Category: is it just me?

"pointless", all about me, happenings, is it just me?, mixed media, venting

tuesday the 27th

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I figured it is getting a bit redundant to call these posts “random thoughts” every week, so what the fuck, I’ll change it up a bit. Regardless, here’s some random shit stewing in me brain:

  • I pre-ordered Guitar Hero On Tour for the DS today, because I saw it was coming out while I was at Best Buy returning some D-Batteries that weren’t needed. Dude; I so can’t wait for this game. I want it now, but at least with the pre-order I got an exclusive pick-stylus. I can’t wait to rock.
  • I went to Circuit City today to get God of War II, because they have it in their circular for $10, which is 50% off the retail price. That alone is worth the hassle of putting up with one of the worst companies on the planet… or is it? I went, and in typical Circuit City fashion, they didn’t have it in stock; but it wasn’t the fact that they didn’t have it that was my problem. See, I asked an “employee” (I use that term loosely, because he really didn’t do shit) to help me find it. After looking exactly where I did (where it would sit on the shelf), he informed me that they didn’t have any (REALLY, I looked their dipshit, I KNOW there are none on the shelf *face-palm*). What really topped the cake was the fact that he told me that get this… there is NO WAY for them to look up in the computer and even see if there are any copies on site. Excuse me? I loudly mouthed off about the fact that they must be the only large company that doesn’t bother with things like inventory and whatnot to my friend. What really irritates me about that, is not only can you definitely look up and see if there are any on site, but the goddamned website (that I can access at my PC anywhere in the world that has internet capability) can tell me if your store has the fucking game (I went straight from lunch, and I know now I should have looked). I complained at the front, and she apologized, but who fucking cares; Best Buy price matches, and I am going to go get it there after work. Fuck off Circuit City, you are a huge dose of assholes with a dash of mother fucker thrown on top. I don’t know if 50% off can even get me to go back (I say that, but I know I will find myself in there again someday… damn consumerism!).
  • I applied to the Nursing program at Georgia Perimeter today. The application was extremely simple (which surprised me), and I am REALLY nervous about getting in. I really, really, really want to get this degree going on the fast track, and getting in for the Spring would be like the best thing ever. I am totally crossing my fingers and toes for this one.
  • Tonight I am going with friends for dinner and karaoke, and I can guarantee I will do what I always do; I will not be able to decide which song to sing. I can always think of them when I am not really thinking about it, but when I get up to the sign in log, I just draw a blank. Weird. Any thoughts about what I should sing?
  • Three day weekends should pretty much be the standard. Seriously, having Monday off was amazingly awesome. Looking into June and July, I have two instances of “vacation” coming up, and I cannot fucking wait. I am taking James to a secluded cabin for his birthday weekend, and in July, I am going with my buddy John to New York City for 5 whole days. By the gods, I definitely need a break; and I am definitely looking forward to those.
  • I guess that’s about it… but I am sure I will think of 2 more things as soon as I hit publish, so maybe not…. What are y’all up to these days?

"pointless", all about me, friends, happenings, is it just me?, mixed media, music musings, music suggestion, podcast, the catch-all-egory, venting

just a few random thoughts

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  • Last night, I was invited to partake in a great “bad beer” podcast, and it was a LOT of fun. I really miss hanging out with the people that were a part of it (my old trivia group for the most part), and it was great to finally meet one of the bloggers I have known URL for a while in person. I hope that we get to do more of those types of things in the future. It was funny that our podcast was talking about how bad chelada style beer was, when I am kind of a fan of Miller Chill. In fact, I actually really like it… so long as it is cold. The other beers we tried (Bud Light Lime, Tequiza, and Michelob Ultra Lime and Cactus) were all gross. I’ll let you know when the podcast is up, and you can here the silly fun we had drinking bad beers.
  • I have been having random fits of sneezing. The allergies in Atlanta are nuts, and this year is no exception. I guess there is something to be said about consistency; regardless of how annoying it may be sometimes.
  • On Tuesday night, I went out to dinner with some friends at a new local restaurant, and I did something that I have not done in a LONG time… I left the waiter zero tip. Hear me out… I waited tables for 5+ years at various restaurants, all of which served alcohol. I have NEVER in my life ever told someone that they had to pay for a drink that they determined to be undrinkable. In fact, I often apologized for something that I had no part in; I never was a bartender, and I never made those drinks. However, we always made it right, and made sure the customer was happy each and every time. I ordered a drink that was absolutely disgusting (which shouldn’t have been), and it was a simple bar mistake. I stand by the fact that this is something that I should not have had to pay for; yet, he made me pay for the drink (even though he took the totally full beverage and poured it out). Unfortunately for this establishment, this is a lesson that I have learned about that place, and as such I will not be drinking there ever again; which pretty much means it has moved itself to the bottom of my list of places to go eat. It sucks too, because being a local restaurant, I really want to support it, but I can’t control how restaurants treat their patrons. Having been a waiter myself, I put up with A LOT of mistakes without saying a word, but this was just ridiculous. Oh well… there is sure to be a yelp review to come about the experience!
  • I have to say, that I was a little surprised by who won AI last night. Oh well, the proof is in the pudding; we’ll see when they release their records, right?! George Michael’s performance on the show was AMAZING. Also, is it me, or is Carrie Underwood completely unstoppable? I mean, she is F-I-E-R-C-E fierce! Not only is she beautiful, but she can sing the shit out of anything!! Maybe I need to download her records…
  • Speaking of amazing music, the song that I featured last week, Just Dance, by Lady Gaga, is one of the most amazing songs ever. Seriously, this song is going to be my song of the summer. I have had it on repeat since last week… Loves it.
  • That’s about it… I guess. Anything going on with you that you want to talk about?? Anything questions you want to ask me that are just burning in your brain? Let me know!

"pointless", all about me, is it just me?, music musings, venting

my tender, tender ear canals

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I have extremely tender and sensitive ear canals. You know how you get those “in the ear” ear phones, and they have different sized inserts “for everyone’s comfort”? Well, even the smallest ones hurt my ears.

It has always been something that I have had to “deal with”, but I have been able to avoid the problem for a long time, since I got my awesomely amazing Bose around-the-ear noise canceling headphones. However, since getting lobes pierced last week, I haven’t been able to use my headphones, because they touch my ear lobes, and as such, I have fallen back on my in the ear phones. Ouch, ouch, ouch. I didn’t realize how much they hurt, because I have never had to use them for extended periods of time before.

I even tried using my friend’s amazingly nice Bose in the ear phones, but those hurt too!! I can’t be the only one out there with sensitive ear canals, so I wonder, if you have this problem, what ear phones are you using?? Let me know, so I can run out and get them today; because I can’t live without my music, and having to shove these devil’s swords in my ear is torture!!!

all about me, friends, happenings, is it just me?, venting, wtf?!

beer fests and marta

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So yesterday, Brody invited me up to the Dunwoody beer festival, and I decided that the best, and most responsible thing to do, would be to ride Marta up, and then catch a ride home with James later on in the evening. I was to meet Brody around 2pm, but being in the hurry I was, I forgot my ticket for the festival, so I had to go home and get it. Well, it only set me back a little bit, so I should have still been there around 2:30. No worries. Well, I got to Marta about 2, thinking it would take about 30 minutes MAX to ride up to Dunwoody. Well, I waited at 5 points for literally, over 40 minutes, while no less than 3 trains (15-20 minutes apart) for Doraville came through. Finally, I got on the last Doraville train, and changed trains at Lindbergh. It turns out, that this is the new way they do things; you get your transfer train to North Springs at Lindbergh, and not 5 points, as it has been in the past. WTF? Marta, you get a huge dose of FAIL, not only for having trains only come once every 20 minutes (seriously unacceptable), but for not indicating to riders the necessary information they need to actually get from A to B successfully.

I can definitely say that I will think long and hard before I get on Marta again. It is bad enough that our city has a sub-par AT BEST transit system, but to find out that even that is unreliable, and at best filled with fault and flaws galore, that it really makes one shake their head. Why can so many cities master the city transit system, but Atlanta just can’t seem to do anything right? Ugh… frustration is all I seem to get from Marta these days, and it is frustration that I can thankfully all but avoid entirely.

After I finally got my destination a full HOUR after I set off on my journey, I had a blast hanging out with Brody, Dave, and other assorted members of their kick ball team. It was a pretty fun day. I can’t say that I drank $30 worth of booze (the price of the ticket), but I did find a new potential favorite beer in Warsteiner’s Cola beer. Holy shit! That stuff is insanely good, and very refreshing. I never though I would like a cola flavored beer, but it is damn good. I am going to be consuming lots of it this summer, I can feel it.

Either way, it all turned out to be a fun day with friends and booze, but it began with a big dose of FAIL, ala Marta style. Boo Marta… yay booze and friends.

all about me, blog on blog, hmm interesting, is it just me?, well?

did the aggregator kill the commentors?

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I’ll openly admit, that I know that I comment less because of how easily it is to digest blogs through the easy to use aggregator format (netvibes for me). In fact, many times, I find that I do more skimming, and find myself back to bored quicker than ever because of aggregators. However, my reliance on them is like that of my cell phone, I can remember what life was like without it, but I wouldn’t want to go back, now that I have become accustomed to using it.

Yet, it does make me wonder… is the aggregator doing the same thing to comments as the music video was supposedly doing to radio stars (see the Buggles video for this reference)? Does the aggregator format kill your desire to comment? Let me know what you think… I can’t be the only one that wonders where the majority of the comments went.

Perhaps I just don’t post as much flaming material anymore… who knows. Either way, it is just one of those “oh… maybe this is because of this” thoughts that I was thinking of today.

Also, in a totally unrelated note, I am happy as a pig in shit this morning. I checked my grades, and as many of you know, I was really worried that I wasn’t going to be able to pull my lab grade up to at least a C. Well, I did one better! I ended up with a B in the lab and the anatomy lecture, and an A in abnormal psychology. I feel awesome right now, because I worried myself silly about these damn classes, and now they are done, AND I got all A’s and B’s!!!!

Summer is going to ROCK.

happenings, hmm interesting, is it just me?, venting, well?, wtf?!

you’ll need to pour that out, or face a fine

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This weekend had two main features; the first was my Anatomy final. I put it off as long as I could, and finally took it late Saturday afternoon. I did well (got a B), but I just can’t tell you how glad I am finished with it. Whew!!!

On Sunday, we packed up the cars and the boat and headed north for a day on the lake. We have been going to the same public boat dock every time we have gone to lake Lanier, so we went back, expecting to have a good time again. What we didn’t know, seriously, is that they didn’t allow alcohol at the dock. No big deal; if we had known that, we would have adjusted ourselves accordingly (flask, concealing it, or just going without).

About 2 hours into our day, a park ranger came out to our little tent and told us that there had been a report of us having Jack Daniels (the bottle was sitting in plain view next to our cooler), and that we had two options: 1) pour it out, or 2) get a ticket and have to leave the park. Well, it really pissed us off that we had to pour out a huge bottle of liquor (we actually had another one that he saw and made us pour out as well), but I think more so, the main thing that pissed us off, was that we were “reported”. We didn’t know that we couldn’t have alcohol, so we made no attempt to hide the fact that we had it. When we asked if we could just put it in the car, he repeated our two options, and we ended up pouring it out to avoid a fine of an unknown amount.

What really got us angry, is that seriously, we weren’t bothering anyone at all, the place where we had set up our tent was under a tree, and no one was around us. We were not being rowdy, nor were we being loud or disorderly. Someone had just called in to a park ranger because we simply had alcohol (again, we seriously didn’t know… and upon leaving, we did notice the 3inX5in sign saying no alcohol). I guess some people just aren’t content on letting you just enjoy your day without having to ruin it with getting “law enforcement” involved.

Whatever. If you turned us in, you suck dude, because seriously, we weren’t hurting anyone. Now, we know that when we come back, we will conceal our booze. This state has some serious issues with alcohol if you ask me.

civil rights, hmm interesting, is it just me?, politics, that is so gay, venting, well?

repealing don’t ask don’t tell… hmmm how should I put this…

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Let me just start by saying that I am sure that what I am going to say about this will make some people mad. That being said, if you don’t like my opinion, realize that it is just my opinion, and then get over it.

I read an article today talking about how Obama would do what he could to get don’t ask don’t tell repealed if he were elected president. I ask myself, seriously, why this is an issue that he would be concerned with, and perhaps more importantly, why this is being used as a method of placating the gay community for their vote? I mean, repealing this archaic policy is not going to end homophobia and the dangers associated with the anti-gay sentiments running very lively through the current military, so I don’t see a need in getting rid of it. The only important point made in the article is the only thing that Obama should be touting, and reinforcing that he is really for:

He said he’s frequently spoken out against homophobia and in support of gay rights.

My point: does the policy keeps out gays? No. There are gay people in the military. Does it protect gay people? No. Two words: Barry Winchell. He wasn’t even gay, but was beaten to death by a fellow soldier because he thought that he was. Don’t ask don’t tell is a stupid policy that was created by straight men in an effort to use that whole “it’s okay to be gay as long as you don’t act on it” argument in order to “allow” gay people to be in the military. Yes, there are gay people that have been kicked out of the military when it was “found out” that they were gay, but honestly, if an institution such as the military is SOOOOOO threatened by the mere presence of gay people, then I have a very hard time believing that it is JUST the DADT rule that this strong ideal comes from.

I say, that if you want to be in the military, and if you are gay, then you clearly know what you are getting into. It is a gay-fearing institution, that is chock full of overly aggressive, and in some cases, clearly unstable, men and women. Does that describe everyone in the military? NO! But you have to be aware that there may be one crazy that will be in your platoon (or whatever they call the groups you are assigned to) that would just as soon kill you just because he might think that you are gay; whether you are gay or not. My point is, that if you want to truly do something positive for gay people with regards to the military, enforce a strict anti-homophobia policy, and enact strict punishments for those that violate them.

While I think that don’t ask don’t tell is a crock of horseshit, I do have to say that I like it for one reason: it means that I will never, ever have to serve in the military. I have gay friends in the military, and I fully appreciate everything that they have given for this country, but I can’t say that I would do the same. This season on the L Word, they had this scenario were one of the characters was in the military, and was being investigated for being gay. In the end, she was put on trial, and they made her lover testify against her. Her lover refused, and turned the tables on the prosecutor; but the most important part of the whole trial happened when the accused soldier refused to just let it go. She said it plainly and simply; she was tired of having someone treat her, or someone that she loved like a criminal because of who they were, and that if this was going to be the way that the military treated them, that she didn’t feel like that was where she belonged.

While there are many that will disagree with her, I don’t. I cannot see myself supporting an organization that is so afraid of my sexuality, that they would harm me or treat my loved ones like criminals if they suspected I might be gay. Additionally, I wouldn’t want to support a system that is dead set on keeping me in second class citizen status.

There are so many issues here that need to be addressed, and I don’t think that simply repealing don’t ask don’t tell is the answer. I think that by oversimplifying this problem, Obama, and those like him, are politicking in the worst way, and are trying to wave “goodies” in the face of gay voters, hoping to earn their support.

Listen, Obama, we got you. We are going to vote for you (for the most part… Log Cabin Republicans most likely won’t). However, get it through your thick skull that trying to overturn a simple, archaic rule isn’t going to change the state of homophobia in the military, and as such, is not offering any gay person that participates in the military any more REAL protection. Until you want to put your head on the chopping block and go balls to the wall saying that you want to do everything in your power to make sure that everyone in this country is treated fairly and equally, as it says in the constitution, then please, quit the politicking, and just stick to letting us know that you have our backs.

Anything less is just annoying, and frankly, insulting to my intelligence. I don’t think that that repealing don’t ask don’t tell will really have the ramifications that you imply; and I don’t think that I am alone in that sentiment.

happenings, is it just me?, listen up!, mixed media, show the love, that is so gay

new who

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So this weekend was the beginning of the fourth series of the amazing show Dr. Who on the BBC. Unfortunately for us, it hasn’t hit our televisions yet, but that didn’t stop me from tracking down the show via the interwebs, and getting my Dr. Who fix last night.


This season, the Doctor has shed his most recent companion, Martha, and found himself a new tag-a-long in Donna, who we were introduced to in the last Dr. Who Christmas special. I have to say, that while I really liked Donna in the Christmas special, as usual, it is hard to let go of what I have come to know and love about Dr. Who. It is hard not to have Martha along for the ride, and the wound of losing Rose is still there, so getting used to Donna is definitely going to take a while. It was the same way when Martha “replaced” Rose, so I was pretty much prepared for the separation anxiety this time around.

I enjoyed the episode, however, and really love that they didn’t mess with the formula that has worked so well for three great seasons so far. I am looking forward to getting to know Donna more, and seeing the adventures that she and the Doctor go on. I have heard that Rose (*squeee!!!!*), Martha, and Jack are all supposed to pop back up this season, so I can say that I am definitely looking forward to how this season progresses. I may not be able to watch the show when it is broadcast, but hey, I get to see it commercial free, which is better anyways, right? (which, it airs commercial free on the BBC, but anyway…)

Also, on a totally unrelated note, does this piss anyone else off but me?? Seriously. Perez fucking Hilton is the #16 “most influential” gay person? Gag. Puke. Repeat.

hmm interesting, is it just me?, mixed media, wtf?!

the rock band “racket”

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Yesterday, after searching heartily on the internets, I found out that you CAN indeed use the Guitar Hero controller to play Rock Band. Excited, I ran out and got the game for my Xbox 360, because as a major fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, I reveled the chance to have some new, better songs to play.

Others like me, who have all of the Guitar Hero games (there are 4 in all), know that the most recent Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero III, has one of the weakest soundtracks of any game in the series. That is doubly disappointing too, because the next game that is slated to come out doesn’t even offer a reprieve; it is going to be a game of nothing but Aerosmith songs. So when I saw the track listing for Rock Band, I knew I had to have it… but I didn’t want to shell out almost $200 for all of the stuff needed to play it; regardless of the great soundtrack. However, after I knew I could use my Guitar Hero controller with it, I jumped at the opportunity, and was excited that I could get by with just getting the game itself.

Well, after playing the game for a while last night, I kind of think that whole Rock Band package is a rip off. See, I personally have NO DESIRE to have those drums for this game (seriously, I get annoyed watching people do it at Best Buy… there is no way I am bring that annoyance home), so all I wanted was the game, a guitar, and the mic. Well, they don’t offer the mic separately as of this writing, and since I found out I could use my Guitar Hero controller, I figured I would settle for being able to play the guitar tracks (and get a mic later when they do offer one). I also think that it is VERY important to say this: the Rock Band Guitar controller is a complete piece of crap when compared with the Guitar Hero III controller… seriously, if you like the Guitar Hero III controller, do yourself a favor and use it.

Well, much to my surprise (and delight), I discovered that you can use the free Xbox 360 headset that came with my Xbox 36; thereby eliminating a need for the mic that comes with the bundle as well! It has been sitting in the box ever since I got it, and I pulled it out, and low and behold, it works perfectly. As I said last night, you will just have to be a little more like Britney or Janet in concert, and use a headset as opposed to a hand-held mic. So basically, I had all of the peripherals that I needed already at home… so what was I waiting on before getting this VERY fun game??

Well, there was not much on the internet about these two discoveries that I made. I didn’t see anything about the mic, and I really had to search to get a clear word about if the Guitar Hero controller really would work with Rock Band. I guess I wanted to write this post, to let anyone out there with an Xbox 360, who also has Guitar Hero (II or III), and wants the save some money and still get Rock Band, that you don’t need to buy the overpriced bundle (unless you just want a new guitar, and you of course, want the drums and a mic). You can “make due” with the Guitar Hero controller, and the headset is actually better in my opinion… in my searching, I saw that all of the Rock Band bundles have CORDED peripherals. I prefer my cordless guitar and headset over that shit any day. Also, the drums are now sold separately if you really need them… but again, that just isn’t on my interests list.

I see this as a huge win; even though I had to jump through many hoops to get to this point. And… I don’t have to chuck those annoying ass drums out on the street. I wish I had gotten the game sooner, because it really is awesome (even if it is almost the exact same as Guitar Hero), and the songs are great. However, at least I was able to find out the right information, and save a bundle… by skipping the bundle and just getting the game. If you find yourself in my position, make sure you do yourself a favor and get the game; it is well worth the price of the disc, and I am just glad that I don’t have to have ANOTHER guitar peripheral laying around!