Saturday, February 28, 2009

Flip Flopper

Alright, first off, I have listened to the U2 album a bunch more times and as much as I am surprised to say it, I'm sold. I'm surprised because when I first heard it I thought it was absolute crap (as Jeannie will attest), and I'm also surprised because I'm even coming around and liking 'Get on Your Boots,' which I went on the public record against. But damn you, Brian Eno, you're a wily bastard, and it turns out that this record is quite the grower. Damn you, Brian Eno. It's not perfect, there are some lyrical and musical clunker moments, but on the whole it's good. I will enjoy spending time with this record, and I'm interested in hearing these songs live, which has not been true of the last few albums. Hmmm. I'd say it took me about 10-15 complete listenings before I started liking this one.

Second, the J-Dog and I looked at houses today for the first time. Well, it's the first time that we actually went with a realtor and got to go inside places. Fun, scary, a little overwhelming, a little underwhelming. We went to 7 houses, and 5.5 of them were pretty much complete crap. Like, falling apart crap. One has some potential but is kind of half falling apart and would need a lot of work, and one appears to be in good shape but would need some work to get it the way we would want it. But, nonetheless, it was exciting, and I feel like I could easily spend the next 2 months sitting in front of a computer screen, eagerly awaiting new places to come on the market.

Tomorrow I am off work again, and we will be striking the set for The Country Wife. The show appears to have been a success, and was enjoyable, and last week as we were remounting the set for the weekend's performances, I was remembering how stressed I was while building it and how silly it all seemed now. But yes, I was stressed at the time. Anyway, now it'll all be over, and we'll have the summer free for home-buying adventures.

Wonder how PKP and T are doing with new baby Finn? I hope that all is well and that people are getting at least a little bit of sleep and rest.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Foto Finnish

Pat (PKP) and Teresa have a new son, Finn Daniel. The dude was 9 lbs 1 oz, and arrived yesterday morning. Woo Hoo! Very exciting stuff, indeed. Everybody is doing well and happy. And, Pat told me, as of yesterday afternoon Finn had pooped twice. Just so you know. I think I had him beat by one.

Also, yesterday morning at work I was putting out the newly released CD's and DVD's before the store opened, and I had the opportunity to listen to U2's new album, 1.5 times, in headphones. And, well, it grew on me a little bit. So maybe it's not as bad as I initially believed. But still, I am skeptical.

The home buying process continues to be a little overwhelming. And we haven't even really started yet. Must remember to find the joy in all of this.

I'm off work today, and have lots of little things on my plate. Laundry, call to a lender, maybe a trip to the gym, maybe a vehicle emissions test. Woo-Hoo!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Waltz For Debby

I've been listening to a lot of Bill Evans lately. He's a jazz pianist from back in the day, and I think I'll just go ahead and call him a genius. Listening to him makes me want to never touch another musical instrument again. He has an amazing head and amazing hands. Hmmmm.

I was thinking the other day about the fact that the two classes that I took in college that I use the most in my daily life are Stagecraft and Jazz History. I'm sure I never would've guessed that at the time...

LOST is very good this season. I think it's the payoff season for all those fans who have stuck around this long. I'm enjoying looking forward to it each week.

I took a break from running for a good chunk of the winter, and now that it's getting springier outside I want to start up again, but dammit if it wasn't too cold this afternoon when I got home from work. So then my plan was to put on my long underwear and run at night when nobody would see me, but that didn't really happen. Tomorrow, I suppose.

I have heard the new U2 album in its entirety, and I'm not too impressed. Oh well.

Still no baby for T and PKP! I feel for T.

Only a few more weeks till me and the J-Dog head to Oregon!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Is This Real Life?

It's hard not to blog about interest rates right now, because they're taking up a lot of my head space. But I'll spare you the details and just say that we're in the midst of negotiations. Wheelings and dealings and whatnot. But not for any particular place, just looking for a good deal on a loan.

Anyway...

Not a ton has been happening. I finished reading John Adams, which I enjoyed very much. I have started reading Don Quixote, mainly because it's the only old, good-looking book sitting on the shelf that I haven't read.

The Jeanners and I had an argument yesterday and then we talked it out. We're getting pretty good at that, I must say. The talking out part, that is. It's nice.

We spent the day walking and driving around the Hamilton neighborhood, looking at houses. It was a good time, although I spent a decent amount of time looking for a good bush or alley to take a leak in. Never found one, but we did eventually hit the library so I could relieve myself. I found the reference section to be nice and secluded. HA! Just kidding. I used the somewhat scary restroom, which had a toilet that really just bubbled a lot when you flushed it. It's true. Ask the Jeanners.

Jeannie has wanted pancakes all day. Or french toast. She also has added chicken fingers to the list of things she wants.

That's all! Seacrest out!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

I, Clavdivs

Really having trouble focusing on writing lately. I guess this is one of those times where having a blog isn't very fun or interesting, and you gots to just keep on keepin' on. I suppose that I just got out of the groove, and must go through the motions until the groove returns.

Quite a few interesting things have happened over the last week or so, so let's see what we can remember:

1. The J-Dog had her birthday last Thursday. We both had the day off work, and it was a lovely day, weather-wise, so after going to HCCA to re-mount the set for The Country Wife, The Jeanners and I had a tasty Qdoba (is that how it's spelled? Why don't I know how that's spelled?) lunch and headed down to DC to see some museums and frolic about the town. The National Gallery of Art (and Farts) had an exhibit of a photographer that I've been a fan of for awhile, Robert Frank, and we got to see that, which was nice. We also went to the Hirschorn Museum and saw some Modern Farts and Sculpture, which was less interesting but we had fun frolicking. Then we drove home and went to dinner with Katie (who has once again left town to go work on her farm in Massachusetts) at an Ethiopian Restaurant of Jeannie's choice called the Dukem Restaurant (or something like that). I was not really a fan of the Ethiopian food, because the bread stuff was kinda like a cross between pancakes and human skin. I am not a fan of eating either. The Ethiopian beer was OK, though.

2. Nice customer, Mr. Kim, gave me a bottle of very nice cognac. I'm not sure how to drink it, not sure if I'll like it, and a little intimidated by it. But, like Miss Scarlet in the movie Clue, I enjoy getting presents from strange men.

3. The Jeanners and I went to dinner and to see The Country Wife with PKP on opening night, and then we all went to the opening night party afterward. The show was better than expected (and got a good review in the Baltimore Sun!) and it sure was good hanging with the PKP, although he did cut stinky fahts during the show, and his hair is long like a girl's. And he's gonna be a daddy in like, jeez, any day now. So that's pretty exciting stuff.

4. I spent a good portion of my most recent day off playing Civilization III. It was pretty great.

5. Everything I'm reading about the upcoming U2 album is very exciting. Everything I've heard from it is not. Although I think the mark of a great album is that it's better than the sum of its parts. Perhaps this album will be like that.

6. As the Facebookers already know, I sent a letter to Willie Nelson's manager, because I've always heard Willie Nelson's voice singing some songs that I wrote quite a few years ago. The truth is that I actually heard Johnny Cash singing one of them and Willie singing the other one, and then Johnny Cash died. So now I'll never hear Johnny Cash sing that one. But I figured I could actually do something about the other one, so I figured I would write to Willie Nelson someday. Well, for some reason, it kept me awake the other night thinking about it, so I got off my ass and wrote a quick, awkward letter that included links to the songs and put it in the mail to his manager's address, which I found on Le Interwebbe. Not expecting anything to come of it, but it felt good to do.

7. Jeannie and I started watching I, Claudius (or as we like to call it, I Clavdivs). She fell asleep. I thought it was a little bit corny, and, well, I think I've become spoiled by the lavish production values of shows like Rome and Deadwood. And I Clavdivs doesn't really stack up. Plus, Brian Blessed looks like Richard Kind.

Monday, February 09, 2009

The Answers

Since I have not been writing much for awhile, I'm feeling rusty. Therefore, I will use this opportunity to post the answers to the quiz from a few weeks back, as a warm -up for future posting.


1. What is my all-time favorite breakfast?
a) 2 bowls of Lucky Charms with milk, 1 banana.
b) 2 eggs over easy, 3 pieces of bacon or sausage patties, toast, juice.
c) 3 fried eggs, 1 can of black beans, 3 TBSP salsa, 1 TBSP lowfat greek-style
yogurt. Mash it all together.

ANSWER: B. THIS WAS A TRICK QUESTION, AS I'VE BEEN EATING A LOT OF "C" LATELY, AND I USED TO LOVE ME SOME "A". BUT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALL-TIME FAVORITE, IT'S GOTTA BE "B".

2. How many siblings do I have?
a) 0
b) 1
c) 2
d) 3
e) 4

ANSWER: D. TWO OLDER SISTERS AND AN OLDER BROTHER.

3. What is my oldest childhood memory?
a) J. Hines peeing on the boys' bathroom wall -- kindergarden
b) Cutting my head on a chair leg at the bank -- age 2
c) Afternoon walks with my mom through the neighborhood, spelling W-A-T-E-R on
sewer lids -- age 4
d) burning my eyelashes and -brows on the cake at my first birthday party.

ANSWER: B. "A" and "C" ARE ACTUAL MEMORIES, "D" IS ENTIRELY MADE UP.

4. What is my current favorite song of all time?
a) "All I Need" by Radiohead
b) "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" by Death Cab for Cutie
c) "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" by U2

ANSWER: A. I'VE LISTENED TO THIS SONG A LOT, AND I STILL GET GOOSEBUMPS EVERY TIME. GREAT BEAT, GREAT BUILD, GREAT SINGING. IF THIS SONG HAD BEEN AROUND WHEN I WAS 14, I PROBABLY WOULD'VE COMMITTED SUICIDE TO IT.


5. I prefer to wear:
a) boxers
b) briefs
c) boxer-briefs
d) commando
e) bikini briefs
f) thong

ANSWER: C. VERY OCCASIONAL "A" AND "D".


6. My least favorite coin is:
a) penny
b) nickel
c) dime
d) quarter
e) Kennedy half-dollar
f) Susan B. Anthony dollar
g) Sacajawea dollar

ANSWER: B. FUCKING NICKELS.

7. I have 3 bullets. Who gets them?
a) D. Finlaysen, A. Beanstock, B. White (local NPR personalities)
b) E.V. Arnold, Ross, Beatles Guy (B&N loons)
c) George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Ann Coulter (political players)
d) Dane Cook

ANSWER: A.

8. Favorite Soup?
a) vegetable
b) pea
c) ass
d) clam chowder

ANSWER: B. GIVE ME PEA SOUP OR GIVE ME, UH, SOMETHING ELSE.

9. What is my preferred style of government?
a) monarchy
b) democracy
c) communism
d) despotism

ANSWER: A. THERE'D BE SO MUCH LESS BULLSHIT IF WE JUST HAD ROYALS. OR, AT LEAST IT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT SORT OF BULLSHIT.


10. If I could live during any past era, it would be:
a) Wyoming, 1870
b) New York, 1950
c) England, Medieval Times
d) Dinosaur times

ANSWER: B. I'D GO HEAR SOME DIFFERENT JAZZ EVERY NIGHT.

11. My favorite nostalgic TV show is:
a) Growing Pains
b) Who's the Boss?
c) Silver Spoons

ANSWER: C, ALTHOUGH I WAS THINKING THE OTHER DAY THAT THE ACTUAL ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS PROBABLY 'LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE.'

EXTRA CREDIT



ESSAYS

Please write a short essay on one of the following topics:

1. Describe one of my typical days at the power plant.

WAKE UP SUPER ASS EARLY (IF I WAS WORKING AN A.M. SHIFT; P.M. SHIFT STARTED AT 2PM, AND THE OWL SHIFT STARTED AT 10PM), HIT 'JACK IN THE BOX' TO BUY 2 BREAKFAST JACKS FOR BREAKFAST AND 2 JUMBO JACKS FOR LUNCH. GET TO WORK, GET WORK ASSIGNMENT FOR THE DAY. SPEND 2.5 HOURS WALKING AROUND, 2.5 HOURS HIDING/SLEEPING, AND 2.5 HOURS IN THE BATHROOM. TAKE A SHOWER. GO HOME.

2. Describe a typical day for me in Kirksville, MO.

WAKE UP AROUND 10. SIT IN RON'S OFFICE UNTIL AROUND 4. EAT CHICKEN SANDWICHES. GO DRINK, SOMEWHERE.

3. Describe a typical day for me at the B&N.

COME TO WORK, STRAIGHTEN A FEW THINGS. STAND AND SAY 'HELLO' TO PEOPLE. AVOID CONVERSATIONS. CLEAN UP ANY STRAY TURDS. GO HOME.

Friday, February 06, 2009

The Best Day of My Life

I'm expecting today to be the best day of my life. Here's why:

For the past week or so, my life has looked like this:
1. 5:45am-7:15am - wake up, go to work.
2. 4:00pm-ish - leave work, go to theatre
3. 12:00am-ish - leave theatre, go home and sleep

I haven't gotten to see the J-Dog, I've been eating crap, and I've had no free time.

But today looks like this:

1. 9:15am - wake up
2. 9:30am-10:30am - watch LOST and eat ice cream
3. 10:30am-12:30pm - e-mails, dishes, music, cleaning
4. 1pm - MASSAGE
5. 2pm-5pm - errands, laundry
6. 6:15pm - me and the Jeanners meet PKP for dinner
7. 8pm - watch The Country Wife
8. 11pm - post show party
9. 12am - sleepy sleepy

I think it's gonna be pretty awesome. And really, the past week hasn't been too terribly awful, just way too long and busy. I've enjoyed working with the people who are working on the show, and I've enjoyed listening to The Unforgettable Fire at truly deafening volume while I drive. But I have seriously been missing the J-Dog. I got home a little earlier than usual last night, so she was still awake when I got home, and it was wonderful to just talk and laugh and shoot the shit.