Friday, November 27, 2009

Oakley

It hasn't been more than a month but it still keeps me up at night. Never gets any easier to deal with.

I miss my little guy.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

LA Fires/StrengthsFinder

Yeah, these massive fires aren't going to cut it. It's been flurrying ash all day. I find myself holding my breath and running to the car to avoid getting smoke and flakes of ash in my lungs. The no rain has been great, but I'll take a day or two of it now to get rid of the smoke/ash/fire that is slowly killing me.

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Took a test called StrengthsFinder today to find out what my best qualities are. I would have never done this but my aunt bought me a book that had this test I could take online to analyze my strengths and how to best utilize them. Here are my five characteristics:

1. Futuristic.
People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

Instinctively, you have a capacity for envisioning what the coming months, years, or decades could, should, or will be like. Frequently you are prompted to transform your ideas into things you can touch, taste, see, smell, or hear. Driven by your talents, you may be more innovative when you have ample time to process ideas. When you are not pressured to think fast, you might generate numerous original proposals, alternatives, or tactics for the coming months, years, or decades. Because of your strengths, you are a visionary thinker. Your vivid mental images of the coming months, years, or decades often impel you to move into action. By nature, you sometimes envision mental pictures of what you want your world or yourself to look like weeks, months, years, or decades from now. Chances are good that you gain a certain degree of satisfaction from envisioning what your life and the world might be like in the coming months, years, or decades.

2. Competition.
People who are especially talented in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.

It’s very likely that you are driven to be the very best. This explains why you continue to forge ahead in the face of difficulties or even near exhaustion. When comparisons are made, you yearn to be the winner. Your motivation to excel likely matches your need to be declared trustworthy, knowledgeable, and accomplished. Instinctively, you sometimes outwit people by capitalizing on your ingenuity — that is, your originality. When scores are being tallied, you might rely on your talents to emerge the victor. Chances are good that you are typically enthused about what you can accomplish in the coming months, years, or decades. Your ability to think about the future naturally feeds your desire to be the very best. Because of your strengths, you typically are friendly and responsive to people, especially when doing so positions you to capture the top prize and the championship title. Driven by your talents, you are hardwired to compare your performance to that of others. You always want to know the score. You are exhilarated when you realize you have triumphed over all other contenders.

3. Restorative.
People who are especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

Chances are good that you may create opportunities to spend time thinking with forward-looking people. You might rely on their vivid imaginations to help you figure out how to fix things in your personal or professional life. By nature, you might go out of your way to do what you promised. Sometimes you are impelled to follow the rules of your conscience. Is it any wonder that you may take time to think about certain things you could do or should do better? Driven by your talents, you may consider ways you can enhance standardized procedures that already serve you well. You might understand the importance of doing certain tasks or activities the same way day after day. Even so, you might be inclined to make some things better when the opportunity presents itself. Because of your strengths, you occasionally set aside time to identify some things you need to do better. When you become more efficient, you might increase your chances of amassing personal wealth. Instinctively, you now and then take pride in being a good trainer or instructor. With certain individuals, you are determined to discover better ways to educate them. Perhaps you concentrate their attention on specific areas of knowledge or particular skills.

4. Adaptability
People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.”
They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

By nature, you occasionally rely on your intuition to make the right decisions as events unfold. Instinctively, you might deal with the requests or problems of others as soon as you learn about them. Driven by your talents, you occasionally wait for situations or problems to arise, rather than plan in advance. If something or someone unexpectedly blocks your progress, you might easily find ways to adjust. Perhaps sudden changes force you to consider upgrades or tactics you had not thought of earlier. Chances are good that you traditionally prefer to work independently. When you have only your work, studies, resources, and time to manage, you are able to contend with the day’s events as they unfold. You usually like to make decisions and act on them without being required to seek and receive the approval of one or more people. Because of your strengths, you picture yourself handling situations and issues that could arise in the coming months, years, or decades. You mentally rehearse what you plan to do in various worst-case and best-case scenarios. Your forethought prepares you to deal with whatever happens. You are a flexible person. You are not easily flustered by unexpected events, problems, or opportunities.

5. Significance.
People who are especially talented in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.

Because of your strengths, you may be more pleased with your own circumstances in life each time you can convince people they are faring well, prospering, progressing, or improving. Perhaps you even influence some of them to concentrate on the best parts of their lives rather than grumble about their problems. By nature, you want people to listen attentively to you. You expect them to take seriously what you say. Driven by your talents, you are determined to be in charge of your own destiny. This is your life. You intend to be the ultimate decision maker regarding personal and professional matters. It’s very likely that you devote yourself to understanding cause-and-effect relationships. You derive satisfaction from sharing what you know. You have a reputation for finding the right answers. This motivates you to examine why things function the way they do. You are equally interested in discovering why other things fail to operate properly. Instinctively, you take charge of your future. You are determined to shape it as you wish. You probably spend a lot of time thinking about your goals. You are driven to create the experiences you desire. You tend to agree with the notion “If you can think it, you can make it happen.”


Does this sound like me at all?


Going home soon.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

In Pain

It took three days for me to buy a chair. Before that I was sitting on the floor like I was playing Duck Duck Goose in the first grade. Now all I want to do is lay back down on the floor. Assembling an apartment's worth of furniture sucks and I'm not quite done yet.

The weather has been great so far and when I combine the fact that there was no rain the last time I was in LA, I've come to the conclusion that it never rains here. Also, it's never below 65 during the afternoon. I can get used to wearing shorts out everyday.

Monday, June 1, 2009

It's official

My flight is on June 14th. Same as my move-in date. It hasn't really hit me yet but I'm sure it will once I realize that I'm not packed and that the things I need shipped over there won't get there until a week after I do.

Furniture shopping makes me poor.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Shakey shakey

So I've been here for three days and there have been two earthquakes. I haven't even MOVED here yet and already I think LA is telling me to get the fuck out.