Pork swords

Now listening to: The Flaming Lips

I haven't written in a while just because there hasn't been a lot going on that would be interesting. I continue to battle the cold from hell and seem to be winning, but wake up every afternoon with my everything muffled in my right ear. It sucks.

Tonight I went to see the movie Juno, which was high quality. I went alone, had dinner and goofed off all by myself. I used to really enjoy doing that sort of thing alone, but it seems to have lost some of it's luster. I suppose that's because I used to spend most of my free time in the company of many friends, whereas now I tend to be alone most of the time.

But anyway, Juno was exceptionally good. Well put together storyline, good dialogue, likeable characters. I'm saying filet mignon. Ohh, and the soundtrack is very cool too.

Anyway it's bedtime for me. I need to rest up for another fun filled work week.

Recreational diptheria

Still feeling fairly ill. I woke up today feeling a little better and hoping my cold was nearly it's culmination. So I decided to trek out into the real world in search of food, supplies and entertainment. I got shitty food from Ryan's (the lure of mashed potatoes and gravy prove to be my undoing once again). I then shopped around a bit, finding that shopping in Martinsville at 6p.m. is a bad idea.

Every corner I turned was inhabited by an ill tempered and shrieking child. I'm looking at DVDs in Walmart? A pair of boys yelling about who gets to play the goddamn demo DS. Picking out juice in Kroger? A little girl screaming about god knows what. By this point my sinus headache had kicked into overdrive and I felt like my forehead was in a vice, so screeching kids made my night just wonderful.

Also, while out and about I noticed I was sweating. Initially I thought it was just the unseasonably warm weather, but finally figured out that I had a fever. Bleh. A fever and the temperature is skyrocketing outside. Is it too much to ask for winter to be fucking winter? Just a little chill in the air?

I made it all better by coming home and watching loads of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. I cool food around the world show on the Travel Channel. After that I pulled out my iPod for some tunes and started reading Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which I've always been interested in, but never got around to reading. It's been a little difficult getting into, but I think I'm getting it slowly. We'll see how it goes.

I've been listening to a ton of new music, but don't feel like writing about it now. Check last.fm if you wanna know before I take the time to delve into it.

Staying out in the cold and catching one

So I am making a concerted effort to fend off a cold, Trip's cold to be specific. I blame all my day-dwelling friends for weakening my constitution by making me rise during sun-enriched hours. Also sitting in the rain this weekend probably didn't help, but whatever.

Speaking of day dwellers, I am considering the possibility of turning into one. I could take a day shift at work. There are pros and cons for both sides and I'm not sure which way to go. The big problems are the 4 a.m. wakeup call which necessitates an 8 p.m. bedtime. Also the increased social aspect of having other people in the building could be stressful. I dunno, I'm torn.

I'm currently going through a number of best music of 2007 lists and trying to see what I missed. I've got a preliminary best of list myself, but haven't finalized it yet, with so many songs unheard and a few tracks that probably are on there for more nostalgic reasons than any other.

A few albums I'm 100-percent sure I recommend are :The National's Boxer, Okkervil River's The Stage Names and LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver. Good stuff.

Back to our regularly scheduled dullness

So the holidays are finally at a close. We can all return to our everyday mindnumbing existence. I gotta tell you my vacation seemed like more work than normal. Traveling, making an effort to be social, it was almost more than I could handle . But I had a good time.

The day after Xmas, Mike, Shannon, Trip and I went out drinking in Martinsville and had more fun than I thought (given the location). Greg joined in at some point and we even had shots of Barenjager to make the night go smoothly (but expensively). Thursday Trip and I went to Roanoke and hung with Kevin and he made it to Martinsville on Friday to hang once again, bringing Courtney and Langdon out to play as well.

Friday night I didn't sleep, as Nick piled myself, Mike and Shannon into his family truckster to head to Leesburg to see Adam and Rachel. I gotta say, the Williams' hospitality was in full effect, making a nice dinner, cooking up breakfast and buying steaks for tailgating. I'm definitely giving my stay a five star rating.

Sunday we went to the Cowboys at Redskins game. Got there early and tailgated some, it was fantastic. We bribed a parking attendant to let us in on the primo parking right next to FedEx Field and had a kickass time. Right about the time we were ready to head into the game the rain started. It was not warm, I can tell you that. We lasted for around three quarters in our nosebleed seats (literally no one was behind us in the stadium) as the rain broke down our warmth slowly but surely. At that point, it was obvious the Cowboys were done and so we headed out, avoiding traffic and regaining feeling in our nethers.

I forgot to mention I was forced to maintain a day-dweller schedule through most of this trip and I still haven't fully recovered. Last night I was unable to stay awake at 4 a.m. and had to hit the sack. Doesn't sound that bad to most, I'm sure, but Friday I won't be able to do that and will have to drive at 6 a.m. It's a problem.

For New Year's I kept it fairly low key and watched a movie with Jill. Quiet, but pleasant. And yesterday, on my final day of vacation Trip and I went to Gboro for some minor shopping. We went to Bravo!, this Italian eatery that I don't recommend. I won't be heading back there. We went to Starbucks and I drank too much latte and we debating the bourgeoisie nature of Starbucks and Trip's inherent goofiness.

I can't say my vacation was relaxing, but I did enjoy it. I hope everyone's holidays went well and am looking forward to 2008 continuing the promise of the last week of 2007. But now I return to the weekly grind of commuting and working, with the added bonus of annoying BCS games going on all week.

A Christmas on a bizarre schedule, even for me

So it's 7:39am and I'm up and wide awake on Xmas morning. I woke up at 4:30am after a sole hour of sleep yesterday and am now filling my time in the usual ways, watching movies. I expect much of the day will be filled in this manner.

Yesterday I girded my loins for a full day with my parents and went to see my brother and his family. Except for the traveling it was pretty good. Kelly made a nice lunch and I enjoyed hanging with Gabe. Also Cameron had a great time, with more presents than he could stand to open. So I considered that visit a success.

I slept through most of the drive home, completely exhausted and then climbed right into bed around 6:30pm for a "nap" that lasted until 4:30am and now I'm wide awake, having a cup of tea (Lady Grey seemed appropriate considering the movie) and preparing to watch The Queen.

Ohh the picture? Well that's the message Santa left me when I inquired about a gift. I suppose I wasn't quite good enough this year. What else is new?

Middle age riot

Long night of work followed by long hours of slack. I watched Running With Scissors, which is based on the memoir of Augusten Burroughs' childhood. Imagine a childhood filled with batshit crazy parents and being forced to live with their even crazier psychiatrist. Scary, yet amusing.

I'm just counting down the days until I'm on vacation. It's gonna be nice. My big problem is gonna be trying to not spend all my damn money. I'm ahead of the game for a change and I need to not get it in my head that I have plenty of money, because that's always when I spend too much and end up struggling. Being poor bones.

I think I'm gonna go to bed now. Have to do pretty much the exact same shit tomorrow as I did today.

Another Christmas Beer

Last night, after I got home from work (mmm overtime) I went batshit crazy wrapping presents. In the past I haven't really wrapped gifts for any occasion. But it occured to me last year that unwrapping a gift adds an air of mystery that pulling it out of a bag doesn't supply. Even if you get a shitty gift, at least for a few seconds the possibilities are endless. That said, my wrapping skills are suspect.

Today was a busy day. I got up way early (for me). I ran a ton of errands, went to the library, got my oil changed and did some last minute xmas shopping (although I only ended up buying stuff for me). I picked up a new jacket that I like, Columbia makes good stuff too.

I bought a new office chair so I can sit my fat ass in front of the computer in comfort. My old one was screwy and had started to scratch the floor. So I shifted to the one that Danny gave me and had been in my room, which made me remember why I got rid of it. It was nice, leather upholster and everything, but it had one flaw. It felt like it was trying to eject you into the floor the whole time you sat in it.

So I spent way too much money on a new one that I like. I learned long ago that going cheap costs you more in the long run. Especially with my huge ass. I spent a good portion of the evening putting it together.

Now I'm enjoying a tasty glass of red wine a la France and watching Monday Night Football. Sweet relaxation. I got four more days of work before my vacation and I can't wait. I'm gonna be super-fucking-busy over the holiday, but it should be a good type of busy. Lots of people to see and things to do. Almost like I have a life... but not really.

See ya later jerks

A lot of topics to cover here today. Firstly, The Evil Penguin has been utterly removed from the playoff picture, sadly. It hasn't seemed likely for quite a while, but today removed even the remotest of possibilities. That coupled with the Steelers losing to the dread-Patriots has made me turn my interest from football into an even more dangerous sport... the illustrious Pro Thunderball!!! Those interested in the rules should check here first and then go here to research the league. I root for the Austin Vampirebots mostly, but also have a soft spot in my heart for the Lancaster Amish Rakefighters.

Saturday I was in Ukrops looking for something to eat for dinner in the deli. The bistro meals look good, but I never get them because you have to talk to the guy and tell him what you want. It occured to me that most people wouldn't be bothered by asking a few questions and getting what they wanted while I just avoid the social interaction.

I thought about it for a while and realized I always do that sort of thing. I mean, noone should be surprised that I'm antisocial, I suppose, but I never realize how ingrained it is until something like this happens. I put off having my haircut so I don't have to talk to whoever cuts it. I hate being forced into conversation at work. I sit as far away as possible from people in restaurants. I don't suppose I really have a point, I just noticed it.

Trip and I ended up watching the new Futurama movie, Bender's Big Score tonight and it was excellent. I love me some Futurama. My only complaint, not enough Kif. But you can't have everything.

More upbeat? I dunno, maybe

I'm gonna try to not get all whiny on you, so I'll stick to the goofy bullshit that fills my time. Trip and I've been playing loads of Virtua Fighter 5, which is mighty. Recently he discovered a character that a retarded gorilla could play effectively and has become a bit of a challenge. Still I maintain dominance, as the gods intended. I do have to note that he won bragging rights last week on a fluke win.

I'm sick of hearing about how great the Patriots are. They pulled a win out of their asses against the Ravens and I hope the Steelers can end the streak this week. (Although I'd rather they end it in January.) Also the '72 Dolphins can suck my balls. If they weren't such pricks about the undefeated season I wouldn't care, but they are obnoxious. Put the champagne away and take your own cocks out of each other's mouths.

In other news, the Heroes finale was ok, but not as great as I had hoped. Too much left unanswered and it seemed kinda of forced. Which isn't a surprise with the writers strike in effect. I tell you television is gonna get really bad, really quick if that doesn't end. I offer you the Battle of the Choirs to prove that. Can you smell the execs sweating?

I am reading The Hunt for Red October, since I watched the movie on AMC the other night and thought to myself, the book is usually better than the movie. It's hard to say at this point, but the movie may be better. Hard to deny Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery. Still it's a good read halfway through. May look into some more of Tom Clancy's stuff.

Black-eyed zombie of television

It's been a tough week. Working loads of overtime with little or no time for myself and just feeling grumpy, bitter and generally lugubrious. So much overtime means I have plenty of time to sit around and think about how bad I feel lately.

That all sounds like a lot of whining, I'm sure, but that's how I feel. The last two months have been absurdly bad. I keep waiting for something to break out and be good, but it hasn't. Instead some small shitty thing happens to make me feel worse, like my iPod dying. Maybe December will be better... I don't know how much worse I can stand.

I finally finished Monster Planet, the final novel of David Wellington's zombie trilogy. It was ok, but the series got progressively worse. The first couple were worth the effort, don't know if I'd say the same for the third.

Watched Pushing Daisies, which continues to deliver. If this show can stay afloat ratings-wise (it's quirky and I enjoy it, which usually spells doom for a show) I predict it will get better and better.

Anyway I'm off. I have two more 12 hour shifts and then I get a few days off. I will need them desperately.

In spite of all the bullshit

Thanksgiving. Despite the fact that my Thanksgiving feast consisted of a chef's salad that had seen better days that I didn't even finish and that my life is sucking I'm still gonna talk about what I'm thankful for in an effort to not be Debbie Downer all the time.

So the first thing I'm thankful for is my mother. All the good stuff in my life can be traced back to her. Secondly I'm going with my brother, who I'm really proud of and trying to follow his example. Next up is my friends, I've got some great fucking friends that I don't get to see enough. Still I'm glad they are out there and willing to put up with my crabby ass.

Next up on my list is being thankful for the fact that I have a job and seem to at least be moving forward a little financially. My life still sucks, but it's a dream compared to where I was two years ago, unemployed and feeling completely hopeless. Now I'm only moderately hopeless. It may not seem like much, but it's a start.

Anyway that's the major stuff that I'm glad to have. Hope everyone else's Turkey Day sucked less than mine.

Dr. Rosenpenis

I have kept busy this weekend, watching both the Steelers and The Evil Penguin lose, hating my life, watching tv and movies. Great stuff.

I watched the usual battery of shows on Monday with Trip, How I met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory and Heroes. All good. Heroes is so good. We also watched Kenny vs. Spenny. I love that it's now on Comedy Central. The meat eating episode is hysterically funny, but you probably need a strong stomach to make it all the way through.

Tonight Trip and I grabbed some mexican food and played Rock Band. Man it's fun. I don't want to get into it because logistically it's bad for me. A music game doesn't fit into my late night, trying to not wake everyone up plans as well as the $160 price and the storing of everything. Still, it's cool to play. Also playing that prevents me from humiliating Trip in Virtua Fighter 5.

After coming home I watched Monsters Inc. which I had never seen. It's ok. I was a little disappointed considering it was a Pixar movie. Not to say it was bad , just not as good as I wanted it to be. I'm giving it a Meh. mostly because I wanted more.

After that I watched Black Sheep, which is a movie about vicious genetic-engineered predatory sheep that can create were-sheep if they bite a person (+1 chainmail). Gotta love that absurd horror vibe. It was enjoyable just because of the silly premise and the humor. When the hero hits a were-sheep with mint jelly I had to laugh.

ROFL for reals

This video made me spew out my RC cola.

Sad excuse

So it's been a week, sue me. I've been busy with my hollow excuse for a life. Lots of Halo 3 and Virtua Fighter 5 to fill in the voids.

Ohh, and football. The Steelers continue to please and the Evil Penguin has climbed back to .500, clawing out a win over The Cellar Dwellers (formerly Heavens Own). So I guess things don't completely suck... just mostly.

I suppose that's it. I probably shouldn't have even bothered.

A whole nation of gutless whores

So I'm six beers in and pulling out the scotch. OK I'm probably not gonna drink much scotch, I have no need for a mega hangover, but I felt there was need for celebration. Firstly, and probably most importantly, the Steelers kicked the everlovin' shit outta the Ravens tonight. That always brings me joy. Secondly, that Steelers win allowed the Evil Penguin to defeat Mike's Danglers in Techmo Lucky Breaks action. (A win I didn't really expect.)

Finally, as of midnight, I am now 33 years old. Yes, the old BDay. I'm making an effort not to get all depressed and ignore all the crap going on I don't like. So I'm savoring my victories, Hoegaarden and the little things. Almost a third of a century. Think of the changes... when I was born you couldn't even log on to the intarwebs and listen to an overweight white American male complain about how horrible his life is.

Bodie and Rocket got me a cool Steelers t-shirt for my BDay. They are, of course, Trip's Boston Terriers. What's most impressive is not that they figured out how to use the internet with no opposable thumb, but that they pay that much attention to the things I like. They seem so focused on me giving them food or scratching them behind the ears most of the time.

All World's Cowboy Romance

I just watched The Mission of Burma Story: Not a Photograph and it was awesome. I love Mission of Burma. I know that of my "regular" readership here there is maybe two people, maybe, that could give a shit about MOB, but I shall rant about their greatness nonetheless. They are this Boston band that never hit it big and broke up just as they were starting to get any national recognition.

They reformed in 2002 for a reunion and have recorded a couple of albums since that are as good as the original stuff, maybe better. They are a thinking man's punk band. They have a definite edge, but underneath they are technically proficient, have smart lyrics and create these waves of noise that you can snuggle into like a warm blanket. In the DVD, music journalist Michael Azerrad (who's book is awesome) draws a line from Mission of Burma, through the Pixies to Nirvana. So if you dug grunge you owe MOB some thanks.

Anyway, other than watch that movie and football I did very little today. Played some Virtua Fighter 5, which is awesome. Watched some Adult Swim and trolled about the internets. Very slack. I'm debating whether I'm gonna just stay in tomorrow and do nothing again. The Steelers are on Monday night, but I'm not sure if I'll be doing them a disservice by watching. Every game I watch they lose of late.

Here's the mutiny I promised you

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Seeking coma state

It's been a while since I wrote. Frankly I've been having a shitty week. In fact, it's been a shitty month and when everything is tallied it may even be a shitty year, although it'll be close in the end on that. But I'm not going to bitch about how much work, my love life, everything sucks. I'm just gonna say some things about the good stuff that has happened recently.

Firstly I got to hang with my brother last Sunday. He came in and we just lounged around the house all day, watching football, playing video games and talking. It was cool. I miss getting to do that with him. Reminded me of the old days.

Secondly I sold my Jeep for close to my asking price. It was relatively painless, despite standing in the pouring rain for over an hour to close the deal. Now I just have to decide whether I want to be responsible with the money or not. Reality vs. a wide screen tv. Oddly I'm leaning toward holding on to most of the money in an "Oh shit" fund. That would probably be the smartest thing to do. The problem is my tendency to dip into that sort of fund for shit I don't really need. Bah, whatever. I am getting some new Dr. Marten's tho, my old one's have holes that let water in with the greatest of ease.

The Red Sox won the World Series. I don't normally give a grizzled fuck about the Red Sox, but they did it in four straight games, making my life considerably easier. So here's to them.

Here's to hoping November does a better job of not giving me the cockpunch. Off to bed.

Vinegar chips, gypsy rock and Dr. Strange

Another wholly average day in my life. I did get a good night's sleep tho. Which was nice.

Anyway, this post is gonna be some random thoughts that occured to me today. So without further ado:

• Cape Cod Sea Salt and Vinegar chips are super awesome. It's like crack except for fat guys.
• Slurpee kicks the ass of Icee in every possible way. It's not close. I only lament that 7-11 is so far out of my normal drive and, hence, Slurpees are harder to procure.
  
• The new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, is exquisite.
• Kitchen Nightmares is great. Why do I love a show about a guy yelling at people to get their act together when I'd smack someone who treated me that way?
  
• The weather needs to move back toward fall. I'm sick of days in the 80s. Fuck all that, I want it brisk! I want those beautiful leaves on the trees.
• I also would like more rain.
  

That is all for now.

The stench of mediocrity

Alas my weekend is drawing to a close. We're still training the new guy and so, I get to work an extra night this week. I won't be complaining when I get the overtime pay, but I do likes my time off. Doesn't help that I have to run playoff baseball, which is a huge pain in the ass. Friday was a clusterfuck I won't get into. I don't look forward to doing it again this weekend.

Trip and I went to Danville for dinner tonight with the intention of spending some cash afterward at Toy R Us. They are having a buy two get one free deal there and we were both gonna pick up the Orange Box and I was gonna grab something else, maybe Madden or NCAA. Maybe a DS game to play at work. But, sadly, TRU was out of The Orange Box, so we just browsed the toys and came home to watch Heroes and How I Met Your Mother.

Not my fav. episode of Heroes, but still good. Having a Hiro-free episode really showed how captivating he is. Also no Peter Petrelli. Seems they are trying to make you care more about some of the other characters, which is ok, but I miss those two.

Good fantasy weekend for me, tho. I took part in an anti-Jessup weekend as Adam and I took down the brothers. The Evil Penguin beat Greg's Innsmouoth Fish Eyes, to prevent him from sweeping our series this season and the Leghounds remained undefeated, pounding Mike's Danglers (huh huh, huh huh). I'm starting to believe we need some injuries on Adam's squad so the rest of us can pick up the Lucky Breaks.

Gonna try to rise early and check the Roanoke TRU to spend my money on more video games I don't have time to play. I consider it an investment... ok I can't even justify that to be funny, I'm silly. I spend money, it's who I am. Leave me alone, I'm doomed to be poor, but at least entertained.