THE FUN AIN'T STOPPIN TILL THE BALL BE DROPPIN

In Atlanta for family drama be back tomorrow

we gotta rock, rock, rock, you got us rockin the house

Last night I drove home from Matt's around 11 and made the foolish mistake of beginning to sip the mug of soda I left by the computer. Then it was past 4am and I felt like someone had pulled my large intenstine out through my eyes. Now I remember why I don't drink soda.

As of sometime late last night, I'm going to Otakon next year! Manna and Shelia are driving up to Baltimore from Jacksonville and offered to pick me up, so why not? It'll be a great way to end the summer after kicking my ass at FedEx again and just being able to see them will make it all worth it. I don't think I've been to a con in two or three years, though. I'm gonna feel like a grandpa.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to Best Buy the day before Christmas. Will someone please duck in from time to time to water my orchid?

we are the rhythm bandits

It's time for another News in Brief update!

I got a 4.0 this semester. Three of my four classes are core, so I don't hold it as some giant victory ... but it's still kind of neat. I worked all this week and am now off until classes and work resume on the fifth. I'm spending Christmas in Atlanta with everyone, driving up to see Bec and Monica in Asheville for a few days, then coming back to see Shelia on New Year's. This is shaping up to be an awesome break.

Someday last week I cleaned my bathroom for the first time in over half a year and seriously picked up my room, sorting papers, throwing out trash, and taking out the year's worth of recycling I'd built up. For the first time in ages I have some pride in my space. I have a nice home and a nice car, and I want to maintain them. It's amazing what not living in a shithole can do for your mood.

Matt and I saw Return of the King in a packed house on Friday night and the sunnabitch was actually good. It seems to revisit the best aspects of the previous two while keeping the emotion raised to exhausting levels. I plan to see it again in a few weeks when the theatre's not as full so it'll be okay to cry. Now I'm chomping at the bit for Cold Mountain, which reminds me that I have the book and probably ought to take a gander...

On Saturday I drove to Fayetteville, GA for Sara Kate's Christmas party, about two hours or so from here. It was awesome seeing everyone and my throat was sore from laughing by the time I got home. The drive was also great-- I like my car so much that I enjoyed having an excuse to just take off and go and go and go. Lauren's car's battery died as things were winding down so I gladly gave her and Jon a ride back home, and getting a chance to talk to her was a nice bonus.

new car new car new car

After that last post, I found this blog post and tried it-- and wouldn't you know it, it worked like a charm. 95% of the little bastards were caught by the morning. I've also found this article on Hamasaki Ayumi which answers a lot of the things I've wondered about for years and this one on the atrocities of Wal-Mart. Shopping at Wal-Mart has always been a little bewildering but now it feels downright dirty, too.

Dad drove in at 10am yesterday and let me drive the Merc to take him back home. "Driving" is not the best word for it, though; "floating" or "gliding" would be better. The thing takes curves at 120mph without even rocking. We had some lunch and then I drove my new car home! It is, in a few words, the best car in the universe. It's a very pretty light brown color and Kelly, the previous owner, kept it in amazing shape. It's also much smaller than my old car and I was happy to discover that it handles as tightly as a go-cart; for once the Asheville/Athens drive was actually fun. I'm going to take good care of this thing and enjoy it for years.

And they caught Saddam around midnight. On one hand I'm glad he'll finally be held accountable for his actions. On the other.... goddamn. Why couldn't it've waited until after the election?

Lately Roommate and I have been at war with fruit flies. We really don't have any idea where they came from or, more importantly, how to get rid of them. Roommate had the idea of leaving our garbage cans outside on the porch, so that's where they've been for a few days now. It only helped the fruit fly problem a little but it's offered plenty of interesting new experiences in itself. For starters, not having a garbage can in the kitchen is actually kind of nice. I guess not seeing garbage gives the illusion of tidiness, as laughable as it might really be. And the process of walking out to the porch to drop off every dirty paper towel or an empty bottle is a chance to be alone with one's thoughts; to, walking through the house with garbage in one or both hands, reach a state of zen-like calm. It's like Refuse Buddhism. I could totally market this.

One by one, all my classes have shut down like organs and now all that's left is the death rattle of exams. Today is Reading Day, which should be just what it sounds like, but I will probably spend it doing nothing productive, like posting about the most unintentionally hilarious news article ever and the Quote Database.

I've also been keeping an eye on the Dru Sjodin search, but it looks like there's not much hope left for finding her alive. It's strange how people seem to have latched onto this particular case-- scores of people have turned up to help with the search. But at the same time, there's definitely an "īt could happen to you" element to it. She was on the phone with her boyfriend in a mall parking lot and then she was simply gone. The ordinariness of it is what makes it so disturbing.

Gore endorsed Howard Dean today, which is as good a sign as any that he'll get the nomination. Dean has his problems but I admire the way he's been able to get younger voters so interested and involved. If enough people tap into their anger or resentment about our government and get involved, then maybe we'll actually have a chance with this thing. But I'm still trying not to get my hopes up.

Always write well, for every day you post is somebody's birthday.

I should be writing an essay but I came home from Matt's to find Dan and his buddies watching television downstairs and drinking and busting up over every little damn thing. That's all fine and good, but I'm missing most of the wall that separates my room from the downstairs, and since this lack allows me to hear anyone in the living room so much as exhale, it makes it hard to focus. One could use this to make a case for the completion of assignments earlier than the night before their deadline but I prefer to hold it up as an example of heinous architectural impracticality.

This weekend Matt and I stumbled onto the best DVD audio commentary yet, and it's on, of all things, Legally Blonde 2. It's by three of the no-name actresses and they spend most of the commentary gleefully MSTing their own crappy movie. It was pretty late and I probably remember it being funnier than it really was, but I went home with a sore throat from laughing so much at the commentary and poor trapezoid-mouthed-look-of-horror Sally Fields.

New car by next weekend, thankyoujesus! (And the Olds went in auction for $2700 on Friday.)

don't want my dreams addin up to nothing / i was just lookin for...

At the moment, my consistent underlying panic about my future is being quelled by what appears to be a course of action that is both feasible and enjoyable. The more I think about it, the more I honestly think I'll like getting into massage therapy and being a masseur.

oh, the weather outside is frightful~

Tonight Matt and I got all dolled up, swung by Kroger to buy some potluck-friendly food and then headed to the GLOBES Winter Social at the Ashford Manor. David and Mario, the owners, spent almost the entire night talking with us, and they're both incredibly friendly and easy to talk to. I didn't know I had it in me to make so much small talk; much less with gay guys, who normally intimidate me; much less enjoy it. At some points I was even-- get this-- witty. Where did it come from? And where the hell does it hide the rest of the time? I want to learn more about this Aaron who is well-groomed and casual and polite and talkative. I guess I need to get dressed up and drink wine more often.

In the end, I'm not getting the Olds. My stepmom just found out that her friend is selling her 2000 Mazda Protege for far below the blue book value since she was given a better car as a gift, and the Protege's in excellent condition. It's small, gets good gas mileage and has a CD player. I'm sold. She's asking ~$5000 for it, which is a lot more than I was intending to pay... but if this can be a car that I can drive and take care of and rely on for many years to come, it'll be worth it. It also has a sunroof, security system, low emissions, and check out those great crash test ratings.

I'm very much looking forward to having a car again but in a way it's been surprisingly nice not having one. In part it's due to the absence of the constant worry my old POS inspired, of course, but also it's been a fun change to walk to places I need to go. The bookstore is only half a mile away and the grocery store is even closer; when I walk to them I'm free to simply relax and wander and think, not to mention get some exercise. I've decided that even once I get a car, I'm gonna continue walking to nearby places as much as I can. Who'da thought?

olds pictures

For the record, because there has been some dissention, I still think it's cool: interior, front

ain't nothing can stop me now

The garage called back about my car, and it's dead. Not dead as in "needs work," but dead as in "will never be driven by anyone else ever again." The highlights: the engine's smoking badly from burning oil; the transmission has no reverse; the car will pull slightly in first but will not upshift either automatically or manually. They said new transmission is recommended, which is probably around a thousand bucks, and the new fuel seals needed to stop the oil leaks are another $500. Yeah right. $1500 is about what I paid for the car originally. With the problems that accumulated before this final meltdown it was only worth about $500, so it seems quite likely that I will be getting a new (used) car in the near future. There's a sweet 1990 Olds Ninety-Eight in an estate auction near Dad later this week and I think I'm gonna go for it, though I wish it got better gas mileage. Gas mileage is the one thing I care about in cars; I couldn't care less about the make or model or color or features. I'll post pictures of the Olds when I get home from work, for which I must now catch the bus.