I feel like Shit Tonight

I reconnected with an old friend last night for the first time in a few years. Since most encounters were at a family sanctioned holiday party...we never really got loose. Well last night was the first of many chances to get loose. Unfortunately it was loose to the point where I strugged for most of the day. I'm not sure how the night got away from me. On weekends, I've had more to drink in a shorter amount of time and woke up a-okay the next day. Hmmm...it could have been the chicken I cooked last night. It could have been stupidity. Once again I learn the hard lesson that binge drinking on a weeknight is not a wise way to tempt fate.

Speaking of stupidity, the upcoming issue of Details features this page. If this isn't the most ignorant portrayal of Asian Americans...or homosexuals...or homosexual minorities that I have ever seen...there must be a lot more about the world that I don't know. Take a gander. If you're as insulted as me, sign this lovely online petition. I'm not sure if these internet petitions do anything...but it's worth a shot.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .

I feel like Chicken Tonight

It was 5pm. Let the rat race begin. People walking in four different directions, and every car is focused on getting out. For the bus-riding folk, we're at the mercy of the schedule. We wait at predetermined points and cannot go anywhere until that bus shows up. I usually take this time to people watch or zone while staring at the Sears tower. Today this attractive looking woman gave me a look and a smile. I smirked back but caught this look as I was in the process of turning around. A few moments later the same woman looks again and gives me another smile. As usual...I did nothing and hopped on my bus without incident. I'll probably never see that woman again. I ask myself: How am I going to get anywhere in the city if I can't even hey hello to the occasional coy smile? Why am I so stand-offish in the city? How many chances have I blown due to my lack of confidence around complete strangers? I feel like chicken tonight.

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Detoxify

After two days of not eating healthy, barely sleeping, and introducing cheap champagne and box-wine to my system, I didn't feel quite right today. Perhaps the weather had something to do with it. Today featured the most sunshine I have seen in over a week. Perhaps my alarm clock had something to do with it. I forgot to set it and woke up confused. Perhaps it was the double filet-o-fish I had for lunch. Today's sandwich actually tasted like fish. Well, It's probably a combination of it all. I wasn't quite right today. I didn't feel normal until about 4.

My body told me that something wasn't right, so I got back on the bike and put myself through a refreshing 10 mile jaunt. The sun was setting but I still managed to see a few beautiful people on bikes, blades, and runs. Approaching downtown Chicago on a bike is pretty fun, too. That can get a person though a few extra miles. I was glad to get back on the bike. I've been feeling kind of lazy lately and I need to get back to playing weight. Today was a good first step towards the dream.

I watched The Office for the first time last night. It was pretty funny. Once you get used to the rhythm of British humor, it will crack you to pieces.

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The Weekend I got little Sleep

Courtesy of this blog, we find ourselves posted on a site by somebody we don't even know:


Back at it again in Madison, WI


Sipping Hen in public. So it has come to this...


They say we bring our own blur effect. It's true. It looks like this in real life.

The last time I had a weekend without much sleep was a time long ago when I found myself with a new girlfriend. Unfortunately, those weekends are too far and few between so I have to compromise by living the crazy lifestyle of those who like to let loose every once in a while. Reuniting with your buddies and seeing a lot of cool music makes for a damn fun weekend. During the whole damn she-bang, I learned a few things.

- I didn't realize this until a few hours ago: Tha 446 shows are merely the product of an elaborate scheme by my circle of friends to throw a party. Here are our responsibilities: show up when you can, enjoy free champagne, dance to the beat, remember the words, have fun. Take those four things and you have the elements of a good party where everybody sings along. Instead of just containing the fun in various apartments, we take the party to dozens and dozens of new friends. This to me sounds way more productive than a bunch of people getting drunk at some bar.

- Madison doesn't seem like home anymore. Everything looks different, the people don't look the same, and you don't get the feeling that you've come back home. Perhaps its because I hang out with a different group of people than I did in college, but the city gets old pretty fast.

- Madison is still just as fun. I find myself having more of a care-free time. Compared to nights out on the town here, me and my friends tend to enjoy ourselves a little bit more. Having fun in Madison means you don't have to worry about how much cash you have left. The fun is aided by the fact that getting around city is very simple: you walk. Your not concerned as much about your personal safety when you're out and about in Madison. I take back the previous lesson...it's still home. It's just not the same.

- There exists plenty of room in my car to move people around comfortably. I think two people could spoon back there for an entire ride. Hmmmm....

- A lady asked me what three nouns describe me best. It was very late in the evening and as predicted, I drew a blank and said: 'person', 'place', 'thing'. This response was followed by a few minutes of : "oh, we're not dull here at all, aren't we?" There was not a bit of subtlety in her sarcasm. Good job, eddie...you still go it.

- Foosball is a game better enjoyed at your buddy's house. You can play game after game and never get tired of it. However, at a bar it's not worth $1.25 to play seven balls...that's nowhere near enough to capture the intensity of a real game of foosball.

- I saw Paris Texas play a show. I haven't seen them in over a year. These guys played in the living room of a crowded house party. This band is on its way somewhere. They're good guys. They played a very tight show considering the conditions. Not only was the show fun to watch once in a while, the hula-hoop contest in the vacant lot next door to the house was a hoot. I even heard rumours that some guy at the party was drinking gasoline. That's a lot of intensity.

- I spent the better half of three days in the constant prescence of other people. It's fun once in a while, but I think I need a few anti-social days to balance this out. I'm sick of people right now.

- NetFlix is a very convenient way to rent films. You don't have to worry about late fees, and you don't have to travel anywhere to pick these DVD's up. The service comes to you. In the last two weeks, I have enjoyed nine classics. Since I send these back right away, I could get my rental rate per disc down to about $1.50 a DVD per month. Good times.

- I really need to get on the bike this week. The weather better cooperate.

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Week Eight

This week has sort of sucked. While I enjoy the warmth, all the gloominess has been a drag. If it were sunny out, the sun would be peeking around the building at around 6pm this week. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The progression is not as cool now...but it still continues.











Confidential to those who don't pay attention to politics: do you ever wonder whatever happened with the 2000 presidential elections in Florida? Well, some guy condensed the whole saga into a short internet video. Check it out.

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The Weather is all Fuct: We must be in the Midwest

This time of year is always the most exciting in terms of weather. You're done with winter and all you have to look forward to is warmer weather and greener grass. The period between here and may is always confusing. This morning it was rainy, windy and cool. Tonight the temperatures rose up above sixty degrees. It's almost midnight and we're at 60. Something tells me that the high for March 25th will be recorded early in the morning. For all we know, it could snow in the next two days. For all we don't know, It could be 80 degrees on Friday and a tornado will strike. Well, that isn't likely this time around...but you never know.

Warmer weather means more rooftop action. More rooftop action means more fresh air and traffic watching. More fresh air and traffic watching means getting to see different cars fail to parallel park their car in one stubborn spot. Getting to see different cars fail to parallel park means more rooftop action. You dig? Neither do I.

Chicago by car is a different world than Chicago by train, bus or Taxi. Instead of watching everything go by, you have to make everything go by. Not having to judge every location by its proximity to a train station is also nice. A whole new look to this city is just what I need.

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Crazy From the Heat?

I finished the book written by David Lee Roth. It was underwhelming. He didn't really talk about his Van Halen days. That the band made him famous didn't seem to matter in this book. Some parts were entertaining, and some parts were confusing. For the most part, this book is worth browsing.

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Failure to Communicate

Greeting me from my lunch break was a wonderful tale of how my recent automobile purchase was 'against company policy'. I'm not sure how this affects me, but whomever sold the car to me via my Dad didn't follow the rules. I guess he wasn't allowed to sell the car to anybody other than his spouse or co-worker. An hour later, the very intelligent and wonderfully knowledgable person at Wheels Inc. told me that they would have to arrange to pick up the car. This idea made no sense since it was supposedly sold to me. I've already made insurance payments. Hell, it's been out of the original owner's hands for over 10 days now. Why would I return a car to a party who claims to still own the car?

My suggestion to the company: refund my money, the seller will 'purchase' the car, register the title in his own name and sell the car to me. The person on the other line said there was no problem with that. Wait a second. How did we get from "We need to take the car back, sir." to "I'll send the refund to you and send the purchase forms to him today." in thirty seconds? All of a sudden, it didn't matter that the car was in my possession. I don't technically own this thing and all property rights belong to someone other than me. Yet...the 'owners' of the car have no problem with me using the car. I guess liability is not on them. Something tells me this saga ain't over yet.

Note to self: Don't get pulled over, don't let the car get stolen, and memorize the current license plates. That could come in handy.

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The Weekend I lost Interest in my Office Tournament Pool

The last four days have been the most exciting four days of college basketball in recent history. It seems like every single game has gone to the final minute. Unfortunately, the pieces aren't falling into place for me. On the one year I take a conservative approach on the Tournament, I wind up losing half of my final four. Those of you who know, you know exactly what I mean. Oh yeah, other stuff happened, too.

- It was 9:30 on Friday night. I had just completed a rather tedious week across the board. Where would one expect to find a person in such a state of mind? If you guessed standing in an aisle at Toys-R-Us deciding between Zoo Animals and Noah's Ark, you were correct. The store was basically empty and I was trying to figure out what would educate my niece the most without being loud or obnoxiously biblical or commercial. Has it come to this? Yes...it has.

- I have acquired a new means of transportation. Now I can get around on my own and at my own schedule. I can finally do things that I've been meaning to do for a long time. For example, I can buy fish now...my current fish need a few set of friends to play with. I can't wait for the next girlfriend with a car before I can go to a pet store, right? The ability to things I couldn't do without a car will make more enjoyable this spring.

- My dad really liked the car. He did me a favor by shopping for it. I'm not a picky guy and only needed something to get me from here to there. No yuppie sports-car for me, friends...I just need a platform. Anywho, he fell in love with the car and was kind of jealous after driving it for a week. The irony was reminiscent of some sort of 80's movie. Anyway, I made plans Friday night and my dad asked: "So, you're going to show off your car, huh?" I said: "What am I? Sixteen? C'mon, dad." I know they still think I'm a teen-ager...but it's getting sort of too late for that.

- I sliced myself shaving yesterday. Not one week after losing the m(o)ustache, I gave myself the worst shaving-related cut ever. It wasn't even a nic. I flat out gouged myself right above my lip. I considered myself a pro shaver up until this point. I guess that is not to be. Now I am scared of my own blade. Wow.

- Note to self: Don't get pulled over. Not having a title, registration, and using dead tags will get you into big trouble. Take care of registrations issues as soon as you can.

- Oh yeah, happy spring.

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Tijuana Prozac

It was another slowly progressing Friday at work. No one really tried too hard to get anything done and the boss lost a big deal. Morale at the company is pretty low, so what is there to be look forward to besides 5 pm? I took this attitude with me on a walk. I was two steps out the door when Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass magically appeared on my mp3 player's random setting. I immediately broke into a smile and my spirits were lifted. I give you...Tijuana Prozac: step one - Make a mix CD with a bunch of songs. Step two - Make sure at least two of those songs are by the Tijuana Brass. Step Three - write "Play CD on Random mode" on the CD and put away. Step Four - Wait a minimum of four weeks. Step Five - When you're in a bad mode, put disc in and spin on random. Step Six - Smile when you hear it.

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Tourney Time

Yep. It's that time of year again. Millions of Americans will put their lives on hold to witness what I think is becoming the national past time. 64 men's college basketball teams enter the fray and play until one set of kids are standing. In college, it was a time to feel pride for your university. In the corporate world, it's a time to watch the games so you can keep track of your chances to win the pool. I hear millions and millions of dollars of "production" will be lost in the next three weeks. Those to take a few minutes every hour to catch up on the scores cost The Man plenty of money. Well, I get the sense that losing focus this time around is an unspoken exception to the rule. Stuffed shirts around the country finally get a chance to enjoy themselves at the workplace. Once Spring hits, everybody goes for the real money. Um, don't worry...I'm pretty sure I still have a soul.

Speaking of Pools, I had a good afternoon. I was 13 out of 16. This first rounds are where you get your points for tie breaking. The more teams you get to the second round, the more points you can score in the future. No one at work really knows who I am...so pulling in the cash would be pretty funny.

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Pork Chop City

Happy Saint Patty's day. Hope you enjoyed your holiday clad in kelly green. Today is the day folks all around don't need a reason to get smashed. Public drunkenness is the rule. Today is the day you get to eat corned beef for dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't plan ahead. No corned beef brusque for me. Instead, I had pork chops. Pork chops were cooked slowly in a mixture of soy sauce, sprite (for sweetness), and a few bits of onion. Instead of cabbage, I with Bok-choy stirfried with mushrooms onions, and garlic. I think my mother's cooking will be the only way I cook forever. I haven't tried any new recipe's, or changed cuisines...nope. Garlic, onions, soy sauce and any meat I deem ready to eat. I forgot my point here. Oh yeah...I need an uncanned corned beef meal of some sort soon.

The David Lee Roth book continues this week. This is some of the most self-serving stuff I have ever read. Even more self-serving than this blog. On the way to work, I got a dose of the angry David Lee Roth. Originally, I thought he was mad that he didn't get enough attention. It turns out, he's angry at the anti-Semitic world. Interesting. At lunch, I learned about Van Halen's life on the road. They didn't just toss a TV seven stories out of a hotel room. They used all the extension cords they could find so that the TV would be on all the way to the crash. On the way home, I couldn't follow what he was talking about. The freaking' bus driver was all herky-jerky.

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Art?

I know a lot of people who haven't been to a museum in years. In fact, I bet I know a bunch of people who haven't been to a museum since elementary school. I like to say that I go to museums, but I probably walk though barely once a year. For 2004 I resolved to "see more shit".

Today's museum adventure: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The last time I was there, I loved it. There was an entire wing devoted to the history of architecture. Buildings are cool, so I thought the museum was cool. This time around, the featured exhibit was a retrospective of Lee Bontecou. I don't know who she was and never heard of her. Her work is a combination of welded steel sculptures with various fabrics, metals, and found objects. It's art alright. Symbolizing the struggle of something against some force harnessed upon the subject by society...or something like that. While I appreciated the work..it just gave me an uneasy feeling.



Uh...yeah.

Other highlights:

- A 6 minute video where a woman says "I've got so much more to say!" over and over again while the screen flashes pictures of her getting physically silenced in slow motion. We're talking one frame every five seconds. People could hear that quote across the entire wing. That quote rang inside my head for five minutes after we were far out of earshot from the video.

- A mattress propped up on one corner by a white pillow. Underneath the pillow was a pink pajama suit. Projected onto the pillow was a woman's face (video) saying things like "I know you did it!" and "You Bastard!" I guess the idea was guilt. Pretty funny.

- Mobiles. I've always wanted one in my house...but I'd probably break them as soon as I'd get one home. There something about gravity and counterbalance and looks cool.

- It was free. Tuesday nights are free night at the museum! and attractive women go to museums when it's free. (Yes, I'm still a pig.)

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Lower Intensity

Last weekend was a two day binge. Being out and about the whole time and getting ripped both weekend nights put me in a lethargic mood for most of the week. Perhaps it was the weather. Anyway we look at it, it was nice to do very little in terms of activity this weekend. I did learn a few things along the way.

- I saw the band Rockfour on Thursday night. These guys walked on stage and gave us a friendly hello. I didn't expect much out of the band based on their entrance..but then they started to play all this spacy sounding music. Think Bowie's 'Major Tom' type shit. Here's the kicker: The guitarist, lead singer, and bass player stepped up to the mics and sang in three part harmony for the entire song. Woah. Every song was seven minutes long, had lots of vocal harmony, and would either bore or blow my mind. I didn't even know Prog still existed.

- The workplace can be interesting at times. While the name of the game is make as much money as possible at all times, a few things take precedence. College basketball is one of these things. Midway through a sleepy afternoon, my boss sent me home to watch the Badgers play in the Big 10 tournament. It's small gestures like this that makes me think I'm having an atypical corporate experience. It has yet to become "Office Space."

- 5 PM on Friday night is the best night of the week to do laundry in a highrise building. Everybody has social things to tend to at this time. I can get my loads done knowing that traffic (and bacteria) is as low as it can get.

- I discovered Tanqueray Vodka last night. I didn't even know Tanqueray made Vodka. Well, I must say it was a mighty fine vodka. It drank smoother than stoli, and kicked my ass twice as hard. I might buy a bottle of this again sometime...

- I've been moustache free for one week now. The comments keep coming. Most are pleased to see that I've returned to 'pretty-boy' status. I still can't get used to it...something is always missing when I watching myself brush my teeth.

- I just found a very good reason to subscribe to Netflix. I won't say why...but a subscription can mean only good things for me. Those close to me will benefit.

- This week I embark on reading the David Lee Roth autobiography. In the next seven days, I will be reading scatterbrained stories about Diamond Dave's life. I can already tell that he won't say much about how he felt during the Van Halen years...but it should be an entertaining read nonetheless.

- Note to self: File Taxes this week and get some shit done on the music end.

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Week Sechs










In just a month or so, I'll have to use my blinds in the afternoon. I love it.

Pray for Spain.

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Seven Steps to a New You

So, you're sick and tired of having to wipe your face every time you sip liquid? You're sick of the way it gets wet while you walk around in the cold? You're tired of all the moustache jokes and comments? Do you just want to change gears again and roam the earth moustache free? Moustache month was October. Those of us who could pull it off kept it around for a while. However..it's time. I didn't want to get typecast as the guy with the moustache. Spending more than half of the year clean shaven will keep the typecast off.

Well, for those mustachioed folks who want feel like a new person. I give you: Seven Steps to a New You.

Step 1


Stare at mirror for ten to fifteen minutes. Ask yourself repeatedly: "Is it time?" Go over every reason you want to lose the moustache and make sure you are committed to the deed. Strike a few poses and take mental snapshots. Again, go over every reason you want to lose the moustache and make sure you have all the right reasons. Finally, think about how awesome it looks....then get to work.

Step 2


Secure a small scissored instrument. The smallest one I could find was a Swiss army knife. I used this thing every few days to trim. Decide on which end of the moustache you will begin to cut. Take one last look and get to work.

Step 3


I started on the left side. If you cut from one end to the other, you'll look more dramatic. Let the 'stache go out in style. The damn thing earned a dramatic exit. Using both vertical and horizontal angles, carefully cut through the thicker parts of the moustache. Stop halfway through and consider wearing half a moustache for a day. Then move on.

Step 4


Examine what's left of the moustache. Ignore your brain when it tells you: "Hey, all you needed was a trim. You can just stick with that and grow it back out." If you stop here, you'll walk around in public and they'll think you're some sort of pervert. A thin stache is never a good thing.

Step 5


Using your preferred shaving lubricant. Lather your face. Remember what it was like to cover that area above your upper lip with shaving cream every day. It will feel weird at first. In my case, I can only grow hair above my lip. Yeah, I'm a natural born porn star.

Step 6


With a razor blade of choice, start "shaving" the hair above your lip. The hair can be pretty thick and stubborn. Use short strokes and rinse off the blade every few strokes. Don't rush yourself. You want to make sure you don't slice yourself up. It has been a few months since you've had to do this.

Step 7


When completed, rinse your face and smile at the mirror. Get used to the new you. You'll probably realize that you look completely different. You won't 'look right' for a few days. No longer can you hide behind the awesomeness of the moustache. Like a security blanket, the moustache was something you could always count on. Now it's gone. No more crumbs, no more tiny icicles, no more brain-melting cunnilingus...You're back to normal and the world moves on.

Oh yeah...if you've sporting a soul patch, shave that off too. Everybody is sick of looking at it.

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Rally Time

I attended my first political rally today involving a big election. Here was my chance to see what politics looks like in person. No TV commentary, no selective camera angles, and there are a lot of people present for something other than sports. It was pretty much everything that I expected. You get people chanting. Many wave signs. People cheer along because they support a person who might help shape their futures. It was just like a sporting event with one exception: the conversation around you is much more intelligent.

Here is the timeline of my evening:


5:41 PM - Heading for the place straight after work, I found myself standing with a mob of people. All I could find on the internet today was where to meet and what time doors opened. Nothing more. As soon as I saw the people, I knew that it could be a while. Well...there were over a thousand people waiting to walk through three, count them, three metal detectors. Now that I think about it. That is probably by design. If people can enter through only one source, you can monitor suspicious activity closely. But I digress...this took a while.


7:40 PM - We got through security at around 6:45. I was expecting to walk into something happening. Instead, there was a band playing. Nobody really listened. People were still filing in. I was looking for food. I figured they'd have cake or something. Yeah...right. At this point the evening resembled a rock show. Band sets up, plays, leaves...next act. I took this picture an hour after we got in. We stood around for quite a while.


8:18 PM - People are excited. The signs come out and I get my first taste of a political rally. The crowd found every reason they could to cheer. I don't blame them. We've been there for almost three hours at this point. After an introduction, a convocation speech, and a pep-talk from the president of the AFL-CIO, we stood around for fourty more minutes. I was ready to pass out. Then the big shots came in. First the Mayor spoke. The Governor followed. Once again, I asked myself: "Who is the most powerful man in this state?" To introduce the senator, we got a few small roasts from two of his Vietnam buddies. They were natives from the state and painted a picture of a man whom they were proud to serve with.


8:37 PM - Senator Kerry is in full swing. He's going over every point of his platform. He's calling out the White House on many issues. People cheer at every turn. If you look closely, you'll notice that he's off the podium. He did this speech without any notes at all. I don't think I've ever seen the President give a speech without cues.


8:39 PM - Senator Kerry keeps looking at me. Then he points and says: "Get the hell out of here, you're creeping me out, son." Just kidding. The guy looked in our direction a few times. Maybe he even made eye contact with me. Who knows? Well, if the guy wins election...at least I can say that I saw a president (to be) in person.

Well, that's it. It was a fun night and I got what I wanted out of it. This stuff does happen in real life. I think over 95% of the general population in this country gets most of its political news through the TV. They don't ever get to see that there is a process involved. I think every American should witness some form of politics at least once. Whether it be a city council meeting, or an inauguration day party...It should be done.

Quick Commentary:
- I don't like seeing people liken him to JFK. The two are in two totally different eras. Kerry isn't as young or charismatic. Sure, they do have the same initials...but I'd rather people associate him with more than that.

- The senator was straight to the point. He took the anti-whitehouse stance all the way through. His central theme: lose the president and turn this country around.

- I thought it was bold of him to call out the Republicans this early. He said that even though there are many things going wrong in this country, the Republicans will play National Security card in this election. They'll ignore all the stuff that needs fixing and just base the election of fear. I knew this would be addressed eventually...but right off the bat? That's a gusty move...I like it.

- I'd like to see a Republican rally and compare the two. Unfortunately, I think I'd get violent or puke during the republican rally. I don't see that happening.

Special Thanks to Kara for sticking this one out with me. That was a good 3.25 hours of standing around for what amounted to 45 minutes of speaking. Apologies to Matt for having to wait with us for an hour befor having to go home. Sorry, buddy.

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Rip and Copy. Rip and Copy.

In the aftermath of the greatest weekend ever throw'd (see yesterday's post), I have been consumed by something seemingly pointless. In my recent spending spree, I have accumulated things like a new DVD burner, new CD media, and a new portable music player (aka Mp3 player). I have twenty gigs for music. That's half the size of my PC harddisk. As you'd probably expect, I'm going to see if I can fit most of my CD collection on this thing. I'll even leave enough room to pick up a whole bunch more. You'd think 20 gigs of memory would take a while to fill up. I could see myself going too far.

Highlights of this tedious process:

- Discovering that there is a debate out there regarding .mp3 files vs. .wma files (mp3 versus window's media)
- I have every David Lee Roth song (worth having) at my fingertips wherever I stand with this thing.
- My search for a program that rips CD's directly into mp3 format is finally over. Therefore, my experiment with windows media has come to a quick close.
- I realize that I could be at this for weeks.
- I am so fuckin' awesome.

I told a tale about this weekend in an attempt to grow tha 446 legend. The tale wound up making the news section on an indie-music critique site. For dozens of readers, the 446 legend grows.

Sorry, I got sidetracked tonight. The suprise will have to wait another day...possibly more.

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The Weekend we did it Again





Yes. We made another appearance and the weekend turned into the two day party we get to have every once in a while. Jacob and his surprise moustache came to town, we converted a room full of doubters, and a lot of glass got broke. Things were interesting all weekend long. The above pictures show what the folks watched...and what we saw from stage.

- On Friday, I broke down and told my supervisor about this particular musical project. I might as well just admit it and hope that the issue never gets brought up again. I don't think that is possible, but I didn't feel like making something up. Well..I'll just not bring it up ever again...until tour time.

- Watching the crowd's reaction to the show was very entertaining. At first most didn't know what to think. They weren't sure if they should be dancing, booing, throwing things, or leaving. So they stand there and watch for a while. The ones who 'get it' wind up dancing and cheering and having an all around good time. The ones who don't get it say they felt like they were supposed to get the joke..but couldn't. Whatever the case..the above picture shows that everybody cracked a smile at least once.

- During my verses, I saw some people in the crowd rapping along. At first I got a creepy feeling. Then I started to get comfortable with the thought that people memorized my words. You can use that as a cue if you forget!

- After the show, the customers were treated to a classic bouncer/patron episode of violence. One dude is asking for it. The bouncer is ready to bring it. Before everybody in the bar is looking, we get to see a bottle broken over the patron's head. After a little more pushing and shoving, everybody leaves the bar with another amazing story to tell. This is exactly what happened. In short: (1) guy throws novelty football at bar and breaks bottles; (2) boncers try to escort the patron; (3) Patron gets testy; (4) Bouncer warns patron not to do anything; (5) Patron provokes bouncer; (6) Another bottle gets broken.

- Red-meat consumed this weekend: Meatloaf. I was at a restaurant featuring an 1870's motif. I had no choice but to sample the meatloaf. I'm not sure why I reported it here. Don't mind me.

- Late last night, Steve and Jacob were horsing around and Jacob wound up getting backed into a window. No one else in the apartment reacted to the broken glass noise. I think everybody got used to the sound of breaking glass. I guess this weekend can also be known as: The Broken Glass weekend.

- Returning to the scene of the crime, we witnessed a pretty damn good night of rock and roll on Saturday. Unfortunately, I missed most of the show because I needed to chill out at home for a few hours yesterday. I did get to see New Black. They put on one energetic show. In just a short time, they've recorded a CD, released it, and have a tour in Europe scheduled in the next few months. With their unique sound, they can't go wrong. I recommend you check them out.

- Stay tuned for a surprise tomorrow.

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Plant #2



This is Schlumbergera bridesii. The common name is Christmas Cactus. This is named as such becuase in nature, the cactus blooms flowers in November and December. However, I'm not one to really track my plants. A brief look at the care tips tells me that I'm way off. Fortunately, the combination of: my watering habits; city light at night; and full days of sunshine gives this plant a flower in March. It's a nice looking flower. It spruces up my apartment. I think I can squeeze a few more out before it gets too hot in here.

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End of an Era

For a few consecutive semesters back in college, my buddy Brendan and I would meet once a week for lunch at the centrally located Burger King. We didn't really like eating there. We never found the food to be that great. However, we didn't care so long as we had a few moments to wax nostalgic about our middle school basketball team, mutual high school friends, and life in general. Well, we graduated college and Brendan moved down to this city. I decided to party for a few more months back at school.

I eventually found my way down here and we resumed the weekly Burger King tradition. The food was worse, it cost way more than it did back at school, and they never gave me a tray. It didn't matter. This was my one time of the week I could openly discuss the Milwaukee Bucks with somebody. I can talk about the Milwaukee Brewers and get a response. Quality of food was never the issue. Well, today I made my weekly walk to Burger King and found Brendan standing outside. I looked into the restaurant and the place was closed for good. I looked inside and it looked like the manager was helping the clean-up effort. It looked like they had closed their doors just a few hours prior to my arrival. I looked at Brendan and said: "It's over, eh?" No more Burger King?

We found our way to another fast food chain and tried to restart the tradition. However there was something special about having a conversation while holding a greasy whopper. We'll still continue the tradition, but at a different, better location. The tradition will never be the same.

Rumor has it, Burger King is in serious financial trouble. Well, I felt some of that trouble today in my small way. Get better Burger King...we hope you recover.

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Was it Bound to Happen?

I took a gander at my checking account today and noticed something peculiar. There was a seven dollar charge for something I don't recall ever authorizing. Could this be the beginning of my descent into identity theft hell? Let's hope not. After calling my bank about the charges, I did a search for the payment type. Sure enough, I found this. It turns out my credit information was lifted from a survey I had taken after making a purchase. They auto-subscribed me to a club where you can get discounts on other items. If used wisely, I'm sure you could save a lot more with a $7 a month. However, the way they went about taking my information to make a recurring charge is seedy as hell. No one should be able to piggyback a charge onto something else. That's bad business practice. That the operator took my angry phone call in stride can only mean this has happened to a lot of people. I'm sure they rake in quite a bit a month on those who never notice this charge. I'm going to keep my eye open for a class action lawsuit on this. Watch out if you see WLI*RESERVATIONREWARD on your bank account. Use that link to unsubscribe. In fact, call them and demand you money back. They're a bunch of fucks.

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