Need to get this out of my head before I fall asleep (hopefully I fall asleep sometime soon...)

Earlier today, I concerned a few people with a status message on myspace: "Greg just took another name off the list."

I called up Johanna this afternoon after leaving work (I put in about three hours of OT). I left her a voicemail, asking if she wanted to get together for beer and Longhorn football. I met her during a physics class at UT. A few months ago, I found her on facebook. We started hanging out every few weeks, just for Mexican food and conversation. She's a med student who enjoys marathoning and windsurfing.

About an hour or so later, she called me back. During the span of our 94-second conversation, she informed me that:

• she didn't have much time to talk
• she moved to Corpus for her studies
• she was in town for a string quartet performance, and
• she met someone.

I took the news about as well as I've taken news like this in the past, treating myself to a large pepperoni from Little Caesar's (as well as some bad heartburn, apparently). I figure I'll get over this in a day or so (hopefully). But I guess one fact has become crystal clear: if you're a woman with a graduate or doctoral degree (or on the way to getting one), chances are you'll shoot me down.

Been sick the last few days with a really bad cough. Boss sent me home early on Friday. Gave me time to head to a clinic and get FOUR prescriptions. I think I've been taking more pills than my grandmother...

But now, I get to go to work tomorrow.

from the Wall Street Journal...
"Lehman faces the possibility of liquidation and Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America on a day in which the U.S. financial system was shaken to its core. The federal government's refusal to provide support to potential Lehman buyers prompted Barclays and Bank of America to walk away from talks. AIG sought to raise cash and craft a survival plan amid investor pressure."

Yeah, work is gonna be REAL fun tomorrow.

So I'm more than a bit paranoid about what may happen tomorrow when the Large Hadron Collider comes online. Explains why I had dinner with my folks tonight. The rest of my night was oddly uneventful, watching a lot of television. A chat with Maria helped calm me down.

"If there's a black hole, there's not much you can do about it, is there? So why worry about that which you have no control over?"

That's about the gist of what she said, and it seemed to help. So did me vocalizing my fears to help me realize how improbable they are.

Still, I'll be saying some extra prayers tonight.

See everyone tomorrow...

By the way, I found out that I missed the Feast Day of St. Gregory the Great.

Maybe I should expect gifts... ;)

I broke down and bought Rock Band on Saturday. I blame that purchase for my lame Saturday night.

I'm hosting a game night in a couple of weeks for the church group. I figured, instead of a trivia game where I'd pwn all comers, I decided to plunk down the $150 and join the masses who are becoming "musicians." Being a drummer myself, I immediately started practicing on the set. Truth be told, some of the songs are pretty difficult (and that's just on the easy and medium settings).

On the way to the registers at the front of the store, I ran into a couple of people I knew from high school. They were in the marching band with me, and got married to each other a few years ago. We chit-chatted for a bit. They're back in town after being in Houston for a while. He's an ER doctor, she works for a large tech firm, and they have an 11-month-old son. Truth be told, I was a bit embarassed at my purchase. (Then again, I wondered what married people buy at electronics stores.) We went our separate ways, and I checked out.

A few hours later, I got a text from another ex-band geek. A guy who graduated a year or two behind me was playing in town, and she wondered if I wanted to check it out. I said yes, figuring it wouldn't be that bad of a way to spend an evening. Turns out I was wrong.

Long story short, I ended up sitting at a table full of people I didn't really know. (I did bump into one person who recognized me, but she skipped out after I got a chance to chat her up.) I only ended up staying for about three or four songs before heading back home to catch the rest of the UT game.

One of these days, I'll learn to handle myself better in social situations. Until then, I guess I can always practice my guitar skills.

Just some random thoughts to get out of my head...

• I like Biden more than Palin.
• McCain and Obama, however, are neck and neck.
• Speaking of racing, anyone up for hitting the race track with me?
• Speaking of sports, I may be going with Maria to the UT-Arkansas game next weekend! Hopefully no shenannigans will occur... (I told you that I kissed her a few weeks ago, right? No?)
• Speaking of shenannigans, I'm planning a trip to Dallas to meet some Pop Candy readers. Should be fun.
• Speaking of fun, I put together my first-ever public playlist on my myspace page. Sting, Led Zepplin, SRV, Jane Child, Jamie Cullum, Ugly Kid Joe, Extreme, Jonathan Coulton, Cameo and Joe Satriani. Discumbobulated? Yes. Awesome? You decide...
• Speaking of being all over the place, I went to Austin to see how they do Theology on Tap, as well as to help promote a young adult conference here in October. 250 people, a few I knew from college, and quite a few attractive women... and Shy Greg turned up. I HATE that guy.
• Speaking of hate, I don't like trying to end these sorts of posts on a high note.
• Speaking of the end, according to a study, an atom smasher in Europe will NOT bring on the end of the world. Great. Now, I just have to worry about 2012 and the end of the Aztec calendar.