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The NFL + Morrissey = weirdest pairing I can think of in recent history.
Anybody seeing anymore "odd couples" lately on TV or elsewhere?
- Location:My couch
- Mood:
surprised - Music:"Everyday Is Like Sunday" by the Moz...d'uh!
THURSDAY
8:30 AM- Wake up. Throat tickles a bit, but no mind.
9:00 AM- Conference call with Dow Chemicals. They tell me they're closing their plant we service and we'll be losing their contract worth several hundred thousand dollars. Which also means I could be out of a job soon. BOOO!
9:45 AM- Throat starting to feel a bit worse.
10:00 AM- Internal conference call for work. I barely say anything thanks to my throat getting more and more sore.
Noon- By this time, I can barely work because my head hurts, my eyes are light sensitive, and my throat is killing me. Take some tylenol and crawl back into bed. Working from home has its advantages...
2 PM- Wake up, and jump in shower. Can barely stand up for falling asleep in shower. Still feel like crap.
3 PM- Get e-mail from boss. Coca-Cola meeting in Atlanta went well and we're guaranteed several more years of business. Meaning I WON'T be out of a job anytime soon. YAAAY!
6 PM- Watch final DVD for "Avatar: The Last Airbender." My god was that awesome! That's how you end a series.
8:45 PM- After spending the evening finishing up some work, and drinking tea and eating oatmeal, I crawl into bed.
9:00 PM- My cell phone rings as my friend Susan tries calling me. I ignore it.
9:01 PM- Susan calls again. I ignore it. Again.
9:03 PM- Susan calls. Again. I'm ignoring you godammit! She finally leaves a message which I don't check until Saturday out of spite.
1 AM- Wake up. Wide awake. Try getting back to sleep to no avail, even after drugging myself up more, so I get up and play around on the computer and listen to music until 4 in the morning.
4 AM- My attempts at trying to go back to sleep are all for naught. I remember dozing off sometime around 7 AM...
FRIDAY
Noon- I sleep in on purpose. Late. I wake up to find myself feeling a bit better, with the fever I was running Thursday gone.
12:30 PM- No. Wait. There it is again. I go back to feeling horrible. Drugs are taken.
2 PM- More drugs
3:30 PM- Drugs again.
4 PM- After a grueling 4 hour work day, I call it a day. I can't concentrate for soreness of throat and headaches. I make a fortress of blankets and pillows on the couch and watch my new "Cinematic Titanic" DVD that came in the mail that day.
5:00 PM- I attempt to eat microwave dinner called "Beef With Asian Style Vegetables." Apparently, Weight Watchers' idea of "Asian Style Vegetables" is a WHOLE MESS OF FUCKING ONIONS! Which aren't even pictured on the box! Bastards. Sufficed to say, I end up eating a small dinner portion after picking out the onions...
6:30 PM- Drugs drugs drugs...
7 PM- Spend a couple hours blowing away Storm Troopers in Star Wars: Battlefront. Something therapeutic about sending storm troopers flying with a missile launcher. Clones, my ass...
Midnight- After sweating out yet another fever, and with my head finally starting to feel more like a human head and less like a swelled peach, I attempt to sleep yet again.
12:30 AM- Back up again. Why? Because I'm starving! My stomach was growling so bad I couldn't sleep. So I get back up and eat some oatmeal while watching "This Is Spinal Tap" on VH-1 Classic...
2 AM- More Storm Troopers die.
3 AM- Drugs to the power of 10
4 AM- Back to bed. This time it only takes me an hour or so to doze off after constant tossing and turning.
SATURDAY
11:30 AM- Woken up by my Mother calling to let me know she'll be by in about 20 minutes to pick me up for lunch. Crap. Forgot about that. She tells me "You sound awful." Thanks, Mom. So, I jump in the shower and actually managed to get ready by the time she gets here. Even managed to get in a round or two of Scramble on Facebook...
Noon- Olive Garden, oh, Olive Garden. How I love your breadsticks and Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo.
1 PM- Mom and I stop by Barnes & Noble. As I'm paying for my magazine (the new Rolling Stone. I couldn't resist the cover story entitled "How Bush Destroyed The Republican Party") I have the startling realization that I'm actually feeling incredibly better. A good meal, a few (or a lot of) drugs, and a whole lot of sleep have finally worked their miracle. I feel like jumping across the counter and hugging the clerk, except she looks like a scary butch lesbian who could probably kick my ass...
10 PM- Check MSNBC.com for the first time all day and see that Obama picked Joe Biden to be his running mate. My disappointment that I didn't get the nod is tempered by agreeing with Obama's other choice...
2 AM- Sit down to record my experiences on LJ. So far, I am only suffering from a slightly hoarse voice at this point, but otherwise feeling okay. I still don't know where the sickness came from or when it really set in. For right now, I'm blaming Lektricmayhem, as I hung out with him on Tuesday and he tells me that his trip to the beach last week was slightly marred by catching his nephew's cold. Hmmmm...no solid evidence to draw a connection, but he makes a good enough fall guy for my sudden decline in health...
2:05 AM- Start to feel withdrawal from lack of sinus and cold medications...Pills, man, I need my pills!
- Location:The Weight Watchers Onion Fields...burning them down!!
- Mood:
groggy - Music:"Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" by Quiet Riot
I need one of those. That would be fun just to fill out and hand to somebody.
My current list of people/things I would declare war on-
The quackpots that run North Korea/Zimbabwe/the Sudan/Myanmar (or you may know it as Burma)- because just once don't you want to see the real life bad guys get what they deserve?
Keanu Reeves- The Matrix was great. We all loved it. But please just stop. No more movies from you.
The words "Bling" "BFF" "OMG" "Pwned" and people who purposefully spell "The" as "Teh." The dumbing down of America stops now.
Jennifer Culley. Who is she? A friend from high school who keeps beating me at Scramble on Facebook and it's driving me crazy!
So, today's topic/thought- who or what would you declare war against if it was that easy?
- Location:anywhere but New Jersey
- Mood:working
- Music:anything by the Hong Kong Cavaliers
So, last weekend was the big San Diego Comic Con. For anybody not familiar with it, it is a massive pop culture festival that started as a simple comic book convention held in a hotel basement in the 1970's that has morphed into a teeming mass of comics, anime, video games, Hollywood celebrities, and nerds, nerds, nerds that numbered somewhere around 125,000 people this year. (Ugh. I can only imagine how bad that convention hall must have smelled...).
Anyway, I bring this up because as I was sitting in my hotel room in King Of Prussia, PA last weeke (business trip), I found myself following the news of the convention pretty closely (nothing else to do in King Of Prussia, PA after all...) and I noticed something right off the bat about all of the news stories that interested or excited me. They all had ties to my childhood in the 1980's. This included:
- The panel devoted to the WATCHMEN movie, based on a comic originally published in 1986 and a favorite of mine since I discovered it in the early 90's.
- One of my favorite comics from my childhood, a fantasy book called WARLORD, is coming back from DC Comics, with its creator, Mike Grell, writing it again for the first time in 25 years.
- G.I. JOE- coverage of both the new movie and the upcoming revival of the comic, written by Larry Hama, who created much of the G.I. Joe-Vs.-Cobra universe and who wrote the comic from 1982-1994. Another childhood favorite of mine.
- TRON 2.Yes, you read that right. They even showed a trailer showing Jeff Bridges back in his dayglo costume and the cool cyber bikes racing across the computer grids...
- And random other assorted news bits, like a remake of CLASH OF THE TITANS (I know, I know...) and the attempts at reviving the GHOSTBUSTERS franchise via comics and a new video game.
So, I'm looking at this and all I can think of is- "Wow, so all my generation cares about is reliving our childhoods." Now, I had a pretty good childhood in the 80's, growing up in Fairfax and (ugh) Farmville, and have a lot of happy memories of the TV shows and movies I watched, and the music I listened to, and the video games I played, and the comic I read, etc. I think it's fairly common for anybody to think nostalgically back on a happy time in their lives.
But there's something about my generation where we just seem OBSESSED with it. Were the movies and TV shows and everything else pop culturally from the 1980's really THAT good and worth resurrecting? Maybe. Then again, for every good CHEERS episode and BLADE RUNNER, you have 8 or 9 FRIDAY THE 13TH's to wade through.
I've had so many conversations where someone will randomly name drop a show or movie from the 1980's that they just love, usually out of nostalgia more than anything. Elektricmayhem caught me off guard the other day by espousing his love for SILVERHAWKS and I wondered, "Does he really love SILVERHAWKS that much, or does he just remember liking it that much?". Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing. I'm as bad as anybody about reliving their childhood with my apartment full of X-MEN comics and SUPER NES cartridges. And for the record, I'm constantly venting how upset I am over not being able to get THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN and SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS on DVD. And again I wonder- Why?
Does anybody else wonder why the 1980's seem to be a very nostalgiac time period for people our age? Or have any idea why? Sure, other decades have people who are nostalgiac for them too (Yes, even the 70's...) but I see our culture reflecting a love for the 80's now and I'm curious as to other peoples' thoughts on the matter...
- Location:Arrakis. Dune. Desert Planet.
- Mood:
nostalgic - Music:"Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles
Thursday was a long and stressful work day. I had a bunch of deadlines coming up and spent most of the day working phones trying to get co-workers to come through on their end of the projects I'm managing, which most did thankfully, even if some didn't get back tome until 8 o'clock that night. Afterwards, I went and saw DARK KNIGHT (which was incredibly good!) at the midnight showing at Virginia Centers Commons. They were playing the movie on FIVE screens at midnight, and all 5 showings were sold out! How crazy is that? After the movie, I came home and got maybe an hour of sleep before I had to get up and go to the hospital, where my Dad was being admitted for hernia surgery. Not the most serious thing in the world by itself, but much more complicated when the patient is an 80-year old with a heart condition. So, Mom and I spent most of Friday at the hospital in the waiting area or with Dad in his room later in the evening. We finally came home and I passed out on the couch in front of the TV about 10:30 last night and still managed to not sleep very well, despite being up for almost 40 hours at that point. Then we got up early this morning, and went BACK to the hospital, where we waited some more for them to discharge Dad. That only took, ohhhhh, all freaking day.
The good news is that Dad made it through his surgery and is on his way home as I type this. I'm glad he's doing well, though his medications had made him real cranky and irritable. So, he was a lot of fun to be around. Plus, I was with my Mom for a day and a half continuously, which is a whole other kind of "fun," so I am very, very happy to be home right now and able to relax for the first time since Wednesday, really. Now, where did I put those wineglasses...
- Location:It's Chinatown, Jake.
- Mood:
exhausted - Music:"Sleep When I'm Dead" by The Cure
Amidst the 300+ pages selling me Superman comics, Hello Kitty alarm clocks, and Star Wars action figures, something will ocassionally jump out at me and say "Buy Me" so loud I cannot resist. This comic was one of them. It is called HELEN KILLER. No, that's not a misspelling. That's KILLER. Here's the summary of the book's premise and a sample of the artwork:
At the dawn of the 20th Century, Twenty-one year old college student Helen Keller has a dark secret - science has restored her lost senses and granted her unimaginable power. Will she use it protect herself and her country... or will it destroy them both?
Helen Keller, with glasses that make her see and give her super strength, working as an assassin and bodyguard for President McKinley? Tell me that's not the greatest idea for a comic ever! Miracle Worker meets James Bond! It's one of those rare moments in my life that I've said, "Why didn't I think of that...?"
I've only had the chance to read the first issue, but #2 and 3 have come out (out of 4 issues total) and I'm hoping to track them down soon.
Can anybody else think of a movie, book, comic, etc. where you just saw the concept and it was so deliriously weird that it struck you as brilliant?
- Location:Washington, DC circa 1900
- Mood:geeky
- Music:"A View To A Kill" by Duran Duran
So far, I've seen Iron Man (twice) and absolutely LOVED it. Instant DVD purchase when it comes out. I saw Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull and while you'll never convince me a fridge can help a man survive an atomic explosion, it was an overall entertaining experience. I didn't even mind the aliens, which seemed to cheese everybody else off. I dragged Jason to see The Happening and to be honest, I'm lucky he's still speaking to me. That was incredibly disappointing. It's like somewhere around The Village, M. Night Shyamalan's less talented twin brother killed him and took his place. Sad, really...
This Thursday at midnight, The Dark Knight opens and I plan on definitely being there for that. That movie is like the crown jewel of the "Summer Of Geek Movies."
That still leaves a bunch of others still unseen:
- I haven't seen Get Smart yet, despite being a big fan of the TV show. I orginally was going to pass on it because the trailers made it look awful, but some recent critiques of the film I've read online have me thinking it might not be so bad. A Byrd Theatre viewing at the very least.
- Incredible Hulk I'm still not sure about. I was never a huge fan of the character and I still haven't seen the Ang Lee version from just a few summers ago. Then again, it does have Liv Tyler in it...Mmmmmm...
- Wall-E. I love Pixar movies, so this is high up on my too-see list as well.
- Don't Mess With The Zohan. Was this any good? Did anybody actually see it?
- The trailers for Wanted make it look like the most bad ass movie ever made, and by all accounts I've read, it is pretty kickass.
- Hancock. Will Smith. Drunken, homeless superhero. This movie pretty much writes itself. It looks fun too.
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army looks like the most visually stunning film of the summer. Cool costumes abound in the trailers, and I like Guillermo del Toro's filmmaking style as he displayed in Pan's Labyrinth. (Awesome film, see it if you haven't yet.) My only hesitation here is that I wasn't entirely enamored with the first Hellboy film. It was good but not great...
So, I'm looking for opinions here. Which of these is worth shelling out $9 for at the theatre, which is a $2 Byrd viewing, what's a Netflix rental, and what should be avoided at all costs? And for the love of all the gods and goddesses in all the heavens, please no recommendations for The Love Guru... ;)
- Location:The Lobby, getting myself a snack...
- Mood:
curious - Music:The "Get Smart" theme song...
Adrienne, your father was a hamster and your mother smells of elderberries.
Don't make me taunt you a second time!
...
Now let's wait and see if she's reading...
- Location:Right behind you
- Mood:
mischievous - Music:"Shot In The Dark" by Ozzy Osbourne
1. My friend Maggie and her boyfriend Greg are about to move to San Francisco and are having a going away party at their apartment in DC.
Plusses: potential to see lots of friends in DC area, drinks will be served
Minus: I have to drive to Philly on Sunday for a 3-day training class and don't know if I'm going to be up for roadtripping back from DC and then going right back up the next day...
2. My cousin is having a barbecue at his place in Gloucester that night too.
Plusses: I've never seen his house even though he and his wife have lived there for a few years now, my aunt and uncle who I like alot might be there, free food!!
Minus: More roadtripping, though not quite as far, and I won't know anybody there outside of my family members...
3. Our friend Stu has commented that he would like to come down here from DC that night so we can go over to Ipanema like we did last night and hang out with Cynthia the bartender again.
Plusses: local fun, good times with friends
Minus: Not really a minus but Stu hasn't confirmed he's coming for sure, and with news of Maggie's party today, I have a feeling we might get ditched for that (since Maggie is Stu's fiancee's friend...and she's got a good firm grip on Stuey's...hands...)
So, other than "Choice D: None of the Above," I'm still unsure of which activity to commit to between now and next Saturday...
Any input from the Peanut Gallery?
- Location:someplace cool and comfortable
- Mood: bored
- Music:"Don't Dream It, Be It" from Rocky Horror Picture Show
So, I've had a lot to drink tonight, and I'm still drinking as I type this. Suffice to say, I'm very drunk, and I'm doing my best to watch my typing and make sure I make some semblence of sense. I've had a bunch on my mind lately, and I figure it's a perfect time to return to LJ, which I had always intended to be my outlet for random ramblings and ventings...
1. I went out tonight with friends. Three guys and 2 girls. Guess who went home alone. Me. As usual. I don't know what it is about me, but I seem to do a great job of making women totally ambivalent about me. I'm kind of shy and awkward around girls anyway, but even with a little alcohol-fueled courage, I still can't seem to work up the ability or charisma to make a girl give a damn about me. It's incredibly depressing, and opens the door for a little self-pity. Well, more than a little. There's a reason why I'm still drinking at 3 in the morning...
2. MST3K makes me happy. As I type this, I have an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on, and it's really, really cheering me up. I can't explain it, but the goofy humor of MST3K always manages to cheer me up.
3. I need a hug. Bad.
4. I've been angry a lot lately. Random little things, such as bad exchanges with someone in public or at work, have been pissing me off a lot more than usual lately. I let things stick with me more than I should. As I type this, I really want to punch somebody and I can't fully explain why.
5. I miss my friend Tacey a lot. She's had a rough time in her personal life and I really wish I could give her the hug I really need...
6. Vote Obama!!
7. Okay, I'm not feeling quite so pugnacious now...
8. Though I am a little horny...
9. I enjoy pr0n. It never judges me.
10. Heavy metal helps me exorcise my aggression.
11. Did I mention I'm drunk...
12. I really feel like watching that scene in RoboCop where Peter Weller gets all his limbs blown off...
13. Redheads and Asian chicks are hot...
14. I think Robert Downey Jr. would be great as Sherlock Holmes...
15. Have you ever googled yourself?
16. The Cure really did record the greatest album ever...
17. MAAAAAAAAAAAAARKKKK!!!
18. I once watched a man die on a motorcycle in an accident....
19. Jim Carrey is a better actor than people give him credit for...
20. The Godfather is the single greatest movie ever made...
21. though David Lynch's DUNE is still my personal favorite...
22. Are you ready for some football?
23. I wish I could live my life over again knowing what I know now...
24. Did I mention I'm horny?
- Location:My big, wide, lonely office
- Mood: horny
- Music:"Darling Nikki" from Prince & The Revolution
I also have gotten great amusement out of my apartment complex's newest residents- cats! Or as the flyer my complex sent around referred to them as- "feral cats." I'm not quite sure what makes them feral. I haven't seen them chasing down and eating any gazelle or small children. They're just homeless. They actually seem skittish around people. I haven't had any problems with them, anyway*. I'll spot them out in the parking lot every now and then and they just kind of frolic and pounce on the occasional tuft of grass. I think they're cute. Though I'm worried because said flyer also referred to "solutions being worked on" for getting rid of them. Last night I saw one of the cats get chased off by a dog roaming the parking lot. I swear that better not be their "solution." I doubt it, really, but I also wouldn't put that past them either. This could get ugly...
*- As long as they keep their distance from me. Being allergic to cats, or as I usually refer to them as- "death merchants"- I need to stay away from them. But I can tolerate them as long as they honor my imaginary treaty.
- Location:My couch...and this is where I'm staying...
- Mood: relaxed
- Music:"Cat People" by David Bowie
1. A compilation of clips aptly titles "Steven Seagal Vs. Testicles"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3xfaQ9Lt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdTUMWzOW
- Location:Far away from Seagal's crotch kick
- Mood: amused
- Music:"Balls To The Walls" by Accept
The Cure played the Patriot Center last Friday, the 9th, up in Fairfax. I had a super long day that day because it started in Grand Rapids, MIchigan, where I had to attend a big regional meeting for Coke and give a presentation (which went well, thankfully). Then I had to make my way via plane from Grand Rapids to Detroit and then on to Dulles. Made it back without a hitch, kicked around Fairfax some before the show, headed into the arena about 7 and caught the opening act, 65 Days Of Static at 8. They were...okay. They ripped through a 30-minute set in which every song was an instrumental. They rocked out, though some lyrics would have been nice. Still, they held the fort nicely while people shuffled in and out, ticket in one hand trying to find their seat, beer or wine in the other hand.
The Cure came on just a little after 9 and started with some of their more downtempo, atmospheric material like "Plainsong" and "Prayers For Rain." During "Prayers," Robert got in touch with his inner-Celine Dion and belted out the word RAIIIIIIIIINNNNN at the top of his lungs and for about a good 10-15 seconds. Maybe even longer. It seriously sounded like he went on forever with that one note. I was extremely impressed, considering Robert is more generally known for his hair than his voice.
Let me talk about Robert for a second too. To most people, The Cure is Robert and Robert is The Cure. Watching the show at the Patriot Center, I saw a band that was probably the most cohesive and together unit I have ever seen. Porl, Jason, and Simon were all on the same page as Robert the whole night. But you couldn't escape the cult of personality that has formed around Robert. The crowd just had their eyes on him the whole night, cheering and applauding every little thing he did, whether it was nailing a guitar part or something as simple as taking a step back from the microphone.
For the rest of the nearly THREE HOUR concert, the Cure rocketed through some lesser known songs like "M" and "To Wish Impossible Things" as well as all their big hits, such as "Friday I'm In Love," "Love Song," "Lovecats," and "Just Like Heaven." The last one provided a great moment as the entire crowd sang along word for word and note for note. The band even pulled out three encores and whipped out "Grinding Halt," one of their earliest songs and a song which just kicks ass live.
Now let me come to my one complaint about the evening. The people. Drunk, stupid and happy, almost everyone around me looked to be having a great time. But they showed their support for the band by...sitting...for almost the whole show. They fucking sat there! If you've never seen The Cure live, you may be surprised to find that they are one of the most energetic shows you'll ever see. I know when I'm at a Cure show, I can't sit still. As the evening goes on, I just get wrapped up in the music more and more and more. A Cure concert is, for me, the closest thing I'll ever come to a religious experience as I just lose myself for three hours in their music. So, it was VERY hard to have to sit there because everyone of the morons around me wouldn't get up. It wasn't until the end of the show that they finally got up and stayed there, including for all 3 encores. I had been forced to tap my feet and bop my head and pretty much look like I was having an epileptic seizure in my seat up until then. It really pissed me off the whole show. I posted here at LJ a few months back at how annoyed I was at the Goths at the Birthday Massacre concert for just standing there, but at least they STOOD! The people in Fairfax just sat there! I had been up and going since 6 in the morning and had to travel 3 states to even got TO the show but I kept going the whole night and then drove the 2 1/2 hours back to Richmond after the show, getting home around 3 AM. Lazy fucks! Fuck you Fairfax!! FUCK. YOU.
*Phew*
Now that I got that annoyance off my chest, I'll skip over calling out the people who DIDN'T go with me and just say that everyone of you missed an awesome show, not to mention the world premiere of 3 new songs...
And how fitting, as I finish typing this, the video for the Cure's "Charlotte Sometimes" just came on TV...nice...
- Location:Home again
- Mood:
bouncy - Music:"Charlotte Sometimes" by The Cure
First things first- all Virginia drivers- BEWARE!!! My 80 year old father just had his license renewed! Those MENSA-members that run the DMV gave him the greenlight to keep driving legally. My mom keeps the keys away from him and he doesn't really seem to have a desire to actually drive anywhere, but it was a big point of pride for him to retain his license. The man has been driving longer than most of my friends' PARENTS have been alive! o_O
Okay, now for some fun. Goofy little list I put together mainly to give myself an excuse to post the most awesome novel cover (and title) I've ever seen!
My Top 10 Things To Do Before I Die (as of May 2008):
10. See every episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I have all the episode that have been released legally on DVD, but there are so many that have been unreleased, I never thought I would get to see them all. However, thanks to the wonders of the internet, specifically YouTube, I have been able to watch almost all the unreleased episodes. I only need to track down someplace to watch Black Scorpion, Gamera, Gamera Vs. Birugon, Gamera Vs. Gaos, Gamera Vs. Zigra, and Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster. Those are the only ones not on YouTube(that I can find anyway...).
9. Have sex while sober. Staying sober is easy. Getting laid has been less easy these last few years. But someday, someway, I dream of once again combining the two. I remember when I remembered the sex the next day...
8. Destroy All Monsters. Because someone has to...
7. Find some way to work the expression "Beyond Thunderdome" into an actual conversation, but without referencing the film (this is another MST3K reference, btw).
For example:
Jason: "Man we really screwed up that Thunderdome fiasco."
Me: "Oh, can't we get beyond Thunderdome?"
6. Make it back to the gym I'm paying $49 a month for. Someday...someday...
5. Finally get a copy of Deathstalker I & II on DVD. I keep getting outbid on eBay. I came the closest today, losing a copy of both movies in one set for only a cent. Yes, both movies are atrocious but I have a bizarre fondess for them, especially the second one.
4. Skydiving. Someday...someday...
3. Have kids. No joke here. I seriously would just love to have kids someday. I think I would make an awesome dad...now I just need to convince somebody I would make an awesome husband...
2. I have a large stack of books to read and I plan on getting to all of them eventually. But if I only read one more book before I die, it MUST BE THIS ONE:
and my #1 thing to do before I die:
1. See the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl. No, there's not much I can do to actually facilitate this happening, but I'll be damned if I die beforehand. I don't care if I have to live until I'm 110, articifically prolonging my life by feasting on the pineal glands of small children, I WILL live long enough to see them do it. Someday...someday...
And that's my list. Funny? Stupid? Too far beyond Thunderdome?
- Location:Beyond Thunderdome
- Mood: chipper
- Music:"I Wish You Were A Beer" by the Cycle Sluts From Hell
THEN, last week I got a new letter from Progressive asking for an additional $171!! I freaked out and e-mailed my insurance agent right away asking what the heck was going on because suddenly my car insurance was the most expensive it's ever been! She got back to me saying that according to Progressive, a speeding ticket I got last summer was now being counted against me, causing the increase. WTF??!!
So I called Progressive myself today and the woman I got was very nice (I hate when they're nice, it makes it hard to yell at them...) as she ran through all the things I'm now being charged extra for because of ONE speeding ticket from last summer. I'm now listed as "more likely to hit someone," "more likely to cause a fatality," "more likely to collide with someone at a faster speed," etc. These are exact quotes!!! She basically stopped short of saying I was a menace to society because of ONE FUCKING SPEEDING TICKET!! The only blemish on my record for the last 4 years! It wasn't even a reckless driving ticket, I was going 71 in a 60...
Aargh! I'm still pissed. Thankfully, so is my agent who is shopping around trying to get me another quote from other companies because even she thinks Progressive are being dicks for no particular reason...
A couple side notes:
- I got my left ear re-pierced. I had it pierced for about 10 years before taking it out and letting the earhole close a couple years' back. I always kind of missed having it pierced, and decided to head over to this exclusive little boutique at the mall called Claire's (you may have heard of it) and had them puncture my earlobe all over again. I have a white gold stud in there now, but hopefully I can get back soon to wearing the silver hoop I wore in there for a decade. I like the way that looks better...
- For anybody who reads my LJ (all 2 of you...maybe 3...) I went this past weekend to see my grandmother. She is in bad shape, basically being catatonic due to the strokes, her cataracts, her Alzheimers, and her age. My mom and uncle and I are debating what to do with her exactly but I think we're leaning towards bringing her to a retirement home in Farmville where my Mom can keep a better eye on her. We'll see. It was rough seeing her like that. I went back out to the car and took a nap for 90 minutes while my Mom stayed with her because I just couldn't handle it... :(
- Location:Angryville. Population: Me
- Mood:
pissed off - Music:"Cars" by Gary Numan
So, I've now put the work away for the night, have turned on a lamp, and am grooving out to some more upbeat music. (Imogene Heap at the moment, Gary Numan's "Cars" before that...)
Anyway, a few bits and pieces about what's been going on in my life...
- My grandmother is apparently doing okay despite having the world come crashing down around her a few days ago. The doctors want to operate on her coratid arteries to remove some plaque and try and prevent anymore strokes, but all told she is doing about as well as an 86-year old woman can in her condition. My Mom is even putting off going back to visit her another day or two, which tells me that things must be alright with her.
- My Mom and I are talking to each other after not talking for over a week. We got into a nasty argument last week that resulted in me hanging up on her and nothing being said since then. She didn't even call to tell me about Granny, Dad did. But after I called her and talked to her about it some, she seems to have defrosted a little. Which is a start I guess. I'll know she's grown up and gotten over it when she starts returning my "I Love You's" with more than silence...
- I had to spend almost 3 hours in a dentist chair yesterday getting a temporary crown put on the same tooth where I had the root canal done a few weeks back. The permanent one will be in in 3 weeks or so, so I have this shiny metal one for right now. Thankfully it's in the back so you can't see it. Though I can't help but feel this is the beginning of my transformation into being more machine than man... :P
- I'm beginning to think more and more that Richmond is not in my longterm residential plans. I've been looking in the paper and online for things to try and go out and do to relieve my boredom and meet some more people in this town besides Jason...and so far I have yet to find anything of even remote interest. *Sigh* I'm finding Richmond is the kind of town to raise a family in, not be a young single male. It didn't help that I was just out in Los Angeles where Tacey and I had so many choices of things to do that we almost had to flip a coin some evenings. I felt spoiled...
- Location:Anywhere But Here
- Mood: restless
- Music:"Mad World" by Tears For Fears
Earlier this morning my Dad called me to tell me that my Grandmother was in the hospital. For an 86-year old woman in the middle stages of Alzheimers, this didn't terribly surprise me. What did upset me was HOW she ended up in the hospital. She apparently had TWO strokes AND a heart attack, then fell and hit her head, which resulted in a concussion. I mean, how does all that happen to one person at one time?!?!?!
My mom is with her at the hospital in Wytheville right now. When I spoke to her a little while ago, she said my grandmother is doing okay for the most part, though she's having some trouble with her eyesight and her Alzheimers has left her confused. Mom was upset because as of 2 PM today, she had yet to see a doctor come around.
Mom's also going back to Farmville tonight, which tells me that despite how serious it all sounds, Granny is expected to pull through okay. Nobody has mentioned the word "funeral" yet, at any rate. Granny is a tough old bird too. There's a reason why I always referred to her as the "Battleaxe." She's too mean to go down that easily...
- Location:By the phone
- Mood: worried
- Music:"Mama I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne
Today, I get an envelope in the mail from the Passport service. At first I'm all excited and thinking "Awesome! That was fast!" Then I open up the envelope and it's my old passport, all the paperwork I filled out, and my check, along with a note explaining that they were being sent back to me because my "payment was insufficient." It goes on to state that the fee is now $75 for a passport renewal. Ok, that's great and all, but if that's the case then how about you UPDATE YOUR FUCKING FORMS!!!!!! I can't believe I'm the only person that has had this happen to them. So, now I have to pay another $4-5 to mail this stuff back to them along with a new check for $75. Idiots and assholes! *grumble, grumble*
- Location:Running for the border
- Mood: annoyed
- Music:"Money" by Pink Floyd
- Location:Mos Eisley
- Mood: content
- Music:Darth Vader Imperial March
- Location:The Office
- Mood: ecstatic
- Music:"Working For The Weekend" by Loverboy
