spider," more of an abomination of nature, a mistake in creation, is also what my cat would look like if she were a spider. Furry, orange, striped, indestructible.

Details:


I saw it eat ANOTHER SPIDER. It's going to obscure my window with its spider silks. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Halloween & Muffy

Happy Dia de los Muertos. Muffy finally squeezed into her holiday costume! We got the on-sale santa coat, figuring we'd use it for all the holidays and our holiday parties and holiday cards. Because Muffy and me - total holiday spirits. It came in chihuahua size. Muffy's about 1inch too thick around the middle, but a week of running around didn't reduce her size. It's ok though because she sucked it in.

I told her to look scary for the camera so she put on her scary deranged cat sneer.

She can also sleep in the coat. Actually, the costume is so tight she can't move. BUT most sexy costumes are so tight you can't move or breathe (see playboy bunnies), so this is really just part of the glamour. On the top left you can see a claw she lost during the struggle.


Now she's going to play Santa. So here she is, trudging along the snow carrying all the gifts. We couldn't really fit her arms into the coat because she's not a chihuahua. But Santa's kinda chubby too.

Relaxing after a long day's work. I was going to put a beer by her in this shot, but that's too Lolcat-like. And my cat's not going to be a lolcat.


One day we'll do costume + leash and the resulting pictures will either destroy the Internet, or get me arrested for cat abuse.