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.

A Hunger For Human Flesh

Call me what you will, but as it turns out, I like zombie boobs: World Zombie Day in NYC

It's All About The Bulk

I can't say I'm a huge purchaser of things in bulk although I do like the idea. Sam's Club, BJ's, all those places are fun to walk around and buy stuff but I don't exactly need giant quantities of anything nor do I really have the storage space so I just don't bother.

I do however get things in quantity sometimes. Soap, cereal, beer, rice ... things I use a lot. One example of bulk genius is a box of powdered Tide laundry detergent I bought. It was huge. I bought it back when I first moved to Brooklyn in July of 2007. I went down to the crappy Key Food supermarket down the street to buy a few things and saw this box of Tide for what seemed to be an overly economical price (I wish I could remember what it was) so I grabbed it. This box was so big people stopped me on my way home to ask where I had bought it. Anywho, this box from Brooklyn lasted the summer so it moved out here to Ohio with me and then lasted some more. Until? Today. I just ran out of it today. Ridiculous. That's 16 months of laundry doin' all in one box!
Me and my Tide
I know you are probably thinking that maybe I never clean my clothes, but it's not true. I wash clothes and towels and sheets, I swear. I even have some in the machine right now.

So the end of an era is through. Sad. I couldn't find another freakbox so I'm back to standard issue liquid Tide. We'll see how long this thing lasts.

In other bulk news, check out this bulk I put in my gut last night: Fatty Melt

Another Chunk of Not Blogging

Oh, blog ... how long it's been. I'm just not so good at this anymore. Am I busy? Not really. Lacking in things to say? Never. Lazy? Not really even that. I just haven't felt like sitting down and typing. Oddly, every time I do sit down and type I enjoy it, yet I don't seem to remember that's the case for more than 30 seconds afterwards though. So anyway, it's been awhile.

What's been happening?

Well I have been working a lot. I guess not necessarily more than usual, but work has been more of a shitshow than usual. I'm starting to hate it some. Busy, new routine, confusion ... it all leads to exhaustion and irritation. Neither of which are my friend.

I also had a little time off from the place of employment. A few weeks back I went to my parent's summer place in New York State. It was my annual venture there. Usually I gather up a posse of some sort but this year the turnout was a bit sparse due to shitty planning on my part and shitty weather on Mother Nature's part. It was still fun though. Hanging out, drinking, grilling, making fires, sleeping, etc.

The following week, I went out to Seattle for a friend's wedding. It was pretty damn good. Rainy, but good. I really like that town and the people who live there. A good overall vibe I think. I always say that yet never pack up my shit and move there. Dumb. One thing worth mentioning is these guys: Skillet Street Food. They were the peeps hired to do the food at the wedding and holy shit was it good. Tasty burgers w/fries, salmon over risotto, killer pulled pork, clam chowder ... my mouth waters just thinking about it. Honestly. It was great. Best wedding food I have ever had. I also saw some cool shit at the Seattle Aquarium and in the Underground Tour. It also should be noted that one day I went out to a happy hour, drank a bunch and proceeded to stay long enough that I was still there (and participated in) happy hour number two at the same bar. I didn't feel very awesome the next day, this much is for certain.

Since my return to The Cleve, I went on a bit of a concert binge. I saw three shows in nine days. Maybe that's not really a binge, but it was certainly ample. I saw Everlast, Rise Against and (hold on to your fucking head) Hanson. Yes, that Hanson. Oh, boy I have gotten a little odd in my old age.

Everlast was OK, but nothing great. Definitely a good entertainer. I just wasn't into his set.

Rise Against was good. More screaming/punkish than on their albums but that's certainly not a complaint as I like me some screaming. My only issue with that show was that it was overpriced as hell. I blame Live Nation, not Rise Against.

And Hanson. Honestly, Hanson was (were?) pretty impressive. If you could eliminate all of the screaming females it would be much more easily accepted by me and probably many others. But that screaming isn't going to go away. That's just part of the package I'm afraid. But despite that screaming they put on a good show, sound good and obviously have talent.

Not to be all abrupt or anything but I'm wrapping this up. I'm off to bed. Another fun-filled day of bullshit awaits tomorrow I'm sure. Perhaps I'll make this blog happen yet. Don't hold your breath, but keep the occasional eye out.