Sandal, Scandal ... What's The Difference?

I know Tiger is my favorite sports sandal out there. Stylish and comfortable. It's nice to see that the USA Today has finally taken note and is spreading the word:

I'm Branching Out

If you recall, back in 2008 my friends and I did a little challenge that involved eating bacon. Well the upcoming year we're doing another one involving running. We've got a blog about it here. For some reason I seem to be blogging there more than here since the launch, so if that keeps up you might want to keep an eye out over there if you are really hurting for a taste of me (yeah right!).

Plum Clips

Can you believe this dummy was one of the people who managed to slick their way by the United States Secret Service and into a White House function?

Seems Light

So you can run a person over with a bus and only have to serve 6 months in jail?: Jury Comes Back With Verdict In Fatal RTA Bus Driver Accident

And that's the max? 6 months?

I saw the video of this accident and it was just super shitty, super negligent driving by the driver. It wasn't someone coming out of nowhere or a lot of traffic or anything beyond driving too fast and concentrating on her phone instead of her job. Oh, and I believe if memory serves me right, this was the second time this particular driver hit someone (the first time didn't result in death).

Something doesn't seem right about 6 months for extinguishing a life.

Join The Fight

Let's face it, this site isn't exactly full of science-based information, but it really is something that should be addressed: Take Back The Horns

Seriously.

It's The Final ...

You know what's awesome? Europe. No, not the continent (although some of it is OK), the band! Clearly I'm not the only one who feels this way: http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/11/10/final-countdown/

The American Way

I usually get a quick dose of what's going on in the world of Cleveland on Cleveland.com in the morning and sometimes a peak or two during the day. Most of the comments on the stories are in typical Cleveland fashion, complaining about Cleveland. While it seems like most people here will defend Cleveland to the bitter end, they also love to complain in a this-place-is-broken-and-I-have-a-bunch-of-genius-ideas-of-how-to-fix-it-but-instead-of-doing-something-I'll-just-bitch-on-Cleveland.com-and-leave-it-up-to-everyone-else-while-I-sit-around-and-get-fat(er) sort of way. People mock and complain about the politicians, murders, college students, construction, etc. I even saw complaining about how dumb the Cleveland marathon is. Really? People exercising and bringing money into the town is bad? Idiots.

Anyway, today I'm on Cleveland.com for voting information. Reading about the candidates and issues so I can at least vote with a purpose. There were the neutral (generally) sort of stories as well as editorials. And there were some sensible comments from the peanut gallery too.

Now, I know Americans aren't real big on voting, but I personally find it difficult to complain about how things are going if I didn't vote. Don't like the mayor? Tough shit, but really tough shit if you didn't vote. That said, I would think with all of the complaining and local political insight that everyone has in the comment sections all year, they'd be all over the political/voting info articles on election day. An election day with big issues like casinos and new local government structures and tax shifts. Not to mention a nasty rapist/murder situation. But come on, that's back burner stuff. Sports are where it's at, no?

Good work, Cleveland.

Sports are the important thing, you're right! I bet if the Browns won the Super Bowl unemployment would be a thing of the past.

Priorities, Cleveland. Priorities.

Left: the current list of stories on Cleveland.com with the most comments -- all Browns related (click for larger view).

It's Instant

I was sitting around my apartment tonight doing laundry (a shitload of it) and watching some season 3 of 30 Rock when I got the urge for a snack. I don't really have much snacky stuff around but I did find a box of pudding so I decided to make some chocolate pudding. You can't go wrong with pudding.

It's funny how the brain works. Or at least my brain. I haven't had pudding in a long time but when I made it all I could think about was my (now ex) wife. We'd make pudding sometimes. Just make up a box in one container, let it set, sort of draw a line down the middle of the container and each scoop at our side while we watched TV or a movie or whatever. Sometimes we'd finish off the whole box in one sitting. That's supposed to be 4 servings but what the hell do those serving size deciders know?

Anyway, it just isn't as fun eating pudding alone. Stupid pudding makes me miss her, my old apartment, NYC, my friends, even my shitty futon that was our couch for a long time. I guess that's not totally unusual, but it's annoying when I go without thinking about anything specific about her for awhile and then something as simple as skim milk, some chocolate flavored powder and a whisk gets the brain whirring away again.

On a positive note, the box says "Calci-YUM! A Good Source of Calcium as Prepared" so at least my bones will be in good shape.

Prepare to be Boarded

Pirates on Lake Erie!: http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=124268

Awesome.

Cashin' In

I spent a good chunk of this evening doing money stuff. Paying bills mostly. I also shuffled around my 401k and rolled some coins. Yes, rolled coins. Everyone is always busting my balls about doing that when there are things out there like Coinstar* but I actually find it sort of relaxing. Maybe even therapeutic. I wound up with $43.50. Not bad for a bunch of lazy pieces of metal.

I also find an odd enjoyment in the paying of bills. While I'd obviously rather have that money in my pocket and it's obviously stressful at times (depending on my current financial status) I always have a nice feeling of accomplishment and being organized when done. Sure it only lasts for like 36 minutes, but I'll take what I can get.



*Coinstar is publicly traded? I never would have guessed

Strokes In Beantown

This past weekend I did something new and (I think) cool ... I went to Boston for the Head Of The Charles but this time instead of just being drunk and/or hungover and watching from the shore, I actually participated. I rowed. All 3 miles of winding, chaos. It was pretty great.

My club got the entry via lottery and the lineup wasn't decided upon until pretty late so we only had about 3 weeks together to get ready. We were in the Club 4+ and it was competitive. Competitive as in powerhouse college crews, former national team members, teams from "across the pond", etc. Anyway, we came in 40th out of 55. Not great numbers but we were happy with our performance considering the minimal prep time, the level of competition and our rookie nerves. We beat 15 boats. At an international competition. That's nothing to cry about. If we do it again, we'll know what to expect and I imagine we'll pick up the training a bit. A good starting point was established and much fun was had.

And Saturday night involved quite a bit of drinking. Something we are well trained in. There was even some karaoke. Embarrassing.

So there you go. Head Of The Charles. See you next year, Boston. Hopefully on the water rather than shore.

Oh, and I saw two things that I liked:

First, this awesome billboard ... when do you ever see anything defending animal testing? Never. Plus leprosy is always funny:


Next, an apartment building I someday wish to reside in. So delicious!:

Mmmmmm, chambers ...

It's Always Something in The D

It's amazing how Detroit can just never catch a break. Sad really. Somehow the gods manage to tarnish the city's already tarnished name and image. Even in an event as common as a half-marathon/marathon: Three Runners Die Competing in Detroit Marathon

For Me?

I've been sitting around, doing a little laundry and other fun household activities when I hear a little chime noise which means I not only received a message on my phone, but a photo message ... fancy! And exciting!

I look and it's from a number I don't know and this is the photo:



I have no idea who they are. But thanks anyway I guess.

Propositioned

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

As The Pedals Spin

I ride my bike to work a lot. As often as I can I'd say. It's a little under 4 miles and pretty light on traffic. The only thing that really stops me from riding is if I have somewhere to be right after work that requires a car or if the weather really sucks. Some people think it's because I'm all Earth loving or anti-car or something. That's not really the case. I just happen to like pedaling to and from work. It sort of wakes me up on the way in (and I get to avoid traffic and the stupid parking garage at work) and lets me unwind on the way home. I see things drivers don't get to see, I get to think, I get a little exercise and I suppose I am being sort of helpful to good ol' Earth.

But this being "green" aspect is what I've been questioning a bit. I don't really doubt that my lack of car exhaust and my lack of fossil fuel burning helps the air but there are some things that make me wonder how environmental this bike riding is.

How so? Well I get to work I head to the bathroom to get myself into more of a presentable state for work. So, first I wet my head to get rid of helmet head. That's a little water used. Then some paper towels to dry the dripping away. Paper used. Then I change from my (sometimes) sweaty T-shirt into whatever slightly more fancy shirt I'm going to wear at work. No big deal there, but it does double the number of shirts I am using in a week. So instead of 5 shirts in a work week, I'm making it 10. Those have to be washed. More water and electricity and probably phosphates or some shit I don't really know about.

So I don't know. Fossil fuel/exhaust vs. water/paper/electricity ... who wins that brawl?

This really isn't much to worry about. I certainly prefer the riding and can only imagine that one less car has got to be good for numerous reasons but nevertheless it makes me wonder. But only a little.

Green, Crabby and Delish

Not to get all food-based here, but you should check out, and perhaps make (if the ingredients are agreeable to you) this recipe for Chilled Avocado Bisque With Curried Crab Salad. I made it this weekend and it turned out mighty tasty. Making it even better, the prep time was pretty much non existent. Plus, who doesn't love a good excuse to use the blender?

This bisque, or soup for you common folk, is served cold, so it's probably more ideal for warm weather than for cold, but I don't think my mouth or stomach would have a problem with this at any time of the year.

What are you waiting for? Get to it.

Pork Football

After having a pretty good run with the blogging I slacked a bit but I'm here again. I can't say that I have much to share though.

One thing worth mentioning is I took a few days off from work and roadtripped to NYS for my annual weekend of friends, parents, eating, drinking, boating, fire, fishing, boating, game playing, etc. This was the 12th year I gathered up myself and my friends and did this weekend and it was one of the best. After a couple years of sort of sluggish fun this year got things back on the level.

One of the highlights was culinary in nature. We made the Bacon Explosion (thank you BBQ Addicts and S.M. for steering me to said site). That's ours in the photo. Hot off the grill. It was technically supposed to be smoked but we did some indirect heat grilling since we didn't have a smoker handy and that seemed to work just fine.

The Explosion was a delicious example of a heart attack to come. But possibly worth it. Get back to me after my inevitable bypass and I'll let you know.

Other than that, it's been work, rowing, Netflixing, Xboxing and chillin' on the weekend. Weeeeee!

Many Leagues Under

I was just walking a few doors down from my apartment and saw this sticker on a traffic light control box.

It made me laugh.

Then I looked it up on the internets and come to discover that it's a band. 100,000 Leagues Under My Nutsack. That is a good one. That goes on my list of favorite band names for sure.

Perhaps now I will need to look into witnessing them live. If nothing else, perhaps they have some great T-shirts.

NJ and PA and Me

As you may have pieced together from my porta-potty photo in the previous post, I was in New Jersey this past weekend. I was down at the south end, by Philadelphia, in Cherry Hill/Camden to be exact, for the USRowing Masters National Championships.

As it turns out, I'm not a champion, but in one race I was in my boat did come in third. So I'm a second runner up champion I guess. Or something like that.

Unexpectedly I saw a celebrity while there. A celebrity at a rowing event? And in NJ? That's like a doubly impossible act. Despite the odds, it was Jane Lynch. Apparently a fan of rowing. Or at least a fan of one particular rower. This sighting adds to my list of Arrested Development cast members that I have seen at random. They're just regular people! Just like me. The list is now Jane Lynch (Cindi Lightballoon), Tony Hale (Buster) who I saw in LA, David Cross (Tobias) who I saw in a bar in NYC and Judy Greer (Kitty) who I saw in a Starbucks in NYC. I don't know what this has to do with anything really. I'm not really even that into TV or celebrities, but I guess it's difficult to not be somewhat intrigued.


Also on my day off from rowing (Saturday) I ventured into Philadelphia for a whirlwind tourist venture. I hit up the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Boathouse Row, ran the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and finished it all off with a stop at Geno's for a cheesesteak (which, for the record, led to some intestinal issues later). It was all very American to say the least. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Twice

On the wall of a porta-potty in Camden, NJ:


Made me think of this:

Danny Vermin: "You shouldn't hang me on a hook, Johnny. My father hung me on a hook once. Once!"



PS Who hangs out in a porta-potty long enough to draw/write on the walls?

I'll Just Dail One Up

Not to get all editorializing on everybody, but I was reading good ol' Savage Love on the Village Voice's site and one of the ads in the left column caught my eye and I couldn't not comment. The icon says dailadancer.com [you probably don't want to visit that while at work] and I thought, "Dail? Is this some new action I could do but don't know about?" but sure enough the link brings you to dialadancer.com:
(click photo for larger size)

Ah ha! Dial. Not Dail. Nice one.

And nobody has noticed/fixed this? Nobody at Dial A Dancer or at the Village Voice? Maybe it's just that nobody needs dancers like I do.

I Gets Tired

So I've been rowing again this summer. Last year it was just a once a week thing with the occasional workout on the side. Although our boat was sort of competitive it was more of a social thing than anything else. I met some cool people and got in better shape and I guess sort of rekindled my love/hate relationship with the sport after a 13 absence.

So this year I upped the love/hate and joined a competitive group. Same boathouse, just different coaching and attitudes. It's been three days a week this year, with expectations of additional workouts the rest of the week. We have a big race coming up next weekend so this week the intensity has picked up. Here's how my week has gone:

Monday: hit the ergs for an indoor workout after work
Tuesday: evening practice at 6:15pm
Wednesday: morning practice at 5:30am and then soccer game at 10pm (I know that's not rowing, but it adds to the exhaustion)
Thursday (today): evening practice at 6:15pm
then
Friday: off
Saturday: morning practice at 8:15am

Also, I should note that on top of the above I've also ridden my bike to work/practice every day. So it's been a lot of working out, but it's also been more difficult workouts. Plus work has been busy and I have a lot of shit on my mind so I'm pretty beat. Physically and mentally. Here comes Mr. Crazy!

I don't really know where I was going with all of that, other than to complain that I am tired. Oh, take a look at my hand:
The photo doesn't really do it total justice. It's pretty gross. Blisters and torn blisters and calluses. The base of each finger and then one or two spots on each finger. That's what happens when wood and skin and moisture clash. Skin seems to lose.

Sexy!

And I sign up for and pay for this. As I said, Love/Hate.

Round II

I'm back. Back in all of my minimal writing glory.

So the "stalker" issue was cleared up (see previous post). My paranoia is at an alarming level. As is my trust I guess considering all it takes is an anonymous someone to post a comment to make me feel comfortable about the situation. Anyway, I guess if this is going to be a functioning blog it shouldn't matter who reads it. Nobody, everybody, enemies, stalkers, whatever!

Another issue cleared up is my non-working modem. Piece of shit modem I should say. I bought it from AT&T when I signed up for their DSL service. Made by 2Wire. And it died. It's covered by some sort of warranty for 12 months but of course it decided to go all lights out on me at 15 months. How convenient. Anyway, I've got myself a new modem from Netgear and all the lights are flickering away. Hopefully they will stay like that for longer than 15 months. Bastards!

So now I guess we wait and see if the writing bug comes back at all.

Frontier Stalking (?)

Anybody want to take credit for visiting this site from a provider called Frontier Communications?

You've been visiting pretty much once a day (on weekdays at least). Straight here, not via another blog. And since nobody comes here it's pretty hard for me to miss and sort of stalkerish.

Anybody?

If you would like to let me know what's up perhaps you could e-mail me (see right column of blog) or comment so I can stop feeling like I don't want to post anything.

Domain Name: frontiernet.net
IP Address: 74.33.212.# (Frontier Communications)
ISP: Frontier Communications
Location
Continent: North America
Country: United States
State: New York
City: Caroga Lake [this changes between a couple of wayupstateNY towns -- this part may or may not be accurate]

Anybody?

Just Snow On My Tube

It should be noted that I now officially have no TV. I have a television set, but just no signal. My television sucks to begin with as it's old and small, but now it's even worse as nothing comes through it.

I've had no cable since I moved to Cleveland which many think is insane to begin with. I really haven't cared other than the occasional sports event that I can't watch without going to a friend's or a bar. But now that things have officially switched over to digital mode and since I didn’t bother getting one of those corny converter boxes I don’t have squat. No Seinfeld reruns, no crappy, local news, no SNL, nothin'. Actually that’s not entirely true as I have a Spanish channel coming through. Bueno!

We'll see if I cave.

The Desert and Beach

Just got back from some vacay in a little place they call Mexico. It was pretty sweet and I am totally not excited about being back home. Or going back to work. Especially going back to work.

I started off in The Cleve and flew to Phoenix, AZ. From there a complete stranger that I met via the interweb picked me and my lady friend up and we drove to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico (aka Rocky Point). There we hung out, drank beers and margaritas and ate tacos. But really the reason we went was to see Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers. They do an annual show there called Circus Mexicus. A little play on words there if you missed it. It was pretty great. Totally chill with hours of music (and I mean hours), drinking, fireworks, flip flops on my feet and sand under them. The next day was a little hangover brunch/gathering with some other bands providing the tunes, the guys from RCPM hanging out with their fans, some breakfast burritos and some beers to make things right again. Really fun. I think I might be doing it again next year so if you want to get on board, start thinking about it. Really. Do it.

After the Mañanathon it was time to hit the road back to Phoenix. And let me tell you, that desert? Nothing to fuck with. It is hot. Jesus. I’ve never exposed myself to that section of the world. My eyes were all dry and my lips were all dry and funky feeling. I don’t know if I could live in that. I did see a roadrunner which was cool. Speedy little fuckers. And there’s about a million miles to bury a dead body. That’s all I kept thinking about.

And let’s briefly speak about the border. On the way into Mexico there was nothing. There were like three speedbumps and four border guys + one dog just sitting at a table. No glances our way, no asking for a passport, no “where are you coming from”, no nothing. And then you get into Mexico and a few miles down the road it’s a “No Hassle Zone” which pretty much translates into “the cops aren’t going to do anything about anything.” So it becomes a racetrack. That’s fun. If only I had a gun. I could have fired it in the sky all wild, wild west style.

Of course, on the way back into the U.S. it’s all a different story. Border guards, passport swiping, quizzing, general attitude and staredowns are all part of the routine.

Anyway, back to Phoenix we went. There we parted ways with our nice car share amigo and spent the night in a motel by the airport. The next morning it was onto a flight to Cancun. Then a bus to Tulum where the rest of our time was spent.

Tulum was a cool little town. We stayed at a place right on the beach. It was a bit “rustic” as there was no electricity but who needs that crap? Actually, it was pretty warm. I wouldn’t have minded a ceiling fan. But whatever! The beach overshadows and cures the warmness. Mostly at least.

Although neither myself of my traveling companion opted to not opt that way, the place we stayed was “clothing optional” meaning I saw more penises than my previous vacations. Probably more than all of my previous vacations combined and definitely more than I needed. I also saw a good number of boobs that I didn’t really want to see. The general rule seemed to be: whoever I would have liked to see naked = not naked. The people I definitely did not want to see naked = very naked.

So beyond the nudity there was swimming, eating, drinking, some site seeing, some SCUBA diving, some meeting new people, some shopping, some napping, more drinking, etc. It was quite nice.

Then from there it was back to Cleveland via Charlotte, NC. Now it’s back to the grind and back to not blogging worth a poo.

Non-Human Sights

This is going to seem like it's from out of nowhere as I haven't posted anything in so long, but sometimes I enjoy Cleveland for its nature. Nature? Well, there isn't a ton right where I live, but it's certainly way more than when I lived in Manhattan. Or Brooklyn.

Tonight I was rowing (I've been rowing again) on the Cuyahoga and in the two hours I was out there I saw two rabbits, seagulls, one great blue heron, one woodchuck, sparrows, and a couple of fish (alive even). I'm sure all of those are around NYC, but I never saw them. Well maybe the sparrows and seagulls, but whatever. Don't rain on my parade. Anyway, the point is I like seeing non-human life. Especially along a river that has been written off as a burning joke for so long.

Keep making your come back, Crooked River.

I Do Stuff and Don't Write Ever

Hmmmm, maybe I should post something. God, this blog really is lame. Honestly it's sort of a sham even trying to call it a blog.

The sad thing is, I've actually done some stuff. I mean nothing making for a great story, but at least something to document for my own enjoyment. Anyway, what to report ...

I went to see Kottonmouth Kings at House of Blues. Nothing great, but it was enjoyable enough. Worth the cost of admission I'd say. KMKs obsession with weed sometimes gets a little tired, but that's their thing so I roll with it. And the kids seem to love it. The crowd was a pretty awful collection of trash. But entertaining, stoned as fuck trash so who am I to complain? Also cool was one of the openers, La Coka Nostra. Pretty much House of Pain with two extras doing all gangsta-themed tunes. Sometimes a bit corny with the toughguy act, but still so much better than all to so-called rap/hip-hop that is out today. As a nostalgia bonus, they even did three House of Pain songs. Dare I say timeless?

Also I went down to Pittsburgh to see the Penguins vs. Rangers. Pretty sweet. Good seats, a close game, some fights, some laughs. I like that Pittsburgh. It's a fun little city. Sort of what Cleveland should be but isn't. Damn this Cleveland.

Also, I had two high school friends visit. Both for one day only and separately. One on Thursday and then another on Monday. One was passing through town and then the other was in town for work. We did some site seeing (such as it is in the Cleve), eating, drinking and had some good laughs. Visitors are always fun.

This weekend Cleveland should be pretty active for once. It's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction. I'm not going because I am an idiot (or maybe smart, I'm not sure) but good for Cleveland. And for Metallica and Run DMC and the rest of the inductees.

That's it. I have to go shower, pay some bills and make some lunch for tomorrow. See you again soon at some point.

Boozing and Bearding

So, as previously mentioned, Saturday was the Y.O.T.B.F.B.! It was quite a success on the charity level and also on the fun level. (read more about the details here) A good time was had by all. Too good a time for yours truly it seems. It's now approximately 42 hours since I last had any booze go into my system and I still feel crappy. This is definitely in the top 5 of my worst hangovers ever. My yesterday (Sunday) went like this:

• 4am (thanks to the EST to EDT change) - Arrived home from bar
• noonish - woke up, decided some breakfast might be good. Went to breakfast joint. Ordered breakfast. Ate one bite of egg, one bite of potatoes, one bite of biscuit/gravy, and one piece of bacon then called it quits in fear of vomitus.
• 1pm - returned to couch
• Napped, watched bad Sunday TV, napped some more, drank some lemonade
• 4pm - cut off beard with clippers
• Returned to couch for more napping
  
• 6pm - ordered Chinese food
• Attempted to eat a little soup. Pretty much had two spoonfuls of the broth. Went back to the couch
• 8pm - Simpsons begin. Fall asleep.
• 9:15pm - wake up, eat a small plate of rice and noodles from Chinese food
• 10pm - in bed
  

So as you can see, a pretty wholesome day. It's always bad when I don't/can't eat. That's never a good sign whether it's hangover, germ or mental related.

Today I woke up, still feeling not so great. I ate today, but my stomach is still less than happy with me. I'm sure there are other organs equally as mad too. They're just waiting to let me know at a later date I'm guessing. Probably with some sort of failure or cancer or something.

Anyway, I may need some time off before doing that sort of thing again. Yikes. But there were some laughs and some ridiculous photos and then additional laughs so maybe it was all worth it.

Saturday Night Game Plan

Of course I was going to mention this earlier, but I didn't so now we're down to crunch time ... this is what I'll be doing tonight: Y.O.T.B.F.B.!

I've got a beard and everything! The beard will probably be gone tomorrow, but I'm pretty confident that a hangover will be taking its place. All in the name of charity. And foolishness.

R.I.P. Macho B

Sadly, the Jaguar in the article I mentioned a couple of posts ago is no more: Rare Arizona Jaguar Euthanized

Stupid kidneys.

A Bunch of Stuff

Not surprisingly I have been absent from my blogging for longer than intended. Again. Oddly, I have actually had things to write about, but just haven't sat down to do it. Why? Who could say? I know I have a list of potential reasons, but none are really valid so F it. I won't even try.

Let's see, maybe a little recap of things that have happened that could have been cool stories, but since I am packing them into one post it will be perhaps slightly abbreviated ...

Number 1, football. I play in a league with some work folk. It's co-ed and two-hand touch. This sounds like a good combination for perverts such as myself, but two things hinder the perversion. One, it's winter and everybody wears lots of clothes, including gloves and two, most of the girls are scary and not really the sorts that I want to touch. And I'm guessing for the most part they aren't into the gents anyway. That's purely speculation, but I'll stick with my gut on this one.

Every week football is a mess. There are (again) two factors that influence this. One, we are pretty awful and two, Mother Nature. Every week the weather and the field conditions are different. Muddy, snowy, frozen, rain, slush, wind, you name it.

Three memorable football events over the last few weeks: One week it was sort of warm. I even wore shorts. BUT, there was leftover snow on the ground. This snow was melting, but not entirely, so we were playing in slushy water the whole game. Water over the tops of my feet. Ice water essentially. Our feet were so numb by the end that it was scary. I was seriously wondering if I had done permanent damage. As it turns out, I'm a overreacting pussy and we were fine. But Jesus that was uncomfortable. Also a highlight of that game, and memorable moment number two, is a girl from the other team gave a guy on my team the hardest slap I've ever seen administered. It was awesome. And really over nothing. His face was red until halftime and she got kicked out. The last memorable moment that I will mention is the game following the slush and the slap. My friend Mike and I were playing defense and guarding our guys, when they crossed each other we managed to run into each other full steam. We both got knocked pretty good, but Mike went down. When I got to him his mouth was a bloody mess and he was looking dazed. He eventually got up and made his way to the sidelines before eventually going home. His teeth were all intact as was his nose. After he had left, another guy on my team asked, "What part of you ran into him?" I said, "I think it was my shoulder but I'm not sure. But my shoulder sort of hurts so I'm guessing that was it." He said, "Oh yeah, it was your shoulder." I look and there is blood spatter and a piece of lip on the shoulder of the fleece I was wearing. Update: Photo now available here. I'm a murderer.

Number 2, I went to a pretty sweet birthday party at a place just east of downtown CL. The bar was great. 100 years old, cool owners/bartenders, good jukebox, snacks, beers I never see anymore (Stroh's?) a dog, a cat and fun times all around. Read these little blurbs about this place here and you'll get the idea: Playboy | Esquire

Number 3, I attended a show at Beachland Ballroom. It was Tim Fite as the headliner with Benjy Ferree and Elephant Bones opening. I had listened to Benjy Ferree online and was sort of looking forward to it live but was slightly let down. I like the more "old timey" sounding stuff (e.g. "Fear" on the MySpace page) but there wasn't all that much of that. They were fine. I guess I was just expecting something a bit different. Thumbs up to local guys, Elephant Bones. A good sound. Solid, gimmick-free rock (other than the singer's hat I suppose.) Fite was odd but good. Certainly entertaining. It's cool to see someone just doing their thing. I'm sure he's not making much (if any) money, but he keeps making weird, non-radio friendly music (art?) because that's what he wants to do. Amen to that.

Number 4, I had shingles. Not the flat, tar/stone sheets that go on your roof. This sort of shingles. My waist along my left side felt weird for like a week, almost like I had dry skin or like my pants had rubbed there or something, but I couldn't see anything. Then one day I woke up and the whole area (especially heading down towards my crotch) was tender and it hurt to sit. When odd feelings start progressing towards my "junk" I get nervous, so I went to the doctor. He knew right away what I had. I got some medicine to decrease the discomfort, I rested up a bit and now I'm pretty much back to 100%. I'm a medical misfit!

Alright, I'm going to go finish a movie I started yesterday and get to bed. I'll try to come back and give you a little update on this coming weekend as well as an update on some communications.

Jags in MX and AZ

I went to Belize a few years back. One of the things I did there was a night hike (with guide) in a preserve where Jaguars lived and had been spotted. I had a pretty big hard on with the hopes of seeing one ... hopefully not clawing out my guts, but seeing one walking or hunting or whatever. No dice (although I did see some other cool stuff).

Well, it looks like perhaps my hard on will return if the Jaguar's comeback continues like this: Rare Jaguars Spotted in Arizona and Mexico

Big cats in the U.S.! I like it.

No Stearing Required

So last night after work I decided to splurge $5 and get my car washed automatic style. After weeks of shitty, messy, cold, the weather here in Cleveland got its ass over freezing for a minute so I figured that even though more cold and more precipitation (and hence more salt on the road) is on the way it would be nice of me to get rid of the already existing filth funking up my ride.

I go to the car wash, get in line, pay and roll into the bay. There is a girl in front of me whose car is already riding along the track, on its way into cleaner pastures. I get lined up, drive in, put it in neutral and off I go. The soap is happening, the cloth whappers are beating against my car, the car wash magic is happening. Then there is a bit of a jolt and a thud. I figure it's just a joint in the track or something. Then it happens again. I put on my wipers to see if I can see anything and that works. The thud is actually me hitting the girl in front of me. Not hard, but hitting nevertheless. My car hits then backs off, then the next roller catches my tire and pushes for another hit. There's not a lot I can do. Brakes aren't going to help, I can't back up because there is another car there, I can't get out unless I want a soapy soaking and even then my car will keep doing what it's doing ... trapped!

After a couple more bumps, the guy running the place realizes that there is a bit of an automotive log jam happening and stops the wash. He comes walking through and notices that the girl ahead of me is sort of off the track. I think she must have been steering instead of just letting the car wash take care of everything. So she's sort of perched on the edge of the guide track. The attendant tells her that she's going to have to put her car in gear and try to slowly drive out. She puts it in gear, rolls a bit and comes off of the edge of the track. That's all good, but when her car hits the floor she hit some sort of drain which became dislodged and in went her front tire. She was stuck. She was crying.

She was there to stay until someone figured out how to lift the car a bit. There was talk of a tow truck, but none of that was my concern. I had been entertained enough. The cars behind me backed out and then I did too. I got the guy working there to rinse off the soap on my car and also got a coupon for a free wash for use some other day. So pretty much two washes for free. I guess that some low speed impacts were worth it.

Not a Washout

So the leaking water issue subsided with a non-disaster status. No collapsed ceiling, no lost sentimental goods and only slight irritation.

Basically, I took a long lunch break during work, some roofing guys came over, shoveled snow off the roof and chopped ice out of the gutters and through some salt up there to get things melting and flowing off the roof rather than melting, getting stuck behind the ice and flowing back under the shingles and into my living room as it had been doing.

Despite being fairly hillbillyish, these roof guys did an alright job. No more water in my living room so crisis averted I suppose. Now I just have to move my stuff back where it belongs and life in my little apartment will go back to normal. Messy, but dry normalcy.

Leaks Ruin My Mexican Buzz

So I went out for some tasty Mexican food this evening with some work chums. That's right, I said "chums." When I came home, I walk in the door and happen to look over and notice that a box and some other crap I had over by the front of my living room is wet. I look around and eventually up and there is dripping going on. A leak in the ceiling thanks to, I'm presuming, all of this lovely Cleveland snow sitting up on the roof.

It's dripping down through a crack in the ceiling and also down through the ceiling fan/light. None of this is looking very good. I have two buckets, a pan and a big flower pot catching water right now.

I have renter's insurance so all of my useless shit is covered (I guess). I moved the stuff I think I might give a shit about (photos, CDs, stereo, DVDs, Xbox, books) but some of it I just can't be bothered. I intentionally left the TV (my soon to be ex-wife's) as I want a new one and this might be my chance. I know I should bother with this stuff now because it will be way less of a bother now than it will be after it gets wet, but I'm lazy. And I'm trying to be optimistic. So drip, drip, drip.

Hopefully my landlord will come do something about it tomorrow but I'm not really sure what can be done with layers of ice and snow on the roof. We'll see. At this point I won't be surprised if the roof caves in while I'm sleeping. It doesn't look that bad yet, but these things generally progress quickly.
The drippy wall

Ceiling crackage

The Year In Tunes - 2008

I almost forgot about doing my (semi-)annual list of my favorite albums of the year. I feel like I'm one of the only humans still buying albums, but that's neither here nor there. Whatever the fuck that means. Anyway, here goes.

My favorite albums of 2008 (in no particular order):

Local H - 12 Angry Months -- an album done after a miserable break-up (go figure). 12 months. 12 songs. Get it? That considered or not, it's a good album. And even if the album sucked, how can you go wrong with a song title like track 8: "Jesus Christ! Did You See the Size of That Sperm Whale?" Really.

Gym Class Heroes - The Quilt -- this one is questionable to be quite honest. As an album, it's definitely not as good as their previous ones, but it has enough good, catchy shit on it that I still find myself listening to it in the car quite often.

Jimmie's Chicken Shack - Fail On Cue -- JCS came out back in like 1994 and you'd think they'd quit or disappear or start to suck, but they keep grinding it out. They've gotten a bit more mellow I suppose, but haven't we all? Oh, and there's a good cover of "Waiting Room" by Fugazi. I likes.

mc chris - mc chris is dead -- Funny, catchy, funny and good. Some can't get past his voice, but I think it adds to the whole aura. And some legit rappers think mc has skills. (Or is that skillz?) so it's gotta be true then, right?. This album has it all ... including songs about Reese's Pieces, ninjas and feeling old, not to mention a guest appearance by Andrew W.K. What more do you need? Well, there's plenty more too. Get on it.

Mindless Self Indulgence - If -- Offensive to some, funny to me. Original, spazzy electro/punk rock.

Trivium - Shogun -- I don't think I like this one as much as their last two, but it's still some quality metal (even though I don't really buy their toughguy image) and it seems to be growing on me more and more.

Rise Against - Appeal To Reason -- Sometimes they get a bit much with their PETA love and their political stances, but maybe we all need some of that once in awhile. Afterall I don't necessarily have to buy into all of it to like their music. And I like the music so I'll tolerate some attempts at making me eat vegetables. Only vegetables.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers - Turbo Ocho -- Eight songs in eight days, plus a bonus three that grew from those eight days. As a indicator of difficulty, I haven't written one legitimate song in 35+ years. Along with that feat, it's actually a really good album. And let's not forget that RCPM are great live. As a matter of fact I just bought myself a Lonely Planet Mexico because I am plotting to go to Mexico to see them in June. Join if you'd like!

Reggie & The Full Effect - Last Stop: Crappy Town -- Is it pop? Is it metal? Is it alternative? I have no fucking idea. I guess it's all of the above plus some piano just to add to the fun. All the songs are named after stops on the NYC subway which is cool (right?). Also, I like how this listens like an album. It's laid out well from song to song to song. Sort of like albums used to be before the advent of "shuffle" and "random" and the ifuckingPod.

Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone -- This really is some brutal stuff. I know some people think the masks are corny and the whole "scene" around them might be a bit much for some, but close your eyes you'd never know about that. This has some thrash, some old school metal riffs and some aggression that is hard to come by these days ... with a random, dare I say "ballad"(?) too.

Two that I wish I had listened to enough to judge:
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
Metallica - Death Magnetic

Those Cows Are Tasty

Last night I, along with two of my co-workers (and former NYCers) took our boss out for a late Christmas present of Morton's Steakhouse. That is some tasty (and pricey) Christmasing.

I had some awesome bread, Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Cajun Ribeye Steak and Hot Upside-Down Apple Pie. And of course, some cocktails. All tasty as hell and a great waiter and staff in general.

We followed that up with some beers at Harry Buffalo, where we experienced the worst waitstaff on the planet. I've never had a problem there before, so I don't want to say to avoid the place or anything but last night was pretty awful. The bartender was fine -- quick and friendly -- but the guy that should have been serving our table, didn't. He asked if we'd be eating when we first got there and that was it. His only return visit was to remove our forks/knives and to take the napkin/condiment organizer back to the kitchen. He was useless. Not that we really cared. We are fully capable of walking to the bar and ordering for ourselves, but it just seemed beyond unhelpful to his wallet and the wallets of the bar owners. End rant.

So today I'm going to go try to run off some of that eating, then watch some playoff football ... and pray for some Ravens choking.

Enter '09

So it's a new year, still the same lacking blog.

Hmmmm, well it's now 2009. Maybe some things will change on the blogging front? One never knows. New Year's was pretty chill. Just a few friends, some board gaming and some drinks/eats. I woke up hangover-free. That's three years running for no hangover January 1st. Amazing.

As for 2008, I guess it went pretty well. I ate a lot of bacon and accomplished my anti-resolution. I made some new friends, kept some old ones and continue to overthink everything. I went to some concerts (Local H, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, mc chris, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, Everlast, Hammel On Trial, Rise Against) traveled some (St. Kitts, Seattle, NYC, Cedar Point) watched some some sporting events (Browns vs. Giants, CSU vs. Marist), ran some, rowed some, ate some, drank some, cursed a lot, etc.

Due to various lawyer and other side slowness I continue to be married to someone I have now not laid eyes on and only spoken to on the phone once over the last 19 months. That's not all that awesome for my head or the heads of the people around me. Pain in my ass.

I've now officially been in Cleveland for one year. My original plan was a year and out, but I don't have a plan for the out part yet so here I remain. I'm already four days off schedule for leaving. Late as usual. If it's any consolation, I do plan on getting my resume in order this month and see what happens, but between this crappy economy, my lack of direction and my on again/off again fear of moving somewhere new, my confidence in a change of venue isn't too high. Damn me!

Anyway, hopefully this blogging will get off the ground a bit this year. Maybe.