Trojans

and a sunburn

Also: Epic.

Elbows Up, Side to Side in the Bath!

So there was an incident near my home (and by that I mean the shootout happened on my street [though admittedly I was enjoying a game of hockey in Orange County]).

Here is the follow-up Trojan Alert that was sent out once the incident cleared:
"The LAPD/DPS search of the North University Park area for three outstanding suspects was cleared at approximately midnight on March 11, 2009. Menlo is still not open to vehicle traffic, but students and residents are able to return to the area.

LAPD Detectives are still investigating this case, but we now know that four suspects were involved in a shooting with LAPD officers at Budlong and Adams March 11, 2009. The suspects then fled in a vehicle before crashing in the 2600 block of Menlo after striking a USC tram. No one on the tram was injured. Three suspects fled on foot and were apprehended through the efforts of LAPD, DPS and persons who called with information.

Any additional information released about this incident will come from LAPD through the local media or a media release. Thank you for cooperating with this investigation and contact LAPD if you have any information that may be helpful."

This description (lifted from the first Trojan Alert) "one suspect is described as male Hispanic, shaved head, white t shirt, dark pants and stud earrings in both ears," prompted me to google image search cholo. Because, well, why not make assumption and group people and be racist etc. (white girl at a hockey game in orange county when the shots were fired, after all).

This was my most exciting result:

















I found this exciting because:
a. heteronormativity, hazing, and defining sexuality.
b. did they really put a hazing ritual on the interwebz? Don't get caught, guys. (I am assuming this to be hazing, yes)
c. the guy in front has a clown faced woman tattoo... I think they are creepster. the end.
d. men, masculinity and gangs. <3s.
e. this was the 2nd result when I google image searched. why? what does it say about our society's browsing behavior and prevailing opinion.

Totally Hit A Grammy Performer

Brian Cushing: Feel Me

I made this for Courtney. She would like him to feel her, hah!

Super Serial

I went in to the USC laboratory to have some blood drawn in order to check something about my thyroid. Today's blood drawing experience was one of the worst ever. The phlebotomist seriously stabbed the crap out of my arm. As I've documented, I have terrible veins and HATE having my blood drawn. My arm has a giant, swollen bruise at the draw site. I had the procedure done at about 10:15 am and it is now 11:45 pm and it is super painful to bend my arm. A seriously bad experience. I've been putting warm compresses on my arm but not much is helping. sorrow. My first time at the USC lab was far better and I just had regular soreness and a tiny bruise. This time: no such luck.

I am watching Trauma: Life in the ER. It certainly puts my minor discomfort and complaining in perspective. So far a man died, a woman has a traumatic brain injury and steel plates to hold her leg together, a baby was abused and has a skull fracture, a man needs to have his leg cut off because it was caught in a logging machine. Real life, son.

Today was also my first day of summer session school. This is the first summer class I've taken since my freshman year in high school. I am taking "Uses of Communication Research" which is a research methodologies class. I worry that this is a very broad survey class that may not get to depth that would be more than what I learned in my similar undergrad class. Hopefully I will learn more about SPSS and get some training on how to utilize new tools like Google Analytics better and more efficiently.

I am a call in juror this week. It is kind of lame to not really know when you may or may not have to go in. I have to call in for a third time tomorrow at noon to see if I have to report by 1pm. It puts me in a pinch because a) one hour to get to the courthouse in Westminster isn't a lot of time when you are in LA hoping you can go to work in Santa Monica and b) I would have to miss work and miss pay. This whole process is just kind of shitty because of the whole nature of jury selection. Not really anything of us can do, oh well.

I have been having a lot of anxiety about what I am going to do after school is up. Graduating in December doesn't seem that far away. I've been seriously considering leaving California. There are a couple leadership development programs that seem really cool and up my alley. I think I will go where the wind takes me. I am leaning away from working with start-ups and in the online world. The hours are often weird and there isn't much security and I don't feel like a grown up playing on the internet getting people to play on a website I work for. It just isn't what I imagined to be doing as an adult. I think online communities are more of a hobby/interest for me than a career. There are several things I am looking into and I am going to put that I will relocate and travel all the time. That is exactly what I want right now and in the near future.