The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Friday, September 23, 2005

From an email I sent yesterday...

From: (my e-mail)
To: (Raelyn's e-mail)
Subject: RE: Hurricane?
I was a wreck last night.

Back when Rita seemed to be barrelling due west, I didn't know what to do or think. Put on top of that the fact that I just watched to premiere of "Lost" (the show that I love to watch, but also puts the mortality worries that I had trouble with last year), add a nervous girlfriend, and I didn't know what to do with myself.

Work today helped. It's amazing how well dealing with other's finances (and problems with finances) takes your mind off the weather report. Even though I kept going back to the Weather Channel's website throughout the day, I felt a little bit better. My dad's words this morning ("We'll get some rain and wind, that's all") helped ease my mind as well. Even better was hearing a local weatherguy on the radio on the way home from work saying that Rita's possible landing site is drifting to the east, closer to Galveston and Houston, putting us out of the range of imminent danger (an inch of rain, Mr. Weatherman said). I felt so brave, I even volunteered to work on Saturday (when Rita was expected to visit). Of course, I do get the day off tomorrow, so I'll be drinking myself into a stupor tonight, which will REALLY take my mind off the hurricane.

Seriously, things seem to be better now. I called a friend who lived in Houston, she and her mom are here now. Her sister and her sister's boyfriend are still trying to make it here. (A trip that normally takes around 3 or so hours to finish is taking almost a day to make.)

Thanks for the letter. I'm better, though I'll be much better when this thing finally hits (wherever that is). I'd appreciate any prayers for me, my family and friends, though. Talk to you soon, Rae.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Brown Boy,
Greg

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Stolen from Profgrrrl...

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

And, here it is...
Boy, can I pick 'em or what?

Irony, or foreshadowing? You make the call...

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Anyone out there have any hints on how to prepare for the Graduate Management Admission Test? What sort of timetable I should give myself, how I should study, etc?

Monday, September 05, 2005

WHAT NOW?

(Copied from my new myspace blog. Links removed for convenience and anonymity's sake.)

So I see that my friend Nessa is running 26 miles. Another one of my friends actually doing something as I sit idly by. I'm 27, in a relationship that I don't really want to be in, in a house that I don't want to be living in. Yes, I know I can change all this on my own, but I feel like I can't, at least not right now, anyway.

So, I guess it's high time that I try something outside of myself. I could do the marathon thing too, but I doubt that my legs would keep up. I could try getting a new job, but I just started the one I'm in currently. I could try moving, but that's more hassle and expense than I'm willing to put up with. So, it's time for me to get off my ass and try something that I've talked about trying for a long time, but never got the nerve to go through with.

Time for open-mic night.

My friend's dad has performed stand-up comedy at an Austin comedy club; I've seen him a few times and thought, "I could do that." So now, I figure it's time that I actually do it.

Now, time to set a timetable. The local comedy club has open mic twice a week, Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. I figure I want my Saturdays free to watch the Longhorns, so I guess I'll go on a Friday. To come up with enough material, I figure I'll need about two months. Going through my calendar, it looks like November 4 is a good time to do it. So...

WHAT: My Stand-Up Debut
WHO: If you have to ask...
WHERE: Rivercenter Comedy Club, San Antonio, TX
WHEN: Friday, November 4, 5:30 p.m.

Feel free to check in on prod my progress along the way. Wish me luck, folks. I'm gonna need it.

Since I haven't done one of these in a while...
Graduation Music Meme

Go to musicoutfitters, enter year of high school graduation for song list, bold songs you like, underline favorite, strike out the ones you hate, & leave untouched the ones you don't remember or don't care about. (Bonus prize to whomever figures out what year this was...)

1. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix), Los Del Rio (a favorite of mine during Project Graduation)
2. One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men (I remember this came out soon after my brother's accident)
3. Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion
4. Nobody Knows, Tony Rich Project
5. Always Be My Baby, Mariah Carey
6. Give Me One Reason, Tracy Chapman
7. Tha Crossroads, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
8. I Love You Always Forever, Donna Lewis
9. You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow, Toni Braxton
10. Twisted, Keith Sweat
11. C'mon N' Ride It (The Train), Quad City Dj's
12. Missing, Everything But The Girl
13. Ironic, Alanis Morissette
14. Exhale (Shoop Shoop), Whitney Houston
15. Follow You Down / Til I Hear It From You, Gin Blossoms
16. Sittin' Up In My Room, Brandy
17. How Do U Want It / California Love, 2Pac
18. It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Celine Dion
19. Change The World, Eric Clapton
20. Hey Lover, LL Cool J
21. Loungin, LL Cool J
22. Insensitive, Jann Arden (Sorry, Rae...)
23. Be My Lover, La Bouche
24. Name, Goo Goo Dolls
25. Who Will Save Your Soul, Jewel
26. Where Do You Go, No Mercy
27. I Can't Sleep Baby (If I), R. Kelly
28. Counting Blue Cars, Dishwalla
29. You Learn / You Oughta Know, Alanis Morissette
30. One Of Us, Joan Osborne
31. Wonder, Natalie Merchant
32. Not Gon' Cry, Mary J. Blige
33. Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio (The "Dangerous Minds" soundtrack was the soundtrack for senior lunch for me and my group.)
34. Only You, 112 Featuring The Notorious B.I.G.
35. Down Low (Nobody Has To Know), R. Kelly
36. You're The One, SWV
37. Sweet Dreams, La Bouche
38. Before You Walk Out Of My Life / Like This And Like That, Monica
39. Breakfast At Tiffany's, Deep Blue Something
40. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New), Coolio
41. The World I Know, Collective Soul
42. No Diggity, BLACKstreet (Featuring Dr. Dre)
43. Anything, 3t
44. 1979, The Smashing Pumpkins
45. Diggin' On You, TLC
46. Why I Love You So Much / Ain't Nobody, Monica
47. Kissin' You, Total
48. Count On Me, Whitney Houston and Cece Winans
49. Fantasy, Mariah Carey
50. Time, Hootie and The Blowfish
51. You'll See, Madonna
52. Last Night, Az Yet
53. Mouth, Merril Bainbridge
54. The Earth, The Sun, The Rain, Color Me Badd
55. All The Things (Your Man Won't Do), Joe
56. Wonderwall, Oasis
57. Woo-hah!! Got You All In Check / Everything Remains Raw, Busta Rhymes
58. Tell Me, Groove Theory
59. Elevators (Me and You), Outkast
60. Hook, Blues Traveler
61. Doin It, LL Cool J
62. Fastlove, George Michael
63. Touch Me Tease Me, Case Featuring Foxxy Brown
64. Tonite's Tha Night, Kris Kross
65. Children, Robert Miles (I liked it, none of my friends really did)
66. Theme From Mission: Impossible, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen
67. Closer To Free, Bodeans
68. Just A Girl, No Doubt
69. If Your Girl Only Knew, Aaliyah
70. Lady, D'angelo
71. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First), John Mellencamp
72. Pony, Ginuwine
73. Nobody, Keith Sweat
74. Old Man and Me (When I Get To Heaven), Hootie and The Blowfish
75. If It Makes You Happy, Sheryl Crow
76. As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
77. Keep On, Keepin' On, Mc Lyte
78. Jealousy, Natalie Merchant
79. I Want To Come Over, Melissa Etheridge
80. Who Do U Love, Deborah Cox
81. Un-Break My Heart, Toni Braxton
82. This Is Your Night, Amber
83. You Remind Me Of Something, R. Kelly
84. Runaway, Janet Jackson
85. Set U Free, Planet Soul
86. Hit Me Off, New Edition
87. No One Else, Total
88. My Boo, Ghost Town Dj's
89. Get Money, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
90. That Girl, Maxi Priest Featuring Shaggy
91. Po Pimp, Do Or Die
92. Until It Sleeps, Metallica
93. Hay, Crucial Conflict
94. Beautiful Life, Ace Of Base
95. Back For Good, Take That
96. I Got Id / Long Road, Pearl Jam
97. Soon As I Get Home, Faith Evans
98. Macarena, Los Del Rio
99. Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and The Blowfish
100. Don't Cry, Seal

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Nothing makes a person's day faster than the following three words:

Twenty. Percent. Raise.