i was tired of looking at the negativity emanating from my last entry. i'm not a negative person, and i don't really talk like that. so, positivity. here it is.

i like learning italian. my professor is from south italy, and he's really funny. that's kind of random.

i installed fedora on my newer laptop (with compiz-fusion) and it's amazing. unfortunately, i must keep windows xp until i figure out how to make my ipod touch sync with rhythmbox, and how to get propellerhead reason to run in wine (which i haven't yet attempted). other than those, i can't think of a single reason to hold onto xp, especially since i sold my WoW account (!).

i got accepted to the Google Summer of Code. i'll be working on Dojo, developing an intuitive and user-friendly animation toolset for animating elements on a page. it will be a lot of work, but it will definitely pay off (my credit cards).

my parents told me that if i sell my jeep, they'll buy a (cheap) car for me, since they've provided a car for my other siblings and i've always gotten the hand-me-down or the free junker. so, since i've been wanting to try my hand at HDRI, i took photos of my jeep and am now about to compose them into some (hopefully) amazing art.

and thank God for tax returns. i really do.

It's 10:30pm, and I've just walked into the men's restroom to take out the trash before I leave when I hear the phone ring. I turn around and rush to answer the phone on the third ring. "Thank you for calling Champps at Easton, Columbus' premier sports bar. This is Craig; how can I help you?" I hear a loud mumbling as I turn down the volume on the phone. "I'm sorry?"
"Hello? Can you hear me loud and clear?"
"Yes."
"You sound kinda muffled, son. Speak up like you got a pair."
"Ok. What can I do for you?"
At this point, I expect the man on the other end to laugh and tell me he's actually a Champps employee and ask to speak to so-and-so. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
"I'm pissed off. I just had some shitty room-service and I'm pissed, but that's not your fault. What kind of steaks you got?"
I offer a steak from the standard menu, but apparently that isn't good enough.
"What's the most expensive steak you got? I'm really pissed; I had some shitty room-service."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Not your fault."
"Let me get our steak menu. One second."
After retrieving the steak/wine menu, I list the three most expensive steaks. I begin to read the description for the third steak, trying to sound like I'm not reading from the menu, but I read too far.
"...Juicy and rich in flavor. (Oops.)"
"I'll have that...as long as it's rich in flavor."
"(Heh) Ok, let me make sure we can actually serve these steaks to-go."
Apparently, the man is just waiting for something to set him off. He's been dying to flex his asshole muscles and dump his load of putrid shit on me.
"Dammit, I called the wrong place again! Fuckin' this, piece of shit that, etc...How long've you been working here, son?"
"A few months. The steak menu is fairly new, and I've never had anyone order a steak from this menu to-go."
"I don't fucking care. I'm from New York. When I want something, I want it now. When I order a steak, I want you to tell me it'll be ready in fifteen fucking minutes. Now, I want..."
Click.

I know it's the right thing to do, but I instantly regret saying nothing. I would love to had said something along the lines of, "Sir, I'll give you whatever you want if you can answer one question for me. Why should I give a fuck who you are or where you're from? ... That's what I thought. You had shitty room-service because you're a fucking asshole. I'm sure you're used to everyone in New York bending over and taking your shit, but around here, we treat people with at least some basic respect. Have a good night, and go fuck yourself." Click.

now i remember why i don't like school...i like my time. i want it back.

returning, but new. afraid, though confident. tired, yet alert. inspired, still fruitless. alone, although comfortable.

otherwise, i wouldn't even be able to write this. 12/21 isn't bad, but i definitely wouldn't have been able to type my password to write this, which alone took me several minutes.

"grats on the ding!"
this isn't a game. but thanks.