All you need is drugs…drugs are all you need.


OK, I’m getting ready to piss some people off, but here goes. Drugs are bad, mmmmkayy. Seriously, I don’t understand why people still get high at this point in their lives. I really don’t. When I think of adult stoners, I think of The Dude, of course, but also some smelly guy who lives in the back on his VW bus. I know there are plenty of responsible people who just like to get high from time to time. I just don’t understand it. Of course, I’d be the last person to tell anyone what to do with their lives. I just immediately feel a certain amount of distance go up between me and people that I learn are pot smokers. I’m the same way with heavy drinkers. It just isn’t my scene and maybe it is my bad to be judgmental. I just don’t see the point in getting stoned.

Pot to me represents hanging out in the field by high school before class or driving to the beach late at night to hide form the cops back in high school. The key word here is HIGH SCHOOL people. If your opinion is different, share. I’d like to be enlightened, because so far, laziness, weight gain and apathy are three things I’ve found plenty easy to acquire without needing to self medicate. So unless you are in a hugely successful rock band or have no aspirations to do anything with your life, then it is time to put the pipe down.

Just my two cents. If you feel differently, hit me up (ha ha I said “hit”) because I can think of at least two people who don’t share my opinion. It is, after all, just my opinion. I’m not going to lecture you or get angry with you for how you live your life, but I have just ask much of a right to tell you I think it is dumb as you have the right to smoke a bowl. I can accept it, but I can not support it.

Happy toking.

It would nice if you could pick and choose insomnia. Sometimes it would be convenient. For example, you want to get a head start on traffic. So you leave for a big trip at 3 A.M. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. It comes on the nights before you need to be well rested and alert. So tomorrow is my last day at work. Boy that sounds nice to say. Last day before I head out on vacation that is:

Saturday Atlanta, REM

Monday Tampa to see family

Wednesday-Friday Florida Keys camping with dad.

Saturday Fly to Seattle were I will spend the longest day of my life since my friend is planning a party that night that will end about 3 AM. That will be 6 AM by my circadian

Halloween Try and figure out which Seattleites are in costume and which are just hipsters.

Monday-Wednesday Rent a car and either go to Vancouver, Portland or if I get really lofty, San Francisco.

Thursday-Saturday Back in Seattle. See Cobain’s house and Bruce Lee’s grave

Overnight Saturday Back to Tampa.

Monday Drive home

That’s it. I’m excited, but it doesn’t really compare to going to Australia which was plan A.

I’m currently not shaving nor do I intend to for two weeks. I’ll look like Grizzly Adams by the time I get back.

Dear British citizens,
I heard you have started a letter writing campaign to convince Americans to vote for John Kerry. I’ll tell you, it isn’t going over well. Americans pride themselves on their freedom and ability to make their own decisions. Never mind that if the rest of the world got to vote, or if all the people in the United States who are not allowed to vote were able to exercise that freedom, John Kerry would win by a landslide. The good news is the people who decide our elections are pretty well split right down the middle and I suspect that the “swing voters” are a figment of the media’s imagination. We are strong minded individuals here in the US and for lack of a better term we are quite stubborn.
Today as I was driving into work listening to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and feeling tired from staying up until 2 A.M. reading a Tony Parson’s latest book, I reached over to grab an Altoid and realized all this could be taken away. See, I’m as big a Brit lover as they come and aside from the “Telletubbies” and most Hugh Grant movies, there isn’t a thing I don’t love about British culture. Sometimes I ever dream of getting a flat in Soho and marrying a nice British girl. Unfortunately, here in the US of A, we don’t take kindly to those who question our authority. Whatever form it takes, we don’t handle it well. You may not have heard about France and the little misunderstanding we had with them. “Le Boycott” as I call it. Now our menus are graced with “Freedom Fries” and “Freedom Toast.” I would imagine young lovers are probably “Freedom Kissing” somewhere in our heartland. Need I remind you about the last time our two countries didn’t get along?
Here in the states, our primary schools don’t put a great emphasis on history, but I did learn enough to know that the Brits who built this county came here for freedom. Freedom from YOUR oppressive government. They sought a place to practice their religion freely, a place where they would always have the freedom to question the government and of course, they wanted a free press. Now we have all those things. While you might be able to take Tony Blair to task on the BBC, here in the US we respect the office of the president, no matter what dumb things he does. We also know that questioning our government in any way is really just showing a lack of support for our troops. That’s a simple fact.
So before the stores here start refilling the Beatles under “F” for the Freedoms, I suggest you cool off the criticism. Tony Blair does not always do what you want either. The good news is we don’t embarrass our president on TV by asking him poignant questions. Our news casters know how to be polite and ask the president respectful questions and do their best not to get him angry. After all, questioning our government shows you just don’t support our troops. I would think you’d support our troops, since we will likely take a step back and let British troops get the limelight when we corner Bin Laden. Otherwise, his successful capture by US forces in the next few weeks might look like a political move. You and I know better of course.
Cheers,
Jonathan Crosby
PS I heard Prince Harry has a row with the press last night. Our Bush twins would never exhibit such behavior.

I get lots of comments from my John Kerry sticker. So today I am at lunch at a traffic light when I hear someone next to me laying on their horn. At first I didn't want to look, because I have had all kinds of rednecks bother me at lights about voting for Bush. They seem to never have good reasons to offer, just "you should vote for Bush you leftist Element driving hommo." Today I looked over and saw a very sweet old couple giving the thumbs up and waving.There is hope, even in the south.

I get lots of comments from my John Kerry sticker. So today I am at lunch at a traffic light when I hear someone next to me laying on their horn. At first I didn't want to look, because I have had all kinds of rednecks bother me at lights about voting for Bush. They seem to never have good reasons to offer, just "you should vote for Bush you leftist Element driving hommo." Today I looked over and saw a very sweet old couple giving the thumbs up and waving.There is hope, even in the south.

I bought a computer once that came with a whole bunch of Beck MP3s. This is a better story.

If I did not already vote, I would write in John Stewart. Here he is on Crossfire.

Unrequited love is the best. I’m not kidding. Haven’t you ever felt in love with someone you don’t know or better yet, they don’t even know you exist. It is so uncomplicated. I can not say I’m currently in that frame of mind. Although I do say it rocks. It’s the type of love that keeps guys like Morrissey writing songs. The love that is so perversely one-sided that it is destined to fail miserably before the word “go.” That’s the goods. I’m telling you, it has been a while since I’ve had that, but it really brings you back to life. Maybe I need to mingle more. If I had some type of social life other than hanging out with couples, I’d probably meet some vegan emo vixen that wants to safe the Micronesian donkey from deforestation. She can stay wrapped up in the cause and her bands that no one has ever heard of and I can quietly admire her from far. That would be ideal. Then we would never have to have a real relationship were real issues pop up and we have to face things like building a life together or making sure the phone bill gets paid or checking our credit reports so we can get financed on a starter home.

I think this is a theme in my life. Seattle and I have long been in the perfect unrequited relationship. I admire her from far knowing that the expense and distance from my family and incredibly depressing gray skies would give our relationship a 1 year shelf life…tops. Yet I still feel if tomorrow I was told to pack my bags and move my life somewhere else, it would be Seattle. Without thought it would be Seattle. That city isn’t kind to sensitive water signs. I don’t know how I would hold up, but I’m hoping I would have the common sense to buy a plane ticket back home over a shotgun. You never know though.

So I admire her from afar. In fact, both my parents have a distance between us (emotionally or spatial) and I have never had a better relationship with either of them. It is easy to love a dad who visits one weekend day and takes you to Chucky Cheese, I think that is the type of relationship I’m trying to find and it doesn’t exist. Real women have needs and expectations and issues and all the assorted baggage and here I sit content to live in my own world and watch the things I love from a safe distance. I can probably get closer to a gorilla at the zoo than I will ever allow myself to get to true happiness. Positive affirmations, denial, apathy, their all much easier to juggle really. And a rock feels no pain and an island never cries.

Happy 200th post!

I’m currently sort of obsessed with this song.

The rest of the album isn’t as good as I would have hoped, but I have big expectations for the concert Saturday. Last time I saw them in Atlanta, it was definitely a homecoming show and they reached back to “Fables of the Reconstruction” a couple of times. If they wanted to make my day, they’d play “We Walk” or “Perfect Circle.’ Something tells me that is a pipe dream. I love REM both old and new. If they have just stayed with their old sound, then people would complain they never grew. Yet I keep hearing people complain at how much they have changed. I will say this for Michael Stipe, he still has an amazing stage presence.

Don’t look back in anger, I heard you say, at least not today.

I miss Oasis. I mean seriously, who today would have the man berries to say they are bigger than the Beatles, which by proxy makes you bigger than Jesus? Even that smarmy little Timberlake punk wouldn’t dare. OK, you got me; I like that song were Justin sounds like Michael Jackson just a little bit. I guess I want my pop stars to sleep with Cameron Diaz and not little Jose Diaz of Sacramento who’s parents are dumb enough to leave him at Neverland Ranch alone all weekend with a middle age guy who shares his bed with other peoples kids. That’s just ignorant.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, don’t look back in anger. Wise words. I guess when you are an alcoholic like the Gallagher boys, you’ve probably had a few dysfunctional relationships. As have I. Such is life. I think the thing that has kept me sane is the fact that I refuse to get angry about how people treat me. At least not for long. I don’t internalize it and I don’t suppress it. I just get over it. Why? Because the only person you hurt is yourself.

I think we all carry some baggage around in life. I will spare you the details, but I’ve had plenty of bad, believe me. Growing up is reaching that point where you can accept others and more importantly forgive them for the hurt they caused you. I know people in their 80s who haven’t mastered this art and I know kids in elementary school who have. So whatever burdens you have, let them go. In all likelihood you are punishing yourself and only yourself. As the great Dr. Phil McGraw likes to say, “take a bite out of crime.” Oh wait, that’s McRuff the Crime Dog. Dr. Phil always asks “how’s that working out for you?”

It is finished. I voted. I will not bother telling you who I voted for, because that is easy to figure out. I didn't go vote because John Kerry is touring the state encouraging people to vote early (he is). I didn't go vote because Jesse Jackson called (he did). I voted because I will be out of my "battleground" state on November 2nd. I voted because my brother is still sick from serving in Desert Storm. I voted because I lost my job after 9-11. I voted because 4 years ago I didn't care about politics until one November evening. I voted because I graduated college into one of the strongest economies and job markets in history. I voted because I have faith that one vote can make a difference.

Trust me when I tell you the polls were packed. I would be generous to say most of the people voting today were twice my age. I'd like to think that they are voting to save social security or get their grandchildren out of Iraq. Looking at the faces there today, they didn't look like the people who marched for civil rights or stood up to the disastrous war of their generation.
If you live in one of the key states (Florida, Ohio, New Mexico...you know who you are) then go to your county’s supervisor of elections and ask to cast your vote. I have voted before, so all I needed to bring was my driver’s license. It is honestly that easy. The future is ours and if we let the last generation (or as it appears the one before that) decide who will be running our government, then we have absolutely no reason to complain. Anyone should be able to take 20 minutes out of his or her schedule sometime in the next two weeks to determine the outcome of the next 4 years.

So today I used the color printer at work to make a couple of Belle and Sebastian shirts, maybe it will give me street cred with the hipsters on the west coast when I am out there. More than likely it will just show my age. Hey, I listen to Bright Eyes too. Of course, in the hipster world things expire before the packaging is finalized. I think I shall find a band that hasn’t even formed yet and download their album form a Ukrainian server 6 full years before the band members even meet. My band “Gordon Shumway” has performed together twice. So start passing that one around and build up a buzz for us. If you catch the reference, let me know and I will consider you a hero of the Torah. Then I will be cool, or deck or whatever the hell you people say. I’m much too old to bother anymore. So I am voting Monday. I will be on said trip during the election and Lord knows in Florida Kerry will need every vote he can get. So I am submitting my vote early. In the words of the female fronted hip hop trifected known as Northern State; “The country’s getting ugly and there’s more in store, but don’t blame me because I voted for Gore”. I just got a bright idea. I’ll email Stuart form Belle and Sebastian and tell him to check out my blog, because not too long ago he wrote a similar entry about being a man in his 30s who still makes shirts. Perhaps he’ll become addicted to my blog and then when the band needs a bass player, they’ll ask me on board. Bloody likely.

So begins or ends another week. I work on Saturday, so it is a moo point for me. You know, like a cow’s opinion. Really how the week”end” plays into the equation of life I may never understand. It might be the end of the week, but it is the only part of the week most of us really come alive.

The only thing I like more than sad bastard music is fall and it is HERE! It takes a while to get down to Florida, but today is gorgeous and I am having trouble staying inside. Just as folks in cold parts of the county reemerge in spring, we Floridians can finally go outside without getting heat exhaustion (or sunburn, or snake bite, or hurricane attacks or SARS, OK, that’s in Toronto.) Anyway, I feel a pretend flu coming on. I need outside!

Not that I ever planed on being a programmer, but this makes me wonder if I’m not wasting my time to get a degree to wipe my ass with. I guess I need to get money hungry, because otherwise, I’m going to spend my life scraping by. It is fine in and of itself, because I’m about as materialistic as a Buddhist monk, but a long time ago I concluded that the only way I’ll be happy is to not have a job. So maybe I should look for some way to get filthy stinking rich and then divide said wealth in $30,000 a year allocations. You can live really nicely on that, especially if you aren’t spending $1.95 a gallon to commute to work everyday. I think I need to play the stock market and make my millions and then sit on them. I suspect most rich people get so caught up in keeping up the appearance of being rich that eventually they become a slave to the crap they bought. I’d be perfectly happy with a studio apartment that’s mostly furnished by crap my Mom and Grandma left me. I don’t need much honestly, but I certainly am getting tired of running on the treadmill of adulthood. Maybe I should become a priest and not have to deal with all these bills. Let the church pay them. I could use their resources to go to third world places and make a difference in the lives of people who have a lot less than we do. For having more than we need, we sure are greedy with what we have.

I do read books. I also majored in English. This was a funny description of Pisces.

Oh my God! Big ups to Wendy for telling me about this.

William Shatner does Pulp's "Common People"

Somehow, I got "Fernando" stuck in my head. Damn you ABBA!

This is a fun game. Play along.10 things about you.

I like to sing the David Gray song “Caroline” in the style of Outkast.

I’m growing a mullet.

James Dean and my mom are cousins. He use to baby-sit my Mom.

I was the first person to ever become vegetarian and put on weight.

The only people I can not stand are those guys from Jersey that always wear visors.

I love to karaoke.

I listen to hipster music, but dress like a frat boy.

I was a good student in high school.

I was a lazy student in college.

I can to varying degrees play the bass, piano, guitar, accordian and trumpet.

Oh yeah, I need some advice. I have grown a goatee and you can see it here. On one hand, it makes me not look 21, which has its perks. Of course, goatees, as a rule, are really only popular in the bear scene these days and that really is not the message I want to send out. Any thoughts?

I’m a Nader hater!

OK, I’m going to ruffle some feathers, BUT the nation is pretty well split right down the center with Bush and Kerry and if people choose Nader, then they might as well vote for Bush. You’d have a better chance getting Siegfried and Roy to go to Hooters than you have of getting Nader into the oval office. I’m sorry, I like the man, but if you vote for him, don’t complain once in the next four years. John Kerry is far from my first choice, but that is what we have. In an ideal world, I’d throw Dennis my vote on November 2nd, but this election is tight and at this point, I’d rather see a schizophrenic crack head run the country than endure another 4 with W. Besides, where has Ralph been hiding the last 4 years when we could have used a dissenting voice?

Wes Anderson is at it again. It looks like this time out, he has some of the best players from "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tanenbaums."

“Time will destroy you like a Mexican god”

What a great line. That is from Robyn Hitchcock. I just got his album “Jewels for Sophia”. I originally got the CD because of a very catchy song called “Viva Sea Tac.” Its a pretty safe bet if you like your music cleverly written and you like an atypical singing voice. I just think that line is brilliant. The one thing that was able to destroy the Mexican gods was time. At one point, people gave their own lives and the lives of their loved ones to honor these gods and now…nobody pays them any mind.


Its been a lucrative week for pirating. I also got a copy of the new REM and Green Day. REM just seems a lot mellower than their past efforts. OK, “Up” could put you to sleep. Boy I miss REM sometimes.As REM grows old, Green Day seems to grow up. I find it scary that Billy Joe has a kid that should be starting middle school in a couple of years. When your full time job if fronting a punk band named after a day of sitting at home and getting high, it will be hard to tell your kids not to smoke pot. I guess if my generation is any indication, the more screwed up the parents are the more normal the kids will be.


Oh, I almost forgot. I picked up two more albums I have wanted for a while. The first is the new Ben Kweller. He use to front the band Radish who had the college radio hit “Little Pink Stars.” I think he was like 12 when he penned the line “I want the world to know that you’re mine, I want to feel you from the inside.” I’m pretty sure he meant that in the ecumenical sense. I also picked up Kanye West’s album. The last hip hop album I got was “The Carnival” by Wyclef 7 years ago and I can honestly say, Kanye has not disappointed me yet. Next thing you know, I’ll be getting those stupid rims that don’t stop spinning. Can I get a “what what?”

I just had a funny thought. OK, not funny ha ha, but funny enough. What if George W. Bush is the anti-Christ? Bear with me here, because there is some logic to it. I can not tell you how many times I have tried to explain to other Christians that this man is just plain evil. Yes, he has a stated pro-life stance. OK, fine. Hitler was a vegetarian, but you don’t see him on PETA billboards.

Bush has used his “Christianity” for more political gain than any other president in history. Ronald Reagan was a Christian, but he never wore that fact on his sleeve, nor did he make believers serve as his foot soldiers the way W has. Never before has a president hoodwinked so many. He has the faithful completely fooled that he is a man of God. The reality of it is that he has been asked time and again to site some pillars of his faith and he often has no clue. In fact the bible study group that he claims brought him to Christ studied the very chapters of the bible dealing with piety, humility and helping the poor. Heck, the whole bible is about that. So what part is W reading?

Surely there has to at least be a few in the Christian Coalition who see that this man is not only using them, but taking them for granted. These poor believers are blindly taking W’s every word while he destroys the planet, kills their kids is a battle for petroleum and destroys every liberty that our founding Christian fathers built this country on. I can not prove George W. Bush is the anti-Christ, but I think even the most pro-Bush biblical scholar has to agree he is certainly setting the stage for the anti-Christ to come to power with his actions in the middle east. Israel and the United States are both tied together in revelations and now more than ever, its looking like we might be the only allies one another has.


Mark 13:22
"For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."

Had it not been for cotton eyed Joe, I’d been married long time ago.
Ok, you got me. I have no clue what cotton eyed Joe is nor can I blame him for my single hood. I do, however, have a theory that song is about the clap.

So I’m zipping around town in my new ride and feeling guilty for having an SUV. It seems the response I get from people is either “all SUVs are evil” or “gosh, it looks so safe.” You can probably guess who says what. I think it is OK as far as gas goes, so why do I feel so bad? I guess I am a hypocrite. I kept thinking maybe I should become a vegan or adopt a crack baby just to balance out my karma.

So Tuesday is my Monday and I have plenty to do. I was just looking at how much homework I have to complete so I can actually go on my trip. Good grief. So I killed some time at work this morning looking at yahoo personals. I use to try the internet personals and it was, well quite honestly, sort of sketchy. Most of the women seem to be in a relationship and looking for sex. Once you take away that group, you’re left with the ones who are psychotic. Take away both those groups and you have the semi-normal women who have one good photo (usually from high school) that they post online.


I’m no Romeo, but jeez, sometimes it feels like finding an average normal woman in this town is a task. Yes looking on the internet is pathetic and sad, but what else are you suppose to do when you are in grad school full time and work full time? It will happen when it happens. Yes ladies, guys worry about this stuff too and no, it isn’t any easier on us.

Looks like WE have better credit scores...


drip drip drip.

It would be nice if you could pick and choose what gets stuck in your head. I have the song from the Chapelle Show the Dave did called "Pee On You." I've never liked R. Kelly, but that is probably the funniest parody video ever.

"haters wanna hate,
ballers wanna love,
I don't really want none of the above"

Today I have a little buyer’s remorse. My car needed about $1,000 in work, so I had my eye open for a good deal to trade it in on. I’ve played musical cars for the last few years. Hopefully, those days are done. One of my coworkers kept telling me to go to the Honda dealership and see what new cars they have to offer. He had an Element and told me I could get a great deal on one.


I never thought much of the Element until I saw the inside of his. It, hands down, is the roomiest car I have ever been in. It also has the ability to go from a station wagon (the sets collapse and hang on the walls of the car) to a truck (the seats come fully out with one simple clip to a spacious 4 person car. It does all this and gets close to 30 M.P.G on the interstate. Did I mention I never considered buying a NEW car? I think it is a huge waste of money. Of course, Honda’s tend to hold their value better than any other car line.


I really was not going to buy it. At first, I really tried to just test drive one and go on with my day, but these guys had about 20 on the lot that they needed to move to make way for the 2005s. When they offered me 2.9% financing, I couldn’t walk away. I have had some serious credit issues in the past and the chance to finance 2.9% on a car was a deal. Not to mention they gave me what I thought my dear Yoko was worth. The car doesn’t conflict with my social conscious about SUVs and gas guzzling and it is a Honda and it has a warranty and does not have scheduled maintenance until 110,000 miles. Did I mention it was new? So I got my first new car.

My stomach is in knots and I go between loving the Element and freaking out about having a new car with payments. The truth is at that interest rate the payments are about $7 more than I was paying on my 4 year old car. Financially it wasn’t devastating and I am use to budgeting that much. Now I am in something that is super safe and has a warranty. It is nice for once to buy a car that wasn’t some other guy’s headache that he was looking to unload on a unsuspecting buyer. It is new. Its mine and I suppose I’m now officially yuppie scum.

Cash Rules Everything Around Me. CREAM Dolla dolla bill y'all.


Deep and profound indeed. That's why I invest with Wu Tang Financial.

I have no real point today other than taking a minute to avoid real work. I found a hair hero. Evey kid needs a hair hero and Tucker Carlson has that insane baby face frat boy turned serial killer hairdo that I could probably pull off. I wonder if Super Cuts will know what a "Tucker Carlson" is when I ask for it by name?

Every time I read something like this I go back to 9-11. The parents of this victim are working to get the remains of those lost in the Twin Towers buried. The city's plan is to bury the remains in the landfill where they are currently held.
_________________________________________________________
Matthew Horning, 26, worked on the 95th floor of the north tower as a database administrator for Marsh & McLennan insurance company. He and his father were set to go shopping Sept. 12 for a diamond ring for Matthew's girlfriend, Maura Landry.
He survived the initial impact of the hijacked jet despite the intense fire, sending messages over his pager to a colleague outside the building until shortly before the tower collapsed. Among them, his father said, was the message, "Tell Maura I love her." His final communication: "Scared."

I should really be doing some school work. I can not really say my passion lies in database warehousing or middleware architecture. I suppose if I got paid to make up stories all day I would get sick of it too. I’m just burnt out and I have half a masters done. The curse of the water sign is that if it doesn’t interest you, you will not do it. Alas, I trudge on.


Any thoughts on the debate last night? I though Edwards has a lot he held back on. He is a former attorney. I know how they can weasel, I mean, debate their way out of anything. My Dad was an attorney. Rhetoric was this man’s living and he let grumpy old Cheney hold his own? I’m sure Dick is an intimidating presence, but come on dude, you’ve stood up to drug companies. Pfizer has to be more ominous than a guy who has had a couple dozen bypasses. That is, of course, if you believe that IS Dick Cheney and not one of his many stand ins.

Assuming people actually stumble on to my webpage, I don’t actually believe Dick Cheney is dead and was replaced by a robot or imposter (wink, wink). I did enjoy the part where he said he had no political aspirations of his own. Yeah, right. Just like John Edwards was telling us less than a year ago that he had absolutely no interest in being a vice president. I don’t think you can trust a CEO for a big multinational conglomerate any more than you can trust an attorney who chases ambulances. Of course, Edwards might have actually helped a few people during his tenure. Can Dick say the same?

If you know me personally, then you have no doubt heard me wax poetic about how I think Dick Cheney really died 3 years ago. If you look at and compare the old Dick with the new one, it is pretty obvious. Well, it turns out CNN "accidentally" reported him dead back in 2001.

Mark my words. Before I die, I will find a good picture of Sarah Vowell.

At some point the creative well runs dry and you get tired of yelling into the dark and empty night. I feel like a kid in a cornfield in Kansas somewhere screaming at the top of his lungs hoping someone in New York will hear him. I always thought these feelings of isolation and alienation are true and universal themes, but I have noticed lately that I have become somewhat well adjusted and a little on the bland side. So, maybe I’m getting too old to make the magic with the words or maybe I’ve always been boring and having a semi-daily obligation to write something has finally made me face my vanilla existence.


I miss the beginning of my relationship with blogger. When we started, things were real negative and I had some residual teenage angst and real issues to talk about. Nowadays, I don’t gaze longingly of into the distance nor am I naive enough to think the grass will be greener on the other side. That other side can be a new town or relationship or career. The truth is, the grass is always somewhat green and somewhat brown and no amount of neglect of fertilizer will tip it too far in either direction. There is a yin and yang to the universe that I am starting to understand and accept.


I guess what I’m getting at is I have felt extremely uninspired of late. Maybe I have been watching too much TV or getting too caught up in the things that occupy a 20 something. It petrifies me to think that I’ll be 30 soon. I’m not afraid of getting old. Lord knows I haven’t been a partying kid in years (if ever really) and I certainly don’t long for staying out late or having a huge social circle. Instead, I long for a little bit of that spark that makes life interesting and by proxy, worth writing about in a blog. It just hasn’t been in effect lately. So maybe I do need to set the reset button on my life and shave out a Mohawk or move to Portland. Until then, I’m afraid I will be boring old me and I’m finally OK with that.

So I roll into Burger King yesterday for dinner on the run. I do the right thing and get a salad and a water. At first, they were slick and put bottled water in my order, but I explained to the guy I just wanted regular old tap water. So I pull up to the window and my order is over 50 cents more than it should be. So I ask why there is a difference. He points to the cup and says” water!" I look at him and say "you guys are charging for tap water now?" He nodded his head and I told him he could go ahead and hang on to that tap water. I then drove off. I felt bad being rude to the kid, but that is just ridiculous on so many levels.

I have gotten food poisoning twice form Burger King and that hasn't stopped me from going there. I've seen the horrible ways they treat the animals that make their burgers and that didn't stop me from coming back. However, charging me for something I could get absolutely free was where I drew the line. I can understand the bottled water concept. It is filtered and packaged and probably is as big of a rip off, but at least I feel like I'm getting something for my money. A cup and straw costs Burger King 2 and 1/2 cents... tops. OK, I'm done ranting. For now at least.

All I have to say is hurray!

I think the people on the fence (if they actually exist) got to see the real John Kerry last night. I’m glad he isn’t trying to be the “everyman” anymore. Anyone can look at his life and see that it has been a primer for the presidency. Most great presidents are not the type of folks you would run into at the Circle K. John F. Kennedy came from a wealthy New England family and people loved him because he was a good president and did good things. The fact he was rich and Ivy League educated didn’t matter. I for one don’t need to feel like my president should be someone I’d want to crack open a Schlitz with and watch Springer. Unfortunately, enough idiots in the word seem to vote on those exact criteria. Speaking of shallow, the old rule that the tallest candidate always wins might make this happen. Spin it however you want John Kerry won that debate last night. My favorite moment was when he quoted George Bush Senior on why he did not go all the way into Iraq. If Bush had anything to offer us, he would have presented an exit strategy or a concrete plan to bring back the jobs that have gone overseas. This “stay the course” crap might have gotten you by the months following a terrorist attack, but I hope the majority of Americans are not ignorant enough to keep buying his simple “buzz words.” Evil doers, stay the course, evil doers. I’ve met more articulate 8th graders.