2011.03.31 Thursday

Well, how do you feel about today? Not only is this the end of March, but it is also the last day of the 1st quarter of the year 2011. And don't forget about tomorrow. Be grateful I warned you. I'm excited to see what websites do to celebrate the 1st day of April.

After work, I started reading a book called The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. It seems pretty interesting, but it's pretty weird how the narrator leaves out words that would make a complete sentence.

Went to spend the night at Kelc's regular house. Cooked up dinner and watched part of Smallville. Kelc can't stay awake most days.

2011.03.30 Wednesday

Not as sleepy today, but I woke up late.

Mostly a plain day. Work, home, Smallville, sleep.

2011.03.29 Tuesday

Oh my goodness. Super groggy today. I feel like something is terribly wrong here. Terribly strong forces wanting to close my eyes and put my mind into a state of sleep.

Sucks that I also have to finish up some homework today. Last minute... like a champ.

Work flew by with meetings and people stopping in to discuss things.

Class felt like it dragged on for a while, but ended a little early. Can't complain about free pizza too.

Enjoyed a relaxing, more stress-free evening by killing some zombies.

2011.03.28 Monday

Woke up at 3a to start the cool-down procedure for the beef pot-roast. That was fun.

Woke up at 6a for work. Definitely did not get enough rest this weekend. At least work went by sorta fast. I stayed late with Habs to work on homework and go to our flag football game. I didn't get very far with the homework.

Our game went rather well. I think we started off with an interception which led to a drive for a touchdown. Then we let the other team score a little. Right before half-time, one of our teammates was elbowed right above their eye, and within about 10 seconds it was swelling up. Not cool. We put some ice on it and gave her some advil; hopefully the swelling goes down. After all is said and done, we came out on top with a score of 49-8. Not bad.

Back home, worked on homework at much as possible, then slept.

2011.03.27 Sunday

Well at first glance it might seem that sleeping-in until 10am is nice, but after staying up through 5am it seems like hardly enough sleep.

Kelc and I left to go grab some food at Schlotzsky's. We waited a bit for her mom to show up, then left to go see some apartments around Austin. The main idea here is to see the pricing, and what that actually gets you in various locations. Some places were nice, some really nice, some only somewhat nice. It helps that we weren't scavenging out too far from where I already live. One thing is certain: living in a spankin' new house is skewing my tastes and opinions of other living options.

Made a quick stop by Starbuck's, then HEB for groceries. Lots of delicious food being acquired.

Back home, watched some Smallville and played L4D2 while Kelc napped. Prepared a beef pot roast to supplement eating for this week, then cooked up some tilapia, potatoes, and couscous. YEAH, I ATE A FISH. Part of it was discolored brown after cooking, and I guess I haven't eaten enough fish to know this, but that part was very fishy tasting.

Watched another Smallville. Now we only have 4 or 5 more left of season 6.

2011.03.26 Saturday (kegger)

I woke up around 10am today. Kelc left for work at some point in the morning, I guess I slept right through that.

I spent some time with Kelc's mom, catching up on things, sipping on coffee, pondering life. We also went around the house and got to talk about various projects that she would like to do. I'm interested in helping out and seeing the fruits of some hard work. She also will need help with yard work, and the yard is huge.

Eventually Kelc's dad showed up so we could get to business with the boat.

Then I went on my way home to start preparing for the party. Went to NXNW with Justin to get the keg, then Spec's for liquor, then HEB for snacks and mixer. All set. I showered and tried to nap.

Then people started coming over, lots of darts and ping pong, lots of loud music and yelling. At the end of it all, we got a hole in a wall, a floating keg, sticky floors, broken chairs, and pretzels all over (which i attribute to one doucher). Oh and people thought it would be a good idea to hang out until 5am.

Overall a good night though. I was able to meet and hang out with lots of cool people.

2011.03.25 Friday

Today, I'm not complaining about grogginess because I didn't have that much. I just plain didn't want to get out of bed.

Work went by somewhat fast. Went to play flag football during lunch. We had our first female player. Times are a changin'.

Left work "early" by leaving on-time. Took care of my plants. I took the jump to making an upside-down tomato plant. Used speaker wire to hang it up, lol. Also played some Left 4 Dead 2, cleaned up my room.

Picked up some crazy bread, then went out to the lakehouse for fun and games with some of Kelc's high school friends.

2011.03.24 Thursday

More sleep doesn't always equate to less groggy. What's the deal?

I churned through a lot of work today, mostly just compilation of data. Nothing terribly exciting. But on the lighter side of things, I had lots of brownies at work. They were leftovers from some event.

After work I took care of some things around the house. Notably, I did some weed hunting in the backyard, then watered my sprouts, then went skateboarding. Just about a week since I last went, and my feet already feel like they lost some ability. Did a little bit of cooling down after skateboard... by playing Left 4 Dead 2. They released a new level under "beta". Seems like nobody knows what they are doing anymore.

I decided to tidy up the house a bit in preparation for the party this weekend. It seems like people aren't really rsvp'ing on facebook, so we could have 20 people, or 100 people. Cool. That should be easy to plan for, right?

Went out to dinner with Kelc to Jason's Deli. Went home, had fun and watched another episode of Smallville. I actually remember watching this episode with Rudy back when I lived in the dorms. At the time I had only seen through half of season 4, so it was a bit of a leap into the future. Anyways it was a rather big event, lots of advertisements on the "WB" for it.

2011.03.23 Wednesday

Oh dear. I believe to have woken up during the wrong part of my sleep cycle. Groggy to the max.

Work was incredibly draining today. I probably should have just slept in and arrived late.

After work, I started making a list of things I need to get for my plants. Kelc came over and we took a trip over to Jamba Juice and Home Depot to pick up plant supplies.

Watched another episode of Smallville. Season 6, episode 15. This one happened to be directed by Michael Rosenbaum. I couldn't really tell much different, except that it ended on a Lex Luthor scene. (He plays as Lex in the show)

Sleeeep.

2011.03.22 Tuesday

As expected, I'm really drowsy. A draining (but fun) weekend followed by a day full from 7am to 10pm will easily wear a person down.

Long day, work then school. School today was, at least in my opinion, worse than normal. We just went over old information. At least we were able to enjoy pizza.

Home, watched some Smallville with Kelc. We are nearing the end of season 6 now.

2011.03.21 Monday

It definitely felt weird being able to sleep through the night without waking up in pain. With all the ads you hear about sleeping on the right mattress, just sleep on the ground for a few days and you'll learn to thank what you do have.

The work day was split up by a mid-day dentist appointment. I have a hard time getting myself convinced that I should go. They always are the bearers of bad news. I have never received a compliment for doing something right.

Stayed at work late, then went straight to the flag football fields. We started off with some simple tossing, then practiced some routes and planned out things before the game. That seemed to help out. It helps being a little comfortable with what is happening on the field. We had a slightly different line-up this time since we had a new selection of people that couldn't make it for various reasons, and we also had a new teammate step up to the challenge. Good game, our record is now 1-1.

After the game, I went home and watered my plants and ate leftover bbq. Quickly asleep.

2011.03.20 Sunday

Wake up. Eat. Pack up. That's the goal. In reality, it took a while to get packed up. Then we still had the trek back to the car to make.

We did some more load-sharing and balancing, eventually made our way to the vehicles. Left to go get lunch at Cooper's Pit BBQ in Llano. One of the best places for BBQ ever.

Drove home and felt like sleeping the whole time.

Unpacked all my gear and cooked up a pizza for dinner.

Went out for dessert/dinner with Kelc at Applebee's.

Fast asleep.

2011.03.19 Saturday

Wow, sleeping on the ground is difficult.

Woke up to a cloudy sky all around (as opposed to a completely clear sky yesterday). Helped cook up a breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage. Was it worth it to bring a cooler for a fancy breakfast? Maybe. I'd probably go for more lightweight gear next time around, just to save energy for other things.

After breakfast and hanging around camp for a little, we decided it was time to head up the rock and explore. We were able to find a few caves from previous trips and enjoy the spirits within. We made our way up to the summit after a quick snack break, only to hear park rangers yell across a megaphone "the park is closing, come down from the rock". If there was one thing that bugged me the most on this trip, it would be how terrible the workers are at this place. They have been rude in so many ways. Anyways, we still went exploring and climbed around in a few caves.

Made our way back to camp. Had a snack then took a nap. Everybody is worn out from hiking and more hiking.

Woke up to the sun coming back out. Went on another hike to a scenic lookout. Pretty cool.

Dinner. Games. Relaxing. Snooze.

2011.03.18 Friday

Kelc had to wake up early and leave for work. I slept in some more.

When I finally woke up, I packed up some more, then had to make a quick trip to Academy for some gear. Packed up my junk and met up with Paul.

From there, we left for Enchanted Rock. We were car no. 2 in the 2-car convoy. The drive out there felt sorta long, but the worst part was waiting in line to get into the park. I feel like they have a terrible system for dealing with cars and people.

Anyways, once we got in, we put on all our gear and started the trek to the primitive campsites. Unfortunately our hikers started dropping out. The heat, the sun, the weight, and the incline proved to be too much. We used some teamwork and extra runs to get all the gear and goods to the campsite.

Once we were there, we started setting up camp. We had some snacks along the hike, but by evening it was time for dinner. I cooked up a concoction of mild spicy chili with beans, and added some corn, and consumed that with scoops fritos chips. Turned out to be really good.

We played some games into the night, and enjoyed a really bright full moon. Supposedly, one of the brightest for years to come.

Then clouds rolled in and made everything humid. Nighty night.

2011.03.17 Thursday

I guess a combination of getting to sleep late, poor quality of sleep, and waking up early just doesn't work as well as it used to. It's starting to feel like this weekly paradigm is slowly killing us all.

Work went by quickly. I spent some of the evening playing games and getting ready for camping.

2011.03.16 Wednesday

Woke up to Tool on the radio this morning. What is this? 2002?

Work was alright. I met a new coworker that will be replacing some teammates that decided flag football wasn't their thing. I understand their feelings though, I think. They arrived slightly late, and they were thrown into the middle of the action without really knowing what to do. It's tough, and intimidating; everything is fast-paced. Oh well, it's their choice. If they want to still play I won't stop them.

For lunch, a little chunk of coworkers went to Las Casuelas and enjoyed some of the more authentic mexican food ATX has to offer. Besides being delicious, it is pretty cheap for lunch. I ate too many chips and beans before my plate came out, so I had to take some to-go.

Left work later than normal again. Lots of things picking up.

After work, I worked on plant stuff. I have access to 4 types of peppers now: cayenne, jalapeño, pequin, and the sacred ghost chili. If you haven't heard, they have a rating system for how spicy things are. The units are Scoville, on the Scoville Scale. It is based on how much capsaicin is in the pepper. If everything goes to plan, I could be in some serious pain. I'm working on germinating those peppers now. I also have two tomato plants that my father has given me. I'm thinking about doing an experiment and having one be an upside-down, or "topsy-turvy" plant, just to see if it turns out better. What do you think? Is it worth the effort?

A good friend from yesteryears came over in the evening. The goal: record some acoustic guitar for a dance performance. I ended up using one of my condenser mics exclusively. It took a few tries to figure out what to cut out or adjust for time constraints, and then some mistakes here and there. In the end, he (we call him Sneaky) played a really good track that didn't need any cleaning up, and layered on a mini solo track. A touch of level adjustments, tiny bit of reverb (in addition to what my room offers), and then everything was pretty good to go.

I ate some leftovers for dinner, played some L4D2 and planned for some camping.

2011.03.15 Tuesday

It was not easy getting up today.

Today was an extended day at work. Also not one of the best days.

I went home to adjust clothing, then off to run multiple errands. Stopped by Kerbey Lane for dinner. Service was slow, just like normal.

Later on, I played around with some microphones and cables because tomorrow I will be helping a friend record some guitar. Not sure how well things will turn out, but I'll do the best I can.

Played a little L4D2, then bed.

2011.03.14 Monday

The time shift didn't really hit until this morning. It was rather dark going in to work.

I had some awesome smoky leftovers from grilling up some chicken and couscous last night. Yum.

Post-work, went out to the baseball fields to play flag football with the sports/social league. The game went rather well, and our defense rocked. Unfortunately the other team scored a TD, whereas we did not. Our team is pretty awesome this year; and we have some talent from high school and college football programs. Best part: it's not as hot as hell when we have to run around on the field.

The team went out to Doc's afterwards for drinks and food. Had a good time getting to know people a little better.

Home, a little L4D2 action, then sleep.

2011.03.13 Sunday

Woke up and started packing up my things. Everybody went into alert mode when we found out the family was going to be arriving soon. Clean everything. Just kidding, it wasn't that bad.

Matt left, Paul and I helped out with some yardwork, then left.

Back in ATX, took care of plants and cleaning up some.

I grilled up the chicken that I had foolishly forgot. I slow cooked it over charcoal and mesquite wood chips for about 45 minutes.

Kelc and I watched a few episodes of smallville. We still have time to catch up to the series finale...I think. May 13th, it goes down.

2011.03.12 Saturday

Woke up in the middle of the night around 4 or 5 whenever the wine wore off. Instead of getting up and drinking water for the upcoming headache, I just went back to sleep.

Woke up at 8:30, with headache, and went to snack and get water. Sucks that my body just wants to wake me up this early.

Took a trip over to the library to pick up some movies for the weekend. Nice knowing that you can check this stuff out for free at most libraries, but people still pay redbox rentals. Heck even Netflix is a much better deal usually.

Paul and I took a trip to HEB while the other two gentlemen started cooking. Marisa was passed out from working all night. At HEB, we had a hard time finding turnips, and even some of the employees didn't know what a turnip looked like. Clearly a recipe that calls for exactly 1 turnip makes it seem like a critical ingredient.

When we made it back home, the kitchen was hidden underneath piles of dirty dishes and food preparations. Paul took charge as head chef, I took over on dish duty and fry chef, Matt became sous chef, and Ray was grill master. As for the mystery meat that Matt graced us with... it is Black Bear. Yum. We decided to make a stew with it, to decrease the chances of contracting Trichinosis.

After getting the kitchen tamed, we watched Black Dynamite and enjoyed some wine and cheese. Soon after we jumped into dinner mode.

Enjoyed some Arizona Stronghold wine titled "Mangus". Thanks Eric and Maynard for blessing the world with your wine adventures.

Played some New Super Mario Bros Wii, watched Idiocracy, then bed time.

2011.03.11 Friday

Even though I went to bed much earlier than normal, it didn't assist me in my wake up procedures today.

I played some flag football today at work. We had more players, which gave us a little more flexibility. Thankfully nobody was significantly injured or had to go to the nurse this time.

Ready to get the weekend started. I packed up a bunch of things and started compiling a list of stuff to pick up at HEB. Kelc came over and went shopping with me.

First up, clean some chicken and marinate in bacon grease with Todd's Dirt creole seasoning.

Second, make some bacon party mix. Yep. Bacon, and party mix. Two of my favorite things in the world have just collided into one supernova recipe. I'll have to tweak the recipe some, but I'll definitely post it here for others to enjoy.

Paul arrived, Kelc left, and we were off to see the wonderful world of BCS.

2011.03.10 Thursday

Gross. Waking up today was not fun at all.

Work was rather normal. Post-work, arrived at home later than normal. Quick snack and took care of a few things around the house.

Left to go pick up an old friend and give him a ride to see his fiancée. He doesn't have access to a car right now, so things are pretty stagnant in his life. At least it was an opportunity to meet the girl he will be marrying and do one good deed today.

Ate at Taco C for a more substantial dinner, then hopped over to my parent's to pick up some mail.

Back at my place, hung out with Kelc and caught up on things. Then sleep.

2011.03.09 Wednesday

Seems like nobody really felt like waking up this morning. Even going to bed earlier only slightly helped me get up.

Today at work, it seems like everybody just wanted to visit and talk, so a lot of things were put on the back burner. Who said social interaction wasn't important at work?

I ran some errands in the evening. I went to the mall to pick up some skate gear, then target for a few odd things, then walmart for a few more odd things and camping stuff.

Kelc and I were supposed to watch a movie, but that will have to wait for another time.

Fixed up my skateboard, then called it a night.

2011.03.08 Tuesday

I woke up groggy, but energetic. I added some stretching and heartbeat-engaging activity in the morning to see if that would help me wake up.

It worked marginally. Maybe one of these days I'll try running in the morning. If only I could make myself go to bed earlier...

Long day, work+school.

I played a session of Left 4 Dead 2 and it started sprinkling outside. After the session, it started pouring outside. I checked 4 different weather places online (wunderground, weather.com, kxan and kvue), and all of them said current conditions were "71F - Fair". Internet, I am disappoint.

Made myself hop in bed early.

2011.03.07 Monday

Couldn't sleep last night, and had no trouble waking up this morning. Surely this will come to bite me later on in the week.

Ran after work. 13 mins. 1.45 miles. Not bad but not really close to a 5K still.

Cooked up some soup, mashed potato leftovers and carrots for dinner.

Worked on homework and listened to music for a majority of the evening. Later, did laundry and played a little L4D2 to wind down.

2011.03.06 Sunday

Tried my best to sleep in and enjoy the morning. Kelc left for work early, but I ended up waking soon after.

I spent some time cleaning up the kitchen, then prepared some leftovers for lunch. Kept it simple so I could focus on Half Life 2. I spent some hours crunching through the last handful of chunks until I beat it. That's probably the third or fourth time I have done that.

Played a little L4D2 here and there, Kelc got off work.

Went out to Texican Cafe near Lakeline Mall to see a friend. Kelc just remembered that place being terrible, I remember otherwise. Seems like they serve a delicious and inexpensive meal quickly.

Stopped by Marble Slab for a fun desert. I had a cake and cookie special. "Birthday cake" ice cream with oreos and cookie dough chopped into it. Yum. Worked out better than my coffee ice cream and butterfinger mix.

Went home, more L4D2 and some Minecraft.

2011.03.05 Saturday

Woke up around 4:30a. I'm guessing that is when the effects of alcohol had finally worn off. I do this weird thing when drinking alcohol; the moment my body is back to sober, it springs to life in "alert mode". It is probably "alerting" me that I should drink water or take care of myself. Whenever I go back to sleep after this, I wake up with headaches and an unhappy stomach.

Anyways, I tried drinking some water, but soon was back to sleep. I had a crazy dream where I was back at UT taking classes, and for some reason could not figure out how to attend one of them. Every time I looked up the schedule something happened to prevent me from figuring it out. Also, it was cool to see people I haven't in a long time, and have them act how my brain would think they act. It's actually amazing when you think about it... that your brain picks up on personality and non-verbal cues and such.

I need to act quick on this headache.

Kelc left for work. I played some HL2, then went out for a skate session with Ryan. We tore it up.

After that, I stopped by my parents house to check out what old gear we had lying around, and to catch up on what is going on in their lives.

Spent the evening with Kelc at a MS150 Fundraiser. They had live music, a silent auction, a live auction, and "free" food and beer. Taco Deli is awesome and delicious. I feel like their food is even better when it's catered.

At home, played some drums and bass, then went to bed.

2011.03.04 Friday

Yay a day off. Love these.

Played a little bit of Half-Life 2 for breakfast. Then I started taking care of some errands. First stop, Academy for camping gear and prices. Next stop, HEB for some food items and cleaning items.

Back home, I tried greasing up some joints on my car. The standard service manual says to "Lubricate Hinges and Locks" every 5-10k miles. I feel like nobody ever does this. It's more like..."the squeaky door might get some grease".

Went out for a skate session with Ryan, and brought his little sister along. He's getting a lot better and more comfortable on his board. I, however, am sore from attempting to run a 5k yesterday. Oh well, we still did some doubles.

Back home, cooked up a fun steak dinner on the grill. Smoked up the meat with mesquite wood chips. I still need to learn a thing or two from ray about preparing the charcoal so you get better temperature. I had a NY strip, Kelc had a top round slice. We had mashed potatoes and baby carrots, and a Malbec wine that tasted better and better as the night went on.

Kelc went to sleep, Habs Taylor and myself decided to make a bunch of noise in the music room.

2011.03.03 Thursday

Woke up in a grumpy mood today. That put me on edge. Not sure why though.

Mid-day at work, we had a charity event of running a 5K or walking a 2K. I foolishly signed up for the 5K, never having run that long in my lift. (5K is a little over 3 miles) The longest I have run without stopping is 1.5 miles. I think I made it about 1.5 miles without stopping again, but had to switch off walk/run the rest. I also didn't even go the full 5K. Andy, I am disappoint.

Home from work, took a big arse nap.

Then out to "First Thurday" with some coworkers. Had more fun than I thought I would, but it seemed like all the shops and things were closing up early. And it wasn't very crowded. Still we went to a handful of places.

Had to leave early because Kelc has work early tomorrow.

2011.03.02 Wednesday

At work early today, but my brain showed up late.

On the way home from work, Habs was driving but sitting at a red light. All of a sudden his car lurched forward. I thought he was joking around, but then it started to seem like his car did something strange, then I realized that we had just been rear-ended. Fantastic. Luckily no damages. But for the record, it was a female driver that just stopped holding her brake pedal or something goofy.

Spent the evening waiting on Kelc to arrive, then to go shopping for camping gear. She arrived too late so I waited around for nothing. Then somehow yelled at me for it.

Goodnight earth.

2011.03.01 Tuesday

Today had some more excitement to it. Kelc is experiencing the joy of waking up for work super early.

Then class hit. I don't know what it was, but the energy took a nose-dive. Just about everybody in class was near snooze. The professor even skipped over a chunk of material to get the class over with faster. At least we had super meat pizza and jalapeño +bacon pizza.

After work, played games and helped Justin hang up a dart board. This seems like an easy task, and even he said he was expecting it to be a day-project, but looks are deceiving. Speaking of looks, that's probably where most of the time was spent. I'd have to say it's a job well done. *raise pint glass*

A gaggle of friends expressed interest in a evening outing to Ihop, so I joined in. Didn't even realize it was free pancake day. We also lucked out and had one of the best waiters I've ever had at Ihop.

Home, (almost instantly) sleep.