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Hawk 34

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  1. Hawk 34

    TV Show List

    By Hawk 34,

    I'm bored and I felt like making a list...so here is my top 20 favorite TV shows list (past and present)
     
    20. TITUS
    19. NYPD Blue
    18. Dead Like Me
    17. Curb Your Enthusiasm
    16. Boy Meets World
    15. Veronica Mars
    14. Deadwood
    13. Law and Order
    12. One Tree Hill
    11. Six Feet Under
     
    and the top ten are...
     
    10

     
    9

     
    8

     
    7

     
    6

     
    5

     
    4

     
    3

     
    2

     
    1

     
     
  2. Hawk 34
    I thought about starting another thread devoted to him but decided against it. He's really on my nerves tonight with his complete inability to understand that cleaning ladies are common and his walking into my thread about my ex-girlfriend and her bf.
     
    also, the comments in the munchie thread as well.
     
    Anyone else getting tired of this guy? It was cute for awhile, then downright sad and now it's irritating.
     
  3. Hawk 34
    So this weekend didn't quite finish the way I expected, hell it never even got started.
     
    I attended the ROH show in Dayton on Friday night, the show was alright but it lacked that special quality that it needed. At least Joe/Sydal Vs Gen Next and the CZW/ROH brawl were insane. I had prepared to go to OU to meet my friend, Natalie (KKK's favorite) and just visit with her and take her to Cleveland with me for part two of the ROH OHIO DOUBLESHOT weekend.
     
    I was packing up my car about to leave for Athens, I gotten a phone-call from my ex. Her uncle had died a few days ago and hadn't gotten around to calling me to tell me the funeral was that day.
     
    Her uncle was a good man, he treated me with alot of respect and taught me things I am still grateful for. He died of some cancer, he was barely into his 50's. It's a shame when good people like him die young and I see miserable pricks still alive who serve nothing to soceity other then giving us someone to not want to be.
     
    I'm not a big funeral person. I have probably been to 5-6 funerals in my lifetime and all of them usually involved my family or family friends, which meant I usually had people I knew around me to avoid the awkwardness of it all.
     
    I called Natalie to inform her that I couldn't come today which she launched a tirade and I just hung up on her. I went to the funeral and it was awkward as expected. I hadn't seen any of these people since me and my ex broke up last summer.
     
    Me and Her, had seen each other a couple times since then, both cordial meetings. I couldn't resist noticing that she looked incredible, which is weird because why would you look so good for a funeral?
     
    I mingled around and I was surprised most people remembered me. It was nice to see them again but especially nice to see her again.
     
    It might seem funny but maybe this funeral will get us back together. The problem is...I'm still attached to my other ex/best friend who is @ Kent right now. She comes home next week.
     
    I guess I need to make a decision...go with the EX who I love to death...even if she betrayed me a year ago...or the EX that loves me but I dont love her..even if she sacrificed everything for me a year ago.
  4. Hawk 34

    What is going on

    By Hawk 34,

    It's been awhile since I checked in here, so here's a quasi update on my world beyond TSM.
     
    Classes end next wednesday. Actually, I only have one exam to take as the rest of my final scores depend on projects or portfolios.
     
    This would conclude my first year of college and I can conclude that it was a disapointing expeirence. I did fairly well academically, which was never a concern despite my alarming laziness. I spent the first semester at the main campus @ Oxford living in a house with a couple other guys. I enjoyed that although it really wasn't the Animal House thrill I expected.
     
    Unlike alot of the kids who go to Miami, I don't have my parents throwing me $ to attend this school. It was my decision, as I am paying for school on my own, that I would move back in my house and just commute to Miami's regional school in Middletown. This is a 20 minute commute and probably for the best because academically, everything is the same.
     
    I will continue at Miami. I had considered transfering to Kent St where my ex/best friend goes but I decided that I couldn't just follow her. I have to make my own mark. So I'll stay at Miami. I'm attending all three branches, Oxford/Middletown/Hamilton.
     
    I got a promotion at work
     
    For the last two years, I have worked at a plant. We design and build customized conveyor systems for all sorts of companies like Kellog's, General Electric, Honeywell Security, 3M Corp and DHL.
     
    My job was on the parts assembly crew, and on occasions I would do field jobs. Where I would go to the company's base and build the conveyor on-site or just repair them.
     
    The security that is involved at places like General Electric, is fucking CRAZY. I probably had to go through 100 checkpoints, had my work-truck throughly scanned and they had posted guards to watch me while I worked. I had to get clearence just to take my drill out of my box. It would normally take 2 hours to do those jobs but GE made it take 10 hours. Just fucking nuts.
     
    Anyways, after two years of doing that...I was promoted to foreman of the assembly crew. What this means is essentially nothing except a title and a 5% raise, which I like. The idea is that most of my crew that I worked with is being moved around...supposedly getting higher jobs.
     
    Here is the bullshit of it. I am 20 years old, the youngest and least tenured person on that crew and I got the foreman job (the former foreman left the job for personal reasons). I know why I got the job and so does everyone else. The president of the plant, is my father's best friend. That's how I got the job to begin with. Luckily, I worked my ass off enough to convince those other guys that I earn my pay. Now, this advancement isn't going to help my image. Since my crew is being split apart, I have to assemble a new crew in the next 2 weeks.
     
    Summer time, is our busy time. I'm supposed to handle big orders from fucking Kellog's and Honeywell all summer (which means dealing with them as well) and I also gotta train 4-5 new guys.
     
    This weekend, could be AWESOME or really, really bad
     
    This weekend, I have plans (gasp!). On friday night, I make the short trek to Dayton to attend the RING OF HONOR show. I'll cover my expecations for this show in a later blog. Saturday morning, after a short stint at work I will drive to Athens, OH. Which is where Ohio University is located.
     
    Readers of this blog (all 2 of you) might remember my friend Natalie, the former egomanaical virgin turned mother to be. I decided to give her a visit, since she has been going nuts (understandably so) and I figure she needs an old friend to rest her mind. I'm taking her out of Athens for the day and we're going to drive to Cleveland, and attend that night's ROH show. It is after that show, we will head to Kent St to visit my ex (and she's willing to put up with Nat for the night, despite their mutual dislike). So that'll be fun or exciting at least. It's possible I regret this. Considering who i'm spending the majority of the weekend with. The ROH shows, will be good at least.
     
     
  5. Hawk 34
    Now, that I have finally caught all the offerings of 2005 (although FIP is way behind) and I haven’t gotten through OVW yet. So It’s possible I could be making changes later this year.
     
    *This is NA exclusive as I’m still behind on Puro*
     
     
    2005
    The Top Twenty
     
    20. Austin Aries Vs CM Punk (ROH-Death before Dishonor III)
     
    19. James Gibson Vs Austin Aries (ROH-The Final Showdown)
     
    18. Alex Shelley Vs Claudio Castagnoli (ROH-This Means War)
     
    17. AJ Styles Vs Christopher Daniels (TNA-Bound for Glory)
     
    16. Bryan Danielson Vs Spanky (ROH-BOASJ)
     
    15. CM Punk Vs Jimmy Rave (ROH-Nowhere to Run)
     
    14. Kurt Angle Vs Shelton Benjamin (WWE-Raw)
     
    13. Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles (TNA-Sacrifice)
     
    12. Samoa Joe Vs Necro Butcher (IWA-Something to Prove)
     
    11 Shelton Benjamin Vs Shawn Michaels (WWE-Raw)
     
    10. CM Punk Vs Roderick Strong (ROH-Escape from New York)
     
    9. Bryan Danielson Vs CM Punk (FIP-Bring the Pain)
     
    8. Rey Mysterio Vs Eddie Guerrero (WWE-Smackdown. 6.23)
     
    7. Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal Vs Low Ki and Homicide (ROH-Nowhere to Run)
     
    6. Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels (WWE-WM21)
     
    5. Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles Vs Christopher Daniels (TNA-Unbreakable)
     
    4. Low Ki Vs KENTA (ROH-Final Battle 2005)
     
    3. Bryan Danielson Vs Roderick Strong (ROH-Vendetta)
     
    2. Samoa Joe Vs Kenta Kobashi (ROH-Joe Vs Kobashi)
     
    1. Bryan Danielson Vs James Gibson (ROH-Glory by Honor IV)
     
    Here’s the Worker Tally (repeat names only)
    Bryan Danielson: 4 (#1, #3, #9 and #16)
    James Gibson: 2 (#1 and #19)
    CM Punk: 4 (#9, #10, #15 and #20)
    Roderick Strong: 2 (#3 and # 10)
    Low Ki: 2 (#4 and #7)
    AJ Styles: 3 (#5, #13 and #17)
    Christopher Daniels: 2 (#5 and #17)
    Kurt Angle: 2 (#6 and #14)
    Shawn Michaels: 2 (#6 and #11)
    Samoa Joe: 5 (#2, #5, #7, #12 and #13)
     
    *This indicates a really strong year for Joe, Punk and Dragon(which is impressive, as he missed 4 months of 2005 in NA) and that Shawn Michaels, despite being one of the oldest active members of the WWE roster is still putting on the top performences for the WWE. It is in my opinion though, that 2005 was the year of CM PUNK.
     
    Establishing 4 top twenty matches, in addition to a handful of honorable mentions, he also captured the ROH World Title in a memorable fashion and had a excellent heel turn in the process. The storyline of Punk holding the ROH Title hostage in the summer, was easily a top five storyline in all of wrestling and don't forget his emotional farewell in Chicago against Colt Cabana in a 2/3 falls match. That show ranks #2 all-time best seller for ROH (behind Joe/Kobashi, and ahead of Joe-Punk II). CM Punk moved onto OVW, where he was an instant star and has had great matches and storyline with Brent Albright.
     
    My Top 15 workers of 2005
    1. Samoa Joe
    2. Bryan Danielson
    3. Kurt Angle
    4. James Gibson
    5. CM Punk
    6. Eddie Guerrero
    7. Christopher Daniels
    8. AJ Styles
    9. Shawn Michaels
    10. Rey Mysterio
    11. Shelton Benjamin
    12. Low Ki
    13. Roderick Strong
    14. Austin Aries
    15. Brian Kendrick
  6. Hawk 34
    The frayed remains of a lost friendship
     
    Last night, I was doing more of the usual (tsm’ing, watching AI and doing some school-work). I got a phone call around 9:30 from my old friend, Natalie. Let me explain this girl to you, she’s the ultimate attention needing, steal all the spotlight person. She’s incredibly beautiful as well, which only fuels her selfish and vain propensity.
     
    We became friends, I believe my senior year. She was a junior, and we met through normal circumstances. I was a part of the speech team at school (pretty good at it as well). I had been asked to go to the monthly drama club meeting and infiltrate and recruit. I did a good job and that was how I met her. For 3 years, we were pretty good friends. Best friends, at times. Then she finally graduated high school and promptly moved away to Ohio University. It was over last summer; while we weren’t really talking to each other that I became very close friends with her former best friend (imagine the usual teen-age drama bullshit and that is your explanation for their hatred towards each other).
     
    So, she finally finds out about my relationship with that girl and this greatly pisses her off. I argued that, “why do you care? You left the last 3 months and left me standing here in the doorway, crying” (in regards to my break-up, which I described in an early entry) and that the other girl was actually there for support and that I consider her not just my lover(not at this moment) but my best friend. So, Natalie decides to call me a traitor. Which was hilarious, to say the least when she actually celebrated that my girlfriend had cheated on me (she has always hated my gf’s because I would give them my attention and not her).
     
    Anyways, we drifted away from each other. Reduced to aim convo once every three weeks and I was hardly missing her.
     
    On Sunday morning she imed me and told me that she got drunk and her friend fucked her and now she thinks she’s pregnant.
     
    Let me, point out the irony here. Through the course of our friendship, she constantly praised the importance of abstinence and often condemned me for having sexual relationships. So, for her to piss that away because she got drunk was fittingly perfect.
     
    Anyways, I had other stuff to worry about (things I can’t even begin to explain to a bunch of relatively speaking, strangers). I told her “don’t panic, you probably aren’t pregnant”. So last night, she im’s me again bitching about how she thinks she’s pregnant and I go “There’s nothing I can do about it. You did it, that’s why you shouldn’t have sex if you aren’t mature enough to handle the potential consequences”.
     
    She went off on a long rant about how I’m a jerk and how I’m selfish and stuff like this. I explained to her, what was going on with my life and how monumental it is (it involves a family member) and she straight out said “I don’t give a fuck about that. You have any idea how big this thing is here? Do you?”.
     
    I responded “you are insane” and she goes on another rant about how she hates me and that I haven’t been there for her. Funny, I seem to recall her leaving right away without even a goodbye.
     
    The point of this is…
     
    Where the fuck did my friends go? I never had a huge group of friends but I had my own little circle and we were really close. 2 years removed from HS and I probably only keep in real good touch with one person. I keep in better touch with my ex’s, even the one who betrayed me then I do with my actual “friends”. I always heard from my parents that you won’t always be friends with them, but I figured it’d last at least through college. It’s just another depressing aspect of growing up, I suppose.
     
  7. Hawk 34

    Livin' The Blues

    By Hawk 34,

    The Path I Chose, I had to Follow
    If there is no road, there is no tommorow
    Hold On, Hold On for as you long as you can see
    It doesn't matter, nothing matters for it's only make-believe now...
     
    I can't even begin to explain how much I regret the decisions I made throughout my life and that's expected. You can't show me one person who did everything right from the start. I do, however feel like I am way behind where I should be. I'm 20 years old and I lost almost 1 and 1/2 years on my life by waiting until I went to college and once I got here, I haven't really gotten anywhere. I still feel stuck as the same 18 year old I was, the day I grabbed that diploma from Dr. Carter (my HS principal, who I hear is dying of cancer...which is a shame. He was one of the very few good ones).
     
    I see my friends, already changing things. Some for the best and some for the worse, but change nontheless. I can't change, beyond my haircut. Fuck, I even have the same fucking wardrobe as I did 2 years ago.
     
    Every time, I think I got the urge to get the fuck up...something always comes to me and brings it back down and I can't remember how things got to be this way.
     
    It used to seem that there was always something to make you happy and get you through the days...I had a really, really good month in January. It's always been a running theme in my life...I start the years off in a incredible fashion and it derails sometime around labor day into a complete mess.
     
    Then, somehow it fixes itself up and disappears and I get another brief glimpse at the concept of happiness...
     
    Oh, the girl from the other day? She's giving us another creature into this world.
     
    Lesson: Don't have drunk sex.
     

  8. Hawk 34

    After Mania...

    By Hawk 34,

    I'm pissed.
     
    I was so sure I would write some scathing review about tonights PPV.
     
    That won't happen, because it delivered to an extent.
     
    I'll post my original predictions before writing up my reaction to the show...
     
     
    TBS/Kane Vs Carlito/Masters
    Winner: Carlito and Masters (DQ)
    Time: 5:30
    Rating: *1/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: Kane and TBS
    Time: 6:00
    Rating: *1/4
     
    Thoughts
    -A pretty short squash match. I was expecting them to extend this feud out another month for Backlash but they went ahead and had the champs squash the challengers with ease. I'm not sure if it was the best choice for opener but the crowd was feeling it and Carlito, is bound for a face turn sooner or later.
     
     
    Money in the Bank
    Winner: Flair
    Time: 18:00
    Rating:***3/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: RVD
    Time: 12:00
    Rating:***1/4
     
    Thoughts
    -This was your basic spotfest ladder match. It hardly had anything memorable that'll be spotlighted for years to come, but the crowd was all for RVD and RVD showed up. Shelton avoid the botchy jitters for the big stage and probably was the highlight reel, once again with his springboard onto the ladder being the most memorable. I was expecting Flair to win, only because of the promo he cut last week. RVD, was the only other legitimate choice and probably, the right choice.
     
    Batista's brief cameo interupting Orton's promo looked to set up Orton/Batista, where Orton will probably be the champion by the time Batista returns this summer.
     
    Chris Benoit Vs JBL
    Winner: JBL
    Time: 13:50
    Rating: ***3/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: JBL
    Time: 9:00
    Rating:**1/2
     
    Thoughts
    -Incredibly rushed as this match needed another 5-8 minutes. I was expecting this to steal the show and it didn't. It was a passable Smackdown or lower-tier ppv match, but not WM. I was disapointed to see JBL resort to mocking Eddie for cheap heat. The good news is that JBL is carrying the title, he should have held all along.
     
    Hard-Core Match: Edge Vs Mick Foley
    Winner: Edge
    Time: 13:00
    Rating:**3/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: Edge
    Time: 15:00
    Rating:***3/4
     
    Thoughts
    -I was expecting a paint by number effort by Foley and I was wrong to underestimate him again. I still think the build for this match was horrid but they delivered on this match. Foley using the wrap-around barb-wire was a nice touch as they incorporated the usual (tacks, stairs, barbie) but the match was still stiff but not contrived. Lita, looked really good and I enjoyed her efforts tonight as the barbed wire socko was gusty to take and the bleeding from the mouth was a good visual. Foley, did a excellent blade job as he looked like Two-Face Harvey with the crimson mask convering only the left side of his face. Expected finish but it was hardly an unimpressive sight. Foley, delivered his best WM performance and is something to be proud of. Now stay home, Foley and just blog.
     
    The T's segment in the hall was gold, I really can't add anything else to that statement. Booker and Sharmell are a very consistant comedy duo and they deserve better then what came after this, we also need more Booker/Goldust reunions. It's also great to see Dibiase getting air time again.
     
    Boogeyman Vs The T's
    Winner: Boogeyman
    Time: 3:45
    Rating:*1/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: Boogeyman
    Time: 5:00
    Rating: DUD
     
    Thoughts
    -Booker T deserved better, although I'm glad he gets a WM paycheck. This was expectedly bad and probably worse then bad. One of the worse Mania matches ever. Thankfully, Boogeyman is injured and likely isn't working matches for a bit of time.
     
    Trish Stratus Vs Mickie James
    Winner: Mickie James
    Time: 8:20
    Rating:**1/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: Mickie James
    Time: 9:00
    Rating:***3/4
     
    Thoughts
    -No, seriously. This was an excellent match that completely went beyond my expecations. Easily, the best woman's match in WWE in years. The heat was incredible for a woman's match and Mickie completely shined in the spotlight. Maybe the high rating was because the woman's stuff is rarely ever that good, but this match was. Maybe it'll drop in a year from now but right now it was the most memorable match. The finish is being talked about alot and people are focusing too much on the botch. Mickie, covered up pretty well and played it off with the skill and intelligence of a seasoned veteran. The most talked about part of the match, was easily the "Camel Toe Clutch", that was something new for a woman's match and it really, really fit with Mickie's character. The pose, after that spot was tremendous as well as Mickie's expression
     
    The McMahon family prayer, comical if only for Stephanie's attempts to stifle her laughter.
     
    Undertaker Vs Mark Henry
    Winner: Undertaker
    Time: 10:25
    Rating:*3/4
     
    Actual result
    Winner: Undertaker
    Time: 9:00
    Rating:*3/4
     
    Thoughts
    -Essentially, the match I was expecting. It wasn't a total stinker but it wasn't good either. Taker busting out the plancha, is always a good sight to see. Hopefully, Taker gets his first (and final) WM classic, next year.
     
    Vince McMahon Vs HBK
    Winner: HBK
    Time: 20:30
    Rating:***
     
    Actual results
    Winner: HBK
    Time: 18:00
    Rating: ***1/4
     
    Thoughts
    -Fairly good SE match, as Shawn completely dominated Vince. The SS run-in was great if only for Doane's bumping. Shane, was useful in his comical selling. The story they told, was excellent (although it was completely ignored by the commentators).
     
     
    Rey Mysterio Vs Kurt Angle Vs Randy Orton
    Winner: Rey Mysterio
    Time: 17:30
    Rating:***1/2
     
    Actual result
    Winner: Mysterio
    Time: 9:00
    Rating: ***
     
    Thoughts
    -Criminally short. This match had another 10 minutes in it and the rapid-fire finish didn't help. The crowd completely turned against Rey, and some are angry about that. Look, Rey had been booked as a joke and the constant Eddie exploitation was irritating. A backlash, had to be expected.
     
    Torrie Vs Candice
    Winner: Candice
    Time: Too long
    Rating:DUD
     
    Actual results
    Winner: Torrie
    Time: 4:00
    Rating: DUD
     
    Thoughts
    -Who gives a shit
     
    Triple H Vs John Cena
    Winner: Triple H
    Time: 24:45
    Rating:**1/4
     
    Actual results
    Winner: John Cena
    Time: 21:00
    Rating: **1/2
     
    Thoughts
    -I've covered the entrances enough in the WM thread. They were both embarassingly bad. At least, It was nice to see CM Punk appear at WM in his home-town. The crowd heat against Cena, was nuclear to say the least. Triple H, had a big grin inside him as the crowd was completely behind him. The match, probably wasn't really that bad and might look better on later viewing but you can't deny the crowd just really sucked you out of the match and forced you to focus on the surreal aspect of a crowd 100% behind Triple H.
     
    This was a no-win situation as neither men aren't what they need on top right now.
     
    Over-all, the show was very solid but not a classic WM but it gave a couple very good matches, a good comedy segment and nothing atrociously bad aside from what was already expected.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  9. Hawk 34

    Interuptions

    By Hawk 34,

    Last night, i was trying to get some of my work done for my class today (in half-hour, actually) but I kept getting interupted by various circumstances.
     
    A). My ex-girlfriend, whom I remain friendly with had to start up a AIM convo about her current relationship and said "you actually understand me, so you know what to say"
     
    -Okay, If I understand you so damn much, why did you leave my ass? I don't need flattery to offer my advice but don't cheapen it by acting like you still need my words and wisdom. You just want to vent. I am cool with that, I've been there. It's just not right, to still claim I was the right guy for everything about you, when I was obviously not that guy. (Of course, she does like to say from time to time "I really do believe you are my soul-mate, it was just bad timing for us". Like I need to drag myself down a bottomless pit, with you. Again)
     
    B). The O.C
    -This show, used to be awesome. Remember season 1? It was the perfect show in every way. Season Two, slipped a little but the final episodes made up for it. Now, they are going head-first into cliche land. Marissa is a coke-head, now? How long did it take Kelly Taylor? I don't recall Joey Potter or Jen ever having Cocaine issues. Ryan, looks 35 now. Seth, to his credit (being the oldest actual cast member) still looks 18.
     
    It's like they are throwing everything into one giant machine and shaking it up. How did Summer Roberts go from being the hottest girl on TV to being "ehhh", in just two seasons? Even Taylor, leap-frogged her.
     
    C). My Dog, Gibson
     
    -When we first got this thing, he was adorable. 2 Months later, it's been a diaster. You can't contain this thing. We have a large backyard for him to play with our other dog, a more relaxed dog but once he comes inside? He's a beast, and not in the trendy sense of the word.
     
    D). This fucking place
    -Even if it was zombie-land last night, I was still here.
     
    I finally wrapped up my paper about 2 am.
  10. Hawk 34

    Untitled

    By Hawk 34,

    So, here it is. It's monday afternoon and I am currently in the cpu lab at school, waiting for my late-start class that I added (for easy credits), the class doesn't begin until 5:30 and it's over at 8:25. My last class ended at 11:50. That left me with quite a bit of time to waste.
     
    The problem is? I'm a commuter regional branch campus, there's nothing to do here. We have a tiny little lounge area in the main building and this cpu lab. Not even a cafeteria or anything (that's because they are adding a giant wing to the main building and that closed the regular lounge and cafeteria for the time being). It's in Middletown, a town that KKK is well-versed with. He can testify that it's basically a dead town.
     
    There's ample dining locales, but not much in the way of entertainment. The local mall is basically reduced to a JCPennys and some other department store. The local movie theater doesn't run in the afternoon during the week and it's a dump anyways. There's a bowling alley but who goes there on Monday afternoons?
     
    I can't go home, because that's a 35 mile drive thats unneccesary because I would have to drive back here for that class anyways. Most of my friends, don't go to this school. When you attend a commuter school, you don't get much social exercise.
     
    I have no work to do, I actually managed to accomplish that already. I already ate a quick lunch at a local chinese buffet (which I will regret in about an hour). I just sit here, listening to random music, surf random websites including this message board...
     
    This past weekend, wasn't that great. Sure, basketball was interesting but it really doesn't mean anything.
     
    I'm profoundly bored. My on again, off-again girlfriend/best friend is coming home 2moro morning for Spring Break, so hopefully that'll perk me up for the time being.
     
    There was really no point to this whole thing.
  11. Hawk 34
    I figured that If I'm going to randomly comment on people's blogs here, I might as well contribute some of my own chaotic or pointless observations/rants for others to mock.
     
    I don't think anyone really cares about the particular details of who I am, because when it's at a internet message board, isn't everything really still anonymous? I am 20 years old, yet you couldn't convince me that being 20 is any different then being 17. I just have more things to pay for and the government has granted me the ability to die for this country for no true purpose (although, I wasn't even good enough to do that, according to the government. That's fine, I like being alive, despite it's flaws).
     
    After I graduated from my conservative all white high school here. I took a year off from education because high school completely burnt me out. Besides, I knew where i was going to college and waiting a year wasn't going to alter my abilities to attend. I decided to be one of those "self-searching" fools, but in reality I was just escaping the fact I have to grow up and abandon childhood hopes and dreams. I continued to work and I sank into that role, I would idiotic hours. All my friends, the few I had from high school had already gone off to college and I started hearing from them less frequently. Around winter 2004, my phone stopped ringing and my AIM buddy list was nearly vacant.
     
    I wasn't lonely or sad about the changes in my life, however. I was just discouraged by the lack of motivation. I was materialistic for awhile, i drowned myself in items like a new car, electronic upgrades and other pointless 'entertainment' novelties.
     
    I had a jolt to my system, on January 11th. It was around 7:30, I had just finished a dinner that I cooked myself (god bless tv dinners) and I heard my cell phone ringing. At that point, hearing my cell ring was getting to be a rarity. I grabbed the phone and saw I had a txt message, but didn't know the number. I read the message and it was a simple message, someone asking where someone else was. I replied "you got the wrong number, sry"...
     
    4 hours later, I was in love with the person who sent me the wrong txt message. In my life, prior to that moment, I had short and meaningless relationships (save for one special one, that had nearly crushed me to pieces). The girl, behind the messages was perfect. She was younger though, 16 to my 19 but that really didn't matter in my eyes.
     
    We got to talking daily via txt, aim and the occasional talk and it was increasingly obvious this was the perfect girl, it seemed. I finally mustered the balls to arrange a meeting. She only lived 30 minutes from me. We met at her house, rain softly fell as our eyes collided for the first time. I lost myself in those green eyes of hers. She was physically indescribable. Tall, blond and athletic. The awkwardness, shuffled away as we talked. It was like we were already together for years, the chemistry was perfect.
     
    the next seven months, it was the most intense and incredible piece of my life. I woke up with a voice-mail from her every day and I spend hours with her, My life was only for her. As this was going on, the two friends i really kept in touch with were equally going through difficult times. My best friend, her brother had just committed suicide(he was 23) and my other friend, had been involved in a car accident and broke her leg. She was confined to a wheelchair for a bit of time.
     
    It was during this time, the realization of the fact I'm in this serious relationship, my friends are going through these rough times. Childhood? was thrown out the door.
     
    My girlfriend and I, broke up. On our 8 month anniversary. She cheated. "I didn't mean to...It just happened". Did you regret it? I asked. "No". she whispered. So much for that happiness....
     
    While this was going on, I finally went and enrolled into college. Miami University (Ohio). So, i was starting this monumential thing (college) on the heels of an ultimate emotional heartbreak. In my life, I always was the one to put a end to things, but this time I had my chips and I was all in...and I lost the hand.
     
    The next six months, never really existed. I tried to move on, I dated others but I wasn't quite feeling like I ever really got her out of my system. Then, one night...it just went away. All thanks to one person and that was my best friend. Years of sexual tension and uncertain feelings finally reached a boiling point.
     
    I still miss my ex, we still talk occasionally and she's happy with that same guy she left me for. I want to hate her guts for what she did to me, but I knew her and I know she did the right thing...
     
    It's almost April 2006, and I'm so far away from childhood now. I have a cousin, who is 12. He is always asking me on advice on how to make his teenage years special.
     
    I tell him "don't expect anything. your life will not be a fairy tale". As we all grow up, we expect the answers to reveal themselves, but they never really do. We learn them but never quite knew it and it brushes by us like a faint wind.
  12. Hawk 34
    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.
  13. Hawk 34

    On The Eve

    By Hawk 34,

    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.
     
  14. Hawk 34
    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.
  15. Hawk 34
    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.
     
  16. Hawk 34
    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.
  17. Hawk 34
    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.
  18. Hawk 34
    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.
     
     
  19. Hawk 34
    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
  20. Hawk 34
    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
  21. Hawk 34

    Chicago and the kill.

    By Hawk 34,

    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.
  22. Hawk 34

    The Bachelor Party

    By Hawk 34,

    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.
     
  23. Hawk 34

    In This Shadow

    By Hawk 34,

    Update time
     
     
    -Tomorrow will mark my final full day of work at the place I’ve been employed for 2 ½ years. All throughout this week, I’ve felt like a ghost around that building. My office is empty minus the cpu, TV and mini-fridge that I’m not taking with me. I basically been giving my successor the run through in regards to the job but he seems to get it which renders me worthless. I’ll miss a couple of the guys down there but I’m thinking we’ll stay in touch by some means.
     
    As you might recall, I am still bitter at my boss for his actions but I’ll have to put it aside because despite me leaving, I’ll be seeing plenty of him over the years including my parent’s anniversary party next week and my sister’s wedding as well. I can play nice but my respect for him vanished.
     
    I intended to stay out of the work force for awhile because I wanted to focus on school and I was burnt out on working…but I got an intriguing offer from a pretty well known international corporation that is Head-quartered pretty close to me. (This should be obvious…I think). It doesn’t pay as much as the previous job but the benefits and potential future options are much greater.
     
    -
     
    I said in a previous entry that I was going to be getting a new car in September and that is still my intention…
     
    I’ve been driving my old Dodge Avenger that I had given to my sister for the past 2 weeks (I since sold the truck to the company) and I finally got off my ass and headed down to the Auto Mall.
     
    THE AUTO MALL
    -It just so happens that I live in close proximity to one of the largest Auto Malls in the Mid-West. It’s basically what the name implies, a giant assembly of dealerships from Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota, Saturn, Hummer, Lexus, Honda etc, etc.
     
    Price isn’t too big of an issue for me because I’ll talk the price down anyways. I just wanted a car with good gas mileage and fun to drive. I can fix my own car, so the issue of car maintenance that scares some people away isn’t a problem.
     
    My father and I headed down to the mall and we went to the Ford dealership, which a good friend of his owns.
     
    I could see the writing on the wall. I have nothing against Fords, I just drove one of their trucks for the last couple years (This was the same dealership I brought the truck at) but I didn’t want to get another truck and I’m not a fan of their cars. I knew that my father’s friend would likely give me another good deal and while I appreciate an “in” like that, I knew I would have to decline.
     
    I think the real reason I did this was because a part of me wants to stop getting by on who my father knows. I spent the summer working in a position that I never earned because of that connection my father gives me.
     
    My grandfather didn’t give my old man much, so he relied on himself since he was teen. He never wanted that for me, so in essence despite being 20 years of age, he still does favors for me. I value his actions but there comes a time when you just need to do it for yourself.
     
    After dropping a good dosage on for my tuition and putting money away to prepare for no job for awhile, I decided I would just wait a couple months before really pursuing my new car. I’ll keep driving the Avenger for the time being since my sister is driving her fiancés old car. However, that car has nearly 175k miles on it and that car isn’t built to last that long. It wasn’t that great on the road during the winter when I drove it and I can only imagine it’ll be worst now.
     
    -
     
    I doubt anyone remembers back around spring time but I mentioned my old high school female friend who spent years admonishing people for teenage sex only to get knocked up at a frat party…
     
    We kept in slight touch via AIM over the months but she moved in with her grandparents (yes, her parents weren’t happy) about 70 miles south in Kentucky, so we haven’t seen each other until last week where she came up here for her brother’s birthday party.
     
    We bumped into each other at a Kroger’s Grocery store and well…
     
    Yeah. It’s always a slight jolt when you see a close friend for the first time in a obvious pregnant state. I’ve always known her as this skinny model girl and well…not anymore.
     
    It didn’t last long as the small talk quickly wore off.
     
    It just made me realize how I haven’t really been in touch with any of my close friends from just a couple years ago. I actually miss a couple of those fuckers.
     
    -
     
    I start classes on Tuesday. I still remain here with my jaw on the floor realizing how fucking expensive my tuition and my books are. Books shouldn't be this high priced but I give all these schools credit for milking every dime out of every student (and their parents).
     
    Bravo.
     

  24. Hawk 34
    I know it isn’t normal of me to follow up a blog so quickly but I was bored and I know I am coming down with something. Whatever trendy summer flu is around, it’s seeking a home to bury these bones.
     
    I only get sick (really sick, not the sniffles or headaches) but the kind of sick that renders the toilet seat to be your lone comfort and essentially drains you, once every 2 years. Since I have a really bad feeling that it’s time for it again (last visit was winter 2004)…I went ahead and finished up as much work as I could today in preparation for the days I’ll miss. Luckily, we’re smooth sailing and my absence won’t detour things. The real bitch is?
     
    I will obviously be using my sick days, I hate losing these. I was supposed to take a vacation with my gf sometime in the next month or so (naturally we haven’t planned a fucking thing), so that might be in jeopardy. I get paid vacation, but if im going to be off for a few days. I might have to X the trip.
     
    I never get sick when It would benefit me.
     
    It’s early this summer, but I am already thinking about college. I want to take a full semester of classes again but I can’t with work…I cant decide at this moment what is better for me… Pursuing my education or leaving it for a well paying job that I don’t enjoy. I’ll struggle with this (in)decision for the next two months until I finally decide.
     
    -
     
    It’s June 14th, and roughly that means it is basically the mid-way point of 2006 and I’ve made a rough edition of my BEST OF 2006 lists
     
    Wrestler of the ½ Year
    1. Bryan Danielson
    2. Mysterio
    3. Chris Benoit
    4. Kurt Angle
    5. Samoa Joe
    6. KENTA
    7. Austin Aries
    8. Marufuji
    9. Nigel McGuiness
    10. Roderick Strong
    11. Christopher Daniels
    12. Finlay
    13. Paul London
    14. Homicide
    15. Shawn Michaels
     
    (After a down year, Benoit is back in form. Samoa Joe hasn't busted out his now annual 5* match but there is still 6 1/2 months left and the inevitable Danielson/Joe re-match. McGuiness is the biggest surprise this year as he has improved tremendously, which has to be attributed to his NOAH tours and his elevated efforts in ROH. Homicide will probably have a hot second half as his shoulder is healed and he's done with the blood feud with Cabana.
     
    Match of the ½ Year
     
    1. Blood Generation Vs DO-FIXER (3.31-Supercard of Honor)
     
    2. Kurt Angle Vs The Undertaker (2.19-No Way Out)
     
    3. Jack Evans and Roderick Strong Vs Briscoes (3.25-Best in the World)
     
    4. Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe Vs KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji (3.25-Best in the World)
     
    5. Kurt Angle Vs Mysterio (6.2-Smackdown)
     
    6. Chris Benoit Vs Finlay (5.21-Judgment Day)
     
    7. Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles Vs Christopher Daniels (2.12-Against all Odds)
     
    8. Colt Cabana Vs Homicide (4.1-Better then Our Best)
     
    9. Bryan Danielson Vs Roderick Strong (3.31-Supercard of Honor)
     
    10. Mick Foley Vs Edge (4.2-WrestleMania 22)
     
    11. Mysterio Vs Finlay (3.24-Smackdown)
     
    12. Bryan Danielson Vs Nigel McGuiness(4.29-Weekend of Champions Night 2)
     
    13. Jimmy Jacobs Vs BJ Whitmer (3.30-Dragon Date Challenge)
     
    14. Samoa Joe Vs Christopher Daniels (4.13-iMPACT)
     
    15. Randy Orton Vs Chris Benoit (1.27-Smackdown)
     
    Surprisingly stronger year from WWE thus far then 2005.
     
     
     
     
  25. Hawk 34
    I don’t want to turn this into a running diary of my work-life but I think what happened today needs to be told because of absurdity of it all.
     
    Fridays are designed to be laid back, we usually ship on those dates and that really means we aren’t actually working on the products. We had a small part order to send to Centerville which was only about 40 minutes from our building.
     
    I grabbed one of those rookie kids, I mentioned in the last entry and handed him the keys to our company pickup and we loaded the parts and he left.
     
    This was @ 11:00, Shawn (the kid), should have been back around 1:30 by our estimates. It was 1:00 when my assistant hands me the phone while I’m eating a late lunch with another manager in the conference room.
     
    “It’s Shawn”, she says as she backs away…
     
    “Yeah, what’s up? Everything go all right?” I ask him and he stutters to begin with but he finally blurts out “Yeah, I got the stuff dropped off okay. But there’s a problem” and I get this gut punch feeling creeping up…
     
    “What is it?” I ask, fearing the answer.
    “Well, the front tire…it’s flat, well it’s popped actually. Shredded up.”
    “Okay, well change the tire” I say, uncertain of why he needed to act like it was a big deal. Then he drops this bombshell on me…
     
    “Well…I don’t know how to change a tire”.
     
    I nearly choked on my chicken sandwich, okay…this kid isn’t the brightest guy but he’s a hard worker and a decent all around person but HOW IN THE HELL CAN YOU BE 18 YEARS OLD AND NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE A MOTHERFUCKING TIRE!!!!!
     
    Anyways, after soaking in the absurd notion that he was incapable of simply putting a spare on…I decided that instead of sending someone else his way, and because I didn’t want to embarrass the idiot, so I got directions to the gas station he pulled over at and headed down there.
     
    Here is the problem, the moron not only can’t change a tire but he couldn’t give proper directions at all. I followed his directions as her told me them and he wasn’t even within distance of where he led me.
     
    I tell him to go inside the station and get the address, so I can have my assistant map quest the right directions and shockingly, the numb nuts didn’t fuck that up.
     
    I got the right directions as I was amazed by this whole sequence of events that I had to laugh at it.
     
    I turn into the station and He’s sitting on the tail gate just staring at the ground fumbling with his cell phone.
     
    I look at him and before he even utters a word, I simply inform him
     
    “Don’t. Whatever. Look, this is the first and last time I’m doing anything like this for you. Get the jack out from under the passenger seat and the spare is under the truck.
     
    It’s one thing to teach my girlfriends over the years the art of simple car care, but not when someone that I trust to handle machines worth hundreds of thousands for international big money corporations.
     
    Is this how my father felt when he tried to “teach” me when I was 14 how to change a tire. Luckily for Shawn, I was more patient then my father ever considered being.
     
    Finally, he got the job finished. I gave him a golf clap applause when he finished. He didn’t even say a word during the whole process other then yes/no answers.
     
    I went inside the station and brought us a couple waters and told him I would drive the truck back, and he could drive my car back to the office.
     
    He struggled to say “Thanks” but I cut him off and told him “No. I was just doing my job, my job is to lead my workers. We all need to ask for help at some point, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s cool. Don’t do it again though”…
     
    Then I playfully slapped him and told him to scram.
     
    It was really awkward to be honest, I was and still am stunned that someone couldn’t manage a process like changing a tire at the age of 18 but I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised.
     
    -
     
    This weekend is a holiday but it’s not really for me. I’m working a little tomorrow afternoon and part of monday. Sunday will be good though. INDY 500/Coca-Cola 600 along with my GF coming home that night, so we can see where it was all building to all these years. She’s coming home earlier then planned, and I have to say I’m nervously excited.
     
    Here is the problem…I known her my whole life. We pretty much grew up together and our families are close. Each family has always expressed hope that someday we’d end up together and apparently…My father had always believed it’d be her. He even kept a picture of us together on Hallowen from when I was like 10.
     
    I had one of my rare intense honest talks with my father a couple days ago and he told me, that for the first time that he thinks I figured it all out as far as girls are concerned. I’m just concerned the families will get more involved then they should and ruin everything that we waited for.
     
    Usually, I try to plan out my relationships but with her, I figure we ended up together the way we did and that wasn't even expected, for me at least. We decided to go on a trip together in a couple weeks.
     
    I'm not worried about the transition from friends to couple, i've done that before with modest success. Maybe it's too fast but its like we already been through the bullshit most new relationships endure already...it doesn't hurt to skip a couple levels.
     
    -
    Wrestling is boring me these days. I got like a pile of unwatched DVD’s just stacking up.
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