here's some stuff:: January 2011

This one friend of mine gave me really good advice once about how I should never stick my hand in the microwave.

It was a Friday night, January 7th, 2011 to be exact. Another friend and I had made plans to go out dancing, some sort of Michael Jackson tribute deal. We were on the guest list and everything. Well, all that really meant was that we didn’t have to pay the cover to get in, which I think was two dollars. And I think we were supposed to get free drinks. Totally VIP.

So I get home from work, take a shower, still feeling dirty and sweaty from the night before. You know, the night I stayed out drinking and dancing til 2am, after I had just made a New Years resolution to not go to work hung over. In my defense, I didn’t even have a slight headache the next day and I only felt slightly nauseous. And it was a Friday so it was okay to look tired, in my defense. Better than looking tired on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Days of the week are very important.

I’m done showering and put on some clothes I feel are appropriate for the occasion but still comfortable. Planning ahead is what I like to call it. I’m looking up on the internet when the next bus is scheduled to come because the plan was to meet up at his house for dinner at 7pm, and I’m running a little behind. Alright, I’ve got ten minutes. I better call to say I’m on my way. Or text at least. I think I’ll send a text.

Maybe two minutes later, I get a call.

“Hey! I’m just about ready to leave.”

“Mal… you’re going to hate me.”

“What!!! You’re not going?!”

“I’m sorry… I’m still tired from last night.”

“Oh, alright, I understand. Well I’m sure I’ll see you this weekend and have a good night tonight.”

“Alright, you too. Sorry again.”

Click.

Damn it, I was already on my way out! As long as I’m dressed, I might as well see what everyone else is up to. I just got paid today. I’ve got money to spend.

Ring ring.

“Hey whats up?”

“Nothing much, what are you doing tonight?”

“I hadn’t really planned on anything… I think I’m just going to stay in.”

“Oh, can I come over?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, I’ll be over soon.”

Well, since the dinner thing didn’t go as planned, I better eat something here, before the next bus comes. Alright, I’ve got another fifteen minutes. Let me stick something in the microwave real quick and eat it as soon as its done, then everything will be perfect.

Hmm, this frozen gyoza sounds pretty good right now. Easy to make. All you gotta do is put it in a bowl (microwavable of course), splash a little bit of water in there and cover it with plastic. Been there, done that.

Beep. The microwave is letting me know my food is ready. Except it doesn’t look right this time. The plastic is somehow lifted up and looks like its bubbly inside. Hmm. Let me open it up, I’m down to about ten minutes.

“Fuuuuuckkkkkk!!!”

That’s me yelling as I uncover the plastic and the steam under it blasts onto my finger. My left thumb, to be exact. “Fuck,” I think again. Why did I do that?

Oh well, gobble gobble. Mmm that was good. Let’s go.

At first I almost didn’t even feel it. It all happened so quickly. I looked at it and I knew it would hurt later. It wasn’t that red yet but it was definitely getting there.

I hop on the bus to make my way over to my destination (BART station). It’s cold out so I wear my gloves as I usually do when the temperature gets down to this level. Except I’ve got a little problem. My glove is irritating my steamed finger. I take it off, my hand is now cold and I’m not happy with the situation. It’s starting to hurt more and more. It’s turning redder by the minute. I should have put some kind of ointment on it before I left the house, damn it.

A few hours later, I say, “hey, you got any ointment or lotion of some sort that could help me out with this?”

“yeah, it’s my roommates, but you can use some.”

“Sweet.” I put some on and it makes my hand look really shiny. It makes me want to take a picture of it, which I do, and it turns out looking pretty damn cool. Later I will post this picture on the internet for everyone to see.

Moving forward in time, doing a little time traveling, I’m on the phone with this good friend of mine telling him The Story of the Steamed Hand, because he asked me, “Hey what happened to your hand?”

He listens patiently and then tells me I need to learn my lesson. I need to take this as a sign not to rush anything I’m doing and most of all not to stick my hand in the microwave when I’m not supposed to. I love this friend of mine so I tell him I appreciate his advice and that I will never stick my hand in the microwave again without waiting a minute or two first.

“Chill out,” said the girl sitting in the corner of the room.

“What do you mean?” asked her friend as he stepped out of his spaceship. He did not know what she meant.

“Chill out. I’m trying to draw a picture of you.” She watched him out of the corner of her eye, sitting in the corner of the room. He put his spaceship aside, on the other corner, and walked over closer. He had just gotten back from a long trip, to a galaxy far, far away, and was glad to finally sit down. He put some music on and made himself comfortable on a sofa that was close to her, but far enough for her to still see him from a distance.

It was possibly raining outside but you couldn’t really tell. They both liked the rain though and didn’t mind being rained on. It was a Friday night but that didn’t really matter. Plans had not been made for these two, but she did ask that he chill out, which he kindly did. Although he did not admit it at first, he was also glad that she asked him to do that because sometimes he forgot to, as we all tend to do. He picked up a pen and paper and started drawing with her.

“How was your trip?”

The room was cold but also comfortable, which made it feel warmer that it was. The heater was turned on, although it wasn’t helping much. It was actually pretty damn cold.

“I went really far away and I’m glad to be back. I met a lot of different creatures but none of them were that interesting. To be quite honest it was a little boring.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Welcome back.”

She kept drawing her picture and he kept drawing his, except his was not of himself like the girls was. His was of a dream he had, a reoccurring dream, one of those dreams that seems to haunt you long after you wake up, perhaps even years. So anyway, here was his dream, and he was drawing it and didn’t mind that she was watching him do it. He had talked about it a few days before this night, so it was not a surprise to her that he would want to spill it all out on paper. It was also not a surprise to her that she would want to draw a picture of him, or that it was cold in the room, or that it was a Friday night and possibly raining outside. It all made sense in the setting.

Everything continued as it was, until maybe a half hour later. The room started shaking and they soon realized that this was an earthquake. Their hearts started pounding. Time stood still, if only for a few seconds. She put her per and paper down on the table beside her and he did the same, their hearts both pounding. These earthquakes didn’t happen very often for either of them, therefore they did not want to talk about it due to its scary nature. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t really much of a catastrophe, and they both knew this, giving them even more reason to not talk about it.

“Let’s go on a walk,” he suggested, and his friend agreed that this was a good idea. They put on their scarves and their gloves and left the room. It wasn’t raining at this point so they didn’t take an umbrella, although there was a possibility of the rain coming down as they walked. There was also a possibility of another earthquake happening which made their hearts start pounding again when they thought about it. It made her nervous, and when she confided this to him, he told her to chill out, which she kindly did.

“Let’s walk to that store we passed by earlier. I would like to buy a candle to take back to your house.” This was her idea.

“Why would you want to buy a candle to take back to my house?” Even though there was nothing confusing about that sentence, he did not know what she meant.

“Because I would like to light it up. I think it might make the room feel a little less cold.”

That made sense, so they walked together to the store and bought a candle to take back to his house. It was a plain regular candle, unscented, and you probably wouldn’t think anything of it if you saw it. It definitely didn’t look like a candle that would warm up a room, but he believed her anyway. She was an honest person, most of the time anyway.

As they walked, they didn’t say much. There wasn’t really that much to say. At one point, they passed by a black cat that seemed to be stuck behind a fence. It meowed and meowed at them but did not move forward. They stopped to see what was going on. The girl put down the candle on the ground and kneeled down, put her hand out to the cat and meowed back at it. The cat did not respond to her, so this time the boy tried to get its attention. The cat looked like it was in distress but didn’t know what to do about it. It looked like a kitten abandoned by its mother, and they both felt bad for it. Eventually, they figured out a way of getting around the fence, thinking that they could help him get out. This frightened the cat and he ran off into the night, his dark shiny fur blending into the background.

“Let’s just keep walking,” said the boy and this time he picked up the candle. He thought she might have started getting tired of carrying it this whole time.

Nothing else of interest occurred on the rest of the trip and it did not start raining. There were no more earthquakes, at least in this part of town. Everything was nice and safe and only a little chilly.

They got back to the house, dry from the lack of rain and their hearts beating at a steady pace from the lack of any earthquakes. The black cat did not give them any bad luck because all the luck they had was good and they both felt pretty lucky in general.

“Let’s light up this candle.” He got out a match and lit it up, right in the middle of the room, where it had the best chance of making everything feel warm. They didn’t sit in the corner of the room this time because that wouldn’t have made sense.

All of a sudden, the room started shaking. Not again! They both started to feel uneasy and discussed the urgent need to get out of the room. At first they could not decide if they should take the candle or leave it behind. If they took it, they would be able to light it up again somewhere else in case it got cold. If they left it behind, it would still be there when they got back if the room was cold and they needed to warm it up again.

“Let’s get in your spaceship and leave the candle behind. It will still be here when we come back and if we need one we can always stop by that store, or any other store, and buy another one.” This was the boys idea, and his friend agreed that it was a good one.

“Where do you want to go?” He asked as he put on his spacesuit.

“To a galaxy far, far away. I don’t know, just pick one. I haven’t been to that many of them yet.”

“Alright. Let’s just go in one direction and see where it takes us.”

“Do you have any music in here? I would like to sing as we fly through space. I’ve always wanted to do that. I also think it might make me less nervous because it still might rain tonight and that seems dangerous if you’re flying in a spaceship. Are you sure you’re good at this?”

“Yes, trust me, I’ve done this many times. It’s actually easier than driving a car, believe it or not.”

“I’m sorry. I know I should trust your spaceship-flying abilities.” She felt bad for insulting him, although he wasn’t offended at all and told her that all she needed to do was chill out, which she kindly did.

“And to answer your question, yes I do have music in here, and you can put it on and you can even sing if you’d like to.” This made her feel a lot better. She put on a song she liked and started singing just as he started up the spaceship and they both had their seatbelts on, ready for take off.”

“Ready?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Ok, lets do this then.” And off they went.

“I think we should go to the nearest galaxy we can find, besides our own, because it is pretty late and we both had a long day today. And I’m not going to lie, I’m still a little afraid that it might start raining and I’m afraid of another earthquake happening.” This was the girls idea, and he agreed that it was a good one.

So off they went, to the nearest galaxy they could find aside from their own, and they listened to music and she never stopped singing, except to comment on something beautiful she would see here and there. It made her wish they had a camera in the spaceship they could take pictures with, but unfortunately they left it behind at the house, so she would just have to remember it on her own. It was very bright outside even though it was the middle of the night, and she was no longer nervous and was not afraid of rain or earthquakes or anything and began to appreciate the nature of this galaxy they were in. When she told him this he said he was glad to hear it.

They traveled back and forth through time and space and eventually he turned the spaceship around and they started making their way back to their own galaxy. This took a few years but he tried to fly as fast as possible because he was getting tired and wanted to go back to his house to light up that candle. They were suddenly stopped in the middle of their trip. There was an accident up ahead on the road and the traffic had stopped. The ambulance was on its way.

“I wonder what happened.” The boy was curious.

“I don’t know, but I feel pretty lucky right now that it wasn’t us. Earlier when we saw that black cat I thought it was a bad sign but I don’t think it was at all. I don’t think people should think of black cats that way, you know? It’s not fair.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. People think silly things sometimes though. You know how that is.”

“Yeah, I think pretty silly things sometimes myself.”

“Yeah, I do too.”

“Tell me one silly thing you’ve thought about recently.” They had to find something to talk about, after all they might be stuck here for a while. The ambulance had arrived but it was hard to see what was going on.

Since she was the one who asked the question, it was his turn first.

“Well, remember earlier today, when I arrived in my room and just as I was stepping outside of my spaceship you told me to chill out?”

“Yeah, what about it? What silly thing could you possibly think of that?” She did not know what he meant, although she did remember the incident.

“I don’t know, at first I didn’t know what you were talking about. It was only after I sat down for a few minutes that I realized you were right. At first, it irritated me a bit that you were making assumptions about how I felt and thought you were being selfish because all you wanted to do was draw a picture of me.” The boy was glad to get this off his chest.

“I guess that is pretty silly,” the girl agreed. “But I’m glad you realized my true intentions.”

It was now her turn. She had to tell him one silly thing she had recently though about. Whatever the accident on the road was, it looked like it had now been fixed because the ambulance was gone and the other spaceships started moving again. So off they went again.

“When we saw that black cat earlier, I thought that it would give us bad luck. Now that I think about it, I was completely wrong.”

“Yeah. I told you.”

Eventually they got back to the house with no more accidents on the road. There was a slight drizzle now but it did not make either of them nervous because they were pretty close to home and they both believed in their good luck.

They parked in the corner of the room, and the candle was still sitting there in the middle. Everything looked the same, as if they had never left. The room was still cold as before and they were both glad they had something to warm it up with.

“That was a nice little ride. I’m glad we got back safely. I would like to continue drawing my picture of you, if you don’t mind.”

“No, of course I don’t mind. I need to finish my drawing anyway, let’s get to it.”

They picked up their drawing materials and sat in the middle of the room, this time on the floor because there was no furniture to sit on around the candle. This was a sacrifice they were both willing to make. As the candle slowly burned, they started to hear the rain coming down harder outside. They enjoyed the sound of it and enjoyed its nature.

“You know, I think we should stop being afraid of earthquakes because we can’t stop them from happening or not happening. I don’t think it makes sense to be afraid of that. And it’s not like rain can really hurt us that much either and personally I enjoy its nature.” This time, the girl was glad to get this off her chest.

“I agree. Here, look, I’m done with my drawing.” It was a horrifying drawing of this reoccurring dream he had, but she was glad that he was able to get it off his chest onto paper. It was almost too horrifying for her to look at, but she appreciated it anyway.

“Let me see yours. I’d like to see what you think I look like.” She showed it to him and he thought it looked beautiful, but didn’t admit to it.

“I like it, it has lots of character. I have to admit that I look pretty chilled out.” She appreciated the compliment and smiled with a sense of accomplishment.

Since they were both done with their drawings, and the candle had burned out by now, they put their materials aside and went back to the corner of the room, where it was no longer cold. The candle had done a wonderful job and its warmth would stay there for a long time.

“Goodnight,” the girl said. She decided that it was time for bed and her friend agreed that this was a good idea.

here's some stuff:

Monday, January 24, 2011

The Core of My Being revealed itself to me in a dream I had a long time ago...

Monday, January 17, 2011

anonymous: a message about sex

Thursday, January 13, 2011

saying a little prayer for you....

Monday, January 10, 2011

Black and Blue

Sunday, January 9, 2011

its not as bad as it looks

The Story of the Steamed Hand

Time Travel

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

huh?

Monday, January 3, 2011

nat nat crazy bat

"I peed on the steps."