SONG OF THE WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE CHANGING IT
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The Current
| Blue Man Group feat. Gavin Rossdale |
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6/22/03
School's out. Huzzah. But now I'm starting to realize how very little there is to do in this damn town without spending a lot of money.
That Flogging Molly concert really set me back, and I'm not so sure it was worth it, considering they were on for about 20 minutes before all their equipment went to hell.
Ah, whatever, I still discovered the Prodigals there, and they truely rock. Everyone reading this should check them out right now.
Random thought: what ever happened to the Hives? Not much to write about except that Harry Potter rocks the casbah.
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6/14/03 So tonight...partay...kinda blew. The entire night I really wasn't havin much fun at all. Some of it was because of the gifts that I had to keep hidden from my parents (I really don't like having to be dishonest with the rents), and some of it was becasue the main group was just to goddamn loud. I really couldn't stand it after a while, so I ended up hanging out on the deck some more with richie. which was actually cool for a while, then more people came out. that was fine as well, because we were able to hold decent conversations without fighting eachother for speaking rights. Eventually though, I needed to just get away from everything, so me and richie went out and burned the porno-novel that shelly and jon got me. One less gift to hide. It was weird at the end of the night especially, because out of nowhere, everyone resurfaced, and I really didn't even realize that so many people were still there. I hate to say it, but all in all, pretty crappy night.
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6/7/03 I must say, while most of my day was complete shit, it ended quite nicely. Most of my afternoon involved sitting around thinking, then went to get a haircut. After dinner I went (reluctantly) to Katie and Dina's grad party. I'm sorry, but I really didn't want to have to deal with Katie today, but for the most part, she was fine. Right when I was leaving though, it got bad. Long story short, I made a bandgeek-esque joke with John Song and she tried to get in on it (for all thoes wondering, it was the "EY!!!" joke). So I made a light crack that was intended as a joke, saying "oh you so wish you were in on that" (translation: you wish you could be a band geek"). She took this the wrong way, and gave me a glare and left. Steph convinced her to come back and talk, but I got fed up and just left. I went to see Italian Job with Jon and Shelly (and yes, I did feel like a third wheel, despite being told that I wasn't). Unfortunately, Italian Job was sold out, so we got tickets for the next hour's showing of Finding Nemo, and got one for Katy Roxbury too, who called Shelly, and was going to meet up with us. We then had an hour to kill, so we went to Best Buy, where I bought Reel Big Fish's "Why do they rock so hard?" CD. Shelly wanted to buy a CD from a group called "switchfoot" or somethin like that, but she didn't have the money so she put it back. When we were in line, this guy behind us gave her the CD again with $10 and said "get the cd, you'll like it" or somethin like that. Very odd. SO we saw Finding Nemo, and holy crap...it was damn good. Brightened up my weekend, and drove home the theme of this point in my life, which was brought on I think by my grandfather. Me and my dad are really a lot closer now, which rocks so much. I actually have fun hanging out and joking around with him now, instead of being nervous that he would yell at me for something or other. Good end to a good night.
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5/31/03 Life has taken a turn for the worst recently. I've been getting really meloncholly about this whole growing up thing. Today really forced me to realize that this bliss called adolessence is only temporary. And while some may disagree that this period in life is perfect, it's the most carefree time we're ever going to have. I don't know when exactly I got into this mood, so I'll just trace out the whole day. (note, I'm just italicizing the mental state I was put in for reference) Woke up, went to the dentist. That was average. Found out I'm going to be getting pain killers eventually! (but only because my wisdom teeth are gonna be yanked). After that I sat at home for a while, then went to Richie's grad party. Twas fun I suppose. This was the start of the realization though that some of my best friends won't be here next year. I'm really gonna miss them. After everything started to wind down, I headed over to Justin's grad party. No offense to Justin, but it kinda sucked. Mainly because I knew only a small handfull of people there, and ended up sitting in the basement playing xbox with Dan Jaller, who I barely know. The isolation there just put me in a bad mood in general. I'm sure everyone's been there at least once Stayed at home, my mom started yelling at me because, get this... I didn't hear her call me down for dinner. Of all reasons... Then we were low on milk, so I offered to go get some more. This created more yelling. Finally I just stopped caring, and eventually my mom cooled down. Went to see the Italian Job, but it was sold out, so went to Pinto's instead with Pinto, Leanne, Sztein, Gers, Naj, and Kt. Kt was really mad at leanne for some reason tho, so she left and started walking. Car still there tho. So we watched some family guy, and talked a lot about drugs and sex. This stirred up a huge concauction of emotions in me. On one hand, I really want to lose all innocense, and get plastered, high, and have a lot of sex. But on the other hand, innocense is something you can't get back once gone, and it's really something I've grown accustomed to. We talked to Pinto for a while too as he packed for senior week. I don't know, but seeing him fill that suitcase really just completed the image of all my friends going away. Eventually kt called and said someone needed to pick her up because she walked all the way to the fuckin school. Since she hates me, I wasn't a nominee for that, so Sztein and Naj went. I stood out by my car talking to Gers for a while, was interesting, but ultimately left feeling like shit. Life sucks once more. When I got home though, everything was put in perspective by my dad, without him even realizing it. He asked what I was doing tomorow, and I said I didn't know. He then asked if I wanted to visit my grandfather. That right there was enough to make me realize that while it's not the best life in the world, I'm still young. I've got that at least.
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5/28/03 Wow, haven't updated in a while. Mainly due to a lack of motivation to do so. Anyway, quite a lot has happened since the last update. For instance, I am now 17. huzzah. Second, I am now a senior. huzzah...sorta. It's really scarry realizing that there's only one more year seperating me from graduation. Whoa...creepy... So my grandfather's not doing too well... visited him in the hospital today. Hospitals are very depressing, with all the families very tense and whatnot...not to mention the halls kinda smell like urine. But yea... not a good day overall for my head...
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5/13/03 Life is very confusing. I don't know what to think about anything really anymore. One day, I think I know exactly what I want out of life, but the next day my mind gets turned upside down. Eh, oh well. Life moves on.
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5/7/03
The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!
Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test
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5/2/03
Today was pretty good. I say pretty good because it could've ended better, but eh, oh well, still good.
kinda harsh...
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4/27/03 Funny how you think you know what you want in life, but then one day, nothing's like the day before. Funny how you think you know someone, but then one day, they're just not the person you knew before. Funny how you think someone is gone from your life, but then one day they show up when you least expect it. Funny how you think something's going well, but then one day it all seems to fall appart.
Funny how life works...
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4/13/03 I must say this: I hate preparing for the SATs. Today was one of the nicest days Columbia has seen in quite a while, and what do I do with it? Spend it in my basement for 3 straight hours taking a practice test, why of course! Yarg... I still have to do that english essay thing thats due tomorow (Yes, I am going to school). On the bright side, I got a 1300 on the practice test. Thats good...right?
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4/10/03 There, Lauren. here's your own goddamn entry. Happy?!?!
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4/9/03 Everyone's been waiting for it....Band Trip Pics!
So yea, choir ajudication tonight. We rocked. Got a standing ovation. Enough said. G'night all
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4/2/03: Part Duce I must say one thing: Hippies rock. My family got invited over to my neigbors for dinner (the hippie neigbors that were both in the peace corps, and their children are in other humanitarian organizations). It was awesome. Good food (pasta, salad, and some chocolate cake), and talked for a while about how much bush sucks :) Overall a very enjoyable evening. ----- 4/2/03
Band trip tomorow. Man, it's gonna rock so hard. I don't think I could've taken another day of school anyway. Today wasn't all that bad though. Went to culture fair for 2 periods (latin and US history), played cards all of english, and I'm actually trying to apply myself in math now too. Physics is getting more entertaining too. Very good.
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3/31/03 Yowza, what a day. Started off well enough. Some bus broke down in the turn lane by HCC, so that took some manuvering to get around, and I ended up giving some girls from the broken down bus a ride to school. School got tiring pretty fast, though. US history was one of the worst classes I've ever been to today. When the baby boom was brought up, everyone started commenting on how old their parents were for no reason whatsoever. After five minutes of that crap, there was more crap, this time everyone talking about how many relatives they had. My god some people are stupid. I really started to take a good look at my pencil, and wondering if it was sharp enough to kill myself, just to escape the pain of this crap. Dr Lunn finally decided to regain control of the class, and then put us in groups to do a mini-project on....TV. Just when I thought that class hit rock bottom. I ended up having a debate with a few people about religion. That was interesting at least. Some people were trying to defend the existance of a God and religious beliefs. I was on the other side, not trying to disprove religion, but rather disprove the beliefs that they're built upon. Like evolution. They say it's false, I strongly believe in it. Eh, whatever. I'm not even sure if there is a god or not. I just don't trust humanity enough to not make something like the bible up and mass market it to place restraints on human nature.
Anyway, after school I went down to Giant, and talked to my department head. Got everything cleared up, so thats good. I don't have to look for a new job.
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3/25/03 Wow, let me just say once again. I love spring. School was so lax today, and after I hung out with Richie, Pinto, Dean, Xian, and Lesle for a while, for the most part at centennial park. it's so nice getting out more often. After that Richie, Pinto and I went to Richies. I affirmed my beliefs that Richie is now a pyro thanks to me. We went outside and burned shit. He's still in denial. heh. After all that was choir, which went very well. Good night all.
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3/23/03
So how bout that hell week... Sure was hell...
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3/19/03 War has now begun So much for preventing a war. I guess our president's so thick-headed that not even our collective voices could reach his puny brain. All we can hope for is that it's over quickly, with as low of a death toll as possible. So today I went and bought a Jello Biafra CD. The Big Kaboom Part 1. It's really good. I strongly recomend it.
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3/16/03
So that protest. Sure was peaceful. It was so amazingly fun. Woke up around 7:30, don't know why, but hung around the house for a while, kinda nervous because I didn't even know if I was allowed to go or not. (Would've gone either way tho, my parents can't stop me on stuff thats this important to me) Talked it out with the rents, and while they disapproved because of the "safety risks", I was allowed to go. So I packed up my bag, got dressed, and Left around 9:30. Went to Giant to get cash and a camera, then headed to the Finucanes. There I met Mariel for the first time, who, like all other finucanes, was really cool. We (Richie, Mariel, Loryn, Robert, Mr Finucane, Kara, Sara, and me) hung out there for a while, then later went to Silver Springs metro station. Rode the red line to DC, and then walked down to the Washington Monument. It was so incredibly nice there. While there were quite a few morons there, such as a guy holding a sign saying "Bush: A motherfucker", guys having Q&A about socalism, and best of all, a "youth rights group" saying how it was wrong how people can be sent off to war before they can buy alchacol, so the drinking age should be lowered. Crack pots...
Thus ends the tale of yesterday
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3/14/03 Wow. Final conclusion: Mood is without a doubt affected by seasons. Don't believe me? You should've been around me today. I even scared myself. I actually woke up with energy! Only thing that got me tired was crew, but thats because physical work w/out music tends to do that to me, and Sam doesn't let us use the sound system in the theater anymore. Bastard... But yea, I think the main reason I was so fuckin depressed was due to the winter season. Thank God spring is here. Oh yes, and Sing the Sorrow kicks major prosterior.
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3/12/03 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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3/9/03 Mel, you rock
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3/8/03 Funny how much your perspective of life can change in one short evening.
Tonight was my grandfather's 86th birthday party, and up until tonight, I thought he was in pretty good health. How wrong I was...
Odd...before this, my perspective has always been about how I'm the one suffering. Yes, sure, I have friends, I care dearly for them. I'd do anything for them, especially to make them happy. But at the end of the day, I always end up worrying about myself. Well, now... I just want more than anything for my grandfather to live to see another day. Realizing that we're all here for just a certain time, really gets you to thinking. What if this person isn't here tomorow? What will I miss out on? What could I have learned from them that I'll never know now? Really teaches you to seize the day.
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3/05/03 So that walk-out...how bout it? I was really torn over wether or not to go, because while I was willing to face repercussions as far as school and parents go, I wasn't willing to risk getting suspended, because that would mean no band trip, and $480 down the toilet. Not like it did much good anyway, it only lasted about 15 or 20 minutes. So that kindof left me feeling like shit. Also, if i did do the walkout, I guarantee I would get grounded, therefore making it impossible to go to the DC rally on the 15th. I'd say thats a bigger priority than a school walkout. Second, we got our progress reports today. Holy crap, there's something wrong. It says I'm A) failing calc, and B) getting a C in history. WTF? I handed in my work for calc, and I'm doing pretty damn good as far as hw and tests go in history, so why the hell am I getting these grades? Final note, if you plan on bitching me out for not doing the walk-out, don't. I'm in an unbelievably shitty mood right now, and you adding more shit to the list doesn't help.
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3/02/03
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3/01/03 Wow, If you want to see some pretty bad aspects of human kind, tune into TNN. In watching about 5 minutes of that today, I was forced to seriously question the vegetarian issue again, and also realize how incredibly stupid motor shows are. The first part i watched was the ending to some hunting show. First off, what the hell is a hunting show doing on the air in the first place? Second, this particular hunting show featured parents taking their 10 year old kids out to kill wild animals. Feel the love...? I really can't imagin how shooting wild game together would make a family stronger. The part that really made me consider being vegetarian though was watching a turkey get shot. Not fun to see. The second part of this epiphany was watching some auto-show. Not your typical auto show, but a street-racing auto show. It boggles the mind how much pleasure one can get from a car. Granted, yes, they do look pretty cool, but I for one wouldn't spend all that money making it that way. To quote one individual, "Hot cars, Hot girls, hot music, what more can you want? This is heaven." I'm sorry, but I lost all respect for auto shows (what little there was to begin with) when they started incorperating trance music and girls in bikinis walking around into their events.
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2/27/03
So today...how bout it.
So as I was walkin down to stagecrew, I get intercepted by Jon Song, who informs me that there's an opening in the Meyerhoff trip that evening, so I whip out the ol' cell phone and called my rents, and woohoo! I could. Since I had to get some homework done, I went home rather than stagecraft, and started workin. Not soon after, my dad called and told me I couldn't go. Because it's a "school night" and that would be bending the rules too much, (refering to an earlier argument about me going to see Flogging Molly on a wednsday), but eventually I convinced him. So Richie picked me up, and we went to the mall with everyone to eat, then off to the Meyerhoff.
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2/25 Ya know, I'm kindof considering getting into teaching in college, specifically history. Ironically, most teachers are inspired by great teachers they have, but I'm inspired by the peice of crap student teacher I have right now. I can't leave the youth of america in hands like thoes! Just...so...bad... I'm not even gonna get into the specifics. Finally, I have a definite date I get my car back. March 15. Not too shabby. Unfortunately though, they still won't let me go to the Flogging Molly show March 5th...erg... I missed them last time they were here, and I missed them at the warped tour last year! I better see them at warped tour this year...
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2/22/03 Part Duce:
Ah man, I love thrift stores. Got an overcoat for $1, and some shirts, including a gaelic guinness shirt, for like $2 each. Not bad at all... Too bad they didn't have a better selection of hats, I'm lookin into buyin a fedora.
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2/22/03 My sentence has been rewritten. Now I'm no longer grounded, but I have to do a lot of chores. Oy... It wouldn't be so bad if my mom didn't contradict herself every other minute. Also, sidenote: I'm no longer allowed to have an oppinion in this house! Apparently I take sides in arguments too much (meaning I don't support her in issues I don't agree with) so I am no longer allowed to voice my oppinion. One other thing, I am getting so goddamn sick of this patriotic crap being forced down my throat. Someone argued with me today about one of thoes "we remember september 11th" buttons. They think it's great to have them. I think it's a load of crap. Of cousre we remember september 11th, it's pretty much burned into our memories. If the actual incident didn't do the trick, the US media sure as hell did! But do we really need t-shirts, hats, and buttons to remember? C'mon, all we're doing is putting a dollar in someone's pocket who just wants to capitalize off this tradgedy. Wearing this crap does not bring thoes who lost their lives back, nor does it bring thoes responsible to justice. Hell, proceeds probably don't even go to the families of victims. And now, Bush is declaring war in the names of thoes victims. Last time I checked, Sadam didn't kill thoes people, so why should we fight in their name? A lot of victim families are protesting even! Ugh... Just gets me so pissed off... The last thing this person said to me was "well, if you're not with us, are you with the enemy?" If you call anyone who opposes any part of the allmighty will of GW an enemy, then I guess so...
Disclaimer to the previous, I seemed so hostile because these buttons were being pushed on me, not just debated. I'm alright with opposing views most of the time, but the minute you push them on me, I'll fight like a cornered animal.
Richie Gumpert is superfly
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2/21/03 I don't know why, but I've been looking to the future a whole lot recently. Like all this college stuff I'm being subjected to. Its starting to unnerve me, because I really don't know what I'd be good at. It's a little early to be picking my life profession. Also, for some reason, I'm really looking forward to getting together with my friends from Germany. Last year was so much fun, and this year's gonna be even more fun. More people comin (Heather and possibly Thalia and Chris) Should be fun with everyone bringing their instruments again (everyone being me justin and josh). And I'll have a car! So I could possibly bring everyone down to columbia for an afternoon or two. Heh, it's gonna be so much fun...
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2/19/03
So I finally got out of the house yesterday. After the plow came through, and I shoveled 3 driveways clear of the snow the plow left, and helped clear a storm drain, my parents decided to ease my punishment and let me go out for one day. They drove me to the mall, where I met up with Richie and Pinto. We went to build-a-bear, where pinto and I made hilary a bear for her birthday (also yesterday) We ended up making a koala that said "make craaaaaaaazy koala love, not war!" when you pressed his hand. We paid for it, and promptly left. I don't think richie could take one more minute in there. From the mall, we walked to the finucanes, and gave hilary the bear. She seemed to like it.
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2/16.03 at the request of jamie, and now in order, the soundtrack for my life:
1) green day - havin' a blast
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2/14/03 Part the Second
So apparently physical labor coinsides with grounding. Yes, I got the privelage of carrying 40 peices of firewood (not the nice storebought kind, the rough and splintery kind) from the top of the hill in my back yard to my front porch. I'm not exadgerating the number either.
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2/14/03
As if this day didn't suck enough already, I'm now grounded for a month, and can only drive to work and school for a month after that. Why you ask?
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2/11/03 - What a bunch of Hogwash A federal judge Monday sided with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in its efforts to drastically curtail a planned February 15 protest against the impending US war against Iraq. US District Court Judge Barbara Jones issued a 26-page decision rejecting the request of the demonstration’s organizers for an injunction barring the city administration and police department from denying them a permit to march on Saturday. Citing alleged security concerns, the NYPD and the city’s billionaire Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused any negotiations with the protest organizers. Instead, they insisted that the demonstration be confined to a stationary rally at 49th Street and 1st Avenue, an area two blocks north of the United Nations building on Manhattan’s East Side. The protest’s organizers had insisted that a march past the UN was a critical component of the action, aimed at expressing popular disagreement with the case for war made there last week by US Secretary of State Colin Powell. “The court will not second guess or substitute its judgment for that of the NYPD,” Judge Jones wrote in her decision. She claimed that the city had proven its case that “it cannot responsibly undertake the facilitation of this march without great risk to the participants themselves, the public and its own officers.” Arguments presented in court last week made clear that the so-called security concerns were a pretext. The real aim of the city is to stifle political opposition to the Bush administration and US aggression in the Middle East. It emerged at the hearing that the march ban for Saturday’s anti-war protest is part of a broader assault on the constitutionally protected rights of free speech and assembly. The New York City Police Department has proscribed any protest march in Midtown or Lower Manhattan since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. At a press conference called by the demonstration’s organizers, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) announced that it had already filed papers to appeal Judge Jones’s ruling to a higher federal court. “The city of New York has imposed an outright ban on one of the most fundamental forms of protest, the right to march,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU. The civil liberties lawyer said that the argument presented by the NYPD and city attorneys was “full of holes.” She said that one high-ranking police commander testified in the course of the hearing that the NYPD does not anticipate any violence from protesters or any terrorist attack coming from within the demonstration. As for its claim that any march consisting of tens of thousands of people poses an unacceptable security risk, she noted that the Saint Patrick’s Day parade, which regularly draws more than 100,000 people, will march up Fifth Avenue only weeks after the February 15 protest. New York Civil Liberties Union lawyers said NYPD Assistant Chief Michael Esposito, the commanding officer of the Manhattan South patrol division, revealed in a deposition that the NYPD had since September 11, 2001imposed a blanket ban on protest marches anywhere in Manhattan south of 59th Street. The attorneys said that Esposito testified that not a single permit has been issued for a protest in that area of the city since the terrorist attacks more than 16 months ago. Esposito also testified, according to lawyers for the protest organizers, that he had offered an alternative march route, but had been overruled by higher-ups in the administration, who opposed any negotiations and refused to allow a march under any circumstances. In arguing against the demonstrators’ right to march, city and police officials cited the announcement by US Attorney General John Ashfcroft last week that the administration had raised its terrorist alert to “code orange.” This underscores the collusion between the Bush administration and local authorities in using supposed terrorist threats—none of which are substantiated or specified—as a pretext for suppressing public expressions of opposition to the US war drive. This was made explicit by the appearance at the court hearing of a representative of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who issued a statement “reminding” the court that the city has the responsibility of ensuring the security of the United Nations building. The joint effort of the Bush administration and City Hall to block a march represents an escalation in a protracted crackdown on civil liberties in New York City dating back well before the September 11 attacks. For more than a decade, particularly under right-wing Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, city administrations have waged a concerted attack on the right of assembly and freedom of speech, while building up the size and power of the police force to unprecedented levels. The aim of the stepped-up policing, conducted in the guise of “quality-of-life” and “zero-tolerance” enforcement campaigns, has been to increase the security of the wealthy elite that is centered in Manhattan against the city’s majority of working poor. As the gap between these two social layers has grown ever wider, democratic rights have been steadily abridged. In response to protests, arbitrary arrests for alleged offenses—such as using a bullhorn without a permit—have been combined with the systematic use of barricades to seal off demonstrations, divide crowds and make it as difficult as possible for the public to join in. At the same time, the NYPD has revived the practices of the old “red squad,” videotaping demonstrators and infiltrating undercover cops among protesters. Donna Lieberman of the NYCLU recalled the near-riot unleashed by the police against the “Million Youth March” organized by black nationalist elements in Harlem several years ago. On that occasion, police used barricades to make it nearly impossible for people to arrive at the rally site and then brought in low-flying helicopters to intimidate the crowd and drown out speakers. She warned against a repeat of such repressive action on February 15. While city attorneys insisted that there was no political motive in denying the permit for the march, the New York Sun, a recently launched daily whose politics are in sync with the Republican national and city administrations, gave a more frank assessment in its February 6 editorial. Praising Bloomberg and the NYPD, the Sun editorialized: “The longer they delay in granting the protesters a permit, the less time the organizers have to get their turnout organized and the smaller the crowd is likely to be. And ... the smaller the crowd, the more likely that President Bush will proceed with his plans to liberate Iraq.” The paper added that the police should send “witnesses” to the protest to gather evidence for “an eventual treason prosecution” of those opposing war. Also speaking at Monday’s press conference to denounce Judge Jones’s decision were two prominent supporters of the demonstration, actor Danny Glover and South Africa’s Bishop Desmond Tutu. “If we were marching in support of war or in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day or some other celebration, we would have been granted a permit immediately,” said Glover. “It is tragic that this city, which prides itself on leading the world as a cultural center, would not allow a march at this time.” Tutu said that the ban reminded him of apartheid rule in South Africa, when the regime imposed a state of emergency and “even to hold a funeral we needed a police permit.” New York, he said, “will probably be the only city in the world on February 15 that will not be permitting its citizens and others to express a differing point of view.”
Courtesy of Axis of Justice
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2/10/03 Ok, I need imput from everyone. What would I be good at in a career, honestly? Most of you probably know me better than I know myself, and I need to figure out a path for my life. E-mail me
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2/9/03 God damn that proverbial snowball. And relativety, they both suck for same reasons. Don't over analyze the previous. So I may be getting fired now... All because I didn't come in for a day? Even though I left a note? Man, the crap just keeps hitting the fan, and it's really starting to smell... The only thing I can take comfort in now is...well...nothing.
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2/8/03
Holy crap, so much to write about, but so little energy to do so with. Lets see what I can get covered.
So I got home, and hung around the house for an hour or so. Ended up going to Shadowland with Pinto, Gers, Naj and Sztein. Heh, kindof funny how I'm the only one in that group refered to by first name. Anywhoo, we go and play two games, waste like 10 bucks on arcade games. The games were really fun, even though there was this marine guy who was so incredibly drunk, it wasn't even funny. Well, it was for part of the first game, where he kept yelling "US MARINES! WOOO!" But it got really annoying really fast. And to think, this is who is protecting our country. God help us. (Muscles Are Required, Intelegence Not Expected). So after the second game, it really seemed as though he was trying to start a fight with me. Pointing right at me, and saying "Hey, buddy, you better call the cops, because we can just go out back and settle this like gentlemen, or I can buy some more games and we'll see who wins!" My god he was drunk. First off, how the hell do you settle an argument in the back parking lot "like gentlemen"? Break out the chessboard in the back of his pickup? Second, how the hell did he jump from a fight to a rematch? Whats worse is I think he was driving home, and he could barely stand up. I waited a few minutes before I got onto the road.
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2/7/03 Part the Second
Ok, so I'm back from work. Had to pull a shift by myself. Translation: I do no work because there's no authority. I talk to one of my friends (quite possibly the funniest giant employee ever) about stupid games, and I hear of many. These I must explain:
1)Waterbaloon Gunship: Get a car with a sunroof, and power windows. Drive around, with a water baloon slingshot, and many many waterbaloons. Have you guessed where this is going yet? While driving, launch a baloon out the sunroof, and let it peg people behind you. Probably best not to do this on the freeway. When at trafic lights, hit people out the window. If it's not as much fun as it sounds, you're doing it wrong. 2)Jesus Christ Superstar: This is another summer-only game. Go to the pool, and at the deep end, start running. See who can run the farthest on the water. The winner is then reffered to as "Jesus" for the remainder of the day. nametag optional.
This guy also told me about how when his drunk friends tried to get him to smoke a cigar, he convinced them to take a "slow" ride in the back of his truck, but instead drove 80 down the freeway, then did 30 mph donuts in a parkinglot. He left the back window open to hear them scream, and when they tried to reach in, he hit the breaks. Pure genius.
Oh, and while I may not be staging a boycott like richie, sign the damn guestbook. There's definitly more than 10 of you!
2/7/03 Wow, what a fun day off. I kindof wanted to go over to Babish's to watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but that didn't happen. Ended up going to fudruckers with pinto, richie, the jons, dean, xian, and benjy. holy crap, jon and I kicked the crap out of thoes zombies! We then went back to lesle's basment, but not before doing some drive-by snowball attacks. hehe... Holy crap, who'dve thought that an unfinished basement could be so fun. First we were just kicking inflatable furnature at eachother, but then once we knocked a light out, we stopped that, and created a new game. "Cliporis". You just use clothes pins and try to clip other people while not getting clipped yourself. It was so much fun. After that, I dropped Richie and Pinto off, went to Mad City, then went home. Now I have to go to work..*damnation*
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2/05/03 Last two days haven't been all that great. Or great at all, to be honest. Yesterday was eh, woke up feeling like crap, went to sleep feeling like crap. Had after-school choir, stagecraft, and school in between. Today was more eventful, though not any more uplifting. Near the end of third period, a bomb threat was called into the school, so we had to evacuate. The half of the school that went out front moved to the interfaith center across the street, while the half that was in the back got moved to the bleachers in the stadium. Holy crap was it cold. I only had a t-shirt, but fortunately Xian loaned me his jacket. So we eventually walk over to WL Middle, and stay there for a while. Police get done their search of the school, so the day moves on, and we end up not having 6th period. Afterschool I got a voice message from my mom saying I should go to SAT prep, even though I REALLY don't want to. I called her up, talked it over, went and talked to the teacher, then talked to my mom some more, and I decided not to go today, because all they're reviewing is geometry. I'm sorry, but I can't take two hours of that stuff. So I go to stagecraft, which goes all right I guess. Still feeling like crap, probably gonna catch hell from my parents for not going to SAT prep, have to go to work at 5 and to top it all off, I'm steadily losing my mind. Be glad you're not me...
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2/03/03
So I finaly got my car back today. Woohoo! It was interesting getting it back though. First of all, my mom called my cell while I was at stagecraft to tell me that the shop called, anad said it was ready. So she picked me up from school, we drove up there, only to find out that A) the mechanic was out at the time, and B) that my tires have yet to be aligned. So we got to wait around until he got back, then another 20 for him to align the tires. Dammit. After that I drove it home, but it took like 10 minutes to get out of the parking lot, because the lot went right into route 1, and not at a traffic light either, so the only reason I got out was because a truck actaully stopped for me.
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2/02/03 Comedic rant: So there was this place called hungry jack's. I think that's a bad name for a restaraunt. If the owner is still hungry, would you want to eat there? NO! If it was called Happy, Fat, Jolly and F**k'n content jacks, then I'd eat there. But I wouldn't bring kids there, because it has a swear word in the title. So I just watched Big Trouble with Pinto and Hilary. GOod times. After that, we just hung around my living room talking. I loaned Hilary Pinkerton (and yes, she's already heard el scorcho), then off they went. Random crap after that.
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1/30/03 Wow, it really sucks how I always have to work when I don't want to, and don't work whenever I want to. Like today. I'm going nuts just sitting at home. I hate isolation. No car only makes it worse. I really would've just rather gone to work. And if you think, "well, just do some schoolwork or something," I'd love to, but i have. I just can't focus. Damn, it's times like this you realize just how important friends are. Also, each time I want off work, I end up working. Like saturday, it's Sztein's party, but I'm working 6-11. How much does that suck? So left here sitting at home, I quickly exhaust my options of sane activities. TV is crap, I don't have the attention span right now to read, playing bass just makes me realize how bad I am, and I've done all my schoolwork. I guess all that's left is reflect. This should be interesting. I'll spare you the details tho, I'm getting the hint now that I should just keep my problems to myself, because everybody has them. Hell, I'm pretty lucky when you put it in perspective. I know two people that have close relatives with cancer, I know people going off to a war they don't want to fight, and I know people dealing with the same crap as me. Of course, saying this doesn't mean my problems won't be going away, you just won't be hearing about them anymore. On days like today, when all your energy is gone, and a cloud is always hanging over your head, I just have one thing to say. God bless Less than Jake.
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1/28/03
Craptacualr. Thats my day in a nutshell. It started off with the usual me not wanting to get out of bed, delaying it until like 7. Got to school, was the only horn in band, so that sucked. Latin was the usual crap, for some reason he always picks on me, and no one else. Physics I slept. English I forget what I did. Math I did nothing, because we had a sub. US History was just a joke. But thats not even the beginning of the crap.
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1/27/03 Ok, since I haven't written in this for the past few days, I'm gonna have to give a stripped-down update on everything past.
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
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1/24/03
HCMS rocked, 'nuff said there. After school I just sat in the band hallway for a while, waiting for hilary to finish a speech exam. After that, Jamie, Pinto, Babish, Hilary and I went over to the bagel bin, and sat there and talked for a few hours. After that we went to Mad City, sat some more. Then Jamie left, and Babish dropped Hilary off at home. Pinto and Babish came back to my house, we hung out for a while, and then they left and I went to work.
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1/23/03 Emotional influences be damned, I'm saying what I want to say right now. DISCLAIMER: I'm under a lot of crap right now, ranging from the usual stuff, to a friend being sent to war, to a friend bitching me out. To top it all off, Poison the Well and Sick of it All are taking their turns on my playlist right now too. You have been warned. Ok, so first off, why is Katie pissed off at me? Because I don't invite her to stuff that I go to? Look,if I go to something with a small group of friends, there's a lot of people I dind't invite. There's a reason. It's a SMALL group. Best kept that way. Just because she isn't the center of attention doesn't mean we don't consider her a friend. Shit, I spent most of my childhood as an outcast pretty much. At least I always felt like one. Only sophmore year did I find my niche. But what did I do until then? Just went with the flow. And Katie is far from an outcast too. She has friends, she just refuses to admit that. If we weren't friends, would we put up with all the shit she's given us? Hell no. But I take all this shit that is said, most of it behind my back too, and still am willing to let it slide, as long as she realizes what she's doing. We're [the friends] not pushing her away, but rather the other way around. She's burning bridges, and soon they'll be beyond repair. That doesn't seem to matter tho. She "can't wait to get rid of us assholes". Yes, I know I'm gonna catch hell for this, but I don't care. It's my weblog, and I needed to get all this off my chest, or else I would've snapped.
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1/22/03
Physics and English midterms today. Easy stuff. After that I went to the Bagel Bin with some ppl, hung out there for a while, then David drove me to Straightline Auto up in Elkridge, because I left some US History papers in my car, and needed to get them for tomorow. After that I went home, Katie and Leanne came by to see if I wanted to hang out, but I really just wanted to sleep, so sleep I did. Woke up at 3:30, then biked to work. Work was very depressing, because one of my good friends is getting shipped overseas with his reserve unit. That really sucks, because he was a really cool guy...
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1/21/03
So how bout them half days. Sure are great. I ended up getting lunch at Fudruckers with Lesle, Kaufman, Xian and Richie. Sure was fun. We killed some more zombies as well. Thoes guns are so damn off now tho, it's not even funny...
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1/20/03 Today got screwed over, thats it. nothing more to say.
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1/19/03
So today kindof sucked, but got remarkably better in the evening. During the day, I didn't know if I was really grounded or not, so I didn't make any plans, even though I got invited to a lot of stuff. Around 8 my parents finally came up with some formal rules though, namely I can't go to any more rallies. To tell the truth, I would've rather been grounded for like a few weeks than not being able to go to the February rallies. Oh well, maybe there's still hope...
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1/18/03 Holy McJesus. What a day. This is gona be a long entry, just to warn ya. So Berve wakes me up around 9, by calling my house to ask for a ride. Fair 'nuff, I needed to get up around then anyway. So I do the usual routine, but layer up A LOT. I was wearing long underwear, a thermal shirt, then a sweatshirt, normal pants, hiking sock liners, followed by wool hiking socks, and goretex lined hiking boots. Oh yes, I come prepared. So after that, I get goin, and we're running late, so I didn't go to Giant to pick up a camera. DAMMIT! What a big mistake. So we get to the Finucanes house, and we all just hang around there for a while. Ms Finucane brought back bagels, but I really didn't feel like eating, so I passed. We got like 20 people turning up, including myself, Richie, Pinto, Lesle, Hawaii Mike, Benjy, Loryn, David, Maddy, Sara, Brian,and Ober. I dind't expect that last one at all. So we all head out, and go to the Silver Springs metro station, and take that to Union Station. When we get there, We all went to a field where they had a stage set up, and various speakers spoke, including...get this... Jessie Jackson. It was great, he even rhymed and said "can i get a wittness?" Classic. On the way to the field, there was this shirt vendor, which I bought from, and it is a very rockin shirt. You shall see tuesday. After the speakers, the protest began. Oh man, it was so much fun, it's not even funny. But it was in so many ways. Like how there was like 2 or 3 people in a building holding signs saying "Go home hippies" etc, completely oblivious to the fact that there was a few of them, and hundreds of thousands of us. Morons... On the march, there were various chants, "This is what democracy looks like!" "What do we want? Peace!(Cheeseburgers!) When do we want it? Now!" (the cheeseburger thing was ober in the background, hehe), and so on. Best one though was the one some guy next to me said. "Pull out Bush! We wish your father did!" Much humor. So as the parade progressed, our group started a lot of chants, and other things, such as the wave. There was a suzaphone player in the parade too, which rocked the casbah to the max. There were other signs, some good, some kindof well, stupid. But stuff like "Jobless in 2004" and "Bombing Iraq is SO ten years ago" struck me as quite funny. (Props to Richie for the last one). Another classic was a little kid holding a "spongebob against the war" sign. Oh man did I laugh then.
So the rally continued, we saw many interesting signs and such. Once we got stopped by this reporter guy, who asked to interview Ober, but ended up interviewing all of us. Haha, he asked if Brian was stoned. "Seriously, is this guy high? look at his eyes!" Man that was funny, especially since he was obviously not. The questions he asked though were kindof, well, moronic. "If you put Bush and Sadam in a cage match, who would win?" Uhhhhhhh.....
You know that one chant, where it's like "Bush's war has got to go, hey hey! ho ho!"? Well, they were using that, except every time they said it, my mind kept jumping back to the movie PCU, where the femenists kept saying "this penis party's got to go, hey hey! ho ho!" Apparenlty I wasn't alone, as Benjy, Brian, and Ober all remembered that quite well too.
So the rally started to near the navy yard, and on the home stretch, there was a bagpipe player, wich was twice as rockin as the suzaphone player. Because this time, we could jig. And jig we did. Richie and I mostly, but John got in on it briefly too. After we got to the navy yard, we decided to go six blocks up to the next metro station, because it would be a lot shorter of a line. So we got there, took the metro, went home, nothing spectacular. So we grabbed some food, then richie dropped me off at work, and oh man, was I late. They didn't seem to mind too much though, especially since when I came in they gave me a warning slip because I worked too much overtime. Ah, the irony of it all. So my co worker apparenlty fractured his arm or something before he came in, but he still came in, which is really insane. So i helped him out with a lot of stuff, so he didn't have to use that arm at all. By the end of the night, I was really exhausted. And kindof mad at the manager too, because when she saw my sign as I walked in the door, she commented "you know, I just wish some people [you] would realize that this country's worth fighting for." my response:"I just think there are alternatives." that is what I said. What I thought involved something like this: "how can you say that? this country isn't in jeapordy. the king of England isn't on our back anymore, the Nazi dictatorship isn't spreading like wildfire across Europe, and we've got a UN to make diplomacy easier. What you're saying is how we should take the innitiative and kill them, before they have the chance to kill us. Why do we have to kill them? Why can't we work around that? If we kill them because they pose a possible threat, why stop there? why not put a big friggin bullseye on the whole damn middle east? Because diplomacy can work. Peace can be established, thats why."
So I get home, and my parents are pissed off beyond belief at me. Because I didn't call them to tell them where I was. So now, I'm grounded. No more snowboarding monday, no more practicing with the band after school, and possibly not even the show if we have it! To sum it all up, protest good, after bad. Oh yes, and next protest, we're all going as pirates. "Pirates for peace!" or slogan: "less bombs more yarg!" Oh yes, it will happen.
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1/17/03
Tomorow's the protest, should be good times. Despite what atamas thinks, I'm still goin. War is never the answer. Except for keeping the king of England off your back (NOTE: this is a joke)
So today was mostly craptacular. Scool was 2 hours late, which was bad in my oppinion, because I needed advisory to do homework. Eh, oh well. School dragged by unusually slow. I seriously wanted to scream durring some periods. Just stress building up, mixed with the anger of the raw stupidity in some classes (e.g. Lunn's class). But school was over, finally. I didn't want to go home, so I helped with the blood drive stuff for a while. Ended up leaving once Tri-M got out, because I was gettin a ride home with Richie. Instead of goin home tho, we just chilled at his house briefly, then went to wendy's with Lesle. He then dropped us off, and I had to go to work after that.
Got home, and talked to people for a while. Hilary came on for a while, and yes, I know that hardly seems noteworthy, especailly since it isn't followed by any deep introspects. But, eh, it's meaningful to me. Anywhoo... I'd better get some sleep for tomorow. It's gonna be one hell of a day. "I don't want to fight, I don't want to die. I don't want to fight, I don't want to kill. We are all humans, it's time to prove it!"
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1/15/03
So how about today, it sure was...ugh... But then again, what did you expect?
So evening dragged on, I delivered my sub forms, then just talked to people, but I got to talking to one person, and they were in quite a bind, so I tried to give some advice. Apparenlty my advice wasn't very satisfactory, because after I said it, they pretty much yelled at me for giving bad advice. I won't say who, but this friend means a lot to me, and having them mad at me just really hurt me. And that just started a whole spiral of issues, that resulted in me lying awake till midnight hating everything, especially myself.
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1/14/03
Ok, so today, hmmm... fairly run-of-the-mill day. Most of school was meh (at best). I slept all the way through latin (not just resting, but actually sleep). Physics I stayed awake long enough to get the important stuff, then another visit to la la land. In English, I'm pretty sure our substitute was doin some major drugs. I'm not even kidding here, I really wish I was, but I'm not. So Naj, Gers and I gave him an excuse to get out of class (Go down to practice in choir, or somethin like that). So Naj went to work on music theory dictations, Gers went to speech and debate, and I went down to A lunch. So I got some food, ate the food which I got, talked to Reed Haris for a while, then walked out. Apparently Jaci was following me for a while yelling my name, ("Patrick! Patrica! Senor Patrico! Mr Wacky Pants!" don't ask about that last one). I didn't hear her, so I kept walkin, but she caught up to me. We talked for a while, and I walked up to the second floor talkin to her, turned around, then went right back downstaris for B lunch. Random crap there, then went to choir room, no one else there, so I sang some stuff by myself for a while (Drunk Again by Reel Big Fish, you should check it out), then went to the EMS, and hung out with Naj for a while.
So after school, I didn't want to go to sleep again, because yesterday, that really threw my sleep cycle off, and boy did I suffer for that later that night. So instead, I made some popcorn and popped in the Last Castle, and just chilled. Good movie, got my mind of all the crap goin on in life. So later, my dad picks up Wendy's on the way home, which is good, because Wendy's nuggets rock the casbah. My dad also got my car estimate back today... All I can say is...
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1/13/03
Ah, how did today suck? Let me count the ways...
So after school, stagecraft got canceled. God dammit... And Mr. Rowe couldn't stay after, so I'm definitly up a creek with the whole math thing, especially with that test tomorow. After all that, I ended up going to Chick-Fil-A with Richie and Xian, which wasn't too bad. We went to Richies house briefly after that, I fell out of a chair, Richie got his strongbad sweatshirt, and then he dropped us off at our houses. When I got home, I decided to watch the special features of Dogma, because I needed a good laugh. Wasn't feelin much better after that, so I just went to sleep. Woke up around 7, ate dinner, and then just did some random stuff, nothing productive though, as usual...
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1/11/03 Feel the love:
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1/10/03
Alrighty, so tonight I'm supposed to work until 10, then go to Kaufmans for a party. Rockin. I don't know why, but I sort of feel like crap now too. Not the usual "I'm depressed because my life sucks" crap, but the "something's just not right" crap. I don't even know why, most of today I felt ok. God I hate feelings like this.
This is Patrick Hunt, signing off.
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1/9/03
Holy Smokes Batman! More newyears pictures!
So today, what can I say, other than it was a load of crap. Well, sorta. School was the usual crap, and after I just rested until I had to work. Had to walk down there, so I talked to Lesle on the phone while I was walking. Apparently I was the highest ranking person in floor pharmacy today, so I was in charge. Sweet. Anyway, got done work, decided to walk home too, since it was nice out, and it'd give me time to just think. But do you ever get that feeling where your mind just can't take any more of a given subject? Like, I think I blew my own mind today, just from stress. Which is good, I think. Chances are though, that it'll just come back to me in the morning. It always does. But for now, I'm strangely calm. It's even freaking me out.
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1/8/03 So the only reason I'm really updating this now is because I can't sleep once more, so I've got nothing better to do.
Yesterday I kindof lost it, to put it lightly. Like I literally snapped, couldn't think straight, and was acting really irrationally. Guess what's implied there...
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1/7/03 I don't know why, but today was just so much worse than the rest. Not because of lack of sleep, the two hour delay kindof made up for that. (So if I told you I was just tired today, sorry, but I lied). I'm tired of feeling. Not just feeling this way, but feeling at all. I've learned that all I get for making an effort to live is heartbreak. Yes, there were the good times, but they're so damn unforgettable that I can't bear to be living now and not then. I used to wake up every morning, even when I was depressed, wondering what would happen that day, and hoping for the best. Now, I dread waking up. I don't want to see today, I don't want to see tomorow. I dont' want to see anymore. Just be unconcious, seperated from this world. (Believe it or not, I still refuse to do drugs too) But I really am tired of all this crap. And yes, I know I am loved, but the thing is, the one person I want to love me doesnt, and from what she's said to me, I'm not counting on it happening again...Hoping on, but not counting on... Ugh... I really did love her... So, tonight was the choir concert. That went well, everyone did really good. Except for me. I'm breaking down now... Too much angst, too much crap, no relief. I mean, it really sucks because I want a definite answer to all this, but if it's a no, which she has expressed. ("Even if things change, it would be the wrong thing to get back together.") My mind just doesn't accept that though. I mean, after all this, I really would rather be with no one else on this entire planet, and here I am, being told point blank that no, it isn't going to happen again. F**K!!!!!!! I just don't believe it, even though I know i should... God, I hope I don't kill myself...
Feel my angst
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1/6/03 Raise Your Fist, Band Together, Speak Your Voice, Tell The Truth
So Today, what a day. Thank god that we didn't have to go in today, becaus I got somewhere around a total of 3 hours of sleep when I woke up at 6 AM. Ugh... But huzzah! 6 more hours followed!
CROSSFIRE, YOU'LL GET CAUGHT UP IN THE...CROSSFIRE...CROSSFIRE... too genius for you to comprehend.
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1/5/03 Sweet Jesus! Newyears pictures are up!
Everyone outside
Ugh, was today interesting or what? Very good, yet very VERY BAD. How shall I put it... I got into a car accident. Fear not, I live to see another day. The other guy was fine too. What happened was that on the exit from Hickory Ridge village center, there's a hill, and when i started pushing in the breaks, my car decided to be like, "hey, I don't feel like it right now." And wouldn't ya know it, there was another car in the way. So wham, I hit him. Not too fast though, which is good. His car didn't get a scratch, but mine... Left headlight got knocked out, and my grill got bent in a lot. This is going to cost me... somewhere from $300-$500. Yowza. looks like I acutally have to save money now...
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1/4/03
Ok, so herein goes the first attempt at my own weblog. Yes, I am posing off Richie, but can ya blame me? I mean, c'mon! It's Richie! Heh, anyway...
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