'Tis Trueth

(Sue and Mandy looking over the Cincinnati skyline)

I'm throwing in a couple of pictures that I meant to include in past posts, but forgot.

The weekend was good. On Sunday, we went to a permanent Renaissance festival outside of town (about 30 minutes away). I kept having flashbacks of "Cable Guy." It was fun, in a campy kind of way. I keep thinking that there is serious money to be made in giving people the experience of living in a time when everything was simple. Gender roles were expressly understood, there were good guys and bad guys, and rumor was accepted as fact, so you could make up pretty much anything and have other believe it. The government's making all kinds of money off pandering to this black and white nostalgia that really never existed – why can't I?

(The 'Roses' - These people were really good. Shoulda bought their CD.)

(Matt and Mandy enjoying a Bass and a Hardcor Cider)

We came back home that night and watched "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" in the private theater setup in the complex clubhouse. It made me long for the TV that is now only days away from arriving.

On Labor Day we did more of the hanging out around the house, cleaning, working on a video project, grocery shopping. All in all it was a laid back long weekend. It's nice to take some time off, not just from work, but from the tedium of routine. Sometimes it's nice to just not do anything. It's a skill I'm slowly developing.

We're trying to set our schedule up for fall and early winter. We're planning a trip to Cedar Point in the middle of September and a Roger Waters concert at the end. October is going to be busy with the 24-hour festival, Halloween, and early in November, Mandy's birthday extravaganza. There are plans for a few people to come down and visit in late September and mid-October, so that all needs to get sorted out too.

Due to all the travel in September, Oct, and early November, I think we're going to stay in Cinci for Thanksgiving. We're planning to be down in GR for an extended period over the Christmas / New Years holiday, so anyone who has any gatherings they'd like us to attend, let us know. The sooner the better as the schedule just keeps getting more and more crazy as that time of the year approaches.

That's about it from this side. I have a couple cool non-us related topics to post on, but I'm going to wait on those.

(I like this picture)

New Apartment Pics and Television

I have included a few pictures of the layout of the apartment for everyone who's been asking. I added them as small thumbnails. Just click them and you'll see a larger version. We finally ended up taking pictures because of the cleanliness of the apartment. Mandy's parents left this past Thursday and before leaving they decided to clean and vacuum the apartment - so we figured this is probably as good as it will get.

We paid for a new television today, but we'll be picking it up next week Wednesday. It's a 42-inch LCD made by Westinghouse. The cool thing about the TV is that it really is more of a monitor. It has no internal ATSC or NTSE decoder built in. That means, you can't just plug a pair of rabbit ears in and have it detect channels. It only reads from a digital source. This is handy for Mandy and I because A) We never watched broadcast TV and B) All of our sources are digital (DVD-player). The other cool thing that computer geeks out there might appreciate is that it's a 42 inch LCD with an 8ms response time, a DVI input, and a max resolution of 1920 x 1080...

The other cool thing about the monitor is that it support 1080p HD-TV which is the highest standard of HD-compliant signals. This will be really cool when the Playstation 3 comes out, since it support up to 1080p and plays BlueDisk HD-standard movies (Serenity will look SWEET!) The other cool thing about it is that it will support the HD channels we'll be receiving on our set-top digital cable tuner, so we can... what's that you say? Yes. A digital cabel tuner with HD stations. Yes. There will be a connection running from a cable provider to our house. Yes. We have finally decided to take the plunge and plug into the cable realm. The reasons for this are two-fold: They gave us a $250 discount on the TV for signing up and B) Because of Ohio laws, cable providers can only make charge you month-to-month. That means, if we decide the stations we receive are not worth the moola, we cancel at any time and keep the $250. RAWK! HD Discovery channel will look amazing on the 1080p monitor. Oh, and an interest-free loan for everything for 3 years helped seal the deal. I'll post some pics of the TV when we get here and setup. A good article on the TV. A quote, "This is a true 1080p display that is slightly ahead of its time – but definitely ready for the future… at least until some uptight MPAA associate demands a new DRM scheme that renders all hardware obsolete and forces us back to using slide projectors and reel to reel tape."

Mandy and I are spending the holiday around Cin City. We're going to check out a festival and some of the cool attractions the city has to offer. When we attend these events, I will try to actually take picture with the camera I am holding. I'll post a weekend recap when I have more to add. Hopefully, by the holiday's end, I'll have some interesting stories and pictures to regale everyone with.

(The loft as seen from standing on the staircase - computer is to the right)

(The living room as seen from leaning over the loft)

(The loft as seen from the laundry room door)

(The kitchen seen from the living room - enterance is to the right)

(Bathroom as seen from the door near the enterance. Tub is to the right)

(Staircase leading to the loft - bathroom and enterance are to the left)

(The basement, filled with SPAMers, as seen from the 'Overlord Lookout' ledge - pits of tar are to the left)

Blogger Is Getting Annoying

Boy, this is probably the longest break between posts I've had in a while. We've been busy with a number of different things that could be cited as excuses for not posting, but, in all honesty, it's really just a simple blend of laziness and distraction.

Mandy's parents are nearing the finish of their world wind tour of the United States as seen from the vantage point of two chrome horses. They bought a simple (and surprisingly effective) mini-DV camera from eBay and have used it to create a video diary of their trip. I plan to boil a pot of editing juices and render those tapes down to one, 30-40 minute biking adventure that can be enjoyed by all. As one of the last stops on their trip, they have been camping out at our apartment in Hamilton! for the past few days. Their visit has been most welcome. We've spent many hours catching up and swapping fun travel stories, checking out the city, and trying new foods. Originally, I was going to cite their trip as the cause for not posting, but it's not really true. I have had a lot of free time these past few post-free days, I've just thought it better to spend it hanging out and chiz-illin' with the in-laws than writing.

Not a single person replied to an important, previously stated question, so I'll ask it again in the hopes that at least one of you responds: Is it more desirable to post shorter, more frequent posts or longer, less frequent posts? Do you want daily updates with less content or maybe twice-weekly updates with more content? Let me know.

I'm planning a face-lift for the blog and possibly mirroring it on MySpace, to see if people dig the change. I hope to incorporate more media-rich content (audio, video, and spinning "under construction" signs) to make the blog more fun. Among several other problems, I can't seem to get the "Phone Audio" updater and the RSS-Feeds to work on Blogger. These issues, along with the integrated content management system at MySpace are two of the main reasons for the mirror. There's a new "improved" Blogger service that is currently in beta, but I can't get DropMyStraw to transfer over, so I don't know whether the changes will be good or not.

MySpace provides much more flexibility in the direction of media-rich content, and, from what I understand, it's much more reliable than Blogger, so who knows. Since we started the travel-blog project, we've gotten a ton of really positive feedback from friends and family. It's encouraging, and we thank you all for it.

My goal over the next few weeks is to get my business site installed and customized. I'm also going to start putting together a gee-whiz wow-bang demo reel to show potential client and ad agencies in the hopes that I can land a job that will pay me to do something I enjoy (what a novel concept). To do these few things, I plan to rebuild the RAID array on my computer (or, rather, pay Kleiner-One-Niner with beer to do it for me) and possibly upgrade some of the components with a little of the money I made doing video work for clients back in GR. In this way, hopefully, I can keep moving towards my long-term video goals and write the money spent to upgrade off as a business expense in the process (gotta love being incorporated).

That's it for now. I'm still planning to post the terrible and wonderful music video montage as well as some pics of the apartment. Stay tuned, great things are in the works!

(What is it with me and midgets?)

Slow News Night

Not much... Except this: Our love for Big Trouble In Little China knows no boundaries.

("Who?" "Jack Burton! ME!")

Tastes... TASTES...

Good on da' bun!

In honor of all things musically dandy, I present a simple and straightforward post. "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Even Worse" was the first CD I ever owned. My dad bought it for me ($29.99 at the time) to play on his brand-new CD player. Years later, the CD player ended up going to fuxupyo's dad. His dad (Pastor Joe) rewired it. He added a skip and random-play feature by wiring it to his computer through a parallel cable. Amazing guy with an amazing brain.

I loved "Weird Al" long before I loved the true launching point of my interest in music; Pink Floyd. I will love him long after the four remaining members of the London psychedelic quartet have set their respective controls for the heart of the sun. Al is brilliant, zany, and filled with just enough social satire to make his humor slightly relevant.

With that in mind, check out this link, and listen to the whole song before reading on: Don't Download This Song

When I listen to this song, two points become very obvious:

1. "Weird Al" Yankovic sticks to very socially acceptable humor.
2. His music is intended to make middle-schoolers laugh.

While these two ideas may seem innocuous at first, consider the underlying message of his song. He claims, in no uncertain terms, that the copyright and legal moguls of American (RIAA, BMI, and others) have stepped so far beyond the bounds of rational discourse that no one, save the hopelessly misguided, could actually think they are serving the interests of the artists they represent.

Now, this guy isn't John Stewart, Michael Moore, or any other far-end leftist humorist who has an axe to grind (BTW, I love John Stewart, Michael Moore, and, really, anyone who has an axe to grind about pretty much anything). This is "Weird Al" folks. This is the guy who parodied Michael Jackson's "Beat It" with "Eat It." He's not trying to be taken seriously, but therein lays the real beauty of the song. "Weird Al" sings to entertain middle-schoolers, not their parents. He writes lyrics kids understand because they are juvenile to take the line, "I accidentally shot Daddy last night in the den! I mistook him in the dark for a drug-crazed Nazi again!" as mere hyperbolae.

It demonstrates that middle-schoolers understand how ridiculous it is for the RIAA to sue children. Kids have highly-tuned bullshit radars, and they hate, hate, hate hypocrisy. Al is cashing in on it by making fun of such a bleedingly simple target: enormous corporate conglomerates who only fool the feeble-minded into believing that people sharing music with their friends is akin to flying planes into the world trade center. It makes a good case that the humor in the song is so universally understood to be ridiculous (like the OJ Simpson trial or the sounds of bodily functions) that a 13-year-old would understand the joke and laugh.

So, what does that say about the rest of country and the state of corporations manufacturing consent? Who knows?

I just know that there really are some people who stand behind the RIAA saying, "Yeah, we should totally sue people for sharing music they legally own!" But the mere existence of this song shows that a new generation, one not so hopelessly dependent on "voices of authority" to tell them what is and isn't morally acceptable, is looming heavy on the horizon. "Weird Al" is onboard for the long the ride. When I was a kid, it was funny to make fun of Michael Jackson and gun control. Al is still pointing towards the obviously absurd, only now, most if the adults aren't in on the joke. And that's may be the saddest part of all.

God bless the Glorious Weirdness. It takes a true luminary like Mr. Yankovic to show us the absurdity of our ways… even if it was already painfully obvious to 10-year-olds.

“Let me tell sonny, let me set you straight. You kids today ain’t never had it rough. Always had everything handed to you on a silver plate, you lazy brats think nothing’s good enough.”

-Weird Al Yankovic

Image 5 in "Whose Wax Baby Pictures Towards Which The When Picture HAPPY???"

(This is one of the truly funniest pictures ever. This poor cat looks like a victim of some late-night Camelot party.)

ULTIMATE FIGHTING EXPERIENCE!!!

Life's been good this side. The days have been very pleasant, bordering on hot. It's strange how the air is so dry. It'll get really hot temperature-wise, but it won't be that cloistering, stagnant hot that Michigan is so famous for. I would guess it's because Ohio is lacking in the being-surrounded-by-enormous-lakes department, but who knows? It's probably aliens or a Democratic conspiracy.

There isn't a whole lot to report on our side. Mandy and I went to dinner at the Taj Mahal, an excellent Indian restaurant down the road from us. We hooked up with a guy we went to see The Illusionist with and good food and a good time was had by all. We're still going strong on the veggie thing with no real end in sight. I was skeptical of my ability to be disciplined enough to withstand the shimmering, lard-coated meats (so juicy and tender) for more than a week, let alone a month. But, it turns out, like everything else, if you plan for it and keep at it, even strange things become the norm.

It's amazing how adaptable people really are. We get pissed (well, I do) when our daily schedules are interrupted by a traffic jam, and act as if it were the end of the world, but we can adapt to crazy, life-altering events with the same grace. I keep thinking about the poor people in Lebanon and Israel, fighting over ideas and beliefs, and it seems so detached from my daily experiences that I assume I'd probably spontaneously combust if presented with a similar situations, but I wouldn't. Life would go on, it would just be totally different. I'm amazed to see how my friends have recently dealt with life-changing events with grace and courage that defies rational explanations. People can adapt and draw strength for any number of different sources, including themselves.

I'll close this post with a very interesting tidbit of trivia that Kleiner-One-Niner sent me today. Mandy and I live in Hamilton, OH. It's a little suburban area near expressways, financial districts, and lots of residential shopping. It's not very bohemian, but it is, at leat, close to everything. Anyway, it turns out that in the mid-80s, the city renamed itself from "Hamilton" to "Hamilton!" (with the exclamation mark). The city we live in (and this real, not a joke) is called "Hamilton!"

Two sources that prove this are: Wikipedia.Org and The Cincinnati Enquirer.

The hippies and art-types may have their cool loft apartments, their art galleries, and their "drugs" but do they live in a city that demands the speaker exclaim in a proud, trumpeting voice that they live in "Hamilton!"? No. They do not.

So, come visit us in Hamilton! someday. We'll strut around, clap a stranger on the shoulder, and scream, "Hamilton, damn it! HAMILTON!!!"

Picture #4 in the "Funny! Pictures! That! Are! Funny!"

(I dedicate this picture to all Wack Nasty Grunge Rumblers, for they, truly, would get the joke.)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Been a fun, fast weekend. I think we're starting to get settled. Two weekends in a row we've been here, working, shopping, meeting people, hanging out. It's been fun and very educational. It's very neat to see how the vibe and flow of an area is similar, yet different from the area I grew up in. Now that I've been working for a little while, I've again come to love the upcoming weekend and dread its passage. I honestly can't believe that most American companies only allow their workers two weeks of vacation a year. Somehow people have come to accept this insanity and work, literally for years, with 14 days of 354 that they can take off of work. That's craziness! If everyone woke up and realized that this is all you get and banded together and demand large corporations give them more than two weeks vacation well, then... the company would fire them and outsource the jobs.

So maybe that's not the best idea, but I'm standing for this two weeks a year crap. There are other ways to make money and live a life that don't involve actually living on the weekends and working for five days for 30+ years.

Friday: We hung out at home then went out for dinner at a local place PF Chang's. It was a kind of upscale Chinese restaurant that carried more than the usual take-out fare. Mandy and I were talking about how it's difficult to find a Chinese restaurant that isn't a simple take-out place. This was really good. The prices were reasonable (only $8.99 for a pan friend noodle). The tea was incredible. It had a smoky, black tea flavor to it.

Saturday: We slept in, went out to breakfast at a Red Squirrel (a local chain sort of like a Big Boy) and went to Old Navy. I needed to get a couple pairs of hole-free pants for my job. That night, we met up with a couple people and headed down to Newport on the Levy. Newport is a lot like Navy Pier in Chicago. It has some cool attractions, but it's mostly a large attraction for white people who are too leery to wander around the more seady parts of the big city. We went there because they were showing "Snakes on a Plane" and had a highly recommended pizza place.

The couple we hung out with were really interesting. For the purposes of this post, it's only important to mention that the woman is an Art Director for a large ad agency here in town. Her job consists of drawing, working with creative teams, outlining videos, and enjoying the weekly martini Friday afternoon. Like other graphic designers I know, she had access to various foosball tables, free lunches, and incredibly flexible working hours. This instantly made me angry. Again, I was reminded of far, far away I am from doing something I remotely enjoy. I have the degree and the talent, I have only to keep applying to jobs and building more portfolio until I hopefully land a job where I too can enjoy a martini while editing the next Death Cab For Cutie music video.

Snakes on a Plane was... about snakes on a plane. It was great to see its second open night because the crowd was totally in on the joke. There were lots of hoots and hollers and uproarious cheers when Samuel L. Jackson delivered the hallowed line, "I have had enough of these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane!" Good stuff.

Sunday: We hung out at home. Mandy some delicious breakfast thing consisting of eggs, cilantro, chili oil, and other herbs and spices. 'Twas delicious. We met up with a friend and had a three hour conversation about health care, marriage, and bad Ohio drivers over a cups of fantastic chilled coffee. It was miserably hot and humid Saturday, but today it was perfect. Sunny, around 80 degrees, and a light but constant breeze. The perfect day to rest. We went shopping at Jungle Jim's, stocking up on our weekly supply of vegetarian thingies. We're heading into our fifth week of no meat (apart from occasional fish and shellfish). It's been fun, but I haven't really noticed any particular health benefits other than my left arm growing back after losing it in that terrible, terrible plane wreck. So, there's at least that. I think I'll continue on with it until I come across a really good opportunity to eat a steak or some sweet, sweet bacon.

Life is good, but we miss everyone back in GR. Friend and family are really important to us and the separation is taking some getting used to. We have to miss things like birthdays, movie premiers, and the occasional Founders brew, but it's a price we have to pay for a new adventure. It's very fulfilling and hard - it's strange how often those two aspects come packaged together.

AI15947813A

($0.42 goes to anyone that can figure out where the subject line came from)

Quick update tonight. Not much going on in the Big Cin other than toiling for the man. Both Mandy and I headed off to work, worked, and returned from work. We ate some delightful pasta and headed off to a Borders Books nearby to pick up a copy of CityBeat.

Three major things I'm working on for the blog are A) A series of photos and possible video of the apartment B) A quick 2x2 analysis of the videos I edited for a client back in GR and 3) A revamp of the layout of the site with a couple of new features.

Also a quick question: Is it better to post detailed (possibly video) responses that occur only occasionally or to post shorter but more frequent articles? Let us know in the comment section.

Three funny things:

1. This guy is my new hero.

2. Today at work I sat listening to q Coast to Coast AM podcast when a woman called in asking host George Noory for some information on a topic he mentioned in a previous show. Here's a link to a couple minute clip of the call. For those of you who are C2C fans or just enjoy listening to how gullable some people can be, you'll get a kick out this. A couple months back I posited the question, "Can people really be gullable enough to believe the majority of what people say on a late-night radio show that is dedicated to alien abductions, government conspiracies, and time travel?" The answer is self-evident.

3. The third in my continuing series of, "Funny Pics That Are Funny"

(No, wait. This is guy my new hero. 1943, apparently, was a very good year.)

Got a little moto, always sees me through...

When you're good to Citybeat, Citybeat's good to you...

Went out last night. A local magazine, CityBeat, had a posting for a free advanced-screening passes to the film The Illusionist. Both Mandy and I responded to the ad, hoping to up our chances of scoring the tickets. We ended up both getting accepted. The film company sent us each three passes (good for two entrances) to the 7:30PM showing. We invited the dear Kleiner-One-Niner and a couple people we've met through the glorious forum Craig's List. The meeting went well, everyone seemed very laid back and into probing the little knooks and crannies of the Big Cin, so I'm sure we'll all find ourselves puttin' on the Ritz in short order.

The film was good. Beyond that lame and untelling word, you'll have to read my review on MindSplint, which, at this point, does not exist. Keep checking back. I'm sure it only be a matter of months or years before it finds its way out there.

The main thrust of this post isn't the film, new friends, or even cleverly reworded lyrics from the musical "Chicago." No. It's about a strange phenomenon that happened just today. A phenomenon that I haven't witnessed in about 3 years. At the time printing, I couldn't find a technical term for it on any of the myriad collections, indexes, and glossaries scattered through the 'net. So, for lack of a better term, I'm dubbing it, "DistroBombing" and it really is cyber-living proof of how spammers make money by sending out incredible amounts of email. The reason I haven't seen it in years is due to the fact that it's effects can only be seen in a network environment that is both A) Large enough to have large distribution lists filled with non tech-savvy people and B) Mail administrators that are inept enough to leave corporate-wide distribution lists open to anyone who wants to send a message. It goes like this:

1. Bob sends a legit email (Message A) to another person in the company, while accidentally CC'ing the message to a distribution list that contains every person in the company.
2. A copy of Message A appears in the inbox of everyone in the company because everyone was on the distribution list that Bob accidentally sent his message to.
3. Everyone in the company opens the email, realizes that they have no idea what Bob is talking about, and click "Reply to All" to let him know. They click the send button, transmitting their reply to Bob and everyone in the company again, because the corporate-wide distribution list is listed as a recipient.
4. The process repeats over and over. Every time anyone replies to the message, everyone in the company receives the reply and starts responding.

In the past, I've seen this DistroBombs go one for months. People would return from a long vacation, see a 200 messages in their inbox, and reply to it saying, "What is this all about, Bob?" Then everyone would start replying with the message, "Stop replying to the message!" which everyone receives ad nausum.

What intrigues me about the whole scenario is how effective it is. One person sends out a message with a large distribution list on it and soon, everyone in the company is getting messages, inboxes fill up with alarming speed, mail servers crash, and geeks like me spin in our chairs placing bets on how many messages will circulate before the chain stops. Total pandemonium, in other words. The effectiveness is not a defect of the mail system. It behaves just as it should, sending mail to the inboxes the user has designated. The whole bombing process only succeeds because of the users inability to understand what is happening. Even after several emails containing a subject and body that only reads, "DO NOT REPLY TO THESE MESSAGES" people will still reply asking, "What message?" or "Please stop this Bob! I'm trying to work!"

I guess I shouldn't be amazed that professionals working for a large company do not possess the basic skills necessary to prevent something like this from happening. Haven't worked for a company where my sole responsibility was convincing grown adults who had paid hundreds of dollars to own their own ecommerce "business" that yes, indeed, their keyboard came equipped with a num-lock key. But still...

Anyway, if anyone knows what the technical term for the scenario above actually is, let me know. If there isn't one, I'm going to create an entry in the Urban Dictionary for it.

And last but not least, the second in my continuing series of "The Funniest Picture Thingies Evah'!!!"

("AHHHH!!!! BURGER!!!!"

Bikin' In Da Rain

Not much goiong on today. Went off to work. Nothing to report there. Went to an interview after work; that was pretty cool. That whole thing is under wraps for the time being, but I'll post more as it becomes available.

In the meantime, I have been listening to the podcast EscapePod. I would highly recommend it if you're a sci-fi fan. The stories are great (many of them Hugo and Nebula award noms and winners) and it's great fodder for coming up with stories for use in, say, a film, short stories, or your own podcast. The more I listen to the pod-o-sphere, as it's sometimes called, the more I want to get involved. The great thing is, like the better part of the internet, it's free, distributed, and anyone can contribute. I haven't figured out how or when I'd have the time to do anything with it right now, but the idea is definitly there. I like to write, voice-act, and do cool audio thingy-jiggies. I think a serial story would be something more fun than a news update or a "today in sports" deal. It would have a set length and I could make sure to have at least half done before I started to publish any. I dunno. If anyone is interested in doing something along those lines, email or comment here. I think it would be good fun.

In the meantime, here's a picture in a series of posts I like to call, "Funniest Damn Pictures Ever"

Badger, Badger, Badger

It's been a busy weekend. Friday we headed off into town to check out an open-air Seafood Festival in Newport. Newport is on the Kentucky side of the river, and they've spent a ton of money fancying it up. They hold festivals, built an enormous purple bridge that literally leads nowhere, and built a bunch of uppity restaurants. The festival was fun, we ate a some fried fish, shrimp, and chips. Then we headed to Hofsbrau Haus for a European-styled beer. It was pretty good. Not as wonderful as I remember my one golden sip the winter before, but we both drank the seasonal brew, so we'll have try the others some other time.

Saturday, we mostly hung out around our apartment. We went to a festival (there's always festivals around here) in West Chester, near where we live. Instead of getting to the festival (which had a $5 charge for the 'free' parking the advertisements promised), we ended up checking out a really neat wine shop. They were have a wine-tasting, so we hung out with owner and chatted about the area and what's going on. We ended up heading home and making some really good pesto-stuffed pasta with a fresh, spicy marinara sauce. Then we spent the night in usual geek fashion: Surfing the internet and listening to down tempo lounge music.

Sunday (today) is errand day. We bought a ladder and some pleasantly-scented items. We cleaned up around here and did our weekly vegetarian grocery shopping. It's strange that this coming Tuesday, we'll have hit our goal of two weeks with no meat. It hasn't been that hard. The only times I've noticed is during breakfast when haven't been able to dive in a steaming mound of sweet, sweet bacon. Ah well. I don't know how long I'll keep it up, but it really hasn't been that bad.

Today, on our way out to breakfast this morning, we saw a badger scurrying down the road. We slowed down to get a look at it, and sure enough, it was Mr. Badger. We pointed and honked and drove past. Here is a good link to commemorate the occasion.

Oh, also, on Saturday Mandy and were driving somewhere when we stopped at a red light. A random car pulled up alongside us. The driver looked over at me and in this mocking-serious tone said, "Go Buckeyes." I waved. We drove off. I'm guessing that he was inspired by our blue Michigan plate to talk to a complete stranger at a light, but it's only one of many, many occasions of such things happening. For example, every single time I would go running down Burlingame, random people would shout totally unintelligible gibberish at me as a I ran. I would tell Mandy this, but she would claim (and rightfully so) that I often embellish my stories, and it can't really be true. But then she ran with me a few times, and it happened every single time. I've often wondered what it is about me that causes random people to shout nonsense. Is my firm, proud buttocks? My wavy locks of golden hair? I don't know. It's very strange.

Also, I promised some photos of our apartment by this weekend and, yes, I lied. The apartment is finally cleanish, the boxes put away, and the random junk arranged (somewhat). I'll try to get the pictures done tomorrow and post them.

Peace n' love, y'all.

The Flaming Lips f. Sonic Youth & The Go Team!

(Doesn't this look Wayne Coyne in his Christmas on Mars gettup?)

So here it is.

I left for Detroit about 10:00AM on Friday August 4th. I stopped for gas and breakfast sometime around 11:00AM in Sidney, OH. The breakfast was brief and not worth any kind of comment. I bring it up only because it was the only food I ate for the entire day.

The drive up was totally uneventful. It took right around 4 hours (Google Maps was right again) and I arrived and was parked a block from Comerica Park and State Theater about 3:15PM. I packed up my change of clothes, my camera, car stereo, and a couple bottles of water in my backpack and headed out. I wandered around downtown for about an hour, conversing with various concert goers, and snapping pictures.

Chad, Andy, and Jon showed up a little after 4:00PM. The four of us promptly headed into a nearby bar and drank a few beers while discussing film, showing off various geek gadgets, and our recent move to Cin City. This lasted for about two hours. Over the course of the two hours, the place kept getting progressively more filled with concert goers, baseball goers, and drink goers.

We all headed out of the bar around 6:30 – 7:00 and got in line. Actually, before I got in line, I went up to a bouncer and asked if it was cool if I brought in my backpack and camera. The guy gave me a thumbs up and I got in line. The guard at the door went through my back to make sure I wasn't sneaking in a gun or crack or something. Not finding any, she put a bracelet on my wrist and I went in the building. I picked up a cool Lips t-shirt and we headed to the main house which was about half full to its limit.

Here's where the fun begins.

The first thing I did, after drinking a beer, was take out my camera and begin recording some of the crappy footage you can see in the previous post. I had to hold the camera over my head to get a clear shot of the stage. I recorded two 30 seconds clips and turned to a friend to say something when I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to see Angie or Mark (they were on their way over from their hotel) only to see a scowling security guard.

Over the din of the band (The Go Team!) the guard shouted and gestured towards my camera. Instinctively, I turned it off and put it one of the many pockets lining my cargo shorts. He kept scowling and angrily jabbing his finger at my pants. As the song died down, the voiceless motions of his mouth began to scream.

"Whatcha doing? You shootin' video?? Video?"

Of course I was.

"No. Of course not!" I said. "It's a still camera. I thought we could bring cameras in."

"You can, but not video cameras." He said.

"It's not a video camera." It was. "It only shoots stills." It doesn't.

"I saw a little red circle on the screen. A recording symbol." Damn. He was an observant security guard. While we were arguing another, older, guard came up and stood by us.

"There's, uh, a little red light that lights up on the outside before it flashes…" It was a stretch.

"You know, I was going to let you off, but now you’re lyin’. You must think I'm a retard. Show me the pictures you took." I did think he was retard, but would go so far as to say he was an observant retard. I sighed and handed over the camera, turning it on for him. In video mode, the display only shows the first frame of the video so it just looks like a still. Thankfully.

"See? It’s just pictures. I didn't know we couldn't take pictures." I said again, reaching for the camera.

"You can take pictures, not video.” He said, turning the camera over apparently looking for the slot where the DV tapes went. The older guard stepped over and took the camera from the young punk and handed it back saying, “Here, just take pictures of the walls or I'll have to confiscate it." I immediately stuffed in my backpack and walked back to the couch I had been sitting on.

Narrowly avoiding my camera getting yanked, I treated myself to a beer and forced my way to into the crowd to watch Sonic Youth. They were surprisingly good. I think I had always confused them with Sublime or something, because when they started playing long, minimalist-influenced rock songs with few words, I was taken aback. They played a long, very interesting set. By the time it was done, I desperately in need of some food.

I left the theater and headed down a block to a nearby Subway I had seen earlier in the afternoon while I wandered around. However, when I arrived there I discovered it friggen closed at 6:00PM on Saturdays. 6:00PM??? That’s crazy talk. So I turned back around, tummy all a-rumblin’ with beer and… well, that’s pretty much it. Just beer.

When I got back to the entrance of State Theater, I approached the same guard and flashed my badge expecting to just breeze past. Instead she put up a meaty hand in halting gesture.

“What?” I asked.

“Need to go through your bag.”

I showed her my bracelet and flashed my most charming smile, “I was just in here. Five minutes ago.”

“Put the bag there.” She gestured at a ledge. My smile needs tweaking, or something. I handed her the bag tempted to say, “Put it there yourself, lemonhead.” But I restrained myself.

She started rustling through bag much as she had done before, brushing past my toothbrush, underwear, and socks. She stopped on my daily pill organizer. Damn (again), I thought.

“What’s this?”

“They’re heart pills. This is my overnight bag.” Both were true.

“We have to have them tested.”

“Tested? Tested for what?”

“Hey, I’m just doing my job. A lot of people put things in people’s drinks…”

“And they usually bring in said drugs in pill organizers?” She gave me The Look, so I shut up. My heart pills look like Advil and I happened to have a couple Advil mixed in with them, so when she spotted these, she asked, “Are these Advil?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Ok, enjoy the show.” I took my bag back and wandered into the theater. The place was absolutely packed. In retrospective discussions with various people, we came to the conclusion that they must’ve oversold the show because it was so crammed.

The Lips (which are kind of a Rock N’ Roll band crossed with a stage performance) were incredible. See the video in yesterday’s post.

After the concert, Chad, Andy, and Jon all headed back to GR. Angie and Mark reserved a hotel room in Auburn Hills (normally 20 minutes away) for us to crash at after the concert. The idea was they would get drive their yellow Aztec to the hotel and would follow. Do I need to say it didn’t work out as planned?

I did follow them. That part worked out okay. It was the part about 20 minutes that didn’t work out very well. Basically we had to get on I-75 and drive straight until we hit an exit, then drive to the hotel that is actually viewable from the interstate. Instead, the city of Chicago completely shut the interstate down. They didn’t collapse it down to one lane, no. They completely ended the expressway by forcing all of the 12:30AM Sunday morning traffic onto some side street in the absolute ghetto with sparse to no detour signs.

After an hour or so of driving around the hood, we were parked beneath and underpass at a red light. A very loud crashing sound was heard (I didn’t see anything) then Angie drove the yellow bus through three reds lights and headed off over a hill. At the same time, a police car hit its lights and pulled ahead about 20 feet and stopped. I was very confused. I waited until the light turned green, slowly passing the flashing cruiser. I learned later that a old, beat up truck flew past us and smashed directly into a telephone pole completely demolishing it. I missed the entire thing – my view being obscured by the Aztec and the underpass stanchions.

We finally made it to the hotel about 1:00AM, shared a couple bowls of popcorn, and a donut hole. I took a quick shower and fell immediately into a coma. I awoke about 2 hours later completely awake. Monty Python’s Flying Circus was on PBS, so I watched that for a few minutes then promptly fell into a deep, wonderful sleep.

The Lips Concert - Video Update

This is the video portion of the update. It contains a small, low resolution 5 minute video of the adventure. It shouldn't take long to download and will rock your socks. You can only watch under three conditions: 1) You post some kind of comment 2) You understand that it was shot on a small camera designed to shoot single frames, not video and 3) The cameraman had a few beers and only ate a small breakfast the whole day. I think it captures the frenetic mood of the event along with how impossible it is to actually describe a Lips experience. I'll post the story tomorrow. Click the images below for the vid (you may have to 'Save Target As' or whatever the Mac equivalent is to download it).

Working on Lips

Hey all. Still working on the Lips edit. I plan to add a cool effect for the intro, but I can't seem to get it straight yet. I also want to post the story the goes along with it because it involves nearly confiscated cameras, trucks crashing into telephone poles, and a Subway that closes at 6:00PM on a Saturday in downtown Detroit (!)

Stay tuned. (I tried to upload a picture but the form keeps timing out. I'll try again tomorrow)

Dukes of... I give up.

It's a year and a day since this was put on the web, but since I stumbled across this tonight and it made me chuckle, I thought I'd throw it up.

Apparently, Warner Brothers does not have enough researching staff to figure out all the details about the Dukes of Hazzard movie before they dump millions of dollars into it just to find out that the original rights remained with the producer of the original film (Moonrunners).

The movie looked too horrible for me to waste money and time watching, but I couldn't resist poking fun at how Warner Brothers got screwed over for not doing their homework.

Corporate Cornhole

About a month ago I was reading the much over-hyped blog Fark.com. There was a funny link to an article that talked about how a city was gathering around a beloved cornhole festival. The Fark comments were of the usual immature / hilarious variety. I was chuckling as I scrolled down the page to where the Southerners started writing about what cornhole actually is. It turns it out it's that game you played when you were at a town fair. You know, the one where you throw small bean (corn) bags into large holes cut into pieces of wood and were awarded points accordingly. You’ve seen it on the bozo show and at every circus in the world. Apparently, the game of cornhole is big business down here - the point that they sell tote bags to carry your cornbags around in. People play it all the time and, somehow, manage saying the word "cornhole" without snickering.

The title of today's entry is actually a double entendre. It refers to both me as a corporate cornhole who sucks because I've allowed myself to be swallowed up (again) in the testing suck and the fact that the corporation that has recently hired me has an entire warehouse filled with cornhole boards that nearly everyone in the company plays during lunchtime (I will get pictures of these boards soon).

I started up the working-making-money thing again today and boy, does it suck. Not even eight hours into my first workweek and I hate it. I understand its necessity (it only takes a glance at my checkbook) and its function, but it doesn't make me like it one bit more. But for now it is necessary. Take a solid year off for school and you'll have to pay the piper. And oh how the piper will be paid over these next few months. So this is it. No more bitching about my job. If you ever wonder about the job and feel inclined to ask, don’t bother. The answer is: It sucks.

Speaking of the piper, here's a little tongue-twister Mandy and I came up with on our way up/down to Grand Rapids / Cincinnati dedicated to Kliener and the humor he finds in street names for hard drugs:

How much crack could a backpack pack, if a backpack could pack crack?
A backpack would pack all the crack that a backpack could pack
If a backpack could pack crack.

Let's see. In other news. This passed weekend I went to a fantastic Flaming Lips concert with friends and family. I have a score of pictures I took as well as enough small, crappy resolution videos that I might actually blend them all together into something this blog has never seen before. A video update. Look for that later this week. Also, I am going to come through with my promise of some pictures of the apartment. While I was gone partying, Mandy stayed home and decorated the apartment, painting a section of it, and hanging some tapestries (how nice is that?) So it's definitely ready for some pictures to be taken of.... it. For which. Something.

We bought a kid tonight! Her name is Fatimata and she lives in Ghanna. Sponsoring a child is something Mandy has done in the past and wanted to do again for a long time, so we decided this would be a good time to try it out. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about picking a kid out through an internet site. It feels sort of overlordish. Like I'm some kind of space dolphin wearing a flexible clam shell as a toga reaching into a candy jar filled with African kids. Or it could be the Green Thai Curry Paste is still causing me to hallucinate. One of the two.

Looking for color, try this

The MSNBC week in pic slide show has a really interesting image of an art piece that is being displayed in Sydney. The artist is an Aussie with an eye for color - check it out: art in balls

Online

Online! Woot! I'll post something with more substance tonight, but for now: Here's what happens when you're offline for a week and you normally live your life on the web (blue indicates new messages).

(Addendum Added 21:39 - There will not be a more substantial post tonight. Been busy. The above promise of a post... is a lie. A terrible, terrible lie. Do not be fooled.)

Weekly wrap-up

Well, I made it through a full week at the old j-o-b. I am glad that it is the weekend, as my head was too full for me to have worked another day. And for all of you that want to run out to the nearest insurance company and get a job....don't. Unless you want to be bored to tears everyday, or just a masochistic person at heart.

Anyways, as typical with many of my previous jobs I had about 2 days of training and then thrown right into the fire. I kind of like it better that way, cause then I get to work things out in my head real-time as opposed to a trainer repeating things over and over again.

I think I met like 50 people this week. Good luck if I remember half of their names. Everyone working there, that I've met, seem really nice and friendly. Be it directions to the local restaurants or advice to not eat the chili or taco salad, the people that I talk to seem helpful.

I was invited to go to lunch yesterday with a big group. We went to a place called Udipi, which serves Vegetarian South Indian cuisine. They had a big buffet, mostly with items that I have never seen before. The only thing that I recognized as eating before was the raita. I also saw what looked like mint chutney. After getting some food, I dug into the chutney only to discover that it did not taste like mint at all. It was good, but I couldn't recognize the flavor at all. Later on I discovered it was coconut. I was really shocked because I do not like coconut at all. There were a plethora of lentil options from lentils and potatoes, to lentil donuts. All of it was very good. I had a good time, especially since all of my Indian co-workers watched me as I ate things that they had specified as 'very spicey'. Many of those dishes were not in fact spicey to me, and they were very amazed.

One of my cube-mates name is Teja (short for a very long Indian name). She asked if I like the food, as she was unable to go. After I told her that I enjoyed it very much, she said that she would bring in some curry for me to eat next week. WOOT!!! Real curry from a real Indian lady!! I am really excited. I think I will make some food next week too to bring in and share.

I ended the week with a glass of wine and listening to Delilah on the radio while petting Athena and Ocyrus.

Before I end the post I want to make a shout out to my Harley parents who are traveling through Wyoming state right now!! Love you Mom and Dad!!

M&M's Flaming Lips

Tomorrow I head out of town to meet with the droogs in Detroit to watch the Flaming Lips. Though we had a ticket for Mandy, she is unable to attend due to work restrictions. It just happened to work out that I was able to secure a half-day this tomorrow, but that became a moot point when they delayed my start date to next Monday. If this concert is anything like the one Mandy and I saw in Atlanta, it will be a fun time, and I'm looking forward to it. A quick search on Google Maps shows that, essentially, I'll be taking I-75 North the entire way - for 240 miles, which is just about 4 hours. If I leave here around 10:30 - 11:00AM I should get there around 4:00PM. That should give me a few hours to find my mates, some curry, and a beer prior to the Lips showering me in confetti, giant rubber balls, and yellow smoke. I plan to take pictures of the event, if possible. I'll post them when I get back as I should have a blistering-fast internet connection awaiting my return.

In other news, Mandy and I have started our two-week experiment in eating only vegetarian meals. Since most of the meals we normally eat contain minimal portions of meat, It's been fairly painless thus far. I'll have to take Kleiner-One-Niner up on his offer of a lunch/dinner at the Taj Mahal (which Mandy have eaten at and, damn. It's good.)

The only real came last night, in the form of Green Thai Curry. A very simple recipe listed in a book of Thai cuisine led us to Jungle Jims in search of coconut milk, soy-based chicken substitute, and a small, innocent-looking tub of Green Thai Curry Paste. Mandy and I are big curry eaters and preparers, so we were very excited to try a new kind of curry. I began preparing the meal about 5:00, when Mandy returns from work. The recipe, essentially, is GTCP (Green Thai Curry Paste) mixed with coconut milk and shallots (green onions). You simmer the works then serve over rice. Simple enough. Mid-way through cutting the shallots I hear a scream from the bathroom. I stroll in to see what body part Mandy has cut off, still holding my wooden stirring spoon. I found her standing in the bathroom preparing to color her hair: Or rather, waiting for me to color her hair. The scream came as a result of her realization that she had mixed the activating agents too soon, and that I would have to start applying the coloring cream immediately. I made some grunt of approval and returned to the kitchen to stir the curry. Before returning to the bathroom, I licked the stirring spoon to get a taste of the curry. Pain erupted in my mouth like nothing I have ever experienced in my previous adventures in Mt. Currysburg. Apparently, GTCP is flavored with the essence of white-hot burning pain extracted from the Salem Witches as they were burned at the stake. I ran back into the bathroom, put on a pair of rubber gloves and got to work massaging the coloring cream into her hair while screaming over and over, "AHHHHHH!!!! IT BURNS!!!" (insert Flaming Lips joke here)

While the evening did have a slightly unkilter beginning, everything ended up fine. Mandy's hair turned out the fiery color she intended, the curry was almost impossibly hot but palatable, and we tried a couple local microbrews we also picked up Jungle Jims. Thankfully beer, popcorn, and most other things that are bad for you, are not made out of meat so I can still indulge when able.
That's it from here. I don't know if I'll get a chance to post tomorrow due to the whole traveling thing, but Mandy probably will. Saturday or Sunday, since the internet connection should be up and running, I'll post some pictures of the apartment.

Driving

When Chad and were in Paris, we both noticed a strange phenomena. It took a few days to actually see it, since our primary mode of transportation was walking. Subtle and hidden, it lurked just beneath the surface, but due to the high frequency of events, we discovered that Parisians do not pay attention to anything when they are in motion. For example (and there are many), a man would be strolling down a sidewalk, tipping his Barrett to the local shopkeepers, or occasionally use his baggett to engage in a mock sword fight with another jaunty Parisian. Then, for no reason whatsoever, the man would make a right turn and walk directly into traffic. Some drivers would blare their horns, other would shake their fists screaming "Sacre Bleu!!" (which means, for some reason, 'Sacred Blue.') and swerve around the bread-toting pedestrian.

On another occasion, a person riding a moped tricked out with a basket and full frontal weathershield complete with those rubber arm covers you always see Homer Simpson using to handle glowing green bars of nuclear material, slowly drove into the back of a parked car. The road was not particularly slippery or congested, the parked car not was going anywhere (it was parked), and the person hit it at a speed of about 10mph. After striking the parked vehicle, he got to his feet, walked the moped in reverse, and sputtered off down the road. Chad and I looked at each other then turned to amuse ourselves with the aghast expressions the crowd was surely wearing. However, no one was remotely surprised or even paused to watch the scene unfold. They just wandered around, happily walking into traffic, walking into stationary telephone poles, and driving into each other with their strange, small vehicles.

The reason I bring this up has much less to do with the apparent absentmindedness of Parisians (I can't say the same from the rest of the country, people who speak French, or people who've ever eatcheesee and wine), andmorer to do with the way Buckeyes drive. It's the same. The majority seem to drive very slowly and very dangerously. When atraffice signal turns green, for instance, most are content to wait for the light to cycle back to red. When cars stack up behind red lights, it's not in any kind of straight line: the vehicles end up pointed in completely random directions. And while pedestrians do not stop to engage in mock swords fights with loafs of hardened bread, they do occasionally stop to punch each other.

'Till next time!

Well, my soon-to-be-boss delayed my start date again. Now, I begin next Monday (August 7th) at 9 in the AM. Apparently, the person who needs to sign the forms for me to begin is on vacation, and won't be in until next Monday. Time will tell... I guess I will stay in Geek /Beach Bum mode for a few more days as shown above. (BTW: It's fugging hot down here. There's a heat WARNING until this Thursday! Heat indexes have been in the 100s for the past couple days.)

I just finished editing a project for my client in GR. Once our internet connection is up and running, I plan to post some clips of the good and bad music videos I edited. Some are really good (Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' and Madonna's 'Get Together') and some (most) are absolutely, mind-bendingly awful. It's hard to describe how bad popular music and music videos are. I haven't had direct access to anything akin to MTV in years, and now that I'm being exposed to the pop-music scene as viewed through the hip lens of MTV, I can only weep and laugh. I feel a special kind of sympathy for Chad who was forced to endure hours of broadcast television night after night. Now that I think of it, this explains many of the more extreme problems he has. His dream to create a Foxy-Boxing / Oil-Wrestling hotel that floats in space has context now. Poor guy. Speaking of the poor guy: Today is his birthday. Send him some of those cheezy Hallmark email birthday greetings. He'd love that.

In response to Chad's comment: Yes there are plenty of independent theaters down here, I just haven't been to any yet. I don't know the difference between 'Theater' and 'Theatre' other than the spelling.

Though I have yet to find a place that sells them, there is a local magazine called CityBeat that covers the independent film, music, and midget-tossing scene. There is a 20+ year old film society that organizes meetings of local filmmakers, sets up screenings of hard-to-find films, and sends out a newsletter. I'm planning on joining that. There's also a repetory theater somewhere downtown (a theater that you join and vote on what films it will show). I had a bunch of links to different film sites, but this $*&$% computer has just refreshed the page and lost them all again. God, I can't wait till I our connection is back up. Here's a few I remember:

Underneath Cincinnati

Cinci Film Society

Esquire Independent Theater (I like the name. :)

LiteBriteTest

This geek's new style...

I started work on July 26, 2006 at 8am. I came to work wearing khaki pants, a green shirt and a black jacket. I felt like a fish out of water, as most people do when they first start a job. After a quick tour, I was put in the area that I will be working. It took about 3 hours before the button on my pants decided to pop off. Luckily, it was only holding the flap on the inside of the pants, and I had a hook to keep my pants closed! After working for three days in clothes that I have worn for about 3 years, I decided that it would be best if I had some new clothes. Matt and I headed home for the weekend, and I went shopping with my sister. This time I spent shopping with her I will always remember as a good hell. The main reason is because I hate to shop in a store. Give me a computer and I am ready to start clicking. Put me in a room full of clothes and tell me to grab some and head for the dressing room, and I break out in hives.

If you don’t know my sister, you don’t know that she likes to shop. I am not usually this masochistic, but since she knows fashion and I don’t, I didn't feel I really had a choice. Unfortunately, that meant our shopping trip was going to be longer than I am used to. Normally if I have to go into a store to buy clothes, I am in for about 15 minutes. I usually pick things up on the way in and talk myself out of most of them on the way out. My purchases usually include socks and maybe a shirt (usually something I wouldn’t be able to wear to work anyhow). She fixed me up good with a plethora of snazzy outfits, shoes, and such.

The moral: if you are not the expert, make sure you ask for help. If it is an arduous task and you are not sure you are going to make it, repeat these words over and over in your head – This too shall pass.

I am very thankful that she was able to donate her time to help clothe this geek :)

Thanks Jess!

Back To It

We arrived about 7:00 yesterday and proceeded to order some Chinese food from "Timmy's Wok." The food was good, though not amazing. Mandy headed off to work this morning, and I've been spending the day cleaning and picking up random odds and ends that we need.

We are officially closed out of our apartment at Timber Ridge. The place was very good to us. It had all the things we were looking for in an apartment: Washer and dryer, garage, and a larger kitchen. Sadly, the timing was off and the jobs in GR were too far and few between. A couple can only live off of their savings for so long before they need to look for alternatives. On the other hand, jobs weren't the primary factor in moving. Mandy and I had long been considering trying out a new locale; one that has more opportunities for both tech and film. We're also getting sick of apartment living. All things considered, they are great if you need flexibility and have a high potential of moving around a lot. Being flexible is part and parcel of, oh for example, tech and film jobs. We know that moving into some kind of a more stable home is not too terribly far off in our future, and if we were going to get out of dodge and try out a new town or two, the time to do it is now. We're really getting to the point where we want to start investing our money in a living space rather than giving it over to an apartment complex. We spents several thousand dollars moving into Timber Ridge, paying rent, breaking our lease that we will never see again.

We look at this whole experience as a grand experiment in trying out new locations, meeting new people, and hopefully finding opportunities to better both our careers and our relationship. The odd thing about returning here yesterday was that the apartment contains our personal possessions but has none of the feel of home. This is always the case when I've moved into a new place. It takes time to adjust to the new layout, have a few friends over, and build a repertoire of memory that kind of serves as a shared history of the space. Then, after a while, it slowly begins to feel like home. With Timber Ridge, this took about three months - nearly the entire length of time we lived there. With Arbor Lake it never happened. With Bayberry it happened almost instantly...

(OMG!!!! When I hit the damn 'Windows' key on the keyboard on these crappy computers, my blog disappears. I've rewritten the next two paragraphs twice and now their gone again. I want to post from my own computer!!! ARGGHHH!!!!)

Quick Summary: The Internet rules! I miss it. I want the Internet in our apartment so I don't have to deal with people popping out of the gym, sitting in the chair next to me huffing and puffing, spraying sweat all over their computer. I should trip them as they exit the room and yank their their annoying pink iPods off their flabby arms and smash them to pieces with the heel of my shoe all the while cackling, "Whatcha gonna do about it, fatty???" But, instead, I sit here listening to Speed of Sound by Coldplay while typing and giggling to myself.
Anyway, I know the transition period will happen. It will take longer than usual due to obvious reasons like being in a completely new city in a different state. This week Mandy and I are going to start decorating and painting as we work to make the space feel less like a place where we eat and sleep and more like a place we live.

Pictures of the apartment are coming. I'll post them once our connection is up and running, so don't expect them before Sunday. Also, since this is a public forum, I'm not going to be posting any details about the apartment (like our address), so if you need any of that info, just email Mandy or I.

Leaving For GR

(Don't know why this went into draft instead of publish yesterday... unless I accidentaly hit 'Draft' instead of 'Publish')

Our short trip back was successful. We finished up with the apartment, went to see Phoenix which was a fun, albeit short concert, and had breakfast Sunday morning. Since we were not allowed to bring in recording devices of any kind, I don't have any pics to share. We're planning to leave here about noon and hopefully be back in Cin City about 5-6. I may post more when I arrive, but probably not.

Thanks for all the positive feedback about the blog. Many people I talked to this weekend mentioned having read it to see what's going on with Mandy and I. If you're a lurker (a person who just reads) consider posting a comment or two. It's free and you don't even have to register.

Saying Goodbye

The drive up was uneventful. We hit a little construction, traffic, and a thunderstorm, but nothing life-altering. The trip ended up taking about 5 1/2 hours, everything included. I think the 5 hour mark is a pretty good estimate for traveling between GR and Cin City. With gas, potty, and food breaks, people should be able to get from one place to the other in 5 1/2 to 6 hrs - for future reference.

Today, Mandy's Parents, Jess and Mike, and Mandy and I met for breakfast at the Gally Kitchen in Grandville. I ate a breakfast consisting of coffe and a breakfast burrito. It was good. Afterwards, Mandy and Jess headed off to go clothes shopping for Mandy's new gig ("The dress code here is buisness casual. Though, more buisness than casual.") while Mandy's Mom and I headed back to Timber Ridge to finish up. I dropped the entertainment stand off at my sister and bro-in-laws then headed back and finished moving everything into their truck. All in all, it took about 2 hours to finish the move-out. This was due. largely, to the fact that Mandy's parents painted, vacuumed, spackled, and generally did everything for us this past week. This, again, brings home the fact that much of this move would've been impossible withou their help. So, thanks again.

Tonight, Mandy and I are meeting up with friends and family to see Phoenix at the Intersection here in GR. This is a band that Mandy and I have been fans of since we first heard their single on a sampler CD picked while attending an Air concert at Clutch Cargos in Detroit. They are a kind of French/Funk/Rock band with a little retro-60s thrown in for kicks. Good stuff. Tomorrow we'll catch breakfast with some people, then head out of dodge around 1 or 2, to be back in town by 7-8.

We finally signed up for cable (Time-Warner has a monopoly in the Cinci area) and should be getting it activated next Saturday. Hopefully by then, I'll have a few small projects finished that will give everyone an idea about where we're living, what the apartment looks like, and (yes Dolemite) how the cats are doing. 'Till next time: Keep your SPAM in the fridge and your eyes on the prize!

Upward Bound

We're heading back to GR for a short visit this weekend. We'll be leaving here around 5 when Mandy gets out of work and drive up. Saturday, we're cleaning and getting done with the Timber Ridge apartment. That evening we're going to see Phoenix perform at the Intersection then do something with friends afterwards. Sunday we drive back. The weekend is going to be mostly driving, a lot of cleaning, and little Pheonix phunkiness. Since we're not going to be in town for long, we're not going to be able to make out to see everyone we'd like: I have a feeling this will be a theme whenever we come to visit. After this short visit, we're probably staying down here for a few weeks to get settled. This would be a good time for a visit, if anyone's interested

I don't know if we'll have a chance to post an update until Monday, but we'll try. I'll post pictures of the weekend and of the new place in Cinci when we return.

About The Cats

In response to a comment, here's an update on the cats:

Mandy and I have had a little experience moving our cats around in vehicles. The few experiences we've had have been short, 15-minute trips to the vets. Also, during "The Great South Carolina Job Fall-Through of '05" the cats spent a couple months *interacting with (*read: hissing at and puking near) Mandy's parents cats. In fact, the level of hissing and puking and general stress may have been a contributing factor in the heart attack that ultimate claimed the life Mandy's parent's cat 'King Kitty.' During these short trips, that cats went absolutly insane. Leaping around the cars, howling, chewing hands, climbing under breaks and gas pedals. In response to the extreme ways the cats responded to our short trips, we decided to drug them for the 5+ hour trip to Cin City.

We doped the cats with veternarian-perscribed drugs aprox. 1 hour before we left GR. As we prepared to leave, Athena looked a little sleepy, but Ocyrus was still wide-eyed and fully alert. We packed the cats in seperate cat carriers lined with poofy towels and placed one in each car.

The drugs must have been mislabled, because they caused the cats to alternatly chew at the metal bars, burrow in the towels, and leap so violently against the tops of their carriers that they knocked the boxes off of the seats and pass out. While passed out, their mouths would remain open, eyes rolled back in their heads, and they would let out little whistling, yowling noises ever few minutes. After about an hour and half of this, we pulled off to a rest area to let them out of the boxes for a while.

While watching the cats stumble around like me after a few hours at Founders, we decided we should put them together in one car and leave them out of the boxes. It was decided that they should go with Mandy and I would take the boxes. All things considered, the boxes were definitely the better car-mates.

Mandy said they gave much less trouble once they were together and out of their boxes. They alternatly slept and howled the rest of the way to Cin City. For the next few days, they moped around the house and slept most of the day and night, coming down (or up?) from their drugs. They've now fully recovered, and are back to their usual shedding, annoying, and impossibly cute selves.

When, if ever, we take them back up North, we will not drug them. The drugs seemed to make them even more horrible to deal with then they were straight. Maybe we'll feed them a little Founder IPA or Dirty Bastard and play some Ween before we go. That usually puts me in a mellow, relaxed mood.

At a Good Clip

Things are moving along really quickly. I went for the interview yesterday in Dayton and ended up getting the job. I went into our recruiting agency (it's same as Mandy's) and filled out the paperwork today. Two really cool things happen as a result: 1) I will get a sign-on bonus, just like Mandy and 2) we can each pay for separate insurance which lowers the cost by about 30%. The bonuses are especially helpful, as they almost totally cover the cost of breaking our lease at Timber Ridge and the cost of paying for the Budget truck. I noticed a comment from AK47 about a job in Blue Ash, so I'll have to look into that and see whether it'd be better to stick with the job I have just recently gotten. One thing is certain; after three solid months of job-hunting in GR with no results, we moved to this area and are both employed in less than 10 days. I don't if that's a credit to the can-do, don't-have-any-teeth spirit of the Buckeyes or a just a strange fluke, but it's pretty damn cool. I begin my job this upcoming Monday. For those of you who I am joining to see the Lips next weekend, don't worry. I'll still be there but the details of how and when are back in "under construction" mode.

Mandy and I will be heading back to GR this weekend (July 28th-30th) to finish cleaning up the apartment, turn in the keys, and pay off the lords and ladies of land. We'll head out of Cin City after Mandy gets out of work and be in town around 10:00PM. Saturday night we were thinking of hooking up with friends at Cambridge house for drinks and conversation and so forth. If anyone is up for it, or has a better suggestion, post it on the blog or call either of us. Next weekend, I'll be in Detroit for the Lips concert. After that, we'll probably be sticking around here for a couple weeks to continue our reconnaissance of the area. Mandy's parents are beginning their 'round the country Harley adventure this weekend and have plans to drop by our new place on their way back near the end of August.

Chad mentioned posting a list of the top 10 strangest differences between here and GR. This is funny because Mandy and I had already been compiling a list between the two of us. When we hit 10 on the list, we'll post it.

Umm. Anything else... We went to see Superman Returns yesterday in a large National Amusements theater. This is the same chain that ran Showcase Cinemas, the movie theater Chad and Pete worked at years ago. While Showcase will always have a safe nook in my heart, this theater will not. The tickets prices were reasonable for a matinee ($6.50) but here's the catch: You have to purchase the more expensive "Director's Seat" tickets to get benefits like seats that don't suck, refills on pop and popcorn, and your choice of seating in theater. Even McDonalds gives their patrons refills on drinks! In the words of Gob from the brilliant Arrested Development, "You ask the guy with the $5,000 suit to get a refill? COME ON!!!" I posted a review of the film on MindSplint, so check it out if you get a chance.

Day Around Town

Short post today... at least for now. I drove out to Dayton to meet someone at 7:00AM this morning. Dayton is about 35 minutes from where we live, so the drive wasn't that bad. I met a recruiter from a consulting agency and then I had an interview at a place in downtown Dayton. It went well, and I'd say it's pretty likely that I'll end up getting a job there. I should hear something today.

Anyway, the recruiter took me out to breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. Then, this afternoon, Mandy and I were taken out by a couple recruiters from her consulting agency to a restaurant in town. This city is great! The people take you out for food all the time.

We're still trying to figure out what to do about our internet conncetion and getting our barrings about the city. Mandy starts her job tomorrow at 8:00AM, so send her happy vibes and cheerful thoughts.

If we make it back down to this little business center, we'll probably post something else, but if not, we'll post an update tomorrow. Thanks for the comments! It lets us know that some people are reading our ramblings.

Tearful goodbyes...

This entire moving process has been all a blur. I can hardly believe we, and all of our stuff, is in our new apartment. The journey would not have been possible if not for my Grandpa Dudas, my mom and dad, and my uncle John and his girlfriend Suzanne. The rest of my family have also been supportive in shoving us out of Grand Rapids with a farewell party last Friday. Being breakfast people, Matt and I have fallen in love with Waffle Houses.

Today Matt and I went to breakfast with my mom and dad. The food was good, but the time was bittersweet. We would be driving back to our new apartment, and my parents would be riding back to good 'ole GR. I found myself to be quite overwhelmed, so there were no tears coming from my eyes (at this time). I do feel that my heart aches already in missing my friends and family, but my mind is set to jump into this new adventure whole heartedly. I look forward to the new adventures to come!

We Have Landed

Mandy and I have arrived in Cincinnati. We are still unpacking and getting everything organized. We just got back from dinner with Mandy's parents and are heading back to continue to unpack. The apartment complex has a little business center that will allow us to periodically get online while we wait for our own high-speed connection to get setup. I am way too tired and stuffed to type much more, so I'll close with this: The people down here have no teeth.

Last day in harbor...

Today was the big move everything out of the apartment into the moving van day. Over the past few days Mandy and I have been packing boxes and generally getting our things ready to move.

We picked up the moving van from Budget about 9:00AM. For some reason, our reservation information got lost on the way from the webpage we entered it in and the place we picked the truck up from - so it took a little while to re-order everything. We ended up settling on a 16' van with a dozen furniture covers.

We met Mandy's dad and grandfather at our place at about 11:30AM and proceeded to load up the bulky furniture. After loading the bedroom, the monster TV, and some boxes we realized that there was no way possible to fit everything we own into the truck. We moved to sell the TV and our bedroom set (but we're keeping the mattress and box-springs). The TV has already been sold to the Sterks, who are movie-nuts and the bedroom set will appear in the GR Press sometime in the near future. On the way back from Cincinnati this past weekend, Mandy and I discussed getting rid of the TV and bedroom furniture and we figure this will be better in the long run. We don't own a house or plan on owning one for a while, so there's little call for a full bedroom set. The TV, on the other hand, will be replaced in short order by a snazzy new one. I'll post pictures when we buy it.

We ended up wrapping up around 4:30 and have returned to Mandy's parents to sleep the night away. We plan to leave GR tomorrow before 10:00AM and make the long trip to Cin City in time to catch our new landlord and sign the lease and pick up the keys. Sunday will be filled with unpacking and returning the truck.

Ironically, while checking my email today I found a recruiter looking for two QA Testers in Grand Rapids. The job is described as being a, "Progressive company, casual dress, and meals paid for on Fridays." Mandy and I have been trying to find ANY tech job in Grand Rapids for the past three month solid and the first one we see arrives the day we are moving out. At first, I was pissed. Didn't it just figure that a job would open up as soon as we decided to head out of dodge? It seemed I could actually see an old geezer with a crooked smile floating in the clouds laughing and repeatedly jabbing a giant, red button labeled "Screw Matt and Mandy". Then I realized, mostly due to Mandy's gentle reminders, that we aren't moving solely for a job. It helps, but it isn't the main reason. We are leaving to try out a new place, eat at new restaurants, meet new people, save some money, and work on improving the nuances of our new relationship as a married couple. Also, if he were up there, poking a fate button, there's no way we would've been able to find an apartment and completely move to another state in less than seven days. We would've been stuck at every possible turn, and the amazing people who showed up to help us move, give us words of support, and make promises to visit would've never materialized.

At any rate, we are both excited about the road ahead. The grand experiment begins in t-minus 14 hours, and we are giddy.

Thanks to everyone who's helped out this past week in there own, different ways. I'll post again when I have access to a computer and the internet (which is made out of tubes, I hear). Stay tuned!

(I'll post some pics as soon as I can unload them from the camera)

Hello Cincinnati - Yet Again

In case you haven't heard, Mandy and I are relocating to Cincinnati, OH. We are there right now, as I type this. It's unbelievably hot down here (I keep hearing it's pretty damn hot up there too). We arrived yesterday (Sunday) and did a whole lot of apartment hunting today. We checked out some lofts downtown, a few apartments on the ritzy west-side, and some down-to-earth apartments on the North end. We ended up settling for an apartment not far from where Mandy will be working, and hopefully not far from where I will end up working.

I haven't been to Cin City in a while. The last time I headed down here, it was with Chad in toe as we went to meet the strange and enigmatic Kleiner to upgrade my delipidated computer. The area of Fairfield, which Mandy and I crused around this day past, was our destination. It's strange to see the area in the day time and with an eye that I might end up living in there parts for a while. For some reason, unbenounced to myself and everyone I know, Kleiner has dissapeared off the face the planet, so we haven't really had the means to look him up and invite him out for a beer. Alas. Maybe he'll resurface someday.

The people in the area seem really down-to-earth. We've had a few decent conversations with the locals including one extremely happy black man who yelled, as I scoured our car for our checkbook, "I just moved here from Holland Michigan! Move back! Ohio sucks!" The rest the natives have been more forthcoming and generally very pleased that there will be a couple of entergetic, young go-getters pracing about in their automated vehicle devices.

The hotel we are staying at, again, charged money for wireless internet access, so my time is limited. I will post a few random pictures when we end up back in GR and before Comcast comes and disconnects our cable.

From the (kinda) South. PEACE!

Pointless Product #2

Here is the obligatory Homer Simpson Quote.

This is lifted straight off of Boingboing.net (a much funnier and well-written blog than ours), but I had to put a post up about it. Is this a truly pointless product? Yes. Do I want one? Yes.

Instant Messenger Puppet

Da Fort O' Jooleye!

I love the 4th of July. I'd rank it right up there with the likes of Halloween and New Years Eve as my favorite holidays. It attacks you with coolness on many fronts, flanks, and forts. First, everyone can agree to liking it. It happens right around the Summer Solstice, when the daylight is long and temperatures are up. It's also centered around a non-religious event - the Independence of the United States. Regardless of what stupid things we are doing around the world now, everyone can agree the founders were pretty sharp dudes - and they came up with an interesting way for people to govern themselves. Second, the 4th is a celebration of heat, sunshine, and charred food. Everyone (well, unless they happen to be slaves of the soul-crushing television industry) gets to take a day off and enjoy the summer in its purest form - free from the distractions and concerns of keepin' it real, so to speak.

Hurrah for the forth!

Run #2

Another strange week has passed in Grand Rapids. Life seems to whirling into one of the tempests that appear every now and again. People moving, people dying, and people dancing get sucked into the vortex to be flung about seemingly at random. When the storm and the debris settle, things seem normal, but altered in vague and profound ways. I think the microcosm of an individual's life is self-semetrical to the whole of society: The small-scale reflects and imitates the large-scale. This particular tempest doesn't appear to be concerned with the events of my life, but everyone's and all at once. Maybe these things are happening all the time, but only occasionally we rise above the water and see how chaotic and strange the whole dance of life really is.

I ran my second 5K run this past weekend - it was the YMC Buck Creek Run. Though haven't been training as agressivly as I'd like, I still did better than the 5/3rd River Bank earlier this year. I knocked a good 30 seconds off each mile.