Birthday loot!

Mar 28, 2000

Got Story of the Ghost, a terrific Phish CD for my B'day from the Bohls. Probably my favorite Phish CD, a lot of thought and sound work went into this one. I'm very pleased... (Also got some keen smelling insense, Musk, cedar and another sweet-smelling one, to deflect stinky catbox.) I really did well. Looking forward to Stomp in two weeks, Disney in three. Ack... I need more time to gather my money after blowing so much indescriminately this last weekend. Official story 'helping a pal out with a blown transmission' (but I also tossed about $300 on partying away, too.) Ah well, broke is broke.

Recent stuff.

Mar 28, 2000

All sorts of goodies have happened recently. Met some lovely girls in the last week or so. A good trend, and I certainly hope that it continues. E & A both work at an art theatre witihin a reasonable bus trip from my house. E is pretty, very charismatic and quite outgoing, willing to strike up a conversation at the drop of a hat. Made showing up early and getting stood up by the Emage crowd quite a pleasant experience, conversing with the both of them. A is more seemingly more knowledgeable, has a beautiful smile and fun wise-ass sense of humor. (I hope it continues to be fun... that sort of thing can get old if that's all a person can do, but I think she's pretty cool thus far.) In my pursuit of E, I begin to suspect that A is more my type. That night at the theatre, we all talked for about an hour before the movie began. (Rear Window... Great on the Big Screen, BTW). I shared pocky and cherry coke with the when the power went out, and got to spend a little more time talking with them. I went out with Cathi & Dave yesterday to see Ghost Dog (another really keen flick, I'm really beginning to love that theatre.) and A was there, but no sign of E. I chatted briefly with A, but she didn't seem to remember me much, probably because I was with other folks, instead of solitary. C,D & I went to Thai food after, and I decided to head back to the movies after to catch the green mile, and hopefully catch E's eye, and maybe chat the girls up a bit more. Sadly, E wasn't there, and I arrived just in time to run into the theatre to get going with the movie. I had to step out a couple of times, as I got a Drum of Cherry coke, and the green mile has approximately five urination scenes during it's three-hour length. I got up for that twice, the second time A noticed me, and commented... I replied "Lots of Pee scenes." She thought I said "Lots of Pieces" at first, and I don't even know what she might've thought I meant by that until I clarified. 20 minutes later, I got paged by Suzy. (Man, does she have Radar, or what?!?) And called her on the pay phone. A was still sitting on the bench there, looking a little sad, but I didn't have the wherewithal to talk to her after gabbing with Suzy about email for 5-10 min of my movie-time. I returned to the theatre, and when I emerged at the close, A had gone home. No guts, no Glory, Scotto. I am determined now to talk with A and get her digits, now. I went out with Dan on Saturday, and met 2 great gals too... S, who looked a little too much like Brittany Spears for my taste, and R, who I'm totally taken with. Absolutely beautiful. 5'11" in flats, in her heels she was about 1 inch shorter than me, and all in proportion. Short 'Dorothy Hammill' haircut, brunette, narrow build but completely feminine. Knows quite a bit about pseudoscience and quackery, which is a nice break from the new-agey oddness I seem to end up talking with when I go out and about. (Might explain why I find her nearly irrisistable, beauty, grace, height, intelligence, and common sense. If she has any tragic flaws, they're well hidden.) I fully intend on pursuing her more in-depth. The only downside of recent days was that yesterday I'd have liked to get together with emage-folk, but I didn't hear from them until late in the day (like 5/6ish) and I was already well into the hanging out with Bohl's, so that was out. Hopefully they're not offended, but I don't imagine so. They have an agenda of their own, and I'm only really included on the weekends.

Papal Apology

Mar 16, 2000

The Pope apologized for all the sins of the Catholic church. Listen, Pope, after the school girl outfits you guys invented, I can look past a few crusades, witch hunts, and inquisitions. Don't focus on the negative things. I say next time you need to give a speech, don't even mention that stuff, and just have 2 or 3 hundred of your 17-year-old female students come on stage and do aerobics. Even if they had panties on, it'd be a better apology than some half-dead mumbling in a language I don't speak.

The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

Mar 11, 2000

Chicken Littles or at least, those with the brains of chickens are scooting frantically about trying to warn us all that on May 5 of this year, The World Will End. They predict earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic activity, flooding and even ice-cap meltage on a vast scale (or, as they tend to put it, "Earth changes", which is a term broad enough that it covers anything, pretty much, which of couse allows them to seem accurate). The reason, according to them, is that several planets in our solar system will be more or less in alignment, a pretty darn uncommon event in almost all circumstances. This alignment (or syzygy) will include our own Moon, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and will actually encompass a little over 25 degrees of arc, which really isn't that significant to begin with. This alignment, according to the pebble-brained catastrophists, will result in huge gravitational tidal forces, which will of course result in... yep, "Earth changes". Never mind the fact that the computer terminal at which you sit as you read this exerts more gravitational influence on you than Jupiter does. There are plenty of idiots out there panicking over this, and when nothing happens, they won't learn anything; they'll find something new to panic about.

Thoughts on the 'Good Old Days'

Mar 1, 2000

In China, they used to force intellectuals to spend a year toiling in the rice paddies and doing the People's Work. There is something to be said for that. Particularly if the People's Work turns out to be surprisingly rich and fulfilling. I think that's important... it seems to me that folks these days are more interested in the quick dollar and not too focused on what (in my mind, anyhow) should be more important. Quality of life and seeing new things in the world around you. I swear, these last few weeks, I've been thinking about things, and the reflections have been alternately horrible and wonderful. I've come to a realization that I have maybe one potential lifelong friend and even that one is iffy. My other pals will probably move on and fade out, as most people do these days. I partially blame the computer industry, breeding another race of nomads who think that staying at a company for more than 18 months is some form of stagnation. I don't get the mindset at all. I tend to have jobs that last years on end, my longest being 6 years long. (hey I'm only 31... I'm not old enough to have been at the same gig for 25+ yet.) While I'm unsatisfied with my current occupation, I do feel that when I find the one I'm interested in, I'd like to have it locked in place fairly permenantly. I'm the same way about my friends. I feel a certain loss of connection, when I realize that 2 years from now, I might not even know where most of them will be living. I think "Why bother making any connection at all, if it's just going to be severed once you make any progress?" Not only that, but there's a shallowness to some of the friendships that hurts, too. When I'm a friend to someone, I'll help them move a body. I suspect that some folks really can't be bothered to be called on in a personal crisis... and to me, that's what friends are. Someone that will be there for you and offer support, and you can do the same for them. Ah well, I take solace in the fact that I do have someone I can fall back on, and that I'm there for them too. It occurs to me that I don't know where any of the living remainders of my graduating class are anymore, I just hear about it months to years later when they die, usually from accidents. Well, enough whining, on to the good stuff. I take great comfort in knowing that when it comes to relationships of a more intimate nature, I think I have it mostly worked out. I have someone who cares about me, and I care about in a more romantic way, but it's not so close that we stifle each other, and not so distant that the caring is meaningless. A good mix, and not commonly come by. I think the trick is not to be too selfish, whether it's the "What I want comes first" or the "Let me suck your emotions dry" sort of sidekick, of which I've seen way too much of in recent months. It infuriates me when I see someone I know can be civil act like a selfish jerk, at the expense of someone else's well-being, and to someone who they claim to care about at that! I think it's the throwaway, thoughtless stuff that gets folks into the most trouble. That to me is a sign that you really don't love someone... I know that the person I'm with right now is caring, and thinks about what they say to express the right feelings to me, and I make a point of doing the same. Of course, breakdowns in communication can happen, but it can be kept at a minimum. Keeping lines of communication are very important, I've seen at least 2 marriages in recent years break up because they didn't let their partners know what was bothering them until it was too late. Another good sign that the folks are lazy, or at least more prideful than in love is the lack of interest in seeking council of an unbiased third party. I don't mean a friend of the couple, I mean someone trained to help both people get the best result of being together, or apart if that's what's best in the eyes of all involved. Hmm.. rambles. long story short. I'm lucky in love, but not in long term friendships. (outside of love, anyhow).

Dennis Miller Fills in for Scott

Mar 1, 2000

It takes zero politically correct assholes to screw in a light bulb because they are all perpetually in the f*****g dark.