...I hit Burnsville Center today looking for jeans, gloves and a belt. Didn't find gloves, gonna wait a bit until everyone else wants them; got a belt.

I also found jeans that fit even better than my wonderful but hard to find Levi's 527's (or the compromise 529's). I know I sound like some kind of... well, I don't want to think about that... but I got my 527's in 2003 and just managed to fit into them again in the last year (I'm down to 134, 10 lb less than when I got out of college), so they were kind of a big deal.

Anyway, they don't do much for my ass any more. Guess that's where some of those ten pounds were.

Arizona makes some pretty damn nice jeans that fit quite a lot better in that respect; there was only one pair in JC Penny in 30x32, which was the only size I liked. So I picked them up. I was told to go to Aeropostale for jeans that would fit, but took one step inside and had to leave; I like my self-respect.

I'm also very close to the mythical Six Pack, my hair is growing out well, and I should be on a vision plan soon and will then get contacts again. Hooray for vanity, my favorite remaining vice!

Went out for sushi last night... it was pretty damn good.

I had planned on attempting brown rice sushi this weekend anyway, which is still in the works; think I'm going to pick up some shrimp (or tofu, haven't decided yet) and go for it. Brown rice, shrimp/tofu, cucumber, maybe some omelet... roll it, slice it and then sear it quickly to try and keep it from drying out, since the point is to keep it overnight and take it for lunch tomorrow.

The biggest unknown is the brown rice... gonna have to overcook it a little and maybe go heavy on the seasonings to make it work. Also going to need to roll in the soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger, since I don't really want to deal with separate containers for them.

Was pondering getting a bento lunchbox, which is what prompted this little experiment. There's all sorts of writeups on how to prepare those; not sure I want to screw around with that though. We'll see.

I ordered three books the other day; Don't Make Me Think, which is about designing websites for usability, another book about web business models and strategies, and Emergence in Games, which is about generating content for games/allowing them to create it themselves instead of just writing it all yourself.

Last night I ordered a Region 2 copy of Johnny Got His Gun, since apparently there's no available Region 1 release and the 0 disc is in Polish or something. Oh well.

Non sequitur conclusion: Disgaea 3 ROCKS.

I've barely been drinking at all for about the last three weeks. Two nights I've had about five beers, but only then stretched out over a whole night, and only when I was out with friends the whole time. Other than that, basically dry. It's definitely a good thing, and not as difficult as I thought it'd be.

Being coherent all the time does, however, make some things a lot harder to deal with. I've also been getting even less sleep than I was when I'd drink myself stupid most nights... that part... not such a good thing.

I've been drinking too much caffeine at work; they make it too readily available, and drinking water all day long is pretty boring. I also haven't been cooking much, which sucks, but the job has been getting more and more stressful, so I get more and more burned out when I'm home. Basically I have no desire to do anything, which also hasn't helped my personal projects.

Turns out Karl (old friend I was going to move in with) found himself an apartment already, which actually frees me up to do whatever I want... I'm trying to decide between a studio and a 1-bedroom. I guess it'll depend on what I can find when I start looking. Assuming I don't lose or leave this job in the next couple weeks, I should be able to afford it pretty easily, even with the mortgage and associated costs.

Speaking of which, I get to call the bank and start working on getting approval for a short sale tomorrow. It won't look good on my credit, but fuck that, even my optimistic realtor doesn't think the market will start to turn around for another year and a half. I don't have any interest in being a landlord. Hopefully that will make the place more attractive to whatever stingy fucks have been looking at it and I can get myself out from under the single worst financial decision I've ever made. Not that it was my fault... but by now I should be used to getting punished for things that aren't my fault.

But anyway. Bowled again this morning, practicing for the league; 133-154-181, I think. No plans this week other than to hold my breath and see whether they show me the door for refusing to work on this project after this coming Friday (being unemployed would be better than this... but certainly wouldn't be ideal). Why does this shit keep happening to me?

Just got back from bowling (*gasp* with a GIRL!); I did not do all that well, but I was pretty consistent. 154, 154, 164. Last time I went out I went 167, 133, 172, so my average is right in the mid 150's, basically where it was when I stopped bowling... you know... in middle school.

Work still blows, but I informed them that I'm unwilling to work on the project beyond next Friday (end of August), and no one had a problem with that. Two months of utter horseshit is more than enough; the higher-ups are finally aware of how awful it's been, so we have a great deal of sympathy going for us. Good stuff; next project will be excellent.

SIX DAYS until DISGAEA 3! GOD I'm so psyched! I was over 190 hours when I stopped playing 2 a month or so ago; I'm sure I'll dump a pathetic amount of time into 3 when it gets here. Which should be in SIX DAYS! DID I MENTION DISGAEA 3 COMES OUT IN SIX DAYS?! XD

Good mood tonight. Maybe I've spent too much time around bipolar types.

Well, some fun developments. Mostly not, but here are the fun ones.

Herb garden!
I have a bunch of happy little sprouts going -- three spearmint (separate), two cilantro, two chives, and at least one sage and oregano. The basil was planted first and is also doing quite well; two of them.

All but the basil and mint are in a window planter; all are hanging out on my parents' deck in the screened-in porch, where they get plenty of sun and heat. The cilantro is doing very well, and the mint really sprung up suddenly today. I can't wait until they're big enough that I can actually get some leaves off of them. :)

Fitness!
Been working out a bit; 10-15 minutes in the morning before work and 10-15 when I get home. Hoping to keep that up; I'm probably still around 140, maybe a little lower, haven't weighed myself for a long time. Starting to get slightly more definition in my abs, so I'm hoping the workouts will boost my metabolism.

...that's it!
OK, so I guess two doesn't really make for an impressive number. But it's better than nothing.

Well, I was hoping to get some work done this weekend, but Saturday is out, it seems:

Tonight is the neighborhood Mexican party; it starts at 6 and goes til the small hours of the morning. Plus, I'm making my southwestern layer dip (beans+taco seasoning, sour cream+cream cheese, homemade salsa, homemade guac, cheese), which is going to take a good couple hours.

I'm also picking up an HDMI monitor for my PS3... Disgaea 3 should be shipping on the 26th, and should arrive on the 28th! I'm psyched! Until then I guess I'll just play Disgaea 2 (fullscreen PS2 game) on a 22" widescreen monitor (it'll still be better than the TV's here).

Relatively speaking, of course. My life is pretty good, all things considered, particularly compared to what it was like in Florida. But once in a while I get sick of telling myself how much better I have it than a lot of other people and just look at it for what it is, and I'm usually not impressed.

I got a job with a great company, but the project I'm on SUCKS horribly. So badly that the tic in my right eye is back. It's the single worst piece of software I've ever encountered. That says something.

My relationship with Kat degraded to the point where we decided to stop being friends. That didn't turn out entirely badly, though, as we're still talking and just saw The Dark Knight...

...right before which -- literally, during the previews -- she told me her mom had my dog killed. Apparently he wasn't playing nicely with the other animals (who knew, a pit bull that's aggressive). Didn't send him to a shelter or a rescue program, didn't ask either of us to take him. Just had him put down.

Now, it was nice of her just to keep him up there (I couldn't take care of him while living with my parents and was generally a very poor pet owner, for which I hate myself, particularly now), but... for fuck's sake. Apparently I wouldn't know it at all if Kat hadn't specifically asked about him, as I was hoping to see him again soon. It happened at least two weeks ago, we're not really even sure when; her mom didn't say and she didn't ask.

My condo hasn't had ANY interest, it's priced at least 30% above everything comparable because the shit Florida condo market is so oversaturated (and I can't afford to drop it, I'd already take a loss I'd struggle badly to cover), so I'm basically down to trying to rent it out, which I'll be doing soon. Except it's tough to take an active role in that; I'm exhausted during all my free time because I'm not used to working regular hours in an office. Boo fucking hoo, yeah, but I work my ass off on a project I utterly despise, over which I have no control.

I'll have health, dental and all sorts of shit... in another two and a half months. Until them I'm still in the same no-insurance boat I've occupied for the last... I don't know, six years. At least.

I really, really hope something gets better soon. I am NOT an optimist... so it's incredibly difficult for me to stay upbeat the way I have been. It keeps getting harder lately. I'm not sure whether moving out and getting an apartment myself will help or not, considering my family is about the only thing I have going for me right now.

I don't know. This sucks.

Work

I'm most of the way through one project (it's a new one), and tagsingles.com is mostly ready to go, just has some kinks to work out. My full-time job is no more; the boss threw a bitch fit when he couldn't provide me hours and expected me to be on call, then found out I wasn't. I was apparently referred to as "lazy, surly and negative," and a "selfish, unmotivated asshole." The prick decided to cut off my hours the Friday before last and lied to me about it; if I hadn't found out through a friend, I'd still be wondering why I wasn't getting hours. What a massive fuckwad. Anyway, that's done.

So now I'm looking for jobs... though thanks to monster.com and my impressive resume (now with references!), that actually amounts to sitting around and fielding phone calls and emails from recruiters. This is MUCH more relaxing than actually looking. I've been checking craigslist for interesting work, though I'm not motivated enough to actually write a cover letter quite yet (I'm enjoying unemployment for the moment, it's giving me lots of time for my other projects).

Family

My sister is still very pregnant; think she's due at the beginning of July. We went out with our parents for Fathers' Day; it was pretty fun, some arts and crafts fair in Minneapolis then a pub for lunch.

I think I'll be moving back in with my parents around the 28th; my friend (whom I'm housesitting for) is coming back from Arizona around then. I've enjoyed it here, but it'll be nice to have a dishwasher, garbage disposal and a dog around again. It'll also be nice to have a lawnmower with an engine.

Travel

Went to Colorado earlier this month! Had a BLAST, visited some friends from AR, drained two kegs, went camping and hiking in the mountains (and got HORRIBLY sunburned, I've just now started peeling), and just generally had an awesome time. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back, though, since I'll hopefully be starting a full-time job in the next few weeks. One of the few things I'll miss about contracting: Absolute scheduling flexibility.

Cooking

I came up with an interesting stew; onions brown-fried Indian style with garlic, ginger and Creole seasoning (I was going to make a masala, but didn't have the right spices here), stock and tomato paste, simmered with seared chicken thigh and shrimp. Turned out REALLY well; I love chicken thigh, it's definitely the best cut of poultry ever.

The sushi party, unfortunately, got cancelled. Mom had to go and schedule a baby shower for my sister after I'd already set the date. Sucks, but oh well; I got to have eggroll and wonton parties here, and both were pretty decent. I'll probably get some friends together at my parents' house; they enjoyed making sushi, and all of my friends love my parents (as they should; my parents rock a whole fucking lot).

General

Kat and I are hanging out a lot; this is a good thing. We watched The Mist last night; she's been playing FFXII on my PS3 (oh yeah! See below) so I can concentrate on getting some projects done rather than wasting all my time futzing around on that thing.

PS3

Just got it! I ordered a used 60GB, since I wanted the hardware backwards compatibility. Cost me about $10 more than a new 80GB would've, so I'm pretty happy with that, even though I REALLY didn't want to spend that much on a gaming system, ever. I've built many computers for less than I paid for that thing...

But it's AWESOME! Oh how I love it. WPA2 wireless, the PS2 memory card reader I picked up works like a charm, the backwards compatibility is flawless so far... I've been playing Disgaea 2 on it. God how I love that game! The reason I bought a PS3 instead of a new PS2 is Disgaea 3, which is being released in the US in late August. I'm so fucking stoked for that game!

Also played demos for Ironman and Ninja Gaiden Sigma; both were pretty fun. I've downloaded several more; the Playstation Network store is really sweet. Demos, trailers... games you can pay to download, from all sorts of systems... it's good stuff, particularly when I'm not interested in buying actual PS3 games until Disgaea 3.

Perhaps the best thing about it is the wireless controller. It's almost exactly like the PS2 controller... but WIRELESS! It's so freaking convenient, I can't even express how great it is. It's the sixaxis, which I think is getting dropped in favor of the dualshock3, but I never liked rumble controllers anyway. I think you can get up to 7 controllers connected wirelessly to the machine; they connect via USB to charge, but the charge lasts a good long time. SWEET!

Conclusion

Life is pretty good.

Lately, I am:

1. Broiling garlic butter and Provolone onto wheat bread to create half of a glorious ham and cheese sandwich,

2. Glad that I recently took in Sunshine, a brilliant science fiction flick,

3. Enjoying 70+ degree temperatures, though the high 60's were better, and

4. Going nuts on even MORE projects than usual (and more than usual are paid).

I'm also heading for Colorado Friday evening and will be there til the following Wednesday for a good friend's birthday party. It's going to ROCK! Five days of Polish sausage and cheeses and as much beer as I can possibly drink (and then some).

At some point you guys are going to get sick of me and I'll be left friendless... but I'll still have my mirrors, right? ;)

Feeling GREAT and looking pretty damn good; someone demanded pictures (no, really, they actually were solicited), so here you go. I've barely begun to work out, so I'm hoping I have some good definition in my abs by the end of May or mid-June.

( Feelin' good, lookin' good! )

For the first time in... something like a year.

Since I'm working at home all the time now and things have settled down nicely, I'm hoping I can make it a regular thing.

Even augmented my diet a bit for some better muscle-building material. The extra variety is definitely nice.

If I can keep a light workout going 4 days a week or so, I figure I'll tone up pretty quickly; the (now very small) love handles are about the only visible fat left on me.

Plus my hip flexors have been showing a bit for a while now. So that'll only get better. ;)

WASHBOARD ABS, HERE I COME!

...but despite the fact that the last few weeks have been really busy, the tick in my left eye has been mysteriously absent.

It's been there for probably a year, but lately it hasn't happened at all, even when I get into stressful situations -- which is what usually set it off, and I've definitely been in those situations pretty regularly lately.

I was getting really worried that I was developing some nasty neurological condition, as my right eye was starting to get in on the act, but about a week ago I realized they'd both stopped.

Dunno what the deal is. I have a few really far-fetched ideas, but they're probably bullshit, and I guess I don't really care in any case. I'm just relieved that either that problem is not as serious as I thought or that, for whatever reason, I've finally managed to lighten up a bit.

Good shit. :)

...they're remaking Evangelion in three movies with a fourth -- an alternate ending. XD

Check it out!

The first has already been released; Amazon doesn't have it yet, unfortunately. I can't WAIT to see this! Apparently it follows the first six episodes, retelling some parts of the story and revising others. The animation has been completely redone, and it's widescreen.

I can't WAIT to see this! Can't believe I hadn't heard of it before now...

Should be going tonight. :)

Karl's rounding up some people to make a group of it... he knows lots of hot Asian chicks. Aside from being a good friend, Karl is a good guy to know. ;)

...146. ;)

So tonight I went out with a bunch of cops and had a bunch of beers. I love my family. :D

One of dad's friends retired (happens amusingly often), so we went and met them (mom had invited me home for pork and sauerkraut; this was coincidental and fortuitous). There were many people I did not know, but some I do (including the chief of police; I call him Mac, it's brilliant, COME GET ME, TROUBLE!), so it was quality.

I also read Kat's journal for, literally, the first time since we stopped talking. I don't wish I hadn't. Which is a plus, I guess. Maybe. Who knows. I wish we were still talking, but then, I also realize what a shitty idea that would be.

I very badly miss my kitten.

Crazy chick is crazy. :)

She flipped out last night, think that's that. No way am I going to actually put more effort into exposing myself to her insanity.

But hey, whatever. There were eggrolls, and they were good.

Now I have to get rid of the remaining eggroll filling mixture that's odorizing the fridge... nasty.

...interesting.

So I got together with that chick again this weekend... we had a good time, better than I expected, and it seems she doesn't quite have the magnitude of issues I'd thought she did.

There are plenty there, to be sure, but perhaps not as many (or at least not the same ones) as I've dealt with in the past. She's also open to calming down a little bit on her hard-liner approach to... everything. At least to a degree. Which is, again, more than I expected.

Go figure that she's leaving for the east coast in under a month, and I think I'll be gone when she does (near the coast myself, but not the same part).

Now, if I put the effort in, I might be able to keep her here... but I really don't know if that'd be good for either of us, because I still don't know how serious it ought to get or whether there'd be a future in it at all. I'm not planning on doing so, but I think I'll spend time with her as much as possible in the next couple weeks and see whether things go anywhere.

Anyway, pretty decent weekend.

It's probably been almost a year since I got my hair cut; I finally caved.

( BEHOLD! )

...the more amusing I find last Wednesday's adventures. :D

If I do hear from that one again, it could be an amusing experiment: Just how much of an asshole am I capable of being? I'm quite sure I'd have to take it pretty far to keep up with her.

Anyway, I'm in a good mood over it again, just (thankfully) not the ridiculous nearly-manic state I was in early on. Which I don't regret, it felt GREAT, but it obviously dropped me on my ass when things weren't as perfect as I wanted them to be.

Had a meeting yesterday, and will be starting yet another side project; at least this one will be paying well. :)