The good news: according to my website-tracking stats, thousands of people visited this blog last month.
The bad news: I think that they were all spam robots.
Oh well. I will now write each post with my mental audience consisting entirely of robots. By the way, my mental audience up to this point has consisted entirely of strippers and the incarcerated.
What's going on? Oh, you know, the usual type stuff. Lysistrata has opened, and it made great strides during tech week, so it's not a complete disaster. I'd say up until 2 days before we opened, it was in serious disaster territory. But anyway, it has opened, and it turns out that I'm running the lights during the shows, which I didn't think I would have to do, but oh well. I'm actually having a good time with all the folks working on the show, and it's a nice excuse to get out of the house.
Work on the house has been progressing very slowly. We've been stripping paint off of trim and a door, and it's been a slow process, and a bit of a pain. It is nice, though, to have a basement in which to work on projects such as this.
I am sorry to say that, due to the annoying fucking spam comments that I'm getting on this blog, I'm going to turn on comment moderation so I'll have to approve all the comments before they show up. Fuck that shit.
I guess that's about it for right now.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
PSA
If you've every wondered what Huey Lewis looks like when he's taking a leak (and who among us has not?), just watch Robert Altman's Short Cuts.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Skeleton Key
A few days ago I was telling my parents about how we got our bathroom door hung, and how we're stripping the paint off of it, and how we're going to come up with a way to lock it, because it's an old door with old skeleton key locks and of course, since we bought the door from a salvage place, the key has been long lost somewhere.
A little while after I got off the phone with them, my dad called back and said that about 60 years ago, when he was around 12, he and his friends used to play in an old "haunted mansion" on his street. Basically, a big old abandoned house that they were all scared of (he said that they had theories that their grade-school janitor lived there [I remember having similar theories about my grade-school janitors...]) and that they used to vandalize. He said it was about 3 or 4 stories and they used to go up to the top and drop furniture into the basement to watch it explode. He said they once found a big mirror ("about as tall as a person") and they dropped it down and it was the biggest explosion he's ever seen.
He proceeded to tell me that one day he found a big bunch of skeleton keys and he was convinced that they were the keys to a treasure somewhere, and he had held on to them ever since. Yesterday this box arrived in the mail:
This morning I went down and tried the keys on our bathroom door. The one that I marked with blue tape worked.
Thanks, Dad!
(Your treasure will be waiting for you in our bathroom.)
A little while after I got off the phone with them, my dad called back and said that about 60 years ago, when he was around 12, he and his friends used to play in an old "haunted mansion" on his street. Basically, a big old abandoned house that they were all scared of (he said that they had theories that their grade-school janitor lived there [I remember having similar theories about my grade-school janitors...]) and that they used to vandalize. He said it was about 3 or 4 stories and they used to go up to the top and drop furniture into the basement to watch it explode. He said they once found a big mirror ("about as tall as a person") and they dropped it down and it was the biggest explosion he's ever seen.
He proceeded to tell me that one day he found a big bunch of skeleton keys and he was convinced that they were the keys to a treasure somewhere, and he had held on to them ever since. Yesterday this box arrived in the mail:
This morning I went down and tried the keys on our bathroom door. The one that I marked with blue tape worked.
Thanks, Dad!
(Your treasure will be waiting for you in our bathroom.)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
You Are Not My Valentine
Real quick like, cause I want to go to bed soon. Things that have happened:
1. I haven't been to work for about a week, because of a) snow, b) just having days off, and c) fraudulent sick days. It's been nice, but the party's over after tomorrow.
2. Jeannie and I got to go sledding on Thursday. We walked about a mile and a half to Lake Montebello, where there is a pretty decent hill. It was fun until our snow tube blew far away, across a big field and then across the street on the other side of that field, into some trees. We were able to recover it, however.
3. Jeanners had her birthday. She worked pretty late and then we went to dinner at Clementine. It's right down the street and we had never been there. I enjoyed it, although the things we ordered were pretty much the only reasonably priced items on the menu. It was also a little loud, but I'll bet that on a night when there aren't bunches of cabin-feverish people out and about, it isn't too bad.
4. After quite a bit of wrangling, we hung the door for our bathroom today. It's really nice to have a bathroom door. Unfortunately we took it right back down again because we're stripping the paint off of it. We've been stripping the paint off a lot of stuff lately, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. It makes our basement smell like oranges. Funny story about our bathroom door: I bought it from this architectural salvage place called 'Second Chance,' and it was painted white, but they had marked it in the middle of the upper panel on one side with a red spray paint glob. I really like the red spray paint glob because it kinda looks like somebody blew their brains out right next to the door. Jeannie, however, does not like the red glob and doesn't understand why I do. Whatever. She wins, the paint is all getting stripped off, red glob and all. One day after the divorce I'll have my very own all-white bathroom with a red spray paint glob on the back of the door.
Side note: I have discovered that every time I try to write the word 'bathroom,' I first write 'bathrrom' and I have to go back and correct it. Annoying.
Tomorrow: guys coming to tear up part of the basement floor, and we don't have to pay for it. Will they show up?
1. I haven't been to work for about a week, because of a) snow, b) just having days off, and c) fraudulent sick days. It's been nice, but the party's over after tomorrow.
2. Jeannie and I got to go sledding on Thursday. We walked about a mile and a half to Lake Montebello, where there is a pretty decent hill. It was fun until our snow tube blew far away, across a big field and then across the street on the other side of that field, into some trees. We were able to recover it, however.
3. Jeanners had her birthday. She worked pretty late and then we went to dinner at Clementine. It's right down the street and we had never been there. I enjoyed it, although the things we ordered were pretty much the only reasonably priced items on the menu. It was also a little loud, but I'll bet that on a night when there aren't bunches of cabin-feverish people out and about, it isn't too bad.
4. After quite a bit of wrangling, we hung the door for our bathroom today. It's really nice to have a bathroom door. Unfortunately we took it right back down again because we're stripping the paint off of it. We've been stripping the paint off a lot of stuff lately, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. It makes our basement smell like oranges. Funny story about our bathroom door: I bought it from this architectural salvage place called 'Second Chance,' and it was painted white, but they had marked it in the middle of the upper panel on one side with a red spray paint glob. I really like the red spray paint glob because it kinda looks like somebody blew their brains out right next to the door. Jeannie, however, does not like the red glob and doesn't understand why I do. Whatever. She wins, the paint is all getting stripped off, red glob and all. One day after the divorce I'll have my very own all-white bathroom with a red spray paint glob on the back of the door.
Side note: I have discovered that every time I try to write the word 'bathroom,' I first write 'bathrrom' and I have to go back and correct it. Annoying.
Tomorrow: guys coming to tear up part of the basement floor, and we don't have to pay for it. Will they show up?
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Who knew?
Who knew it really would be the blizzard of the century? Right now it's snowing again, a predicted 13 to 21 inches on top of the 26 inches that it dumped on us the other day. The Jeanners has been off work for a pretty long stretch, and it's looking like she'll be off a few more days if the snow falls tonight the way they're saying it will. For me, however, the snow seems to fall only on days when I'm already scheduled to be off, so I haven't gotten any extra time. The opening of Lysistrata, though, has been pushed back a week because we've lost a little under a week of rehearsals. I am both happy and sad about this. I was looking forward to my portion of the show being over in a few days.
I will say this: shoveling snow is a great way to meet your neighbors and give them a good impression of yourself, and the City of Baltimore has not done a good job of clearing away the snow. It stopped snowing (the first time) on Saturday, and we have yet to be plowed on Tuesday night. On Sunday, one of our neighbors with a snow blower cleared pretty much our whole street, and myself and another neighbor were out there with shovels helping, and that's the only reason I've been able to get to work. Oh well, at least we haven't lost power.
Today at work I told a customer that it was very rude for her to be on her cellphone the whole time she was talking to me. She was about 65 years old and a bit of a bitch.
Tomorrow the J-Dog and I are goin' sleddin'!
I have determined H. Steinmetz' future occupation: concierge.
I will say this: shoveling snow is a great way to meet your neighbors and give them a good impression of yourself, and the City of Baltimore has not done a good job of clearing away the snow. It stopped snowing (the first time) on Saturday, and we have yet to be plowed on Tuesday night. On Sunday, one of our neighbors with a snow blower cleared pretty much our whole street, and myself and another neighbor were out there with shovels helping, and that's the only reason I've been able to get to work. Oh well, at least we haven't lost power.
Today at work I told a customer that it was very rude for her to be on her cellphone the whole time she was talking to me. She was about 65 years old and a bit of a bitch.
Tomorrow the J-Dog and I are goin' sleddin'!
I have determined H. Steinmetz' future occupation: concierge.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Blizzard of the Century!
Perhaps not. It's snowing now, a bit. And maybe it'll keep snowing all night and all day tomorrow. But I doubt it'll be the blizzard of the century. According to PKP, it's not even a blizzard at all. Speaking of PKP, he and Teresa and the J-Dog and I went to see Josh Rouse the other night at a little music venue in Alexandria, VA. It was a good time. A good show (it sounds like JR's next album is gonna be pretty good, although mostly in Spanish), and it was good to see the cool kids, too.
Tonight, the Jeanners has made a tasty potato soup, and we'll probably sit and watch the snow fall and listen to some tunes and then probably watch an Arrested Development or two. Speaking of Arrested Development, I had a customer come in the other day who was looking for it, but could not remember what its name was. He described it thusly: "That HBO show about the screwed up family where the dad was a secret agent in Iraq. It's called distorted something." Just in case you've never seen the show, I will fill you in on the fact that there is nothing accurate about what the man said, except that the program is about a screwed up family.
Work on Lysistrata has commenced in earnest, and by this time next week the show will have opened. I am very much looking forward to that.
Tomorrow we will be snowed in, and we will do a lot of work on the house, hopefully. I will have biscuits with breakfast.
The other day I saw someone who looked exactly like a Jewish Ricky Elz (more Jewish than he already looks, that is). It looked so much like him that I didn't think to myself, "Wow, that guy really looks like Ricky Elz," but rather, "Why is Ricky Elz in Baltimore wearing a yarmulke?"
Potato soup is good.
Tonight, the Jeanners has made a tasty potato soup, and we'll probably sit and watch the snow fall and listen to some tunes and then probably watch an Arrested Development or two. Speaking of Arrested Development, I had a customer come in the other day who was looking for it, but could not remember what its name was. He described it thusly: "That HBO show about the screwed up family where the dad was a secret agent in Iraq. It's called distorted something." Just in case you've never seen the show, I will fill you in on the fact that there is nothing accurate about what the man said, except that the program is about a screwed up family.
Work on Lysistrata has commenced in earnest, and by this time next week the show will have opened. I am very much looking forward to that.
Tomorrow we will be snowed in, and we will do a lot of work on the house, hopefully. I will have biscuits with breakfast.
The other day I saw someone who looked exactly like a Jewish Ricky Elz (more Jewish than he already looks, that is). It looked so much like him that I didn't think to myself, "Wow, that guy really looks like Ricky Elz," but rather, "Why is Ricky Elz in Baltimore wearing a yarmulke?"
Potato soup is good.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Two Things
First, I'm starting to get spam comments on old blog posts, which is annoying. Suck mah duck, comment spammers!
Second, there's a guy that comes into work like, every day, and today I realized that he looks like a chunky and mentally challenged Brad Pitt. A little bit.
Second, there's a guy that comes into work like, every day, and today I realized that he looks like a chunky and mentally challenged Brad Pitt. A little bit.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Postscript
Mouse House update: I forgot to mention yesterday that we have not seen any rodent activity or rodent poop in the house for several weeks. We think that when we plugged the holes in our kitchen that we really did take care of all the mouse entryways, and that the 4 mice that we caught in the days following our hole-plugging had just been living in the bottom of the stove.
Also forgot to mention that the new Laura Veirs album is really good. Very good, in fact. An early candidate for album of the year. A taste:
Also forgot to mention that the new Laura Veirs album is really good. Very good, in fact. An early candidate for album of the year. A taste:
 | Laura Veirs - July Flame |  |
 | ||
 | Found at July Flame on KOhit.net |  |
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Pork = Smoke
Haven't written in awhile, but shit's been going on and that's what happens. I was off work for many days in a row over last weekend, and my sister and nephew were visiting DC, so I spent some time driving them around and whatnot. It was nice to have them around. We went to dinner at Ban Thai one night and it was delicious. I must remember that I really like that place.
We didn't get a whole lot of work done on the house during my days off, but I did manage to find a couple of decent doors (Lino, for some reason, got rid of most of the doors in the house, except for the basement door and attic door), so once we get the stupid things hung (which, in the case of the bathroom is proving to be tricky business) we'll be able to start working on trim and other finishing-type details in the bathroom. Still, a long long way to go.
After my stretch of days off work, my mood has improved dramatically. I no longer feel like I want to kill every person that comes into the B&N, and I feel cheerful and motivated. It is very very nice, and much better than the way I was feeling before my time off.
A co-worker who shall remain unnamed to avoid any legal repercussions was able to furnish me with a copy of Midlake's new album. It's pretty damn good. I would describe it as pastoral prog-rock. Nice harmonies, nice acoustic guitars, nice song structures.
Started working on our taxes last night. I want my guv'ment dolla billz!
We didn't get a whole lot of work done on the house during my days off, but I did manage to find a couple of decent doors (Lino, for some reason, got rid of most of the doors in the house, except for the basement door and attic door), so once we get the stupid things hung (which, in the case of the bathroom is proving to be tricky business) we'll be able to start working on trim and other finishing-type details in the bathroom. Still, a long long way to go.
After my stretch of days off work, my mood has improved dramatically. I no longer feel like I want to kill every person that comes into the B&N, and I feel cheerful and motivated. It is very very nice, and much better than the way I was feeling before my time off.
A co-worker who shall remain unnamed to avoid any legal repercussions was able to furnish me with a copy of Midlake's new album. It's pretty damn good. I would describe it as pastoral prog-rock. Nice harmonies, nice acoustic guitars, nice song structures.
Started working on our taxes last night. I want my guv'ment dolla billz!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Real Heat at Last
Life is rolling on. Work has settled back into boringness, some slight progress has been made on Lysistrata, and work continues on the house. We got our first heating bill and are sad because it's higher than we thought it would be and we've been trying to keep our house pretty chilly. Oh well. I guess a lack of insulation will do that.
Been re-watching the last season of LOST, getting ready for the airing of the final season. I am reminded that watching the show on DVD (or illegal download, as the case may be) is much better than watching it on TV. Anyway, I am looking forward to the rest of the episodes.
Been thinking a bit about recording some music. Not really sure about how to go about it. Should I try and set up a temporary little workstation in the basement? Should I get out The Boss and just do some acoustic sketches? Should I just wait until a room is finished where I can set everything up? Not sure. I'm thinking that for the next set of songs I work on, I'm going to try and stay away from the acoustic guitar. Not sure. No real ideas yet. Little flashes of lyrics go by in my head but that's about it. Like watching a fish swimming in a clear stream. Or a muddy stream, which is probably a better analogy. And actually, it's probably more like a turd than a fish. Anyway, you get the idea.
My friend Jenn posted this blog the other day on fecebook. It's pretty hi-larious.
What else? Our friend Katie the North American Traveler is back in Baltimore and is going to be living in our neighborhood, which is pretty cool. And my sister Patty and her son Kevin are going to be visiting us this week, which should be fun as well. They're pretty much just going to be sleeping here and spending their days in DC, but it will be good to see them.
Been re-watching the last season of LOST, getting ready for the airing of the final season. I am reminded that watching the show on DVD (or illegal download, as the case may be) is much better than watching it on TV. Anyway, I am looking forward to the rest of the episodes.
Been thinking a bit about recording some music. Not really sure about how to go about it. Should I try and set up a temporary little workstation in the basement? Should I get out The Boss and just do some acoustic sketches? Should I just wait until a room is finished where I can set everything up? Not sure. I'm thinking that for the next set of songs I work on, I'm going to try and stay away from the acoustic guitar. Not sure. No real ideas yet. Little flashes of lyrics go by in my head but that's about it. Like watching a fish swimming in a clear stream. Or a muddy stream, which is probably a better analogy. And actually, it's probably more like a turd than a fish. Anyway, you get the idea.
My friend Jenn posted this blog the other day on fecebook. It's pretty hi-larious.
What else? Our friend Katie the North American Traveler is back in Baltimore and is going to be living in our neighborhood, which is pretty cool. And my sister Patty and her son Kevin are going to be visiting us this week, which should be fun as well. They're pretty much just going to be sleeping here and spending their days in DC, but it will be good to see them.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
VERSHITZON
I would like to submit that there is nothing in the world more brain draining than being on the phone with the phone company attempting to take care of a problem with your phone line.
Yesterday, after one such very long phone call, I was rescued by Jeannie and Katie and we went out to dinner at the local Mexican joint, Los Amigos. Which is not great but it'll work when you have a craving for a Mexican place and you've been sitting in a dark corner of the living room all day.
THINGS TO DO:
1. start doing actual work on lighting Lysistrata.
2. start exercising again.
3. put the rubble from our basement into THE BAGSTER.
4. find a door for our potty.
5. read through old blog posts to find out if I get depressed every year at this time or if this is new.
It really is lovely taking a shower in the new bathroom. It's nice and tall, and the water pressure is good, and it's easy to make the water the right pressure, and the shower curtain lets just the right amount of light through. We need to finesse the drain mechanism a little bit because it's not working right, and when we do I look forward to taking a few baths, but for now I'm just gonna really enjoy the shower.
Yesterday, after one such very long phone call, I was rescued by Jeannie and Katie and we went out to dinner at the local Mexican joint, Los Amigos. Which is not great but it'll work when you have a craving for a Mexican place and you've been sitting in a dark corner of the living room all day.
THINGS TO DO:
1. start doing actual work on lighting Lysistrata.
2. start exercising again.
3. put the rubble from our basement into THE BAGSTER.
4. find a door for our potty.
5. read through old blog posts to find out if I get depressed every year at this time or if this is new.
It really is lovely taking a shower in the new bathroom. It's nice and tall, and the water pressure is good, and it's easy to make the water the right pressure, and the shower curtain lets just the right amount of light through. We need to finesse the drain mechanism a little bit because it's not working right, and when we do I look forward to taking a few baths, but for now I'm just gonna really enjoy the shower.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Settling In, or Mouse House 2
We have settled into our new place, which is 1,000,000 times better than the apartment we were living in. I cannot tell you how good it feels to be out of that place. We're continuing to work on the bathroom, and also starting on the living room and bedroom. Since moving in, though, our rate of work has slowed drastically, which is a good thing. It's going to take awhile to get everything done, but there's no real hurry and we won't kill ourselves (and each other) in the process.
There are mousies in the new house. We thought we had successfully plugged the hole where they were getting in, but we caught 4 mice in 3 days so I guess they're getting in somewhere else. I feel bad for those poor little mice. But I also want them to stay the fuck out of my house.
I might be becoming bipolar or something. Going crazy in some way. I have had some moments lately where I get real crankypants in a major way for a few minutes, and then it passes. Or, like today I feel like I've been under a dark cloud all day. Which is odd for me. I don't like it, and I know it's hard on the Jeanners because she's the one who gets the brunt of it (although the customers at work get it, too, in a much more subtle way). Maybe I just need to get back to exercising or something.
Maybe I just need to listen to more Phil Collins because I swear, 'Easy Lover' rocks. Do it.
Anyway, my pick for best album of 2009 is Phoenix' Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. An easy pick. Also, I downloaded my first bona fide rap song the other day. Jay Z's 'Empire State of Mind.' I can feel my street cred rising as we speak.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The Year We Make Contact
So here we are on the final day of 2009. It's been a decent year, which makes me feel a little guilty considering it's been such a shitty year for so many people. Oh well.
The Jeanners is over at Katie's celebrating the New Years Eve, but I was too tired to be up to it. So I'm enjoying being here at the house and not working on anything, listening to music, eating pizza, drinking beer, and farting around on the internet.
We moved into the house yesterday, in a long move that was tiring but not terrible. We've moved into half the house while we work on the other half. The half we've moved into is probably about as big as our last apartment (which nobody but A-train ever saw), but it's kinda weird right now because we're using the future dining room as our bedroom. So there's a big window behind our bed.
For the first time in my life, I have a refrigerator that makes and dispenses ice. As an avid gin and tonic drinker, please let me say that I am very excited about this. I bring it up because I just heard the ice maker drop its first load. I'm definitely a cube man, but I'm sure I can get used to the weird wedge-things the ice maker makes. Those wedges make me feel like I'm 12 years old and it's summertime and I'm over at my neighbor's house drinking kool-aid out of tall skinny pastel-colored plastic cups.
If you ever want to hear a funny story, ask the J-Dog to tell you about the time her parents' ice maker flooded their kitchen while they were on vacation. Although it probably won't be that funny because I pretty much told a lot of the story in that last sentence.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: Work on my handwriting.
Hopefully 2010 will be the best year ever for everyone in the world.
Yesterday when we saw that all the plumbing fixtures were working I was about as happy as I've ever been.
I've been meaning to mention: if you're a Tom Waits fan, I would highly recommend picking up his latest live CD. I've been listening to it in my car non-stop for the last two weeks and it's pretty damned good. Plus, I was able to pick it up at Best Buy for $7.99.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Cool Ranch Christmas
Merry Christmas 2009, everybody.
I'm sitting on our couch, and it's cold in the apartment. I have my winter jammies on (long sleeve t-shirt, brown long underwear bottoms, brown stocking cap) and there's a choir on NPR singing Christmas carols. We have opened presents from Jeannie's folks, and we've had a tasty bacon and fake-sausage breakfast, and I finished off my cool ranch Doritos, which were my present from the J-Dog last night. Had a long, busy day at work yesterday, although it was not too busy, and I received some Guinness and Gin and tonic and limes as Christmas presents from my co-workers. They know what I like. That being said, today is exactly one month after the one-night-only reunion show of the Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers, where I went a little overboard with the celebratory libations, and I haven't had any booze since. Just wanted to see what a month with no drink would be like, would it be rough or would it be ok? Turns out it was ok.
Today we'll begin tiling the shower in the new bathroom. Perhaps all the little mistakes we've been making along the way will come to a head, but perhaps we'll find out that we're actually in better shape than we think and we're worrying for no reason. Will it be rough or will it be OK? Stay tuned. Can't wait for this bathroom to be done. The plumber comes back on Monday to install the toilet and sink.
I think this is the first Christmas ever that the Jeanners and I haven't been home. Feels a little strange but not too bad. We've missed other holidays and this just feels like another one of those. Still, Christmas is a time when we usually get to catch up with a lot of family and friends, and it sucks a bit to have to go a longer stretch without seeing everybody.
We've rented a moving truck for Wednesday to make the move to the new place. Yikes. Since we're still working on a rather large portion of the house, we're going to be sleeping in the dining room for awhile.
I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas.
I'm sitting on our couch, and it's cold in the apartment. I have my winter jammies on (long sleeve t-shirt, brown long underwear bottoms, brown stocking cap) and there's a choir on NPR singing Christmas carols. We have opened presents from Jeannie's folks, and we've had a tasty bacon and fake-sausage breakfast, and I finished off my cool ranch Doritos, which were my present from the J-Dog last night. Had a long, busy day at work yesterday, although it was not too busy, and I received some Guinness and Gin and tonic and limes as Christmas presents from my co-workers. They know what I like. That being said, today is exactly one month after the one-night-only reunion show of the Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers, where I went a little overboard with the celebratory libations, and I haven't had any booze since. Just wanted to see what a month with no drink would be like, would it be rough or would it be ok? Turns out it was ok.
Today we'll begin tiling the shower in the new bathroom. Perhaps all the little mistakes we've been making along the way will come to a head, but perhaps we'll find out that we're actually in better shape than we think and we're worrying for no reason. Will it be rough or will it be OK? Stay tuned. Can't wait for this bathroom to be done. The plumber comes back on Monday to install the toilet and sink.
I think this is the first Christmas ever that the Jeanners and I haven't been home. Feels a little strange but not too bad. We've missed other holidays and this just feels like another one of those. Still, Christmas is a time when we usually get to catch up with a lot of family and friends, and it sucks a bit to have to go a longer stretch without seeing everybody.
We've rented a moving truck for Wednesday to make the move to the new place. Yikes. Since we're still working on a rather large portion of the house, we're going to be sleeping in the dining room for awhile.
I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Snow Adventure
So on Saturday the area got dumped on by a bunch of snow, enough that work was closed (on what would have been the busiest day of the year, no less!) so the Jeanners and I had a snow adventure at the new house. It was a good time. Snow is good.
Katie is back in town and has come over a couple of times to help with the drywalling of the bathroom. It sure is nice that she's back in town.
I am no good at drywalling. I'll be glad when this portion of the program is over.
I'm off work today and I'll be walking over to the house to do some small framing projects, and I might try to get some of the snow off the lower portion of the roof so that there are no moisture problems.
Blogging about moisture problems is perhaps more boring than blogging about interest rates, and I shall make every attempt to not do it in the future.
Katie is back in town and has come over a couple of times to help with the drywalling of the bathroom. It sure is nice that she's back in town.
I am no good at drywalling. I'll be glad when this portion of the program is over.
I'm off work today and I'll be walking over to the house to do some small framing projects, and I might try to get some of the snow off the lower portion of the roof so that there are no moisture problems.
Blogging about moisture problems is perhaps more boring than blogging about interest rates, and I shall make every attempt to not do it in the future.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Boogoo.
Doesn't the basement look scary?
Ugh. Slow progress. The remainder of the year is ticking away.
Today at work was the day that happens each year when I get really tired of seeing people. Work hasn't been too bad yet, though.
Today John Waters came into the store. But I wasn't much help. I wanted to tell him that I really loved the "no smoking" thing that he did, but I thought that it might be insulting to tell someone who has made many movies that the piece of work that you really like is a little fart of a joke that you saw on the internet.
Ugh. Slow progress. The remainder of the year is ticking away.
Today at work was the day that happens each year when I get really tired of seeing people. Work hasn't been too bad yet, though.
Today John Waters came into the store. But I wasn't much help. I wanted to tell him that I really loved the "no smoking" thing that he did, but I thought that it might be insulting to tell someone who has made many movies that the piece of work that you really like is a little fart of a joke that you saw on the internet.
Monday, December 07, 2009
A Good Name For a Dog or a Dragon
Sheesh! It's almost been a week since I wrote, but it feels like it was just yesterday. The house continues to eat up all free time, as it will for another few months, I'm sure. Progress report: old bathroom completely torn out, new bathroom walls framed up, bathroom subfloor torn out (we're going to attempt to go with hardwood in the bathroom...not sure if it will work), the plumber was there today starting to rough in the new pipes for the fixtures, we have bought a tub and toilet and sink (although we have to return the tub tonight because the finish is a little screwed up), and everything is torn out of the basement except for the crazy outdoor-as-indoor shower. We are eagerly awaiting getting stuff roughed in in the bathrrom so we can start tiling the shower wall and getting drywall up. We are tired of looking at a mostly-torn-apart bathroom.
Well shit. It's hard to write anything interesting when life is consumed by pretty much one thing. Hmmm. I went to court today in case I was needed to testify against a particular shoplifter. That's about it. Things are picking up slightly at work but the real rush hasn't started yet.
Alright. Gonna go poo and then put my laundry in the dryer.
Well shit. It's hard to write anything interesting when life is consumed by pretty much one thing. Hmmm. I went to court today in case I was needed to testify against a particular shoplifter. That's about it. Things are picking up slightly at work but the real rush hasn't started yet.
Alright. Gonna go poo and then put my laundry in the dryer.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Jeannie Said She's Gonna Poop in My Water
When did I become a busy person? I remember many times during the past few years when I had absolutely nothing to do. Those were good times. It seems like I haven't had any days like that in the last few months.
Here's what I want for Christmas: one day between now and the end of the year that transpires like the one described in this old blog post.
All that being said, the Jeanners and I are having a pretty good time working on this fucking house. I think it's gonna be really great when it's all done (estimated completion date: June 2047). Working has been especially fun because Jeannie is doing all the hard stuff and I just tag along to do the grunt work. Seriously, though, if you ever want to think good thoughts about the J-Dog, you should work on a house with her because it's really impressive to see her do all the planning and designing and building and everything. Cannot say enough good things about it. And then after working we come back to our shitty apartment and she opens the fucking windows in the bedroom, and it gets down to about 40 degrees during the night and we're bundled up in long underwear and stocking caps and blankets. It's absolutely bonkers crazy. Also, our current shower has 2 "slippery spots", which are two places on the floor of the shower that are permanently and perpetually slippery, like they're covered in shampoo but they're not. This is also bonkers crazy. All-in-all life feels just generally a little bit bonkers. In a good way. It feels good to be doing something. Feels good to be working towards something.
Wish I still smoked cause I think when the house is done it would be a nice place to have a cigarette.
Here's what I want for Christmas: one day between now and the end of the year that transpires like the one described in this old blog post.
All that being said, the Jeanners and I are having a pretty good time working on this fucking house. I think it's gonna be really great when it's all done (estimated completion date: June 2047). Working has been especially fun because Jeannie is doing all the hard stuff and I just tag along to do the grunt work. Seriously, though, if you ever want to think good thoughts about the J-Dog, you should work on a house with her because it's really impressive to see her do all the planning and designing and building and everything. Cannot say enough good things about it. And then after working we come back to our shitty apartment and she opens the fucking windows in the bedroom, and it gets down to about 40 degrees during the night and we're bundled up in long underwear and stocking caps and blankets. It's absolutely bonkers crazy. Also, our current shower has 2 "slippery spots", which are two places on the floor of the shower that are permanently and perpetually slippery, like they're covered in shampoo but they're not. This is also bonkers crazy. All-in-all life feels just generally a little bit bonkers. In a good way. It feels good to be doing something. Feels good to be working towards something.
Wish I still smoked cause I think when the house is done it would be a nice place to have a cigarette.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Everybody Knows I Like To Rollerskate
The one-night-only reunion show of the Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers is now a thing of memory, and I had a damned good time seeing everybody. It was very good, and very weird, and I missed the Jeanners, and I really appreciated staying with Uncle Rico at his sweet new place in beautiful Wildwood.
Also, I was able to surprise my family on Thanksgiving, which was nice, and my hangover had passed in time for me to enjoy a delicious turkey dinner. Isn't that what the holidays are all about?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Lino Pics
Lino (the guy who owned our house) was an old dude who did a lot of photography. He took a lot of pictures in, of, and around the house. We found some of them. I love the one of his desk.
Friday, November 13, 2009
True Story
Well, it's our anniversary and my wife is spending it at stupid work. This is the second anniversary in a row that she's refused to hang out with me. I'm beginning to think she's terrible.
Been working on the house lots this week. It's been slow going, but progress is being made. Lots of stuff torn out, an appointment made for the radiators to be modified on Thursday, and then the framing and remodeling can begin. Oh, and at some point in there all the shit in the basement has to be torn out.
Also at some point in there is a visit from my parents, my cousin's wedding in Scranton, PA, a super-secret trip to the Lou and one-night-only Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers reunion show (anybody wanna put me up on their floor for a few nights?), and Thanksgiving.
Today at work I forgot that it was raining a lot outside, and at one point I looked up from the counter and saw somebody dripping wet in front of me. I thought it was disgusting and wondered why there was a dripping wet person in front of me. Then I remembered it was raining outside. True story.
One more performance of Julius Caesar on Tuesday at a school in Virginia, and then I can never think about it again.
What the fuck is wrong with me? I've been listening to Christmas music like a motherfucker! True story!
Been working on the house lots this week. It's been slow going, but progress is being made. Lots of stuff torn out, an appointment made for the radiators to be modified on Thursday, and then the framing and remodeling can begin. Oh, and at some point in there all the shit in the basement has to be torn out.
Also at some point in there is a visit from my parents, my cousin's wedding in Scranton, PA, a super-secret trip to the Lou and one-night-only Quintessential Pine Tree Brothers reunion show (anybody wanna put me up on their floor for a few nights?), and Thanksgiving.
Today at work I forgot that it was raining a lot outside, and at one point I looked up from the counter and saw somebody dripping wet in front of me. I thought it was disgusting and wondered why there was a dripping wet person in front of me. Then I remembered it was raining outside. True story.
One more performance of Julius Caesar on Tuesday at a school in Virginia, and then I can never think about it again.
What the fuck is wrong with me? I've been listening to Christmas music like a motherfucker! True story!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Enoch Muthafuckin' Pratt
My damned wife is out of town for the week, and she took our goddamn wireless card with her, and I am unable to connect to the blessed Internet at home. Thus, I am sitting here at the Hamilton Branch of Baltimore City's Enoch Prattt free library. This is a damned shitty branch.
I have a splinter in my pointer.
The other night in my car I heard the song "I'm a Cuckoo" by Belle and Sebastian for the first time. I sat outside our place and listened until it was over. If I had Internet access I would download it. Unfortunately, the store where I work charges $17.99 for the CD, and even with my discount that's too expensive.
Julius Ceasar has closed outdoors, and on Tuesday we loaded up everything into a moving truck, took it to Goucher College, set everything up, focused lights, did the show, packed everything up, and took it all to McDonogh School, where we unloaded it, set everything up, and have been rehearsing for the past few nights with high school students added into the show. Performances this weekend. It's been a busy week, but everything has been unbelievably and surprisingly smooth.
Can't wait to get crackin' on the new house once Jeannie gets back in town. We need to get a dumpster outside so we can tear a bunch of moldy, nasty shit out of the basement. We also need to start tearing up the "bathroom." Today I took our stereo over and set it up because even shithole houses need stereos. The folks who cleaned out the house left behind a couple of pairs of speakers, one of which is pretty massive. I'm looking forward to trying them out.
The other night I had a dream that Jeannie left me for some other dude and I woke up in the middle of the night crying.
Last night I had a dream that some guy was arrested for drawing up plans for a device that would simultaneously kill himself and Michael Jackson. No lie!
I have a splinter in my pointer.
The other night in my car I heard the song "I'm a Cuckoo" by Belle and Sebastian for the first time. I sat outside our place and listened until it was over. If I had Internet access I would download it. Unfortunately, the store where I work charges $17.99 for the CD, and even with my discount that's too expensive.
Julius Ceasar has closed outdoors, and on Tuesday we loaded up everything into a moving truck, took it to Goucher College, set everything up, focused lights, did the show, packed everything up, and took it all to McDonogh School, where we unloaded it, set everything up, and have been rehearsing for the past few nights with high school students added into the show. Performances this weekend. It's been a busy week, but everything has been unbelievably and surprisingly smooth.
Can't wait to get crackin' on the new house once Jeannie gets back in town. We need to get a dumpster outside so we can tear a bunch of moldy, nasty shit out of the basement. We also need to start tearing up the "bathroom." Today I took our stereo over and set it up because even shithole houses need stereos. The folks who cleaned out the house left behind a couple of pairs of speakers, one of which is pretty massive. I'm looking forward to trying them out.
The other night I had a dream that Jeannie left me for some other dude and I woke up in the middle of the night crying.
Last night I had a dream that some guy was arrested for drawing up plans for a device that would simultaneously kill himself and Michael Jackson. No lie!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Home is Where My Farts Is.
The Jeanners and I bought a house today. So now we own a house, which is strange and cool and scary.
The settlement was kinda fun, actually. We got to meet the folks who we were buying the house from, who are the brother and sister of the guy who used to live there. They were super nice and super cute. Then we spent the rest of the day pulling up the purple carpet in the living room. And lo and behold, much like the dream I had not too long ago, the floors are in pretty decent shape.
It was nice today to not think about Julius Caesar at all. This weekend I have to iron four 9' by 6' pieces of canvas, and then figure out what to do with them. Then next week is all Caesar, all the time. Luckily/unfortunately the J-Dog will be out of town next week, so while I am sad that we won't be hanging out, I am glad that Julius Caesar is not the reason that I won't be seeing her.
Our new house smells. Lino smoked cigars. Lino, by the way, is the name of the guy who used to live there. The J-Dog and I have, during the last few months, been referring to this place as "Lino's House." Also, it's kinda musty. Much work to be done!
The settlement was kinda fun, actually. We got to meet the folks who we were buying the house from, who are the brother and sister of the guy who used to live there. They were super nice and super cute. Then we spent the rest of the day pulling up the purple carpet in the living room. And lo and behold, much like the dream I had not too long ago, the floors are in pretty decent shape.
It was nice today to not think about Julius Caesar at all. This weekend I have to iron four 9' by 6' pieces of canvas, and then figure out what to do with them. Then next week is all Caesar, all the time. Luckily/unfortunately the J-Dog will be out of town next week, so while I am sad that we won't be hanging out, I am glad that Julius Caesar is not the reason that I won't be seeing her.
Our new house smells. Lino smoked cigars. Lino, by the way, is the name of the guy who used to live there. The J-Dog and I have, during the last few months, been referring to this place as "Lino's House." Also, it's kinda musty. Much work to be done!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
20 seconds
On Friday night, Jeannie and I went to dinner to celebrate the fact that we got our driveway permit. We went to a Thai restaurant, and it was OK. We had a nice time. Then after dinner, we went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things, and I had to go to the bathroom (the Trader Joe's next to my work is #1 on my list of Best Public Restroom in America, beating out a gas station in Bowling Green, MO that used to have the #1 spot), so I went in the bathroom and cut a fart that lasted 20 seconds. Seriously. Close your eyes and count to 20. It's a long time. And I thought that after cutting the 20 second fart that I was done, that any gastro-intestinal duress had been resolved, so I went out and met Jeannie in the vitamins aisle, but she told me to go back in there and give it the ol' college try. And I'm glad I listened to her, because it turns out that I needed to do things that probably wouldn't have waited for us to make the drive home.
This week's gonna be super busy and probably pretty stressful. Wish us luck.
This week's gonna be super busy and probably pretty stressful. Wish us luck.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Not so Fresh Air Feeling
Had an inventory at work tonight and it went very well. One of the easiest that I've worked. Then headed to the Kent House (formerly the Kent Lounge) with Nikki and Abbey and Johnny. A good time.
Jeannie wrote in her blog that the dude downstairs hasn't been smoking a lot, but at the moment, he is smoking and it stinks in our place. At least it does in the living room. Hopefully she's asleep there in the bedroom and not getting any of the stink that is coming up from down below.
Tomorrow I'm off work and planning a lot of set building. Then for he show tomorrow night, there is a bigwig from the Globe Theatre (in England!) who is coming to speak, so I'll probably be around for that. Then we're all hitting the pub afterwards.
Have I mentioned that I'll be glad when October/November is over? Cuz I will.
Jeannie wrote in her blog that the dude downstairs hasn't been smoking a lot, but at the moment, he is smoking and it stinks in our place. At least it does in the living room. Hopefully she's asleep there in the bedroom and not getting any of the stink that is coming up from down below.
Tomorrow I'm off work and planning a lot of set building. Then for he show tomorrow night, there is a bigwig from the Globe Theatre (in England!) who is coming to speak, so I'll probably be around for that. Then we're all hitting the pub afterwards.
Have I mentioned that I'll be glad when October/November is over? Cuz I will.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Glass Half Full
Today I got rid of my shift at work because I had signed up for a Stanislavski workshop and I had totally forgotten about it. The workshop was informative but ultimately pointless. But it was not unenjoyable and it was good to see the other folks there, but it just kinda felt like a waste of a day and I wish I hadn't had to use personal time at work in order to go to it.
I made myself some G&T's tonight that were just about 1/2 G. Yowza!
Last night I had a dream that we ripped out the carpet at the potential house and the hardwood floors underneath were gorgeous. I hope that this dream comes true.
We have had 3 days of non-stop rain. It's looking like the entire weekend of Julius Caesar is going to get rained out. Also, the rain is screwing with my set-building plans. Hopefully it will be a dry week and I will be able to get caught up. I am beginning to get stressed by the set building and the 3 lighting designs that I have to do. It's been far too long since I've had to do a real lighting design. Even when I was auditorium manager back at Truman, I always tried to pawn off the lighting designs onto an intern (thank you, Jeremy B) because I didn't feel very comfortable doing them. Oh well. I am looking forward to October and November being over. It's very strange, but at times like these when life gets stressful, I really love my job because, if necessary, I can devote exactly 0% of my brain to it, and it still gets done just as well as when I'm devoting 80% of my brain to it.
I made myself some G&T's tonight that were just about 1/2 G. Yowza!
Last night I had a dream that we ripped out the carpet at the potential house and the hardwood floors underneath were gorgeous. I hope that this dream comes true.
We have had 3 days of non-stop rain. It's looking like the entire weekend of Julius Caesar is going to get rained out. Also, the rain is screwing with my set-building plans. Hopefully it will be a dry week and I will be able to get caught up. I am beginning to get stressed by the set building and the 3 lighting designs that I have to do. It's been far too long since I've had to do a real lighting design. Even when I was auditorium manager back at Truman, I always tried to pawn off the lighting designs onto an intern (thank you, Jeremy B) because I didn't feel very comfortable doing them. Oh well. I am looking forward to October and November being over. It's very strange, but at times like these when life gets stressful, I really love my job because, if necessary, I can devote exactly 0% of my brain to it, and it still gets done just as well as when I'm devoting 80% of my brain to it.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Slow Night
When the Jeanners got home from work this evening, she was stressed and didn't feel like cooking, so we went to our favorite little neighborhood restaurant, The Parkside, for dinner. I feel bad because the place always seems pretty empty when we go there. I don't know that it can survive much longer. On their calendar, they had advertised karaoke this evening, but when we got there it became fairly clear that no karaoke was going to take place. When we left (about 9:30), we were the only folks there. Sad. It's a cute place, and the people that run it are nice.
I had planned on spending the day working on the set, but it has been raining and cold all day so I was only able to buy lumber. I am also still procrastinating on this thing because I don't really feel like doing it. Hopefully I will not procrastinate too much.
Because of the rain, I spent the day around our apartment, and with all of our books and cd's and stuff packed away in storage, there really isn't that much to do. I made some eggs, took a nap, and farted around on the internet for a long time. Looking forward to the day when we can unpack the books and music equipment.
I had planned on spending the day working on the set, but it has been raining and cold all day so I was only able to buy lumber. I am also still procrastinating on this thing because I don't really feel like doing it. Hopefully I will not procrastinate too much.
Because of the rain, I spent the day around our apartment, and with all of our books and cd's and stuff packed away in storage, there really isn't that much to do. I made some eggs, took a nap, and farted around on the internet for a long time. Looking forward to the day when we can unpack the books and music equipment.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Gaytorade
Today I was off work, and I dropped some paperwork off down at the City Office of Homeownership, and then spent the afternoon building the indoor set for Julius Caesar. I've really been abusing my body throughout this whole process. My back is now in a pretty much constant state of pain. It's probably from lugging a bunch of damned platforms around by myself. Seriously, I'm going to be one of those 80-year-olds who is about 4 feet tall and walks around staring directly at the ground.
The Jeanners just got home!
Stan Getz is one smooth mofo.
The Jeanners just got home!
Stan Getz is one smooth mofo.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Que Pasa, U.S.A.?
I finished off the last post with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I know you've all been dying to find out the outcome, and the answer is yes, I was getting sick.
Today is the first day in a long time that I've gotten off work and don't have anyplace that I have to be. It's pretty awesome. So the show opened this past weekend, and it's up and running, and now I don't have to go every night and make sure it's running ok. Now my job turns into set and lighting designer for when the show moves indoors in about a month. Which will be a different kind of stressful, but at least I won't have to be somewhere every night.
On Saturday I got to spend the day with the Jeanners (we did a lot of sleeping), and it was awesome. It's pretty amazing how much of the general suckiness of late can be directly attributed to not spending enough time with the Jeanners. The remaining 30% of the general suckiness can be attributed to:
1. trying to buy a house.
2. the persistent smell of cigarette smoke.
3. crappy water pressure.
Saturday night we went to see Ira "Schmira" Glass at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He gave a talk and it was pretty cool.
When I was in eighth grade, my Spanish teacher used to make us watch this show called Que Pasa, U.S.A.?. Every now and again the theme song gets stuck in my head like a mothafu@#a. Enjoy.
I realize that I've been doing a shitty job of documenting this portion of the life of D-Bone and J-Dog. In order to remedy that, I shall post some pics of Where We Live Now.
Today is the first day in a long time that I've gotten off work and don't have anyplace that I have to be. It's pretty awesome. So the show opened this past weekend, and it's up and running, and now I don't have to go every night and make sure it's running ok. Now my job turns into set and lighting designer for when the show moves indoors in about a month. Which will be a different kind of stressful, but at least I won't have to be somewhere every night.
On Saturday I got to spend the day with the Jeanners (we did a lot of sleeping), and it was awesome. It's pretty amazing how much of the general suckiness of late can be directly attributed to not spending enough time with the Jeanners. The remaining 30% of the general suckiness can be attributed to:
1. trying to buy a house.
2. the persistent smell of cigarette smoke.
3. crappy water pressure.
Saturday night we went to see Ira "Schmira" Glass at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He gave a talk and it was pretty cool.
When I was in eighth grade, my Spanish teacher used to make us watch this show called Que Pasa, U.S.A.?. Every now and again the theme song gets stuck in my head like a mothafu@#a. Enjoy.
I realize that I've been doing a shitty job of documenting this portion of the life of D-Bone and J-Dog. In order to remedy that, I shall post some pics of Where We Live Now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)