Using a different template for the Experience. Just got tired of ripping off Traveler's Diagram. (Hey, if you're going to rip something off, rip off something that rocks, knaa'mean?) Anyway, nothing much to add at the moment. Actually, it's just a bit late to add anything. But I've been futzing with the site for the last hour, so I thought I'd post something.

I should probably take this time to welcome my newest reader. Andree, welcome. I am afraid that your expectations for updates might be a bit too optimistic. But I hope you keep coming back, anyway.

Okay, I'm going to bed now. It's very weird not having the girl (this is acceptable, since I am apparently "the boy") here with me. But I shan't dwell on it. It will just make the sleep peaceless and me cranky until the weekend.

Oh, and Monica, if you're reading this (and I doubt you are now that Ron is back), I'm still considering the feedback/talk/message function for this site. We'll see, eh?

"The Fry-man is not excited to see us."
"Well that's a mistake!"

Sorry...I'm watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force again and can't help quoting the Mooninites. Great, great characters.

Ahem.

So, it's been just over a week since the last post. In that time, there was three day weekend where I got little sleep. Yet it was such an incredible weekend, I'm still thinking about it. What happened? Again, I'm not going to say, since it's nobody's business. (And I'm sure that nobody really wants to hear about it.) All that needs to be said is that it was a weekend unlike I've ever had before, and I hope to be having many more of them.

Which begs the question: if everything is so hunky-dory (and it really, truly is *insert blissful sigh and goofy smile*), why the hell do I feel like I'm going to fuck it up? I can't explain it, either. (I seriously hope that expressing this fear isn't the first step to making it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.) But I can't help it. Not that I am so pessimistic that I think that it's inevitable. I just...it's a nagging feeling that creeps into me every now and then. I have this suspicion that internal mechanisms or external forces will just conspire to fuck up my good thing. I try not to dwell on these thoughts, and I'm hoping they dissipate with the passing of time, but... I don't know. Anxiety totally sucks ass. (If I may abandon eloquence for a second.)

In other news, the Super Bowl is this weekend, and I could not care less about it. I mean, I want to watch it, but my interest in the NFL playoffs have been low this year, especially because the Dolphins didn't make the post-season. For the record, I am pulling for the Buccaneers. Anyway, the Super Bowl party is at Carl's this weekend. Should be fun. I honestly think I enjoy the gatherings more than the games.

You know, it's been a while since I've nurtured the misanthrope within. Maybe that's what the anxiety is. Perhaps starting each day with a healthy dose of gleeful disdain for humanity would normalize my feelings. It would probably make me intolerable, sure, but I'd probably feel more like myself. Naaaahh...fuck that. If hating everyone (except Turtleface) places me anywhere near how I felt last summer, I'd just as soon leave it alone.

And finally: BIZARRO!

I know this is a bit late, and that nobody really cares, but for those of you with some disposable income, and some time to kill (to read this), here are the Damian Vegas Top 30 Albums of 2002. I don't have cool little capsules for each one, because I'm much too lazy to do such a thing.

1. godspeed you! black emperor - yanqui uxo
2. Acid Mothers Temple - Electric Heavyland
3. Acid Mothers Temple - In C
4. Neko Case - Blacklisted
5. Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Sounds of...
6. Sonic Youth - Murray Street
7. Sleater Kinney - One Beat
8. Lambchop - Is A Woman
9. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
10. El-P - Fantastic Damage
11. Wilco - Yankee Foxtrot Hotel
12. Mr. Lif - I Phantom
13. ...Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes
14. Radar Bros. - And the Surrounding Mountains
15. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
16. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
17. The Notwist - Neon Golden
18. Yo La Tengo - The Sounds of the Sounds of Science
19. Nina Nastasia - The Blackened Air
20. Sigur Ros - ( )
21. 90 Day Men - To Everybody
22. Bellini - Snowing Sun
23. Wolf Colonel - Something/Everything
24. Non Phixion - The Future is Now
25. French Kicks - One Time Bells
26. Isis - Oceanic
27. 2 Many DJs - As Heard on the Radio
28. Arlo - Stab the Unstoppable Hero
29. Bigger Lovers - Honey in the Hive
30. The Black Heart Procession - Amore Del Tropico

And I'm spent. See ya!

NFL playoffs are go! I was up in Hanover, PA last night at Damon's, with the Entourage (Carl, Caren, and Jamie) plus Matt and Kel. It was much fun pulling for the Tennesse Titans around all of those Steelers fans (three of them at my table). Glad to know my sick contrariness was rewarded with a Joe Nedney ("NED-NEEEEYYY!") field goal in overtime. I departed after that game with Das Obergs, and was delivered to my door, where I would eventually settle in for sleep (at 2:30 in the morning). Very necessary after this weekend.

Which I won't give you any more details of because I'm a gentlemen. Ha! Deal with that, suckas!

I cannot stop watching my Adult Swim tape. Most frequently watched: the "Bizarro!" episode of Sealab 2021 and the "Revenge (or is that Return?) of the Mooninites" episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Fuckin' hilarious. "It's because those are Loverboy songs...and Loverboy has always sucked."

If you're interested, I'm Eagles and Titans for the Super Bowl. Just because I want to see those fiery Scottish quarterbacks, McNabb and McNair duelling in the biggest game of the year. It would be a great achievement for Scots everywhere.

That's all for this space for now. I'ts 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, and I haven't even showered yet. Hygiene calls!

So sleepy. Why am I awake? Studies are inconclusive, but evidence suggests that I'm a jackass. But a loveable jackass. Can you make the same claim? Liar!

Actually, I'm awake because I have this weird compulsion to be awake, even if my body is fighting me on it. (Which it's doing now.) I get so caught up in the multimedia in my apartment, that going to bed actually seems unappealing. Then I fall asleep and love every minute of it, only to have it end much sooner than I wanted.

And actually, now my resistance to sleep is futile. So I'm calling it quits. I'll finish this post later. Ciao!

Okay, so I started this post last night aroudn 12:30, and now I'm finishing it at 8:55pm. But hey, at least I didn't let it linger for weeks. I know what my fans want.

Actually, I was just go to post this without adding anything, but then I was reading something, and I had to rant (sorta) about it.

The subject: Joe Millionaire. Yes, that new reality show on Fox that is straight poo poo. I haven't seen the show, but I post in a sports forum, and surprisingly, a lot of the guys there have. I found that surprising enough, but even more surprising, the guys all LOVED the show. The hook? They are all delighting in these "typical" women getting what they "deserve." Now, I admit, I have said myself that I am intrigued by the prospect of seeing a bunch of gold-digging women getting their comeuppance for being shallow, money-grubbing skanks. But the way the guys are just revelling in their imminent humiliation...I feel kinda skeevy. Even more offensive is the way that they all seem to think this is kind of behavior is par for the course for women. It's ridiculous how many men seem to have opinions that were apparently forged by old episodes of "Married With Children." (A show that I freely admit to loving, but not so much that I saw it as a documentary.)

It's disheartening that more and more men seem to be buying these modern, television-inspired cliches about women. It helps to explain why the chasm between men and women--in terms of their understanding of each other--doesn't seem to be closing. It's easy to rely on stereotypes when the other option is genuinely trying to understand people.

Now...if you'll excuse me, my woman is making me a sammich and I need to smack her on the ass to show my approval. Ciao!

Mmmmm...fruity Pebbles.

First off: go Buckeyes! For those of you who aren't college football inclined, the Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship last night, beating the Miami Hurricanes (my other favorite college football team, so the game was really a no-lose situation for me) in a thrilling overtime game. Unless Jim Tressel doesn't win a game the next two seasons combined, I have a feeling the man is going to be in Columbus for a long time. In just two years, he's beaten Michigan twice and won a national championship. The man is simply a great coach. All those titles with the YSU Penguins, and now a national championship with the Buckeyes. Of course, due to this success, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get some offers from the NFL soon. Which would be a shame, because I think he is just a great fit for Ohio State. But hey, if the players' dreams are to be in the NFL one day, why shouldn't that be the dream of the coach as well? Anyway, congratulations Buckeyes! You earned it.

What else? Oh, yeah, today, January 4th, 2003, I will attempt to put my house into working order. Clean, clean, clean. It really needs to be done, but first I need to be motivated. Right now, I'm only motivated toward evil.

I had the weirdest dream last night (what? you need a proper transition? bah!). Actually, only parts of the dream were weird (and memorable). Weirdness one: I had this 45 (you remember vinyl, don'tcha kids?), but it was edible. It wasn't made of pure sugar, because it wasn't sweet. It was just....edible. The weirder part? It regenerated after having bites taken out of it. Bizarre.

Weirdness two: Carl (aka Tommy Sands) was nearly killed by Bigfoot. We were riding along (in what kind of vehicle, I don't remember. It may have been one of those bicycles built for four, because Jamie, Jarod and I were also there), since I remember Carl getting snatched off the back of it and hurled headlong into an approaching semi-truck. Very freaky. I remember Bigfoot getting plowed into after that, but there was no body, so it was thought he escaped. Meanwhile, we couldn't get close enough to Carl (a crowd had formed) to find out if he was dead. But he wound up being alive later, so I guess it all worked out.

And I also remember my sister (Danielle) planning to drive to Canada and I had to cover for her.

Anyway....Canada, Bigfoot and Carl...that could qualify as a nightmare in my book. I've really got to start going to bed earlier and not having snacks before I do.

Okay, I've wasted enough time here. Time to clean. I think I'll start with myself and hop in the shower. Hopefully, that will be enough to drive me to cleaning the rest of this dingy abode.

Feh.

Well, well, well. It's been a long time, hasn't it? Hasn't it?!

First: Happy New Year! My first 24 hours into this year just came to a close, and I must say, I'm unimpressed. This is the future? I'm still in the same apartment, watching the same television shows, and reading the same websites. I thought the future was supposed to be bright?

Seriously, a lot has changed since the last time I posted. I realize that my rabid fanbase hasn't been pleased with this turn of events, but what can I tell you? If you need a fix for the mundane, why don't you go turn on the radio? Stop hassling me!

What was I saying? Oh yes, a lot has changed. First change: I decided to work full-time for the Hilton. Actually, I'm still not a permanent employee. I decided to forgo benefits in exchange for never having to work on weekends and getting time off when I need it instead of taking "leave." I know some of you think that's foolish, but I have a feeling I'll be out of there sooner than later, and in the meantime, the pay has nearly doubled, which I'm loving. It helped out a lot with Christmas, which was absolutely wonderful. I got to spend 5 whole days at home with my entire family. Big Lou even made the trip from the Left Coast for the second year in a row. There's nothing quite like the feeling I get when the entire family is gathered. (Having the cutest nephew and niece in the world as part of that family doesn't hurt, either.)

Second change: there's a girl. I will not give her a name, because I respect her privacy (this is probably unnecessary, since I know nobody actually reads this blog, except for a few friends, who already know her name). At this point, there's not a lot to tell. We have gone out only once, but it was an all-day adventure that was simply amazing. It was interesting: I never really lost that excited/nervous feeling all day, even though I was immediately comfortable around her. We chat pretty much on a daily basis, and we even talked on the phone a few nights while we were with our families (she in NYC, I on the eastern shore of MD).

What's she like? Cute (obviously; Vegas doesn't roll with scrubs), very intelligent and creative, selfless (to a fault at times), and has an amazing sensitivity. Best of all, she challenges me. Not in a confrontational/contrary sort of way, but whenever we're talking, I feel like I'm actually using my brain. As is in evidence on this blog, I'm much into mindless chatter with only the occasional lapse into the genuinely thought-provoking. (It's the curse of the happy-go-lucky epicure-wannabe.) But when I talk to her, I feel comfortable no matter where the conversation turns.

I'm trying not to overthink this relationship at the moment, but I can't help but wonder where this journey will end up. Part of it is just the residual feeling from that amazing day, but the other part is how easily it is to be myself around her. I like that I don't feel like Vegas (and don't give me wrong, I love being Vegas) and I can simply be Damian. (Or Buckwheat Pillows, but that's an inside joke that I may eventually explain.)

And that's all. Perhaps I can resolve to post in my log on a regular basis this year. We'll see.