900 Rounds & Counting

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well, another milestone… as this is the 900th entry into this ridiculous blog. Sigh… imagine if I had focused my energy into something meaningful instead of this… where could I be now? Oh well. Enough of that. Let’s see… last I left was on St Patty’s Day… and Bubbles, her roommates & I had a few pre-drinks and went to The Final Final for some good time having. Not much to say about that… other than I apparently had a pretty good time & spilled a little of my beer on Bubbles handing her mine (fumble!!!) so that I could go get a last round, but that was as good a sign as any that we were good, since we had work in the morning.

Friday morning, wasn’t feeling so hot. Go figure! Still I got up, took a shower & a few advil, got dressed, rode the bus to work, had a little oatmeal… and then just before work started, it hit me. Uh-oh! I discreetly found an unused restroom with nobody around, purged a little, cleaned up & went to work as if nothing happened. The best part is… the only reason anybody knows about this… is because I’m willing to confess to it. Nobody was the wiser… and it’s probably a good thing, because I think it was more of a headache thing than an alcohol thing… but you know how it is, morning after St Patty’s Day, new employee, strapping young buck, people would get the wrong idea about my professionalism… and I expect them to get to know me personally before that becomes an issue. Anyway, not much after that. Went to bed a little early because… well, you just heard. Also, Bubbles was having “cramps” and my new roommates were getting all moved in, so I thought I’d try to help out Nurse and… we’ll call her Pixie get moved into their places… but they had friends help them out too, so I just kinda said howdy & offered but was shut down. One of Pixie’s friends chatted with me for a second because I was watching “The Critic” on the big screen… and she also seems to know that’s one of the greatest shows ever made. I made no move… but one thing I’ve noticed… is my new roommates seem pretty nice (even though we haven’t talked much) and they have some pretty cute friends. I’ll keep you posted when we have our Housewarming Party (and I can hopefully Christen my bed in the new apartment).

Saturday was a dreadfully rainy day. Probably the worst since I moved here… so I basically ran a few errands in the morning, then did some laundry & cleaning while watching more of “The Critic.” I also did a little bit of cooking, because I had time & patience / boredom, so I’m going to try to get more into it… but the thing is, I like spices & meats in my meals… and charring caramelized mammal flesh can live a bit of a lingering smell in the kitchen… and then I have to hear about it from the roommates… but hey, we’ll get used to it… and it’ll force me to cook & eat a little better anyway. I’m all about trying new things (not just addresses either). Anyway, this weekend it was stuff like chicken fried rice & eggplant parmesan (just to see if I could). They turned out pretty well if I say so myself. Also, my friends Jackie D & Filly in Philly & the Big Easy respectively may have found new places to live, so good for them. In family drama news, my brother’s apartment’s almost finished… but he still takes time out of his busy day of… whatever he does to berate my mother & tell her that she’s never going to see the grandkids again… even after all she’s done for him, because he decided to do something stupid to her in a fit of rage… but hey, he’s got to get a job soon… so joke’s on him. Bubbles was still not feeling well, so I took her over some movies so she could rest & be entertained at the same time… and then I decided to just chill at home too… because I’m lame & have no friends. Okay, that’s only half true. It was still pouring outside… and seriously, where was I going to go? A bar? Didn’t need that. A club? Not in a dancing mood… especially by myself. Yeah, I know… gotta get out there more… but hey, it was raining… and I did hang with my new roommates a little.

I also watched “Cyrus” starring John C Reilly, Marisa Tomei & Jonah Hill. Basically it’s the story of a guy (Reilly) who is having a bit of a midlife crisis. He’s been obsessing a little about his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) for about seven years, but she’s getting married… and she wants him to get out there & meet somebody. At a party, in walks a lovely woman (Tomei) who finds Cyrus’ honesty & perspective on life fascinating (this is where I cough bullsh*t) and so they hook up, a few times, but then he notices she’s acting kind of shady… so he stalks her & follows her back to her place… where he meets her 22-year old son Cyrus (Hill) who seems a little touched in the head & needy of his mother. Well, one thing leads to another… and he basically finds that her son is trying to cockblock him… and doing a pretty good job. Will Love prevail? Or the son win? Who knows? I actually really liked this movie… but yeah, it’s like most indie comedies, where it starts out really good & funny… but then gets real. The good thing is… it’s funny for the first 2/3… and Marisa Tomei is still hot throughout its entirety. So I say give it a chance.

Sunday, the rain broke, so I went for a little stroll around the Presidio… and about the time I got to Starbucks, the rain came again… so I chilled there sipping a Caramel Apple Spice & just… I don’t know… thinking? The usual, trying to figure out what to do here & how to get established & grow as a person, what to do with my day, week, month, etc. Going over all the family stuff, the work stuff, the friend stuff, the me stuff, the world stuff, all that craziness… but I was surprisingly chipper about it given what I just typed out. After about a half hour, the rain broke, the sun came out, rainbows & all that jazz, so I went for a walk back home… and then decided to take a stroll down Lovers Lane (alone) and check that out… which was pretty nice… enjoy…

Inspiration Point - About a 3-4 minute walk from my apartment

I did a few more strolls throughout the day when the weather was good… but yeah, didn’t really do much else aside from that. I know, lame once again… but it was restful… and I kinda needed it after the past few months. So then I watched a movie that I hadn’t seen before… and this may shock a lot of you… but that movie was “When Harry Met Sally” starring Billy Crystal & Meg Ryan. Yes, the classic romantic comedy about acquaintances who become friends over random star-crossings and then possibly something more… I had never seen it… but felt like I’ve been there a few times. Anyway, Harry (Crystal) hitches a ride with his girlfriend’s friend Sally (Ryan) to NYC after graduation, they chat along the way, Harry makes a pass & gets turned down. It happens, they go their separate ways. Five years later, they meet up again by chance on an airplane. Harry’s engaged, Sally’s dating this guy. They chat, they go their separate ways. Five years later, they meet up again. Harry’s divorced & Sally’s recently single… so now they become friends… but can men & women REALLY ever be friends? Or is it just men putting up with women’s crap because we want to have sex with them? Or vice versa? Is there always that lingering attraction that at least one party involved wants? The answer is yes… but hey, watch the movie… and then discuss it… and then make out & have lots of incredible sex… or be incredibly disappointed. The point is that you tried. Wait, did I give away the ending? No. You’ve all seen it. You’re probably not even reading this… but yeah, I really liked this movie… and now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to being a cynical douche like Harry because apparently that’s the kind of guy that gets laid.

Honestly, this week hasn’t had a whole lot to it. It’s has been very rainy. I haven’t done a whole lot after work because… well, I’ve been busy outside of my f**king mind, then I just want to get home, relax & listen to the rain on the window as opposed to standing in it getting soaked. Been hanging out a little bit with the roommate Pixie… but really just her & her friend watched a few episodes of Futurama… and then we watched the pilot of “My So-Called Life” starring Claire Danes & Jared Leto back in the early nineties. Favorite part was when the ladies asked me “So… did people really dress like that… with the plaid over bikini tops or whatever that is?” Because I was apparently in 7th grade when this show came out, I was obviously the expert. “Well… there was a lot of plaid… but I thought it was just because I lived in a hick part of town…” and they found that pretty amusing, “but don’t worry… it’ll be back in fashion again before you know it. That twenty year cycle’s about due.”

Oh, I also saved a guy from serious injury yesterday. I was walking to work, in the rain, came to a corner, and it’s basically instinct for me to look four times before crossing a road, especially in bad weather. I’ve been on too many car hoods as a courtesy clerk at a supermarket. Anyway, pretty busy intersection, I noticed the gentleman in front of me stepping off the sidewalk into the intersection because he had the “green man” signal… but there was a douche in a BMW blowing through the red light. So I reached out, grabbed him by the collar of his coat, & pulled him back to the curb. Go-go-gadget arms!!! He was a little startled at first, until the passing car splashed him. The driver was on a cell phone, made a little wave to us like “Excuse me! Sorry!” and kept driving like nothing. The guy that I had saved pulled his headphones out & said a quick, “Thanks man!” So you know how I responded, “No need to thank me, just pay it forward” and we walked across the street & went our separate ways after that. Not a huge story by any means… but hey, it’s a lot better than “So I saw this guy get rolled up on the hood of a Beemer this morning. Leg was broken in 3 places, four broken ribs, punctured lung… and the guy who hit him committed suicide out of grief, compounded with his wife who’s divorcing him on the phone due to financial troubles.” See, I saved somebody. Maybe two somebodys. Better story.

Over this week, I saw “Due Date” starring Robert Downey & Zach Galifinakis. The story is a comedy from director Todd Phillips (“Old School”) and about a man (Downey) whose wife (Michelle Monaghan) is about to have a baby in LA while he’s across the country in Atlanta. Well, due to serious misunderstandings, he’s put on the no-fly list, so now he has to drive cross-country with the guy who got him on the list inadvertently (Galifanikas). Basically, it’s your standard tale of kinda-selfish guy & eccentric well-meaning imbecile Odd Couple kind of story… to an absurd level. It does have a little bit of heart though… and a cameo by Jamie Foxx… and a few REALLY funny parts, so I say give it a shot. I enjoyed it.

Next up was “Unstoppable” starring Denzel Washington & Chris Pine. It’s from director Tony Scott (“Last Boy Scout”, “True Romance” & the like) so you know there’s a lot of explosions & action. Based on a true story about a runaway train in rural Pennsylvania, it’s about two guys that try to run it down at 70 MPH to save the day… if they can make it… or if they can make it out alive themselves. Basically that is the story… but they throw in the whole backstories of the main characters which is okay… but yeah, it’s really one of those really basic movies where there’s good guys, bad guys, people in danger, heroism, tales of redemption, all that stuff that you’d expect in a Tony Scott movie. It was okay, but not fantastic.

Other than that, like I said, just really busy & exhausted, and a little frustrated with my problems with Capital One not being able to just do simple procedures because they don’t understand the words coming out of my mouth. F**k outsourcing! Oooh… but another good thing is that I might have a hookup for WonderCon next weekend. What’s WonderCon, you ask? Well, it’s basically ComicCon… but in San Francisco, so I can nerd out with the likes of comic book geeks, even though I won’t be dressing up or anything, it should be an amazing geeks-perience. Anyway, more on that when / if it happens. Happy 900th entry everybody!!!