OCTOBER

It's October! Happy birthday Paula.

Friday night turned out differently than I expected. I stayed at Neil & Maxine's in College Park instead of Eytan's. I wanted to go to Dave & Busters but of course Neil and Maxine go to bed so early they wouldn't go with me. Jason, a new part time employee was staying at his parents for the weekend in Montgomery County so I asked if he wanted to go. We wound up having a great time! He's a fun guy (and it was nice hanging out with someone who's conservative for once). I beat him at basketball 35-2! Then we went to Bennigans and I got introduced to Peach Tree Iced Tea (yum). The best part is that Jason doesn't go to bed at 10:00!

Yesterday, I went to the Ren Faire with Neil & Maxine. That place has gone downhill. The jousting contest was shorter than it used to be, they have too many modern things like capachino and bagels, and most of the people working there were talking in modern English. Parts were still fun though- Shakespeare's Scum's Othello was hilarious (that was the new one for the season), I got to throw knives (didn't win though) and I bought a cool dragon poster for my new apartment. It was like the one George has in his office except instead of the dragon playing darts, mine is holding a hammer over the computer with a caption, "The computer's down!".

After the Ren Faire, we went to my parents for dinner. I got a mini panic attack (no idea why) and I got sick for the 5th night since I got to Baltimore. In fact, tonight is number 6. What's wrong with my stomach? I'm eating all healthy food, there's no stress (or very little, anyway), and there shouldn't be a problem. I thought it might be a virus, but it comes and goes and it shoudn't last this long.

Today I tried to go furniture shopping with Paula but she left the dimentions of the apartment at home so we didn't get very far. I did find a couch though which was the main concern. Almost everything else I can get through catalogues.

Tonight I'm going with Eytan to Xandos and I get to meet the famous Ed Stone Riley. Can't wait!

Last night I had another dream about George (this has GOT to stop). This time he was moving to Nantucket. No one knew if he was moving by himself or with Linda and leaving the kids or the whole family was going. His daughter was the same person but his son was 5 years old and named Sam. Then we were all at an auction (or show or something) and Paula and I were trying to remember a dance combination that we had learned in 1985 in Donna's class. We were marking it in front of everyone but no one seemed to care.

I'm wired!!!! Eytan does this to me all the time. He'l be really hyper and it'll make me hyper eventually. Then he goes to bed and he can fall asleep quickly unlike me. So I'll be awake for the next few hours. Oh well.

At Xandos I split the s'mores with Ed Stone Riley and ordered a coffee drink. I figured it my stomach bothers me with all the healthy food I eat, I would try unhealthy. And... I feel great. WHY? Am I a freak person who does better on little sleep and an unhealthy diet? Everyone will hate me if I am.

So is NBC broadcasting the debates or the playoff game?

Why are home furnishings so expensive? I was looking online at places like Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Linens n' Things and everything seems outrageous to me. Why do I have such a hard time spending money? I think it's mostly when I've bought the same items in the past for less money. I've always done well finding bargains for myself but now that I have to keep other people in mind, I'm having trouble. Maybe I should let Paula furnish the place and not let her tell me how much everything costs.

Oh, I like Ed Stone Riley. He was a lot of fun. We were trying to help Eytan write the Best Man speech for Terry's wedding and had fun picking on Eytan in the process. He's just such an easy target.

I'm so good at predicting the winners of Pro-Football games. I really should bet more often. Who else picked the Patriots to win today (or technically yesterday)? And the Bears? I only had 2 wrong picks (and hopefully the Chiefs will win tomorrow night to keep me at 2 wrong). My college picks weren't so great this week though. But I want to shake the hand of the person picking Florida losing to Mississippi State.

I was just reading some past entries and, oh yeah... Eytan and I tried to go to karaoke but it was just too awful to stay. The place was disgusting and there were only 8 people there singing country songs. We couldn't stay. Oh well, I'll have to make him karaoke some other time. Maybe we could go in New York in November.

When I was looking at furniture, etc. stores online, it made me realise I've never designed a site of that variety. Some of them were pretty cool- especially Macys.

I just remembered, Friday was the 5 year anniversary of when I got mugged in Bolton Hill.

I have a new web design job for an information technology company. Does this make any sense? These people have been around a while. Shouldn't they already have a good site? I looked at the site they have now and it's pathetic. I'm glad they're not in a rush though. I don't think I'll be able to get on it until early next week.

Today was errand day and take care of annoying details day. I finally got a hold of someone at Dollar (after 11 unsuccessful attempts). They told me they couldn't extend the rental for various reasons. I called back to find out why and the manager (at the central office, not the Phili location) told me that the car was probably reserved for someone else and there would be a penalty of whatever they wanted to charge me. EXCUSE ME?!?!?!?!?!? I don't think so. I called and finally (after 3 atempts) got a hold of the Phili manager and he said there was no problem and my rental was extended already. So the person who originally told me it couldn't be done really did it and for some reason told me all that bullshit. I'm not renting from Dollar again. The only reason I did it was for a frequent flier miles promotion.

I also tried to get some college stuff done and got some bad news. My application won't be in on time so I can't take classes in the Spring. I figured that was okay, I could maybe take a couple classes at a community college. No, there's no point now. I talked to someone in admissions and he asked if I submitted my SAT scores. I said no and he told me if I got better than 480 on one or both sections that I should submit the scores and then I wouldn't have to take the placement tests. I didn't think transfer students who already have not only taken placement tests but taken the preliminary classes wouldn't have to take placement tests. He told me I would have to take the tests and then I would get placed in the appropriate classes. Why couldn't they tell you this in the catalogue? Not that it would have mattered. Now I have to hope I place out of basic English, Reading, and Writing. I'm pretty positive I'll be put back in the beginning math class even though I took it last summer and got a B. That's so ridiculous. I'm still in denial!!! I want to talk to someone else. Well, I have plenty of time now since I can't start until the summer. I feel like I should stick around in the summer so I can start then rather than in the fall since I'm basically losing a year already.

I also made plans with Jon for tomorrow. He wants to go see "Almost Famous" which I want to see too but tomorrow night is the playoff games and the debates. Maybe we should stay in and watch that. Tonight after Eytan gets done at the gym, we're probably going to Palomas to meet up with his friend, Julie. There's a poetry reading there tonight and she's reading. I haven't been to a poetry reading in years. Maybe some of them will be good.

I managed to get Paula an absentee ballot but I'm having trouble with my own. The only thing I've been able to find is for voter registration. Well I'm already registered, I want an absentee ballot. I've found a useful phone number but it's been busy for a half an hour. I'll try again tomorrow.

I got birthday presents and cards today. I never buy cards. This was fun though- I found appropriate cards for everyone (Paula, Eytan, Jason, and Neil).

Palomas was closed last night so Eytan, Julie, Sarah, Mona (I think that's her name) and I went to Daugharty's Pub! Except for one brief time last December, I haven't been there in 5 years (when Nikki and I used to hang out there all the time). It's still the same great place.

I called NYU today and told them it was important that my transcript get sent to Hunter as soon as possible and asked if they could make it a priority. They said yes! They can send it out Thursday! Today is a good day. Then I called CUNY to ask more about the placement tests. The woman said the only way I'd get placed in the same classes I've already taken is if I fail the tests and she said they were really easy. I'm still worried about the math, but Hunter's math classes are so different anyway, I wouldn't mind taking their's from the beginning level. I was looking through the course catalogue, and I wish I had time to take all these classes. They all sound so interesting!

I want to read Jason's story tonight when I get back, but I'll probably be too tired. Oh well, maybe I'll print it out and read it on the plane. It'll be a nice break from the magazines.

I didn't make it home yesterday. I was about to leave to drive up to Phili at 2:00, when I got an occular migraine. What timing! So I changed my flight until tonight and I actually managed to extend the car rental with not too much hassle.

While Eytan went to the gym, I went to Daugharty's for a few drinks. Sam, one of the bartenders, got off work a few minutes after I walked in, so he sat and talked to me for the 2� hours I was waiting for Eytan. He was an interesting guy from Afghanastan with lots of interesting views on politics, sports, drugs, and work.

Then Eytan and I went back to his apartment and had dinner. After dinner, we were going to go to the Rainbow Room, the new bar in Fells Point, but while he went to make a few phone calls before we left, I fell asleep. So we didn't go. Instead, I had a bizarre night of drug-induced like dreams. I started out on the living room floor, sort of half asleep and half awake. Then I decided to go to Eytan's bed (that was a little rude of me, but I wasn't really awake when I made that decision. He let me sleep in his bed and I had dreams about Andy & Brenna in Christiansburg (Andy still had his red Chevy Cavalier), strange scarey men waiting to hurt me if I got out of my car, getting ready to get married (but I coudln't find the paper with my wedding vows and people kept asking me where I was going on my honeymoon and I didn't know), I think I had a dream about the Dale's and Sudbrook... I woke up every hour and I finally woke up 2 seconds before the alarm went off. I woke up, looked at the clock, and then the buzzer started. That was good timing. Now I get to go back to Towson for one more day and then I'd better get out of here. There's SO MUCH to do before I can move.

I'm home!

First of all, "Almost Famous" was great! I loved it and have to buy the soundtrack! Seeing Jon was good. I learned that Michelle doesn't hate me anymore. She only hated me a few years ago because she was insecure and questioned if Jon liked her (he didn't at the time so she certainly had a right to feel that way). So, I feel much better (I love resolutions) and told him they are welcome to stay with me in New York any time. I'm wondering if I told too many people the same thing. If everyone takes me up on my offer, I'll have visitors every week. I just know how hard it was for me to find a place to stay in New York so I just want to help other people not have that problem, especially people I care about. After the movie, Jon and I went to Gampys. That place has changed too much, I don't like it anymore.

I left for the airport rather early because I was sick of being in Baltimore and wanted to get on my way. I got there 3 hours early and hung out at the bar for a little while. There was a guy trying to fly to Iowa for a wedding in which he was the best man. He was supposed to leave at 10:00 AM but that flight was cancelled. The next flight wasn't until 5:45. He's missing the rehearsal dinner. So he was sitting at the bar since 9:00 AM and I got there at 3:00. He was pretty hammered!

There was a woman standing in line in front of me at the check in counter. She seemed like a typical theatre person (diva, drama queen). Later I saw her sitting talking to a woman she ran into. She was going on and on about the shows she was doing and how her husband is in one show at a theatre and she's in the other and they have rehearsals on opposite days so they never see each other but he's in a fantastic production of Neil Simon's, "Rumors" and how she was in a fantastic production a few years ago and what a fun and challenging show it is and... Blah, blah, blah. I have a feeling her husband is gay too.

My flight was delayed an hour and a half due to a mechanical problem that didn't exist anymore but they had to run a systems check... Oh well, I got home at 11:30, went to sleep around 2:00 and woke up at 6:00. I love not getting jet lag. It's the only thing a lack of body clock is good for.

The plane was completely full and I had a middle seat. I knew both of the people on either side of me. Well, not them really but people exactly like them. On my left was Josh. He looked like Josh, talked like Josh, and had the same personality. On my right was Paul. He didn't look exactly like Paul but maybe it was his brother. I wanted to ask. He had Paul's personality. I miss Paul sometimes. He was so sweet. I did managed to doze on and off on the plane for a few hours.

Wow, US Air is REALLY trying to compete with Southwest. They have all these $99 each way fares to and from mainly Southwest airports (Islip, Manchester, NH, Albany...)

Sometimes, there's really no place like home! I feel so comfortable right now.

My brain is sharp tonight. It's finding exactly the words I mean to say.

I read Jason's story at the airport yesterday. I can't wait until he writes more. It was entertaining and gave me a glimpse of his psyche.

I got back into Phoenix last night and I could almost instantly feel my skin get dry.

The Henderson House (where Eytan lives) has an interesting security guard. He was in the special forces for the Korean and Vietnam wars, raised in southwestern VA on a tabacco farm, and talks NON-STOP! As long as I kept the subject on the military or something similar, I didn't mind talking to him. But then he would sometimes go off on these tangets about fishing in South Carolina... those got boring.

Here I go again, not being able to decide on what to eat even though I'm hungry. Why is this such an issue in Phoenix?

Happy birthday Neil!

I fell asleep around 11:00 last night and woke up at 2:30 AM WIDE AWAKE. Fortunately, I managed to sleep on and off for another few hours and woke up at 5:30. At least I have a whole day ahead of me now.

I'm determined to start organising things today for the move. I still have no idea what to do with all the furniture. I guess I'll call around to see who wants to pick it up. One would think that charity organisations would want to pick up furniture, but they don't. The last time I donated furniture, it took me 4 phone calls to find someone and then when I finally found one who would pick it up (Salvation Army, I think), they couldn't come get it for 3 weeks. So I'd better start calling a month before I'm going to move.

Maybe I'll see if Brie wants to go to karaoke tomorrow night. She told me about some good place to go on Sunday nights. I'll watch the Ravens/Jags game, and then go sing.

Napster's down for maintenance until 3:00. I guess I'll have to wait till then.

I think I'll try to figure out which out-of-print albums I wish I had and send the list to Clint Burgess who said he would gladly copy any of his albums (and he has around 4,000).

I just got an email from Rebecca telling me that she has a record player that needs a home. I'd be happy to supply the home once I move to New York. It'll be so exciting to listen to my old albums again. I got rid of most of them, but I still have about 50 of my favourites.

I'm in the process of getting businesses to take over the management of their own web sites. I need to consolidate my stuff and the less I have, the better. And I shouldn't take anything new (except the IT one) until after I move.

One of Sarah Veblen's girls was in my dream last night. I remember driving around their Sparks neighbourhood and it had something to do with computers.

I've been looking around online at furniture and linen sites just to get some ideas of styles and pricing. I'm not liking the prices I'm finding. I feel like I'm wasting my time. I should just look at 3-4 choices, pick one, write down the info, and don't think about it again until it's time to order. Why can't I do that?

I just had the urge to go to that Star Trek exhibit some casino had in Las Vegas a few years ago. That was so fun!

I also want to start looking into laptops. I want to get one for my apartment since it'll take up less space than a desktop. Plus, I can take it everywhere- that'll be so convenient!

Hey, it's 3:00 and Napster's still down.

I can't wait till November when I'll be in New York and hopefully find some cheaper but still nice looking furniture. And maybe I can get a ticket to a preview of Seussical. And of course I'll get to see whatever Eytan picks out for us (a depressing drama, I'm sure).

I should go to the food store when the game is over, but I don't feel like it. I really don't like the stores out here. They don't have anything I like and their produce is non-existant. I just went shopping with Eytan in Baltimore and I got reminded that most places have better stores. I just have a few more months in Phoenix. But I can't not eat for a few months, so I guess I'm off to the store. Maybe I'll pick up a movie on the way home as well.

Okay, last night was another weird night. I did go out to get something to eat but skipped the movie. I think I fell asleep around 9:00 and woke up at 11:30 PM. I watched the last half hour of Saturday Night Live (not funny) and went back to sleep. Then I had a STRANGE dream about Terry. He was coming to visit Eytan at the same time I was there (except we were all still living in Virginia) and he decided he wanted to talk to me. So we spent an interesting evening together, talking and driving around Terrace View Apts. and other places. Then Eytan and I were hanging out and talking about all the annoying things Terry used to do. Then I woke up at 2:00 AM and I was wide awake. I forced myself to go back to sleep and I had another weird dream. I don't remember it exactly, but it had something to do with filming a McDonalds commercial, roller-blading, and Eytan and I were still discussing Terry. Then I woke up at 5:00 and never went back to sleep. I just rested on the couch until Brie left for her "Walk for Breast Cancer" thing at 6:30 AM.

I'm trying to find an e-card for Eytan's birthday since I can't call him tomorrow since I don't know what he's doing for Yom Kippur. And I don't think he reads my journal, but just in case, "Happy birthday, Eytan!"

I love my Sunday football routine. I talk to Paula and Harvey, get some work done, and watch football (and baseball today). Being able to have a once-a-week routine makes me feel like I have control over my life.

Wow, getting up early allows me to go out for breakfast. When I wake up at 8:00, I'm not hungry until after places stop serving breakfast. I think I'll go somewhere. But where? Phoenix doesn't have any good breakfast places. Maybe I'll just go to Einsteins Bagels and then tomorrow I'll go food shopping. No, I don't feel like going to Einsteins. I think I'll just stay home and be hungry. God, I'm pathetic.

I wrote an Epinion yesterday about my horrible experience at Dollar and I got lots of sympathy and "Thanks for letting me know," feedback from members. I love feeling like I'm helping someone when they didn't even ask for the help.

I also paid bills yesterday and added to my list of who-needs-my-new-address-list.

I'm feeling anxious right now; like I should be doing something but I can't figure out what that is.

Just thinking about "Phantom". That was a great production in Albuquerque! I wish I could see it again. Maybe I can convince Harvey (who's been wanting to see it forever) to take the time one day when he's in New York to see it with me. He can't wait around for Paula to go with him.

I've been awake for 23 hours and only slept 4 hours in the past 47 hours.

Van Morrison used the word "fantabulous" in "Moondance"! Maybe that's where I first heard it.

Paula got that stupid Cat Stevens song in my head 2 weeks ago and it still comes back every once in a while- "And if I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north and south." What stupid lyrics.

The new Once Hush album is spacey and fun!

It's easier to do the journal this way rather than having one entry per page. It just takes forever to upload after the 15th or so.

I finally slept last night. I slept from 3:00-8:30 AM!!!

Whoops, I forgot to workout this morning. I just can't make myself going after around 11:00 AM. Oh well, I'll go tomorrow.

Now Josh is giving me the dirt on Ex-Once Hush members. Supposedly, Greg wound up in jail for drunk driving or violence or something. I'm not surprised.

I think I'll drop a line off to Andy today. I'm wondering how he's doing. Josh doesn't seem to know anything.

I want to go to Georgia where they have the Vampire Trailer Parks. It sounds so bizarre, I want to see it for myself.

Tammy Faye Baker is the only person I've ever come across with my birthday. Ugh. And I've never personally met anyone with my birthday nor do I know people who know people with my birthday. Guess I'm unique.

Hmm.. I see some qualities in Jason that I used to see in Brian. Scary.

I'm going to want to ship so much of my stuff to New York. I don't want to part with my guitars or some posters. Do I really need to ship all of that though? It'll get expensive. I wish there was a way I could drive the majority across. I really don't want to drive a truck all the way across the country by myself though. I don't want to drive one of those trucks at all. I'm sure you get used to it, but I've never driven anything bigger than a station wagon.

I did a lot today. I think I'll watch most of Monday Night Football.

I found something Paula and I have in common. We both like to tell stories of our past. And why do we like to do that??

Steve Marmel- GREAT COMEDIAN!!!

I was really tired around 11:00 so I went to lie down on the couch and watch TV. I turned on the TV, started to see what was on, and the phone rang. It was Brie, she was drunk, and needed me to come pick her up. I got there and she was drunk and on coke as were most people at this little gathering. Just as I got there, they decided it would be fun to play midnight golf. Fortunately, this place was right down the street (literally, 10 minutes) so I didn't mind staying for a little while. I got my second wind now though and don't know when I'll get to sleep.

The guy who was having the party was going around the table naming everyone a character from "The Wizard of Oz". He got to me and called me the scarecrow since I was smart and obvisouly already had a brain. I said I could be the anti-scarecrow. But why did he call me smart? He didn't even know me. Brie asked why he said it and he said I just seemed smart. Jeff joined in saying, "Oh yeah, she's REALLY smart." All I could think was what an odd conversation that was. Who sits around talking about the intelligence of someone who is sitting right there? Of course, those people don't run into intelligent people too often so it's a big deal to them, I guess.

I got a nosebleed this morning for the first time in I don't know how long. Maybe 10 years?

I feel like my life is interesting today. Probably because I've actually been having contact with people (although most of it is electonic contact) since I've been back here. Brie's trying to get me to hang out with her friends more often. Thursday she wants to get her friends to come to karaoke with us. Then Sunday they're doing football brunch. It all sounds like fun, except, I don't like these people too much. Jeff is okay, but I really don't like the guy I met last night (don't remember his name). And I haven't liked any of the other people I've met through her either. I hope I can find a social niche in New York. If not, I'll have to take lots of weekend trips to Virginia, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Bethesda, Boston, Easton, San Francisco...

And all my friends who I've talked to recently are doing so well. I'm glad they're all happy!

I still want to try to find Stephani Podolny.

Now I'm listening to Loreena McKennitt thanks to Napster. Now it's playing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On". God, I love this song!!!!!

Rant of the day: I'm not looking forward to moving into Verizon-land. All I've heard are horror stories. Neil and Maxine's phone is still not working (hasn't been working since Wednesday, I think). Maybe a miracle will happen between now and December. I doubt it though. With all the good-paying jobs out there right now in the "new economy" (how sick I am of that new term), no one wants a customer service type job. The only people taking those jobs are ex-cons and non-English speaking people. As much as I love progress, sometimes I wish some things (like customer service and cars) were still stuck in the 50's.

I was watching Monday Night Football last night and I saw an ad for "Who's Line is it Anyway". Now I know it's on ABC, just have to check the day & time. Anyway, they made it look like it's some special series, where it's a "Who Done It" type thing. How stupid. Leave it to Americans to try to take a simple thing and add flavour (beer, coffee, bagels, mustard, TV shows...). The ratings weren't good enough so they are trying to add a twist. Well, I never saw the original ABC show so I won't know if it's any different when I try to remember to watch it this season. I did watch an episode on Comedy Central last night in between football. What a hilarious show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Typing is so theraputic.

Another show I watched for the first time last night was History IQ on The History Channel. I want to watch that one again too. Without classes, I have more time to watch trivia shows!

I want to write an Epinion on "Heavy Horses", but I don't know where to start. Oh well, I'm sure inspiration will strike at some point.

I love patterns. Patterns in the stock market, patterns in nature, patterns in relationships, patterns in progress...

I have so much energy right now, I don't know what to do with it. It's more mental energy than physical energy. I wish there were people over here. I don't feel like going out anywhere. Trevor told me to stop by tonight if I could, but I don't feel like going there. Anywhere but there. I REALLY don't like hanging out with those people. I miss living in Christiansburg where you could just pop on over to someone's house at the spur of the moment. I love small town living. Small town living but near a bigger city (like Boston).

I'm really attracted to Julie on the Real World. Although, I've only seen it twice; she seems like she could get irritating after a while. But she's so real and interesting and beautiful and she can sing...

Rant of the day: I can't get a hold of Cox this morning. I was only on hold for 30 minutes, but I've had enough. Hopefully I'll have better luck later. I can't stand being on hold listening to their specials over and over and over for more than a few minutes without being ready to smash the phone with an axe.

I love this time of year (especially in the northeast). The weather's beautiful, football season started and baseball season hasn't ended, and I will almost start getting in the Christmas spirit.

This Friday, October 13th, there will be a full moon.

I have Once Hush's "Sam Says" in my head right now. I guess since part of The Bat's "Land 'O' Lakes sounds like part of "Sam Says". Actually "Land 'O' Lakes sounds partly like Once Hush and partly like REM.

I look very "80's" today. I'm wearing a Tull concert shirt from the 80's and my hair is poofy and 80's-like (as much as my hair can do that, anyway. It will never look like those typical "big-80's-hair" types). Maybe I should put on a mini-skirt and a lot of make-up and go find some club that does Retro 80's Night.

I just got back from getting drive-through at Fazoli's and the woman at the cash register bumped her arm into a wall when she was handing me my change. She said, "Ouch, son of a B." How cute.

The new 101.1 "The Loop" is a great station! Finally a station that plays 70's and 80's songs that are good; not like the crap they play on most stations. Just now I heard John Prine's "Pink Cadillac" and "War" (I wish I could remember who did this one). I've also heard some rarely played Styx, Moody Blues, Kinks, and Yes.

I hung out at Trevor's last night for a little while. Jeff was telling a story of how last night Trevor told someone he was from Texas and the other guy replied, "Only steers or queers are from Texas." Trevor responded, "Well, you don't hear me moo-ing." Now there's one story that's not a you-had-to-be-there story (unless you've never seen "Full Metal Jacket").

Brie moving Matt's stuff here tomorrow. He lives in a house with too much drama and now is forced to get his stuff out even though he's in Austria. The people there sound ridiculous and as long as there's room without feeling claustrophobic, I don't mind extra stuff here. It sucks that she has to move it (although she has about 10 people helping her) here and then they'll have to move it again in December when they move out.

I think in the past few years, my ears have gotten supersensative. That's why the neighbours upstairs bother me so much. Last night, for the first time, I was listening to the sprinklers outside (a noise that would normally bother me) and it was a calming, quiet sound. Is this a one time thing, or are my ears finally coming back to normal after a brief super-sonic time. I felt so peaceful... The yappy dog bothered me this morning but I chalked that up to it's morning and everything sounds louder in the morning.

I kept thinking that yesterday was Thursday so that makes today Friday. I'm so bad at keeping track of days, months, years, time in general...

I love "The White Album"!!!!!

Taken from A Brief History of Banned Music in the United States:
"In October, Youth Minister Art Diaz organizes a group of local teenagers who conduct a record burning at the First Assembly Church of God in Des Moines, Iowa, including albums by "The Beatles", "Ravi Shankar", "Peter Frampton", and the soundtrack to the movie "Grease". A similar burning takes place a few months later in Keoku, Iowa, where a church group burns the work of The Carpenters, John Denver, and Perry Como."
I think the second church group missed the point. They couldn't have thought those artists were a bad influence and therefore their albums must be burned... could they?

There are two dog owners outside with there little, yappy dogs. They think it's so cute that they're yapping at each other viciously (as viciously as little, yappy dogs can get). I watched them as they stood there letting the dogs yap and smell each other. I hate yappy dogs! I asked Brie if she wanted to strangle the thing on her way out this morning.

My Napster list is being psychic again. I was just thinking about Rowlph's song from "The Muppet Movie" ("I Hope That Something Better Comes Along") and now it's playing it! I love my relationship with my music. And I LOVE this song!!! I'm in a great mood today!!!! I'm in an "exclamation point" and a "quotation mark" mood!!!!!!!! :) This song makes me so hyper!!!!!! I LOVE the Muppets!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Now it's playing Drivin'-'N'-Cryin'- "Straigh to Hell" :)

Now Jason's IM-ing me. He's in a good mood too.

I want to be more of a morning person since I'm always happier in the morning. I've forgotton about the problems of yesterday and the problems of today don't bring me down until mid-afternoon.

For some reason when I play solitaire on my computer, whenever I get to -100, I decided it's time to restart from 0. Somewhere along the line, that became a habit and I do it now automatically. What made me pick -100? And when?

I smell baby powder. Don't know why- I certainly don't have any in this apartment. Maybe it's wafting through my bedroom window.

"A tax cut is really one of the anecdotes to coming out of an economic illness." -George W.
Brilliant, George.

I hope I still have some lightbulbs for the bathroom. 4 out of 8 are burned out.

IE just said it was going to close but it didn't. That's never happened to me before.

I seem to like modern teen movies taking place in the 70s- "Dazed and Confused", "Outside Providence", "Almost Famous"...

Gee, it's finally cool enough to not need the A/C and it's only October 12 (read sarcasm).

I really like Amazon.com's recommendation feature. It's pretty extensive.

Brie's friend, Zach, came to help her with Matt's stuff tonight! First friend of Brie's that I really like and have no issues with... yet...

For the first time wince I downloaded AIM, people I don't know are IM-ing me. Why all of the sudden?

When will the Rams lose their first regular season game? I'm thinking they might lose to the Redskins or the Vikings.

Zach isn't cool anymore. He's a clingy irritating person who won't go away. He's a mooch (is that how you spell it?)- so far he's managed to get alcohol, pot, dinner, cigarettes, and a place to stay just for helping Brie move some stuff (when he actually didn't move anything- the rest of us did everything and he just watched). He also expects Brie to buy him dinner tomorrow and pay for his movie ticket as well. How ridiculous. I asked him if he worked, and he basically said no. He didn't really said no, but it boiled down to no since he just got trained as an EMT but only for during the fire season and during fire season, they wouldn't use EMT's, only paramedics (or something like that). He lives with his mom and is thinking about delivering pizza a few nights a week. I just can't understand people like that- who won't work but expect their friends and family to give them everything. Most of the people Brie knows are like this. That guy, Trevor, is 35, lives at his parents', doesn't work, and expects everyone to buy him things. Jeff isn't like that. Jeff doesn't work either, but he gets some money from the military, and he never asks anyone for anything.

Okay, I went in my room to get away from Zach, telling him I needed to work. Five minutes later, he knocks on my door and asks if I can hang out with him. Boy, he's reminding me of Brian. Anyway, I said no, I had to work. He said, "Can I sit in your room and watch you work?" UGH!!!!!!!!!!! That's exactly like Brian!!! I said, "If you're bored you can read one of the 100 books I have in the living room. Surely you can find something you're interested in." He went away. If he's really as screwed up as Brian, he'll come back in 20 minutes seeing how long I'll be. If he knocks on my door again at 2:00, I'm gonna be pissed. Poor guy, it's not his fault that he's acting like Brian, but he's absolutely irritating me right now.

Ah! He did just knock on my door again (only 10 minutes later), but it was to tell me that he's going home. I know the only reason he was sticking around is to sleep with one of us and when Brie went to bed and I went in my room, he realised there was no hope and went home. Fine with me. He was REALLY getting on my nerves.

So he still messed up my chance of sleep, but at least I don't have to worry about kicking him out in the morning after 10 minutes because he was driving me nuts.

Hmm. Now that everyone is gone and I'm alone, I finally feel drunk. That's odd.

Well, I finally got to sleep last night (or this morning) but I didn't wake up until 10:00. I hate that. Oh well, better 10:00 than 11:00.

Eytan just called me to find out if I wanted him to make a train reservation for me for November 4 since he was about to make them for himself, Neil & Maxine. Well, I don't understand why they all want reservations. Part of the benefits of traveling by train is that you don't need a reservation and you can be more flexible with your travel times. So I told him to go right ahead and make their reservations but don't make one for me. I have no idea when I'll be ready to leave. I certainly don't need one for the way back since I can probably get a ride with George.

I'm hoping to go see "The Exorcist" tonight on this lovely full-mooned Friday the 13th, but plans with Brie never work out the way they're supposed to (obviously, we didn't karaoke last night). Maybe tonight will be different.

I'm tired of being around guys that are in their 30's but hang out with 18 year olds. I understand that they were happiest when they were 18, but it's time to grow up. Realise your life is pathetic and do something about it. Don't just hang out with 18 year olds to make yourself feel better.

I was thinking that if Brie is driving to the movies tonight, then I don't need to bring my stuff with me. But I'd better bring my license since I'll need it to get into the rated R movie :-)

We had Mexican for dinner and it was REALLY salty!!! I just drank 2 large iced teas.

"The Exorcist" wasn't as scary as I remember it being. And the only part I didn't recognise was the scene where the girl's getting a spinal tap. Was that part of the new footage? I'm glad I saw it but I could have skipped it. I really thought it would be worth seeing again. Guess not.

We went with her friend, Amy. Amy reminded me of Lisa, from "Hair". More because of the way she looked than her personality. I'm glad she didn't act like Lisa- she was seriously the most bitchy, two-faced woman I've ever met!

Movie theatres are really cracking down on not allowing people under 17 to see R rated movies. Brie was purchasing 2 tickets- one for her and one for Amy. She had to show her ID to do that since you can't purchase more than one ticket if you're under 21. That one doesn't make sense to me. If you only need to be 17 to see the movie, what difference does it make if you're 21 to buy the tickets? I know they're trying to stop people buying tickets for people who are under 17. But do they think a 20 year old would buy a ticket for someone under 17 and a 21 year old won't? Some laws I just don't understand. Like the serving alcohol one. Actually most laws involving alcohol don't make sense. But why can you serve it when you're 18 but can't drink until you're 21? And in Arizona you have to be 19 to serve alcohol. That one really confuses me. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about it anymore. I'm old enough to consume and serve and I hardly ever do.

I really want to write an Epinion on "Copenhagen". I should do it now while it's still slightly fresh in my mind.

Terps basketball ranked #5 right now. That won't last- I foresee problems with Duke (for a change). I'm interested to see if there's a Morris in the making with any of the new guys. And how long has Mardesich been around? Is he 25 yet? I feel like I've been hearing his name forever!

Here's one reason I think online journals are so popular (for readers). It's the same reason soap operas are popular. People like to watch people's lives in excruciatingly slow detail.

Yesterday I had a frustrating conversation with Harvey about everything going on in Israel. We both have basically the same views, but he's such a fanatic. He drove me crazy. I don't understand why people can be so dramatic and irrational sometimes.

It is hotter in Boston (82�) than it is in Phoenix (79�). How bizarre.

I went food shopping today and bought a box of Chex cereal since it had a CD-ROM with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire inside. I just played 4-5 games, and I can't get above 16,000. I didn't think it would be this hard. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person. I wonder how far the rest of the people buying Chex are getting.

Brie's in San Diego tonight so I have the place to myself which is always a nice thing! I can't wait until I won't have a roommate. I've done both, roommates and no roommates, and I like both but since I've lived with a roommate for a while now it'll be a nice change to not have one. Although, my parents count as roommates (and they could be my worst roommates ever).

Do they still make tan M&M's? I bought Halloween candy today and one of the things in the bag are Reese's Pieces. I noticed that they still only have 3 colours, and with the way people like new & improved in this country, I thought they might try adding a red or tan. Then I thought about M&M's and realised that I don't remember seeing tan the last time I had them. Of course I eat M&M's so rarely that perhaps I just don't remember. But I thought they started making blue ones. Maybe they substituted blue for tan? Is it that important?

Why is it that I never have much to say on the weekends? With my schedule, I barely notice the difference between weekdays and weekends. But some part of my brain notices a difference and for some reason decides to not think much on the weekends.

I was playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire last night and it asked me what a habberdashery was. I knew that one thanks to that tongue twister I learned in 8th grade- Give me the gift of a grip-top sock... (see Site of the day for more)

Why can't I get my epinion to get entered in their system? It won't let me submit the damn thing. I've been trying since yesterday.

Who are theatregoers? I mean, literally, who are these people? I've only known one or two. What type of people enjoy going to see a show? And how many of them never have participated in any aspect of theatre?

Finally, I got my epinion submitted. It only took 4 hours. They just added the hotel category so I should be writing many more in the next few days.

I had another dream last night about where we were supposed to stay in New York. This dream involved me, Eytan,and George. I don't remember all the details but it was getting really complicated. I think, on average, I have about 5-10 dreams a year about staying in hotels with other people and the complications that go along with that.

So far so good with my football picks today. I'm 6 for 6.

Again, not much to say today.

I just wrote another Epinion on the Days Inn in Timonium. This hotel category is fun!! I can't wait to write more. I already have my main ideas for The Four Seasons in New York, The Sheraton in Towson, The Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, The Holiday Inn in Santa Rosa... I've already written one on The Microtel in Pittsburgh, The Warwick in New York and The Pointe Hilton in Phoenix. I wonder if I should think back and try to write some on places I stayed at a long time ago. Nah, those won't be as good. Quality, not quantity!

I feel like it was just Sunday. I remember so vividly, sitting at my computer writing last Sunday. Time really does fly- whether you're having fun or not!

Is it completely dark everywhere by 6:00 PM?

There are 5 owners of little, yappy dogs just in my court of this apartment complex. Did I get unlucky, or do people have these annoying little things all over this complex? I hope my place in New York doesn't have that many little, yappy dogs. They REALLY give me a headache.

How can it be 80� in Boston one day and be 52� the next? Does everyone have a cold there now?

You'd think that by 10:30 on a Monday morning, they would have come pick up the trash by now. But no, once again, there was no room in ANY the dumpsters for my trash. I hate having to carry the trash back and forth because I can't throw it away anywhere. If I were smart, I'd walk down there first to see if there's room. Then I wouldn't have to carry it out there for nothing. Okay, let's see if I can actually remember that next time. I won't have to deal with this too much longer.

I'm sick of my music today. Nothing sounds good.

There, I found something!! I'm listening to Emmet Swimming's "Wake". I can't believe Amazon.com actually has ALL the Emmet Swimming albums. Are they getting popular? I don't see why now. They haven't done a new album recently, they haven't been playing anywhere... And they didn't get popular when they were on the H.O.R.D.E. tour in '99. Amazon even has "Dark When the Snow Falls". The only thing I don't get is that they say customers who like Emmet Swimming albums also like Rage Against the Machine, Creed, and Eminem. Huh? Is that who's attracted to Emmet Swimming? People who like Hard Core Rock and Rap? Okay.

God I love these guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"I saw you on the back deck last night
I could tell you two were having a fight
He looked into those shell green eyes
Just begging you to change your mind
I know you really like your red hair
Because he was crying into the thin black cold air
You had a certain glow last night
Laughing with your friends as he drove out of sight
You're so pretty..."
I seem to like the lyrics from this one more than their others- at least I remember these more than their others. I hope to see some more tour dates listed soon. I hope they're not one of those bands that just fades away.

Whoa! I haven't listened to "Wake" in a LONG, LONG time! I forgot about this one song, "Rain Purs Down". I remember when all that crap was going on with Terry and the Virginia Tech football game, I sent him a long, somewhat nasty, email and ended with a quote from this song.
"That's fine you gotta live your life
That's fine you gotta do what's right
I'm just trying to be calm
But the rain keeps pouring down."
I haven't thought about that since it was happening. Now I'm flooded with flashbacks... Emailing Terry, emailing Andy, beginning my relationship with Brian (although I didn't know it at the time), waiting for the bus on Loch Raven in the FREEZING cold weather, staying up all night with Daniel and then when he went to bed... going to the Bell Loch Diner for an early breakfast around 4:00 AM and sitting there for a few hours writing weird songs and stuff (I can't believe I used to walk around there at 4:00 in the morning!)...

Oh yeah, the first 2 chords of "When Morning Comes" sound just like Tull's "Just Trying to Be".

I'm lost in Epinions-land. I'm confused as to which one I'm reading. I have 4 browsers open to 4 different epinions. This site is REALLY addicting!

It's warm here today!!!! I'm almost tempted to turn the A/C. Almost.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Get Your Movie Produced contest deadline is October 22. Guess I won't be submitting anything- not that I was going to anyway. Jason was though.

Okay, time to start getting productive again. I've had a nice little (actually rather long) break.

I love Reeses Pieces.

I was eating a cup of soup and on the package it said the following:
"CUIDADO! Tenga cuidado especialmente sirviendo ninos"
It didn't say it anywhere in English and this was American soup- made in California. Why only warn Spanish speaking people that the soup is hot (I'm assuming that's what it means)? Does that mean people who don't speak Spanish can sue the company if the hot soup burns them since they couldn't read the warning that the soup is hot?

I was thinking of the irony if a boy scout is out somewhere and gets bitten by a snake and the only other person around is a gay guy. The boy scout will have to wait for someone else to help him or be left to die since the gay guy doesn't know how to get the venom out of a snake bite since he wasn't allowed to join the boy scouts.

Stephen Wright reads too much Amelia Bedelia:
"I was in the grocery store. I saw a sign that said 'pet supplies'. So I did. Then I went outside ans saw a sign that said 'compact cars'".

I know a certain company that's acting extremely childish in its business practices. You should take the time to make sure you're running your own company the best you can, not waste your energy pointing fingers at other companies who aren't even doing anything wrong.

I was playing Family Fued on Uproar and the question was what is something that people keep as souvenirs when visiting other places? The number one answer was SPOONS! Huh? I've never been tempted to pick up a spoon when I visited another place. If anyone has ever picked up a spoon while on vacation, please let me know.

I love the new United commercials- "We'll win your trust back, one flight at a time." Well, they better add a lot of new flights or they won't win everyone's trust until the next century.

And I've never seen so many tire commercials. Goodyear is trying hard to get every impressionable American to buy their tires.

For some reason I'm looking forward to sleep tonight. Maybe I'll have a fun and interesting dream. I've been looking forward to sleep for several hours now but I'm not nearly tired. Who knows when I'll finally close my eyes for beloved REM stage.

I've been having stomach problems the past 2 days.

I love games!!! Especially trivia games. My favourite bar in New York will have that NTN trivia game!

Last night at midnight I felt like it was 3 on the morning. I guess I'd been wanting to go to bed for so long, that it felt like it should have already been later than it was.

Another Uproar Family Fued comment- It told me to name a "bell"- I said Liberty Bell and so did 21 people, but the most popular answer with 32 people was Taco Bell.

Isn't "free prizes" a little redundant?

Slept from 3:00 AM to 5:00 AM, then from 7:00 AM to 8:30 AM. What kind of schedule am I on? Better question, what kind of drugs am I on to not need too much sleep?

The little yappy dog downstairs needs to die!!!!!!! I really don't understand why the owner doesn't try to calm it down.

Woke up singing both "The Devil You Know" from "Side Show" and "Elaborate Lives" from "Aida".

Now I'm IM-ing Jason. Poor guy, he needs to relax more.

I'm determined to get 90% of my stuff that I'm not moving ready to take to Goodwill today!! Finally got motivated!

Go Mets!! Now I'm sure the Yankees won't make it to the World Series. There hasn't been a World Series between two New York teams since 1956 and I don't think New York is ready for it; especially with the whole Puerto Rican parade thing this year. New York City will really have to step up security if the subway series does happen. I think it'll be the Mets and Seattle, personally.

Why am I so ornery? I don't really feel strongly about anything but you wouldn't know it by listening to me argue with people. I guess I just would like things to be black and white sometimes and if one person is taking one side, I want to take the other and not notice the in between since that would make it too complicated.

Today feels like a Friday.

My stupid browser (IE 5.5) is being obnoxious tonight. It only seems to know how to display pages that aren't important. The important ones it doesn't seem to want to show me (I can't even upload my journal). WHY?!?!?!?!?!? I really need to download Netscape!!! I should do that tonight. Okay, I will. Although IE probably won't want to display that page either.

Oh look, I was wrong. Okay, time for a nice long download. I'm going with 4.75, I'm tired of beta versions. Do I have to download all the plug-ins too? Like Shockwave? And I'll have to remember to import my bookmarks before uninstalling IE. And I've gotten used to IE remembering all my passwords (Gator has been crashing the last few times I've used it). Does Netscape do that? Fortunately, most of my passwords are the same.

Hmm.. When Arizona voted for Clinton, that was the first time they voted democrat since Truman in '48. Will Gore be the second time since '48? It looks like that might happen. Oh, who cares what they're saying now. Close polls don't matter now. What matters is what happens on November 7th.

I'm looking forward to seeing "Charlie's Angels"!!

I just wrote a LONG email to Sylvia explaining a lot of stuff about the way I am. In person, she's difficult to deal with, but email communication seems to work with her. She just wrote back to me today and not only commented on things I said in the previous email, she was direct, honest, and said things of substance.

The chick on Ben Stein's Money is really cute in an annoying kind of way. One thing I really like about her is that she doesn't tell an overwhelming amount of stupid jokes like Jimmy Kimmel did. It's a trivia game show, and I like it when more minutes in the half hour are spent answering trivia questions.

Okay, it's technically a new day (12:00 AM), but I don't feel like starting a new entry yet just for this one paragraph- too much effort. I don't want to babysite this download all night. I just have a feeling as soon as I walk away, I'll get disconnected and I'll have to do it all over again tomorrow (except I won't do it tomorrow because I'll be too aggrevated).

Can I stay here for another hour? No, I think I'll chance it.

Oh geez, I have Bolero in my head. Now there's a way to try to get to sleep...

Now I have The Beatles, "Maggie May", in my head. Where DO these songs come from?

Figures, it said the download was successful but my computer froze when I went to check it this morning. After I restarted, Netscape was nowhere to be found. So I'm back to IE 5.5- yuck! I've alrady had problems this morning but not as bad as yesterday. I still want to get Netscape- maybe later tonight.

I'm trying to figure out when I can go see Heritage Players "Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr". It looks like the only day I can go is November 11, but how will I get there? I wasn't planning on renting a car. Maybe I'll rent one just for Saturday. I'm sure Eytan doesn't want to go to see Shakespeare on a Saturday night. Besides, I'll be catching up with old friends and if I want to go out with them after the show, Eytan would be so bored. Okay, I guess I'll rent a car for a day. I'm just so happy I'll be in Baltimore for it. What luck!! So Friday night I go to Eytan's gay, Jewish thing and then he can give me a lift Saturday morning to a rental place. Maybe we'll go to one in Towson, then I'll keep the car on Sunday and Eytan can drop me off there Monday morning to return it on the way to work.

Paula and Harvey are going to be in Dallas next week. I've been wondering what to do with my American miles now that they won't be a partner with US Air anymore. If I'm caught up on everything here, maybe I can use some miles to hop over to Dallas for a few days. The only reason I wouldn't want to is that after I'd get back from Dallas, I only have 3 days before I have to head back to the airport to go to Baltimore. I'll see what the situation in Dallas is and then I'll make a decision. I don't have to make a decision right away.

Wow! If anyone in the Baltimore/Washington area wants to go to San Francisco, Lowestfare.com is offering a round trip flight from BWI to SFO for $158! I don't know the details or which airline, but for $158, how can you go wrong?

On Epinions, I kind of like not knowing how many hits each member is getting. Seeing their ratings is enough, I don't need to know how many times each epinion is being read.

I know why I've been having trouble getting through to Cox. They recently added a bunch of new services and they aren't working well at all. Customers are complaining by the thousands and no one can get through. Terrific.

Tomorrow is Paula & Harvey's 31st anniversary. They are pretty unique!

There was a girl at the gas station today that looked exactly like Nikki who was in "Not Now, Darling" at IWII with me. I should have said hello if it indeed was her. What a fun show that was!

I was filling out my ballot for the election (since once again, I'll be out of town on election day) and I was reading the props to my non-politically aware roommate. I was talking about the one that gets rid of taxing graves and she said, "There's only two things you can be sure of and that's death and taxes, except that you should also be sure that after death there are no taxes." I thought that was pretty funny for someone who doesn't know a whole lot on the subject.

Last night I downloaded Netscape while Brie and I went to Shennanagins for karaoke. I actually had a lot of fun last night!!! There were only about 10 people in the bar so we got to sing 3 times each in just 2 hours. I sang "Crazy", Patsy Cline, for Brie, "Uninvited", Alanis Morissette, and "White Rabbitt", Jefferson Airplane. They all went rather well, although "Crazy" was a little weak. I'd never done that one before, nor have I heard it too much, so for that, I did okay. The other two were really good. I was quite happy. I almost got drunk too, but the drinks were too weak to really feel anything. I actually felt more drunk when I got home. I must have a delayed reaction with alcohol.

Okay, so after a little scare, Netscape is working! It wouldn't let me install it so I searched for all .exe's and found the one from October 18th. So now I'm happy! Although, whenever I go back to a program I used to use, I always feel like I'm going backwards, like the last thing I used was better even if it wasn't and the new one is the same version as the last time even though it's not.

Last night I had more weird sleeping patterns. I slept from 3-6 and then from 7-8:30. I had cool dreams though! First I dreamed that every time I sat down at the table to pay bills, Brie would sit down with her coloured pencils and start drawing with a sense of importance. It was like she was my child and was trying to imitate me. Then I was at this party in a house near Sylvia's apartment. Hundreds of people were there but all I remember now are Harvey and George. Then I was outside and ran into Leah Elashvili's family- her WHOLE family- Dena, Sarah, Rachel, Tammy, Anna, Mom, Dad, Leah's husband, and their child. Leah looked really old and horrible (actually, none of them looked very good). She took me to this house next to where the party was and we were hanging out in this tiny bathroom. There were tons of teens and animals in this house and one cat kept climbing on me and biting me. Then the teens wanted to get stoned in the bathroom so we left. Then I woke up at 6:00 and went back to sleep at 7:00 and don't remember the rest of my dreams- but they were fun!

We've been having serious storms last night and today!!! I love big thunder storms. The lightning last night was amazing! And the weather was nice to me. It started raining right when we got to the bar so I didn't have to drive in it on the way and then it stopped when I had to drive home.

I just got the Barrie Day Camp song in my head. Yuck- this one won't go away!!!!!

I had a really good time with Brie last night. She was really fun and funny too!!! I'd never had that much fun with her before. I think she's changing a little too because of me but I don't know how I feel about that. She's starting to get interested in politics and sports. She actually had a conversation about the Subway Series with a guy at the bar last night. Then she told her death and taxes thing to him as well. It was so funny considering that until a few days ago, she didn't care about any of this stuff. The other day she told me she wanted to vote this year- she's never voted before. It'll be different when Matt gets back from Austria. She's just spending too much time with me these days and I seem to have more infuence over her than she has over me- so far, at least. You don't see me painting my toenails quite yet.

Tonight, I think we're going to the Olive Garden so we can use my gift certificate before it expires. I also got 2 free movie tickets that I want to use. I really want to go see "Charlies Angels"!! It has a perfect cast, in my opinion (except for Cameron Diaz). I also want to see "Bedazzled".

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. I love that.

I did manage to import my email which was a good thing.

I hope Brie gets home early today and still wants to go out to dinner. I'm hungry and don't really have anything here that I can make quickly. And I'm so sick of cereal.

Great timing- Brie just called and said she'd be ready for dinner around 7:00. Plus, on the way to dinner, she needs to drop of something at some guy's house. This guy just quit his job and wants to work for himself. He's really interested in talking to me about web design. If we wind up getting into a serious conversation tonight, who knows when we'll get to dinner? Maybe I'll have some cereal now then.

When I move to New York and get settled in and feel like spending a little money, I want to get a camera with a really good telephoto lens and take people pictures of the street outside my window. Maybe one will turn out good enough for me to blow it up and frame it. I'm going to need to decorate my walls with something. A cool black & white New York street scene would be great. I could just buy one but that's not as fun.

I'm not going to Dallas, too much effort. I think I will have to go to Tucson next weekend though. I've traveled somewhere every month this year- October would be the only month I didn't go anywhere, why break the trend? I think I'll drive down next Friday and stay through the weekend. Here's where I've been and where I'll be going:
January- San Francisco (fun)
February- New York (work)
March- Santa Rosa (school)
April- Austin (fun)
May- Baltimore & New York (work)
June- Baltimore & New York (work)
July- LA (work)
August- New York (school) and Albuquerque (fun)
September- Baltimore (work)
October- Tucson (fun)
November- Baltimore & New York (work) Utah (fun, thanks Neil)
December- Baltimore & New York (work & holidays)

For now, I think I'll use IE to upload the latest.

I'm really irritated that IE doesn't like updating my journal and Netscape doesn't believe the journal exists. IE has no problem with Amazon.com, Netscape won't let me make links at that site. IE won't read Hunter College's web site but Netscape will. I wish I knew more about browsers.

Last night Brie and I went to the Olive Garden (and had horrible service, big surprise) but didn't go to Bob's since he never called her back. Oh well, his loss, not mine.

Brie and I went to bed early last night. She fell asleep at 9:00 and I think I went to bed at midnight.

This is the first year I didn't spend any time in New England. I'll have to make up for that next year which shouldn't be too hard considering how many people I know up there.

Now that it's Friday, it doesn't feel like a Friday. It feels more like Wednesday. My sense of time is so screwed up.

Not much else going on. My goals for the weekend are to clean and go to Goodwill.

I got an email from Jon today. He had an endoscopy and a colonoscopy (ick) the other day. Hopefully they'll figure out what's wrong (besides the obvious) soon. I can't believe he's been taking 28 pills a day, that's absolutely ridiculous.

One thing I like about Netscape is when it shuts down, that's all that shuts down. With IE, all of Explorer shuts down. And I'm happy to say that I've been using Netscape for 2 days now and it hasn't crashed yet.

Caroline just sent me an email about her boyfriend's band "King Straw". She wants everyone to vote for them on iCast. If anyone reading this wants to do that for them, here's the link.

Brie just got home with Trevor and some other people (I only know Trevor since he said hi, I don't want to go out there yet.)

I REALLY don't want to go out there yet. I'm just not feeling social at all. Perhaps because I was unprepared. I usually know when I'll see people, not have them drop by randomly. Perhaps if I lived in the south (especially in decades past), I would be used to people dropping by randomly. Then again, maybe I just feel this way 'cause I don't like these people. I thought she was mad at them. Perhaps only the people she's not mad at are the ones now over here.

I am glad I'm wearing something somewhat presentable because all of my clothes are in the living room since I haven't put them away after I washed them. There are two HUGE piles of clothes on two chairs in the living room. I wonder if they'll move them or find somewhere else to sit.

Now I want to go out there so I can relax and watch TV on the couch but I don't want to be there with them. I'll have to go out eventually unless I'm going to clear off my bed so I can sleep on it tonight.

Brie just came came in my room to show me her hair (which she just got coloured today). It looks great. Then she asked if I wanted to go to Shennanigans with her and Trevor (and I think some others, I still don't know who's here). I said no. Then she asked if I wanted some coke. And she did not mean Coca-Cola. Then she asked if she could come back here later and get drunk with Trevor. As long as she's not drinking before she gets behind the wheel, fine with me. She then told me Trevor is an alcoholic so he's fun to get drunk with (how horrible). I was about to say something when Trevor came up behind her and wanted to see my room. Fortunately, Brie kicked him out.

Oh geez, now Brie is yelling, "Who found my sexy, black panties in the bathroom?"

Hmm. Maybe they're finding my not-so-sexy black panties in the living room.

At least they're going to leave soon.

But I like to sleep on the couch and if Brie & Trevor come back here after... Hmm... I think I'll still sleep on the couch and if I wake up when they get back, I'll still pretend I'm asleep. Then they'll at least leave me alone.

Why am I getting so worked up about this?

Maybe I'll go to karaoke. I'll drive separately and leave early. No, never mind.

I've been offered coke now by 4 different people, 9 different times. Oh wait, I'd better go close my door...

Okay, now they left but one guy had to put on his shoes, so they all went outside and I stood there waiting for him to leave so I could lock the door (actually, I'd like to bolt the door). He was so apologetic (I have no idea why). So here's this HUGE, and I mean HUGE Mexican guy (I know, an oxymoron, but it's the truth) saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Oh so sorry." over and over again with his strong accent. Then he handed me a peice of coke (a rock, I think it's called?). Then he left. Then he came back because he forgot his keys. So, Im sitting here with some coke. I've never seen it close up. It's just odorless white powder. Hm... Should I be writing this as something that I will put online? No one knows where I live (and those who know me wouldn't turn me in, right?). Besides, all I'm holding is about the size of a pinky fingernail. How much would that little amount do to me? I will not find out.

They got back around 1:00 (I was still awake) and then left again for a few hours (probably went to the pool). Then they came back around 3:00 (I was still awake) and Brie told me I could go in her room since there were going to be people over. That was nice of her, I really didn't feel like clearing off my bed to go to sleep. So it took a while, but I finally fell asleep- I think around 5:00. Then I woke up at 8:30 and they were still partying in the living room. I slept for another few minutes and when I woke up this time, they were just leaving. So now I'm awake (sort of) and it's Brie's turn to go to bed.

Can't wait to watch Game 1 tonight (or technically, this afternoon). My prediction for tonight- 5-3, Yankees. My prediction for the series- The Mets in 5.

My favourite song on this album is "Song for a Winter's Night" which is actually a Gordon Lightfoot song. I don't know much of his music and I'd love to hear his original version. I'll probably hate it. But Sarah's version makes me actually like winter and look forward to the cold winter nights when I can sit by the fire drinking a cup of hot chocolate or tea with someone special. Now I just have to find the someone special.

The rain's coming down hard this evening. I've come to enjoy the rain in Arizona. It took me over a year to appreciate it though. I wonder if it'll take over a year for me to get sick of the rain once I'm back on the east coast. No, it rains too much there for me to enjoy it for long.

Not many people have been reading my Epinions this week. Come on people...

Andy Pettitte is SO "Yankees". I can't imagine him playing for any other team.

Don Larson looks good.

I didn't realise Prop. 302 (build new stadium) doesn't tax residents, just visitors. If residents of Arizona realise this, they might finally get a stadium and the Cardinals won't have to be the only NFL team playing at a college stadium. I think they should have a winning season before they get a stadium, but it doesn't work that way.

Flash flood warning for Maricopa county. What a perfect night to stay in and watch a crappy movie on tv.

Brie got home towards the end of the game, and during commercials we had an interesting conversation about baseball, football, taxes, and some of the propositions in Arizona. She's been asking other people about this stuff as well and she had quite a lot to say. Unfortunately, she sees everything as black and white. Still, she had some interesting views.

Now I'm IM-ing (Instant Messaging, Neil) Jason. I'm really awake (I guess 'cause I've basically been watching TV for 5 hours) but don't know what to do now. I don't want to go anywhere by myself but I don't know what to do here either. If it wasn't Saturday and raining and I didn't get ready for bed yet, I'd go somewhere. I guess I'll just sit here and hope inspiration strikes. I simply have too much energy.

Okay, inspiration isn't striking. The crickets are striking though. I guess they're pissed off about the rain. There's one in the shower (which doesn't make sense to me since they hate water) and another on the bathroom floor. Ick.

Paradise Lakes should turn off the sprinklers when there's a huge storm. The sprinklers just came on and they sound ridiculous with the rain still coming down in sheets.

I wish I was less picky about the people I want as friends. Brie isn't picky, but I don't want to be the opposite either. A nice balance would be nice. I'm all for balance, moderation, and middle of the road.

AAAAAHHH!!!! Something just landed on my ear and I have no idea what it was.

God the Cardinals are pathetic! I watched the first half and then had enough. But every time I check ESPN's website, Dallas scored some more. And it's not like Dallas has a great team this year Both teams are 2-4. Not for long though.

I didn't think I'd ever fall asleep last night. I watched the end of "Never Been Kissed" and then I watched some gay & lesbian comedy thing up in Toronto. Some of that was okay, some of it irritated me. Oh I watched most of Saturday Night Live too- again, not very funny.

Last night The Learning Channel had a program on sleeping patterns. It was on at 1:30 AM- perfect time for us insomniacs. I didn't watch it. I may not have good sleeping patterns, but I like the fact that I can sleep for 4 hours and have tons of energy the next day. If I needed the sleep, I would sleep. It's not like I'm forcing myself to stay awake. And I never get sick or have problems waking up the next day.

Oh look, the Cardinals got a touchdown finally thanks to Pittman.

And what's going on with the Rams?!?!? I didn't think they'd go undefeated but I didn't think they'd lose to the Chiefs- I thought they'd lose next week to the Vikings (who, right now, are losing to Buffalo). I guess it's not over till it's over, but 47-28 with only 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter...

Datek must think baseball fans want to trade online. In one commercial break, there were 3 Datek commercials (2 the same and one different).

They're still talking about Hampton's pitching in the cold weather. He's from Florida or something and can't handle the cold. I guess that's his excuse for the Yankees 3-0 lead.

Speaking of cold weather, why do you pee more in cold weather?

I have no idea why I didn't do anything productive this weekend. I feel like all I did was watch sports and other various things on tv. I'd better get cracking on Monday. So far, all I have "planned" is to go to the dry cleaners and go to Arizona Mills for jeans and stuff.

Eytan called me tonight and we (actually he) talked for 2 hours. He asked for help again with the best man speech for Terry's wedding so he sent me the file. I started to re-write it (like I was correcting a paper or something) and then realised that he shouldn't be reading a speech, he should just tell these stories like he's talking to a friend. Reading it word for word will come off dry and boring, especially from him who doesn't have a very dynamic tone of voice. Besides, it would be a little weird if the speech was written by an ex-something (I wasn't exactly his girlfriend, but close enough). I hope he can come up with some funny stories and tell them with some animation. He's got the heart-warming, sappy stuff down but all sap and no humour wouldn't be very fun. Although, maybe Eytan's the kind of person who just shouldn't even try humour. Maybe he should go for the sappiness route. Come to think of it, he can be very funny but not when telling stories. His stories are usually matter-of-fact. Okay, I'd better write him back mentioning that point. But even his heart-warming stories don't sound very heart-warming. He never has any emotion in his voice. For the speech, even if the words are sweet, his tone better be sweet too. It's not about the words but about the emotion. He's standing up for one of his closest friends on one of the most important days of his life. Hopefully that fact will bring some emotion to Eytan's tone. He joked that I should come down there and read it for him. That would go over really well... Oh well, good luck little buddy.

I can't believe how wired I still am. I'm definitely in a manic phase. If my every-other-month theory holds true, I'm not going to do very well in New York. Although, working there usually gives me energy. But if the every-other-month holds true, December will be a good month for packing and moving.

I love my manic phase! I was just on an hour phone call, and I didn't sit down once. I was walking 90 miles an hour back and forth across my apartment.

I had weird dreams last night. I don't remember the exact details but I remember:
- having to pee really badly and finally finding a public restroom
- Tom and a group of people were in it
- I was at Sylvia's looking at a picture she had taken of me the last time I was there (not in real life though)
- Eytan and I were going to the Arizona State Fair and I was trying to get him to go on a ride (which makes sense since last night we were talking about his fear of rides)
I was looking at a map of the bus route in the Phoenix metropolitan area. I couldn't believe that people really take that route, it would take HOURS!!!

For the past few months, or maybe since I moved here even, I feel like I live on East Coast time. I'm always thinking of things as they happen there, not here. Things like baseball games, the stock market... I guess everyone who doesn't live on the east coast does those things though. I do like the fact that I can wake up at 7:00 and the east coast is already into their day, I don't have to wait around for things to happen.

So I went to Arizona Mills today and I only felt mildly uncomfortable twice and both times it was when I was waiting in line at the cash register. It was a successful trip. I bought 2 suits and 4 pairs of pants for under $300! And most of the pants almost fit (nothing ever really fits). I can't believe how big that place is!!! I wanted to go into Gameworks, but then I thought it wouldn't be as much fun by myself.

Glad I'm not a football player. I wouldn't want anyone dumping tubs of ice water on me like they did to the Bengal's Dillon yesterday. Of course, that's not the only reason I don't want to be a football player...

I was sitting at a bar in the mall and watching ESPN and CNNSI. Between the two networks, I saw the Roger Clemens/bat throwing thing 13 times in 15 minutes. I was also watching the conference with Shanahan (Bronco's head coach). Both networks were showing it at the same time but CNNSI was a split second behind ESPN. It was funny watching his head turn and then watching it again a split second later.

Starting in 2002, the Pac-10 will start post season tournaments.

I can't believe how much traffic there was on 60 East this morning at 10:00 AM!!!

Didn't realise Hernandez was pitching for the Yankees tomorrow night. Good luck Mets. I still think they'll win tomorrow and the next day too. Not sure about after that though.

I was going to go into Linens and Things just to look at their sheets. It was a HUGE store! But they have more "things" than "linens". I walked in and I couldn't find the linens anywhere. Was it a special store that only had "things"?

For the first time ever, I heard the woman downstairs "yell" at her little, yappy dog. She said in a really sweet and gentle tone, "Lady, stop it." The dog really listened (read sarcasm).

I want to live how Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman live in "Eyes Wide Shut".

The bathroom at the bar in the mall (I wish I could remember the name of it; why am I so bad at that?) was cleaner than my own. This was at 1:00 in the afternoon though. Maybe it doesn't look that way on a Friday at midnight.

Paula found a cheap bedding store in New York. Now I'm really getting excited about moving!

Still pouring down rain- unbelievable. I guess we're making up for not having a monsoon season. Although according to KNXV weather, the rainfall this year is normal so I guess between the past few days and the rainy May (or was it April?) we made up for the lack of monsoons.

I'm embarressed to say I watched Ally McBeal (during commercials) tonight for the first time ever (except for 5 minutes of a few shows when Brian used to watch it). It actually wasn't too bad. And I loved the chemistry between Calista Flockheart and Robert Downey Jr. I'll probably tune in next week. Brie loves the show.

Someone please tell me how I got that Backstreet Boys song in my head. At least I think that's who it is. Yuck. I think I know more about pop culture this year more than I ever have before. Can't figure out why though.

And again, Paradise Lakes didn't turn off the sprinklers. There's a nice mix of sprinklers and rain outside my window right now.

Today is 3 people in my old dance school's birthday- I think it was Tracey, Lisa, and Ravital. How odd for 3 people in a small school to have the same birthday.

More weird sleeping patterns. I don't know when I exactly fell asleep but it was after 4:00. Then I woke up at 6:30 and went back to sleep a little later. Then I woke up at 8:30 and went back to sleep a little later. Then I woke up at 10:30. So, it seems like I actually got some sleep last night, even though it wasn't straight through and I didn't fall asleep at a normal hour.

I still hate the fact that I have to use IE to do this journal. I just can't bring myself to switch hosts.

I'm starting to get a little nervous about all the things I have to do between now and the middle of January. I know it'll all get done, but that fact doesn't help me out now.

I just turned on the tv and heard about the hostage situation in a Glendale school. The news anchor on Channel 12 is doing a TERRIBLE job of telling about this situation. He's not telling us that all the children are out of the school now (some woman called in to tell him that). He keeps repeating the same information but needs to look down at his notes every time as he stumbles through the story. The woman also told him there's one hostage, a teacher. When he mentioned the hostage, he didn't mention who it was. Then I switched to Channel 15 and that woman is telling different information. She said there were 4 hostages- 1 teacher and 3 students. The local news here is so horrible. I can't wait to move to New York and watch NY1. Actually I really don't know about that station. I just looked at their web site and they seem to have really knowledgeable reporters, etc. who've been doing this for a long time. The news people here seem like the station just found pretty people on the street and brought them into the newsroom for a crash course.

What's with games taking a ridiculously long time? Game 1 of the World Series was the longest World Series game (and there's probably a good chance an upcoming game will take even longer), and last night's football game was the longest Monday Night Football game ever.

Looking forward to watching El Duque tonight.

I think I'll ask Brie if she wants to karaoke tomorrow night. Maybe I'll also look into other bars that have it. I really don't like the drinking situation at Shenannigans- rude bartenders, wimpy drinks, and no cider.

I just decided to have a drink (brandy). Perhaps to help my mood, although I know lots of people do this, I never do. My mood hasn't really changed. Of course, I haven't had enough. And I won't have enough. I don't have the patience or the stomach to drink enough. I don't even like drinking.

I don't know what else to do with myself. I don't want to work, clean, pay bills, or do anything else productive. I don't want to watch a movie or the baseball game (although, I'll turn it on later; it just started).

I got out of my bad mood VERY quickly last night when I called Sylvia to see if I could stay with her in December. She said yes! So, she'll get on my nerves but at least I have a place to sleep!

I'm REALLY hyper today. I can't seem to calm down. I thought writing a journal entry would calm me down but it doesn't seem to be working. A few minutes ago I was marching and skipping around my apartment, singing. What's wrong with me?!?!?!?!?

Please don't let Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" close on Broadway before I get to see it in November. It's the perfect show for me. Not only is it about politics, it has Spalding Gray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just spent a half an hour listing and mini-reviewing Broadway and Off-Broadway shows for Eytan so he can make an educated decision on which show we will see without having to make much effort. If he doesn't want to see "Best Man", I'll go to the matinee. If it's playing, one way or another, I will see it!!! I have a feeling Eytan won't want to see it when he finds out that it's a 3- Act play, he probably won't want to be up that late. Although, he has been staying up later and it's not like the next day (Sunday) will be a long working day.

I'm still a little nervous about getting things done for the move. I've made two mental lists- things to get done before Thankgiving and things after Thanksgiving. This nervousness isn't calming me down though like it should.

I love the song "The Miller's Son"! There will be a production of "A Little Night Music" at Theatre Works next month which I would go see except the two shows I've seen at this theatre (some comedy I don't remember the name of and "Clue: the Musical") have been horrible. I don't think I want to chance it, especially since it would be the first time seeing this show. I think I'll wait to see it at a theatre I trust.

Okay, I've calmed down a little bit now. Hopefully I've calmed down enough to go do something productive.

I can't wait to karaoke tonight. I found what sounds like a great place in North Scottsdale called Ernie's. It's a restaurant & bar that has karaoke 7 nights a week. They say they get busy but hopefully a Wednesday night during the World Series won't be too bad. Although, are people outside of New York watching the World Series? It doesn't seem like it. We'll at least get to sing one song though (which means I'd better pick a good one). Anyway, the added bonus about Ernie's- they specialise in Chesapeake Bay crabcakes!!!

WOW!!!!! Piazza just hit a much needed two run homerun! Now Zeile's up- he's cute.

Time to go karaoke, hope I can see the game from where we're sitting.

Karaoke was REALLY fun!! I finally found a good place to go that we both like. It was very New York- everyone looked like New Yorkers, except not as well dressed. We had a great time though and by the time we left, everyone was our "friend". I sang Jefferson Airplaine- "White Rabbit" ('cause Jason told me to), Jewel- Foolish Games (only because Alanis Morrisette- "Uninvited" was broken) and Irene Cara- "Fame (that one was a crowd pleaser). And they have Maryland crabcakes- although they didn't taste very "Maryland" to me. Definitely have to go back to Ernie's!!!

Now I have the hiccups- how annoying!

Yankees won tonight. Maybe there's no stopping Rivera. The Mets have to have the lead going into the 9th to win, I think. Benitez can stop the Yankees from scoring but Rivera won't let the Mets score. I met a guy from the Bronx who was a huge Yankees fan (obviously). He was pretty cool. Then there was this girl from Levittown who kept talking to me (almost flirting) and she was irritating but her friend was even worse. Her friend was this skinny girl who thought she was hot stuff. She was dancing during everyone's song and all the guys loved her. She was obviously there to take a guy home (and she was extremely successful- every guy wanted to take her take her home). Everyone loved my songs though. It's nice being a big fish in a little pond. I wonder if I'll find a place like that in New York? Better question: I wonder if I'll find anyone to go with me?

Brie got pretty drunk tonight. She and I had fun cutting each other down! We were definitely on the same wavelength tonight. I'm gonna miss her when I leave.

Again Eytan called me last night for help with the speech. It's going much better than it was but it's coming down to the end now. He left today for North Carolina and threatened to call me later this afternoon for more help. Plus, he'll have all the guys he can make listen and help before the bachelor party tonight. I think it'll go well- especially if he says something like, "They have overcome many things, including a long distance relationship. Their relationship will grow stronger for years to come, unless Oklahoma and Virginia Tech wind up in the championship bowl game. Then, who knows what will happen to their relationship?" That would be pretty funny if both Terry's and Dena's teams wind up in the bowl game. It's very possible, actually, especially if Oklahoma beats Nebraska this weekend.

So, I'm going down to Tucson this weekend, but it still doesn't feel real yet. I guess it will when I'm in the car and heading toward I-10 East. Maybe there will be a good show to see down there. I don't know anything about theatre in Tucson. All I know is it's much more of an artsy city than Phoenix, so that gives me hope.

Last night at Ernie's, the guy in charge of karaoke was playing some music before he started (while the game was still on). He played my favourite Marvin Gaye song, "Let's Get it On". I had to listen to my favourite song as the Yankees won. That sucked. Now I'm going to remember that song as the night in 2000 when the Yankees were leading the World Series 3-1.

A client just called me, she said her computer crashes 3-4 times a day when using IE. Ah-ha! Another IE user with problems. Why does it have so many bugs? I told her to download Netscape. I haven't had any problems since I did. Now if I could only help her with her software updates. It's so hard to do that stuff over the phone when I don't have the software on my computer. I have to rely on her knowledge (she doesn't know much) as well as my own.

Today I have to finish my Goodwill and keeping piles and pick up the dry cleaning. Then tomorrow I'll go get a watch battery, hair dye, and maybe check out laptops before I head down to Tucson.

I'm moving fast today. In 40 minutes, I managed to take out the trash (easier said that done- the lids of the dumpsters were closed), pick up the dry cleaning, get a few things at the food store, come home, and put away the food. Just call me Speedy Gonzalez!

I just turned on the TV to see what time the game is on tonight and it was on Comedy Central. I got to see the beginning of my favourite Ben Folds Five song on Saturday Night Live- the "6:00 AM, day after Christmas" song.

Next month I'm going to split these entries into two pages: 1-15 and 16-31. These journal files are too big; I ramble to much.

Who picks the songs to play during the games?

Again, IE is acting up. I'm so patient though. Most people (and usually myself included) would have found an alternative (like a new host) by now.

I just got back from Tucson. I didn't feel like writing much while I was there so I just jotted down a few things I wanted to remember. So this entry will seem a bit jumbled.

It was POURING on the way down and it took 5 hours for me to get there (I stopped, pulled over, and took Frontage roads quite a few times. I finally got there though and was exhausted.

I went to the hotel bar and had a great conversation with a man in the Air Force. We talked about sports and politics (a nice bar taboo subject), mostly. Then I got resourceful and called karaoke sales places in the phone book to see if they knew of anywhere that offered karaoke that night since I could find anything in the paper. One woman told me about the Best Western and even though I wasn't hopeful about a hotel bar, I went. And I'm glad I did. I was in a partying mood and I had a blast talking to these 50-60 year old losers. The woman next to me worked as a transportation coordinator for actors in Tucson (where so many movies are filmed) and she was interesting to talk to. Everyone there loved me! I sang a few songs (there were only 10 of us singing) and then people kept requesting me to do more. I sang- "White Rabbit"- Jefferson Airplane, "Uninvited"- Alanis Morrisette, "Fame"- Irene Cara, "The Rose"- Bette Midler (did it as a duet with the woman next to me, Thia), "Foolish Games"- Jewel, "People are Strange"- The Doors (another duet with a guy, James), and "Do You Sleep"- Lisa Loeb. What a blast!

The next day I dyed my hair, watched most of the Oklahoma/Nebraska game (since it was over out here by noon), and then headed off to Saguaro National Park. What a beautiful area. Too bad I really don't like desert landscape.

Then I went to the Pima Air & Space Museum although it was all air related and no space. For $10, it wasn't worth it, but some of it was pretty cool. I got to see many, many planes that flew during all the big wars. But the best part was you could go and look around in the Kennedy/Johnson airplane. As soon as I walked in I felt weird and uncomfortable. Still, it was so cool to see the desk where Kennedy worked, all the radio controls, and the blue formica counter in the kitchen (how "60's"!).

Then I went to Famous Sams for some lunch/dinner and watched the end of the Arizona/UCLA game. Again, I found a fascinating man to talk to. He was a retired air traffic controller with interesting views on politics (another bar politics conversation?), air travel, and different cities and their people. I wasn't going to stay that long, but I didn't want to leave the conversation.

Eventually I did leave and went to see "Bedazzled"- dumb and clever at the same time and I absolutely love Brendan Fraser. He and I have the same little bump on the right side of our noses. I wonder how he got his. Most people assume it's a nose piercing hole closed up, but I think it's from a bee sting I got whe I was 6.

So I left early this morning since there wasn't anything else I wanted to do down there and there are PLENTY of things I should be doing here.

Odds and ends of Tucson:
- I passed by a 7-11 and thought, "Hey, maybe that's the 7-11 I stopped at before I went to watch Angelique's rugby game last year." And then I thought that was ridiculous, what are the odds? Well, I was right because then I found the place where you do the U-Turn over the underpass to get to the playing field. That was the only recognisable thing about Tucson.

- There was an obnoxious guy at the movie theatre. We both got there early and we were the only ones in the theatre (he was alone too). He was an uneducated truck driver that told me: he hated educated people, didn't think it was fair that truck drivers couldn't carry a gun, now that rigs had power steering- women could be truck drivers too, told me about the canals he visited in DC and when I told him I didn't know what he was talking about- told me that since I was educated I should know, asked how people like plumbers could afford to live in New York, and he ended off the mini-conversation by letting me know that he knew the movie wasn't going to be very good because the only people in the theatre besides him were women.

- People in Tucson have the opposite opinions of the Arizona Propositions than people in Phoenix. Prop 202 is supported by people in Tucson and so are all the other ones that are not supported in Phoenix.

- Why does my hotel bar close at 10:00 PM?

- I think I'm losing my voice a little bit- maybe from all the singing.

Catherine, a woman whose journal I read, had a friend with an interesting idea for the night when most of the country changes the clocks back:
"You could commit a murder at 1:35AM, and then go to an ATM and take out money, and the machine will take your picture as it always does and the time stamp on the picture will prove you were in an ATM, miles away from the scene of the crime, at 1:35 AM!!! Can you imagine the crimes that are being committed right now by chrono-savvy miscreants, serene in the knowledge that they have an hour to concoct a foolproof alibi!?!?!"
I know that cops will realise that the crime was committed at the time when the clocks are changed, but if you don't think about that point, what a clever thought.

I'm feeling really lazy right now. I don't feel like watching football. I feel like watching a movie. I've only watched 4 movies this month. I wish I had the energy to go rent one. Maybe there'll be one on TV.

I hope Eytan calls me tonight. I want to hear about the wedding, bachelor party, and how his speech went.

The time zone thing gets to confuse me again. Of course, in 3 days, I'm headed for the East Coast so I'll only be confused for 3 days. Then I get to be confused again when I get back.

The Cider House Ruled!!! Great acting, great story (although, there were too many issues for a 2 hour movie so they were all a little underdeveloped). I can't handle movies like this too often (too depressing), but a few times a year is good. And I absolutely love Michael Caine. "Good night you princes of Maine, kings of New England."

Amazon.com's recommendation feature keeps getting better and better. Now if only I had the time to read all the book recommendations and the money for all the music, etc.

I've had this stupid Emmet Swimming song ("No Way to Say Goodbye") in my head all night!!!

People are getting soft. Compassionate Capitalism? Doesn't anyone want to stand firm on an issue anymore?

Why, whenever I talk to myself, do I speak with a British accent?

I'm getting a lot of random thoughts in my head right now. I can't even remember them all. Now I'm typing to myself with a British accent- if that makes any sense.

I can't wait till Halloween!!! For the first time ever (well, since I was 8 anyway), I'm dressing up and going out. I'm going to be a Freudian Slip. I'm going to wear a long slip and wear one of those Miss America Pageant sash things and write the word "Freud" on it. Brie seems more excited that I'm going than I am. She was the one who got me the sash (I guess she figured I wouldn't get around to it).

I was tired a little while ago. I should have stayed on the couch and eventually I would have fallen asleep. Instead I got online to check how I did with my football picks of the week (I don't have the patience to check that stuff when I'm out of town) and now I'm wired.

See, I'm REALLY good at my Pro-football picks! I've never had less than 10 right per week all season. Here's week by week (see I'd have to be REALLY wired to be doing this):
Week 1- 10
Week 2- 10
Week 3- 10
Week 4- 11
Week 5- 12
Week 6- 10
Week 7- 14
Week 8- 12
Week 9- 11 (so far..., we'll see if the Skins beat the Titans tomorrow night)
But I'm actually not in first place. The guy in first is only 2 or 3 ahead of me though.

Now I have Depeche Mode's, "I Want You Now" in my head.

So I talked to Eytan for 3 hours last night! Whew, that was plenty long! The wedding was good and his speech was fine, although he said his arms were shaking the entire time and he forgot a few jokes because he was rushing through the end to get it over with. Mostly we talked about his moving and changing careers again. I really hope he's doing the right thing.

Looking forward to the 'Skins/Titans game tonight.

And... it's raining again here! What is going on and when is it going to stop? I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow night. And I hope it doesn't rain Wednesday before my flight leaves. If I get stuck in Charlotte overnight I will be one pissed off little person!

I don't know how I'm going to fit everything I need for 2 weeks in my tiny suitcase. Should I use 2 bags? No! I won't check my bags and I don't want to traipse all over 3 airports with all that baggage. I'll just have to wear the non-ironable outfit on the plane and fold everything else up really tight and get out the iron when I get to New York.

Some guy who sounded like he was on drugs or has been drinking a lot just knocked on my door. He wanted to tell me about some contest. Is that going on everywhere? Drug addicts working for this company where they get people to buy magazines from them and then they win something if they sell the most? Someone knocks on my door doing this about once a month. They were walking around my school too. They all told me they just moved here, are living in a hotel, and "please will I buy some magazines"?

WOW!!!!!!!! I just heard the loudest thunder I've ever heard in my life. It sounded like a cannon going off! I guess I'm not driving anywhere tonight. I hope Brie can get into the complex- this place likes to flood easily. Oh, she's been driving Matt's truck- she'll be fine.

Just watched "Stigmata"- love that movie. Makes me interested in religion (for a few days, anyway).

I got a really nice email from Sylvia. She told me that she reads my emails to Matt (even the bashing religion parts). I was shocked and even more shocked that he didn't have a negative reaction. Now I'm really looking forward to staying there in December. I know I won't have deep, meaningful conversations or get caring grandfatherly (or grandmotherly) advice, but at least I can be a little more comfortable. But then there's the whole dis-owning my father thing...

Happy Halloween!

My Christmas plans keep changing but I think I found the best situation this morning. I'll stay with Matt & Sylvia from the 19th-22nd, then I'll go down to College Park (even if there's no room at Neil & Maxines- I can stay at a hotel for 2 nights) for Neil & Maxine's dinner, then Josh and Chandra want to come pick me up and we'll all go back to Christiansburg for Christmas. Then they'll take me back to Maryland a few days later. Christmas just feels right in the New River Valley. I don't know why. 1996 was the best Christmas ever since I stopped going to Mike and Barbara's. I feel much better knowing things are shaping up.

Tonight I'm going out with Matt & Brie. I don't know what we're doing yet but they're planning on staying out all night. I don't think I want to do that, but I'll join them for some of the night. I just can't picture staying out all night with people I don't like. I want to drive separately anyway since I don't know what substances they'll be putting in their bodies so it'll be easy to leave whenever I want to leave. I just hope I don't want to leave after a few minutes. I'm really looking forward to it right now, but I have a feeling I won't want to be in whatever situation it turns out to be. And that's no fun.

I'm really looking forward to Baltimore/New York but a little nervous. My entire time there is planned to the minute and if something doesn't work out, it won't get done. My main concern is finding apartment stuff. I only have 2 hours on Saturday morning to do that and if I don't have any luck, I have no idea when I can try again. Although, maybe there's another hour or two early Saturday evening before we go see a show. Maybe Eytan wouldn't mind waiting for tickets and I could go shopping and meet him at the theatre or for dinner or something. And if I don't find everything we need, I guess it can wait until January. As long as there's a place to sleep and some towels, what more do you need?

I have no idea how often I'll be able to write when I'm out of town. Except for the plane ride and the train ride, I don't think I'll have a minute to myself. So maybe this November file won't be too big and I won't need to break it up into two parts.

My mouse just moved back and forth by itself- a nice Halloween freaky treat. Although, I think it was because it was sitting over the part where Napster songs play, so maybe it was caused by that? I don't know... (insert X-Files theme here)

Jason just told me that every time the Redskins lose their last home game before the election, the incumbent party remained in office. If the Redskins lost, the incumbent party went down, too. I just read that it has happened the last 15 elections. Hmm...

I really wanted to write Epinions on the Double Tree Hotel and the Pima Air & Space museum before I left, but I don't think that will happen now. I have a lot more important things to do today.

Playstation 2 seems to be this year's Christmas present. When I went to Best Buy the other day, there was a sign on the door saying that they were out of Playstation 2's. Then Amazon.com has a special link for Playstation 2. I also saw an article the other day saying that most stores are out of them and the best bet is to look online.

I should start figuring out what to get people for Christmas. I don't know when I can do that though. Maybe I'll make a list on the plane and then get the stuff when I get back. I'll probably order everything online and have it shipped to Baltimore so I don't have to carry it all with me. What the hell am I going to get Sherry?

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