The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Sunday, September 29, 2002

So Lauren (with an "e) didn't exactly agree with the Sports Guy. Can't say I blame her. While I don't share her opinion of Brittany Murphy, I do agree with her about Tina Fey. I think it's one of those things where she looks all innocent with the glasses and stuff, but totally seems that she has a wild side. I'm guessing that's what got her into this Maxim 100 I keep hearing about. (I have yet to see it, myself. But upon looking at the list, there is NO way Murphy should be higher than Fey...)

So I'm having a party this Saturday. And I'm wondering greatly how this will go. I kinda gave control of planning to John. He actually brought up the idea of having a band or two. Yeah, there won't be any cops coming at this one... I'm hoping I'll actually have fun at this one. Went to one last night, it totally sucked. Then again, I barely knew anyone there. So hopefully this will change. Maybe I'll have some party pics up. I just have to find somewhere to store them... maybe one of my friendly readers will help out. ;)

Another weekend, another three days of seeing my friend hook up. I swear, all the girls I like, they all end up liking him. Somewhat apropos since the new collectors' edition of "Swingers" was released this week. John and I always saw ourselves as the two principle characters of the film: John as Trent, and me playing the part of Mike. I only wonder when the happy ending will ever come.

Thursday, September 26, 2002

I just hope Lauren (with an "e") doesn't read the second question of this page...

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Error 503: Unable to load template file. We're working on this. Please try back later.[more info]

I always seem to get this message whenever I post lately. Can anyone tell me why, and how I can fix it? (brownboyut@hotmail.com)

You think that you throw a good party? Check out the invite for this party! Sure to be a good time.

So I wasn't able to do my Jeopardy! workout yesterday, due to an unexpected job fair (more in a later post). So I'm going to try and double up today. I hit the treadmill during the 1:30 rerun. After replacing the battery on the LCD unit, I now know how fast I'm going. I averaged about 2 mph with no stops. As far as my score, an awesome 49 for 61 (80%). And yes, it was a "back-to-school" kids edition.

So I have a new idea for this blog, inspired by Jacinta.

Since I stumbled upon a blogger from UNC, I'm thinking I'd like to try and find blogs from people who attend other schools on UT's football schedule. Wasn't able to do it for U. of Houston, but if anyone that reads this attends any of the following unis, let me know!

Tulane U., Oklahoma State U., U. of Oklahoma, Kansas State U., Iowa State U., U. of Nebraska, Baylor U., Texas Tech U. and Texas A&M U.

Monday, September 23, 2002

So I started my latest attempt at exercising. Even though this exercise seems enjoyable, I finally started one that I've been thinking of doing for a long time.

The Jeopardy! Workout.

My folks have a treadmill set up in their room that's been collecting dust for the better part of 4 years. They cleaned all the stuff off of it because of friends visiting over the weekend (theirs, not mine). So I decided to plug it in and give this idea of mine a try. Here's how it works.

-Items needed:
-Pen
-Paper
-Television
-Treadmill

Around 4:25 or so (4:30 is when it comes on here), start getting ready. Put on your workout clothes and running shoes, and tape a piece of paper to the display of the treadmill. As soon as the "whoosh" sound at the beginning of the theme song begins, start running. (Or walking, I tried a slow pace today.) Play along with the show, marking with your pen questions you get right or wrong. (Marking columns denoting the categories may help.) If you need a breather during the commercial, go ahead. Just make sure you keep a steady pace during gameplay (and the interviews, if you want). If you really want an inspirational kick to it, tally up your score from the week. The better you do, the more "treats" you get the next week.

My stats today:
Slow walk (lowest setting on the machine) during first two rounds
Break during the commmercials
fast jog during last comm. break and Final Jeopardy
cool down during the credit roll
And a rare instance, I got more correct questions in Double Jeopardy (16) than in regular Jeopardy (13). Add a correct response to the Final Jeopardy clue, and you have a 49% clip. Not to mention a decent sweat.

Here's hoping I can keep this up for more than a few days.

Okay. This may be a somewhat random entry, but if you don't like it get your own blog!

First off, some unresolved issues.
About that job at UT... turns out I won't be able to be formally considered for that job until I formally graduate, which will be in December.

The Foreign Service test went okay, in my mind. My biggest frustration was not being able to get the number of a girl I was talking to during the halftime break. But I'm actually thinking about putting an ad in the "I Saw You" section of a local paper. I doubt something like that would work, but we'll see.

You know, one thing I've learned during my six years on the Internet is that friendship is a funny thing when combined with the binary system.
Take my current blogging buddies, Lauren (with an "e") and Teri. You may remember my discussion about meeting Lauren (with an "e") over AIM in the past. She talked about me on her blog, I talked about her on mine. She even put a link to this fine site under her "Friends" section! In the past few weeks, we've talked enough that I almost consider her to be more than just a Net acquiantance.

Now Teri... that's another story. For about a few weeks now, we've had some nice little chats over AIM. But I totally get the feeling that I bother her. Actually, I kind of get that feeling about both her and Lauren (with an "e"), but moreso from Teri for some reason. Why do I say this? For the following...
- Every chat we've had has been instigated by me, which I perceive to be a reluctance to chat.
- Almost all our chats persist of my asking standard "How are you?/How was your weekend?"-type questions, followed by two to five word responses.
Now, she either is guarded about revealing things about herself (which would make her blog an interesting paradox), is busy with other things (which is plausible, seeing as how she's still a student), or I really do bother her. Of course, I may just be paranoid and overly worried about what other people think of me. Then again, that's how I usually am most days.

One last thing. If you're into amatuer erotica, check out Michelle's latest entry. My eyebrows were certainly raised.

Friday, September 20, 2002

ok greg---i have a request. you should either put a tagboard or a comment thingy on your site! i always want to comment on your blogs but i can't if you're not online!

Okay, done. (Thanks to the good people at enetation.)

I got another shout-out! This one is from Jacinta, an Australian student at North Carolina, who's still sobbing over the beating that their team received at the hands of the Longhorns. ;) I always had a thing for Australia(ns). If this Foreign Service thing works out, maybe she'll be able to tell about the cool bars in Melbourne.

So I talked to Suzanne tonight. I tried taking her to task about her telling me about her "hot date." Predictably, she was offended. I apologized for the question, saying that it had come into my head last night (thanks to Laura and Michelle). During a later phone call, she said that she was sorry for making me feel bad. (She said that it was partly because of the margaritas.) So here we go again...

Anyways, more on all this stuff later. And to think, a life-changing test in less than 32 hours, and I've studied jack-squat...

Thursday, September 19, 2002

What a difference a few days makes.

At 9:51 p.m. Central, my friend Jennifer called me up. I called her last night to tell her some news I had (which I'll share momentarily). She was eating, and said she'd call me back that night. She didn't, so she called me tonight. I gave her the good news, then told me about news of her own.

She's engaged.

Now, I've had a thing for this girl ever since our "friends with benefits" stage about 4-5 years ago. But she always saw me as "a good friend." She's been with this current guy for about a year or so. As bad as it sounds, I secretly hoped for a break-up so I could finally get a shot with her. But now she has a fiancee. But that's not the end of it.

Suzanne comes online, and I tell her that I'm not feeling too good. She calls me up to ask what's wrong, and I tell her. She has some understanding words, then goes on to tell me about a date she had tonight. This is the second date she's told me about in the last few days, and, according to her, it went real well. She tells me that this guy is all that and a bag of chips. Of course, after the episode with the e-mail (see post on 8/29), I'm somewhat skeptical about the validity of this story.

Okay, now the news I promised earlier (and the test from the last post). I have an interview next month with the FBI in Houston. That's all I'll say on that, but I will say that if I do get it, I'll be moving out of state.

(insert jumping for joy graphic here)

As for this test thing, I have a test on Saturday for the U.S. Foreign Service. If I do well on that, I'll be one step closer to moving out of the country.

(insert another jumping for joy graphic here)

But we'll see. I'm still hoping for the UT job, I'm gonna call the guy tomorrow so I can find out my status.

Here's hoping that the truth really will set me free...

Monday, September 16, 2002

So this was a good weekend and a bad one.

Yesterday was fuckin' great. Got to see most of the UT game, and saw some even better results, like...
Penn State 40, Nebraska 7.
Southern Cal 40, Colorado 3.

After all that, I saw the De La Hoya fight. I tell you what, even though I was rooting for the underdog Vargas, something about that fight energized me. I don't know what, but the energy of that fight got to me. I remember driving home afterwards and feeling really good.And I hadn't even had much to drink up to that point... But seeing that bout made me want to make the rest of that night special. How, I didn't know...

But I did get a phone number that night. From a girl named Nancy. Who was hanging out with another girl named Nancy. Go fig... Not gonna call it, though. She really wasn't my type.

I swear though, after that fight, looked like every single brown person in SA was out afterwards celebrating. Seeing the shots from around the arena, I almost thought it was a Marc Anthony concert or something. Kinda makes me think back to all the African-Americans I saw in Vegas when I was there on the weekend of the Tyson-Holyfield "Ear" fight. And they say America isn't segregated...

Today was alright. Only bad thing being my fantasy team is being throttled right now, 90-46. Only change I made from last week was benching Byron Chamberlain in favor of Freddie Jones. I swear, I need to pick up a bona fide running back. If anyone out there has suggestions, feel free to let me know.

I'm off to bed. Tomorrow, details about a surprise test that I have on Saturday.

Saturday, September 14, 2002

I saw this piece on Salon the other day. I'm thinking I should show it to Suzanne.

Since I made a friend at USC, I only figured it was a matter of time before I wandered into a blog from a Bruin. Say hello to Nikki. A recent college grad living with her folks. (Boy, can I pick 'em or what?)

So I had my interview yesterday. It could have been worse, but I'm not so sure that I did very well. The guy that interviewed me told me that he didn't know if he could formally consider me since I'm not an official graduate yet. He went ahead with it anyway, and told me that it'd be between 2-5 weeks for consideration. So the waiting game begins again...yay. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Last year, I was asleep.

I overslept and was woken up (or is it "was awakened"?) by my roommate. I went to the living room and saw what was going on. I didn't cry much that day. I cried today.

Everything that could be said about today has been said, by people that are far more eloquent than I. But I just wanted to get this out. Not only that, but saw something else that I should say something about.

Take a look at tonight's Pick 3 Numbers from New York State.

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

I feel SO SORRY for this guy.

So I had a mock interview with my dad today. He said I had some good points and some bad points. I tried to work on writing some stuff out so I could commit it to memory, but I ended up watching the MNF game instead.

Speaking of which, in case you were wondering about my performance in the CFL this week:
Austin Iron Eagles- 48, San Antonio Brown Boys- 44.

The worst part? If I had played Keenan McCardell in place of Isaac Bruce, I would have won the game. But oh well...one setback, I can still recover from this.

Monday, September 09, 2002

You know, I'd always heard of this thing called "Burning Man," but have never really known what it is or seen it for myself. After seeing this, I wanna see it for myself.

Surprise, surprise... Teri still acknowledges my existence. Truth be told, I wouldn't be surprised if she said that I bother her. I've been told that I do that sometimes, but we'll see...

So an interesting weekend for me. Went to Retama Park last night to use a prize pack that I had won on the radio. It included two buffet meals, admission, and a $20 betting voucher. All I can say is that I made them lose money... but only at the buffet. This was great... $20 got you all-you-can-eat prime rib, pasta, fish, cheesecake... man, it was good! As for the betting... let's just say that if I had a day job, I wouldn't quit it to become a bettor.

Friday night gave me an interesting observation. I met up with my friend James, along with the usual suspects. Thing is, James left after a while to meet up with a friend of his at another bar. I kinda wanted to go with him. Seems I always end up at the same stinkin' bar every night we go out. I mean, there are HUNDREDS of bars in this town... why must we always go to the same place EVERY NIGHT?!?!

This incident got me to thinking... I need to meet some new people. Either here or in Austin. I just need something to take my mind off of the monotony the my life has become lately.

Speaking of monotony, I'm off to bed. Have to start waking up early so I can be good to go for the interview.

Friday, September 06, 2002

Alrighty, time to piss off yet another Internet acquaintance.

Allow me to introduce you to Teri. You may remember me mentioning about her being a closet "American Idol" fan. Well, we actually had our first chat the other night. And it was pretty nice. We learned about each other, she laughed at my jokes... not too shabby.

Anyways, first an admission, then a rant. During the usual introductory chat ("What are you into," etc.), she told me some stuff that I kinda figured, knowing that she's an Art/English double major. Basically, I ascribed to her the characteristics of every "right-brain" major at UT: coffee addict, lover of 80's music, apathy towards all things Longhorn and burnt orange. Then she made what was , in my mind, a somewhat surprising admission: she actually goes clubbing. Now, obviously clubbing at age 19 is VERY different than clubbing at age 24 (thank GOD!). But the fact that she enjoys shakin' her groove thang on a floor with strangers was somewhat of a curveball for me. Now, why that is, I don't know. There's things about me that strike people that don't know me well as odd (like the fact that I can actually read). I know that in the world after 9/11, we're all supposed to learn to be less judgemental and willing to see the true colors of people. Guess I still have a ways to go in that respect.

Now that that Mr. Rogers moment has passed, onto another observation. It'll help if you read one of Teri's old entries first.

Now, this sort of attitude completely boggles me. Now, admittedly, I am one of those with the medical condition known as "bleeding orange." Those with attitudes like Teri's are probably just reacting to all those like me that walk the 40 Acres. (And I would say that there are many...) But I say, if you're going to attend an institution like the University of Texas, you kinda know what you're in for.

This is not to chastise her for her school choice, but rather a request for her to give things a chance. One of the big reasons that I have such a love for the place is that I tried my darndest to take in as many different aspects of the school as I could. I was put under a spell by a comic hypnotist and by several cute TA's. I shared special moments with groups as small as 8, and as large as 80,000. I've been pissed off, pissed on, and pissed around. I learned swing dancing, salsa dancing, differential equations, C++, the rule of thirds, the 180-degree rule, Catholicism, Islam... I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you say you love something/someone, you should love ALL of that thing or person, not just the parts that you most like. You hold every single aspect of the object of your affection, and you inhale it like Bill Clinton's bong. If you don't like some things, tough. The best relationships (so I hear) come from dealing with those things that you dislike.

I know, do as I say, not as I do. But I know that if she would give this school spirit thing a chance, she just might like it.

(Then again, I am fighting a hangover from last night, so this could all be just nonsense, which I suppose it's a good chance that it is... but oh well...)

Thursday, September 05, 2002

Boy... all the blogs I've seen so far tonight, and yet no mention of "American Idol."

Yeah...this show is REALLY culturally significant. Anybody want to set the over/under on when Kelly Clarkson, et. al. appear on celebrity game shows for appearance fees?

I got my test grade back this morning. I GOT AN "A"! I am now eligible to interview for the job. The interview is next Friday, so I have a little bit of time to prep for it. Funny thing is, it's on the 26th floor of the Tower. This will be the first time I'll have ever gone up that thing. Just hope that doesn't take me TOO much out of my element.

In other news, I have my lineup set for this weekend's debut action of the Clamma Football League (my fantasy football league). And here they are, the starting lineup for your San Antonio Brown Boys!

At quarterback, Steeeeeeve "Air" McNair!
The running backs: Mike Alstott and Anthony "A-Train" Thomas!
At wide reciever: Curtis Conway and Isaac Bruuuuce!
The tight end, Byron Chamberlain!
Kicker Jason Elam!
And on defense, the Washington Redskins!

I play against the Austin Iron Eagles this week, who start Peyton Manning and Curtis Martin, among others. My only advantage is that 5 of my 8 players/positions blay at home, while half of the Iron Eagles play on the road. I'll keep you updated.

Adios!

Wednesday, September 04, 2002

First things first... I have been informed by a certain person that I have been spelling a certain person's name incorrectly. Apparently, it's Lauren with an "e," not a "y." Now that that's out of the way...

Apparently my test grade isn't up yet. Why, I don't know... I just hope it comes soon. I could use a bit of good news on the job front.

So it seems I've pissed off yet another female. Only this one I actually knew. Her name is Jennifer, and I've known her since 1996. Met her in a Christian Chat room (go fig) the night before my first college exam. We've talked on and off since then. Of course, with all cute girls I know, I painfully wanted to meet her in person and hook up with her. (This was during the days that the phrase "We met online" still met with raised eyebrows...)

Anyways, tonight, we had an... interesting conversation... read along with me:

Jennifer: "...The heat went away for the day so I enjoyed the day more than I usually do....I'm not a fan of the heat..."
Me: "Then I guess you won't be heading to TX anytime soon... LOL"
Jennifer: "That would be a very safe guess!"
Me: ":("
Jennifer: "Why so sad? You don't even know if you would like me well enough in real life to want me hanging around Texas."
Me: "Interestingly enough...you're kinda right."
Jennifer: "Of course I'm right, I'm always right."
Me: "Anyways... you really think I wouldn't like you in real life?"
Jennifer: "I don't know....You might, you might not. I've always been afraid you wouldn't so I've never made the extra effort to get together with you anywhere.....I just figured why ruin a good thing."
Me: "I can see your point. But, then again, why miss out on an even better thing, you know?"
Jennifer: "In my case I am better off not knowing if it could be an even better thing...."
Me: "Really? What makes you say that?"
Jennifer: "Think about it....Why would a married woman want to know if she missed out on a really good thing?"
Me: "Damn... I feel selfish right about now."
Jennifer: (nine minutes later) "I'm sorry, I think I should go...."

You'd think by now I'd have learn not to say EVERYTHING that's on my mind on the Internet. Anyways...

Happy 221st Birthday, Los Angeles! Wonder what you get the city that has everything?

So I had a little chat with the 8 Minute Dating event organizer in Austin. Apparently, the company promised a little bit too much money with their events. But I'm still a little interested...stay tuned to see how this all goes.

I'm watching Carson Daly's "Last Call" show...he's interviewing journalist John Miller. All I can say is... "Damnit, man, let your guest talk!!"

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Looks like Lauryn should be happy... USC 24, Auburn 17.

So I think I found what I want to do until I get a real job. After perusing monster.com a while back, I came upon a company called 8minutedating.com. Seems they're always looking for event organizers. I looked at their FAQ, and I think I'm going to give it a shot. I've always heard about stuff like this, and I thought it could really take off in this town, if given the chance.

So, guess I'm outta here. I find out my grade from my Info. Analyst test tomorrow. If it's an "A," I get an interview. Wish me luck!

P.S. Chatting with Lauryn again... first thing she said?

"april says hi again"

SCORE!

Sunday, September 01, 2002

So I am REALLY an idiot now.

About an hour or so ago, I had a little chat with my friend Lauryn. She told me that her friend April said hi. Now, after roaming around Lauryn's site, I came upon April's webpage. I told Lauryn that I thought April was cute last night. Well, I guess I assumed that since she said "April says hi," that she must have told her about what I said. I asked Lauryn if that was the case. Turns out that April was RIGHT NEXT TO LAURYN when I sent that message.

Now, mind you, I realize I didn't exactly have the best of shots of ever meeting this person (unless, of course, my tryout for the new Pyramid goes well). But I wish I could stop putting my foot in my mouth so many damn times. I'm sure I'll be able to look back on this episode and laugh. Probably after a few therapy sessions...

In other news, I re-entered the fabulous world of fantasy football today. For those of you that don't know, fantasy football is a game in which you select a team of real-life NFL players. Your score during a certain week is determined by how well those players perform. So, without further ado, I am proud to introduce the 2002 San Antonio Brown Boys!

QB's: Tim Couch and Steve McNair
RB's: Anthony Thomas, Mike Alstott, Troy Hambrick, and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala
WR's: Curtis Conway, Isaac Bruce, and Keenan McCardell
TE's: Byron Chamerlain and Freddie Jones
K Jason Elam
D Washington

I realize they're not all cream of the crop, but I'm hoping to field a competitive enough team so as to not embarass me.

So last night I went out with John and the gang yet again. During our night out, I saw a girl who used to go to the same high school as most of the people in our group. Now, she was a freshman when we were seniors, so our contact was limited back then. But still, she was enough a part of the rumor mill to warrant John making up a bus song about her. Well, after I went to say Hi to her, she saw John. This girl then decides that it was the time to unleash over six years of pent-up anguish about all this on him. Good Lord, don't I feel good right about now. Long and short of the story, she left (after another, calmer discussion with John) and I got her phone number. John kinda ribbed me about it, but I gave him the scenario of a field-goal kicker in a slump. He needs to make a few from 10-20 yards out to get his confidence back, then he can boom them from 50-60 yard range.

Here's the thing agout it, though... she's a Wiccan. Seems as though I'm the only Catholic person I know that knows (or has had contact with) as many Wiccans as I have. I don't know why it weirds me out like this... maybe "weirding out" is the wrong term to use. It seems that the witches I've met all seem to have the same characteristics: between 18-25, a medium-to-very-rough childhood, bisexual tendencies, and a nice rack. All ingredients that I've been chasing lately (most of them, anyway). Not to knock Catholicism in any way, but I don't know why the Catholic girls I know aren't as... interesting as these witches. I'm not saying I want to join up with their group (I've never looked good in purple velvet), but something about them always intrigues me.

Anyways, time for me to stop this nonsense. Happy Labor Day!