I guess I just miss my friend

"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend." -- Red, Shawshank Redemption

I figured today is as good a day as any to return to the blog. I really can't believe today is today. September 2.

A year ago today.

A year ago today my friend Erik passed away.

I guess it's supposed to be better now. Time has passed. Time heals all wounds after all. In some ways it's more difficult today. The gut-wrenching sting of loss may have dulled over the year. But we like our milestones in our culture. A year. 10 years. 25 years. Etc.

Today means I can no longer say "Last year, Erik did this." "Last year at this time, we did this together."

That's gone now. It doesn't hurt as much as losing him, but it hurts to lose the proximity to him. Today is a reminder that he's further away than ever.

I know; I know. Remember the good times. Keep the fun and happy memories close at hand.

I try. I do. But God dammit it hurts.

I'm angry. I'm angry that someone so full of energy and life was taken away so young. I'm so sad. I feel sad for his parents. Seriously, they are two of the nicest people you will ever meet. I can't even imagine. Needless to say, every bit of prayer and good thoughts I have are going their way right about now. And the rest of his family, too.

OK I refuse to make this a sad bastard post. I can hear his peer pressure voice yelling at me already. He was the king of peer pressure. He could get you to do anything.

I met him six years ago right around this time. I moved into my suite in Bragaw for my last semester of undergrad, and his room was next to mine.

We became fast friends. Over the next five years, he became one of my closest friends. We must have hung out every day over the summer of 2006. Between his apartment, East Village and Danielle's apartment -- one or the other hosted our shenanigans that summer.

Here are two things I'll always remember about him -- well there are a thousand things, but here are two in particular:

1. He was always there when you needed him.

Doesn't matter what it was. Drunk at 4 a.m. and in need of fast food? "Let's walk to McDonald's." Girlfriend break up with you and need to vent/drink? "Let's go. I'll be right there."

Erik was the best at that. If you needed a friend, he was down. He was so good at it because he managed to toe the line between compassionate and brutally honest. Sometimes you just need to be called out. He could do that without making you feel like a complete jackass. Erik was sensitive to your feelings, but he had good advice, and he was honest about the situation.

2. He was perpetually concerned about something coming up.

Never failed. "Hey Erik, we're heading to EV tonight, you down?" He'd say, "Well it's only noon or so, I'll say I'm tentatively in, but I gotta keep my options open."

He's gotta keep his options open. I can't even tell you how often I heard that phrase. He never wanted to commit to something too early. So you invited him when you first made the plans, and then you invited him again 30 minutes before you left. "Erik, I'm walking out the door in 30 minutes -- are you in?" "Yeah, I guess I'm in. Why not?"

Why not, indeed!

This picture was taken the night I graduated from grad school. I didn't plan a big party or anything, but after the ceremony I decided I wanted to get some drinks to celebrate.

I called him up, and he came out on short notice. I guess he didn't need to keep his options open that time...haha. He got me a nice big bottle of scotch that lasted me for quite a long time.

A year ago today. Unbelievable. I cannot comprehend how he's been gone for a year.

Just like last year, the American Cancer Society is doing the Bark for Life event. It's a dog-walk event in Cary, N.C., that raises money for cancer research. Here's a link to Erik's team page. The walk is Oct. 23, 2010, and even if you can't make it (as I might not be able to now that I live in Maryland), we can still raise money in Erik's honor to try to beat this dreaded disease.

Jimmy V said "Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever."

Let's always remember Erik so those things do carry on forever. Tonight, I'm drinking a Jack and Coke in your honor, Erik. Rest easy, my friend. I'll love you and miss you always. Na Zdrowie.

Life Update!

So!

In my last post about the blog birthday, I jokingly said part of the festivities would be a three-week silence. Well, here we are on April 27 with no posts since then. Excellent prognostication on my part. But I DO have good reasons for it.

1. Easter weekend in NJ: Stacy, Matt, Rachel and I drove up for the weekend, and the family proved themselves to be every bit the asylum escapees they are (in a good way, of course!). It really was a fun time though. It's always good to see everyone since we don't get up that way all that often.

Everyone loved Rachel, of course (as I knew they would), and I don't think anyone really embarrassed themselves, which is really a bonus. We ate at White Castle (bad for the heart, good for the soul) and a diner for breakfast before we left.

2. CHICAGO! The next weekend, Rachel and I flew to Chicago for a nice extended weekend. It's her favorite city ever, and I'd never been. Combine that with her sister living there and Tanner living there for another couple of months at least and why not?

I have to say I was very impressed. I mean, of course I was -- it's Chicago. It's not like I thought I wasn't going to like it. Very cool city though. We stayed at this pretty nice hotel in Lincoln Park, right across the street from the botanical gardens and reasonably close to Lake Michigan.

And, yes, it was windy in Chicago; however, as I learned during my audio tour on the 95th-floor observatory of the John Hancock building, there are 37 cities in the U.S. that are technically windier than Chicago. Also, Chicago is not named The Windy City because of windy weather, but rather windbag politicians trying to get the World's Fair in the late 19th century. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.


I will have pictures from Chicago, and I will upload them to Facebook next week. The delay is due to:

3. I moved to a new apartment! Yes, it's true. I now have a one-bedroom apartment in Gaithersburg, Md., just outside of DC, in a great little neighborhood called the Kentlands. I'm within walking distance to a TON of little local shops and stores, plus the usual Giant, Whole Foods, Petsmart, Michael's, K-Mart, Chipotle, Five Guys, Panera, etc. Walking distance!
I moved to the suburbs, and I still hardly have to drive anywhere! There's a bus stop maybe 50 yards from my building that'll take me to a Metro station to come downtown for work, too.

So! You may be asking yourself why I moved to the suburbs when I loved living in the city so much. Good question.

Two main reasons above all else -- affordability and large dog approval. Consider the following: for approximately $1,400/month, I could get a 400 sq. ft. studio apartment downtown or a 950 sq. ft. two-bedroom apartment outside the District. Sooo yeah. There's that. Also, not too many apartment buildings downtown were cool with dogs who weighed more than 30 pounds. Allie weighs around 60-65. I can pass her off for 50-55 when need be because she's so lean. But no one will believe a black lab/border collie mix is 30 pounds.

And that's that. I was able to get a really nice and spacious 650 sq. ft. one-bedroom apartment for FAR less than a DC apartment would have been.

Now, why Gaithersburg? I now live 2.5 miles (a five-minute drive) from Rachel's house. No more 45-min drives through the northern DC ghetto! Right up the street! Fooooooor the win.

Barring unforeseen extraordinary circumstances, I will not be moving again until I buy a house or townhouse or condo or something. This marked my third residence-to-residence move in a less than a year and a half. I'm done. I will live here for at least two years, too.

And next time I move, you're damn right I'm hiring movers. I recently bought a bed, a couch, two end tables, two night stands and a new dresser. Everything but the couch (which will hopefully be delivered this weekend) is in the apartment. Combine that with my 55" HDTV and my kick-ass entertainment center, and what you get is too much damn work for me to move myself again.

Matt, Rachel and Rachel's dad helped me out this time, and my God I don't know what I would have done with them. A infinite number of thank yous to them.

BUT! The good news is I get to have Allie back now! I really cannot thank my parents enough for looking after her since November. I was in a tough spot, and, as usual, they really bailed me out. I haven't seen her since Christmas though, and I really miss having that crazy dog around. LOOK AT THIS FACE!!!


Oh Allie. End of May! Rachel and I will be going to Charlotte for Jay and Emily's wedding, and I'm picking her up then!

4. Weezer concert! Yes, I know. This item would be much more exciting if it were 1996, but c'est la vie. Rachel, Matt and I are going to see Weezer Friday night! If it were 1996, they'd pretty much play the Blue album and Pinkerton (two essentially perfect rock albums) back-to-back. That would be SO. GOOD. But, alas, they have quite a few mediocre-at-best albums to choose from now (Make Believe, the Red album, Raditude).

Don't get me wrong, there are some catchy songs off those albums (Pork and Beans, Greatest Man that Ever Lived, etc.), but they're a FAR cry from Across the Sea, Say it Ain't So, El Scorcho and Buddy Holly.

Oh well. I'm still looking forward to it. As I've mentioned here before, previous success will always guarantee I'll check out new Weezer releases even though I inevitably come away disappointed. Still, hopefully they'll play mostly their old, awesome stuff.

Success! I've written a novel and updated my blog!

To come:

Pictures of the Nats game I went to with Matt
Pictures from the trip to Chicago with Rachel
Pictures of my new apartment
Etc.

Life is good.
-B

Blog Birthday!

This little blog turned a year old today. Happy birthday Island in the Sun!

In honor of the occasion, I present an Ode to Peach Snapple, immediately followed by another three weeks of neglect. Good day.


Peach Snapple, Peach Snapple,
Oh you help me grapple
with all of the day's little chores.
I pop off your cap
and read the fun fact
Drink up so that my mood will soar.


But seriously, fun times ahead!

• New Jersey this weekend for Easter, where Rachel will meet the extended family.
• Next weekend, Rachel and I are flying to Chicago for a long weekend to check out her favorite American city.
• And then in the next few weeks I'm moving!

Yes I found an apartment! Allie will be coming home to me soon! WOOHOO! I miss my girl. It's been far too long since I've seen her. More details on all of this in the coming weeks!

As I am quite fond of saying, life is good!

-BG

Spunky, Sept. 29, 1998 - March 8, 2010

Spunky, my family's beloved yellow lab, passed away last Monday. He finally stopped eating and drinking, and when animals stop eating and drinking, there's not much you can do. It's just time at that point.

Spunky started having seizures in 2001. They weren't fun to watch, and they couldn't have been fun for him, but we were told there wasn't anything more sinister going on (obviously, as he lived for another nine years). He was on medication for them, and we managed them the best we could.

They finally started to prove too much for him to handle over the summer. He had a massive seizure in July that left him wobbly and weak. The medication he had to take was in such a high dosage, he was left groggy and confused most of the time. Over Christmas, he was wearing a harness around his hips that had handles so we could pull him up because he had a hard time standing up from laying down.

And finally it just got to the point where it was last weekend. My mom was there with him and held him as he went to sleep. He wasn't scared. He was calm and happy, licking her arms and face to the end.

I'm sorry. I know that's hard to read, but I had to get it out one more time. I had to write it and see it to know it's real.

For all the health problems he had at the end of his life, that's never going to be how I'll remember him.

Spunky was our first family pet -- and really, I guess you can say he's our only family pet, seeing as how I no longer live at home, and my sister probably won't be moving back home after grad school.

When I was 16, we finally managed to convince our parents to get a dog. A friend of my dad had a lab who was having puppies. We went and visited, and immediately picked out two puppies: a yellow lab we named Spunky and a black lab we named Shadow. They were adorable. When we took them home, Shadow rested on my legs in the car, and Spunky shouted and barked the whole way home in the back of the van.

And that's how he became Spunky. He was loud; he was rambunctious; he was FUN. He was what you expected out of a family lab. Shadow was the dominant of the two puppies, but he was more reserved. He still played a lot, but he was quiet.

Eventually, my mom's allergies proved too much, and we very sadly had to return the dogs to the woman who agreed to find new homes for them.

A few days passed. The box of puppy toys in the corner looked so sad, and in the few short days we had them, we'd grown incredibly attached to them and the atmosphere they created around the house.

One day, I came home from school and noticed the baby gate was up blocking the kitchen from the living room -- something we did when the puppies were there so they couldn't have accidents on the carpet. I walked over to the kitchen, and there was Spunky, sitting there looking at me.

My parents agreed two dogs were too many for the allergies, but we could give one dog a try. So they went and picked up Spunky again and he was ours! We missed Shadow, but we knew he'd find a good home. He wasn't at a shelter. He was with friends of ours and he was a black lab puppy -- not exactly hard to find a home for those.

So Spunky was a part of our lives since then. He was funny and quirky, and he was everything you could want in a dog. And that's what I'll remember from now on. I'll always remember Spunky as the lively, healthy, energetic dog he was growing up.

I'll remember him sprinting the length of the fence in the backyard with his friend Jazz, the rottweiler next door.

I'll remember him curiously nosing the back fence as the cows (yes, cows) walked by. He jumped at the fence, and an equally curious cow head-butted the fence, knocking Spunky down. He decided to watch safely from a few feet back from then on as the cows made their almost-daily march through the field behind our house.

I'll remember him sprinting and jumping through the air as we threw him the ball over and over and over again. He was never happier than when someone was throwing him a tennis ball.

I'll remember the bright brown eyes, so full of life, and the snow-white tip on his tail.

I'll remember the time he got out of the backyard and only went to the front door and sat down, waiting to be let in, as if to say, "I know how good I have it here; I'm not going anywhere else, thanks."

Spunky was a great, great dog. He lived to be 11 and a half, and he lived in three different decades. Not bad at all. He was happy and loved as much as a dog could be loved.

Rest in peace, Spunkers. We'll never forget you, and we'll love you and miss you forever.

I like dark comedies; that's why I like the Wayans brothers.

The One-Man Wolfpack, Zach Galifianakis, hosted SNL this past weekend. Here's the opening monologue. Fantastic stuff.

Some of my favorite lines:

"HEY EVERYBODY! HERE COMES THE CHOO-CHOO!"

"[My girlfriend is] writing a book on contemporary feminist theory and she let me read the manuscript. I gotta tell ya, it's pretty good for a girl."

"If you read my blog you know I'm a pilates freak. And by pilates I mean waffles."

Strut, big man. Strut.

Life is GOOD.

God put a ring on it

Haikus

So I was talking to Rachel last night, and, long story short, I wrote a bunch of terrible, cheesy haikus. Might as well post them here, no?

I like to sing songs
I'm probably not that good
Better in my head

Fraggles are the best
The doozers are really strange
Gorgs are frightening

Spinach tastes so good
Leafy, green wonder veggie
Popeye was correct

This one is for Rachel, who, amazingly, has never had a hot dog
Hot dogs for the win
Stunned you have never had one
Need two to feel full

These next two are dedicated to N.C. State
State fans are depressed
Unending kick in the pants
There's always next year

My team sucks so much
It's no fun watching the games
Tired of losing

This one is for my sister, who went to San Diego last weekend
Stacy was so drunk
Rode a mechanical bull
Kicked out of the bar

Stacy likes hockey
Micol took her to some games
A sports fan, who knew?

Scarlet's tumbling
Why stand on a small table?
A big girl goes down

Funny haikus win
Too bad I'm not that funny
Someone tries too hard

Conan O'Brien is AWESOME

Skiing FTW

Last weekend, I went skiing for the first time. It was easily one of the most fun things I've ever done.

Now, as someone who isn't exactly know for what you would call "balance, grace and coordination," I was reasonably nervous about sliding down mountains while trying to remain upright.

Nevertheless, I've always wanted to try skiing, and I live in the north now. The place we went (Liberty Ski Resort) was only an hour or so from Rachel's house, so we took a day trip.

It's not exactly inexpensive, especially for someone like me, who completely lacked everything winter-related you might need to go skiing. I had to buy gloves, socks, snow pants and an actual winter coat. Buying all of that ended up costing a little more than $300, but, like I said, I live in the north now.

Five feet of snow from three blizzards later, my snow pants have come in VERY handy -- as has my legit winter coat.

So we get to the mountain, and for $82 you get a First Class package that includes a beginner's lesson (yes please), your lift ticket and equipment rental. Ticket and rental usually costs around $90, so this is a great deal.

The lesson was extremely helpful, obviously. The instructor was funny and seemed like a really good guy. He taught us right off the bat how to do things without the ski poles. In hindsight, THANK GOD, because I would have tried to depend on them.

Honestly, I was having a hell of time during the lesson. I had trouble with my balance, turning, staying upright, walking -- you name it, I was having trouble with it. As it turns out, the problem was the lack of speed. For the lesson, they barely take you up the beginner slope. You never slide more than 15 or 20 feet. I was just having a really hard time.

At the end of the lesson, the instructor takes the class up the ski lift to the top of the beginner slope. Almost by accident, I was the first one down the slope from the class. Now, I'd like to say that's because I was a star student, and I knew exactly what I was doing.

What actually happened was I started going down hill, gathered some decent speed and couldn't stop by myself -- so I just went with it. As I was going down the slope, I tried to turn, and all of a sudden everything clicked. Turning, balancing, controlling your movements -- everything is easier when you have some speed down the slope. Don't get me wrong, I still fell down once, but the theory of what you're supposed to do is MUCH easier to put into practice when you're going faster.

Great time all around. Rachel and I are going again tomorrow! I'd also say it's a safe bet we may become regulars next year. There are only a few weeks left in this season, but next year, we'll probably be frequenting the slopes much more often!

Here are a couple pictures. Excuse the poor quality on the first one as it was taken on my Blackberry.

This is the beginner slope. It wasn't really that cloudy and dark at all. Just a poor job by me remembering to take my camera out of my bag before I locked everything up.

We had our lesson on the right of the lift, and then we actually skied on the left of the lift. I probably will NOT be venturing away from this slope when we go tomorrow either...haha. Still learning how to do things!

Here's a picture of Rachel and I with Jackie (I work with her) and Jackie's friend (whose name I unfortunately cannot remember, as usual).

Jackie was nice enough to humor me on the beginner slope since I was in no way prepared to try anything more difficult.

This picture was taken at the top of the beginner slope. After the picture, I started my way down and almost immediately fell. So, you know, good job by me. :-)

Being an N.C. State fan is like being kicked in the nuts

Over and over and over again.

Beat Duke by 14 points, look like we're resembling an actual Division 1 team. Forget to show up to the Maryland game, get blown out by 24 points. Also, let me tell you how much fun that was to watch while being surrounded by a family of Maryland fans. I just had to go into sportswriter mode and pretend like I didn't care and that it wasn't happening.

And then UNC. I'm sorry. I just couldn't bring myself to talk about it until now. We looked decent in very short, very intense bursts. Then, of course, we couldn't finish a game without one of our patented 8-minute scoring droughts that turned a 5-point lead into a 15-point deficit.

I'm just getting angry. I leave you with happy N.C. State videos.

A little boy who loves the Pack like his daddy, despite having a Tar Heel mom.



Post-game, 2007 victory over UNC; 31-27



Most Incredible Block Ever -- Courtney Fells vs. Duke



Julius Hodge beats UConn, sends State to Sweet 16

Big Game

State/UNC tonight at 9 p.m.

If you don't preface your attempts at communicating with me with some form of "UNC sucks," "Carolina sucks" or "Go to hell Carolina," you should probably reconsider your attempts at communicating with me.

If the team that played in the Duke game and the second half of the Clemson game shows up, I really like our chances -- especially at home, especially against a young, struggling Tar Heels team.

If the team that decided not to try very hard against Maryland shows up, I predict I will be watching a movie by 9:30 p.m.

I really, really hate those smug bastards. (No offense to any of my friends who went there. You guys are cool. But admit it, even you know what I'm talking about here.)

Basketball.

Well, N.C. State beat Duke last night, 88-74.

Hell of a game, too. We took the lead at 17-15 and never trailed the rest of the night. It was not without its tense moments. Duke hit a ridiculous 3 at the buzzer to cut the lead to 41-38 at halftime.

And then with an 8-point lead in the waning minutes of the game, Javi Gonzalez was dribbling out the shot clock and somehow managed the drill a 3 from WAY behind the line over 6-foot-10 Mason Plumlee to push the lead back to 11. Talk about the definition of a dagger play.

That was the game right there. State's up by 8 with around four minutes to play, and the shot clock winding down. If Duke gets a stop there, you KNOW they're nailing a 3 at the other end. It's Duke. That's what they do.

Then the lead is 5 points, and State would have found a way to blow it. We're State. That's what we do.

But Javi sank the 3, pushing the lead to 11 and igniting a crowd that has been yearning to explode for far too long now.

Where do we go from here? Well, in the most technical sense, we go to College Park for a date with Maryland on Saturday evening. Then what promises to be a lively atmosphere on Tuesday night as we host UNC (losers of three in a row, by the way [!!] Think that preseason No. 6 ranking with a first-place vote may have been a farce?).

In the more philosophical sense, I see this playing out in two ways.

First, the team who showed up for the second half of the Clemson game and the Duke win shows up Saturday and takes out Maryland to improve to 14-6 (3-3 ACC), setting up a ridiculous main event Tuesday night where we'd probably enter the top 25 if we beat Carolina.

Second, the team gets caught up in OMGWEBEATDUKE mode and sees a little powder blue on the schedule Tuesday night, and Maryland gets a little lost in the shuffle and blows us out of the water. The Terps have a talented senior point guard, and you cannot take those lightly -- especially not in the ACC (even if he is the biggest walking toolbox the ACC has seen since Chris Paul or Steve Blake).

The second scenario has been the story of this program for the better part of our recent history. We play to the level of our opponents, hanging with and occasionally beating the big boys, and tripping up against the mid-level teams. If Sidney Lowe is THE guy we all hope he is, he needs to put this trend in the past.

The team from the last game and a half should beat Maryland AND Carolina (especially with the way the Heels are currently playing).

That would be the first scenario, which would create some much-needed momentum for a program that has been caught in the doldrums all year. From narrowly missing out on Derrick Favors, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins to Lorenzo Brown not being eligible to heart-breaking losses in games against Arizona, Florida and Virginia (all games where we held late leads and should have won).

Finish strong this season, make a run in the ACC tournament, perhaps an appearance in the NCAA tournament and then the stud recruiting class Lowe has for next year with Brown finally arriving, Ryan Harrow and Luke Cothron -- now that's some momentum.

LET'S GO BOYS. Play up to your potential for the first time in too many years and win the games you're capable of winning. Let's get this thing on the right track.

Doin' the bull dance; feelin' the flow. Workin' it; workin' it.

It's been a good several weeks for me. As such, here are a few things I'm pretty pumped about.

1. Hockey is fun: I went to my first Washington Capitals game yesterday. A guy at work had four tickets and gave me two of them. So Rachel and I happily attended. Man, hockey is SO much more fun in person than on TV. I enjoy hockey on TV, don't get me wrong. But it's a completely different experience in person.

The crowd was NUTS, and the Caps are actually, ya know, good. So that helps. And I gotta say, Ovechkin is just unbelievable to watch. The things he does -- he just makes everything look so easy. The Caps won 5-3. When the Caps score five goals in a home game, everyone in attendance gets 10 free wings at a restaurant in the area.

Here's the best part: the fifth goal was scored by Ovechkin on a penalty shot. Co-worker Conor (the guy who got the tickets) said it best: "It was like being in the Roman Coliseum with 18,000 people all standing, all knowing what was going to happen and all screaming for blood. It was AWESOME."

And it WAS. He scored on a sick backhanded move, and the place went berserk. Really, really excellent. I will be going to more Caps games, for SURE.

2. I have a huge TV now! I keep forgetting to take pictures of my set-up. Here's what I've got:

-55" Samsung HDTV, 1080p, 120Hz, 100,000-to-1 dynamic contrast (hollaaaa)
-1,000-watt Samsung surround sound system with built-in bluray player and wireless rear speakers

YES. SIR. I still need to get an HD cable box from Comcast (we'd just been running it from the wall downstairs) to really take advantage of the HD capabilities, but my God bluray is excellent. Fire and explosions are bordering on life-changing experiences on bluray high-def.

I now have five bluray movies: Star Trek, Terminator, Terminator 2, Gladiator and Goodfellas. Very cool. I also got a Wii just so I could get the new Super Mario game. And it is also excellent.

Xbox360 games look unbelievable when you actually take advantage of everything the system can do. I am a FAN.

3. Skiing! Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll be going skiing for the first time ever! I'm so excited. Someone at work is organizing a day-trip on a Saturday for co-workers and significant others. Rachel has been skiing before, so hopefully I can get a few pointers.

Basically, I'm planning on spending most of the day on my ass and/or back. I feel like that's really the best-case scenario for me. I'm not exactly known for my coordination to begin with, so adding skis, snow and mountain to the mix isn't likely to improve matters. Whatevs. It'll be excellent.

4. CHICAGO!!! So here's the deal: Rachel's sister lives in Chicago and goes to DePaul. Technician sports editor emeritus Tanner is living in Chicago while he works with Americorps. Yeah, they live like four blocks away from each other. Crazy.

I don't know that it's ever taken LESS to convince me to do something, but Tanner goes, "Whoa come visit!" And I thought to myself, "Well why the hell not? What exactly is stopping me from doing this?" I asked Rachel if she'd like to go to Chicago (of course she did, she loves the city), and we booked our flights last night!

We'll be flying to Chicago on April 9 and coming back April 11 -- a nice little three-day weekend. I've never been to Chicago, so I'm extra pumped about it. HOLLA.

Like I said, doin' the bull dance; feelin' the flow. Workin' it; workin' it.

...well then we're shit out of luck.

Time for a music post! I don't know why, but I really love these music posts. Anyway, here are five songs I feel like writing about right now...haha. Oh, and if you count my embarrassing obsession with that Keri Hilson song two posts down, then that's six songs. Anyway.

Stu's tiger song from The Hangover

Yes, that's right. I totally loved this movie -- one of those rare times when I have HUGE expectations for a movie and it delivers. This song was one of my favorite moments. It's funny and catchy, and then he gets to the last line, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I lost it. I can't watch this clip and NOT giggle like a little girl. But if he's been murdered by crystal meth tweeeaaakers...well then we're shit out of luck.

I can't embed the song, so click here for the YouTube clip!

Muse - "Knights of Cydonia"

The first time I heard this song was on Guitar Hero, actually, haha. It came on, and I was unimpressed at first. The intro is kinda cool, but it's almost two minutes long. Then the driving drum beat kicked in. Fuck. Yes. This song EASILY made the cut onto my half-marathon list. Here's a live version of it because it still sounds awesome. If this doesn't get you pumped up, you have no soul.



Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance"

Yeah, I know. I don't really want to talk about it too much. I absolutely hated this song when I first heard it. But that damn "gaga ooh la la" shit grows roots and plants itself on your brain until you just give in. Please, let's just move on.



Weezer - "(If You're Wondering if I Want You to) I Want You To"

So here's the deal with Weezer. The Blue Album and Pinkteron are two of my favorite albums I own. I can listen to them front to back, never skip a song and LOVE them just as much each time. Because of this, I get sucked into every new Weezer album that comes out. Make Believe, the Red Album and, now, Raditude. While Raditude has the best album cover I've ever seen, *sigh, the rest of it...just, yikes.

This song, I mean, I like it. Don't get me wrong. It's catchy. It's fun. But I'm afraid it stands out so much because the other songs were so...*sigh...so not very good. So yeah. This is the only song on the entire album I can see myself listening to with any regularity at all.

Plus, it really makes me want to play the drums for some reason. Any song that elicits that feeling usually scores pretty high with me.



Reel Big Fish - "Boys Don't Cry"

Well you know how much I love Reel Big Fish. And I'm crazy about some cover songs. This song was originally done by The Cure in the 80s. Fun song. Then RBF took it, added horns and sped it up quite a bit. Love it. Here's a live version from 1997. Good stuff.

Things I Don't Get About the Metro

Why does the train roll a few feet and come to a jarring stop, roll a few more feet, come to a jarring stop, rinse and repeat?

It's not like the train operator is surprised by traffic and has to put on the brakes. It's a fucking tunnel. If there's a train ahead of you, don't move. When the track is clear, on we go.

I don't get it. The train comes to a stop in the tunnel because there's already one on the platform ahead. That's fine. Thanks for not ramming the back of the other train, you know? But why on EARTH do we have to do the start-stop routine five times? Open your fucking eyes! If the train is still there, don't go!

I think I speak for all Metro customers when I say we'd rather stay stationary for the extra 20 seconds than start-stop several times.

Also, I feel like this has the potential to become a running feature on the blog. So there you go.

My Latest Song Obsession (*sigh)