Good

I know, I know, I'm a little late. I didn't feel like Laboring on Labor Day, so here's my weekend in review. Friday night I worked a show at Old Town. I hadn't been there in over a month, so it was nice to be back. I ended up with a lame job, I had to sit in the basement and guard the changing rooms. I alternated with another person, we sat down there in one hour shifts. The other volunteers were getting on my nerves that night though. I didn't recognize a lot of them. I just about had it with my job-mate who was treating me like I was new. I just drank my beers and did some crocheting. I got to catch up with my friend T. It was fun. Saturday I headed South Side with J&T. It was T's birthday. I didn't know anyone at the party, and it was fackin' hot, but I had a great time. The people were entertaining. Too many kids though. Bleh. Afterwards we went to T's parents' house. The stories T and her friend and sister were telling had me cracking up. I was pretty tired though, from the drinking and the heat. I love hanging out with J & T though, they are so awesome. Sunday I got together with Shannon and A. We met up at a Cuban restaurant. It was really good. We then hit a few bars. We went the dive bar route. We had a great time. A is one of those people that I need to hang out with more. I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing her in about 3 weeks, and that will be good. Anyway, we crossed paths with some interesting guys that night. First there was the self-proclaimed "beer snob" dude with the ugly shirt who was trying to keep up conversation with A. Um, yeah, not so much. She said her favorite beer is Boddington's, a solid choice. He dared to infer it was a sub-par beer. Yeah, between myself, Shannon and A, I think we knew a lot more about beer than he ever will. I'm sure he was looking to hit on A, but she was having none of it! We also met some lame band. I'm pretty sure no one had shown up for their show. The one dude wore eyeliner, had horribly dyed 1990's spiky (yet thinning) blonde hair. I think the band name was Saints of Mayhem or something equally horrible. We ended that conversation as quickly as we could. Monday I had a date. It was great. Really great. I don't need to say anymore about this at this time. Let's just say I've had a nice smile on my face since.

Awesome! THank you Wordle!!

> This is fantastic! http://wordle.net/

The Answers

Happy Friday! Here are the answers for the songs that were not guessed: #3 "We hate it when our friends become successful" Morrissey #11 "Looking at the world from the bottom of a well" Mike Doughty #15 "I wanna sex you up" Color Me Badddddd #17 "I'll take you there" crap, I don't remember the artist(s) I'm tired, it's been a long week #20 "Playing with the boys" - Kenny Loggins How's that for cheese? Thanks for playing! The winners are AG and Brando. AG wants pancakes or something from BP Rotten, so I'm out of that. Brando - you will your very own copy of the Best of Cheese! Congrats! Have a great long weekend. I'm off to buy "The Audacity of Hope".

One political post

I keep seeing the footage of the Jackson Jr/Daley/Madigan/Blago hug-it-out. I think it's awesome. I'm most impressed by JJjr. Usually I am not really a fan of his, but in this moment, right now, I'm impressed. Whether what he said was contrived, or even not his own words, the reaction that they got was really something. I also don't think he's the worlds greatest actor - those tears were real. Shit, I would cry if Mayor Daley hugged me, that guy's a big deal. I think Mayor D deserves kudos for getting up and starting the hug-off. He didn't have to do that, hell, he's Mayor D, but he did. In my eyes, that makes him a better person. Madigan and Blago? Meh. Maybe because I really really can't stand Blago, maybe because everything he does is fake and bull shitty. Ok, I'm getting hives. No more writing about politics. Oh, and for my Chicago readers - You want high drama? Get yourself a copy of today's SunTimes and read all of the Mariotti stuff. It's good reading. Even the editor-in-chief chimed in - hilarious. You know it's going to be good when the paper put a picture of a reader on the cover simply because he started reading the Sun Times again now that Mariotti is gone.

Scattered thoughts

I'm having one of those busy weeks. Those Really busy weeks. I have to run registration for the German school tonight. Tomorrow night I have an Oktoberfest planning meeting (but I'm glad I was invited to the meeting!). Friday night I am volunteering at Old Town. Saturday going out. Sunday going out. I don't plan on these kinds of weeks, I don't even like them very much. It's just funny how I keep saying yes to things, and my calendar fills up. I need to find a happy medium - somewhere between bored and hyper-busy. I had lunch with Shannon yesterday. She's the best. I needed to share a laugh, and I needed some serious encouragement. We had a good couple of laughs, and she's given me the kick in the pants I need on the topic I am having some trouble with. She's pretty good at talking sense into me. I am a little pissed at Obama. See, I say do your thing, campaign, have your convention, become our candidate, whatever. Did he really need to not only say he was a White Sux fan, but also slam on Cubs fans?!? Thank God he didn't slam the Cubs themselves, or I might have spent about 3 seconds considering becoming a republican *shudder*. But seriously - stick to the important stuff, please Obama. *Previous statement being the extent of my writing about politics. I just choose not to do it here. Speaking of that little convention in Denver. I spit out my cereal yesterday morning when I saw that the three loser dudes who were arrested on drug charges and possibly making threats against Obama were staying at the Very Hotel that I stayed at in Denver. Do you see how craptacular that place was? Too funny. While watching the Cubs game last night I had a random thought. It was exactly this 'I really wish I was friends with Lou Pinella. He looks like fun, and so bad-ass.' I also changed out the songs on my iPod. Fackin' stupid shuffle. I change the songs out once a week. I will will will be getting a real, better, iPod by the end of the year. Super awesome cousin Jyl was at the same lame event I was Sunday night, making me feel so much better about being there. I was at the Backstreet Boys concert. It was more of a have to than a want to. BUT I had a great time. I did some go-go dancing, had some wine and cheese. It was a beautiful night, and I spent time with people I don't see very often. I will, however, give up a few cool points for going. The crowd was exactly what I knew it would be - young girls, 20-30 year old fat chicks, and gay men. The people watching was fantastic.

Crap

I was cold this morning. Wearing a sweater. THEN I saw a couple of leaves fall off the tree outside my window. How dare they!?!? It's almost fall. Crap.

3 6 5

That's how many days I've been a non-smoker. 1 year. I don't need kudos, I don't need pats on the back. I'm proud of myself. Never in my life did I think I would quit smoking. I had never before tried to quit. I quit because it was time. I had been smoking 1/2 my life, and I knew that I needed to be done. I quit in Las Vegas. I believe that if I can quit smoking in Las Vegas, I can stay quit. My cough is completely gone. I sleep so much better. I can exercise better, longer. I feel so much better. I also feel if I can quit smoking, I can do a lot to make myself better. Go Me.