After hours upon hours of fucking around with this shit, I apparently finally have Movable Type working. Now it's a matter of converting my archives and then I can switch everything over. Oh, so much work....

New worst trend in personal websites that needs to stop now: dashed borders. Don't get me wrong - when used correctly and in moderation they can be really cool. The problem lies in the fact that everybody is starting to use them for everything and it's a trend that needs to die. As Mr. Lee espoused so many times back in ninth grade, "Everything in moderation, nothing in excess."

Finally! I have the basic template done for my new layout. Now it's just a matter of inserting the text and such from the old layout into the new template. I also have to transfer my blog archives yet, but I'm not ready to mess with that just yet. I think I'll leave all that work for after I get some sleep. It's not like I need to be anywhere later today or anything.

I got an email from my mom on Friday. Even her pain was able to make me elicit a small chuckle. She has been having lots of dental problems lately, including several root canals. The way she wrote about her most recent one made it sound so routine like an item on a laundry list. Her email went something like: "Tuesday we did this. Wednesday this person came over. Thursday I had a root canal. Friday...." I don't know - I just know that it would be a much bigger deal for me than that. Sorry mom for laughing at your pain.

As mentioned in my last entry, I'm working on a redesign of my website. As part of that redesign, I'm switching from Blogger to Movable Type for most of my blogging needs. There are plenty of reasons for this, but I don't feel like getting into them right now. Nevertheless, fear not fellow members of The Collective, for I shall keep that blog Blogger-powered. While I'm sure there are plenty of better reasons for using Movable Type than mine, I can tell you that perhaps my biggest reason for making the switch is to escape Blogger's overloaded servers. I've always been happy (more-or-less) with what I've gotten free from Evan and the crew over the last two years, but ultimately it's time to move on. I'll leave Blogger to all the novices with their BlogSpot accounts. Thanks Blogger!

I sat up really late last night. I did it because I'm already bored with this current site layout. When I was first making it I really, really liked it, but now that it's a few months later I really, really hate it. I didn't make as much progress last night as I might have liked to, but part of it was because I spent little time creating and writing and lots of time drawing and checking out other websites. This current site is just... too much. I'm looking for something a little simpler. Who knows how long it will take? Exactly. Lunch is done.

American Movie Classics is really going to shit. First they start showing commercials in the middle of their films, and now they show Speed? Yeah, that's a classic... classic schlock.

Holy Shit!

I was surprised enough when I first saw the Chrysler commercial featuring Blur's "The Universal," but that didn't even compare with what just happened - I nearly shit myself upon hearing Blur's "There's No Other Way" in a beer commercial! I was just thinking, "Hey! I know that song! I think that's on 'Leisure'.... Yeah, yeah, that is on 'Leisure!' Wow...." Heh... ad people with good taste in music? Who are these people?

I could go for some liquor right now. Like how about a big ol' bottle of scotch? Yeah, that'd be good.

I wish I wasn't feeling so blah today, because I feel like I should take advantage of the day. Looking back on old posts, I see that on this day 2 years ago I finished reading Anna Karenina for the first time and then read "The Importance of Being Earnest," while last year we had a Scrabble night at the Dinkytowner and then Jonathan and I went out driving and ended up at the world's largest ball of twine. Today's trip to the grocery store hardly compares.

I got the bad news finally today - I didn't get the Weisman job. In fact, the letter I got in the mail said I wasn't even qualified for the job! Not qualified?! That job was practically tailor-made for me! So, tomorrow I'm headed out to apply for a few more jobs. I'm also hoping it won't be too hot or rainy tomorrow, because if it's not I'll go out in search of apartments tomorrow also.

Today I'm just tired and sore. My forearms and wrists are really sore today and I don't know why. It feels like I've been doing a bunch of push-ups or something. Did I sleep weird?

I went grocery shopping earlier also. While I had plenty of food in my cupboards and fridge, I needed essentials like bread and milk. Rainbow finally had Jack's on sale at a decent price also, so I picked up some frozen pizzas also.

Woohoo! Twins win again! The Twins came from behind to beat the Indians for the second day in a row, and combined with the Royals' win over Chicago, the Twins now lead the division by 11 games as they travel to Detroit for a series with the last-place Tigers.

I still feel fat and bloated from lunch. For lunch, I went to the KFC at Har-Mar. Having not been there in about 7 years, I had no idea how expensive KFC had become. I ended up ordering the buffet. Of course, that means having to eat as much as possible, and I ended up overly stuffing myself. Ugh. I'm starting to feel a little better, but still not great.

I didn't get any mail today and I didn't get any phone calls. That means I still haven't heard any word on the job. Uhhh....

We need a national standard for drivers licenses. We need to make it a lot more difficult for people to obtain a drivers license and a lot easier for them to lose it. We also need to make people pass occasional refresher tests. Why do I sound so bitter about such a thing? Minnesota drivers. Sure I've only been to about 15 states, but I have to say that Minnesota drivers are the worst I have ever encountered. They don't know how to use directionals; they don't know how to turn, change lanes, or stop; they don't know how to maintain speed; they seem to think every lane is the slow lane; they have no common courtesy; even when they know a lane ends 500 feet ahead, 10 of them will swing into that lane, accelerate, and then swing their cars straight into yours at the last possible second, forcing you to slam your brakes so as to avoid hitting them; when you honk your horn at them, they're so fucking stupid that they just throw their hands up in confusion; blah blah blah... I could go on and on, but it wouldn't change the fact that the worst thing about living in this state has nothing to do with the weather or all the backwater hicks, but rather the drivers. It's just not safe living here.

I'm starting to become a little worried and concerned about my job application. I know they said would take at least a week before I'd hear anything, but I'm getting anxious. I'm well aware of the state of the current job market and I'm also aware of the fact that I'm more or less unemployed. With Kyle having returned yesterday, I'm out of the job again. Apparently in the merged organization Adam is going to be the one taking over Kyle's soon-to-be-vacated position while I - by far the more qualified candidate for the job - am being left with nothing. While I may be overly qualified for the job at the museum also, I can already see them having hired some lesser candidate, while I'm going to end up flipping burgers. Had this come to a head a few months ago, I might not be so concerned, but a number of developments have now made me a little worried. For starters, I now have car payments to make. Three months ago I was driving the 19-year-old Anti-Christ and didn't have to worry about paying for it, but now the situation has changed. Second of all, there's the living situation. I have a month and a half before I have to be out of my apartment. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that I now have to find both a job and new living quarters at the same time. I suppose the current lack of employment should be viewed as a good thing, as it will free-up my days to seek out a new apartment, but it's not easy to see things that way when you're the one in the position. The final problem is graduation. Having graduated, I can't hide behind student loans anymore. In fact, in a couple of months I have to begin repaying those also. There's no more coasting along with the attitude of "I'll get a job when I feel like it, but for now I'll just live off these government loans." It's worrisome to think our lives revolve so heavily around the almighty dollar, but I guess that's the sad reality of it all and not myth we can shy away from. Yeah.

I want to go to the Twins game. The Twins end their homestand against AL West ball clubs with this afternoon's game against Anaheim. No matter the outcome, the Twins will come out with a winning record against the AL West teams. Here I am at work. I have nothing to do, as I've already done it all already, but at least I'm being paid. I'll just have to listen to the game on the radio, even though I'd much rather be at the Dome.

Molly and I went bowling last night. We had invited Jonathan along, but he had apparently made plans already and couldn't come, so it was just the two of us. It was free. Southtown Lanes in Bloomington has free bowling on Monday nights 9 to midnight for those of us who are 21+. There are only two reasons I can assume this to be the case. 1) There is construction going on all around the Southtown Center, making it difficult to get to the place. 2) The hope is that those old enough to drink, not having to pay for bowling, will be more likely to pay for liquor. I didn't pay for liquor - or anything else for that matter. We bowled 5 games. We both got progressively better the first 4 and then flopped the fifth. Afterward I went home and went to bed.

Okay... so the paragraphs above were written hours ago (before lunch). It's now 2 in the afternoon. I got interupted earlier because Adam had to send some actual emails and then we walked down to Espresso 22. I ate lunch there, and when I came back, Adam and Jen were going to lunch and then they were going to pick up Kyle from the airport. With nothing better to do, I paid my phone bill, and then I went to Best Buy and blew $50. I got UHF, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Amélie. Then I ran into Sara (former Bijou volunteer from Green Bay) working a register there, so I had to go through her line and say hi. She told me she's run into lots of people she knows there today, but most of them were there to pick up the new Dave Matthews Band album. Apparently Best Buy has it for $9.99 today only. I think I made a better purchase (if I do say so myself... and I do!).

Oh, and one more thing I have to make note of:

Happy 23rd Birthday Jonathan!!

I nearly forgot until he let slip a little mention of it while we were at the theater tonight.

I'm back in town again after going home and doing the family thing. My parents made no mention of anything - as I thought they wouldn't. I got to Appleton about 9:30 Friday night. My aunt and uncle were over and my dad and uncle were on the back porch grilling for Saturday's party. Having not eaten since lunch, Mom fed me some of the hamburgers they had grilled. When everyone started retiring for the night, I went over to Matt and Carrie's and hung out over there for a while. They gave me a present - another "conversation piece," - but I won't tell you what it is... you'll have to come over to my place if you want to see it. When I went home again, I tried to sleep in my room, but it was too damn hot, too damn dark, and too damn quiet; I'm used to my air conditioned apartment in the city, so anything less it hardly bearable. I ended up sleeping in the livingroom with the ceiling fan on. The problem with that is that I was easily awoken the next morning when everyone got up to start preparing for the party.

Mom had made pancakes and sausages, so I ate breakfast before we started running loads of food and decorations out to the county park for the party. I guess as everyone gets older, they also get less active - nobody really ever left the pavillion. Some of the relatives played horseshoes before lunch, but nobody ever went over to play volleyball or anything else. I killed time by swinging on the swings while downing cans of PBR. I also told the same story about looking for a job and a new apartment about 40 times during the afternoon. The food was left out all afternoon, but nobody really ate dinner. I guess we weren't hungry. We packed everything up early in the evening and took it back to my parents' house. The relatives all left, and after watching a little tv, I went over to Matt and Carrie's. We sat around talking for a while, but I was quite tired from being awoken early, so I started dozing off and decided to go home. Just as the night before, I didn't sleep in my bedroom, but instead slept in the familyroom.

I woke up Sunday morning to the sounds of my dad rustling the newspaper out on the back porch. We ended up going out for lunch, where I had fried chicken for the first time in two months. After lunch I started packing up my things. My dad helped my clean my car (which was covered in bird droppings and dead bugs) while my mom packed up leftover cans of soda from the party for me to bring back with me. My grandma stopped by before heading back home, so I got to see her one last time before driving back to Minneapolis. I left Appleton a little after 2 and got back to Minneapolis a little after 6. I was lucky enough to find a place to park out front, so I could haul my things straight in. Being hungry, but not having any food, I was going to order a pizza, but then Jonathan called and asked if I wanted to go see Road to Perdition. We ended up going to the 9:45 show at the Apache 6 (which is now owned by the Heights guys and renamed the Chief 6). The theater is like it was caught in a timewarp - a total relic of the sixities. The decor is all in dark red and orange with rock brick which, as Jonathan pointed out, is reminiscent of something from "The Brady Bunch." The previews and opening credits were quite out-of-focus, so I went and mentioned it to the staff. The manager went upstairs and adjusted it, and it was still a little out-of-focus, but it was much better than it had been. The couple sitting behind us were talking through most of the beginning of the movie, but then she got up and moved up a few rows and then it wasn't a problem anymore. Jonathan and I were going to grab a bite to eat at Market afterward, as I thought they were open until 1, but it turns out I was wrong and they close at midnight on Sundays. We just walked home, and here I am now. I'm still hungry, but at this point I might as well just go to bed. I think I'll unpack everything in the morning also.

Well, today's the day. Today's the day I go home... and face the music. Mm-hmm. I'm finishing up packing before I go to work, and then after a long day there, it'll be on the road for me. I think I'm almost dreading having to do all that driving more than anything. Just so tired.

Molly and I went to the Twins game last night - first game back after the All-Star break/debacle. It looked a little scary through the first two innings, after which Milton have given up 3 runs and had a pitch count around 50. Then he settled down, struck out 6 Texas batters in a row in the 3rd and 4th innings (en route to a season-high 10 K's), and the team turned it around with him. They went on to win 4-3. I havan't followed the press, but the player of the game had to be Koskie, with his 2 doubles, 2 walks, 2 rbi's (including the game-winner), a stolen base, a run, and a Web Gems-worthy defensive play. Although he hasn't had the hot bat this season that he carried much of last season, his defensive skills (and work) are much hugely improved over last season. Is his contract up this year?

I guess I'm going to go home next weekend. I didn't really want to, but I don't want to have to deal with my parents if I don't go home either. After telling my mom via email that I was no longer planning on coming home for their party, she emailed back with her response. Her first comments were that she couldn't understand why I thought I'd be hassled if I came home. Yeah, as if I don't remember what it was like all through high school when she told the rest of the family [quite incorrectly] that I did drugs. I really don't need to put up with that. The other part of her email was about how they'll never have another 25th anniversary and who knows how many more there will be. Yeah, fine. I was a little annoyed though when I also got an email from my brother telling me he had no respect for me if I didn't come home. Whatever - he's never shown me any respect, so what do I really care what he thinks? Well, I emailed my mom back again and told her I guess I'll come home, but if I get hassled at all, I'm more than willing to hop in my car and head right back here. I just don't need it. Fuck.

I'm finally starting to sober up.

After returning home from seeing The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys (more on that later), I had a hankering for the nectar of the gods. I plopped my ass down on my couch and commenced drinking. Eventually (somewhere around 3 am) I just got tired and went to sleep. When I woke up at 9:30 this morning, I was still rather woozy from the beer, so I had to stumble my way into the bathroom. Woah.

I've spent the last hour and a half working on my resumé. I've never really made one up before, so I had to start from scratch. I hope it works out well for me as I apply for work. While I'm still hoping to be able to find a job within the film society after the merger, Molly brought another opening to my attention that may be more financially advantageous - the Weisman is seeking a membership coordinator. It has to be the first job opening I've seen anywhere that I actually have the qualifications for, so now we can only hope.

I'm killing time right now before TWIB, as Torii Hunter is this week's host.

Oh yes... so The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys.... It's difficult for me to say too much without giving the film away, but it really doesn't matter anyway, as the film was rather disappointing. I knew going into it that the film was a coming-of-age story, but the trailer made it look a lot more fun and adventurous. I should have listened more to the review in Entertainment Weekly than the trailer. The film was actually rarely fun (or funny), and the adventurous bits were... uh... I don't know. I mean, to an extent the film dug up memories of my own teenage years and the dangerous, yet exciting things we did, but then there was the other side of the film - the side that created more problems and issues than it wished to deal with and really left a lot of loose ends. The Todd McFarlane-animated sequences were pretty cool, but the fact that the volume nearly doubled during those same sequences was rather annoying. Now don't get me wrong - the film wasn't all bad. My own personal favorite character had to be the naïve, chain-smoking priest played by Vincent D'Onofrio. If the film had any comic relief, he was it. The film was worth seeing, but only because I didn't pay. I wouldn't suggest spending $7.50 on it.

Well, I told my mom straight-up my sentiments about coming home next weekend. She emailed me twice in three days to ask when I would be coming home next weekend, so I told her the truth: I'm not sure that I want to come home next weekend. I first mentioned the money issue. I drove 1,000 miles last weekend between running errands for the film society and driving out to Nebraska and back, and gas isn't cheap. Driving home and back next weekend would mean another 600 miles roundtrip - and more gas. Then I gave her my other and more pressing reason for not wanting to go home: I don't want to spend the time and the money driving home just to get hassled all weekend by my parents and other relatives. For those who I haven't already told, yes, my mom found out finally a week ago about my smoking. Although I'm trying to quit, the truth is that I still smoke. I remember quite vividly the way I was treated by relatives all through high school when my mom told them [quite incorrectly!] that I did drugs. The last thing I want is to have to take that sort of cold-shoulder treatment from them, in addition to the third degree I'm certain to get from my parents. Uff-da.

What's a man to do? UHF has been released on DVD, while The Royal Tennenbaums comes out on Tuesday and Amélie comes out the following Tuesday. I need money quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Speaking of movies, I'm actually getting off my ass and seeing one. I'm going to the late show tonight of The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys. I've been so apathetic about going to see movies so far this summer that there has built up a multitude of them that I want to see, so it's about time I get a start.

Oh, and here I thought he went there for coffee and to see the pretty planes, but just happened to bring his gun with him and it just happened to shoot some people. Good thing we have the FBI to get to the bottom of these things!

I'm finally back. No, I wasn't really gone for a week - just the weekend - but I'm finally getting back to updating you all on the weekend.

Friday I had to run errands all over town for the film society. It was 12:30 by the time I finished those and 1 by the time I was able to get on the road. It took forever to get out of the Twin Cities thanks to construction and heavy traffic, but eventually I made it. I stopped for lunch/dinner and gas in Ames, Iowa, and then continued on to Omaha. As Tony was still at band practice when I arrived, I drove around town a bit first. Then I sat on the steps outside his building reading until he finally come home at 9:15. After hauling my bags in, we drove to Lincoln to see some band play at the same bar that Tony's band would be playing the next night. We got there just in time for their last song. Ended up spending more time that night hanging out in the main barroom downing bottles of PBR. I dozed off on the drive back to Omaha from the long day. It was late when we got to bed.

I woke up Saturday morning and Tony was already out with his band Shelter Belt setting up for the wedding reception they were playing that afternoon. Tony came home about 11, picked me up, and took me to the reception. My ticket in was that I was the bands camerman. I wanted to be the guitar case tech, but apparently they didn't need someone to oil the hinges and fluff the padding. After eating, the band played for 2 hours with about a 10 minute break in the middle. It was hot and humid and we spent all afternoon outside in the sun. After 3 the band got to load up again and Tony and I went back to his place. Then we went to the Old Market, wandered around some, stopped for pizza for dinner, and checked out a used book and cd store. By then it was time to meet up with the band again. The band loaded up and drove to Lincoln, where there was some serious cruising going down. The Nebraskans tell me there was a car show going on and that cruising isn't always like that, but I think they were just embarrassed. We loaded in the band's stuff and they played. Then I went back to the main barroom and downed more bottles of PBR. There was an adult bookstore down two doors, but I didn't feel like paying the $.50 entry fee. After the headliners finished up, we loaded out the band's equipment, hopped in the cars, and drove back to Omaha, where we unloaded all the equipment. Tony and I were going to go to some late-night donut shop, but apparently they're closed on Saturday nights. It was about 4:30 by the time we got to bed that night.

Tony's friend and bandmate from another band, Owen, called earlier Sunday morning, and we went to have breakfast with he and his girlfriend. I think that was about 7:45. I threw on Saturday's dirty clothes and left. We ended up eating pancakes at Owen's girlfriend's house. Then Tony and I went home, changed, and went out again. We went up to Blair so he could show me around Dana College. We ate lunch, wandered around the school (Tony even showed me his old dorm room and his former thumbtack), went to a park, stopped for lemonade to quench our growing thirst from all the heat and humidity, and drove back to Omaha. We had coffee in the Old Market and then went to see Y To Mama Tambien. It was my first time and Tony's second. I was worried at first that it was going to be a Mexican Doom Generation (quite possibly the single worst film I have ever seen - and I've seen some bad films!), but it turned out to be much better than that. After the movie we sat in the bar next door with a couple of beers. It was once again late by the time we got back to his place, and as always happens on the last night I'm anywhere, I couldn't sleep, so I was up really late again.

I woke up about 7:45 Monday morning. I misread my watch and thought it was 8:45, so I hurried to get moving. Later realized after I was on the road that I was an hour off. Tony looked pretty zonked, so I didn't even bother waking him before I left. I hit the road about 8:45. I took a different route - a northern route - on the way back so I could say I'd been to South Dakota. I stopped for gas and food in Sioux Falls, and even wandered around a Goodwill which I found by accident. Then came the longest, most boring part of the whole trip: driving I-90 across southern Minnesota. Oi. I started dozing off at the wheel near Blue Earth (home of the 60' Jolly Green Giant statue, which i didn't have time to see because I was in a rush to get back in time for work), so I stopped for a few minutes a rest area and walked around. I then continued to haul ass. I got back to Minneapolis at 5:45 - just in time to work at 6. Afterward I went home, watched the World Cup final I had taped (goddamn Brazil), and dozed off unmemorably.

Tuesday was work and so is Wednesday. I don't think I'm coming in tomorrow, as there isn't anything to do anyway. Blah blah blah.