(eh)

as if funerals weren't weird and awkward enough: yesterday, chris's older brother tom and his wife, beka attempted to 'fix me up' with his cousin. i was introduced to her mom, who said, 'oh so this is the one we've been hearing about!' i had no idea what she meant, so i just smiled and said some snappy line, i don't remember what it was.

so there i am, surrounded by chris, his aunt, my parents, and tom & beka (who, for some reason, think i'm the coolest, funniest kid on the earth...) and all of them are talking about how great i am, while i stand there awkwardly smiling and doing that thing where i wrap my arms around myself, because i don't know what to do with them.

it kind of makes me feel weird when people talk about how they think i'm awesome, for two reasons:

1.) i really don't think i'm all that cool, so it seems like they'e lying.

2.) that's a lot of hype to live up to, and i don't do well under pressure.

anyways, i was eventually informed of what they were all talking about, and had time to turn it around on chris, about how he's a dating monster and all that.

either my alarm clock is broken, or i've slept through it for two days in a row. either way, i'm late to class.

for christmas, i want a beard.

Rest in Peace, Mr.Meyer.

last week, chris's stepdad, Mr.Meyer, passed away due to a slew of medical problems. he was a strange-but-neat guy. i will be attending his viewing today.

in other news, i've been mentally debating whether or not to register for another round of CCAC. i'm not sure if i'm (financially) ready to go to a 'real' school. speaking of finances, my final semester payment (about $380) is due december 7th, then my car insurance (another $340) is due december 12th. even if i miraculously accumulate that much money by the deadline, that will leave me with about $2.50 to buy Christmas presents. which means i will probably be hand-making my presents this year.

the weather is making me crazy. one week, it's a frozen tundra. the next, it feels like springtime. sheesh

last night, me, keith, jeremy, and chad winn threw a 13 inch television off a high bridge. we had to (accidentally) break a wooden fence to get there. for those who have never launched a tv off a bridge, they explode. loudly. all in all, a contenting(?) night.

'mathematical equations', or 'why i fail math class.'

math equations:

break = over.

i = totally exhausted.

russians + (me x mike x keith) + (following them around the mall) = sneaky.

weeks until next break = 2(i think?)

i + need to register for next semester = lazy.

($)broke = me.

this = stupid.

(sorry.)


i made two separate Christmas lists: one for my parents, and one for my older sister. on the parent version, i listed easy-to-find dvd's, a few books, and miscellaneous odd things i want. on the older sister version, i listed obscure cd's and movies that i'm sure she will have the hardest time finding. the thought of that brings a smile to my face. oh the tricks we play on each other.

i have a hankering to watch Muppet Christmas movies, but i think i'll wait at least until december.

Anti-aging?

1.) today i recieved an email from a ms. Cheyanne Carbone, to inform me of the miracle anti-aging cream. to me, anti-aging sounds like more of an Egyptian curse rather than a cosmetic product. although Cheyanne Carbone sounds more like a Native American/Italian Mobster. i hope she stops emailing me.

2.) this past weekend was mainly spent with lenny and sara. sara and i constructed a board game, titled Magic Resume, while sitting at Eat 'n' Park. it works surprisingly well, and is actually pretty fun. surprising, because it's drawn on the back of a placemat, and you have to spin a penny on a grid of numbers to find out how many spaces you move. very satisfying though...at least to us.

3.) last night, i wrote a book entitled, 'Lenny: A Gallery of Murder', which is actually less like a book and more like ten pictures of lenny brutally killing people. it seemed fitting.

4.) beginning wednesday, i have a much-needed thanksgiving break. not that i'm over-working myself or anything, what with my total of two classes. i guess i just really like breaks.

final thoughts: some days, CCAC seems more like a circus than a school. the people that i spot here are GREAT.

i'm trapped in this lab.

i realized this morning, as i woke up, that i am expected to be at work today at 1:00, thanks to a clever maneuver by yours truly. they asked if i could work all day today, to which i answered 'i have school.', hoping to get out of it. when asked what time i was done, i was about to give the truthful answer, 'like 10:00.' then, i immediately, almost instinctively, spat out 'eh...1 or 1:30.' so, today i have to waste time in this computer lab until 1. then work until 8.

on a not-so-clever note, i totally forgot to call off the bulk of next week, which is vacation. if i end up working for my vacation, i will be pretty mad. maybe even moderately.

yesterday was an excursion to the mountains, a quiet place filled with dead trees and snow(!).
it is very scenic up there, and spacy and nice. considering last time i was there, a chaotic, raging pillar of fire was made, i had yet to experience the peaceful side of the mountain. also, we visited an actual bog there. it was partially frozen, and resembled a painting.

nature...

last night beth, keith, jeremy, and i finished season two (disk two) of pete and pete. there were some heartfelt moments, and artie's departure struck a particular chord within me. hanging with beth is good times, and i'm glad it's happening more often. keith is going to visit his sister in Erie this weekend, and to go on a few solo adventures (i can only imagine what lies in store for him.) doing things are usually tougher with his absense.

thank god: chris (abruptly) cancelled his date with the mysterious myspace girl, after finding out that she was a proud parent. whew, close call.

the moral: don't set up dates on myspace, kids.

snow?

it snowed today, and i got some free shirts. today's looking good.

also: matt and the 'vfcc crew' come home next week, which is also thanksgiving break. although i do nothing special on thanksgiving. in fact, i think the last two thanksgivings were spent at my pal chris arnold's house, with his family. one year, his mom and stepdad asked me to say grace over the meal. i reluctantly agreed, and whipped out your standard meal prayer: 'bless these people, bless the meal, etc...'

afterward, various members of his family came up to me and told me it was one of the most beautiful prayers they ever heard.

if only life was more like 'Gilmore Girls.'

i'll be the first to admit, life is life, and television programs are not it. maybe a small part of it, but not it. as unrealistic (cheesy?) as it sounds, after watching last night's new episode of Gilmore Girls, i am compelled to do something with my life. in it, Rory decides to go back to Yale, and also lands a dream job writing for a newspaper, just by bothering the head editor into giving her time to convince him.

meanwhile, i've been apprehensive on going to any school besides CCAC, and i've done nothing career-wise, besides mailing some crappy drawings to a crappier Christian comics company like two years ago. i was, obviously, not hired.

i'm thinking i need to do something here.

in other news, i figured out a nice way to add color to some old artwork i scanned a while ago on my computer. i'm working on coloring a little story i made, and it keeps me busy. also, a group of people are slowly gathering, to try and start up a new band. this would be pretty neat: 1.) because i miss it. 2.) because with the people who are interested, i think it will be some bizarre music, and i like that.

somthing i'm not looking foward to: my old pal chris is going on a blind date (!) with a girl he met on myspace (!!), and he doesn't want it to be awkward, so he asked if i would tag along to make it more of a 'group thing'. cue that bad feeling in the pit of my stomache. however, it's chris, so i told him i would 'take one for the team'. although when it comes to blind dating, there is no team (except on those terrible dating reality shows.) apparently, the plan is to go to Station Square to eat (i'm not a rich man, so i'll probably only get a coke.) and then go back to her apartment to watch movies. this has the potential to be very bad, and i'm starting to regret 'taking one for the team'.

c'est la vie

i like that phrase.

"i've made a huge mistake."

i do dumb things sometimes. fortunately, i think i have enough time to go back and fix it without anybody noticing.

last week got me...frustrated. and when i'm frustrated, i get very cynical and over-critical of people in general. i don't even know why i act like that. it's not like being a huge jerk helps in any way.

anyways, i reckon that i just over-think things, and it all starts to kind of build up, and before you know it, i think nothing is worth anything, and everything is stupid. so, i clear my head and just have to sort of stop thinking so negatively.

last weekend, me, lenny, sara, and keith saw The Weatherman. it was kind of funny at first, then funny/depressing, then just depressing. but the more i thought about it, the more i liked it. it's kind of like real life, it changes. i dunno. unfortunately, the only place that was showing it at 11:00pm was at the Waterfront, and it was like $9. that's kind of a lot of money, at least for me.

keith is planning on writing a book, about all of his crazy experiences. he has many of them. i offered to illustrate it, and i think it will be fun, if it actually happens. i have a feeling that a book like that has some potential. keith is a great writer, too.

i'm kind of indifferent today, just kind of floating through it. maybe because i'm tired.

"i'm a little bit lonely these days."

look out belowwwww! (splat)

heh.

today i woke up to a screaming, high-end guitar solo by Metallica, i think. my radio was somehow cranked up way too high, and was set on 105.9, otherwise known as the X. i think i may have accidentally hit the volume knob whilst setting down my book on the alarm clock/radio.

yesterday, i was digging around under my desk, and found a bundle of drawings i did when i wanted to be a comic book artist. this was during my senior year of high school and first semester at CCAC. they were pretty terrible drawings, and looking back, i now know why i didn't get hired right out of high school. the more i think about it, being a comic book artist would be a pretty decent job. i may give it another go. i have no idea of where to start, though. i should research publishers.

my older sister is going on a cruise to the bahama's, beginning this weekend. she called me on monday to inform me that the very same cruiseline was recently attacked by pirates, near Africa. they shot grenades at it, but the cruiser got away. if i was the captain of the cruiser, i would have simply run them over. but instead they just ran. this is pretty ridiculous, as i didn't really think pirates were even around these days. but i hope they leave my sister's boat alone.

last night, we drank an entire bottle of sparkling cold duck, a non-alcoholic wine. then we drove around, pretending to vomit it up while hanging out the window. good times...

also: i'm an idiot.

let's hear it for the pope

this is creepy.

today i'm hungry. i didn't eat this morning, because my resources are always depleted by my sister. let me explain:

i'm in the habit of waking up for class, with just enough time to wash and dress myself, and eat a bowl of cereal. fast, nutritious (somewhat) and usually tasty. my younger sister, who usually wakes up roughly 6 hours before school, and has plenty of time to actually make a breakfast meal, insists on eating the cereal. then has another bowl when she gets home from school. then another one before bed. before you know it, all we have in the cereal supply are really old cherios that nobody threw away, and shredded wheat that belongs to my father, what with his diet and all. plus shredded wheat sucks. it's so dry and tasteless and i always choke on it.

anyways, the thing that really gets to me is this: instead of throwing away the empty box, abby will put it back with the full boxes of sucky cereal. so i get my hopes up before picking up the box, and rattling the crumbs around.

all that to explain why i am hungry right now.

sheesh

i work for the next three days, which has me somewhat down in the dumps.

cranberries

i drove a new car to school today. not the usual Mitsubishi Galant, that i've become so comfortable with. not the burgundy machine, with beaded seat and streamers on the antenna. not a vehicle that stalls out when you try to start it.

it is a Chevrolet Aveo.

last night, i drove it around, getting a feel for it. we also discussed names for it. my mother insists that it will be called 'Zippy'. i immediately protested, opting for 'Silver Bullet', but in my head, i believe that it's name shall be Zippy. in fact, i've already referred to it as Zippy three times.

Zippy has a cd player, where the Galant only had a broken tape player.

no word yet on if the multi-colored streamers will be tied to the antenna, or retired with the Galant. or if i will keep them, and sew them into my jacket as a memoir for the not-so-trusty-but-still-lovable-Galant.

R.I.P. the Watt's 1991 Mitsubishi Galant.