Something for everyone!

09:51 am

Ugh, I can feel an illness brewing deep inside me. I woke up this morning with what I thought was just a dry throat, but now it's getting worse by the second. And its friends, headache, and achy body are invited to the party too.

It's kind of interesting because I'm reading a great book right now called, "How to be Idle." The book puts many of the ideals I've always had into words. I can see how many people would read the book and say, "that's just lazy!" But there is a huge difference between being idle and being lazy. And if you do read this book and say that, then chances are it's just the western world view (for lack of a better term) that's been drilled in our heads since the old old testament talking.

Anyway, I just read a chapter last night about being sick and it puts a positive spin on the experience. Basically, being sick is one of the last accepted excuses we can use to get out of work these days and just be idle. While you may not feel well doing it, you have the opportunity to just be in bed and be idle for a bit. Also, your senses are all amped up so you can explore the endless possibilities that accompany.

So, now I'm sick and if it keeps going, perhaps I'll try and put that chapter to practice this week. Which leads me to the next section of the post...

A lot has changed since my last post. New position, new house, new office. I suppose it's all for the better, but definitely different. I've been very stressed out over the past month. So much so, that I think I'm starting to just get used to it, which is not a lifestyle I want to adapt to. I'm so tired of worrying about bills, people taking advantage of certain situations, formalities, the list goes on...

However, things are getting better. Missy and I are emerging from our shell and ready to get our lives back, which will hopefully be new and improved.

On that note, I wonder if I should just start up a myspace page. It seems like everyone else has. Of course, just like LJ, I'm sure as soon as I start up, everyone will move on to the next web phenom.

So anyway, hey!

Current Mood: blah

02:15 pm - Work is hard

We're drinking tequila right now and listening to rock music.

Some body has to do it.

10:19 am - Bateman's #1 Killa, sugah toof!

Hey Hey,

I believe that a Bateman's trip is in order this Friday night. We have many things to celebrate like...

-Jae is engaged.
-Paddy Rose is engaged.
-Missy's directorial debut at Liberty High opens this weekend.
-The Hickles are 95% sure they've bought a house.
-Nick Rose bought new shoes (roos!).
-Karen has a fairly new job and has fallen in love with a monkey.
-Rick seems happy doing "rick stuff" like building things and making love to men in secluded cabins.
-Colin is interviewing for jobs.
-Lindsay has managed to run the gauntlet of Colin's friends and make it out alive.
-AJ and Megan are getting ready to move into a home.
-Brian is engaged, has a new job and may be going to a titty bar on Friday night.
-I haven't heard from Tess in a bit, but I believe she is still dating a new bo, ditched her bitch roommates and actually likes her job this year.
-and Sgt. Grumbles is pissing like the high-ranking military officer that he is.

So, I know that I will probably not be able to make it there until 10 because I'm going to see Missy's show (The Crucible, come along if you like), but whatever time is cool. Is anyone interested in this?

**Also, if you're not on the "celebration list" that doesn't mean you're not more than welcome to join. Come on!

Current Mood: content

09:50 am - argggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!

I know there are millions of more important things out there, but send some positive thoughts out for Sgt. Grumbles. He's in the pet hospital because of a urinary blockage.

Could be bad, could be not so bad.

09:19 am - birthday weekend

damn, I really had a great birthday weekend.

I had a great time rocking out with friends on Friday night.

Saturday was beautiful and chilling at the wine festival with friends was something that I needed after the late night.

Saturday Night was one of my most favorite parties we've ever had at the apartment and we've had many. Every one seemed to have a great time and that's all I care about at those things.

Sunday was very nice just spending the day with Missy looking at houses.

Monday, my actual birthday, was the best. But let me go back to Sunday real quick. So, we looked at 3 town houses in Glyndon. The second of which was awesome and quite the steal considering the other two we looked at were not nearly as nice and $25,000 more expensive.

So, we drafted up a contract that night with our realtor because word on the street was that the sellers were being presented with contracts Monday night.

Back to Monday. I don't really put too much stock in the house partially because I don't want to get too excited and also because everyone keeps telling me, "you never get your first contract." Our realtor keeps calling me all day, we make an addendum to the contract because she is on the ball and took some hints from the seller's agent.

By 10 pm, after a lovely dinner with my parents, we get a call from Cindy (realtor) and we got the house! We have a home inspection on the 29th and if that goes well, we're in there. It's a great place in a nice neighborhood with a lot of room for growth all around.

Anyway, that is my birthday weekend. Usually, I never tell people it's my birthday and it goes by and only a select few know about it. This was the first year in a while that I decided to actually do something for it and it turned out to be a great weekend. Thanks to all involved!

Current Mood: optimistic

04:08 pm - I'm out

Apparently the higher-ups at work see some promise in me yet. I'm off to Florida for 5 days to attend a pretty well-known (at least in the industry) copy writing seminar.

It'll definitely help me out with my new responsibilities so I don't look like an asshole. There are going to be "intimate classes with copy writing legends." I'll be the judge of that! I'll also be wary of just how intimate they are.

As a bonus, the seminar is in Del Ray Beach, which seems like a fun town with, well, a beach. Looking at the schedule, I see that I have a lot of free time on most of the days and none of the classes go past 7.

That might be trouble. I'm going down with some fairly raucous friends. Not only that, but I don't think their division really gives a crap what some of them do down there and they certainly don't have the same expectations placed on them that I feel like I do. Basically, we're supposed to go down here with a project to work on and while I've had several meetings about my project, I'm pretty sure a couple of these guys don't even realize they need one.

So, normally I would just be hoping that I come back with a great idea, but in reality I'm hoping that I come back with a great idea, a still-clean record, my job, and my life.

Also, Missy and I went to see the realtor last night so we're now officially house hunting. I'm going to try not to get too stressed out during this whole process, but it might be impossible. Missy and I tend to get ideas in our head and then we want them done ASAP. People always tell us there is no rush, but that's just not how we work. However, I think that advice should be heeded on this issue. Otherwise, we may be very sad and stressed out in a couple of months.

So we'll see. Alright, take care.

Current Mood: busy

09:34 am - Daily Twin Peaks quote...

"Shut your eyes and you'll burst in to flames"

-completely random quote from Margaret (AKA, crazy-ass log lady).

Current Mood: mellow

09:47 am

Oh shit!

I have to go to the dentist today. I have my first cavity (at least that I can remember because apparently I had some procedure done when I was 5). I'm not really concerned about that, but my concern rests with a procedure called "scaling."

This is a super intense cleaning of the tooth. It's basically the pick going under my gums, which will hopefully clear up the beginning stages of gingivitis that I have in that particular area.

I hate that pick. It's truly one of the last archaic utensils still used in the medical field today. I mean, haven't we gotten to the point where we're utilizing pain-free lasers to clean our teeth?

I know that if some cat-scan can basically make me see-through and robots are qualified to provide me with accurate brain surgery then I shouldn't have to have a sharp metal pick probing and scraping in between my gums and my teeth.

Anyway, Missy's heard me gripe about this for a couple of weeks now and I suppose that's what I get for being a lazy flosser. I hope that they use novocaine for the scaling procedure. The cavity is a given, but it's a very small and shallow cavity so I would actually prefer having the novocaine for the scaling.

Well, every thing else is pretty good of late. Missy and I have "the best credit score" that our loan officer has ever seen, work is sending me to Del Ray Beach in Florida for 5 days with a bunch of friends, and we have another rock show coming up soon.

Let me know if you've ever survived the dreaded "scaling" and if novocaine was involved.

Current Mood: anxious

09:29 am - Geek

I've really been looking forward to Darren Aronofsky's new film, The Fountain.  I don't just mean in recent months, either.  Long ago I read a synopsis of the plot before a director was even attached and it sounded fucking awesome and right up my alley. 

Then I heard Aronofsky was directing it and I was happy. 

Then I saw Brad Pitt was going to star in it and I was happier still because for every Meet Joe Black he throws out there, he'll counter with a 12 Monkeys

Then I saw Brad Pitt's beard one day and it was fucking large and in charge and the caption read, "for Pitt's new film, The Fountain."

Then the film fell apart because of budget complications and I was sad. 

Then nothing was said for a long time and I was sadder still. 

Then Aronofsky was set to direct The Watchmen and I was kind of happy because that's a great book, but it really has no place being a movie. 

Then that fell apart and I didn't really care because The Fountain was the thing I wanted to see. 

Then Aronofsky said he will return to making The Fountain because it "haunts his dreams and won't leave him alone."  He sounds kind of crazy, but maybe not.  Maybe it's just that good. 

Then Hugh Jackman was set to star instead of Brad Pitt and that seemed alright with me. 

So, I've read some more stuff and it sounds even better than I imagined and Aronofsky basically said, "Fuck big budgets.  This smaller budget has forced me to be way more creative and the picture is better for it."  Not an actual quote, but you get the idea. 

So now there is a website for the film that says absolutely nothing about it, but is really crazy and interesting nonetheless.  Apparently this weird, trippy, chemical screen will be used often throughout the film.  Hmmm...drugs aren't necessary, but they probably wouldn't hurt.  Also, I stared at it while coincidentally listening to Fearless by Pink Floyd.  They seemed to go together. 

http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/thefountain/flashsite/index.html

I can't believe you read all that! 

Current Mood: energetic

10:35 am - Mega Post '05!!!!!

Before I really get in to my work day I have some things I would like jot down. I went to a free happy hour last night at this "trendy" place called Ixia. The place was very nice. There were a lot of big couches and the bathrooms were very interesting. That is my review. Of course, having free drinks and food certainly pushed my review towards the positive side of things.

Speaking of bathrooms, don't you just love it when you completely trash the bathroom at work then upon exiting the bathroom you pass your boss who is on her way to the very same bathroom? Good lord, that was awkward. Oh well, if there's one thing I learned from the timeless, educational classic, "Everyone Poops" it's that everyone, in fact, poops.

This might be old news, but I stumbled across the greatest band in the world, which is surprisingly not Tenacious D. They are called Hatebeak and they are a thrashing heavy-metal band. What sets them apart, you ask? Their lead singer just happens to be a heavy-metal lovin' parrot. He carries much hatred in his beak. You can check out their site right here...

http://www.reptilianrecords.com/reptilian/hatebeek.html

I happen to be taking care of a parrot at the Rose house this week.  We are working on songs right now.  Curly freaked me out the other night when he started talking.  I kind of forgot that was an option for parrots and he chose to start up while I was in the basement.  He was like, "hello," which is about the worst thing he could have said because it really made me think there was a person in the house.  Right now I'm teaching the bird to say, "fuck, nick rose."  I hope he gets it by Sunday. 

The Rose bros. must not trust me very much because Nick put a lock on his computer and Paddy Rose locked his bedroom door.  I think that was pretty low. 

Most of the people who read this journal know about this already, but there will be a rock spectacle next saturday night (July 30th) featuring The Fyuss, which now includes me.  Got it? 

yay!

Current Mood: chipper

05:16 pm - boo

If you want to see REAL life, REAL love, REAL people and most importantly REAL New York, then check out this link.

http://www.tribute.ca/player/enhancePlayer.asp?isWM=1&isQT=1&filePath=Trailers&fileName=rent

04:00 pm - Have y'all been practicing?

Hey Hey, everyone. I'll be the first to say it because perhaps I am the only one excited about it, but Volleyball Season 2.0 kicks off in two weeks!

So get your sweatbands, goggles, and really short shorts (Colin) ready. I drove by the net the other day and it looks like it braved the winter.

Karen, Missy, Lisa, I expect this kind of passion on the court! 

Current Mood: excited

01:55 pm - Update? Indeed.

Well, it's been over two months since I've updated my LiveJournal. That's bullshit!

What's up? Hmmm, well this week has been a good one. I went to an Oriole game the other day and got to hang out with one friend I don't see nearly enough and another that I see often, but always enjoy the company. Also, it was a beautiful, Wednesday afternoon, so it was a hell of a lot better than being at work. Say what you will about the whole sports industry, but I do love sitting around in a ballpark.

Today, my boss (actually, my boss' boss, and therefore, my boss by default) sent out an email to see if anyone was interested in taking on a new job while maintaining their current job. The job itself, is being the production manager for a new publication we are starting. Jenny, my boss-removed, doesn't want to hire someone full-time to take the position until she knows whether the pub will actually get off the ground. However, she made it known that if this person was able to get the pub off the ground then there's a good chance said person would be able to just run with it.

So I thought I would put my name in the hat even though I have little experience at managing a newsletter. So then Jenny wrote me back telling me she was hoping I would write back to her because she thinks I would be really good at the job. Cool. Granted, it is going to be much more work, but that's okay. I like being busy around here and it should be a good way to meet other people in the company. Overall it should lead to bigger and better things. My boss, Karen, is out today, so we still kind of have to see what she thinks about it all.

In other news, the mighty rock band, The Fyuss, has asked me to join them. I am truly honored. It's been about 6 years since I've played with a band, so I'm a little nervous about the whole thing. You get so used to playing by yourself that when it comes time to play in front of others your confidence is a bit shaken. I'm looking forward to it, however. I'm pretty much gnawing at the bit to get back into music and hopefully it will push some other ideas I have.

BTW, Paddy Rose, this whole venture has me itching for a new guitar. Would you be willing to help me pick out a mighty axe?!? I have some ideas, but I would appreciate your input.

Alright, back to work for me. Lots of love to all.

Current Mood: energetic

11:55 am - Strange, but true!

A little over a month ago I started to notice that my hands were becoming very sweaty just before lunch. This was occurring along side a nagging hip problem, which I just assumed was a result of the way I was sitting at work.

Both suddenly stopped last week and I was pretty happy because 1. hip discomfort and driving a clutch in traffic is torturous and 2. I discovered that shaking hands with people when you know your hand is sweaty is very...awkward.

So, this morning I get a cup of coffee, something I haven't done in awhile and after an hour my hands start getting all sweaty. Then I realized that I was on quite the coffee-binge around the time of the ailments. I'm not sure if the hip thing is mixed up in all this, but I'm pretty sure the hands are a direct side-effect of drinking coffee. I don't think sweaty hands are enough to make me give up coffee entirely, but the hip situation certainly is, that was very annoying.

I kind of like drinking coffee in moderation anyway. I only drink it when my head is still in bed and since it is sporadic I always get a buzz off it. I like to do that with most things like cigarettes and alcohol. I just wish I could learn to do that with food. I might have 1-2 cigarettes on a random Saturday night, but I will cram as many meatballs as humanly possible into my stomach when they're presented before me. I act like I will never see a meatball again, which might actually be true. However, I need to realize that 14 meatballs is probably worse for me than 1 cigarette.

Speaking of, Missy is making meatballs tonight! This will provide me with an opportunity to practice moderation with meatballs. I don't know...

Anyway, has anyone else ever discovered weird side-effects from foods? (Cases of blood in urine need not reply)

Current Mood: working

10:23 am - Trouble

At work we use one manufacturer to make most of our products, there are others, but this manufacturer makes millions of dollars off of us every year. I used to be involved with organizing Purchase orders and things like that, but have since moved on to bigger and better things. However, I'm still the contact person for this one company because my boss thought I handled them well enough and didn't want those responsibilities passed on.

We have a crazy sales rep from this place named Deb. She is a 50 year old, single woman (I know she's that old because her birthday is today and she told me earlier). She is pretty funny, but a little spacey sometimes and though my boss, karen, deals with her all the time, I don't think she likes her very much.

Lately, however, this company has been fucking up some of our shipments. Products are late, there's some lag in conversations, just annoying things. Well they fucked up today. We had a huge order that was supposedly shipped to us last week. I called today to talk to Deb and when she checked it was still sitting on the dock and no one noticed. Now we're on back order and it's all in the shitter.

I don't really mind, I understand that mistakes happen, but Karen is pissed and this might serve as the final straw. Anyway, the point of the story is that Karen told me to "call them and tell them that we are not happy," she would, but she has to roll. Well I hate doing shit like this. Not only do I not really care in some ways, I mean it's not really my job and I always have a "it'll all work out" mentality, but I really hate confrontation.

This is a pretty boring post, I have no doubt, but I felt like I should write all this out before making my "angry" phone call. I suppose this is where I can apply that theatre major I acquired in college.

Current Mood: acting!

11:02 am - Familiar...

I saw this picture of the Pope today and I was reminded of something. 

Hmmmm, what could it be?  AH Yes,

Perhaps George Lucas knows something about the Pope.  It really does look like he's about to use the force.  He's probably pushing back a horde of heathens with his mind. 

Of course, we all know that if is he about to shoot lighting bolts out of his fingertips then that has some terrible implications for Catholicism because only dark lord siths can do that...

Current Mood: drained

11:45 am - R.I.P. Mr. Miller

I have thoroughly enjoyed every play I've read/seen/performed from your library. You penned excellent characters with detailed plots and well researched contexts.

Also, the way you stuck it to McCarthy (and Marilyn Monroe) ruled. What a crazy life and hopefully a peaceful afterlife.

Current Mood: relaxed

02:10 pm - A tender side to the Tsunami...

This is pretty freaking cute...

http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20050103/hippo.html

Current Mood: energetic

04:37 pm

01:36 pm - Lil' Guy

For those who don't know, I really do love little fat kids. I know it's unhealthy and it subjects them to a lot of ridicule, but damn, I think they're cute. They just love life and all its pleasures.

Take this pic below. Even though this little guy has the remnants of a full value meal right in front of him, you can tell he's pointing his little finger and saying, "are you going to finish your hash-brown?" Though the look on his face is subtle, it reflects pure satisfaction because he knows he's in. Right when that hash-brown hit the table he was thinking, "damn, i fogot about the hash browns." His little friend is cursing himself because he had the same intentions, but was just a little too late, the hash-brown has been claimed my little friend!  Shit, you don't even have your bib on.  You are playing with the big boys now and the big boys mean business!!!

Current Mood: amused