Although I generally use this blog for other things, occasionally, I can't resist the occasional "what I've been doing" post.
I really had a blast this weekend. I went over to Iowa City and got together with a bunch of college friends (and new friends, too).
We cooked out on Sunday at Lake McBride. The weather couldn't have been better. It reminds me of the old college days where we would grill out just about every week.
I have somewhat of a reputation for knowing everyone, which was only furthered as I ran into somewhere there I knew (even over 100 miles from home).
It was really a fun weekend, which included Jenga, Hu Hot (Mongolian grill chain restaurant), a bunch of movies (of course) including watching Jim Jeffries (funny, but rather wrong, worth checking out, talking to people like garbagecanmusic here), interesting stores, a lot of good food, and a lot of good drinks. There was even karaoke, though most of us didn't go (although it actually sounded like they had fun),
My friend is in graduate school, so a lot of international flavor, interesting discussions, and great food. Also, some longtime friends, so it is always fun to swap television and music recommendations.
The whole thing had the aura of a mini-vacatrion, and a real good way to recharge the batteries.
- Music:Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
- Mood:
old and in the way
I have been busy, but had a great weekend.
By cosmic consequence, college friend B was in town for conference. Also JM & KI came over from Iowa City and stayed the weekend.
What we like is predictable, but nothing wrong with that - Chinese Buffet (we hit both of my town's), drink (Wild Turkey, Guinness, and Argentinan beer- the local boozeatorium rocks), PC gaming (PC gaming is dying, but Left4Dead is a pretty awesome game- first person shooter with zombies), movies (Vince Vaughn's Wild West Show, Ocean's Thirteen and whatever the hell that new Keanu Reeves movie was), shopping (barnes & Noble, Best Buy, World Market) and wrestling (Ric Flair compilation on DVD).
We had a freak snow storm on Sunday, but it came and went pretty fast.
We took B to one of the local brew pubs downtown, which was a blast.
We came home and JM and I had one of those soul-seeking conversations that you can only have after $5-Martini night.
B lives in Alabama now, so I hadn't seen him in probably 3 years. His work buddy was cool, too.
I hate to bore you with details, but it was one of those epic weekends, and I had a lot of fun.
- Music:Pavement - Brighten the Corners
To paraphrase my personal hero Kanye, the biggest regret I have is that I will never read my posts on my Friends Page before I have written them.
I would say my posts about my bowling scores are probably the 4th most important thing on the internet (Drudge, Daily Kos and Perez Hilton are the top 3, natch).
I ain't going to say I'm better in Obama in everything, but I am better than him in bowling (and without making special olympics slams either).
Tonight was the best game I have ever bowled- a 181, Seven frames in a row with either a strike or spare. Only one frame all game in which I didn;t get a strike or a spare.
My scores for the night were 130, 119 and 181, because I have the reflexes of Dr. Johnny Fever.
Okay, now you have read about my bowling scores, you are free to go.
- Mood:
drunk - Music:REM - Accelerate
I have got this all through my life. In high school, this guy used to call me "Morton", because I looked like the guy in Less than Zero (You know? Morton Downey Jr).
The three I have got the most in life are John Cusack, Rob Schneider, and Vince Gill
Interesting combination that.
- Music:Marc Almond & Bronski Beat - "I Feel Love"
They put on the announcement board at work that I passed my PHR exam.
I am not a big fan of public recognition, so I could have done without that.
Of course, the fun is people guessing what they think PHR is. Still, no one has done better than my friend Sarah who suggested Pooh Hurling Regulator.
Anyway, I'm getting a lot of congratulatory e-mails, which reminds me....
No one here congratulated me. Oh, I post "the Ketchup song" and I get a bunch of comments, but I pass an exam that requires two years of experience, and passing a 225 question test, and... nothing.
A test that has a pass rate of only 67%. One-third of the people who take it fail. A certification that less than 100,000 people in the US have,. A certitifcation that .0005% of my state's population has.
..and you didn't congratulate me.
That does it. I am out of here.
- Mood: drunk
- Music:Interpol- Antics
I guess I have to admit that I will always be a face (good guy), and not a heel (bad guy). Oh, I might wear out my welcome, and become a bad guy years from now (see Hollywood Hogan), i guess I have to deal with it.
I am a face, not a heel. I am the "American Dream, Son of a Plumber", not the "Dirtiest Player in the game". I am "Hustle Loyalty Respect" not "The Rated R Superstar". I am "Yes We Can" not You're either with us or your against us".
Anyway, this was the idea, but I didn't channel my inner arrogant bastard. More "Welcome my friends to the show that never ends" than "Get a look at Greatness".
Oh well, you don't get your gimmick down overnight.
- Music:Echo & the Bunnymen - What are you going to do with your life?
I passed my PHR certification exam. Now, I have teh letters behind my name.
I am a certified Pooh Hurling Regulator. It's all those unlicensed Pooh Hurling Regulators that are hurting our sport.
- Mood:
cold - Music:Billy Bragg - Don't try this at home
I finally decided to retire my winter jacket.
For those of you know me, you probably saw me in it. Even if you are thinking "I haven't seen Al Bedsitter in ten years": Yes, you probably saw me wear it.
It was equal parts John Constantine and Lt. Columbo, and I loved it muchly. Hell, I probably should have retired it a few months ago.
Anyway, for my next jacket, I took a cue from Ian McCulloch. Not because he's fashionable (he is), but it's gawddamn cold where we live.
- Mood: cold
- Music:Nick Lowe - Dig My Mood
It wouldn't be the end of the year without the post the first line of the first (unfiltered) entry from each month this year meme.
I do a slight twist on this. Here's the jist of the posts from the first day of each month.
January: The year begins with a website RuinRomo.com which suggested that teams playing the Dallas Cowboys should print off Jessica Simpson masks, as Romo slumped when Jess was in the stands. Mitt Romney is less than a mile and a half from my house. I have a date. (Looking back, though there were high expectations all around, the Cowboys, Romney, and me all fared poorly)
February: "I was in a sports bar for the last four hours, and I swear I heard "Laid" by James three times".
March: "For Iowa, the typical snowfall in the winter season is 26 inches. We have had 48 inches as of a week ago". I also posted an appreciation of the trainwreck tv show Moment of Truth.
April: I survive April Fool's Day unscathed "Sure, someone taped the bottom of my optical mouse, so it didn't work. To my credit, I figured this out in about 30-45 seconds. Also, one of the girls who work for me sent an e-mail that she was pregnant (less effective since she did it last year."
May: news of a WWE scandal where talent scout and wrestling legend Michael Hayes acted like an idiot racist. Also Morrissey just was on Craig Ferguson
June: An assortment of memes that indicate what we all know: My love life is like Annie Hall, and I am Oscar the Grouch.
August: I posted appreciations of Chuck D, Coolio, and Curry Man.
September: I was back after seeing the Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis.
October: I was back from Chicago and reviewing the Helios Creed concert. Also, Sarah Palin, when asked what magazines she read, responded "all of them".
November: Joe the Plummer was making the most of his 15 mins with book and CD deals.
December: I was back from going home for Thanksgiving and the weather was bad "I wish I had kept track of all the cars in the ditch. I would have to say I say there were thirty."
- Music:REM -Accelerate
One of my associates, S (who generally makes my life better on a daily basis anyway) told me of a way to get St. Louis that cuts through Ottumwa, Iowa, that takes about an hour off of the trip.
I am impressed, seriously. It is 65mph and 4 lanes most of the way. It doesn't go through many towns, and the only real traffic is the outskirts of St. Louis (70/270)..
Even on Labor Day weekend, it didn't feel like there wasn't much traffic (I bet I couldn't have said that about I-80).
Anyway, lately, I have that malaise that can only be cured by a trip out of town, or playing the electric side of Rust Never Sleeps at full blast.
So, much needed and a good time. More posts to come, natch.
- Music:The Durutti Column - Sunlight to Blue ... Blue to Blackness
Well, I have always struck to a strict policy of 'no choreographed dancing'.
Now, for the last month or so, I have stepped it up.
Yep. I carpool.
I drive about 20 miles one way, and I have a guy I work with who lives close and works basically the same hours.
I have to admit cars are damned convenient. I had to make a few changes. I stick around the cafeteria on days I don't drive, when I normally would take off to a local restaurant.
Overall, though, I am pretty happy about this. Less money spent on gas. Less mileage on the car. Yeah, this isn't too bad.
- Music:The Tears- Here Comes The Tears
Ah those summer memories- watching the Olympics, drinking ice tea, and blowing your nose.
Unfortunately, "how sick actually are you" is probably 5th or 6th on the list of considerations before I take a day off work.
Oh, and 'marked drowsiness' is one of my favorite phrases ever.
I ordered the UFC PPV on Saturday - Brock Lesnar is a beast of a man. He's going to be tough to beat. However, his fighting technique is lacking. Sure, he was a college wrestler, but he hasn't quite adapted to the ufc style. I am not quite convinced it.
Shame, as I like Heath Herring, who ironically enough dresses a bit like the Undertaker, and comes out to "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".
Lesnar won an unanimous decision, and acted like a WWE star afterwards (UFC fighters are probably 95% of the time, very gracious to the other fighter).
It was a great card. Kudos to the UFC.
I had sniffles on Saturday. By Sunday, my butt was kicked. I vaguely remember bits of a road race whilst knocked out on Benadryl.
Monday and Tuesday were bad. The last two days have been better.
- Mood:
sick - Music:The Strokes - Room On Fire
1992: I shake hands with Bill Clinton. Clinton is the first Democrat to win the Presidential race in 16 years.
1996: Clinton is re-elected
2000: I do not come into contact with Al Gore. Controversy results in Dems losing the electoral vote and the White House
2004: I see John Kerry, but do not shake his hand. The Republicans keep the White House.
2008: I shake hands with Barrack Obama. Obama goes on to win Democrat Primary. Leads in National polls. ????????
- Music:Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
So, where has 34 years on this planet got me?
Seventh row seats on WWE Smackdown.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Tony Stewart, Busta Rhymes, and Cher!!
- Mood: old and in the way
- Music:Old 97's - Alive and Wired
We did our monthly supervisor lunch today at one of the local Mexican restaurants.
So, since my birthday is next week, I got serenaded by the wait-staff.
I also got to wear a hat like this:
It was surprisingly heavy, but admittedly stylish (like something out of a Rocket From the Crypt video).
Also, I got a complimentary tequilla shot, which was of no use when I had my boss and my boss's boss there.
It was okay and it still beats what BE had done to him. His girlfriend hired a clown. The clown gave him a back massage (which was as creepy - actually probably more - than it sounds).
- Music:Jarvis Cocker- Jarvis
It can only be the latest recap of "What I've been journaling about..."
- Music:REM- Accelerate
I take my cues from Greg Graffin.
Insert "40% Longer" joke here.
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- Music:Interpol - Antics
Tagged by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
puffdoggydaddy
a. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
b. Tag seven people to do the same.
c. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it".
Okay you got me.
1. I am often not seen without a caffeinated beverage in my hand (coffee or diet coke)
2. I play alot of sports-themed video games. I am nothing, if not a Mark Cuban wannabe. When I play with others, I generally like cooperative military games like Ghost Recon and Command and Conquer:Generals.
3. I am a supervisor in an inbound Call Center. Oddly, I do like it.
4. I am a packrat, though I am trying harder not to be. My apartment is small, and they move us around a lot at work.
5. I could eat hamburgers every day (and often do).
6. I am a prodigious internet surfer and all-around pop culture know-it-all. I'm generally first in the know.
7. I am very much a spendthrift, so when it comes to new technology,Ii generally am the last on the scene.
I only have about seven people who read this journal on anything resembling a regular basis. So if you're reading, and want to do this, then you're tagged (no pressure from me, ha ha).
- Music:Richard Hell - Funhunt
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