February 29, 2004

four years later

i think about you from time to time. not too often. not as often as i once thought i would. maybe not even as often as i want to. but i guess things end up that way sometimes.

i look down at the face looking up at me on my license and wonder who that person is. minutes away from replacing that picture. a picture that will see me through a different set of four years.

you were there with me. i could see you when i was waiting for the lady to take my picture, freezing that one tiny moment forever in time. i was sitting there in that GAP sweater you bought for me. the one that i picked out and then put back because i knew i'd never wear it. the one i haven't worn since that day.

in this four year chunk of my life i've moved on from that guy in that picture. i've moved on from you. i missed you so much in the beginning. i lost you in two different ways and that really affected me. i changed a little bit. you were always the one that was different from all of the others. i guess that's what made losing you so much harder on me. and i'm not saying it's a good thing, but i did teach me to be more careful with who i let inside. that's just what happened.

strangers.

two people who shared mutual friends.

friends.

an inseparable pair that was more like one person.

talking on the phone at least twice a day, together three times a week.

losing you to distance.

losing you to a misunderstanding.

finding one another again.

spending time catching up.

seeing you two more times.

realizing that losing you, helped me find me.

exchanging emails.

me realizing that i'm finally okay with how things ended up.

you can't really fix the damage that's been done to your heart. but you need to let go of the past in order to put an end to the damage. if given the chance i don't think i'd really want it to end in any other way. i no longer want it to be like how it once was.

closure.

and four years later no one will be looking back at me and smiling while i wait for someone to take my picture. but i am ready to see where i end up in these next four years.

thank u

i thought it was cannonball.

then it was the blower's daughter.

after that it became amie.

then cold water got to me.

i remember.

and then eskimo.

but now i couldn't pick out a single one that doesn't bring a tear to my eye.

by now you know what to do...

don't let me down

sighworthy

"i am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have. please don't try to figure out who she is because then you might figure out who i am, and i really don't want you to do that...i just need to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn't try to sleep with people even if they could have. i need to know that these people exist."

February 28, 2004

exit

"people come into your life destined to leave it. you can wrap your arms tight around them, the best that you can hope to do is just slow them down a little. because there's no holding on tight enough."

sweetness follows

it was fifty-five degrees outside today. windows down on the blazer. xm radio blaring a dance mix of westlife doing barry mannilow's "mandy", and yes i really am just that gay.

it was the first day i've left my place in months without my old navy "frost free or whatever" jacket on. p.s. i love you, i'm just not overly fond of the trail of feathers you left everywhere i went. if one more person gave me an odd look while picking a tiny white feather off of my back i swear i was gonna cry, "that's it i can no longer hide my true self from you any longer! yes, i really am a chicken". it's a down filled jacket people, come on, do the math!

the good news: flip flops and shirtless boys are just around the corner. it's been a long, cold winter.

February 27, 2004

end credits

you know when a movie ends and the heroine winds up alone. and she walks off down the city street, wind blowing, hands grasping at the lapels of her coat, pulling them closer to her. the music begins to swell in the background i don't know, something perfect that fits the moment like the dumbing down of love by frou frou or wonderwall by ryan adams, and her stride turns to one of slow motion. and you kind of wonder to yourself what's going to happen to her now, since the movie didn't have a happily tied up ending?

replace the heroine with me.
the city street with a mall.
and yeah, i've been in a mood like that all day.

word to the wise

okay watching porn while you're on the phone with your mother is just WRONG. wrong on so many levels. wrong. you know who you are, you know you're wrong. just because she didn't know that's what you were doing does not make it okay.

it is decidedly so

last night while chatting with the boy i decided that i will:

a) purchase a nomad.
b) copy all of my cds and mp3s.
c) sell off all of my worldly goods.
d) buy a really nice outfit 'cause i will be living in that one outfit from now on. (i mean as long as i have my music what else would i really need?)
e) become a nomad and travel the country.


me: then i could walk to hawaii.

him: walk?

me: yep.

him: to hawaii?

me: yep. they have a bridge now.

him: mmm hmm.

me: what? they do! but it's an underwater one.

him: um, okay.

me: and it's only for us nomads.

him: freak-o.

will: i just saw the passion.

me: how was it?

will: gruesome. bloody and gruesome.

me: yeah? that's what i've heard.

will: yeah. hard to sit through. you haven't seen it then?

me: no. i was going to but someone ruined it for me, they told me how it ended.

will: (laughing)

February 25, 2004

astrology

if today is your birthday, you may expect perfection in your life, but the risk is that you may treat yourself too harshly if anything goes wrong. ambitions may occupy your thoughts. by fulfilling your obligations, you will be happiest; by forgiving yourself for having faults, you will be saintly.


perfection indeed. two cards from ms. beaverhausen, two adorable hugs, about twenty phone calls, two emails and the cutest post i've ever seen... yeah perfection pretty much sums up this birthday. oh, and hearing the new alanis single didn't hurt either.

February 24, 2004

nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be this hard

it's all right there in front of you. you hold the control in your hands. you know your choices. you know your options. you know what you need to do. now just figure out what you want to do. "oh well you're young still, you have time", isn't gonna cut it any more. every day they push you down a little more. you make excuses to explain away the same water you've been treading forever. you lie. you hide. you're afraid. you think you're making progress and then you start to realize you're worse off than you were five years ago. every chance put away for a better time slowly begins to fade away. just because you're willing to wait forever doesn't mean that everyone else will. there is no reason for that stupid grin. it's not funny. it's not cute. it's tired. you have good things around you, open up your damn eyes and just reach out for one of them. reach out before they leave you alone. alone where you deserve to be for taking them for granted. alone.

the taste of originality

i got this from ms. beaverhausen and ringo

1. open your mp3 player.
2. put all of your music on random.
3. list the first ten songs it plays, no matter how embarrassing.



1. sheryl crow - over you
2. avril lavigne - complicated
3. brandy - have you ever?
4. daft punk - one more time
5. the felicity theme song!
6. goldfrapp - human (calexico vocal mix)
7. lisa loeb - too fast driving
8. k's choice - live for real
9. samantha mumba - baby come on over
10. the connells - '74 '75

hoping for a better list...

1. liz phair - h.w.c.
2. hilary duff - little voice
3. spiritualized - i didn't mean to hurt you
4. sugababes - stronger
5. wilco - i am trying to break your heart
6. brandy - what about us
7. tori amos - you belong to me
8. eminem vs. nsync - way i am/bye bye bye remix
9. barenaked ladies - live concert rap
10. pete yorn - lose you

February 23, 2004

today

co-worker randomly singing (obscenely loud).

me, giving her my one raised eyebrow look.

her: oh, well that's not how the song sounds, normally it sounds a little more...

me: on key?

her: shut up.

me: rather than several different keys?

her: stop.

me: whereas your version sounds like the dying screams of a baby seal.

her: hey!

me: that's being clubbed to death.

me: slowly.

forgiveness

two reasons why the wb is trying to make me stop hating them for dumping felicity & popular:


they're bringing al santos back to my tv screen.

high school reunion part 2.

confusion

okay, i'm confused. if it was a guy's turn to go to the inferno, then why wasn't julie voted in?

happy birthday ms. k

happy birthday to my amazing friend who i'd gladly drive off of a cliff with, bring to my trailer park to meet my family, or just stare at people together with our sunglasses on thus dooming us to a future filled with mutant children. thank you for everything. i love you.

J

February 22, 2004

my boyfriend. jealous much?


broken sky, heartaches that flowers won't mend
say goodbye knowing that this is the end
tender dream, shadows fall
love too sweet, to recall
dry your eyes, face the dawn
life will go on, life will go on

all along thought that we still had a chance
letting go, this is the end of romance
broken heart find your way
make it through just this day
face the world on your own
life will go on, life will go on

there'll be blue skies, there'll be true love
someday i'll hold you again
they'll be blue skies in a better world, darlin'

tender dreams, shadows fall
love too sweet, to recall
dry your eyes, face the dawn
life will go on, life will go on
broken heart find your way
make it through just this day
face the world on your own
life will go on

life will go on - chris isaak

February 19, 2004

run ons, an update and stuff to ponder

okay. so when a boy buys you a plane ticket and tells you to come see him and you say yes, and then no, and then yes, and then you punk out, is it wrong to want to ask him if the invitation is still, "on the table", as rachel said tonight.

(sidenote) phoebe used regina falangie, however she spells it, as her alias again tonight. one more appearance of it before the end, i was very happy. and this time it had a french spin on it. i tell people i'm gene falangie when i'm out kicking it and i don't want your sketchy ass knowin my name.

okay, so when a cute guy finally, after some arm twisting by an adorable third party, finally gets back in touch with you and you think to yourself, sweet maybe we'll "establish a rapport" as said third party put it, and then he drops off the face of the earth again, should you take that as a ginormous sign? or just call him a bastard-face (he's not) and shrug it off. i mean he's been busy, so that's understandable. but come on, would one little "hello" really hurt? yeah we all know me. i'll sit and pout and appear cool moody until he decides i'm worthy enough to contact again and then my high will return. well i am weak when it comes to a cute guy. and yes, he really is that cute.

oh, and as far as the work thing went. i was told what the "new policy" was and that was way ick. but i was then told that since it was me, and since i've never done anything like that before, they'd let it slide. this time. with a little laugh and a tap on the shoulder i was let off the hook.

"it's a cruel world, and i am a lucky boy" - matt nathanson.

my dirrty little x-tina and maroon5 are going to be on SNL this weekend. it's a pretty safe bet that i'll be kicking it slug style on my couch saturday night, recovering from the huge drunk fest that will forever go down in the books as "the birthday event 2004", that will take place friday night. let me just go on record as saying right now: kia, christopher and all you other unfortunate ones who won't be there with us to celebrate, i'm sorry for the drunk dialing that will more than likely take place. i can't be held responsible for professions of love, swearing like a trucker, telling you the same story one hundred times, or just letting the song play that's on in the background that will of course remind me of you. this is your warning, if you see my ass ringing yours tomorrow night anytime after ten...well, let's just say you were warned.

and my manager's parting words of wisdom, "please don't end up in jail while i'm on vacation." me? wha what? hmm, jail... well that's one way to score i suppose.

February 18, 2004

more music to sigh to

ben jelen - setting of the sun

yeah, you definitely need to go out and find this.

"the moral of the story is, there is no moral." -cyndi

cyndi. lauper. wow.

so last night lisa, dee, T and i went to the cyndi lauper concert. the show was amazing. the different takes on the songs that brought a smile to my face as a little boy left me speechless. and no kia, that really wasn't that long ago. "true colors" almost made me cry. "time after time" was brilliant, cyndi sitting on her chair blowing my mind. an accordion and a violin? i mean come on. i was one harmonic away from an orgasm. "change of heart" had me up on my feet. i was so excited that i had to phone christopher and let him experience a little for himself. this tiny little woman was jumping, bouncing and running all over the place. two times she climbed the massive stack of speakers that were towering above us. and there she sat looking directly down on us singing and smiling. at one point lisa stopped jumping up and down and screamed in my ear, "i am cyndi lauper!". she's insane and i love her. i only let crazy people into my heart. and when she ended with girls just want to have fun, everyone jumped to their feet. the show was unbelievable she told long and often hilarious stories in between each song. she's been doing this for longer than i've been alive and she truly seemed like she was loving every minute of it. that wasn't a concert, that was a performance by a beautiful and classy lady. she introduced her band and when one guy yelled out, "who's the blonde?" (meaning her) she smiled turned and said, "honey, not for nothing, but if you don't know who i am, then you're in the wrong place." as i told christopher i simply must see this woman again. soon.

before the concert dee, who was drunk when we picked her up, wanted to stop for a quick drink. four drinks later, we headed to the concert. damn that girl can drink me under the table. but these days i'm a total lightweight. anyway, after the concert she looked at lisa and said,"let's go drink" at least one hundred times. so we spent the next hour in the car looking for a bar that lisa knew of. it wasn't enough that we had to take one trip into the ghetto, so we turned around and hit it up a second time. we found at least thirty dirty, dirty dive bars, and so not in the good xtina way. i told lisa that there was no way i'd feel comfortable in one of them. so we drove off to downtown. she took us to this bar that was "so much fun" the last time she was there. two seconds in the door and i knew we were out of place. it was hip hop night. the girl at the door looked at all of us and told us three times, "it's hip hop night", meaning hello this place is so not for you. lisa said that was fine. so we walked in and every person in the place looked at us and was like,"wtf?", i kid you not. we all hit up the restroom after our long ass trek to the bar. i looked at T when we were in the hall waiting for the girls,"i've never felt more white in my entire life" we both said. "so, this is where we die huh?" i asked him. the girls came out, and after not getting waited on at the bar, we left. "wow, i just paid $3 to pee." i announced. so off we went to an irish pub. and that's pretty much where my story ends. i got drunk. very.very.drunk. as did dee and T. lisa was our lifesaving driver. i know i laughed a lot. i kept staring at T and his beauty. his voice makes my knees a little woozy. i know i spoke with kia. i know that everyone else talked with kia as i forced the phone into their hands. i kinda have this feeling i talked to T about his butt being cute. and eventually the night ended. and i magically wound up in my bed. my bed, where i woke up this morning one hour and forty five minutes late for work. well that's a first. thank God it truly was a first and everyone kinda sorta looked the other way, for now. *fingers crossed* after a few hugs, because everyone just naturally assumed that i was dead, i got a few laughs and some minor scolding. again, we'll see how tomorrow goes. i told pam today that the older i get the less responsible i seem to be getting, like i'm regressing. i had fun. i'd love to do it again, on a weekend when i have nowhere to be the next day of course, but again. on my drive i called kia and was freaking out, hoping that i'd still have a job when i got there. was there really a time when kia wasn't in my life? i don't remember that. because a day doesn't go by now that i don't talk to her. smiling, laughing and loving every single minute of it.

it only gets better

there's nothing like a good panic attack first thing in the morning to wake a guy up.

February 15, 2004

surviving

i'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around the thought of how a person can go from meaning so much to you for so long, to becoming a complete stranger to you. it gets to the point that if you're out somewhere and you see them you purposely put your head down and pick up your pace, making every effort just to avoid having an awkward conversation. and by awkward i mean that it's all about them, a subject your mind reached it's fill of long ago. a person can only be sad for so long before their sadness begins to drag everyone else in their life down along with them. you begin to realize that if what you had really was love then maybe it would have worked out. but now, being that you survived it and all that it was, you can look at it with a saner view. with that i guess it's easier to see it for what it was. nothing more than a single sided relationship that benefited only him. yes, it was fun for a short period of time. he's fun to look at, to touch. but the few good days that you have to look back on really aren't enough to make it worth sticking around for more of the bad days. and you know there will be bad days because those are the one's that he's really the best at. he's good at making your life a mess. he's good at making you doubt yourself. he's good at making you think that something is wrong with you, that something does need to change. when in all honesty the only change that you really need is to build a new life that doesn't involve him in any way. love. friendship. a passing face in the crowd. i mean how many depressing conversations can you really have with someone before you want to just kick them down a flight of stairs? honestly, you'd be doing them a favor.



can i be her just for a little while?

February 14, 2004

soap net deepness, yo.

"sometimes we turn the people that we love, into the people that we need them to be..."

things i miss when i'm asleep...

10:15 pm
a call from kia

10:39 pm
a call from kia

11:23 pm
a text from kia

11:57 pm
a call from christopher

12:14 am
a call from the boy

12:17 am
a text from the boy

12:23 am
a call from the boy

1:07 am
...the boy

1:18 am
a text from kia

2:04 am
a call from the boy

5:07 am
...the boy

so i fell asleep while watching tv last night. i missed everyone, that made me sad. apparently sometime in the night i woke up and turned my alarm off. maybe i hit snooze like jonathan HATES? i dunno. i had to work today. i woke myself up, freaking out. i had no idea what day it was. today everyone got something red and chocolate-like, everyone but me. but fuck them, i did get some phone calls and texts. they'll just get fat, i had stuff to read/listen to. plus i had a brief chat with the boy on my way home tonight, that was enough to make this stupid "holiday" a little better. and i mean, come on, the new site? you know like whoa, and so in the joey lawrence sense of that word.

after many requests...

i know you've all been waiting/asking for it.
well the new site is finally here.

and look at me i did it all by myself with no help from anyone , anyone at all.

p.s. thank u india, i love you. you truly do rawk...

anger & forgiveness in under two minutes


mrs. b (texting me on ms. k's cell): hi, i'm mad at you.

me (texting her on mine): & why is that? wait, is this mrs. b?

mrs. b: you never returned my calls.

me: i left you voicemailage tonight & i texted u the other day.

mrs b: you're a liar, and i'm still mad at you.

me: p.s. i tried to hang out w/ u 2, 2 saturdays ago & u blew me off. i showered & was heading out & ms. k said u were n for the night so i came back home & cried.

mrs. b: you never called me and if you told ms. k we will blame it on her and hang out for your birthday i got you some cool stuff.

me: my b-day is too far away, i don't think we r partying until march. we have 2 be BRATS together b4 that!

mrs. b: aren't you doing birthday's on the 20th if not lets do it then or the 21st after bowling.

me: ms. k didn't say anything about that weekend. she said, "i will be with scott 4 the next few weekends because i love him WAY more than i love u & mrs.b!"

February 13, 2004

riddle me this batman

okay, so you place an order on the 8th.

you pay extra for the 3 day shipping, assuming that it will get there in time for an over-hyped holiday on the 14th.

then you track your order.

and you find out it's scheduled to be delivered on the 17th.

wtf?

i could have walked it there faster than that.

happy valentine's day

hello there, the angel from my nightmare
the shadow in the background of the morgue
the unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
we can live like jack and sally if we want
where you can always find me
we'll have halloween on christmas
and in the night we'll wish this never ends
we'll wish this never ends

(i miss you i miss you)
(i miss you i miss you)

where are you and i'm so sorry
i cannot sleep i cannot dream tonight
i need somebody and always
this sick strange darkness
comes creeping on so haunting every time
and as i stared i counted
webs from all the spiders
catching things and eating their insides
like indecision to call you
and hear your voice of treason
will you come home and stop this pain tonight
stop this pain tonight

don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (miss you miss you)
don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (miss you miss you)

don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (i miss you miss you)
don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (i miss you miss you)


i miss you - blink 182

enter cute girl from the past.

cute girl that i once flirted with. because i am that stupid, sad and pathetic. who knows why i do what i do? it's my life, don't you forget it. anyway, it's probably been close to a year and a half since i've seen her. and there she was today. just as tiny as ever, totally pocket sized and all that. "wow, you look good, wait are you healthy?" she asked. "yeah" i said rolling my eyes. "then yeah, you look good. you lost a ton of weight" she said. "i wish." my token response. because honestly i have no idea what to say when someone tells me that i look good. it's been 20+ years. i don't know how to think, feel, act when someone tells me that i look good. honestly, it's all new to me. "how much weight have you lost?" she asked. "almost sixty-five pounds." i tell her. "wow, like, wow" she says. okay, i'm starting to get a little freaked out by the way her eyes are on me. swear to God it's as if she's sizing me up and i'm the thanksgiving turkey. "um, thanks. whatever, but thanks." i say rolling my eyes again. and i swear, no exaggeration, the entire time that she was talking to me she was checking me out. no one checks me out *trust* so i know when someone is in fact checking me out. after some small talk... "so are you ever in my neck of the woods?" she asked. do people still talk like that? is what i wondered. "where do you live?" i ask. she tells me. yeah i used to frequent that area when B lived there. "really?" she asked. i nod. "you should totally come out with us on saturday night!" she tells me. "saturday?" i ask. "yeah, you should come." she said with a smile. "why can't you be a boy???" i think to myself. "um, sure, maybe." is what i say. "okay, here's my work email and this is my home email. email me and i'll let you know where to meet up." she says. "um, sure." i say, thinking "this really isn't happening." and yes, once again it was. "no, you should meet us. a bunch of us girls are going out that night. they'd eat you up. come with us. a bunch of single girls and you, come on." she tells me. "ah, yeah i like boys." i think. "sure." is what i say. beer and boobies, i mean it won't be all bad. "okay, email me tomorrow." she says again, walking off. "okay." i say with my smile. the smile that makes all the girls swoon. not a single guy, but all the girls. "i will." i say. and just like that i have plans for valentine's day. but i don't want those plans but like my friend told me tonight, me and all those drunk horny girls = free drinks for the j man. i'm all about the free drinks, i mean i am a raging alcoholic and a whore. but at what price? do i wonder. and once again i ask myself why can't there at least be ONE cute boy coming with us. i asked T to join us. he was all like, "yeah, oh wait i have to work." and i was all like, "damn i'm broken hearted cause i so wanna blow you." who? what? where? "i meant blow your mind." he's adorable. and i get to hang with him at cyndi on tuesday so i guess that will have to do.

so chris got his package today.
kia got her card.
and apparently the boy didn't get his gift.

kia thinks mad wicked, but good, karma is coming my way. i want what J & R have, is that so much to ask?

anyway, good karma is a good thing. i love, and i love. and who cares if i get nadda in return? the boy called me back FINALLY. and i guess that's enough to put a smile on my face. scratch that, hearing his voice IS enough to put a smile on my face. madonna + tori + coldplay = big smile on this mug o' mine. and i'm not just smiling because he has a HUGE 1988 style cell phone. one that he hides when he's out because he's so embarrassed by it. i'm smiling because he's so adorable, and because he will forever have a place in my heart. even if we are beyond over, he will forever make me smile. and that's good enough for me. that's good enough for tonight.

February 11, 2004

five years ago

five years ago tonight i couldn't sleep. the night before i was out with rachel, melanie and my other favorite people in the world at that time. i was happy. i had met some people that i truly fit with. we spent the night out like we usually did: running up a tab as if we were trust fund brats, getting entirely too acquainted on the dance floor, me grabbing rachel's boobs because she of course first grabbed my crotch repeatedly, and ending our night back at melanie's place all piled in her bed and on the floor. and little deon, her kitten, curling up with all these crazy drunk people. i remember wasting most of the following day at rachel's house, watching her do her hair, while i waited for her to drive me back home. i lost one of my favorite shirts somewhere in that twenty hour span. i remember realizing that i had plans with ms. k later on that night. i remember rachel finally pulling into my driveway several hours later, dropping me off with about thirty-five minutes to get ready to meet ms. k. i remember being hungry, not having anything but beer in the previous twenty hours. i remember seeing my dad. i remember the look on his face. it really stuck with me at the time for different reasons. i found out later that i wasn't just imagining the look that he had on his face. i was in my mother's room on a different occasion and i saw something scratched down on a piece of paper about the very same look on his face that i saw. to me, at the time, that look made me think that he was very happy about something, or content maybe. but at the same time i saw the look on his face that he was once again let down by his son who still found new ways of fucking up. at the time i was too weirded out by the whole thing to stick around and figure out which one it really was. but now i'm pretty sure both thoughts were right. he brought dinner home for my mom because he knew that i was going out. i was getting something to drink before i headed out and she was putting some groceries away. as i shut the refrigerator door i looked up to find him just smiling at the two of us. i remember asking, "what?" feeling guilty. i remember him just smiling and saying, "nothing bub", he always called me bub. i remember shrugging my shoulders, kissing my mom on the cheek and heading off to pick up ms. k. thinking about it now for the first time i'm glad that i left. up until now i've always felt so horrible and guilty for putting myself first and just leaving. but i'm happy now. they needed the time alone together. it was how it was supposed to be. how it started, how it ended.

i remember having the strangest feeling the entire time i was out with ms. k. i told her more than once that i felt odd and i just figured it was the previous night's debauchery that was to blame. i remember getting home late. i remember everyone else being asleep. i remember crawling into my bed knowing that i had to be at work in a few hours. i remember having a slight panic attack in my bed, trying to shake it off. i remember not being able to fall asleep at first. i remember later waking up a little uneasy, feeling that someone was in my room. i knew something was off but i had no idea what it was at the time. i remember hearing my dad walk down the hall towards the bathroom. i remember getting up after both my parents were gone. i remember getting ready and leaving for work. i remember working for a few hours. i remember sitting at the table in the back with crissy. i remember rachel telling me that i had a phone call. i remember thinking that was odd. i remember her telling me that it was an emergency. i remember telling her to shut up because she was never serious about anything. i remember the look on her face, knowing that she was this time. i remember feeling sick as i walked to the phone. that was probably the last thing that i can honestly say that i remember. i did answer the phone. i did panic when i heard my dad's voice saying my name, knowing that something was wrong with my mom. i remember finding it hard to shake the fog and confusion that was settling in when the voice explained who he was and what was going on. i wasn't talking to my dad, my dad was the one that something had happened to. i was told that it was bad. i was told that i needed to get there as soon as i could. i remember having no idea how i was going to find where "there" was. i wrote down directions, not knowing that i was, but finding them later and realizing that i did. i remember being both calm and freaked out as i drove for what seemed like four hours. i guess it was about forty-five minutes in reality. i remember hearing third eye blind sing "how's it going to be" and i knew that this was when my life was about to change. i remember thinking that my coat wasn't nice enough to go into a hospital so i exchanged it for the one that was in my back seat i remember walking down the longest hallway i'd ever walked down. i remember getting to the end of it and seeing all these faces staring back at me. these strangers who seemed to know who i was without question. i remember my dad's boss walking up to me and handing me my dad's watch. i thanked him knowing that my dad would be happy to get it back when i finally got to see him. and then i turned and finally saw my mother. she looked like she was five years old and i was terrified as she walked towards me. i think i said "where's, what?" not really knowing what i was trying to say. i remember her breaking down and telling me that he was gone and that she was sorry. i remember hugging her, looking over her shoulder and seeing my dad on a bed. i have no idea how much time had passed. i remember saying no when she asked if i wanted to go in and see him. i remember becoming an adult. i remember just feeling older and thinking that this was the day that people spoke of when they said that one day you just woke up feeling like an adult, it wasn't something you made an effort to become, it just happened. i remember thinking that.

i remember going to the phone and calling everyone that i could think of to let them know what had happened. i called my two uncles and my aunt to let them know that my mom needed them. i remember my sister walking in on all of this, having no idea what was going on. i remember her crying and saying "oh my God" over and over again. i remember wondering if the hospital chaplain was offended by her saying that over and over. i remember the look on his face that said to me that he understood. i remember walking into my dad's room and seeing him motionless on the table. i remember thinking that wasn't really him. i remember feeling as if he was standing there with the three of us looking at the body. i remember kissing his cold forehead as i said goodbye. i remember my sister's boyfriend telling me how sorry he was. i remember saying thanks but thinking, "i still think you're a tool". i remember driving my mom home in silence, watching everyone and everything moving around me as i drove, and i felt motionless. i remember my mom worrying that our neighbors were going to get lost when they went after her car and my dad's. i remember her one short sentence telling me that she was talking to him on the phone when it happened. i found out later that she ran from her work and took off in her car to get to him. when she got to where he worked they wouldn't let her go to see him. i remember her telling me that she just wanted to see him but they wouldn't let her inside. inside where he was sitting at his desk, on the phone with her. i learned that day that they took their lunch breaks together and talked to one another over the phone. and that's what they were doing when he had his heart attack when he fell from his chair. when he hit his head, and broke his glasses. when he died on the floor, alone, before anyone could get to him.

five years later and my mother still isn't my mother. she's this person that looks like my mom, but that's about it. most of the mom that i knew back then died when he did. her voice is different now. her smile only makes an appearance on very special occasions rather than being an everyday part of her as it used to be. i never hear her laugh much either. she's more cynical. angry. angry over the things the mom i knew before would just shrug off. she seems sad still. and no matter how many people she has in her life she always seems alone. incomplete. and five years later, i now know that's how it will always be. yes she's moved on. yes she's stopped crying. yes she's started eating again. but she's never going to be the mom she once was. the mom i've been waiting five years for her to get back to.

February 10, 2004

kia: i blame you for nothing, except for the sun and the moon.

damn, she knows how to sweep a guy off his feet. sigh.

karen & poodle part deux


kia: he never got back to me. i hate when i leave a comment and
they don't get back to me.

me: um i left a comment on your site and you never responded to
me. so blah blah blah.

kia: um yeah i talk to you like every day.

me: oh yeah.

kia: yeah.

karen & poodle


me: damn i'm such a whore.

kia: you are.

me: i am.

me: p.s. don't forget W&G tonight!

kia: oh yay!

February 09, 2004

"if it doesn't involve smoking or drinking then katie doesn't want to do it."

-shane, the inferno

February 08, 2004

a text to kia (heart) from thursday night:

my milkshake brings all the girls to the yard, and i'm like why can't it be BOYS!?!

tonight we learned:

the scientist still makes me cry.

christopher makes me smile.
(we talked for a bit tonight on his way home from hanging with a boy and he has such the cutest voice. this is me gushing).

the boy still makes me feel like such an ass.
(two hours on the phone with him makes me feel like hell. happy in some ways, but hell all the same).

kia makes me happy cause she calls me and shit.

February 07, 2004

am i not pretty enough?
is my heart too broken?
do i cry too much?
am i too outspoken?
don't i make you laugh?
should i try it harder?
why do you see right through me?

i live, i breathe, i let it rain on me.
i sleep, i wake, i try hard not to break.
i crave, i love, i've waited long enough.
i tried as hard as i can.

am i not pretty enough?
is my heart too broken?
do i cry too much?
am i too outspoken?
don't i make you laugh?
should i try it harder?
why do you see right through me?

i laugh, i feel, i make believe it's real.
i fall, i freeze, i pray down on my knees.
i hope, i stand, i take it like a man.
i try as hard as i can.

am i not pretty enough?
is my heart too broken?
do i cry too much?
am i too outspoken?
don't i make you laugh?
should i try it harder?
why do you see right through me?

not pretty enough - kasey chambers

February 06, 2004

i love i miss you by blink182.

i love love me for a little while by janet jackson.

i love kia for helping me be a little less computerly challenged.

when i was a drunken mess: confessions of a twelve-year-old little girl.

nikki and i did the thursday night drunk-fest that's quickly becoming a new tradition. thursday night used always be about ms. k, and B. all of that seems forever ago. so we went for pizza at roma's. yumm, i love that place. i was all depressed when it burned to the ground. but they've reopened in a new location keeping the same look and feel with some minor updates. tommy boy still works there. we used to always flirt with him when T and i made that place our haunt. we pretended that he was one of our lobster's. we never knew his real name, we just called him tommy boy for the tommy jeans he always wore that complimented his adorable butt. so after a few beers there and some songs on the juke box we headed across the parking lot to a sports bar. breeder central, redneck mecca. it was interesting. i kept telling nikki if it was too low class for her all she had to do was say the word and we'd head downtown. i said i didn't care where we were as long as the beer was good and cold. and they had rolling rock on tap. score.

"um, i'm like the only girl in this place. are you sure this isn't a gay bar?"

so we settled in at the bar and i put my five dollars in the juke box to put an end to the country music that was making us feel all icky. i struggled with what xtina song to pick, fighter or dirrty.

"um, i'm gonna go with dirrty since most of the people in this place look kinda dirty." i told her.

"oooh! nsync." i said, as the page flipped down.
"not in this place." nikki warned me.
"alright." i said defeated.
"i have to pee, if you pick nsync while i'm gone you're in trouble."

"so what did you pick?" nikki asked when she came back.
"xtina, a little JT and nsync!" i said, happy as a little girl.
"ugh. these rednecks are gonna kill you. it's a good thing you picked nsync last because we'll be asked to leave when that comes on." nikki explained.

so we made our way to a booth once one finally opened up. two beers and one shot for each of us, that was not an easy trip to make across the room. we decided that we'd stock up on our drinks so we didn't have to walk our lazy asses back up to the bar anytime soon.

"i feel like i'm partying in someone's basement. the walls are cement blocks painted white." i said looking around.

we sat in a giant both and got tipsy. nikki and her tiny bladder made several trips to the restroom. and i of course was a dork and drunk dialed a few people. i called kia because she loves to laugh at her poodle when he's drunk. and i called christopher, i hope i didn't piss him off. i don't know if i even talked to him. from the short time the call lasted i'm thinking that i didn't. and i of course had to call the boy when i played another damn coldplay song (in my place this time). i'm my very own tragically sad lifetime tv movie. i even have my own background music for my conversations. yes i am a dork, but i really wouldn't have it any other way.

sadly the night ended with me breaking my cell phone. maybe that was a sign that i should cut back on the drunk dialing that seems to get me into so much trouble. or maybe it's a sign that i should get the slider phone that i've had my eye on for a bit now. however my birthday is coming up too. *hint hint* i called kia to inform her of the tragedy.

"i'll never be able to call anyone ever again!" i told her.
"um, you're talking to me right now." she explained.

February 04, 2004

you know what f*ck you, yo.

...well you said when i used yo it brought a smile to your face. so you wanted to hang out, that's cool. i said yes, it's been a while. for whatever reason i really wanted to just be around you again. my one simple request? just please give me enough notice in case thursday night was bad for you. that way if we weren't going to hang out i could at least go out with nikki rather than stay at home waiting for you by the phone. i guess that's too much to ask. i forgot that it's all about you and what you want and what you need. old me would sit and wait thinking, "well he might call, i mean it's almost midnight but he could still call". this me knows how shitty and unreliable you are to the people you claim to care about. this me just got off the phone with nikki. this me will be shakin' my ass this time tomorrow night. i hope you have fun with your sad songs and your memories. granted she's not a boy, but i love being around her all the same. like grandma used to say a boob in the hand is worth two dicks in the bush. or something like that.

February 03, 2004

hehehe

"she choked up birdseed, worms, and some marlboro miles."

-timmy, the inferno.

February 02, 2004

inferno

dear julie,

i hate you. you are the devil. get you and your scary horse teeth to a dentist pronto. you need to get the hell off of my tv screen and stop ruining my monday nights.

worst wishes,
J

p.s. shane's back yay!!!

i'm totally f*cked...

...and not in the good way. upon my arrival home from work tonight i stopped to get my mail. and waiting there for me was my car payment that i sent in oh so very early. it's now back in my possession without a stamp on it. damn that man.

and if i have to hear one more person go on and on about the whole janet/justin thing i think that i might barf. people get over it. if you haven't learned anything by now, stunts like that are shameless self promotion. you are talking about it. talking it to death. annoying the hell out of me with your talk. they are on your mind. their new album is on the way. they know what they are doing. first britney's kiss, and now janet's boob. the bitches are smart and know what they're doing. i wish i could say the same for your dumb asses. but janet next time get it right and rip justin's shirt off. got it? thanks.

new everwood and the debut of the inferno, at least my night is looking up.

February 01, 2004

hooray for boobies, booty humpin', and your average thursday night...

thursday night nikki and i went to the best italian restaurant in the world, luigi's.  it's this little old restaurant that's famous for their pizza.  there's always a line, and you're lucky to find a seat on most nights.  i guess there's even a comic strip that's based on this place. the walls are covered in autographed black and white pictures of people who look like they probably could have been famous. it was yum.  starch overload, but yum.  so after our meal we decided to do the bar thing.  i found a place to park and we walked a block or so to the bars.  it was a long walk.  10 degrees, windy, no coat long.  yeah i know it was my choice to do it sans coat, but i didn't want to babysit it all night.  so we quickly walked to the pub that nikki liked.  it was dead, and i was happy.  i wanted to get a few drinks in me before i had to deal with a crowd.  so we sat at the bar and decided to go with beer for the evening.  the music stopped and we sat there and listened to the chatter of the mini crowd that was forming.  i turned and realized that the juke box was located right behind us.  we found a prime spot to rest our sweet little asses: at the bar which meant instant refills, next to the restrooms an obvious perk, and next to said tunage.  i was a happy boy.  anytime i can be in total control of the music that i'm gonna chill to makes me a happy boy.  so of course i had to get coldplay's "the scientist" out of my system.  not the happiest of songs, but it's my song so i of course couldn't pass it up.  i mean that's what you get when you allow that song to be an option in a room where the alcohol is flowing. and of course i had to text the boy to inform him that i was listening to it and was thinking of him.  he was thrilled i'm sure, expecting it to become another one of "those nights".  and naturally it came very close to becoming one of "those nights".  so we picked our five songs and sat back down. 

"nikki we're so cute and popular, everyone wants to be with us."
nikki paused and looks around, "you know what? i think you're right."

i mean it was obvious. 

after some tool picked out these odd meatloaf songs we decided that we again had to get back to the juke box stat.  so i popped in five dollars this time and we controlled the better part of the next hour.  after bringing everyone, well okay just me, down with "the scientist" we decided to keep things upbeat this round.  i have this dorky habit of playing songs that remind me of people in my life for them when they're not even around to hear them.  but i feel better just for making the little gesture.  tool.  we couldn't resist ending our selection with "crazy in love" by beyonce and jay-z.  that song is so old but i enjoy hearing it when i'm drunk.  and that was my anthem last summer.  every party and bar that i was at that played it forced me to ring the boy up and inform him that i was doing some booty shakin' to it.  so again we sat back down and random people just kept coming up to us. 

"see nikki, i told you, people love us.  it's really starting to be too much."

this one chick was there alone and she begged nikki to save her from the 40 year old men that wouldn't leave her alone while i was in the bathroom mesmerized by the windows looking out into the bar.  while you stood there peeing you could look out into the bar, it was odd.  no one could see in, but you could look out while draining your justin trousersnake. so i came back and the girl talked to us for a bit until the old dudes took off.  after that a girl and guy sat next to us and played this porn game that was at the bar.  they too had to talk to us while we sat there.  then after returning from another trip to the restroom, yes the seal had officially been broken, i found a coat on my stool.  i gave nikki my "wtf?" look and she smiled and pointed at this tall hot chick.  "oh that's my coat" she informed me.  "oh" i said wondering what i was going to do.  "do you mind if i leave it there?" she smiled.  "not if you don't mind my ass being all over it" i responded.  "oh not at all" she laughed.  i think she thought i was that i was flirting with her, but i wasn't. so i sat on it for the next hour or so.  when she left she even thanked me for watching it.  odd.   after i ran up a huge tab and got nikki (and myself) good and tipsy, we decided that we simply had to dance.  so i asked my friend the sad bartender girl where we should go.  she told us to hit up "posh" it was the nicer of the two dance bars within walking distance.  so off we headed into the cold night to shake our bootys. 

"hey guys wait" said random girl getting out of her car.
"not more people, really this whole fame thing is getting out of hand.  people need to respect our desire to want to be left alone" i said.
"giggle giggle, drunk words, giggle." i think that was nikki agreeing with me.

she's a tiny little thing but she matched me drink for drink.  plus she did four shots.  i have no idea how she did it.  at one point i looked at her and asked her if she wanted to wear the leather cuff, that i had on my wrist, as a belt.  she is that tiny.  she just told me to fuck off.  then we laughed.

okay, so back to latest crazy stranger.  so this hott girl is getting something out of her car and is asking us to wait up for her.  we were like, "should we know who this is cause she really seems to know us".  so we stopped and waited for her and she rushed to meet up with us.  i swear she was acting like she had been waiting for us and that she knew we'd be hanging out that night.  she was from another state and was in town visiting some relatives.  she was hot, tight black shirt.  fierce camouflage pants.  long curly dark hair.  hot.  "so where are you headed?" she asked.  "um, posh" i answered still confused.  "cool, me too." she told us.  so we walked and talked and exchanged names. as luck would have it nikki had some passes to get us into posh so we could avoid the nasty cover and put our money to a better use, more alcohol. somehow our new friend got out of paying as well. so we walked upstairs to the dance area and found a table. our new friend chatted with us a bit then she had to get her drink on and headed off. we laughed a little about the oddness of this latest encounter, ordered another round and decided to dance. of course at this point in the evening no one was on the dance floor yet. let me just point out that i'm the biggest wallflower you'll ever meet. the only way that i can dance is when i'm lost in the crowd and not really being noticed by anyone. but for whatever reason this night i decided that dancing was far more important than waiting for the chance to blend in. so off we went.

"damn we're popular and hott, we'll get things started for everyone" nikki said.

and you know what we did. shortly after we danced to a few songs the floor filled up. so being the music control freak that i am i asked nikki to go up to the dj and ask to hear some justin timberlake. so i stood in the middle of the dance floor and watched little nikki do her thing. she's such the flirt. before she could get the cuteness that she is back to me JT began and i smiled. so we danced. she went back to ask for a little "toxic" by britney, jc chasez, and some kelis. all my picks. all played the moment nikki asked for them.

after a while nikki and i decided that the floor was getting a little too packed for us. and this one old couple was going at it close by us and that just wasn't acceptable. so we moved to this little roped off like area and created our own dance floor. we were up on this platform looking down on the rest of the crowd and there we danced uninterrupted. then our crazy camo friend appeared out of nowhere as i head off to the restroom.

"so is that your brother?" crazy asked nikki. apparently where she comes from it's normal practice to grind with your sibling on the dance floor.

"um no, he's my friend." nikki explained, wondering about our new friend.
"oh, cause i wanted to hump his booty and i was wondering if you thought he'd mind" crazy explained.
"oh no, hump away!" nikki told her.

nikki filled me in on that conversation on our way home. all of that went down while i was in the restroom calling the boy for like the third time that night. if you see me out and i'm noticeably drunk please remove the cell phone from my ear and hide it from me for the remainder of the evening. i ALWAYS, and i do mean always, get my drunk ass in trouble with my stupid drunk dialing. so anyway, i returned to nikki and out of nowhere crazy starts grinding on me. i'm all like, "hump away babe, hump away". so there we were the happy little threesome grinding in our private dance area. i was the happy meat in a booby sandwich. and all i could think to myself was why does this always happen to me? why can't, just for once, one of the people involved in my groping action be a boy? story of my life.

so after we closed that bar down we asked around for an after hours place to go so we could continue to dance. i approached one girl, who appeared to be in a coma on the stairs, and asked if she new. she didn't, i don't think the bitch could even tell me her name at that point. a cute guy tried to help us out but the only places he knew of were over an hour away. so with that we called it a night. off we walked to my car, while nikki made every attempt to try and keep me warm. she even tried to get me to wear her coat, but i passed. we professed our love for one another the entire walk and she insisted that we had to make this a weekly thing.

"hell yeah we will. but maybe next time we could involve some cute boys in on the booty humpin?"

"i used to be sad, now i'm just bored with you."

delicious ear candy:

ryan adams "rock n roll", "love is hell pt. 1" and "love is hell pt.2"