Tempting....

I spend way too much time on Cute Overload.

Nice layout...

I've finally got my blog how I want it (for now). It's been fun playing with HTML, but it's really time consuming when you have no idea what you're doing.

Brewery Art Walk, April 5 - 6

Can't wait. For now, my cat and I have some Cheesing to do.

Messing around with HTML

So my offsets are still a bit tweaked, but I've managed to embed a YouTube video feed in my blog and widen all of my text boxes to accommodate it. HTML is fun!

I <3 Portishead

I've been listening to their new song 'Machine Gun' non-stop today. I also love that they pulled a still from 'They Live' for their myspace page (www.myspace.com/PORTISHEADALBUM3). It doesn't really fit with their music, but I like the retro subversiveness of it. Can't wait for their new album 'Third' in late April (just before my bday).

Reality has a liberal bias…

Despite the total lack of insightful political analysis on my blog (sorry), I do, in fact, have opinions on topics that stray beyond what I did last weekend; one of which is health education.

According to a new study from the University of Washington (go Huskies!) “Students who receive comprehensive sex education are half as likely to become teen parents as those who get none or abstinence-only sex education”. Hmmmm….so maybe if we wanted to cut down on unwanted teen pregnancies, we should stop resorting to self-righteous calls for chastity and irrational fear tactics.

A part of becoming an adult is accepting the consequences of your actions. However, one of the responsibilities of our society is to minimize the harm done when immature kids have accidents, are the victims of assault, or simply make bad choices. The whole ‘that’s what you get for being immoral’ thing is callous and short-sighted. We’ve collectively decided to saturate our society in sexual imagery, so how about balancing that out with some realistic health education so our kids can make good choices?

It’s the principle of harm reduction; people will do things that we don’t agree with, but instead of ignoring problems or moralizing, we should roll up our sleeves and look at ways to minimize the behavior or mitigate its impact. Simple things like providing comprehensive health education, improving access to contraceptives, and creating a climate of open dialogue can go a long way towards preventing teenage pregnancy and reducing its lasting social costs (Freakonomics has an interesting slant on this). At the very least, ditch the myopic ‘abstinence only’ mentality and start thinking about Plan B. Even if it means having awkward and frank discussions about the messy realities of life, it’s worth pursuing a more pragmatic and better functioning society.

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Secondhand paintings...

I found this at the Goodwill in Santa Monica the other day. It's pretty unremarkable, but I love it. When I was young, I would often spend the weekends at my grandparents house, playing cards, tossing a Frisbee with my brother, riding bikes through tranquil suburban streets. Their house was always neat and modern in a 1950's sort of way; simple, sturdy wood furniture lovingly crafted with smooth lines and light finishes, ornately patterned finishes on angular couches, yellow vinyl floor tiles with a vaguely cubic geometric pattern. The whole place felt like the late afternoon sunshine on a still summer day, the sounds of children playing drifting on a distant breeze. They had a painting of a battered dinghy washed up on a stony beach, bleached after years of sun and salt. The mood is the same is my secondhand painting. The nostalgia is warm in my heart.

Moving on...

Sigh. Sometimes I can't help but to replay the last six months in my mind, wondering if I've made the right choices, thinking about what could have been. I thought I had a partner in life that I could depend on, that was stable and committed, but I didn't. They let me down and it's going to take some time before I trust someone like that again. Still, time moves on and so must I. These moments will pass and fade with the coming years. I'll make new memories and build a life full of happiness and love. For now, it's just getting through to the morning light.

Life is good and full of sleep

Work is going well again; getting back in my stride, balancing relationships, and hitting the marks. I’m spending more time in Irvine over the next few weeks, which is nice because I’ll get to see more of my awesome SoCal teammates!

Still getting over this flu/cold/bronchitis thing, so my weekend was pretty lazy. Friday I got home late and went straight to bed. Saturday was a laid back dinner/movie date. Sunday I slept in, read The Economist, then got in a couple hours of surfing in Santa Monica. The winds were crazy and the waves were huge, but they were breaking pretty far offshore, so I got some long rides on the frothy wash. I got up four or five times and had some great rides.

The next couple of weeks will be super busy at the office, so for now it’s back to work.

Sick...

Gotta fever and chills and my head is killing me. Today is all about sleep.

Laid back weekend...

Nothing much going on, did some volunteer work with Reading To Kids.org on Saturday morning then went surfing and hiking today. Time to sleep.

Stressed out...

It’s been a tough week, just soooooo much going on at work; lots of demands from lots of different directions and trying to balance all of the competing priorities. Working with multiple teams is such a balancing act.

I’ve also been a bit depressed lately. In addition to work, a lot of my friends and family are enduring personal challenges of varying severity, so I’m trying to be as supportive as I can with what little I’ve got left in me. I’ve had a lot of drama and heartbreak in my life since returning from the UK. Both my parents have been hospitalized, my friend had a brain tumor, two other friends are on the edge of divorce, I've moved twice, started a new job, and been through a major breakup.

My response has been to constantly stay busy, but that’s wearing a bit thin right now and the cracks are showing. I so need a vacation. Can't wait to go surfing again and just clear my mind for a couple of hours.