Venti Is Not A Size

8:04pm: If you are thinking of producing a documentary on the horrors of teething...
All I ask is that you call it "An Inconvenient Tooth"

11:59pm: The Ramadan Wrapup
I'm not even going to bother backdating this.

It has been a fair while since I stopped fasting. I had always intended on doing a final 'wrapup' post, and for some reason or other, I'm doing it now.

On the final day of my fasting (see Ramadan Challenge, Day 5) I went to Ftour (break my fast) with my Islamic friends. It was a simple meal cooked by a bunch of guys who are away from home, and used to having women do all the cooking -- not that they are in any way sexist, but this is the culture they come from, and there men simply don't know how to cook.

Even so, they did a good job. Waheb cooked some kind of shrimp pasta that Benny said would be horrible, but was pretty good. They also had the traditional Shorba (I hope I spelled that right) which Benny made. His wife, Nashida taught him how before she left the states when her visa ran out.

After dinner, while we enjoyed after-dinner-tea (an Algerian custom) we spent some time talking about religion. Despite the impression people have of Muslim's in the west, my friends were very interested to hear different ideas about religion, god, spirituality, the whole gamut. As some of you may know, I have some fairly interesting religious ideas which span more than a few traditions -- keeping the good, leaving off what I consider to be the bad. I shared my stuff, and even though parts of it conflicted with their own believes, it seeme that Waheb and Bennie agreed with a good chunk of what I had to say. We talked for hours about things -- and I learned a great deal about the Prophet, the Koran, and the origins of some Muslim traditions.

We talked about alcohol -- I tried to explain it to them, (andthey have never been drunk, or even taken much alcohol), what it is like. I seriously respect their custom of not drinking, which is altogether a very healthy choice. But as you expect, people who have never been intoxicated themselves have a slightly more horrific impression of what intoxication is like. They can go only by stories and tall tales. And they also seemed to respect that I come from a culture of social drinking, however. I don't think they fault me for it.

The best thing about the night is that we were able to really share our thoughts with one another. It seemed that there were few barriers. Fasting together brought about in us a sense of comraderie that is rare -- only shared by those who have shared a horrific or life threatening experience, or shared many meals, or childhood. Its these kind of events that bring people toghether. I always knew that eating together and sleeping together were among the experience that create bonds among human beings. Now I know that not eating together can accomplish this as well.

I am very happy that I fasted and had this experience.

Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to Waheb, Benny, Kader, Rahmane, Youcef, Gasmi, and my wife Lorena for supporting me during my fast. While, perhaps, I coudl have done it without them, I was very glad to have their support through the experience, and I thank them, in part, for all that I leraned as a result.

So Salaam Alaikum everyboday, or as they would say in Algiers, Saha Eidek -- (belated) happy Eid!

11:30am: The Ramadan Challenge: Day 5
So, I'm in the home stretch now -- the final day of the Ramadan challenge. This was an experience to find out first hand what it is like to fast during Ramadan for millions of people worldwide. While I didn't get the full experience (prayer, for example wasn't part of my regimine) I did try to think about what all this means in a spiritual sense.

One of the things I experienced first hand was mastering the beast within -- your instinct and hunger tells you to eat, and food becomes very apparent. Especially in our society temptations are everywhere. But this is a chance to show that willpower can overcome. This is probably what alcoholics and smokers feel like when they try to quit. The temptation to eat is very strong. But the longer you stay strong, the easier it is to master those desires.

Tonight I will Ftour (not sure if that is spelled right) with my friends from Algeria. This will be my chance to have the traditional breaking of the fast. There may be prayer (I'm not sure) which I will observe, and I will definitely get to enjoy some traditional Algerian fare. (Plus Waheb's shrimp, which Benallal swears is horrible). I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I can confince my wife to brave Friday traffic and come along as well.

This Sunday or Monday, all Muslim's worldwide will break their fasts and celebrate Eid ul-Fitr. Tonight, I break my fast, and I'm sure that many Muslims are feeling a similar anticipation to mine. While it will be good to eat normally again, I can honestly say that fasting has been a good experience, maybe even something that I would try again.

5:28am: The Ramadan Challenge: Start Day 4
Day 4 begins and I'm feeling much better today. I have plenty of energy, even though I got even less than my customary 5hrs of sleep. Guess sleeping in yesterday helped. Its a good thing since I have a lot of work to do today and tomorrow.

I mentioned before that Ramadan is about discipline. It really does build personal willpower. And it isn't just resisting food during the day, though that is part of it. Waking up before dawn to eat contributes a great deal. At least for me, this takes a good degree of willpower. I'm happy to say that I've managed so far. I'll try to check in later this evening.

7:41pm: The Ramadan Challenge: Day 3
Today was a weird day.

Number one, after I woke up to eat before dawn, I fell back asleep and didn't wake till around 10am. The truth is, I was totally exhausted. I'm not blaming it totally on fasting -- part of it is surely that I have been sleeping little and working much. As some know we just moved to a new house, which means lots of carrying of heavy items, driving, packing, unpacking, and dealing with entities such as power companies, cable companies, uhaul, etc. Yesterday I had to rent an auto transport to move my gimp pontiac fiero to the new place, and dealing with uhaul at the return was a nightmare. Then when I got home, we found that SCE had mistakenly turned off our electricity (due to an automated request??). It took them around 4 hours from that point to have it back on, so about 1/2 of yesterday evening was dark. Dealing with all that took a great deal of energy, both physical and psychological, so I guess I just needed the sleep. But I should note, that my muslim counterparts work less during Ramadan. They leave their work at around 3:30, and they've told me that back home during ramadan what would be 1hr of work is replaced with 45 minutes. So I may be working a bit more than a normal person while fasting.

Fasting is more than just going without food and water. This is what everyone should understand. My friend Mohammed Benallal says, "If all you do while fasting is go without food and water... don't do it". The main reason (which in my case doesn't figure in) is for God. This would be a time to think about one's religion, read religious documents, educate oneself, go to the mosque, etc. Its a time to be a better muslim, a more devout one. Secondly, (and this one can certainly apply to me) it is a time to purify yourself. Not only should one go without food and water, but all vices. You shouldn't have impure thoughts about a woman (other than your wife) while fasting. You shouldn't curse while fasting. You can't tell lies while fasting. Etc, etc. And of course these things are normally considered "bad", but during the month of Ramadan, they are especially forbidden.

All in all what I have realized by this point is that Ramadan is about discipline. Its about taking a moment to take stock of your life and your habits, and maybe just to be a better person, both individually and in your community.

Around noon today, all I could think about was sandwiches, but a couple hours later, I had totally forgotten about food. It helps to keep busy.

5:54am: Ramadan Challenge, Day 2
Greetings.

I forgot to post day 1 in the evening, but what happened was I ate dinner at about 7PM. I could have eaten as early as 6:30, my friend Mohammed Benallal told me, but dinner wasn't ready till 7 anyway. I was pretty hungry at that point, but feeling pretty good overall. Each time I would think of food yesterday, I tried to dismiss it from my mind. What is also funny is that on my drive home, I noticed in particular every single taco stand and char-broiled burger house.

Benallal and Gasmi (another friend) told me yesterday that you must eat around 5:30 even though dawn is not until 6:30 or later, and it has something to do with the time when the cock crows. Aparently they have calendars telling them what time to eat breakfast each day during Ramadan.

Well, after a little breakfast I'm feeling ok again, ready to face day 2 of the challenge. (horribly mispelled?) Hamdule Alah! (thank god).

11:44am: The Ramadan Challenge Begins! DAY 1, 11:44 AM
Just an update, my ramadan challenge begins today. My least meal was at around 5:30 AM this morning, and I will not eat or drink anything (even water) until sunset. I'm feeling pretty good so far, but I imagine I will start to get hungry in a few hours or so. I'll check in later tonight to let everyone who is following this know how I'm feelin'

7:58am: The Ramadan Challenge
As most of you know, I am not muslim, nor am I strongly religious. But I have many muslim friends who have been fasting for the season of Ramadan.

These friends of mine were encouraging me to try fasting with them for 1 day. But I don't think 1 day constitutes proper fasting. And so I plan, instead, to fast for 5 days of Ramadan. This is the Ramadan Challenge.

These guys have been doing this since they were 6 years old. Now we'll see how well a native Californian with low levels of religiosity can manage. My attitude: if a 6 year old can do it, so can I.

I'll be blogging the results of my experiment here. Day one will be this coming monday, 10/16/06. Wish me luck.

7:42pm: The World Championship of Whiny Bitches: FIFA World Cup 2006
The World Cup has been drawing a lot of my interest lately, filling my mindspace with a veritable trove of celebrated players and wild speculations about the prospectve winners, and sending replays of inconcievable goals and near misses whizzing through the 8mm reel of my conciousness.

For the past three weeks Soccer, as we call the sport, (Football, as the rest of the world calls it (Futbol, as my relatives call it)) has captivated me as never before. As a snooty technophile spending the majority of my days geeking away at the computron, sports of all kinds ordinarily take their place in the distant periphery of my attention. But there is something fascinating about the FIFA World Cup. Its like what the Olympics should be. Wants to be.

But for all those who are circumspect enough to see the vast potential of 32 nations (198 if you include those who applied to partake but didn't qualify) coming together in the name of sportsmanship and a test of futbolistic prowess, today's final was a complete disgrace.

I watched the game. (If you didn't, don't worry, it was a deplorable game.)

At first, it was the dirty, no good, rotten Italianos. They played as if this was not just the FIFA World Cup, but rather the FIFA World Cup of Ultimate Fighting. They kicked, they tripped, they jeered, and they generally played dirty. For a while, the noble French did their best to remain above the fray. When a penalty kick put them in the lead, it looked like good behaviour would pay off.

But 110 minutes into the game, it was not paying off. The Italians had scored a goal to put themselves even steven with their French adversaries, and by the second half, the French had begun to fight dirty as well. Players were dropping like flies -- what were they supposed to do, just stand there and take it?

Yes.

Antagonizing your opponent until they grow angry and make a mistake is the oldest trick in the book.

If you don't know already what happened in the 110'th minute of the game (overtime, for those not familiar with this particular minute), you can see it here. Or you can read the next sentence. The legendary French player, Zinedine Zidane, headbutted Italian Marco Materazzi, aparently responding to a racial slur.

Now, assuming the most deeply insulting words that have ever been uttered since the Big Bang (or the creation, take your pick) were uttered today in Germany, directed at Zinedine Zidane, (specifically the phrase "yo mama"), the great footballer still made a tremendous mistake. I mean, really, it is the afformentioned oldest trick in the book.

So the French lost. Z.Z. got a Red card taking him out of the game before the crucial showdown shootout in which Italy won 3 - 5 (the fifth shot for the french was never made -- it was at that time impossible for them to win even if they scored).

But really who cares. If the French had won it wouldn't have mattered -- this game was an absolute disgrace. The ref was far too hesitant to make penalty calls when they were neccesary, and seemed to let the Italians take the proverbial mile, perhaps out of remorse for calling a dubious penalty against them earlier in the match.

What this cries for is a better method for referrees to verify their calls. There is plenty of video taken at these matches, and the technology exists for the refs to have this stuff at their fingertips, allowing them to deftly review every case before making a rash call.

My thinking is this: Germany won the world cup. Second place to Portugal with no third place whatsoever. Italy and France today have made a complete mockery of what this tourney stands for. Yesterdays game (Germany v Portugal for 3rd Place) was vastly preferrable for lovers of good sportsmanship.

Justin Out

12:14pm: There are those who know this already, but if I have any readers (if I have any at all, I mean) who don't know this already, here goes: I'm having a baby. Its going to be a boy. He'll be coming out to join us in late may or early June. His name is Samuel.

Peace.

11:34pm: "Unwritten Law + WTF" or "Attack of the Assgrabber" or "She Bit my Fucking Arm"
Just got back from the most bizarre concert ever.

It was Unwritten Law, which, I think, would normally be good (don't know first hand being that this was my first UL concert)

But this was some weird shit, and I blame Anaheim and Downtown Disney for attracting the most helplessly psychotic people to their venue, HoB. (Which I now, for the first time realize is a crappy venue which sucks ass). You're probably thinking "what happened?"

Well, we get there fairly late, so the first opening band has already played, and the second comes on shortly after we get there. At first things seem pretty normal -- people trying to squeeze by, the bartenders being lazy and ignoring people waiting to buy the criminally overpriced drinks... nothing unexpected. Lorena and I finally get our drinks and are watching the stupid opening band play. The people next to us are being kinda crazy, but hey whatever.

Then it happens. Nerves in my ass send my brain the distinct signals indicating that my ass has been grabbed. I've heard this happens to women at concerts, but being male, have never experienced it myself. This was an ass grabbing with fingers and all -- clearly intentional. I wheel around and catch the culprit in the act, as he tries to point to the drunk and disorderly girl next to him in a futile attempt to deflect the blame.

So, of course, hoping to derail future assgrabbing attempts (these guys are laughing it up by the way, and the afforementioned girl as well), I face off to Mr. A. Hole Assgrabber, and tell him to cut that shit out, fuck off, etc. Mr. A Hole Assgrabber, along with Mr. Dumb Ass Friend are very apologetic, though they can't stop laughing. They seem to have realized that they went too far, and also seem not to care too much, so long as I don't call security over.

Now things really get weird -- during the staredown + profuse apologies, the afforementioned drunk and disorderly girl starts gnawing on my arm.

Maybe you think you misread that last sentence, let me repeat. The crazy bitch starts biting my fucking arm. Whoa!

So I turn on her, and I can see the fear in her eyes as I tell her to cut it out. She, wasted as she is, knows she's made a mistake -- gone to far. It was like talking sternly to somebody elses child, making them understand that it is explicitly not ok to throw rocks at cars, for example. "No! Don't do that! Its not OK to bite strangers, got it?" I think some other friend of hers lectured her to that extent a moment later.

The strangeness, unfortunately, put a real damper on the whole concert. It was OK, but would have been more fun without the chance encounter with the deranged.

Justin out.

4:47pm: Think of the children!
If you have little brothers and sisters in school, then you definitely care about this, as I do.

The gist: Apparently the so-called "No Child Left Behind" act had a sneaky little clause in it mandating that schools turn over students personal info to military recruiters. But there is a way to opt your child out.

Full information here: http://www.leavemychildalone.org

To anyone like me who has young siblings, I don't need to say anything more. Call your parents... email them... whatever. They need to get this done. Please spread the word to anyone you know who has children in school. Surely they will want to know about this. I'm afraid that military recruiters will say anything they can to get new recruits at this point -- lets not let our loved ones fall prey to that.

---

EDIT: I just found that you can also sign a petition to have the faulty legislation ammended. Here's an excerpt of the petition:

Where children are concerned, it's time to make it a family decision (not a federal mandate) to release our home phone numbers and home addresses to military recruiters.


The petition can be signed at: http://www.leavemychildalone.org/index.cfm?event=signPetition&pid=1

12:20pm: Long time no update
No updates for a while, so a summary is in order.

Graduated.
Went to Europe.
Came Back.
Working Full Time.
Moved to Anaheim.
Still not unpacked after > 2 weeks.
At least I have internet and beer :)

1:31am: Jamie threw an awesome party.
The subject says it all. Great party Jamie. For those of you who were there, you can see the 79 or so pictures I took at http://www.justinstandard.com/partypics2 Now, I know not everyone who was there will read this, so tell everyone you know, and send comments :)

9:30pm: Belated Post: Star Wars III
Didn't post, but I saw Star Wars III. My assessment:

1 part Soap Opera, 9 parts Pure Awesome

1:00am: Bat Boy and Other Topics
Hello all you (3?) people out there who read this.

(If more than 3 people comment, then I will be proved disastrously wrong)

Tonight I witnessed "Bat Boy: The Musical", which was unreservedly awesome. I had a great time. It was free, funny, and it also made me think. It made me think of the bat boys of the world. And it made me laugh good n' hard. Anyway, my hearty congratulations to the cast (and the Bat Boy Band) for a job very well done. (I would have given a standing ovation, but we were in the first row of a VERY small theater, and I think it woulda pissed people off behind me).


Also, today I was the agent of thwarting the evil of UCI parking. We were parked illegally in the Science Library parking lot, in those temporary spots. And we were up on the 4th floor, with those big windows. And Lorena happened to look out and see a parked parking admin truck. So I ran down to the lot -- took the stairs and everything. When I got in the car and drove off, the guy was literally ticketing the car next to mine. But no ticket for me!! Mwa ha ha!!


And the organically occuring joke of the day:

"What happened to your foot?"
"Crane Accident"
"Oh -- So, are you a construction worker?"
"Nope. Bird enthusiast"


Justin Signing off once again.

BTW orange county yoga

11:44am: When the drink goes down, the truth comes out.
Ahh, it was quite a night. Happy Birthday to Jamie (fango). He was as sloshed as I've ever seen him (as his parents have ever seen him (a proud day)). As sloshed as he's ever been. He drank of the fabled pan-galactic-gargle-blaster. He (allegedly) puked fifteen times after everyone left.

The best part for me, was when the alcohol in his blood brought out the truth:

Jamie: "Justin! Don't draw on me! You're my best friend."

Jamie (to me): "I love you man. More than most of the people here."

Jamie: "Give Lorena a hug for me... no wait, have sex with Lorena for me."

The second best part was when hillarity ensued

You can view all the pics I took of this even @ http://www.justinstandard.com/partypics

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster -- See the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams for details...

More pics of the gargle blaster:

• GargleBlaster 1


• GargleBlaster 2


• GargleBlaster 3


• GargleBlaster 4


• GargleBlaster 5


• GargleBlaster 6

Hillarity Ensues: Me (Justin) to Jamie's Mom: "Do you have any crayola markers?", Jamie's Mom gets me a big bag of them, Me to Jamie's Mom: "Are you sure you approve of this?", The Lady: "Oh yes!"


More pics of the hillarity:

• Hillarity 1


• Hillarity 2


• Hillarity 3


• Hillarity 4


• Hillarity 5


• Hillarity 6


• Hillarity 7


• Hillarity 8


• Hillarity 9


• Hillarity 10


• Hillarity 11


• Hillarity 12

2:32pm: whoa
Its been a while since I've posted anything.

I'm sick, but getting better.

Tonight, I look forward to a pan-galactic-gargle-blaster, to take all my sorrows away.

Justin

6:55pm: National Catastrophe!!
We've just experienced a national disaster in my apartment... yes... a pipe broke.. yes water all over the kitchen floor.

The national guard arrived shortly, to contain the situation, everything seems to be under control.

Now, we must clean up what is left. We must slavage our lives and look forward to better times. We must rebuild.

(relief fund in the form of paypal donations)

Note: For entertainment purposes only. Not really a national emergency. Not even a local emergency even. Just for kicks. But the pipe did really break and we got water on the floor.

J

8:30pm: Finals are done
Finals, for me, are done. I am exhausted. Since Sunday morning, I have slept no more than 15 hours.
I slept on Monday night, and on Wednesday night, but only 6 hours on wednesday. Tonight I drink deep the malty beverages of the pub and sleep well.

I will be at the pub at 10PM tonight, and anyone who wants to see me come by to say hi (I'm sure no one will read this anyway, but I'll humor myself and write it anyway)

Justin

10:59am: Whats my age again?
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/age/

It seems if men are from mars and women are from venus, I'm about 12.4 years old.

That would explain a lot.

J

10:41pm: Ode on Melancholy

She dwells with Beauty--Beauty that must die;   And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,   Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips; Ay, in the very temple of Delight   Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine,     Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue   Can burst Joy's grape against his palate fine; His soul shall taste the sadness of her might,     And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

This is how Keats clearly felt, and this is how I feel when writing a paper on how his poems express this little relationship between desire and loss. At the same time I experience the beauty and thus the truth of these words, and the pain and thus melancholoy of writing a paper while tired. Demoralizing, but no no, I shall go not to lethe.

Poo

8:36am: This country
I'm leaving it for a while. After I graduate... I mean, really.

6:42am: Gin
In regards to my last post, I just friggin filled the soaking vat with a fresh bottle of Gin. FUCK!!! FUCGKHADFKK!! FUOIEOIJDFSLDIFDSLKHDFSKLHKFHLASDKLHAKHLFDAKDLHS!!!!

4:29pm: now soaking...
If you don't go to sleep on Sunday night, then you're liable to feel like your brain is soaking in cheap gin all week.