acleverername

like whoa

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:13:10 GMT

I've been so busy I forgot I had this thing. A lot has happened, one of my dogs died from cancer and I was absolutely devastated, my grandma died and we got another dog. I finished my internship and am done with undergrad; now I'm just procrastinating on getting my license. I quit my job (working on-call for the time being) and moving to Chicago in a few weeks or whenever I finally get a job interview. No one wants to hire me and I'm looking for a job that is beneath what I'm qualified for. Maybe that's it. I just don't want to do full-time counseling while in grad school.

I want to take a vacation. Make that need to take a vacation. Sitting at home doing nothing is great, but I'd rather be off somewhere. I'd love to take a month or two and go around Europe. Hell, even just a week or so in a city or two over there, but I have no one to go with. Maybe I should find one of those vacation tour groups online and sign up and just go with a bunch of people I don't know. I feel like those things are a rip-off though, especially when you have to do what the tour does and eat where they eat. I went on one in high school which was fun but I didn't get to do all I wanted. My friends never have any money saved even though we've been planning to take a trip for nearly 4 years now. Otherwise I wouldn't mind spending a week at Disney World. Someplace where I have no responsibility.

Go out and buy Mark Farina's newest cd "House of OM", my friend's (Ben Armstrong) track is the last on the disc.

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 22:06:09 GMT

Quit doing your own thing. It's time to do our thing.

actual good news

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 22:54:31 GMT

I started my internship to be a Chemical Dependency Counselor. I'm tired as hell all the time but I'm loving it. Between interning and my job, I'm working approximately 76 hours a week in the same building. I'm considering just putting a bed in an empty room and moving in. I need to have 880 hours total. I've been doing this for almost a month and I'm about 1/5 of the way through, which I consider to be pretty good.

The immature idiot I have to work with all the time was sat down by the lead counselor and spoken to about some of the things he says and does with the kids. It's about damn time because I've been trying to talk to him and it goes nowhere. Hopefully he'll listen to someone with more authority than me. It's frustrating because he has no boundaries. He says and does things we wouldn't allow the kids to do and it makes it hard telling the kids they can't do something when a staff person is doing it. My advice for everyone is to never work with someone 22 going on 14.

Three days ago I had my 4 1/2 year anniversary for sobriety. I'm kind of shocked that I've made it this long without drinking or using any drugs. When I look back at what a drugged up coke-and-any-other-drug-head I was, it's really kind of amazing that I'm not dead. With my use I had phases that went from alcohol and pot, to valium all day chased down with a bottle of wine every day for months, to cocaine every day. Throughout all of this I was taking anything else that was put in front of me, often mixing 3 or 4 types of drugs at a time. I think I did almost every drug known to man during my using years. I quit using all narcotics and decided I would just drink. Of course that turned into hiding bottles of gin in my closet so no one else could drink it. I can't even remember how many bottles of gin, wine and beer I was going through a week. Don't really remember much of that time really.

Since I've been sober, I've made it through the deaths of 10 friends and 2 relatives, and a ton of other fucked up shit without touching anything, I'm pretty damn impressed with myself. So, yay me! I do know that I never want to return to my old "life" (its hard to call what I had a life), and I have a constant fear that I will. Sometimes I feel like the only thing that has kept me from using is that I want to be a drug counselor, I work in a treatment center, and I can't do that and use. I think I'll try to make it to an AA or NA meeting sometime in the next week to get back in touch with the program. I owe a lot to the people there and I've only gone sporadically over the past year. It worries me that I sometimes get jealous of people who can drink or get high and be okay. But I know I can't drink or use and be "normal."

I talked to my friend Matt today. It had been a few weeks. He has 67 days of sobriety today. Over the past couple of years I have spent countless hours sitting in ERs with him when he was suicidal, and visiting him at hospitals, treatment centers and halfways houses. This guy was the first person to be tasered by the Minneapolis PD, has a few felonies, spent time in prisons, and should be dead or in prison right now. For the first time since I've met him he seems genuinely happy. So that made my day to hear that he is doing so well.

There's my sappy rambling for the day. Feel free to vomit now.

birthday

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:42:13 GMT

Today is my birthday and I'm on my way to work. I'm the most exciting person I know.

Wicked

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 02:42:10 GMT

I went to see Wicked last night. It was soooo good. From commercials I wasn't sure if I'd like the music or not, but I did. Plus it was funny so that's always good. Varied from the book some (at least what I've read up to so far which isn't much). The girl who played Elphaba had an amazing voice. The guy who played Fiyero was fucking hot. That's my pathetic review. I plan on going to see it again.

I just drove back from Chicago. The 6 - 6 1/2 hour drive to Minneapolis turned into 8 hours with traffic and construction. I'm going to bed to get some sleep before I have to go back to work tomorrow. I really don't want to go back.

chicago

Mon, 29 May 2006 05:17:33 GMT

I'm still in Chicago. I got a co-worker to work for me Wednesday so I can stay two extra days and go see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum on Tuesday and see Wicked on Wednesday night.

My grandmother was in a hit and run a couple of weeks ago and has been in a lot of pain. So mostly I've spent a lot of time trying to help her out around the house and take her to and from the chiropractor and doctor.

Drove downtown to try and see Wicked yesterday. I wanted to take the El but my cousins didn't want to. We didn't realize that there was a parade downtown so the drive to the theatre sucked. The theatre is on the corner of State and Randolph. Due to the parade, State and Randolph, as well as half the other streets were closed so I ended up driving around and finally finding parking 6 blocks away on the Jewelry mall on Wabash. We spent nearly two hours in line at the Oriental theatre hoping to get rush tickets. Ten minutes before the performance they told us it was completely sold out and there would be no stand-by. We went ahead and bought tickets for Wednesday night. They actually ended up being decent seats.

I then took my cousins to have lunch on the Northside at RJ Grunts. Awesome burgers (well, veggie burger for me) and shakes. I felt dirty being on the Northside but it was worth it. I hadn't been there in about 12 years and the food was as good as I remember. It is right across from Lincoln park so yep, you guessed it, traffic and no parking. We managed to park only 5 blocks away in a fucked up garage that was marked public but was only for residents of the building? Fuck if I know. At least I didn't get towed.

My Uncle's sister came into town. Haven't seen her since I was a little kid. We just hung out all day. I did some shopping. Nothing great, just some new bras and pajamas. It was really hot so I didn't have energy to do much.

I doubt anyone on here knows, but my Uncle fell only 4 feet from a ladder last Labor Day and was paralyzed from the belly-button down. He is doing so much better now and is able to transfer himself to and from his car and bed with no help. Last time I saw him he was really pale, sick, could barely eat and not able to do much at all. So it's really great to see him being independent. It hasn't been that long since the accident and he's already back at work doing 5-6 hour days. I'm fully functioning and I rarely want to do that much.

Tomorrow will be a lazy day. Tuesday is King Tut with my Uncle and his sister. We'll be an interesting group: guy in a wheelchair, dominatrix at a swinger's club, and almost-normal me. Wednesday is Wicked. Thursday I drive home, which is depressing.

Mon, 22 May 2006 03:41:56 GMT

Only 3 days till I'm taking a week off and going to CHICAGO! (yay!) for vacation. I love going back to my home city. I'll probably stay with my Grandma because I can't stand the fighting between my cousins at my Aunt and Uncle's house. My cousin is supposed to be getting tickets to Wicked but he hasn't called me back and it's been almost a week. I should just do it myself. My Aunt and Uncle want to go too, which is cool, we'd get discounted seats b/c my Uncle is in a wheelchair.

My other plans while in the city are to hit up a vegan restaurant with my Uncle that he raves about on the Northside. Richard Crowe is doing a tour that weekend and maybe I'll do that if I can get someone to go with me. I'm a dork and I love haunted/supernatural/ghost stuff. I'd also like to go the aquarium or a museum or two. The White Sox are out of town the whole week which I'm really upset about.

But offically I have no plans set and will probably spend the majority of the time doing absolutely nothing and loving it.

I set my VCR to record for the week and realized there is nothing left except House. Maybe that's good since I won't have time for tv this summer.

rants

Sat, 20 May 2006 04:40:32 GMT

We made the move at work today. La Douche called me to come in 2 hours early. I get there and he tells me I'm taking 7 guys out on my own and he was going to stay there to work. We get back and absolutely nothing has been done. He's the laziest son of a bitch EVER. I spent from 2-4:15 unpacking and setting up the office, thinking my other co-worker is in another room doing the same. Turns out he was watching a movie the whole time. I wish I had it in me to do absolutely nothing at work and get away with it. I think it may be a guy thing.

My treadmill arrived yesterday! It's sitting in the garage until my brother and Dad can move it inside. The damn thing weighs 217 lbs. The guy who delivered it didn't bring a dolly, so he scooted it about halfway up the driveway and I had to drag it the rest of the way.

I'm making my way through Buffy the Vampire Slayer after hearing about it almost nonstop on TWOP. It's going very slowly because Netflix can't seem to send me the right DVDs. I've been waiting for Season 1 Disc 3, so far they've sent me Disc 2 in the Disc 3 sleeve four times. Today I finally received the right one. I like it so far, not at all what I imagined. I was picturing the movie

L-train and I are going to see Stick It tomorrow. I hope it's as bad as it looks. I'm a sucker for cheesy dance and cheesy teenage movies. My friend Bobby also finally got a cell phone after breaking up with his controlling, recluse girlfriend. I haven't seen him in a year (thanks to her) so we're going to do something Sunday night.

Crosstown Classic started today. Sox won 6-1. Season standings 27-14.

I have 6 hours to sleep until I have to get up to go right back to work.

random thoughts

Thu, 18 May 2006 05:10:13 GMT

I just learned what an lj cut is.

Veronica Mars has been renewed! Hooray! I don't know what I would have done without it next season. Seeing as I only watch about 2 shows religiously, VM and House, my Tuesdays would have become very boring. Just hope the ratings go up. People on TWOP are talking about how being after Gilmore Girls could really help. I've never even heard of Gilmore Girls so hell if I know.

At work we are moving into a different wing of the building on Friday. I spent a lot of today packing and throwing useless things away. La Douche, aka my boss, likes to save really old shit we never use. Seeing that he wasn't there tonight I took the opportunity to clean house. We are moving into a much nicer area which will be great.

I did all my preliminary stuff for my intership. I'll start June 5 in a mental health/cd program. Basically my work schedule will be Sun. 8-8, Mon. 8am-10pm, Tues. 8-2, Wed. 8-2, Thur. 8-7:30, Friday 8am-10pm, Sat. 8-4. I am preparing myself to be too exhausted to have any life.

hee

Sun, 14 May 2006 16:31:02 GMT

Five Chicago sports fans were climbing a mountain one day. Each was a fan of a different Chicago team and each proclaimed to be the most loyal of all fans to their team. As they climbed higher, they argued as to which of them was the most loyal of all.
They continued to argue all the way up the mountain. Finally they reached the top.
The Blackhawks fan hurled himself off the mountain, shouting "This is for the Hawks!" as he fell to his doom.
Not wanting to be outdone, the Bulls fan threw himself off the mountain, proclaiming, "This is for the greatest team of the '90s!"
Seeing this, the Bears fan shouted "This is for DA COACH!!!" as he leapt to his death.
The two remaining fans looked at each other in stunned silence. After a minute, the Sox fan bellowed, "This is for everyone on the South Side!!"
And then he pushed the Cubs fan off the mountain.

****************

Twenty major events that have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last laid claim to a World Series championship:

1. Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.

2. TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.

3. Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.

4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.

5. Haley's comet passed Earth twice.

6. Harry Caray was born....and died. Incredible, but true.

7. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league.

8. Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.

9. Sixteen U.S. presidents were elected.

10. There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.

11. Prohibition was created and repealed.

12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures, the latest giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.

13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League.

14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since rusted and been taken down.

15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.

16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs pitchers.

17. Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came back in.

18. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.

19. The Cubs played 14,153 regular-season games; they lost the majority of them.

20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were added to the Union.

Pictures

Sun, 14 May 2006 07:36:22 GMT

Here's some pictures from Iowa.

The House

The kitchen

The blue room, where the two little girls who were guests of the family were murdered.

Playing rummy. There was only 1 oil lamp in each room so we had to use flashlights. It was really dark and creepy in the house.

We thought it would be a good idea to re-enact the crime using the clown of death and the ax in the house. This is one of many highly inapprorpiate photos. I think this may be why we saw no actual ghosts.

I have a lot more, but looking at pictures of rooms and people no one knows gets really boring.

Thu, 11 May 2006 22:25:35 GMT

I had an entire thing typed out and accidentally closed the page. fuck me and my pathetic computer skills.

The White Sox game was cancelled today...BOO! They are still first in the league though, and really that's what matters.

I really liked the Veronica Mars finale. At first I hated it, but only because I did not want to accept that Cassidy was responsible for everything. I spent the entire season feeling sorry for him and liking him. I felt so toyed with and played (and not in the good way). Once I realized that was the reason I absofuckinlutely loved it! I love that the writers were able to fuck with me like that. I don't think it's ever happened with a tv show before. So yeah, there it is.

I went clothes shopping today. I despise shopping but it needed to be done. Although most of the clothes I bought cannot be worn to work which sucks. If I had small boobs I could swing it, but alas I'm cursed.

My treadmill was shipped today. Thank fucking god! I will now get off my ass and lose some weight finally. If I can work out and watch tv or read at the same time I am much more likely to do it. But working out with nothing else to do is so boring, and I need to be entertained. Hence, never really doing it before.

I've noticed that I've been swearing a lot less. I really need to fix that. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

Ghost Hunting

Sat, 06 May 2006 02:13:35 GMT

So we leave for Villisca, IA in the morning. My friends and I will be doing a "paranormal investigation" aka ghost hunting overnight at the Villisca Ax Murder House with Troy Taylor, President of the American Ghost Society. I think I am more excited about seeing my friend Will, from Kansas. It's been almost a year. It's kind of just an excuse for all of us to get together and have a reason for meeting in Iowa. Otherwise we'd be pretty lame just hanging out in Iowa. I have my EMF meter, digital voice recorder, camera and infrared thermometer packed. It's just going to suck getting up really early, driving to Iowa and then staying up all night. Although I'm thinking we should be entertained enough to stay up all night.

I tried to book a hotel nearby but they had all closed down. Now we are staying 20 miles away from where we wanted to and it still sounds like its a crap motel. Oh well, that just makes it more interesting.

I'm supposed to walk for my college graduation tomorrow, but seriously, ghost hunting or boring graduation ceremony? Yeah, that was a hard choice. People have been giving me crap about it because they think I will regret not walking. I still wish I hadn't walked for high school and people said I would regret missing that. So far the only thing I regret is actually doing it.

I hope that I come back with scratches all down my face or body, or something to prove to my skeptical co-worker that ghosts exist. He makes fun of me for this more than anyone and believes I am crazy. Although he thought that before I told him about my trip. I just want a good story.

I took some sleeping pills so hopefully I will go to bed before 4 a.m. for once.

Oh yeah, someone from TWOP e-mailed me about trying to organize a Veronica Mars viewing party for the final in Minneapolis/St. Paul. If you know anyone in the area that would want to go let me know. I only found 2 other people on TWOP from that area. It'll be the world's smallest viewing party and not nearly as cool as the big ones people are organizing, but at least I won't be watching alone.

Vikings news

Fri, 05 May 2006 07:01:23 GMT

Zygi has already made one of his first firings of the new team. It's only been a little over 3 months but Foley was a DICK. Tell me you don't think this guy deserves to be fired. I really don't like Zygi's dealings with the media though. They way he went about firing Tice and now an alleged 1 sentence press statement with this event. At least he isn't sitting on his ass like I'm sure Red McCombs would have done. I just hope the stadium issue makes some advances this year. It has been gaining some momentum.

The White Sox Won 4-1!!! I need to find tickets for the Crosstown Classic for under a few hundred. I was planning on going down the week after but may have to reschedule if I can get them. I don't trust ebay for tickets. They're out of town the ENTIRE week I'm currently planning to be there in May. God hates me.

what the fuck

Fri, 05 May 2006 05:13:27 GMT

I have been one of the most anti-livejournal people I have ever known. Veronica Mars has forced me to join. Damn you Veronica Mars! I really didn't need something else to be addicted to. I still remain loyal to my anti-myspace campaign though. My journal entries will probaby be boring and few, so feel free to ignore me.