Quieter Days

Amy and I finally got our couch for the family room today. We've been waiting for it since the middle of August and the wait is finally over. It's a sectional couch in three pieces. We had to get a sectional couch because our older couch would not fit in the basement due to the shape of the stairwell that leads down there.

Of course, now that the couch is in there, it is apparent that we need a larger television. It feels like we're sitting a mile away from it. I can't say I'm exactly upset about this revelation, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to get a new television. Once again, it's time to save the pennies.

Work has been very busy for me, but I don't really mind. It's all job security and I'll take everything I can get! I finally finished three drum module books that have been pending on my "to do" list since July. I'm also working on an Interactive Play-a-Sound based on a very popular movie series, the final installment of which is coming out next summer. I think I've completed almost 40 projects now and that number will increase by the end of the year. It's comforting to know that I have some viable experience now instead of having to resort to pointing at my resume and saying, "Look! I paid a lot of money for an education."

I'm still making my way through Painkiller slowly but surely. It's a relatively fun game, but I must admit, I don't quite see what all the commotion was about. I remember reading that this was the first person shooter to play while waiting for the releases of Doom 3 and Half Life 2. Don't get me wrong, it is most certainly pretty. Everything looks phenomenal even with minimum spec hardware. The models, the textures, the animations, the backgrounds... everything is just gorgeous. However, pretty graphics do not make for a great game. To put it bluntly, I can only play the "shoot everything that moves" game for about 30-60 minutes at a time before I get bored. Every now and then, I get the fleeting feeling of elation I experienced when playing Doom II or Duke Nukem 3D, but game design has moved on and those moments only happen once every few levels or so, usually in the arena-style rooms. So far, my favorite levels have been the Asylum and the Opera House.

Currently listening to: Deerhoof, Get Along With Little Doggies

Money Well Spent

As I stated last time, Amy's uncle and his family were in the Chicagoland area last weekend, which made for a packed 48 hours of visiting some of the local tourist attractions as well as the Museum of Science and Industry. They checked out the view of Chicago from the top of the Sears Tower and took in the Lincoln Park Zoo as well. They had been more interested in seeing the view of the city from the John Hancock Observatory, but that location was booked with some event that closed it to general public. Of course, there was no obvious notification of that fact in any particularly visible place, so we ended up paying a total of $22 to park in their garage for 20 minutes while we tried to get that amount refunded to us after discovering that the Observatory was closed. We did not, in fact, get any money refunded to us immediately, but we're sending a letter to some individual that could do so (or so we've been told). I refuse to hold my breath until the check arrives. The real twist lies in the fact that I couldn't care less if I ever go up in one of those two big buildings ever again as I've been up to the top of each of them twice.

I have a three day weekend coming up after tomorrow to which I am looking forward with great anticipation. The short vacation is of my own design and not part of my company's standard vacation allotment. I haven't actually taken a full day off to do something other than travel to Pennsylvania since I started working in February so perhaps lethargy will indeed be on the menu!

Currently listening to: R.E.M., The Apologist

//I can't help but comment on that particular review which seems to echo the general consensus on this particular R.E.M. album. The focus of this album is apparently on the production rather than songcraft. Maybe this is just my perspective as someone who views the studio as an instrument speaking, but I don't understand why that makes it a lesser album in the R.E.M. catalog. This album is dripping with a muddled, melancholy attitude that still maintains R.E.M.'s signature voice both lyrically and musically. It is not the strongest album in R.E.M's repertoire (I personally feel that title belongs to 'Reveal', which oddly received a warmer critical welcome), but I will always defend this album's ranking among the naysayers. Like any new flavor, it needs to be given a few chances before the palette can truly judge the taste. There's more in it than that which is first apparent.

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Normally by this time in the week, I have something new to talk about, something that may be at least marginally interesting to those who know me. But, nothing comes to mind. I could talk about the games I'm playing and give them some mini reviews, but I've come to believe that writing amateur reviews of games is not only redundant as there are plenty of other reviews to peruse but also self-indulgent and boring to any of my friends who might check here to get updates.

While I'm on the topic of potential visitors, I am curious to know if any of my friends are indeed visiting this site. Ultimately, I'm doing this for myself in order to keep a record of my mundane existence to aid my own personal recollection at a later date and not to broadcast a pointless diary to the world. However, if you are a friend of mine and visiting this site, take a second and email me through the link below. It doesn't have to be long. I'm just curious to see if anyone is indeed coming here.

Amy's uncle and his family will be here for the weekend, which will make for the last entry in the parade of visitors until Thanksgiving.

Currently listening to: Frank Zappa, Flower Punk

You're Going To Kill Somebody!

I have been commuting to work by bicycle for a total of three weeks now and if there were such a thing, I probably would have earned my first merit badge. On Wednesday morning, I was pedalling to work on Lincoln Ave approaching the 'Y' intersection where Lincoln becomes Main street to the left or remains Lincoln and enters downtown Skokie to the right. Because my path to work takes me through Skokie on Lincoln Ave., there is no need for me to signal any lane changes or turns because I stay in the right lane. So, I was riding, as I always did, as close to the right side of the road as possible and going an average speed for a bicycle, probably between 10 and 15mph.

Suddenly, there was some commotion behind me as a larger vehicle that I could not see sounded a long, angry blast on its horn and revved its engine as if another vehicle had pulled in front of it too quickly. As this happened I thought, "Boy, someone must have done something really dangerous at the last minute while approaching this intersection!" or something to that effect. As I continued through the right fork of the 'Y' intersection on Lincoln, a large white pickup truck which looked to be a very large model of Dodge Ram sped past me as the driver spouted expletives at the unseen offender. I won't repeat exactly what the driver was yelling despite the fact that it was loud enough to hear perfectly, but it went something like this: "Coitus you, you sexual intercourse-having anal sphincter! You're going to kill somebody!"

As I couldn't see the crime that had just been perpetrated, I continued to pedal forward albeit a bit more slowly just in case the driver behind him decided to follow suit and chase him a bit. However, after a couple of minutes, no other cars passed me and I realized that the driver of the truck had been screaming at the top of his lungs at me! My mind quickly retraced my last few actions and I couldn't think of one thing that I had done differently than I had on any of my other commutes. Of all the drivers that had ever passed me at that intersection, none had ever had such a large issue with my presence. They were able to pass me safely and with plenty of room to their left but without all of the angry cursing.

Now, I hadn't stopped riding in order to attempt to guess what crime I had just committed against this upstanding lump of stinking citizenry, so I inevitably caught up with him at a traffic light further down the road. As I pulled up behind him, I could see him glaring at me in his right sideview mirror, still fuming and spouting expletives at me in the same vein as what I have previously reported. He was really getting into his long string of elaborate curses against me, my family, and all that I had ever produced on this earth (or at least I assume that those were the subjects of his verbal barbs becuase at this point, most of it was unintelligible). So, just to show that I held no hard feelings against him, that I would never in a million years wish to severly cripple him with an aluminum baseball bat or shred his genitals with a Garden Weasel, I summoned the biggest goofy smile I could muster and I waved at him. This incensed him even further and his face began to contort with rage as he spat what must have been the granddaddy of all insults at me. I was quite disappointed because I only wish I could have heard what it was.

As the light turned green, we began to move again while he continued to curse at me, so I held my arms up, both in a curled position like a body builder, doing my best to tell him with primitive sign language that he was the strongest, most powerful man that I had ever made fun of. He sped down the road and out of sight at blinding speed, probably running over any small furry animals or elderly people that happened to have the audacity to try to slow him down. Indeed, "You're going to kill somebody!", screamed the man driving well above the speed limit in his two-ton pickup truck while hurling obscenities at the man riding the 30 pound bicycle.