Frustration

I think the flash bulb in my digital camera is busted. It's either that or... well, I don't know what else it could be. Either way, I'm really pissed! I bet this is the kind of thing that is way over-expensive to get repaired, too.

-Mark

Pretty damn happy right now

This will be a SUPER short post, but I just had to write and catch you up on things, since I haven't posted in a week. Things are going quite well for me lately. First, Florida beat Tennessee in college football last Saturday, which is always great! (Big rivalry, for those of you who don't know, and they were also both in the top 7 in the rankings). Then the Bears CRUSHED the Lions and played about as well as they possibly can on Sunday, while the Vikings and Packers both lost. It was a fantastic football weekend, possibly second only to one in which the Bears win the Super Bowl.

As great as the football results were, they weren't nearly the best part of my weekend. That honor belongs to the time I spent with my new girlfriend, Stacey. She is a really awesome person, and we get along so well it's scary. She's smart, funny, and shares many of my tastes and personality traits. Given all that, it's no surprise that we have clicked as well as we have. I can't wait to see her again in a few days! :-)

My friends Vince and Jaime are getting hitched on Saturday, and I'll be going to the wedding. That should be a ton of fun, with a wonderful couple to celebrate and a lot of longtime friends to hang out with.

Okay, that's it for now. I'd write more but I'm up later than I hoped to be as it is. I'll try to write again soon—definitely by Friday, since that marks the one year anniversary of this awesome little blog. What a year it's been!

Enjoy your day and come back soon.

-Mark

Thank God for Todd

This message, like the last one, shall be short. I'm so tired that I really have no business spending time on the blog when I need to be awake in just over 5 hours, but here I am anyway...

The game was fun last night. The seats were awesome—4th row from the field! A few years ago they would have actually been first row tickets, but of course they added 3 extra rows to Wrigley... not that I'm complaining at all!

As for the game itself, it started off with a lot of scoring and then quieted down for about 6 innings, as both teams got close to scoring the go-ahead run but failed every time. Finally, in the bottom of the tenth, Todd Walker hit a bases loaded single to drive home the winning run and mercifully end the game. I say that not because I wasn't enjoying myself but because I was just so worn out by the eighth inning or so. Anyway, the final score was 4-3, and the win was the sixth straight by the Cubs when I've been attendance (for those of you keeping track at home).

As we walked out of Wrigley we were given coupons good for free Dunkin Donuts coffee. I thought they were trying to be funny and make light of how tired we were all gonna be in the morning. Well, I guess I can go and get that coffee tomorrow. Then later I can go use the bathroom, assuming I remember the passcode. Yes, that's right, I need to enter a 5-digit code to enter the restroom at the new office. Who's the genius that came up with this brilliant idea? I'd like to see the look on that guy's face when somebody having an emergency forgets the code...

Well that's all I can muster for now. Have a good day and I shall return soon enough.

-Mark

A small victory

Well it's not before midnight, but I'll be in bed tonight by 12:15. That's a victory simply because it's before my usual 1 AM bedtime, so I'll take it for now.

Tomorrow (er, today) I'm going to the Cubs game with Chris and his dad. That should be fun, even if they are out of playoff contention. I just hope work goes by quickly.

So yeah, this message kind of blew, but it's better than no message at all, right? And even if it's not, I'm still entitled to a few stinkers every now and then ;-)

-Mark

Why do I do this to myself?

I need sleep! I have been going to bed so late this week, and it's starting to catch up to me. Why can't I go to bed at a decent time? Why do I get distracted and end up staying awake until 1 AM?

To make matters worse, I couldn't even take a nap when I got home, since my dad had made dinner and my mom came home with groceries that needed to be put away. I mean, I have no problem helping with that, and of course I like to eat, but all I wanted was a half-hour to just relax. Oh well, at least it's Friday!

I love you guys, but even love has its limits. Seriously, I fully intended to write a new post on here, but there's no way I can afford to give up thirty minutes of sleep. I've got kind of a packed weekend—at least for me—so hopefully I can find some time to catch up on my Z's.

Man, I could sure use another one of those three-day weekends right about now. Man, as much as I love getting a paycheck every other week, I miss being able to sleep in. I yearn for the days when I considered waking up before 9 to be getting up early!

Okay, I'll write a little bit, but that's it!

I went to the Subway for lunch today, since I didn't have time to make my lunch this morning. Anyway, I asked for pepperoni on my sandwich, and the guy behind the counter told me it would cost $2 extra for that. I asked if that was standard policy at all Subways, and he said that it was. I was kind of pissed, since I've been getting the same sandwich at other locations and they never bothered to inform me of the pepperoni surcharge there. (FYI, I didn't end up getting the pepperoni on my sandwich.)

Sheesh, first Jared, and now this. I should just boycott the damn place!

What else... well, I bought Lost on DVD yesterday. I watched the first 7 episodes but then fell behind and vowed to catch up when it came out on DVD. Well, that time has arrived, and I've got less than 2 weeks to get all caught up before the new season starts. Wish me luck!

The NFL season has officially started. Once again I was very impressed by the Patriots and how well they execute on both sides of the ball. I can only hope that the Bears will have as good a team at some point before I die. (I wonder if Cubs fans were saying that back around 1930 or so...)

Oh, and speaking of the Cubs, how can they play so well against St. Louis—winning 8 of 12 games so far—and so bad against everybody else? It boggles the mind! Oh well, at least I have some consolation if the Cards win the World Series, for when Billy gets back.

Okay, that's not a bad post considering I didn't think I'd end up writing even two paragraphs. Have a bitchin' weekend, everybody!

-Mark

Ruts and writing

Hey everybody, I hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!

Have you ever been in a rut? Well, I'm in one now, and I hope I can soon find a way to break out of it. My week-to-week routine has not changed much since I finished up school this past May. Unlike with so many others having this problem, mine is not career-related—far from it, in fact. I am quite happy with my job and have nothing bad to say about it, so the problem lies elsewhere.

One thing that has been kind of frustrating has been MySpace. For those of you who don't haven't heard of or visited this web site, it basically involves creating a profile (complete with picture, interests, some personal info, and a few paragraphs about yourself). Once you have a profile, you can peruse through others and send out messages, friend invites (you have a list of other members who you consider to be "friends"), and other such things. It's a very engrossing web site, yet for me it has been unfulfilling overall.

Now don't get me wrong, I have met some great friends on MySpace (and its college-themed cousin, Facebook), and I am not just on it to meet girls. However, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I have been making an effort to meet somebody special through these sites, and, up to this point, my attempts have all failed—usually in miserable fashion. I'm not going to get into any of the specifics here for various reasons (if you really want to know more, e-mail me and ask). The problem is that it is a seemingly endless cycle for me, and I am becoming more frustrated as time goes on. What usually happens is that I get my hopes up but they always come crashing back to earth, leaving me back at square one. If it wasn't for the wonderful friends that I've made, I probably would have removed my profile a while ago.

Aside from the web site, there are other things that are clutching me and keeping me from escaping from my rut. One thing is that every week seems to be a mirror image of its previous week. I never really engage in anything different or exciting in my free time, but instead I partake in the same activities. This is not to say that I dislike these activities, but rather that I need a little spice in my life. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be asked what I did over the weekend and have to reply by saying, "Just relaxed, hung out with some friends." I want to relax and I want to spend time with friends, yes, but I can still do that without repeating the same routine every week.

On a lighter note, now that I've finished reading through all of the Harry Potter books again, I have quite a bit more free time on my hands that needs to be filled. I'm sure I will find some new books to dive into (including some solid recommendations from a reader of this blog), but I'm also hoping to start writing, which is something I mentioned in a previous blog entry.

Although I've been dying to write some fiction—probably short stories, at first—I also intend to make more frequent use of this blog. As I have lamented many times on this page, the blog has far too often fallen victim of my own neglect and indifference. I realize that it I'll probably never make daily updates, but I figure if I can at least shoot for 4 entries a week I should feel satisfied.

As for the fictitious work, at this point all I need is an idea and a surge of inspiration, and then I'll be set!

Finally, before I depart, I have to mention that the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm premieres on Sunday, September 25th, while Alias begins the following Thursday, September 29th. I was surprised when I saw the commercial promoting the latter's emminent arrival, since I had been expecting it to once again run from January through May, as it did last season. As hard as it is to wait an extra three months, I'd actually prefer this, since there wouldn't be any 3-5 week gaps between new episodes, which just drives me nuts. Still, I can't complain about having new episodes to watch in just over three weeks. My guess is that this will be the show's final season, so hopefully it will go out with a bang, if this is true.

A new show that I've been anticipating for a while, The Unit, appears to have no date set for its series premiere. I'm anxious to find out when it will begin. At this point I'm betting it will be January, and if so then I can't wait!

Well it's time for bed. Okay, not really, I still have a few e-mails to send, but I'm gonna try to be under the covers before midnight. Have a great week!

-Mark