He Sounds Like I Feel

I think I just heard a guy puking in the street a few floors down on this early morn...

And last night I had a whack dream involving David Letterman, Madonna, fishhooks, Scott Baio, and an empty wrapping paper tube.

After Jeannie and I got back from Ohio, I was feeling totally unmotivated to go to work, and I was expecting to hate it, but work's actually felt pretty good lately, which is nice. Korn stopped another shoplifter (Mr. Pants Guy), and sales have been OK (but still down, of course), so we seem to be coasting pretty well through August.

The Jeanners and I have been talking about our future lately, and what it holds, and where it's going to happen, and we've kinda decided that a move is in order. And she's been thinking about grad school. So we're going to let those thoughts boil for awhile and see what comes to the top...

Day off tomorrow and I'm thinkin' I'm gonna head to CSC to organize the storage room a bit.

Surface Banana

When the Jeanners and I were driving to Ohio on Tuesday morning, there was a delivery-type truck on the highway that had an official-looking sign on the back that said SURFACE BANANA. Since then, we have been trying to figure out what that might mean.

We had a great time in Ohio: relaxing, interesting, fun. It kinda sucks being back in Baltimore, really. But I'm going to skip a lot of the details of the trip and focus on one particular incident:

THE SCENE: a small town in Ohio called Yellow Springs. It's a college town, so there's a main street of hipster shops and restaurants and stuff like that. About an hour south of Brad and Jen's house, we had come down to visit the town and then go to the state park nearby. Arriving around noon, we decided to find a place for lunch. We picked a tiny cafe called the SUNSHINE CAFE.

THE ACTION: We were shown to a table in this tiny place, but they didn't have a table big enough for 5, so brad sat in a chair at the end of the booth. His chair was kind of blocking the narrow walkway, and soon a man and a little boy (apparently his son) walked by and the little boy tripped over Brad's chair. Brad apologized, got out of the way, and the man and his son proceeded to the booth next to us and sat down. A few minutes later, Schlueter got a funny look on her face (and, according to Brad, bit her bottom lip) and told us half under her breath that the man was, in fact, DAVE CHAPPELLE.

And it's true, it was Dave Chappelle. And yes, it was very fucking freaky to see Dave Cahppelle at a little cafe in a middle-of-nowhere town in southern Ohio. But apparently Mr. Chappelle's dad teaches at the college in the town. So once you learn that fact it's not all that freaky. But it was still pretty damned freaky.

Anyway, here's picture of Schlueter at the SUNSHINE CAFE. And you probably don't believe me, but the blur in back that's paying his bill is DAVE CHAPPELLE.

XXX

Ah, shit. I'm 30 today. Adieu, sweet bird of youth.

Protein and Fat

Well Beej's new podcast is out, and it looks like it's going to be a regularly updated thing, so I'll just go ahead and link to it over there in the side. I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but the first 6 minutes sound pretty decent. And it's got one of my older songs in it, so that's cool.

Also posted a little bit of the song I've been working on. Still have a lot of work to do on it, and who knows, maybe that work will never get done, but I'm at least happy with where this snippet has gotten to.

I've been closing the last few nights at work, so it feels like I haven't gotten to hang out with the Jeanners lately, which is sucky. She came to visit me last night at work while she was out running errands, and I told her I loved her, and she said I had to prove it by saying that her burn looked worse than my bruise. Which I did, but we both knew it was a lie. We discussed photographing our boo-boos and putting it up to a vote online, but I knew that people like Schlueter would vote for the Jeanners just so I wouldn't win. Everybody likes the Jeanners better than me. And really, I can't blame them.

I've been making myself tasty burgers in the broiler. I loves me some protein and fat!

Dog Days

Not much to write, really. Work is pretty pointless, and it's hot outside. That's about it. Been working on a song that shows some promise but still needs some tweaking, as well as several verses worth of lyrics. Oh, and a bridge. But the chorus is like a dolphin's ass: water tight.

Uninteresting side note: I am not a person that bruises easily, in fact I rarely bruise. But I have a bruise on my upper thigh that is downright mean looking. It looks like someone hit me in the leg with a hammer and then injected a syringe full of dookie under the skin just for good measure. And right now Jeannie has this burn on her hand from the toaster oven, so last night we had a little contest to see which wound looks worse. And mine looks so much worse it isn't even really a contest, but she insists that her's looks just as bad (it really doesn't look that bad, though.).

Speaking of dolphins' asses: Elizabeth, the dolphins down at Bethany Beach are, in fact, dolphins. Not porpoises. There's a big sign there that talks about the DOLPHINS. Anyway, I just remembered that I meant to tell you that several months ago.

Ok. Bedtime for D-Bone.

Some of the Dharma

I've been rereading The Dharma Bums for the last few days. It's one I haven't read in quite awhile. Reading it reminds me very specifically of college. It reminds me of parties outside, of rents cheap enough for college kids to have houses with yards, of smoking, and of red wine. I walked to the liquor store tonight and almost picked up a bottle of red wine in honor of the good old days, but decided it was too hot and got beer instead.

I'm feeling very itchy for our trip to Ohio. Can't wait.

Schmodcast.

Last night I listened to The Beej's podcast, done with his friend, Jason. I enjoyed it, but then again I know and love BJ and I'm also starved for entertainment. If you know BJ and miss BJ, then I would definitely recommend listening to it. If you don't know BJ, then you have to decide if you want to listen to two geeks have a quasi-intellectual discussion about entertainment for an hour and fifteen minutes (!!). If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, then by all means, gouge away. But like I said -- personally, I enjoyed it.

Got some good chores done today. Had a Chinese lunch while waiting for the laundry to launder. Did dishes. Hit the gym. Went over to Jeannie's boss' house to fix some computer problems they were having.

A couple of observations:

1. Most of my own personal laundry consists of underwear and T-shirts. Does this say anything particular about me? Good or bad?

2. Most of my real joy in life comes from the basics: good food, good drinks, good friends, good craps, and good sleeps. This knowledge should make life pretty simple. And maybe it does.

The Jeanners and I have talked about walking up to the Rotunda this evening for some grocery shopping. We certainly have been enjoying our walks lately. And I feel like I remember her saying that we're going to be doing some more house-and-dog-sitting but I can't remember if that's this weekend or next weekend. Either way, don't make much difference to me.

Highlights

Not too much exciting has been going on the last couple of days. Here's the highlights:

1. Man, I had a huge, honkin' piece of popcorn kernel stuck way back in my back teeth for a couple of days, way down below the gums. And I was brushing, and flossing, and picking, and trying everything to get it out. And my gums were starting to get sore and irritated. So I finally got that son of a bitch out on Sunday after an acrobatic flossing session. It feels a lot better now.

2. The Jeanners and I have been enjoying some nice walks lately. Mostly over to the Rotunda, but then on Monday night we had an impromptu date where we continued on into Hampden and had dinner at the Golden West Cafe. I had the thing I had last time (April 14, 2006. Read all about it.) with the fried egg on top. Pretty tasty...

3. Sunday was a strange day. I expected it to be pretty awesome because Jeannie and I were both off, but then it rained pretty hard for part of the day, and Jeannie wasn't feeling very well, so I ended up spending most of the day online figuring out how to pimp Jeannie's new cell phone illegally. We bought a Razr (because we're sixteen year old girls and it makes us feel pretty) and it only came with a lame demo version of 'Bejeweled,' so I had to get some games for that bastard.


The details of our August trip to Ohio have been hashed out, and we're planning taking a day trip while we're there to some sort of lake with fun and exciting outdoor activites. Should be a good time...

(I'm gonna) go upstairs and eat a bear claw.

Last night The Jeanners and I took the train downtown and met P. Kilpatrick and Theresa at the Orioles game. Which was fun and a nice change of pace. I got to drink my overpriced beer and eat my not-so-super super dog (though in the name of frugality and moderation I opted out of the nachos). It was kinda strange because the Orioles were playing the Yankees, and the stadium was pretty packed (which usually doesn't happen because the O's, well, kinda suck) [sorry, Elizabeth] (but they won last night!), and there were just as many Yankees fans in the crowd as O's fans. It's kind of an East Coast phenomenon, I think, because the cities are all so close together, that not everyone in a city roots for the same team. It still feels strange to me and kinda wrong, because in St. Louis, pretty much everybody roots for the St. Louis teams, the way God intended it. Anyway, baseball is pretty boring, but it's nice to go sit somewhere strange with friends.

When we got home there was a message on the machine from Korn at the B&N that they had apprehended a shoplifter who's been hitting our store for (at least) the past few days. I found him on the video footage yesterday, and showed him to Korn when she came in, and on the message she said that he came in again last night and she called the manager who called the police who came in and detained the guy, but they weren't able to arrest him or anything because there was no footage of him actually leaving the store with the merchandise. But still, it was nice to actually catch somebody, thanks to Korn's vigilance. Way to go, Korn!

I also heard from Elizabeth, who doesn't know a Mr. Cramer, and after I described him she deduced that it was, infact, Mr. CRAVEN who sent along his hello.

Oh, and our TV broke last night. We're gonna try not getting a new one. Last night we ended up watching MAD ABOUT YOU on Jeannie's computer in bed. Yes, we own MAD ABOUT YOU on dvd. And we like it, too.

Oh, 'bout a week back...

I've had a literal pain in my neck/back for the last few days. I think I slept in a funny position and now I'm uncomfortable.

The Jeanners and I went to watch Edward Scissorhands last night down at the Visionary Arts Museum. It's projected onto the side of the building and then lots of folks sit on a big hill and watch the film. It was kinda boring, though. But it was a nice night to sit outside with my girlfriend.

I've talked to Elizabeth a few times in the last few weeks, she seems to getting settled in and (to the best of my knowledge) enjoying herself. By the way, E-beth, Mr. Cramer from the B&N says hello and sorry he didn't get to say goodbye.

Because I tend to listen to the same things over and over again, I felt like I wasn't updating my music list enough, so I've cut it down to one song, and it's going to be a song that fits a weekly-ish theme. This week's theme: girl groups! I like girl groups because I'm a sucker for background vocals and drums that sound like they were recorded in a concrete room. Ah, the Supremes...

Tomorrow night J-Dog and I are going to an Orioles game courtesy of CSC, which I wouldn't be too excited about except that I'll get to eat hotdogs and nachos, drink beer, and hang out with P. Kilpatrick. Sounds like a plan to me.

My wife caught me absentmindedly moving my hand and making sound effects like I was casting a spell while reading the Harry Potter.

Uh, yeah. Let's not talk about that.

HP

Well, ol' HARRY POTTER went on sale last night at the stroke of midnight, and at the B&N we had our big party, and it was very intense. Lots and lots of people there. But everything went smoothly and I actually had a good time. It was very tiring, though, and when I had to go into work this afternoon I seriously considered calling out sick just because I didn't want to go to work, and I don't think I've ever done that before.
We got out of the store last night at about 2:30, and as I was driving home I was thinking about how nice it would be to have a cigarette. I think that late at night is when I miss smokey treats the most, especially while driving and especially on pleasantly cool nights and especially when I'm tired. And yet, I abstain. And am happy because of / despite it.

The Jeanners and I are gonna go on a date tomorrow after I get home from work! We're gonna go get Thai grub! And try to sit outside!


Happy music news: new Josh Rouse CD at the end of the month.

Other happy news: plans are being hashed out for an August visit to the Schluetermetz'.

Business Ass Usual

Well, let's see now: nothing too exciting has been going on. Been working, been hanging out, been working on music and then throwing music away because I didn't like it enough. Been going for walks (the Jeanners and I took an 8 mile walk last weekend. And other walks, too), been sweating a lot.

The last HARRY POTTER book comes out tomorrow night/Saturday morning. It's a big day at the B&N, but in the end it will boil down to a few hours of a bunch of annoying kids and their more-annoying parents running around and making a mess and asking stupid questions. And then life will go back to normal.

The big questions in life right now concern the capital-F (in fact, all caps) FUTURE. Like, what does it hold? There are many options, most of which deal with moving, paring down our life, and somehow living very basically. And yet, all of those options seem to occur in some very vague, cloudy future that exists some time, oh, a ways away. And as a result, it feels like absolutely nothing interesting is happening NOW and it feels very boring. There, I said it: I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored. And how does the song go? "If you're bored then you're boring..." Indeed. Whatever happened to Harvey Danger? I think I need a less frustrating hobby than working on music...

I miss my faraway friends. Except for one of them.

The End of an Era

Friday was Elizabeth's last day at the B&N, where she has worked since the store opened around 1997 or '98, back when most of us were still drunkenly stumbling around the Truman State area. I would be a blubbering wreck, but I know that she and I will keep in touch over cyberspace, a space that has served me well in keeping in touch with faraway friends. Tonight, she and all of her stuff will be caravaning across the country to her new abode in Chicago. So, anybody who's reading this who's still in Chicago, keep an eye out for Bewley for me.

Over the weekend, the Jeanners and I were house-and-dog-sitting for her boss' sister. It was relatively uneventful, just a chance to soak up someone else's AC and watch cable. I did get a chance to catch part of the 80's hockey movie classic, Youngblood, featuring Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, and Cynthia Gibb, who once ignited the fires in a pre-pubescent Dan O'Brien's loins.
But don't worry, Jeanners, the marriage is still safe...

Last night, me and J-Dog were in bed shooting the shit, and for some reason
we were talking about possible names for any future children that might
pop out. The newest name choice for any future male J-Dog and D-Bone
progeny: VaJulian Johnson O'Brien. Or, VaJJ O'Brien. For any future female progeny: Cockstrong O'Brien.

The Glassacre

So much fun schtuff has been happening! Here's a recap:

A) The Beej was in town over the weekend to see the shows. It wasa quick trip and I was working part of the weekend, so I didn't get to see him a ton, but he and Pat and Theresa and I had a sleepover at MAW's empty house, where Beej and Pat and I played geek games until 4am. And I drank 2 Cokes and ate a bag of Doritos. I don't normally drink much caffeine, so by the time 4am rolled around I was pretty wired.

2) Sunday night the Beej and the Jeanners and the A-Train and I headed out for dinner, first to the nice sushi place that we've always talked about going to, but it was closed. So we settled on Rocky Run. A few new phrases have been added to the vernacular as a result of this dinner: borrowing spoons (means "on drugs." Example: "I hear Lindsay Lohan is borrowing spoons."), tide stick (means "a stick that is driven into the ground and then used to tie your arm to so that you eat differently and don't drip food on the same part of your arm each time."), glassacre (doesn't really mean anything but it's a funny word. The glass hooker incident referred to a few posts ago could be considered a 'glassacre.'), and carrying a Mary Poppins bag (which can have many uses, most of them sexual. Example: "When Pat puts on those tight pants, he's really carrying a Mary Poppins bag.").

C) Monday night there was a meeting at Ian's where the next 5 or 10 years of CSC was discussed. It was one of those, "let's have dinner and discuss the big picture" type of artistic meetings that I really really enjoy. It was a good group of people and a fun time. And hopefully some good came out of it.

D) I worked on music today for the first time in a long time and had a lot of fun doing it. Came up with a song that sounds a lot like 'The Same,' but is different enough that I enjoy it and will keep working on it.

Got a day off tomorrow and only a few chores to take care of. Hopefully it won't be 200 degrees in our apartment...

OAA's Music For Henry's America!

I have been wanting for a little while to find a music player for this blog that doesn't play automatically so I could link to some good songs (I hate sites that automatically play music). I think I have finally found said player, so feel free to listen to some tunes while surfing the Net. It seems, however, that few people usually like what I recommend, so you will probably not like the songs I have chosen. I'll try to update them with some regularity.

Also, I have taken the liberty of doing some spring cleaning on the "links" portion of the blog. I have removed some inactive blogs and replaced them with OAA, who I know marginally (she's the sister of a friend, and I see her once a year on Christmas Eve at the Ritz in St. Louis) but who writes in a way that makes people who don't even know her want to read about her. She does write a lot about fashion, though, in which I don't have much interest but apparently it's her thing, so as E. Robben used to say, "Gouge away." Which means something like, "Have at it."


I went and saw HENRY V last night, and it was pretty good. The flow was interrupted quite a bit by rain, so there were lots of stops and starts, and the second act was done in a much smaller area under a tent (which actually worked quite nicely) but on the whole it was done well. Pat was really great. I think that his doing ANGELS last year has really pushed his acting to a new level. And again, there wasn't anybody in the show that was bad, which is definitely an improvement over past years.

The Jeanners and I celebrated a very low-key 4th of July. We both worked in the morning, and then headed out together to do a little bit of work in the garden, where she cut a little bit of cilantro for use in her celebratory veggie burgers later that night. We grilled a bunch of food out on the roof, and then Katie came over for dinner. We had planned on watching the downtown fireworks display from our roof, but a big rainstorm put the kaibosh on that.

The word that is in my head this morning for no apparent reason: espadrilles.

Finally

Well, the Jeanners and I finally made it down to the beach today, and what a beautiful day it was. Sunny, clear, and about 82 degrees. I got a little sunburned (suprise, surprise). It's nice to spend a whole day at the beach and only have it cost you a half a tank of gas and $2.50 for the Bay Bridge.

We also finally got a chance to see AS YOU LIKE IT on Saturday night. It was ok. Nothing embarassingly bad, but nothing amazingly good, either. I laughed at some parts and didn't laugh at others. P. Kilpatrick as Hymen the Love God, however, has created a stupid character to rival his stupid character in IMAGINARY INVALID, which I think is impressive.

The Beej comes into town soon to see the shows. 'Twill be good to see the boy. Hopefully we'll get a chance to play a round of spades or two.

The Jeanners and I were talking on our way to the beach about how Schlueter should start up a blog when they move to Oregon (or before). How it would be so good and how everyone would be able to read it and keep in touch with how things are going...

Wouldn't that be awesome?!

Things have felt pretty good lately.

Sowing the Seeds of Love

The garden is growing!



Here's what's growing at the garden: tomatoes (of course), green beans, cucumbers, cilantro, potatoes, green onions, peppers, miniature watermelons, lettuce, beets, carrots, and hmmmmm, I think that's it.

The Jeanners and I both have the day off today, which hasn't happened in awhile, so we're looking forward to it. Although it's been getting damned hot in our apartment (we've been attempting to not use our window AC units, for financial and environmental reasons). We do break down and use the AC in our bedroom at night, though, because neither of us can sleep while being stuck to the bed.

So what the hell should we do today? We were thinking of hitting the beach but the forecast is calling for rain, so we thought it would be too long of a drive just to get down there and have it rain...

Work has been busy lately but relatively painless. Lots of people to train.

Well, I can't really think of anything else interesting. It's nice to be spending the day with my girlfriend. Here's a picture of her looking attractive in the garden...

Many Lives, Many Masters

Last night the Jeanners and I for a long walk to the Giant G near the Rotunda Theatre, and had some good talks. She's been reading a book about reincarnation, so she was asking my thoughts about the subject. I don't feel much connection to reincarnation, but I suppose it's a possibility. The Jeanners likes the idea. She likes the idea of having a second chance to get things right. Fair enough.

It's been busy at work, getting ready for this month's changeover and training a dude from another store. But it's been ok.

I am a bit bummed that I haven't had a chance to see either of the CSC summer shows yet--I've been working every Friday and Saturday night since we got back from the Lou--but this Saturday night I'm off so we should get a chance to see whatever show is playing. Thursday is my other day off this week, and I'd love to hit the beach but I think I shall have some chores around the house to take care of.

Just dropped $300 on new tires for my car. Sucky! This last month has turned out to be expensive...

The National

Well, I have squandered two days off, and now I'm faced with going back to work tomorrow. Oh well. Today I helped Korn and Kelly move into their new apartment, and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing around with the sampler and sequencer built into my keyboard.

I've been listening for 2 weeks or so to a band called The National. Their new CD, Boxer, is pretty damned good. Not life-changing or anything, but good. Good enough that it's been the only thing I've listened to for the last 2 weeks and I haven't gotten tired of it. I'm looking into getting their earlier CD, Alligator. Maybe I'll go sell some CD's at Record and Tape Traders tomorrow before work and pick it up.

Jeannie and I were going to walk up to Hopkins' campus tonight for an outdoor presentation of Young Frankenstein, but it's looking like rain so we might have to adjust our plans.

...And it Burns, Burns, Burns...

The Jeanners and I just finished watching Walk the Line. Damn you, Joaquin Phoenix, you've stolen yet another 2 hours from my life that I'll never get back.

Last night we went to a going away party for Elizabeth at work, who will be departing for Chicago in a month. I stayed up too late and had to get up this morning too early. But it was a good time. I enjoy seeing people from work outside of work.

It's felt like a busy week, but for the life of me, I can't really remember much of anything happening.

Hopefully I'll get some pictures of the festivities from Elizabeth to post. Wow, three prepositional phrases in a row. Is there a better way to structure that sentence?

Transcript

Jeannie: "Why is there glass on our couch?"


Dan: "I was having sex with a glass hooker and I broke her. With my high pitched screaming."

Sportcoat Guy

Last night I did something I never thought I'd do: I punched Jeannie.


In my own defense, I was asleep when it happened. And so was she. I was having a dream that I was at work, and Brian G. and I had grabbed sportcoat guy* and sportcoat guy pulled out a gun, and Brian G. grabbed sportcoat guy's arms and then I punched sportcoat guy in the face. And Jeannie and I both woke up pretty immediately after that, because I had actually punched her. Luckily, not in the face. But still.

I feel pretty bad about it, because I guess being punched awake is probably one of the worst ways to get woken up.



Today was a pretty good day. I was off and I did some laundry, and worked on a recording for my sister, and then Jeannie got home from work early and we ran errands and went to the gym. Then some burritos at home that tasted almost as good as Chipotle burritos. Side note: I haven't had any meat in 2 days. Not on purpose, though.

I've been listening to a lot of jazz lately. John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and a guy named Hank Mobley who I hadn't really heard of before but who is a pretty good tenor sax guy from back in the day. I seem to go through jazz phases every now and again.

Maybe to the beach on my day off Thursday?



* Sportcoat Guy is a shoplifter at the B&N. In fact, he's the most notorious of the B&N shoplifters, at least in the music department. He's been stealing from us for years, and he usually gets several hundred dollars worth of stuff at a time. He always wears a sportcoat that (I think) has a big pocket sewn in the back in which there is a foil-lined bag that he puts the product in, so as not to set off the alarms on the way out. He is my number one enemy in the world and I hate him. Now that we have cameras I have attempted to show video of him to everyone that works at the B&N so they will know him when they see him. Oh, how I hate Sportcoat Guy.

Not Dead!!!

The Jeanners and I have been back from the Lou for a few days, and we've both got our noses back to our respective grindstones. It was a good trip. Saw lots of friends and family (missed E. Elz, though).


I got to meet my youngest niece. She was about 1.5 days old. She's my brother's new kid and her name is Elizabeth Anne. I like her because she is soft and fuzzy.


I also got to spend some time with my second-youngest neice, Layla. She's Jeannie's brother's kid. I like her because she smiles and laughs a lot, and she's also soft and her hair is getting crazy.


Abby is my third-youngest niece, and we got to visit with her on the day that her sister Elizabeth was being born. I like having fun with Abby and making funny faces and stuff like that. She might have a tough time not being the center of attention for awhile...



Another highlight of the trip was playing cards a few times with Jeannie's mom and grandma, both of whom are cool. And I drank some decent beer, throughout the trip. Which I enjoy.

So it was a good trip, not too hectic, but we also got to see a lot of people and have a lot of fun. We also had some adventures getting to and from the airport (I have now taken my 2nd and 3rd cab rides) [the first being a late-night cab ride to a party courtesy of R. Riley].

So yeah. I think I'm gonna start taking trips to the beach on my days off. Woo-Hoo!
Summa-time fun!

Ok, Katie's here for dinner tonight (we're having yummy Asian noodle salad with spring rolls and stuff) so I'm gonna go.

In the Garden

Me and my ladyfriend went to tend her garden this evening. She and her friend, Katie, have been renting a plot in the Community Garden over in Clifton Park for the summer. It's a pretty cool spot. A little bit of rural in the middle of the city.


Jeannie and Katie have a modest plot that looks like this:


I've been training some folks at work for the last few days. People that are going to be managers at different stores. It hasn't been too bad, because I wrote up a little bit of a training guide so that I could get through everything and not forget anything. It's kind of exhausting to train 2 people for 8 hours while attempting to do your job at the same time, and I'm tired tonight.

And I wanted to take a little space here to say RIP to Charles Nelson Reilly. Some of you may know that I'm a fan of the old game show Match Game, and if you're familiar with Match Game at all then you know about Charles Nelson Reilly. I don't really know all that much about CNR other than what I've seen on a corny game show from the 70's, but I really feel some sort of strange sort of admiration for him. Mainly, I think because he always seemed very smart and very comfortable in his own skin. So I probably shouldn't be too sad about the passing of someone I've only seen on TV, but I am.

Here's another picture of the garden, as it was getting dark:

Date Night.

It's been another busy week. Work, and then working on the set on the days off. It has given me quite the sunburn on the back of my neck. But it's just really red, it doesn't hurt.

Tonight me and the Jeanners got ourselves a little date planned. Actually, we just have a plan to go to finner, and we don't know where yet. But considering how our schedules have been lately, I'll take it. She should be getting home from yoga soon.

Looking forward to our impending trip to the Lou. We'll be staying a few nights with my parents, which is a new thing for us (not new for me, I did it for 18 years) but I think it'll be a good thing.

Hmmm. I've been wanting to work on music lately -- tweaking some of Sean's songs, working on some new stuff -- but have had neither the time nor the inspiration. Why do I feel so much busier than I used to be? I don't really think I am, but it sure feels that way...

Some highlights from work from this week include the joy of getting to throughout another mostly-naked homeless man from the bathroom (this guy was much nicer than the first mostly-naked homeless man I encountered, and I told him so) and getting to meet the sister of T. Griffin, a customer who has a slight mental disability who lavishes more praise on me than anyone I have ever met. He also will go from talking to you to talking to himself in the same sentence, with no pauses or changes of inflection, so it can be kind of confusing. An example sentence: "Dan, you're so nice maybe you're his favorite customer, Tom."

A quick call for help...

Lately, I have had the name "Lee K. Bottoms" in my head. Does anyone know where this name comes from? Something tells me that this name is somehow related to E. Elz. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Build-a-Thon

Today the Jeanners and I were part of CSC's 'company build day,' where we try to get a bunch of people to come out and work on the set for the summer shows. And it actually went pretty well. We had a good turnout, got started at around 10am and worked until about 7:30. And got a lot done. So I'll probably build some more on my day off on Thursday, but then hopefully won't have to do much more after that.

I kind of got in trouble yesterday at work because of some negative feedback that was given about the way I trained somebody from a different store. I'm not too concerned, but perhaps I shall not slack as much as I like to. I shall now use a carefully dropped f-bomb to say "fuck it."

It felt good to work outside today. I felt very out of practice as far as all the carpentry/building stuff goes, but the weather was nice and the people that were there were all fairly handy so it made for an enjoyable day.

The season finale of LOST is on this Wednesday, and I have to miss it in order to train somebody at work. The VCR will be rollin'.

Countdown to Summer

This week has been all about enjoying the finer things of spring -- walks and gin and tonics. The Jeanners and I have been taking a nice walk most evenings when she/we get home from work, and then enjoying a tasty G&T apiece.

Other than that, not much to tell. Work has been pretty pointless, but mildly enjoyable. My days off have been pretty uneventful, and I'm getting ready to do some work on the set for the summer shows. We'll have a big build day this Sunday and then I might do some building on Thursday, depending on how things go this weekend.

This morning on my way to work, I was thinking about a bit of wisdom that used to come up in Schmor's acting classes: 'pursue what you resist.' I always thought it was a good piece of advice, something to keep you moving and growing. I guess the problem that I'm running into these days is that I'm resisting a lot of things, in a lot of different directions. I'm resisting staying here in Baltimore for another five years, working at the B&N job which is easy and comfortable but not challenging, and I'm also resisting picking up and starting over somewhere. And so on. Lots of things like that. So which way to go? What to pursue?

That's what I was thinking about when I drove into work this morning. I never quite fully woke up today. I think it's because I was awakened before my alarm went off by sunlight coming into our bedroom window.

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me --Rockwell

Well, I wonder how Seanyboy's two opening gigs for Colin Hay went. Somebody left a comment on his Myspace site that they heard he sounded great, so that's a good sign.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms and Moms-To-Be out there. I sure do miss my mommy and daddy today. I'll be glad to see them in a few weeks.

So since the cameras have been installed at work, I have been experiencing a strange phenomenon. Now that I am theoretically being watched for all of the 40 hours per week that I am at work, I have been having the sensation that I am being watched at other places, i.e. at home, in my car, etc. Pretty much everywhere I go, it always takes me a minute to remember that I'm not on camera and that I'm not being recorded. Similarly, because at work we have the capability to go back and watch stuff from last week, I forget that not everything that happens around me is being recorded, and I cannot go back and watch things at will. For example, I cannot go back and watch a recording of myself typing this blog, cause there's no cameras here. But after spending so much time at work, my mind sort of starts to forget that. It's weird. It's not something that I expected to happen. I wonder if this is going to get better or worse once I get used to the cameras being there?

Tonight as Jeannie and I made dinner (felafels) we listened to a mix she had made from our music library. It was damned good.

New guy at work started on Saturday. He did pretty well. We'll see how it goes...