There are a lot of things I can talk about, if only I wrote down notes or had the time to pull this tablet out and type.
Let's start with the most recent events, and work backwards. But it's important for you to read the previous post below before reading this one. Do that.
I spent an evening with two friends. It was nice, pretty fun sometimes, and produced a cake. A fragile, broken, messy, and doused-in-glaze cake, but a cake nonetheless. They both go to schools away from home, one out of state, even. It's the end of May and they've finished their classes, thus came home. I suggesting hanging out with one, who invited the other.
It was an enjoyable evening, both the baking and plainly seeing them again.
Yesterday I had my car radio fixed. It was broken due to user error (I'm a total idiot. Really, I made a bonehead mistake and broke a perfectly working thing). The previous owner installed a nice radio but did a botch job putting the wires together. It sometimes produced static due to loose wire connections. It was just a mess in there, so I went in and cleaned it up by soldering and neatly tying it together. Long story short, I was without a radio for a few days, but luckily a pro (and very nice!) radio guy solved the problem.
The reason I took the radio out was, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, because it literally fell out when I was driving. The previous owner put the radio in without securing it.
The reason I wanted to solder the wires, in addition to the aforementioned reasons, was because I was already soldering my new CB radio to my new power horn/speaker.
This is the best part, or should I say, the best upgrade to the car so far. A friend of mine has the same setup, and I wanted to have my own. It consists of a CB radio that has a PA function, the included microphone, and a separate speaker wired under the hood. This setup allows me to speak to people outside my car (and at a distance!). I can "meow" or give compliments or say hi to random pedestrians on sidewalks, on bicycles, or in other cars. This doesn't sound all exciting on paper, but it is SO much fun if you've got the balls to speak out to strangers!
Tangent: My confidence and sociability has increased recently. I'm slowly talking to more people because I'm slightly less afraid to. I'm shy, that basic principle is never going away, but it is slowly decreasing. That's why I went to hang out with some friends tonight: I wasn't afraid to ask.
Additionally, there was a pretty girl in my class who talked to me after class, and I later/now realize/d she might have hit on me. Which is good, because I've liked looking at her since the beginning of the semester. I have some courage to talk to her again, something I wouldn't have a month and more ago.
And I think it's worth noting that me, a shy person, has a convertible, which the top is rarely kept on. This goes towards the enjoyment of driving, but also shows that I'm not afraid of other people looking at me. Now that I have a loudspeaker, I've increased the likeliness of people turning heads my way (if I make a sound or speak, naturally).
My friends have enjoyed using the PA, or at minimum laughed with me at the idea of having this cool function. Because it really is a silly idea! A PA on your car... not common, but incredibly entertaining; just watching some people's reaction to hearing me say something (mainly "meow") has been an irreplaceable sense of enjoyment. Just remember that you have to have the balls to say something to someone you don't know at all, and a sharp mind to say something worth saying. Both of which I'm developing.
The unit was installed over the weekend. It took three days. Three fucking days. Well, a span of. An evening, a second evening, and an afternoon. The first evening was mostly about finding the place to put the box: one of two spots in the center dash, stashed on the side, or under my seat, where it now lays. At that time, the radio hadn't been broken, but it was loose, so we tightened it in with a rack I bought online. We also managed the wiring of the unit, consisting of power and the line out to the speaker. The driver's seat came out to mount the unit: first tried directly on the bottom of the seat, which failed, then to the floor of the car, which was accomplished the second night. The first night was basically prep work. Also, we found out the speaker I bought cheap online from China didn't work, so there was no reason to continue with the installation.
The next day I bought miscellaneous parts and a new speaker. I mounted the box to the car floor (through the carpet to the steel sheet) and soldered together the power wires and then the speaker wire to the plug. The seat was a real pain in the ass to re-install because the box was in the way; I can't slide the seat all the way forward, preventing access of the back bolts. So after much fiddling and a trip to the hardware store, the seat is back and mostly bolted in.
The third day was mounting the speaker to the mouth of the car behind the front license plate. Simple install with the car on jack stands. Soldered the speaker wires, and now I have a fantastic new toy in my car.
The downside is, I drive a manual. This means, most of the time, one hand is on the steering wheel, the other on the shift knob. I don't have a third hand to hold the mic all the time, but there's usually enough time between gear shifts to get something out if I have to. :) I've made it work.
Sorry if that was too long. I've already tried my best to condense the first two stories. I could have said a lot more about what happened tonight because it's fresh in my memory.
Sometime between the installation of the PA and the breaking of the radio, I encountered another problem. My dashboard lights don't go on. Meaning, at night, I can't see my speed or revs or gas etc. And the dome light doesn't work. And recently I got an engine light warning. I've noticed that starting the car takes a little longer than it did (the starter motor spins longer before the ignition sets off the engine). It's a problem I don't know how to fix. Also, since I broke the radio, the power antenna won't go down. Basically, I need to go to the dealer soon.
As you may remember, I am a (volunteer) teacher for my high school's film class. I think, think, the last time I mentioned this was regarding a film project they were going to start. I don't know how long ago that was but they haven't starting filming yet. They almost did, on Sunday, but was canceled. I waited with two students on Sunday who didn't get the message of the cancelation until they had already waited an hour.
They're way behind schedule (as usual) but I still have faith /something/ will be produced. A couple Friday's ago, we had a crew rehearsal in which they practiced setting up the "set," getting the shots, communicating, and general knowledge before shooting the real thing.
What we need to discuss the next time I see them is full contact information across the board: everyone should be able to contract everyone else (in case of cancellations).
I don't know the ending, but the story's interesting: there's a mute girl (mute by choice) with an imaginary friend, and this friend is angered when a nerdy guy wants to help the girl shake her muteness. I hope you agree with me in that this this is indeed an interesting premiss. I hope we can see what this looks like if and when they film it.
Dog sitting (technically called dog boarding) has picked up recently. Either, advertising for the service (DogVacay.com) has gotten better, or more people around me are in need of my service! My rate isn't the lowest but it is reasonably priced and is the lowest in my immediate area, compared to other hosts nearby. Lower rates exist farther away.
A Vizsla, a breed native to Hungary, stayed for almost two weeks, and I hope she comes back for another visit. I liked that dog. She was well mannered. Another owner came to visit/inspect, but didn't like the potential choking hazard my side yard posed. The dog liked to chew things, and I have things tucked away, that could potentially be chewed, although no other dogs/owners have had a problem with that. Two dogs that did stay with me most recently were also great guests; quiet, obedient, and cute. The owner's flight had been canceled and tried to book another asap, and I did my part to lessen the worry of picking up her dogs later than planned. It paid off in a satisfied client, and a tip.
School is ehh. In pre-calc, we're learning about matrices, and currently on the lesson of Cramer's Rule, Minors, and Cofactors. This shit is fucking pointless. She describes this is one of the program languages of computers. That part is useful. But the processes of obtaining numbers from sets of numbers is mind-blowingly dull. Not hard, but long, tedious, and dull.
In my deaf culture class, that one hot girl talked to me, so that's all I remember at the moment.
In fact, I don't even remember what my other classes are.
But I do remember that I registered for summer and fall classes. One of my friends is taking a law class. I don't need to, but it seems like useful knowledge, and I have nothing else to do this summer, so I joined. Another friend might take a class, I asked which one, and enrolled in it. But she doesn't go to the school so her registration date for non-students isn't until June, and I don't know if any spots will be open by then. It's another class I don't need, but sounds interesting and might have a buddy in it, so why not, I don't have anything else to do.
Coming up this weekend is the Hermosa Beach Fair. It's an annual gathering of small businesses under tents on a street before the Hermosa Pier. I mention this because my mom is a small business owner who bought a space at this fair and plans to sell things. Jewelry. Lots of jewelry. She's been going nuts about this. I've had to help. Not fun for me, but it seems to make her happy. If you're in town, come visit our tent! Chic Indulgences. I'll be the cashier, and providing second opinions to those cute girls who could use it. ;)
I... think I've exhausted my recent news. I shared my past and future, but here's something for my present: a lot of things cluster my mind, so I can't accurately tell you what's on my mind. There are things I want to say but that's filtered because it might be taken the wrong way or I simply don't want a stranger to know certain details about my life. That is why many things are vague, because sometimes it's best to keep some information safe. I'm always open to answer questions, but I've never gotten any, so I don't expect them.
There's got to be a better way to end this life update of mine. How about, my life looks pretty decent now. I'm optimistic about the future. May there be many more adventures to come!
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