Monthly Archives: October 2009
Five Things for Friday, 10/30
1. I got a call from my brother’s wife yesterday. I let the machine get it, because 1) I hate talking on the phone, 2) I don’t particularly like her, and 3) I am not particularly close to my brother. She of course called back again today while I was working and left a message on the machine in that snotty tone of voice people get when they feel like you should have gotten back to them. I guess she doesn’t know that I don’t give a flying fuck about peripheral people, and that I don’t feel any kind of obligation to return phone calls. Maybe it’s impolite to not return calls. Fine, I am im-fucking-polite. I could be a hell of a lot worse.
Five Things for Thursday, 10/29
1. It’s very weird to realize that in two days, we will be throwing a costume party. I still don’t know what to wear, what to cook, or what to decorate with. In my mind it’s all a lot of cool, elaborate stuff. In reality, it’ll be a cobbled-together outfit, some quick food, and 3 construction paper pumpkins. Actually, none of that is true – we own more costuming pieces than some stores, my wife and I never cook anything that isn’t really good, and the decorations…. Well, maybe that part is true.
Five Very Brief Things for Tuesday, 10/27
1. Going to update my resume this weekend.
2. Last night went mostly as expected for the ‘Skins.
3. Today sure felt like Monday 2.0.
4. My wife is an awesome human being that I am very proud of.
5. My Thor figurine on his goat-drawn chariot is fucking SWEET.
Mother-in-Law
My mother-in-law left yesterday after a relatively brief visit. In one sense, it was fine. There was no real melodrama, no real fighting, no anger issues to deal with. On the surface, everything seemed fine. In retrospect, however, the visit served to showcase exactly what’s wrong with her. The woman has problems, severe ones. Her worldview is…skewed, I guess is the best word for it. Reality that doesn’t fit her desired perception is changed to accomodate her and her desire to leave her head in the sand.
Five Things for Friday, 10/23
1. Have you ever really liked a song and enjoyed everything about it except one little thing that just starts to stand out to you every time you hear it? Then the more you hear it, the more time you spend dreading the part you don’t like? Eventually, you end up not liking the song nearly as much as you did and every time you hear it gets a little more disappointing? If no, then fuck off and read something else.
For my wife, one of those songs, I think, would be “China Girl” by David Bowie (and just now, the part she hates ran through her head and for a second she hates me just a little bit for bringing it up). For me, that song is “Paradise City” by Guns n Roses. The beginning of that song is like the perfectly distilled essence of what is good about rock music. The extended musical intro, the wailing refrain, simple and pure: “Take me down to Paradise City/ where the grass is green/ and the girls are pretty/Oh won’t you please take me home.” If for one song, I was blessed with the ability to play guitar, sing, and dominate a stage with my presence, it would absolutely be “Paradise City.” Except for one niggling thing.
Goddamnit
Me, October 16th, 5:48 p.m.: “Chris Samuels will retire (I predict)”
Pro Football Talk, October 21, 3:29 .pm.: “Samuels is not expected to play again this year, and Schefter says that some within the organization think that Samuels will never play again.
“One source told Schefter that Samuels is privately saying that he plans to retire.”
I might need to change the tag from “Bad Predictions” to “Fuck, I’m Going To Be Right, Aren’t I?”
What I Would Do If I Owned the Redskins
It’s been a season of utter dismay for the Redskins and their fans. Like many of us, I had some reasonably high hopes for this team going into the season. I thought we’d be able to compete in the division and for a playoff spot, especially since the Giants looked to regress without ‘Skins-killer Plaxico Burress, the Cowboys replacing T.O. with Roy Williams, which definitely appeared from last season to be a bad mistake, and the Eagles one year older and more brittle. I fully expected the ‘Skins to lose to the Giants in week 1 – Meadowlands is a damn tough place to play, especially early in the season, when defenses are naturally ahead of the offenses. Plus, Campbell and the young wide receivers had another year in the system. They looked good in the first half of the 3rd preseason game against the Patriots, in the one preseason game that “counts the most.” I fully expected to see a 5-1 team preparing to host the Eagles in a critical Monday Night game. Instead, well, the season happened.
Winter in Derenemyn 