David's Tangled Thoughts

The other week I was worried that I would have to make a drive to Chicago to see Hot Fuzz , the Brit comedy that opened in theaters recently. No local theaters were showing it. The closest one was in Chicago. So while many other bloggers were typing their praise, I had to shut my eyes and move on. Showplace 16 in south South Bend got it a few days ago and last Friday, Erin and I went to see it. It was great. I'm not going to bother with a review except to say that I enjoyed it and would recommend everyone to see it. But there are couple of thoughts I wanted to get out. "By the power of Grayskull!" None of the young ones around me laughed. Am I that old already? Why does Martin Freeman always wear clothes that make him appear "Zeppelin" size? It took me two viewings to understand some of the dialog. Too bad, I couldn't have had a translator (or two) when I was in the theater. That kick to the old lady was my favorite part of the movie. Some complaine

I think I'm going to have to renounce my membership in the Filipino Club. (Italics apply to me.) - You answer to "Pssst!!" - You point with your lips. - You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables like Ling-Ling, Bong-Bong, or Che-Che. - You have uncles and aunts named Boy, Girlie or Baby. - In your dining room there's a picture of "Last Supper" - and on either side of it are a giant wooden spoon and fork. - The furniture in your house is wrapped in plastic or covered in blankets. - You use shopping bags as garbage bags. - You have a piano no one plays. - You keep a tabo in your bathroom. - You own a barrel man from Baguio. - You can't resist buying items on sale even if you don't need them. - You eat with your hands. - and you cut your meat with a spoon and fork. - You know a meal isn't a meal unless there's rice. - There's Spam, Vienna sausage and corned beef in your pantry. - You eat or have eaten fried spam and

And why is it bleached? Now, I have to say that I do not watch American Idol. I have seen two episodes. Just two. The very first episode of this season and one from a couple weeks ago (um, the Latin week one). Anyways, last night I had a dream that came out of nowhere. I was on American Idol. Just thinking about it makes me laugh but there I was in my dream rocking out with the group to some song by... I dunno... Tina Turner? It was an 80's song, I think, so that probably explains my costume. While everyone was singing, I try and dance with Melinda Doolittle. We're the only two who do. At the end of it, everyone is getting their criticism. I only remember what Paula said to me which was that I wasn't good and that I wasn't bad and that I need to step it up and act like a leading man. At then end of the taping and everyone was leaving, I went to the corner of the stage and crouched down, just sick with butterflies in my stomach. I was in the top six and I wa

Here's more on the Roseland ruckus. Former councilwoman, Dorothy Snyder was arrested last night for disorderly conduct and also resisting arrest. Local residents once again are shaking their heads. According to news reports from WNDU and WSBT , councilman Ted Penn was being videotaped by Dorothy Snyder after the meeting had adjourned. She refused to stop recording. In the WNDU article, Penn is quoted saying, "No one can be taped outside of the meeting without their permission, once the meeting's over. She can tape all she wants during the meeting." He points to a town ordinance. Mrs. Snyder's husband, David, says that ordinance was passed illegally and that anyone can videotape in a public building. I'm no fan of the Snyders but I've lost patience for their opposition as well. Watching the WNDU newscast that night, I saw her continuing to videotape. Which obviously means, that someone was videotaping her. Actually, at least three people were vide

I'm about to head out to Erin's. She offered to pay me to mow her lawn. I'm too ashamed to settle on a dollar amount so whatever she wants to give me, I'll be glad to take. There was rain in the forecast. But the sky is beautiful and the air is cool. Excellent day to do some yard work. Since this is a short post, I'll continue with some other thoughts. I've put up my receipts for my LSDAS and LSAT registrations. I spent $225. Money that I don't have. Now that I've pretty much committed myself, I am having major second thoughts about law school. Dusty said that it would be a good investment. I wanted to hug him and punch him for saying that. It's nice that people believe that I can do it. But I'm so worried about being good enough for law school and being able to come up with the loans for it. I started my application process for unemployment benefits and I still haven't gotten a decision if I a can draw on those funds. I hate the

Tagged once again. What is the earliest memory you have as a child? Think far back. I’m not sure if it was the earliest because I have a few from this time period but I had to be close to three or so. But I was on the balcony of the apartment complex that I lived at when my dad was stationed at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada. We lived on the second floor or maybe the third. I remember climbing on to a chair which required a lot of effort. The chair was up against the railing and on the chair I could look over the edge. And I remember looking down before either my dad or my mom pulled me back. What is a special memory you have about someone? It could be a grand parent, family friend, - not including your parents – that you knew as a child. What do you recall about them that makes the memory special? The neighbor lady that lived a few doors down when I was in Idaho. It was Halloween and I was eager to get as much candy as I possibly could. Towards the end, I wanted to go to th

In support of one of my friends, I have agreed to accompany her on a Speed Date . The idea is kind of exciting as I imagine I'd probably be more successful in making a match with the opposite sex than I have in the past. Yeah, don't roll your eyes.

What do you think happens after you die? You’re taken to the hospital just incase you’re not. Do you believe in heaven? Yes. Do you believe in hell? Yes, but not the fire pit that most envision. Do you think you will be judged after you die? Sure. Hopefully acquitted. How many people will attend your funeral? Maybe twenty or so. Would you rather that people cry or laugh at your funeral? Honestly, I don’t really care. Either would be nice, I guess. What's better? A shot in the head or downing pills? What the hell kind of question is this. Both suck. What should be written on your tombstone? I shouldn’t have a tombstone. I want to be cremated and my ashes thrown into Lake Michigan. Would you rather die childless or divorced? I don’t really have to worry about that now do I? Do you want to die in the morning, afternoon, or night? I’ll go with the morning. I wouldn’t want to wake anyone up and mess up their schedules. If you had a million pounds to leave, who would you leave it to

Late last week I made plans to go to State and check out Career Services and Placement. I would make the trip on Wednesday, the day after my job interview with Banana Republic. Herb had a recital/concert on Monday and I decided to move the trip up a couple days so that I could go to both. It’s been a tough time lately and I needed to experience something positive. It has been a year since I last visited campus and it gets stranger to me every time I go there. That’s not a negative. Campus is continually a work-in-progress and there hasn’t been anything new that I didn’t like. Okay, perhaps the addition to Spartan Stadium is an exception. That makes the thing look so lopsided. But even though things are continually changing, much of it remains so familiar. I was excited to see some of the construction at my old dormitory, Philips Hall. It’s going to look great. Going to Career Services wasn’t much help. The lady at the desk was really nice but explained to me that I now had to go to A

You Are Guinness You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world. Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them. When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well. But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around. What's Your Beer Personality? Wow. That pretty much hit the nail on the head.

…but I’m stuck on the couch watching Stargate! I’m so pumped now that two of my favorite shows are back. Stargate SG-1: The episode began with the SG-1 fleeing a dragon, the last test that they would have to pass in order to get access to the sangral, or the holy grail. Eventually they do by speaking the guardian’s name which immediately reminded me of the The Fellowship of the Ring when they opened that gate at Khazad Dum. The team is transported to another planet where they find that the sangral was probably destroyed by Morgan le Fay. But they do find Merlin who would know how to make another one. Merlin, however, is too old to do the work and dies but before leaving a way for Daniel to complete the work. The episode ends with Daniel being captured by the Orici after sacrificing himself to allow the rest of the team to make it back to Earth. While they were fighting the dragon, I was thinking to myself where Merlin might be. After all, they were sticking to the legend and if t

I have a fear of being in a stopped vehicle on a bridge. *shiver* Especially on Friday the 13th. Even though I consider Friday the 13th to be a lucky day. I know, I'm weird.

Chances are that if you are reading this blog, or any blog for that matter, you are aware of networking sites such as MySpace , Friendster , and Facebook . I was an early adopter when these sites first started. However, I never had much use for them since none of my friends used them. Only Facebook took off for me. The other accounts went dormant. At the beginning, the only reason why I wanted to be on a networking site was for the possibility of meeting long lost friends. I figured that if these sites became popular enough, some might be able to reconnect. Maybe I would have been one of them. In particular, I was hoping that I’d be able to find Brandon Mullins (I use his last name in the hopes that he Googles himself and finds this page), my best friend from my time in Key West . So far, nothing has turned up. Yesterday, though, I reconnected with a friend from college. I haven’t talked to Brian in a couple of years. I looked him up on Facebook but he was never there until

This has shaped up to be a pretty shitty week. I got fired yesterday. I have never been fired from a job before because, frankly, I'm a damn good worker. According to Scott, I have exhibited a "negative" attitude at work and that I didn't get good reviews from "secret shoppers." Funny how he couldn't come up with a single instance when I asked him to give me specifics. Also questionable since I used to get "excellent" reviews and I certainly haven't changed my approach to customers. Actually, I saw this coming as soon as he got rid of my previous manager, Tracee. He had also got rid of the staff when he hired in the new manager, Danielle. Well Danielle couldn't just run the store all by herself. He needed me to stay and keep things going. I was tolerable for a certain end. In the off season, which begins after Easter, there has always been three staff members. The fourth finished her training--oh let's see-- yesterday .

Michigan State Hockey wins the national championship! Woo-hoo. Makes up for all my bitching about the football and now, the basketball programs.

I had plans for today. In the morning, I was going to accompany my parents to church. Despite my excommunication, I thought that I could at least symbolically show my connection to the invisible church. After church, the rest of my day would consist of laundry and doing my taxes. Well, like last year, my parents ditched me and I ended up with no energy to do my taxes. I managed to get the laundry done at least. For the past few days, I have been feeling like a big pile of blah. Even Erin’s party, last night, couldn’t break me out of the funk. And I got more action last night than I have in almost twenty years! (Well if you count a kiss as action.) Today was just a continuation with my day consisting of washing loads of laundry and reading a book from start to finish. Yup, that’s pretty much it. Mom made ham for dinner. It’s a tradition that I wouldn’t mind never experiencing again. I hate ham. Hate it. They know it and they give me grief about it. Sorry, Mom, Dad, but I

As a few of you know, I live near the Michigan-Indiana border. There are certain benefits to living in such an area particularly when it comes to money. This is a can of coke. Michigan has a bottle deposit law which requires a consumer to pay an additional 10¢ on every unit. So if I bought a case of Coke, I'd pay $2.40 in deposits. If I bought a 12-pack, I'd pay $1.20. The purpose of the law is to encourage recycling because when you return your bottles, you get the deposit back. It's a very successful program. An estimated 95-98% of soda cans make it back for recyling and roadside litter has been reduced by 84%. Some people use the deposit system to make money. When I was at Michigan State, there was a well known guy who rode a bike around campus collecting discarded cans and bottles. It wasn't unusual to see him come into a lecture room after class had been let out where he would scour the room for bottles left behind. Sometimes, I'd see him with three garbage