thanksgiving (number 2)

The day after Thanksgiving:

I awoke early (because it is difficult to sleep soundly when there are ten-trillion people living in your one-bedroom apartment). My sister wanted to go to some stores, including Lowe's. Lowe's had a Christmas tree on sale for twenty dollars. So I thought it was festive to get a Christmas tree. Most people I know get Christmas tree's. I see nothing wrong with having a Christmas tree. Apparently it isn't normal here 'cause I was scoffed at last night when I went drinking with some friends. Apparently having a Christmas tree here isn't cool. Whatever. These people don't know how to do Christmas anyway. They need to work on the coolness of outdoor lights as it is.

After my excursion to Lowe's, the entire family made a four hour drive to Houston to see where my brother was going to live. I have never been to Houston, so I was excited to see how this suburban mecca was going to look. (Look out LA, you have competition). The thing is, some idiot on the Indystar message board rationalized the second bypass around Indy using Houston as an example. I do agree with this guy. Houston has very impressive highways – many lanes, overpasses, underpasses, etc. They are nicely paved. It is a very car oriented city. In fact, everyone I talk to thinks the highways are really nice when they are partaking in their two hour commute. It's obvious that this city thrives off the oil companies – you can tell. There is no way so many highways can survive without a supplement income.

I can't be too critical. My brother is moving to Houston, and he moved to the cooler area. So I support his move.

After returning to Baton Rouge, my brother and I went out: downtown. I love downtown outing; and it's really the only place to bar hop in Baton Rouge. At that point I had only been out downtown once. So I REALLY wanted to go to the Rasputin bar. This seemed like an awesome idea. Bar's named after Rasputin are very similar to coffee shops named after Nero – kinda weird. So we went inside - and it was pretty much dead. The girl-doorman swore that it was going to get CRAZY in a few hours. Then she demanded $5. Needless to say, my brother and I didn't want to wait a couple of hours for the craziness to take place. So we went to the Red Star to get some drinks. They have Guinness and Stella on tap. Stella isn't all that great, but Guinness is great on tap. Although, my brother swears that it is on tap everywhere around Purdue. (BTW, no one understands 'tap' here).

We left this place shortly, and decided to head back to Rasputin to see if it was 'crazy'. That's when we ran into some people who labeled themselves as 'river-people'. They were looking for a bar, so we pointed them to a place far in the distance with a neon sign, reading 'bar'. I had never been to this place either. So we followed them, and discovered they were from Kentucky and were river merchants. This was odd, but they were cool – in an odd way. We chatted with them for a while before migrating back to Rasputin. Things weren't exactly 'crazy', but we drank up anyway.

thanksgiving (1 in 3 editions)

This has been a long week. But I'm going to first explain the reason that I freaked out oer break. My parents came down to my apartment for Thanksgiving, and with them they brought a letter from a collection agency for $1,600. This freaked me out – not about the cash owed - but the fact my credit could be damaged with this unknown bill. When something gets turned over to a collection agency, you're basically screwed, and when it comes to life, your credit score is really all that matters (especially if you want to get married anytime). The thing was, I had no idea why this amount was turned over to a collection agency. So I called the agency this morning. Apparently I had outstanding bills from my surgery, LAST WINTER. You see, in normal hospital time it takes an entire year for them to work bills through the system. After hearing what the bill was for, I could semi-remember a call from IU Med Center telling me they were going to rerun this particular $1,600 dollar bill through insurance.

The bill was for anesthesiology. It seems that a doctor can be in your network, but the anesthesiologist may or may not be in your network. Now, they don't tell you who the anesthesiologist is until you're laying in the operating room just minutes to getting cut opened. For some reason I never want to check whether or not this anesthesiologist is my network at this point. I was more concerned about him (or her) keeping me asleep for my 13 hour (what turned into an 18 hour) surgery. Usually at this point in the preparation stage we're joking around about Ball State's party habits and who won the game last night. (When the operating room is FREEZING and you have a robe on, you shiver even more when nervous).

So, now they want to charge me $1,600 for this service. Mind you, I am never changed this much when I go under. Apparently they use expensive, out-of-network, anesthesiologists when it's long. I guess this is OK to me, but they need to tell me I owe this money in order for me to pay.

So I finally knew the background on this hospital bill that may ruin my credit.

Fortunately, the collection agency assured me that it hadn't been reported to credit services yet, so I was good.

PAID.

boring update. i even fell asleep

I just bought ticket to go home for Christmas.  They were free.  And I'm flying the Saturday before Christmas and on New Year's Day.  I just gotta say, I screwed the airline on this one.  I also gotta say that I really need to take advantage of the times they ask for volunteers to be bumped.

Jen and I were bumped – sorta – when coming back from London.  When I say sorta, the plane left with our unbumped seats empty.

I just got a call from another set of friends getting engaged.  This makes for two in the last month.  This is after attending five weddings this summer.  Congrats you guys!

My aunt is in town.  And my parents are coming tomorrow night.  It's all good, I think.  I miss not having a roommate from time to time.

It's almost Thanksgiving, but the weather is not cooperating.  I guess no playing in the snow this year.

My blogs suck here of lately.

guiness on tap... this is what happens

So sometimes you get – not depressed – but bogged down with the reality that life isn't the same. For instance, it sucks not being able to come home and call up your friends to hang out. I totally miss those times, for sure. And you start to get down. But then you get brought back to reality. Music, art – anything in that realm helps me. It helps you ditch those stupid inner feelings that you feel, and realize the reality of life. Which is awesome. After a week of work you want to go out, get pissed and have fun. Or at least I do. (And sometimes I'll break into English slang). But tonight I wondered down to a bar with a band, and that helps me fade into the background and realize reality. The first thing you have to cope is being able to stand your own ground. Although, I've learned my independency time and time again, it takes a lot of motivation to wander into a bar by yourself – especially if you don't feel like talking to anybody. But once you cope with that, you are able to sink into your own world, absorb the music, and – just feel awesome.

So tonight I went to a bar I've been to before. But tonight they had a Cajun band. I have to say, seeing a bunch of young kids with their accordions, violins, drums, and bass – while singing in French – is smoothing experience. It helps me understand why I do what I do, and why I am what I am. I just sat there and let the atmosphere take me.

That's why I realized how stupid I am. Seriously, how many times have I flown across the country by myself? Or wandered around Europe by myself. These times were the most liberating times of my life. I remember the time I went to Germany. It was the first time I arrived in a foreign speaking country; and I was by myself. I stepped off the plane and instantly became a minority. It felt great. The best time was in Wittenbergwhere I met NO ONE that spoke English. I arrived in this small German town, and made a half-mile walk to the only hostel in town. I was able to check in, even though the lady knew no English. Then I made my way to the only restaurant in site. I felt totally separated. I was even feeling sick to my stomach because I was alone. I couldn't talk to anyone. Yet, the next morning was when I learned how great it was. I had to wake up at 7am to catch an 8am train. I stepped out of the hotel into 5 inches of snow. Everyone need to walk through a dark German town at 7am, on cobble streets, with a backpack, while it is snowing. Not only is it tricky. Its beautiful. The train ride was even better. I love snow, but no one likes driving in snow. So winding through snowy Germanycountry side, and not having to personally drive through the snow was amazing. It made my trip to Germany unforgettable.

So I compare my times right now to these many experiences I already had. It's just hard too because it completely different.

I guess I'm going to an LSU game tomorrow. I dunno why. I can't afford the ticket. Nor do I like football. I will probably leave early. We'll have to see.

feelings

I was cursed earlier this week for not having my cell phone. However, for those of you keeping track, my phone has been laying here for 12 hours and not one phone call OR text message has been processed. Thank you.

I just broke the cork off my wine bottle. I've had this bottle of wine since I moved out ofMuncie, so it makes sense the cork was getting weak. (In fact, I have a lot of hard alcohol that was imported from Muncie). I really haven't been into drinking wine lately – until peer pressure consumed me. Thanks.

I initiated my weekly work-out. By 'work-out' I mean a nice steady jog. Until now, my routine push-ups and sit-up, combined with climbing the stairs whenever possible had been my daily workout. But once you get a job your motivation level falls dramatically. Thanks.

(This is for my friend Candace, even though she will never read this). I'm glad you got engaged. That's awesome. I'm also glad I called and made sure I was invited to the wedding. I assumed this wouldn't be true because you don't like red states. Oh yeah! I also met a newspaper writer today. He stopped me while jogging. I should get you a job.

I'm totally wasting my night. I REALLY felt like drinking tonight. I need to find people who will drink with me whenever I decide my job sucks.

I need to go to the store. I need a light-bulb and – most importantly – coffee filters. (I think there is a direct relation between the amount of coffee one drinks and their happy level).

a day in the life of frogs

It's interesting when you move 1,000 miles from your friends and family and find it easy to stay in touch with people, yet feel like you're living an entirely different life.  In a new place: a place that is completely different then where you lived for twenty-four years.  I mean: I've been to 48 states; I've taken countless, bi-coastal field studies and personal trips; I've studied in London and China; I've backpacked through a lot of European countries.  Yet moving somewhere and becoming a real-life citizen is completely different. 

With that said, I never in my life thought I would move south.  But after this weekend, I'm beginning to discover Louisiana was an awesome choice.

So on with my weekend.  It started out early, because the city got Veteran's Day off. This means I spent Thursday night out at a place called Pluckers (sounds completely different when you've been drinking) with my newly made intern friends. (I like to lower myself to the lowly interns, you know?)  It was kind of nice to sit, drink, and not have to worry about getting up the next morning.  It sorta reminded me of college (…not that I didn't have to get up early in college.  But I was never forced to think eight hours straight – you don't know how much thinking sucks).  I ended up just sleeping at my friends that night because I have to drive a lot now.  I just want to take the time to point out the effects of alcohol when you don't drink much anymore.  It's kind of ridiculous – and you discover that you are getting really old.

So the next morning I woke up and had the day off.  This was pretty awesome.  I basically did nothing, but my boss had a pig roast that afternoon so I attended.  It was fun – basically because there was free food and drink.  But I also got to hang out with co-workers informally, which is very difficult to accomplish at work.  Afterwards, we went to a few bars before I headed home.  I wasn't feeling good at all.  Have you ever felt death?  Well, I was feeling near this level.  I am not real sure why.  It probably has something to do with Louisiana.  But I'll try not to blame the entire state.  Instead I just took a tiny nap.  That's when Mel called and said she was going to the Better then Ezra concert being held that night.  I honestly was planning on sleeping – but I haven't been to a concert since probably the Eels (not including local).  So I rapidly got ready and made my way to this shin-dig taking place in a tent outside a bar. 

I paid my fee, and entered the tent.  They had already started playing so I made my way to the front of the stage.  I couldn't find my friend, but I was in a good mood - just loosing myself amongst the crowd and mellowing out.  It felt good.  Eventually I found Mel and her friends on the opposite side of the stage, so I went over.

The concert was awesome, except for a few aspects.  One of which was the encore.  I mean, the entire crowd started doing an "LSU Tigers" chant.  I don't know – maybe this is the Muncianan in me, but I would have been offended.  Seriously, people seemed more excited about next day's game then the concert.  This is just weird – and a little disrespectful to the current players.  I wouldn't have come back.  Fortunately, Better then Ezra are cool people, so they came back. 

Although, I remember that one time Guster told us to be quiet, and as soon as the entire place was quiet they would come back out and begin playing in silence.  It sorta worked. It would have worked if people didn't come to Guster concerts trashed.  But we won't go there.

I do miss Muncie concerts – local concerts.  Obviously, people in Muncie can't handle Ben Folds (I agree with you Erin). 

So anyway, I went home that night and slept long and hard. 

The next day I bought lots of cool stuff for my apartment – cool stuff like a picture frame, computer speakers, a mirror, etc.  Then I ordered pizza for myself.  That's when I sat and talked to Andrea for a long time on IM.  She encouraged me to get a bottle of wine. So I did.  And we had a wine party over IM.

But we decided it wasn't that much fun, so I wandered downtown to see what was going on. 

I went to bed

another cool update

Election Day. I didn't even vote. I had three choices: vote in Muncie, vote in Lafayette, or vote in Baton Rouge. I really don't care much about Muncie; I considered switching my vote to Lafayette then voting absentee, but I thought that looked fishy; and I couldn't switch my vote in time to vote in Louisiana. So I didn't vote.

One thing is for sure, CNN really makes the election time exciting. Seriously, elections are more exciting than any sporting event. Elections are the real thing. (I'm confident the democrats will pull out this one). Erin agrees with me. That's why I like her. She's also a planner. That makes her cool too.

I should have worn my Bush shirt today. I wasn't thinking.

My cat likes to dart out the door when I open the door. But then she doesn't know what to do when she gets outside. So she just stands there. I guess she feel like she accomplished something, so its cool with her.

She also likes to look out the window, which overlooks downtown Baton Rouge. She sits on some boxes because my apartment is still a mess and isn't really livable.

Speaking of which, this weekend will be the weekend for getting my apartment together. I need to get stuff on the walls and some plants.

I hate it when I get half way down the stairs and I remember I forgot something. Like just now I went to take the trash out. At floor 3 I remembered I didn't have the trash. Therefore, I climbed back up 3 flights of stairs to retrieve the bag.

I take the stairs 'cause I'm lazy. I don't like waiting for the elevator. I'm lazy – er, impatient like that. That's usually why I opted to walk then use the bus/train when I travel. For example, that one time in Prague (comments please).

Umm, nothing much else to report.

It's starting to get chilly here in the morning. I wear a jacket just 'cause I have one and its November, so I should be wearing a jacket/coat.

I forgot to post my blog about this weekend. I'm guessing there are a lot of disappointed people out there.

I'll do that now.

the weekend: a blog about florida

This weekend I took a (mini) road trip to the panhandle of Florida. My good friend Andrea was vacationing for the weekend, and I joined since I was only 5 hours away. After work I put my apartment in the best order possible, and then left (after retrieving food at the local McDonalds).

What I didn't realize was how bad traffic would be in Baton Rouge. I never have to commute out (fortunately), so I haven't noticed the many people that do commute. The amazing thing is that the traffic was a lot worse then I experienced on my commute from downtown Indianapolis to Muncie. This made me think – how is there so few people and so more traffic? The easy answer is that people work FAR away from their homes. Baton Rouge also lacks a central commercial district. Therefore, people are driving millions of directions to reach their homes. (Baton Rouge need a better public transit system. This would be easier given a central business district).

Anyway, I continued on through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. By the time I got to Alabama I was reaching fatigue. So I stopped by Dairy Queen to get a Moolate. Those are really good, and help you stay awake. So I stood at the counter for ten minutes waiting to be served. At which point I witnessed one of the workers dumb an entire bag of liquid ice cream all over the floor. The really funny part was how all the employees decided this functioned as a good ice skating rink. This just increased the mess. In fact, the worker (who finally took my order) said I could get my ice cream for free if I cleaned up the mess (she clarified that she was just joking). It didn't matter anyhow because their Moolate machine was broken. I was pissed, but moved on and got a peanut butter shake. It was good. 

I continued into Florida and reached the given exit I was instructed to take. I assumed I was close to my destination at this point. I was wrong. I entered a deserted two-lane road and discovered the road was a toll-way. Interesting. I paid my three dollars and began a six mile drive across a two-lane causeway. I couldn't see a thing since it was dark. I just knew I was over water. I finally descended the causeway and found myself in a suburban area. I then began a thirty minute drive to Andrea's mom's condo. I didn't arrive until 10:30. We had some drinks and went to bed. 

The next morning I discovered why Andrea liked to come here so often. It was pretty nice – the ocean, that is - except it was cold. So we went and ate at a restaurant where Andrea embarrassed us all by forcing her ID to the waiter like some nearly-turned 21 year old. The food was good; the view was great; and it was good. So we went back to the condo and later went out that night to another place. This was also fun. I found the perfect seating location that enabled us to be out of the wind and under the heaters. I drank a lot. But I think the appearance of me drinking a lot has to do with the fact I haven't drank much in the last month. My tolerance seems to lacking. Plus, I was having a good time this increase my drunkenness. 

So then comes Sunday. This is what usually happens in the progression of days.

I woke up. That's always a good thing – first accomplishment of the day. I was planning on leaving soon, but then I looked out the window and it was an awesome day. So we decided to go to the beach. Well, one thing lead to another and I wanted to go swimming. It was fun. Actually it was the first time I had been in the ocean since – probably – 2000. I've wadded twice this last summer. Once in San Francisco and once on Cape Cod. But this was a full-blown out swim. Seriously. 

After the swim I began my drive back home.

I had to stop ASAP to get a shake. Somehow I was tired. Shakes make me happier. Then I continued across I-10 to Baton Rouge – until I decided to take a detour through Biloxi to see the city. I visited Waveland last weekend. We did a project with the city of Waveland and Bay of Saint Louise. So it was interesting to see the cities. Now I wanted to see Biloxi because it was apparently becoming a big casino nucleus. I drove along the coast before getting on the interstate and going back to Baton Rouge.

another blog about my life

For the first time being in the south, I was called a Yankee.  The people in personnel did this.  I enjoyed it.  They got a good laugh.  They also said I sounded a little British.  Now, I know for a fact that I sound nothing like a Britain.  Thats preposterous, but I couldn't disagree with them so I said, "Yeah, you might be right".  I guess the second best thing to living in England, is having people think you're British.

I'm fitting into this southern thing right now.  You have to get use to some things.  For example, it was 80 degrees today – November 1st.  This is throwing my biological clock off.  I'm supposed to be preparing for Thanksgiving right now, but it's difficult given the fact I can walk around in shorts, and possibly take a swim.

I'm going to Florida next weekend.  I guess it's nice to be able to swing over to Florida to visit your friends vacationing.  That's awesome.

Oh yeah, I came home today and discovered the apartment a mess.  You may ask, "did you leave the apartment a mess?"  No, I didn't.  My apartment people decided I needed a new door in my bedroom.  I'm not sure why this decision came a week after I moved in, but they thought it was more efficient to install the door AFTER there is a resident.  The thing is, they aren't even done installing the door.  So there is saw dust ALL over the place, and crap laying all around my apartment.  This was an inconvenience in two ways: first, I had to go buy a vacuum so I could clean this mess.  I guess I had to buy the vacuum sooner or later, but it was still a hassle.  Then I had to clean up the mess.  They were kind enough to knick my table and tear things off the wall.  Fortunately they are coming back tomorrow to paint the door.  This terrifies me.  PAINT?  These people are going to be trusted with paint?  They couldn't even install a door without disrupting the entire room.  Not they are using paint brushes.  Amazing.

Don't worry, I wrote the apartment people already.  I took care of these things last year, and I'll do it again this year.

i'm told i sound british

45 of the most random things you probably never needed to know about someone

whats your name spelt backwards?: ffej

What did you do last night?: Um, nothing. That's basically what I do.

The last thing you downloaded onto your computer?: I'm streaming audio right now. So that counts.

Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery?: I've pretty much made out with one once.

Last time you swam in a pool?: this summer, at craig's and natalie's wedding. Well, not at the wedding specifically.

What are you wearing?: jeans and shirt

How many cars have you owned?: 30 maybe 31

Type of music you dislike most?: when you sing.

Are you registered to vote?: yes, but in Muncie. Im going back on election day. they have to let me out of work, I think it's a law

Do you have cable?: sorta. I don't pay for it. Its just gets here somehow.

What kind of computer do you use?: functional

Ever made a prank phone call?: yes.

You like anyone right now?: I like everyone

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?: no, ive had enough surgeries

Furthest place you ever traveled?: china. Its halfway around, so that's the furthest you can get

What's your favorite comic strip?: I don't like strips

Do u know all the words to the national anthem?: yes, and im not even republican

Shower, morning or night?: shower?

Best movie you've seen in the past month?: my life

Favorite pizza toppings?: bbq chicken

Chips or popcorn?: chips. I disagree with sarah, strongly

What cell phone provider do you have?: cingluar. My calls are fricken never dropped. I just can't make them.

Have you ever smoked peanut shells?: that's not good enough for me

Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?: been? Ive won several

Orange Juice or apple?: orange

Who were the last people you sat at lunch with?: probably mom and dad, and my niece and nephew
favorite chocolate bar?: reeces. I even went on a reeces factory tour, once. But I don't know how to spell it

Who is your longest friend and how long?: I don't keep a friend log… at least not until facebook.

Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?: NEVER

Have you ever won a trophy?: if I have, it was probably for effort.

Favorite arcade game?: pac man

Ever ordered from an infomercial?: no

Sprite or 7-UP?: sprite

Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work?: I have to wear a tie now, which is weird.

Last thing you bought at Walgreens?: drugs

Ever thrown up in public?: I dunno. Maybe when I was little.

Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love?: I do love money… that's why I have my job now

Do you believe in love at first sight?: no, except when I see ice cream

SPONGEBOB OR JIMMY NEUTRON?: ive never watched either.

Did you have long hair as a young kid?: no

What message is on your voicemail machine?: hi, this is jeff

Where would you like to go right now?: London. I was told that I sound british today.

Whats the name of your pet?: jazz

What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it?: kelty. I used it to backpackEurope, now it holds my 

laptop
What do you think about most?: thinking