to live and die in AK

music vids

2008-12-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

some fun stuff.

all i want for christmas....

2008-12-08T04:54:00.000-08:00

i know times are tough. there is a financial crisis at hand, banks and automotive companies are asking for bailouts. which is why i am making things simple for you.

all i want for christmas is for you, my closest friends and confidants is to donate $5 to my campaign to spend christmas in berlin :)

so, please, find it in your heart to help davey have a warm and holy christmas.

If Obama could raise $750 million to get to the white house, then surely we can work together and hit the $500 mark for my travel package.

so your generosity would surely be appreciated. and of course upon my return, you'll be bestowed with rarities and trinkets of europa.

have a merry christmas and i will keep you in my thoughts whilst chugging egg nog with german girls.

kindest regards,

david m. pinedo

please send your donations here :)

things you eat at the end of the month

2008-12-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

paychecks don't come until the first, so living can get rough.

1. spaghetti with butter, the butter stolen from your flat mates area of the fridge.
2. water with lemon. lots and lots of water with lemon.
3. questionable pieces of bread topped with questionable pieces of cheese, preferably blue cheese to make it look more acceptable.
4. free coffee and hot tea from the different clients i visit.
5. rice mixed with hot sauce and peanut butter. if you close your eyes, you can pretend that it's gourmet thai food.
6. beer, there is always money for beer.
7. oatmeal, all day, everyday.
8. going through the last of your canned goods: diced tomatoes, pineapple chunks, green olives and Voila! Tapas.
9. Cutting up a cucumber and calling it a cucumber salad.
10. advil with toothpaste.

you cut me off mid funk!

2008-11-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

freaks and geeks is the best show ever. i would definitely be Bill Haverchuck.

Holiday in the sun

2008-11-23T04:28:00.000-08:00

So my buddy Ryan really got me into studying national currencies and extreme cases of inflation. Living in Prague you begin to watch every cent you spend and earn. since i've been here, the U.S. dollar has surprisingly gone up in my favor despite the economic setbacks back home. and as for my canadian friends, theyre not so lucky and are watching a lot of their saving diminishing.

The Czech krown is high for some reason or another and i'm predicting it to fall pretty soon. Though the czech republic has a trained workforce (a lot of IT business out here) I imagine you can still get IT for dirt cheap in India. Their even going through their housing bust like we had back home in cali. It's nothing like it was 20 years ago when you could get a haircut for 5 cents or trade a pair of jeans for a car. but beers are still $1 and that works for me.
But this is what I'm looking at now...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/09/business/icebank.php

Iceland has just declared bankruptcy which makes it the ultimate travel destination spot for thrifty tourist like myself. Though I cant imagine moving there, I bet you could get a good deal on a winter cabin with some sigur ros tickets to boot. Most of my days are spent looking at flight tickets which are still pretty high but if you do the math it all works out.

United States Dollars Iceland Kronur
1 USD = 141.425 ISK

1 ISK = 0.00707089 USD

crying

2008-11-18T15:33:00.001-08:00

why do we cry? specifically, when were young? like when were babies and toddlers.

i was waiting for the tram today and i saw this poor mother, hunched over in the cold, trying to soothe her crying boy. he was about two or three and i just paused in front of the KFC and stood in the amazement of it all.

she was frantically pulling out bottles, pacifiers, anything to get him to shut up. no choo cho? no ba ba? maybe its apple juice? that always works, that's not it? why are you crying? like wailing crying. what is so specific in our human genetics that we have to cry about shit that isn't going our way? what if this kid didn't have any parents, would he cry and cry until he said fuck this, i'll just do it myself?

i mean, crying....c'mon. really? and when did we learn to stop crying? when did our parents convince us that everything would be OK beyond that horrible and everlasting moment. now that were older, do we sometimes cry on the inside when we don't get what we want, but we've learned not to express it? I know we've learned to rationalize the immediate, but still that experience must exist deep down inside of us.

think about it, when they're out of a video you want to rent or when a server messes up your order, you must being crying on the inside, just like this kid.

when was the last time you cried? i tried to think back about that and I thought maybe when I split with an ex girlfriend. sure that's reason enough to cry, that can be some pretty heavy shit. but then it came to me, i did cry, when i had to say goodbye to my grandmother before i left to prague. all these thoughts consumed me. what if this is the last time i see her? i was just a kid spending my every weekend with her, now i'm grown up and am moving halfway around the world. sure that got me, but where does it start, how does it shift towards a more emotional aspect and does it ever end?

i think a big step was when we learn to cuss. i was thinking if I was like this kid today and I didn't get what I wanted, I wouldn't break down and start weeping waiting for some stranger to take me in their arms. Instead I would say , "Shit" or "Fuck" and it's over and done with. end of story.

Like if you're running to the bank and right when you get there they close their doors. FUCK! SHIT! CRAP! FUCK! MOTHER FUCK!
You stub your toe...you get the point.

So I propose that we should starting teaching our kids to cuss at an earlier age. sure teachers and other parents might dislike the notion at first, but imagine all the time you could be saving. Instead of getting sucked into appeasing your child, you could be playing tennis. Instead of being bent over, hovering in the cold like this poor mother you could be learning a new language or watching a classic film instead. No apple juice? "Fuck!" "That's right Johnny now leave me alone, Daddies watching the Lakers!".

So I couldn't take it anymore, I decided to go buy some $6 dollar v necks to occupy my time. Nothing looked right, I went through piles of sweaters, all the same. Then I turned to another isle looking for the perfect sweater and gazed down on the floor to see this poor woman sprawled out having a seizure. Our eyes connected, she pissed her self and I took a step back, two other people, strangers, were already with her, guiding her through that state of utter helplessness. I looked around to see if anyone was calling an ambulance or if there was a doctor in the building. An associate just shrugged her shoulders at me as if this happened all the time. She looked at the woman flopping on the floor like a fish, shook her head and continued to ring up more clothes. Her fellow associate followed suit and I walked back to the scene. A woman brushed past me weeping from the intensity of it all, holding a tissue. I looked around for my place in all this and said, "Fuck".

taxi cab from hell.

2008-02-28T01:36:00.001-08:00

so i got a taxi today for work which isn't an uncommon thing to do, but today's ride was very different from the others.

perhaps i was expecting my usual cabbies.

there is this one old guy with dark shades and a moustache, a bit on the chubby side but not too chubby. i can't remember his name, gave me his card twice in order to get pick ups from him personally, but i tossed it for some reason or another, i guess i believe in equal opportunity. he always talks about the weather or what parts of town most of his work has been coming from lately. once in a while he recalls a regular in my neighborhood who was a deaf kid that he took to college, i knew the kid from seeing him around but never knew his name or the fact that he was deaf. anyways, i really like it when i get picked up from him because he always has the oldies station playing plus his cab is the only cab with tinted windows. i like that his cab has tinted windows. it feels that my life is a little more private while i am on my way to work. i look out the windows and wish sometimes life came with tinted windows, i would probably use them often. before i know it, the ride is a little more silent, but not as silent as the things going on in my head and my stop comes. he wishes me a good day and i pay him, tipping him well of course.

then theres another, older cabby who looks like he is on the brink of death. he is incredibly skinny, has no teeth and he has that gaze where he blinks often as if his last days are coming. his cab is filled with ashes and old coffee cups, i think how can man this age still be working? i think he must be on his last leg and he's working himself to the bone. at first i thought that he was a speed head because of the shock of seeing him, i remember the first time we rode together, there were spots of blood on his jeans. now i just think that maybe he's sick and has to work because he has no other choice. he likes it when i tip him well. even if i don't have any money on me and run to the atm to pay for the cab, i give him a whole twenty and tell him to keep it. he smiles in his feeble state and looks at his screen to see where the next pick up will be. after time, I've grown more comfortable with riding with him despite his fatigued physical appearance and the presence of a lingering death in the car.

today however, was quite different like i said before.

immediately sitting into the cab i had the sense of how the cab ride would be. the driver was an over talkative and intense man from the beginning. i politely told him what turns to take to get out of my neighborhood like i do to all the other drivers who seemed puzzled by the maze of streets in my block and in a loud voice he said, "I know! I know what I'm doing! So what part of Claremont are you headed to?" a little shocked from his behavior i say, "Umm Bonita and Indian Hill, it's best to take Baseline to Mountain, go south and hit Bonita from there."

"Well which restaurant is it? What cross streets?", he demands.

I was a bit puzzled, how did he know i work at a restaurant? i think, well maybe because he saw my clothes and my logo i was carrying along with my back pack. anyways, during all this talk he's looking back at me. glaring at me. not just his head, but angles his entire top torso and his head, almost filling the back seat looking at me. not looking at the road mind you! asking me questions, looking at me intensely and i respond quickly to direct his attention back to the road.

as he returns to the road i study him a bit. this guy has to be on speed, for sure i think, his pupils were all i could see. is that a sign that youre on speed or is it the other way around?

anyways, this guy must have been up for days driving this cab i think. i get back to the conversation and say "It's La Pain Quotidian, a french restaurant next to the movie theatre".
"oh, OK then, right off of 2ND st. got it. so what kind of place is it?, he asks
"it's a french restaurant.", i say again.
"well what type of place is this, is the food good? is this a place i would want to take my wife and children?" i think of the spectacle that would be. "what makes this place such a fine place that people come to it again and again?"

i think about it after all it's a pretty valid question.

i respond, "well, we serve mostly open faced sandwiches, organic foods and it has a lovely communal table, everything there is crafted from wood." he isn't letting me off so easy. "well what dish would you recommend? what is the dish that keeps everyone coming back?", he asks. "hmm. that's a good question." i say, a common response i have grown accustomed too. just a filler piece of conversation when in fact i am thinking what the hell is this guy getting at, who does he think he is asking me all these questions? i just wish this ride would end soon.
"theres so much to choose from, my favorite though would be the chicken lentil stew or the fisherman's pot, but their pretty pricey.", i say. quickly he adds, "well money is not an option with me, that's no problem. what is it that you do there exactly?" he inquires.
"i just serve.", i say trying to divert his attention away from me and let me think to myself like i always do in my cab rides.
he looks back, my eyes widen, just watch the road! i think, "just serve? you serve, don't say you "just" serve. you just don't do anything man, you serve, you're making money, spend that money that's what i say. spend it, because you never know what day is gonna be your last. some people save and save for what? thats not for me! you could die tomorrow with all that money. what's one billion dollars if your sitting in a wheel chair and you can only blink your left eye as a means of communication because you suffered some stroke or something?"

i think about that.

"well what is it?" i didn't think that he wanted an actual response however. "just a billion dollars is what i say!", he adds. "yeah i suppose.", i respond, but think about a friend i knew. who's job it was to look after this super rich kid who suffered from cerebal palsy. his job really was to take him to bars and parties and introduce him to women, to make him feel a part of something i guess. maybe it isn't so bad i think. he's a billionaire, he's doing things that would make him happy despite his condition.

I'm interrupted by, "i mean think about it. can you imagine? CAN YOU IMAGINE? can you imagine? i don't think you can. can you imagine sitting in a wheel chair, pissing yourself, wearing a diaper because you can't control your bladder? can you imagine that?, he demands. i reply, "no i guess i couldn't." hoping that this will finally validate some feeling for him, not thinking again i add, " i guess I'm very lucky to be at a young age." "it's not a matter of age! no no no! imagine yourself at the age of nine. nine years old and your pissing yourself." i think if i ever pissed myself at that age due to some accident in my sleep or something. continuing, "wearing a diaper in a wheel chair and you gotta wear a colostomy bag. can you imagine that? because i don't think you can." i say, "well yeah i guess it's more a matter of chance." beginning to listen to his argument and take him more seriously to find what his motive is of telling me all this.

he says, "chance. chance huh? like it's random? " taking my answer into consideration.

i reply, "yes, like you said, it doesn't matter what age you are, sometimes people are born with bad genetics, sometimes things just happen. in fact i just read a book regarding health, i guess you could say it's a book describing health in our lives a history of things that happen to our bodies."

his face changes like I've struck a chord, did we finally come to some sort of agreement on money and health i think?

he begins, "so youre a writer huh?" i pause thinking where is this going now? what have i written lately? and say, "well sure i like to write." before i can elaborate he adds, "well I'm a writer too."
I'm a little surprised. "yes i am one of the head writers that wrote up the policies for these writers strikes that we had going on recently, today I'm just riding my cab because I'm bored."

i don't really believe him, but i agree with him telling him I've never seen him before and that I'm somewhat of a regular so in his eyes he belives that i believe that he is a writer. by this time he didn't take Mountain like i told him to. he took Garey which has more lights. i think maybe he's got me all wrapped up so he can take all these lights and make more money off of some schmuck like me stupid enough to be listening to his crap. were in Pomona. god i just wish this cab ride was over.

then he goes back to his argument saying, "yes our bodies are just vessels can you imagine going through prostate cancer?" i think about my grandfather who had prostate cancer and think that maybe i will get it one day but i do not share this with him. "can you imagine your prostate enlarging because that's what it does.", showing me with his hands making a circle with his thumb and index finger still not watching the raod. "it enlarges. why does it enlarge? it needs minerals and seeks it in your body which constricts your vas deferens and your urethra. can you imagine in the middle of the night? feeling so full and taking hours to piss and not everything comes out? can you imagine? the impotence. the vas deferens is a sex organ." i know this, i can't help but smile thinking about all the times Chris and i used the terms in jest but i try to hide it and keep listening. i think about the times i slept over at my grandparents house. staying up late raiding their fridge playing video games all night and seeing my grandfather not in bed with his wife, but sitting in a sofa armchair in the den with the television light bouncing off of him. why did he sit there all night? was he suffering i think?

"having some pussy and not being able to fuck?", he chuckles and looks back at me to see if he's crossed a line but can read that he hasn't. i look at his hand seeing a wedding ring, looking at is hands thinking, those really don't look like writers hands, their a bit more weathered. he spouts off again, "this is what you must do! go online and look for some beta-ah-flex, ahh i can't remember the name and start taking those pills to avoid getting prostate cancer because back in the day they would just scrape that shit out of you leaving you completely impotent. now you have the power to take medication and prevent it. red meat. you have to cut out red meat in your diet. you like red meat?"

"yes, i do actually, i eat it often.", i say.

thinking back to the time when i had a girlfriend named Kristen. her father loved red meat. he would cook different steaks all the time. one time he even cooked shark, i didn't like it much but i ate it out of courtesy. it wasn't exactly red meat but it had a lot of mercury in it which is why we didn't have it often. we would always go out to the best steak houses in town. he taught me how to order everything medium rare and to never use steak sauce, but enjoy the meat as it was and use horse radish if necessary. i never ate so much red meat in my life back then. i guess i can thank him for all this.

he continues, "well you better stop soon! how old are you? twenty seven?"

surprised, "yep, exactly."

"well you got twenty seven written all over your face.", he says admirably.

I'm kind of happy that someone actually got my age right and I'm feeling good for the first time in this cab ride, but think what the hell does that mean? twenty seven all over my face. does he know the things I've done or the state that i am in. was he like me? does he know my next move?

and then he makes a turn too soon and says, "i bet you didn't think you knew where i was going did yeah?" but instead of saying you should have made a right at the next block i just agree with him and say, "no, i didn't."

"i bet you didn't, i got it right her on my GPS screen", he says defendingly.

could he tell I've been judging him all this time or something? why does he think that i think that he isn't a competent cab driver. but he's not! he took a turn too soon i think. then he makes a left on the street he was supposed to make a right at and drops me off. he tells me to get myself checked for prostate cancer. i give him a twenty and tell him to keep it. he says, "really?" with a shocked expression.
i say, "yes, I'm going to make a lot of tips tonight don't worry about it."
he responds, "well alright then it was nice meeting you my names George, yours?" but he doesn't put out his hand.

"David."

"alright have a good night make some tips and spend your money."

"will do."

i walk out thinking what the fuck was that about? am i wrong to think that i thought he was on speed? was i wrong to doubt he was actually in fact a writer? does that make me a racist for thinking these things? maybe he was just a nice guy trying to give his customers some advice or knowledge as part of their ride. did it look like i needed advice? how did he know i was twenty seven ? did he have prostate cancer?

i walk into my work, clock in and smile to my fellow co workers.

augustus pinedo

2007-12-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

mine.

the rockers ain't ready.

found photography vol.1

2007-11-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

picnic.

central park lake on 60th st. 7/12/1947.

railroad tracks 1890.

agness.

amazing hat. nyc.

joy 41/2 yrs old. 1933.

school?

inspiration.

2007-11-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

it's true, my hypothesis was correct. if you start to dress like a writer then you must act like a writer. just as if you dressed like a policeman or major league baseball player, you would have to start preforming like one. I've written a lot i guess. and drawn a lot. so it's working. here's some archival references.

the conference call.

2007-11-11T21:05:00.000-08:00

so i woke up on johns couch tuesday morning i think it was. john had a conference call at 9am. steve and justin were also doing a conference call in the living room. everyone kept telling me to be quiet and not fart or burp or do anything stupid. then i got a call.

it was ben from alaska, my old roommate. it was good to hear from him. he told me he was packing his bags to go back. but to alyeska to manage a bar at a resort and said he could use my help. bar tending and probably serving here and there, i knew this call was coming and i was ready. so it's just a matter of time now.

this will be my new home. http://www.alyeskaresort.com/page.asp?intNodeID=10894

free snowboarding. spa perks and what not. living at a resort basically. i'll miss all my friends again, especially after xochitl's bday bash.

but it will be nice to have a real winter and a place to focus on my thesis. tentative departure date is scheduled for the first of december, however, i really want to spend christmas down here. i guess i'm saying i'm not sure how i feel. my thoughts are pointing me north.

the alaskan work ethic.

2007-11-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

it stuck with me. 18 hour days/no days off.
as many of you know, i'm juggling three jobs. running around town, looking tired when i'm out. most of the time.
but i felt like i wasn't doing enough. for society that is.
and as luck would have it, i met a gentleman at my work who runs a non profit for fighting aids. i don't know if fighting is the right word though. curing? i don't know. well it's not so much clerical work, but mostly hosting events and doing outings. and it's a paid internship.
so yes, i have four jobs now. if i can find another, i'd probably do it too.

goals.

2007-10-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

1. finish writing my thesis.
2. by a diesel mercedes benz and convert it into a more green automobile.
3. find a place in south pas or korea town.
4. start writing again.
5. read a book a week.
6. by a guitar and take lessons at the folk music center and start a band with ryan.
7. maybe draw more, i havn't done that in forever.
8. finally learn spanish and maybe french.
9. work at a non profit one day a week.
10. smile more.

be careful for what you wish for

2007-10-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

i had a dream last night.
that i flew back to alaska.
but there was nothing for me there.
the season had ended, there was no work.
my friends had all flown back down south.
then i took a bath in a big bath tub with my coworkers i had all worked with at the bar.
we dried off and went to our seperate hotel rooms. i stood looking at my bed and then the t.v. and wished i was back in l.a.

jamaicans

2007-10-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

so it only took me a week.
a week back in town to find three jobs, yes three jobs.
serving at the press.
serving at some french place i can't even pronounce.
and bartending at the hip kitty jazz bar.

but i still want to work as a butcher and work at a nursery.

in alaska i got used to working 18 hour days with no days off.

i should be working right now.

something i'm excited about

2007-10-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

when i was in seattle, they had these things called "sad parties". where on certain nights, d.j.'s would play just really sad music. not like emo or anything, but like johnny cash, patsy cline, i'm sure the cure and so forth. in seattle people embrace and celebrate their sadness and i thought that was a nice idea.

so, i'm trying to convince my old work to let me host a gig there on mondays. maybe call it the mondays? and d.j. really sad tunes. i think that would be fun. people getting together, crying at the bar, holding their drink with their heads down, while listening to some nico, sobbing. that would be fun.

so i'm back

2007-10-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

and i'm not too happy about it i guess. i wish i was back in alaska, fishing again.

it was really fun and i enjoyed it. setting sail, watching my tiny town disappear. being surrounded by nothing. and then suddenly being hit with work...and fish, lots of fish. climbing into my bunk, writing, thinking about people. waking up to more work...and more fish. coming back to shore with cannery workers studying your movements. throwing ropes to the docks and making time for a drink, bumping into a friend. it was a good feeling being out at sea. maybe i will always fee like this when my season is over.

and i'm back in town. everyone seems so different, even physically. but i'm glad to see my friends. large crowds though and traffic, i'm still getting used to it.

i just think about being back there. at this tiny town i knew nothing about. even a day in the cannery sounds quite nice.

so whats next. i don't know. i heard there is some fishing over at san pedro and it sounds really nice right about now. but i'd like to finish my thesis. once and for all. so i'm looking to get settled, stay busy and then go north again once summer comes.

calendar

2007-10-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

so guess who has a justice ticket for Monday. are you going? are you not going and going to watch stupid t.v. shows because nothing good is on t.v. on Mondays?
let's go.

annnnnnd

oktoberfest. big bear. this weekend. muhhhhaahhhhaa.

i just remembered.

2007-10-03T15:04:00.001-07:00

i miss my record player.
the first thing i'm gonna do when i get home is put it on and sleep for a few days. i need the felt - goldmine trash lp. maybe i'll find it up here.

i spoke to soon.

2007-10-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

i took a walk on first. from pike down to cherry and so forth. it was one of the best walks i've ever had. seattle is a good city, i can see myself here again, on much longer terms, serious terms. i'm gonna go walk again.

haha

2007-10-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

so i'm totally homeless. i'm looking for nice dry spots in the park to sleep and to see if theres any room at the salvation army. there was no rooms availble at the hostel i wanted and my money is winding down staying at a crackhouse hotel.

i have some options left. so we'll see what happens.

haha , oh yeah, everyone in seattle is completley fucking miserable cause it's always raining in their stupid fucking faces.

umm

2007-10-01T00:36:00.000-07:00

today, i missed my flight. cordova just keeps calling me back i guess.

and then i watched the new wes anderson trailer for hotel chevalier. the short scene one with natlaie portman and jason schwartzman. there was no sound, but the composition is amazing.

it reminded me of everything i've lost and left behind. it made me wonder why i'm here and where i'm going. it reminded me to miss things.

i missed a lot of things today.

second chances

2007-09-27T02:14:00.000-07:00

i believe in second chances. this story goes back to my cannery days.

the bunkhouse i used to live in was manila colored. smelled like dead fish and men. 6 guys to a room who only wanted to pass out after 18 hours of work, go figure.

i felt it could use a little umph. a little something. a poster of nancy sinatra maybe? nah the turks would never get it i thought...

so i went to the AC one day, it's the only grocery store in town. i was actually shopping for the finer things in life, yeah know, funions, chili cheese fritos and i came across something astonishing. it was the only succulent plant in the land. it was from the sephalophyllum genre.

i saw it and it was mine. but in this case, i felt like charlie brown in charlie browns christmas special. this succulent was so downtrodden and deteriorated that they placed it in the 50% off rack. i looked at the price tag and it was a mere $2 and .50 cents. then i looked at it really closely like a dentist explores your teeth. and whoah, there were about 4 leaves left on it and when i picked it up to examine it 1 fell off. i threw it into my basket and it landed next to a cup of maruchan. another leaf fell off.

at first, it looked like it was on it's last limb, no pun intended. my roommates laughed at it as i carried it into the room. flies would even swirl around it like vultures. but i watered it everyday. i gave it just enough sunlight. that every day it was something to look forward to after a hard days work. sometimes my hands wouldn't work. or my back would give out, but i still had time to nurture it.

and before long, it started to look like an actual plant, not like something at the bottom of a trash bag. and the day came when i left the cannery. i looked at it and i knew no one else would take care of it. so i took it with me.

i had my bags, my laundry bag hurled over my shoulder and my desert plant tucked into the inside of my arm. i walked down the gravel road looking like a fool. i had settled my belongings in my new home and knew this wasn't a place for him. he needed a home of it's own.

i took a walk along ski ridge. and then stepped more and more into the woods. past bear droppings and tall brush. i placed my succulent plant next to the tallest tree.

i said one day this stupid tree won't be here anymore. climate change is going to happen and soon the confers will no longer exist. you are the future. in 1,000 or maybe 10,000 more years your kind will thrive. your kind will thrive because of second chances. in 10,000 years succulents will cover all the lands of alaska.

i walked away.

i believe in second chances.

sunday

2007-09-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

= seattle.

help.

2007-09-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

lately i need all the help i can get. my co worker introduced me to indian medicine cards. of course i was skeptical, but after a 3/3 reading i was a believer. so i went ahead and did my 9 totem medicine animals to help guide me through my journey.

east: deer
south: eagle
west: dog
north: hummingbird
above: horse
below: lynx
within: coyote
right side: beaver
left side: lizard

everyone i know

2007-09-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

is falling apart, around here.

the northern lights

2007-09-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

were absolutely amazing last night. my place of business has an amazing deck that overlooks the bay and to the north last night they came out brighter than ever. it was mostly hues of green. like a big green poisonous cloud took over the sky and gained in mass before your eyes.
it is not a slow drawn out process, but rather it has gradual changes in every form imaginable at somewhat of a snails pace. i felt like a baby watching it. trying to understand what i was seeing but being in awe at the colors and shapes in front of me.
it was about 1:30am when all this happened. the locals were completely trashed celebrating a local girls wedding, falling all over the place, breaking bottles, chairs turned over, smoky conversations, people collapsing in laughter, taking off clothes, girls running around looking for their boyfriends in arms of other girls and i stood in the middle of it all, not making a sound, looking up.

nick names

2007-09-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

in the cannery:
easy money
daud (my name in turkish relating to a prophet)

in the bar:
hey l.a.

lately:
peaches...and ben is cream. together, we are _______.

the commercials

2007-09-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

up here are fucking terrible. they are all low budget and very disturbing. the worst is this mattress ranch guy. you'll be watching an intense game of monday night football and then this guy comes on. all the fisherman look around at each other all weird and then one will yell, "keep that guy away from my kids!" and everyone will just start busting up. i found it on youtube! watch and feel weird afterwards!

also the extenze commercials are rampant up here.

the looooove bus of cordova

2007-09-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

maybe i've passed out in here on a cold night.
maybe i've partied all night long in it.
maybe i've sat in a drum circle singing, "take a load off annie!".
maybe i inhaled.
maybe i just ate granola bars and talked about peace.

this morning

2007-09-17T00:38:00.000-07:00

i woke up to find "the alan parsons project - eye in the sky", written on my hand. i must find the meaning of this.

i can't believe...

2007-09-17T00:36:00.000-07:00

i bet on notre dame. i thought for sure they would beat crazy eyes and the wolverines. i'm so stupid.

cordova

2007-09-11T18:42:00.001-07:00

my time on the lady helen

2007-09-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

don't be jealous.

finally

2007-09-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

it's thursday, let's go walk on a glacier.

like whoah.

positive and negative space.

hallmark.

oh god

2007-09-11T05:04:00.000-07:00

they just hired two HOT eukranian college students to do housekeeping here. maybe i'll stay after all. remember tommyboy? it's on.

no matter what i do

2007-09-11T04:53:00.000-07:00

i always spell "just" wrong. no matter what i do, even with spell check, it always comes out "jsut". and i publish it, confirm it, read it twice, and post it. maybe i jsut need karla here with her glasses to proofread everything i type.

mom jokes

2007-09-11T04:52:00.001-07:00

they never get old.

it's official

2007-09-11T04:38:00.000-07:00

i'm taking off to seattle next week. this place is a clusterfuck, i don't mind working hard but i need structure. everyday we are short staffed and it's like walking into a minefield, we comp at least 5 meals a day here which is horrible. ben and i are taking the ferry to whittier, hitchhiking to anchorage and taking a flight to seattle where we will meet up with bryan who was a fisherman up here. i have 2 days off starting tomorrow so i'll be pushing resumes for work in an either a restaurant or construction.
whittier by the way is a strange ass town. it's basically an abandoned military base. the whole city is one building where people live, shop, eat, and work. it's straight up weird. the locals here call whittier people, "the mole people" cause it rains so much they never really go outside. imagine a really long low structured building like a motel, in the middle of nowhere, on the bay surrounded by wilderness. it reminds me of some futuristic post-nuclear society, like the fucking cast for LOST. just plain weird.
but this change will be good. i'll be making more money, living for free, plus i'll finally be back in a city with a pulse. a city with music, a nightlife, a city with the cha cha.
i'm not hating on alaska, i will definitely be back in cordova in may to continue my fishing career, this has been a great introductory year for that. for now, it's seattle, to stay focused and on track for my big trip to europe.

the few, the proud...

2007-09-11T04:33:00.001-07:00

every night, it's me...it's ben from the lbc...jennifer from austin...and saydee from seattle...and we do it proper. pure debauchery, cougerdom, antics, spillage. together we are the few, the proud, the reluctant.

game day

2007-09-11T04:27:00.000-07:00

monday night football is huge here. i'm sitting with a budweiser, yes the king of all beers, resting on my belly and i'm rooting for the bangels. yes i know, palmer was a usc kid and i was born a bruin, but i'm missing cali. for sure i'll root against leinart for the next game though.

bumping into people

2007-09-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

i've bumped into so many people lately. mostly all from the cannery. my old friends from turkey, bulgaria, poland and so forth. they are all finally leaving with their paychecks to be rich for a while. it's fun to see swarms of them walking down the streets with their luggage buying last souvenirs to take home.
this has left me with a long list of emails and phone numbers of friends i will meet up with one day.

plans

2007-09-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

so things are just slow up here now. maybe it's jsut the work i'm doing, things were much more exciting on a boat. i've been contemplating moving to seattle, getting a sublet and finding a job there for a few months. i'd still like to see more of alaska though so my plans are up in the air at this moment. my goal is to go to london by november. alaska is super close to russia so i want to fly to moscow and backpack my way to the UK, there, i think i'll find another job and live there for 6 months or so. those are my plans. right now, seattle is tempting.

mr. mustard

2007-08-29T15:20:00.001-07:00

right now i'm, sharing a room with ben. he's a raw face guy bartender that you would see at the yard house. he's from the lbc so we get along well except that he's a usc fan and i'm a ucla fan. he's the bar manager and dude we party.

last night we closed up, got two bottles of wine and made a ton of pesto pasta in the kitchen around 4am.

we shooted the shit about the local girls and all that and then he grabs a bottle of mustard and says "where's gabe? is gabe sleeping?" gabe is the cook who blast young jeezy all day.
we break into gabes room and he's asleep on the bed. ben just squirts out all the mustard on gabe and i'm taking pictures. gabe wakes up and is like "what the fuck!?!"

but start laughing and has a cigertte with us covered in mustard.

it was a blast, but karma is definetly gonna get us. gabe is a crafty dude.

work

2007-08-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

so the season came to a grinding halt. the season was mostly king salmon and pinks. pinks are terrible by the way and the season ended because they are now spawning and are mushy as hell and discolored.

i was happy on the boat, but the kids are so loaded up here, they would rather take an early vacation than to work for 3 weeks. a lot of the other fisherman head up to dutch harbor and kodiak to fish the bering sea.

so i'm just seeing other parts of alaska now. i work at a hotel/restaurant that is similar to the press and overlooks the bay. i got my own loft. and i finally have time to see the sites here. on the boat or in the cannery i was constantly working.

the pay here is really good. it's the nicest hotel in town and there is a lot of traffic. foreigners, tourists, hunters, you name it. so now it's hunting season and then just after that snowboarders come into town. so i'm doing good.

the other night we all watched the eclipse and behind us the northern lights were kicking in. they are insane.

so that's that. next i think i'm gonna do some work in the alaskan tundra. they need labor for the alaskan pipeline. you work in minus 140 weather 2 weeks straight and two weeks off. you sleep in a truck that is just as cold. sounds fun.

the news

2007-08-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

is very strange up here. no one cares about it up here. in the bars, t.v.'s jsut display images because there is always music playing on the jukebox.

i guess something happened to michael vick? a kid with an iphone? miners? nothing gets communicated up here. is there still a war going on? did we win?

so i buy the anchorage daily newspaper. it's filled with nothing but crimes against bears and who caught the biggest halibut.

the news is craaaaaazy up here.

today

2007-08-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

i'm taking my time. resting up because we go back to sea tomorrow. my captain and his girl got in a fight and she stormed out last night with all her bags. but we got a new local guy named mike. he looks like a skinny ass pirate and walks just like jack sparrow. he is totally a pirate come to think of it, last night he stole a bottle of liquour from the reluctant fisherman bar and later he was in the middle of a fight at the anchor bar.
anyways, this pirate is taking it easy. i'm marinating a steak all day and i'm rummaging through our box of vhs tapes. my options are slim...

1. the shawshank redemption
2. top gun
3. unbreakable
4. tin cup
5. the corocodile hunter movie "collision course"

so for sure by the end of the night i'll be eating a huge steak and be watching maverick take on the iceman.

can someone please send me the shittiest vhs tape you can think of? i got about a month left on this boat so send it a.s.a.p. to my p.o. box. thanks.

the flight to cordova

2007-08-25T16:05:00.001-07:00

so its around 4am. i was all paranoid that i was gonna miss my flight so i didn't even stay one night at the hostel. they wanted me to do some stupid chore, but since i didn't even sleep there, i just bailed out.

my flight gets changed from 6am to 9am.

so this airport is tiny and terrible. i try and lay down on those lousy uncomfertable chairs but it's not even worth it. i try laying on the floor, just as bad. somehow i manage to angle my suitcase, jacket and arms for a pillow and sleep for 2 hours.

my flight shows up. it's one of those tiny 12 passenger jets and we take off. it's icy and raining. you feel every gust of wind and breeze. but the scenery is amazing. glaciers, lakes, mountains. but then nothing but clouds take the view away so i fall asleep. i get woken up by a huge piece of ice hitting our plane which shakes the whole thing. but we about to land so nothing happens.

we exit, were in cordova, and i'm like damn it's cold here.

i wear my sunglasses at night

2007-08-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

this is a continuation of day 2 in anchorage.
so i'm walking around the city. theres not much too it, like i said anchorage is just a larger west covina.

so i go into a gift shoppe to buy postcards and what not and the girl at the counter asks me out to see the new harry potter movie. it's the opening night so its real tempting. she gives me her number and i just tell her i'll see her there.

it's around 6pm and i see this movie about the northern lights at the science center so i pay $10 bucks to check it out. it's terrible, i fell asleep in the middle of it. it was like some horrible power point presentation with kenny g playing in the background. and the credits were longer than the movie. some naturalist made it so he thanks every professor he's every worked with and his wife and kids and his kids kids and all that. it was one of the worst things i've ever sat through. so i decided that i will make my own northern lights movie. one with action, a surprise ending, lots of deaths and a kick ass soundtrack, but i will have to push this idea off to a later date.

so i do some bar hopping around town, eat a nice king crab meal. and it's light out and i think, wow that movie should be coming up soon. i look at my watch and it's 11:30pm. i'm completely thrown off because it's as bright as noon outside. i'm buzzing hard, with my shades on, and it's coming to midnight. now i've partied in NY where last calls are at 4, but this is something completely different. being trashed during the day, but it's not day. so i get a cab and head to the movie theatre. its totally packed. i never see her, but all these kids are dressed up in witch and wizard outfits, some chick even had a tattoo of harry potter on her arm. it was like going to a star wars convention. so i bust out my polaroid and start taking pictures of all these freaks.

so that was that. took tons of photos, saw the movie which was actually pretty cool even though the chinese girl is a snitch, and by the time i got back to the hostel, it was late enough for me to just grab my bags, go to the airport cause i had an early flight and i just crashed out at the airport terminal until my flight showed up. the whole time wearing my sunglasses.

the doors

2007-08-23T13:27:00.001-07:00

being far away from home,
you really start to understand the doors.
i think about all the girls back home when l.a. woman plays on the jukebox.
l.a. woman sunday afternoon...
i imagine karla riding her bike,
sunny at the rosebowl,
carol wearing big sunglasses,
stacey dancing on a rooftop.
it goes on.
d.

Natascha! Natascha!

2007-08-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

**the following story is rated R for sexual content and harsh language. i apologize**

Natascha! Natascha!
By David P.

for Natascha...

So it was late at night in my bunkhouse and my Turkish roommates Omur and Ertugru and I were talking about our girls back home. Ertugru is a very conservative Muslim. He had a girlfriend for 11 years but only kissed her twice. He broke up with her because she became more liberal and started to show her hair. But he still loves her.
Omur on the other hand is a bit more liberal. He said, "Yes, I have a girl but every once in a while I get a Natascha."
"A Natascha?!" I said.
"Yes, Russian girls love Turkish men", Omur replied. "And many of the Russian prostitutes come to Turkey to fuck the Russian men. And when the wives of the Turkish men see the prostitutes, they yell 'Natascha! Natascha!' and curse them and spit at them because all their husbands love to pump Natascha. Me, I have pumped about 10 Nataschas."
I just started laughing. I was like, "No way! Why do you call them 'Nataschas'?"
"Because it is a very common name", he said. "Me, I get a Natascha and I pump her like this." He grabs the pillow and starts to hump it doggie style. "Or maybe after an hour of pumping, making sex, I pump her like this." He then puts the pillow missionary style and gestures that her legs are over his head and humps his pillow again. Ertugru can barely watch. But we both roll over laughing.
"But you two speak different languages. What do you say?" I ask.
"What is there to say when you pump?!" he replies. "Natascha says 'Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck!'. I say 'Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh baby!'".
I tell him, "I think this is hilarious because I have a friend back home whose name is Natascha and she is Russian." They both look at me like ghosts. Omur begins to apologize, "I am so sorry, David. I did not mean disrespect to your girl friend."
I say, "Oh no! Don't worry about it. It's a cultural thing and her name makes it so funny."
"Are we still friends or is there a problem?" Omur asks.
I say, "Don't worry about it. Tell me more about Nataschas."
So Omur goes on. "Back in high school I had a teacher and she was Russian. She had great this and that" (gesturing tits and ass with his hands). "And one day, after class…" (he takes his time with this one, like it means something to him). "I tell her I want to make pump to her. And she tells me she wants to fuck me too. But she will not fuck me because I am Muslim and she is Christian. Oh David, man! Brother! It is a difficult situation because I want very much to pump her but I am Muslim, you see?"
"Yeah, so why don't you just tell her you're Christian for one day and fuck her and then convert back to being Muslim the next day?" I say.
Omur smiles evilly and says, "Brother, I think we speak the same language" and starts to hump his pillow doggie style again. We all start laughing again. But I say, "Wait, wait. How is she Natascha? I asked about Nataschas and you're telling me about your teacher you want to fuck?"
Omur says, "Oh yes. About that. Well she is Russian. And she has great this and that" (gesturing tits and ass with his hands again). "And one day she is writing on… how do you say? Chalk board?"
"Uh huh. Chalk board is correct" I say.
"Well she is writing with her back to us and she is Russian. So my friend he yells as a joke 'Natascha! Natascha!' to her because she is so sexy like a prostitute. Immediately she turns around and says 'Who says that?'. No one says anything. So she goes up to each student and she punches them three times in the face. Ahhh, man! David it was so funny! You should have been there. You come to Turkey , David. We will get 10 Nataschas".
We turn out the lights and talk about all of the Nataschas we will fuck when we are out of this place.
"Tens! Hundreds! Thousands! Millions!" I say. And I can hear Omur humping his pillow.

The End.

what's going on

2007-08-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm falling for a local girl.
she has the best dimples in the world.
today she sat and watched. sipping on a baileys and coffee while i swabbed the deck.
I've seen north shore about a thousand times so i know what comes next.
over and out.

making eyes

2007-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

it happens a whole lot up here.

work ain't for players

2007-08-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

if you know me.
you know i like to brag, you know i just like to tell it straight, you know i like to brag.
see, i aint the kinda dude thats gonna be like bashful or overlly modest to prove a point, honestly.
if you really want to know what this is, just listen...

it was my last night at the cannery. 4am in the morning i get woken up by a bulgarian girl in my bed. she broke into my room cause she heard i was taken off on a boat. we make eyes at work.

wakes me up and says" im here, im here". and i'm like dead tired after playing some soccer with the turks and i can hear my roomates getting pissed cause she's all loud and they need sleep so i say, "but my pillows here, i need sleep, i just played an intense game of football." shes like, "what? but im here."
and i say, " yeah, so get there (pointing to the door)."
she runs out and my roomates laugh.

she won't even look at me these days.
bulgarian girls are a dime a dozen.

L.A.C.A.

amy's birthday

2007-08-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

so last night, was not only leila's birthday, but my friend amy's birthday up here too. she's loomis's girl and the bartender at the anchor bar. we bar hopped the whole night. they took me to the moose bar which i've never been to. you have to be a member or have a member vouch for you. you have to fill out an application and take an oath and all that.
so we go there. were trashed. and they have ping pong and a Foosball table. amy is waisted and kicks my ass at both.
i stumble back to my boat and bump into some russians. they are like dave! have a beer with us. i remember playing pool with them a long time ago so i join em. i go inside their boat and it's a lil shady. theres knives and boxes of the sopranos lying around. they are like are you scared? i say, "fuck no! i ain't scared of no russians!" they all laugh and we sit and finish an 18 pack playing cards. they talk about all the money their making. theyre experts. theyre fishing for halibut. ivan is the captain, he's 28. femur is his cousin, a deckhand, the same age. another russian named dave comes in and they talk and talk about their favorite spots to fish, each time speaking in russian because they don't want to tell me about these secret spots. it goes on like this until 5am.

second day at sea

2007-08-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

so i'm a little shaken up from the day before, but remind myself to stay positive. that even worse things can happen out here.
we fill our boat to about a million pounds and head back to the cannery to unload.
we unload. we go back out.
now were working. pumping boats. i'm learning how to use the pump now since kevin's not with us. so were working. about to pump a new boat. i turn the power on for the pump and i just hear a pop-----fuzzzz---and smoke comes out. kenny looks over and says "god damn it son of a bitch cocksucker!"
he works on it for 3 hours. no work is being done. boats have to find another tender to unload with. the whole time i think it's my fault, but it's not. that piece of shit engine is older than kenny. covered in rust.
we go back to the cannery. the head electrician takes a look at it. opens it up and it looks like the bottom of a barbecue grill. just nothing but ash and soot. the engine is shot.
so were back in cordova. waiting for parts. it'll be about 2 days before we go back out. but i'm getting paid. getting paid to type this. so it's fine with me.

my first day at sea

2007-08-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

was epic. taking off was amazing. at the cannery i would watch the boats leave all the time, being on the opposite side is amazing. i stood on deck for hours day dreaming. seeing wildlife and over 9 glaciers. my captain caught me daydreaming and on the speaker he goes,"heel of a way to make a living huh?" it's true.

the sound is filled with hundreds of channels so were constantly making turns and are surrounded my large land masses on either side. mountains, hills, valleys, icebergs.

it's me, the captain kenny, his girl kelly, and this strange dude kevin.

the first day was rough. using alot of tools to repair parts and tighten machinery, so it was a lot of learning.

the first boat we pumped (read my previous blog on tendering), was out at sea to long at had tons of rotten fish. kenny goes chuck those fish overboard! and coming from the cannery were big on cleanliness, so i go, "ok do you have any gloves?" and kenny goes, "god damn it son of a bitch cocksucker!" and starts grabbing these maggot infest rotten ass fish with his bear hands and chucking them overboard. so i take his cue, sack it up and do the same without gloves. it reeked and i wanted to puke the whole time. and that's my new nickname, "god damn it son of a bitch cocksucker!". he directs me to do work, but he's never trained me on anything. he's a bastard. but to me, it's just like pledge ship, i'm taking it all in, not taking anything personally, and learning as i go.

so the second boat, were just about to pump it. i look over my shoulder at that weird guy kevin. and i yell "oh fuck!". it looks like he is getting electrocuted. i jump back. and we all realize he's having a full blown seizure. like a fish out of water, no pun intended. but none of us know what to do. i just remember to run and grab a wooden spoon for him to bite on. by the time i come back, his lack of body control send his head flying into a lever and he splits his head open. he's out for a good 7 minutes which is pretty long.

all the nearby boats tie there ropes onto us. like 8 of them. everyone is concerned. luckily one fisherman is an emt. so he takes control of the situation. keeping him alert by asking him questions. like what day is it, what did you have for breakfast, or making him remember three different words. an hour or so goes by, just checking kevin's vitals. no work is being done. we are just waiting for the coast guard. a small one passenger plane finally shows up. as kevins leaving he's still stumbling and still can't remember what we ate for breakfast.

so i have to man up. it just me, the captain and his girl. we finish unloading 6 more boats. I'm working 2 different jobs and kenny will run from the cabin onto the deck to help out. each time calling me a "god damn it son of a bitch cocksucker!".

life on the boat

2007-08-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

the lady helen, is actually a tender boat. what we do is go out to sea and use a giant pump to vacuum all of the fish out of the smaller siegner boats at sea. once we do that we supply them with fresh water and oil. so i don't have to worry about falling overboard by ropes and what not.

theres only a few things to keep my eyes open for though.

one. we operate heavy machinery on the waves. using cranes and a giant hydrolic pump that looks like one of those giant vats of beer you see brewing if you go to gordon birsch. so i'm constantly looking around seeing if theres tons of metal being lifted or this enormous hose that sucks all the fish out of the boats. it's nuts to see just hundreds of salmon being sucked upwards. so yeah those are my only worries when i'm working.

the other concern, is my captain. he has a reputation for falling asleep at the wheel. which is the most dangerous thing you can do. he likes to throw on the autopilot and sit back., and hes in his 50's so the sleep depravation gets to him a lot quicker. the good news is, i set my alarm every hour to check on him. and when he is too tired, he lets me do wheel watch and goes to bed. i actually get to sit in the captains seat and drive a over 100ft 9 ton vessel! i'll get the exact measurements soon. but its nuts sitting that high up, dodging icebergs and other boats. changing turnd by mere degrees. staying on course is like watching a slow motion video game.

so yeah, it's totally amazing.

mourning rain

2007-08-17T14:56:00.001-07:00

you're like the mourning rain
i never ever have to say
when i go away
cause you're like the mourning rain
when i don't see you
it reminds me of the mourning rain
dance for everyone on your mind
you never ever have the time
when i go away
cause you're like the mourning rain
when i don't see you
it reminds me of the mourning rain
you're like the mourning rain
i never ever have to say
when i go away
cause you're like the mourning rain
when i don't see you
it reminds me of the mourning rain

the cougar of all cougars

2007-08-17T14:08:00.001-07:00

so last night i was at the anchor bar having beers and conversation with loomis. when all of a sudden this cougar comes in the bar. she's the life of the party. she grabs the oldest fisherman she sees. he has the longest grayest beard, the dirtiest trucker cap and the plaidest jacket and is skinny and weathered as all hell.
they start dancing to the songs on amy's ipod. funnily enough it's a killers remix thats like 12 minutes long so loomis and i are just in awe at this spectacle. she starts throwing darts behind her back and licking the legs of chairs that are all ready on top of tables. gesturing to us you know. and she starts doing the robot and all that and loomis and i are convinced that this would be some type of epic youtube video, but only we are witnessing it.

so the song ends. and she comes up to us just speaking gibberish. but then, she looks at me, and i'm keeping a straight face, i've learned to keep a good poker face out here and she says "i've seen you around, i want you! i saw you at the reluctant, i saw you at the Alaskan, i saw you here last night, i've been watching you. you sit there all reserved and don't say word to anybody, i like that, i'll teach you all the things you think you think youre not." and i just nod. she starts to speak more gibberish and goes to the bar to buy me and loomis some drinks.

loomis gets up to check on his dog and thats when she goes in for the kill. i'm left alone with this beast. so she comes back with two beers and she speaks more gibberish leaning on mt just to make sure she's really showing me her goods. and says the same thing, "i saw you at the reluctant, i saw you at the alsakan, i saw you here last night, i've been watching you." so to fuck with her i cut her off. i say, "yeah, i've been watching you too." and she gets taken aback and she's all surprised. and she says, "do you know who i am? i'm cher's body double!" and she starts singing the lyrics to if you can turn back time in that terrible horse voice. i'm thinking this woman is absolutely nuts. by now loomis comes to have a seat. she says, "look at my ass! it's cher's ass! i'm 60!", singing the lyrics again, but this time changing the lyrics and making them all sexual. it's obviously not cher's ass either, she's got mommy jeans on which show off her saggy bottom and her belly pouch. so loomis starts laughing which distracts me and i start to smirk a little. she whips around and pulls the collar of my shirt,tearing my shirt, pulls me in close and says, "i got a house in anchorage, i have $400,000, i'm gonna make you my bitch!" loomis and i just breakdown laughing. the night goes on and on like this.
she is the cougar of all cougars.

amy and loomis

2007-08-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

amy and loomis are the first locals, if you can call them that, whom i met here. there a cute couple from upstate new york. it was my first night at the anchor bar, she bar tends. but everyone here has more than one job. she works for a non profit and he works for the forestry. their good people and we play pool and talk about going to the glacier. he just got a dog. part lab and husky. this is a dog town. everyone has one and they are aloud to be in the bars so there is always someone wrestling with a dog when your playing darts or pool. even walking the streets you see dogs in the passenger seats of cars or in the back of pickup trucks. i want a dog now.

no sailing on fridays

2007-08-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

today, i bought my official deckhand license. rosejane, the owner of the press restraunt gave me a parting give of $100 for my trip. i was really touched so i saved it. and this is what i bought with it.
so today i'm ready to go and the captain says, "oh, noooo. no one leaves on friday it's bad luck".
so were taking off a little bit after midnight tonight. so when you guys are just getting your night started down south, it'll be about 1am up here and you know where i'll be. so with that said, drink for me, dance for me, party for me.
bon voyage, dave.

my favorite part of the day

2007-08-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

is walking outside during my 15 minute break.
sitting on the cement.
it's so clear out that the pools of water from the rain reflect the seagulls over head. you can watch them glide for a split second until they crash into the sides of dry asphalt.
sometimes a turkish boy will toss his cigerate and this causes and eruption of waves adding paterns to their flight.
they sit seven to one bench. dressed like refugees. talking in their strange language. usually about all the mone they are taking back home with them.
and then i look at how fast my nails are growing out here.
we go back to work.

if there is one thing i've learned

2007-08-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

if there is one thing i have learned in alaska, it's that seeing a beautiful girl is a gift.

in california, they are everywhere, this is certain.

but on my breaks, every so often, i see the same eukranian girl walking down the street, and each time i stop dead in my tracks.

i've learned my lesson.

for me

2007-08-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

i am a sea
but i have bony hips
that cause shipwrecks

love a fat girl
and you'll
be safe

by mj

the streets of my town

2007-08-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

so my town is cordova, alaska.
google earth it.
the population is 2,500.
you can listen to the gift by the velvet underground and walk from the cannery i work at to the edge of town.
it's not really a town, it's a village actually.
a fishing village. half of the size of the village in claremont.
as well as a fishing village it's supposed to be the artist community of alaska, but all the really make is otters and seagulls made out of wood. that type of stuff.
there is about 5 bars and 3 places to eat. one grocery store and a library. that's about it.
it's a nice place.

bold faced lying

2007-08-16T13:02:00.001-07:00

so I've been playing a lot of hooky at the cannery to get on this boat. at first i had to walk the docks to find a job, now we've been working on the engine for a week and the mechanic missed his flight yesterday because his 12 passenger plane to get here got hit by a seagull. so I've been sleeping at the bunkhouse for a place to stay, but have been keeping a low pro. and last night was a blur. i just remember rapping with a chef to young jeezy at the reluctant fisherman bar and then peeing in somebodies boots on my way to bed.

so this afternoon, bill, the bunkhouse manager wakes me up out of a dead sleep. he's chill he's got a tattoo of a mushroom on his arm and he goes, "David! wake up! fresh market wants to see you! they wanna know why you've been missing for 3 days! work your magic!

i stumble out of bed drunk as a skunk. throw some water on my face and be sure to rinse my mouth with scope.

i get interrogated by 3 Filipino's who are high on meth with a Mexican girl in the back watching my every move.

"David! why are you not working?!?"
"cuz I'm sick, my roommates sick, everybody who works here is sick, it was only a matter of time that i got sick."
"so we take you to doctor!"
"NO!, fuck the doctor, i gotta pay $200 dollars just to walk in his front door, i ain't got the cash.
"what are your symptoms?!?"
"i cant keep anything down, it goes down one end or the other, ask anybody."
"and what are you taking?!?"
"uhh...dayquil,nyquil it cures all (slurring my words)"
"NOOO! you take peptobismal, you got wrong medicine! you need pink stuff!
...Is that alcohol i smell on your breath?"
"what?...your trippin'. that's a sin."
"i smell alcohol David!"
"naw man. that's a sin. like these Muslims. i can't drink or i go to hell. maybe you smell my toothpaste. i use scope. that's what yer smellin'."
"OK FINE! we cannot write you up because you are sick and you cannot work!"
"what? you gonna write me up because I'm sick?'
"NO! you listen! you take peptobismal! pink stuff! and go to bed! come to work tomorrow!
"whatever."
and i stumble out of there laughing my ass off in my head.

moms

2007-08-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

theyre the ones who send you care packages full of fig newtons.
the ones who send you postcards everyday.
the ones you call home to but end up yelling at you not to buy the motorcycle you see in town.
the ones who cry and cry all night when they find out you got on a boat.
moms, theyre the best.

top ten songs to sing while working in the cannery.

2007-08-15T14:38:00.001-07:00

20 hour days are very slow and i have to keep myself busy through song.

10. you got what i need by biz markie

9. teenage kicks by the undertones

8. hustlin' by rick ross

7. la la la means i love you by the delfonics

6. one way or another by blondie

5. hold on by the Plastic Ono Band

4. hey thats no way to say good bye by leonard cohen

3. hong kong garden by siouxsie and the banshees

2. juicy by notorious B.I.G.

1. mary jane by rick james

some runners up...
1. it's dark in my heart by lee hazelwood

2. get ya mind right by young jeezy

3. running wild by tindersticks

4. dec. 14th by Jay Z

5. harvest moon by neil young

the coho is the best dive bar EVER

2007-08-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

a conversation at the coho. a couple is playing pool. two fisherman are throwing darts. and the bartender is watching the news.

hurricane Flossie huh?
is Flossie even a woman's name, just doesn't sound right.
they can't call that a hurricane it's in the pacific.
well, yeah politically speaking it should be called a typhoon.
the only Flossie to come through here, ran through town and married Ted Asner.
Was she a Flossie?
Yeah, she's the one they found dead in Juneau.
Oh yeah. But it's definitely a typhoon.
Now a guy in wheel chair rolls in.
Bill, can you change my urine bag?

This is the dive bar of dive bars.

no more juan carlos

2007-08-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

juan carlos has now been replaced by juan luis of modesto california. every time i see him at the anchor bar he buys all my drinks. we talk in spanglsih and after i told him i was into chicano studies and my parents involvement in chicano activism he began to show me pictures of his 13 year old nieces which i thought was rather strange.

one night he got super excited because horse racing was on the t.v.
he told me he has 2 horses and races them for 2,000 a month back home in mexico.
all he kept saying for 4 hours literally, was "2 horses, on la playa, muy bueno". and then he'd smile showing his gold teeth.

muh po box.

2007-08-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

ok heres my new po box, applying for this finally made me feel like and adult plus its the only application that ive ever gotten an approval on!

p.o. box 1671
cordova, AK 99574-1671

the mailman emphasized using that whole zip you see there.

to make things even awesomer, kenny, my captain, mentioned that i should find my own place to live when we are docked up for insurance purposes. i was like awww man the hotels here are super run down and charge 150 a night. he was like no, just get a place over at hippy cove. i was like hippy cove? and he was like yeah its city property filled with cabins and tent sites where all the locals live about 5 miles out of the village. one guy even lives in a purple school bus. and theres no fee to live there.

so, my new physical address is 420 hippy cove and im NEVER leaving.

a conversation on opening a bank account

2007-08-14T17:08:00.001-07:00

teller: ok david were going to set up this new checking account for you, we need some information though. whats your job title?
david: jet setter.
t: haha very funny. youre a very funny guy. ok really, what is it?
d: young entrpenouire.
t: haha david, seriously.
d: extraordinaare.
t: alright alright, haha. we need to show the banks a real job david.
d: i am an extraordinare, i do everything. you name ive probably done it.
t: haha your funny. i have a younger sister. shes's 22 she'd like you.
d: thats neat.
t: alright lets wrap this up here, your job title. you said your working at the cannery right? what exactly is your job title there.
d: back up vocalist for the rolling stones.
t: david.
d: fine! just put student geeesh.
t: ok, great, student. now whats your mother's maiden name.
d: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

poncho is a snitch

2007-08-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

so when i got off of the boat i had to take a cab with all my gear back to the cannery bunkhouse. sure it looked a little strange but no one knew i was gone. the place is a madhouse and i dont even know how it functions. it was until 10pm that the office asked to see me.
they were like, it looks like you clocked in late and didnt show up yesterday, poncho the janitor saw you unloading all of your bags. whats going on?
without hesitation using my savy irvine sales skills i said, "oh about that, i came down with a killer virus last night and decided to stay at the hotel down the road. i brought all of my things as not to contaminate the rest of my bunkmates. i mean think about it a whole workforce coming down with the flu would severely lower our production, so tell me, how many boats are we expecting in today?
they were like oh. uh, well. yeah. i think we have ummm 5 boats coming in today. yeah 5. but we have to give you 2 write ups for this. fucking poncho that fat rat bastard.

news.

2007-08-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

the original boat i got on. shanghaied me. its the oldest trick in the book. find a guy at a bar get him drunk and throw him on your boat and set sea. luckily im a numbers guy and they told me my original pay was 200 a day, standard for a green horn. when i asked again as we were taking off they said 130. immediately i grabbed all my shit and jumped off. i told the bartender at the anchor about this and he said oh yeah...thats a meth boat, youd be transporting drugs.

im lucky i made it out.

but luck has changed. i met a captain last night who needs a guy. his men are insane. i stood and watched them start bar fights all night. one of them, funnily enough named john oh and the captains name is chris! anyways john is crazy, hed stare me down and ask are you ready to die!!!! and then try to make me flinch and if i didnt hed buy a round of beers. theyre leaving to dutch harbor in 8 days which is basically like the the show deadwood. and then to the bearing sea. this is the sea i did not want to goto. but this ship feels right.

i'll let you know how it goes.

giant imaginary friend

2007-08-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

this term comes from a turkish girl named burzou. pronounced puuur-jzooo.
we were talking on day and she said that i am a giant imaginary friend. i said what? her english is very bad. she said i mean you have a giant imaginary friend, like big dreams head. i was like what? im a giant imaginary friend? she was like no, how do you say big imaginary head. i said ohhh. i have a BIG IMAGINATION. and she said YES! you have a giant imagination. and i was like oh, i like ginat imaginary friend better.

turks vs. mexicans

2007-07-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

duuuude its like the world cup over here. if we get off early, we go up to the park which is epic. tons of grass and the backdrop is mountains covered in snow and trees.

the turks are all finesse. their footwork is amazing, but the mexicans have the ganas y los juevos and were all up in their face.

but they keep beating us the past two games because they are very organized.
the first game i could only play one half because i am so fat.
but the second game a played the whole game and i almsot scored but it hit the post, luckily my teamate roderigo made the rebound and i got the assist.
and my d game is back, just like my AYSO days. did you know i played at the rosebowl for my regional playoffs? i did. whenever i'm fullback, i shut em down.
over and out.
d.

alaska mix cd contest rules are here!

2007-07-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

i had several questions so here are some answers...
1. yes, rap music is acceptable, as long as it has to do with getting paid, the struggle, hoes and so forth.
2. cock rock is a term used for raw blue collar man work, the person offended by this term whom i will leave nameless probably has penis envy.
3. compolations are ok, but don't over do it, just have fun. thats all get to work!
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this is very serious!a new contest with 3 winners!i need an awesome mix cd.
as the story goes im on the cleaning crew at night and theres no radio here and the only cd they have is the whackest mix ever!
seriously. we are doing raw man work and the songs blasting in the air are melissa ethridge's come to my window, lady in red and wilson phillips. i couldnt believe it! im appauled! this doesnt make me want to lift heavy objects, this music makes me want to light candles and watch thelma and louise.a nd the turkish guys think that this is american music! im counting on you to show them how its done right!
your mission soldiers is as follows. make a mega mix off cock rock jams. if you need help with this go rent roadhouse or over the top. i need manly music like eye of the tiger, zztop's legs, or smoking in the boys room, monster ballads are acceptable as well and we just added rap music.
the contest has three categories to win from.
1. best overall track list
2. best title for your mix cd
3. best artwork for the mix cd (luis, if you draw that 2 headed goblin fucking a prince, you automatically win this categorie).
theres gonna be some major prizes involved do please get to work, get creative and get it shipped i cant take this music anymore!

mail to:attn: david pinedo
po box 1671
cordova, ak 99574-1761

over and out soldiers.david.

day 2 in anchorage

2007-07-23T12:35:00.001-07:00

so i called the original hostel i was supposed to stay at because i had a 2 night reservation there. a girl answered with some weird as name like nirvanala and she said ohhh. yeah chris took your reservation, he's not really good at that. we have you booked for next week. sorry. i was like what the fuck. and she was all well just take the bus down here and exit at Seward and we'll take care of you. so i took the bus and got of at Seward. i walk for about a mile or so with all my luggage and call her. im like where is this place? and she as all like, oh noooo, the third Seward exit, see you soon! i was like what the fuuuuuuck. but i got a chance to walk through the city. i got to see rose's alterations and tailoring and wesley's coin shop. none of the fancy things you take on one of those expensive cruises. i got to see the real deal, like the burger barn. this side of the city reminded me of a spread out west covina. no architecture or anything struck me. it just was what it was. a small town.
so i arrive at the hostel and realize its run by potheads. i load my gear into my room and take the bus back to downtown. the bus system is awesome here and easy to learn. i went straight for the anchorage art museum. i only had one day so i had to run through it. it was amazing. mostly landscapes and pictures of boats. but these guys were colorists. they were nuts. but then it got better. the Inuit art was insane. a lot of the images looked like stuff souther would do as it was very minimal and child like and there was also a lot of fabric work which reminded me of caroline. up here you see your friends in everything. there were tons of awesome sculptures made of ivory. i was very impressed.
upstairs was the history museum which had tons of cool stuff that showed the history of alaska, from the ice age land bridge, to the gold rush, to the establishments made. it was cool.
then i went across the street to the Russian orthodox museum. Natascha would have loved it. it was about the size of the press and was long and narrow. very detailed and a lot of gold work. they had priests working there and they brew there own coffee.
next i went to the anchorage mall. it was funny. especial to see there nordstroms mac girls. i was thinking, you're in alaska. why would you be a mac girl up here?
then i went to a bunch of bars, they have the best beers on tap and the people are really cool. i bet i looked like a tourists trying out and asking about their micro brews, so after a while i just stuck to pabst. the rest of the day gets better, but i have to go back to work now. hope this gave you all some insights. bye.

first night in alaska.

2007-07-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

i was on my way and had a lay over in San Francisco. i couldn't get off the phone, i must have called all of my friends 2-3 times. i was already missing them i guess. the sf airport was awesome and i got to watch the all star games home run derby as is it was playing just down the street from me. all together the plane ride was just about 4-5 hours just to get there. when i arrived i was like whoa. it was 1am and i got a cab to a hostel i had arranged to stay at. the bad news is, arriving this late they leave a key for you on a bulletin board and when i showed up there was no key there or anyone to contact.

so i had to call a cab thinking i would go back to the airport and spend the night there. but he told me there was one downtown still open so we went down there and it was. and it was run by two crackheads like you'd see on an hbo special. i was sketchin, but it was only 20 bucks so i got a room. it was my first time in a hostel. i tried to not make so much noise and i couldn't sleep because i guess i was anxious and i snore very loudly. i slept like 2 hours. i woke up and my roommates were gone and i was ready for day 2.

paging mr. herman

2007-07-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

so the title, Jesus was fisherman and a carpenter. and his name is Jesus which means he must be Mexican, like me. this blog is more than just a bunch of random thoughts. i thought i should had some type of goal or purpose to this. ultimately i would like to own my own boat and be a fisherman on my own. this blog, will act as a timetable until that time. right now I'm at ocean beauty sea foods work as a processor. I've been on the slime line as they call it and gut fish for 15 hours and I've also done canning like la verne and shirley, which is terrible b the way. it's only been a week and I've had burns and crushed fingers. the work is like prison and along the week i will just post random things that happen each day. I've noticed i have insomnia most of the time and i space out constantly. on really funny things. for example, i work with a guy name herman. so every time i see him, say in the break room or passing on the floor, i say "paging mr. herman. mr. herman., you have a telephone call." and he's like 40 and looks at me like I'm nuts. he always asks what it's from, but i never tell him. today he quit. he was from Tempe Arizona. so for the past hour or so I've been saying it incessantly in different voices besides the one from the movie. see. this blog will be fun. and when the time comes when i get my own boat it will be funner.

i must go back to work now. bye.