I Call Him....Number 2

The next thing I am looking forward to with this Vegas trip in April is LM showing ME something about the town that I am new to. In this case, The Deuce. I have seen these buses dozens of times, but have never been on one. With just her and I, it will be a little more economical to take the bus to and from places on The Strip instead of popping for a cab for every ride, everywhere like when I am with a group of people.

I was happy to hear that these buses run 24/7, because I know that one night out there LM and I will both hit a wall with fatigue and lack of sleep, and it'll be nice to have a ride back to the hotel instead of wandering back all that way on foot. The one thing we will have to keep in mind is which side of The Strip we are on as we are approaching that fatigue wall. Having to cross the street to get to a stop and then having to cross after getting off the bus may be just as long of a walk as it is back to the hotel, negating any benefit of the bus.

Whether we are riding the bus for need or for novelty, though, I'm sure it'll be quite an experience as I try and get LM to laugh out loud at some of the observations I make about our fellow passengers. I foresee a lot of video footage being recorded on this trip. :-)

84 Reasons I Miss Vegas, Redux

Last Tuesday, LM and I booked our first trip to Vegas in early April. This will be my 14th time to Vegas, or somewheres around there anyway, and her second, but our first time together. Now, a little over 5 years ago I was in a similar position as I am right now in terms of number of days before Vegas. Then I had 84 days, now I have about a week longer.

The reason that the 84 day thing is significant is that, in my pre-Vegas excitement, I decided to list 84 things about Vegas I was missing. One for each day between the first post and setting foot back in Vegas. I think I made it to number 9 before abandoning the idea. This time, I'm going to attempt to make it a weekly thing instead of daily, and broaden the scope from things I miss about Vegas to things I am looking forward to on this trip. I'm also going to be more flexible about the posts, because with rigid rules it's easy to just stop after you miss one or two. This time, not holding myself to anything strict, I will be more likely to carry on with it between now and our trip.

So to start this one off, here are the 9 things I used the last time. I won't expand on these, since there are explanations with the old posts, but I may refer to some of these and how they will affect this trip.

1. Cafe Gelato inside Bellagio
2. Sports books
3. Free drinks &
4. The waitresses who bring them to you
5. 25 cent video blackjack at
6. O'Shea's
7. Crazy cab rides
8. Where you are allowed to take your drink with you
9. Yearlong dry air = no sinus problems

I do have to mention that #1 on this list is ALWAYS number one on my list of things to do in Vegas. Every trip I have taken to Vegas since my second one when I found Cafe Gelato, I have gone there immediately after checking into my hotel. This will not be the case on this trip though. I usually take morning flights to Vegas to maximize my time there, but this time we'll be landing at night, after the cafe is closed. Big changes, but I am happy with both. At first we wanted early flights, but found out how much more expensive they were to book. So instead of maximizing our time there with an early flight, we decided to take a cheaper night flight....one day earlier. This will give us about 12 more hours in Vegas, and saved us a few hundred dollars. We are actually landing 2 hours later than originally planned, because I waited a day too long to book the trip, but that will actually make it easier to get everything together before we take off.

I'm also fine with breaking the tradition of hitting Cafe Gelato immediately upon my arrival, because this is a very different kind of trip for me. Going with LM, and only LM, will make this different and a little more special because I usually went to Vegas in a group of three or more. This one will be just for us, and we can do whatever we want, when we want without worrying about anyone else. That alone will be nice.

So on to the new list. First and foremost will be flying into Vegas. This will be the first time my plane approaches Vegas at night since my first trip in 1997 and the first time LM will see the lights of the city as she lands. Like I said earlier, I prefer morning flights so I can maximize my trip time, but anyone who flies into Vegas absolutely HAS to do it once when the lights of the city are shining. It's a completely different experience.

Looking Back....Looking Ahead

As the clock counts down toward 2012, it's really difficult to not think back on 2011 and the things that have happened in that 12 month span. This blog is usually a great guide to recap my year, but this has been a light year to say the least. One of my least posted years, and not much at all for the second half of the year with only 7 posts (including this one) after April ended.

I completely missed posting in November, which is unheard of for me considering my birthday is in that month. I'm only posting in December because I have time to do this now, and didn't put it off until tomorrow. Looking at the number of posts and where they were distributed begs a few questions about my posting. Primarily, is there something wrong or a reason I haven't posted much the last 8 months. The answers are no....but yes at the same time.

No there isn't anything wrong with me or what is going on in my life at this time. I am very happy where I am, and couldn't ask for more than I have right now. My life is better in many ways than I ever could have expected. That being said, I do have reasons for not posting pretty much everything I do or think here. First and foremost, I know I still have some people checking this blog that I'd rather not. I made the decision long ago to keep a public blog and never turn it private, and I've been on this blog for too damn long to change it and start over somewhere else. So I keep this one as my primary blog, and it will stay that way until I completely abandon it. Therefore, I have to pick and choose what I want to share with everyone, including those I don't want to share anything with anymore. If anything gets questioned in my head now, I usually won't put it up here.

Another reason I don't have as much to share anymore is lack of opportunity. I don't have as much time to waste by putting a blog post up. I have fewer chances to blog, and can't take away from the time I have for other things....so it doesn't get done.

Add to those the fact that I don't listen to music much anymore. Music has always been a huge part of my life, but as of late I don't listen to songs all that much. When I do, I usually don't have a way to record the names and artists of the songs so I can post a list of ten songs later. I made an attempt at this a couple months ago, but the post never made it up.

I could always lay out a plan for 2012 and say that I am going to blog more....but really, why bother? I always intend to blog more, but for one reason or another it just doesn't happen. So what do I expect for 2012 in terms of this blog? In a word, nothing. I won't place any expectations here at all and just be happy to read whatever I really feel like posting through the year when December 31st rolls around next year.

Don't Waste Your Time....

....or time will waste you.

These lyrics popped into my head after I read a quote on Twitter attributed to Steve Jobs.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

Simple and profound, very much like the man who has shaped technology more in the last 30 years or so than anyone else. The world lost a great mind and, by all accounts, a better person today with the passing of Steve Jobs.

I've tried my best to live life the way I've wanted to, although that has lead to plenty of conflict over the years, even within myself. I'll continue to do so to the best of my ability, taking hold of life and shaping it the way I want....but right now I have an essay I have to grab hold of and reshape. And it seems that Mr. Jobs has put his mark on my iPod one last time with this quote helping me choose my first song to write to.

One Year

One year.

Twelve months.

Fifty two weeks.

Three hundred and sixty five days.

No matter how you look at it, my heart still aches missing my best friend. Would it be too much for me to hope that a place such as Rainbow Bridge really does exist?

2 Years

August 21st, 2009. It started off as any other day for me, but little did I know when I rolled my ass out of bed and headed to work, the events of that day would change my life forever. So much has changed in such a short period of time. That day I was living the single life (albeit the boring side of it), I was recently back to school at a community college (although I had taken that semester off because....), I was only a few days away from finishing the hiring process for a job I had been wanting my whole life, I weighed less than 230 lbs and was really beginning to get into good shape, and I had a 9-5 that worked me only during the day, M-F. All of that has changed, and I have a high speed motorcycle crash to thank for it.

I had hoped to elaborate more on this, but as usual I just don't have the time to do so right now. Suffice it to say things have changed for the better overall, and if I could smile in ICU only hours after my crash....imagine how big my smile is now.

As the Crowe Flies

So it's pretty obvious that there aren't too many things I feel like blogging about as of late. Still have plenty of things going on in my life that are noteworthy, but I just haven't felt the urge to write about them. Today, a coworker said something that changed that....if only for a few minutes.

We were outside a little after 7 tonight, and talking about movies that have filmed scenes in Detroit and near our building. One of those movies was Kill the Irishman with Val Kilmer. I mistakenly thought that Russell Crowe was in the movie as well, and mentioned that. The next thing my coworker said was that I reminded him of Russell Crowe, to which I thought "ok, whatever". Then he went on to say "....from American Gangster".

Then I pictured it and shook my head....I was the overweight, bad hair, sloppy dressing, and poor as fuck version of Russell Crowe. My head shaking wasn't me disagreeing with what he said, but the realization that I actually saw what he was talking about. Then I went inside and ate my worries away with the chicken shawarma sandwich my coworker had just brought to me. All's well that ends well I guess.

June....

....is almost at the end. It's hard to believe we are halfway through 2011.

All in All, You're Just Another....

With my final now out of the way, and keeping my fingers crossed that I did well enough to maintain my A for the semester, I can focus on getting my ink. Just over two hours until I get my first tattoo. I am all kinds of nervous and excited. I have been planning my tattoos for years now, just waiting for the right moment to come and push me into getting them done.

Ironically, after all these years of planning, I am changing the position of my first tattoo so that it will mesh better with the tattoos I have planned for the future that will be in the same general area. Looks like I will have a couple themes on major parts of my body, and work that will go on for quite a while.

I will gladly post pictures of the final results later today....but you won't be seeing them unless you are my friend on facebook. Sorry, gotta keep some things personal....and permanent identifying marks are definitely in that group.

Back

Back from my wonderful vacation. The week absolutely flew by because I was having so much fun....and I am already looking ahead to my next vacation, whenever or wherever that may be. One drawback of the vacation is that I gained approximately 8 lbs while I was gone, so if you are going to claim that you saw me somewhere while I was on vacation, make sure you say it was a restaurant or something so that it is almost plausible.

Now that I am back, I'll get back to my song list. I was thinking about writing the posts and backdating the posts so there wouldn't be any gap....but I am very happy to have had this vacation, so I am going to have my blog reflect at least that in case I don't get to say too much more about it here.

Day 20 – A song you can’t help but sing along to

Another simple one for me. I have liked this song ever since I first heard it and while I don't sing the whole song, I REALLY get into the one part that I do sing. So much so, that I can actually scare people who aren't ready for it. :-)

One- Metallica.

Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell

Day 19 – A guilty pleasure

Yet another song I have seen performed live in the last year. This song doesn't have much in the way of musical merit, but I can't help liking it and singing a couple different parts.

Shots- LMFAO.

If you not drunk ladies & gentlemen
Get ready to get fucked up
Let's do it, Ha Ha
LMFAO
You know what
Lil Jon
Yeah
All of the alcoholics
Where you at
Let's go

When I walk in the club
All eyes on me
I'm with the party rock crew
All drinks are free
We like ciroc
We love patrone
We came to party rock
Everybody it's on
Shots shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Everybody
The ladies love us
When we pour shots
They need an excuse
To suck our cocks
We came to get crunk
How 'bout you?
Bottles up
Let's go round two
Shots shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Everybody
If you ain't getting drunk get the fuck out the club
If you ain't takin' shots get the fuck out the club
If you ain't come to party get the fuck out the club
Now where my alcoholics let me see ya hands up
What you drinkin on?
Jaegerbombs
Lemondrops
Buttery Nipples
Yellow Shots
Kamikaze
Rewindin'
Fucked on that shit
Get me some Gin

Patrones on the rocks and I'm ready for some shots
The women come around everytime I'm pourin' shots
Their panties hit the ground everytime I give em shots
So cups in the air, everybody let's take shots.
If you feelin' drunk put ya hands in the air
And If you tryin' to fuck put ya hands in the air
Now say "I'm fucked up" (I'm fucked up)
I'm fucked up (I'm fucked up)
I'm tryna fuck (I'm tryna fuck)
I'm tryna fuck (I'm tryna fuck)
Shots
Patrones on the rocks and I'm ready for some shots
The women come around everytime I'm pourin' shots
Their panties hit the ground everytime I give em shots
So cups in the air, everybody let's take shots.
I fucked up
La dad a da
La dad a dad a da

Day 18 – A song you never get sick of hearing

There are a ton of songs that I could have used for this. A lot of the songs I like listening to are so good, in my opinion, that I don't think I'll ever get tired of them. So, just like a lot of my posts for this challenge, this song has a definite memory attached to it. I liked this song a lot before I went to see Kings of Leon last summer, but sitting there and listening to it with LM made it a hundred times better. It's somewhat odd that this song always makes me feel good and/or smile considering the lyrics are rather sad. And while I was going to go see Kings of Leon last year no matter what, I have to thank them for having The Stills open up for them....without that, I wouldn't have this exact memory to look back on today.

Being Here- The Stills.

We ride through
These plains of hurt
Through the Southern breathing rock
On a railroad of knots
And there's blood on the lines
Of every page I turn
When the ones you love
Are the ones you burn

Being here
Being here ooh oh
Being here

Somewhere singing songs
About a girl I hurt
I've been everywhere enough
I've been torn apart by the world
But there's apples in the trees
And diamonds in the earth
I've been losing my mind
Somehow it can't get worse

Being here
Being here ooh oh
Being here

And the wind is blown and cold
And I can't escape the tears
One for every broken bone
And a hundred for all the years

Being here
Being here ooh oh
Being here

Day 17 – A song that makes you think of a family member

This one is a no-brainer for me....probably the easiest one I've seen yet. As a kid I used to see guys all over the place who claimed to be Viet Nam vets, looking for a handout with those little toothpick American flags for sale. One day when I was probably around 7 or 8 years old, one of those guys gave me a flag. I thought it was cool and was probably planning on using it for my GI Joe or He-Man forts when I got home. Well, the guy made the mistake of trying to get money out of my dad for that little flag. Long story short, the guy couldn't answer some very basic questions about being in the army and being "in country", and my dad lit him up....verbally.

My father has never talked too much about his time in Viet Nam. I know it's hard for him, and with the little bit I know about what he saw when over there, I completely understand. There are a few different songs that remind me of my dad, but this one is number one by far. Not only does it remind me of my father, it reminds me of what he did for his country, what he has done (and continues to do) for my mother and I, and how much I really love my old man and how I will always be proud to be his son. Even more, this song gives me chills by making me think about what he had to do and see while in the military....all before the age of 21.

Run Through the Jungle- Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Whoa, thought it was a nightmare,
Lo, it's all so true,
They told me, "Don't go walkin' slow
'Cause Devil's on the loose."

Better run through the jungle,
Better run through the jungle,
Better run through the jungle,
Woa, Don't look back to see.

Thought I heard a rumblin'
Callin' to my name,
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries, "Take aim!"

Over on the mountain
Thunder magic spoke,
"Let the people know my wisdom,
Fill the land with smoke."

Day 16 – A song that reminds you of a holiday

My first thought on today's post was Auld Lang Syne, which of course will always remind me of New Year's Eve. NYE has always been one of my favorite holidays. My friends always make an attempt to get together and do something, whether going out or just staying in at someone's place to celebrate. This past NYE was one of my favorites. We didn't do too much at all, and the group wasn't as big as it had been in previous years....but the people who were there, and the smiles on their faces will stay with me forever. As will my roommate's shirt. I think he knew before the rest of us that Charlie Sheen was going to be fired from Two and a Half Men, because he did his best to dress like Sheen's character from the show.

After a little more thought, I Got You Babe settled in my head. It reminds me of a recent holiday, a movie, and a furry little creature who "predicts" when Spring will arrive. Groundhog day is also quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. Hopefully I'll get a chance to party with Punxsutawney Phil on February 2nd in the next few years.

I Got You Babe- Sonny and Cher.

HIM: I got flowers in the spring I got you to wear my ring
HER: And when I'm sad, you're a clown And if I get scared, you're always around
HER: So let them say your hair's too long 'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong
HIM: Then put your little hand in mine There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb

HIM: Babe
BOTH: I got you babe I got you babe

HIM: I got you to hold my hand
HER: I got you to understand
HIM: I got you to walk with me
HER: I got you to talk with me
HIM: I got you to kiss goodnight
HER: I got you to hold me tight
HIM: I got you, I won't let go
HER: I got you to love me so

Day 15 – Your favourite TV theme tune

Nothing too in depth here. I just always loved the Airwolf theme when I was a kid, and I still like it today. The theme from Dallas got some consideration for this, strictly because of a commercial that used it a few years ago....but as a devout member of the Redskin Nation, that thought was out of my head as soon as it entered it.

Day 14 – A song off an album that has brilliant cover art

When I first saw the album cover for Saving Abel's self titled album, I really liked it. I thought it was pretty hot without being overt, but I can't really say that I believe it's brilliant art....more so just a way to catch the eye of guys buying CDs. I'm not too sure how well it worked though, considering I bought the single 'Addicted' before ever seeing the album cover.

Now, whether or not the album artwork for American V: A Hundred Highways by Johnny Cash is brilliant or not can easily be debated, this is the one that moves me the most whenever I see it. I nearly used his rendition of 'Hurt' from American IV: The Man Comes Around because I really like the picture on that cover as well, and I love the way he covered that song, but I just can't deny that this picture of him working at what he loved to. And this song isn't too shabby either....

God's Gonna Cut You Down- Johnny Cash.

Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light

You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down

Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down

Day 13 – The song that contains your favourite lyrics

So many options for this one, considering I generally like songs more for the lyrics than most people. It took me QUITE a while to come up with an answer, and my answer would probably change here and there depending on my moods, but right now, this is the one that I can think of that I like most just for the lyrics. At many times in my life I have felt like a caged animal, so hearing the the first line of this song really caught my attention when I first got this CD.

Right Where it Belongs- Nine Inch Nails.

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all...
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself...
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you're really all alone?
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself...
Find yourself afraid to see?

Day 12 – A song that makes you laugh

Plenty of options for this one, and most of them came from the same guy. I think this one makes me laugh the most because I know a few different people that have these tendencies.

White and Nerdy- Weird Al Yankovic.

They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking
I'm so White N' nerdy

Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!
I wanna roll with-
The gangsters
But so far they all think
I'm too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Really, really white n' nerdy

First in my class here at M.I.T.
Got skills, I'm a Champion of DND
MC Escher that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40
I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawkings in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
got people begging for my top eight spaces
Yo I know Pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces

I've been browsing, inspectin'
X-men comics you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket
I must protect 'em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code who do they call?
I do HTML for them all
Even made a homepage for my dog!
Yo! I got myself a fanny pack
they were having a sale down at the GAP
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
POP POP! Hope no one sees me gettin' freaky!

I'm nerdy in the extreme and whiter than sour creme
I was in AV club and Glee club and even the chess team!
Only question I ever thought was hard
was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?
Spend every weekend at the renaissance fair
Got my name on my underwear!

Day 11 – A song that reminds you of your best mate

Another easy one. Although I did not attend the wedding where this song became,to my group of friends, synonymous with my best friend....I have seen him at weddings before and have no problem at all picturing him on the dance floor showing off his sweet moves with this song playing in the background.

Dancing Queen- ABBA.

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for the place to go
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing
You come to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the music's high
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing Queen, feel the beat, from the tambourine oh yeah
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on
Leave 'em burning and then you're gone
Looking out for another, anyone will do
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine oh yeee
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the Dancing Queen

Diggin the Dancing Queen