JKennedyFS's Xanga

Friday, July 09, 2004

Fri, 09 Jul 2004 06:00:39 GMT

Hmm...where to start after 4 months? Well, I've been really busy, but that's just how things go. So this will be a summary.

First, foremost, and most importantly there is Pam Walters. We finally met almost 4 months ago to the day after probably hearing about each other for almost a year. And on top of that we had been in many of the same places at the same time without even knowing each other. Pam is an absolutely beautiful girl with a kind heart. We bonded immediately, and started spending all of our time together. She is an amazing person and I cherish every moment with her. It doesn't even matter what we are doing, it will always be wonderful. Pam is my sun, my moon, and my stars, and I honestly couldn't imagine where I would be right now if it wasn't for her. She puts a smile on my face and warms my heart every minute of the day. And I'm happy to say that I love her with all my heart.

At the end of March I roadtripped to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, to see my Janie in A New Brain at Illinois Wesleyan. She was fabulous as Rhoda, and the show was phenominal. I have a recording of the show that I made on my MP3 player, which worked wonderfully as well. I miss my Janie now because she is doing summerstock in Big Fork, Montana, which is on the same lake that my grandparents own an island. I heart you!

Then, in April I took a trip with Julie to Indianapolis. The point of our trip will be explained, but there was plenty of drinking to be had while we were there. The favorite, of course, was the Alcatraz Brewing Company which supplied us with a wonderfully tasting beer that was 8.5% alcohol. Damn! Anyway, the point of the trip was to drive down to Bloomington, Indiana, former home of Coach Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers, to see this spectacular male a cappella group I've listened to since high school at the university called Straight No Chaser. They fucking rock. I have all their CDs if anyone is interested, as well as another wonderful recording done by my MP3 player of the concert.

I got another job working at Bar Natasha downtown. I love the atmosphere and I love the people I work with. I'm also hoping to build a repetoire of songs as well, but only time will tell with that. And here is my plug for those that haven't been there yet. It's at 1911 Main in downtown Kansas City. It's a piano cabaret bar and you have to be at least 21. All the servers and bartenders sing throughout the night as a requirement to work there and on Friday and Saturday nights at 9 and 11 there is a cabaret show. If you're looking for something new and different, go check it out.

I'm a sorter at UPS now, which isn't much better than loading, but at least I don't hate going EVERY day now. And I occasionally work at Bravo whenever I can, which is really nice.

And I'm currently in rehearsals for Guys and Dolls out at The Theatre in the Park. The show opens July 23rd and runs the 24th, 25th, 29th, 30th, 31st, and August 1st. If you're free any of those nights, please come see the show.

Sunday, March 07, 2004

Sun, 07 Mar 2004 18:24:57 GMT

I have two things to say before I get to the bulk of this entry.

1. Kansas State upset #10 Texas in basketball.
2. Kansas beat Missouri.

I got a new car yesterday! Yes, it's true. I've been driving the 1991 Explorer Sport for just over 5 years, and now it is no longer mine. I am now the proud owner of a black 5-speed 2004 Hyundai Tiburon. Words don't do it justice, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Wednesday, March 03, 2004

Wed, 03 Mar 2004 01:13:30 GMT

February is a really short month. So short, in fact, that I didn't post once the entire month. It's come and gone, oh well. Not a whole lot happened either. Just the usual took place...work, eat and drink, sleep. Still trying to recover some financial stability and always on the outlook for better work.

I've also been looking for a new car. My car is on its last leg and wont survive much longer without spending a bunch of money on it to keep it going. So the plan is to get a new car very soon.

I went on my first Pub Crawl on Fat Tuesday with Damron, Julie, and the Old Chicago gang. It was fun and I got a Bacardi Gras t-shirt out of it. We rode school buses around to a few bars and had drinks at all of them. I ended up seeing a bunch of people I went to highschool with at Paddy O's too.

My Janie turned 21 on March 1st, so now we can go drink and party when she comes home for Spring Break! I miss her so much! And today is March 3rd, so that means it is our 3 year anniversary for getting our tattoos! How fun is that!

I leave you with a quote:

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist, and just like that, he was gone.

Friday, January 30, 2004

Fri, 30 Jan 2004 20:26:08 GMT

Ragtime was amazing. We sold out all our shows, and if you were at the closing night show you saw the best performance. I'm glad it's over so I will have some more time for other things, but I'm sad it's over because I miss theatre so much when it ends. Thank you to everyone who made it such a fun and memorable experience.

I went to Chicago for the first time in my life finally this past weekend with Damron, Julie, and Kipp. It was awesome and compared greatly to my trip to NYC. We went out every night and drank till the bars closed, and we saw a show at The Goodman Theatre called The Light in the Piazza. Damron and Kipps' friend Brooke was in it. It was a really great show and easily has the potential to make it on Broadway. We stayed with Franklin, a friend of Damrons', who is the Devil himself, Beelzebub, and his minion soul suckers (cats), George and Alex. Thank you Damron for an amazing trip, and thank you Franklin for letting us stay with you and helping make it through the weekend.

Last night, which is actually today in reality, I completed my 1st World Beer Tour at Old Chicago. I drank 110 different beers and feel like a better person for doing so. I then had 1 more beer that started my 2nd tour. This one will take much, much longer to complete.

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Tue, 13 Jan 2004 23:29:28 GMT

Other than Ragtime, these past 2 weeks or so have been pretty shitty. UPS is a pain in my ass that I don't really want, yet I can't do anything about it until I hear about the Indianapolis job. I'm not really making any money at Bravo right now, so that's disappointing since I enjoy being there. The Chiefs lost in the playoffs at home again. So Ragtime has been my savior. Opening night was simply amazing and Sunday lacked greatness, but it was still a good show. And due to the demand to see the show, they have also now added a Sunday matinee at 2:00PM.

I'm stating here and now I am done with Troupe. The Titanic is sinking and I'm getting off now.

Girls are confusing. I just don't understand them. They are so difficult.

To counteract all these things I drink a whole lot. All the time. Yay!

Friday, January 02, 2004

Fri, 02 Jan 2004 03:02:16 GMT

Happy New Years! I hope everyone had a fun, yet safe New Years. I know I did. My day leading up to it was great. I went to lunch with my Janie at the Blue Koi. Then we went and watched part of Once on This Island rehearsal because Janie isn't going to be in town for the show. So we got to see Wuffa, Tom, Joe, Rachel, and Roy doing their "counselor" type things. Then I went home and got ready for the evenings festivities. I went with Chris, Kipp, and Julie to a new piano bar that was having their grand opening that evening. Damron's friend is the owner, so Damron was our server for the night. Let me just tell you that Bar Natasha is absolutely amazing and one of a kind in Kansas City, so if you can go to it, do so. They have awesome martinis. So after celebrating New Years at Bar Natasha and toasting with champagne, we all went to the DB next door and drank even more with Damron now that he was done. Tons more drinking, fun and dancing was had...and then we all had to go home. Hello 2004 and what a way to start it off.

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

Wed, 31 Dec 2003 03:54:10 GMT

So much has happened this past month, yet I haven't had any time to update here. I've basically been following the same schedule every day. Working at UPS Monday through Friday, working at Bravo Friday and Saturday, and going to rehearsals for Ragtime Sunday through Thursday. I've continued to drink every day or night since my 21st birthday. And I'm constantly working on the prototype demo for the video game I can't tell you about. Stupid Non-Disclosure Agreement. But all of that is going really well. The owner, Randy, and Santo go to California to present the demo to 3 "big name publishers" the week of January 19-24, so hopefully all goes well and I will hear good news about a job sometime during the following weeks after that. Christmas was decent; the most exciting part was getting a pretty awesome surround sound system. Then I got to go to the Chiefs final home game against Chicago this past weekend. My dad gave me our tickets, so I took Justin Dehmer with me. It was pretty awesome because we got to see Priest Holmes break 2 NFL records and a Chiefs record. He strutted into the end zone on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to break Emmitt Smith's season record for rushing touchdowns. And then he vaulted over the goalline in the third period for his 27th TD, breaking the overall touchdown record Marshall Faulk set in 2000. He also broke Otis Taylor's career touchdown record with the Chiefs with 61 touchdowns. Now I prepare for New Years. I hope everyone has a great New Years and stays safe. I'll see you in 2004.

Monday, December 08, 2003

Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:24:07 GMT

This will be a massive update, but I'll make it short.

I got to go to the Raiders game on Sunday the 23rd. It was a bit cold, but it was good to be back at a home game. The last time I got to go was 2 seasons ago on opening day since I was in Florida for 14 months. The Chiefs pulled out a game that shouldn't have even been close, but that's the Chiefs for you. 27-24 and they moved to 10-1 on the season.

Monday was work, then rehearsal. Tuesday was work, then rehearsal.

I went and saw Matrix Revolutions finally on Tuesday night down on the Plaza. Then afterwards it was finally midnight and my birthday, so I went with Chris and Julie to The Gran Falloon. Many many drinks and shots were had and Justin doesn't really remember most of the night. But that's the way a 21st birthday should be. Anyway, I guess I told Chris and Julie it would be a good idea to call into UPS sick for me, so Julie did and acted like my mom. So I didn't actually go to work Wednesday. That night my parents took me and my wonderful Janie to Zarda for ribs for my birthday dinner. Then after presents and cake a bunch of people came out to Old Chicago where I made everyone start the World Beer Tour. They all love me now, I know it.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and my dad's birthday. All was grand and delicious. That night I went with Janie to do our usual ritual of going to the Plaza to watch the lights turn on. We were supposed to meet other alumni down there but never found any, which has never happened before. Then we went into Brookside and chilled at Ian's for awhile before going over to Kevin's to drink a lot.

Friday night I had to work at Bravo, and then I got out as early as I could to come home to the party we threw at the house for my birthday. I picked up a bunch of beer and liquor on my way home and wasn't carded. I was pissed. The party was great. My Janie was there, and Danny and Dani were, and so was Katie and Scott, and Stasha and Bill and Julie and Kipp, and a ton of other people that I see more frequently. Thanks to everyone for coming...I love you all!

Saturday was more work at Bravo and more drinking. Sunday was the Chargers game, and yet again the Chiefs barely pulled out that one that shouldn't have been close either. Final score was 28-24 and they moved to 11-1. Monday through Friday was work at UPS, rehearsals for Ragtime at night, and drinking afterwards everynight. Within a week I've made it to 27 out of 110 beers on the World Beer Tour at Old Chicago. Our goal is to finish it by the end of Ragtime. I also got Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on DVD on Tuesday. I can't stop watching it. And I know all you pirate fans out there feel the same way.

Saturday I went with Chris, Amy, and Megan to see Urinetown. I knew it would be amazing, but it was even more amazing than I expected. Christiane Noll, who was Emma in the original cast of Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway, was Hope. It made my evening. Afterwards I made it a point to give my dollar to her and talk to her. So exciting! As well as finding out that K-State handed OU there asses in a beating for the Big 12 Championship 35-7. Then Chris and I met up with Damron, Kipp, and Julie at Side Kicks for another night of drinking. A lot of drinking.

Sunday was a disappointing day. The Chiefs played miserably and lost to the Broncos 45-27 in Denver. Now they are 11-2, and clinched a spot in the playoffs, but not the division yet. I spent most of the rest of the night working on my project for Thinking Man Studios. Deadlines are coming up and I've been slacking on it a whole lot with all of the drinking every night.

That just about sums up everything, or at least I did my best to remember everything. With all of the drunkeness it's hard to remember it all....

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Wed, 19 Nov 2003 23:08:21 GMT

The Chiefs have finally been defeated in Week 11 by the Cincinnati Bengals. I only have this much to say about it though: In 1969, when the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl, they were undefeated when they went to Cinncinnati and lost to the Bengals by the score of 24-19. Sunday, the undefeated Chiefs lost at Cinncinnati 24-19.

It's been an extremely busy last week with everything going on. Work for 3 different companies, rehearsals for Ragtime, and just everyday kinda things. I've basically had 3 all-nighters so far, and I've been staying up pretty late every other night. And now that I work every morning at UPS I don't get to sleep in.

JFK came out last week on DVD, so I went and bought that. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Special Extended Edition came out yesterday, but I don't get it til next week because it will be a birthday present.

Speaking of birthdays, mine is now officially 1 week away. Also a happy birthday to Danny Marr who celebrated his on the 16th. I will be going out for the big 21st birthday on Tuesday night and will start celebrating at midnight. No plans really for that yet, but it will happen. Then Wednesday, the official full day, I will be going out again that evening to celebrate more. Again no plan as of yet, but it will happen. And then it looks like the actual party will be Friday night. More details to come.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Wed, 12 Nov 2003 00:52:11 GMT

The Chiefs are 9-0 and I believe everyone has finally joined the bandwagon. "The Chiefs are damn good." Well put. So any fear of the Chiefs coming out rusty after their bye week was laid to rest early as the offense piled up 27 first-half points and the defense held the Browns to just three second-half points and only 199 yards of total offense. Priest Holmes rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries with 2 touchdowns, giving him 43 ground touchdowns, 1 behind the Chiefs all-time leader Marcus Allen, and gained 66 yards on 7 receptions. Trent Green was 29 of 42 for 368 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Eddie Kennison pulled in 7 catches for 115 yards and 1 touchdown. And the defense combined for 3 sacks and 1 interception. On a final note, Dante Hall should have had his 5th return for a touchdown, which would have set an NFL record, but Gary Stills missed a simple block on the final defender because he wanted to celebrate in the end zone. Stupid man. He's kinda like the guy that tried to catch the ball that went foul in Chicago at the Cubs game. Everyone knows who I'm talking about.

I finally got the go ahead to start work on a model for the demo of this video game for Thinking Man Studios. I'm a little rusty in Maya, but things are going better the more I work. I'm excited about this, so I hope everything works out in the end.

Other than that I've just been going to Ragtime rehearsals, and I'm having trouble sleeping. It kinda sucks, but it is giving me time to work in Maya. So that's about it. Peace out.