Okay... I see that it didn't take me too long to get bored with/too busy, to deal with this thing. Well, i'm back. Sorry to all the people i've lost contact with in the last few moonths. Time has been trying. So... whats new in the story of me? Well, most recently i've moved into a new house and have gotten a nnew job. Life is actually begining to get interesting again. I've moved to Tajunga with two of my friends. We have a 3 bdrm house with kitchen living room, and only one bathroom. That last part isn't a problem since we all have different schedules. The new Job is this new coffee shop that just opened in E.R. It's so fucking great. I actually like my bosses. i don't think i've had that in... uh, ever. Not to mention that i have the greatest co-workers at the same time. I'm working early morning shifts so I can actually see the daytike now, and go out at night. Still broke unfortunately, but that will change soon, the shops only been open for twelve days.

    In case any of you are still wondering, yes, i am still single and as much a dog as i ever was. However, i am keeping my eyes open for a... i can't say it...re...rela...relatio... fuck it, you know what i mean. : p i have a cell # you can reach me @, but i don't want to give it to everyone on the net, so e-mail me @ joltman72@yahoo.com to get it. I haven't gotten the net hooked up at the new house yet, but i'll be checking my mail from work when i get the chance, so don 't get all impatient on me k.

   Most recently, I went on a date yesterday. I haven't done one of those in a while. I actually didn't know what to do. I tried calling a few people up for advise on where to take her. I didn't want to do a movie since they're so impersonal and you don't get any time to really get to know each other. But after a few failed calls, and many answering machines, i just decided to wing it. I found out that she liked Thai food, and figured i'd take her to a Thai BBQ place I know about,(thanks matt). Dinner is always a good place to have a nice conversation:

   As we perused the menu we shared humorous chit chat subjected on our childhoods and found out that we have quite a lot in common. She, (let's call her K), is Originally from a town in Mass not far from where i went to school. We spoke about the beauty of the area and how inspiring it can be to observe the world in such a setting. K is most recently from Portland, a place I have heard of and know exists, but, untill now,  have never had reason besides the Trail Blazers to ever recognise it as a part of the US. Both of our first choice schools for college were Brown, and we both failed to attend there. She wasn't accepted, and my reasons are a whole story unto itself. While K continues on her path of being an english major, I have pushed it to being my minor, I wanting to be able to support myself while I write. This conversation continued untill we had our orders taken.

    Typical of most women, she coudn't make up her mind on her entre, so I ordered some soup in the meantime. When they brought out the hot tray for the soup we looked inside and wondered what the blue colored substance in the middle of it was. I being the curious idiot I am stuck my finger in it to see. Finding that it was not hard as it had appeared, but gooey like some weird alien jello. At that point, my brain kicked in and I realized that is is the stuff you get in a can for personal stoves while camping. Just as I pulled my finger out of the goop, the waitress came back and put our soup down on top of it and lit the goop. In a bright and quick flash, the goop ignited. The flames sweeping right out the side of the bowl holding and up towards both our faces. K's face immedately changed from an expression of wonder to that of starteled panic.

      Now, most people placed in the similar situation probably would have handeled it a bit differently, but me however, broke out into immediate hysterics. I just couldn't stop laughing. the face that she made took me back to the summer of sophmore year when I had gone camping with my Dad, Uncle Bob, and his cousin Louis. K peered at me in confusion, she, not knowing what was going on in my head, was probably wondering how a flame shooting towards her face could possibly be humorus in the slightest way. I realised how much of an asshole I had to appear, so I filled her in on the story.

    The people I had mentioned above and I had out to the campgrounds a day early so that the place would be set up when the women got there the next day. personally, I figured that if they wanted to go camping, they should help out in the setting up of the camp. I was the only one who thought so since i was the only one who wasn't married. However, back on subject, we spent the whole day, and I mean the whole day, (noon till about 8pm), setting up camp. Once the tents, food, music, picnic table, gazebo, etc, were finished, we all decided to sit back by the fire, drink some beer, and relax. This was a great idea, unfortunately for us, the fire hadn't been started yet. Now we had to unload the firewood from the truck, put it in the firepit, and then try to scrounde around for some kinteling. Now, heres where the heart of this flash-back begins. Although we could get the kinteling to start up, it wasn't enough to get the logs started. I sugguested that we use some starter fluid, we had lamp oil, gasoline, etc, why not just give the wood a good squirt and be done with it. "No way man", was my answer, "we're camping, more than that, we'er men camping, we don't need any starter fluid. Thats what women use 'cause they can't start a fire the right way", my Dad continued. For about a good half hour, my Father, Uncle and Cousin struggled with the fire to no gain. In the site adjecent to us, two young girls, just younger than me at the time, emerged from their delux four room family tent, to sit by their fire. We watched the girls grab fire wood and place it into their pit.

  "They'll never get that fire lit with those logs", whispered my dad.

   "Forget the logs, the air's too damp to really get a fire going", added Bob

      It was at about this time that the girls grabbed their BBQ starter fluid, threw a bit of that on it and lit the fire. No trouble, no hastle, just a quick 2-3 minutes and their fire was ready. I looked around at my fellow campmates faces and found that they were flabbergasted. I was quite pleased with myself seeing how easy this whole thing would have been for us had we used the starter fluid, and decided that I was going to go sit with those who had a fire instead of hanging around a dark firepit. I turned to my father and said goodbye for the moment and walked over to the other site. I introduced myuself and asked if they minded if I joined them. They made room for me and we sat and made small talk.

   For about a good twenty more minutes, my dad and company faught with the logs attempting to get them burning. Finally the macho machisma wore off and they decided to take the "easy way" out.

" I'm gonna go look in the truck and see if I can find something to get this going", said my dad as he walked towards the truck. When my dad was out of immediate view, Bob, walked over to the girls and I and asked to use some of their fluid.

"So you decided to opt for the female method huh", I mocked. As we four were intangeled in our teasing of my uncle, my father had returned from the truck and was doucing the wood with lamp gas. When my dad turned to put the bottle back in the truck, Bob walked back to our pit and squeezed a third of the charcoal starter over the lamp fuel. I told Bob that he was overdoing it, but since his back was turned to my dad while he was doucing the logs with lamp fluid, he didn't agree. Bob came back and returned the charcoal starter fluid before my dad had come back from putting the lamp gas away, so both of them were in the dark as to the perdicament they had put themselves into.

  My dad stood directly infront of the pit and dropped a match. Bob's earlyer statement had been correct, the air was quite damp, so much so that a match wouldn't stay lit for much longer than an instant and so dad's match blew out long before hitting the wood. Realizing what the problem was, my dad kneeled down closer to the pit and began to light another match.

"Dad, I really wouldn't do that if I were you, there's alot of gas on that wood..."

"Boy, shut-up", my dad said sharply, cutting me off."I now what i'm doing". He lit the second match and dropped it. Once again, it went out before hitting the wood. Fustrated, my dad knelt down on his knees and leaned over the fire pit, ready to strike a third match. One of the two girls, who had been paying attention top tonights events, tried to squeek out another watning to my dad, but i told her to chill out and let him learn. The other girl was no curious as to what was going on, she had been so busy talking about herself that she was absolutely oblivious as to waht was ahppening.

"SHHHHH!!!!", we both said to her.

"Just watch and be quiet, this is going to be the funnyest thing you have ever seen, so just be quiet, and watch". Ipeered through the darkness as my dad leaned closer and closer to the logs sitting in the pit waiting to strike up at him. It seemed as though everyting moved as if it were submerged in water, slow steady, almost as if everything in the forrest was watching and waiting to see what was going to happen. By the time my dad had struck the sulfer against the back of the matchboox, the fumes from the gasoline had risen to about his hand level. The moment the sulfer sparked off the match, the entire forrest was engulfed in radiant light. From the firepit came an incandescent cylinder for flames rushing up past my dads head.

Ok, ok, so I almost forgot about this thing completly, sue me. I threw a Super Bowl party on sunday, and I had a great time. For all those of you who flaked... too bad for you. To those who took off to Vegas, hope you placed your bets well. And of course, to those who came, THANK YOU. You made my day. Anyway, back to the fun stuff. I had all my closest friends in LA there, except for you Nick, but hey, you're in Spain so you're having the time of your life anyway huh? THere was luckuly only one Pats fan, but he spoke out enough to count as three. Unfortunately, he didn't really seem to know football too well. You know those guys, like to talk alot about stuff, but they don't really know enough about it to argue with someone on said subject, (i have been known to do the exact same thing, so i'm not patronising him). My Dad actually huhg out with us durring the game, and not going to hang with his friends, a huge step for us. : )

    More recently, my rent check has bounced for some unknown reason, and my landlors says if I don't have the cash by tomorow, i'm out... Unfortunetly for him, even if I don't have the cash, I got 3 months till he can give me the boot. HAHAHA!

Aren't I evil? No worries though, I go to the bank tomorow and fix the problem and everythings back to normal...I hope.  Well, since I have nothing else to say, i'm going to go watch the usual suspects. Have a good night yall'

ME