Thursday, July 27, 2006

Societal pressure

Trip and I made our way to Greensboro yesterday and stomped through a high percentage of the shoe stores down there. He ended up buying a pair of Chuck Taylors that were on sale and I found nothing to suit my needs. Shoes are a pain in the ass to find. Either they are absurdly pricey (I'm not paying more than $60 for a pair of sneakers, call me old-fashioned), horribly ugly, they don't have my size or they don't fit right when I try them on. It's a pain in the ass.

Also I suppose my self-esteem was getting too high and I had to bring it down by shopping for clothes. Nothing more humbling that being a fat guy looking for something to wear. Go to a store like Eddie Bauer and try to find something that fits. Yeah, good luck, might get a pair of socks.

So after feeling like a human freak show you head out to the Big and Tall store to shop with those other less than normal folks. Pop in there and they have your size, but there are still issues. One: half the crap has either no idea how to tone down the fact you're a fat guy or directly emphasises that you are a fat guy. Two: the stuff there that is moderately stylish and of decent quality is priced so high as to be absurd. The only things I saw that were priced even remotely reasonably were on the 50% off bargin rack.

I did manage to spend some money, tho. I bought a coupla new shirts which I like. I need some new t-shirts too, but I may resort to the internets for those.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

You need different feathers if you're going to fly

Yay my weekend is here! Woo three whole days to do nothing. Actually I'm considering trying to break my usual mold, but I'm not gonna get too overzealous. I need to not spend a ton. I have some extra cash from all the overtime I've worked, but it'd probably be best not to fritter it all away if I can help it. Still I do need new shoes... and a cell phone... and an Ipod. Fine the Ipod is probably not the top of the list realistically, but I sure would like one.

I'm probably gonna end up doing some shoe shopping at some point, cause my sneaks look like ass. I also may try to do some reading and some writing. Heck I may try to do some of that stuff outside, as I need to try to even out my trucker tan a little bit.

I'm also considering joining a gym, but I'm not sure that would be money well spent at this time. I mean I definitely need to be in the gym, but I'm not sure if I have the time, or rather if I will use the time I have to go to a gym. It's quite a difficult question.

Also have you noticed that NFL training camps are firing up? We are on the cusp of the season and ESPN is starting to give me the programming I want. Huzzah! We want a repeat! Woooo, we need a ring on the other hand now in Pittsburgh.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Unhappy, just as you were

Well I made it home. It was a grueling drive home, but I'm here. I'm just beat for some reason. My eyes felt all dried out and didn't want to open when I blinked. Work seemed to be going at half speed. I did use the time wisely tho, finishing Reading Lolita in Tehran and getting through a lot of Stranger Than Fiction as well.

Reading Lolita was really good. I've talked with friends in the past about having no idea how Islamic women survive. This book gave me an idea of what goes through some of their minds. I still can't claim to understand them completely, but then I really don't get the whole faith thing. That separates me from a far greater group than just Muslims. Still this book was inspirational and made me want to study more literature. I'd say it's filet mignon.

Driving home I was listening to Jane's Addiction's Ritual de lo Habitual album and it's still awesome. It's one of my all time favs. I have so many memories wrapped up in that album. My fav. song is Then She Did, which seems to me to be Perry Farrell remembering his mother and a lover that died. He paints a vivid picture in my head with his voice: nostalgic, loving and a little sad that they are gone. It is captivating.

Friday, July 21, 2006

only in a world this shitty

I'm kind of bored, listening to mediocre industrial music and debating between actually writing something and just futzing around on the internet for a while. Or maybe I'll do some reading. I dunno, I think I may try to write, that's why I'm here actually. So I can get past all the bullshit that normally crosses my mind when I sit down to write. So if I write something fantastic tonight this blog will be the equivalent of a singer hawking up a loogie before going onstage to perform. Woo, now that's painting pictures with writing there.

Anyway it was a slow day for me: lounged, read some fantasy football sites, played a litte Warcraft. I do have to mention that my love affair with WoW may be fading as I am approaching boredom whenever I log on. Too much of a good thing I suppose.

Trip and I grabbed dinner and then goofed off at his place for a bit. We played the demo for the new college football game and he beat me twice!?! His "chuck the ball deep" strategy offset his not knowing what an option play meant. I also played through the tutorial for The Battle for Middle Earth II on his XBox 360 and it wasn't bad. I don't know that I would really get into it, but as far as console RTS games go, it's decent.

Hmm the industrial music I'm listening to now, Funker Vogt, is much better. I've been finding some good music lately. Destroyer may be my favorite of those, tho. Anyway I'm off to do something, still not sure what.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Eighty degrees and I'm shivering?

Last night when I said I was cold, yeah, that turned out to mean I had a raging fever. I went into my (unairconditioned) room and got under my comforter and continued to shiver for most of the night. It was unpleasant. I have no idea what caused it and none of the other usual symptoms of a cold or whatnot showed up i.e. sore throat, upset stomach, etc. And today I have a minor ache in my back, but seem to have recovered.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Tell your gods to ready for blood

I'm feeling tired, but I can't go to sleep because I have to maintain my late night schedule. Don't want to be nodding off when I drive home at night, ya know. I thought I caught up on some sleep today, but apparently it wasn't enough.

I arose early (for me) yesterday because Mike and Shannon were in town and so I hooked up with them and we met Adam and Rachel in Roanoke for lunch, which was cool. I enjoyed myself, although I couldn't help but notice as we roamed the city streets that it was couple, couple and fat guy fifth wheel. I gotta do something about that, but I'm not really sure what.

Anyway on to other less depressing topics. Trip and I partook of some tasty seafood tonight and watched Deadwood. I know I talk about how great it is almost every week, but it really is that good. We also watched the Venture Bros., which I don't fear mentioning in the same breath as Deadwood. That's how good I think that show is, despite its animated nature.

I'm now reading Palahniuk's Stranger than Fiction and it's interesting. He knows where to go to find odd moments and knows how to make them work. His forward made me want to start writing more. By more I mean at all.

Oddly, I'm feeling cold. The AC isn't that low and I find it most peculiar.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

The "liberal media" is a farce created by rightwing nutjobs

Well I continue to work loads and, as such, my blogging as suffered. I also spent my days off this week hanging out with Adam up in Roanoke. We had a good time talking fantasy football and arguing politics. I could ramble on about our disputes, but I shan't. Frankly I'm tired and the differences don't mean a lot, we're good friends despite is fascistic tendencies. (Heh.)

We saw the Pirates of the Carribean sequel, which was a fun movie. The action went a little over the top a coupla times, but it was all good fun. I was kinda bummed by the cliffhanger ending, guaranteeing a trilogy at the least, but I suppose I can stand to see a third one of those.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Japanese food calls out to me

Hmm what to tell and what to edit out... I'll start with Trip and my excursion to Roanoke on Thursday. It was ok, although Trip had been up on Tuesday with Kev and so shopping was a little strained as he was bored easily. I looked for a pay as you go cell phone option and was dissappointed with what I found. We ended the trip by having some dinner with Kevin, Courtney and Eve at a nice Japanese restaurant. I got too much tempura and won't make that mistake again, but it was nice. Eve was a little overactive, but she's two... that's how two-year-olds are, or so I'm told.

Trip and I grabbed some ice cream and then drove home and I crashed immediately, catching up on lots of lost sleep. Something I sorely needed to do. Since then I've worked mostly, with little else to report, other than my Jeep's rise from the dead and return to my driveway.

Well, actually today I did buy a new book, The Prose Edda as translated by Snorri Sturlson. It's Norse mythology, which I love. I bought it while killing time before work. I then picked up some Yakisoba and headed to work, where I read most of Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude. It's got amazing depth. It's about a white kid's youth in Brooklyn, growing up in a black neighborhood. I can relate to some of it, having been a white kid in a predominantly black area. Of course, Martinsville isn't Brooklyn by any stretch of the imagination, but there are still similarities.

Anyway my eyes grow heavy with the passing minutes and it's time for me to commune with my pillow.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The rockets red glare, the bombs bursting under the hood

Well it was a wonderful holiday for me. I had to work, so I roused myself and set forth at the appropriate time. I did have to make a pitstop when my water pump fell off my engine and a pulley flew out from under my Jeep in the Bassett Forks area. Yeah... that's a good time.

I had to call my folks, have them pick me up and then drive mom's car to work... late, of course. I then worked 11 hours and drove home to collapse. How's that for festive? I'm hoping the good part comes when I don't have to pay for the repairs since the engine was still under warrenty and those bastards are the ones who reattached the aforementioned water pump improperly.

I hope everyone else's Independence Day experience was less stressful than mine.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Haunted by the freakish size of Nancy Reagan's head

I, my friends, am tired. I have been working a ton and get to pull an overnight tonight. So Happy Fourth of July to me. I suppose it coulda been worse, I was going to have to do overnights all week, but that changed, thankfully.

The upside is, besides making overtime money, that I've been able to get a lot of reading done at work. I read Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys and it was really good. I'd seen the movie, but as usual the book was better. Chabon's got some nice technique. I'm sure people will be writing thesis papers about the symbolism of the tuba and Hannah Green's boots for years to come. I'd say this was a foot massage, with potential to move up after I've had time to reflect.

I also read two Augusten Burrough's books, Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects. His stuff is incredibly funny. He has a great flair for picking the weird things in his life and making you laugh about them. I think I prefered Magical Thinking overall, but both were worth checking out.

I also got the new Mission of Burma album, The Obliterati, which is quite enjoyable for the knowledgable punk fan. The title of this post is stolen from the chorus of one of thier new songs.