Froooo-eee...POP*

Man. I've lost some weight lately. I won't list sizes because people will say "are you complaining? I'd love to lose weight like that/be that size again," when I'm not even complaining, I'm just saying. ANYWAY. I dropped two (or three, I don't know how it goes) sizes in around a year, maybe less. I don't bother weighing myself so I don't know when it started to happen. The point is, part of me kind of worries about it, because while I don't think I changed my diet much, there must be something different going on. I think it's because I'm cutting back on boredom eating. If I'm sitting down and watching TV or a movie, I feel like I should have something to eat. I could have had a huge meal beforehand, but it's that theater reflex kicking in, saying, "you want some popcorn," or "wouldn't ice cream sound great?"

TANGENT: I've also recently developed something of a lactose intolerance, which fucking sucks, because I love ice cream and milk. I suppose it's time to get those lactaid pills or whatever. In fact, discovering this makes me crave ice cream even more, which is totally fucking annoying. END TANGENT.

So I cut out the boredom eating. But still I wonder, is that all there is? Someone made a joke about a tapeworm and I think back to the time I ate that raw beef** and wonder some more. But still. I'm not complaining, especially because I'm back into pants that I was wearing in college. I feel healthy, and I like that I shed the pounds I never wanted to begin with, but still...how did it happen?

* title has no relevance to post, it's just a phrase that's been stuck in my head all damn day.

** That didn't happen. But still...tapeworm?

One Lovely Blog!

Man, here's a kick in the pants: I found out today that I've been awarded the 'One Lovely Blog' award by Brian Soloman, who runs the totally kick-ass Vault of Horror. The award is sort of like a pay-it-forward award, in that you can in turn pass it along to a fellow blogger or bloggers. NEAT! So, I got that going for me. Thanks B-Sol, you are a Righteous Dude! Now, if I can only figure out how to post the award along the side...

I'm going to pass along the award to a new project I've been involved with, Dreams in the Bitch House. It's all about horror, all written by women who love horror. We've done some podcasts, too, so check those out as well!

In other news, I haven't updated this thing since September, so here's a rundown of Crap That's Happened:

I am still gainfully employed. Same shitty job. It's getting even more tedious, though. I think the whole payday loan business is just eating at my brains like a hungry zombie. Morally, I can't swing it much more, and basically I'm just filling a spot here until my lease runs up. Then it's the sweet taste of freedom!

All major holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's were pleasant and filled with friends, family and loved ones. No major injuries; well done, everyone.

I GOT ROCK BAND FUCK YEAH. Now I can play the drums to my heart's content, neighbors be damned. I think I got the easy level pretty much under my thumb, now it's a matter of tackling medium. That shit is tricky, so much love to real drummers who can hit the footpedal, toms, and cymbals at the same time. Also, when I was learning some of the songs, I'm pretty sure I heard Bun E. Carlos and Neal Peart spinning in their graves.* Oof.

In a related note, I have an XBox 360 now. What does one do with that besides play ROCK BAND? I don't know. I don't have a dick to put in it, so I guess me and the XBox are at an impasse until further notice.

Welp, I guess that's it for now. I am on Twitter and Facebook, so you can find me there. Be sure to let me know how you found me, otherwise I'll probably reject your fool ass from being a friend.

* JOKE. They aren't dead as of this writing.

Rant about dumbfuck people who don't listen

I am sick and tired of people who do not listen when I speak. When I tell you the four requirements to take out a loan, don't give me three of them and expect that I'll give you the loan on the understanding that you'll bring me that fourth piece of information when you feel like it. That is not how this works.

Also, when I ask you to provide further information for me to process your loan, you can either comply politely, or get the fuck out. The more attitude you give me, the less willing I am to help you. If your bank statement shows that your account has been overdrawn for more than 60 days straight, I am going to need a letter or document from the bank showing that your account is still open. Most banks can close your account if it has been overdrawn for 30 days straight, so I'm just ensuring that you are not trying to take out a loan on an account that is closed and that I cannot collect on should it get sent to the bank.

If I ask for something and say that you need to have it with you to originate a loan, you better have it with you. Don't sass me, don't say you'll provide it later, don't give me any fucking attitude about it, or I will find a way to turn you down for this loan. I don't have to play nice if you won't do me the same courtesy.

I've been on a major Peter Gabriel kick of late

There are few performers to whom I can listen to their entire body of work over and over. One is, of course, The Beatles. Everyone loves The Beatles, sometimes to the point where everyone hates them, if that makes sense. Another is Genesis, which leads me to my latest musical obsession: Peter Gabriel. I've been obsessed for a while, don't get me wrong. When I was a kid, like a lot of people, I really dug "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time," probably because the videos were just so iconic and back then music and videos went hand in hand.

But in college, I picked up Shaking The Tree, which is one of Gabriel's greatest hits compilations. One of the first songs that struck me on the CD was "San Jacinto." It absolutely haunted me; it's a song that resonates as both quite simple yet alarmingly complex. "Red Rain," "Mercy Street," and the chilling "Family Snapshot" also captured my interest. At that time, his albums were being remastered and re-released on CD, so I grabbed them when I could. A whole new musical world was opened to me. I even used his song about Steven Biko in a class presentation about South Africa and apartheid.

I also credit my love of Gabriel, and of early Genesis, to my friend Matt. He was incredibly generous and gave me copies of every Genesis CD from the Gabriel years. He also took me to see a Genesis tribute band called The Musical Box, when they performed in entirety The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. It was intense and thrilling, although I recall the drive home being long and exhausting. But it was another door opening to me.

I finally got around to uploading all my Gabriel CDs to iTunes, revisiting them after a few years. His first album still has shades of his work with Genesis tinging the edges, but it shows a wide variety of styles. His second album is not as accessible, which may be partially due to the album's producer, Robert Fripp of King Crimson. It's a lot of weird. But on his third album, he completely comes into his own. It's cohesion in audible form. His fourth, known as Security in the U.S., works very well as a follow-up to the previous album. So, his most commercially recognizable record, may sound like a sell-out to some fans, but it has some highlights aside from the singles. Us is a harder album to enjoy from start to finish, probably just for serious fans only (like his second album). Up is remarkably good and marks a return to his earlier sound.

Right now I'm listening to his live album from 1982. I would have loved to have seen him perform back then. He is one of those rare artists who sounds as good on stage as he does in the studio. A lot of people pass him off as just another artist from the 1980s, but his music is timeless to me. It sounds just as fresh as it probably did to people listening for the first time in the late 1970s and early 1980s. If people ever ask me for music recommendations, I tell them they have to own his third album. It's the perfect launch into a remarkable musical artist.

Wisdom from alt.slack

"I like friends who have enough respect for me to keep their goddamned distance."

That comes from Rev. Susie The Floozie's ex-husband.

I like that. A lot.

Good news bad news

The good news: the bite splint I have to get to prevent me from grinding my teeth down to nothing at night while I sleep is only going to cost me $134 instead of the $400 I originally thought.

The bad news: my car needed $800 more worth of repairs, this time to replace the struts entirely, as well as the rear brakes and some other minor tweaking. This on top of $700 from fixing the HVAC system and the power steering just over a month ago. I don't think the car is worth $1500, but I can't afford a new car payment at the time. Too bad it doesn't qualify for that government trade-in program, or I'd be all over that like flies on rice.

R.I.P. John Hughes

So part of my formative years is gone. John Hughes, writer-director of such 1980s classics as The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (among so many others) has died of a heart attack. I will definitely be honoring his memory tonight by watching one of my favorite films he wrote, Uncle Buck.

Rest in peace, Mr. Hughes. Thanks for having a lot more understanding of teenagers and their social structures and how outcast they could feel within those structures than anyone else in modern entertainment. It really meant a lot.