Another gal I need to meet. Longhorn fan, and also on a quest to go on a date by Dec. 31....

I apologize for not posting for a few days (to all 3 of you that actually read this thing). Everytime I've sat down to try and convey some thought, I've been unable to. So I'll just leave with this...

I want to be happy.

Love 'as addictive as cocaine'

This article makes sense a little. Although, if that's truly the case, I've been clean and sober for months now....

So I here I am, alone in the apartment for a few days while my roommate roadtrips around Texas on his days off.

Lucky bastard.

So, for the second time ever, an online acquaintance influenced my music buying. A few years ago, when I was in Montreal, I got this CD from a folk group called Great Big Sea after hearing about them from Rae. It was an alright CD, not one of my favorites, but it made for a nice souvenir.

Anyway, when in Best Buy yesterday, I saw some discs from DJ Paul Van Dyk. I've seen some mentions of him from my favorite New Yorker, so I decided to get this. Haven't looked at the DVD yet, but the CD is okay. Don't know if this means I'll run out and get a Nickel Creek CD because of Carla Jean, but only time will tell.

Ever have the feeling that people only liked for what you did for them? I'm starting to get that feeling at work. I'll tell you more about that soon... I need sleep now.

I need to meet this gal as soon as humanly possible.

Some random stuff...

- I'm extremely jealous of Kat right now.
- For the love of God, would commenters at least leave an e-mail addy? I'd like to at least thank people who read this thing...
- The station holiday party is three weeks from tonight. Right now, I'm planning on taking my roommate, but hopefully that will change. Any suggestions on wardrobe?
- Suzanne called me on the phone last night. Hopefully, it won't happen again...
- I set a goal for myself of going out on at least one bona fide date by the end of the year. Nothing yet (other than a feeble attempt to ask a coworker to see Harry Connick Jr. play), hopefully that will change soon.

STUFF TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:

- A night under the stars (and a large electronic billboard)
- Funk (and not G. Clinton)
- Having what I want vs. wanting what I have

Random funny link of the night:

Fellowship Baptist Creation Science Fair 2001

1st Place: "Life Doesn't Come From Non-Life"
Patricia Lewis (grade 8) did an experiment to see if life can evolve from non-life. Patricia placed all the non-living ingredients of life - carbon (a charcoal briquet), purified water, and assorted minerals (a multi-vitamin) - into a sealed glass jar. The jar was left undisturbed, being exposed only to sunlight, for three weeks. (Patricia also prayed to God not to do anything miraculous during the course of the experiment, so as not to disqualify the findings.) No life evolved. This shows that life cannot come from non-life through natural processes.



Via Hemlock Is Poison.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME...

Got back home Friday. All in all, it was an okay trip. If nothing else, I've figured out some things about travel.

1) It really isn't as cheap as I thought it would be.
2) Traveling alone probably isn't for me.
3) It probably helps to read fine print.
4) They may say that a phone has nationwide coverage, but I'm not so sure.
5) The whole planning things out probably is a good idea.

So Suzanne and I chatted for the first time in a long while. She's been up to quite a bit lately: working on getting her teaching certificate, volunteering at a local animal shelter, becoming a production assistant for an indie film. Quite the active life she's got going. Truth be told, I'm happy for her. Seems like she's actually enjoying her life right now.

If only I could say the same thing...

DATELINE:REDONDO BEACH, CA

Got in okay from Vegas last night (no thanks to CalTrans for deciding to block all but one lane of traffic on I-15 back to L.A.).

So today was supposed to be the day that I saw a taping of "The Price Is Right." I had been looking forward to this for weeks, told all my friends about it. And I ended up getting tripped up by fine print.

I woke up this morning at around 4, so I could be sure I got in (first come, first served on admission). On my way out of the hotel, I saw on the ticket that I needed two forms of identification, one being either my Social Security Card or a legal document with my SSN on it. Flash back to Sunday afternoon in San Antonio: while I'm checking that I have everything, my dad asks if I'm carrying my Social Security card. I say yes, he says I shouldn't, and tells me to give it to my mom.

A few frantic phone calls (and some swear words directed towards Cingular) later, my mom faxes a copy of the card to the hotel room. I head out on the road at around 5:45 a.m. (Audience numbers were handed out at 6.) I get to the studio at around 6:45, partly due to traffic, partly due to my getting lost. As I hit the security gate, I'm informed that they've already handed out all the numbers, and I won't be able to attend the taping.

I've been moping around somewhat ever since. I drove down Sunset Blvd. for a bit before meandering back to my hotel room for a nap. I don't want to say that this totally ruins my trip; I've gotten to see a lot of cool stuff. But it sure didn't help things any.

Anyway, I'm off to Santa Monica for some sun and to meet my friend for Thirsty Thursday with the L.A. chapter of the Texas Exes. My first alumni function; this should be interesting...

DATELINE: LAS VEGAS, NV

That's right.... I'm in Vegas. After brainstorming an itinerary on Monday with my friend Brad, I decided to pull a roadie here. Came in yesterday afternoon, spent a night, and now I'm on my way back to L.A. There'll be more later, I must get back on the road...

DATELINE: SANTA MONICA, CA

$1 for 5 minutes of internet access?! You gotta be kidding me! This Interactive Cafe stinks! Before I signed on, I asked the gal at the counter whether they had postcards. (There were magazines and greeting cards, I thought I'd luck out and find some.) She told me "no." I turned around toward a corner of the store, and found a small circular rack of postcards. Do I have the words "Dumb Tourist" tatooed on my forehead, or what?

No rain the rest of the day. (Ironically, right after I walked out of a store with a new umbrella...)

Radio here stinks. One station in particular, Star 98.7, seems to believe that people talking is preferable to music. Just hacks me off, especially when I'm driving (even when it's not in California). One funny thing, though... Going to their website, I see Ryan Seacrest (afternoon drive-time "personality") won the Radio Music Award for Air Personality of the Year. Here's the thing: weren't the RMA's put on by Clear Channel (who owns Star 98.7)? Just asking.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be meeting my friend soon. He works around here. Kind of surprising how close this place is to the UCLA campus. It's a wonder anyone graduates from that place with all the stuff around here...

DATELINE: WESTWOOD, CA

Geez... so much for fun and sun. The weather started out nice enough (cool to cold when I got here). But now it's turned to cold and rainy.

But I tell you, starting out the day walking along Redondo Beach was excellent. Nice and cool, all the joggers and cyclists were getting their morning workouts in, while I just strolled and pondered. Then the raindrops started falling, so I got the heck back to my hotel room. (I also needed to get back to change my jeans and shoes... stupid waves crashing...)

So now I'm here a stone's throw from UCLA, looking for a place to buy an umbrella before I go anywhere else. Nikki told me that the new Lord of the Rings movie is having its premiere here tonight around 6:30. Don't know if I'll go, though I've never been to a movie premiere (nor been around a large contingent of nerds).

More later....

REASON #294 TO LOVE BLOGS:

Where else can you go from reading stuff like this (check the Nov. 1, 1:41 pm entry) to reading something like this?

So in about 27 hours, I'll be leavin' on a jet plane to Los Angeles. The fires seem to have taken a turn for the better (thanks to the weather, which took a turn for the colder). I'm excited, nervous, worried and ready. All I have to do is pack (which, I'll hopefully do today). I was actually thinking about cancelling the trip (at first, because of the fires, then because of the cost of it all).

And yes, I just realized that I overuse parenthesis.

Anyway, I'll be meeting up with my friend soon after I land in LAX and head to my hotel in Redondo Beach. Maybe this will be my first attempt at travel blogging. I tried to do some when I was in Massachusetts, but the computer at the house where my family and I were staying wasn't too cooperative. I'm still looking for any more suggestions for stuff to do; Nikki's been a big help, but I can never have too many ideas.

So I got something interesting in my e-mail inbox this morning. Suzanne sent me an e-card. It was kind of a cutesy thing, followed by this message from her:

Hey you. How are ya? So, it's been awhile since I last wrote to you. I just felt like sending this card to you today.

I was hoping that we could take little bity steps to heal our relationship and become friends again.

Let me know what you think.

S

It's been since September since we last spoke. I figured it'd be soon that she'd try to write/call. I'm not sure of what I should do, but I know I won't do anything until after the big trip.

Speaking of which, I need to start getting ready. I'll try to work in one more post before I leave. Good-bye and good luck.