I had a hooded phantom robe costume a long time ago, but I haven't seen it. I tried to buy one from three stores tonight but they no longer had them available. I didn't want to put on those nasty looking rotted-skeleton (and other) hoods.
That hooded phantom makes me look like a type of unseen calm guy. It had a black mesh that would not have let others see my face.
I was invited to a party at the house of someone from my church. I told her I'll think about it; I'll only come if I can find a costume. She said I could come and be myself; not everyone's wearing a costume. Well, I'm not happy with being myself, at least not on Halloween. (Any other time in the year depends on how things are going at that time.) It wouldn't be as much fun for me.
Here's what I would've done if I had found the costume:
I would've gone to Heidi's party and used a fake East Indian (Hindi) accent. I would've given myself an alias 16 letters long on the first name, 11 letters long on the last. Of course we know of no Hindi executioners in history who wore hooded phantom robes like the executioners of the Tower of London would, but it would help further protect my anonymity since some will still know me from my voice.
Then I would ask questions that I'd be afraid to when my face is seen, like to Tommy May: "So, how would you feel if you learned that one of your friends had (classified condition), a form of (condition related to said classified condition)? What would you think of the guy? Would you still like him or upon learning this, would you view him as too (giveaway adjective) to associate with you?"
(Note that I only plan to reveal my "classified condition" upon having 510 friends on Facebook. Not the nice, round number of 500 because I expect 10 narrow-minded people to take me off their friend list and I'd like to stay above 500 regardless once I get there. Right now I have 467 as of the last time I checked, so I have just 43 more to add until I reach that goal. I'm especially counting on the people from my Church to help me reach it sooner. Why 510 and not any other # of friends, one might ask? Because I would feel better about myself and have higher self-esteem in knowing I'm accepted by many, especially for who I am.)
Moreover, I'd ask Andrea (forgotten last name, but the blondish Sophomore who brought her boyfriend along with the Missionaries to help me unpack in September:) "I heard that you had helped a new guy unpack his apartment after he came from some study abroad trip. Sometimes when we help others unpack, we find strange things in their packings. Did you notice anything strange when you helped that guy? And what was his name again? I just know that he's a somewhat tall guy, black hair with a little gray shooting through."
Then she'd either divulge all, or figure out that it's me.
I would have been more open and outgoing with everyone there because without seeing my face nor hearing my voice, I WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!!! :D They would not tie their memories of someone talking in an anonymously-hooded robe, to me. I would have started November 1st with a squeaky clean slate (for the most part, for those who wouldn't have figured out who I was) and they'd not know that I was the one in that hooded phantom costume, so it would be like I was never there.
I'd gain a lot of insight from people that I wouldn't have with my face shown, and feel so good about that night overall.
I would also ask whoever was available on a whim, "Do you think I should be this outgoing all the time even without a mask on or is it best that I be so careful that I keep approaching social situations like exams like I usually have?"
I suppose this opportunity will come again in some kind of winter party, where wearing a ski mask is perfectly justified. (Maybe some kind of outdoor winter party though.) In this case though, I'd have to wear sunglasses because Brett Gartrell was able to tell me through my winter mask the other winter just because my eyes were that unique to him. (Brett, would you still have guessed me out if I had worn sunglasses that day?)
If only I could be like this anytime I wanted, but I'd have to live in Barrow, Alaska to do that (because that's one of the only few places on Earth where wearing a ski-mask is justified all year-round.)
Have a happy Halloween night. If only I could get to celebrate with you all, while having the same amount of fun.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
"If it sounds too awful to be true, it had Better be!" (Personal Entry)
(This draft was originally made sometime on the 2nd or 3rd week of August. I think it was on August 13th, but I'm unsure now. It was merely a draft for a few months until I managed to finish this.)
You have heard or read of the phrase, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
That's why I verify it sometimes.
On the other hand, "If it sounds too awful to be true, it had Better be!"
That's why I verify that often.
If someone tells me something I don't like and/or that I wish wasn't the case, I will often times check with a source or someone else to see if they'll tell me different!
My laptop needed a recharge, and only Business and First Class had plug outlets. I asked the flight attendant if I could recharge my laptop on an empty First Class seat (having observed a few empty ones when I toured the 747 while still at the gate.)
At that point, the flight attendant said all the first-class seats were full. I couldn't quite buy it yet because I thought the door to the gate was closed by that point. (We did have a 2 1/2-hour flight delay thanks to a mere thunderstorm; only hurricanes should stop a takeoff IMHO.)
As soon as no flight attendants were looking, I went up to 1st Class with my laptop and charger and saw that they were now indeed full, so I decided to examine Business class. I proceeded to plug in my laptop on an empty seat and another flight attendant asked, "What are you doing?"
I told them I needed to recharge the laptop and asked if anyone was going to sit at this empty seat. They said it was going to remain vacant, so thankfully, they let me charge it there.
Sometimes, verifying anything I'm skeptical of will provide benefits! :)
After going through a Customs check, some representatives from Air China said the last connecting flight already left for San Diego (thanks to some 2 1/2-hour flight delay due to some rain in Beijing) and that I had to stay at a hotel and get on the first flight out at (a horrendously early) 6:28 in the morning!
I asked them if I could just take a bus to San Diego instead, or a train. They said there were no bus or train services available to San Diego.
I was in such utter, UTTER disbelief! Nagasaki wasn't even a TENTH the size of Los Angeles and it had regular and frequent train & bus service to Fukuoka, about the same distance between Los Angeles and San Diego.
I knew there HAD to be a Greyhound & Amtrak connection between the two, and some other LA-SD bus service other than Greyhound. The metro area had what, maybe 8-9 million people? Why can't they have any kind of public trans-city transit service even HALF as decent as the one in Nagasaki if they're so large?
Then I had to bring my assumptions back to America: We are expected to travel independently. This needs to change because not only is it wasteful on fuel & ca$h, this is a no-go for non-drivers-license holders if they can't find someone to take them. At least kids could board trains & buses if they had the money in Japan.
I Skyped Uncle Steve to tell him this situation, and heard that United Airlines charged $100 for two checked bags, and asked whether it's cheaper just to get a rental car and get down there myself. He said I didn't need to; he could bring his Prius up to LA, give me a tour, then take me down.
I was enchanted by that proposition, so I didn't need to double-check with someone else about finding buses or trains after all. I got to a real fancy hotel and the front desk man gave me a "tower room" that would've gone for $329/night (my monthly rent back in Manhattan, KS is only $16 higher) but the hotel voucher from Air China made it all free. Even the Wireless Internet was free, as well as the Breakfast Buffet, which started two minutes after my flight would've left.
At the hotel that night, I called United (who worked with Air China in providing me a connection, etc.) to cancel my flight but said I had to call Air China for a refund. I thought it may become too much of a hassle after attempting to call them (which turned out to be after business hours.) After a night in a lavish hotel room (minus the spray-toilet-seat that I grew fond of in Japan,) fine wi-fi, a generous breakfast buffet, and a free tour around LA, Beverly Hills, and other surrounding areas of LA in Uncle Steve's new Prius, the compensation seemed enough that I didn't need a refund after all =)
If a change to an original plan sounds too awful to be true, and gets replaced by something else that satisfies me better than my original plan, then that's even better than merely double-checking with someone else and hoping that they tell me anything different.
The immediately aforementioned pleasant change in things took out quite a lot of tension, but the usual mode of reaction for me is to see if two people say the same thing about something I don't like. I wonder if you know anyone else who does this, and how you feel about it. Should I change that particular habit? If so, then what should I change it to?
I submitted this in August, but saved it as a draft for a long time because I wasn't finished. Now I am, as far as I can tell.
You have heard or read of the phrase, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
That's why I verify it sometimes.
On the other hand, "If it sounds too awful to be true, it had Better be!"
That's why I verify that often.
If someone tells me something I don't like and/or that I wish wasn't the case, I will often times check with a source or someone else to see if they'll tell me different!
Situation 1: Finding a Laptop Recharge Port on Air China
My laptop needed a recharge, and only Business and First Class had plug outlets. I asked the flight attendant if I could recharge my laptop on an empty First Class seat (having observed a few empty ones when I toured the 747 while still at the gate.)
At that point, the flight attendant said all the first-class seats were full. I couldn't quite buy it yet because I thought the door to the gate was closed by that point. (We did have a 2 1/2-hour flight delay thanks to a mere thunderstorm; only hurricanes should stop a takeoff IMHO.)
As soon as no flight attendants were looking, I went up to 1st Class with my laptop and charger and saw that they were now indeed full, so I decided to examine Business class. I proceeded to plug in my laptop on an empty seat and another flight attendant asked, "What are you doing?"
I told them I needed to recharge the laptop and asked if anyone was going to sit at this empty seat. They said it was going to remain vacant, so thankfully, they let me charge it there.
Sometimes, verifying anything I'm skeptical of will provide benefits! :)
Situation 2: Finding a Bus or Train to San Diego After Arriving Back in the US
After going through a Customs check, some representatives from Air China said the last connecting flight already left for San Diego (thanks to some 2 1/2-hour flight delay due to some rain in Beijing) and that I had to stay at a hotel and get on the first flight out at (a horrendously early) 6:28 in the morning!
I asked them if I could just take a bus to San Diego instead, or a train. They said there were no bus or train services available to San Diego.
I was in such utter, UTTER disbelief! Nagasaki wasn't even a TENTH the size of Los Angeles and it had regular and frequent train & bus service to Fukuoka, about the same distance between Los Angeles and San Diego.
I knew there HAD to be a Greyhound & Amtrak connection between the two, and some other LA-SD bus service other than Greyhound. The metro area had what, maybe 8-9 million people? Why can't they have any kind of public trans-city transit service even HALF as decent as the one in Nagasaki if they're so large?
Then I had to bring my assumptions back to America: We are expected to travel independently. This needs to change because not only is it wasteful on fuel & ca$h, this is a no-go for non-drivers-license holders if they can't find someone to take them. At least kids could board trains & buses if they had the money in Japan.
I Skyped Uncle Steve to tell him this situation, and heard that United Airlines charged $100 for two checked bags, and asked whether it's cheaper just to get a rental car and get down there myself. He said I didn't need to; he could bring his Prius up to LA, give me a tour, then take me down.
I was enchanted by that proposition, so I didn't need to double-check with someone else about finding buses or trains after all. I got to a real fancy hotel and the front desk man gave me a "tower room" that would've gone for $329/night (my monthly rent back in Manhattan, KS is only $16 higher) but the hotel voucher from Air China made it all free. Even the Wireless Internet was free, as well as the Breakfast Buffet, which started two minutes after my flight would've left.
At the hotel that night, I called United (who worked with Air China in providing me a connection, etc.) to cancel my flight but said I had to call Air China for a refund. I thought it may become too much of a hassle after attempting to call them (which turned out to be after business hours.) After a night in a lavish hotel room (minus the spray-toilet-seat that I grew fond of in Japan,) fine wi-fi, a generous breakfast buffet, and a free tour around LA, Beverly Hills, and other surrounding areas of LA in Uncle Steve's new Prius, the compensation seemed enough that I didn't need a refund after all =)
If a change to an original plan sounds too awful to be true, and gets replaced by something else that satisfies me better than my original plan, then that's even better than merely double-checking with someone else and hoping that they tell me anything different.
Closing
The immediately aforementioned pleasant change in things took out quite a lot of tension, but the usual mode of reaction for me is to see if two people say the same thing about something I don't like. I wonder if you know anyone else who does this, and how you feel about it. Should I change that particular habit? If so, then what should I change it to?
I submitted this in August, but saved it as a draft for a long time because I wasn't finished. Now I am, as far as I can tell.
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