From this week's Onion: "Georgia Adds Swastika, Middle Finger to State Flag"

On to more personal news...

I think I can officially say I'm off of caffeine now.

Well, that is to say, I haven't had a sizeable dose since the end of May. I had trouble sleeping while I was at home, and I attributed it to the mass quantities of Dr. Pepper I had been consuming, and decided I would try life without it. Long story short, I'm sleeping better, which is a huge plus, considering how tired I normally am. But, school/work from 9-5 (+homework) takes its toll after a while.

Finished up my management class yesterday. Got an 89% on the Final, which was high enough to earn an "A" for the class. Today we had a review of the final, which was by no means mandatory. I attended for two reasons; 1) I wondered how many people would show up, and 2) I genuinely liked the professor and wondered what he would have to say today. Alas, the grand total showing up to my had-been-eighty-person class was ten (including the prof!).

In Film class today, I showed my film entitled "How to do Laundry" and it was off the unintentional comedy scale. I'd love to redo it with some intentional comedy, and then it will bust a gut. But I'd also like to be able to have a copy to show around, which will become possible next semester. So I will prepare for that. The first comment from my class was that it was "funny in the most boring way possible" and I agree. It was hokey, and hilarious without trying to be. And I think most of it stemmed from my face during the shots. I had a big, silly grin from watching it, and I had this feigned smile upon taking my pre-folded laundry out of the drier. It was great.

Filming "Untitled: Kung Fu Project" on Monday with classmate Marshall. Should be interesting. I surely will end up posting how that shoot goes. And don't call me surely.

Stepford Wives and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are playing at the Discount Cinema, I may partake during the extended weekend.

I saw Chronicles of Riddick there earlier this week. I really enjoyed the climax when some guy was talking on his phone. I didn't hear him so much as the person he was talking to, which made it very confusing, especially when Riddick and the bad guy are having the words that cap off their final showdown. Argh! After watching it, I was a little disappointed, so I hopped onto IMDB.com and looked into what other people had posted there. And the general consensus was that it was toned down by/for the studio, and that should a director's cut be released, it may be worth the time. I'd give it a shot. Although some of the CGI was bad-bad-bad.

Also, must see Fahrenheit 9/11 by next weekend, and Spiderman 2 by the following weekend. I hate seeing movies in crowded theaters, people bring their infants who don't want to be there and start crying. And then people have the gaul to just let their kid cry instead of taking them outside. Or, there are annoying children talking through the whole thing, or.. maybe some adults for that matter.

Mari's (my roommate for the summer) mom has been staying with us for the past week. She's a pretty cool lady, except she uses the word "okay" as punctuation, and that's not okay with me. She's a teacher, which makes me laugh. I am reminded of Ms. Anderson-Saxton whose Chemistry II class I suffered through in high school. She would go "He He He Okay" which was really weird, and annoying. In fact, she was just generally annoying. And she couldn't teach for squat. I wonder if anybody actually passed the Chem AP exam that year. (I didn't bother) What an odd tangent. I hadn't thought of that lady in years, and probably won't do so again for just as long.

Anyway, the making-fun-of-Mari has been at its all-time high. Her mom laughs, and she throws a punch or two. All in good fun.

For the past two days, I have been uploading my.. basically.. v1.1 blog onto my v1.0 blog because the archive on the v1.1 blog doesn't go beyond 100 posts. And damnit, I want to be able to look back on what I was thinking in the past, and what I have been through, etc etc etc.

Anyway, that's what the past two days were about, in case you (whoever you may be) were wondering.

Furthermore, I shan't be held accountable for anything you found offensive, rude, insensitive, or otherwise generally assinine. Although I am willing to discuss it. And I am willing to say so, if I was mistaken at the time. Which is sometimes the case.

And the posts were all taken from another blogging community I am/was/have been a part of for the past year.

Any questions? Ask away.

Awash.

Originally Posted at 04:11 PM on Jun. 14, 2004

Awash in... ha.

I just finished The Bear and the Dragon, another of Tom Clancy's masterpieces. I found myself with 50 pages to go but a few hours ago, and I figured I'd take the time to wisk through it. As usual, I was not disappointed, the pages flew by, I laughed in disbelief, at hilarity and nervous laughter at the possibility of the loss of characters I've grown to know and love. I hit the last page, and was satisfied. I start The Cardinal of the Kremlin tonight, which looking on Amazon seems to be the third book in the Jack Ryan series (if you know, please fill me in). I've read the last four books in the series, and am going back to fill in my blanks. I've read five and a half of the eight books. Yay me, yay reading, yay Tom Clancy.

I had an exam at 9:15 this morning in Management. I studied from post-Laker game til midnight (before satiating my desire to further my extra-curricular-reading). And then woke up at 6:45.. without the assistance of my alarm (which was set for 6:00 and somehow malfunctioned, failing to make any noise at all, let alone that sufficient enough to wake me from slumber). Got my ass in gear, prepared my lunch while tossing Peanut Butter Crunch with Milk down my throat along with some OJ. Got to campus, and started making a "crib sheet" as some people call them, for my exam. I had slightly over an hour to do it, and finished at 9:13am. Luckily, my exam was in the same building, and I breezed through it. I would be seriously surprised if I don't receive an A. And afterward, I got the name of the cute girl with the dyed-blonde hair (dark roots).

Friday night my buddy Paras, also a friend of Matt's, was celebrating his birthday at a restaurant called Lazy Dogs, and as fate would have it Matt was in town. He and I arranged to attend, which turned out to be fun. Aside from Paras, Matt and a girl whom I didn't much enjoy the company of last summer (when I met her) I knew no one at the table of 10. Although I guess 3 of 10 isn't too bad. Anywho, we had two waitresses assigned to us, and I think I made an impression on both. That's just my thing, I like waitresses, you know. Hence my dislike for waiters - just not as fun. I met everyone at the table, and was introduced to the hostess of the establishment, a friend of Paras's. Good times were had, before during and after. Matt and I had one hell of a time finding a parking spot near the restaurant (it's in a Promenade thingy, a Street Mall or something... I don't know how to describe it. We had a blast, as always, and we've discussed forming committees to discuss matters of our nation-state-to-be (the apartment we're living in come Fall). Good times.

Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2 are playing at the el cheapo cinema along with The Day After Tomorrow. I think I might try and see them at some point during the course of the week. $3.00 is a good price, don'tcha know. Maybe Wednesday and Friday, if timing permits.

When I found out the name of the cute girl in my management class today, it was in a discussion with a fellow student in the class, and it became painfully clear that I had sorely fallen behind in my main-stream-cinema-viewing. Although the releases of late haven't been my cup of tea, so there's an excuse. Meh.

Random Addition:
I woke up from a most fucked up dream on... I think it was Saturday morning. I dreamt I was in a room, and I was being attacked by butterflies. Yes, butterflies. Weirdest thing ever, and I was so disturbed by the onslaught of colorful, winged creatures that I actually woke up from this dream before 6am. Yeah, weird huh?
Ta ta.

The Pen-Gnaw

Originally Posted at 03:57 PM on Jun. 08, 2004

I was sitting in my Management class this morning paying attention to the Prof talking to (at) us, when I noticed an odd clicky sound. I was bothered but I hoped it would stop after that. Shortly after I heard another one, it was clicky, but not. I looked around me to locate the source of this annoyance. And I determined that it was emanating from the mouth of a student two rows behind me. His mouth was wide open, and a pen was hanging out. He was gnawing on his pen like a teething puppy on a chew toy, completely oblivious to the annoying sound he was producing that filled the room and my ears.

First of all, if you want to put your pen in your mouth that's your business. Okay? But I guarantee you, unless you dip that thing in alcohol every night, I wouldn't bring it near my mouth. Just think for a minute. Where do you keep your pen? A pocket, somewhere on your backpack, maybe if you're really neat in some sort of zip-lock-type bag with other writing utensils. Now think, have you ever, ever, ever dropped that pen? Or hell, put it down directly on a desk? Then it's dirty. Hell, it's dirty from the point you altered the seat so you have something to write on, touching something that hundreds of people, many of whom probably don't wash their hands, have touched. Then you go ahead and grab your pen, and stick their dirty hands right in your mouth. You dirty motherfucker! And he's gnawing on it, dirty, dirty, dirty. Whatever. What really gets me is that I can't tune it out. It's this random annoying noise coming from some random obnoxious kid that doesn't have the manners or cleanliness to keep foreign objects that aren't food out of his mouth (presumably like a mother would tell their child, or you know, someone with common sense would just know). After an hour of this, it finally drowned out, perhaps he finally decided to take notes with it, or perhaps he choked to death. I don't know, I don't care.

For those of you who are friendly with your pens like this savage beast, think of your health before putting that pen in your mouth again. Think of your loved ones, who you share your mouth with (with the kissing and the like). And then, think of those around you, like poor me, distracted in my learning environment. What valuable nugget of information did I miss out on directly because of your filthiness? You mangey beast!
------------------------------------------------------
I missed the Seventh Game of the Stanley Cup Finals because I was doing laundry. However, I did phone-a-friend and find out the score was 2-1 with 3:07 to go in the Third Period. Poor people-who-are-fans-of-Calgary (Calgarians? Calgarites? Flamers? Canadians?)

I'm chugging along through my Tom Clancy novel, just 265 pages to go (out of 1027). If only I could be any-kind-of-productive at work. So much time,so little productivity. It's unbelievable. I have nothing but time, but I can't get myself to do it. Test on Friday and another on Monday. I'm not all that worried.

I've looked at various trivia for a couple of movies on IMDB.com. I've read a multitude of reviews of "The Scout" starring Brendan Fraser and Albert Brooks (Einstein- teehee), which I watched last night with Mari. Or should I say Mari watched with me. I own it on DVD, I was just wondering what random, other, vocal-type people thought. I read all the Lakers-stuff on ESPN.com, along with the things that interested me on Page 2 and 3 (other ESPN things). I emailed my sister three times, in response to one line questions she sent me. I answered a single phone call, and helped one, or was it two? people with job-related stuff. I ate lunch.

Today on Saved by the Bell. The gang are going through Driver's Ed with Mr. Tuttle. Slater is soon to turn 16 and get his license. He goes out and buys a car which the gang-sans-Zach help him fix up. Zach is worried about Slater stealing Kelly away from him.. as usual, so he concocts a plan to get Slater in tons o' trouble so that he will be unable to earn his driver's license before the turn of the century. Zach masterminds a plan utilizing the voice imitation skills of Screech to set a trap for Slater. Zach moves the driver's ed car into position outside Belding's office, in the only hallway in the school. Slater happens by, and ends up behind the wheel as planned. However, Kelly is on her way to Volleyball practice when Slater offers to give her a ride. Zach tries to get her to stay out of the car, so she won't get in trouble with Slater, but as it happens, Slater crashes into the lockers just outside Belding's office. They all run off leaving the crash site. Belding is out for justice and when all is said and done, Screech rats Zach out to the gang and Zach's plan completely backfires as he is removed from the driver's ed class for the year. But, lucky for him, Kelly admires his noblity as he takes responsibility for his action, and remains in their relationship.

More in a bit. Customer! He walked away unsatisfied. Life's tough for Meteorologists I guess.

Saved by the Bell: Where are they now? Because I'm truly that bored.

Elizabeth Berkeley (aka Jessie Spano): In November 2003, she married Ralph Lauren's nephew (Greg Lauren). She's been in a number of under-the-radar movies since Showgirls. And was supposed to start on Broadway in April 2004 in a play with Richard Dreyfuss entitled Sly Fox.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar (aka Zach Morris): He and his wife, Lisa Ann Russell had their first child earlier this year. "Zach" can be seen weekly on NYPD Blue as Detective John Clark Jr. (which is funnnnny if you're a Tom Clancy fan)

Mario Lopez (aka Albert Clifford "A.C." Slater): Was briefly married to Ali Landry (you go AC!!) Mario can currently be seen on the Animal Planet show "Pet Star." He's an amazing dancer and has been in a few movies since the end of Saved by the Bell, as well as "The Other Half" kind of like "The View" for guys.

Lark Voorhies (aka Lisa Turtle): She was once engaged to Martin Lawrence. But is currently married to Miguel Coleman. She currently manages her production company, and has done acting in movies and soaps since her graduation from Bayside.

Dustin Diamond (aka Samuel "Screech" Powers): Last I heard he was working as a stand-up comedian. But apparently he participated in Celebrity Boxing 2, defeating Ron Palillo (Horshack from Welcome Back, Kotter). Screech has spunk! Nothing on marriage, but apparently he dated Candace Cameron (Growing Pains, motherfuckah!)

Tiffany (-Amber) Thiessen (aka Kelly KaPOWski): Was a main character on the tv show Fastlane, had a recurring role on Good Morning, Miami - and is "currently" dating Brady Smith.

Source: http://www.imdb.com - Go me!

Feet on the Ground Go, Walk Walk Walk

Originally Posted at 04:13 PM on Jun. 07, 2004

Looking in the mirror this morning, I couldn't help but notice much redness around my face, and notedly paleness especially in the area of my eyes. I had a feeling something like that was going to happen.

Over the weekend, I walked somewhere between 5 and 9 miles. I don't exactly have a way of measuring, so it's just a guesstimate. All of which saw me in my sunglasses devoid of suntan lotion.

I got to visit with my favorite second cousins for a few hours. A part of my family I like, that I even arranged to visit without my parents. Kind of nice.

I saw Super Size Me, and finally, finally got my headphones back from Kristen, whom I won't be talking to again until she calls me. And I'm willing to be that'll be at the very least two months from now. This goes back to the, if-I-am-the-one-who-always-calls-you,-and-you-never-call-me,-then-we're-not-really-friends thing (and by the way you can go f*** yourself). My views on friendship are tough but more than fair, I think.

Anyway, I really liked Super Size Me. It's basically a documentary by/about this guy who undertakes to eat McDonalds for 90 straight meals (30 days, 3 meals a day). And the journey he goes through on that path. Consulting with doctors, keeping track of his health, as well as the emotional and psychological effect on his eating that food. It was disturbing yet entertaining. And it's appearance at the Sundance Film Festival last year was a week or two earlier than McDonalds ending of the availability of Super Sizing. Coincidence? That's what McDonalds claims. Ha! If it's playing near you, I'd check it out, it was pretty good.

In other news, I've discovered Dried Apricots. Now, I know what you're thinking, that sounds disgusting, but they are delicious! I'm eating probably more than I should, but they're good. Very juicy, and full of flavor. Try some today!

Did the last two paragraphs kind of feel like advertisements in between blog-commentary? Funky. Whoooa!

Over breakfast for the past few weekdays I have been watching Zach and the Gang's exploits (on Saved by the Bell, duh!) And it's all nostalgic and predictable because I think I'd be hard pressed to find an episode outside of the College Years or one of their movies that I haven't seen. But it's a classic nonetheless. I wonder if any of the kids actually need to work, if they get tons of royalties and stuff, because I recall an E! True Hollywood Story about Saved by the Bell, and it was like, they're syndicated in 39 different countries. Something ridiculous like that. So I wonder if Lisa Turtle needs work. Or if Elizabeth Berkeley really regrets doing Showgirls, other than it killing her career. I mean, monetarily, did it end up mattering? Munchies for thought.

The Lakers dropped Game One in LA last night. It was shameful. Kobe and Shaq combined for 50-something points, and the rest of the team was about worthless. I expect a much better display tomorrow night.

Omgosh! Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game Seven of the Finals tonight on ABC! Tampa Bay vs. Calgary, possibly the last NHL (Hockey) Game you'll see on tv for a while - their agreement dealy thing that let's them play nice is up after.. well, I guess tonight basically. And everybody's greedy and won't share the monies so there won't be any for any one. How's that for a lesson from childhood biting back?

Lewd and Crude

Originally Posted at 05:22 PM on Jun. 02, 2004

Because it's on my mind:

Whether or not you've heard by now, Miss Australia is this year's Miss Universe. I think she'll really make a difference. What does she do anyway? Regardless, I was flipping channels last night after the Pacers lost to the Pistons (oof, the first half saw a combined total of 60 points scored) and saw pretty girls so naturally, I stopped for a moment to see what all this was about. I was watching with Mari, and we remarked a bit as we saw Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Ecuador and Miss Colombia. Miss Australia walked, and I grinned and said "She can go 'down under' on me any time!" And the only reason it matters today is because that's our new Miss Universe, teehee. Yes, I know, it's a horrible joke but that's my sexual-humor so, ha! The whole thing is weird because I mean how presumptuous is it to say Miss Universe. Why can't she be Miss World?

Speaking of which, does anybody remember those old McWorld commercials for McDonalds, those were the days! Every now and then I reference it, and people respond, "Scully, what the hell are you talkin' about now?" Like it was so long ago people can't remember.

In my Film class today, (Super 8mm) we were becoming familiar with the cameras and stuff, it is the first day after all. And the prof told the class that each cartridge of film was 50 feet long and was able to film 18 frames per second for three minutes and twenty seconds. So, I set about to figure out how many seconds were equivalent to a foot. But before I could finish, he asked how many frames were on a 50 foot roll. And I blurted out 3,600 (200 seconds x 18 frames per second). My prof was simply amazed, asked me quickly to explain how I got that number, and then told everybody that in all his years of teaching (which judging by his age and stories is probably longer than I've been in school myself) nobody had ever known sooo fast. It's simple math. And of course, now, because I managed to do a simple multiplacation problem, any time the class needs some math done, he's going to look to me to bloody well do it. Welcome back to fourth grade. Which, if you aren't Mikey, you know nothing about. But let's just say I caught hell for knowing my multiplacation tables better than anyone else in my class.

And man did Miss Vinik hate me in third grade. Oh, let's see what-ever happened to that lawsuit against her. Didn't find anything... weird. Ten minutes until I go home, more on the morrow.

Ay Carumba

Originally Posted at 12:42 PM on Jun. 01, 2004

Dial-up internet is the suck. And I don't have access to the internet at all in my new apartment. That'll last until late August. However, I will be at work everyday, Monday-Friday for at least 3 hours a day until early August. Yay!

My three week "vacation" (meaning time where I don't have somewhere to be at a certain time Monday-Friday) was a complete bust. I got may-be two good night's sleep, which is what vacations mean to me. And worst of all, the one for-sure-good-night's-sleep was the first night back in Vegas. I slept from 6:15 in the PM until 11:15 in the AM. I needed it too. Other than that I had trouble sleeping.

I spent a week in Encino, CA at my sister's place. She insisted on waking me up at 9:30 or earlier, despite my only desire while being out there to be to sleep as late as I could handle. And the bed I was stuck on gave me back problems, which made sleeping all-the-more easy. I wouldn't have had such a problem with it, but all we did was things she needed to do, and she'd ask me what I wanted to do, other than sleep.. but that was the only thing I bloody wanted other than watching Lakers games (which I managed to do) - I shan't soon forget The Fish's Shot heard 'round Texas (booyah Spurs fans!)

And the Lakers just wrapped up their series with Minnesota. Kareem Rush went 6/7 from beyond the arc for 18 points as the Lakers propelled themselves into the Finals for the fourth time in five years. In the Eastern Conference, I'm rooting for Indiana, because I heart Reggie Miller.. and the Pistons I don't like so much, mostly because the combined score of games involving them doesn't meet one team's from the 80s. (The Pacers face elimination this evening in Detroit, on ESPN) Yay Playoffs!

Last night for dinner, Mari and I made lasagna... which was a first for me. And I dare say it was delicious. I wonder what we'll have this evening.

I had my first class this morning, Management. Lots of homework, in the way or reading, to be done in that class. I also have a Film class which should be most interesting, but that doesn't start until tomorrow. The school "year" starting on a Tuesday messes everything up (Memorial Day, ya know).

Mari and I are probably going to get a NetFlix account so we can indulge in a ridiculous amount of movie watching for the next two months. I'm working on a list of movies I want to watch/force her to watch. So, if you have any suggestions, run them by me! And don't be too shocked if I've seen them already (or if I haven't). ;) Goodfellas, Swimming with Sharks, El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Four Doors, Taxi Driver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next are currently on my list, along with forcing Mari to watch Blazing Saddles.

Blazing Saddles is a Mel Brooks classic. If you haven't yet seen it, you must! I implore you! And the three dollar cinema a stone's throw from our apartment looks to be staying open through the summer. Van Helsing is playing there, and I think I'm willing to be parted from (that small amount of) my money to see Kate Beckinsale - now it's just a matter of not having to go alone.

That's all for now, but I'll probably rant more in about three hours, because hey, I'll still be at work.

Happy Birthday.

Originally Posted at 11:46 PM on May. 04, 2004

I hate the song. I can't stand it. Anybody who tried singing it to me today did not get past the first "birthday" before I forced them to stop. I don't know why, I don't like being the one the song is focused at. Though, that is not to say that I don't like being the center of attention, that's fine and dandy, but I hate being sung to. Yick. Such a corny song too.

It's Finals week here in Boulder. Started Saturday morning at 7:30 for me. I was actually up at 5:30am to be sure that I was up, and to get a few more minutes of cramming in before the test. I did quite well, I got a 95 out of 100 on the exam, which I am relatively certain gives me an A for the semester (one I really wanted) - Anthropology 2020 was the best class ev-er. I'd take it again if I could, and if you went to CU, I'd highly recommend you take it come next Spring (although none of you do, and nobody I know that goes to CU reads this, so it's moot). That all being said, I am not gonna be an Anthropologist.

Sunday there were no Finals, which was nice, I slept til 11:00ish, watched the Lakers blow a five point lead in the fourth quarter, after having an awesome third quarter. I plan to watch game two tomorrow night. At midnight, my roommate, Marshall and I went to the UMC (student union) for massages and the midnight breakfast held semester-ly (I made a word!) during finals. Alas, the date was wrong, and both were scheduled for Monday night. No matter, I had studying to do for my Monday 7:30am final. I got to work at 12:05, and studied straight through until 7:15. Went to my class, took the final, and didn't do so hot - and it took me more time than any of my other finals have (ever). Suffice it to say, I did not do so hot, and will probably end up with a B-/C+ on the exam barring a showing of mercy on the professor's part - which is highly unlikely. Moving on.

Finally, around 4:15 yesterday afternoon I took a nap, slept on and off until 7:15 at which time my roommate and I went to dinner. We came back, and I did unproductive things until shortly after midnight at which point I went to sleep. I slept on and off until noon-ish today. I was awoken at some point by a text message from Mikey (it arrived on my phone at 2:14am, and beeped something like every 5 minutes for the next 8 hours - much appreciated). Then at 10:30 my dad called and left a voice mail. So much for my unplugging the phone and turning down my answering machine. Sometime later I recall Mari leaving a message on my answering machine, but I was in no position to respond. Finally started the day around noon. Showered, grabbed lunch, went to my writing professor's office hours to pick up my final project and find out my grade for her class. In my final "paper" I was to argue for a grade. I argued for an A- because I felt I had earned a B+, and didn't deserve an A. She liked it, bought it, and gave me the A-. I ran off giddily. The GPA this semester will most likely rest on my Spanish final which is tomorrow at 7:30am.

Now for a minor rant. In my 5 semesters of college, the now 80 credits I have completed, I have had one 9:00am class, and probably four or five 9:30am classes. Not once have I had an 8:30 or dared to attempt an 8:00 class, but somehow, some way, the university feels fine giving me 7:30am finals. Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot my friends, we have a problem. All three of my finals this semester - and I will stop to say, three finals is waaaay easy, I have lounged on average forty of the forty-eight hours between these finals. They are spread out so perfectly, whee! Ridiculous, 7:30am finals. If you want to do that, give it to the crazies in the 8:00 classes, not those of us who are lucky to get to our 9:30 classes on time, damnit!

The rest of my birthday was spent hanging out with Mari, we went to the Olive Garden, she got what I would call "dressed up," for her anyway. I went in my standard jeans and a uni-color t-shirt. All I really wanted was a female for a waiter/waitress, but alas, my desire went unfulfilled. Of course, as far as things like that go, I fail to be surprised any longer. But on the bright side, I say goodbye to a decade, and hello to a new one. The way I see it, I have three thousand six hundred and fifty one days (including both leap years and subtracting today) ahead of me before I turn thirty to virtually no fanfair. I won't be balding, I won't be in a dead-end job I hate, and perhaps I won't be searching for Miss Right any longer. Maybe I'll even have a little one on the way, wouldn't that be something? At least I can dream.

And no, I am by no means depressed, I'd probably call it a bit of a sobering-type-thing.

As a twenty year old I can now date Mari's friends, if she ever finds any suitable to my tastes, and someone she can stand to see me date. You see in older people's eyes, nineteen isn't twenty - in fact there is a large gap between the two. Interesting isn't it - the psychology of numbers. At least I'm catching up to my level of maturity, that'll be nice - not having to hear about how different I seem from the other guys my age (as I did today while getting my haircut.. that was weird).

Cheers.

Chick Flicks

Originally Posted at 10:22 PM on Apr. 26, 2004

Yeah.

13 Going on 30
I liked it, it was a charming remake of Big, with a twist. I went with some friends who were into it, and we were dancing in our seats to the music. And I had the main song to the movie stuck in my head for a good 24 hours. Only to be replaced by "Peanut Butter Jelly Time - The Scully Remix". Jennifer Garner ain't too bad neither.

Mean Girls
Yes, I know this doesn't come out until Friday. But lucky for you! I caught a sneak preview this evening, and first I must rehash something I may or may not have shared with you. I claimed that Lindsay Lohan looks like Frankie Muniz with a wig. Having now seen the movie, I must retract my opinion. (Ladies, please don't hurt me, I'm just making an honest observation here). Having seen Ms. Lohan from the neck down, I will come out and say, the resemblance between the two ends at the face. Rawr. Okay, now that that's done with. I really, really enjoyed Tina Fey's comedy (she wrote it). I laughed, a lot. But, be warned on behalf of the friends with whom I went. One was Hannah, a girl whose graduating class was 10 people (including her!) and couldn't appreciate some of the jokes because they're high school cliquey stuff - (things I know very well.. eh Erin?), and her friend (another male) was only in it for Lindsay Lohan, so, whatever. I found the story easy to relate to (because high school was memorable), and I love Tina Fey... and her sense of humor.

Some Movie Reviews

Originally Posted at 09:29 PM on Apr. 20, 2004

Well, over the course of the weekend, I saw a number of movies, and so, here, now I shall talk about them a little bit for whoever cares to read. If you don't care, I don't care, so nyah! If you do care, you're cool. Fair enough?

Scarface
Finally, I saw this "classic" guy movie starring Al Pacino. I thought Pacino was fantabulous in his portrayal of Tony Montana. I was also looking forward to actually seeing the oft imitated line "Say hello to my 'lil fren!" in its original context. I enjoyed watching the rise and fall of a gangster, but I felt as though Mari, who I was watching with, didn't appreciate it so much. Especially when she found a few scenes hard to watch, which makes me wonder how desensitized toward movie violence I really am, and again contemplate seeing The Passion, but I fear for my life. As you'll see later on, I tend to laugh at the.. well, wrong times, in movies.

This is Spinal Tap
The original mockumentary from the makers of Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, minus Eugene Levy. Being a comedy, it definitely had its moments, although I think it's more for an older audience. It was funny, but not quite as funny as I had hoped. Oldie but goodie.

Dirty Pretty Things
Mari's pick. A "foreign" film, that takes place in "London's seedy underbelly." It follows the lives of some illegal immigrants trying to get by, and make it to their respective promised lands. And the lengths they are willing to go to make it happen. It was engrossing and suspenseful, even with some cooky characters that made it fun despite the depressing aspects. I'd recommended it if you don't mind feeling a little bummed afterward (it's not a comedy), but it is a good movie.

The Ladykillers
Tom Hanks "new" comedy. It had its moments, and at a few points, I was the only one in the theater laughing - thanks to my peculiar sense of humor. Luckily, this time around, nobody was hounding me from the back about my laughing (more on this in a bit).

The Story
A few years ago, Erin and I went to the theaters and took in the Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock romantic comedy - Two Weeks Notice. Being that the movie has been out as long as it has, I feel no remorse in ruining this scene. Before I tell you, in my defense I had been up for 36 hours straight when it happened. There's this scene, where Sandra Bullock('s character) is chewing gum in a meeting with Hugh Grant's (character's) brother (a very important CEO-type person) and she spits out this huge glob of gum that the brother steps into. The whole audience has a good little laugh. We're sitting in the front row, laughing my head off. I laughed through the following two scenes, I was crying. And some guy in the back yelled "It wasn't that funny!" To which I, through my tears, muttered, "Yeah it was!" Upon reviewing, it really wasn't that funny, but damned if I didn't think it was at the time (for obvious reasons - No I wasn't high, thank you).
-----------------------------
More Later and stuff. I yam tired.

What a Nice Guy...

Originally Posted at 12:41 AM on Apr. 16, 2004

Well, tonight I played in my second Intramural Basketball game. It was the first round of the league playoffs. If you'll recall, we lost our last one by 70 points, and the most recent game the other team forfeited by not showing up. We were worried this was the case until three minutes before game time when the other team showed up. Then we were worried we wouldn't be able to play because we only had one girl - not the necessary two. Luckily, two showed up with two minutes before gametime. Game on!!

The other team started off on a 10-2 run, which pretty much set the tone for the entire game. The first interesting thing that happened was when my team's "captain" lashed out at a foul call. He was dribbling the ball upcourt, and the refs blew a whistle, calling a foul. He didn't listen that the player called for it was on the other team. He yelled "FUCK!!" which could be heard throughout the gym, and started storming off the court. Ever the voice of reason, I tried to calm him down saying it wasn't on him, and to take it easy. He kind of pushed me out of his way, and stormed over to the "bench." For his outburst, the ref's called a Technical, which gave the other team two shots (in the NBA it's only one), and the ball. Talk about a boneheaded play.

The next interesting thing, involved me and a girl from the other team. I later found out she'd been playing basketball since the fourth grade, and let me tell you, she was good. She set screens, blocked, handled the ball, defended, and shot well. Good competition. One of her teammates put up a shot, which bounced off the rim, I picked up the rebound, and started running downcourt with it along the sideline. She got between me and the baseline, and was making a move for the ball. She was the only thing stopping me from driving towards the basket. And, as she made her move, she got tripped up, and completely ate hardwood. Naturally, I was concerned, I stopped running, to make sure she was okay, and let the ball go. It rolled out of bounds off of me, and she was fine. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things because we were still down by ~30 points. It was a good show of sportsmanship, and ironically, the second she went down there was nothing on my mind but concern she might be injured, - scoring was the furthest thing from my mind. Later, when we came out of the game, we were both at the scorer's table chatting, and she was like "That was so sweet! I can't believe you did that." And so on, which made it all worth it.

And, then, a similar instance to the previous one. This time with about 10 seconds left on the clock. I picked up the rebound, speedily dribbled downcourt, one of the other team stood between me and the basket, so I stepped behind the arc, jumped in the air, and put up a shot. The ball hit the backboard, bounced into the rim, rolled around for a second, and fell through the next as the buzzer sounded. Everyone, my team, the other team, the refs, the score keeper, and my team, were astounded. It was beautiful. Something you always dream about as a kid, making a three pointer at the buzzer. Of course, it was akin to Chris Duhon in the Duke/UConn game when he tossed up a meaningless three at the end of the game that went in, and only changed the amount his team lost by. Instead of losing by 33, we only lost by 30. But it was still sooo-weet to make the shot.

Mad props from the other team for making the shot, and showing concern for their teammate when she went down. What a nice guy...

Cien.

Originally Posted at 03:00 AM on Apr. 13, 2004

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says: Wouldn't you know, it's a completely blank page. Honestly. Page 17 has the title of the book, and Page 19 has Chapter One. The book is The Mismeasure of Man(1981) by Steven J. Gould, I've only made it through the first three-ish chapters... serious reading, and I have enough to read with classes and all as it is.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first? The wall, I barely have to move it to hit the wall, I'm under a foot away to begin with.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? Band of Brothers, Episode One: Curahee. Seen the whole series before, and I've read the book as well. Amazing.

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is. 1:10am.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time? 1:10am. It was 1:07am when I started... oops!

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? I hear the song "One" by U2 coming from my roommate's computer. I asked to make sure, I'm so un-musical, sorry.

7. When did you last step outside? what were you doing? Oh, this is gonna be bad. I was last outside... uhm, probably 6 or 7 hours ago. Coming back from dinner. I've been in my room/at my computer since. Playing computer games/chatting/working on a paper. Most unfortunate. And I can totally blame the weather. My room was 63 degrees earlier today, which is cold for indoors.

8. Before you came to this website, what did you look at? A whole lot of stuff. I looked up biographical information on Rusty Schweicker (Apollo 9 astronaut), Seth Shostak (SETI guy), William Hartmann (Painter, Author of Textbooks, etc) and Andrew Revkin (Times Science Report), because they were on a panel for a World Affairs Conference thingy I went to on Tuesday, and I had to write about for a class. I wanted background information on them. I also filled out a random E-Mode Quiz that Erin sent me about what type of car fits my personality, and it turned out to be something Urban-esque - Lexus or BMW is what it suggested. I'm not surprised. I don't really care, I just want a hybrid.

9. What are you wearing? The ancient UCLA sweatshirt that has been worn by more chicas than I've dated.. but that doesn't say much.

10. Did you dream last night? I'm sure I did, but I don't recall what aboot.

11. When did you last laugh? Oh man, it being 1am after I've been working on an English paper, I'm totally getting ripped on these questions. Oh I know, I asked Erin about if she kept in touch with Eric from high school, and she said which one... yada yada, she asked me to say hi for her. I said I didn't have anything to say to him, so she should do it. She said she didn't have anything to say either. And I said, I guess he's not getting his hi then. I know, lame, but I chuckled. I'm an easy audience, what can I say?

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? Mostly my roommate's stuff. Above my head on the left is an Escher... the one with the stairways. The opposite wall has a nebula, pictures of my roommate's friends (Hey, why am I not in there?!), a tracing of Calvin and Hobbes on a sled, the awesome picture of the Earth and the Moon. Hanging around the room are Christmas/Chanukah lights. Blue/White/Multicolor. They light the room when we want atmosphere in lieu of florescence. And Starry Night would be hanging but I can't put nails in the walls, so screw it.

13. Seen anything weird lately? Oh man. My friend Mayhem (Maggie from work) posted some freaky-ass picture of a red face through latex on her blog. That was weird.

14. Last movie you saw? Hmm. Citizen Kane. (In film class, twas the first time I'd ever seen it.)

15. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first? First, I gotta pay back my parents for putting up with my shit, putting me through college, and being all around good parents. But after that, I'd buy something nice for me, my friends, and then figure out how I wanted to go about donating and to what causes - although that's not what the question asked.

16. Tell me something about you that I don't know: Damn, this is tougher than I thought it would be... oooh, here's a good one. One day, after school in the fourth grade, Marisa Abraham told me that my farts smell nice. Don't ask me, because I'm still trying to figure it out to this day. - Mikey did you know that one?

17. (Apparently there was no Number 17, so I've filled in my own - whether or not we've done this one before:) What is your motto? "Moderation in Excess!"

18. Do you like to dance?: Given the choice, probably not. Although, who I am going to be dancing with my "liking-to-dance quotient" could skyrocket.

19. George Bush: "Read my lips."
19a. George W. Bush: "Strategery."

20. Imagine your first [next] child is a girl, what do you call her? Agent or Dana. Teehee. My wife will probably take charge of this one.

21. [Same question for a boy]: Agent or Dana. Teehee. My wife will probably take charge of this one. *grins mucho evilly*

22. Would you ever consider living abroad? Consider yeah, I just did to answer this question. Will I? Probably not. I'm convinced the world hates me, so they can stay on the other side of the world for all I care.
---------------------------
Now a mostly different one that Brandon, Erin and I did via email from a mutual friend, so it's a copy/paste/touchup job.

1. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES? Alas, I have no kitchen plates. And no, I don't eat off the floor.. I won't walk on my floor barefoot let alone eat off of it... disgusting!

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? If I had time I'd be reading another installment of Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and what I'm trying to read on top of class stuff (unsuccessfuly) is The Mismeasure of Man (1981) by Steven J. Gould.

3. WHAT'S ON YOU MOUSE PAD? It's my desk, I have no mousepad.

4. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? It used to be Monopoly, I guess I've grown old. I'm gonna find a new one for this Summer/Fall when I host game nights... Oooh exciting.

5. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? ESPN, The Magazine... I guess... I like reading Page2, but I do it online, so whatever.

6. FAVORITE SMELL? Girls. They smell nice! Sorry.

7. LEAST FAVORITE SMELL? Shit breath.

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF IN THE MORNING WHEN YOU WAKE UP? Do I need to get up now, or can I sleep another six hours?

9. FAVORITE COLOR? Vivid Tangerine, the most awesome colored crayon of the 64!

10. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR? Burnt Sienna, because I always wondered, what did Sienna look like before the pyros got to it, ya know?

11. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? It depends on the cleanliness of the room I'm in, or rather, how many obstacles lay between the phone and me.

12. FUTURE CHILDREN'S NAME? Agent or Dana. I've not yet decided. Seriously though, it'll probably be a name my wife suggests, assuming I can't come up with a way for other children to tease.. my child about it.

13. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? Some variety, "moderation in excess", connections with other people, and having a good time without unduly fucking over someone else.

14. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Vanilla, without a doubt. I'd snort Vanilla Extract over Cocoa Powder any day of the week. Although Chocolate Fudge Brownie does beat Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Look what you did!

15. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? Indeed, I like to drive fast, but I don't often get the opportunity to. And I'm all about that moderation, so generally, I don't do it anyway. Police Officers scare me a whee bit.

16. DO YOU FALL ASLEEP WITH THE TV ON? On occasion, I'll tell you my Sleep Timer gets a lot of use - it's kind of a race... that I usually end up losing quite badly. (As in the tv gets some rest before I do)

17. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST TYPE OF CAR? Well, the first vehicle I got to drive was my badass Bigfoot Power Wheels. But the battery died, and the mechanics at Toys'R'Us suggested it be totaled. Alas, she never ran again. But, she does rest in my parent's garage, my old hellraiser!

18. FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? When I find one, I'll let you know.

19. WHAT IS YOUR SIGN AND BIRTHDAY? Taurus, May 4th (Oh, is it that time of year already? Hey, one month warning everybody!)

20. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? Usually. But not always, sometimes they gross me out.

21. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I think I'd be an actor. That'd be way cool. Perks aside for the moment, getting deep into another life sounds ver-ry interesting, but I'd like to try it before I sign on for anything life shattering. But the perks are quite nice. Millions of dollars,
fan clubs, lots of vacation to exotic places, shmoozing with snobs.. hmm, that's not so fun. But wait, preferential treatment sounds cool... if I'm in a me-me-me mood where I can actually enjoy it. And seeing what I'd be like if things turned out the way.

22. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I luff my hair. My hair will be this color as long as I have it.. unless I get offered six (or more) figures to alter it, in which case, I might sell out. We (my hair and I) will cross that bridge when we come to it.

23. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Ya know. Hmm. That's a toughy, I'd like to say yes, but historically, it's been pretty fleeting for me, so... I'll take a few more years before committing to any sort of yes.

24. FAVORITE MOVIE? No. I will not settle for just one, thank you very much. I will not commit the injustice of forgetting a movie.

25. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? At a sustained 100+ words per minute, thank you very much!

26. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? A lot of my roommate's stuff. Although I guess technically, I'm under his bed, so we're even...

27. FAVORITE NUMBER? Sextillion. *smiles wide*

28. FAVORITE SPORT? This year it's been Basketball. Both playing and watching. Although a lot can be said for watching Volleyball. *coughs*

29. WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Well, you'd know if you read my blogs wouldn't you now? And it very well may get dealt with in my next blog, if you're lucky!

30. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU (or for our purposes, who you took this from- it only has to be me once!). In this instance it was my friend Maria, and I said: "I love you."

31. FAVORITE CD? Let's go with Beatles greatest hits, Volume One, the old one, where song #1 is Let It Be.

32. FAVORITE TV SHOW? Toss up between.... (in no particular order).. South Park, Family Guy, Simpsons, Scrubs, Chapelle's Show, SG1, Enterprise, Futurama, Laker Games!

33. KETCHUP OR MUSTARD? Ketchup... because the seeds of Tomatos can't be turned into chemical weapons.

34. HAMBURGERS OR HOT DOGS? Hamburgers. Well, actually, Cheeseburgers. I heart the queso.

35. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? Dr Pepper is the one for me.

36. BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN? When I get there, I'll let you know. And I don't think it's so much a location as it is a time in my life. But we shall see, shan't we? (Look everybody, I used the contraction "shan't" in text. It's official, I AM THE MAN!! Take notice world, shan't just got used in a sentence, on the internet. The revolution is on. - "The black pigeon waddles west in a fortnight! Repeat: The black pigeon waddles west in a fortnight!"

37. WHAT SCREEN SAVER DO YOU HAVE ON YOU COMPUTER RIGHT NOW? The one where my computer turns off. (No Screen Saver) - My computer is on, off or in standby mode.

38. WHAT IS YOU FAVORITE ANIMAL? Puppy Dogs.

39. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP! Old, not single, a father, a grandfather (but not too early!), a great-grandfather, an uncle (check!), happy, healthy, loved, able to celebrate my 50th anniversary to my first and only wife, and have our kids and all of the grandkids attend.

40. CAR YOU DRIVE NOW? My dead-as-Bigfoot 1992 Pontiac Sunbird which was pre-owned by my sister.

41. WHAT CAR DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? One of those spiffy Hybrids, that gets really good gas mileage, looks sleek, comfortably seats five but still has enough power to get the show on the road in a jiffy (aka, mucho horsepower and a light frame), and has suitable trunk space.

Don't Discount Being Courteous

Originally Posted at 04:04 PM on Apr. 08, 2004

Me: Hello?
Tammy: Hello sir, how are you? My name is Tammy and I'm performing a survey on how people perceive charitable foundations. Can I have a moment of your time please sir?
Me: (In a nutshell) No.

And let me tell you why. My sometimes dubious view of charitable foundations aside. First, I had just finished consuming my dinner for the evening, and I was enjoying an episode of Scrubs courtesy of Yiggy before this interuption to my evening's relaxation. But more importantly, for someone giving a survey, Tammy should've left me time to respond when asking me how I was before cutting to the chase. Of course, to be honest, had Tammy waited, this rant would probably be about why random people calling should give a damn how I am doing - perhaps to gauge how I will react to their sales approach. I half wanted to interrupt her and say "I was doing well until you called Tammy," but alas there was no time, and I wasn't feeling like that much of an ass hole, when it could be resolved two sentences later. Although, I must say, I really do like my Scrubs.

Furthermore, Tammy didn't even know my name, it was a random phone call! If I had answered, and Tammy discerned from my voice that I am female, the conversation would've begun "Hello Miss..." She didn't know my name, and she wasted my time. Damnit Tammy, I know it's not your fault, it's your job, but courteousness goes a long, long way with me, and yours was fake. Fake off Tammy.
-------------------------------------
So, I was at the Media Library two days ago to watch this stupid 3.5 minute clip from a movie of which I hadn't previously heard (or rather, in talking english - a movie I'd never heard of). I looked online to see if there were any clips available before I left - there were 6 on reserve, 4 were checked out. Sweet! I moseyed across campus, and walked up the stairs to the Media portion of the Library. I inquired about the clip and was told, I was out of luck, all the copies were out. But! There were some people in a viewing room if I wanted to join them. Cautiously, I headed over.

I opened the door and peaked my head in, and was warmly greeted by two young ladies (although to be honest, one was my age, and the other was at least a year older - and as a matter of fact, today, both still are). I got settled, and we exchanged introductions. And both said they recognized me. Apparently, I'm the kid who always asks if that seat is taken, even though it's obvious that it's not, and then politely says thank you before sitting down. Courteousness, however unnecessary, goes a long way. I had unwittingly made a favorable impression on both of them prior to actually interacting with either of them.

I was completely unaware anyone was...aware that I always did that. If someone is next to an empty seat, instead of assuming it is open, the polite thing to do is ask.. and I'm to the point where I do it without even asking. Odd. Weirder that people are actually aware of this, but we have been in the class together for over three months now - I should have recognized these girls, but I was unable to do so. The kicker is that we all were aware of one another yesterday when we were in class.
--------------------------------
In class, we watched "Citizen Kane" the #11 best movie of all-time according to the voters at IMDB.com, although I think it may have been AFI's #1 movie of all-time, so there were high expectations going in. It was released in 1941, and I missed the first minute or two of the movie, in which Charles Foster Kane utters his famous last word, "Rosebud." Although I can say I'm familiar with it, as I can recall an episode of the original Ghostbusters cartoon that I have taped at home from the 80s which starts off similarly. And also, the Simpsons, which uses Mr. Burns teddy "Bo-Bo" in lieu of "Rosebud." And Family Guy, where Peter rented the movie from the video store, and taped over the beginning with "It's his sled. There, I just saved you two boring hours." I heart Peter.

The movie was pretty good, although I think as time goes on, it becomes a little harder to appreciate, due to the timeliness of the story. Newspaper moguls are few and far between these days. But I guess the story of a remarkable man's life should be intriguing nonetheless, and it was... I guess.

I was quite annoyed with the woman they cast as his second wife, her voice was so high-pitched and loud (possibly due to the volume, but possibly not). I actually had to cover my ears when she was talking.. I walked out of the movie with a pretty bad headache.

Addition
I've had 9 advil in the past three days. Three days, three headaches, three advil at a time. Today was the first day this week I haven't had one (of either), but the day is yet young. I just spent 2.5 hours at the library working on the paper again. It was interesting to meet with fellow classmates, all disliked the assignment, and the video it was based on. No surprise. I just need to do a bit of typing and reworking and it's a solid B paper, if my prof knows what's good for him...

Now, stolen from Lenny, on her birthday (Happy Birthday Lenny!)
Name: Scully.
Birthday: May 4th (Hmm, it's that season starting tomorrow, isn't it?)
Rank: All Around Awesome, Triple-A
Sexual Preference: I likez the ladies.
Any Siblings: One sister.
If so, what order are you (oldest, youngest, middle): Younger.
What color are your eyes: Depends on my shirt, but topless, they default to a lovely green color.
What color is your hair: Brown with random auburn/copper highlights. My hair is way cool, especially when I don't put any mousse in it, and we're in good lighting (like the sun). My hair is sooo-weet.

The "If You Could" Section
===========================
If you could have any one super power: Telekinesis. The one where I can move stuff with my mind. Heh, that'd be pretty cool. And my mind just took a swim in the gutter. And now so did yours. Sorry everyone!
If you could live in any time period: The Future.
If you could be the best at one thing: Life.
If you could have anything to eat right now: A nice juicy steak, that spent a week marinating in delicious sauce.
If you could have fries with that?: I'd like fries with that, make them homestyle, wedge, normal, Applebee's style/seasoning, seasoned, and potatoes lorraine (the really really thin ones).
If you could own a franchise: The Lakers.
If you could go anywhere for vacation: Well, if I had someone special to go with, I'd go, with them some place warm, quiet, and cozy.. with good food.
If you could go anywhere to live: Somewhere with similar weather to Boulder, but less hippies. And is completely non-smoking.
If you could get it on with any celebrity: Well, I'd like to learn their personalities, but it's a toss up between Kristin Kreuk and Elisha Cuthbert.
If you could get it on with any videogame/anime character: Uhm. Hmm. Offhand, I can't really think of any. Maybe one of them beach volleyball chicks from that one PS2 game, but that's because that's about it for my experience in videogames/anime. Come to think of it, I don't play enough video games.
If you could kill any one person: Gum-Cow-Chewers/People who click their pens incessantly/People who can't sit still.
If you could shoot funky webs from your wrists: I'd hang out a lot. (Oh (wo)man, bad pun!)

Favorites! Everyone has favorites (lousy boss!).
===============================================
Favorite Food: Italian-American, Mexican-American.
Favorite Band(s): I like The Beatles, Michelle Branch, Queen, ZZ Top, AC/DC, Don Davis, Juno Reactor, Rob Dougan.. ish stuff
Favorite Name: Michelle has been pretty good to me, historically. And Scully, because everybody loves the Scully!
Favorite Anime/Videogame Character(s): Mario. And Kyle Katarn.. because being a Jedi is fun stuff.
Favorite 8-bit Theater Character: Que?
Favorite People: People who know what pisses me off, and avoid doing it. Thank you so very much.
Favorite Poem or Lyric(s): "Scully and angels on the kitchen floor." Just because it's funny. It's from a Sheryl Crow song, but I don't remember which one, sorry!
Favorite Dream Job: I'm gonna go with Actor, because then I can get paid big, big bucks, receive preferential treatment (and the props for oftentimes deferring it), be adored by millions, and best of all, be anything and everything. Although I'd still put money that it's hard work, but with such a cool payoff, it'd be worth it. Hmm...
Favorite TV Show(s): In no particular order, South Park, Family Guy, Simpsons, Scrubs, Chapelle's Show, SG1, Enterprise, Futurama, Laker Games!
Favorite Movie(s): It all depends on that for which I'm in the mood.
Favorite Book: Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan stuff, and Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
Favorite Method of Relaxing: Sleep. Or at least laying in bed.

Randomness of the complete and total variety
=============================================
If you've felt enlightened in the past week or so, please share: For some reason, since Spring Break, I have been far more susceptible to paper cuts than previously. Something is very wrong, and I don't know what. I've got my year's quota of paper-style cuts in that span of time. Damnit!
Groovy: Werd.
Where were you last Friday at about 8pm?: I was watching SG1 end, and contemplating going to the rec center. At 10:30pm, I went, and was there til 12:55am.
Please drive through and come again: "Thank you, come again!" Mikey, Erin, do you remember when that was on my answering machine? Hah!
If Mississippi wore Missouri's New Jersey, what would Delaware: Delaware, you mean Missouri wore New Jersey's Mississippi?
So Brain, what are we doing tonight: Electroshock therapy on you, pinky. Attach these to your ears.
What is the address to the Simpson's house: 742 Evergreen Terrace. Teehee, I cheated, but I knew the street name anywho.
How do you take your coffee: In the form of Dr Pepper. I don't drink coffee, or warm drinks, thank you very much. I dislike the smell of coffee intensely.
Is the cup half-empty or half-full: Hey man, are you sure it's a cup? It looks kind of like a glass to me. But if there's something in it, doesn't smell to bad and is room temperature or colder, what the hell, I'll make it an empty cup (glass)!!
Did they forget your fries again: No, but they gave me pickle and onions, AGAIN!
Go to your room!: Way ahead of you. In the words of Sean Connery in Finding Forester, "You're the man now dawg!"

Took Seven Years

Originally Posted at 11:28 PM on Apr. 04, 2004

Well, it took seven years, but I finally made my way back onto the basketball court. You see, when I was younger, I played a lot of sports, I wracked up 16 "seasons" of youth sports by the time I was 16 years old. I played 8 years of baseball, 4 years of soccer, 3 of roller hockey, and 1 of basketball.

I was the worst at basketball, you see. In the debut game of my brief little league basketball career, I nailed a beautiful two point shot over this kid that must've been a foot taller than me. Alas, those were the only points I scored that season. Now, seven years later, I joined an intramural team through Hillel (Jewish campus organization) in basketball.

My debut game, we lost by seventy points. Yes, 7-0 points. At halftime we were down 48-9. We were a co-ed team, so apparently the rules are a whee bit different.

The major ones are as follows:
1) Guys are not allowed to shoot from the post (anywhere in the box closer to the hoop than the free throw line).
2) Guys are not allowed to actively block girls - You can only toss your hands straight up, swatting down constitutes goaltending.
3) The biggest one of them all - When girls score, they are worth +1 more than normal. A girl's layup is worth three, and a three pointer is worth four. Guy's points are normal

So, either you need some really, really good guys, or some good girls. We, apparently don't have either. I accounted for almost half the team's offense for the game. Which, if you've seen me play is not a good thing. Although... my shooting did get better as the game went on. I got one helluva workout, running up and down the court, and I had a good time. Even if we lost by 70.

I look forward to next week's massacre...I, err, mean game.

And one more thing. I was doing so well in the second half, that their team was calling to cover number 24. As I heard this, I'm running around on offense, and it registers, "hey, wait a second, I'm number 24." And I blurt out, "That's me! I'm Number 24!!" Teehee.

The Countdown Begins

Originally Posted at 12:59 AM on Mar. 31, 2004

37 days and counting...

I will be coming back to Vegas in 37 days. And when I come back to Boulder, 57 days from now, I will return not to a dorm room, but a residence in an apartment. I can't wait. Spring Break was wonderous, I revelled in the golden silence and soft rays of sunshine that bead down across the city in the stead of the kids off partying across the continent. The only problem was acquiring food with unsuitable (unsanitary) cooking space available to me. I got by on restaurants, my microwave and friends.

First times:
I had Red Robin for the first time last Sunday, and I must admit, their Monster Burger is quite scrumptious, but I would by no means call it monstrous. It was absolutely pint-sized for what I was expecting, the build-up they gave it. I sank in utter disappointment upon it being presented. I expected more, alas, I conquered it handily along with a few helpings of fries and my friend Hannah's Spinach and Artichoke Dip - also pretty delicious.

I also had Noodles & Co. for the first time, this past Friday night. I had Mushroom Beef Stroganoff and a small Caesar Salad - both were quite delicious. I had never had Stroganoff like this... it was drenched in cheese instead of that brown sauce that normally comes under a similar name in the dorms. And, apparently, when you put in your order, they ask you for a name for your order. When this happened, I was caught like a dear in headlights. Normally, I would simply say "Scully," but I had been meaning to give a fun-name the next time I got asked. I drew a complete blank. Luckily, I had my friends Andrea and Anna flanking me, and Anna thought fast and gave the name "Prince Albert."

Slightly graphic (You have been warned): You see, my coworker, Mayhem, had a belly-button ring thingy. When she got it, she was told that if she took it out, it would heal up after a while, but after six months it still hasn't healed. The kicker is that Mayhem has an ex-boyfriend who had a Prince Albert (for those of you who don't know, as Robin Williams would say, "a bolt through the cock"). He removed it to let it heal, and, wouldn't you know it.. it hasn't healed either. So, when he urinates, he has to cover the hole, or he suffers leakage. Odd, yet funny - because I don't know him. Anyway, I told this story to Anna and I guess it had been on her mind.

When my order was up, the girl who was to call out my name, called out "Beef Stroganoff?" I responded by saying, "That's what I ordered, but that's not the name I put in..." With a testy look in her eye, she muttered, "Prince Albert?" I exclaimed, "That's me!" She gave me my food and couldn't wait to put the incident behind her.

Next time, I'm either going to be "Maverick" or "Ice Man" I've not yet decided, I just hope I'll remember.

Through the course of Spring Break, I looked at close to 20 apartments. Only one was furnished, across the street from campus, in a quiet spot, and cheap-cheap-cheap, with cable TV. Guess where I'm living come this Fall (and probably this Summer) - I can't wait!

For those of you who are baseball fans, I'd like to take this time to point out that Mikey is a Yankees fan. How different that is from me being a Lakers fan... I know not. But, knowing what happened early this morning before I awoke, I need to relay this onto you all.

Scully: Mikey, can you help me out with something?
Mikey: whats up
Scully: Now, you know I'm not a big baseball follower
Scully: But, I think I kind of get baseball standings
Mikey: ok
Scully: If you have a team with 0 wins, and 1 loss, they're under .500 - and hence they currently would have a losing record, right?
Mikey: they would have a .000 winning percentage, under .500
Mikey: so yeah
Scully: Right
Scully: So, can you explain to me, how the Yankess lost to the Devil Rays?
Mikey: .... >:o

In the words of Eric Cartman, "it felt goooood."

Tomorrow I think I'll be pulling an all-nighter, so I will be attempting to sleep after the South Park: LoTR episode which is playing at the moment.

Due Thursday: An at least 5-page paper (probably about six or seven come the final draft) first draft. Along with a 75 minute debate on Manned vs. Unmanned Exploration which should be interesting, assuming I can stay awake. And a Spanish Exam, although I'm totally kicking ass at that class, I've got an A- in the bag, and if you toss in attendance it'll totally be an A. Werd.

The Girl Next Door: Yeah. Just WOW! Elisha Cuthbert has totally done a 180 from Kim Bower, and god bless her..uhm.. heart, that's... what I was thinking of, yeah, don't look at me like that! I'm only human! She has earned a special place in my heart.. until I see the movie at which point I will reassess the place in my heart assigned to her based on acting ability along with the whole.. my goodness is she hot.. thing. I'm human! Okay?

That about covers everything at the moment. Stupid Kyle Lampe is on Spring Break, so I can't wrap up the Kyle Lampe day's festivities - suddenly, it's become Kyle Lampe week. Who expected all this?!

Muahahaha.
<3 <3 <3

Kyle Lampe Day plus Two

Originally Posted at 03:24 AM on Mar. 30, 2004

To those of you who participated in Kyle Lampe day (or Kyle Lampe day plus One), I thank you. The story is really dumb, but the gist of it is that Kyle basically dared me to remember his birthday (March 28th) and I did. That's it, thank you. Stupid I know. And the bugger is off for Spring Break, so I haven't been able to harass him.. I mean wish him a happy birthday over the phone. =(

In other news, Spring Break is over, and time management is suck-ass. For Thursday, I have the first draft of a 10-page paper due, not to mention a 75-minute debate with five other people, oh, and a Spanish exam. Woo. No problem!

Went and saw the Theatrical Version of The Hebrew Hammer tonight, laughed my ass off, again, but my memory hurt me, because I remembered funny stuff coming, and it wasn't so enjoyable. C'est la vie. Nonetheless, can't wait for it on DVD.

I've come to the conclusion, I am reverse-sexist. But, more on that next time because I am flat exhausted at the moment. And I need to crash or I won't be able to get that paper done for Thursday - Time management!

Kyle Lampe Day

Originally Posted at 01:33 AM on Mar. 28, 2004

My friends,
Today, Sunday, March 28th, 2004, is Kyle Lampe day.
Edit:It is now Monday! If you would like to participate in Kyle Lampe Day plus One, please wish him a Happy Belated Birthday. Thank you!
Re-Edit: It is now Tuesday, and Kyle Lampe day, from what I can tell was a complete success.

My buddy Kyle's birthday is today, and his "present" is me attempting to get everyone I know (and everyone they know) to wish him a Happy Birthday, without him knowing it's from me until I tell him - late night on Sunday. So, please, I beg of you, make no mention of me.

His email address is klampe@umr.edu - and all you have to do is say "Happy Birthday Kyle!" and that'll do it. And if you're really in the spirit, get all of your friends to do it too. A massive internet-wide call to fill my buddy's box with Happy Birthday emails. It'll be gr-r-reat!

Your participation in this event is greatly appreciated. And I only hope it's as big of a success as I anticipate it will be. Please, remember, it won't be as good as it can be unless you take action. Please, make Kyle's day a special one, and wish him a happy birthday this instant.

Thank you,
-Scully

What is that Sound?!

Originally Posted at 01:24 PM on Mar. 24, 2004

So, I woke up early Monday morning so I could get to work by 9, so I could be done relatively early and have money to be able to enjoy my Spring Break as well as time in the afternoon to have fun with friends.

I woke up at 7:15am, and along with my alarm, I was treated to this unpleasant beeping sound. I determined it to be my neighbor's alarm clock, set to "Annoy." He had gone on vacation and left his alarm set. Lucky for me his window was open. I was running kind of late, and it was bugging me, but I figured it didn't matter much.

Yesterday, I woke up at 6:45am (I was later to work than I wanted to be). And again when I got moving I was greeted to the obnoxious beeping. Nothing I could do.

This morning, I took a proactive approach. I was up at 6:45am again, and I turned on my computer as I had done previously, to put on some music to drown out the beeping while I got ready. In the course of doing so, my computer naturally signed on to Instant Messenger. I saw a friend who works in the residence halls online and got it off my chest to her. She told me to talk to an RA and get them to help turn it off. They have a use? - They can do that? - Apparently, they can.

I went down the hall to make sure it was the room I thought it was. And it was. And I thought to myself, "Self," Oh, look at that, I thought of Mr. Smith, I'll have to pay him a visit in May. "This kid left his window open, and the curtain hanging out, let's check if he locked the door." I tried the handle, and low and behold, it was unlocked. I turned off the alarm, and I have to say, I can't believe he left his door unlocked. I have half a mind to go in there and rearrange his room for him (and by that I mean move furniture so that his TV and Radio aren't adjacent to my head. I haven't quite ruled it out just yet, but I would put money on it that I don't.

------------------------------------
Three hours and thirty minutes until I am checking out the first apartment for the fall. Should be interesting. Hopefully Matt will be up here early enough to grab lunch, that'd be cool. Otherwise it looks like I might walk to Wendy's at some point and get me a Frostie (Yum). In response to Lenine's post about Weather.

The whole week, in Boulder, it has been, and is supposed to be mostly sunny, and in the 70s. Oh, and the population of the city is down by a good percentage because everybody went away for Spring Break. Beautiful weather, and few people here to enjoy it. It's wonderful!!

For you basketball fans (which from what I've seen is just Mikey) - too bad, I'm doing it anyway. Tonight, the Lakers (most likely sans Kobe) will host the Sacramento Kings
in a possible preview of the Western Conference Finals (Yum) - besides it is the best, most competitive, and most heated rivalry in the NBA today. (Yay!) And, apparently, Shaq has that look in his eye. Can't wait.

For you non-basketball fans, Episode 2 of Season 8... South Park! Tonight on Comedy Central. Laughed my ass off last week (as I know some of you did too!).

And, if neither of those peak your interest, there's always.. uhh, reading! Yeah, reading! Cuddle up with a good book, and read.

Some Haikus and a Survey

Originally Posted at 03:18 AM on Mar. 22, 2004

With the assistance of clapping out the syllables)

Red Robin
Monster Burger, Small
Fries, nothing special, Sorry.
First time, Good service.

Taking Lives
Interesting Plot
Scary shit, Exciting, Woo!
Stunning, Suspenseful

Spaceballs
Classic Mel Brooks Yo!
Heart John Candy, miss him lots.
A druish princess?!

Barf, half-man, half-mog
Dude, May the Schwartz be with you
Your very own best friend

Spaceball One, to plaid!
Big helmet, funny short man
Quesadillas yum.

Okay, so that last one doesn't really work, but the last line is indisputable.

That's a basic summary of my evening. With my friend Hannah, we chatted and I'm "back in the loop".. again. I tell ya, the loop moves too fast for how often I get updated, no bueno!

Erin, Mikey, it looks like I'll be flying back to Vegas on the 6th, and leaving on the 26th. I may spend some time at my sister's in the middle there, I'm not sure, but clear some days!!

Ooooh, random survey stolen from someone's away message!!

Choose a band/artist and answer only in song TITLES by that band:: Beatles (because otherwise I won't be able to come up with as many songs) - And I totally googled them for an index of songs.... - With access to 300+ song titles, I answered all of them twice (or more)!

Are you female or male:: Nowhere Man / This Boy
Describe yourself:: Got To Get You Into My Life / Every Little Thing
How do some people feel about you:: HELP! / Don't Let Me Down / Glad All Over
How do you feel about yourself:: I Am The Walrus / Sure To Fall (In Love With You)
Describe your ex-boy/girlfriend:: Michelle (hahahahhaha!)
Describe your current boy/girlfriend:: Nobody I Know / Eleanor Rigby / Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / Got To Get You Into My Life
Describe where you want to be:: Here, There, Everywhere / Across the Universe
Describe what you want to be:: Yellow Submarine / Free As a Bird
Describe how you live:: Let It Be / P.S. I Love You
Describe how you love:: Eight Days a Week / Any Time At All / Love You To
Share a few words of wisdom:: All You Need Is Love / Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey

Beatles' Listing I Used - Can click song titles for lyrics too!

Whack!

Originally Posted at 05:29 AM on Mar. 20, 2004

My sleep schedule is oh-so-out of whack right now.

It all started Wednesday night, with two papers.

Wednesday night, I went to bed at 6am (Thursday morning).
Woke up at 8:35am on Thursday morning.
Went to classes, hung out, rented a movie with a friend.
Fell asleep during the movie, got about 60 minutes of sleep.
Got a ride back to my room, went to sleep at 10:30pm.
Slept soundly until 8:35am Friday morning.
Came back to my room after class and slept from 5:10pm until 6:45pm.

So, since Wednesday morning, I've got 15 hours of sleep. Granted that's more than I was able to get last week this time, but the difference is, this time last week I was in bed asleep, and right now, I'm not. And that pisses me off. How can I have an enjoyable spring break when I can't get to sleep.

I've given myself the task of reading at least two books during the course of the next 10 or so days, on top of may-be doing some schoolwork. The Mismeasure of Man by Steven Gould - it's about IQ testing, and how badly we fucked it up - it's kind of extra reading for my Anthropology class, but I thought it was interesting, and the prof (whom I respect and if you attended school in Boulder with me, you would have heard me suggest, at least twice, that you take the class I'm in with him). And the other is a ton of fun, it's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I read the original over Summer or Winter break, I don't recall, and sometime over the past semester and a half my roommate bought the complete collection, so I'm reading The Restauarant at the end of the universe - I'm 1/3rd done, his chapters are so short. Good stuff!

Since I'm in the "wanting to go to sleep" mood, I think I'll start into Gould's book. And hopefully I'll manage to get more than 5 hours sleep tonight - granted I don't have many mandatory things planned for tomorrow (read: any), I'd still like not to be a nocturnal creature since I want to work mornings this week, to have money and free time in the afternoon. Going to bed early on Spring Break, who would've thought?

And I'm not sure, but I think one of the guy's on my floor is staying here also, as long as he's quiet as a corpse we won't have a problem. I'm all about a quiet, enjoyable, fun, easy, spring break.

(On another note, how lame am I to stay in the dorms over Spring Break, work, hang out, and read? - Get over it, you damn well know I'm a crotchety old man!)

And on a whim, I checked Fandango, and the $3.00 cinema has Big Fish and Miracle playing, so I think I'll check those out this weekend if I have to drag someone along kicking and screaming, or not...

Anyway, The Mismeasure beckons, as does slumber. Morning!

Shower Stall Viciously Beaten!

Originally Posted at 03:02 AM on Mar. 15, 2004



The Aftermath.
In the whee hours of Sunday morning, an unassuming, defenseless forty-three year old shower stall was attacked and savagely beaten. There were no witnesses, but the elderly stall was found early this morning unconscious, covered in broken glass and toothpaste - it was said to be in critical condition. The vandalizing took place somewhere between midnight and eight in the morning, the police say they have no suspects but are hoping the forensic evidence will turn up something.

The resident who discovered the stall was overheard angrily shouting at no one "Fucking morons. What's next?" Then muttered to himself, "How'm I supposed to shower in this shit?"

This is the second such crime against inanimates on this floor, in as many weeks. A hall was buried in filth last weekend, it took over an hour to clean up. Another resident who refused to be identified remarked on the shower incident "Wow, and I thought last week was bad."

When will the violence stop? When will we learn?
-----------------------------------------------------
And when will those assholes get a fuckin' clue. Seriously, I think it's going to take some handcuffs on their wrists while they're leaning on the hood of a car, before shit gets through to them. Fucking morons.

My patience for stupidity is already non-existent, and to hear people describe our Resident Advisor as "chill" just pisses me the fuck off. These kids don't respect shit, and I believe I'm going to give the R.A. a piece of my mind next time I see him, or maybe just going over his head to the hall director. It's fucking ridiculous that this kind of shit goes on.

And at the same time, I feel horrible that I have to complain and get people in trouble, but the R.A. obviously isn't doing his job in any way, shape, or form, and he's getting paid to ignore it. I'm paying to live here and be pissed about it, what the fuck?

I'm such a cranky old man. Oh well.
-----------------------------------------------------
I totally just sent an email to one of my professors.

I have to wonder if he'll notice that it went out at 12:11am. What an odd time for it to go out, I mean, there is no urgency to the topic of discussion - I don't have class with him until Tuesday morning. Presumably it can wait until tomorrow, but hey, I was thinking about it right now and I'd been meaning to do it since Tuesday in class. I'm terrible about emailing. I'm supposed to email my second cousin, it just so happens it's been 13 months since I said I would. I think about it every now and then, but never act. *Ten Minute Pause* Until just now! I totally went and looked him up, and sent an email. Just a few hours after it had been thirteen months. Go me!

Terribly lazy day aside from some emails in the past hour, and reading (for class). I contemplate Ben & Jerry's, as well as some other homework due in the coming week - in different ways, of course. I've decided on the ice cream, I will eat some when it has melted to my satisfaction.

I'm surprisingly untired, but then again, I'm not lying in bed. And I feel accomplished. Good feeling. Today was a pretty anti-social day. The only person I interacted with (in person) other than my roommate was some girl who was getting to-go food from the dining hall at the same time I was, and after filling a cup with liquid discovered there were no more tops. We shared about fifteen seconds of conversation and that was that. Kind of a nice description of the day. I'll leave it at that.

Two Funnies and Other Stuff

Originally Posted at 04:03 AM on Mar. 14, 2004

First the two funnies:
The Original Soprano
And
Simply Hilarious

------------------------------------
So, it was a nice day outside today, and I got together with my bud Brad to play some basketball like we did this past Monday. And we got into a real game, 5 on 5. And two things became very apparent. One, I can not make a wide-open layup to save my life, and Two, I hustle and play defense like a madman. I still managed to make a beautiful outside jump shot before I resorted to playing defense. My individual play of the game was stopping a 3 on 1 fast break by my lonesome. Reading a pass, and then pressuring ensuing shots before grabbing a rebound and pushing the ball back up court. It was awesome.

Friday was a ridiculously long day. Not because it was, but it felt like it lasted 30 hours. Woke up at 8, worked 9:30-12:30, had class 1:00-1:50, ate lunch from 2:00-2:45, went to Film Studies and was there from 3:05-4:35, came back to my room, and took a nap. Woke up at 6:35 to get ready for Hillel, went to Hillel, had a good time at Shabbat dinner and met someone new, a cute girl who I look forward to interacting with again shortly. Funny thing happened there. A candle got knocked over, it hit the wall, and started a brief fire but it burnt out. Of course, people freaked out, and we had to evacuate because they were afraid the fire was in the walls. The fire department was called.

About five minutes after we were all out of the building. The fire trucks began showing up. One, then the second, then the third, and then, we got a fourth. It must've been a slow night. We had a fire chief, an ambulance, and two police cars. It was an impressive showing of force for a false alarm. But, hey, that's what they're there for, right? About twenty minutes later we were allowed back in. And if where the candle had fell against the wall hadn't had brick behind it, we'd be designing a new H-House sometime during the coming week. Close one!

After the false alarm, I ended up hanging out with Ross, killing time before we went to the Rec Center to play Racquetball and Basketball. Went over to his dorm, looked up this cute girl who happened to be a resident of the same building, and we wandered over to her part of the building on a "tour." It just so happened that across from the stairwell we exited from to get to this girl's part of the building, we ran into Jenn. Scary. Jenn and I have history that I won't go into, but I bet I had that dear-in-the-headlights look when I saw her. We wandered around, and found the girl's door, but she wasn't in. I met a couple of Ross's buds, and we hung out chatting for over an hour. I love chatting with knew people. And then Ross and I headed out to do the competitive exercise thing.

Racquetball, the losing streak continues, I'm 2-9 against Ross now. I blew a 7 point lead in the second game, to lose 16-14. Yet another unbelievable collapse on my part. Then we went over and played Basketball, I gave Ross the standard 8 points. And I ended up winning 15-10 again. Kicked his ass, I was shooting well.

Came back to my room, watched a South Park rerun and went to bed a little after 1:30am. All in all, an 18 hour day, but that nap really screwed things up as far as perception of time goes. S'okay, probably helped me sleep.

Nighters!

Beautiful Day Outside

Originally Posted at 09:00 PM on Mar. 09, 2004

For the second day in a row, it was a beautiful day. It still is a beautiful day (or was at least, when I wrote this part), but I am just not motivated to do the carcinogenic, stay in the sun instead of going to class thing. Where I go out onto the field, with a towel and sunbathe, listen to music, throw a frisbee, or football, etc.

Although today, Spanish class was held outside which was both cool and sucky at the same time. Crappy grass, sloped hill which I almost rolled down about six times, and people couldn't hear each other. I did semi-de-ashify my legs though.

People already have sunburns, it's hilarious. And they, of course, aren't uniform. They go around invisible-sunglasses on faces. Good stuff.

Boring Stuff That Nobody Really Cares About to Follow
Yesterday, I was done with classes early, and shortly after I finished lunch peroozing various websites, I was IM'd by a friend I made over summer that I hadn't hung with in 6+ months, though we chat every now and then. It's kind of funny considering he's just a 5 minute bus-ride away, or a fifteen minute walk, if you prefer. He listed a number of outdoor activities for me to choose from, and I chose Basketball, very excitedly. You see, my only opponent for Basketball is Ross, he's five feet four inches, and not much of a challenge. I shoot over him, I run past him, he's not really into it. He beats me at Racquetball, I mop the floor with him at Basketball.

Brad, my buddy, is six foot three inches, two-hundred and forty-ish pounds, and likes to play. For those of you that don't know, which is most of you, I am six feet, and currently I weigh about one-hundred and seventy-five pounds. Anyway, he would provide a much, much greater challenge than Ross.. especially since he was playing Basketball every week-day over Summer (though long ago now). Anyway, he came by, picked me up, and we went to Target so he could buy a ball. We drove back to his place, hit up his room, changed, and went down to the courts. Luckily, someone who had been shooting opted to leave just as we walked up so we had a half-court to ourselves. We warmed up, and played some one-on-one. After forty minutes or so, the score was 11-4 (him), and we ended up taking in a guy from the game that just let out and played 21 for a while. Probably thirty minutes worth, before the kid that joined us finally hit 21. Then another guy joined us, and we had the makings of a two-on-two game. We played for thirty minutes or so, and it was a ton of fun. I ran around like a madman snatching up rebounds, made a few layups, and it was a great time. And by the time some more guys showed up to ask about maybe playing some four-on-four, my sides were screaming to stop, and so I called it a day. But damn if that wasn't fun.

I got back to campus, grabbed dinner, and had to lie down because I was so dead tired. Got interrupted by two phone calls, one from Ross asking about playing Racquetball, which we haven't done in a while; I said maybe Friday, but depending how I feel, and his schedule, it may be tomorrow that we next play. Then Mari called to ask if things were cool between us because we hadn't hung out in a while, or something. I'm not really sure, but I told her they were - because they are, and then I went on a rant about two-ply toilet paper and I can't recall why. But apparently, her sister agreed with me.. and that's about the time she opted to let me get back to resting.
-----------------------------------------------=
Sunday was a nice day while the sun was up, I woke up at 1:30pm, watched the Lakers comeback to defeat the Nets, and never really got going. I went to a Purim Party and made Hamentashen, which was fun. Had a good time doing nothing and got back around 10pm. I ended up staying up til 2:30am because I couldn't sleep, but accomplished 2 classes homework for the week, so that was good.
----------------------------------------------
Saturday, I woke up around 12:30pm, did some reading, and opted to go back to sleep. I got up around 5:30pm, took a shower, grabbed dinner with my roomie, and we hung out for a few hours before I went to the rec center at 11pm. Shot around a little bit, did some lifting and got back at 1am, just in time to watch South Park. Got to bed at 2:30am.
----------------------------------------------
Friday was an odd day. After losing and recovering my BuffOneCard, I got together with my friend Kristen. And we went to SuperCuts where she got a haircut. I opted out of getting mine cut because I want to "get my money's worth" and have my hair slightly more unmanageable before I commit to getting it cut - I am trying to grow it out after all. Afterwards, we walked over to The Olive Garden where we had a peaceful dinner, and I shamelessly shmoozed (just this side of flirting, although I think I probably crossed over into flirting by the end of the evening) with our waitress through the course of the meal. I had Chicken Allfredo with Broccoli tossed in, with two breadsticks and two servings of salad. A hearty, hearty meal. Also downed four or five Dr Peppers while I was at it. Good times.

After dinner, we walked back to her house where we hung out until 11:15ish. Her (almost, but not quite boy-)friend Chase came over and we chatted for a while. It was a really good time, I would approve of him as a boyfriend for her if he quit smoking. Really nice guy, we had similar attitudes, and it was interesting at one point... Don't ask me how this came up..

Me: Yeah, but I don't find guys sexually attractive.
Chase: That's fine, but I would argue with you that at the same time you can assess whether or not a guy is attractive based on his looks and attire.
Me: Nope, you can't argue that with me, because I don't disagree.

Wow, what an odd snippet of conversation, eh?

He ended up giving me a ride home, and I failed my mission of reacquiring Quagmire T.(ing) Quack (who I will have a picture of, to post, when he is returned to my possession). We chatted politics briefly and I liked what he had to say. Cool guy.

Got into my room at 11:30pm, checked the answering machine, grabbed my stuff, and ran off to the rec center in the hopes of playing some basketball, one-on-none, but alas the courts were full the whole time... totally sucked. But I did some cardio and lifting. Good times. Ended up going to bed at 3:30am, ouch.

Ha!

Originally Posted at 04:48 AM on Mar. 06, 2004

For how tired I am, I should totally be in bed. I've average under 6 hours sleep for the week.

I should be in bed, crashing, so I don't sleep until 4 tomorrow, but alas, I'm not quite ready.

This afternoon, something that has not happened before in the history of my stead at this university. I lost and could not find my BuffOneCard, for those of you who don't know, and I'm pretty sure it's close to all of you. This card is of vital importance to all students, especially those who live on campus and want to eat in the dining halls. Wait, let me rephrase, because honestly, who wants to eat in the dining halls. Those who seek sustenance, no... Those who don't want to die of hunger, there we go! It allows you to ride the bus, and Boulder has one of the best mass transit systems in the country. It grants you access to the rec center, and is useful in a variety of other ways. The few times I have misplaced it, I knew exactly where it was placed, and located it literally within a span of thirty seconds.

Today, I had managed to get all the way into the dining hall, collected the portions I was going to consume, and prepared to walk to the check out line. I reached into my pocket, the pocket where it always is, and felt around. It was not there. I had misplaced it. Oh no. I think for a moment, where could it be? I am dumbfounded. The last time I had it was when I got dinner the same way last night. When I got back, I promptly swapped pants, leaving the contents in their respective places and moved them but once prior to putting them back on in the morning. I had been three places the whole day, and I couldn't figure out where I lost it. I retraced my steps, visiting two of them and turning up nothing. I checked back in with the lunch lady, and said I still couldn't find it, but I was going to check one more place before giving up hope. So I stormed across campus to the only class of the day, waited for them to let out (it was about 4 minutes) and walked in, looked at the desk where I sat, and what should I find but... oh, nothing! Shit!

I tell you, when I lose something, I really lose it. So, I hastily walked back across campus to inform the woman I could not locate it. After my food had been sitting for thirty minutes, nobody was going to eat it anyway, and she gave it to me. Walking back to my dorm, I was still contemplating its whereabouts, as I had plans for the evening that required the Card, namely Bussing and Rec Centering. As I walked into my dorm, I was hit with its location like a ton of bricks. It was in my wallet. Now, you think to yourself, dude, where else would it be? No, you see, the only time my wallet is on me is when I am going to spend money. And as it was Friday, I hadn't been anywhere to spend money since I used the card last.

However, Thursday night, I went with Mari to a guest speaker, and we were contemplating doing something that might require money, so I brought my wallet. Incidentally, I keep my wallet in the same pocket as my BuffOneCard, and every now and then, the Card has a nasty habit of getting stuck inside the wallet when I remove it from my pocket. Which is what happened. But I didn't think to look in the wallet because, well, why would I? I hadn't spent any money, and put it away when I got back into the room (with my food). So, I spent 40 minutes running back and forth across campus when it was literally within arms reach. And, I'll give you the College Count.

The College Count-Events that have taken place since my college career began on August 26th, 2002 (when we departed from Las Vegas on a trek to Boulder) to Present Day.

Times I have dropped my keys unintentionally (ie. they slipped from my grasp while I was handling them): 10.
Times I have been locked out: 0
Times I have forgotten my BuffOneCard: 1 (March 5th, 2004)
Times I have dropped a tray in a Dining Hall: 0
Times I have been to McDonalds: 4
Last time I was at McDonalds: The First Saturday of Spring Break, 2003
First College McDonalds Eating: August 26th, 2002 - St. George, Utah - The Dr Pepper dispenser was actually filled with Mr Pibb

I don't know why I remember it, but I do. Deal with it.

What a rant. I had other stuff to say, but now I am ready to sleep, so it will wait until tomorrow.

At 2:31am MTN Time: I hope you're all either sleeping soundly, or doing something you'd prefer over sleep. ;)

Burning the Candle

Originally Posted at 12:36 AM on Mar. 05, 2004

Stayed up until 3:30am last night working on a paper, slept until 9 and barely dragged my ass out of bed in time to get to class only about a minute late. Need to get a good night's sleep tonight.

I'll probably go to the health center Monday if I don't get better over the weekend. One of my classmates told me he had Strep and I was like, oh shit! My throat has been scratchy as hell lately, maybe I do too. But other than that, I'm okay, so we'll see.

Currently, TMC is having a Rocky Marathon, and I caught the end of II, and III is about to start. I'll probably get ready for bed, after I call home, and enjoy III from the comfort of my bed. Exciting.

I'm sorry I've fallen behind on reading everyone's blogs, I hope to catch up with the weekend. Take it easy everybody!

Two.

Originally Posted at 07:43 PM on Mar. 03, 2004

I'm tired.

Last night was the eve of my Film Studies exam, worth 20% of the class grade. Of the 200 pages the exam was to cover, prior to Sunday, I had read about 8 of them. Last night, I had 150 planned. I nailed roughly 38 between Dinner and Scrubs/Salsa. I came back, relaxed, put some sugar in me, and went to the study lounge at 11pm. I was pretty productive and relatively alert the whole time. Slowly the number of pages I had to cover diminished. 100. 95. 90. 80. 70. 60. 50. At about this point I opted to check the time. I had figured on going to bed around 2am - not bad for a study night. So, I checked the time on a computer in the room. 12:53am. Awesome, I'm definitely good for another hour. 40. 30. 20. TWENTY MORE PAGES, YOU CAN DO IT! - I rallied myself on. 10. Ten more. Then to bed, that's it. You're almost there! Five. Five is nothing, we're there! None. NONE! WE DID IT! I packed up my things and headed back to my room.

I slipped my key into the door ever-so quietly so as not to disturb my sleeping roommate. I slowly opened the door, and the clock gives me a glare. 3:55. Yeah, so the clock in the study lounge was off. It was probably around 2 when I checked the time. So, I got to bed shortly after 4:05am. The impressive thing about all of this is, a little after I checked the time, I was joined by a fellow dorm-guy, who was doing some late night studying. He yawned, and I became self-conscious; "Crap, now I'm going to yawn too, damnit!" But for the two-ish hours we worked in the room, I did not yawn once. Which is terribly impressive because I had been up for 20 hours on shitty sleep.

Numbers:
0 Yawns.
6.5 - Hours of Studying
40 - Minutes between the time I went to bed and my roommate woke up.
3.5 - Hours of sleep
80 - Minimum percent I believe I scored on the Film Exam

In other news, the Off-Campus Housing Fair was today, and I went with my roomie (Matt), Mari and Arwyn (yes LoTR-style). And at none other than the first booth was "Rivendell Apartments." I shit you not. Instantly, I make the joke, "You could totally be Arwyn of Rivendell!" Then we discovered it was "Christian Housing" - What is that anyway? - And instantly we all remembered I was Jewish and that wasn't going to work.

We moved about, the girls doing most of the footwork and talking because, well, let's face it, Matt and I are hilarious cynical pains in the ass, who were suffering sleep deprivation. We wandered around collecting free stuff, occasionally talking about rooms and houses to the people. And Matt and I were terribly entertained by the models of the homes/apartments. I joked with one lady about moving in, and she said she'd cut the price in half. I said, you cut it to scale and we'll have a deal. She smiled, it was a serious offer though. The place was awesome.

A little later we were walking around, and this woman with the most immaculate teeth I have ever seen approached us, and asked me if there was anything I'd like to see. Matt immediately joined the conversation fearing I'd sexually harass this cute young lady. I mostly just stared at her teeth, we joked about it later with the girls. When they heard what she said, they both went "Ooooooooh!" And I went on about her teeth. They were like, "Yeah, sure, whatever." But I'm serious, these were unbelievable, I could've stared at them for a while...

Anyway, Matt and I had a lot of fun, while exhausted and toying with serious people. Arwyn and Mari were very productive collecting sheets, while we were separated. We met back up later, and went through them all, but I had to go take my exam before we really got anywhere, and besides Mari was basically running the show with Arwyn as her sidekick. Occasionally tossing out numbers to be divided by four. I was serving as a calculator, but that's nothing new. I'll talk to Mari tonight to see what we came across. Matt is currently sleeping, poor guy is wiped, I'm glad I'm not in the Air Force. And I'm kinda pissed I haven't had time/energy to work out yesterday/today. With a good night's sleep, I think I'll be able to go tomorrow. Woo Woo.

Still fending off a cold. But this is Spring, so what else is new?

Take it easy.

The Cogs are in Motion

Originally Posted at 07:10 PM on Mar. 01, 2004

Well, I've spent the last 90 minutes getting stuff situated so that come this Fall I can apply for an IntraUniversity Transfer to the Business (B-) School, and be certain that my admission will be accepted. I talked at length with an advisor at the B-School about what my options were, as long as I did X, Y, and Z, I would be guaranteed to get in.

X would be maintaining a 3.0 GPA, for that to happen I would need to do bad enough that my parents would not be willing to pay for college - so falling below a 3.0 is moot anyway.

Y would be completing a Math Mods class, basically Calculus. If you'll recall, Math Mods was something I complained about at the end of last semester - where you basically studied on your own time, at your own pace, and went in on certain days, at certain times, and took as many quizzes as you wanted. It sucked, but it won't be a problem.

Z is the fun part. Z is completing MicroEconomics, ECON2010. The problem lies herein. I took MicroEcon at UCLA 3 Summers ago. Unfortunately, when I enrolled at CU, the credits were listed as ECON1, which is what UCLA calls it. So, naturally, CU gives me credit for ECON1000, which is what they call Principles of Economics - a compilation of Micro (ECON2010) and Macro (ECONO2020). The problem is, the B-School wants 2010 and 2020, not 1000. So, I went over to the College of Arts & Sciences and filed an appeal to get things straightened out. I will know in 3-5 weeks. Of course, what that really means is it will sit in someone's in box for 3 weeks, be discovered, and everything regarding it will be done in 36 hours. And then it will get stuck in on-campus mail for 5 more days, and arrive around 4 weeks after it was filed. Heart bureaucracy.
----------------------------------------
Of course, the funny part is, I've devoted this afternoon and evening to writing a paper (due tomorrow) and studying for an exam (taking it on Wednesday), and my first two hours have been devoted to the above. If I didn't go to bed at one in the morning, this could prove to be a problem.

I took some Nyquil last night before I went to bed - I've had a scratchy throat lately, coupled with the Spring cough that never seems to vanish, and I wanted to take preventive measures - although I think it might be because my room is just too damn cold at night, because I opened the window too far. I changed that this morning, we'll see how I feel tomorrow. I took the Nyquil at 11:30pm, and was out by midnight. Unfortunately, I woke up at 2:15am needing very badly to use the facilities. That done, I returned to the warmth of my bed at 2:17am my thoughts returning to slumber. Unfortunately, I spent the next 5 hours and 42 minutes, in deep thought, asleep and awake. Disturbing. I was thinking about stuff, and then I was asleep thinking about stuff. By no means am I talking about quality sleep here people. The sleep I got last night sucked. But I sure did get a lot of it - compared to normal. C'est la vie. Tonight I will try unaided sleep like I did over the weekend.

My paper beckons.

What a Feeling!!

Originally Posted at 12:57 AM on Feb. 28, 2004

I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!

Every now and then, something in my head just clicks and I lose it. Now, normally that's a bad thing. But I'm not talking about anger, I'm talking about the funny switch. I just go bonkers, there's no other way to explain, and it's hard to understand until you see it.

All of a sudden I go from normal Scully, at 50 miles an hour, to super Scully just shy of light-speed. I don't know how else to describe it. It usually happens in a social setting and something, I don't know what, sets me off. Just bam, I turn into the biggest extrovert you ever did see (and I'm relatively extroverted if I have at least one good friend around). That's why you'll rarely see me unextroverted with friends around.

I love name tags, I don't like wearing them, and if I were forced to, the name I would put is "Ask." The reason I love them, is that I can be in your face. Random girl walks by with a "Stephanie" name tag on, and I break out of my prior conversation and loudly, in a knowing voice exclaim, "STEPHANIE!! How've you been!?" She looks at me kind of funny, trying to figure out where she knows me from, but can't place me, and responds, "I'm fine, you?" trying to be polite, but thoroughly confused as to who I am. I am smiling this whole time, being cordial as hell. I give it a few more seconds before breaking it to her that we don't know one another, but the ice has been broken and we can have a pleasant conversation getting to know one another. All because she had a name tag, and I was feeling sociable. - This is before I went to warp mind you.

Tonight, Hillel invited the Campus Crusade for Christ over for Shabbat dinner. I was thinking, helloooooo that's gonna be awkward. But the way it was approached was far more sociable than religious, after I walked in, and one of the CCC guys asked me if jewish families normally have dinner like this, I was like "Well, we have Shabbat dinner here every other Friday, but normally Jewish families have dinner every night." My smirk wide as my cheeks allowed - knowing I'd let him have one, I back off so as not to offend, "but like, my family on Shabbat, we never did much religious stuff, the most we'd do is light candles on rare occasion" - giving him a serious answer after giving him one that wasn't. I love messing with people!

Anyway, I grabbed a spot with some of my normal crew, and decided it would be good to mingle with the gentiles. So, I spied with my little eye a slightly confused looking girl, as I tend to always be aware of the cute, shy girls in the room... I have "Shydar." And I could spy the name tag with no problem, so I waved, and called her name.. "Hey Sarah, Come sit over here!" and she did as I requested, but much to my... smiling face... she brought over three friends, all female, all cute! What luck!! And we cleared up that I was just bein' extroverted, and we kept the conversation going, including everyone as best as possible. It was a great time, and religion was so not a part of it. - I'm sure you're all familiar with my stance on religion by now. - (Do what you want, just leave me out of it. And respect that decision.)

After dinner, we were standing around as people lined out, we all said thanks for coming, they said thanks for having us, etc. And then we set about to cleaning up. I'd never stuck around long enough to be part of a clean-up, but damn did we clean up after 110 people f-a-s-t. Anyway, once the place was clean, I got a su-u-urge of energy, and went to plaid (see Spaceballs).

Tonight at various points I was compared to David Duchovny (looks), Mike Myers (wit, and speed), which are two I've had before. I should post a pic at some point. Hmm...

All over the place, what a feeling, they couldn't get enough. It was awe-some. I got invited to go to the bars with people I didn't know, I politely declined as I'm 19, and pretty sober. Although I think I would've gone if I were 21.. I just wouldn't have had any alcohol. For me, I don't see the point, the only thing that will happen is I will get sloppy(speech and movement), louder (I'm loud as it is), and have less control over my comedic timing (ie I will say the wrong thing and piss people off). So it's more counterproductive than anything else, as I see it.
------------------------
Oh man, I went to dinner with Marshall tonight, and Kara was working, I've told ya'll about her, she has the un-belie-vable blue eyes, and is waaaay cute. I was wearing my UCLA sweatshirt, and she asked me if I went there, I told her only for a few weeks, they didn't want me to do college there, and she said she had looked at going there. And then the next customer moved up, and she wished me a good night, and I wished her one as well. I moved around the counter, behind her, to wait for Marshall. - At this point, I feel the need to mention, last time we were there, Kara and I had a similarly pleasant conversation, before bidding one another adieu. As I walked up the stairs, Marshall said to her "He's such a flirt." She smiled and laughed, and Marshall came upstairs. Well, tonight, he said, "You know, he comes here just to see you." And she smiled and laughed again. I practically ran up the stairs, my face blushed bright red. Laughing. Marshall calmly walked up, and met me. "Thank you Marshall. I've got to keep you around more often." Totally and utterly awesome. I later said "You're acting without my knowledge, but totally on my behalf. Thank you." - Can you say total mondo brownie points without doing anything?! I need to get to know her better, and I've yet to really have a good opportunity to. I should probably act soon, although the flirting is waaaay fun, and I kind of do it with way too many girls. *coughs* All the girls at my table *coughs*.

I hate to make the generalization, but the CCC totally had hotter girls than Hillel. Hands down, no question, unequivocal. There was no comparison, they blew the H-girls away. I don't know, but duuuuuude.

Good evening so far. Off to worsen my record against Ross at racquetball (2-6). I can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a great and safe night!!

Mormon

Originally Posted at 09:52 PM on Feb. 23, 2004

"Just as long as your not mormon, I'll approve of anything"

What the fuck is that?! I can go off and murder a bunch of people, but it's okay because I'm not mormon. Way to pick your arguments, eh? I don't think we really thought that one through did we now? - And the most beautiful part of this statement was what it was in response to. Get this shit; "Film is just an elective right?" To which I said, "For the time being, yeah, what of it?" And that was the response I got. Honestly, double-you, tee, eff? - Furthermore, you graduated almost top of your class in high school, and suddenly you don't know when to use "you're" and "your." OPRAH H. WINFREY DAMNIT!

So, as it stands, I can totally see my high school friends growing apart and the only reason is religion. Religion is tearing em up. Of all the stupid-ass reasons to ruin a friendship, it seems religion is going to be the winner. I can't fathom it, I don't even want to believe it. I can totally see one friend "coming out of the closet" so-to-speak, informing everyone they are mormon. And they will be shunned as a result. Meanwhile, another person is flouting their love for Jesus every chance they get, bringing it up out of left field all the time, and making a debate of what's right and what's wrong. I don't have a problem with the first person, but the second person is begging to be cut off. I don't talk to you to discuss Christ, and who did what in the bible, I talk to you because you are my friend, I want to know what's going on in your life, not because you have insight into something I don't give two-shits about. My religion is my religion, and your religion is your religion, practice it on your own time, and leave me the hell out of it.

I'd like to entitle the following "Feeling Poopy"
Onto things of a less serious nature, as I like to do. Currently, there is this commercial running for Ex-Lax, ya know, the "if you're constipated, take this, and you won't be" stuff. And the situation they've presented is this woman in her upper 30s, low 40s, who usually gets together with her friends in the morning for breakfast, but lately she hasn't been able to due to her constipation. Now my question is, what's the problem? Okay, you're constipated, you can't go number two - you're not going to be interrupted while you're hanging out. What's the problem? Take Ex-Lax, and you can enjoy your friends again! Diarrhea seems like a much larger problem compared to Constipation. I don't get it.

Oddly Wasted Day

Originally Posted at 04:23 AM on Feb. 23, 2004

I managed to do damn near nothing today. I wore striped lounge pants the whole day - in case you didn't know, lounge pants = pajama pants. I showered at about 1:45am, post-pizza. And so my bedhead was severe, I did not do anything to remedy the situation.. which was exacerbated (nickel-word) by my four cowlicks - it's pretty scary.

The highlight of the day would have to be my learning the name (Kara, at least I think it's with a "K") of the cute girl that works at the dining hall with the unbelievable-crystal blue eyes (unreal), with dark hair (I bet dyed - meh), soft skin, and just..err.. perdy. Not to mention she comped me a brownie, smiled when she saw me for the second time, and even gave me a wave! - this is a big deal because I was poorly dressed, with bad hair, and hadn't shared a conversation with her in a few days. I look forward to our next run-in.

The other fun note of the day was my spending four hours with my roommate and friends in "Tri-Phi" (room 555, where Marshall and Wes, the friends live).. blowing up balloons, to be placed in one of the roommate's room (who was not present). When all was said and done, we had filled one room completely full of balloons, and many trash bags filled with air. My only regret is that I wasn't there to see his face when he opened the door to his room. It was a most impressive effort as well, we started with four people and 400 balloons, and piqued at seven people - three girls who breathed new life into our decreasing productivity.

Otherwise, I watched most of Major Payne, 3/4 of Happy Gilmore, 40 minutes of this week's Enterprise, and five minutes of the pre-game to the Lakers/Suns game - which I regretfully missed to blow up balloons.

In other news, the RA called some sort of emergency floor meeting while Matt and I were doing the balloon-thing, and when we got back, our side of the floor was convened and chatting sans the RA. As we walked past them someone said "You guys missed the floor meeting, assholes." To which I responded, "Wasn't the first, won't be the last." And we left them behind. (Note: Neither of us has been to a floor meeting yet this year, nor do we plan to break the streak) The floor was still a messy, and as I came out to wash up to take part in my sub, a neighbor was tidying up a bit. Apparently, Desmond/Derek (or if you insist on his real name, Davoud) decreed that everyone would clean up a little bit until it was spick-and-span. Of course, the floor was dirty at the time I learned this, and I ignored it.

At this point, I would honestly rather be written up sooner than forced to clean up after any of the miscreants that I dorm with now. Should, over the course of the next three months, ever come the knock on my door of an RA asking me to clean up a mess in the hall, I will politely instruct him or her (most likely her, as history dictates) to write me up, simultaneously declining their request. I have no qualms about speaking to the Hall Director if the need arise. Old man? Yep. Maid? No. - At the same time, I do not believe the women who clean our bathroom should have to deal with the filth that these boys have wrought. Incidentally, just last week, a small repair crew was called in to fix the damage done by some of the children on this floor... I believe they took a baseball bat to a wall.. a number of times causing extensive damage that police were called in to document it prior to the reconstruction.

Rant done. Day pretty much wasted.

Tomorrow's To-Do List:
-Bank run to deposit Chanukah Check from Grandmother
-Target run to purchase Gatorade, Detergent, Stridex (not that there's an acne crisis or anything), and Orange Juice (hopefully I won't forget it when comes the time, as I have every time I've made this list for the past four days)
-Read someone's criticism of the Code of Hammurabi
-Read a handout about Bush's budget for the coming year
-Add some sentences to a Spanish composicion about "Mi Mejor Amigo/a"

Not too shabby, the real tough part is the motivation to get off campus after class/work. Which is why I've yet to deposit that check.. ha!

Topless Criticism!

Originally Posted at 04:10 PM on Feb. 22, 2004

I'm sittin' here, no shirt on, stealing my roommate's idea, just because I've been wondering. He's off at PT or Drill or something Air Force-esque. Major Payne is on USA on the tv, I'm not really watching, but I'm listening. I've been up for an hour, the sight outside my room is ghastly. There are day-old fries strewn across the floor, the further you get from my room, the worse it becomes. There's a shopping cart, a full bag of trash - as in a big black one that simply need be tied before it can be taken out to the garbage.

Among it all, is someone's snowboarding stuff. I honestly hope it gets damaged or stolen, I will neither do something to prevent the loss nor inflict it upon them. I feel that if you are careless with your belongings you simply deserve to have things happen to them. Maybe I just wish they were more responsible, but at the same time, you're supposed to be care-free at 18 aren't you? Again, we reach the conclusion that I'm an old-man at heart. Of course, I keep the hours of a college student, so there's something going for me.

Saw Return of the King last night for three bucks, it was my second time, my roomie hadn't seen it before, and we didn't have any plans for the evening, so we took in an eight o'clock showing. Hit up the rec center afterwards for a little under an hour. He ran and did a bit of lifting, I played some basketball one on none, followed by some lifting.

I came to the conclusion yesterday that I'm at my best dealing with girls I don't know when they are forced to deal with me. What that means is, I am my most charming when there is no escape and I have a captive audience. Take for instance the rec center at 12:45am - There's one girl stuck behind a counter for fifteen minutes, and there are about 12 people in the whole building. I've just changed back into my clothes and I'm still sweaty, so instead of going out and braving the 20 some odd degree cold, I will warm up a little, and get chatty. And, I'm at my best, most natural, flowing, charming, on. It works the same at the dining hall, when no one is around. Well, actually, I'm my best when I am one-on-one, except with my roommate, I am too chatty. The more people (I don't know) you add to the equation, the quieter I get, unless I can take them on one at a time - or if they are acquaintences of friends (who are also present). Totally rambling now - I'm at my best with a small, captive audience.

I have slowly become farther and farther behind in my Film Studies class. The reading is dry as hell, and hard to get motivated to deal with, - worse, I have to take notes while I read it, which completely destroys the possibility of doing it in bed - where I most like to do my reading. I bought a pillow earlier this semester, and I've gotten every penniesworth of the six dollar expense.

Maybe more later.

Older Women and Tans

Originally Posted at 02:43 AM on Feb. 18, 2004

Before I begin..for Vickie:
"u had a crush on a teacher? wowzers."
-I have always, always, always liked older women (and I still do). Of course, as time goes by, the age difference has shrunk dramatically (and I am no longer, technically, jailbait). Though, as things go, age isn't so much a factor as.. well, the woman...

"and I have a fake tan, thank you very much. i have to or i'd look gothic. so there!"
-I mean no disrespect to you, and I don't mean to offend but that implies you may wear too much make-up. I'd love to see you tanless and make-up-less!! Eh? :)

On to business...
Today, I woke up relatively late. I had an exam in Anthropology at 9:30am, so I calculated a shower post-exam. Walked speedily to my exam, found a moderately uncomfortable seat, and sat down. Tests were soon passed out, and I got to work. Whizzed through it, and was about the fifth person done. I made it back to my room by 10, at which time I took a shower. Got all gussied up, some clothes I have make me feel just.. well, downright sexy (that's not girly, that's healthy body image - everyone needs to feel sexy sometime!.. and I had the spare time). Yada Yada Yada. Got to work, my replacement arrived, and we conferred over the Anthropology test (we're in the class together), and we only found a few discrepancies between our tests - I'm pretty sure we both got A's if not high B's. Hippety, hoppety, doppety doo. I kind of, accidentally, sort of, helped Mari sprain her ankle on Saturday, so she wasn't really in proper shape to get her tomato on this evening, and I had to fly solo. But I had about two hours to kill between finding out and having to go. So I called my sister, and we talked... and talked... and talked.

We talked for over 100 minutes! A modern record. I caught her up to speed on classes I'm taking, my social life, my Salsa dancing (she thought that was pretty funny), we clarified what my mother had managed to mis-transmit onward. Allow me to give an example. Here at Boulder, we have something called the International Film Series, it's exactly what it sounds like. I told my mother that tomorrow night was Fight Club, with Brad Pitt and Ed Norton. After a brief moment of silence, she asked me, and I'm not kidding here, "Are you a member?" Needless to say I was dumbfounded. Fight Club was a pretty big movie, Brad Pitt and Ed Norton are known for their acting.. and the icing on the cake is, it is part of the International Film Series. Despite all the clues, she still missed it. Argh! - My sis and I talked about being a Film Major, and she gave me a few pointers, because she .. actually graduated with a Film degree, after all. And she almost insisted that I get a Business degree along with my Film degree. Period, hands down, a must. It's not a big alteration of plans or anything, currently I'm four classes away from acquiring a Business minor, the only difference is .. well actually a bunch of classes, and an intra-university transfer, no big deal. I think I still will be here for four or five more semesters. And so that is the task at hand, along with finding Off-Campus Housing for Matt and myself to go take a look at for Monday. What an exciting time to be alive!

Salsa Dancing was awesome tonight, we had only half the normal group show up. And the girls outnumbered the guys by about three. It was a much more personal gathering. I managed to learn names of all the females, and they mine (well, both anyway.. I'll give you a hint, one is Scully). I, like normal, had a wonderful time, and even have a few mini-crushes.. but that is to be expected, I crush non-stop. Moving along, afterward I lifted weights, ended up losing two pounds, and getting a good exercise in. Went upstairs to stretch and after I finished, I was about to walk downstairs when a guy in hockey skates called me over, and asked me to do him a big favor. I was like ... what is it? And he proceeded to tell me that he thought he had broken his shoulder, and needed help untying, and taking off his skates. So, I nervously and rapidly attempted to remove his skates.. unfortunately, it was by no means quick, he got out of them, and ran off. I went my way, and ever so slowly walked home. Until I came here, got caught up on all that is going on with all of you, and posted this.

Another note on tans. I think they're unhealthy, and I fear skin cancer is going to be a massive problem in the not too distant future. Besides the way I understand it, tans are simply dead skin cells.. and who wants that? Fake-tans which give you a "healthy" orange glow are .. odd, not sexy. To my knowledge, orange is not a naturally occurring skin color. And for that matter, I recall reading an article in Self (Mari's, not mine, thanks) about these people who are like tan-a-holics, and they go to the tanning salon four plus times a week thinking it's fine and dandy for them, because its a different kind of UV ray, but.. it's not, and they find out the hard way. Not that it matters, because the people are addicted to tanning, "beauty" at any cost in this day and age, don'tcha know?

In summation, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, these are mostly my opinions.. and Vickie, I apologize if you took offense, that was by no means the intent of my response.

Huggles to the lot of you.

I give up!

Originally Posted at 03:14 AM on Feb. 17, 2004

Gav has unleashed a monster. I wasn't going to do it, but here I am, 12:02 in the morning, quite bored, not ready for bed, and I just actually read it, so I've decided now is the time to fill out the survey!

Name as on birth certificate: ...Scully...
Nicknames: Scully
Number of candles on your last birthday cake: Well, the last time I had a birthday cake, I honestly don't recall, but I am 19 as of this past...
The date you usually blow them out: May 4th
Birthplace: Tarzana, California
Social Security #: "Not gonna do it!" - Dana Carvey
Where do you live?: In Boulder, CO where I attend college.
Hometown: Err, I am from Las Vegas, but I consider Boulder my home for the time being.
What school do you attend: University of Colorado at Boulder
Siblings (and ages): Jessica (27)
Pets: 1 dog - Thunder
Sign of Zodiac: Taurus (stubborn as hell)
Righty, lefty or ambidexterousy?: Righty.
Marital Status: Super Single.

******MY LOOKS******
Hair: Short, brown with auburn highlights depending on the light
Skin colour: Ultra pale, and proud of it.
Eye colour: Depends on my shirt, honestly.. Without one, they are a beautiful green... I like to wear green shirts to give even more attention to them
Height: 5'11.5" or 6'0" depending if you're a pain in the ass or not.
Shoesize: 12.5 - 13.0
Contacts/glasses?: Contacts during the day, Glasses at night
Piercings (if any?): No way Jose!
...and where would you like one?: No. No. No.
Any tattoos?: No thank you.
...and where'd you like to get one?: Nope!
Do you wear rings?: No.
Do you follow any certain fashion?: The fashion of Scully... jeans and whatever t-shirt is clean enough to be worn.

******RIGHT NOW!******
Listening to: Something my roomie has on that I'm not familiar with, if I had the choice, I'd probably be listening to Furious Angel by Rob Dougan (from Matrix Reloaded, I discovered it on my hard drive the other day, and it has really grown on me).
Eating (or last thing you ate): 3/4 of a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie (mmmmmm)
Drinking (or last thing you drank): Water
Thinking about: Answering this survey, and how long it will take me when I get to the end
What are you wearing above the waist?: Fancy that, a green shirt.
How about below? (visible, that is!): Pajama pants! It is almost bed-time!
Pick a letter, any letter.: S.
How are you?: I'm doin' alright, "How you doin'?"
Underwear?: Boxers.
How's the weather?: Below freezing, and just all around bloody cold out.
Last person you talked to on the phone?: I couldn't tell you, it was while I was at work, but otherwise, it would've been my mother.
What time is it NOW?: 12:09am.

******IN THE LAST 24 HOURS******
Cried: Nope.
Worn a skirt: Not so much.
Met someone new: Kind of.
Cleaned your room: Nope.
Done laundry: No, did a wash on Sunday though.
Drove a car: Not for two months now.

******MORE ABOUT ME******
Last four digits of phone number(s): Not that it matters, 4958 (it's not exactly hard to track me down).
If you were a crayon, what colour would you like to be?: Vivid Tangerine.
Have you ever almost died?: Not that I can recall.
Self-Inflicted?: No.
How do you eat an Oreo: I've grown out of eating Oreos, sad I know, I usually just give them to my friend Bob.
What makes you happy?: Good friends, Good movies, Good meals, Good times.
What's the next CD you are going to buy?: I own two CDs (for all my 19 years on the planet), so your guess is as good as mine.
What religion/denomination are you?: I am a barely-practicing Jew.
What's the best advice ever given to you?: I'll get back to you on that.
Have you ever won any special awards?: I was the "Man of the Hour" aka the "Most Outstanding Member" of National Honor Society Senior year of High School - pretty proud of that, because I basically coordinated the final event of the year (which was a massive undertaking the way the advisor saw it)
What are your future goals?: World domination. (Good one Daria!) - Fame, fortune, and a beautiful (both internally and externally) wife with whom I wish to share the rest of my life.
Do you like to dance?: Uhm... not so much, although I have had a good time Salsa Dancing on Tuesdays this semester.
What's the worst sickness you ever had?: My throat started closing one time, I guess that was pretty bad...
What's the stupidest thing you've ever done?: Ya know, I'm not sure.
What's your favorite memory?: Oooh, the time I got bribed to get a hit in baseball, that was cool.. I'm pretty proud of the first time I met my good buddy Erin... and the first time I met Bob... damn, too many to have just one.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?: While I wouldn't mind some cool superpowers myself, I would reduce my irritability factor by about 3,000.
Where do you shop the most?: Target.. (not for clothes though)
How many kids do you want to have?: At least 2.
Son's name?: Must be discussed with my (to-be) better half.
Daughter's name?: Must be discussed with my (to-be) better half, though I am pretty fond of the name Michelle (regardless).
Do you do drugs?: Not the illegal kind, but I do make use of prescription and over-the-counter when they are necessary.
Do you drink?: Alcohol? - On ultra rare occasion.
What kind of shampoo and conditioner do you use?: Finesse Plus, Shampoo and Conditioner in One
What sport do you hate the most?: Any sort of Car Racing.. if you call it a sport.
What are you most scared of?: Extreme failure. (Good call Daria) - Under which I would file dying (old and) alone.
How many TV's do you have in your house?: At my parent's house, something like 6.. though only three ever get watched.
Do you have your own?: At home, yes. At school, yes.
Phone line?: Yes, shared with my roomie. I also have a cell phone which rarely sees use.
Do you sleep with stuffed animals?: No, the only stuffed animal I own in this state is Quagmire T.(ing) Quack, and he's out of my possession currently.
Have you ever broken/sprained/fractered a bone: Yes, my left wrist.
What do you dream about: Success, Happiness, and the.. well, girl of my dreams.
Who do you tell your dreams to?: It varies on the dreams topic.

******FAVOURITES!******
Colo(u)r: Green, like my eyes!
Food: Italian and Mexican, without a doubt.
Fast Food: Taco Bell (I heart Mexican Pizzas).
Candy: Symphony, Creamy Milk Chocolate
Beverage: Dr Pepper, ... heh.
Ice Cream Flavo(u)r: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Half-Baked, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Sport To Watch?: Basketball.
Sport To Play: Racquetball.
Radio Station: Mix94.1 in Vegas
Songs: Furious Angel, Clubbed to Death (Kuriyomo Remix)
Band: Yeah...
Number: 32
Actor: Tom Welling, I like Smallville.
Actress: The double, double-K threat. Kristin Kreuk and Keira Knightley.
Day of the year: Thanksgiving.
Month: July
TV Show: The Simpsons. Smallville. Family Guy. Justice League!
Store: No preference.
Scent: Freshly baked cookies, and girls.
Teacher: MRV (Pre-Calc, Senior Year of High School)
Board Game: Trivial Pursuit, maybe... Monopoly
Saying: Mostly, I try and mix it up whenever I catch myself overusing a phrase, mostly.
Top 3 movies: Pirates of the Carribean, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Toy Story/Finding Nemo
Top 3 books: Sum of All Fears, Debt of Honor, Executive Decision.. read em in that order. Goodness!
Top 3 albums: Ha.
Singer (band OR solo): Composer - Don Davis
Magazine: Cosmo, I love learning how to please my man!
Chick drink: Dunno.
Website at the Moment: The Nerd Box!
Historical Personage: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa
TV station: Cartoon Network.

******DO YOU BELIEVE IN...******
Yourself: Most of the time.
Your friends: Whether they like it or not.
God?: Yeah.
Satan?: Not so much.
Heaven?: Absolutely.
Hell?: For some people.
Santa Claus: No, Hannukah Harry all the way baby!!
Tooth fairy: Nope.
Destiny/Fate: Sometimes.
Angels: Every now and then.
Ghosts: Oh man, I heart Ghostbusters back in the day. I was so cute, at like 5 I went as a Ghostbuster for Halloween, I was a-dor-able. But, not so much.
UFO's?: Absolutely, if I can't identify it, its a UFO. Aliens? That's a whole nother thing altogether.

******HAVE YOU EVER...******
Loved someone soo much it makes you cry?: No.
Drank?: Yep.
Ever gotten dumped?: Nope.
Broken the law?: Speeding, but who doesn't?
Ran from the cops?: No.
Stole something?: Not so much.
Tried to kill yourself?: No.
Made yourself throw up?: Yeah, I was so sick, it was inevitable, I was just speeding up the process. Boy was it gross.
Been in love?: Not as of yet.
Made yourself cry to get out of trouble?: Yeah.
Ever been so drunk you blacked out?: No.
Set a body part on fire for amusement?: No.
Kept a secret from everyone?: Bigtime.
Wanted to "hook up" with a friend, boy or girl?: Hell yeah.
Cried during a movie?: Absolutely. (A few in fact...)
Had a crush on a teacher?: Yep.
Ever thought an animated character was hot?: Yeah.
Had a "New Kids on The Block" tape?: No, but my sister totally did!
Been on a stage?: Yeah.
Cut your own hair?: No.
Been sarcastic?: Me? Nooooooooo, never!

******MORE MUSIC******
Is music important to you: For background, yes.
Do you sing?: No, and the population of the world collectively thanks me for it. - Good call Daria.
Do you play an instrument?: No.
Fave type of music?: Good.
Who's the band/singer you love who nobody else does or seems to have heard about?: I'm pretty behind on the music scene, but I heart Michelle Branch, and have since the second time I heard "Everywhere."

******ILLS AND SKILLS******
Do you bite your nails?: No.
Can you roll your tongue?: Yes.
Can you raise one eyebrow at a time?: I'm attempting to train myself to, but currently; almost.
Can you blow smoke rings?: Never tried.
Can you blow spit bubbles?: Yes.
Can you cross your eyes: Yes.
Have you ever coloured you hair?: No, I believe in au naturale.
Do you make your bed daily?: You're funny. - No.
What goes on first, bra/socks or underwear?: At school, socks (the floor is .. not safe) - At home, underwear.
Which shoe goes on first: The left.
Speaking of shoes, have you thrown one at someone: I can't recall at the moment, but I'm certain I have.
How much money is usually in your wallet?: At the moment, more than normal.
What jewellery do you wear 24/7?: I wear no jewellery 24/7.
What's sexiest on a girl/guy: A smile. Beautiful hair. The right curves. Her eyes. Also, for some reason I like frumpy clothing, I can't explain it.
Would you rather be on time and look ok or late and look great: Punctual is actually my middle name...
Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it: Twirl, and bite off more than I can chew!
How many cereals are in your cabinet: One, Peanut Butter Crunch.
What utensils do you use eating pizza: My hands.
Do/Can you cook?: I like to think so.

******YOUR LIFE & FRIENDS******
Do you have a best friend?: Yes.
Who are they: Erin, Matt, Mikey, Mari, Bob, the list goes on...
What do you like about them?: They aren't me. They listen, but don't take things too seriously. They appreciate me for who I am.
Who have you known the longest: Mikey - since the first day of fourth grade.
Who is the shyest?: Matt or Mari.
Who's the weirdest?: ..Me..
Who's the most modest?: Matt or Mari.
Who's the loudest?: Me or Bob, without a doubt.
Who's the silliest?: Me or Erin.. but probably Me.
Best feeling?: Getting to know someone knew, talking to them in private until ungodly hours of the morning.
When did you cry the most?: I'm not sure, I used to cry a lot.
Worst feeling?: Sliding on ice, out of control, not knowing when you're going to stop. - Generally being out of control.
Who will respond to this e-mail the fastest?: What e-mail?
Who did you send this to who won't respond?: I'm supposed to send it to someone?
Who sent this to you?: I stole it from Daria, who stole it from Gav.
Do you want all your friends to do this and send it back to you?: Probably not, but I would like to see what Matt (my roommate) has to say.

******WHEN WAS THE LAST TiME YOU...******
Had sex: Like a virgin...
Were kissed or kissed someone: Wow.. If it is February of 2004, then it would have to be... early September of 2003.
Watched bambi: Hell if I know.
Talked on the phone: For work - Today. For pleasure - At least two days ago.
Read a book: For class, an hour ago. For pleasure, early January.
Punched someone: I don't recall the last time, but I'd bet it was Bob that I punched.

******I LIKE MY GIRLS...******
Black Bra or Red Bra?: ? Whichever she prefers... No bra?
Curly or straight hair?: Whichever suits the person's face. (Agree with Gav)
Tall or short?: Between 5'1.5" and 5'10" preferrably.
Fit or Ripped?: Fit, ripped scares me.
Belly-button pierced or not?: I would prefer not, but its not a make or break thing.
Tan or no tan: No tan, or natural tan (like, latina). I don't really want my girl to be orange.. Orange is not a sexy, or natural skin color.
Dimples or not?: Either way.
Legs Shaven or Arms and Legs: Hairless.
Sweety or sporty: A healthy mix.
Modestly dressed or Not-so Modestly dressed: Modest enough.
Accent or not: As long as we can communicate..
Short or long hair: Longer than short.
Smart or dumb: Smart.
What sport would you like her to play?: Soccer, Volleyball or Basketball.
Dependent or independent?: Independent, but family oriented.. if there is such a thing.
Any and all turn-ons: Natural, Modest Beauty, Smart, Caring, Smile, Natural, Witty, Sense of Humor
Any and all turn-offs: Smoking, Drinking, Drugs, Blatantly fake hair color, too much make-up, not enough clothing, loud gum chewer, annoying voice...

******ME AND LOVE******
Do you believe in Love?: Yes.
Do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?: Ha. Not since May-June of 2003.
Do you have a crush?: Thrice per day of the week, thank you.
Do you like a friend?: Always.
Do you believe in Love at first sight?: No. Lust at first sight? Oh baby!
Where would you like to go on your honeymoon?: Wherever she would like to go. Hawaii is nice this time of year..
What song do you want played at your wedding?: Our song? . .
What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?: Face, always the face. Unless I'm behind her, then it's definitely her assets.
Longest crush: Hmm, three years, whether it be Mysti or Amanda (didn't know about Amanda did you!? - Amanda who?, THAT"S RIGHT!!).
Are you shy too ask someone out?: Ironically, for the massive extrovery I am around girls, that is the hardest thing to do, and I don't think I've ever done it.
Who do you want to spend the rest of your life with?: When I find her, I'll let you know.
Do you find yourself attractive?: When I wake up the morning after I don't have ice cream, yes.
Do you find yourself ugly?: Ice cream nights, mean ugly mornings. - Not that I care.

******GROOMING etc.******
How often do you brush your teeth?: At least twice a day.
How often do you shower/bathe?: Almost always at least once a day (depending on exhaustion and time) whether in the morning or at night.
How long do these showers/baths last?: Well, the entire process from room and back takes upwards of 20 minutes, if I'm really moving slow.
Hair drying method: Towels and air. Only.
Do you paint your nails?: Not in years. (Roofles)
Do you swear?: Too often, I'm trying to work on that.
Do you mumble to yourself?: Every now and then, I try to keep it to myself though... after all, why do people want to eavesdrop on a conversation I'm having with myself.
Do you spit in public?: If I need to.
Do you pee in the shower?: No.
Person you talk most on the phone with: Mari.
What colour is your bedroom?: Dorm white.
Do you use an alarm clock?: Yes, a radio alarm clock.
Name one thing or person you're obsessed with?: Girls. Girls. Girls.
Have you ever skinny dipped with the opposite sex?: Nope.
Ever sunbathed in the nude?: Nope. I don't much like sunbathing.
Window seat or aisle: Whichever has the most leg room. I am pretty partial to seat 13F. (Emergency Exit row Window seat)
What's your sleeping position?: If I'm a sleep, that's the one!
What kind of bed do you like?: One fit for two!
In hot weather do you use a blanket?: Whatever lets me sleep.
Do you snore?: Never.
Do you sleepwalk?: Never.
Do you talk in your sleep?: I hadn't for years, but apparently, I did just two nights ago. I have also been caught laughing hysterically while asleep.
Sleep with the light on?: If it's on and I fall asleep, yes. Otherwise, no.
Do you fall asleep with the TV or radio on?: Sometimes.

******MISCELLANEOUS, etc...******
Croutons or Bacon Bits?: Neither, thank you.
Salad Dressing?: Ranch or Applebee's Caesar.
Do you drink?: Mostly no.
Do you smoke?: No, I despise it.
How many times have you been pulled over by the police: Once, but I wasn't driving - there was a blog about it a few weeks back.
Do you make fun of people: When they have it coming, absolutely.
Have you ever been convicted of a crime: No.
Most recent humiliating moment: I seem to have repressed it, sorry!
If you had to choose a Spice Girl name, what would it be?: If I had to choose a spice girl, it would be Posh...
Do you type with your fingers on the right keys?: At blazing speeds too!
What's on your mousepad?: Heart optical mouses ... everything that is on my desk is on my mousepad.
Favorite thing to do on weekends?: Sleep in. Watch movies. Hang with friends. Get a good meal.
What's under your bed?: Stuff that belongs to my roommate.
First thing you do when you wake up in the morning?: Figure out what time it is, and see how much longer I can stay in bed without being late.
How many rings before you answer the phone?: As many as it takes.
Do you get motion sickness?: Not of which I'm aware.
Adidas, Nike or Reebok?: Nike.
Would you ever ask a guy for the shirt off his back?: Not so much.
If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be?: Supreme Ruler of the World - Or maybe something to do with Film, where I make the rules.. that'd be pretty cool.
I collect: Do memories count?
Do you eat the stems of broccoli?: Yes, but not too high, that's just gross. . .
Hobbies: Friends, Movies, Fun times!
Dream Car: A good lookin', efficient, Hybrid of some sort.
Words or phrases you overuse: When I've noticed I overuse them, I cut back.
Ultimate Travel Destination: I've not given it much thought.
How do you characterize yourself (a hopeless romantic or non-romantic): Totally, and utterly hopeless romantic, without a doubt.
Do you get along with your parents: Not recently.
Habit you'd like to break: Being the most irritable (mostly sane) person in this city. Or mabye cussing too much.
What's your bedtime: Usually 1am.
Is cheerleading a sport?: No. Please, are you kiddin'?
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsy Pop?: I don't know, but I can tell you how many licks it takes to get the center of a Rhode Island State Prison.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?: The egg, a mutation messed things up (or made things better, depending how you look at it), and that's how we got our chicken.

****************that's the end of****************
**************The ULTIMATE SURVEY!***************

Is there anything else you'd like to add/say?:
Have a schbedoinkle day! - And - That wasn't so bad.
Old school: There is no spoon.
What time is it NOW?: 12:54am.

Texas at Colorado

Originally Posted at 06:07 PM on Feb. 15, 2004

Wow, what an exciting game! There were nearly 3 times as many people as normal, and it was a great game. Very low scoring, because the defense of both teams totally showed up to play. On paper, Texas beat the crap out of Colorado, but it was a much closer game than it should've been for what the stats say.

Field Goals
Texas made 15 of 58 shots, 25.9% shooting.
Colorado made 14 of 44 shots, 31.8% shooting.
-- Texas took FOURTEEN more shots, and only made one more.

Rebounds
Texas had 17 offensive rebounds, and 41 total.
Colorado had 7 offensive rebounds, and 36 total.
-- Texas had TEN more offensive rebounds. No wonder they had FOURTEEN more shots.

Free Throws
Texas was 20 of 28 from the line, 71.4% shooting.
Colorado was 13 of 16 from the line, 81.3% shooting.
-- Texas had SEVEN more points from the line than CU, while missing 5 more.

Turnovers
Texas had 11 turnovers.
Colorado had 18 turnovers.
-- Colorado turned the ball over SEVEN times more than Texas.

Steals
Texas made 11 steals.
Colorado made 3 steals.
-- Nearly all of the steals by Texas came from bad passes (by CU). Big disparity here as well.

Final Score
#1/2 Texas 51
#12 Colorado 45

Despite the fewer attempts at scoring, the turnovers, and the piss poor defensive rebounding, it was a very, very exciting game. CU lead by 7 going into halftime, and Texas came out in the second with an 18-8 run. Until there were under 90 seconds left of the game, there was no larger than a four point lead for either team.

I was glad I went, and the crowd was totally into it. My voice was hoarse from yelling by halftime, but I got it back a few minutes into the second half. You Longhorns, get goin' to those games! You've got a great team, and you've only got two home games left before March Madness! If you like basketball at all, go!

I heart the Waner.

Contentedly Single

Originally Posted at 03:44 AM on Feb. 14, 2004

Well, it's that Hallmark Holiday that we all know and.. well, we know it, that's for sure. The holiday invented to deprive men of money, and to make them say "I love you" to their significant other on this otherwise normal day.

I like to call it "Singles Awareness Day" or "S.A.D." for short. That day of days where, if you are single, you are.. singularly aware of it. Because everyone around you has a bouquet or chocolates from their special someone, or ya know, they're making out in front of your building - same difference. And, that awareness is, well, kind of saddening - hence the alter-ego for the holiday.

Barring the nauseating sight of couples making out, or giggly exchanging cutesy nicknames with one another, I can say I am content in my singleness. I know that the reason I am "alone" is because I'm shallow (or picky if you want to be nice about it) - at least I have a pretty good idea of what I like.. along with what I don't. In many ways I am the real life embodiment of Chandler (from Friends), as Erin can attest to. I have that sarcastic wit, and you know.. the "pickiness."

All that considered, tomorrow I plan to eat chocolate, order/eat some Chinese food, eat Ben & Jerry's (like usual), and go to the women's basketball game (exciting!!) - Maybe the rec center too, if I don't feel too shitty from all the poor eating.

Have a happy Erin's birthday, because Valentine's Day is a scam! You should tell the people you love that you love them every chance you get, not because a greeting card corporation tells you to. Give your significant other chocolates, flowers, and gifts because you want to show them you appreciate them - not because it is February 14th. Besides, all of that stuff costs more around this time of year, what sort of crap is that? They've created artificial demand, increased the supply, and raised the prices as a result, I'm against it! - Besides, think how much nicer things would be in a world where this stuff happened year round at un-hyper-inflated prices - because we want to!

Happy Erin's Birthday everyone. Hope yours is happy, and you share it with whomever you wish.

What's That Light?

Originally Posted at 11:32 PM on Feb. 12, 2004

I woke up this morning, my room was bright, and I thought to myself, hot damn, it's time to get up already? I moved my left leg toward the edge of the bed to slide out and find the corresponding flip-flop. But then I pondered the source of the light, and opted to toss on my glasses and check the time. It was 5:11, and the light was from my roommate reading.. and falling asleep at some point. Poor guy has had hell this week from exams and papers.. two exams today, and two papers in the past two days. I, myself, don't have midterms until next week. Between Tuesday and Thursday, I have 3 papers and 2 exams - and I absolutely can not get motivated to write any of the papers.. the exams are going to be a breeze. One paper is due per day, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And two of the three are potentially interesting, but the third is basically a description of film for five long pages. I'll probably rent the movie to make it interesting, so I can watch the whole thing instead of just a 2 minute snippet. Getting the context (which for the purpose of the paper is irrelevant) but hey, I've never seen Psycho. Yay for tangents.

When I woke up at the ungodly hour, I felt off. Posture, alignment, whatever you call it, something wasn't right. I rolled over and went back to sleep. 8:00 sharp, I awaken to blaring alarm clock sound (music, talking, I'm not sure, but it sure was loud). And, I've had a headache since.

Singles Awareness Day (what some like to call "Valentine's Day")is but 26 hours away, and I'm excited, not because I have someone to share an intimate day with.. obviously why I referred to it as S.A.D., but because I get to sleep in, and go to an exciting basketball game as my #12 ranked Colorado Buffaloes (18-3) take on the #1 (AP), #2 (Coach's poll) ranked Texas Longhorns (22-2) (which, if I'm not mistaken is where a number of the Box is being edumacated). I can't wait to see Tera Bjorklund, Maria Billingsley, Randy Wirt, Veronica Johns-Richardson, Kate Fagan, Emily Waner (my favorite) take the floor against the Lockhorns Saturday night. Regardless of the outcome, it should be entertaining. Go Lady Buffs! - Is that a commentary on the state of the rest of the school's athletic teams? Men's Football (controversy-ridden and not very good to boot, dear lord!) and Men's Basketball (they're lucky to be invited to the beginning of the Madness that is March). But the Women's Basketball team.. I like it, they're competitive and they're good. Definitely worth the cost of the tickets.. even if it is free (beats the piss out of paying to watch the Men lose). And the itty, bitty masogenist in me is yelling at the top of his little lungs, from deep in my gut, "They're cute too!"

Th-Th-That's all... for now... folks!

A Few Quotes

Originally Posted at 02:07 AM on Feb. 11, 2004

"He awokened a sleeping giant. I know that's not a word" - Shaq

"Jesus was no sissy. If he played football, you'd be slow getting up after he tackled you." - Rev Jerry Falwell to Kurt Warner

"At least hypocrites know what's right, even if they can't execute." - Robert Lipsyte

"Wow this weekend has been crazy, I went to a party friday and drank so much that I probly should have died. Then yesterday my roommate and I went up to Breck and boarded." - Taken from the blog of the genius we call Brad (he's from Kansas City, not Midland)

And on a more personal note, in the course of the decision to become a Film major, I turned and inquired to my roommate.
"Can you see me as a Film major?"
He looked at me for a second, then scoffed, "No."
So, naturally I asked, "What do you see me doing?"
He gave me another once over (if someone gives you two once overs... does that mean they gave you a twice over? Oh no, I've gone cross-eyed" - I digress), and came to his conclusion, "Bounty Hunter."

I'll just leave it at that.

Reminiscent

Originally Posted at 02:06 AM on Feb. 10, 2004

I informed Erin about this site tonight, as well as an old blog (on blogger no less) that I had kept prior to my arrival here. Currently she is scouring them, laughing.

I asked her if she could see me as a Film major, something I've been contemplating for the last ~11 hours. And her response, and I'm copying and pasting it here folks was:

Scully: "Can you see me as a Film major?"
Erin: "Yep...big fat hell yeah."
Scully: "Why?"
Erin: "You know a lot about it...it offers freedom, wit, and clear thinking..not to mention people skills and the ability to work under pressure...all things you need and have."

I feel the need to point that as I write this the Stones' "What I like about you" is playing.

Coming from one of the people who know the part of me that few people in this world have had the... experience of experiencing (what else can you call it, sometimes it is a pleasure, other times its a pain). Her opinion carries a massive amount of weight with me, and upon a little more reflection, I may be taking strides toward the end of becoming a Film major - something I have been encouraged to look at by a number of people, including two today - and something that in one form or another has been on the back of my mind for a number of months.

I spent over an hour looking at how long it would take me to graduate, what classes I would be taking, and what the load would look like - something I haven't seriously done for any other major. It will take me four semesters, and the question is economics, if I can afford to be in school for that long. I haven't said a word to my family just yet, and I look forward to telling my sister (oy). Not only did I steal her second choice for college, now I'm stealing her major. She was Theater Arts/Film - or some such combination. Oh well, given my sister's success in the film industry, I couldn't possibly do worse and besides I'm not looking to direct, at least that's not my future focus. And as a selling point, with all the jews in show-biz, I'm bound to find a jewish wife.. wouldn't that thrill my parents.

Needless to say, after talking with Erin, my evening has perked up, and while the day and evening were bad, the night was pretty good.

As usual, she had the right thing to say, at the right time.

Bad Day

Originally Posted at 09:03 PM on Feb. 09, 2004

It's official, the first bad day of this year was today, February 9th. It started off on such a great foot, but after having a mishap at the dining hall, and feeling absolutely uncomfortable in public, I'm calling it a bad day. It's sad really, but it happens every now and then. Hopefully I will be able to console myself with Ben and Jerry, and be able to keep myself couped up in my room for the duration of the evening. I have higher hopes for tomorrow, and on a good night's sleep, I aspire to fulfill them.

Of course, now I'm looking back fondly on the great day I had earlier this year, and thinking this is one of those things that makes a day like that so great. Without the bad, you can't recognize the good, and while I do appreciate it, I don't very much care for it at the moment. - In English this time: (your choice) That's life / Such is life / (or the classic) C'est la vie.

Change Itself is Unchanging

Originally Posted at 06:17 PM on Feb. 09, 2004

It is truly amazing how constant change is, and how something can go completely unnoticed until one day, you look in the mirror and you notice something different. Astounding, yet true.

Though, that being said, I'm still the grumpy-ass irritable old fogey that I've always been.

Wasted Friday

Originally Posted at 04:12 AM on Feb. 07, 2004

My Friday almost went down without anything worthwhile being done. I worked, went to classes, got back to my room, and ended up chatting online/surfing for a few hours, grabbed dinner, watched some South Park (3 hours worth) and decided I was going to go to the rec center at 11pm.

I weighed in at 178 pounds, a record high - I'm not trying to gain weight, but I did eat a lot over the hours leading up to my going. Leaving, I weighed in at 171 pounds... biggest drop ev-er, I think the scale might have been off. I got Ross to go with me, and we played basketball for 90 minutes - I won 16-8, with above average shooting inside the arc, and a little below average shooting from outside. Ross got dominated, and all his points came on threes from the top of the key... of course it took him a ton of shots to get those points, but still. (In one-on-one, outside the arc is worth two, and inside the arc is worth one) -- Followed up by a little shootaround, and my lifting some weights before we headed back to our respective rooms. I think I'll feel it tomorrow.

My friend told me about some new friends he made - they're names both began with "Elder" and went in depth enough to make me ask if he had joined the Mormon faith. He answered yes, and I am confused. Two of my completely unreligious friends (while in high school) have "found religion" in the past twelve months, and one is completely different now, all she talks about is Christ, and the church has become the main focal point of her life. It's hard to have a conversation with her about anything else. This guy has never really been religious, and he used to often make wisecracks about Mormons (jokingly), so this is completely unexpected.

I don't know how to feel about it. I'm not against organized religion per se, I file myself as an ethnic Jew. The only thing I do is go to Hillel (a Jewish group on campus) to be amongst my people for Shabbat dinner (not even the service leading up to it). I don't participate in the prayers (I don't know them), I don't know the backstory to a number of the holidays, I don't know Hebrew, and I can't answer questions about things, (eg why we keep kosher, in fact, I don't). I identify with my people, but I am by no means active in the religion. I am very attentive whenever I heard the word "Jew," and I am very testy when it comes to World War II stuff - moreso than I used to be. I blame that on the ignorance of youth - people damn well better know what is not fair game by now - and if they don't, I have no qualms about making it clear in English they won't have a problem understanding.

As far as these friends go, if ever we fall out of contact, it may be a result of religion. I don't care what religion you are, but I will not have all the time I spend with you dedicated to you telling me how great your newfound religion is, or how I should really come to your church to learn more. I have yet to further explore the customs of my own faith, what makes you think for a half second I give a shit about the intricacies of yours? (especially when I'm not asking). I am glad you feel you are bettering yourself and you want to share it with me, but I approach religion with an utterly sarcastic attitude that is very counterproductive to the discussion. If we end up talking about it, we probably won't end the conversation as friends. I've learned this through my years, I don't have a problem with it, and I am rapidly approaching that conclusion with political views as well.

Your views are your own and I respect them, if I want to know more, I will ask. Thank you for the invitation to share your faith, I politely decline, I am happy with my own, and feel no need to explore other "options." Please keep your religion to yourself, I will do the same, and I promise our friendship won't fall due to religion.

I'm gonna step off my soap box, and save it for later use. Thanks.

A Week of Culture

Originally Posted at 10:54 PM on Feb. 05, 2004

So to speak.

Monday, I had the dirty pleasure of seeing a movie entitled "Alferd Packer: The Musical" which, is a movie from the creators of South Park before they did basically anything. Trey Parker wrote, directed and acted in this hilarious movie. With music as memorable as "Kyle's Mom's a Bitch" and "Drugs are Bad M'Kay" - You'll be singing about "Schpidoinkle Days" and "Let's Build a Snowman." At one point, I was crying from laughing so hard - if you appreciate South Park's humor, and get the chance to see this flick, go! You won't regret it.

Tuesday, I got my tomato on. I'm taking a Salsa Dancing class at the rec. It's a lot of fun, and a not too shabby way to meet cute girls while learning a skill that one day may be useful. In any event, I look forward to it every week, it's a ton of fun.

Yesterday afteroon, in my Film Studies class, we were subjected to a movie entitled "The Russian Ark." A movie that is most noted for it's cuts, or lack thereof. The movie is one 90-minute long take that wanders through the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Unfortunately, the novelty of the continuous shot wore off within 20 minutes, and I was out like a like for a good quarter of the movie. I appreciate the cinematography, I didn't mind the subtitles, but it just didn't make for a very good movie. I had done a little research on the movie on IMDB.com prior to going to class, and it did feel almost like an infomercial for the Hermitage as one person had posted. I got to see some cool art and sculpture, and if ever I go to Russia, I will try and visit - I guess it worked in that respect, but as a movie, dreadfully boring. At one point, I took a look around the room, and most people looked on the verge of sleep, or out cold. C'est la vie.

Last night, Spike Lee was on campus. Unfortunately, the tickets sold out in three days flat, and I didn't even know about the event until after they'd been sold out so I figured I was s.o.l. but the fates intervened. My friend/coworker Dani (female) happened to be on the Cultural Events Board - the people who got Mr. Lee to come, and she had an extra ticket. Needless to say, she was most generous and hooked me up. And when I say hooked me up, she hooked me up. Can you say Opera Box?! That's right, I could see the whole stage with no one obstructing my view, there were 6 other people in my entire section, and if I wanted, I could've hocked a loogie over the side onto the peons down below. Freakin' awesome seats!! - Previously, the only way I knew Spike Lee was from the heartbreak he wore on his face when Reggie Miller would take over against his Knicks and slowly knock them out of the playoffs. But, last night I got to see the man. He was funny, and had intelligent things to say. I've never seen any of his movies, but I plan to now.



He spoke about NCAA eligibility expressing the view that the kids bringing in the money via sports should get to at least receive some of it - something I don't disagree with. He joked about being near Eagle, Colorado - when he recounted ordering room service earlier in the day (it's two hours away). He spoke briefly on affirmative action, and his movie making. Spike told us to find what we loved and make it work for us - a recurring theme from guest speakers, something I like to hear. And a few other things came up when the Q&A session took place. I was very glad I went, and as soon as I got back, I sent Dani an email thanking her numerous times for hookin' me up.

March 29th, Desmond Tutu is coming to campus, and depending on the price of tickets, I will either be seeing him, or The Hebrew Hammer, either way, it'll be a culturally enlightening evening.

Cool beans.

Skiing

Originally Posted at 09:20 PM on Feb. 01, 2004

So, yesterday (Saturday) it snowed a better part of the day, and into the evening, a good dusting covering the city in almost 2 inches of the white stuff. My friend Mari and I had planned to hang out, have dinner and watch the movie "Chocolat." She came by to pick me up a little after 6pm, but upon attempting to leave the parking lot it was very clear we were not going to have a safe trip to her place. She didn't have snow, nor all-weather tires, and absolutely no experience driving in snow. We pull back into the parking lot, and park to feel out our options. We opted to confer with my roommate, a native Coloradan, Matt. We slowly came to the conclusion that Mari would have to leave her car on campus overnight, but the question was where. The lot that currently had Welch's (Mari's car, it's a purple color) was metered parking, seven days a week from 7:30am-5:30pm (10 hours a day) at $1.25 an hour. We explored other options.

Across the street from the parking lot holding Welch's was Visitor Parking, but it was the same type of metered parking. Just beyond that was another parking lot, which we discovered was a permit parking, Monday-Friday. Bingo! Now, the issue was getting Welch's from parking lot A, through parking lot B, into parking lot C, without hitting anything. My roommate, Matt, was given the job of navigator and driving coach, Mari took the job of driving, since Welch's is a stick shift, and neither Matt nor I knew how to operate one... it's on the list of things to do though. And I, weighing in nearly 40 pounds more than either of them, was tasked as anchor. Yes, that's right, I got to hang out at the tailgate of Welch's hold on, and drag my feet to try and slow us. So, if you would please imagine, a pickup truck driving through snow with a six foot guy hanging on the back, basically dragging his feet along the ground, skiing behind the car. We safely managed to get into lot C, and come to a stop relatively straight in a parking spot. Quite an ordeal, but a successful execution of a plan. It's always good to have success.

Mari and I grabbed our stuff, and went off to catch the bus. Matt went back to chillin' out, playing his guitar and watching the History Channel. We watched Chocolat (starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Lena Olen and Johnny Depp) and Mari has added Johnny Depp to her five sexiest men in the world list. In case you were wondering, they are, in no particular order, David Beckham, Matthew McConaughey, Johnny Depp, Hugh Grant, and the last spot has yet to be filled. I slept on the couch, because I didn't particularly want to ride the bus at One am, and had no other means to get back to my dorm with, seeing as Mari lives far off campus.

Mari and I went to the rec center today, and I somehow managed to convince her to shoot around with me (basketball)- I feel the need to mention she is approximately five feet, two inches tall. We played two games of P-I-G which I won handily, but when we started shooting around we really started having fun. I managed to nail three in a row from beyond the arc, two from each corner, and one from the top of the key. And I had a string of four in a row from the top of the key that were absolutely beautiful. Before the fifth shot that broke the streak, Mari passed the ball to me quite speedily on my left side, and I stopped it with my left arm. In the course of my stopping it, I managed to do something quite painful to my elbow, something that I'd not had to deal with in six months or so. We went and lifted some weights a bit later, and I managed to re-aggrevate my elbow, again, and decided I was done with physical activity for the day.

I may have hyperextended something. It was absolutely on fire when I caught the basketball and again the second time when I was attempting to lift and inched in the wrong way. Salsa Dancing Tuesday. And I have to make a proposal for a semester-long paper tomorrow, but I haven't decided on my topic. I can't decide between an issue regarding Stem Cell Research or Genetic Engineering, one or the other... argh!

Achoo!

Originally Posted at 12:47 AM on Jan. 27, 2004

Sonuvabitch!

I am sick.

Last night, I spent 12 hours in bed, with my eyes closed. My Nyquil induced "slumber" did not see me any rest, which explains why I am so tired at the moment. Twelve hours in bed almost asleep, on a school night, astounding!

I am not feeling my normal verbose self... so, g'night.

I hope you all feel better than I do!

Victory is Mine!

Originally Posted at 04:11 PM on Jan. 25, 2004

Last night Ross and I hit up the Rec Center again. It was 11pm on a Saturday night, the place was desserted - there was probably a staff:workout ratio of 1:2, which is insanely low (they only had like 5 people on staff). And when we left it was probably even lower!

Somehow I convinced Ross to play some basketball with me. We played a game of P-I-G which lasted about 10 shots before I took the win. Then we decided to play a game one on one. Soon after we begun, it became very, very apparent that I had a massive height advantage over him. In fact, we figured it out.. I am eight inches taller than him. Something like twelve blocks later, I won 10-7. We lifted a bit, and I went from 172 to 169 while we were there. I want to know how that works.

Today, my roomie came back from home and brought with him a vaccuum. The room had gotten unbelievably dirty, to the point where walking barefoot was the furthest thing from an option in walking around the room. We vaccuumed, and now it looks like a completely different room. It is just astounding the change that has been made.

Tomatoes

Originally Posted at 09:04 AM on Jan. 24, 2004

Two of them.

For the first time ever, I was in a car that got pulled over. Terribly exciting, I wasn't driving. I was in the passenger seat, holding onto two tomatoes - one in each hand. We were driving down Baseline, when we saw the cop sitting on the side of the road. We checked our speed, 35... that's the speed limit. Cool beans! We pass him, and bam his lights are flashing, and we pull over. The three of us sit in the car wondering what we'd been stopped for, also wondering where the cop was, it felt like we'd been sitting there forever. Finally, the blinding and flashing lights are obstructed by a shadow, and the officer of the law approaches. He asks how long we've been driving with our headlights off. To which we try to explain, somewhat relievedly, roughly 3 blocks. He lets us off with a warning, and asks to see Arwyn's (yes, like LotR) license to make sure everything's in order. He walks back to his car, and we start laughing.

Here, in this car, you have a normal girl, dressed normally sitting properly behind the steering wheel - driving, everything is.. well, normal. On the passenger side, you have a six foot guy (very big compared to the driver), holding two tomatoes, one in each hand. And in the back seat, you have a girl sitting quietly next to a large suitcase, in her pajamas. Pajama-girl (Mari) told a story of how she'd been pulled over on her way to a Water Quality Conference because the car had been seen performing conspicuous activities at the campus parking lot - What is that anyway, was the car assaulting fellow cars, or simply performing lascivious acts on them?!

The officer comes back, and gives Arwyn her license and a business card, wishing us a safe and good evening. Very well aware of her situation, sitting in a right-turn only lane, blocked off by a double white line, Arwyn signals to turn right, and pulls forward. A man was in the middle of the crosswalk that connected with ours through an island, and Arwyn stopped for him... mind you he wasn't in our crosswalk yet - but she stopped anyway, and waited for him to cross in front of us. We kept on driving, we got to campus, and while on campus, where the speed limit is 25, Arwyn never broke 16 - not once. It was hilarious, but neither Mari or I said anything, we were passengers, and she was doing Mari and I a large favor.

Now to explain. Arwyn, Mari and I had been hanging out at Mari's apartment for the better part of five hours. At 12:35a.m. Arwyn left to go home, and Mari and I were going to take Mari's truck to take me home. As it would happen, Welch's (Mari's truck) was dead, the battery was completely drained. We called Arwyn, and she headed back over. Unfortunately, Mari had a flight this morning and needed to catch a 5:30a.m. bus to the airport. And.. the bus picks up somewhere she needed her truck to get. I devised a solution! She would spend the night in my room, and get to the bus without her truck, since Arwyn is gonna have to take me home anyway, we'll just bring Mari along. Mari quickly packs her things, and Arwyn comes back - we do some kitchen clean-up, because no one is going to be in the apartment for the next 3 days. Mari finishes her packing, and we head out for my place.

Where do those pesky tomatoes fit into all of this? We had tacos for dinner (artery-clogging goodness), but we had more tomatoes than we needed. I don't eat them, and between the two of them, they only had 5 or 6 tacos. Mari, leaving town early this morning, had no use for the extra two she had. Since I don't eat them, and Arwyn does, Arwyn was the chosen one to care for them. She had originally forgot them when she left the first time; the second time, I just held them for her. And, when we were pulled over, I had two shiny red tomatoes, one in each hand. - Something I don't think I'll ever forget about the first time I was in a car that was pulled over.

And yes, Mari caught her bus.

2001

Originally Posted at 08:09 PM on Jan. 23, 2004
All-time best made-up line for 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Hal: "Kiss my USB port, Dave."

Almost

Originally Posted at 08:50 PM on Jan. 22, 2004

I almost had a good day, something kept it from breaking into the "good day" area, but it was damned close. I can't put my finger on it.

It was up and down, and it came in just short - It's not entirely over, I am going to the rec center for Round 2 vs. Ross in Racquetball.

I saw an episode of Family Guy I had never seen before, which came as a huuuuuge shock - I didn't know there was one I hadn't seen, and I have all of them... so.... it's very, very strange. Funny episode though, a hurricane hits Quahog, and all of a sudden there's a large British population. Good stuff!

The list of prospective girls took a hit today.. the "B" word came up as I was talking to two today. C'est la vie. I think they'll make decent class-buddies regardless.

Other than that, not much to report. I've got some Spanish and Film homework to do for tomorrow... and I'll post racquetball scores when I get back. In case you don't remember, or are new... I am currently 1-2 (.333) against Ross.

Update: I dropped the first three games, they were all very close, but I just couldn't finish him off. The fourth game, I had a 10-2 lead, and managed to lose 14 straight points. (1 into the next game) - And I won the battle of endurance, coming back from a 10-2 deficit in game 5 to win 15-12. Career vs. Ross 2-6 (.250)

Take it easy.

Raw

Originally Posted at 08:33 PM on Jan. 20, 2004

It started with the reminiscing of a weekend gone by, it ended with the budding of a new friendship.

I sat down in class, uncharacteristically early, and asked how her weekend went. She told me it was great, she had gone skiing with her friends for the first time this year. I spoke of how I longed to go skiing, but through some quark of fate had managed to choose friends that found no use for it. She spoke of how difficult it was for her to go with them because of work conflicts. The little old man at the front of the class took off his hat, and a hush filled the room. He gave his lecture, everyone took it in with a quiet knowing that it was valuable stuff, information we would all need later on in life. His intensity fed our interest, and our interest fed his intensity - the mark of a great orator. He wrapped the 75 minute lecture up, and everyone quickly packed up their belongings to head off to their next class. I tossed on my jacket, swung my backpack around and she was waiting to say, "have a good day." I responded, "You too, see ya Thursday." And we went our separate ways. I trudged through the ongoing dust of snow that lay on the ground and continued to fall through the air. I reached my next class and pulled out all the materials I thought I would need for the day.

Nora walked in, surveyed the room, and opted to sit down next to me. We had met a few weeks ago, through a mutual friend. She is very outspoken, and opinionated - perfect for this class. The professor walked in, and told us to grab our things, we were moving next door. He took us to a room I can only equate to a conference room, completely perfect in every way for the format of the class he was trying to teach. Nora and I spoke briefly, she recalled the time she first met me, and the witty remark that impacted her whenever she thinks of me. Truly brilliant it was, a perfect mix of wit and sexual innuendo; unforgettable.. for her anyway. I exchanged introductions with my other neighbor, and soon after class began. I was off to a slow start, 2 classes had passed without me saying a single thing other than my name, and a hobby I instantly felt stupid for bringing up (Basketball, in case you were wondering). Finally, I had something to say. I was called on, it was my turn to speak, and I began. My voice was shaky, unsure, it sounded like I was going to break down and cry. Slowly I gained my confidence, and made my point. I brought up a point that would be talked about for the next 30 minutes. Gr-reat! I was instrumental in the exchange, and increased momentum with everything I had to say. By the end of the class, when nobody knew the answer to a question, I had the gaul to raise my hand to present an answer I knew to be wrong, simply so he would tell us the correct one. Classed ended, and we were released back into the powder harmlessly falling to the ground.

I briskly walked to Libby Hall to grab my lunch. As usual there was a small line, but I knew things would move fast, so I patiently waited. I took notice of the three girls in front of me, eavesdropping on their conversation. It became the one closest to the counter's turn to order, as she did, the other two stepped back. I turned to them and asked if they were in line. They said they were not. I made a quip, "Just here for moral support, eh?" We all laughed. I made my order, grabbed my food and drink, and ran off to work. I put down my stuff, and exchanged pleasantries with my boss, who told me my new coworker would be back shortly for training. I dug into my sandwich, managing to eat one third before she returned. I was properly introduced to Kristal, and began about her training. I was not to touch my food again for 90 minutes. Before I knew it, it was time to head off to my next class. I tossed my food in the fridge, and sped off through the near-winter wonderland to my Spanish class.

Upon entering the building I quickly removed my jacket, and jumped up the stairs, two at a time, almost bumping into (literally) one of the counselors from Career Services who happened to be in the stairway at the time. I walked down the hallway, and through the open door to my class, expecting to be late. My professor wasn't there, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I scanned the room for the location at which I wanted to plop down, and what should I see but a girl from my Advertising class last semester, next to an open chair. I walked up, still catching my breath, pointed knowingly and said "Ginger." She smiled, impressed I had remembered her name, considering we'd only spoken twice before. She thought about it for a second, and said "Scully." And I smiled, impressed back. I sat down, and we did a bit of catching up, as I removed my sweatshirt. I wiped my brow, the sprint from work to Spanish had not been a gentle one. She told me she was still on the waitlist for the class, and was hoping to get in. The prof walked in, and we started. We ended up playing a game of Spanish Pictionary, Ginger ended up on my team (with two others), and we ended up winning some minor extra credit. Before anyone knew it, the class was over, and she asked me about a getting some copies of my workbook so she could do the homework - she hadn't acquired one just yet. It was suggested she speak to the professor about it, but just in case, she asked for my number as a back-up. I headed back to work, at a high-paced amble; arriving almost precisely on time.

I sat down, and relaxed. It is truly amazing how easy my job is now. I just about know the answer to every question which could possibly present itself through the course of a day. I consumed my lunch, printed out my English paper, and went about business as usual. I truly enjoy the time I spend at work, it is relaxing, fulfilling, and an excellent change of pace from the rest of my day. An hour had passed, having felt like only five minutes. And she showed up. We had met before when she was applying for the position, and again when she was hammering out her schedule. She had a very exotic name, it happened to escape me at the time, all I could think of was the letters "G" and "I." I said that, and she told me I was very close, reminding me her name is "Nagi," and she had shown up to work. Slowly, coming around the corner, treading softly on the playground, watching for the reaction of the other kids in the sandbox. I invited her to sit down, and chatted with her for a bit, going over the basics of what she would be doing there. She took it all in, despite work-related interruptions including phone calls, mail delivery and of course, me! I am the biggest interruption to my own life. I will sometimes interrupt myself in the middle of a sentence and totally go in a completely different direction, only to finish the new thought then return and finish the one I interrupted originally. She took it all in stride, laughing when appropriate. It was daunting, but she took it well. And just like that, it was time for me to go back to class. The cotton still falling from the sky, I hurriedly passed the brick buildings around campus. I arrived, was torn between two seats, and finally picked one. Sat down, took a deep breath, looked at the time and thought what the hell? I didn't have to rush over here. I had left at 3:22, and got to the class at 3:25. I turned to the nearest person, a red-head, and asked her if the clock was slow. She agreed with my assessment. I inquired as to her name, she said "Shannon." I asked if she knew mine. She responded with both my first and last names. I poked her saying, "Ooooh, I've got a stalker!" She smiled, and told me she remembered it because of the X-Files, of course. She got a small kick out of my telling her about meeting a girl named Befus today (pronounced just about Beavis... and Butthead). Class started, and the professor asked us to take out our name plates. I smiled, knowing mine was still at the side of my bed.. the same place it was last time she asked it of us. She looked at me, called my name, and made a forgettable remark regarding the nameplates. I smirked, and said, "Well, you know my name, do you want me to make a new one." She grinned and said that wouldn't be necessary.

Shortly after, we broke into small groups to read the personal essays we had written. I was grouped with three girls. Lindsay, Lindsie and Courtney. Lindsie went first, followed by Lindsay, and then it was my turn. I was relaxed, and told my story, which got an unexpected response from both Linds-ies. They liked it, and made two suggestions for improving it; I agreed with both. Courtney told hers, and like that it was time for us to go home. We talked a little bit, and I said something about going off to work right now. One of the Linds-ies inquired as to the location of my work. "Career Services," I said a bit sheepishly. Their eyes widened and they asked nearly in unison, "Can you get us jobs?!" And I told them if they came over, I could help them out. I bet I see one of them this week, and the other will come in sometime next week. I exchanged pleasantries with Lindsie (this week) and headed back to work.

Nagi was learning from Jane, and I sat down to teach her some more. Jane went back into her office to handle her business while I was left with Nagi for the final 15 minutes of her first workday. I recapped things, and was manic for most of it. She seemed to enjoy it, and before either of us knew it, it was time to go home. We slowly packed up our things, wished Jane a good night. I said "See ya tomorrow." Nagi said "See ya Thursday." And we walked out together.

I turned to her and said, "Nagi." She looked back and said my name. I asked, "What's the origin of your name?" She smiled, and told me it was totally random, and that it was Indian. I smirked the way I do, and said the most politically correct thing I could think of, "Dots, not feathers, right?" She giggled as we walked, confirming it. I wished her a good evening, and she bid me one as well.

I strolled back to my room, thinking how great a day it had been. It isn't often I have a good day, and today was truly exceptional. I felt "on" in a way I rarely do. It was a simply awesome day.
-------------------------------------------
My first "good" day of the year, and in almost two months. My last good day was December 3rd - Hey, that's Illinois Day!

Damn the Weekend

Originally Posted at 01:02 AM on Jan. 20, 2004

The weekend hath ruined my time management. Without having to rush from task to task, with the next waiting its turn to call on my attention. There is no pressure to complete a task in a proper time frame. I've had a few assignments to do, and aside from pecking at the dullest one, they went virtually untouched until two hours ago. I've written my personal essay, an embarrasing, emotional look at a past occurrence I may or may not have the balls to post here. "An event where language changed your life." Maybe I'll post the final draft, we'll see. I will probably get picked to read it to the class, and I've almost come to grips with it. Nothing like a 19 year old guy talking about crying to leave a lasting impression on everyone. And it's only the third day of class, woo!

In other news, I took in a few movies this weekend (in class, rented, and played on network? cable) - You can click on the name of the movie to be linked to IMDB.com's entry about it, including cast, the poster for the film, and so on. American Movie: The Making of Northwestern, The Usual Suspects, Run Lola Run(German), Blow Dry, and Reality Bites.

American Movie is a documentary-type film that follows the life of a man trying to make a movie (Northwestern), and the things that happen, how life gets in the way, and other such things. I laughed, I felt bad, I was awed. If you're feeling artsy, run on over to Blockbuster's Sundance section, and pick this flick up. On the cover is a thin guy with huuuge glasses, and a guy similar to a character Horatio Sanz has played a number of times. (That character, Mike Schanck is at times, unintentionally, laugh-out-loud funny and terribly, terribly sad.)

The Usual Suspects directed by Bryan Singer (now well known for X-Men and X-2), is a crime-drama which I now highly recommend. I had actually seen the last 30 seconds or so of the movie on AMC before seeing the rest of it. Knowing how it would end, I was still very much entertained by the movie's twists and turns. I'm looking forward to watching it with my roomie again sometime this week. - Note: Kevin Spacey deserved, and took home an Academy Award for his performance.

Run Lola Run is a German story of a girl who must acquire 100,000 Marks and get them to her boyfriend within 20 minutes, or he'll be killed. The story goes along the lines of "what if" and kind of explores the butterfly effect, how one small thing in someone's life can entirely change the course of someone else's life (as opposed to actually using a butterfly). And the camera-use was simply phenomenal. I was pretty amazed by a few of the shots they did - Not in a Matrix-kind-of-way, but nonetheless. Also found in the Sundance section of your local Blockbuster.

Blow Dry is a dramedy starring Alan Rickman, a few English stars, Josh Hartnett (ick), and Rachel Leigh Cook (mmm). It is about a hair cutting competition and family, it takes place in a small town in the UK. Kind of like a down and out, comeback story, I can't really articulate it, but it was decent. I don't foresee watching it again anytime soon though.

Reality Bites is a movie starring Winona Ryder, Janeane Garofalo, Ethan Hawke, Steve Zahn and Ben Stiller. Tagged, "A love story for the 90s," it follows the life of Lelaina and her friends. It was memorable for the cast, and yet another story of best friends falling in love, and overcoming the trouble it entails. I'd like to catch it uncut, unedited, undubbed sometime, but otherwise, I probably won't see it again.

The winners: American Movie, The Usual Suspects, Run Lola Run,
The okay-ish: Reality Bites, Blow Dry

Now to learn Spanish, and bore myself to sleep with more History of Science and Politics at the turn of the 20th century. (It doesn't sound nearly as boring as it is.)

That All You've Got

Originally Posted at 07:30 PM on Jan. 15, 2004

One more day before I bask in the warm glow of the weekend. I've got through what I would deem the toughest parts; Tuesday and Thursday. I'm going to give it another few classes before I decide if I'm going to drop one of my really tough classes. Between the two of them, I have a 2-3 page paper, and 60 pages to read. Meanwhile, I've got three other classes calling on my attention, so it is all an exercise in time management.

Last night, after I got back from the rec center, I had two messages from my friend Hannah, wanting me to call her back. I did, and she and three of her old high school friends wanted me to come over and hang out. Unfortunately, after being at the rec center for two hours, I tend to have an odd smell, and some homework left to do; needless to say, I was forced to decline due to time management and a mild odor. I decided my time would be better spent with homework and sleep than cute girls I would never live down having hooked up with/not see again for a semester (the latter happens to be the case with one of them).

Time management. The hours I work during this semester are truly awesome. They keep me busy, and are at perfect times to allow me to be productive in the event I haven't managed to get homework done the night before. By no means are they times for which I will leave homework to be done, but they are perfect for prioritizing some classes over others. I can put a little bit of Writing homework off for Anthropology, Physics or Spanish (depending on the day), etc. Time management, Determination, and my will to get the job done are going to either make or break me this semester.

If I can calm my mind before bed, and not spend too much time lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I may very well be a model of efficiency. Another question is, when will I socialize because, surely academics is only part of the college experience. I truly agree with that, and will try to make the most of my weekend (by not sleeping it away) or having to spend it doing homework. By making use of weeknights to get it done. Can I keep it up - Will I stay on top of things? If I keep the right mindset, I think I can.

"I think I can, I think I can."

Huzzah

Originally Posted at 01:50 AM on Jan. 15, 2004

I finally made it to the rec center tonight. I ran into my buddy Ross last night, and we talked about playing racquetball sometime. And he called me tonight asking if I wanted to go... and I decided it'd be a good idea. We went, and I had an exhausting (good) time. I lost the first game (pretty badly), won the second game (pretty badly), and dropped the third game (a very close match). He had a good time, and I predict we'll be going again sometime soon. I'd not mind it one bit, it's good exercise, and brings out my competitive side; although I sure did get winded a lot... not doing any physical activities for a month tends to do that to you.

Career vs. Ross: 1-2 (.333)
Weight at arrival: 174 lbs.
Weight upon leaving: 172 lbs.

I have a few pounds that need turning into muscle (or vaporizing). Either way...

Exhausted, and all homework save for Spanish (time, which I kind of know already) is done (a major feat, mind you).

Spanish is up next, right after Butters farts in Eric's face, then says "Fuck you, Eric" and walks off stage - followed by bed. Night All, take it easy.

Argh

Originally Posted at 02:54 AM on Jan. 13, 2004

My excitement has been replaced by exhaustion, and I've only been to one class (of five) so far. I'm so tired, but that sorta-excitement about the new classes is keeping me up. I got a 2 hour nap in earlier, but I haven't had a full night's sleep in almost a week, which ... drains on you. If I just got one, I'd be back in business, instead of the walking-sleep. (Just like Vinny) - Looking forward to classes tomorrow, just hope I can get a few winks of sleep in before then.

First problem of the semester: My Spanish class assigned a Student Survey to be filled out. The prof said it was located in the Book package. I have torn through the package, and not seen anything like it. I've been on webct (online system stuff, with tons of fun!), and I've located something referring to a survey, unfortunately the date range it is open for... is for last semester. So, I'm off to a horrible start in the class already.

I've got a first draft of a 2-3 page paper due next Tuesday, and I haven't even been to that class yet.

"Let me get a good night's sleep, then it's on!"

Days Gone By

Originally Posted at 01:43 AM on Jan. 12, 2004

Below is what I wrote in Erin's yearbook for Senior Year. This was written over a year and a half ago, it's all still true (I feel the same way today), and I'm very proud of it. (Hence my making a copy of it somewhere other than her yearbook) This is a direct copy of what I wrote.

Erin,
Its the end of an era. With me writing my name below this... high school, business, and the era all come to a close. You know I had been putting it off for a reason. There are so many memories to pay homage to... for instance the time you "landed" on my elbow. Or that one time in Intro to Banking where I knew everybody's name but yours, I still remember when I got to you, you crawled out of your grey sweatshirt, like you just woke up, and I was like a deer in the headlights, no idea what your name was! Good times. Good times! The bus every day after school, me crawling through a mess of people to save seats for everyone... Back when I was little Scully, 5'2" 150 lbs. Ha! Just about 6'0" 170 lbs now. Oh yeah! We made it through this hell that was the Business Plan, the Harmon, I survived many-a-
disgruntled boyfriend, 2 mormon-boys even! We made it! Oh how the time has flown. This is about the point where I tell you never to forget me, but I already know, nothing short of a labotamy can make you forget me. Kinda egotistical, but we both know its true.
Time for Scully's Words of Wisdom:
Take risks. Face challenges. Be yourself. Don't let anyone take advantage of you. Don't let anyone walk over you. Live life to the fullest. Live every day like its your last - it might be. Love, don't hate. Be careful what you wish for. Remember, life is what you make of it! You are pretty. You are smart. You are kind. You are loved. Don't forget it.

Your Little Scully

Home Sweet Home

Originally Posted at 02:43 PM on Jan. 11, 2004

It took me 5.5 hours of traveling to get home. I did not sleep on any leg of the journey. I am glad to be back in Boulder, my excitement toward this semester intact. Even if I didn't fall asleep until three in the morning. It's time to buy books, grocery-shop, and generally resupply for living. Can you feel it?!

I am sooooo glad to be back! (Could you tell?)

Home

Originally Posted at 03:54 PM on Jan. 10, 2004

I fly back to Boulder this evening, as with most things, the break lasted a very long time.. until it ended; at which point I look back, and it seems as though I just got here. Seems that is the way with things.

Yesterday, I got together with Maria and Erin, as planned, and we hung out for ~6 hours, it was a total blast, we didn't watch a movie, we didn't watch tv, we just chatted, it was awesome. We went to Taco Bell for lunch, and I bought.. all was well, and then high school let out, and 30+ high schoolers showed up, but they didn't come in, they just gathered outside, smoked cigarettes, other things, and fight. A few of them came in, and they weren't too bad, but it was absolutely ridiculous. The manager of the store had to come outside and tell them she called the cops (which I bet she didn't) to break them up, stop the fighting, and generally make them go elsewhere. Then something happened and a number of the kids chased a car, then came running back the other way, with talks of guns. Shortly after, we decided it was time to leave, lunch consumed, and a drama fest in our midst; it was the best course of action. Hence, I am glad to say, I am done with high school, and... hunched over my cane, in my old-man voice, "When I was their age (mind you this would be two to six years ago), we didn't do things like that."

Back at Erin's place, it was decided Erin (and I) were going to teach Maria to drive. Maria was so nervous, last time she drove, she got into an accident. She's 20, without a license. We hopped into Erin's car, and ran Maria through the basics, and basically did Simon-Says while Maria drove. "Give it more gas," "Okay, turn right." And so forth. Maria had a splendid time, didn't hit anything, and never got the speedometer over 8 miles per hour. I said she was nervous, didn't I? We had a good time, and she did great, she might break 10 next time she drives.

Since Maria has no license, and no car, I had to pick her up, but I also had to take her to work after we were done hanging out. It just so happened, we had to brave rush hour traffic to get her to work. It was lucky we left 50 minutes before we needed to, we spent 30+ minutes from the strip to the next 5 blocks. It was absolutely ridiculous. I dropped her off, and took off for my home (completely across town). It took me just a hair under an hour to cross town; like I said, rush hour. It took me twenty-three minutes to get to Maria's in the morning, and basically from there back to my house, it took an hour. Ouch. I was behind someone on the freeway for so long, he went through two cigarettes! (As I see them come flying out the window, and hit the ground leaving sparks here and there... I pass it by at somewhere between one and ten miles per hour.

I have to go wrap? up my socks, ya know, fold em into little balls... and then toss 'em into my suitcase and wait to go to the airport. I have so much crap, omgosh. I came home with less than I'm leaving with. Then again, I did buy some new clothes, and find some that I wanted to take back with me... and I have some more electronic stuff I want to take, so there we are. That's always the way though, so it doesn't really matter.

Off to fold socks, and fly home.

Worst part about this traveling thing:
My flight leaves at 5:26pm. I will be at the airport at 3:30pm. I will arrive in Denver at 8:10pm. The bus to Boulder picks up at 8:20pm, the next one comes at 9:20pm. I will be stuck waiting for the bus for an hour (It takes more than 10 minutes to get from the terminal to the bus stop, and let's not forget the checked baggage I'll need to pick up). Then I will spend roughly 90 minutes on the bus, getting to Boulder. Which means, I will probably get "home-home" at 11:00pm sharp. Let's do the math, from 3:30pm to 11:00pm, minus one hour for the time zone change, is 6.5 hours. Talk about a draining waste of time, getting from point A to point B.

Average Joe and Old People

Originally Posted at 03:00 AM on Jan. 06, 2004

I do not like reality television, I think it is garbage, and cheap "entertainment" feeding on many people's desire for a quick romp in the spotlight.. not to mention a cheap substitute for sitcoms, which I won't go into. Having said that, I will admit that I sat through Average Joe 2: Hawaii, no I did not watch any episode of the original. It was out of morbid curiosity, and I kind of wanted to see what was being thrown at this girl; whom we had seen previously (Wow is she perdy). I both felt bad for her, and laughed at her.. because, the show's producers totally screwed her and she didn't see it coming... But the "hunks" will be brought in later, as advertised, and none of the people on the show know it. As stated, I am morbidly curious to see how it goes down. There are glimpses to the future as the "hunks" pretty much belittle and simply hurt the "average joes" which I don't find entertaining at all. I don't know that I will continue to watch the show to it's conclusion, I may find myself watching the last episode, or finding out who she picked; I'm sure I will find out one way or another, because the reality dating shows are such a big deal.. Ryan and Trista?'s Wedding is still being talked about (I didn't see it, nor do I honestly care) - I don't know if I'll watch or not, it will probably be left up to my roommate, and my social life; we shall see.

Now for old people. Yesterday, I went and saw "Something's Gotta Give" with my parents. It starred Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet. First and foremost, if you're thinking about seeing this movie, I warn you; Jack Nicholson's ass makes an appearance, and Ms. Keaton has a brief scene in her birthday suit - If you can stomach those two things, it is a cute and funny movie that I wouldn't mind seeing again. Where are the old people (because I'm not talking about Jack or Ms. Keaton - No.)? I am talking about the audience with which I saw this movie. Going to this movie, I figured there wouldn't be too many people in the audience.. honestly, I figured there were decent odds of us being the only ones in the whole theater. Boy was I wrong. We showed up a few minutes into the previews... something I absolutely despise, mind you; turned the corner to survey our seating options and it was a very crowded house. My dad asked if I was going to be sitting with him and my mother, and I opted not to. Because I'm embarassed to be seen in public with them? No. In fact, it was because the average age of this audience was 65+, and one of my big pet peeves is something that old people do. Old people tend to eat.. like everyone else; but the thing is, when they get stuff stuck in their teeth, they don't use normal means to get it out (by which I mean a toothpick, or a finger). No! Everyone who is able to get a senior discount... uses the AARP Method to getting stuff out of their teeth. I call it the AARP Method, because it seems as though, along with their membership, someone took them aside and told them how to do it, and that if they used any other method to get something out of their teeth, they would be banned from any and all things AARP. They try to suck the food out of their teeth from the inside; I don't know how they do it. I don't know why they do it. I do know it rarely ever works, and it pisses me off to no end. Simply, I don't like it. And there I was, presented with a situation out of my own personal hell - An audience full of old people, with popcorn just waiting to get stuck in their teeth. I should've stayed home. - I opted to sit in the front couple of rows - no old people would crane their neck to watch the movie, and I would be far enough away not to be annoyed. I was wrong; I suffered through it, but it was a good movie, and I liked it. I hated the audience though. I'm so irritable.

And in other news, out of Las Vegas (Hey, that's where I am! .. *mutters*): Britney Spears got married, and had it annulled over the weekend. Poor Britney, the spotlight has burned out, and she's resorting to desperate measures to keep everyone's eyes on her. I would say something about having no respect for her, but that ship sailed long ago.. so.. whatever. Publicity stunts can be fun though!! (Har.)

2004 New Year's Resolution: Let's move on, as a culture, and a society, without Britney Spears. The year is 5 days old and I've had my fill of her already.

C'est la vie. That's all I've got for now.

I'M WATCHING IT!!

Originally Posted at 12:51 AM on Jan. 04, 2004

Well, the day didn't go so well.

First, I didn't fall asleep until 6 this morning. I woke up around Noon, groggily moved out of bed, went downstairs, read the paper and retreated back up. Around 1:45 I decided I was hungry, and set the oven up for some good ole Marie Callendar's Turkey Pot Pie eatin'. I was promptly reengaged by my mother over this pair of pants my mother wanted me to try on. But if you'll recall just a couple of days ago, I went shopping for pants, so I was reluctant to fulfill her request. She followed me around with them, and I escaped into the room where my father was watching football (Titans/Ravens). He immediately asked me if I wanted to see a cool play, I was like, "Nah.." at which point, I remembered I had been irritated about how sarcastic, and disrespectful I was repeatedly reminded of being toward my father over the past two weeks, so I immediately said "Okay sure." Instant replay comes on, my mom walks in the room with the pants, and stands next to me. My dad starts saying "Watch this." "Watch this." "Are you watching?" And I have had my fill of parental irritation. I yell "I'M WATCHING IT!!" At which point, my father jumped out of his chair as though he were a defensive lineman, and I were the quarterback left without a blocker after he overcomes the ottoman. I jumped behind my mother, over the dog, and hightailed it up the stairs. He fumed and fumed, about "her son" and so on and so forth. I lay flat on my back out of sight, listening to the brief exchange, and then ponder where and when things went wrong.

This "vacation" and my father disagreed from the get go. First, I got home, and went to sleep before I saw him, only to get up shortly after he went to bed to eat dinner. I saw him the next day after I got done with a little bit of running about town. About two hours before we were to leave to visit my sister in California. I walked in, he said "Hey, don't I get a hello?" I responded, "Not now, bathroom" because my stomach was in a very unhappy place, and was counting down. I used the facilities, and came back down to visit him, and say my formal hello. I walked in, and he was on the phone and using the computer. I sat down, he asked me how I was; I responded "I'm nauscious." He politely asked me to "get out" such a wonderful bedside manner, he should've been a doctor. My stomach pains delay our departure an hour... of course, my mother had a little to do with it as well. We finally leave, and what do we do? We get gas; while they were waiting on me, they could've got gas, but noooooooooo. Five minutes away from the house, I decide I want to take out my contacts, because I don't want to keep my eyes open for most of the trip. I left my case at home. Damn, we had to stop and get it. Another 10 minute delay, heaven forbid.

That has pretty much set the tone for my vacation so far. Along with previously mentioned encounters in my blog, it's just not been good. In person, my father and I do not see eye to eye. The sarcasm, sense of humor, and quick wit that I inherited and learned from him are constant signs of my disrespect toward him. Not to mention my complete uselessness in everyday life, though anything I have done has gone completely unnoticed and unappreciated. Nor has any specific request been made of me to do anything. I am nineteen, I'm supposed to lift a finger out of the goodness of my heart... on my vacation?! Christ. What the hell? If you want me to do something ask me.

What we have here is a failure to communicate. Simple as that. And it won't get better until I get the hell out of here. In the meantime I am trying to stay out of the way and just be quiet - and when I get back to school I can repair damage via the telephone (the best way to talk to my father).
------------------
Speaking of "watching it" - he recommended yesterday that I watch "Casablanca"... I did that this afternoon, and the famous phrases now make complete sense (amazing the clarity that actually watching a movie provides) and it was a not too shabby love story.
-------------------
I finished a couple more books, and now I'm reading The Bible Code... interesting so far, and it's a quick read, depending on my insomnia this evening, I may finish it - Argh.

Fifty-One

Originally Posted at 03:28 AM on Jan. 03, 2004

"He's never let him bother him much." - A phrase just spoken by a newscaster on television. I let it bother me sometimes, a little.

This is my fifty-first post; Go me! I slept a ton last night, it was great. From like 11pm to just shy of 2pm, it was g-r-reat! Although, now it's 11:35 and I'm ready to sleep again; I didn't even do anything today. I got up, looked at old pictures, and listened to the dishwasher go... and go... and go, waiting to take a shower. I ran out of pictures to look at, and I think I watched a little tv.. well it was a medium sized tv, but I didn't spend too much time watching it. Showered, got out, talked a bit with my mother, who wanted to teach me about cleaning chicken before I cooked it.

Later, during dinner, I was yelled at for holding my knife incorrectly, while not in use. I disregarded him, poked fun at it, and belittled the idea. He responded in kind, oddly enough after dinner, the short discussion we had was pleasant and playful. A little after dinner, my friend Bob called me, to see if he could come over, hang out and watch a movie. I checked to make sure the parentals wouldn't mind, because, after all, it is their house. With approval, we got the dog (Thunder) into isolation, so Bob could come in unharassed. Bob chose Chicago as the movie we would watch. Yes, Bob is straight... we think. The movie ended and Bob sort of ran off. It was kind of lame, we didn't do much hanging out, so much as we did movie watching. We should've talked more, but... c'est la vie.

Here I am, came over and decided to do this. I discovered that my computer likes AoL, it doesn't kick me off every three minutes like it does with Earthlink. I'm watching Leno, and thinking about how tired I am.. wondering if I'll be able to sleep tonight, because I slept so much last night.

I read (or skimmed, in the case of Gav's poll) the posts since I last updated.. all three of them. 200 question polls are just.. a little too long to read, hell, it's quite the undertaking to even fill one out. I may try it, I'm not sure.

I'm still very excited about the coming semester, I can't wait for it to start... while I have all the excitement and energy staring it down... instead of letting it fade before it even arrives! I'm still contemplating what I want to do with my life. I'm still secure in that whatever I do, I will be successful at it; it's just a matter of making a decision. And I need to realize that whatever I choose as a career, it doesn't define who I am, it is just what I do. I need to come to terms with the idea, no matter what I am educated to do, it doesn't mean I am necessarily stuck doing that for the rest of my life.

One thing is for sure; I am tired.

After the fact: I just looked at the last fifty blogs, and the only two people on there without the color red in their flag are Gav and myself. Interesting...

Me Am Tired

Originally Posted at 01:37 AM on Jan. 02, 2004

New Year's was... definitely a different experience.

Erin (previously mentioned) invited me to her New Year's Gathering thing that she was having; not a party, just a gathering. It was going to be small, just another high school friend, and a co-worker/friend of hers. Her mother and brother would be in attendance, but out of the way... because they live there and have nowhere else to go. Her coworker was Cherie, and the other high school friend (I am the first) is named David. Unfortunately David ended up not being able to come because his mother is insanely overprotective, and wanted him around for New Year's. Poor him.

As may have been indicated in the previous blog, I was to be instantly bespelled by Cherie upon meeting her. She was cute, if a bit short (under five feet; I'm just under six feet tall); she thought I was cute, but we were both shy, so we talked away the evening as Life as a House played in the background. Erin was on the phone with her new kinda-sorta-boyfriend Dan, who lives in D.C. - so we were alone. Every now and then she'd stop in on us, and tell Dan "Nope, they're still two feet apart." - In retrospect, should I be worrying that Erin is my pimp? Ugh..

I spent the day with Maria; I've been looking forward to this for the past six months; since we celebrated her birthday early. We didn't catch each other in August, when I was here for two weeks, I wasn't able to see much of anyone during that break. I picked her up at 11am and off we went to run some errands, as is always associated with hanging out with Maria. A library stop (they were closed), a Toys'R'Us stop, and a T.J. Max stop later, we were done. It went pretty fast. Then it was time to shop. The mission was to get me a new pair of pants. I got a pair before Thanksgiving, and my mother absolutely despises them; there is simply no end to the criticism of these jeans. Simply because that is the style being shown. Argh! Finally, I'm off to get new jeans and shut her up for the next 9 days. Easy mission right? Wrong; Oh so very wrong.

We hit J.C. Penney's. We decide Boot Cut is the way to go. I need a 34x32. Nothing but under 32, and over 36 as for the waist. I find 40x30 pants kind of disconcerting; may no one here ever experience shopping for pants like those. No dice. Onward to Sears, half-hearted effort given, no boot-cut jeans were located. Let's eeeeeeat! We hit up Applebee's, and we both had a Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Alfredo, sans the tomato. We both enjoyed them thoroughly, and the waitress was cute too! We had to deal with an annoying pair of old ladies behind Maria, who complained about everything. After lunch, we went back on the prowl.

We walked back to the mall, and wandered through ending up back at the car to drop off leftovers. We opted to try a different mall, and go visit Erin. At this point, I must point out that Erin and Maria were archenemies three and a half years ago due to high school drama involving the aforementioned David. Fast-forward to a couple months ago when Maria had a cat she needed someone to take care of, and Erin ended up being the one to do it. Friendship has blossomed. David and I spent three and a half years trying to get them to be friends. Leave it to a living ball of a fur to bring them together.

We hit up Mervyns, because I wanted some exercise shorts...I decided the two I had were not sufficient for how many times per laundry cycle was planning on attenting the rec center. Afterwards, we went and visited Erin, who was at work at the other mall, and talked for a while with her and a couple of her coworkers. Back out in search of Jeans. We hit up J.C. Penney's where we found no Boot Cut jeans, but did find some cool Simpsons boxers that said Springfield across the crotch; purchased along with boxers of an olive green color. More mall wandering. Various store hopping, and no boot cut jeans. Maria had her first Orange Julius... delicious. We did more store hopping, and stopped in to say goodbye to Erin; we're getting together on Tuesday, the three of us (yay).

On the way out, I saw men's jeans in a store we had been in earlier for Maria, and asked if we should stop in there. We walked in, found Boot Cut jeans, looked for 34x32, and found them right off. Headed for the fitting room, I tried them on, and they fit like a glove. Went to check out, and I was marveled by the girl, who was cute... her name was Tanalee. A name which I attempted to pronounce, and was right on the first guess; something that isn't very common, she remarked. We shot the breeze as I paid my bill, and so forth. Maria and I left the mall, after 5+ hours together, we had finally accomplished our goal of new jeans. Exhausted and triumphant I took her home.
--------------
As far as New Year's went, I have decided (not resolved, resolutions have gotten me nowhere, decisions are more definitive) I am going to be more "Scully" when in Boulder. For the past 48 hours, I have been 100% pure Scully; and it is fun for me and everyone around me. I feel as though I am more reserved in Colorado, and I have to wear different masks for different surroundings. This semester, this year, I am going to be Scully-straight-up, all the time, everywhere and with everyone. At the same time, I am still staring down this semester, I am still very excited about the prospects of it for girls, learning, girls, work, girls, finding myself, and something else - oh yeah, girls.

2004 definitely has the potential to be "The Year of Scully." I will be turning 20 during finals this semester, ending my parent's blaming everything on me being an ungrateful teenager and it shifting to them having failed somewhere along the line in raising me.

I'm feeling quite tired so, I shall finish on the morrow. And besides, I'm tired of being interrupted by my parentals. I am ready to go back to school.

I reserve the right to edit the piss out of this blog when I wake up tomorrow.

Lazy Smart-Ass

Originally Posted at 03:16 AM on Dec. 31, 2003

I actually set out to sleep early last night, as was indicated in my previous blog. I got there, but I couldn't do it. I read and read, and when I felt tired, I would try, but just would not get those needed Z's. Around 2:30 (a.m.) I was giving it another attempt, and took note of how unusually bright my room seemed. I decided to get out of bed, and look out the window. What did my eyes behold, but white rain, snow! It was snowing, in the desert no less.

In the 9 years I lived in Vegas before going to college, it had snowed once. It was the first day of track break during 8th grade; November 1996. Then, the snow was melted in under 5 minutes flat, but for the first couple of those minutes, the neighborhood looked like it was straight out of a winter wonderland-type setting.

I was amazed, and I set out to take some pictures. My mother happened to be up, and I got her to look out the window. And she was in awe. I went and took pictures, she went and woke up my dad. He was kind of annoyed, but seemed to enjoy it a bit, before going back to sleep. My mom went to sleep, and I sat down and opted to see what was on television at that hour. Whaddya know, Jay Leno and Jessica Alba (she's quite a looker), followed by the Farrelly Brothers, and then, hey look, my buddy Conan. I ended up going to bed around 4am.

I woke up "early," I was out of bed by 10:15am, and went through the normal daily routine to face the world. I got out and removed snow from my car; something I have never, ever done before. And off I went to my optometrist (Sidenote: There are a total of three Tuesdays to my Winter vacation. Each of them is reserved for an "-ist". Dentist, Optometrist, and Orthodontist; in that order). I seem to be 2-for-2 so far. On the way back to my house, I picked up some Power Steering Fluid; my car leaks it, and I almost get a better mile-to-gallon ratio than I do mile-to-power-steering-fluid-bottle ratio. They almost run the same price; bottles and gallons that is.

I got home, prepared myself some Penne for lunch, unfortunately, I overcooked it, and it was absolutely dreadful. I watched two episodes of Friends: Season One. I've watched six so far, and it is easy to see why America became so enfatuated with the show. Afterwards, I opted to do some laundry, and set about tidying my room further. I vaccuumed, dusted, moved stuff around, and pulled out various literary "works" I had done over my junior high and high school career(s).

I invited Bob to Erin's New Year's Party, after I okayed it with Erin. Bob was hesitant to commit, and later declined the invitation.. softly enough to leave the door open for an appearance at some point. I let Erin know, and I am looking forward to spending 8+ hours with her tomorrow; and meeting her friend Cherie, who she declares I will absolutely fall in love with on sight - I'm kind of excited. I talked to Maria, and we're getting together on Thursday; very exciting. I told her about the story I had written; I believe she'll be a famous author one day, but you won't know her as Maria!

I cooked dinner tonight! Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli with Rice, it wasn pretty good, although there was too much Teriyaki sauce. While I was doing the cooking my dad came into the kitchen after getting off a phone call with his "good buddy" who I've only recently met, and previously never heard of; inquiring when his dinner would be ready. I promptly told him never; to which he said he was tired of me being a smart ass and doing nothing to help out around the house - as I stand over the dinner being cooked for him and my mother. Ironically, it is he who I derive my sarcasm, wit, sense of humor, and general smart-ass-ness from; he has no one to blame but himself; or maybe his parents.

After dinner, I actually cleaned up after everyone. Washed the dishes, and silverware that didn't have leftovers sitting on them. I dare not tread into that territory, because I would probably end up wrapping things up tightly, and putting them in such an obscure place they won't ever be seen again.

Bed

Originally Posted at 10:11 PM on Dec. 29, 2003

Today was very eventful....

We start at midnight, because, hey, that's when the day really "begins" isn't it? Although, I wouldn't hesitate to refer to it as night in any other situation.

Midnight: I think I was reading... as I tend to do over vacation. Though, I rarely read anything unassigned, while at school. I more than make up for it while at home.

One-ish a.m.: I tried re-starting the story I had started while trying to study a while ago. It's getting better, but, it needs work, and I'm not sure where I want to take it.

One-thirty-ish a.m.: I got out of bed, where the reading and writing take place, and surveyed my room. I decided it was time to tidy it up a bit. Because, it's early in the morning, and there's not much to do - Let's clean the room! I went through a moderately sized bookcase, organizing, throwing stuff away, and doing a little bit of reading. Did you know I missed school on October 10th, 2000, and didn't turn in the note for my absence? I found a couple of things I wrote when I was younger. I only really did forced writings back then, as opposed to spending any of my leisure time doing anything other than watching tv, "hanging out" or playing video/computer games.

Three-Fifteen a.m.: Use the facilities and noticed light coming from downstairs, indicating my mother was still awake. I wandered down stairs and paid her a visit, only to discover she was chewing gum. Now you must understand, I can not be within spitting distance of my mother when she chews gum. It is something I absolutely can not stand to hear, or see, it is the ultimate way to get me to leave the room, a conversation, whatever. I despise it. I said hello and goodnight. She said, what are you still doing up. You need to do more around here. I'm on vacation, leave me be. Good night.

Three-Thirty a.m.: Went to sleep.

Eleven-Thirty? a.m.: I was awakened when I received a phone call from the optometrist's office attempting to confirm my appointment for tomorrow at eleven a.m. Terribly exciting. Hung up. Rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Two p.m.: Contemplated getting out of bed. Layed there, half-awake, half-asleep.

Two-Oh-Eight p.m.: Phone rings. Mom calling to tell me to let the dog out, give her her pills, and feed her.

Two-Fifteen p.m.: Got out of bed, took my pup outside, gave her her pills and fed her "lunch."

Two-Forty-Five p.m.: Made a Wolfgang Puck - barbeque chicken pizza. Popped in disc one for the first season of Friends.

Three-Fifteen p.m.: The pizza is done, and I'm onto episode two.

Three-Thirty p.m.: My sister calls looking for my mother. I'm 2/3rds done with the pizza. We talk about various things for half an hour.

Four p.m.: My pizza is cold. I reluctantly finish it. And start into the third episode of Friends having decided I am going to buy season one of Smallville when I get back to Boulder.

Five p.m.: Finish watching the fourth episode, wondering if I am anything like Alan, a character who was never seen again on the show; or if I am more like Chandler, sans the smoking habit.

Five-Forty p.m.: Mom came home with Taco Bell for dinner. It was alright. And it seems the theory is true, they have stopped putting chives? (the little green things) on the Mexican pizza. I used to pick them off, I always thought they put too many on. But it looks barren without them now.

Six p.m.: Came over to use my mother's computer and check the site. Posted and read a few responses. Read the blogs for the last 24ish hours, and posted this.

Six-Thirty p.m.: Was bothered by my mother about not having showered, or changed in the last 50+ hours.

Plans for the rest of the evening: Probably read, maybe write if I feel so inclined. And go to bed early, because I must wake up early for the optometrist.

I'm on vacation, leave me alone. Jeez...

Musings

Originally Posted at 12:29 AM on Dec. 29, 2003

I got a "big" haircut on Friday. How can I get a big haircut? Odd turn of phrase. How do you turn a phrase? I got lots of hair shortened from atop my head.

I have hung out with a few friends since I've been home. Went bowling with my buddy Mikey, got my clock cleaned, as usual, but I was glad to get some sort of physical activity accomplished; even if it was just bowling. My ass always hurts afterward. And no, bowling is not a slang-term. My form always gives my ass, literally, a work out. And so I hobble around for the days following.

I got together with my friend Monica. We saw Return of the King and went out to dinner. She again came yay close to attempting to convert me to Christianity, but I'm too stubborn to even give her the time of day about it. She used to be really cool, but Kristal converted her, and now the only thing going on in Monica's life is Jesus. I respect that, but she is a far less intersting person now; I miss the old Monica, even if she believes she is happier now.

I hung out with my friend Erin. I love Erin soooo much. She has an inner drama queen, and I am the epitome of anti-drama. It's amazing we can stand each other. We've got five and a half years of history; we still remember the first time we met each other - we talked about it last night.. We hung out for a little under 8 hours, and it was a total blast, even if we both spent a ton of money. We sat and just talked, something I absolutely love doing.

One of my favorite things to do is meet a new person, and just sit in a relatively quiet, secluded place, and just talk. What better way to find out everything you ever wanted to know about someone new? I get a total charge out of it. Being let into someone's world, as told by them. Something truly amazing... in my opinion.

It occurs to me the spacebar for this computer is fixed... now that I've used it a number of times. It used to stick, and would absolutely drive me bonkers.

I hate dial-up.

I don't like not having more than 7 channels to watch. It makes channel surfing unbelievably boring.

I've been writing a little bit, and reading a lot.

I finished Leno's book and Band of Brothers. I highly, highly recommend you read Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose. It's an amazing story, and the (epic) mini-series that HBO did directed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg was based on the book, which is based on the experiences and history of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne, 506th P.I.R. I'm not a big WWII history buff, but it is truly an amazing story (and true at that). I was helping in the ongoing construction project that is cleaning rooms in this house of my parent's. I wandered into my sister's room, and took a look at the books she had, and discovered Jerry Seinfeld's book, Sein Language which was decent, and a different format/genre of humor from Leno's book, but still provided a few laughs. I finished it fast, and am now looking for something new to read. I found the Bible Code lying around, my roommate thought it was interesting, so I think I'll probably read that now. If anyone has a suggestion on something "good" to read (fiction, non-fiction, biography, what have you) please feel free to make a suggestion, and I'll see if I can pick it up at the library.

I didn't get to read the other Advertising book I wanted to, the library didn't have it, so I'll end up picking it up when I get back to school. I am still very, very excited about the coming semester.

Take it easy folks. Please, please have a safe and happy new year's.

I did it.

Originally Posted at 07:44 PM on Dec. 24, 2003

Somehow, some way, I managed to do it.

I got an A in my Advertising class. *flex*

I'm at home, stuck on dial-up, so I apologize for not reading/responding to anyone's journals, I can't bear it. I'm at home (Vegas), relaxing, catching up on sleep, driving my parents crazy, and reading up a storm.

Currently, I'm reading Steven Ambrose's Band of Brothers which is both a book, and an awesome mini-series that was produced for HBO. I'm also reading Jay Leno's "biography" entitled Leading with my Chin; it's been entertaining so far. I absolutely love Band of Brothers, and Jay's book's has had it's moments. If anyone has suggestions on what to read, fiction, non-fiction, either way, please, feel free to let me know, and I'll see if I can obtain a copy from my local library.

Take it easy folks.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Yay Kwanzaa, and a general Happy Holidays to everyone. Also, please have a safe and happy new year.

Advertising and a Semester's Reflection

Originally Posted at 02:55 PM on Dec. 17, 2003

The test has now come and gone. I would guesstimate I got a 94ish on it. Looks like I settle for the A-, but I am at least able to say I accepted the challenge, and took a shot at it.. not falling too far from where I aimed. There's always next semester.

Three hours sleep is fun.

In other news... Fuck! I just got my Anthropology grade back from my prof... and I got an 85, which means a C for the semester (as opposed to the B- or C+ I was aiming for). That sucks ass. I thought I did better than that. And I have to say, basing a grade entirely off of tests is the suck. You know, I can't even say the tests kicked my ass, if I had studied properly for the first two to begin with, I would've had an easy B, but as so often is the case, I prove to be my own worst enemy.

I totally managed to squander some ridiculously easy classes this semester. Math Mods, total joke, I fell two points short of an A, and there is no +/- so I get a B. Business Computing Skills, I squeaked out an A by 2 points on the Final (I thought I did better on that one too). Anthropology Lab, I lost a few points every "test" on remarkably stupid things, because I never reviewed (mostly because I couldn't read the test schedule to save my life), ended up with a B+ instead of the easy A it should've been (granted it was only one credit). Anthropology (as mentioned above) would've been a joke of a class had I studied for the first two exams (which were worth one third of the grade a piece). Advertising, looks like an A- (assuming I didn't overestimate.. or severely underestimate... my performance on the final - but I'm damned confident in a 90+ score), thanks to actually studying for the tests in the class, and near perfect attendance. Accounting looks like a B, unless I absolutely bombed the final, which I don't think I did, and if I get a B, that's really good for the class, because everyone I know has had their asses handed to them by it, being lucky to receive a C+ (of course, you may yet get a C+, so don't be a cocky asshole). It isn't over until the old guy/lady bubbles in your grade and sends it off to..wherever the grades go.

The semester as a whole saw minor growth for me as a person, I made a few new friends, kept the same couple of enemies, and generally had a decent time. My weight went up roughly 5 pounds, but I believe it to be due to muscle, as opposed to the some 15+ pints of Ben & Jerry's I had. I have actually felt kind of slimmer (not that I'm a blob of a person to begin with), and I plan to frequent the rec center with the regularity I maintained during finals, throughout the Spring if not moreso. There are feminine prospects for the future as well, and I may be growing nearer to a decision on a career, whether it coincides with my major (now or in the future) remains to be seen...

Disappointment abounds for this deceptively easy semester (gradewise). But, as always, there is hope for the future. There is always next semester, to which I truly am looking forward. I feel resolved to get the best grades of my college career in the coming semester, just because I know it's going to be tough (and of course there will be added pressure from the parentals for the sub-par performance of this semester.) I won't be doing well for them, I will be doing well for me.

Yap.

Originally Posted at 07:22 PM on Dec. 16, 2003

Things are winding down.

15 minutes more to work here, and I won't be doing it again until January. Kind of a pleasant thought, although it is gonna cost me. When I go to Vegas, my income hits zero, and my spending peaks; very bad for the economics of me.

One final to go (the one I want/need a 100 on), and I got about 1/4 of my first round of studying done (going through, reading/writing down terms + their definitions). Probably grab dinner and hit the library shortly. I do my best work there. Sleep seems 8 or 9 hours away, probably longer. I wake up early for a "Career Counseling" appointment tomorrow, followed by the exam. After that... I will probably eat and then who knows what kind of lazy, layabout things I will do. Very exciting.

Damnit.

Originally Posted at 12:33 AM on Dec. 16, 2003

Well, I needed a 97 to get a B- in my Anthropology class, and I very well may have pulled it off. It'll be close, and I eagerly await the results.

Accounting, not much could be done to alter my B one way or the other, and so it most likely remains there. The fun comes from the other "A" class. My Advertising class, I did moderately well on the first exam, worth 40% of the grade, and I got a 90. Quizzes, worth 20%, I got a 91. So, I was like, hmm, that makes an "A" possible. I referenced the syllabus and the grading scale was nowhere to be found. I emailed my professor. This morning I received the response. The "A" range for this class cuts off at 94%; and the prof did the math for me, I would need to get a 100 on the final to achieve it. The game is afoot. I don't believe she counted the extra credit I'm going to turn in at the test, which would probably bring the 100 down to a 96-97. I'm taking it as a challenge. I have 36 hours to study. Including the next 12 which I hopefully will be able to use for sleep.

CHALLENGE!! (worst case scenario I get an A-... but an A would be pretty cool)

Bring it.

Go Check the Boards...

Originally Posted at 01:37 AM on Dec. 15, 2003

Go check the boards. It is a totally neglected portion of this website, check the boards, omgosh, check the boards, check the boards.

In other news, I want sleep. But showers are helpful to the staying-up process, as is eating, blissful food. Mmm.

Dorky though it may be, I still wear a retainer (well, two, top and bottom), due to the fact I want straight teeth. At this point, it is more of a mission than anything, something that I have no doubt will be accomplished barring something catastrophic happening to me before the goal is reached (though technically, my teeth are straight-enough without the retainers, they don't stay that way over prolonged periods of time without said retainers). This all being said, about as long as I've had them, I've worn them every night (usually putting them in before I go to sleep). Over Thanksgiving break, I managed to leave them at my sister's house in California, and went almost two weeks without wearing them at all. My teeth shifted ever-so slightly; every one of them in a different direction. I have my retainers back now, and have been wearing them 24/7 (to make up for lost time) save eating. I think I have a cavity, or a loose filling or something, one of my molars hurts whether I have my retainer in or not...glad I'm seeing the dentist (what?!) within the next few weeks. My teeth will be straight, oh yes, they will.

In other news, I've gone to the rec center on consecutive days, hopefully a glimpse of days to come. I have high hopes for Spring Semester (to go along with an absolutely grueling schedule (imagine a 9:30-5 Tues/Thur schedule, and a 9:30-6 Wed/Fri schedule, with a total, between all four days of a 3 hour break.. not counting 30 minutes for lunch. Mondays are 9:30-2) The classes are half-average, half-megatough. Basically, a couple upper-lower division classes, with some hyper-intensive lower-upper-division classes (namely Critical Thinking and Writing-which as I understand it are just gonna be a megabitch, but I'm looking forward to the challenge)... and a foreign language.. we'll see how that ends up. 17 credits + a 12 hour work week = Fun Semester. I'm actually kind of excited about the challenge it should present, and seriously excited about taking Film Studies and a professor (different class) I've wanted to take since my first visit to campus. This paragraph is actually about how I'm hoping to work in daily trips to the rec center, based on the bitch-ass schedule, along with trips to the B-School Library every night before or after the rec center trip. I'mma buff up my brain, and my mus-kulls.. if I can will myself to keep up. Of course, this all means I can't go to bed later than 1am on a regular basis, or it will destroy me.

Something like... "Live in Moderation, Die in Excess." I just googled it, but didn't find the exact quote (just various things about moderation and fitness), does that mean I just made my own quotable quote?! What do you think? (History says no, but... "the standard must be maintained!!" (something else I may or may not have coined, I couldn't find it quoted on google in that order, or on imdb.com (I heart quoting movies and tv shows I watch-especially when my friends know what the hell I'm talking about) - Anyway, have you ever heard either of those "quotes" before?

Also, check out the "What are you doing for..." link under Humor... it's freakin' awesome!!

My Eyes!!

Originally Posted at 08:05 PM on Dec. 13, 2003

So, being your stereotypical college student, I put off a reading assignment handed out at the beginning of the semester to a class of 200. Five books, you need to read one by the final. Documented, and filed in the back of everyone's mind.

Fast forward four months. Six days to the final, the last day of class. I don't even know where my list of the books is, so I ask the girls on either side of me if they have the syllabus, and luckily one of them did. Copied down the titles, and went straight to the library after class let out. Got to a terminal, searched for the five titles. Three were found, and all were checked out with holds on them (as in, people had dibs on them). I went up to the desk and asked what all that meant, and got answers that provided a dreary outlook. I went back to my room, and explored other options, such as purchasing the book online, and getting it delivered. But it was too expensive, and wouldn't necessarily get here in time for the final (Wednesday), not to mention the time it would take to read. Scrap that. I did another search on the books the following day, and it seemed as though one had been returned, and was waiting on hold at the library. I called up, got transferred, got transferred, and asked what the odds were of being able to read it on site, without checking it out, and relinquishing it should the person with the primary hold on it show up. I was told it was possible.

Woot! I was at the library five minutes later to take advantage. Of course, it was 4:59pm, and they close at 5pm, so no dice. They were open today Noon-5pm. I spent 5 straight hours, nose buried in the book, and managed to read 202 of the 214 pages before I was kicked out. And the guy with the primary hold did show up, but we were familiar with one another from a club we're in, and he saw I was halfway through the book, so he just left me be to get it tomorrow it seems. I'm gonna send him an email later tonight thanking him. Freakin' awesome.

Why was it so important to read? Well, it's 10 questions out of an ~80 question final. That's 12.5% of the exam grade, but what's worse is that the final is worth 40% of the course grade. And I need every point I can get for this class, because I've got a shot at one of those things that really help your gpa, called an "A," which aren't always possible when this point in the semester comes around. Huzzah.

My eyes hurt, I'm going to the gym (to run my thoughts away), and fuck studying the rest of the night. (I'll think about it come midnight)

Have a nice evening folks.

Superficiality

Originally Posted at 02:32 PM on Dec. 12, 2003

You know, looks are a big thing. Vickie said she doesn't really have any unattractive friends, which got me thinking.

Friendship
I don't have very many unattractive friends; that said, I do have female friends I am not attracted to. Most of my friends are very laid back, and find things to do instead of go to parties, get drunk, get stoned, or randomly hook-up with people they don't plan on speaking to again. Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for most of those, but they aren't common, every day occurrences for the folks with which I most often associate.

Girls and ..Pretty
To me, the most important feature is the face. Don't get me wrong, I like the female form just as much as the nextguy. But bodies change; weird things happen to bodies - Gravity, aging, etc. Faces are different. For instance, you can look at the faces of old people, and compare them to pictures of them when they were younger, and you can tell it's the same person. Faces stay with you; Bodies are fleeting. Take for example my uncle, he was a pretty thin guy when he got married, he probably weighed around 170-190 pounds; 20 years later, he weighs well over 300 pounds. You look at his wedding photo, you look at his face today, and it is easy to tell, it's the same guy.

I look at magazine covers, and pretty bodies are in no short supply, but pretty bodies with pretty faces on top of them... those are not as common. Another thing about faces, make-up. Some girls just cake it on, this drives me nuts. Granted some need it, but some don't, and instead they hide behind it. I don't get it, then again I'm a guy.

Hair
Another thing, Hair! Holy crap, why do so many girls want to be blonde? There is nothing wrong with having dark hair! Most often, I actually prefer girls with naturally dark hair. Highlights, streaks..blah. Few cases necessitate the drastic change of dying your hair. Girls these days often don't know what their natural hair color is, and that's kind of disconcerting. Granted eyebrows and roots are a good indication, they just aren't sure. "I think it's something like this.. or maybe that, you know." So many girls have ruined their beautiful hair and changed it to this off-yellow, unnatural color that doesn't exist in the real world. I can understand blue, green, purple, and that fake red... that's a statement you're trying to make, even if it gets lost to itself in distraction. Some of the most attractive girls I've seen just kept it simple. Nice, simple, soft, brown hair. - Or do girls dye it because they can't attain that? What's the deal?

Humor and Friendship
Sense of humor. This is the most important quality of any friendship. If you can't laugh, won't laugh, just flat don't get jokes, or are incapable of sensing sarcasm... I don't want to be friends with you. Laughter is my big thing, I love laughing, I love making people laugh, I love seeing smiles induced by something funny. That being said, I like smiling because of something funny that was said. When it's just you and me, and nothing else, if we can't at the very least laugh with one another - what's the point?

Fear

Originally Posted at 08:19 PM on Dec. 10, 2003

Fear is why.

I'm not sure what I'm saying here, but let's see where it takes us. I think the number one reason I haven't had a girlfriend in over a year is fear. Fear of the thought that I will just be wasting the girl's and my time. I've had mini-crushes over my college career, but they've never developed into anything because of fear. I don't know what I want out of life, I don't know where I am going, I don't know how I'm going to get there, and I don't know my destination. On the one hand, I feel as though, relationships are just to share something with someone and enjoy the time you have together; but on the other, I also feel like there should always be the potential that you end up together (ie marriage) down the road. I'm not sure if that's how I felt going into my relationship with Michelle 2 years ago, but I feel as though I'm afraid I will repeat the same mistakes as before (ending up hurting her). But at the same time, isn't that what relationships are about; exploring the unknown, experiencing things with someone new, just having a good time connecting with someone else, and the inherent risk of getting hurt. Letting someone in, and putting yourself on the line.

Fear is holding me back. It may seem egotistical, but I'm afraid of hurting someone. Of course, at the same time, I can say without a doubt people have been hurt through collateral damage of things I've done. Why should it be any different if I take a more head-on approach? - I'm not sure, maybe I think it'd be rude to start a relationship with someone that I have no intention of it ever going anywhere with; maybe I think too long term when it comes to relationships. I think too much. The best time I have with people is when I'm out, relaxing, chatting, and just sharing a good laugh. But I also wouldn't mind doing that, but more in a "one-on-one, we're on a date" setting; where more will take place than laughing. What's stopping me? Like I said, Fear.

I guess I should say fuck it, and live in the now.

Back to the Two Golden Rules:
Rule #1: Number one always comes first.
Rule #2: I am number one.

Maybe I think too much, and am afraid to hurt. Or maybe I'm just kidding myself, and what I'm really afraid of is being the one who gets hurt.

The Hebrew Hammer

Originally Posted at 02:27 AM on Dec. 09, 2003

Et tu Blitzen?

Simply the best Chanukah movie I have seen to date. Without a doubt, just hilarious, fun for Jews and Gentiles alike! As I exclaimed about 2/3rds through this movie, "I would pay twenty-three dollars for this movie!" - Which is a pretty big deal considering about the most expensive movie I've bought in the past few years not as a gift for someone else was probably $17.99 + tax. So it's a big deal. I can't wait to watch it again later this week.

In case you missed the premiere: It'll be on Comedy Central: Tuesday, December 9th at 3 PM,
Friday, December 12th at 1 AM,
Saturday, December 13th at 11 AM,
Sunday, December 14th at 7:30 AM & 7:30 PM.

Please be sure to adjust it for your timezone. For myself, the time listed is actually an hour before when it'll be on. If you have time during this finals week, and want to laugh off the stress, check it out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Funniest movie I've seen in a while - check it out if you can!

Random

Originally Posted at 09:36 PM on Dec. 08, 2003

Phrase of the day: "dinosaurian wiliness"

Joke of the day: Stolen from my friend Sami; A Rabbi was standing in front of his Hebrew class and asked them the question. "The Jews have been together as a people for 5,764 years, while the Chinese have only been together as a people for 4,697 years. Now what does that mean to you, he asked the class." After a few moments a hand went up. "Yes David," the Rabbi said. With that, David got up and said, "That means the Jewish people didn't have Chinese food for 1,067 years."

In other news, yet another day where I failed to do anything meaningful. And it will be capped off with my ass sitting on my bed as though it were a couch taking in "The Hebrew Hammer" on Comedy Central, followed by a little South Park. After that, I'll probably accomplish a lot more nothing.

At dinner this evening, some girls were discussing their schedules for next semester, and I couldn't help but eavesdrop (who am I kidding?) and this girl was taking 14 credits, and remarking how tough it's going to be. This semester I took 17, next semester I'm taking 17, I took 12 over summer, I took 17 in the spring, and I took 15 my first semester just to gauge how tough it would be. Christ, 14 is barely more than being a full time student (12).

Also at dinner, prior to my arrival there had been a food fight. A food fight, and I missed it, how could it happen?! It was pretty bad too, string-like foods were strewn across the floor, along with at least one personal pan pizza, a chicken breast, and various other unidentifiable foods. It was cause for moderate debate between my roommate and I over how something like that starts, how it progressed, and what we would've done in a similar situation. I would be willing to bet, I actually would rather not have been there to be a victim of the skirmish. - I also felt bad for the staff of the cafeteria because they had to clean up the mess.

Went to the rec center last night, and lost slightly under 2 pounds (173.9 -> 172). Go figure.

6 days to Finals.

Wierd

Originally Posted at 04:35 PM on Dec. 07, 2003

I've told you all about my friend Mari.. she's a ~27ish year old PhD-candidate in some sort of Engineering. We met over summer, and have since become good friends. She has me over every now and then, she provides the food, I provide a movie. Dinner & a movie-style hanging out.

About two weeks ago, just before Thanksgiving break, we had a "Mari and Scully's Day of Fun" (a la "Janice and Joey's Day of Fun" from "Friends" back in the day - Not to be confused with the annual "Monica and Scully's Day of Fun" that takes place in Vegas). Anywho, during the course of the day, we went shopping, ate a scrumptious lunch at The Olive Garden, did more shopping, went to a house-warming party for some Grad Student friends of hers from when she did her Master's. All very nice people, and one was Mai-lynn (probably botched the spelling).

Saturday, when Mari and I hung out, she told me that Mai-lynn thought I was cute, and the reason provided was that I am very secure in my personality, along with.. ya know, physical stuff. This is kind of like, "What in the hell?!" because, as you avid readers may have noted about that same time (a few days later in fact), I was dealing with the personality issues of what the hell am I?

Although, now, I tend to think the secure-personality thing she got from me, was me at ease with the "mask" I was wearing for the occasion. Go figure.

I'm an awesome collection of "masks" suited for every possible occasion. Although, I tend to think at the root of everything I am that ENFJ guy, that just wants everyone to feel comfortable and have a good time.
-------------------------------
In other news, there is a pretty cute girl I've been seeing relatively frequently at Hillel Events, and I tend to think she likes me. I kind of like her, she's got a decent personality, and she's not too bad looking, but she seems to be a realitvely big party girl... which I think we've discussed... I am not. I don't know where that puts us, but I think I'll give her a call in a few here, to see how her birthday was...

After Friday Night's dinner at Hillel, I walked her to the bus stop and we sorta, almost, kinda exchanged numbers, and I gave her a call a little bit later, and left a message on her voice mail, with my number, and I wished her a happy birthday (though her birthday was Saturday, I figured she wouldn't get it until then.. and she didn't). And she returned my call, Saturday afternoon while I was out seeing Timeline, saying how cute was the message I left. We'll see where this goes.

Take it easy folks! And don't stress out too much over those finals, just start preparing early (like, earlier than the night before), and you'll do fine.

Don't stress, you'll be fine!!

Timeline

Originally Posted at 07:15 PM on Dec. 06, 2003

Just got back from seeing the movie, Timeline. And having read the book, I was obviously disappointed. The book was perfectly suited to be made into a movie. In reading the book, I kept thinking how easy it was to picture everything and how it would be a totally schweet(tm) movie if they stuck to the book.

Of course, they didn't, and the book was rewritten into screenplay form, but some of the cool stuff was left out. Meanwhile, I didn't like Paul Walker... he just didn't act how I pictured his character, I would almost liken his acting to that of Keanu Reeves for the first few scenes of Revolutions, but that's too harsh... he was still bad though.

It had some cool points, but the book was far superior in every aspect.

During the course of the movie I saw some faces that looked familiar, the chick from Bedazzled (not Liz Hurley, but Frances O'Connor- the one Brendan Fraser liked), Neal McDonough who is just totally fucking awesome - you know him from Minority Report, and as Buck from Band of Brothers. Not to mention the one I totally knew, but couldn't place, Lambert Wilson, better known to everyone (including me) as the Merovingian from Reloaded/Revolutions, of course, that's what a lot of make-up, armor and a wig will do for you... A face I didn't recognize, but wouldn't mind seeing more of was Anna Friel.. simply a pretty face (and I mean that literally, I liked her face, you didn't see much else, and that's fine.. her face is still pretty).

Anyway, the movie would've been far better had I not read the book. Kind of like The Sum of All Fears, except that was a freakin' awesome book, and a horrible, god-awful movie (I blame Affleck) -- Paul Walker suxxored, the supporting cast was pretty good despite him; for a book-turned-movie, it was run-of-the-mill. And there were a few problems as with any movie where time travel is involved (continuity issues, if you will).

I'm glad it only cost me three bucks, and if it's on cable, I might sit through it again.

What's the deal?

Originally Posted at 01:25 AM on Dec. 05, 2003

So, I've been increasing the frequency with which I go to the rec center the past few weeks. And the first thing I do after changing is weigh myself, the last thing I do before changing back is weigh myself.

These days I am in the 165-173 range.

I have gone in, started at 170, and left at 165.
I have gone in, started at 173, and left at 171.
I have gone in, started at 167, and left at 170.

I find this terribly confusing.

What's the deal?

Is that water weight? - Sweat and Drinking Water or what? Where does that weight come from? What's the deal?!
---------------------------------
In other news, today was an okay day.. Although I'm pissed I haven't been getting e-mails about my Marketing Club meetings. I went tonight, but there was no meeting, so I was a little annoyed.

Either my clock is about 2 minutes faster than I suspected or I am walking faster. I don't know, but I seem to be getting around campus a bit faster -- I get to class earlier, but I leave at the same "time" as I always have... It must be those trips to the rec center. Go figure!

As noted in the daily poll, I finished my holiday shopping, and it was quite pricey. At least I know I got some cool stuff this year. Nikon Coolpix 3100 (digital camera), a memory card, a carrying case, extra batteries and a recharger. Not asking for any gifts for the last five years has paid off in full with interest! Also, Indiana Jones the Collection (Widescreen DVD).

Finals are two weeks out. I have a joke of a schedule, as I have had all semester. I imagine I will be spending most of Finals week at work, because it beats sitting on my ass watching Comedy Central, VH1 or staring at various websites to see if anything is ever going to happen.

I'm a Lakers fan, right? So, naturally, I want to watch Lakers' games when they're on national television. There was a game on tonight, on TNT... which is a channel I'm supposed to get, and have got for the last 17 months. Wonderful news, about 3 weeks ago, the channel TNT was on, transformed, literally overnight into the NASA channel, which while it is a cool channel that I do occasionally watch, they don't show %#%$ing Laker's games! I re-autoprogrammed my channels today to make sure it hadn't moved somewhere else. I got three "new" channels (previously the only way to get to them was by manually typing in the numbers and pressing enter) -- Fox News Channel, Random Campus Channel and C-Span2 (which is now on two channels ... I'll fix that later) but no bloomin' TNT. *sigh* I've managed to catch 4 games this season, and for half of those, I was in California.

Busy Busy.

See ya on the flipside!

Absolutely.

Originally Posted at 08:41 PM on Dec. 03, 2003

It's nice to have a good day once in a while... Especially one that follows a day full of impatience, anger, and subdued violence toward your fellow man.

Of course, it's not over yet, so it could get better or worse... we shall see.

Oh man... what's going on??

Originally Posted at 11:25 PM on Nov. 25, 2003

The other day I was hanging out with friends (read: girls), and we were just talking about varoius things, including relationships. I got into my past, and pretty much gave a Cliff's Notes account of that part of my life... Well, later that evening, when I was alone with one of the girls, she pointed out that in the entire time she'd known me (~16 months), she was completely unaware of that part of my personality. (The asshole, the cute romantic, what have you..)

What's this got to do with anything?

Well, in searching for "the career that is right for me." I've been taking various personality tests. Most of them based off of the Myers-Briggs test. Which basically says there are 16 core types of people (I/E, N/S, T/F, J/P), and blah blah blah. So, I had taken it 3 times, and I had got 3 different assessments. No help.

I had an appointment with a Career Counselor today, very nice woman I work with by the name of Nancy. She basically gave a simple Myers-Briggs test to me, and we went off of my answers, which were pretty much middle of the road. She suggested I was one of two (very similar) types. Our meeting ended, and she suggested I read up, and figure out which I think I am.

Nancy suggested I was either an INFJ or an ENFJ (she was leaning toward INFJ).

Direct from the paperwork:
"INFJ- Succeed by perseverance, originality, and desire to do whatever is needed or wanted. Put their best efforts into their work. Quietly forceful, conscientious, concerned for others. Respected for their firm principles. Likely to be honroed and followed for their clear visions as to how best to serve the common good."

"ENFJ- Responsive and responsible. Feel real concern for what others think or want, and try to handle things with due regard for the other's feelings. Can present a proposal or lead a group discussion with ease and tact. Sociable, popular, sympathetic. Responsive to praise and criticism. Like to facilitate others and enable people to achieve their potential."

I read through all 16 types (including the two Nancy suggested), and came to the conclusion I was an ENFJ (look up a little). I call Nancy over, and let her know thats what I think I am, based on what the book described it to be. I based my assessment on "How Others May See Them" (ENFJs).

"How Others May See [ENFJs]:
ENFJs are energetic, enthusiastic, and very aware of others. Their genuine interest can usually draw out and involve even the most reserved person. They listen to and support others, but also have very definite values and opinions on their own which they will express clearly. ENFJs are energized by people and are socially adept; however, they also have a strong need for authentic intimate relationships. They bring great enthusiasm and intensity to creating and maintaining these. - ENFJs like their lives to be organized and will work to bring closure to ambiguous relationships or situations. However, if people's needs conflict with schedules and rules, they will put people first. Others usually see ENFJs as: sociable, personable, congenial, and gracious - expressive, responsive, and persuasive." -- Most of that is me... the way I think my friends would see me.

To which Nancy responded, "Well, don't forget, sometimes we put on faces for others." And I'm like, shit. That's no help. I'm just a bunch of different faces. Later on, Ann (another Career Counselor with whom I work) came by, and noticed what I was reading about, and she suggested, based on what she knew of me, that I was an ISTJ.

Direct from the paperwork:
"ISTJ- Serious, quiet, earn success by concentration and thoroughness. Practical, orderly, matter-of-fact, logical, realistic, and dependable. See to it that everything is well organized. Take responsibility. Make up their own minds as to what should be accomplished and work toward it steadily, regardless of protests or distractions." -- That is me, to a "T" ... when I'm at work (on most days). Anywhere else, that's pure poppycock.

Of course, I basically told Ann that, and she asked me to look at the one that is it's complete opposite; ENTJ.

Direct from the paperwork:
"ENTJ- Frank, decisive, leaders in activities. Develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve ogranizational problems. Good in anything that requires reasoning and intelligent talk, such as public speaking. Are usually well informed and enjoy adding to their fund of knowledge." -- If the situation calls for it, I become Mister Get-The-Job-Done. I will take charge to accomplish the goals set, if it isn't getting done.

...Although my EN{F}J is in the back of my mind saying... "Dude, you're gonna hurt someone's feelings."

So, after all this quoting and what not, "What the fuck is your point?" You are asking yourself... if you're still reading this.

My point is..well, more of a question than anything else.

-Do I have "multiple personalities"? - You know what I mean.
-Does anyone else feel like they do too?
-Am I simply nuts?
-Do you feel as though you wear a different "face" depending on your setting?

The immortal words of Peter Griffin...

HOLY CRAP!!

Need I say more?

Rules

Originally Posted at 05:02 PM on Nov. 20, 2003

Sort of along the lines of Joe Dirt.

Two Rules - Read from your perspective:
Rule #1: Number one always comes first.
Rule #2: I am number one.

I'll leave the story out, because I've got nothing all that nice to say, but that's what I say today.

Note to self: You could learn something by listening to me, asshole.

Do what makes you happy damnit!

A few generalizations for all of you...

Originally Posted at 03:21 AM on Nov. 17, 2003

All guys are evil.
All girls are stupid.
All guys are pigs.
All pretty girls are dumb.
All gay guys are clean.
All smart girls are ugly.
All good looking guys are gay.
All girls have boyfriends.
All guys have girlfriends.

That is all for now...
Thanks.

*looks in the mirror and in his best "talking to a dog who did something good voice" says* - "Who's a cynic? You are! Yes you are!" . . .

dotdotdot...

Not what I was expecting...

Originally Posted at 05:10 PM on Nov. 13, 2003

...but this is what I ended up with. My more-incoherent blog is in me somewhere.

What do I want?
-I want to be happy. I want to wake up in the morning and say, let's rock, and face down my day. I want to actually want to get out of bed. I want to be excited about what I am going to do. I want to smile, not because something tickled me, but because its a reflection of how I feel.

How do I get there?
-I have to find what drives me. I have to figure out what it is I am interested in, and follow it. I need to make a decision, and I need to stick to it.

What makes me happy?
-Making other people laugh. Brightening someone's day by any means of which I am capable. Entertaining friends, family and strangers. Seeing people smile. I do so love seeing smiles. Straight ones, crooked ones, ones with missing teeth - The feeling that I put that smile on that person's face. A reaction that couldn't be held back as a result of something I did, or said. - Interaction with another person. Though, I generally don't like people. I find that connecting with another person makes me feel great.

Alone, what makes me happy?
-Efficiently using my time to an end that satisfies my needs. Whether I want to be entertained or accomplish something. If I am sitting back watching TV, and I can't find something I want to watch that I feel will entertain me I will turn it off and do something else. Hell, if I am sitting back watching TV, and I find something that entertains me, I always make sure there isn't something else on I wouldn't find more entertaining, or sometimes I'll watch two things that I think will keep my attention. I like being entertained. -- I like learning something I didn't know.

What pisses me off?
-My pet peeves. I don't like being irritated by any of the many things that get under my skin. My pet peeves are one of my pet peeves (go figure on how that works). Peripheral vision is oftentimes a curse. People that think they're better than everyone else. People that smoke with no regard for the people around them. People that rub it in when it's uncalled for (sometimes it is). Stoners who are wasting their time and their parent's money by coming to school here, dragging down the name of the school, and other students around them. Loud people at one in the morning on a weeknight. Irresponsible drunks, and people who don't think there is more to life/college than going out and getting drunk/stoned. - I am all for a good time, but that just seems dumb to me (to each their own of course).

What do I love?
-Smiles. Laughs. Genuine Hugs (few and far between though they may be). Kisses. Eyes. Connecting. Sharing. Brainstorming. Laughing. Being useful (not used). Being entertained.

I sense...

Originally Posted at 01:01 AM on Nov. 13, 2003

...a huge, incoherent blog that makes absolutely no sense to anyone (including myself)... coming within the next 48 hours

Welp...

Originally Posted at 03:03 AM on Nov. 11, 2003

This started out as something else, but I liked The Matrix portion better, and the first portion I felt was pure insanity, so here we are then.

I saw the Matrix this weekend with my roommate.

If you just want my simple review with nothing else, you can scroll down and just look for the big "TO SUM IT UP" (you can't miss it)- And IF YOU HAVEN"T SEEN IT YET, AND DON"T WANNA DEAL WITH SPOILERS, DON"T READ THIS. I have been waiting to see it since Wednesday (and by that I mean May, but I couldn't see it then, so thats why it was Wednesday), we (my roomie and I) were going to see it together, but Sunday was the first chance we could go (schedule conflicts).

Anyway, we made it, and we're there. The movie hasn't started yet, neither have the previews... or the commercials that lead into the previews. I hate them so much. Why is Estee Lauder advertising in a movie theater anyway? Diet Coke, I can understand, but Estee Lauder, what the hell is going on? What marketing guy(or gal) thought that up? And for the Matrix and Kill Bill of all things (which I saw the week before). At least the girl was cute, that was about the only thing that ad had going for it in my book. Along with the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers video game advertisement. Argh, it wasn't even formatted for the screen, why must they test my patience like this? Then we got the ads for DVDs that are coming out. One for T3: Rise of the Machines came up, and someone in the row behind me exclaimed "THAT'S MY GOVERNOR!" which got some chuckles from all who were in earshot, and started a mini-political debate that lasted into the next commercial. Finally some previews, that are gone from my mind at the moment, I was kinda disappointed not to see a trailer for "Timeline" which was a pretty damned good book (and a movie I'm looking forward to later this month).

Finally, the movie. About damned time. %#*(@%(@# Alright, lets do this! It started off kind of slow, and I have to say, I've never seen Keanu act so poorly as he did in the first lines he shared with Sati, just wow. He gets paid for that?! It wasn't too bad the rest of the way, but that first scene. Woo, that just... hurt. Trinity seemed different somehow, Morpheus was a lot more subdued, but thats sort of to be expected. I really liked Seraph, he was even cooler than last time. Same as Niobe -- When Trinity died I was sort of disappointed, I had no emotional response at all. And yeah, I'm a guy so what? When I saw Top Gun the first time (that I remember), and Goose died, I had to find tissues; granted I was like 8 at the time, but still. We only had Goose for about 50 minutes, we had Trinity for over 4 hours! And my eyes didn't even well up. Whats going on?! She sort of died in the second one (no emotional response their either), thats true, maybe I was prepared for it, I don't know, but I was still disappointed. And Neo dying - I guess? Didn't do much for me either. I mean, I'm not so sure he's dead inside the Matrix, but I'm pretty sure he's dead in the real world. What? I don't know, nobody knows for sure.

I was edge-of-my-seat-thrilled for the Zion battle, and the chase into it, that was some serious awesome stuff right there. But... the rest of it just .. wasn't all that for me. Ya know? The battle with Smith was kind of cool...but the end left me a little baffled.

And for it being said "That's it. There won't be another one." I'm a little sad. I didn't get closure. There's leaving it open ended, like its up to you to decide what happened (End of Castaway) but this is a whole nother can of worms, something completely different. In Castaway there were a couple of options. (1) He got back in his car, drove after her, and they lived happily ever after. (2) He smiled to himself, and drove off. (3) He crossed into the middle of the road and was hit by an 18-wheeler that nobody saw or heard coming, and that was the end of him. - Revolutions leaves too many questions unanswered, and doesn't really end.

We walked back to campus, trying to sort out what we'd just seen, but really came to no conclusions. And I thought to myself... If they could've left it at just the original, with the way things went, I kind of wish they would have... To use a phrase I got to hear a few times through the course of my youth; "I'm not angry, I'm just a little disappointed." - It could've been so much bigger, so much better, but.. how could it ever live up to the stage the first one set up? - Did the Wachowski's have a vision greater than their first step (when they took it)? Probably. Did they follow through with it? I sure hope not, because honestly, if thats where they planned to go from page one, I'm more than a little disappointed. The Vision for what The Matrix turned out to be... came from a $300 million budget. I almost want to just forget Reloaded and Revolutions at this point.

TO SUM IT UP
The conclusions painted by Revolutions left me unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and craving something more. And I also am left with questions regarding minor characters, especially Seraph, regarding backgrounds, and where they go from the end.

I think the whole movie can be summed up in the "conversation" my roommate and I had when the credits started rolling:

Me: "I'm hungry."
My roommate (trying to mull over what he'd just taken in): "Do you have a calculator?"

I'd still like to play the game someday, and I may buy the Animatrix when it gets down to ten bucks. And I will buy Reloaded and Revolutions, but I guarantee, I will not get as much pleasure from watching it start to finish as I do the original. Let alone the DVD getting as much wear. I've probably viewed the movie 100 times by now. Its something I can listen to, hell, it's something I can sleep to. Go figure.

Ya know...

Originally Posted at 05:07 PM on Nov. 06, 2003

I think I've talked about this before... its how I don't like how "How are you?" or "How ya doin'?" have gone from being a question with an open-ended answer to a stated-greeting that you can't answer.

"How are you."
"Sup."

Or, if it is answered it is:
"How are you?"
"I'm good, how are you?"
"Good."

No emotion. You're not doing good, you just said it not to burden the other person with whats going on with you.
What's going on in here?! *pounds his chest* If I ask, I usually really want to know. How are you? Whats going on? - If you don't want to know, don't bloody ask, alright?

I got over "Sup." becoming "Hello." But I am not going to get over this, and I'm not going to lose it without a fight!

-------------------------------------
I was in line for a sandwich the other day, and Marshall (my friend) saw Bridgette (a friend of his) and the conversation went as follows:

Marshall: "Hey Bridgette, how are ya?"
Bridgette: "I'm okay, how are you?"
Marshall: "I'm outstanding!

He said it with such enthusiasm, I couldn't appreciate it at the time.

Bridgette: "Really?"
Marshall: "No, not really, but if I say it, it gets me that much closer."
-----------------------------------
In the immortal words of Peter Griffin, "HOLY CRAP!"

Mind blowing idea, even if it is a lie...either way it beats the hell outta: "good" and "alright."

Summary of Weekend

Originally Posted at 12:19 AM on Sep. 08, 2003

Pretty much what I did this weekend, generally dull and uninteresting. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Friday, I woke up early, attended my classes. One at the B-School, and the following one, ten minutes later, fifteen minutes away at Hale Anthropology. (Irrelevant) - The buildings are fifteen minutes apart, and the classes are ten minutes apart. I will be late every day this year. Teehee.

Anyway, Hale was a lab, and that wrapped up nicely. I headed off to work. Did that whole thing, went to the dining hall which had about 300 people in it - I went back to my room. My roomie and I watched some History Channel for twenty minutes, and went back to the dining hall which was, by that time, desserted. Went back to the room, watched the Cripple Fight of South Park, and an episode of Family Guy. By the end of which, I was ready for a nap. Took a three hour nap, woke up, and five minutes later (5:30pm) I got a phone call from my friend Mikelle (pronounced My-Kell, but I always say it Mick-elle) inviting me to Old Chicago with mutual friends. I had been planning to get together with Mari the PhD Candidate for about a week, and was like, "Well, I'm supposed to get together with someone else, but if that changes I'll call you back." So, I call Mari, and she had research to do, so she had to cancel on me. I called Mikelle back, and said I was in. Yada Yada. Ridiculousness about how to coordinate getting 7 people from point A to point B, and 2 people from point C to point B. That I solved because I'm a loudmouth who takes over situations that aren't going anywhere.

We get our car of 4 people over to Pearl Street (where Old Chicago is) and start looking for a parking spot. The car of 5 people calls us and tells us that there is an hour wait at Old Chicago, what do we wanna do. Yada Yada, we end up at Applebee's. Eat, et al. The car of four heads back to campus, the car of five elsewhere.

Four of us get back to Mikelle and Sarah's room (they're roommates). It's Sierra, Mikelle, Sarah, and myself, and we pop "Ferris Buller's Day Off" in the DVD player, and it's good times. It ends around 1:15am, and Sierra heads off to hang with friends. Mikelle, Sarah, and I talk for the next three hours. I get to bed around 4:30am. Saturday, I slept til 11:30 or so. Ended up getting together with Mari for lunch, made a Target-run, and went back to my room exhausted. Watched the CU/UCLA game (which CU won 16-14, though the last two minutes of the fourth quarter weren't televised due to technical difficulties). IM'd with various people, and ended up getting together with Mikelle, Sarah, and the Jennies for dinner, and "Animal House" back at Sarah and Mikelle's (they have the biggest room and tv). Around 10:30pm word of a party had spread, and Mikelle and the Jennies were gonna go. Sarah and I didn't waste our time because we aren't big drinkers, and we don't really go to parties where we don't know anybody. Sarah and I pop in "Lilo & Stitch."

About 11:20pm, Mikelle walks back in, saying how she might as well have stayed with us instead of wasting her time going out to the party, which got cancelled, and the group she was with split in two, etc. We ended up talking until 1:30am at which time I was invited to go with them on a Super Target-run Sunday leaving at roughly 10:30am. I said I was in (I've been trying to buy pulp-free Orange Juice for four days now, but there hasn't been any in stock). Got back to my room near 1:45am, discovered a note my roommate left on my bed that the alarm was going off at 6:35am, and that he'd be quiet as possible. (I luff Matt) We woke up around that time, and I politely asked him to reset the alarm for 9:40am, rolled over, and next thing I knew, it was 9:40am and the radio was blaring. I got up, yada yada, went over to Sarah and Mikelle's and we left.

Super-Target is down the road a number of miles outside of Boulder, I finally got my OJ, and picked up a mirror I've been talking about getting for two weeks now. We hit up Costco (in the same shopping center) for lunch and water. Good stuff. Headed back to campus, got all the stuff we bought out of the car, and Mikelle went to Denver for the afternoon. Sarah and I hung out in her room until 5 of 3pm when we got together with Andrea for the 5 o'clock party at her house (Sarah and I are mutual friends of all three roomies in Andrea's house). We hit up Barnes and Noble, got a card and a book or something. Hit up Safeway, got the cake, ice cream (I got B&J's Chubby Hubby and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough) and we headed off to the party.

Had a good time at the party, it was kind of pot luck, people bringing various foods which were pretty good. (I provided the plates... Methinks they didn't want me cooking anything) - We talked, hung out, I met a rilly rilly cute girl who I probably won't see again and didn't know like anybody there (roommate of a friend at the party). Anyway, lots of tickling, lots and lots and lots of laughing - good times were had by all. Sarah and I got dropped off at campus, we dropped ice cream off at my room, and I walked her back to her room. We talked for a little bit, and I carried my mirror back to my room.

Animal House was funny, I can see why it's the classic frat guy flick.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is the classic its always been, and I've always loved.
Lilo & Stitch was the cuteness, I heart Stitch.

And as for any curiosities; Sarah and Mikelle are both cute, but methinks not my type. And nothing hath happened outside of getting to know-ness through conversation as yet. And they both have freakin' awesome senses of humor.

Twenty-Four (24)

Originally Posted at 04:59 PM on Sep. 02, 2003

Labor day (Monday) the FX Channel had a marathon of the show, "24" starring Keifer Sutherland. It started at midnight eastern, and ran all day, until midnight eastern the next day. Being in the mountain time zone, it started at 10pm for me. I was channel surfing around 10:20 when I came across it, and recognized Keifer Sutherland's character and stopped to see more precisely what I was watching. I figured out that it was an episode of "24" and it seemed to be the first one of the second season based on the circumstances. Over the next 40 minutes, there were no commercials. None. It was presented without commercial interruption by somebody who wants me to buy their product. What this translated into, was me watching the show for 40 minutes straight.

At the end of the hour, that is 11pm, I was like, holy crap what happens next? When will the next episode be? And, as it turns out, the next episode was then, and it was announced that it was a 24 hour marathon, of the show "24." I was like, well, I've been up since 3:30pm, I can go for a while. And besides, I don't think there are actually 24, hour-long episodes. This is Season Two, it'll probably end in like 11 episodes, and Season Three will start, or it'll loop to Season One, or maybe they'll show Season Two again. Little did I know. They really meant, 24 hours of "24," one full season, all in one sitting.

Seven hours later, six am, to be precise, I was still watching, sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering what I had gotten into. I fell asleep for twenty minutes. Woke up, figured out what I had missed, and continued to watch. Eight hours later, two pm, I ordered pizza (Domino's, Medium One-Topping, Half Pepperoni, Half Sausage), it arrived thirty minutes later, during the show, I went out and got it, came back in, ate and watched, watched and ate. It was good.

Six hours later, 8:00pm, I was counting down the end of the marathon, looking forward to sleep. It was so good. I couldn't stop watching til the end. I had been laughed at by friends, but this was something bigger than them, or me. It was the marathon of "24," and I was going to finish it if it killed me.

Two hours later, 10pm. I had done it. I had sat through 24 hours of "24." And it was worth it. I was thoroughly entertained, and my emotions had been on a rollercoaster. I laughed (a decent amount), I cried (more than none, which is a lot), I grinned, I grimaced, I cringed, I smiled, I cheered with the good guys, I sneered at the bad. I was in it for the long haul, and I sat through it all.

All I have to say at this point is, there is no way in hell I'm watching Season Three, one episode per week. All or none baby! And if this time next year there is a Season Three Marathon of "24," I'm so watching it. But there is no way I can watch that show one episode at a time, for weeks on end. No way!

The entertainment was worth the time, but I still feel like I wasted my weekend in front of the tv. And I was up for damn near 31 hours. I slept like a brick.

If I Were in Charge...

Originally Posted at 04:16 PM on Sep. 02, 2003

Sitting behind my desk at Career Services, I have an excellent view of the mailboxes out in the hall. I see students coming and going, checking their mail all the time. It still being the slow season here at Career Services, I am free to observe the students and let my mind run free.

Through the course of today's bored staring, I made an actual observation, (as opposed to, "she's cute") and noticed that there were some people whose mailboxes were in the wrong spot for their height. For instance the 6 foot 7 inch guy who had the lowest mailbox and had to bend over to look inside it. Or maybe the 5 foot nothing guy that had the top mailbox and had to jump to see inside of it.

If I were in charge, I would do something about this. What? I dunno, maybe take a look at mailbox arrangement within dorms, and make it so that people's height better sync with the height of their mailbox. This would serve two purposes: One, people wouldn't have to inconvenience themselves by odd body contortions, or looking completely foolish while checking their mail (This is college, nobody should look foolish outside of class). Two, in the instance of girls, assuming they have similar body makes, roommates could more easily exchange clothes - Though I think this happens anyway sometimes. But just think, one less place for college students to look foolish!

Of course, I probably won't see any of them checking their mail again for another week or so. - What's the point, the college bureaucracy is so ridiculous anyway.

Don't get me started on Internships at CU...or International Internships...or NIST Internships. Omgosh. Mockery! Tomfoolery, and inefficiency! Argh.

I own Another CD!

03:49 AM Aug. 28, 2003
I was discussing music with a friend, and it occured to me, I own another CD.. along with the Mighty Ducks 2 soundtrack!

And it is....



Stunt - By the BareNaked Ladies.

Quotes from Last Semester

Originally Posted at 01:10 AM on Aug. 27, 2003

I completely forgot about this. And a few other excuses. Yada yada. All are funny, some you had to be there for, some not; but without any further ado:

After asking a stupid question, and being told by the professor the answer was spelled out in chapter one, and that it was a key concept to everything we've done since day one...the student responded..."Whoa. Oh sorry, I was out late last night... Never mind." - Number one party school in the nation you say?

After asking about a homework problem, the professor asks the inquiring student what he got as his answer; "I really don't know it's kind of sloppy..."

The professor posted a problem on the board, and asked the class what we should do; she was met by silence. She then asked if we should fail to reject (Statistics). I half ask-answered "Sure..?" To which she responded quasi-sarcastically... "Let's work it out." A minute later it was discovered the correct answer was "Fail to Reject." At which time I said to the prof, "So, sure..?" And the professor responded, "Yeah, sure is the answer."

Another day in Stats: The professor asked the class, "Anyone wanna tell me what we do now?" To which I responded, "Cry?"

"Sell the sizzle. Not the steak."

"Marketing is not Rocket Science."

"Any color you want.. as long as it's black." - Henry Ford on the Model T

"Who wants to have a blue windshield?" - Pontiac blowing years of R&D

"70% of Beer is consumed by males age 18-34 while watching sports." - Think about that.

Discussing caffeinated beverages and target markets, a Mormon woman is brought up as an example. - "Yeah, but if that woman starts hanging out with Atheists, she's gonna buy a coke eventually!"

"I see a lot of things my friends don't see.." - Random Guy

"I can't talk Piggip Latin." - Brad
"You can't speak English." - Me

"Hey look a hot chick!" - Brad
"She just went by two girls ago." - Me
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You have to realize my memory of hot chicks only goes back one." - Brad
The same girl walks back by.
"Do you remember her now? - Me
"Yeah, she was the last one. - Brad
A "hot chick" passes by, followed soon after by the original one.
"Hey! There's another one!" - exclaimed Brad

---------------------------------------
Note: My Psych Professor's name is Joe Berta, and the following are entitled Berta-isms. All are directly from lectures he's given. And, shocking though it may be, many of them came directly from talking about Psychology.

"Joe Berta is the Future!"

"Don't screw with the Pigmes!"

"Note to self: Don't drill holes in skull..or go into boxing... or play hacky-sack or soccer w/ brain."

"Twitmeyer the Contender" - (Supposedly the first guy to use Classical Conditioning - eat your heart out Pavlov)

"I know more about underwear than Michael Jordan!" - Berta knows Underwear.

Explaining Memory, how people generally remember things which can be applied to themselves personally better than anything else: "Which just goes to show you, you're an egotistical bastard."

Walking along one day, Joe is met by a mother duck, and her young. The ducklings scatter, and the mother faces Joe down. She quacks intimidatingly at him. In response, "I couldn't take that shit so I killed her..." - The class sits in stunned silence.. "just kidding." - The class breaks out in hysterical laughter.

Joe explains Women's jealousy over Men in a single phrase: "The world is our urinal!"

Religion and Science: "We're not playing the same game!"

"It was the third grade before I realized nuns were women."

"I'm a hot-ass, let's face it."

"Gay people are coming into their own." - Classic quote from Joe (he relived this one for us from his earlier days)

Mid-Lecture: "Fascinating... I'm beginning to bore myself..."

"Don't ever kiss anyone, you don't know where those lips have been."

"I'm just too smart to see my mistakes."

"If you like ______, I'm only kidding... the rest of you, I'm not!"

"Assoc...Assoc... It's called underwear!" - If you don't get it, it was pronounced Ass-Sock.

"All I do is teach Psychology and watch Banzai."

"It's official, I've turned into a lunatic. I've got a golf football in my pocket, and I think it's cool. I'm nuts!"

"What are they called... you know... Stationwagons on Steroids..?" - Berta
"SUVs?" - Me
"Yeah, that's it!" - Berta
-----------------------------------------
Hope you enjoyed.