And in cholesterol news tonight....

It's not too much lower. It is, however, lower.

So- next up, it's medication and a follow up in 4 to 6 weeks.

Joy of joys.

Priorities

Yeah, I could have spent yesterday writing tonight's pub quiz, but I didn't. I spent my day at the doctors, and then I wasted time. It was, after all, a day off, so I don't feel guilty. Point being, that's why you haven't heard from me today. I was busy writing tonight's quiz.

But here I am now.

In my travels around the Info Super Hiway today I came across this little 80's quiz, which I rather enjoyed.

That's my story for now- still waiting to hear about my cholesterol numbers, but I'll let you know when I know.

No free rides.

I rarely ride the bus. I hate the bus. I hated it when I was in school, and I hate it just as much now that I'm a "grown up." Today, however, after my appointment with my surgeon(BTW, he's extremely happy with my progress and thinks that I can scale back my PT) opportunity knocked to take the bus to the train station instead of walking the 4 blocks that I really didn't want to walk. Knowing that I would be able to get the trifecta of CTA card usage(1 full fare, 1, 25-cent transfer and 1 free transfer), I jumped right on the bus.

Having taken a page from the wisdom of Wendy, I always say hello and thank you to my bus drivers. Let's face it, their job really sucks. Having to fight traffic all day(only 15 minutes of which is enough for me to worry about my blood pressure spiking), dealing with customers who are trying to cheat the system, etc, etc. This guy had a sign- "No Free Rides $1.75/$2.00." Wow. Next up- the elderly woman in front of me. She was trying to use her monthly pass which, unbeknownst to her, was expired. He wouldn't let her on. Not without paying her $1 reduced fare. It wasn't her fault. She can't read the incredibly small print on the CTA card which tells her when the card expired. Geez man, lighten up.

Anyways, more on my glorious weekend later. I've got some Spicy Baked Chicken Breasts to make, served with a side dish of rice pilaf. Yummy!

Funny.

My horoscope from the Onion:

Libra: (Sept. 23—Oct. 23)
Take heart: There are people with bigger problems than yours, and acting like you care about them will get you laid.

Wanted: One 5-day weekend with plenty to eat and drink.

Don't get me wrong. I am thankful about what I have, and I'll get into that later, but I want to get this off my chest. I don't mind my job, when you get down to it, I do enjoy helping people- it still gives me that good feeling that I crave so much. However, I cannot stand for constant hand-holding. It makes me crazy. It made me crazy when I worked at Tower as well. I was always instantly annoyed with people who would walk into the store with a list and just grab the first employee they found and said "I can't find these." Fuck you. You didn't even try.

So, when I talk to people at my present job, and I give them information pointing to the information you need, I expect you to pay attention to the information available. That sometimes means you have to read something and maybe learn on your own. I don't think that's too much to ask, people.

Thankfully, I do have a 5-day weekend coming up, starting at 3pm today, at which time I head home, then to my therapist, then to Jen's to make sure her cat has enough food, water, and litter while she and I are both out of town, then I'm off to my grandparents' again for Thursday and Friday. I head back Saturday for a Wolves' game, and Sunday I get to relax and watch more football- we'll see if my 16-0 week was just a fluke. I took Monday off because we're supposed to use up all our vacation days before the new year, and I had a surgeon's appointment scheduled for then. It's just easier, to me, than working from 10-6. I hate working from 10-6 now. I also scheduled an appointment with my GP to talk about my Cholesterol issues. Hopefully my count is down. Cross your fingers.

So, blogging over the next couple days will more than likely be sparse, but don't be surprised if I throw another audio blog your way.

Thanks to all my readers and friends and family for making my life what it is.

More fun than you could ask for.

I found this on Anna's blog, and well, couldn't help but repost.

(A) First, recommend to me:
1. a movie
2. a book
3. a musical artist, song, or album

(B) I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want.

(C) Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything & say that you stole it from me.

More pictures from Canada

One of my favorites, taken by Joey, is this shot. Unfortunately, I was unable to kneel next to the saurkraut display, but my therapist and I are working on that knee. We have big hopes.

I think I've already mentioned that I got pictures back from the HHOF, but that many of them didn't turn out, but I will scan and post those later, maybe even tonight, if I have time after pub quiz.

Sublime.

I'm in a good mood. Why? I think you could probably guess, but here's the news:

For the first time in the history of the Picks League, someone has achieved a perfect 16-0 week. Schlitzkrieg blitzkrieg-ed its way to a perfect record, making the 14-2 marks posted by 6 other people look pretty pathetic. So, we must all bow to the Schlitzkrieg and tremble in fear.

Week 11 results:
Carl Eller Division: Schlitzkrieg 16-0 (7pts); Nibblonian Conquest 14-2 (6 pts); 3M and Smashing Helmets 13-3 (4.5 pts each); Pilate's Pirates 12-4 (3 pts); Ressler's Wrestlers and The Natural 11-5 (1.5 pts each); and Knights of Palatinus 10-6 (0 pts)

John Elway Division: Cool B.O.B., Jesssox, Thunderball, The Emus, and Super Bowl Champion Bearz 14-2 (5 pts each); Wicker Baskets and Pickled Herrings 12-4 (1.5 pts ech); and Patty's Cakes 10-6 (0 pts)

Yes. Happy Dave ensues.

In other news, I tried my first recipe from my new AHA Low-Fat Low-Cholesterol Cookbook: Spicy Baked Pork Chops. The setup was kind of a pain- but that's mostly due to the lack of any available counter space in my kitchen. It was good though, I figured it out, although it took longer than I like. My roommate did all the dishes taking up the counter space, so I might try it again tonight, seeing as I still have all the ingredients in excess. What it desperately needed was a side dish, so I'm going to work on that for the next time. My only major problem was finding cornmeal, which, for some reason, was only available from one brand in one size at the Jewel by my house, so I laid down $4.79 for a bad of cornmeal I doubt I'll use for anything else. So, if you live in Chicago and have use for cornmeal, be sure to let me know. I got plenty.

Where the hell have I been?

You would think after a weekend like I had I would have jumped all over my blog and got you all caught up on my life. Alas, sorry to disappoint, but I've been busy writing pub quiz rounds for tomorrow night's quiz at the Globe. I'm done now.

So, let's catch up:

Friday, I had therapy, and we had an accident. I have an exercise with a band clipped to the wall that connects to a strap that's put around my knee that's closed with a caribiner. As I went to do my first one, it came undone, and slapped me in the back of my left leg, leaving a nice welt in the shape of said caribiner. That sure was nice-feeling. Surprised the hell out of me. Needless to say, my PT took it easy on me after that.

Later on, I went bar-hopping with some good friends and discovered a couple new places that will definitely have the misfortune of seeing my face again. I had way too much fun, stayed out too late, you know the routine.

Saturday, I woke up unhappy and hungover, but took a shower and got better. I headed out to Milledgeville for my grandparents' wedding anniversary, only to find no one at their house. I got concerned, but figured they had gone to one of my aunt's houses for some pre-party get-together. No worries, I'll just head to my other uncle's house and call my dad at his hotel and get the lowdown. No luck. Again, no one was home. No cell phone service, either. What next? I headed to my other grandparents' house, again, with the same goal in mind. They were, of course, totally surprised to see me(4 days early, too) but more than happy to help me get to where I was going. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the event was from 4-6, instead of starting at 6. It was 4:26. I was late. Very late.

I jumped into some nicer clothes and back into the car to drive to a town I haven't been to in 20 years, and have never driven to, so it was a bit of an adventure just to get there. Everyone was happy to see me(they didn't know I was coming, either) and the party was great fun. Wound up hanging out with my dad and stepmom for quite a bit, even back at my grandparents' after the party.

Sunday was by far the best day. I got back to Chicago, went to Target and got some supplies for my kitchen to aid in my culinary development. Then, I started watching football. Let's just say this: I somehow managed to get every single damn game right. That's right. 15-0. And if the Patriots win tonight, I'll secure the first ever regular season perfect week in my league. Previously, I've gotten two perfect playoff weeks, but those were only 4-0 and 2-0(I'm still the only one to do that, even).

I know what you're thinking: "Dave, didn't you just totally jinx yourself?" Nope. At least, not so far. When I was a perfect in the morning games, I was getting a little cocky- and I still made it.

It doesn't really matter, though. I'd love to have a perfect week, but I'm also skating into first place right now, despite having really bad weeks for the past two or three.

Anyways.

I took interest for the first time in a long time in the action of a basketball game, and I'm sure you all know which one. Well, Detroit fans, I hope you enjoyed roving beer vendors and no limits on the number you could buy at a time, because you've lost both. I'd laugh and make fun of you, but it was just so sad and simultaneously funny to me that I don't have time to care.

Oh, and to wind up this extremely long post, here's a fun little quiz thingy from All Things Jen(nifer):

You are73% Libra

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

This is the man who begat me.

My father is one of the most intelligent people I have ever known, and he's also one of the funniest. I'm not saying this in a my-dad-would-beat-your-dad-on-Last-Comic-Standing-and-Jeopardy! kind of way, either. That's just my 30 odd years of experience talking.

Anyways, my dad, when he was in college, and his roommate wrote a newsletter for fun, his nom de plume was General Gno Gno. So, starting back when I was in college, he started signing his e-mails with said nom de plume. I got a kick out of it, and we decided to call me Dangerous Dave after some silly video game we found at some convention for geeky people like us who buy silly video games and computers at computer conventions.

After lo these many years, the nicknames have been shortened to DD and GGG, then to dd and G^3, or today, he signed his e-mail with this:

G^3.14159265358979323846264338327950288

That number, of course, is pi. You can bet on that being not only 100% accurate, but also 100% from memory. Although it seems he's lost a bit of his edge- back when he was in, say 6th grade, I heard he could rattle off the first 100+ digits or so.

Just in case any of you were wondering where exactly I came from. I sometimes wonder, myself.

'Cause nothing lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change...

And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November Rain.

So, last night, I decided it was high time I got my pictures developed from my wonderful trip to Toronto. I also found a disposable camera with pictures from a Wolves game from last year. I walked over to my local Osco drug store, which no purports that it has 30 minute processing. Apparently, it's only 30 minutes if you don't have a disposable camera, but I'm not complaining. I went home, and after having reinforced the song November Rain's position as being stuck in my head, proceded to acquire a copy of it. I bummed around the house, then headed back to Osco to pick up my pictures, and finally, because I can't find the damn thing, I bought another umbrella, which, of course, protected me from said cold November Rain(hey Chicagoans- remember the last time we saw the sun? I sure don't.) as I walked to the Globe for a quick dinner and drink before I settled into a night of relative hermit life. I decided to watch Red Dawn, mostly because whatever tv show is on before The Simpsons mentioned Charlie Sheen, which got Red Dawn into my brain. Fortunately, my collection includes said movie.

It was a good night for me. Relaxing. No going out late, staying up late, or anything. I think my head hit the pillow and I was out before you could say coma girl. All this was good, but I was bewildered by the fact that I shot awake at 2 am. I thought I was late for work, and had to convince myself otherwise by walking around the house looking at various time pieces before settling back into bed.

Which brings me back to an earlier comment of mine about not seeing the sun. My friend A asked me yesterday if I remembered the last time I saw the sun. I honestly don't have an answer- While it's been warm around here, I don't remember seeing the sun for ages, and I think it's starting to effect how my body functions. Damn circadian rhythm and all.

Well. That's all of my random babblings about that. This weekend promises to be a fun one- I finally get to see my friend A for the first time in 3 weeks(at least!) and tomorrow I'm heading to my grandparents' 40th wedding anniversary where I'll get to see my dad, my stepmom and stepsisters. I haven't seen them since July, and probably won't get to see them again until sometime next year. I'm then headed back here for football on Sunday, then I have a nice 3 day week next week, followed by an amazing 5 days off in a row.

I'm going to be so spoiled, except for the Monday after Thanksgiving, when I've scheduled appointments with my surgeon and my GP.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Fresh Meat

I'm adding a new blog to the blogroll, and I feel like I should explain why, because I think that those who regularly read me will think I've lost a proverbial screw, but I haven't.

Welcome, Blog Maverick. Blog Maverick is the blog of none other than Mark Cuban, owner of many things, but most notably of the Dallas Mavericks.

Let's get something out of the way. I don't like basketball, at least, I don't like watching basketball. I don't like the NBA. I don't like his show. These facts do not, however, mean that I do not have respect for the man. He is what I think is the ideal for any sports-team owner: a fan first, and an owner second. I respect that immensely. I also think that we are kindred spirits, in a way. I love to yell at sporting events. I criticize everything, too. The major difference is, because I don't own a team, most folks'll probably never hear about it. Kudos to you, Mr. Cuban, for still voicing your opinion and getting in trouble for it.

Which is the real reason I added him to my blogroll. He was just fined by the NBA for this blog entry where he criticizes the NBA:

I won’t say what I really think about the genius that started the season on election day since it’s probably the same person that started the season on Halloween in previous years. There’s only a presidential election 1x every 4 years. We start on that day..Genius. Let’s see, which are going to get more highlights and press coverage Nov 3rd. The kickoff of the NBA season or the election. The NBA has a great idea to feature “Premiere Week” and we start it on Election Night. Brilliant. It’s had an impact on us. We sold out our pre season home games, but we still have plenty of seats left for the home opener and also for the first couple games of the year. To help balance the brilliance of NBA marketing starting us off on election day, we created a special 3 pack of tickets. $25 dollar tickets (regularly 30 or 39 dollars) for 3 the first 3 games, for $75 dollars. Get em before they are gone!

Thanks for telling it like it is. Don't let the bastards get you down.

Look what the cat dragged in.

Me. For the second night in a row, I was up well past my usual bedtime, and was up late catching up with an out-of-town friend. Drinks were had, sleep was lost, all in the still of the night. I also had yet another "I'm turning into my father" moments. Around about 1:45, I was aroused from my sleep by the television. Hm. I don't remember the TV being on in the first place. Because my room is right off the living room, I wandered out there to discover the TV blaring infomercials. I turned it off, and slinked back to bed, trying to not disturb my guest. Next thing you know I'll be walking around complainging about not being the electric company.

Anyways, I screwed up my back last night during therapy, so I've got my good ol' trusty patches out again, relieving muscle pain and making me smell like menthol cigarettes. Maybe not quite like the cigarettes themselves, but definitly menthol. It's weird, and definitely overpowers my after-shave gel.

Jen came over last night to help me decypher my new cookbook. I am very proud to say that I had relatively few questions, and got good answers. I now know a second definition of Dutch Oven- something I previously thought was farting under the bedsheets, then covering your bedmate's head with the covers. Not exactly a violation of the Geneva Convention, but defintely not something nice to do, either.

So, my culinary skills will undergo their latest test starting possibly as early as Monday- providing I can get some supplies this weekend and convince someone to take me to Target so I can buy some new kitchen accessories. I may now know what these things are, but I'm no expert on them. Not by a long shot.

But I sure know where I've been....

Pat wanted to get my results on this quiz:


Which 1980's Hair Band Are You?

I guess I'm just rubbing it in.

Taking another swim in the levity pool.

Suddenly the whole world makes sense...
Posted by Hello

Thanks to Joey for finding this. I'm having too much fun with it!

Give me a goddamn break.

So, I've finally seen a picture of the Virgin Mary sandwich.

Let me tell you that I might not be the most creative person, but I see what kinda looks like a face in there. Almost. Honestly, I don't get it.

If anyone out there has the time, patience, and desire to do some empirical research for me, make a few grilled cheese sandwiches and take pictures of them. Mix that shot in with them, and walk down the street asking people which one is the fabled Virgin Mary sandwich. C'mon. It'll be fun. Kinda like 3 card Monty, just with cheese and bread, right?

A brief dip into the pools of levity.

Props to Erin Go Blog for posting this:


Which John Cusack Are You?

Anyone suprised?

Sorry, I'm not done with the soapbox yet.

I didn't say much about Armistice Day(Rememberance Day, Veteran's Day) last week because I, well, I don't know why I didn't say anything. But I'm not going to let this go. I sat in my living room last Thursday, as I imagine many people did, and I watched Saving Private Ryan. I enjoy that movie, and I think it helps me understand what people went through on D-Day and how horrible war is.

What's got my boxers in a bunch this morning is this article, well not the article itself, but the facts therein. Censorship has always been a hot topic with me- and I'm not likely to back down. We're talking about a guy who turned in a photo essay of a nude pregnant woman in high school- in high school(yes, we were both over the age of 18, by the way) and caught some hell for that. Seems my christian teacher had problems with naked, unwed, pregnant teenagers or something. I was trying to do something artistic, and I think I did a fairly good job.

Allow me to try to come back to the point. The christian right is upset at the stations that aired said movie because of the graphic violence and language. Artistically speaking, I belive that the movie is trying to show us the reality of what war is, and while I'll believe that there are no atheists in foxholes, I have a damn hard time believing that someone who just ran through 50 yards of Nazi bullets is going to say "thanks be to you lord jesus, for sparing my life during this ordeal. My faith in you is everlasting and as true as ever."

I'm guessing they're more likely to say something like "fuck- that was close."

Mind you the christian right also tried censoring Schindler's List yet another movie that tries to teach us that wars aren't all pretty marching and happy-happy joy-joy only the enemy is hurt and they don't make messes when they die. Why? Because there's nudity in it. Sorry if that offends you Reverend Tightass, but sometimes life is downright ugly, and if you're going to try to convey that in a movie, sometimes you have to get real. Sometimes it means showing how shockingly depraved one group of people who are trying to force their ways on other people can be.

Anyways, my train of thought has run completely off the tracks, unfortunately. I would like to acknowledge that I was in a very good mood this morning, despite being terribly sleep deprived, but we had a nice turnout for pub quiz last night, and I want to thank those who came. Thanks.

I'm going to try to stay off the soapbox for a while. It seems to be angering up the blood.

Imagine the possibilities.

I came across this article via Fark this morning, asking the question whether or not Canada should indict Bush on war crimes and violations of the U.N. Charter. As much as I would love to see that, please don't.

Why would I think that? Well, if you arrest Bush and indict him with war crimes, that would make Dick Cheney president. That's equivalent to replacing Darth Vader with the Emperor- something I certainly don't want to ever see. I know that as a country we're incredibly divided down here, and I apologize for our failed effort at regime change, but we're doing the best we can with what we got. Putting bush behind bars brings the man behind the curtain to the forefront- and trust me, that'll just make things worse.

Besides, who's to say that the powers that be in this country wouldn't then go on a rescue mission? Didn't you guys see South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut? Our leadership ignored the U.N. Charter once already, so we could make daddy proud, why wouldn't we invade a nice, big, natural-resource laden country like yours? We know you've got some oil in there somewhere, and we're willing to do anything to get at it.

So, as a personal favor to me, my friends and very dear neighbors, don't indict Bush, at least wait until we get a more sensible government back in action- around about January 2009, I hope.

Thanks.

Get involved in national politcs

Go here. Do what you feel is best.

Waves, my head, and recipes.

Stuck in my head this morning(since my co-worker and I started discussing his experience at the Pixies show last night) is Wave of Mutilation. This is an acceptable song to have stuck in my head, as it stands to be one of my favourites, so I really can't complain.

In stranger-than-fiction news, our boss asked us if we wanted to volunteer to be photographed for company material, up to and including website features. This sounds like it would be fun, so I am more than likely going to agree to it. After all, I was once quoted on the ACT brochure for the soulless company who stole my youth.

I spent quite a bit of time at Borders on State yesterday, browsing for my brand new cookbook, the American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low Cholesterol Cookbook. I spend my train ride home and back to work this morning marking the recipes I want to try out, and will probably finish that on my way home tonight, then go through and highlight all the words I need help with(there'll be quite a few, too). My favorites will undoubtedly be posted once I discover which ones are the best.

Proof that not all Canadians are nice.

I'll fully admit that I got really, really, really pissed off in 1999 when Gary Anderson missed the winning field goal(his first miss all fucking season) in the NFC Championship game which the Vikings eventually lost, but I certainly never thought about doing anything like this.

Ok. I did. I ranted, I raved. I was really, really, angry. At least I didn't dump manure on his driveway. That's just a little too off the hook.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

I'm turning and facing the strain, ch-ch-changes.

After last week's post about how unhappy I am about having to adjust my new diet, I've decided to start buckling down and making myself eat healthier. It's either that or the untimely end of Logan's Dave, something I don't want to fathom. So, I've been doing some research and checking out recipes. Mind you, a person as culinarily challenged as I am will need some serious help in learning how to cook said recipes, so I'm warning my talented-at-cooking friends that I will be calling on you to help me translate from recipe to something I can understand. This will merit extreme patience on your part, and I apologize and thank you in advance. Anyways, I'm headed to Borders after work to buy myself a hearth-healthy cookbook, then I'll probably have to find a "Recipe Reading for Dummies" book(if one exists) so I can understand what they're trying to tell me. after that, it's home to do laundry and stop by the grocery store. Tonight's dinner will be salad, as I don't have time to shop for anything else. I think I'm going to restock my winerack as well- its ranks were pretty severely thinned over the weekend.

The good news, at least today's good news, is payday. And this paycheck won't be used to travel, at least, not travel outside of Thanksgiving. What I'm saying is there's no airfare involved for the first time in a while. No souvenirs. I should probably get around to paying the gas bill, anyways.

Oh- and if anyone knows of a good recipe to make a non tomato-based pizza sauce, I'm all ears!

Pictures!!

No, not from last night's show. From last weekend's trip to Toronto the birthday/engagement party for my favorite couple, courtesy of Rannie the Photo Junkie. The link goes to Joey's entry about the pictures, but if you have time(and you should make the time, because Rannie is that good of a photographer) view the album here. My favorite is towards the very end, where I'm clearly sleeping on the couch. Oh- and also the one Rannie took of the walkway Joey's roommate and I strung with holiday lights.

A million thanks again to my Canadian friends for hosting me, taking pictures of me on the swing, and making my trip to Accordion City an amazing experience I hope to repeat again soon.

Pixies.

Last night's show was really, really good. They played just about everything, and they played it well. The only major problem was the venue. I've said it once, and I'll say it a hundred times, the Aragon Ballroom is a horrible place to see a show. The acoustics are just fucked.

I camped out at my usual spot, right by the sound booth, and had a good view of the entire band for almost the entire show. I was surprised by how much Kim Deal smoked during the show- there were only a few times that she didn't have a cigarette in her mouth- even while she was playing.

It was a tight show, all in all. I'd consider going again this week if I could afford it. What was weird to both me and Jen was that after the show, instead of what we used to to(go out, drink more, stay out too late), we went to my house, opened a bottle of wine, and iced my knee. Another sentence I can't believe escaped my lips was "I wish I had brought some Hearos." Now, this is the first concert type concert I've been to in a while(there just hasn't been that many people coming through that I needed to see), but I don't remember myself being such a crochety old fart. Perhaps my greatest fear has come true: I've become the old guy that I used to make fun of.

Or maybe, I'm just aging nicely, right?

FUBAR.

Wow.

We're short a guy today. Our serves went down. We got slammed.

I just finished lunch, 2 hours after I'm used to eating lunch.

Things, on the other hand are looking up.

As promised, the track list for my funeral.

As mentioned in this post, here's the list. Not necessarily in this order, but here's how I worked out the CD:

Requiem, K. 626 Introitus by Mozart
O! Death by Ralph Stanley
Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave by Morphine
Knocking On Heaven's Door by Warren Zevon
Hell by Squirrel Nut Zippers
The Sick Bed of Cuchuliann by the Pogues
Dress Sexy at my Funeral by Smog
Time Will Tell by the Black Crowes
The Mercy Seat by Johnny Cash
People Who Died by the Jim Carroll Band
Last Kiss by Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers
Many Rivers to Cross by Harry Nilsson and John Lennon
She Talks to Angels by the Black Crowes
The Night Pat Murphy Died by Great Big Sea
The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd
The Long Black Veil by Johnny Cash
Keep Me In Your Heart by Warren Zevon
Freetime by Walt Mink

For the record, by implies "performed by". I know some of the songs listed do not have the original artists.

Again, overdoing the silly blogging because I'm just so bored.

1. YOUR PORN STAR NAME: (Name of first pet / Street you live on):
Gracie Cuyler

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (Name of your favorite snack food / Grandfather's first name): Pay Day Charlie

3. YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (First word you see on your left / Favorite resturaunt) Samsung Ethio Cafe

4. EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS: (Favorite Spice / Last Foreign Vacation Spot): Cayenne Ontario

5. SOCIALITE ALIAS: (Silliest Childhood Nickname / Town Where You First Partied): Skinnybones St. Paul

6. "FLY Boy" ALIAS (a la J. Lo): (First Initial / First Two or Three Letters of your Last Name): D. Ah

7. ICON ALIAS: (Something Sweet Within Sight / Any Liquid in Your Kitchen): Hard Candy Scotch

8. DETECTIVE ALIAS: (Favorite Baby Animal / Where You Went to High School): Kitten Roseville Area High School

9. BARFLY ALIAS: (Last Snack Food You Ate / Your Favorite Alcoholic Drink): Popcorn Scotch

10. SOAP OPERA ALIAS: (Middle Name / Street Where You First Lived): Michael Barclay

11. ROCK STAR ALIAS: (Favorite Candy /Last Name Of Favorite musician ): Pay Day Cash

Zenhex tests.

Just to pass some time:

"WHAT RELIGION BESTS SUITS YOU?"

Atheist
You are Godless! You could care less about religion. As far as you're concerned, if you can't see, touch and kick something, it's not real to you. You're day-to-day activities consist of eating, working, sleeping and the occasional Internet or coffee shop debate. Lastly, if anyone chooses to preach at you otherwise, you will either leave or debate them until they finally shut up.

"Your Psych-Ward diagnosis"

Bipolar Disorder
Diagnosis: BiPolar Disorder Sometimes severe mental disorder involving manic episodes that are usually accompanied by episodes of depression. The manic phase of the disorder is characterized by an abnormally elevated or irritable mood, grandiosity, sleeplessness, extravagance, and a tendency toward irrational judgment. During the depressed phase, the person tends to appear lethargic and withdrawn, shows a lack of concentration, and expresses feelings of worthlessness, self-blame, and guilt.

"Which Zodiac Sign Would You Be Most Compatible With?"

Capricorn
You might be most compatible with a Capricorn!

"What swear word are you?"

You Are Damn!
You are one damn person... my style.

"What is your ideal job?"

Computer Programmer / Repairer
Your ideal job would be one in the computing area. You may be a bit of a nerd (or not) There's a lot of money to be made in computers too.

"What type of attitude problem do you have? (pics)"

Your Scary
Your probably goth (good for you). But this also makes most of the things you say creepy to others. Your probably trying to be mean but your slighty twisted so you end up scaring people. But who cares they still go away which is what you wanted. Try creeping people out by saying....

This is what happens when I get bored.

Thinking.

Last night I was so tired after PT that I fell asleep on the couch. Again. I'm getting lazier and lazier it seems. This is bad, because I was supposed to meet my friend for his birthday, but when I talked to him he said plans were falling apart. I feel bad, because he's a good friend, and I really wanted to hang out. My roommate got home about 9:30 or so and I decided to go to bed for real, because I didn't stand a chance of maintaining consciousness. Away to dreamland I went.

Confusion came when my phone rang at 12:04, waking me and causing me some panic: someone needs something? there's a problem? which hospital should I go to? what time is it? Of course, when I open the phone, that's when the display decides to stop working, so I answer blindly. It's my friend L., calling to tell me she misses and loves me. I bask in the glow of being missed and loved, and say "ok." She tells me to go back to sleep, and off I go, back into dreamland again.

Mass confusion came at 2:55am. I shot awake, in a straight panic about sleeping in: "fuck, I had to wake up early and do laundry, now I have an hour to get to work and no clean clothes to wear!" Fortunately for me, when I rolled over a second time to check the clock, and then a double-check on my watch, I realized I still had at least an hour to sleep. Again, off to dreamland I went.

It would appear that said confusion has carried over to this morning, because I'm stuck with my head in the clouds, yet again. We'll see what happens later.

Anyways, today I read this post, and got to thinking about what advice I would give my dear friend Wendy, but I have nothing concrete. When I was with T, she decided she would take my name. When M and I discussed getting married, she was all about taking my name. Honestly, I would consider taking her name, if I were to get married. My brother made his wife's name one of his middle names. My friend J and his wife combined their names into one(although they each had fairly combinable names). Me, I've got this Dutch last name that 99.9999% of people can either spell, or pronounce, but never both, which is a complete shame, because it only has 6 damn letters in it. Would I miss it if I changed? Yes. My brother and I are the last of this branch of the family. I think I'd like it to carry on, but I'm not sure I want to keep my last name. Discuss amongst yourselves. Let me know what you think.

Breakthrough!

As I was in therapy tonight my therapist asked me if I felt more flexible. I didn't really know, until a little while later, I was setting down a workout ball when I realized something: my fingers were remarkably close to my toes. So I wondered to myself... can I, for the first time in my life, touch my toes?

Guess what. I can and I did.

So I'm amazed to all get out right now. Not even 18 months of therapy with the first round of surgeries yielded these results. I'd say that my PT kicks some serious ass.

Big, big, BIG props to her, way to go L.T.!

Oh, baby, baby it's a wild world.

You know how the TSA sometimes searches you, and you feel offended, because you're not a terrorist, and you're not planning on blowing up the plane, and you still have to take your shoes off, even though you know they got the wrong person?

Yeah, this article takes the cake.

Black Wednesday.

I'm being overly morbid today, and I can't figure out why.

It's my friend's birthday today. That's not depressing to me.
I did just finish watching Six Feet Under- Season 2.
After that, I saw a post on MySpace for about the millionth time about what song you would have played at your funeral.

Of course, because I'm in this morbid mood, I'm thinking about it. I actually made a mix CD of songs about death that I'd probably just want the whole thing played.

Because I don't have he tracklist memorized, y'all will have to wait until I get home and take a listen. I will say that it does have Dress Sexy at My Funeral by Smog, which I already have stipulated gets played.

So, what song gets played at your funeral?

It's official.

I'm not the only person who thinks my job can suck the sweat off a... well, think of something horrible, anyways. Then read this article.

I want to be showered with sympathetic comments, people.

On second thought, just send money.

If you haven't already gone...

Hit up the Onion's website today. They're more on than usual, including the "In The News" pic of Kerry catching bin Laden.

I was very close to rolling on the floor laughing.

Something _______ this way comes.

Last night I did something I haven't done in months: I made tacos. I haven't made tacos since my doctor discovered that I have high cholesterol, and decided, because I had been so good lately, to take the plunge and indulge myself.

This is where things get depressing. As I was shopping(I've become a serious label-reader now), I discovered just how bad for me the ingredients are- and decided that I would substitute my own mixture of spices instead of the regular taco mix, use low-fat, low-cholesterol cheese, and stop frying my tortillas in light canola oil before I eat them(although I still had to heat them up in the microwave). What came out of all this? Other than the unhappy realization that I'm out of cayenne pepper, that my tacos tasted like shit. The cheese was horrible, the meat had flavoring, but not the usual kick to it(perhaps I put in too much curry or not enough tabasco?) and the tortillas, well, they were so disappointing I don't want to talk about it.

So, afterwards, I realized how much I hate this new diet I have to be on, and I spent several hours cursing my bad luck and karma which got me into the high cholesterol world. I'm tired of always eating what food eats. Of course, the alternative is to keep going down the path I was on, and well, facing the inevitable heart attack or stroke. Maybe not today or tomorrow or even in the next 10 years, but it's out there. I mean, consider Sergei Zholtok. He was 31. He was an athlete, too. I am an athlete, at least I try to be, but I'm no where near the level he was. I gotta tell you, it kinda scares me.

Wow. I just read through this rather depressing post. I'm off to go in search of levity. Sorry to leave my readers with such a sad post.

Run and hide, my friends, run and hide.

Because you're all a bunch of horrible sinners.

Just ask this guy.

I'm through with politics. No more.

Has it been two months already?

Check your calendars, folks, and you'll hopefully notice that it's been 2 whole months since my third knee surgery. So, let's see what's going on with that old joint- it's looking more and more like a knee- the hair has mostly grown back, the scars are settling into a relative obscurity(although you can still see them fairly well), and I can do most of the things I could do before I hurt myself. There are a few things I cannot do that I wish I could, things like kneeling and running(although I did move pretty quick up the stairs to the el today). I'm trying to push myself, but not too hard, because that's where bad things happen.

I'll try to put up a picture later.

Pub Quiz Info

I've just come from a meeting with the owners of the Globe Pub. We've made some adjustments for the pub quiz, and I designed a poster all on my lonesome for advertising.


Not bad for a guy who hasn't had an art class since 1988, huh?
Posted by Hello

Anyways, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Chicagoans! Come rack your brain and your liver simultaneously at the Globe's Pub Quiz, run by me, every Tuesday from 7-9pm! There's drinks, food, trivia and prizes galore! All this benefits those suffering from MS, including my best friend.

See you on Tuesday!

Need or want?

I know I want this, but do I really need another DVD?

Sorry, silly question. The answer, of course, is that I do need it- if at all to have playing in the background during a party when the karaoke dies down. It would also come in handy for those veg out sessions my roommate has on weekends.

Getting married ?!?!?

This weekend's trip to Canada was OUTSTANDING. I had a blast. Let me recap:

Friday
I left work and headed with all due haste to the Air Canada counter at O'Hare. I breezed though the check-in process(apparently no one was going to Canada Friday night). My flight was quick. I reread the Hithchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I got to customs and basically walked right through- it was surprisingly easy. As I left customs I met up with Joey's friend E(who I can't remember if he blogs or not, but if he does, to let me know your URL) who was giving me a ride to Joey's house because he and Wendy were at the big dinner, where his parents met her parents and the ring(which is absolutely beautiful) was presented. After they were done with that we went to Smokeless Joe's for food(I highly recommend the salami sandwich) and a couple drinks before hitting the sack.

Saturday
I woke up early and got my bearings, took a shower and got ready for breakfast with Wendy's parents, whom I hadn't seen in probably 6 years. We had a nice time walking around Toronto together, and over breakfast they discussed the menu for the wedding while I read the sports page. After that, Wendy, Joey and I headed to "the Markets" where we picked up various supplies for the party and even a new shirt for me. We headed back to Joey's to get everything set up. Joey's roommate P and I did the lighting for the backyard, and it was amazing. After that, I headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame and only left because they were closing. I also spent a fair amount of my paycheck in their gift store- something my checking account is complaining about endlessly today. Pictures will be posted after I get them developed(my digital is on the fritz, so I bought a disposable) including me standing next to Lord Stanley's Cup(the current one) and a couple shots I took of the original(that I managed to snap in between quiet sobs of overexcitement). As I left a couple from Ohio asked me for directions to King Street, something I was actually able to do(I did a lot of walking in Toronto). To answer that burning question that I'm sure is on a democrat or two's mind, I did not ask them how they voted. I headed back to Joey's to help out with the last minute party details and to get some dinner before the actual party.

The Party(Or: Call me Dutch.)
The shirt I bought was an experiment in a new fashon statement for me- the "party guy" shirt. It is a grey "vintage" bowling shirt with the name Dutch stitched on it- and I looked damn good in it. I got to meet a lot of bloggers who I will be adding to my blog roll as soon as I get around to finding their URLs. Everyone was nice. Everyone was fun. I kept myself primarily to the living room- because that was where the karaoke was- and did a couple really fun songs, including a duet with Wendy singing A-ha's Take On Me. It was great. There was revelry. There was a trip to the Secret Swing. There was two bathtubs full of beer. There was dancing. It was a blast.

Sunday
It was instahangover in the morning- which faded nicely after a long hot shower. I caught the shuttle bus from downtown to the airport, dehydrated and hungry. I was surprised at the lines for U.S. Customs- it took about 40 minutes to get through the line- a far cry from the 7 minutes I was in line at Canadian Customs. Eventually, I got home, and my cat was so desperate for attention I was amazed. She's better now, though. I headed to pub quiz and saw M and S, a couple I haven't seen in ages, and got to talk to them. They're good people.

So, the question I'm sure is burning on many people's minds is whether or not I am actually marrying a Canadian woman and fleeing the Bush regime: I'm not. Although I did meet wonderful people(you know who you are) I would have far too much explaining to do to far too many people when I got back here, so no, I did not propose, nor was I proposed to(in all fairness, the temptation was there). I did have a great time, and I'm itching for another chance to head up to the Great White North, next time on a weekend when there's not engagements and birthdays to celebrate, and I can really get a feel for Toronto.

The gods must have finally smiled upon me.

I'm certainly not taking Blogger.com for granted. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to post this entry.

See, friends, I have been trying to write a new post for about 5 hours now, and just now- finally- got through.

So, let's see.... I wanted to talk about..... oh yeah, the fact that my roommate is in Mexico for a wedding this weekend, and that I'll be in Canada. Only my cat is still in America, poor thing. She's also the only thing in my house that hasn't bitched about the election. She just doesn't know any better- so long as the W doesn't start fucking with her Meow Mix. Then things get personal.

In other news, I was slightly late in getting out the door this morning, and who do I spy down the street? Well, it was none other than Mr. Red Half-Ton Toyota who tried to run me over yesterday. Seems like someone is carpooling or something, and stops by down the street on weekday mornings. We'll have to see how our neighborly connection and relationship develops. I think I'll get my digital camera fixed and start carrying it with me as I cross the street...

I keep forgetting that the new Dave(working title: Zen and the Art of Dave Repair) doesn't exact revenge on people, he's letting things go and not getting angry about them.

Wow. Does anyone else think that that's the biggest line of bullshit I've ever spouted?

All kidding aside, I am working on my temper. I am also looking forward to my trip to Accordion City for iCcordion Guy's birthday(happy birthday, Joey!) and for the great engagement party. t-minus 6 hours til my plane takes off!

I love this map.

My friend sent me this via e-mail a few hours ago. I've since seen it on a couple other blogs, but wanted to share it with you as well.


This totally cracks me up.
Posted by Hello

Today must be Thursday. I never got the hang of Thursdays.

I've been debating how I was going to write about this, either my usual, Angry Dave style, or maybe trying out Cynthia's "Interview with the Blogger by the Internet" style(which was originated by Tony Pierce), but, seeing as I've been watching episode after episode of Six Feet Under, I've decided to try my hand at writing the beginning of an episode:

EXT CHICAGO STREET, RAINY POST-DAWN SKY, A LIGHT DRIZZLE FALLS.

A BALD MAN WEARING A LIGHT BLUE SHIRT AND GREY PANTS EXITS HIS BROWN, BRICK APARTMENT BUILDING AND STRUGGLES TO OPEN HIS UMBRELLA AS HE CROSSES HIS STREET. AS HE WALKS AND FIGHTS WITH THE UMBRELLA WHICH REFUSES TO OPEN, A RED TOYOTA HALF TON TRUCK WITH A BLACK TOPPER RUNS A STOP SIGN AND RUNS THE BALD MAN DOWN.

FADE TO WHITE. CENTERED CAPTION READS:
LOGAN'S DAVE
1973-2004

Anyways, that's kinda what happened. Well, kinda. Since my budding television writing career just started, let's pretend that I am, after all, being interviewed by the internet:

Hi, Dave.

Hi, Internet.

So, what happened to make you want to write about your own death?

Well, it all started as I left the house to catch my morning train. As I was walking across my street, which is a relatively safe thing to do, a guy ran a stop sign and damn near ran me over as he turned left. I should also be noted that I was in the crosswalk and he did not signal his turn.

Wow. That sounds like an intense experience.

Yes, yes it was. Certainly wakes me up faster than caffeine ever did.

I'm sure it did. What was your reaction to nearly getting hit by a car?

Well, not surprisingly, I shouted out "what the fuck do you think you're doing?" I tend to shift into intense anger pretty easily when I'm threatened. I guess the guy tried to indicate to me that he was sorry, but I couldn't see into his car.

What happened after that?

After a couple more angry shouts from me about how he broke the law and nearly ran me over, he decided to get out of his truck and confront me. He said that he apologized, and suggested I wear brighter clothing as I walk around the neighborhood.

But, in your script for Six Feet Under, you specifically mention that you're wearing a light blue shirt and grey pants against a background of a brown-brick apartment building.

Yeah. I guess that wasn't good enough for him. I know he had his headlights on, but I also know that he didn't even come close to stopping at the stop sign. After making his "suggestion" I believe I called him a fucking idiot and tried to explain that failing to stop at a stop sign and yield right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk was against the law. For my albeit rushed and heated explanation, I was called an asshole.

Wait. He called you an asshole?

Yep. Can't say that I blame him. I'm sure he probably got a good yelling at by his passenger for not paying attention to his driving. At least, I hope he did. It was a pretty intense experience with lots of surprise twists.

So, why an episode of Six Feet Under? Why didn't do you write an episode for er or another series set in Chicago?

I had just watched an episode the night before about a biker funeral where about half the patrons had bottles of Jack Daniel's. I then decided that at my funeral, I would want my friends and family to have flasks full of my favorite scotch, and that they couldn't leave until they finished. That's a wake and a funeral all at once, and you can consider that to be stipulated in my will.

You have a will? Aren't you a little young for a will?

No, no I'm not. No one is, in my opinion. After my friend died last summer without any kind of will or family- he was adopted and his adopted parents are dead- it got me thinking that if anything happened to me, well, nobody would know what I wanted, so I wrote up a letter with my final wishes. Considering my recent health issues and my extensive bike riding on Chicago streets, it seemed a sensible thing.

Interesting. Listen, this interview as gotten a little morbid. Wanna hit the pub?

Oh, it's too early for the pub. We'll just have to stay here and drink.

Fine by me.

Anyways, thanks to you, red Toyota half-ton, I'm awake and feeling a whole lot more philosophical than I wanted to this morning. I would like to mention that my need/desire/idea to flee this country for Canada has been somewhat curbed after reading this post.

More on that after I've calmed down a bit, ok?

Two more things, then I'll try to get past the election.

Believe it or not, but I was the only person in the bar last night who noticed this guy right away.


The Truth Hurts.
Posted by Hello
Lots of people saw it afterwards, and we all had a good laugh. I was amazed that he got away with that at all.

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this yet, but I saw a pro-Alan Keyes vehicle yesterday outside the Union Station Multiplex. My only excuse is that I tried to suppress the memory, as it went as far as to have a sign on it that homosexuals caused 9/11.

Of all the days to not have a camera handy.

Ok, one more thing, then I'm going to quit.

Is there a Canadian version of Las Vegas? Someplace where marriages are performed for minimal fees with little to no questions asked? I've only got a couple days up there, and I want to defect.

Not that you didn't already know that.

World opinion.

Perhaps the best analysis of what's going on in this country is here(found it though Wonkette).

Here's other countries actually praising us for "our" choice.

Has the world actually completely gone insane?

Sounds like it's official.

According to Fox News, it's over. So much for making every vote count.

As an appendage to my open letter to the GTA, I'd like to add that an 5'9", 195 pound, athletic, 31-year-old Chicago man is looking for a wife, Canadian citizenship a major plus.

Open Letters

To the World:
I'm sorry. We tried. I know that we, the most powerful nation on the planet, look like a bumbling idiot running a marathon with his shoelaces tied together. Our democratic process isn't perfected yet, and yet we've been pushing it on you for 228 years. I apologize again. While we do have a good idea, we've lost sight of the spirit of that idea. Without knowing the results at this time, it's impossible for me to predict what's going to happen. Please be strong, and hope for the best.

To my fellow Americans:
What happened? Have you been living under a rock for the past four years? I honestly cannot comprehend how this was even a close race. I guess that when we're all employed by Halliburton or drafted into the armed forces, then, maybe you'll see things different. I know Kerry wasn't exactly an ideal choice, I'm still clarifying it to people that I am not pro-Kerry. I am anti-Bush. Sure, Kerry flip-flops, but to me that's a sign that he can realize when he's made a mistake. Bush lied to you, and me, when he said that Hussein had WMD. He called the war won when it wasn't. Instead of admitting his errors, he's just telling you over and over how much safer the world is without Hussein in power. Ask yourself this, though- do you actually feel safer now that Hussein is in jail? I know I don't.

Our democracy is flawed. People are being prevented from exercising their right to vote. This happened in 2000 and seems to have happened again in 2004. Don't feel bad about it- just change it. Let's not even talk about the arcane Electoral system- I've been reading a history about it, and let me tell you, it's one gigantic mess. On top of that, read through just the table of contents of the Patriot Act. If that doesn't scare the living hell out of you, I don't know what will.

It was time to make a change, folks. This shouldn't have been close.

To the United Nations:
I may be crazy, or biased, or just a little bit defensive right now, but in 1990 when a strikingly more powerful member nation invaded a less powerful nation, all kinds of of action was taken by you to turn that illegial invasion around and punish those responsible(to end the suspense, I am referring to Iraq invading Kuwait). Well, what changed so that 13 years later when it happened again, you didn't sanction that nation? Oh, right, one of the founding nations decided to act outside the UN Charter(see articles 39, 41 and 42, but article 51 takes the cake) and invade another member nation. Sorry, I missed that. Seems like maybe something should have been done then. Just a thought.

To the Greater Toronto Area:
I will be in your fine city for the first time in about 27 years. I am definitely looking forward to my visit, and I might even take some time to look for an apartment there. If you have any suggestions, or even an extra space in your apartment and you don't mind cats, please let me know. I would expect that there will be some more people like me moving to all cities in Canada. We hope we're not imposing, we just have to get out of here, and I think that you understand why. Thanks.

I'm sure these letters are going to get me into some kind of trouble- it's become a scary state of affairs in my country, where expressing yourself is becoming a right we don't have.

I'd like to quote RATT

I've had enough, we've had enough.
I'll tell you why-why-why...

Anyways, it's still up in the air, and I'm too goddamn tired to keep going. Not to mention that the Scotch I just had is thankfully putting this tired horse down. All I have to say is, despite an overall positive attitude and faith that the universe shall unfold as it should, I did a quick search for an apartment in Toronto.

More on that in the morning. I doubt that I'll sleep much, but I'd like to get what I can.

Back to Ohio.

Back to the elections, anyways.

Fark as a great string up where you can nominate people for president.

My favorites thus far(in no particular order):

Han Solo
Jay and Silent Bob
Johnny Damon
Skeletor
They Might Be Giants
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins as Khan Noonian Sung from Star Trek
Admiral Akbar
Jack Burton(from Big Trouble in Little China)
Al Bundy
Darth Vader
Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes
Blue Man Group
Frank Zappa

It's a list, that's for sure. I'd probably vote for a combo- like the Frank Zappa/Henry Rollins ticket- now that'd be one hell of a white house!

Interesting results...

I'm not going to speak towards the accuracy of this little quiz, but my results are interesting, at least, to me they are.

Son of a diddly!

In non-election related news, weebl-stuff.com has made some of their famous songs into ringtones. Sadly, my cellphone's browser can't access their website, so I can only dream of having my cell phone ring out as Badgers or Kenya.

Well put.

I don't always agree with his politics, and I certainly don't like being hit over the head with them, but I have to link to this article by Michael Moore. The two most important sections(to me) are:

To the Non-Swing States:

Stop listening to how your vote doesn’t count in this election and that your state is already decided for Kerry or Bush. It is critical that you vote because we not only need to give Kerry the electoral win, but he needs to have a HUGE mandate with an ENORMOUS popular vote victory as well. It will be impossible for him to get anything done for four years if there is no clear mandate. We must not only defeat Bush, we must put a stake in the heart of the right-wing, neo-con movement. If you live in New York, California, Illinois, Texas, the Northeast or the Deep South, you need to vote and you need to bring ten people with you to the polls. If you live in a state where we have the chance to elect the Democrat to the Senate or the House, you need to vote. Turn off the TV. Quit listening to news media that has a vested interest in repeating to you over and over that your vote does not count. It does.
If you have friends or relatives who live in the 30-plus non-swing states, call them and remind them how important it is that Kerry gets a massive popular vote victory.

To Non-Voters:

I understand why you stopped voting. Politicians suck. Nothing ever seems to change. You’re only one vote.
Yes, politicians suck. But so do car salesmen – and that hasn’t stopped you from buying a car. Politicians only respond to the threat of the angry mob also known as the voting public. If most people don’t vote, that’s good news for them ‘cause then they don’t have to answer to the majority.
Almost fifty percent of Americans don’t vote. That means you belong to the largest political party in America – the Non-Voting Party. That means you hold all the power to toss George W. Bush out of the Oval Office. How cool is that?
I believe that we are going to have the largest election turnout in our lifetime tomorrow. You don’t want to miss out on that. The lines at the polls are going to be long and raucous and fun. It is an historic election. You won’t want to say that you were the only one who wasn’t there. Promise me you’ll vote, just this one time.

I certainly couldn't have said it better.

I've done my part.

Despite leaving my house at 6:05 this morning, there was already a line at my polling place(a bar I frequent, about 1/2 a block from my house). I waited, did my civic duty, and missed the late train to work. Oh well. I still got out my vote. And it should be noted that I proudly voted FOR a regime change.

Go get yours out.

Down to thisssssssssssssssssssssssss-ah.

Ah. A tribute to my old friends, Soul Coughing. Or is it?

It's not. Actually. I'm referring to tomorrow. You know, election day. I've said it once, and I'll say it fifteen or sixteen thousand more times, but if you don't get out and vote, you have no right to bitch at all, regardless of outcome. So, tomorrow, when you're wondering what that important thing you were supposed to do was, be sure that you make a beeline to your polling place and get your ass in a booth. Not that you need me to tell you, but I'd rather see you vote for Kerry than Bush, but it's up to you to make up your own mind. In 4 years, however, I will be eligible for the presidency, so keep me in mind for your candidate in '08, ok?

Oh, and if you happen to live in Florida, I'd sure appreciate it if you wrote in Gore. I think that would be funny.

Go forth and participate in our fucked-up version of the democratic process!

Something to try for yourself.

Mia got this sent to her on myspace.com: the Slut Test.

I'd post my results, but they're, um, kinda embarassing.

Let's just say that my percentage is the same as a record speed. Which one, I won't say. You'll have to guess.

How I spent my summer vacation.

Ok, just my weekend.

I had plans to go see Camper Van Beethoven on Friday after PT, which fizzled into me falling asleep on the couch long enough to make the effort worthless, so I didn't. I hung out with my roommate and drank too much and stayed out too late. On the whole, it was a typical Friday night. I had all kinds of things I had to get done on Saturday, which I completely skipped. No laundry was done. No cleaning was done. No billpaying was done. No shopping got done(at least not what I meant to get done). I watched movies- and I didn't give a shit that I wasn't getting anything done, except, of course, watching movies. First up on my list was Jersey Girl, which I just had to watch because I love my Kevin Smith movies. I was bored- and didn't really like it. I took a break and headed to Osco for some supplies and bought Air America(I am a huge sucker for the $9.99 DVD bin- someone should look into this), took it home, and watched it. After that, I heard the mail come, went downstairs, and lo and behold, but my new Netflix movie arrived- Bend It Like Beckham. This was a nice, fun movie, and it made me think about my friend A, who is Punjabi. That's what I got out of the movie- not "oooh- how fun is soccer," but "wow, what a culture!" After that I went out with my best friend and painted the town a couple shades of red. It was fun, until I a regrettable one-night stand walked in the bar. Fortunately, there was no conversation with her- just uncomfortable looks exchanged.

Sunday was a lazy day as well. I went down to Raven's to watch my football games and wondered what kind of parents brought their kids to a bar to trick-or-treat, and got to see several examples. I got disturbed. Then I got mad, as my football weekend went completely wrong, except for the Packers winning*. My fantasy team is in the toilet, and my picks weren't much better. I need a good hockey game to shake up my bad mojo, methinks. So, that was the weekend, pretty much. I spent some time with the quizmaster from Ginger's last night, just chatting. It was fun.

*I'll spare you the entire diatribe on how ironic it was for a lifelong Vikings fan to be rooting for the Packers.