...fine line between insanity and genius

after a long and complicated pseudo-relationship, a friend of mine decided to call it quits. part of his email went like this... ❝ it was not a pretty sight. it was not easy. the last quote of the 30 minute phone call was her saying "i was nice to you, and now you're dumping me! you're an asshole!" ( click ) (hangs up the phone). ❞ damn. breaking up sucks. doesn't matter which side you're on... breaker or breakee. at one point, both (or one) feel a certain way and then, at some other point... one person (or both), don't. fuck! we've all been there. some people say that it gets easier every time, like you build up some sort of tolerance or immunity. some people say there's a formula for getting over it... something like one week for every three months you've been dating. i think it's different every time and it's never easy, unless you are a heartless demon bastard. there's one thing good about every break up. you learn a little mor

criss angel sucks 'nuff said. thing is, i'm a big fan of magicians and magic, however i'm a huge skeptic. if i'm watching it on tv, then i don't believe a damn thing about these continuous shot cameras and supposedly random people from the crowd. but you know what? i watch him anyway... because while i think he's a half-rate magician, he is entertaining and he makes me laugh. mind freak... my ass. lost, season 2 shit. the call came in, or the email rather, and notified my father that the dvds he requested were available for checkout at the library. among them, were seasons 4 and 5 of 24 , and season 2 of lost . this is the last thing i need before starting my new job next week. i watch lost like i watch football... on the edge of my seat, screaming at the tv, and clapping after every pause in the action. when the writing and the directing line up perfectly, and the screen goes black, with the sound of strings and that trademark thump... ooo... that's my

so i did something that i never imagined in a million years that i would do... i woke up at 5:00am to go play a 6:30am round of golf at poplar creek . rather than reiterate my previous opinion on golf, suffice it to say that the game has grown on me like an evil fungus. i still suck at it, but shit, if i'm willing to get up at a time that i'm usually going to bed... well, i think that's enough to show my level of interest. i don't want to bore you, but here are some quick details: manny and porta set the whole thing up. they both hit a lot of fairways, and i lost like 10 balls in the various creeks around the course. porta made eagle on the 17th hole, his first ever... and the first eagle that any of us has ever witnessed. i shot a 130, my best score ever. so on the way home i stopped at best buy (this is like at 10:30am , so i'm the only asshole in the store), to pick up tiger woods 08 , because i have this god god forsaken golf addiction to satisfy. and would

so i went back to the damn buffalo wild wings to watch the game last night. it's nice when the cubs come back to win the game, after everyone boos bob uecker while he sings the 7th inning stretch. i also beat timmo in ntn trivia, so it was quite a fulfilling night.

so i got the good news about my new job, and it was time to celebrate. what would monday night have in store? i meet up with danny and we hop in the chief and motor to home depot so that he can return some curtains. since customer service is not a priority at the depot, this fiasco lasted about 20 minutes. to pass the time, i browsed the lighting section for a couple of 3 inch recessed lights, for the kitchen. ...the party was just beginning. then we took a trek out to naperville and got caught in some traffic due to power outages en route. we made a stop at tiger direct . for those of you not in the know, tiger direct is not a strip club... it's a computer/electronic store for super nerds. danny had to return some sort of nerdy wireless device, while i played 3-d computer chess on a 42" flat panel lcd monitor. it took danny over 30 minutes to get through this mess, which gave me enough time to beat the computer... on novice. ...time to rock out. we buried some hot dogs at t

the usual suspects: al, danielle, katie, phuc, jim, and danny . the initial plan was a 7:30pm dinner at the cheesecake factory in woodfield. the problem was that at 7:45pm the lady gave me the pager and said it would be a 55 to 70 minute wait. i held the reservation under mclovin , but we ended up deciding that we'd just drop it and skip over to chevy's for some mexican. chevy's chevy's is your run of the mill mexican joint, similar to an on the border , or if you're old, a chi chi's . the margs are delicious, but they taste like they're lacking in alcohol, the standard pre-mixed variety. but the food was good, especially the sweet corn tomalito . it comes on the side, just like the guac and the beans, but it's the best thing on the plate, no matter what you order. it's like a mexican mashed potatoes, but with corn instead. a couple of us actually ordered an extra side of the tomalito... it's that damn good. kitchen bar we left there to hit

holy fuck, with this rain thing! all the destruction and carnage all over the country. thoughts and prayers to those who've suffered through these past couple of days. with the flooding, the power outages, and the fallen trees, it's like monsoon season in the midwest! so my attention deficit disorder has gone nuts and i submit the following two random bits of observation... rains at lollapalooza, i noticed several women with similar style tattoos... 3 women, to be exact, none of which were friends. so three separate women all had tattooed the morton salt girl on their arms. one of the women had bombs (circa world war ii), instead of rain, but all of them had the same umbrella holding girl, spilling a fresh cylinder of morton salt on the sidewalk. i'm wondering what the significance is... it's either depressing and pessimistic, " when it rains, it pours ." or the girls just really enjoy salt. pours mates of state have been around for a long time, but i just

so there's this condition called restless leg syndrome , that has been described on the mirapex website as follows... " it begins as a strange feeling in your legs that seems to get worse until you stand up and move around. deep inside your legs you can feel burning, creeping, and crawling sensations that are hard to describe. " mirapex is the name of the drug that's being prescribed for those experiencing this syndrome. maybe you've seen the mirapex commercial... it's this little green and yellow stick type figure walking around, lying in bed, watching tv and then floating all around the screen, doing various things. forget for a moment the weirdness of the syndrome, because apparently millions of people have it, and who the hell am i to judge other people who are suffering. what i have been curious about or confused about, is the list of potential side effects of the drug... if you've seen the commercial, then you know what i'm about to tell you. on

so the people at the company told me that the interviews went well. then they asked me to fill out another application for employment/education verification. they've got some third party company doing my background checks. now, i understand that companies want to be meticulous nowadays, but... eh. i'm not complaining. i shouldn't complain anyways. i'm just stressed and excited all at the same time. spring hell mall it's like your soul getting sucked out of your skull... right through your temples, walking through spring hill mall . the marketing wizards over there have made some improvements to the interior design, but the vibe is still lonely. lost. it's dark and quiet, like a museum or a cemetery. i needed to go there to pick up some shoes. and i did that, because you can never have too many red sneakers. but in the middle of the despair and sadness, on the way out, there was one bright light shining through, from the depths of the shadows. a glimmer of hope a

i'm sitting here waiting, waiting, waiting... to see if the people at the mystery company , are gonna extend me an offer. i stopped pacing for a little while and found this... for all the superbad fans. i have a feeling that superbad is gonna be one of those movies that becomes a classic after several viewings. however, i'm still trying to figure out the appeal of napoleon dynamite . cheers congratulations are in order for erin , who is happily driving again! it's a long story... ask her about it. and happy birthday wishes to anna bean , who can now vote, buy cigarettes, watch r-rated films, and do some other things as well... but puffing the ganj is still not legal. quotables mel sent this today, " i feel sorry for the people who don't drink. when they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " - frank sinatra. and we've seen it a million times, but it never gets old for me. that geico caveman spot, where

you can only stare at a computer screen so much. you can only hit refresh so many times. the shitty part about freelance is that i don't leave the house to work. i can't fuck around with co-workers and take coffee breaks and go out for big group lunches. sometimes you just have to unwind and take a break and leave the damn house. and so, since david asked me to a while back, i went to see rush hour 3 . rush hour 3 i like to joke that this is the most widely accepted series of films, blatantly portraying negative asian stereotypes. really i don't give a shit, but just once... can the asian guy get some ass? wtf? at least bruce lee got some ass. i digress... so what do you want me to say about this movie? it's a laughable plot, with a million holes... but that's to be expected. it had decent action and fight scenes, but with jackie chan , that's expected as well. what was unexpected was the humor. instead of using the old formulas from the first two films, there

in between working on web pages and eating, the tv is on... and for the past two days, it's been nothing but mind-numbing trash. try as i might, i have a hard time avoiding vh1 , which now, like mtv , refuses to show music videos. i got caught watching that fucking creepy show called, the pickup artist . it's creepy because of the panel of so-called expert pickup artists that they have chosen to aid the shy and awkward contestants. anyways, it's trash, and of course, i'm addicted. i also had the pacifier on in the background for a bit. you remember that movie where vin diesel is a ex-marine, turned babysitter. well i caught the last 30 minutes or so, and so i didn't really understand how he got assigned the job, but obviously, this movie was fucking ridiculous. there's a part at the end where he has to get through a booby-trapped hallway to get to a safe with the secret microchip. kind of like indiana jones iii , he recites a kids song that describes the move

in an email sent by anna THE BALLS ARE AWESOME! DANKE!! I'm so glad I didn't try them that night because I came home and puked all over the place. That. Sucked. lol. in a comment sent by arielle hey u! thank u so much for my presents, i love them! and i can actually taste the balls and they're delicious!

brunch and shopping it started out easy enough... meet up at danny's at 2:00pm , where danielle and katie spent the night. eat a late brunch over at richard walker's in crystal lake, consisting of lots of pancakes, bacon, ham, chocolate chips, and some kona coffee. from there, an impromptu stop to target , right next door, where katie and danielle proceed to shop for housewares. danny and i roamed the store like a bunch of shoplifters, meal-tired from all the pancakes in our systems. i was feeling claustrophobic in there and had to bail outside for a smoke break. that's when it began to pour. it was just turning 6:00pm when we left the target parking lot, heading east again, toward the regal showplace 16 , to see superbad . the show didn't start until 7:15pm , so we spent some time playing video games. wow. i felt like a kid for a little bit, clutching my tokens like they were made of real gold. i also drank too much fucking cherry coke, so i felt like shit. just l

we've been gone a while. perhaps months. on the way up from the 'burbs, i mentioned to danielle and katie that every time we go to funky buddha , something crazy happens. i believe that the exact words i used were, " some fucked up shit happens ." and wouldn't you know it... but i'm getting ahead of myself. we started at sushi station in arlington heights, for some average-ish sushi treats. sushi station it's got the old conveyor belt setup that everyone loves. something passes by that you like, and you open up the little hatch and grab a plate. but don't sit in a position where you're parallel to the conveyor, because you'll get seasick watching the sushi pass in your peripherals. but if you can sit perpendicular, right on the counter, it's fun to watch the rolls go by. the sushi is decent, but the problem with this setup and all other sushi restaurants like it, is that you can't guarantee the freshness of the rolls. if you make it

that's the text that i got this morning at 1:00am . " thanks for the balls. they were delicious. " danielle sent it to me. i think it's something that anna would send too, but i'm not sure that she's had one yet. and arielle had one, but after the umpteenth time sipping her drink, she lost the ability to taste. lexy received a ball, but i'm not sure what she did with it. this is how the almost monthly, ex-exp-crew reunion ended... the distribution of balls, and some hugs goodnight. it was a grand evening, but i'm too lazy to write about it.

okay, it wasn't a vampire. but i did have an interview today and it went well. i'll give you some clues, but i'm still afraid about jinxing it, so i'm not gonna tell you with what company... the job description online looks like this: Our ideal candidate: · You are an artist. · You are a natural-born teacher. Whether in front of a class or working one-on-one, when you are teaching you are in your element. · Digital art changed your life—and you communicate this passion in your work. · You know that hands-on learning is what it’s all about. · You are an expert in XXXXX's pro and consumer applications, with at least three years’ experience using tools for music and sound editing, recording, digital photography, digital moviemaking, editing, and web design. · You love XXXXX for its blazing pace of innovation, and you work hard to stay with us on the cutting-edge. · You love XXXXX products and have a knack for choosing the perfect solutions for customers. · You have an

the old bastards at yahoo won't let me download a larger size to show you. if you have a yahoo account, you can go make your own avatar at avatars.yahoo.com . it's me standing in a sushi bar, very angry... but i suppose i should've given him a big ass smile. good news i'm really excited about something, but i didn't want to blog about it just yet, because i didn't want to jinx it. i'll let you know tomorrow as soon as i get word...

the last thing i need in my life right now, is to be addicted to some tv show. thing is, i need to catch up. just finished season one and i'm debating on what to do about season two... season three isn't available until december 11 and season four doesn't start until 2008. but shit... i'm dying over here, wondering what happens. everyone else has tivo and shit, so they're all watching in real time. so i put it off as long as possible. but shit, you wouldn't think that lost would even be available at the library, let alone be a free rental for 7 days. so i got it, and i watched it, and now i'm fucked.

first, a quick hit and run at elgin, where danny doubled up in less than 30 minutes. he played a bet for me, so in effect, i won $10 as well. now, back to tonight's barbecue with me, dan, cj , and murph , along with some people i was introduced to, but i don't remember their names. it was the perfect barbecue, featuring the four b s... beer, brats, bags, and blunts . all you need to know is that the perfect complement to suds and buds is murph jamming on the guitar... nothing beats homemade artichoke dip... citronella does shit, keeping away mosquitoes... and 10:45pm feels like 4:00am, when you've had a little too much.

i spent all day debating whether or not to break the cardinal rule of blogging. well actually, there are two cardinal rules to blogging (at least in my book of the cardinal rules of blogging). one : don't talk about other people's shit, unless you get express, written or verbal consent . and two : don't talk about women you are together with, dating, or otherwise interested in . anyways, i was debating on whether or not to break the second rule... and i've decided that i can't do it. what i will tell you is that i went on a " date " with ariel (read the second part of this post and the second part of this post to get caught up.) and it was great. why is date in quotes? again, i can't break the rule. not this time. but i will tell that she's beautiful, smart, sweet, outgoing, and she has this sense of humor that is so endearing, i can't really explain. she has this really subtle sarcasm that is so perfect, i have wait for her to finish a s

yesterday was phuc's birthday party at the new albovias residence in lombard. we got to eat some delicious homemade treats including ramen salad , sliders in chopped hot dog buns , and datiles con tocino (dates wrapped in bacon). it was cider kind of night, because danny is a cider fan and danielle was offering to take the dd spot. being a friday, it took some of us a little time to get there, but eventually the house was packed. little jayden got all my attention and a lot of laughs after mimicking me bowing to him. there was some lightsaber action... and no, that's not a euphemism. the night ended with some karaoke until a little past 1:00am . when we left, david was playing the theme song to super mario bros. on the keyboard in the office. a wild and raucous time.

the bourne ultimatum where the other films in this series excelled, this one fell short. whereas the other films were action packed and full of excellently choreographed fight scenes, this one focused on storyline. and rightfully so. after all, this film was dedicated to finding out how jason bourne was created. matt damon was great, as usual, and the cast surrounding him complemented his performance well. if you're looking for off the wall action the likes of transformers or live free, die hard , you've come to the wrong place. i also like casino royale as spy movie that is better than this one. but this is the last installment of the bourne series, so if you're a fan and you're ready to complete the trilogy, you won't be disappointed... i liked this film, because i have enjoyed the story over the course of this series. however, i think the average person wouldn't be so entertained. the bourne ultimatum : C+

the contract i rented this film and wasted 2 hours of my life, just to finish the clichéd ending that i was expecting to see. a majority of the film was shot in the forest and half of that forest footage was shot in the dark. films like this, where the location is relatively unchanged (think panic room or breakfast club ), tend to focus on storyline, character development, or action. at least that is what they should do, because an unchanging location just becomes an irrelevant part of the story. this is what happened in the contract . the story was poor to begin with, nothing dramatic, nothing fresh. then the characters were boring, with no depth. and finally, the action was forced, and didn't really match the tone of the film anyway. the worst part of the whole goddamn mess was that it starred two actors who are normally screen gems... morgan freeman and john cusack . someone paid them a lot of money to accept this script. this is the worst film in both of their careers. the co

okay... after all the emails and questions about "where's the latest entries?" i'll be posting all the days that have passed by... keep an eye out. look for roy's guest blog .

so... pearl jam ended at a little past 10:00pm, and roy, cheryl, and i begin to walk west to find a place to eat some junk. after a nice hike, we get to the south loop club and eat and talk until about 11:30pm. cheryl takes a cab south to her condo. roy and i take a cab north to the sagun residence. i text tim to let him know that i'm on my way. around 11:50pm, roy and i awake from our naps to find that we've arrived. roy, amazingly coherent in his thinking, asks if he should wait until i get inside. i tell him to hold on one second while i text tim. as i hit send, the "message sent" or what i believe to be the "message sent" box, appears on my phone and my phone dies. i contemplate asking roy to stay, but he's exhausted, so i tell him to go. figuring i still have enough battery to text one more time, i head up to the back door. i peek into the door window and a light is on in the living room... perhaps tim is watching sportscenter. so i go to text ag

for whatever reason, i decided that on the third day of lollapalooza, the most exhausting day, the hottest day... i'd get the most jacked. here are some highlights, although some of the shows passed by me in a daze... rodrigo y gabriela myspace.com/rodrigoygabriela you can't deny the talent that these two guitarists possess. the absence of vocals forces you to concentrate on technique and sound, which comes across flawless. sometimes using the body of the guitar for percussion, you soon forget that there are only two people on the stage. the best part was hearing gabriela pronounce the f-word in between songs, as in " is everyone fuckin' drinking? " to which the crowd would respond with various shouts and laughter. amy winehouse myspace.com/amywinehouse yes, amy winehouse is hot. yes, she is the real deal. yes, when she sings, it's like she's not even trying. she's got an incredible voice and a unique singing style, but you know what? not much of a s

matt & kim the headline on their myspace site reads: " an onstage pizza party ", and fuck if that's not dead on. it's likely you've never heard 'em before, so please check them out at myspace.com/mattandkim . it's just two kids from brooklyn, jamming and having a great time. their stage presence is legendary, and i guarantee that anyone who watches them perform will become an instant fan. after they played, they actually came off the stage and out into the crowd to meet the fans, take pictures, and sign autographs... awesome. kim is a tomboy, but she's a hot tomboy. they're playing chicago again, on october 2 @ logan square auditorium. get a ticket... let's go! i'm from barcelona "i have built a treehouse, i have built a treehouse, nobody can see us, it's a you and me house." myspace.com/imfrombarcelona if there was one band that was the surprise unknown of lollapalooza, it was this band. with an ensemble cast of musician

way i see it, waiting to buy that ticket was a gift and a curse. gift because of the price; curse because of the agony of waiting to see if it would work at the gate. as soon as i got past the ticket collectors, i was struck with an overwhelming sense of relief. arms outstretched and high, i ran to tim and either punched him in the arm or gave him a manly hug. i don't remember which. i'll opt for the punch. my schedule didn't pan out. i couldn't get up early enough to make it to tim's by 11:00am. even if i did, we still had a debate over public versus private transport. we elected private and parked in mark's parking spot off of lake and something. we took a cab from there and made it just in time to buy a beer and watch the start of ted leo . ted leo was great, especially with tim there to tell me song titles and albums associated. i swore that i saw cheryl , but i was too caught up in the madness to try to make it to her. from there it was polyphonic spree ,

last night i ate at kaze sushi with tim and dar. from what i read, it got rave reviews all over the place. it's delicious. my opinion, not bad!★★★☆ just kidding. i don't do stars... kaze : B- . if i get a chance, i'll tell you why later, but until then... you should never eat sushi in an al fresco dining situation, especially if it is 80 degrees and muggy.

so, i'm really excited because this web page i just finished for this guy has spawned some more projects... he wants me to do some ads for a magazine, he says like once a month, so that means regular pay coming in! now, if i can just finish my other projects, i'll be able to enjoy this lollapalooza weekend . if you'll be around... here's my tentative friday schedule: 11:15 switches 12:00 fratellis 12:30 soulive 01:30 ted leo 02:30 polyphonic spree 03:30 against me! 04:30 moe/m.i.a. (not sure yet... maybe a split) 05:30 g love 06:30 satellite party 07:30 lcd soundsystem 08:30 ben harper ... ooo... maybe last 30min of daft punk? boldface type is definite, but at some point, i should be eating/pissing/shitting/smoking, so this could all change very drastically.

this little rendition of me is hilarious... borderline creepy. click it for a better view... i'm an avatar junkie. any other sites i should be aware of? i found this through adrian o.

met up with arielle, anna, lexy, and jessica for a quick recap of the summer that has past us and the summer that we have left. i forgot to take pictures, as i like to include them in every blog. shite. arielle just got back from a one-month trip in rome, where she studied art history and photography. she partied every night and that's all i'm at liberty to discuss, without proper authorization. suffice it to say she had a good time. i found out that her favorite gelato combination is mango and grapefruit. while she was talking, her hands almost knocked anna's head off... multiple times. anna bean is working a hefty 10 hour work week at your favorite shoe store. she's been to some decent events this summer, but nothing crazy has happened. she's got an all expense paid vacation at lollapalooza this weekend, so look out for her! she told me some other stuff too, but that's not for your ears (or eyes) either. i got the chance to talk to anna for the longest time