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9.29.03/22:41 kintama o sutte, kudasai So me and grandma were having a debate over the four beer bottles that have been in the fridge since 3 easters ago (no exaggeration). My argument was that she should just throw them away, that they would be bad. Her position was that because it is in bottles, it can't go bad. For cooking purposes (frying things), I opened one to test it. Sure enough, Grandma was right. I know better than to doubt my elders.
My commuter buddy Jodie told me she got a tattoo over the weekend. She was even nice enough to let me take a picture of it. She is so cute, even though she is a bad influence on her youth group.
And I bought this great book called Japanese Street Slang. Here are a few of my more favorite things I can now say:
Daizi na kaigi-tyuu ni onara shichatta. He farted right in the middle of an important meeting.
Konya rohe o shiireyo ze! Let's go shopping for some dope tonight!
Aa! Gomen! Boku unchi shita kara, ima hairu to kusai n da yo! Uhh...don't go in there for a bit, I just took a dump and it stinks!
Those are probably some of the most potent things that I can post here without completely offending too many people. Typically, I see myself as a brazen, inoffendable teenager, but after reading some of these things...hmmm...let's just say there is stuff in there I wouldn't even say in english.
9.27.03/20:51 when expectations meet reality I will demonstrate with an example. Here are the things I wanted to do today:
1. writing homework 2. study Japanese 3. do the dishes 4. make some demo CD's
Here is what I actually did today:
1. none of these things
Why? I think it has something to do with motivation or something. I'm surprised I'm even posting at all today. However, I am forced to because of this.
Yes, Mike Doughty has come out with a new CD. It is only like 6 songs, but I've already ordered my copy. Hopefully I will get it before Thursday, and then I can listen to it on the trip.
Listen, Jean invited me to her Nihongo class on Friday. I can't wait. Kind of funny actually, I will be skipping my class and going to hers.
Here is the deal with the CD I have been working on. I wanted to make it 20 tracks, but the booklet will just be too big to fit into the slim cases I already bought. So it is going to be a demo, with my six favorite songs. The booklet has the lyrics and chords for these songs, and a chart of chords, in case you are clueless like I am and need a visual aid sometimes.
9.25.03/22:13 basu ni hen na toki ga atta n desu... Today I got a picture of the German bus. I saw the french one yesterday, but I couldn't get a good shot of it (by the way, the non-capitalization of the word 'french' WAS intentional...).
On my way home tonight, not only was the bus late, but some idiot rear-ended it at the Duquesne stop. Bastards. I really wanted to get a picture of the totaled truck, but the bus driver did not think that would be a good thing to do.
Here is the short story I promised you.
And here is the quotes page! It is mainly a collection of funny things that my Japanese sensei has said this semester, but there are a few others thrown in for fun.
9.23.03/15:44 bentoire-tyuu That doesn't actually mean anything to a Japanese person, but if you break it down and analyze the make-up of it you would get something like:
'in the midst of self-exertion on the toilet'
I still haven't seen the Japanese PAT bus again, but today I did see a Russian one. Below is a picture to emphasize what I am talking about.
So here is my proposition: a contest. It's a contest to see who can first take a digital picture of the kanzi bus and send it to me. Here are the rules:
1. You must have the whole side of the bus in your picture with all characters clearly readable. 2. E-mail it to me in jpeg format. (jbaugher@rocketmail.com) 3. The winner gets ten dollars and a free autographed CD.
I haven't updated in like 3 days. As a gesture of apology, I am refunding the viewing cost of this site to all readers.
There.
In fact, I'll double it. Happy?
Tonight will mark 3 days in a row of going out to eat with cute brunettes. Sunday was Jen, yesterday was Sarah, and tonight is the cutest of all, my little sister Chandler.
Happy Birthday to Sarah (yesterday), Chandler (today), Chelsea (tomorrow), and Mom (the day after tomorrow). Too many damn birthdays in one week, methinks.
Things to look for tonight or tomorrow: a new short story, a page of Nara-Sensei quotes, and a bonus surprise if I'm feeling froggy enough.
9.20.03/21:14 sifting through the ashes I've been digging all day. I wanted to find a CD from when me and Jason were playing songs at Mac's Music so I could give you an example of what we sounded like, and how awesome Jason is at geetar.
This is the gem that I came upon, an acoustic cover of "Nuthin' But a G Thang". Keep in mind that we did this like a year and a half ago...
"Nuthin' But a G Thang (Live Cover)" [.wma file, 999KB]
So I dug up the closet and the drawers and the entertainment center only to find that the CD's were in the stack right next to my monitor. But I did stumble on two of the coolest things ever.
Supposedly, Jay says foul things if you hit the button on his shoulder, but since they have never been out of the packaging, I can't be sure. I do know that if you press Bob's button, he doesn't say anything at all. (It's supposed to be like that...)
9.18.03/21:43 blathering blatherskites!! Some of you surely remember 'blathering blatherskites...' It's from Duck Tales, those are the passwords that activate Gizmo Duck. I had to spend ten minutes on hold with the telefact people to get that phrase. Ah, I love asking them stupid questions.
The new song has been tracked and lyricked. I would have to say it is the second best thing I've ever written, BUT there is one thing...this version was recorded today and I am SICK. I was so excited about putting it up that I had to record it anyway, even though I sound different. Hey, just consider it an 'effect' like a wa-wa pedal or something...
Click here to go to the song downloads section and get this week's new song 'unkindest cut'.
And I know what you might be thinking, 'Hey, that reminds me of that line in Julius Caesar where he says that thing...' And I would say that you're right.
Shakespeare rocks, but not as much as Duck Tales.
9.16.03/22:43 drinking and driving I mean that in the literal sense that I was drinking gatorade and driving at the same time, not that I was drunk.
Things I can do while driving: 1. Drink Gatorade. 1. Listen to new VIA SAHARA CD! (!!!) 2. Search for things under the seat. 3. Take pictures of things! (but not through the windows...) 4. Take out my contact lenses. 5. Text message Jen.
I still can't strip yet, but give me time. So I took some pictures today. Here they are:
That sly gentleman on the left is Graham, who is the same person using his nipples to defy physics in the digital pictures section. The other guy enjoying a beverage is Uncle Matt.
Walking through Oakland, I saw a camera crew (channel 4, I think) rolling film of that stupid dinosaur with its horn all ripped off. I had to take a picture.
Also, I got a 93 on my Nihongo quiz, went to Chuck Palahniuk's Q & A session at Alumni Hall, and jammed with Crazy Matt.
Now I am sick and tired. It is most certainly time for me to take some drugs, take a shower, and go to bed. Tomorrow I might elaborate a little on some of the things mentioned above, but I don't know.
9.15.03/23:24 still hate brooks It's true, I do. Who is Brooks, you ask? He is that stereotypical jock character who always gets the girl you want and drives the car you will never be able to afford.
Somehow, I have his book. This week I have been doing literary cleaning, finishing up books I've meant to read. The first one was 'Lord of the Flies,' and the second one is 'The Phantom Tollbooth.'
In this 'Tollbooth' book, I still have like 15 pages left. I've had it since the beginning of the summer, when I stole it from my sister's stack o' books. And I look in the cover, and it says, 'To: Brooks, From Mrs. B.' How did my sister get this book? Strange.
The last picture is of my new umbrella. This is my third umbrella since starting college. The first one I lost, the second one I broke, and this one is lucky number 3.
Like I told Cica-San today, it was worth buying even if it never rains again. Ahh, I love when it rains and girls with white t-shirts don't have umbrellas...
So this umbrella is lucky. I accidentally left it by the bench outside the cathedral where I was sitting before I went to my Creative Writing class. I didn't remember it 'til I got there, and when I ran back it was still there. Very lucky.
And I have finished yet another song. Now I am up to seven thousand songs. I might get it tracked and posted sometime tomorrow, but we'll see.
9.14.03/19:23 i am quite amused This is the 'order confirmation e-mail' that came for the Via Sahara CD I ordered the other day:
Qty Description Price Total
with the weight of the world
$10.00 $10.00 9.13.03/17:30 shunned + falsified I have exciting news. Exciting for me, I mean...you probably won't care. I got a 30 cent raise! That's an extra...
Hmmm...calculating...math is hard...no, I got it. It's an extra 4.80 a week, but after taxes it's more like 2.90.
What can you buy with 2 dollars and 90 cents, you ask?
1. One-third of a movie ticket. 2. 1.6 gallons of gas. 3. One-fourth of a new CD (Best Buy ONLY...) 4. Three guitar strings (hope you like power chords).
Yesterday I ordered the new Via Sahara CD. I can't wait for it to get here. Those guys rock. You should get it, only ten bucks...
There's a picture of that stupid little rocket. Dammit. I think Tetris is a conspiracy to force people to listen to 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies' in 8-bit sound.
Pay attention! Next Sunday me and Sarah are going to the Renaissance Festival (weather permitting), if any of you are interested in going, e-mail me and let me know. [jbaugher@peachycomics.com]
Here is a link to their site, so you can find out more about it.
Today I got MORE stupid credit card offers. Two of them. I used the return envelopes to mail each one to the other. I think when I finally kill that bug by the stairs I am going to mail its body in the next return envelope.
9.12.03/19:58 friday? again? awww...shucks. Everybody else gets to look forward to weekends. I don't. I'd rather be in class suffering than wasting away in my chilly cave with nobody but Reuters and Snopes to amuse me.
But it's not so bad.
These are just random pictures I found when I was going through my hundreds of attempts at photographic greatness. The one on the left is from an Ohio rest stop, and the right one is me right before I slaughter Dad in a go-kart race. I own at go-kart racing.
Yesterday in Japanese Society class I was sitting by this redheaded girl. I couldn't even move...I was paralyzed. Red hair is my weakness. Not straight brown hair dyed red in some weird way, but the real thing, firey and wavy and glorious. Freckles are even better.
I took my laptop to school yesterday. People assume you are paying attention, and will sometimes ask you to print them up copies of your expertly typed notes. I wasn't. I was playing Tetris.
My high score was only like 108 lines or something. I got that dinky little rocket and the kids sitting behind me were snickering. I am so badly out of practice. In 8th grade, I got 226 lines once, and that has been the highlight of my career...maybe even my life. I know I can top that, though, and when I do I will do a screen capture of it and display it prominently for you all to see.
9.10.03/20:28 sidewalk solicitors They swarm around the entrance to the student union, waiting to attack passersby with pamphlets, coupons, surveys, and various other kinds of propaganda. Today:
"Can I take a second to talk to you about our organization which is in support of more anti-drug programs on campus?"
And I say:
"Sumimasen...eego o dekimasen. Moosiwake arimasen."
After a few seconds, she gave me a strange look and walked away. I love it.
Now...PICTURES!
The picture on the left is one I took yesterday of this bastard bug I saw on the stairs. It's a little out of focus and the flash scared it away before I could smash it with my boot. Damn.
The envelope is from the letter I got from Amanda today. Hooray! It was almost too pretty to open. Also I got another credit card offer for the site today. I used the return envelope to send them a bus schedule.
The last two pictures are from Del's mission. He sent them to me a few months ago, but I figured I'd post them since some of you don't know who he is and should have a chance to view him in his native element.
I finally got to formally meet the black-haired girl in my astronomy class...yokatta desu nee! We are going to the observatory together in a few weeks for some dumb class requirement. Astronomy, what a pain in the bum. They make you do math, homework, and actually expect you to go to recitation...ballocks. Sucks to astronomy in all its evil forms.
After stupid astronomy recitation I walked all the way from Oakland to Squirrel Hill. Bah. It's not worth it. Definitely taking a bus next time. I met my Uncle Dennis at Chaya and had more sushi...different kinds this time, though. As always, it was very good. I wasn't brave enough to try the eel roll...maybe next time.
9.9.03/20:49 debase me Surprisingly, I read a chapter for writing class today...it's kind of scary, actually. I even plan to do MORE homework tonight. What is this strange sensation of responsibility I am feeling? It IS scary.
Below is a picture of me with a new haircut, wearing my sweet new pants. Grandma took this picture, so you will have to excuse the red eyes and the face I'm making.
I am triumphantly holding my geetar because I finished yet another song today, using the notorious chord Dbm7! (d flat minor with a suspended seventh) But I moved it to third fret capo like everything I write, so I guess that transforms it into a slightly higher version of Em7...regardless, the music is depressing as hell so I had to write depressing lyrics to match.
Download 'debase me' now in the song downloads section, while supplies last.
Also, I reorganized my AIM folders into Japanese categories. Tomodati means 'friend(s)', so the first two folders are just categorized according to where I know people from. Boku no uti just means 'my family.' And to the 19 of you on my baka no hito list...well...don't open any strange packages.
By the way...WORLD CHAMPION!!! That's a line from a foreign movie we watched in comparative politics last year called 'Salut Cousin'. Jess, thank you for reminding me of it. Spectacular.
9.8.03/21:34 southside excursion I bought new pants today. They are freaking great. New strings for my geetar, as well.
So I went on an expedition to the Southside today, and it was stellar. Sarah came along too, since she had to kill time before her night class as well.
It was great...we got really good sushi, even though the waiter mixed our orders up (it kind of didn't matter, since we really didn't know what we were getting anyway). Then we went and bought clothes.
We walked the length of the Southside and found this really cool guitar store where I saw the coolest lefty stratocaster ever. All I got was strings, though, since it was 800 dollars.
Perhaps tomorrow I will show you pictures of the coolest pants ever. For now, you will just have to imagine.
9.7.03/17:33 inside out That seems to be the recurring theme of the past few days. I pondered this as I was sitting in the deserted cafeteria at work eating some of those "inside out" reese cups.
And yesterday I learned how to play 'Inside Out' by Eve 6. Don't know why, but I always liked that song.
In like 3 weeks I am planning another excursion to the 'ville. I put in to get the 3rd and 4th of October off, but we shall see how that goes.
I am toying with the idea of taking Chelsea to Richmond to visit Jean that Friday, and Saturday I would like to do Open Stage at Mac's. If you are going to be in the area that weekend and want to hang out Saturday, let me know.
9.6.03/16:56 ten long years in a straight line It has been far too long since I've put up a proper post, this I know for sure. So here we go...
Today I got a postcard from Del! Yay! I miss that kid. Below are pictures of all the lovely postcards I've gotten this year.
The ones on the left are from Del. The middle ones are from Dad, Aditi, and Uncle Ray. The ones on the right are from Yamamoto Sensei, Phillips-San, Pap and Bubba, and the ever-awesome Amanda.
Sadly, I don't have any interesting stories to tell today. Give me time, though.
9.3.03/20:28 spin! That is the name of today's new song. You can download it on the song downloads page and get the lyrics on the lyrics page.
Shortest post ever.
9.3.03/20:22 motto fukkaku irete kudasai?? I'm not even going to attempt to translate that for you. It will simply be better that way. So yesterday was...interesting. I was in a convenience store and I saw a middle-aged woman take a sackful of groceries right through the beepy sensors and run off. Then people chased her, but didn't catch her. I was a witness.
And I took Megan to get pie, and lost at pididdle in a terrible misrepresentation of the acumen that YEARS of Indiana trips should have provided me.
I would just like to say that Pittsburgh people are HORRIBLE at driving in rain. I saw four or five near-wrecks yesterday and one pretty nasty real one today.
9.2.03/15:55 yoku nomimasita kara, byooki ni natta. Literally, it means: Because I drank too much, I became sick. Gerunds are so much fun. So I saw a Port Authority bus today (59U) that had all sorts of kanzi painted on it...I wish I had my camera so I could show you all the gloriousness of it.
Peering into the bowl, I'm thinking, 'When did I ever eat any peanuts?'
And for Labor Day, the men stomped the women at Trivial Pursuit (as always). The only hope they have is that I marry a smart girl so they can win a few in future family gatherings.
9.1.03/02:59 rabbit rabbit day Picture this: a positively gorgeous blonde girl about two years older than me. She had a psychotic episode and is now dancing around the room to music only she can hear. I am having a conversation with a co-worker, and this girl is standing right next to me, singing to herself and punching my arm playfully. Neither me nor the guy I'm talking to even pay attention to this.
Across the room, her mom is crying, and the girl's boyfriend is in a daze. They are both trying to deal with the fact that this formerly normal person they love is never going to be the same again.
That was 24 hours ago. There was a time when things like that would faze me, maybe even make me sad. But I've been there for a year, and I am callused to such things...or pretend to be.
Saturday night I picked up Nick in Oakland and we went to Megan's birthday party. All of Megan's friends are really cool and funny. We watched 'The Never-ending Story', but I had to leave before the ending. The 80's commercials were the best part, besides all the joking references to awesome cartoons and the sarcastic commentary.
After work, I came home and slept for three hours. Then I spent a wonderful day with Jen (see post below), and came home for about twenty minutes before I went to hang out with Megan and Jared. I must say that 'Punch-Drunk Love' is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen.
Now I just need to get a little sleep. My hat is all stretched out, and my ear and my arm are still a little sore from where Megan bit me. Kind of I liked it...is that bad?
9.1.03/00:00 'it makes me so nervous' *start* The posts from August have been archived. At the time of writing this, it is still technically the 31st, but I doubt I put anything up tomorrow.
Today was marvelous, even though I was served a crushing defeat at mini-golf by Jen. Here is a conversational snippet:
me: "does your older brother really have a shotgun?" Jen: "yes, but it's just for hunting..."
Hunting PEOPLE I bet.
So after the initial house-finding mission and the meeting of the family, we went mini-golfing and ate ice cream. We tried to go to the movies, but there was nothing playing that we wouldn't have had to wait an hour to see.
Below is a picture of Jen smiling as she slaughters me by three strokes.
And if you are one of the few who get to read this before midnight, don't forget to say 'Rabbit Rabbit' when you wake up for good luck.
Tomorrow I am going to Pap's to hang out and eat some food fresh off the grill. Also, I have been working on a new song, and I might get it posted some time this week.
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