May 30th, 2001
I should never leave my house with out my camera. Emily was here for three days and I didn't get a single picture. She's cute as
hell too. Then, after an exhausting day of apartment hunting for her, we had dinner with Jonesy and his identical twin brother. I
can't believe I forgot my camera. I am so tired right now.
I made a profile for myself at Make Out Club. I put
this picture on there of me in my Dandy Warhols t-shirt. Now I've
received 6 emails in 36 hours
just commenting on how cool that shirt is. Should I be happy about this, or turned off?
May 28th, 2001
Emily is in town. Excellent! She's staying at this swank hotel right on Michigan
Avenue, right across the street from the
gardens.
We met up with all three Chris's from p8nt. Actually we bumped into Chris Jones and his "lady
friend" at the Chicago Diner before going to the Vic theater last night. That place was fantastic. 3 movies for $4, and they sell
beer. Heaven! They were showing Traffic, Snatch, and Hannibal. Traffic was just as
amazing as when I first saw it. Emily and I bugged
out after the intro to Snatch, which was more than fine with me. That director is a total hack. Say what you will about Lock, Stock,
and Two Smoking Barrels. Snatch is udder crap. We went to the California Clipper, my newly
declared watering hole, and just talked. It was lovely.
May 27th, 2001
My friend Cathy came to visit me this weekend. We had a fantastic time. Went to the Black
Beetle and the
California Clipper on Friday night right after she arrived. Saturday we went to Wishbone for
breakfast and completely stuffed ourselves.
While we were waiting for our table we walked around the northern Lincoln Park area and I bought some really cool soap. Did I just
say that? Anyway, after breakfast we went down to the loop and visited the Chicago Cultural Center.
pic...pic...pic...
pic...
This place was amazing. And free! It was raining the entire time, so we went decided not to see Pearl Harbor, and just went back to
watch my Brothers Quay DVD's. Then it was off to dinner at Bandera. They have this
salmon steak there that is absolute heaven.
Afterwards we endured the rain some more. pic...pic... We went
to this AMAZINGLY decorated Italian place called Vivere. The deserts were just as impressive as
the interior. All in all, a good weekend.
May 24th, 2001
I have two really good friends visiting in the next week, so I thought it would be prudent to clean the old apartment. I just got
done with the bathroom and I have a buzz that is unbelievable. Who knew that Soft Scrub was an
hallucinogen? I've got three weird-ass
little elves in my door way swearing at me in Russian. What the hell is that about, anyway? Maybe I should open some windows...
May 21st, 2001
Had two of the Chris's over last night for WWF Judgment Day. I'm not ashamed. I've been
watching wrestling for over 4 years. It's fun stuff. It had been a while since I'd had people over. I did a pretty good job of
cleaning up the place. Both of these guys work for
p8nt magazine. As pay per views go, this wasn't too bad. You can't tell in this
shot, but that's The Undertaker slamming Stone Cold Steve Austin with a chair. It was just nice
to have some boys over to watch this stuff again. And
naturally, when things were over in the wrestling world, we broke out the Playstation 2. Chris Jones apparently schools Chris Dilts
on a regular basis, so Dilts was dishing out bucketfuls of color commentary when I kicked
Jones's ass repeatedly at Teken Tag Tournament. It was beautiful.
May 18th, 2001
Everyone shopping at Home Depot on Saturday morning gets wood. Take that statement as you will.
May 18th, 2001
Went out with the boys last night. We haven't done that in quite a while. I didn't stay out as late as the others. After working
out, Bill and I went to Penny's for some noodles. Whatever I had must have had curry in it somewhere. That stuff is becoming my
mortal enemy. Next to milk products. I won't get into it. Those of you who know me already have an idea of the kinds of things I go
through. Did have some fantastic conversations though with these two new guys. Friends of DJ's. Really great guys. I can't remember
their names. Sad. Didn't sleep at all last night. Well, I did, in like 5 minute increments. Damn curry....
Got my power problems figured out. Bill came over on our way to get food. He was in the basement on the phone with me upstairs.
I told him what circuits to flip and then scrambled around to find what stuff wasn't working. But, now I have full air conditioned
goodness with all of my computers on, and no blackouts. My power bill is gonna suck next month.
(8:37 PM) I put up some groovy light strands that I got at Target when I first moved to Chicago. I kept having this weird
sensation
on my right foot. The toe nail on my big toe feels like it wants to jump off. It doesn't hurt at all, there's just this weird
pressure.
I wonder if my running shoes are too small.
May 16th, 2001
"Holy Blackouts Batman!" I had a near death experience yesterday. Actually, my
Atlhlon machine did. I finally bought a couple of
air conditioners yesterday. I was sweating the entire day. It sucked. Anyway, I got these bad boys upstairs and installed the
8,000 btu unit in the living room, and turned it on. Now, the wiring in my building is old, so I was testing things out. I had
a blackout once before when I installed my surround sound receiver a few months ago.
Turned on my stereo while the air conditioner
was going and played a CD. Nothing happed. Good deal. I installed the 6,000 btu unit in the bedroom. This is where all of my
computers are. Well, being the rocket scientist that I claim to be, I plugged this air conditioner into an outlet on the opposite
wall, knowing full well that it was still on the same circuit as the computers. None of them were on at this point. I was planning
on getting a really long extension cord for this unit to plug into the kitchen, where everything in there is on the "appliances"
circuit in the basement, but forgot to purchase said extension cord.
Well, I retardedly want to test it out, and booted up my Athlon machine. My main computer. After about
5 minutes of geeking in the cool air "snap!" no power. So, I ran downstairs to reset
the circuit. Came back up and made sure that
the bedroom air conditioner was off, and rebooted my machine. Nothing. Either the power supply was fried, or I'd fried the
motherboard. Hoping beyond hope that it wasn't the motherboard, I went to a nearby computer shop and bought a new 300 watt power
supply. That did the trick. PHEW! I was so worried I'd just blown about $375 bucks. I even bought a new APC battery backup so that
this shit NEVER happens again. Well, the blackouts probably will, but not me deep frying shit in my systems.
May 13th, 2001
(1:24 PM) -- Gas prices are absolutely nuts. I'm so glad that I work from home and don't have to drive as much.
Granted, when
I commuted the price of gas was cheaper in the burbs, but I had to fill my tank once a week. I just sat at the gas station close
to my apartment for about 45 minutes. The pumps were all going really slow. unleaded gas was
only $2.12 here, as opposed to some
other stations that have it at around $2.46 or higher. Here's a little tip for those of you with cars and are waiting ANYWHERE:
YOU WASTE MORE GAS BY LETTING YOUR CAR IDLE FOR 60 SECONDS OR MORE THAN IF YOU SHUT IF OFF AND START IT UP AGAIN. So, when you're
waiting in line, SHUT OFF YOUR ENGINE.
(1:20 AM, or saturday night) -- Had a weird day today. Didn't realize it was even Saturday until around 2:30 this afternoon.
That's one of the
drawbacks I guess of working from home. I went down to Home Depot to price some air conditioner
units for two of my rooms. Those
of you who know me know that I have as much tolerance for heat and humidity as a slug does for salt. Freeon is a necessary evil,
and I'll support it in anyway I can. As long as it keeps me dry, cool, and my nipples hard. Ok, that last part was because I'm
really sleepy.
Anyway, this day I had. Is it me, or are there days where it seems like everyone you come in contact with on the
street is just a complete jerk? Where did everyone's manners go? When did we become this society of selfish idiots, who in all
actuality have zero clue on what they're doing, or that it might be effecting someone else right next to them. Case in point;
I just got a membership to a video store tonight, and on my way into the place, I held the door open for the couple coming out.
This guy doesn't say thanks, but holds the door open with his foot and stands in the doorway, stops, and lights a fucking
cigarette. Then he and the woman he's with walk by me without even acknowledging the fact that I was being courteous.
What the hell is that?!? It was as if he was treating me as though I were in his way and more importantly, getting in the way
of his precious smoking habit. "Hey Mister. You're not cool. You're girlfriend doesn't think you're cool. She's looking at me, not
you. Get cancer and die, you selfish prick."
I used to get so hung up about smoking when I was younger. You will never see me smoking. At the very most you might see me on
stage with a candy cigarette hanging out of my mouth so I can look cool. I have friends that smoke, and 99 times out of 100 they
quickly pick up that I'm not a smoker and are usually very cool about not being upwind of me, or blowing it in my face or whatnot.
I'm making an effort to keep my back porch a bit nicer for my smoking friends
during their little "breaks". It just seems like the most selfish, yet self destructive habit on earth.
Not only are you killing yourself because you wanted to
look cool in front of your friends. (I will never back down on this idea. You are not born with an
inherent need to smoke.
It's only done out of image that you start smoking. Period.) Now you're also wafting this
horrible stench all over everyone around you.
What the hell is that about? It's a beautiful day, and you're acting like a
fucking chemical plant. Then, to top it all off, most smokers just toss their
cigarette butts on the ground. I long for the day
that government will actually take itself a little more seriously with these huge fines you see on the sides of highways, and they
let common people like me run smokers off the road and into a god damn utility pole as an act of public
safety, or citizens arrest. Holy shit I'm bitter right now. Going to bed.
G'night!
May 12th, 2001
After a day and a 1/2 of no DSL service, I finally got around to checking my mail. Didn't really get anything except from
Emily and my Mom. I was worried that one of my clients had emailed me a dozen times wondering what was going on. Phew. I finally
got in touch with Chris, and we decided to meet at Shuba's for a
Songs: Ohia show. Jason, from Songs: Ohia and I had worked briefly together at Borders back in Bloomington, IN. The guy actually
had the nerve to quit because he was going on tour! I'm mean, really! Where are your priorities?!? I'm not jealous! Hell no. Anyway,
it was really damn cold out last night, and I ended up putting on my winter coat before I stepped
out for the evening.
The show was fun, but really short. I'd never been to Shubas before, but my friend Adrienne has been telling me to go there
for quite a while now. It's a really cute venue. Nice crowd too. Songs: Ohia played first. I'd never heard them before. It was an
actual band this time, and not just Jason on his
own. The music wasn't really my type, but I really liked it. Wonderful and
mellow. Jason is one of the few people who really sings nowadays. It was nice.
Damon and Naomi came next. I had very mixed reactions to this. I liked them because they had this really great Japanese fellow playing
guitar and doing some really great E-Bow work with a slide. Naomi,
and I'm not kidding, was the SPITTING IMAGE of my friend Leslie.
Leslie, if there's a long lost sister who's into indie folk, this is her. It's time for a reunion. Damon
on the other hand was thoroughly unappealing. He looked way too constipated when he sang. It just bugged the hell out of me. That, and
they sounded like Peter, Paul and Mary or something. Oh, and I got a rather funny but ultimately unflattering picture of
Chris before we left Shubas. All in all, a good night.
May 9th, 2001
I'm not going to the damn gym today. I went Monday and completely over did it. I went yesterday anyway and could barely get
through the cardio. So, no strenuous activities for me today. With exception to the allergic bombardment of displaced dust due
to me picking up in my bedroom.
I think the webcam is going to be sent back. I was all over Logitech's site trying to find
a solution. It seems that EVERY SINGLE ONE of their cam's have a problem with my motherboard chipsets. Lousy Intel..... *shakes fist*.
The thing works fine during the install, but once you actually get into the software it freezes. You shut off the software and the
cam stays on and eventually sucks your ram dry. Don't worry though. You'll se me working in my PJ's in no time.
(LATER IN THE EVENING AROUND, SAY, 9:47 PM) Just got back from the Fireside Bowl. It's nice that I have a great venue/bar/bowling
alley within walking distance. Tried to meet my friend Chris, the Photographer for p8nt magazine, but
could not find him at all. Huge crowd. I managed to see
Kolfax, who were fantastic. Great 80's pop/rock. They even covered that
great song my Joe Jackson, which I can't remember the title for. I only stayed for a band and 1/2 because some youngster whacked
me in my right knee. It's a great night outside. A bit stuffy in my apartment now that I'm back in it. I was able to scope out some
possible apartments for my friend Emily who's moving up here in July. My great friend Jeff did that for me when I moved up here, and
it made everything easier.
May 7th, 2001
Working on the new airiel site. You know, I'd never figured out the difference in html to get the damn margins to look the same
on Netscape and IE until this morning around 10. Can't believe I'd been overlooking that all these years.
Christ, that stuff makes me mad. Style Sheets rock my world. It saves so much time. Ok. Rambling about
rookie shit, but so what? I've got these cool new javascripts for some pull down menus. Actually now that I think about it, the
airiel site is looking a bit like the old site for 4ad. I can't see that as a bad thing.
I'm coming up with an idea for some mp3 server goodness. I have a ton of hard to find anime soundtrack discs that I've been
encoding. I think I may do an "mp3 of the week" or something. I know Bill has a hard-on for some of my stuff. Ever since I burned
Jeff over a dozen Cd's one day.
The Webcam isn't yet fully functional. Well, it is, just not on my fast machine. It works on my PII 400 mHz machine no problem.
But my new Athlon 900 mHz machine is allergic to this thing. I've been downloading new USB drivers, but it's no good. The reason
why this sucks is that my DSL connection acts like a dial-up, and I can only have one machine on the net at once. Grrrrrrr.
May 4th - 6th
I went down to Atlanta to see my brothers for the weekend. Well, brother and brother in law. Or, something. Aggressive driver and
"Park anywhere you fucking want" would be better. The partners. Get it? Anyway, this was the
weekend for "Music Midtown" which is a
huge music festival in midtown Atlanta. I flew out of Midway airport because that's the only airport that AirTran, formerly
ValuJet, flies out of. My second ride on the El. The first one was to O'Hare. Weird. Anyway, that airport
is creepy as hell.
There just seems to be this vibe of impending doom hanging all over it. I dunno.
So, the boys are doing well. The backyard is really looking cool. I managed to get zero pictures of them, but one of
Spencer, their Springer-Spaniel. I was under the impression that I would
be going to the festival with the two of them, but they didn't even have tickets. They sent me with two geeks I didn't know, which
wasn't a big deal for me. We tech-talked the entire way over there. We met several people at some guys really nice apartment and
everybody else I was with got hammered before we even walked down to the festival. Now, I don't drink THAT much, but I could tell
I was going to be miserable if I didn't ditch these guys. Not to be jaded, but when the people you're with start singing Pearl Jam
and En Vogue songs at the top of their lungs, you just gotta go. Too many college flash-backs. I did not belong with these people.
Granted, I'm not usually around people who sing Ride, Lush, or Dandy Warhols songs really loud, but
maybe that's too much to ask for.
I managed to politely say my goodbyes to them just after the first entrance, and went right to the beer tent for fuel. It was
really fun just walking around drinking during the day and just people watching. I love to do that. I managed to get a few
shots of the crowds. Crowd #1, crowd #2,
crowd #3, and crowd #4. Not very exciting, I know.
Not to be a downer here, but there wasn't even one cute pixy girl in site. THE IS PLACE SUCKS! Just kidding. It was fun, and I can
confidently take it off my "to do" list.
