Random Bits of Food Inbetween the Molars

Well, I got my car back from the body shop and I'm a happy camper. I was stuck with a Buick Century, which is the type of car that Ma and Pa Kettle take to the lutefisk dinner during lent. It sails more than drives. I hated that piece of shit. The amenities were only a radio and tape deck. I have exactly one cassette tape and like approximately one radio station. That radio station doesn't always have shows I want to listen to. Anyway, I was about home when "No Sleep Tonite" popped on my ipod and put me in a good mood for the rest of the night.

In other news, my mother found another Christmas present for me stuffed in some box in a back room. This made me happy, since it was Blackadder. If you haven't ever heard of it, shame on you.

That being said, I get to go to the Harmony for lunch for some hot chips and see some bluegrass music (how I can "see" music is beyond me) tonight.

My day is looking up.

Trains, Theft, and Professional Drinkers

Once again, I made the pilgrimage to Chicago, holy Mecca of, uh, something Madison isn’t. After a brief stop in the ‘burbs to visit my sister’s family, Kyle and I took the train into the city. The ride made me wish I could take a train to the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, and down to Chicago. Then I wished I could take decent mass transit in Madison when we rode the el (is that how you abbreviate it?) over to Dave’s Neighborhood*. Dave was just finishing some Miracle on Ice documentary for what I suppose was the twelfth time. Then he, Kyle and I walked to some Irish Bar (voted best soccer bar in the US two years in a row, I guess) and had dinner. Jess, another college classmate, showed up in good spirits so the conversation was rather boisterous. Dave set the tone by ordering a second Guiness, so I had to keep up, which was definitely the theme of the night.

When Dave’s friend showed up, we went to the Wolves game. I bought the first round of . Of course I had to go back twice since they only allowed two to be bought at once. Thankfully, I had plenty of ones and quarters from the first trip, so the old foggie didn’t bitch a second time. I guess when Dave went back for the second round, the lady asked him where he got the beer he was finishing (no break for the liver, mind you) and he said his friend. Then she asked if he carded him. Can’t say that I did.

So the Wolves lost and we headed back into the city for karaoke. Kyle made it back after mauling his opponents in pool. He said he didn’t, but that’s his usual modesty. It wasn’t a busy night, so I managed to belt out about five songs. You know, my voice isn’t so bad when I’m drunk. I’m sure it’s a perception thing which explains why I sung the “Love Boat”, “Physical” (in a deutsches accent), "Ghost Busters" (courtesy of a blank screen), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (thanks to the help of other drunk patrons) and “King of the Road”. I did manage to pawn my last, and undrunken, pint off on Dave, proving that he is the Profession Drinker of Choice (tm) in the Chicagoland area. I did manage to feel ok the next morning. Kyle, well, he puked at a truck stop in South Beloit. Funny, “beloit” is the sound fluids make when hitting toilet water.

Anyway, the last bit “Theft” was that someone stole a bunch of cash and change at work. S/He even took thirty-five cents from one guy’s drawer. Our leading suspect seems to have fled, since the police couldn’t get a hold of him. The worst part is s/he stole our pop machine key, leaving all that syrupy goodness locked inside. Oh well.

Time to write a Kiosk history.


* I get this picture of a kid’s show where a surly thirty-something in a Wolves jersey walks into a bar and mixes, through twirls of bottles and shakers, a dry martini singing the Brady Bunch Theme.

Snooze

Last night after writing a new Kiosk history, eating some macroni and cheese, and watching two more episodes of Carnivale, I fell into the calmest sleep I've had in about two months. My dreams were of the colorful sort, meaning the actual visual parts, but I don't remember much about the content. I woke up this morning feeling rested, actually enjoyed my shower for the first time in a while, and walked out the door with a spring in my step. So that was good.

Tonight I have the Kiosk. Does anyone have suggestions on what CD's I should rip from the library? I was thinking of searching for some Pogues.

Ok, this post went nowhere.

Cold Face, Warm Neck

So I went out to the Brass Ring tonight to meet Jeremy and Tom. I got a bit liquored up and came home. It was damn windy and cold. Thanks to Shari and her kick ass, hand-made, died Chilean wool scarf she made me, I kept nice and warm. Kind of like a fetus, but drier.

Almost

I almost made it on the air last night. The folks at Queery told me that Casey called and would be late, so I said I’d play some music until he got there. That sent my into a fury of running through the music library looking for stuff. I decided that ‘70’s punk would be a good place to start. Since I was filling in for Captain Analog Fox, I had to start on vinyl. I found “Singles Going Steady” and queued up “I Don’t Mind” and then “Janie Jones”. Sybil walked in so I asked her twenty million questions on how to operate the board for a live show. She helped and gave me tips on some more music. Before long, I also had the Pretenders and the Ramones queued up. I tried to find some Wire, but couldn’t find anything I knew off hand. I had my carts and music lined up.

Then Casey walked in. He complemented me on my choices, said I should do a show sometime, and then he prepared for a show full of music by people who died in the last few years. It was a good show. Thanks goes out the commentator who patiently waited while I ran around collecting stuff.

Almost, but not quite.

Computer #13

Ok, ok, ok. I bought another computer. I just counted the number of them that I've had in my life. This new one makes it 13. Considering it was only 3 when I graduated from college, my habit has increased. Right now, I have four computers, but one I'm trying to sell. I put my pc in Shaun's area, since he demolished his last one. So really, I'm only kind of using two computers; my new dual processor G5 and my powerbook. This new one is damn fast.

Anyway, I need to head to the Harmony Bar to have lunch with my mother.

Post #79 Rev 87.3345

Holy Butt Muffins! It's been over a month since I last wrote here. It reminds me how much difference a month can make. Here's a list, since I can't think of a paragraph form I want to use. Then again, these are just paragraphs with numbers in front of them.

1. I was accepted to Edgewood's MBA program last month. They did that even without my GMAT score, which sucks, since I kind of worried about that for months before I took the damn exam. I also got about six classes waved, thanks to my GMAT score, and my education here.

2. My trip is mostly lined up for Puerto Rico. I've got the tickets purchased and a hotel (TWO stars!) in San Juan for the first three nights. I still need to rent a car from here and figure out where my roommate and I can hike through a rainforest, but hey, that'll come, uh, sometime.

3. I'm obsessive-compulsive! Yep, all that stress and brain noise was from trying to order an orderless world. My head shrinker gave me medication for that and now I feel much better. I don't read internet articles on Cleveland's 20th century population trends for three hours, nor do I rearrange my mp3's (formerly cd's) every two weeks. I still yell at all those damn crappy drivers, but there's not a cure. Some things are just too ingrained.

4. Kids can drive me nuts and make me laugh. My nieces and nephews drove me up the wall at Christmas. You put them all together at a time when they get a bunch of presents, and they freak out. I had that three days in a row. On a lighter note, my youngest nephew, Willy Joe, smiles a lot, says "hi" to you every time he turns around, and "no" to all you questions. Plus he eats all the time. By that, I mean I honestly saw him with food in hand more than without. The little shit is solid. He must weigh twice as much as a normal kid his age. Little fat, too. At new years, I saw Sophie, Maddie, and Miles. They were much more laid back. Maddie barely stops smiling, kind of like those little Lego people.

5. I started class. It's pretty good, but I'll miss the second class, because of Puerto Rico. I think I'll like this whole graduate thing. Then again, I'll curse it soon enough when exams start. Oh well.

That's an update. Time to study.