03/26/2003 - 10:27 p.m. | let's get metaphysical... metaphysical

Hours: 8
Money: $75.something
CDs:
Gorillaz - "Gorillaz"
Old 97's - "Too Far to Care",br> Kid Koala - "Carpel Tunnel Syndrome"
Pavement - "Slanted & Enchanted"
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - "No Need to Panic"
R.E.M. - "Automatic for the People"

The day started out on sort of a surreal note. I slept sporradically last night, so I think I woke up a little before my alarm went off and clicked it off (because I'm a genius and assumed I wouldn't fall back asleep). So I started dozing off, and I hear this sound: Beepbeepbeep... Then a pause. Beepbeepbeep. Pause. What the fuck? Must be one of the walkie talkies in my bag. Beepbeepbeep. Pause. Damn it! I start fishing through my bag with my eyes closed trying to find the stupid thing. Beepbeepbeep! ARGH! Finally, after about a minute of digging, I find it and turn it off, wide awake. OK, so the battery wasn't dying or anything, so why was it beeping? Crazy God wake-up calls...

Work is destroying me, kids. It's getting to that point. The point when I really can't move anymore (here is the secret to success, though - work through the pain! Eventually your muscles and joints get sick of trying to annoy you and stop hurting for a while... it's worse later, but it gets you through!). The point when I can't get those fucking stains off my fingers. I didn't mark it as an actual injury today, but the soap we use - orange-flavored sulfuric acid, as far as I can tell - has dried my hands to the point of bleeding. Washing them hurts so much it makes me laugh!

So, the morning was just more half-moons. Whoop whoop (although I did finally get the nerve to just start hula hooping with one... no one was impressed). And then in the afternoon, back to the welder. It's so weird. I live my life from 12 to 4 in a continous series of 3 second intervals (that's how long it takes the conveyor belt to shift one notch). I try to maximize each 3 second period, and figure out what I'm going to do for the next one, and on and on and on. I can see how this would drive someone crazy. BUT - if you really want a mindfuck, check this out! So, the welder moves all the time, right? And you have to watch it, so I guess your eyes get accustomed to each panel moving. Sometimes, though, the machine will "crash" (just stops advancing - very easy to fix), and that moment when your brain thinks it should be moving, but your eyes say it's not... Mind-blowing. Makes me dizzy. I can't really expect you to understand.

So, work ended eventually (although I' always a little surprised) and then came back here to get dolled up for family portrait. Mom caked on the makeup, and I looked OK (actually, maybe even sort of cute from like 10 feet or so). Then off to Peru (the city, yes) to have them done. I was worried something would happen to mess our appearances up. Like on a bad sitcom. But it didn't. WRITE LONGER SENTENCES. The Sears photography lady seemed pissy that my mom and I could never keep our eyes open. And she had no idea what we were talking about when I said I could switch to my right eye, so they I looked less squinty. Ask for fun info! Then, I had a gift certificate to burn, so I got a CD (Jason Mraz or something) and new headphones to fuck up ($20 ones, though!).

Afterwards, good Italian food. I had tortellini with cream sauce, peas, and prosciutto (but my cream sauce was sooo rich!! I could only eat half of it). And the best lemon Italian ice ever. So it kinda of cancelled out the shittiness of work. I am so sleepy.