RSS Feedit’s just words on paper
last night i’m talking to my friend charles on the phone and we (not so much we, as much as he) decided i should right a book. so write a book i will do. i’m hoping i’ll have enough content to fill enough pages to constitute a book. i’ve got some good stories down already, i just have to work with them a bit. i hear you say “but ryan, who the hell will buy your book.” and to that i say “you will. and if you don’t buy it in the bookstore then i will photocopy it and coil it and charge you $20 for it.” yeah, i’m that good of a friend.
i feel a need to be creative. i need a way to exert creative energies. i’m bored now that i’m done with school and i have 15 hours of my day free to spend as i choose. that’s 13 hours more than i’m used to. i need a second job. but not something horrible like working at mcdonalds. i need something fun like writing on my own Web site (and getting paid for it) or a job where i’d get paid to criticize/review people and/or things. i’m going crazy here. something’s missing. i just need something else.
something came over me today and i decided my room needed to be cleaned. apparently it’s a two day process. i made a decent amount of progress today but i still have some tidying up to do and a lot of laundry.
i was starving earlier but it was already 10:30 in the evening and i didn’t want to eat something heavy, since they say it’s so bad for you, so instead i just ate a handful cookies. look, in my mind it makes perfect sense.
you’re boring me. off to do some reading and/or writing.
yeah, i can be annoying too
i’ve decided to join the YouTube generation and start posting hilarious videos. i will attempt to limit myself to the best of the best. my choices for the moment are from the 28 aug episode of the daily show with jon stewart:
lewis black’s take on advertising today:
future shock with samantha bee:
and what was the most obvious missed opportunity for a laugh?
weird guy: i became very intrigued with the process with just putting machines into our bodies and using them for your own personal use.
?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!!!
HOLY SHIT. i totally just had two GINORMOUS paragraphs written and then i hit the button that closes the window like the dumbass that i am and lost it all.
before i get into any story, let’s talk about how fucking amazing justin timberlake is. that man has single handedly brought sexyback. how can you not love that song?!? it’s so good it scares me.
in other news … the other day i was going to mcdonalds for lunch. as i proceeded through the revolving door i pass this large man with a mcdonalds bag in one hand and a soda in the others. for a split second i see my future self. and then i proceed to the elevator to take me to the seventh floor food court heaven in the sky.
yeah, i know i really need to stop with the horrible eating habit. i went to the doctor last week and weighed in at 167. minus the complimentary 6-7 pound clothing/show allowance that puts me around 160. i look MUCH heavier than that. in my dreams i look much more fit than i do. when i was at the driver’s license office a couple of weeks ago and the man asked me how much i weighed, i lied with way too much ease. the number 150 just slipped out of my mouth way too easily.
okay i don’t feel like writing anymore [fat fingers make me tired].
more later. the end.
p.s. i enjoy vanilla mint listerine in a way that’s very unnatural. wait, that sounds wrong. i’m not a pervert, i just like the stuff a lot. i wonder if i could get paid for product endorsements. i’m in the market for a secondary source of income.
godzillatron?
this is a tad bit silly (although i think i’m just saying that because they installed it after i left): sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/ncaa/08/26/texas.godzillatron.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
Vonage, straight to the top of ‘the [bad] list’ you go
in case it’s not obvious i’m going for more frequent posts via shorter random thoughts, with a mixture of larger posts thrown in. i forgot how much fun i have writing down all my random thoughts. i really think i’m going to have to buy myself a blackberry for xmas. i need to be able to write at a moment’s notice, i tend to forget the good things by the time i get home and find time to make an entry. i’m really getting back into making entries though, trying to make it more interesting than in the past. because i’m doing such, check out some of the links i’m trying to include in the entries. for example, in this entry alone i have a link to a futurama fan site and a stephen colbert site. i’m keeping a running list of random things to discuss so this should be some fun. moving on …
i’ve decided that i’m going to follow in the footsteps of the best satirical news anchor ever Stephen Colbert and create my very own version of “on notice/you’re dead to me”. i’m developing a “the [bad] list” page and when something crosses my path and pisses me off, it gets added.
and now for my very first addition to “the [bad] list” (whose link has been moved to have priority placement on the sidebar):
Vonage – charge me for service a month after i called and spent more than half an hour on the phone cancelling my service?!? Vonage, your shitty customer service lands you in the inaugural spot on “the [bad] list”
i’ll start a “the [good] list” when a situation warrants it.
my only concern about include all these proper nouns in my entries is that i’ll start getting e-mails from these corporations. companies use robots that search Web sites for their names and then caches them for review. i got an e-mail one time from a customer service rep with a company that i mentioned. luckily it was a good one that was in response to me lauding a company.
old navy commercial
i am oddly amused by this old navy commercial. what’s even more odd is that it’s from deutsch and i like it as much as i do. i normally don’t like their work, not because it’s bad or anything, just because donnie comes off like a pompous douche bag (like the little play on words?).
extreme engineering
there’s this show on the discovery channel, extreme engineering, that i just happen to think is pretty much the best show ever. plus, the host, danny forster, is quite possibly the most adorable guy ever. totally have a thing for him. where have i been that i’ve missed this show all this time?!?
confession of a credit card [ab]user
i LOVE my american express one card. it’s weird how they can trick you into spending more just to earn more. i’m going to go do a million hail mary’s as punishment for my sins (no, not really). but i have to say i equally heart my usaa platinum MasterCard. it all balances out though. my loyalties still lie where they should. i hate using caps and i was even kind enough to respect the brand trademark and use appropriate upper case letter.
hook ‘em
i’ve never been more proud of being able to call myself a longhorn *tear*
it’s not always sunny, and it shouldn’t be. it’s just better that way.
i think my sense of smell is coming back! oh wait, have i discussed this yet? upon coming back from my trip to austin last month, i got a bit ill. it wasn’t good and i lost my sense of taste and sense of smell (as is common when one has the common cold). well, i couldn’t smell or taste for nearly two weeks. finally those senses started coming back but still very weak. this evening i’m discovering that perhaps i’m getting better. it smells like play-doh in this condo. i think it’s the paint. i can’t be sure but this smell tends to penetrate everything, or at least i think it does.
anyway … so i’m watching it’s always sunny in philadelphia … tonight’s episode (the season finale) was freaking hilarious. SPOILER ALERT (roll over for spoiler): couldn’t believe that charlie might be dennis and dee’s brother. next season is going to be great.
seriously. television is amazing. there’s so many great shows out there. i mean i watch these reruns of grey’s anatomy and i’ve seem them already but i’m still moved to tears sometimes. then you have great shows like the office and gilmore girls and bones. i don’t think i could live without tv. i can admit it. i’m an addict.
last night a magazine rep took me out to a wine tasting class. it ended up being quite great. i think we’re turning it into a usual thing. i even got a bottle of wine from sarah, a woman after my own heart. funny enough, there was a couple sitting across the table from us and they were engaged. i think they thought me and sarah were together until sarah started talking about her husband. the guy looked a bit confused and it made me giggle. good times.
i can’t believe i’ve put this story off until so late in this entry. i guess i could move it up to the top but that takes out all the fun. so today was great fun. the day couldn’t have started off any better … so i get on the train and start my normal commute to work. i transfer onto the red line at the belmont stop and i unknowingly stepped into the funniest situation. so there’s this drunk irish guy sitting there yammering about. freaking hilarious. this guy was probably early-20s. his poor girlfriend (also irish) was trying to control him but i think she was a bit tipsy as well. it’s 8am and this irish man on the train is drunk! does it get any better than that?!? i think not. the rest of the day was quite amusing as well. got a good amount of work done and had some funny moments along the way.
i see sonic commercials. are there sonics here in chicago? i have yet to see one. oh sonic, how i miss you.
wanna hear something nerdy and exciting? i’ve made $2.66 in my 401k in the three months that i’ve had one. i’m totally obsessed with checking on it everyday, those who really know me shouldn’t be surprised … i’m quite OCD like that.
there’s this play-doh 50th anniversary kit that has 50 little tubs of play-doh. i think i want it. i’m trying to make my office feel as comfortable and inviting as possible and i think it would be a fun little display/toy. i have a list a mile long of things i need to make things decent, a lamp (i can’t stand fluorescent lights) being the most important. i think i’m hands down considered the weird one in the office. i think people look at the christmas lights i have strung up and think i’m weird (mainly because those are the only lights on, other than my toy story alien lamp). i think the walking around in socks thing is starting to increase the weirdness factor. for some reason i work a million times more efficiently without shoes on, so whenever the two VPs on our side of the building are out i like to see how long i can go without putting on shoes. back to my play-doh story … so it’s available online from toysrus.com but the shipping is as much as the actual kit. i think i’m going to see if there’s a toy store somewhere downtown and take a visit.
that’s all, i think i’m too tired to type now. i’m basically just typing to entertain myself now.
gnight.
now playing on tivo
this is always a boring, yet fun, update:
- grey’s anatomy (2 episodes)
- unwrapped (food network)
- friends
- malcolm in the middle
- the x-files (6 spisodes)
- mad about you (4 episodes)
- modern marvels
- futurama (4 episodes)
- the colbert report (5 episodes)
- the daily show with jon stewart (5 episodes)
- project runway
- crumbs (5 episodes; this show might be cancelled, but i refuse to delete it off my tivo. it was pretty damn good)
- 37 suggestions ranging from what not to wear to i love lucy and abc world news this morning
i’m concerned that i’m going to need one of the new dual tuner tivos before the beginning of the fall season (the days i have left to make this decision are numbered!). i’m incredibly hesitant to get one because i’ve been wanting to wait for the series three tivo. i can’t decide. i’m also waiting to see if the amazon digital video store is going to be worth taking advantage of when it’s released. i don’t think it would replace my tivo but i think it might make a great supplement for shows i happen to miss. hopefully apple will realse theirs as well. now if it streams to tvs then i’ll be set (i swear i’m not addicted to tv, or am i?).
on the subject of tivo … i was thinking about it and when someone has tivo that’s always a plus in my book. it’s funny because if i’m on a date or talking to a guy and i find out they have tivo, that’s always automatically points right there. i’m not sure if that’s considered being shallow or not. i just happen to think that having tivo says a lot about a person … mainly that there’s a good chance i’ll like them.
wahoo!
have i told you how much i freaking love my job? i have bad days that can be really boring, but then i have days like today that make everything worth it. good times.
am i still a texan?
okay so i was going through my phone and i randomly found this picture [right]. it’s the view from my office on an overcast day. i love cloudy days here in chicago because it gets all hazy. it’s the perfect kind of weather. people think i’m crazy for loving that type of weather so much, and they’re probably right. it’s almost autumn and i couldn’t be happier, time for the temperature to start dropping. our high today was 82 and it was overcast all day. it was great. tomorrow the high is supposed to be 78. schweet. sure does beat that texas heat.
i’ve decided that tomorrow is the day i’m going to go and get my illinois driver’s license. i had to gather a bajillion documents together to prove that i’m not a terrorist and that i live in the state of illinois now. somehow i managed to find everything, which is amazing for me considering i still haven’t finished working on that filing system i started back in like march or april. so tomorrow i relenquish my texas driver’s license. i’m hoping they won’t ask for it. i kinda wanna keep it as a little token of days gone by.
another picture [left] that i found when i was randomly going through my phone was from that cubs/sox game i went to back in july with ESPN. the picture sucks but all i had was my camera. i’m trying to add more photos to entries on a more frequent basis. sadly, i usually only have my cell phone with me so the images are of quite poor quality. i need to get a new digital camera. i’m dying to get that new dual lens kodak easy share camera. one day.
so, i’ve been trying to make up for the fact that i practically abandoned my site for the first two months after i moved up here. it’s starting to look crisper. the color of the sidebar is messed up and i can’t figure it out for the life of me. i’m going to have to go through the code line by line and figure out where it’s getting it’s color from. i’m trying to add some new features but it will be a slow process. need to get the photo album up and running again, i’m not sure if i can adapt it to this theme or if i’ll have to start over again. i have a list of ten major things i want to get implemented before the end of the weekend, hopefully i can get that done.
okay that’s all for now. i’m discovering that now that i’m returning back to working on the site i’ve been staying up later and later every night. it’s 3:30am and i’m done making adjustments for the night. off to get some sleep.
gnight.
i work hard for the money
so today was a magnificant day. or at least it was from the afternoon on. why you ask? because i spent nearly 12 hours at work. now that seems weird but i loved it. i love having work to do. the morning was pretty slow but after lunch it was pretty much nonstop with plenty to do. i love my job and i would choose working late everyday and being busy over working regular hours and barely having enough to do. i’m trying desperately to get my hands on as much work as possible. i need the experience so i don’t have to be the junior guy on the team forever.
other than that nothing too exciting going on.
after work i stopped by mcdonalds before i got on the el. i was so freaking excited because i love junk food. i ordered my chicken nugget meal and cheeseburger. when i looked in the bag there was a sandwich box. i figured the woman had messed up my order and i had gotten a big mac instead. no big deal, i love big macs also. i’m quite weird and have this thing where i rarely eat fast food in the actual restaurant, i much prefer to eat while i’m relaxing in front of the television. anyway, so i get on the el and embark on my 30 minute train ride home. i get home and get all comfortable and start taking my food out of the bag. i get my cheeseburger. sinfully delicious. although anything more than one mcdonald’s cheeseburger and it just starts getting gross. so i go to move on to my big mac and what do i discover?!? a fish filet sandwich. i HATE fish. i was so freaking sad. i was so looking forward to eating that big mac, that’s all i could think about on the train ride home. i had to throw the sandwich out. i seriously HATE fish. what a freaking disappointment.
okay, i added this amazing new feature to both this site and my myspace profile. there’s a widget in the sidebar and it allows anyone to instant message me straight from that box. as long as i’m signed into my meebo account it works. plus the great thing is that i can log into meebo from work, which is great because it gives me aim, yahoo, and msn access from work. good times.
that’s all for now, more to follow later.
so much to say
i have so much to catch up on, i just have no idea how i’m ever going to remember everything.
so life in chicago is good. been decently busy with work lately and it’s only going to get more busy as the year progresses. we’re about to enter planning season for the account at the end of this month, perfect time to rack up some overtime. work is really great though. even though the pay completely sucks, i’m enjoying it very much. i have to say that it’s great to be able to say that i love what i do, i choose the right career. plus i get to go to some great things, which makes it even better than as great as it already is. i got to see madonna in concert when she was in town. about a month ago i went to a cubs game courtesy of ESPN. towards the middle of august one of our magazine sales reps is taking me along to a wine tasting class with her. i got two free 3-day passes to Lollapalooza courtesy of one of the agency’s clients. not a bad job at all.
the weather, for the most part, is quite great. it’s been a bit warmer lately, but i hear that it will past shortly and it will start cooling off before i know it. crazy winter, here i come!
other than that i’ve just been hanging out and experiencing the city.
i’ve discovered i live in the ghetto. a couple of weeks ago i was walking down the street, coming home from the train stop, and some little girl is riding her bike towards me. she doesn’t change trajectory so i move out of the way. of course she moves too so she’s coming straight for me again. bam! she runs right over my foot and falls to the ground. at this point i’m standing there stunned. do i pretend nothing happened and walk away or do i try to lend a helping hand? of course i’m the only white person probably within two blocks and everyone is just staring at me. so i help her up and she goes off on me. i’d repeat what she said but she had such a foul mouth for such a little kid.
and to further support my ghetto theory: someone was shot in the building across the street this past weekend and nobody seems to care. everyone just continues on like it’s business as usual. although, it’s strange because so do i. perhaps i have already been desensitized to the neighborhood.
so yeah, the living arrangement isn’t horrible but it’s not the most ideal situation. i’m fine living out the rest of my lease. although i’m looking forward to trying to find something a little bit closer to work. currently, it’s about a 30-40 minute train ride from my place to downtown. it’s not all bad though because it gives me some free time for reading and listening to the iPod.
i was in austin last month on a business trip. i was there for 48 hours and they were gone before i knew it. spent a lot of time working and pretty much didn’t have time for anything else.
i was supposed to go to michigan this past weekend/early part of this week with some friends but sickness got the best of me. i ended up catching a cold last week and had to take some time off so i didn’t want to take time off last week and then again this week. it would have been fun to have gotten to go to michigan though. oh well, there’s always next year.
i have to admit there is one thing i can’t stand about illinois: the sun is out so much of the damn day. the sun seriously starts to rise at 5am and doesn’t set until nearly 9pm. i’m just hoping that during the winter it’s the other way around and it’s dark most of the day.
that’s really the only bad thing i’ve experienced with the move to chicago. everything else has been great. it’s strange because it’s like i’m a new person. i’m a much more social person, although i think the fact that i actually only have one job and have free time has a great deal to do with that. i’ve got my circle of friends and i’ve had a great time hanging out with them. i think i might have done more social activities since i’ve gotten to chicago than i did all of college. it’s like a whole other world. it’s so nice having time to do whatever i want. no more going to school and working two jobs.
things are good for me here.
okay i should probably get some rest. i promise more updates in the near future.
until later.
.ryan
