I love the night, but wow, not having daylight nearly all day has got to suck, especially if you're cooped up in school for those hours.

Things will work out with your friend. This weekend, I got to see a friend I hadn't seen in a long time.

We got to see each other b/c I went down to Maryland this weekend to visit my parents and Maryland friends and to see the Independents in Virginia. Usually, I ride to Independents shows in that area with my friend, John, but he wasn't sure if he was going to able to come because of work (he wound up not coming b/c he was offered an early morning job at the last minute), so when I invited my others friends to the show, I offered them rides b/c I assumed I'd be driving. Two friends took me up on it, but I had to wait for one to get off work. I thought that was fine because Will had told me on Friday that they weren't going on until midnight and I usually don't like the acts that open for the Independents (if anyone in the band is reading this, I did not know that the Revelevens were playing!!!), so I figured it wasn't going to hurt to come a little later for once (I'm usually like 3 hours early. Well, first there was an accident that slowed traffic, then my friends and I parked far away from the venue b/c we didn't know parking meters weren't enforced Sunday nights and we didn't see any other parking. We went the wrong way when we walked to the venue, so it took us almost an hour to get there. We walked in right at midnight to learn that the Independents had just finished b/c one of the other bands had cancelled causing them to have to go on early! So I basically got there in time to hug Evil and Willy goodbye

At least my friends got to meet Evil and Willy, though. My friend Noah said that he would want come to see them even if he didn't like their music b/c they were such nice people and James agreed (reminds me, I need to ****ing post that where I know the Independents will read it...they deserve to read such flattery). And at least I got to see James and Noah. The three of us have known each other since before kindergarden. We haven't always kept in contact, but our families are friends, so we've always had the info to get back in contact when we haven't spoken in a while.

Hopefully, when the Independents come through in the spring, the three of us, plus John, will be able to make it to one of their shows.

-- Edited by ddfad at 06:52, 2006-11-01

Math ::shudders:: my sympathies. Even though I was above grade level in math when I went to school, I ****ing hated it. Hated enough that part of the reason that I didn't do as well in math as everything else was probably partly because I didn't have the patience to deal with it. I hold a Bachelor's degree in History and Sociology for a reason!

Ad for James and Noah, we've known each other since before Kindergarden. I met Noah when we were 3 and James a year later (not sure when James and Noah met each other, probably around the same time...definately not long after). I have memories of both at those young ages that I don't share out of respect for them. I'm sure they hold similar memories of me

I really really really hope you get to see the band in/near Norway in February. They usually come through my area every 4-6 months. B/c of the European tour, I'm guessing it will be closer to 6 months, if not longer. Last year, they hit NYC in November, then hit Baltimore in January while I was home from law school (right before I dropped out), so I got to see two shows two months apart. I don't think I'm going to get that lucky again. Last year, they also played NYC on my birthday and then again on the day after, but I missed the birthday show b/c I already had birthday plans...sadly, said plans were not worth missing the Independents for. Happily, I did catch them the next night. They still have a couple of dates left in this tour, but none of them are close enough for me to easily catch.

Right now I'm suffering from major Independents withdrawal and waiting for all the ****ing caffine I drank today to wear off so I can go to sleep. I want to go swimming at my 24 hour gym, but I'm too tired. Same for a few other things.

I worked 1:30-10 today because I swapped shifts with someone who works fulltime so I could have Sunday off for my Maryland trip/the Independents show (I hadn't been there in two months, so I was glad to come to Maryland, Independents or not). Because of this shift swap, I missed an event I wanted to go to that I hadn't known about when I agreed the terms of the swap. Seeing the Independents made missing this other event worth it, but still....::grumb;es:: At least I'm seeing the Bullys on the 11th. That should take the edge off of things a little bit.





-- Edited by ddfad at 05:51, 2006-11-04

Good luck with the test! Math is one of many things about high school that I realy ****ing don't miss...not that high school didn't have it's good parts for me, but I still really wish my parents had let me take a general equivlancy test to get a diploma when I was in my 2nd to last year (in America, (you can take this test at any time, people take it to get out early, but many adults who dropped out of high school will later take it when they're much older). I was already doing college (university) level work in some subjects, but my parents thought I was too young to be anywhere but a high school and they had the final say

I don't drink coffee either b/c I think it tastes like ****. I either drink energy drinks or soda. I didn't drink that caffine at night, I drank it in the afternoon before work. It just stayed in my system for a long time b/c I had too much of it! I just had another energy drink b/c I have work at 1. Hopefully, that won't keep me up too late. Last night, I was so tired, I fell asleep really early despite the caffine. Unfortunately, I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. With me, I sleep when my body damn well feels like and, unless I buy sleeping pills (which I do sometimes), there's not much I can do about it if I can't fall asleep or get back to sleep. I'm glad the caffine is working right now b/c I have to work in a department I'm not familar with today b/c I grabbed an extra shift. I'll enjoy the extra money, but I'm going to be absolutely useless for half of the stuff that would normally be required of me b/c I'm not familar with that department at all. I should have thought twice before I grabbed that shiftt, especially since it's possible that there are extra hours available in processing, which involves absolutely no interaction with the customers. Nothing new to report on fulltime job search and that fact is starting to really get on my nerves...

There are good things, great things about the US music scene and I am very lucky to live in an area within the US where there's so much going on, but you're young and there's probably stuff going on in Europe that you don't know about and may not find out about for another couple of years. Make sure that in your love for American music, you don't overlook what Europe has to offer. And even with American music, there have been a couple of a Ramones-related events in recent years that have happened in Europe, but not the US. I'm not saying that you shouldn't come here and visit or that you shouldn't move here if you really like it. Just make sure keep your eyes and mind open so you can make an educated, informed and well thought out decision. I didn't move to New York from Maryland solely or even mainly for the music scene. There are a lot of other things I like about New York. And while I like New York better, there are also a lot of things I like about Maryland, many of which I didn't realize until I moved away. However, I'm only a few hours away, so I get to come and visit every few weeks

Let's see, so what am I doing now? Not much. Like I mentioned before, I just got caffined up for work. Need to finish eating too. Tonight, after work, I'm going to hang out with a co-worker. Not sure what we're going to do, though. A lot of places close early on Sundays.

What a bitch I'm glad that you at least did well on the test otherwise.

I hope you're right about the fulltime thing. I'm feeling much better than I was last spring/summer, but I still kind of feel like I'm in holding pattern. Don't like that.

My friend wound up calling to cancel b/c she was sick, so I just went to work and then went home. B/c things were so busy I was placed in an area I had a slight knowledge of instead of where I was supposed to work. I was asked to stay two extra hours b/c things were so nuts. I also went to work early today at the manager's request b/c they're having superiors visit tommorow. I picked up the shift that I worked Sunday by choice (they have an option to pick up open shifts on the webpage where you can view your schedule). I got tommmorow's shift the same way. And now I've worked another 4 extra hours on top of that this week...looking forward to the resulting paycheck unfornately, the extra shifts available in the coming two weeks are at times I don't feel like working. I need to check with the scheduling manager to see if there are any processing hours since those shifts were not put on the schedule page the last time they were available. With these extra hours, I should be able to put some money away.

Right now, I'm really hyper and in a good mood. I think it's because I was drinking soda with a minimal caffine content as in enough to pep me up, but not enough to have dehydrating effects. Before I found out it contained caffine, I used to drink this stuff while I was working outside/in un/crappily airconditioned buildings in 95 degree heat (just under 40 celcius) and I never had any symptoms of dehydration, so the amount must really be minimal. And since I'm just getting over a cold, I plan on knocking myself out anyway so I can sleep soundly. The fact that I just found a new Independents video on myspace isn't hurting things either. Going to go and post that in the videos section.

Thanks for the confidence about the job thing. I actually have an interview on Monday.

Good luck with the grade!

That day at work, I wound up being transferred to an area that I still didn't know, but was slightly more familar with than the one I had originally been put in. And then they had another associate there who knew the area, so I could refer questions that I couldn't answer to her. Turns out I'm working extra hours next week as well. The scheduling manager called me and asked me to work some extra hours. They're daytime, which I hate b/c it means I can't schedule interviews, which sometimes are short notice, but hey, it means I can spend money on myself and still put some away. I also learned that all I have to do if I want extra hours in my own department is to ask, so I will be asking. Probably not for next week, though because I'm already working 5 days and I'm probably going to be busy all day one of those days. I'd like a free night to run errands and stuff. Might change my mind, though. One thing about working all the time is that it keeps me from being bored. I get bored really easily.

Glad you like the video. I was really excited to find it. I stumbled upon it by accident b/c I accidently clicked on the link to Willy's myspace from my own homepage and I noticed that the owner of the club, who's a really nice lady, had commented and I was curious, so I read the comment and she mentioned the video. I actually wound up visiting Maryland a week later. I was so mad that I couldn't make down for that show and the night after.

Tonight I'm going to go see the Bullys in Brooklyn.It's going to be too late to safely take the subway back to Penn Station alone (well, the train will probably be full of NYU and Columbia students, so it may very well be safer than I'm making it sound, but I don't want to take any chances) I wonder how much a taxi from that part of Brooklyn to the Long Island Rail Road station in Queens costs versus that part of Brooklyn to Penn Station. I'll talk to the band...they know Queens better so they'll have a better idea of the distance. I'm too chicken**** to just drive into Brooklyn...I don't like driving in any of the 5 bouroughs, especially on a Saturday night (it's 5:22pm here) when half of the drivers are going to be ****faced by the time I leave.

-- Edited by ddfad at 22:24, 2006-11-11

Sorry this took forever. I haven't been in the mood to post on messageboards lately and I'm dreadfully behind on all 3 of the ones I'd normally post on. In at least one case, this has probably cost the board some activity since two person discussions that I could have joined in died out. Basically, I've been working a lot b/c xmas is coming. Not as much as a lot of people do, but more than what I'm used to and I get off at hours where most things have closed. Being a nightowl, this is usually when I want to go out and do stuff. It's starting to make me a little antsy. I wish there was more going on in the city. There was a Bullys show coming up this week, but it got cancelled and, as of right now, the next show is not scheduled until the beginning of February. Demetra is playing, but not for another two weeks. My friend's band also has no shows coming up

As for the last Bullys show, that was fun. The Bullys were on fire. It was a b-day party for Frank Wood, a promotor who's b-day was that day. I made a Scorpio crack and he asked me when my b-day was. As a result, at midnight, the two of us plus Joey from the Bullys and Eric from the Sex Slaves had a shot of vodka together to celebrate the changing of the birthday guard from him to me. At 1am, which is what time I was actually born, Frank had me take a shot from a bottle of tequila that someone had given him as a b-day present...Cuervo apparently...that's some good stuff. He then had everyone who came near take a shot in my honor. The mood was generally light, festive and happy and I enjoyed conversing with Frank and various Bullys/ Bully g/fs throughout the evening.

The next week, I drove to Philly and caught them there. Joey scolded me for driving down alone and made it clear that he didn't want me doing that again, although he was not angry or anything, just concerned. Fun was had hanging out. There has not been another Bullys show since, although Demetra did play a good show in Brooklyn on November 30th.

As for the job front, didn't get any of those 4 jobs I interviewed for, nor did I get any other jobs I have interviewed for since. A ****ing employement agency also strung me along about a job for at least two weeks before letting me off cold sometime around the last time I posted on this thread. I no longer apply to agency job postings if I know it's an agency b/c of their bull**** (not the only experience I've had where I wound up feeling that an agency was full of ****).

However, things are hardly dead. I got a very high eligibility rating on a goverment job I applied for (won't know anything more than that for a long time b/c the US government takes forever when it comes to deciding on job candidates) and I'm waiting to hear back from two other agencies about possible interviews b/c one found me and the other was a posting that I applied to without realizing that it was through an agency. The company it's for, however, is a very well known company so experience there would be worth a lot. I also have an interview with a law firm tommorow and that agency that strung me along asked to put me in for another job. I had to go there to fill out the paperwork for the company I'd be working for. I figured that since they're not located too far from where I live, I didn't really have anything to lose. Later today or tommorow I need to send out some more resumes since it's been a week. I can go over every ad posted in the past week and longer on job sites. I don't like going more than a week b/c some places only accept resumes for slightly longer than that. I also signed up with an agency that replied to an e-mail I sent them in June. I thought they replied b/c they had a job...turned out the lady's e-mail got sick and a bunch was lost and has recently been recovered. I was going to be in the area the place was located the day they wanted me to interview anyway so again, what do I have to lose? B/c I work retail, I have told that I am not accepting assignments until after xmas, when the number of hours that they need me will drop drastically.

So what's going on with everyone else?















-- Edited by ddfad at 11:37, 2006-12-14