Ah, shit. Work has kept me busy as hell this week. Been getting ready for the official start of the holiday season (holiday changeover on Friday), as well as training a dude who's going to be the music manager out in Pikesville. So I've been coming home and pretty much just been looking for mindless activity, which for the past couple of days has meant noodling around on some music. Now I remember what the ol' TV is for...
The rest of Eric's visit was fun. We ended up hitting NYC in a whirlwind (4.5 hour drive up, walk around a bunch, 4.5 hour drive back), and then he jetted out on Monday morning while the J-Dog and I were at our respective works. Eric is a one of a kind hombre, and it was good to see him.
Today a customer (Mr. Kim) who likes me very much gave me a case of Heineken. Wouldn't life be better if every customer that came into the store gave us beer?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Who'll Stop the Rain?
The Elz is in town. Arrived yesterday, and we had a relatively uneventful day. Went to Fell's Point and had pizza in a strange Brazillian pizza place, then came home, hung out with the Jeanners when she got home from work, then went to a Mexican place that I've been wanting to try, El Patron. It kinda sucked. We were the only people in the place, and Eric ordered a vegetarian burrito that arrived filled with chicken. Then we came home and sat at the kitchen table and drank beers and chatted until we all hit the hay at around 10:30.
Eric was catching up on sleep and didn't wake up until noon this morning, then he and I headed down to DC for the day. I forgot to mention that it was rainy all day yesterday, and it was raining today, too. All day. It sucked. First, we got caught in traffic on our way out of Baltimore, so we sat downtown for about an hour, then when we finally got down to DC, it was ab-so-lute-ly fucking raining and nasty. So we walked around the mall in the rain for several hours. We went into the National Gallery of Art (and Farts) and saw all the modern art (and modern farts), and walked around in the rain. Then we took the subway to Chinatown and had a passable chinese dinner at a place that seemed to have 200 employees milling around, and as soon as you took a drink of water they would rush over and refill your glass.
Anyway, we made it home (still raining) and got some ice cream, and now here were are again sitting at the kitchen table with beer, except now we're listening to some tunes. Flaming Lips right now. Here's some pictures from our rainy Washington DC adventures.
Eric contemplates my modern farts.
Eric gets hungry near our National Phallus.
What life would be like if we all lived underground, on the moon.
The music has switched. It's Radiohead now. We were planning on going to New York tomorrow, but the forecast is calling for rain, and the idea of spending another day walking in the rain isn't sounding too great. So maybe we'll go see Darjeeling Limited tomorrow and think about heading to NYC on Sunday.
Whenever I get together with Eric, he takes lots of pictures with his large camera where I end up looking like a rockstar. So I'm going to take this opportunity to post a few pictures of me looking like a rockstar that I didn't have to take myself.
Eric was catching up on sleep and didn't wake up until noon this morning, then he and I headed down to DC for the day. I forgot to mention that it was rainy all day yesterday, and it was raining today, too. All day. It sucked. First, we got caught in traffic on our way out of Baltimore, so we sat downtown for about an hour, then when we finally got down to DC, it was ab-so-lute-ly fucking raining and nasty. So we walked around the mall in the rain for several hours. We went into the National Gallery of Art (and Farts) and saw all the modern art (and modern farts), and walked around in the rain. Then we took the subway to Chinatown and had a passable chinese dinner at a place that seemed to have 200 employees milling around, and as soon as you took a drink of water they would rush over and refill your glass.
Anyway, we made it home (still raining) and got some ice cream, and now here were are again sitting at the kitchen table with beer, except now we're listening to some tunes. Flaming Lips right now. Here's some pictures from our rainy Washington DC adventures.
Eric contemplates my modern farts.
Eric gets hungry near our National Phallus.
What life would be like if we all lived underground, on the moon.
The music has switched. It's Radiohead now. We were planning on going to New York tomorrow, but the forecast is calling for rain, and the idea of spending another day walking in the rain isn't sounding too great. So maybe we'll go see Darjeeling Limited tomorrow and think about heading to NYC on Sunday.
Whenever I get together with Eric, he takes lots of pictures with his large camera where I end up looking like a rockstar. So I'm going to take this opportunity to post a few pictures of me looking like a rockstar that I didn't have to take myself.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Jim Henson, my ass.
Customer: "Excuse me, sir?"
Dan: "Yes?"
Customer: "You look like Jim Henson."
Dan: "Thank you."
That's the conversation (in it's entirety) that occurred five minutes before I left work today. I don't really think I look like Jim Henson, though, and in his defense, the customer was semi-mentally-challenged. But it was an interesting cap on a long day.
Right now I'm cookin' myself some fat hamburgers cause I'm feeling the need to get my red meat on. I've got the next 4 days off, and E. Elz is due to arrive tomorrow, and as Eddie Murphy says, Eric just wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time.
Had a good meeting with Kevin the other night about the DOLLS HOUSE set. I think he and I are pretty much on the same page, and I think we could do some interesting stuff. He's got a good cast and a good costumer, so it could be a quite a good play.
Hmmm, what else? This city is a horrible place to drive in the rain. Horrible, horrible, horrible. I cussed out many people on the way to work and the way home from work. Can't we all just drive like adults?
Monday, October 22, 2007
"Sushi Man Busy Man, All the Time."
I feel kinda like I'm on a little bit of speed right now. But only because I've had a lotta things on my list to get done (mostly at work) and I've been getting them all done today. And tonight I meet with K. Costa to discuss the set for DOLLS HOUSE so I can stop procrastinating on that and get started with an actual "design." And I've got a load of laundry in down at the laundromat.
A funny story. The other night Jeannie and I had just gotten into bed and we were talking about something, and then there was about a 10 second pause, and then she said, "What's with the brown bear?" and then she started giggling. And I said, "What brown bear?" (because there was no brown bear in our bedroom, that I could see.) And then she giggled again, and said, "I must've been dreaming a little bit." It was pretty funny. Probably one of those 'you had to be there' situations, but I'm sure you can imagine yourself in a situation where someone who you're kind of in the middle of a conversation with falls asleep a little bit and starts talking about brown bears, and you can see that that situation might be humorous.
Confidential to the Beej:
This morning at 6:30am I sat in the parking lot of the B&N and listened to the hidden track on the Springsteen disc and cried a little bit. I, too, am a bit of a weeper. But in more of a stoic, native-american-shedding-a-lone-tear-about-forest-fires-and-litter kinda way.
Not confidential to the Beej:
Off to switch the laundry!
A funny story. The other night Jeannie and I had just gotten into bed and we were talking about something, and then there was about a 10 second pause, and then she said, "What's with the brown bear?" and then she started giggling. And I said, "What brown bear?" (because there was no brown bear in our bedroom, that I could see.) And then she giggled again, and said, "I must've been dreaming a little bit." It was pretty funny. Probably one of those 'you had to be there' situations, but I'm sure you can imagine yourself in a situation where someone who you're kind of in the middle of a conversation with falls asleep a little bit and starts talking about brown bears, and you can see that that situation might be humorous.
Confidential to the Beej:
This morning at 6:30am I sat in the parking lot of the B&N and listened to the hidden track on the Springsteen disc and cried a little bit. I, too, am a bit of a weeper. But in more of a stoic, native-american-shedding-a-lone-tear-about-forest-fires-and-litter kinda way.
Not confidential to the Beej:
Off to switch the laundry!
Friday, October 19, 2007
They Broke the Mold
The Jeanners and I just got back from seeing "Into the Wild," the movie about the kid who bummed around for awhile and then went to Alaska and starved to death. It's a good movie. About 3/4 of the way through the film, I was thinking, "this movie is too long and it's missing the fucking point," but then it kinda redeemed itself in the end. J-Dog and I had both read the book recently, and we were both interested in seeing the movie, because it's a pretty damned compelling story. I don't usually get too worked up about such things, but I'm kinda torn about the way I feel about this kid. He seemed to have everything worked out so right and so completely wrong at the same time. And I've been pretty fascinated with the whole "get rid of everything and just walk around" for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid my favorite daydeam was, "What would I do if my parents and family disappeared and I had to fend for myself? What would I take with me? Where would I go?" And there's still a bit of that left in me, although at the moment it's buried under some other shit -- some important shit and some unimportant shit. I wonder if it will come out later or if it will go away? I guess either option is ok...
So the two thoughts in my head about Chris McCandless are: "You're an idiot for not listening to people and thinking you could do what others could not." and "I really admire what you did and why you did it and the way in which you went about it." And my guess is that those are the two thoughts that go through everybody's mind who reads the book or sees the movie. Too much damned Eddie Vedder music in the movie, though.
Also: the hidden track on the the Springsteen album is pretty damned good. "When they built you, brother, they broke the mold."
Also: When we got home from the movie, I took a pretty huge shit. The bathroom is pretty rank. Jeannie's in there now brushing her teeth and I'm a little surprised she's not puking from the smell. Perhaps she's built up an immunity?
So the two thoughts in my head about Chris McCandless are: "You're an idiot for not listening to people and thinking you could do what others could not." and "I really admire what you did and why you did it and the way in which you went about it." And my guess is that those are the two thoughts that go through everybody's mind who reads the book or sees the movie. Too much damned Eddie Vedder music in the movie, though.
Also: the hidden track on the the Springsteen album is pretty damned good. "When they built you, brother, they broke the mold."
Also: When we got home from the movie, I took a pretty huge shit. The bathroom is pretty rank. Jeannie's in there now brushing her teeth and I'm a little surprised she's not puking from the smell. Perhaps she's built up an immunity?
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Magically Delicious
I bought the new Bruce Springsteen album today, Magic. I'm a bit underwhelmed. I have to admit, I'm a bit down on the Boss lately. Devils and Dust was just OK, The Seeger Sessions was just OK, and now this album is just OK. Three luke warm albums in a row. Here's a fun game you can play at home: when you hear the song "Radio Nowhere" (the first single) sing the words to "867-5309 (Jenny)." Sad when big Bruce is ripping off Tommy Tutone.
I've been depressed lately. Was in a funk all day. Then came home and went on a date with my girlie to go eat Thai food and that helped a bit. I need to get off my ass and get my shit done!
I've been depressed lately. Was in a funk all day. Then came home and went on a date with my girlie to go eat Thai food and that helped a bit. I need to get off my ass and get my shit done!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Round-Up
Thanks to everyone who voted in last post's poll. The correct answer will be revealed at some point in the future.
Well, a lot has happened in the last few days. Let's start at the present and work our way back...
I just got home from an inventory at work. My first inventory (I think) that I didn't work with Bewley. Luckily I was working with cool kids Korn and Brian G. so it made my first Bewley-less inventory not so bad. So I'm blogging and enjoying a cheeserito (just cheese) and a G&T to wind down a little bit before bed.
Sunday was Pat and Teresa's wedding, which was, well, a hoot. We had a good time. Although getting to hang out with BJ and MAW for only a day is really just a tease, and not nearly a long enough amount of time. We did, however, get to meet Destiny, who is funny and sweet and seems (to me) understated, in a good way. I approve. The Jeanners (who is also understated, I would say) approves. I'm not even sure if I should be describing people using the word understated, but it's late and that's the word I want to use and I'm going to do it, dammit.
Anyway, Pat's wedding was fun. Good music (a nice mixture of motown and disco, with some Prince thrown in, too) and dancing, and although the reception was in a pretty fancy country club, it did not seem hoity-toity, which was nice. And we met some interesting people who I enjoyed talking to, even though I pretty much loath having to talk to anyone who I don't know and have recently (in the past couple of years) become fairly anti-social. So that was nice. A good day that made me tired the next day and hungover-feeling even though I didn't really drink except wine with dinner. I think I was just really tired.
And on Saturday night when I was at work, I had these 2 guys come in, and they looked like military guys who were on leave (we get quite a few of those in the store), and one of the guys sounded like he was straight off the West Virginia farm (he used the phrase "I reckon," genuinely), and asked me if we had any, and I'm quoting here, "titty-nipple movies." I told him that no, we didn't have any "titty-nipple" movies. We had movies with both "titties" and "nipples" in them, but nothing that would, in my opinion, qualify as a "titty-nipple" movie. He asked if there was anyplace nearby where he could find some, and I couldn't really think of anyplace, but I forgot there's a sex shop right down the street from the store. They probably weren't open though because it was after 10pm. Anyway, that was funny and it made for a funny story to tell The Jeanners when I got home.
Oh, and the correct answer is:
BJ.
Well, a lot has happened in the last few days. Let's start at the present and work our way back...
I just got home from an inventory at work. My first inventory (I think) that I didn't work with Bewley. Luckily I was working with cool kids Korn and Brian G. so it made my first Bewley-less inventory not so bad. So I'm blogging and enjoying a cheeserito (just cheese) and a G&T to wind down a little bit before bed.
Sunday was Pat and Teresa's wedding, which was, well, a hoot. We had a good time. Although getting to hang out with BJ and MAW for only a day is really just a tease, and not nearly a long enough amount of time. We did, however, get to meet Destiny, who is funny and sweet and seems (to me) understated, in a good way. I approve. The Jeanners (who is also understated, I would say) approves. I'm not even sure if I should be describing people using the word understated, but it's late and that's the word I want to use and I'm going to do it, dammit.
Anyway, Pat's wedding was fun. Good music (a nice mixture of motown and disco, with some Prince thrown in, too) and dancing, and although the reception was in a pretty fancy country club, it did not seem hoity-toity, which was nice. And we met some interesting people who I enjoyed talking to, even though I pretty much loath having to talk to anyone who I don't know and have recently (in the past couple of years) become fairly anti-social. So that was nice. A good day that made me tired the next day and hungover-feeling even though I didn't really drink except wine with dinner. I think I was just really tired.
And on Saturday night when I was at work, I had these 2 guys come in, and they looked like military guys who were on leave (we get quite a few of those in the store), and one of the guys sounded like he was straight off the West Virginia farm (he used the phrase "I reckon," genuinely), and asked me if we had any, and I'm quoting here, "titty-nipple movies." I told him that no, we didn't have any "titty-nipple" movies. We had movies with both "titties" and "nipples" in them, but nothing that would, in my opinion, qualify as a "titty-nipple" movie. He asked if there was anyplace nearby where he could find some, and I couldn't really think of anyplace, but I forgot there's a sex shop right down the street from the store. They probably weren't open though because it was after 10pm. Anyway, that was funny and it made for a funny story to tell The Jeanners when I got home.
Oh, and the correct answer is:
BJ.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Toast
Yesterday I was thinking that when I toast my toast, maybe I've been toasting my toast for too long. So this morning, I'm toasting my toast for not quite so long. I just want softer toast, that's all.
Jeannie's brother (Jake) and his wife (Missy) were in town last night, stopping in on their quick tour of some of the Mid-Atlantic region. They are on their way up to NYC this morning, though I was still asleep when they left. Big D had a few beers last night, and slept soundly. It was good to see Jake and Missy, and I hope they enjoyed their brief stay.
I had a dream last night that I was at a CSC party and got super drunk did lots of things that I didn't remember later, such as shaving off my beard. I was glad when I woke up this morning with my nasty, scraggly beard still intact.
Work this evening, which I'm not really looking forward to (but it should be relatively painless to get through), and then off to Philly tomorrow for Pat's wedding. I bought a couple of rolls of black and white film for our non-digital old-school camera, so maybe I'll get some fun photos of folks while we're there. 'Twill be good to see the Beej and MAW, as well as discuss some CSC stuff with CSC peeps. And maybe do some dancin' with my girlfriend. And, of course, to witness 2 fleshes becoming one flesh.
Hmmm. I believe that's all to report. Got Alaska on my brain...
Jeannie's brother (Jake) and his wife (Missy) were in town last night, stopping in on their quick tour of some of the Mid-Atlantic region. They are on their way up to NYC this morning, though I was still asleep when they left. Big D had a few beers last night, and slept soundly. It was good to see Jake and Missy, and I hope they enjoyed their brief stay.
I had a dream last night that I was at a CSC party and got super drunk did lots of things that I didn't remember later, such as shaving off my beard. I was glad when I woke up this morning with my nasty, scraggly beard still intact.
Work this evening, which I'm not really looking forward to (but it should be relatively painless to get through), and then off to Philly tomorrow for Pat's wedding. I bought a couple of rolls of black and white film for our non-digital old-school camera, so maybe I'll get some fun photos of folks while we're there. 'Twill be good to see the Beej and MAW, as well as discuss some CSC stuff with CSC peeps. And maybe do some dancin' with my girlfriend. And, of course, to witness 2 fleshes becoming one flesh.
Hmmm. I believe that's all to report. Got Alaska on my brain...
Thursday, October 11, 2007
What global warming, indeed.
Well, here I am, spouting off like an alarmist liberal about global warming and 90 degree days in October and blah, blah, blah, and then it goes and turns all autumnal on my ass overnight.
Shit. I just dripped some salsa on my nice clean white undershirt. Actually, I've been wearing it all day so it's probably not technically "clean."
Anyway, it rained a bunch yesterday, and as a result the weather has turned a bit nippy. Thank god. Now I can wear my suit to Pat's wedding on Sunday and not be a sweaty bastard. Or at least be less of a sweaty bastard.
This chilly weather makes me want to go put on my new lumberjack shirt and stand outside, smoke a cigarette and drink red wine out of the bottle. In fact, I think those 3 things are exactly what my life is missing right now.
Jeannie's brother and his wife arrive tomorrow night. Through a last minute rearrangement of schedules at work, I now have tomorrow off, so I think I'll be spending it doing laundry and cleaning in preparation for their visit.
And now, a shout out to Jeff K., who has started up his own blog. I was unsure if he would want a public mention of his writings, but I figured that I heard about it via a MySpace bulletin, which makes me think that it's public already. So here it is:
http://emergencypudding.blogspot.com/
Jeff is the bass player for the Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers, a handsome dude, and a helluva nice guy. Show him some respect.
Shit. I just dripped some salsa on my nice clean white undershirt. Actually, I've been wearing it all day so it's probably not technically "clean."
Anyway, it rained a bunch yesterday, and as a result the weather has turned a bit nippy. Thank god. Now I can wear my suit to Pat's wedding on Sunday and not be a sweaty bastard. Or at least be less of a sweaty bastard.
This chilly weather makes me want to go put on my new lumberjack shirt and stand outside, smoke a cigarette and drink red wine out of the bottle. In fact, I think those 3 things are exactly what my life is missing right now.
Jeannie's brother and his wife arrive tomorrow night. Through a last minute rearrangement of schedules at work, I now have tomorrow off, so I think I'll be spending it doing laundry and cleaning in preparation for their visit.
And now, a shout out to Jeff K., who has started up his own blog. I was unsure if he would want a public mention of his writings, but I figured that I heard about it via a MySpace bulletin, which makes me think that it's public already. So here it is:
http://emergencypudding.blogspot.com/
Jeff is the bass player for the Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers, a handsome dude, and a helluva nice guy. Show him some respect.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
What global warming?
When I came home from work yesterday, I realized that it was hot outside, and I decided right then and there that I was gonna drive to the beach today (my day off). If we're gonna have global warming that gives us 90 degree days in October, I'm gonna enjoy it, dammit.
So I got up this morning at around 6 and got on the road, and was down at the bay bridge at around sunrise,
and got down to the beach at around 9. Unfortunately, the beach was L-A-M-E. There were absolutely no waves and I didn't have my grilfriend there with me to have fun with. So I swam around for a little while,
slept for a little while, and then got pretty bored. Then I got to thinking, and I remembered crossing a few rivers and streams on my way down to the beach, and I realized that I had a couple of fishing rods in the trunk of my car, so I decided to drive back and explore some of the rivers on my way home. I'd much rather stand in a river and fish in the shade than hang out on a lonely beach with no waves.
So on my way back I checked out Martinak State Park (which seemed to be all about a lake and campgrounds) and continued on through some small towns looking for good access to the Choptank River. After driving down back roads and gravel roads and little Missouri-looking towns, I eventually found a public access spot in a little town called Goldsboro. Unfortunately, just as I was arriving, a nice little storm whipped up, and I got a little soaked while taking this picture of the Choptank:
I drove around the town a little bit (I only saw one actual person in this town, and I saw her in two different spots: once waiting to pick up her kid from the school bus and once at the recycling containers near the boat-ramp; a fairly large woman in a bright yellow shirt) until the rain stopped, found a different public-access boat ramp, and wanted to attempt some fishing but there were 2 trucks parked there from the Department of Natural Resources, and since I don't have a fishing license (I'm not even sure what the rules are in Maryland, do I need a fishing license?) I figured I'd better not chance it. I did take a leak, though.
So I left Goldsboro and continued on, until I crossed the Tuckahoe River, which looked promising. So I drove around a few roads looking for an access spot, and eventually found the Tuckahoe State Park, where after a little looking around I found a nice, narrow spot that looked like it might be decent for some fly fishing.
So I walked back to the car to get my fly rod, only to discover that my tackle box is not in my trunk. So not only did I not get to fish, but now I need to figure out where the hell my tackle box is. Hopefully in the trunk of the other car.
So anyway, I don't think I made any more stops after Tuckahoe, and drove the rest of the way home, where I arrived at around 3:30. So it was a lot of driving for only about an hour and a half at the beach. I did do some decent exploring, though, and it was a nice day for a drive; singing, whistling, and meowing along to good, loud tunes.
Adventures are more fun with the J-Dog, though. Seriously.
So I got up this morning at around 6 and got on the road, and was down at the bay bridge at around sunrise,
and got down to the beach at around 9. Unfortunately, the beach was L-A-M-E. There were absolutely no waves and I didn't have my grilfriend there with me to have fun with. So I swam around for a little while,
slept for a little while, and then got pretty bored. Then I got to thinking, and I remembered crossing a few rivers and streams on my way down to the beach, and I realized that I had a couple of fishing rods in the trunk of my car, so I decided to drive back and explore some of the rivers on my way home. I'd much rather stand in a river and fish in the shade than hang out on a lonely beach with no waves.
So on my way back I checked out Martinak State Park (which seemed to be all about a lake and campgrounds) and continued on through some small towns looking for good access to the Choptank River. After driving down back roads and gravel roads and little Missouri-looking towns, I eventually found a public access spot in a little town called Goldsboro. Unfortunately, just as I was arriving, a nice little storm whipped up, and I got a little soaked while taking this picture of the Choptank:
I drove around the town a little bit (I only saw one actual person in this town, and I saw her in two different spots: once waiting to pick up her kid from the school bus and once at the recycling containers near the boat-ramp; a fairly large woman in a bright yellow shirt) until the rain stopped, found a different public-access boat ramp, and wanted to attempt some fishing but there were 2 trucks parked there from the Department of Natural Resources, and since I don't have a fishing license (I'm not even sure what the rules are in Maryland, do I need a fishing license?) I figured I'd better not chance it. I did take a leak, though.
So I left Goldsboro and continued on, until I crossed the Tuckahoe River, which looked promising. So I drove around a few roads looking for an access spot, and eventually found the Tuckahoe State Park, where after a little looking around I found a nice, narrow spot that looked like it might be decent for some fly fishing.
So I walked back to the car to get my fly rod, only to discover that my tackle box is not in my trunk. So not only did I not get to fish, but now I need to figure out where the hell my tackle box is. Hopefully in the trunk of the other car.
So anyway, I don't think I made any more stops after Tuckahoe, and drove the rest of the way home, where I arrived at around 3:30. So it was a lot of driving for only about an hour and a half at the beach. I did do some decent exploring, though, and it was a nice day for a drive; singing, whistling, and meowing along to good, loud tunes.
Adventures are more fun with the J-Dog, though. Seriously.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Easy Like Sunday Morning
Remarkably easy Sunday at work today. One of those days where the shit seems to sell itself...
Anyway, I meant yesterday to post this picture (that we got from my parents) of me and my baby frolicking in the ocean:
It's almost bedtime. Me and J-Dog are in the kitchen. She's making something complicated and vegetarian for her lunch tomorrow, something involving bulghur, which, as far as I know, is eaten mainly by horses. I'm enjoying a G&T and listening to J.J. Cale, who I've never really listened to but am enjoying.
Anyway, I meant yesterday to post this picture (that we got from my parents) of me and my baby frolicking in the ocean:
It's almost bedtime. Me and J-Dog are in the kitchen. She's making something complicated and vegetarian for her lunch tomorrow, something involving bulghur, which, as far as I know, is eaten mainly by horses. I'm enjoying a G&T and listening to J.J. Cale, who I've never really listened to but am enjoying.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
"Why'd you choke out there, Baumer?"
It's been a relatively low-key couple of days. I started giving people their yearly reviews at work, which has been fine. It's always nice to get a raise, right? I wish I got my raise at this time of year, but I have to wait another six months...
Thursday night we went to Jeannie's former boss' house for dinner, which was fun and kind of interesting. We've been meaning to have dinner there for awhile, but we figured that it would probably be better to hang out in a social way if we waited until Jeannie was no longer working there. So we went and took a few bottles of wine and had an egg and potato souffl'e that was pretty tasty. And some of us got a little tipsy and then we all played "The Worst Case Scenario" board game (which J-Dog and I had played before, and kinda suck at. We usually immediately decide against the right answer). But anyway, it was a decently good time. I'm glad we brought the wine...
Then last night the Jeanners and I re-watched The Royal Tenenbaums and went to bed early.
Today has been pretty laid back, too. We both got up early this morning and went to work; I just had to give Shawn her review, and then got to come home. Jeanners worked for a little while and then went to yoga and came home. We ran some errands, I listened to Experts and Intermediates while Jeannie read on the couch, I uploaded the fruits of last weeks recording (still not too happy with it, but what the hell) and here we are. Who knows what we'll do tonight. Maybe walk? Maybe watch The Third Man? Maybe both?
I'm getting excited about the wedding next weekend and all of our visitors coming this month...
Thursday night we went to Jeannie's former boss' house for dinner, which was fun and kind of interesting. We've been meaning to have dinner there for awhile, but we figured that it would probably be better to hang out in a social way if we waited until Jeannie was no longer working there. So we went and took a few bottles of wine and had an egg and potato souffl'e that was pretty tasty. And some of us got a little tipsy and then we all played "The Worst Case Scenario" board game (which J-Dog and I had played before, and kinda suck at. We usually immediately decide against the right answer). But anyway, it was a decently good time. I'm glad we brought the wine...
Then last night the Jeanners and I re-watched The Royal Tenenbaums and went to bed early.
Today has been pretty laid back, too. We both got up early this morning and went to work; I just had to give Shawn her review, and then got to come home. Jeanners worked for a little while and then went to yoga and came home. We ran some errands, I listened to Experts and Intermediates while Jeannie read on the couch, I uploaded the fruits of last weeks recording (still not too happy with it, but what the hell) and here we are. Who knows what we'll do tonight. Maybe walk? Maybe watch The Third Man? Maybe both?
I'm getting excited about the wedding next weekend and all of our visitors coming this month...
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
All My Lies Are Always Wishes...
I was prepared this morning to write that I like Wilco's A.M. better than Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (a claim that would surely lose me points with the hipster community at large) but I have spent the morning dancing around the kitchen in my underwear while making my bacon and eggs and listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Damn, they're both such good albums. How many bands do you know of that have 2 full albums that, between the two, have only one song that gets skipped, and that song gets skipped only because it was written and sung by the bass player (a bad idea in general, for all you young bands out there...)? Unfortunately, this kind of only serves to hilight the fact that Wilco's most recent two albums (A Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky) are mild disappointments (but still pretty damn good).
So anyway, all this thinking about Wilco has got me thinking about ALBUMS. About how a good ALBUM is a really rare thing. You know, most CD's that you buy, you're happy to get 6 or 7 good songs, but what about those wonderful albums where you get 10 or 11 good songs, nary a clunker among the bunch? And now I'm going to go through my Itunes library and pick out some good ALBUMS, in no particular order:
*Wilco, A.M.
*Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
*Afghan Whigs, 1965
*Counting Crows, August and Everything After
*Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
*Mike Doughty, Haughty Melodic (although I have to skip "Busting Up a Starbucks," perhaps the most annoying song ever)
*David Bowie, Low (actually, some of the songs aren't that great, but the whole of the ALBUM is definitely more than the sum of its parts.)
*Nick Drake, Pink Moon
*Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl
*Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins, Volume 2
*U2, The Joshua Tree
*Greg Brown, The Live One (actually, I usually skip "Moondance." I fucking hate that song.)
*Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther
*Bruce Springsteen, The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle
*Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
So there you have it. Out of 609 albums I have found 15 that I would consider "Great Albums." And Wilco had 2 of them. Way to go, Wilco! With honorable mention going to:
*Michael Jackson, Thriller
*David Gray, White Ladder
*Tom Waits, Nighthawks at the Diner
*Beck, Sea Change
*U2, The Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby
*Bruce Spingsteen, The Rising
At work today I HAVE to start giving people their reviews, which I hate. Here's my idea of what giving someone a review should be like:
"You're doing a good job, keep up the good work. Here's your raise."
or
"You really screwed the pooch this year, but I'm sure you'll do better next year, Here's your raise."
or
"Go away."
But unfortunately, I have to write up these reviews that are in Company-speak and then take time and go over the reviews with the employees and then have them sign it and lots of other B-crap. Oh well. I guess that's why it's called "Going to Work," and not, "Going to Fun."
Well, I've wasted to much time going through my Itunes library and now it's time to get ready for work. Shout out to A. Akester, from back in the college days!
Oh, and one more thought about albums: double-albums are pretty much universally a bad idea.
So anyway, all this thinking about Wilco has got me thinking about ALBUMS. About how a good ALBUM is a really rare thing. You know, most CD's that you buy, you're happy to get 6 or 7 good songs, but what about those wonderful albums where you get 10 or 11 good songs, nary a clunker among the bunch? And now I'm going to go through my Itunes library and pick out some good ALBUMS, in no particular order:
*Wilco, A.M.
*Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
*Afghan Whigs, 1965
*Counting Crows, August and Everything After
*Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
*Mike Doughty, Haughty Melodic (although I have to skip "Busting Up a Starbucks," perhaps the most annoying song ever)
*David Bowie, Low (actually, some of the songs aren't that great, but the whole of the ALBUM is definitely more than the sum of its parts.)
*Nick Drake, Pink Moon
*Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl
*Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins, Volume 2
*U2, The Joshua Tree
*Greg Brown, The Live One (actually, I usually skip "Moondance." I fucking hate that song.)
*Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther
*Bruce Springsteen, The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle
*Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
So there you have it. Out of 609 albums I have found 15 that I would consider "Great Albums." And Wilco had 2 of them. Way to go, Wilco! With honorable mention going to:
*Michael Jackson, Thriller
*David Gray, White Ladder
*Tom Waits, Nighthawks at the Diner
*Beck, Sea Change
*U2, The Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby
*Bruce Spingsteen, The Rising
At work today I HAVE to start giving people their reviews, which I hate. Here's my idea of what giving someone a review should be like:
"You're doing a good job, keep up the good work. Here's your raise."
or
"You really screwed the pooch this year, but I'm sure you'll do better next year, Here's your raise."
or
"Go away."
But unfortunately, I have to write up these reviews that are in Company-speak and then take time and go over the reviews with the employees and then have them sign it and lots of other B-crap. Oh well. I guess that's why it's called "Going to Work," and not, "Going to Fun."
Well, I've wasted to much time going through my Itunes library and now it's time to get ready for work. Shout out to A. Akester, from back in the college days!
Oh, and one more thought about albums: double-albums are pretty much universally a bad idea.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Holy Frijoles
Went to a semi-impromptu dinner last night with Elizabeth (who is in town from Chicago), Brian G, FCW and Sarah, and the Jeanners. It was a good time. Sad to hear that FCW is already bored by his relatively new job.
Let's see, what else? Yet another new group of shoplifters came by the B&N last night. Are there any actual, bona-fide customers who are willing to pay actual, bona fide money for expensive CD's and DVD's left? I am tempted to put up a sign that says SHOPLIFTERS, YOU HAVE WON. TAKE WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT. BLOW ME.
I worked a little bit on some music on Thursday (maybe?) morning, with mixed results. Have been doing a little bit of mixing here and there. Maybe I'll post some results when I've decided if I like them or not.
The Jeanners just walked in the door, home from work. I have eaten for dinner tonight: vegetable spuke ("rice with vegetables 'spuked' in it") and two chicken pot pies. I still feel hungry. A bit like a bottomless pit this evening.
Well, not much of interest going on, I guess. Looking forward to my day off on Thursday.
Let's see, what else? Yet another new group of shoplifters came by the B&N last night. Are there any actual, bona-fide customers who are willing to pay actual, bona fide money for expensive CD's and DVD's left? I am tempted to put up a sign that says SHOPLIFTERS, YOU HAVE WON. TAKE WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT. BLOW ME.
I worked a little bit on some music on Thursday (maybe?) morning, with mixed results. Have been doing a little bit of mixing here and there. Maybe I'll post some results when I've decided if I like them or not.
The Jeanners just walked in the door, home from work. I have eaten for dinner tonight: vegetable spuke ("rice with vegetables 'spuked' in it") and two chicken pot pies. I still feel hungry. A bit like a bottomless pit this evening.
Well, not much of interest going on, I guess. Looking forward to my day off on Thursday.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Should've Been in Love....
Yesterday I re-bought the Wilco album A.M.. It's one that I used to own but I gave it to Sean after all his CD's got stolen out of his truck. I have missed it, and it's really nice to revisit all of these songs. Takes me back to a very specific time.
I've been reading through old e-mails lately, from around 1999 and 2000. Makes me miss all of my friends who have spead out everywhere. But we were spread out back then, too, so I guess not too much has changed. Some of us just don't see each other as often as we used to, but eventually we all end up getting together somewhere and somehow.
Went to work this morning (which was pleasantly boring) and then to Korrine and Kelly's house warming party, which was a good time. I enjoyed watching Korrine and Kelly's respective parents, who were all funny. And good food and nice folks and several heated games of Catch Phrase. What could be wrong with that?
More work tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. Sean wrote me yesterday and inquired if I would be up for an Alaska trip in the not-so-distant future to do some recording. Hell yes! It's all a matter of timing. I really wouldn't be available until February, and I hope that's not too long for him to wait to get his recording done...
I've been reading through old e-mails lately, from around 1999 and 2000. Makes me miss all of my friends who have spead out everywhere. But we were spread out back then, too, so I guess not too much has changed. Some of us just don't see each other as often as we used to, but eventually we all end up getting together somewhere and somehow.
Went to work this morning (which was pleasantly boring) and then to Korrine and Kelly's house warming party, which was a good time. I enjoyed watching Korrine and Kelly's respective parents, who were all funny. And good food and nice folks and several heated games of Catch Phrase. What could be wrong with that?
More work tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. Sean wrote me yesterday and inquired if I would be up for an Alaska trip in the not-so-distant future to do some recording. Hell yes! It's all a matter of timing. I really wouldn't be available until February, and I hope that's not too long for him to wait to get his recording done...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Errata.
I'm not even sure what "errata" even means. And I'm too lazy to go look it up. Today I'm using it to mean "random things."
There's a new gang of thieves that have been hitting the B&N. A different guy every day, but all stealing in the same way (handing DVD sets over the wall by the escalator). So every day when I go in I wonder, "What got stolen yesterday?" I have been using the video to figure out who they are and how they're doing it, and I actually have caught two of the guys and kicked them out, but I still worry that they're going to keep coming back. So today's my day off but I'm worrying about work, and I'll probably stop by the B&N when I go to the gym, just to go through the video to see if anything got stolen last night. Sigh.
Other than that, not much going on. Jeannie started her new job on Tuesday, and seems to be having somewhat mixed feelings. She likes the people that she's met, but she seems to not like the design or building materials for the houses that they're actually building. But maybe, in the course of her job, she can work to make the design and materials better, yes? I think she's going to end up really loving this job, once she feels comfortable enough to dig into the deep stuff. But, she has only worked there 2 days, so at this point she's just learning names and figuring out where to eat lunch and shit like that. She said she's feeling a bit underwhelmed and overwhelmed at the same time.
And now for the "errata":
I don't know if you hop over to Old Aunt Amy's blog regularly, but if you don't you should go look at this picture. It makes me happy every time I see it.
A few weeks ago, Jeannie and I were looking up menus online for restaurants close to our house. We came across this wedsite for the Paper Moon Diner, which we both found pretty hypnotic. I love its simplicity.
****EDIT****
Ok, because I'm a sucker for grammar and usage I went and looked up errata and it turns out I'm a dummy and I'm using it totally wrong. But you know what? I'm gonna leave it so that in a few years when I'm really smart I can look back and have a big laugh at what a moron I was.
There's a new gang of thieves that have been hitting the B&N. A different guy every day, but all stealing in the same way (handing DVD sets over the wall by the escalator). So every day when I go in I wonder, "What got stolen yesterday?" I have been using the video to figure out who they are and how they're doing it, and I actually have caught two of the guys and kicked them out, but I still worry that they're going to keep coming back. So today's my day off but I'm worrying about work, and I'll probably stop by the B&N when I go to the gym, just to go through the video to see if anything got stolen last night. Sigh.
Other than that, not much going on. Jeannie started her new job on Tuesday, and seems to be having somewhat mixed feelings. She likes the people that she's met, but she seems to not like the design or building materials for the houses that they're actually building. But maybe, in the course of her job, she can work to make the design and materials better, yes? I think she's going to end up really loving this job, once she feels comfortable enough to dig into the deep stuff. But, she has only worked there 2 days, so at this point she's just learning names and figuring out where to eat lunch and shit like that. She said she's feeling a bit underwhelmed and overwhelmed at the same time.
And now for the "errata":
I don't know if you hop over to Old Aunt Amy's blog regularly, but if you don't you should go look at this picture. It makes me happy every time I see it.
A few weeks ago, Jeannie and I were looking up menus online for restaurants close to our house. We came across this wedsite for the Paper Moon Diner, which we both found pretty hypnotic. I love its simplicity.
****EDIT****
Ok, because I'm a sucker for grammar and usage I went and looked up errata and it turns out I'm a dummy and I'm using it totally wrong. But you know what? I'm gonna leave it so that in a few years when I'm really smart I can look back and have a big laugh at what a moron I was.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
4 Days With Bill & Sue
Well, my parents have come and gone, and it was a good visit. Here's the quick breakdown:
Thursday: I spent the morning cleaning and then took a nap until my parents arrived. They were later than they thought they'd be because they got a bad flat tire on the way here (outside of Cumberland) and had to get their car towed to get 2 new tires. When they got into town, I went to pick them up at their hotel and then the four of us headed to Tamber's for dinner.
Friday: We headed down to Chincoteague Island, which is on the Atlantic Ocean about three and a half hours away. Cute little old seaside town. We drove around a little bit, checked into our hotel (which was beautiful) and then headed to the Assateague National Seashore to hang out on the beach. That night after dinner, the Jeanners and I hit the hot tub room in the hotel, which was pretty nice, and had a relaxing soak.
Saturday: Headed back to the beach, drove around a different part of the island, and then headed back for Baltimore. My parents went back to their hotel to relax a bit, and the Jeanners and I started watching the first episode of The Wire.
Sunday: This morning we took my parents to church and then walked around the farmers' market downtown for a bit. Then had breakfast at Burke's, and my parents headed towards home.
It was a good time. I'm sure not gonna want to go to work tomorrow. The Jeanners starts her new job tomorrow, which is pretty exciting. Anyway, I feel like I just wrote a lot of "we did this, then we did this" type bullshit, so now I want to write a little bit of description: right now Jeannie is putting away some of the stuff she had out to make her dinner--peppers, cilantro, lettuce. We've got a mix of Greg Brown stuff playing ("Who Woulda Thunk It?") and there's still a bit of sunshine coming in through the kitchen window. Our kitchen is starting to look a little bit lived in again after being very clean and bare for my parents visit. Jeannie's barefoot, wearing a denim skirt and a white tank top. She looks good. I've got on a white undershirt (surprise, surprise) and some khaki cargo shorts that I've been wearing for quite a few days. I just drank a big glass of orange juice to try and get rid of my cold, and I had two turkey sandwiches on toast for dinner. I've talked myself out of a milkshake because I'm getting too fat. I bought a new red and black lumberjack shirt today at our local secondhand shop. I have a hard time passing up lumberjack shirts. Jeannie and I are both pretty tired, and we'll probably watch another episode of The Wire tonight before we go to bed.
Thursday: I spent the morning cleaning and then took a nap until my parents arrived. They were later than they thought they'd be because they got a bad flat tire on the way here (outside of Cumberland) and had to get their car towed to get 2 new tires. When they got into town, I went to pick them up at their hotel and then the four of us headed to Tamber's for dinner.
Friday: We headed down to Chincoteague Island, which is on the Atlantic Ocean about three and a half hours away. Cute little old seaside town. We drove around a little bit, checked into our hotel (which was beautiful) and then headed to the Assateague National Seashore to hang out on the beach. That night after dinner, the Jeanners and I hit the hot tub room in the hotel, which was pretty nice, and had a relaxing soak.
Saturday: Headed back to the beach, drove around a different part of the island, and then headed back for Baltimore. My parents went back to their hotel to relax a bit, and the Jeanners and I started watching the first episode of The Wire.
Sunday: This morning we took my parents to church and then walked around the farmers' market downtown for a bit. Then had breakfast at Burke's, and my parents headed towards home.
It was a good time. I'm sure not gonna want to go to work tomorrow. The Jeanners starts her new job tomorrow, which is pretty exciting. Anyway, I feel like I just wrote a lot of "we did this, then we did this" type bullshit, so now I want to write a little bit of description: right now Jeannie is putting away some of the stuff she had out to make her dinner--peppers, cilantro, lettuce. We've got a mix of Greg Brown stuff playing ("Who Woulda Thunk It?") and there's still a bit of sunshine coming in through the kitchen window. Our kitchen is starting to look a little bit lived in again after being very clean and bare for my parents visit. Jeannie's barefoot, wearing a denim skirt and a white tank top. She looks good. I've got on a white undershirt (surprise, surprise) and some khaki cargo shorts that I've been wearing for quite a few days. I just drank a big glass of orange juice to try and get rid of my cold, and I had two turkey sandwiches on toast for dinner. I've talked myself out of a milkshake because I'm getting too fat. I bought a new red and black lumberjack shirt today at our local secondhand shop. I have a hard time passing up lumberjack shirts. Jeannie and I are both pretty tired, and we'll probably watch another episode of The Wire tonight before we go to bed.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Catch That Beet, Crazy Motherf*$#er!
Well, I finished my 7 day work stretch, and I'm looking at 4 sweet days off, spent frolicking in the (hopefully) sun and spending some quality time with my folks and with the J-Dog. My parents should be arriving tomorrow afternoon, so I'm spending tonight doing some straightening and cleaning. Well, actually, right now I'm eating a turkey sandwich and drinking a beer, but later on I'm gonna do some cleaning and straightening. Tomorrow morning: laundry and deep-clean of the bathroom.
Haven't been doing a whole lot lately. Working a bunch, and going through old pictures and videos to see if there's anything fun to put up on the ol' facebook site. Found some old videos of the Beej from one night back at the house on 37th Street when he and Aimee and I were sitting around playing with the video camera. He make-ah dah funny faces.
Had a dream last night that I got shot by a shoplifter. He shot me four times in my booby.
That's about it. I was feeling kinda sicky today at work, but I think mostly I just need a good night's rest and a morning when I can sleep in as late as I want. Tomorrow!
Haven't been doing a whole lot lately. Working a bunch, and going through old pictures and videos to see if there's anything fun to put up on the ol' facebook site. Found some old videos of the Beej from one night back at the house on 37th Street when he and Aimee and I were sitting around playing with the video camera. He make-ah dah funny faces.
Had a dream last night that I got shot by a shoplifter. He shot me four times in my booby.
That's about it. I was feeling kinda sicky today at work, but I think mostly I just need a good night's rest and a morning when I can sleep in as late as I want. Tomorrow!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
BREAKING NEWS!
E. Elz is coming to Baltimore. Lock up your daughters, sons, and gaudy fake gold jewelry.
End of October.
End of October.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Conserving my Energy
In order to build up some days off for when my folks come visit, I'm working a long stretch at work this week. And, so I don't get absolutely sick of it, I've been conserving my energy, which means that when I go to work I try not to do much of anything. I succeeded very well last night, we'll see if I can keep it up tonight.
Not too much else has been going on. It's strangely hot in the apartment today and I'm sweating, even though it's not that hot outside. I've got a couple loads of laundry in down at the laundromat, and I'm trying to decide what to eat. Leaning towards hotdogs, but it seems like it might be too early in the day.
That's about it, really.
Not too much else has been going on. It's strangely hot in the apartment today and I'm sweating, even though it's not that hot outside. I've got a couple loads of laundry in down at the laundromat, and I'm trying to decide what to eat. Leaning towards hotdogs, but it seems like it might be too early in the day.
That's about it, really.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Law and Order of the 90's....the 1890's!
Well, it has now been about a month and a half since our TV broke, and Jeannie and I have found a few different ways of entertaining ourselves in the laughless void we call our lives. First of all, we've been watching ROME via Netflix. Great show. But we've finished that. We have lately discovered, though, that you can watch streaming television shows on Netflix now, which is kind of interesting.
But the main new way that I've been entertaining myself sans TV is by this strange new thing called reading. I had heard people talk of this reading at the store where I work, but it always sounded so boring, and the people who were talking about it were so annoying that for the past few years, I have generally abstained.
But I recently dug out an old book of mine that has all the original Sherlock Holmes stories as they appeared in the Strand magazine in 1891-1905. I have come to the conclusion that reading Sherlock Holmes was the late-nineteenth century equivalent of watching Law and Order, and here's why:
1. The stories are short and, for the most part, self contained. Each story is about 5-10 pages long and there's no real story arc for the series. You could pick any story at random and be able to follow along.
2. Each individual story is not all that good, yet you feel strangely compelled to keep reading more stories.
3. Each story pretty much has the same structure. I swear to god, every time Holmes and Watson get in a cab to go somewhere other than Baker Street, in my head I hear this sound.
So anyway, Sherlock Holmes. Not the greatest literature in the world, but kind of addictive.
On the whole, I've enjoyed not having a TV. The Jeanners and I still watch some stuff via Netflix on the computer, but it cuts out all the "crap watching," like Friends reruns at dinnertime or Judge Judy at 3 in the afternoon when you're off work. Now we just watch shows we really want to watch and only when there's not really anything else to do.
Not too much else going on. Hotel plans and whatnot have been finalized for my parents' visit next week. We're heading down to Chincoteague Island for a night and staying here. I'm pretty excited.
But the main new way that I've been entertaining myself sans TV is by this strange new thing called reading. I had heard people talk of this reading at the store where I work, but it always sounded so boring, and the people who were talking about it were so annoying that for the past few years, I have generally abstained.
But I recently dug out an old book of mine that has all the original Sherlock Holmes stories as they appeared in the Strand magazine in 1891-1905. I have come to the conclusion that reading Sherlock Holmes was the late-nineteenth century equivalent of watching Law and Order, and here's why:
1. The stories are short and, for the most part, self contained. Each story is about 5-10 pages long and there's no real story arc for the series. You could pick any story at random and be able to follow along.
2. Each individual story is not all that good, yet you feel strangely compelled to keep reading more stories.
3. Each story pretty much has the same structure. I swear to god, every time Holmes and Watson get in a cab to go somewhere other than Baker Street, in my head I hear this sound.
So anyway, Sherlock Holmes. Not the greatest literature in the world, but kind of addictive.
On the whole, I've enjoyed not having a TV. The Jeanners and I still watch some stuff via Netflix on the computer, but it cuts out all the "crap watching," like Friends reruns at dinnertime or Judge Judy at 3 in the afternoon when you're off work. Now we just watch shows we really want to watch and only when there's not really anything else to do.
Not too much else going on. Hotel plans and whatnot have been finalized for my parents' visit next week. We're heading down to Chincoteague Island for a night and staying here. I'm pretty excited.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
The Skinny
Here's what's been going on, in descending order of importance:
1. My ladyfriend, Jeannie, has been offered and accepted a new job with H. for Humanity. She's been wanting to change jobs for awhile and has done a lot of work looking and searching, and mulling over what the right job would be, and so I'm really happy and proud that she got it. What this means: it means that we'll probably be in Baltimore for another 2 years, that we might be able to save a little bit more money, and that we might be in a better position to move (and for Jeannie to go back to school) at the end of the 2 years. Right now 2 more years seems like a long time to stay at the B&N (probably because The Jeanners and I had been talking about moving a bit sooner than that) but I suppose if it gets too boring I shall have to just find another job.
2. The other day I yanked a long crinkly hair out of my beard that was a little too pube-like for my liking. It grossed me out, but I checked and the rest of my beard hairs are all nice and straight.
3. We have worked out some of the details of my parents' visit. It looks like they'll be coming out on the weekend of September 20-23 and we're going to head down to Chincoteague Island, VA for some beaching and exploring.
4. I've been enjoying Facebook a little too much. I just like the way their photo applications work. I like looking at everybody's pictures and tagging people and stuff. Anyway, I'm sure the novelty will wear off in a few days and then I will stop being such a dork.
1. My ladyfriend, Jeannie, has been offered and accepted a new job with H. for Humanity. She's been wanting to change jobs for awhile and has done a lot of work looking and searching, and mulling over what the right job would be, and so I'm really happy and proud that she got it. What this means: it means that we'll probably be in Baltimore for another 2 years, that we might be able to save a little bit more money, and that we might be in a better position to move (and for Jeannie to go back to school) at the end of the 2 years. Right now 2 more years seems like a long time to stay at the B&N (probably because The Jeanners and I had been talking about moving a bit sooner than that) but I suppose if it gets too boring I shall have to just find another job.
2. The other day I yanked a long crinkly hair out of my beard that was a little too pube-like for my liking. It grossed me out, but I checked and the rest of my beard hairs are all nice and straight.
3. We have worked out some of the details of my parents' visit. It looks like they'll be coming out on the weekend of September 20-23 and we're going to head down to Chincoteague Island, VA for some beaching and exploring.
4. I've been enjoying Facebook a little too much. I just like the way their photo applications work. I like looking at everybody's pictures and tagging people and stuff. Anyway, I'm sure the novelty will wear off in a few days and then I will stop being such a dork.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Assbook
Well, I have bitten the proverbial bullet and gotten myself a facebook account. I have done so for several reasons:
A) Schlueter has a Facebook account and I do not like to lag behind Schlueter technologically, socially, or in any other way.
2) One of my favorite activities (and I'm sure if you're reading this blog it's probably one of yours, too) is "checking my shit." When I wake up or when I get home from work, I enjoy the ritual of going through my bookmarks, checking up on people's blogs, seeing if anyone has magically deposited money in my bank account, reading updates about what Bono's been up to, looking at spam messages on my MySpace page, and now, poking people via Facebook. In my opinion, any chance to stretch out the time I spend "checking my shit" is a chance to decrease the time I spend doing dishes or idly sweating.
C) Elz-ee-poo recommended it to me.
Speaking of which, I spoke to Mr. Elz on the phone the other night, and despite what you might have inferred from his lack of blog-posting, he is not dead. He has been working a lot (as usual) but at a new job, and we currently negotiating dates for The Great E. Elz Visit To Baltimore of '07.
Hmm, what else? I had two days off in a row, and as a result was kinda scared to go back to work yesterday, but to my delight found that Korn had maintained complete control over the department in my absence and the place was just great.
So, I have spent this morning uploading a buttload of pictures to my new Facebook account, sitting in my undies, and sweating.
A) Schlueter has a Facebook account and I do not like to lag behind Schlueter technologically, socially, or in any other way.
2) One of my favorite activities (and I'm sure if you're reading this blog it's probably one of yours, too) is "checking my shit." When I wake up or when I get home from work, I enjoy the ritual of going through my bookmarks, checking up on people's blogs, seeing if anyone has magically deposited money in my bank account, reading updates about what Bono's been up to, looking at spam messages on my MySpace page, and now, poking people via Facebook. In my opinion, any chance to stretch out the time I spend "checking my shit" is a chance to decrease the time I spend doing dishes or idly sweating.
C) Elz-ee-poo recommended it to me.
Speaking of which, I spoke to Mr. Elz on the phone the other night, and despite what you might have inferred from his lack of blog-posting, he is not dead. He has been working a lot (as usual) but at a new job, and we currently negotiating dates for The Great E. Elz Visit To Baltimore of '07.
Hmm, what else? I had two days off in a row, and as a result was kinda scared to go back to work yesterday, but to my delight found that Korn had maintained complete control over the department in my absence and the place was just great.
So, I have spent this morning uploading a buttload of pictures to my new Facebook account, sitting in my undies, and sweating.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Addendum
I realized this evening that I can't really remember whether I actually met Nikolai Volkoff or whether my boss just told me that he was in the store. I have a vague memory of ringing him up at the cash register, but sometimes my mind just makes memories up.
Also, I'm convinced that in the Robert Urich photo, he was holding that pen in such a way as to show off how massive his manly hands really are/were. Whenever I see that picture, I am reminded exactly what my place in the world is. And what it is not.
The Jeanners and I had another pretty perfect day today. Her boss is out of town, so
she had the day off, and I had the day off, so we drove down to DC and walked along a trail in Rock Creek Park, which ended at the National Zoo, so we walked around the zoo a little bit and looked at the snakes and gorillas.
Also, I'm convinced that in the Robert Urich photo, he was holding that pen in such a way as to show off how massive his manly hands really are/were. Whenever I see that picture, I am reminded exactly what my place in the world is. And what it is not.
The Jeanners and I had another pretty perfect day today. Her boss is out of town, so
she had the day off, and I had the day off, so we drove down to DC and walked along a trail in Rock Creek Park, which ended at the National Zoo, so we walked around the zoo a little bit and looked at the snakes and gorillas.
The Hamill Camel
Yesterday at the store I met a 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist figure skater. She was buying a bunch of classical music (and also asked where the Barry Manilow stuff was, although she didn't buy any). So, I will add her to the list of celebrities I have seen in real life, which I will now rank by famousness:
1. Bono and The Edge (they could be listening to my CD RIGHT NOW!)
2. Dave Chappelle
3. Dorothy Hamill
4. The late great Robert Urich (note how tan and manly he is/was and how white and smarmy I am...) [note the size of his damned hands!]
5. Nikolai Volkoff
6. The new lead singer of INXS
7. Flippy the Magnificent
8. Joel Higgins (met in a very stinky bathroom of the Muny Opera in St. Louis, where he was putting in his contact lenses and claimed that he did not make the stink.)
On Saturday, Jeannie and I had a pretty perfect day: did some dishes, went to a state park and walked around, came home and had a picnic on the roof, headed down to Fells Point for drinks with Bewley, and topped it off with a good episode of Rome. If you can think of a better way to spend a day I'd love to hear it...
There a new live Greg Brown CD out today, called Yellow Dog. For all the Midwestern homies in tha house.
1. Bono and The Edge (they could be listening to my CD RIGHT NOW!)
2. Dave Chappelle
3. Dorothy Hamill
4. The late great Robert Urich (note how tan and manly he is/was and how white and smarmy I am...) [note the size of his damned hands!]
5. Nikolai Volkoff
6. The new lead singer of INXS
7. Flippy the Magnificent
8. Joel Higgins (met in a very stinky bathroom of the Muny Opera in St. Louis, where he was putting in his contact lenses and claimed that he did not make the stink.)
On Saturday, Jeannie and I had a pretty perfect day: did some dishes, went to a state park and walked around, came home and had a picnic on the roof, headed down to Fells Point for drinks with Bewley, and topped it off with a good episode of Rome. If you can think of a better way to spend a day I'd love to hear it...
There a new live Greg Brown CD out today, called Yellow Dog. For all the Midwestern homies in tha house.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
RVG
For the Past few months, I have been cultivating an addiction, and I might now be powerless to stop myself from buying CD's in the Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series. It all started (strangely enough) one year ago today when I purchased Coleman Hawkins' The Hawk Relaxes. Ever since, I've kinda become obsessed with getting CD's in this series. Rudy Van Gelder is a producer/recording engineer who has recorded a lot of undeniably great jazz players over the last 5 decades, and while the merits of his production have been debated online and such, I'm a big fan of his stuff. So far, I've been focusing on tenor sax quartets and quintets recorded between 1957 and 1962. I especially love quintets that have a tenor sax and a trombone. I will now, for no particular reason, list my Favorite Tenor Sax players:
1. Coleman Hawkins
2. Hank Mobley
3. Sonny Rollins
4. John Coltrane
Not a big fan of the alto sax, but I do like Paul Desmond.
I got into jazz by listening to Miles Davis, but now I generally hate the way a trumpet sounds.
Anyway, there are apparently like 170 CD's in the series, of which I own maybe 12-15. So my knowledge is pretty tiny at this point. But I've been buying a CD every couple of weeks, so maybe by 2010 I'll have the whole series. Christmas, anyone?
Next purchase on the list: JJ Johnson, The Eminent, Vol. 2
1. Coleman Hawkins
2. Hank Mobley
3. Sonny Rollins
4. John Coltrane
Not a big fan of the alto sax, but I do like Paul Desmond.
I got into jazz by listening to Miles Davis, but now I generally hate the way a trumpet sounds.
Anyway, there are apparently like 170 CD's in the series, of which I own maybe 12-15. So my knowledge is pretty tiny at this point. But I've been buying a CD every couple of weeks, so maybe by 2010 I'll have the whole series. Christmas, anyone?
Next purchase on the list: JJ Johnson, The Eminent, Vol. 2
Friday, August 31, 2007
Days Go By
Can't believe it's almost been a week since I last wrote. Work has been dominating my time and thoughts, mostly because I was training some manager folk for a few days this week. Training people sucks because you have to put aside all the work that you should be doing in order to take the time to train them, and then as you're training them you're pointing out all the areas in which you aren't doing things the correct way. So when I finished training them on Wednesday I felt terribly behind and like I do nothing right.
Luckily, I was able to get a lot done yesterday and get caught up and stopped caring about whether I'm doing things right. So today I'm feeling back-to-normal.
Also from work, a few updates about Sportcoat Guy. Tom (the guy who's in charge of Loss Prevention for our district) has, by working with the state police, been able to find out Sportcoat Guy's name and address. and apparently Sportcoat Guy's last name is....wait for it....COAT. Or maybe it's Coate. Or Cote. Anyway, I think it's funny that Sportcoat Guy's real last name is Coat. Also, he was in the store the other day, but just walked in and saw me and then turned around and left.
What else? Jeannie is, at this very moment, at a job interview for Hab. for Human. This time, though, it would be a real paying gig rather than the volunteer job that she had a few years ago. So I'm excited to hear how that goes. I think she would be really good for the job, because it's a combination of being on the construction sites and also being in charge of the AmeriCorp volunteers and doing some office stuff. I think she'd enjoy it.
Also been talking with my parents about the possibility of them coming out for a visit in September. It's been awhile since they've been out, and they've never seen our current place, so I think it would be nice if they could come. We're going to try and sort out some of the logistics as soon as we find out if Jeannie's gonna have a new job or not.
Looking forward to being off work tomorrow. Get to play with my ladyfriend during the day and then it's off to drink with Bewley! (who is in town on her first visit back since moving to Chicago...)
Luckily, I was able to get a lot done yesterday and get caught up and stopped caring about whether I'm doing things right. So today I'm feeling back-to-normal.
Also from work, a few updates about Sportcoat Guy. Tom (the guy who's in charge of Loss Prevention for our district) has, by working with the state police, been able to find out Sportcoat Guy's name and address. and apparently Sportcoat Guy's last name is....wait for it....COAT. Or maybe it's Coate. Or Cote. Anyway, I think it's funny that Sportcoat Guy's real last name is Coat. Also, he was in the store the other day, but just walked in and saw me and then turned around and left.
What else? Jeannie is, at this very moment, at a job interview for Hab. for Human. This time, though, it would be a real paying gig rather than the volunteer job that she had a few years ago. So I'm excited to hear how that goes. I think she would be really good for the job, because it's a combination of being on the construction sites and also being in charge of the AmeriCorp volunteers and doing some office stuff. I think she'd enjoy it.
Also been talking with my parents about the possibility of them coming out for a visit in September. It's been awhile since they've been out, and they've never seen our current place, so I think it would be nice if they could come. We're going to try and sort out some of the logistics as soon as we find out if Jeannie's gonna have a new job or not.
Looking forward to being off work tomorrow. Get to play with my ladyfriend during the day and then it's off to drink with Bewley! (who is in town on her first visit back since moving to Chicago...)
Saturday, August 25, 2007
It is, indeed, hard out here for a pimp.
Here's what's been going on the last few days:
1. Jeannie and I ate dinner at Chipotle last night. We saw a man walking down the street dressed exactly like a stereotypical "pimp" (complete with cane), and yet he did not seem to be going to a 'Pimp n' Ho' party. Nice to know that B-more's flesh peddlers still got the style.
2. I totally spent all day 'pimping' my MySpace site. Now the background is gray and the writing is black! Kickass!
3. The Jeanners has been working towards some major life decisions: she's got an interview for a new job (don't tell, it's a secret), and she's maybe signing up for a Physics (!) class tomorrow to begin the process of going back to school for some sort of future architecture degree. My guess is "Divorce." and "Have baby with anyone but Dan." are the next two items on her To-Do list and she just hasn't told me about them yet.
4. Going to a dinner tomorrow night. I think I'm gonna stock up on the booze just in case it's lame. But at least I'm off work, yo.
D-Bone out!
1. Jeannie and I ate dinner at Chipotle last night. We saw a man walking down the street dressed exactly like a stereotypical "pimp" (complete with cane), and yet he did not seem to be going to a 'Pimp n' Ho' party. Nice to know that B-more's flesh peddlers still got the style.
2. I totally spent all day 'pimping' my MySpace site. Now the background is gray and the writing is black! Kickass!
3. The Jeanners has been working towards some major life decisions: she's got an interview for a new job (don't tell, it's a secret), and she's maybe signing up for a Physics (!) class tomorrow to begin the process of going back to school for some sort of future architecture degree. My guess is "Divorce." and "Have baby with anyone but Dan." are the next two items on her To-Do list and she just hasn't told me about them yet.
4. Going to a dinner tomorrow night. I think I'm gonna stock up on the booze just in case it's lame. But at least I'm off work, yo.
D-Bone out!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
How Do You Spell Relief?
My chest was hurting and I just let out a big burp that felt so good that I almost started crying.
If you're like me and you like bad words and filthy things, you should probably check out this website that my friend Schlueter sent to me:
http://www.pornolize.com
Just type in the address of your favorite website (it could even be this blog!) and hit TRANSLATE.
If you don't like bad words and filthy things, you should probably just be avoiding the internet altogether.
If you're like me and you like bad words and filthy things, you should probably check out this website that my friend Schlueter sent to me:
http://www.pornolize.com
Just type in the address of your favorite website (it could even be this blog!) and hit TRANSLATE.
If you don't like bad words and filthy things, you should probably just be avoiding the internet altogether.
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