Fear the Crab

I bought my truck today! I got a great deal, and all the options I wanted, and everything fits into my budget. It’ll take at least a month or so before the truck gets here, as it’s the new 2003 model. Toyota City is going to call me when the truck arrives, and at that point I will bring my current car in for appraisal towards the trade-in. After that it’ll take perhaps a week to install the dealer options, and then I get to take it home. I must remember to fix that air conditioner compressor before the truck gets here, otherwise that will really lower the trade-in amount. Once that truck is mine, I need to make arrangements for some window tint, dash cover, and a car cover. I’m not sure where I can look to get a car cover, especially one made for a truck, but I’m certain there’s somebody out there who can tell me, or at least point me in the right direction.

I made the decision to try and quit smoking. There’s news that beginning in October, the price will go up by $1. That means it’ll cost at least $5.75 for a pack, and that’s usually at the local mom-and-pop liquor stores. Department/convenience stores will probably see a 10 to 25 cent markup. If that’s not bad enough, this is only the first phase of the cigarette tax. The plan is to hike the price of tobacco up to $8 a pack. If that’s not incentive to quit smoking, the deprecation of health certainly is. Maile, George and I all plan to try and help each other quit, which I think will be a really big boost in confidence and willpower. By supporting each other, hopefully we’ll be able to resist the urges of lighting up whenever we feel like it.

One of the problems I seem to have with cigarettes is that smoking seems to be part of my daily routine. On average, I smoke a cigarette on my way to work, one right before work, one during a “bathroom break,” three on my normal break, and one on my way home from work. Add to that a smoke or two at home, and I’m close to half a pack per day. Perhaps that’s not as bad as many of the horror stories about 3-4 packs a day, but in my eyes (or lungs, as the case may be), it’s still not healthy.

On a related note, I made an observation that, while many non-smokers see smokers as being rude and obnoxious people, it seems a vast majority of smokers are very VERY polite to one another. I’m sure this isn’t always the case, but I’ve heard and experienced moments where someone will approach a smoker and ask to bum a cigarette. Very rarely will that smoker refuse. There’s also occasions where someone will have trouble lighting up their cigarette, and I’ll walk over and offer my lighter. This smoker is a complete stranger, someone I’ve never met before and I’ll probably never see again, but there I am lighting up their cancer stick. It’s almost strange enough to make you think that if every single person in the world smoked, we’d have world peace! We’d feel kinship with one another regardless of race or religion, because we’re all in the same boat of taking that big drag of nicotine. I can imagine someone from the al-Qaeda smoking a cigarette, when an American GI comes up and asks to bum one, or borrow a lighter.

“Sure, friend!” the al-Qaeda will say.
“Thanks, man,” the GI will say. “Hey, where’s an ashtray around here?”
The al-Qaeda will answer, “It’s a fuckin’ desert; throw it anywhere!”

“Imagine all the people.. sharing a drag or threeee oo hoo oo oo o..”

I was at my house, but it was different that what it is in real life. The house was bigger, and there were more people. I remember wandering through the house, visiting all the rooms, and I somehow ended up outside a large convention center. I walked in through the loading zone, and found myself smack dab in the middle of the Kidz Bop television concert. These kids were doing little routines, singing along to the top hits. I left before I would be trapped and/or ruin that concert, and I came across Maile walking Titan. For some unknown reason, Maile was very upset with me (even though Titan was very happy to see me), and I tried to find out what had happened, what I did that caused her to be mad at me. Then a lady came up and took me by the arm, leading me somewhere because it was my turn. I was back at the convention hall where this time a game show was going on. The lady told me that I was next, so I should be ready. The contestant in front of me had to pilot a simulation helicopter while drinking a cup of water. He didn’t win, but he got a consolation prize. Then it was my turn, and I didn’t know what my task was to be. As they were announcing it, the lady informed me that my prize would be going to Tim Dilessio, the evil VP of duty free, because I work for him. That got me very upset, and I became very rude to everybody involved with the game show. When my task was announced, I discovered that it was called Manhunt, and the show staff were going to try and hunt me down before I made it to a safe zone. I had never heard of this game, nor did I know how to “play” it, but IL found myself outside in my garage and all the cars were gone. It was nighttime, and the show was still playing inside the house. Another lady walked up to me and asked, “Any university?” to which I replied, “yes.” She yelled out “Any university!” back to the house, letting them know that I had chosen as my safe zone any university campus. I immediately took off running down the street, where it was surprisingly crowded with people. I found myself slowing down so as not to draw suspicion, and I remember being in a group of Y—– Giants baseball players. They were local, but they were complaining to me how Japanese always confused them with the Yomiuri Giants, as if they were an expansion team that played in Hawaii. I kept up a pleasant conversation with them, even though I could hear the helicopters in the background and I knew those copters were coming for me. I found myself in town, and it was daylight, and the streets were crowded, and all the time I could hear those helicopters. I knew that I was close to a university campus, because I had visited that campus some time ago and recognized the area. Before I could cross the street, I heard the helicopter coming in low, so I ducked behind a tree even though my body was screaming for me to cross the street running. I knew that if I started to cross, they would see me and it’d be over. As I hid behind the tree, I peeked out and saw that there were actually two helicopters, and they started to land to unload the “search team,” these people in jeans and brown t-shirts who were assigned to capture me. I started to take a roundabout path towards the university campus, but it seemed as though no matter where I went, those man hunters were always around, even though they couldn’t see me. I managed to summon up my courage, and wait for them to pass before “following them” and blending into the crowd. At least, that was my plan, but I don’t know how it turned out as the dream ended.

These customers were all leaving either tomorrow or the day after, so they decided to do all their shopping while they still had a chance. It kept me occupied enough that I didn’t get bored.

Maile told me her brother got some paternity papers from the state. It seems the woman he’s involved with has a long history of child neglect, abuse, and outright uncool stuff. It seems the woman has borne a plethora of kids, and all of them have been taken away. The state wants Keoni to take a paternity test to see if the child is really his (because neither he nor the woman are really that sure), and if so, whether he will take the baby or give it up to foster care. If the child does turn out to be his, I don’t really see him being able to take care of it, so it’s likely that kid will go to the state.

Maile also told me that Keoni knew about the woman’s history with kids, and even told a social worker to “check on her” because of her record. Perhaps he did it out of spite, but it’s possible that he did it out of actual concern for the child. I guess every person has their moment, and I’d really like to think that Keoni still retains some decency. It’s not healthy for me to continue thinking of him in ill-respect, if that makes sense. I’d rather consider (and treat) him as a human being, not some worthless fubar wasting precious air.

Today was Janet’s last day at Sports Authority, and I’m happy for her. It seems she’s having some trouble with her unemployment, though, as there are a few requirements of her that make no sense to the rest of us. She wants to collect partial unemployment, but the office is telling her that she needs to look for another full-time job.

Hopefully Janet’s situation can be resolved before her trip abroad. I asked her if she could buy me a bottle of Armani Gio and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. I’d give her the money, of course.

Tomorrow I go down to Toyota City and talk the talk with Bob. I hope to get a good deal on the truck I want. Armed with the MSRP as well as the actual invoice price, that knowledge may provide me with a bit of leverage when determining the final tally.

Spent much of the day in school, as is the usual for a Thursday. I managed to debug my Java program, so now it completely works and fulfills the requirements stated in the assignment. There are probably a million ways I could have made the program better, but now is not the time to think of them. I’d say I don’t even know half of Java’s capabilities.

Ate at Kyoya for dinner, with the family. I had the sashimi teishoku with an appetizer of hamachi sashimi, and a bottle of hot sake. I actually ate the hamachi for “dessert,” saving it for last because it’s my favorite.

I talked to Maile tonight and we gossiped about our day in school and the various events that took place. Maile knows some interesting people in her classes, more than myself, though it’s likely because she is taking core requirements that apply to everyone, rather than what I am taking; specialized fields. In my classes, everyone seems pretty “normal” to me, that is to say, they don’t seem too much crazier than I could hope to be.

If none of this makes any sense, I apologize. The mind does not function properly after it’s been awake for 22 hours.

Did some touch-up work on my homework assignment, fixing up some code and generally trying to make it look decent and organized. I still can’t figure out that bug, though.

Took Titan to the school at night, while it was cool. He ran around again and seemed to have a jolly ol’ time, though as with all fun it had to end too soon. I have to wake up early the next day, after all.

It’s odd how the day works. I went to bed last night at 2130 hours, hoping to get at least 7 hours of sleep before 0400. Yet it was at 0330 that I awoke, and since I was already up (and leery of challenging the alarm clock) I got out of bed and made a pot of coffee. I spent the next hour trying to figure out some of the Java code that’s due for homework, then got ready and left for school.

It only took me 20 minutes to get to campus and find a parking stall. That just gave me more time to work on that code. Unfortunately, the progress I had made earlier in the morning did little to further my efforts. I went to my math class, and spent that hour teetering on the edge of understanding and confusion. Probability seems very easy to grasp, but something in the back of my head is shorting out as it tries to comprehend other problems involving probability.

I ate breakfast at Paradise Palms; the usual fare of fried rice, scrambled eggs, portuguese sausage, and spam. Since I was eating, I didn’t want to work on my code, and since it’s not due until next Monday, I figured I had plenty of time. That time certainly came into play early, as I browsed onto Microsoft’s Windows Update page, and found a service pack for XP. That bloke took me nearly an hour to download, then another 15 minutes to install. I just hope it was worth it.

I managed to talk to one of my classmates, and together we looked at the code we programmed for ICS 211. Much kudos to him, because he was able to help me get past a few hurdles I couldn’t get around. Thanks to his help, I can now say that I’m finished with the assignment, and I have already turned it in. The big question is whether or not the program will run on a UNIX machine, since that’s what the TAs and professor will be testing it on. I FTPd the assignment into my UHUnix account, and did some test runs, and did not come across anything different or explosive. Instead of being satisfied, I’m worried that something else will happen that I was unable to foresee and ruin my grade. My goal over the next several days is to log on and try as many test cases as I can think of to “break” the code and discover any bugs. Perhaps a fresh night’s sleep will help clear the mind.

I must also remember to begin work on my math assignments. It’s not due for another two weeks, but it’s best to get an early start, especially with my brain’s inability to function properly in times of crises.

On a side note: A bottle of whiskey is $10. The whiskey itself is $9 more than the bottle. How much is the bottle?

This woman was trying to teach me how to surf. We were at a river, which was calm and not too choppy, and I was told to go out there while she stayed on the riverbed. Strangely enough, there were waves on the river, so I was able to catch some. Then the wind shifted, and instead of waves moving towards shore, the waves went downstream. I was able to catch some waves going that way, and eventually ended up in another part of town where this girl asked me if I could surf in Norway. The woman who was teaching me said that of course I could surf in Norway, and I kept trying to imagine how a river in Norway would be and whether or not the waves would be as big as this. Then the three of us were at this gymnasium, me still with my surfboard, and we were trying to avoid the members of this karate dojo. It seemed this dojo had taken up the entire gym, and were similar to what you’d find in a bad karate movie (evil sensei, evil students, etc). My entire dream seemed to turn into a bad karate movie, complete with awful auto-dubbed English dialogue, as the three of us tried to sneak our way around the gymnasium without alerting the evil karate students and their masters. I even had fast-fowards where this one guy snooped through the evil sensei’s room to look for clues as to the dojo’s purpose (in life, I guess), and ended up getting killed by the master himself for his insolence.

Work was pleasant enough, though I was in the duty free section by myself. Thankfully George was also working, so it meant I had someone to converse with. Work itself was slow, with few people wandering about the section. Duty Paid saw a little more action, especially with that Fuller convention still on the premises. I think I sold things to maybe four customers total for my entire shift.

I made an “appointment” to see a sales manager at Toyota City for Wednesday. My intent is to get a price list of the Tacoma and all the options I want, and see if it jives with what I’ve gotten from the web site. I also intend to ask if Toyota City offers services like tinting and alarms, because I may as well get it done through them (factory-installed, as it would be) rather than wait until a third party can do it. This way, too, I shouldn’t have as big a headache if it turns out to be illegal (ie tinting).

The only problem, though, is that it seems Toyota City has only the regular cab Tacomas on hand. This information has not been confirmed, but it is enough to indicate that I may have to wait longer to get the truck I want. I don’t know if they’d have to ship it from another dealer on the mainland, or order it from the factory. Whichever is the case, I may as well go for the 2003 model.

It was boring at work. There was nobody to talk to and I actually had to help customers. To top it all off, the big group that’s staying at the hotel are from Puerto Rico and Mexico, and they only speak Spanish. I think the group guides can speak English, but that’s a ratio of maybe one to one hundred. I’m actually looking forward to going to school on Tuesday.

Not much else went on today. I did finally decide on which truck I wanted to get, and that is the Tacoma. Both the Frontier and Tacoma had strong points and some weak points, but overall it seems the Tacoma is better suited for what I want to do. Sure, the Frontier is supposed to handle better on the highway, but the interior is said to be uncomfortable. However, what ultimately was the deciding factor was which car certain other people really liked. Now it is simply a matter of heading down to Toyota City and talking with the staff. Of course, there could be all sorts of problems that may occur while I’m down there, but at least the decision-making process is done, and now I can get down to other serious business.

She still has to see a doctor next week to ensure it’s not something serious. This has relieved me tremendously; I almost burped my stomach out this morning, and I think it was because I’ve been so worried about the whole situation. I can now only hope that her next clinical visit will show nothing’s wrong, and also that the experience won’t be as painful as the last one.

I polished my boots tonight at George’s house. It was the first time I had ever taken a brush and wax to any of my footwear, but it’s a lot more simple than I had originally thought it would be. I think I was feeling a little anxious about the whole thing, not only because it was the first time I had done it, but because it’s nerve-racking when you’re doing something you’ve never done before to something you’ve invested some money into. It’s like trying out a brand new bottle of carwash for a brand new automobile. In the end it was all for naught, and now my boots look a bit more like how I bought them. I did notice, however, that the crease that normally comes from everyday wear on the right boot isn’t as “crisp” as the left, and that seems to make the left boot a bit more cleaner. Well, so long as I keep up the maintenance every couple of weeks or so, I shouldn’t have to worry. Now if I could only keep that mindset for my car…