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[JD]

My friend's one of those. Maybe you'll meet if you decide to be a navy cook.

[Patrick]

Dear blag,

It looks like my weekly open mic will be extending itself out to Tuesdays as well as the original Thursday! There are literally not enough hours in the day to be as awesome as demand seems to require, and so the bar has informed us that they'll be trying to get something going on Tuesdays and that we are candidate #1. God I feel fucking awesome right now. Everything I've worked for over the last year is coming to greater fruition than we ever expected, and I don't think I've ever been more proud of myself than I am currently. I have done some cool shit in my lifetime, but this is something I've worked really hard at, and I think it's the first thing I've ever actually earned.

Lindsay (ex) and Lukas (best friend) are just as responsible for the success of the whole thing as I am, too, which I think is super fucking cool. And I feel really lucky to have them working with me. They're damn good at what they do, and I can trust them and rely on them for anything we need done in case something gets fucked up and plans have to change.

It'll be one year ago in three days since the very first time I set foot in that bar and pulled out my guitar. I never could've imagined that I'd not only take over the organization and technical work, but wind up building a three-person team out of people I knew. And I most certainly never expected it to just completely take off like it has.

Like I said, I'm on top of the fucking world right now. I hope this post doesn't seem like I'm full of myself. I don't think I am. I'm just completely in awe at what my buds and I have managed to do.

[Barmymoo]

Oowwwww owwwwww half of the people in this household have stomach flu and I am one of those people owww.

[valley_parade]

Is there like..a pedestrian bill of rights relating to the removal of snow from sidewalks when you're trying to walk to work?

Because there fucking should be.

[smack that isaiah]

I know that in my hometown there was a law that the sidewalks in front of your house had to be shoveled by 9:00 am following a snowfall of 3" or more (or something like that, the time and depth may change slightly if you actually look it up).  if you're reported it's a fine-able offense.

But no one really bothered with it cause no one wanted to be a jerk and report someone.  This lead to a number of horrible times in middle school when we had a delayed opening and I'd have to walk to school--since my parents both had to go to work at their normal times and couldn't drive me--and I'd walk through huge sidewalks of snow to get to school.

[StaedlerMars]

I think in NYC if someone receives an injury due to you not maintaining your sidewalk you are in every right to sue them for a shit load of money. Which is why most people shovel their sidewalks.

[Boro_Bandito]

Up here in MD I think the law, at least in our county is that you have 10 hours to shovel or something, but its never enforced and as a result the snowpocalypses that happened last year made walking to my friend's house who normally lives a five-minute walk away took over half an hour, since my car was buried almost completely in the driveway and I had not yet shoveled it out (2005 Hyundai Accent, tiny two-door hatchback) and our street wasn't plowed for a week anyway. When we finally dug everything out we built an igloo in the backyard, I have pictures on Facebook I think.

This reminds me, during the first storm that happened my older brother freaked out because we didn't have any pot and since we couldn't use a car because the snow was already over six inches deep at the time he decided to walk 3 miles to one of the people we bought from at the time. I went with him because I didn't want him walking alone out in that and he didn't even have a cell-phone on him in case something happened. This is one of the few times I thought I was really truly in danger of dying.

The funny thing is is that we got to their apartment and they took us in, gave us a couple shots of vodka and we stayed there for like an hour and talked an hung out (the guy's girlfriend is me best friend's ex, they're on good terms). All in all the whole experience took us about 3 and a half hours, we were almost hit twice by cars sliding down steep-ass MD hills because they thought it would be a good idea to try and go the 40 mile an hour speed limit in a snowstorm, and saw a chevy 4x4 fly off the road and slam into a car dealership. We asked if they were okay and they just started cussing us out so we just kept walking.

[valley_parade]

I know that in my hometown there was a law that the sidewalks in front of your house had to be shoveled by 9:00 am following a snowfall of 3" or more (or something like that, the time and depth may change slightly if you actually look it up).  if you're reported it's a fine-able offense.

But no one really bothered with it cause no one wanted to be a jerk and report someone.  This lead to a number of horrible times in middle school when we had a delayed opening and I'd have to walk to school--since my parents both had to go to work at their normal times and couldn't drive me--and I'd walk through huge sidewalks of snow to get to school.

I'm pretty sure this is what it is for my town..it's just that yknow..it's 8:30 am the day OF the snow, everyone's going to work (including me on foot), and what was shoveled has now been plowed in, which for the most part means I'm walking in the road instead of on the sidewalk.

[Verergoca]

Here, snowshovelling used to be in the city ordinance thingy, but when it turned out that demented 90-year old old folks arent that great at shovelling, and some people with more money than time took some cities to court for it, they decided to take it out alltogether. Now the debate is weither or not the city council can be held responsible for tripping/falling/slipping/sliding. IMO, its a silly debate. Shoveled/salted roads are a service, not a right. (also, to shovel every street, would mean council taxes take a steeeeep rise...)

[Barmymoo]

I have a feeling that in the UK, if you try to shovel the snow, cause ice, and someone slips and injures themself then you can be sued for that. So yeah that's kind of stupid.

[pwhodges]

That's urban myth - no basis to it at all.

[BrittanyMarie]

i'm chilling here at my boyfriend's (he is at work) and his roommates are having the most amazing fight. there is screaming, and i think there was throwing things, and many accusations. i let him know i'm still here at 3 pm cuz i am too scared to go up there to leave like "sup, plz go back to your shriek-fest. don't mind me doot-n-doo"

[Papersatan]

Here in the land of snow (we get about 8 feet a year), you are responsible for the sidewalks in front of your property.  In reality few people actually shovel though because if there is any real accumulation we have sidewalk plows which come around.  The glaring exception to this is my mother. 

My parents live on a corner, and my whole life she has kept the sidewalks as clear as humanly possible.  She wakes up early to shovel before work, and then shovels when she gets home from work.  She thinks the plow does a bad job, so she tries to get her sidewalks done before it comes and packs the snow down.  She salts her sidewalks if it is icy, and if need be will chip the ice away.  My mother's sidewalks will be dry edge to edge when the others on the block still are solid white. 

I always felt like there is some story to be written about my mother's unrelenting fight against the chaos of nature.  (She spends the same amount of energy in the summer digging up dandelions)

[Scandanavian War Machine]

my mom just texted me to tell me that The Mountain, a local radio station, is playing Portugal. The Man

couple of things here:

A - my mom knows how to text
B - she does so fairly regularly, and with proper spelling and grammar
3 - she not only knows who Portugal. The Man is, but she likes them alot and was excited to hear them on the radio


 

[StaedlerMars]

Should I know Portugal. The Man?

[scarred]

my mom just texted me to tell me that The Mountain, a local radio station, is playing Portugal. The Man

couple of things here:

A - my mom knows how to text
B - she does so fairly regularly, and with proper spelling and grammar
3 - she not only knows who Portugal. The Man is, but she likes them alot and was excited to hear them on the radio


 

IV. The Mountain is playing Portugal. The Man

what is happen here

[Scandanavian War Machine]

Should I know Portugal. The Man?

apparently not!

seriously though if you like really good experimental pop rock with a psychedelic bent then yes, you should probably check them out. I bought my dad their cd "The Satanic Satanist" for christmas and he and my mom have been listening to it alot, apparently.


other blogishness:

a good family friend came and stayed with me for almost a week and the night before he left we went over to my parents' house and smoked a few joints while watching Parks & Recreation (also a christmas gift from me). my mom made us BLTAs and it was awesome 2 tha maxx.


in summary: my family rules pretty hard

[The Seldom Killer]

As usual, on the day I go home from skiing we've had the most overnight snow of the week. Nevermind, yesterday was a phenomenal powder day with lots of off piste and bouncing around like an idiot.

I've been using the sauna and steam room daily and been really impressed by the lack of body conciousness demonstrated by the Europeans. It casts a harsh light on how oddly conservative and near puritanical the English speaking world is, despite having much the same deep history.

[Dimmukane]

Pretty much all of my friends went out drinking tonight.  I somehow managed to do the wrong final project for one of my classes last semester and am making up for it now.  I'm getting up in 6 hours or so to go furniture shopping because I move out in a week.

Coffee is a beautiful thing.

[Inlander]

Waiting for a cute girl I met at a Cat Power gig last night to add me on Facebook like she said she would. Hello post-feminist gender role reversal!

[StaedlerMars]

that was me a couple of days ago. fuck yeah. the album Khar suggested (I would name it but I forget because it was long and not in english)?

Edit: and oh on a bloggy note: so I'm apparently getting regular sexy times, but without a relationship which I guess I am pretty cool with. And I've started to actively go to gigs more which I'm really glad about! Also, pretty keen about my classes this semester. Things are looking pretty good!

[Dimmukane]

This is a problem I need to rectify.  I think the only album I've listened to all the way through was Perdition, and I've had them just hanging out on my hard drive for a few years.  Could either of you PM me as to which album you're spinning/have just spun?

[Johnny C]

I've been having a rough couple days so when my dad told me I'd have the house to myself tonight I got excited for the chance to make a supper at home for the first time in a couple weeks. One bacon & pear risotto later, Ladyhawk is blasting on the stereo in my room, I'm in the living room on a recliner drinking a nice Quebec beer and I kind of can't stop smiling.

[Allybee]

among other things, tonight I partied in the very graffiti'd tunnels under my old dorm and then got chased out by the cops. for some reason running from the cops is just the biggest adrenaline rush ever. I loved it soooo MUCH

better update later...

[MrBlu]

This one may actually be bloggy.

I've never been truly happy where I am now, especially concerning the people around me. I realized that I'm too damn tired of running up and down and sticking my neck out for people who would never do the same for me, yet those same people will turn around and call me their friend or "best friend", or even try to guilt me into doing or saying things. I'm starting culinary school on the north coast (Runaway Bay, St. Ann), a couple parishes away from where I live. I'm leaving this afternoon, and I can only return once a month for the next 15 months. Where the school is, is a major tourist area. Many large all-inclusive resorts, fine dining restaurants, and a major docking point for cruise ships. There are more employment opportunities for a chef there than most other places in this country, only second to Montego Bay.

So, to put it simply, when I go, I'm not coming back. I'm moving halfway across the country, leaving many people and things behind, and I feel pretty damn good about this. When I'm done in culinary school, I'll find a job, find an apartment, and move all my stuff over there and settle down. If anyone wants to see me, they can come and see me. I'm not expending any more energy and wasting my time on people who only remember me when they want something or want me to go somewhere. Especially since whenever I want people to do something with me or help me, it's never possible.

I have a few good friends, who I can truly say are good friends, and I'll always keep them close, but I've pretty much got no reason to stay here.

So, goodbye Kingston, with your annoying cliques, self serving uptown clowns and urban funk, hello Runaway Bay/Ocho Rios.

[David_Dovey]

a nice Quebec beer

Unibroue?

[Johnny C]

no, you can get unibroue across the country. brasserie mcauslan is a montreal microbrewery and their extra blonde and peach ales are both fantastic. i was drinking an extra blonde last night; all i have left now is a red.

[Slick]

Their St. Ambroise oatmeal stout is one of my favorite beers. St. Ambroise Framboise is one of my favortie beer names.
The only ways you can get the McAuslan beers in PEI is either the two-four sampler case (too much beer for me to consume in a reasonable time-frame) or oatmeal stout by the bottle (suits me just fine).

[Patrick]

There must be something you really enjoy doing that you can see yourself doing as a career. Maybe you're not giving yourself enough credit; maybe you're giving some of your passions less credit than they deserve. Maybe both. I mean, hell, you're not the only one guilty of that if that's the case. Everybody surely must doubt themselves in some way at some point. I think you're just low in morale because it's a sleepless night. Not getting enough sleep is pretty detrimental to one's general mood.

Besides, dude, how can one reasonably expect people of our age group to know what they wanna do for the rest of their lives?

Long story short, my opinion is that you're not doing yourself any favors by fretting over it. That's not to say you should never attempt to make plans for your future, but man, it's gonna be a bit before The Future. Might as well take your time and not rush yourself into something that might not be right for you.

[pwhodges]

Besides, dude, how can one reasonably expect people of our age group to know what they wanna do for the rest of their lives?

I am not at all a "driven" sort of person, but I've always known what I wanted to do, from about age five.  What that actually was changed from time to time, and at uni it got hard because I wanted to do three things! 

The key is to want to do a thing at all, not any consideration of whether you can see how it becomes a career.  In fact, all the main things I have wanted to do since I was twelve have been part of my career, though none in the manner I first thought of.

[Patrick]

That's a way of looking at things that I hadn't thought of. I rather like it.

I mean I can't exactly see myself becoming an astronaut and have it be any part of my career at this point, but like... Russia wants to start selling tickets to space. Maybe I'll get up there somehow if I get super rich or something.

[The Seldom Killer]

I gave up wanting to do anything when I was about 20. Instead I took the view that the things that I really enjoy such as cycling, cooking, photography, travel and so on weren't things that I wanted to seek out a work/career path in. Instead work has been as a means to pursue ends. As long as I can pursue these ends in a comfortable lifestyle, I'm not that concerned what work I do. I generally prefer public sector work out of a desire to feel socially useful, but that's about as far as it goes.

My greatest achievements in life are, and always will be, things that are unrelated to any job that I've done.

[Tom]

So, I was just thinking about how much I miss my sister and then she called. Being able to talk to her felt good but now a feel really sad. She's with the navy now so I know I'm not going to get to see her very often anymore. I'm not sure how I'm going to get use to not having her around when we've spent almost every day of the past 19 years bickering, joking, playing game, etc. together.

[The Seldom Killer]

Just had a probationary review meeting following my first six months in this job. All went well and passed. Alas the job ends at the end of March so have to start looking for another job. I hate looking for work.

Also, the third Tweed Run in London has been announced for April but I've only got one weekend free that month so I'm guessing that I'm not going to be able to go.

[Eris]

I found out that my oldest friend is visiting Newtown on thursday. This girl is the only person I went to primary school with who I haven't just avoided talking to after i stopped interacting with her on a regular basis. She also was the only one who kept in contact with me after I moved 6 hours away. When I went to Canberra for uni I did avoid talking to her (not wanting to be a hassle; she probably had her own worries, she didn't need to hear my complaints, blahblahblah) but we seem to have the kind of friendship where we don't talk to each other for ages, but when we do there is no awkwardness. It is probably one of the reasons we are still friends. I think all the people I went to high school with would be kind of uncomfortable around me if we hung out these days.

It should be an interesting day. I haven't seen her in about two years; I have a new piercing, short (red) hair, and am much more confident and less depressed than I was last time I saw her. I wonder how much she has changed since I saw her last. I am not really sure what we are going to do around here, though. I have lived here long enough to not really know what to show people who don't already know what is around.

[nufan]

where am I headed etc

One thing to note I think is that sometimes being set on a goal, and being sure of that isn't all that much of a good thing. For example, I was "sure" I wanted to be a web designer by 14 and knew that doing Computer Science at uni was the best way to achieve it at 15. However, the following year I got a girlfriend, expanded my social circle and lost my previous hobby of sitting on my own designing websites for fun. The thing is, I never critically reevaluated my decision to do Computer Science before I went to uni, and I feel if I had then I would have realised that I wasn't the same person at 18 that I was at 14 and was much better/more interested in history and politics and had this horrible realisation at the end of the first year that I was on the wrong course.

I'm assuming you have no near deadline for making up a decision? If so then you really shouldn't worry about it too much, especially if you're thinking of taking a year out (another thing I wish I'd done, I'd have been so much more financially stable had I done so).

[David_Dovey]

Besides, dude, how can one reasonably expect people of our age group to know what they wanna do for the rest of their lives?

I agree that it sucks that they want people to know how they want to spend the rest of their lives while they are still 15 or 16, but if you're a few years out of high school and you still have no idea, that's probably not OK.

Fortunately people seem to be a lot more forgiving these days if you fuck up and wanna do something else! People change career paths all the time now. Even at my young age, almost everyone I know has changed their career or switched university courses or quit their jobs and gone back to school or quit school and got jobs etc. I think it's a good idea to at least attempt to make a decision as you're leaving high school, because it's honestly not that big a deal if you get it wrong. But waffling about doing nothing just strikes me as a shameful waste of what could be the most productive, interesting and enriching time of your life.

[ackblom12]

Man, to be perfectly honest I'm 27 and still have no fucking idea what I wanna do.

[Lines]

I'm almost 25 and I'm still not sure if I'm making the best decision. Who knows!

[Jimmy the Squid]

This is basically why I applied to go back to uni. I've just turned 24 a few months ago and the last two years I've been sitting in shitty service industry jobs with no idea of what I want to do with my life. I amused myself for a year with half-baked ideas about opening a comic book shop but when I looked at the numbers and weighed the risks I realised that it just wasn't going to happen. Now I've got the unhappy prospect of figuring out what I do if I don't get back into university. I can't do any kind of psychology job (that I would be interested in) without further education and I really don't have any other interests. I don't really feel passionate about anything, I don't have any talents or skills, I can't even count very well for fuck's sake. There isn't a lot I'm suited for except bullshit service jobs and as stupid and tired as it sounds, I would like my life to have some meaning to it (however small).

[Dollface]

Dear diary

i must share this with you, i was walking up stairs in metro station and o one of those steps had fleshlight, what the hell world?!
why i didnt have my camera with me? 

[Papersatan]

Yeah, I understand Jens.  I took forever to graduate high school, then I started college as a business major.  I hated it.  It was the worst so I switched to Literature.  I was super passionate about it and I wanted to go for my Phd for a while.  I went to a pretty good university, and (excepting my last semester of panic) had a 3.6 GPA.  But I still felt like I was only half-assing it.  I struggled the whole time I was there because I was lazy, and I was convinced that I was there by mistake, and that my papers kept getting a's by mistake and that someone was going to find out I was a fraud and shouldn't really be there.  I really loved my classes and the subjects, but I rarely completed all of the readings because I just couldn't make myself concentrate on them.  I chose not to go to grad school for English because it is super competitive, and I just really didn't think that I could cut it.  Even if I got in some where, and did well, the job market after is so tough that it would be hard to find a job.  I am 27, I didn't want to be 32 and struggling to make ends meet as an adjunct professor somewhere.  I was really distraught about this for months.  Steve doesn't know what he wants to do, and so as a couple we had both been pinning our future lives on me going to grad school and being a professor and I felt a lot of pressure (from myself not from him) to suck it up and do better.  This sounds all depressing, but there is a happy ending to it.  While I was studying literature I found that I was really interested in the rise of print, and the transfered into a parallel interest in the rise of the digital.  After numerous class room debates spent defending e-readers and digital archives and online communities I decided that that is something I could study that has careers.  I have applied to grad schools for information science, and I am hopeful about my future.  (assuming I get in)
I want to sum up my point, but all I have a cliches:  it's not a race, enjoy the journey, and so on.  Just take a path and follow it, even if it doesn't lead where you think it will, it will lead somewhere.  

[snalin]

One hard drive is dead on one computer (the hard drive with all the steam stuff on it, so it's not such a big deal), the other computer is completely fucked over, and I'm afraid that I'm turning into some kind of anti-tech monster that destroys electronic circuitry by looking at it. Oh, and my 16mb minecraft save got wiped, and the backup lacks a lot. I guess I'll just mod the majority back in, but it's still a bitch. Damn highway took a fucking long time to build. skull too, but I think that's in the last backup.


In better bloggyness, I'm attending three different classes, and two of them has awesome lecturers. The third one spends all the time talking about how all the stuff he's done is brilliant, so he can suck my balls, but the other two are just directly pleasant to listen to. I'd go to their lectures even if I didn't have the classes just to have a good time.

[nekowafer]

I am 25 and have not been in any sort of school program since high school. I never even considered college, I didn't have the money for it and my parents certainly weren't going to help. I know now that there are all sorts of programs and grants and such that can help, but I never even looked into anything like that because I'd already decided I wasn't going. The only family member that showed any interest in my schooling was my incredibly annoying uncle and I ignored him as much as I could. My parents couldn't have cared less - neither my brother nor my sister even graduated high school, and neither parent went to college. I think they were just surprised I got through high school, even though I got almost straight As.

Anyway, I still have no fucking clue what to do with my life. I worked in retail for the longest time before getting caught in a scam and getting fired, which completely devastated me. Now I work in credentialing and I really don't want to do this the rest of my life. I briefly considered becoming a librarian before finding out that it requires a Masters. I have neither the time nor the money to get that. But this is the only somewhat clear thought I've had of my future. It sucks, most of my friends seem to have at least some idea of what they want out of life.

[JD]

huaghahjugdag exams

[Patrick]

Clear coat #2 has been applied to my new SG. That guitar's going to be goddamn gorgeous by time I'm done with her. Couple more coats to go, then it's polish time and then I can play her in public and show her off.

[Zingoleb]

So my best friend and pretty much only form of support in any way at all is losing her job. It's being shipped to the Philippines.

She's moving to Boston in a few weeks. I'm really upset by this because, other than the fact she's my friend, A) She's been the MAJOR factor in helping me to transition, from pointing out resources and helping with wrt clothing and makeup and stuff, and B) All the other people I want to know and am getting to know - I know through her!

On top of this, my computer crashed today and took a bunch of stuff, and at some point last night the heat turned off, which froze the water pipes.

It's really hard to tell, especially through a textual medium, but I'm overall an incredibly positive person, I try to just grin and bear it and shrug on through but right now I am just so tired I want to go to sleep and not get up until the world's better and not full of poo bugs.

Though, happier - I did manage to see my therapist last week. She squeezed me in unexpectedly. She referred to herself as a 'lesbian recruitment center' that makes 'bad boys into naughty girls' and then promptly prescribed spironolactone and estradiol. Which is great! Except I can't quite afford it, so rather than start it, and then have to stop, and then start when I can, I'm going to wait until I have a job. It's healthier that way, but it's killing me to see the prescription on my fridge and not being able to pay for it (yet).

tl;dr life is full of poo bugs; my therapist is a lesbian recruitment center



edit: Oh and I had dinner with a new friend last night! We watched a documentary on Banksy and at one point he was talking about a mushroom trip he had and all I really remember was him saying "I never found out what was licking my head, but it lived in the blackberry bush."

[Allybee]

you can still study medicine. you speak english well enough to study at a non-norweigan university. yes yes I know it's expensive but you can do loans.

besides that, do you really want to study medicine? I was at the health center today and I was just thinking about how much I'd hate to be the doctor treating me for my nasty ailment

[Tom]

Don't go for Med unless you absolutely want to do it. Speaking as an Australian, there aren't enough places and resources to go around. It's a such a waste when all these students use their parent bought English/Eco/Legal Studies/History marks to take places in public med schools only to drop-out and take up law or get their masters in some ultimately pointless humanities field.

[october1983]

in some ultimately pointless humanities field.

oh hey thanks guy.

i mean, i am not a med school drop out, but maybe the reason so many people apparently take that path is because that kind of ridiculous prejudice about what constitutes a "useful" or "pointless" field creates pressure on some people to do something they perceive as "useful" rather something they are actually passionate about?