Oh, nevermind.

I had a nice kinda chilled out weekend. I've been a bit under the weather so I took it easy. I stayed in friday night after a good, productive band practice. Lunch for Choo's birthday on saturday. I'm not sure how I felt about the food but the company was good. Later that afternoon was the big poker tournament over at Jeff's. I did pretty bad. There are all sorts of reasons/excuses (I'm sick, I'm tired, I got bad cards all day) but the bottom line is I lost my cash.

Later that night Joe and I went to a party by the river at a rather large and impressive house where Those Peabodys were playing. The party was kinda boring and the room that the bands played in sounded awful. Left soon and went to random party up north. There was lots to drink at this party (one of the main drawbacks of the first one) but few friends. I stayed for a while then took off leaving Joe to his own devices.

Sunday was very low key. I went with James way the hell outside of town to pick up some drum hardware from an old friend of his so we could have a close to complete kit at my house so Yamal won't have to haul his back and forth. James and I then had lunch at Los Altos by my house. I really don't remember much of the rest of the day. Napped. Read. Watched Carnivale. Went to bed.

Today I finally got to the bottom of one of life's deepest mysteries - what the hell do English monetary terms mean? Thanks to wikipedia, I now know that there used to be 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pence in a shilling (240 pence in a pound) but in 1971 they changed the system and now there are 100 pence in a pound and that shillings no longer exist (except that some call a five pence coin a shilling). Also, a "bob" is old slang for a shilling, as in, "I got a pint of bitter for three bob."

Also, I weigh 13.57 stone.

Oh shit, I forgot to mention Project Gutenberg. It's a website/organization that puts public domain books up on the web as ebooks. I was reading The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham earlier today. This site is pretty rad.

Hey! Here's are some pics from Choo's birthday party the other night.

I just wrote a long post describing my compulsively guilty conscience and while it (my guilty conscience) is still there, I have decided to ignore it for a while.

It's my second day back at work and I have nothing to do. We're having network problems, blah blah blah so I haven't spent all day "organizing my desk" which entails doing a crossword puzzle, catching up on my blog reading, text messaging people and, now, writing blog posts. Yesterday was just like I thought it would be - stuck in a mind-numbing update class all day. It was fine, though. Yes, it sucked and was painfully boring but so what?

Have you heard Shake the Sheets, the new Ted Leo record? It's freaking great. Much closer to Tyranny of Distance than Hearts of Oak which is fine by me. He has an infectious enthusiasm that wins me over every time.

There's nothing worse than the anxiety of worrying if you'll be able to sleep. I have to work at 7:30 tomorrow morning and I always get myself worked up about getting enough sleep not to hate everything all day which in turn makes me unable to sleep. Tomorrow should be ok, I guess, just long. I'll most likely spend all day in a painfully boring class in which I'll learn all about the changes and updates to the Internal Revenue Codes aka tax laws. Fun!

Eeek. I return to work tomorrow. Fun. Last night was my last night of late night activities without morning repercussions. I went to casino for a burger + beer then over to beerland for bad, bad, bad karaoke. I think I sang the worst ever. You know how sometimes you think you know a song but, really, you don't? That pretty much covers it. Sorry, nothing interesting in this post. Blech.

How'd you spend your friday night? I stayed home, got almost drunk and watched the first disc of Brideshead Revisted. So there, that'll show 'em.

On the off chance that anyone might be interested, and because I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, people who would like to buy records I was involved with can do so here and here.

The best news yet this year - Olivia Tremor Control to play All Tomorrow's Parties UK. They say no touring besides that but a fella can always hope.

I'm tired. Ug. I always forget to turn off my phone before bed so if someone calls early I won't be woken up. I'm going to go sit on my porch and read for the afternoon. Perfect day. It's beautiful.

I started Girl, 20 by Kingsley Amis the other day. I can't remember ever having laughed out loud at a book but last night this one did it with this passage (talking about a girl's breasts), "They struck me as not so much large as tremendously prominent, that and high, yes, and somehow immovable, giving the impression that poking at them with a finger, say, would have no more effect than poking at somebody's knee-caps. That was it: they were like a pair of knee-caps carefully sculpted and re-covered in Grade A skin." Of course I was drunk still when I read that. That might account for the laughing.

Sorry for the downer post yesterday. I couldn't get back to sleep and my mind was in overdrive. Things really aren't that bad. Just very much whatever. I shoulda been happy. I won $47 at poker the night before.

With a week until I go back to work I have finally started to try and get some new songs recorded on this big as fuck 8-track that sits on a table next to my computer. It gets turned on about once every six months. I am formulating a plan - getting timing down w/click tracks and rigging up a way to listen to playback. Hopefully there will be something on tape by the end of the week.

More and more, I feel like I'm living a life of regrets and what-could-have-been's. I was woken up this morning by a phone call and haven't been able to get back to sleep. It feels like the worst come down ever (it's not). Hell, I don't know. WHine whine whine. I talk alot about how I'm really trying to live my life totally in the now and worrying about shit later but it's more like I'm getting as fucked up as possible so I won't have to be aware.

Hi. I'm still alive. I've been living the life of a hermit because I discovered the joy of the Wire on dvd. I'm done now and don't what to do. I want to go get some wings at casino. Who's with me?

Have I mentioned how disappointed I am that Mt St Helens didn't erupt recently as it was supposed to? There was some smoke and mini-earthquakes but it was all a seismic tease.

I had a dream as I was waking up this morning that I had been sent a letter saying that I was getting a DWI because a cop had seen me swerving and I was going to get 6 months in jail. Perhaps my unconscious mind is trying to tell me something. I just wish I could figure out what it is...

I popped outta bed all worked up because I was going to jail but then I realized of course that they don't send you letters, they just arrest you and, oh yeah, I was dreaming. Happy be alive and not incarcerated I went to the gym which I pay for but don't go to as much as I'd like. Working out first thing after waking up and not eating breakfast isn't the best of ideas. A person tends to get terribly woozy and light headed when they do.

I spent the afternoon on the porch reading and savoring the nice weather. I'm not sure of what I'm going to do this evening. I'd like to get a drink somewhere, maybe.

I didn't make it to the show last night. I tried but when I got there it was 30-something degrees and raining and there was a line of 30 people to get in so we went home instead. I like those bands but not that much.

Before that we played poker at Jeff + Alicia's house. We did three $5 tournaments and I got 2nd place in tow of 'em. Exciting, no? No.

I'm reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and I feel a bit silly doing so but it actually is a rather good read.

Choo wants comments back on so I guess I'll turn 'em back on. I don't really know why I turned them off. I guess just wanted to switch back to monologue instead of dialogue. I have no backbone.

Btw, go to emo's tonight - super extra big version of attack formation and extra super big rock from the sword.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. Just so you know.

I finished Saul Bellow's book Mr. Sammler's Planet today. It was pretty a-ok. Nothing to write home about really. Lots of extended rants and musings masquerading as fiction. Next up - The Enigma of Arrival. At least I'm not wasting my time. Oops, maybe I am.

I tried to watch Open Water today. It looks like it was shot with my dad's video camera. This evening I'm just full of links.

I am slowly but surely moving into the 21st century. I signed up that fancy-pants instant message shit so email me if you want my name on there.

Last night - barflys, poker, drug hunt(unsuccessful), karaoke @ beerland, dizziness

I can't wait to get back to the mind-numbing repetition of work. I need money. And a structured day. And money. I have about three weeks left before the iron gates and armed guards of the united states department of treasury has its way with me once again.

Holy Shit! Have you people seen City of God? I'd been hearing how great it was all year but it totally surpassed my expectations. That's some brutal, funny, beautiful shit right there.

I'm going to do my best to be a bit productive today. Laundry is in the washer. I'm going to make this shithole of a house a bit more habitable (though that's a never ending struggle - as soon as I clean something up it'll get messed up soon enough by someone).

First post of the new year. It seems as if it should either some kind of summing up of the last year or announcing something new for the next. I, however, don't intend to change a damn thing. Of course, I'm lying. I have all sorts of hopes and plans but hedging one's bets by aiming low never hurt anyone, right? So here's to the status quo!