So my girl is in town and we’re having a good ol’ time. Yesterday we went to the air show, which was balls out awesome. We got to go on several planes: a Lockheed C-130, an Airbus A310, a Boeing 737, a T1 training plane… and they also had several air shows. First were the prop planes, doing some really cool stuff. They were soon to be outdone by the A-10 Warthog jet, follwed by this big old jet bomber, followed by an F-14 Tomcat (which I thought was the coolest.) After that, they flew the Blue Angel’s transport plane, which has solid rocket boosters to help it take off on short or unkept runways. When it had already taken off, a strange chlorine smell descended on the whole show for about 2 minutes. It was extremely potent and nasty. Once that baby flew, they brought out the Blue Angels. They were amazing, but I thought the best part is when they tell the whole audience to look to the right to see the formation they’re in, and one of the “solo” ones comes in from your left at damn near top speed and about 50 feet off the ground. It scared the shit out of everyone.

After all that funness, we went out to eat at the Flying Fig restaurant. I’ve never been there before, so I thought I’d get some trout, since I’ve also never had that. It was fantastic. We had green beans fried in tempura batter for an appetizer, and I had both a red and white wine. My girl got a steak which was excellent as well. I recommend the fuck out of that place.

My new job continues to be pretty sweet. I was given permission by my boss to work on the company website for the latter half of Friday, since there’s really not a ton for me to do. I am pretty excited, but I think I’ll have to work on it today since I haven’t had much time to so far. Wish forth some luck for thee.

My new job’s been keepin’ me rather busy, but this morning, they let us out at 10am, and according to our schedule, we don’t have anywhere to be until 1:30. I wish I could fall back asleep, but I don’t think I can. I could really use a few more hours because tonight my girl is flying in to Toronto - which was unexpected - and so I have to drive up there after I get out of work, and then somehow manage to stay up while I drive back. I should get home at around 3:30am. I woke up at 7:30 this morning. You do the math. I am also expected to be at work tomorrow morning at the same time as today. It will truly be an experiment in sleep deprivation.

Being back on a work schedule after, oh, 10 months or so of doing nothing is a bit draining. That’s why I haven’t done much since I started. That’s also why I want to be a full-time rocker. At least the schedule makes sense to me. Here’s something I don’t get: Why is it that even though most people work 9 to 5, everything that’s fun to do starts at like 10 or 11pm? Who set this whole thing up? If you are a person who can pull off the “dual-life” where you work 9 to 5, then party until like 3am, only to wake up the next morning and be on time for work… you’re truly amazing. Myself, I long for the ability to stay up until 3am, yet operating on tiny amounts of sleep is pretty much impossible for me. So who are the people that get to go have fun every night? How do they do it? The only answer I have is to be a rocker.. full-time.

Yesterday was my dad’s side of the family’s family reunion. I got in a few games of ping-pong, and a thrilling volleyball match with two adults and two kids much too small to hit it over the net.

Well, may as well take a nap, if possible. I suppose it really won’t help in the long run, but it seems like it should.

My brother’s birthday finally got celebrated how it would have been on the day of the blackout, but it was last night instead of last week. Not too much went down over the weekend. Friday was great because we all had the day off, so we enjoyed it. Saturday was much of the same, and that night we went to Bot’s house for a party. It was my bro, John and I facing 50 frat-esque dudes and their bitches and ho’s. ‘Twasn’t fun. There was a keg there, but unfortunately it was full of something called “Miller Lite.” Never heard of it.

We also went to the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy. It was essentially the same thing as the party, with a higher Italian persuasion. We got some subs and headed back. Delicious subs though.

Sunday I had the SmittyTour, which my stepbrother Jeff and I won. It was a 2-man scramble, so you only play the best of the two shots each time. We were even par, but close behind were two other groups. It was a lot of fun though, and a lot less stressful than normal golf!

The new job remains in a state of flux. I will more than likely end up doing data management, but I could still potentially be a 1-on-1 counselor in the classroom. There is a tremendous salary difference in the two, and I’m also in training for the 1-on-1 while they “define” or “create” the other position. I don’t mind the training, and since I’d be in the training department, it’s probably good that I know what I’m talking about. On the other hand, we are reporting to our respective centers tomorrow, which means I’ll be meeting my team members and seeing my classroom, even though I might not have that job. Strange.

An amazing power outage occured last night. It all started when I got home from PEP training at about 4 o’clock. The lights and tv got really dim, then came back. Then not a minute later, everything went out. Our power doesn’t go off much, so that was strange to begin with.. but we didn’t think anything of it. We asked our neighbors if theirs was out and they said yes, so we knew it was the whole grid and not just one company. Then we got a call telling us that it was not just us, but the entire northeast US! Later, we figured out it included Toronto and Ottawa, as well as NYC, Detroit (who I think is STILL out), Toledo, and even south to Columbus.

We decided immediately to have a beer. Everyone on our street was out on their porches doing just the same. We sat and listened to the reports of people trapped in elevators, traffic jams and stupid people calling in, telling us far too much about their own personal story. “Well I was on the phone with my friend Nancy when it happened. The lights just went off and I asked her if her lights were off too.” Over and over. Finally, we got news that it was not from terrorists, but from lightning? We didn’t care. I was supposed to have a test today, but I knew it was going to be cancelled. We switched off the main breaker in the basement, and cracked open some more beer. Kenny went down to go get food, and everyone in Cleveland seemed to be drinking on their front porch.

It started to get dark eventually, so we lit a fire in the backyard and a few people came over. I tried to take a nap, but it must’ve been 90 degrees in my living room. I went back down and it was extra dark! We realized we should break out John’s telescope, and we did just that. The moon wasn’t out yet, so I went on a bike ride. The streets were completely black, with the exception of sweeping headlights, lighting up things as the cars passed by. It was really hard to see with all the changes in light happening in front of me. There were people everywhere still, out on their porch with candles and flashlights, some lighting off fireworks or trying to go to shops to see if they could get free things. I rode really slow, but when a car whizzed past on West Blvd., I hit a curb and flipped off into the grass. I got up laughing and kept going. Finally I realized this was an ultra-dangerous move without a light of my own, and I went back.

The moon had just come up when I got back and we checked it out for a while. We were told we’d be out of water in 2-4 hours, and to not go downtown before noon the next day. Well, perfect. I get to miss the test and study over the weekend!

Also, it was my brother’s birthday yesterday. August 14, 2003 - one long, big blackout.

I managed to fall asleep around 1am, with no sheets and all the windows opened. I woke up this morning at 9:30 and nobody had switched on the power yet. I looked outside and traffic seemed good, so I went down and sure enough, switched the breaker and heard things all over the house click on. I went up and promptly cranked my a/c on and relaxed.

We were supposed to have dinner at this mexican place tonight, but now we’re going to Bucci’s Brick Oven. The mexican place still doesn’t have clean water!
I just boiled 3 gallons, and another gallon for some lemonade. Mmm.

Kenny’s parents are moving, and for some reason they brought us an insane amount of non-perishable foods. We couldn’t be happier, as we here are cheap and poor. The most wonderful item, in my opinion, is this Jell-o abundance. You also have to check out our shelves, filled with goodies! All of this free shit prompted an all out kitchen cleaning session. I assumed fridge duty, a task that has never been undertaken thus far in our fridge’s history. Take a look at the results. What fun.

My luck has changed. I finally got a job. Not a computer job, but with one of the places I applied for a computer job. I’m going to be working at PEP, the Positive Education Program. PEP works with kids of all ages who are behaviorally, emotionally and mentally handicapped. I’ll be starting out at the lowest end of the spectrum, and I believe I’ll be working with a kid anywhere from 5 to 13 years old. From what I know, my position will be responsible for one kid who is particularly difficult to work with. I’ll still be in a classroom with all the kids, but I guess I’ll work with him 1 on 1 a bit too. In any case, training starts on Tuesday, and I will actually be getting paid starting then!

We finally bottled our Saison last night. It was about fucking time. It still looks like it will be just fine. The fridge we got for free is operating too well for our needs so far. We were hoping to get it up to 55 F, but it’s somewhere down around 20 F. Actually, I need to go check it in a minute. I didn’t know fridges got that damn cold!

My dad’s house is completely done! I finished painting it yesterday, just doing the trim. I saved the best part for last: putting a ladder up on the steeply angled roof to reach the trim. I’m not afraid of heights, and I normally feel just fine at the top of a ladder, unless it’s sliding wildly from side to side. BUT, when standing on a ladder that’s almost flat because it’s angled so much, on top of a steep roof where you know the only thing keeping you from falling (and then sliding off the edge) is two little rubber feet… well, it made me a bit cautious. The feet held up just fine, and the house looks damn good.

I’m also looking for a car now. Ben, I could have used that 4Runner you got rid of! I’m thinking about one of them small SUV’s, like an Izuzu Rodeo/Honda Passport, 4Runner.. maybe even a Nissan Pathfinder. I need to get a really solid used car to replace the “old” Jetta. My ‘rents and I decided the best move is to get a loan to cover my turn-in costs AND a good used car. That way, my overall car expenses will be around $200 less PER MONTH. I’m also looking at Accords/Civics and similar cars. I’m totally going Japanese though. I did (briefly) consider getting another Cadillac, but I just don’t trust a GM car. Especially since the ones I can afford are from the 80’s or early 90’s. Everything GM did in the 1980’s was a lemon, I’m pretty sure.

My luck with jobs is absolutely terrific. I tried to get a job at the Berea Schools, where my mom worked for 35 years… they gave it to someone else. Just yesterday, I was expecting some good news about a job at the place where my dad worked for the last 15 years… they gave it to someone else. This also really helps my financial status. If anyone has any canned goods at their house, please send them my way. : \ Really, I just hate ‘mooching’ off of my parents. I know they can cover my ass, but for over 4 years, I handled everything myself. Now that the tech industry in Cleveland has achieved a 60% unemployment rate, I’m looking at a complete career change.

I got a free refrigerator yesterday to store all of our homebrew beer in! Some guy had to get rid of it coz the freezer wouldn’t work right, and well, we don’t need the freezer anyway!

I’m going to be painting the trim now at my dad’s house. I’m on the home stretch really, because that’s all that’s left. We had to wait until we got the correct blue for the trim, as it was looking a bit like baby blue. The color is close to a steely-grey-blue. Now I have to repaint the entire porch. Wooohoooo! Better get out there.. I’ve got lots of shit to do.

Thanks for the shoutout Benny! Yeah, to add pictures, you have to have a place online to store them, and then you use the template part of blogger to add them to the HTML as images. I’ve seen other bloggers that were completely custom though… someday when I have the time, I’ll hook it up. Check out the links though Ben!

Last night I hit the Quarryman brewery in Berea, my hometown. It’s pretty good, but some of the beers have issues at the moment. There, while at the bar, I was told I look like Ethan Hawke. I wish. I was telling these people, I always get compared to guys who are astronomically more handsome than I am… such as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It couldn’t be more ridiculous and groundless! But, I’ll take it. We bought a bottle of their Saison to take home, so we can compare it to ours. I am curious… plus it costs $8.00 a bottle, so not too many folks even try it. It’s supposed to be great.

Today I am waiting for my little brother to wake up so I can call his ass. His buddy has a refrigerator that he’s getting rid of, and I was going to go pick it up. However, it’s trash day, and if that fuckin’ thing’s gone.. I’m going to give my bro a beat down. Meanwhile, I’m listening to a live recording of Poop Ship Destroyer, by Ween.

I think my girl just got back to Hong Kong from Tokyo. Did you know they call Tokyo ‘Narita’ over there? I guess it’s the region, not the actual city.. but I’m not totally sure. So many people speak english in this world, it’s crazy. I call her hotel there, and the lady rambles off this hyperspeed Japanese, and then I say “Hello, do you speak english?” and she changes her voice over and says “Yes, how can I help you?” Not too much of an accent either. So far, India, South Africa and all the other places I’ve called, somebody at the main desk speaks decent english.

We now have no tree in our front yard! We had a Catalpa tree out there, and by our estimates, it was over a hundred years old. At one point, a big part of it fell on our neighbor’s car.. luckily this was a while before we moved there. We had no idea how rotted the thing was inside, but as you can see in the picture, it was outrageously hollow. The side of the tree that faced the street was about 2 inches thick in most parts. That side took all of the weight of the tree, since it leaned heavily at the street! If we had known how bad it was, we’d have cut it down months ago. Anyway, all of our neighbors said it looks a lot nicer, since it was such a strange tree. Plus it made the street a safer place to park!

I also finished painting one more side of my dad’s house. We discovered that the blue we’re using for the trim is not the right color. It’s way too bright, almost baby-blueish. So tomorrow we have to go get a different blue, and I have to spend another several hours painting over what I already did. Luckily, only the front porch is done completely. Also luckily, the beige is close enough, and looks pretty good.

Well, off to read some books.

I watched the movie ‘Blade Runner’ with Harrison Ford a little while ago. I think it came out around 1981, and the camerawork was awful. Actually, it wasn’t the cameraman’s fault per se, but rather the set designer(s). Anyway, I am surfing the web looking for Blackbox themes. If you haven’t heard of Blackbox, it’s really a shell for UNIX machines, but the link I just gave is a version that runs over Windows. Check it out. SOOO… I came upon some guy’s site just a second ago, and for no apparent reason, he had quoted part of the movie at the top of his site! http://www.joeblade.com/ is his URL. I’ve heard of some wild coincidinces, but MAN.

Last night I went to see WEEN down at the new Promowest Pavilion in Columbus. It was an amazingly good show! I was astounded to hear “You Fucked Up” off of Good Ween Satan, one of their first albums. That is one of my all time favs. They cut it a little short, but all in all it was one of the best shows I’ve seen from them, if not THE best. The new venue is nice too.. good sound, spacious, “balconized”.. and with fairly cool security guards. Nice little parking lot too, right in back. I got back at about 4am, after a long, rainy drive back. We saw a great deal of huge lightning strikes too. Oh, and a car that was pissing us off and driving erratically got pulled over right in front of our eyes, so that was nice.

This afternoon, I went to see my bro’s new place, just down the street from here. Some 81 year old woman used to live there, and it sure as fuck smells like it! From what we could tell, she kept all the windows and blinds closed, the a/c running, and never left home. She was also paranoid. She had somewhat new bars installed over the windows, and on the very same windows, additional window locks. The carpeting is about 20 years old in every room, and the wallpaper and even the paint in the bathroom looks pretty nasty. Nevertheless, I think once they rip all that shit out and get it cleaned up (and AIRED OUT!) they’ll have a nice pad.

Finally, my 80GB hard drive is back up and running. I feel like I just bought 80 acres of land and can run free! Yeah, I’m a huge geek. As I type this I’m neglecting the Smitty Tour site update though, so I’m outta here.