**eastward movement is included

20070331

comin' up in your grill, i'm so trill.


> days ago i uttered the following,

"without boundaries, restrictions or deadlines, i am completely lost."

the context of this statement is irrelevant. however, this innocent musing carries far more weight now than it did before. before what? before mono.

contracting this little virus has exposed one important truth; attention to my physical health has far outweighed my attention to my mental health. i plan on doing something about this. immediately. however, it should be noted that in terms of my daily routine over the past fourty-five days or so, i would be utterly unrecognizable to people i know outside of the portland metropolitan area. to wit, i have been nearly inactive for the first time in decades, i have felt reasonably well-rested for the first time in years, my consumption of caffeinated beverages declined significantly, my consumption of alcoholic beverages has remained at absolute zero {that's legitimate 0 degrees kelvin, kiddos} for nearly three weeks, and i crushed the full arrested development catalogue in a matter of days. i have officially turned over a new leaf. needless to say, i plan on returning to my old self-destructive ways as soon as the blood tests are taken.

having said that, i am genuinely thankful for having to endure this 'ordeal.' it is easy to say this now now that the migraines have subsided, my tonsils have returned to their healthy, unswollen state, and i've regained enough energy to walk more than thirty minutes without feeling frail and light-headed. however, it's 10.30 on a friday night ... and i'm ready to go to bed. i can't help but wonder if this is just some cruel joke. either that, or this is merely my personal donnie darko~esque worm hole-view into my inevitable dependent depends-wearing existence. sooner rather than later? my magic ball says "yes."


> shortly preceding my comment regarding boundaries, deadlines and like, the following bundle of profundity escaped my lips;

"
i'm not addicted to the pain pills. i'm just looking for excuses to take them."

now you tell me; are these the words of a high-mindful young professional or a paltry pill-popper? i'm not going to insult anyone's intelligence by providing an answer.

my doctor prescribed oxycotin for my throat pain, muscle soreness and severe headaches. however, now that the aforementioned characteristics of my viral affliction are vacationing in the land of remission, i now find myself with a surplus of the drug. so what's a twenty-four year-old with a dimming sense of adventure and a relatively low level of responsibility to do? probably rationalize taking one or two per day, that's what.

i'm really puzzled why i'm even exposing myself like this ... but that's neither here nor there. the point is this rationalization is downright childish, and i'm fully aware of it. the ridiculous part is that the side effects are minimal, and really don't even warrant taking a pill in the first place. in the end, i know this is just a fleeting period of experiementation; something i probably should have been doing years ago between studio projects, date parties and sorority serenading. and here i am again, wishing i wasn't so lame in college.

> color me shocked that chuck klosterman is now writing for espn.com. moreover, i am shocked i continue to read everything this guy writes. technically, i should be drawn to his verse, given his undeniable witt and impressive array of musical name-checks, but at the same time should feel a genuine repulsion because of his transparent pretentiousness and growing appeal to the masses.** i mean, let's be honest; the man is a certifiable genius when it comes to noteworthy analysis and commentary regarding today's societal norms and rock music. however, this newfound {legitimate} knowledge of athletics is just too good to be true. this is a newly added wrinkle that may be too much for me to handle. i mean, anyone who has been exposed to his writing that posseses even the slightest hint of intelligence or at a minimum, a public state university education can assess that mr. klosterman a.) is a pretty good writer b.) is completely full of shit c.) should receive an oscar for his ability to fool his readers into buying into his love for collegiate athletics.

> i seriously think i could eat thirty spears of roasted zucchini and never be full. this thought occurred to me this afternoon as my boss and i discussed acrylic ceiling
panels and customized perforated mdf panels.

> the following are a few hillarious exerpts from a royals spring training broadcast last week between ryan lefebvre and denny matthews. this pretty much explains the beauty of spring training baseball:

RL: What’s the best song you’ve ever heard on the xylophone?
DM: You know, there’s several, but i'd say flight of the bumblebee and beethoven’s fifth. both are excellent on the xylophone. both will get you out of your seat with the speed and drama.

RL: And number 90 is at bat. I don’t know who this guy is.

DM: Of all the mangers in the league, lou pinella is my favorite when walking to the mound. Second? hal mccrae. It took mac 6.5 minutes to walk to the mound. *intense laughing*

> approaching shows i really hope i can attend;

Deerhunter. 04.12
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. 04.16
Sunset Rubdown. 04.20
DJ Shadow. 04.23
Klaxons. 04.24
The Walkmen. 04.26
Be Your Own PET 05.02
Tapes 'n Tapes or Explosions in the Sky. 05.04
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. 05.11
Peter Bjorn and John. 05.14

**given these facts regarding his personality traits, my disdain for this man clearly proves once and for all that i wouldn't be able to stand a minute of my presence if i were meet myself on the street.

20070315

this life is sucking the life out of me.

spring is springing. let's see what's spinning :

> !!! - myth takes. {easily accessable, wonderfully enjoyable, funky dance-rock. recommended.}
> arcade fire - neon bible. {no where near the level of funeral. still recommended.}
> deerhoof - apple o'. {if creative, cathartic and pithy punk rock gets you off, i strongly recommend.}
>
el-p - fantastic damage. {hot beats. politically charged. recommended.}
> cat power - the covers record. {classic sad-bastard cuts. cautiously recommended.}
> of montreal - hissing fauna, are you the destroyer? {my appreciation for this band continues to grow. please don't call it a concept album, even though ... it is ... might be ... still recommended.}
>
aesop rock - mixed tape {care of one laura richardson. recommended. aesop rock ... not laura.}

> so gatorade just released a new product; GATORADE AM. foolish consumers rejoice! at last, we finally have an energy drink made specifically for morning workouts. obviously, it is imperative that the train of gratuitous and unnecessary consumption continues to roar down the tracks. i mean, you have support the econony, right?

truth be told, i possess a pathetically mammoth-like affinity for gimmics. you can find them almost anywhere; rappers, architects, processed food, detergent, etc. they're quite hilarious, yeah? moreover, hearing about this new product didn't anger me as much as pique my curiosity. somehow, i'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. who knows; maybe this new product actually showcases something new, great, important and/or pracitcal like a ground-breaking ratio of sucrose to glucose or something really scientific like that.** then again, my saying this could just be a transparent way of expressing my unwavering contempt for target marketing and mass product development, not to mention the people that are destined to fall for their claims.

> oh, did i mention i'm sitting in my 400 square foot apartment drinking tea in my boxers on a saturday night? i'm pretty sure this gives me little right to think i'm better than anyone else.

> my neighbors above me are throwing trash out their window again. a rotten cantelope just hit the ground.

> so i've broken down, and i'm posting some demo pics*** to demonstrate that i have a job, and have actually been doing something 'professional-like' since i left the plains. but first, a little background information.

for the past several months, myself and a few other designers have been furiously working on a new therapy/fitness center for the university of oregon. before our involvement, the university's facility was severly outdated, undersized, and was poorly equipped to handle a top tier pac-10 program. we basically gutted a fraction of the building and doubled the square footage to make room for a vastly improved taping/pre-game/office space, as well as an expanded pool therapy/physical therapy space adjacent to the aforementioned taping area. both reinforce the athletic department's honest devotion towards continually setting the curve in every aspect of collegiate athetic performance, wellness, recruiting and success. lastly, i swear i didn't copy that last sentence off a brochure or an email from one of the partners.

now, i realize i'm being thoroughly vague, not only with the description of the program, my involvement with the design, the budget and the client, and how the long hours have slowly and painfully chipped away at my once lively and well-balanced human spirit and reduced me to an unstable and sickly pile of bones and flesh ... but going through this process has sped me to higher rpm's than i could have ever imagined, and slowed me to a snail's pace in an instant; a speed i haven't been forced to endure in several years.

simply stated, this project has been a blessing and a curse. when it is finally constructed in time for the upcoming football season in august, i'll have plenty of pictures to display. for now, photos of the demolition.


> excavating for the pool pits and pier installation.



> looking south at future pool area with cardio beyond.


> future pool pit area.


> outside the facility.


> looking east at future therapy/taping room.


> looking south at pool area and offices on left.


**do i really need to call out my sarcasm here?
***shameless pun.

20070301

MEET ME, meet me. over the mountain.

OH MY GOD! for two entirely separate reasons >

1. i have not taken the time to 'write' {is this writing, really?} for some time now.
2. royals baseball has begun.

clearly the latter has higher blogging potential. wouldn't it just be ironic if i were to dedicate an entire blog post towards my apathetic and unsightly blogging? yea.i didn't think so either.

> the other day i decided to stop by one of my reliable at-work entertainment venues, 810whb's live stream, when i was unexpectedly greeted by ryan lefebre & hall of famer denny matthew's soothing mixture of baseball insight and analysis. the royals spring training opener was about to start against the angels in tempe. suddenly, my mood was elevated, my eyes wide and attentive, my outlook on life improving with every second.

i'm going to say this now; if i ever move back to the midwest, evenings at kauffman stadium {if it's still there} will be the biggest reason. lumped in a close second are the standard friends/family factor.

> when i'm feeling really shitty, i mean completely aimless, ridiculously small and pathetic, the cure as of late is to listen to dismemberment plan's "emergency & i." loudly. over and over. and i realize this is one of those of things/traits/habits that i could easily internalize; keept securely wrapped up within. however, this has become such a consistant force that the people i know best should probably know this about me. i highly recommend it as your next musical investment. essentially, it fills the gap that nirvana's 'nevermind' plugged when i first started to get acne and thought of my parents as complete idiots.**

> i'm literally hours away from leaving the city for an incredible weekend-long cabin-hang somewhere on mount hood. can you do that in kansas city? perhaps the equivalent would be something along the lines of walking around zona rosa or slamming whiskey shots at charles hoops. okay. so that's not quite the same. i really love kansas city. i really do.

> in any event, because i'm becoming exponentially lamer by the minute, i've included videos of some of the past shows i've attended. some are clips of the actual show, some aren't; it's pretty easy to distinguish which is which. i'm confident this day marks the starting point of wester assimilation's slow and painful demise.

DEERHOOF.



MY MORNING JACKET.



THE THERMALS.



THE ROOTS.



NEKO CASE.



**i no longer consider my parents idiots. they are, in fact, wise and wonderful.

About _

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New York, New York, United States
I take myself too seriously most of the time and I am trying to do that less. I remind some people of Woody Allen. I occationally indulge in the weekend camping trip. I adamantly support the Kansas City Royals baseball club. My identity is wrapped up in a few simple things, most of which are continuously displayed on this here blog.

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