Bad Boys
So, my buddy IMs me a few minutes ago ...
One of the great things about IM is that people write the way they talk. With email, even the laziest slacker attempts to use a basic letter format. IM is different because you are not writing a letter, you are having a conversation. So, like the rocker child of the 80's that he is, he writes:
dude check this out
Apparently he was on his way home from mowing his mother's lawn (yes, 80's rocker child is a good boy) when he stops at the intersection of 78th and Beecher, deep in the heart of West Allis. Folks from the area know West Allis as a mythical, post-industrial/suburban cluster of empty factories, houses, and alleys where headbangers still smoke on the street corner in tight black jeans, wrestling shoes, a biker jacket (in 80 degree weather), and long, flat hair. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Now, it is mostly a middle to low-middle income suburb of Milwaukee. It has spawned derisive nick names like Stallis, WestAllica (think Metallica), ...those are the only ones I can think of now. But just say West Allis to someone from Milwaukee and they will probably smile (especially if you tell them you are
from there, which I am).
So, he is at a stop sign at the intersection. Across from him is a police officer. Both are waiting to cross. They both do. The police car then makes a u-turn, hits the lights, and pulls him over. It's a sunny, lazy day today, so my friend assumes the cop is bored and wants to give him a warning for not having a license plate on the front of his car. Well, the cop comes over, gets his license, and asks him where he is going and where he came from. The 80's rocker child tells him, ...mom's house, cut lawn, now home (about 1.5 miles away).
The cop is suspicious because 78th is a side street. 76th street, just 2 blocks away, is a big thoroughfare. The cop then says that he received a complaint about a guy matching my friend's description. I'm sure the description was something like this "Man, 20-30 years old, blonde, medium length hair, black car." You've just described 4/5ths of Wisconsin.
Then the cop says, "I'm going to ask you a blunt question." Ok. Pause for suspense.
"Have you been masturbating?"
"Ummmm. Not today." Says the 80's rocker child smartass.
"Have you!?! That's what the complaint said."
Just then, another cop pulls up in a separate car followed by a 50+ white trash women in a pickup truck. They all huddle and the 80's rocker child clearly hears the woman say "brown hair". 80's rocker child is baywatch blonde.
Well, the cop keeps him there as they continue talking. Time passes, still talking. 80's rocker child leans out the window "Since I don't have brown hair, can I go now? I have places to go."
"Just be patient." More time passes. Finally the cop arrives, asks for his phone number, suggests that the reason he was kept so long is that he was "acting nervous."
"Yeah, being pulled over by a cop makes me nervous." he says.
He's off to file a complaint.
Crushes
For the sake of unneeded organization, I partition my post-San Diego days into three categories. Hopefully, I am about to create a fourth.
1. Getting comfortable
2. Unprecedented Growth
3. Heart break
Actually, I am currently in a bit of a void. Post #3, but not quite ready for whatever #4 will be.
For the first 5-6 months I was attempting to break out of my well-earned shell. Most old friends had graduated from beer and rock and video games to beer and tv and domesticity. All except for Dan. That loser is just like me and exactly the opposite of me at the same time. More on him some other day. In the time I was gone (4 years +) he had made lots of new friends. Most of them were much younger than us. They were more talented, more energetic, more dramatic, more intelligent, but less experienced and less knowledgeable. This is the group that I slowly entered.
It took a long time. I didn't entirely feel comfortable around them, ...but eventually the static, waste, and stuffiness of my 2 year seclusion in SD started to wear off. Their hippness rubbed off on me, and through the band I started to expand my circle of friends to include some of the better known musicians and artists in the city.
Unprecedented Growth
Because of you, I saw this process through. 8 months. You were there to play mental chess with me. We invented the non-sexual crush and obsessed ourselves with our never-ending conveyor belt of sexual crushes. My life through the band and new friends was spinning upward. Crushes came and went. Dating was re-learned, passions were discovered, life altering decisions were made.
There was disappointment, ...but nothing like sadness. Nothing that stung the memory and the heart. Except 9/11, ...but that is quite another matter.
High and heady binges. Long emails dissecting our dreams (a favorite past time). Long discussions about Dan and the psycho bitch, Dan and (A), Dan and ...well, just about everything Dan did. The story I began depicting a fictional future trip to London by us.
...Then, two cloves entered our lives.
Heartbreak
We drifted. You had your struggle and I had mine. Mine ended in a messy Train vs Garbage truck wreck. Yours is like cancer in constant remission.
Now
And here we are. 12 months later. 12 months that feels alternately like 12 years or 12 days. No crushes. No romantic adventures. No heady discourse. Just poor health, worry, depression (for the first time in my life), smothering restless anxiety, sloth.
Small efforts have been made to resurrect the battleship, to raise it from it's depths, but that is really impossible. You can never go back to what once was. You can only go forward. This part is a little tricky, because you have very little control over what is ahead of you. You only have control over what is around you, and right now you are no longer around me. But I can't go back to those days, ...so I guess you cannot always control what is around you either.
Last weekend a saw a small glimmer of something I will call speculative joy. It's the beginning of what we used to call crushes.
I saw her at the MP last Friday.
I have seen her about a dozen times over the last year. Each time I just looked on in calm, distant admiration. As if she was a Porsche or a yacht. Unattainable.
Then, as I followed the doc out the door at closing time, I leaned over to place my empty Newcastle bottle on the bar. I place it adjacent to her, though not deliberately. She looks up. Smiles. I look away. Walk away.
It wasn't a "Hi, come here and buy me a drink sailor" smile. No, it was "oh, a non-threatening, not entirely disgusting human in my personal space. No biggie. Hi."
Coming from her, that is more than I would have expected.
Guess where I will be tomorrow night?
Funny Quote of the Week
"Remember: The old adage "Fight fire with fire" does not apply to non-metaphorical fires."
From (where else)
the onion.
Final Review
First:
my initial impressions.
GTA Vice City is a disapointment, but not a huge one. First, you need to understand what I look for in games:
1. Realism. Realistic physics, graphics, sounds, dialoge, and scenarios.
2. A logical plot.
3. Suprises.
4. Extended gameplay.
5. An "aftergame" game.
For number 1, GTA falls seriously short compared to games like Splinter Cell and Mafia. I only have extended experience with Mafia, although Splinter Cell is my next purchase. The Vice City graphics look like they were made for the playstation. Not a compliment. It looks like the next version of the game will be no better as it will release exclusively on the Sony. Once you've driven down the streets of Lost Heaven, pulled up alongside a trolley stop, placed your sawed-off in the back of an unsuspecting gangster and pulled the trigger, ...Vice City looks
so last generation. In every way, Vice City is cheaper looking, sounding, and feeling. Graphically, the game is no better than GTA3.
As far as plot goes, most video games fall short. I don't think the gaming companies like to spend money on writers, so they get their plot lines from developers and there are noticeable holes. For example, in Vice City, you knock off a bank. Ok, cool. It's a nice mission. One thing I don't understand is
WHY. There are about 100 possible plausible explanations, but none of them are given. Perhaps this hole (and other holes) in the plot have more to do with the freedom they allow you to have. You can finish your missions in many different orders. By design, it is not a linear plot, but I would like more of a rigid plot even if it takes away from some of the freedom. Frankly, I don't care that I can complete the Cuban missions before the Haitian missions or vice-versa. That does not excite me. Also, a stronger plot does not have to be a limitation. If it is done well, it can enhance the freedom of the game.
Very few suprises in this game. Some nice ones are: the motorcycles, the apache hellicopter, the boats, the music on the radio, the guest stars, the ability to purchase propterty. The stadium mission could have been better, the shooting range could have been more exciting, and in general, the game could (should) have been more difficult. The ending was a little bit of a suprise, but the actual final mission was not very difficult.
The game ended too quickly. I was done with this game very quickly and did not have to work very hard at it. A little trial and error is all it took. Very little actual thought is needed to comple these missions. I'd like a $40 game to last longer and be more challanging.
It does have a series of "aftergames". You can re-run the races, find all the hidden packages, see all the easter eggs, do all the cab, vigilante, racing, and pizza missions, and do all the unique jumps.
Overall, I almost liked GTA3 better.
That's not to say it wasn't fun, ...but I like doing missions, not jumps. The variety of missions was pretty good, but not great. Mafia takes it, hands down.
7 out of 10.
Great music. Huge city. But I was done with the game so fast that I did not even have to memorize most of the city as I did in Mafia. That tells you something. Having all those streets and alleys is nice, but unless they are used, they are pretty much overlooked. BTW, Mafia got nine out of ten. Look for my Splinter Cell review soon.
Today's Fortune
"The current year will bring you much happiness."
Well, the year is about haf over and there's been no happiness so far. I guess they're just saving it all up for the last 6 months.
Job Review
Just had my performance review here at work.
Some background ...
They have a really stupid rating system. It's a 1-5 system. 1 is horrible performance, 5 is the greatest possible performance. So, naturally you would think that 3 is average. If you do a really good job all year you'd expect a 4, right? Wrong. So, everyone almost always gets 3's, including me.
Last year the highly emotional, expressive, dino-woman VP was in a real snit during review time. There were problems with the way the current project was progressing and she (as usual) flipped. The problems were temporary, but they happened to fall in the weeks just prior to the reviews. So, she used the reviews to punish everyone. Did it matter that you did a great job all year long, working overtime (although you are on salary), working weekends? No. She was mad. And that's all that mattered to her.
WHAM! We all got slammed in the reviews. I even got a 2, which I protested and my immediate manager (who did not stand up for us) changed it to a 3. I worked so hard that year. I got 2 bonuses and special commendations for the very same insane VP, but none of that mattered. Only the last two weeks mattered to her. Well, I ended up with a 4% raise. It's better than nothing, I guess. Another thing, the company was losing a little money back then, so they were laying people off and tightening their belts. I think this is the real reason the raises were low, ...but they didn't say that. If they had come to me and said, "Look, we don't have money for much of a raise, but we'll give you what we can," I would have understood. Instead, they based our reviews on the last two weeks and used that as an excuse to give low raises.
So, I was not looking forward to this year. However, we have a new manager and I like him. He's pretty honest and I trust him. This year, despite not doing that great a job (kinda lost all motivation after last year's BS), I got a good review. All 3's and three 4's. The manager even said "Great job" "keep it up" etc.
My raise: 4% Haha.
Take this job and ...
Ok, I'm sick of my job.
I don't make enough money. I'm not poor, but I'm not moving up the income ladder fast enough. I must waste an incredible amount of money, because I'm always running out, yet I'm not in a low income tax bracket. I know I gotta tighten my wallet a little here, but I need to take a big step up. And soon.
I've lost interest OMFG, I can barely sit here all day without falling asleep. I have work to do, but can't bring myself to concentrate on it for very long. This is a big problem, because if people begin to notice my slippage, I could be canned.
I need a change of direction And scenery. I've been here 4 years now. My stock options have all vested and I've got good experience I can take elsewhere. Four years is a long time in the technology industry. I think it's a respectable length of time, one that will look good on my resume, not bad.
I want to leave town Not 100% sure on this yet. I've done this before and was not really any better off. But that was then. I've learned a lot since then. I think I am in a much better position to take advantage of a clean start. I didn't take real good advantage of it the first time, but this time will be different, I swear.
So, ...the job hunt begins.
From the "Reading the whole article reaps rewards" dept
An Indianapolis middle school has
penalized a student for performing in a choir at President Bush's recent speech in the area. The penalty is that the school principal, a Mr. Ed Mendoza, refuses to "excuse" the absence, meaning that the student "won’t be allowed to make up any work or get credit for the classes she didn’t attend."
Students are excused for many legitimate reasons, and this should be one of them. Different state, but teachers here have actually taken students to the state capital to join teacher's union protests against Republican initiatives and called it an educational outing. Also, I remember that my high school Biology teacher took everyone to Whitnall park (a large sprawling park, nature preserve, garden, golf course) for cross-country skiing. Officially, the trip was to "study winter flora". Haha, ...ever seen a flower under 2 feet of snow? I think it's ok to do this kind of thing every now and then. Good students should be rewarded and allowed to cut loose every now and then.
Anyway, the article contains this little gem near the end of the article.
Mendoza, who was not at school today, was unavailable for comment.
Hmmmm, ...was
his absence excused? So, ditching your duties to answer to parents and reporters and hiding in your bedroom is ok, but singing in a choir for a Republican president is not.
ACK
Fox cancels my favorite show "Fastlane" and keeps the unwatchable "Boston Public". Also cancelled is Andy Richter's show, which I thought was good.
I know it's all about ratings and sometimes good shows just don't make it. I just think that Fastlane suffered from being placed before John Doe, which sucked major ass.
I think Boston Public will suffer at it's destined Friday night timeslot. It's a chick show, and not an intelligent chick show, it's a show for teenage girls who want to watch a vapid soap opera before watching American Idol. I've tried to watch Boston Public, I think I've sat through 4 or 5 episodes and it just completely sucks.
This brings back the frustration of seeing Newsradio cancelled even though it outperformed network darling 3rd Rock from the Sun (an excellent show as well) despite being moved time and again. It also brings back my annoyance at seeing Earth 2 cancelled in favor of Sea Quest. Sea Quest got about 700 times the promotion that Earth 2 did and was given more of a chance to succeed, which it didn't.
Now I'll never know what would have happened!
Well, here are my postmortem thoughts on the show:
The show succeeded in it's main goal. It wanted to be cool, and it was. Beautiful women, fast cars, drugs, money, guns, bad guys, good guys, dual loyalties, plenty of bloodshed, hot music, and hip locales. Oh yeah, and it was also about cops.
Sure, some of the scenarios were hokey. Some of the endings were a bit forced, ...but overall the stories were edgy, fresh, and exciting. They used non-linear story telling in some episodes and that was kinda neat: starting at a point about 5 minutes from the end, jumping to the beginning, and then jumping back for the end.
I wondered how the show would do. When it's 1980's counterpart Miami Vice came out there was nothing else like it. TV did not show much violence or sex, crime and drugs were not glorified, and modern music was absent except for MTV. But that is not true anymore. With HBO shows like the Sopranos and Oz, there really isn't the demand for slightly cleaned up violence on TV. Fastlane was not shocking or gripping compared to what else it out there. Really, it was a cleaned up "Grand Theft Auto" set to music and put on Friday nights at 7pm. When HBO is pulling no punches, why watch something that does?
Well, it was a lot of fun. I loved the show, thought it was hilarious, well done, well acted (mostly), and FUN. I like this kind of thing, apparently I'm in a minority on this one.
Anyway, I think they are still playing the re-runs this summer, so watch it while you can. Heck, maybe I'll even tape them. My favorite episodes were the ones where Van's father was involved, the episodes with Jay Mohr (who was great as the perverted, angry, annoying cop watcher), the 2 part cop killer show, and the episode about the Chinese drug kingpin.
Maybe another network will pick it up. Maybe, but not at the budget required to showcase the show's glitz and special effects.
Today's Fortune
A real beaut ...
"A man's best possession is a sympathetic wife."
Next Week
May 17-23 is official "Bike to Work" Week.
First, who the hell actually starts their week on a Saturday?
Second, if you live relatively close to work or are a bike-healthy nut, this is fine.
But, if you are like me and ...
1. Live about 30 miles from work
2. Live in a city where it is idiotic to ride a bike from October-May (so you may not own one)
3. Enjoy the convenience of not living in a 3rd world country
4. Tossed your bike when you graduated college because, well, it's stupid to use a bike for transportation purposes
5. Own a car
6. See the act of crawling out of bed as an equivalent to daily hari kari
7. Can barely get to work on time with a car and free-flowing traffic
...this is one "National ______ Week" you will be sitting out.
A Little Lost in this New City
At first, I was a little disappointed in my
new city. Everything is a little
chintzier than I am used to. The buildings seem like brightly painted cardboard dioramas showing us what life was like almost 20 years ago. The females are aloof, I'm seemingly surrounded by neurotics, psychotics, and criminals, and the inhabitants of the city seems programmed for random aimlessness (and I thought San Diego was too relaxed). Still, there's a lot to be happy about here. The weather is great, much better than my hometown. At least the females have a reason to be aloof, ...they are maddingly stunning. Money here is slightly harder to come by, but I've already made a few new friends to help me out in this regard.
I've not explored Downtown much at all. I've completely neglected exploring the airport area, except for a quick pass through. Mostly, I've hung around the beach area and Starfish island. But tonight I'm checking out a rock concert at the stadium for free! Not bad.
Got to sleep late last night, ...after chasing that thieving dealer through the streets of Downtown and wasting him in a side alley, I was on a bit of a
kick, so I decided to stay up a little longer. Lance and I set off to blow a hole in the North Point mall, which we did, but during the getaway the cops wrecked our car, which exploded before Lance could get away. RIP. We'll try again tonight.
Today's Fortune
Quite a cryptic message. It's either a warning or a threat, ...hmm someone knows too much!
"You think it is a secret, but it never has been one."
Things that annoy me this week:
Voice Activated phone menus – If you are like me (I’m terrible sorry), you feel like an idiot trying to get your account balance from your desk at work because you are shouting dorky commands into the phone. “Billing” “more options” “consultant” “internet billing”
The attack and defense of Bill Bennett – first, the attackers. Leftists have long had a searing, gripping, all-consuming hatred of Mr. Bennett. It based on the fact that he is the physical embodiment of all the things they hate about who they perceive conservatives really are and what they think (priggish, white, fat, Christian, prudish, moralizing, judgmental, too much like their dad). You guys have had it out for him so long that you are grabbing onto anything, ANYTHING to show him to be
just like us. My reaction to the story? Who gives a f@@k? Yeah, that’s a lot of money, but exactly does his stupidity actually disprove any of his moralizing that pissed you off so much in the first place? How is this relevant? It isn’t. You’re all just gleeful over another’s troubles and embarrassment. Says a lot about you. BTW, did Jesse Jackson’s infidelity and womanizing (real immorality, real hypocrisy) diminish his positions, former statements, or moral authority?
His defenders: give it up. Bill Bennett has not shown much willingness to temper his moralizing language, …he has some “come-uppins” due.
Women - The great communicators. The poor, downtrodden masses of sensitivity. Most of the time women are worse than men when in similar situations. That’s the key. Similar situations. Most of the time men and women do not share similar situations, so it is easy to poke fun at the failures of someone who has a much longer and harder row to hoe. Right now they’ve got the best of both worlds. They have power, but no responsibility. It’s a blank check. They do not have to work up the nerves to walk across a crowded room, sidle up to a nice-looking stranger, and say something that will not be laughed at or summarily dismissed. They can be rude. They can play games. They can lead you on. They can turn it on and off at any time. They say men are dogs, but women merely “change their minds”.
Not as bad as I thought
The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test
Red Light
So, we make tentative plans for Tuesday night. She's going out for a friend's birthday and suggests I stop by later. She'll call.
No call.
We also had plans for Friday night. Sooo, I wait until Friday morning. I figure I'll call around noon, she'll be at lunch, I'll leave a message, then the ball will be in her court. She answers. She's made plans with her friends for tonight. Said she was "studying" Tuesday night. She's free Saturday night. Ok. She'll call in the evening.
Tick tick tick ...10:30pm. She finally calls.
"Hey, we just got back." (We?)
"Ummm, ok."
"I don't know where we're going. I'll give you a call in half an hour and you can meet up with us."
Ooook.
11pm, no call. 11:30, no call.12, no call.
It's been 15 months. No call.
So, I forgot about her. Next.
Suddenly, 2 weeks ago, [I] tells me that (A) has been hanging out with [m] (got all that?). Last week (A) lets the information drop during an unrelated conversation. This is all no big deal.
Then I find out that (A) has been doing heroine for the past month with some "new" friends.
I know [m] is involved. All the red flags tell me she used to have a problem, in fact, she hinted at a sorted past during our date. So, this past week I started trying to track down the source of (A)'s drugs, started connecting the dots, and watching as his life started spinning out of control.
Unraveling (A), raveling [m]
Before I get to my friend (A), let me tell you about [m].
I went out with her in 2/02. She's a very cute blonde with shaggy hair, about 5"2', petite, smart, witty. What always puzzled me about her was her tendency to drift in and out of conversations. She would not lose interest or stop listening, it's like she was thinking about what you were saying and continuing the conversation in her head without letting you in on the discussion.
She first noticed me at a punk-rock basement party in Riverwest (Red Flag #1). Riverwest is like the West Bank of liberalism, partitioned by the various liberal factions. It's a cheap area to live given that it is the buffer between the college district, the hip, upscale east town (downtown) area, and the ghetto. Naturally, it is inhabited by those who left college at 28 with a graduate degree in Radical Feminist Theory, and therefore could not afford a home in the nicer neighborhoods near the university. It is also inhabited by punkers, goths, heroine addicts, thrifty liberal professionals, vegans, peacenicks, left over hippies, artists, and criminals. So, why was I at this party? Well, my former band was playing a show there despite my protests.
A few weeks later she approached me at a dance club in the same neighborhood. She said she liked the band, introduced herself, and said she'd see me at our next show (the next week). Cool. But she didn't show. No big deal. I see her again a month-or-so later on Christmas day-eve. We talk, I buy her a drink, but she is tight-lipped and disappears quickly. I think she was there with someone else. Fine.
A month later she comes to one of our shows with her roommate, flags me down, and asks me out. Alllright, whatever,
"Cool. I'd love to." Red Flag #2: the closeness of her male roommate, ...we'll call him Juanski. He's about my age, my ethnicity, good-looking, apparently not gay, ...so why me and not him? Also, they used "we" an awful lot. Not as in
"we love threesomes", but as in
"we have spoken to the aliens, and as the chosen ones, we will welcome them when they land at Shea Stadium in 2017."
They were partners in some way. Teammates. But what was really strange, HE seemed to be the leader of their two person team. You would normally assume it is the girl who dominates in these relationships, but not this one.
Red Flag #3: Every moment of each her days is filled with an activity.
Red Flag #4: This "team" has more members. It seems her "friends" consist entirely of men, all of whom seem to have some sort of authority over her.
Red Flag #5: We make a date, but talk very little before the date. In fact, I wait until 9pm before I even hear from her. I began to wonder if the date was ever going to happen.
Red Flag #6: I pick her up, suddenly she's a mute. She has gone from talkative and energetic to slowmotion silence.
No matter, I work through it. At some point in the conversation I manage to crack through this fog and she is talkative, witty, funny, cheerful, and seems to be having a good time for the rest of the night.
Red Flag #7: We go to the Onopa (also in Riverwest) to see a friend's radical feminist cheerleading troupe. She seems to establish some sort of psychic connection to my friend (A). He's an imp. A fundamentalist attention seeker. A hummingbird. A former junkie, served time for armed robbery, guitar player for my band, and extremely good looking in a pre-adolescent way. She says of (A):
"He looks strung-out."
"Naw. He used to have a problem, but that's all in the past."
Red Flag #8: She receives calls from her male friends approximately every 2.4 minutes. They constantly want to make sure she is "okay".
We meet up with these friends (all men). I'm game. I'm not intimidated. They're mostly very friendly. When she says her goodbyes, she makes special eye-contact with one of them. A longer haired guy who talked with me briefly about the local music scene. I made a mental note about that.
The date lasts until 5am. Everything is great. I really like this chick, ...she's very smart, funny, outgoing, adventurous, if not a little weird. She seems to want a kiss at the end of the night, but I misread and back off. She calls unsolicited the next day, informs that the date was "wonderful", that I was fantastic to her, the dinner I cooked was "wonderful" and she really wanted to see me again.
Green light.
Next episode: Red light.
Dem Debate
Caught most of it.
All you need to know is:
Dean and Kerry battle it out until the convention. All the rest are hacks and losers.
Kerry wins because Dems want to win (their only concern). Cynically, they will cast Dean aside because they will not believe he can win with his anti-war stance, even though they agree with it.
Kerry loses to Bush in 2004. Kerry's too pompous to be taken seriously by the voters. I expect the Dems to NOT be energized with his candidacy like they would be if Dean was the nominee.
Unless Hillary runs in 2004, it's 4 more years and a bigger Republican majority.
[v] again
She's back.
Although things are going well with (L), I've been having my customary doubts. No doubts about (L). Nope. She's fantastic, ...almost too fantastic. It won't take her long to figure out how much better she can do than me. I actually worry about this.
Here is the thing.
I did to [v] what most girls do to me. They figure out that while I have much to offer, I don't have one really great quality or success to hang my hat on. I'm well-read, but not extensively read. I'm good-looking, but not gorgeous. I'm smart, but not brilliant. I have some talent, but have not used it to much success (yet). I make a good (but not great) living. And I'm NOT funny. I just fall a little short in all these categories. For me and [v], ...she is not highly educated, kinda old-fashioned, very attractive but not super hot, and due to travel restrictions, cannot visit me. I have to visit her.
It's selfish, hypocritical, short-sighted, and probably a mistake to pass her by. Yet, I can't shake the feeling. Anyway, she's back for now. I'll not let it go too far as she does not know about (L).
Thought for the Day
Unformatted text is like unflavored ice cream.
As I was Saying ...
TONIGHT! Yes, the
Beauty Arts night (I forget the official name of the event) is tonight. I've never been to it, but it looks all hip and pretentious so it could be fun. Also, where "hip" and "pretentious" meet there is often free wine. Let's hope.
After that, I have a real buffet table of choices:
1. The Mistreaters w/
25 suaves at the
Cactus Club. The Mistreaters are always a blast, hilarious, loud, fantabulous Pabst-fueled garage rock. The drummer from 25 Suaves is super hot, but she's also married to the singer. Fuck!
2. The Lovelies at the Reed Street Station. Don't get me wrong. I love the Lovelies. I used to have a huge crush on Liv. But, I just saw them a few weeks ago, ...and, ...well, ...they're great to listen to on CD, but boring live. Yeah, they don't rock and they don't seem to care. I'm always a little disappointed when I see them live, but I usually go anyway.
3. The Paper Chase is opening for 90 Day Men at Onopa. The Paper Chase is unbelievable. Ground-breaking music. But the sound at the Onopa reall blows. It's not configured for music, and it shows.
4. Troubled Hubble is playing an all ages show at the UWM 8th note cafe. If it says "all ages" I translate that to mean "fucking annoying". They are great, though, they shouldn't be playing at the lousy 8th note on a Friday night!
Looks like I'm going to the
Cactus tonight. Better pack my ear plugs, it's gonna be LOUD.
Tonight
Whenever I write that word I think of Phil Collins, and Phil Collins makes me think of:
1. The 80's. He was all over the place, and not just the music charts (as a solo and w/genesis), he was also an actor, which leads to ...
2. Miami Vice. "In the air tonight", "Tonight tonight tonight". Also, he brilliantly played a con-man in a hilarious episode of Miami Vice. Back then, MV was my favorite show. I never missed it. Because of it, I'll always have a soft spot for art deco, Miami, pastels, synth music, columbian drug lords, Cubans, moderate violence, gun play, fast cars, hot chicks, and slick production.
3. Summer school. Wanna know how big of a geek I was? Well, I had to go to summer school for one summer because I failed 2nd semester Geometry because of my buddy Ian Pilak and Al (I forget his last name). We came to class, started ripping on each other, and never stopped until the semester was over and we all had failed. Anyway, summer school was not that bad. I got to attend with a lot of new kids from other schools. I was not dumb, I was just a total idiot. Not listening in class and not doing my homework landed me in SS, not my lack of brains (just my inability to focus my brains in the right direction). So, I was somewhat admired in SS, ...sorta. Everyone else there was dumb. Real dumb. I towered like a giant. Nice feeling. We were only there a few hours each day, and no one knew if I was a loser or not. We all came from different neighborhoods and different schools, so I had a clean slate.
Also, this was about the time I discovered "fashion" and started trying to look good. Oh yeah, my geekness, ...ok, well, after my first year of SS, I decided to go back for another year. I did not have to go, I WANTED to go. Yes. I loved writing and wanted to have as many chances to write as I could, so I took extra English classes. GEEK.
Anyway, there was this one girl. I don't remember her name, but like me, she looked very out of place. She was blonde, gorgeous, and rich. Everyone else there was rather poor as this was the Milwaukee Public School system. By stealing her attendance information from the teacher's desk, I got her address and found out she came from Fox Point, a VERY wealthy suburb that was a good 15-20 miles away from the school we attended. I was fascinated to know why she was there, but I was a geek, remember? She drove a brand new, 1986 red Toyota Corolla (I think it was a Corolla). My only hope at meeting her was to jump out in front of her car as she drove off, get hit, and rake in the sympathy. (Other male geeks will no doubt will have had similar thoughts)
Each day I tracked her movements after class. I discovered where she usually parked and which street she used to drive back to the freeway. I resolved to make my move on a particular day near the end of the summer semester. I dashed out down the block and waited behind a parked car for her. Her car was coming. Suddenly, I'm frozen with questions:
what do I say when she asks what I was doing? what if she does not stop? why didn't I think of these questions before?
This indecision forced me to mis-time my jump into the street. No, I didn't jump too late. I jumped too early. She was about 20 feet away. Another thing I did not think of,
what if she is only driving 5 mph? She came to a slow, gentle, almost affectionate stop about 15 feet away from me. I slinked off, knowing I could not try this stunt with her again. As you can guess, I have not gotten any better with women in the last 17 years.This is what Phil Collins makes me think of.
