Monthly Archives
Already : Hatachi Monthly Archives
chicago Sunday May 22
a wonderful weekend spent in chicago with todd, nate, schaffer, and some of the sham-kays kids. we titled it a 'bachelor party'; apparently, society calls for such a gathering prior to next weekend's wedding.
this isn't to say that i did not want to do this, or felt external pressure to do so; rather, i am generally displeased with the stereotypical imagery that most people think of when you mention a 'bachelor party'. if you asked 100 people family feud-style, i'm willing to bet the number one answer would be a 'stripper', followed by 'significant alcohol consumption'.
while i can say that we did have a couple of drinks on friday night, i can say that anyone who knows nathan knows that having a 'stereotypical' gathering for him would have been downright outlandish. nothing went as planned all weekend, and for the most part, there was no plan.
i am finding more that planning your own life is necessary, even if the reality ends up deviating from any plan, but at the same time, attempting to plan life when it relies on external factors (namely, 'other people'), you are usually wasting your time. as such, why bother, and why not just go with the flow?
top ten of 2004-2005 Wednesday May 18
every year since 2002, i've listed the top ten songs of the year that have been relevant in my life. i am not ascribing value to the lyrics, or even saying that these are the best bands ever or the best songs.
but they are the songs for this time, and i list them only for archival purposes. as in the past, i encourage your lists in the comments section.
top ten songs of 2004-2005 academic year
honorable mention
all of reel big fish - turn the radio off
all of the killers - hot fuss
cake - tougher than it is
the list
10: wilco - poor places
9: the who - a quick one
8: kings of leon - the bucket
7: secret machines - nowhere again
6: broken social scene - lover's spit
5: atmosphere - reflections
4: rilo kiley - it's a hit
3: piebald - haven't tried it
2: keane - somewhere only we know
1: cake - wheels
candles Tuesday May 10
plinko, todd, and i took the first steps in our summer o' creativity: we made scented candles last night. pictures to follow soon.
the estate auction Tuesday May 3
for those of you who may not know, i went to pennsylvania last thursday night to help set up for the estate auction for my maternal grandparents that took place on saturday. i had to return to work saturday night, so i was unable to stay for the actual auction, but i did get to set it all up.
a lot of people have asked me how it was, and all i've been able to say is 'surreal'. my grandmother was a pack rat. the favorite story i have that uncle russ told me was that while cleaning the house out, they found two kitchen faucets. apparently, when one faucet had started to leak, they had purchased a new one. after installation, they took the broken, old one and packaged it up inside the new box. and then put it away with all the other junk.
this isn't so surreal. people collect junk, and most of the auction patrons were likely junk collectors themselves. raccoons with shiny objects, these bargain hunters convince themselves that someday, somehow, they will find a way to use that service fork. that speaker cabinet, even if the tweeter's blown, the woofer in it is a 10 inch, pristine! they don't make them like that anymore! do you know how much those things cost these days?
i understand that mentality perfectly; i have it as well. humans are by nature resourceful people who use their environment in creative, new ways to get by. however, when it manifests itself in this way it is not so relevant these days, and it causes more stress for your family when you pass on.
the main task that we had to complete, outside of moving all of the items inside under the tent outside, was moving the items that my aunt nancy had requested out from a bedroom. she hadn't contacted aunt bonnie, who was running the auction, and as such, we moved the items into the tent to be sold along with everything else.
then nancy called and said she'd be coming to pick up her things. enter drama.
at first uncle steve and i were rather indignant; we had just spent a fair amount of time moving all the items underneath the tent. all of our work had been in vain, and nancy had had a fair amount of time to come pick it up beforehand. we defiantly stated that if she wanted to come get it, she could move it herself.
that lasted for about an hour, and then watching bonnie on the phone between the lawyer and a few others, steve just started moving furniture again back out of the tent for nancy. he didn't say anything, he didn't even ask for my help despite the size of the bookshelves. he just started moving things. and that really put a point on the whole experience for me: it really wasn't that we wanted to be there in those circumstances, and it really wasn't that the labor was that bad: truth be told, my pectorals hurt on sunday, and that felt good to work them out.
we were there because we had to be, and because no one else would be.
sometimes you have to abandon the pride. sometimes you have to abandon all the who-said-what and who-should-have-done-what and who-wronged-who, slap a shit-eating grin on your face, and just do it. whatever it is. and when you do that, you don't feel angry, you don't feel cheated: you have fun.
you examine everything that is going your way in life. work stops seeming like work. and that's how it should be in a family. and that's how it was in pennsylvania.
