Opening day...headed down the way.

Today is officially the first day of Spring. How do I know? Well, the windy 35 degree morning didn't tell me that. It's the first day of the Baseball season. I'm not sure why I still care, but hell...there's hope for all 28 teams. The Brewers even have a chance. However, they blew a big lead today and lost. They will never be this close to .500 for the rest of the season. Why do I still root for them? I don't know the answer to that...but I always root for the loser.

I just watched Pi. It's a mind-bending movie about a "genius mathematician who's built a supercomputer at home that provides something that can be understood as a key for understanding all existence." The guy tries to figure out the world through numbers...the order behind the chaos...and he...well, its a damn good movie for the intellect type.

My DVD player fades the picture in and out. It is connected via my VCR. Could it be my DVD player? I did happen to pick it up factory refurbrished. I checked the troubleshooting guide and it turns out that copyright protection fucks it up. I need to connect directly to my Television...I may need a new TV.

The pseudo illness that I was lamenting about yesterday is pretty much gone. As I said a few weeks ago...well, you probably know what I said a few weeks ago.

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Fighting the Cold

Having awoken with that "I'm fighting a flu and/or cold" feeling, I need some sleep. This seems to be the pattern after every weekend. I blame no one.

Marquette makes it way back into the Final 4 after 1977. Somewhere out there, Al is thinking, "Holy Mackerel." I met the guy a few times when I worked the snack shed at the Country Club. He was a nice guy...go MU.

The haircut I got is too short. I went for the slight shag for a bit, but it looked too normal...I had to bring back the spike. Still, its way too short, the actual 'spike' won't show up for a few weeks.

The girl is doing well...in describing her to one brother, my brother is reported to have said: "She's totally Ed"...I've been adjectivilified.

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The Rare Politcal Rant: The Spin

Bill O'Reilly gets on my nerves...I'll let this lil op-ed article speak for itself.

This Operation Iraqi Freedom thing is on day 9. The administration appears to be frustrated by the doubts. On television, everything is "going exactly as planned" while morale among the troops is starting to sag. I read an article detailing the lower morale, but cannot seem to find it anymore (hmm...I wonder why that is). Cable News Networks will spend 20 minutes of programing covering 200 people at a Clear Channel sponsored rally, while spending 45 seconds explaining why traffic was shut down on Lakeshore Drive by 10,000 people. This linked article is a good example of the unbalanced coverage. This leads me to make a rare public service announcement. Take everything to see on TV and read on the newspapers with a grain of salt. The images you see and articles you read draw a different picture than what is really happening. My point is summarized nicely in this Sun-Times article.

Where can you look to find different perspectives on whats going on? Try these on for size (I'll increase the list as I find more):
- BBC.com - international perspective.
- The Observer - more British Press.
- Fair.org - Keeps tabs on the fairness of reporting in the US.
- Indy Media - Independant Media org.

That's it for now. This bi-polar weather is getting to me.

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People...Conversation...

M: You're coming home this weekend?
E: Yes...friday night.
M: We won't be able to pick you up.
E: I've got plans anyway...
M: Who are you seeing?
E: The girl.
M: Are you sleeping over there? Where are you sleeping Friday night?
E: Probably at home.
M: Don't sleep at her house.
E: I'll try not to.
M: What do you mean try?!...Your father is laughing.

I'm twenty-four years old, its 2003, and I'm still dodging the issue when my mother is preaching chastity and trying to limit my actions...I know I'm not the only one who faces this situation...but c'mon...the training wheels have been off for a quite while....but I realize, good people tend to keep and treasure the values intstilled in them...in this case, a 1940's value system won't be shaken off...they should be respected or at least appeased...but c'mon...

I should be more up front about that, though.

At the ol' Burger King today, me, Miller and Brendan sat by this corporate working guy on his lunch break. He was all fidgety and sweaty. Towards the end of his lunch, he shuffled through his newspaper, discreetly drank a few small bottles of cough syrup...while drinking a few cokes...then stuffed 5 pieces of gum into his mouth...then left. My back was sort of turned to him...but it was hard not to look. The guy was either fighting a serious flu, or "The Man" is on his back and he's hooked on a release of some sort. I'm starting to realize that a lot of strange shit goes on in the corporate world.

I learned a lot today...and a lot of it is pretty depressing.

New toys came in the mail. I have a DVD player and therefore have joined 1998...it feels good. Portable audio in the form of an MP3 player hit the scene as well...that better be it.

The Sucks truly do suck, but who cares?, I've got two state colleges in the Sweet 16. The sports pages here have been giving both teams front-page sports coverage. I'm completely surprised by that. I always thought Chicago disliked everything Wisconsin. If a UI team does well, they get page 3 coverage at most in Wisconsin. Joel says it is envy...but whatever it is...it's pretty cool.

Go Sports!!

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Creepin' Further and Further...

Approximately two weeks later:

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I'm finally getting some sun in the afternoon. Just another boring day in corporate land.

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Spring Day II

Yes, yes another warm spring day to be followed by a week of manic weather. I used to watch the weather channel when I was a kid. I thought it was the coolest thing. If you want to teach a kid how to read, get him/her interested in weather...then turn on the weather channel. I used to read that blue screen like a bible.

Anyway, with another warm day comes another bike ride along the lake. There's no spring feeling better than having my head on a swivel, a stiff breeze in my face and the zen-like feeling I get when I hit the right pace. I sometimes wonder why I got away from the days when I'd bike at least twenty miles every other day around suburban Milwaukee...I was in damn good shape. Although fairly solitary, that summer seems pretty magical when I take a backward glance...sometimes the river flows crystal clear, and sometimes its a little murky.

At lunch today, my friend Miller and I were stuck behind these traders. The alpha-male guy made a really specific and pointed order...after a few clarifying exchanges, the clerk repeated the order, and without saying anything, the guy (with his hand) pantomimed a pistol going off. I tried not to laugh, but I cracked up out loud when Miller asked me: "did that just happen?" Man....that dude was a...dude.

I've had my Nintendo since 1986...that's a long time.

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Busted Bracket

I just saw the Felicity girl on Married with Children. I wonder how many starlette's of the small screen made their debut on that show. They should be proud about that...Married With Children was one of the best sitcoms ever.

After having a damn good 1st round in the tournament bracket pool, I lost one of my Final Four Teams (Florida) and one of my elite 8 teams (Oklahoma State). It's over.

Marquette U. and UW both made the sweet 16. They're in the same reigon, so its possible that they'll meet for a chance to go to the final four should they both win their 3rd round games. Once again...stumbling drunks all over Wisconsin will have a reason to get hammered again...all in the name of basketball.

One of my homies from High School, Jack, came to town on his way to Florida. He left his car at my disposal. My mission: try not to get a parking ticket and/or tow. Since I can drive it, I'll get to expirience the pain in the ass that is driving in Chicago.

Other lessons of the weekend:
- Don't eat at the basement sports bar next to the Off Track Betting place by the Tower.
- That DVD player still hasn't showed up yet.
- The Girl was glad to see me spontaneously show up this weekend.
- Laundry machines in the basement don't clean well at all.
- Phase 4 OrthoTics are painful.
- I can still break 250 in Scrabble.

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Tournaments and protest

Basketball is cool....so is protest. I had stopped by to the gathering of the demonstrators right after work. Then I wandered off to the bar to watch the Badger's win. Little did I know that they began to march to close Lakeshore Drive

Click here for some pics (they weren't as good as I thought they would be because I'm such a hack).

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Everything Is Annoying

Do you ever have one of those days that where you feel annoyed all day? Do you ever get disenchanted with the daily grind and just ask yourself: "What am I doing with myself right now?" Do you ever wonder what "protecting the peace" really means?

Yes, Yes, Yes...that was my day today.

The Girl called me tonight and lets just say she's not exactly pleased with the step America just took today. Her brother happens to be in the area of dispute and he's not there in search of wanton military satisfaction. While I can't relate to what she's feeling, I can do nothing but help get her through this situation. Its one thing to have your beliefs stomped on...its another thing to have your beliefs stomped on while a loved one is reluctantly tied to that boot. All I can do is be 'there' for her from an ever so short distance.

There's only so much one can do in that situation...but I'll do what I can.

Hey....the Bucks finally won a game!

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The Clock Ticks

I was greeted this morning with an irate voicemail from some guy who obviously got the wrong number. Apparently someone has been making threatening phone calls to him and his parents, and he managed to call me back. I found it funny because he wasn't talking about me, but used some strong defensive language...I still need to keep an eye on the situation...hopefully the guy realizes his mistake.

War Sucks

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Cold winds...War...Fog

This isn't good. Lets set a 48 hour ultimatum that we know won't be met...it is a masked declaration of war...and who's to say the bombing hasn't begun already (by that I mean, who's to say they haven't expanded the bomb-at-will territory beyond the no-fly zone?)??

I took a bike ride to kick off the cardio season. The temperature was in the 60's today so I could not refuse. It was a 12 mile ride. The first six where easy. I was wondering how it could be so warm when the sun is already down. I turned around and answered my own question. The wind was brutal off the lake. I began to wonder if I would cramp up because of the cold weather. Sure enough, my calves began to cramp up. My focus became: don't slow down, don't speed up too much, don't stop. Its just like life...when that cold wind hits your face...keep your pace.

Then I watched the speech and didn't feel too comfortable with it.

Then a fog settled in over my neighborhood precisely when the speech was over. A strange omen for things to come...

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Emma. Steak. Shopping Carts


This being Emma!

Spring finally showed herself this weekend and she brought an early but very healthy present for my brother and sister-in-law. She was born at 1:11 p.m. on 15 March. Here's to a long and healthy life...Welcome to this world, Emma...we're glad you're here!

I had the worlds best steak this weekend on a very nice date with the girl. She's swell.

On the way back to Chicago, my Amtrak train hit a shopping cart. I knew something was wrong because I actually felt it below my seat. The train stopped and the engineers got out and scratched their heads for 30 minutes. The lesson here...its funny to leave things on the tracks for trains to hit...by funny, I mean not at all if you want to go home.

On Friday, I may or may not have donated $10 to a scam charity...but I found $10 on the sidewalk tonight...the universe is back in balance.

The Buck's Suck

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Rare Friday Work Post

I had an all-you-can eat fish fry for lunch. The fish tasted like, well...fish. That may or may not be a good thing, but I'm holding up for now. The fish fries in Wisconsin are much, much better...but what else can you expect in the middle of the most densely populated area in the midwest (I'm assuming, of course)? Today I get to see the Girl again (my friends said she wasn't the new girl anymore)...here's to me not getting sick...and to a happy weekend.

Marquette and Wisconsin were upset this week in their conference tournaments. I wonder what would happen if UWM made it the furthest out of the three schools...I always pull for the little guy, so what would be sweet.

Got a problem? Go back to "freedom".

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This being Will



Ask and ye shall receive: on my way out of town last weekend, Will asked that I put him on the blog. So I'll do him one better and create a lil' profile about him and begin my blog's new feature: This being _____ !

I've known Will since the first day of kindergarten during the year 1984. For those of you scoring at home, I've known the guy for over 18 years. We were in the same kindergarten class and he taught me how to raise the swear finger. Thus sending me down the path to the strange character I am today. In middle school, he taught me another lesson by providing me a real life example of what "fraud to the inn-keeper" was. That was something I never knew existed. Back in high school our teachers always singled him out and seemed to always yell at him. I couldn't figure out why....but he was pretty defensive about it...and now he's in law school. So there is Will...he's also happens to sing in the band I used to be in....we opened up with a rousing cover of "Jump." If you'd have told me over 18 years ago that I would be on stage with Will, playing rock's hottest song by 1984's greatest band at the time, I'd have thought you were crazy...I'd probably say: "Shit man, I'm only 6. I just want to play Voltron."

This being Will...

(If you'd like a semi-humorous profile and I happen to have a crazy picture of you...drop me a line)

Happy Weekend awaits.

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Slow down and don't be an ass...

Today, I was grabbing lunch at the chinese place right by where I work during the lunch hour. Plenty of traffic, plenty of people "on the go." I happen to overhear two yuppie types walk into the restaurant. I will call them Prick and Jack-ass. An employee happen to be nearby as they walked in.

Prick - "I'm out of cash, hopefully they can take credit card"
Jack Ass - "Probably I'm not sure why they wouldn't"
Employee - "No cash machine here, no credit, cash only"
Prick (while he walks) - "what?"
Employee - "No cash machine, no credit, pay with cash only."
Prick - "what?!"
Employee - "No credit here, pay cash only"
Jack Ass - "Oh...I think she's trying to tell us we can't use our credit card...."

TRYING?!

Hey asshole, she wasn't trying to tell you this, she did tell you this...you were't trying to understand. Sure, there may be a slight language barrier, but her message seemed pretty clear to me...Just because the english may be broken down a bit doesn't mean she can't communicate. It was clear as day what she said.

So they finally figured it out after asking another person and wandered off to McDonalds.

The lesson here: Short-sighted people annoy the hell out of me.

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Bombs, Head Scratching, Basketball...

Listening to Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" on the way to work is fun. There's nothing like entering the mundane corporate world for another day with the classic beats and rhymes of Gansta Rap. Sitting down to answer voice mails and e-mails while "rat-a-tat-tat put a nigga on his back" rings through my head makes for surreal fun. I should do that more often. Suggestions?

US Tests bomb. Yes it's the "mother of all bombs" aka the MOAB (also the same name as my bike). Sure, the country is going to try to show the world how big its penis is...but what does that get us? North Korea shows us their guns and we don't flinch. Why do we think the world will even blink because of this? Its like the bully on the playground who starts to break shit because no one cares anymore that he's intimidating. Call me cynical, but when senior US diplomats resign, and the US still can't garner any more internationial support...we're headed down the wrong path.

In more things that make me scratch my head, I guess a few republicans feel the need to exercise their legislative power as they try to eliminate the word "french" and replace it with the word "freedom." Yes...cafeterias in Washington are now advertising French Fries and French Toast as "Freedom Fries" and "Freedom Toast." Tax dollars went to the time for someone to think of ways we can be more rediculous. In a country where "freedom" is being "fought for", it seems that people want to preach petty intolerance. I don't know about you, but I'll keep using the word "French" for a while....lets hope the UK doesn't piss off the government...otherwise we'd be eating "Freedom Muffins" for breakfast, and schools will have to alter their curriculum in order to teach, uh....freedom? I don't know about you...but I can really get my motor running during a session of freedom kissing. So very, very rediculous.

UWM made the NCAA tournament. As I predicted, three colleges will represent the state in this month's tournament. Think of all the drunks who will stumble around the state this month....all in the name of basketball. Sweet!!!

Buck and Spurs are in a tight game right now...I just bought a winter hat, so they better win. Joel said they were going to finish at 43-39. I think he may be right.

I've had McDonalds for lunch two days in a row...and I must say: I don't feel quite right.

Flow.

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Drained...

I woke up this morning frustrated, confused, discouraged. I was just trying to work through something. I spent the majority of the day sorting it out. I had to find an angle, wrap my mind around it and make sure that the message sent was the message received. Although its sort of what I wanted anyway, it took me a while to get it together without fanning the flames. The issue probably wasn't a big deal at all...but I was pretty wiped out by the end of the day about it. Its all gravy, though, I guess I do care after all.

Things didn't get much better after getting caught up in watching Los Amantes del Círculo Polar. The ending and the film's concepts wore me out even further. The film is basically about coincidence and its role in a true love relationship. Not a bad watch if it happens to be on...actually, it's probably a good film to rent.
So I ponder:
-Is coincidence independent of destiny or does destiny create coincidence?
-Is true love destiny or can it arise out coincidence?
-Is everything "meant to be?"

My brain has melted...but at least I know that I can think critically after all.

New Girl made me bananna bread on Friday...and its damn good...should I have put it in the 'fridge?

Patience.

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Go North

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Not a whole lot of difference at 5:50 this time around.

Random Weekend Thoughts and Reflections:

-The new girl came to town and it was happy.
-I sang karoke and made it to the finals.
-The Scorpion's rock!
-Nick and I bet that WIBA in Madison, WI would play either "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" or anything by Jackyl while we were the car...we were both wrong, but I bet both things occurred in the 18 hours I spent in Madison.
-I'm more lactose intolerant than I think I am.
-24 hour trip to madison was fun...except for the slippery ride.
-The monster in my kitchen is finally gone.
-She likes knives.
-Blistered fingers = no bass practice in a long time.
-Don't pass out when your friends have sharpies.
-Will observed that Shug always looks like he's contemplating something...I guess I like to surround myself with thinkers so I don't have to.
-Jerret was left sleeping on his back just inside of the door to his apartment...he should be okay, otherwise I'd have heard about it.
-Hot and wet: Not my thing when we're talking fresh out of the dryer.
-3 out of 4 Division I teams from Wisconsin might be in the NCAA tournament this year (at least 2)...maybe I should move back.
-The Buck's win when I don't pay attention....maybe I should stay here.
-I need sleep.

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Say Cheeeeze



Just when I thought the cards were down, fortune smiled upon me today. Its all Gravy.

The new girl is coming to town and I be cookin'

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...and justice for us

I'm involved in a lawsuit against a former landserf. Background info: we lived 10 feet away from a construction site where they erected a 12 story high rise apartment building. It was hell for nine months. The construction damaged the foundation of the apartment we lived at and the landlord was forced to replace the foundation. The landserf decided to illegally evict us and proceed with the construction without giving us time to move out. We were robbed during the first two weeks after eviction. I lost 2 guitars, 2 bass amps, and a few other things. Well, it's been over a year and a half and we're getting close to trial. Today my former roomate attended a deposition. His summary included choice highlights you may enjoy:

The overlying theme of the entire deposition was that Fuck-face is an idiot. Everyone at one point or another rolled their eyes or looked confusingly upon him, including the clerk and his own lawyer.

He basically does not recall a whole shitload of pertinent information, and his testimony greatly contradictsours.

Fuck-face has a right to tell his side of the story, but as a witness on the stand he is incoherent and consistently makes himself look stupid. I think his lawyer found that out today if he didn't already know.

Most importantly, he doesn't have anything in writing to back up his testimony. There are eight of us, with eight testimonies, and that's more believable.

Today was one of the most boring days in recent memory...but the badgers won the big ten...so its a wash.

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Adventures in Public Transit: Let it Snow

It is currently snowing. I woke up this morning to a weather forecast that issued a winter storm warning. The sun was out at the time, so I wondered if this would be a bizzaro day. Sure enough, the familiar sight of clouds and the familiar stranger we call "the sun" went back to hiding.
The day wasn't bizzaro, and everything functioned as normal.

The snow picked up quite a bit this evening and it made for an interesting bus ride home. The bus ride home featured standing room only. It seems that the bus becomes good enough for some people when the weather is shitty. I saw more fur coats than usual and everybody seemed testy. In the double cabin bus, it is hard for the driver to see the rear door from the pilot seat. She continuously forgot to open the back door for passengers to get out...the phrase: "OPEN THE BACK DOOR!!" was shouted out behind me over and over again. This prevented any possible nap. Someone also either ran a red light or tried to cut it close on a left turn. The driver slammed on the breaks and everybody standing almost fell over. I almost laughed at the sight of 20+ people falling over...but the relaxing sounds of Jethro Tull prevented that.

In another bus story, I fell asleep yesterday holding a pen while it appeared that I was doing a crossword puzzle. I awoke and the woman next to me was either watching me or looking out the window. I usually watch people who fall asleep next to me out of fear that they'll put their head on my shoulder...I wonder if she was worried about that.

I have successfully fought off whatever my immune system was fighting...I am indestructible.

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Corned Beef, feelin' a cold...

I've solved the personal mystery called "corned" beef. If you care to figure out what it's about, check out This Site. You may or may not learn something new about corned beef. I'm still not sure if canned corned beef hash is prepared the same way, but a part of me doesn't want to find out.

Ever feel the head pains of cold starting? I'm feeling that right now. I tend to pride myself on having a decent immune system. I can fight off colds overnight. Fluids, Orange Juice and a lot of sleep shall take care of this. We shall see if tomorrow brings back good health. If not, I blame society.

Saturday was warm. The New Girl and I took a long walk around Milwaukee and it felt like early spring. Yesterday was a touch colder and today is worse. We're having a reverse winter. November and December were relatively warm and January, February, and March have been painful at times. I blame no one for that...except (for no reason whatsoever) the number 3, the letter C, and the element Berkelium.

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Riddle me this

What does one need after one super happy weekend that involved the new girl, lots of quality family time, and a haircut?

SLEEP!

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