Andrewhy
Feb. 17th, 2004
03:52 pm - Signing off...
So I've been doing this LiveJournal thing for over 2 years now. For the most part, it's been once a month updates, and I've never had more than a dozen people on my friends list. I never really got into sorting through a million journals, trying to find interesting people (plus the fact that you have to pay for the better features, such as directory search). And also, my life simply isn't interesting enough to maintain a journal.
So, I recently got into blogging. Recognizing that there are more possibilities with a weblog as opposed to a journal, I've decided to focus my efforts on updating my weblog. So, for the most part, I probably won't update this anymore.
For those (few) of you on my friends list who still update your journals, I'll continue to read them. You can read my weblog at http://inmyroom.omnihosts.net/blog.
If you want to add my blog feed to your friends list, click here:
andrews_feed (You may need a paid account to do this. Thanks to
budgie_ for setting this up.)
The blog is updated a lot more often than my journal is, and probably a bit more interesting too (or so I'd like to think).
Jan. 23rd, 2004
11:40 pm - Super addictive flash game
A meme in progress:
Use your club-yielding yeti to hit the penguin as far as you can. My best score is 320.02. See if you can beat that.
Penguin Game
The strange phrase on the rock, "1978 Reinhold + Yeti" apparently refers to the famous climber Reinhold Messner, who claims to have seen a yeti (abominable snowman). In 1978, he climbed Mt. Everest without an oxygen tank, which leads some people to think that perhaps he's suffered some brain damage.
As a testament to how fast these things spread, I found that some European blogs started posting links to this game (many on various Russian websites) on Monday. By Wednesday, bloggers here in the US began linking to it.
There's also a "longshot" version which allows you to hit the penguin twice as far.
http://tuxinator.sytes.net/pinguin.swf
PS: If any of these links are down, search around. There's copies posted of this all over the place.
Jan. 15th, 2004
01:05 am - What I did on my Christmas vacation...
School started this week, and I'm actually kinda glad. Vacation was long and boring. I did next to nothing for a month. Didn't go home to visit family (because they're 12 hours away and I don't have a car), and didn't have to work. Spent much of my time smoking weed, playing computer games, and watching movies and TV. The highlight of my vacation was going to tour the Jack Daniel's distillery with my friend Paula. We bought an overpriced commemorative bottle and spent the evening sampling what we just learned.
So, this semester I've got another Developmental Algebra class, Astronomy, Media Writing (my first journalism course) and Survey of the Recording Industry (my first recording class). I just finished a 350 word paper for media writing. It's supposed to be about my life, but 350 words is kinda limiting. I had to throw out my first draft because it was getting too wordy.
I didn't get a radio show this semester. The station's music director told me he tried to get me one, but all the spots I'd shown available for were taken. No matter, I'll just get one over the summer.
I think I'm getting sick. Why couldn't I have gotten sick over vacation? I felt like crap all day at work. Just have to take some vitamins, and maybe get some echinacea or something.
Dec. 16th, 2003
12:28 am - Toons and other sentimental shwag
I'm not normally the type to get all choked up at the end of an animated film (no, I didn't cry when Bambi got shot), but I have to say that I got a little choked up at the end of Spirited Away. And it's not even a sad film, really. Incredible is more like it.
Another animated piece that got me a little teary-eyed once was the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. I'm really digging on the "Skating" song that was on the soundtrack. In a weird, but not neccesarily unexpected fit of deja vu, I was thinking of the song when it started playing in the department store I was shopping at today (No, I wasn't shopping for Christmas presents just yet. I was buying a shower curtain).
Spent the weekend with a new friend. We spent Saturday night and all day Sunday getting high and watching movies. We were gonna take a little road trip and maybe see the Jack Daniels distillery, but the non-motivational effects of marijuana killed that plan. I saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for the first time this weekend. No, I didn't see it as a kid. And yes, it was scrumdillyicious. I'm tempted now to write a thesis examining the issues of class, morality, and the influence of late-sixties counterculture on the film.
Nov. 29th, 2003
12:08 am
Didn't do much for Thanksgiving. Family is too far away to see, and I don't know many people down here. I still ate though. Grabbed some free dinner at Scarlet Commons on campus and my friend Leah brought me a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers. Plus, I ordered a pizza earlier. I'm so stuffed.
I've got a whole weekend with nothing to do. Did all of my laundry and cleaned the kitchen today; will probably clean the bathrooms over the weekend. I'll take the opportunity to do all of the little things I've neglected to do, such as class reading.
I got my cast off this week. There's a few little scars, but they'll probably heal up fine. It's still a little stiff, but my wrist is starting to feel better.
I had such a weird dream this morning. It had something to do with the injury I had recently. But anyway, near the end of the dream, I was looking at my hand. It had healed, but my hand has kind of grown sideways into my arm...
Ever notice how you can't tell whether a dream is real or not? I wasn't really sure. Then, I remembered something I saw in the movie Waking Life (If you haven't seen it, it's an animated film consisting of 90 minutes worth of philosophical conversations, mostly concerning dreams). A character in the film said that if you aren't sure you're in a dream, flip the light switch. Lights won't work as expected if you're dreaming. So, I looked toward the wall, and sure enough, there was a light switch. I flipped it, and the lights were still on. After that, I woke up. Neat, huh?
TCM is showing Akira Kurusawa's samurai flicks tonight. I've also decided to devote part of my vacation to finally beating the Legend of Zelda. I had a copy years ago, but the battery died before I could defeat Gannon. Thanks to the magic of emulation, I can play all those old Nintendo games again.
Oct. 28th, 2003
11:53 pm
Has anyone ever watched this show FLCL? It's on Cartoon Network after Futurama, and it's this really spastic, fucked up anime. It's fascinating to watch, but I have NO clue what is going on.
I don't think I mentioned that I broke my hand last week. It's that bone right above my pinky, in my hand. I'm not going to go into detail about how I broke it though. It was a compound fracture, and I had to go into surgery to get it cleaned out and get some pins put in. I go back on Thursday to get that all removed and get a cast put on.
There's a halloween party this weekend, but i have no idea what to wear. I was thinking of using some cardboard and going as a kissing booth. Either that, or Lucy's "Psychiatric Help" booth from the Peanuts comics. Actually, it would be more appropriate if I was on the other side of that booth :-P If I do that, i'll make it reversible, so I can switch to kissing booth as everybody gets drunk.
Or... maybe something that incorporates my cast and these huge geeky spare glasses I'm wearing. I remember going to a halloween party about 5 years ago. I went to Walmart for a last minute costume idea. I walked out with a foam hat, fake facial hair, and went as an Amish guy. It was the best costume at the party.
I've got a huge stack of Cd's here, but nothing really interesting to review. My Belle and Sebastian and Shins CD reviews went in last week's paper. (Speaking of B&S, I saw their video tonight on that damn infernal College Television Network that plays non-stop in the KUC cafe). I'm hoping to make this a regular thing, and hopefully not inconvenience our poor music director in the process.
I missed the Lightning Bolt concert this weekend. Damn this not having a car.
Oct. 26th, 2003
06:42 pm - Kewl site of the Day
grouphug.us
Random confessions from random people. Warped, sick, funny and addictive as hell.
Oct. 10th, 2003
08:38 pm - LoNg RamBlinG IncoHERenT EntrY
I feel invisible today. Insignificant. If I disappeared, would anyone care?
Gah, I'm probably just tired. I'm on one of my "off" weekdays, when I have an 8am class and get almost no sleep. For some odd reason, there was no biology class the last two sessions. I missed class before that, and I've gone to school the last two days at 8am, and find the room empty. Weird. Did she go on vacation and I just missed the announcement? No more 8am classes. I won't go to class before 11am next semester.
Got the new Belle and Sebastian album and a new Yo La Tengo EP. Actually, I didn't buy them, but got them from the radio station. I'm reviewing them for cataloging purposes. And also, I get to review a couple CD's for Flash, the entertainment section of our student paper. Great deal. I get first pick at any new releases that arrive in the office, which I can then copy for my own use before the go back to the station.
The new B&S is quite good. It sounds a lot different than their older stuff, but mostly because of the spiffy plastic production. They take some interesting new directions with their work, and there's hardly a single bad song on the record (unlike their last album). Those who wish B&S still sounded like "If You're Feeling Sinister" may not like it, but hey, that's progress. The Yo La Tengo EP is only six songs, but it's amazing. They do a cover of Bert Jansch's "Needle of Death". Jansch, as it turns out, is an English folk artist who is cited by Dylan and Jimmy Page as influences, and his folk guitar style predates Nick Drake by several years.
Up until recently, I've forgotten how great a good new record can be. It's almost transcendent to discover a new album, which you spend the following days getting to know like a new significant other, the memories of your beloved in your mind at every spare moment. Truly, music is one of the only true sources of joy and solace in my life.
I've got a gigantic bag of cookies. I mean several pounds. Tonight, we had to close the KUC grill early and go work the pep rally. Apparently, they started charging for admission and food this year, so few people show up. We've got all this food, and much of it goes to waste. The leftovers include a shitload of cookies, which we just helped ourselves to giant bagfuls of.
I'm gonna need a lot of milk. I think there's a cow or two on campus.
Oct. 8th, 2003
01:23 am
Gosh, I haven't updated this in some time. So what's new? I dunno. Money's still tight, although I'm getting enough hours at work now. I had to borrow money from Mom to pay the rent this month. Seems like her and her new boyfriend broke up. They met in the spring and she moved in with him in August. She was always telling people how wonderful he was, and she really thought it would work out. But he's still hung up on his ex, and he told my mom that it wouldn't be fair to her since he still loves his ex. Nice guy though. He helped pay for my mom's new place when she moved out.
Went to an intern class for the student radio station tonight. There's another class tomorrow, and then we spend a month interning on someone's show. Sounds like a lot of fun. I've been working for the student paper too, Sidelines. So far I've mostly been doing news stories. I'm not much of a reporter though. The last story I did had to be re-written because the editor wanted a different focus and needed more quotes. And on top of it, it went in kind of late. I'm trying to do some CD reviews; I've been working on establishing a partnership between the station and the paper, since the station receives a lot more CD's than the paper does.
Actually, I've been keeping quite busy. It just sounds boring when I write about it.
Lightning Bolt is playing at Guido's Pizzeria (?) in Nashville on the 25th. Problem is, I don't have a car. If anyone in the 'boro who reads this is going to see Lightning Bolt, take me with you!
Sep. 15th, 2003
10:57 pm
It's not even 11 yet and I've already tried going to bed. I'm not too good at this 8am class shit. I've slept little today, as usual, and am finding it difficult to go to bed, despite my tiredness. It's probably because I'm worried about all these little things. Things that keep you awake at night. Such as: am I going to be able to pay my rent and such at the end of this month? Am I going to be able to find another job, considering my lack of an automobile in what is decidedly an automobile town? Isn't it weird that my few friends are hundreds of miles away and I'm in a different place where I know few people. Well, that doesn't bother me as much. It's all so familiar, I've done it all before.
I guess what I want more than anything is predictability. Stability. Knowing that I'm not going to have to worry about a roof over my head or money in my pocket. It'll all work out somehow, it always does. But dammit, I'm fucking tired of having to worry about it.
I'm too old for this shit.
Sep. 12th, 2003
02:55 pm
Boy, I haven't updated this in a while. I moved into a new place at the beginning of the month. It's two blocks from campus, and I can ride my bike to class in five minutes. My room is really big, and we've got digital cable and high speed internet here. But my 50ft ethernet cable can't reach my roommates router at the other side of the house. He said he was going to buy a 25ft cable and move the router to the dining room, but he hasn't done so yet. I'd do it myself, except I don't have the money. So I'm getting by on my dial-up account right now.
I've been working at the grill at the KUC on campus. It's kinda blah, but I get everything half-price when I eat lunch there, which is a nice benefit. I'm not getting enough hours though, despite my begging, though they said they might schedule me on Saturdays, when no one else really wants to work. I'm really stressed out about money right now. Despite the fact that I found a job after only a week, I'm not working enough, and I don't get paid until next week. Right now I have $20 to last me til next Friday. I'm also working for the school paper, which pays $16 per story. But unless I can land another job pronto, I don't know how I'll pay my bills at the beginning of next month. It seems that life is nothing but the same old anxieties. Nothing really changes.
Aug. 20th, 2003
08:19 pm
I skipped class this morning because my leg was all swollen and stiff. On top of that, I caught some 24-hour flu bug from my roommate that made me sore and tired all over. I'm feeling better now (I'm assuming the two ibuprofen I took earlier is helping with that), my leg is functional enough to ride a bike and my nose apparently isn't broken.
I also found out today that I'm not taking over the lease here. I'm not going to get into it, but I'll have to find another place to live. I can probably stay here another month if I have to, but I want to find some place closer to campus and a little bit cheaper. If anyone who comes across this knows of a room near the MTSU campus that's for rent around $300, let me know.
Aug. 19th, 2003
11:40 pm
Finally made the move to Murfreesboro this past weekend. I spent every last dollar I had moving here. I can't buy my books until I pick up my financial aid check on Friday. I have food though, so I'll survive until then. School is going ok so far. I went to the student newspaper office today to apply for a position. They want me to do technology articles, which is cool by me.
The apartment I found is in one of those big apartment complexes with a pool and shit. All utilities are included, but there's no high speed internet access. It's back to dial-up again. They were supposed to replace the filthy ass carpet, but the workmen haven't made it to our apartment yet. Which sucks, because I can't bother unpacking my stuff until they do.
This town is not very safe for riding a bike around in. I took a spill today when trying to navigate onto a driveway-curb. My right knee is swollen and stiff, and my nose hurts from where it met the pavement. My glasses are also broken; not from the bike accident, but from a week ago, when the frame around the left lens snapped unexpectedly. The frame is made of titanium, which is apparently difficult and expensive to solder. Sigh. This week has been a mix of positive developments and near-disasters.
On top of that I'm currently losing in the online poker game I'm playing. I've been doing well in general. I cashed out $50 that I won in the last two weeks; I've been using that to pay for food now. I had about $13 left in the account, and I'm almost out of that. Losing occasionally is expected, but I haven't won a single damn hand, it seems.
Aug. 12th, 2003
12:55 am - On the road again...
This is my last night at home in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow I'm getting on the bus and heading back to Ohio. I've got a copy of Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" to pass the time on the ten-hour trip.
If you've been reading my journal these past two months, you'll know that my summer has been incredibly boring. For some reason, of all the stuff I wanted to do, nothing has worked out like I hoped. My family is boring and my "friends" suck. I was starting to feel a little guilty about being home so rarely. I used to see my family once a year for about a week around Christmas. Now that I've been here for two months, any guilt I had about my absence is pretty much gone. I'm perfectly fine with coming home for a week around the holidays now.
Everything with the moving situation has worked out. I'm registered for classes, the UHaul is reserved, and I have a place lined up. Fortunately, I also have enough money to afford it all (but just barely). My mom graciously gave me $200 to pay for expenses until my financial aid check comes in.
I don't know what else to say. The summer sucked, but my moving arrangements have worked out fine. I'm actually excited to head back to Columbus and see Callie for a few days. Oddly enough, I kind of miss the place.
Aug. 1st, 2003
04:03 am - Happy Birthday to Me
Ok, somewhat slightly belated considering that it is now the 1st. I just turned 29, and I tell you it's not very exciting. My mom took me out for Chinese tonight. I still have half of my dinner in the fridge. Oh, and there was that case of Guinness Draught in cans she bought me at the beginning of the month. But that's all drunk.
I go back to Ohio in 10 days to see Callie, get my stuff, and move to Tennessee. My financial aid doesn't seem to have gone through the last time I checked, and I still haven't found a (relatively cheap) place to live. I expect to be stressing much in the next few days.
I was supposed to take a trip to Gettysburg about 2-3 weeks ago to see my friend Matt. He emailed me and informed me that he had to run down to N. Carolina to finish the sale on his house. Said it would take about 2 days. Haven't heard from him since. No answer on his phone, nothing. Weird.
I took a trip to Clearfield, PA to see some of my relatives last weekend. It was on short notice, so I didn't get to see too many of them. The nostalgia of going back home was offset by the fact that it was actually kind of depressing. The family in general is doing fine. It's just the fact that, had things been different, I might have reached adulthood there. But then again, how is that really different from where I actually grew up? I liked it here in central PA at first, thirteen years ago, but the novelty wore off not long after high school. Still, I remained here almost three years before running off to join a monastery (literally!)
Ok, so this summer has not gone as well as I'd hoped. But it'll be all over soon. I really don't even feel all that cognisant of all the changes that are going to take place in the next few weeks. I just hope everything works out. Somehow, it always does.
Jul. 12th, 2003
10:58 pm - Another boring Saturday night...
But considering that I'm out in the middle of nowhere, tonight has actually been somewhat interesting. The neighbors have just concluded putting on a pyrotechnics display that can only be described as "thousands of dollars worth of illegal, out-of-state fireworks." The park across the road has been host to a biker rally this weekend. I've been contemplating sneaking in the front gate and hanging in the shadows just to get a look at a real live biker bash. But then again, they could capture me and force me to do their bidding. (Who am I kidding? These are people who drive touring cycles and work constuction and manufacturing jobs during the week.) Or maybe I really just don't care what they're doing over there.
I've spend some of my free time this summer learning how to play Texas Hold'em poker (Ok, so I've been influenced by watching the World Poker Tour on TV. That, and my recent interest in casino card games in general.) I've decided to take a bus down to Gettysburg next week to see my friend Matt. And I've finally got school shit taken care of (financial aid papers mailed back, classes registered for). But because of delays due to my having to obtain another vaccination, I've only been able to register for classes half-time this semester, since everything is full.
Jul. 5th, 2003
06:42 pm
A friend invited me to a 4th of July party yesterday, which consisted primarily of his in-laws. Not knowing anyone there, it was a little bit boring, but not the worst way to spend the 4th, and I got to see a really nice small town fireworks show. My head was pounding at the end of the night due to the combination of reefer and alcohol, though.
As an addendum to my last post, Pennsylvania seems to have greatly liberalized it's fireworks laws. Before, the only things that were legal were sparklers, snakes, firecrackers and other store-bought fireworks. Now they have roadside fireworks stands in every empty parking lot and intersection selling an assortment of Roman candles, bottle rockets and other fun stuff. I asked people about how and when this happened, but no one seems to know. I guess people around here aren't aware of the law, unless it pertains to drunk driving, statutory rape or other commonly arrestable offenses.
I got another measles and tetanus shot on Thursday. I had to get another one because there is no record of the last one I had 11 years ago. I did it through the State Health Office, which didn't cost me a dime.
I'm in the process of looking for roommates in Murfreesboro for the fall. Hopefully I can avoid/postpone paying a deposit. That way, I still have money left over for moving expenses and won't have to worry about finding a job here, which is an increasingly dwindling possibility. Everytime I've told someone that I'm looking for a summer job, they say "Good Luck" in that sort of hopeless, resigned tone.
I'm going to stop here, as to avoid cramming every small detail of my life into one post just because I'm bored.
Jun. 29th, 2003
05:55 pm - Things I hate about Pennsylvania
Or, reasons why I'll never move back here again.
1. Buying beer: No running to the corner store to pick up a six-pack, folks. If you want a six-pack, or a pint/forty, you gotta go to a bar and pay bar prices for carryout. That means shitty selection and high prices.
If you want a better selection at a decent price, then you gotta buy your beer by the case. That means dropping $15-20 or more everytime you want to drink. And the distributors are only open until 9.
2. Vehicle inspections: Every year you gotta pay your local auto repair man $25 to put one of these stickers on your window. If there's something that needs fixed on your car, you'll have to get it fixed before it'll pass inspection. This means a possibly significant car repair bill at least once a year. Tires bald? Gotta get new ones. Taillight cracked? Gotta replace it. And so on.
Things I Like about PA
1. Potato Chips: Pennsylvania is the land of the potato chip, folks. There are few fried potato snacks tastier than Middleswarth BBQ Chips.
But anyway. Things at home are still quite miserable. I'm still looking for a job, and I have 6 weeks to make a couple hundred dollars. I haven't been able to locate the immunization record of my last measles shot, so I have to go to the State Health Office and get another one. (Hopefully they won't give me shit because of an out of state ID). My girlfriend in Ohio, who is in Indiana for the summer, hasn't communicated with me for at least a week.
I mean, it was my idea to come home for the summer. I knew it was gonna be boring. But gosh, I almost can't wait for it to be over now. I was chatting with someone recently who is leaving here to move to Vermont. She said "People here just... live. They work, sleep, watch TV and do it all over again the next day." Maybe I'm just a dreamy-headed idealist, but a lot of people here don't seem to have dreams. It never occured to them to break out of this small-town rut and attempt to do something more exciting with their lives. It's as if the simple act of existence is the be all, end all of life.
In no particular order: get a modest paying factory/laboring job, have kids, get married (optional), buy a house/trailer. Keep enough beer in the fridge or pot in the stash to help you forget about life. The irony is, I've been living my life this way for at least the last five years (minus the modest paying job, kids, wife and house). Having a lot of free time on your hands in the middle of nowhere sure helps you think.
Jun. 19th, 2003
07:49 pm - The view from rural Pennsylvania
I've been here at my Mom's house for a week now. So far it's pretty boring, but I was expecting that. Arrived here on a 12-hour bus ride from Columbus last Wednesday. Much of my Mom's family came out last weekend for a get-together. I don't get to see my family very much, so it was nice, although a few relatives I wanted to see didn't make it.
The house is out in the boonies, about 4 miles from the nearest town. There's a nice view of a distant mountain from the living room window, and nature is right outside the door. That's something one tends to miss when living in the city. My mom works a lot during the week, and I've been stranded here for a few days with nothing but a TV! (I like TV, just not all the time.) The computer mysteriously died about a week ago, and just as mysteriously came back to life when I was fooling around with it today. Hooray.
Today I tried to track down some info on when and where I got my last measles shot. In Tennessee, they require proof of immunization before you attend classes. It was over ten years ago, of course, and my record, if it exists, is buried in the basement of the doctor's office. She suggest I try my high school and added, "I don't know why colleges still require shots. I know I don't have my immunization records anymore." Why indeed.
I know this is a boring post. But right now, my life is very boring. Thus, expect to see more posts than normal.
May. 29th, 2003
11:22 pm - Big update!
Things seem to be changing so fast. In less than two weeks from now, I will be leaving Columbus and heading home to Pennsylvania for the summer. After that, I will be coming back here to get my stuff in August, and moving to Tennessee to attend MTSU. Callie and I drove down there for a visit last week, to take a tour and get some administrative stuff taken care of. It's only the second time I've been down south. Murfreesboro, like much of the south, is a weird mix of old and new. There's a lot of the old south: run down neighborhoods straight out of Gummo, storefronts that haven't been updated since the sixties... But there's also a lot of subdivisions and brand spanking new commercial developments.Many of the buildings at the school are brand new, a $38 million dollar library, an impressive business school, and the 10 year old Mass Communications building where I will be spending a lot of my time. Now that I've been down to visit, I'm really anxious to go.
I'm not the only one planning to leave. My friend Clint is moving to Chicago to attend graduate school. He says that many of his friends are leaving Columbus too. My roomate, who is a filmmaker, is planning to move to LA at the end of the year to try his luck in the film industry. Callie still has another year of law school, but she will probably be going home for the summer. I really feel bad for her. She tried so hard to line up a summer legal job, but after 45 interviews or so, she has yet to land anything, despite the fact that she's in the top 15% or so of her class. Damn economy. I really hope things are better by the time I leave school. Perhaps it would be best to just aim low.
So it's a weird feeling to know that I will be leaving the city I spent five years in, probably for good. It's not that I really like Columbus that much to begin with. I will probably miss some things, like Barley's microbrew, or Studio 35, or the few decent concerts that come to town each year. But I never intended to stay here. Other than the fact that I resided here and knew the city, it never really felt like home. But what is home, other than a location that we always return to because it's where our stuff is? Or it's where our families are? But I might never have gotten to this point in my life if I had never left Pennsylvania. (Fat chance. I always knew I wanted to leave there.)
So here I am, in a state of wistfulness. I will be saying goodbye to the few friends I have made here in the next few weeks. I will be going home to see friends and family members that I haven't seen in months or even years. My mom is having a huge family get-together the weekend I come home. But above all, I finally feel optimistic. Ten years after graduating high school, and five years after moving to Columbus and adjusting to adulthood, I finally feel like I'm heading in the right direction. I don't know what the future holds, but as long as I enjoy what I'm doing, things will be ok.
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