Books

A young man, lost, with no direction and frustrated with an inability to excell anywhere struggles with wise sounding advice against reality and what to do with his life to find meaning. I don't know how it would end.

Muahahahaha

Angry Letters

I really need to vent here because I know that no one involved will read this. It feels semi private. I'm sick and tired of Tara. I'm tired of her attitude. I'm offended by her view of me, I'm really sick of her not fixing the things her cats have destroyed, and then complaining about minor things when every single post on the stair banister is destroyed.

My satalite chair smells like cat urine. There are dart holes in the wall. About a third of the crap food on the counter was hers. I know the fruit cups weren't Mike's and Marcia would have mentioned them when she mentioned the ramen noodle she was saying I could have.

I'm glad I'm getting out of that house with her because it took every strength of my being to preserve my decency and maintain my self control when her explicative boyfriend Adam called and started yelling at him.

Calm was maintained despite the complete gall and absolute backwards mentality of everything he said. I could go on for just an hour about that. But I did it. I bit my tongue, and I hung up, and I deleted his voicemail without incident. I'm still restraining myself from urges to email her with bitter and resentful words, scathing and representing my feelings.

She is a messy room mate. Her cats are destructive and uncontrolled. And she is a drunk and a pothead.

It really feels very good to have some place to let that out. I saw the way she kept her room, while she was complaining about the rest of the house. Trashed, clothes everywhere, books strewn about, not just her room, but the entire area outside her room, which was completely free of anyone else's influence. Marcia said it's because she didn't have enough space.

Well, let me ask it out loud to myself here, if HALF of a 2 story house, an entire floor, mind you, isn't enough room for JUST YOUR BEDROOM stuff, then how much space is it reasonable for you to live inside of?

/rant

Random Day

Random Day

Went by my house in Kingwood last night and did some cleaning up, grabbed some kitchen utensils that I left behind, took some photos of some things. Kevin came along and let me use his digital camera.

Pics

A Lot

There’s a lot that needs to be said, and I have the time to say it, but I never think to do it till after I don’t have the time anymore. Right now I don’t have the time, but I need to start updating every day again.

Link of the day: www.youos.com

So wicked awesome!!!

School

So, it all started today. I had a good time; I got a professor who I really enjoyed for government I. Anyway, it’s off to a good start… 11 am is always a good start to the morning. It was only about 10 minutes short and there is NO parking by that time in the day.

Anywho, I’m looking at bottling for my sauce. I need to begin actual work on it VERY soon. Roasting needs to be done by Friday. I really would like to also be moved out by then too, that would feel good.

Habanero-Rose

Here's the logo for something I'm working on:

Sometimes...

Sometimes…

I feel like a lousy human being.

Going Away

Going Away

Steve, Chris’ brother, is moving away on Saturday. I’m going to help him throw a good going away party on Friday night, so, everyone who reads this start looking forward to those awesome fajitas.

It’s really sad when a friend moves away, but he’s going to be starting his University time and working towards a doctorate. Go Steve!!!

What is it

What is it?

Why, why, why?!

I’m just up in the air today
Like some kind of balloon
Spinning off the fingers
Of a happy little child

Twisting through the air
Spinning about
A possession of the breeze
At the fancy of the wind

Oh, just let me fall

Mint Julep Ribs

Mint Julep Ribs

The Rub:

2 teaspoons iced tea mix (made with sugar, not artificial sweetener)2 teaspoons granulated sugar2 teaspoons dried mint (peppermint or spearmint)2 teaspoons sweet paprika2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)

The Glaze:

3 tablespoons mint jelly3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice3 tablespoons butter1/4 cup bourbon2 tablespoons sugar

Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup1/2 cup chili sauce1/3 cup mint jelly1/4 cup bourbon2 tablespoons cider vinegar2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce1 teaspoon liquid smokeSalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Mint Julep

Crush fresh mint into tumbler
Add 1.5oz of sugar syrup
Generous 1.5oz of bourbon
Fill tumbler with crushed ice
Mint on top
Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar

Rabies

Rabies

Well, we get closer and closer to George’s wedding. Rehearsals are on Friday evening, will be interesting, I haven’t been to a wedding since my dad married Marry Ellen. That was a really good day, I expect this Saturday will be just as good.

The Producers

The Producers

Just got it in the mail and watched it again the other day. I REALLY love this movie, but I should only see it once every six months or so. Six months between viewings leaves me remembering enough that I laugh till my face hurts still, few jokes spoiled. Twice in a month leaves me enjoying myself a lot, but for the more subtle goodness about the movie.

Actually, I did this on, like, Thursday, and then on Friday I watched Drumline. I really liked it quite a bit. Orlando Jones played a character that I really liked and respected, the story was okay, pretty average stuff, but it’s still helped by the aspects of the story based on a real person.

Today, I watched In Her Shoes. It was so good, it had parts where I laughed, and parts where I cried, and parts where I hated a character one minute and loved and sympathized with her the next. That’s a new favorite of mine.

Last night I saw Scanner Darkly. All I can really say without breaking into a full on rant is that it was everything I’d hoped for deep down in my heart.

On Saturday I spent all day with almost all of my friends helping Justin move, it was one of the coolest days ever, even though more than half of it had 0 A/C. It really helped to go swimming afterwards.

Hehe, well, that’s too much to write about, it all feels so incredibly condensed, like a weekend in extreme brief. Next weekend will be worse/better depending on which angle you’re viewing it from.

NJ Continued

NJ Continued…


Well, after getting to NYC on Saturday we popped out around 32nd and… 7th I believe, maybe 8th. Walked all the way up to Times Square, and then spent most of the day bouncing between there, 44th at 7th and 60th at 5th. Around about 4 in the afternoon we got tickets to see the 8 o’clock show of The Producers, a musical comedy I’d seen for the first time in its film translation last December, and which was definitely surpassed by the live Broadway version.

We also ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp, a very good restaurant both times we were over there, I wish we had one down here in Houston, their Bourbon Mahi Mahi was downright fricken awesome. Mike wasn’t adventurous enough to try any of the tiny interesting places we saw around the place.

There was an impressive wedding going on in one of the cathedrals we saw the inside of on the streets traveling between one place and another. The gothic style was extremely impressive.

Two stores that were totally unimpressive: Nintendo Store and Apple store. The Apple store is open 24/7 365, something difficult to appreciate till you need a Mac on Christmas Eve, which, I didn’t since it was early July on a day when places are supposed to be open anyway. Moreover, the selection was still way too similar to the local Mac store in the Galleria mall.

I was incredibly hyped about the Nintendo store till I got there, some very nice displays where out, but when it came right down to it I couldn’t find a single thing worth buying that I couldn’t get anywhere else, no custom styli, or even games that I couldn’t get anywhere else. They had a very interesting little GameBoy museum, but nothing really special about that, it was locked in a case, I’ve seen pics from it online aready. Ultimately a disappointing experience since every single Toys R Us, WalMart, BestBuy, Fry’s, Gamespot, and Eb Games has the same selection, nothing compared to online shopping.

After the Broadway show we took the train back to Morristown, and Sunday was spent recuperating. Neither Saturday nor Monday had very good dinner because of how everything up there closed so early, same with Sunday night. I’m not saying that the hours are horrible, but you definitely have to be prepared for there being times of day where there is literally no where to go get food from if you haven’t eaten yet, meaning keep your fridge stocked.

The second trip to NYC started later, and we saw the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan museums. The Metropolitan is incredible, I could spend a month there, days on each exhibit studying everything in it carefully and drawing. The Guggenheim not so much, I just wasn’t really impressed by the only exhibit they had, even if most of the side halls had some very good work in them.

We left shortly after the Museums though, Mike was hesitant to go for a walk in central park, so I missed that and the zoo.

Tuesday was also very cool, spent it looking at Ellis and Liberty Islands. I could have skipped Liberty Island completely, but Ellis is a lifetime memory. I can’t think of a better place in the entire world to spend the fourth of July than where so many people spent their first moments in the country. I can only imagine what it was like to pass through there at the time when it was used so much. It rained on us as we were taking off from Liberty, got a little damp.

After the islands, and the rain, not knowing how soon or if the rain would come again, also having nothing to sit on other than wet grass, we decided not to wait for 4 hours after browsing the island museums to see the fireworks so we went to Mike’s apartment and watched some recorded shows that we hadn’t seen before. Wednesday was spent on breakfast and general relaxation before hitting the airport. It wasn’t possible to visit Jason, he just didn’t get in contact with me in time to make plans, I wasn’t even able to talk to him till Monday night, which was just way too late, I didn’t even go back to NYC after that let alone the state. Maybe next time he’ll call me.

I’ll probably go back up again in the not too distant future depending on the outlook, the total for the whole trip was maybe 500 to 600 dollars tops including the plane flight. Next year I’m going to San Diego, lets see how that goes.

Bourbon Sauce

Bourbon Sauce

½ cup butter
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/3 cup Dijon mustartd
1/3 cup hot sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
Brown sugar
½ cup Kentucky bourbon

So I've Failed

So I’ve Failed


I used to write journals every single weekday. I really succeeded for a long time, and then I suddenly quit after I was running two journals at the same time. I feel that this really hurt me, and I need to get back in the habit.

Last weekend started Thursday evening and ended late Wednesday night. It was such an incredibly awesome vacation, I flew up to New Jersey, the furthest I’ve ever traveled on my own before, I felt more grown up than anything has ever made me feel before. That’s sad because I’m 25 and I still feel like a kid all the time. Everything is still so scary and new that it’s insane.

The flight up was uneventful, the plane landed and left on time, everything went smoothly, and it was also incredibly dull. The service was just average; everything was just sort of okay at best. The flight back down, however, was an entirely different story, it left two hours late, leaving me at the airport in uncomfortable conditions for a total of four hours, but everyone was even tempered, and once aboard the plane, the captain gave funny announcements even though it was 30 minutes of being taxied before takeoff, and the crew was much more helpful. I was sold headphones to watch the in flight movie, I wasn’t even given the opportunity on the first flight. It was a really good movie too, called something new.  The food was better, and I even had an extremely good book to read during the flight, which was so awesome to contemplate over while I listened to classical music over the headphones, very soothing music, after the movie was over, never ever fly without headphones. Freakanomics is the name of the book. It’s insanely delectable.

I hereby cease to use the word “insane” any longer within this narrative; it is no longer necessary, even though it will contain two trips to NYC. I arrived around about 12:05 in Jersey, and Mike met me at the baggage claim. It took a while to get home after a freak wrong turn, and we stopped and ate at Whitecastle, probably the most dreadful fast food I’ve ever had in my life. After that, sleep commenced at about 2 or 3 in the A.M., and we woke up around 8:30 or 9:30, and had breakfast at a place Mike has been bragging about, and rightfully so.

Perkin’s is a superb breakfast joint. I’d pick them over IHOP any day, I wish they were 24 hours. Their hash brown pancakes are simply mouthwatering, and all their other food was delicious. We made a habit out of breakfasting there, except for one day that it was too crowded so we went to another place called Vermont’s, or something similar, but which was a far cry from Perkin’s.

After that we barely missed the 10:28 train and ended up having to take the 11:24 to NYC for the day. While we were there, some things immediately disappointed me, like Times Square. I really expected more than just a mass of really big stores. None of them even seemed to have the collection of merchandise of other local stores except the classical section of the Virgin Megastore. The day went on like this, store to store, with lots and LOTS of walking for most of the day, a total of slightly over 200 blocks all together for both days inside of NYC.

I have to break for now, I have a lot of work to do, and I probably wont get finished before I have to leave work as it is. I’ll write more tonight or tomorrow.

Grilled Avocado Dessert

Grilled Avocado Dessert

1. avocados,  just  turning  soft,  not  fully  ripe 1  medium  mango,  cut  into  1/2  cubes  1/2  pound  strawberries,  cut  into  1/2-inch  cubes  1  tablespoon  balsamic  vinegar  1/4  teaspoon  Mexene  chili  powder 1/3  cup  orange  juice 2  tablespoons  lemon  juice 1/4  cup  honey  mixed  with  1/4  cup  olive  oil Preheat  well-oiled  bbq  grill  to  medium  high,  300Ú-400Ú  degrees.  Slice  the  avocados  in  half  lengthwise,  and  carefully  remove  the  seed. Brush  the  exposed  flesh  with  honey-olive  oil  mixture,  cover  with  plastic  wrap  and  set  aside  in  a  cool  place  (do  not  refrigerate). Chop  mangos  and  strawberries  and  mix  with  vinegar,  orange  juice,  and  lemon  juice,  let  rest  at  least  20  minutes  so  ingredients  can  blend. Stir  occasionally. Grill  the  avocados  skin  side  down,  2  to  3  minutes,  until  the  skin  begins  to  lightly  char  and  take  on  grill  marks. Brush  the  flesh  side  of  the  avocados  again  with  the  honey-oil  mixture  and  place  the  halves  flesh  side  down  on  hot  grill,  for  another  2-3  minutes. With  a  spatula  carefully  remove  the  avocados  from  the  grill  and  place  on  a  bed  of  lettuce  on  a  warm  serving  plate,  two  halves  per  person. Fill  seed  cavity  with  the  mango-strawberry  salsa,  generously  dribbling  some honey on  the  top  of  each  half. Serve  with  a  spoon  to  scoop  out  the  avocado  flesh  and  salsa. Serves  4

Im in Want

I’m in Want

I’m in want with the DS Lite. Those bright screens, and the excellent redesign in every single aspect of the system is excellent. I absolutely love it, and the price point is perfect, it’s right where the DS was before they started shelving them. It reminds me of the major improvement between the GBA and the GBA SP. I absolutely loved the SP, though if I had tried to play a GBA before the SP came out I would have been totally turned off because of the experience ruining flaws with the hardware, such as the dim screen.

Hardware wise, let this be a lesson, a remembered note, visibility is KING. I want to play my games in broad daylight while waiting in lines or riding places when friend is driving and listening to music. The brighter screens are what really sell this little piece of ass, even though a lot of people probably care more about the redesign of the rest of the body on the DS. Frankly, I liked the look of the original DS, I mean, seriously, who defines what’s sexy in hardware? I mean, case mods are cool and all, but who is retarded enough to spend 300 on gaming hardware because it looks pretty?

Silliness aside, I had a hunch this system would do great things when I first heard it was going to have a touch screen. My mind instantly exploded with possibilities, and I don’t mean absurdities. I mean basic possibilities with massive potential that have finally begun to be exploited about 6 to 10 months ago. It’s getting better though, there is a full-fledged war-game with hexagon tiles and complexity. What does the DS still need, though? There is room to improve.

Multiplayer. Metroid Prime: Hunters has such a deep robust multiplayer environment that it competes with PC FPS games, coming up short to only the very best. Problem? I can’t take advantage of it with anything but bots. The online matchmaking only lets you do that if you have DS friend. So, add random people, you say. Well, how many random people play more than casually? What are the odds that because of the poor showing in friends rooms that random people will be looking for random people instead of friends, since you can only do one or the other?

It’s better than Mario Kart, but not by much. Both fun, no doubt, but they feel so limited to what their online experiences could be, and this is FAR outside of what experiences you can make and still preserve people’s safety online. Take a look at the best PC games and their multiplayer, the definitive online experience, and the largest user base for ideas to making matchmaking easier. Sure, keep the random game finding feature, but open up the ability for players to go looking for each other, to join game rooms and servers where they can see other players waiting for them, regardless of the skill level. Add the ability to add friends in session instead of just during the few menu moments. Give all players the option to define games and limits, and game types, and not just “Friends” who may or may not ever actually be online.

They will learn, it’s coming. If it doesn’t come from first party games, third party will follow. But it will come, the system has already bloomed.

Sleep is Precious

Sleep is Precious

So it’s sort of a lazy day. I’m actually surprised I feel as good as I do considering last night was the worst sleep I’ve ever had. I mean, the evening started well, George had his birthday, which was very good. He treated us to Outback Steakhouse. I had some wicked good food. Got George a bottle of Goldschlager, a superior beverage if ever there was one to be had; I also picked up a bottle of Drambui for myself. Anyway, I got some really good food, but the real shine was the salad. Outback’s chopped bleu cheese salad is WICKED good, with roasted pecans and some other things in it, it’s sweet, tangy and delicious all at once.

So, about halfway through dinner, I started feeling a headache come on so I went home instead of going to George’s for cookies. On the drive my stomach started hurting and I got quite queasy. I started feeling a little better when I got home, but by the time I went to bed, the headache blossomed into a throbbing mess. It HURT. I got almost no sleep at all the whole night. I was up by 5 am playing Oblivion with the pain throbbing. I eventually took some aspirin and by the time I went to work I was feeling much better.

I don’t know what to do for dinner though. I’m all better now, and when I get home I’m going to watch more 4400. After that, sweet dreams to me. Anywho, I’m out of here for now.