Category: the catch-all-egory

"pointless", is it just me?, music musings, music suggestion, the catch-all-egory, venting

let’s do a list!

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Why the fuck not, it’s Monday, so let’s do a list of thoughts/gripes/excitements/etc why don’t we!?

  • There are a LOT of albums coming out in the next couple of months that I am really, really looking forward to: Uh Huh Her, Jennifer Hudson, Lesley Roy, The Script (tomorrow!), Kaiser Chiefs (!!!), Jenny Lewis, Keane, P!nk, Jem, John McLaughlin, Will Young (!!!), Rachael Yamagata, Ray LaMontagne, and perhaps most importantly, Lady GaGa (AHHHHH!!!). That is a LOT of music coming in the near future that I am thrilled to get my hands on (and into my ears). What releases are you looking forward to?
  • For the past month (give or take), XM has been playing nothing but Coldplay on one of my favorite channels, U-Pop. I found out the other day that there is another channel that is playing nothing but Coldplay as well. Now, I like the new CD, but I am not a fan of their previous stuff. Regardless, I think that it is extremely ridiculous to devote two full channels for a full month to a band like Coldplay; they only have 4 records out! WTF XM?
  • Since I am on a gripe about XM, I want to know what the deal is with the commercials. Seriously, I understand them on talk radio, because those shows actually have breaks for commercials on the regular networks, so commercials are acceptable on those shows. However, XM touts themselves as commercial free, which is an absolute LIE. I want my $175 a year I spend on XM back if I have to listen to commercials, it just doesn’t seem right, to pay for commercial free programming, and then be lied to, does it?
  • I feel like I might be the only one, but the fact that the Olympic opening ceremony cost a reported $100 million really bothers me. It was pretty and all, but that money could have been used WAY more effectively, even in China, where plenty of people live in poverty. I just feel like it was a lot of “showing off” for the rest of the world, and I really felt like it not only teetered on “excess”, but it was kind of a slap in the face to all of the poor people in China that really have actual needs that will last way longer than the 4 hour ceremony that occurred last Friday. It was, however, funny to see our dork of a president yawning and tapping his feet in boredom during the march-out of the countries participating. What an idiot to represent us to the world.
  • As for the Olympics themselves, we watched the women’s gymnastics last night, and it was fun. I see this next couple of weeks being filled with wondering who wins what, and wanting to watch some of the events. I guess we’ll see how much we actually watch, because I get burned out on that crap pretty fast, really.
  • I think that’s about it really. I really want Apple to hurry up and release a new ipod Touch for my birthday!

"pointless", all about me, friends, happenings, mixed media, shiny stuff, the catch-all-egory

update, I guess?

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It seems like I don’t have much to post about these days… or perhaps it is that I only have mundane things to post about? Either way, I feel like I could at least do a bulleted update list or something, to give y’all the 411 on what’s going on in the wonderful world of duane.

  • I have officially ran out of classes to take for my pre-requisites. I am taking Microbiology this fall, and after that, I just have to wait to get into a program. I am really anxious about getting into one right away, because I REALLY want to get moving on this nursing degree. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
  • Speaking of taking that one class, just getting the random holds off of my account at GPC was more than a headache that lasted from early June all the way through this week. Currently, things are okay, but it was REALLY frustrating to deal with… especially when you call the registration and administration services offices at any of their campuses, and all it does is ring five times before you get a voicemail. Is anyone working there? I mean, they have extended hours for crying out loud! Ugh, I am just glad I have things squared away with GPC.
  • I have officially applied to Kennesaw and Georgia State. I am awaiting my friendly “you got in, yay” packet, so that I can then apply to each one of their nursing programs. I REALLY want to get in and start taking the next steps to becoming a nurse. I am so freaking ready it isn’t even funny.
  • I mentioned a while back that I wanted a new lens for my birthday, but I ended up getting that before I went on my NYC trip. I have decided to wait a little while and see what Apple is going to do, but I have pretty much promised myself that I will be obtaining an iPod touch in the near future. I hope that they come out with one that has more than 32gb, and is cheaper than $500. It would be awesome to throw a camera on that thing too; because I think that the iPhone is awesome, and I would like to have everything BUT the phone. Hurry Apple! I’m anxious!
  • We are still loving the counter tops, sink, and new faucet. I literally walk into the kitchen every time, and cannot believe that it is my house. It was the last thing about our house that we wanted to desperately change, and it has been done… I love our house even more now!
  • Other than dealing with trying to get transcripts out, holds taken off of accounts, applications in, and other whatnot, I have been hanging out with friends and having a pretty good last few weeks. My mood seems to be in an upswing, and I am not complaining about that in the least. I just wish I could get rid of my extreme sensitivity to heat. I really feel like people think that I am making it up sometimes just for attention, which is far from the truth. The other night, we were at a cookout, and I had to leave really abruptly, or pass out. Seriously, I sat in the car for like 10 minutes with the AC on full blast just to keep my food down, and my self conscious. It was awful. I just wish that it didn’t bother me as bad as it does.
  • Lastly, I guess, Soul Calibur IV, while it may make me REALLY frustrated at times when the opponent is a seemingly perfect god of moves and penetrating skills, is an amazing game. They have improved over the Soul Calibur franchise considerably, and the graphics are nothing short of jaw droppingly beautiful. It is also a hoot to play as Yoda, because he says a bunch of his little catch phrases, and well, he’s just so damn cute! It’s a great game, and a must for any fighting game fan. The Xbox 360 continually impresses me with it’s graphical prowess.

Alright, that’s it for now. Back to life…

flickr, hotness, listen up!, mixed media, music musings, music suggestion, photography, show the love, the catch-all-egory

welcome delta! (and other thoughts)

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I just picked up the third release by Australia’s best selling female artist EVER, Delta Goodrem’s amazing CD titled simply Delta, from Best Buy. It came out earlier this week, and I wanted to welcome Delta to the US (finally), and I wish her all of the success here that she has had down under. Delta is one of a slew of amazing artists that we don’t get to hear about over here, even though they are major in their home country of Australia. If you remember, the CD made my top 31 CDs of 2007 (it was number 6), and it is definitely worth picking up. In other music related stuff, I saw Jennifer Hudson’s video for Spotlight (which I featured in the 5SF on June 6th), and I am going to solidly say, that a diva has been BORN! She was flawless in Dreamgirls, and now she is strutting (and singing) the shit out of that video/song and looking fantastic while doing it. I can’t wait for her record.

Also, I don’t know how many of you are on Facebook’s iLike application, but I decided to head over to their website and check out the “full” deal today. My iLike profile name is duanecmoody, so feel free to add me if you are a part of that business.

Not much else is going on with me, other than trying to wrangle transcripts together in order to apply for nursing programs (I’ve already applied to one), and other such mess. I am still hacking from this head cold, but it seems like it is moving on, albeit, slowly. Speaking of slowly, I am still sorting my MANY NYC pictures, and I will be uploading them on flickr in small batches, as to prevent one massive picture dump that no one will pay any attention to.

Oh yeah, one more thing, speaking of flickr, James is now on flickr, so go over and add him, because all of his pictures are for friends/family only. (not sure why, but it isn’t my account, so it isn’t up to me). Hope everyone is having a great Thursday; I am just looking forward to the weekend!

all about me, hmm interesting, that is so gay, the catch-all-egory

appetites and anxiety

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It seems that lately, I have been quickly losing my appetite. I noticed it last week, but this week, I have been almost completely uninterested in eating. I don’t really know what is going on with this, but perhaps it will help me lose some weight; I weigh more than I ever have right now, and I am NOT happy about that. Don’t worry, I am not going anorexic, so don’t leave comments freaking out on me. I have been down that road, and I don’t see myself going there again.

I am getting kind of anxious about the upcoming weekend, and all of the things that go along with attending and celebrating Pride. While I LOVE seeing shows and people watching, and really taking in everything wonderful about Pride, I am really leaning towards skipping the parade. I have not been able to deal with heat lately, and it is only getting worse as the summer steam rolls on. I have gotten to where when I am outside, and it is stifling hot, I find myself dripping in sweat (like I have ran a marathon) as soon as I step outside. To top that wonderful-ness off, I get light headed and my anxiety only grows, and I sweat more. It isn’t pretty, and it is something that I have been avoiding pretty much at all costs. If I go to the parade, avoiding that state would be impossible, so I am leaning towards skipping it.

I can just go back and look at my pictures from last year’s parade in the AC; I guess that would be kind of like listening to the CD instead of going to the concert, right? Either way, I am still undecided. Other than that, I got my new lens this week, and I have been playing with it, seeing what I can do with it. I think I am going to challenge myself to use it exclusively at Pride, but I guess we will see. It was a huge expense (I am still feeling that), but I really think that it was worth it… The potential is great!

all about me, happenings, is it just me?, mixed media, photography, the catch-all-egory

music, money, games, etc.

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First off, as if Weezer weren’t cool enough already, they are doing this. I love the idea of a band getting together with musician fans, and playing their hits together. If I was better at the guitar, I would totally show up and jam with them. I guess I will have to settle for jamming on the Xbox, because they have songs on Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

James recently pointed out that I had very little tread left on one of my tires, and so I figured it was about time that I take it in get a new one (it has been 30k+ miles since I got my car after all). Well, turns out, I needed two, and after getting two tires, and having them aligned and balanced, my bill came out to $640 and some change. Holy fuck balls that is a lot of money. Jebus! It has also gotten to where it costs no less than $50 to fill my tank… life is expensive, and having a car seems to have become a very MAJOR expense!

In game news, I picked up Guitar Hero On Tour after a month or so of anticipation, and overall, I think that it is an innovative use of the DS. It is a bit awkward at first to play, and it would be nicer if the top screen (which becomes your left screen when turned to play) would bend back more. Other than that, I really don’t have many complaints!! I think that it is really cool that they made it for the DS, and I am looking forward to rocking out on the go. I am seriously a GH junkie; I can’t get enough.

I think that I have decided what I want for my birthday (or really splurge and get this one which I actually think I want more, now)… now to see if James will go for it… (or at least just help me pay for it… LOL)

On a final note, I think that I am addicted to the nachos at Raging Burrito in Decatur. I will be having them for dinner tonight, and I cannot wait. Yumsicle!

all about me, friends, music musings, the catch-all-egory

the day after sunday always comes again

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No matter how much one wishes the weekend would go on for at least one more day; it never seems to. Oh well. Here’s some random shenanigans that are running through my brain; which seems to typify every Monday for whatever reason.

  • Weezer’s new album comes out tomorrow. I am very excited about it, because they are one of my favorite bands. I am listening to it now, and it is definitely different than their previous records, but I think that I will really like it in the end. I always get excited when my favorite bands bring out new records… so far this year, it has been Portishead, Death Cab for Cutie, and now, Weezer; what next!?!?!?
  • I went to the EABF this weekend with Brody and Aimee, and I had a blast. We joked that it was more of a “white wine spritzer” fest for us, because we found ourselves drinking the equivalent; pear ciders galore. Hey, it was hot as fuck, and those damn things are just so tasty and refreshing. I finally tried Purple Haze (I always see it at the store and wonder about it), and it was gross. I am glad I never got any before this weekend. Overall, the day was HOT, but lots of fun. After the festival, Brody and Aimee came over for some Guitar Hero/Rock Band, and some pizza. After that, I tanked (at like 7), and didn’t wake up until 10:30. Sometimes, I think I could literally sleep forever. Either way, it was a kick ass day, and I am glad that I had such a great time with great friends.
  • I think that my ears might be almost healed. If not almost healed, they are definitely getting close. I can’t wait until I get some new jewelery for them!
  • I don’t do as much photography as I want to… I need to figure out how to remedy that; fast. We are going to Chattanooga for James’ thirtieth this weekend, so I am sure that I will be taking lots of nature pictures, so I guess that is something to look forward to with regards to that.
  • The Mole starts tonight, and I am having over some friends that I have known since high school to watch it. I can’t wait, because I LOVED this show back in the day… I just hope that it is just as good post-Anderson Cooper.
  • I felt like I had more than that, but I guess that’s about it. Hmmm… Not a lot going on with me these days, I guess.

all about me, mixed media, the catch-all-egory

my new curve

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Yesterday, at lunch, I wondered aloud to my friend Deb about how long I had to wait until I get a new phone… I am on Verizon, and I have recently started getting the itch that the end of my two years was coming up soon (around the summer usually), so when I got back to the office, I called customer service to see when I could succumb to my need for new technology. Turns out, I have been eligible since early April (thanks for telling me! Sheesh!), so off to the Verizon store I went.

When I got my Motorola Q, I really wanted a Blackberry, but at the time, there weren’t any available that had cameras, and none of those were good enough to make me want to give up having a camera on my phone. Well, recently, the Pearl came out, and I had originally thought about getting it when I had a chance, but after playing with the kinda-qwerty keyboard, I was pretty sure that preferred having a full qwerty at my disposal. After a few minutes of looking on the Verizon website, I had found what the very thing that I wanted: the Blackberry Curve. It is smaller than my Motorola Q, and it does EVERYTHING I want in a phone: email, pictures, internets, texting, qwerty keyboard, and my most wanted feature… IM.

So like I said, I was off to the Verizon store to cash in my $100 towards a new Curve. I also found out that I could get James a phone for free, so I got him the LG VX5400, which has everything his Motorola Razr has, but is just newer, more lightweight, and frankly, a bit cuter. The jury is still out on whether he likes it or not, but I have to say, that the Curve is like the best phone EVER. Seriously, I still joke that I would get my old StarTAC back in a second (I totally would), because it was the best phone I have ever had; but the Curve comes in a very, very close second. This phone rocks. The camera is great, and the internet is lightening fast. Also, I get to use the Blackberry internet plan, which is $20 cheaper than my old one. Rock!!

All in all, I got two phones, cashed in my $100 on mine, and ended up with a rebate of $100 instantly, and $50 mail in; making my Curve only $50. I am extremely happy with my purchase, and being that it was long overdue for a new phone, I couldn’t be happier that it all happened this week. So, if you have IM, make sure to hit me up; I am on yahoo (duanecmoody), AIM (theduanemoody), and even the Blackberry messenger (which I am pretty sure is only for peeps with Blackberrys).

I love a good deal, and this one was just too great not to blog about… not to mention the high I am riding after getting a shiny new piece of electronic equipment to play with!!!! Everyone loves that, right?!?! I also ordered an orange silicon case for it; which I can’t wait for. So far, I have nothing but love for the Curve! Good show, Blackberry!

"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, listen up!, music musings, music suggestion, the catch-all-egory

listless on monday… not I!

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Well, there seems to be so many thoughts going through my head right now, that I figure it’s time for a good old fashioned Monday list, dig?

Let’s do this!

  • I took my Anatomy lab final last week, and I have my last two finals this week. I can’t tell you how much I want to be done with Anatomy. Seriously, the level of detail in this class is RIDICULOUS, and if you have taken it, you know that there is no reason to take this class other than to fulfill a requirement. I think that is what pisses me off the most about it, is because they are not teaching it to you for you to learn it, they are teaching it to you in order to force you to think whether you really want to do whatever required this class. Seriously, you will never, I repeat NEVER need to know the level of detail that we covered this year in two classes. And if you do, chances are about 99% that your job title will be Anatomist, or Anatomy teacher. So yeah. I can’t wait until these finals are in the bag.
  • I am taking the summer off from classes. I recently came to the realization that I should focus on getting my RN, and then I can get my BSN through an online bridge once I start working as a nurse. This means that I will be applying for the Spring of ’09, which gives me the chance to take Micro in the fall, and still meet the requirements for admission. I really, really hope I can get in, because I want to keep this train moving!
  • There have been some great CDs coming out since the beginning of the year, but tomorrow marks two great releases; both of which are WAY overdue, and one that it is utterly brilliant. Tomorrow, there is a new Portishead CD coming out (the first in 10 years!!!), and after several listens, I can definitely tell you that it is a solid record. It grows on me with each listen. Also, FINALLY, Robyn‘s self titled fourth CD comes out here in the USA; even though it came out way back in 2005 overseas. However, I can guarantee you that I will use every bit of liberty in this new release date, and this CD WILL be on my top CDs of 2008 list, because I have wanted to include it for 2 years now, but couldn’t because it came out in 2005. I swore to myself that if it ever did drop in the US, that it would make this list, because this CD is brilliant (five stars, easy), and has definitely stood the test of time. It is an amazing pop record, and you owe it to yourself to pick it up tomorrow.
  • I have really (much more than I expected) been enjoying Mariah’s new CD as well. It is actually VERY well done. I know that it is supposed to be a continuation of the Emancipation of Mimi, but I definitely think that it surpasses her previous record by leaps and bounds. It is rare that I listen to a hip hop record and really like every song, and with this new release, Mariah may have made a record that does that for me. There are a few songs that I would make minor changes to, but overall, it’s pretty amazing. Good show Mariah! I didn’t see that one coming at all, but then again, that is the best when you get surprised by good music from unexpected places, now isn’t it?
  • Also speaking of music, this week I get to see the amazing Sara Bareilles in concert. I think that it goes without saying that I can’t wait for that!!!!
  • Other than school and music, I guess there isn’t TOO much going on with me. I have come down with a SERIOUS case of anhedonia lately, otherwise known as a case of FUCK IT, which couldn’t have worse timing (finals week!). Things have been up and down at the house, from unexpected water leaks, to having to install kick-proof guards on our doors because the neighbor’s house had the front door kicked in. I am just glad we did it BEFORE something happened at our place… it is much better to spend the $80 up front than have your house broken into (and I am not saying that it means we can’t get broken into, but this makes it almost impossible to kick the door in… I saw the video online… and that is the way they usually break in).
  • Anything else going on… hmm, not sure. If I think of anything, I will update as necessary. Until then, what is going on with you guys??
  • Finally, related to the aforementioned love for Mariah’s newest CD, I think that the following performance (video below), and her reaction during it, make me love her just that much more. As seen on chart rigger, Mariah’s back up singer sang over her during one part of the song (at 3:06), and Mimi bitchily reminded miss thang that she had better “stop singing her part now, baby”. Damn, that was ice cold!! I love it!!! Seriously though, if you don’t want to back up a diva like Mariah, and you think you should be in the lead, why not do it instead of working for her?? She is the diva, not you, so you need to get used to it. It just makes me love Mimi even more, and I glad that I got to see it. Get her Mimi! HAHAHAHAHA!

all about me, flickr, happenings, hmm interesting, photography, the catch-all-egory, wtf?!

first class, free drill, and a huge fucking owl!

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Recently (yesterday), I booked my flight for a trip I am taking to NYC in July, and I decided I should use those sky miles that I have been holding onto for years now. Well, I had no idea, but if you book with sky miles, you fly first class. It wouldn’t even let me choose a seat outside of first class. Sweet!! Now that was a great surprise, and I am looking forward to flying first class… for only $5!

James went to Lowes to get us a new trash can and some odds and ends, and thought he should pick up a new corded drill, because every time we need the drill we currently have, the batteries are dead. Well, when he got home, he pulled out the receipt, and noticed that the drill was not listed anywhere on it. Ladies and gents, we have ourselves a free drill, courtesy of the not-very-detail-oriented cashier at Lowes! Is it bad that the only thing I said to him, upon finding out that he didn’t pay for it, was “you know, it would only suck if we needed to take it back for some reason”? Yeah… free drills acquired through no fault of your own are pretty much a gift as far as I’m concerned.

it's an owl!Finally, last night, I was playing Xbox 360, and James went out to go to the store. As soon as he gets outside, I hear him screaming my name, but since he is always over-reacting to things, I took my time to get up and see what was going on. Turns out, it wasn’t typical James shenanigans, but instead, there was a HUGE owl sitting on top of his car; which was parked about 5 feet from the house in the driveway. Now, for those that don’t know it, we have a koi point right in front of the front porch, to the left of the driveway (if you are looking from the porch to the road), and there are always squirrels and other small critters trying to nab our fish. We have a “anti-pest” net on top of the pond, but occasionally, we will see a cat or a squirrel scurry away when we come out onto the porch. Well, I can honestly say that last night was a first; the owl was sitting on the top of James’ car looking down at the water. It was freaky that it was so close to us!!! I ran inside to get my camera, and sure enough, the batteries were completely dead. Nice. Well, I managed to get the back up battery pack in, and even got a picture of the thing (which I didn’t know until today that it actually came out… click on it for a bigger version). It was so big too, and the freaky thing, was it just kept looking at us the whole time it was sitting there. It flew back and forth to the tree at the end of the yard a few times, each time, coming back to the spot on top of James’ truck. We are going to try and feed the fish at night and see if it brings the owl back, because it goes without saying that the owl encounter was pretty freaking cool… I would also like to get a better picture if I can; even though I am elated that the ONLY one I took actually came out pretty decent!