Fear the Crab

I’ve found that doing the homework assignments immediately after covering the material in class greatly helps my understanding of it. Of course, that’s probably a given to many studious types. Still, it bodes well for my hopes of passing the class. Right now I am .02 points below 50, and according to the professor, anything below 50 means I’m in trouble. Hopefully I will do well in my assignments and have some modicum of success with my exams. The material we are covering now seems a bit more straightforward than previously encountered, so I don’t know if that’s the only reason why it seems I’m doing okay.

Tomorrow is the big interview with the City. According to some inside sources, the interview part will likely consist of questions pertaining to the office’s function of property assessment, such as tax rates and basic exemptions due to age, disability and low income. I understand all of that for the most part, though technical aspects (like the exact amounts) are unknown to me at this time. The written test may possibly involve some basic math and blueprint sketches. The math I’m not too worried about, since it deals primarily with geometry and areas. I know how to read blueprints, though if you were to ask me about details I wouldn’t know oak from redwood and the differences between a house built tongue-in-groove versus otherwise. Aside from the test and office knowledge, the rest is pretty much up to me and what I answer. So long as I give the impression that I’m a hard worker, easily trainable, and willing to learn and work well with others, I have a shot at getting this job.

My dad says they may also ask me which softball team I want to play in. I’m shooting for team A, because I already know a lot of the guys there, and my dad says they’re pretty cool when it comes to playing badly (ie they laugh at you instead of yelling).

The Kikaida DVD is set for release on Oct 15. It will have episodes 1 through 5, and if I get it from Costco I can look to spend about $20 for each. The 15th is a Tuesday, which means I can pick up the DVD after school. I’ll likely buy three if I can get away with it; one for George, one for my brother, and one for me. This also means that I no longer have to worry about taping the darn episodes and missing any, but it also means that my brother will likely have to wait longer for the entire collection. I’m sure he can handle it, though.

I dreamt I was watching George play a video game, when it seemed as though I were watching it up close and personal. I was in the game, and the characters were moving around me in a Mario-esque type of way as they tried to get to a certain location while monsters flew by and around and dropped nasty things. One of the monsters dropped something in my direction, and then I saw a medical team arrive to treat any infections incurred by what the monsters dropped. As the characters were being treated, I looked down at my right forearm and saw what looked like two gray slimy earthworms sticking out of my skin. I tried to pull them out, but they was embedded deep as I could feel the tugging within my arm. I went up to that medical team, and one of them assisted me by literally hooking both earthworm-type thingies with small wires, and pulling them out with some device. The ends of those things popped off with no pain, but now it meant that I could remove the parts inside my arm. Even though my mind was telling me not to do it, I squeezed out my right arm like a toothpaste tube, and this black sticky substance oozed out, followed by six small rubbery nubs, like pencil erasers. I remarked to the medical team that the stupid things left six roots in me, and they seemed pretty surprised.

There was a second part to my dream, that of me being incarcerated in a strange prison. My dad worked at the prison, which meant he had to watch his son spend time in jail. My mom and my sister visited me, and my sister wanted me to help her with her doll collection by getting and sending out the various dolls I would be able to get from prison. What’s weird is that we were all haole, and I don’t have a sister. It felt pretty real, though.