Blake’s Blog

It being the first day of a brand new year, I thought it prudent to log in to the ole’ blog again.  I actually made a few resolutions for the year, something I haven’t done since I was a kid.  Maybe not completing them wore me down, but I like to think I’m a little stronger now, and maybe I can knock a few of these out of the park.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks I’ve been on my annual Christmas Vacation.  This time I stopped off in Virginia and then went to Miami.

Soon after I arrived in Virginia though on the 18th, (The Vegan in tow) we were there to witness the Storm of the Century, as two feet of snow fell the night after I arrived.  That put a huge wrench in my plans, as I didn’t get to do anything I had planned, from walking around my old neighborhood to meeting up with a dear friend from High School.

I did get to see some of my family though, so that’s what counts.

Of course my flight was canceled as well, and they couldn’t rebook me until Christmas.  So I got a refund and rented a car, which was a surprisingly smooth experience.  After my last run in with a Car Rental company, I was genuinely surprised how easily we got a ride.

We then had a 17 hour drive ahead of us, but we stopped off at my Childhood Mall, and I got a car charger for my iPhone, along with some Dippin’ Dots and my old favorite food court fare, Bourbon Chicken.  Their neon sign proudly claims to be the Best in the World, and it was just as good as I remembered.

Anyway, we finally made it to Miami, just a day late.  We didn’t do everything that I had planned- no night clubs or pools, but we did go to the beach (The water was too choppy to go in) and ate some good food.  All in all Miami was nice, though I got a lot more attention than I was used to- actual car honks and whistles and “kissy noises”.

With the way some women dress down there you’d think they’d be numb to it all.

My Mom, step-Dad, and sisters joined us in Miami for a couple of days, and then we drove back up to central Florida on Christmas Eve so I can see the rest of the family (Shana flew to Chicago to be with her family).

Great seeing everyone again, and amazing how quickly “the kids” are all growing.

So the last week or so I’ve been mostly relaxing at Mom’s, playing the Wii and Xbox with my Sisters.  I’m due to fly out early tomorrow- have to leave the house at 3AM!

With the recent attempted Terrorism incident, I’m a little more nervous than usual, but I’ll be glad to get back to San Francisco.  I’ll just have to hunker down, liquor it up, drop a Xanax or two, and try to stay calm.

So everyone, I hope you guys had Happy Holidays, and I wish you all the best for the New Year!

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Wow, hard to believe the entire summer has gone by since my last update. Obviously I’m not dead or incapacitated, just that my “blog posts” are now of the Twitter or Facebook variety.

Speaking of which, I’m @blakebevin or www.facebook.com/blakebevin for those who are interested.

Still, it seems a shame that I’m letting this domain go to waste. I just don’t think I have as much to say these days that I haven’t rehashed a million times. After over 8 years of (Off and On) blogging, one eventually runs out of long form ways to describe my angst or a fleeting happy moment or whatever other stop on the Emotional Roller Coaster.

To sum up the last few months though, my Polyphasic Sleep Experiment lasted through July, surprisingly. I really started to dig it towards the end, but my work schedule changed and I wasn’t able to get as many naps in and started to catch up with me.

God, it was tough to ease into it, but if time and work permits one day I’d love to try it again. Even though I spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling or catching a ball, it was fun having all that extra time.  Those quiet hours between 3-5am rocked.

Well, what else? Heh, not much. Just more of the same. Working Working Working. I did get back into World of Warcraft. And I bought a few nifty gadgets to satisfy my tech lust.

I decided that I’ll be stopping off in Miami for a few days on my annual Christmas Vacation to Florida. I’ll be taking my Assistant with me too!

I’ll also be stopping off in Virginia again this year for a couple of days. With my Assis. in tow we can rent a car and it’ll be easier to get around. And this time I’m going to ensure that I don’t end up in Rental Car Hell again.

I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never been to Miami so it’ll be nice to unwind with my own private Mini-Vacation before joining up with the rest of the family. Not that they’re not Great

So anyway, back to what I was saying, I’m not sure what’ll happen to this blog. For the most part the main part of my “transition” stuff is done. I’m thinking about possibly switching to injectable meds. And maybe some more cosmetic procs. next year. And SRS still seems Far, Far away.

But really, that’s more to do with me not quite being sure about it, and that’s not something I’ll do until I’m 100%. In a way, I kind of enjoy being somewhere inbetween. That’s sort of where I’ve always been, outside the box and the norm.

What’s important to me is living my life with a minimum of external hassle, and right now I feel like I’m in that place. I’m still lonely and prone to depression and self-deprecation, but it’s something to work on, so I have something to do

And now, the Vegan awaits downstairs. I think I’m going to convince her to try a new Restaurant tonight.  Variety is Good.

So anyhoo, I doubt this will be my last blog entry. But still, catch me on Twitter!

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Well as the post suggests, I am now well into the fourth day of of this little experiment.  I started depriving myself of sleep Monday, and began the naps Tuesday evening.

I’m still adjusting as I wake up groggy half the time.  Maybe I’ll play around with the length of the nap times by a few minutes.

Getting to sleep in the allotted time isn’t a problem.  Accept for once or twice I’ve fallen asleep a couple of minutes after laying down.

Anyhoo, got a little depressed today- Stacia came by to pick up some mail.

I haven’t seen her in over a year, but what is it about her that always turns me all about?  I asked if she wanted to grab some coffee this weekend but before I even finished she said she was booked, rather loudly.

Well, she can carry that animosity if she wants too.  Well, it was for the best, and I applaud her for stopping me before I got started, lest I did something that I would regret.

I need to get out of the past so I don’t get bogged down.  I have a habit of doing that.  On the plus side, after she left I didn’t drink OR smoke.  Maybe I AM improving, little by little.

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Well the Robot contest I planned to enter had a $5000 entrance fee.  Ha!  Maybe next year…

I was all set to begin SOMETHING, and the cancellation left a big void.  Started having daily mid-life/existential crises.  Anyhoo, rather than start one big project, I’ve gone through my trusty moleskine notebook and am working on many little projects.  Of course, no chance for a payday from any of them.  But I need to excerise my creative muscles- I can feel them aching from disuse.

Also decided, on the spur of the moment, to begin a polyphasic sleep schedule.  I’ve played around with it years ago but I’m pretty serious about it.  As of now, it’s been 42 hours since my last Core Sleep cycle.

It’s not quite as difficult as I remember when I tried it before- I think it’s because I’ve been biphasic for a while now, getting 4 hours a night and taking a long nap aftet work.

It’s hard, no doubt, but so far it’s been manageable.  I want to aim for the two week mark, which is when the real breakthroughs are supposed to start happening.  If I last that long, I’ll evaluate it and see if it’s something I’d like to continue.

Now excuse me, I’m going to go bang my head against the wall

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*Gasp*  An update?  So Soon?!

Well, here’s a double celebration, of sorts.  First-500 Posts!  Woot!

Course, that only counts blogger/wordpress posts.  Second, 500 posts over, like 5 years, isn’t very impressive.  But, Hey ohhhh!

Second, one year ago today I got back from Thailand after getting cosmetic work done.  Had some drinks at Chevy’s with Emmy and The Vegan.

Yes, the world certaintly treats you differently once you get breasts.  On a “good” day I might expect sexism and misogyny, and on other days homophobic deflamatory comments.

But at any rate, I do the only thing I can do- Move forward, one step at a time.  As time ticks away paths crystalize and dreams get dashed, but what’s the alternative?  One can only thank whatever for what one DOES have, maybe carefully indulge a vice or two, and keep on marching towards that distant point on the horizon.

God Speed, to myself and all of you.

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Writing this blog, sometimes I feel like I’m etching on a Cave wall.

Heh, ok, I guess that’s a little overly dramatic.

Still, Twitter and Facebook streaming seems a lot less forced then sitting down here, trying to think of something to say because it’s been over two weeks since my last posting.

(Case in point, I took a break from this post and now it’s the next morning.  Oops.)

Pressing on, I’ve accquired the first parts I’ll need for my robot.  With my new Lab set up I can’t wait to hunker down and actually start building the thing.  Hmm, it’s nice to be passionate about something again.  Nothing like electronic components, too much coffee, and a looming deadline to make one feel semi-alive, again.

Ah, and a parting tip- don’t get Drunk and go on Facebook.  I ended up sending a friend request to almost everyone I knew in High School- mostly girls who turned me down for the school dances.  Why oh why?

Thankfully, only one seems to have accepted the request.  She just got engaged.  Congratulations.

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I wonder if they’ll do an Origin tale of the TNG crew

At any rate, I saw ‘Star Trek’ the other day and I enjoyed it.  I might see it again.

Not much happening otherwise.  Just working and napping and saving so I can get some back taxes paid off.  Starting next month I’m going to try and finish my robot in time for a competition coming up in August.  Right now that’s pretty much all I have on my mind.

Boring, I know, which is another reason I haven’t been blogging much.  I still want to get a good digicam so I can put some new pics up.

Summer’s coming- time for some new outfits

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1.  Fly into Las Vegas

2. Spend a solid day having fun

3. Rent a car and drive to my Cousins wedding in Fresno

4. Drive home

Pretty simple, and step 1 and 2 went pretty well.  The Vegan and I arrived in Vegas, our room at the Luxor was descent, but I should have gotten a Tower room.  Mainly, we just walked around, and I drunk and smoked more than I should have, probably.

The Nightmare began Saturday morning.  We were up early and off to the Rent a Center where I had reserved the Car for 7am.  As I don’t have a license, I intended to pay for the Vegan so she could rent it.

First problem, Alamo doesn’t accept Debit Cards for payment- credit card only, which neither of us had.  She suggested Dollar Rent-a-car as they were the only ones there that did.

Dollar seemed fine at first, until I tried to pay for the car for her- The Driver ID holder had to make the payment, and she didn’t have enough in her account to cover the $350.  So we had to take a shuttle to the airport, which had a Wells Fargo, and sit around waiting for two hours until the bank opened, so I could put the money into her account. The Vegan now had almost $500 as an available balance.

We took a cab back to the Rent a Center as I figured we’d need to be on the road by ten to have any shot of getting to the wedding on time.  Now the place was packed and we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes before finally seeing a clerk.  Now for some reason the price was $450, a $100 more than we were first quoted.  I was so stressed and tired at this point I didn’t really pay attention to that, just thinking that I put enough money into her account to cover it.

He ran her card… AND IT WAS DECLINED.  He said that sometimes, for whatever reason, there’s a delay in the money showing up- BUT THEY COULDN’T RUN THE CARD AGAIN FOR 24 HOURS!!!

In a last ditch attempt, I asked him if I could pay for her, hoping that maybe he wouldn’t know about the ID policy or something.  I also mentioned that we were quoted a lower price earlier, and he was suddenly like “Oohhh, yeah, my mistake.  It’ll only be $300.”

Now, I should say here, IF HE HAD ONLY CHARGED $300 TO THE CARD INSTEAD OF $450, THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE IT WOULD HAVE WENT THROUGH!  This fucking asshole just ruined our trip.

Oh, and he did know about the ID policy and said he couldn’t accept payment from me.  I wish I had saw my Bank account activity, because I WAS IN FACT CHARGED- $430!!!  I didn’t find that out until I was at home.  So I’m still working on getting a refund, and hoping that my bank doesn’t start charging me Overdraft fees.

SO TO REITERATE, CAR RENTAL COMPANIES EXIST IN AN INNER CIRCLE OF HELL, AND DOLLAR RENT-A-CAR IS, IN FACT, SATAN.

Anyway, we didn’t really have a choice- I found a flight leaving at Noon for $100 bucks a ticket, and we took it and got the Hell out of Dodge and back to SF.

So, I missed the wedding which was a real letdown- it would have been my first!  I also felt bad because I knew how tight the guest list was.

Thankfully I’m off work today, so I can unwind today.  I believe I shall stay Local for awhile.

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A REAL blog Post!

So…

……

*cricket chirping*

Hmm…   Well pretty much the same ole’ things.

Oh, I’m planning a Vegas trip in a couple of weeks.  I was invited to a wedding and I figured I’d make a little stopover along the way.  I’ll be in town the day before my brother’s 18th birthday, so hopefully I’ll be able to say Hi.  (If I can find him- haven’t heard from them or Dad in months)

I convinced the Vegan to join me.  She’s not much of a partier, but maybe the City of Sin has a way of corrupting people.

In preparation for the trip, I got me some NJOY electric cigarettes.  I quit (again) awhile ago, but have slowly fell back into it, and in Vegas I can go through a couple of packs a day as I mellow at bar or the slots.

The NicStix came today and it’s surprisingly effective.  The oral and visual aspect of it seems more effective than Nicorette, even though it’s not sold as a smoking cessation aid.

Otherwise I’ve just been a homebody, staying in and catching up on some shows like ‘Lost’.  I’ve saved up the past two months, so I can watch one after the other instead of waiting a week or more.  Helps me keep track of the plots and figure out what in the Hell is going on.

Ah, I’ve also been rearranging my room as I expand my Lab.  I’ve decided to enter one of those “Robot” contests, so I’m preparing to get that project started next month, when I have a bit of spending (Investing?) cash.

Course, even if I don’t win it should still be an awarding experience yadda yadda yadda.

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• Chili Dogs and Nachos from that Shady shop on the corner? What was I thinking…? #
• A very leisurely work day for once. It’s nice when the Boss takes Vacations #
• Happy curry! http://twitpic.com/2xu6k #
• Mmm, Sushi and Hot Sake in Japantown. The Simple Pleasures in Life… #
• Mmm, Pocky Pocky Pocky! #
• Sitting down with Chili and #Heroes. Some of the best nights are the ones spent Inside #
• Ooh, ‘Fringe’ is back! #
• Eyelids…Heavy… Getting…Sleepy… Night, all! Pleasant Dreams, Pip Pip! #
• Worst Part of Being “2nd in Command”? Getting reprimanded for the Stupidity of your underlings. Apparently this is a No Common Sense Zone. #
• The Japanese make the Best Pens… #
• Just ordered some NJOY e-Cigarettes. Looking forward to trying them out! http://tinyurl.com/dygmps #
• Playing around with Seesmic Desktop, a Tweetdeck competitor. #
• Reading this article on Dubai- Man, it’s pretty awful… http://twurl.nl/igyxoi #
• Virgin America is a Good airline. Got a complimentary refund when I had to cancel my flight! #
• I love multitasking- very addictive. #
• Going to my First wedding in a couple of weeks. Roadtrips are fun! And also planning a possible side journey… Stay Tuned! #
• fireworks #
• I love Speeder.com- great for getting through long articles. Up to 425 WMP now! #
• Oh Noes, looks like I’ve been tasked with firing someone again. This one will be really thorny… #
• Ugh, Boss is taking the Janitors out of town next week, so I have to empty the Trashcans. Wouldn’t be so bad if peeps wouldn’t pee in them. #
• What’s this? TWO episodes of The Office? Yaaay! It’s a ‘Just woke up from a Nap’ Miracle! #
• Hehe, have you seen the Crazy Costume lady? http://twurl.nl/cosnvj #
• The deed is done- slayed the dragon. *Another one bites the dust* #
• So, I’m going to Las Vegas soon! Got the tickets, booked the Hotel. Yay for debauchery! #
• Nothing like putting on PJ’s straight from the Dryer. Almost makes me forget that I’ve misplaced my ATM Card!!! #
• Found my ATM card through Deductive reasoning. Logic works, bitches! #
• I have a lil extra cash. Save or new Shoes? Hmm…. *Fires up Amazon* #
• Off work, out of my heels, bra, and pants, and settling down with some Chinese Food and Mythbusters. Ahhh, now my Weekend can begin… #
• Layin’ in bed, thinking about my kitty- passed away almost four years ago now. I miss you Sammy http://twitpic.com/379fm #
• Hehe, it’ll probably be canceled soon, but ‘Better Off Ted’ is kinda funny. #

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