Did You Miss Me? I Know I Missed All Of You!

So I totally kept myself busy enough this past week that I had absolutely zero time for this thing. Mission accomplished. I did mean to make my triumphant return last night, but I got caught up in homework. I almost missed tonight too. You see, I'm heading over to Anthony's in a bit, so I can't imagine I'd be home early enough to write an entry for all of you kids. So I decided I'd write it all now before Anthony gets out of work. Great idea, me! As I'm writing this, I keep on going to the Run For Cover Records website every two minutes to restart the new Hostage Calm song. It just so happens to be one of the greatest songs I can remember hearing in recent memory. So I think all of you should definitely check it out. Know what I mean? http://runforcoverrecords.com It's amazing, right? It sounds so much different from anything that Hostage Calm has put out to date, but it's absolutely amazing, and gets my full recommendation. So get into it! But this break from school was a total success. I guess I didn't see anyone who was home from school other than Christian and Kate, but I think I can still consider that a success. But they're back at their respective schools right now while I am finishing that whole school thing up. All I have is two World Music classes, one Marketing class along with a Marketing final, and just one Humanities class with no final. Then I'm done with school. Pretty exciting, eh? And then all of my friends will be back again for winter break. Although, Kate apparently has to go back to school very soon into January so she can continue interning. What kind of shit is that? All I know is that she better come home for my birthday weekend. I need to throw a huge rager, and it's just not the same without Kate there to cheat her way into winning Balderdash. Kate is such a cheater. But enough about Kate. She's the only one who reads this, and I'm sure she doesn't want to just read about herself the whole time.

So let me let you all in on how my Thanksgiving break went. Well it all started after I got out of work on Wednesday. And as is to be expected, whenever I'm psyched to get home for something, I'm going to be stuck in traffic. But eventually I did get home. Kate (Let's face it, Kate. You're going to make up at least half of this entry.) and Anthony beat me there, though. Apparently, I told them to just show up at my house instead of waiting for me to call. Oh well. At least I gave the message to Christian correctly. But I walked in and Kate and Anthony were inside hanging out with my parents over apple cider. They had already called Christian and told him to come over. He had completely forgot that our plans for the evening were even happening, but he said he'd be right over. And in typical Christian fashion, it took him a very long time to get to my house. So long in fact, that we were afraid that we would not be able to make it to American Pie Company in time to give Anthony a proper Thanksgiving. But he did end up making it, and as punishment we had him drive us all there. Although, it was hard to punish him at all after seeing him walk into my house. I missed him dearly, after all. We had to make our pleasantries quick, though. We were off to Sherman soon after that. We pulled into American Pie Company after a nice ride full of catching up and dad rock. We all walked in and the staff was very happy to see us so close to closing time. They promptly seated us at a table that was missing a chair. So while Christian, Kate, and I sat down comfortably, Anthony was forced to have his meal standing up. Or rather, he would have if he hadn't stolen a chair from some other table. What a punk. And since Anthony was going to be missing Thanksgiving this year, we made him get the Turkey Dinner. Christian got the Meatloaf, Kate got the Chicken Pot Pie, and I got myself the Portobello Chicken dinner. So while we waited for our meals to arrive, we quizzed each other with the very old Trivial Pursuit cards they kept at all the tables. We could tell they were old because they featured colorful phrasing such as "Who was the first black to..." Needless to say, we had a grand time simultaneously expanding our minds and sounding completely ignorant. We also snacked on freshly baked breads and delicious soup. But eventually, our meals arrived, and we dug in. Being that we were at the American Pie Company, all of the food was completely delicious. Unfortunately, I had filled up on bread and soup, so I did not end up conquering my meal, but I made a much better showing than Kate. She did not make much of a dent in her meal at all. But keep in mind, all of these foods were delicious. We just filled up on delicious bread and soup. Anthony and Christian both massacred their dishes, though. They also both eat tons and tons of food, though. After we were all done, the waitress asked if we were all set for dessert. And although I was full, the minute she said "peach raspberry pie" I was suddenly very hungry again. So I had that, and Christian got a pumpkin whoopie pie. That ended up being incredible, and I wish I had one right now. Pumpkin-flavored things are so great. (Pumpkin Mousse this Thanksgiving was pretty much perfect.) Anthony was too filled up for dessert, though. But not too full to try and swipe all of my whipped cream, though. Kate abstained from dessert on the grounds that there was going to be a cookies and milk party at my house afterward. But we all finished up and then made our way back to Danbury. Once we returned to my house, Anthony left to go get laid, Christian went home to have birthday cake for his dad's birthday, and Kate and I went inside to make turkey cookies. After we finished that, Kate and I went downstairs and watched some Top Chef. Eventually, Christian came back and that's when the cookie party began. I brought down all the cookies in the house and a big glass of milk, and then Kate started eating. Christian and I watched, because we were completely full. So Kate had a great time while we sat there wishing we could fit cookies into our stomachs. But to distract us from our utter jealousy of Kate's cookie consumption, we turned on one of our favorite movies. McHale's Navy! Kate had never seen it before, and she kind of still hasn't. She was falling asleep throughout the whole thing. But Christian and I were drawn in as much as we were the first time we saw it. I mean what a star-studded cast. Tom Arnold, Tim Curry, Bruce Campbell, French Stewart, Deborah Messing, Ernest Borgnine, and David Alan Grier? It doesn't get much better than that. Once the movie was over, Kate decided it was time for her to leave. She was a tired girl, and she didn't trust us one bit if she were to fall asleep in our company. So she left, and then Christian and I played video games for the rest of the night. It was a beautiful thing.

Well I think I'm going to quit here. I still have more stories from Thanksgiving break, but I don't want to waste them all tonight. Plus, this thing is getting long. I don't want it to get too long, and lose the attention of all my many many readers. That would just be a tragedy. Anthony called about 15 minutes ago, though. He has to wait at the mall for AAA, because his brother's car broke down, and he needs to give him a ride back to his house. So who knows if I'll end up going out tonight. I guess only time will tell. But it's nice to be getting this thing done early either way. And even if I don't see Anthony tonight, I'll be sure to see him on Wednesday. You see, we're going to go see Fake Problems on Wednesday. I think it's going to be quite a good time. I've even been getting into them a lot more recently. There have even been times where I have been in moods specifically to listen to them. So I could definitely say that I'm pretty excited to see them. Alright. I think I'm going to get to that wrapping up I said I was going to do. I'll see you guys tomorrow. I hope you're happy to have me back. I missed each and every one of you. Bye!

Fight Me!

It is my sincere hope that this is the last time I have time to write in this blog for the rest of the week. Here's to spending the rest of the week with friends. See you on Sunday! Also, this is my 50th entry. I am the king of anti-climax. Bye!

The Old Times Were Never That Great

So it's all settled. Anthony is having his Thanksgiving on Wednesday at American Pie Company in Sherman with friends that love him. This is an open invitation for anyone who else who wants to be there, as well. As of now, it's just Anthony, Kate, Christian, and me. It promises to be a great time. I haven't figured out a time for these activities, but I don't get out of work until 5, and it takes me about 40 minutes to get home from work. So I figure it would probably be a good idea to leave soon after that. Alright, now that I'm done being completely selfless, let's move on.

You know what's pretty crazy? I am almost completely done with school. In a couple weeks I will be a college graduate. And I'm pretty psyched about that, for sure. College has not been a thrill a minute for me, really. And I'm glad that I'll be done with it. Fuckin' college, man. It killed my love of music. Don't get me wrong, I got a great education in music from the school, but some of my classmates were the pits. There were just so many pretentious people there. And I'd get a ton of shit from these kids because I didn't just listen to jazz. It was pretty lame, and I probably shouldn't have majored in music, but I did and I'm not too worried about it. I'm happy with the knowledge I've gained in my four and a half years at college, but I'm psyched to leave. I guess I'll miss finding the one or two attractive girls in class, and just looking at them while class went on around me. But that was more of just a distraction from boredom in some of my less than stellar classes. Plus, with my music degree, I'll be able to apply for the job of rock star. And that will ensure that my attractive girl watching can continue on past college. I hear that's how these things work. Speaking of, did anyone see Adam Lambert's racy performance at the AMAs? No? Me either. But yeah, psyched to be getting out of college. I'm sure it won't be too much different than how I'm living now. I'll just be working more instead of going to class, and I'll have lots of bills to pay. No biggie. I guess I should strive to attain some dreams or something. I'm sure I'll be able to take my songwriting more seriously now that I'll be in the real world and not some ignorant college student preaching lyrics about hardships I can't possibly even understand yet. Goodbye songs about breakups and summer vacation. Hello songs about earning my living and how I didn't appreciate the old days while I was living them. Just kidding, guys. I just write songs about autumn landscapes. I don't know the first thing about breakups.

I'm getting my haircut tomorrow, guys. I need to look freshly groomed for all of my friends this week. This also explains my new pants, and shoes. Actually, it doesn't. I got those for work. But they also do the job of impressing my friends. My friends are very concerned with how I present myself. So I try and give them something that will please them. That's not true. But I am psyched to be getting the ol' hairs cut tomorrow. I also get to go back to contacts tomorrow. I'm seriously going to be the most gorgeous person around. Fuck. I forgot. I already am the most gorgeous person around. Clearly, I'm not the smartest person around. (Yes I am.) But since that haircut is occurring in the morning, I'll probably be cutting this one short tonight. I need to get my 8 hours of sleep or else I'm a cranky man all day. That's not true, but I am a cranky man in the morning if I don't grab my 8 hours. I have no idea what I'm going to do working Black Friday, but it's not my first. I'll survive it. And I figure it'll be a lot easier considering I'm not working in a mall now. Fuckin' malls are the worst. But on the bright side of that, I will be staying at my cousin's house Thanksgiving night, so I will have a much shorter drive to work, which is great. I'll be able to do a little bit of sleeping in and everything. Man, I'm not cutting this thing short at all, am I? Oh well. Might as well keep going then. Hmmm... Actually, I don't have much more to talk about. I fixed a virus on the family computer today. I swear those guys just don't treat that thing right. Thank god I'm some sort of IT genius. I'm not. I think I'll wrap up here. I'm rambling. What a dick. Okay. Goodbye.

Floor Bun Drive Forestes

Does anyone else ever remember there being a Chips Ahoy contest that if you got a box of Chips Ahoy cookies that didn't have any chocolate chips in it, you'd win some large amount of money? Man, fuck that contest. That is so not worth it. Sure, try telling me that I can buy all the Chips Ahoy cookies I want with all the money. You'd be right, but that money sure as hell wouldn't cover the expense of all the emotional damage that'd be inflicted upon me when I went to have some milk and cookies, and opened up a box of chocolate chip-less cookies. Nor would it cover the cost of all the damage I'd cause to myself and the things around me in the ensuing shit fit I'd throw after discovering my cookies had no chocolate chips. Fucking worst contest ever. I'm glad I didn't "win" it. But as you may have gathered, I'm a big fan of cookies and milk. It's the best dessert going, for sure. But I've always liked the simple things in life. My favorite lunches are a PB&J with a tall glass of milk, and grilled cheese with tomato soup. These are the things that make me happy. And when people start fucking around with my simple pleasures, I get pretty pissed. But then again, I'm not even sure if this contest ever happened. I just vaguely remember a commercial for it. Or maybe I don't. Can anyone back me up on this?

Oh yeah! Want to know the saddest thing I've heard in a long time? My friend Anthony is not having a Thanksgiving this year. He's going to be spending it alone! His parents are going to be on vacation, and his siblings will be elsewhere, as well. I got seriously bummed when I heard about it. So Anthony's going to be home alone on Thanksgiving with a Hungry Man turkey dinner and a loaded gun, and he's going to be thinking hard about which one to put in his mouth. And that's just terrible to me. I want to invite him to share Thanksgiving with me, but my Thanksgiving is not being held at my house this year. I still plan on making mention of it to my mother tomorrow, but it's kind of rude to invite people to someone else's house for dinner. Either way, I don't think Anthony should be spending Thanksgiving by himself. The kid loves to eat, and if he misses out on the biggest eating holiday all year, it will be an enormous tragedy. So I was thinking of gathering whoever was around, and having all of us go to the American Pie Company this Wednesday so we can feed him their delicious turkey dinner. I've only talked to Christian about it so far, but he seems to be down. I haven't even mentioned it to Anthony, so I don't even know if he'll be able to do it. I figure he'll find out about it when he reads this, but who knows. I just want to get something together so Anthony doesn't miss out on Thanksgiving this year. So if any of you readers out there have any suggestions or like my American Pie Company idea, let me know. Because there is nothing more depressing than a Hungry Man brand microwaveable Thanksgiving dinner.

But now that I've got all of the serious matters out of the way, who's psyched for Thanksgiving break?! I know I'm excited to see all of my friends again. What I'm not excited about is the fact that I'm going to be working a lot while my friends are home, though. It's to be expected, though. The week of Thanksgiving is a big week in the retail world, and they need all the help they can get. But I figure that I should let all of my readers know when I'll be around so that I can get lots of good hang out time in. On Tuesday, I get out of work at 8:30. Wednesday, I get out of work at 5. Thursday is Thanksgiving. I'll be in Middletown or Cromwell or somewhere. Friday, I get out of work at 3. I'm sure I'll be dead tired after a 9 hour shift, but seeing my friends is much more important than sleeping. If I really need to sleep, I'll sleep while hanging out with my friends. And Saturday, I'm working 4-9:30. Now I'm willing to hang out at any point that I'm not working or Thanksgivinging. So you guys just let me know when you want to see me. Of course, on the off chance that some of us miss each other this week, winter break is only two or three weeks after that.

Okay. Now business is settled. I guess I wasn't as done with the serious stuff as I had originally thought. But I guess that's what you're getting from me tonight. But I'm going to get going to bed soon, I think. I've got my only day of school this week tomorrow. So that cuts the amount of days I go to school in a week in half! And I think I'm looking forward to this school day. I even did all of my homework. That is, unless you consider doing the reading for my Marketing class homework. I don't really read too much for classes. I'm smart enough in all subjects. I don't want to make the rest of the students look bad. Although, I already do. I swear to god, if I don't start off class by answering questions, the rest of the class just stares at the teacher while (s)he waits for answers. Nobody makes a fucking move. The students don't do anything. The teacher doesn't do anything. So I have to break the silence. It's ridiculous. I used to be the quiet one in class, but now I'm the one putting my two cents in for everything. Fucking necessity. What a bitch! Oh well. I'm done here for tonight. See you cool cats tomorrow!

Found The Cat

I'm back in action, guys! Sorry about leaving you all hanging last night. But it was for a damn good cause. I got to record the newest Easy Chowder single that you'll all be jamming soon enough. It got approval from the lyricist, and now I just need to run it by the guy who has had nothing to do with it thus far. But believe me, Christian will be an integral part of the operation once we record the final version of it. Christian sure has a talent for taking my musical ideas and expanding upon them until they become a much more full version of a song. I'm good at the stripped down stuff, I guess. But the three of us are quite the musical team. All we really need to take over the music world by storm is some decent recording equipment, and the know how to use it effectively. Knowing someone with all that stuff would be an acceptable substitute, as well. But none of you care about that. You're just looking for the end product. You're lookin' for the tunes. And I don't blame you. I'm usually just looking for the tunes, too. Under normal circumstances, I don't care about watching in-studio videos. I just want the album. So on that note let's move on.

So what did I say I'd talk about tonight. Ah, yes. I don't normally remember my dreams after I wake up, but the other night was a rare case. Now I don't remember the whole thing, but a good chunk of it is still clear in my head. From the point I remember, I was in a car with my friend Ryan. We were driving back from somewhere, and we were both pretty famished. So we were driving along, and we see this barbecue place coming up on the road. We pull in there, and as we do, we see the biggest bunch of rednecks just hanging out around the restaurant. There were a lot of hairy biker men too, and everyone was staring at us as we pulled in. I guess these folk don't take kindly to city slickers like Ryan and me. But the hunger in our stomachs overpowered any fear we might have had of being drawn and quartered by some biker gang. So we head inside, and Ryan orders himself a steak. He starts going to town on this thing, and tells me how great it is. So I have a bite, and it's amazing. I love it so much that I go up to the owner of the place and tell him how great his steak is. And it turns out that the owner is a very friendly guy. He's kind of grubby looking, but mostly well kept. His shirt is wide open revealing his hairy chest, protruding gut, and scar from open heart surgery. But he starts talking to me about barbecuing, and all the finer points of it. You could tell this guy lives for barbecuing. After we have our friendly conversation, I told him that he makes an amazing steak, but beef doesn't really sit too well in my stomach. So I ask him if he has things like turkey or chicken. Of course, I don't mention pork, because why would a barbecue place have pork? That'd be ridiculous. (Ugh! It was a dream. Lay off!) But he tells me they have all those foods that I mentioned. So I order the turkey. The turkey also came with a salad consisting of full leaves of romaine lettuce and Gorgonzola cheese. This meal also ended up being amazing. The only other thing I remember from the dream is getting home, and trying to get in. But there was a dog who wouldn't let me into my house. But I think the moral of this dream is that the versions of Ryan and myself that I created in my dream don't know how to eat at a barbecue restaurant. I mean, really. Who the fuck gets steak and turkey at a barbecue restaurant. Fuckin' ribs, man. Oh well. I'd never make that mistake in my waking life.

I also said I was going to talk about girls with accents. Throughout my whole World Music class, I never noticed it, but there is a girl in the class that lived in Poland up until she was like 14 or 15. But this past Friday she presented a project to the class, and that's when I first heard her accent. I guess I had never paid any attention before. But I don't know if this applies to any of the rest of you, but most foreign accents on girls will pretty much instantly melt my heart. I don't know anything else about this girl. She could be a bitch for all I know, but I was a bit smitten throughout her whole presentation. Needless to say, I was intently focused on every word she said after that. So now I know a whole lot about gypsy music, I guess. But seriously... girls with foreign accents. Am I right? Let alone the fact it was a Polish accent. Alright. Enough of that. Sorry if that made any of my readers (Kate and AJ) a little jealous. I love each and every one of you more than any Polish girl I don't know. I just have a little thing for accents, apparently.

Well I've got you all caught up on what I had to tell you from yesterday. Now as for the day that just occurred, it was fairly eventful. Not really, but I did do something. And that something was get formal pictures taken with my family. We all dressed up in our suits and dresses, and headed to have our picture taken. It just so happened that the photographer was a big goofball. I guess he was trying to be endearing, but he just came off as condescending the whole time. He kept on asking my brother and me if "we were troublemakers." It was really bizarre. He thought my brother was a big troublemaker because of his "rock star hair." I guess I look pretty straight-laced. It was a good thing I was in a suit and tie, or I'd look like some sort of deviant too. He did make a comment about my sideburns, though. He asked me if they were "lamb chops." He was a very goofy guy to be sure. But I really don't know how he keeps that act up. He smelled like a smoker, so I guess that takes some of the edge off, but he was going a mile a minute with all of his witty banter. I was a little embarrassed for him.

Alright. Well now you're caught up on my life. Well, I also went to the Windmill Diner with my brother for dinner. The waitress was totally into me. It's not even like they're working a tip. They just all love me. It's a very odd phenomenon, but I'm not complaining. And now you're definitely all caught up. So I guess I'll be headed to bed, then. I have work tomorrow. I'm up to four and a half hour shifts now. I'm gaining all sorts of responsibility. Alright. I'll see all of you cool kids later. Hugs and kisses!

I'm Hot Shots: Part Deux. I'm Down Periscope.

Sorry, guys! I can't give you a real post tonight. But I promise the end result is worth it. You see, instead of writing about things that happened today, I spent tonight recording a demo for the newest Easy Chowder song. Sure, aside from Kate and Christian, none of you will hear it, but it's pretty exciting that music is being written, right?! But I just finished up all that demoing, and now everyone in the house can get some sleep. Including this guy right here. But look forward to new Easy Chowder songs in the coming months! And as a reminder to myself, tomorrow's post will include something about barbecue dreams and attractive girls with foreign accents. It figures that I don't write on the day where I actually have stuff that I want to talk about. Oh well! You'll get all of that stuff tomorrow! Look forward to it! As for me, I'm looking forward to bed. I rocked (folked?) myself silly and it has left me exhausted. See you when I see you!

The word "bed" looks like a bed

Man, working 40 minutes away is kind of lame. Like, I enjoy the job a whole lot, but getting there and getting back is a pain. I shouldn't really complain, because it's not actually all that bad, but wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to do it? Yes. I had thought about taking a trip over to Redscroll Records after I got out of work, but then I thought about the trip home, and I decided to bag it. I should be saving my money, anyway. Not to mention I was pretty beat. Yes. It is possible to be beat after four hours of work! Jerks. But I don't even think it was work that had me beat. I was just tired. So it felt nice to get home after driving back to Danbury during rush hour. What didn't feel so nice was my brother asking me if I could bring him somewhere I didn't want to be soon after I sat down. I mean the kid just got his driver's license. Isn't he supposed to want to drive everywhere now? Well I'll tell you one thing. This ride shit is going to be severely cut down. I'm not driving him everywhere now that he's perfectly capable of doing it by himself. But I did oblige him this time. But the thing that he wanted me to go with him to was the lamest thing possible. Every year, at Danbury High, they have a class called Speech Arts. It's some god damn hippie class where they learn to communicate better through dumb games and acting. And every year this class puts on an event at the high school called Movement to Music. Essentially, the class is split up into groups, and they have to choreograph a dance routine for a song, and then perform it during Movement to Music.

So I took my brother to this event, and hung around to watch it with him. It was real fucking lame. Most of these groups were filled with kids who were not very gifted dancers, and didn't really know their own routines. I had to sit through some pretty miserable music, too. I found myself looking at different people in the audience the entire time, because it was a lot more interesting than what was going on up on the stage. But I did make it through it. I really don't like when I end up going back to my old high school. There aren't even any people there now that were attending when I went there. I'm old. I've left high school behind me. But I did somehow survive the evening.

Now I'm going to disclose a little bit of information with you guys. Just know that it is not to leave this blog. When I was in high school, I took this Speech Arts class. And because of that, I performed in Movement to Music. I choreographed a dance, and it was bad. I'm not even going to tell you what the song was, because I'm embarrassed enough. Not that I even need to qualify this, but I didn't even like the song that my group chose even back when we picked it. I just thought it'd be an easy sell. Alright. I'll tell you the song. I write enough embarrassing things in here as it is. My group danced to the song Circles by the band Tip the Van, who are a local ska band that have been around for quite some time now. I was a fan of theirs back when I was really into ska, and firmly believed that I had to enjoy every ska band I came across. But by the time I was in this class, choreographing this dance, I no longer enjoyed this band. But somehow their music ended up being what my group choreographed. Sorry for all the qualifying. It's just a pretty embarrassing situation for me. And we performed that dance in front of a very well-attended auditorium. And I'm sure it was terrible, but everyone loved it. Tip the Van did have a lot of pop appeal come to think of it. Reliving all of that tonight was not something I had hoped to do tonight, but I did. Maybe I'm stronger for it. But I kind of doubt it. Mostly I'm just tired. Reliving my checkered (ugh) past takes a whole lot out of me.

Let's see. What do I have going on tomorrow? Just class, I believe. There's a concert tomorrow that I don't believe I'm going to. I feel like I should just for the novelty of seeing the most fucked up tour ever, but I'm not driving to Hartford, and paying probably twenty bucks to see what amounts to a joke. This ridiculous tour is Less Than Jake, The Casualties, and The Swellers. What the fuck is that? If there was ever three bands I'd never expect to be on tour together, it is Less Than Jake, The Casualties, and The Swellers. Now seeing Less Than Jake again would be a blast. Especially considering some of the setlists from recent shows I've seen. The Casualties are pretty bad, but I feel like seeing Christian's cousin drum is something I need to accomplish in my life. And as for The Swellers, I have loved everything that they've released aside from their newest album, which is pretty very bad. But while that makes it sound like a great idea to go, it's still not worth it. Maybe if it were at a different venue. The Webster has the worst sound in the world. Oh well. No sense in talking about dumb shows I'm not going to. I'm going to hit the ol' mattress pad. See ya when I see ya!

Super Nintendo Chalmers

It's cold in this house. I guess it was a bad call on my part to remove my hoodie. But sometimes I make bad decisions, and just have to stick with them. Know what I mean? But I think I'll survive. It'll just be that much nicer when I get under my covers after I write this damn thing. So what did I do today? Oh yes. Well, I spent most of the day playing video games with my brother, but I had to take a break from that in order to shower and shave. Why was I making myself so pretty? Because I had an eye doctor appointment, apparently. But I got some good news from the eye doctor. The drops have been helping with the infection. So now I get to spend this week taking them three times a day instead of four. And next week, I get to take them twice a day. Also, I get to put the ol' contacts in next week, as well. Except they aren't the ol' contacts at all. They're a brand new kind that I've never tried before. They aren't the hard lenses I had thought they were going to be, but I am just fine with that. After finding out all of this fancy stuff, I took a ride to CVS to pick up some more eye drops. While there, I also did a little shopping for personal hygiene products. I got myself some cotton swabs, a two pack of deodorant, and some contact lens cleaner. I'm all stocked up on products used to keep me presentable in public. Good for me. Then I made my triumphant return home, where I had a lovely turkey burger for dinner.

Can we talk about how turkey is probably the greatest meat around? Oh man. Just thinking about it is making me really psyched for Thanksgiving. I didn't even get to have a proper Thanksgiving dinner last year. I had a vegetarian Thanksgiving. And that was down in North Carolina with my grandparents, too. My grandmother on my dad's side is quite the cook. So I was missing out on some pretty great turkey, and various Polish foods. So not only did I not get any turkey, but I missed out on kielbasa, and bigos, and gwumpkies, as well. For those who don't know, kielbasa is Polish sausage, bigos is a stew made with sauerkraut, mushrooms, various other veggies, and whatever meat is laying around. Gwumpkies are stuffed cabbage. So yeah, I was missing out on some great stuff. But my grandmother did end up making me some fantastic vegetarian dishes. She made me some sort of southwestern casserole that was great, and an even better casserole that featured zucchini and squash, and was covered in a layer of cheese. That ended up being the highlight of my meal. I also ended up having about a ton of mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. So last year's Thanksgiving definitely wasn't a bust, but it would have been nice had I been able to eat a little bit (lot bit) of everything. Oh well! I wised up, and now I have this year's Thanksgiving to look forward to! This year I'm going with my family up to my cousin's house. Now I won't be served all of those delicious Polish dishes, but I'm pretty sure I won't be let down. And if I am, I'll be sure to make my way to every one of your houses, and feast on your leftovers. Either way, I hope to be eating Thanksgiving leftovers for awhile after Thanksgiving. Man, I need to stop talking about Thanksgiving. Not only am I making myself very hungry, but now I can't make a neat Thanksgiving post next week. Well, except for after Thanksgiving when I let you all know how great Thanksgiving '09 was. But who knows when I'll even find time to post during Thanksgiving break. I'm going to be trying to fit in as much hangout action with friends as I can. Unfortunately, that leaves this hear blog on the back burner. But it should also make for some wild stories when I do get back to updating the blog. I already have some fun plans lined up for Thanksgiving break. It should hopefully be a pretty eventful couple of days. You know, unless I end up working a ton. Alright. Well now I'm just rambling. I'm very sorry about that.

Oh yeah! Remember back in late October when I said my brother was going for his driver's test. Well he didn't end up passing. But he just retested today, and he passed. Of course, it's easy to pass when you take the easy Danbury test. His first try was in Waterbury. That sounds like it would suck. But now my brother has his license, but still lacks any desire to really drive. Oh well. I'm sure that's all going to change now that I'm going to stop giving him rides to places. I'm not a god damn chauffeur, dammit! But it's cool that he passed his test.

Well I think that's about all I have for you guys today. I'm going to go to bed now. And tomorrow I'm going to try my hardest to get back to work on writing and finishing up new songs. I said I was going to do that today, but I didn't. I'm a jerk. But you guys need to keep me on track. So remind me throughout the day that I should be making music. Keep me focused! Also, remind me that I need to make an appointment for a haircut. I'm counting on you guys! Alright. It's bed time. I'll see you guys tomorrow!

Knives! Knives! Knives!

So I hear there's some sort of meteor shower going on tonight? I'd go out and check, but that's what I have you guys for. Plus, I looked out the window a little while ago, and it looked pretty dark up in the sky. So I'm just going to assume it's cloudy and not worth going outside to check up on the meteors. I've seen a meteor shower before, anyway. I remember I was pretty young, and my cousin was sleeping over. But my mom came and woke us up at like 2 in the morning and took us outside. So we sat and watched meteors for awhile. It was definitely neat, but I don't think I need to see any meteors taking showers. Asia has the best view, anyway. And I won't settle for second best. It's all or nothing, baby!

So tomorrow's the big day where I go back to the eye doctor. Alright, so it's not really a big day, but it'll be nice to see if these stupid eye drops have rid me of this vile eye infection. I might even be trying out a fancy new hard contact lens. But it's supposed to be more comfortable than a soft lens. Sometimes I feel like I'm a guinea pig at my optometrist. He always has something new up his sleeve when I go there. Oh well. I'll be a guinea pig. It's only my eyes, after all. This also reminds me that I need to make an appointment for a haircut. And I don't fuck around with haircuts, either. I have a specific person I go to that even gave me my first haircut. I drive all the way to New Milford and spend way too much just to have the satisfaction of getting my hair cut by this one person. You won't see me at Supercuts trusting some hack with my beautiful locks. But yes, I'll probably make that appointment tomorrow.

Look at me going over my to do list with you jokers. I'm going to be honest with you guys, I am feeling a little bit of writer's block tonight. I couldn't think of a cool story to tell all of you guys. But I'm not giving up. I'm going to tell the whole lot of you about a chain restaurant that I really enjoy. It's mostly located in Ohio, but it's definitely a highlight for me every time I'm in that area. That restaurant is Skyline Chili. As you might be able to figure out on your own, they specialize in chili. But this isn't just any old kind of chili. This is fuckin' Greek chili! There's crazy things like chocolate and cinnamon in that chili. So while a lot of you are looking for your chili to kick your ass, the chili you get at Skyline gently stimulates your tongue clit, or taste buds. Yeah, it has a little bite, but mostly it's a sweeter chili. And it's absolutely amazing. And they serve it to you tons of different ways too! You can get it in a burrito. You can get it on a hot dog, or "coney" as the call it. You can get it on fries. You can get it on a steamed potato. Or you can get it the way I prefer, on top of spaghetti. And of course, you can also just get a bowl of chili. But the chili customization doesn't end there! You can also get any of these meals as a 3 way, 4 way, or 5 way. The 3 way comes with a towering mound of cheese on top. The 4 way features the cheese, and either red beans or onions. And of course the 5 way features the cheese, red beans AND the onions. Vegetarian? No problem! They've got black beans and rice with special seasonings just for you. Now ever since I broke veg, I've had issues with digesting beef. But I can safely say that the next time I'm around a Skyline Chili, I will ignore any issues I have with beef, and I will go to town on that chili. Skyline Chili also provided me with the best dip I've ever covered a tortilla chip with. Now I'm pretty sure the dip is simply, Skyline chili, cream cheese, and shredded cheddar cheese, but you really don't need anything other than that. If anyone was wondering what they could get me for Christmas, a 24 pack of Skyline chili would be a great present. Just use Skyline Chili's online store. Also, if anyone wanted to get me a size Small Skyline Chili t-shirt, I'd proudly wear it everywhere. I just figured I'd get my Christmas list out of the way, so you'd have plenty of time to shop for me. But seriously, guys. If any of you want to take a road trip to Cincinnati OH, we can totally eat at Skyline Chili.

Well that's what all of you are getting tonight. You're getting my undying love for Skyline Chili. I think that's more than satisfactory as a blog entry. Sure, it's not my normal storytelling I do, but maybe I like to throw all of you a curveball every now and then. Or maybe not. I don't even like baseball. But I'll sure as hell throw you all for a loop! Alright. Well I think it's about time I headed to bed. Sure, I've got nothing to do tomorrow until 5:45, but I'm still pretty tired. Oh, and before I go, I made a new online friend today. Her name is Lisa Marie and apparently she friended me on Facebook, because I argued with her once over a mutual friend's Facebook. Normally, I wouldn't write about every new Facebook friend I've made, but she asked if I could mention her. I guess she wants to be famous. Well I can't think of any better way than by being in this blog. Okay. I'm headed to bed. More importantly, I'm heading to bed feeling like a nerd for talking about Facebook on a blog. That's a double whammy of nerditude. Catch you later, dorks!

Alt F4

So I bet you're all dying to hear about how my first day of work went. Well I'm happy to say that it went quite well. I went in, filled out all of my paperwork, skimmed the rules, quickly asserted my dominance over the whole store, and then made my own rulebook. It was a very productive four hours, to be sure. But aside from teaching everyone who was boss (me), I also learned a few things. Namely, that the pockets in one particular pair of pants that I own, don't work too well as pockets. You see, throughout the day I lost a check I had, a pen, a guitar pick, and a quarter. Now that is just ridiculous. I'm going to have to write an angry letter to Mr. Dickies and have him get to work on designing a more functioning pocket. It shouldn't be hard. Their main function is only to hold things. I shouldn't have to be worried about losing things every time I put something in my pocket. But whatever, the situation with the check is sorted out, and none of the other things lost matter all that much. But the ride to and from work wasn't too bad. And it was pissing rain too. So if it wasn't too bad in the rain, it shouldn't be too bad on relatively nice days. I'll be sure to look forward to blizzards, though. On my way to work, I even ended up giving directions to some people who pulled up next to me. I was not expecting to be able to give directions in Meriden, but it just so happened that these people were headed to the same plaza that I was headed to. It's nice how things like that work out. And driving home was nice too. It ended up coinciding with Anthony calling me to come hang out right around the time I was coming up to the exit that leads to his house. So I headed there, ate his food, and just hung out. I also discovered that Anthony apparently can't help but laugh when people make artificial fart noises. Now I don't know who that makes more immature: the person squeezing his hands together to make fart noises, or the person laughing hysterically at every fart noise. Well considering I'm completely mature, it must be the laughing idiot who is the immature one. Glad we could figure that out. Moving on.

Christian's 21st birthday was spent with people he didn't know. And me, of course. I remember the night well enough, I think. I was at work hanging out with one of the cool managers, and I received a text from my old manager, Shannon (who is the same as my new manager) asking if I wanted to go to some bar in Milford and shoot some pool. Well, hell yeah I did. But I told her I'd only go if I could bring along Christian. It seemed like a perfect way to celebrate Christian turning 21. So I gave Christian a call, and he was down with the idea. So the plan was all set. The store closed, and Steph (the cool manager from before) and me waited in Steph's car for Christian to show up. After some confusion and lots of waiting, he made it there. So we were on our way. Christian and I mostly knew our way there, but Steph insisted on using her phone GPS. And that caused us to get to the bar much later than we expected. I was getting texts the whole trip from Shannon asking where the hell we were. But eventually we made it. Christian flashed his ID for the first time to get in a bar, and then we headed over to the pool table. Shannon, her husband Billy, her friend Cheri, and some dude I don't remember were already well into their game of pool. But they made the effort to greet us, anyway. The waitress came by and I ordered myself a cranberry juice, and Christian got himself his very first beer from a bar as far as I know. He figured that he might as well. It was his 21st birthday, after all. So we all shot our pools, and had a great time. I'm almost positive that I won all of my games, because I'm the best pool marksman around. Billy also ordered a basket of popcorn chicken that came with a delightfully tangy barbecue sauce. It went quite well with my cranberry juice. Well eventually, like all nights do, ours was coming to an end. We were all pool'd out, and it was about time to leave. Before we left, I made a trip to the men's room. This is also the time that the bill for the booze, bird, and billiards came, coincidentally. So somehow I missed out on paying for anything at all. It was the best Christian's birthday present I had ever received.

Of course, I told that story in celebration of Christian's 22nd and a half birthday that occurred last Tuesday. I had it all planned out that way. So it seems my band, Easy Chowder, has been working on some music, lately. I don't want to divulge too many details, but it's safe to say that Kate is quite the poet. And these lyrics she wrote are getting me pretty excited for the next time the three of us are together, and can work on these new songs. So all of you readers better keep an ear out for us. If you like us before we're cool, you can lift your nose to all of the posers! Sweet! Alright. That's enough of that. I have this whole week off from work, because I did such a great job on Saturday. So I guess I'll just wrap this up here, so I can get some sleep. I need to be well rested for a debate I'm participating in for class tomorrow. I get to yell at people who don't think affirmative action is a good idea. Fuckin' racists, am I right? Alright. See you tomorrow, punks!

The Parly Dukes

Yo! So my first day of work is today! I have to drive 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back for a four hour shift, but it's not a big deal, considering it's my first day. I figure it's all going to be me filling out paperwork. I don't get to the actual nerd-bashing until I know the ins and outs of the store, I guess. I'm looking forward to it, though. I have been unemployed since the end of January, and while that was great this whole summer, I have been pretty bored since most of my friends went away to school. Although, when I think about it, most of my friends shouldn't even be in school right now. I GUESS grad school is an acceptable excuse, but the rest of you are just slacking! And so what if I'm being a hypocrite? I'm bored here all by myself! But I trust that will be less of an issue now that I'm a working man. And maybe I'll have more material to write up in this thing now that I will be getting out of the house to work. I'll be sure not to turn this into some boring "daily occurrences at work" blog. I'm sure reading about my gripes towards customers every day would get boring quick.

Today, the power in my house went out for about 30 seconds. I was just sitting where I am right now, perusing the internet, and the lights went out around me. I still had the glow of my computer screen, but it did dim significantly. There was absolutely no reason for my power to go out, but it did. I'm just thankful that the power came back on 30 seconds later. What a dumb thing to have happened.

I also went to see The Men Who Stare at Goats today. What a solid film. I definitely had some pretty good laughs, throughout. And George Clooney is just gorgeous. I know that everyone says that. Usually girls, but I can appreciate an attractive man, god dammit! But it's true. He's gorgeous. So I recommend that movie to all of you, even if just for the fact that George Clooney is a handsome man.

Tonight we're going to have a very special entry for all of you. It's called "These Are The Hilarious Answers My Friends And I Come Up With When Playing Balderdash." You see, Balderdash is a board game, where one player picks a word, date, film title, person, or initial, and the other players need to come up with their version of what the definition of the word is, the significance of the date, the plot of the film, what makes the person famous, or what the initials stand for. And the person who presented the topic writes down the correct answer. The point is to come up with an answer that you think other people will guess. And points are distributed based on how many people pick your answer. Of course, my friends and I never take this too seriously, and we come up with answers that we just find to be a hoot. And I would like to share with you some of the funnier answers we've come up with. Keep in mind that a lot of these answers are from a game played when AJ and Ryan had just come back from a wedding where they were drinking, and AJ was on the verge of passing out. That game featured Christian, Kate, AJ, Ryan, and myself. Kate and Ryan played as a team. Alright. Here we go.

Movie: Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowlarama
"Hot college chicks get taken over by a falling sky and are forced to wrestle for its use."

Thanks, AJ.

Person: Stephen Perry
"The asshole from Journey who AJ's dad punched in the face"

Way to go, Kate and Ryan. Also, AJ's dad really did beat up the dude from Journey.

Word: Tangantangan
"Two Tangans"

Christian is hilarious.

Not sure of the category: Following etc. (Not sure what the question was)
"Sesame Street or Jackson Five"

This is hilarious because AJ gave an option for which of his answers you'd prefer to take. Neither of them making the slightest bit of sense. AJ was very drunk.

Movie: Whiffs
"The manager for the Cleveland Indians puts up with a band of misfits and tries to win in order to prevent the team from being relocated."

Christian Eggers, you crafty devil. You can't try and pass off Major League as an answer!

Movie: The Purple Monster Strikes
"An anti-fast food movie in which a man in a Grimace costume goes on strike outside McDonalds"

Not funny?

Word: Satrap
"An anti-fast food movie in which a man in a Grimace costume goes on strike outside McDonalds"

Now, I don't like to toot my own horn (yes I do) but Christian was cracking up for a good 5 minutes while trying to read this. He actually drooled all over himself he was laughing so hard.

Person: Tonya L Mistal
"Yo Mama"

Real mature, guy.

Person: Tonya L Mistal
"Hula-hooped for 88 hours burger joint."

I mean, AJ was REALLY drunk.

Word: Trichobezoar
"Something directly out of Harry Potter."

Neeeeeerd!

Word: Psithurism
"Dumb things."

Hey now. Be a good sport, me.

Movie: The Dummy Talks
"A ventriloquist is awoken when his dummy."

wat

Word: Hylomania
"An extreme case of hylo."

Fuck you guys. I'm funny.

Movie: Whiffs
"An Army veteran accidentally inhales a chemical gas that turns him into a bank robber."

This is what the movie is about. No joke.

Movie: The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
"A mild-mannered accountant gets fired from his job. He goes on a drunken rampage and buys a circus."

Yup. That's what this one is about too.

Word: Turpiloquence
Most of us just wrote about turtle pillows.

Initials: MKC
"Minsane Klown Cosse"

I'm not funny.

Movie: Stork Bites Man
"Stork bites man."

Way to finish off the night, Christian.

Alright. Well that's what you get for tonight. I honestly figure that most people who weren't there will not even find this entry funny. But if that's the case with you, then I'd just like you to know that you are very wrong! This is my best entry yet! Well I guess I should probably get myself to bed. I have to be leaving for work in about 12 hours. Man, am I going to be fucked when I start getting morning shifts. I'll need to start going to bed at normal hours or something. I hope the ol' sleep schedule isn't too fucked. Either that, or I hope my boss is cool with me sleeping on the job. I mean, I figure it should be cool considering I received my offer for this job by way of drunk text. Yeah, that's right. How many of you can say that you are employed, because someone drunkenly offered you a job through text message? Alright. Well it's bed time. I'll see you cats tomorrow!

Tie Me Up To The Radiator

I just herd something that sounded a whole lot like a crash outside. But more like a car driving through a garage door kind of crash. There's no chance of me getting up to investigate, though. All I know is that it didn't sound close enough to cause me any real worry. It came out of nowhere, though. It was definitely an odd crash. I didn't hear anything until right before the crash. But even though I'm writing all this, I'm not the least bit interested in getting up to see what happened. What I would like to talk to all of you about is these eye drops I've been taking, though. First off, it's probably one of the most difficult things in the world for me to get into some sort of routine for taking medicine. I'm never really sick, or infection-ridden, so when I am prescribed some sort of medication, I find it difficult to keep up with it. Especially when I'm supposed to be taking it every four hours four times a day. But whatever, it's not too big of an issue. I'll tell you what the worst part about these eye drops are, though. That would happen to be after I drop them in my eyes and they make their way past my eyes, and down into the back of my throat. Eye drops do not taste particularly pleasant, and I don't like having that taste in the back of my throat every four hours. Or rather, whenever I remember to put in the eye drops. But enough of that. How about that I go in for my first day of work on Saturday? Sure, it's only a four hour shift to get all my paperwork and whatnot filled out, but it's still kind of exciting. You know, I think I'm looking forward to the 40 minute commute to work a little bit. I love driving a whole lot, and I'm at peace just driving somewhere and singing along to some good tunes on the way. I don't know if that will translate well when my destination involves me catering to a legion of nerds, but I'm fairly optimistic about the whole thing.

Speaking of jobs, I have a humorous story that occurred at my previous job of catering to a different breed of nerd (I was a dealer of pop music at my local FYE). I remember it was a fairly slow day, and there was probably only two or three hours before we were going to close up shop. Well there was this lady rummaging through the store. She had some sort of cart with her, that if I remember correctly, looked a lot like a baby carriage, but without a baby. My manager told me to keep an eye on her, because she looked fairly sketchy. So I pretty much just went out on the sales floor and ignored her. But at one point this woman goes up to my boss, and asks if she could use our bathroom. Now we weren't supposed to let customers use our bathroom anyway, but there was no way my manager was going to let some sketchy lady go in the back room so she could rob us blind. So Steph, the manager, politely told her that she couldn't use our bathroom, but informed her of where she could find a public restroom in the mall. But this woman didn't take Steph's advice and just told her that she was going to "walk it off." I think trying to walk off your need to piss is very counter-productive, but alright. So this woman continues browsing for a while, and then goes up to pay for whatever movies, music, and whatever other entertainment she could find in the store. So my coworker Nick was ringing her up, and everything was going as it normally does. Nick hands the woman her purchases, and this is when the woman leans in to tell him that she "had a little accident in the comedy movies section." At first, this didn't really click with Nick, so he inquired as to what she meant. So she straight up told him that she pissed all over the carpet in the last aisle. This left Nick almost speechless. All he could manage to get out was a studdered "Oh... O...kay." But before this woman left, she felt it necessary to ask poor Nicholas where she could go to purchase a clean, new pair of pants. First of all, this woman needs to show a little more shame. And second of all, she's in a mall. She's surrounded by places where she can buy pants that aren't covered in piss. I mean... as long as she avoids Sears. So once the creepy woman was good and gone, Nick came over to tell Steph and me what the woman told him. Being the person that gets off on the misfortunes of others, I had myself a good laugh. Although, I made it clear that I was going to take no part in the cleanup process. Steph, on the other hand, seemed to have a bit more of a meltdown. Now she's a little thing, but she can sure throw a big fit. And this, honestly, just had me in even more hysterics than I was already in. But eventually Steph calmed down a bit, and started making some calls to other stores. She had no idea how to clean up piss from the carpet, so she was hoping some other FYE manager was more versed in proper urine sanitation etiquette. Well it turns out that none of them were experts in the field of removing carpet stains caused by bodily fluids. There was one manager that claimed to be, though. And Steph was more than happy to take his or her advice. And that advice was to simply clean it with bleach. Good call, Captain Clean! So Steph, without letting anyone else know what her plan was, grabbed the bleach from the back room, and went to town on that stain. After I found out her cleaning method, I politely informed her that bleach was going to do a number on that carpet. And it turns out I was absolutely right. The area of carpet where the bleach was used never matched the carpet around it from then until the store was shut down. It was a lasting memorial to the lady that pissed on our floor. I guess that's what it means when someone who has to pee tells you they're just going to "walk it off." But the rest of that night was great, because you see, Steph has a very low tolerance for things going wrong while she's working. And whenever things do go wrong, she ignores the rest of the normal work duties for the night, and just makes sure we get out of the store as fast as possible. This is one of the better stories I have from that job. It was actually a pretty good up until the first store manager (who is my manager again at this new job) left. Then it just turned into a miserable job that made me wish I was dead.

Alright. Enough with all of this job talk. I have class in the early PM, and I don't like all of my responsibilities being on my mind all at once. Which reminds me that I need to put those eye drops in again. Also, if this entry ends up riddled with mistakes in grammar, it isn't my fault. For some reason my browser is being very choppy, so everything I type isn't showing up as I type it. It's pretty frustrating, but what are you going to do? Alright. Well I'm going to go put those drops in, do a little bit of reading, and then I'll be hitting the ol' hay. I'll see all of you cuties tomorrow!

They Can't All Be Winners

Yo! It seems like my internet is behaving tonight, so I should hopefully have some sort of stellar entry for all of you tonight. How was everybody's day? Mie was pretty good. I didn't really do all that much of anything, though. I guess it was just a lazy day for me. Not that I really have much to do on most days, but that's all going to change soon. Yes, I'm going to be a working man by this time next week. I don't have the official schedule yet, but I know I'm supposed to start next week. Before then, I'm going to need to go out and stock up on polo shirts. Apparently, I have to wear a polo or button-down shirt for this job. And wouldn't you know it, all of my polo shirts are too big and stretched out. But I guess this is what I get for having worn clothes too big for me for so much of my life. I'm a pretty slim person, I'd say. And I haven't changed very much in size over the years, but I still have a drawer of XL t-shirts that I never wear. And to think a medium is too big for my liking these days. Well, anyway, I need to get some polo shirts, and I'd also like to get myself a haircut soon. The first anniversary of me cutting a ton of hair off my head is coming up in under a month! I'll have to look sharp for it.

Over two years ago I went to a show at the UCONN campus. This particular show was Dropkick Murphys and Big D and the Kids Table. If this show had happened today, I probably wouldn't have had the least bit of interest in seeing it, but I was pretty psyched at the time. I went up to UCONN with my friend Anthony (a different Anthony than the one I normally talk about) and an acquaintance Christian (again, not the Christian I normally talk about). I remember it being a particularly cold day. I think this all happened in February. Not positive, though. But we drove up there, and were planning on making a day of it. So we had a few hours to kill before we even began thinking about shows. I think the first thing we did was stop by my friend TJ's dorm, because I believe he picked up a ticket for me. So I grabbed my ticket from him, and caught up a bit before I got back in the car with Anthony and Christian. I also believe I took a poster for the show off one of the walls in the dorm. I'm pretty sly like that. Then the three of us went to go eat at a dining hall on campus. This Christian acquaintance of mine attends the University, so he just swiped us all in. But I remember this place being very big. It had an enormous selection compared to what I was used to at WestConn. And that being the case, I filled my tray up with several plates, each featuring a very eclectic array of foods. But that's always been my college dining hall experience. I would always fill my plate(s) with the offerings that looked like they'd make me throw up the least. And that would often result in a diversified meal. But while my tray was quite stacked, I could not, and have never been able to compete with what Anthony had on his plate. Anthony will eat most anything, and a whole lot of it. Thus, my tray looked meager in comparison. But such is life. After we ate, I don't really remember what we did. The next thing I remember is being in the dorm room of some female friends of Christian. This is when Christian and them started pregaming. They were doing shots of vodka, and acting like college kids. It was very obvious these girls did not go to shows too often. And if the Dropkick Murphys hadn't had a song featured in the movie The Departed, I'm sure they wouldn't have thought twice about going to the concert. But then again, neither would any of the people that I went with. Listen to me. I'm coming off like some sort of elitist for the Dropkick Murphys, a band I couldn't give two shits about anymore. Hell, I found out about them, because they were on the soundtrack to some Motocross video game. I'm not cool, either. But still, it was pretty lame that these girls were making t-shirts for the show that had the name of a song that they downloaded off of Limewire that was incorrectly tagged as the Dropkick Murphys on them. I honestly have no idea what song it was, and who it was by. But I do believe this is when we started making our way to the show. And all I remember was that it was a very long and cold walk. But we eventually made it, and we were ready to have our faces rocked, or whatever. This was a little before Big D put out Strictly Rude, so they played their set of Strictly Rude songs + LAX. I hadn't seen Big D in awhile, so I was just psyched to see them play. Then the Dropkick Murphys played and all the drunk college kids got psyched when they played the song from the movie.

Wow... I am totally not feeling this entry at all, guys. I'm sorry about this one. Especially after I promised you a really good one tonight. I'll try and make it up to you somehow. I need to get back on the horse or else I'll lose my loyal fan base. And that would be the biggest tragedy of all. Tomorrow I'm going to buckle down and try my best to give you one hell of a blog entry. Whatever homework I may have be damned! You guys deserve better from me, and god dammit, I am going to give you better! But as for today, you'll just have to suffer through a boring story about a concert nobody would care about these days. Believe me, it was fun while I was there, but it clearly doesn't translate well into a blog entry. The only other time I went to UCONN for a concert was to see Immortal Technique. It was outside, freezing cold, Immortal Technique showed up late, there were tons of technical problems, and my friend Jenn and I bailed before things got even more miserable. Leave comments about what you'd like to see my comeback entry to be about. This guy's takin' suggestions!

The Internet Is Fucking You Out Of My Best Work. I Apologize.

Guys! I have an infection in my eyes! Some of you may not know this, but this is the second infection I've had in my eyes this year. It's the same infection, but it's back! Do you all know what that means? That's right. I can't wear contacts until I get rid of this infection again. So I'll be back on glasses, it seems. But what really sucks is that this time around, I've got eye drops I need to use to hopefully make the infection go away faster. I have an appointment with the optometrist next Tuesday to see if these drops are helping. Two drops in each eye, four times a day completely blows rat shaft, though. Oh well. Anything for beauty, I guess. I just love the way that contacts make my eyes sparkle, you know? Not that my eyes don't sparkle without contacts, but glasses just cover up my sparkly blue eyes. It's pretty much a crime against humanity. But either way, my eyes are bothering me quite a bit right now. I feel like this is because of these steroids I'm dropping into my eyes. Hopefully, my eyes won't feel like this all week, though. Alright. Let us move on, shall we?

I've actually got some bad news for you kids. My internet keeps cutting in and out. So I'm going to just finish this thing up right now. What I will tell you, though, is that the new A Wilhelm Scream EP that comes out next week is absolutely amazing. I just got the leak today, and it is pretty flawless. It's got me very excited for a new full length from them. But that's all I've got for you kids tonight. This stupid internet business is ruining everything! I can't entertain all of you to my fullest potential, and that tears me up inside. Oh well. I'll try and give you guys a real banger of an entry tomorrow! Look forward to it!

Buy Guns!

"Vampires sparkle in the sunlight, but HPV often has no signs or symptoms. HPV can lead to cervical cancer. Get the facts at HPV.com" This was an advertisement I saw on the internet today. I was sort of half paying attention in class when I saw this ad on the computer of a girl sitting in front of me. I almost burst out in hysterics right there in the middle of class. But I was able to contain myself, somehow. But honestly, how is that an ad? Are we really using Twilight to make Human Papillomavirus awareness look cool? I guess the ad was somewhat effective in that I'll never ever forget it, but it's still the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Oh well! In cooler news, this guy right here is now a contributing member of society. Yes, that's right. I've got myself a job. I'll now be dealing with geeks all day as some sort of almost manager at my not local Gamestop. Yes, I'll be driving 40 minutes to Meriden, every day I have to work, but I'll be getting paid a decent wage, and I'll be in close proximity to Redscroll Records just in case I feel like I have too much money. Plus, I'll be working under a manager that I know I like. It definitely sounds like a pretty great job to me. To celebrate, I ordered myself a new pair of shoes, so I don't go into my new job with my toes hanging out. I mean, I am pretty good friends with the store manager, but she has some standards for her store. Alright. Enough of this rundown of my day. I was just going to make a joke about how The Rundown was a crappy movie, and the sequel with Kevin Sorbo was probably even worse, but there was no sequel to The Rundown. I was thinking of Walking Tall, which is another crappy movie with The Rock in it. Kevin Sorbo was in two sequels to Walking Tall, apparently. I never actually saw Walking Tall, so I only assume it was crappy. It's a remake, isn't it? Probably. Whatever. Kevin Sorbo is a badass, and The Rock is a great movie that has nothing to do with Dwayne Johnson. This may be the most press Kevin Sorbo has gotten in awhile, and I honestly can't believe I'm talking about Kevin Sorbo on my blog. Let's move on. Shall we?

Since we were speaking of employment, let me tell you about the pseudo-job I had over the summer. You see, I was a bit of a bum since I lost my job at FYE. I applied for other jobs, but I didn't really pursue them very much. I guess I was just hoping they'd either call me out of all the other applicants, or I could just continue kickin' back and enjoying the summer with my pals. But I did have one job-ish thing this summer. Kate's dad offered to pay Christian and me to paint a breezeway in the house, and a wall outside of the house. We quickly accepted that offer, because we were spending almost every day at Kate's anyway. We started off with the breezeway. Now this was a very important part of the job, because this is Elliott's room, and he has very high standards for his living space. In case you're not aware, Elliott is a dog. But Christian and I got to work on that room right quick. Kate was even kind enough to put her iPod on shuffle for us. Of course, it wasn't so kind when I had to listen to some of her poorer choices in musical taste. Honestly, if I were to base my opinion on The Get Up Kids on the one song I heard by them on that day, I'd say they're the worst high school bullshit band I've ever heard. But based on the other songs of theirs that I've heard, I just think they plain old suck. But that song didn't compare to the whiniest cry baby song that came on soon after that. I'm fairly certain that was a song by The Spill Canvas, but I can't be sure. Kate listens to so much bad music, it's really hard to keep track. But I must admit that the majority of the music she listens to is the tops. The next day that Christian and I showed up to work came soon after. But this time it featured my iPod on shuffle. And that also ended up being a bad experience, because even though I have the perfect taste in music now, I also used to listen to some of the worst ska bands around. Plus, the jazz that came up on shuffle doesn't make for very good painting music. But either way, I sure got Kate back! As we went along with our painting, Christian and I ended up recruiting Anthony to help us out. This was after we made sure he understood that he wasn't getting any cut of the payment, of course. He wasn't terribly great at painting, but he was definitely more of a help than a hindrance, I'd say. Two coats later, we were moving on to the cement wall underneath the deck outside. This one went much faster, because it only required one coat of paint. It did end up being a whole lot worse on my back, though. It's rough painting when you can't stand straight up. Stupid decks make everything tough! That's not true at all. It only make some things tough, and mostly things that occur underneath it. But we eventually got all that work done. And we even finished it up in time for Kate's birthday party. The same birthday party where the window to the door I had just painted was broken by rowdy kids. Fuckin' punks, man! Never. Throw. Frisbees. In. The. House! But it's alright. My work was done. The best part of painting was probably all the food I'd be fed afterward. Now I ate a lot at Kate's anyway, but it tasted that much better when I earned it. It was usually a dinner of pizza, but it was always a treat when Kate would cook for us. She's a stellar cook. She'd probably be the best cook ever, if she could bake better brownies than me. There's also been whisperings that I make better fajitas than her too, but I don't like to spread that rumor. Kate makes great fajitas. But if you ever want to see my stellar painting job, just ask. I'll bring you down to Kate's house, and show you just how well I can paint a room.

Well I think the fact that my contacts are drying up in my head means I should be heading to bed. Oh, the things I'll put in my head for beauty. Speaking of how gorgeous I am, my family and I went out to dinner for my brother's birthday today. We went to Ruby Tuesday and it was pretty great. But the waitress was totally flirting with me the whole time. It just supports my claim that all waitresses are in love with me. Sure, the skeptic would say they're just workin' their tip, but that shit doesn't hold water when I'm not the one paying. These waitresses aren't flirting with my parents the whole time, are they? Hell no! I'm number one! Alright, now that I built up my self esteem, I think I can head to bed. Guess who's not crying himself to sleep tonight? That's right. This guy! Alright. See you knuckleheads later!

Hunger Is The Best Sauce In The World

Whoa! Hey! Where have I been, right? Well I plan on telling you just that. But first I'm going to expel some sibling pride on you. So my brother is a senior in high school, and has been looking into different colleges. This weekend he went to check out the New Hampshire Institute of Art. My brother's a big fan of art, and he's drawing all the time. He does lots of squiggly lines and stuff. It's pretty neat looking. So he goes on up to Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend with our parents, and checks out the school. He seemed to really like it. They were also giving informal portfolio reviews during open house. So my brother doesn't really have a portfolio, but he brought along his sketchbook, just to have something reviewed, and get some tips on what makes a good portfolio. Well he ends up getting reviewed by the dean of painting. So I figure this guy knows his stuff. But he's going through my brother's sketchbook, and making lots of positive comments as he goes through it, but my brother didn't really think too much of it. But once this guy finishes up, he tells my brother that he's going o recommend him for the highest scholarship. And not only that, but he said he didn't need to come back for an official portfolio review, because that was more than enough. So that ended up being the official review. The guy then goes on to tell some guy from admissions about him, and calls my brother "brilliant." So now when my brother applies to this school, he gets priority admission. It all just took me by surprise when I was told about all of this. I always thought my brother was a good artist, but I also figured it's easy to get lost in a crowd of other talented artists. But apparently my brother is brilliant. And I thought that was really cool. Alright. Now enough bragging about my brother. Let's move on to all of the neat things that I did this weekend. This blog is all about me, right? Right.

So I had a pretty eventful weekend, myself. When I wasn't finishing up all of that yard work I had to do, I was having a pretty great time. On Friday after class, I drove home to find that Anthony was waiting at my house. You see, we were going to a concert in Brooklyn that night. So we got in my car and drove to AJ's newly not fire-damaged house. We met AJ there, and took a little tour of the house. After that we headed to the ol' train station. The train ride to Grand Central Station was relatively uneventful. Anthony and I discussed immature and lewd things quite a bit. We even got this lady to get up out of her seat and go sit somewhere else. Whatever. Her loss. But eventually we pulled into Grand Central, and from there we had to walk to Penn Station to meet up with Kate. It took us a little bit to get our bearings straight, but soon enough we were quickly on our way to Penn Station. We got there and met up with the lovely Kate, and then walked Penn Station to wait for our final show buddy. The four of us were pretty famished, so we decided to get some pizza from a pizza place at the station. It was alright. Unless you ask Anthony, because he will tell you that it was the best pizza he's ever eaten. You see, Anthony has only started eating pizza about six months ago. He went most of his life believing that he didn't like pizza. I know! Who the fuck doesn't like pizza? It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. But I guess six months ago he finally wised up. So that is why it's understandable that his favorite pizza came from a dirty train station. But while all this pizza drama was going down, our final show pal arrived. It was Aaron Katz! I hadn't seen Aaron for quite some time before that, so it was great to see him then. The five of us caught up for a bit, before we headed to the subway, and transported ourselves to Brooklyn. And then we made our way to the show. We were just in time to miss half of the opening band's set. This was a good thing, because this band was kind of bad. But I'm glad I saw some of their set, because the drummer of the band is Max Weinberg's son. So I had to see what kind of band this kid was in. It turns out he's in a boring pop-punk band that sing working class anthems or whatever. But I've never seen a kid more starved for attention. Max Weinberg's son was standing on his drum set whenever he wasn't playing. At one point, he even got out from behind his drum set and stood at the front of the stage trying to get everyone's attention. It was pretty sad. He also came off as kind of a tool. And I'm hesitant to make this joke, based on my own lifestyle choices, but it only made me think he was more of a tool when he started wearing a straight edge shirt. I only hesitate to make that joke, because I'm straight edge, and have some great friends who are straight edge. And I hate the stigma that straight edge kids are all intolerant assholes. But let's face it, there are definitely those that are. Now that I've made sure to explain myself to you jerks, I guess I can continue on in my story. Next up was The Riot Before. This was my first time seeing them, but I have listened to them for awhile, and they put on an amazing live show. I loved every second of it. After that, Living With Lions played. I'm a big fan of theirs, and they put on a good show, but I didn't really end up getting to into their set. It was probably mostly because A Wilhelm Scream was going on next. But before they went on, some awkward boy took it upon himself to talk to Kate a lot. He had apparently seen her at that Strike Anywhere show in Jersey that I wrote about a little while back. So he proceeded to hit on her very poorly. He wasn't very good at holding a conversation. I also think he thought I was Kate's boyfriend, because the little bit of time he spent acknowledging me, he was more or less trying to make me look bad in a subtle way. Whatever. The kid was ugly anyway. But then A Wilhelm Scream came on and everything was right with the world. Holy shit do they ever put on an amazing show. I was right up front the whole time singing along. Only Kate was in front of me so I could hold back the sea of punks from crushing her against the stage. But they played an amazing set. They played two new songs. One I had heard before, but one of them was completely new to me. It also started with the sickest bass intro I've ever heard, and I can't wait to hear the new EP, because I know I'll just play that song over and over and over. But it was an amazing show, and I'm glad I got to see it with such amazing people. But eventually, the show came to an end, and we made our way back to the subway. This is where we parted ways with Aaron and AJ. They were headed deeper into Brooklyn to stay with a friend. And while we waited for our subway, they made lewd gestures towards us from the opposite platform. It was a lovely goodbye. And eventually, Kate got off at her stop, and finally, Anthony and I got off, and made our way to Grand Central so we could catch our train back home. We were thoroughly exhausted. But we eventually got back to my car, scraped off the thick layer of frost covering it, and we made our way home. It was a very successful evening.

And that was the highlight of my weekend. I also went to SUNY Purchase to hang out with Kathleen, Erica, and Cody on Saturday. I don't have much to say about that, though. I had some great tacos, but it was mostly just people drinking the whole time, and I ended up pretty bored with the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, hanging out with Kathleen, Erica, and Cody was a great time, but not much was really going on, so I don't have any stories from it. And today, my family had a party for my brother's 18th birthday, which is tomorrow. Well, I guess it's today (the 9th), I just haven't gone to sleep yet, so it still feels like the 8th to me. But anyway, that's all the fun talking I have for the lot of you tonight. You may end up reading this entry in a brand new color, because more people than just AJ have complained about it being hard to read. So I guess if I want to keep my loyal fan base, I'll have to compromise a bit of my artistic integrity. A little selling out never hurt anybody, though. Right? Wrong. But you're probably still going to be reading this in a different color. Alright. Goodbye, everyone! Hasta bananas.

Sometimes You Wore Glasses That You Didn't Like Over Eyes That Were Sparkly Blue

Hey, cool dudes! Remember how I think I mentioned that I was going to be going to Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend? Well guess what! I'm not! But under the circumstances, this is a pretty great thing! You see, instead of watching my brother visit some college, I'll be going to Brooklyn tomorrow. And do you know what's happening in Brooklyn tomorrow? That's right! A concert featuring the bands A Wilhelm Scream, Living With Lions, The Riot Before, and The Reveling. Now I love each and every one of these bands, except for The Reveling. It's not because I don't enjoy their music. Hell, I may end up loving their music, but I have never listened to them. Yet, I am still very excited to see them. This is due to the fact that the drummer of this band is the son of the great Max Weinberg, of E Street Band fame. Now anyone so closely connected to someone who is so closely connected to the Boss AND Conan O'Brien would be interesting to check out. According to Christian, they even sound pretty great. I haven't checked out their music, because I'd like to be pleasantly surprised. Apparently, they write working class anthems. That turns me off from them a bit. Not because I don't like a good working class anthem, but because it seems a little insincere when your band lives in a nice area of Brooklyn, and the drummer clearly has been pretty well off. Hell, the kid was on the cover of Modern Drummer with his dad, according to Christian. But I'll go into their set with the utmost objectivity. And if the music is good, I'm sure I'll get into it. But mostly I'm excited for the other three bands on the bill. It promises to be a great time. Although, along with a killer show, tomorrow is also the day of the Yankees' parade for winning the Boring Series. Honestly, there is no sport that makes me yawn more than baseball. What a bore-fest. But that's like at 11AM, and we will not be in New York City that early. I'm sure it'll be no worse than the time Christian and I went to go see No Trigger, Paint It Black, and Propagandhi in Boston the day of the St. Patrick's Day Parade. And we even drove into Boston that day. We'll be taking a train to New York City tomorrow.

Speaking of that time, Christian and I went to Boston to see those bands I said, that was a pretty great weekend. It was during Spring Break this past semester. Christian was home, and all he wanted to do was to go see a concert. So we ended up seeing two concerts. Now Connecticut was not being very accommodating concert-wise that particular weekend, so we relied on Boston both of those days to get Christian his concert fix. The first concert was a matinee Bomb the Music Industry concert. It was at 1PM in some bar across from Fenway Park. Now being that it was such an early concert, and we had to go all the way to Boston, I made sure not to sleep the night before. Great call on my part! Well, at around 8AM after watching Outland, I headed over to Christian's house. And from there, we made our way to Boston. Now the only reason we wre going to this concert was because we said we'd bring people to it before we found out about the much better concert the next night. Well they all bailed on us. But unfortunately, we also promised to bring some people home from the show who only had a ride there. So we went on our way. I had every intention of sleeping in the car and on the train we took into Boston, but that never ended up happening. Instead, I waited until we got to the show to feel completely exhausted. But before the show, we wandered around Boston for a bit. We were near Berklee, I believe. Who knows. We were in a college part of town, and were wandering. We stopped in some Chinese food place, and had ourselves some lunch, and then made our way back to the bar to see a ska band, Laura Stevenson and the Cans, The Brass, Sean from Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Bomb The Music Industry. Now even though I was crazy tired the whole time, that show was amazing. Totally glad we went. Hell, I wasn't even pissed that the people we were supposed to take home, didn't need rides back anymore. So the show ended, and Christian and I caught the train back to wherever we were parked, and we both slept most of the way back. I think I ended up hanging out at Christian's afterward, just so I could stay awake, and not fuck up my sleep schedule. One show down. Then was the next day's concert. This one we decided to drive into Boston for, because this was a night show, and the trains wouldn't be running by the time we got out. I was well rested for this show, though. So Christian and I drove into Boston, then we drove all around Boston trying to find any place that would be near the venue, the Middle East. Eventually, after much driving, we found a parking garage near MIT. Then we took the good ol' subway to the stop we figured would be nearest the venue. The subway was filled to the brim with people wearing green and being drunk. This was a direct result of the St. Patrick's Day Parade having fallen on this date. So we squeezed in and got off at the stop that felt right. Then we got up to street level, and started walking in the direction that gave us a good feeling. And being that Christian and I can never ever get lost, our choices led us straight to the venue. There we were greeted by people we know from shows. Morgan, Pete, and Ken were all outside waiting. It was lovely seeing them. So we hung out with them for a bit while the opening band played. Christian and I have a horrible habit of not checking out locals from Massachusetts. So we all talked while Morgan asked around to see if anyone had an extra ticket he could grab. So Christian and I left him to beg, because we were not about to miss No Trigger. I had listened to No Trigger for awhile, and never really heard about any shows they were doing, so I was psyched to have one thrown in my lap. And they didn't disappoint. They put on one hell of a show. At some point during their set Tyler showed up, as well! It's always great to see Tyler. But that was no longer important, because Paint it Black was up next. And holy shit! What a show they put on. Plus, the crowd for them was great. And just our luck, the sets kept on getting better. After Paint it Black, Propagandhi went on. Now they're another elusive band. But they had just put out their new album, and were touring in support of it. They ended up being one of the best live acts I've ever seen. Not only were they incredibly tight musically, their on stage banter was spot on. These guys were hilarious. They all talked in their Canadian accents, and made fun of each other, and members of the crowd. They put on a phenomenal set. The highlight of their set was when Dan Yemin of Paint it Black got up on stage and sang Fuck The Border with them. The crowd lost their shit. It was an amazing moment in music, for sure. But after that, the show was over, and we had to go and make our way home. We stopped at a 7-11 at one point, and I put on the t-shirt and hoodie I bought, because it was fucking freezing outside. So I had two shirts and two hoodies on. I also bought some banana bread and an orange juice. Quality 7-11 visit. Then we went back down into the subway. We got off at the stop by where we parked, and in the subway we found some kids. One of them was wearing the same Paint it Black hoodie that I had just purchased. So that was enough to strike up a conversation. We figured they had gone to the show, too. But then they asked us if we knew of any concerts going on in Boston this weekend. So, confused, I said "Well, there was the Paint it Black/Propagandhi show that we just came back from. Weren't you there?" This is when their jaws fell to the floor. This kid was walking around Boston with a Paint it Black hoodie, and him and his friends had no idea they were playing right there in the city. As expected, the kids were pretty bummed. It was such a coincidental situation, though. It was completely absurd. We ended up talking to them for awhile, and we found out they were from Florida, and just in Boston for the weekend. I felt bad that they ended up missing the show, but not too bad, because I don't actually know them. But after all that, we went our separate ways, and Christian and I got back to the car. That is when we headed back to Danbury, having had a very successful weekend of shows.

Well I sure knocked this entry out of the park. I guess that makes up for me skipping yesterday. But yesterday I was too busy going on hikes in woods-ish areas around the houses of rich people. Then I spent the rest of my night watching Anthony playing a video game. It's shameful how content I am just watching other people do things. Oh well. I'm not sorry for it. Oh. Also. You know how I was doing all that yard work before? Yesterday, I continued it. Except on a roof. Cleaning out gutters was a blast! But I guess that's roof work, not yard work. But I did get back to the yard work today. Now I just have to clear the back yard of leaves, and then mow the lawn. Then I'll be done with all of the yard work until the rest of the leaves fall! Alright! Well I think it's about time I got to bed. I have class tomorrow before I have my big fun day of concerts and dorky Yankee fans parading. I'll see you kids the next time I post. That will probably not be tomorrow. It also may not be Saturday. Saturday, I believe I'm going to see Nana Grizol at SUNY Purchase. I don't know. We'll see. But if I don't get to you guys until Sunday, you can expect me to have a lot to write about then. Bye, pals!

I Only Have Time For A Quickie!

Oh shoot! I forgot to write in this bitch tonight. Oh well. I'll give you something short and sweet. You know how New England has the most beautiful fall in the whole entire world. Well I spent most of my day raking that beauty up. All the reds, oranges, and yellows created a whirlwind of splendor as I broke my back raking them into piles, and throwing those piles into the woods. The best part was that the tarp I was using was also some sort of spider compound. I opened this thing up and all these spiders came pouring out of it. It was great. But that didn't stop me from getting the job done! Well, I guess it may have. There are a lot of leaves on my property. But I did accomplish the goal I set for myself. So that's kind of like finishing. I was planning on continuing my battle against nature tomorrow, but instead I'll be spending the day with my good friend Anthony. So hopefully we'll end up doing something interesting so that my next entry can be better than the crap I'm flinging at you guys today. But after all of those hours I spent raking, I took the best shower ever. I even shaved and made myself look really pretty. It's a shame you guys can't see me right now. Although, a haircut would really just bring everything together. My hair has been getting pretty unruly lately. But we can't worry about all of that now. I'll have plenty of time to get haircuts soon enough. Right now is time for sleeping. If I don't get a sufficient amount of sleep, then I'm just cranky all day. That's not even true. I'm always in high spirits, and tend to brighten the days of others wherever I go. Admit it. Reading this every day brings a big ol' smile to your face. Well I just wanted to let you know that the fact that I make all of you smile every day makes me smile. Big hugs and kisses to all of you readers out there. But now is the time for sleeping to occur. Until next time, cadets!

And That's Why You Always Leave A Note!

Well it looks like I'm getting requests (requst) for entries now. This "Kate" girl in the comments of my last entry seems to want me to write about the rap group Arrested Development. Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with their catalog. It may not be the same, but I could write about the television series Arrested Development. Yes, I'll make sure to do that tonight. But I do like the idea of people commenting with ideas for posts. It sure makes my job easier. Anyway, today was one of the two school days that I have every week. In one of my classes, we had a formal debate on whether or not the Defense of Marriage Act was a moral imperative or not. And it was just miserable watching the team against gay marriage spout some of the dumbest arguments I've ever heard, and then see them get weakly, and passively rebutted. It was miserable, but it was nice when the team against gay marriage said that they weren't really against it, and admitted that every argument they presented was stupid. But anyway, on to my story about Fox television.

It all started one day when the usual crew of Christian, Kate, and I were hanging out at Kate's house. Being the generally uncreative people that we are, we couldn't come up with anything really cool to do. So we settled on rummaging through Kate's extensive porno collection. We were looking for something thought provoking. Somehow, Kate's Arrested Development DVDs got mixed in with all of her BDSM flicks. Kate mentioned how it was a hilarious show. Christian and I weren't convinced, though. After several minutes of having half-watched the show on our own time, we were never all that impressed. But Kate's love for Arrested Development left us unsure about how we felt about Arrested Development from our 30 seconds of viewing while flipping through channels. So we took Kate's bait and decided to watch Arrested Development. By the way, Kate doesn't even like porn. The DVDs we were rummaging through were mostly Aqua Teen DVDs and other nerdy Adult Swim shows. But that's not really important. What's important is that we started watching Arrested Development, and we became instantly hooked. I'm pretty sure there may never have been a funnier show on television. How can I be so sure, you ask? Well Fox canceled it after three seasons. Fox is stupid like that. They're big fans of canceling good shows. Don't ask for examples. I'm talking out of my ass most likely. I don't really watch all that much television outside of the Food Network. So I don't know about all of the hip new sitcoms. I'm getting off track, though. Arrested Development is great. If Kate wasn't such a constantly tired person, we probably could have finished off the whole series in one straight viewing. But instead, we stretched our Arrested Development marathon across the whole summer. Almost every day of the summer, the three of us would end up at Kate's try and think of something fun to do, fail, and then continue to watch Arrested Development. It may have gotten to a point where we were hoping we couldn't think of anything to do outside of Kate's house so we could watch Arrested Development. But it's honestly that great of a show. We all began to feel a real connection with all of the characters. Micheal's difficult life keeping the family together. George Micheal and Maeby's strange cousin-love. Tobias' inability to strip himself of his cutoffs. Gob's desire to make it as a magician. Buster's awkward Oedipus Complex. It was all such a whirlwind of emotion. Sometimes it would leave us in tears. Mostly tears of laughter, though. The show is fucking hilarious. In fact, I believe the moment that I laughed the hardest in my life was during an episode of Arrested Development. It was in the episode with Martin Short. Martin Short's character, Uncle Jack, plays a strong man who lost the use of his legs. But rather than use a wheel chair for mobility, he is carried around by another strong man. But the hilarious part comes when Uncle Jack has the person carrying him, make him do a dance. So the man starts shaking Uncle Jack around, and Uncle Jack pukes on himself. It was just so sudden, and out of the ordinary from the humor you usually see on the show, that I instantly burst out laughing, and continued to laugh for several minutes. It was amazing. According to what I picked up on IMDB.com while making sure I had my facts straight in that little story, that episode is not a fan favorite, because of that scene that had me in tears laughing. Apparently, that was too low brow for Arrested Development fans. It would seem that those "fans" need to get off their high horse, because that is comedic gold. Fuckin' elitists, man. But anyway, by the end of the summer we had finished the series, and it was an all around perfect experience. Of course, it's just another thing that I was late to the game on. I have a nasty habit of getting into things way too late. But I'm just glad I ended up getting into it at all.

Alright. Well I think this fan request entry worked out quite well. I'll be happy to accept more requests for future entries. But right now I think I'm going to go downstairs and read for a bit, before I go to bed. I just started reading Everything Is Illuminated last night. I loved the movie, and I love the author of the book, so I assume this book will end up being great. Although, I think it will be tough to top Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for my favorite book. I guess we'll have to wait and see. We'll probably be waiting awhile, too. I always take so long to read books. Mainly because I normally only read before I go to bed, and sometimes I'm just way too tired to make any headway. But I'm going up to Manchester, NH with my family this weekend so my brother can visit a school. So hopefully, I'll be able to get a bunch of reading in on that trip. Okay. Well I'm going to go do that thing I said. Bye, pals! Keep those requests coming!

Check Out Banner, Michael!

So I don't have any big Halloween update like I thought I would. Anthony and I just ended up hanging out and doing nothing. It was fun, but definitely not blog-worthy. Hell, even my brother got to go to a sweet high school kid party in some gated community. It seems the tables have turned, and I'm no longer the cool one. Soon enough, he'll be calling ME "four eyes." Well I guess I was the cool, older brother long enough. Now I'm the unsuccessful, boring older brother that he's ashamed of. It was bound to happen at some point. But yeah, Anthony and I just hung out at his house for the most part. Then I went home, went to bed, and woke up at a time that felt early, because of that holiday. You know... the one where we turn the clocks back. All Saints Day. Right. Good ol' Catholic Church telling us what time we should think it is. Alright. Enough of all this talk about how my brother is cooler than me. Let's move on to stories where I look pretty cool.

I was at a Punchline show in Danbury at some point over this summer, and while that's not important, I made a discovery there that was important. I found a flyer there for a show that was going on in Greenfield, Massachusetts. And on this flyer was A Wilhelm Scream. Now, sometime last year A Wilhelm Scream became one of my favorite bands, but I had not seen them yet. Luckily, I made this show discovery with Kate, who is an A Wilhelm Scream fan from way back, and Christian, who fell in love with them around the same time I did. So while we were ignoring shitty openers for Punchline, we were hatching our plan to go and see A Wilhelm Scream. Fast forward to the day of that show. The concert had started at like 11am, but we didn't really have an interest in seeing any of the bands other than A Wilhelm Scream. So first we waited for Kate to get out of work, and then we headed out. We weren't going straight to the show, though. We were going to stop by Kate's cousin's new house for a nice little housewarming party. So we hung out there four a few hours, playing a lot of volleyball and making new friends. I also had some fantastic eggplant parm. It was a great time, and I believe a much better way to start off a concert than seeing about a hundred bands I don't care about. I know it's shitty to not support local bands and stuff, but this was a one time thing. I support local bands all the god damn time. I love the scene, man! Plus, this was in Massachusetts. I wasn't getting up at 8am just so I could be at an all day concert by 11 to wait around for the one band I wanted to see at the end of the night. But anyway, we hung out for awhile at Kate's cousin's, and we headed out when it got closer to show time. We got there with plenty of time to spare, and still catch some opening bands. When we got there some band that actually wasn't too bad was playing. They wer playing a little more watered-down version of music I generally like, but they definitely showed some potential. I don't remember what they were called, though. Oh yeah. I should clear up the fact that this concert was outside. They had two stages set up, and it was in a nice little park. Moving on. The pretty good band finished up, and then we moved over to the other stage to see the next band. This band ended up being the worst band of the night. And it wasn't just a music thing. They sucked all around. They were one of those bands that yells at the audience to dance, and have the worst stage presence, and on-stage banter. They were the pits. Oh, and they even made a point to make a joke about their stupid band name. You see, this band's name was Nemes. And, of course, they wanted to point out that their band name backwards is "semen." But they didn't even tell the audience in the normal dumb way. They told the audience that their band name backwards was "jizz." No, it's not. Needless to say, they are the worst band ever. But then another band played that was a relief from the band we just saw. This band was Us Against The Archers. They apparently used to be The Skeptics, which is a band that I never liked, but their new band was not half bad. The way I'm going to describe them might come off as bad, but it'll have to do. They sounded like Take This To Your Grave era Fall Out Boy. Now say what you want, but Take This To Your Grave is a near flawless album. I enjoy every single song on that album. And Us Against The Archers reminded me of that, so I got into them. During their set it also started to rain, so we took the little cover that the stage was offering during their set. Of course, we allowed Kate to have the most cover, because Christian and I are gentlemen. But after that band, another band called Lions Lions played on the other stage. They were a pretty generic hardcore band. Nothing really special about them. So we stayed underneath the other stage where we were out of the rain. Plus, Kate took this time to hit on the singer of A Wilhelm Scream while the band was setting up on the stage we were hanging out by. She was a total teeny-bopper fangirl, but it was adorable. And her and the singer of A Wilhelm Scream were having a nice little conversation. That's something I really love about A Wilhelm Scream. They genuinely enjoy what they're doing, and they're really down to earth about it. They'll come out on stage with gym shorts and t-shirts, play as many songs as they can, and hang out with the fans. They're just cool guys, that haven't let being in a band get to their head. And eventually it was time for them to play. The whole way through their set they were really tight, and played all of the songs I could have wanted them to play. Opening up the set with Killing It, might have been the coolest thing ever. But I also might have thought that no matter what song they played. In order to be close to the band while they were playing, you had to be on stairs. So I was singing along and dancing the whole time while standing on stairs. And it was raining on me. It was crazy, but also up there with one of the best shows I've ever been to. But they played for a little over an hour, did a one song encore, and then the show was done. The band hung out for a bit and talked to the few people that were still around for their set. There were not too many people at the show to begin with. But the place was pretty empty. It definitely didn't have any effect on their set, though. But they chatted for awhile, I grabbed a t-shirt, and then we were off on our road to home. On our way home we stopped to get a bite to eat, though. We found some truck stop diner somewhere in Massachusetts. It was a pretty neat place. Very authentic. They had showers in the bathroom for truckers to use, and everything. They also had some damn good food. Whatever Kate and I got is not important, though. What matters is what I coerced Christian into getting. Granted, it didn't take much coercing, but I'll still take some credit. Christian got himself something called the Monster Omelet. This was a four egg omelet with peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, ham, bacon, sausage, and cheese sauce. You could also get it with an extra egg for an additional fee. Christian got it with the extra egg. So the waitress comes out with this enormous five egg omelet for Christian, and Kate and my unimpressive meals. So Kate and I spent most of that time just watching Christian go to town on that omelet. We had long-finished our food, and now were just fixated on Christian. He was determined to finish the whole damn thing. And you know what, he did. He did remove most of the sausage he found, because he's not a sausage fan, though. He didn't finish up the homefries the omelet came with, but he made a pretty big dent in them. By the end of all that, the three of us wanted to throw up. Kate and I wanted to throw up just watching Christian eat, and Christian wanted to throw up because he did, in fact, eat. But the food was delicious, so we made sure to keep it down. So then we all made our way back home, and there weren't too many interesting details after that. It was a successful night.

Alright. Well I think it's about time I get to bed. I have school tomorrow, and I need to get my beauty rest. I hope you all enjoyed my tale of bands and eggs and volleyball. It's a story I hold very dear to my heart. That's why I chose to share it with all of you. Because, you see, I hold each and every one of you very close to my heart, as well. Okay. Enough of this mushy stuff. I'm going to bed, and there's nothing any of you can do about it. See you tomorrow, dorks.