Tag: sketches

Mar 27 2008

Sketch 12

Its the end of the month, and that inevitably means a late weekly post.  Work of course has been incredibly busy, with the monthly MiX event and the upcoming Prov Gathering happening at the same time.  I’m behind in my job search, which is to say, I’ve only applied for one job and never heard back.  I’ve basically got a month to find a new job.  Yikes!

Easter was ok.  As I said in my last post, I didn’t really enjoy the Maundy Thursday service at Beverly Hills.  I missed the Good Friday service at Beverly Hills, because I thought I had to work (which I found out I didn’t 3 hours after the Good Friday service).  I ended up not going to one of the evening options for Good Friday, because I wasn’t feeling well after eating too much pizza while watching basketball in the afternoon.  The Easter service was pretty good though.  It was a little long for my sore back (I had pinched a nerve or something, somehow).  After service, I drove out to Pasadena and met the Canterbury Group for Easter Brunch.  So I at least got a Easter dinner of sorts as well.

I’m off to Salt Lake City for the annual Province VIII Gathering for Ministry in Higher Ed this weekend.  It’ll be nice to get out of the smog of LA.  It may even snow in Salt Lake City.

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Mar 18 2008

Sketch 11

I find myself often overwhelmed and lost living in a city the size of Los Angeles.  So when a friend offered a chance to not only get out of Los Angeles for a couple days, but to get out of the state, I jumped on it.  My friend was trying to convince me that Phoenix is a cool place, because I had made fun of it in the past.  Mainly the thing I don’t like about Phoenix is the sprawl of urban mess, covering way more ground than is needed (and can be supported by natural water sources in the area).  Because we were flying on a seat available basis, we quickly found out that our chances of getting out of LAX were slim to none, however if we drove down to Long Beach, we’d have better luck.  So braving the Friday evening rush hour traffic, we set off for Long Beach in our quest for seats on a plane.

With plenty of time to spare, we managed to get through the rigorous security at Long Beach, and get on the plane.

On Saturday we went for a 5.8 mile hike on the Go John Trail outside of Cave Creek, AZ.  A relatively short drive from Phoenix, away from most of the sprawl that makes up the Phoenix Metro Area.

The wildflowers were in full force and it was just nice to actually get out into nature for a change.  There are more pictures here.Sunday night was the monthly dinner group I’m a part of.  I think that all nine of us ended up showing up this week.  It was a great evening of food, wine, laughing, and discussion.  I made a Guinness Cheesecake for dessert.  It was a great time for sure.

It’s spring break here, so the majority of the students are gone, and I can mainly work from home this week.  I’ve got a lot of personal projects to work on, as well as a couple work projects.  I’m hoping I can make some headway on the personal projects this week.  Good news is that I’ve got my resume updated, so now its just sending it out for jobs and what not.

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Mar 12 2008

Sketch 10

Not a lot happened this past week.  Lots of work and a few movies. 

From Netflix I’ve watched:

Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (1958) — Louis Malle’s first film, which features a beautifully haunting soundtrack from Miles Davis.  The film is called Elevator to the Gallows in the US.

Balls of Fury — A silly stupid comedy about ping pong, death match style.  Mindless entertainment, not great film by any means, but it served its purpose.

Good Luck Chuck — A silly romantic comedy about a guy who is always the guy before the marriage.  Also kind of mindless entertainment.  But Jessica Alba is nice to look at.

Dan In Real Life — Another romantic comedy about a single father of three girls (two teenagers) who also happens to be an advice columnist.  He ends up falling in love with his brothers girlfriend.  Silliness ensues.

Slueth (2007) — Kenneth Branagh remake of the 1972 movie of the same name.  The original screenplay was written by Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter.  Michael Caine reverses his role from the original, playing the aging detective writer, instead of the struggling young actor (he was nominated for an Oscar in the original film version).  I haven’t seen the original however, so I can’t say which was better, just that this was enjoyable.

At the theater I saw The Bank Job.  Set in the 70s, a band of amateur thieves get conned into performing a heist for MI5.  Based on a true story (at least according to the promotions).  I enjoyed it.

I didn’t get as far in my job searching as I would have liked.  But I’m going to wrap up my resume updating by Monday (which is spring break) and really start the search in earnest.

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Mar 06 2008

Sketch 9

Looks like I’m a couple days late on posting my weekly sketch again.  This week I don’t even have a good excuse, I’ve just been lazy.  I did end up making it to the Getty Villa last Saturday.  It was a cloudy morning, threatening rain the entire time.  The Villa holds the antiquities collection of the Getty.  Its designed to resemble a Roman villa from Herculaneum.  Most of the collection consists of sculptures, however there is also some jewels, coins and frescoes as well.  It is of course much smaller than the main Getty Museum, but still quite interesting.  Afterwards, I picked up some cupcakes from Sprinkles and stopped for lunch in Little Ethiopia.

I had to take my car in to the shop, it was making a rubbing noise anytime I turned.  Turns out it was just that the power steering fluid was low.  Apparently the power steering box could use to be replaced, because its got a small leak, but its also $750 for the part.  So the mechanic said, just make sure to top off the fluid if it starts making noise.  With an oil change and a few other minor maintenance things, I managed to escape for under $200.  That made me happy, I was expecting something closer (or exceeding) my $600 budget (which I didn’t really have either).

One of my friends posed an interesting question last week.  Which is worse: getting drunk or pre-marital sex?  As I was thinking about my answer to this question, I also thought about how my answer has changed from when I was in high school to now a few years out of college.  My simplistic current answer would be getting drunk is worse.  Not only does heavy drinking damage your body, it has the potential to damage people around you in both your actions and emotionally.  Pre-marital sex…well my views about the institution of marriage in our current political environment effect my answer on that.  I personally have issues with the “civil” side of marriage.  I don’t think we should be regulating who people can or cannot marry, I mean, if two adults love each other and want to commit to each other, than they should be able to.  So back to the pre-marital sex thing, I believe that sex is an important part of our expression of love towards our chosen partner.  It is still something that is very special and should only be done in the confines of a committed relationship.  So for those people that marriage isn’t an option or that have problems with the institution of marriage, should they not be able to express their love physically?

This weekend I’m going to focus on working on my resume and looking for jobs for after the semester is over.  Right now I’m focusing on three places for my job search, 1)Santa Rosa, 2)LA, 3)Eugene/Portland.

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Feb 28 2008

Sketch 8

Last week was a busy work week, as it was the week leading up to my big monthly event.  Since my event was on Wednesday night, I didn’t quite get to writing up my sketch as I was preoccupied with last minute details for the event.  Mainly, I just worked this past week, but I did manage to fit in a couple trips to the beach though, so that was nice.  It is definitely one of the things that keep me sane in LA.

I had a good conversation with my boss/housemate about what will be happening after the semester is over and my job ends.  We talked about the different scenarios I’m considering, and how we can work on making one of them work.  I really think my top choice is trying to figure out a move to Santa Rosa.  Its in Northern California, which is closer to home, and has at least a little more rain than LA.  Its also about an hour outside of San Francisco, a city I enjoy quite a bit.  The challenge now is to find a job, that I can start in May.  At the very least, I need to work through the end of April, but I’ll probably end up working through the end of finals.  Either way I’ll get paid through May 15th, which is a good thing for my finances.

I’m trying to relax a little today, and will definitely be relaxing this weekend.  I think I’m going to check out the Getty Villa on Saturday.

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Feb 20 2008

Sketch 7

I’m really thinking hard about what I’m going to be doing after my contract ends in May.  I’m thinking about trying to do some schooling/training in wine making (aka oenology) and/or fermentation science (with an emphasis on brewing).  But I have to figure out where and how I’ll do that.

The skinny on schooling:
There are a couple community college programs I know about in oenology.  One is in Santa Maria, CA at Alan Hancock College.  The known pros so far: I’m already in California and technically a resident.  CC tuition is super inexpensive in Cali…$20/credit.  Also basically in the middle of one of the major central coast wine regions.  Would be good for eventually transferring to one of the BS programs at UC-Davis or Fresno State.  The cons:  Santa Maria is a small town.  I have no job, place to live, friends there.  Chemeketa CC in Salem, OR also has a wine making program.  Pros: in Oregon.  Good for transferring to Oregon State’s program.  Close to Oregon Wine Country.  Cons: Much more expensive ($70/credit).  In Salem, which I’m not too excited about the prospect of living there.

*update: I just found a program in Santa Rosa (which is a little north of San Fran). Pretty much the same pros and cons of the Santa Maria program. Only instead of central coast wine country, i’m close to Napa and Sonoma and in the Russian River wine country.

What I don’t know yet…is it enough to just go to one of the community college programs? Should I just take some targeted science classes at a community college and then try and apply to one of the BS programs?  Is there a CC program in WA that would help facilitate transferring to WSU’s program?  Should I just stick to beer and try and find a brewer to apprentice with in Portland?

Anyway, that is the main thing stewing in my head (at least when I get a few moments away from work).

I finally made it up for a brief visit to Griffith Observatory on Friday night.  By the time I got up there it was only open for twenty minutes, but it was still pretty cool.  The sprawl of LA is both impressive and depressing at the same time.  Saturday was largely a day of relaxation, running a few errands and trying to get my desktop computer working again (I didn’t succeed).  Then I went to Sub-Level with some friends later that night.  It was out in the middle of nowhere in an empty warehouse Sun Valley (ewe…i went to a party in the valley).  I was out until almost 6am Sunday morning.  I had lots of fun, but getting up at 10am for church and then working Sunday afternoon wasn’t as fun.  USC observed President’s Day, so I got an extra day of relaxation over the weekend.  Made a trip to Venice Beach and finally did some long overdue cleaning on my room.  It was a very nice weekend.

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Feb 12 2008

Sketch 6

Finally a day off!!!

Saturday, I decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather here in So. Cal. and I drove up to Malibu to check out one of the beaches up there.  It was in the mid-70s.  I just sat on the beach, read, and listened to the ocean.  Oh and called some friends in less friendlier climates…from the beach…to rub it in.

In the evening, I met up with the “Cuddle Call” group at Masa in Echo Park.  It’s a group of young adults doing some sort of ministry.  A place where we can learn and build up each other.  I’m glad to finally have something like this.  I’ve really needed some place where I could find support.  Even though it has pretty much come too late, but that’s a different story.

Work is still incredibly busy and stressful.  Compounding it all, I’m feeling pretty disconnected from God, faith, spirituality.  It makes it difficult to come to work with passion for my projects.  I feel defeated by my job and the largely only negative feedback I’ve been getting pretty much the entire time I’ve been working here.  I know that should challenge me to make things better, but right now I just don’t feel like there is anything I can do.

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Feb 05 2008

Sketch 5

Well I mostly survived last week, despite working every day of it.  My next day off won’t come until Saturday, but the major stress of last week has lessened. 

The week was one full of meetings.  It started off with a meeting at the Diocesan offices on Saturday (my normal day off).  The meeting was a visioning meeting about campus ministry in the Diocese.  It actually ended up being a pretty good meeting (and not as drama filled as I thought it might be).  On Monday, there was a Religious Director’s Meeting talking about the search for a new Dean of Religious Life.  Interesting, but something I didn’t really have the time for.  On Tuesday, we had a Board Meeting for Canterbury.  Then on Friday, I flew to Salt Lake City for a provincial gathering planning meeting (that lasted through Saturday).

Smack in the middle of all those meetings, Wednesday was our third MiX:USC event.  This is the project that is supposed to take just under half of my time at work.  In reality it takes much more (as do all my projects).  I was really worried about the event, but over the last week, things really came together and the event was really good.  If only more people could have been there to see it.

So there wasn’t much time for much other than work last week.  I started Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra.  Its going to take a little time to get through, as its 914 pages long.  I watched Ratatouille one evening.  It was enjoyable, but not the best of the Pixar animated films.  Maybe its just the premise of rats cooking that’s just too much to get over.

Salt Lake was beautiful.  There was a few inches of snow on the ground, but we were between storms, so the weather wasn’t bad.  Most everyone else at the meeting found it a little cold, but I loved the cold, crisp, clean air.  Plus I just love the sight of the snow covered Wasatch Range.  I had a couple pints at Squatters Pub, aka Salt Lake City Brewing Co.  Both the “Captain Bastard’s Oatmeal Stout” and “Organic Amber Ale” were quite good.  I also had a sip of the “Provo Girl Pilsner” which was not bad for an American Pilsner.  It’s nice to have good beer, and I don’t get to have it as much living in Los Angeles.

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Jan 29 2008

Sketch 4

Tis going to be a short sketch this week.  Work is pretty insanely busy right now, lots of meetings and a major event happening this week.  I’m heading to Salt Lake City for a meeting on Friday and Saturday.

Basically I’m trying my hardest to survive without doing something stupid like quitting.

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Jan 22 2008

Sketch 3

The big excitement of the past week was a friend visiting for the long weekend.  She arrived Thursday evening, slightly delayed (as was I from picking her up at the airport).  The next morning we took off for a couple days in Paso Robles, CA (a little over 200 miles north of LA).  Paso Robles is the center of one of Central Coasts wine regions.  On the way up we stopped at Sanford Winery which is in the other main Central Coast wine region. 

We made it to the hotel in Paso Robles a little after 1pm on Friday.  We decided to do some exploring of downtown Paso Robles in search of a good place for lunch.  Since my friend had a craving for fish and chips we ended up at an Irish pub called The Crooked Kilt.  This was after stopping by the Firestone Walker brewing company, hoping they’d have some food (they didn’t, but we did taste their beers, which were quite good).  After that we just relaxed at the hotel until a little before 8pm, when we had an appointment for an hour in one of the outdoor mineral spas at the River Oaks Hot Springs & Spa.  It was a nice cool night, which made the hot tub even more enjoyable.  It was nice to just sit and relax under the stars.

Saturday was spent exploring a few of the vineyards in the Paso Robles area.  We visited and tasted at Eberle, EOS Estates, Clautiere, Tablas Creek, Four Vines and Rotta.  We also stopped by Robert Hall and Justin, but didn’t end up tasting there.  At Justin, we did stop and eat our snacks we had brought along for lunch.  My favorites were the Port at Clautiere, the Zinfindel Rose at Rotta and the Port at Rotta.  The Tablas Creek wines were also good and interesting, as they are doing mainly French inspired wines.

I had to be back in LA for work on Sunday evening, so we had to head back on Sunday.  Monday was a rainy day in LA, so we stayed in all day (after going out for breakfast) and watched movies, at least until my computer decided to go kaputz on the forth movie.  After breakfast at The Kettle in Manhattan Beach, I dropped my friend off at the airport and headed back to work.  It was a good weekend all around, I wish it would have been longer if only because it’ll be awhile before I see my friend again.

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