Author: briancollapsing

“somebody’s got a case of the mondays…” oh god. do you ever wake up for some reason maybe five or ten minutes before the alarm goes off, and sort of lay there half sleeping half awake, wondering whether to try to sleep for five minutes or just get up and not have to hear the alarm go off? that happened to me today, and as i lay there half-awake and half dreaming sort of, i already knew i wasn’t going to like today. i wanted to sleep until noon and then sit in my apartment all day and just do nothing. but i had to get up and come here to work. dreading it from your very first waking instant of the day doesn’t help any, let me tell you.

and now that i’m here, i found out that i get to do more of the same stuff i was doing last week that was not fulfilling, educational, fun, or even that useful the way i see it. so i spent all morning doing more of it. now it’s lunch time and my subway sandwich is sitting there waiting to be eaten while i blog while no one’s around. somehow everyone but me is gone right now for lunch or something, so i’m alone in the office. just me and the sandwich and the keyboard. typey typey. at least the day’s more than half over and i got a new song to listen to. i’m sure i’d rather blog than work again later, so bye for now

good day. spent a few hours at the beach with a bunch of sexy girls, a nice day, no shirt, and a midsummer night’s dream. it was a pleasant combination. it was, oddly, the second time in a single week that i was out in the sun with no shirt though (the first was friday’s waterloo day), so i’m afraid i might be in danger of losing my glorious un-tan. and everyone knows how the chicks love pale guys. i’ve never been much of a person for pursuing a tan body, but having it happen incidentally like this is fine by me. it’s like dying your hair, the new color is a nice change of pace for a little bit. sort of. but not the same. but as for girls wanting to be tan and wearing very revealing bathing suits while i’m hanging out with them, hey, i can’t argue with that.

on the way back from the beach we even stopped and got some crepes from real french people. they spoke french to each other and everything. you don’t see so much of that in LA, really, so it was cool. lots of spanish-speaking burrito vendors, but not so many crepes. plus they tasted really good, so i was down. mmm, apple cinnamon. and my girlfriend and i made stir fry for dinner which is a huge deal for us, having to cut and prepare meat and vegetables and sauces and all that… so that was delicious and satisfying too. aaah, good day. very sad night though for a few reasons (in chronological order): [1] i’m talking to a friend of mine who’s sad, and that makes me sad, and we agree that we’re both not as happy as we could be for reasons we can’t seem to pinpoint. what to do about this, well, not knowing is the problem, see? [2] i have to go to work tomorrow at 9:30, and i’m sure once i’m there i’ll already start wishing it was the weekend again. this is a bad way to operate. at least i have blogger. and lastly, [3] my roommate and probably (definitely) best buddy here in LA, josh, is leaving tomorrow night for a semester in brisbon australia. man, i don’t even know what i’m gonna do about that. but this is the point where i can’t not think about it anymore, because he’s packing all his stuff as i type. (pouty face)…man this is sad. if i don’t stop dwelling it’ll tip the scales and the crepes won’t be able to pull me back toward thinking today is a good day. so i’m gonna go have a root beer and try to feel better.

more from work tomorrow, naturally.

the longest weekend of the summer is coming to an end but not without a fight. i made sure to do nothing at all last night so as not to interrupt my great run of inactivity. i stayed home and hung out with the rock (not the wrestler) last night while my friends went to a party, and this morning all i’ve done so far is have a bowl of froot loops (i feel bad typing it out like that, but that’s how it’s spelled on the box. it’s not me, i’m sorry), watch a little bit of the movie twins on the superstation (a very little bit, don’t worry…i left after this conversation between danny and arnold:

arnold (with new suit and sunglasses):so vincent, do i look cool?

danny (with humorouly identical suit and sunglasses): jules, you’re mr ice….

two more talented individuals never have graced the same screen), and order some new books from book heaven. i love books. i’ve been really enjoying reading since summer began and it’s all at my own pace, for my own purposes, and with my own selection. so in a few days hopefully some h.p. lovecraft and the unbearable lightness of being will be on their way to my mailbox. free shipping if you order two things or more! i saved $4.47, you could too!

and i think we’re off to the beach soon, which is just another place to sit around and do nothing while i get sunburned, so the lazy weekend goes uninterrupted. tomorrow morning is not going to be a happy time.

what’d i say. pants are patched up, desk is straightened up, and the half hour of behind the scenes footage made me want to hang out with a bunch of clever british men.

we just got back from dinner at the barbeque king. oh man. last time we went we all had the king burger, which is a one pound of beef, punch in the gut of a sandwich. it’s not so much tasty as it is fun to try to eat. and we all did it too. but this time i opted for the tri-tip sandwich instead which was really tasty but less work. josh got the king burger because he’s flying to australia on monday for a semester abroad, and wouldn’t get a chance to eat a king burger for six more months. i guess i could understand. i’m not going to think about him leaving yet though because i might start crying……

uhh, i better go.

saturday morning and not a single thing to do today. it is so choice. not to say that i won’t do anything today, i certainly will. i just don’t have to do anything. see the beauty in this? plus my roommate dominic bought donuts for the four of us this morning on some random impulse, then afterward decided to clean our shower. don’t ask me why, but it’s fine with me. i was hungry and our shower was unclean. now both those problems have been dispensed with little involvement by me. tip top!

so i’ll probably spend the rest of the day tinkering. maybe sew up a hole in the left pocket in my favorite pair of pants, do some reading, probably sift through some of the special features on my 2-disc snatch dvd, straighten up the place a little maybe… it’s just good to have these lazy days. and when you get five in a row because of a mid-week holiday, things are even better.

oh yeah, last night we watched this movie dominic bought called the warriors. it was about a gang from coney island (yeah, i know) who went to this big gang conference in manhattan or something (yeah, i know), and was accused of killing the big gang kingpin who was going to bring all the gangs together into one huge super-gang. so they had to make it home to coney island with every other gang in the city after them! only the gangs were ridiculous. one gang was a bunch of mimes, one gang was a bunch of guys in baseballs uniforms with their faces painted carrying bats, one gang was “the orphans”, and another gang was a bunch of guys wearing overalls whose leader was on rollerskates… it was amazing. i’d recommend this movie to anyone who wants never to have a certain 90 minute period of their life back. i was just proud that i recognized the leader of the “rogues” — the gang that really killed the head honcho — as t-bird from the crow. that’s right, you can’t hide from me david patrick kelly, i know where you’ve been.

oh, and ps: if you want the pez, you have to email your address to me. otherwise where do i send the pez, silly? yes kevin, this means you.

okay, i’m testing out a few images that i made myself for a project in photo class. the top being my favorite out of the things i made in photography class this spring (i didn’t jump), and the lower being a picture of me not very ugly, i think. subject to replacement (is that a word?) if i make or find a better representation of me for this purpose. the city in the top picture is downtown LA.

back safe and sound from waterloo. i know bill and ted said they have the most excellent waterslides, and i guess as far as waterslides go they were okay, but i remembered once we’d been there for a while that waterslides just aren’t that exciting. give me a nice rollercoaster anyday. although i’ll admit i don’t mind the amount of clothing on the pretty girls when i’m at the water park… (stop staring brian. or should i stare? do they want me to stare? would they be flattered if they caught me staring, as long i wasn’t making creepy faces or doing anything weird? these are the sort of things i wish i knew.)

for now it’s downtime before our friend allison makes us dinner. she grew up in japan (although she’s not asian) and she’s making us japanese food for dinner. i’m excited. free exotic meal, good deal.

speaking of good deal, only two people have taken me up on the pez offer, and they were both people i already knew, one of whom i right out suggested this site to. not that i’d stiff them the pez they deserve, they’re getting it. but the real genius behind this was me meeting new people. maybe there are people reading who just aren’t interested in pez, or wish to remain anonymous. that’s fine too. it’s just that if i don’t get more of a response i may have to abandon the whole idea. perhaps it’s childish and uncool, all this pez business. how was i to know?

i was looking through some pictures of me to maybe find one i could make very small and put on this page. you know, as a way to make more of a human connection. but as i looked, i found that i don’t really like any of the pictures of me that i have. i don’t think i’m bad looking, the camera just never captures me at my full glorious irresistable potential. maybe i’ll have to settle for something unsexy. or leave it pictureless. i don’t know. i suppose you’ll see.

tack this on to thursday: got the snatch dvd in the mail from my homies, so when we got back from a rousing debevic dinner, we plopped down and watched my new movie. what a hip flick. it’s a very stylish movie and brad pitt does an amazing job with that accent, but i’m not sure i like it as much as its predecessor. lock stock and two smoking barrels just made me laugh more than this one, what can i say.

tomorrow it’s up and at ’em and off to waterloo. fun! see you at the slides, kids.

oh the satisfaction. i bought my waterpark ticket and some blank tapes, and did some laundry, and finished a new mix tape already. now i have something to listen to on the way to and from work for the next month! this is no masterpiece mix tape like some i’ve spent a whole week deciding on tracks for in the past, this is just a bunch of stuff i’ve been listening to lately that i wanted to make portable and convenient to listen to while mobile. it’s all my recent (mostly) indie rock/punk purchases and downloads. now don’t worry, recording industry or musicians… i have a strict personal policy about downloads. i only download with intent to buy, music listening on a trial basis. i think digital download sites are great for that sort of thing. you can see what you like, and hear new stuff. but i’m only a pirate in the swashbuckling sense. the only burned cd i own is a disc of hum b-sides, live tracks, and out of print stuff i couldn’t find anywhere else after looking at length. so it’s all good. i think robbing from music-makers is a terrible idea. i like music, why would i want all the people who make it to lose money? especially since the bands i listen to are the sort who could probably benefit from every purchase they get.

so in case you want your own copy of this mix tape, make it with these songs (although be warned, the songs on side one just barely fit on one side of a 90 minute cassette). they’re all excellent.

side one: 1–burning airlines – scissoring….2–hum – puppets….3–the dismemberment plan – the city….4–the impossibles – oxygen….5–north by northwest – that conversation made a lot more sense this time….6–grade – for the memory of love….7–owls – everyone is my friend….8–hot rod circuit – the power of vitamins….9–gorillaz – clint eastwood (couldn’t help it with this one)….10–burning airlines – all sincerity….11–alkaline trio – stupid kid….12–hum – boy with stick

side two: 1–deltron 3030 – virus….2–hot rod circuit – remover….3–burning airlines – the deluxe war baby….4–the impossibles – disintegration (is the best album ever)….5–hum – hortense….6–owls – life in the hair-salon themed bar on the island….7–north by northwest – the collapse….8–grade – seamless….9–hot rod circuit – radio song….10–alkaline trio – mr. chainsaw….11–burning airlines – carnival….12–hum – aphids.

whew. linking all those was probably not worth as much typing as it took, but once i started i felt oddly compelled to finish the job. oh well, what else was i gonna do on thursday at six o clock? the simpsons won’t be on for another half hour. (another 15 minutes now, actually). time to go get some snacks for now. can’t go without food until dinner, which will be at ed debevik’s (mmmm, chicken fingers and vanilla cokes!) and probably not for a few more hours. can’t wait.

hot damn, a day off with not even a barbeque to worry about. that means 100% chillin’. woke up late, went to buy some stuff like blank tapes (it’s about time for a new mix tape for the headphones; the last one’s been being constantly played for about a month and i don’t have a skip-proof cd player that’ll play while i’m riding the bumpy bus or pumpin’ on the longboard) and a ticket for our trip to the water park tomorrow. discount prices at the USC ticket office aren’t half bad. 16 dollars for a day of water slides. and not just any water slides either. this is the water park in san dimas california as seen in bill and ted’s excellent adventure. they called it waterloo, and so shall i, no matter if it says “raging waters” on my ticket.

and last night i went loony and bought three new cds. i haven’t bought any music for a few weeks at least and it was high time. i think i made the right decision. hopefully it’s all as good as i think it will be, and nothing godawful. (actually i know they won’t be bad, i just wanted to make a link joke about a terrible band).