Kevin's Journal

poetry of the young

2009-12-22T16:59:03Z

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air….

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
ATTRIBUTION: JOHN G. MAGEE, JR., “High Flight,” September 3, 1941.

Thanks to mom for the head's up (june 07)

maturity & where i'm at

2009-12-18T03:48:12Z

You know how females always complain about males being boys instead of men? I'm realizing that the same dissatisfaction can be asserted about females being girls instead of women.

I always tell people that what I find the most attractive in the opposite sex is intelligence, but I'm wondering if I should shift my answer to maturity. You can be the smartest person in the world but still have shady issues. True maturity is very difficult to find in someone, as it entails the persona of having focus on your goals and passions in life, but being able to strike the balance between seizing what you love and laughing at everything else. It's so surprising to me at this point how many people don't have their shit together.

I wouldn't be in the position to make that kind of assertion if I didn't feel that I had maturity myself, right? Everyone's perception of it differs, and we all mature on a daily basis (or so I had thought), but I feel I've reached a high level at my age, not unrelated to the fact that I was pushed into an incognito life as soon as I turned 21. The last year has been the most pivotal of my life. It's the personal equivalent to a growth spurt. This isn't the crazy kid you saw running around Depauw's campus anymore, I'm a grown man living alone in a big house in the big city, with two dogs treated like daughters, 15 credit hours of graduate level courses and 2 full time jobs. I love who I am, where I'm at, and how I'm responding to what life has.

We all got to deal with shit - but why not let your passion and happiness guide you? When you get frustrated, impatient, and sad, why not take a deep breath and realize that you have the ability to change your flow of life through actions and words? It's never over - never truly over, contrary to what your thoughts may tell you.

It's been a long semester and crazy to the extreme, but I loved it. I've grown as a musician, teacher, technologist, person, and romantic of solitude. I'm not going to worry so much about that solitude part anymore - if maturity and a warm, deep grasp on what life and love is about is what I dream of finding in someone - then I'll wait until she can show it to me.

kc

falling in love under the stars

2009-11-30T05:23:06Z

Space.com sometimes talks of astronomy cruises, in which people will take a cruise into the middle of the ocean under the clearest of skies, for the sole purpose of viewing the sky and whatever it has in store during that time period. Examples include eclipses and meteor showers.

Among the things going on during these cruises, the one that I think of the most is the nightly stargazing parties.

I daydream and night-dream of going to one of these gatherings for star-chasers like myself, and meeting someone who shares the love for the sky as much as I do...

Just the thought of it - the sea surrounds, the starry sky hangs, and sincerity and genuine love for the beauty of life abounds on a vessel -

What's it like to fall in love under the stars? And why do I keep having the dream?

***
From midnight to dawn is the most revered time for a musician poet romantic

you ready for this one?

2009-11-19T16:12:11Z

Just thought I'd stop by and post what I have to do within the next 4 weeks:

1 - Do all of the homework for my music production class (as it is all due the last day and I have done about 20% of it)
2 - Complete a 15-20 page research proposal
3 - Compose a 15-20 page multimedia project proposal as well as a short demo of the composition it would encompass
4 - Create a soundtrack for a scene from the Phantom of the Opera, as well as including foley sound effects and other sound design
5 - Do a final project for sound design
6 - Create a final series of 10+ minute podcasts for my podcast class
7 - Grade over 30 research papers from my music listening class, 15 presentations from my global music course, and a combined 50 concert reports from both courses
8 - Edit all of the audio and video from the upcoming graduate recital on Nov 30th
9 - Perform in the jazz ensemble concert tonight, the graduate recital Nov 30th, with Quatrology at the duck on Dec 3rd, and with Quatrology at IUPUI on Dec 10th. This part I actually look forward to =)
10 - Don't forget the full time job at Lebanon Public Library. Systems work & board reports.

That being said, I do have a graduate recital date for next semester, April 12th at 7:30 PM.

Who said life was slow? Get with the flow.

what's a love supreme? (reposted)

2009-11-11T21:13:07Z

I'm always thinking, at least in the romantic sense, about what a love supreme is, so I figured I'd dig out my entry from last year and re-post it.

"What you're looking for purports to be a selfless, transcendent feeling - it surpasses all others, it is (in Coltrane's words) a love supreme. It lies beyond the original range of perception - you get emotions and feelings that you simply can't explain with words or with actions in the three existing dimensions (does time count as the fourth?) It is beyond the limits of anything ever experienced - and how do you work with a love that seems to be so divine that it is out of the universe's reach? You don't TRY to find words, you don't TRY to find the right action - you let it sweep you off of your weary legs and transport you down its everlasting crystal stream.

and it's simply unknowable what lies in the future. The love is above, it's independent of the material universe and exceeding even the limits of the physical body and mind.
It's a love supreme - "

I still agree with what I said, but I'd say that while the love is sometimes beyond words, it's never beyond actions. Language is a man-made thing and can't grasp the natural, simple beauties in life like the feeling of being next to the one you love at night. Actions have existed since the origin of time and you can be sure that for exalting feelings, actions are there to represent them. For example, something like kissing - a wordless language but one that can say so much more than words ever could.

I'll also add that it's not possible without chemistry between two people or the sheer will to experience it. You can't just grab anyone of the street and say let's have a love supreme (though that'd be pretty cool).

Because you don't find it, it finds you - and the meeting is always glad.

- Your resident romantic

you know how it is

2009-10-06T20:03:08Z

Being a full time grad student and having 2 jobs is tough! I've lived in Greencastle long enough. I am currently driving 100+ miles a day for my commute: 35 to Lebanon Public Library, where I work full time as a systems administrator, another 30 to IUPUI for class, and 40 back home to do homework, grade assignments etc. for IUPUI undergrads (as part of graduate assistantship), and hopefully go to sleep! I can do it, but it's just not that fun. I'd rather work at the library, go to class, and go home, with not that much driving.

I have been staying in Greencastle so far because the rent is so cheap and I needed to save up money for a move. I think I have enough now!

My only criteria really is that the place is in a safe area, a house for rent, hopefully somewhere between 600-850 a month, accepts dogs, and has a fenced yard. Oh yeah, and it should be in Indianapolis, cuz where else would I go. And no, I am not ever going to leave my dogs out while I am gone - the fenced yard is for fun on the weekends!

So give me advice! What are the best sites, do you know anyone with connections, best areas, moving methods, is U-haul the way to go, etc.

Thanks and gone wit yaself

Nikki and Heidi

2009-10-03T23:51:30Z

Pros and Cons of Nikki and Heidi

Nikki
6 yrs (vets estimate her at 5, maybe she looks younger than she is!), German shepherd mix with probably boxer, Rottweiler, etc

Pros
- The most intelligent dog I have ever had. She knows exactly what I mean whenever I am talking to her, is very good with tricks (sit, shake, roll over, lie down), and always has a keen awareness of what is going on.
- Just a beautiful dog. The prettiest one I have ever known; those huge, deep brown eyes and coat of interleaving tan, black, and white. The way her ears up are just adorable. This dog’s a heartbreaker.
- Very playful dog. Loves ropes, balls, chew toys, kongs, you name it. It’s a good workout to wrestle with her cuz she will give you all she’s got.
- Fiercely loyal! She is very protective of me and will go nuts at the slightest sound outside.
- Great bladder control. I don’t think she has had one accident in the last 2 or 3 years, even when I’ve been stranded in Indianapolis. Takes maturity and intelligence to know not to do it inside.
- The most athletic dog I’ve dealt with. Great explosive speed and strength (very strong and compact; she is medium looking but almost 60 pounds!). Did you know that she ran the 100m in 6.6 seconds when I timed her?

Cons
- Nikki is very mean to strangers at first. She tries to kill them! Especially dogs. This is because of the earlier mentioned protectiveness.
- She’s not much for cuddling. She hates being picked up and sitting on people. She’ll probably try to bite you if you bring her close for cuddling!
- She bites herself too much! She hates being bitten by fleas so she overcompensates and scrapes herself dry. The flea treatment is helping, though.
** The perfect dog that I grew up with for the last 5-6 years. Crazy strong, loyal, and smart.

Heidi
4 yrs, half Alaskan Malamute, half husky

Pros
- Very gorgeous dog. All people talk about when they see Heidi is how beautiful her coat, eyes, and face are.
- Have you seen her jump? She can jump 3 feet in the air, 12 times in a row! She has crazy athletic ability, and is very fast, too.
- She acts more like a cat sometimes in her cuddling behavior. She loves to rub her head against you and jump all over you and get hugs.
- Excitable! She loves to run all over the apartment; all it takes is to say her name very quickly and she’ll go on some crazy rampage.
- Vicious enough to be a good hunter. Once I was just sitting at my computer, and she suddenly came over and dropped a dying mouse at my feet! I had been trying to catch that thing for years!
- Passive, calm, mild-mannered. She is happy to be the one that defers; with Nikki being the alpha dog, I can’t have another one of those running around.

Cons
- Terrible bladder control! It has improved in the last few months, but I always have to worry about what she’s going to do to my carpet. Keep in mind that she lived on a chain in a yard for the first few years of her life.
- Awful with cats. She is mean to them, especially when they are trying to eat.
- Doesn’t like to play with toys =( No balls, tug of wars, etc. It’s like she’s from some other dog universe, man!

** A glistening image of passive beauty and good manners in a pet. More like a cat than a dog, which makes life more fun. **

Overrated/underrated (jazz)

2009-09-15T18:50:25Z

Hello everyone,

Here's the transcript of the latest edition of my jazz podcast, "point of view." This week is a discussion of the most overrated and underrated contemporary jazz artists.

*music*
Hello, this is Kevin Celebi with your weekly edition of “jazz point of view.” Today we will be discussing the most overrated and underrated artists of contemporary jazz. Now before you guys start throwing full wine bottles at your computer screen at hearing the words “overrated” and “underrated”, I want to make something very clear – public and critical perception of an artist can not only influence him or her (in either a positive or negative way), but it can change the course of a music’s history for an entire time period. For example, what would have happened to bebop if Charlie Parker didn’t have such a worldwide throng of admirers? He seems overrated today, but if you take away Charlie Parker, modern jazz as we know it practically doesn’t exist. The opposite can have the same effect. If an artist is championed for the wrong reasons, such as commercialism, then it can severely damage the industry. An instance of this is the god-awful saxophonist Kenny G: a lot of lay-listeners think of him when they hear the word jazz, and it’s very unfortunate. That being said, we will take a look at the most overrated and underrated jazz musicians of our era.

The most overrated jazz artist of our time is…

*stinger*

Diana Krall.

For listeners who don’t know, Diana Krall is a Canadian “jazz singer and pianist” whose record sales probably exceed the number of molecules of air I’ve breathed. Her music emphasizes the light (very, very light), innocent, harmless, and blatantly pop-oriented directions that jazz music can go in.

The problem with jazz today is that it isn’t very marketable to the public. Because of this, when producers see a pretty blonde that can sing jazz standards, they pour an incredible amount of attention onto her to get the public’s eye and “bring jazz back.” However, in Krall’s case, she is not presenting jazz, as most musicians would want to play it, to her audience. She politely sings her melody, maybe plays the piano for about half a chorus or so (and doesn’t take a single risk), and then returns to safely close out the song, with a running time of probably about 3 minutes. The audience smiles because they have seen a cute nutshell of a pop-jazz song and assume that this is what jazz is.

This is why, earlier, I emphasized the importance of the acclaim a musical artist gets. Diana Krall should not be typecast as a pure jazz singer (and definitely not a jazz pianist), but because that is what she is being marketed as, that is what the public sees. So, the public thinks Krall is the face of vocal jazz (or even jazz itself, from what I have heard people say about her), yet she doesn’t dive into expression, blues, expressive or deeply harmonic improvisation, or even instrumental tracks. Her albums sound more and more like pop albums (and consequently sell even more and more copies), and, even worse, it seems that she is being targeted more and more as a sex symbol on her album covers.
It’s just unfortunate that Diana Krall, the most overrated jazz artist of our time, is having such an impact on music with a much richer history than she is allowing it to have. Because she is rated beyond what she can do for jazz music, she is ruining it beyond repair to the public.

I do think, however, that if other artists were given more attention, then they would be able to restore faith in jazz as an expressive and deep art form, which brings me to my next artist. I believe that the most underrated jazz artist of our time is

*stinger*

Steve Wilson.

Haven’t heard of him? Exactly, probably because he is underrated and under-represented. Steve Wilson is a veteran jazz saxophonist who plays alto and soprano. He has played with many modern jazz musicians for the last 20 years and has a burnished, beautiful tone that cuts right to the core of what his music is about.

Now, I’m not saying that Steve is the solution to all of the problems that Diana Krall has caused jazz music, but you have to realize that it really is unfortunate that nobody knows about this guy. It would be passable if he was all heart and no talent, but he has an infinite vocabulary of expressive musical ideas and always plays with taste. Even beyond that, Wilson brings a presence – when he plays in a jazz group, you can feel the level of sophistication, whether melodic, harmonic, or just feeling, rise into the stratosphere. He represents how deep jazz can go, how good it can sound to the listener – whether smooth, soothing, fiery, cerebral, or just digging right into the core of blues and funkiness.

It might seem an unfortunate comparison between the pop-oriented Krall and sophisticated modern jazz of Wilson. However, I don’t think there needs to be as much of a solid line – ideally, because of jazz’s freedom and communication, the two should be able to share the stage together and make beautiful music. However, it would probably be a disaster because of the clash of ideals and how much they would confuse the public. Wilson’s music is not arcane – his music always is in the groove and never alienates the listener, while continuing to dive deep for fresh ideas – so it could be perfectly accessible to the modern public. Simply said, they just need to hear him, and hear him more. If his music were appreciated more, jazz might be remembered more as a music to be heard rather than an esoteric thing that only so many listeners know about.

*music starts*

So those are the two artists whom I feel are on the wrong ends of the public perception spectrum. Krall is tragically overrated and is needlessly the face of jazz to the public, and Wilson is a buried prisoner, playing some of the most beautiful music that was barely or never heard. Thanks for listening and hope to join you next week on the jazz point of view.

*music fades out*

***
I was considering using Norah Jones for the overrated part, but she's turned into such a country/folk joke that I can't even associate the word jazz with her anymore. The grossly overrated tag still applies, though. But Steve...man, he's a monster! Go out and buy some of his stuff!

my latest submission to graphjam

2009-09-09T06:36:38Z

the latest graph I submitted to graphjam:

mark dacascos vs. bruce lee

2009-09-07T09:37:15Z

most of us know Mark Dacascos as the hilarious chairman/announcer of Iron Chef America, but what most of us don't know is that he's one of the world's top martial artists. This video showcases Mark facing off against the titular character of "The Legend of Bruce Lee," a tv series being produced in china, as a Thai boxer. I had no idea that Mark was so good at thai boxing (also known as muay thai), his skills rival those of tony jaa! This 7 minute fight scene is intense and very, very well choregraphed. Bravo. -kc

natural vitality

2009-09-05T08:55:16Z

Being out there (underneath the celestial roof and kissed by the wind's breath),

I feel 8 steps to the cyclical nature of our organic world

Changing seasons - scattered seeds sprout in spring, grow in summer, bear fruit in fall, and sleep through winter

Fertile soil - scattered seeds are nourished

The gift of time - seeds awaken as seasons change

The bright sun - shoots grow under warm rays

Soothing rain - shoots mature in its drops

Nurturing warmth - balmy days build strong saplings

Blowing wind - windblown pollen produces fruit

Seed of life - new life begins!
***

My only question is - if the landscape of the world we live in can sustain itself so effortlessly, and all of its inhabitants work together so fluently -

why can't we, as people, act the same way?

kc

sorry

2009-08-13T04:10:25Z

Sorry, I've held everything in for way too long, and I think it's time I stop putting up illusions and just tell it like it is.

I am not with Rachel and it's been that way since about late May (a week or two after graduation).

It started when she said that she no longer wanted to live with me, because she didn't feel ready to do that.

After that, we never recovered. She told me a week or so after that, that she didn't want to be with me anymore. I asked her why, and she said she didn't know. She just didn't want to be with anyone, she wasn't ready for something so serious. It was too much.

We still hung out afterward, doing the typical 'exes hanging out amicably' process. It's a stupid thing to do because you only set yourself up for massive pain when that happens, but we did it anyway. Eventually it got to the point where we started talking less and less because she didn't think it was a good idea.

Even when I did this mr. Clean lockdown, I was under the stupid, illusive guise that it would get her back, or at least show her that I cared about my living situation enough to make it desirable and something that she would want to be a part of. But it just made it worse. The entire time, she was thinking, I feel bad that he is doing those kinds of things for me, because it's not going to change my mind.

We finally ended everything today. No more talking, no more contact or any of that. Rachel is moving on and has a new path on her mind, which is fine. I just want to humbly ask you this:

Please do not hate Rachel. Please do not feel ill will towards her or think that she did anything wrong. Nothing was done wrong by either of us. It was completely amicable, and there was no bitterness, no fights, no arguments. In fact, I don't think since meeting in July of 08, we ever had one argument or one fight. Our respect for each other was that solidified.

It just didn't work out. We were too young and our feelings were so deep that they had to be curbed by this separation.

We both have mutual admiration for each other; we both think wonderful things about each other. I still think she's a beautiful woman with a rectified heart and a supreme sense of morality; she still thinks I'm a caring, sensitive man that deserves no pain.

I say this because I want you to know that I will remember those as my life's best days; and that IF (this is a huge if, and I am not expecting it, but am open to it) we ever were together again in the future, it would not be an act of crawling back on either one's part. It would simply be love rekindled because of its organic nature.

She & we were always amazing. Because of that, the times we had will forever be in the pantheon of good memories. If you had to walk away remembering one sentence from this post, remember that.

Surf history - custom survey created by kevin celebi =)

2009-08-08T22:30:54Z

I know that people love to dig into the randomness of their life, as it gives a glimpse of them that they might not be able to randomly describe themselves. This is reflected by surveys asking questions ranging from favorite time busted for illegal activity to how often they eat Hot Pockets and Cheetos at 4 AM.

This is where I come into play. See, yall already knew I'm the man, but I'm going to create another survey and be the inaugural person to fill it out to reinforce that. I once made an LJ survey, I think in 2003, that circulated pretty well. So you are seeing this right here right now: a survey created by Kevin Celebi.

******
This is how it works. The only people left in the world that use Internet Explorer are either people that work for Microsoft or people that have a gun pointed at them, so this is a Firefox-oriented survey.

You will open a new tab and type in a letter to see what results come up. Firefox 3 and above lists the results that you visit most frequently (and if there's a tie, recently). What sites you visit the most say a lot about you, without you even knowing it.

So open a new tab, type in a letter (just go through the alphabet), and tell us what the first webpage that comes up is. And if you want, add a little comment, and add the 2nd result that came up. It's a lot of fun! Ready go.

****

A
www.allmusic.com (the site for all things music)
(2nd place - allmovie.com)

B
Greencastle BANNER Graphic - Classifieds (because I used to always help Rachel with her job search)
(2nd place - www.bartleby.com [dictionary])

C
CRAIGSLIST (you know, because I needed that bed!) (no, not the "personals")
(2nd place - www.channelsurfing.net - watch sports online)

D
www.dimeadozen.org - music bootleg torrents
(2nd place - my livejournal - djkcel.livejournal.com)

E
www.engrishfunny.com (hilarious engrish pics)
(2nd place - my e-portfolio [this should probably be first, lolz])

F
www.failblog.org (needs no intro)
(2nd place - Facebook (or fakebook, depending on what kinds of friends you have ;)

G
garfield.ucomics.com (daily Garfield comic)
(2nd place - garfield minus garfield - the hilarious editing of the above mentioned comic)

H
www.homestarrunner.com (once again, needs no intro ;)
(2nd place - hotmail)

I
Imail.iu.edu (IUPUI email)
(2nd place - Indiana Legal Services - a company I applied to for some jobs)

J
Jagjobs.org (portal for IUPUI students to find jobs)
(2nd place - jazz at about.com)

K
Kungfucinema.com (hehehe)
(2nd place - Kenan and Kel episode guide at TV.com? hmm, looks like I don't do a lot of K surfing)

L
English to LATIN translator
(2nd place - Livejournal.com)

M
Mail.yahoo.com (my yahoo mail account)
(2nd place - Mail.lycos.com (Lycos mail))

N
Nba.com
(2nd place - Nationalcity.com, my bank)

O
Nothing started with an O...the closest thing was bOred.com

P
PistonsNationBlog.com
(2nd place - bookmark titled "pistons shit" at yahoo nba page)

Q
gamefaQs.com

R
"Rebranded TV" - watch sports online
(2nd place - roflfrazzi.com - make fun of celebrities)

S
Swapacd.com (info about music CDs)
(2nd place - subscene.com - subtitles for movies)

T
Tigermail.depauw.edu (depauw e-mail)
(2nd place - Twitch martial arts archives)

U
Urbandictionary.com
(2nd place - Undisputed 3 (upcoming martial arts movie) at the IMDB)

V
VOTING PAGE for graphjam.com
(2nd place - visualparadox.com - beautiful wallpapers)

W
Detnews.com WEBLOG (pistons blog)
(2nd place - Wikiquote)

X
movieXclusive.com

Y
youtube (no brainer)
(2nd place - Yuen Woo Ping (martial arts choreographer) at IMDB)

Z
Zero Punctuation (the fast-talking british guy video game reviews)
(2nd place - Zeldadungeon.net)

Now do three more for fun:

First two letters of your first name - KE (that Kenan and Kel episode guide again, lmao)
First two letters of your middle name - "Love" at Wikiquote =)
First two letters of your last name - CE - my old website (celebi.i8.com)

See, without even trying, you learn more about the person and their surf's up habits. Apparently, I'm into music, basketball, martial arts, and Kenan and Kel.

Catch some bitchin' waves and try it yourself!

mr. clean did his thing

2009-08-06T02:05:21Z

Concerning the mr. clean lockdown, man it's been a while since I've updated on that...but it's been over for almost a week. Since my last update,

- Roach bombed the apartment and went to the nature park/wandered around greencastle for 4 hours
- Added glade plug-ins in the living room and bedroom
- Added a mat to bedroom

And just re-scrubbed and re-vacuumed everything for good measure. The lockdown started on Monday, July 13th and officially ended Friday, July 31st. I thought it was going to take me 5-6 weeks...it only took me two and a half!

Though it was good to raise my standards and finally live in a completely clean place, I mainly did this to impress Rachel and my family, which I think I did. I brought Rachel over here on Friday and she was the opposite of analog: she dig-it-all. She was impressed/shocked, especially at the carpet (which we both discovered actually had a color beneath the 4 layers of filth), proud of me, and very flattered. It felt great to have her support and her seal of approval, because if anyone in this world could love the state of the place, I wanted it to be her.

I don't see roaches anymore, I don't have to trip over shit, I can sleep peacefully in a real bed without dodging any obstacles. It was a success and I did everything I could with the little cash I had. I'm livin clean now!

Now to upload some photos.

This is the apartment view from the door. It never looked this clear...

This is the view of the living room from the kitchen area.

This is the kitchen area. I think the oven mitts steal the pic.

Detail of the kitchen cabinets. Reach into the cabinets without fear...

Detail of the couch...if you can't eradicate something's crappiness, cover it in blankets!

The hallway ain't gon have trouble gettin a date to the prom this year

For the bathroom, I realized that all of the colors are blue. Curtains, towels, lining...then I even realized that I subconsciously chose blue for my bedroom too.

Here's my bedroom and new bed. Sorry, I couldn't change the 'bachelor' status, so I still don't know how to make a bed =)

Dresser built by yours verily
<

Detail of the bedroom floor and bed

Look, my closet's clean, and Shie Labouf isn't in it!

For the more erudite Kevin in your life, build a bookcase, because windowsills don't cut it

This desk was also built by a handsome trumpet player (they don't make em like they used to? the trumpet players that is, I think...though the desk looks pretty good)

New blinds installed on north side

New blinds installed on front side...also check out that gorgeous WII

New blinds on doorway...also it seems that hanging dog leashes on the wall is pretty efficient, and Indiana hero medals

Thumbs up from Mr. Clean...

And thumbs up from the girls!

G'night, folks, and thanks for tuning in.

Cleanly yours,
kc

mr. clean lockdown days 10-14....

2009-07-29T15:41:18Z

Five days of ass-busting means I'm almost done. I dedicated the entire weekend to gettin down with the spotless and here's the list of what followed the pied piper of clean:

- 100% clean, clear, perfect carpet
- "Cloud nine" queen bed is here, set up, made with brand new blue bedding, and extremely comfortable
- Fixed closet doors, so bedroom is 100% clear of anything on the floor
- Walls, window sills, cabinets/cupboards all completely cleared (and needless junk thrown out)
- New shower lining and having shower curtain for the first time
- Technically, by this point, I'm all done with organization and mostly done with the cleaning. There's only a few days left, and here are the steps outlined;

- Roach-bomb the place today to eradicate all roaches
- Come back, clean up all the dead roaches, seal all of the cracks and baseboards with caulk, and spray areas that can't be caulked with poison to keep them away
- Put stuff back in the cabinets/cupboards
- Add finishing touches
- Bring Rachel over on Friday to see the finished work!

I'm really looking forward to seeing what life will be like after this most tiring lockdown!

A question to ask - any good ideas for finishing touches? What adds sparkle to a place, gives it a sheen of "aw yeah."

mr. clean lockdown day 9...

2009-07-23T17:13:30Z

I'm the most surprised out of anyone that I haven't wrecked my Hoover yet (knock some wood for me), considering the Yao Ming-sized order it has to clean that apartment carpet.

But its doin it's thing swimmingly - if you like percentages, I'd say that 85% of my floor is absolutely clear now. The bedroom/bathroom/hallway/kitchen and most of the living room are clear now. No more layers of feathers, foam, dog hair, dirt, it's just back to lush green. Though this vacuum is pretty strong - it constantly gets strands of carpet stuck in the roller, so maybe I should adjust the height setting from "medium carpet" to "low carpet/bare floor." Anything to save the precious roller.

I'm going to work hard to finish the living room floor today. One part of the Hoover does not work so well anymore, and that's the hose/tube. It's clogged baaaad. I used it so much, there's a blockage in the hose and I have no idea how to get it out. I'm going to try to figure out how to detach both ends of the hose, so I can take it outside and clear the blockage. One part plugs into the front of the vacuum, this is the front end where you take it out for sucking, and the other end just goes into the back of the vacuum. There is a plate there with three screws, and I"ve been afraid to take that off, but if it helps me unclog the hose, I'm all for it. I need that thing for all the nooks and crannies.

Anyone ever had that problem before?

Also --
My car is clear and organized now, though it's got feathers and dog hair of its own (surprisingly, from a different pillow destroyed by the same dogs). How should I get all of the crap in the car? Should I bring the Hoover outside and use the tube to get all of that, or should I buy a separate doohickey to get them?

Two more notes:
- Boy, was everyone right about Windex. There was some mysterious red gunk streak on my kitchen floor that I could never, for my own life, get to even budge, but I harnessed Multi-surface Windex on the kitchen floor with a rag and it scrubbed that thing into oblivion. I'm officially a believer...

- My left kitchen sink drain was defunct for the last 6-7 months; I could never use it without having a nice sizable flood in the sink that would take hours to drain down. It wasn't as easy as with the bathroom sink, but I was able to do some major tweaking, removal of nasty rust crap I don't care to recall, and some Drain-O (which continues to amaze me with every use) and it's back to normal. Three sinks, three times the hand-washing power, baby.

mr. clean lockdown day 8...

2009-07-22T16:37:08Z

In the name of pleasing the gods of floor cleaning...I got a Hoover. It's not bad! It's also not bag! It's got a dirt cup and you just dump it out when it's full of dirt, or in my case, bachelor-fluff.

I set it loose on the bedroom, like I said I would, and it ate so much filth, I saw layers of my carpet that, not even did I not know existed, but weren't even there when I moved in! Beautiful, the vacuum is powerful and gets the job done! I just need to do this to the rest of the place, and the floor will be back to clear in no time.

Although I have two questions:

- How do I get the dirt and filth that is crammed against the wall? The vacuum can get most stuff, but for stuff that is right against the wall, it can't get it because the layer is too thin. Is that stuff you just pick up with your hand? Or maybe use the vacuum tube?

And also, when I get to the kitchen floor, what's the best way to clean that? I have windex, bleach, dish soap, bathroom cleaner, etc..which one's the best one to use on a kitchen floor? And sponge or rag?

The place is getting there and is almost done. I don't have to wait until August 20th - I'll just do what I do and watch it cave to my lockdown.

mr. clean lockdown day 7...

2009-07-21T16:05:01Z

How cloud nine (codename of my new bed) will get here has finally been settled. I quote the nice lady 4 the 4th thyme:

"Okay, here is my latest good idea. Don't know why I did not think of it earlier. It saves both you and me the trip bcs I have a friend who lives out there and will bring it to you for $50. That's about what a tank in my truck would have cost, but neither of us loses hours of our lives"

The downside is that I have to wait until Friday for it...you know how whenever you are waiting for something, its appeal quintuples through the roof by default (see Wii/DS, women, Nikki's athletic ability, etc...). Until then I'll have to switch focus on the carpet.

So I'm going to wal-mart today, hopefully for the last time. I need to get a vacuum, and they have some really good, efficient models for $35-40. I have been told to get bagless because that is less of a headache. I will also get some carpet cleaners and odor/stain removals, and a broom and dustpan to combat that top layer.

Now tell me how this tentative plan looks:
1 - Unleash the broom and dustpan on the floor like a wild animal, and get every possible feather, piece of foam, etc
2 - Vacuum whatever's left (dirt, hair..)
3 - Use carpet cleaners to get spots that have deep problems
4 - If there are still any problems when I'm done, call a professional?
5 - Get some rugs/mats cuz they look nice. One for in front of the door, one for the hallway, one for the bedroom.

Am I missing anything? This will probably take a good while, but once I'm done, I'll keep the carpet in top condition to the best of my ability.

Questions:
- Once the carpet is great, how often should I vacuum to keep it happy?
- What kind of things should NOT be vacuumed? Elif told me to steer clear of pieces of foam. What about feathers?

comin' atcha

mr. clean lockdown - days 4, 5, 6

2009-07-20T22:34:01Z

Seems like the lockdown had a stranglehold on my blogging abilities. The key to this lockdown appears when this place looks like a friggin hotel!

I spent the weekend finishing up my quest for 100% floor space. It's almost done. The bookcase helped a ton, or at least a tonne, because I was able to clear all of my window sills (poor sills), the cabinet underneath my bathroom sink (really, I was using my sink cabinet to store textbooks), and my closet. I tackled the bathroom with tons of cleaning supplies and scrubbed the tub dub to a nice flub of white...nub. I threw half of my clothes out (I think everyone needs to do this at least once every few years), hung up the nice ones, and then built a chest of drawers, which took me 6-7 hours and was my most difficult furniture assignment yet, to neatly hold the rest of the clothes. I also dumped out almost the entire contents of my closet, since it was just crap that was taking up space and I had no intention of ever using. I put stuff that I WILL use, such as xmas decorations and old video games, in there.

So floor space is no longer an issue. You can walk freely, no clothes, no junk, no books, no crap, and since I realized that Nikki only plays with about 3 out of her 40 dog toys - no excessive dog toys!

The natural next step is to upgrade my bed, because I've been tired of sleeping on a plain mattress on the floor. So....I got a bed, on Craigslist. It's a beautiful looking queen bed that was used in a vacation home, so it was barely ever used. Here are some pics:

The best part was that I don't have to rent a truck to go get it. I will quote the nice lady thrice:

Quote 1:
"First let me say congrats on your graduation from DePauw. I also graduated from DePauw - in 1982. The bed is ready any time. "

Quote 2:
"Depending on how far you have to move it, since you are a fellow DPU grad, I might be able to lend you our truck if you replace the gas. We can talk if you are interested."

Quote 3:
"I may end up hauling it to you in Gcastle and you pay mileage, I don't know. Check the weather and we will stay flexible for an opening on Wed."

This is all beautiful music to a poor, compact-car grad student's ears, so however I end up getting the bed on Wednesday, I'll be happy to sink into a comfortable, soft, huge bed. And also, since I"ll be sleeping suspended in air, I can use the part underneath the bed for more storage!

Now to ask you for some advice:

- Now that I'm getting a new bed, what's the best way to keep it in top condition? I have read some articles that say to not make your bed, because this keeps the bed bugs away, and some to make it every day. Also, how often should I clean the sheets and blankets?

- I want to get a new shower curtain, since the one I have is crap. I know nothing about style. What looks good in a bleak bathroom with a wall comprised of both brown wood panels and off-white?

- Am I doing anything terribly wrong?

Thanks for the help as always.

mr. clean lockdown - day 3

2009-07-17T22:13:49Z

My wallet took another wal-mart sized casualty yesterday, which isn't really that bad. The best part about things is that when there is not a thing somewhere then there is air. And if there is air there is space, and if there is space you can utilize it for storage! For a college student with tons (or at least gallons, if they were all melted) of books, a bookcase is an absolute must...

So I built a bookcase! It joins my desk in the ranks of furniture I have built to clear up space, and it's sitting pretty against the wall now! I'm going to stash all of the books and movies and crap that I just let build up on it, except not CRAP crap, that's being thrown out.

Anyway, since floor space is the issue of the week here, I am going to eventually have to move onto the bedroom.

My bedroom has clothes all over the floor because I don't have dressers. Dressers are huge, dressers are expensive, and thus I don't have any modes of clothes storage. But I do have a lot of clothes.

So this is where I need your help:

What should I do about clothes storage? I've tried to put as much stuff in the closet as possible, and I'll try to cram some more in there...but what about dressers?

Wal-mart sells a chest of three drawers for $49, and a chest of four drawers for $59. Is that worth it? It sounds so pricey to me, and think about how many I would need. I could also hit up craigslist for dressers, but how would I get them back home? They're so big, and I doubt they'd fit in my Elantra. Does anyone in Greencastle have a huge car I could borrow?

On other cleaning fronts, I also conquered my bathroom sink, which had a nasty debris build up, and it is running perfectly now; also, my living room is free of junk, mainly because I spent hours organizing the home theatre system's maze of wires, and putting all the video games systems in boxes...

This weekend will be dedicated to getting some places for my clothes! So it starts now!

mr. clean lockdown day 2...

2009-07-16T15:14:55Z

About those baits I set the other day...think of them as a "Rick roll of death." I set the bait (the "link" of the rickroll), and then you try to take the bait, and DAMN!!! NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP VIDEO!!! except for the roaches, the result is a little less fortunate, it's death! They take it all the way back to the nest, and they all share the poison.
Except now my problem isn't a roach problem,
it's a problem of having hundreds of dead roaches all over the place! What good is it if they're not moving, they're still there! Blech!

Which brings me into my question/"need your help" segment. The living room is nearly clear (now that my desk is set up, and the kitchen is finished)...but the one nagging, glaring, strobe-light flashing problem will always be my carpet. It's got a layer of dog hair, feathers from an old pillow, and foam from toys that Nikki has torn up, among with general dust.
I NEED A VACUUM!

I had two vacuums, one that mom gave me years ago, and one that I borrowed from Rachel's family, but neither did much, or anything. They wouldn't suck anything up, and I'm assuming it's because they were just so old and had done so much.
It's time to get a robust, full-blown, new vacuum, and I'm going to set it on the floor like a monster, and let it eat all the stuff up. And I'm going to do this regularly!

However, I need your help:
where is the best place to get a vacuum? I should get a new one, right, if I want it to really get the job done for a place like this? And do I need to get extra bags with it?

Wal-Mart sells vacuums anywhere from about $50 to $200 (tho I'm tired of making all these trips to wal-mart)...and I see vacuums on craigslist all the time, but once again, that's an issue of if you want a vacuum new or used.

Point me the way - which direction should I go? Where and what kind of vacuum should I get?

mr. clean lockdown - day 1

2009-07-15T05:03:36Z

Just finished up 4 hours of excruciating manual labor; hand lotion is barely alleviating the pain and soreness (mmmmmm)...I got Windex, since everyone has been recommending it as the cure-all for cleaning, and a bunch of bleach and dish-soap...and fought that kitchen like a mortal enemy. I'm winning so far...
I also got two roach traps...one that is year round, in which you put 18 baits around the apartment, and they carry back the bait to the nest and they all die after they eat it. hahaha, DIE, FUCKERS! The other was the traditional roach bombs...I'm preparing to blow this joint of roaches, but that investment requires about 4-5 hours of not being here, so I"Ll save that for another time...I am not going to lose the war against the roaches.
But oh man. The biggest and toughest decision to make was that I should STOP USING MY KITCHEN COUNTER AS A DESK. A kitchen counter is to use for eating and preparing food, not putting crap you don't want anywhere else, or computing. So, despite the wealth of great options of desks at Craigslist for such cheap prices, I couldn't follow that route - because I don't have a car big enough to transport an assembled desk to and (a)fro. What I can do is make a desk myself - and that I did. At wal-mart I got a build it yourself desk, and I've never made a desk by myself before (though I did do some desk labor in El Salvador when we were building an internet café). You can imagine that the first time you do something like that is not even close to easy, and I must have said something that rhymes with...hmm, luck, at least 30 times...the thing almost fell apart at one point, and you can imagine if it did, I would have went into some Jon-arbuckle (a la Garfield minus garfield) esque breakdown.

But I did it! I BUILT A DESK! I screwed (hahaha), nailed (hahaha), and labored my way through boards of wood and screws and metal and my hands hate me for it, but now I can actually clear my kitchen counter and have an actual kitchen!

This is one day out of about 38...you'll see! This place is on its way!!!

aight, this is what's going down!

2009-07-14T15:52:08Z

Y'all know about me. I'm impulsive, driven, focused, and always determined to do things the way that they should be done - even if only to prove a point to others. So I'm set in a new kind of lockdown!

This is what happened. I was hanging out with Rachel last night and we had an "on the steps" talk - those are always the most interesting! Anyway, she admitted (I mean, it really should have been pretty clear to me, but sometimes I'm stupid) that maybe the condition of my apartment / shanty shack had something to do with her not wanting to move to Indy with me for this semester. booo!! Yes, I know, the apartment is awful, it's among the worst things since slavery.

So I put myself on one of my critically acclaimed LOCKDOWNS (I've had many of these in the past) - the newest edition is Mr. Clean lockdown (but I get to keep my hair, Pat Stewart.)

I'm determined to prove to Rachel, to my family, and everyone else that's said these things about me, that I can live in this world as a clean, tidy, neat, responsible adult - even in the most miserable $400-a-month apartment. And I'm furreal about it.

I called her from a payphone and worked out a deadline, and August 20th it is. Until that point, I am not seeing her nor anyone else! (ok, unless work or something) I am going to turn this place into a dream apartment, fully transition into my next phase as an adult, and win respect. Mark my words! They are in the font of a livejournal entry (or Facebook note).

36 DAYS
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, ALLEZ!

But,
I need your help!

I will ask you constantly for cleaning, organization, pest control, and furniture tips, aight??? The best way to clear up space in an apartment is to use all of that nice, invisible air between the floor and ceiling. I'm talking about desks, bookshelves, TV stands, etc. I am going to rely on your assistance to get my place into the top notch condition, and I will be very grateful for it!

Mike Sullivan said the word of the week was focus...I had no idea he'd be this right!

time to flip the dump...into a lovely lump.

anatomy of a cliche - the end of the day (and shoutout to Ben Yahtzee Croshaw)

2009-07-09T15:41:59Z

I've been thinking about starting a series like this for a while. Stripping a cliche down to its elements is no different than gazing at the stars or staring at your dog's eyes - you're noticing something you normally take for granted more than usual! Analyzing a cliche is an interesting way to get a better sense of language and learn why people use it in the way they do.

Here's something we hear a lot:

"At the end of the day" - (you still suck, it's just a pop album, the Beatles were human, etc etc)

Let me take this moment to mention a great, famous, popular video game reviewer - Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw - who is revered for his review series called "Zero Punctuation," hosted by The Escapist Magazine, in which he spits out sentence after sentence in his trademark British accent, barely pausing between sentences, and accenting his words with extremely effective, if not rudimentary, images that blend normal pictures and stick-ish figures. I sent Julie and Cory his review of Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and I think they liked it...

Anyway, Yahtzee does clever visual representations of cliches. For instance, he'll start a sentence by saying "all in all" and have a big ALL with a small all inside of it, or say "nevertheless" and then have a "the less" with a big X over it saying NEVER! It's really genuine, in fact, and it's impossible to be annoyed with this guy. Before I continue, I really do recommend checking his review of "The Sims 3":

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/800-The-Sims-3

Or any of his other reviews, which are all on the same site.
BE SURE TO WATCH IN FULL SCREEN! =)

So yeah, in one of his reviews, he says "at the end of the day," and shows his character with another character, sitting at the beach at a sunset. It's kind of charming, actually. The dictionary defines "at the end of the day" as:

"in the final reckoning "

Which is a little too dramatic for my taste, considering that it makes it sound like some end-all, omniscient judgment of doom. "Final reckoning" = "At the end of the day, you will perish in the boiling, pop-culture filled flames of hell!"

No and no...I think "at the end of the day" is really used by most people today to point out the main focus of something. It means, let's not get distracted in embellishments and less important details, and focus on the main issue at hand.

For example, Ebert would probably say about Tony Jaa's Ong-Bak 2:

"This might have some of the best choreographed fight scenes in the history of film; Jaa is incredibly acrobatic and in fine fettle as he whips bad guy after bad guy. But at the end of the day, what is this movie but a 90-minute highlight reel of Tony Jaa's martial arts skills?"

Because Ebert is concerned with the plot and structure of a movie,

whereas a fanboy would probably say:

"Okay, so there really is no story, and by the halfway point, you won't even really care why Jaa is wrestling in the mud and using spinning kicks to subdue foe after foe. You won't even keep track of any of the characters. At the end of the day, this is a Tony Jaa highlight reel, and that's all that matters."

I hear this one a lot, and rather than just listening off-hand and taking it as, "oh, that's just a person using another cliche," it REALLY means that the person is centralizing/focusing whatever he/she's talking about on his/her values and passions.

So next time you hear someone say "at the end of the day," listen up! They're speaking up about what really matters to them! Also think of lovely, glistening sunsets...at least I will, because the sea calls me. ;)

take it like a man - what's your balance?

2009-07-08T17:55:56Z

Throughout life, we constantly re-evaluate ourselves, at least those of us who take ourselves seriously enough (but not too seriously, of course). My stern self-evaluations are constantly evolving and morphing into different forms, but one constant theme I've been paying attention to is the balance of masculinity and gentleness, and realizing that the two are more in harmony than we are trained to think.

Okay, by this point we know that I am a strong Taoist, and am deeply committed to the application of yin-yang to everything in life. In society, we are led to believe that a stereotypical man cannot cry, have sympathy for homeless puppies, talk on the phone with each other for more than 30 seconds, or show any sign of weakness. We are subsequently led to believe that those of men who exhibit more gentle qualities, such as compassion, peace, love for nature, and romantic tendencies, are weak and feeeeeeeeeee(holdin a B flat by this point)ble.

Here's where Kevin Celebi comes into play. I see gentle compassion and masculinity/virility as yin and yang respectively. For those who don't know, in Chinese yin-yang theory, the yin usually represents qualities that stray towards passive, wet, dark, and feminine; yang, then, strays towards the aggressive, dry, bright, and masculine characteristics of all things. Those that master yin-yang will subsequently become the supreme ruler of their own life and Tao - and this is why I am realizing that I am very much happy with where I am as being "a man."

I have called myself for years now the last of a rare breed called "MPR - Musician Poet Romantic." These are obviously not trades associated with society's contemporary manly man. I am gentle, I am very sensitive, and my heart and mind are constantly ruled by the well-being of my dogs, the visibility of the sky, the likelihood of my living near the sea one day, and so on. I am usually soft-spoken in conversation, and I always call myself Cupid incarnate - the god and creator of love - because of my burning desire to live love for the rest of my life and give divinity and happiness to a deserving woman. I constantly write poetry inspired by Tao and the beauty of the natural world, and spend hours expressing myself in music through composition and trumpet playing.

Simultaneously, I'm strong, virile, and always firm (aggressive at times..). We know how much time I spend strengthening my body and giving it athleticism and speed; we know how much time I spend practicing martial arts and watching movies of this discipline (some bordering on downright brutal and violent), I have never lost a fight, I always play basketball and see it as a way to command the body's balance of strength and speed, I sprint and run with my dogs (and lose the race every time...) and I am verbally firm with people and never give them undeserving leeway.

Returning to the self-evaluation, we are always wondering if we are in balance with what we want ourselves to be. I am always wanting myself to be a purebred and lyrical MPR, yet strong enough to be able to protect those that I love and live the very life that I want. One iota out of balance, and you become less than what you want to be. I am happy with my yin-yang balance and I look forward to seeing where it takes me in life.

This was inspired by two things.
1 - I wrote an entry a few days ago about how punished I felt because of the brutal weekend at Lake Wawasee, and how I'm going to take exercise off for a while. I still feel beaten up, but I'm going to work out anyway - why should I give my body a halfhearted excuse not to strengthen itself?
Nietzsche said it best - doesn't kill you? Makes you stronger.

2 - Being half-Turkish means having origin strongly rooted in the land of the Mediterranean - Turkey, Asia Minor, Greece, etc. I am fascinated in classical mythology, especially Greek. The Greek men were extremely strong and athletic - carved, but not overblown with machismo like MMA fighters of today (homo-eroticism of 300 aside!). I want to be like a man from that era, because I feel like I would be reaching into my very own roots!

This is the kind of thing I could write all day on, but thankfully won't. I wrote an 8 page essay on Austen's EMMA on Mr. Knightley's re-emasculation and defining of manliness, because of his representation of "Englishness," his mansion, and the way he treats other characters, especially Emma. Everyone has their own conception of how to best represent their gender, and this is partly what makes us so proud of whom we are.

We all have a balance to strive for - for me, it's MPR + strength and virility, both antiquated and modern. What's yours?