Here is an excerpt of a letter I wrote my idiot foreign exchange student roommate last night and gave him this morning.
Referring to my house (and earlier telling him that we have saying that "A man's home is his castle" and I am the king of my castle):
"To you, it is place where you can sit on the sofa and watch TV, make a mess in the kitchen, hang your wet suit in my bathroom (my bathroom, Roman, not yours. You are using it but it is still my bathroom) and sleep at night. You do not really care that much about this house because soon you will be back in your country and so it does not matter.
"But, to me, this house means many things. It means I am not poor. It means I am happy that I live in Oceanside. It means I have worked hard. It means that in a few years I will have more money because the house will sell for a better price. It means that the girls like me more. This house means many things to me.
"That is why I am 'El Rey.'
"And since I am 'El Rey' I do not want to hear you argue with me about my house and my things in my house. I watch very little TV. You remember that before September 11 I had no TV signal. Then I bought for us a small antenna to watch the news of the terrorists. I bought the cable TV because you asked me. But you watch TV all the time, so you have no influence with me when you want to watch this show and I want to watch a different show.
"Roman, I will not allow you or anyone else to argue with me in my house. You do not pay rent to me; the ULP pays me $500 every month, not you. You are a guest in my house. I allow you to live here because I know that living in a strange country and learning English is very hard to do. But I also know that when I visit Italy or Germany or other European countries and see my European friends I do not argue with them. I do not demand that they give me something, or that they take me to a special store for a special thing. I know I am a guest and I ask them to do very little for me."
I went on to tell him he had to leave my house the day after his school was finished, which is December 1. I had originally agreed to let him stay here another 10 days so he could sight see with his brother, who was coming to visit him.
This morning he told me had decided already to go home on December 1 (before my demand). So, apparently his own brother won't come to the US from Venezuela to see him. First his girlfriend said "No" and now his brother.
Hmmm. Maybe I'm not the only one who thinks he is a putz.
Saturday, November 24, 2001
Friday, November 23, 2001
Thanksgiving was actually pretty good. We all brought good food and Mom just roasted a turkey.
I had an argument with my foreign exchange student roommate a little while ago. He watches a LOT of TV - he begged me to get cable after he moved in (I had nothing when I first bought the place and then on Sept 11 I bought a set of "rabbitt ears" to watch some coverage.). I wanted to watch the U2 concert tonight on VH-1 that started at 9 PM. At 8:30, while I was watching the ST:TNG marathon he came in to "remind" me that he was watching "Amor Amor Amor" (a stupid Spanish soap opera) at 9 PM.
"No. I am watching the U2 concert."
This precipitated an argument wherein he insisted he had to watch this show and I was simply telling him, "No. It's my house, my TV, my cable TV. He then tried to claim that because he pays me $500 a month he can watch my TV.
I got very angry and told him to forget it. He walked away grumbling so I told him to fuck off.
His class is finished next week and he has asked if he can stay until December 10 with a lot of sight-seeing with his brother before he goes home. I think I will reneg on my agreement and tell him he has to get out December 1.
My friend Ed is coming down this Friday for the weekend. He is staying in a hotel since he is allergic to my cats but if Roman leaves on December 1 then it's one less thing I have to worry about.
I had an argument with my foreign exchange student roommate a little while ago. He watches a LOT of TV - he begged me to get cable after he moved in (I had nothing when I first bought the place and then on Sept 11 I bought a set of "rabbitt ears" to watch some coverage.). I wanted to watch the U2 concert tonight on VH-1 that started at 9 PM. At 8:30, while I was watching the ST:TNG marathon he came in to "remind" me that he was watching "Amor Amor Amor" (a stupid Spanish soap opera) at 9 PM.
"No. I am watching the U2 concert."
This precipitated an argument wherein he insisted he had to watch this show and I was simply telling him, "No. It's my house, my TV, my cable TV. He then tried to claim that because he pays me $500 a month he can watch my TV.
I got very angry and told him to forget it. He walked away grumbling so I told him to fuck off.
His class is finished next week and he has asked if he can stay until December 10 with a lot of sight-seeing with his brother before he goes home. I think I will reneg on my agreement and tell him he has to get out December 1.
My friend Ed is coming down this Friday for the weekend. He is staying in a hotel since he is allergic to my cats but if Roman leaves on December 1 then it's one less thing I have to worry about.
Thursday, November 22, 2001
Monday, November 19, 2001
Sunday, November 18, 2001
John Lennon wrote a song once called "Instant Kharma", wherein he sang in part; "Instant kharma's gonna get you."
Well, it's been getting some guy whose phone number is close to my cell phone number since yesterday afternoon.
Saturday afternoon I decided to forward my home phone to my cell phone; to do this I pick up the home phone and dial 72# 583 8986. I wait for my cell phone to ring, answer it and then hang up. Now the calls to 439 4864 go to 583 8986. To stop the call forwarding I pick up the home phone and dial 73#.
Well, I dialed something else close to 583 8986 Saturday and when some guy picked up I said, "I'm sorry, I have the wrong number." very politely and apologetically. His reply was a snide, "Yeah, you sure as hell do!". Yes, he's right; I am obviously a completely useless dumbshit moron because I made a dialing mistake with my telephone.
So, I hung up and forgot about it and just ran my errands without forwarding my calls.
But, I forgot that the phone was still programmed to dial into whatever that number was. So the phone rang three times last night and all three times it rang once and then stopped. I just figured there was someone dialing and then changing their mind. It happens, you know.
Just now, though, I decided to do the same thing - forward the phone to my cell. I called my home phone from my cell phone to check on something else and lo and behold, the phone on the counter rang ONCE and then stopped. After another few rings in my cell phone earpiece I heard this same guy pick up the phone. "Hello?" I hung up and said, "Oh shit!" and started laughing. Immediately my cell phone started ringing. The caller ID was blocked and there was no way I was picking that thing up. So, before it rolled into voice mail he hung up. Too bad, I wanted to hear what he had to say.
So, I then knew I had to clear the call forwarding, which I did.
And the lesson here, is BE NICE to people when they call your number by mistake, even if they aren't. Because if you aren't they might forget to correct their call forwarding and you'll have to put up with their phone calls until they clear it. Hee hee.
Well, it's been getting some guy whose phone number is close to my cell phone number since yesterday afternoon.
Saturday afternoon I decided to forward my home phone to my cell phone; to do this I pick up the home phone and dial 72# 583 8986. I wait for my cell phone to ring, answer it and then hang up. Now the calls to 439 4864 go to 583 8986. To stop the call forwarding I pick up the home phone and dial 73#.
Well, I dialed something else close to 583 8986 Saturday and when some guy picked up I said, "I'm sorry, I have the wrong number." very politely and apologetically. His reply was a snide, "Yeah, you sure as hell do!". Yes, he's right; I am obviously a completely useless dumbshit moron because I made a dialing mistake with my telephone.
So, I hung up and forgot about it and just ran my errands without forwarding my calls.
But, I forgot that the phone was still programmed to dial into whatever that number was. So the phone rang three times last night and all three times it rang once and then stopped. I just figured there was someone dialing and then changing their mind. It happens, you know.
Just now, though, I decided to do the same thing - forward the phone to my cell. I called my home phone from my cell phone to check on something else and lo and behold, the phone on the counter rang ONCE and then stopped. After another few rings in my cell phone earpiece I heard this same guy pick up the phone. "Hello?" I hung up and said, "Oh shit!" and started laughing. Immediately my cell phone started ringing. The caller ID was blocked and there was no way I was picking that thing up. So, before it rolled into voice mail he hung up. Too bad, I wanted to hear what he had to say.
So, I then knew I had to clear the call forwarding, which I did.
And the lesson here, is BE NICE to people when they call your number by mistake, even if they aren't. Because if you aren't they might forget to correct their call forwarding and you'll have to put up with their phone calls until they clear it. Hee hee.
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
So, we had a very demoralizing layoff yesterday. It was rough seeing some people I work with on a daily basis be "excused." Three people from our own little program got axed. Later, I'll be wondering how we will get our program completed, assuming it's still alive, but for now I just feel bad. I went home last night, bought a replacement VCR (my old one broke) went on line for while and then ended up playing my guitar for about 30 minutes before going to sleep.
It rained last night; the cats had to learn what that stuff was. They were on the balcony when it began. They looked quite irked at having to come in.
It rained last night; the cats had to learn what that stuff was. They were on the balcony when it began. They looked quite irked at having to come in.
Sunday, November 4, 2001
Background; I live at the edge of the cul-de-sac "bulge." The houses on the cul-de-sac proper are downhill from me, the houses up the short street are uphill from me.
So, I got home early last night. When I arrived, the Moms had put candelarias (small candles in paper bags) all along the sidewalk from the "T" intersection down around the cul-de-sac. Someone else had put a big lit-up sign "Come Down Here" in the middle of the bulge. A bunch of people had props on their lawns.
Bob (across the street and one house up) had strobe lights and grave markers on his lawn and a smoke machine that he'd fire up when kids came up to the door. He'd leap out at them through the smoke. Kids were screaming all night. Ron, who lives across the street and uphill two or three houses from me had a severed head on a pike, a skeleton in a coffin with a speaker he'd rigged up to talk to the kids as they came up to the door. He had some other stuff, too.
I walked over there at one point and we started planning for next year.
We're gonna string a cable from his roof to mine and shoot goblins across the street from house to house. Maybe we'll do a Santa and His Sleigh for Christmas.
At one point no one was coming to my house because Ron had told me to turn off my lights so people thought I wasn't participating. So, I fired up my PA system that I use for the band's vocals (800 watts, two big speakers), cranked up the volume and started begging for trick-or-treaters.
"Trick-or-treaters! Please come to my house! I have candy! I want to give you candy! If you come to my house I promise I'll never play rock and roll in it again! Pleeeeeease come to my house! I left work early for this! It's the house that looks like it's pink but it's really pastel orange! Follow my voice!" I had turned on the echo and the reverb to give my voice some texture.
Everyone was cracking up. Finally some teen girls came over and said, "Rhonda (my across the street neighbor) says to turn your lights on." So, I said, "OK," gave them candy and then got back on the mike.
"Rhonda! Ron said I was supposed to turn my lights OFF! Please coordinate with Ron on the house porch light policy!" More laughing.
So we decided next year we'll put the PA in the street and crank it up with Halloween music along with everything else.
Apparently some folks want us to be a Christmas Lights neighborhood. Ron's wife Patty told me that the original owners used to do lights with everyone and he'd sit out there as "Santa Bob" and give away candy canes. So, I said, "Yeah, OK, I'll be Santa Al and sit out there with a beer or a hot buttered rum and give away candy canes. Merry Christmas! uuurrrp! Here, kid! Have a uuurpp candy cane!"
So, I got home early last night. When I arrived, the Moms had put candelarias (small candles in paper bags) all along the sidewalk from the "T" intersection down around the cul-de-sac. Someone else had put a big lit-up sign "Come Down Here" in the middle of the bulge. A bunch of people had props on their lawns.
Bob (across the street and one house up) had strobe lights and grave markers on his lawn and a smoke machine that he'd fire up when kids came up to the door. He'd leap out at them through the smoke. Kids were screaming all night. Ron, who lives across the street and uphill two or three houses from me had a severed head on a pike, a skeleton in a coffin with a speaker he'd rigged up to talk to the kids as they came up to the door. He had some other stuff, too.
I walked over there at one point and we started planning for next year.
We're gonna string a cable from his roof to mine and shoot goblins across the street from house to house. Maybe we'll do a Santa and His Sleigh for Christmas.
At one point no one was coming to my house because Ron had told me to turn off my lights so people thought I wasn't participating. So, I fired up my PA system that I use for the band's vocals (800 watts, two big speakers), cranked up the volume and started begging for trick-or-treaters.
"Trick-or-treaters! Please come to my house! I have candy! I want to give you candy! If you come to my house I promise I'll never play rock and roll in it again! Pleeeeeease come to my house! I left work early for this! It's the house that looks like it's pink but it's really pastel orange! Follow my voice!" I had turned on the echo and the reverb to give my voice some texture.
Everyone was cracking up. Finally some teen girls came over and said, "Rhonda (my across the street neighbor) says to turn your lights on." So, I said, "OK," gave them candy and then got back on the mike.
"Rhonda! Ron said I was supposed to turn my lights OFF! Please coordinate with Ron on the house porch light policy!" More laughing.
So we decided next year we'll put the PA in the street and crank it up with Halloween music along with everything else.
Apparently some folks want us to be a Christmas Lights neighborhood. Ron's wife Patty told me that the original owners used to do lights with everyone and he'd sit out there as "Santa Bob" and give away candy canes. So, I said, "Yeah, OK, I'll be Santa Al and sit out there with a beer or a hot buttered rum and give away candy canes. Merry Christmas! uuurrrp! Here, kid! Have a uuurpp candy cane!"
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