I have a cold, or something. Went home early from work, slammed down some DayQuil, and slept for the rest of the afternoon. I’m feeling a little better, I guess but I am way out of it. Might try to work from home tomorrow.
I’m at the laundromat again. My control freak instincts are in high gear right now. Must have clean laundry and bedsheets.
This weekend’s trip to Vegas was pretty cool. At the last moment, Hinojosa called up and asked if we could pick him up along the way, so we did. I had some terrible beef jerky on the ride home, but the trip was pretty cool overall.
Today was a rough day at work. I got caught in an unexpected lunch with the CEO, which normally would be cool, except for the fact that I was caught unawares, I didn’t dress very well today, and I haven’t shaved or gotten a haircut in a few months. I think I blabbered way too much about nothing at all. It’s too late to do anything about it, so, oh well.
The new Halo 2 maps are out and 24 is on tonight but unfortunately it looks like I’m not going to be able to participate in either. Oh well to that, too. This is one of those days where you just need to think about looking forward to having fun some other time.
My friend Chris remarked to me two months ago that if I took the job I’m working at now, I’d be able to go to Vegas on a whim. Well, Chris, that’s a pretty good idea. I’m off to Sin City for a weekend of R&R. Be good while I’m gone, y’all.
I went “jogging” again this morning, and my legs are sore now.
Every Wednesday morning a bunch of us from work meet up at Izzy’s Deli for breakfast, but they were shooting a movie there today, so we went to Swingers instead. Mediocre food, uncomfortable seating, but the waitresses were hot, which sorta kinda made up for its failures as a restaurant. Probably won’t go back there again.
Today was a trashy food day. Breakfast at Swingers, lunch at the Daily Grill, dinner at Aunt Kizzy’s. I really, really wish there was a Subway within walking distance of my office. I should start packing sandwiches again. It’s too easy just to say “Yeah” when somebody comes by my desk and wants to go to lunch, and then I end up eating trash. I have no discipline.
The advertisement I jammed up a couple of weeks ago got published today. It’s in a magazine that none of you have ever heard of, nor would you have any interest in reading, so don’t bother asking. But it turned out pretty well for jamming something together in a few days that should have been worked on for weeks. All good. I moved the corporate needle just a tiny little bit.
I forgot to mention that Monday’s episode of 24 was pretty cool. Not a lot of excitement, but next week’s episode promises to be interesting.
Gonna wait up for a few minutes to see if Matt wants to play a bit of Halo. If he doesn’t, I’m going to sleep.
I have felt like crap for the past two days, so it’s time to clean it up a little bit. After work today, I went jogging, which I haven’t done in a month. Now, those of you who know me would be like, “That motherfucker doesn’t jog.” And you’re right - I can barely make it to the end of the block without stopping to light a cigarette. But I gotta start somewhere. And I feel much more clear-headed and even-keeled tonight.
Montez and Caroline came over tonight, and we finished his first podcast. It came out much better than the last one (so, I guess it kinda worked out that I lost the first one due to a laptop crash). You should see it soon on his site.
In Halo news - the new Halo 2 patch has turned out to be pretty cool. Melee and grenades are actually useful again. It’s super fun to run up on someone and bash them in the face.
That is all.
I came home from work, fired up the grill, and grilled me a steak today. It was pretty tasty. My quality of life has improved since I moved out to this side of town. Might have a heart attack from so much grilled meat, but at least I’ll enjoy my exit.
Today was a pretty craptastic day. I got stuff done at work, and I had a really nice mix going on with the iPod Shuffle. But I just felt jittery the entire day and like I was on another planet from everyone else, not getting through to anyone about my ideas. Everyone has days like this, so I am not worried. If it happens on a regular basis, I will become worried.
I am, however, greatly looking forward to two things to close out day of the blahs. First, it’s Monday, so a new episode of 24 is on tonight. In the words of Regul, “Jack Bauer is always there for me, killing fools who need to be killed.” Second, the Halo 2 patch was released today and most of the 81st Street Clan should be online tonight. Even though we get our asses kicked a lot, it’s generally a pretty fun time.
p.s. Caroline, I have not tried your rub yet. Probably going to make ribs sometime the next couple of weeks, so I will do it then.
Friday night my brother came into town. He was doing a show, but it was out in the Inland Empire, so I didn’t go. Instead, he came by afterwards and we went to Norm’s with Montez and Regul. Norm’s isn’t exactly on the list of hotspots I’d take people from out of town, but it was the only thing that was open that wasn’t a bar or a taco stand, and at least it’s better than Denny’s. So, we just hung out and ate breakfast, and he left the next morning to go back home.
Saturday I spent ripping CDs. Montez came over and we worked on his first Podcast, but then my laptop crashed and I lost all of the files, so we’re going to have to do it again. I found out I have some RFI or some shit that’s screwing with my mic inputs - if I’m going to record stuff in my apartment, I need to buy a power conditioner.
Then we all went over to Toby’s house in West Covina to play cards. I ended up in third, so no money for me. After that was a cash game where I ended up simultaneously having fun learning new games (for me, at least) such as Omaha, 727, and baseball, and also feeling the fun (and money) getting drained out of me by not understanding the nuances of those games. But I managed to win a few and ended up being up for the night.
Today, I downloaded my first two songs from the iTunes Music Store: “Some Jingle Jangle Morning” by Mary Lou Lord, and “Left Coast Calling” from Rollmottle. I jammed them on my iPod Shuffle so I can listen to them at work tomorrow. Once I got past the account registration it was surprisingly easy to buy music, and I can see how addictive this might get. But I still like buying CDs, so this will probably be just for the songs where I wouldn’t want to buy the entire album.
Today at work we had bowling in the afternoon, at the same joint that I went to last weekend with the ex-81st Street crew. It was really fun. I did particularly well today - scored something like 128, 154, 121, and 188, with five strikes in a row on the last game. After that I went to EB Games with my boss, then we went to a donut shop and then I went home.
I just finished grilling some catfish. It came out okay - I didn’t really have anything to put on it, so I just slobbered some olive oil and pepper on it and threw it on. I’ll try again, but so far, steaks and chicken have turned out the best.
Weekend’s here, yay! I’m starting to appreciate weekends again.
I found a place that’s better than Hurry Curry. There’s a joint called Chutneys at the intersection of Pico and Barrington. The saag paneer left something to be desired, but the chicken tikka masala and the rice were excellent, and it’s pretty inexpensive. Still doesn’t compare to the buffet at Star of India on Melrose, or Radhika’s in Pasadena, but….nice.
What else is going on? I finally got around to watching Croupier tonight. It was pretty entertaining.
I mentioned earlier that I’m ripping my CD collection to MP3 format. Well, it’s making me feel old. Most of my albums are from the 90s.
As it turns out, Audioscrobbler’s been totally inaccessible during the evenings, even after I donated a bit of money (a miniscule but perpetual $2/month subscription), so you can’t see what I’ve been listening to. But if you did, you’d realize (as I have) what a morose-sounding, low-self-esteem record collection I have.
Today was a blah kind of day. I did a lot of stuff at work, but it feels like I got nothing done. Guess I’m gonna go to bed soon, and try again tomorrow.