Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The Figgs

Just finished a couple of long days at work, days that didn't leave much time for anything else. Oh well. I'm tired.

The other night, Jeannie was having trouble sleeping, so we were joking around for a little while in bed, and we started coming up with names for our future children. For some reason, we decided that our kids' last name would be Figg. If the kid was a girl, she would be named Blammy Newton Figg. If the kid was a boy, he would be named Jammy Juice Figg. Jesus, we were cracking ourselves up coming up with those names. It was a good time.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Oh SNAP!

Today I almost broke my damned toes by stepping bare-footed onto a mousetrap. A very Tom-and-Jerry moment. But luckily I stepped on the trap in such a way that it did no damage.

Jeannie and I had a nice, relaxin' day of doing nothing, and then rotting our brains in front of the TV, watching the mice scurry across our living room. The moral: if you sleep over at our apartment, take the futon rather than the air mattress.

Banana Hammock

Today seemed like a pretty good day. We hit the market, and listened to THIS AMERICAN LIFE (it wasn't great), then I headed to work. I was training a new kid, Sam, and he did well. I was pleased with his progress. It is always nice when new people actually make themselves useful early on.

Right now Greg Brown is telling his CANNED GOODS story on the cd player. Jeannie's reading. She just started singing a silly song to nobody in particular. To me, I guess.

The other day I told her that after I die I want her to put together a Broadway show with all of the songs I sing to her. I wanted her to do this because I had just come up with a little ditty that day that went:

Nobody likes me,
Everyone hates me,
Everyone thinks
I'm an ass-hole.

One of my other favorite songs is:

Come take a shower with me-e-e.
And my banana hammock!
My banana hammock!

I like that one because it makes no sense and it includes the phrase "banana hammock," one of my favorite expressions.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Presto-Change-o

The Great B&N Music Dept. Rearranging of '06 was a rousing success. Now we just have to catch up on the other work that has fallen behind during the last few days as a result...

Today, the Jeanners and I are gonna hit the farmers market, then listen to THIS AMERICAN LIFE, which has become our Saturday routine. Then it's off to work for me.

Now to make brown!

Friday, August 25, 2006

The Pooch

For the last couple of days, I have had the expression, "screwed the pooch" stuck in my head. As in, "Boy, Rich, you really screwed the pooch when you knocked over that jar of pickles on the new carpet." Or, "Pat totally screwed the pooch when he cast BJ as Petruchio. The show really suffered as a result!" I don't know where this expression comes from (historically or how it got in my head) as I haven't heard it used for quite some time.

Last night I estimated that around 25% of the food in our refridgerator is pickle products.

Lots of rearranging going on at work. Making more room for DVD's and moving everything around. Hopefully we should have it done in the next day or two.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Dear Diary...

It's been a couple of days. Relatively uneventful, here's what's been going on:

1. Ian asked if I could design a set for 'Love's Labour's Lost.' I agreed, and I'm kind of looking forward to it. It'll be nice to do something mildly creative again, as the B&N has been keeping me in boring manager mode for quite awile. I read the play today, and the whole thing takes place in one location! So it shouldn't be too time-consuming.

2. Jeannie has kept a journal since se was like 13 or 14, and last night she was reading through some of her earlier journals, including the one from when she was 17-18, when we met. So I made an unexceptional spaghetti dinner and we ate out on the roof and she read me some of the highlights from when we met, including our first kiss and other firsts. All the drama and excitement, the highs and lows of being young and falling slowly in love. Who would've guessed that one day she'd be reading that journal to me, now her husband, on our roof in Baltimore. Not me. And I don't miss being that young and confused, either.

3. Work is getting mildly stressful again, as I start thinking about the upcoming holidays, and Elizabeth and Jeremy leaving, and schedule juggling and all that nonsense. Luckily, I am well aware that it's all just a music department in a bookstore, and it ain't really that important. I'm not going to invest too much of myself into this job anymore. I'm going to do a good job and not worry about it...

4. Had a CSC meeting tonight at Lesley and Scott's new home, which is large and still empty. I like empty houses, and theirs is very beautiful. The meeting was relatively uneventful but fun, one of those small-group social meetings that I enjoy, with wine and beer and where ideas are thrown around but not too much gets actually decided. But good ideas come up, and we all get reminded that we enjoy working with one another, and I think it renews people's sense of purpose a little bit. I think it renews mine, anyway. It's a very interesting mix of people, diverse talents and interests, and I think the diversity is what has kept us afloat this long.

5. I proposed to Jeannie that if/when we have a dog in the future, we should name it Jean Rambeau. I firmly believe that pets should have both a first and last name, and this would be an homage to American action hero John Rambo. My proposal was rejected.

I guess that's about it for now. Back to work tomorrow, not really looking forward to it.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

The Boob Tube

Tonight after work, Jeannie and I watched FIRST BLOOD (Rambo pt. 1) on TV. I enjoyed it, but Jeannie mocked it the entire time, despite the fact that early on she said she wasn't going to watch it and was just going to go to bed. Yet she stayed and watched it, seemingly just to mock it and ruin it for me. It's worth watching the whole 2 hours of the movie just to hear the song at the end, which has got to be the terriblest song of all time. So very very bad.

Then after the movie, we were flipping channels and caught the tail end of K-Fed's performance on the Teen Choice Awards.

What a night!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

To-Do List Blog

Things I scratched off my to-do list before going to work today:

1. Sit around in my undies.
2. Fry some bacon and eggs.
3. Watch Mr. Rogers.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Alert the Media

Eric has updated his blog. He's not dead. Praise the baby Jesus.

We've been catching some mice in our apartment. Unfortunately, they seem to avoid the happy, mouse-friendly trap that we have set out and go right for the quick, violent, deadly one. Well, it's entirely up to them...but still, we're sorry Mr. and Mrs. Mouse.

I've been thinking lately, and reading a lot, and it seems that I'm in a point in my life when I really don't give much of a damn about the world around me, or politics, or art, or ideas, or anything at all except being with the Jeanners and taking each day as it comes. And, since the Jeanners and I are technically one flesh (wink, wink) and therefore the same person, this means that I care only about myself. Which is not entirely true because I care about my family and friends, but still, the point is that I think my life has an extremely narrow focus at the moment. Should I be apologetic about this? Is this something I should try and change? Is this a viewpoint that I will eventually come to regret? I don't know. I tend to think that it's ok, that viewpoints and outlooks come and go and shift and change all on their own, they don't obey the brain or the heart. And it sounds corny and trite, but I really don't see how there can be anything wrong with focusing on loving one person as deeply and fully as you can. But still, I feel like I'm becoming narrower and narrower and I don't know what to think about that.

Rich wrote and said he got bored with blogging. Lately, I understand what he's saying. Still, I think it will be fun to look back at this in 30 years and have a laugh. Plus, my grandkids can know what my poop was like...and lately my poop has been frustrating. I won't elaborate, and you can thank me for that later.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Nu Shooz

Happy birthday to the capital-D Dude, the man who inherited Elvis' soul, known to at least a couple hundred as Flippy the Magnificent.

Today Jeannie and I spent the day exploring our fair city on foot. We walked down to the HArbor and Federal Hill, looking at stuff along the way. It was a beautiful day, and we've been wanting to walk downtown for awhile.

Also, this evening, we went shopping for some new shoes for me, and I was able to find my favorite $10 sneakers at Walmart that I haven't been able to find for a few months. Woo-Hoo!

Hot Damn.

Well, Jeannie and I both have the day off tomorrow, and we were planning on going to help move some stuff from the CSC offices. But we got an e-mail tonight from Lesley that said that things are pretty well under control and that we don't really need to come help. Sweet Jesus! I think it's literally the first time that anyone from CSC has ever turned down an offer of help. But I'm happy to accept the rejection.

So now we've got a whole day off together and nothing to do.

We had a great day down at Ocean City on Monday. MAW and her family are such wonderful hosts, and the weatheer was perfect, and the water pretty calm so Jeannie got in and we frolicked and had a grand ol' time.

Why has Rich's secret blog been taken down? Inquiring minds want to know...

Sunday, August 13, 2006

29

Today is my stinkin' birthday. It's off to work in a little while, and then the Jeanners and I are going out for my special birthday dinner. Someplace seafood-y.

Tomorrow we're going to drive down to the ocean for one last summer frolic.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Are the Seats in this Boat Warm or Cold?

Friday night, I just got home from work, and I'm glad to be home. Work is boring again. Training a bunch of new folks every week.

I have been listening to the Midlake CD very much. I like it very very much. It's not for everyone, but I think it's one of the most solid CD's I've heard in a long time. And the lyrics are strange. One song features the line, "The seats are cold in this boat," and a different song has the line, "The seats are warm in this boat." Well, Midlake, which is it? Are the two songs about two different boats? Anyway, enough about Midlake.

Our good friend Aimee came over last night for dinner and conversation. It's always good to catch up and find out what she's been up to. She said that when she reads my blog, she is unable to view the new sidebar with the random Flickr picture. Instead, the sidebar is now blank. Jeannie said that the same is true on her boss' computer. I asked my computer geek friend Patrick from work about it, and he said that it is most likely due to some sort of compatibility issue with the browser they're using to view the blog. I wonder how many others out there have problems enjoying the advanced features of this blog? Just for the record, I use Netscape to enjoy this blog as well as many other wonderful things on the Internet, which I'm told using Netscape is a very uncool thing to do. But I like it.

Alright, I'm going to enjoy some brief quality time with my wife (and maybe popcorn!) before I got to bed...

Thursday, August 10, 2006

The Music Report

1. Today I bought a CD by Midlake, called The Trials of Van Occupanther. I think I'm going to like it a lot. It's kinda strange, at times very pretty, and interesting. I would say it's a hybrid of Sufjan Stevens, Rufus Wainwright, and Fleetwood Mac. With maybe a little My Morning Jacket thrown in. But just a little.

2. Greg Brown has a new CD out as of yesterday. Saw it at the store, but haven't had a chance to listen to any of it yet.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Bacharach

Tonight I saw the Geico commercial with Burt Bacharach in it. He looked palsied or like he has had a stroke or something? Has Burt Bacharach had a stroke? The last time I saw him was in an Austin Powers movie, and he didn't look like he's had a stroke.

Another quiet night at home after a semi-long day of work. I'm wondering if this radio station plays jazz every night?

Tomorrow I'm running some errands with the Jeanners. Probably sell and buy some cd's. Gotta go get a key made for Elizabeth.

Also, since my bass is in Ohio with Rich, and my guitar is missing a string, perhaps it's a sign I should break out the keyboard and record some good, old fashioned, gay techno music.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Stop Time

When I was little and used to picture what I thought my life should be like, I think I used to picture a night kind of like tonight. Jeannie is sitting reading a book, I've been sitting on a chair sipping a beer, and we're listening to some Louis Armstrong and other jazz stuff. Our apartment is looking and feeling just the way we want it, very calm and spacious and relaxed.

Last night after I got home from work we watched The Squid and the Whale, which was pretty interesting. It made me think a lot about what life was like as a kid and how much easier life is now than it used to be. How nice it is to grow up and find that there's very little in this world that truly matters. Strange to think that there was more bullshit in my life when I was 10 than there is now.

Long day at work today, but not too bad.

Friday, August 04, 2006

New Look, Same Great Blog Flavor!

I spent the morning doing some tweaking to the ol' blog template, so now as you read my innermost thoughts, feelings, desires, pet peeves, and lower GI workings, you can gaze upon pictures of my friends. A steaming-hot cup of visual nostalgia.

I figured I needed to spice up the blog a lil' bit since what I've been writing is boring trash. Image over content, that's what I always say...

If you don't ever see a picture of yourself here, it could mean one of 3 things:

1. I don't really like you.
2. I don't have any pictures of you.
3. I have reached my bandwidth limit for the month on Flickr and you will just have to wait until next month to see yourself displayed on this blog.

Which reminds me, if you see yourself on here in a picture that you would like me to take down, just let me know. The only exception to this is the one of Jen Schlueter fisting the turkey. Sorry, Jen, it won't be taken down.


Today's me day off, and life is pretty perfect.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Busy at Work.

I had another whack dream last night, but I don't remember any of it, other than that it involved the Schlueterileymetz'. I've been trying to conjure a memory of what it might have been about, but I've had all day to forget about it.

I'm going to try and stop writing 'been busy at work.' Although it is true, I'm tired of writing it. Perhaps I shall invent a web-abbreviation for it, such as BBW? Also, since we bought a new camera a few months ago for our California trip, I have had to fight the urge to post pictures of our most banal daily activities. I am trying to put together a Flickr page with pictures from the California trip and the new apartment and some of our weekend trips, so I can send the link to my family and they can see what's been going on in our lives. Cause they don't get to read this here blog (and hopefuly they never will -- so everybody keep mum if you're ever talking to the more tech-savvy members of my family [i.e. anyone under the age of 45]}...

I like sentences that use multiple forms of punctuation all in a row, so that the sentence ends up looking more like a math equation than a sentence. Probably picked up from DFW.

Which, by the way, I am ever so pleased to announce that Pat Kilpatrick has started reading 'Infinite Jest.' He called the other day with some questions. Sounded like he was about 50 pages in. The next 100 pages or so will probably determine whether he sticks with it. Hang in there, Pat!

Hot Like Oven

I had a crazy dream last night involving Eric Elz and a couple of people I haven't thought about in a decade or more, including Tim Bantle (from high school) and James Dutt (from middle school). Eric had a terrible haircut and was very strange in my dream. When I woke up, Jeannie asked me if I remembered being on my hands and knees on the bed during the night, which I didn't, and I don't even want to know what I was dreaming about while that was going on. She said she tried to talk to me but I wasn't making any sense, but eventually she was able to talk me into lying back down.

It's been hot here, as I guess it's been hot all over the damned country. If it isn't hot where you are, consider yourself lucky.

Been busy at work. Loving the new apartment. Blah, blah, blah. Same ol' b-crap.