Recent News Roundup

So this site hasn't been updated in a while. I thought I'd fill in the blanks on what's been going on in my life.

-I've been in college (with a few exceptions here and there) every Tuesday through Thursday 3 hours a night. That explains some of why I haven't been updating.

-I've slowly began the process of getting ready to move to Montana. It's really starting to sink in that I'm leaving San Diego and I'm going to have to find a new/real job. It's pretty overwhelming at times, but I think I'm going to make it.

-The brothel in Butte, MT that I visited and wrote about on my site here is closing down.

-Nine Inch Nails came out with a new album called With Teeth that I've been listening to since I bought it Tuesday night. I'm still getting used to a few of the songs, but there are about 5 songs on it that I really like and have become favorites. Tom and I will be going to the NIN show at Soma San Diego on Tuesday May 31, exactly one week before I leave San Diego.

-Apple released Mac OSX 10.4 "Tiger". I'm pretty impressed with a few things in it, especially Spotlight. Dashboard is something that I don't really use that much, but it's nice for simple stuff. It's one of those things that you don't realize how much you use it until you take it away. I don't think I could live without it now that I have it. Safari was updated, but I still have a few gripes about it, but they are minor and fixed with a few third-party items. Automator is a really cool idea, but I think I really need to sit down with it and figure it out before I can actually use it that much. I think some people are going to come out with some really innovative uses for this, but it still needs to really be picked through and developed before anything decent comes of it. Basically, Automator allows you to make mini-programs or actions to do things that you do often, or just need a "robot" to do something for you. It's supposed to save time, and I think once someone really develops some ideas, it will take off. There were a few other things thrown in here and there, but nothing that major to mention. Overall a great update, but not something I would spend the money on unless you have the money or really need it. Would I do it again? Yes, but I'm an early adopter when it comes to Mac software.

-Family Guy is back, after being cancelled 4 years ago or so. I'm really a big fan of the show, so much that I've seen each episode of seasons 1-3 at least 3 times, if not a lot more. I'm also recording each episode that is coming out now on my computer, then turning those into VCD's until they come out with the DVD's. It's not anywhere near the quality of a DVD, but it will do for now. So what do I think of the new show? I love it. I think it's a lot edgier now that Seth McFarlane has Fox by the balls because it gets such good ratings.

I'm sure there are about 100 things I'm neglecting here. I think one of the reasons I went into hibernation, as hard as it is to admit this, was Hunter S. Thompson's suicide. That really bothered me for quite a while. I flew headlong into a dual thought process: on one hand, I really became aware of how important life is and how fragile humans are. Human mortality became really clear in my mind and haunted me for a while. On the other hand, after it happened, I went on a vacation from responsibility in my personal life. I really lived life like I didn't give a shit about anything. I drank more than usual, ate more than usual, and basically did whatever I wanted without any thought of what would come of it. I think that finally manifested in one of the worst thinking errors one can make: a completely spontaneous trip that I took with my friend Tom to Las Vegas on a late Friday night whim. In hindsight, that was a really stupid thing to do, but when you're downing Wild Turkey like water, it's hard to say no to. Logic was thrown to the wayside as we headed north on US Interstate 15. Since then, I've tried to curb my irrational behavior as much as possible.

I think another thing is that I'm stressed out about the big move to Montana. As much as I'm excited about it, I'm fearful of entering the American workforce. Not that I'm scared of work. I'm just scared that I'm going to bust my ass working at a job where I get paid shit because I don't have the connections or the education to get a real job. For the past 7+ years, I've gotten a paycheck every two weeks without fail (except once, but that's a long story). The thought of having to show up and do an honest 8 hours of work a day and perhaps get paid less than I do now is disheartening. But I try not to think about that. I try to think that I am really going to like Missoula, I'm going to get a good job, and things are going to work out. And they will.