WORST BUY

You know how I touted th' Best Buy order and pick-up service before? Yeah, strongly reconsiderin' my position. Had a mega DVD sale this week, so I ordered Ferris Bueller Bueller...Bueller Edition, Airplane Don't Call Me Shirley Edition, Resident Evil 2, Fantastic Four, South Park Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Men In Black Delux Edition, Casper and Breakfast Club fer ma. Couple're bein' shipped, rest was pick-up.
Well, first off, all my pick-ups didn't come through on th' reciet. Resident Evil was missin'. Called up customer support and they said that shouldn't matter. Ma took me over while she hadda look fer somethin' and I got ta find out they never pulled my order. So, a guy hadda go around to find them and didn't. Somehow girl behind th' counter came up with everythin' besides RE, which means I gotta go back to get it. Ma found flash drives so we can backup our system as our new mother board has arrived. Gonna do that soon, not sure when.

Oh, and I got a SECOND pick-up notice when I came home, WITH RE on it and Ferris Bueller again. Oy.

Oh, yeah, and our new phone? Fucks up our DSL STILL! Except this time it takes for-fucking-ever to reboot. Ma's got a new one comin' so we'll see what that does. They just gotta move that fuckin phone, that's all.

THE REITMAN FOR THE JOB

Headed down to Court Street to see Super Ex-Girlfriend with D an' Nel. Nel decided to drive us 'cause he hadda go to Queens after so we got there fairly early. Took our seats and just waited. Unfortunately, as th' theater is set up similar to th' one me an' th' ex went to that time and I was in th' same seat, I ended up missin' her a lot right then. Blah. Still waitin' on my magic nap.

Movie was okay, nuttin' special. Had it's moments but I didn't enjoy it that much. I do give major props to how much they filmed in NYC. Usually fer some of th' shots they did movies cheap out an' sub LA streets fer NY. Not my boy Ivan Reitman. He does as much as he can in th' city. He also came dangerously close to th' firehouse in a few scenes...surprised he didn't stick it in. Was cool to see th' movie filmed on almost every street I've been on.

After me an' D headed back to eat at Anapoli. Last time I ate there was 6 years ago (when it was called Logues) with Theresa D from my job. Was about th' time of th' sailboats comin' in. Food was pretty decent...and much cheaper than Emphasis! Think I know where I'm comin' from now on. Ain't no Royal, but it'll do. Plus th' ice cream there is still....mmmmmm! We parted ways when I went into Lowens 'cause he hadda use th' bathroom, but when I bought my thing an' started fer 4th to buy some water I saw him up th' block. Tried to call him to rouse him out, but he didn't pick up. Ah well. Got th' water from Bay Mart and headed fer home.

Chat was particularly fun tonight. Had a few rough spots with dumbass visitors, but towards th' end got into a big chat about music an' stuff while I played off my list. Was just damn fun.

GUILD MEETING

Today was my first Comic Artists Guild meetin' (www.comicartguild.com). CAG is a network of writers an' artists who can be brought together to collaborate on things. Connected to 'em is a company called Guild Works Productions which has released 4 issues so far an' workin' on a Halloween special to be released in October. Probably a good way to get connected if ya ever wanted to work in comics.

Meetin' was at th' comic museum on Broadway. Left with plenty of time after finishin' uploadin' songs into my MP3 but th' damn train took forever to come. Decided to try my luck an' snagged th' N th' rest of th' way. Sure, some walkin' would be involved, but at least I'd get there faster. Unfortunately, Broadway on th' weekend can be crowded worse than Canal Street any day of th' week. Took a bit of doin', but finally made it right on time.

Met th' folks there and began our meetin'. Others eventually came in to th' tune of 13 members. We talked about th' past issues, th' future issues, management of CAG an' GWP, an' th' upcomin' issue of Psychosis. These are definitely th' kinda people I need to be around, sick of knowin' people in every industry but mine. Already got a task too, to interview th' cover painter fer an issue. Just gotta figger out how to handle that. Bought 27 comics from their 25 cent/5 fer $1 boxes before we all headed out fer an after meetin' dinner at a diner near NYU (where consequently I was hooked up with MORE interviews to do...yeesh). Had a nice convo with a couple members at our end of th' table (couple went home, was about 10 left over) includin' Peter Palmiotti, brother of inker Jimmy who's famous fer his work with Joe Quesada on Daredevil. Nice guy, showed me his portfolio...does good work. Got to see pages from a lotta comics I got, as well as pages from a Deadpool issue that got nixed when DP became Agent X. Sweet!

Took my leave an' headed home to a dinner of burnt chicken sandwiches. Yummy. Then, it was on to th' chats. One thing I should mention is apparently I'm VERY desireable over th' internet. I've got several girls diggin' me in some form or another. I just can't explain it. I'm th' same on there as I am off there and yet I've never so much as garnered a look from anyone. And apparently I AM cute 'cause I gave up th' ghost and posted pics up on there citin' said comments. So I dunno, I just don't get it. I guess it's kinda cool on one hand that I get to experience what them pretty boy assholes do, but would be nice if that could translate over into reality once in a while, ya know? Guess I'm forever resigned to internet datin'. Probably meet my next GF from there like I did my first.

Although, won't matter worth a lick if I can't get over my ex. Simple fact is at this point anyone I managed to land a date with would be a rebound girl, and I don't wanna be one of them guys. I'm just gonna wait until I can give th' next girl th' attention she'll deserve. Dunno how long that'll take, but I'm workin' on it.

CAN YOU FEEL THE BEAT?

With my web back and my MP3 player in had, I've begun to DL music so I can have it fer tomorrow's train ride. Tried the two sites Rogue recommended to me, one which ended up bein' crap an th' other which gave me a virus (nixed, of course). Tried th' site that came offered with my DSL boxes, whose selection was pure crap. So finally reserved to use D's service Limewire, which's basically like Kazaa (which we used to use before th' DL crackdown). Man, I was in heaven. First song I DLed of course was Freebird. And now I can't stop. As it stands it's about 6AM an' I've got over 200 songs...and I've barely begun! Also started settin' a playlist on my MP3. Got a nice compilation goin', I think. Finish that up tomorrow before I leave.

I'M BACK!

New box arrived today, so I got right to hookin' it up. Of course, Ethernet lights still didn't go on so I hadda call tech support. Again. Fortunately got a more competant guy and we were able ta get me back up onto th' web. Turns out th' storm mighta also fried my Ethernet ports on my comp so I got a temporary set up through th' USB cable. Advised we should replace it fer permanent access. Ends up in order to change that one little part we hadda order a whole new motherboard fer $150. Yeesh. Li'l better'n our neighbors who hadda pay $500 to get their comp runnin' again. Of course, first thing I did was hit th' chats and messengers. FUN!

Whatched Who Wants to be a Superhero. Pretty funny show. I had found out about it back when MTV was gonna do it and was gonna try to enter, but didn't have time to come up with an identity that'd fit me. If I was more in shape coulda used any of th' hundreds of characters I created. But, alas. Too bad too; only putz representin' our area got himself kicked off 'cause he was too stupid to realize what a hero task was s'posed to be. Idiot. Also checked out Amazing Screw-On-Head. Sick and twisted, but pretty funny. May give it a few more views.

Ex came on real late tonight, so I stayed up to talk to her. She had a lot to say (about her job, of course...only times). She's bein' moved to another department 'cause an asshole that was under her got promoted and don't like her, as a result she's gonna be lookin' to transfer to th' store openin' closer to her. She's gettin' more hyped about actually participatin' in th' drag races she goes to see with her new buddies. I stressed she better damn well learn how to race before she even tries. She realizes she should, but th' problem is she doesn't do what she's supposed to as opposed to what she wants ta. Me, I don't wanna be visitin' her in th' hospital or cemetery 'cause she makes a stupid decision. Lost her one way, ain't losin' her another. And if her buddies do anythin' to encourage her before she's ready, I'm gonna make a special trip to kill them. And I don't mean that as a euphamism. I mean I will literally go up there and kill each and every one of the fucks. *Ahem* Yeah, yeah, I know...I'm overprotective. But, hopefully, she's older now and will use some common sense fer a change.

ON THE NEWS

CBS show aired tonight. Interview was horribly whittled down, they didn't use nearly as much of what they shot as NY1 did. Reason bein', they focused on a buncha people like Darlene in various businesses. And th' reporter doin' the story was on hand in one of th' other locations, bypassin' us. Pfft. Stupid big news networks. Of course, I got in a shot again. Was only a few seconds and my back as she was made ta pass me to do copies. Hadda fake that I was workin' since they could see my screen. My job was pretty much done at that point.

Watched the new Stan Lee movie on Sci Fi tonight, Lightspeed. Is there some kinda rule that every TV movie must suck? I mean, really...I can understand the special effects bein' crap but everythin' in th' production? C'mon. Make an effort.

Talked to Marisa on the phone again. She keeps thinkin' she bores me. If that was the case would I keep phonin' and chattin'? Nuh-uh. Annoying people I keep as little contact with as possible.

What I wanna know is what the hell is up with my radios. Stereo at home keeps gettin' static on my station. Spent the last few days friggin' with it to try an' keep it clear. It's fine when I'm near but when I lie down it goes out. Then at work, my walkman lately can't seem to avoid static. It's friggin' annoyin'!

CONNECTION WOES

The Verizon box came! Holy shit! That was friggin' fast! Soon as I got it I tore it open and hooked it up. Lady said it'd be an easy plug and connect job. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrnt! Wrong! Plugged it in and it didn't do shit. So, we called up tech support fer help.

Now, I should mention they got a new phone from Best Buy yesterday. Well, th' phone's volume sucks. Big time. I could barely hear th' dude. Ma hadda extend me th' kitchen connection so I could finish up. Not that that mattered. After an hour on th' phone, the guy decide th' box has a factory defect and we need a new one to replace the new one. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Stupid sons a bitches!

So, let's recap; it's one more week till we get a fridge that works. We got a new phone whose volume sucks and gives me more reason ta use my cell. Got a new DSL box that won't DSL. Got a powerful computer that I can only use as a word processor. Got no contact with nobody and nuttin' better to do than bike an' play video games. Oh, yeah, and I also got my MP3 player which I can't use until the computer is back up. Yay.

Yeah, this year COMPLETELY sucks...and I still got 5 months to go. Blah. I hope this means next year will be an improvement. Ya know, gettin' hit by a bus or somethin'.

PHONING IT IN

Had my first phone call with Marisa today. Was fun. Basically had the kinda convo we have OL 'cept I got ta hear her heavy Queens accent this time. And what is a Queens accent? Kinda hard to explain, but it's kinda like a Brooklyn accent 'cept if ya listen closely there are differences in how they sound. Gonna hafta make our plans ta hook up before I get tied up in school crap.
Went bikin', but it was a bitch 'cause the wind was fightin' me the whole damn way. I decided ta end the ride at where th' bike path re-merges with th' joggin' path after th' bridge. Knees were startin' to hurt and I couldn't get no speed. Ride back was fun, though. Rare I got the wind with me goin' back, so got some nice speed.

Verizon's gonna be sendin' us out a box. Gonna take about 2 days to get here. I know as soon as it arrives I'm hookin' the damn thing up. Aside from th' fact I'm bored at nights now, a lotta the projects I'm workin' on require me to have access to the web. So, till I get that I can't do 'em. Pain in the ass.

APPLIANCE WOES

Had some damn good movers. While I was sleepin', they changed out th' fridges and I didn't hear a damn thing. Nice. I had gotten up early to try and retrieve th' paper myself but D had called me in th' shower and already handled it. Ah well.

Met him at th' theater where we saw Monster House. Cute movie, some funny moments. After we went through th' comic shop briefly to check out posters and trades (intended to go through last night but they were already closed). Next was lunch, which was th' new Subway. Enjoyed our sandwiches before we parted ways so I could finish some work fer when we get th' web back up.

Got home to find out our fridge didn't work. Was busted up in places an' fan was shot. They figger it's a floor model and it's gonna take Sears 2 weeks to replace. So, fer 2 weeks we hafta go between two apartments whenever we want somethin' from th' fridge. Just another red letter day fer my fam, I tell ya. Let's not forget we still hafta get new cordless phones fer two apartments as well as a DSL box.

Sucks not havin' th' web. Feel so powerless an' blind when I can't look up info in an instant. Ma kept askin' questions to which I coulda found th' answers but alas. Not to mention it's borin' without people to talk to. Plus also realized even if I get my MP3 player this week I won't be able to DL any music into it fer Saturday. Crap on a stick.

DISCONNECTED

There's nuttin' like decidin' to take a shower just at th' moment Freebird comes on th' radio! Yeah! My shower totally rocked!

I worked on my story fer a bit then played my game while doin' my laundry as I waited fer a call from D on when we were headin' out. It came, but he called back sayin' he and Nel wanted ta wait fer th' rain to stop. Pansies. After he called th' storm got heavier and there was this MASSIVE strike. Ma thinks a bolt hit th' yard. Who knows. All I know is was a big ol' boom. It knocked out th' neighbor's comp, gma's lights briefly, and all our cordless phones. Yeesh.

Rain eventually lightened up an' D called sayin' they were ready to go. So, I got dressed and headed fer th' train to get my Metrocard to meet 'em at th' bus by my house. I thought I saw 'em there just as th' bus came, so I ran to catch it only to find it was someone else. So, I call D and he's in front of my house because apparently Nel decided to drive us. Yeah, this info coulda been useful BEFORE I wasted $4. Grrrr.

Headed up to Maple Lanes (hadn't been there in years 'cause of Leemark on 88th) where we waited a good 10 mins fer service. Buncha employees standin' around and only one mannin' th' desk. Little fucked up if ya ask me. And th' guy hadda deal with a big group. Blah. Finally came out turn. Had a choice between th' traditional side or th' cosmic side with music and funky lights. We chose th' cosmic side. We got our shoes and a heart attack with how much th' damn thing was. Over $70 fer 3 people an' 3 games! WTF?!

We grabbed some balls (don't be gross) an' got to playin'. I frigged up th' first game an' did much better th' second, but I owned th' third. I also got to remember why I haven't played in so long; keep jammin' up my middle finger in th' damn ball. At least my shoulder survived. Deservin' an honorable mention was this one frame where we ALL got strikes. Best. Frame. Ever. Other'n that, Nel was pretty much on target, D kept gettin' splits and gutter balls, and I could go either way.

After, Nel dropped me an' D off so we could eat at McDonald's and he could go eat with his fam. Wouldn't be comin' with us tomorrow 'cause he's gotta visit a grave. Bummer. We ate an' walked around a bit. Passed by Fortway to see what it's become but they still haven't rented it out it seems. Ah well. We parted ways and I headed home to check our movie times OL.

Slight snag in that plan. Apparently th' effect on th' phones wasn't localized. Our DSL box got fried and we couldn't connect. Hadda call D an' have him get th' paper tomorrow to check whil we were on th' phone with Verizon. Unfortunately, only help they gave was we hafta order a new box Monday. Ma's got her laptop which she needs to get th' web on anyways, so gonna call after dealin' with our new fridge if she's so inclined to see if we can do it without th' box. Might get to use that.

Spent th' rest of th' night on my story an' playin' my game. What a shitty end to a fun day.

MAKING NEWS

CBS came to th' office today to film Darlene once again. Not as long as th' NY1 was and they didn't take as many office shots, so I don't think you'll be seein' me in th' newscast as much. They did do her at th' copier again and her walk by, so might see me in passin'. Or my chair and head, anyways.

I ordered Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Monday 'cause Best Buy had it fer $14. So, said what th' hell. Got it today and after workin' on my story some, I played th' game fer a bit. Not bad. Very much like GTA III with some improvements, although it doesn't thrill me as much as Vice City did. That game, to me, will always be th' best GTA. Especially with th' soundtrack.

The ex came on fer a bit and we had our usual strained convo. Went to bed early 'cause she works early an' goin' to the races tomorrow. Spent some time in th' chat while I finised up th' story. Far from th' usual crew, but ah well. Decided to cut it short tonight, finish th' story tomorrow and play more of my game, so I'm off. Toodles.

CHATTING INSTEAD

Yesterday we got another memo around th' office. Apparently another news crew's comin' around to do another report on Darlene. CBS this time. Heh maybe I'll wind up on TV again (fer more on that, check out th' NY1 entry). 'Course Maureen was havin' everyone clean up their areas so they can show that despite it bein' a functionin' office, it CAN look like a museum. Pffft.

Speakin' of museums, got accepted to the Comic Art Guild and goin' to my first meetin' next Saturday at th' Comic Book Museum. Hopefully, this' a good step towards a career. Marvel kept tellin' me to go smaller, don't get no smaller'n this.

To fix my writer's block I added some new elements to th' story and was all set to write it out, but I got wrapped up in chats again tonight. Grrr. Addictive, and I'm too rusty to balance it all like I used ta. So, tomorrow, gonna try to speed through my work so I can write th' rest of th' parts there and assemble 'em at home so I can get it done. Really fallin' behind in my pace. Maybe Ben's right, maybe I need a break. Unfortunately, no other writer to replace me and don't wanna do that "season" stuff like Marvel's been doin' lately.

Was gonna rain so didn't look like I was goin' bikin'. But, it hadn't by 6 so I went around 7. Tues when I went I saw on th' rocks these two rocks stacked on top of each other like balancin'. Dunno how they got that way or stayed that way, but was kinda cool. Were still like that today. Took a pic with my phone which I'll post when I figger out how to transfer pics. Amazin' stuff.

Also froze my ass off this mornin'. Put my AC on 'cause it seemed to be helpin' my rash, but got cool this mornin'. Soooo, as a result, AC did it's job TOO well and got me cold. At least I still had blankets on my bed, huh?

UPGRADE

Well, I did it. Sale was endin' today so I made the leap: I bought an MP3 player. 512MB with expandable memory, an FM tuner, a flash drive option and a whole buncha other fun stuff. With a rebate, pay only $30. Not bad, not bad at all. Goin' hi-tech now. Risk and D, both in th' chat room on Mypace, were callin' me cheap 'cause I opted outta th' iPod...but explained can't spend whatcha don't got and an MP3 will suffice. I'll use my walkman fer just my bike when I get it.

I have th' worst kind of writer's block. I have the ideas, but i just can't seem to sit down and write. That's the worst. The best is when you have no ideas at all and ya can't write. But to have th' ideas and not get them out....urgh!

Lemme also tell ya how my pops pissed me off. My straggler DVD from Best Buy arrived today, so I watched it. No sooner does he come home he starts bitchin' about puttin' somethin' else. Like WTF?! I'm home, I'm watchin', go kiss my ass. Freakin' HATE these people. Always in my damn way.

I LIVED

Work is INCREDIBLY dull when I have no one to talk to. With Shannon's new job she ain't on as much. In fact, haven't even seen her since last Friday. Ah well. Marisa came on fer a bit, but ended up havin' to disappear. She came back on when I was at home but was on my way out fer a bike ride.

Wasn't as hot as yesterday, but still hella hot. Once again, took me a bit to get out 'cause bike could really use some oil and there wasn't none to be found. Did stuff my bottle with ice cubes from pops' private stash (bought a bag fer his cokes lately fer some reason). Hit th' road fer a nice liesurely ride. Discovered they closed off a whole new section of th' path before th' 79th street bridge, so now you hafta weave around it. Cool obstacle course.

When I got to 92nd, I looked around th' area I fell to see if there were any traces of my blood left. Knew there wouldn't be but figgered what the hell. Rest of th' ride was uneventful. No, didn't wind up in th' hospital this time. Came back home an' did my chattin' and writin' fer th' rest of th' night. Some people I was talkin' to earlier seemed surprised I'd even attempt a ride already. When ya fall off ya just get right back up, right?

I did discover today that my Walkman didn't survive as well as I thought. I strap it to my handlebars when I ride (Panasonic Shockwaves have this straps fer joggers to hold on to) and I found that one of th' hinges of th' tape deck was shattered. Not good. So now gonna look fer a new one and use this one just fer the bike. Question is, do I get another Shockwave or do I upgrade? I'm thinkin' an MP3 player; dunno if I'm quite ready to shell out fer an iPod yet. So, anybody know any good sites fer free downloads?

HEATWAVE

Sure, I say I won't need my AC and it decides to be 100 degrees today. Geeze. Set it up in between chattin' OL which was a big production. Not only do I hafta get it into my apartment on 3 wheels (one broke off second I took it outta the box) but then hafta squeeze my chair through 3 doorways to make room fer it. Took about 20 mins to get done. One other problem is with th' cord runnin' out my window and this window shield they give ya with th' exhaust not coverin' the whole area, have a hole that needs coverin'. Fortunately, found they kept one of th' old Omaha Steak styrofoam coolers.
Brought it up and massacred one side of it to make not only a leg fer th' unit, but a stopper fer that hole. Worked out pretty well. Gonna hafta make sure I hold on to one of those around next summer so I can do this again.

My ex (formerly known as wifey) came on briefly. Told me about how she hung with her friends shootin' pool and seein' Pirates yesterday night and not gettin' home till 2 AM. Was about our whole convo 'fore she decided to go to bed. Interestin', ain't it?

PIRATES

Movie day! On Friday, D was sayin' how he was havin' trouble reachin' Nel, so on a lark I called him now that i have his number and sure enough he answered. D asked him about comin' to the movies today, and he agreed. So, I made a stink about how he better be on time as we meet 15 mins before show time. And after all that, I end up 2 mins late due to th' damn lights on 4th. Ah well. At least Nel showed up. Twice in a row, a record! I'm feelin' lucky, maybe I should ask Tina fer a hangout. ....Naaaaaah.
Movie was great. Lotta hillarious moments like the first, lotta action. I don't care what Superman fans say...this movie IS much better than that piece of trash. After, we went fer some pizza where we talked about people we used to know. Gotta say, was hilarious how we come outta the theater and both of them were on their phones. I felt left out...I had nobody to call. When we finished, we decided on shootin' some hoops. Passed by my place first where I changed into my lighter attire and grabbed my ball.

Shockingly, th' park was crowded but th' courts were TOTALLY empty. Seein' as how both me and D have current knee troubles, we opted out of a game and just went fer free-throwin'. I did pretty good considerin' how long I haven't played. D started off strong but ended weak. Nel pretty much rocked us both. Along th' way some little fat kid invited himself to join us, probably hopin' to get in on a game. We let him take some shots an' basically served a purpose as a gofer when th' ball rolled off. About an hour of that, was feelin' it in my elbow and knees, so we called it quits.

Rested fer a bit then headed fer home. Nel left us after a phone call and me an' D hung out on my porch fer a bit drinkin' water. He soon left and I went in to do some work. We'd be reunited in th' chats again later where it was the usual fare. Overall, very fun day...just too bad it was so damn hot.

Speakin' of hot, nights have been fairly tollerable lately so I haven't bothered ta set up my A/C yet. Pops decides tonight to wanna plug in th' cord he brought up, so I hadda go wire it out my window and past th' fire escape so he could plug it in th' basement. Ah well, guess that saves me a step anyways should I one day need th' A/C. But seein' as how it's mid-July already, don't think I will.

GOOD AS NEW

Knee's feelin' much better, so decided to head up to the store today. Was sposed to rain so figgered I wasn't gonna go, but after a few mins it cleared up again. Hit the drug store first the came back to get ready which, as always, was an adventure. First I couldn't find my shorts which I know I washed with my hat, so eventually hadda settle fer the ones I used fer the gym. Then I hadda find the key which ma put somewhere that day. Then I forgot my water bottle, and when I was on the road realized I forgot to pack the pics of my injuries to show the guys. Always a struggle to leave, I tells ya.

Ride was fine, nice and smooth (just gotta oil my chain...gotta find that damn can) with no pain at all...just when I walk. Sky was cloudin' up as I went so I limited myself to an hour (considerin' I was already an hour later arrivin' than I intended) to avoid the storm. Looks like the store WILL be stickin' around. Not only did they get new signs, but all new shelves in every aisle. And with those new shelves, new locations fer almost everythin'. I know where NUTTIN' is no more, nobody does. And they're not even done yet! Also, they consolodated the first two aisles so now there's only 8. Makes me glad I don't work there no more, lemme tell ya.

Came home to BBQ my burgers. 'Rents were at a party at th' Boat Club, so I got to be alone fer an hour or two. Was nice. Real nice. Went into the chat fer some more but hadda go early since I gotta get up early tomorrow. Ah well.

CHILLEN

Got my stitches out today. Wasn't too bad, but took some doin' since they were dried out an' stuck under leftover blood. We got Burger King fer dinner after and headed home. No sooner do I finish than D calls up askin' fer company while he eats at McDonalds. So I go and have a soda while he chows down. Even saw Yadira as she came in fer food to go.

After went back to his place and chilled a bit more. We worked on his budget and gave him some advice fer pendin' situations. Also, somehow, an innocent conversation turned into accidentally solicitin' free medical advice from him. Did not intend that, I swear. Just so happens medical conditions are the predominant thing with me at th' moment. Ah well, it's all good. And it looks like Nel's gonna join us fer Pirates. Let's see if that happens.

ANOTHER ONE GONE

An' cancer claims another victim. Sometime last year Fred from th' office disappeared, havin' ta go to th' hospital fer a bout with cancer. Finally lost it I heard from Jim yesterday. Shame. Was a good guy.
Got my anti-biotics yesterday on th' way home from work, Keflex or somethin' like that. When I told D Monday what th' doc prescribed, he warned me to hold my nose when I open th' bottle. He wasn't kiddin'! Not only does th' shit smell like rotten eggs (or New Jersey), but when I dump th' capsules into th' apple sauce (can't swallow pills) it ends up smellin' like cat pee. And longtime readers know I have quite an experience with cat pee. Blech. On th' plus side think my knee's infected so we'll see if this' worth all th' grossness I hafta endure to take 'em.

Th' rest of my injuries are healin' quite fast. Big one on my arm, all th' black areas peeled off like dead skin gradually. Now it looks like I just got a mild sunburn. Cuts on my upper arm're already closin' and my shoulder's virtually healed. Cut on my left hand opened briefly but no big, and my left leg's still bruised up. Dunno if I'm healin' fast again or if it was 'cause of this Unguentine stuff ma picked up in place of th' Bacitracin we started with (latter clung to my injuries an' hurt like all blue blazes to take off).

Tuesday pops finally gave in an' put th' A/C into their bedroom window. Of course, he's not as strong as me an' had difficulty maneuverin' it through both apartments. To justify this, he brought up th' extension cord fer my A/C so I could put mine in. All well an' good except fer th' little fact I still can't do much with my right arm to swap out my chair fer my A/C. Plus, I still need a way ta block my damn window as there's a nice 4 inch gap between where th' A/C's exhaust connects to and where I run th' plug outta. If I had a piece of wood I could probably fashion somethin' but, alas, spare wood is in short supply at our place.

Meant to nap today as I haven't gotten decent sleep since Friday what with me havin' to bandage up 'fore bed and get up earlier to shower an' rebandage. Not to mention havin' fun in chats again that I don't really wanna leave. Decided next month to go get updated pics fer my site, an' asked Marisa to join me. She's a fellow comic fan who IMed me one day offa th' board we go to. She lives up in Queens so at least made a friend OL that's local AND close to my age fer a change. So, figger since we both need some friends she could keep me company and we can try th' hangout thing.

INJURIES

This post contains some graphic content. Reader discression advised:

Work was pretty easy today. Fer the first time all weekend ma's bandage work was TOO loose, so they were comin' apart from all my movement. Took them off when I got home to air out my wounds. Went to the doc later to get the puss oozin' from them checked out. Doc said was normal, but there was a chance of infection, so he prescribed an anti-biotic. I can take a shower tomorrow which's hella good, hair was gettin' nasty. Bad time ta be long, lemme tell ya. This mornin' we did it with spray on shampoo which really didn't do much. Oh, and while they are feelin' better, like a dumbass I went ta open my window with my right hand an' ended up irritatin' it to no end. Dumbass! Ah well. Go back ta take out the stitches Friday.

Fer those who wanna see the damage, got pics followin' this line. Sorry fer their quality; if I ain't takin' the picture they suck. And unfortunately, I couldn't take these.

My arm. As ya can see, my shoulder and forearm took the brunt of the fall. Can't really make 'em out, but got a buncha scratches between those two spots.

My left leg. Doesn't look it, but got pretty cut and bruised up. Not as bad as...

My right leg.

ONE YEAR LATER

We headed fer a romp through Walmart an' walked around a bit. Come th' toy aisle, I couldn't hold out anymore so I went an' smooched her. A couple times. From there on we walked hand-in-hand as we checked out more clocks (she collects 'em) until we headed out. From there we went to this park in Norwich where I gave her a massage while sittin' at a picnic table. Rubbin' soon gave way to cuddlin', then more smoochin'. After a bit went an' did her legs till she got cold, so I ran fer her jacket which was conveniently next to my schoolbag in th' back seat. So I grabbed her jacket an' th' rings I brought an' headed back.

I put one in each hand an' had her pick one, lettin' "fate" continue to rule us. She picked a hand, an' I got down on my knee an' asked her to marry me with th' ring. She accepted (of course; was just a formality I insisted on to seal th' deal) an' smoochin' followed.

After some more cuddlin', we got some drinks from th' McDonald's across th' street then headed to th' nearby cemetary to walk around. Lotta old graves there. Cemetary layout looked almost perfect to house our weddin' ceremony.

That was the scene a year ago today. I had gone upstate in a relationship and come back engaged. Everythin' was planned, from our ceremony to our furnishings to our retirement years. Unfortunately, we didn't make it. 5 weeks prior I had managed to go up after a long period of delays, not only fer the winter but 'cause of her new job hours and my schoolin', to try and see if her fallin' outta love with me was 'cause I wasn't around. No such luck.

Since after the new year, things changed. Things, and her. Convos got more forced, games disappeared, jokes no longer had any effect. She became a different person from the girl I fell in love with. We're goin' the "just friends" route fer now, but she's not even the girl I became friends with. Even the spark between us was gone when I was with her. But, I suppose not much one can do except forge on ahead and see how things progress between us.

The memories are still good, they still make me smile. Only problem is they were too few and far between. I wasn't ready to be outta the relationship yet 'cause we had only just really begun. But, she can't help how she feels any more than I can. Was great while it lasted, just wish it lasted a bit longer.

THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY

Not much I could do today except sit on the computer. Knees and arm were hurtin', but not as bad as yesterday. Was able to take a shower today which was an adventure in itself. Bandagin' is turnin' out to be a problem, though. Knees won't stay on and shoulder is difficult to maneuver.

Watched a documentary on comics and Superman before goin' to bed. Always a good way to end the day.

DISABLED

Ah, my bang-up year continues.
Bummed around fer a bit after work then decided to go on a bike ride. Bike was grindin' a bit, think I need to oil the chain. Wasn't able to find the tri-flow we use so went without fer now. Stopped by the wharf, continued on, and stopped at my usual bench.

Now remember I said half the path was closed up and they opened the one side they finished and closed off the other at 92nd street? Well, got up to that point and was about to merge into the open road when someone came up along my right and clipped me. I went flyin' off my bike. All I remember between briefly seein' him and fallin' was gettin' up while sayin' "WHAT THE FUCK?!" repeatedly. Saw the blood drippin' off my head as I was gettin' up. And there were people all around helpin' me and stuff.

Yupp, so my right arm, shoulder, knees and hands were all scraped up, and my head was pretty banged up. Otherwise, I felt fine. One guy there was callin' an ambulance and I was gonna carry my bike up to the road to meet them. But, they persisted and made me sit on the steps to the 92nd street bridge. So, sit I did with a napkin from another passerby. Soon as I was seated the dude what rammed me drove off. Bastard.

Another biker, an EMS, stopped too and called some people she knew to get the ambulance faster. In the meantime, pops, who I called came down while she was lookin' me over. Finally, the ambulance showed and they patched me up enough fer transport. Unfortunately with the path blocked up they hadda stop on the Belt, so I, agaist their wishes, headed over fer it myself and got in. Pops took my bike to go meet us there.

10 mins later after a brief stop on the shoulder to do some last checks, we were at Lutheran. Ma and pops were there waitin', ma lookin' a bit upset 'cause it's her I got on the phone. We got checked in then I was escorted to the bathroom to wash all the dried blood and dirt offa me. Then me and ma went to wait in another area fer a doctor. Lotta people were lookin' at me fer some reason. What, never seen an accident victim before? I was in a bit of pain which got progressively worse, but I was able to still crack jokes about it. Laughed about my words right after incident a lot. Some nice choice words.

Was interviewed by one doctor then taken to a room eventually. There another doc came in and ordered me cleaned up and to get some stitches. First doc went and did it with some pain and wrapped me up in a lotta bandages. Eventually a third doc came in. He was gonna do my stitches. Had a bit of a problem with the anesthesia...needed extra doses to get the area above my eye numbed. Also got a tetnis and somethin' fer the pain which was INCREDIBLY painful.

Second doc came back and did the actual stitchin' and finished just before the anasthesia was startin' to wear off already. My head was wrapped up when she finished, and the first doc was kinda impressed with how I was gettin' up already after all that. So now both hands, my arm, knees and head was covered. Got some treatment info eventually and headed out, gettin' more stares from people in th' waitin' room. Pops said was 'cause they probably never saw someone as bad as me walkin' in and out of the joint. Ah well. I'm not invincible, but I am indestructable. One good thing outta this is seein' just how strong I still am. Always good to know.

5 days I get my stitches out, tomorrow can get a shower. Gotta fix my watch band and make sure my walkman aint' broke, as well as checkin' out my bike and cleanin' my shades and hat. Now, to just get to sleep tonight...

SUNSET IN BROOKLYN

It looks like 92.3 Free FM's startin' to play more of the music that made K-Rock so popular. Guess their talk format wasn't goin' as well as they hoped. You'd think they'd learn from 102.7's failed experiment a couple years ago. Apparently not as they've signed on Opie and Anthony to host their mornin' show, accordin' to an ad I saw in th' bus stop up the block from work. I used to listen to 'em when 102 was a classic rock station. They steadily lost their charm, and then I lost all interest when they went to talk. Shock jocks...a menace. And why the hell do we need a TALK station on FM? S'what AM's fer. I listen to the radio fer MUSIC, not to hear people yammer (except in Shannon's case). Also, after hearin' a commercial fer Whoopi Goldberg's new mornin' show on KTU later this month, decided to check their site to see if this "Cubby" guy she talks to is the Cubby guy from Z100 (which it turns out it is...wonder if he's leavin' or doin' double duty...). Anyways, checkin' out the crew list Broadway Bill Lee's name was gone! Dang. He's been on there since I started listenin' to 'em. Wonder if he'll end up on 102.7 like his Myspace fans want him to. Would be funny, considerin' how many of 'em were over there when 102 made it's latest format change.

'Rents were upstate the whole day. Felt good comin' home to an empty apartment. Although, I didn't get to enjoy it much. Had my lunch, BSed on the web, then went fer a ride. Bit after I got back tryin' to figger out what to do fer dinner they returned and I hadda help 'em bring crap up from their trip to Walmart. Peace...quiet...so...fleeting. Wasn't too bad, ma got me the pilot ep of the Dukes since it was so cheap. Now all I need are the rest of the 8 seasons.

Gorgeous sunset today. All the colors and clouds...looked so great. Snapped a couple pics with my phone, dunno how to get them off, though. Wish I had my camera with me. Gotta see if there's a way to rig it up to my bike seein' as I don't wear shorts with a belt no more when I ride. S'funny, all I wore when I biked considerably more upstate, and it only bothered me down here. What the hell is it about the city that makes bikin' so damn difficult?! But that sky was great, made an already enjoyable ride even more enjoyable. Reminded me of the time me and April came down to watch one on the pier. Was gonna become a thing of ours but somehow never happened. Ah well.

Chat was full of a lotta people I didn't know tonight and some really wacked out ones at that. A dick the group met a week ago returned with a new name and apparently a whole new life. In short, he was flamin' delusional. Within a week he's found a girl and gotten engaged. At 15. Riiiiiiiiiiight. Did talk to Shannon briefly who informed me one of the dicks from the boards I frequent has been dumped. Horribly. I laughed. May seem petty, may seem wrong, but their pain is my enjoyment. I love when assholes get theirs.

FUN IN THE SUMMER TIME

More chat room fun. Took a while, but room got filled up. Granted, had a buncha people I didn't know, but my crew started to file in eventually. Now, if only Matt was on sooner we coulda had a full house, but he didn't show till much after everyone left. Ah well, at least I got my entertainment fer the night. And no, not just stuck hangin' out OL. D IMed me to see about playin' video games on Sat. Works fer me...just hope we can see on that tiny-ass TV of his. Won't be there too long, though; gotta get to the store an' drop off Craig's comics so I can get more money.

Ma told me they're plannin' to go upstate tomorrow to check things out from all the flood crap. Good! A whole day by myself. Overdue. Reports have it that two campgrounds were wiped out (one never to reopen) as well as one of the bridges at ours. Heh wonder if I ever go back up if I'd even recognize the place no more. I had planned to go back with wifey to spend a vacation or two, but obviously that's nixed now. Heh not that it'd've been much of a change of scenery fer her.

Another part of wifey's package came today. A bit bigger than I expected to be, I hope it's gonna fit where it hasta go. Next week if pops remembers to bring that stuff home hopefully Monday I can get it out on Wed after I get paid. Although with how heavy the thing's gonna be hope it don't cost more'n I got. But, it needs to be sent and that's all.

On another note, Myspace is provin' to be very valuable. Some dude's pic featured him on a motorcycle, which looked PERFECT fer a story I'm doin'. Was havin' trouble findin' a bike with the right look, but there it was. Now, if only I could find decent shots of the controls...

FUN ON THE INTERNET

Yesterday, 'rents went to the home fer gma's bday (which was on the 28th) to have dinner and cake. I got left home 'cause I pissed 'em off about goin' (fine by me, I hadda do laundry anyways or else I couldn't go ANYWHERE).

I enjoyed my days off. Got some writin' done and just sat on my ass ('cept where I could bike, which wasn't often due to rain). Even had a dose of fun tonight as I had a plethora of chats goin' on. Not only was I in the Myspace room (with people, finally!) but was talkin' to a couple girls from there on various messengers and wifey to boot. Been a while since I done that much and hadda juggle several different windows, but it was all good. One of the first people started talkin' to on there, Rogue, came on after a long absence. Apparently she was off in Spain all this time. Hey, why not. At least someone's doin' somethin' with their summer.

We bought a postal scale offa Ebay (irony alert) to help us better charge shippin' to sell stuff on Ebay (irony achieved). Unfortunately, to pay with Paypal used the refund I had sittin' there so was a little upset with that. But once I get verified that money can go where it's supposed to rather than sit there. Call the bank in a day or two to handle that.

Ma said I shoulda took the rest of the week off with my vacation days. First off, savin' those days so I can go up and see wifey should things improve and she gets her head together (and if not, I'll do my usual holiday mass vacation thing in December). Second, why in the flamin' hell would I wanna take a week off when THEY'RE both off? They don't seem to get the less I'm in the same place as 'em the happier I am. Blah...I need a real job to make real money and get the flamin' hell out 'fore I end up a sad case like Charlie.

MOVIES & STUFF

Well, so much fer that. Remember that text I said wifey sent me Fri? Turns out it was meant fer her sis who texted her when she was sleepin'. Crap. Here I thought we were on our way back to clownin', and turns out she was clownin' with the wrong person. I mean, it sounded like her bustin' 'em over my not gettin' a gift instead of a gift card. Ah well. At least I got a story about the contractor she mentioned outta it. Late as usual, but it kept our convo goin' fer a while. Followed it up with pics of her area flooded from last week, includin' my hotel. Funny shit.

Saw Supes Returns today. Went to meet D at 11:15, but turns out he was there earlier (fer once) since it was the openin' weekend and bought me my ticket before I came. Called me twice, but had already set my phone to vibrate and didn't feel it till we were sittin' down. Surprised me by havin' Shawn there. Not that I minded, just wasn't expectin' him. Although I probably shoulda. Chalk it up to the case of the Sundays.

Movie was alright...not great. Here's my review of it if ya care:

Spoilerific.

Saw the movie today. First off, SFX were top notch. Extremely flawless. The technology is finally catching up to the vision. Spacey was a good Lex, reminding me of a combo of Hackman and Rosenbaum in multiple scenes. The suit's bad shots were fortunately few and far between; it looks much better at night than it does during the day. And that opening with the theme...sent chills down my spine.

However, the movie felt almost like an updated version of Superman 1 rather than a 3B. The execution of the story was EXTREMELY similar; comes to Earth, learns about his powers, scene in the fortress, goes to the Planet, saves Lois from some kind of flying thing and cites a statistic, Luthor has real estate ambitions, one of Luthor's cronies is a ***** with a heart, Supes gets poisoned by Kryptonite (with a suspicious lack of blood) and left to drown, Supes has to stop an earthquake (or rather it's effects) then save Lois who becomes a victim of said earthquake (by association), and then preforms an over-the-top and impossible feat of physics to save the day. Does anybody also notice that Supes' intro always seems to invovle a malfunctioning aircraft? Superman I: Air Force One. Superman: TAS: Jet liner. Superman Returns: Experimental shuttle plane. Think Supes needs to get that statistic rechecked.

The newest part of the movie was the kid angle, a remnant from the tryst in Superman II. I'm not a big fan of the idea, but they can make me one if they handle it right in the sequels. Me, I just can't see Lois as the motherly type. Not at this point in her career. I was interested in seeing how they acknowledged the amnesia kiss from II, but they just glossed over it. Obviously the effects were still in place, but casual movie goers who haven't seen the first two would be scratching their heads as to how the hell that happened. Bosworth also looked a little too young to be a hard as nails Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. She did remind me a bit of the Lois from Smallville but someone older with a more seasoned appearance would've really driven home the universe they were expanding.

Speaking of Smallville, the movie runs into one of the fatal flaws of the show: Kryptonite. Remember those old WB cartoons where a character would run off a cliff but wouldn't fall until they noticed they were standing on air? That's how Kryptonite has become lately in film media. On the show, Clark is able to function all well and good within even 5 feet of the stuff. Only when he turns around and sees it does it glow and he gets sick...same when it's in someone's pocket (lotta lead-lined pockets in Smallville, let me tell ya). Here, he lands on an entire island of the stuff and shows NO sign of weakening until Luthor punches him. Luthor, also having a sliver in his coat. More lead-lined pockets. As established by the continuity they follow, when Supes opened the lead box in the first one, he became visibly ill after a matter of seconds of exposure.

Routh pulled off Supes pretty nicely, although I didn't see all the parallels between his Clark and that of Reeve that everyone else seems to see. While he did try to pull off the Clark persona as the other movies did, I don't think Clark was given enough to do to accurately judge. He didn't come off so much as bumbling as he did the cool and collected version from the animated series. There just wasn't that extreme duality that Reeve was able to pull off. Probably just needs more time to find his footing, or maybe deleted scenes would better display his performance. He had his moments, though, so that's a step in the right direction. I would've preferred Hugh Laurie as Perry, but Langella did alright. Jimmy was nicely casted.

Finally the ending felt a little...wrong. Just something about it didn't sit too well with me, not sure what it is. Maybe it ran a bit too long. I dunno. I just found that ending to be very weak. I did like that they chose to end it like the prior films with him in space coming back down to Earth, but everything inbetween the unbelievable ability of an island to not collapse under its own weight to that final shot just seemed out of place. Also, it was kinda hard to root for a hero that was willingly going after another man's woman regardless of how they both feel about each other. Hardly what the idol of millions and a man of impecable morals should be doing, no?

Overall, it was a decent flick that may just find it's way into my DVD case, or maybe I'll hold out until that 5 movie boxed set I heard rumors about is released. Next time, though, I hope they pick a villain Supes can actually FIGHT instead of Luthor...or at least give Luthor a super-powered henchman. Gets kind of dull seeing this repeated stalemate fight and dance they seem to have. Or at least give him a new ambition beyond land.

Plus there was a disturbin' scene with a dog that really didn't needed to be shown 3 times.

I got kinda lonely durin' the flick, probably feelin' more isolated than Supes was sposed to. Missed wifey a bit too. Figgers. One more week to go...

After, we went to the comic shop so D could get a poster and drool over a $200 statue. I reminded him he should start savin' up 'cause he's gonna be hit hard come tax season. Dude needs to take up some accountin' practices. Came home to do some writin', got very little done. I did join this comic network group one of my co-workers at Spiderfan recommended I join, so waitin' fer that to go through. Also verified my Paypal so I can get started sellin'. More on that soon, I hope.

HOUSEWARMING

Today was D's housewarmin'. I had bought a box of cookies to bring since ma suggested I should. Today was also Shannon's first show, so I stuck around long enough to hear an hour of her broadcast from the radio's site before takin' a shower and grabbin' my bike. Had a good ride, but unfortunately ended up chafin' my rear so now I got that to deal with too. Tellin' ya, just not my year. Got home, showered, grabbed the cookies and left.

Block away from his place, ended up walkin' behind his friends Shawn and Preety (sp?) from his schoolin'. I slowed up and walked behind 'em till Shawn noticed me and handled intros. They got him a readin' lamp and some glasses. Got to Ds place where his sis and her BF were already playin' games on his laptop, and he greeted us in his "snazziest" house cleanin' attire. Apparently, dude neglected to watch the clock and didn't realize it was 6 already. Dee dee dee! His sis and Mike got him an A/C and a toaster oven. Well, s'my first housewarmin' (as Nel pointed out, was our first friend to get his own place) so didn't know what was required. Hey, I did all the movin', so I brought cookies, dammit!

Preety was given the tour and we ordered Dominos. No more 555 deal (bastards) but got 3 larges instead; meatball, cheese and pinapple pepparoni (ew! That one was Shawn's). We hung out, we ate, we talked. Shawn tried to be funny (emphasis on "tried") and they all talked about medical mumbo-jumbo that only 4 people in the room understood. Nel and Choy were sposed to come, in fact Nel called when we were orderin' the pizza sayin' he was on his way. Now, he don't live much farther than me, but he didn't get there till an hour later. Was all good. D's sis and Mike left first, followed by Shawn and Preety. Me, D and Nel hung fer a bit till his landlord's husband came down askin' fer rent. Now D was told he had till the 8th to pay, so he was a li'l short at the moment.

He got dressed and we hit the bank up the block, but he could only get $500 of his $900. Went accross the street to another ATM but only let him take out $200, and he didn't wanna bother findin' one more, so we went back and he worked it out with his landlord. He went off with him to discuss another issue while me and Nel just chilled in his place waitin'. After, played some video games and reminsiced through the yearbook 'fore me and Nel decided to call it quits.

Nel walked me home so he could borrow my elementary school yearbook and make photocopies to replace the one he lost. Not that I don't trust Nel, but the last time I loaned somethin' out it came back to me in pieces, so I hope I get this back in one piece. Most likely will, not really worried. Heh we flipped through it briefly and I saw there were notes written by pics. I thought they were those stupid messages people left, but he reminded me that we were given books fer that. Turns out I wrote about people I knew in Jr. High with my either fond memories, or spiteful hate, of them. Man, I so totally gotta read that when I get it back. Made sure to tell Nel I don't even remember what I wrote so not to get skerred when he reads it.