Where The Hell Are The Fake Piercings? Listening: Some day you are going to get hungry and eat most of the words you just said.
It's twenty to two in the morning. I just finshed painting my nails, or rather, letting my nails dry. I'm painting them black for Halloween. I kind of dig the nail polish though. It looks so dark and unconventional on a short conservative looking Asian kid. I mean, really, how many Asian guys do you see running around with nail polish who aren't drag queens? I haven't rocked the black nail polish in close to a year. I tink last year I only wore it for a day or so. Maybe I'll keep this batch on for a bit. I dunno though.
Prior to painting my nails, I set up my coffee for tomorrow and downloaded some cheesy eighties tracks like Will To Power's Freebird Medley (Baby, I Love Your Way, Boy Meets Girl's Waiting For A Star To Fall, Fine Young Cannibals' Good Thing, and Annie Lennox's Why?. It was an eighties kind of day. You know the really funny about all of this downloading as of late is that I am so busy downloading that I don't get a chance to listen to it at all. That'll change soon though, I think. I've been running out of searches or I have been thinking them up while at work, but I'm forgetting them by the time I get home.
Okay. I'm gonna try to be in bed by a quarter past two, so I'm gonna rundown my day as quickly as possible. Anyways....
This morning, I woke up early... and went back to sleep. The sun streamed in and I just didn't want it to. I guess I should have closed my blinds, but then I fear that I would just keep sleeping because it would be dark. In any case, since I was up late last night (much like tonite), waking up was not a very welcome experience.
Fortunately, I got into work on time and my day was busy as hell, yet again. I think it goes in cycles. One busy day and one dead day. Today was busy, because FOP was out of the office. She was moving into her own apartment in the North End. So I was covering some of her work. It sucks only having two people who can do certain work in my group. I really didn't want to have to do it, but I did it anyways. To tell you the truth, it wasn't nearly as bad as it usually is. It was far more organized than it used to be back when I bitched about her work ethic and such.
For lunch, I went with cutie new girl and another guy from the office to Boston Costume on Kneeland Street on the other side of Chinatown. The cutie new girl was looking for a costume for a party that she was going to down in NYC, where she lived for the past year or so. The other guy was just along for the ride. I wanted to find something interesting like a Mexican wrestling mask, but the ones they had were lame. I instead got some more goth makeup. I'm gonna go goth again this year. Got just feels good on me. I think it appeals to my darker side. I can show my sinister side while still being good-natured.
While we were walking around Boston, the cutie new girl dropped the B-word. Boyfriend. She made mention of him. Once the B-Bomb was dropped, I just sort of pretended to ignore it. She mentioned him once, but oh well. Boyfriends always get in the way. I think that ninety percent of girls that I am attracted to have boyfriends. What's up with that? I guess some people might say that I like those girls because it's safer that way. I'll always know their answer to me. There's not uncertainty. They've got a man, and that man is not me.
After work, I bolted home to do a load of laundry. This doesn't mean that I dried the laundry though. I ended up just hanging it in my bathtub. I washed five pairs of boxers, five pairs of socks and five tee shirts. They will hold me over until the guy comes to fix my dryer again. Rat bastard couldn't do it the first time.
At six o'clock, I left my apartment and headed over to JP to do on a date. This was the girl that I met at Soul Revival. Originally, we were supposed to go and get dinner in the South End, but she called me last night on the way home form Shutterbug's birthday dinner and wanted to change the plan. She wanted to carve pumpkins instead. This was because carving pumpkins is a big thing in her family that had a tradition of having the granfather carve the pumpkin every year. He has since passed on, so she feels that she needs to do it every year now.
When I got to JP, she had the saddest look on her face. Apparently, she went all over looking for a pumpkin to carve, but everywhere was sold out. I told her that we should go and take a look to see what we could find. On our way to see what we could find, we passed JP Realty that had three really large pumpkins in the window, so we went in and bought one of the pumpkins from their display. It was actually really amusing getting this pumkin off of them. When we did, the girl looked extremely happy. It was very cute. I mean really cute.
After getting the pumpkin, we left it in her dining room and headed out for some grubbin'. We ended up going to this pretty good Indian restaraunt around the corner from where she lived. It reminded me of Diva back in Davis Square before they went down hill. They served all of their food on individual food warmers and such. It was just what I was looking for.
The conversation was extremely good at the restaraunt. It flowed really smoothly, to the point that we started at one topic and ended on a completely different topic fifteen minutes later with several seamless tranistions in between. We talked about everything from food to racism to computers to blogs and such. It was just a really good dinner.
After dinner, we headed back to her place where we had the hardest time deciding whatr to do with the pumpkin. Honestly, I just thought it was going to be a face or something. But instead, she wanted to do something more interesting with it. After laboring for an hour and preparing the seeds to be roasted, we decided to cut a phrase into it. It said, "Use Your Gourd" on it. It was cute. I think that she was really amused by it. We had the best time carving it though. There were complex letters such as the "G" and the "S," but with some minor patchwork, it all came out okay.
This girl is pretty cool. She's funny as all hell, intelligent to boot, passionate, has good taste in music and has a well established spice rack. The girl is great. The one thing that might pose a real problem would be the fact that she's really into her Judaism. It really didn't impose much on the night. I asked some questions and stuff, but wonder how she would deal with someone like me who is rather anti-organized religon. That seems like it might pose a problem. I dunno though. I'm just gonna ride it out and I'm gonna have some fun. It's not like I'm looking to get married or anything. We're supposed to go to Cuchi Cuchi together sometime soon. I think it'd be fun.
Anyways, it's almost twenty past two and I really feel the need to go to sleep. Sleep good. So, that's the end. Tomorrow's gonna be great. It'll be Halloween. I'm having friends over for cider, hanging out, and stories. It's gonna be a great night tomorrow night. Faboo! Anyways. It's been a great night. Hopefully tomorrow will top it.
*Tap Tap Tap* Is This Mojo On? Listening: Vibrant thing, such a vibrant thing. Vibrant thing you're such a vibrant thing.
Today was such a slow day at the office. It was an exact opposite day of yesterday. It was just absolutely dead. I had a few dumb shit questions, but other than that it was absolutely, insanely, boringly dead. I mean DEAD.
I did, however spend some more time talking to the new girl. I think there might be some sparks. Dunno yet though. We got talking about lunch for some reason. I think it was because we were both hungry. Anyways, I told her that I didn't really leve for lunch much anymore, because my lunch buddy, Junior, left to go work in Japan. So, on her way down to get lunch, she said to me, "Hey, I'm going down for lunch now. So, if you want to come down, I'll be there." Now, I couldn't really turn that down, now could I? I had lunch with her and there was some good conversation going on about a great many topcis from food to music to cafes to trashy eighties parties. It was agenerally goo lunch though.
After work, I came home to find out that it would be another week before my dryer is fixed. They need to order a part. I'm not happy. I think I may just wash a bunch of my stuff and hang dry it in my tub. I need drawls and shirts. Other than that I'm pretty much fine. Man, waiting another week will mean that it will have been a full month a full month between laundry rotations. That's absolutely insane. So, today, after work, I did a wash of a bunch of the stuff that I don't stick in the dryer. So right now, all of that stuff is hanging in my bathroom. It's sooooo aggravating. I just want to have all of my clothes be clean.
Tonite for dinner, a number of us went and celebrated Shutterbug's birthday at an all you can eat sushi buffett in Framingham/Natick. It was a lot better than I expected, that's for sure. I ate my fair share of food. I think I'm developing a gut and stuff. It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of laughs. I love Shutterbug. She's the greatest. I'm pretty happy that we're friends. today, I called her on the way back home from the T to tell her to go outside to take a picture of the sunset for me. It it was blue and orange and it was craaaaaazy looking. It looked like evil was upon us. It shone this bright orange light all over the place and I just had to have a picture of it. It was faboo.
Anyways, I'm tired. I have to get to sleep at a reasonable hour tonite, because FOP will be out tomorrow and there will be a lot of crap to do. She's moving into her own apartment too. Well, she's sharing it with a few people and it'll be in the North End. Not nearly as cool as my pimp-tastic pad in Cambridge. Yeah, baby! Nite!
I Am... Responsible? Listening: Everybody move you feet and move your body, oh-oh-oh!
Today was kind of a crazy day at work. My phone was ringing off the hook and there was always something that I was doing all day long. I got lunch from Chinatown and barely got to eat three quarters of it, because I was answering phones and fixing problems inbetween bites. I wasn't even doing some of my daily work that I have been doing for the past few months, because someone else was training on it so that he could take it over. Work work work all day long. I had a class from ten to noon as well, so the chopped off about a quarter of my viable work time.
Up to the last second that I was at work, I was working. I was just about to pack up my bag when someone came up to me with a problem with something that one of my people did. Since I was the last person in my team there, I had to fix the problem. It was a bit annoying. You had better believe that when I had finished researching and fixing the problem at a quarter past four, I was out of there like a slanty-eyed bat out of hell.
Though I was working rather hard all day long, I did make time to chat with the girl in Chicago that I talk to and the new cutie in the office. The new cutie in the office makes me rethink the whole "no dating someone at work" policy. She's sooooooooo cute, friendly, intelligent, funny, athletic and sooooooooo cute. I'd kind of like to get to know her better, but there's always a question of appropriate behavior when dealing with women at work. I'll continue to befriend her, and if it leads somewhere outside the office and if she's cool, maybe then. But *shrug.*
Speaking of wonderful women, I haven't heard from OC Girl in a while. To be honest, I've been trying to lay off a bit. By this I mean, or well, or so I hear, in order for someone to miss you or for you to miss someone, you have to give yourself or them an opportunity to miss them or you. You know what I mean? This doesn't mean that I don't think about her all of the time, whether I'm chillin' with Ye-ah and Glare or whether I'm talking with the cutie girl at work. But anyways, I did try to call her on Sunday night. There are wildfires blazing around California, around San Diego and Los Angeles. I wasn't sure quite where she was in relationship to the fires. I actually spent some time today looking for a map of where the fires are. I searched for her home address on the internet and cross-referenced it with the map of the fires and saw that her home wasn't that close to the fires. I was happy to see that, because maybe that means that she and her family are okay. Maybe it means that Japanaphile's family is fine as well. But, I don't really know how they all are. I'm assuming they're alright though.
So, that was my day at work. After I left work, I went to my grandparents' place to fix their phone and then came home and waited for Glare to drop by. We were to have dinner tonite, which we did. While I was waiting, I started downloading more stuff for the seduction mix that a girl from dragon boat asked me to make. I'm sooooo psyched about it. There's some great stuff I downloaded today. There was some Maxwell, some Jill Scott and some Jodeci up in there.
Glare, Ye-ah and I had dinner at a place called City Girl Caffe. It was pretty damn good. I really liked the place and how it was set up. I had a calzone with roasted red pepper pesto and sausage. It was good stuff.
Anyways, I'm tired. It's time for me to go to sleep. The automatic timer on the coffee is already set. (WOOOOO HA!) Now I just have to brush the teeth and hit the sack.
Tha Hookup Listening: *Something in Japanese* (Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy Twiggy Vs. James Bond)
Well, I'm happy. Earlier this evening, I picked up a one eighth plug to RCA outs adaptor and a one eighth extension cord. Yeah, baby! I'm rockin' out to music that I'm downloading. Today's big quest was Pizzicato Five's Twiggy Twiggy Twiggy Vs. James Bond. I think it is a totally kick ass driving track, not that I drive, but if I were in a car cruising down the highway at sixty miles an hour, it would be on my twenty gig iPod, if I had one of those too. Tonite, I also sat down and organized my MP3s in iTunes to my liking. I did a lot of renaming and reclassifying. I was being a major music nerd all night long. I think my toughest decision all night long was whether to have first name first or last name first when the name of the artist was actually the proper name of a person. It was tough, but I decided that it should be last name first unless it is in conjunction with another artist. Such a dork am I.
Anyways, to pick up where we left off on Saturday. So, Glare came over and we went shopping for apartment stuff. I came away with some sheets (much needed), a coffee maker, some picture frames, some cooking utensils and some other kitchen items. We were kind of rushed, because we both had hair appointments earlier in the day and then I had this dragon boat election meeting later in the evening. Well, it wasn't really later in the evening. It was at four o'clock, but I said, "Fuck it... I'm going shopping with my pal!" It was the better choice. I got some good gear that I have already used and I was obnoxious as hell at the meeting.
So, I get to the party four hours late. Sassy picks me up from Davis Square and shuttles me to her place. I come with some Blue Moon and some Magic Hat. I start drinking the second I get there. I don't get drunk or even buzzed, just a bit goofy. I start heckling everything. Harley is sitting next to me giggling her ass off. Fester is on the other side of me and he could just tell some of the stuff I was thinking. I dunno, I was just chillin' out, making cracks. I think for the most part it was funny... I found it funny, so it was enough.
Sunday turned out to be a lazy yet productive day. I woke up and just ended up watching Julia Stiles movies on TV until a guy called me about a posting that I replied to on Craigslist. He was giving away a shitload of stuff for free. What initially attracted me to it was the microwave, which ended up being a piece of shit. But I did come away with two pyrex bowls, a pyrex baking dish, three different baking/roasting pans, a couple of collanders, a couple of knives, a large cutting board and two bed trays that are twenty times better than the one that I bought. It kicked ass.
Anyways, it's late. I have to go to sleep so I can get up for work tomorrow. So until the next time.
Odd... Weird... What The Hell Is Going On? Listening: Hop when I holler. Skip when I snap. When I say do it, jump to it.
It has been over a week since I really went out. I think some of it is due to my financial situation, but some of it is also really due to the fact that I want to be home, watching TV, reading, downloading music, listening to music and just chillin' over all. Not once this week did I go out to a bar or out to dinner. I cooked (sorta) at home and justhung out. No one came over (with the exception of last night). I didn't really call anyone.
For the most part, my apartment is all set up. I have some boxes that I need to stash and I need to buy a rack for my CDs, but other than that, it's all good. My parents are coming with the hundreds of hangers that they have, plates, an iron, my brother's 5.1 surround sound and some other stuff as well. I swear after Thanksgiving, I'm never gonna want to leave my apartment. well, it could be the gear or it could be the bitter cold outside that makes me not want to leave my apartment.
Today is bright and sunny though. I went and got my hair cut. I'm not sure it's as good as it usually is, but I guess it's good enough. Rachel, my stylist, said that she was kind of in a strange mood. The other two girls in the salon were girlie girls. We were talking about that for a while. They didn't have any clients at the moment, so they were straightening their own hair, and one of them was gushing about Colin Farrell on the cover of GQ magazine. We were both nauseated.
Last night, I stayed in and downloaded lots of trip hop. I also watched the movie Groove for the millionth time. Something I realized though, this viewing.... Everytime I hear Bedrock's Heaven Scent, especially when Digweed drops it at the end of the movie, I get chills up and down my spine. I get goosebumps. It's like the feeling that I get when I kiss a girl that I'm really into for the first time. All of my hairs stand on end and it's just a rush. It's something about that synth rif that gets me every time. I have it on one of the mix CDs that I made, and whenever it comes on, my heart starts racing and nearly explodes. I never really thought about it much until last night.
Later on in the evening, Special K dropped by with a six of Numer Nine. This was his first time seeing the apartment. He was jealous, or so he said. He thought it was big enough to have a party in. I wasn't so sure about that. We chilled and chatted about his recent trip to Denmark and about some of his woman woes. There's a girl on Friendster that he's been chatting with and judging from her picture, she's fuckin' amazing. I told him that he had to get on that so I could live vicariously. Heheh.
Anyways, that was my night. There was a lot of Hooverphonic and Portishead downloaded. Today's all about New Edition and Angie Stone. Kickin' it soulful today. I think I'm gonna buy an eighth inch plug to RCA outs today so ican hool my computer up to my stereo. The sound system on my computer just isn't doing the music justice.
Hour And A Half Phone Calls At Work Listening: I think I thought I saw you try.
Today was kind of an interesting day at work. I pretty much did my work as usual, trained the new guy (who's four or five months in now), and generally chilled out. There were two major things that happened at work today. The first, which coincidentally happened at the end of the day, was that I got into a discussion about group structure With SCUBA. The way I see it, I have no real power in the group. See, I am what is called a Senior, a Grade 12. Scuba is a First Line Manager, or a Grade 14. There are three people who are Grade 10s. The thing is that the Grade 10s all work for SCUBA, the Grade 14, not me, the Grade 12. Therefore, they really ony have to do things that he says. He's the only one who can put them on warning and so on and so forth. So, when SCUBA asks me to get things done and I need to utilize the Grade 10s to do it, they don't really have to do what I ask them to. There are no repercussions for not doing things or getting things that I ask them to get. I have the whole "I'll tell mom!" rebuttal, but that's lame as all hell. SCUBA asks me to follow through with things, which I do nine out of ten times, but there's just no way these people are gonna do anything for me if they know that if they don't do it, there's nothing bad that's gonna happen. It's such a lame situation. SCUBA doesn't realize how lame it is. Back when he was a Grade 12 in his old group, his manager didn't do dick, so he wielded all of the power. But in this group, we both do things and we ask people to do things that are a complete pain in the arse. When he asks people to do things, and they don't do it, he can issue warnings. I, on the other hand, can only "go tell mom" and then I look like a punk. I fuckin' hate that shit. The Grade 10s don't like it when I ask them to do shit, because they know that if it was something quick and simple, I would just do it my damn self even if it is their duty. Anyways, we had a discussion about that, and he still insists that I have to follow through. I tell him that I will, but I'm not the type who "goes crying to mom" when things aren't getting done.
The second interesting thing that happened today was that I was on the phone for an hour and a half with a counterpart in Chicago. We were searching for something that was missing, and instead of getting off the phone and doing individual research, we just chatted while we were looking around. This girl in Chicago is really nice. We talked about all things Chicago. We did some talking about our work environments and about how her group is so small and about how I'm the renegade of our group. Anyways, we were on the phone for an hour and a half, from half past ten until noon. It was a long ass conversation. It's great talking with her, because we've gotten to a point where I can stop being the stuffy worker and I can joke around a bit and be myself. We tease each other a lot about different things having to do with work. Anyways, I think we're gonna go have dinner next time I'm in Chicago, which may be as early as March for a wedding. The funny thing is that we established in an earlier conversation that we may have the same Chinese last name. It all depends on if it is written in the same way. She says that her last name is written with like a million strokes. Mine is written with nineteen, which is a lot. So it could be. I dunno. She sounds nice and stuff, but if we were decendants from the same village, that would be a bit strange.
Tonite, when I got home from work, I was in desperate need of a nap, so I took one. From five o'clock to about eight o'clock, I was crashed out on my futon with the TV on. When I woke up, I watched a little Survivor, cooked a little dinner and cleaned some more. I now have some of my Genever and Acquavit in my booze fridge along with some nips I got in a yankee swap last holiday season. i also spruced up the futon by putting a tapestry that I got from a person that used to live in my dorm back in college on it. It looks pretty good, but doesn't cover the entire thing. It covers the entire back of the couch, but when it gets to the seat, it only covers half of it. The place is really starting to take shape. Maybe once I get some cooking utensils I'll start having some people over. Well, I kinda just want to have people over to watch a movie or something, but I have no mircrowave or popcorn popper. All I have is a really nice system. Yay for that though.
It's late now and it's Friday morning. One more day to get through before I can just sleep in (provided that the sun doesn't stop me). I have no clue what I'm doing this weekend. I'm sure I'll figure it all out. I am still running low on cash according to my budget. I'm really trying to budget myself. I need to hit a groove, and until I get a real grip on my finances, I want to lay low. Real low. I'll make exceptions for dates and stuff, but other than that I'm gonna nest a bit.
All this talk about finances reminded me of one more thing that I wanted to say. I got a call from Crate & Barrel today. I have a second interview on a week from Tuesday. Yay! I'm really hoping for this job. I think it'll ease my financial situation. You know I really shouldn't be in this situation. I should have been saving all the while I was at my Grandparents' place, but all I could really think about was getting out of the house as much as possible for as long as possible. Now I'm out and I'm outs the dough. No more rock star living for me. I can keep the attitude though, right?
An Evening OF Surprises Listening: I'll do anything and I'll go anywhere and I'll do anything for you, for you....
So, last night was pretty hum drum. I sat at home, watched TV and tried to clean. The funny thing is that the more I tried to clean, the messier things got. But, Gilmore Girls was on and I was happy about that. To tell you thr truth, the episode wasn't all that good. I think they're pushing too hard on too many fronts. I think they need to clear up some of the unresolved problems before they keep going where they're going.
Booch called me up and asked me if I wanted to go out for a drink. I declined. I really didn't feel much like leaving my apartment. My place on my futon was carved, the TV was on, the mess was around me, the internet was taunting me, and lots and lots of music called. There are a number of songs out there that I'm trying to pin down, but I just can't get a hold of. One is the last song the Smashing Pumpkins ever released to the public. It was the day that Billy Corgan, James Iha and Darcy announced their dissolution on WXRT in Chicago. They went live on the air with a tape of their last recording. The last song that they every recorded and mastered as a group known as Smashing Pumpkins. It was never released on CD or on vinyl. I was only played on the radio and uploaded to the net. I, for the life of me, can't figure out what the name of this track is and I have been searching for it for three nights. But anyways, those were the reasons I didn't really feel like going out to get a drink with Booch. Pretty lame, yes, but I think I deserve some lame leadway. I've put up with uncool shit from my friends before and this doesn't even come close to some of it.
Also, to tell you the truth, I'm getting a bit low on funds. It costs money to furnish an apartment and I'm slowly figuring that out. Today, after an exceptionally long day at work, thanks to the wonderful folks in Chicago and FOP's inability to take care of her shit (okay, maybe it's not an inability but an apathy that leads her not to do it. I've been guilty of that), I went down to Macy's to jusrt poke around in the housewares section. It turned out that they were having a sale. I got a good deal on a one hundred and two piece flatware set. I paid forty for it. Now I have essential silverware instead of just the one knife and one spoon that I had before. I also bought a bed tray, you know, one of those trays you put "breakfast in bed" on. It was five bucks and I needed something for my lap top. Prior to this, I had been resting it on one or two milk crates depending on how I was sitting. Ghetto fabulous. But now, I have the bed tray and the world is smiling. I really didn't expect to find all of these deals. I only wish I had found some cooking utensils. That's what I really need right now. I can almost cook. I really didn't expect to find the bargains that I did. I almost even bought a set of three cast iron skillets for ten bucks! I should have done it. I was kicking myself all of the way home.
So, you remember yesterday when I was talking about that chick that I met at Soul Revival? Well, I was thinking about calling her, right? Tonite, when I came home, I made myself some leftovers, set up my two milk crates and prepared myself for a night of feasting, cleaning, and television (okay... and some music downloads....). What happens next, with my mouth full of salad? My phone rings. I quickly chomp down my greens and answer the phone with a, "Hwrerro?" That was stuffed-mouth for "hello," if you're not hip enough to figure that one out. So, anyways, it was this girl. I was caught completely off guard. She was on her way to go see a show of some sort at the same place that Soul Revival is held. We talked for a bit, then the T came and so she decided she should get off the phone but she would call me when she got to the other side. And she did.... So we talked some more. Her phone kept cutting out on us, conspiring to keep us from actually having a conversation that was longer than five minutes. After a few hangups, she just decided to call me from a payphone that was on the way to where she was going. It was actually pretty funny. It was like something out of a comedy. Anyways, push comes to shove and now I have a date on next Thursday night. We're going to a place called Deluxe. I personally don't know it, but she told me where it was, I was like, "Coolz." It should be interesting.
Anyways, for the rest of tonite, I watched a little Smallville and Angel. I'm a junkie. Sue me. I also cleaned up my living room a lot. Now the only boxes that aren't where they should be are my boxes of CDs. I have the clothes that I am for sure donating to Goodwill sitting on the floor neatly folded too. I am donating twenty six random tee shirts, six flannels, five pairs of jeans, two pairs of pants, two long sleeved tees, Three collared short sleeved shirts, three pairs of shorts, one tank top, one vest and one sweater vest. I know that there's more in my closet itching to come out, but they haven't made themselves know yet. I must have close to a hundred tee shirts still. How fuct is that?
I also cleaned out my old dorm fridge, which I will use as my booze fridge. Yay, booze fridge! I'm psyched. Now if only I could afford booze to put in my fridge. Well, I guess that's why I applied for the job at Crate & Barrel. Yeesh. Tired. Sleepy time. Is it the weekend yet?
I was up late last night downloading music, because I'm a) a music fiend, b) having fun playing with my new computer, or c) because I'm an idiot. The answer, boys and girls, is c. I'm an idiot. We all know this already though and we have come to accept it. It's cool though. I came away with a lot of great MP3s. I downloaded some Diana Krall, some Elvis Costello, Simply Red, The Roots, and I finally got a copy of Junior Jack's E Samba. God damn do I love that track. It's got the perfect blend of latin house and disco. It is hot as hell. Let me just tell you.
Today, work was pretty damn easy. I pretty much kept to myself and did my work. I did a lot deeper research than usual. This meant that people were out of my hair and my nose was to the grindstone. This is not to say that I don't like it when people bother me. It is to say that I don't like it when people bother me with dumb shit. People often bother me with dumb shit. I only had to deal with a couple of dumb shit questions today. I don't even really know where the day went.
Another thing that happened at work was that we got two new workers in the department. One was a blonde girl who was actually really attractive and reasonably intelligent. I know, because I went to get coffee with the crew that SCUBA goes with and the girl was attached to one of the people in that coffee crew. She spoke intelligently about menengitis. Apparently one of the girls in my department might have it. That will suck for all of us, but it might be good for the world. By this, I mean to say that if this girl dies of menengitis, the world's mean IQ qill probably jump a couple of points, because this girl makes dirt look like the smartest person anyone on earth has ever seen. Yes, she is that stupid. No, I am not exaggerating. Seriously, this girl couldn't blow her nose with both hands and a grenade.
The other new person was an Asian dude. His name was Jason. I was amused. I made numerous comments about how the department doens't need another Asian Jason or that they were trying to replace me. What sketched me out even more was that I got locked out of my terminalabout a half hour after I said that. It didn't look at all good.
I got out of work right on time today. Four o'clock. This is the first time in a long time that I got out of work on time. It was very nice. Anyways, after work, I tried to kill some time. My plan was to go to the Crate & Barrel in Faneuil Hall at six o'clock for the seasonal help open house. So, I ran around quite a bit killing time. I went to the music store in Chinatown. Saw a Faye Wong CD that I wanted for five bucks, but opted out, because I wanted to be "responsible." I went to Barnes & Noble and checked out the new copy of Vanity Fair where Annie Leibovitz had a few pictures of musicians. There was a great picture of the original members of Def Jam Records, as well as a great picture of Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. Man they are gonna have the most talented children. Anyways, I went to Newbory Comics, Gap, Banana Republic and finally ended up at Crate & Barrel nice and early.
I wandered around the store for a while. I wanted everything. I still want everything. That's why I applied for a seasonal job there. I mean, I'm not taking any vacation between Thanksgiving and New Years, so I'm gonna be around to work. I might as well try to furnish my apartment, buy gifts for friends andmake a little extra scratch. Anyways, I think I rocked the interview. felt I was rather engaging, and I said all of the right things. I think it helped that the person interviewing me was a really cute chick. Yeah, she was wikkid cute in a girl next door kind of way. I really think I'll be getting a second interview. Maybe if I get a job I'll get a date out of it.
Speaking of date, I called that girl that I met from Soul Revival a week and a half ago. I got her machine. I'm debating on calling her again. Actually, I called her on Sunday. Maybe I'll call her tomorrow. I don't wanna be all that desperate looking, but I do want her to know that the reason that I hadn't called was that I was moving and I was trying to get stuff set up at the new digs. We'll see what happens. We can always chalk it up to bad timing. Maybe I'll even see her at the next Soul Revival.
Anyways, that's all for tonite. I'm gonna watch the rest of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy and then I'm gonna crash.
A Clean Well-Lighted Place Listening: E samba... E samba....
So, this posting is a little bit late, no? It's ten to ten on a school night and I'm sitting here blogging. Am I at work? Hellz, no! Am I at the computer cluster? Hellz, no! Am I at someone's house? Hellz, no! I'm at home in my own place. Finally, I have moved in.
It started on Friday afternoon. I got out of work as close to on time as I possibly could. Even then it was fifteen minutes after I was supposed to leave. I rushed home and waited for Fester, Carpenter and Hulk to show up. I knew that they planned to be there before anyone else, because Carpenter is looking for a job, Fester is in school, and Hulk works less than five blocks away from my grandparents' place.
It was almost five by the time we got started and the first load was by far the biggest. We took just a shitload of stuff including my brother's TV, the new entertainment center and a lot of odds and ends. The second trip was one of my dresser, my bed parts and my box spring. The final trip had the mattress and the futon mattress.
The move in and of itself took three truckloads (pickup, not moving), Carpenter, Fester, Hulk, Glare, and Booch. OMG, Bombadier and Harley showed up too late to really do anything, though the sentiment was much apprecaited.
It was eight when we finished. So, I ended up taking Carpenter, Fester, Hulk, Harley, Glare and OMG to Redbones for dinner. Since the wait was about an hour and a half, we opted for the fifteen minute plan which was takeout the food and head over to Carpenter's place to eat. It was a nice dinner.
After dinner, I went to the Star Market in Porter Square to grab a few cleaning essentials and kicked it back to the pad. Man, I had so much crap all over the place. I did as much cleaning as I possibly could. It was two in the morning before I tried to go to sleep. I tried to do some laundry in my new laundry machine and dryer, but the dryer didn't heat up. Grrr. I complained to the management company about that today. Hopefully they'll have that fixed sometime this week.
Since I only had wet sheets, I decided to go camping. I spread out my sleeping bag on my bed and slept like that. I mean, really, who expected it to be easy moving into a new apartment? Okay, I guess I did for a little while, but only one night.
Saturday, early in the morning, the sun streamed in my window and woke me up before my alarm had a chance to. My new apartment faces east, so that'll be happening from here on out. I think during the winter, I may be shit out of luck with that, because I'll have to be at work before sunrise, but that won't last too long. Only three months.
My first order of business was to go over to my grandparents' place to pick up some odds and ends. I happened to leave most of my toiletries over there, and I kind of felt the need to go an pick them up. I also did some much needed cleaning. I vacumed the carpet in my old room and scraped up all of the dust that resided under my bed. After that, I brought my grandparents to see may mess of an apartment for the first time. They thought that it was pretty big and that it had a lot of closet space. It was an experience having them poke around my apartment, whether I was there or not.
After they checked out, I went to Target to pick up some more essentials. This included a tiolet bowl brush, a shower curtain, some rings to hold them up, and other sundry cleaning supplies. After dropping those at home, taking a quick shower and figureing out that the hot and cold water in my shower were reversed, I went to Central Square to pick up a hex wrench and some screws so that I could assemble my kitchen/dining table, which is really just an old restaraunt four-top.
It took me the better part of the afternoon to figure out how to put together my brother's futon. Let me just tell you, it's not exactly self-explanitory. I actually messed up two times before getting it right on the third (time's a charm) try. Some of the pieces just weren't fitting like I thought they would, seeing as there were only a couple of different ways that the damn thing could go. I also wiped down and put together my table. When all was said and done, it was about seven thirty. I hadn't eaten much all day long. A bagel and some coffee, but not much else. So I made myself some Redbones leftovers and got myself a bit presentable for the party that Anti-scott and Ye-ah were having.
The party was reasonably entertaining. It was a small party, not more than ten or twelve peolple. Ye-ah was kind of the man there. He was gettin' a little action from everyone. He was gettin' cuddles from this wikkid cute hot librarian looking chick with the driest sense of humor. I think that her phrase of the night was "Po-mo Hipster." He was getting action from the boy who arrived late, whom I had met a few weeks earlier. And to top it off, her was gettin' some action from Anti-scott's metro-sexual casual boyfriend. The jury is out on him though. We think he might be a switch hitter. Anyways, I had a good time chatting and hangin' out in the bathroom with Anti-scott and the "Po-mo Hipster" chick. Don't ask. It's not nearly as interesting as your imagination might take you.
As I walked home, I decided that I wanted to call OC Girl. Yeah, I know. This isn't helping my mourning period, but, hey, what am I to do? Am I to be untrue to myself. My friends have always told me that if I want to call a girl, I should call her. So, I did. I took their advice. That, and I wanted someone to talk to on my walk home. So, we had a nice conversation. She bragged a bit about the weather and the fact that it was around ninety degrees out there and it was only fifty here in Boston. We talked a bit about her job and about some people here in Boston. We talked a lot about my apartment.
Sunday morning, I got up early, like an idiot, to go to dragon boat practice. I knew that it wasn't going to happen, but I went anyways, well, mostly because I told a couple of people that I would go. We did have enough people to go out, but it was cold and the rain was threatening to come out. So, we opted for dim sum. I really didn't want dim sum. I wanted coffee, so I made them stop on the way to dim sum.
Dim sum was aiight. It really wasn't all that I was looking for, so I really didn't chow like I usually do. After the eating, we went to the restaraunt supply store and I picked up a few things that I needed. Fester ended up picking up a sushi knife, which turned into myself, Harley and Hulk going over to his place to make sushi later on that night.
In between practice and dinner, I spent the bulk of my day (after I picked my new computer up from Mr. EBay, yay!) shredding old credit card applications. I hadn't shredded them at all in my time living with my grandparents. So, I just had three years of credit card applications plus other things with my name and address on it, plus some of my brother's stuff to shred. It was about five packed plastic grocery bags full of unopened credit card applications. this turned out to be a kitchen sized trash bag and two plastic grocery bags full of shredded crap. While I was doing this shredding, I pumped my chillout music and wondered how much credit I would have if I had actually applied for all of these credit cards.
Today, I took the day off. I knew that I would have shit to do, but I didn't know how little I would have to do. This morning, I woke up early, again, and just chilled around the apartment for a bit. This was followed by me going to the grocery store and biting off more than I could chew. I dropped a bill on groceries, you know, essential, non-perishable (well, maybe a few perishables, but I swear I'll eat them before they rot), food items. Of the lot was crackers, OJ, cereal, soup (which I discovered that I couldn't eat because I neglected to buy a can opener), yogurt, apples, cucumbers, green peppers... Okay, so my list is a bit perishable.
The rest of the day, I cleaned and waited for the Comcast guy to come and hook a brotha up. I actually got a chance to watch Better Luck Tomorrow again. When the cable guy got here, it took us forever to hook up the cable. The splitter wasn't connected and it took forever to figure out where the splitter was supposed to be. He was telling me that he really wasn't supposed to be doing all of the work that he was, but that it was cool. I found out why it was cool later. He clogged the toilet while he was here. YUCK! So now I have to go and have it fixed. I think the flush in my toilet is weak anyways, so, I don't really blame the guy.
After all of that, I went to my grandparents' place and picked up a couple of things and returned home to enjoy my new computer, internet connection and cable tv. Yeah, I'm a nerd. I spent most of my time downloading songs though. FINALLY!
Well, it's one in the morning. I've been writing this intermittantly throughout the night and it's time to call it a day. I have to get back to the storm that is work early tomorrow morning. Hopefully the sun will wake me up on time.
Tense Tense Tense.... Listening: due to public demand the Artful Dodger brings to you Rewind 2001... Lessons from the underground.
Last night was intense. I started off by going to see Maxine Hong Kingston read from her new book at Simmons College. She started off a little slow and rambling, but she eventually hit her stride. Once she got to the reading and the reasoning behing the passages, it was much clearer what she was getting at. The Fifth Book Of Peace sounds like it has the potential to be a really good book. I opted out of buying it in lieu of To Be The Poet. It just looked a little more interesting to me and plus there is a beautiful picture of her on the cover. In the picture she just has this intense matronly aura about her. It's really great.
While I was at Simmons, I got the distinct impression that one of the girls who was running the Asian Students Association was either a) hitting on me, b) was attracted to me but was just really nervous about it, or c) was on speed. I think I generally lean towards c, but you never know. As I was looking around the room, I noticed a number of attractive girls from the college. Then I realized how young they are. I know it would technically be okay to date one of them, but I don't think I really want to dip that young. I just don't think it's my bag.
There was a bit mentioned about Asian American Activists and the fact that they're a faceless group and so on and so forth. You can't believ how fast my eyes rolled. I frikkin hate being compartmentalized, and if you're gonna freakin be an activist, believe in what you're being an activist about. Have some balls. Don't hide behind a community. If you believe that there is injustice being done, then go out there and fight it. There will be other people who believe that the injustice needs to be fought as well. They may not share your ethnicity, religion, skin color, sexual preference, or even your opinion on how coffee should be prepared, but if you believe in something, you shouldn't wait for "your people" to stand up as a whole. That's just bullshit. Grow some balls of your own and stand up. Any other way, and you're just punkin' yourself out, and you're punkin' out the cause as well.
After the reading, I went home and watched the Red Sox break hearts all over New England. Normally, it would be good to be a heartbreaker, you know, a ladies' man. That's not the way we're talking about the Sox. Time and time again, we're so close. We were up 5-3 in the eighth inning. We lost it because Grady Little shirked his duties as manager. He should have pulled Pedro Martinez once he gave up the second run to Giambi.
Had a rough day at work today... I've been chasing stuff left, chasing stuff right, calling this person, beingn called by that person, can I put you on hold, hold on let me conference this guy in, do you know where it is yet, have you found it, I'm gonna have this guy explain this to you, are you going to be around in fifteen minutes, he called me while I was on the phone with you, just send it, where is it, where did it go. That's just a taste of my job today. Now to go move stuff.
Torturous Sox Listening: The future of the future will still contain the past
I actually have to get out of here pretty soon. I can see crap going down at the office and it's time for me to leave for the day. Things are gonna get really puckered up in here. I'm not looking forward to it. I feel a really fast middle finger reflex coming on. I think I have a fast middle finger reflex anyways. I think at this point I'll be the Billy The Kid of middle finger reflexes once all of this shit starts to happen. In the past, I would just say that I could smell something coming on. In this case, I know for a fact that shit's comin' on. I'll be up to my arse in it and it's gonna leave a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily, I'll have a new apartment to focus on when I get out fo work. I'm gonna start blogging from home and I'm gonna leave work on time every time, dammit.
Tonite, I get to hear Maxine Hong Kingston read from her new book. I'm psyched as all hell. I'm gonna try to find my copy of Woman Warrior so that she can autograph it. Sooo Psyched. I'm also gonna try to get some more moving and organizing done. I don't have much left to go, but I think my room is in shambles. It's time to start picking up the odds and ends. You know what I mean? The little things on my nightstand. Little bits of this and that. It's always those things that end up being shoved in a box never to be found again. I hope I find some of the things. Other things I think I wouldn't miss if they disappeared forever.
Anyways, time to jett. Some people are helping me move tomorrow. Hopefully all will go well. Hopefully work won't keep me here late. Hopefully the BoSox will win tonite. In any case.... Time to bounce.
Okay... Seriously, sometimes I do think that ay work, I am hard and black and I've got this dotted yellow line up my center, because I just keep getting run over at work. I mean, run over. You know, like road kill... freshly squeezed, all juicy and stuff. that's me at work. I got worked today, that's for damn sure. I walk in and find out that FOP is out. People are calling me asking for stuff I've never heard of. We have an hour long meeting as a department. I have an hour long meeting with my manager. There are issues up the wah-zoo and miscommunication even further up into the large intestine. It was not a fun day. I'm glad I'm taking Monday off. Too bad it's only Wednesday.
So last night at about a quarter to six, I got the keys to my apartment. My front door key is actually a little electronic device that looks like a car alarm keychain. It works like my Colby ID did back at college. You just pass it near the sensor and it would unlock the door for you. It's pretty sweet. I got two keys to my apartment. There are two locks on my door, but the same key works for both locks. I think that's a bit odd. You know? I also have a key to the trash room which will be worth nothing more than a scrap of metal in a couple of weeks when they take the locks off of the trash room.
I made several trips last night. The bulk of my media is over there as is my stereo and a bunch of my clothes. I'm planning on making a few more trips tonite. I'm really looking for there to be nothing left to carry but the big stuff come Friday when I try to move as much of my big stuff as possible. Since it's going to be raining on Saturday and Sunday, it's really the best option for me.
Yeesh! It's five. I want to leave now. Gotta go bring some more stuff to my apartment tonite. If anyone wants to find me, I'll prolly be waddling over to my new apartment with my arms full of random stuff.
Done Early Waiting For The Call Listening: When the party's over you got nowhere to go.
So, it's quittin' time and I'm ready to quit. Finally! This is the first time in the past two weeks where I've actually been able to leave at the time I'm supposed to. It's amazing. I've been waiting for the girl that manages the property to get back to me on when we can meet so that I can get the keys and so on and so forth. I just ended up calling her and we set it up for fiver thirty. So at five thirty, I'll be able to get into my own place at will. I'll be able to come and go as I please. Awwwwwwwwww sookie sookie, yo.
Last night I spent the bulk of my time shopping around. Yesterday alone, I went to two different Filene's, Filene's Basement, Macy's, Target, Sears, The Cambridge Cooks's Shop, and Urban Outfitters. I walked out with some soap and some shampoo, and that's it. With a grand total of less than ten dollars. Yeah, I know, it sounds lame, but I was window shopping, bargain shopping. I can find nothing I like for the price I like or that looks like I want it to look. Everything is either too expensive, not a bargain, or is ugly as sin. I'm looking at getting some new sheets for my bed when I move, because I've been "making due" for entirely too long. I'm thinking either red, blue or black. Something nice. Something coordinated. I also can't seem to find a shower curtain that I like. I want a cloth outer curtain and then I'll just get a liner for inside the tub. I really want the one that I got for my grandparents, but I can't find it anywhere. It's a very simple unbleached canvas curtain with metal gromits. Nothing fancy, just nice and simple. No such luck. I don't want anything cheesy, kitchy or tacky. I want to have, for the first time in seven years, a home. It means a lot to me for it to be the way I want it. I need for it to be me.
Anyways, that's what I did last night. I walked around shopping. I took a mental margarita when I went into Newbury Comics. I flipped through CDs, but I didn't buy anything. I spent most of the time though, reading my new favorite comic, The Runaways. I've actually been reading the comic for the past few months. It only started six or eight issues/months ago. I really think it was well written. I'm stilltrying to figure out what's really going on, who's good and who's bad. I kinda wished that I had a subscription to it, but I know that I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. B'sides, I could just stand at Newbury Comics and read it for a few minutes every month.
Something else: I've been thinking about trying to get a seasonal job at Crate & Barrel. I think that it would be a good way for me to get some extra scratch and to also furnish my apartment. I could get some really nice stuff. I think that it would be awesome. There's an open house a week from today as well as two weeks from today, so I'm gonna go next Tuesday. I really think that I'd have a good time working there. We'll see if I get the job or not though.
Anyways, it's time to bounce on outta here. I gotta go grab some stuff out of the attic before it gets dark. Key minus one hour and counting.
To Be True Or To Go Through The Motions Listening: Lady hear me tonite.
So, I had a good weekend overall. Friday found Hulk and I cooking for Harley, Shutterbug, Saucy and another dragon boater. We dropped some nice changed on some nice cuts of meats and some portobellos for Saucy. LSG, Protege, and a couple of other people showed up to play some mahjong. It was basically just chillin' and hangin' out. It was vrey low key, which was what I was looking for. I had quite a bit of gin that night. I was pouring some strong Sapphire tonics after Friday's work day. I believe they were about four fifths gin and one fifth tonic, squeeze of lime and down the hatch. They were hella yummy though.
Saturday, I spent most of the day trying to organize the crap in my room so that I could have it ready to start move on Tuesday night. Today is key minus one day and counting, mind you. I can't believ how much crap I have and how much I should probably throw away. It's soooo difficult though. I'm a packrat that doesn't want to be one. I don't want to save plastic bags and styrofoam trays like my grandmother. SO MUCH CRAP! I'm trying to chuck as much of it as possible without losing some of the stuff that I need or might be cool to have down the line. I have old newspapers with my writing in them, newspapers from 9/12/01, old Colby Magazines and Lab Notes (magazine from my high school). I dunno. I should prolly chuck it all. Who knows though.
At around seven, I went over to Paddleback's place to drink a bit before going to Soul Revival. Her roomie was actually nice this time around. She wasn't nearly as bitchy as the last time I encountered her. I found out that she was a surfer from New Jersey, so I'm supposed to give Booch her e-mail and so on and so forth. So Carpenter came with me, Hulk and Harley showed up later and one of Paddleback's friends showed up as well. We were having such a jolly good time that we were late going to Soul Revival.
As usual, Soul Revival kicked ass. As of late the groovier, more soulful house music has been inspiring me to move more than the techier, more progressive house. But I had a fantastic time. A funny thing happened there though. So, I'm dancing, mostly with my eyes closed, groovin' to the music, right? I open my eyes, and I see this girl steppin' to me. She's dancin' and stuff an she's bustin' out some moves, so we start playin'. Back and forth and back and forth. So we're having a grand old time. We end up going to get some water and talking for a bit. We went back in and danced. You know, we had a bit of connection and our sense of musicality were similar. So, we dance some more and I buy her a bottle of water, we talk some more. And by the end of the night, I get some digits. I really wasn't aiming to, but I figured that she seemed cool so I asked, and so I received.
Now, by getting this number, I started thinking (oh no!). Is it better to lay low and stick to how I feel, knowing that I want this girl out in California, or should I go through the motions and go out with this girl just to see what's up? I mean, I know given the chance to date OC Girl, I would do it in less than an instant. But she's out there and I'm over here. Is it true that if you can't be with the one you love, you should love the one you're with? I mean, hell, I could be selling this Soul Revival girl short, just because I've got my blinders on. But then again, if I go out with this girl to see what's up, will I be taking my eyes off the ball that matters. It's a hard decison for me. I don't want to create drama. I don't need drama. I need lovin'! Hahaha...
Sunday, we went out on the harbor. It was cold and rainy. I got soaked all of the way through. That was followed by a dim sum trip where I ate next to nothing. I came home and napped the rest of the afternoon away when I should have been organizing my crap. It's okay. I did some later on that night.
Today has been an overall easy day. People are still fuckin' with my mosey. Right now I'm waiting for some stuff to come over the fax. Damn Chicago people. BAH! Just one more thing I have to do with the fax and then I'm outta here to dance around and celebrate the discovery of a "New World" and the slaughter and assimilation of aboriginal people. Yay! Hehe.
Sensual, yet polished; your bed sheets are never less than 400 thread count and take-out is eaten with Bordeaux in fine glassware. You are supple and flexible, a great asset in relationships. Why not share a slow date at a day-spa or an evening at the opera?
The following is a list of some appellations which correspond to your wine type:
That's been the theme of the week at work. The earliest I've left work for the past week and a half was a quarter to five. Yesterday, I don't think I left until a quarter to six. It sucks getting into work at eight in the morning and staying late until after five. What makes it worse is that I'm trying to cut my expenses so I try not to go out for lunch. Coffee is essential though or else I get the morning blues. I've been annoyed by everything and everybody at work. These are the times when I wish I had a fourth and fifth wall on my cube. You know, a fourth to complete the square and then a fifth wall to go on top. Yeah. That would be nice.
Lately I've been getting so frustrated during work hours where I have to stop and take a number of deep breaths. I can feel my heart racing and my blood boiling. When you give me something to do, make sure you know what you're talking about. Don't just hand stuff off without knowing what it is. Don't question the methods that I use to do stuff. It is the most efficient way and it gets the job done correctly the first time. Don't fuck with my mosey. Just because you don't know what you're doing and where you're going, it doesn't mean that you can get in my way when I have something that I want done now.
Anyways, enought ranting. I just want to leave. Fifty minutes and counting.... That is, if the people in Chicago can get their shit together and get me what I need. And I'm not talking about a drink.
This weekend, I have a lot planned. Tonite, I'm having dinner and drinks with some friends and we're gonna play some mahjong. I haven't played in years, at least not with actual people. I've played in cyberspace, but not with friends at all. Tomorrow, I have to keep getting things ready to move. Then tomorrow night is Soul Revival. Sunday is the harbor cruise in the dragon boat. So my weekend is pretty full. I just wish I could come up for air sometime soon. T minus four days and counting until I get my keys. Yeah, baby! I gots to get outta here. *sigh* Finally the weekend.
A Simple Plan Listening: When I'm sad she comes to me with a thousand smiles she gives to me free...
Last night, I did something amazing. Well, not amazing, but something that made me feel really good. It was very liberating. I did laundry in the laundrymat for the last time for a long time. Yeah, baby! No more hoarding quarters like the chubby kid hoards his halloween candy. No more sitting in a laundrymat for two hours every two weeks. Now I can do laundry in my new apartment for free! I can do other things while I do laundry. I can clean. I can cook. I can watch TV and I can write. I can do whatever I want to do while I do laundry. don't have to wait for someone to take their stuff out of the dryers. I only have to wait for me. It's gonna be awesome. Hell, I could do laundry while I slept. Rock on!
After I did laundry, I ate dinner alone at the dining room table because my grandparents ate before I finished laundry. It's tough eating in that room alone. There were no recent newspapers and I don't like reading books while I eat. Books require one hand to keep them open. Anyways, I was thinking because that's what I do when I have nothing else to do. I started thinking. You know that when I said I was thinking it has the potential to be disasterous. So I was thinking. I started thinking about people and drama in my life. I started thinking about my new apartment and what I thought it meant to me to move out and how I felt that my life was going to change and how I feel that it wouldn't. After all that, I came back to people. I basically went through my rolodex of people, but I spent a lot of attention on a couple of people. One of which was OC Girl, just because I think of her a lot anyways, but the other one was my grandfather on my father's side.
I don't know what, but I think a lot about him. I didn't even know the brother all that well. Prior to his death, I think I spent a total of one week spread out over fourteen or fifteen years. I hadn't seen him in years. I don't know why he had such a profound effect on me. when I think about disappointing someone, it's not my parents that I worry about disappointing. I think to an extent I already have. I sometimes wonder what my grandfather would have thought about the life that I live and about what I do both as a profession and in my spare time. So, I'm thinking about my grandfather, and I realize that, though I know very little about him, I'm haunted by him. I'm not talking like haunted as in ghostly. I'm talking that I feel like I'm being followed around by the thought of him. It's a bit strange.
Now while I'm sitting here eating and thinking, I get this idea. It's getting to be winter. I'll have a computer and an apartment in a matter of weeks. I should start writing again once I move in. It'll keep me in the apartment, meaning that I won't be out spending large quanities of money on bar-priced drinks. I can sit in my apartment and write. This is where I get my bright idea that I want to write a collection of short stories centered around my grandfather. Perhaps that will make me stop just thinking about the "ghost" of my grandfather and will maybe let me interact with it. So, I came up with this plan. I want to sit down with my brother, my mother and my father individually when they come into town for Thanksgiving and I want to pick their brains for memories, impressions and so on and so forth. I want to send my father up to Canada with a list of questions to ask my grandmother when he goes to visit her in December. I want to call up some of my cousins and my uncle and ask them about their memories. I have to be honest, I'm a bit scared of some of the stuff that I may get from my grandmother and my uncle, but I want a complete picture and a set of different episodes. The I want to compile that information, digest it, berak it apart into my own episodes and write the stories. I don't want them from his point of view either. I want them to be from other people's points of view. I know that some of the memories that I'll be getting from people I won't even use. I think I'd probably just use them for character reference. It just sounds like such a good project that I have to go with it. I know it'll take me longer than the winter to finish. Hell, I'd be surprised if I was able to even get cracking on the first story by March, but I think I want to do this.
By the time I finished cooking up this idea, I had finished eating. From there, I went straight to the couch to watch the Red Sox beat the Yankees. My grandfather has been watching the games since just before they Sox clinched. I watched it here and there throughout the season, but I was never a crazy insane fan. I have this habit. See, whenever I seem to think that the Rex Sox are gonna blow it or if I think they're gonna lose, they always win. So I'm going to continue that all of the way through this series. I really hoping for it to be the Cubs versus the Red Sox for the World Series. My two home towns going head to head. Of course, I would want the Red Sox to come out on top. I was a South Sider back when I lived in Chicago, so I can't realistically want the Cubbies to go all the way. B'sides, when you have Garciaparra, Martinez, Ortiz and Ramirez on the same team, how can you not cheer for them?
So, that was my night. From eigth to midnight, I watched baseball. I had clean clothes and I watched baseball. It wasn't a bad night. The thinking hurt my brain a bit when I thought about different people, but once my little idea kicked in, it was all good. I was very excited. Now hopefully, my plan and the Red Sox will both pull through and will each become winners in their own rights.
Preemptive Titling Listening: Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feeling.
So, a couple of days ago, I titled one of my posts "Not At All Entertaining Center." I spoke way too soon. I didn't even know the meaning of "Not At All Entertining" until last night. So, let me explain. Last night Carpenter, Ye-ah and I headed out to Malden to go pick up this entertainment center that I bought on craig's list. The first fiasco that happened were the directions. The directions were unclear and when I tried to mapquest the address, it wouldn't come up with anything. So we tried our best to follow the directions. We actually got turned around a couple of times. When we left, we realized that we had taken the long way around to Tufts University. So, we were kicking ourselves for getting on the high way to get there.
Anyways, when we get there, the entertainment center is much bigger than I thought it was going to be. It was most definitely six feet by five feet by a foot and a half, but you don't really have a good idea of how big it is until you see it. Anyways, it was not going down the stairwell of this apartment. Instead it had to be dropped off of their front balcony. Now, the girl told me this when I agreed to buy it, but I thought, "Oh, out a door, and then off of the porch balcony a few feet down because the stairs there were too narrow." No. We had to drop it off of a second floor balcony. Carpenter and Ye-ah dropped it off the balcony, and this girl's boyfriend, his friend and I caught it down below. Carpenter and Ye-ah were almost hanging off of the balcony. It was sick. Luckily it all worked out and we were able to get it out of the apartment and into the truck.
The next amusing part was that we couldn't get the entertainment center into my grandparents' apartment building. Yeah, that's right. I couldn't get it into a safe place. So, right now it's sitting in my back yard covered in plastic so that when it rains on Sunday it doesn't get too wet. It didn't start out there though. It started laying down on top of cinder blocks. In the end we decided to lean it up against the house beneath a little mini porch roof. Hopefully it won't get wet between now and the time I move.
After the moving fiasco, I took Carpenter to dinner for helping me. He earned it. Ye-ah didn't come though. He just decided to go home.
Anyways, that was my night. It was very interesting. So my next goal is to figure out how I'm going to move into my place. I want time to move my small stuff in before I move my big stuff, so I'm not going to have poeple help me right away. I want to do a lot of this myself. I know it's a bit weird to want to move myself, but I think my stuff is so disorganized that it's the only what that it'll happen.
It's time to go now. I'm always so happy to get the hell out of here.
It Was Going So Well.... Listening: I listen to the words you say, slowly striking me as lightning.
Today was going so well. I had some focus. I was running on problems. I was settin' 'em up and knockin' 'em down. Three forty five comes around and I get my ass handed to me. The frikkin' client neglects to send over some paperwork that needs to be done. Furthermore, it's missing information. Furthermore, I haev to be home soon. I'm gettin' the hell outta here before I go postal. Maybe I'll head over to the cluster tonite and I'll write something more intelligent. Fuckin' a. Mutha fuckin' idiots fuckin' with my mosey.
Not At All Entertaining Center Listening: Help me. Protect me from myself. Don't worry. Don't worry.
Well, with all of the stuff that I didn't have planned, this weekend turned out to be pretty busy. It's amazing how these things work out. Sometimes I have nothing planned and nothing turns up last minute. Sometimes have nothing planned and stuff just falls into my lap. This weekend turnd out for the best.
Friday night, I did go to Saucy's rent party. I was a serious minority there, but it was cool. I was like one of two straight folk there and the only guy there. It was a little odd at first, but whatever. There were a number of people reading poetry and prose. The first person up knocked my socks off. She read one of her own poems which really spoke to me. To me this poem was about the music within and the magic within that music. I think that's what it was about. I didn't really have much time to read it after the party was done. This other college strudent aged girl read a piece from her creative non-fiction class. Thought that it had tremendous potential as a piece of fiction. She gave this wonderful introduction of this house in Texas that she is in love with. The preface of the house could easily be molded into the journey to obtain this house and what would happen to the person once they had obtained the house. Ahh... It was a beautiful piece. I also heard a part of a one woman show where the woman is Marcie from the Peanuts comic strip all grown up, lesbian and talking about "Patrick." I laughed my ass off.
A strange thing happened just after the party. Apparently there was this really femme lesbian there at the rent party. She was looking for a club to go to that night since she was in town from the Cape. So, naturally, I ask, "What kind of club are you looking for?" meaning "What kind of music do you want to hear?" She responded, "A gay club, of course!" It was very snotty. I had half a mind to say, "Damn, bitch! When I think about going out dancing, gettin' laid isn't the first thing I think about." It was very strange, but I brushed it off and excused myself as being the token straight guy in the room.
After the party, I grabbed a bite to eat with Shutterbug and Saucy. I think I've become a sort of lesbian equivalent of a fag hag. I find it amusing. Didn't set out to do it, but Shutterbug and Saucy's lesbian friends all seem to like me, which makes me happy, I guess. I never really go out there to make enemies unless provoked. Then I just go to wreck shop. It's not pretty. No one gets out unscathed. So, we had a nice dinner at The Otherside Cosmic Cafe. I always seem to order so much more than everyone else whenever I go there with friends. It's always soup, salad/sandwich and a drink. Most people I go with are content with just soup, just salad or just sandwich, water is fine. I go all out. I'm not sure why that is.
After dinner, Shutterbug and Saucy took off and I ended up going to Virgin Megastore to find Carpenter a belated birthday gift. After about an hour or so of debate, I ended up getting him the Tosca Dehli 9 and the Verve Unmixed 2 discs. I ended up picking up Theivery Corporation's The Richest Man In Babylon disc for myself. That CD has been kickin' my ass for the past three days. Awwww.... It is so damn good. There's this one track where the vocals are all in Farsi and it just sounds amazing. Love it lots.
Saturday, I spent the bulk of the day over at a swing dancer's house warming. I got to talk to a lot of people that I hadn't talked too in a while. I think probably one of the most entertaining parts of the day when I was talking to this one girl I used to hang out with a lot in the dance scene. We started at about the same time. Back then, there was another girl who was friends with my friend, so the three of us used to hang out at dances and stuff. But this friend moved to New Orleans less than a year after we started dancing and I hadn't heard from her in a while. The girl I used to hang out a lot with told me that the girl that moved to New Orleans had moved back into town and asked about me. I was just amazed that she remembered me, because we didn't hang out for all that long. Maybe it was like a total of six months that we knew each other. Perhaps? I dunno. I just found it all very entertaining.
Later on that night, Carpenter and I went to go check out Lost In Translation. I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie. At first, I thought that it wasn't going anywhere, but about a third of the way through the movie, I was really intrigued by the two main characters. There was one point where the female lead in the movie is wearing a black dress, is wearing a platinum/pink short wig and is singing Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders in a karaoke parlor. Okay, I can't beging to tell you how hot that scene was, because she's singing so quietly and she's got these eyes that are just amazing. Awww, man! It was perhaps one of the hottest karaoke scenes that I have ever seen.... Okay, I realize that there aren't that many of them, but still....
After that, Carpenter and I decided that we wanted to shoot some pool. Boston Billiards was packed, so we decided to try to get into Kings down at the old Cheri Theater neat the Hynes Convention Center. That place was packed too, and the pool was fourteen bucks an hour, but we decided to stay for a drink and to watch the Sox game, which everyone was watching as well. We watched some strange women bowl... poorly. But they were having fun and were entertaining us between the inning changes, so it was okay.
While I was at Kings, I got a call from OC Girl. She always seems to call me either while I'm at a bar or right before or after dragon boat practice. It's the strangest thing. It makes it so I kind of have to cut my conversations with her short, much to my chagrin. It was nice to hear her voice though.
Sunday was, of course, dragon boat practice. It was cold as hell and I was training Sassy as a drummer. It was an alright practice. It's gonna be insane next weekend when we go out into the harbor. The water is already cold and it's gonna be crashing over the bow. Not gonna be fun. Anyways, I stuck around for two practices, because Protege wasn't gonna be there. Eh. I wasn't all that into it though. I'm starting to really get tuckered out. Once the cold weather hits, it's not as much fun.
After practice, eight of us went to B&D Deli for brunch. Yum. We watched the Sox win and hustled to get on the T before the crowd from the game got on the T.
Later on that night, I hung out a bit with The Violent One at Ye-ah and Booch's place. It'd been like a week since I saw any of them. Crazy. I finally saw the Hello Kitty vibrator that's on J-list. Funny.... If by shoulder's you mean clit, well, then it most definitely is a vibrating stick shoulder massager.
Anyways, time to bounce on out of here. I have to figure out what I need to do tonite, if anything at all. I could do laundry, but I think I'm going to do it on Wednesday instead. Tomorrow, I'm going to drop a bill on a used entertainment center out in Malden. It looks nice and large. I'm pretty psyched about it. Carpenter's gonna drive his truck and Ye-ah is gonna help out as well. Hopefully it'll all work out alright.
Scatterbrain Listening: The spider man is having me for dinner tonite.
This week has been thoroughly strange. I don't know what's going on, but I have been completely scatterbrained all week long. It's like my mind is being pulled in a million different directions. I would have thought that this would have been happening a couple of weeks ago, but, alas, no. It seems to be happening much more now than then. It's very weird. It's like I know I have stuff to do. With moving and a million and a half friends that I haven't seen in forever, how could I not know that I have stuff to do. But instead, I'm kind of numb. I can't quite identify all of the things that I need to do. A bunch of times this week, people have said, "Do you want to do this?" "Did you do this?" or "Have you done this?" and my responses are a lot like , "I don't know... I can't think about it right now." "Uhh... I was supposed to do that?" and "Done what?" It's generally pretty pathetic. I don't know what my deal is. I haven't had as much caffeine this week as I usually do. I haven't left the office as much as I usually do. Maybe those are contributing factors.
I've been so out of it this week that I haven't even planned my weekend. I'm thinking about going to Saucy's rent party out near Mass Ave and Newbury. But other than that my brain is blank. Not a clue as to what to do. Gotta finish up here at work and get the hell out. Brain hurts...
Get Me The Hell Outta Here Listening: I'll come driving fast as wheels can turn.
I'm tired. I know what I'm tired too. I'm tired because I'm an idiot. Last night, I really didn't want to be in the house, so I set my VCR and headed out into the night. I didn't feel like going to a bar and I didn't really feel like sitting around by myself. So, I ended up going to MIT to check out the swing dancers. Now, I know that I wouldn't see all of the people that I wanted to see there, because Wednesday night at MIT is one of the less popular venues and it tends to attract some of the sketchies and the skeevies. So, I hung out there for a bit talking to some of my old swing dance friends. I danced a couple of times. No big whoop. The music didn't move me that much.
So, I stayed there until around a quarter past eleven and kicked it on home by a quarter to midnight. Now, normally, I would have just gone to bed, but I got the bright idea that I wanted to watch the season openers of Smallville and Angel that I had taped earlier. I said to myself, "I'll just watch Smallville and then I'll go to sleep. I'll watch the second show tomorrow." Yeah, that didn't happen. I had to stay up and watch both shows, when I knew that I shouldn't have watched either. I think I went to sleep at around half past two or something like that. Normally, two o'clock is nothing for me, but I've been having some difficult days at work. My brain is turning to mush and it's just no good. I need another vacation. I totally should have gone to San Fran.... If only money grew on trees.
What's That Nibbling At My Ass? It's Something I Did About To Bite It. Listening: While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down, while I'm so afriad to fail so I won't even try, well, how can I say I'm alive?
I sometimes wonder where the hours of my life go. Some are sucked away at work and some are sucked away whilst I sleep, but I think they're sucked away in my free time alone. Watching TV, reading, walking, thinking.... I think it all sucks away my time. Do these things actually do me good? Or is it all distraction from things that I should be doing? Do I only do these things because I don't know how to do what I want to do? Do I did it to distract myself from the fact that I have had some of the women, jobs or events that I want to take place at the tips of my fingers only to have it slip away? Did I not try hard enough? Did I try too hard? These are the things that go through my head while at work, while walking the city, or while laying on the couch or in bed. Weird, huh?
Last night I went to see The Violent One at Border's Books for the DVD release of Better Luck Tomorrow. When I got there, I saw Stringbean and Little. Stringbean, I hadn't seen in a while and I was pleased to see. Little, on the other hand, I hadn't seen for a while and I was okay with that. Heh. I also ran into a girl from dragon boat that I don't talk to all that much. She's usually on the intermediate boat and has been injured for a while. I think she's a bit of an Asian-american superfan. You know, the "Ra-ra woo yay Azns!!!" kind of person. It's all fine and dandy, but that kind of stuff tends to annoy the hell out of me.
Anyways, back to the story.... So, The Violent One did her little theater thing, and Justin Lin did his little Q&A thing and did the whole DVD signing thing. While he was signing DVDs, the VariAsians sang a few songs. Now if you remember, there was a point a while back where I posted a missed connection on craigslist for a girl who worked at a the Lollicup in Super 88. Well, she's in the VariAsians and I couldn't help but laugh. It was funny. It turned out that The Violent One's theater collaborative, the VariAsians and Justin Lin went for dinner at Peking Tom's on Kingston Street for a bite to eat after the performance and the signing where they brought me up again. The Violent One had talked about me to one of her friends in the VariAsians at a previous event involving both some of the people from the VariAsians and The Asian American Theater Collaborative. Anyways, The Violent One and this girl start talking and now I'm supposed to meet her at the next VariAsian event. Should be interesting at the least. She's still attractive and all, but I really don't know her at all. I guess we'll see.
On the other side of things, I've been trying to figure out when next year I want to go to San Francisco to go and visit OC Girl (though she's in L.A.). I was thinking sometime in March, perhaps for my birthday. It would be a nice present from me to me. I'd deserve it by that point. I think that's the best time as I see it.
It's five o'clock right now and I just finished my work for the day. I'm not even supposed to be here now. Some people that I work with are idiots. It's like they have no concept of other people's time. Just because they're in a different time zone, they think that we have to work on their timetable. We're in at half past seven or eight in the morning. We should not be here until five unless it's something important. The crap they're doing is every day stuff. They should have their shit together. I hate when people don't have their shit together.
Tonite there is, yet again, no dragon boat practice. I guess I can't really get angry about it anymore seeing as the season is essentially over. So, I wonder what I'll do tonite. I'm going to try not to spend money. Five dollars at the most. I need to save, save, save if I want to be able to do the bigger fun things that I want to do this year. I have ren
