It's Back

I get out of my corporate jail cell, and notice something. There's light out! Pretty soon, I won't be getting home after dark. So for as long as I still live here, I'll drop the 6pm shot every two weeks. Welcome to feature #2.



Look, it's six o'clock and we can see a little bit of sunshine off in the distance!

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Note to Self : Poker Order

My former roomate called me and asked me if a Full House beats a "frush". I thought about the odds of getting each hand, but I'm never sure about that list. It took me a few pages of surfing to get the quick refrence. That was a few too many pages to work through. Let me do everybody I know a favor. For me, for you, for anybody. Here is a list of what hand beats what. If you use this page to settle a dispute, ten percent of that pot is going to me.

Royal Flush - I've never even come close to working this hand...even in my dreams.
Straight Flush - I've come close, but the straight frush eludes me.
Four of a kind - This is the reason wild cards aren't as exciting as they sound.
Full house - You can spell "kakka"...but that doesn't mean anything.
Flush - I get this the most outside of two pair.
Straight - I always get this when I play the video or calculator version of the game.
Three of a Kind - This always looks like a solid hand to me...I probably flash a tell when I draw this.
Pair - I can't think of anything to say here.
High Card - What's the lowest high card hand you have seen? I think I saw a jack-high win once.

Quick story: Never spend fifteen minutes trying start an old car that will not start in 7 degree weather. Especially when you are in the presence of a pregnant woman. It's not right to make her suffer like that, and she'll just get mad. I learn lessons like these watching my brother and sister-in-law bicker...it's good entertainment when you choose no side.

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Sports Sports Sports!!



Look closely. Yeah, that is Milwaukee Bucks 27-year old veteran Tim Thomas dunking the ball...and you're looking at last night's front page of the NBA section on CNNSI.COM. Somebody noticed the bucks. Before the season, the fine folks at the commissioner office decided that the networks should just televise the same six teams ad nauseaum. Non suprisingly, they left the Bucks out of all nationally televised games. Therefore no one around the country is going to see this team until the playoffs. No one is going to notice that this small market team is one of the best in the East. They won't notice that these guys actually play unselfish team basketball. It's sad that exposure is based on star power and the size of the market. This season, a team is playing pro basketball the way it should be played. Sadly, no one will notice.

Oh yeah, 'et the weekly features begin. For as long as I can keep consistent, every second and fourth Tuesday of the month will have something sports related. "Why sports? Why today?" you ask? Well, the Bucks did something cool and someone outside of Milwaukee and this apartment noticed. If I'm going to write something about it, we may as well put it on the schedule.

So much snow...haven't seen the sun since Saturday...Winter blaahhhhhh.

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WELCOME TO THELOZONE.COM'S CELEBRATORY POST FOR A YEARS WORTH OF WAXING CAPRICIOUS

One year ago today, I figured out how to connect a domain name with server space. With that lesson, I began a certain web log called Leftover Chinese. I tried my hardest to reveal as little as possible about myself. I wanted to avoid a "log" type set-up. All the while keeping you entertained with pointless events, random thoughts, and an unfocused writing style. I haven't sat down to read the past year of posts, but I bet I let a lot of more stuff go public than I want to. This is probably more of a diary than a collection of scatterbrain thoughts. I guess that was inevitable. Hopefully, this stuff entertains. I'd hate to go zero for three on my goal for this page.

This brings me to you, the reader. I didn't really think that many people would read this. The internet is a handy place to be very private while knowing anyone with a computer could reach this page. Writing this page for what I perceive to be an audience of zero is what has kept me focused on being as pointless and interesting as possible. When I hear people I barely know tell me that they read this roughly once a week, I get spooked out. I guess knowing that mere acquaintances know more about me than I do them spooks me out. At the same time, knowing that people know more about me than they should is exactly why writing this weblog is fun. Strangers and those I barely know know nothing about the 3D version of me....but I bet they've been entertained at least once.

As I look to keep this thing going, I ponder the direction. Keeping this fairly random can probably get boring for you to read everyday. While I try to scatter the subjects, I bet there are a bunch of things I always bring up (see: sitting on the bus). I think I can make this more enjoyable for you and me if I started a few features (ala "This Being..."). Perhaps a bi-weekly series of something going on around me (Remember October?). Whatever I do....prepare for either more entertainment, or a step toward being a homogonized blog. I close this anniversary post with a cliche'. Yes...I'm closing the year by stepping in the wrong direction with my first cliche: the closing quote:

In closing, gentle reader, I'd like to thank you. `What's that?' you say? Me thanking you? No, it's not a misprint, for you see, I enjoyed writing this book WEBLOG as much as you enjoyed reading it."

-CM Burns

THANKS READER(S)

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The Weekend Where Pretty Much Everything Happened

I kind of like sticking around the city on consecutive weekends. Without an out-of-town engagement, I have more time to recover from seemingly longer workweeks. At the same time, I've been using the free nights to live the young life...and enjoy weekends where I go to bed one night an hour before the time I usually wake up during the workweek. Did this weekend feature lessons a plenty? Uh...yeah.

- The Australian Open tennis tournament is going on right now. The caliber of tennis is amazing these days, yet the sport has been largely ignored by mainstream America since the mid-90's. For guy who took lessons for nine years in his childhood, I'm definitely not respecting the game by ignoring pro tennis. For the ten minutes or so I watched tennis today, I noticed something. I can't break down points in my head, or get a feel as to each player's tendencies on the court. Tennis is starting to look like two guys aimlessly slapping a ball back and fourth. I need to get back on the court...soon.

- Speaking of getting back on the court, I stepped on a basketball court for the first time since early summer of '02. I was called by my friend Brendan. He and I played on the same church basketball team in middle school. Somehow he assumed that my skills as an awkward 8th grade center have not diminished at all. It has been that long since I've played organized ball. Tonight, I showed up with the intention to merely take up space. I wanted to avoid hurting the team by being on the court. Hell...I would have been happy with two points. There was only five of us on our team, so all of us had to play all 40 minutes. I'm glad I started running last week. I would have dropped to the ground tonight without the running. As it turns out, the other guys scored all but two of our 51 points. I was burned for probably 6 of their 25 points. I looked like a total idiot three times: jacking an airball, turning the wrong way on a post move, and falling over when I misjudged a loose ball. If these guys let me play again...I damn better get a clue about how to play basketball.

- Last night, Steve's band May or May Not put on a damn good show. The sound is coming together and the fanbase likes what they hear...Including Stanger (total inside reference). I dropped a little horn on their demo, so I might be able claim some of this fame...but I won't. Click on that link and download the tracks. This is good shit. You won't be disappointed.

- Two dollar cans of Old Style, an obscurely located bar (like Milwaukee's Wolski's), and a dance party with a lot of 70's funk can equal one fuzzy night. That would be sweet if a few fine females would show up at scenes like this. There's too much fun to be had. There were too many dudes there.

- I closed my Saturday night just after 5:30 this morning. I need to stop doing that....Unfortunately, the basketball game got my adrenaline going...So as I type this at 11:30pm, it feels like noon to me....but I can feel that I will straight crash in a few minutes. Nice.

- On Friday, there was a lot of hype about the forthcoming Kanye West album on the West Wash Blog. I 'sampled' the CD that night. Hearing a guy rep Chicago in his verses makes me feel Chicago pride. By golly, I think I'm an actual citizen of this city. Anyway, the rhymes are interesting but I can't get past the sampled chorus insertions. A lot of new hip-pop songs will sample an existing R&B chorus, speed it up, and pass it as good. I'm not a big fan of that....but this album should be worth a borrow....that is, when it's released.

- I ordered a pizza and played video games by myself on Friday night. It was nice to get away from it all and just wallow in my sixteenth story bubble for a night. If nothing is going on, I think I'll try to stay at home one weekend night every weekend. It saves me cash, and lengthens the 'idle' time in the weekend. I think I can attack this workweek...

- Miller, Kara, Steve and I went to Ikea this weekend for lunch. Actually we picked up a few frames along with the tasty hot dogs. All in all, we spent about twenty five minutes at that store. I like shopping like that. It's quick, efficient, and it doesn't bring back the bad memories I have of getting dragged to the mall in Woodfield by my parents. Shopping will be the bane of my consumerist existence for the rest of my life. I'm glad we went to Ikea with nothing but business in mind.

- Other cool and unique shit happened this weekend, but this ain't a diary. I'll just say that this weekend might be the most fun weekend I've had this month...and a lot of fun is going around these days. Two Thousand Four...so far, so damn good.

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The Chill Goeth?

I awoke this morning to a common feeling. The space heater was working feverishly to warm the room up while the air stung my face. No, I didn't wake up in the middle of an igloo. I woke up in my 'fridge. Just kidding. As usual, I camped out under my covers until I felt it was too late to lay in warmth. Yep...third morning in the last four weeks where I wake up and the heat is off. Heads were ready to roll until I saw the boiler repair truck in the driveway. Well...at least they responded.

So I got home and it was just as cold. The heater was on full blast, but I had to shiver to keep warm. Then it hit me...the wicked draft is causing the cold. It's not the heater's fault. I figure, suffer tonight and pick up some of that shrink wrap for the windows, right? After that thought, I took a look at my air-conditioner boxes and enjoyed the pattern on the sheet covering the box. If I apply this logic to using sheets to cover the wicked drafts, I bet I could warm this place up. Well, dear readers, I've had the sheets covering the drafts for twenty minutes...and I don't need a hat anymore. A winner is me. Life in the sky just got cool again.

Speaking of chills...Half an hour after I initially fell asleep last night, something woke me up. I'm not sure if it was a noise. Perhaps something flew into my window. Whatever it was, it snapped me to attention. I looked across the room to the mirror that doubles as my closet door and saw something moving at the foot of my bed. In my peripheral vision, I saw something moving towards the window. The strange thing about what I could see out of the corner of my eye was that the image didn't "feel" strong. What felt even stranger was that I could feel the presence of someone moving. I finally gathered my marbles and looked towards the foot of my bed and I saw nothing...it was just the corner of my bedroom. I'm not sure if I was half-dreaming. I don't think I'm going crazy...but that may have been my first physical conscious encounter with a ghost....the chill goeth.

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The Chill Cometh

I will be retiring for the night to my bed. I shall sleep below a sleeping bag, a non-down comforter and a flannel sheet. I will fall asleep to the sounds of my loud space heater. I shall be serenaded by the strong winter gusts against my windows. City light will keep me awake ala Married with Children. I Must...think...warm.

Tonight we went to the old sports bar to watch our alma mater play basketball. This particular bar fancies itself a 'badger bar'. That means alumni will show up to watch these games on the numerous TV screens. For me, it means I get to see a lot of the same faces that populated my business school. Most of them were the social climbing, Greek system loving Abercrombie and Fitch sporters. In business school I was the guy with long hair, cargo pants, and I didn't stand around to "network" if I didn't have to be there. So I see these same faces and it takes me back to feeling like I was in the business school again...uh, where I would occasionally feel like I was in high school again. Two observations:

1. I spotted a former next door neighbor from the year we lived above the laundromat. This girl was sort of...well, stuck up. They weren't that cool, they made us turn our stereo down on the last exam day of the semester, and their slumber parties would keep Jake awake at night. The point of the story is....with all that fake tanning over the years, this girl looks 25 going on 40.

2. At the table next to us, this very pretty and attractive alum sat down at the table, put her purse down, and said to her identically sweatshirted and "dressed down" friends: "Look at me, I look fuckin' disgusting." Wow....I'd like to see what she looks like when she's not "fuckin' disgusting." Some people's self-images are so warped...it makes me laugh.

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Straight of the Union

I don't have much to say tonight, so I'll make a quick comment about tonight's address. Sure, we got all we expected: the president defended the war, asked congress to pass ridiculous spending measures, and appealed to his core constituency with faith-based rhetoric. I left the TV on and took care of things around the house. I took out the trash, unclogged my drain, and swept the living room. I did look at the TV once in a while...and everytime I looked, Senator Kennedy was shaking his head. That's the way it should be...the eye candy tells everybody what they want to hear, while the blood and guts of the country just sit there and shake their heads.

Run #2 was pretty sweet. I didn't think I would like running in the cold but once you warm up, you feel normal. During the run, I noticed that the atmosphere is much calmer and more quiet in the winter. In addition, the air was really nice to breathe. I enjoyed the air the most...Especially when it doesn't take much to make your lungs hurt. I must say...Getting back to playing weight is going to be fun.

I sold my first item on e-bay tonight. I even got more than I expected. If this auction ended during the day, I bet I'd have scored more. Pending full receipt of currency, I declare that the system works!!!!

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The Last Holiday Before Winter

People treat today as if it were a joke holiday. They feel that today is something that people not be allowed to get a day off to celebrate. Well, if you really aren't sure why the third monday of January is Martin Luther King day, take a gander at this page from the MLK homepage. Today we should celebrate the man who was a big part in moving American Society from that of Black and White towards the dream of a harmonious world. We should celebrate the fact that people can indeed see the world color blind to differences between people. Mr. King got the whitewashed world to realize that racial issues and injustices do in fact exist. There have been few true heroes since then. This public service announcement has been brought to you by me....back to the random thoughts.

I use this holiday as the last day in the winter holiday season. It begins in mid-December when you start to make preparations for Christmas. It runs through New Years and for the first few weeks of January, you tend to take a relaxed attitude toward everything. After today, you focus on getting things done. You look at your list of resolutions and start to do something about them. Well, not you...I mean me. I don't plan to be as useless anymore. The holidays are officially over and a good way through winter misery is to get stuff done.

We're getting towards the One Year mark of this web log. I'm thinking of taking a more organized approach in year two. Perhaps have theme months and regular weekly features. I can't guarantee that I would hold to an organized structure, but looking forward to more than random musings would entertain both me and you.

This message appears to be looking forward with optimism on all fronts. Well, if you're like me and you're ready and willing to make some changes no matter how large or small...good luck...Onward we go.

Do you like some of the occassional features I drop on this weblog? Have any crazy ideas or things I can track for you? Let me know...that's what the comments links are for.

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Saturday II

I have been afforded a three day respite in honor or Martin Luther King day. This has given me an opportunity to do something serviceable for the greater good. Well actually, I have tried to slow this weekend down as much as possible. By being very useless during the day, I get to soak in a longer mental break between workdays. Tonight is the second Saturday night, but I'll just make this a weekend edition anyway before I throw back a few with a friend and a set of strangers. Good times are abound.

- The soreness in my legs persisted for two days. I think it's a good idea to start this new running man plan at a very gradual pace. Weather permitting, I might run tomorrow. If it is as cold as it is today though...I have no issues sitting around for another day. It's actually nice to feel sore again...I used to work out three days a week in 2001. Now I spend most days sitting down...Activity seems good.

- We took another trip to the Rock 'n' Roll Karaoke place on Friday. I wasn't feelin the vibe at all for most of the night, but I picked a song out anyway. People appeared to be entertained by my rendition of a certain hard rock standard I will not mention on this blog. I even ran into a guy I knew from the Filipino set back home. He was entertained...until the emcee made a comment about my "Fu Manchu". I forget what its like to get angry about that kind of shit...perhaps I rediscover that rage in honor of the Holiday.

- Some days I don't look into my aquarium. I'm so used to having one, I've grown accustomed to letting the tank take care of itself. Sometimes I'll go weeks without even noticing that it is there. This weekend, I took notice and made a 20% water change, a thorough algae scrub, adjustment in acidity and a realignment of the plants. It looks pretty damn good right now. It could use a little more action though. I should buy a few more fish to neglect.

- I hung out with strangers last night, and I will do the same tonight. I haven't done that in a while and last night I was kind of anti-social. Well, tonight's a new night and it's different set of strangers...maybe I'll get lucky tonight....ha! ha! ha! ha!

My apologies, these posts are supposed to be written paragraphs. I should stay away from interjections like that. Sorry readers, I will never again end a sentence with "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

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Frozen 'Stache

The thermometer said twenty four but I chucked that feeling and joined the few other people jogging on the streets in winter. I tossed on the appropriate gear and headed out. Unfortunately I put too much on and finished the run on a very sweaty note. Running in the cold is more fun than it looks...there's less people out there, and it's much quieter out there. In this city, winter running is as peaceful a setting as you can get. In the process, I learned why lumberjacks have facial hair. The frozen 'stache keeps you warm. This new winter-running thing just may catch on.

I've listed my first item on e-bay ever. This thing expires in four days. I'm not looking to break even, but it is fun knowing that I can sell something and get money without even talking to somebody. I wonder what else I could sell?

I like falling asleep on the bus on the way home. I probably only fall half-asleep, but when I get home I feel refreshed. Today's nap was prevented by some woman on her cellphone. She was loud, talked slow, and waxed pointless. What amazed me the most was that I was behind her. I feel bad for the poor folks in front of her. The banal chatter must have been amazingly louder... and amazing more annoying.

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Office Space...

So you work through lunch, stay at work longer, take the bus home and sit on the couch and do nothing until the next morning...then you repeat the same chain of events. This gives you no time to take a look around, see what's going on in the world, and live a little. You can't make a cynical observation about a pointless event. Yeah...that's my observation of the last two days. I've been too focused and too busy to be a smart-ass...

I did accomplish a few things though:

- I've started reading on the way to/from work again. Yeah, I want to finish the Death and the Dervish eventually. Unfortunately, I haven't read a chapter since mid-December. I won't enjoy the full literary experience...details have been forgotten.

- I taught myself how to turn my fifteen second clips into shorts. This is very raw. I'm not really thinking too much about sequencing. I couldn't find video editing software besides Windows Movie Maker. The program actually cuts my fifteen second movies into separate clips. I don't run the fragments back to back for continuity. So I put the clips in some semblance of order and we have: last Saturday, and last memorial day. These will be up temporarily. Anywho, I'm gearing up to put my bay area trip clips together...that should be fun.

No music has been written since the Real Estate fiasco....curses.

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Things I Type

Let me guess. I'm supposed to go through my day, observe the pointless yet interesting things that go on and post a cynical observation, right? Along with the cynical comments, I'm supposed to continue a subject from a previous post, too? I bet you're even half-expecting me to give baseless and disagreeable commentary about a movie I just watched. Some of you who read this everyday probably have fun trying to decipher my occasional cryptic message about what I'm really going through. I have not posted a seemingly non-sensical, yet revealing post like that in a while. Well..guess what? That is exactly what will follow.

A few interesting things happened at work today. None of it was job related. It's nice to start the week off with a distraction. It helps me forget the misery of the cube for a while. Before I knew it, the clock read three in the afternoon and I didn't achieve my main objective for the day. I think I might have violated a major self-imposed rule: blurring the fine line between my job and my world. Oh well, the distractions were well worth it...the day cruised by fast...I can always punish myself by going into work early tomorrow, right? Yeah, right.

I occasionally act as a personal messenger. If the materials are important enough and the destination is in the loop, my boss will entrust me to deliver. I don't mind that task at all. I get to go outside. The thought crept into my head that I could theoretically throw the books away, go home, and never come back to work. The idea made me laugh...then I saw a guy sleeping on the sidewalk...that'll take the thought away faster than you can say 'Umiaq'. Jobs + Misery = Shelter = good thing to have.

Yes, I did hit the grocery store tonight. Thanks for wondering!

Having finally seen this film, I can agree or disagree with the hype. I choose both. I was more interested in seeing this film because of its background. The writer/director took it to many film companies. Many of those executives were bothered by the fact that the cast featured all Asian-American players. Most suggested that the lead to be hispanic...even white. The guy stuck to his guns and managed to take this film all the way to Sundance. He even got Jerry Mathers to be in the film. It was nice to see someone fight to expose Asian-Americans through a mainstream media outlet. We tend to be overlooked...and might be understating that. Well, the actual movie itself isn't too much to sneeze at. The beginning is fairly realistic and it sheds light on a few things that cause angst among Asian-American kids. Wait, I actually meant to say that we get a summary of all the Asian-American stereotypes in a neat little thirty minute package. Once the story fleshes out, we lose all touch with reality and the film becomes another gangster fantasy. Well, this movie was filmed and released...that's the most intriguing thing about this film. Recommendation: catch it on IFC...but don't go out of your way to see it.

Ludacris closes out the evening....

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Triangulated

Three cities in thirty one hours. I call it the triangle. You wake up in Chicago, hit up Milwaukee, then pass through Madison. Quality time was spent with different quality people. It makes the weekend go by fast though. I still feel like I just left work last night. Well, I guess that can only mean I had a good time this weekend.

- How can you tell if a Chinese takeout place sucks? I think I discovered the correlation. The more snow peas they stuff into every dish, the worse the food. Peas are not the solution. I had shrimp in lobster sauce and they crammed a shit-load of peas into the dish. I'm not sure what deficiency they're trying to cover with this act...but it doesn't help the quality of the food at all. I'm not saying this because I hate peas...well, maybe I am.

- Watching my mom handle a banquet is a strange sight. She takes charge of the waitstaff, cuts cake for the guests, and still maintains a friendly face for all the guests. I rarely every see this side of her...but I'm glad she wasn't like this around the house.

- This may have been the most exciting NFL playoff weekend ever. Almost every game went into the fourth quarter with the outcome in doubt. Anything can happen in these games. Although the state of Wisconsin weeps tonight, they should be proud that their team played the role of America's Team for a few weeks.

- Ian's Pizza in Madison makes the best buffalo chicken pizza I have ever had. Well, it's the only place I've ever had pizza of that variety, but it's still damn good. Perhaps it was my state of mind at the time, but I dashed way too much red pepper on to the already spicy pizza. I might have ruined the experience with spice...but it was still good.

- I haven't been to a basement show in almost two years. Everybody crams into the house, pours themselves a beer, and stands among friends while watching the music. When it was our turn to be the show, we didn't disappoint. It seems that most of the crowd didn't know what to think. They either sported the "is this for real?" or the "I'm not sure if I should like this" look. Quality or no-quality, it was a damn good performance .

- I wonder if John Stamos will finally shake off the typecast as Uncle Jessie. I bet life will be better for him when people call him the "the 10-10-987 guy."

- We had a slumber party last night. Well, everybody just passed out in the living room of Jason's apartment. Getting a good night's sleep in is tough when your hangover headache is too big to fall back asleep with. After some water and a good breakfast at ye olde Comeback Inn, I was fine...but still, the hangover must have meant I had a damn good time on Saturday.

- Note to self: You need to get groceries tomorrow (rain or snow).

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Freeze Out Sausage Heat Wave

I stepped outside this morning, took a deep breath and felt a twinge of happiness that it was warm out. Then I walked by the bank clock and it said it was 25 degrees. It still felt warm but for a few hours today, I felt like a tool. You fools in warm weather climates probably can't relate...but it's true...today was warm. Since when does 25 degrees constitue a heat wave?

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Freeze Out Sausage

This Theory book is the gift that keeps on giving. I give you:

Sausage Machine - Syntactic parser which assumes that in analyzing utterances for comprehension, people divide sentences into parcels roughly six words long, and hypothesize the structure of that segment before moving on to the next 'sausage'.

Translation: When you read or listen to someone speak, you break down sentences into six word sections. Then you analyze the first six words before breaking down the next six. Think about this one....I actually think I tune out somebody or get an impression of what someone is saying in about six words...

In childhood, one of my heroes was Paul Molitor. The guy was always producing, yet nobody really noticed at the time. Coke habit notwithstanding, he's a bona-fied hall of famer. Good job, Molly...Brewers fans get to smile for a few minutes.

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Freeze Out

We were in a packed bus and the number of people standing began to grow. I was sitting towards the front in a courtesy seat. At one of the stops, an older (but not elderly) woman got on the bus and stood in front of me. She was shooting me glances as if I should give up my seat to her. I usually would, but for some reason I wanted to pretend like I was asleep. I was beginning to feel bad, but I successfully rationalized my reason...and that reason may or may not have involved her fur coat. Fur coats don't mean entitlement....at least not to me. I'm such an ass.

My m(o)ustache froze twice today. Once in the morning and once during lunch. Frozen facial hair is a strange feeling. Well...it's strange until you can't feel your face anymore. I know it's that time of year...so I'll have to grin and bear it.

Guess what?

I can slang real estate now.

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Freeze

It was sixty degrees four days ago. Then winter showed up. Now it feels like negative seven Fahrenheit. Could this actually be the wonders of global warming? Nah, it's typical Midwestern weather. One day it's warm and you hear birds, the next day it's freezing cold and you feel the wind pushing the drafts through your apartment. Well, not yours...you probably live in some sort of paradise....but mine.

Work motivation was below zero today as well. It was hard to get going on production in the corporate environment. Everyone else seemed to be in the same boat. Fortunately, the job isn't my life...so I have less pressure on myself to exceed. However, I take the official Real Estate salesperson exam tomorrow. After sitting at my cube for eight hours, I get to sit down somewhere else for up to an additional three hours to answer questions. My same qualms apply: all review, no retention.

I've started a new habit of brushing my teeth at work. I got a few puzzled looks, but fuck 'em. My gums look to have a little gingivitus. I haven't been to a dentist since 1995. Before that, I hadn't been to a dentist since 2nd grade. I'm going to see what a few months of good care will do before I go in. I'm not scared of dentists. In fact, I watched my dad get a root canal and it was pretty sweet. I think I don't see any medical folks because my parents never sent me to any dentists or doctors while I was growing up. They made it seem unnecessary unless I was in complete pain. Whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen...but I haven't had any tooth pain since second grade.

I don't think this blog hasn't been funny for a while...so here:

"What do you call a donkey with three legs missing?"

"A Wonkey!"

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First Weekend Recap of 2004!! (Video Game Edition)

This six day weekend will make it really hard to go back to work. Not only that, I have to take another Real Estate related test on Tuesday and after quickly getting bored studying something I know like the back of my head, I wasted time playing video games. This was a good six day rest to step back from the job, from myself, and from the year that was. Unfortunately, the party is over, the break is done, and I have to go back to being a pseudo-happy cube dweller.

- So I have dinner delivered to my place once a week from the same Chinese restaurant. Tonight, the guy buzzed my line, I let him in, and didn't see a delivery guy for 10 minutes. That's a strange feeling. You're not sure if you should go out and look for the guy, and you're not sure if something happened along the way. I got buzzed again, and the guy showed up right away. I didn't ask him what happened...it was probably embarrassing.

- I might have come up with a few more resolutions to break. I can't think of them right now, but one of them may or may not be to spend more time watching movies...possibly join Netflix.

- Seeing Return of the King for the second time clears a lot of things up. Instead of anticipating the next scene and thinking about cliffhangers, you get to soak in the small details. I recommend seeing that movie at least twice in the theaters...the beacon lighting scene makes it worth it.

- My new paycheck rate kicked in. I have to re-focus my attention to budget after this Holiday season...yeah, right.

- Seeing the Packers win gives me the feeling that I miss living in Wisconsin. Then I think about what it was like living in Wisconsin in 1997. Packer flags were on every house, on every car, and covered every spare tire cover. That was an annoying time to live in that state. I don't think I could handle seeing that again. Go Pack.

- F-Zero GX is amazing. The original SNES game got my brother sick. This game would put him in the hospital. It takes the same concept as the first game, but puts the racing on another level. You race on ribbon type tracks and tubes. If I was my old roommate Jon, I'd buy a Gamecube for this game alone.

- I haven't wasted consecutive afternoons/early evenings on the couch watching TV and playing video games in quite a while. In fact, I don't think I ever wasted consecutive days doing that in college. Nevertheless, it's nice to be a total sloth for a short while. It makes you remember what it's like to be bored. In turn, you get excited for work again...wow, I'm pathetic.

- SONIC Adventure DX is pretty crazy. Do you more than run around and pick up rings. There's RPG stuff to worry about. You also have eight quests going on at the same time. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's fun at times.

- The party left me with a full compliment of liquor and a 'fridge full of beer. I'm not a big fan of MGD so these beers will probably take some time to finish. The solution? More parties. I did take a shot at an after-bar but I learned that hosting after-bars are overrated. You have to stay up longer than you want to and the guests don't want to leave. I didn't know I could stay up that late...but damn...the night has to end sometime.

- FIFA 03 makes soccer seem real. I don't get understand the sport at all, I can't shoot, and I don't know strategy. The game is still fun though...especially when you get be your futbol idols of 2002. I'm sure you all have dreams about being the next Reynaldo...now you can live it.

- Bad Santa was so wrong...yet really fuckin' hilarious. You have to be in the right mood for this one, though. I saw four people walk out of the theater. I guess I'm on the side of the fence who thinks being a raging alcoholic mall santa is funny. If you're on that side, you'll enjoy this one.

- It's nice to see snow for once. I like it to look like winter in January. It helps me get over the confusion over having a 60 degree day on January 2nd.

- NBA 2K2 revolutionized video game basketball. I like the fact that they built the Bucks team to win the whole damn thing. Obviously this game was designed before the start of the '02 season where the bucks missed the playoffs, but still...one can still pretend like they were good that year.

- The start of 2004 had been fairly entertaining so far. If the past five days were any indication on the level of fun for 2004, I'm pretty excited about this. Life is good when you're not George Lopez.

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...Just one more

I think I found another resolution for this year...TAKE OVER 2004!! I should live for the moment and just not give a fuck and enjoy things as much as I can. I'll obey the laws, though...and I'll maintain the karma...just in case.

That is all.

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Happy New Two Thousand Four!

I had a few friends over last night. We wanted to stay out of the Chicago style yuppie New Years celebrations. At those things, you drop $100 for watered down drinks and that desperation feeling...I'd rather just relax instead of that. We didn't even have a countdown. We just sat on the roof and waited for the fireworks to start...good times. I've got a lot of extra beer now...this celebration can last for a few days...heh...but first, one more list!

Five Easily breakable New Years Resolutions

5. Start running soon - I want to continue to eat the same I've always eaten..while maintain the same amount of weight. Between high school and college, I managed to keep the weight off. The difference between now and then? I don't exercise as much.

4. Use the Roof - I have a kick-ass view of the city when I'm upstairs. The air is fresher and you can actually see stars. I'd like to move this year, so I better enjoy it. Besides...I bet I can score a bunch of action because of it. Just kidding....

3. Join a Band - The days of being in a coverband are not as exciting anymore. I need to find a forum that allows more artistic creativity. Playing the hits is fun....but arguing about how a certain song goes based on a band's live CD has absolutely no point.

2. Explore the City - This city is huge. Each neighborhood has its own character, feel, and charm....all within a few blocks of each other. You can learn a lot about everything if you float from one street corner to the next.

1. Save Money - No explanation needed.

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