Back on the grid

Thank you to the Verizon installation guy. I'm posting courtesy of Mullen's and my very own wifi!!!

Hello TV and internet - I missed you, old friends.

More adventures to come soon.

Adventures in Apartment Hunting

All of those cliches about finding an apartment in New York are so irritatingly true!

Craigslist is a labrynth of listings. I especially love the trick where the EXACT SAME APARTMENT is listed three times in one day, each time with a slightly different description. I have found a few possible places, both of which were promptly rented out from under me before I had a chance to see them.

Hey, it's life. It's part of living in New York and I accept that. No one is twisting my arm, I don't HAVE to live here. But I want to - I really, really want to.

I passed an Indian textile and gift shop this evening and stopped in for a bit. The owner boasted that she had over 200 Buddha figurines for sale. She enthusiastically pointed out which ones were lucky for business and love and health. I found myself wondering, "Which is the Apartment Finding Buddha?"

Hello?

I haven't posted anything (original) up here in months. Mostly because I didn't think I was up to anything sufficiently extraordinary.

Then tonight, while looking up an old post about my limited knowledge of Korean, I discovered that some people are still reading (as recently as January?!).

Well, internet, hey! It's been awhile. I took a super long vacation from you - now I live away from California again, and consequently have rediscovered (wasting time) facebook, skype, etc. etc.

So here I am. Still adventuring - only now my adventures are of the domestic travel and job-seeking sort. I live in Brooklyn. I sell books - for now. I'm a walking cliche and I have embraced that. If you have a problem with it, then I will sick the hipsters on you. (Because there are a lot of them, and they can be nasty when they're not busy being cooler than you.)

A Note to Bill Plashcke:

You should really read Dodger Thoughts.

Another gem by Jon Weisman over at the LA Times:

Manny Ramirez, 'Sports Night' and family

CASEY

It's not like you don't see this in sports all the time.

DANA

I don't see it in my family all the time.

CASEY

The guy's a 240-pound linebacker dealing with a 350-pound pulling guard, Dana, who's probably also souped up. Kyle's just trying to keep himself in the game. He's trying --

DANA

Don't defend him, and don't tell me how to be. He was part of a conspiracy to buy steroids that God knows what side effects and long-term damage could cause. He's gonna get suspended for eight games, so there goes the postseason. He's making just over league minimum, and he's going to get hit with probably a $50,000 fine. And, if the local DA feels like running for something next year, he could also go to jail -- to say nothing of the fact that his name is now also synonymous with everything that's bad about sports.

CASEY

And all I'm saying is, he's got enough people telling him that right now. Papers, talkradio, agents, lawyers, the league, his teammates, his sister's own television show -- and maybe he doesn't need any more guests at that party. And maybe, the best role that you can play right now is as his sister now, Dana. That's all I'm saying.

(pause)

That, and don't be so edgy.

DANA
(walking away)

I'm not edgy. I'm not edgy.

Door slams, window breaks.

-- "Sports Night" ("The Reunion," written by Kevin Falls and Aaron Sorkin)
December 21, 1999

I've been mulling over the frustration that Bill Plaschke has over the fact that it isn't looking like Dodger fans, by and large, are bringing out the hatchet for Manny Ramirez as he returns from his suspension. I don't dismiss that frustration -- but I'm hoping those who share it might see the other side.

Plaschke (and others, certainly) believe that the Dodgers and their fans are rewarding cheating behavior by letting Ramirez off easy. That's a big-picture view, but I think there's an even bigger picture he is missing.

I touched on this in a May 7 Dodger Thoughts post:

For those who choose to cheer Ramirez because they love him, there's no mystery. They love him. When love is involved, it's not easy or even logical to expect that people will use that person to send a grandiose moral message. That's why Andruw Jones gets booed and Ramirez doesn't. And since Ramirez is still part of the Dodger family, at least through the end of the 2009 season, it makes sense that some members of the family will want to help him back on his feet after he has done his time.

Ramirez is going to get it with both barrels almost everywhere he goes, starting Friday in San Diego. He is going to get ripped up, down and sideways. He is going to be subject to taunting wherever he goes outside his home base -- consider this, for example -- and will have the duty to ignore it. It simply doesn't make sense for Plaschke to be so shocked and appalled that Ramirez's adopted family in Los Angeles won't do the same.

Plaschke, obviously, doesn't think of Ramirez as family -- in his mind, Ramirez isn't worthy of being the family doormat. But whether Plaschke likes it or not, thousands in Los Angeles do. And thousands have made their peace with him.

It's not that we can't get angry. Speaking for myself, if proof emerges that Ronald Belisario did drive drunk, you can bet he's going to be in my doghouse and then some. And yet, eventually, I might forgive him, just as I've forgiven DUI two-timer Rafael Furcal. Why? Because a) I'm an irrational Dodger fan, and b) I'm kind of into the whole forgiveness thing, after someone's done their penance.

In other words, I'd be angrier at Ramirez if I thought he were getting away with something. But despite Plaschke's preoccupation with cheers and limousines in Riverside -- as if being suspended from major-league baseball means you should have to travel by Greyhound -- Ramirez didn't get away with anything. He lost millions, he lost time off his career, he probably lost his chance at the Hall of Fame, and he lost whatever peace of mind he might have had in 29 other major-league cities. He was humiliated and will continue to be mocked, perhaps for the rest of his life. The main problem I have with Plaschke's columns on Ramirez is his lack of acknowledgment of this.

And so I ask, does it really matter if most people in Los Angeles don't bring the tar and feathers to the ballpark? If the message being sent is that hometown fans will cheer heroes who screw up -- well, that's a reality that began long before Manny Ramirez came on the scene, and one that he isn't going to change. (Reminder: Barry Bonds was booed in Los Angeles more because he was an insufferable, Dodger-killing, never-suspended Giant than because of steroids.)

If a family member of mine got in trouble, and got disciplined for being in trouble, and was going to be reminded of that trouble almost everywhere he or she went, I wouldn't need to pile on after it was all over. Bill, a lot of us were upset over Manny, but a lot of us got over it over the past seven weeks.

It's fine to think Ramirez wasn't punished enough, but don't try to sell the idea that he hasn't been punished or won't continue to be punished. The world will still have a moral compass even if, in this case, the people of Los Angeles aren't the ones pointing due north.

"Remember that you are unique. If that has not been fulfilled, then something wonderful has been lost." – Martha Graham

Update

So I didn't take out an ad in the LA Times, but I did write a "Letter to the Editor" in witty tirade fashion. I found out it will never be published and may not be read because it is over 150 words, but whatever .... I feel better. If your curious what I wrote, it's basically the same, but if you like I will post it in a comment.

Jin-jah?

It has been nearly six months since I completed my contract at SLP. It has been nearly six months since I had a job. I hate this economy. I am annoyed ... I am whining ... and I think I have earned the right to at least whine. Now, granted, I have not been home or unoccupied for six months ... I have been busy with, you know, life things (and I don't just mean my trip - other things for other people too) ... and I am happy to have done them or helped out or whatever ... but COME ON! If I get one more poorly worded, misspelled, generic follow-up e-mail from joeschmoe@thebestcompanyever.net I might go off the deep end and wind up baracaded in my room Howard Hughs style; only in my scenario I will be muttering about temp agencies and cover letters instead of planes for the US Army and wire taps. But the most frustrating thing is that it's not just me going through this, it's all of my friends too. And not only my fellow globe-trotters trying to adjust back to life sans kimchi ... it's practically everyone I know!! I mean, really ... my friends and I are all well-educated, enthusiastic, creative individuals ... somebody, for the love of all things good EMPLOY US!

I've run the gambit from temp agencies to craigslist to resume posting websites and it's all seriously graining on my last nerve. I know everyone is going through this, and you have to make looking for a job a job in itself and that it's tough for everyone blah blah blah ... AND I also know that I have been lucky in the past in that I have come into work very quickly and easily... but even in knowing all of that, it doesn't make this all any less annoying.

I am not kidding - I am seriously considering taking out a full page ad in the Sunday edition of the LA Times showcasing myself and my generic BS cover letter and all that jazz. I believe that I am at what is commonly referred to as my wits' end.



In other news all of this time spent scouring the internet (and pounding the pavement too - no employment seeking cliches have been spared in this job search!) I've spent some time looking into what I actually intend to be my career (and not my just my j-o-b) and reflecting on the preverbial question that presents itself to head-y actors like my friends and myself: Grad School: to go? or not to go? ... more than ever I am leaning towards going, or auditioning at least (not for a year or two of course!) especially since doing my research and getting the details on this program. Never mind that it is likely the most competitive program in the country: I-want-to-go. No small ventures for this sometimes globe-trotter, adventure extraordinaire. Clearly...