Grades. Every fall semester, a day or two before Christmas, final grades are posted on K-State Access Technology System (KATS). Each year the anticipation gets more and more gnawing... especially this year, as I didn't really work "up to par" in any one of my four classes. I figured this would be my worst semester yet, and that I might have to take some classes over in order to earn the C's that are required for graduation in my English courses. ANYWAY... the results of my semester ARE.........

Intro to Philosophy: B (Thoughts: What the hell did I do to deserve this??? Granted, I got B+ on two of my assignments, but never once (save on those two occasions when it was required) did I do the reading. Clearly, an overwhelming sense of generosity must have overcome the Scotsman as he sat there grading bluebooks.)

British Survey 2: B (Thoughts: I was sure I was getting a D - maybe a C - in this class, due to the fact that I only posted on the class message board four out of the seven required times, I missed two more classes than the cut-off line to be able to get an A or a B, and I neglected to revise my midterm essay, which I earned a C on. Clearly, the fact that I earned a B is proof that Naomi J. Wood, the woman born and raised in the Congo, is the coolest, best professor on the Kansas State University campus.)

Structure of the English Language: B (Thoughts: I think I already told you all about this one... it is undeserved, but welcome nevertheless. So what if he murdered his ex-wife? He's cool in my book!)

Intro to Poetry Writing: A (Thoughts: I hoped I would get an A, but I was prepared for a B, since I pretty much stopped doing the reading and therefore sucked it up on a few quizzes. I guess my poetry (which can be read at the left) is just that awesome. I have this professor (who is also my advisor) in a class next semester... Environmental Topics in American Literature. Should be fun. :\)

Insert Cryptic Title Here. A lot of things have happened since you last heard from me. Then again, a lot of things haven't happened... but that's another story.

I finished with my finals at around 5:30 pm on Thursday, at which point I deposited all of my notes and such in the nearest waste receptical I could find and frolicked to my apartment for a drink. Actually, not really, but we had a party that night, so LATER there were drinks, but first we (I) had to clean... which didn't really happen. Instead I watched Chad play classic 8-bit Zelda and then hurriedly made my bed... but it's the thought that counts, eh? I did end up creating a particularly festive hors d'ouveres table... man oh man. I need to watch more football or shoot stuff.

Return of the King, which I saw on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, was particularly good. I plan on seeing it tomorrow with my brother and dad. I am looking forward to this event.

I got all my presents wrapped and they are now under the tree here in Olathe... which alludes to the fact that I drove home for Christmas tonight. I won't be here TOO long (I plan on going back Saturday afternoon), but still, it's longer than a lot of people I know.

On Saturday, my family came out to Manhattan to visit and see my Christmas tree and such. We went around and looked at some stores in Aggieville, then went back to my apartment and ate pizza and drank beer. Between those two events, we stopped off at Sears, and my parents purchased my main Christmas gift... a 27" television. I'm pretty excited about that, considering we've been watching a measley 19" screen for the past six months. I'm moving my way up in the world, which I believe is commendable.

I rented 'The Office', and despite an annoying scratch on the DVD in the middle of the second episode, it was pretty hilarious. I only got to watch three episodes though (I think there are twelve total) due to work, tiredness, and other obligations. Sometime over our ridiculously long break (we go back on January 22nd) I will have to re-rent it.

Speaking of work, they have been training me to be a manager, so that while the boss's go to Las Vegas on the 4th, me and the other two crew leaders can run the store. It's been all right except for the 9:00 am starting time, which is still a little out of my league. Today I learned how to clean the Ghea, though, so it was totally worth it. That and I got almost $5.00 in tips. If anyone needs to borrow any money, let me know.

ALSO speaking of work, I got a love note from a customer on Sunday afternoon. It informed me that she comes to Cold Stone a lot, and that she is scared to talk to me because I am the cutest guy she has ever seen up close. She wouldn't usually have said anything, but she felt she would
have regretted not doing anything about it. So now, I have this girl's phone number, and I don't know what to do. I mean, I know my answer is an emphatic "NO" - for several reasons, such as the fact that it's kind of creepy and the fact that she is a Junior........ in high school. But hey, at least now I know I can still woo sixteen year-old girls. Just like back in the day, eh, Katie?

A Window. I experienced something today that I had never before experienced - I felt myself literally going insane. I don't know if this is really what was going on, but... man I felt weird for about thirty minutes. Maybe it'll be a good thing... there are a lot of geniouses who end up going insane.

It's 4:00am the morning before my first and most difficult final of the semester, and yet I cannot fall asleep. I am watching Moulin Rouge and realizing how much this movie inspires me. It's weird... it makes me want so much to write, and yet when I sit here in front of the screen, I am overtaken by a sort of creative-impotence; I just can't come up with anything. So instead of writing a brilliant piece of fiction, I instead post to my blog. Maybe that's commendable as well, though. A lot of great fiction writers start out by writing memoirs. We might even call this page my memoir, although usually the only great memoirs are those centered around people who have exceptionally extraordinary lives. Then again, maybe mine will be great for being exceptionally ordinary... something we can all relate to. After all, as I've said before, I do desire connection.

In twenty hours, I will never be forced to think about philosophy again, and I will be watching The Return of the King. Both things make me so very happy.

Fa la la la la. Last night I drove to Kansas City to see the Extended Version of The Two Towers at AMC 30. When we got out of the theatre at about 12:15, it was snowing, and seemed like it had been doing so for some time. The drive home was scary, but fun nevertheless.

Today is kind of "blah". It's snowy and cloudy and cold, but still a nice day. I haven't really done much other study some for my philosophy final on Tuesday. I am so over my classes. I am about done Christmas shopping... just a few more little things for the family. I think I might go do that stuff right now, since the weather's kind of fitting.

Other News. My bosses are going to be out of town for a short period in January, so I will be in charge of the store for some of that time. This means I will have a key and ULTIMATE COLD STONE POWER! ... which is cool. Last night, Vicki trained me on a few parts of the Key Closer (counting down the drawers, financial reports, etc.) and then informed me that I will be on a higher wage during the time they're gone. I'm thinking "SHIT YEAH!" and playing the whole "Oh... really?"/:::inquisitive face::: until I saw the amount. $6.50. I mean, okay, that's nice...$.75 more an hour than I make now... but... ya know? JESUS... I'm RUNNING THE STORE!! God... I bet I'll never make $7.00 an hour; I don't see how much higher up the Cold Stone ladder I could get! So now, all my hopes for a good, significant, life-altering raise have been dashed. I will probably continue to allow my already low work effort to decline to the point where annoying-ass Chelsea will find something I'm doing wrong every five minutes instead of every fifteen. I will get later and later for work every day. I will give out more and more (illegal) cheap and free ice cream until one day... when they're pretty close to firing me, I will decide to put in my two weeks notice. That's pretty much how I do it. I can already see the onset of the pattern. Blah.

Aside from my whining, today is the last day of classes, and I only have one, and it starts in about forty five minutes. I am really freaking excited. Tonight, I am going to eat a special Holiday Dinner at the dorm (and thank God, because I am out of food here. I had a can of pork and beans for dinner last night... blegh. But at the time it was good, because I was starving.) THEN I'm hoping to drive home quickly to see the final showing of the extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring at AMC 30, then stay overnight and see the noon showing of the Two Towers. But we'll see... things never seem to work out that easily for me. Plus we have the Cold Stone Christmas party at 4:00 on Friday, and so I'd miss that... but... meh. I'm about halfway through reading The Two Towers. HOPEFULLY I can finish it before Return of the King comes out NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!!!

So basically, as this post would have it, my life involves two things right now: Cold Stone Creamery and Lord of the Rings. When I look at that, it seems pretty pathetic, but I guess it's better than Peterson Clinical Lab and Lord of the Rings.

Everybody's Happy. I can't say anything about last night's game that hasn't already been said other than... did you know that I went to school with Darren Sproles? Yeah... he moved to my school district in fourth grade, and we've gone to school together ever since. Oh... wait... I guess I've already said that. Maybe a couple times. I've always been bad about that.

I've been having a really good weekend... I've just been a lot happier and a lot more motivated to do things. I think I've discovered (or remembered) that the thing I desire most in life is connection. And this weekend... I've kind of rediscovered my favorite connection of all. But I guess I don't really know what to say about that here, because I fear I'll be making too big of a deal about it. Regardless... it has made me happy.

Okay. Now I'm really going to go do my homework. After this reading, I'm pretty much done aside from finals. I don't even want to think about those. Blegh.

Game Day In just a few short hours, K-State will embark in a battle of epic proportions on the fields of Arrowhead Stadium. People will be beaten, blood will be spilled, and helmets will roll. Hopefully they can pull out a miracle in the battle against Oklahoma. I am faithful. Yes. I am faithful.

A Quick Note: I love how Coco Bolos always plays the Vanilla Sky Soundtrack. I love that CD. I also love the movie... I love the version of love portrayed in the lucid dream... it is so simple and beautiful and elegant. I wish my life could be that way; profound and beautiful and yeah. But... who's to say it won't be?

Also, check out Emoily's ER Fan Page. It makes me chuckle (speaking of which, I apologize for the title of the blog entry from this Monday. Blegh.)

An idea. You know the old question "If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would you choose?" We know that most of our answers are impossible... but here's something that I think needs to be done, either by me and people I know, or by famous writers who might actually make a buck or two.

I like anthologies where all of my favorite writers team up and write short stories and compile them into one book and I can read what all of them are doing in one neatly bound volume for about thirteen dollars and ninety nine cents (because I don't believe in libraries.) (okay, not really... but yeah). None of these stories usually have anything to do with one another other than perhaps a common central theme (DEATH, or GENRE FICTION, or rabbits), and that is fine by me.

WELL... I think it would great if these same authors (or maybe me and some writing friends of mine) got together and wrote a series of short stories that are actually segments of the same story, and each writer takes a different perspective. Lets say Jason and I went into this endeavor along with Dave Eggers and Elmore Leonard. Maybe the story could be about a four prison buddies getting together for dinner five years after the one man who committed the murders for which they were all blamed was discovered - causing their release. Or maybe it could be about the only four surviving passengers on the same airplane that crash lands in the middle of Cuba. Each writer have a unique perspective... and unique style in which to portray their characters.

Does any of this make sense? Is it a good idea? Has it been done before? I envision the book being a novel... written by four authors (or thereabouts)... hmmmmmmm.

The Christmas decorations are up... let the holiday hijinks ensue.

Giggle Thank God classes are almost over! Soon I will be free of all of the British and the poetry and the sentence derivations... and I will move on to Americans, fiction, and the environment!

It's true what they say... college is less about learning about what they teach in classes and more about learning about life. I will admit, that I, like most people I know, don't have it all figured out... I think I'd be vain to say that I will EVER have everything figured out. However, today I've learned something - I've learned that you should listen to your friends... your good ones anyway. You should at least consider partaking in their advice because chances are, they want to help you avoid three years of agony rather than endure it. I guess maybe that was a mistake I made, but I've learned my lesson. So, maybe it's pointless for me to put that down here, because you probably won't learn from it... you'll probably have to go and make mistakes yourself. But yeah.

It's good to be back in Manhattan - I kind of missed my apartment (even though it's not equipped with the fifty-one inch HDTV). Speaking of which, anyone wanting to get me anything for Christmas might consider contributing to the "buy Michael a bigger TV" fund. There's a 52" HDTV on sale at Best Buy for only $999.99! For those of you who don't price high-definition televisions... that is an extremely good price. But anyway...

Pirates of the Carribbean comes out at midnight tonight, so I'm happy.

So... I was hanging out with Mike and started looking for some paper clips to bind some codes we found for him online when I stumbled across some old letters from the Kate. I played it cool until I took Mike home, then I sat down and read what she had to say a couple years ago before I visited her (in the time after we had been broken up for over a year). I am in a really weird place right now after reading them...

When you have been needed by someone for a long time, but they no longer need you anymore... that's a really shitty feeling. It's like the whole world turned itself inside out, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to make things "right" again. But who's to say they were "right" in the first place? I guess I just don't know what to do about it. I feel like, as much as I had changed from the time we were together to the time those letters were written, I was a much different person: I had hope. Now... I think I am somewhere even lower than I was then (and I thought I could get no lower). I feel like everything that I put forth.... my thoughts and words and attitude... everything is negative. I don't know how to sum all this up, but... yeah.

Some of you may be thinking, "Man get a life!" and I would agree. I know there are much more important things than old letters from an old girlfriend to whom I rarely speak anymore. But I mean WHAT HAPPENED TO ME? There is so much in my life I should be happy about... even so much more than "back in the day"... and yet it feels that since my life isn't focused on that one girl... uggghhh.

Aside from all this, I'm happy. Really. Just another negative thought that I've decided to add to my ever-darkening blog entries.

More on Matthew Jay. So I was downloading some more music by Matthew Jay when I discovered the fact that he died this past September; he was only twenty-four years old. He fell from a seventh-story window... no one knows if it was an accident or suicide. It's just weird how many good musicians of this sort die untimely deaths... Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, Jeff Buckley... ANYWAY. Just a random really-late night musing. I'd suggest downloading his music. It's relaxing and just a bit melancholic... my kind of stuff. Of course... you all probably have owned his album for a couple years and already either like or hate him, which doesn't surprise me: I'm always the last to find out about these kinds of things.

Brrrrrr. It is downright chilly... which probably has something to do with the earth's tilt at this time of year or something! It was REALLY cold at the Chiefs game - for about, well, the wholegame, I was sure they were going to have to amputate a few toes due to frost bite. It was still fun as hell. I tried"Tim Tam Slams" at Mike's after the game. Tim Tams are these Austrailian chocolate-covered cookies. You prepare this hot chocolate stuff... Milo... and then bite two corners off of a rectangular shaped Tim Tam and then use the Tim Tam as a sort of straw to suck up the Milo. It is hard to envision but it is REALLY good. I'll let you know if I find suitable American substitutes for these products.

It's weird how much I love going home. I think I've just been away for awhile... or things really suck here in Manhattan... or something. But I haven't wanted to be back in Olathe this much since my freshman year. I think I'm really just tired of school.

I made a couple selfish "you shouldn't be buying this before Christmas" purchases today. The first was "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup" for Gamecube. It is really fun... a sports game for those who don't really like sports games. The other, of course, was X2: X-Men United.

Jason showed me some cool music videos tonight directed by a guy whose name I can't remember (Michel something... Gondry?) ANYWAY... he's what I would call the music video version of M.C. Esher. Yes, my friends... he is that cool.

I am in the process of finishing up reading Fellowship of the Ring. I know, it hasn't been my book of the moment for a long time, but alas, it is what I have been reading. I think my book of the moment never can or will be accurate; I will ALWAYS be reading multiple books at the same time. But yeah.... I, uh, don't know where to go from here.

Oh hey... download this song: "You're Always Going Too Soon" - Matthew Jay. I heard it at work and liked it.

Confession. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for blink-182 and their pop-punk harmonies and heavy reliance on bridges and chorus-repetition. That said, I purchased their newest album tonight. It is untitled, and I enjoy it a lot. I would recommend the songs "Violence", "Down", "Asthenia", and "All of This". "Asthenia" is about a pretty cool subject - an astronaut in a space shuttle who doesn't want to return to earth because it's so full of artificiality and negativity. Good writing material... perhaps I will partake sometime.

I also confess that I sort of ran home this weekend. I was feeling pretty depressed for some reason - it could have stemmed from a host of different things. Anyway...

I hung out with Mike tonight, and that was great. We watched the awesome KSU victory on TBS and then celebrated with trips to Wal-Mart and Target (this is when I bought the blink album). Then he started talking Mormon to me, and I didn't really know what to do. That wasn't so great. I'm going to church with him tomorrow because he said that it was the only way we'd be able to make it to the Chiefs game on time. I'm not SO sure that's the whole truth, but... yeah. So I'm going to the Chiefs - Raiders game tomorrow, which is great. Then I will go back to Manhattan for a couple days, then come BACK here to Olathe for Thanksgiving.

I want to watch a lot of movies when I go back to Manhattan and not do the class thing. The semester's nearly over though... only ten more days of class (or something like that). SO... maybe I can hold out? Finals are going to be ugly. Oh well... it's only my college education. Meh.

Oops I did it again. I slept through my second chance at reading poetry at Manhattan High School. There's no excuse for this other than the fact that I am not a morning person. Mr. Ficke, the teacher whose class I was to read for, hates me, as I believe he is warranted to do. I am a bit wary of what repurcussions might result from my sleep deprevations, but I guess I will have to keep on going until they do indeed surface.

Here's the thing... today was the first day we've had my Structure class since the homicide. Professor Murray, the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, was in class and taught us today. At the beginning of class, he introduced those "who have been living in a cave" to the fact that he is indeed one of if not the prime suspects. His voice broke a few times during his, I feel, very well stated remarks on the issue. He taught class as normal, and attempted to cover as much material as possible in case he is detained. I don't know if I was "jaded" by a very well executed "performance", but I truly believed him to be sincere. I feel horrible for him and for the way I sort of hoped he actually did it so that way when I tell the story to my kids it's actually interesting. I don't know what I was thinking. So anyway... I hope he did not do it, because I really don't believe (or want to believe) that he did. If it comes out that he was indeed the killer, then today will have been the spookiest day in my life, and also the day when I learned that I can't always trust my instincts (at least not in murder cases).

Apologies to Brad Ficke, who I know does not read this, and to Ms. Friesen, who might (and to whom I was rather short with today in Survey).

I got an A on my fifth and final poem for Intro to Poetry Writing. That makes four A's and a B+, which on the whole, considering the minimal amount of time I put into the work, I am very proud of. On my five-page philosophy paper, I recieved a C, which is comendable considering I started writing it at 5:00AM the night before it was due. The bad thing is that he wants me to come in and talk to him about it, which I really don't want to do. I don't even remember what I wrote about!

Mike arrived last night. It was really great seeing him, and I cannot wait to hang out with him in the coming weeks, but I felt really out of place being there. I think it was because, other than Kyle and myself, everyone else was family or Mormon friends (there were three of these), and so yeah. I can't wait to talk to him one on one, though. I guess I might wait till the jet lag is taken care of... although our sleeping patterns are probably similar if he's still on Aussie time. Kyle and I had a nice road trip... we had good conversation and such. So yeah... it was a happy Thursday night.

I still can't believe I slept through that reading.

Moral: "If you commit, follow through." - Mr. Ficke

If this blog had pages it'd be a real page turner. Unfortunatley, we're just going to have to call it a "scroller" or something of the sort.

Let's get the boring stuff out of the way: cleaned the apartment, got Two Towers SE on DVD, have been working a lot, and Mike gets back from his two-year stint in Austrailia tomorrow evening. All of this is great and good, but I've got some real dirt to dish out. We're talking DRAMA!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Note: dialogue is approximated-

Monday - 11:10pm - I have just arrived home from work and am checking my voicemails on my cell phone when the land line rings. The Caller ID reads "Riley County Of" Chad, president and CEO of Empire Unleashed, picks it up.

Chad: Hey Mikey, you have a phone call.

Me: (to Chad) all right. (picks up the phone) Hello?

Caller: Hi this is Officer _________ with the Douglas County Sheriff's department. We're investigating a homicide that happened in our county this weekend and were seeing if we could ask you a few questions.

I agree to the task, and Officer ______ and I arrange to meet at 2:30pm on Tuesday afternoon. Disturbed by the idea of my involvement in a homicide case, I seek answers on the internet and find them here. Apparently my Structure of the English Language professor's ex-wife has been murdered. I am entrigued.

Tuesday - 2:30pm - I arrive at the Riley County "police department" and am met by a well-shaven man of about thirty years of age who introduces himself as Officer ________. We attempt to find space in an interrogation room, but all are full. We locate ourselves at a small table in the lobby of the building, and proceed with the questioning. The questions are random, and relate to his testing methods, his clothing, and the way he and I communicated outside of class (inconsequential in my mind). Finally, Officer ________, who wrote very very slowly, bids me good day. I am disappointed.

Wednesday - 11:30am - class is cancelled. 12:30am - in my British Survey class, I hear from several other students who have recieved similar investigations. They are as in the dark as I, until a meek girl one row behind me, auburn of hair and fair in complextion, clears her throat and says:

Girl: My husband is an officer in the Riley County Police Department, but...

Me: can you not tell us anything?

Girl: Well, no, I can.... (she pauses. We are hanging on her every word. We look at her pleadingly)... well... a lot of the evidence points to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So where does this leave me? I can't picture this man, who seemed so mild mannered and generally benevolent, comitting what my friend Hannah was informed was a "violent, gross crime of passion". But then again, he seems the kind that could very easily snap. He always appeared creepy to me. After the first day of class, I mentioned to Hannah that he looked like a mixture between Christopher Walken and Dracula to me. But who knows? This is by far one of the more bizarre things that has happened in my life. Is it bad that that I am exploiting this woman's death in my blog and perhaps down the road in my writing? I think so. But, great stories must be told, even if the teller is mediocre at best.

More as the situation develops. Back to you, Alexi...

Friday Five. Yes, it's Saturday, but Jason showed me this, so I figured I would give it a whirl. It seems fun.

1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.

warm

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.

tactless, confused

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.

lazy, horizontal, electronic

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.

short, late, tiring, unproductive

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.

wealthy, unemployed, private, inspiring, well-loved

Grandpa's funeral was today... it was your typical funeral. I was a pall bearer, and I seem to have become a lot more buff since the last time I did that job. My family was overly interested in my shoes, but they seemed to feel they were a bit too "rugged" for a funeral. But whatever. I'm young and practical, and so if they can't deal with it then whatever. My grandpa would have liked them, so bah.

Mike called me today. He gets home at about 6:00 on Thursday, which is EXCITING. Then I went to Kiran's "fiesta" and had a good time talking about substitute teachers (Remember Mr. "Eyebrows" Lighty? How about Ms. "Psychotic wife of the mayor of Olathe" Campbell?), cats, and musicals (like Cats). Tomorrow, I'm going to see Master and Commander and my brother's high school musical, Into the Woods.

Memories. I'm at home in Olathe right now, and I was browsing through my computer for pictures to add to my profile on Friendster when I stumbled across some pictures from back in the day when I was skinny (and much more attractive than I am today). It's weird... I look so young and happy. What changed? I was even thinking on the drive home about how much my life has changed in the past few years... I am missing the simplicity that I felt back then. MAN... I need to go back on a diet! I LOOKED SO GOOD! I think that settles it... I should print out the picture and put it on my fridge and it'll be my motivation to take control of at least one part of my life!

Tomorrow is my grandpa's funeral. I feel bad, because to break the tension that comes when I tell people he died (a tension which I hate)... I say that I'm okay because "he was kind of a bastard". This is a lie... or at least a partial truth; my grandpa treated people the way he did because that is the definition he had of love. To him, negative comments were no different than positive ones... he just said what he felt. Sometimes he hurt people (well... a lot), but I think he meant well. So grandpa, if you're dead but read this (or listen in on my conversations)... know that me calling you a bastard is me being unable to deal with the fact that you're gone. It has started to hit me, though... it did especially when I read the little pamphlet thing from his visitation tonight.

Congrats to my friend Michelle, who has yet to tell me the good news ;) But I'm sure she will in time.

I remember back in the day, how I thought love could move the world. I thought it could just cause thousands of miles to disappear and bring continents together and whatnot. Was I wrong? Mmmmmm...

Sometimes I think all I write here is worthless crap that no one wants or needs to read. Tim asked me today what the point of a blog is. I told him I didn't know... it's just a place where I write my thoughts. Maybe I make a difference, though? Maybe I say something or react to something similar to the way you might, and so you are affected by our ability to relate on those emotions (or maybe not). But DAMMIT I'm going to keep blogging, because it feels good, and it makes me happy. So... yeah. Please sign up for Friendster and add me as a friend... it's a lot of fun (at least... it looks like it could be). And Katie, sorry for the no e-mail. After I hung up, I lost my train of thought. I think my head will be a bit clearer tomorrow night.

I'm going to hell. My grandpa died today. They don't really know how it happened, but he had been sick for a really long time, and today he just died. I don't really know what to write about it... it feels so wrong to do so. So, guess I'm moving on.

I really wish I could have seen him though. I don't know when the last time I got to see him was... it was before he got really suck. It bothers me that I never really got to say goodbye. Not seeing him was, for me, one of those things that you know you'll regret later on, but you just don't feel that you can be bothered to do it at that moment. I am horrible.

What is going on? My motivation is slipping... perhaps more than it ever has before. All I feel like doing anymore is sitting here and watching TV and reading books (more of the former though; the latter takes too much effort). It's really kind of sad. And pathetic. I think I need to get a new hobby... or rediscover old ones or something. I want my cello back. I also want to start writing more (since I more or less want that to be my profession some day). I'll let you know how all this goes.

My toilet is being kind of weird tonight; it will start and run for about five seconds and then shut off for about fifteen... then it starts all over again. I am thinking I'll call the landlady soon and pursue a permanent solution to the problem, but for now at least it provides me with something semi-interesting to mull over on this blog.

Sometimes I think about how much more drive I had in High School. I mean Jesus... I was HARDCORE! Seven hours of class a day, followed by at least four hours of work at a job that I absolutely hated (although it did allow me to get homework done and catch up on sleep!) I think what I miss is that cushy life... the parents who did my laundry and made my bed and cooked and cleaned and whatnot. And I miss the security of not being alone... because I wasn't back then, at least not in the sense that I am now. Those were the days. My life is no longer a compilation of my own and other people's efforts... it's what I make of it. Right now, I'm sad to say, I'm not making much. I am definitely in a "searching" mode... searching for my "meaning" and "purpose" - searching for what I want to get out of my life. I hate how right now all the words I am using are big abstractions ("MEANING" and "PURPOSE")... I can't really focus them with any concrete details. I can sort of see an end to the search; I can see what I want to eventually see. I think I'm just unsure of how to get there. My new path of indifference and laziness (and, dare I say, melancholy) isn't working... it's getting old pretty quick. I'm on the verge of something new though. Anyway... just a little profundity for you to chew on.

In defense of my enjoyment of the Matrix Trilogy... I will admit that the movies (actually just the last two) are glorified crap. I read a quote that I really agree with that said that they are basically "the worlds most expensive student films". There are so many issues with bad writing, horrific dialogue, ineffective pacing, and overly-pedantic musing on philosophy (shutting the toilet off) that it makes the movies hard to praise. The reason I liked the trilogy, though, was for the world that the Wachowski Brothers created... a human race that was destroyed by its own flaws (flaws that I myself see in our own society, both past and present). The boys could have executed the story far better, and I think they owed it to the story to do so. Nevertheless, I had fun watching it all. The idealistic ending of Revolutions displays, I think, the quixotic dream that world peace is actually possible... that we can be forgiven for our sins and forgive as well. It's a nice thought... a thought that makes me happy and gives me hope. Ergo, I will continue to enjoy the Matrix, not for what it showed me, but for what I saw in it. How's that for crappy and botched reasoning? I'm going to go watch more Friends now. Is my taste waning?

A pointless Sunday. I have so much stuff to do for tomorrow, and yet today I did absolutely nothing (at least nothing that I had to do). I watched some Friends Season Five and got thoroughly depressed about my lack of anything resembling a love life (Friends will do that to me sometimes). Then I went to work. Work was okay... we got out of there pretty quickly, but I still kind of wish I didn't have to go in at all.

My toilet doesn't stop running. If I had to pay for water, I'd be pissed. But since it's included in my rent, I usually just let it run until I get annoyed. It was running when I got home a bit ago, but I haven't gone in an turned it off yet.

I can't find my poetry writing syllabus, so I don't know what I need to do for tomorrow. This is a problem because of what went down last Friday (nobody had read, so she got pissed off and sent us all home... which was kind of nice, but still). I'm hoping I can find it. I'm expecting she's going to be extra scrutinous on our reading comprehension. I also have to read thirty pages of "The Importance of Being Earnest" for my Survey class tomorrow. I think I'm going to hussle on over to the Digital Shelf and rent the movie version and then watch it while I read along. At least that way I won't take four hours to read it (I'm a slow reader; I tend to doze off). Okay I'm shutting the toilet off now.

And I'm back. Speaking of back... mine doesn't hurt anymore. I dunno what happened, but I like it.

My weekend is over. Sad but true. In about an hour, I am trucking my ass off to Cold Stone, where I will pretend to be thrilled to create the ultimate ice cream experience for thousands of indecisive sorority girls, then get down and dirty cleaning it all up so I can go back in tomorrow night and do it all over again. It's not that I don't like this job; on the contrary, it's one of the best I've had. But it's cold, and I'm tired, and all I want to do is sit in my apartment and read or play GameCube or anything but go to work. My back is still killing me too... I think it's something I'm going to have to go to the rec for, cause the pain pills just aren't cutting it.

I didn't get to see Elf last night. Jah-soan and I went to see Mystic River in the afternoon (it was good... depressing, but good)... then I pretty much hung out with my roommate for the rest of the night. We had a good time until he got bloodied up in our parking lot by a couple of drunk assholes. It was weird...

I cannot wait for this semester to be over. I am sick of my classes I think... and of my routine. Next semester it looks like I will have Mondays and Fridays free from class... which means some sweet four day weekends (although I'll probably have to work some of the time, but maybe I can take Saturdays and Sundays off!) This one class I want (Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction) is full... so I have to wait and see if I can get in. If not, I will have to make alternative plans. Boo to that.

On the importance of profundity in blog entries I am a firm believer in the idea that one need not use profound words to express profound thoughts. I will admit that most of my blog entries speak of the mundane, and that rarely do I attempt to acheive any philosophical understandings of the world around me (although SOMETIMES I do), but I guess that is not why I created this blog. Every day I am forced (or feel forced) to look for the deeper meaning in things, including my own life. Sometimes that feeling will manifest itself in a post. Oftentimes it will not.

Maybe my blog is more of an escape from all that... to just write down all the things that happened in my day so that way the two of you who still read this and I don't have to have conversations about my mundane life since you already know a lot of what happened, and we can get to the nitty gritty. Or maybe I write about the boring events of my day because that's the side of myself I'm not good at expressing verbally (not that I feel I'm really good at expressing ANYTHING about myself). I guess that could be a flaw, since I don't pursue "higher" conversations with my friends, perhaps I should pursue higher musings in my blog thoughts? But really, if you know me at all, you know that I don't really pursue conversations period. I encounter them. I am no good at thinking up things to talk about, so I wait until YOU think of it, then I give my say. Or maybe this is all just a selfish thing for me... maybe I write all of my random thoughts down so that I don't feel bad boring you with them in our real conversations. I admit my own randomness can be annoying, but at least here you have the option of ignoring me. I think I might have said something like that before.

Regardless of all that, I never have and never will claim that this blog will produce any quotable revelations on the meaning of life. Read Caleb's blog for that... he's much better at it than I. No... I think I'm just going to stick to talking about things like how my poetry writing professor cancelled class today because not a single person read the assigned poem (Frost's "The Witch of Coos"). It was pretty nice. Then you will know how I react to situations and will understand ME rather than my flawed understanding of the world, which would most likely benefit from a good conversation with you.

I want to go see a movie tonight. Really bad. A movie like Elf. But I already said that in an earlier post today. So... any takers? Either of you? Mmmbetty.

Picking my battles. Michelle and Jason stopped by Cold Stone the other night. It was great... we weren't busy at all, so I got to hang out with them! Then after they left, massive throngs of sorority girls came in. I could describe to you the intense hatred I have for these groups, but as this is a blog and I don't feel like rambling, I will instead say that you'll have to ask me later.

I saw The Matrix Revolutions last night. I was quite a fan, although for a different reason than I was for the first one. The first Matrix was cool because it was new; dark, mysterious, and with Special effects that had never been made before. It had quite a bit of sub-surface substance to it as well, and it could be pretty easily figured out. The second movie, while good, lost sight of all this. I couldn't tell what it wanted to be; interesting piece of cinema or high budget action flick. The third film sealed it; The Matrix is indeed a high budget action film. Where it tries with such earnest, I feel it fails: in my opinion, trying to figure out exactly what is going on (both literally and figuratively) is a little too difficult to figure out... all I can picture is two nerdy Wachowski brothers laughing at me and saying "What? You honeshtly don't get thish?? What a shimpleton are you." Maybe I'm just lazy, but yeah. BUT... WHAT A RIDE! Where the melodramatic resurrection of Trinity scene in Reloaded sorely out of place, similar scenes in Revolutions seemed to have found their home. And all the action... the throngs of sentinels... that face plant on Agent Smith and the view of the real sky... I had a lot of fun watching it. Some of you will agree. Some of you won't. But I guess that is just the beauty of life.

How cliche. Anyway. I want to see Elf this weekend. I also don't want to work. One of these things will occur. The other won't. My neighbor upstairs has squeaky bedsprings. They are especially loud around two in the morning when the bars close. This is disturbing to me for a couple of reasons, but worry not... I have already moved on.

Now I am going to go do my homework for my class in an hour. I am excited to come home from class and to be free for a weekend of fun and fancy. Tra la.

Disappointments. The Matrix Revolutions did not have a midnight showing last night, so now I'm not going to get to see it until Thursday. Also, I haven't done as much work as I hoped I'd get done in the way of cleaning up my apartment this week... oh well.

Finding Nemo is great. I also rented and watched Whale Rider last night (as one of my two free DVD rentals I recieved for purchasing The Indiana Jones Trilogy from Hastings). It was excellent.

My back is killing me... I bought some pain medication for it so hopefully it will get better. It really sucks not being able to bend over... especially when you have to do a lot of that at your job. I'm glad I have tomorrow and Friday off... it'll give me some time to recouperate. I also bought some sleeping pills, so hopefully I can get my sleeping patterns back on track (rather than going to bed at like three or four in the morning!) WELL... I should go to work. Chad, if you get home before I do, sorry for the dishes!

The more I think about it, the more I can't wait to get out of Kansas. Thinking about the fact that I only "have" to live here for about another year and a half makes me so happy! It's actually kind of sad...

and scary.

White Oleander was on HBO tonight... I missed the beginning but caught the majority of the film; I thought it was really good.

I finally did laundry today... it was the busiest I've ever seen the Wash Palace, but it was still an enjoyable experience. There's a new girl at work; she's freakishly short, but really nice. And I think I kind of got asked out on a date by another co-worker. More on that as the situation develops. We also have Candy Cane ice cream at work. It's kind of nasty. AND we play new music at work; it's a refreshing break from all the repetative "musak" we played before.

I'm in one of those moods where I just want to drive away and never come back or turn off all the lights and do nothing for the rest of the night or just go out and watch the stars (which would actually be a serious consideration if it wasn't cold and rainy outside). I have so much homework to do it's insane. And I really don't care.

I thought of a good holiday movie premise: a singing, dancing claymation candy cane builds himself a winter wonderland retreat named "X-masadu" and estranges himself from the rest of the candy cane world until, after his untimely death they try to discover the meaning of his last word. It would be called "Citizen Cane". Man I'm awesome!!!

Apologies. There are a few people who I currently feel I owe apologies. Why I do it here and not in person (or "over IM", as the case may be) is not that hard to figure out: I am one of those people who likes to make himself feel better by being public about just about every issue he has so that people don't think he doesn't know he's flawed. Or... something.

Katie (not Vincent): I am sorry I called you accidentally last night in an attempt to call the other Katie. That was very not cool, and I can't blame you for being mad.

The girl who wrote the poem I ranted about: I'm sorry that I ranted about your poem... there is a chance that you are exactly who you say you are in that poem; I forgot that I don't know you, but instead did you the injustice of putting you in a group of (in my mind) jilted females who, upon reflection, are probably jilted (whatever that word is) by the pressures of a society in which we are pretty much force fed the idea that we are only beautiful when we are skinny and beautiful and straight-toothed and horny and drunk and smoking. So maybe this is an apology to all of woman-kind, or maybe society in general, or maybe even something bigger...

Kyle: I am sorry that in my rant about said-girl's poem, I seemed to say that the only reason you write music is to get girls. I know this is not the case... and I can explain this more a bit later.

Karla, Kaitlyn and posse: Sorry I forgot I invited you to my party tonight that didn't happen, and that I in turn forgot to call you. That wasn't cool of me. I hope you found something fun to do tonight.

Everyone who I had invited to the party that never was: Sorry. I was tired.

Kyle (again), Sara, David, April and Amandra: Sorry I never called back tonight; I got kind of wrapped up in my art project and then just went over to Adam and Jason's and watched TV for a bit before I decided to go home.

Tiffany and John: I totally forgot your phone message until just now, ugghhh MAN I am horrible!

NOTE: only about four people apologized to in this post will actually read it. If you are one of them, and know a person or people who will not recieve this apology by reading it with their own two eyes (or four, as the case may be), please feel free to relay it to them. I might do it myself, but... we all know how I am with that kind of thing.

Bull crap. We are studying sonnets and villanelles in my poetry writing class (I actually have to write one for Wednesday), and today we read a few from my professor's previous classes. This one we read was bullshit, and I'll put it here in it's entirety (how do you spell that?) so that you can truly understand the form of a villanelle and so that I can make references and bash it and so on. I will say; she does good things with the form.

frustrations of a hopeless romantic
poet unknown

i wait for one with eyes drawn to the stars,
who reads banned books and opposes Descartes.
yet all around they flock to beers and bars,

still trying to impress me with their cars.
(big muscles don't distract me from small hearts.)
i wait for one with eyes drawn to the stars,

who'll take me on walks and play me guitar,
caressing my har to the sounds of Mozart.
yet all around they flock to beers and bars

to talk of business news and smoke cigars,
their lives planned out along commercial charts.
i wait for one with eyes drawn to the stars,

who'll kiss away tears and memorize scars,
rent out Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart.
yet all around they flock to beers and bars,

no one possessing impassioned lodestars
to show me life and beauty, love and art.
i wait for one with eyes drawn to the stars,
yet all around they flock to beers and bars.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I'm sorry if you wrote this and also read my blog, but I think this is probably the clearest picture of female fallacy I have ever seen. I WILL NOT believe the claim that women (this was written by one in college, who probably dresses up like most of them around here and goes to the bars at least semi-regularly) are not impressed by muscles... how many overly fat or overly skinny poster boys have you heard a girl salivate over? Ask a girl if she's ever been to the Beech Art Museum or the library to pick up dates - chances are she hasn't really ever been to either, and even if she has, she is far more familiar with the interior of Rusty's Last Chance than she is with the current collection of Kansas paintings and the media collection on the second floor where you can find quite a few Mozart recordings. And I have gotten more flack from the females for owning my very own copy of Casablanca than I know what to deal with. And don't even TELL me you want a guy who looks at the stars... the only ones who still do this, you'll probably pass buy one drunken night on the way home with your muscle-bound beau in his tricked-out ride and you will laugh in his face for being "a loser" or "gay". I'll kiss away your tears and memorize your scars, but it's not like that's going to make you happy anyway. And a guy who plays you guitar and compares love with art? Ask my friend Kyle how well that worked out for him. Poems are an easy place to spout out such wishful thinking; my blog is a good place for me to spout out how crappy I think that kind of thinking is. It is a rare girl who really wants what this "poet" claims she does - I have yet to find her. If and when I do, she'll probably already be taken. Cheers... here's to love.

The poem is, however, well written (in my opinion)... except I think line seventeen is a bit too much. But who am I to critique?

When McSweeney's gives you Lemon... This weekend has been a fairly good one. I think that's because I haven't had to work since last Monday, but that all ends today because I go back to the grind tonight from five till ten. But, I saw Scary Movie 3 and enjoyed it, hung out with some friends, etc. Plus the Wildcats won (although, like a loser, I skipped out on the game and watched some Indiana Jones instead). I also recieved my latest book from McSweeney's, a book that I probably won't have time to read for awhile. I read the first page though, and I like the style. It's about the romantic relationship between a man and a lemon. Wicked, eh? Yeah, that's why I bought it.

I really love the fall version of Daylight Savings Time. It is a beautiful thing to look at a clock that reads "12:28" and know that really it's 11:28. It always makes me feel like I'm pulling one over on someone. It kind of sucked this year though because I had to change my whole wall of clocks. They're probably all way off from eachother on the second-hands now.

I had a dream that I had to go back and work at Peterson's because I got this girl I know pregnant and we decided (actually she decided, but I guess I wasn't opposed to it) to get married. I'd tell you who she is but I think she's told me she reads this blog, so then it'd be kind of weird. It was, though, only a dream.

A fun-filled Wednesday. Today (well, yesterday actually) was a pretty good day. I didn't have to work (for the second night in a row... actually, I don't work again till Sunday night!) so it was just a nice, relaxing day. I even grilled up a nice T-bone steak for myself! Then I went and saw Othello at McCain. I'm not sure how I felt about the production; it was set in a sort of pseudo-Nazi Venice (I think, although it could have been modern), so all the characters were in cammos or nazi get-up and berets and they marched around like toy soldiers. There was also some "slow motion" which in one scene was almost comical, as it kind of looked like they were taking cues from The Matrix. But more than that, in the beginning, I couldn't really take Othello seriously; he seemed almost "giddy as a school girl" about his rad new wife, Desdemona. Then, when he took his drastic turn, I was like, "Yeah, whatever... he's just being a baby." Iago was good though... and Emilia, who was black, which I suppose they did in an effort to narrow down the reasons why Iago hates Othello so much. Bianca (Michele Hillen, who, according to the program is going to be in Mona Lisa Smile, although when I looked on IMDB I didn't find her name) was really hot. They had this techno dance scene; it was cool. And I liked the sets... especially the last one. I dunno, on a scale of one to ten, I'd give it an eight for originality and vision, and a three for effectiveness. I think it was the really bad B-war movie music they used to transition between scenes. I felt like I was watching the CBS nightly news (you know their theme song?)

ANYWAY... sorry for that scattered and poorly written review. I just had to give my two cents. Other good things that happened today... my friend Carey IM'd me!!! It was so exciting! She's in Spain, which is great, and wants to be a furniture designer! It was great hearing from her... hopefully we can hang out when she gets back!

I watched 28 Days Later... I am a fan. It's not quite my genre, but it was pretty damn interesting. The whole procreation bit was a bit out there, but maybe lonely British men get a bit crazy (and horny)? Meh.... if/when it comes down in price, it'll probably wind up in my collection.

I did a bad, bad thing. Today I talked to both Joe and Mike (in that order) on the phone. They called within about fifteen minutes of eachother... it was really weird. Joe is doing well... so is Mike. Mike actually comes home in less than a month (November 20th, to be exact) which is exciting! Joe gets back Christmas Eve. Also exciting, but since it's further away, it's a little less exciting than Mike's arrival.

Stephen also called me today, and I never have to work another minute at Peterson Clinical Lab, PA. Apparently they found someone new. It makes me kind of sad though, because I'll never get to say goodbye to Kami or Greg or Charles or Angela or Julie or Tammy or Jackie or Beth or Vivian or Tera (meh) or any of those guys. Maybe when (or if... hehehe) I take my shirts back, I'll see some of them. Or maybe I'll decide to work there again over the summer? Or maybe not.

In the absense of work, I went shopping. The "bad, bad thing" to which this post's title refers is my purchasing of the Indiana Jones Trilogy. This is "bad" for a couple of reasons. One, I have seen only the Last Crusade in its entirety, so I'm hardly an Indiana Jones "fan", which therefore makes me somewhat of a poser - although I KNOW I'll like the other ones; I've seen bits of them and enjoyed them. Thirdly, I really should not be spending that kind of money the entire trilogy (with bonus disc in a beautiful feaux-feaux-leather box) cost me a cool $45.99 from Hastings. (In my defense, there is a $10 rebate which I've already sent in, AND I got two free rentals. Those two bonuses totalled together, I am informed, to bring the purchase price to under $29.00. That's less than $10 a movie, and that really isn't bad.)

WE HAVE A TREE! It is a six-foot artificial ficus tree with little white lights (kind of like the one in my bedroom at home, which I think only two or three of you who read this post have seen, and I am willing to bet only one of you remembers. But that's cool.) Its leaves are green on top and burgandy-ish underneath. It is great. Unfortunately, we can't plug it in right now; the number of electrical plugs going into one outlet has Chad a bit timid. I am not so timid since we never have all eighty things on at once (plus it's a small strand of Christmas lights), but for the sake of world peace...

And once again, because I said I would, check out my roommate's online magazine. It has been updated. It is awesome. It is subtly dirty. It is a force to be reckoned with.

You people. A couple of you actually took yesterday's post literally and called me shallow. I don't think you were joking, either. That hurts, people. That's the stuff my nightmares are made of.

I came back home today... home to Manhattan, that is. I really wasn't excited to come back, I think because I have to work in about thirty minutes and then do homework and go to class tomorrow. Blegh. I'm ready to move to wherever I'm going to move to.

David, Logan and I saw Kill Bill last night (as you know, this was my second time). The other two liked it. The three guys behind us didn't. They said things like, "Dude, this is like the worst movie ever." "Yeah, dude, I heard it had like, a really low budget or something." "Oh." They said these things fairly loud, and it got kind of annoying, but Logan said they were courteous because every time he turned around they would shut up until their A.D.D. kicked in about ten seconds later. They left pretty close to the end... and I was happy.

Speaking of David, he got his first car yesterday. He's pretty excited. I'm pretty scared. And jealous... it has power windows, power locks, and cruise control. That bastard. My parents got my muffler fixed for me, which is nice. So, all in all, I'd say I enjoyed my weekend.

I know it's overplayed, but I really like "Clocks" by Coldplay. It's one of those songs that makes you believe you can fly.

The paper saga. After all the slacking and snoozing, I completed a very rough draft of my paper at about five o'clock in the morning on Friday morning. I then woke up at twenty after one that afternoon; the exact time the class for which I wrote the paper (my second class of the day) let out. This was a problem.

Why do things like this always happen to me?! Like the time last year when I slept through a final and got a D in Public Speaking 105A... does anyone else do this kind of stuff?? Am I the only person who has these issues? E-mail me or SOMETHING if you do! Anyway... I wrote a frantic e-mail to my professor and attached the very rough draft in hopes that some dim ray of luck might shine upon me.

And shine upon me it did. She said I was "close enough" and suggested that I not let myself get so sleep deprived as I have a whole half a semester left. I thought that was nice of her to mention... and the fact that she didn't throw the whole "I am a University professor and I am God and will accept no late work" thing in my face really earned cool points for her in my book. If she ever comes into Cold Stone, I'm going to give her free ice cream. Hopefully I will get a decent grade on it despite the fact that it might be the worst piece of trash I've ever submitted for grading (as it was, as I've said, a "very rough" draft).

I am happy to be at home. Tonight, my mom and I went to the grocery store, then we all ate dinner as a family. Then David and I went to Borders, where I bought the new Travis album (as per Logan's suggestion) and a Jonathan Lethem book that was on sale (the name looked familiar... I thought he had written for one of the McSweeney's quarterlies. Actually, Jason went to a reading of his a couple of weeks ago and was underwhelmed by his newest work. Oh well.) What is more exciting is that I bought a couple of books for David, who is actually becomming interested in reading! Then we went and saw School of Rock because, as I have mentioned, it is necessary for all to see. We got home at about 1:00 this morning, and only then did I remember that he is taking the PSAT at like 7:30. Ooops. He said that it doesn't matter, which is true I guess, and I'm glad he knows that, but that kind of thinking... is that good for a kid his age? Maybe I'm setting a bad example (like when I go off on rants about how bullshit AP courses and weighted grades were.)

Ewww.... I saw Michael Fry at the grocery store. I hate those akward meetings where you feel forced to pretend that you were great friends because you went to school in the same building for three years (in our case, six) but never really had class together at all. He was with his girlfriend; I was with my mom. I also saw Kyle Swanson on 177 as I was leaving Manhattan. He waved, I waved, and that was that. It was actually quite an enjoyable interchange, I think because I didn't have to say anything. Aside from all this, if I ran into someone like Darren Sproles, who is now a celebrity, I'd expect a conversation. M. Fry... not so much. Call me shallow.

Almost... there... I should be writing my paper. Instead I'm blogging. Nice. I just can't think anymore... at least not about the changing view of nature in literature from the 18th Century and Restoration through the Romantic era. After this paper, I will never have to think about it again; I can throw all my notes, handouts, etc. from the first half of the semester away. After this paper, I will be essentially done with homework for the weekend, and I can go home and visit my friends and family. After this paper.... ugghhh it just feels like it's never going to happen (and it's not if I keep blogging, but I don't care).

So the shaving study thing... six hours after the actual shaving (so at 3:10 pm) I was supposed to get a phone call asking me which side of my face felt smoother, but I didn't recieve that phone call. At 4:10, I called and informed them that I had not recieved my phone call, and so the girl took down my name and my response (it was that same Korean girl, remember me talking about her?) but she didn't act like she remembered me, even though we talked about my first shaving experience and Cold Stone earlier that morning. Whatever. So I'd better get my damn $50.00. If I don't, boy, there's going to be hell to pay!

FRIENDS WASN'T ON TONIGHT! NEITHER WAS SCRUBS!!! Well, Friends was on, but it was an old episode. Kyle and I still watched it. We ate burritos and apricots. He wore his scrubs because I think he was secretly hoping for Scrubs to come on (he said it is because they are the most comfortable pants in the world.) It never did, though. It's because NBC is hateful.

I am starting this new diet... I bought the book a long time ago, but only now determined that I needed to take action. It's called "The Testosterone Advantage," and it's a very weird diet... it is asking me to drink 1% milk rather than my usual skim and to eat a lot less non-fat food. Supposedly all these changes are going to increase my level of testosterone, which is a great fat fighter. You're probably questiong the method, but I'm not, so don't rain on my parade. I will let you know how it works as the weeks go by.

I am really excited to go home tomorrow. I can't even put it into words, but I will try:

YIPEE! WOOT!! AYYIIIII!!!

That ended up about as good as I think this paper is going to...

The Return of the Grind. Well, my friends, another fall break has come and gone, and today I return to the drab days of scholastic living. I did have a good weekend, but even four days just isn't enough anymore... maybe for the simple reason that I worked all of them. Peterson is better now that I'm leaving... I still can't wait to be done there, though. Apparently I have been messing up the filing system... or at least confusing people by separating the filing into months, and so therefore causing the issue. No one made it clear to me that we filed according to accession number only, not separating them out by months. I guess I was wrong in assuming that in June, when we started the new way (by number rather than alphabetical by last name) and I was told to put all the June "yellows" (as they are called) in the bottom drawers and all the July "yellows" in the top one, that I wasn't supposed to separate the months out. And then Stephen had the audacity to say that even PAM (if you'll remember Pam, the alphabetically (and mentally) challenged girl who got the Target job when I didn't) "even Pam ," he says to me, "didn't have a problem with months." Implying that those people that have been getting it wrong (i.e. me) are even more retarded than Pam. That bastard. I called him on it too. I said "You know, Stephen, that when you say 'those people', you are referring to me, because I was messing it up, and then you actually have the nerve to compare me to Pam? It was you who was not clear about what we are supposed to do!" He laughed it off and said he was just joking. I almost walked out right then.

In other news, I completed the second portion of my $50.00 shaving study this morning. It was quite fun; although when people learn that I work at Cold Stone, they get a little giddy (and a little annoying). Thank God I "wasn't allowed to talk" as per the stipulations of the study. One guy asked me to sing after I was done, but I kind of pretended not to hear him and walked out the door.

Public Service Announcement: If you were here on Saturday night and witnessed the abduction of a bottle of Abercrombie cologne out of the medicine cabinet inside the bathroom, please notify me as soon as possible. Chad is missing his cologne. Chad is very angry. If you took it, Chad will find out where you live, hunt you down, and then pour the sweet-smelling, hypervolatile liquid all over your body, maniaclly chanting "So you wanted to smell pretty, huh?! You thought you could smell as pretty as me?!" before igniting your fragrant body with a blue-orange flame and cackling wickedly as you are reduced to a musky pile of odorifous (spelling?) ash. He does this sort of thing often. I live with him. It's scary. Bring back the cologne.

I caved and bought The Matrix Reloaded. I know they are going to release some special edition of it after all three movies come out because, well, it's Warner Brothers, and that's just what those bastards do. I couldn't help it, so I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I'm just glad I have a digital copy of Lawerence Fishburne giving the poorest performance of his career as he stands up in front of a large, soon to be half-naked and techno dancing crowd of future-people and shouts a lot of anti-machine trash talk like an angry ten year old. That is what I call "Hollywood magic."

Things for you to do. I went to see a movie tonight entitled "School of Rock". If you haven't seen it, please do. It is excellent.

I went to said movie alone, which, if you haven't done, I'd recommend you do... it's kind of fun. I walked into a completely empty theatre and thought to myself, "If no one else is in here and I laugh, is that weird?" But anyway... more people came in shortly thereafter, and a couple of those people were my friend and former roommate Kenny and my friend and former roommate's girlfriend Jill. We chatted and they sat next to me and it was happy. It was weird... very "fate-y"... but very cool. I was glad I had some people to share the experience with.

Now for the moral: "School of Rock" is a great movie that will not allow itself to be seen without the company of friends. The Gods of Rock have proclaimed it so. Rock on.

Whenever I work with "the high schoolers"*, I want to kill myself. I cannot stand these things that I find in them: laziness, over the top self-interest, bad harmonizing (all of which is blatant and poor replication of the harmonies that I "created" or really "discovered" (because you can't really CREATE harmonies, can you?)), Jeff, lying to the customers, the way they assume that because the work I am doing is not helping customers (cleaning up their messes, making waffle cones, etc.) that I am lazy, and the way they assume that I don't play their "Who is cuter?" game (in which they name two people and then tell who they like more) because I hate them, which is actually true but that doesn't mean that they need to assume that I hate them and talk about how much of a bastard I am. I can't stand them. I think they're going to fire Jeff. I hope so... he doesn't mix the dry mix-ins first, then the wet mix-ins second; he does them all at one, which creates on unattractive glop of ice cream that he touts as "perfection", and it's ridiculous. And if he sings that damn "H-E-double L-O" song ONE MORE TIME, I SWEAR I WILL...


*NOTE: I use the term "the high schoolers" to distinguish a certain few from the number of coworkers of mine who happen to be in high school. The rest are good.

Fiesta. I am a suffocating host. That said, a small get-together I threw last night went fairly well. I will admit, there were a few group distinctions, but all in all, I think it was a good time for all. If you were there, thanks for coming, and sorry if my suffocatingness got annoying.

Apparently people like that Happy Meal toy I hate. I don't get it either, but... yeah. So maybe I can give it to a good home, or maybe it will just start to grow on me so that I can set it out as a Halloween decoration.

Speaking of scary stuff, Adam had a note put on his car the other night that said "when do you want to die? bitch." It was made with a typewriter, so whoever wrote it not only has bad grammar but is also technologically impaired. I think it was some old man Adam pissed off (because Adam does that sort of thing). Jason thinks it's this gay guy who Adam helped with homework for awhile until the guy started hitting on him. An equally good guess. More will come as the situation develops.

A promo. As promised, a link to Chad's online magazine, Empire Unleashed. Here is my favorite part, the synopsis:

"A lifestyle online magazine, where Wall Street and urban life come together as one, looking at cars, clothes, financial issues, lifestyle and play in the Big Apple and Little Apple. Looking at the east coast and the heart of it all, New York City."

I'll admit, it's not much now, but as its succinct and brilliant synopsis proves, it will truly be something to be beheld by all. I can definitely see this outshining other magazines in your doctor's waiting room. Magazines like Fortune, Maxim, and Highlights. QUIVER IN FEAR, FOR THE EMPIRE IS ABOUT TO BE... UNLEASHED!!!

New Developments! Today is the wonderful Bible-pusher day at Kansas State University! This is where old, rich men stand at all the inlets to campus handing out pocket-sized versions of the King James Version of the Bible. It is truly a thing to be beheld... does this happen elsewhere? Ahhh how I look forward to it. (Incedently, you may be wondering why I love Bible-pusher day so. This stems from the fact that the first words I heard as I stepped foot on Kansas State University soil over three years ago were "Would you like a bible?" I obliged. Then I tossed it in a bush. Sad.)

Another exciting thing has happened: I received McSweeney's issue No. 11 in the mail this afternoon! It includes a DVD which is quite the entertaining piece. Joyce Carol Oates is CREEPY! Who would have thought?

The homework situation: critical. I have finished the first read through of the article. When I get home, I can begin all the dirty work.

It's raining a lot, so I'm hoping tonight won't be busy at the old Stone. It probably will be, though. It's sorority day, so the girls (to whom the concept of tipping is foreign) will probably be out in full fat-hungry force after their chapter meetings. So I say, "Eat up, young vixens! Become the fat wives of bastards and military men!" Muahahahahaha!!!

I'm freaking out. I haven't really gotten a good start on either of my two projects for the week (Philosophy assignment and studying for my Brit Survey exam), and I'm starting to get a little nervous about both. Hopefully after class I can get my ass in gear enough to actually sit down and read through the rest of the article (I'm about halfway through... it's dry... like really coarse wheat toast.) Then I can re-read it, highlight, make an outline, and write the stupid paper. For those of you who don't remember, the last one of these necessitated an "all-nighter". I'm hoping that that won't be the case this time.

This morning I participated in the first portion of a shaving study, for which I will recieve $50.00. It was quite an interesting experience... being blindfolded, having hot towels wrapped around your face, and then trusting someone with a few very sharp blades to go at your face. Luckily, I suffered no "incidental nicks or scrapes", so Donna at Campus Hairstyles is cool in my book. While I was sitting there, being suffocated by the second of the hot towels, Edwin McCain's I'll Be came on... just kind of interesting... I haven't heard that song in a long time. Until, today, anyway. There were a couple of Korean girls who were kind of running the show, and one of them started talking to me while I waited (because God forbid I start getting shaven five minutes early!) and so I guess I'm going to be editing her thesis paper. I dunno, I couldn't really understand what she was saying... she was definitely a native Korean. (Incidentally, I am only guessing at her nationality. She could have been Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Philippino, or a host of many other nationalities... but she seemed Korean.)

I watched Babe last night, and I must say, I really love that movie. It made me want to be an English teacher... as weird as that sounds. "If I had words to make a day for you, I'd sing you a morning golden and true. I would make this day last for all time and fill your night with moon shine." SO EXCELLENT!

My Tuesday Experience. Today was the first Tuesday in awhile that I didn't have to haul my ass out of bed at eight o'clock in the morning to transport blood, urine, and semen (among other things) at Peterson Clinical Lab, and let me tell you, it was beautiful. I woke up just in time to make it to my twelve thirty (yes, folks, I am a lazy bum) class, and then I went and got coffee, went to the Dusty Bookshelf, and then headed home where I talked to Katie until I went to work. At work, I spent the two hours in which I always do nothing (six till eight) drinking green apple twist Smirnoff and Sprite with my beloved coworker, Mrs. Kami Linnens, and we had quite the bonding experience. Gregory Jackson, however, could not join us, so it wasn't quite as fun as it might have been, but we had a good time discussing the naked pregnant ladies in her magazine. I was going to go to the rec when I got home, but instead I hopped on over to Java and got some coffee, then (like a nerd) took it over to Cold Stone and hung out with my other beloved coworkers. Apparently, this guy who works at Gumby's who I told I would trade ice cream for pizza dropped off a pizza, so I will owe him my ice cream when I work tomorrow... which is fine by me! Me missing going to the rec equals me not needing ice cream OR pizza, so yeah, it's all for the best.

I have to tell you all, I am quite excited to do laundry on Thursday, followed by Friends/Scrubs night with Kyle and Sara (hopefully). Too bad I have so much crap to do, although by that time I should be done with Philosophy and will only have my British Survey test Friday afternoon to worry about!

Anyway, back to the rec... tomorrow I am going to buy a parking pass so that I can go to the rec in the mornings and park there. It should be beautiful, but I'll let ya know how it really goes. I got some new movies.... Babe yesterday (I failed to mention that), The Lion King this morning at midnight, and I ordered Scarface on DVD awhile ago, so it should be arriving soon. They, along with the rest of my collection, are on my DVD list. If you haven't made it there, you'd better go. If you can't figure out how to get there, then I can't help you.

According to Mrs. Kami Linnens's magazine, not only is Cancer my sun sign, but it's also my mars sign... and that tells a lot about my nature as a lover. I don't really remember what it tells, though... so, yeah. Good to know.

I miss George.

Nicole. I almost forgot: check out the cover of People right now. She has betrayed me. I hate her (at least right now). I hate her a lot. But as a couple of you know, my anger in this department fades often and somewhat quickly. Still... could she have chosen an odder coupling? I think not.

Domesticities. Today I went to Wal-Mart and bought some lightbulbs and toilet paper. It was great. Then I decided that since I went to class today, I'd been a good little boy, so I bought myself a Happy Meal. It was good, especially since I hadn't eaten anything today yet. I got this really crappy toy, though. Remember when they used to do the Hot Wheels/Barbie to further separate the boys from the girls (speaking of which, David, if you read this even though I don't think you do... remember when we went to like St. Louis and you got a Barbie Happy Meal and I made fun of you to no end while you contentedly petted her ebony hair? Oh the memories.) So anyway, this was one of those sort of deals: the girl toy though has gone from Barbie Dolls to Madame Alexander dolls, which... well who cares. They boy toy, however, went from the wonderfully awesome Hot Wheels (remember how you could even punch out the Happy Meal box to make a ramp for your awesome car?) to this weird "Stretch SCREAMERS!" Basically it is this deformed, non-posable mummy with "gooey" arms that sort of stretch, and when you pull this one, his face flips around from bandaged to unbandaged, bandaged to unbandaged. It's retarded. I'm even one of those college guys who is able to look past utility to the aesthetic value: "Maybe I could use it for some festive Halloween decor?" I thought. But no. This thing is just plain ugly, and therefore useless.

Tomorrow the Lion King comes out on DVD, but I am getting so sick of the promotions that I just want to die, so maybe I won't buy it. (yeah right).

This is, as I have informed some of you, my week from hell. I have another philosophy assignment due on Thursday and a mid-term exam on Friday. I kind of thought about it, and I've become a lot lazier (word?) since high school.... back then I'd be fine with this work... the stressful weeks had like three assignmentsdue every day and a few papers and maybe a couple tests. I'd probably drop out if had weeks like that in college. Is the course work harder? If it is, I don't realize it... I chalk it up to my own lethargy. Or maybe not. On the otherhand, since my boss at Peterson is cool, I don't have to work any mornings there ever again, which makes me insanely happy. The only morning I do have to set my alarm for is Wednesday, when I will participate in a shaving study at 9:10am at a barbershop across the street, and I will recieve $50.00 for my trouble. WOO!

So far, no one has taken me up on my offer to buy me that book. If you have decided that you are not going to buy it for me, please let me know either by IM, e-mail, or written letter, so that I may make alternate means of acquiring it. Thank you.

A Note to the Producers and Distributors of DVD's: Don't do it. Don't even think about doing it. When I go to the store on Tuesday mornings, fresh-faced and happy with childlike anticipation of the release of my favorite theatrical hits on my favorite home video format, don't make me worry. Don't cause me to drift from guiltless pleasure into anxiety. Here's the thing... when I buy the DVD of a movie, I want it to be THE DVD of that movie. I don't care about your damn Special, Extra Special, Limitied, Anniversary, Ultimate, Penultimate, or Collectors editions that come out three months or three years after I buy the damn movie. I own it now! It's too late! All that great stuff you said? All that "this is why we did this and why the reinclusion of this scene only proves the fact that this is the greatest movie of all time" and all your still pictures of the posters on the walls behind the guys taking leaks in the bathrooms that the main characters walked out of in the middle of the movies.... all of that should have been included in the first go-around. But you didn't think that far ahead? I don't buy it... not for another $25.00 I don't. Nuh-uh. Sorry, bud. Tough luck, better luck next box-office pseudo-success (cause that's what they all are now anyway, right?). You made me buy it the first time around, and I can't sell this worthless piece of shit back now, can I?! Not after it's been opened, not after I've had it in my backpack, getting ink marks and pencil shavings on your crappy cardboard Warner Brother's cover; not after it's sitting on my DVD rack for three lousy months collecting dust. No, I'm stuck with your lousy piece of trash, and so I think it's only fair that you be stuck with your lousy piece of cash that you earned from making a DVD devoid of all the superfluous information that only NOW do you realize is essential for total understanding and enjoyment of your not-as-great-as-the-next-one's-gonna-be film. But the thing is, I do buy it... I stand in that checkout line at Target or Wal-Mart or Best Buy and I see my mom, shaking her head, an Indian-like tear rolling silently down her cheek ("When will he ever learn?") And because of you.... because of all this... I am going to have two of the same title on my already overflowing rack, and people are going to ask me, "Why Michael? Why?" and I am going to have to blame it all on you. And they are going to think I'm crazy. So for me, for my mom, and for my dignity... just stop. Honestly. Just fucking stop. Or at least give me a coupon or something.

And now... How can you know if what I am typing now is exact truth? A few months ago, when none of you read this except for maybe Jason, I might have felt I could put in whatever I wanted in here without fear of repercussion... but NOW.... oh you all just be glad I restrain myself! Or maybe I don't restrain myself? Maybe I've taken it upon myself to create a new, secret blog where I rant and rail to my hearts content (like I might have used to) about EVERY ILL I feel you all have caused me? Struggling to think of an ill you might have caused? Then I will let your image of my wrath rest in one of my two ways:

1. That one time you're thinking about... that one when I MIGHT have been upset? Oh yeah... I was pissed. And on this secret blog, I've made your name mud! No four-letter words were too unkind for you. You know how I feel about the other team on Fridays? Well, Texas, that's what you are to me (at least in the post(s) you have inspired).

2. That one time you're thinking about... I don't remember it. I don't hold a grudge. But maybe you'd like to see what I've posted about the number ones?

Happy Hunting!

Tip for my friend Joe: when you accidentally trip over your shoelace in the middle of some busy Spanish street, don't talk about how "embarasado" you were. First of all, it's impossible, and people will laugh at you. Second, how many bottles and rattles can a guy like you really use? Honestly?

I finished Slaughter-House Five today. Finally. Yeah, you might have noticed it was my book of the moment a long time ago, and ceased being so a long time ago as well. Well, sometimes my books of the moment aren't really of the present moment, but more of the future, anticipated moment. I guess that's just how we do things here in Michael's House of Pain. Speaking of which...

If you ask for me not to do something (and I take heed), then please, don't turn around and do it yourself. It's kind of rude. But maybe I should post that in the "secret blog". This is about as confrontational as I get these days.

The Wildcats lost today... it was a tough game, and they at least played decently. Still, it is sad that our "season of promise" has pretty much gone to crap.

I have recently gotten even more into my major -- attending an on-campus reading by a fiction writer, signing up to read my poetry for some high school kids... I'm even considering reading at a local art gallery, as well as submitting some work to a couple undergraduate campuses. If nothing else, you couldn't say I haven't tried. Or thought of trying. I have also become more interested in my course work, and have done almost all my reading assignments which, if you know anything about my study habits, is saying something. We are coming up on a week of hell, though... a philosophy assignment due (which will no doubt be difficult) and a midterm exam covering all the material we've read (a lot of which I haven't) in British Survey 2. I'll let you know how THAT goes.

I bought another book... McSweeney's quarterly concern Issue number 10... McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, which features short fiction from a lot of my favorite authors.... Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, and Nick Hornby... as well as several other names you might know (Michael Crichton, Steven King, Elmore Lonard, et al.) It is sure to be fantastic (once I start)! In addition, I have purchased a subscription to said quarterly concern, which means I will recieve issues 11, 12, 13, and 14 as well. Issue 11 was for this fall (I think), so it is being shipped as we speak. Also, if anyone is looking for any gift ideas for me, I'd really like Jokes Told in Heaven About Babies by Lucy Thomas (who I am pretty sure is one of Dave Eggers's facades.) It's only $8.00 and can be purchased here.

Think about if no one had discovered America... if we were all decended from "Indians" and were still considered the "noble savage". Today we might actually be a revered people, rather than a country hated by most of the rest of the world. And we'd have freedom, too, except for it really would be freedom in the sense that we wouldn't be trapped in drab, meaningless lives, and have to give our best years of our lives to working for the system just to feel some form of freedom. God Bless America.

I watched The Last of the Mohicans tonight.

A Day of Change. Several exciting things happened today, and I will tell you about them right now.

Katie started her very own blog, which is a very happy event indeed! I went to my Intro to Philosophy class today for the first time in a week, and I actually contributed to the class discussion! But, something some of you may have been worrying about ever since I started whining about it a couple months ago has been remedied...

I QUIT AT PETERSON CLINICAL LAB!!!
Actually, I'm not quite sure if I quit or got fired. I arrived this morning my usual fifteen to twenty minutes late, and after going on my first little walking trip, I encountered my boss Stephen. Here is the conversation as I remember it:

Me: Hello.
Stephen: Good morning. How are we this morning?
Me: Oh, I'm all right. You?
Stephen: Livin' the dream, baby. (I digress, he did not ACTUALLY say this; however, he loves his job so much that that's the only way I know to illustrate his enthusiasm to you). He pauses. You look really tired, Michael.
Me: Well, Stephen, I am.
Stephen: These morning's just aren't good for you, are they?
Me: Yeah, especially since I work till eleven or midnight and don't get to bed until around two, then have to be here at eight. It's kind of driving me crazy.
Stephen: Do you think I need to get somebody in here to replace you?
Me: Yes, I think so.

So, as you can see, the boundaries between voluntary and involuntary termination of employment are kind of blurred. Either way I don't care, I'm actually kind of happy that I'm not going to be there much longer! In fact, I was kind of impressed that Stephen seemed so "understanding", although from my understanding, the only time he's really non-confrontational is when he's firing someone. Oh well!

As good as it gets? You know how you always expect that if the situation ever arises that you need to be able to write or say exactly what you think and feel about something, you would be able too given an ample amount of time? Well... maybe you don't expect that, but I do, given the fact that I've chosen to devote my life to the art of writing (at least for now, anyway), but I think I'm beginning to realize that that might not be the case. For instance, I am finding it impossibly difficult for me to communicate my feelings these days. Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself, or maybe I don't quite have the skill in the craft that I'd like. I guess, like all good things, it takes time. I want to write, but more importantly, I want what I write to be true and real. I don't want to write some shoddy piece of garbage that has been written in different words hundreds of times before; I want to write something new... something no one's ever thought of before... I want you to read what I write and not be like me and reply by saying "hmmmm". I want to cure you of my own disease; I want it to hit you, to enlighten you, to move you to think, act, and speak your mind. It seems that is something that I can't do anymore. At least not right now, anyway. Maybe I just need to get the inspiration back.

I bought a new book today. It's a collection of essays by Jonathan Franzen (author of The Corrections, which I have not read) entitled How to Be Alone. It's pretty good so far (I'm about ten pages in), and not nearly as depressing as the title would lead you to believe. From what I am gathering, the underlying theme of all the essays is how to move beyond today's mass-media driven culture and love your own individuality. That's probably leaving out a lot, but yeah. It seems to be almost a book by a writer for writers... or artists... or anyone who would like to be able to communicate SOMETHING about their experience. I won't hold my breath, but you might check it out if you get a chance.

We are reading a series of poems by William Blake called Songs of Innocence and Experience in my British Survey 2 class. It's interesting to see how much I can relate to my own life, even though the guy lived like two hundred years ago. He is right in his depiction of thought before and after the loss of innocence (and subsequent gain of experience), which I figure for me happened somewhere within my tenure at Olathe North High School. Back in the day, it was so easy to tell you exactly how I felt, to let you know how much I loved you. I wasn't inhibited by some cynical fear, a realization of reality, if you will, that not all good things work out in the world... a sentiment Blake touches on in his Songs of Experience. But what you really ought to know is this (and I know I'm sounding really weird and not making much sense right now but thank you for continuing to read): I love you. Every single instant of every single day, no matter how much you let me in or how far you shut me out. I may not always show it. At times, it may seem like I care for you about as much as I care for my job at Peterson Clinical Lab (which, by the by, I have not yet left), but nothing could be further from the truth. Apply this to yourself however you will, but I mean it. I will never stop loving you as much as I did the day I first knew I loved you.

"Love" is a huge abstraction. Someday I will earn the use of that word, but for now it's late, and I am tired.

Feel odd after reading all of this? Never fear... just dismiss this post and hope for better things next time :)

Oh, Fall. I love fall. I love all the halloween stuff and the cooler weather and all that stuff. I was driving around tonight with the windows down, the heater on, and the Dave playing, and it was wonderful.... except I wish I had a girl to pine for. Oh well! Perhaps another day!

This weekend was good. I had a small social gathering here on Friday night, which was fun. If you're from Manhattan, you might try the Hillside Cafe, which is where we ate that night. It is over by the All Chinese Buffet... it's a Mexican place. It's kind of different, but worth a go.

Jessica's tweny-first is this Wednesday! ALL my friends are going to be legal before long, and then I will just be bored. Spring Break is going to suck.

And now a line from "Stay or Leave", the current song of the moment: "Wake up naked drinking coffee/Making plans to change the world/While the world is changing us/It was good good love"

This has been a really weird week. I'm glad it's almost over... because I dunno how much more of it I can take! Katie Vincent turned twenty-one... a happy birthday to her. I myself have been skipping far too much class. I also told my boss at Peterson that I would finish out the semester there, a "promise" which I am now beginning to dread. We got new linoleum in our kitchen, but they took away our dishwasher and haven't given us one back. They were going to replace it on Wednesday, and so now they are pretty much two days late. If it's anything like the screens, we'll be handwashing dishes till Thanksgiving AT LEAST. Bastards.

I went back and visited some Putnam peeps... it was kind of weird. It's always good to see Dave and Sean and April and Lindsay and all those guys, but I just feel weird seeing people that I never really talked to, because then I feel like I have to make small talk, which I'm just no good at. It's kind of like the whole high school thing. But... that said, it was great seeing everyone! I miss the place :(

I've now been to the Wash Palace twice. I love that place! I don't know that I will ever go to another laundromat again! So good to know.

The high school kids at Cold Stone have gotten into giving me nicknames. My personal favorite: Ogre. Yeah... I need to do something. I hate those kids. Except Mindy, who admitted to me the other day that the first few times we worked together, she thought I was really annoying. That's okay, though, cause I thought she was a real bitch. We're great friends now (in the "coworkers-as-friends" sense). Kathleen's nice too, except for she started that whole nickname game. I don't think they read my blog, so I guess I don't need to be afraid to be candid.

Buy the new Dave Matthews solo album... or at least listen to it. I really like it, especially number eight.

The Weekend. The Cats lost this weekend. Bastards. My mom and brother came out for the game, which I really enjoyed... hopefully they can do it more often. Chad and I also got a pony keg which was very nice. We had a good time getting drunk.

I saw Anything Else... I don't really recommend it, unless you feel like watching a bad couple whine about how bad their relationship is for like two hours. The only redeeming quality, aside from Christina Ricci (who I enjoy) was the New York setting; however, even that is getting pretty old nowadays. It's like modern New York movies are almost tied down by the city rather than inspired by it. The major exception I would cite is Gangs of New York. That's what a New York movie should be... not just "another New York movie".

In other news, I got a promotion today at Cold Stone. I am now a crew leader, and I got a minor (but helpful) raise. Now I just need to leave Petersons. Chad is also making an online magazine which I think I would like to write for (IF we can find some topics for me to write about.) It just sounds like a fun way to hone my writing skills. Speaking of which, I think my blog posts are getting quite "blah", which is why I'm not doing them so much. Any suggestions?

Go here. It's fun.