Journal: Big Drive Oh Five

10/2/05

I’m watching The West Wing, I’m not thinking about the trip to Chicago. I really enjoy driving. I’m excited for the big drive.

10/04/05

I’m hating work now. I hate budgets, I hate the responsibilities I’ve assumed, I hate hate hate it. Soon I am going to post an updated resume on monster. In the meantime I am going to allow this stupid job to fund BIG DRIVE OH FIVE, a spray-on bed liner, new grips for my golf clubs, which, heaven help me, I will get out of work early enough tomorrow to get over to wayland and purchase. Make it to Friday, make it to Friday, that’s all I’ve been saying these past two, has it really only been two days? Just make it to Friday

Right now I’m going to read some more of Atlas Shrugged. HOW APPROPRIATE. Then I will try to rest. The lack of sleep is negatively affecting my mood. More sleep = more happiness, or at least an easier time of fooling myself into thinking I’m happy.

-Car, check
-Laptop, check
-Apartment
-Girlfriend
-Job I like
-Novel

10/05/05

Red Sox are on TV, ALDS game two, after getting smoked by the White Sox 14-2 last night. I got a ton of sleep (ha, almost seven hours) last night, and today at work I had a very similar workload with a much better attitude. It was almost a great day at work. All of a sudden I’m back to my old self. The happy one.

I am so glad Mike Piazza is helping out calling the game. This is so much more enjoyable than Tim MacCarver. Well, anyone would be more enjoyable than that. Props to ABC.

I feel good enough to list all the girls I like right now. Ready? Melissa, voice major, from Texas, a lovely online conversationalist, always excited to talk to me, which I appreciate, trying to hook me up with her friend beth, doesn’t mention her boyfriend tim a lot, which I appreciate. Lesley, who maybe I really don’t like anymore, I must have gotten over the crush, the starstruckness, she doesn’t talk to me much, but we don’t have much contact anyway. Lindsay, sort of but not really, she’s opening up a little more than she used to, nothing romantic for sure, she doesn’t want it, I don’t want it, but it would never work out anyway. Julie Chicago. Some think its nuts, some shake their heads, most disapprove but I don’t care. BIG DRIVE OH FIVE. woo. Anybody else? Maybe, probably. I don’t hate anyone. If Ashley came over to ask me out I’d say yes.

There’s a lot to be said for a good night’s sleep.

10/06/05

We’re watching Iron Chef America. I think tomorrow I’m going to ask my blog what they think of the trip to Milwaukee. Right now I’m just using the laptop because I feel like I have to. You know, I spent the money, I should use it. Blam.

I’m better multi-tasking. AIM, Word, internet explorer. I like to feel like I’m doing something, being busy. Know what I’m sayin?

10/21/05

Saw Kate Earl, Matt Wertz, and Matt Nathanson tonight. John got kicked out of the Paradise for taking off his wristband halfway through Matt’s (AMAZING) set. New songs rocked, electric guitar, solo songs rocked, as usual. (ROCKED) But, the story of the night was Kate Earl, whom Felecia and Lindsay recommended. When John got kicked out I stayed for the end of the song MN was singing (Baba O’Reilly, by the Who) and then went out to meet him, but instead I stopped at the merchandise table and “chatted” with Kate Earl! I bought her a cd, and she asked me if she could sign it. She opened it different (cool) too. To Tom, (heart) Kate Earl, and on the back of the liner she wrote “thanks for chatting (heart).” She showed me pictures of MN on myspace and tried to show me pics of Alaska (her home state), I asked her about her guitar playing (she writes on the guitar, but mostly performs on the piano) and mentioned Ben, who is also from Alaska. I had a blast. They’ll be in Cincinnati tomorrow night. John said I should have asked for her number…and I should have. ha

I guess that’s all for tonight. It was great concert, even though I missed half the set and the encore. But I got KE’s cd. And it’s good. I like the first three tracks (the only ones I’ve listened to so far) so I’m pretty happy. Remind me to re-sign up for myspace and add Kate Earl.

Goodnight.

10/26/2005

Tonight I skipped out of work early to go to some focus group for Kathleen, (half hoping she’d asked Lesley to come too). We suffered through an hour of coffee talk. Then I took the T up to Lindsay and Felecia’s apartment to uninstall their air conditioners. We hung out and listened to the Matt Nathanson concert I’d transferred to mp3 for them while Lindsay and Felecia decided who should be invited to L’s birthday party. Finally we moved Lindsay’s a/c to her car, but right before that Lindsay told me that my birthday present to her should be getting high at her party. I told her that only one girl had ever come close to making me want to smoke pot, and that girl had made out with me. Speaking of Kelly, I’ve seen here online once or twice these last few weeks, and I think there’s still an outside hang-up I’ve got for her. I spent a long time convincing myself, re-training myself to not think about her, but I still had a goofy smile on my face last week after talking with her for ten minutes.

As far as BIG DRIVE OH FIVE, Donny suggested I bring about $7.00 of quarters with me for the Chicago tolls. I haven’t heard from Chicago Julie in a long time, the second game of the ALCS. (White Sox swept Houston for the WS tonight, after that marathon 14 inning game 3).

I’ve got Donny’s gifts to pack for the drive, Amanda’s wedding gift to ship out (and Steve’s gift certificate to buy). Tonight I did give Lindsay her “Indietits” t-shirt, which she did admit to liking a little bit. When Lindsay and Felecia dropped me off at home I brought Domino out to her car and I showed them the new addition.

I am trying to give Star Wars KOTOR another chance on the xbox but I’m stuck in the same stupid city as last time. If I could figure out how to get to the next objective this game might open up a little…

Finally, I’m listening to Kate Earl while I drift off to sleep. I figure with the three late nights in a row I’m going to be dead tomorrow at work. I don’t mind much. Friday: Andrea’s last day, Christina’s party in Brighton (parking?), Saturday maybe I will finally call for a bed liner, and maybe go out Sat. night? We’ll see how it all works out. Right now, I’ve gotta try and get some sleep. G’night.

11/08/05

Testing the laptop battery, (the old one), playing star wars battlefront. Just died, fourteen minutes in. I booked my hotel room today, The Hyatt Regency Chicago. I’m pretty pumped.

I could write a love story. Something like this:All I know is your first name, where you work, and your phone number…but I’ve always been good with numbers. I know that twenty-eight and twenty-three aren’t that much different. Compared to like, a million.

I could write a romance from anywhere, with any players. It may be tougher than I realize to find people who believe in what I think is important though, and what I think is unimportant.

New battery is in, and charging. The plan is to call her from the road, sometime Wednesday, somewhere in Ohio. I’d really like to not be totally exhausted after the all day drive, awake enough to meet for a drink somewhere. And I think I don’t really need to know more about her. Twenty-eight and still talking to a kid who’s like twelve she met one time at a bar in Boston three months ago? Desperate? Maybe she’s between relationships, maybe other things. I can’t think of more possibilities, and I wouldn’t want to dwell on them if I could. She was nice, and she was pretty, and she was outgoing and friendly. She also cried because her friends were making fun of her. I’m not going to think about it, or overthink about it. Maybe that’s past now. I’m going to try and just let things happen. It would be nice to have some company in that hotel room. Now, back to Warehouse, and back to sleep.

11/09/05

I stayed up too late last night reading Transmet. Tonight I’m reading Planetary trade paperbacks. I called today for the keg for Lindsay’s party (hundred bucks, plus ninety deposit) then went out to dinner with Lindsay, Felecia, and John. But it feels like the only thing I can think about is Chicago Julie. I’m starting to feel a little nervousness along with the excitement about the drive. I’m alternating between telling myself it’s a trip to see Donny (taking the edge off the Julie thing), a trip to see Julie (making three days in Milwaukee seem like they could be better spent staying in Chicago), and a trip to drive the truck (which segues nicely into “a thousand for gas, a thousand for gas – plane tickets are two hundred round-trip”).

I’ll be alright. Because it’s really a trip for all three of those things, and mostly to see if I can do it. To enjoy seeing if I can do it. Prepared or not, a thousand miles isn’t so far on the journey of personal discovery. Won’t seem so far when it’s down memory lane.

I think the only things I need now are sandwiches. And to pack. I’ll try to remember to do that.

That’s all for now.

11/13/05

Last night was Lindsay’s kegger birthday, and of course there was way too much beer for the number of people that showed. There was Lindsay and her Kingston crew: Emma, Jimmy, Katie, Adam, Christina, there was Chris (a.k.a. Christ), some 194 BSR girls including Alicia, who took a moment to point out we were in the same Core lecture, Allie, who brought her “eighteen” year old sister and friend, Christina, Felecia’s sister, and friends, and then a big group of Lindsay’s work buddies who brought their own friends who brought their own beer. And a twelve year old kid drinking Coors Light. I don’t know what that was about.

Pretty soon I leave for Milwaukee. I’ve got my cash together, I’ve got laundry done, I think. I’ve got Donny’s house warming gifts, I’ve got the new battery in the laptop (going on fifteen minutes now, still no signs of low power), and I’ve got a playlist that’s about ten hours long.

Monday night I’ll return the half-full keg, see if I can think of any loose ends I need to wrap up, Tuesday I’m leaving work early. I’ll prepare my on the road snacks and double-check I’ve got my phone, phone charger, ipod, ipod charger, laptop, laptop charger, camera, batteries, battery charger. No way it will all fit in the same bag, but Monday maybe I’ll look for a better one to bring.

Between now and then I’ll just try to keep my head down and get lots of rest. Maybe eat some more fruit. BIG DRIVE OH FIVE is almost here.

11/16/05

Big Drive Oh Five. I left Malden at 6:40AM. Door-to-door it took me just over fifteen hours. That fifteen hours includes getting misdirected (twice) in Pennsylvania while (unsuccessfully) trying to buy a case of Yuengling. The fifteen hours also includes the twenty-three minutes I spent pulled-over on the side of Route 90 just past Coffee Creek, IN while on of Indiana’ finest wrote me a speeding ticket.

The drive through Massachusetts was uneventful. I was reminded of other drives I’ve taken to the edge of the state, once you hit New York things just seem different.

New York was fine. I topped off the gas tank just after I crossed state lines and did the whole state without stopping again. I did have to “mosey on” behind a red Volvo and then a black Honda for a combined two hundred miles at a pathetic sixty-five miles an hour. Everyone else was nice enough to get out of my way. There was also the torrential downpour which started at Syracuse and didn’t end until Buffalo, but it didn’t slow me down, you know, too much.

Pennsylvania was quick, I just cut through the uppermost part of the state near Eerie, and was sidetracked trying to find beer. I asked for directions to a place that sold Yuengling at the first gas station off the highway; They told me to go one more exit and look for the store in the same plaza as Chuck E Cheese. Or maybe it’s the plaza opposite…or maybe they couldn’t quite remember, but it’s near Chuck E Cheese, so you should be able to find it.

So, I continue on West one exit and find not one, not two, but six plazas spread out across a divided highway, three on each side. I criss-crossed twice looking for a Chuck E Cheese but found “Liquor and Spirits” first. Unfortunately, all they sold was wine and hard alcohol. No beer whatsoever. The proprietor suggested I go back up one exit to the East, because there’s a place right off the highway that sells it.

I was not going to go East.

Crossing into Ohio was unremarkable. Driving through Cleveland wasn’t anything great, I got stuck in half an hour of rush hour traffic in Toledo, then it was smooth sailing to Indiana.

I made it almost all the way through. I passed South Bend, I passed Calumet, I was fifty miles from Chicago, almost across the Illinois border when the world lit up behind me.

So, yeah, I was doing eighty-eight in a seventy zone. I didn’t protest, but damn it all if that cop hadn’t have pulled me over I would have made the Chicago city limits in fourteen and a half or better.

I got a little lost trying to get onto E. Wacker Drive, because there are two of them (the upper and lower) and getting from one to the other isn’t as clearly marked as it could be, but no worries, that was only a ten minute delay.

Now I’m sitting in my hotel room, showered, shaved, and waiting on a txt msg from Chicago girl. I don’t think I’m going to hear from her.

Adina called, John called, and Donny called (twice) to make sure I hadn’t ended up in the median. My mom called eight times.

11/17/05

Happy Dan Goldin Day. (or) My Chicago Adventure (Part II)

I got a wake up call at nine forty-five, and a second one at ten. I slept until about eleven, showered and got dressed. It was twenty-three degrees out. I braved the cold and walked the Magnificent Mile, I stopped for lunch at Dublin’s. I had two Sam Adams and a burger. And I got a text message from Julie.

I’m back at the hotel room right now, still a little amazed that these bridges I’m crossing are the same ones from Matt Hoffman and Tony Hawk.

More later.
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I got a txt msg. She said she was sick, and in bed early. She asked how long I’d be in the city. I messaged her back, and left her a voicemail, but it’s eleven o’clock and I haven’t heard back.

I was excited to see her for a little while, now I’m thinking about opening the mini bar.

Milwaukee tomorrow.