Thursday, May 22, 2008

Jesus, etc.

Greetings from basement room east of the Botham household. I got off work early today so I thought I would update since I haven't in a couple weeks.

People are back. It is great. Before, the weeks went slow. Now they go super fast. Tomorrow is Friday, which is crazy to me because it seems like yesterday was my birthday and that was seven days ago. Speaking of the birthday, it went well. Didn't have to work so that was great because I got more drunk than I intended to the previous night at bowling and chilling here afterwards. I went out to the legend with my family and Bob and Andres for an all you can eat spaghetti dinner. Sounded perfect to me so I was excited. It ended up not being that great but I wasn't pissed or anything. After that Bob, Andres, and I went to Inn Kahoots for a shot. It was brief. Whats his face Brady, from Wayzata, was there playing in a cover band and none of us were too excited so we just got a shot and went out to Bob's. The fire was great. I had a lot of fun. My new favorite game that is sweeping the nation is, "Who can hold the most chickens (cocks)". Andres is pretty unbeatable and I couldn't stop laughing as he kept going after more chickens. Pictures are on facebook if you haven't seen them yet. The next day Tom and I were suppose to go fishing. I was up early because thats what I do but Tom slept forever and we planned on going Sunday instead but he slept forever again. If I don't go fishing soon I might lose the bug and I can't let that happen so I better go somewhere this weekend at least once. We ended up grilling at my house for Bob's birthday. The night was pretty chill, pun intended, and we kind of just hung out. I think all of us were pretty tired from the previous nights events. We played some whiffle ball, went out to Bayside for a little bit, and hung out down at Shiloh park. Sunday nothing really happened besides SHL, but that was fun and tiring and overall the weekend was a success.

Monday I was back in work mode. Ended up going to a movie, What Happens in Vegas. I wanted to see it because Zach G is in it and even made the previews, probably a first in his career. I went in expecting it to suck royally but ended up chuckling at multiple parts. Zach's role was incredibly small but he still had the funniest moments and lines. It was the type of movie that is right up Marks ally (and if you're reading this and haven't seen it, go. It might be up there with A Guy Thing). Tuesday we played some whiffle. It's nice to be playing again. Much to Justin's dismay, we're already tearing up the grass. The field itself is tricky. It doesn't really have an identity yet either as a home run Coor's field type park (like Seans) or as a pitcher friendly Petco Park field because we have played games where both happen. The neighbors already hate us for playing, thats refreshing. It's only going to get worse people, it's only May so you better get used to it. I really do hate old q-tips. Last night Bob, Tripp, and I went to the twinkies game. They got smoked but it was student and dollar dog night so there was people watching and fun to be had. In one section of the upper deck a group of kids smuggled in a shit load of blow up beach balls. Like really, I mean a shit load, and they let them go all at the same time. Security was going nuts. Than later in the game, when it was well out of reach for the twins, a kid fled from a security guard in our section and raced all the way to the way upper deck, where no one sits, and started running around the stadium to the applause of the entire section. It went on for a good 20 minutes and an inning and a half at least. The best part was that he was all the way at the top and three security guards had him cornered and we thought that he was finally done for. He made one last juke and just started dashing down the seats leaping over them. He could have easily lost control and just ate it but he didn't. That was his last hoo-ra though and he finally conceded. It was funny to think that he probably didn't even do anything that bad but now he was in a ton of shit and ended up being cuffed and everything. Yea, so that was the highlight of the game really.

Only thing on the agenda for me tonight is street hockey. That should be fun. I'll probably call it a night after that though. Some lames are going to Spin, which I will probably never go to unless I'm already trashed and you ask me on a good day. I haven't got much sleep this week so I might take a nap in a little bit but probably not because I'm not a big fan of naps. My new temporary sister, Tory, is my best friend right now. I stopped at Village Meats and got some jerky and we have been sharing it. She is passed out in my closet on my dirty laundry right now and I really wish I had a camera. I decided on getting a new bike, probably next paycheck, because I got too frustrated trying to fix my old one and I really want to get out there and start biking. My next purchase will probably be a cheap camera, maybe even a film one. Do they make ones that do both digital and film? That would be perfect as long as it wasn't super expensive. This journal needs pictures because I feel it's losing entertainment value. Update: Tory has moved from the closet to my bed where she is sprawled out, head on pillow, and acting like a human being. Really, a camera is necessary.

K, I'm going to take care of some chores and start a book. I just got "Blindness" by Jose Saramago from the library. It's suppose to be really good and I hadn't heard of it even though its from 1995 and the author is a nobel prize winner for literature. I just found out with my internetting skills that it was made into a movie that is coming out pretty soon. I'm always late to these awesome book parties. It takes them being made into movies before I actually read them. The movie looks pretty sick though and has an awesome cast, including one of my top 5 girls- Julianne Moore. Peep the trailer:



Alright, I'm out kids. Congratulations to those who graduated and I hope everyones summer has started off well.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Legacy of the Legacy

First off, this title will probably end up being misleading. I have a feeling this entry might be all over the place.

This past weekend I made a trip up to Duluth to hang out with Kelly and Tom on Friday. From there the plan was to head down to Eau Claire to go to a party at Allies on Saturday. The trip was kind of thrown together all of a sudden but I was definitely excited. The previous weekend was my first free time where I wasn't sick and devoted to a bed and I had kind of a downer of a time. Chris was absent, Dave was out of town, Botham's were being Bothams, and Andy was occupied with his new dog. I sat around the house and got drunk by myself and eventually ended up watching montages of Tommy Gavin and Rescue Me on youtube for well over an hour and got really emotional while watching them. It was awkward. So yea, talked to Kel, found out Alex was already making the trip up, cool. Talked to Tom, found out he was going to Allies, cool. Sounded like a fun weekend to me.

My dad got sick, he blamed me for that- I called bullshit, so we didn't work on Friday and that allowed me to head up earlier than I had planned. This was my first "road trip" in the Legacy. I put it in quotes 'cause really its not a road trip but it was the first time I was going to drive further than Young America and back. I was nervous too because my car had been acting up during the last few storms of the winter, which only occurred a few weeks prior- shows how fucking long this winter has been. I knew I would be driving through hard rain and possibly thunder storms and snow so that didn't help my mental state either. Turns out I was just being anal because the drive went perfect, minus some traffic heading out of the cities. The weather the next couple days was beautiful too so any negative thoughts were out of my head. I can't wait to really test the boundaries of this car. She's (yes, I just called her a she, and in my head she also has a butch ass haircut) not the type of car you just give up on and say "hey, I'll just try to get a grand or something for it while I can." She's the type of car that you drive until you know she's about to break, in which case you drive north, south, west, or east on the back roads until it can't go any further. From there you lose the plates and push it into a nearby pond, swamp, or ditch and hitch hike your way back/onward. This will be a glorious moment. I don't see that happening any time soon though, I'm close to rolling 200 on it and my goal is to get to 300. Too many people my age have nice shiny cars. It's cool I get that its fun to have nice things, but really I don't see myself in anything new/nice until I'm at least 30 (perfect because I don't plan on living past 30) and I'm completely cool with that, I'm only 21. Ok, I'll get off my high horse now and, if you couldn’t tell, I should probably stop reading and obsessing about "Into the Wild"

Alright, the weekend. I’m going to be brief about this because most of it was a drunken stumble and there were plenty others present to rehash these stories later. I got to Duluth around 6ish and met Tom and the girls for dinner. After that we went to a house party that one of Kelly’s friends was having. Her friends were all nice and enjoyed video games like the shl. After that we ended up back at Kelly’s place. I dived into Jameson and than proceeded to puke in a cup a couple times (I have performed this move before--most noticeably at an Andres party, nonetheless not a proud moment) while we were hanging out in a big group. Had enough skill (got lucky enough) that only a few people noticed though. Passed out on a really uncomfortable couch and woke up early in the morning because that’s what I do now. I read Men’s Health for awhile and starred at the ceiling until others woke up. After that we went to Tom’s place in Superior. Superior. It frighteningly reminded me of Sterling, Colorado. Side story, Sterling was a little town in the middle of nowhere-Colorado that Bob, Andy, and myself stopped at on the way out to California. It was probably the most depressing little town in America. It made all of us want to kill ourselves- end side story. I loved Tom’s digs (when did I start saying things like digs?), it reminded me of my living space when I lived with my sister, small and perfect for going solo. We chilled there for a while and than headed out to Eau Claire. The girls decided to come with, which was cool. It especially made the drive easier/better. Allie had a ton of food at her place and three kegs, plus a ton of girls. It was the complete opposite ratio that I was used to so what is a guy to do? Make it easier on myself, power hour. Power hour started out with a ton of people but ended with just Tom, Jake, and I. Ok, I haven’t been brief, here is where that happens. Me and Jake killed Alex while she was doing a keg stand, she “passed out” early but we found out later, when she was in a coma, that she had a concussion. Got in a cake fight with Tom and Allie. Texted Sean all night. Went to the bar where I saw RJ. Got in a fight with one of RJ’s friends in the bathroom. Walked home with the same guy. Passed out with a loss of dignity.

So, really, a fun weekend. Came home on Sunday expecting to go the Murder By Death concert that night but I had left my credit card at the bar and had no cash and just barely got home with the gas in my tank. I was pretty bummed because I was looking forward to the show all week. Oh well. We played street hockey that afternoon but I mostly walked around with a stick in my hand and was moaning inside my head.

Update within the update à I wrote the above a few days ago meaning to add more but never did. It’s now Thursday. It has been quite the sluggish week. Monday I turned what should have been a 4 hour job at work and stretched it into 8 hours, not even realizing it until 4 o’clock rolled around and I heard Dan Barreiro’s voice on the radio. My dad’s still sick and hasn’t worked since last Thursday. He doesn’t really trust me enough to send me to sites on my own, and I don’t blame him after being a slacker on Monday, so I had been doing odd jobs out in his workshop in Young America. The drive sucked but was made up for by two home cooked meals in a row. Plus my dad keeps a TV in the shop so that makes work not work. I was hoping to head to the cabin for the fishing opener this week but it looks like tomorrow and Saturday we’ll be working long days. I told my dad that it was bullshit because I was sick right when I started working with him but I was putting in 9 hour days. Stupid old people. It’s fun when your boss is your dad though, you get to talk shit. For instance he just got this haircut that makes me laugh every time I see him. He gets its cut at the barber (also the school bus driver, fucking small towns) shop in Young America. The guy is a Vietnam vet and also cut hair in the military. I swear the guy has flashbacks every time he gives someone a haircut because my dad’s hair is like shaved on all the sides and back but long on the top and front too. It’s really goofy looking.
Oh, before I forget to mention this, I was listening to KFAN at work and none other than Matt Kowalska showed up in studio. Apparently he just started working there. Kowalska was part of probably one of my top five moments in sports. He was the one to score the game tying goal with under a minute left in the 2001 title game vs. Maine. Instantly when he scored he raced to the bench and all the adrenaline racing through his body allowed him to leap into the bench. Here, watch if you don’t remember. It’s at the 1:40 mark



Anyway, his hockey career never really took off. He played a few games for the Islanders but remained mostly in the Juniors and in European league. The reason he was at KFAN though was because he was forced to stop playing hockey. Why? He has a heart murmur that never went away. He had it in high school, same as me, and they told him that in almost all cases they just go away, same thing they told me. Ah, man, I can’t wait until I collapse at an shl game and people think it’s a joke. It will be a real tragedy.

Like I already said, it’s been a sluggish week. The highlight so far was yesterday. I got a text from Justin when I was at my parents house asking me what type of beer I wanted because we were going to grill out and watch the sun set together. So I raced home and we ate steak (probably the best tasting steak I have had in a while, honestly), corn on the cob, rice, and drank good beer like kings. It wasn’t over after that though. The night was too perfect so we had the houses first unofficial bonfire. It was wonderful. Today I started to work on my bike. I used to be able to fix anything on my bike when I was 13 years-old but for whatever reason the knowledge escaped me because I fucked up trying to put new wheels on it. Ah, what is a project without road bumps though, right? I need to get that baby up and running though so I can start biking places and save some money on gas.

Its that time of the year again when people start to filter home. It’s hard to believe it’s already that time because the weather has only been nice for a good week or two (another testament to how shitty the winter was). It might also be hard to believe because it’s a little different this year. Some people aren’t going to be home, some will be home only for a short stay, others are starting their careers, so yeah, it might be a little different but I’m still really excited and looking forward to having fun with the people that are coming back. Andy’s going to be working pretty much the entire summer so he spends his time trying to bring me down about summer in general but my optimism can’t be tarnished. Next Friday is my birthday and than Saturday is Bob’s. This should be a lot of fun. We didn’t get to celebrate our birthdays together last year because he was abroad so hopefully we make up for it this year. Like every year though, I don’t have anything planned out so people can help me out with that. Go out, have fun, hopefully a bobfire is incorporated one of the nights. Yea, I’ll wrap this up. It got a little long. Hopefully somebody reads it.

When I started this new blog I thought I was going to just comment on different things going on and shit like that but it has basically turned into another electronic journal. I’m ok with that though. I’ll end with the latest “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifnakis” that I don’t think many have seen yet.