"I'm allowed one "my-bad", right?"

It's not my line, but it's funny as hell, and so true.

Can't Get Enough "Cannonball"

Seriously, I've really been diggin' on Damien Rice's music a lot lately, much like when I first got into Pete Yorn. "Cannonball" is an amazing song (you can listen at my MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jppederson), but the rest of the album is incredible. I can't believe I never heard of this guy when he first came out a couple of years back.

Rock n' Rodeo, Take Two

Met up with some friends at Rock n' Rodeo tonight, the first time I'd been there since it reopened. I stopped going a few months before it closed down; way too much drama going on that I didn't want to deal with. Quite honestly, I was afraid I might end up hurt or killed as I found myself involved with a few fights there (I didn't start anything, I just had friends that liked to talk shit). One time, I remember we had to sneak my friend Mookie out before the cops found him. I think they got him through the kitchen and out the back door. I became sick of the scene and was no longer a regular there.

I know they reopened a few weeks ago, but I hesitated to go. Didn't know what I would be walking into. Stepping through those front doors certainly brought back memories. I looked across the dance floor and wouldn't you know, there's Mookie. Just like the good ol' days. We BS-ed for a while and caught up. All was good. While it was a definite blast back to the past, I didn't see a lot of people I thought I might, which in this case, was good. Some skeletons need to remain in the closet. But there were some people I did get to see, which was also good.

All in all, I had a decent time, although I could only survive an hour and a half there. Had a chance to see some people that I hadn't seen in a long time. And it did bring back some good memories of years past, my pre-college days. I may have to go back, bring beautiful B and tear up the hardwood floor.

That's what I'm talking about.

Fireworks?

Tonight was supposed to be chill. I met up with Forrest, Sam, and Anton for some drinks at the Indigo. We B.S.ed, hung out, that type of thing. At closing we walked out, when I witnessed a fight breaking out. I didn't think much of it; going out to bars, you somewhat expect it. But the fight dragged on longer than it should of. People jumped in to break it up. It kept on going. I was about to jump in myself when a gun went off. Not 20 feet from where I was. Scared the shit out of me. Luckily, the shooter was brought to the ground and his weapon taken from him. He may have ended up shooting himself in the struggle. He didn't get back up after the shot. I ended up directing traffic while the onlookers debated whether it was a real gun or not. The police showed up shortly there after.

I hate guns. Hate them, hate them, hate them. Stopped going to Kokomo's back in the day because I had way too many experiences with guns. Now this. Not cool, not cool at all.

Something in the Air

You can just feel it. With the Oregon/USC game taking place this afternoon, there's a lot of excitement around. And it really is a win-win situation for the Ducks today, since no one is expecting them to win, but if they do... this town will be crazy tonight.

This is probably my last big college football experience. Time to make it a good one. Go Ducks!

1500 Miles and Counting...

B and I have done quite a bit of traveling in a little over week; 1500 miles worth of traveling to give a good estimate. It's been crazy; now I know what she has to go through for this job of hers. And I always thought she had it so easy...

I'm exhausted. Totally wiped out. Took a LONG nap this afternoon. It was great.

To recap our adventures (all within Oregon): Eugene to Bend to Burns to Bend to Eugene to Portland to Eugene to Coos Bay to Eugene to Redmond and finally back to Eugene. One week. That's friggin' insane.

Lots of "good times", of course, but way too tired to try to tell it all now. Time for a full night's rest in my own bed and then off to watch the Ducks play Montana at Autzen. My last season watching football games as a student. So sad...

Katrina

I had chosen to ignore the media's news coverage of the recent Hurricane Katrina as CNN/FOX/MSNBC/Etc. tend to leave a bad taste in my mouth with their sensationalist journalism. However this morning, I received the following email from an acqaintance regarding his girlfriend who is stationed along the Gulf Coast and got my first taste of the sheer intensity of this disaster:

"The base has suffered extensive damage and its proximity to the Gulf
of Mexico (literally across the street...the street doesn't exist in a
lot of places now though) made it an easy target. Biloxi is actually
situated on a narrow spit/peninsula that extends from the West to the
East so her base is actually surrounded by water...the Bay of Biloxi
is on the North side and the Gulf is on the South and East side.

The homes that did exist across the highway from the base are mostly
non-existent at this point. I'm not trying to scare anyone, the
shelter she was in is a certified hurricane shelter and no one has
ever been injured in one. It's just that she was essentially at
ground zero for the brunt of the hurricane's strength as it came
ashore so the situation there is dire for many people.

A storm surge was anywhere from 20-28 feet along the coast where she
is and that is basically a massive 2-3 story wave that is being pushed
by the extreme winds. This caused a lot of destruction and probably
inundated most of the small peninsula under 10-20 feet of water for a
while.

At this point, the waters have receded a lot but left a lot of debris
behind. It is not safe for people to be moving around so this
explains why her and her classmates will continue to be holed up.
Given the extent of the damage I think they might stay there for a lot
longer.

Luckily she is not in New Orleans where things seem to get worse by
the minute with the flooding, etc.

There are all sorts of speculations as to how long it will take to get
things going again but since the damage there is "unprecedented" I
think the conservative estimates are saying 3-4 weeks before power
will be restored.

Even though you cannot get through to her, I encourage you to call and
leave messages on her phone. Once the cell service is back online she
will be able to access them and I know she's going to be a bit
distraught since her baby--the new car--is most likely totaled because
it was submerged for a day or so in water or it is gone and resting
somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico now. Apparently there are dozens of
cars smashed along the main seawall there too so it could be there.
She'll also be upset at having to stay there longer as she (and I)
can't wait to get up to Tacoma and stay FAR FAR AWAY from Hurricane
Country!

Anyway, I am constantly watching the news and calling her to see if I
can get through. I am sure she is fine but the area she is in was
dismantled by this storm so it's going to be a hectic few weeks."


Please keep the victims of this tragedy in your hearts and in your prayers.

Gears Got Laid

Congratulations, my brother, congratulations.

Update: Gears would like everyone to know that this was not his first time experiencing the sensual touch of a woman, as the previous post may lead you to believe. However, it had been a long, long, long, long, LONG time since Gears had last known the carnal pleasures of the flesh. And I feel compelled to mention that he met this girl online. Only Gears, only Gears...

Oh My Sweet Carolina

So good, it's worth listening to over and over again.

Vegas, Baby

At 6:40pm tonight I will be landing in Las Vegas for what promises to be a very hot weekend. More to come...

Armstrong Does It Again

What an amazing athlete. The guy is the friggin man'. I wonder if the tour will be as interesting next year without him.

Summertime

Got super-charbroiled while in Portland today during an exciting game of kickball in which I got paid $12 an hour to play. Whoo-hoo.

Sorry no new updates in awhile. Would post more tonight, but I have to wake up at 2 am for work tomorrow. Arrr...

Should have some delicious Blog Juice posted soon.

Roger Waters and David Gilmour Reunite Pink Floyd for Live Aid Concert

David Gilmour made the following statement:"Like most people I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world. It's crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention then it's got to be worthwhile."

What I wouldn't give to be at this show. I've been into Pink Floyd ever since their pig-shaped blimp crashed into the roof of my church around the time of the Division Bell tour.

Mike Doughty on God

"There's a lot about Jesus that I really dig. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That strikes me as absolutely beautiful. That central Christian idea of God turning himself into a human and volunteering for human suffering is so moving to me.

"I wanted to say that God can be a huge part of your life without being a fanatic. What fanatic, Christian, Muslim, or otherwise, is really compassionate? The God I struggle to have faith in is all about compassion.

"It's fucked up to me that to believe in God is to be on the wrong side in the culture wars. Why the fuck do we let the Republicans lay claim to God?!"

I've been a fan of Doughty's for many years and have met him on a couple of times. Very cool guy. His blog is quite entertaining. He did a nice little entry about how much he loves Oregon and the Doug Fir while he was here touring last month.

Elliott-Pederson Family 1

Elliott-Pederson Family 1
Originally uploaded by JPizzle.

It's once in a great while that all the members in my family happen to be at the same place at the same time. This weekend was one of those times; without a major holiday, marriage, or death, we all happened to be in Central Oregon to get this pic taken, brothers, sisters, spouses, future spouses, grandkids, and all. I could have never guessed that two divorces and a blended family could produce something so beautiful. I am truly blessed.

The Pain of Growing Old

I was in Central Oregon this past weekend for my brother's bachelor party (the big day is June 25th). It's amazing to me how much different bachelor parties have become as all of us have aged. Most of the group from this weekend also happened to be at Dustin's bachelor party about 5 years ago, where things were much more out of hand, including Dustin tackling a tree in the front yard and falling over my car later on (his face was ripped to shreds 2 days before his wedding; needless to say, his wife was not happy with any of us).

This weekend began with a poorly played round of golf that ended early (let's go, I'm too drunk to play...). We then headed over to Dustin's for BBQ, beer, and poker. As we sat around, we BSed of years passed and of the all the wild things we used to do. It struck me strange that a bunch of men in their mid and late 20's at a bachelor party were spending their time talking about their crazy antics rather than making new ones. Was it fondness in which we looked back on all the wild times, or did we look at it as "how could we be so stupid"? I honestly could not tell.

It often scares me when confronted with my fading childhood. B makes fun of my age and does claim on many occasions that I am acting immature, but perhaps it's because I'm so deperately trying to cling on to a youth that is no longer there. The hardest transition to adulthood for me as been accepting that I am no longer a kid, as much as I wish I was. As I drank my beer and became sleepy at the early hour of 11pm, I wondered if the best has come and gone, or is it yet to come?

It reminds me of an episode of Friends in which Chandler and Ross get so excited about their friend Gandolf coming to town so they can "paaarty, whoo!" But they soon find that that's not what they want to do; they'd rather kick it in the coffee shop and talk with the rest of the friends. It's like me: I hate going to Taylor's and other bars where the music is too loud and I can't talk with anybody. I'd much rather kick it at a chill place conversing with people. Of course, I'd much rather talk about the now, as opposed to this weekend where we talked a lot about the past. It just depresses me. That's a chapter in my life I can't experience again and I'd rather not dwell on it. Instead, I want to write new chapters with new experiences with my friends, with B, with my future family. Hopefully, I end up with one hell of a great book, not one where the first part was good, but then it got lame after the first few chapters.

Such a Lovely Drive

I was lucky enough to spend some time in Central Oregon this weekend. It's not often enough that I make it back to see my family and friends. One of the strange benefits of heading home is the beautiful drive. This time of year is such a great time to take a drive with the sunroof down, listening to some tunes. I put on the new Gorillaz, which I was highly disappointed with (with the exception of a few tracks), and the new Black Eyed Peas, which I was diggin'. The bummer about the drive is the other drivers who feel the need to go so ridiculously slow (could they at least do the speed limit?) and it's one lane practically the whole way there. But there is so much to see while driving at 40mph: the highway follows alongside the river and there are the Sahalie Falls at the top of the mountain, which are beautiful. There are also plenty of quaint little places to check out on the drive. I hear the Log Cabin Inn has a great breakfast, which I will have to take my beautiful B to someday. I've also tried the infamous Logger Cakes at the Vida Cafe, which were something else. If time permits me this summer, I will definitely have to make a couple of drives over this summer with my beautiful B as she head to the C.O. for work.

Memorial Day Thoughts (Belated)

My good friend, Sanjay, sent this email out to his friends a couple of days ago and I felt compelled to share it. It talks a little about the death of U of O student, Joel Meyer, who passed away this weekend while at Shasta. Such a tragedy...


May, 30, 2005
I guess I haven't written one of those long mass emails for a long time so I'm about due. Unfortunately, it was spurred with somber news. Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember War Veterans, but its also more than that, it just not just another Holiday off work, some off have to work anyway. I know now that it is a time to remember your loved ones you lost or possibly some people you've never even met. This is one day to STOP! Just take a moment and think... think about what and who is really important to you... think about those who you've lost, than think about who you have...think about who you haven't spoken too but were thinking about calling a few days ago...think about those people who you were close friends but are not anymore and you really don't know why?...think about all those people you care about and love.... what would happen if you found out they passed away yesterday? How would that make you feel?
Well the strange thing is it happened to me today. Today was like any other day. I woke up went to work, you know the same routine, worrying about money, worrying about jobs, worrying about where I will be in 2 months and thinking about certain friendships and relationships...
I woke up from my nap today and I happened to leave the channel on the 6 O'clock news. I heard a University of Oregon student had passed away at Lake Shasta. They showed the picture for just a few seconds and my heart started pumping and my mind started racing because that face looked so familiar. The news story came back and I knew who it was, I was hoping it wasn't anyone I knew, but it wasn't! It was my fellow business school classmate and friend JOEL MEYER. Joel and I were not close friends, but he was my classmate for at least 2 terms, we were getting our Business Administration Minor together. Joel was a very smart guy, he was very dedicated and took charge in our group and he loved to share in some Sanjay humor during class. I still have his number in my phone, I still have our group project together, it is so trippy, we must remember one day we are here, tomorrow may never be...
So please, today is the perfect excuse to call and reach out to those people I listed above. No matter how small of an effort at least you tried to reach out. Some of you must be saying there goes Sentimental Sanjay again, yeah maybe, but I have to tell each and everyone of you, family, friends, coworkers and whoever, however and regardless of how long or what from... YOU HAVE ALL INFLUENCED MY LIFE AND I THANK YOU ALL, I CARE ABOUT ALL OF YOU AND LOVE EACH OF YOU IN SOME WAY SHAPE OR FORM.
Please take a moment and at least think about calling someone you haven't and tell them how you feel. I know it makes my day when someone tells me they were thinking of me...
I would love to hear from all of you, just a few minutes out of your day would mean a great deal. I just wished I knew all the emails to everyone I knew...
I hope all is well
My love and prayers go out to all your hearts
Thank You
-Sanjay Prasad

The Controversy of Star Wars

An interesting thought: who is right? It seems strange to me that the group has only criticized BK about this, as there is Star Wars marketing all over the galaxy for this movie, including Pepsi, 7-11, and countless others. I walk into the grocery store and it's like I've walked into the Mos Eisley cantina; Star Wars characters are all around telling me to buy certain products. Is this the Star Wars we know and love? It's like Woodstock '99, the spirit is gone with all of this mass marketing. So why target one company specifically? Of course BK is going to cash in on this. These marketing promotions rarely make any money for fast food companies, with the execption of a BIG movie like this. And isn't Star Wars for all generations? Sure, the latest installment is quite violent and very dark, but Star Wars is a national treasure. It should be required viewing for all Americans (it still breaks my heart that B hasn't seem any Star Wars movies...). Instead of going after BK which is just trying to make a buck, as a corporation should want, go after Lucas. He's the one that allows this wonderful franchise to be bastardized by his allowing of the Star Wars name to market laundry detergent. How can you create such an amazing story that has meant so much to so many people and then whore it out to the extent it has been? Does Lucas really need to extra cash he is getting from all these tie-ins? Lucas should know better and should take the brunt of these criticisms.

The Day is Getting a Little Better

Live Dave Matthews Band concert is being webcast on AOL right now (6pm Pacific). Great show to promote their new album being released tomorrow. It's bringing a smile to my face.

Perfect Rainy Day, Broken Heart Music

Ryan Adams Cold Roses (especially Disc One)

Songs like "When Will You Come Back Home", "Now That You're Gone", "How Do You Keep Love Alive", and "Cold Roses." How can you go wrong? His website even lets you stream the entire album for free.

"I ain't afraid of hurt
I've just had so much it feels just like normal to me now
I'm alone and I'm dancing with you now
In your old room, in your old house
I'm alone and I'm dancing with you now
In your old room, but there's nobody there
Now that you're gone
Now that you're gone for good."

Beautiful, depressing music. Perfect for today.

Guess Who's in the News?

While researching a phone number online for B, I stumbled across this article featuring none other than my good friend, Allen. Good times.

What a S---ty, S---ty Day...

In addition to addressing some relationship problems, I kicked my toe against the wall. It hurt like a mutha... but I didn't really think too much about until later in the evening when I looked at it and saw my toe had turned a lovely shade of black. And it still hurts like a mutha... Anyway, I'm hoping the week turns out much better this this lame day has.

Podcasting Takes Off

Great clip from CBS News on podcasting. Even gives a quick "shot-out" to Beercasting, which I found to be very cool.

Today's Fun with Drugs

First Tony Soprano has problems with panic attacks; now this?

And a Reason to Be Disappointed with May 31st

A Reason to Look Forward to May 14th

Geeks Rejoice!

Could It Be True?

Will Jerry Rice return to San Francisco?

Star Wars Convention This Weekend

Thousands of people gather together to not get laid. Is Gears one of them?

Found a New Site...

It allows me to post pics on the blog now. Now you have to look at my cute little face while listening to my pointless ramblings...

A Summer's Worth of Shows

After looking around Pollstar.com for a bit, I found a list of the shows I'd love to hit up this summer. Of course, I won't be able to get them all, but hopefully I can catch a few:

Eugene:
Living Legends 4/24

Portland:
Velvet Revolver 4/21
Moby 5/1
Audioslave 5/13
Mike Doughty 5/18
Pixies 5/26-27
Snoop Dogg 5/27
Def Leppard/Bryan Adams 6/1
Chris Isaak 7/15
Neil Diamond 9/17
U2 12/19

The Gorge, Washington:
Sasquatch Festival (Kanye West, Pixies, Modest Mouse, etc.) 5/28
Dave Matthews Band 8/19-21

Monday Night Football Moves to ESPN

So now all those poor bastards that don't have basic cable are S.O.L. Interesting that they decided to do this. Hopefully it doesn't affect too many people.

55 Year Old Men Agree...

My beautiful B is damn sexy.

Love you, baby.

Happy Birthday to the Gears

Jason "Gears" Gearhart turns the big 2-5 today, the poor bastard. Welcome to hell, my friend, and good luck.

RIP Mitch Hedberg

I just heard that one of my favorite comedians passed away a couple of weeks ago. Most likely from a heroin overdose from what little info I can find. I had the chance to see him in Portland a few months ago, but didn't for whatever reason. I'm regretting that now. The guy had some great observations; here are some of my favorites:

"I had a box of Ritz crackers, and on the back of the box, they had all these suggestions for what to put on top of the Ritz. Try it with cheese. Try it with peanut butter. Come on, man, they're crackers, that's why I got them. I like crackers! I didn't buy them because they're little edible plates!"

"When you go to a bar that has a black light, everybody looks cool. Except for me, because I was under the impression that the mustard stain came out."

"Whenever I walk somewhere, and someone hands me a flyer, it's like they're telling me, "Here, you go throw this away."

"I played in a death-metal band. People either loved us or hated us. Or they thought we were OK. A lot of bands have intense names, like "Rigor Mortis" or "Mortuary". We weren't that intense, we called ourselves "Injured". Later on we changed it to "Acapella" when we were walking out of the pawn shop. "

"You know when you go into a restaurant, and it gets busy and they start a waiting list, and they start calling out names, "DuFresnes, party of two." They say again, "DuFresnes, party of two." But then if no one answers, they'll just go to the next name, "Bush, party of three." Yeah, but what happened to the DuFresnes? No one seems to care. Who can eat at a time like this? People are missing! And they're hungry! That's a double whammy! "Bush, search party of three!" You can eat once you find the DuFresnes!"

Update: The Legend of Hatoon

I received an email from a reader in Arizona who just happened to stumble across the site after googling "Hatoon" and she was nice enough to share her Hatoon moments with me:

"When I heard she died, I started following all the memorials in Eugene. I'm sorry I missed it all. I googled "Hatoon" and found your site. Yeah, she was pretty wierd. One time I went into the bathroom in the library and she was in there chatting up a storm all by herself with all the water faucets running and the place reeked of cheap body spray. So I can understand if you felt a little wary. But she really was a sweetie, too. Sometimes she'd just walk up to mean and start talking, like if I was sitting outside the library or something. I remember her telling me I reminded her of some friend she used to have. I've been told that by many people at different times in my life, but somehow, coming from Hatoon it meant a lot more."

While Hatoon's passing was a tragedy, the things that have been said about her are strangely beautiful. I can only hope that when my time comes, I will have so many nice things said about me.

AllofMP3.com

Today's USAToday featured an article on file-sharing and mentioned my favorite music website, AllofMP3.com. I've downloaded a lot of music from this site for only pennies a song (I can download an entire CD for about $1). My friend, Nate (www.brand-z.com), introduced me to the site and assured me it was totally legal. However, I was always curious as to how it could be legit at the prices they're charging. The USAToday article explains how they are able to get away with this, by exploiting a Russian copyright law. Very cool. And if Russia ever decides to close the loophole, another country with lax copyright laws can always do the same thing. Screw you RIAA!

I Need One of These

This is some funny stuff. What's really funny is that this guy is actually getting death threats because of the device.

Northwest Noise Podcast

I again had the honor to guest on the Northwest Noise podcast, the March 21st Spring Solstice episode. Gears, as usual, was to guest on the show as well, but due to some problems with Skype and his dial-up internet access, was unable to. So it was my first time just Timmy and myself, which was very cool. However, I had little input on the evenings topics; there wasn't much I had to add to discussions on the solstice, Justin Hopkins, and KBOO. However, I did get to tell a story of a surprising connection between Tim and myself, as well as discuss a Marriott ad which actually mentions podcasting as an activity a guest can do in their hotel rooms. For those of you if haven't yet heard a podcast, Northwest Noise is a great place to start, as well as Adam Curry's site at www.curry.com. As it's Spring Break, you all should have plenty of time to download and check out these programs, even with a dial-up connection (friggin' Gears...).

New DMB Single Out

I'm so stoked, the first single from Dave Matthews Band new album Stand Up is finally out. It's not one of my favorite DMB songs, and I'm not so sure it will be a huge radio hit, but at least it ain't even close to as bad as "I Did It." You can stream the song by clicking on the title of this post...

The Legend of Hatoon

Last week, Hatoon, the homeless lady next to the bookstore at UO, died in a car accident. I meant to report this right away as I was one of the first to find out about this (a couple of hours after she passed away), but I have been quite busy and haven't had any time to write about it. However, I'm glad that I waited as all sorts of interesting stories have been told about her these past few days. Most of these I'm sure are untrue, but it's interesting how a person can become such a legend.

My favorite of these stories is that she predicted her own death. Hatoon very obviously had a mental illness, which is why no one paid attention when she walked into the bookstore a couple of days before her death and claimed, "I know what's going on. I'm going to die." Creepy...

There was also talk that she actually was at one time one of UO's biggest contributers, before her mental illness took hold, which explains why she permitted by the administration to stay on campus.

I never realized until after she passed how much she meant to the students and faculty at UO. I never gave her much thought as I passed by her every day, but I have been told so many stories by those who have spoke with her and even lifted weights with her in the rec center (apparently she was quite strong). Even day, the bench next to the bookstore where she lived is loaded with flowers, candles, and other items paying respect to Hatoon.

I am amazed by the amount of people who spend a few minutes next to her memorial in silence. I don't know what they think about, but I know we have all talked about Hatoon at least a little over the past week and a half.

Still I am saddened that her own children seemed to completely neglect their mother. I obviously don't know their story, but I know that I couldn't leave my mother out on the street, and after hearing all the stories about Hatoon's personality, I can't imagine that she was so unbearable that they couldn't take care of her.

So would she be happier becoming a legend on campus, as she has, and being neglected by her own children, or loved and adored by her offspring and unknown to the rest of us? I don't know, but I do know she will forever be remembered on the UO campus.

Just Gizoogle It

Gears introduced me to a great new search engine and it is the shiz-nit, fo' shizzle. After typing in my name, here is what came up:

"Hey everyone fo' sho'! I'm an avid bitch of tha Northwest Noise podcast n am currently work'n on putt'n mah own podcast, as soon as I can figure out tha friggin' technology. Until thizzen, I'm on jppederson.blizzles. com"

Funny stuff. Check it out.

Time to Get Rid of These Love Handles

...or this love "spare tire", as it would be more appropriately called. I have my workout all ready to go, I just need to get it done. I'm really motivated now as I'm sick of looking at Marcus Chan's washboard stomach on his FaceBook pic. He really is making the rest of us look bad. You hear that, Chan? You're going down!

Mad Props to All New Listeners

I wanted to thank all of the new visitors for dropping by and checking me out. I've been getting a lot of traffic from the Northwest Noise site (who is getting a lot of traffic from the Portland Tribune) and also from FaceBook. There's a few readers now, so I need to be sure that I keep things updated as frequently as possible to keep things interesting. Thaks all for stopping by and hope you can find something somewhat enjoyable.

JP for Prez Campaign Proves Sucessful

I can't believe I still have yet to share my big news for the week: I was elected Alpha Kappa Psi, Kappa Chapter president for the next year. Granted I didn't run opposed, but I am still excited nonetheless. I really wanted this position and was lucky enough to get it. I'm very excited about next year, especially with the rest of the executive board that will be joining me. I expect good things...

Death of a Playwrite

Legendary playwrite Arthur Miller passed away last night at the age of 89. He is one of my favorite authors and The Crucible is one of my favorite plays. One of the first plays I ever watched was Death of a Salesman at Alan Hancock Community College in Santa Maria, California (where Michael Jackson is currently having his child-molestation trial). I'm not sure if he was still writing, I'm sure he was, but I will have to make it a goal to read one of his plays this weekend. Thanks for entertaining us.

Oh the Irony...

In a post last month, I accused Ian Crosswhite of the Ducks of participating in certain "extra-curricular activities". To be fair, I have not actually observed Crosswhite enjoy such activities, I received my information from others who have. I have, however, run into him at local bars on numerous occasions, many times the night before a big game. Wednesday, Crosswhite was suspended from the team indefinitely for undisclosed reasons. Hmmm, why could that be? Could there be some sort of connection? One can only speculate. Not that I expect athletes to be perfect role models, but they do have an obligation to be focused on the task on hand and not partying the night before a game. The Ducks are 3-8 in the Pac-10 and Crosswhite's play, or lack thereof, is a big part of that. I'm very interested to see what comes of this all.

Mad Props to West Bros.

Went to dinner with my mother last night at the West Bros. River Ranch Steakhouse. Besides receiving excellent service from our waitress, my mother mentions that I am a birthday boy and West Bros. picks up the tab on my dinner. They also buy me dessert, give me a coupon for $10 off my next visit and give me a shot at winning $500 if I can correctly pick the numbers of a combination lock (I wasn't able to). I must say, I was impressed with them before (they have the best BBQ in town), but now I am blown away with their customer service. We tipped them almost 100% (our bill came out to about $18, pretty good considering all the food; I still have a box in my fridge and that's after having some leftovers earlier. So if you are having a birthday and want to score a free meal, West Bros. is the place to be.

iPod Shuffle

My beautiful B got me an iPod shuffle for my birthday. I hadn't seen one previous to this and I must say they are quite cool. I know it has its critics, but I am a fan. My favorite feature is its size; it is ridiculously small, about the size of a pack of gum. I have the 512mb version which stores on average about 120 songs, or about 9 hours of tunes, plenty of music to enjoy around campus. The lack of a display wasn't too disappointing; I actually kinda liked not knowing what song would be next. And while this was a gift, the price is very reasonable. I'm guessing I'll be seeing a lot of these around in the next few months.

I should also mention that B got me a sweet jacket as well which I love. But you know boys and their toys...

Audio Nightcap Update

To my dismay and to B's delight, it looks like the podcast is temporarily on hold. I finally got a response from my friend that was to put together the website and unfortunately, he is too booked to get anything together right now. He said that this summer might work, so that's what I'm shooting for. While I am disappointed, it does give me time to work on a more solid format that will hopefully be more entertaining than the current one. In the meantime, I will continue to make audio posts on this site, so keep checking back.

G'Bye E-Man

A good friend of mine is leaving the ol' Courtyard by Marriott to move on to greener pastures. Lucky bastard. Work is gonna suck a little bit more now that Emmanuel is not going to be there. Good luck at the new hotel, brother. Thanks for leaving the rest of us to suffer.

Rest in Peace Elmer Pinedo

A former work associate of mine passed away last night. A funny little man by the name of Elmer, I never understood a word he said (those Peruvians), but he always had the ability to make me laugh. He will certainly be missed. Though he was older, it hasn't made it any easier for his family and friends and they are all in my prayers.

Sorry for the Lack of Updates this Week

I've been feeling a bit under the weather. Luckily, I have a beautiful Asian taking care of me and am starting to feel slightly better. Hurray for beautiful Asians!!!

Only in Eugene...

I saw the strangest thing while on campus today: an old man, probably mid-60's or so, with a mohawk that was dyed purple and red. Crazy...

It's Only Monday?!

I feel out of it. I don't know if it's the new pills I'm taking or what, but I'm not feeling 100% today. Luckily the hard part of the day is over, but it will be a busy week with two midterms and a psychology project to complete. I can do it; I'm a trooper.

The Ducks are still sucking at 11-7 overall, 3-6 in the Pac-10. I have no desire to pick up basketball tickets today; I don't like watching us lose.

Damn It, Ducks, What the F---?!

Another loss?! This is getting re-frigging-diculous. 11-6 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-10?! They should be much better than that. Guess it's all that weed that Crosswhite is smoking. But isn't it just like the Ducks to start off really good and then crash and burn? It sucks being an Oregon fan sometimes.

On a positive note, could a new AudioNightcap be coming soon???

I Can't Believe I Forgot the Career Fair Today

I showed up at school, wearing my nice little sweater that B helped me pick out, feeling like a million bucks, until I realized that the Career Fair was happening and even though I looked PIMP, I was still very under-dressed. After rushing home to change and pretty myself up a bit, I remembered that there aren't very many companies that I am interested in at the Career Fair. Oh well, I guess it doesn't hurt to check it out.

Ahh, Mexican food and a nap. Two out of three of my dreams came true (I miss you, B).

A little boy just came into the restaurant, running around like he's high on crack. Oh, to be young and full of energy at 7 in the morning...

Maybe I'll help his poor parents out and slip him a couple of Tylenol PMs in his Fruit Loops.

I'm still so sleepy, even after 6 hrs of rest last night. Now with a full day ahead of me, I am very much looking forward to nice nap sometime this afternoon. I have no idea when that will occur as I have work until 11, class until 4, and AKPsi until 7:30, but it's still nice to think that the possibility of taking a nap. I also have to figure when I'm going to finish up my Psych homework, which I doubt I will be able to do. Oh well.

And to make matters worse, B is leaving town of business for a few days. The only good thing about her leaving is getting to eat Mexican. I love Mexican, but B, not so much.

I'm hoping to have a good day, but so far, it seems like the odds are against me. To top it off, I haven't even been at work for an hour, but it feels like I've been here forever.

Sleep, why do you taunt me so?!

Hello everyone!

This is my new blog, which I hope to utilize more often than my current LiveJournal blog. Using Blogger will allow me to make audio updates, which I am very excited about as it will be less time consuming than writing posts, which in theory means I should update more often. We shall see if this actually holds true.

I'll be making my first audio post shortly and I am hoping all goes well.

Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy my little rants.