CRUEL WORLD

Yesterday, I was in that unfortunate position of being hungry and broke. I wasn't totally without means -- I had a bit of money that I just didn't want to touch, but I gave in. Now, this wouldn't have been an issue if I had time to go home, but I didn't. Anyway, I caved and stopped at the nearest Chipotle. Why not -- if you're going to blow money on food, might as well eat well, right?

There was an instance awhile back when I'd get to the register, and if for whatever reason it's non-functional, they'll simply give you your food. Well, yesterday, I thought it was going to happen. The register was down and the guy in front of me got a "don't worry about it." Wouldn't you know that in the millisecond it took for me to assume his spot when he left, they fixed the damn register and had me pay?

Well, what could I do? I payed and enjoyed a nice lunch. So, I get back to work and a coworker was giving away his lunch because apparently, he wanted to go out for lunch as well. So, I had me an additional half of a chicken-salad sandwich and a brownie.

It was just as well I ate as much as I did, because I didn't have much time for dinner before my kung fu class -- which I had to basically teach again, btw. Well, tutor, really -- I hate calling myself a teacher when I don't have a black sash.

Read More

TEMPLATE UPDATE

Well, since a few people have graciously decided to allow me to link to their personal pages, I've done so.

I also added the link to BBC's Coupling. Not that tripe that I couldn't even finish watching last night.

Read More

OFTEN IMITATED, NEVER DUPLICATED

When, oh, when are we going to learn that we Americans haven't successfully copped a British TV show since Sanford and Son? Late last night, I caught a few minutes of NBC version of the BBC comedy Coupling. Can we say, "horrible"? They tried so hard, too. But it just isn't the same. Picture the horror of British phrasing being used by Americans. It'd be better if they at least tried to fake the accents. NBC put Queer Eye right from Bravo -- why not do the same with Coupling rather than do such a crappy remake? The sets even look mostly the same, for pete's sake. Big corporation like NBC could roll over PBS in a second, couldn't they? Not that I'd ever advocate that. But, I just hate seeing a great show f**ked up like that.

Read More

ONCE UPON A TIME IN COLUMBUS

Looks like I'll finally have time tonight to get to a kung fu class! Woohoo! But, I gotta get back up to Mr. or Mrs. R (my old masters) ASAP. Y'know, I think I'm going to practice a bit right now.

Read More

LYRIC OF THE DAY

There's been so many things thats held us down.
But now it looks like things are finally comin' around.
I know we've got, a long long way to go,
and where we'll end up, I don't know.
But we won't let nothin' hold us back,
we're putting our selves together,
we're polishing up our act!
If you felt we've been held down before,
I know you'll refuse to be held down anymore!

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
- MacFadden and Whitehead

And, it's about freakin' time for me, too!

I've been slowly ticking things off of my "To Do" list today, but I'm not feeling like I truly accomplished anything. I know that simply isn't true. I've taken a few more steps today toward my desired goals, and there are more I'll need to take tomorrow.

Read More

TODAY IN MISCELLANEA

ITEM ONE
It sort of ticked me off having a week's worth of blog posts and scrolling all the way down the page to see that long blank grey border running down the left side with nothing in it. So, I chopped the number of days' posts you see at one time to three.

Besides, it'll make that "archives" link a bit more useful. Not like y'all read previous posts, anyway ;). Heck, I wonder how many care about my current stuff heh.

ITEM TWO
Lots of stuff to do this week. I'm planning a move with another roommate, as well as the accomplishment of all my other goals by the end of this month. I'm a stressbag, wondering how it's all going to play out. I wonder if this is how E felt as she returned from Korea.

ITEM THREE
This weekend has been a minor bump in the relationship road. On top of not anticipating not seeing each other this week due to lack of time, E and I have both been busy and/or tired to spend more than a few moments on the phone at a time. Part of the problem is that I've always had a problem redirecting my energy. It's like inertia -- once I get on a roll, doing something or being focused on something, it's hard for me to switch tracks. Take my Sunday. It was a long-@$$ day, between church, working, and finding snippets of time to think about all the things I needed to accomplish this week and when. When I got back home, I wanted to chill (read: watch some TV while I sit and wonder what the heck else I needed to be doing), even though I promised E a call. So, we talk, but I wasn't in the mood nor did I have the energy. I felt like total crap, because I know that I've gotten this way in previous relationships. I tend to compartmentalize the different aspects of my life, and that's not really good, especially knowing that I need to "gear up and down" as I float back and forth between those aspects.

That sounds like a part of me that I have to work out some more.

ITEM FOUR
I'm addicted to Tech TV, especially the show Call For Help. I'm digging Robot Wars, too, not because I care about the "fighting robot" genre, but the fact that the MC is Craig Charles aka Lister on Red Dwarf.

ITEM FIVE
I was seriously jonesing for some salad for lunch today, so I went out and got some, but forgot to get dressing. I thought I'd have to mooch off of my housemate, but as I raided the fridge, I found an old (but still within the expiration date) bottle of caesar-with-bacon dressing I bought awhile back!

Read More

THE CHARGE: AIDING AND ABETTING

Two days ago, I get this email.

Hello
We are putting together a reality based show for Vh1 about people who are obessed with different aspects of pop culture. I am interested in your biggest blaxploitation fantatics. Please call me so that I can explain the show in further detail.
Thanks

[Name omitted out of courtesy]
Associate Producer
Broadway Video
[212-XXX-XXXX]

This is probably in reference to my old webpage on my AOL site dedicated to the Shaft movies. If you look at this page, let me apologize in advance. I made it as a lark almost a decade ago, and it hasn't been updated since the John Singleton remake came out in 2000. Before then, it probably wasn't updated for 3 or 4 years. For pete's sake, it still uses HTML 2.0. Then again, most of my stuff does hehe.

I did a little web digging on my own and discovered a couple of references to people sending out similar emails or leaving messages on bulletin boards. I think it's all for a show I've heard about called VH1: Obsessed (or something like that) about fans totally obsessed about pop culture thingys, things like Shaft or Fraggle Rock, etc.

Oh, what the heck, I'll write her back. I'm sure as heck not going to blow a long-distance dime on it. Or, should I "Just say no!" and not contribute to the whole "Reality TV" blight?

Though I have to admit, there is something appealing about that whole "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" line of thinking.

Read More

MY WEEKLY PERSONALITY ANALYSIS

This week, you get two for the price of one.

I've taken a version of this before, but I think this test was a little more comprehensive.


You are the Seventh Doctor: Brooding, enigmatic,
soulful, and occasionally silly. There are a
great many mysteries lurking behind your
ancient eyes, and even your closest companions
aren't allowed to know the full extent of your
schemes and concerns. You are often downright
manipulative, using friends and adversaries
alike as chess pieces in a private game against
the universe. Your wrath is slow to build, but
terrible when aroused, and you are slowly
settling old scores with threats across the
cosmos.


Which Incarnation of the Doctor Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I also took its "companion test" if you'll excuse the pun.


Looks as though you've got your heart set on the
second Romana, as played by Lalla Ward! This
tempting Time Lady conceals her inhuman
cleverness behind a disarmingly enthusiastic
and girlish demeanor. She's an eclectic blonde
who loves to travel and enjoy herself, and if
you gaze too long into those summer-sky eyes,
she'll have you wrapped around her finger. Not
that you'll mind.


Which Lovely Doctor Who Companion Are You Ashamed To Admit Your Crush On?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hey, I always did have a crush on this one. Leela had nothing on her, even in her skin tight leather scivvies.

Read More

FOREVER ADDICTED TO LOVE

As if Johnny Cash wasn't bad enough. Robert Palmer, too?

Addicted to Love was one of the first 45 RPMs I ever bought. Sorry to all you young bucks who don't really know this artist, this song, or what a "45" is.

Current Music: Get It On (Bang a Gong) by Power Station

Read More

ONCE UPON A TIME IN COLUMBUS

I forgot to mention that last Monday, I did attend the taekwondo class still taught by one of my old masters. Due to a wierd set of circumstances, I did see both of my masters for the first time in almost a year. It was great! I've added them to my list of "People I Will Never Lose Touch With Ever Again."

The class was, as Wesley Willis puts it, "a yell-down war hell ride." I had almost forgotten how far they push. Not that my friend who currently runs the main branch of the club does badly -- not at all! But, my old teachers have not lost their touch.

I got a bunch of questions answered about my "memory lapses" and I did get to help teach a bit. The whole class was made up of home-schooled children of various ages, but some were of higher rank than me. Regardless, I was asked to help the 1st and 2nd gups develop their creative self-defense requirements.

Despite the (few) dubious examples I've seen of the products of home-schooling, I have to say that the kids I worked with that day were great! They were polite, grateful, and most importantly, completely willing to absorb everything I had to offer, even the kids that outranked me.

I don't know if I can make it to that class every week. It's one heck of a drive out in the middle nowhere outside of northern Columbus. But, I've been asked to come back whenever I can, and in exchange: kung fu instruction!!

Read More

THIS WEEK IN MISCELLANEA

ITEM ONE
Yes, I was there again. Yes, I had lots of fun. Yes, I'm down again.

ITEM TWO
Got a decent haircut today! Now, I don't feel like such a mop-head.

ITEM THREE
Same random financial difficulties as usual, though I'm not as abjectly impoverished. I've had enough to make the purchases I've had to make and a couple I didn't, such as...

ITEM FOUR
...Weekly planner pages for my Franklin Planner! Though they don't make weekly pages for the particular style I'm using, I decided 1) To dispense with picking a "style" altogether -- I can MacGyver bits and pieces of stuff, and after 4 years of using one, I pretty much know the ins and outs of it and 2) That to accomodate my particular brain style, going to a weekly system made the most sense -- It gives me a sense of "the bigger picture" as I work toward my goals. Just ticking off tasks and following my schedule "a day at a time" was do-able, but I finally figured out that I was losing touch with my week. Hm, maybe this was a "need" after all. Hopefully, this'll help because...

ITEM FIVE
...The past few months have been building to what I feel is one heck of a wave on which I can hopefully ride toward achieving my various life dreams. I've never felt so "on the verge" before. I'm feeling that this is my last chance. For better or worse (though, I would definitely say better), I've co-opted E's line of thinking of "Hey, I'm [censored] years old, etc. etc." Well, I'm 30, and too damn far behind.

And I'm tired of turning my back on myself
Throwing truth away
Let the fire burn down the front door to myself
And give me a season of play

The Show Must Go On
by Bill Champlin
perf. by Chicago

This is the song I keep coming back to again and again. I guess I've just got to keep on living it out.

Read More

ONCE UPON A TIME IN COLUMBUS (cont.)

Just got off the phone with my old "master," though both he and his wife hate to be called that since there is only one Master. Anyway, class is in an hour and a half, and I expect to get beat down! This is a good thing.

Ed. Note: In case you haven't figured it out yet (or did I post this once?), entries under this title detail my forays back into the study of martial arts -- just wanted to make sure we were all clear on this.

Read More

ONCE UPON A TIME IN COLUMBUS

I was advised the other day to actually track down and visit the original instructors of my martial arts school and see if I can 1) reconnect, since they've found out I've rejoined class and have been asking about me and 2) get some pointers in a class that's taught Mondays and Wednesdays up where they live.

My friend, we'll call him T. is great, but he's got his hands full with the main school what with training the lower-ranked color belts. I ask questions on things I can't remember, and he can barely remember. But I will say this -- watching how his kicks have improved in power and speed, now I know how he got to black belt! We haven't gotten a chance to spar yet, but I'm almost certain he can outfight me, surprise kung-fu style kicks from me, notwithstanding.

Class is at 1:30. I'll call in a few and see what's up.

Read More

I GOT THE FUNK

Unfortuneately, not the good kind.

I got hit hard yesterday. Saturday night, E came up just to get away from school, be in the comforting arms of yours truly, and to be in the company of friends. As anticipated (maybe I turned it into a self-fulfilling prophecy?), come Sunday morning when she left, I felt completely down.

I'm better now, though, after 9 hours of sleep, but only marginally.

Read More

THE REAL O.G.

I got a sneak peak (i.e. listen) at Johnny Cash's last album American IV: The Man Comes Around. He did the most bad-@$$ cover of Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode.

Listen to it, and find out, if you don't already know, why he was so kick @$$.

Read More

MY WEEKLY PERSONALITY ANALYSIS

I took the McDonalds test, and guess what I got?





You can take the
McDonalds Product Test by Matio64
here!

Ya want fries with that?

Read More

CALL DEWEY, CHEATUM, & HOWE

This morning, E found out that her driver's side door had a sizeable dent. There was a card left stuck in her door by the honorable soul who smacked her car. It was E's neighbor across the street who happens to be a high-level mucky-muck at OU.

Hey, wouldn't that be some stuff if that'd be my ticket into grad school? Unfortunately, lacking the stones or the skills of a grifter, I'm not sure exactly how to make that work.

Read More

THE ODDITIES OF CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY

Here I am again, broadcasting live and direct from the campus of lovely OU.

Joy of joys, I found out that despite information to the contrary, my cell phone is NOT roaming out of network while I'm in what some (not me) would call the "backwaters of Ohio." Even more odd are those features I can and can't access while away from greater metropolitan Columbus.

In downstate New York, I can neither directly access Verizon's *611 features, nor can I use dialing shortcuts to access voice mail. Here in Athens, I can't use *611, but I can access voicemail via dialing shortcuts. And, technically in Athens, I'm not supposed to make any call that isn't billed at $.99/minute. But hey, it's a small price to pay.

Read More

MADNESS, I SAY... MAAAADNESS

I didn't get a chance to express my righteous indignation at hearing this the other day on the radio.

They want to tax coffee??? Listen to this crap...

NPR's Morning Edition

PRI's Marketplace

It's enough to make one want to mobilize an army and give the government a "yell-down war hell ride."

No no, I'm just kidding, Mr. or Ms. CIA/FBI/ATF/Homeland Security Cyber-Monitor. Quit spying on me. My parents were from the Catholic part of the Philippines, not the Muslim part.

Read More

TODAY IN MISCELLANEA

ITEM ONE
On my way down to Athens, I heard an old song on the radio that I haven't on the airwaves in years, Couple Days Off by Huey Lewis & the News. I remember going to the concert they had in support of this album. This was the song right before the encore. I remember that every time Huey sang the first three lines of one of the choruses, for instance...

'Cos I am only human. I am no machine
I need a little lovin' darlin, you know what I mean
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not gettin' soft
All I want is a...

...his entire road crew filtered out from back stage and took their places just in time to all shout in unison...

COUPLE DAYS OFF!

Now that's freakin' showmanship, IMO! Just like when Huey would take his harmonica and pitch it back to one of his roadies who'd catch it with a ball mitt. Showmanship, man! No costume changes, no overcomplicated dance numbers with lip-synched music. Just the time, effort and imagination to just entertain a crowd. Talk about a lost art.

ITEM TWO
I'm here blogging again from the campus of OU. It amazes me how they do this. Here I am, Mr. John Doe, a friend of a student, sitting here in the library with my laptop plugged into their network and simply messing around. I could be anybody. I could be formulating and launching the next big internet virus from here (no, don't worry Mr. or Ms. CIA/FBI/ATF/Homeland Security Cyber-Monitor -- I'm not even of middle eastern decent. Why are you spying on me to begin with?), for all anyone knows. But here I sit, totally unchallenged. Amazing.

ITEM THREE
Yes, it's sooo good to be near E. again.

ITEM FOUR
Just for kicks, the "this way to the egress" link above now points to a temporary, experimental homepage. I'm currently debating whether or not to keep my AOHell account/site or not. Hell, geocities offers webspace for just the right price -- absosmurfly nothing!

Read More