Thursday, June 30, 2005

Johnson County

Used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that

Now you're all gone, got your make up on and you're not coming back [can't you come back?]
Bleachin your teeth, similing flash, talking trash under your breath [under my window]

Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me

(courtesy of broken social scene)

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

...

Well, I've been posting daily, so I guess I will continue. Worked this morning from 10:30-5 and then went in a ride later in the day. It was really hot outside and I almost overheated several times, but I got through the ride. I did however get a cramp in my calf at the beginning of the ride that hampered me all ride long.

A new release of iTunes came out this week, and it now includes podcasting, which is a pretty cool feature. Basically, podcasting is when people create .mp3 files and do a sort of audioblog. Just goes to show how intregration is occuring.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Bad Day

This morning I was awaken at 8 am by the evil roofers going to town on our roof...RIGHT ABOVE MY BED!!! It wasn't cool at all. I knew that it was going to be a rough day from here on out.

I went to the pool to catch some rays and do some relaxin and reading of my most current read, Visions of Cody by my main man Jack Kerouac. I was there for about an hour and a half before I realized how sunburned I was getting. I now have a very red and very sensitive stomach, back, chest and legs.

After the pool (it's obviously my day off...yay!), I went to work on lowering my car to my desired ride height. Well, as one could imagine, the 5 months of sitting and lack of washing did a number on my coilovers, causing them to rust and bind. It took me several hours and half a bottle of WD-40 to get the fronts down to the optimum ride height, but I could not budge the rears, as they are too rusty. So, I am rolling around muscle car style with some massive rake going on (that's low in the front, high in the rear). Here are some pics of the current setup:





So, now I'm going to roll around all goofy looking for a bit until I can get some more energy to work on the rears and hopefully get things unbinded back there. Good luck to me.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

To Thomas

Tom, I found a pretty badass pchop I did of you while I was in London, let me know if you can place where it was taken:


Saturday, June 25, 2005

I'm So Emo!!!!

Har Har Har.

So I was getting bored so I decided to dye my hair. It is now black. There isn't that big of a difference from before, as my hair was pretty dark to begin with, but here's how it sits now:



Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry in a corner about how much my life sucks. Oh wait, I'm in school, my parents help me with money if I need it, I've got lots of good friends, and I just spent a fantastic semester in London, my life doesn't suck!!! Oh woe is me, whatever will I lament about now?...

Friday, June 24, 2005

We are spirits in a material world...

Is it possible to live a life completely devoid of hypocracy, or are we destined to continue our existence swimming in an ironic pool of it?

Today my new iPod case arrived in the mail, I think it's pretty s-e-x-x-y.



It's made by www.contourdesign.com and is both durable and elegant; I would highly recommend one.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Dinner!!

Finally got to eat my Gates BBQ, a nice short end of delicious ribs!!!!!


mmmmmmmmm!!

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

She's got a ticket to ride

I started my 'training' today. On the 29th of July my family is going up to Michigan for a reunion with several other families that we used to meet up with for a week every summer. There are some fantastic roads to ride your bike on up there, and there is one ride in particular in an area called Pierce Stocking which is quite brutal. I have done it once before and was quite knackered after I did it. I have been wanting to get myself back into shape, and now I have got 5 weeks of intensive riding so that I will be in shape for when we go up there. I am using this ride for my inital motivation to get myself into shape, and I am hoping that once I get into shape for my week in Michigan that I will be enjoying it enough that I will stick with it.

Tomorrow is another day off for me before working Thursday-Sunday. It looks like I am going to be averaging 35ish hours a week, which is the most that I have ever worked for Starbucks. It's fine with me, no matter how much I may complain about it, because I do need the money.

I've been meaning to post this pic, but I have been too lazy to upload it until now; so, here's my new euro-haircut!!

Monday, June 20, 2005

Manhappiness Pie

Well, today I drove to Manhattan and back. The main reason that I went there was to get my keys and the like for my new apartment, located on the corner of 12th and Vattier. It's a one bedroom that is a block from campus and a block from Aggieville, so I will never have to drive anywhere. Yay! Also, I went to Belly's and had a delicious Western sandwich and a pint of Boulevard Stout. It was good to be back. I then went to Radina's and saw my old roommate Ryan, who works there. We chatted for a bit and then I got an application for a job there, as I need to get one for next semester and I figure that since I go there often enough, and that I have many years of experience in the business that it would be good place for me to work.

My new place was quite dirty when I first opened the door. There is going to be a lot of scrubbing of the floors, walls, and kitchen, but I think that once it all gets clean then it will be a good place. I am glad to have a place of my own that is close to campus and Aggieville, as it will save me lots of money on gas, and will be better for the environment...put that in your pipe and smoke it Gary Coates!!!

Summer is boring. My friends who are in town all have 9-5s and my friends who don't work 9-5s are still in Europe. I guess I could be reading or something, but I would like to hang out with people that I haven't seen in a while.......................

Workin 9 to 5

Well, more like 2:15-10:30, but still, works sucks. I've worked the past about 25 hours in the past 4 days, and after only being home for about 5 days, it has been quite tiring. I am looking forward to my day off tomorrow, even if I am going to Manhattan to deal with my rent for next year and all that good stuff. I am disappointed though, as tomorrow is Monday and Belly's is going to be closed, so I won't be able to grab a sandwich there. I hate it when you get excited for something, such as going back to a place with such great memories, and then you are let down by the realities of life.

Tonight I watched the moive Sideways with my brother, and I was throughly entertained by it. It was a great balance of comedy and drama, Paul Giamatti was fantastic as Miles. I felt weird drinking beer while watching it though, I think that wine would have obviously been much more suitable for the occasion.

Ok, well I have to get up early and go to Manhappiness tomorrow, hopefully it will bring me much happiness.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

jet.lag

Ugh.

Jetlag is not cool.

I have been back a few days now, and this morning I have felt like complete rubbish. I can go to bed at a normal hour, but I seem to be waking up early (9 yesterday, 7:45 today) and cannot go back to sleep. Last night I hung out with some of my old mates that I hadn't seen since Xmas, and one of my friends has a Wrangler, so we drove around and did some offroading last night with the top and doors off, and now this morning my throat is quite sore, I hope only from all the dust I was breathing. I also have a headache (nothing new, I've had one since I got on the aeroplane), my legs hurt, and I feel groggy. Bollocks.

I was going to go to Manhappiness today and get my keys and stuff taken care off at my new place that I'm renting, but I don't feel good enough to drive 4 hours as well as work later today.

That's right, work. I am about to regret what I am going to type, but I am back at Starbucks. After being in Europe trying many different varieties of coffee and tea, I have found that Starbucks is not quite up to par like I had once thought. Also, the atmosphere in the place blows, to be completely honest. It's always a bunch of young professionals, or yuppies, buzzing in and out, and not taking time to actually enjoy their coffee. I love sitting in a cafe and relaxing while drinking coffee, maybe chatting to some friends, maybe reading a book or newspaper, and it seems to me like Starbucks has become too mechanicized to allow the freedom that you get in individual chains. So, I'm off to work 6 more weeks for the man, only b/c it's the only place I can get a job for that short of a time, and then I will go back to Manhattan where I will look for a job for this fall, hopefully at Radinas, a real coffee shop. Cheerio.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Stateside

Well, I am now back in the good ol' US of A, and I am quite knackered. Only got about 5 hours of sleep last night after going out for one last shebang in London, arriving home at 4 am before having to wake up a 9 and endure many, many hours of traveling. Goodnight.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Big Day Coming

Well, today is my last full day in England. Tomorrow at this time I will be boarding my flight to Atlanta, and then on to Kansas City. It's been a good trip. It has gone by fast, I have learned and seen a lot, and I consider myself a much more insightful and well rounded person after being over here. I think that the year in which I came was not the best as far as making quailty relationships with the English students, as they were in their final semester of school and were really loaded down with work, but I still managed to make some quality and hopefully lasting relationships. One of my friends may be coming Stateside in September, so I may see him.

Tonight I am going into London to celebrate a friend's birthday/my going away, and I am looking forward to that. I am basically packed, I still need to send off a package and turn in my cell phone and receive £10 cash for it, but other than that, I have nothing else to do. So, until I return to America, cheerio.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Back to the Beat

Well, I just returned to Kingston after roughly two weeks of touring England with my rents and sister. It was a good time, but I was ready to have my own space by the end of it. Afterall, there is only so much time you can spend with your family before you go insane. Anyways, we spent 3 nights in a hotel in central London, 3 nights in a B&B in Ripon, Yorkshire, and 4 nights in a B&B in Winchcombe, Gloustershire in the Cotswolds. I enjoyed being in London, but towards the end of the trip out in the country I was ready to return to city life.



It's hard to believe, but I head back to the States this coming Tuesday, which leaves me only 4 days left (including today) in which to rape, pillage and otherwise utterly destroy myself in this crazy city called London. Last night I met up with some of my mates and we went out for some pints to the local pub (my favorite) called the Cocoanut (they spell everything wrong here, btw). I think that we are going to try to go to a rather infamous club called Oceania on Monday night for my last hurrah!; I'm sure that I will feel fantastic for the 13 hour plane ride home the next day.



Well, below are some pics from my travels in England with the fam (in reverse order for some reason). Enjoy.



Cows blocking the road in Yorkshire:


The Coney Island of England, Whiteby:



An old abbey in Yorkshire, Rivelaux (sp?) Abbey:


Me and a Beefeater (will make a great photoshop later on):


Me, sis, and mom outside of Westminster Abbey:


View of London from the London Eye: