it's been pointed out to me by a couple of individuals that i haven't posted in a while. well…it's the truth. i've had a lot on my mind, lately, and despite all of that brain activity…nothing really to talk about. or write about. or whatever.

i hung out with scott last night. he was actually online for a bit, looking for some information on his planned purchase of a mac. he decided to message me, and we decided to go out for some grub. i don't get to hang out with scott very often (both of our faults…we're notorious for not calling each other), so we did our standard amount of catch up (which consists of "what's been going on?" and the reply of "not much."). after we ate, we ended up driving around, looking for abandoned warehouse space to go dig around in. the search turned out to be a waste of time, but scott and i got to hang out, so it's all good in the end.

paul came over for some tv watching this evening. i didn't really take part, mostly because of the anti-social mood i've been in all day. nothing to slight the puffin, of course…i just wasn't really in the mood. the reason i don't like television? because i just turned around to discover that someone has come up with the brilliant idea of producing pink carbonated…milk. i'm sorry, but that's just fucking retarded. whatever genius at cornell university that came up with that one should be beaten. a lot.

i spent my day off today doing as little as possible. i changed out the speakers in my car, so the rock factor has definitely been increased. other than that? i did a great big bunch of nothing. i stopped by the record store to pick up the new small brown bike cd, which came out today. it's pretty damn good, if i don't say so myself.

looks like kerry sorted out her problems with tripod and got her site back online. that's a relief for me, because without my semi-regular dose of the kerroo…i just may shrivel up and die. fo' real.

another site that's made it's return recently is good ol' kenoki. she was down out of sheer paranoia, but it looks like her 13 day standoff with fear has finally come to an end. i'm looking forward to the complete explanation…

and now i need to get to bed, so that i can go to work at a job i hate, to buy shit i don't need. good night.

as paul may have mentioned on his site, our trip to cincinnati was quite enjoyable. it ended up being kinda cold up there, but we toughed it out like real troopers. we got into town fairly early, considering the show wasn't scheduled to begin until 9 pm. we wandered around the area until about 6, when we opted to peep out the venue. when we got there, we found a cozy little coffeehouse with quite a few kids packed in and sipping drinks. we hung out and had some drinks ourselves, and then opted to go get something to eat, since they wouldn't start charging until 7:30. we went and ate what turned out to be some pretty bad italian food and then headed back to the place at around 7:15. when we got there, we were dismayed to discover about a million kids lined up around the block to get into this thing. jess and paul took up our spot at the rear of the line while i proceeded to loo high and low for a certain mr. nanna. we ended up making our contact and everyone got in with a maximum of confusion.

it was nice to see bob, dan, and the gang, and plans were sketched out for a possible throwdown if hey mercedes comes through louisville any time this summer. they played a few new songs, all of which rocked, making me very eager to hear the new album when it gets done.

i also got to finally meet the britt, who lives up there in "the 'nati". she was an extremely cool girl, and it was fun hanging out with her.

and then there was that thing with paul finding the girl of his dreams. but that's his story…wouldn't want to piss off mr. "170lbs. of fuck you" himself…

wow. i haven't updated in a couple of days. i guess i've been really busy or something.

i'm sitting here waiting for paul to come over so we can go to lunch. we're supposed to be headed up to cincinnati to see hey mercedes tonight, but we don't really know where jess is. this is pretty typical for the morning of a road trip day. no sweat.

matt got quite the surprise yesterday when we sprung a certain miss perry on him. sharon and i decided that it would be more fun if the entire thing were kept secret, so it was hush-hush all the way. matt almost blew it all when he made contact from work, telling me and paul (who was in on it) that he was planning on going out to eat with some friends from work. we were expecting sharon at any time, so we had to try to convince matt that it was in his best interest to come home, without revealing the "big secret". paul stepped in and got "influential" and the whole matter was worked out. matt headed home, post-haste, and got here a scant few minutes before sharon. drinks were had, pictures were taken, video of me talking to julia on the phone was shot. all in all, a good visit.

for the record: sharon lives in california, and this trip was planned out a long time ago. it's one of those sweeping "visit all the friends in the midwest" kinda things.

everything else in my life has been on the constant up-and-down. i don't know what to think about most of it, but i guess it'll all sort itself out in time. and i'll be god damned if i don't feel like doogie houser typing out his journal thing at the end of every show…

where's vinnie?

update on the shadow situation: i've changed teams over the past week, and luckily, my shadow was left far behind. i only see him on occasion, as he wanders around in all of his surf ninja glory. apparently he's forgotten all about me since my move, because he hasn't been lighting up my aim with his pointless ramblings.

and for the record: i bite my nails and then file down. i absolutely hate the sound of fingernail clippers. it drives me up a fucking wall. ladies and gentlemen…that is my equivalent of "fingernails on a chalkboard"…

i'm currently on the ass end of a day long coffee crash. it's incredibly hard to maintain that high that a giant mocha with extra chocolate gives you at 9 am. suckin' down coke after coke really isn't improving the situation at all. if only they had a good quality coffee shop in this damn building…

i definitely have a pronounced spring in my step today. i think it's a combination of the glorious spring-like weather, the rapid intake of a mocha this morning, and a night filled with pleasant dreams of a certain someone. nothing clears away the clouds of melancholy like waking up in a fantastic mood, huh? and i didn't even get a full night's sleep…

it's been decided that the whole crew (consisting of myself, matt, paul, and jess) will be heading up to cincy this weekend to catch some hey mercedes rock action. paul and i have already decided to accost bob and todd and slam down a few cold ones. hey bob…how about a "brian +3" on that there guest list? har har…i kill me sometimes…

if anyone is interested in writing a column for a brand new indie rock webzine that is in the makings, . we've definitely got some talent that we're farming for this. rest assured that we'll be "keepin' it real."

matt's home sick today. he's caught a bit of a cold and he's generally feeling like shit. he was looking pretty rough last night, so hopefully he gets to feeling better today. everyone send him a . he and i will most likely do lunch this afternoon, so i guess that's all good, huh?

seth was supposed to come over last night, but he got tied up in what he described as "someone else's emotional crisis". this doesn't surprise me, as that guy always seems to have everyone else's shit dumped right into his lap. i know i've definitely dropped a ton on him over the years. he's one of the few friends i still have left from those "turbulent high school years". anyone who can take my bullshit for as long as he had definitely deserves some props.

and now back to your regularly scheduled drone…

work drug out way longer than necessary today. we were supposed to have a meeting at 2, my regular lunch time, so i decided to go out with a co-worker for an early spot of grub. we got back from lunch only to find the meeting cancelled, leaving me with about six hours left in the day to suffer through with no huge break. i think i handled it pretty well, aided mostly by the beers i had on the previously mentioned lunch break…

i'm thinking of going up to cincy this weekend to see hey mercedes. i emailed bob to tell him he better be ready to play me some of those new songs he's always crowin' about.

sorry about all of the work related posts lately. i just can't shake this damn place, sometimes. there's been so much frown inducing things thrown at me by this place lately, it's ridiculous. i'm finally settled into my new desk, though, so everything should settle back down to normal soon enough.

something to think about. well…something for me to start thinking about, anyway…

i'm off tomorrow, and i have a huge project (okay, not that huge) that i want to get done for a certain special someone. no occasion, folks…brian's just being a nice guy. take note. it happens rarely.

if there's one place on the face of the planet that consistenly drives me apeshit, it's work. this place is the most disorganized pile of whatever that i've ever been dropped into. this week they've decided to switch everything around. all the teams changed, therefore we all had to find a new place to sit. i finally settled in to what i considered my "new temporary home", but then after lunch came the new blow: my new team doesn't sit where they used to. we sit on the complete other side of the building. of course, i never got an email telling me all of this, i guess it was just assumed that i would instinctively wander in on a sunday morning, half asleep, and figure out where i'm supposed to be. i've finally settled into my third desk for the day, and i already know that i'll probably sit somewhere else tomorrow. ah, the joy.

so let's take stock of the situation, shall we? no intellimouse, farther from the restroom, on a computer without even a built in pc speaker, and somehow, curse the fates, still close to that woman who makes that disgusting throat noise like she's hocking up a fucking cadillac every thirty seconds. i've heard hillbillies that were more discreet. yep…i'd say this situation just about sucks ass.

drone.

we got home from chicago a few hours ago. i've been lazing around the house, reveling in some downtime. we came home to an empty house, so i assume paul and matt are out tearing down the city in one way or another. but then again, with no communication, we can only assume they're both dead somewhere. but obviously that's a "worst case scenario".

we got up into town last night just in time to go park the car and jump into the moving line. the aragon was packed. 7000 people there to see weezer. it was pretty crazy. the first band was a bore (as they often are), but the get up kids came out and rocked like there was no tomorrow. and then weezer took the stage and all bets were off. they played three new songs and they were all pretty damn good. we ended up grabbing some chicago style pizza and crashing at the hotel. we hit the thrift store and reckless records today before we skipped out of town. it was a short trip, but still lots of fun.

with a couple beers in me and having forgotten to piss before we left the pizza place, my need to go came on like a freight train while we cruised the city looking for a place to crash. the bad thing about chicago is that none of their freakin' gas stations have public restrooms. on the third attempt, the following exchange occurred:

me: tell me you have a restroom.
gas station lady: no.
me: (glancing around and then grabbing the biggest cup i can find) how much for the cup?
gas station lady: twenty-five.
(sound of my quarter hitting the counter)

ahhh…sweet release.

and now i'm back at home, wondering what to do with myself. it's getting kind of late, and i have to work tomorrow. the fun times never end.

if anyone wants to buy me this…i won't complain. at all. i'll be your best friend.

just some knowledge here, kids…if you haven't noticed, clicking on our pictures up there in the corner will take you to that shiny new cam page. now you can watch us be incredibly boring, any time you want.

i picked up the new rocket from the crypt cd last night. thus far it's pretty damn good. it sufficiently rocked me on the way into work this morning, which is no easy task. i guess the rapid infusion of coffee probably helped…

hooray for not being able to sleep at night because you have too much on your mind. i swear, when i get to thinking, everything just starts bouncing around in my head, keeping me from the sweetest of all releases.

i used to laugh when i'd read bob's stories about his "shadow". that was, until i developed one of my own. developed. like a bad rash. like a disease. i now feel bob's pain. this kid isn't so much as a shadow as he is…he's that little yapping dog that follows around the big dog. sitting next to me, constantly looking over my shoulder. i don't know what the deal is, but he seems to think that meticulously watching every move i make is infinitely more enjoyable than doing his own thing. then again…it probably is. his "own thing" tends to be wearing really bad shirts and listening to really bad music. we've taken, around here, to referring to him as the "surf ninja." i think you get the picture. the kid even purposefully looked over my shoulder the other day to get my aim username so that he could bug me out of the blue. he thought it would be "sneaky" and "cool." it just made me want to punch him in the throat. my new favorite tactic is to convince him that i have a heroin habit of herculean proportions. now that's my idea of a good time…