Category: the catch-all-egory

"pointless", all about me, music musings, the catch-all-egory

OCD gets the best of me…

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Kinda like Sophie Ellis Bextor, but with less panache. Basically, I have spent most of the afternoon organizing my iTunes library, so the damn album art will show up when you are playing the song on my ipod. You would be surprised at how many you have to manually put in there. At least I figured out how to do multiple items at the same time… that was uber frustrating at first.

Today has been pretty productive, I guess, because there is nothing like a little order to make things all better. We babysat for a good friend this morning, and ever since, the relaxation and organization have been a good team.

The only way it could be any better, is if I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow… but I guess you can’t have everything, right?

Since I have been spending so much time in front of iTunes today, I picked up several new CDs to check out. Here’s the list:
Mark Ronson – Version
James Morrison – Undiscovered
Ray Lamontagne – Trouble
Fall Out Boy – Infinity On High
Linkin Park – Minutes To Midnight
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Melee – Angels and Demons

So far, on initial listens, I am liking a lot of what I am hearing. As always, let me know what you are checking out! Share and share alike, right?

"pointless", all about me, the catch-all-egory, tragic, venting

disconnected

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I feel like I am disconnected from my body, and I am just on the inside looking out while it moves forward with the day to day routine. It is definitely a weird feeling, and it just makes me feel terribly uncomfortable, being disconnected from myself.

I don’t feel out of control, I just feel powerless. I feel run down, like someone forgot to charge me or something. I don’t like this feeling, and hope it goes away soon.

Someone egged my car last night, too. WTF is that about? I mean, it is just a random fucking Wednesday, and you egg my car? James is going to check the camera archive to see if there is video of it. If there is, then I will you tube it, and put it on here for all to see. Perhaps we can even make out who did it, which would at least be cool to see who the jerks are. Either way, it isn’t that big of a deal, but it just pisses me off. I just don’t understand why people have to destroy or vandalize other people’s stuff. I never did anything like that when I was a kid or a teenager, and I just don’t get the motivation behind it. I hope whatever they needed to get from egging my car was achieved, and hope that they don’t need to do it again.

I also got my new ipod skin, and I don’t know how I feel about it. It is pretty, but it is almost slippery; and it isn’t the iskin that I had. I don’t like change. Either way, there will be pictures post haste on flickr. No buyers remorse or anything, just a period of adjustment. It seems that everything is turning into a period of adjustment.

Tonight is the APWBWGTTD, so I hope that I feel more connected and like myself before then. If not, I might just skip it. I don’t like being in this state, and it certainly doesn’t add to being comfortable around others. I guess we’ll see where it goes over the next few hours.

Ugh. Meeting in 30 minutes. I should have stayed in bed.

all about me, is it just me?, listen up!, politics, that is so gay, the catch-all-egory, venting

thinking on tuesday: the results

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See! Sexual orientation is not a choice! Science is doing what it can to prove what we “sexual deviants” have always known to be true. Now, getting people to accept it… that’s the tricky part.

I don’t see how an anti-American protest and a call for American forces to leave Iraq on the 4th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad shows “progress” in the “war on terror”. To me, that just gives us more and more face time with the reality that we shouldn’t be there at all. The progress will come when we stop occupying a country that we have no business occupying. Sure, they weren’t able to assemble like that under Saddam (which is why it was touted as progress), but, uh, can’t we see that WE are their enemy? We weren’t the enemy before the war, so apparently, the progress here is in creating new enemies for ourselves.

On another war related thought, why don’t we hear more about the American troops that are killed every day in Iraq? I mean, there were 30 some odd troops killed over the weekend, and I don’t see that article or that reference anywhere. Instead, you have idiots like Mccain saying that Iraq is actually safer, speaking from under his body armor and from inside his heavily guarded human border. If Iraq is getting safer, how come more than a hundred people are killed there almost every day? That doesn’t sound very safe to me, especially since violence is surging in other parts of Iraq. So I guess “saving” Baghdad is all we need to say that things are going great? Gah.

Who the fuck eats peeps? I mean, they are pretty and all, but they are fucking gross. I love marshmallows, and I wonder why they had to ruin them by coating them in sugar. Who even eats just sugar anyway? It is gross! I did get a bunch of them though, and have been, and will continue to, take pictures of them. Like I said, they are pretty.

I worried about Sydney. He is still not feeling well, and I am letting my emotions get the better of me. I hope that he is back to normal very soon. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him. I pray that nothing will.

Drinking every day is not a bad thing. Nope, not at all. Would you like another glass of wine?

I am really looking forward to dinner and drinks with my friends tonight. I love spending time with good friends.

That’s about it.

hmm interesting, the catch-all-egory

good to know…

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Yesterday, I had a cookout for a few good friends of mine, and we had a problem getting the grill going when it was time to prepare the meat. Basically, every time it gets cold outside, our grill (which is a gas grill), has a problem heating up, because the flames stay low, and the gas doesn’t want to come out quickly for whatever reason. I knew that this was because the gas in the tank is actually liquid, and it turns to gas when it is released (at least, that is what I think it does), and because of the cold, it just does it slower. Well, we have never been able to remedy that situation before, and I thought that all was lost, until, low and behold, we stumbled on an accidental solution!!!

Basically, there is a place on the side of the tank that you can pour hot water on to test and see how much gas you have left. To be sure that it wasn’t low on gas, and that was actually the problem, I conducted the test. Much to my surprise, pouring hot water on the tank made the flames come out much faster and more intense! It was almost instantaneous! So, I took a few more glasses of hot water out, and doused the sides of the tank, and we were back in business! The temperature quickly rose to where it needed to be, and all was saved. I was pleasantly surprised to find this accidental solution, especially because this problem has plagued us before, and we could never think of a solution. Well, that is something that is defeinitely good to know!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and hope you have a relaxing and happy Easter as well!

hmm interesting, near and dear, the catch-all-egory

what next…

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I was awoken by a familiar sound this morning, a sound you don’t like to hear; a dog barfing in my bed. Poor little guy wasn’t feeling good, and proceeded to hack and upchuck every 30 minutes or so for a few hours. I held him and hopefully, I made him feel better. I am going to take him up to the vet this afternoon just to have him checked out; this is the second time he has thrown up dog food since this whole recall fiasco. I am seriously freaked out to maximum right now, and really hope that nothing happens to my little baby. I will update as necessary, but right now, he at least seems to be feeling better. I do know one thing for sure; there will be NO MORE dog food in his bowl for a while. No more treats either, which he is going to hate! I will have to think of a substitute…

Also, there was apparently a high speed police chase this morning, in which 2 suspects were apprehended, and another is on the loose. The best part is, that the chase ended like 2 blocks from my house, interestingly enough on the street where my friend Deb lives. I have heard helicopters swarming overhead all morning; it is good to know what they are looking for… but bad to know it is just outside my door!! Ah, the joys of hood living, right? I hope that they catch whoever they are looking for without further incident. This is the type of thing that really freaks me out. Add that to the puppy sickness, I am all wound up this afternoon!

Alright… off to the vet! Here’s hoping little man is alright, and just had a little bout of upset tummy. I can’t handle much else.

UPDATE: Apparently, he is fine, it was just a bout of tummy ache. He got a shot and some medicine, set me back $50, and got a new toy out of the deal. Mr. dog is doing well.

"pointless", all about me, show the love, the catch-all-egory

on a high

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Who needs anti-depression meds when you can just buy things!?! Seriously, I feel so bouncy and happy today, all because I have some shiny new things at home. It doesn’t come from the items themselves, but it was the actual “getting new things” that does it. It could have been anything. But this boy loves his technology, and I got a hefty dose of it.

And yes, I did need a new ipod. At least, that is what I keep telling myself. LOL I did order this kick ass skin for it from ifrogz.com (papaya wrap with the mandarin band, in case you were curious). I was going to go with my tried and totally trusted iskin, but the motherfuckers decided not to make orange cases anymore, and I am sorry, but that is just rude. I was holding out hoping that they would eventually add orange to their colors, like they always had, but no dice. They should realize that not everyone likes generic blue, red, pink, white, green, etc.; some people actually like vibrant colors, and ifrogz has my back. I can’t wait for it to arrive. I might have to just use to the old ipod until the case arrives, so that I won’t scratch up my new baby. Oh yeah, his name is Charlie. How cute is that?

As for the computer, I am IN LOVE with Vista. Perhaps, I am more in love with the fact that my computer actually does what you want when you click on something now. And it does it fast. When you drag a set of mp3s to make an itunes playlist, it takes less that 1/2 of a second, before, it took like 20 seconds. No lie. HUGE improvement. I don’t know why I waited so long to get a new PC, but I am glad that I finally did. Vista is pretty, but a bit muddled, as they make simple tasks difficult to figure out. It took me like 20 minutes to map my home network; although, to give it credit, it jumped right on the network upon just plugging in the ethernet cord. I guess you can’t have everything. I am going to attempt to burn a DVD tonight, and hope that it goes smoothly; after all, that was one of the reasons I wanted a new PC.

That’s about it for me today; it is difficult to concentrate, but that isn’t a bad thing… I am riding that retail therapy high. It feels really good. I can’t wait to get home and organize my music on my new PC, as I discovered that MOST of the music on my other ipod isn’t on my hard drive anywhere. Oh well… something for me to do! I also want to get some videos on there, that will be cool.

James is on spring break this week, and will be leaving me and Sydney all alone from Wednesday to Sunday. If there is anyone out there that wants to do something, this is the week to do it, because I will have access to lots of free time. Anyone interested in doing something one, two, or all of those nights?? Let me know! I am ready to hang, ya’ll!

Hope your Monday is going well!

all about me, happenings, listen up!, the catch-all-egory

I want to be a part of it…

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NEW YORK!

NEW YORK!!!

Today, I am off to NYC for a few days, for work. I am excited to go to the big apple, because last time I was there it was BITTER cold, and I was uber sick. I am going to take my camera with me (not my SLR, even though I know that I probably should, I am just not feeling comfortable about taking it for whatever reason), and hope to have a little fun and get some pictures of the city. I am very excited to be seeing my friend Steve while I am there, even though I still have to do some work too.

I will only have my Q for email and such, so I won’t be posting any long responses to comments. Feel free to leave them though, and I will do my best to address them when I return. Here’s looking forward to fun in NYC! I also hope to catch a show while I am there!!!

See you when I get home!

Now I am off to the store to by travel sized tooth paste and what not, because of the crazy flight regulations. I won’t be throwing it away this time, airport security man!!!

[fyi, this image isn’t mine. I will try to get some pictures while I am there, and they will eventually find their way to flickr.]

blog on blog, music musings, show the love, the catch-all-egory

beware the ides of march!

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Today is the day that Julius Caesar was famously murdered by his friends and fellow senate members way back in 44BC. Lesson? Pay attention when someone disagrees with you, they may stab you in the back to get their way. (But they got theirs in the end) Either way, I remember when I was in high school, our Latin teacher had us wear togas to school on this day; I never did, but always wanted to. Maybe I will wear one tonight in remembrance of Caesar…

Last night was the monthly APWBWGTTD meet up, and there were two new faces at the table: Richard (not Robert!), and Leah, both of which were nice to meet in person. Among other things, it the potential of moving the event to another night was discussed, perhaps Thursdays; mostly because there are SEVERAL groups that meet at Manuel’s on Wednesdays. Any other suggestions? I really like meeting at Manuel’s, so I think that one day later (Thursday’s) would be fine with me. Also, let it be known that the person that wanted the meetings on Wednesday has not been to a single one since we started having them on Wednesdays (where oh where are you?!). I’m just saying. Either way, last night was a lot of fun, and I managed to break a bottle of hot sauce on my way out of the restaurant. Classy. Thanks to Barry for making the napkin happen, and even more for posting it online. I am curious now though… I want to at least see what this cone is all about in person; without needing to “interact” with it. Also, it is agreed that Firefox is much better than IE, so stop using it if you are still holding out. I will send out an evite for next months meet up when I get your thoughts about the day, okay? (UPDATE: Leah provided me with a picture of the saucetastrophy (above), so I had to include it. Such sauce carnage… sigh)

Also, I turned on my ipod today, and put it on shuffle, only to hear a song that totally takes me back. I love when there are songs that can do that, put you right back where you were when you first heard it, or when you discovered it and started listening to it over and over. There aren’t many albums that do that to me anymore, but Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins will always be one of those albums. Just in case you wanted to know, the song was Hummer. God I love that record. Anyways…

I’m just doing too much thinking today, and will save you from it, but just know that my brain is full. Difficult to concentrate pretty much sums it up. Hope that everyone else is having a great day; I’m also plagued with a crick in my neck because I apparently fell asleep (according to James) with my head hanging off of the couch. Sweet. I mean, OW!

all about me, hotness, listen up!, mixed media, music musings, near and dear, politics, the catch-all-egory, venting

the wednesday run-down

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Today, there are 5 distinct thoughts running through my head, so I thought I would give you a run down. In summation, here it is: 1) come on Dems!, 2) get this CD NOW, 3) examining relationships, 4) buying too much stuff?, and finally 5) comments on TV things. Let’s get started, but let’s keep it brief.

First of all, most people don’t think that I am critical (enough) of the Democrats actions. They are wrong. This is just great; now we can EXPECT an attack on Iran. Why were these guidelines abandoned? This just seems to keep getting worse and worse; if we don’t at least put caps and regulations on things, then things will continue to go in the same direction, and there will be NO changes. That can’t be allowed to happen! We need to send a message, that is LOUD and CLEAR to the president; no more occupation! No more war! Things just seem to be idling along, while real action needs to be taken. This is seriously disappointing, to say the least. UGH. We need some people that will take real action, fast.

In lighter fare, I am proud to announce the American release of a GREAT UK artist’s sophomore disc, entitled Back to Black. It is none other than the fantastical Amy Winehouse, and you must do yourself a favor and buy this CD today. It is only $8 at Target and Best Buy, and it is definitely $8 well spent. Let’s show our appreciation for bringing great artists to our shores, rather than leaving them as imports. Amy’s voice is an old classic voice, much like Billy Holiday, and it has power, class, soul, and life. The music is fantastic, like a hip hop jazz, and you will enjoy this if you enjoy great music. Do yourself a favor and pick it up today!

Relationships. UGH. Sometimes they are great. Sometimes they suck. Sometimes you realize that certain relationships in your life are not worth fighting for, but for whatever reason, they go on, because you let them. You don’t want yourself to be like them, so you do your part; even when they don’t do theirs. All that leads to is frustration, and the occasional cryptic portion of a blog post. I am just wondering what I will do next time they take it upon themselves to call. Perhaps I will just let it go for months on end, as it seems they prefer to do themselves; or maybe I will do what I did this time, and just suck it up, and sit through another fake attempt to maintain something that isn’t really there in the first place. Oh well… we’ll see. Relationships can really take it out of you. Thank God for the good ones.

I spent a lot of money yesterday and goodies that made me feel better. Sometimes, you just gotta pull out that card and swipe it. I am glad that I did, but I need to calm down. This is kind of a suggestion and a reminder of that need. Retail therapy! WOO!

Finally, I just want to say this, if you watch 24, were you not extremely excited that Martha came back this week? Even more than that, can you BELIEVE what she did to Logan?!?!? I LOVE YOU JEAN SMART!!!! YAY! Also, if that Sanjaya Malakar makes it through, I will be PISSED. Melinda, girl, you are my favorite, and I hope you win. Lastly, I wouldn’t mind having a three-way (or a four way if James wants in) with Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis. Those boys are hot AND they can sing!

Hope everyone is having a great hump day! That’s the run-down! I’m out!

flickr, movie musings, photography, the catch-all-egory

zodiac and a new lens

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So last night, we went with Barry and Rebekah to check out the newest Jake Gyllenhaal flick, Zodiac. For those of you that know me, know that I love all things Gyllenhaal (Maggie included!), so there was no way I was going to be able to wait for this movie to make its way to DVD. So, I braved the Friday night movie crowds (those of you that know me well, know that I HATE going to the movies on opening night… crowds make me angry), and we managed to have no problem sitting together, thanks to Daniel and Andrew meeting us at the movie, and saving us four chairs. Score!! So just before the movie, when we were eating dinner, Barry mentions that the movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes long… uh, I wasn’t expecting that, but nevertheless, I was excited to see a new Gyllenhaal movie. So we made our way into the theater, settled in, and watched Zodiac. While it definitely was a long movie (seriously, almost 3 hours long, remember!), it was actually really good. There was lots of “thriller” moments, and there was actually a bunch of surprisingly vivid violence in the recreation of the Zodiac’s killings. It really captured the hysteria of the time, being that a mass murderer was just out there killing people, and no one knew who he was or where to look for him. Surprisingly, there was actually quite a bit of humor in the movie, which cut the suspense very nicely. Most of that came from Robert Downey Jr., which was nice and welcome in this serious movie. It was also cool how they followed the reporters and the police as they worked to try and uncover who the killer was before he killed again. Eventually, the police give up, and Jake’s character takes it upon himself to find out who Zodiac is years later, while writing a book about him. Overall, I really liked the movie, and I will definitely get it for our collection when it hits DVD. The only thing that I didn’t really like (even though it was totally necessary), was the continual splicing together of scenes labeled with how much later they were than the previous scene (i.e., 2 months later…). They did that A LOT in the film, and it was a little distracting, but overall, I really liked it. I’ll give it a five out of six (); perhaps another viewing will make that go up, because I get distracted in the theater sometimes, and all that time jumping plus the almost 3 hour movie proved to be a little distracting. Either way, that’s what I thought, now you go see it! [picture from iheartjakemedia.com]

drinks anyone?Other than that, I am completely reeling over my newest purchase; I got a new (very inexpensive) lens for my camera. The lens is a 50mm f1.8, which is awesome, because it has a wicked aperture, allowing me to do awesome DOF things. I am in love with it. I messed around a little yesterday, and got some pretty great pictures. I look forward to learning more and more about it, and hopefully, I will just get better with time. To the right is one of the pictures that I took yesterday (if you want to see it bigger, click on it, and it will take you to the flickr page). What do you think? (you can see the rest on my flickr page) I am impressed with how well this camera handles, and the impressive pictures that come out of it. YAY great purchase!

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend, and relaxing accordingly. We are going to have a rousing Wii Boxing game this afternoon as our workout, and then hang out with friends tonight and tomorrow night. God, weekends are the best. I wish they lasted longer!!!