Vicariously Motivated

After a little time off...

2006-04-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it's been a while since I've written a blog, but here goes. So today is Sarah's and my 6 "monthaversary". Gotta say, it feels like it's been much shorter than that and also much longer. I feel like we've known eachother for years and years, but the last 6 months has totally flown by. So anyway, I'm totally happy and I figure I'm the luckiest guy around.

On another front, we're leaving tomorrow for Standish Hickey State Park, where we will spend the night and then head to Shelter Cove at the southern end of the Lost Coast in Humbodlt and Mendicino Counties. Then we'll catch a shuttle and embark on a three days backpacking trip ending with a night in Healdsburg. Should be fun...there'll be tons of photos! Back to the blog next week...

4 month old, ODMBNM seeking...

2006-02-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

What follows is a possible personal ad that our cat might put up on the "Casual Encounters" section of Craig's List. Yes Sarah and I like to read the largely pathetic attempts to hook up that people post and yes I write way too many blog entries about my cat. If you think this is bad, wait till I have kids!

Hey everyone out there in cyber space, I'm a 4 month old ODMBNM (orange, domestic, mixed breed, neutered male) seeking a comfy pair of broken in jeans for a one night stand. I'm kind of new at this so I'll just start out tell you what our night would be like. You'd come over and lay in a crumpled pile on the floor at the foot of the bed and I'd saunter in, caked with cat sand sticking to my fur, still wet from sitting in the empty bath tub. I'd come over and curl up and fall asleep. Then I'd wake up, stretch a little and move into the kitchen where I'd take a single crunchie and chase it around the house before eating it. Then maybe I'd chase a sock, I'm still not sure yet. Anyway, if you're a hot pair of denims and want to hook up, shoot me an e-mail! Hope to hear from you soon!

Aslan

Yes, I'm a total sicko! - Patrick :)

A quarter century old!

2006-02-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, well, as my brother so kindly reminded me, I'm halfway to 50 now :) Actually I gotta say, this has to have been the best birthday I've had so far. It was really nice to get a chance to spend time with friends and family to celebrate. I think I also feel like I've finally got a lot of my shit together. I'm happy where I am in my job, sure it's not a fire department yet, but I'm making good money and enjoying myself. I have an amazing girlfriend who means the world to me. I have a close knit core of friends to keep me company and I've finally stopped acting like an ass to my parents. It's like in the last maybe two years I've suddenly reach adulthood and it's not too bad :) Sure there are still days where I'd rather not have any responsibilities, but all in all, I'm in a really good place. Thanks to everyone for supporting me and for coming out for dinner!

Requiem For a Toy

2006-02-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is probably one of the better jobs I've seen of combining movies...helps if you've seen them, especially Requiem for a Dream, but still, really impressive...enjoy!

As seen on Break.com

The cat hates me now!

2006-02-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

Well I would pretty pissed if someone grabbed me, threw me in a cage and sent me to a bunch of strangers to have my testicles cut off, so I can see where he's coming from. Then, of course, to make matters worse, I'm the one who gets to give him his antibiotics, which involves luring him into a false sense of security, tackling him, holding him on his back, prying his mouth open and feeding him the (probably horrible tasting) antibiotics. Then of course he runs away and won't come near me for another 12 hours, which is just in time for the next dose. No wonder he's getting hand shy. Oh well, hopefully it won't last forever...

2006-02-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well not much going on, which is why I've been saving this post...enjoy!

I'VE GOT A FEVER!

Okay so maybe Cupid's not that bad after all...

2006-02-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I never thought I'd say this, but really, Valentine's Day isn't all bad. I guess once you finally find someone you care about, the fact that the holiday is totally fabricated to sell more cards doesn't seem to matter that much. So that being said, I guess I'm hooked, who'da thunk it?

It's that time again!!

2006-02-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's time again for your favorite part of the blog...things that piss me off!!!

At the top of the list, hands down, has to be the people who drive 63.5mph in the fast lane. Look, I understand that the speed limit is 65 and even though it bugs the crap out of me when people drive that speed in the fast lane, but SLOWER?!?! You've gotta be kidding me.

Next up, I'm just gonna make this easy:

'nuff said

And finally, most of the neighborhood...I had a package delivered that showed up at 4:30 and was gone by the time Sarah got home at 5:30. Nothing quite like living in the ghetto...

Until next time...dontcha just hate her??

What to do, what to do?

2006-02-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally happened! Against all odds, I have a day off!! Now, other than wasting time online and witnessing the insanity that is our cat, I simply have to find something to fill the time. I suppose I'll take my fat ass to the gym and then head up to Davis to possibly end the longest move ever. Anyway, this is a really boring and lame blog entry, but I suppose I felt obligated. Let me see if I can figure out something fun to put here...

Ahhh, here we go:

I guess the key to any advertisement is good placement...now I suppose that this'll either be extremely effective or not at all...

So I know that chickens don't have "nuggets"...

2006-01-28T09:03:00.000-08:00

But apparently our cat does. After figuring that the people who owned our cat's mother (who incidentally didn't known when the litter was born) might know the sex of our cat, we didn't bother to lift of the skirt and actually visualize the cash and prizes. How shocked must Sarah have been when the vet yesterday told her we have a boy cat! :) Oh well, at least now we don't have a female cat with a male name. Though I'm guessing he'll be somewhat gender confused...and it's all our fault...

It's a girl!!

2006-01-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

The newest addition to the Lickiss/Reese household...it's Aslan!! Remember, she's adorable...but her life is very important...remember what God does everytime you're bad...please...for the sake of Aslan!

2006-01-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

Good thing he's on the US Team!

2006-01-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

Yup, I'm pretty sure I'm going straight to Hell :)

Actually improving my outlook on humanity

2006-01-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Okay so, not a big deal, but I actually experienced something today that didn't totally depress me about the state of humanity. I was driving back from my class in San Leandro and was on EB 80 around the Berkeley area in traffic at about 15 mph when a car pulled up on the right side of my truck and the guy motioned for me to roll down the window. I did and he told me that he used to have a truck like mine. He said that he had noticed that I was missing the center cap for one of my wheels (it fell off a while back) and said that he had an extra one. So I pulled a little closer and he tossed it in the window, never asked for any money or anything. I just thought it was a really nice gesture and kinda showed me that there really are decent people still in the world...much as I would argue to the contrary sometimes. Anyway, it just put me in a really good mood for the rest of the day. Kinda cool...

A new(er) word in the DICK-tionary

2006-01-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here's a short little post...so there are plenty of people who like to say "re-cock-ulous" in a situation where ridiculous or "re-dick-ulous" would be used. The other night, however, I took it one ill-fated step further. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, direct from the ghettos of Vallejo and the streets of Oakland...without any regard for his bitchy neighbor, Patrick Lickiss is proud to present the word......re-shlong-ulous!!!! Feel free to use this in daily speech. Yes I'm tipsy, yes I've had a lot of caffeine, yes I should be in bed. Adios.

Here hold my beer!

2006-01-21T23:37:00.000-08:00

So Chris sent me this e-mail and asked what I would do if I were on the first due engine and I pulled up and saw this...a very simple and very descriptive response what what I came up with...poop myself :)

Late, but still funny...

2006-01-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

You Are a Christmas Sweater!

Over the top, colorful, and totally flashy.
You're not afraid to be a little tacky.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

AHHHHHHH!!!!! Quizzes!!!

2006-01-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

So I realize that there's really no reason to post these irritating quizzes, or to post two blog entries in one day, but I liked this one and figure that biology's pretty close to genetics, though only a 75% match...oh well, a "C" ain't bad...

You scored as Biology. You should be a Biology major! You are passionate about the sciences, and you enjoy studying cell growth and evolutionary concepts which enable living organisms to survive. Pursue that!

Biology

75%

Mathematics

67%

Chemistry

67%

Engineering

58%

Philosophy

50%

Psychology

42%

Linguistics

33%

English

25%

Sociology

25%

Anthropology

25%

Journalism

17%

Theater

Art

Dance

What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3)
created with QuizFarm.com

Attention Restaurant Customers....

2006-01-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

TESTICLE...that is all!

Actually, my devoted readers, you are privy to a truly important social and cultural event. As this is my 5th post, you have now read the longest blog I've ever written (of three or four total blogs, I can't recall which). Anyway, that's about it for now, though I would like to commend the judge in the Wendy's finger-in-the-chili case for giving Anna Ayala and her husband each the maximum sentence. I mean we're talking about a woman who not only tried to defraud a company by using a acquaintance's severed appendage, but then told her sister on the phone from jail, on a recorded line, that she was certain she would get only probation and that she was thrilled to be in the public spotlight and that all the media attention was making her famous. After hearing her apology on the news it seems very apparent that she is sorry...for getting caught. It's about time that the judicial system made an example out of morons like this and I hope (but don't honestly expect) that this will give other dumb trailer trash a moment of pause before attempting to ruin someone's business for their own personal gain. And with that...I'm off to work out...but I'll leave you with this: Isn't she hideous??

Doesn't he look sorry??

Back at community College

2006-01-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been a day for the record books. Back here again in community college. Now, I don't want to knock the experience by any means, but it's certainly an interesting subset of the population that shows up here. Last semester I was taking only fire classes, which, while there were some recent HS grads, consisted mostly of older students looking for a career change. Now Chabot College, in their infinite wisdom, has chosen not to accept my History class taken at Davis, which places me, this morning, in US History, Post - Reconstruction. Of the 45 people in my class, I am easily the oldest, and I'm also one of the handful of students taking the class for the first time. You know it's a bad thing when they professor knows the majority of the class from their last failed attempt. Now, not to sound like an ass or anything, but it's also kind of disconcerting when most of the student population around campus looks like a mish mash of various rival gangs. Now don't take that to mean that I'm a typical suburban white kid...I am, but I'm also a typical suburban white kid working in Oakland and living across the street of a probable drug house in Vallejo (good times huh?) Anyway, so that class should be interesting to say the least, especially considering that the professor seems to know more about the Oakland A's than US History, a fact brought to light when she started posing questions to the waiting list students in order to determine who had a place in the class.
So here I sit, in the library, updating the ever-important blog, just looking forward to getting home to sample Sarah's homemade spaghetti and meatballs. If anyone know how I got so lucky as to land her, please do me a favor and don't tell anyone else :) I like her and I'm gonna keep her :) So that's where things are in my life right now. I'm off to learn more than I ever dreamt of knowing about fire combustion and behavior, which I'm actually really looking forward to :) (NOTE: As soon as I can find an animated GIF of Beavis and Butthead screaming "Yeah fire!" I'll be sure to finish out this posting with one...until then...)

No kidding with the mess and whatnot!

2006-01-11T17:27:00.000-08:00

So, for those of you who have been reading my dear Sarah's blog, you may have noticed that we have 6 pyrex glass measuring cups...sadly I am here to report that, at last count, there are now 7. To say that we have no idea what to do with 6 pyrex dishes does nothing to describe our horror at having 7. Aside, of course, from cooking up 7 simultaneous batches of brownies (a feat only made possible by having 7 hand mixers instead of 2) I figure this only motivates us to simply never do dishes :) If you'd like to know what a bad idea this is, simply ask Josh or Chris, whom I lived with in college in an apartment where dishes were done based on how bad the apartment stunk. Anyway, aside from the possible procreation of kitchen implements, life is fairly status-quo. Like my hottie girlfriend, I am definitely enjoying domestic life. On the work note, my new schedule begins soon and consists of shifts on Friday through Monday from noon to midnight. "Back in Oakland at midnight on a weekend?" you may ask. "But you'll never get off on time!" Alas I suspect you to be completely correct, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, I'm off to attempt to tame the kitchen...seems that the mixing bowls have been going at it and if we don't make a stand now, we'll surely be over run. CHARGE!!

Drugs are bad mmmkay?

2006-01-10T18:08:00.000-08:00

Okay so, as advertised, I’ve been slacking horribly on the writing of the Blog. I’m not really sure how to motivate myself to write in here unless I just set a goal to write every day or every other day, regardless if I actually have anything to say. That being said, I’m here at work, sitting in the rig, passing time. This week is my last in the Valley (Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin) before I head back to Oakland. It’s gonna be kind of hard moving from running 3 calls in a 12 hour shift with fire fighters who actually enjoy running calls to running 10 calls in a 12 with extremely bitter medics. Anyway, enough shop talk, on to the social rant of the day:

So I remember in high school, the druggies were the kids who smoked pot all the time. I just transported a girl today who’s a habitual runaway and has been using meth for the last 8 months. When did kids decide that they wanted to move from a drug that makes you laugh like an idiot and eat all the time to a drug that makes your hair and teeth fall out, makes you look like a skeleton and reduces you to basically whoring yourself out in order to support your habit? This girl’s dad has been trying to get her help and she’s been completely refusing his offers. This is what scares me the most about having kids. Here you have two parents who have worked really hard to support their daughter and to have a positive relationship with her, only to watch her become addicted to what is probably the worst drug on the streets. What is it that causes kids to get to that point? Did we really not think of the consequences at all when we were that age? Or have kids today become more disconnected than we were at that age?

Anyway, enough of the depressing social issues speak…on to the life update. I’m still waiting to hear back from Folsom, not sure when that’s going to take place. I finally found my California Physical Agility certification, so I can apply for any of the departments accepting apps now, which as far as I know is only Benicia. Sarah and I have moved in together and it’s been great, I couldn’t be happier! So that’s about it for now…in theory there’ll be more later. Also, I’ve added links to all my friends’ blogs so everyone can stay updated! Enjoy!

Back Again!

2005-12-28T15:34:00.000-08:00

Alright, so it's time to begin a blog...again! Seems like I try this every so often but never with much success. I started one that was filled with all kind of rants about how I could never meet anyone of the fairer sex. That was followed by one that consisted of me tracking my workouts. Now I think I'll just write whatever I feel like in order to pass the time at work. So basically I'm a full-time paramedic and part-time firefighting student, living and working in the Bay Area. I've been keeping busy lately with work and school, but now that ski season's here I have a whole new goal for my free time :) I'm also trying to get motivated to get my fat ass into shape, in hopes that my lovely girlfriend Sarah and I can accomplish a 5 day, 48 mile backpacking trip in Zion National Park in April...more on that later. Well that's about all I have right now, I'm feeling extremely unambitious...so it's off to play around on REI's website...gotta spend those giftcards somehow...more later...