HI

The Taco Bell in Terre Haute, Indiana is the WORST FUCKING TACO BELL ON THE PLANET. But I keep going back.

I like Big and Rob on MTV.

The Dallas Cowboys were tearing my heart out this season. Then they started Tony Romo. Mark my words. Tony Romo is the next Tom Brady. Check it.
Tony Romo = 8 letters
Tom Brady = 8 letters
Tony starts with a T
Tom starts with a T
Uhhh.. oh yeah, Tony Romo makes Drew Bledsoe look like Coco the Circus Monkey just like Tom Brady once made Drew Bledsoe look like Coco the Circus Monkey.

Also, Tony Romo is the new Chuck Norris. Check it.
Tony Romo wasn't built in a day.
Tony Romo doesn't sit the bench, he waits.
Behind Tony Romo's dimples there isn't a face, just another touchdown pass.

That's all I got. I miss you all. Gorilla masks for everyone. Peace

Higher Ground

I'm still here. In Terre Haute. Latin for "Don't get your hopes up".
I wake up, go to work, work my ass off, eat lunch, work more, call Miller, go home, eat, and sleep. Thrilling, huh?
I've been moved into Dwight's house since July now but can count the number of nights I've stayed there on one hand. Mak apparently likes it there, though.
It's a good place for him (to poop on). and pee on apparently.
We've been working 12 - 14 hours shifts since Monday and it looks like that won't stop for another month or so.
However, I am getting paid. P A I D.
Then my lawyer will get paid...

Don't drink and drive, kids. It's dumb. and expensive. even if you're not drunk. Don't drive. ever. and for sure never, NEVER take the breathalyzer. Learned that one the hard way a few years back.
I am actually considering buying a scooter. How fucking pathetic is that?

Okay, enough depressing bullshit.

The Difference...

A great example of the difference between a Yankee and a Cowboy.

Alex Rodriguez Yankees 3rd baseperson- "I made 3 errors and my toe hurts. Everyone boos me and it's not fair. Waa waa."

Keith Davis - "I got shot twice the other day but I'll be in training camp, coach."

A few things

Indiana doesn't have Whataburger and that's just sad.
American Airlines gave me 250 bucks for 5 hours of my time that I would've wasted on the internet or playstation anyway.
I'm probably going to San Diego in July to see Miller.
I might possibly, maybe, get to go to Germany for a few weeks in August. (and have to work 6 days a week while I'm there) but I'll be in GERMANY!
I'm fat. Time to do push-ups and workout? eat less/healthy? develop a cocaine habit?
Dee-White's house is PIMP. I'm about 75% moved in. Thanks, Sparky and Dickey.
I still have yet to see or participate in a game of Beer Pong but I'm sure that quite a few of them are in my future. (We got a regulation-size table, ladies. Holla)

The Tao of Willie is an insightful, funny, and very entertaining book. I highly recommend it. You can borrow my copy.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote was a good one, too. It makes me want to read more of his stuff.

That's about all I got for now. The job is going. I'm learning much and understanding little but every day I get better at it. The people I work with make it much easier. We laugh a lot. We pick on each other a lot. We pick on Kyle ALL the time. and that's fun because he's a good sport about it. We eat almost the same thing every week.
Monday - Manager (Kyle) picks Monday. (random. today was meatloaf at Caroline's)
Tuesday - Texas Two Buck Tuesday at Dick's Texas BBQ for lunch and Wing Night @ BW3 or dollar scoops at Baskin Robbins
Wednesday - Wild Card Wednesday (random. usually Jimmy John's - awesome sandwiches)
Thursday - Mexican Homey's Day. Los Tres Caminos for lunch and Homey's Que and Grill for dinner. Homey's Que is gooooood. and Homey cracks me up.

that's all. later

Why do they even have the competition?

They should just ask me who I think will win American Idol each year. Yes, I'm gloating (very belatedly) about Taylor's win.
I called it back in February. See?

Hurry up and wait

Now that I've finally found some free time for the ol' blog I'll fill you guys in on my current situation.
Here and now, I am sitting in a newly furnished 2-bedroom apartment in Terre Haute, Indiana and typing this on a company laptop (Dell Latitude). The apartment is about 1000 square feet and in a quiet neighboorhood. I'm very happy with it. The laptop has become an extension of me. I don't know what I'd do without it.
For the first 2 weeks on this job I flew home on Friday and back to Indy on Sunday. I stayed over on the 3rd weekend to get some extra work done. Then I flew home again last weekend to see Miller before she leaves for the summer.
About the job... it's definitely a positive career move for me. I realize now just how primitive and ass-backwards things were at the old company. It's probably similar to a baseball player making the jump from the high school junior varsity squad to the major leagues. At first I was a bit intimidated. But now I'm really starting to get the hang of it. The reason for the post titles is that seems to be the way things go around here. We get rushed to deliver some documents and the project manager gets her panties in a knot. So she gets on us to get them done. Then we get about 10% into the work and find that there is not enough information available (the clients fault) to complete the task in time. Also, the reviewers here change their minds every 5 minutes.
Most of the people I work with are great. There's a core group of about 6 or so that I really enjoy hanging out (drinking beer and cracking jokes) with. They're all either young in age or young at heart, and that makes for some good times.
The apartments were ready Friday, so I stuck around to move in and get everything situated. Also, someone needed to be here Saturday to check-in the new equipment that arrived. So after putting in a full day yesterday I went to the Big Lots and the Kroger. I love the Big Lots. I got a decent (cheap) little BBQ grill for 20 bucks and put it together last night. Today I'm going to cook some steaks and grill up some asparagus.
Next weekend I'll be making the trip to the Guadalupe and floating the river with the crew from Beaumont. Hopefully Dwight and Sparky will come too. Miller might even make it if she's still in town.
Speaking of Dwizzy, it seems his house will be ready for us to move in soon. I'm pretty excited about that. He and Sparky have been keeping Mak for me while I'm gone and doing an excellent job of taking care of him.
Okay. To summarize, life is good (but hectic) and I miss Texas.

Get use to it

I know the blog has been neglected and I apologize. (see title)
Tomorrow is my last day at the current (soon to be old) job. I'm going to miss it like a fat kid misses celery. That is to say, not much.
I kinda feel bad for Dwight though. He's going to be swamped with extra work now.
I start the new job next Monday in Indiana. Then I fly back to Dallas on Friday for a wedding and then back to Indy again. After that, who knows.... they could send me anywhere. I'm hoping they'll put me to work in San Antonio sometime this summer.

I made the trip down to Nac on Friday for alumni weekend. It was crazy. My liver hates me and my stomach won't sit still. It was a shitty ride home yesterday. But I had a great time hanging with the guys. We basically just kicked it at the Sig Tau house and got obliterated all weekend.

It's over

We got Choate buried this weekend. His funeral was the largest I have ever been to. There were people I hadn't seen in years who came out of the woodwork to pay their respects. To say that Marc's passing will have an impact on my life and those around me would be an enormous understatement.
A phrase I heard about a million times in the past week (because it is so evident and true) is that Marc was "one in a million". But fuck that. He was one of a kind all together. Completely unique and without equal.
The funeral was gut-wrenching. KB put together an awesome slideshow of pictures that took us from Marc's birth right up to the night of the wreck in Vegas. Then a group of his closest friends got up and spoke about Marc and the impact he had on their lives. Chuck was still pretty banged up and it was obvious he will be emotionally scarred for a long time, but he toughed it out and said his piece.
I haven't cried like that in years.
When the burial was over and everyone had time to recollect themselves, we met up at club Shade in Dallas. It was a great time as glasses were raised in Choata Boy's honor all night long.
The celebration of Marc's life ended early for me, as I had to catch a flight Sunday morning for St. Louis.

The interview in St. Louis went pretty well but I got kind of nervous during the rapid-fire interrogation session. It doesn't really matter though. I don't want to move out of Texas, so this morning I signed a contract with the company in Kansas City and gave my 2 weeks notice to the current boss.
This new job allows me to continue living here while traveling during the week to work. And the pay is pretty decent. They want me to be in Indianapolis on the 17th to start. I'm excited.

In loving memory of my friend and brother, Marc Dustin Choate.

Rest in Peace, Choata Boy.
Gone too soon but never forgotten.

Choate was one of those guys who lived every day like his last. He pretty much epitomized the saying "LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG, AND LEAVE A GOOD LOOKING CORPSE".
Always the life of the party. Never a dull moment.
Bad ass rappin' ninja white boy.

Gots to get mine

First, let me tell you about the crazy softball team we played last night. Now, the group of guys I play with on Wednesdays is your typical 20-something, college-educated crowd. Good athletes, nice cars, good teeth.
The team we played was "Get-R-Done". Seriously, that was the team name. And they said it (Get-R-Done) every time they got a hit. Luckily, they suck so I didn't have to hear it much.
These guys were all in their mid-30s to upper-40s, except for one big ol' bubba who was playing the outfield for some stupid reason. They all had nasty goatees.
We scored 14 runs in the first inning and they got 2 for the whole game. blowout is an understatement. I think it ended in a mercy rule after 3 innings at 19-2.
During the second inning, my friend Stark was tagging up from 3rd on a shallow fly ball. So Stark is running towards home plate at a pretty good clip when the catcher (a grey-haired old man) steps right into his path.
Stark does his best not to form tackle the guy, but ends up catching his shoulder anyway. The old man gives Stark a "what the fuck" and Stark says, "Don't stand in front of the fucking plate."
And that's about it, right? no big whoop.
until the end of the game when Cletus the Slack-jawed shortstop decides to call Stark out during the "good game" handshake lineup. There were a few "fuck you, buddy"s and a couple of "you guys got lucky this time"s thrown around. Thankfully, my guys didn't brawl or react too harshly.
However, the next time we play them there will be no mercy.

Secondly, I'm leaving on a jet plane for Kansas City tomorrow. A consulting company is going to interview me for a position with them at noon and fly me back in the evening. I really like the idea of taking this job because it's about twice the money and I would be able to work as a contractor in this same field. Which means I can stay in Fort Worth and move in with the New Guy (his name is Dwight) and Sparky. I will just be flying to job sites during the week.

Thirdly, another company in St. Louis is going to fly me out to meet with them in 2 weeks. They are an amazingly fast-growing company with great benefits. But it's in St. Louis and I really would like to stay in Texas. We'll see.

Finally, I almost (but don't) feel bad about continuing the job search. My current company gave me a pretty large financial increase to keep me here. The problem is that even though they upped my pay I'm still coming in at about 10k less than the national average.

Blazin' it up

12 blazin' hot BW3 wings. that's all. no beer. no ranch. no water.
A stopwatch and a 6 minute time limit.
the result. Four minutes. Forty seconds.
A free T-shirt. your picture of the Wall of Flame. the respect of your peers.

Fingers crossed

This softball season has gotten off to an amazingly awful start. Four games in and we're 0-4. I had to pitch last night because the regular pitcher was out. Yeah, we lost 20-5 in 3 innings. In my defense, it's slow-pitch softball. There's not much you can do as a pitcher to throw the batter off. If the guys are good (like the teams we're playing), they're going to get hits. But it's still early in the season. We can turn it around.

I went back to Beaumont this past weekend to see the family and hang out with friends. Everyone is doing well. Most people are keeping busy with repairing and remodeling homes damaged by the hurricane.
My dad has his 3rd (and hopefully final) disability hearing in April. He's staying optimistic and really looking forward to pleading his case. I pray it all works out for him.

The girlfriend situation is going really well. She's been coming over every night since I got back into town. This is not because she's clingy or anything. It's because she'll be in California over spring break and we won't get to see each other. I think she really likes me. I definitely like her.
So I guess I haven't fucked this one up yet.

Life returns to normal (if you can call my life normal)

The softball season officially kicked off again last night. And we officially suck. Again.
We actually played decently in the first game and lost by two. The second game was fugly.
I hurt today.
But it's a good hurt because I really missed softball. It makes me happy.

And in other news, I've started dating this chick (the one from Valentines Day). She's pretty awesome. It's been a long time since I had a relationship that I could consider serious and exclusive. Hope I don't fuck this one up.

Uncle Sam is a greedy bastard

Guess who owes the government 20 bucks?
I'll give you a hint. It's me.
Fuckin' rat bastard IRS. Always stickin' it to the workin' man.
Last year I got back about $700. This year I only made about $2000 more than last year and I OWE money? On what planet does this make sense?
It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been counting on that extra income to go skiing this year. Well, no ski trip for me.
I'm thinking of taking a job selling oil wells in Dallas. Just call me JR.

I didn't sell out, I bought in

On the 14th day of February you can usually find me downing longnecks at some bar and watching basketball. I tend to take the pessimistic view that Valentine's Day is a bogus holiday invented by Hallmark, Hershey's, and the restaurant industry. Bitter about being single, but glad to be a free man none the less.
This year I sold out. The timing was just too good.
I met this girl back when I was a senior in college and she was a freshman. She bowled with us on our Wednesday night league. She hung out with my fraternity all the time. She's funny, beautiful, and intelligent. But at the time she was dating one of my fraternity brothers. So nothing ever happened.
So I cooked dinner for her (stuffed bell peppers and italian asparagus) and we got wine drunk. It was the best Valentine's Day I've ever had.

Okay enough mushy bullshit. After a 2 month break, it's almost time to start the softball season back up. This year's teams are lacking depth. We need pitching. Badly. Because last year's pitcher can't play and I don't want to do it.
Also, my old roommate's dirt bike tour will be making a stop in Dallas this weekend. I went last year and had a blast. This year should be even better since damn near every person who owns a dirtbike can do a backflip. Last year we only got to see about 5 flips. I'm waiting to see if someone can pull off a front flip. or die trying.

And finally, SPORTS. The Mavs are in 1st place! Avery Johnson is a great coach. The Rangers might be getting the Rocket. or he could stay in Houston. Either one is fine with me, just so long as he stays in Texas.
And the rest of the world hates America, because we have more gold medals than them. Haters.

Fuck you Mr. West

Kanye West is the definition of an ASSCLOWN. Now he's saying he belongs in the bible and that he "Changed the sound of music"?!?!
Nigga please.
Get over yourself. You're not even that talented as a rapper. Much less as a musician.
Sometimes I hate celebrities

The Re-Wedding

My best friend and his wife got married this weekend... again. They're the ones who had originally planned a big fancy ceremony in Houston on Sept. 24, which was cancelled by that bitch of a hurricane Rita.
The only available time to redo the wedding was this past weekend. Super Bowl Weekend. Great.
It was a long trip down there and an even longer, hungover trip back.
But I had a really good time.
Spent too much money and missed the first half of the Super Bowl.
But I had a really good time.

I got to see an old friend who lives far, far away this weekend. Like middle of the Pacific Ocean far away.
She's the older sister of a girl I grew up with. Really intelligent. Kind of slutty in high school.
She's an absolutely gorgeous cajun woman now. Long brown hair, piercing green eyes, and a trophy wife's body.
Because that's exactly what she is now. A trophy wife.
She use to be one of those traveling nurses. She'd be in Cali one month and Carolina the next.
That was until she got a gig in Hawaii. She never really came back from that one. Met her husband the second day.
He's a doctor.
and a lawyer.
He's a hybrid Doctor/Lawyer badass poolshark, bar tab-buying Hawaiian. Who already has two kids. Another hero for my collection.
They live on one island and commute by plane to the big island for work and school.
Some people have all the luck.

Did you know...

... that saccagrapas is Spanish for staple remover?
and that San Diego is Spanish for whale's vagina?

More to come.

A Very Early Prediction

Go ahead and put me down as saying that the grey-haired guy from Alabama (Taylor?) will win American Idol this year. I wonder what kind of odds he's getting in Vegas?

A Total Lack of Creativity

I can't come up with anything witty or funny to tell you so I'm copping out this week. I stole this from the Belldoorlover.

80 things you might not know about me (not really 80... what's up with that, Belldoorlover?)
1. What is your middle name? Wayne
2. How big is ur bed? Queen
3. What are you listening to right now? air conditioner and the New Guy talking about buying a house
5. What was the last thing you ate? tostadas
6. Last person you hugged? my moms
7. How is the weather right now? cool and cloudy?
8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Barton
9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? ass, tits, face
10. Favorite type of Food? chips and salsa
11. Do you want children? eventually
12. Do you get high? high on life
13. Ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night? no I can usually remember a few things
15. Eye color? brown/hazel
16. Do you wear eye contacts? yep for months at a time
17. Favorite holiday? Christmas
18. Favorite Season? Wedding season. summertime
19. Have you ever cried over a Guy/Girl? now way I'm too hardcore for crying
20. Last Movie you Watched? Underworld Evolution (Kate Beckinsale is awesome)
29. What books are you reading? One Ranger, The Regulators, and the Stand.
30. Piercings? no
31. Favorite Movie? Forrest Gump
32. Favorite college football Team? Texas Longhorns
33. What were you doing before filling this out? driving to work
34. Any pets? Mini schnauzer Mak
35. AOL? AIM
37. Dogs or cats? dogs
38. Favorite Flower? roses
40. Have you ever loved someone? yes
41. Who would you like to see right now? Kate Beckinsale
43. Have you ever fired a gun? yes
45. Right-handed or Left-handed? right
46. If you could go to anyplace right now where would you go? Playboy mansion
48. Are you missing someone? she's in Spain
49. Do you have a tattoo? no
50. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday morning? Saturday morning cartoons suck now
51. Are you hiding something from someone? of course
52. WALLPAPER ON YOUR CELLPHONE? black clock
54. DID YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP LAST NIGHT? probably not
55. FIRST THING YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MORNING? I'm sleeping in this weekend
56. WHAT DO YOU HAVE HANDY AT YOUR BEDSIDE? books, chapstick, water bottle, phone
57. GRILLED OR FRIED? grilled
59. WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE? my superpowers
60. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? not at all
61. FAVORITE HANGOUT? Crockett street in Beaumont
62. 3 THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT? backscratcher, computer, music
63. FIRST THING YOU WILL BUY IF GIVEN 1 THOUSAND DOLLARS? a little less debt
64. FAVORITE SONG? I'm liking And it Stoned Me by Van Morrison today
65. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? failure and rejection
66. ARE YOU A GIVER OR TAKER? both
67. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES? Goonie, goonbob, D-rell, DJ, Pretty Hardcore
68. WHAT IS/WAS YOUR DAD'S MIDDLE NAME? Wayne
69. WHATS YOUR MOTHERS MIDDLE NAME? she doesn't have one
70. STUCK ON A DESERTED ISLAND & COULD ONLY BRING ONE THING/PERSON Kate Beckinsale
71. FAVORITE T.V. COMMERCIAL? Budweiser at halftime of Super Bowl
72. WHO'S YOUR CELL PHONE PROVIDER? sprint
73. FIRST THING YOU'LL SAVE IN A fire? pictures
74. Favorite color? blue
75. WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU ALWAYS BRING WITH YOU? keys, wallet, cell phone, testicles
76. WHAT DID YOU WANNA BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID? Conan the Barbarian
77. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY DO WHEN THE CLOCK TURNS 7? eat dinner
78. THE COLOR OF YOUR BEDSHEET? green
79. WHO DO U WANT TO MEET? Kate Beckinsale
80. WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT BEF0RE Y0U G0 T0 BED? what I have to do the next day

At least one post per week

My stupid cousin, Dumbshit, went ahead and moved in with his girlfriend. She has a FEMA trailer in Lake Charles. He claims to have a job at American Eagle, but who knows for sure. Who gives a shit for that matter. As long as he's not stressin' my grandparents anymore I'm cool with it.
So I didn't have to go home and lay down the law after all. Everything worked itself out without me.
I am going down there this weekend though. But this time it's for my own personal interests. Cute girl I knew from high school has been calling. She's pretty sharp and has definitely got her shit together. Which means it probably won't work out...
And I had a second phone interview with the contract company in KC. They seem pretty interested. The money would be awesome and I wouldn't even have to move. I would be flying to jobs during the week and home most weekends. The only downside is that I'd have to do something with the dog. My aunt would probably take him.
I'm gonna get drunk at TGI Fridays tonight with the New Guy. He's looking at houses online right now. and for those of you who have been wanting the address to his blog, here it is. http://mymilkshakebrings.blogspot.com
DON'T LET HIM KNOW WHO SENT YOU!!!!!!!!
I don't think he knows that I know where his blog is.
Thats all for now. I know I neglect this blog but it's mine. I can do that.

Dysfunctional? us?

My father's brother, let's call him Sluggo, is a worthless no good piece of shit. Mooching burnout old man. He broke my grandmother's heart by dumping his youngest son, let's call him Dumbshit, on her when his current girlfriend refused to let him live with her anymore. He's currently being removed from the will.
His oldest son, let's call him Vidor, is 7 years older than me. I looked up to him and asked him for advice growing up. Now he's a covicted felon several times over doing 18-months in Tennessee Colony. Racist drug addict liar.
Dumbshit has been staying with my grandparents for the past year and causing all kinds of trouble. My dad gets really worked up about it when we talk about the situation.
My grandfather use to be a hardass. But nowadays he's getting softer. I'm not sure why.
Dumbshit managed to get himself kicked out of high school yesterday. He's 17 now and will turn 18 in April. This is the last straw.
My dad calls me last night and he's on the warpath.
"Get down here ASAP! We're putting an end to this bullshit!"
And he's right. It's time to stop coddling the lying little bastard thief. (He stole some speakers and DVDs from me when I was living out there.)
It's not like this is something new to the family. My great-grandfather had to raise Vidor when he was a kid. And look how well he turned out.
So I'm going back home this weekend to help sort this thing out. I pray that everything goes smoothly but the way my dad sounded last night... loud, angry words are going to be spoken. And I'll be damned if I let anyone lay a hand on my father.

Like Jerry Maguire...

.. I love black people. They know how to have a good time.
Saturday night was my buddy Al and his wife Susan's housewarming party. Their house is the bomb. I want to live there. I'll just sleep in the media room and help out with bills. I'll even cook sometimes. But I digress...
Back to the black folk.
Al plays softball with us. I'm not really sure how we all became friends since he's originally from Ohio, but it's not important. What's important is that Al and Susan use to live in an apartment complex where they were the only white couple. And being the friendly people that they are, they made lots of acquaintances with the black people there.
So a lot of them showed up for this party. And we had a blast.
The radio was up loud. People were shaking their booties, playing cards, playing dominoes, getting DRUNK. It was great.
I haven't got down like that in a long time. If they hadn't been there it definitely wouldn't have been as much fun.
I ended up making apple martinis for the women and slammin' bones with the boys. There were two black guys who pretty much ran the domino table from the get-go. No one could touch them.
Then me and Al whooped their ass. They couldn't believe a couple of honkey beat them at bones.
then we lost to two white girls. but it was only because they were hot and I couldn't concentrate. The short one kept shaking her ass in my face when it was my turn to go.

Also, the 40-year-old MILF who lives down the way stopped me last night as I walked Mak. She wanted to know how old I was and if I was single. Hmmmm.
I'm not sure what to do about this one.
the older the berry the sweeter the juice, right?

Don't mess with Texas

Vince Young = Texas legend.

Reggie who?

un aniversario del año

It was about this time last year that I started this little journal of memories. Happy Anniversary, babe.

If you'd told me...

...at the beginning of this NFL season that I'd be sitting here on New Years Day pulling for the goddamn Eagles to beat the worthless motherfuckin' Redskins, I'd have laughed in your face.
But here I sit.
Go Eagles.
I'm beginning to rethink my stance on the T.O. suspension. Maybe they should've let him come back for the last game. That woulda been nice.
Just give us a chance here big green.
as I type this Akers kicks a long field goal to go up 3-0.
Cowboys fans around the world rejoice.

As for the New Years Eve party, it was fun but too expensive. A lot of hype. A lot of boozing. Some spooning with a random chick. No kissing at midnight. But it still beat the shit out of last year.
I read somewhere that washing dishes on New Years Day is bad luck so I'm not doing it. But man if ever there was a day that shit needed doing, it would be today.