a poem i've always enjoyed

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

IMPORTANT information about me!!!

I'm "borrowing" this from Carly, who got it somewhere else.
Anyway! Enough about me, let's talk about me...

Hi, my name is: michael
but you can call me: whatever works
Never in my life have I: smoked a cigarette
The one person who can drive me nuts is: me (maybe that's cheating, but i'm going with it)
My high school was: just so-so
When I’m nervous: i bite my fingernails (i also bite them when i'm not nervous)
The last song I listened to was: f me pumps by amy winehouse
If I were to get married right now it would be to: a woman i loved
My hair is: a memory
When I was 4: all of my moms friends loved me (of coures they were all 20 at the time)
Last Christmas: i was in the bay area playing sponge bob monoply with my little brother
I should be: working right now...and i mean RIGHT NOW
When I look down I see: everything from my chest down (mmmm...sexy, huh!? no? okay then)
The happiest recent event was: my moms birthday, and her smile when i gave her flowers
If I were a character on ‘Friends’ : i'd probably be similar to chandler
By this time next year: things may be different
My current gripe is: the price of gas
I have a hard time understanding: what i should do with my life
There’s these girls: who love me now, but who knows if they'll love me later (they're 7,5,3,1)
If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: whoever i think would think it was cool
I want to buy: other people things
Where do you plan to visit: england
If you spent the night at my house: we'd stay up all night talking
The world could do without: hate
Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: a netflix subscription
Most recent thing someone else bought me: a card
My middle name is: duane
In the morning I: pray for whoever is on my mind
Last night I was: not doing laundry like i told myself earlier in the day i would
If I was an animal I’d be a: tiger or a monkey
A better name for me would be: you tell me
Tomorrow I am: playing poker in the evening in tulare with friends
Tonight I am: doing laundry...then it depends on what others are doing
My birthday is: towards the end of november

the gym

it seems like alot of my friends have been talking about the gym. they are going. they are thinking of going. they are planning on going. i'm not planning on joining a gym, but i would like to start working out some. my apartment complex has a workout room that would suit my needs. so now all i need to do is make my way over to this room and work out. wish me luck.

how did that get there?

i haven't listened to cypress hill in quite a while. i don't think i've heard them on the radio in quite a while. so why then has one of their songs been playing through my head all morning?

what to do during the week, in the evening

i usually try to watch jeopardy at 7. i've been reading practically every night (a variety of books). i have some dvds that i can watch over and over, so every so often i'll put on one. and currently i am receiving netflix so over the next couple of weeks this is what i have slated to receive and watch:
grindhouse: planet terror (robert rodriguez zombie movie)
grindhouse: death proof (quinten tarentino something something)
waitress (i've heard good things about it)
dexter: season 1 (4 discs) (i've seen a few episodes on sunday nights and like it)
the prestige
the borne ultimatum (i liked the first 2, so i figure this one will be good too)
the royal tenenbaums
lost in translation (i'm very attracted to scarlett johansen)
blade runner: directors cut (i've always been a fan of sci-fi, and like this movie)
willow
children of men

homeland security

so i just got back from lunch, and am sitting at my desk when two people come in the front door. and who do they say they are? homeland security. at least that's whay the guy says as he shows me his badge. well, there are no managers in the office right now, so i give him the address to our main office so he can speak to our human resourses director. crazy. i hope no one is in trouble.

as days turn in to years

does time just keep going by faster, the older you get. i'd say all the way through eighth grade, it would take forever to get to...your birthday, or a holiday, or summer, or the weekend. once i got into high school though, i began to notice time moving faster. and now, i'm 31, it's already march, it's almost summer, and on and on.
at the same time that my life flies past me, i just know that this week is going to take forever. maybe to say "i know" is wrong, but i have a strong feeling. maybe that's good though; i have a thing or two i need to prove to myself i can do. 1 day down, 4 to go.

why not work

well, it's saturday morning and i'm working. this doesn't happen very often. last night my boss called and asked if i could work today. sure. so i'm in the office now, but leaving to go to a jobsite. what is my task? to be a company representative while we have subcontractors on the site performing work today. what does that mean? i sit around for 7-8-9 hours reading a book or twiddling my thumbs while these guys work. i can use the money, and really, what else was i going to do today. i never know what i'm doing until someone says lets do something. so i can talk and see what's going on tonight, i just can't do anything during the day.

what the flip, kip

so either something is wrong with my phone or none of my friends have had anything to say over the last couple of days. i guess now would be a good time to look at my phone bill and make sure that its not overdue and been shut off, making my friends and family wonder and worry about me.

i need new clothes

that doesn't mean that i'm getting new clothes, just that i need them. my three-shirt rotation seems to have been noticed by a few of my friends...but sara's deep love of my green recycle shirt keeps me smiling for now. with st. patricks day coming up, i might have to find another cool green shirt. there's no way that it will be as cool as my recycle shirt, but if it's close i'll be happy.

what's new

nothing. went to the zoo on saturday with sara & georgia, adam, ed & heather, and nick. before that we had lunch in the park with george, ken & anna & eden. lunch and the zoo were both fun.
i forgot to adjust my clock saturday night, so i missed church sunday morning.
i know none of this was even worth reading, sorry, i just felt i needed to say something.

looking back, i might be a bad friend

i was thinking of some of my old friends. people who played important roles in my past, but who i don't know anymore. maybe our worlds drifted apart. maybe we got into a fight. maybe they (or i) moved or went away to school. maybe that's just life.
all i know is that i had some good friends that i enjoyed being with and who helped me through some tough times; but now they're just part of my past. and unfortuantely i don't have the best memory.
but people can change. and hopefully old dogs can learn new tricks. and hopefully i'm a better friend to you than i was to them.

today

my heart itches like adam's tattoo. recent self-introspection was like the needle, or the ink, or both. but it's healing now. and i like it's new look - similar to before...but different (a good different). and right now it itches.

how to get from there to here

i was looking through my posts, and this one was listed as a draft. back on 2-26-08, and today it is 10-30-09. maybe i posted something similar to it later...or not. here it is, one of the things i was thinking of that day.


i have thoughts, and ideas, and feelings that are swirling around in my head. and inside my head i understand them. i see them, hear them, and feel them. some of these thoughts, and ideas, and feelings are meant just for me. but some of them - some of them need to be shared, or expressed, or given to others.

and that's where i feel like i struggle. they don't seem to sound the same when i speak them. they don't look the same when i write them down. and their intention seems changed when i tell someone them.

it may be my imagination. or it may be true.

just so you know

i haven't been in a real good mood lately (another way to say it would be that i haven't been myself). it's a combination of things. so if i normally interact with you and something seems off...it's not you, it's me.
update:
can you go through a mid-life crisis at 31? and what is a mid-life crisis?
second update in two minutes:
i guess if i only live to 62, this would be the perfect time for one.
3rd update:
it's almost 5. i'm happy i made it through the day. i think i'll go home and collapse, although i need to run 2 errands first.

how 'fashion forward' i am

i went to lunch with my friend/coworker/boss josh today. as we were driving, he looks over at me and says, "my grandpa called, he wants his shirt back." i'm okay with it looking like his grandpas shirt. i like it. this shirt is a white, short-sleeve, button-up with vertical textured striping (that's as best as i can describe it with my limited fashion vocabulary). maybe ed can take a picture of it tonight as adam gets his tattoo. then i can update this post with a picture.

my haiku

i commented on carly's blog post titled 'wednesday haiku' with one of my own. here it is:

light wanes.
leaves fall in love.
beautiful.

i have other versions of the same haiku in carly's comment section, so i won't put them here.

recap/update - what a new year means

i had lunch with my friend ed today, and a topic that came up breifly was how my 'resolutions' were coming along. so let's see.
a few things i wish to achieve this year:
1. a career.
2. a relationship.
3. a healthy body.
4. get outdoors/travel more.
5. feed friendships.
6. get out of debt.
7. find god.
8. learn about my background.
9.
here is where i stand two and a half months later:
1. i've told my employers (at the beginning of february) that i want to keep working there; that i want to turn what i do into a valuable position that merits a better salary. they seem all for it; i just have to realize that nothing happens overnight. so i'll work hard, and hopefully begin to see the fruits of my labors soon.
2. nothing new. i have started going to another church sunday mornings, so at least seeing new/more people is a step in the right direction. i have a split relationship personality - i'm in no real hurry...and i'd love to be in a relationship right now.
3. i haven't seen the inside of a gym yet. but i'm trying (and succeeding more than failing) to eat more fruits and drink more water instead of soda. baby steps.
4. i'm going to colorado to see becky and jay get married this summer. hopefully that counts, because i don't have many other plans. yet.
5. this is a roller coaster. i go from seeing and hanging out with friends every day, to seeing them once in two weeks. but overall i think most of my friendships are growing and improving. always more work to be done though.
6. right now there is no improvement. maybe i'll make more money soon - then i can begin to work on my debt.
7. not much new here. i am going to a second church, so that may be looked at as good. but sometimes you're not ready to back up the things you say. i'm not sure that i'm ready for god right now.
8. i've done nothing to help accomplish this yet.
9. i was hoping that by the time i got here, i'd have something to add. i don't.
there it is. remixed. remastered. now available on a two disc, collectors edition, signed blah blah blah.

6 words

as far as our part of the web world goes, this meme was started with carly.
write a story in 6 words.
Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
"Everyone hs a story. Can you tell yours in six words?"
here's mine:
when we die, let's die together.
i tag: heather stew, eleanore, dennis

good times

i had a lot of fun this weekend. friday i went to the opening of a new bar/restaurant with sara, adam, nick and nick. saturday i don't remember doing much until the evening when ed and heather invited people over to watch ufc fights before going to the landmark for drinks. then sunday was the super bowl, which was exciting and had an unexpected winner.
but saturday night at landmark was a highlight. if i remember right, there was ed, adam, myself, sara, woody, nick and kasey (if i forgot someone, sorry, but i think brian, the other nick and leah were out on friday). we rolled dice, had some drinks and cracked plenty of jokes. i adopted one (maybe two) nicknames...we'll have to see if they stick or not. ed finally dried up the landmarks store of seagrams 7 (my contribution was minimal). and i'd have to say that aces has become the groups 2nd favorite dice game behind liars.