yesterday, after experiencing home depot, petsmart and micheal's (craft store) at the supercenter in northern sacto and being completely disgusted with society and consumerism and development i thought living on a commune just might be nice. (i was shoved, run into by shopping carts, listend to little kids screaming and parents ignoring them, etc. and i didn't even go into walmart! [i refuse to shop there. at all. won't even go in]) after my experience saturday, i am ready to move to one. sometimes people disgust me. i really honestly can't believe how many of them act....the story:

i am livid. LIVID. in the evenings i sometimes walk my dogs around the park near my house. it's a perfect 'walking' park - one block wide and about a half a mile long. there is a parth around the outer edge. the park is mainly grass with lots and lots of gigantic old trees. there is a playground and some lighted tennis courts in the center. the past few days i have seen a man out with his two large dogs. they look like they may be dobermans, whatever they were, they were large, muscular and FAST. he was running them off leash - throwing a ball quite far and the dogs retreived it. now, i know that a lot of people like to have their dogs off leash. we have three (one of them being IN my neighborhood, about a 5 minute walk away) local off leash dogs parks. if i let my dogs are off leash, it's there. many people aren't comfortable around dogs, and you shouldn't run them off leash in pubic, regardless of how nice they are. if i see anyone with off leash dogs bigger than say, oh, 50 pounds, i will likly ask the owner to put the leash on. there is always a degree of unpredictableness, no matter how friendly the dog. everest didn't react whatsoever to the dogs, but to eliminate risk (if i were caught in a suprise fight between three 100 pound plus dogs, i'd be in BIG trouble...) i asked him politely:

me: um, hi, do you mind hanging on to them for a second? just as i walk by?

him: why? they're friendly

me: i know, but everest sometimes gets excited and starts barking...he usually doesn't and he's totally friendly but i ....

him: no, they are fine

me: i know but....(i trailed off, kept walking, realizing that he *wasn't* going to put them on leash at all)

him: that's your problem not mine

this took a second to register...i paused, blinked, "excuse me?"

him: that's your problem, not mine.

me: i'm not running my large dogs off leash in a public park.

him: mind your own fucking business

i was in shock. complete shock that someone would speak to me in such a way, especially when i was polite, didn't want to start anything, and was simply asking him to follow the rules. there are signs all over the park that say 'pets must be on leash'. i didn't reply to him. people like that aren't worth arguing with. but from now on i am taking my cell phone (hey! they're good for *something*) and calling animal control the next time i see him out there with off leash dogs. (i have seen him out there many times before, just never with my dogs). what a jerk. it made me sad. and angry. and frustrated.

hmm...i republished my archieves, in case any of you were diggin' up some old stuff and couldn't find it. damn blogger.

oh, and i don't think i posted this here...people sent me some of thier pictures from my nols trip. nothing too exciting, but you can see what we all look like in 'normal' clothing. :) :

gila wilderness pictures

go buy trey anastasio's new album. it rocks. :)

i haven't said much of substance recently. been in a funk and the only thoughts in my head are too depressing to write out. life is feeling fragmented, like all of the pieces of places i've been, things i've done, people i've met are scattered haphazardly on the ground, like a shattered windsheild - bordering on utterly impossible to reassemble. even if you can reassemble them, they'll never be in the exact same arrangement they were in before. except i think my insurance deductable for my life is a lot higher than that of my car windsheild ... anyways ... so, here, once again, for your reading, um, pleasure are some depressing lyrics a la dave:

look at how she listens
she says notthing of what she thinks
she goes stumbling through her memories
staring out onto grey street
she thinks 'hey how did i come to this?
i dreamed myself a thousand times around the world
but i can't get out of this place'

there's an emptiness inside her and
she'd do anything to fill it in
all the colors mixed together to grey
and it breaks her heart

oh how she wishes it were different...

there’s a girl on a car in the parking lot
and she says "man, come on, just take a shot"
she says "can’t you see me? can’t you see me?
can’t you see my walls are crumblin' down?
can’t you see my walls are tumblin' down?
can’t you see my sun’s not flashing round?
cant you see my sky turn black and brown?
can’t you see my moon’s not spinning round?
can’t you see me? can’t you see me? can’t you see me?"
NO...
there's a girl on a car in the parking lot
says "hey, won’t you try and take a shot?
can't you see my walls are crumbling?"
then she looks up at the building
and says she's thinking of jumping
she says she's tired of life
she must be tired of something

didn't mean to sound complain-y in my last post. bonnaroo was an awesome experience. even with being sick. not much i could do about that, but i made up for it by having as much fun as possible on sunday. :)

here are some bonnaroo pics...the 17 hour traffic jam....bela fleck...an awesome sky...2002 and 1969 - a pt cruiser and a vw bus...people hangin' at the food court...me!

i'm back from bonnaroo. an amazing weekend. some problems...took 17 hours to go 20 miles on the way there (ugh)...i got very very sick friday night. woke up at about midnight with a migraine. puked. woke up a couple hours later. puked. (gross, i know)...couldn't even keep 3 sips of water down. headed to the first aid tent (puked twice on the walk over). i was totally dehydrated, being i couldn't drink anything, so they gave me an IV to rehydrate me. 4 bags of saline and about 6 hours later they released me. still with a migraine, still unable to eat or drink anything, with a prescription for something for my stomach. that night i was finally able to eat/drink but being merry had to wait until sunday - i slept all evening/night. missed jack johnson. ben harper. widespread panic. moe.. (i think i need two periods there :) ) but, sunday morning i felt MUCH better.

had a great time sunday. a great vibe there...amazing music....good people...just a sweet time. pictures to come!!

bye! have a great weekend! :) off to bonnaroo. eh, i'm just a tiny bit excited. :)

now i am on a thinking about fight club kick...someone posted the link to chuck palahniuk's website, so i have wasted way too much of this morning reading it. no, wait. not waste. because it isn't a waste of time. i have spent much of today reading it. there. that's better. i found an interesting movie trivia page.

one fact that is deliciously ironic: edward norton's (one of the lead actors in the movie, in case you haven't seen it. but, i guess, if you haven't seen it the irony will be lost on you. if you haven't seen it, GO SEE THIS MOVIE. stop at blockbuster on your way home. if you come by my house, i'll let you borrow my copy. :) ) i abuse parenthesis, don't i? ok, again, edward norton's grandfather, james rouse, was the creator of the american shopping mall. interesting.

enjoy.

this is a test: alissa delaney

after reading sheptastic, i tried my name. all that came up was that damn picture of me from the great pyrenees picinic. and a star trek page. wanna see if this works. you search 'how did gap clothing start out' and you get my page, why the hell can't you get my page searching my name?

someone posting on nancies yesterday about fight club made me go dig out the book. i forgot how much i like it, the emotion it brings out.

you have a class of young strong men and women, and they want to give their lives to something. advertising has these people chasing cars and clothing they don't need. generations have been working in jobs they hate, just so they can buy what they don't really need.

we don't have a great war in our generation, or a great depression, but we do, we have a great war of the spirit. we have a great revolution against the culture. the great depression is our lives. we have a spiritual depression.

i think this hits home for many of us - we don't want to be slaves to our pointless desk jobs, pushing paper for some giant industry so the ceo can have his bmw and swimming pool. we want to LIVE. i find it hard - i was taught to want that life. to want more. money. bigger houses. better cars. stuff. that is 'success'.

is it really, though? i have some serious doubts. i am living that lifestyle in a lot of ways, and there is a hollowness to it. you buy more, you want more, to fill up that space. but i have found that the only thing that will fill that space is actually living - going out and doing the things i want to, enjoying time in beautiful places with wonderful people just enjoying life. it's hard to turn your back on the first 20-something years, though, and look for something different.

imagine, when we call a strike and everyone refuses to work until we redistribute the wealth of the world

bonnaroo...3 more days...yay!

Widespread Panic, Gov't Mule, Les Claypool's Frog Brigade, Keller Williams, String Cheese Incident,
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Soulive, Amon Tobin, Umphrey's McGee,
Acoustic Syndicate, Ben Harper, moe., Galactic, Jack Johnson,The Disco Biscuits, Jurassic 5, Blackalicious, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Cut Chemist,
John Butler Trio, Col. Bruce Hampton & The Code Talkers, Particle, Trey Anastasio, Phil Lesh & Friends (w/ very special guest Bob Weir), Ween, North Mississippi Allstars, Norah Jones, Corey Harris, Z-Trip, Blind Boys Of Alabama, Campbell Brothers, Col. Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains (featuring Les Claypool, Buckethead, Brain & Bernie Worrell), Mofro, Rana, The Lil' Rascals Brass Band, DJ Logic, Dottie Peoples, Drums & Tuba, Jim White, Llama, Gabe Dixon Band, Vinroc, Bela Fleck & Edgar Meyer, Donna The Buffalo, The Big Wu, and Gran Torino

wow. this is going to be crazy! have plane tickets (thank you southwest frequent flyer program! it rocks) and a rental car. it's going to be HOT. HOT. and HUMID. hot i can take. after all, i live in 'but it's dry heat' sacramento. humid? ugh. last year in charlottesville, in april, it was only about 75 degrees (if that) and i couldn't believe how sticky hot it felt. note to self: buy lots of ice and cold beverages on the way to the show. :)

i get to see jack johnson... i get to see jack johnson...*does crazy happy dance*

guess what? i'm excited. just a little bit excited. ok, maybe a lotta bit excited.

speaking of redundant/oxymoronic book titles...i noticed one on my bookshef today that is from my college days...

customer service in local government

speaking of customer service...i had a $20 gift certificate to best buy. went yesterday to use it. picked up norah jones (on sale! $13.99) and a widespread panic disc (on sale, too! $12.99). i initially went in to replace u2's zooropa (it was stolen a few years back, and lately i've been humming 'lemon' a lot. need to listen. :P), but since these two were on sale, i decided zooropa can wait til i go to spend my border's gift certificate (birthdays rock!). went to the counter, she girl working rang 'em up. '$31.72' she said. i pulled $21 and change outta my wallet (+ the gift card), thinking that seemed too expensive. as she took my money, i peered around at the screen and saw two items - one $13.99 and one $14.99. 'wait,' i told her, holding up the widespread panic cd, 'the sicker on here says (a bright yellow sticker, mind you. can't miss it) it's $12.99, not $14.99.'

she looks at me like i'm crazy. 'well, that must be an old sticker,' she said.

'but it SAYS 'widepread panic. $12.99' - so i would think that's what i should have to pay for it.'

she sighs, and looks at me in exasperation. hands me my receipt, change and bag. 'what about the $2 i ask?'

'oh, well, you have to go over there (she points to the return counter with 3 people in line) and they'll give you the $2.'

'so, i have to wait in another line because YOU rang it up wrong?'

'if you want your $2.'

the line took almost 10 minutes. i got my $2.16. but, geez, hello??? funny that i had to wait in the 'customer service' line to get my money. i don't consider that very good customer service! *sigh* one plus to online shopping...no teenage clerks. (does that make me old? complaining like that?)

i was at barnes and noble today, browsing the sale books. one caught my eye:

america online for dummies

does anyone else find this redundant? :)

well, thanks to peacock, i braved the link to mcdonald's.
i am sitting here shaking my head in disbelief. on the main page, they ask you to choose your country. there are also links to other areas of the site. one is titled 'social responsibility'

yes, you read that right. social responsibility. mcdonalds. huh? of course, i clicked the link. and found...

The principle of giving back runs deep at McDonald’s– instilled in usnearly 50 years ago by our founder, Ray Kroc. It is a part of our culture – a culture that says:

We are commited...
To doing what is right.

To conducting our business
with the environment in mind.

To being a good neighbor and partner in your community.

conducting business with the environment in mind? are they talking about the same fast food chain? i cannot believe they say this:

WE ARE COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES – for our customers, and our communities in a way that does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs. (they used all caps - their emphasis, not mine)

hello? cattle raised in feedlots? everything packaged in it's own little wrapper/box/packet? using imported produce? flavoring food with chemicals? DRIVE THRUS? bullshit. they are no more sustainable than the american dream.

they state that they use uses posters to encourage customers to clean up and not litter - and that this is environmentally friendly under the heading of 'waste reduction'...um, no, that's just throwing the same stuff in a different place.

Beef Safety
Exploring the latest research in the area of beef safety by forming an International Scientific Advisory Council - a panel of independent experts - that brings the most advanced thinking to the prevention of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Adding another safety firewall to the U.S. beef supply by requiring suppliers to certify their animals have been raised only on approved feed.

yeah, and the advanced thinking wouldn't be needed if we would've practiced organic sustainable farming, and will likely consist of adding yet another chemical into the animal. approved feed? by whom? how unbiased will this person really be? the feed is likely produced by a single company who is somehow tied to mcdonalds. ok, one more rant. on the french fry facts page:

the first bullet point on the page:
It has always been McDonald's practice to share nutrition and ingredient information with our customers, including facts about our French fries. In the U.S., we consistently communicate this information through in-store posters, wallet-sized cards and various brochures, which offer a wide variety of dietary details.

now, there was a problem recently when vegetarians discoved there was beef flavoring in the french fries. they accused mcd's of not disclosing this fact. the above statement is to tell you how accessible the nutritional information (listing all the ingredients) is. meaning, you must be an idiot if you didn't pick up one of our handy nutrition guides. we know that you want to know just how many fat grams are in that big mac, don't you?

then, at the bottom of the page, the very last bullet point:
Our "McDonald's Nutrition Facts" brochure uses the term "natural flavor" in the ingredient list for French fries. This description is in full compliance with and permitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

meaning, "no we didn't explicitly tell you there WASN'T beef in the fries, but all we have to tell you, according to the fda, was that those are natural flavors. so there! we told you. *sticks tounge out*"

i am really pissed about this. so obviously deceptive. they have a hell of an public relations department.

grrrr.

oh, one more:
... Worldwide since 1990, McDonald's has purchased $3 BILLION worth of recycled products for construction, equipment, and packaging.

that means they USED $3 BILLON worth of packaging. which was then thrown away. what was that they were saying about waste reduction? i cannot believe this. honestly cannot.

yeah, i know that calvin comic is too big. but it was hard to read when i made it small enough so you didn't have to scroll.

walmart is evil. i have a lot more to say about this...but the article will do for now. pretty soon we will only be able to buy stuff at walmart, all our food will come from mcdonald's, we'll only drink coke and something like 5 corporations will control everything. bah!

i haven't been very comment-able lately, have i? i still feel like i am constantly on the go, traveling so much. i love it. but you guys probably don't because i'm boring. :)

my favorite (well, favorite that i've seen) calvin (maybe not the funniest, but the one i really like. i cut this out years ago. it accompanied the writing from the simple catalog. thought i'd share. sharing's good. hint.comment.hint. ;) (i'm kidding, of course. i'm not gonna force you to say anything. but i'll just keep writing *yawn* boring *yawn* blogs 'til ya do.

ahhhh!!! help!!!! i am trapped in orange county.

this place is scary. i am digusted by it...consumerism at it's finest. *sigh*

first time at my house since dad's wedding..it's just STRANGE. it's my family. but it's not. 'one of these things is not like the other...' feel so out of place...biting my tounge...it's hard to explain.

i miss mom.

life isn't about finding yourself.

life is about creating yourself.

-george bernard shaw

i love ben and jerry's flavor names:

Half Baked Frozen Yogurt
Chocolate & vanilla frozen yogurts fudgey brownies & chocolate chip cookie dough

Honey, I'm Home™
Honey Vanilla Ice Cream & Fudge Covered Honeycomb Candy Nuggets

Karamel Sutra™
A core of soft caramel encircled by chocolate & caramel ice creams & fudge chips

Makin' Whoopie Pie™
Chocolate ice cream with a classic whoopie pie mixture of marshmallow & devil's food cookies

hee hee. i detect some kind of relationship in the last three there. they're no longer making raspberry gone coconuts, one of my favorites. (check the flavor graveyard. they also used to make THREE different versions of chocolate and raspberry...the best food combo ever. wish they still made one of 'em) a moment of silence, please. :)

i got a victoria's secret sale catalog today. now, i NEVER get VS catalogs...i think i've gotten maybe one since i lived in this house. anyways, since it was a sale one, i flipped through it. in the back, they sell clothing. for the 'london carpenter jean' they had a picture of a model, in the jeans, a tank top and BIRKENSTOCKS!!!

she is wearing birks in a victoria's secret catalog! woo. does that make them sexy? please? i won't wear high heels (or uncomfortable shoes), so if birks are sexy, i have it made! they must have sent this issue of the catalog to me on purpose. :)

i have to go to the dmv today. i have been going to the dmb lately, and that is a hell of a lot more fun than the dmv, i tell ya. but, it's because (somewhat) of dmb that i'm going to the dmv. at shoreline, we parked on this street near the venue. when i returned to my car, i had a ticket on my window. what!? i looked around for illegal parking signs, not to mention that i am in a huge line of cars all parked along the same street as i, and none of them seem to have tickets...so i read the ticket.

expired registration.

i go and look at my license plates. sure enough, they expired in january 2002. how did i not notice that? why didn't the dmv send my renewal form? grr. it's a fix-it ticket, so the fine isn't huge, but obviously, i have to fix it.

call the dmv. they look at my records. the guy on the phone tells me 'well, there's no date showing when we went out your renewal form. that's likely why you didn't get one.'

well, duh. but it made me feel better that i didn't misplace the form or anything (i can't imagine me doing that...it's one of those things that i take care of AS SOON as it comes in the mail...so i *don't* forget) i also have $70 in late fines on top of the registration fee. fuck. he tells me i need to go to the dmv. oh joy. i make an appointment (this is supposed to mean i won't wait in line. we'll see about that one). i ask him if i will have problems proving that they didn't send it - could he somehow enter on my records that it wasn't sent? nope. it all depends on who's working at the dmv office. GRR. so, he can't help me.

now, my last two experiences at the dmv were good. (yes, you read that last sentence correctly. good dmv experience) the first time was to change my name/address/the fact that i don't need corrective lenses after LASIK surgery. figured i'd kill three birds with one stone. (some aim, eh?). didn't wait in line. had FRIENDLY, seemingly intelligent people helping me. it was quite the surreal experience. it was EASY. crazy, eh?

when i got the license, the picture was ok, and they got my name change and address right, just forgot to remove the 'needs corrective lenses'....guess two outta three isn't bad. hey, at least it was the two important ones.

(i don't know if other states are like this, but the CA dmv is infamous for nightmare experiences, idiotic employees, lots of lines, etc)

then, after i lost my driver's license in february, i had to run to the dmv and QUICKLY get a temporary license so that i could get on a plane later that afternoon - i had already missed my morning flight due to the lost driver's license. i walk in the dmv. there is NO LINE. the person helping me was friendly - she was even funny. we chatted while she did my paperwork...done in 5 minutes or so. go over to take a new picture. am on my way with a temporary license in 10 minutes. a 10 minute dmv experience! amazing, but true. then, when it came in the mail, it was actually a GOOD picture. crazy. just crazy. and they took off the corrective lenses this time.

so, now for dmv experience three. will it be a good one, too? or have i already used up my lifetime's worth of good dmv experiences? don't they happen in threes? oh, no wait. that's bad things. or celebrities dying, as my grandma would say. they always die in threes. (don't ask me where her theory comes from. i don't know, either. :) ) at 9am, i'm off to see (is it wrong to drive the car with the expired registration to the dmv? what if i get pulled over for an expired registration? ah, whatever. i think 'i'm on my way to the dmv' is a good excuse. :) ) wish me good dmv karma!

*** *** *** *** *** ***
addendum: in was in and out of the dmv in 15 minutes (it's all about making an appointment. if you make one, you get to bypass the HUGE line)...there was no problem waiving my late fees, and she signed of my fix-it ticket. talk about some good dmv karma! i had good dmb karma last month, too. :) but i think i have used up all my 'good dmv experiences' for the rest of my life! hee hee.

woooooo! so excited. dan just IMed me about flights...soooo...looks like i AM going. yay!!

aha! theories on the possibility of the 'six degrees of separation'. we used to joke at my college that it was the 'cal poly three degrees of separation' - the school wasn't *that* big, and it was fairly certain you could connect everyone in three degrees. i don't know why, but i find the idea of everyone being connected like that quite interesting...i have had that happen before - where i know someone and find out they know somebody else i know, yet i didn't realize that they knew each other...ya know what i mean? :) (link from mr. shepard. thanks!)