Remember...land on your feet next time

At Lowe's with my older brother. We were pricing swing sets for his son. Who is still a baby so I don't know exactly why we are yet. Anyways....

AD Bro. This swing set should be ok right?

AD: Yeah sure, I guess. I dunno, I'm not a kid anymore.

AD Bro.: I suppose. What do you think dad would want for the boy?

AD: Knowing him he's going to get something nice. It's his first grandchild so it'll be good. He's chopping down the tree in the back yard just for a playground thingy.

AD Bro: He's gonna hurt himself doing that.

AD Bro. Hey. Remember when we were little and I dared to you jump off the swing.

AD Bro points to a metal set that is very tall and could actually fit adults. I look at it and reminisce.

AD: Of course how could I forget.

One of the many places we lived at growing up was in front of a school with a playground. The playground was made of old rail road ties and sheet metal. Giant bolts and jagged edges every where. When you got hurt and cut etc, you wore the scars like badges of honor.

(Flashback harp type music comes to mind then.......we're on the playground many years ago)

AD Bro: Ok, watch me. (He climbs to the highest point on the swing and lets go of the swing at its highest and jumps and lands on his feet) Now you try.

AD: I dunno how.

AD Bro: It's easy just swing to your highest and then let go and jump.

AD: Are you sure?

AD Bro: Yes. Come on do it. I dare you.

AD: I dunno

AD Bro: I double dog dare you.

AD: Alright fool watch out. (Using my best Mr. T impression)

I swing, hard and fast. The old metal swings squeaking with every thrust of my body. I climb higher and higher. It's exhilarating. I get as far high up as I can go.

AD Bro: Now let go!! Jump.

I let go. I let go. Again I let go. I'm at the highest point I can go and let go. I'm so high I can see over the small tower of the playground and down to our house at the bottom of the hill. I'm a good 10-12 feet in the air. I should mention that these were old metal swings cemented in the ground and were gigantic, adults used them all the time. Again I let go.

AD Bro: JUMP STUPID JUMP!!!

I just let go.

I just let go.

I let go of the swing. I'm still in the sitting position. My legs are straight up in front of me. For a brief moment I'm completely weightless........weightless

Then gravity kicks in. I fall fast and hard. I'm still in the sitting position. I'm falling, feels like forever.

Still in the sitting position. Then for whatever reason instead of putting my legs to land in front of me, I put them straight ahead of me. I hit the ground. BAM!!!

I land ass first into the ground. Unfortunately most of the sand my the swing sets are gone from foot traffic. So now all there is was a little sand and hard hard earth. BAM!! I hit the ground. I felt my spine quiver and contract. I sit in shock for a moment. Then the pain sets in. I lie on the ground yelling.

AD: MY BACK MY BACK!!! I BROKE MY BACK!!!

AD Bro: You idiot, you're supposed to land on your feet not your butt!!!!

AD: MY BACK!!!! I BROKE MY BACK!!! (At which point I jump up and run in circles holding my back and screaming.)

AD Bro: You didn't break your back.

AD: How do you know?

AD Bro: If you broke your back you wouldn't be running around screaming right now.

AD: (With tears in my eyes) Oh....yeah.......MY BACK!!! I BROKE MY BACK!!!

AD Bro is laughing hysterically at me now.

AD Bro. Stop crying. If you keep crying I'm going to tell mom and you won't be able to come play outside anymore.

AD: (Still teary eyed) Ok...sniffle.. This is all your fault.

AD Bro: Shut up.

AD Bro gets back on the swing set. Still mad at him for daring me to jump, I pick up a rock and throw it at his meat and two veg, while he swings upwards and score a direct hit. He falls to the ground in pain and I ran like hell. I ran down the hill of the playground. But he got up and picked up a rock to.

Now from what I've been told I looked real funny in this next part. One of my friends was walking up the hill and saw what happened. I'm running down the hill, my brother right behind me. I can feel him throw the rock at me. I hear it coming. BANG!! It hits me right in the lower back really hard. I remember feeling the rock and my knees buckle. I threw my arms up in the air and fall to my knees and rolled down the hill towards my friend. My friend told me I looked like William Dafoe in Platoon when he gets shot. Said it looked really funny.



My bro ran down to me. I'm laying on the ground laughing.

AD: Lets do that again.

AD Bro: Ok

Back to regular time.

AD: Yeah this one is nice. But he's going to need a little bro to show him how to use it right.

Midnight Confessions

My desktop computer broke. Something happened to it. All my records stored on the hard drive and it won't even start anymore. Blast it. It must be the hard drive itself cause the wretched thing turns on but doesn't boot Window's to completion. It just gets stuck. Oh well. It's time for a new PC anyways, maybe a Mac this time around. At least I have my handy dandy laptop, though I can't burn mix CD's off it. :(

So I ended up at Mix Tape Girls house tonight. We watched The Wild One together. One of my favorite Brando movies. It's very balmy down here in south TX right now. The humidity is as high as the actual air temperature. The moment you step outside or some place with out air conditioning you feel drenched in moister. Like someone is taking a hose to you. For me I hate it. Talk about a bad hair day. At least on the beach you have a breeze but here the air is stagnant.

We finished watching the movie.

MTG: I'm a bit hungry. You?

AD: I'm ok. But do you want to go get something?

MTG: If you would take me, I'd like to.

AD: Ok let's go.

MTG runs to her room and quickly grabs a mix CD she made today.

MTG: I want to hear this in your car.

AD: Ok...

AD: So where do you want to go?

MTG: I dunno. No where around here. I don't feel like regular fast food. No burgers or tacos or junk. I dunno, I just need something.

AD: So do you want to just drive around till you figure it out?

MTG: Yes, please.

AD: Alright

We take off in the car. Despite the heat and humidity its a great night to drive with the windows down. MTG puts in her CD. I get the feeling she just wanted to get out of the house so I just drive on meandering the streets.

The first song comes on.

1. Ain't No Sunshine: Bill Withers

I haven't heard this song in ages. It's definitely on my top 10 all time favorites list. Bill's deep and mild voice sets the tone for our drive. The melody fills the car and mix tape girl smiles at me and reclines back a little. For some reason I'm thinking American Graffiti the way we're just driving around.

2. Midnight Confessions: The Grassroots

"The sound of your foot steps, telling me that you're near". Yeah I love that part. MTG sings along to it, and I nod my head.

3. "Pres se toi" - Andrea Lindsay

It's french its beautiful, nuff said.

4. "Because the Night" - 10,000 Maniacs Unplugged

I remember watching them play on unplugged. I thought they were one of the best if not the best unplugged performances ever done by MTV. I could be wrong.

5. Here I Am (Come and Take Me) - Al Green

MTG: I feel like some waffles.

AD: I heard about a new chicken and waffles place that opened up. Want to go check it out.

MTG: Yeah.

The new chicken and waffles place is a new thing in town. We've never had one before. I've lived in some cities with them. I loved them, my favorite places to go. It's way on the opposite end of town though, and I'm driving dead on south. But there's no rush, I'll just cut from the south side to the east side through the back way. I've lived all over town so I know how to get there.

6. Diary - Alicia Keys

If you ever have a chance to she her in concert, do go please!! I kid you not she is much better live in concert than on record. I don't know how she does it, but she puts on one heck of a show and the music even sounds better. She's amazing one of my favorite female artists. The sub-wolfer in the trunk loves the bass of the song. I have it up a little less than midway just enough to feel and hear in the car with the volume up, but not to disturb the music and just be noise.

7. It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork

We laugh when this one comes on. I can only think of the video when Bjork is dancing around in that odd little dress of hers. Very funny.

8. No Woman, No Cry - Bob Marley and The Wailers

I love Bob Marley. As this song comes on we start to enter the south side. My old neighborhood. Nothings really changed much, a few new stores here and there but all in all it's the same. The air smells a little different down here. Lots of BBQ smoke in the air. I start to get hungry.

9. The 1812 - Bond

Bond is a all female classical group. Four main girls playing the violin, cello, something else. Anyways is a take on Tchaikovsky, I love their remake. I think of V for Vendetta when he blows up Parliment. That was a cool movie.

10. Swallowed in the Sea - Coldplay

MTG: You know, whenever I come to this side of town alone, I'm always scared. It's that prejudice, I feel so bad saying that. But I'm scared to come here alone.

AD: Yeah in a sense it is. But then again you've never lived anywhere other than the north side so you've been pretty much sheltered your whole life.

I know these streets very well. I lived all over this town and many others. To me there is nothing wrong with them. I know my way around and don't look like I'm lost. That's the trick act like you know what you're doing and have a purpose and you'll just go with the flow.

MTG: I feel safe though being with you down here.

I dunno what to say. I just know she took my hand and is singing to the music.

11. I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)

I'll forever remember this for being on the Mix CD she made me a few months back.

12. God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

I remember this song because my dad always sings it when he plays their greatest hits CD's. Usually when he's ironing his shirts. Volume loud, he's in his bliss.

13. Sweet Surrender - Sarah McLachlan

I love Sarah. I remember hearing this song back when I was in the 11th grade. I fell in love with Sarah and have been ever since. That album got me through a tough year.

14. In My Life - The Beatles

Nuff said. Though it makes me think of a mix I had put this on a number of years ago. Of a former ex and a road trip we took, and the late night drive back home, and a thought of what could've been if only one thing had changed. But that's ancient history.

15. See the Sun & Bonus track - Dido

I love Dido. She's in my top 10 lists of female artists as well. This is the last track as it's over ten minutes long so it took up a lot of space on the disc. But it's ok. I love this song. Again it reminds me of another road trip and having a friend cry on me cause the song got to them. It was ok, a whole day of wine tasting will do that to you. But it's the bonus song that I love the most from the whole album. It doesn't have a name as far as I can tell. But it's beautiful. It makes me get a lump in my throat every time I hear it. MTG knows this and purposely puts it on there. If you have never heard that song you have to listen to it. Borrow it if you don't have it and just listen till the very end. You have to wait almost 3 minutes after the last song to get to it but it's worth the wait. I won't tell you about it if you haven't heard it. That way you can say it's a gem you discovered yourself.

We get the the restaurant. Fortunately it's still open. We eat and talk and laugh. I tell her I'll make her another mix as soon as I fix my desktop. She beams with delight. She's been a little down lately so I do all I can to keep her smiling and laughing. We re-listen to the CD on the way back to her house. I drop her off and she takes the CD with her. That was a good mix I think to myself. It hit the spot.

Coffey's Q&A

So Cup of Coffey asked me to interview her, and I did. But only to be fair, interviews should go both ways. So here in all it's glory is Cup of Coffey's questions for me. Cause after all, it's only fair.

1. You love mix tapes and girls who make them. What five songs would you put on a mix tape for me?

Oh wow. Hmmm... Ok so partially quoting from one of my favorite books High Fidelity let me start by saying, "The making of a great compilation tape...is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick it off with a killer to grab attention. Then you gotta take it up a notch, but then you don't want to blow it so you gotta cool it down a notch. There are a lot of rules." That being said the mix I would make for you from what I know of you would be.....

1. She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult - It's fast and fun

2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles - One of my favorite George Harrison songs. I just love the deepness of it.

3. Happy When It Rains - The Jesus and Mary Chain

4. Shiny Happy People - R.E.M. Might not be your favorite but I like it for the poppiness. Just a fun song.

5. At the River - Groove Armada To close out the tape, it's soft and sweet and just relaxing.

Of course I would have to record these songs straight off vinyl, for the best sound. Although I must admit when I probably read this again later I could think of much better songs.

2. Are you a born-and-bred Texan? If so do you have longhorns mounted to your car grill?

Yes I am a born and bred Texan. To tell the truth the only place I've ever seen longhorns mounted on a car is either on parade or on The Dukes of Hazard on Boss Hoggs car. However I will note that I was once in the F.F.A. and did learn to rustle up cattle and neuter calves, roping the whole nine yards. I also did dairy judging and such (if you've ever seen Napoleon Dynamite when he tastes the milk...yeah that was me sadly). Although that was for a brief year as this was one of the many (12 schools a different one every year) schools that I went to, again part of the life of a traveling gypsy. This one happened to be out in the sticks. But if you ever meet me you'd never know I could do these things. Again as for the car the only thing I have on it is a big Transformers Decepticon sticker that covers the hole in my bumper.

3. Do you enjoy working in the real-estate field?

Yes very much. I love it. Though I work it from a different end than most people are accustomed. I do more like the work of a researcher/detective/private investigator, all in an attempt to get my work done. It's challenging but I love it all the same. Despite the crazy things that our bosses promise to people. But that's another story.

4. What's your favorite curse-word?

Oh my. I try not to curse as much as possible. And I never curse in front of ladies. Never ever. But on occasion the phrase "Dirty mofo" does slip out. Usually when I almost get side swiped on the highway. I feel bad after I curse though.

5. How did you select the nom de blog "Artful Dodger"?

When I first went to Myspace. I had that moniker. I deleted that account cause I started getting weird cyber stalkers, both male and female. (Yikes, true story) But Artful Dodger came cause my dad loves the movie "Oliver". Of course my favorite character was the "Artful Dodger". Oh and the book is very good as well. I should also say that the Artful Dodger is also the name of one of my favorite DJ's as well. So I have a few friends that call me that as well, and sometimes on the rare occasions when I actually DJ a party I might go by Artful Dodger as well. But it just depends on the party.

Ok well I know my answers aren't that great but there you have it. So again kiddos, if anyone else wants to be interviewed or just want to interview me feel free to drop me a note or comment.

Want me to interview you?
• Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me!” If your e-mail address isn’t on your blog, e-mail me.
• I’ll send you five questions.
• You’ll answer all five questions on your blog.
• Include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

Bad Muppets

I know the song isn't that great but this just makes me laugh my butt off.


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Old Spice

Wow, Old Spice has a new bottle. I said to myself while at a store yesterday. It actually looks pretty cool, like some Marc Jacobs rip off or something. Still smells like Old Spice though. The smell that will always remind me of dad. Back in the day when we all used the same bed, when mom and pop would sleep during the day and go to work at night. Me and my brother would go to sleep in their bed in our little apartment, when they went to work. I always slept on dad's side, his pillows and sheets permeated with the hint of Old Spice, like he was there even though he wasn't. Up until a few years ago he always wore it. Dad's signature scent. Sure thousands of other men wear the stuff, but when I smell it I can't but help think of my pop. He knew how to wear it, just enough to catch a hint of the smell, not overwhelmingly so powerful it sucked the air out of you. The smell that I could barely smell, when he would pick me up over his head and run so I could feel like I was flying like Superman. Yeah, dad's signature scent, I thought to myself as I put the lid back on the bottle. I put the bottle back and thought to myself; "If I ever have kids, family, etc. will they remember me by my scent of what I wear? The one and only fragrance that'll make them think, 'Dad.'" I look at the bottle one last time and walk off. I guess I'll keep to wearing my Brook's Brothers, and maybe, just maybe someday, someone will remember me by the scent of it.

Wow, this past work week was killer. We've had so much work it was ridiculous. Not that the case load is something we can't handle, it's the demands and promises that came with them that nearly sent me over the edge. Our bosses will do anything to get new business, darn near anything. Our service we provided in my team is the elite of the elite of the legal land problem world. We charge a premium for our work, and we're able to resolve the problem 95% of the time. Now I say we charge a premium, $350 an hour is quiet a high price to pay. But out bosses never charge anyone. In order to drum up business for the main part of the company, they give away our work for free, like candy to children telling them take as much as you want. So they give our services for free almost 99% of the time, it's very rare we have someone call us out of the blue and ask for our services. Other companies send us their screwed up files faster than we can process them, noting that "Boss so and so said we get all our files free". Ok that's fine, their the boss that's their business. Mine is to do and not to say.

So we get case after case after case of legal files in. Fixing real estate legal screw ups that happened within the last 100 years. Yeah we get files that have problems stretching that far back. I sometimes think of it as Mission Impossible. Mission Difficult is a walk in the park, we work Mission Impossible. (It's silly I know but we really do this) So we work our magic and have but a few simple demands that must be met by our customers. We need only a few items to properly preform our magic with. Sadly our bosses spoil our customers so much that they refuse to give us a hat to pull a rabbit out of. Getting quite nasty with us for not working their case when we refuse to accept it with no information. Seriously if you need something done legally, you at least need to tell me what it is you need fixed. I don't read minds, and don't yell at me cause I don't.

So this week was crazy silly. One of our bosses promised a company (owners are personal friends) that our services are free and will always be free and send in as much as they want. Meaning that Thurs and Fri, we were bombarded by request by this company. (Note they have 16 offices and all 16 unloaded on us.) And this is despite the fact that all other companies we work with decided to do the same on those days too. Normally our case load is 20 each. Now the four of us have over 50 cases a piece. Our team prides ourselves on being able to fix these problems within a very quick time period usually no more than a week and in some cases within the same day. However the cases we've been getting cannot be done just so. The information is so broken or completely wrong that there is no way we can get it done anytime soon.

But our bosses decided long ago to let our customers tell us how long we have to get their work done. Putting an "need by" date on our request forms. Normally their pretty good and put down, a reasonable time period. But not last week. No, no, it was need by "TODAY" or "TOMORROW" or "BY 3 PM TODAY!!!!!!!!" When we get these they are rare, usually one or two. But imagine getting these 10 of these requests dumped upon you at the same time. There is no human way possible to complete these. So then the calls come in and the emails and the threats. Now note that the companies (title companies, attorney's etc) usually have these closing documents well over a month before they send things to us. So that means that when you decided to buy land they process your paper work, it usually takes about a month to run everything. And so it sits there your paper work until closing day. They don't look at it, until your sitting right there waiting for your new house. And then BAM!! Wait we can't do this cause there's this legal issue on your property you wish to purchase, refinance, etc. So we come in, they send the request to us. Giving us as little information as possible to get the work done. Then call and scream at us every hour on the hour till it's done. Albeit, making it sound like our fault for holding things up when they had your paper work for over a month and didn't bother checking for any mistakes in your title.

But now I'm ranting. Anyways the stress got so bad that my eyes started twitching. Like literally twitching. By the end of both those days I couldn't even focus on work. Much less read my computer screen. One customer got mad at pterodactyl lady and phone up our main office to complain. PL got talked to but it wasn't her fault, there were a few things she needed to do better but all in all you couldn't blame her for not working, she did her best. She broke down, and cried. That pissed me off considerably. I was a few steps away from turning into the Hulk and smashing through walls demanding justice for my team. Everyone else was on edge in our team but didn't break down thank goodness. We just found escape anyway we could. So that being said I found peace in finally being able to do something I have not been able to ever do in about 16 years.

Magic Eye

I've never been able to figure those pictures out and it drove me nuts. So taking a momentary break from work, our team did some Magic Eye, focusing our attention on something other than work. It helped a great deal. I finally was able to figure out how to do it. I know think that it was so easy, how could I have not known how to do it? Oh well.

The weekend came and I Fiesta'd. Got all nice and tipsy (not drunk) and had fun and forgot about work, well nearly forgot about it. Spent the day with friends doing crazy stuff and eating my fill of turkey legs and beer. And let's not forget the sausage on a stick.

Oh and I finally go around to seeing "Stranger Than Fiction". My friend loaned me the movie and I finally saw it. I loved it. Will Ferrell was great in that movie. It's a bit off colour but very interesting and has it's funny moments too. If you haven't seen it give it a whirl if you like odd off colour things. Although I could've done without the men's shower sceen, you don't see anything but back ends, but still...it was unnecessary. Well it's already tomorrow morning. Night all. Don't go mad and turn into Hulks. Save that for me and my shadowy vengeance in our meeting on Monday with the bosses.

I'm pretty laid back. In fact rarely does something irk me so that I have to speak up against it. But lately something kinda has. The new music royalties legislation that pretty much threatens to end internet radio.

I know most of you are probably like, "No it won't end it." And truthfully it won't, but it'll change it drastically from what we have now. It'll be main stream big company radio that survives. I like music, and I'm for copyright protection very much. I think Artist deserve all the dues that they can as it's their art that being put out their, they own it, of course they should get paid. But the major industry namely the RIAA and other companies are going to wipe out private independent radio streams that bring so much more to listeners than any big company would. Sure it's not as flashy and nice as big business radio, but it's the things you find. It's the artist's you hear that you would have never heard of anywhere else. It's the feeling that you're hearing something awesome that isn't played anywhere else and it makes you want to go and buy a CD or download an album worth your money for once.

So last month when I received an email from Pandora Internet radio about this problem I immediately signed up to protest the new legislation that has been enacted that'll wipe out private internet radio. The royalty fee's are outrageous. Few private internet radio channels can afford it. They had a petition to send to your congressmen about the issue. I sent the petition to two of our congressmen. Here's one response:

Dear Artful Dodger:

Thank you for contacting me regarding copyright protection. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue.

Copyright protection has been central to America's prosperity and job creation. Movies, books, computer software, television, photography and music are among our unique American products and some of our most successful exports. United States industries depending on copyright protection employ nearly 4 million workers and produce over $65 billion of our exports ( more than agriculture and automobile manufacturing.

Protecting content in a high-technology age is a new and daunting problem, and copyright protection is an important challenge as the broadband revolution offers even more far-reaching possibilities and opportunities. With new speed and interactivity, the entire store of movies, music, books, television and raw knowledge can be made widely available. I believe copyright protection is a foundation of innovation, and copyright law should work to ultimately protect the best interests of consumers. Intellectual property is the creative core of the information age, and I agree this is a pivotal issue for Congress to address.

I appreciate hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,

Kay Bailey Hutchison

2nd response:

Thank you for contacting my office to share your concerns and opinions.

I will be responding either by email or the United States Postal Service.

Sincerely,

Congressman Charles A. Gonzalez

I think Ms. Hutchinson reply was the best albeit it’s a cookie cutter reply that obviously someone on her staff replied with. It seems odd to me that these auto responses don't address the issues that you write in about in the first place. I agree with Ms. Hutchinson auto reply about protecting artists and their property, what I don't agree with is the outrageous amount that the industry itself demands. And from these
responses, it seems to me like the minds of the Congressmen are already made up instead of listening to the people.

It seems to me that the industry see's internet radio as a threat. Because they play whatever instead of the top 40 which is mostly crap. If their so worried aboutlosing money then they should find better talent that then poppy smacky pap they shove down people's throats every day on the radio. Do I really need to hear Brintey or Christina or some wanna be punk EMO band that sounds like everyone else?

Of course not, which is why I switched to satellite and internet radio a few years ago. I'm rambling now, blah!!! Do I make sense? Freedom of choice is what people demand. When these freedoms are taken away by corporations it cheats the consumers of options they might otherwise have had. If internet radio goes away people will find something else to fill in the void. But why should that have to happen in the first
place?

I feel odd cause I'm all "Fight the Power" right now. LOL But I just see so many things taken away from people, freedoms that can be good for all, taken away simply cause some companies want to pocket money for themselves and have the money to make laws happen so that they can continue to do so. Don't let it happen. Give me liberty or give me death!! Isn't that what this country was founded on? It doesn't seem that way anymore.


Currently Listening to: Rage Against the Machine: Guerrilla Radio

The weekend



Friday night: 8 pm received call from a friend.

A: Please you have to come with me this morning!! I can't do this alone.

AD (me): But it's at 6 am? Why at 6 am? Are you bloody crazy?

A: Come on!! Do this for me I know he's going to be there and I don't want to get sucked into his group again.

My friend has a problem. She had a small volunteer job to do this past Saturday. Sadly there's this guy there that she feels really uncomfortable with. Somehow they always end up together and she gets freaked out. Nothing wrong with the guy, he just gives her the willies. I have no problem with him. Her thinking, is if she makes plans with me then she'll have her group set. Not that I don't have anything against volunteer work, I do it from time to time but at 6 am? After my crazy week.

A: PLEASE??!!! DO THIS FOR ME?!!!?? I'll take you to Starbucks and the Guenther House after.

AD: (sighs) Ok Ok!! But I get to have pancakes at the G.H.

A: Deal

(note this deal didn't materialism due to the rest of the days events)

I set my stero for 4:50 cause I live no where near downtown. In fact I'm not even in the city technically. I get up at 5:10. I take my time as I'm literally sleep walking on Saturday morning. I get there five after 6 and there making plans. My friend nearly jumps for joy that I show up.
The volunteer work is boring and uneventful, but I'm asleep while doing it so I'm oblivious to anything going on. At least I get a Starbucks out of it.

It finished and I'm on my way home and my mobile goes off. My friend "D" calls.

D: Hey can you do me a huge favor?

I'm only thinking about going back to bed, but figure I'm already granting favors today so why not.

AD: Yeah why not

D: Thanks man. I'm at work but I have a friend who called me. She's from Missouri and she's in town for work but she's done. I didn't know she was here so I can't get off and show her around.

AD: Ok sure. (still asleep, and not sure what I'm getting into.)

D provides me with her hotel info and room and number. I call and make arrangements to show her around till D get's off work. I arrange a couple of my friends to go with me as I don't know what to expect. D doesn't get off work till 4 pm.

D's friend was actually very nice to hang out with. And we showed her the town. San Antonio is alive, it's fiesta week. (Think half mardi gras and carnival [Yes I know those are the same thing, but there completely different if you actually go to the two] with more emphasis on family) 10 days of city wide partying so she came at a great time. Although her hotel is right in the middle of down town and with street closures and tourists it takes forever to pick her up. The rest of the day I play a half asleep chauffeur and tour guide. Fortunately my other friends are very energetic and bouncy so they more than made up for my sloth.

Finally the day ended. I dropped D's friend off at her hotel where D was waiting with his wife and some other friends to take her out at night. I chauffeured my other friends home as I picked them up. Sadly this takes forever as they live on opposite ends of town. I finally get home around 9 pm. But Mix Tape Girl calls. We talk till 11 pm. I might have fallen asleep while she talked to me, I think, because I can't remember at all what she said. But I explained my day so she said she understood if I was sleepy. Oh well. Can't wait till next exciting weekend. It'll be pay day and I should be rested and the best Fiesta parties will begin!! Viva Fiesta!!! ^_^

Work this past week was crazy busy. Our team had a set back this week as our main processor that logs in our requests got sick. So I took up the slack. Which I have no problem with as me and her get along just fine. In fact she was the one who trained me way back when.

It wasn't until I did her job and mine the past three days of work that I realized just how much work she has to do. So much stuff my mind went crazy. So I do what I do when I need to relax and clear my mind. I turn to my music and art. This past week was art really.

I had so much work that it was a record week for me. Fortunately I closed out about 12 cases by myself and a few that came in for our missing team member too. But all that work got to be too much. And our customers (other attorney's and title companies) weren't being a great help either. "Where's my release? What's taking so long? I sent in my request yesterday, why isn't it done? Can I get an update, we want to go to settlement by tomorrow?" And so the endless calls came in.

It amazes me that these "qualified" people whom you trust with your financial well being in real estate know so little about the inside process of the business that it's scary. The fact that they know how to process your paper work doesn't mean that they necessarily should be. It's all "Hurry up and get it done, my commission is riding on this. or The buyer is threatening to walk out and the deal." Which makes me think (sadly), "So what, I'm probably doing them a favor by not letting them get some second rate loan they'll probably never afford when their ARM rates skyrocket and they become another foreclosure statistic in a year or two." It's scary what decent these people will weave to make a credit score acceptable so some half-bit lender will give you money with conditions that would make a loan shark cry. But oh well, mine is not to say...only do. So this week I turned to art to get me through it.

I like to draw, doodle, paint etc. Especially when I have my music going. Very relaxing. At work we're lenient enough so that I can express myself anyway I choose. So usually I doodle on our conference room dry board. Leaving pictures, puzzles, poems, games, whatever comes to my mind. Here's what I did this past week. I took these pics with my mobile so excuse the graininess.




I took this concept off a stencil that I found on a sticker website. (Urban sticker) I'm a secret sticker fiend. Did this during lunch of course but hey, what can you say, we only have a few colours of markers to use.

Then of course it was tea time. I love making my tea fresh with my special tea cup with decanter and top. I love it because it's so asian with the dragons on it. Sadly I had run out of my favorite Black Cherry tea and only had a bag of dark chocolate M&M's in my desk. So the tea cup was filled with M&M's instead. Not the healthiness of the tea, but just as good to me.





And last but not least I needed a napkin. While rummaging through my desk I noticed I had tons of them from all manner of restaurants we go to. The stack was about 3 inches high. I need to clean out my drawers at work.

My Interview


So I'm being interviewed by Gizmorox. Who by the way has a neat bloggie, check it out when you can. (My Head Is A Box Filled With Nothing) Basically she was interviewed by someone else and you just keep the thing going. Here's my five questions and incredibly lame answers. Enjoy.

1. Who is the greatest DJ you ever saw spin Live?
Very good question. I'd have to say Paul Van Dyk. He's my favorite of favorite DJ's. My favorite concert was in 2005 in Tokyo at The House (a club). I'll always remember this cause Kat, Guy (my best friend in Tokyo), some of Guys friends, Lori and myself specifically planned our vacation around going to see him in concert. Of course I'll always remember the crazy dance Lori did cause it looked like she was washing her hands and arms the way she rave dances. It was so much fun.

2. What are your feelings on Halloween?
Stay inside and eat all the candy. I paid for it why should I have to share with little munchkins? J/K You know I never really did anything for Halloween. Too poor for costumes, and I didn't want to walk around neighborhoods I didn't know asking for candy. (This is because my family was constantly on the move like a band of gypsies so every year was a new and dangerous neighborhood.) Usually I just stayed home and watched old horror movies with my dad and eat all the candy my mum bought. I think that was the best and more fun than going out and asking for candy. Besides I ate the good stuff and gave whomever came by my left overs.

3. What movie could you watch over and over again without getting bored?
It probably sounds dumb, but I love "Lost in Translation". I love Japan, so that's a huge plus. But my favorite actor Bill Murray is in it. Plus Scarlett Johanson is pretty good in it too. (Grrrowww!! ^_^) I know I could've picked something with action or drama or suspense or horror. But I'm never tired of seeing that movie. I've honestly watched it three times straight. Why I like that movie so much, I dunno, I just do. I'm weird that way. Oh and my second to that would probably be a toss up between the Princess Bride (grew up on that movie, can quote every line) or Love Actually which Mix Tape Girl has got me hooked on.

4. How did you get into blogging?
I blame Myspace for this. I honestly knew nothing about blogging (still pretty much don't know anything too. In case you haven't noticed I can't even figure out how to make headings for my posts like all the nice blogs I see). I got into it cause I saw my older brother had a Myspace page, and being the nosy little brother that I am I had to annoy him on there too. So I started a page and left him goofy messages on his page. Then I started getting friends on my page and I started posting blogs on Myspace (which I've pretty much abandoned, that got old fast). I came across blogger because my friend Kat had a blog and I read it and signed up and have been blogging ever since. And I feel more comfortable on here cause I think I've had like what..maybe 20-25 views? So I know the bare minimal of people are reading this and actually caring. Though I must say I was tickled pink when I got my first comment. Thanks Beth, you made my day.

5. If you had to lose one of your sense, which one would it be?
How about..my...uhm...Spidey Sense? I don't think I need to know when danger is coming all the time. j/k I'm not sure. I'm going to go with...smell. I figure if I can taste something I can get the gist of what it must smell like.


Ok, so that was my turn. So if you want me to interview you, just go by the instructions below.

• Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me!”
• I will respond by e-mailing you five questions (if your email is not on your profile, email me your desire to be interviewed so I know your address). I get to pick them, and you have to answer them all.
• You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
• You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
• When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Ok so any takers? Not like anyone reads this thing, but you never know.

It's very odd, infatuation. Yeah really really odd in fact. So much so that I had no idea someone had a huge crush on me until today.

I'm trying not to sound all debonair or anything. In fact I'm probably the last guy who would ever even be considered debonair. I'm just me and sometime odd things happen to me.

So here's the story. A while back (as in early last year) I met this girl at a party of a friend of a friend of a friends. We talked she was nice, but she kept on talking to me, continuously, as in singling me out and not letting me escape for air. Which usually is muy bueno with me, pero this was not to be the case this time around. After listening to her talk for well over an hour to me, I came to the conclusion that this girl has issues. I think it was the part when she told me that she was specifically looking for a boyfriend.

Bueno I was like, "We'll I'm sure you'll find someone one day." But she kept talking to me, obviously she didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested. The night went on and I managed to get away but she kept finding her way back to me. "Aye Dios!" I was thinking to myself. Anyways long story short she was insistent on giving me her phone number. Which I had no intention of calling and even told her so, but she still gave it to me. After she gave me her number I got that look like "Aren't you going to give me yours in return?" Oh hell no is all I could think of. So I did what I usually do, I told her I really don't give my number out to anyone, just close friends and family. Still looking at me, still didn't get the hint. So I quickly thought of giving her my instant messenger I.D. figuring she would never instant message me on my PC.

So I thought...I thought wrong. The next day I had my messenger on. "Hey" it said. I'm thinking who the heck is this? Another spammer. I closed the message window. "BUZZ!!" the screen shook. It's a real person. "And you are?" I replied. "It's me from last night." Nuts!! Didn't think she would actually try. "Hey how are you?" I replied. This went on for sometime. After a while I thought she got the hint. I didn't hear from her for a couple of months. But then they started up again. I would reply, "Hey how are you? How've you been? blah blah blah blah, Well gotta go TTYL." And this was it. But from time to time she kept giving me her number. And again I'd tell her I'm not going to call.

Anyways a couple of weeks ago I got a message from her, I should have just ignored it. I should have, but I didn't cause I'm a freaking idiot. And the whole process resumed again. And once again "Here's my phone number call me." Yeah maybe, as if. I just ignored it. So today I open my messenger. Mix Tape Girl is out of town on another business trip and I was checking to see if she left me a message before she leaves which she usually does. I open messenger and immediately I get BUZZED. The screen pops open. Nuts it's her, psycho girl. The message read: "Ya am so mad at u " (Now note that before she started using the whole IM slang, she actually typed full sentences and such. Then it just started getting too casual which annoys the heck out of me)
Me: "What are you talking about?"
Psycho Girl: "But wat can i say am use 2 being diss thanks 4 that bye"
Me: "I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression but I told you I wouldn't call."
Psycho Girl: "(insert sad smiley face with a heart breaking in front of it + the words) U GOT IT"
Me: "Sorry"
Psycho Girl: "It is wat it is i got 2 relize it"
I didn't bother replying anymore.

Interesante...muy interesante. I should probably feel bad for this girl. I should feel some regret or so I think. But how can you break someone's heart if you never had a relationship to begin with? That doesn't make any sense to me. Some how come I feel like an a-hole though for making this girl feel this way. But then again, why should I? I didn't do anything. This is just too weird. Needless to say I miss Mix Tape Girl right now, but I'll have to wait till next weekend till she comes back. Maybe she can explain this to me, unless someone else can.

What was the first recorded music you bought?
My first recorded music I bought was a a kiddie record I still have it. It had like Puff the Magic Dragon and stuff. It was a compilation of songs. My first official record was the soundtrack to the Beatles Yellow Submarine movie. The original soundtrack mind you with the music and the score music, not the re-released CD that came out a few years back.

What was the most recent?
The last CD I bought was Arcade Fire – Neon Bible, pretty good, not played so much yet. But seems to me they will be. I downloaded “Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado a couple of days ago, I love that song.

What was the first professional music show you ever went to?
My brother took me to see Depeche Mode when we lived in Austin when I was like 11. I had so much fun and have been hooked on Depeche Mode ever since.

The most recent show?
San Antonio Symphony – They played the source music to Warner Bros. cartoons. Like when Bugs Bunny did the Barber of Seville and stuff, they played the music and the cartoons showed on a big screen in the theater, it was awesome.

What's your desert island album?
Ohh…just one desert island? Nuts this is hard. Uhm….Paul Van Dyk : Global (Best of), my favorite mix of “Forbidden Fruit” is on it. ^_^

What's your favorite album/song title (not the actual album or song)?
“Professor Booty” – The Beastie Boys Why you ask? Cause with lyrics like “Cause life ain’t nothing but a good groove, a good mixed tape will put you in the right mood.”, that’s why.

What's your favorite album art (include an image of it if you can)?
I’m going to say Groove Armada – Goodbye Country Hello Nightclub. It’s simplistic but utterly cool at the same time.

What’s your ideal choice for a karaoke song?
I always have to do, no matter what at karaoke R.E.M.’s “It’s the end of the world as we know it” It’s fast and its fun and after a few beers, I don’t care if I don’t get all the words right.

You hate that song … but it won’t leave your head if you hear it.
That one that was played forever that goes “I don’t want to wait for our lives to be over, I want to know right now what will it be”. By some lady I forget who. I hated it then I hate it now and now it’s stuck in my head. Nuts.

Which is cooler — vinyl? CD? cassette? 8-track?
Vinyl!! Hello. I DJ, and yes I use CD and MP3 nowadays but nothing can ever beat vinyl. Synthesized scratching is nothing like the real deal.

Coffee and Cigarettes



I don't smoke. Nope not one bit. I've tried it, wasn't for me. But as weird as I am, I love the smell of tobacco. Odd huh? Well today I needed a spot of coffee actually for lunch. There is a little cafe down the street where you can sit outside and of all things they allow smoking there.

The morning wore on like most mornings do at work. The coffee at work was ok, but I just needed something else. Something was missing. What is it? I wondered t myself. Then it hit me, I just needed to smell the slightest bit of cigarette smoke with the coffee. To me for some stupid reason the two smells just go perfectly together. And there is even a movie about it, which I think is smashing by the way. Anyways....

For some reason this smell always reminds of being in Mexico or at a cafe in Italy or France. (note to self must go back to those three places much more often) But today it would remind me of my last and recent trip to Monterrey. The morning I spent drinking coffee at my Tio and Tia's house outside on a perfect day. My Tio sitting across from me smoking a cigarette while we had coffee. The sky was so blue and the warmth was just perfect, as we talked. Sipping coffee, and him smoking his cigarettes, talking about the mix CD, Mix Tape Girl gave me.

So I decided to go to the cafe at lunch. No one sits outside at this place, and I find it rather sad. I ordered a coffee and a sandwich and sat outside. I sat in the sun under a cloudless blue sky. But I needed that smell. So I quickly ran to the store next door and bought a pack and a lighter. I came back to my table. There was a lady a few tables away now on her laptop, it surprised me cause like I said no one sits outside at this place for whatever reason. I took out the pack I bought and light it up.

The lady quickly looks up at me. I hold the cigarette in my hand kinda close to my mouth. I guess from her vantage point it looks like I'm gonna take a puff. But I stare at the cigarette for a while, the smoke slowing coming out. It smells good to me, but I don't want to smoke it. I just needed the smell. The lady's still looking at me. I put it down in the ash tray to burn away. I get out a book I'm reading from my bag and finish my coffee and my lunch.

As I get up to walk back to work, I throw the pack and lighter I bought into the trash bin next to the lady. "Good for you." She says. "Quiting is the hardest thing to do."

I give a puzzled look and then smile and say, "Yes it believe it is."

Animal noises



Senor Dry Toast to Pterodactyl Lady have been throwing barbs under the radar at each other a little more than usual lately. Me and my other co-worker get to watch and giggle at their pointed words to each other.

Today was unusually funnier than normal.

Mr Dry Toast: "Pterodactyl Lady just ignores me when I talk, with her headphones on."

(Recently Pterodactyl Lady has started wearing head phones at her desk. She wants to hear her music, which is fine by me cause me being a stickler for good music, must say her choice in music sucks)

Pterodactyl Lady: I wear them and have them loud so I can ignore you!! So I can ignore your barn yard noises. Right doesn't he make noises when ever he does something? (She asks us.)

I quickly turn around and giggle. Mr Dry Toast is turning red and getting embarrassed.

Mr Dry Toast: I do not make noises.

Pterodactyl Lady: Yes you do. Every time you get up or something you make some noise with your lips. Like a horse. (She imitates the noise. He does sound just like a horse. He always flutters his lips when he moves about. It sounds like a horse when they whinney.)

Mr Dry Toast gets very quiet as Pterodactyl Lady laughs at him. For the rest of the day he tried not to make any noise. He did once unintentionally, I was gonna call him on it, but figured he'd suffered enough.

On another work note, something unusual happened today. Something very rare. As I have to call lenders/banks etc. all day I'm constantly on hold. No biggie, usually just muzak playing in the back ground.

But one call today was different. Actual music. And not just any music mind you, no, no. Depeche Mode. I've been a Depeche Mode junkie ever since my big bro took me to see them for my very first concert all those years ago. So imagine my delight when instead of muzak after talking (yes talking) to the banks automated system, I get to hear "Never Let Me Down". I almost melted in my chair. And then it got better. Well if you like 80's music it got better. Real music, and to top it off when I spoke to someone, who wasn't from India (another gasp from me) and understood what I said and spoke understandable english, well that just made my day. What can I say, it's the little things that make us happy right? ^_^

Evil Eye



Being too lazy to cook something after getting home from work & class, I decided, "It's pizza time." Which I haven't had pizza in a really long time so I was looking forward to a good pie.

I placed my order etc over the phone. About 30 minutes later "Knock, knock!" Alright it's here. I had a just enough in paper money to pay for the pizza. But not one to never tip my pizza guy, I had about five buck in dollar coins. I pay the man and then give him his tip. The coins fall in his hand. "Clink Clank". He looks puzzled. I tell him they're those new dollar coins. He looks at them funny and looks at me with the evil eye.

It's money!! Darn good money too. It's unusual money but its still five bucks. Sometimes I wonder what the deal is with people and not liking the dollar coins. Oh well. The pizza was excellent anyways.

Air Horn!! Someone gave a bloody monkey an air horn!! I think this to myself as I lie here in bed as some moron outside my window is blowing an air horn. So much for sleep.

Might as well make the most of it and do some blogging. I was getting ready for bed but as soon as I start to doze off. "BLLEEEEEPPP!!!" And this is a street away now.

Nothing exciting happened today. It seems though that everyone in the office is getting sick. My team sounds like some orchestra where the instruments are done by your coughing, sneezing, moaning and sighing. Honestly. I feel fine. But my other office mates are another story. Everytime they get up it's "Uhhhh....ooohhhh" Especially Mr. Dry Toast. Then the clearing of the throat. "BRAaccckkk" Then Pterodactyl lady sneezes, and wheezes. And the other in our room lady coughs, I think she's getting the flu.

"BBLEEEEEP" that bum just blew the horn again. I wonder if I can get him with my bb gun from my window? Nice now he's driving up and down the street with his horn blaring. Very nice a-hole. :( As you can tell I'm not happy. Oh well if you see a news story about someone getting snipped by a b.b., please know that I just need to get some sleep.

My messed up day. I can't believe it's freezing down here. Last year is was already 99 degrees in south Texas today it only got up to 46. Thanks La Nina. I shouldn't complain at least we're not in drought anymore and under water restrictions.

Today was a very bad day. Messed up I should say. It keeps burning through my head. The awful images of the day. I got up late. I knew I should have gotten up at 7:30. I set my alarm clock for 7:30 and kept using the sleep button till 7:50. I got up took an overly long hot shower. It felt so good. It's so cold outside I didn't want to meet the day. The water surrounded me like a hot blanket. After about an hour I finally got out.

Holy Crap!!! I said out load. I'm late!!! I had an early appointment at 9:30. It was 8:50 when I got out of the shower. I'm rushing to get dressed. My glasses are fogged up so I take my special soft cleaning rag to them. They break. Of all the times to break when I'm running late. I can't find the screws. They fall into the overly thick plush carpet.

Damn!! I scream!! I don't have time to search. But I can't use my old glasses either since my eyes have gotten much better and my old prescription is now way too strong. I don't have extra screws in my eye glasses kit. Then it hits me. Take off the screws from your old glasses. I do and I fumble my way through them. I finally put my glasses back together and leave my old pair missing screws and all on my bed. I rush and get dressed. Stupid dentist, of all the times I decide to go. I haven't been in years. I know that's terrible to say but its true. I haven't had any complaints with my teeth and I take ultra good care of them. I just don't like going. But my friend works for one and got me an appointment. She'd do most of the work on me , and I don't have a problem with her sticking things in my mouth. She's not a stranger. But I have to be there on time.

I go out to the garage. My car is covered.

STUPID F*($%#$% CAT!!! The cat threw up on top of the car again. Giant yellow fur balls. I have to clean it all off before I go. The vomit ran down the top and down the windshield. I quickly do these things and it takes forever.

Finally I'm on the road. Upset, more than half asleep, cranky and I can't find anything decent to listen too. Without good morning music I'm useless for the rest of the day. To top it off there is freezing rain pelting the earth. I hydroplane a few times on the regular streets, when I'm trying to go from coming to a complete stop.

I finally make it to the freeway. It's Saturday morning. A little after 9 am. No one's out. A few cars but not much really. There's construction all over the town. The highways have nothing but concrete barricades on all sides. Most people get scarred of this. I'm more than used to it but still I take my time as the road is too wet, and I pray there is no ice on it either.

I finally find a chill out mix to listen too. A CD I have long since forgotten I made. I forgot my satellite at home so there is no 200 + channels to choose from. And I don't like local radio besides the college station. KSYM RULES!! But in the morning they're playing old folk music. Not for me.

I settle into my driving and speed up just a bit to make up time. I come close to the major interchange in town. I slow down a lot as it has a major twist in the road and I don't want to go flying off. I see a police car up ahead in the construction area. From a far it looks like the construction guys are going to shut the freeway like they normally do on weekends. Then I get a little closer.

Two police cars. I figure they might have pulled someone over. I get closer. I see a few police officers standing around drinking coffee in the construction island under the over passes. These over passes are start at about 50 feet up, the tallest is about 100 ft and there's going to be one on top of that too. Then I see it.

The BODY. THE DEAD BODY. Holy SH*T I say out loud. Some guy committed suicide off one of the highest over passes. He jumped and landed in the construction island. The ground was muddy from the rain so he's half sunken in. But you still see it. His head is twisted the wrong way. His limbs were askewen and dislocated. He was bloated lying in a pool of blood and rain. One of the officers is just starting to take pictures of the body. He landed right by the freeway.

This must've just happened as they haven't covered the body up yet. The freeway isn't closed and the traffic keeps me on my same lane close to the body. I get closer and closer. I see the mans face. Mouth partially opened. But his eyes. His dead eyes were opened and looking into traffic. Cracked open head and all. I get closer what I see is too disgusting to tell. I drive past, the officers gathered in a circle drinking coffee and writing in notebooks. One of them taking pictures. The officers have plums of steam coming from their mouths as they talk.

I drive past them to the other side of the construction island. The construction workers are under the overpass. They started a bonfire in a metal trash can and are all around it. They look gray. Literally gray. They must've found the body I think to myself. All I can think of is the man's dead eyes looking into traffic. Looking at me. It bothers me so much it makes me sick. I want to throw up. I hold it in. Behave man!! You've seen and been through worse.

And I have. I held someone close to me in my arms as they took their last breathe. I've seen people dead. I've seen someone shot and killed right next to me. I've seen a hell of a lot worse. So why is this bothering me? And then it hits me as I look in my rear view mirror. The traffic slows down to look. People watch. Everyone just drives past the dead man like so many cats and dogs and squirrels that you see smashed to bit in the road. You feel sorry for the animal but shrug it off. More where those came from. But this...this was a human. Something compelled him to jump. What was he thinking? Why? Did he want attention? Was the weight of the world too much?

I feel sorry for the man it's all I can do. I make it to my appointment without throwing up. It still bothers me at the docs office but I don't tell my friend.

A few hours later I drive back through the freeway. The body's gone but you can still see the pool of blood. The rains washed it about and you could see it. The red splashes of the water as the rain hits it and makes it flow. People drive by not knowing a few hours earlier a dead man was there starring with dead eyes into traffic.

Like so many cats and dogs...like so many cats and dogs...just driving by. Hell of a way to go.

Ah work. I haven't blogged about you in much too long. I need to vent about you work. I love you, truly I do but we've been going through rough times as of late. :P Ok enough of that. I need to vent about work. I love my job, really I do. I have the perfect job doing what I love. Real Estate Legal work. It's an odd job really. There's only a hand full of people that do what I do. I'm actually part of a new business, in fact our office has only been open a little over a year. I work with friends and I get along just fine. Asides from regular stuff that drives people nuts. I work in a room with 4 people. It's just a big office our team is in. We're the elite team, the fixers, there's a legal problem, we fix it. It's what we do best. It used to be just two of us, and when it was everything was just fine. Then we added two other people. Petrodactyl Lady and Mr Dry Toast. I came up with names for them. I call Petrodactyl Lady that because...well she always scream and laughs the way you hear that wretched dinosaur in the movies. It's always SKAWK!!! RAAAKKK!! (Insert Swear Word) SWAKK!! again. Thus is my day with Petrodactyl Lady. She's actually nice but here noises get on my last nerve. It's like working in a zoo. And when she's not swaking, she's mumbling to herself. It sounds like, hmmm...it sounds like...Ok you know those old Popeye cartoons where he's just mumbling and then does his chuckle. It sounds just like that. Only with swear words mixed in. I don't mind swear words but I don't like hearing them with every sentence or mumble. Then on to Mr. Dry Toast. An oddity of a man. The only other man in the office besides myself. He's nice too. But odd. He almost has no sense of humor and his remarks are very sarcastic. Lately more so than ever. He's very quiet and thinks that he does more work than any of us on the team as he always is closing out 10 or so cases a week. Which I have no idea how he does it, and yes he is good but he likes to rub it in your face with off colour remarks and the like.

The office is made up of mostly women, it's a sea of estrogen. It's ok, but there's always a lot of very stupid drama going on. Stupid "She's looking at me funny" type crap. Fortunately we all know each other cause we all used to work at the same back doing the same things we do now. Until the bank shut down and gave 500 + people the boot.

We work on my team now, legal type cases. Fixing clouds in titles etc. on properties. Getting into ....actually taking the fight to the lenders for screw ups they did years ago that's messing up title commitments etc. I like my job, each case is different. Each case has a different legal challenge. It's fun, I like to debate so I like to get into it with banks over the phone.

We're an expanding new business. Growing more and having more customers everyday. But we've got growing pains. No real goals yet. Just survive. Lately we've been getting in on my team a lot of work. Normally people send us what we need. Normally...lately it hasn't been any where near normal. People say we preform magic tricks to get them what they need. But as with all magicians, you need a hat if you expect me to pull a rabbit out of it. And lately our cases can't even provide us with a hat to pull a rabbit out of.

I can't stress enough to people that you need to keep your records of any major financial transaction!!! Honestly you never know when these things will come back and bite you. Which is the case with the majority of our customers. Of course the companies that hire us want all these legal documents the same day. Most of the time, that's not going to happen. How do I put it. Uhm...like....say you buy a house, you pay it off, when you do you're SUPPOSED to get the release/satisfaction back in YOUR NAME, and it should have already been recorded for you by the company at the county releasing your lien. Sometimes that doesn't happen for whatever reason and like most people you don't know you're supposed to get these legal documents. Then say 5 - 10 - 15 - 30 - 50 years later (Yes we do get loans this old) you decide to sell your house. But since you didn't keep your paper work you have no proof that you paid it off. Thus you hire us and we fight with the company you "supposedly" paid off to get your legal documents. But since there is little or no proof its like asking someone "Hey I owed you money once and paid you off, can you give me something to prove it?" At which point the company pretty much laughs in your face and tells you to f-off. But we work our magic and we usually come through.

The worst is when people borrow money from people they know or from an individual. If that relationship turns sour, then its a whole other world of litigation. I get sick just thinking about it. Ick...

That's what I do day in and day out. Since it's a new business I'm there all the time. First one in to open up, I have the keys etc. It's usually a long day, and after fighting with banks over the phone, hearing Ptreodactyl Lady screech and Mr. Dry Toast groan all day, I'm usually at my last nerve by days end. Fortunately Mix Tape Girl calls, emails, etc and cheers me up.

But lately and I take this expression from one of my favorite books High Fidelity, it's been too much. Too much craziness with what people want, that I'm tempted to "Grab my files throw them into the street go work at a Virgin Music Megastore and never come back." But thus far I've been able to hold myself off from doing that.

But today was slow. It was ok. I closed a lot of cases and actually didn't really even work on them. All my requests came in from the previous days and I completed my files. I even over hauled our shredder since it was used so much and none of the ladies understand that it needs oil to keep the blades running. So I spent a good part of the day taking out scraps of burnt paper from between the blades and cleaning it out and oiling the thing up. Oh I also do the maintenance for our office as well, and handle any minor I.T. problems.

It's the weekend now. I took half the week off so it wasn't so bad. But there's still much to do. I'll worry about it Monday. I just needed to vent a little.

Hello, hi, bonjour, etc. I just wanted to make a quick...uhm..update to my bloggie. If you read it the other night when I was explaining things about copying from myspace and pasting on here, you probably noticed that I said there was plenty of typos etc. And well they are, in fact it concerned me too much after I posted that. I re-read what my last post and thought to myself. Dear God Man!! Your grammar is atrocious. Normally when writting at work I'm very thorough with my grammar punctuation etc. In fact I take a red pen to myself. I would definitely given myself an "F" on my last post. Completely missing words, letters, punctuations. I just wanted to say sorry for my lapse in good grammar. Not that you really care. Although truth be told most my (any new) posts will probably look the same as I am typing these up almost at midnight and I'm too tired to re-read everything. I should just do it in word but oh well. So if you by chance do read this, read with knowing it's a bit sloppy, but you can still make out what I'm trying to say. I'll write more tomorrow. I haven't gripped about work in a while and well....I darn well need to. But that's tomorrow. It's late and I probably made a few typos in this thing anyways. Later.

Ah Mix Tape Girl and family. Well I survived the killer pickle so I figured it would be smooth sailing. Yeah right. I joined MTG and family and a few of their friends for dinner again, fortunately at a restaurant this time. A average italian chain place, not starting with olive but not that far either. I actually hadn't been there in a couple of years and it used to be so good.

Well it was...ok. The portion was huge but this time it was really lacking in the flavor dept. But it was ok. We got there and I held the door open for MTG and family. MTG Dad was like, "Thanks". We go inside and they had made a reservation. It was a during the week so it was practically deserted so no waiting. However while standing there for a brief moment in the foyer, MTG Dad turns around and looks at me and (I believe he was kidding, but he looked serious and stern when he said) "There's no room for you at the table, you'll just have to wait." And smirked and turned around and took a few steps away.

I was like. "Ouch" I hope to hell you're kidding. But I just smiled my smile and turned my attention to the bar. I walked up while MTG was talking to the hostess. I signaled the bartender and ordered my drink so it would be read when we sat down. I ordered a bourbon and coke. That's my drink where ever I go that's what I get. As soon as I ordered my drink MTG girl signals me to come with them to sit at a table. They split us up into two groups. MTG family and friends and MTG, MTG sis a couple of friends that we know and myself.

Now I wasn't truly planning on sitting right next to MTG I was hoping to sit across as its easier to hold conversations when you can look without having to turn around etc. We were at a long rectangular table. But for some reason the hostess took away the chair from in front of MTG and the only one left was next to her. She patted the seat as if saying "Sit here". So I did. The hostess took our drink orders. I asked for water as my drink was coming. MTG and MTG sis and ordered Belini's however they're spelled. You know those ultra tall mixed drinks made with champagne and fruit, like a smoothies with alcohol.

A few minutes later the hostess brings us our drinks. I got my glass of water but instead of my bourbon and coke, she gave me a Belini instead. Right away MTG noticed and said you didn't order that and before I could tell the hostess MTG was telling her. The hostess looked at me like and said, "Are you sure you didn't order this? I could've sworn you ordered a Belini." I said no I wanted the bourbon and coke. She apologized and took the drink back. She was very nice about it though. I had to drinks and she charged me for one of each since the drink I didn't order was actually cheaper. So it turned out ok.

So we order our meals and talk while we wait. MTG Dad keeps getting up from his table and walking in circles around ours. And keeps stopping right in front of me where the empty spot was. And he stands there and talks to our other friend who was there. He keeps doing this through out the night. He talks to my friend and then stops and then talks and stops and when he stops he just stares at me. I do mean STARES AT ME. I find this very amusing though for some reason.

At one point he stops to ask what I am drinking. I tell him bourbon and coke. He just freezes and looks at MTG with a really really odd stare. Seriously like, "OMG he drinks liquor instead of beer." MTG Dad is a beer drinker pretty much solely. I figured this out from him right away. MTG gives a evil smile to MTG Dad and says to him after she puts her arm through my arm, "He's a lush just like me." (jokingly of course) This seems to diffuse the situation and MTG Dad leaves us alone for the rest of the night.

Everything else pretty much goes ok. Just small talk etc. And then its time to leave. I tell everyone at my table goodnight. And I go to the table where MTG Dad is at. I stand infront of him and say goodnight. No acknowledgement. I say goodnight again, still same thing. My last drink was pretty strong so I'm thinking "Forget about it, he's too busy talking and you're getting a bit woozie, best go home." Honestly the last drink must had 151 in it or something cause it never hits me like this. The others at the table say goodnight but MTG Dad keeps talking. I walk out the nights over.

The next day I meet MTG later that evening. Dad wanted to know why you didn't tell him goodnight yesterday. I look puzzled. I tell him I did say goodnight/goodbye, twice but he was busy talking that I decided I better not interrupt. But I told MTG, you can give him my apologies for not properly telling him goodbye yesterday. MTG gives me an odd look like, "Uh..ok." and we go on.

"You didn't tell me goodbye!!" I was standing right in front of you and said it twice and you didn't hear or see me waving at you. After a discussion with a friend, I decided to let it go and stop over analyzing things. "He's gotta get used to you." my friend says. I think to myself, "He'lll have to even if he likes it or not." I won't give up, at least not yet. :P

I have several postings I need to do. But first lemme splain a little about my odd stupid posts in my little corner of the universe. Just in case and I do doubt that anyone actually reads these. But if you do you're probably wondering what "C1" is or who. C1 is me my..myspace me. I sometimes copy blogs from myspace to here where I have posts for my close friends who love to get in my business, and vice versa. So when you see C1 that's just me being too lazy to change the name to Artful Dodger. Just in case your wondering. Oh and I know my posts are full of typos but I really don't mind.

C1: Hey what happend to your arm? What's with the bandage?

C1 looking at giant bandage on friend's arm.

C1: No You Didn't??!!! Tiggers gone isn't he?!!

M: Yeah I had to take him off.

M got Tigger on a long ago all night bender from a trip we went on. M had too much to drink and was willing to do anything. Anything being a tatoo. I tried to talk him out of it at the time being somewhat sober, but M wouldn't have it.

(flashback a few years ago)

M: Don't tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want. Bring it on fool!!! (In drunken talk)

C1: No man don't do it. Come on, trust me,

M: Quiet menso. I want a ferocious animal on my arm. Like a dragon or a....(spaces out a few mintues)..or a uh.....leprechan. No no!! A tiger, with fangs and everything.

C1: Mire stupido, don't do it. You'll regret it.

M: Silenco cabron. Take me to the shop.

I reluctantly took M to the tatoo shop, knowing he'd do something dumb. He took forever trying to pick out a muy ferocious tiger, but didn't find any to his liking. Thinking that this would end it and we could go home, I was ready to go. I was wrong.

When he couldn't find what he wanted he drew it on a napkin. And of all things, he drew Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh. The tattoo guy stared at him trying not to laugh at his drunkeness. Even trying to talk him out of it. But to no avail. And thus Tigger was put on his right arm.

The next morning M woke up and to his surprise Tigger was there staring him in the face.

M: What happend? How'd I get this? (Said M extremely hung over)

C1: Uh...you got drunk and wanted to get a tatoo of a ferocious animal. A tiger.

M: What the? You tricked me didn't you??!!

C1: Mire pinche cabron, I tried to talk you out of it.

M got very mad and demand we go back to the tatoo artist. He stormed in.

M: Hey, what's this!!!?? Who put Tigger on my arm??!!

The tattoo guy was still there.

Tattoo Guy: That's what you asked for!

M: No (bleeping) way!! Like hell I did. I would've wanted a real tiger or something.

Tattoo Guy took out the napkin drawing of Tigger he still had on his shelf from the night before and gave it to M, explaining he drew it and asked for it.

M got quiet and pulled his at down on his head almost covering his eyes, and walked out silently holding the napkin and staring at it.

Tattoo Guy and I laughed.

Since then Tigger was always a reminder of going too far. We talked fondly of Tigger, like he was an actual person. Fun times.

(present)

C1: Why'd you take it off man?

M: I got tired of looking at that stupid thing everyday. Reminding me of my one crazy night.

C1: It could have been worse. I said.

M: It's ok, I still have the napkin.

C1: At least that. Poor Tigger. R.I.P

C1: Actually I haven't seen Chicken Little yet. (really I haven't)

Mix Tape Girl (MTG): What?! You'll have to come see it.

MTG Sister: (nudges my side) In case you haven't figured out that's your official invite to our house.

I was at lunch with MTG and MTG Sis

Now MTG and I have been friends for years. But out of some paranoid family thing MTG never really invited me to her house. She has a crazy family, so she says. Except once but I couldn't go. Saturday was my first time ever. Not to say I have never met her family before. (First time I met her dad he gave me the iron claw on my shoulders..but that's another story for another time) So anyways plans were made. Me thinking we were just going to watch movies and hang out. Me thinking...me was wrong.

I go over later that day. Her dad was there. MTG seemed really nervous but happy.

MTG Dad: Would you like a green beer?

C1: Yeah sure.

I figure he's offering me a brew I better take one.

What I didn't know was that her dad was cooking BBQ. MTG didn't tell me to bring anything so I felt kinda bad for just showing up empty handed. MTG didn't tell her dad I was coming either. We were both surprised.

I sat on the couch, and MTG sis gave me the remote to the TV, and said I could change it.

MTG Dad: Sorry they have it on some sappy womans movie (Lifetime Network) You can change it. (Walks into kitchen with MTG and MTG Sis)

I see them all there talking, MTG seems nervous but is busy making fresh chile. I decide that I should change the channel from some awful made for TV movie. I think what's good to put on. I find a western playing on TMC, it looks good, westerns with Robert Mitchum are always good. MTG Dad walks back into living room.

MTG Dad: (with plate in his hand) Hey Robert Mitchum! Thank God someone changed it from that woman's movie.

MTG Dad hands me the plate.

MTG Dad: Hey you like pickles? (and give me plate) If you don't like it just leave it there and I'll eat it. (He walks back to kitchen)

I look at the snack he gave me. Its a pickle COVERED, I MEAN COVERED in CRUSHED RED PEPPER!!! The ultra SPICY kind!!! Now unbeknownst to most people I hate chile. (Bad experience as a child, I swore never again.) I could see MTG Dad glancing at me from the kitchen every so often, while doing whatever he was doing. I put on my best poker face and think, "He's either testing me or trying to kill me." So be it. I quickly ate the pickle, chile and all. I wasn't going to give MTG Dad a reason to doubt me. I quickly drank my beer too washing out the heat.

MTG then walks over with a bowl of chips and salsa and puts it there for me and sits down with me.

MTG: You ok?

C1: Never better.

MTG Sis comes over and puts on chicken little. Well trys to, for some reason the DVD won't play. We end up seeing Elizabeth Town and Hitch. All the while MTG Dad comes in and out from the back yard cooking on the grill. A few friends of her family come over and MTG makes margaritas. Could've used more tequila though. I sit through questions and we eat BBQ. MTG smallest sis mistakes me for someone else and immeditalely jumps on me when MTG Mom and Sis # 2 get home. MTG and family freak out!

MTG: No!! That's not #$#%^&*!! And pulls MTG littlest sis off me.

C1: It's ok, she's just playing.

MTG Mom: I'm sorry.

FYI: MTG littlest sis has downs. But she's a really cute kid.

MTG Little sis starts hopping up and down in the living room and starts removing clothes.

MTG: No!!! We keep our clothes on. (Looks at me) I'm sorry.

C1: Don't worry about it. She's just a kid.

MTG and I finish watching Hitch while the others are busy about the house.

C1: You didn't tell me your where having a BBQ. I should have brought something.

MTG: Don't worry about it.

MTG Dad walks by: Want another beer?

C1: Uh..in a little while.

C1 philosophy: Don't go to another man's house and drink all his beer, especially when dating his daughter. I was trying to play it cool. Fortunately this time it appeared to be working.

MTG Sis # 2, comes in and sits with us drinking a tiny margartia.

MTG Sis # 2: This is going to make me wonga. And starts talking to me.

MTG is looking at me like, please excuse my family.

Not long after we eat. MTG Sis # 2 sitting next to me with MTG on my other side. MTG Sis # 2 starts spacing out.

MTG Sis #2: I can't really handle my liquor.

C1: I see (said jokingly)

MTG Sis # 2 starts looking wonga. Slurring her words. She really can't hold liquor. She only had not even an ounce or margarita. Which in my opinion needed a heck of a lot more tequila. Before I know it MTG Sis # 2's head is on my shoulder asleep. I sit there and smile trying to ignore this fact. MTG is shaking her head. For some reason the convo quickly changes about me and I end up telling some funny family stories about myself. This amuses everyone there.

The night goes on, a little more weirdness insues. (Think of the weird things that happen on My Big Fat Greek Wedding, that was the rest of the night) We end up in the living room again.

MTG: (whispering in ear) I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you want to run out screaming.

C1: It's ok. Believe it or not, this feels pretty good, just like home.

Well not really but it makes MTG feel much better.

It gets late, and I leave.

MTG Mom: Come back whenever you want.

C1: Sure, I definately will.

But next time, don't try to kill me with Atomic Pickles.

Wow. Haven't posted in a while. So I will today. What can I say, my head hurts I've completely followed up with all my cases at work, and I'm trying to figure out some quite difficult real estate legal cases but there's so much stuck in my head nothing is working.

We got yelled at this week on Monday!! By our boss!! Yay, how fun. Well my boss is actually one of my very good friends outside work too, so she warned me in advance before she yelled at everyone. And yes it actually hurt listening to it too, even though it really wasn't directed at me, but to like oh....90% of the others in the office. And for whatever reason, God knows why, I heard this yelling voice of my boss/friend and it really got to me. By meaning that I got super pissed. Like "Hulk MAD!!" smash through the walls rip cars in two pissed, minus the turning green and running around in my underpants.

To top it off the hallway, yeah it's a hallway, our conference room, where we meet is always freezing, and I mean sub-zero. So I was pissed and mad, and freezing. And so after the verbal smack down, I sat at my desk steaming but was so cold that I started feeling quite sick. I mean cold down to the bone, and I could not for anything warm up. So my nose started running, etc. The following day I was feeling really naff, all sick and upset. I turned into my one time dark former self for most of the day. So of course, me and my music had to make my dark mix to listen to repeatedly through out the day. You know those dark evil days when your feel bad physically and mentally. So here was the play list:

1. Angel - Massive Attack : Deep and evil beats, gotta love it.

2. Hey F$% You!! - The Beastie Boys

3. Forty-Six and 2 - Tool

4. Hooker with a Penis - Dark and evil, nothing personal meant here to my friend, its just gets the blood going.

5. And I'm Aching - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

6. So What'cha Want - The Beastie Boys

7. Rush (Spritiual Guidance Mix) - Depeche Mode Not a mean song but the remix is ultra dark and fit my mood.

8. Halo (Live) - Depeche Mode - Somehow this sounds darker live

9. Lethal Industry - DJ Tiesto - No words, just hard harsh beats

10. M.I.A. - Foo Fighters

11. Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters

12. All Alone - Gorillaz

13. Minority - Green Day

14. I'm an Adult Now - The Pursuit of Happiness

15. Reign of Tech2000 - The Beatnuts w/some Japanese Artist

16. Club Foot - Kasabian

17. My Friend of Misery - Metallica

18. Don't Tread on Me - Metallica

19. Anarchy in the U.K. - Sex Pistols

20. New Dawn Fades - New Order feat. Moby - Who'd of thought Moby could sound so punk like he does in this song.

21. Battle Without Honor of Humanity - Tomoyasu Hotei

22. Deuce - The Cardigans

23. Black - Sarah McLachlan

24. Dec 4 - Jay Z

25. Alive - Pearl Jam

26. It's a Dark Day - Rev. Horton Heat

27. Alpha Male - Royksopp

28. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins

29. I Know It's You - The Crystal Method

30. Mindfields - The Prodigy

31. Firestarter - The Prodigy

32. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

33. Prison Sex - Tool

34. Sober - Tool

35. Eruption - Van Halen


Anyways I was enjoying my bout of evilness, and then I get the instant message from my boss/friend.


"We need to talk"


Awww.....Crap. I think to myself.

"Alright but be warned that I'm plenty p.o.'d and feeling really sick right now" I reply. Yes I said that.

"I'm considered warned" the reply came.

This was of course three hours before we were to meet, which was after work when pretty much everyone left, I had to stay over.

But by the time the meeting came I was sick and had no evil left in me, the music took it all away. (Thanks music)

Thankfully it turned out ok. She noticed I was plenty pissed and wanted to tell me that she had no problems with me, it was for almost everyone else. She just wanted to make sure I was ok etc. I told her yeah, she's the boss, she's gotta do what she's gotta do. It all worked out. I even stayed an hour and a half late after work, we were just talking etc, about everything else than work. It actually was nice.

But I was still sick. Like dead sick by the time I left. I felt numb. I drove home. And she called.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I'm sick, I don't feel well"

"Oh no. What's wrong?"

"I dunno, but I feel like crap. I ran a fever and everything"

"Poor baby."

"As if."

"Do you have soup or anything, some meds."

"No I don't think so. I'm just going to get some sleep."

"You need to eat and take something."

"I know but I don't feel like it"

"*sigh* Well stay there I'm coming over to make you something, I'll pick you up some meds from the store."

"Uh....(pause) No it's ok, I'll be fine."

"As if, I'll be over in a bit." (click)

What the? I thought, no she's not really coming over. But she did. She made me chicken soup. From a can but still. And got me some herbal med stuff that suppost to take away your symptoms. All I know is that it tastes like sugar. I went to bed and she was there, she changed the sheets and eveything. I was telling her, "No really it's ok." But she did it anyways. Not that I really minded, it was nice being taken care of. I went to sleep, she was still there, for how long after I dunno, but when I woke up the next morning she wasn't there. But my clothes were washed and folded. And a note with some meds telling me to take them every eight hours. I felt much better when I woke up. Not 100% but enough to still go to work. And work was ok, not the best still but ok.

Everyone is scared to do anything, it's odd. Especially with how lax we are about everything in the office. But oh well, nothing lasts forever.

Speaking of nothing lasts forever, at work on the net I saw, Captain America died. I was like "What?!! No way!!" (Ok I read comics ok, by big bro got me hooked years ago. And I mean I read them I don't collect them.) Anyways, if you do read them you probably know about the whole Civil War debacle that went on in the Marvel books. (Which btw is a really interesting read, no seriously) So anyways, I'd thought I'd leave a little tribute here at the end.

Well I did but blogger keeps telling me it doesnt' accept any of the charaters I type.

Well it happend. My uncle passed away yesterday. So I'm at home waiting for the numerous family members that are on their way from all over to show up at our house. I know I should feel sad, but I don't. He's not suffering with that cancer crap anymore, so he's got peace now. And that makes me feel good. Though everyone else is crying, etc.

Well I'm not all sad too, because I have too many other things on my mind at the moment too.

And yes "she" is back, and we're supposed to "talk" about everything tomorrow, even though we talked on the phone for over an hour last night. We shall see how it turns out. We've kinda gone through this whole thing before, but not on this level. But still I'm anxious and scared and pretty much petrified at the moment. But as always I have my music playing to keep me calm. Speaking of which I decided to make a response CD, just in case, with songs that she'd like. Well if things turn out the way that their heading...yeah...hmmmm... Anyways I'm making a response CD to the one that she gave me before she went out of town. Here's what I got so far. Oh and this is tentative to change at any moment.

Track listing:

1. Protection - Massive Attack

2. Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain

3. Tired of Being Alone - Al Green

4. Something Sexy About the Rain - Kenny Chesney

5. Here With Me - Dido (Roll's Chilling With the Family Mix)

6. Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae

7. Live With Me - Massive Attack

8. Diary - Alicia Keys

9. Miracle - Olive

10. You're Not Alone - Olive

11. If I Fell - The Beatles

12. I'll Be There - Weekend Players

13. To Have and Not to Hold - Madonna

14. It's Probably Me - Sting

15. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

16. All I Ask of You - The Phantom of the Opera

Again it's tentative to change. But it seems ok thus far. We shall see.