Ctrl/Alt/Del – Sunset Observer #46

January 13, 2017 Victor El-Khouri 0 Comments

…By Whitney Farmer

@farmer_whitney (Twitter/FLICKR) or farmerwhitney (Instagram) and whitney.farmer.146 (Facebook)

#edcmooc #edcmooc3 #edcmoocrocks #ESL #TESOL #SoCalTESOL

Un Pop Culture

The urban-short gold lamé moto jacket with pewter accents had always been a favorite of mine because I could wear it with anything. It was very versatile.

Last night, the rain storm continued as I got ready to meet my friends for the show. The reservoirs in most of our drought areas have been replenished except for those within driving distance from where I live. This is not yet fully a cause for celebration because the aquifers have yet to be affected. Despite the risk of destabilizing the tectonic plates and causing the earthquake the haters have been wishing on California for generations, six years of drought persuaded agribusiness into deep well drilling to provide water for thirsty almond trees which are the new trendy crop. It will take maybe eons before we aren’t at risk of the ground dropping away beneath our feet anymore.

The more rain the better. Maybe there will be landslides and sinkholes and filthy runoff down the storm drains into the seas which pisses off the Great Whites off-shore. The alternative is more adaptation to yet another year of desiccation. And I am so tired of more of the same.

Some raindrops hit my shoulders as I got into my car. I decided to alter my roadmap to side streets instead of the freeway because of the real risk of dying on the road with all the variables calculated into the quadratic equation of driving in the rain in Southern California. I would definitely be the zero put on one side of the equal sign with the rush hour volume and slick roads. I know my way around here. Eventually, a stranger in a strange land can figure out how to get things done.

As I was driving, I felt a sandy grit under my fingers on the steering wheel. I didn’t think about it until I arrived and the light from the parking lot lit up a sandy cloud that was inside my car.

My favorite moto jacket that had been with me through adventures was disintegrating. After years of hanging in my closet in a drought-stricken land, a little rain was more than it could handle. The gold paint was falling off the sleeves and all over my black Fishbone t-shirt and concealing my coolness. I could either be sentimental and keep it with me, or I could decide to work a new equation with new variables.

The jacket stayed in the car. After a chilly Will Call wait, I headed straight to the merch booth and bought a new hoody. The decision was prescient because our group had a prime spot for the sold-out show…under the only leak in the roof that had gone undetected through the drought years, until this night. As the room heated up from the breath and bodies of strangers and production lights, I was cooled from the rain that would drop down directly from heaven onto my head. It occurred to me that I couldn’t care less what my hair looked like because I was laughing too much. Reason #47 why I like hoodies.

Our culture makes a habit of making New Year resolutions in January rather than in September or February as in other places. But the act is worthy whenever it happens, as long as it happens.

I resolve to hit the reset button of my life, now and whenever I need to or remember to. There is no limit to the times I am allowed this executive action, and I am not allowed this executive action by anyone other than myself who grants it through my will.

I resolve to remember that I possess the Ctrl button. I resolve to use the street smarts that I have gained through exploring, and hit the Alt button to alter my roadmap to get me where I want to go today and tonight. And I will delete what used to do what it was meant to do in my life, leaving it behind if it now only covers me in dust.

NOTE: Apologies to the Apple crowd for the warm boot reference that might only resonate to the unwashed PC masses.

Quote of the Blog, lyrics from “The Middle” sang last night by Jimmy Eat World at The Observatory in Santa Ana (right by IKEA):

“Everything’s gonna be alright ALRIGHT!”