BrockLi Soup

The New Pornographers make for some damn fine Sunday afternoon background music. And pretty good programming foreground music, too. And they’re pretty OK in the car, now that I think about it.

This afternoon I found a poster tube that had been stuck in a closet when we moved (and probably the last time I moved, too). I was hoping to find a couple posters I had back at RIT, but I guess they got tossed when I was moving out.

What I DID find was some drawings from Casey and Natalie from about two years ago. Casey gave me a “botched” print of this frog she drew two summers ago, and I’ve also got a sketch of me that she did for the CSH yearbook the year before that. That same summer, Natalie drew me three “quit smoking” signs that were hung in my room during another failed attempt to quit (even though they were very inspiring).

I looked into frames for them all today at Target, but it turns out those are a little pricier than I thought. For the time being, I just got one for the froggy (which you can see here). I feel really bad for leaving these all rolled up in a poster tube, because I love them all. I’m just glad I found them before they got lost in the next move, so I could do something with them. I’ll be picking more frames after my next paycheck, and I’ll post more pictures when I get them all up.

I just spent 20 minutes riding hard on the bike at the gym, and then I came home and poured myself a tall glass of vitamin-rich orange juice.

Then I looked at the side of the carton and saw that my healthy glass of OJ contained more calories than the bike claimed I burned while I was there.

That’s kinda depressing.

It was about this time last November that I was finishing up finals and wondering what exactly I was going to do after graduation. I had sent out about a dozen resumes and had a couple interviews, but not for anything that sounded very good. I HAD applied for a job that sounded perfect, and even answered a bunch of extra questions for the headhunter, but it had been a couple weeks since I had heard anything substantial.

Then I got the chance to do a phone interview, and the request to come to DC for a real interview. At that point, I was planning to spend the weekend in PA with the Grillbillies (as I’m planning to do again next weekend), so I just kept going south on Sunday instead of heading back to Rochester.

I really want to take a few extra days off next week and take a road trip up to Rochester or Buffalo or something. I know it’s going to be a great weekend - it always is, with the Grillbillies - but last year’s will be impossible to live up to. I had no plans, nowhere in particular to be, and as stressful as that was, it was just as relieving. Things were changing, my life was going in a new direction, everything was exciting.

I feel like I’m in a rut, and living out of a car for a week or so tends to spice things up a bit. If I could afford it - and get the time off - I’d probably do it all the time.

It is currently 79F in my apartment. To the best of my knowledge, our heat has never been on, and the door to the balcony is flung wide. What the hell, November?

So, we’ve only been living here at Brockstone Manor for a little less than six months. As such, it’s no surprise that we have nothing in the way of decorations (except for that thong on the dining room chandelier) and there are still a few unpacked boxes kicking around.

However! My brother was made aware of our dire situation, and for my birthday, sent me the classiest of Guinness posters. Tonight, it was framed and hung, and now, Brockstone Manor is truly a classy, swinging bachelor pad. It made such a difference that we’ve started discussing house plants.

Click on the picture to see just how awesome we are.

A lot of people in this town use those wireless headsets with their cell phones. There’s a lot of good reasons to hate those, but my biggest complaint about them is people using them when they’re just walking around town.

On my way home last night, I was feeling pretty crappy (that sick business). I passed this chubby guy in a lime green shirt, a purple tie, and a black fleece vest, with a rolly-bag and an armload of crap. Just as I was passing him, he said, “There’s hope,” in the kind of voice you’d expect to hear from a chubby guy in a green shirt and purple tie. He may have had a hands-free thing, since his hands WERE full, but he definitely looked like he was talking to me. I guess I looked like I needed a little up-lifting.

Then, on my way in this morning, I was having a cigarette (I know, I’m a terrible person). At the same place I passed the guy yesterday, another dude said, “Doesn’t wo-ork,” in a sort of sing-songy lilt. Perhaps he meant smoking, as a weight-loss strategy? His hands weren’t full, so if he was using a headset, he’s just an asshat.

Now I’m wondering if I’m the kind of guy that looks like he needs unsolicited input from strangers, or if these guys just don’t know the Man Laws. I’ll let you know how the walk home tonight goes.

As I’ve mentioned at least once, I no longer have my car, Malique, because FN is taking care of her for now.

It is with a heavy heart that I report that Malique has been hit by a deer. I’m sure she’ll make it through - she IS made of plastic, after all - but we’re all pretty broken up here at Brockstone Manor, and hope you’ll keep her (and the deer) (and, come to think of it, FN) in your thoughts.

After my post on Monday I was asleep by 9. I felt OK yesterday, and despite a lot of coughing and sneezing, I felt just fine most of today, but now I’m getting achey and tired. This has better clear up tomorrow, because I’m got Friday off and I’ve got big plans.

Also, we won the House, Rummy done quit, Britney done split, Virginia’s on the fence for a couple more weeks and maybe I should have voted, but I don’t technically live here.

JM: Beware the Ides of February…March.

Me: It’s November.

JM: Right.

For those of you in Virginia, CNN has a statewide summary available. There’s nothing there yet, but it will probably be more interesting in a few hours when exit polls start coming in.

I woke up this morning feeling a little off, and just had a bad feeling about things. By 3 this afternoon, I was coughing and sneezing, that full-body ache was starting to set in, and my head was just starting to hurt - just a little, just so I’d know what to expect.

I should be at the DAR Constitution Hall right now to see Ted Leo & The Pharmacists open for Death Cab for Cutie, but I figured that no one wants a guy coughing and sneezing through a show, and I was bound to be pretty miserable as soon as they fired up the subs. I was looking forward to seeing Patrick and Risa there more than the bands - I like the music, but not as much as I once did, and I don’t get to see Pat and Risa very often (and, of course, I knew I’d miss the $40 I paid for the damn ticket). So that sucks. But, as I lay here in my PJs, wondering if it would be bad to just go to sleep now, I know that staying home was the right decision. I’m going to take some vitamins and crash early, because I really don’t want to deal with a cold all week.

Things are winding down at Brockstone Manor. The only people left are those that were planning to spend the night, so we’re just kind of hanging out. We never went dumpster diving or anything, but it was a good evening.

Good night.

Sarah’s gonna be a Cougar in ten years. Just for the record.

I am very tired. Katie can’t work a cigarrette. We’ve been listening to country music and people are talking about sushi.