Murder on the Dancefloor

Wheee, my 2008 in music.

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:55:05 GMT

Here it is, better late than never, I guess. I can't believe there were actually a few of you were who like, "can't wait to see your list, dude!" When it comes to new music, I am seriously lagging these days, but the funny thing is, I don't really care as much as I thought it would. The last time I went record shopping, I mean like, serious record shopping, the kind where you spend an hour or two perusing each bin in the store and just walk around and look at all the displays and staff recommendations and everything, was July, when Lindsey and I did our cross-country trip and I spent lots of money in Austin. I just haven't had the time or the money to do any serious shopping since. I've still picked up records here and there, mostly from Best Buy and Target (tearz), but I haven't gotten lost in a record store and made it rain on clerks in a long, long time.

Basically, I missed out on a ton of stuff this year, but I still managed to buy about 45 new records and from those, I've picked my favoirtes. Most of them, not surprisingly, are from the first half of last year.

My Favorite Records of 2008:

20 - The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride
19 - The Presets, Apocalypso
18 - Beach House, Devotion
17 - Gentlemen Jesse & His Men, self-titled

16 - The Duke Spirit, Neptune
15 - Spiritualized, Songs in A & E
14 - Be Your Own Pet, Get Awkward
13 - Radiohead, In Rainbows ¹

12 - Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs
11 - Fleet Foxes, self-titled
10 - The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement
09 - The Whigs, Mission Control

08 - Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
07 - The Gutter Twins, Saturnalia
06 - Lupe Fiasco, The Cool ²
05 - The Kills, Midnight Boom

04 - Vampire Weekend, self-titled
03 - Crystal Castles, self-titled
02 - Destroyer, Trouble in Dreams
01 - Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours

¹ Released digitally October 10, 2007, physically January 1, 2008
² Released December 18, 2007

2008

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:28:53 GMT

The waning moments of 2008 were spent with a few friends and a whole lot of strangers, one of whom was Josie from Josie and the Pussycats (the cinematic remake). Other friends were scattered, and dearly missed, but honestly, I was right where I wanted to be. This was the first New Year's Eve in memory where I didn't place enormous expectations on how the evening would turn out. I've always known that in the grand scheme it's just another night, but I used to call NYE my favorite holiday, because it's a time for reminiscing the past and celebrating an optimistic future. I love the psychological clean slate you're afforded, where you can be and do anything you set your mind to. It's like there's no past to drag you down; only onward and upward from here on out! I guess when you're young you have the luxury of thinking in terms like "anything is possible" because the future is still this mysterious, nebulous thing that you're constantly striving to figure out. And, you know, let's face it: you're naive. But eventually you get to a point where you realize, hey, this is your life, and it's pretty awesome, and you find contentment in that. I'm not saying I've gotten to that point, but I'm becoming increasingly comfortable in how things have turned out, and I just want to enjoy that feeling for a while.

It seems like for most people 2008 was pretty rotten, but I can't complain at all. 2008, for me, was pretty awesome. A lot of really awesome memories were forged in 2008, which means 2009 has a lot to live up to. Even with so much uncertainty toward the future, I have to believe that things will get better for all of us. Even when all the evidence points to the contrary, I just can't take a pessimistic tact. So here's to a wonderful 2009 everyone. I think we deserve it.

View Poll: 2008

Last year's results and links to previous years here.

Murder-free since '03 no longer.

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:20:09 GMT

The most violent crime committed in the county of Los Angeles this year happened on Christmas Eve about 2 miles from my apartment. Most people in LA don't even know where Covina is because we're just a little city of under 50,000 people located about 20 miles east of downtown. But I love it here. We've got an Ikea, a Hooters, all the usual big-box stores; you know, everything you need. And it's pretty quiet. Not anymore. Suddenly Covina's making national headlines because of one crazy, disturbed person.

If you've been watching the news you've probably heard about the guy dressed as Santa who showed up at his ex-in law's home during their Christmas party and went on a murderous rampage because he was distraught over his divorce. I think the most chilling detail is how he shot an 8-year-old girl in the face when she opened the door. Amazingly, she's going to survive. But then he killed his ex-wife, her parents and a bunch of other party-goers before setting the house on fire. Heavens.

Why do we come to work on Christmas Eve anyway? Can I have my free lunch so I can go home already?

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:20:13 GMT

I've asked this question before in a different way, but seriously, what is the protocol for getting gifts for your boss? Is it expected? Does it make you look like a brown-noser? I know I could probably Google to find out what Emily Post has to say about it, but I want to know what y'all think. My boss owns the company, and he spends more on dinner than I make in a week, and I'm expected to get him something? That doesn't compute.

I've worked for the Armenian Mafia for 9 years and for the first 7 I never got my boss anything and it was not a problem. Then a couple of years ago he jokingly started making a big deal about how I'd never gotten him anything for Christmas and how I'm basically a big dick and I know he was mostly kidding but he was also kind of serious, too. It was one of those situations where I had to read between the lines and take the hint; the hint wasn't even that subtle, really. He was flat-out saying GET ME A PRESENT, CHEAPSKATE. But what do you get a guy who literally could buy whatever he wanted? I understand "it's the thought that counts" but I don't want to get him something stupid that he'll never use or worse, re-gift. Honestly, I think the fact that I show up for work every day should be enough of a gift. In fact, what I should say the next time I get shit from him is, "uh, and where's my gift for being an awesome employee??"

Anyway, I took the easy route this year and got his son (his second kid!) a baby blanket¹. He was born a couple of weeks ago while my boss was traveling on business, so he missed the birth. Predictably, he was like, "you've seen one, you've seen 'em all." His wife is a lucky lady.

Lindsey and I held our second annual white elephant Christmas party on Saturday, aka my birthday, and I was so happy that basically all the people I love were able to make it. The white elephant portion of the festivities were especially raucous this year, due in part to the sheer number of participants. We all packed into our living room and for about an hour it was like being on the floor of the stock exchange, or at a cockfight; there was so much hollering and it was seriously cutthroat! My favorite part has to be the nicknames people come up with to describe the presents. This year there was a "face box" (which was literal, since it was a box with a face drawn on it, "Wii", "weed", "dong bong", "AOL", "shit bag", "happy meal/telephone", "ecstasy", and "jug fugler magazine". Of course, none of the actual gifts were even close to being any of those things, but that's why it's so funny.

I loved the mix of awesome gifts (theremin, accordion, awesome DVDs) and jokey gifts ("bottle bong", "classic tattoos book", a lawn flamingo). I had a great time and I love that all of my favorite people could find the time to get together and laugh our asses off. I have the best friends in the world!

The rest of the photos here and here.

Merry Christmas everybody!

¹ This necessitated a trip to our local Baby's R Us, and marked the first time in my life I'd ever stepped foot in that store. As much as I would love to have a baby just so I could buy it cool shit, the irony is that if you have a baby, you wouldn't be able to afford any of it.

28

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:12:24 GMT

One thing that bewilders me about getting older is the realization that the age gap that once existed between me and professional athletes, guys I grew up admiring and once upon a time tried to emulate, is almost completely gone. I am now as old -- and in a lot of cases older -- than these guys. They're like my peers now, not my idols. By the time Joe Montana was 28 he'd already won 2 Super Bowls. What have I accomplished?

Pop quiz: What do the following people all have in common:

Kurt Cobain
Jimi Hendrix
Janis Joplin
Jim Morrison
Jonathan Brandis

Answer: They all died when they were 27. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I am now older than these people ever were. Cobain died when I was 13, but now whenever I see a picture of him all I'll be able to think about is how he was younger than I am now. MIND EXPLOSIONS.

Okay, that's all the ranting I'll do about turning 28. Getting older isn't sucking quite as much as I once worried it might. I still have most of my hair, I can still kind of fit into the same pants I wore when I was 21 (although, I have gained almost 10 pounds this year). It could be worse.

I'm sure the next few years are going to bring about more changes and more awesomeness, but I need to take a more active role in making things happen as opposed to simply letting things take their course. I need to take control of my destiny.

What I need to do is make a list of things I want to accomplish by the time I'm 30. I've been on my own for almost 10 years now and I've had a lot of fun and done all right for myself. I've had a comfortable existence, but I want more. I felt like I deserved to just "be" for a while to make up for my lost adolescence, but it's time to take the next step. I don't like the feeling that I've plateaued, or worse, peaked.

A few weeks ago, after the bar closed, Monique, Kelly and I were standing by our cars just talking and Kelly mentioned how when we all first became friends 7 years ago, that I was this weird presence because I was a couple of years older and had my shit together. I've always had my shit together, but that's not enough anymore. I've been coasting for too long and now I've fallen behind. I need to have a plan. Where do I see myself in 5 years? Right now, I don't have an answer for that.

Okay, I didn't mean to turn this into a resolution jam. Don't get it twisted, I'm happier on a more consistent basis now than at any time in my life. Things are awesome. With a little more work on my part, they could be even more awesome. That's the point I want to make. 27 was great, 28 will be better.

I wish I could cue up "Eye of the Tiger" and start shadow-boxing, because I'm SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW.

Why yes, I did just learn how to make footnotes, why do you ask?

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:01:15 GMT

Daniel and Kelly posted today, so now it's my turn, I think, and then maybe if Brett could put down his giant sandwich¹ long enough to write something and if Jeric posts a link to Ron Paul's website, we could pretend like it was 2006 and the height of LJ awesomeness again.

Sorry for not posting for a month, but it's hard to write about anything when my life has been consumed with chess. The next Bobby Fischer I ain't, but man am I loving this game! I mean, I'm still learning and even though I'm awful it's still so much fun! For years chess was this giant mystery to me, and then Jeric taught me how to play last month -- it was actually really easy to learn -- and I've been addicted/obsessed with chess.com ever since! I wish I was an old man so I could just sit in the park and play chess all day every day! Best game ever!²

Last month I also learned how to play roulette and that was awesome too, except for the part where I lost a lot of money because I have the unluckiest favorite number ever³. Still on my to-learn list: bridge, Mahjong and craps. And then my transition into an old Asian lady will be complete.

¹ How I Met Your Mother reference
² If you play chess and have time to kill, sign up on chess.com and challenge me!!!
³ 16, because Joe Montana ruled!

Working hard to get my fill.

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:36:04 GMT

Okay, so 20 degree weather isn't really that bad as long as you're not out in it for more than a minute at a time. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that I was only going to be out in the cold for literally a minute since I was going from the airport to a taxi and then into a building. It's not like I was going sightseeing. So I didn't even need a hat or gloves! But by the end of the day I decided I wanted to get my money's worth so I stood out in the cold for about 10 minutes while waiting for my taxi to show up and man did it get cold. My ears got all numb! It wasn't even the cold that was so bad, it was the wind.

But yay, I survived! In 24 hours I was on a plane for 9, spent 2 hours in an airport, 1.5 in a taxi, slept for maybe a couple of hours, drank like 10 cups of coffee to stay awake and traveled a total of 4600 miles.

Oh yeah, and if any billionaires are reading this, I have a business proposal for you. Hear me out: I want to start an airline called No Screaming Babies Air. I'm not trying to discriminate against babies or parents, because that's not cool, I'm just saying NSB Air will seat parents and their screaming babies in a special part of the plane that's separated from all the other passengers with sound-proof glass. Don't you hate it when you're on the red-eye and desperately need to squeeze in what little sleep you can and some brat in front of you wails all night while his or her parents sit there like mutes? WORST EVER. I definitely want kids someday, but they're not flying with me until they're like 20. If the kid needs to go somewhere, I'm sending it Fed Ex.

Hit the 'burbs and all you see is a blur from 8 Mile Road.

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:38:55 GMT

Going to Detroit on business. BRB.

Just Travis the band, not Barker, Randy or that dude who's dating Katy Perry.

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:46:57 GMT

I may not be going to as many shows as I once did (due in no particular order to: not as much disposal income, i.e. having a spare $30 for a ticket to see a band that I've seen before for half that and in a much smaller venue, not to mention the added costs of gas and drinks and merch; not finding as many interesting shows as before; laziness; enjoying home life with Lindsey a lot; a DVR full of TV to watch; wanting to be in bed before midnight to get at least 7 hours of sleep; being tired after a long day of work and just wanting to relax; becoming an old man...) but the shows that I am going to are mostly awesome. Quality over quantity and all that.

While I was away in High Point Daniel managed to score a pair of tickets to see Travis at the Troubadour. I'd always been jealous that he saw them there during the tour for The Man Who because the first couple of times I saw them it was at the gigantic Universal (now Gibson) Amphitheater. This was to be their only US show of the year and at a venue which is about 1/12 the size of the UA (and half as small as the House of Blues in Anaheim where Jose and I saw them almost exactly a year ago), so of course it sold out in seconds. Later, there would be people on Craigslist selling $35 face-value tickets for $350!

Of course the set was heavy with songs from the new album they were plugging, but since I like it, it didn't feel like a chore where you're like, yawn, polite applause, now play the hits! But even if you didn't like the new album, the rest of the set was ALL HITS. Seriously, singles for days. Check it out:

1. CHINESE BLUES
2. J. SMITH
3. SOMETHING ANYTHING
4. WRITING TO REACH YOU
5. LONG WAY DOWN
6. RE-OFFENDER
7. LOVE WILL COME THROUGH
8. AS YOU ARE
9. SIDE
10. SONG TO SELF
11. SING
12. DRIFTWOOD
13. FALLING DOWN
14. ALL I WANT TO DO IS ROCK
15. GOOD FEELING
16. CLOSER
17. BEFORE YOU WERE YOUNG
18. TURN
_______________

19. I KISSED A GIRL (Katy Perry cover)
20. THIRTEEN (Big Star cover)
21. FLOWERS IN THE WINDOW
22. SELFISH JEAN
23. WHY DOES IT ALWAYS RAIN ON ME?

And then for the encore, Fran and Andy came out and did an electric guitar cover of that damn Katy Perry song that against my better judgment I've come to like. They've always done great covers (most notably their version of "Hit Me Baby One More Time") but they outdid themselves by covering arguably my favorite song of all-time:

Man, I hope that one becomes a proper b-side so I can listen to it all day every day. One day I'll have to put together my all-time favorite covers of "Thirteen", but just so you know, Garbage set the standard by which all other versions will be judged. So yeah, that took an already AWESOME show and turned it into something I'll remember for a long, long time.

Oh yeah, and it was the first show I'd seen since the election, and it was nice for Fran to acknowledge how fucking cool it was that Obama won. He gave a foreign perspective and likened the election outcome to when we first landed on the moon. He said, "the rest of the world is in awe, like 'wow, fuck yeah, right on guys!'" Kind of gave me chills. I can't wait to hear what Morrissey has to say.

Freaking Travis, I don't care what the haters say, I'll always love them.

One step forward, two steps back.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:08:22 GMT

It's like coming home from the best party ever only to discover that your house burned down.

Fucking hell.

Furniture porn. First in a series.

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:18:22 GMT

One of things I do is coordinate photography shoots for our products. After the furniture market is over we take everything over to a studio in High Point and they arrange and shoot the merchandise. As you can see, we've recently started going in a more contemporary direction. No more of that heavy, goopy, ornate bullshit. The market for that stuff is dying a painful death. Now we're finally starting to make stuff for people our age! It's pretty exciting. Basically, we're trying to offer looks that you might find at Z Gallerie or Pottery Barn, except at substantial savings. Kind of like the Forever 21 model, but for furniture.

Brain dumps like a truck.

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:13:31 GMT

I've been back from North Carolina for a few days now and still pretty bogged down with work, so I'm probably not going to get around to all of the posts I missed while I was away, which makes me sad because it looks like I missed a lot. Judging from the quick skim I've been able to do I've seen posts about death, pregnancy, weddings, break-ups and new relationships. Wow. Heavy shit, y'all. Hugs to those who need them.

...

Furniture Market was all right, I guess. Everyone's all depressed about the economy and rightly so. For the average person, a new sofa or dining table isn't really a necessity right now, so all these retailers come by and look at all the nice new product we're showing and they're all crying to us about how awful business is and how they wish they could buy stuff but they're already sitting on warehouses full of inventory. People who've been in the industry for 30, 40, 50 years are saying they've never seen it this bad. And then I read in the papers how the stock market's crashing and the global economy's in a recession and how this moment in time is being compared to the Depression and I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around that. Shit is scary out there, guys. I think the worst part is that so much of it is so complicated that it's hard to really understand how bad it is. The only thing I know is that things will get better. The sooner we hit bottom the better.

...

There are some things you take for granted when you've pretty much lived your entire life in one of the most liberal states in the country. I grew up in the suburbs, not the South, so I didn't get to experience much in the way of racism, although I do remember one instance when I was 6 and still living in Vegas with my mom. I told her that I invited a friend of mine from school to come over to our apartment to play. She asked me if he was black and I said yes. Then she said that he wasn't allowed in our home. Having a crazy Asian mom is one thing, but there is still a whole generation of people born in the 40s and 50s who are awful, closeted bigots. I know this probably isn't news to a lot of you -- every family probably has a crazy racist uncle -- but to me, it was shocking.

I lost count the number of times I heard the N-word come out of the mouths of white dudes. It takes a hell of a lot to offend me, but I was taken aback and genuinely uncomfortable and disgusted at some the behavior I witnessed. I guess I take California's progressiveness for granted. How naive of me to think that there isn't still a lot of racial strife and inequality in many parts of this country. Just a real eye-opener.

...

The apartment complex Lindsey and I live in is run by Mormons. When Brett and I first moved in 5 years ago, a majority of the 12 units were rented out to Mormons. I think the number has dwindled considerably over the years, but our apartment managers have always been Mormon. So it wasn't a surprise to see them sporting a Yes on Prop 8 sticker on their car; it was just disappointing. I want to get a "No on Prop 8" sign to put up in my front window (which faces their apartment), but I'm fearful of Mormon retribution. I'm not sure what that would entail, but I'm pretty sure they're already frowning on Lindsey and I living in sin so I don't want to push my luck.

...

Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour this weekend!

Gone fishin' again.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:41:19 GMT

What happened to you, Internet? I used to have so much more to say to you. You were like a toy that I never thought I'd get tired of playing with. The meal that I thought I could eat every day for the rest of my life. I guess I got busy? Distracted? Does the "seven year itch" apply to the Internet too? I don't know anymore. When I do things that in the past would have necessitated an entry, I don't automatically start composing in my head what I'd say like I used to. My brain works differently now. Remember MySpace? One of my resolutions this year was to abandon that shit (accomplished, by the way). My social-networking days are over! (This site excluded.) Towards the end of my MySpacing days, I'd look at my "friends list" and think, "you know, I actually want nothing to do with 90% of these people." Those people reminded me of the person I was for a very specific time in my life, and while those were admittedly pretty good days and those people served a purpose, I'm past that now. I'm content with keeping those memories filed away in a corner of my brain and moving on.

LiveJournal's different though. Most of you I've known for years and years and I'm actually pretty invested in your lives. It makes me sad when people don't post with the same frequency that they used to, and then, suddenly, I became one of those people. I guess it happens.

Life is pretty busy these days. Work still eats up a chunk of my days, and life at home with Lindsey makes up the difference. It's a good life; one that I'm happy and content with. I have an amazing girlfriend that I have so much fun with, and I have a great group of friends whom I love dearly. Even the people who've moved away and are out of touch for a while, I know that what's there can be unpaused and resumed easily. In hindsight, it's like your mid-20s are the time where you weed out the shitty people and sow the keepers. (I have no idea if that gardening analogy makes sense, but it sounds like it could.) I am flush with keepers. Even though we don't get to see each other as much as we used to, I wouldn't say we've drifted apart. We've simply become more preoccupied with the demands of life. And I'd like to think that the time we do get to spend together becomes more meaningful. So that's a win, right?

...

This is what happens right before I leave for North Carolina; I always get a little nostalgic. Being away from home kind of blows. Guess I'll drown my sorrows in sweet tea, Southern style.

Meeting people is easy.

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:08:30 GMT

There are 235 unique people on my friends list (damn you people and your multiple journals that you've left for dead that I never got around to deleting. Also, not that you'll even see this, but damn you people who never update anymore.) I have met 137.

01, 5500, __45rpm__, __procession, _mathematica, a_comet_by_far, adamsmaria80, agentscissors, amandica, andrewloog, angelly_bean, antoniusrex, avuncularsmile, baciarli, beckon_you_on, bsb182311, bunnyslopes, burntcurtis, businesscasual, camstarlet, cheapasair, cheekypop, chillbot75, cinquevolte, clankyrobot, clarkekid, closedblueyes, comeinalone, cometgain, commecicommeca, crimeteam, cruciverbalist, dawn_michele, denzoner, doctorhemolymph, dreamallday, drinkmoloko, drrobocopmd, efffthatnoise, explodingsunset, explorationteam, fakedheartbeat, faux_88, fiestared, flux_rad, flyingdutchman, forestbleu, foxinthesnow, foxy_manacle, funkygecko, gado_gado, glasgowmeli, gogogh, greck, grumpyhonky, heartofkudzu, hektik, hipsterdad, hobohobocamp, holdenpollyanna, hook_and_eyelet, horizontalist, hornbuckle, hugathon, ihatesnard, iheartjew, impossiblething, inflatablesheep, je_taime_mods, jfb, jimmymontrose, jlybeanenema, jnny_enkeli, kabballer, kakem_vret, korovyov, lesh, letigrette, lifeiselsewhere, lilypads, longlines, lordofgaysantas, lostintransit, lynnlynn, madflowr, makeplaying, marcjacobsmuse, melcore, melinaballerina, nobodysfault, nothardtofind, nothinghurts, nowaitbutlisten, nufnuf, oblio_doblio, oldpplpowerwalk, only_rawkin, pandabearcult, pblake123, piisexactly3, placeboi82, ploosh_snarp, plurabella, pumpkinhead27, redelvis, redmeansgogogo, rollerboogie, sanserif, skinofthenight, slowdive45, snuff_daddy, so_gracefully, soymeche, space_ace, sparklesparkle, spiraldemon, spychick007, spyinhouseofluv, starbrightgirl, stateofemergncy, styloroc_2000, swth, thecorky, thehalfozjoint, themissdawn, theproblemis, thimblewinder, thisaintnodisco, tigermilking, touchmenots, understandish, understated, vintagelife, vivycakes, whatihopedfor, white_lies, xl1200c

Last night, Lindsey and I met up with Katie (hook_and_eyelet) and her husband Paul (pblake123) for drinks. A couple of days ago Katie emailed and said, "hey, we're going to be in town, let's meet up!" and I'm pretty much always down for putting faces with online personas. The very act of someone you've only known via the Internets asking to meet up with you and you agreeing, is a strange kind of implicit approval. It's like saying, "hey, you don't seem like someone who's going to slip me a roofie and rape me". Or at the very least, "yes, I will go out of my way to hang out with you because you seem cool."

Of course, now I'm sure they realize how wrong they were, and that objects in the Internet mirror are cooler than they appear, and I bet they wish they could have those 2 hours back. Suckers! Seriously though, come to karaoke tonight.

Every once in a while the Internet gives you something so great you just have to share with everyone

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:44:05 GMT

Dyna Moe has a bunch of Mad Men illustrations that are blowing my mind.

Thanks for the tip Merlin, via Meg, via Kfan. Whew. GOOD JOB EVERYBODY!

I'm so fucking glad we're bros, bro!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:51:26 GMT

Happy birthday to the bestest of boys, the tastiest of tastycakes. This is no mere hyperbrole: You are 100 brocent, absbrolutely the broest. Brotally!!! I love you, man!

The new 90210 - THE LIVE BLOG!!

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:38:01 GMT

EPISODE ONE. "We're Not in Kansas Anymore"

8:00: Coldplay intro! Do "the kids" even like Coldplay?
8:01: Does that kid know he's black?
8:02: Aunt Becky looks pretty good for being around for like 30 years.
8:02: The exterior shots of Beverly Hills look nice!
8:02: Lucille Bluth!
8:03: OH, so he's adopted! That explains a lot.
8:03: 3 minutes in and we're already on song 4. I don't think the OC ever had this much music crammed in.
8:04: Hahaha, blowjob before class! Reminds me of when I was in high school.
8:04: Pink eye reference! I can, like, totally relate to that, OMG.
8:05: Hannah Zuckerman-Vasquez! - "What is that girl, like 30?" ZING! CALLBACK LULZ for OG fans!
8:07: Aw, Jennie Garth! I mean, Kelly Taylor. She still looks good too.
8:08: Adriana looks like a shitty Natalie Portman circa Closer.
8:10: YES!!! Theme song remix!!! Almost brought a tear to my eyes.
8:13: I've already lost track of how many songs they've used. At this rate, by episode 3 they're not going to have any songs left.
8:14: Burn on Division Day. I guess. Is that who the kids are listening to??
8:15: Wait, that's supposed to be Kelly's little sister?
8:16: THE PIT!!!! At the corner of Beverly and something. I must find it some day, just like Luna Chicks!
8:17: I just figured it out -- that blonde girl is like a shitty Jessie Spano.
8:18: Is this... new Offspring? Yes, yes it is.
8:19: The new kid must go down and he must go down hard.
8:24: Wait, I'm confused about this new show called Privileged. What? Isn't that redundant? Are the kids on 90210 not "privileged" enough?
8:25: I love that Lucille Bluth's character basically lives on in this show.
8:26: Hahah, THE PIT... AFTER DARK!! Coffee shop by day and hottest club in LA by night. Nat must be one hell of a promoter.
8:29: Great line: "We're talking about me and all of a sudden it's about you." I need to remember to use that one some day.
8:34: "Way to [cock]block, dude, thanks."
8:35: Adriana looks like a weird Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. Kind of. At certain angles.
8:38: What the hell is Naomi wearing??
8:39: Friends buy each other $800 worth of clothing?? I need me some of those friends.
8:40: Some shit is about to go down... I can feel it!
8:41: This little singing routine... I didn't realize they had auto-tune machines, with the Matrix producing, for high school musicals these days.
8:47: "Well, you're a little bitch!"
8:48: I just realized something else. Elizabeth Berkley's name in Showgirls was Nomi. Naomi... Nomi. Coincidence? YOU DECIDE.
8:50: "What am I going to do?" Oh, the problems of the young and fictional.
8:54: What band is this? Tilly & the Wall? So freaking random.
8:55: "You're not a guest, you're my bitch."
8:56: Lindsey just asked if that was Tila Tequila dancing on the go-go box, hahah.
8:57: Yay! Oh, wait, SAD TROMBONE DOT COM.
8:57: Lame grown-up dramaz. BORING.
8:58: Ethan's about to get faced.
8:58: Lindsey says, can no one else see this is the most uncomfortable moment of all time?
9:00: Okay, beach scene with bonfires, reminiscent of the OC pilot. Please let someone say, "Welcome to the BH, bitch. This is how it's done in Beverly Hills!"
9:01: The world outside Beverly Hills apparently stretches as far as... the Santa Monica Pier. Whoa, exotic.
9:02: "Welcome to California" is the best I'm going to get, apparently.
9:02: Lindsey says, man, this is nothing like how my life has been since I moved to California.
9:04 "My husband has another child with another woman." What?? I'm live-blogging this shit and I'm totally confused. Lindsey just had to explain that bit to me. I tune out whenever the adults talk. Except for Lucille Bluth. Everything she says is hilarious.
9:06: I have to admit that I'm not familiar with 90% of the songs they're using.
9:07: OH MAN, WHO'S THIS HOT DUDE???? Oh wait, never mind, he looks like a younger Jerry O' Connell.
9:08: What's a haiku? How about: 9-0-2-1-0 / Not completely terrible / Where is Seth Cohen???
9:09: Adriana, please refer to this.
9:10: "Oh my god, this might be my best blogisode yet!"
9:11: "The cure for a break-up is a hook-up!" Wise beyond their years, these kids.
9:12: Whoa, creepy goth chick!
9:12: Okay, another Ting tings song? The one band I can recognize.
9:18: "You should so write a relationship blog"
9:18: I guess Navid is the new Seth Cohen. Maybe.
9:19: Homeboy drives a Bentley?? I mean, of course he does.
9:21: Okay, so this dude has a plane, too? Why is he going to public school again?
9:24: Astro Burger reference!
9:25: "Bitch lips!"
9:27: Hey, it's that Metro Park song that I actually like.
9:27: AHHHH!! SHANNEN DOHERTY!!! I love her, but, Jewel called, and she wants her teeth back. Yikes.
9:30: I wonder if any pigs were harmed in the making of this teen dramedy. Wait, is this a dramedy?
9:31: High school kids getting crunk! And making out!
9:32: Grandma Bluth was in an accident because you were whoring it up in San Francisco, you ungrateful slut. If she dies, I'll be pissed!
9:35: Never mind, she's fine. LUCKY FOR YOU, Annie.
9:45: "Grandma told me about your pig prank when you were on the team."
9:46: Someone give those girls some cheeseburgers.
9:48: Not much action the past 15 minutes or so. Zzzzz. Thankfully there are only 12 minutes left.
9:48: So Annie's 15? So that makes her a freshman? Sophomore?
9:53: "Are you breaking up with me?" "I'm breaking up with us".
9:55: Okay, Ryan and Kelly are pretty cute. This scene has the only adults I care about.
9:55: Brenda, "I'll be here a while."
9:56: That is some wack punishment. No texting, no dates or parties or coffee money! Wow, that's rough.
9:59: They used like 8945723947823947 different songs and yet "tonight's 90210 featured music by Tilly and the Wall" That's it??

Whew, mercifully, the end. So I guess I liked it enough to keep watching it. I need something to fill the teen drama void in my life!

You should cut down on your pork loins, mate.

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:45:38 GMT

Last Sunday, Lindsey and I went to see Body Worlds 3. I'm spoiled and take living in a city where awesome things are always happening for granted, so I'd slept on seeing Body Worlds 1 and 2, even though it was something I wanted to check out. Just not enough to make the effort, I guess. (This happens far too often, but now that Lindsey's around to motivate me to do stuff, hopefully it won't happen as much.) Lindsey on the other hand had been wanting to check it out for a while, but it never came to Jacksonville. So we went and it was really weird and thought-provoking and awe-inspiring. We both really liked it and spent almost 2 hours working our way through the exhibit.

I don't know how this new one compares to the first two, but its theme was the heart, and it told the story of what an amazing organ it is. My favorite parts were the synopsis banners draped near each installation; they were easy to digest blurbs that I found really informative and interesting. The bodies themselves were really cool, too, but I think after the first few I got the gist. It was like, you see one cadaver dong and you've seen 'em all, am I right? But really, it's amazing what science allows you to see. They posed and displayed the bodies in a really artful way, so you're able to see different muscles and bones and how they work. Pretty mind-blowing stuff, actually. The smoker's lung and diseased body parts were cool. The baby embryos were mildly creepy and upsetting; I couldn't help but think about where they came from. One of the recurring themes that was really driven home for me was that no matter how much damage you do to your body, whether it be through poor diet or drinking or smoking, that as soon as you stop doing that thing, your body will recover. It's amazing how resilient our bodies are.

Lindsey told me of an analogy she'd heard, comparing our body to a car. If you were told that you'd only have one car to drive for the rest of your life, wouldn't you take exceptionally good care of it? Makes you wonder where our priorities are.

Another cool part of the exhibit was the blood pressure machine. I've never been to a doctor or gotten a physical so I have no idea what kind of health I'm in, and I've never had my blood pressure measured before. I was happy to find out that my 110/78 is right in the ideal range. So after all that learning, now I'm kind of obsessed over my blood pressure and keeping my heart happy; I want to be healthy and live to 100! Seeing all of that and watching as much Olympics as we have, I'm kind of jealous of how ripped all those athletes are, so that's another motivator to getting in shape. I mean, is there anything that makes you feel more out of shape than watching gymnastics and all the incredible things those people are able to do and then realize that you can't even touch your toes? It's not that I want 4% body fat or crazy shoulder muscles or anything, but I want to feel more fit. Hey Lindz, let's start doing some yoga!

Beijing, Beijing, Beijing.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:43:30 GMT

The first Olympics I remember paying attention to were the '92 Games in Barcelona. I have vague recollections of being aware of the '88 Seoul Games, but I don't remember anything specific about it. (Obviously as a 3-year-old I was oblivious to the '84 LA Games, but I did have a stuffed toy of this guy and I loved it so much.) In '92 we had the Dream Team in basketball and every single school-age boy in America followed their exploits. At least at my school they did. I've mentioned this before, of how in 6th grade I played on our (private) school's basketball team and we got to pick the number and name we wanted on the back of our jerseys. While all the other kids went with Jordan 23 or Bird 33 or Johnson 32 or some other popular basketball player, I went with Montana 16, in honor of my idol, football superstar Joe Montana of the San Francisco football 49ers. At one game a kid from the other team asked me if my last name was actually Montana, and when I said no, said, "wrong sport, stupid." Little kids are dicks.

The other notable thing from that Olympics was learning the concept of "tape delay". I'd be watching a game with my stepfather and he'd say "how much do you want to bet that I can guess the exact final score?" and incredulously I'd say, "no way, you're on. I'll bet a million hours of chores" and then of course I'd lose and realize that adults were pretty much dicks, too.

I don't remember much about the '96 Atlanta Games other than that dude who set off that bomb. And I completely forgot about the '04 Athens Games and thought that Sydney was the host of the most recent Olympics. So that tells you how much I've paid attention. All I care about is opening the newspaper and looking at the medal count. I want the USA to have the most medals, of course, because being #1 is an awesome feeling, even by proxy. The Olympics are like the only time you can say "we're #1" and no one can refute that, because WE equals AMERICANS. It's not like when you're a Celtics fan and you say "we won the championship", because that leaves room for someone to say, "oh yeah, are you on the team?" and makes you feel dumb for liking sports. When some chick you've never heard of wins the gold medal in some sport you don't even understand, that's a victory for all of us.

But seriously, the Olympics are pretty cool. Lindsey's really into it, which means I'm really into it. Including the Opening Ceremonies on Friday, we've watched about 20 hours of it. The Opening Ceremonies were pretty fucking cool, right? That shit was like the halftime show of every Super Bowl combined times 100. And the procession of nations was fun, too. Thank God for home Internet connection because 1) Neither of us had any idea how many countries there are in the World (the answer: NO ONE KNOWS! But 195 is an acceptable answer.) and 2) If there are 195 countries in the world, how are there 205 countries competing in the Olympics? (the answer: here)

We've watched swimming, gymnastics, cycling, rowing, basketball, diving and volleyball. I even caught a little bit of badminton. BADMINTON! And I was TOTALLY INVESTED IN THE OUTCOME. It's crazy how it doesn't matter what the sport is, I want the US to wail on the opposition. Every time a Chinese gymnast falls, I cheer inside. That doesn't make me a bad person, right? No, that makes me American. SUCK IT (INSERT FOREIGN COUNTRY HERE)!! USA!! USA!!!

Also: Thank God for DVR. Being able to record all of it and then fast-forward to what you want to watch is amazing. Although I suppose that's not even as technologically advanced as watching it live on the Web (the Web!), but it's better than reading about it a day later in the paper.

EARTHQUAKE!

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:02:43 GMT

I was totally peeing when the earthquake started.

The shaking didn't last long, maybe a few seconds, but there was a really violent jolt. We all went outside and someone turned on their car radio so we could hear how big/where it was centered. Apparently 5.8 and Chino Hills, which is less than 10 miles from here. Wow, that was something.

And now we're going outside again, as a precaution.

Edit @ 1:40pm

I finally got hold of Lindsey after trying for half an hour. The only damage at the apartment was this bottle of Cinnamon Schnapps that fell. I honestly don't think I've ever used it and don't even know where it came from, so that's cool.

Traffic court.

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:55:03 GMT

I could tell you the story of how this one time I got a ticket for reading the newspaper while driving, but I won't. Well, okay, maybe. I'll say that I may or may not be guilty of a crime, but at the very least I'm probably guilty of being "one of those people". After 5 years without any skirmishes with the law, I was pulled over 3 times in the span of 9 months. My car insurance is going to start costing as much as my rent soon if I don't start being careful. Which is why I'm fighting this ticket in the first place. I don't know what my defense is, really. It very well may be "hope the cop doesn't show up".

If the cop does show up, then I'm going to want to get clarification on the violation. I was cited for 22350 V.C., which is defined as:

Basic Speed Law

22350. No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

But he listed my speed as 37 in a 40mph zone. And I wasn't reading the paper while I was driving; I was reading it at a stop light. But even if I was reading the paper while driving, how would he be able to tell from behind me? It's not as if you can see where my eyes are focused by looking at the back of my head, through my windshield, from 30 feet away, on a motorcycle that was hiding behind a big truck. It's not about the money, although I'd sure like to get that $205 I just paid back. It's about feeling like I was cited for something really stupid. But mainly, I just can't afford another point on my driving record.

So, anyone have any experience with contesting tickets in court? I wanna hear about it!

From the vaults.

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:15:37 GMT

ihatesnard realized the other day that she's been on LJ for 7 years. That caused a few of us check how long we've been on here, and it looks like we all jumped on board around the same time. The second half of 2001 was a crazy time, when this "Live Journal" thing was exotic and new. But some of us had "journals" before LJ. Remember pitas? Lindsey had one of those. I had a Diaryland that I'd forgotten all about until Daniel mentioned he had one too. So I looked mine up and LULZED (and cringed) for days. No one needs to read all of that crap, but here are some CHOICE CUTS with present-day commentary. I wish I could go back in time and tell 19/20-year-old me to chill the hell out.

...

8/31/2000: Today is Thursday, otherwise known as my only day to have fun. There's this 'club' in hollywood every week called Cafe Bleu where they play all kinds of brit pop, 60s soul, etc. I love dancing, not to say i'm good or anything (but i think i am). I've met 2 really swell girls there. Maybe someday i'll explain how we met, but for now, all you need to know is Martina just dumped me (one week ago today) and i'm back on the 'prowl'. [I can't believe I wrote "back on the prowl" and put prowl in quotations. Anyway, Martina was a girl I met at Cafe Bleu. We went out for a couple of months and then she blew me off with the ol' "I don't want a boyfriend" line. But she got me into Smile, which came in handy later on.]

9/2/2000: My summer concert schedule is shaping up nicely. I've got Jets to Brazil, Saint Etienne and Travis in the next 5 weeks. And who knows who else will be coming to town.... [I miss Jets To Brazil!]

9/5/2000: Slept in till 11. Got up. Drove around Los Angeles. Went home. Read old newspapers that had been piling up in the corner. Listened to some cds. Watched TV. Tried to go to sleep. Had insomnia. Then, had a nightmare. Woke up this morning slightly less than refreshed. [Wasn't my life FASCINATING?? Oddly enough, this was actually written two months ago.]

9/9/2000: I've been thinking. A little too much. I've noticed how i'm slowly going insane. Well, maybe not insane, but i don't like the road i'm headed down. If i'm this neurotic at 19, imagine when i'm in my 60s. I think i need to seek professional help to 'de-program' the way my brain works. [Rad emo ramblings!]

9/9/2000: Yesterday i got a page from a girl who i used to know. Actually, no, i didn't know her. She's someone that i knew for a while, but then couldn't run fast enough away from.

I met Stephanie late last year/early this year, when i was taking the bus to work. We took the same bus and transferred at the same place. I thought she was sorta cute (from afar). I mean, the catholic schoolgirl uniform does it for me every time. One day she came up to me and we started talking. I didn't mind. I had some time to kill while waiting for my bus. I thought she was alright. Not really my type (a little too immature) but i nonetheless gave her my pager number, unaware that i would be making a great mistake.

She started asking me really personal questions (do you like sex? do you think about sex?, etc.) The nail in the coffin was when she wrote me a letter saying that she wanted to get married really young and have lots of kids. It was implied that she wanted ME to have these kids with her. How creepy is that?

Thanks to her, i purchased a car a little sooner than i would have, had i not had a stalker. With my car, i could now avoid taking the bus, and thus, avoid this seriously creepy girl. [The thing I take away from this story is that I'd almost forgotten I had a pager. Also, I can't emphasize how creepy that girl was.]

9/11/2000: I'm now car-pooling with a girl here at work. When i picked her up this morning, she told me the story of how her dad found my pager number next to the phone and didn't know who this "michael" character was. So he pages me and hears my outgoing message. I have primal scream's "swastica eyes" playing in the background and i go "heyyy it's Mike, leave me a message"... i admit, i sound a little stoned, or tired. Anyway, he asks her who "michael" is and she says it's just the guy i work with. Her dad then said, "ok, but otherwise i really wouldn't want you hanging around with this kid"... [Hahaha, I would pay good money to hear that outgoing message on my pager. "Swastica Eyes" = still a jam! Oh, and I also forgot that I tried to pass myself off as "Mike" for a while. That phase lasted about three seconds.]

9/29/2000: Since by now i know all the songs, i can incorporate my own little moves. My dancing inspiration is Beck. [BECK though! I've never even seen him in concert, but I guess I got it in my mind that I danced like him? What the fuck was I talking about?]

7/24/2008: Today I realized the Internet will never let you forget what a tool you once were. Well played, Internet.

Show us your tips!!!!!!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:41:08 GMT

I have this problem. It seems I've acquired this little perk from my job, where I get a free lunch in exchange for picking up food for my boss and his brother. Since I always go out for lunch anyway, it's not a big deal, and hey, free lunch. Some days they'll want Chili's, other days Mimi's Cafe, or Baja Fresh, or In-N-Out, or pizza from Costco. I've been getting lunch for them about 4 days a week for the past few months, which is awesome because it means that I get to save a few bucks every day and that adds up and man do I need every penny. There are drawbacks though, like trying to eat healthy. When I see something that looks tasty my jaw drops when I look at the nutritional information and it's like 1800 calories, or about as many calories as I'm trying to consume per day, not per meal. I try to choose things that aren't obscenely bad for me, but they don't really have that many "healthy" options, so that explains why I've been getting a little fluffy lately (well that, and also because I don't do anything resembling exercise anymore.)

Anyway, that's not really my problem. My problem is tipping. At Chili's and Mimi's Cafe they have an employee in charge of taking and preparing your to-go order. And by "preparing" I mean grabbing the orders from the back and putting it in a bag with utensils. I don't consider the work they do tip-worthy, but I get the impression that I'm supposed to tip. Back when I was using the company credit card to pay for lunch, I tipped the guy at Mimi's Cafe about 10%, but now that I have to pay with cash and only get reimbursed for what I actually spend on food, I can't suddenly stop tipping the guy. He expects it now! And it's not like $4 or $5 is going to kill me; after all, I'm getting a free meal, so it'd be like I was going out and getting lunch on my own. But I want to know: do I really need to tip these people? I would assume that they are getting paid more than regular servers, but I could be wrong. I don't want to be a dick!

What would you do?

View Poll: Tipping

I wish I had more time to MS Paint our faces onto Paris and Nicole, but I don't. Sorry.

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:58:24 GMT

theroadisbeforeus.wordpress.com
theroadisbeforeus.wordpress.com
theroadisbeforeus.wordpress.com
theroadisbeforeus.wordpress.com

We'll be updating from the road, so check it out if you can stomach how freaking nauseatingly cute we are.

It's your night, just one night.

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:10:47 GMT

"Welcome to your bachelor party!"

"Hahah, I hope my real bachelor party's a lot better than this!"

"No, this is it."

Tonight is officially my last night in town, my last night living alone, my last night in a long-distance relationship. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Jacksonville, but because I need to pack, organize the apartment, and run some errands (note to self: don't forget to drop off the rent!) tonight, my friends and I got together last night and they gave me a pretty nice send-off. According to Jeric, I'm leaving as Michael Pop but coming back as Michael Lawrence. I think what he meant by that is that I'm coming back a new man or something, but like everything Jeric says, I'm never totally sure.

Last night went like this: I got a haircut, then walked 100 yards and met up with Kelly and Jeric, who busted me for trying to primp in the reflection of a vacuum repair shop window, and had a drink at the Good Luck Bar while waiting for Daniel, Esther and Sandra to show up for dinner. Then we walked across the street and ate some pizza and then walked back across the street to the Tiki Ti. I can't remember the last time I was able to park my car and walk to four places, but it was awesome.

I'd never been to the Tiki Ti before, but Kelly told me all I needed to know: "Bring a billion dollars in cash and cigarettes. You can smoke inside!! And all the drinks are like, $10+." I think I spent an hour on their website trying to decide on what kind of drink I was going to have, but it was all for naught because I wouldn't be doing the ordering. Drink #1 wound up being a kamikaze shot on the rocks for the whole table, and then drink #2 was something called "Stealth". According to their website, it's billed as "one of the strongest! This drink flies high and you'll never see it coming!" It consists of the always ominous "various liquors", along with Kahlua, 151 rum, amaretto, Grand Marnier & Bailey's. Between that and the pizza, I consumed enough dairy to ruin my stomach for a good week.

But that drink was actually really tasty, or maybe I just convinced myself that it was, like mind over matter. It tasted like an ice cream if it was on fire -- but frosty. After my first sip I thought no way was I going to come even close to finishing it. I mean, that kamikaze shot had already gotten me a little wobbly. But somehow I finished it, even if it seemed like it took me 3 hours to do so.

The thing about those tropical drinks is that you don't really feel the full brunt until much later. That's why people are forever making the mistake of finishing one, and then ordering two more, and then puking their guts out. I was fine to drive home, but then once I got there, I was totally fucked up. I barely made it into bed. At 3am I woke up and thought I was going to puke. The room was spinning and somehow I'd ended up sleeping at the foot of the bed, sideways. I wanted to die.

Thanks, guys. Last night was awesome. Seriously.