When Stuff Starts Returning to Me


The new and improved mp3 player as seen through the repaired lens.

Not only do I get to return to the days of shutting out the world while relaxing in public, I get to return to my task of justifying the money spent on an expensive illustrator for this web log. I kid. I also have to justify spending money in replacing something I shouldn't have lost in the first place. I kid. Too many toys.

Showing up early to work for a fictional deadline = staying up late the next night just to get that hour back.

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

The Disconnect

Technology proved to complicate things around the abode:

- Cellphone coverage has deteriorated the point where I barely get a signal inside my house. It could be my phone, but making telephone calls proved to be a challenge.

- My landline is reserved for telemarketers and family. Over the past week, my landline has also been reserved with another phone number. When I would direct somebody to call my landline, two people would answer the telephone when my phone rang. It seems that a lincoln park resident was getting my calls, too. She was nice about it...but it creeped me out.

- My father's vintage 1980's cable descrambler finally died thus taking a few favorite cable channels with it. With fewer options, I found myself watching a documentary on the Harlem Globetrotters at three in the morning. The new mission is to find a cable box that will scramble the goods.

- The search for a cable scrambler took took me to Village Discount. A search for the correct box to work the signal means taking purchase gambles. I picked up a cable converter for three bucks. It looked like something you'd find in a hotel. It turns out the box did nothing to help me out.

- With the cable box, I picked up a Pioneer 6-CD (cartridge changer) for $10. The gamble here was that if I could turn it on, it would work. I was wrong. All that I could do was turn it on. All sales are final. I just spent money on stuff I will immediately recycle.

Technology. Now...sentences follow:

- My Roommate circa 1998 enjoyed this movie. It took me a little less than seven years to see what he was talking about. He was right...it was a pretty good movie.

- The opener of last night's New Amsterdam's show was treaty of paris. They looked and sounded as if they belonged on a WB teen drama show. A few people agreed with me. I wasn't sure, but I think Hanalei was subtly talking shit about the band during their set. Classic.

This will either be the best or the most annoying week in recent history. I better go to sleep now.

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

More pointless drivel. Fewer pictures.

I need my camera back in operation. Soon.

The previously mentioned computer programmer friend, eMikey, offered to drive a few miles to pick me up "in the shit" for lunch at Boston Market. His computer programmer friend, Samir, came along and as you can guess, somebody mentioned 'Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.' I think I could have eaten an entire plate of the green bean casserole. Boston Market gets a way to go for making me forget about today's dull, day-long headache.

The local sports media have spent more time on Sammy Sosa in the past two days than they have on the Sox in the past month. Balance.

New thrill: The moment of awkwardness when you and a stranger run out of small-talk during a business call. I'm starting to force these for my own entertainment.

Stats:

Kiddie-paper crossword puzzle streak = 3
Weight lost during last week's bout with the flu = 4 lbs.
Weight restored since bout with the flu = 3 lbs.
Colds/flus etc. in past four weeks = 2
Colds/flus etc. in the past year = 3
Times I've gone to bed early this week = 0.

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

Back To Normal

How does one reward oneself for getting over the flu? Why...you make yourself stay up past one in the morning on consecutive nights. It's as if I didn't get enough of the weekend and needed to extend it until April. Posting after midnight. Good times. Random highlights of the recent:

- Saw this band last night. Never have I been to a packed show where the crowd went dead silent while listening to the inoffensive 13th chords. They would finish a powerful song to dead silence, then provide hilarious banter before the next song. Between the music and the banter, I'm not sure what I enjoyed more.

- The theme of the workday: If it's not one thing...it's another. Secondary theme of the workday: Claim to eat clean lunches...wind up doing the opposite. Tertiary theme of the workday: Hostile phone calls are the best ways to top off an otherwise frustrating day.

- Finishing the crossword puzzles in the free "newspapers" before reaching the second to last stop. Twice in two mornings. One clue was randomly solved when I recalled that a librarian friend of mine uses the term "Anon" when closing a text conversation. All my friends are nerds. So awesome.

- This woman sitting in front of me on the train spaced out on her stop. She suddenly snapped to, grabbed her three shopping bags and sprinted out. For some reason, only me and the stranger next to me laughed out loud.

- Emikey took six shots of Jaegermeister in about an hour tonight in celebration of his birthday. I wonder how that's going for him right now....

- Waking up to classical music isn't working yet. Snooze central.

- I had a dream last night where all my current friends were trapped in a doomsday weather scenario. The house we were in had a lot of rooms and was along a coastline. It was kind of cool....

Six Hour sleep pattern = not recommended.

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

Reset Day

After not having done much time at work since Wednesday afternoon, I find myself wanting a few more days to do nothing. I could kill an hour every day reading every section of the newspaper. Mental notes retained a few hours after reading the paper (i.e. in case you weren't paying attention like me):

- Israel has begrudgingly declared that they will pull out of settlements in Palestinian territory. The plan is pretty complex and they hope to have this done by the end of August. A map depicting this exchange would have been nice. Everybody should know about this.

- Last year, Illinois school districts in financial trouble were ordered to turn their financial problems around. Most improved the picture by borrowing even more against the future. Good times.

- A well-respected and loved police officer on the south side was shot and killed this weekend during a prank where he fake-carjacked a buddy. Such a sad story.

- The United States and Japan agreed that protecting Taiwan is for the greater good of Asia. China took exception to this and issued a few strong words. China plans to pass a law that states they will be legally binded to take military action should Taiwan officially declare independence. Stay tuned for that one.

- Spring Training Report: Five articles about the Cubs. Two about the Sox.

That's all I remember. Sadly, I never seem to retain the articles about the war, or the executive branch's latest caper. There are probably thousands of other people who react the same way to these articles. Is America getting complacent about everything?

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

Milepost Two


Birthday Niece. Every time I look at her, I can see gears turning in her head. She's going to be a smart one.

The second free three-day weekend of the year revolved around sickness. Luckily, I got to shake this one off before the close of the weekend. Tomorrow I rest. Body freak-outs are over. Mental freak-outs contained. What? After two days of chills and stomach issues, and one day of headaches. I still get two days to recover. Next milepost: Spring.

- In Huey Lewis and the News' "I want a New Drug," the guitar solos reference the riff from "Purple Haze" and it annoys the hell out of me. After listening to the live version, the annoyance factor multiplies by three.

- The corporate button in my head flipped on and I forced myself to work on Friday. I just needed to get out of the house for a few hours and figured it wouldn't hurt to show up. I figured I be there for at least an hour. I looked like hell and probably had no business going in. I was told that I could go home at any time and to stay away from people. The fresh air was nice.

- The recent flu symptoms did not include sore throat and/or severe congestion. The other effects that lingered lead my dad to believe I was actually food poisoned for two days. I'm not sure which is worse...but I think I'll be packing my lunch all week.

- Hosting my parents for a night at the apartment turned out to be nice. I slept in my guest room and tip-toed around the apartment as they slept. Historically, my parents have been afraid of being anywhere in the city limits of Chicago. This morning, I woke up shortly after they did and learned how my dad cooks his eggs. I never did that at home. My mom barely spent time cleaning my apartment. She did, however, relocate her housewarming gift from a quiet spot in my dining room to my bedroom. I think my folks think I'm an adult.

- I tried to make cookies today. They failed miserably. Does brown sugar get old? What proportions can you not fuck up if you want to scale back the size of the batch? I can successfully feel my way through cooking, but baking is a whole other thing. I'm sticking to cooking. Maybe they'll taste better tomorrow.

Saturday II...done.

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

Ask and ye Shall Receive

When I asked the other night for time to marinate, I didn't ask for the goddamn flu. Nothing solid has entered or exited my body since Wednesday and I spent a good six hours yesterday shivering next to my tropical radiator. The body aches are gone as I weather day two of this malady, but that has been replaced by a dull headache. Fortunately, or unfortunately, cable TV has given me many highlights:

- Nobody told me that Rod Roddy died in 2003. The new guy sounds too young and normal for that game show.

- Although I have the DVD version of the Big Lebowski, I'll still watch the TV-edited version just for the line: "this is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!"

- The Simpsons season 2 is full of classic moments.

- The OC is getting boring.

- I hate Home Improvement less after watching Galaxy Quest.

- A lot of people hated Liar Liar. There's a little too much Jim Carrey action in this movie, but since we'll never see that over-acting again, it's not so bad after all these years.

- After sleeping from 9-7 (with a break to scream at my garbage can), Ready to Rumble greeted me this morning. This movie is so bad, it's fun to watch on a Friday morning. Who would want to watch this movie at 7 in the morning? Sick people.

- Yes Dear is part of the recent trend of parenting sitcoms for people my brothers' age. The fact that I laughed at some of the jokes made me feel old.

That takes me to about right now...TV Nap TV Nap TV Nap TV Nap TV Nap TV Nap...what next?

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

Go Go GO!

You know you're too busy when you get home and you think your apartment smells funny. You also know you're too busy when you make a post after midnight to make fun of what's happening. You know you've been too busy when your next door neigbhor greets you with a pleasant line of questioning that pretty much amount to him telling you that he misses you in a male heterosexual way. Just kidding...sort of. Around this time for the past two years, I spent six nights a week alone at home. It is both awesome and not awesome to always have to be somewhere next. I think I've spent one waking hour in this apartment during the last forty-eight hours.

To recap the what I've been sitting on or waiting for since Noon on Sunday with maybe an hour on my couch: Diner Booth - Retail line - Couch in a studio - Chair at a restaurant - Futon in a living room - Bed - Office Chair - Bench Press - Grocery line - My couch (2 hours) - Bed - Office Chair - Grocery Line - Futon in a living room - Bed - Office Chair - Banquet seat for watching people get awards because they make wealthy people more money - Traffic with two office people - Bench Press - Taking a left through traffic to get to Popeye's while you smile at a green Mustang with pissed off people shaking their heads at you in as melodramatic fashion as possible - My couch (20 Minutes) - Bar Stool - Piano Stool - Kitchen Stool.

Would somebody please throw me a draw four card? I probably need some time to marinate.

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

Throwback Mail Day

Ten days ago I mailed my camera lens to the camera company. Two days ago, I almost called them up because I heard nothing. You'd think they would call me up or send me an e-mail once they received it. Well, they did things the old fashioned way and 'mailed' me the estimate of repair. I was directed to authorize the repair with a signature. I enclosed a check, made sure the mailing address appeared in the window, and placed a 'stamp' on the envelope. I shall expect my lens ten days after they receive my authorization and money. This transaction will be completed entirely through the United States Postal Service. It's been a while since I've done this. I forgot how long these things take. Pictures. The internet.

Leftover Chinese's lucky Valentines Day Date (2005): Washer and Dryer.

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

Kick the Cold, Forget the Week

Let me tell you about how my week ended:

- Not one, but two CTA related rush-hour service backups resulted in me getting taxi cabs involved in the evening commute both times to avoid wasting an extra hour on the rails. Transportation costs for those two nights = $20.

- A project at work let go to the last minute meant having to take work to my cozy room with a cloud on the same nights our transit authority screwed me over. I kept myself distracted enough to forget that taking work home sucks. Leisure hours spent earning somebody else's paycheck = 8.

- So the above project was going to be overdue and I was working as hard as I can. It turns out some pieces on my puzzle needed to be changed and that meant I had to get more work done during the weekend. I was able to accomplish this while listening to my college lose their basketball competition. Hours spent on work minus hours otherwise wasted watching a frustrating loss = 1.

Let me tell you about how my weekend ended:

- Everybody's world got smaller by one degree. In playing around with the future, the past came back for people I know in the present world. This city is too big to be so small. I think I've successfully made the last three sentences pretty cryptic.

- Last night's iron chef episode either featured pears or chocolate (or a dessert teamed pear and chocolate show). I couldn't figure it out.

- After helping Sleep Out with some low end duties at their show, Q gave me fourteen hours notice to get my trumpet skills ready. I hadn't touched the thing since last spring. I showed up to find out a few notes needed to be pounded out on the keyboard. Fast action studio work is fun. Public thanks to Q for that one.

- For some reason, Rip Torn's lesbian jokes in Dodgeball are extremely hilarious. I think the timing of the first joke sets it all up.

- Friday night featured running into someone for the second time in six months. Before that I, had met her only once in 1995 while she dated my friend who started our High School's Astronomy club. The both of us probably tell that same story to whomever we're with right after crossing paths.

- May or May Not sounded very prog rockish at Friday night's show. I think it's the live drum stylings and the Omni Chord. Remember those?

- I killed a cold wile maintaining six hours of sleep a night last week (seven on Saturday morning). Six to Seven may be the magic number.

Valentines Day is tomorrow. I think I'll wear a hat and a smile.

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

How a Sleazy Friend Helps Those With "Girl Problems" through Instant Messages

Step 1: Get to the problem
E!: ...so what's the girl problem?
griz: just friends competing for my attention...haha

Step 2: Suggest the Player's Fantasy
E!: hit it and quit
griz: well we're already friends.
griz: so it best not be in that fashion.

Step 3: Suggest the evil player's fantasy
E!: ah...then hit it twice and quit
griz: funny a third...who i just met at a bar last week just called.
griz: this is way too complicated.

Step 4: Get serious for a second
E!: you have to pick one, or be alone...
griz: i can't.
griz: i want them all.
griz: i'm leaning towards the most casual arrangement.

Step 5: Put head back in gutter
E!: all three?
E!: different nights?
E!: you'll have to get a smoking jacket then
griz: no. the one that's not in my programme.
griz: the least long-term potential.
E!: hahhaha
grizzay: i guess in the end i'm always attracted to the vixen.

Step 6: Dispense Sage Advice
E!: follow your heart's cock
griz: he has no heart.

Step 7: Wait for Moment of Enlightenment
griz: that's the crux of the problem.
griz: oh wait. now i get you.
griz: you're right.
griz: ha
griz: all along i was following my cock's heart.
E!: FLIP THE SCRIPT
griz: i'll flip what i can, homie

The End.

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

Four Reasons to Replace My Mp3 Player

(or reasons I have become too dependent on publicly shielding myself from the outside world)


- The loop function would be handy to break down passages in songs. Seeking out the same point of a song over and over again takes a lot of time. Music focus gone.

- At lunch, I had to listen to a gentleman at the next table equate the Phantom of the Opera movie to his marriage. He said something about how she became a born-again Christian and dumped her boyfriend with whom she used to sneak around in college. Parallels to the movie and all, the nice gentleman even paused mid-sentence to say grace. Crossword puzzle focus gone.

- This morning, I woke up on the train from a half-nap to a masculine woman asking if she missed her stop. Apparently she had fallen asleep, too. Once awake she had to tell our half of the train car: she was punched by a CTA employee last week for scolding somebody else's child, is in love with her husband, is not a holy person, thinks there is somebody for everybody, thinks America has gone to shit, and that she and her husband have boxes and boxes of love letters to each other. God was thanked quite a bit during this lecture. When the woman departed the train, somebody said: "Why do they always talk to me?!" Sleep focus gone.

- Music at the gym. Repeatedly picking things up and putting them back down is not enough for these people. You have to listen to the exact same sounding beat set to different pop songs as a way to 'pump you up'. It's hard to pick things up when somebody is screaming about how she think she's in love to the same drum pattern used in another song to describe how tonight is going to be fun. Sprots focus gone.

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

Bitch and Moan. Bitch and Moan.

Sweating out a cold during a fitful night of sleep sucks. Waking up fifteen minutes before the morning snooze routine really sucks after sweating out a cold through a fitful night of sleep. Waking up fifteen minutes before your alarm to the sound of your upstairs neighbors testing their floor's ability to handle bursts of downward force sucks even more when you've been sweating out a cold through a fitful night of sleep and you find yourself way too single these days...Especially when the ceiling alarm clock wakes you up two days in a row. Bitch and moan. Bitch and moan.

I just watched this Jamie Foxx/Tom Cruise film. It's the first movie in quite a while where I felt suspense. Well done. My only qualm is that it would have been a better visual experience if it weren't shot on digital. Call me old fashioned, but I don't need my movies to look like reality television.

My tofu, pork, mushrooms, and green pepper cooked in pre-packaged black bean sauce experiment failed. I probably used too much tofu, but I was a day after expiration. I couldn't even bring myself to save the leftovers.

Yeah, yeah...bitch and moan...all in all it was a good day, though.

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

Sleep = Health

Sleep schedule since Wednesday night:

Wednesday 11:30 - 6:15
Thursday 2:30 - 8:00
Friday 4:30 - 10:30
Saturday 4:00 - 11:00

...one of may reasons I feel a bit under the weather for the first time this winter. This apartment either feels too cold, or too hot. Right now, I'm feeling the heat...and the chills are soon to come. I get a way-to-go.

- The Secret Machines came back to town Friday night and I went to see them again. I got sick of the album earlier this year and was worried that I would get bored. Instead, the band played mostly new material that left the 'XRT' crowd bored at different points during the show. The new stuff sounded closer to the first album and was definitely not as accessible to the casual fan. They still get a way to go. Seems like this tour cost a lot more money to put up.

- At the show, an attractive looking concert goer would not take her eyes off me and it got me pretty nervous and self-conscious. I had no reason not to introduce myself to her...but I still didn't. Wasted opportunity? Yes.

- Tonight's deep-fryer experiment has left my apartment smelling like evaporated cooking oil and the apple scented candles I used to kill the grease smell. It's almost unbearable. Next time, the deep fryer is going outside.

- Buffalo Wings are easy to make. I will probably avoid ordering these at a restaurant now.

- This restaurant is new Filipino buffet place of choice. I thought we found it last week, but nope. Mom's is where it's at. Lunch topic of the day: Mixed-Asian ancestry = hot.

- Asshole move of the weekend: AO pulled me into a game of pool against two random dudes. After pocketing most of the balls and leaving most of theirs on the table, I hit the 8-ball into the wrong pocket and lost. The dudes walked back to the bar in disgust. Classic.

- Tonight's episode of the Simpsons was 20 minutes of filler. I don't even think this one will get better on the re-runs. Either that, or I was sick of staring at the TV after 5 hours. How do people spend entire days watching TV?

Sleep off the cold. A week of misery awaits.

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

Six Hours of Sleep. Eighteen Hours Awake.

I'm guilty of posting after midnight (1:42 am), but I think it's worth mentioning that somewhere in those eighteen (almost 20 now) hours of being awake I heard, read, thought and/or said the following things:

1> 6:30 am - "What am I doing at the gym?"

2> 8:15 am - Environmental air pollution warnings around the midwest in February?

3> 8:20 am - Guy leaves deer head at Des Plaines, IL city hall to prove a point.

4> During an e-mail conversation at work:

10:23 am - E: "....hitting...the...wall.....sooon....." (see item #1)
10:24 am - ?: "you are going to need a mid-morning workout to keep ya going!"
10:25 am - Whaaaaaaaaaaa? (As pondered by my gutter-brain)

5> 12:30 pm - V: "Arbys is way the hell over there? Let's not go"

6> 5:05 pm - C: "This train will be making stops in Wheaton, Wilton and Geneva."

7> 9:30 pm - Upon meeting a few people at the Sleepout show in DeKalb, IL:

X: "So...what's new with you, Y?"
Y: "Um...well, I turn sixteen next month"
E: "Uh...Woah."

8> 10:15 pm - "I'll have a Red Bull and vodka."

9> 1:56 am - Need. Sleep. Now. Can't Sleep.

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

Random Headshots


One plays basketball for Wisconsin. The other tells jokes. You think the comparison gets old?


One upon a time, the Milwaukee Bucks tried to build their team around these two guys.


Signed a contract with the Brewers, then shot a guy in Mexico.


Corpo-nerd still accepting applications for: 'girlfriend'

...and that's all I got today.

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