As the Winds Blow

Southern California can be identified by one event that occurs annually: the Santa Ana winds. Every October, my nose attempts to implode on itself as the desert air filled with dust and other random things blow by me.

But another problem these gusts can cause are these little fires. Yup, my state is on fire... or as CNN reports "California, the massive inferno". Luckily, this time around, I'm nowhere near all the chaos. (Although I think my neighbor is up to something. Flames shooting from their backyard can be labeled as questionable, right?)

It's like a big soap opera watching all these news reports. Firemen asking reporters to get them hamburgers. Commercial airliners circling the mountains. People playing football while plumbs of smoke billowing just 5 feet away from them. I can't really go outside and play on my day off since it's been smelling like an ashtray outside. So, I'll be watching that airplane fly around because it's pretty cool to watch (the flying not the fire part).

Thanks for your concerns!

A Means to an End

Hmmm... ok, so I've been absolute crap updating this blog. Life has taken me in all sorts of directions lately and I'm slow to figure it all out.

After enjoying two months of unemployment, I finally got a job. I'm an English instructor and I teach Japanese students! (There's others from other countries but the majority of them do understand what よっぱらい [yopparai-I'm drunk] means). A bit of déjà vu? Perhaps. I actually do teach. I give out homework, lecture, grade midterms. It's like I'm a real teacher! Too bad most of the time, I really don't know what I'm talking about. (Gerrunds? Noun clauses? Is that even English? I just think back to my ESL days when I would cry because I couldn't pronounce "coyote".) I don't plan on doing this forever. It's just something to do to say I'm not a slacker, I guess.

As for the writing thing, I'm still trying to pursue it. It's hard especially since I'm now based in California and the publishing world is located all the way on the other side of the country in New York City. ...sigh... So, I'm drowning my sorrows by taking a writing class. (Some might consider it more to be a form of torture. Who knows?!)

(I'm done with the whining/verbal barf now. Next time, it'll be a more happier post. Promise.)

The Shameless Plug

Since I have nothing blog-worthy to write about except the oddity that is my family, I've decided to post one of my articles. It's short and sweet. And the best part, it wasn't butchered or mutilated like last time. Very cool.

The Eurotrip: Part 5-The Long Journey

15:17, 04 July 2007. Waiting for the slow boat to arrive.

18:34, 04 July 2007. On the slow boat back to Athens.

20:00, 04 July 2007. Still on the slow boat back to Athens.

03:14, 05 July 2007. Sleeping at Athens airport.

09:35, 05 July 2007. On the plane leaving Athens.

11:26, 05 July 2007. Wandering around Milan's airport.

13:16, 05 July 2007. Still wandering around Milan's airport.

16:34, 05 July 2007. Finally, made it to Madrid. And it only took us 25 hours to get here.

The Eurotrip: Part 4-It Really Does Look Like The Postcard

Current location: Santorini, Greece
Some thoughts running through my head as I sit guarding a prime piece of real estate on the island's mountainside waiting for the sun to set:

• Would I get tired of having this view every day if I had to live here?
• If I painted my blue-domed igloo home red, would the Greeks kick me out? Or a compromise, baby blue?
  
• I need to find a plate so I can smash it on the floor. Is there an Ikea around?
• Hmm... everyone else has a bottle of wine. I wonder if they'll share...