126 days to go

Last Dave.

At least at Tower. My career there lasted long enough. I accomplished almost everything I could want to there. 4 years. Wow. Went by fast. So fast I didn't realize.

Ah well, no more customers with their dumb questions. No more scalpers to yell at(I'll miss that the most). No more hanging with my Saturday morning crew.

This is starting to sound like the end to Our Town.

Freaky.

So, for my last day of working there, I played Dr. StrangeLove and Logan's Run in the video department. Seemed a fitting way to exit.

I will miss working there. Strange enough, but it's true. It's hard, but it's easy- one of those oxymoronic jobs.

Again, ah well, I've got a graduation party to attend. I'm off, heeding the advice of the Pet Shop Boys(and this will be the only time I do) Go West!

Have a good day kids!

dave

127 days to go
Part II: Electric Boogaloo

Fridays are great. Especially when you get your tax return(finally!).

So, I got some stuff done, namely, I replaced my crappy cell phone. I shouldn't give such a bad product review. It was a good cell phone, it just got old and abused. I had it too long, and working construction doesn't help preserve the health of a cell phone. Got a new plan(finally!) with free nights and weekends. My phone number hasn't changed, so feel free to call me after 9pm CST to gab. Enough on that.

Tomorrow, it's time to head to my cousins' graduation party. One from 8th grade, one from high school. Ah, precious memories. I can still vaguely remember doing my graduation. I know I was there, but it seems so long ago.

I forget that there's been some years between then and now. Almost 11- which is also a prime number.

Question: Am I overdoing the prime number schtick? Just wondering.

My friend is coming into town next weekend. There's nothing more dangerous than crazy libras cavorting in the Windy City, especially when we'll be out with other wild and crazy libras.

Today's turning 30 panic attack alert status had been upgraded to orange. I really didn't want to think about how many years it's been since high school, nor remind myself about my cousins graduations.

Now, more than ever, I could use a beer. Nah. It's not that bad, I'm just getting grumpy about age(again). I warned you.

My friend Sylvie says that men shouldn't get married until they're at least 30, and that their brides should be over 25. I like that philosophy, besides, she's old country Serbian, and she curses like a sailor. Who better to give marital advice? My stepmom, from Mississippi, says the same thing. Sounds like a good idea, yes?

I'm almost 30, which means I should be prime marrying age. If anyone else is hearing the robot from Lost in Space(and by that I don't mean that horrible remake of a classic TV show- I'm talking original) telling you there's danger coming, I'd run too, if I were you.

I just found out that storms are headed my way. I think I might go home now(despite not getting anything done in lab) before I have to write again about how much I hate rain. Plus I'm hungry and don't want to be here.

Food is good. Especially when you eat it.

Yeah, I hate to punch into class and run for it, but this looks nasty, and I've got nice shoes on(everything else is still wet from Wednesday's rides, if you can believe it).

My faithful readers, I will try to write tomorrow and Sunday, but, as I said, I will be encountering several panic attacks while out of town.

Be careful out there(for better hallway vision).

dave

ps remind me to make that line into a song someday. Be careful out there(for better hallway vision)- sounds like a fun one.

dave

127 days to go

127 is a prime number. Just so you know. So, me being 29(prime), it being 2003(prime) and there being 127 days left before I turn 30, I'm looking forward to a pretty cool day.

Sorry, I'm no expert on numerology, but I'm sure that there's something cosmic about all that.

Not much to ruminate about this morning. I'm really just taking assessment of my weekend, which is going to be busy. I probably won't be around to blog this weekend, but I might find time to sneak a word or two to my faithful readers. I, your humble narrator, will be out of town this weekend. A well deserved trip, to be sure.

Sadly, that's all I got for right now.

Happy weekend, folks!

dave

128 days to go

One of the most dangerous things you can do in the City of Chicago is ride a bike on the streets. I never intended this to be an airing of my anger towards Chicago Motorists- I was actually considering doing an entire site dedicated to that- but I have to get this one off my chest. Some yahoo(fortunately in a company van) decided to nearly hit me with his side-view mirror. Normally, this isn't a problem, it's something that happens every day which I try to let roll down my back. But after he passed me(I was riding in the gutter, literally) he decided to turn right, leaving scant inches between my tire and the side of his van. I almost had to follow him down Fullerton, because I couldn't go anywhere else.

If, by any wonderful, ironic chance the driver of that van is reading this right now, I'd like to let you know a couple things:
1) I may not have your license plate number, but I do know what company you work for.
2) I know where you were this morning.
3) I know what kind of music you were listening to.
4) I know how to write complaint letters to supervisors and customer care representatives.

So, as you can see, my friend who doesn't yield right of way, a couple quick internet searches later, and I'm e-mailing your company, demanding an apology.

The Simpsons line of the moment:
"Cholera! I've got Cholera!"

Levity. I needed that.

I had a conversation with an incredibly close friend recently about careers. This comes, of course, after I've spent the day thinking about the movie Office Space. I've come to the explicable decision that we all should find something we really love and do that. Sounds trite, but I believe it, so take that.

Me, I'm waiting for the day my kid asks me to career day at his/her school, and I win over the class by telling them that I program their video games. That will be so cool. Got some time before that, though, so let's not hold our breath. Plus I just had a flashback to City Slickers: They get excited over the guy that gives them quarters at the arcade.

Oh, ooh! Simpons line of this moment:
"SoyghettiOs!"

I should really not have the Simpsons on when I'm blogging. Kinda distracting.

Sorry, my connection was dropped. That's what you get when you pay only $9.95 for internet access. Go figure.

I'd like to take a poll: Which one of the Fanta girls do you think is the hottest? Of course, some of you might not have Fanta in your particular market. For me, it's the one in the purple top.

So, let's make the turning 30 panic attack alert green again.

Oh, ooh! Simpons line of this moment:
"Lisa's casting spells at an 8th grade level. You've sinned against nature."

Like I said. Distracting, but you try to turn off the Simpsons in my house. Worst idea ever!

Well, I've got class to get ready for, so I'm not going to torture everyone with more facts about prime numbers. Well, not until later when I can't sleep and don't want to work on C++ programs. Although I got pretty far last night.

My fun, stupid, factod to send you off:

To convert from Kilometers to Miles, multiply by .62137.
To convert from Meters to Feet, multiply by 3.2833.

There you have it,

dave

129 days to go
Part III: Late nite ruminations

Now you know you're in trouble. In order to avoid doing C++ homework, I'm looking up information on the internet about prime numbers. Did you know, for example, the year I was born, 1973, is a prime number? Secondly, did you know that the year I turn 30, 2003, is also a prime number? Take this into consideration: my age(29) and my roommate's age(31) are both prime numbers.

I just sent this number to my extraordinarily smart father:

2357111317192329313741434753596167717379838997
1011031071091131271311371391491511571631671731
7918119119319719921122322722923323924125125726
3269271277281283293307311313317331337347349353
3593673733793833893974014094194214314334394434
4945746146346747948749149950350952152354154755
7563569571577587593599601607613617619631641643
647653659661673677683691701709719

Yes, it's a prime number. What's weird about it? Dad, you better not have cheated on this- this number is composed of the digits of the first 128 prime numbers. Copy it into word and have at it.

Ok. I have fully demonstrated that even procrastinating geeks like myself still have to do geeky things to make up for our procrastination. For further information on prime numbers(ok, is anyone going to bother with this?) go to http://www.utm.edu/research/primes/

I think I might just go to bed. After all, it's only going to be Thursday, and there's too much work left in the week.

So, now that we're closing in on 128 days to go, it's time I logged off.

dave

129 days to go
Part II: Dave's Ark

It's raining. As most of you who know me are aware, I absolutely dislike rain. Yes, I'm aware of the ecological need for rain and all that, but when you're pumping up Damen Avenue and it's pouring sulfur smelling water at you, you tell me how much you care about ecological needs for rain. My eyes burn. My legs are wet and nasty. I had to throw away my socks because they were completely black from road spray. For those of you who are geographically challenged to the Chicago streets, one of my main thoroughfares is torn up from Addison to just north of my house, all of about 6 blocks. 4 of those blocks are encrusted in my socks. Poor guys.

That's my big rant for the time being. I don't like being wet- especially when there's concrete and the like all over my legs. It's really a small problem, but it's still here and making me unhappy.

In reality, it's kinda cool. It's like trail biking, just on a street with traffic and lots of water. I do relish in the childlike giddiness that comes from getting really dirty- like I've said before, happiness is where you find it.

Of course, loyal reader, if you got as dirty as I did on your commute home from work, you'd probably be miserable, too. Maybe not. At least I had appropriate clothes on. Which reminds me: there are two parts of my body that are completely dry. My torso, for one, thanks to the really cheap jacket I bought from Marshall's for $25 two years ago. It's waterproof yet breathable. The other part? My ass. Yes, my ass. Thanks to a lovely piece of plastic I picked up again, two years ago from OTR Bicycles on Lincoln Avenue, a $13 investment that's kept me happy whenever I've biked in rain. Fenders are great! Buy one today!

I'm going to downgrade the turning 30 panic attack alert to blue, the lowest ever.

Sometimes it is fun to get dirty in the rain. It makes you feel like a kid again. Think about that.

dave

129 days to go

I've admittedly been thinking a lot the last couple days. I've been thinking about loss. Those of you who read this and know me know what and who I'm talking about.

Myself, I've been fairly lucky when it comes to loss. I still have a great-grandparent alive and well. All but one grandparent is alive, and he died five years before I was born, so I really can't call that a loss, except that I never knew him, but like the old addage: "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," without having known him, I can't feel his loss.

That really didn't come out the way I wanted to. I hope no one believes that I am that apathetic towards my family- I'm not- I'm just trying to frame up the situation. I lost a friend in High School. We weren't super close, but we were still buddies. That was hard, especially since he was so young.

My roommate calls this blog a confessional. In a way, he's right. Today, I'm confessing that I haven't gone through what so many of my friends have so recently gone through. At least, not to the same extent. To those friends, I apologize and want to express my deepest empathy, and you know who you are.

That's enough on the depressing philosophical side. I need some levity quick.

My turning 30 panic attack alert status is green. I'm feeling good today, despite the heavy thoughts.

It's long past time for me to get to work, so I'm going to have to cut this short, before any real happy thoughts pour out of my head. Call it balance(I am a libra, after all). I'll be funnier tomorrow.

I promise.

dave

130 days to go

Go bowling. It's my solution to everything. All ills and pains can be solved by bowling. I can throw a hook. I must be getting good.

I'm sure everyone is already aware of my joke at my HS reunion, about being a professional bowler.

It's amazing what I can get away with.

I'm feeling rather hung over today, which causes me to become philosophical. As my friends know very well, I will bend over backwards for you, no matter what the problem is, I will try to solve it or at least make things bearable. You know these things. I don't need to repeat them or advertise myself on a blog.

Like I said, hangovers lead to philosophical tendencies.

We did the town yesterday, my roommate and I. Then I went bowling, which is the cure for all that ails you, as I mentioned earlier. Now, I'm late for work and not getting any closer to being there.

I smell, therefore I am. It's more sensible than cogito ergo sum. Think of it this way: we all smell, but not that many of us think. At least not enough.

Today's turning 30 panic attack warning is a low green. I'm too tired and philosophical to worry about age.

I really need to head to work, so we're going to stop here.

Have a good Tuesday, everyone.

dave

131 days to go

Anyone paying attention to this will suddenly realize that the countdown changed. Somehow(I'm sure my dad is mad at me for this) I screwed up the math. I don't know how. Let's try to pretend it didn't happen. Ok. I can't. Here's originally how I figured the days to go:

I took the number of days left in May(today there's 5), and added the number of days in the other months until October(so, 30, 31, 31, 30), and then added 4 for the number of days in October until my birthday. So, we wind up with:

5+30+31+31+30+4 = 131

So, you see, I must have screwed up the first one. My bad. I hope no one else is anal retentive enough to have noticed.

Yesterday was a tiring, wasteful day. I was stuck at Tower until 6:30 helping out with this stupid O.A.R. instore, which brought about 300 suburban teenagers to the store. They were amazingly annoying. No one, I repeat, no one was injured during the proceedings. I was temped to throw a couple off the balcony, but I had to restrain myself. Big thanks to our off-duty police officer John, who helped me keep those kids in order.

I wound up missing out on the Polkaholics show- much to my disappointment. My friend was right, though. It's the kind of thing that you don't want to overdo- it might loose it's appeal. Do, if you can, check them out sometime. They are fun. I'll be keeping an eye out for their next show.

Today's turning 30 panic attack alert status is ORANGE, the highest so far.

Let's just say that all those kids yesterday really, really wore me out.

My joke of the day from yesterday, when I saw Annika Sorenstam crying on TV:

"Don't worry, Annika, I'm still single."

Yes, friends, I've heard that she's married. I'm proud of her for trying this weekend, too. Of course, we should all keep in mind that I'm not a golf fan, except for playing it, which I'm incredibly bad at, but it's sometimes fun to get all zen and smack a little white ball around a big field. I think of all the sports we play, aliens would probably be most fascinated by golf. They'd be most stupefied by car racing.

That's the philosophy of the day, I guess. I'm just happy I got some sleep.

Happy Memorial Day, folks. Hug a Vet.

dave

strong>141 days to go

141 is divisible by 3. Try it. The remainder is a prime number.

How geeky am I, let me count the ways.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr wrote in Timequake:

"They say that the first thing to go is eyesight. They're wrong. It's parallel parking."

Me, I've got one. It's your ability to recover from a night out.

Mind you, I'm not hung over at all- I was a good boy. I'm just tired as all get out. Probably because I'm used to being able to stay up all night and not have any consequences. Worst part of the whole thing is that I wasn't up too late. Geez.

Today's turning 30 panic attack status is back to Amber.

Now that I think about it further, if I base my reasoning on Vonnegut's logic, well I've got more bad news: I don't have a car, so yes, parallel parking is gone, I wear glasses, so I've satisfied his two conditions.

Ok. This is getting a little too melodramatic. Back to something cheerier.

I forgot how fun Dressy Bessy is live. I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for some good pop rock. Had a great time with the bartender last night, ordering Hamm's(hey, before you knock it, keep in mind that it's only $2 there, and I grew up with ads for the beer from the land of sky blue waters, ergo it's almost a nostalgic thing) in pairs, he always pulled them up in a "carrying case," that is, they were the last two beers on the six-pack ring. We had a laugh over that one.

Remember: humor is where you find it. So is happiness.

Ok. It's time for me to head to work. Speaking of which, I've noticed that the time posts for my blog are west-coast times. Not that anyone else cares, I just wanted to let you know that. If you're ever wondering what time I'm doing this inane goofiness, add two hours to the timestamp.

Question: Is it ethical to charter a plane to cross the international date line at precisely midnight as to avoid one's 30th birthday? Is that chickensh!t?

Tawlk amongst yourselves.

dave

142 days to go

I love Chicago in May. It's about the only time where we get what everyone else calls "Spring." The temperature is nice, the lake is cool, and people start crawling out of their winter shells.

Sorry to wax on the atmospheric situation. I did a lot of bike riding today. I like to do that, primarily because it makes me feel young and silly. Not to mention it's damn good exercise.

Which brings me to my turning 30 panic attack alert for today:

Amber.

I don't know why. Probably because I worked at Tower this morning, which always makes me feel old. For those of you who don't know, my last day is next Saturday. I'm finally putting an end to my late-in-life retail career. It's about time. One more person asking me a dumb question about 50 Cent or ABBA was probably going to put me into full postal mode.

I'm going to a show tonight, Dressy Bessy. They're fun. If you're in the area, go to Schubas at 10. Good stuff.

Tomorrow, I'm catching the Polkaholics. Yes, it is what it sounds like. Polka songs done by a punk trio. That is to say, three guys in their mid thirties who still play music and couldn't come up with a better name if they tried. Beat Kitchen. Tomorrow at 9 or 10. I forget. Come for the Old Style, stay for the Old Style Polka.

I sh!t you not.

Ok, my turning 30 panic attack has been officially downgraded to yellow. I forgot about the Polkaholics thing.

I really wanted to rent Logan's Run tonight(for those who haven't clued in yet, this entire blog experience is based on that movie) but it was checked out. Whoever the hell has it, bring it back. Dammit. I got an itch to scratch, Sandman.

That's all for today. I've got to get ready for my evening's activities.

dave

143 days to go

I went throught he strange experience of having a conversation last night with my professor who made me see things differently. Maybe that's too strong. We were talking while in class about our strengths, what our "power points" were. Fortunately, he started on the other side of the room, so I had quite some time to come up with one, but I couldn't. When it finally came time for me to share my power point, well, I did my best. It came to me that being sophomoric is a good thing, something that he and I disagreed about earlier in the class. I told him that my strength is being sophomoric. I'm fairly smart, maybe not the sharpest stick in the sharp stick drawer, but I got some brains, but I also realize that there's more out there to learn, and that I'll never know everything, so I should just have fun. Call it a philosophy.

So, what did he make me realize? After class, I told him that if he thought I was sophomoric, he should really meet my father, well, this spawned a whole conversation about my dad. My father is the smartest and happiest person I know. He has more toys now than I did when I was 12. He has fun and does what he wants, but still lives up to his responsibilities. So, a big shout out to my dad for being my dad!

Call it an early father's day present. Blog fame for dad.

Kudos to my roommate for saying those ever-precious words to me last night:

"So, are you gonna help with that beer in the fridge?"

Always good to have friends who know when you want a beer.

Today's turning-30 panic attack alert status is at green, today, in case you were wondering.

I'm off to work now. Enjoy your days out there.

dave

144 days to go

How perfect is it to start this thing up with a gross of days left in my twenties? I think it's damn near perfect.

Question one: How much time will I spend bitching about getting older?
Answer: Not too much. Although it's not cool, at this point I'm pretty lax about the whole thing. Expect that to change. DRAMATICALLY.

Question two: Just what is the point of this?
Answer: I'd like to think that at some point I'm going to say something deeply philosophical about this process.

Today was a silly one. I worked(if that's what you call it). I'm headed to class in an hour. How exciting.

I really have little so say today, so until tomorrow,

dave