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| Its never a good thing to start a Monday morning with a rough hangover. Its even worse when you didn't drink the previous evening. I have no idea where this came from... most unpleasant way to start a (blessedly shortened) work week. Amusingly, when I put my MP3 player on 'random' this morning the first thing it grabbed was NOFX's "Thank God Its Monday". Greaaaaat. No updates over the past month. Know why? Because there's not much to tell. I work, I sleep (fitfully), I do it again the next day. Fun stuff. I live for this shit. I wouldn't even be typing this up if not for the fact that I need something to do with my morning while I try to get my head to stop pounding. Vacation to see my family went quite well, actually. I figured it would be too short (only three full days and two half-days there), but really, I got most of what I wanted to do there done, and managed to escape before my folks drove me nuts. Must remember to try the same trick for Thanksgiving! Arriving there was interesting- my grandmother knew my parents were coming, but I was a surprise (parents and granddad knew). So I met up with my parents at Logan Airport in Boston, and headed to the ferry at Woods Hole with them. Grandma was watching for my parents, but not expecting me, she didn't even notice when I walked literally right past her (part of the plan). She met mom and dad, talked for a moment, then started heading with them to the car- at this point I walked up next to her and asked in my best tourist-y voice "Excuse me ma'am, I seem to have taken a wrong turn. Which way is Washington, D.C. from here?" She turned and had just started to reply something to the effect of calling me a retard (no doubt) when she realized Mom was laughing, and that the huge tourist standing in front of her looked awfully familiar... ;) One more note from there: I'd forgotten how good swordfish can really be when its fresh. It gets kinda mushy and 'fishy' when its been out of the water for more than about 24 hours, even if its in a fridge, but when we went to dinner out there for grandma's birthday the swordfish I had was less of a main course and more of an art form. They did a cajun spice rub on the swordfish steaks, which I love on catfish but had never tried like this before, and it was just perfect. I knew there was something I liked about being near the coast... of course, still hard to find good Denver-fare like a good steak or good Mexican food, though I'm starting to find places like that around D.C. a little at a time. If I find swordfish like that in this town I'll gain ten pounds though! Anyway. Other than that, not much to tell. Went on a date a couple of weeks ago, went very well... then heard nothing from her for four days before getting an E-mail (!) saying that she "just wasn't really ready for a relationship". Awesome. When did breakups switch to an E-mail format? Thats twice this year now I've been dumped by E-mail, a little irritating. Do you reply to it? Whats the ettiquete for being E-dumped? Needless to say, it was a fine reminder of why I really shouldn't date people- because even when things go well, its only to set me up for the punchline later. And I'm just not laughing anymore. The old saying is that 'theres someone out there for everyone'... at this point, honestly, who fucking cares. I've reached a sort of detente with Joe, the hyperactive mutt I live with now. He still crashes into me at full speed every chance he gets, but he settles down MUCH quicker- and has stopped biting me altogether. To my amusement, I got home Friday and he growled at me- then whined and ran off when I growled back. Apparently I'm a bit scary when I bare my teeth and growl back. Who would have guessed? I should try it the next time someone tries to sit next to me on the bus. My sister started a new job... as a secretary-type for a drug rehab clinic (fortunately not the one she's been sent to several times!). I'm not sure how long this will last- depends on drug screening, I would think- but the irony is both extremely funny and twice as sad. Apparently the two clinics don't actually talk to each other- "Wait, you have WHO working for you?" See? Nothing interesting in my life. You've wasted five minutes you can never get back reading this drivel, and you're none the better for the experience. Sucks to be you. | | |
| I've been in kind of a funk the past few days. Not sure what really has me down, but I've definitely noticed it. Activities that normally entertain don't, things that normally wouldn't bother me are driving me nuts, and there's a little black raincloud metaphorically over my head (actually, today there's a literal one as well, but thats not really relevant.) I couldn't tell you what caused it. Started late last week, and just kept on going through to this morning. I've snapped at friends when normally I wouldn't, I've snarled at my parents when normally I'd simply ignore them merrily... even avoided trying to get a phone number at Saturday's wedding when really I might have had a decent shot at it. I wasn't worried about rejection- I just didn't even want to put myself into a situation where I'd have to find out. I even got so frustrated working on a miniature last night after getting home that I threw it across the room- its repairable, but its also out of character for me. I'm not a 'fury' person, and so this is very odd for me. Regardless, as strange as this funk is and as unexplained and sudden as it has appeared, here's hoping that it disappears the same way and leaves me back to normal. Maybe its stress- between work, family, upcoming travel, etc., I certainly wouldn't say I'm relaxed lately. A migraine that has stuck with me for over a week now hasn't helped matters any either. I just hate that feeling of helplessness and gloom that comes with this, its pretty discouraging. Regardless, all of that sounds incredibly whiny. I leave in eight days to see my family in New England. My flight leaves in the early afternoon, not sure if I'll be at work in the morning or not. Either way, after a 90 minute flight I'll arrive within minutes of my parents flight from Denver, so we'll meet up at baggage claim and head south to Woods Hole, MA together to the ferry docks. My grandma still has no idea I'm coming, which is kind of fun but does make planning a bit difficult. I wish I could have spent longer out there, but at the time I booked this I didn't realize I had more vacation time than what I really have. I'll likely use the rest later this year to head to Denver, but it would have been good to get an extra couple of days out of this trip regardless. Still, good to get out of town for a while and see my folks, who I haven't seen since my other grandma died last March. I've been loading up my new Zen with as much music as I can think of, and its been just joyous. Its fun to think back to younger days and look up music that in some cases I haven't heard in years so I can toss it on here- I'm well past 800 songs right now on it, with plenty of room to go. My commute to work is mere minutes now, and even then I can't imagine doing it without this thing now- I have no idea how I made it as long as I did with my previous commute without it, I probably should have withered away to nothingness on the train at some point. I can also confirm that on the list of the best headphones I've ever tried, these Skullcandy ones are right up there- its funny to listen to songs that I've heard many times, and have the sound so clear I can pick out little bits I never noticed before. In particular, highly detailed music like Blues Traveler are like a whole new experience. I did have my first hiccup with the new device though- on the train last night, it froze up on me. Slipping a paper clip to the 'reset' button solved the issue instantly, but it did teach me to keep a clip in the headphone case at all times just in case- it would suck to have it freeze up on my flight and not be able to do anything about it. What else is there to tell? More when I have something interesting to talk about I suppose. | | |
| Random thoughts on a Monday morning: +There's something very nostalgic about getting an MP3 player set up. The one I had in Denver had died last year, and I got a Samsung, but it never did work quite right. I sold it a couple of weeks ago in frustration, and picked up a Creative Technologies 'Zen' recently. And I've been loving it. It came with a free Napster subscription (which I already have, thanks guys), and its been a very interesting weekend. With 8G to play with, I find myself in an interesting spot- on my other two, space was always a problem (both were 2G), and I would frequently find myself unable to put on things I wanted without having to delete others that I wanted to keep. This time? I still have tons of space, and I've been going back through old music I haven't had in years. My CD collection hasn't moved here from Denver yet (someday), and so discs I bought back in high school, music I enjoy still, has been unavailable since basically my move to Spokane many years ago now. Makes one almost feel young again. +All set for a small family reunion in Vineyard Haven, MA early next month. My grandmother turns 90, and we have a good number of relatives coming in for it- I didn't think I'd be able to go, but managed to eke just enough time off work to make basically a long weekend out of it (Wed-Sun). As it is, I misjudged my vacation time, and could have stayed an extra few days- sadly, by the time that came about I'd already bought my tickets. By coincidence, my parents booked their tickets to land in Boston about twenty minutes before I will- so upon that realization, we coincided our travel plans from Boston to Vineyard Haven to make life easier. Best part: My grandmother doesn't know I'm coming, an idea my grandfather had. She knows my parents are coming of course, but while she's busy saying hello to them at the ferry dock, that will allow me to quietly sneak up for a surprise. Or anyway, 'quietly' as a 6'5" man ever can be. +Of course, while the family is getting together for the occasion, my sister was cordially UNinvited. There's simply too much chaos and drama surrounding her, and frankly no one needs that. Plus she wants someone else to pay for her to go (I'm paying my own way, though my grandfather did help a bit). Sorry kid. She's naturally unhappy about this, and feels excluded, but there woudl likely be much more sympathy for her if she, you know, hadn't been busted for selling drugs, or had worked a day in over four years, or hadn't stolen things from my parents and I, or any of a long list of reasons that overall, its good for her to just stay home. Sounds cold, I admit, but in the long run it will make a better experience for everyone else- and frankly, majority rules. The odd part is that she doesn't even like my grandparents- at all. She just wants to go because she doesn't like feeling left out. You'd think this would be a best-case scenario for her, really. *shrug* +Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins on their return to the Stanley Cup Finals after over a decade and a half away, thanks to their 6-0 dismantling of the Flyers yesterday. Looking forward to seeing them take on whomever comes out of the West! +...which looked like a sure trip for Detroit a few days ago. Now, I'm not so sure. Thing is, when you're up 3-0 in a series, you should be in the drivers seat. One little hiccup is disappointing (the Penguins let the Flyers steal an ugly one in Game 4 of that series), but two? Dallas has momentum now, and if they win tonight its anyones series again. How likely is that? Well, Detroit's blown it big time in the past two games, looking flatter than week-old Pepsi, while Dallas has been playing like their butts are on fire. Twice in NHL history a team has come back from three games down to win a series... and we're due for another. Could it be the Dallas Stars? I have hope. +The phone calls have stopped. No number change needed (still doing it, don't ask again please), she just seems to have dropped off the face of the planet again. Which really is just as well. There's still a lot of unresolved business there, and frankly I'm fine with leaving it to rot at this point. We had some great times together, and there was a real connection there that I'm very sorry was lost, but... it was indeed lost, and its not coming back just because someone had a couple too many drinks. I'm optimistic that that phone number simply won't come up on my little screen ever again. +...I really don't have much else today. Must be the lack of caffeine.  | Currently Listening
Love.45
By Love.45
Way Down (Denver band, try 'em out sometime!)
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| Jekyll The Sober and Hyde The Drunk-DialerI moved about two weeks ago down into Arlington, mere blocks from the famed cemetary. I'm much closer to my work now (a fifteen minute bus ride replaces a two-hour bus and rail marathon), its less money, more space, and just overall a better place to be. Great! I moved on a Tuesday, crashed out, and started unpacking the next day. On Thursday night of that week though, the 1st, I dozed happily in my exhaustion from unpacking and work, when my phone rang late at night. Colorado area code, not one I recognized (certainly not at 3:30 AM!). My first thought was that it might be a family emergency, someone calling from a hospital or something like that. So I answered, hoping that I was wrong. I was. But I could have hoped for better than what I got. What I got was a quiet female voice asking me "nottohangupuntilIsaywhatIneedtosay". (that quickly that it ran together). What the hell? That almost sounds like... oh no. Oh fuck. Soni. The one who I broke up with a little over a month earlier when I wouldn't convert to Catholicism with her. Fuck. I should have ignored her slurred request and hung the phone up, but at 3:30 AM one doesn't think rationally all the time. Plus I kinda had hopes of getting in a few choice words of my own on her- I'm not above letting someone know when I think they're a douchebag, male or female. So I listened. I listened to her tell me how lonely she felt without me, how she felt like she made a huge mistake and she wasn't sure how to fix it, how she wanted things to be back the way they used to be when she and I could tell each other anything and how it used to brighten her worst day just by seeing my name pop up on her phone. How much she loved me still, and realized that she had made a mistake. OK, whatever. Maybe your memory isn't working right, lady, but mine sure is working just fine, even without access to espresso. You hurt me big time- and if you need I still have the E-mails to forward back to you if you'd like a reminder. Because, you know, you did send out a nastygram by E-mail to end things, remember? After an hour of back and forth, of her crying and of me growling into the phone sounding like a cross between James Earl Jones and an angry tundra wolf, she finally needed to get some sleep. I, now realizing I was too angry to get back to sleep (my hands were literally shaking from anger and shock), brewed up some coffee and got started early on my day. Well, so Friday evening she calls again. And this time, different tune. She's sorry about last night, she said things that came out in a drunken state, on and on, she'd like to be friends and see if things can go anywhere from there but she still needs things from me, things she doesn't want to go into right now because she doesn't want to fight while she has a migraine (we call that a hangover where I'm from, lady), on and on. Cool. Off the hook. Well, problem is, this has continued since for a week and a half now. She goes out every couple of nights, gets drunk, calls me (I've ignored them at night since, and end up with long, rambling, often-sobbing voice mails professing how we're soul mates. Wheeee.), then calls the next day to refute her previous statements. Its kinda funny, in a "let me sleep, you rum-soaked harpy!" kind of way, but at the same time part of me is very shaken by the whole thing, and every time that number (now listed in my phone under "Horse Faced Bitch") pops up on my phone I can't help but feel a bit of sorrow at how things have ended up... and wonder which Soni will call me next, the equally sorrowful and repentant one produced by a bottle or the bitter and distant one. Fun times. Is there a way to have black roses delivered to someone, perhaps with a card saying "Piss off!"? Ah well. Back to work with me, more later. | | |
| Blatantly stolen from Mudwoman1326 because... I'm like that. Piracy, ha-HA! MOUTHOLOGY
What is your salad dressing of choice?
Ranch, or a good Caesar.
What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Popeyes, though Arbys is good too. And Five Guys, for local DCers.
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Good question... probably Chilis or On the Border. I like spicy food.
What are your pizza toppings of choice?
I'm easy. Hit me with anything but mushrooms and olives.
What do you like to put on your toast?
Bacon and eggs ;)
How many televisions are in your house?
Two- three if the computer monitor counts.
*BIOLOGY*
Are you right-handed or left-handed?
right handed
Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
More than a few pints of blood through hockey ;)
What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A big stack of reports.
Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
For a few days by a poorly-aimed hockey puck- long story short, damn near died.
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Sure. Can I know how many I'm taking with me?
What color do you think looks best on you?
Black
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
...erm, no comment
Have you ever saved someones life?
I don't know if she'd have died from it. Probably not. I tried though.
Has someone ever saved yours?
Thank you, Dr. Allen.
DAREOLOGY
Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
Hey, why not. Cash is cash.
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
250K??? Man, I got ripped off...
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Totally. Pay up, bitches.
Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
If I get to pick the person. I know a case where I'd PAY the money.
DUMBOLOGY
What is in your left pocket?
My phone.
Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
In a sort of "I don't feel the need to gouge out my own eyes" kind of way, sure, its fine.
Do you sit or stand in the shower
I stand. Its a shower, why the hell would I sit?
Could you live with roommates?
I do. She's still alive. I'd say we get by.
How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
0.
LASTOLOGY
Last Friend you talked to?
Sam, I think. Or Chris. One of them.
Person you hugged?
...I don't hug people.
FAVORITOLOGY
Season?
Winter
Ice cream?
Hard to find now, Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz.
Type of music?
Punk rock, alternative, classic rock
CURRENTOLOGY
Missing someone?
I'll get 'em after I reload.
Mood?
Frustrated.
Worrying about?
Whether I can get the damn internet working at home again!
RANDOMOLOGY
First place you went this morning?
Burger King. I was hungry!!!
What can you not wait to do?
Get the hell out of this office for today.
What's the last movie you saw?
Iron Man. MUCH better than I expected, I was quite pleased.
Do you smile often?
Not really. I carry more of a dry, sardonic wit to me.
Are you a friendly person?
95% of the people on this planet, I would rather light on fire than talk to them. Sadly, gas is so expensive I can't. | | |
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