It is the eve of the day that begins the month which culminates with my favorite holiday: Halloween.
As I watch the sun throw up it's last pitifully unanswered cries for help, while the mountains obscure it's grizzly fate - drowned in the cruel pacific - I focus every fiber of my being on the self-restraint it will take to refrain from the sugary sweet goodness of candy corn for another four hours. How can a simple mixture of sugar, corn syrup, egg whites, honey, soy protein, salt, artificial flavors, confectioner's glaze, carnauba wax, and artificial dyes including red 7, yellow 5, and yellow 3 taste so good?
Did You Ever Think When a Hearse Goes By...
Today after work I stopped by Experts Only Collision to pay my final respects to Gretchen and to search her mangled corpse for valuables.
All told she held: a bottle of laundry detergent, my other hobo-glove (whose mate is my favorite pot-holder), three dirty socks, Chaucer's Canturbury Tales, four quarters, and about 643 pens.
It's funny how little I mourn the passing of the lesbian in my life when I consider how attached I was to my Oldsmobile in high school. Maybe it's because the times spent in Gretchen weren't nearly as good as those spent in the Olds, but I should feel some gratitude towards her for getting me through three years of Hillsdale and the move to Colorado.
She's carted more than her share of odiferous highschoolers to and from Young Life, she's been borrowed and battered by nearly everyone I know. She's driven to Chicago without me. She's crossed the Missippi and climbed mountains while bearing my only wordly possessions. And now, like my bike, my savings, my dignity and my will to live, Colorado has taken her from me.
Rest in peace Gretch. May the spirit of Henry Ford, from whom all cars come and to whom they must all return, take kindlier to homosexuals than the God of Abraham and Isaac.
Also, the Fantasy Book Store on Platte does not have The Hobbit. Really they don't have any of the sort of books you're looking for. Really, it isn't that kind of fantasy book store.
September 30, 2008
September 29, 2008
Freedom 90
St. Dracula (the patron saint of Halloween that I made up today) has sent me numerous blessings in preparation for the fast-approaching season.Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead
1. Mallory is coming. I'll have a great friend from home in the Springs for a week beginning this Thursday (just in time to start Halloween right).
2. I've received a standing invitation to watch Heroes and, much like St. Dracula hisself, I can't go anywhere without being explicitly invited (I also don't like mirrors, though I love garlic... hmm...).
3. Gretchen is dead. That's right my woman-loving car is totalled. It took a month for the verdict to come down, but it has been made and she's gone. Hot stuff. The settlement will pay off Gretchen and give me money left over for a down payment and trip to Boston. Turns out this whole thing was serendipitous after all.
Prepare yourselves for my favorite month. It's going to rock the flesh off from your bones.
Only 48 more hours remain in my candy corn fast, then the blood hits the fan (like in the movie Carrie) and I force you, once again, to love everything I do, or to be bored out of your mind for an extended period of time - speaking of which, tonight is Heroes which means tomorrow will be an all-Heroes post. Eat my ectoplasm.
Love Halloween like I do? Let me know what your reason for the season is and how you'll be spending it - disembowelling your loved ones, I hope.
September 28, 2008
Sunday Morning
Sundays are always beautiful. First sleeping until 10am, then heading to mass and people watching, then to Wal-Mart or Safeway for weekly groceries and more of the same. The rest of the day is up for grabs - a little schoolwork, a little reading, some time at the library - trying to find the perfect combination of routine and spontaneity.
With the introduction of a table my house is starting to actually feel livable:
My favorite block downtown just got a new mural, I'm fine with Barack being portrayed as Lincoln as long as he actually grows the beard. I will not be fine, however, when I see the first picture of him photoshopped onto a crucifix (I give it a week).
Also, Sunday's have the added perk of a new batch of secrets at PostSecret online.
Tomorrow begins a new week of school, and brings a new episode of Heroes (any takers?).
With the introduction of a table my house is starting to actually feel livable:
My favorite block downtown just got a new mural, I'm fine with Barack being portrayed as Lincoln as long as he actually grows the beard. I will not be fine, however, when I see the first picture of him photoshopped onto a crucifix (I give it a week).
Also, Sunday's have the added perk of a new batch of secrets at PostSecret online.Tomorrow begins a new week of school, and brings a new episode of Heroes (any takers?).
September 27, 2008
On The Radio
I still have my rental car. I called my mechanic again last Monday to ask what decision had been made - was my car totalled, or was he going ahead with the work - and, flabbergasted, he responded that he had called my claims adjuster half a dozen times, only to find out that he was taking a week-long vacation.
So, that means that a verdict will come in on Gretchen, at best, by this Tuesday (the adjuster has to come down from Denver to look at her) and if she's dead I'll have a week and a half more of the rental to find a new car, and if she isn't I'll have at least a week and a half of waiting for her to get fixed. What I like to call a "groundhog situation."
The DL on XM
A couple weeks ago I was super excited about the fact that my rental came with XM radio, and strangely I found that the "'40's" station could hold my attention the longest, with "Nashville" coming in a close second. At first I was super-impressed by XM. The 90's station wasn't playing songs like "Jenny From The Block" or Inrique Iglesias' "Hero," it was bumping jams like "One Headlight," "What I Got," and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It."
By the same token "Nashville" wasn't playing "Redneck Woman" or "Save a Horse..." it was playing "When You Walk In" (early Lonestar) and "Indian Outlaw" (early Tim McGraw).
But, as fate would have it, my XM was only a trial and ceased to function on the same day that I found out I would be driving my rental for another two weeks.
I love resources like Pandora and XM because they prove that somewhere it is in someone's best economic interest to produce a quality product, and to cater to a group other than the "I Kissed A Girl"-loving multitude.
Also, I love that someone is trying to improve radio, while still holding to the principles that make radio great. While I know that at any time I begin a roadtrip I could use my iTrip to blast "Life is a Highway" and start things off right, I would much, much rather have "Life is a Highway" come up randomly on the radio 1 in 1000 times and know that the powers that be have blessed my trip.
The radio is beautiful because it is random, whenever I go back to it I'm always happy I did, and I feel a little guilty that I've had the mp3-player-strangle-hold over my musical life for so long.
So, let loose today, turn on the radio and hear the soundtrack to your life that you've been ignoring.
Also, I want ya'll to know that I came across my old CD wallet this week and, for the first time since freshman year of college, actually had a CD player. So, I've been listening to:
1. The Remix (a great CD Pat made me in high school), highlights: "Hot Stepper" and "Sundown"
2. High School Soundtrack (a CD I made for my walk to school senior year), highlights: "Authority Song" by Jimmy Eat World and "Fire Escape" by Fastball
3. Senior Year (a perfect mix of songs, none of which I can actually listen to because the emotion is still too raw), highlights: "Told You So" by BNL and "Champagne High" by Sister Hazel
So, that means that a verdict will come in on Gretchen, at best, by this Tuesday (the adjuster has to come down from Denver to look at her) and if she's dead I'll have a week and a half more of the rental to find a new car, and if she isn't I'll have at least a week and a half of waiting for her to get fixed. What I like to call a "groundhog situation."
The DL on XM
A couple weeks ago I was super excited about the fact that my rental came with XM radio, and strangely I found that the "'40's" station could hold my attention the longest, with "Nashville" coming in a close second. At first I was super-impressed by XM. The 90's station wasn't playing songs like "Jenny From The Block" or Inrique Iglesias' "Hero," it was bumping jams like "One Headlight," "What I Got," and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It."
By the same token "Nashville" wasn't playing "Redneck Woman" or "Save a Horse..." it was playing "When You Walk In" (early Lonestar) and "Indian Outlaw" (early Tim McGraw).
But, as fate would have it, my XM was only a trial and ceased to function on the same day that I found out I would be driving my rental for another two weeks.
I love resources like Pandora and XM because they prove that somewhere it is in someone's best economic interest to produce a quality product, and to cater to a group other than the "I Kissed A Girl"-loving multitude.
Also, I love that someone is trying to improve radio, while still holding to the principles that make radio great. While I know that at any time I begin a roadtrip I could use my iTrip to blast "Life is a Highway" and start things off right, I would much, much rather have "Life is a Highway" come up randomly on the radio 1 in 1000 times and know that the powers that be have blessed my trip.
The radio is beautiful because it is random, whenever I go back to it I'm always happy I did, and I feel a little guilty that I've had the mp3-player-strangle-hold over my musical life for so long.
So, let loose today, turn on the radio and hear the soundtrack to your life that you've been ignoring.
Also, I want ya'll to know that I came across my old CD wallet this week and, for the first time since freshman year of college, actually had a CD player. So, I've been listening to:
1. The Remix (a great CD Pat made me in high school), highlights: "Hot Stepper" and "Sundown"
2. High School Soundtrack (a CD I made for my walk to school senior year), highlights: "Authority Song" by Jimmy Eat World and "Fire Escape" by Fastball
3. Senior Year (a perfect mix of songs, none of which I can actually listen to because the emotion is still too raw), highlights: "Told You So" by BNL and "Champagne High" by Sister Hazel
September 26, 2008
Friday I'm in Love
Did you know that Friday in latin in dies Veneris, the day of Venus, goddess of love?
Turns out The Cure was more cultured than we all thought. And that the Romans loved Friday as much as we do.
Turns out The Cure was more cultured than we all thought. And that the Romans loved Friday as much as we do.
Too Little, Too Late
Today is going to be big. How big? Well, I'm predicting to double the highest number of people my house has held since the beginning of September. That's right, there will be at least, if not more than, two individuals in my apartment. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this weekend could possibly even see triple the previous record population of my apartment since Brad and Leroy left, that would mean nearly three souls all told.
Not Your Left, The Chair's Left
But seriously, starting tomorrow I'll be having a guest at the bachelor pad for the next several days, which is wonderfully exciting and unreasonably stressful.
Surely not stressful enough, however, to make me actually begin cleaning my house more than two hours before bedtime the night before, or to actually try putting together the table and chairs that I bought last weekend until, after learning eight wrong ways to put together a chair, I finally do it right two times and don't have enough time to finish the other two chairs.
I also Boraxed every horizontal surface in my house, Windexed every vertical surface, and attempted to hang too-small pictures on everything in between.
But more importantly:
P.S. Pretty sure I just got borax in my eye.
P.P.S. If I don't get 3 more comments on the Heroes post I will end myself.
P.P.P.S. I also bought sheets today. Don't ask.
P.P.P.PS. I freaking love lolcats.
And most importantly, the song that lends its name to this entry is too good to waste on a post this crappy, I reserve the right to use it again.
Not Your Left, The Chair's Left
But seriously, starting tomorrow I'll be having a guest at the bachelor pad for the next several days, which is wonderfully exciting and unreasonably stressful.
Surely not stressful enough, however, to make me actually begin cleaning my house more than two hours before bedtime the night before, or to actually try putting together the table and chairs that I bought last weekend until, after learning eight wrong ways to put together a chair, I finally do it right two times and don't have enough time to finish the other two chairs.
I also Boraxed every horizontal surface in my house, Windexed every vertical surface, and attempted to hang too-small pictures on everything in between.
But more importantly:
P.S. Pretty sure I just got borax in my eye.
P.P.S. If I don't get 3 more comments on the Heroes post I will end myself.
P.P.P.S. I also bought sheets today. Don't ask.
P.P.P.PS. I freaking love lolcats.
And most importantly, the song that lends its name to this entry is too good to waste on a post this crappy, I reserve the right to use it again.
September 24, 2008
Brick
This will be brief, it's late and I have to write a post for tomorrow.
Plus, I'm more than a little downhearted at the non-response to my Heroes post. Evidently you all aren't the culturally affluent people I thought you were. Enjoy Mondays for the next 6 months you yellow-bellied sapsuckers. For shame.
40 Days For Life
Today marks the beginning of the 40 Days For Life campaign, an interdenominational effort to organize the thoughts, prayers, and acts of service of individuals throughout North America trying to end abortion.
I'll be volunteering to pray for an hour a week or so in front of Planned Parenthood. If you are passionate about this topic (and if you aren't passionate you should at least spend some time thinking about why you aren't) you might think of doing the same. If you live in a major U.S. city, then chances are your church is participating, if not, it's not as though you can't think and pray about life-related issues wherever you're at.
I'll probably make remarks on abortion regularly throughout the next forty days, but I'm going to do my best to avoid the term "pro-life". Why? Because I know that there is no sane human being out there who wants to kill babies. The abortion question is not a disagreement at all about whether human life has value, but a disagreement about when human life begins. While defining a period where life begins inherently erodes human dignity, it doesn't mean that there is a faction somewhere that just hates babies.
I personally will continue to err on the side of caution as far as tampering with human life and procreation goes and would encourage you to do the same, but I'm going to try to stay away from mud-slinging, name-calling, etc.
For today all I really have for you is Ben Fold's song "Brick," which is a true story about his reaction after his highschool girlfriend's abortion. Give it a good listen and let me know what you think.
Embedding is disabled so YouTube it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axpuVLQ_m4w
Or just listen to the playlist on the sidebar.
Lyrics:
Six am day after Christmas,
I throw some clothes on in the dark.
The smell of cold,
Car seat is freezing,
The world is sleeping and
I am numb
Up the stairs to her apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
They're not home to find us out
And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
Than I ever have before
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
Shes a brick and I'm drowning slowly...
They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Cant you see
It's not me you're dying for
Now she's feeling more alone
Than she ever has before
Chorus
As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son it's time
To tell the truth
And she broke down and I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying.
Driving back to her apartment,
For the moment we're alone,
She's alone,
And I'm alone,
Now I know it.
Chorus
Plus, I'm more than a little downhearted at the non-response to my Heroes post. Evidently you all aren't the culturally affluent people I thought you were. Enjoy Mondays for the next 6 months you yellow-bellied sapsuckers. For shame.
40 Days For Life
Today marks the beginning of the 40 Days For Life campaign, an interdenominational effort to organize the thoughts, prayers, and acts of service of individuals throughout North America trying to end abortion.
I'll be volunteering to pray for an hour a week or so in front of Planned Parenthood. If you are passionate about this topic (and if you aren't passionate you should at least spend some time thinking about why you aren't) you might think of doing the same. If you live in a major U.S. city, then chances are your church is participating, if not, it's not as though you can't think and pray about life-related issues wherever you're at.
I'll probably make remarks on abortion regularly throughout the next forty days, but I'm going to do my best to avoid the term "pro-life". Why? Because I know that there is no sane human being out there who wants to kill babies. The abortion question is not a disagreement at all about whether human life has value, but a disagreement about when human life begins. While defining a period where life begins inherently erodes human dignity, it doesn't mean that there is a faction somewhere that just hates babies.
I personally will continue to err on the side of caution as far as tampering with human life and procreation goes and would encourage you to do the same, but I'm going to try to stay away from mud-slinging, name-calling, etc.
For today all I really have for you is Ben Fold's song "Brick," which is a true story about his reaction after his highschool girlfriend's abortion. Give it a good listen and let me know what you think.
Embedding is disabled so YouTube it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axpuVLQ_m4w
Or just listen to the playlist on the sidebar.
Lyrics:
Six am day after Christmas,
I throw some clothes on in the dark.
The smell of cold,
Car seat is freezing,
The world is sleeping and
I am numb
Up the stairs to her apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
They're not home to find us out
And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
Than I ever have before
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
Shes a brick and I'm drowning slowly...
They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Cant you see
It's not me you're dying for
Now she's feeling more alone
Than she ever has before
Chorus
As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son it's time
To tell the truth
And she broke down and I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying.
Driving back to her apartment,
For the moment we're alone,
She's alone,
And I'm alone,
Now I know it.
Chorus
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