My blog has moved to...

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Lata playa's.

You gotta roll with it...

Wow. I actually resorted to an old school Oasis lyric. Anyway, if you are reading this, then you have found the new link. Apparently the old domain is shutdown. Let's see...updates...I will be moving the first bunch of stuff to Cookeville probably on Tuesday or Wednesday. I still haven't even seen the lease yet, so I am guessing I will just have to go to the property manager's office when I get into town. Oh, yeah, one more thing. I took my car to the mechanic today to find out why my car's steering is so loose. It turns out that I have two blown tire rods and it will cost me a little over $500 to fix. My goodness, life and its little surprises. Looks like I'll have to resort to man-whoring for a while...

This past weekend I traveled to Knoxville to see a concert that my friends and I had been planning on attending for weeks. We saw the Led Zeppelin tribute band, Zoso. I am going to say this right now, and granted I've seen Jimmy Page and Robert Plant live, but Zoso was one of the best rock shows I have ever seen. Now granted, I didn't say they were as good as Page and Plant, but they come closer than anyone. Not only do they play the music very close to Zeppelin, but they look almost exactly like the legendary band. Here is the playlist (as much as I can recall): Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, The Wanton Song, Immigrant Song, Thank You, Houses of the Holy, Ramble On, The Lemon Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Bring It On Home, Going to California, In the Light, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Misty Mountain Hop, Over the Hills and Far Away, Stairway to Heaven, and Whole Lotta Love. Again, it was an excellent show and a lot of fun to see this with my dawgs. The highlight for me was "In the Light" followed by "No Quarter". The fake John Paul Jones was their secret weapon, just like the real Jones was in Zeppelin. But then again, when the fake Jimmy Page pulled out the double-neck guitar and played "The Song Remains the Same" and later "Stairway to Heaven", I think my world stopped for a short bit. I still can't get over how much the fake Robert Plant sang and looked like the real thing. The fake Bonham did not disappoint either, playing in true beatmaster John Bonham style. If you ever get a chance to see these guys, do not hesitate to see this band.

I've been feeling a little under the weather the past few days, so I am going to get back to relaxing and watching the Braves. Lata playa's.

Yeah, I'm still alive...barely...

Ok, it's been about two weeks since I last posted, so I figure it's time for an update. Nothing new really happening as far as life. Still working all the time and getting sleep whenever I can. This is supposed to be my last week of working 40 hours, but we will have to wait and see on how everything develops. I should receive the lease for my apartment any day now in the mail, but it seems as though I should have got it a long time ago. I took my car to get the A/C worked on yesterday. I was anticipating at least a $200 bill. Instead, it was $100 that included an oil change. Not too shabby. Plus the only thing that was wrong with my A/C was that the freakin' knobs were broke. Pretty freakin' amazing. I'm looking forward to getting out of town (again) on Friday to see Zoso, the Led Zeppelin cover band. But I also feel like bad about missing my friend Emily's wedding. Oh, the many conflicts of life... Anyway, I am going to catch some shuteye and wake up to catch some of the Braves game today. Lata playa's.

Bob Ingle just ran off with my school clothes money...

Oh geez, work, work, work, a little sleep, more work, derp, derp, derp. Yeah, that's been my life lately. Sounds pretty interesting, huh? Thought so. But at least I can drive again. And oh, how good it feels. Driving a car is a function that should be right up there with breathing, both things you need to do. Or at least that's how it is for me. But as far as other stuff going on with me, not much to tell about right now. I still need to work on my patience, but that's an everyday task. My bad nights at work are usually when I have to run the cash register, but I think I have a right to be upset every once in a while. For instance, because I am primarily stocking the shelves when I run the register, I set up a bell for customer assistance. Now, it's linked to the intercom system, so one ring is sufficient. Oftentimes, I've walked all the way from the stockroom to the register and heard some asshole ring the bell the entire time. Plus, parents who bring theirs kids to the grocery store at freaking 2 o'clock in the morning need the hell beat out of them with a 2 x 4. The only thing that saves me from picking people off from a clock tower is getting a regular customer who knows I am working hard and isn't trying to be an ass. And food stamps, oh goodness, I would rather not get started for fear of offending someone. I will say this...I understand someone having to get foodstamps, but I see more abuse of them in a day than anyone ever hears about. People buying expensive-ass steaks and roasts and whatever other luxury they can get their hands on, then wanting cash back from their card! Ah! Ok, enough about that. Oh, here's the kicker. This guy came through the line last night and was buying about 10 items...no big deal right? Well, I give him his receipt and he starts looking at it, then tells me something was rung up wrong. I calmly ask him which item it is, and he informs me that it is the 4oz Laura Lynn Ground Black Pepper. Ok, I walk him over to the shelf and show him that the price is correct ($1.69). Then he claims that he saw a price tag stating the price was 2/$3.00. Well after walking the entire length of the store, I find that the man was correct. We had made an error. So, we then walk the entire length of the store again and return to the register. I make out a return for $0.19 plus tax, making his refund total $0.21. Now, let's pause here for a moment. ALL THIS FRIGGIN' TROUBLE FOR UNDER A QUARTER? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! People never cease to amaze me, no matter what facet of society is being discussed. That 21 cents sure will go a long way, I hope he puts it back for his kid's college fund. Ok, I am just being cynical now. But hey, I think everyone could agree to an extent that the situation was ridiculous.

Ok, I feel better after venting. Sorry about that. Getting off at 9am (which is 2 hours late) and not getting enough sleep is never a good combination. Lata playa's.

Thank you...

I just wanted to say thank you for everyone that has lended a hand to help me get through these past two years. Even though it was a huge struggle for me mentally, I had a lot of good people watching out for me and helping to keep my head above water. After this past Friday, I can now completely move on from the turmoil and look ahead to the future without hesitation or inhibition. I now urge everyone to make your decisions carefully and don't give in to your emotions when the time arrives for these choices to be made. Believe me, it's not worth it. Thanks again.

Lata playa's.

Hmm, looks like I spoke way too soon...

In my last post I was hopeful I would pass the next test of patience. It came two nights ago, and I failed miserably. It was storming pretty heavily, and the power was out at the store. As I was gathering all my stuff together in my car and preparing myself to make a dash for the door, I somehow forgot to turn off the engine and remove the keys from the ignition. I had locked the keys inside the car while running nonetheless. On top of that, we had to clock in with no power in the store and rushed to cover all of the meat, dairy, and frozen cases with cardboard, coolers, plastic tarps, grocery bags, etc. One minute after we finally finished, the power company decided to turn us back on. So we had to undo every bit of hard work we had just accomplished. During that whole time, I am panicking trying to call a locksmith and get my mother to wait by my car. The time for all of this to happen was around 2 hours. The guy finally showed up, easily unlocked my car, and took $40 from me. I was not happy, and I failed the newest patience test miserably.

Today was much better, though. I actually went out and bought the new Coldplay along with the new Foo Fighters, and finally bought my own copy of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, which is in my top 5 of favorite albums of all time. I have already commented on the new Coldplay, and what I've heard of the new Foo Fighters so far is very, very good. One interesting fact I picked up on after reading the liners notes to Pet Sounds is that after the Beatles put out Rubber Soul, Brian Wilson took that as a challenge. It inspired him to create his masterpiece, which in turn inspired the Beatles to churn out Sgt. Pepper's. Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me.

After working Saturday night, I will have two off days in a row to celebrate the 4th. I am looking forward to the time off so much. I have a feeling, though, that this last week before the 8th will be another trying time for me, but I can manage. I probably will not post until after that day. Not saying that blogging has become boring for me, but I think I want to take the time and soak in these next few days and reflect on some key things in my life. No ranting, no raving, no being hard on myself (at least on my blog, that is) for this week. I am much too hard on myself anyway, and frankly, I need a break from it. So you'll hear from me when you hear from me. Until then, enjoy the 4th and each day afterwards. Lata playa's.

T-minus one week and counting...

After going 50 weeks without certain privileges, the 51st week has been loooong. I think I have found a good way to pass the time though, which is reading some of these books that have piled up in the past year or so. I am currently reading a compilation of novels by H.G. Wells, which includes The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds. So far, so good. So, hopefully I can make it through the 52nd week without losing my mind. I'm quite confident I'll be able to. I don't know how many times my patience has been tested in my life, and quite a few times I have failed those tests. So, for now, I am going to put on a smile and keep chugging along and hope I pass the next test.

Lata playa's.