It was just past one but there was an ominous breeze filtering through the white skies on Tuesday. I sat in class and every single pair of eyes looked away watching the snow start to pick up. We knew it was coming but the anticipation was building, a buzz of whispers shooting through the air with the keypad blips of txt messaging and the gentle tapping on lap tops. All focus on class had expired once the snow finally collapsed down from the tight grips of the clouds and slammed onto the waiting campus. Numbers had been thrown out but the crude measurement with a tape measure out in the parking lot as I dodged cars and a stampede of paranoia read the story. 5 ¾ inches. It was just starting, it would reach higher later that night but combine with the below freezing temperatures and icy conditions foretold a scary adventure. It wasn’t the amount of snow that was the concern; it was the icy conditions and horrible road conditions.
I had to make a decision that morning. I knew all too well that these weather conditions were coming. Two weeks ago, I finally put up that old pick up truck that I drove since my accident two months ago and brought (against my initial intentions) a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi (a fucking machine) but instead of driving it that day, I knew my mother would be working downtown into the middle of the afternoon. Instead of letting her drive her old car that has seen better days, I gave her the keys to my brand new truck. Aren’t I a great son?
I finally found my way out through the shuffle of the parking lot. 5,500 students converging onto a one lane road all driving no faster then 15 MPH. It took approximately 35 minutes to travel 2 miles. A slightly longer wait and I made it through the town and reached the express way. The problem with this expressway was simply that it was basically a curvy hill and of course, the road crews hadn’t bothered to get to this specific area. It was coming down strong. Windshield wipers froze almost instantly. The skies fell darker in the early afternoon and the only option was instinct. A 2 lane expressway had become a 5 wide slip and slide Daytona 500 mess. No order can possibly function at these times. The urge of survival kicks in and everyone seeks their own grooves, that secret spot on the road that leads to freedom but instead just arrive to constant frustration.
Soon enough it feels monotonous. You almost adapt to moving like a snail at 20 MPH watching snow hail over your window (snow surf). Of course, there were the jackasses who felt that going faster on ice and snow was the better alternative. The world would be less shitty if these fuck-wads expired. Cars struggled to climb up the hills and I watched them in front of me, a good deal of distance away rock back and forth.
I finally got off that expressway and I felt secure in the rest of my trip home. I still had classes at another school in Middletown, but Middletown is horrendous with road crews and no class is ever worth spending an extra 2-3 hours there then I already am. I finally got home. What was usually just 20 minutes took two hours. I was already dressed to stay home and take in the falling snow but I got that phone call that I should have known was coming. I looked down and saw Allison was calling and I knew instantly what it was for. The keys were in my hands by the time I said “Hello”.
She works downtown. Normally its 25 minutes away but I knew better. Not only did I buy myself a new truck but I also brought her a car since hers was a pain to keep fixing up and wasn’t worth the time nor price. It wasn’t anything special. Just a cheap but dependable Saturn that I brought off a guy my father knew. Instead of driving down there, she took the bus because she wanted to save gas money. Usually, I’d applaud that but not in this case. I was off to go “rescue” her. Luckily for me, my mother had just arrived as I was leaving. So I wasn’t forced to fight through that in that old car again. The roads should have improved with a couple hours passed but the road crew had very little effect on the conditions. Although I hated driving in these conditions, I took a slight piece of happiness in this. It was good, if only for confirmation to know that she isn’t completely independant. It’s a fantastic trait but there’s always a time you want to feel like they need you for more then just being a fuck toy.
I arrived at the hotel well after I left the house and the night had already fell but I could see her standing by a door and I was taken aback by the sight of her breaking into a wide smile and doing that thing she does with her tongue when she smiles like that. Took us just as long to get back to my house but the trip home was probably the most, well, fun time I ever had driving 10 MPH on a icy highway with a deluge of pissed off drivers wanting to get home in time to catch American Idol or whatever crappy CBS action show was on.
I’ve always said that winter was the best time of the year and I continue to insist on that. Some think that the heat of the summer, the calmness of fall and the bloom of spring is the best and that can be understood but winter’s freeze creates this complete alternate world where somehow you become warmer against the dark cold nights. The best times of my life were always during the winter months and I’ll always associate snow for happiness. Things just feel good right now and I can hardly believe that a couple entries ago, I was pissed and bitter about life. Yeah, I know these times aren’t always here to stay and that the snow will soon melt and spring will begin.
There’s a lot of resentment around this place. People are so angry and many don’t seem to be willing to change that. Certain people are more obvious then others. I’ve been there, hell just a few weeks ago I was feeling down but there really isn’t a reason to be negative. Sure, the world sucks. Nothing changes and we’re just waiting for death but maybe you should drive in the snow every once in awhile to remember it doesn’t always have to be shitty.
It’s been awhile since I said anything here, so I figured I would update.
The last time I wrote here I was feeling “down” but that’s gone away and I’m doing well right now.
Two weeks ago, I turned 21 which for many is a momentous event but the ideal of turning 21 never quite appealed to me in any way because what’s really the difference between 21 and 20? Nothing, except I can legally purchase alcohol and that’s not exactly something that I care about. The only other advantage it grants me is that I can go to the local casinos.
So that was my 21st birthday "extravaganza". My family, Allison and a couple of our friends went to a riverboat casino in Indiana. We had a seafood dinner which was quite good and after a couple hours of crab legs, we decided to board the boat. Unfortunately, Allison couldn’t come with us since she isn’t 21. She stayed at the room with my mother whom doesn’t care for gambling. It was my father, my brother in law with my sister, Allison’s room-mate Danielle, my cousin Chad whom is seeing Danielle and me.
It was pretty exciting with the long walk way towards the entrance of the boat. My father is a high roller, so he got me comped $500 which was great obviously since I wasn’t gambling my own money. The atmosphere was quite fascinating with a crowd of middle aged chain smokers sitting on stools tightly gripping and fixated by the bright lights of the slots roaring in non-stop unison. The rooms clouded in smoke and smelled of cheap cologne, beer and smashed nachos. Young girls with tightly wrapped hair in cocktail dressed carrying trays of soda, cigarettes and tiny bags of potato chips and peanuts. It was straight out of a 1950’s movie but the modern technology was all over the place.
The tables were full with a great variety. Mustachioed old men leered over at the middle aged mom dealing; the young married men sat impatient looking at the remains of their chips while feeling the sting of their wives in the background. Trashy women sat with fake tans with a cigarette dangling dangerously off the tip of their lips challenging gravity. Wheels spun around in harmony, calls randomly shouted out and gold chains bounced off hairy chests.
I took a seat at a slot machine, just the $0.50 machines and immediately felt relieved that I wasn’t interested in this. My father along with some other family members are chronic gamblers and I was hoping I wouldn’t be caught up in the excitement and addiction of gambling and I wasn't. I played a few spins but mostly took in watching the others win and lose, win again and fail once more. I stopped playing after a few minutes and cashed out with $442 intact. I didn’t win any money that night, well, actually I did since that money wasn’t mine to begin with. It was a good time with the people that actually matter and I didn’t need to drink myself stupid to achieve that.
School restarted and that’s been a welcome distraction but Allison is back at Oxford with her apartment there and I’m taking classes at Middletown again. Our schedules didn’t fuse which has led to more of a stress on phone/IM/Txt system of communication. It’s just a few months anyways, until we move in together. The house is getting smaller and smaller as my parents have already begun the process of moving out.
There has been one negative spot in my life the past couple of weeks and that was the shitty news of finding out my uncle from my mother’s side had lung cancer. I can’t say I’m surprised as I never seen anyone smoke as much as he did. He’s one of the better people involved in my familes , though. It always seems the ones you like get the hard luck while the people you don’t give a shit about catch the breaks. He’s young as well. Just another lesson to learn. I never got why people smoke to begin with. My whole family are smokers aside from myself, my sister and her husband and a couple aunts and cousins here and there but as whole it’s Marbolo country. I’m not against smokers, it’s your body. Do what you want with it, I consume ungodly amounts of caffeine and I’m sure that’s not much worse then smoking. It’s more of the psychological “why would you?” that gets me.
Tonight is the ROYAL RUMBLE. Quite frankly, pro wrestling is in shambles (at least the WWE/TNA) and while I’m content with getting my quality wrestling fix with NOAH and ROH, I’d like to see the mainstream promotions finally do something but that isn’t happening. Despite that, the Rumble is a must see event if only for the Rumble match itself. It’s the perfect people gathering show as the main focus of the show is built on short memory and gives a flood of betting games to play. The winners have been blatantly obvious since they inducted the “Winner goes to WM” clause. This year is hardly any exception with Undertaker, Orton, Michaels and Edge being the only shots. It’d be nice to see a surprise winner such as RVD or Punk win to set up the ECW title match since the winner of the rumble is only given a shot at the title, and not necessarily the “MAIN EVENT”. Marvin getting laid in 2007 is more likely then anyone from ECW winning this event.
I was supposed to do a “2006: Year in Review” for wrestling and my personal life but I figured I covered most of it in the blog over the year and my thoughts on the year in wrestling doesn’t interest anyone enough and I made my opinion known in the TSM Awards anyways.
2006 was good, for all the feelings of uncertainty it started with, I came out okay. I did well at school, I held a pair of good paying jobs over the year and I even managed to have a couple good relationships. Surprising considering the turbulence that 2005 offered but I fulfilled a childhood crush and even though it was short lived, it was good while it lasted. Later that year, I met a really great girl. Quite possibly the “right one”. It’s early, just four months into it but I get a good feeling with this one, a different feeling then the past ashes of love. My sister got married and that was very good to see. My entire family has been well and really, that’s pretty important to know.
The one thing that truly hasn’t altered despite my good fortune this year was the tendency to slip into these periodic waves of depression, shyness or just plain boredom. Lacking focus and ambition. I figure it’s a common sentiment that many here share.
Last night, I rang in the new year at a small intimate party with some of Allison’s friends and while it wasn’t bad, I was just in one of those moods again and she wasn’t particularly happy about it. I took her home and I only slept a couple hours. I woke up about 5:30 and haven’t slept since.
I took in this day off by going to an early movie at the AMC to see The Pursuit Of Happyness. Maybe not the best movie to watch while in a depressed funk but it was alright. Although I wondered why I bothered to come to the movies at 10:30 in the morning, alone. It was virtually empty, aside from a pair of older couples there for the cheap ticket. Allison, is a desk clerk at a hotel and it’s a busy day for her. I didn’t bother to check in with her today and either did she.
I intended to spend this day by watching some movies I got over the holiday break but I didn’t manage that. I spent it primarily here, on AIM and other message boards with a swirl of empty nothingness around me. I watched college football games involving teams that I had no connection nor interest in. I watched another pointless and idiotic episode of Raw, asking “why do I bother?” knowing full well, I’ll be back next week.
The main event for tonight was the classic football game for the ages. Something I wasn’t expecting but for 1 hour and 30 minutes, I was sucked in. The finish was so improbable that I’m still questioning if it really happened, but it did. A series of plays that’ll go down in history as the most incredible and shocking ever kept myself and the nation on its toes. Oklahoma nabs the INT and scores the td and with three attempts, manage to tie the game. With just 50 seconds left, Boise State starts the miracle. Who saw it coming? No one. They pulled off the Hook and Ladder on a 4th and 18. This play has probably worked 20 times in the history of football but if you ask me, tonight might as well been the first time. A stunner. Then Oklahoma sticks a dagger in the heart with an instant TD run by Peterson. Left with nothing to hold onto but the faint hope slipping against disappointment and somehow, they pulled it off once again on a 4th down and instead of getting the easy yard they needed, they went for it and nabbed the TD. Gotta kick the FG. Get another OT. Fuck that. Boise State went for it with the biggest balls ever. On a statue of liberty, another improbable play, they nail the fucking 2pt and win and just to top it off, it ends with the Hollywood finish of a marriage proposal. The most incredulous finish ever. I’ll remember this one for years.
In the process of this event, in the thread about the game, Marvin struck again. Marvin, in the midst of something implausible found the ability to insert his typical brand of banality and ham-fisted arguments.
I get on Marvin a lot, as do many others here. Do I hate Marvin? No. He can be a good enough guy from time to time although those moments are fleeting by the moment as his fervent worship for Baltimore sports reaches new levels. You can’t fault him for that. That is how some people are wired. What gets me about Marvin is that I’m disappointed in him by his actions. This place, as fucked up as it really is, is somehow a family and Marvin is our nutcase bastard cousin. He could be something better. Hell, we all could but especially him. He claims he expected to be the next “WP” and it appears he has accomplished that and I find that ridiculous. Maybe 2007 can change for him. It did for me after-all, in 2006. I might hope the best for him but I’ll keep egging him on because he needs it.
I don’t necessarily believe in resolutions all that much but rather just believe in setting goals. There is a difference between dreams and goals. One is false hope and the other is effort. I’m not 17 anymore. Fate doesn’t exist. You gotta get what you want by getting it. Generic preachy philosophy but it’s accurate.
If I do have any “goals” for 2007, these would be it
1). Escape this depression. I have no reason to be downtrodden, I have more then I could ever hope for and yet, I risk losing it because of this fear or awkwardness.
2). I turn 21 in a few weeks. I always thought by this point in life, I’d have an idea of where I’m going but it’s not happening. I have to find out what I really want in life for myself. Is this it? I’m glad to be a skilled enough person as a mechanic or office worker, there’s always a demand for those types of roles in society but is it what I want? Then again, how many of us ever actually get the thing we want. How the hell do you get it when you can’t even identify it.
3). Get new hobbies. Currently and for the past many years, those hobbies have been wrestling, working on cars or message boarding. I used to read constantly but this was before sports took a hold of me and I stopped. I got over 1,000 books in my office (which is really just my sister’s old room where I store my old shit). I am a creative writing major and Im constantly urged by professors in the department to pursue that avenue deeper and I think about it but wonder if my heart would really be into enough to really make it work.
4). Get new friends. Allison’s friends are good people but they aren’t my friends. I had a group of friends that I once honestly believed would stick around for years but it’s all gone away. An AIM conversation is becoming a rarity now. I can be friendly but trusting people is another matter in itself.
2007 could be anything. Everything really is possible, even the impossible. Just ask Boise State.
The car situation hasn’t really been figured out, yet. I’m still looking around and haven’t found anything that I want just yet. I’m borrowing a pick up that my father had, and usually just riding with Allison. I figure I’ll lock down on a new car before the fucking ball drops next week.
I’ve said many times around this place that I adore and fucking love the holiday/winter season. However, it hasn’t felt like winter. It’s regularly 65 degrees here and that’s just wrong. I need that chill down my spine as I feel the breeze creep into the house, or see my breath hang in the air as I walk to the shop, or feel the crunch of the powder white snow collapsing against the ice. I don’t want to be working outside in jeans and a t-shirt. I don’t want to see girls walking around in something that isn’t an adorable sweater or jacket with rosy cheeks. The holiday season hasn’t felt like the holidays, not remotely. There’s not a shred of “joy” or “cheer” throughout the land. Just a mass mess of consumerism walking around looking for some stupid ass Video Game System to make our children grow fatter, lazier and more incompentant at anything other then Left, Right, Down, Up, Left, B, Select, Right, Down, A, Right, Up.
Yesterday, I had my mother’s family to deal with. Ironically enough, as a child, I couldn’t find these people endearing. I got older and despite their increased obnoxiousness, I can handle them easier nowadays. Although, we hold these xmas gatherings at my cousin’s house and I get it, “Your Rich!”, seriously. They had a entertainment system that Marvin would have whipped his untouched dick out and jacked feverishly. TV’s don’t need to be 70 inches wide and 18 feet high. I received about $300 in gift cards from Best Buy, Target, Restaurants and Barnes and Noble. I don’t enjoy getting cards because of the lack of sentiment attached but given that I know none of these people aside from these family gatherings, I can excuse them for it. What I dislike is that given the size of the family, each person is given a list of 12 people to buy for (not including the boy/girl-friends, you have to be family or married/engaged into it) Everyone has a different list and somehow, everyone gets the same # of gifts, other then my grandmother whom usually gets about 30 pointless gifts. I just got her a gift card to Cracker Barrel since she likes that shit.
Allison skipped this one because we agreed to just do one side for each family and she had to work last night. That’s a shame, she fits in more with my mother’s side then she does with my father’s side and she’ll join me tonight for that one. My father’s side is incredibly boring. Nothing happens, it’s the same conversations, same jokes and this time it’ll consist of less random syllables spoken during the Bengals/Broncos game.
It’s a complete contrast. Mom’s side is rather pretentious and money obsessed but they are at least alive. Dad’s side feels like a funeral with the awkward head nodding, small talk and general feeling of “I gotta get outta here” floating over the tiny house that belonged to my grandmother before she died and was brought by my aunt. I know for a fact at least 10-12 people who usually attend this aren’t because they don’t want to.
Gifts used to be dispersed but given the lack of closeness (in spirit, we all live close) between my intermediate family and the rest of my dad’s distant family, that’s gone now too. My uncles, aunts and cousins don’t feel the need to exchange gifts with my family. They’ll do their real Christmas later tonight away from us. It’s a fucking farce. It’s Christmas without presents, family warmth or anything. It’s thanksgiving but with less food.
I’ll do Allison’s father’s side tomorrow night and that’s about the same as my mother’s side in that they’re pretentious snobs as well.
The real issue was the decision if she would have xmas in the morning with my inmediate family, since she doesn’t have that with hers. My sister waited 2 years with her husband while they were dating before he did that with us, I took that cue and felt maybe it’s too soon and she completely agreed. It feels weird. She’s moving with me, in this very house in a few months, here all the time and yet, Christmas morning is still to “sacred" to impede on, she felt.
I spent way too much this year. $7,849. To be exact. To be fair, most of that was on my father's gift. Otherwise, it was about my usual average.
In the next week, I'll be having two Year in Review entries. One for my personal life, which is about 80% of the content in these blogs and a wrestling based one over ROH, WWE and TNA including my BEST OF 2006 lists including the top 25 MOTY's. The #1 is probably obvious but the rest of the list might surprise some.
This morning, the morning of my final exams the SW Ohio area was blitzed with a shitload of (for me) unexpected snow and most importantly, thick sheets of ice. I caught on the radio as me and Allison (whom crashed during our finals cram session) were getting dressed that there were many reports of wrecks all throughout the area. I didn’t pay too much attention, this is what you get used to around these parts. Random weather acts, yesterday it was 68 degrees and sunny. This morning, it reached down to 12 degrees and that is where all hell broke loose.
From my house to school, it’s 25 minutes with regular traffic. My first class was at 9:45. I figured traffic would be slower, so I left @ 8:30 instead. It was bad. Really bad, probably the worse I have ever seen the roads considering how little snow was really falling. I was cautious, more so then I usually would have been had Allison not been in the car with me. Allison, wanted to take the main route instead of the back road we’d usually take since it would be “safer” and it would be prophetic when I replied “That’s just more dangerous, really”.
Things were going fine, most people seemed to figure out that the roads were covered in sheets of ice. It took me 30 minutes to move 5 miles and I knew at this rate, we would be late. Allison called our professors and like many other people did, said we would be late for the exams due to the roads. (That’s Allison for you. More concerned about her schooling then I think she needs to be)
Then it happened, it was inevitable and I knew it was going to happen. I saw it ahead of me and I knew I was fucked. It’s like in the movies and everything becomes slow motion and you think, life is never like that. It was. Cars moving at 10-15 MPH down main street, a jeep hopped the railroad track. This railroad track was always tricky during inclement weather. I saw the Jeep twist side ways and I counted the cars in front of me and the Jeep. Four Cars. Four Cars that were about to collide and I knew it, I had two options. Head first into the truck in front of me, swerve into an icy ditch and probably flip over or wait for the car behind me to hurl me into the other cars. In that slow motion moment, that was probably just five seconds in reality. That’s all it takes to cause the chain reaction, I grabbed Allison and I collided into that truck head first and the car behind me collided into us and sent us spinning around that railroad track into a curb embankment. 4 Cars were pinned. Metal, fiberglass, plastic left spilt onto the ice. I could see the damage to my car from where I was. The front end was completely smashed in, I knew my rear was dented as well. Allison was alright. My hand hurt. Then after that brief “what the hell just happened!?” moment of clarity sank in…
Four drivers and a couple passengers stormed out their cars. Instant Blame Game.
“YOU FUCKER!”
“YOU HIT ME!”
“WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!”
“IS EVERYONE OK?!”
“LOOK AT THIS! FUCKING LOOK!”
Then I saw a little kid, probably no more then 7 years old in the truck that I hit. I was worried for him, not my car. He was fine, shook up but fine. No one was injured on site except my hurt hand but I knew it wasn’t serious, so I never said anything. It was only a matter of seconds before the police, ambulances and paramedics came by. It had been quite a busy day for this community, 11 accidents had been reported since the ice fell in just a 5 mile radius. Ours being the most severe in size. We all managed to get our cars pushed over to a gas station. We all separated out and waited, as the air warmed up, watching the ice thaw out. In my mind, I wondered if I had spent an extra 5 minutes in the shower or if Allison had her usual pop tart, we wouldn’t have ended up in the mess. I didn’t mind the wreck, that’s life. It happens. I’m glad it was an accident and not because of faulty driving. It was out of my control.
We took our statements and did the song and dance. Of the cars, I took the most damage. Figures, I had often said I wanted to get rid of that car because I hated driving it in the winter and this was exactly why. It was first car I ever brought. I drove cars in between it but I ended up back with that car. Now it’s totaled. The price to fix is far greater then the value of the car. Guess, I’m going to get that new car after-all.
The whole thing took an hour. Which felt entirely too long. I called my tow guy at work to take my car to the garage where I knew it would be stripped and junked. (At least I don’t have to pay for that) I cleared out the personal stuff. In a week, once the legal stuff is finalized, we’ll tear it down for parts. My sister happened to work a few miles down the road. She took us home, we had already notified the professors and we were cleared of taking exams. For right now, I’ll be driving my father’s old pick up until the insurance agency gets my rental situation figured out. It was first real wreck, not counting a fender bender a few years ago that wasn’t even reported. Oh, and my hand is fine now, but I’m basically going lefty right now.
Give me suggestions for a new car, though. Money isn’t too much of a concern but I’m shooting stay around the $21-24,000 range. I don’t want another truck or large vehicle, however. I want performance, safety (meaning when I get in another wreck, I won’t see my car collapse as it did, fucking Japanese).
Oh, and I don't like this new and "improved" board.
Its finals week and that means loads of papers, assignments and exams to prep for.
I don’t take it too seriously, it’s just school, after-all. Allison, on the other hand is driving herself and in turn, me crazy with finals prep. It took some convincing to get her off the chair and away from the books and out for the night (which is funny since I’m usually dragged kicking and screaming). We headed down to a local music club where apparently the trendy people go. Some local act, a girl whom is blowing up was playing a set and the place was packed tight since this would probably the last time to see this show for free.
I don’t drink and this essentially made me the lone sober person in the building. She doesn’t drink often but when she does? She makes up for it. She met a girlfriend of hers and they proceeded to dance with the other dancers. I hung back and chatted up with the security guy that I knew from a class last year and things were going fine. The main act showed up around 10 just at the peak of the crowd flow whom ignored the shitty DJ playing the typical stuff. Interestingly enough, the male to female population ratio was dead even. Guys either liked seeing the hot singer in a sauna of a building or got dragged to the show by their girl who was there to support the girl-powered rocker act. Basically, it was P!nk but with actual talent, good vocals and good looks. (Actually, I don’t know how I even made that comparison to begin with)
The show was going well, crowd was hot, she was (to steal a wrestling term thus dragging me back to dork status) “feeling it” and Allison was handling herself pretty well. Then came a moment that enraged me…
This chick was your basic pop-rock act, which is cool and all. That’s her thing. It worked. After her brief intermission, she came back and said she was doing a couple covers since it was her last night there…she played some wispy piano song that I didn’t recognize but the crowd did and went along with it. It was after that performance leading into her next song that pissed me off…
I’m gonna fucking change this shit up, get ready guys, this is “New Noise”!
(I’ll assume that a lot of people reading this don’t know what this song is but it’s from a defunct Swedish punk act from the 90’s that went largely un-noticed, The Refused and this was one of their best songs.)
She went into the song and I would say 20% of the crowd got it which was surprising considering it was mostly a poppy crowd. The band hit it perfectly but she wasn’t even close to matching Dennis Lyxzén' but really, who could? I was completely blown away by her effort though, I commend her for taking a stab at a song like this with a crowd that isn’t remotely connected with that style. This had me totally excited but what made it better was when Allison came up during the song and said “I can’t believe she’s doing Refused”. I never knew she heard of music outside the local pop station. I overheard, just as the song was ending some jack ass standing in the back alone looking as I would imagine a certain TSM poster to look like and started to razz on the girl for doing a “idiotic” punk song “trying to be something she isn’t”. Sort of like how he stood there and pretended to be an music aficionado but really just spewed out Pitchfork columns and went home alone, crying in his beat up van blasting The Smiths. Anyways, the fucking poser finished his little worthless diatribe and as the song finished with a huge reaction from the crowd as she went into her final song (her current radio hit), he started to protest again about her playing. I looked at this tool and shook my head.
He obviously came here, alone of course, just to heckle some very talented and probably soon to be successful singer without showing a shred of actual ingenuity. What prompts these types of people to be idiots? He was alone, so it’s not like he got dragged there and was protesting. He made the effort to show up at a very publicized event knowing full well who was playing and almost seemed rehearsed. Completely killing the mood, me and Allison walked away and he was left to his devices again. I went over to my security guard friend and pointed the idiot out (I wasn’t complaining , just making note of the douche bag) and he looks at me straight ahead and tells me “He’s here almost every night. He comes in alone, gets a vodka and red bull and stands there all night. Never moves but doesn’t do anything stupid except open his mouth from time to time, so we don’t care”.
I felt even sadder for this guy, why make the effort to go to this place, and stand alone quietly and when you do speak up, it’s just to disparage someone that obviously did something right to get a big crowd to see her. Oh well, these people do exist and there’s nothing left for them to do but sleep.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, it’s finals week and I’m not stressed at all. My scores and grades are locked in for the most part and it’ll be another typical semester. Allison won’t be going to this school anymore (she’s staying at the main campus now but I’m taking classes in Middletown next semester). Which is good, actually. Seeing her everyday, having class together and all that made it feel like high school at times.
I’m still working part time at the body shop but got out of the office. Just doing routine oil changes and brake jobs, fairly pedestrian shit but it’s pocket change, so whatever.
I managed to have 90% of the holiday shopping finished already. I got the basics done (girl and intermediate family) and I’ll grab a few gift cards for the extended family and co-workers. I’m getting quasi anxious about the holidays. I just love them and I think this year has great potential to be memorable. Usually people fake their holiday spirit to mask their resentment and I can get that, I used to be that person but I figure you’re just better off not being a impostor and just letting it be honest. This will be the first time, I actually have something serious going on in my life on all levels at this juncture. I’m excelling in school, I’ll have a good job soon (not that I don’t already, but something more permanent down the line), a fantastic relationship that actually inspires hope. I’d try to be downhearted just to keep up with the façade for others but I’m not going to. Why is it that when you’re sad and lonely, you just wish you weren’t. Then, when you’re on cloud nine, you wish you weren’t feeling guilty for feeling good.
The BCS hoopla comes down to the final day and USC choked. Earlier this season, I predicted that Ohio State would play Florida in the NATIONAL TITLE GAME and if the BCS machine does the job right and denies the idiotic rematch concept, I’ll be right. I can’t get the NFL picks right and I blew the Bored contest but at least I got this fucker.
Thanksgiving went smoothly on all accounts. Wednesday night was a intimate little dinner that allowed for better conversation along with the quality meal that my mother always cooks up. The only bump in the night was trying to hold down my girl’s stuffing. She claimed to have never cooked before in her life, other then baking cookies and I believed her after taking my first bite of that concoction. I learned quickly that if things progress further for us and once we live together in a few months, she’s going to require cooking lessons from my mother or the wallet is taking a pounding because I can only grill, but I’m good at it though.
Thursday afternoon, I had lunch with dad’s family and like I said, it’s always boringly predictable but since it’s drama-free and pleasant enough, I don’t mind it. The food isn’t that great since it’s cooked by my two aunts whom aren’t culinary experts. The only saving grace are the pies and I’m not much for pie, unless it’s Pumpkin Pie from Frisch’s. (I’m not sure if that’s a local thing or not). After boring repetitive mingling with the various family members, I snuck out a little early and headed home to change because of my punk ass little cousin still learning how to pour himself a glass of punch spilled all over my black and white track jacket that I just brought the day before. I’m learning that Orange punch isn’t easy to get out. So, I went to the girl’s family thanksgiving dinner and like always, I feel more welcomed into any of my girlfriend’s family then I think I should. I guess it’s my warm nature that endears me to them. With a larger crowd of virtual strangers, I had to be on my A game.
She has a cousin that she’s fairly close to and she had brought her bf along as well but he was a complete nervous wreck and got himself into one way dead end conversations and I felt sorry for him because one on one, he’s an alright enough guy, if not a boring personality though. I decided to help him out and loosen him up and it seems to do the trick as he finally warmed up and the rest of family seemed more responsive to him then they were initially.
Naturally, this scored me major points even if that wasn’t my intention. I was just trying to help a poor guy out in a situation that I could feel empathy for.
On Friday, a lot of idiots went out shopping in a mad rush for discount sale products. Usually, they aren’t worth the trouble unless you’re needy for a video game system that isn’t remotely worth the gaudy price tag. DVD’s aren’t ever really marked down enough for me to justify the madness. I can buy the EXACT same DVD’s for roughly the same price at most independent distribution centers around here. Fuck Best Buy, Fuck Circuit City. Charging me regularly $25 for something that I can get for $10 dollars across the street. Fuck, I could go to a flea market and buy TEN “new” DVD’s for that price.
I was asleep. Allison, wasn’t. As much as I protested, she insisted on going through that insanity with her girlfriends not because of any particular sale but rather because she enjoys the scene of Black Friday Chaos. I’m a sadistic person but even I can’t derive pleasure out of seeing soccer mom’s bury elbows into each other for a $50 TV. It’s a fight without honor and I’d lose.
Luckily, she survived without wounds but she did have a big verbal confrontation with some big fat black “cunt” (in her words) who demanded she (Allison) give up her parking spot right smack in front of the store because she drives “a tiny ass car” and that spot should be had by someone getting big objects and driving a pick up truck instead.
Just the kind of girl that I would go for, she turned back around and went to the car and sat on the hood with a girlfriend and opened up her phone and starting playing Tetris sending the other lady into a frenzy and storming out of the parking lot. I felt slightly guilty as she even brought me a few DVD’s just cause she knew I didn’t have those particular dvds, including the Roddy Piper DVD even though she hates wrestling.
Meanwhile, since I had the house to myself and my mother, we decided to set up the house for Christmas. It was sort of bittersweet setting the house up since in the back of your mind, I'm thinking that it’ll be the last Christmas in a house that I grew up in. Traditionally, we always had a live tree but with the rising cost of natural trees and the money tightening right now from them, they went and got a fake tree instead.
I can’t stand it. I’m a traditionalist and I can’t buy into a fake tree, even if it’s just a symbol. This is the first and only time we have done the fake tree routine and if I can manage, I’ll make sure my future kids will never know the horror of a fake Christmas tree.
While she did the interior work, I was doing the outside light display work, which I had fine tuned to perfection over the years. We used to be extravagant but we settled back and with classical and boring white lights.
However, If you have ever seen that Budweiser commercial with the house with the crazy light display? I live right by that particular house, so it’s not even worth the effort competitively as it used to be in having the best light display.
On Sunday, I’ll actually order the WWE Survivor Series PPV. I know buying anything from WWE unless it’s one of their DVD’s is always a crapshoot but I’m not hurting for $ and I was always a mark for the traditional 5 on 5 format anyways. The problem with buying a WWE ppv is that the price tag is ridiculous and you could buy 2-4 DVD’s from ROH/NOAH and be assured of a quality wrestling show but a part of the “fun” with a WWE show is not knowing which WWE will come out that night.
Is there a classic match on the card? Nothing really, except maybe the DX/RKO match that is loaded with some very good talent that should be done well in a long match and the First Blood match stands to be a good-decent brawl.
That being said, I alluded in previous threads about what was the 2006 MOTY and had insisted it was Danielson/McGuinness from Unified but I have to change it. Danielson/Kenta was beyond this world.
We have a lot of holidays in this country. Most are ignored unless its one of those special ones that grants us the day off work or school. I am particularly fond of Christmas for a variety of reasons. Thanksgiving, however? Never have seen the purpose for it nor cared much.
In this day and age, the purpose of thanksgiving seems meaningless as we’re all self consumed with bloating ourselves to such ridiculous waist lines or dieting down to extreme lows. Which further reduces this holiday from being a celebration feast of togetherness that it was once supposedly according to ancient history books.
Basically, all it really is now is a forced gathering of family members often against their will in the efforts to keep up with the pretense of a outdated tradition. I know there’s some people out there who have no problem with the idea of seeing distant family members across the table and perhaps, even anticipate it. I happen to live fairly close to all my relatives, which I greatly appreciate because it prevents me from having to travel much distance for these forced family gatherings but of course, I dread this because it forces more opportunities to occur.
My thanksgiving schedule is fairly simple. Dinner on Wednesday night with my intermediate family that breaks down into a routine dinner and ends with whatever movie we randomly select. Thursday, I head down to my aunt’s not to far from here and have a brief lunch with my father’s family, which are full of bored, uninteresting and thusly, pleasant people. You know what you’re getting with them (food, same old conversation and boredom).
Usually, I would follow that up by heading literally down the street to my mother’s family but traditions have changed for me as I will be going to Allison’s family at her parent’s house. She’s coming on Wednesday night, so at least we’re both doing the whole family thing but she gets the intermediate family, that’s only 8 people. I’m getting over 30 people that I hardly know or ever met at all. I still think this is moving way to fast. We’re just leapfrogging levels that I never knew existed. Usually, I have to control a relationship, or the relationship is never balanced because one is too dependant but this one is completely different.
We’re equal in this, either needs the other. We each work a lot but don’t use that as an excuse. I’m still not quite sure how I made this work. I’m a fairly alright looking guy, I’ve probably done far greater with girls then I ever had the right to. I don’t believe in the idiotic concept of “levels” in regards to peoples standing with others. That being said, there is some merit to the fact that some people are just too good for someone else. In looks, social standing, money or whatever. In this case, probably all of it. She’s beautiful, I’m cute at best. She’s popular with loads of friends, while I’m a complete introvert who doesn’t trust people. She’s a trust fund baby, I’ve been working on my own for the past few years. That aside, we clicked instantly and for whatever differences we have, it works.
This Thursday is the debut of the NFL Network airing their first live telecast of a game. It’ll be between Kansas City and Denver. Earlier that day, Miami/Detroit and Dallas/Tampa. Yeah, the only remotely interesting game is the NFL network game. I wouldn’t mind watching that game. However, I won’t because TW refuses to broker a deal with the NFL Network.
Time Warner provides a good overall service for me with their package but they have annoying practices. They literally waited until the day before the launch of the new CW network to even cave in and stick them onto a triple digit channel for a couple months before complaints grew about morons not finding the channel, so they kicked one of the many public broadcasting stations to the side.
TW doesn’t appear to be budging at all and the local community is growing angry about this as this means we won’t get Bengals coverage (whom play on this network). Its bullshit from both sides of the table.
Oh, the big deal right now is the Kramer story. Why? He threw the N word. Can you really be surprised? He has to walk around for the rest of his life being called “Kramer”. Now, he can just be known as “that racist fucking Jew”.
Funny, how the one main character on that show that managed to have any post Seinfeld career was the least interesting one. Seinfeld has basically gone around doing the occasional tour with insane ticket prices but generally staying out of the limelight. He’s a genius. George had about 10 failed sitcom attempts since then. Kramer had one as well that I don’t think lasted beyond 2 episodes and now he’s forever known for that tirade.
It’s all a desperate ploy anyways and we all brought it. His ticket sales will skyrocket. Maybe it’s a new crowd demographic but money’s money baby.
On Saturday morning, driving back home after crashing at Allison’s apartment, I was fairly relaxed and took the scenic route as opposed to my regular routine (after all, I wasn’t in any particular rush to get home). Right now, is my most favorite time of the year. The weather is just right with the heat dying out, the crisp mornings and evening chills creeping in just before the icy freeze of winter’s gloom arrives and you get this build up within, a rush of events in the form of holidays, family gatherings, mass rushes of shopping euphoria and forced kindness in the spirit of the holiday season.
Football is in full bloom from high school (playoff football is a huge deal in SW Ohio), college (the madness of the BCS strikes again, and no matter what the “playoff!” enthusiasts will say, they know that the current format offers so much more intrigue) and pro (the contenders and pretenders separate and the race to the super bowl begins). Movies, the good movies that studios have complete faith in to be academy award candidates are rolling out alongside the family comedy blockbusters that drive the art house elite into frenzied coffee fueled rants about the decline of something that I ignore because they aren’t worth the time to pretend to give a shit.
I drove along with some innocuous music serving as theme music for the long drive and I happened to drive pass a Best Buy, which was oddly placed into a vacant mass of land occupied on its own as if it was mistakenly dropped there and no one bothered to move it to the proper location that was swiftly replaced with another Wal-Mart Super Center. There was a long line of people sitting around the side of the building apparently waiting for the release of yet another stupid game system.
After all the reports that came out about the PS3 release and the backlash that occurred, I couldn’t believe these people (likely the same ones that sat in the same spot a week ago) buy into the promotion that they MUST own these over-priced game systems as soon as humanly possible regardless of all the likely glitches and product dependability issues that always occur from these initial launches. If you can’t wait 3 months when the price will likely drop, the bad editions will be tossed aside and there’s no having to stand in a line with someone who hasn’t showered in a 2-3 days, then I’m can’t really feel sorry for those that wasted a tremendous chunk of money on this product. People are getting robbed and attacked not just by SONY/Nintendo but by regular assholes and I can’t help but to feel like they probably had it coming.
I kept driving along when I somehow ended up behind a dump truck full of dirt, rocks and assorted materials. It was an impassable one lane road, so I did the common sense thing of dropping back a decently measured distance to avoid those pinging rocks and clumps of dirt from colliding with my car. Generally, I won’t care about getting a little dirt on the car or even tiny scruffs from the falling rocks but I still plan on selling this car very soon and I wasn’t looking to lower the value of the car. My intention didn’t work out to my hopes as my impatience got the best of me and I moved in closer and decided I would simply just slingshot past the truck knowing the risk that would occur on a narrow one lane road. I signaled to the driver that I was passing and I began to proceed and about half-way pass the truck, he suddenly sped up as we went into a curve that gave me zero room to make that pass, forcing me to dropping back behind him and as you would imagine with his increased speed and my now close proximity, the rocks bounced off the shaking truck and pinged right onto the hood.
I dropped back again further and finally he disappeared. Once I finally got home, I surveyed the damage to the hood and while it wasn’t drastic, there were noticeable dents and marks. It won’t hurt the car and it can be fixed fairly easy but it’s kind of annoying to see the scruffs and some of the paint chipping away. It’s disconcerting because this was my first purchased car and even though I stopped driving it for awhile, I still had an attachment to it. It was a beautiful, shiny fresh car when I first brought it way back when and now it’s becoming old, used up and faded from its once beautiful state. I guess that’s the course of life for everything, isn’t it?
On Thursday, 11/16/06, my oft-mentioned friend from the past finally gave birth to a supposedly healthy boy (I say this because I never got how they determine health for a freaking infant that’s been alive for no more then 2 days, give it some time to catch a disease or something before labeling it “healthy”). Named the kid, Jason James. Apparently, no real significance. However, that just made me wonder about something.
In all of life, I have to imagine naming your child has to be one of the more stressful tasks possible. It sounds silly but what you name that kid will most likely determine his course in life. Also, will parents stop trying to be creative with names? Throwing extra letters, or changing a letter in a regular name to make it different. I’m stick of the different spellings for names like Sean/Shawn/Shaun. Can’t we have some international vote about what will be the official proper spelling of these names? It seems parents think they win something if they have the most creative name for their kid. Im talking regular folk, not the celebrity nutcases that name their kids, Apple or Suri. At least those kids can point at their parents and we understand. Regular kids with regular parents don’t have an excuse. I did bring this up with Allison though and I learned a lesson.
DON’T.
I learned that girls have pre-named all their future children before we (males) even started killing our prospective kids with scrambled Cine-Max. All I ask if that if I ever do produce a spawn boy, that he’d have my father’s first name for his middle name like the past 4 generations of first born sons in our family have. (I.E, my grandfather’s given first name is my middle name). However, I learned that David (my father’s first name) doesn’t fit with her pre-approved names for any male child. I made a compromise, I would get to name all the dogs. I think it’s a fair trade. Oh, yes. It’s only two months into this thing and we’re already having that “kids/marriage/future” talk. That’s further ahead then I ever really got with my previous ex’s. Scary.
It’s official. I have no ability in predicting football games anymore. I correctly predicted (excluding the meaningless MNF game) FIVE games cumulative in College and Pro football pick-em. That’s FIVE FOR THIRTY! I’m not good at math but that’s like a .166 average.
That wasn’t the worst of it over the weekend, though. Friday afternoon, I came home and found my sister standing in the kitchen making dinner which was weird since she hasn’t come over much since the wedding. I asked why she was there and she shrugged, telling me that she was told to come over and start dinner. We made light conversation wondering and speculating on the cause of this apparent family meeting. Finally they each arrived and after we sat down for this prepared dinner, which was beyond weird enough but they finally came out and informed us that they had decided it was time to move and “retire”. Having already made the arrangements and found a house in some small town in Pennsylvania where my mother knew she’d get work as a teacher and my father whom has saved a comfortable amount would essentially work out of his garage doing custom jobs on cars. This didn’t drastically affect my sister, as she’s already on her own with a husband and probably with kids very soon.
Of course, I’m not married. I’m not “settled” in by any means yet. Obviously, I can’t follow my parents down there. They plan on selling the house and this will leave me with a decision to make. I’ve mentioned before here that I wasn’t planning on staying home much longer especially after I already had a brief taste of living on my own. It was time for me to seriously start looking ahead but I’m not really concerned about where I will go (I’ll either get an apartment of my own somewhere near by, probably Middletown because of how dirt cheap it is in comparison to other towns near-by) or I’ll made the serious jump and move in with Allison, whom will be room-mate free next year in Oxford. That’s scary for me, to realize that after just 2 months together, I am willing to live with her. It’s because of this feeling that I don’t want to do that.
I’m more bothered by the prospect of my parents being at least 5-6 hours away from me. I’m not dependant on them but it was always nice, even when I was living at Miami to know that it was just a short drive away if I needed something or they needed me. Sure, I got other family and even a couple friends around but they aren’t your parents.
To make matters worse, having found out my parents were moving and I was out of a home, that fever from two weeks ago crept up again and with the girlfriend out of town, I was left to my own devices and this allowed me to catch up on various movies and TV shows that I hadn’t seen. What, you think I was going to give you a report on those shows/movies? No!
However, I will stay I was greatly entertained by this movie called “Pretty Persuasion”. Granted, it wasn’t the most original plot but the acting was good especially with the hammy greatness of James Woods. I think he automatically improves the quality of every movie he appears in, even if they are all the same smarmy character. I mean, look at this list
Salvador
Diggstown
Straight Talk
Chaplin
Casino
Nixon
Ghosts of Mississippi
Contact
Vampires
Virgin Suicides
Any Given Sunday
True Crime
Riding In Cars With Boys
Scary Movie 2
Stuart Little 2/Hercules/Easter Egg Adventure/Recess/Final Fantasy/Grand Theft Auto/Scarface (Voice)
Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (Yes, they actually made a movie about him)
What an awesome dude and his TV show rocks too.
Grace is doing pretty good and has adjusted to being home again and back to her usual routine despite the hindrance of the cone/funnel contraption to prevent her from tending to the wound that is still pretty deep and probably won’t fully heal for awhile.
Saturday afternoon/evening, I went with Allison to a birthday party for one of her cousins. Generally, she doesn’t care about any of her family members and wouldn’t make the effort to even attend a cousin’s 25th birthday party. However, it just so happened that this cousin is the only family member that is close with enough to actually care about their birthday. Because of my apparent requirements in my role, I had to attend this party. The dinner took place at this vineyard steak house that actually wasn’t too far from me but this was one of those places that charged $35(single) for a lousy steak and bottle of home-grown and supposedly great quality wine.
What made it even more preposterous was that you grilled the steak yourself on an enclosed patio (which sounds nice in the summer, but not with 40 degree weather). The idea was that you prepare and cook the steak to your liking. Sorry, but I’m fine with trusting the allegedly trained chefs doing the hard-work.
While I didn’t care for the price of the meal all that much and of course, I covered her as well. (I’m 95% certain, that I only landed this because I actually saved my money unlike most 20 year old college kids in addition to being handy in most situations. I figure this is what most marriages are founded on, so I imagine I have no choice but to just embrace this) I enjoyed the meal and we received a complimentary reservation from some girl (whom I believe was a friend of the guest of honor) who has a “cozy” bed and breakfast upstate and I got confirmation from others at the party that this isn’t a dump and is a rather pleasant B&B. Maybe I’m showing signs of being frugal again but I’m not getting the concept of driving 3-4 hours to spend the night in a glorified hotel with a cutesy breakfast diner. I mean, yeah, it’s just an romantic way of fucking but I don’t get the point of the effort. (The bed and breakfast, I mean). Anyways, I’m sure I’ll be dragged to this soon enough. Just shut my mouth and do what Im told.
Here’s the problem with dating someone else when it’s still young, learning all these people’s names and bothering to care about their existence. According to my father, he dated my mother forever and even years into their marriage, he never bothered to really learn everyone in her family's name and I say kudos to him in this regard but everyone is so goddamn sensitive in her family that one wrong name will upset the balance of their lives. I had uncles that called me “Junior” or “Kid” for years because they never cared to learn my actual name and I’m cool with that.
When we first started, I figured she was exaggerating how pretentious her family was but if anything, she undersold them as I’m learning along the way. I don’t like these people. Not in that “they make me nervous because I know they know that I’m banging their grand-child/niece/daughter” sense but rather a genuine dislike of them. My family, well, my parents at least (since she hasn’t met the extended family) really like her and that’s great because she adores my mother and they get along great together. I should be happy about this but if anything, I’m cautious now.
After the dinner concluded and we all made our separate ways, I said goodbye to her as she headed to work, I went down to my office to pick up some stuff that I left there and I found one of the guys in the shop doing a side job. This wasn’t a big deal, side-jobs aren’t frowned upon as long as it doesn’t interfere with business hours. He was doing some custom work to this pick up and we started chatting around and such. The owner of the truck comes in and much to my surprise, it so happens to belong to the guy that knocked up my old best friend from high school (I’m fairly sure that I mentioned this awhile back).
I kept up with her over the past few months with the occasional AIM convo but this was the first time I met the father and I only recognized him from pictures she had shown me. I introduced myself to him and he figured out who I was rather quickly.
This was awkward to say the least. He was doing the right thing and was sticking with her and helping her with the pregnancy and will be an involved father although they have no intention of remaining together. However, the girl was my best friend for years and to be honest, I loved her more then anyone else for a very long time and I still care for her, which I supposed I always will. I wanted to hate this guy for what he did, even if I knew that she was as much to fault as anyone. I couldn’t, he was a good guy and I had some measure of respect for him to least be man enough to be there. I made the promise of going to see her soon before she has the kid but it seems the timing is never right but its something I need to do, especially since it’s due pretty soon.
I finally had a duel good week in both the football pick'ems and thats good because I strive for being mediocre as possible.
Last Wednesday, my dog Grace (2 year old German Shepard Lab) went missing. This isn’t the first time this has happened. She gets out quite often, runs around and returns the next morning. Not any different from most cats, she has a natural sense of direction. In fact, it had become so routine that last Wednesday, no one was really too concerned. Come Thursday evening, panic sank in as she hadn’t returned yet. We sent the necessary calls to local police, vet offices, pounds etc, etc. She had her tags on her collar, so we figured that if someone found her, they would know where to take her. After no luck, we proceeded to dig around some more, placed reward signs at the usual busy sites but still nothing was coming around. We figured it was a lost cause as it had been about a week and now and if she was coming back home at all, she would have by then.
This afternoon, while having lunch with Allison in the commons at school, I received a phone call from my ecstatic mother telling me “We found her!” and after breaking through her long-winded nearly incoherent rant, I figured I should head home and see about this. I got home and I was greeted by Grace wearing a funnel type contraption around her neck. I got the detailed story after this.
On that Wednesday night that she got out, a man had picked her up in a red pickup truck and for whatever reason decided to let her go and left them behind a local pizza joint where an older waitress whom worked there saw this occur as she was in the front parking lot. She didn’t catch the plates or anything because she didn’t think much of it at first until she realized my dog was still outside the back area of the pizza place and hadn’t caused much of a ruckus, not because she was shy or anything but because she was in pain and laid down on the cold wet pavement. She took Grace to her daughter’s house which coincidently was only a couple blocks away on the other side of my house and it was there they realized she had a deep gash on her thigh. However, her collar was no longer intact which also meant no identification.
The next morning, She took her to a local vet and he treated her for the wound, which they couldn’t determine if she had been stabbed or if she self inflicted the wound in some manner. According to the lady, she placed information regarding the discovery of Grace in various locations including other vet offices, local grocery stores etc, etc. My mother had persisted in calling every vet office and pound within a 40 mile radius asking if anyone had seen our dog and gave a through description and we even e-mailed photos to these places but nothing had happened.
This morning, on a whim, a very paranoid friend of my mother happened to be taking her cat to the vet because the cat appeared ill and while she was there, she noticed one of those photos of my dog that the old lady had put up onto their bulletin board. She immediately called the number on the identification sheet and after a quick description, she knew it was our dog. My mother was called and she left work right away to go to the house and that’s where she found Grace laying on their couch comfortably despite the hindrance of the funnel device.
So let’s rewind, the vet’s office had treated and released a dog that was a virtual match for a dog that was reported missing and was called about repeatedly throughout the week and to boot had the location whereabouts of the dog posted right in their main hall. The old lady that took Grace to the vet even told them that it wasn’t her dog but they never put two and two together. Granted, dogs get reported missing constantly and they probably get about 30-45 of these calls per day, so I can understand letting it slip the first time but not for a whole week.
My mother paid the old woman for the vet bills, dog food and a reward and Grace finally got to come home. I’ll be honest, I’m not attached significantly to this dog. I have my own personal dog (Gibson) that I care for and is in my ownership but they are best friends, so it was more rewarding to see my dog get his best friend back because I know he wasn’t happy alone.
We’re still not quite sure exactly what was the circumstances of the man in the red truck and the mysterious wound but quite frankly, it doesn’t matter right now. She’s home, she’ll be healthy after a couple more weeks of rest and she probably learned not to leave the house again.
It’s been awhile…
This was a busy weekend for me and it started Friday night as I attended the Ring of Honor show in Dayton. As far as ROH shows go, this was fairly solid but nothing out of this world (probably will be best known for Brent Albright’s debut with the company and another fantastic edition to the Delirious/Sydal series) I covered my reactions and thoughts in the thread so I won’t bother to go over here because anyone that really cared to begin with already seen it and I’d hate to bore my loyal and bored fan base with a detailed report of a independent wrestling promotion’s live show.
I woke up Sunday morning with a slight fever which was abnormal for me to feel in the fall, while most people are rocked with sickness during the season swirl, I tend to avoid it but instead of lying in bed and taking in the football action, I was getting into my car with my girlfriend Allison to Salem, Indiana. Salem, is basically the middle of fucking nowhere with a Wal-Mart, two gas stations and the main attraction, which was where we were heading, Salem Motor Speedway.
Her uncle (Brian), whom she wasn’t particularly close to, is a part-time race car driver and she thought since I’m fairly knowledgeable on automotive nature and a slight interest in auto racing that I would enjoy spending a warm afternoon with her uncle’s pit crew. I didn’t want to go but you don’t really have a choice in the matter when she tells (forces) you.
The race was scheduled to start at 1:00 and let me explain the concept of this particular race. If you follow auto racing or seen it on television, it’s nothing like that. 87 cars were entered into this race on a ½ mile track. Essentially, it was a guaranteed traffic jam at 90 mph. Her uncle, whom I had never met before had drawn the pole position (since it’d a nightmare to qualify nearly 100 cars on speed, they were slotted via random lottery drawing). Apparently, starting anywhere near the front wasn’t a good thing and especially so for her uncle as he had an admittedly piece of shit car. Her uncle had been out of the racing for nearly 3 years to this point but a couple weeks ago gotten a call from a former partner that he lost his driver and needed someone local to fill in.
He was once an accomplished driver with great success and a somewhat local celebrity and he obviously missed the action. We arrived to his pit box and by pit box, I mean section of gravel marked “88” (his #). This was an old track that had seen better days but it still packed a big crowd for this race. Most of the drivers were similar to her uncle, weekend warriors just looking for some fun but there were many serious local drivers with big money backing. This had a winner take all purse and that was part of the motivation but the main lure was the idea of tight racing for 200 laps against the high banked walls.
I was introduced to him and he was a tall, long blonde haired guy with leathery skin to match his laid back disposition. I found it bewildering how someone could be so relaxed knowing that in just a few minutes, he’s going to have 85+ cars breathing down his neck at high speed.
After I met the rest of his crew which were mostly his friends, I took a seat with Allison whom was already getting met with catcalls and distant flirtations from other pit crews nearby since she had worn tight shorts and a track jacket for the breezy warm afternoon. Despite that, it was still a pretty friendly environment as you would see teams sharing tools or covering strategy (for this race, it was basically, avoid the wrecks and survive).
Just moments before the race was to start, the uncle came right up and sized me up and said with an insistent tone
“Hey, you’re a good built kid. My gas man is a no-show and I need a guy to load me on the stops…” and I didn’t even stop to think but I accepted. I don’t know if I did it because I actually wanted to or if I was just trying to impress him by my willingness. I got a quick crash course from his crew chief on what to do. All I had to do was carry a 50lb gas can across the designated line and pour the entire can into the tank, all in 20 seconds time.
The race started and surprisingly, we maintained our front start despite such a piss-poor car. We were clearly slower then most of the field but he was an experienced driver and managed to hold people off. I was into the race, but what really got me excited was feeling Allison standing right beside me just mere inches and a thick wall between us and the roaring cars. She could’ve dropped back and sat in the comfort of the shade with the other girlfriends and wives but she stood by me knowing that I was somewhat nervous about my task.
It wasn’t a difficult job but as the laps passed, it became increasingly obvious that when he would make his mandatory pit stop, that it would be crucial. We were shooting to just finish the race but our unexpected performance changed our plans as he had a definite top 10 car with an outside shot at victory if the chips fell in place. We got the signal he was coming in and that’s when the nerves disappeared, I went over and grabbed the tank and stood behind the line as the pit officials made sure no one stepped over until the car had made a full stop. Rolling in at 45 mph, the car slammed into the box and we rushed over and pushed by pure adrenaline, I held the can up as I heard him barking out commands “Tighten the spoiler!, New breather!” and it was all foreign to me but I remained steady feeling the weight of the can drop dramatically and without warning, the car jerked away as I managed to pull the can out in time purely on instinct. After we celebrated a fantastic stop that kept the car alive in the top ten, I went over to her as she held the empty can and she smiled with a kiss, whispered “You’re gassy” and burst out in laughter but I was concerned after realizing I had spilt fuel onto myself that would be an issue but I was assured that it was common to have spillage and it was alright. At this point, any feelings of unease from my fever this morning had vanished in the warm air.
Things kept going well and I continued having a great time feeling the breeze sweep through me as the cars marched through. A feeling of pride snuck in despite having done nothing except pour gas into a tank. 25 laps were left in the race and we sustained our hold onto a top ten finish until after avoiding them all day (and there were a lot of them) a wreck occurred right in the front of the lead pack which included us and as the car dove down to avoid contact, the right rear tire blew and we had to make an emergency pit stop.
Once again, we stood by the line waiting for his arrival and I held the can once again, it was lighter as we only needed to top it off just a touch. Another successful stop followed but we fallen out of the top ten into the faint end of the lead lap cars in 31st. With 15 laps to go after the caution cleared, we worried because the car was good at holding place but not in advancing. The laps kept ticking down and we weren’t having much luck and only moved up a small amount. We needed another caution in hopes to use our good restart ability to pick up more spots but it never came. The white flag to signify the final lap dropped down as we were virtually locked in 23rd place. As a whole this was a complete moral victory to even finish the race (87 started, 39 finished) but to know that we had a guaranteed top 10 finish and lost it because of a lousy blown tire after missing loads of wrecks didn’t sit well with us.
All in all, it was an unexpectedly good experience for the both of us. I’m still surprised at how comfortable she felt as she is an admitted snob but after I got a big stamp of approval from her uncle, we said our farewells and headed home. The ride home was interesting, even if just temporarily gave us something to look back on with fondness. Besides, after three hours standing by thunderous engines, it didn’t take much to have an interesting drive.
Remember a month ago; when I said that my art professor had an art gallery and asked me to build her a metal canvas with a whacky design? Well, I did this and she liked it a lot but decided that she changed her concept and wouldn’t be use the thing after-all but she still paid me a fairly good scrap of change.
Also, after realizing with much deliberation how pointless and idiotic it was to take classes everyday, I scheduled myself for just 2 days a week next semester which will give me more time work. I will also leave my current job around Christmas time as the guy I replaced will be ready to work again. I’m not sure where I’ll go but I’m not that concerned.
Random Stuff
Meet The Parents
Tomorrow night is the whole meet the parents thing. I’m fairly relaxed about this, its supposed to be brief, but after about 8 years of doing the “meet the parents” routine, it never is. I’ve been successful enough at this task in previous tries, so I think I have a decent enough handle on what to do and not to do. I wanted to do this over dinner somewhere in public, but the set-up is at her parent’s house. All I’ve been given about her parents (since they are so distant from each other) is that dad is a consultant for some law firm and the mother is a manager of some dog toy company. That’s it. I don’t understand how you live with someone for 17 years and don’t anything about them aside from their occupation.
That is a trait I adore about her (her independence and lack of needing), usually only child’s are emotionally attached to parents or demanding of attention.
Kroger Raffle
Apparently, a few weeks ago, I entered some raffle at Kroger’s (grocery store, for those who aren’t aware) and I got an call from yesterday them letting me know that I was the winner of a $100 gift certificate. Why is it that I win these meaningless raffles that I don’t even remember putting my name in for, but I never win those fucking gift baskets at the local carnivals.
New Car
I was supposed to get a new car, I thought in September but the month went by and I never came close to looking. I really don’t need a new car, I’m still driving that my old car that my sister finally gave back to me and it’s still good and everything. I just have this desire for a new one and it’s not even a specific car in particular.
The Job
It’s almost a crime to make good money doing virtually nothing. It’s like a government job.
Cory Lidle
Six days ago, Yankee fans didn’t even care about Cory Lidle (if they had even remembered him to begin with) but now there is this great outpouring of grief and sadness because of his death, which occurred in an unlikely circumstance. I still need to know when something can be called “tragic” and when it can be referred to as “freak accident”. Are we not allowed to use that term anymore? Is it another victim of PC America?
It sucks for his family, team-mates and friends but as a whole, a collective nation of strangers, let’s drop the emotional tears and just let it be. It’s only a story because of the profession of the victim.
Besides, we’re finding out that the guy wasn’t nearly as experienced as he claimed to be and someone that inexperienced shouldn’t have been in flight during those weather conditions.
TV Shows
-There are a lot of new television shows out there today and already some are getting axed but here’s a quick review of the shows I’ve covered…
Fox
Justice
-It’s a decent enough show that is loaded with unlikable characters and over-the-top directive with tacky gimmick laden camera effects and very loose holes. D+
Vanished
-Just one of the new shows to revolve around a kidnapping and like the other shows with this theme, it’s struggling. This one struggles with a horrible cast, shaky plot and wide open logic gaps. This is just off two weeks of viewing. I can’t imagine how much worse it got and the rating free-fall gives me an idea.. D-
Standoff
-I like this show only for the two main characters but the rest of the show is completely generic, boring and uninspired. C.
‘Til Death
-This has been a weak season for new comedies and this one is a leading cause. Brad Garrett isn’t leading man material and the comedy has been atrocious. It’s getting a push because of Brad Garrett but thankfully, Garrett will follow Jason Alexander’s footsteps. F
NBC
Heroes
-This has been a good hit for NBC and they needed one like this. Loaded with intriguing characters, interesting plot developments and superb special effects, this show is clicking. It’s going to be a fun time seeing where these characters are going and how they get there and once they do, what happens. A.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
-The West Wing, set backstage of a fictional SNL-type sketch comedy show. That alone is wacky enough but throw in an proverbial all-star cast and writer and you might have something. It’s still missing something but it’s getting there (but it better move fast before the ratings continue to drop). I still fail to see why a sketch show is so important to this fictitious network. In the show within itself, it’s called a SNL rip-off. So when America doesn’t care about SNL anymore, why should we care about a show about the backstage world of SNL? Great show, great characters, great actors and good writing is strong enough for now but it’ll need to grab something sooner or later. B+
Friday Night Lights
-Probably the BEST new drama on TV right now and it’s getting ignored because NBC decided to put it in a death slot against DWTS, Baseball, and House. This show would have benefited being held off until mid-season for Sunday nights, where it’s ideal to replace FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA once the NFL season is over.
It also suffers because many interested viewers will have already read the book or/and seen the movie and that isn’t helping people get into a TV version. The show itself is greatly built and executed. A+
30 Rock
-Another show about a fictional sketch show, only this one is a 30 minute version, has less comedic moments and its one appealing character will be a part-time edition. I’m expected to watch a show that forces Tracy Morgan, one of the worse actors of our time to carry a show alongside Tina Fey? Alec Baldwin, deserves better. C-
Kidnapped
-Probably the biggest bust of the new season, although it’ll actually finish out it’s ordered 13 episodes on the death cloud of Saturday. Everything about this show was just unlikable. The kid wasn’t cute or interesting enough for us to concern ourselves. D.
ABC
The Nine
-A great show hurt tremendously by the morons in charge of the schedule. It gets the LOST lead-in but that’s more of a negative then anything. LOST is a complex show that drives that fan base around like a roller coaster and you can’t expect them to stick around for another 60 minutes of. Great show that I hope sticks around. B+
Ugly Betty
-The biggest new hit and I’m surprised that I like this. Originally, I felt this would be short-lived but it’s very engaging with a fantastic cast that is entertaining. It’s light, comedic and has good plot. It’s a huge diversion from the complex serialized shows flooding the airwaves. B.
CBS
The Class
-The pilot was atrocious , which is a shame because the following episodes were pretty solid. It still has character overkill and could use a little cutting but they have 5 very likable characters that can carry the show. If they keep things on those five, the show could have legs. C+
Smith
-It’s already gone which is a shame because I felt it was a good show and Im surprised it didn’t capitalize off NCIS/Unit for the lead-in. I’m not surprised it was canceled, but just so early. Which they could have gone 13 episodes and wrapped up the bank robbery angle. C.
Jericho
-As good as Smith was, Jericho is that bad. Which explains why this show is getting an audience. I only watched the pilot and I couldn’t take it anymore. D-
Shark
-The early reviews said it was “House in Court” and it was DEAD on. Shark isn’t as great a character like House, though. This show is basically James Woods eating up the camera and loving it and that’s all I need from this show. Neglect the horrible support cast, the boring case stories…just 60 minutes of James Woods. B-.
CW
Runaway
-Luckily, this show is on the CW and it can coast a little longer with the pitiful ratings. It’s a shame because this is another good show with a good cast and premise. It’s a little heavy on the teen side of things but it’s a WB show, what’d you expect but the adults are good here. B.
Football Picks
None this week. I fucking suck and I have no will to go through another worthless display.
This was a pretty fast week that I didn’t really realize had passed but it was fairly enjoyable in spite of getting into the groove of a easy yet enjoyable job and general happiness in life.
The big “deal” is TALL STACKS. If anyone isn’t familiar with this event, it’s a bi-annual ceremony of riverboats converging onto the riverbank for a ton of concerts (mostly country, folk and some indy rock acts), food and historic stuff along with big fucking boats. It’s a pretty big tourist attraction to say the least and usually I don’t care about it as I’ve only been once and that was a kid and didn’t care for it. However, my chick works the front desk for one of the higher up hotels in that area and they are under the gun, which was the fun part about visiting her at work for the first time. I love seeing girls all flustered by work, it’s cute.
Oh, KKK? The game’s a wrap. Won.
Things to ramble on…
Baseball
I was completely off about everything. Which I’m fine with because despite not having any classic games and only Tigers/Yankees game 2 being particularly memorable, I’ve enjoyed this post-season.
Congrats to the A’s for getting that monkey off their proverbial backs and I’ve really gotten to like some of those guys. Minnesota was too business-minded and in turn that hurt them, while Oakland’s free-wheeling nature finally helped them.
The NL West completely laid down and I don’t see either franchise making a 0-2 comeback. They might push it to 5 games but I said each team is done.
It’s fantastic to see Yankees on the ropes against Detroit but I’m not foolish enough to assume that it’s over. Yankees can turn the switch on like *that*.
Football
Quickie Picks
Buffalo @ Chicago
-Chicago’s really fucking good but Buffalo has the ability to keep games ugly and close. I don’t think it’ll be a blow-out along the lines off the ass-kicking they gave Seattle (which was STATEMENT game) but it’ll be decisive enough.
Buffalo 10
Chicago 20
Cleveland @ Carolina
-Cleveland plays ugly but they don’t play good. They can play close but Carolina looks to be clicking with STEVE SMITH out there.
Cleveland 16
Carolina 31
Detroit @ Minnesota
-I’m starting to think Detroit might be getting somewhere and Minnesota isn’t going anywhere. I’ll call for the upset win because I think Detroit will cover anyways.
Detroit 23
Minnesota 20
Miami @ New England
-NE owned Cincinnati last week in their own statement game. Miami is a complete fraud. Will Miami cover? It’s a division game and Miami has been good against NE in the past, it’s certainly probable.
Miami 9
New England 17
St. Louis @ Green Bay
-St. Louis is still a weird team that isn’t clear yet but GB is a bad team and there’s no denying that. I could buy GB pulling off a win here but I’ll be conservative with St. Louis again.
St. Louis 24
Green Bay 16
Tampa @ New Orleans
-NO took the predictable lost but looked good in doing so. TB is a disaster and that isn’t exclusive to the QB situation.
Tampa 13
New Orleans 28
Tennessee at Indianapolis (18.5)
-Indianapolis had a scare last week and I can’t imagine them getting in that position once more and especially not against Tennessee. The line worries me but I trust Peyton Manning (in the regular season, at least).
Tennessee 7
Indianapolis 31
Washington @ New York
-Who knows? Seriously, these are the games you can’t really honestly predict. It’ll be ugly or just all out. No middle ground.
Washington 21
New York 26
Kansas City @ Arizona
-Arizona is inching closer to being a step above ineptitude but as long as Warner is their starter, it’s a slow climb. KC does well against shitty teams and this should be no exception.
Kansas City 34
Arizona 20
New York @ Jacksonville
-New York looked really good last week and I’m not sure that line is fair. I’ll go with the Jets to cover but not for the win.
New York 13
Jacksonville 17
Oakland @ San Francisco
-Good God. SF is so miserable that they could only get 3.5 pts on the Raiders, but to be fair, that’s the same amount Cleveland went up by.
Oakland 10
San Francisco 14
Dallas @ Philadelphia
-You would think this was the Super Bowl, given the hype and talk regarding this match. What’s so intriguing about this match-up? Beyond the weak and over-rated catcalls from a degenerate fan base in Philadelphia and the first and ONLY hard shot T.O will get? TO will make his mark against Philadelphia because he thrives in these games. The pressure will eat at McNabb and he’ll wither up as usual.
Dallas 24
Philadelphia 16
Pittsburgh @ San Diego
-I think this is a crucial game for each QB. Ben needs to recover and get on track and Rivers will be severely tested as Pittsburgh can swallow up a running game, even one involving LT. It’ll be tight and pretty fun.
Pittsburgh 17
San Diego 21
Baltimore @ Denver
-Should be an old style smash mouth game. Plummer against the Ravens defense will be intriguing and let’s see just how magical McAir is against that defense.
Baltimore 17
Denver 10
I’m still groggy. Not physically, but more mentally. Lethargic, is probably the most appropriate description. It comes and goes, always has for me. Usually there’s a trigger but in this instance, I’m happy in theory (new job, steady new relationship that is still fresh, doing great in school).
I even redesigned/arranged my room out of complete boredom. It made me wonder, while a good move financially to leave the campus and stay home. I think it had more psychological damage then I had anticipated. I got out and I just ended right back here.
It’s not like I’m 27 and still living at home, but I always felt you should be gone by 21 at the latest. That milestone is very close.
I have a solid relationship with my parents, although it can slip into standard family theatrics from time to time but that’s probably a given for all paternal situations until a 3rd generation comes along and you figure out exactly what they were doing.
Speaking of parents, Allison is pushing to do the “meet my parents” routine sometime soon, just to get it out of the way. I understand where she’s coming from, but she has a very tumultuous relationship with them, which always means as the new boyfriend, I’m basically fucked right out the gate or that I’ll really have to shine.
Oddly enough, I’m not rushing to have her meet my parents despite my good relationship with them and that I already know my parents adore her just by my descriptions and pictures.
To be fair, my mother “loved” all my girlfriends in the past. Except one, which was a doozy of a situation that I couldn’t even begin to cover in a simple blog.
My father’s take? “Get it while you can”. He is, if nothing, a man of simplicity.
I balanced my work schedule for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon (noon-5). That’s not a lot of hours, but it’s a pretty fucking easy job.
Maybe not easy for MECCA, but for any general worker with focus. It’s a office role but without politics. It’s almost a perk to get paid for it.
So, fuck NFL picks. This weekend was a total catastrophe for me and the local team.
This week we’re going into a deluge of endless Evil TO Vs Sir Donovan F McNabb Of Philadelphia
I’d auto-block ESPN but it just so happens to be the start of the MLB Playoffs.
Quickie predictions
National League
San Diego Vs St. Louis
-St. Louis, completely fell ass backwards into the playoffs but to assume they will roll over and die is a mistake. Pujols will extend this to at least 4 games
San Diego in 4.
Los Angeles Vs New York
-Offensively, I love NY. LA has the pitching match up. This could be either a fantastic tight series or a collection of blow-outs.
New York in 5.
American League
Minnesota Vs Oakland
-I really like Minnesota but I think the bandwagon might topple over on the way to Oakland. That being said, Santana will go twice and get it done there.
Minnesota in 5.
Detroit Vs New York
-Detroit suffered a similar fate as St. Louis and actually squandered the division title on the last day of the season, which was ridiculous. Like it’s NL counterpart, the Yankees have a questionable pitching staff but it’ll rely on it’s offensive explosiveness to out-muscle the Tigers.
New York in 4.
NLCS
San Diego 4
New York 3
ALCS
Minnesota 4
New York 2
World Series
San Diego 1
Minnesota 4
Notes
-I really don’t have anything in particular to “ramble” about.
My newfound relationship is going smoothly enough. Luckily, she has work tonight and most of tomorrow which means I can get some sleep as Im feeling really groggy or I can catch up on the recent ROH dvd’s I got the other day. On Sunday, we’re going to the art museum for a class project we’re doing together.
I started my new job at the auto-shop this afternoon, it’s Friday which means they actually don’t work much. I like that. I just set up my office, which is half the size of my previous office and it’s basically a desk, chair and a couple file cabinets. My old office had a TV, Fridge and plenty of pacing space. This office is right in the shop, so any hopes of closing the blinds and taking a, um “nap” is eliminated. I’ll get used to it. I also realized how disorganized the owner is.
The owner, took over for his brother who apparently has some health issues to take care of. The problem is, since he took over, he couldn’t keep track of the paperwork and when he did, he misplaced them. That’s my job. This allows him to just work in the shop. I already instituted a system that a monkey could follow, so my job shouldn’t be that hard.
My mother had her surgery this morning and is already home and despite being wiped out with painkillers, it went well and she’ll be fine. That’s good. This makes me the only member of my immediate family who hasn’t had some form of surgery in this calendar year. This, of course, means I just jinxed myself.
Since I did modestly well last week doing this, I’ll give more NFL Picks. This is spread-free. Which is why my picks will alter here from my picks in KKK’s deal.
Arizona @ Atlanta
-Atlanta is coming off a really embarrassing lost to New Orleans. Losing to a emotionally charged Saints isn’t embarrassing but their performance was. Arizona has the quarterback controversy they were expected to have already and it’s a guessing game to say who will actually start as they have already flip-flopped but it appears that Warner is still at the helm, for the time being. Doesn’t matter, Arizona has a lot of problems and Atlanta will be motivated here.
Arizona 14
Atlanta 27
Dallas @ Tennessee
-Tennessee has similar issues as Arizona regarding their veteran and rookie QB. The problem for Tennessee is that they have no real targets offensively.
As for Dallas? What issues do they have? Well, just a statute for a QB and a WR that can’t keep himself out of the news even when he wasn’t trying. That being said, whatever Owens status will be for the game, Dallas should manage the hapless Titans
Dallas 27
Tennessee 13
Indianapolis @ New York
-The Jets are making a good case for a 2nd place, 6-10/7-9 record season, which would be an upgrade from the preseason expectations but this is a game that should give Manning a chance to shake a bad performance last week.
Indianapolis 38
New York 20
Miami @ Houston
-Miami, really isn’t good. SI lied. Houston, is Houston. Pick your poison.
Miami 9
Houston 16
Minnesota @ Buffalo
-Minnesota hung tough against a very good Chicago team while Buffalo let a good opportunity slip through their hands last weekend. I like Minnesota here.
Minnesota 24
Buffalo 6
New Orleans @ Carolina
-New Orleans is coming off a seriously emotional win that they needed to provide the city with. Carolina has STEVE SMITH! STEVE SMITH! STEVE SMITH! Back and that is a crucial element. I think New Orleans is for real but I still think Carolina has this one. I think it’ll be a fantastic game here.
New Orleans 17
Carolina 21
San Diego @ Baltimore
-This could be a big litmus test for both teams as each team collides with a legitimate team for once. I think the combination of San Diego’s potent offense and very good defense can overcome Baltimore’s great defense and vastly over hyped offense.
San Diego 16
Baltimore 7
San Francisco @ Kansas City
-KC has looked bad but San Francisco is San Francisco.
Kansas City 42
San Francisco 13
Detroit @ St. Louis
-I’m almost tempted to take Detroit. However, I’ll be conservative and pick St. Louis.
Detroit 13
St. Louis 21
Cleveland @ Oakland
-A horrible game that should be completely ugly or insanely awesome in it’s suck.
Cleveland 10
Oakland 6
Jacksonville @ Washington
-A very smash mouth game here. It could swing either way.
Jacksonville 14
Washington 10
New England @ Cincinnati
-Cincinnati is clicking on all cylinders. New England looks lost out there and most teams are starting to figure them out. That being said, New England could be a trap game as they are coming off a headache with Thurman, looking forward to the bye week that’s followed by a MURDEROUS stretch of games and NE, apparently hasn’t lost consecutive games in over 55+ games, or something. I think Cincinnati still has it.
New England 13
Cincinnati 21
Seattle @ Chicago
-This is a very important game. Chicago struggled against a good team in Minnesota, now they got a more loaded team. The defense of Chicago should have no problem confusing Hasselback. I’ll take a close game here. Probably a FG game.
Seattle 13
Chicago 17
Green Bay @ Philadelphia
-I’d like to think Green Bay gained some momentum but I think Philly still holds a moderate edge on Green Bay but Favre usually shines on MNF. I think he’ll have a fantastic game but the special teams will hurt Green Bay
Green Bay 27
Philadelphia 35
Short notes
-Today was the first day that I was with Allison since saturday night and it was awkward walking to class holding hands. I felt like a 15 year old again. The really unusual thing was that we avoided eye contact today during class, which was weird because before saturday night it always constant. After class, we said goodbye as we go seperate ways for the day. The day after (or the day after the day after, in this case) is always awkward because you're adjusting to a new routine. I think after a few days, we'll get into a good groove.
-I went down to where I'm going to be working to check out the place and get comfortable. I think I'll like it here. Basically, all I'm doing is front-desk work, file-management and the occasional tune-up (I can do oil changes, brake changes and that's about it).
I should clarify that this place isn't one of those quick lube jobs but an old style car repair shop. I like that it doesn't have a real corporate structure and having my car worked on before by these guys, I know the work is quality and I've seen the interaction between customer and workers. It's not the type you'll get at the Jiffy Lube.
-My mother, informed me that she'll be having surgery on friday. It's apparently something involving her uterus but I didn't ask for information beyond that. It's a minor surgery, so I'm not that concerned but anytime a family member or friend goes through something like this, you can get paranoid.
I hate surgery. I've had over 20 surgeries in my life. It's just something that I got tired off and I've avoided the need for once since Thanksgiving weekend 2001.
Earlier last week, I decided since I wasn't involved with KKK's pick-em's this weekend, I would still elect to pick the games but without the spread. Here's how i did.
Predicted score first
New York 16
Buffalo 7
*Actual Score*
New York 28
Buffalo 20
1-0
*Buffalo, had a tease going but with Losman running the ship, they will only sink further. If anything, they should just tank the season and grab a new QB. Anyone will be an upgrade from Losman.*
Cincinnati 27
Pittsburgh 17
*Actual Score*
Cincinnati 28
Pittsburgh 20
2-0
*Very good game. Both of the QB’s were off today but Palmer got the job done when they needed it. Ben, choked. Ben, played horribly and he proved my assessment in regards to him still not being comfortable on the field. The accident mentally damaged him more then he’s letting on.
Rudi Johnson, was effectively shut down but the Bengals defense came up big time capitalizing on Ben’s many mistakes.
“YOU WISH YOU WERE ME!”- Jerry Porter.
Great trash talking from Porter to Chad Johnson but as usual teams are too worried about Chad and forgetting Chris Henry hanging around in the end-zone.
Of course, the next morning Odell Thurman gets arrested for DUI. Naturally, Chris Henry was on the scene*
Jacksonville 10
Indianapolis 14
*Actual Score*
Jacksonville 14
Indianapolis 21
3-0
*Jacksonville, will look back and be glad they dropped this game. They didn’t need the media hype surrounding them. The quieter they can remain, the better their success will be. Indianapolis, still has issues and I don’t think they can realistically be considered the team to beat in the AFC. Not with the way Cincinnati is playing on each side of the field.*
Tennessee 10
Miami 24
*Actual Score*
Tennessee 10
Miami 13
4-0
*I got half of it right. I underestimated just how bad Culpepper really is and the team as a whole. They really should have blown them out but they didn’t.*
Washington 13
Houston 17
*Actual Score*
Washington 31
Houston 15
4-1
*I said I didn’t care for either team and I still don’t. At least Washington took advantage when they needed to*
Chicago 20
Minnesota 10
*Actual Score*
Chicago 19
Minnesota 16
5-1
*Classic NFC Black and Blue game. Ugly and tight. Chicago impressed me in that they didn’t buckle against a real team. Minnesota, proved their worth by pushing Chicago all day. With the NFC, they have a good shot at a wild-card berth. *
Carolina 28
Tampa 16
*Actual Score*
Carolina 26
Tampa 24
6-1
*STEVE SMITH! STEVE SMITH! STEVE SMITH! Carolina killed Tampa with all those yards and Td’s from STEVE SMITH!…wait, you mean Carolina barely edged past Tampa? Maybe, this team wasn’t as good as we thought. Poor Chris Simms. First, he spends the whole week watching the media rip him, then he gets slaughtered in the game and to top his miserable week off, he loses a spleen and the season. Somewhere Major Applewhite is smiling.*
Green Bay 17
Detroit 14
*Actual Score*
Green Bay 31
Detroit 24
7-1
*Favre is back! Let the blowjobs commence. Look, it was against Detroit. Brett got to 400 and is 18 behind Dan Marino’s record. He has one more visit against Detroit this season, if he can find 10 Td’s throughout the rest of the season, he might get that record. Also, it's time for Millen to get the pink slip.*
Baltimore 21
Cleveland 7
*Actual Score*
Baltimore 15
Cleveland 14
8-1
-I guess people were a bit premature on jumping onto the Baltimore bandwagon*
St Louis 31
Arizona 27
*Actual Score*
St. Louis 16
Arizona 14
9-1
*I still don’t understand the ending sequence and I'm excited for the arrival of the Matt Leinert era*
New York 16
Seattle 13
*Actual Score*
New York 30
Seattle 42
9-2
*Well, I was pretty with that. Poor Eli, it’s bad enough that he inherited his last name but he’ll always be forced to live under the spotlight cast by his older brother.
Maybe if he didn’t suck in the first quarter all the time, he wouldn’t need to fall into a No-Huddle. If he does a No-Huddle, he’ll just get compared to Peyton. He can’t win at all. He’ll still win a conference title before Peyton does.
Couglin, getting ripped by Shockey will get alot of press and somewhat deservingly so. I'm more stunned that Shockey hasn't gone full blown T.O on NY yet*
Philadelphia 24
San Francisco 13
*Actual Score*
Philadelphia 38
San Francisco 24
10-2
*Philly, recovered from that humiliating collapse to NY by beating down the NFL proverbial JTTS*
Denver 10
New England 16
*Actual Score*
Denver 17
New England 7
10-3
*I usually don’t care for these two teams and think they get too much network love. Brady, really does need a go-to guy like Branch but I don’t think the team is hurting too much. I think the league has caught up and figured out Belichek’s scheme and without Romeo and Charlie, Billy isn’t adapting as quick as he needs to. Besides, Denver always had NE's number and I forgot about it*
Atlanta 26
New Orleans 17
*Actual Score*
Atlanta 3
New Orleans 23
10-4.
*Wow. First off, I’m not going to be an asshole. It was nice to see the city of New Orleans have something special, even if it’s fleeting. Let’s not go overboard and start claiming that this event will completely reverse the damage and that NO is going to thrive once again.
The game will be an emotional uplift for the city but the euphoria will be only brief.
U2 always makes a football game seem larger then life but dragging Green Day into wasn’t needed. Green Day is acceptable in their own little corner but they aren’t the right band for a football game and especially as a means to be spiritual uplift. How is “Wake Me Up When September Ends” (a protest song against war) supposed to inspire the crowd? The only reason they played that song because it was a recent hit and it’s still September.
The circumstances to the opening of the game were wacky and I guess we’re supposed to intrepret that as destiny doing its work. It can’t be a really bad blocking effort distracted by the intense noise? No.
Vick’s invincibility was shattered yet again. Back to the drawing board.
New Orleans and Cincinnati are undefeated and are looking like legitimate teams. Try saying that 7 years ago with a straight face*
I went 10-4, but that wasn't with the spread intact. I think I fared better on my off-week as opposed to when I'm actually playing in the pick-em's.
New Job. New Girl.
I knew that I couldn’t let myself be stagnate for too long and I managed to avoid getting trapped in a rhythm of idleness.
The New Job
I was getting bored with just school-work because after that was concluded or just ignored, that left me with nothing to do. Which leads me to wasting time doing nothing, such as being at TSM, for instance.
I got in touch with an old co-worker of mine that left a few months ago, back when I was still working on the floor. After a few minutes of bullshitting, he dropped a mention that he was running his brother’s car repair shop. He needed someone to run the office since he was more mechanically inclined then running a business.
Since I have experience in office work and I’m more then capable of car repairs, It seems like an comfortable fit for me for the time being.
I start next Friday. It should be good, It’s close to school and I’ll only be working there 25 hours a week, so that’s nothing and the pay (decent) isn’t a concern right now. I just needed to be in some working environment and I know the people there, so it should be a good deal.
I intend for this to be short-term. -
Getting the Girl.
Over the past couple weeks, I have made references to a particular dilemma. That being the process of moving into a new relationship.
The issue was that, I had one girl that I wanted. There was another girl that showed a great deal of interest in me. The latter, wasn’t bad. Usually, I would have gone for it despite her status with another guy and especially with her already knowing my family.
The problem was the other girl.
I just had a relationship over the summer that was involved with someone who knew my family well and it obviously didn’t work out as greatly as I had hoped…but the more important reasoning for me not directly making my move for the girl who made it rather clear about her intentions was simply because I had to get the other girl.
It started about 3 ½ weeks ago, it’s the classic story. She was in my class and across the room. Our eyes met and from there, it was intense. After a few days of nothing but mere eye contact, I finally went to her in the parking lot. This begun a routine of casual conversation and flirtation…
Friday morning, in an ugly, rainy morning, She (Allison) pulled up next to me in her car and she waved at me as I was getting out. She looked fantastic. She’s tall, for a girl at least. (5’9) with very slender toned body and really fantastic blue eyes. She stepped out wearing a pair of light blue track pants and a blue half zipped track jacket with nothing underneath. We talked as we headed to class, which was an exam day, this gave us a ice-breaker for the 10 minute walk.
During the exam, she looked across to me and whispered “Let’s get out of here”. So, we rushed through the rest of the exam and left together. We talked a little more and as we got back to our cars (that was our only class that day), I pulled her in a little and finally drop the obvious question…
As rain began to douse us, I took a quick look into her eyes, and I grinned.
“So, tomorrow night? I hope you don’t have any plans because I have every intention of taking you out. So, what are your plans now?” I asked with more confidence then ever before in my life as I watched her bite her lower lip and she raised her eyebrows and smiled with this slight chuckle
“Finally” she laughed
“What does that mean?” I continued to play along
“It took you awhile, I was getting worried but yeah, tomorrow night sounds great.”
My heart bloomed at the sound of her acceptance
“Cool, I’ll pick you up ’bout 8?”
“Great” she smiled once again as she slipped back into her car and I watched her drive off.
The Date
She lived in Oxford (Miami’s campus) and I went to her apartment and I was introduced and inspected by her room-mates. I hate room-mates, because it forces you to work around with them as well but I didn’t have much problem with those 2 girls. She came out looking magnificent in a captivating black and white dress. We went to this restaurant in my hometown, it’s a **** joint, which meant of course, higher priced meal.
I didn’t take her to impress her with a higher priced restaurant but because the building was once the City Building. My mother worked there as an secretary for the Mayor before I was born. My old house, where I came up was ½ mile from the restaurant. I wanted her to get a full idea of who I am and where I came up at. It just happened that I threw in a really good dinner.
Everything went right, the dinner was fantastic and we were really clicking. So many things we had in common but not so much that it was like dating a mirror image. She’s very intelligent and sweet but has a slight coldness to her (combined with her height and body frame, it almost reminded me of TSM’s own, Leena! Scary, I know). We took a walk around town to show her my old house, my old playground and all the crazy shit I did here. I could tell she really enjoyed it.
So there it was, a light drizzle but we didn’t care as we headed to that old playground and we climbed up the tiny step ladder and took a seat on top of the monkey bars and looked out at the empty field and the moon right in front of us. We took each other’s hands and just sat in silence for about 20 minutes when the rain started picking up. We ran back, laughing to my car which was still at the restaurant. I thought of taking her back to my house but I figured that was jumping too quick. We went back to Oxford and I took her right to her apartment door. Then, it was that always scary but so fulfilling moment when we just leaned up against the door and took each other hands once again and she kissed me. I kissed her back. After a few minutes of this, we finally came down from it.. She opened the door and smiled and she whispered sweetly “You’re amazing. See you Monday?” and slipped another quick kiss and finally went back inside.
So, here it is. I wanted this and I got her. I’m terrified now. It’s one thing to have a okay date and have uncertainty in the future but when you hit a virtual home run and you know it has everything you hoped for…it makes you nervous and paranoid. It’s been about 3 hours since that moment by her door and I’m craving for more but not the physical nature of it. I need the connection, that electricity that charges throughout. That’s the kill.
On monday morning, I’ll be seeing her again in that parking lot at school, where just 4 days ago…this whole idea seemed like a distant fantasy. Reality is always better then the fantasy.
I never intended to network, especially during school but I found myself in the process of this on Monday.
One of my classes is Art History: Concepts in Digital Media. I don’t care much for art, I mean, I appreciate the talents and creative process involved but I’ve never made it a point to care about this subject.
So, I’m taking this class because Miami University has this fucking idiotic concept called The Miami Plan. Essentially, no matter what you’re majoring, you have to fulfill requirements in specific fields not directly relating to it. For instance, X number of credits in Cultures, Science, Math, English, Fine Arts, Foreign Language and others that I forget. Luckily, some cross-over. I needed one more credit for Fine Arts. I elected this class merely because it slotted perfectly in between two other classes and because the professor has a reputation of being fairly well-liked.
So, I’ve been taking a class that I don’t care for aside from presence of the girl that I have mention in the previous entries. On Monday, while chatting with this said girl, she had asked me about my previous jobs and such.
It was at this time, my professor begun to eavesdrop . I told the girl that I had worked as a welder for a couple months before moving onto doing assembly work (which, as my loyal readers know lead me to the office job over the summer). My professor asked me about my history as a welder and this leads to her offering me a nice sum of money to construct a metal design that she had created and wanted to use as a canvas for a painting she plans to place in her Los Angeles Art Gallery.
So, she gave me the sketch of what she wanted and it wasn’t really that difficult to put together. I called up my old job and asked one of the key welders if he could loan me the metal I would require for the job, and not only did he offer me whatever I wanted, but would do the job for me as minimal cost (I didn’t tell him the actual price I was offered).
So, while in the process of talking to a girl that I’m pursuing, I managed to “network” myself into a pretty nice situation that’ll not only pay well but actually give me amusement of saying something I built is being viewed by snobs in Los Angeles.
I’m used to building things that a lot of people see on a daily basis but that’s all thankless work. This, once it’s completed will be recognized in some form. It’s pretty surreal.
Since my team representative in the KKK pick’ems, are lazy bastards and took a early bye week, this means I’m also “off” but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking at the games.
Here are my picks
New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills
-People are getting too excited about Buffalo. I get that 1-1, is probably the best you can expect from this team but it’s really drastic to get excited. The Jets, on the other hand, have problems of their own. This makes this one of those dreaded coin toss games.
It really can go either way with two sub-par teams. It’s a toss up, but I’m thinking Buffalo takes a quick fall back to the basement.
New York 16 Buffalo 7
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
-This is the GAME OF THE WEEK. Is it merely hometown bias? Perhaps but you can’t argue the importance of this game especially with the resurgent Baltimore franchise.
Cincinnati has a very potent offense crowded with targets, and a defense that has shown great improvements in stopping the run and continue their usual trend of picking off hapless Quarterbacks. It suffered a trio of rough injuries, most devastating being David Pollack’s season ender.
Pittsburgh, has a QB that appears to still be feeling the effects not just his most recent surgery but the near death experience just a few months ago. You see the change in Roethlisberger, beyond the cosmetic appearance. He really doesn’t look secure as he once did. It’s understandable, but on the field, a QB can’t doubt himself because it’ll damage the team.
Carson Palmer, suffered an severe injury just 9 months ago that many felt could be a career ender and has rebounded to his 2005 form, already. With an abundance of contempt stored within him against the Pittsburgh franchise, you have to assume that Palmer will never be mentally prepared and intense as he’ll be on Sunday on Heinz Field.
In my opinion, the playoff game last January between these two has elevated this rivalry among the most vicious and passionate stage of hatred in the NFL. With that level of animosity, it’ll stay close by sheer will but in the end, Rudi Johnson’s fresher legs and Palmer’s determination should be the deciding factor.
Cincinnati 27 Pittsburgh 17
*Bonus Prediction*
Replays of Palmer’s injury during the telecast: 106.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
-These two always play to Jacksonville’s style. Indianapolis, is usually forced to strip it’s identity of high-octane offense and play smash mouth football.
We all know that a certain element of the previous Colts teams that played a crucial role in their success is no longer around and that is James. This is the first game in which his absence will be felt. It’ll be an ugly game because that’s Jacksonville’s style and they’ll force Indy to convert to it.
I’ll go with Indianapolis to pull it off, despite their issues.
Jacksonville 10 Indianapolis 14
Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins
-Remember when Miami was going to win the AFC Championship and that Daunte Culpepper was going to blaze through the NFL with complete dominance? Remember when Vince Young, appeared unstoppable?
It never really existed. Miami, was an overblown sexy pick by the media and the sheep that followed them. While they had (and still might) have a outside shot at the wild-card, they have been exposed as frauds in that regard. Culpepper, still hasn’t improved and you can’t blame the injury as Carson Palmer suffered a equally severe injury and has returned to form, with lesser healing time. It appears more and more that Culpepper was merely a product of great system and WR corps.
Tennessee, is a mess. Kerry Collins, can never really be your franchise QB. Not anymore, he had a couple miracle seasons in NY and Carolina but reality sunk in. This guy was so bad, Oakland dumped him for Aaron Brooks. Vince Young, is still a very long way from developing.
This will still be the game Miami needed to shake the cobwebs off and gain some confidence via a solid victory.
Tennessee 10 Miami 24
Washington Redskins @ Houston Texans
-There probably isn’t a set of teams that I have less interest in then these two respective teams. I really don’t care what happens. I’ll take Houston, just because Joe Gibbs being 0-3 feels right. (What a shitty year for Gibbs. His football team starts off 0-2 and gets embarrassed by Drew Bledsoe on national primetime television and his star race car driver, Tony Stewart failed to make the “Chase For The Cup” but his hapless rookie driver stumbled into it, forcing them to shift the marketing campaign.)
Washington 13 Houston 17
Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings
-The other day, some morons in the NFL thread actually challenged the validity of calling Chicago a favorite for the super bowl.
Am I claiming that Chicago will be in Miami representing the NFC? No, but it’s far from outlandish to consider them a realistic possibility. Especially, with this suffocating defense and apparently, improved offense. We’ll find out if Chicago’s improved offense is just the effects of playing two very poor teams or if it’s legitimate.
Minnesota, has been a slight surprise but it’s hardly indicative of what to expect down the road. I think they’ll give Chicago it’s most difficult test to date but given the quality of the teams Chicago dispatched, I believe that any NCAA DIV.I-AA school could pose a greater threat.
Chicago 20 Minnesota 10
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-A world without STEVE SMITH is a really shitty one for the Carolina franchise. Already stumbling out of the gate at 0-2, despite the usual preseason hoopla from the media isn’t how they envisioned the season to start.
Luckily, they collide into another divisional rival with a similar tale but much more dreadful display thus far. Carolina, will benefit greatly by facing a team that appears to be falling apart.
Carolina 28 Tampa Bay 16
Green Bay Packers Vs Detroit Lions
-Ugly. Favre, in a dome vs. Jon Kitna, on football field. Sounds like thanksgiving for any opposing corner in the NFL. It’ll either be a sloppy grotesque performance by each team or a shootout exposing the really weak defenses.
Let’s go in between and say
Green Bay 17 Detroit 14
Baltimore Ravens Vs Cleveland Browns
-I said this on Sunday, but I’ll repeat it. People are greatly focusing on the incredibly putrid teams in Oakland, Detroit, Washington, Green Bay, Tennessee and Tampa Bay and have severely overlooked Cleveland.
It’ll be an ugly game but Baltimore and its newfound offense will turn the switch late in the game to put it away.
Baltimore 21 Cleveland 7
St. Louis Rams Vs Arizona Cardinals
-What you have here is a really bad Kurt Warner playing against a team that appears be searching for something and keeps wandering away from where it started. The bottom line, if Kurt Warner is on the field, you generally take the other team.
Probably high scoring, yet boring.
St. Louis 31 Arizona 27
*Bonus prediction*
Warner Sack Total: 6
New York Giants Vs Seattle Seahawks
-Last year’s game was fairly memorable for specific reason. It went down to FG’s last time around and I’ll stick with that theme.
New York 16 Seattle 13
Philadelphia Eagles @ San Francisco
-Philly, could easily fall quickly as they are probably still stuck figuring out exactly what the hell went wrong last week. Philly, despite being disorientated should still manage to get it done this weekend.
Philadelphia 24 San Francisco 13
Denver Broncos @ New England
-Each team hasn’t necessarily been all that impressive this season, but that’s the mantra for the NE, to lay around in the weeds for awhile and strike around week 10 and we’re back to New England blowjobs and whiny blowhard fans.
This will be the game that really gets the “Cutler!” fan base increased as New England wins in typical NE fashion.
Denver 10 New England 16
MONDAY NIGHT
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints.
-In case you missed it, the city of New Orleans was decimated by an brutal hurricane. It’s okay, only black people lived there. However, in the wake of this ruin was a franchise with no direction other then the road to San Antonio, TX.
Then came the resurrection. Almost gift-wrapped by the city of Houston, Reggie Bush landed in the collective outstretched arms of The Big Easy.
Despite the controversial nature surrounding Bush, he has been a brilliant marketing machine since his arrival in New Orleans.
This game will mark the return to the SuperDome, which was used as a staging area during the hurricane. The game is sold out and with NO starting off 2-0, the fans are expected to be emotional.
The reality, despite the potential tearful return “home”, they face a very good Atlanta Falcons team that has Michael Vick fully utilizing his potential, an stud of a RB in Warrick Dunn and a tremendously beefed up defense.
It’ll be a somber return for New Orleans.
Atlanta 26 New Orleans 17
*Bonus Prediction*
Reggie Bush stats: 89 Yards, 10 rushes. 1 Td
Once again, I’d like to say you’re welcome for being the catalyst in the WP=Banned domino effect. I knew my rambling would do some greater good for this place sooner or later.
That being said, I’ll miss him slightly if only because this place is boring without someone like him. Someone needs to step up to the plate. We’ll always have Marvin, though he’s just a couple more sad tales away from a horrific catastrophe.
Random things
My sister and her husband, came home yesterday from their honeymoon in the Bahamas and we learned that it only took 4 days for him to pull off his first bonehead maneuver, as he lost his ring somewhere in the ocean. According to 90’s sitcoms, it usually took 20 years and a garbage disposal for husbands to pull off the “lost ring” incident, but it took him just four days. At this rate, I might not have to get him anything for Christmas.
Speaking of my sister (which by the way, after this entry, I’m probably done with the references), her friend re-invited me to her place for the Bengals game and since she was only a few miles away, I popped in for a few minutes. A couple other people were there but it sans boyfriend. That clued me in right away, exactly what was her intention with this invite.
After about a ½ hour of small chit-chat and casual observation of the game, I decided to keep her in suspense and left early. In all honesty, I do think she’s a great girl and her being friends with my sister really helps me out but until she officially does something with her bf and until I get confirmation that the girl at school isn’t going to get moving…I’m not going for the kill just yet.
Why haven’t I? I know what it’s like to be the other guy. I know that her BF is probably completely unaware that his girl is talking to another guy and making her intentions blatantly obvious. Either way, whatever she does…I’m the bad guy in this situation. I need to know that she’d be doing this for the right reasons and not just to get my dick and leave it as that.
I can wait this situation out as long as it may need be.
-
Looking through the NFL Week 2 thread, it appears the usual suspects are incapable of logical statements.
The big issue is the validity of proclaiming the Chicago Bears to be NFC Championship contenders. The argument is essentially that it’s “Only Week 2”. Which is utterly stupid because the meaning of contenders/favorites is that they are considered a legitimate candidate for that status and they clearly are. There isn’t a real argument against it, but a couple morons still go around saying “It’s too early to proclaim a team to be a contender”.
Chicago was a playoff team last year despite a shitty offense. Chicago, retained the quality defense and significantly improved its offense. All logic clearly indicates that Chicago is an obvious contender for the NFC Championship with it’s beefy defense and improved offense.
Chicago, is a legit contender. Argument over.
-
I finally rented Madden 07 a couple days ago and I can safely conclude the magic of Madden is gone. It’s generic and formulaic now. I remember back in that 2001-2004 timeframe, where Madden was GOD. It was everything that mattered to a young punk ass kid. Now, I’m 20. I rarely play video games.
I don’t have anything against video game players, but it just seems as if by a certain age, video games don’t have any importance anymore. What is sad is that I know 45 year old losers who collect welfare and spend their days playing video games.
How could you even live that type of existence? Maybe, I’m silly for expecting myself to be better then that but If I appear to be heading down that path…I’ll buy the plane ticket for you to fly in and waste me.
Tonight is WWE’s presentation of Unforgiven. On the surface, it isn’t that bad in that they actually pushed this card and established that isn’t intended to be the standard “b” ppv even though that is what it is. Slapping on a pair of gimmick main events (TLC and HIAC) in a desperate attempt to boost buy rates is pathetic, as if those two matches and the hard-sell of Trish Stratus in her farewell match is supposed to justify such a ridiculous price.
WWE isn’t the only mainstream wrestling promotion to be floundering, TNA has yet to really get going since signing with Spike TV. People keep waiting for them to turn the table, but it’s ultimately just another wannabe WWE production.
It’s clear that the ONLY meaningful American wrestling promotion is, Ring Of Honor. Especially with the NOAH partnership.
ROH, has been incredibly strong for the past 2 years with only the rare occasion of dropping under expectations and consistently blowing everything away.
Now, excuse me while I go and put my hopes in KKK's pick-ems on the fucking Cowboys.
I find it ironic that KKK sloted me in as the rep for the team I hate most in the NFL, aside from Cleveland.
The first week of NFL action, was a disaster. Everyone tends to neglect that the first week of NFL action is poor because teams are just starting. Usually by week 4, is when things get rolling. The Bengals thoroughly embarrassed the K.C Chiefs despite a shaky offensive performance. A Cincinnati team with improved defense (held fantasy stud RB Johnson to 68 yards and 7 sacks, in addition to a pair of fumbles and an INT). The real embarrassment came from Green Bay and Oakland. (I’m willing to consider Tampa’s horrid showing as a mere aberration). Oakland has a sorry excuse of a QB. They knew this going into the season and were desperate enough to actually give Jeff George a try-out. Green Bay, was probably well prepared for the season they are about to have and despite a tremendously weak schedule, they will still have trouble reaching 5 wins. Oakland, really looked like a team that may be rendered winless throughout the entire season.
A lot of hype and talk pours from the first week and people are already proclaiming that Baltimore is “back”, that Washington is already dead. That T.O and Drew Bledsoe are heading towards a collision by week 6. I get that the Media and talk radio need some material but they really pull stuff out of their collective asses to cover air.
Aside from obvious things such as Aaron Brooks being the most inept starting QB today and for the better part of his career and that GB isn’t going upward anytime soon…nothing is for sure in the NFL. Except the things that are for sure…
College Football, on the other hand? Complete bore. The only intriguing stuff is the near wins from the cup-cake teams and that hasn’t gotten anywhere and that element is gone now as real games get underway. I just wish they would go ahead and start the BCS bitching and the playoff complaints.
Baseball, is suffering again from NFL’s mighty hand as the summer which was ripe with interest is quickly fading outside the AL Central competitors. The Reds, are still hanging by a thread but with the Marlins being the Marlins…You probably should pencil them in for another WC berth and WS victory as America yawns in approval.
The high from the previous weekend being caught up in the wedding bliss and anxious excitement that surrounds it dissipated sometime Monday afternoon and has been sinking downwards. The first two weeks of classes, where things are still in the air and everyone including the professor is getting adjusted has settled and things are really starting to pick up steam now and Im trying to kill years of laziness by actually getting it done ahead of time.
I had 6 classes at one point, but I've scaled down to four classes. Figuring the other two classes are better suited for next semester where I can take those two classes in addition to the other 3 required classes for the Miami Plan. In case I never mentioned it, Creative Writing is my major.
This is the result of countless professors, peers and family/friends telling me that I am a polished creative mind. While my actual writing skills need touch-up, it’s wise direction to take. I don't think any major I would choose actually matters to me in the long run, as my future is probably set in some office anyways. I suppose I should be focused on Business-Management but despite my experience and skills in that department, I don't like business.
I really need to get a job though. Not because I need money (still got that saved) but I need something to fill up the hours. Everyone else I know (knew) is always working/schooling. I need something to do with the other 14 hours of my day, because the 'NET isn't it.
I do hate being single. I really do. The really annoying part about this is that im constantly reminded of my most recent ex, because I have a class with her older sister and we usually have lunch together. It's completely cordial but obviously the back of mind is thinking about my ex. I don't want to get back with her, but I do want that *thing* back again.
There are always options. Two of them are right there...
One would be my sister's best friend, the girl from the wedding that I mentioned. As of this moment, she is still with her boyfriend but things change and if that requires me to push the first domino...then it might just come down to that.
There is this other girl, this started back a couple weeks ago. It was just a couple days of constant eye contact but no direct communication.
Then, I finally went to her as we were walking towards the parking lot...we had a very lovely conversation that afternoon and we make the occasional chit-chat here and there and the eye contact has remained persistent...but I’m still feeling a slight chill of ice in her. I want to break that but in a rare occurrence for me...I'm nervous.
Maybe it’s the months spent here with people like WP and Marvin clouding my mind and injecting their issues through me because I’m rarely in the position to lack confidence.
I’ll figure this out yet.
The Wedding.
No long story here. It was fantastic in every since of the word. My sister looked superbly radiant, the ceremony was tremendous and even had a dose of comedic relief from the ring-bearer having a brief tug-o-war with the buttons on his pillow.
The whole thing was great from pre-wedding pictures, (which was an event of its own), to the antics in the groom's room involving all sorts of hilarious moments that would only be funny for those involved in the moment.
Like I said in the bachelor party entry, I wasn't actively looking for anything other then having a good time socializing with my family but that didn't exactly happen.
Last night and for most of the pre-wedding stuff, me and my sister's maid of honor were constantly flirting and having a great time together. It's weird that I had never actually met her before despite being my sister's best friend for the last 3 years.
So, of course, she has a boyfriend, whom was completely late for the wedding and half the reception. My sister, was almost glowing seeing me and her best friend getting along so well. She's pretty cute with a great personality. After the boyfriend showed up, I left her alone and continued having a upstanding time with the family and meeting new people. However, before she left, she gave me a hug with an extended period of time and of course, the subtle kiss followed with the slight of hand number exchange in my pocket. So, a pretty cute girl who already makes good money (assistant director at some marketing company), already close with the family and a fantastic personality to boot? I could do worse.
I was afraid I would be "down" about this whole event, starting to get depressed about my confusing love life but I had a complete blast. Weddings just never suck. The only negative was that my father's family were barely there. Some didn't even bother making the 30 minute drive and those that did, stuck around for the ceremony and maybe a quick bite at the dessert bar. Since there wasn't an open bar, they had no reason to stick around apparently.
So, a pretty fun three days for me and it gets better with the first full day of the NFL in just a few hours....I haven't slept in nearly 48 hours and my feet are basically gone, so I should hopefully crash soon.
The Bachelor Party
So yesterday was the bachelor party and it wasn’t really all that bad, at least better then I had anticipated.
Originally, the plan was round of golf, Reds game, dinner, strip club. However, the head guy in charge was under the impression that the Reds had an afternoon game yesterday, that wasn’t the case. So plans were slightly altered but not significantly. Instead of meeting for golf early, we pushed our tee time back to 12:50. This allowed me to take my usual Thursday morning classes and since the campus is only 15 minutes away from the course, it wasn’t an inconvenience to me or anyone.
Involved in this event were myself, my sister’s fiancé (Josh), his father(a nice guy all in all but too much effort trying to be “one of the guys”, but he covered the entire thing), Josh’s two cousins, Mike and Ryan, his co-worker Jones(never got his first name) and Josh’s best man, Grant. The problem for me was aside from not knowing any of these guys aside from my brother in law (a term I still can’t verbally say) was that I was the youngest and only one not married. 5 married guys to one young punk kid.
First was golf, Grant’s father apparently was a top guy at this “upscale private club” but if you ask me, this course didn’t seem any different from the public course down the street from me. The only difference was the pungent aroma of arrogance and thievery. Let’s be clear that I hate Golf.
As a viewer, and especially as a player, this was only the second time that I played a round of golf that didn’t involve a magical castle and a windmill. I was shocked how I played, especially compared to these other supposed avid golfers. That being said, the old man killed us and deservedly so. The problem with Golf, in my mind is that it forces you to communicate because there is a lot of down time in the process. That’s the number one reason I hate this sport, it’s 90% walking, 5% analyzing and 5% action. So with four married guys busting on Josh about getting married, I was obviously uncertain how to act but eventually you figure it out. You gotta find an “in” and things become less awkward. By the 10th hole, things were going smoothly. We finished up and headed to the clubhouse where we had a few sandwiches and drinks. This lasted a couple hours and I hate to admit it, but I was enjoying it. Sure, they were obnoxious but that was a part of the clubhouse charm, I suppose.
We decided that we all had a vested interest in the Miami/Pittsburgh game, so since my place was the only open place that night…that’s where w headed to watch the game as we grilled steak and they all had some beers. This was good for me because I had an Art Concepts test this morning and I wanted to study. At the tail end of the game, we gathered up and headed to a strip club not too far from us. I’ve covered my feelings on strip clubs before but I’ll say it again…
I get it, but seriously, what is so damn appealing about a woman dancing nakedly in front of you? While these girls were all above average, there’s a deluge of higher quality girls at school who walk around just as teasingly in tight shorts and reveling tops that leave much more to the imagination.
That being said, I did enjoy watching the others continue to drink themselves stupid and loved watching them convert into human ATM’s, I’m proud to say that I kept my money in my wallet. I pay enough money on girls as it is, at least there the possibility of sex is 100% greater and desired.
In regards to the strippers themselves, the highlight was my brother in law dancing on stage with the “Lovely Mariella”; unfortunately I left my cell at the house. So no incriminating pictures exist. I left the table and headed to the back and struck up a cordial conversation with the club owner, who surprisingly was less sleazy then I had imagined. Here’s the clue in strip club “adventures”, girls will usually target the quiet ones. Why? They are more likely to be cautious and willing to hold onto their money for the bigger prize, instead of the guy’s right up against the stage. The real main event acts aren’t the ones on stage. Despite my persistence, a particular dancer by the name of Heather (tall, blonde and well enhanced) kept “seducing” me. It took her some time to get the hint but eventually she stopped with the hard sell.
It was there she dropped the act and just sat with me at the bar and we just had a casual conversation. Meanwhile, I kept a close eye on my comrades and I figured they had all they could take. Of course, I was the lone sober fool. Somehow, I roped them into the car and I took each one of them straight home.
Today is the rehearsal dinner extravaganza. That should be fine; I always enjoy a fine meal that isn’t on my bill. What’s weird is though is that I’m starting to feel awkward about the idea of my sister getting married. I’m happy for her but it’s strange to know that in just under 36 hours from now…her identity changes.
The wedding should be interesting though, as I’m flying solo (although I considered asking an ex but figured against that). I’ve said many times that weddings are the best places to meet someone and I’ve been informed that the quality will be nice but I’m not looking to fuck some random girl, at least for right now. If the timing is right and the mood is set, then yes, wedding sex is on.
Before the drinking started, Josh asked me about writing the vows and knowing that I am a pretty damn good writer with impeccable ability to say the right things, he confided in me about his fear of writing these vows, and typical male that he is, he had waited ‘til the night before. Love is the one thing that is easiest to write about…but hardest to express. All I could say is that “Love isn’t an empty truth…’. He truly loves my sister and I’m fairly confident that he’ll know the words when the time comes.
Now, that leaves me to be the last in the whole family to be unmarried. That’ll be the hot topic at the reception, me being next in line. You just gotta fake a smile and play along with the game.
It’s Friday night, and I’m anti-social. It used to be that I spent Friday nights at home because I always worked Saturday mornings but here, I really don’t have any out.
I’ll address non-real life issues first
The US Open
No, really. I like tennis. I was fairly good at in high school recreation, and should have been on the main team but I was busy with Baseball and speech tournaments to devote myself to Tennis. I wasn’t physically designed for competitive tennis anyways. However, I obtain interest in the sport from time to time…
Tennis hasn’t been significant in the grand scheme of things in this country since Pete called it quits and America stopped caring about the other Williams sister while the good and better looking one started getting distracted by the prospect of being Paris Hilton’s sidekick on the red carpet.
Roddick was a failure in more ways then one. Product of hype followed by a couple years of mainstream popularity thanks to his looks and relationship with once relevant musical pop star turned Independent movie queen, Mandy Moore. He never reached that level the mainstream and tennis enthusiasts felt he could. Granted, that could change since he still has time.
Roger let’s be realistic. He’s a fantastic player, easily the best since Pete retired and might end up better then him in the end but he doesn’t sell to anyone outside the tennis world. He could end up with more grand slams than you can count but he’ll probably be met with a resounding “who?” for the remainder of his career. Obviously, that doesn’t help Tennis get back to its peak.
From a female side, none of the girls are really at that level that reached in the old days or even just 5 years ago. Maria is good looking and she isn’t an Anna (which is good for the credibility of the sport) but it’s dying to produce new superstars.
Also, he is irrelevant these days but fuck you, Marat Safin.
As for the important thing…
Andre Agassi.
On the surface, Agassi is an impressive story all in itself considering how he virtually disappeared for years while Pete became the official top dog. He kept himself in the news with his failed publicity stunt marriage but came out looking like gold by rejuvenating his career not just on the court but on the market.
He improved on that by marrying the beloved and sweet hearted Steffi Graf. It’s funny seeing her in the stands as a tennis wife, because for a brief moment you trick yourself into forgetting she was once who she is. I feel for their kids if they ever go into tennis. That’s like being the son of Michael Jordan and whatever great woman’s basketball player that exists.
This is Andre’s last stand. Obviously, the crowd is responding accordingly in the manner in which you expect people to behave in a locale known as “Flushing Meadows”. Appropriate. I can tune out the crowd once they get really ridiculous. Leena mentioned that “no one should announce retirements” and I can see the point in that but in the case of Andre, I don’t think he needed to make that official announcement. The writing was emphatically on the wall in bright flashing neon reminiscent of his old fashion style.
Putting that aside, how could you not be sucked into this? You don’t have to enjoy tennis or understand the logic of the game, Agassi is such an incredible and captivating persona that you won’t realize that you spent 4+ hours watching intently to a game you otherwise wouldn’t give a shit about.
It probably ends now and that’s for the best really. It’s a good way to go out by losing to the appointed “future” (although, that ship is sinking) and he’ll probably put up a competitive fight through sheer willpower alone. It’s better this way, instead of getting spanked by a superior talent and limping away. Andre had a phenomenal career that had so many valleys, but he leaves a gracious superstar. It’s not that commonplace in sports and it’s not so common in a sport that an entire nation forgot about, but it’ll remember for a couple more days when they watch an old broken man have his last dance.
Football (Pro and College)
I can’t really explain it, but it happens with seemingly more dramatic fanfare and pomp each late summer heading into the breach of fall. Football season approaches and there is this palpable intensity permeating throughout this country. It doesn’t matter if you are a die hard fan of the Cowboys, Miami Hurricanes or even the dregs of NCAA DIV. II…You get anxious to the point, you begin to dream, eat, sleep and breath football.
It’s beautiful and oddly enough, it never dies down. In baseball, you go through lulls. In Basketball and Hockey, it becomes a waiting game until the playoffs finally arrive. Football, on each pro and collegiate level never ceases to lose interest. College football has a built in curiosity that locks in the fans and because of the nature of the NCAA Div. 1, every game literally counts. The whole season is a virtual playoff. Of course, 95% of the entire league is pretty much automatically exempt from the thought of contending for the national title. That’s one of the few negatives about college football. This season, you got the usual suspects getting pre-season hype and attention for legitimacy in contending for the championship.
Ohio State, Texas, USC, Notre Dame (making their first trip to the upper echelon in a few years), West Virginia (the annual sexy pick), Auburn, Florida and LSU.
It’s drastically early to seriously predict the championship contenders but rest assured this regular season won’t end without the annual pointless, meaningless and fruitless debate over the supposed necessity of a playoff system and of course, the traditional BCS bashing routine. It’s the same article every season with the occasional changed team. Right now, take confidence that a minimum of two teams will cry foul about being “screwed” out of the BCS bowls, a team ranked 10-15 spots lower then those teams will obtain one of those cushy spots via the privilege of being the best of a lesser conference.
Random Championship Game Prediction
Florida over Ohio State
NFL is scripted a little differently but the act usually plays out the same. The usual suspects will be legitimate threats, an unexpected team will rise from the dead to baffle the fans and pundits equally and the league will enjoy divine parity throughout the land creating a greater opportunity for increased ratings and sales revenue. This is a key season for the new commissioner, Roger Goodell (seriously, like that name doesn’t lend itself to a deluge of bad puns). While the league isn’t going to collapse with his arrival, it’s important to see how he implements his own touch and maintain the effective standing of the league.
A lot of questions were being asked locally about the status of MVP candidate and rising superstar, Carson Palmer and his recovery from the devastating injury he suffered last January. That has been defiantly answered in the eyes of fans, pundits and most importantly, Carson Palmer. He’s ready to go. His physical skills are still intact and that mental block has been lifted.
With a healthy Palmer, there’s little doubt that Cincinnati’s offense is insane and rivals the Colts in explosiveness and with a change in Indianapolis’s running game, Cincinnati is operating with a squad that remains intact from the past season with more familiarity and comfort within the system. The defense will remain a sketchy issue. The ability to capture turnovers is fantastic, but not when you allow runners to destroy you. The Bengals have looked nothing short of brilliant in the pre-season, but that’s the pre-season.
Does that make them the overall favorite? No. A questionable defense and a quarterback recovering from a serious injury creates skepticism. The favorites, across the board are the usual suspects of Indianapolis (with the window rapidly closing), Carolina (with additional offensive help in Johnson), Pittsburgh (The defending champs, minus the Bus and EL), Seattle (faced with the Madden and SB Curse simultaneously) and the perennial favorite that you can’t overlook…New England.
Miami is the sexy pick for this season, while a legitimate Wild-Card contender, I don’t buy them as SB contenders.
Don’t forget that Reggie Bush is going to rebuild the city of New Orleans with his magic feet.
Don’t forget that Michael Vick is a natural athlete that you can’t contain, unless you watch all the other teams who have managed just that.
Don’t forget that T.O plays for Dallas and he might have some problemswith the coaching staff. Universe outside his planet.
Don’t forget that Peyton Manning can’t win the big one.
Don’t forget that Larry Johnson is the ultimate fantasy player…
Don’t forget that Brett Favre should have retired after-all.
Don’t forget that Matt Millen is a idiot.
Don’t forget that the NFL owns your soul.
Regular Season Predictions With Little Thought Implemented
AFC East: New England, Miami, Buffalo and New York
AFC South: Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Houston and Tennessee
AFC North: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland
AFC West: Kansas City, San Diego, Denver and Oakland
Wild Cards: Miami and Jacksonville
NFC East: Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington and New York
NFC South: Carolina, New Orleans (yes, there is always a team like NO doing this) Atlanta, Tampa Bay
NFC North: Chicago, Green Bay (really easy schedule gives them 5 wins, which might be enough for 2nd), Detroit and Minnesota (I just sense a really miserable season, again for these guys)
NFC West: Seattle, St. Louis, Arizona and San Francisco
Wild-Card: Philadelphia and St. Louis (I think the North is complete crap and the east will play each other, leaving St. Louis to waltz in there)
Super Bowl Pick
Carolina over New England
Wrestling
Raw is a joke. It’s all McMahon and all DX. It’s 1998 without everything that worked. Smackdown is still vacant in the Cincinnati area and unlikely to return for the time being. Still clearly designed as the C show and the atrocious Eddie Guerrero exploitation persists.
ECW is the only interesting thing going in WWE land and that’s only for the voyeuristic aspect of watching a train wreck. CM Punk is “shockingly” (in the eyes of jaded internet fans) getting a modest mid-card push without losing any of the values and principles that made him so endeared to the independent fan base to begin with…well, other then his standard 30 minute promos and 60 minute matches.
However, squashing nobodies isn’t what Punk deserves. However, if being a bright spot in between WWE’s second helping of Raw on Tuesday nights on Sci-Fi and avoiding being a part of the main act is all Punk is getting, it might not be a bad deal after-all.
Remember most were adamant that Punk would regret turning TNA down on the basis of no television exposure only to have TNA sign with Spike days after finalizing the deal with WWE? That Punk would be wasted and reduced to nothing, and would have thrived in TNA.
Aside from the possibility of one more match with Joe on PPV, what else would Punk obtained in TNA that he didn’t in OVW and WWE as of right now.
Punk will eventually move into actual programs and meaningful matches, in ECW already he has reached a audience twice the size that TNA reaches. In OVW, he spent a year under the mastermind of Paul Heyman as they worked to create the BEST televised wrestling show in 2005 and half of 2006. Had fantastic feuds and was the flagship for that promotion. He improved on his skills and became a tighter performer.
All working with TNA would have done is let him work ROH. Punk did EVERYTHING possible in ROH except win the Pure title. While the prospect of Punk/Kenta sounds bad-ass, the world will keep spinning.
Speaking of ROH, BJ Whitmer is a legitimate badass motherfucker. After tearing two ligaments and destroyed ankle cartilage last March, he continued working at a high level including two sadistic matches in Cage Of Death and the Barbed Wire match with Necro Butcher…he finally was forced to take surgery. The Summer of ROH was fantastic with the hot Nigel/Danielson matches, emergence of stars like Davey Richards, the CZW/ROH blow off, KENTA performances and the superb Briscoes/Aries and Strong matches. The Glory By Honor V weekend is really packed…it includes but not limited to…
9/15
Danielson Vs Aries
KENTA and Marufuji Vs Briscoe Brothers
Samoa Joe Vs Roderick Strong
Daniels Vs Nigel McGuiness
9/16
KENTA Vs Danielson
Strong and Aries Vs Kings Of Wrestling
Naomichi Marufuji Vs Nigel McGuiness
SPECIAL GUEST: Bruno Sammantino
With Morishima, Yone and Sugiura in attendence both nights.
Speaking of Independent wrestling, I really need to pimp Cheerleader Melissa/Mschief for putting on a EXCELLENT Falls Count Anywhere match for the SHIMMER promotion. SHIMMER is an exceptional promotion based completely around Woman’s Wrestling.
Personal Life Shit
Didn’t think I could go a whole blog without sprinkling some personal life shit, right? Actually, nothing too much to report. School has just been completely fantastic and I’m blown away by how much I’m digging this current semester. It’s not all related to academics though. Another one has come around…
To be honest, I’m sorta growing nervous about it…I haven’t really felt this way since a 18 months ago. Hard to believe it was only 18 months ago…but life sure has changed since then. I’m probably over thinking this too much. This is exactly why I said I wanted to avoid this stuff for the whole semester. I couldn’t go 2 weeks.
It’s funny that I’m stressing about the start of something that might be nothing while in just 7 days, my sister will be married. Next Thursday is the bachelor party. It’s a all day thing of Golf, Reds Game and Strip Club appearance. I don’t get the concept of bachelor party, okay, I do but I think it’s dumb. I don’t need an excuse to see someone dance naked in front of me, that sort of thing loses its appeal (in this context) after the first time. I don’t drink either, so the entire purpose is lost on me but I guess I have to partake because it’s only proper or something, according to my sister.
Jesus, this was really long. Im that bored…that’s enough for now.
