Now playing on iTunes: Lifehouse "Hanging By a Moment"

I'm not a huge fan of Lifehouse. Well, they're okay, but not something I want to listen to right now. Tonight it seems like iTunes has a premeditated mission to play depressing music and make me feel worse about my pithy problems. So guess what? I'm gonna write about them here as long as my MP3's have me thinking about it. So uh, take a piss or grab some water or whatever. this will probably be long.

I am probably gonna be fired from my job. This doesn't please me, especially since it's one of the stupidest things one can get terminated over: short lunches. I know it sounds dumb, but I'm already about to be suspended because of it. So I did what seemed sensible to me.. I started scouting out other jobs and applied for one. The only problem is I'm not exactly unemployed yet. I just have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that this whole mess will blow up in my face. I put down a couple of close friends in the company as business references, mostly because I've held my current job for about 6 years and know tons of people. But things like my situation have a tendency to spread around pretty fast, and if it reaches any of the management staff I'm certain to lose my job, even if I don't really want to. I love the people I work with, I love the physical aspects of my job, I love the fact that I can get sweet discounts on electronic gear, but on the other hand, the company seems to want to drive everyone away.

I get to withdraw from my sociology class, because I somehow managed to suck really badly at it, and I don't really want a fail destroying my GPA. I already told my dad, but I'm having a super-hard time figuring out how to tell my mom. She just looks so proud when she tells everyone how well I'm doing, I can't bear the thought of how the news that I'm not actually doing that great will affect her. I just wish I knew how she'd react before I tried to tell her, so I could brace myself.

This just in: I'm pretty damn sick of being alone. I guess I just don't understand why it is I'm not attractive or whatever. Well I understand it, but I don't understand how to get people to look past that. I mean, I think i'm a decent guy, I just don't think girls look for decent guys anymore. It seems like the guy can be just an utter and complete cock as long as he is good looking. That kinda sucks. I just wish I could find someone. Becky says that I just need to be patient and someone will come along, but I'm not a very patient cat. So yeah. There's so much more I feel about this but there is no possible way to express it.

so yeah. that's pretty much it. I don't know what else to say.

Labels: personal, work

Now playing on iTunes: Tom Petty "Rebels"

BWWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! guess who's up a lot later than they should be? If you gave up, or just don't give a shit: it was me. And still is.

I picked up MVP 2004 Monday night. I also saw my crush du jour, but that's a whole different topic. The short story is, I played the hell out of it. From when I popped 'er in the old gamecube till like 3:30 or 4 im the morning it was nothing but BASEBALL BASEBALL BASEBALL. what a fucking sweet sport. and finally, a game that does it some justice. First, my disappiontments: 1) no Barry Bonds, 2) no expansion mode, 3) no Joseph P. Mauer. I fixed those player gaffes pretty quickly but I'm still disappointed no expansion franchises can be creatred. ehh... the third thing I did in the game (besides fixing Joe and Bonds) was found a Dynasty Mode™ based on my beloved Twins. Then I played some games, first as the Twins, then as the AAA-level Rochester Red Wings, then as the AA-level New Britain Rock Cats. SWEET!! Building on All-Star's deal from last year they gave every team their real-life minor league counterparts, and it's as fully interactive as the big club. ramble ramble blah blah blah.. anyhoo, this game rocks my socks. It should be on the top 11 list of any serious sports gamer.

Well that'll do it for me. Finally getting tired now.. ~ E

Labels: personal, tech, twins

Now playing on the iPod: Train "Meet Virginia"

Hah.. I guess I'm not making this as regular as I would have liked. What has it been now, a week? Anyhoo..

Today I was actually able to go to school without a jacket. Sweet. The other thing on my mind right now is the iminent season opener for the Twins. A lot of negativity has surrounded those cats recently and I for one am extremely optimistic for the 2004 season, what with the new "Soul Patrol" outfield of Stewart, Jones and Hunter, and the solid infield, and spanking-new local boy Joe Mauer behind the dish. The only thing that really gets my panties in a bunch is this whole fiasco with Victory Sports One and the fact that there may only be 27 games available to me to watch. That fucking sucks, my friends. How am I supposed to watch my Twins on TV if nobody will pick the channel up? Thanks a lot, Carl Pohl-ass.

I'm putting up fliers Friday to sell my PC. I'm hoping to get $1500 out of it, which would mostly pay for my Mac. I figured that if it comes to that, where I can't personally migrate files from my PC to my Mac, I can devise an elaborate system of pulleys, smoke and mirrors to make sure I keep all my files. The main thing I'm worried about is losing my MP3's. Oh well, we'll see.

Labels: mac, personal, twins, weather

Now playing on iTunes: The BoDeans "Good Things"

Stuff!

1) my new DVD player is working flawlessly. So yay for that. I felt bad taking my old one out of my AV stack, but broken things shouldn't stick around. Plus my new player doesn't exactly mesh cosmetically with the rest of my equipment, but it does give me 5 discs of progressive-scan glory.

2) went to the carshow tonight. Besides taking in many a mullet I spotted my new car: the Hyundai Tiburon. I got into it and it was like it was tailor-made for me. And in the dark blue it looks like a killer machine. Which it will probably literally be if I get behind the wheel of one outside of the carshow. Hooray for wishful thinking..

Things!

3) the Twins rock. Just thought I'd mention that.

4) And if anyone has any money they'd like to donate toward my Macintosh it'd be most appreciated. Thanks.

Labels: personal

This "spam" thing is getting out of control. Pop-ups too. For example, yesterday I was dutifully emptying my mostly-useless Hotmail inbox when I saw an email with a normal name and the subject line of "hi". So being the smart guy I am, I opened it and I found the most absurd line ever in a spam email. Here it is, exactly as it appeared:

CONGRATULATION

You have won FREE Dinner for two, from a lucky draw we conducted sometime back.

guh? Quite possibly the worst spam email ever. Though it did make me laugh quite a bit. Thusly, I am saving it, and have already made it my screenname in the Windows Messenger. "...tell us where to send your dinnercard." How about I tell you to eat my ass?

Now playing on the iPod: Ben Folds "Eddie Walker"

Labels: internet

Now playing on iTunes: Five for Fighting "100 Years"

Well I did it. I created the greatest thing known to man-- the official ES.com iPod travel kit. I used Lunchbox® as the base for the kit, while using bubble wrap, the original packing foam and the box for my spare 1394/USB2 cable to house the iPod, cables, AC unit, dock, car charger and FM modulator. It works out pretty damned slick I have to say.

Depending on how you look at it, either Echostar or Viacom caved, and CBS and Comedy Central are back on my dish. Now i won't have to choose between Chapelle's Show and my PVR. *whew* Now I just have to wait and see where Victory is going to land.

While I was reading the AP story from the Strib website I noticed another headline: "Somalis stranded by bus strike." uh.. and? So what? I don't want to sound crass or racist but why is this even remotely relevant? But the Strib being the Strib, they have to put the uber-liberal spin ov every damn thing they print, be it a (valid) continuous hate of quasi-President Bush or those oh-so-neglected Somalis. Well you know what? The bus stranded my friend Brandon. But he's not in the paper. You know why? Because he's black, not from Somalia. Thus, the strib has no reason to write about his plight. This being said, there are tons of people who are at a loss because of the strike: university students, people that can't legally drive, high schoolers for extracurriculars, etc., not just poor people and Somalis. So let's quit making it a class/race issue, and bond together and find a solution, instead of bitching about the problem.

Well that's it from me. Night everyone.. E

Labels: ipod, media, personal

my head hurts and it's uber-late, so this will be a short one.

I finally got Lunchbox® yesterday. If you're wondering exactly what the hell that is, you need to visit my website. Anyhoo, outside of that and dicking around on Photoshop I pretty much pissed away the day, just like spring break was meant for. I also started to implement Lunchbox®'s intended use: the ultimate travel kit for my iPod. Uh, it hasn't gotten very far yet. It seems to have all the space I need but I need to figure out how to fill in the extraneous space. I'll post a picture of it when I find my digicam.

Also, while bemoaning the fact that DISH yanked WCCO and countless Viacom channels off my television, I watched some of the Warroad-Orono hockey game and also saw that UPN was screening a POS called "The Mullets". Now I was intrigued beause "Mullets" was pulled off the air last fall before I could even watch the show to mock it. In contrast, "Luis" lasted longer this fall, and that was just a 30-minute Mexicans-vs.-Puerto-Ricans slur-fest. I watched about 7 seconds of this putrid show today and I hope that it's pulled back off soon.

Now playing on iTunes: The Thorns "I Can't Remember"

Labels: ipod, media, personal

I made myself into a South Park character. Here he is.

Hot, no? Later.

Now playing on the iPod: Mayer "Kid A"

Labels: internet

Now playing on iTunes: John Mayer "New Deep"

Well I succombed to media pressure and yesterday I went to see The Passion of the Christ with my parents and some friends from church. Wow, what an intense movie. The suffering of Jesus during his final days on earth were portrayed so well on a human level, much more so than the countless Holy Week/Easter sermons, or the Bible, or even those cute little Sunday school stories ever could. i was touched more deeply by this film than by anything else in recent memory, and the special part is that I was able to share in this moment with a packed theater, moved to a reverent silence, and that's where the success of "Passion" ultimately lies, in that people are albe to see whet he went through for us.

On a much weightier issue (wink wink) I decided over the weekend that a switch to Mac is in my future. I was looking at the gleaming new G5's on Saturday and after playing with it for a good hour my decision was made. So there goes another $1500 ... thanks a lot, iPod.

Just thought you'd like to know. :) Later.

Labels: ipod, mac, media, personal

Now playing on iTunes: Wayne "Drop D"

I have to start titling these things.

Well today I went to CompUSA to pick up a car charger for my iPod. I went up to the checkout and I found a familiar face staring back at me: Anna, the inexplicably cute redhead that seems to be there everytine I go, standing there with a smile waiting to clerk all of my geekified items. So she did, and we made some small talk about how our respective stores were pretty slow lately, and as I picked up my bag and left she wished me a good night and told me to take care. That made me smile. It seems that just seeing her face and hearing her soft voice made everything alright. I have had a positively shitty week and when I left CompUSA I felt great. I reflected on this with my friend Jeff and the question came up: would it be wrong to ask this girl, who is paid to help people and be nice to them, out to dinner or whatever.. would that be crossing the line? I wasn't sure, because I like to believe that I'm not built with asshole tendencies and I don't wanna be that guy who hits on the waitress, and Jeff seemed to think it was OK though it would require brass balls. Which I agree with. And also lack. So maybe I can formulate a "plan b" and work up what courage I do have, and head over there one day and just up and ask her out. After all, you don't know if you don't try.

Labels: personal

a string of disappointments. That's the only way I can describe today. Let's see.. well I went to my English class and I had nothing. I was supposed to go to the PiPress yesterday for observational purposes but it got bumped from the schedule, which resulted in my profiles paper not being ready for prime time. So needless to say my peer review wasn't productive. Another stressful day in my sociology class.. I am in way over my head on that one. I also got my hair cut. Not a pleasant experience. I usually see this chick Heather near my job to get my cuts; today I went to a place near my school and I walked out looking like I was headed back to my double-wide to watch Smackdown. No good. Hey, also I got positively beat down at work. That wasn't fun. Plus it started fucking snowing again. I HATE SNOW IN MARCH.

I also decided that if I'm ever afforded the opportunity to have children that none of them wil be named John. Reason being, with only a couple of exceptions guys named John seem to be self-absorbed cocks. Yeah, I said it. It's probably just me. But if I see or hear the name John I will usually bolt in the other direction. No kids named Derek either. Every Derek I meet is some sort of dead eyed loner. I hate to generalize like that but a name is a very personal thing, and sometimes your very soul can be tied into it.

Well that does it. Later ~ E

Now playing on iTunes: Dave Matthews "Everyday"

Labels: personal

This post is coming live from Century. I had an odd dream the other night that made me think a little bit today: A girlfriend from my highschool days swung back into town, and guess what? She wanted to get together and do something. Of course I agreed to, since I have nothing else going on, even though she was recently incarcerated and now on probation. So I spent a few minutes putting myself together and cleaning my living space, then went out to meet her. The only thing was that, for reasons unknown, I brought my buddy Emman along. This proved to be fatal to my date as my ex wanted to spend the evening with him instead of being in the same vicinity of me. And naturally when I woke up I was just a little creeped out. But whatever....

It's been a week since I had my wisdom teeth out. My mouth still hurts some. The sad thing is, I never realized what a great pleasure it is to eat, after having nothing but soup and water for 4 days. And to imagine that I took that shit for granted! Though I did lose like 6 pounds in the process. So that made me happy. Wheee! :)

Now playing on the iPod: Billy Joel "You May Be Right"

Labels: personal

Ben Folds is accompanying the clicks from my keyboard, but that doesn't help the fact that THERE'S STILL SNOW ON THE GROUND. It got up past 50 desgrees on Sunday. That made me happy because I foolishly thought spring was almost here. Instead, it rained/snowed yesterday, with a sharp decline in temp, and it was about the same today. Cold, dark and dreary. Perfect. Anyhoo, TWC says mid-50's highs will return next week, and I hope the sun comes back too.

On other fronts, John Kerry apparently crushed John Edwards (horrible first names but I'll touch on that another time) in the Super Tuesday caucases that virtually no one goes to. To contrast this predictable outcome, here's a picture of Dennis Kuchinich and Al Sharpton looking baffled:

I don't know why, I just thought it was funny.

I also found out today through third-party fan info that apparently John Mayer is an arrogant bitch when it comes to impromptu meetings with his fans. This made me sad. Mayer is a guy I love listening to and occasionally watching bad shows like Leno and Today in order to catch him live. So I'm secretly holding out hope that this simply isn't true. But knowing the internet and its widespread reputation for airtight factual accuracy, I'm not too optomistic. John or any fans are wlcome to let me know what's up.

well.. that's pretty much what's going through my head. Later.

Labels: internet, personal, weather

Well.. this is my first attempt at the "blog" in its true sense. So um, bear with me..

Well today after I got home from school I was pretty bored. So I did what I normally do: I fired up iTunes and cruised the internet a little bit (okay.. a lot.). Anyhoo, I made a startling discovery: there are a lot of personal throwaway websites out there that are just absolutely stunning visually. And that makes me sad inside because THEY'RE BETTER THAN MINE!! That wouldn't upset me by itself, since I have the programming skills of a comatose lab rat, but the fact that most of them are done by like, 13-16 year old kids absolutely frosts my calvanator. So that made me sad. But oh well, at least I still have iTunes.

Labels: internet, personal