Tribunal

So to quote Pink “I’ve had a shit day, you’ve had a shit day, we’ve had a shit day”. The day at school went ok I guess and then well I just got into a funk that hasn’t gone away despite an excellent run and a good number on the scale. In talking to my good friend Laura she recommended that I list five positives from the last few days. So here goes:

I finished writing an extremely important and lengthy report for work and the feedback so far from my bosses/supervisors has been very positive

I had a wonderful 3 year observation meeting today with my principal that only reconfirms that I am in the right field and in the right place for me to make an impact in the lives of the amazing students I have the privilege of working with each day.

I submitted 2 pages of my yearbook that have taken a lot of planning and work time to create and they look FABULOUS.

I just got the coolest asymmetrical blazer in the mail that I intend to wear tomorrow in one of the coolest outfits of all time. I like to think of myself as one of the best dressed guys at my job which I find fun. This one sounds a little arrogant but I really don’t mean it to be.

I stepped on the scale this evening and the number was very nice, 197 which is great. I have been working towards getting back to 190-195 since the new year and I am getting close.

I killed my run today at the gym. 3 miles in 35 minutes. I  am working my way up to a ten minute mile pace, but will honestly settle for an 11 minute mile.

I learned that my grandfather had a stroke over the weekend which is a bummer but the positive is that he is still alive and is stable. I intend to visit him this week, most likely on Friday.

I got to spend the night on Sunday watching the Oscars with my sister and next Monday we are going to see Maroon 5 together for her birthday!

I am nearing the end of the second season of Deep Space Nine and season three is where the show started to take off and get really good.

I guess a tenth positive is that I have a really great group of friends who support me and love me and who are willing to tell me when I’m being an idiot. I have been kind of dealing with a big question lately and each of my close friends has given me wonderful advice on how to handle the situation but everyone has ended with this comment “Paul , I just want you to be happy because that is what you deserve”. I am blessed.

I guess an 11^th blessing has been the discovery of the SWEET BROWN clip on youtube which has brought endless joy to my life…. OH LORD JESUS IT’S A FAAAHRE!

Tribunal
The O’Briens are leaving on vacation for the first time in 5 years and the chief is running a little late. You see a good friend of his has stopped by the station and the two connect for a few minutes in the hallway. While on their way to  their destination the O’Briens are stopped by a Cardassian ship and the chief is brought to Cardassia Prime as a prisoner. Cardassian justice is a little different than the justice system on Federation planets. On Cardassia the verdict is discovered before the accused is brought to trial and the verdict is always guilty. No one is telling O’Brien the crime he has been charged for but eventually the Cardassian judge contacts the station to review the charges. O’Brien has been charged with selling arms to a terrorist group. Odo and Keiko leave for Cardassia where Odo will be O’Brien’s legal aid. Odo takes as much time to extend the trial as long as possible as to buy the crew of the station more time. Dax discovers that a voice print by O’Brien was altered and that his friend Boone is not who he says he was. The crew discovers that Boone is actually a Cardassian in disguise. Boone is brought before the judge and O’Brien is set free. 

Check out this crazy Cardassian bitch judge's hair... WOW

The Collaborator

Well the roof has stopped leaking and it appears that my roof needs some serious revamping this summer. This is the joy of an association though because they are going to cover the whole thing. I’m thoroughly looking forward to the Oscar ceremony tonight. I have not seen that many of the year’s nominated films to be honest but I love the spectacle of the night. I’m pulling for Skyfall to win in all of its categories tonight and at the very least best original song.

4 Miles on the treadmill today.

The Collaborator
The show opens with an orb dream featuring Vedek Bareil and in the end a dead man in a Vedek’s robes. Bareil is on a visit to the station to spend some time with Kira before the Vedek assembly votes for the next Kai; an honor which Bareil is the front runner. At the very same time a man comes on board the station and is immediately recognized as one of the Bajorans who was a Cardassian collaborator during the occupation. This man was an attaché between the Cardassians and the Bajoran government and he was responsible for assigning fellow Bajorans to the labor camps. The man is exhiled from Bajor and Kira intends to deny him the right to return home but her order is overthrown by Vedek Winn. Winn provides him with asylum and intends to return him to Bajor. Winn reveals that she has new information about a massacre that happened years ago during the occupation and she believes that Vedek Bareil is the collaborator who gave the location of the rebel base. Kira begins and investigation and soon after discovers that Bareil has indeed wiped several files that implicate him in the massacre. Kira is about to go public with her findings even though she doesn’t want to because she loves him, when he decides to withdraw from the election. The newly elected Kai Winn takes over as the spiritual leader of Bajor but Kira is not satisfied with the results of her investigation. She continues searching for answers and finds that he could not have been involved because Bareil was off the planet when the massacre happened. Bareil reveals that he was covering for Opaka who allowed the location of the base to be revealed in order to save thousands of other Bajoran lives. The show ends with Kira and Bareil reconciling and going off to congratulate the new Kai, even though they are both unsure of her plans for Bajor. 

Crossover

My roof is leaking and it is honestly the fault of my shitty ass town home association. I called last week complaining about the gigantic ice dam that has formed on my room and well they did nothing about the problem. Now due to their dumbassery I have a real problem, a leaky roof. The contractor is coming out tomorrow morning to fix the whole thing so that is at least a bit of comfort. I did spend a good chunk of my afternoon leaning out my window knocking over icicles and such to help support the ice dams getting destroyed.

Ran three miles today.

Crossover
Kira and Bashir are just coming through the wormhole and they have a rough ride but make it out alive. Once they make it out the station is missing and a couple Klingons beam onto the runabout and then escort the ship to the station which is in orbit around Bajor. The pair is confronted by Garak, in a military uniform, and Kira in some odd dominatrix style cat suit. Kira in this world is known as the Intendant, and she is the commander of the station which is part of The Alliance. The Alliance is an organization consisting of Klingon, Cardassian and Bajoran power and is the major force in the quadrant.  Bashir is put to work in the Oar processing plant on the station where he meets Odo, the chief of mining operations and O’Brien, a simpleton who tinkers with the gadgets on the station. The Intendant, who is infatuated with Kira, explains the whole sordid tale of Kirk’s original visit to the Mirror Universe and how it has impacted the development of their universe. The protocol now is that if anyone from the opposite side appears they are to be killed to prevent tampering. Kira and Bashir begin working on a way out, and first they want to use the transporter since it worked for Kirk. This option fails so they plan to steal back their runabout and go through the wormhole. It is about this time that Kira meets Sisko, who in this world is a scoundrel of a pirate looking out only for himself. The Intendant plans a big party that night  and on the way to the party Garak informs Kira of his plan. His plan involves killing the Intendant and having Kira take her place until she is able to be set free to find her way back home. Kira goes along with the plan for now though she knows she doesn’t want to do it. A distraction in the mining room allows Bashir to escape with O’Brien. They make their way to the runabout and pick up Kira along the way. Kira and Bashir fight their way to the ship with the help of Sisko who provides shelter to O’Brien in exchange for his help with the machines. Using the wormhole Kira and Bashir make it back to normal.

This episode features a fun look at the Mirror Universe, a place that we haven’t seen since the episode Mirror, Mirror from the original series. Before the series ends we will be taking at least one more trip into the Mirror Universe. 

The Wire

I am constantly dumbfounded by the arrogance and stupidity of some people in this world. Simply put I cannot say much more than this without going off on a huge rant and getting mad once again. I just don’t understand why people don’t want to work as a team and make things better. As many a smart people have said “If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.”

Ran 3 miles yesterday in 36 minutes!

The Wire
Bashir and Garak are meeting on the promenade for their weekly lunch date but today Garak seems to be upset and agitated about everything. Bashir is concerned about Garak and tries to get a few suggestions from Dax but that leads to little help other than Bashir figuring out that maybe he is actually Garak’s friend. Quark soon contacts Bashir with a medical emergency. Bashir finds Garak drunk off of his ass in the bar and he procedures to have a massive brain attack and faints. Upon further study in the infirmary Bashir finds a device implanted in Garak’s brain but he is not sure what it is and of course Garak is not providing any answers. Garak then attempts to get a new device secretly through Quark but that becomes a dead end. Garak is now put on bed rest and Bashir is his home nurse and Garak starts to give a little bit of information. Garak reveals that he was part of the Obsidian Order, the Cardassian intelligence agency. The device was a method to prevent him from feeling pain was he ever captured. The device though became activated by Garak as a drug and now he is fully addicted. While going through classic with drawl symptoms he provides three stories about his background.

1-      Garak and a friend named Elim were in charge of getting a ship detained but before it launched he ordered it destroyed. The ship contained a high ranking member of the central command so Garak was exiled

2-      Garak and Elim were nearly brothers who were in the obsidian order and Garak betrayed Elim so that he would be saved from exile

3-      Garak let a bunch of Bajoran kids go instead of killing them and blamed it on Elim.

Bashir keeps Garak comfortable and pays a visit to Garak’s former mentor Enabran Tain, the previous head of the Obsidian Order, who seems to still have an eye and ear open for what is happening in the universe.  This little fact is made evident by Tain knowing that Bashir is on his way. Tain states that if Bashir were his friend he would let Garak die. Bashir asks Tain for clarification of the story and he reveals that Garak’s first name is Elim. Garak and Bashir meet up in the end for their usual lunch where Garak says that all of his stories are true, especially the lies. 

The Maquis, Part 2

So yesterday I mentioned that the Star Trek posts would be fewer and far between, well how big of an idiot am I? I forgot that I can simply run at the gym and watch Star Trek on my iPad, so that is what I did today. I ran three miles today as my first day of training for the Goldy’s Run.

The Maquis, Part 2
Sisko, Kira and Bashir are on the surface of an M class asteroid and have been taken hostage by the Maquis, lead by Commander Hudson. Hudson and Sisko have a long conversation about how Starfleet and Federation have turned their back on the colonies and that they need to take matters into their own hands. The three are allowed to go back to the station where Sisko is immediately confronted by Admiral Nechayev. She demands that Sisko take care of the situation and get in touch with the Maquis and come to some type of peace agreement. He is then spoken to by Legate Parn, a high leader in the Cardassian government. Parn reveals that Gul Dukat is responsible for the arms deliveries to the Cardassians and that the central command is happy to see him dead either by the Maquis or by their own hands. Sisko mounts a rescue mission for Gul Dukat which succeeds and they also begin to track the arms deliveries. Sisko and Dukat indeed determine that the Cardassians are arming their colonists. Sisko learns of a plot from the Maquis to destroy a weapons bunker on a Cardassian colony. He and the rest of the core DS9 crew head out in runabouts to prevent the attack and are eventually successful in stopping the attack. In the end Sisko feels that he just delayed the inevitable and that  war in the demilitarized zone is still lurking in the future. 

The Maquis, Part 1

Happy President’s Day Everyone! A day to celebrate the men who have been the president of USA and most notably celebrate the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington which are right around this time. I spent my day celebrating by cleaning the house, working out, doing a few chores, working my part time job and going to the neurologist’s office. I was given a clean bill of brain health by the doctor so that is a good sign. I am now watching The Doctor on tv as I write this post. Tomorrow I am going to start training for my ten mile run in April so the number of Star Trek posts may be fewer and a little further between for the next two months as I prepare.

Elliptical Machine- Miles: 3.75, Calories: 605

The Maquis, Part 1

The Cardassian freighter Bok Nor is just leaving Deep Space Nine when it suddenly blows up. Sisko and his team are now responsible for determining what exactly happened to the ship. Soon Sisko is visited by an old friend Commander Hudson to discuss the situation in the now demilitarized zone. Hudson is the attaché between the Federation and the colonists in that area. Hudson is convinced that the Cardassians are arming their colonists in the zone but he of course has no proof of the idea just a deep distrust of the Cardassians. Soon after Sisko is visited by Gul Dukat who believes that somehow the Federation colonists are being armed as well. The minute Sisko and Dukat arrive at the colony the witness a battle between two Cardassian ships and two Federation ships in the demilitarized zone none of which should be happening. These ships are armed more heavily that they should be which is somewhat of a mystery to both men.  Tensions begin to rise in the demilitarized zone and eventually Dukat is kidnapped and a group called the Maquis takes credit for the abduction. When Sisko and crew locate the ship that took Dukat they are confronted by the Maquis, lead by Commander Hudson.

This episode sets up the group called the Maquis, the badlands, and the demilitarized zone, all of which factor in greatly to the kick off of Star Trek Voyager. The show also features a great appearance by Bernie Casey as Commander Cal Hudson. 

Blood Oath

So there has been a big ole health scare in my world this week. On Wednesday after lunch I had some trouble focusing my eyes, which then degraded into loosing peripheral vision in my left eye and even just total blurriness in my eyes. I went to the doctor’s office and then went to the opthomologists office and got cleared. Yesterday I had an MRI taken and got the word today that I am all clear. It looks like I just had a migraine and that is the end of the story there. I am hopeful that is all it was and that I can then just move on from there.

Elliptical Machine- Good Results Were had at a 4:30am when I woke up after sleeping for ten hours

Blood Oath

Deep Space Nine is visited by three Klingon legends, Kang, Koloth and Kor and soon after Dax is thick as thieves with these men. Apparently Kurzon was a close friend of all three of these Klingons so therefore by extension so is Jadzia. It turns out that these four shared a blood oath to avenge the death of Kang’s son who was Dax’s godson. The murder was an Albino who has alluded the group for at least 25 years. Jadzia is conflicted as to wether or not to attempt to join in the vengance and eventually she decides that she must participate. She then must convince the group that she can go along. The four make their way to the Albino’s layer but something is a miss with the whole situation and Dax calls Kang out on the situation. Apparently  Kang made a deal with the Albino for an honorable death. Dax and the guys change their plan and make a successful attack. Koloth, and Kang both die but Dax and Kor make a return to the station.

This is an absolute delight of an episode because we get to see these three characters from Star Trek the Original Series return and have a grand old time on screen. 

The Guys in the 60's

The Guys in the 90's 

Profit and Loss

Last night I had a nightmare that I was being chased by a strange man through some type of shopping mall. I ran through the mall being ignored by the various shoppers as I screamed for help until my voice couldn’t make a sound. I then ran into the bathroom to escape and then the man entered the bathroom and he killed me with a very large knife/sword object. At that point I woke up screaming in my bed at about 2:30 am. Oddly enough I woke up later on this morning and put on a red and blue striped sweater that somewhat resembles the one worn by Freddy Kruger. It is a good thing that I didn’t die in real life like how it happens when Freddy Kruger kills you in the movies.

Elliptical Machine: Calories: 555, Miles: 3.35

Profit and Loss
A Cardassian shuttle has been towed into the station as it has suffered some pretty severe damage. The three passengers are a Professor Lang and her two students Houge and Rekelen. On a quick tour of the promenade Natima Lang is intercepted by Quark and it is revealed that two used to be lovers. The episode now becomes a cat and mouse game of Quark trying to convince Natima to stay on the DS9 with him and Natima trying to get her students out safely. Natima and her students are part of the Cardassian underground trying to overthrow the military rule of the empire. The three plan to escape as soon as possible but things are complicated when Garak informs on the rebels to the Cardassian high command. A deal is struck between Bajor and Cardassia for a prisoner exchange but Quark appeals to Odo to let them go. In the end Quark and Odo manage to get the three to their shuttle but not before Garak is convinced to allow them to leave.

This is a really good episode of Deep Space Nine but it is really hard to explain all of the ins and outs of the story. 

Playing God

I have been liberated ladies and gentlemen! I no longer suffer from unsightly back hair which I have suffered from for as long as I can remember. Back hair is disgusting and nasty and worst of all it is on your back a place that most normal people cannot reach on their own, which is a shame. Why exactly are some of us men cursed with this infliction? I used to think it had to do with our ethnic background but I do have other friends of Scandanavian, German, and British descent who are practically hairless. BASTARDS! I then thought it had to do with being overweight and that if you are fat your body feeds the hair cells and therefore you are a furry mammal. This theory I think came into thought because of all the exercise commercials where you see a fat guy with hair and then the same guy thin and suddenly he is hairless. I will freely admit that I had never thought to myself “Oh yeah they must shave as they get thin!” So this has left only one hypothesis, those of us with back hair are simply less evolved than others. This all being said I have grown to love having a hairy chest and stomach as it looks good but the hair on the back is my enemy. I have done everything from having friends NAIR my back, to home waxing and once I even spent $90 to have it done at a spa. Those days are behind me, and so is my back hair. Yesterday in the mail a MANGROOMER deluxe arrived, which is an electric razor with an extension wand so that I can reach my entire back on my own. You all don’t know how happy this makes me because now I have control over something on my body that has bothered me for as long as I can remember. To a certain subculture of gay men this blog post is blasphemy I know but back hair is just nasty boys. I do love a good hairy chest but no back hair and I’m sure most everyone would agree.

Elliptical Machine: Calories: 550, Miles: 3.23

Playing God

Dax is playing host to a Trill initiate, a young man named Arjin who wants to become joined with a symbiant. The young man is very nervous, shy, prim and proper, and has clearly spent his whole life working towards a goal without truly experiencing life. He first meets Dax and is taken aback by her approach to life, gambling, wrestling, joking and making light of most everything. The two leave on an away mission into the Gama Quadrant  and snag something on their nacel so they head back to the station. Once back at the station Dax shows up on the bridge and assists O’Brien and Kira deal with a Cardassian Vole problem. Apparently the voles are eating different systems of the ship and causing problems all over the station. The snag from the runabout is transferred to a holding field in the lab but due to the voles the field is destroyed. The object in questions turns out to be a new universe that is showing signs of life. The universe that is growing will continue expanding and engulf the entire know universe when it grows. During this crisis somehow Dax finds time to tell Arjin that she is concerned that he is not ready to be a joined Trill and he flips out at her and things are awkward for a few moments. Meanwhile the universe continues to expand and Sisko decides not to destroy it but to return it to the Gama Quadrant where it belongs. Dax convinces Arjin to be her pilot and the two successfully navigate the wormwhole free from the computer and all is set right. In the end Dax changes her mind about Aarjin and the two part ways very amicably.

It is funny how sometimes you see a show and it relates to what is happening in your life. I have a student intern at school at the moment and it is going fairly well so I am glad that I don’t have the issues Dax and Aarjin are facing. 

Shadowplay

Mondays are possibly my least favorite day of the week simply because they are so long. I have been going nonstop since about six o’clock this morning and I’ll hopefully be in bed in the next hour or so. I often think I should quit the evening job but the money is just too good to pass up and worth the long hours.

Shadowplay

Dax and Odo are in the Gama Quadrant investigating a mysterious particle field surrounding a planet. Upon beam down the pair investigate a village but are apprehended by the town’s chief of police. They soon convince the chief that they are not there to cause any problems and begin to help him with a mystery that has been plaguing the village. Apparently 22 people have disappeared over the last few months and no one knows where they have gone. Dax and Odo begin to explore all the possibilities and but hey begin to find more questions than they have answers. Of note is that Odo discovers that none of the villagers have ever left the valley area. Also when Dax, Odo and a young girl attempt to leave the valley the girl begins to disappear in front of their eyes but reappears when she moves back. Odo and Dax reveal that everyone is a hologram in the village and they agree to restart the program. Once the program is shut down one man remains and he reveals that he started the program after the Dominion took over his home world. The program is restarted and the villagers continue on with their lives.

Meanwhile back on the station Kira interrupts yet another illegal business interaction of Quark’s. In the matter of a few hours Vedek Bareil is on the station to visit Kira and the two share a wonderful few days together playing ball and having romantic dinners for two. Quark is once again caught and Kira confronts him to thank him for having Bareil visit as it was very distracting.

The show features a wonderful guest turn from Kenneth Mars, most famous for playing the bumbling chief of police from Young Frankenstein. 

Paradise

Is there a game on today or something? I don’t know really but I’ve had a great day. I spent a good deal of it on the couch and then went to go see a movie with a friend. We saw Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which only reminded me how much I adore good/bad movies. The film was so ridiculous and poorly written and broke my favorite rule. That rule being modern vernacular being used in older period movies, such as the phrase “keep cool” and “I fucking hate that shit” being used in 1700’s Bavaria. Once I got home from the movie I found I lost all of the contact information on my phone so now I have the joyful task of going through and reading text messages to add the numbers.

Paradise
Sisko and O’Brien are surveying uninhabited solar systems around the Bajoran system for possible Federation settlements. They locate a planet that already seems to have a settlement but there is a duonetic field in place that will disable all electronic devices. Upon beam down the two men find the extent to which the field operates and learn that they are now trapped until a rescue comes for them. Sisko and O’Brien are discovered and introduced to Alixus, the settlement’s leader. They are welcomed with open arms but asked to simply help out around the fields until the rescue comes. On the station Kira and Dax attempt to get in touch with the runabout but they are unable to so they leave the station to track down the missing crew members. On the planet Sisko and O’Brien are finding it difficult to adjust to their new temporary home which includes corporal punishment and even the sexual advances of the women folk. Sisko and O’Brien are becoming more nervous about Alixus and her near obsession with the colony and how it all seems to be a bit too perfect to be a coincidence. Kira and Dax find the runabout and track it back to the colony. O’Brien gets in trouble from Alixus but instead of punishing him she decides that Sisko must go into the punishment box which he decides to stay in to make a point. While Sisko is in the box O’Brien finds an artificial duonetic device and disables it. He reveals that everything was a plan on Alixus’ part to get these people stranded on the planet to live out her vision of the perfect human existence. In the end Kira and Dax show up and Alixus and her son are arrested for their part in the founding of the colony. The real pisser is that the dumb ass settlers decide to stay even after they have been lied to for the last ten years. WTF?