Gotta do this..

12 Most common beer myths exploded
December 16, 2008 by legendsofbeer
Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy

–Benjamin Franklin

Beer gets a bad rap. It’s blamed for so much of society’s ills, when it should be celebrated as one of the finest beverages created.

There are a number of persistent myths and urban legends about beer that are passed around that unfairly distort the facts and confuse beer drinkers.

At LegendsOfBeer.com, we’d like to set the record straight and explode 12 of the most common beer myths, for once and for all. So take a read of these myths and the truth behind them and start spreading the good beer news!

Photo by elkojote


Myth #1: The Guinness served in Ireland is different to the rest of the world
Actually, the Guinness served in Ireland is most likely the same as that served in Boston or Berlin. However, many people will attest that Guinness simply tastes better in Ireland, which is why the myth spread. There’s a certain amount of sentimentality in this myth, but when you dig into it, most of the reasoning is pretty circumstantial.

There are a few reasons why it may taste better in Ireland - most likely freshness and rapid keg turnover (a pub in Dublin will serve the freshest Guinness in the world) - but the actual product is not any different that the black stuff served around the world. Also, a Guinness drinker in Ireland is guaranteed to have their drink poured correctly in Ireland than in some parts of the world, which will have an impact on the quality of the experience.



Myth #2: Lite beers will help you lose weight
On average, a lite beer will have 90-100 calories, while a regular beer might have under 200. In the grand scheme of things, lite beers will contribute very little to your dietary goals, and considering their typical lack of taste, you’d be better off drinking one or two regular beers.



Myth #3: Dark beers are stronger in alcohol
The color of beer has no relation to its alcohol content. For example, Guinness, one of the most popular dark beers has an alcohol volume of 4.2%, while several light-colored Belgian beers have alcohol content of 8%+.



Myth #4: Corona beer contains urine
This was a nasty rumor claiming that Mexican brewery workers were relieving themselves into the beer. Allegedly, the rumor was spread by a Heineken distributor and was only refuted following a lawsuit by Corona.



Myth #5: Imported beers are stronger than American beers
Traditionally, American beers measure their alcohol content by weight, while many other countries (across Europe and in Canada) measure by volume. The alcohol by weight figure will always appear lower than the alcohol by volume - for example, 4% ABW = 5% ABV, hence the myth creation.



Myth #6: Beer should be served ice-cold for best flavor
This is an unfortunate myth perpetuated by the major commercial breweries - especially for their lite beers. The fact is, flavor typically diminishes when beer is served ice-cold. It may make for a thirst-quenching, refreshing beverage, but often bears little resemblance to traditional beer. Several beers are, in fact, best served much closer to room temperature or slightly cool and are considered undrinkable when icy cold - such as Guinness and many of the traditional English ales.



Myth #7: The best beers have green bottles
Another myth that circulated imported beers. Brown glass is the best color to protect beer from light, which is why most beers are bottled with it. A shortage of brown glass in Europe during the last century led to many breweries using green glass to bottle their beer - therefore, green bottles represented imported beer for many years and people incorrectly assumed the color indicated a better beer.



Myth #8: “Beer before liquor, never sicker - liquor before beer, in the clear”
This is common drinking advice shared but not scientifically true. In reality, alcohol is alcohol, and the overall quantity you imbibe will determine your resulting (in)sobriety or hangover. Drinking beer before drinking hard liquor may prolong the onset of inebriation. However, it won’t ultimately matter whether you drink beer first or last; it’s the quantity of alcohol that does the damage.



Myth #9: You can’t get a hangover from drinking organic beer
If only being eco-friendly was this rewarding! This myth is based on the idea that organic beer is cleaner or purer than other beer, but there’s no existing proof that it manages to avoid giving hangovers when consumed in sufficient quantities.



Myth #10: Beer will raise your cholesterol levels
Beer actually contains no fat and no cholesterol! Perhaps this is one reason that Guinness was originally advertised as good for your health.



Myth #11: A good beer must be high in alcohol
Many people unfairly associate low alcohol with low flavor. There are plenty of poor quality beers that are high in alcohol content, and the opposite is also true. Some of the famous Belgian and German beers have traditionally high average alcohol content - perhaps 8% or 10%. However, the alcohol content is only one feature and doesn’t necessarily account for the good taste. In England, many of the best mild ales have alcohol content of 4% or less - resulting from a higher tax on stronger beer. Of course, the advantage is finding good-tasting, lower alcohol beers is that you can drink more of it!



Myth #12: Beer kills brain cells
Possibly the most damning of all beer myths, and we’re happy to explode this for you. An Australian study has determined that beer is not responsible for killing brain cells as was once thought.

real quick

joe and matt have been here for a few days. I'll expand on their stay(tomorrow probably) as well as what else has been up. Beth drew a really cool picture/logo for the SD Punks For Presents. Still workin on some events...


ps- we got a SWEET sewing machine(and by we I mean Beth) and a gnarley 8 foot work table for all of our artistic needs. looking forward to the creative season....

New Blog idea

Ok, I've decided that instead of just writing whatever is currently on my mind I am going to start posting a quote or lyric that has some depth and then either give my opinion on it or tell you what it means to me. Hopefully this will end up being a learning experience for both of us. Please be sure to give me some sort of feedback!! I think that will be just as important as my actual post because if you read my blog I care about your opinion.

TODAY I WILL POST SOME LYRICS
Taken from "Folding The Pages" by Smoke or Fire

"Everybody's hell looks different.
It changes shape, but it never goes away.
In a classroom there's a child with thoughts
of death on his mind.
In a hospital there's an old man looking
back on his life. And I wonder why some
people see the beauty, while others see
the pain."

I like these lines a lot because it really puts the fragility of life into perspective for me from the "big picture" mindset. The first point of view is the "child with thoughts of death on his mind". How many of us have either had suicidal thoughts of our own or dealt with a friend/loved one who was going through a rough stretch and had us worried about their safety? I think back on my early teenage years and feel so lucky to have gotten out with myself and everyone I care about intact. So many people are not that lucky though, and I wonder if they had a chance to go back now and talk to the person they lost (acting as the "old man looking back on his life") maybe they would know how to put things in perspective and help that lost person get through their problems without giving up on themselves.
I also appreciate this thought from the stand point of Joe as the writer. "I wonder why some people see the beauty while others see the pain". Everybody sees both beauty and pain in their lives, but it is really up to the individual to decide what they are going to focus on. This line shows the concern he has for people who can't see the big picture(either temporarily or permanently) and I definitely relate to that concern when I find myself talking a friend though hard times. You want to remind them about better times or do something that will make them feel good, but no matter how great of a thing you do for that person, it is up to them to acknowledge that the world isn't against them and that there is still something worth living for.

An old friend posted this on facebook...

Dear Red States....
>
>
> We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own
> country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.
>
>
> In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon,
> Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the
> Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and
> especially to the people of the new country of New California.
>
> To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave
> states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
>
>
> You get Ken Lay. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get
> Dollywood. We get Intel, Apple and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get
> Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture
> capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama . We get two-thirds of the
> tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
>
>
> Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the
> Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a
> bunch of single moms.
>
> Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and
> anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at
> once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have
> kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose,
> and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's
> caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the
> WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's
> Quagmire.
>
> With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80
> percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the
> pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95
> percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state
> dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech
> industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods,
> sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus
> Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
>
> With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope
> with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health
> care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of
> the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 perc
> ent of all
> Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush
> Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
>
> We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
>
>
> Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe
> Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is
> sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44
> percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was
> involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are
> people with higher morals then we lefties.
>
> By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that
> dirt weed they grow in Mexico .
>
>
> Peace out, Blue States

SD PUNKS FOR PRESENTS WORDPRESS SITE

Check it out...

SAN DIEGO PUNKS FOR PRESENTS BLOG

YESSSSSSSSS

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

edit: apparently this is OFN.  how I missed this, I have no idea.  I've been keeping an eye out for quite some time now...

oh well, I'm stoked!

running

i dont know why the beginning of a run always seems like the biggest pain in the ass ever, but finishing one up is one of the best feelings you can have.  i have such a weird cycle of getting in really good shape and then throwing myself away, but I'm back on a positive track after a couple months of boozing.  I have an interview with a catering company this afternoon...i'm not thrilled on the idea of more "temporary" work, but money is money and I'm glad to be getting any chance. 

Smoke or Fire

Fuck I can't get over how hard this band rips.  Stoked to see them again

I've been in transition lately, but I'm transitioning out of it...

I'm still on the job hunt, though I talked to my Temp agency yesterday and the company I worked for a few weeks ago wants to fly me up to San Francisco next week for some work(cool!).

I start drilling with my new National Guard unit this Saturday.  I'm pretty bummed about cutting me hair, but I hope I'll meet some good people and maybe score some leads on a full time job.

This Christmas is going to be kind of hard since I won't be home again.  It'll be way better than being in  Kosovo, and at least I'll be with Beth and Scott!

I know the solution to my little downer phase is getting a job, so at least I know that I'm working on pulling myself up and eventually I'll find a good fit for myself.

I definitely need to get on with my christmas shopping/making.  I have to start getting creative about this...

I really miss my friends from Richmond.  I know this has a lot to do with me being weird.  I'm really pumped on the people we've met here, but there is never going to be a way to fill certain holes.  I just need to find a way to get over that.

INCREDIBLE!!!

WATCH

in the news today...

Yeah, it's called 2012

Camping this weekend

We went to Idyllwild, CA.  it was fun.  i still don't really feel like blogging.

sorry for the downer posts lately...

Professionalism

I'm not ready to blog about anything.

I got an ironing board, iron, skillet, and ice cube trays today. Pumped on domestication. Siked on camping this weekend.

FULLY STOKED ON THANKSGIVING DINNER.

Hope things start working out on the professional side.

the thing about motocross...

I mean it's definitely balls out and insane because of the amount of air they get, but I feel like these dudes never get super hurt. They wear a complete safety suit at all times, and if something doesn't feel right on a trick they just bail out and fall maybe 20 feet onto dirt. I'm not saying you can't get fucked up or that it's like landing on a fluffy pillow, but look at moto crashes compared to BMX and Skateboard crashes. THAT shit fucks you up. Dirt bikes just take speed and once you're in the air you just twist around and shit until you start coming down then you get back in a riding position. When you are in the air for upwards of 5 seconds there is plenty of time to think things through. Hauling ass to approach a rail or stairset and only having about a half second of hang time to decide if you should commit or bail takes a WAY bigger dick. Especially since most of these people aren't wearing helmets, let alone full body protection. I don't know about you, but I'd rather fall onto some dirt and watch my motorcycle fly safely into the horizon than face plant on a rail with my 20" bicycle in tow because my ankle is wrapped up in the chain.

big ups

the weird thing about the economy

Trust me, I know it sucks. I'm unemployed right now. Ask me how many places I've applied in the past month. I don't even know the answer because it's so high. Heres what puzzles me though..

All the headlines I see say things like "S&P 500 at TEN YEAR LOW" or "Wall St. Sinks to lows not seen since 2003".

If motherfuckers were this bad off in 97 and pulled back out of it, I REALLY don't think thats anything to sweat over. That was barely over a decade ago and even with George W. in power for the past 8 years we've only sunk back to those levels? come on now. get real.

If you said "Wall St. at lows not seen since 1939" well then NOW I'm shitting my pants.

Bottom Line....A picture of some gooney, spiky haired, Armani suit wearing, yuppie broker looking distraught because his Delta Airlines stock dipped another 5 points makes me think everyone in NYC is a snooty little drama queen with nothing better to do but bitch about numbers on a piece of paper.

You assholes are the ones who created this mess in the first place and now we're giving you billions of dollars to (HOPEFULLY) fix it.

I'm just saying, there are much worse things going on in the world than reliving the mid-to-late Nineties.

For all you coffee heads...

I don't know if you guys have tried Cafe Bustelo espresso ground coffee, but it's pretty damn good. I first laid eyes on the rather plain yellow+red can back in Richmond at Kuba Kuba. I don't remember ever trying it there, but since moving to CA and living on a budget, Beth and I have been buying it on a regular basis to sooth our caffeine addictions and it is quite good. I can't see myself living the rest of my life with a cup of it in my hand, but for right now I'm happy enough.

the past two days of my blog

have been way too political. I support everything I said, but the last thing I want to read on somebody's blog is (more or less) irrelevant political opinions, so I should probably stop posting my own here.


cheers

ashton

Hm

Obama seems to be catching some flak for his staff picks because a lot of them were part of the Clinton administration. Apparently some people were expecting his "change" policy to mean comprising his White House of 100% brand new faces overnight. While not a political scientist, I feel like even I know better than to expect/want something like that to happen.

For starters, lets remember that Clinton's years were marked a terrific success, and even amidst his scandal he was still ranked the most approved president of the past 70 years by the American public. Secondly, as pointed out by news sources, the last Democrat president before Clinton was Jimmy Carter, and most of his staffers are either passed on or retired from politics.

Also, most of the Clinton people that Obama has tapped will be doing different jobs than what they did 8 years ago. Obviously the world has changed TREMENDOUSLY since then and I feel like they will definitely have different, more current goals and agendas.

In the end, we're just going to have to wait and see what kind of a job Obama does, but I am still 100% on his band wagon and I don't give a shit what some ass hole like Ayman al-Zawahiri has to say about it.

Funny head lines...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/11/18/endeavour.spacewalk/index.html

I posted a HILARRRRRRRIOUS myspace bulletin questioning why this astronaut was so disliked by others and so publicly ridiculed.

actually i was probably the only person who thought it was funny....

welcome to my life

Rosemary

The poor man's pickle...


I whipped up a sandwich today with a generous amount of this herb and I could've been fooled into thinking there was actually a pickle hiding between that bread.

fuckin a brother

ps

Hows this for a doozie


Say Johnny McRepublican has the power to go forward in time and finds out his unborn child will be a raging homosexual. Does he encourage his wife to get an abortion or does he come to accept that gays are people too...


YOU DECIDE!
(thats the power of being pro choice, my friends..)

Gloomy day

for no good reason my mood was just kind of down today. I went for a run and ate a pretty balanced diet of cereal, salad, and grilled cheese. I sent out a few emails and resumes, but only managed to apply in person at one place. I went in a few others, but none of them were hiring. I should have kept up my trek but I decided to wait until tomorrow so I could get myself in a better state of mind.

The whole Church/State thing with abortion and gay rights is getting so much coverage right now I almost want to say "stop! I'm fed up!" but I know that this is exactly what I("we") can NOT do. Right now is an incredibly important time in history because the majority of the country is satisfied in our new president elect and we have proven to ourselves that the U.S. Government is NOT immune to change and forward thinking. We have finally been shown the true power of democracy and that as long as we stand up together we CAN make things happen and turn this country/world around!

I am lucky in one respect because I don't have any friends or close relatives who are anti gay marriage, but at the same time this is unfortunate because it means I don't have the ability to help convince anyone I care about to understand what they are doing by supporting such an incredibly bogus law. It blows my mind that the people who accused Obama of being a Marxist for using the phrase "spread the wealth" have imposed laws that mirror that of Communism themselves (homosexual relations are not productive for the society as a whole). It also blows my mind that African American voters came out SO heavily opposed to gay rights. They are the most recently oppressed group of people in American history, why would they(the majority that voted homophobicly) wish their past hardships (and even current in some areas!) on anybody else!? The word is ignorance. So over used, yet so applicable. I'm not going to speculate based on stereotypes why this happened, but it is very clear that we as a nation need to once again reevaluate our "morals" and remember that a human is a human is a human.

And while I've got your ear, I think it's terrific that Obama is consulting Mccain politically. I think he would be a fool to not have. Beyond the fact that Mccain obviously has some valuable knowledge, it just shows good sportsmanship and serves as more reason why our next President is a worthy role model. However, fuck you Sarah Palin, I still hate you and hope you never bother the lower 48 with your presence ever again.

Quick to make, Hard to fuck up

this post is about salad dressing. oil and vinegar based salad dressing, of course.

I've been cooking a lot in CA and today decided to branch out into the world of salad dressing(a place Beth goes, but I had not yet).

To start off, i googled a few recipes to get a good feeling for what to use and what to avoid. There really wasn't much I had to worry about avoiding, so i knew I had free reign to throw some curve balls.

My first salad dressing!
None of the recipes gave exact amounts of their ingredients, so in the spirit of anarchy I declined to record mine too.
There was maybe a 2:1 ratio of Oil to Vinegar, but I also had about a 2:1 Vinegar to White Wine goin on.
After adding roughly a 1:1 Vinegar to Dijon Mustard, my liquid base was finalized.

Theres a solid 3, maybe 4 cloves of garlic and about an equal amount of Rosemary, Thyme, and Basil floatin around.

Of course I added some black pepper, a pinch of salt, and a strategic amount of crushed red pepper.
Can't forget that Parmesan cheese either....

My heart was yearning for some of the Peppercini water from the jar in the fridge, but I dowsed that flame of lust with a promise of next time.

After shaking and rattling the concoction about, I had to test test it and dear lord did my momma not raise a fool. My ego is soaring and I can't wait to show it off on Beth's next salad.

About damn time somebody made a decision...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/16/security.pact.vote/index.html

It really bums me out

that Heath Ledger will not be in any more movies.


:/

Gay Rights March today

check out beth's blog for details and pictures, but the jist of it is that we partook in a community based activity speaking out against the recent outlaw of gay marriages in california. There were some great picket signs out there. "Protect marriage, ban divorce" "I'll allow your marriage, why won't you allow mine?" "Mormon hate, get out of our state" the list goes on.

I was really impressed with the short speeches at the end of the march, basically asking people to stay involved and keep the faith(DFTS DFTS). but also not to let hate take over your heart and be teachers to the people who supported the passing of this law instead of alienating them and providing them with a reason to continue their discrimination.


It felt good to participate in something worthwhile. I hope to get more involved in the future

last night was awesome

Last night we all met up at Ky's with the intention of pulling an all nighter which would lead to going to Shakespeare's for the Man. U. vs Arsenal game and their famous English Breakfast at 4:30am. After ordering a couple of pizzas and cracking a couple of beers(I also introduced them to Double Espresso Vodka and it was a big hit), we sat down for a friendly game of Asshole. Travis and I had to google the rules (N00BZ) and even though I'm pretty sure we stilled missed a couple, the game went smoothly and a good time was had by all. I brought over Teenagers From Uranus and I think they all enjoyed it so I'm going to try and get a copy of T.F. Marz. I met a couple more people(always cool) and got the lowdown on a secret show happening(which will be awesome).

Today,
I was supposed to have orientation at the Science Museum for my volunteer position, but it got cancelled. kind of a bummer, but the woman emailed me and said we could do one sometime soon. I'm pretty stoked on this for a bunch of reasons, but especially for the "free IMAX passes". WOOHOO!

I also have a volunteer job with a theater group on sunday afternoon. Hopefully it'll give me a chance to meet some people and maybe i can remind them that I need a day job....

BRUNCH TOMORROW WILL BE PRIME!

IT WAS TRUE!

there really was free beer(only one pint, but shit!!) and FREE HOT WINGS!! and jalapeno poppers and cheese/crackers. this is the best club in the world. the only thing that sucked was that it wasnt really a social event. everybody just got a wrist band and then stayed with their own tables. not too many people our age either, it was a lot of yuppies. fuggit!!

beth is on the way to an interview at an italian restaurant right now, then shes going to another one at a victoria's secret. she hasn't heard back from the seating company(kind of lame, they aren't very good at communication) so I don't know exactly how it's going to work out, but i think she will beat me to the punch with having a job.


Last night!
last night Beth and I met up with Justin and Rick at a bar called McMurphy's. This place is pretty awesome. They were friends with the owner and the girl bar tending (both seemed super chill and loved talking about/letting us try different beers). They have a digital jukebox which Rick and Justin have a hand in stocking with an appropriate punk/hiphop/ska collection. I found a couple of Bane, Madball, and H20 songs which tickled my fancy, but I spent my last selection on Ace of Spades by Motorhead. Come on, this IS america. Tonight is the Arsenal v Man U. game and theres a party at Ky's house for it. I'll also be introducing them to Day By Day(they'll be stoked). OH!!

one more thing!!

There is a liquor mega store here. I cant remember the name of it, but its an average 7-11 size but it is floor to ceiling liquor. theres a library ladder they use to grab bottles. wild

sorry if this was kind of a mess. my brain is right now. i really have to go to the bathroom!!!

Job Fairs are bullshit

Today we went to a Jobseekers.com "job fair". First of all, I don't know where the hell "jobseekers.com" popped up from but if I thought the website was useless and clusterfucked, I was even more surprised to see what a shit shamble their "real life job fair" was. Talk about fucked up. All it was was a bunch of booths set up by different corporations telling you what open positions they currently had. I know, that sounds legit, but the thickness of it lies in the facts that 1)the rep's weren't even taking resumes and 2) the reps had about a minute worth of schpiel they would recant and then tell you to go to their websites and apply online.

what a waste!

i'm disappointed.

at least we got a good deal on cereal when we went to the grocery store later.


and we're about to go to a "free beer club" event that i scored access to online. wonder what the catch is. i'll let you know...

Tomorrow this will all be over

But regardless of what happens, January can't come soon enough!!!

by the way

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of the most originally funny movies to come out in years. Its fucking gold plated comedy. Please please please rent/buy/download this movie so you can agree with me. Brilliant.

Indian food

holy shit. can you say "yes please, give me more?" i sure as fuck can. Today was my first experience with Indian food and I had the pleasure of dining on it in the Brunch setting. For 12 bucks a pop, you get all you can eat buffet/all you can drink champagne at The India Princess restaurant in Hillcrest. I'm not sure why, but there was only one other table occupied during our entire feeding session. The food was very very good and I plan on going back for other meals throughout the upcoming weeks/months/years. Not much else happened today, but I really just wanted to blog.

Saturday

Yesterday was great. I'm going to skim over the day and then go into details starting at around 9:30pm. Beth and I went to Pacific Beach and walked around a bit. Later, we met up with Mel and Casey for sushi and then went back home for a bit. Beth was volunteering at the art museum for the grand opening of a kimono exhibit until 9, and I hung out at Casey's bar with her and Mel reading People magazine and exchanging the latest on celebrity gossip (one of my strongest conversation subjects) until our friends started arriving.

-approx. 9:30 pm...

Ky winning the double whammy of a stuffed platypus/Superman bling necklace from the claw machine set a definite tone for the rest of the night. It wasn't too long after this that the fooseball table had gained a ceiling and two triangles of half full beer cups. I don't remember who made up each team, but I do remember the first game lasted well over 10,000 years because we observed the standard "10,000 year re-rack" rule. By the end of the second game, 3 permanent markets had seasoned the table with off color pictures and silly comments. By this point in the evening, we were deep in the process of inventing a soon-to-be-classic pub game involving guessing the airline names of the landing planes(the airport is right next to downtown san diego) and conducting a survey of which airline passing trannis prefer to fly.(theres a transsexual bar right down the street). We still haven't hammered all the in's and out's of this game yet, but I will keep you informed on any progress made. Around midnight, Casey closed the bar and we all headed over the the Cherry Bomb.

It was my first time at this bar and I was definitely impressed. For starters, the juke box had options ranging from Cro-mags to FEAR to Social D to Negative Approach. I was also interested to hear from multiple attendees that the bar tenders have a generous hand when it comes to liquor. The atmosphere/clientele reminded me very much of Empire, minus the smoke and plus a few pool tables. Remind me to take you there when you come out to visit, Richmonders.

As 1 am approached, it seemed everyone was getting tired so we made loose brunch plans for the morning and went our different ways.

Speaking of loose brunch plans, it's about time to water the basil plant and nail down those details so i will leave you with this!!!

HALLOWEEN!!!

Last night was awesome. Best Halloween in years. It started off with a good nap and then turned towards a whiskey-ginger and a salad. After watching an episode of Family Guy, we were out the door on the way to the famous San Diego Critical Mass. It was right about now that I realized my rear tire was flat. WTF!? So pissed!!! In a fashionably tipsy rush, I did my best to patch the hole, but gave up after the glue refused to dry quickly. I put my all my eggs in one basket and hopped on my questionably functional BMX bike. The loose chain and lack of brakes really didn’t interfere with my ride as much as you might think! I had my doubts on a couple of the big hills, but everything ran swimmingly. CM here is everything I had hoped it would be, really really fun. I’m really not good at estimating crowds, but I’d say there were a ton of riders and some really great costumes. Over an hour into the ride, we looped back up through North Park and Beth and I decided to call it quits due to full bladders and a huge decrease in ridership sneaking up from the back. Where that train officially derailed, I do not know. So anyways, we take a quick breather and, before we know it, are back on our bicycles and steering towards a house party a few blocks away. We arrive at __________(don’t remember his name but he was dressed up like a sexy referee)’s house, which was really nice, and begin shooting the Halloween shit with some friends. The next thing I know, we’re taking shots and meeting new people like it’s our fucking job. This is great! Later on, we would depart the mothership in small groups and head over to the Radio Room bar for a Ramones, Misfits, Screeching Weasel, Kiss cover show. Leroy and I would have a surprisingly mature conversation about growing up and politics while Beth and his girlfriend and Mel seemed to be having their own party closer to the actual bar. Some how I got more drunk without even having to purchase a drink, and we jammed to the SW band before deciding it was time for some chow. Beth and I headed towards Rudford’s(read: 4th street diner) while the others continued on to another party. I almost wish we had gone, but I was pretty tired and not handling my bike so well. After stuffing our faces at Rudford’s, we made it home(safely) and turned ourselves in for the night. I woke up feeling great other than this entire hamburger sitting restlessly in the depths of my stomach. I’m not sure why it refuses to digest, but I’m more worried about the fact that our internet is not working. I suppose it will be by the time you read this though, so I’ll just try to remember who all said they wanted to get sushi today.

Off My Chest

I wrote a really in-depth and slightly rude post about trying to understand why anyone I know would not vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday, but I decided not to post it because I don't think I could get my point across without being too offensive. I value all of my friend's opinions and respect them for reasons irrelevant of political views, but I really hope for ALL OF OUR BENEFITS that Obama becomes the next president. It's not that I think John would do a terrible job, but on no level would he be as beneficial to ANY OF US as Barack would (unless, of course, you are secretly making >$250,000/year and if this is the case, HOOK ME UP!!!)

I'm just going to say this...

PLEASE reconsider ONE last time if you are planning on voting for the Republican ticket. Think about all of the important topics and look at both candidates future plans as well as prior voting records. Then, look at the VP candidates and consider who would do a better job if it came down to it.


The choice is easy.

I love you all

Hot Showers

Due to an installation error on the renovator's part, Beth and I did not have access to hot water in our showers for the first three and a half weeks of living here. As of yesterday, I am happy to report that we are now cookin!!! Wonderful.

Yesterday I got a new pair of shoes. They are called "Zig Zags"(and have the same font style on the box as the rolling papers) but are commonly known as "whinos". Why, I don't know, but they only cost $15 and in my life that is reason enough to buy them. They have the same blue print as those old leather dress shoes your grandfather wears except the sole is PVC and the entire upper shoe is woven out of large cotton fibers. They're surprisingly comfortable and are definitely one more step towards my new life as a hippie.

We ate Robertos again yesterday and it was absolutely magnificent. I'm really pumped on Halloween tonight

!

Today was a good day. I started my morning with a bowl of Smacks(or...the off brand Albertson's version of) and a cup of coffee. then I went for a nice run and came back to Beth slicing up a juicy orange for eating purposes. Graciously, I helped her polish the succulent slices off and went about preparing myself for a bathe. After showering, we decided to trek towards the middle part of our neighborhood to purchase an Obama/Biden window sign from the good people of the North Park Democratic Organization. Next, we made our way over to the "Ground Zero" of our neighborhood's art scene, Ray Street. You probably need to Google it to fully understand what Ray Street has to offer, but we spent most of our time today at a really cool custom shoe gallery. There were too many different styles to offer, but I assure you they were all pieces of art. On the way home we perused the isles of a Far Eastern statue/ornament shop on University Ave. They had a ton of really cool stuff but none we absolutely needed, so we left empty handed.

After a bite to eat(steak salad with more of our London Broil as the meat), we ventured over to Coronado Island for their weekly Farmer's Market. View Beth's blog for the low-down on that trip and dinner though.

We also built a window box today and have begun growing Basil, you can find out more about this on Beth's blog as well.

Tomorrow is my interview at the Temp Agency! I'm also going to give the fine people at Army Knowledge Online a call because they have screwed my password up. Then I need to call the local Army National Guard recruiter and start figuring out where/when I'll start drilling. Oh boy, I think it is going to be a full day...

CAN'T WAIT FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!

I cant believe

that nobody has gotten on my teamblog boat! what a bummer. my door is always open though if you decide you want to be part of my magical online existence just send me your email address and it's game on.

Last night Beth and I missed the Zombie Walk downtown because we were watching documentaries of radical groups like Westboro Baptist Church and the Aryan Nation. Right now I am walking the fence(LOL!! GET IT???) about whether or not to put my milk carton suit aside and go as Fred Phelps on halloween. I think I'm going to stick with the original plan, but i DID make a funny sign that says "Fred Phelps <3's GOD. No Homo" the other side says "God Hates 'merica. (I'm Insane)". After all of this, we decided to investigate some of the local bars that fellow san diegans had suggested we frequent. Among these was Toranado, The Radio Room, and Bar Pink.

Toranado was pretty awesome. It was about the size of Empire, but had a really clean bar/tables, and was decorated in vintage beer signs. They had a big fall full of taps of all different varieties (most of which were $4-$6) and also a large bottled beer collection.

Next, we tried to visit the Radio Room, but there was a $3 cover because some band was playing. The inside looked dark and musty. it was beautiful, but we did not feel the need to pay $6.

We ended up at Bar Pink, which is apparently owned by the former lead singer of Rocket From The Crypt. It was about the size of the Nanci Raygun, but very clean and decorated with hanging glass balls and murals of elephants swimming in different kinds of glasses. There was a pretty good country band playing and the beer was reasonably priced, but we felt an immediate urge to leave when a group of nazi skins showed up. this was our first run in with these kinds of californians and it bummed us out. The doorman was under the impression he had known Beth in a previous life, but we are not quite sure the details surrounding this.

All in all, it wasn't bad for a Sunday night

oh yeah

we also got a block of honey comb from the farmers market that had been harvested in the park near our house!!! peace out allergies. hellllloooo delicious

Update

Sorry it's been a few days. Let me think of what has happened...

Beth and I had an outstanding Sunday brunch at this place in North Park (i think she blogged about it). I can't get over how cool this neighborhood/city is. Every block has something to offer whether it is interesting cafes, bars, galleries, shops, or record stores. Christine and Caitlin are in town from Richmond so we've been hitting up their hotels hot tub at night for the past few days. We're still looking for jobs and it is still a total drag, but Beth has a call back with this swanky chair designer and I have an interview at a temp agency next week so maybe our days are coming!! A few days ago we both got call backs from a (unbeknownst to us) pyramid scheme but thankfully Mel thwarted their plan by telling us about the time she fell for the SAME company's lure. It sounded like a pretty miserable experience so we are opting out of this round of shenanigans.

Let me tell you about my day today though,
Beth and I walked down University Street towards North Park and explored a little more, applying places as we went. We decided on lunch based on advice my old pal Scott Kenney gave us (Roberto's Taco Stand). IT WAS DELICIOUS! of course. Good old roberto...After this, Beth read her book and napped while I surfed the web volunteering for multiple theater companies as well as joining a local volunteer community that lets you choose all kinds of organizations to work with and has a very helpful calendar showing their upcoming events. I'm excited to get involved around here and meet some people too. My Dad will be proud when I tell him of my networking! Tomorrow night we're going to hang at Mel's house in Chula Vista with some other people so that should be a really good time. As long as things work out with this temp agency I think I'm beginning my upward revival! If they don't I'm definitely going to be bummed and probably go up the street to Denny's and get a poo poo job there. LETS BE POSITIVE!

Verse

saw Verse tonight at the Che Cafe. That place was tight. Its maybe a little smaller than the Nanci Raygun's floor and with lower ceilings, but theres also a kitchen and apparently a zine library too. they host all kinds of shows, events, potlucks, etc so i'm definitely planning on spending some time there in the future. Travis and Mel took us to this really cool mexican place downtown for lunch then we hung out until the show. brunch tomorrow!!!

today was good

much better than yesterday. thank God. Check out Beth's blog for a pictured account of our adventures!

Nicole and Paula are in town tonight and we're super pumped!!!

Somebody please tell me..

Every time I read an article or watch an interview about somebody with some really awesome experiences and talents I step back for a minute and think to myself "why can't I be doing that?" There are some really fucking inspired people running around getting tons of shit done for the greater benefit of humanity or the earth and here I am sitting around stressing about money because I can't even find a job to support myself. It sucks. I just finished reading about a bunch of stuff John Josef has done in his life and I feel like a worthless selfish waste. I don't have any idea how to get involved in the heavy shit he is involved in and he is only one example. I look at professional artists and musicians and everybody who makes livings in those realms and wonder where and how they got their starts. I honestly have no idea. Is that my fault? Do I not do enough on my part to live one of these lifestyles? I don't know! I would do anything to have an opportunity to work in an exciting and interesting career field but I can't even figure out where the front door is. Do most people just luck out and fall ass backwards into these jobs? I can't see how that is the answer. They must start somewhere, but WHERE!? I feel like the real key here is networking with others, but how am I supposed to get that web going if I don't have anyone to network with??? Why am I having such a hard time finding a job? It seems like there should be an endless supply of work when you think about every bottle cap thats been pressed or tv show thats been filmed. WHY CAN'T I SEE THESE DOORS?? I feel like they are invisible to me. Microscopic cracks that other people find when I just see a huge wall. This might be the most frustrated post I've written, but it is also one of the most important to me. Everybody wants to hire someone with experience, but how are you supposed to get experience if you don't have any? fuck dude. I really do not understand how things work, even when they seem so simple. I really hope something comes up in my cards soon because I want to prove to myself and everyone else that I can and will succeed. There will be quiet after the storm!

it is done!

Bob Loblaw's Law Blog



tee hee


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JOIN MY NEW BLOG

I just learned about team blogs and I'm excited to say that I will be making one momentarily. I decided to blog about it first because it seemed appropriate. PLEASE JOIN IT!!!!! and invite other friends too. It's only KIND of going to be a message board.

My Big Day

Today I was hung over.....ALL fucking day. wow. I haven't felt this bad in a while. Its 7pm now and I'm pretty much back to normal besides the fact that I'm not really hungry and I haven't eaten anything all day. weird.

well, i was going to lie and tell everyone I dropped a bowling ball on it, but the truth is I lost my balance in a drunken blind-closing lurch and shattered my laptop's screen. Beth informs me that I looked like a wayward sailboat shifting about in a heavy gale for a solid 5 seconds before finally toppling elbow deep into the PC's keyboard. This did not distress me at the time because I still couldn't believe the deal I got on booze at Rite-aid, but now I understand that it will end up costing me a bunch of money to repair. Oh well.

Beth baked some mac n cheese today and I was too sick to eat it earlier, but I'm pretty pumped about trying it soon. She also concocted a recipe for creamsicles. (oranges, vanilla icecream, and orange juice) the secret ingredient might be Curacao(but none for me, please).

It sucks that our showers still have temperature governors on them so we can't take very hot showers. I need to call Bob Hoover the complex handyman and have him shake a leg at the situation.

Nothing else happened to me today except spending large amounts of time in the bathroom or trying to sleep. It was supposed to be our big job hunt day too. Brilliant

In other news...

Beth just approached me from behind while I was investigating "Belly Button Lint" on Wikipedia and demanded an answer as to why I was researching such a thing. My mouth was absent of words. How do you describe the insatiable urge to be enlightened on the presence of belly button lint. She just approached again and is saying "No! No! No!"

I gotta go...

For VA

This morning my favorite sister demanded yet another blog entry of me. Here I am, 21 years later, still following her orders. Oh well, I needed to write another anyway. This morning I went to a meeting with a counselor at the University of Phoenix. I think I'm going to pursue a B.S. in Business Management. This kind of sounds like a total drag, I know, but I actually think it's going to spark my interest. I resisted the idea of such a "normal" career field in my youth, but now I know that you can use Business experience for good just as much as you can for evil. For example, I have been really trying to get a job with one of the non-profit organizations around here. Everyone I know who works in this sector absolutely loves it, and I know I would too. It's a little bit more difficult than I anticipated to get a paying position out of these places though, since most of them rely heavily on a volunteer force. If I had a business degree I could offer one of these organizations knowledge and experience with paper instead of just muscles, which they could just as easily get for free. At the end of the day I could hit the gym and get my exercise, then still go home knowing that I had spent my time helping the world around me. I'm selling myself on this even more as I write this blog(thanks Virginia).

On another note, Beth and I are going camping with some of our new chums this weekend and we're really looking forward to it. I got a sweet camping stove and 4 cans of propane for CHEEEEEP at a garage sale yesterday(if you haven't read my myspace bulletin.)

Speaking of camping and cheap... did you guys know that CVS and Rite Aid not only SELL liquor and beer here, but they have SALES?? i can buy a 750 of jack for like 13 bucks. its insane. theres also a PBR Light and Pabst Genuie Draft(which looks suspiciously similar to Miller GD, though I can't give you a taste comparison yet.) TIGHT!

well, I'm going to get back to some other things now, but I hope this tides you over!!

The First Three Days

I meant to do this every night of the drive, but I'll incorporate the past three days into one post.

Monday we left Richmond around 12:15 and trucked it all the way to Nashville. We spent about 11.5 hours in the car and it was pretty dull since we had already seen the little that there is to see on that drive the last time we went to Nashville. It was nice to see a few random spurts of changing trees around Blacksburg and again in the Smokies. Contrary to NPR reporting, we had NO problem finding gas in TN and it was all less than $3.50 per gallon. A sore subject is the 95 dollar iPod radio tuner that barely works in my car but works perfectly in Beth's. Good thing I saved the receipt. We stayed in a "Microtel" that was kind of weird but okay, except for the lack of coffee and shitty Continental Breakfast.

Tuesday we drove from Nashville through Memphis, Arkansas, and ended at Fort Worth, TX were we stayed with two of Beth's friends. 90% of the drive absolutely SUCKED. I have driven through Arkansas twice now and both times have been miserable. It is a wasteland. It is obviously the setting for Gummo, and don't get me started on how much I hate that movie. Sites worthy of note were the abundance of "Jesus Saves" and "24hr PORN XXX SHOP" billboards in Arkansas. We saw a weird possible UFO-ish thing over the highway. It was a black dot in the sky(maybe 500 meters in the air) that did NOT look like a balloon at all. It didn't move at all, and it was jet black, like a pinhole to outer space. There was also this really funny potbelly pig-like animal that was dead on its back with all four legs in the air like a cartoon character. Beth and I exchanged comments about it via Walkie Talkie, but about 100 yards further we saw a truck driver walking back towards the creature and wielding a baseball bat. It seems we were not the only ones intrigued by natures beauty. The world got a whole lot prettier about 10 miles into Texas. The sun set as we were heading due West on I-40 (I think). It was postcardesque and really calming. Driving through Dallas reminded me somewhat of Las Vegas. A whole lot of nothingness and then a huge, neon lit city in the middle of nowhere. Arriving at Amy and Luke's in Fort Worth was great because we were served pizza and beer upon entrance. (Did I mention they also had The Office on?) Sleep that night felt incredible. We ate breakfast at the Blue Bonnet Cafe which was REALLY good and REALLY cheap.

Wednesday's drive was pretty dull until about the last 2 hours. The plateau country of Texas is overwhelmingly mesmerizing. I wish I had been a passenger in a car so I could just stare out on the landscape for all those miles. It would be insane camping. I was wondering who owns all that nothingness and decided it must be the state government, but I could be wrong. The sunset tonight was out of this world. It was the most powerful sunset I've ever been involved in and I decided that I would trade the best sex for another chance at the perfection of that hour of dusk. We were driving 80 mph straight West again on flat ground, so we were able to experience the sunset for longer than a stationary object. We stayed in El Paso tonight and let me tell you, COME! It made the last two days TOTALLY worth it. El Paso is RIGHT on the Mexican Border and there is a HUGE city (Ciudad Juarez) on the otherside of the border that looks really pretty at night. El Paso itself is just a huge jumble of crap that I could never imagine learning my way around. We got really good mexican food and beer and stayed at a nice Sunset Inn.

I don't know where we are going to stay tonight, but we don't have anymore 12 hour drives so hopefully I will be able to update more....

ask me about the windmills, the worlds largest rattlesnake roundup, George W's childhood home, and listening to Integrity while driving through oil fields.

MOVING BLOG

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I've decided to turn this into a temporary Moving Blog. I don't know how often I'll have internet access, but worst comes to worst, I'll type up a few entrees and post them when we get to San Diego.

Amanda and Clint's wedding was awesome last night. It was the first time I've been to a wedding where I actually knew the bride/groom and people who were there. The food was really good, fresh fruit, GREAT grits, salmon, chicken, and CAKE!!!!!!

also worthy of note, an extensive and FREE beer selection. I'm talking the good stuff here. Too bad I was driving home and had to pace myself accordingly. Oh well, I was still hung over from the night before until about half way through dinner. It was an awesome way to spend one of my last nights in town and I wish all of the best to Amanda and Clint.

Brunch today at Cary Town burger and fries with all my homies. peace out party. 1130. be there

Interesting...

Something was recently brought to my attention.
Something very important.
Something with incredible relevance to not only my, but your life as well.

All Big Brett NY's aside, I am the boy most likely to be the Hypotenuse in any friendship Triangle.


Thank you, come again....

movinggggg

Man, moving is starting to get stressful. Beth and I started selling a bunch of records, which was awesome, even though I didnt want to part with a few of them. now I'm starting to look at more of my "odds-n-inns" (or whatever that fruity saying is) and thinking "shit, do i need this?" or "fuck, i want this, but where will i put it?". the questions keep coming. I know when it gets down to the line I'll be fine cutting my losses and gettin on the road, but in the mean time its metaphorically "chapping my ass".

Fuck! i have to go to drill friday night-sunday afternoon. this is so obnoxious. I was all set to go to the mountains with my best friends but since my Company has their head pretty far up their ass, I have to spend my weekend bullshitting with them. THEN, i have to find 3 more days over the next two weeks to go back and make up what i missed last month. UGH. shit me in the crap flapper. I hope it gives me a chance to make some lists cause i'm a bit p.o.ed.

Anticipation of moving is really frustrating. I'm glad I don't own a house, selling that and trying to find one across the country would be a major splinter in my dick hole.

fucking shit fuck.

pardon my language, but i'm a punk rocker.

Best Friends

I have three best friends. Scott, Dave, and Chris. The weird thing is, I can't remember the last time we were all in the same place and all talking to each other. there have been so many twists and turns in our relationships over the past few years, but I'm really proud of all of us for not giving a fuck what each other thought and doing what we individually thought was right. I hope there will be a time in the future when things fall into place and we can all hang out and get a decent burrito somewhere, but even if that time never comes i know that we each had enough good and bad influences on one another to be a lasting part of each other's memories. you guys will always have a spot at my table, just as long as you don't piss all over the walls.

Check this out, its for a good cause

http://changeforaten. blogspot. com.



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ONE MORE THING!!!

i THINK i'm going to be playing bass for Original Sin on Wednesday at the Agnostic Front/Madball show. you guys know if this happens im going to get a huge ego and never let anyone forget that i played with AF and madball right?>>???

By the way

I miss the liverpool kids, i want to hop across the pond sometime in the next few years and hang indefinitely. I also miss brett(duh) and nicole and paula. i hope i see them before they go back to germany. i really hope to catch up with every awesome dude/dudette who i've befriended at various times over my lifetime sometime down the road. weeeeeeee'lllllll ssssssseeeeeeee

YOOOO

i was rereading some of my more recent posts and it seems like I've been using this blog as a venting outlet for things that are on my mind. Thats good, but I was hoping to keep it more positive than negative so you guys have better things to read than me being bummin out. Anyways, heres your positive post.....

BEST FRIENDS DAY 7 was this weekend. It is now Sunday night and I am sitting in my room alone on the computer. I'm pretty tired. I had an absolute blast though. So much more fun than I had expected. I'm really glad that I did most of the events and I'm so glad I got to meet some really nice and cool people. It gets me totally stoked on punk and subcultures and good attitudes on life. Let me think of ways to get cheesier with this post...

DUDE i am SO stoked on Scott being in Richmond again. Speaking of best friends. I'm jealous he has like a 4 layer of really comfortable shit bed though. what an asshole. fuck that jerk.

vegetarian take 2, day 1

This morning Beth, Mike, and I traveled downtown to Cafe Ole to see our good pals Ricky and James and take part in some fine meheecan dining. Mike and I partook in the Daily Special (Potato Burrito) while Beth opted for the staple Shredded Beef Burrito (I think..) While I will admit to taking a bite from her's, I don't believe I consumed any actual beef. Score one.

Vermont was tight. John being 21 is tight. Chris Carreon living in Richmond is tight. etc... etc... etc...

cool

brett and the missus just came by. it was tight seeing him. <3

man

so much going on. trying to clean up/pack up/get up everything for this little trek of mine that is moving cross country. im really really anxious but in a good way. i think its going to be such a positive experience for me. my life has taken so many weird turns in the past few years, but overall im pleased with the life i live and the future im paving way for. i have a really hard time focusing on things. just saying. i hope i dont have to leave TOO much behind on this move... i hope i get a good job and can go back to school(AND ENJOY IT!!!!)

we will see...

i will miss a hand full of people. i will not miss a ton of people. sorry that sounds bitter, but i mean that in a really good way because im stoked to be away from so many dipshits that crawl the streets of richmond.

mail is so weird, i tend to get stressed about getting a letter these days since its just weird army shit or credit card applications or bank statements/bills. always shit i try for 3 seconds to read but end up tossing and hoping it wasn't important. life is so fucking crazy. it continues to astonish me every single day. so weird.

i dont really know how to put a lot of my thoughts into words(BIG SURPRISE HUH??) i don't even know how to think about them clearly in my head. i need to start working out again but i probably wont until we get to san diego. oh well.

i hope i dont run into a million problems right off the bat out there, it would harsh my mellow. i'm into this positive lifestyle and mind set.

signing out...

so there i was...

2:05


but anyway...

Just got back from San Francisco, it faggin ruled. Can't wait to move my happy ass out to San Diego this Fall with muh #1 homegurl Bethy D. Missed opening night of The Dark Knight(or maybe it was The Black Knight, you know, with Martin Lawrence) but thats okay. I dont have TOO much more to post. goin to AC tomorrow!!!!!! going to drink for free, stay for cheap, and watch jonathan and justin win big bucks while i play penny slots. should rule. Ill be in Vermont for about a week in early August. Then I just ride out the next month (and by ride I mean ride.. BMX) with scott as beth and I make final living arrangements for the WEST COAST!!! wow thats going to be awesome. gonna miss some of you bottom feeders, but you know who to call when you need a vacation!!!

Well I guess...

Maturing, it happens to the best of us??? No... I used to think the whole "young til i die" thing meant running around like an irresponsible 15 year old every night trying to fight "society" and hold my "youth" dearly without any regard for other people. Now sayings like that make 100x more sense to me. I definitely have had my share of regrettable actions, but lately I've been trying to look at them as learning points. I don't hang out with nearly 75%(if not more) of the people I considered close friends three years ago. Some for specific reasons, others because we just grew apart. I wonder if that is typical for people to go through. Weird. I'm going to get off this subject before I start opening up doorways. ok time to go. night night

fuck

its been a long time. sorry. fuck a lot. building my new bmx has proved to be the most frustrating shit ever. everything that could not fit or be fucked up has done just that. God's laughing. my moped got stolen this week. yay. Satan is laughing. I have to do two weeks of annoying bullshit starting bright and early tomorrow. I am trying to keep myself in the right mindset and attitude but shit is really fucking obnoxious right now. I still have the few things in life that actually matter so I should really stop being a materialist dipshit but its hard. Ugh. Barf. If something productive doesn't happen soon I'm going to shit myself.

Mental

I have a lot that i want to write down. A lot I want to read. A lot that I need to do. I am going to write something on Time Management soon. Hopefully. I also want to write some "Flash Fiction" as Paste magazine described it. I guess theres a growing trend of people writing short stories and posting them as blogs. Sounds creative. I'll give it a shot sometime soon. In the mean time i'll be kicking myself in the butt.

xoxoxo

ps- Joe, Beth, and I had a very extreme conversation on how we could turn ourselves into robots. No more money on tattoos...just hardware upgrades. I'm gonna start with a pacemaker.

little spark(i'm tired and about to go to bed)

Recently, scott has been talking about staying aware of his attitude and focusing on more positive angles than he has in the past. I am really proud of him for trying to better himself and I'm definitely using that as an inspiration to try and better myself. I don't know when I became so stuck up but when i've been having deeper conversations with people recently i find myself thinking that i sound like a know-it-all bastard most of the time. thats not cool. i need an attitude adjustment. i'm trying to wise up, but i think i really just need to sleep right now. i'll try to expand on this more soon....check out scotts blog(i've got it linked..)

Millions of things

are running around the tracks of my mind right now. I made a list of things to do this week to make myself feel accomplished. I'm going to Florida with Zack for maybe a week starting on Friday. We're going to check out Jacksonville, Gainesville, and St. Augustine. I'm very excited for this to happen. I'm already trying to brainstorm ideas for my next little trip. Current possibilities are New Orleans and Coastal Texas. We shall see how things pan out. This summer is getting closer everyday and my levels of anticipation, anxiety, and excitement are sky rocketing. Who know whats going to happen. I hope it gives me a new spin on things though. I'm confident it will though. My friend Matt just moved to Lake Tahoe for basically no reason at all and I'm just as excited for him as I am for myself. Being somewhere and knowing nobody and nowhere is such an exciting adventure in life. I've experienced it a few times on marginal levels, but never in a permanent relocation. I'LL KEEP YOU UP TO DATE.


In other news....
Strangely enough there was a new cadet in my unit this past weekend. He is FROM Kosovo. He lived the first 17 years of his life in Pristina. He was there as a civilian when shit was popping off nonstop. He was there when NATO bombed his city and countryside. Now, 9 years later, he is a working, breathing US citizen and training to become an officer in the United States Army. That blows my mind. 100%. I only WISH he had been on that deployment with us. It would have been incredible in ways I don't even know. oh well. Stories like that remind me that maybe our country still has something decent to offer the rest of the world. I hope he gets a chance to go back soon and see what we(and now inadvertently "he") have done for his home country. I can't wait for him to go back and be a hero because he has essentially "made it".

Things are never as bad as they seem. Whenever I get to bummed on myself I get mad because its usually me being selfish and not waking the fuck up. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. The world isn't completely fucked yet.

Kosovo

I'm going to be honest, I absolutely plan on going back at some time in my life. Kind of miss it from time to time...

"yeah my girlfriend

takes me home when i'm too drunk to drive, and she doesn't get all jealous when i hang out with the guys. she laughs at my dumb jokes when no one does"

Blink 182 obviously wrote that song just for me.

CRAZY

Back story real quick, theres a lot of weird shit going on in the military right now and lot of Soldiers are being retrained to do different jobs due to unit transformations. Its not a huge deal. "Adapt and overcome". whatever. Whats funny is that since I joined the Army in March 2005 I have been trained to do a total of THREE different jobs; Cannon Crewmember, Aviation Operations Specialist, and Cavalry Scout (In that order). It has recently come to my attention(about 10 minutes ago) That after all the money and time our government has spent on my military education for these other two jobs, I might be going BACK to the gun line behind some of the few remaining cannons we hold on to so dearly here in the VA National Guard. This is killing me. I don't regret a damn thing. I jumped at all my opportunities and took what was up for grabs. In the end, I would love to chill with another howitzer crew on drill weekends. I'm still going to push for a slot in one of the Cav squadrons down in Norfolk, but as long as they get me out of this HHC(read: office bitch) job that I somehow managed to be dropped into last month I'll be happy. It all works out in the end.....

Looking Forward

I'm going to be honest, I have very little to complain about right now. If I wanted to be negative I could rake together a million small annoyances and dwell on those, but instead of getting overwhelmed and upset I'm going to try to Divide and Conquer these petty issues one by one. I can't believe how much of an effect weather has on my attitude. I know it plays a role in all of our emotional patterns, but I have a feeling it plays too big a role in mine. Maybe its just my allergies acting up. Ahhh, whats the use worrying about nothing? The band marches on...

Why I love New England

Jen sent me this story in response to one of my Bulletin posts on myspace...


ashley and i used to go on emmy's screen name when we were drunk and IM random people i was friends with on facebook who didn't know emmy. one time we IMed this kid damien and he was like "whodafuck is dis... howdafuck you get my screen name. i don't mess around wit catz i don't know. ESPECIALLY on AIM." then ashley wrote back "meowwww." he was really mad.

one time, like six months later, we were riding in a car with damien. he still didn't know it was us who did that. really softly from the backseat, ashley said "i don't mess around with cats i don't know." then i said "meeeeeeeowwww."

he was really really mad.

then we pulled up to a cop car. they had their windows rolled down because it was summer. this dude ian leaned out of his window and whispered into the cop's ear: "no popo."

this was a story about cats.


Obviously, if you haven't had the pleasure of meeting these girls you have never been to a real party in Boston

Once you go tall

you never go...small? hm, maybe. either way. get on my level or get outta my life. beanstalkz

I should be packing but...

I'm going to write one last blog for the week. I'm about to go down to Charleston(and subsequently Savannah) for some much needed vacation time. I'm stoked that John and Ana are going to be my companions even though its kind of annoying that none of you other mother fuckers will sack up and come too. Just Kidding. I hope everybody has an excellent Spring Break, and I'm sorry that some of you are going to be stuck working. Life is good. I'm kind of in the mood for a sandwich, but its going to be like over a week until I'll be able to make one again. DAMN IT!

wicked pissah

fah q!

my life rules

I can not stress this enough. Right now I feel like I have all my bases covered. Things are going extremely well for me. I'm so stoked. I could go on for hours about it. ITS ALL STARTING TO MAKE SENSE!!!!! :):):):):):):):):):)

Word for word thought

i just opened my fridge and found something strange. i then had this exact sentence run through my mind "yo, i dont know what this is or if its okay to eat, so i'm just going to leave it alone." you now have an example of the kind of things i hear when nobodys around. enjoy

My funny thing

I love it when youre texting with someone and the conversation escalates above the capacity of text messages and all of a sudden your caller id is spelling out that persons name. you kind of know its going to happen and you are already laughing before you even answer the call. think about it. if you disagree i'll fight you

mosh

forever

Yarg

Ok, i think i'm now over "turning 21". i need to start taking better care of my body again and by that i mean not drinking too much like i did last night. yes. spring break has begun!!! this rules. even though rain sucks especially when you know your bike is outside. fuck. but, kissing girls who have recently been drinking chai is a very excellent corner of life that i highly recommend exposing yourself to.

Kuba Kuba

breakfast is good. i like things

They're pissing me off again

The Army owes me about 2 grand from the KFOR mission. I submitted the correct paperwork before we re mobilized to come home but I only got about $100 of it. Apparently a LOT of people had the same thing happen to them. When the questions were raised last weekend we were given a phone number for the Dept of Defense payroll service and told to contact them with pay issues. I called this morning and after 15 minutes of pushing button prompts I was given an email address to submit my full name, ssn, orders #, and deployment dates to. I'm trying not to get frustrated here, but I sent a very polite email to this address hoping that a human will read it and help me sort this out. I'm so so so so so pissed at 29th ID HHC right now. I know that probably doesn't mean anything to anybody other than Dave or maybe Kara but imagine if you didn't even know who your immediate supervisor was at work and the only people you knew above you were like your boss's boss's boss's boss. Its confusing and a run around, but thats why words like "Cluster-fuck" are invented. As soon as I can turn in my gear and get my unit transfer orders I will be able to wash my hands of Ft. Belvoir and all the political bullshit that 21 year old Specialists have no business being involved in. I didn't join the Army to sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs.

Take It or Leave It Motivation

I just googled my name. The only thing relevant was an old Moped Army profile from 2006. It is now clear to me that I have not been spending my time wisely and need to strike out on more adventures in the near near future. Good thing Spring Break is right around the corner and I'll finally be making my trek to Charleston. Pending moving decisions, i would still REALLY like to get out of the country this summer(ANY continent). I REALLY hope Andrew Rhea still has the drive that I do to make this happen. I need to talk to Tatjana about Croatia soon too. Scott and I are still planning a cross country car ride(because I'm a nerd and havn't gotten a motorcycle yet) as soon as he finishes his semester and can get back to Richmond. This summer really has unlimited possibilities. I'm very excited. I'm pretty jealous of VA for being in Puerto Rico right now and of Beth for going to South America next week. I'm just glad I'll be on a beach though. Eating seafood. Drinking beer. Relaxing. Not being on military duty. Which brings me to another conundrum. This part might be boring unless you have absolutely nothing else going on for the next 5 minutes.

I'm up for promotion to Sergeant this year, but I have a decision to make... Do I stay a Cav Scout and possibly/probably pass it up because I love having a job that cool, or do I fill a slot down at Byrd Airfield with the 224th Aviation Battalion being a desk jockey? I mean I know whats going to happen, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered putting in for that Aviation Op's position. Those fugz0rs are deploying NON stop though(not that everybody isn't) and if I end up chewing sand with anything other than a line unit I might never forgive myself. Thats a whole different story though. I'm kind of over being in the military. Maybe I'll change my mind again, but thats how I feel currently. OH WELL!

Another same moment

i painted a picture of a robot and a cactus trading skins. I don't know why I was so inspired to create this piece of art, but i think its funny to look at. I was listening to Mates of State today and wondering if that makes me a bitch. this is possible.

Ok I'll be serious

I don't think I ever really have anything serious that I feel comfortable writing about on here. I hope I don't freak anyone out too much through this. Funny myspace thing...
these kids are too funny

Trivial Pursuit

Oh, but that last post was definitely not written in a negative connotation. My life rules right now(I mean it usually does, but in different ways that i'm excited about now). I've done multiplication tables and geography quizzes at some of the most inappropriate times. Today it is about 68 degrees F outside. F no longer means Fahrenheit to me. it means Fucking Springtime. and Fuck You if you are still stuck on Celsius where it is approx. "20 degrees". THAT SOUNDS COLD AS A BITCH! actually its the same temperature, the rest of the world just uses a simpler scale than us. BUT THATS WHY WE ARE AMERICA! Uhoh I'm winding up for a tangent. I called scott today and left him a message about how I wish it was still the mid 1990's and i lived in L.A. so instead of being bored at stoplights I would have something to do like wonder if i was going to get car jacked. That form of criminal art has seemed to lose its popularity over the last decade. I wonder if it has anything to do with Glen Danzig being punched in the face by the singer of North Side Kings. Ok, i had to type that, but for real I might skip class and go check in at an institution this afternoon...

Wheres yo head??

Did you guys know I was on the verge of insanity? I always thought it was a joke when we talked about it...

hm

So I'm at drill in NoVA right now. My buddy Kyle and I decided not to stay in the barracks and to shell out 35 bucks apiece to split a big room in the officer's quarters. (I have no idea why we are allowed to do this). We watched this HORRIBLE movie called Basic Instinct 2 tonight while drinking beer in the room(he forgot to bring civilian clothes so we are just chilling here). I'm kind of drunk and eating half of a Sub that wasnt worth the $7 I paid for it. At least I have internet though. I'm half drunk and thinking about writing things that I know I'll regret. Too bad I'm not all the way drunk so I'd do it. Oh well. Its been about a week and a half since I've worked out. I need to begin that again this week so I can get my head straight and my body right. I'm SO ready for spring break and finally going to charleston with some of my good friends. i hope all you asshole mother fuckers are doing well.

Pandora.com

Scott just directed me to a website called Pandora. Its an interactive online radio that (hopefully) exposes you to different bands relative to your current favorites. When I opened the site it immediately asked me to type in any song/album/band name. I figured I'd give it an easy one and wrote Blink 182. They started off by playing "Give Me One Good Reason" to warm me up(I guess?). That song ended, and my real journey began. The next song was by MakeDamnSure. I can honestly say I've never even heard of this band. It wasn't incredible, more of a Taking Back Sunday rip off, but I enjoyed it. Right now I'm on my third song by Boys Like Girls. Hm, that name is so stupid. This music is kind of cheesy. I'd say Yellowcard meets Simple Plan. I'm kind of into it though. Its not horrible. I'm really interested in leaving this site up for a few hours and just see what I run across. DID I MENTION ITS FREE??!?!

But real quick

ATTENTION WORLD: if you didn't know, "paper work" is my arch enemy. As in, I will do whatever I can and usually just take the hard way out if it means I don't have to waste even a second of my life on this meaningless crap. As much as I enjoy the physical part of the Army, there is enough "paperwork"(MOST OF WHICH JUST GETS LOST AND DOESN'T EVEN MEAN SHIT!) to make me want to be done with it right now. fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. i'm kind of annoyed and frustrated trying to find a bunch of my shit so that i can just get all my boxes checked and be left alone for another month. i've got some stupid lieutenant up my ass about which family members are coming to this Freedom Saltue. Um, try none. I wouldnt even go if I didn't have to. Why would any of my family members want to waste their Sunday on such a thing? I'd rather just mow the General's lawn, drink a beer, and call it a day. This weekend is going to be fun but its going to be a hassle and a pain in my ass. Wait a second, that reminds me of every drill weekend. I'll probably come back on Monday so pumped about it though because I always get overwhelmed with empty worries. Why do I do that to myself? Maybe because I don't listen to Blink 182 enough. Lets get a burrito. call me

Because my life is awesome

First off, being able to sit down at a bar or be in a restaurant and order a beer is such a convenient and fun thing to do. I fully appreciate it. I took advice from one of my friends and bought a ticket to the Can Can Beer Dinner. Apparently this is a 5 course meal where every serving is masterly complemented with an imported brew. I'm excited.

Another thing I'm excited/nervous about is first drill back.

I'm glad to be getting back in the routine and seeing everybody again but I REALLY don't want to cut my hair and I REALLY don't want to go through all my gear today to make sure that I have it all. I also REALLY don't want to go to this incredibly lame "Freedom Salute" ceremony that we are apparently having. I was on the phone with my Squad Leader (who is bat shit insane) the other day and he confirmed my assumption that it will be 100% gay and a waste of time. Fuck it. It'll be an alright weekend.

My life rules. Too many things up in the air, as usual, but isn't that what life is about? Who knows. I'm so excited for United Blood!!! I need to start working out again.

Doing or not, which is worse?

I've reached a crossroads. I'm not planning on continuing my Horticultural Education. That doesn't sound like much of a crossroads, does it? No, thats because its just a fact. The crossroads is whether or not I should finish up this semester or drop out. I got fucked out of my ORIGINAL first semester of college when I was deployed 2 weeks before Exams. I didn't enjoy it anymore than I do this one, but knowing that you wasted your time, effort, and money is a really crappy feeling. I guess I'm not at that much of a crossroads after all. I know I'm going to finish, but I am just really anxious for it to be May. I'm looking for some direction. College just isn't what my life needs to be about right now. Richmond is too small, how has my Dad lived here for 56 years?

Wow, maybe I'm forming a habit!

After three long months, the hour of my haircut grows near. Heres a little of my his-doo-ry for you ...
I started shaving my head by choice in Summer 2004. When I switched schools to Benedictine in Winter 2004 I was required to keep it buzzed. I enlisted in the Army in Spring 2005, so I never even got to grow it out after High School.

Until now.

Upon returning from Kosovo we were granted 3 months of excused absents from drill. Obviously, I let my hair grow. I still have 3 years left on my contract with the National Guard, so unless I get deployed again you probably won't be seeing this mop top in the near future.

That's about all I can seem to write on the subject. I'll miss it, but I'm stoked to get cleaned up...

Coloring Myself Black and Red

From 12:00 am Thursday morning(okay, more like 9pm Wednesday night) until about 2:00pm Sunday afternoon I was in an almost constant state of Wild Rager. I definitely outdid any 4 day stretch of Summer 2006, if you know what that means.

Why? Because I turned 21 on the 21st and I'm still trying to catch up for missing 2007.

There are a ton of things I could write about from last weekend; monster trucks, everyone's birthday weekend that it was too, legally drinking at bars, being bad, yelling, being kind of mean, being kind of nice, falling over, eating incredible dinners, presents, homework(and how I didn't do any), music, etc, yadda yadda yadda, ...

Pushing all that aside for the time being, I am going to focus on what it means to have your mind blown. I know we talk about it alot, and its not out of the ordinary for me to claim that things like new found glory, 5 guys, qdoba, smoothie king, greg's mosh, and matt clarke blow my mind, but now I know the true meaning of the phrase.

Scott and Virginia flew from Boston to Richmond and surprised me at Helens on my birthday. I didn't even recognize my sister when she snuck up behind me.

Thats all I can write about the situation. Did you think it was going to be a long story or something? I already told you, my mind was blown!!!

i love you all, i love spring time, i am stoked to go back to Drill this weekend(even though I love my hair right now), I love that Dan is researching Uhaul truck prices, I love that spring break is in two weeks and that I'm finally going to Charleston. i love that i don't feel like a drone even though my life is kind of crazy and my future is foggy.

Also... I know its a weird thing to say, and I've never really felt like one day could be that life changing, but now that I'm 21 i DO feel different. I can't argue the fact that I'm a functioning grown up now. I don't plan on acting like one to the extent that I had to last year for another couple years, but I feel like i just opened a big door into a huge room with a million other little doors. I wonder if thats a normal thing to feel...

I was going to post the lyrics to Simple Song by Avail but I feel like thats kind of tacky. I mean, you guys probably all know the words, and its really not as fun to read as it is to listen to.... also i'm not a "jaded" 15 year old girl posting my fav. Simple Plan song. but just for the record

Where am I going with this

Fuck. I'm not in the mood to write this. I'm usually not though, thats why I only have a few entries. But I'm forcing myself tonight. That last blog was stupid. I mean I thought it was funny and somewhat clever at the time and maybe I will again later on, but right now I'm just annoyed with it. This will probably end up being a worse post though. I feel like shit because I ate too much General Tso's Chicken after band practice. I had a pretty fun night doing that though. I almost understand jam bands now. We just smashed around with like every genre of music and it was a blast. It was really nice outside and Brett and I rode and hit a few spots over the afternoon before running into some other BMX kids we know. Theres about 50 things on my mind right now surrounding my birthday and girls and friends and family and future and just about every aspect of life right now. Its all looming over my head like a big piano hanging from a sky scraper. I need a good tree to sit under on a nice day with an apple and maybe a book. Cause I try to live my life in fantasy world, fuck you, say i can't!!!! that was kind of weird. maybe i'll type this whole thing without any backspaces. i will too. i just realized that a comma belonged between "will" and "too" but its too late to change it now!! oh well. I'm in a pretty good mood overall, maybe a little tired and a little overwhelmed, but thats not a bad thing. i'm going to bed though

i can't believe i just wrote that

I mean...I thought it was funny...

This is a little rediculous, but so am I

I hate R&B. I can't stand it musically, but my main problem lies in the culture that I think the lyrics are responsible for. Keep in mind that I have about 2 weeks of actual relationship experience in my life so if you want to tell me I have no clue what I'm talking about then that's fine, but I'd be happier if you told me you laughed while reading this blog.

Now when it comes to girls, I think I have the "strong and masculine yet gently romantic" figure that, according to Power 92, women desire. I don't usually have a problem getting the initial interest of a girl I like, but progressing to the next stage of a relationship is where things always seem to take a nosedive. I couldn't figure out exactly why this was. Reasonably, I assumed that R&B would give me an answer so I started listening to some casually. Time went by and I wasn't getting anything out of these songs. In one final attempt, I really started pondering the lyrics and taking them for more than face value. In my research I discovered that R&B is not at all what it appears to be on the surface. I found out that there are really only Two Reasons that guys write and listen to R&B songs and that they feed off of each other to form a continuous cycle of terrible lies that girls consistently mislabel as "tough love".

The First Reason guys write R&B songs is to provide a set up for male listeners to trick naïve/stupid, kind-of-easy girls into sleeping with them. The listener (or poser, if you will) plays sappy, corny, obnoxious R&B songs to make himself out to seem like he lives above real life human problems and emotions. For some reason this lifestyle seems to be irresistible to females and before long the girl will be tagged and bagged. From here, the suave, attractive, stylish man (typical Poser) begins the process over again with another girl. Sometimes things don't go to plan though, which brings up the Second Reason that R&B songs are written.

The Second Reason that R&B songs are written are as a response to a reaction to something fucked up that the singer has done. Let me break that down for you. Guy cheats on Girl. Girl finds out. Guy regrets cheating (not because he's sorry, but because Girl found out). Girl tries to dump Guy. Guy wants to show Girl that he is actually human after all and proves that he is keen to her emotions by writing a sappy, corny, obnoxious R&B song to show her how much he "cares". From here, the girl will either
A) buy into the story and continue the relationship until she catches the guy cheating again.
OR
B) begin the cycle all over again with a different guy who probably(and less than coincidentally) also listens to/writes R&B songs.
In conclusion, I think any guy who actively listens to R&B is also actively lying, and any girl who dates R&B type guys is actively being lied to. I also REALLY think the music sucks.