1. Who do you call first? Probably my parents, for some reason....
2. What is the first thing you buy for yourself? A loft apartment in Boston, well, I at least get the ball rolling on it, but I think the turntables are the first new thing that I would get outright ownership of.
3. What is the first thing you buy for someone else? Dinner for all of my friends.
4. Do you give any away? If yes, to whom? Hmmm... Maybe. I'd have to think about it. But I think as far as charities go, I think VH1's Save The Music would be at the top of my list.
5. Do you invest any? If so, how? It would be dumb not to invest some of it. I believe that the loft apartment would be a pretty good start as a real estate investment, but the fact that I don't believe in mutual funds, stocks, bonds and all of that other imaginary crap would lead me to believe that I would most likely invest in me and not in any of this financial crap.
Ducks In A Row, Set 'Em Up, Knock 'Em Down. Listening: Back 'em all up like a U-Haul truck.
The last couple of days have been pretty damn drab. Boring. There has been nothing going on. Tuesday, after work, I didn't do much of anything. I had dinner at the grandparents, came home and IMed a friend for the bulk of the night. You know, the friend I've been IMing, I haven't given her a name, not because she's not worthy of one, but because I can't seem to come up with a good/apropos one for her. I guess that's what happens when you just keep naming people. You just run out of names.
Tonite, out writing group got cancelled due to the large amount of snow that didn't happen. Yeah. We were originally supposed to get six to twelve inches, then it was four to eight then two to five and then finally down to one. It was ridiculous. There was a guy at work who got a parking ticket for parking on the street during a "Snow Emergency" when there was no snow. Sick Sick Sick!
So, I spent my evening watching TV. Clueless came over, because he didn't want to be home while his ex-girlfriend was moving out of their condo. Understandable. I guess that's kind of the last straw, and when I mean the last straw, I mean the last tiny cell on the root of the straw. Turn out the lights, the party's over. Moving out and selling the condo. That says it's all done. I can't help but feel bad for the guy. I think the guy needs a break somewhere, but I don't think he makes it easy for himself.
So, right now I'm slated to have Friday off. I may be able to move that to another day. Should I keep Friday off or should I try to move it? If I take Friday off I think I'll just sit at home and crank resumes and cover letters out like it was my job. If I don't, I'll sit at work and pretend to work, but I'll have saved a vacation day. It's a tough decision.
Speaking of Friday, I'm gonna try to go to Rise, the afterhours club. Special K also wants to kick it to Pravda to see Groovefire spin. See, I would love to see Groovefire spin, but I don't want to go to Pravda. I don't want to dress up. I wanna wear my loose jeans and a comfortable shirt. It's not that I don't like dressing up. I like dressing up, but I don't like dressing up to go to places like that. I'm not there to impress anyone. I just want to dance and wear clothes that are comfortable to dance in. Slacks and nicer shirts are not only less comfortable to dance in, but they're more likely to get ruined. I'll dress up for nice dinners, weddings, formal parties, but I don't want to dress up to go clubbing. I don't want to meet any of the women there. I'm not looking to impress anyone. What's the point? So some stuck up Armani clad couple can give me the up-down-up-down and snicker? I think not. So I have to decide what I'm going to do.
In other news, I bought my plane ticket to go to Chicago for my friend's wedding in March. It's gonna be great. I'm gonna meet some of PJ's law school buddies. I'm gonna hang out with some old high school buddies. I'm also gonna meet some of my clients. A funny thing happened at work today. I was on the phone with one of my clients in Chicago, and I told her that I would be in town in March. She said that she would take me out for lunch and that she can't wait to meet me. She was also complaining about another group of people who do the same function that I do for her but it's another company. I jokingly told her that she could just hire me and I would go and harass them because I know what they should and should not be doing, and she said that it would be a possibility. It was really a half-joking conversation. I really think that she would hire me in a second. She knows that I know what I'm doing and that I'm one of the few helpful people that she talks to. So, it could be a very interesting trip to Chicago.
Anyways, I have to go to sleep now. Tired. It's half past one and I have to be in the office in less than eight hours. Sleep sleep sleep.
Surprise! I Had Fun! Listening: Maybe it's time for me to pack it in. Maybe it's time for me to jack it in. Maybe it's time for me to halt. I've got a good mind to throw it all away.
So, my search still continues. I'm still trying to find something, someone or some job. You know how it goes. The plot thickens all around me though. I guess I'll start by catching you up on the past couple of days.
Yesterday, I was woken up by a series of phone calls. First by my mother then by Booch. Booch pulled me out of bed for brunch with The Violent One in Watertown. We ended up going to the Town Diner. The food was decent and the price was reasonable. Our timing was impecable too. Booch calls me to get me out of bed. I get into the shower. She calls The Violent One. The Violent One puts our name in for a table. Booch comes and get me. We drive to Watertown and arrive just as our table is up. It was fantastic. It was a good day of conversation and food.
After brunch, Booch took me grocery shopping so I could get supplies to make gumbo. Damn I love gumbo. I think it's my comfort food. I have so much of it, I think I'm prolly gonna served it for dinner on Wednesday when Ye-ah, Glare and Stringbean come over for our little writing group.
Today, work was strange. I was just chillin', knockin' down my work, when SCUBA comes over. Effective February second, he is stepping down from his position as manager and another manager is stepping in. He asked for this. Do you know what this means? This means that this group, these clients that I work with have knocked out three managers in three years. All three managers have chosen to step down. I don't get it. I have found it really easy to work with the clients that I work with. I think it's really funny. I think that all of these managers were unable to control their crew and that's why they stepped down. They were unwilling to drop the hammer. I think if I was privy to the fact that SCUBA was stepping down, I could have slid in. I know the client very well. I know the people. I know what needs to get done and how it needs to get done. But oh well.
Tonite, for the first time in months, I went out dancing. Originally, I was supposed to take a friend of a friend of a friend out dancing because she is new in town and wants to get into the Boston scene. But, she bailed on me last minute. So, I decided to go anyways, because I had told a number of people that I would be there. Big surprise was that I had fun. I mean, I had a lot of fun. I had more fun than I had the last twenty times that I had been dancing. I had some great dances with a lot of old friends. There were other people who hadn't been out in a long time that just happened to come out tonite. I met a bunch of new people. I met one cute chick from BC that was talking about me with one of her friends in the corner. I saw the whispering and pointing. It was amusing. Another chick I met, I didn't even dance with. She was a friend of Carpenter's. She was a blonde girl who was studying her MCATs and taking classes at Harvard Extension. We talked a bit about music and the scene and why I left. She sees a lot of the things the way that I do. We agree on music and so on and so forth. I'm gonna try to get her to come out to Soul Revival or something like that. I dropped her my e-mail and we're gonna try to put together some people to go lindy bombing.
In other news, when I checked my mail today, I got a card from OC Girl. It was a Happy Chinese New Year card. It didn't have much info on it. I'm trying to figure out what the appropriate response is. My first impulse is to just leave it be. I think that's what'll end up happening. The card isn't really worth a call, and it's a little late to be sending her a card. *shrug* Just trying to let it go. Let it go....
Anyways, I have to go to sleep now, because I HAVE to be at work tomorrow early. We're taking back some of our work from another group because they can't handle it. So sleep needs to happen now.
Dream Of An Insomniac Listening: For you I'd bleed myself dry....
So, I didn't end up going to Philly. Special K had to cancel because of some medical stuff that he needed to take care of. It's all good. It's just more money that I won't be spending. That's a good thing. I think I need every penny that I can get these days.
Two minutes ago, I thought I was going to go to sleep. One minute ago, I decided that I needed more in my tummy. Thirty seconds ago, I spooned sweet goodness of apple sauce into my mouth. I didn't really want to go to sleep. I wonder about that though. Clearly, I'm tired. Maybe it really was that I was still hungry.
So, my weekend thus far has been pretty chill. Friday night, I had dinner at Ye-ah's place with his boy, Stringbean, and Boochie-boochie-boooo. You know there's just something inherantly fun about the name Booch. Call me weird, but it's true. Dinner was good. Basil and tomato pizza. I went out in the cold of the night and brought back lemongrass ice cream and lychee ice cream from Christina's. Mmmm... yummy. I went home around eleven or so. I walked home in the cold, but walked quickly. The walk wasn't nearly as long as the walk there, and I had my good ol' friend Drum&Bass to keep me company. Music is my copilot. I someday hope to have a real copilot, but for now, my headphones will have to do.
Today, I was woken up by a phone call. It was Carpenter. He wanted to hang out, so I showered, and he came over for lunch. I burnt him a couple of CDs. He tightened some of the hardware and adjusted the height of my kitchen cabinets. It was thoroughly amusing how the little tiny details of home repair irk him so much. I had to laugh. Serious. It was just short of OCD.
After that, I went to go work at the Beer Summit with Bombadier, Ye-ah, OMG, and Silent Lush. It was a fun time. There was this one volunteer that I could have sworn that I knew from somewhere, but I couldn't place where. It irked me all night long. I still haven't figured out from where I knew her. But, I guess it doesn't really matter all that much. There was one girl at the summit that I thought was hot as hell. I for the life of me couldn't figure out what to say to her. I had a couple of brief conversations with her, but I couldn't get into a one on one conversation with her. Most of what was said between us was idle small talk as I poured her beer. I think that that is a big problem that I have when meeting women. I don't know what to say to someone I don't know. I don't know how to have something in common with that random person. I don't know how to keep engaged. If I have an in, I mean a real in, then I'm fine, I think. But when I don't I'm just floundering and am tongue tied, and unfortunately not with her.
When I got home tonite at eleven, I made myself dinner and ended up watching the TNT Original Movie Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I think that Jeff Daniels is a really good actor, especially when he plays characters that are just off center. Not weird characters so to speak, but characters with a different angle. The female lead is really good too. It was a sappy love story. You know me and love stories. I'm such a sucker. I think that when I watch them, half of the time it boosts my hope. Other times I think that it just makes me feel that much more alone. Singles Awareness Day is coming up. Damn, I hate February. As far as I'm concerned, it's the longest month of the year.
Anyways, I'm two scoops away from the bottom of my bowl. After that, there'll be tooth brushing, pillow fluffing, music starting and eyes closing. Tomorrow... Gumbo.
Flaky... Like A Croissant Listening: She's gone. Oh, what went wrong?
Okay, so I apologize for the whole little self-pity party that I threw in my last post. Really all of that can be boiled down into a couple of statements. Neither my professional nor my personal life are satisfying at the moment. I don't know how to correct it and it vexes me. That's it. I'm currently not as sad as the last post seemed. But, make no mistake, I am still extremely vexed.
My sleep habits have been getting worse and worse. I've been coming home from work, crashing on the couch, waking up, crashing again, waking up, reading in bed and going to sleep, only to wake up late. Hell, Tuesday night, I fell asleep half way through the new episode of Gilmore Girls (not that I have been able to keep up with the story line this season). From eight thirty until about nine thirty, I was fast asleep, warm, on my couch. Waking up for work just hasn't happened a lot lately. It's like I don't care. And the fact of the matter is that I don't care. It's time to find the new job.... Any day now....
Last night, I went to an info session at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. I really wanted to like the place. I really did, but it only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. The director of the school left me with a bad taste in my mouth. This had to be the worst info session that I have ever been to. It was absolutely horrid. First of all, the director came late to the session, about a half hour late. We sat there waiting for her. Her excuse was definitely valid, but it still started us off on the wrong foot. Then, she proceeded to give her schpiel. Now, you expect a person giving an info session to have a lot of pertinent facts about their school; where their graduates have gone on to work/open? what's their placement percentage? how the school was started? the background of the teaching staff? Funny, almost none of this information was covered. I did, however, learn that white eggs are identical to brown eggs, but are cheaper (except for around Easter). I learned that there are at least four different ways to make a souffle. I learned that there are people who want to go to culinary school who don't know what "game" is. Finally, I learned that the director of the school likes to repeat herself over and over and slurp saliva out of the corner of her mouth. Hmmm... Not a good impression. I was much more impressed with the chubby gay guy who was the director of the continuing education program. He seemed to have a much more solid head on his shoulders.
Anyways, I ended up learning that it would be possible to go through their professional chef training, working during the day and taking two nights of class from four thirty to half past midnight and a seminar from six to nine. I found out that it is an accredited school, but is not a degree program. I found out that it would be cheaper than going to the CIA or the CCA. However, I wonder if going full time would be right for me right out of the box. What I'm thinking might be good would be to shell out the ten G's to do thier fifteen week certificate program, take that and work in a kitchen part time, figure out if that's really what I would love, and then apply to a culinary academy. That sounds like a pretty safe plan to me. It would limit time and money potentially wasted along the way.
I think that if it gets to the point where I do go to culinary school, I'd apply to the CIA. If I got in, I would go there. If not, I would apply to the CCA (because it is a top five culinary school nationally) and would try to go there, unless I REALLY get fed up with winters, something that I have gotten very close to lately. I still think about going to California a lot. I really think it would be a huge change of pace for me. I think it would be good. Plans right now are liquid, fluid. Nothing solid yet.
Anyways, I ran out of the info session early, because I was late for dinner with Booch and the director was babbling on about what "game" was. I think maybe I'm cursed with being direct and answering most of the questions asked to me in a direct manner, unless I'm trying to jog someone. I was supposed to meet Booch at half past seven at R.F. O'Sullivan's. I ran almost the whole way there. I stopped because I ran into cute Crate & Barrel design girl near the T-station and because I didn't want to go ass over teakettle while scampering across ice. There was a lot if ice too. I wish there was more cute Crate & Barrel design girl and less ice.
So, Booch and I had a pleasant dinner of burgers. I had the Black & Blue burger. Yum. I love me some cracked black pepper on my burger. We had a pretty long conversation about lots of stuff from anger management to blogs. You know, the usual friend conversations. Was fun.
After I got dropped off at home, I curled up on the couch, watched Angel, and started burning music. I finally burnt The Violent One a copy of The Francis Kim Band CD. I also was doing a mad, crazy search for music. More specifically, I was looking for songs by Frou Frou. I had, at the time, all of the tracks from their Details album, at least the American release of it as well as the DJ Encore Mix and the Watkins Radio Edit of Breathe In. By the end of the night, I had the Watkins Vocal Mix of Breathe In, the Ben Watts Remix of Breathe In, and the K-Klass Vocal Remix of Must Be Dreaming. But what I really wanted was the bonus track from the UK release of Details, which is a song called Old Piano. I searched for that song from about ten until about midnight. It was pretty damn sick. I also wanted the Al B. Sure Remix and the Razor Remix of Breathe In, but the downloads were way too slow. That's right. I'm a music nerd.
Anyways, overall, it was a good night. Tonite, I'm gonna do some laundry and attempt to put some of my new hangers to good use. I have a friend coming over to drop off a coffee grinder to me too. Yay! Tomorrow, I have the day off and I'm going with Special K to Philly for his pal's birthday. They rented out a club and are inviting friends and friends of friends. Special K didn't want to make the trip by himself, so another friend of his and I are tagging with him. I think we're supposed to meet up with the birthday kids at Atlantic City on Friday evening. Saturday is the party at the club. And Sunday, I'll be home again. I'm gonna try not to spend too much money. Gonna try to keep it under two bills for the weekend. One bill for Atlantic City and another bill for drinks and food. Lodging is covered. Oh, maybe some scratch for gas too. That's my plan... Unless I can pin down reservations for Morimoto's. But I think that's a severe long shot.
Anyways, that's it for now... I think I'll leave you with a survey. I found it off of Annie Lin's xanga. I'm gonna adapt it.
Whats the biggest misconception about you?: I'm mean for no reason.
Whats something you have learned about the world?: Politicians are dumb.
Whats your favorite song and why?: I think my favorite song right now is Faithless' Postcards, mostly because it's like a love letter from someone far away from his loved one who is on his way home. I like the idea of being able to go back to the warmth of a loved one.
Do you have a motto?: "Back in the day...."
Don't you love it when its vacation time?: When I'm actually going somewhere, yes. When I'm gonna putter around the house by myself... not as much.
Name all the places you've lived:: Hanover, MA; Manchester, MO; Chicago, IL; Waterville, ME; Cambridge, MA.
Whats your wedding going to be like?: This is what I hope it will be like: A very, very short ceremony (picture: do you?, do you?, great! let's party!), all of my friends from throughout my life who I'm still on good terms with are there and are meeting each other. They're all saying to each other, "So you're that person?!?" The DJ is playing the exact playlist that I picked out, including all obscure songs and versions of songs, a gourmet meal, my buds in tuxes, party ends at ten, family members go home, friends get a map to a new location where we party all night long. Yeah... That's a wedding.
Do you like to do anything that requires effort?: Yes, as long as it has purpose for me or someone close to me.
Do you procrastinate?: Can I answer this later?
Do you like to receive mail, with your name on it?: Sure do, unless it's crappy spam where they have a machine put your name on it.
Do you have a lot of friends?: Yeah, I think I do.
Would you ever think about a friend, before yourself?: I normally do, unless I'm in a funk.
As a child, were you a big fan of sleepovers?: I don't think I really had any.
How many little friends do you have living inside your head?: Two major ones
Do you believe your social life is perfect?: Far from it.
Cat or dog?: Depends on the cat or the dog.
Phone or Online Chat?: If I'm in a reclined position, phone. If I'm looking for music, chat.
End Hunger or End Crime?: Neither. End stupidity.
A million dollars, what would you do?: Pay off all of my debt, buy a loft, furnish said loft, buy kitchen equipment, throw dinner parties.
Moving anywhere in the world? Don't know.
What's one thing that would amuse you, to see your parents do?: Attempt to understand me.
What age do you think you'll be when you meet that special someone?: At this point, I don't believe it's gonna happen.
If you could love anyone, dead; alive; rich or poor who would it be? Annie Lin gave a good answer and I'm gonna stick with it. The answer is Me.
What do you wish was your name?: Badass or ZEN!!! or Almighty One
What in your life influences you the most?: Sensory input... taste, sound, touch, smell, visuals.
What would you title the movie or soundtrack of your life?: An Inch Out Of Reach
kind of shampoo and conditioner do you use?: Lately, Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Shampoo
do you like to shop?: Sometimes.
what turns you on?: People who can articulate what they think about sensory input.
what perfume should a hot girl wear?: None that I can think of.
do you have your own phone line?: Umm... cell phone?.
what are your favorite shoes?: The China flats I wear around the apartment.
what things do you say a lot?: "Back in the day...."
do you think you're weird or funny?: Yes, yes I do.
where do you wanna get married?: Somewhere non-religious and neutral.
what's your worst memory in the past 5 years?: Realizing that I have no clue what's going on.
do you have a pool?: Nope, but I have a bathtub... and a bathroom that I could sublet to a small immigrant family.
are you stupid?: Though I'm tempted to say no, I remember the one fact of life... "All men are stupid and all women are crazy." So, yes. I'm stupid.
what are you addicted to?: Music and food
do you like jewelry?: I don't mind it, but it has to be special.
who do you wish you were?: Todd English, Massaharu Morimoto, Cameron Crowe, Theivery Corporation, One of the Lyons Brothers.
who has it easier? boys or girls? Both have it bad in different ways. It's tough to distinguish.
do you like to dance?: Most of the time, but I'm getting old...
do you like playing pranks on people?: Definitely
what time is it?: 2:11pm
do you sleep a lot?: Not all at one time.
how often do you shower?: Every morning.
do you get along with your parents?: Occasionally
what room do you spend the most time in?: My living room
do you believe in god?: Not really.
what color tooth brush do you use?: White with green accents.
how many times a day do you brush your teeth?: At least twice... Three times if I have a date.
who is your favorite cartoon character?: Wakko, Yakko & Dot from the Animaniacs
do you have a job?: An unfortunate one.
what's your favorite fruit?: Longan, Lychee or green grapes.
what was the best day of your life so far?: DJing for the first Euphoria party that I ran up in college, dropping a beat and seeing the room cheer.
what are you gonna do today?: Finish working, eat dinner, do laundry, clean and search for Old Piano by Frou Frou on Limewire.
are you momma's little angel?: BWAHAHAHAHA
do you wear body spray?: Let's be serious...
how many rings or necklaces do you own?: One necklace which I don't take off, one silver ring that I always wear, one wooden ring that I wear sometimes and a big ass hunka jade ring that I never wear, and is stashed safely away..
do you wear a watch?: Sure do.
did/do you have braces?: Nope
are you tired?: Eh.
are you having fun?: Eh.
what is the best concert you have ever been to?: The Dance Valley Festival in Amsterdam last summer
are you tired of filling this out yet?: A bit.
do you believe in santa claus?: Naw.
do you believe in ghosts?: Jury's still out on that one.
what do you think about boy bands?: I try not to, though I do have a soft spot for cheesy balladry.
what do you think about country?: It has its qualities.
what do you think about heavy metal?: Used to dig it, but since I got old, not as much.
what do you think about rap?: I dig some of it.
like Korn?: Not so much
like Metalica?: Some of their stuff is okay.
like Britney Spears?: Hmmm... I believe the phrase "a waste of random molecules" comes to mind..
like Saves The Day?: Who?
like Dashboard Confessional?: Haven't heard their stuff.
like Puddle Of Mudd?: Not so much.
like ICP?: Naw... they're just a bunch of clowns.
like Eminem?: Sometimes.
like Jay-Z?: Yeah.
like Incubus?: Not really.
like Limp Bizkit?: Rarely.
how many cd's do you have?: More than could choke a cow or more than you could shake a stick at.
what cd's are in your cd player?: A CD mix I burned with Hall & Oates, Ritchie Valens, Elton John, Dier Straits, Barry White, Peter Gabriel, Peter Frampton, Jackson Browne and a bunch of other older acts on it.
are you obsessed with your favorite group/singer/band?: Yes. I will do ANYTHING for Faithless.
have you ever paid for a pay-per-view?: Yah... In college, I order a UFC pay per view.
what tv station is better...mtv or vh1? Umm... I don't really know... MTV Europe is pretty spiffy though.
what is the worst show on mtv?: Any of the ones that play an overload of hip hop.
if you could marry any music person who would it be?: Andrea Corr looks pretty snuggley
what is the worst cd you own?: Hmmm.... I have a lot of doozies No, forget it. The answer could ruin my repututation.
what's your favorite movie soundtrack?: The soundtrack from this little independant movie called Flirt.
mr. sensitive or mr. funny?: I think I'm Mr. Sensitive, with a streak of funny.
ears pierced or no?: Not so much.
rugged outdoorsy type or sporty type?: I'm neither.
what's your favorite scent?: Most stews.
chewing gum or hard candy?: Depends on the day.
what time is it?: 2:27pm
was it long?: depends on how cold it is.
did you like this?: When it's cold? Not so much.
glad its over: It's over? OH MY GOD! What about having children? OH THE HUMANITY!
What Does It All Mean? How Is It All Accomplished? Listening: Something's bound to burst. It's all work and no play. Something's gotta stop. Why don't we close the shop and call it a day?
Last night was very odd, well, yesterday was odd. I woke up at one in the afternoon and puttered around the apartment for an hour or so before going grocery shopping. Now, it looked all warm and sunny outside. I checked the weather online which made it out to seem not so bad, which led me to put on a sweatshirt and the army field jacket that I got from my grandfather instead of the wool longcoat. I was halfway there by the time I decided that I hadn't worn enough. Since I was halfway there already, I just pushed on.
When I got there, I felt like I was in dire need of produce. The sad thing was all of the produce looked nasty or wasn't on sale at a good enough price for me. I walked away with some tangelos, but that's pretty much it. I was thoroughly distraught when looking at all of the produce too. How's a man supposed to get all of his vitamins, minerals and anti-oxydants without his fruits and vegetables? Damn the winter. Damn it to hell.
On the other hand, grapefruit juice was on sale. Two cartons for four bucks. I bought the obligatory two cartons. Half of one is gone already. Cracked pepper turkey and provolone cheese was on sale at the deli too, so I got a half pound of each as well. I was looking to buy some ice cream, but it wasn't on sale.
When I got back, it was all about the hot beverage. Hot chocolate, warm couch, glow off the TV and off of my laptop. I sat there. Vegetating. For two hours. The Food Network is my friend. I talked a bit to a friend on IM. By the time all of that was through, I had to go meet Ye-ah for his birthday dinner at the Central Kitchen. In attendance were Glare, Anti-Scott, OMG, Bombadier, SilentLush, Stringbean, Little and The Violent One came late. It was a good time. I had confit of duck leg for the appetizer and the roasted chicken with a blood orange reduction, braised fennel and mashed potatoes for the entree. I opted out of dessert, because I was full. I thinka good time was had by all. I had to call out Anti-Scott's mama a few times, but other than that it was chill. I spent most of my time talking to Bombadier, SilentLush, Glare and Stringbean though. I don't think I even said "Hi" or "Bye" to Little. I don't think anyone expected me to.
After dinner, we went upstairs to The Enormous Room for a drink. Glare and I drank Bailey's and coffee, Ye-ah had a Gin & Juice, Stringbean had a Sweet & Sour Tequila, and Anti-Scott had Dewars on the rocks. She sure is turning into a lawyer. Dewars on the rocks... haha... I never thought any of my friends would be ordering that.
So, I get home after the shindig and I check my e-mail and turn on the TV. It was eleven o'clock. I ended up watching the last three quarters of Remember The Titans, which happens to be one of the better sports movies ever made. It's a good movie. I couldn't turn it off. But regardless, I was in bed by midnight, reading my book, Becoming A Chef. I read the chapter on going to culinary school and then it was lights out at around half past midnight.
I tossed and turned for about an hour. I don't know what the deal was. It could have been that I was trying to sleep too early. I was trying to go to sleep at a reasonable hour in attempt to get to work on time (which failed). I was also doing a lot of thinking about greatness. What does it mean to be "great?" What does it mean to be "happy" or "content?" What do I need to do to achieve it? Is it something I have to go after and battle for or is it something that I have to sit back and wait for?
Anyways, I got up, drank some on-sale grapefruit juice and started cruising the internet. I ended up IMing with a friend. We got talking about a lot of different things. I insulted him, he insulted me. It generally didn't go anywhere. He tells me that I should take a chance and go to culinary school, don't think about it, just do it. What worries me about that are the monitary and time ramifications. What if it isn't what I want to do with my life? That's two years and fifty thousand dollars plus that I have thrown away. I'm already in debt through student loans and such. This would pretty much quadruple the current loan that I have. And when you get out of culinary school, the jobs you're prolly gonna start off in prolly don't pay as much as I'm making now. If I'm scrounging now, what'll hapen then when I'm fifty thousand dollars more in the hole?
We also talked a bit about my love life. I believe that my feelings for OC Girl are starting to hurt me in all sorts of bad ways. I know that we, in reality have nothing going on. I think I figured that out recently. I mean, I've always said it, but I'm not sure I really believed it until now. I think I buy it now. For every five calls made, I get one. I think that's pretty good evidence. So I need to start letting her go. It sucks, but I think this is it. I've consiously tried not to call her (and I've been succeeding). I've been going out on dates. I'm looking for more dates. I need to start putting myself out there in the hopes of finding someone that's right for me, someone that understands me.
The whole process eludes me. For most of my friends, it has just sorta fallen in their laps, a surprise to them. To me, it seems as if none of them had to put a real effort into going out there and finding someone. Someone just sort of comes to them. I realize that once they find something they undoubtedly have to work at it, but regarless, it's there and for a significant amount of time.
So, as I was talking to my friend last night, he was telling me that I needed to change my attitude before I go out trying to meet a girl. I've been told that my whole life. Change your attitude. I've been told that by friends and family members. Though when my parents said it, it had a different tone and usually meant that I did something to piss them off. Regardless, how does on change their attitude? Can one simply flick a switch and have their attitude be different? I don't think so. I think some sort of stimuli needs to be a catalyst for this attitude change. I think that to make a positive change in attitude, there has to be a positive event that would lead the object person to see, "Oh, things can work out like this for me." In the same right, I think that negative stimuli can make a person say, "Oh, this is how it's always going to happen." So what's there to show me that things can be different?
See, I kind of equate happiness with purpose and love, two things that I have never had and that I see everywhere I look. Media, friends, people I see on the street, books I read, magazines I skim through, on the web, it's just everywhere I look. I see other people with pieces of it, and I want a piece of it too. I spend the bulk of my day trying to figure out how to get either part of the equation, but I haven't found any answers.
Anyways, chalk this up to the first bout of blues for the year. I just want to figure it out, whetever it is. I want to know that what I'm doing is "right" for my life. I want to know how to improve my quality of life. How do I do it? How do I know that my attempts to find it won't make me in debt for the rest of my life? Will I ever find what I am looking for? It makes me sad, but sometimes I think the answer is no.
The Balance Of The Universe Listening: Lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today.
The last couple of days have been good and bad. There have been some trying times and some great times.
First of all, I got the invitiation to the wedding of my best friend from high school and her fiance. It's a really pretty invitiation. It's not overly girly or anything like that. it's simple and has kind of abstract gold and silver embossed flowers on it. It is going to be on the twentieth of March. This is good and bad. It's good, because I'll get to go back to Chicago and I'll get to see all of the people that I have been missing for years. I'll get to go back and say, "I'm not the guy you knew in high school. I've grown up and I've grew into the world that really wasn't my own back in high school." As sad as it is, I'll get to justify my existance to people I knew in high school, a time when I really didn't feel like I was worth much of anything. I know all of the people that I'm going to see when I go to Chicago were my friends back when I was in my deep worthlessness phase, but maybe they'll dig me for me now, not for the lost soul they knew back then.
One drawback of going to this wedding is that I'm going to miss the Orlando Dragon Boat festival. I had been talking to a few people about going to this, but since I got the invitiation, it has definitely come to be second place for me. I wouldn't miss this wedding for the world. Wild horse couldn't tear me away from Chicago on the weekend of March twentieth.
Friday on the whole was kind of strange. The entire day at work was quiet. The ENTIRE day. People left a few minutes early or whatever. The sick thing was that about fifteen minutes after everyone left, things kept popping up. Someone forgot to check something. Someone didn't do something they were supposed to do. Somthing came in late. Someone fucked up. SCUBA and I were the only ones who were around to fix things. It was fuct. Seriously. After everything was pinned down, I left for the day. Surprisingly, it was only fifteen minutes later than usual. It was just that last hour and fifteen minutes of work that was all over the place. And the funny thing about it was that when I got home, my cell phone rung. It was SCUBA. Apparently something else wasn't done by one of our workers and SCUBA didn't have a password that he needed to get something put into a system. So I had to give him mine. Weird. I just wish that everyone did their job though. That way we could have entire boring days.
Since Fester and I decided to opt out of the Lock and Key Party, an, in my humble opinion, excersise in good judgement, I decided to go have dinner with Glare down in Quincy because Stringbean and Ye-ah were going and we would be able to catch a ride down with The Violent One, who needed to be in Quincy for an acting cattle call. We ended up having dinner at Joe's American Bar & Grill over in the South Shore Plaza. I wished that Totoro could have been there, but he was busy studying for an exam that he had the following day. The boy works hard. He does. He needs to come out and play with us some more.
The ride home, though, was a complete fiasco. Since it was late, around eleven o'clock or so, we felt the need to drive Stringbean home. I was fine with that. It was all good. But, after we dropped Stringbean off in Revere, The Violent One failed to take the Sumner Tunnel, and we ended up lost driving around East Boston. After about ten minutes, I realized that I couldn't make any productive commentary for two reasons. First, I was just getting pissy, because it would have made sense to take the Tunnel or the bridge for that matter, and we just didn't do it. Second, I was starting to feel nauseaus. I developed this headache. It traveled from my head, into my mouth, down my throat and into my stomach. I had no idea what was up with that. I felt ill and the turning around and around and around wasn't helping it any. I figured that keeping my mouth shut would keep chunks from flying out of it.
Now, I had plans to go to Rise with Special K, because he got in on the guest list of the DJs that night, Groovefire. Rise is actually a membership only club. They are only allowed to let members and their guests in. It is an after hours club that operates on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from two in the morning until about six or seven in the morning. Special K was supposed to pick me up at two, so while waiting, I talked to PJ. He had called earlier and I had hung up with him because there were too many people talking in the car and I couldn't concentrate on the conversation. That and there was a "tapeworm revolution" going on in my tummy. I talked to him for about an hour from half past midnight until half past one or so. That was when Special K called.
At first, I was unsure that I should go. I was tired and I wasn't feeling well, but I told him to call me when he was about to leave his house and I would tell him whether I would go or not. So between half past one and two, I napped. It did amazing things for me too. I felt better all around. Since we weren't sure of dress code, I wore a pair of jeans and my black "Matrix sweater." Special K wore jeans and a shirt, and his buddy wore a pair of jeans and a sweater as well. It was a mistake. I should have been wearing my baggies and a t-shirt. The atmosphere was hot as hell. On the bottom floor, it was all loungey and downtempo. There were electronic displays everywhere and just people lounging about. The upstairs had some slammin house playing. There were people dancing and everything. The people there were a mix of people. Gay guys, raver girls, Armani guys, hoodrat girls. It was awesome. There were just so many different types of people. The best part about it was that it was clean. Completely clean. No drugs, no smoking, no alchohol. It was just pure fun. So Special K and I decided to become members, because we had a sponsor, and there wasn't going to be another time when there would be a sponsor for us to get in and stuff. It was great. It's along the same feeling from Soul Revival, but their house music is a little harder than the stuff they play at Soul Revival.
Anyways, I ended up getting home at half past four and I fell right into bed. I turned off my cell and my alarm clock, closed the blinds and pulled the covers over my head and went to sleep.
I woke up this morning at around half past one. After returning some phone calls and checking my e-mail, my mother came over to do laundry. I showered, cleaned the apartment and then fell asleep while watching Reservoir Dogs on A&E. When I woke up, my mother was just about done doing laundry and proceeded to start complaining to me about some political shit going on in my family. I told her that I was tired of listening to it and she just went on and on and on. She wants me to be her little minion and I'm not down with that. I'm not there to battle anyone or to be a snitch on anyone. If I really wanted to be that, I'd continue working where I work. I get enough of that kind of shit at work that I don't need it at home. She basically turned to me and called me a traitor to her and I told her to fuckin' get out of my house. I was pissed. I tell you, I don't care who you are. You don't march into my house and try to strongarm me. Fuck that shit. She owes me an apology. Hardcore. And she needs to step off and handle her business by herself. It's not my business. It's not my war. I'm not asking anyone for anything. I don't want anything out of anyone. Whatever everyone else does, doesn't matter to me unless it intrudes upon me. And frankly, when asked to do what was asked of me, it intrudes upon me. When calling me a traitior to my mother, it intrudes upon me. Fuck that shit. I don't need it. I have enough drama in my life.
Anyways, shortly after my mother left, Booch came over to do laundry and to watch a movie. Earlier, The Violent One said that she was going to come over to watch movies too and to eat dinner. I told her to pick up a few things. Now, granted, I talked to her around three or so, and kind of expected that she would be over at around the same time that Booch was over, six thirty, when seven rolled around and she hadn't rolled up, I started wondering. She didn't get to my place until eight. Holy shit was I hungry. So, we had a dinner of pasta and meat sauce, watched Pirates Of The Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Almost Famous. Both movies were good and a quality use of time. I actually really dug Almost Famous. I thought that there were some extemely complex characters in it, a great storyline, and excellent music. Definitely a quality use of time.
Anyways, it's getting late and I should be heading off to snooze soon so I'll Zzzzzzzzz...
Happiness Vs. Happiness, Miserableness Vs. Insecurity, And Small Scale Famous People Listening: I need a little real in this backward, saccharine state of mind where poor is lazy and cold is safety, where food is comfort and sex is need.
Ahh. Last night. Last night I had an amazingly warm time. I actually just wanted to say warm, because it isn't very warm here right now. But it was a warm time from within, if not from without. Confusing. Yeah, I'm in a chipper mood today, so that throws my coherency out the window.
Anyways, last night I went to Club Passim to see Annie Lin, The Francis Kim Band and the always entertaining Kevin So. You know, I went in there expecting everyone else on the bill to be mediocre at best. I don't know. I just didn't expect much out of it. But from the first song by Annie Lin, I was hooked. There was something in the first song about there being a lot of artists who are dead by the time they're twenty five and that we're just lucky to be alive. And I guess that thought sort of touched me. I think that's because the artist within me has been dying for the past three years, and I've just recently decided to try to take him to the hospital. He's still alive. It's just that he's very weak and he's in bed. He can't speak all of the time. But when he does choose to speak, he's very loud.
So, that got me thinking. Then there was this other lyric in something she sang about happiness or trading something for something else. Kevin also said something to the effect of not knowing how long he would be doing what he's doing. And I was thinking, "Living doing something you love, but living in poverty, versus living comfortably doing something you don't neccesarily like." It turns out that a lot of the time you have to sacrifice one form of happiness for another. I'm an idealist. That concept is very difficult for me to wrap my brain around. So what I do is I sit here in misery eight hours of my day wondering how to get both. How to get everything. If I come up with a method or a plan, I'll let you know. I think everyone should know.
Anyways, yeah, the concert was good. I mean really good. The only problem that I had was that Kevin didn't play either of my two favorite songs. Those being, Short End Of The Stick and New Day Begun. The Francis Kim Band was good too. They had a lot of good energy. Their drummer was crazy good. I was impressed just by watching him. Some of the combinations he put together were great and his technique was on point.
Also, at the concert, I met the famous Digitaldewi. Well, she's not really famous, famous. She's just kinda famous. She's got a widly read livejournal. I originally found her journal through looking at comments on Hipstomp's livejournal. Once I started reading, I guess I got hooked. She found my journal when I posted a comment on her comments page, and I guess she's been reading my cynical, comical, romantical dribble for quite some time as well. I have to say that she really was what I was expecting. She's a funny girl, that is a bit on the shy side, but is cool nonetheless. She had a friend with her too, who was cool as well. She's a party kid. Mad cool people though. Good people.
So, after the concert, Digitialdewi, her friend and I went over to the Border Cafe for drinks and post-concert munching. Not too long after we got there, the Kevin, Annie and the whole Francis Kim Band, as well as a bunch of friends came over as well. It was a lot of fun. Everyone was so chill. All of these people, who are semi-famous in the music world and Digitaldewi who is semi-famous on the livejournal world are all chill people. No egos, no attutudes. It was nice.
There was this one guy who was there that Digitaldewi's friend and I though was a little strange. He was a big guy with a beard. You remember when the girl in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory eats the piece of gum and turns into a blueberry? Well, this guy was shaped like that. It was odd. He was odd. He was just off. Kind of socially awkward, but not in an "I'm uncomfortable around new people," kind of awkward, just like a "I don't fit with anyone" kind of way. I think Digitaldewi's friend and I just kept giving each other looks over the dood. *shrug*
Anyways, in other news, Digitaldewi and I are gonna run an anti-valentine's day party at her place in Q-town. It's gonna be great. Since we hold two completely different circles of friends, it'll mean that I'll get to meet more dating potential. It means I'll get to expand my circle of friends. I can't wait. I'm gonna bring my vinyl to spin some grooves. Maybe I'll get Special K to do it too. I'll let all of the couples go off to be happy little bunnies, and I'll run this shindig with Digitaldewi and hook my friends up so they can be happy little bunnies.
Also, Fester and I aren't gonna hit up the lock and key party. He decided he wanted to go to a meeting instead and I decided it was just a bit too sketchy for me. I know the idea of something being too sketchy for me is kind of out there, but it's true. The ages weren't skewed right. If everyone was within the age range, Fester and I would have been some of the younger guys in the room, and that's really not playing into your favour unless there's a whole room full of Demi Moores, Janet Jacksons, or Naomi Watts, not that I would object to it.
Anyhoo, I gots to go. Work to do. No, I'm lying. No work to do, I just thought it would be a good way to end the post.
Not a Bad Experience... Listening: When we kiss... ooh... fire.
Okay, well, not fire. Not ice. Actually there was no kiss. Actually I didn't even think of it. To tell you the truth, at no moment in the entirety of the date tonite did I ever want to scope out her ass or anything like that. I don't know why. She was nice enough. She was pretty enough. She was an interesting girl, but nuthin. You need chemistry to get to the biology. Chemistry was not there. I think we were each in our own beaker and they were on opposite ends of the lab. There is no real reason why I shouldn't like this chick and there's no reason why I should. I think we knew when we sat down for drinks.
Anyways, it was a good experience regardless. I mean, I had a good time and all. It was a quality use of an evening, but there just weren't any sparks. I think that the dating experience will do me good. I know what it's like to not be attracted to someone (which is very different from being repulse by). And this was a textbook example. Oh well... On to the next.
In other news, I found out that I'll actually get to meet the Digitaldewi. I'm pretty excited. I think that she's one of the three people on my "Consistent Reads" list that I would actually be interested in meeting. The other two would be Hapachan and Hipstomp. I have a feeling that I'm going to be a lot like Hipstomp when I'm thirty.
So Digitaldewi and I are both going to be at the Kevin So/Francis Kim Band concert at Club Passim. I'm going with The Violent One. I think she's gonna go hang out with Kevin's crew afterwards. I think I'll just bounce or something. Kevin's more of her friend than mine and there's only so much musician vibe I can take at a time. I think. I don't know. I could just be cracked out right now. I prolly am. It's midnight. I want to go get some sleep.
I Know They're Trying To Goad Me Back Into The Breach Listening: I was so high that I did not recognize the fire burning in your eyes.
Hmmm.... I hate to admit it, but something on "Spankin New Music" the shorts they have at the end of shows actually had a good track on it. After The Real World: San Diego, they played part of the song This Love by Maroon Five. It's a damn good track. It's very soulful. I liked it so much that I downloaded a bunch of their other songs. I've been pretty pleased over all. I am just a little bit disturbed that I liked some of the music that they were promoting on MTV. I mean, I have liked some of the music on MTV, but a lot of it is the obscure background music they play during The Real World or Road Rules or one of their other non-music centered programs. All of their background music tends to be very good and is generally pretty electro-centric.
People say that they don't like techno or electronica because it has no soul or because they don't know the music. Then when they hear certain techno songs, they'll immediately say that they love that song or whatever. It's like people have a love/hate relationship with electronica and techno. I wish people would just get over it and embrace it. It, like hip-hop, blues, rock, pop, R&B and country are all valid musical formats, it's just that people have this immediate kneejerk reaction to it and then are hypocritical when they hear a a techno song that they happen to like. It bothers me. That's why I don't say that I don't like country any more. I like the Dixie Chicks, so that is a bit country. I can say that the majority of country music doesn't appeal to me, but I'll never rule out a format of music.
In other news, I get the feeling, though I know it's not true, that there is an attempt going on to goad me back into the breach that is Dragon Boat Club Of Boston. Today, there was a mass e-mail to the coaches about the meeting that they had on Saturday. It was basically the minutes. I didn't even open it. I just opened the message, saw that the minutes were attached, and then proceeded to file it away in the trash can. After that e-mail there have been a number of replies to it via "Reply All" I hate that shit first of all. In some ways I want to read what they have to say, and in others I don't. The hot topic of these e-mail was about conduct on the boat and language. Now I can be an offensive individual. When I'm on the boat, I'm not there to be nice. I'm there to kick your ass and make the team better. I am there to make you the best paddler that you can be and I'm not gonna hash words with you. If I feel you're going half assed, I'll call you on it. Anyways, with these e-mails flying back and forth, I really felt like they, with the exception of Hulk and Hardcore, were trying to get me into the mix. I felt like they wanted me to pull out my guns. I successfully resisted the urge. I know it would probably be just as easy to delete all of the e-mails, but I, in some way, want to see what happens. I think I will stay away from making public comments within the club. My voice carries no weight anyway.
I'm so glad to be done helping my brother. Holy shit. I killed at least twelve hours of the last thirty six helping him. Glare was impressed with my brotherly devotion. I have to admit, I was too. I just hope he gets a frikkin job, or at least an interview. I can't help him with the interviews. He's on his own with those. At least if he gets an interview, I can tell him that I got him in the door. Ha. That's amusing. Suddenly the younger brother becomes the older brother. Today, I helped him from eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon. I was at work too. I should have called in and just sat home and worked with him. Ahh, the miracle that is the internet.
When I got home from work today, I passed out. I mean, I was out like a light. I slept from about five in the evening until about eight thirty. I needed the sleep and I'm planning on going to sleep again soon. I got some quality TV watching done though. There was Celebrity Poker Challenge and The Real World: San Diego. Yeah it was a chill night. I'm gonna go and read before I go to sleep now. Chill, chill, chill, and hopefully get to work on time tomorrow. That'll be the first day in two weeks. Hopefully.
I SWEAR I Was Gonna Be In Bed By One Listening: I know that I'm carrying on, no matter if I was showing off. You know I was frontin', babe.
It's two in the morning and I'm hurting. Mofugga. I went to sleep late last night. I was up late last night helping my brother work through some stuff for his job search. Statisticians... Sheesh. They can find a number when it's stuck half way up their own ass, but they can't find a word with an open dictionary and a magnifying glass. I worked with him all today too. I did nearly nothing at the office today. I accepted the fact that the big report printer was broken (whereas I usually roll up my sleeves and take the fucker apart and put it back together until it works), which took away a chunk of my Monday work. I worked with my brother through my lunch hour and from three in the afternoon to six in the evening. Now I have been working with him since eleven in the evening and it's half past two. I have most definitely worked for a full eight hour day for this boy. G'damn. I want to call in dead tomorrow.
Edit after edit after edit, I think that I would be a good book editor. I'm nit picky. I'm not really learning anything here about stats or about how my brother's research is applying to the world. I'm just trying to relate the sentences to each other, and the sentences to the paragraphs, then the paragraphs to each other, then the paragraphs to the whole document. Tie it all together and somehow put a meaning into it so that someone else might care about it. Flow. I'm also trying to lock down a flow for him, like a veteran rapper. I'd like to think either LL Cool J or KRS One. Man....
Anyways, the date is set for Wednesday. I actually have a really good feeling about it. I think it's gonna be a good date. I don't know if I'm just excited to have a real date, or if I think that there might really be something there. Either way, I'm ready to have a good time. A psyched boy, I am.
Thursday, again, I have a phone interview with the California Culinary Academy. I just received their packet of information today. It seems awfully expensive. I think it'd be about forty five thousand dollars for a sixty week program to get an Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts. It would be thirty five thousand dollars for a forty five week program to get an Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Hospitality & Restaraunt Management. There are a few things that sketch me out about this application though. Not only is there an application fee, but there is a full fledged "Intent to Enroll" fee of two hundred and fifty dollars. I think that seems a bit sketchy to be asking me for it before I even get in. Odd, odd, odd.
Anyways, after my interview, I'll be going with The Violent One to see Kevin So perform at Club Passim. Should be a good show.
Now, Friday should be interesting. See, I was looking on craigslist in the "women seeking men" section and I found an ad called "Looking for a guy for Friday night." When I clicked on it, it was an ad for a "Lock & Key" party at Felt. Basically, all the women are given locks and all of the guys are given keys and it's an "instant icebreaker." If you unlock someone, you both receive raffle tickets to potentially win some prizes. I IMed the link to Fester as a joke, and he convinced me to go. Who knows? It could be really entertaining. I'll have to come up with some creative ways to ask to try to unlock them. Should be entertaining.
Anyways, I'm gonna finish up with my brother, as it is ten past three, and then I'm going to go to sleep. Whether I wake up for work or not is a different story.
Contributions To The Profile Listening: Nobody loves me, it's true.
Sometimes you wake up in the morning, or at least I do, and you wonder what happened in your life to make you the way that you are? What stimuli made you react to things the way that you do?
Okay... I just took out four paragraphs of dribble. After I went to the Diesel Cafe and felt stood up. This is after I went home and sent an e-mail asking what was up. This was also I, on a whim decided to check my voice mail even though I had no envelope. I had a message from her from about eleven in the morning. Yeesh! What's up with that? Why couldn't I have gotten that message earlier?
Prior to getting the message, I began blogging. I was all down and stuff. I began doubting the possibility that anyone could be honest with me as potential. You know, "You don't dig me, tell me... You dig me, don't pretend that you don't... Be honest with me... Don't wanna go out with me, call me and tell me..." kind of stuff.
But after I got the message and I called the girl back, I felt much better. It was a simple set of circumstances consisting of inconsistent contact, a bum cellphone, and fuzzy plans that led to me standing at the Diesel Cafe for a half hour, doubting women on the whole and doubting my dateability. It was a rough half hour.
So, after I called her back and sorted the whole thing out, we set something up for this week after work, even though she'll be in a suit and I'll be in... not-a-suit. I'm hoping for Bomboa, maybe, but I'll figure something out by tomorrow during the day. I've still got my fingers crossed. I had 'em in my pockets before I called her back.
What else has happened recently? Well, I requested information from the California Culinary Academy in the heart of San Francisco. They called me and talked to me for a bit before they sent me the info. Now, I have a phone interview with them on Thursday night. They want to talk to me about why I am considering culinary school and what I hope to get out of it. The more I think about it, the more I think that it's something that I need to try. It's not something that I could just say, "Yes, I must do this. It is imperitive to my life!" But it is something that I will need to experience and work through in order to figure out if it is for me. The question is: Is now the time? And: Is there anything that I can do to make myself more or less sure?
In other current events, SCUBA just figured out that I took down all of my pics and toys. He asked me about it. I just told him that it was time for them to go. I WILL find a way out of the Corporation this year if it's the last thing I do.
As far as this weekend went, Friday, I was busy as hell. I had dinner with Booch, Ye-ah and The Violent One at S&S. I haven't sat down with Booch in quite some time. We've both been busy and stressed and stuff. Well, I've been busy and stressed. I can't really speak for her.
After dinner, The Violen One and I went to Blondie & his spouse's place for his Spouse's birthday party. It was a pretty small shindig, but it was fun nonetheless. I talked with Blondie about dragon boat politics and the coming season. He wants me to get my own boat. I think I want my own boat. I just want to have no allegiance to the Dragon Boat Club of Boston. Blondie insists that I have allies on the board, but I don't quite believe it. He also told me to not make this about revenge. He said that if I make it about revenge, I won't have a boat. If I make it about having the best boat on the water in Boston, I'll end up getting them to eat their words. I still don't know what I'm gonna do.
Following that party, I went to LSG's going away party. I was getting there after they had dinner. They were just playing DDR and Pictionary. It felt a little lame. I would much rather have been chillin' at a bar or lounge or cafe sitting and sipping and talking and reminiscing. That's what I think makes a good going away party.
Saturday, I woke up, did some laundry, made some food, and then went to Costco with The Violent One, Ye-ah, Ye-ah's guy and my mother. Apparently there were some comments by my mother and Ye-ah about The Violent One being my mother's future daughter in law. It was amusing.
Saturday night, I went to Anti-Scott's b-day shindig out in JP. Originally, The Violent One was supposed to go, but she bailed out. So, it was just Ye-ah, Ye-ah's guy and I who caught the T there. Special K and a pal of his got there a little while after I got there. I also saw that super Jewish girl that I went out on a date with once there. We had a really good conversation. I think I'm going to exchange my clam chowder recipe for her matzo ball soup recipe. Yeah, baby! Matzo ball soup!
The three of us tried to leave the party around two thiry, but no cab came. It sucked, so we just crashed there. It probably was the smarter thing to do. So after staying over with them, I had brunch on Centre Street with them and then came home, showered and headed off to the date that would not be.
And.... Here we are now. The Violent One came over to see the new Alias and I have to go cook meself some dinner. So that's it for today.
Where Would We Be Without Spoken Word? Listening: *Random jungle beats thrown by Grooverider*
Yay! I just looked at Bostonconcerts.com after about eigth months of not and found out that Henry Rollins will be doing a spoken word performance at Berkelee School of Music. I quickly made my way to ticket master and scrounged for two tickets. I got two First Balcony tickets in row K. Yeah, baby. Now I just have to find someone cynical enough to go with me. It's gonna be on February sixth, which is a Friday. If anyone is interested in coming with me to see the show with me, drop a line. It really is going to be great.
In other news, time has been escaping me. I don't know what's going on. When I get home from work, I'm so exhausted that all I want to do is sit on the couch and nap a bit. I snap out of it around eight or eight thiry, but after that, I just end up snacking, watching TV, working on my mixes and IMing. I barely reply to my e-mails. I've been thinking that I really need to get on the ball about it.
I also haven't been going to sleep sleep at a reasonable hour. It always seems to hover right around two o'clock. I think I'm getting a bit too old to be rockin' that hour every night of the week as well as on weekends. It has actually affected my work as well. I haven't been on time to work since a week and a half ago. I don't know what the deal with that is. to tell you the truth, I don't really care about being late, because my deadlines aren't as early as the people who work under me. In addition, it's not like I have gone out for lunch or for coffee in the last month. I've brought it most of the time.
Man... I need to get rid of this exhausted thing.... C'mon, people. You know you wanna hit up the prison break. Let's do it! Let's go somewhere! Let's do something! It's freeeeeeeeezing up in here. Let's go thaw out!
In other news, I blatantly lied to my grandparents yesterday. Since my mother is in town, they keep asking me to go over to their place for dinner. I didn't really want to, though. So, when they called my cell, I told them that I had already eaten dinner. It was four thirty. I could have picked a better excuse. I wasn't thinking. I was having coffee with TSGOB. Anyways... One fo the reasons that I moved out was so that I could keep to my schedule. This usually doesn't involve eating dinner until eight or eight thirty. As I said, I'm usually tapped by the time I get home, unless I have something energizing right after work like meeting a friend or working at Crate (well, actually when I work at Crate, I'm tired when I get home too, because they're usually fifteen hour work days.). But, it's like I somewhat feel obligated to go when they ask me to. I hate that obligation, especailly when I'm in the "LEAVE ME ALONE" mood. But they keep pushing sometimes. It's unfortunate. I really do love them and such, but I think living with them for two or three years has soured it a bit.
Anyways, this weekend should be busy. I have two birthday parties, a going away party and possibly a date. It's been odd. Since the turn of the new year, I have had more potential walk into my life than I've had in the past three years, or rather, I'm recognizing more potential than I have in the past three years. This by no means means that I am forgetting about OC Girl. I think what it means to me is that OC Girl and I don't have the right timing right now, if we're right for each other at all (which is something I should prolly ask her about sometime). So, I'm seeing what else is out there.
Speaking of OC Girl, I mailed out her holiday gift to her yesterday (a week or so late... yeah, I'm a procrastinator... But you know what they say about porcrastination). I can't wait to see what her response is. I know some of the stuff I sent was cheesy, but I thought, you can't take yourself too seriously all of the time. She can make fun of me all she wants. I'll take it like... well... me.
Anyways, I have to finish my lunch of leftovers before they get cold and stuff. Last bit of leftovers for the week. I wonder what I'll cook next week to take for lunch.
Trying To Organize A Prison Break Listening: Like a dream in the night, who can say where we're going?
Bob: Can you keep a secret? I'm trying to organize a prison break. We have to first get out of this bar, then the city, and then the country. Are you in or you out?
Charlotte: I'm in.
* * * * *
I too am seeking to organize a prison break. First we'd have to get out of our crappy jobs for a few days, then the city, and then the crappy cold weather. Are you in or are you out?
I've been looking at airline and hotel deals and I have deemed Miami, Vegas, and Disney World to all be viable options. I'm looking for under six bills per person for a five night stay. I'm thinking a Thursday night through a Tuesday night or a Saturday night through a Wednesday night. I realize that the weather up here hasn't been all that crappy and it can get a helluva lot crappier, but I just feel the need to leave here for a bit. Maybe with some cohorts. Are you in? Who knows? Even a three day weekend would be nice, as long as I was away.
I think maybe I just need to feel the warm sun on my face for a day.
*Sniff, Sniff* Is That Change I Smell? Listening: Strangely, nothing at the moment....
So, it's been a little while since I've really written anything. A lot has happened in the past week or so. I guess I'll only go with the biggies....
When I went into work on Tuesday last week, I was expecting some hysterics. You know come chuckling at my boss and so on and so forth. The truth of the matter is that he didn't even notice that my cube was cleared out. That sucked. I was really hoping for him to buy it hook, line and sinker, but he didn't even notice. Fucknut.
New Years Even was awesome. I put it all together last minute and it turned out really well. Party started at eight, but the first person didn't arrive until about nine or so. The people in attendance were: Stringbean, Glare, Totoro, The Violent One, Bouldering, Shutterbug, Saucy, LSG, Paddleback, Fester, Clueless, Hulk, Harley, Ye-ah, Ye-ah's guy, Bombadier, and ExVet. There was a lot of alcohol flying around and there was a lot of good conversation. I had the computer set to the atomic clock. Earlier in the night, I downloaded a remix version of "Auld Lang Syne." It was a good time. Just after midnight, we went and had a little fire in a bucket, burning what we want to leave behind of the past year. I burned a copy of the Corporation's internal newspaper. I really think this year is it. I am done with the Corporation.
The last people didn't leave my place until four in the morning. I had three people, The Violent One, Stringbean and Bouldering, staying the night. In the morning some people came over after we cleaned up the party stuff and we had a sort of brunch. Ye-ah made scones and I made bacon and eggs. I think most people left by around two thirty or so, but The Violent One and Bombadier stuck around until about seven or so.
That night, I went to bowl with Hulk, Harley, Clueless, Shutterbug, Saucy, and some other folk.
Friday, I went out on a date. It was nice. We went out to eat at Masa, a latin american-ish restaraunt out past the castle on near Arlington T stop. I had the best quesadilla that I ahd ever had there. I also ordered the lamb. I have to say that the lamb was okay, but it wasn't the best that I have ever had. For dessert I shared a chocolate tamale. I think it was kind of like a heavy chocolate souffle cooked in a corn husk with a raspberry sauce and mango ice cream. The mango ice cream was to die for. I'm not the biggest mango fan, but I like it just fine. This ice cream did mango so mucy justice. It tasted just like fresh ripe mangoes. Yay!
After dinner, we went to go see Big Fish, the new Tim Burton movie. Man, that was a good movie. I like it a lot. There were some things that were telegraphed from the beginning of the film, but seeing it all come together was nice. There were a hots of good actors in the movie, incluing Jessica Lang, Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito, and, my personal favorite, Helena Bonham Carter. Man, that woman has some of the best facial expressions. Maybe it's just her gorgeous eyes.
Tim Burton did an excellent job, and I expected nothing less. There were amazing visuals that just sort of popped off the screen. Something that I really liked was that every love interest in the movie had this crazy alabaster skin tone. It was just kind of crazy to see, but I loved it. The end of the movie got me, you know, to notice that spot in the ceiling of the theater, to notice that I had something in my eye. But I loved it. I really dug the movie. If you see the movie, I'd love to talk about it some more. I dunno. It may not have been the best film ever made, but I walked out of the theater really happy.
Anyways, I realized that I glossed over the date a bit. It was a good date. It was a good time. It was fun. There was a lot of good conversation.
So, I have to go right now. I'm having some people over for dinner and poker. I'm making a garlic breaded chicken and some garlic mashed potatoes. I'm also making some spinach. It should be good. But I have to start the cooking now. Potatoes to wash... Laterz.
