dead men tell no tales...
...and drink no wine, and are therefore no good at partiesThursday, March 31, 2005
guten morgen
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
It really is a nice day, traffic was smooth as a baby's butt this morning, today's payday, I have one fantasy draft this afternoon, Heather's dad's birthday to attend (yay tacos!), the Big Fantasy Draft at my dad's house on Saturday, tomorrow's friday which means free bagels in the morning, plus Anne is buying the department lunch for no good reason other than that she rocks, AND, I've got plans, plans, plans.
Granted... a wise man once said that a plan is nothing more than a list of things that don't happen. Fair enough. But I've got plans... saving money plans, moving plans, Disney World plans... 2005 started off a little weird, and has quickly become my all-time favorite year. Seriously. It's a nice, round number, middle of the decade, all that. I've begun dating the most amazing woman on the planet, who day after day continues to both surprise me and remind me just how lucky a bastard I am to be with her... she's even cool with the fact that the A's home opener is on our 3-month anniversary, and we're gonna go. Rock.
The day at work feels like it shouldn't be too hectic. I have a meeting from 11-12, and if I take out the time spent there and the half-hour I get for lunch, my day is already 21% over! WOOHOO!
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
and the countdown begins...
256 days, 10 hours, 48 minutes, 30 seconds... I am literally insane.
Bloc Party is awesome
I've been listening to the song "Banquet" over and over again. I am starting to like these guys as much as TV on the Radio.
Turning away from the light
Becoming adult
Turning into myselfTuesday, March 29, 2005
color is goooood...
Coming soon...
i have been negligent in my blogging duties
and I will try to remedy this.
Thursday, payday, cannot come quick enough. I just confirmed (by perusing previous pay stubs) that I indeed get paid on the last, and not the first, of the month. This is good. Especially since this morning I forgot to bring any lunch with me from home... and it's raining out, which means I don't really want to walk down to KFC. I guess I will have to wait and see what strikes me at 11:30-noonish.
Had a nice time yesterday with Heather and the gang, even if the afternoon began with a slight (now-long-forgiven) misunderstanding. I took what I could of a nap, watched a little Finding Nemo, showered, and met Heather, Mandy and Eric down at La Scala, then we went to Dan's. Surprisingly, Turtle was working, the second night in a row... even more surprising, of course, was Heather and I gracing the locale with our presence two nights in a row.
My iPod has been on a pretty good kick of shuffling lately... last few songs were "Turn a Square" by The Shins, "Come Back Down" by Toad, "Rake" by Sufjan Stevens, "Lie in Our Graves" by DMB, "Lily and Parrots" by Sun Kil Moon, "It Kills" by Stephen Malkmus, and on, and on, and on... good stuff, really.
I'd like to ask everyone out there, to please blog responsibly.
Monday, March 28, 2005
i think it is time
I believe it is time for me to begin serious work on The Happiest Page on Earth. While I wanted to wait until I had more photos of Disneyland (though, I have a ton from Walt Disney World), I think I can move forward anyway. Now... what will the site be? I dunno. But I own www.happiestpageonearth.com and that's one sweet domain... I gotta use it!
Thursday, March 24, 2005
i'm just barely bored enough to do it...
List of Artists currently on my iPod: (note, I have at least an EP, and usually a full album, for all these artists, or else they wouldn't be on there!)
AIR
Ambulance, Ltd.
The Anomoanon
Barenaked Ladies
Beck
Ben Folds
Bloc Party
Boy Hits Car
Bright Eyes
Broken Social Scene
Bush
Clannad
Clem Snide
Dave Matthews Band
Dizzee Rascal
Drive-By Truckers
Faith No More
Flogging Molly
Foo Fighters
Hot Hot Heat
Huey Lewis & The News
Iron & Wine
The Kills
Les Savy Fav
Maroon 5
Minus the Bear
Muse
The Music
My Morning Jacket
N*E*R*D
The Rapture
The Shins
Stephen Malkmus
Sufjan Stevens
Sun Kil Moon
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
statcounter.com. Word.
So hello to the people who actually read my blog! I didn't know you did, but you do!
I just got a free web analytics solution from StatCounter.com... it is tres cool, I highly recommend it to anyone out there running a personal webpage. It only keeps detailed stats on your last 100 visitors, but then again, if you aren't running a business and don't need true market research type shit, who gives?
Apparently, Eric, you need more to do at work ;-)
Anyway, yesterday at work was dece and today is starting off okay... I have this corporate branding meeting to go to, but the fuckers are already here and my boss isn't... they showed up like 20 minutes early. Other than that work is work, I suppose.
I'll probably be back later. I downloaded all four Sufjan Stevens albums yesterday... loving it!
[ Listening to while writing this: Sufjan Stevens - "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" ]
Friday, March 18, 2005
some pictures I took.
So I uploaded some of my favorite pictures I took from my trip to Walt Disney World back in December. I've already used a couple as backgrounds for this here blog. Now you can check out some more!
Thursday, March 17, 2005
AWETHUM
So now, I have two blogskins I can alternate between. I think I may even bring back the one with the sun and the castle as well, not sure why I decided to replace it in the first place (rather than adding it).
Because of the magic of stylesheets, I need to change just one character... just one character... in my blog template, and it will put in the new background, change the overflow background color, and reposition all the elements to fit in the flow of the page, even change text and link colors if necessary. Awesome.
new developments. sorta.
Found out today that if I come in at 7:30, I really can't leave until 4pm, even if I work through lunch. That sucks. I liked my 7:30-no-lunch-3:30 schedule. Oh well. It's still worth it because if I was still coming in at 9, they would be forcing me to stay until 5:30. Fuck that.
I'm currently listening to some of my Disney ride audio. The Indiana Jones Adventure right now, actually. Aaaaaaanyway... looks like some Corned Beef and Cabbage tonight at Dan's. Then some whiskey sours, or Guinness... not sure which. I think they are the same price anyway.
I don't feel like writing right now.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
My Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, etc...
Sweet 16: Illinois, BC, Arizona, OSU, Washington, GTech, Gonzaga, Wake, UNC, UNM, Wisconsin, UConn, Duke, Vermont, UTEP, and Kentucky. Zags over Heels in the final.
better, i think
i didn't feel hung over earlier
but I do now. and I think I need to change the text color on this thing... I think the dark blue might be too hard to read against the blue sky.
I like this picture better
it's only ten a.m.
I'm not sure what to do with myself. The last two days I was super-busy, and not so much now. I just found out that the new chick gets to take over ALL my P.R. duties (which I hated), not just the customer testimonial shit! STOKED!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
so i started putting Equal and half'n'half in my Chai
to make a nice little Chai Latte... they go down smooth and perk me up! Now I need to buy more!
Lunch today with Heather. YAY! I certainly am in deep smit with that girl. She rocks.
Fuck the caffeine in this chai is wiring me something fierce.
I just entered a contest to win $15k and a job with the San Francisco Giants.
Briefly on the topic of Michael Eisner's replacement as Disney's CEO by current Disney President Robert Iger... Iger is a tool and has a long way to go to prove he isn't just a hand puppet for Eisner. Where does he need to start? Fucking REPAIR the relationship with PIXAR. The only profitable and acclaimed films to come out of the Disney camp the last few years... Pirates of the Caribbean excepted... came from either Pixar or Miramax, and Eisner screwed the pooch on both relationships. Get to work, Iger!
Then again, maybe not... Disney stock is up three-quarter of a point (about 2.6%) in today's trading, and is up about $1.25 since the announcement of Iger's ascendency to CEOdom. I guess Wall Street is just happy to know Eisner is on the way out...
Accounting forgot to pay the phone bill
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAA!!!
AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
HHHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Heh.
holy fuck my shit works!
I tried this new comment code thing (thanks not to Blogger, but to CommentThis!) so late yesterday at work that I never even checked to see if it took! and it did! WOOHOO!
how curious...
So, my money issues have, recently, made me a bit of a worry-wart. I think a lot of things hit at once, and that included me paying all my outstanding bills in late February, then having nearly no money when I got paid the first of the month, and of course, 75% of my first paycheck each month is spoken for by rent. This morning I got up, knowing I did not have enough money to get enough gas to go to work, were it not for the generosity of my Heather and the Lincoln she left at my house... or if my paycheck had actually gone through.
So, I wake up, check my account balance at mechbank.com, and there's $2.55... obviously, my direct deposit had not gone through. I fume, I scream (inside my head of course, it was 6:30am) and eventually I leave my apartment to go to work, stopping at Valero for 2.1 gallons of gas... enough to get me to work and back, and maybe back there again Wednesday morning (but not back home after that). I get in at 7:30... no more than an hour has gone by... and I check the balance...
And I have money.
Thank god. Not sure why it took until 7 or 7:30am to show on the bank website, but whatever. I have some bills to pay, some people to buy drinks for, and my girl and I are steppin' out to Prima Ristorante friday night for some yummies and (for me, at least) a little wine.
So, the day "started" shitty, but then got good so fast I can just say my day has started quite nicely.
Monday, March 14, 2005
so I have five major groups of emails that have to go out today
The newsletters to our paid and registered-but-unpaid agents, standard demand generation campaigns for two of our three products, a special note to members of the Real Estate One brokerage in Michigan regarding an upcoming trade show, a "Second-chance" email to people who are considered "old leads" by our sales team, and a special email for an affiliate partner going out to prospective agents between Santa Clara and Santa Barbara counties.
All but the last two are done... and on both I'm waiting on other people to get their shit together. I even did some graphic design work because the graphic desiger's computer is on the bust. I do not get paid enough.
I should not have slept with the window open last night...
because now i may be getting a cold, and I don't want one. Fucking hell.
sooooo....
Been to work for like, two hours at this point. Still wish I knew what I was doing wrong on the comments tip. Had to hammer out this shit like mad this morning, newsletter-type stuff for our customers. Should have gotten it done on Friday, didn't, then should have gotten it done this weekend, and didn't.
What I did do this weekend, however, included:
- Cleaning my coffee table, including all the excess shit on it, and dusting, and cleaning my coasters
- Picking up my front room, my apartment now looks much bigger since there isn't shit on the floors. This includes turning that pile of winter coats in my hallway into a closetfull of winter coats on hangars
- Cleaning the small table next to my fridge. I had been using it to collect receipts, newspaper, old bills, all kinds of shit... it's now cleaned off and home to a small collection of BIC lighters. I also hung a nail above it for my ballcap
- Having lunch with my parents on Sunday, and watched some of the college hoops Selection Special with my dad
- Doing two loads of laundry
- Alphabetizing my DVD collection (200-ish titles)
- Spending a little quality time with Heather
So, overall, a productive weekend. Now I just want to do more of my laundry so I can finally have it all done at the same time, and I need to do my dishes and clean up the shelves in my kitchen. I know all these things because I have started leaving myself notes on the voice recorder that I originally bought to attempt to speak to the dead ala White Noise. I never did try that. It's now a to-do list, and apparently it's working.
I think I'll add "fix the comments on your fucking blog" to the to-do voice recorder right now...
Friday, March 11, 2005
i wonder if posting new stuff will help the comments issue...
let's find out...
life is balls some times.
so this comment shit is harder to figure than i figured
I just need to go to Blogger school or something to figure it out, but, besides that, I'd say the skin is basically done. I took this photograph on December 12, 2004... my 25th birthday. It's of Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. It was some time in the morning, from behind the castle. The sun is rising, not setting, which I think is obvious.
Anyway, it's a photo I like, and I'm happy I could put together a blog skin that not only is "me" in the sense that just about anything Disney could represent "me," but is also that in that the photo is mine as well, and not just representative or indicative of an interest or hobby.
I hope this day goes smoothly, or quickly, or both. Alana, I sent off my resume` to you this morning. Keep me up-to-date.
I do love getting in as early as I do... it gives me an hour or so before New Chick shows up and overbites and bucktooths and speed-talks her way into my life again. I shudder to think.
Honey, the instrumental classical guitar song on your mix is "Si Paloma" by Sun Kil Moon, if you're curious. Love and kisses.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
alright, that's a little better
Now I just have to figure out how to put the comments back in, and I think it will be done...
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
working on it
it's a work-in-progress folks, don't put much stock in this.
working on a custom skin...
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
I am moved
I just got moved to a new cubicle... no longer am I in a long line of desks with only 3-foot walls in between, no! I am now in my own corner of a larger cube, with a pair of five-foot walls for hanging things on, and no longer in a long row. There will be one person sitting basically behind me (my boss), someone far off to my left because there is more room, and then open space to my right. I was able to put my filing cabinet under the table in a place less likely a target for kicking than at my last seat. I am soooo happy! Word.
Plus now I don't face the window that gets all the sunlight in the afternoon. Less glare!
Song ideas for DANSAPALOOZA
Meat Puppets - "Backwater"
Beck - "Loser"
Nirvana - "Come As You Are," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Heart-Shaped Box"
Pearl Jam - "Alive," "Jeremy," "Evenflow"
The Verve - "Bittersweet Symphony"
Chumbawamba - "Tubthumping"
Tonic - "If You Could Only See"
The New Radicals - "You Get What You Give"
4 Non Blondes - "What's Up?"
Tom Cochrane - "Life Is A Highway"
Crash Test Dummies - "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"
Dishwalla - "Counting Blue Cars"
Blind Melon - "No Rain"
The Toadies - "Possum Kingdom"
Better Than Ezra - "Good"
Eagle-Eye Cherry - "Save Tonight"
Shawn Mullins - "Lullaby"
Marcy Playground - "Sex and Candy"
Deep Blue Something - "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
Spin Doctors - "Two Princes," "Litlle Miss Can't Be Wrong," "Pocket Full of Kryptonite"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get," "Someday I Suppose"
The Flaming Lips - "She Don't Use Jelly"
Nada Surf - "Popular"
Superdrag - "Sucked Out"
Oasis - "Champagne Supernova," "Wonderwall"
Weezer - "Buddy Holly," "Say It Ain't So," "Undone (The Sweater Song"
Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Fall Down," "All I Want," "Walk on the Ocean"
Bush - "Glycerine," "Machinehead," "Everything Zen"
Gin Blossoms - "Hey Jealousy," "Until I Hear It From You"
Green Day - "Welcome to Paradise," "Longview," "Basket Case"
in early again
Yay. Unfortunately, even though I got out some cup'o'noodles this morning, I left them in my apartment. Which means I have to buy lunch. There are these new little chicken sandwiches at KFC, which is a short walk away, called "Snackers" for like a buck... maybe i'll get two of those. That way I don't have to drive anywhere and use gas, it'll only cost me a couple bucks, and I'll feel better about it than McDonald's because I have convinced myself that KFC is "not as bad" as the Golden Arches.
If you know that the last part there simply isn't true... KEEP IT TO YERSELF, DAMMIT.
Monday, March 07, 2005
three hours to go
I'll be getting out of here at 3:30 today. I think I like getting in around 7:30... not taking a lunch break... it all translates to a 3:30 departure time for yours truly.
OK... priorities for when I get home... (1) clean the tub, (2) dishes, (3) collect/take out the trash, (4) laundry
And of course, I'll probably get in a game or two of MVP 2005.
7 days until next paycheck... working it...
Gonna finally put together the proper March Micks for Dan's... had to make a few changes, including getting rid of "Tessie" by Dropkick Murphys... I thought it was a song about baseball. It's a song about the Red Sox. Fuck that. I'm not about to be responsible for putting a Red Sox theme song in the Dan's jukebox. No way.
Everyone makes a big deal about Sox vs. Yanks in baseball... "the greatest rivalry in all of sports" or whatever ("Whatever" is right... Michigan vs. Ohio State comes to mind as bigger)... what about those of us who hate both teams? Sure, if pressed, I'd admit to hating the Yankees more, but this in no way makes me a Red Sox fan. I'd love to see the Blue Jays, Oriorles or Devil Rays fuck them BOTH up. THAT would be great!
Eh, whatever. Go A's!
[ Listened to while writing this: Broken Social Scene - "Stars and Sons", Dave Matthews Band - "Dancing Nancies" ]
I'm in. and early.
Actually got in at about 7:30 this morning. Planning on leaving probably before 4pm. Not sure what to do with myself between now and then. It feels like there's no point to life outside of work sometimes, and there's definately no point to what I do. I need to do laundry. I need to clean my bathtub. I need to do dishes. And I want to just sit around and do not-a-damn-thing. Fuck.
Friday, March 04, 2005
for some reason...
i got in way early
was in before 8:10 this morning. I was in before four people who are usually here before me. I guess that means the nanosecond any of them leaves, I can ditch out, and technically, i can leave before they do. I think that's what that means.
The A's lost their Spring Training opener yesterday, 2-1 to the Cubs. Joe Blanton got the loss, but A's starter Dan Haren pitched two scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and no walks, and striking out one. Not a bad start. Blanton actually didn't do too bad, despite getting the loss. If you don't count the 2-run HR he gave up to Aramis Ramirez, he gave up no hits, 1 walk and 1 hit batsmen, while striking out one, in two innings pitched. The A's offense could only muster 4 hits, including an RBI double by Jason "Your New Favorite Athletic" Kendall.
They play today against Milwaukee. If I remember correctly, Harden will get the start, and we should see Dan Meyer and Keiichi Yabu pitch as well. YABUUUUUUUUU!!
Thursday, March 03, 2005
email lists, testimonials, imaging, oh my...
I got Photoshop on my work machine. I got so happy I put my face on Barry Zito's body...
Ahem.
So anyway, the workday is nearly complete. Still waiting on some fuckbags to phone me back regarding some product testimonials. Why don't people jump at the chance to be used as tools in the hands of the marketing arm of a privately-owned company with no corporate oversight? Fuckbags, the lot of them.
But I'm in a decent mood. Though, I will be without my hon for dinner tonight... the whole Ruth's Chris thing... so I will either make myself pasta, or chicken. Not sure yet. But if it's chicken, it won't be stir-fry... i think i'll just fry up some chicken in a pan with olive oil and soy sauce... yum.
Ahem.
So anyway, the workday is nearly complete. Still waiting on some fuckbags to phone me back regarding some product testimonials. Why don't people jump at the chance to be used as tools in the hands of the marketing arm of a privately-owned company with no corporate oversight? Fuckbags, the lot of them.
But I'm in a decent mood. Though, I will be without my hon for dinner tonight... the whole Ruth's Chris thing... so I will either make myself pasta, or chicken. Not sure yet. But if it's chicken, it won't be stir-fry... i think i'll just fry up some chicken in a pan with olive oil and soy sauce... yum.tried making breakfast
two eggs, hash browns, two sausage links... but, i tried making it all together in the same skillet. So, of course, the eggs cooked quick, and the hash browns and sausage, which were frozen, looked done (the sausages were precooked anyway) but were a little cold inside. I guess I need to starts the browns and links first, then throw on some eggs. Then I tried making toast in the skillet.
Ha. Don't do that.
I brought leftover Skip's for lunch, and will probably make up some chicken or pasta for dinner, since Heather is going to Ruth's Chris with her family for her sister's birthday. I can't swing that kind of dinner $$$ right now. Oh well. I'll miss her though.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
hot... toooo hot...
It is positively sweltering in my office. Very, very hot.
I have put up links to the blogs of some friends... Candice, Russ, my lovely sexy girlfriend Heather... if there are any others I should link to, well, maybe someone should tell me about it, or something.
I am an insane planner at times. Far, far future plans occasionally just come to me. Whatever works.
there is vanilla in my nostrils
And I'm not sure where it came from.
I feel that an annoyance has relocated... that my little neighborhood in Walnut Creek is a bit brighter this morning... eh, it must be nothing.
So today, my big thing at work is getting people on the horn and getting some testimonials for one of our products. For some reason I hate doing this, even though every time I do it's a very painless process... we chat on the phone for about five-ten minutes, tops... I write up "their words" from my notes, email it to them, and usually within a couple hours I get an "okay" to attribute my writeup to them and I file it away. But for some reason I don't like doing it and am constantly putting it off.
But now my boss is getting hounded on by her boss to get some testimonials to the salespeople for this particular product. And since my job is to make her look good, it's time to buckle down and get it done. Dammit.
Andy's friend Scott bitched out on our keeper baseball league, so now we're looking for a replacement. It shouldn't be too hard... the league is $50, but the winner is guaranteed at least $225 at the end of the season, and second place gets at least $95.
The guy at work whom I really don't like will be leaving on the 11th. Saweet.
That is all.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
god damn Apple
I bought my 4GB iPod mini last month, at $250, and now it's $200. And they have a 6GB model at $250... sons'a'bitches...
i am spending too much time taking silly online quizzes
Yup.
Working on "Dan's Bar March Micks"
[ Listening to while writing this: Broken Social Scene - "Almost Crimes", The Rapture - "I Need Your Love", The Music - "Guide" ]
It's got a St. Pat's theme...
So, normally I can fit about 19 songs on a mix. Nine spots are taken by tracks from previous mixes as we build towards a permanent mix CD. That leaves ten tracks... and I'm thinking these...
Irish Contingent:
1. Dropkick Murphys - "Barroom Hero"
2. Flogging Molly - "Salty Dog"
3. Great Big Sea - "The Night Pat Murphy Died"
4. The Pogues - "Beer, Beer, Beer"
5. Dropkick Murphys - "The Rocky Road to Dublin"
6. Flogging Molly - "The Worst Day Since Yesterday"
Regular Mix Tracks:
7. Broken Social Scene - "Cause = Time"
8. My Morning Jacket - "The Way That He Sings"
9. The Music - "Guide"
10. Something off of Mandy/Adam's "70's" list
And, the three songs that will be surviving off of the February mix and joining the likes of James, Tool, Dave Matthews, Talking Heads, and Beck on the perm CD are:
Elvis vs. JXL - "A Little Less Conversation"
The Shins - "New Slang"
Michael Jackson - "Dirty Diana"
Word.
Archives
February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006
