J Cizzle fo' Nizzle

John Legend:Once Again = Robin Thicke:The Evolution of Robin Thicke = FIRE

If it made economic sense to drive into work everyday, I would do it. Not a big fan of relying upon public transportation for the morning/afternoon commute. Specifically, I'm not loving the train I take from Jersey to Philly. The passenger cars were designed and built somewhere around the late 1960's. I don't know if people were smaller back then, but each seat is supposed to fit 2 people. To me, it feels more like one and a half.

Since I get on at the first stop, I most always get a window seat. Depending on who decides to sit next to me at a later stop either makes or breaks my commute. Generally, there are 2 types of people that I dread here:

1) Big people. You literally get sandwiched between the window and them.
2) Smelly people. Self explanatory.

Each extreme is bad, but today I had someone in the middle. Tall guy who, while wasn't wide enough that we were touching ass cheeks, was large enough to get me slightly clausterphobic. But the worse part was his breath. I could smell it the whole ride in. EVEN with his mouth closed the whole trip, it was escaping through his nostrils. :*(

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In other news, I've started a new blog. reallyawesome.org. Unlike it's URL, it's not "reallyawesome" yet. Or quite frankly, not sure if will even get past mediocre. I just wanted a domain that no longer had my name in it (jeffspot.com). This was the best available thing I could think of. Yes, juvenille, I know.

However, on a non-juvenille tip, now that Karla and I are engaged, we've just started taking small stabs at the planning process. Even though our formal wedding isn't until 2008, we both know it will be here sooner than we think. Last night we were organizing names for who would be invited, and so far we're just a bit over 300 invites. And this whole exercise isn't even done yet. To quote Borat, "Wowee wow wow wow".

Even though it's soooo 2003, I still check out Friendster on a sorta-daily basis. A guilty pleasure like Kelly Clarkson that I can't get past. In recent weeks, the site has gone through a gazillion changes to their layout, color schemes, and features. On the topic of features, there's one that's been a Friendster staple for a while. It's is a counter that says how many times your profile has been viewed since the beginning of the month. Cool. But today, I noticed a new feature that takes it WAY further:

"Who's Viewed Me"

Don't think I'm down with that too much. I mean, it's flattering when I'm the one that uses it. I get to see which friends have gone through the trouble of clicking on my profile only to see that it hadn't been updated in the past 7 months. (HAHA suckers, in your faces) But it's not so cool to realize that all the friends that I had clicked on in the past few months now know about my lurking ass in turn. To use another analogy: it's like masturbation. People do it. They just don't want to get caught.

...well except for the kinky ones.

Oh well. Fuck it. I just got caught with my wanker in my hand.

Checking out my personalized Yahoo! page this morning, I was initially a bit surprised. For a brief second, I thought that astronauts were trying to smuggle drugs into space. In the following second, I realized that my stupidity only gets more amusing the closer I get to 30.

Link to actual article.

Although I haven't updated my journal in over a year, I still managed to get a comment today.  Wow.  I guess this journal hadn't faded into some deep abyss of obscurity as I had originally thought.  Hrm.  Might as well revive it a bit more with this entry.

Let's see... what's happened since the last time I've written here...

-  Finally got to snowboard at a major resort out west, and experienced getting served by the 10,000 ft. altitude.  The tagline for that experience should have read, "It's like jumping rope... with emphysema!!"
-  Bought a house and have a better appreciation for all the self-described "broke-asses" of the world.
-  Got promoted at work.  Now for my next magic trick....
-  Went to the US Virgin Islands with super awesome girlfriend to attend the wedding of 2 very close friends. 
-  Discovered the wonders and culinary delight of Sweedish meatballs at the IKEA cafeteria thanks to super awesome girlfriend.
-  Voted for John Kerry.  Was thoroughly disapponted and angry at the outcome.
-  Rooted for the Eagles to win the Super Bowl.  See "Vote for Kerry" reaction above.
-  Still prefer writing entries that are predominately in "list format".
-  Paulaner Hefe Weizen has taken the pole position as my beer of choice.

I'm sure there are plenty other sigificant and not-so significant things that I'm leaving off this list.  Ah well.  Hopefully I'll feel a bit more inspired to write again before the next 365-day period rolls past.

Focker OUT.

This is what happened in January:



1. The beginning of a new year. (1/1/04)
2. Dinner for the first time at Morimoto, and getting to meet the sucker himself. (1/17/04)
3. Snowboarding for the first time with Karla (1/18/04). More pictures ---> Click
4. Finding another excuse for a birthday party. Joint celebration in NYC with the other Capricorns partyflip and edcentric (1/31/04). More pics ---> Click. And more and more pictures: partyflip's album ---> Click

Online photo albums are really great for when you just don't have enough brain juice for an entry.

Two days ago, I finally caught a documentary on TV that I've been meaning to watch since reading about it in the paper. It's called "Born Rich". This movie gathers first-hand interviews with several young adults that were born into weath.... Million dollar wealth....... Millions and millions of dollars of wealth. I've always been intrigued by the lifestyles that the rich and famous lead, knowing that I will probably never see that much money unless I allowed myself to get molested by Michael Jackson, and threaten litigation. As I sat there and listened to these people speak, one thing really sank in:

Super filthy rich kids grow up to be mental werido fuckjobs (speaking of Michael Jackson...).

It's amazing how their perceptions of reality have become skewed due to the spoils that their wealth has given them. Most of them felt lost in their search for identity. One of the fundamental needs of humanity is to realize and serve a purpose. (It's also a need for the computer progams in the Matrix. But that's not the point I'm trying to make here.) The people portrayed in this movie are all pretty much born without a purpose. The only thing they know how to do is spend their wealth to satisfy themselves. Some seemed lost, and felt that they had to find a way to become indispensible to others. They just didn't know where to start. Some displayed arrogance beyond anything I've ever seen. One of the people even spoke about how they weren't capable of feeling guilt for anything, and that guilt was something concieved by old Christian Puritans.

Relating this all back to myself, I thought about how I always complain about winning the lotto, or how my life could be so much better. But when you look at the complete opposite side of the spectrum, things aren't necessarily all that peachy keen either. Actually, things look even more fucked up on the glamorous side.

Yes my parents didn't buy me everything I wanted when I was a kid. But their love, support, and guidance have been worth more than any Transformer of Nintendo game. Yes I strive to earn a living. But I'm comfortable. Yes I complain that my job sucks ass all the time. But my work environment sure is better than it was a year ago. Yes I'm no longer a care-free child with minimal responsibility. But I have great friends that keep me young at heart. Yes I will probably never win the lotto. But my girlfriend already makes me feel like a million dollars.

All of a sudden, life doesn't seem so bad anymore.

So much has happened in the last month, it's really hard to know where to begin.

I was thinking about writing a more detailed account of my trip to San Francisco (hence the reason why my last protected entry was titled as a Part One'er). Unfortunately, that required the hamster powering my brain to run a bit faster, so I wasn't able to do that. Plus the hamster is a Union employee. And everybody knows not to fuck with the Union. All in all, it was a great trip with the guys checking out a city that I've been meaning to see my entire life. Since graduating college.

Spent another weekend in Northern Virginia celebrating teaseon's 25th birthday and eating cholesterol rich food. I don't think that my arteries have yet forgiven me for munching down on countless BBQ'ed ribs, kielbasa, and kalbi. I tend to liken this weekend to that of a sloth's lifestyle. Bascially, my timeline went something like this on that Saturday:

Woke up in the AM --> Ate a McDonald's McGriddle -->Drank a beer --> Began eating massive amounts of grilled meats and seafood --> Drank more beer --> Passed out for a 2 hour nap --> Woke up and drank more beer --> Ate more grilled meats --> More beer --> Took people's money playing poker --> Passed out for the night. All the fratboys in the DC area had nothing on me that day.

End of the month went back to Toronto for the first time in 8 years. For reasons that are becoming obvious, this was the most significant thing for me the entire month... or year for that matter. Spent the Labor Day weekend, plundering the villages of the Ontario province with my fellow Americans three_stripe and teaseon. Housing and tour guide services were graciously provided in Scarborough by senoritakarlita. One of the neat things about Scarborough is that the population is 50% Chinese. There's even an entire mall devoted to all things Chinese. And that means one thing. Good Chinese food everywhere. Craziness. It was really awesome to see czarism and Berna again, meet other LJ people from Jersey, as well as FINALLY throw down alcohol with miss_tia. Most importantly during this trip, I was able to experience a really awesome friendship turn into something unbelieveably better. It's just neat. For your convenience, barf bags have been placed in the seat pocket in front of you for that last thought. Sorry.



Wildlife picture of the species Dorkus Superioris

Hrm. Lots to recap from the last month...

For starters, Lollapalooza came and went last month. I remember buying the tickets on a very cool day in April and feeling extremely stoked that I was able to score the pit section. How quickly all the months of anticipation seemed to dissipate on that humid July day. But every minute of it was thoroughly kickass. It is by far the best bill I've ever been to (excluding 1990's MC Hammer's "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em" tour). Incubus and Audioslave further reinforced why they remain my 2 favorite rock bands. And the bassist for The Donnas proved that chubby chicks can rock too. Along with Lollapalooza also came another state-side visit by senoritakarlita. Her brief stay to also partake in the Lollapalooza madness was well enjoyed. She also makes a really neat houseguest. Neat.

I finally had the chance to enjoy a few days at the Jersey Shore during the middle of July. The feeling of warm sun, sand in the toes, and the sound of ocean waves breaking in the background is a truly theraputic feeling. So is pissing while standing in the ocean. Not that I know anything about that....

This week, I'm going to get the chance to check out San Francisco for myself. Heading out with partyflip and teaseon for a few days of heavy drinking and eating. From what I've heard so far, the people there are really friendly, and the sights are breathtaking. I just want to ride the trolley.

At the end of the month, heading up to Toronto with teaseon and three_stripe for more heavy drinking and eating. It's gonna be a great end to a very busy month. Not only will I get to hang out with senoritakarlita and czarism once again, but I will also be reunited with the Mandarin Chinese buffet. By far, Mandarin is the best buffet I've ever been to. EVER. Can't wait.

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Oh, something else that I'm REALLY looking forward to on my Toronto trip is FINALLY getting to meet AND hang out with *dun dun dunnnnn*:

TRINA a.k.a. miss_tia

The only other thing I will need to do is see a Michael Jackson concert in person, and my life will be complete.

Not too long ago, I managed to escape the conniving grips of my evil (former) boss, and transfered to a new position doing things with a higher geek factor (i.e. computer engineering work that requires the ability to communicate in T.L.A's -- [Three Letter Acronyms]). With this change in title and management, came the inevitable need for me to move to a cube closer to my new boss. That being said, I get a call from my new boss today telling me that space has finally opened up. The only thing is that it's about 5 times smaller than my current cube. Plus it has no walls. That means zero privacy for meaningless web surfing. Even worse, this makes me fair game to be the reluctant information bitch for passer-by visitors asking where Conference Room 924 is. Shoot me now.

In non-Office Space related news, last night teaseon, hunterkim, and myself decided to check out a new Vietnamese restaurant nearby. On the drive there, teaseon managed to drive straight into a bird that was flying across the road. Naturally, following in the car behind, the only thing i saw was a bird dart into the path of his car, feathers fly off of both sides of his windshield, followed by a bird carcass flying over his roof and fast approaching my car. Luckily I was able to swerve out of the way to avoid any residual bird guts from landing on my hood. Later on in the evening, teaseon remarked how it made sense to him that squirrels and such end up as roadkill on occasion, but never could understand how birds found themselves flattened on the road. I guess he's got his answer now.

Question: What do you get when you cross 3 Canucks, the Big Apple, a couple of wise-ass Americans, and a rainy weekend?

( Click here to find out )

OK. I've been seeing this thing everywhere on LJ, so I guess it was just a matter of time before I took the survey.

	

	

	

		
senoritakarlita
		

		
102%
		

		

		

	
	
	


	

	

	

		
cherubchick
		

		
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miss_tia
		

		
98%
		

		

		

	
	
	


	

	

	

		
miss_tia
		

		
95%
		

		

		

	
	
	


	

	

	

		
linh
		

		
79%
		

		

		

	
	
	


	

	

	

		
an93l8a8y
		

		
79%
		

		

		

	
	
	


	

	

	

		
faidey
		

		
78%
		

		

		

	
	
	


	

	

	

		
mizjanice
		

		
73%
		

		

		

	
	
	

How compatible with me are YOU?

Apparently I have a very high compatibility with Canadians. senoritakarlita tops the list at 102%. Ummm. Hey hot stuff... hahaha. Not surprised cherubchick is up there. Sometimes her entries make me think that she's just as (if not more) retawded than me. miss_tia appears twice @ 98% and 95 % which confuses me. Trina, does this mean we're 193% compatible? =P

Wanna see what I've been able to accomplish between 8a and 11:30 here at work today?


Hi.

Just doing my part to add to the unproductivity of today's disgruntled workforce.

Although I'm already up to my ears in credit card debt, my impulsive id keeps pushing me for satisfaction by purchasing more gizmos. I've finally taken the plunge and bought myself the long coveted iPod.



And I shall share this SOOPER DOOPER insane deal with the world (I think today is the last day for it):

Click here to view the product on Dell's website

Apply both coupon codes:

AA6363649171
502A2D028D7E

You also get an additional 10% off the bat for some other accessory special they have going on.

So in all, you get something close to $140 off regular price. Did I mention the free shipping too? Not too shabby deal if i do say so myself. Especially considering I've never seen a brand new iPod at this big of a discount. Like ever.

Some of my friends already know that I have several portable digital music players in my personal gadget arsenal. But THIS is the one that I've ALWAYS wanted. It's OK. This is what eBay was invented for.

------------------------------

Addendum: Just got a confirmation email from Dell. This item isn't scheduled to ship until something close to June 11th. Man. That sucks. Considering the quick depreciation of technology prices these days, I wouldn't be surprised if the time I finally recieve it, the iPod is already a $19.98 Pricegrabber at Wal-Mart.

Not only can you say that I've killed time this morning. I've damn near slaughtered it. By nature, Monday's aren't supposed to be the most productive day of the work week. But this Monday, I find myself as the utter epitome of counter-productiveness. My "I-don't-give-a-shit-about-this-place" meter has been at high levels today. As the day progresses, I hope that the meter returns to normal. Otherwise, my ass is going to find itself in front of 1500 Market Street with a box of my belongings and a pink slip.

As far as corporate stuff goes, one of the things that I've always wondered is how busy people really get at the office. I mean, how much productive work actually occupies one person's job on an average day? For example, take my job. Yes there are periods when I find myself scrambling on a "hot project" for a considerable amount of time. But there are also periods (more often than should be) where I find myself listless and dazed. It's better known as "downtime". It's really wierd, but it seems like nobody else but me finds themselves experiencing true "downtime". Everytime I decide to drop in on a co-worker, I find them typing away on a document, email, or web code. Meanwhile, I find myself wanting to tell them about a funny ass forward that I had JUST gotten, because I spend every 5 minutes reading or checking my hotmail.

Deep down inside, I do believe that this whole facade of them eternally being busy is just that. A facade. Bullshit. Most likely they follow the same tactics that I use to present the image of "busy-ness" to the outsider.

--A "look like you're busy" Microsoft document: either a Powerpoint, Excel, or Word document that you always leave open on your desktop to present the image that "you are working on it". It's most beneficial when you are sufing the web, and you begin to hear footsteps outside of your cube. Just maximize this somuvabitch in the nick of time, and nobody will know that you've spent the last 25 minutes looking for a Burton Custom snowboard on eBay.

--Use one of the 32-bit client software apps to update your Live Journal: I prefer to use Semagic myself. This way, you can avoid having Internet Explorer open whenever you feel like updating your journal. If the big boss man catches you in the midst of typing away on an entry, just tell him that you're working on a systems requirement document or something. And the sad thing is, your boss will probably believe you, because they have no idea about what the fuck you do.

--Don't check your hotmail @ www.hotmail.com: Outlook Express actually has the capability to check hotmail. Read ALL your mail with this instead. Another way to avoid making it look like you're on the world wide web as much as you actually are.

--Frequently getting up and venturing outside of the cube: It makes it look like you're always on the run to a meeting or for an errand. In reality you are just on your way to the bathroom to relieve yourself.

--Put alot of shit on your cube walls, even if they are just network or server diagrams from 3 projects ago: Always provides further illusion that you have shit going on that's "important".

Reviewing this list makes me feel like I'm really ripping this company off. Cool.

Last night, I decided to treat myself to a small serving of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream. In a nutshell, I liken this flavor to rocky road without the nuts. It's mondo flavorful bliss packed into one pint of tree hugger-inspired packaging. But that's beside the point of this story. So I'm getting down with my bad self scarfing down spoonful upon spoonful of chocolately goodness, when I finally arrive at my last bite. I shift the frozen chunk to my bottom right molar and take a chew. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through my jaw to the back of my skull. I grimaced in pain briefly, and swallowed the still sizable ball of ice cream. Focker. I think I have a cavity.

I was in somewhat of a denial last night, thinking there was a way that I could "sleep" it off. It's funny how the human instinct of denial can cause extremely irrational reasoning. Kinda like how overweight people believe they can eat an entire bucket of fried chicken and think that they can still lose weight by drinking a diet coke. Needless to say, I found further confirmation of a dental crisis was when I poured myself a glass of OJ this morning, only to find the same shooting pain when the cold liquid hit the same tooth. Looks like I'll soon need to schedule an appointment with the dentist which really does suck ass. This is my second cavity in about 5 months. Prior to that, I had never had a cavity during the lifetime of my adult set. I guess my recent "pregnant lady" cravings for junk food has finally caught up with me.

Obviously, I should really try to keep all food and drink away from that side of my mouth. However, the masochistic side of me keeps testing the pain levels brought on by the cavity. At my desk, I keep a large bottle of ice water to drink through out the day. With every swig, I've been rinsing a stream of ice water over the tooth before it hits my throat. I guess it's a curiosity thing brought on by my lingering state of denial. In the back of my head, I'm probably hoping that miraculously the pain will disappear the next time it is tested with frigid water. This current thought process is pretty similar to when your friend farts and tells you that he/she ripped one. Logically, you know it reeks of dead fish. But like a complete moron, you still stick your head over in their direction to catch a wiff before withdrawing in horror at the ghastly scent emitted from their ass. The hope is that you don't smell shit, but when you do (literally), you become the ass hole who had to go ahead and take a sniff. Where am I going with this?

Oh, yeah... basically, I have a cavity.

I'm not much of a TV watcher. Whenever I do get the chance to watch, I feel like there's even more reason to go on Prozac. No matter which channel you go to, there's nothing but depressing images on the screen. If possible, I think it would be great if I never had to hear the following words/phrases during on-air broadcasts for at least 3 years.... starting TODAY:

-steadfast resolve
-weapons of mass destruction
-coalition is making good progress
-economy
-saddam/osama
-worldwide protests
-north korea
-precision guided
-shock and awe

It's hard to remember a time when the world didn't feel like one big shithole. It seems like people have completely abandoned the notions of compassion, understanding, and happiness. Nobody wants to smile anymore. You know what I think?

• I think that people should spend more time watching "Spongebob Squarepants". It seems to make people laugh.


• I think that people should pick up snowboarding as something to do during the wintertime. Just stay away from my mountain while you're learning.


• I think that people should invite a few friends over and have a BBQ. If you have no friends, then I'll be glad to come over and eat your food.


• I think that people should be allowed to say "fuck you" to their boss at least once a month. The theraputic value here is limitless.


• I think that people should imagine the dumb jock character that Brendan Fraser played in "Bedazzled" whenever they see George W. Bush hold a press conference. I do.

Ugh. Well this senseless entry managed to kill about a half hour of my work day.

Save me. Somebody.

Here I am. Sitting here in my stupid cubicle after a very soggy walk through today's misty rain. *sigh* It's Ash Wednesday, which means that this is the first day of Lent. Lent is supposed to be the period of time before Easter where the good Christian folk of the earth make personal sacrifices in the name of God. I've always found myself at a dilemma every year, simply because I can never decide what to sacrifice. Ideally, I'd always to prefer to give up something where I find myself mentally/spiritually enriched by the time Easter rolls around. In other words, sacrifice some sort of detrimental behavior to change my relationship with others or even my own self view for the better.

Of course, when thinking of what to give up this season, you drum up many options:

Gratifying foods - i.e. soda, candy, ketchup flavored potato chips... you get the idea. After evaluation, giving up a food won't leave me much better off. For example, pretend I gave up.... ohhh... let's say... spreading lard on my morning toast. Sure that's one less food that would send me to an early grave. But with my eating habits, I'll probably make up for it by tripling my normal bacon intake. OPTION DENIED.

Spending less leisure time on the internet - Hrm. You'd think that after spending the entire work day in front of the computer, the last thing that one wants to do is jump right back on when they get home. Obviously I'm an exception to that school of thought. Face it. I have my own URL, a Live Journal account, and 30,234 login names. I'm a self-proclaimed cybergeek. Taking the internet away from me would cause me to shrivel up and die. I know that God wouldn't want that. OPTION DENIED.

The "dirty tango" - If you know what I'm implying here, fine. If not, oh well. But basically I'd be giving up something that I'm not even doing/getting. Now that wouldn't really be a sacrifice now, eh? OPTION DENIED.

Snowboarding - OPTION DENIED OPTION DENIED OPTION DENIED OPTION DENIED OPTION DENIED OPTION DENIED OPTION DENIED

Finally this morning, it occured to me. Lent is all about spirituality, the church, God, etc. One of the things that I've really been lacking in my life as of late is faith in the Higher Power. I guess with all of the shit I have been dealing with (stress, unhappiness, etc.) I've let myself fall pretty far into a rut. My spirituality has diminished as I find myself pretty apathetic about alot of things. My mother has sorta emphasized that a recovery all starts wth God, and I've always denied it, or shrugged that advice off.

Maybe now is the best time to give up my "sorry spiritual attitude" and leave things in God's hands at this point. Maybe all will fall into place when everything is said and done. Just maybe.

Today is going to be a shitty day. You know when you feel it at the bottom of your stomach? *raises hand* Umm... that's me.

Aside from being the home of really cold weather and ketchup flavored potato chips, Canada manages to produce some pretty kickass people too. Had a superdope time hanging out with Miss senoritakarlita and friend Berna in NYC this past weekend. During the time that I had spent with them, I managed to learn that:

• In Canada, the word "composite" is pronounced with the accent on the first rather than the second syllable. Try it.
• Old Chinese ladies make super scary ghosts
• Maltesers really are better than Whoppers, although I still can't figure out why
• Canadians have a bit of difficulty swiping a Metrocard to get through a subway turnstile... :-P

All in all, it was one of the better weekends that I've had in a while. I got to meet some Canucks, catch up with some old friends (partyflip, three_stripe, teaseon, and edcentric), and indulge my tastebuds at a couple of my favorite eateries.

Ahh. Now back to reality. Anybody want to strangle my boss for me?