October 31

Happy Halloween to everybody! This is not only the last day of October, but post number 300 overall for me. Unfortunately I have nothing important enough I want to say to warrant a celebratory 300 post. On top of that, I'm just pissed today. Seriously, what is going on with MI sports? The Pistons have now lost two games in a row on this young season. Both losses we had a lead at halftime and came out flat and complacent for the third quarter. Then we were fighting from behind and taking stupid shots all 4th quarter. This needs to change, NOW! Michigan got embarrassed by Illinois. Michigan State got royally screwed by the referees after they overturned an OBVIOUS fumble recovery that would've given them a HUGE chance. Instead they (refs) fucked it up, and the very next play, touchdown: Minnesota. Seriously, someone better be fired for that god-damned missed call tomorrow. No, wait, it wasn't even a MISSED CALL. They had it right the first time. Then they took 45 minutes to review it and SOMEHOW came back with the WRONG CALL!!! Sorry, I just get pissed off when stuff like this happens. Replay is supposed to be used to get calls right. It's beyond me how it can go the other way.

Other than THAT...today was spent house sitting. Haha. That is about it. Due to a snag in some paper signings, the "Grand Rapids - paint the new house" trip has been postponed indefinitely. It will happen, though. Trust me. I feel like I should head to Meijer right now and pick up some supplies. I suppose it could wait until tomorrow, though. I'm actually looking forward to gaining an hour of sleep, tonight. Much, much needed.

Well, ladies and germs, it's about that time. Have a good one and I'll sure to be talkin' to you all later.

Perfct Present(s),
B

October 30

Wow. A great night of friends and costumes. Haha. Yes, tonight was the first annual Thibaut/Kildee Halloween Bash at Brad and Colleen's place. Basically everyone got together in some form of get-up, hung out, drank (not this guy), played games, etc. It was a blast. Hell, it always seems to be with my friends. I'm pretty lucky in that regard. Pictures were taken, and I'm sure a few will end up popping up on facebook. But for now, just know that tonight was a good night. A good night, indeed.

Taco Bell time,
B

October 29

I just realized it's about that time. The time to pay off my credit card that doesn't exist anymore. Thanks again, fraud-douchebags. Anyway, another great day. A lot of running around that ended with some costume buying and a meal at Brandon and Laura's. Speaking of, they could be home owners pretty soon. Oh man, the anticipation. I finally arrived home and started watching some Bulls/Spurs, Phillies/Yankeees, and Trailblazers/Nuggets. Yup, another good day. Wow...post 300 is approaching. Crazy.

Derrick Rose isn't bad,
B

October 28

Great day today, folks. Great day. My FINAL day at Spencer, and it lasted a grand total of 1 hour. Collected my final paycheck, cleared out the computer, and I was out. Just like that. So, you can imagine, instant awesomeness to begin. I headed up to Halloween USA to look for some potential costume ideas. I may have found something, but it won't be finalized until tomorrow. Nothing special. I then got home, worked on the computer for a little bit, and headed out to meet my pal Josh at BWW's. Got there around 7:30 to catch the FIRST PISTON'S GAME OF THE SEASON, as well as the World Series and the Hornets/Spurs game. As you all may or may not know, all three games ended up being blowouts. The Pistons beat Memphis by 22 points, Spurs over the Hornets by 17, and the Yankees LOST to Philly 6-1 in a complete game effort by Cliff Lee. Oh yeah, and the Cavaliers LOST to Toronto. So awesome. Haha. On top of all of that, my fantasy team had a hell of a night. VERY good, in fact. So, in the world of sports, all things go...all things go. Tomorrow hopefully will consist of a meeting, costume buying, and more basketball/baseball in the evening.

Welcome back, Ben Wallace,
B

October 27

Hello, 2009-10 NBA season. Nice to see you again. So far, taking a gamble on Gilbert Arenas in the 4th round of our draft last night (injury-riddled past few years) has paid off. Wow...OK, I'll even admit that's a bit too early. They have played ONE game. Still...did anyone believe that the Wizards were going to beat Dallas IN Dallas tonight? This guy did. I'm telling you, watch out for the Wizards this year. They'll be in the playoffs. Easy. Rhett, you can vouch for me on this one. I've been saying it all summer.

Let's switch from basketball, shall we. I have some amazing news. Tomorrow will OFFICIALLY be my LAST day at "the Spencer Agency." And not a moment too soon. I've been very busy with side projects as of late and haven't found to time to finish them. Now...I may be able to get REAL work done. Hahaha. No, but seriously, I don't know if I was going to be able to last much longer and keep my sanity. This is a fresh start. Thank goodness I already have other jobs lined up.

Congrats to Meagen and Mike on closing on their first REAL HOUSE!!! I know, I know. Friday is when all of the paperwork gets done...but let's be real. You're already good to go. So...ROCK AND ROLL!!!

The Pistons play their first game of the season tomorrow against a young, up-and-coming Memphis team. I think Detroit will be sliding under the radar all season and could surprise some people. We'll see.

Thanks, Agent 0,
B

October 26

Honestly, today was pretty bland. The one thing that did occur was tonight, at 8:45, my fantasy basketball league's draft took place. 10 guys, head-to-head format, over the NBA season (which starts tomorrow). You have no idea how excited I am for basketball to start up. My favorite sport. As for the draft, it was a good time, as always. Thought I made it out OK...but only time will tell with that. Hell, I got Granger and Deron with my first 2 picks. Gots to love that.

Celtics/Cavs tomorrow on TNT,
B

October 25

Today was a very, very, very awesome day. The entire family was over for my Grandma's 80th birthday celebration. Now, technically, her birthday isn't until Tuesday. But who gets together in the middle of a work week? Exactly. So everything was reserved for today. Everybody was over and large portions of meatballs, sloppy joes, potato salad, Ro-Tel dip, etc. was eaten. Just great to see people who I hadn't talked to in a while. There was the classic birthday cake and singing and presents and a night that ended with some games. Overall, a great day. We'll see what happens tomorrrow.

Canon makes quality point-and-shoots,
B

October 24

Well, if anybody knows what to do when the "Door Ajar" message in your car won't go away, please tell me. Freakin' door is NOT ajar. Pretty sure I checked...15 times. Haha.

It felt great to sleep in a little bit today. Then it was time to get up and start working around the house. My Grandma's 80th birthday is tomorrow and we're having a TON of family over to celebrate. Should be a blast. Anyway, around 7 I went out to dinner with Matt, Brandon, and Laura at Logan's. Had some great wings with this tangy/spicy sauce. I drove out to see their wedding pictures and hang out for a little. I got home and immediately started trying to troubleshoot the whole "lights won't go off inside my car" issue. After a couple calls to OnStar, browsing through the owners manual, and a few Google searches, I determined I couldn't do anything about it until Monday. I walked outside and the light had turned off. Come to find out that in a lot of new cars there's a function built in to where if the interior lights are on for an extended amount of time, it will shut them off. I think it took a good 10 or 20 minutes, but they're off. And yes, I checked, and the car is still running. I have work early tomorrow...so things better work out.

Time to visit the Salvation Amry,
B

October 23

Where the Wild Things Are = excellent cinematography; excellent VFX; story...what do you expect from a children's book that largely consisted of pictures. Still, I'm happy I saw it. I loved that damn book.

Today consisted of being extremely happy it was Friday, leaving work early, helping Brandon and Laura move, going out to eat with the family, and seeing the movie mentioned above. Such a good day. OH, and no one put fraudulent charges on my now non-existent credit card. Very nice.

I miss Bill Knapps' Au-Gratin potatoes,
B

October 22

Credit card fraud is lame. I arrived home yesterday after a long, drawn out day of work, and noticed I had a package sitting in my room. It was a package from somewhere in California and contained not one, but two "Shoes Under". What is "Shoes Under"? THIS is "Shoes Under". I honestly had no idea what to think. Where did this come from? I took a gander at the receipt and noticed that it had been paid for via credit card by...ME!? What the F*&#. Needless to say it was time to get online and check a couple transaction reports. As I looked closer, I noticed a couple names/charges that I never remembered making. As looked even closer I found a few more. I proceeded to call up Chase and get this all straightened out. It was a long process, a lot of calling different numbers, companies, people, etc. but in the end (about 2.5 hours later) all was good to go. Refunds are being processed, accounts cancelled, pending charges dropped, and a whole new credit card account being activated. Oh well. It happens. One thing I don't understand...whoever was using my account for the past month had made a Netflix account. I know they weren't stupid enough to make a Queue, as the movies would've been shipped to me, but the representative from Netflix informed me that the individual didn't even stream one movie in that time. Go figure.

So that was the adventure from yesterday. After all of that I had a late dinner and worked on getting a spot uploaded and sent out to Owosso. OH, and I didn't get to bed until 5AM. HaHAAAAA.

Today was a LONG day at work. It was so freaking boring. I got out, got home (eventually), set up the new Comcast HD box in my room, and got to work on another spot. After another late dinner I'm finally able to relax for a bit. I'm about ready to set up my annual Yahoo fantasy basketball league. All-in-all, a pretty productive day. I'm thinking I'm going to leave work early tomorrow. I don't think I could take another pointless day like today.

Oh, HD channels,
B

October 21

A very interesting day today. I want to go in detail with what happened, but I think I may wait a bit until tomorrow. I have a lot to work on right now on the computer. I'll end it with this: credit card fraud is a BITCH!

Chase,
B

October 20

Abbey Road. Today Abbey Road was released for Beatles Rock Band. I thought it was supposed to be released a while ago, but it doesn't matter now. Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul will follow in the coming months. Should be a blast.

As for the routine today, nothing too exciting. Work then home then store then food then home to work and play. I met Brandon and Matt for lunch earlier this afternoon. Ummm...that's about it. Sorry for the boring posts as of late. I know it's been a couple weeks since an actually INTERESTING write-up. We'll see what happens in the future to spice up this lil' blog.

Fantasy basketball soon,
B

October 19

Well, I got back into the grind this week (but for how long?). Hopefully not much. But we'll see. The simple breakdown goes work, food, work, home, (insert errand), work, food, work, and blog. The life I lead...

Time for a 4th meal,
B

October 18

At this rate I'm never going to be able to sleep in again. Haha. Early morning of work (obviously). I ran out to Panera to grab some food after and enjoyed a nice Asiago Beef. Lunch then lead to more work on the computer which I tried to finish up as fast as I could. Rendering through AE was taking a while so I started another video and left to go to Amanda's dad's place where everyone was opening up the wedding gifts from the night before and visiting. Unfortunately, I got there a little late and everyone was about to leave. At least I got to see some peeps really quick. After that I drove back home to finish the videos (which I did) and then left again to have dinner for the LAST time at Laura and Brandon's apartment. The lease is up at the end of the month and they're eager to leave. In fact, they should be gone by the end of the week. It was delicious with a ton of dessert to follow. After a little mingling and baseball/football I left and got back to the house. Another full day, but it's a beautiful thing. Halloween is right around the corner. Wow.

Chocolate chip cookies are amazing,
B

October 17

Quick one today. Had Amanda and Theo's wedding and it was a great time. The ceremony went by really smooth and the reception was high energy and a lot of fun. Another great Saturday. Now I might actually have some free time in the near future!

Not a fan of Dr. Pepper,
B

October 16

Non-stop. That's been today. After work I ran home to grab some equipment and then it was off to the Amanda and Theo's wedding rehearsal. Framed everything up there and got a good idea where we're going to be standing. I then got some quick dinner, got home, and started working on some more side projects I've been trying to finish the last couple days. Tomorrow is my final scheduled wedding of the season. Should be another good one.

At some point in the next few days I will be going to see Where The Wild Things Are at IMAX. Yesterday's attempt was a failure thanks to a theater with no sound. Not cool.

Wonder if we'll be seeing some snow soon,
B

October 15

I'm sitting in the IMAX right now waiting for Where the Wild Things Are to start. I'm very excited. This was MY BOOK growing up. Now it's a Spike Jonze joint. That's all that needs to be talked about right now. Be back tomorrow.

Take 'er easy,
B

October 14

I was on the road and in front of a computer from 9 this morning until 11:30 tonight. I love it. From Flint to Owosso. Now I'm sitting in bed in front of a portable computer. I wonder what my life would be like with NO technology? Who knows, but I like it this way. Possible midnight showing tomorrow night. Oh...man...

All is love,
B

October 13

A lot of driving around, picking up tapes, capturing footage, and working on the computer. In between there was a little Panera to eat and some Heroes to continue watching via Netflix on the XBox. The movie I've been waiting for comes out this Friday. Can't...WAIT!!!

Pizza rolls,
B

October 12

I love me some chocolate fudge. Even better when it comes from Mackinac. Mmmm. Thanks Brandon and Laura! WOOO!

In other news work was...honestly, I can't wait to finish there. Can't come soon enough. I got home after visiting with the above mentioned couple, worked on the computer (again) for a bit and started watching some Heroes Season 3 on my 360 via Netflix. Good times. Watching the Miami/New York game now. It's been a good one. Tomorrow is Tuesday. I wonder what comes out?

Fire,
B

October 11

Sleep is awesome. I believe this. Haven't had a ton on a while, so tonight I'm looking forward to a nice amount of shut-eye. Not a whole lot happened. I talked to friends, saw Zombieland (which was amazing), and headed over to Brad's for a little Curb and Board To Death. In between there was time spent working on projects on the Mac. There's a possibility we could see some snow this week. Interesting.

Do people count sheep anymore,
B

October 10

Michigan State didn't have a let down after their win last week. We actually beat a team we should've beat. That's a good thing. As I type this Michigan is down to Iowa. We'll see what happens there.

Today has been a relaxing day. I worked on a few projects on the computer and watched some football. Had a good couple meals and am getting hungry again. I love days like this. I haven't had many, that's for sure.

I love me some chocolate fudge,
B

October 9

Yet another busy and tiring day. Tiring in a good way, though. I went from my home, to work, to Owosso, to my house, back to work, and then back at my house around 6:30. A lot of driving, but it was all necessary. The evening was spent getting some BWW's with Joe, picking up some cider and donuts, and heading to Brad's to relax. A very good night overall. Man, I need to find some time to learn NBA Live. Haha. Probably going to have to wait a little bit longer for that.

I love a warm bed,
B

October 8

Joe was back in town for a long weekend, so after getting some business of my own wrapped up, I headed over there for the majority of the evening. Good times, indeed. Man, I can't wait until the weekend.

The Tigers game still pisses me off,
B

October 7

Oh, how much I love getting ready for a good night's sleep. A productive day ending in visiting with some friends and a good meal. Tomorrow will probably be more of the same with Joe coming back in town. Possibly a little more on the "hanging out" end, though.

Before I go I want to wish one Ryan VanLoon a Happy Birthday! Number 24. Oh, to be young again. Haha.

Hey darlin', do you gamble,
B

October 6

Significant things that happened today include the Tigers losing in a 12-inning game, NBA Live 10 and Lucero's new CD being released, and me feeling pretty good overall.

This is not a test,
B

October 5

I'm posting very early today as I have a lot to do tonight. But, honestly, the only thing WORTH posting about is I told Josh (as in Spencer) earlier today that he should start looking for someone else to replace me. I'm over it. I was nice about it and said I'd take time to train anyone in the workings of the office, but it's about that time. I have a lot to prepare and think about for the future now, but I'm actually very excited.

It's been a long time comin',
B

October 4

Not going to lie...I am tired again. I suppose that's what 3.5 hours of sleep will do to a person. However, I need to over all the events of yesterday and today. So, may as well start off.

Yesterday began with a breakfast with Brandon, his family, and friends/groomsmen. I hadn't been to Bob Evans in a long time, so it was good to grab an early morning meal. Those pancakes...wow. I can NEVER finish them all. Hell, I had a hard time finishing half. Regardless, it was a good time with plenty of laughing (as always). It was then time to run some errands for Brandon and drop of a surprise to the bride-to-be. Myself, Ryan (who had gotten married a couple weeks ago), and Matt drove to Edible Arrangements to pick up a fruit piece Brandon had bought for the girls. We then took that and a card to the hotel they were staying and acted as his personal room service. My camera was rolling the entire time, so I definitely got the trip to the door, the surprise on the faces of the ladies inside, and the expression on Laura's face when she read the card and realized that a trip had been planned for the soon-to-be-newlyweds next week in Northern Michigan. A "fall tour" so to speak. Good way to start the morning. Matt then headed back to his place to change while Ryan and I drove to Oliver T's to pick up some "beverages" for the limo. A decent amount was purchased and, by the end of the ride later that day, only two bottles remained. Those guys are a fun time. Haha. Anyway, Ryan dropped me back off at my car and I headed home to change for the rest of the day.

I arrived to the church early. So early, in fact, that only one other groomsmen - Ryan - was there. He helped me carry my equipment inside where I started setting up and getting some extra B-roll. Donnell soon drove in and we had a quick meeting before the rest of the guys got there. As soon as more vehicles started parking, it was time for pictures before the girls got there - which happened sooner than expected. As we were walking outside to start the limo pulled and in Brandon IMMEDIATELY ran back in and headed toward his room in the back. A funny sight, but it all ended up working out. The girls ran to their room, the guys went outside and snapped some pictures, the guys gathered into the limo and drove around while the girls took their pictures, and all went by without a problem. Funny additional note, during all of this the Michigan/Michigan State game was being played. So throughout the pictures and prepping everyone was checking their phone, texting, calling friends - getting updates anyway they could. By the time the groomsmen got back it was nearing the end of the 4th quarter and Michigan was trying to send the game into O.T. I was in the limo for their final drive when they scored the TD and got reactions from everyone. As soon as I stopped recording there was a bit of swearing and a thought of, "REALLY, MSU? You're going to do this to me AGAIN!?" But I couldn't react too much given that EVERYONE (besides myself and Matt) were rooting for U of M. Flash ahead a little later: As I was walking out of the girl's room after finishing up with some prep-shots, I heard someone whisper my name. I turned to my right and it was Matt, with his fist in the air and a big smile. I asked what had happened and he said MSU had scored a touchdown in O.T. and won. I just smiled. It was a good day.

The wedding itself went by without a hitch. The sound was great, I could actually USE my camera, and the ceremony was short, sweet, and to the point. During a slide show I even had a chance to get some great reaction shots from the bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents, and, of course, Brandon and Laura. Before we headed out to the reception more pictures were taken which meant more filming, including B-roll shots of the church's exterior, interior, etc. There was enough time left over to pack everything up and get in our cars to follow the wedding party, too. Everything was right on schedule.

At the reception hall (Davison Country Club) a few more pictures were taken before everyone was introduced. True to form, and despite suffering a hard-fought loss earlier in the day, the just-married couple ran in to the Michigan fight song. It was great. You could imagine all of what happened next. Thanks all around, speeches, food, etc. I will say that, instead of cake, there was wedding pie, and lots of it (about 4 different flavors in all). In fact, I really enjoyed this fall themed wedding. Carmel apples were given to every guest at their table, the decorations were as such, and, at around 10, they brought out the cider and donuts. Oh man...SOOOOO GOOD!!! You have no idea. Mmmm.

The end of the night was filled with more dancing, more pictures, and a nice final shot of Brandon and Laura walking out to their car and leaving for the night. I drove home, exhausted, and realizing that I had to get up at 5:15 the next morning for the Buy.

Speaking of the Buy, it was a long but easy day (as always). As soon as I got out I headed to Gander Mountain to pick up a present that Matt had got for the wedding. Today was the day that the newlyweds were going to be opening their gifts from the night before. I arrived with a present of my own and Matt's in each hand. I will say those two made out very well. Very well. After we loaded all of the stuff in a few cars, we headed out to their apartment (the opening took place at the parent's house) to drop everything off, then out to dinner for some Pizza. Once we got back from all of this, we watched Sunshine Cleaning and hung out for a bit. The movie was OK, but Brandon and Laura ended up passing out half-way through it. Those two do have THAT in common - the uncanny ability to fall asleep at any time. Once the film finished everyone said their goodbye's and headed out. I drove over to Brad's house for the replay of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Great episodes this season, so far. The first of the Seinfeld series. WOOO!!! After a few games of NBA Live 09 I got home and passed out myself. It was worth it. Such a great weekend. One more wedding in two weeks and that should be about it.

NBA Live 10 on Tuesday. It's as good as bought. Speaking of the NBA, first preseason game for the Pistons is on FSN tonight against the Heat. I'm the only person I know who gets excited for pre-season games, but I just want to see how our young players/rookies look. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up in a rebuilding year, but I still think Detroit can do some work in the Eastern Conference. I will say, though, that a lot of teams improved, including the Wizards. Watch out the Washington.

Tigers won on Sunday as well, which means that Tuesday our playoff hopes are on the line. It's going to be our rookie, Rick Porcello (14-9), against Scott Baker (15-9), IN Minnesota. This is going to be a tough game. I can't wait. Wow, Tuesday will be a busy day.

Where the Wild Things Are,
B

October 3

GO GREEN!!! GO WHITE!!! Hahaha. OK, sorry. I had to get that one out of my system.

Another great day because of a great wedding that involved great friends. I was thinking earlier today that I'm very lucky to have such great people in my life. Just awesome. I'm going to go into details tomorrow because I'm exhausted tonight and have work very early in the morning.

I will say that the Tigers have officially made me lose faith in humanity. No, it's not that serious. But really...we could actually BE OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS tomorrow with a loss. Really. Now I know how Cubs and Mets fans feel. We'll see what happens.

CONGRATULATIONS MR. AND MRS. BRANDON STURGESS,
B

October 2

OK, today was fantastic, but because I'm so tired I'm going to try to through everything quick.

Started with a short day of work. Then back to my place to grab my equipment. Off to Davison Country Club to help set up for my pal Brandon and Laura's reception tomorrow. I got there and everyone had already finished. Myself, Brandon, and Matt ended up staying a couple hours after so I could get some quality B-roll today and not have to worry about it on Saturday. Food at Panera bread (first meal of the day) around 3:30, then home to grab a "dress shirt" for later, and off to First Baptist in Grand Blanc. Rehearsal was great as all of my equipment was working perfectly with the church's. Drove with Matt to rehearsal dinner where plenty of pizza and breadsticks were waiting. Even got some good footage there. Off to run some late errands, then to Matt's to drop off my equipment for safe keeping, then to the movie theater for a late night showing of Zombieland. Zombieland ended up being sold out so we decided to see The Invention of Lying instead. I was having a great time in the theater, but I can't say the same for everyone else. It's a very obvious commentary on something, but you can see it for yourself. It was an original story that tackled a "sensitive" subject (to some) in a very funny, light-hearted, and - most importantly - ORIGINAL way. There's that word again. Haha. Honestly, not the greatest movie overall, but, for me, the subject matter did it. Got out of the show and headed to Matt's to pick up my equipment. Just got home, reviewing footage from the day, going to get a little snack, then to bed. Wedding awesomeness starts tomorrow at 8am. Seriously, I can't wait. When good friends get married it always amounts to a great time. WOOOO!!!

Oh...and the Tigers lost today. And Minnesota won. We now only have a 1 game lead with 2 games to play. If we win ONE of those games and the Twins lose ONE of their's...it's over. But we're playing like shit. This is sad. If we don't make the playoffs...

AHHHHH,
B

October 1

Hello, October. How are you? A year older. Yeah, I hear you. Me? Oh, I'm fine. Nothing new here. The classic work, lunch, work, leave. Did some more laundry and finally had a chance to relax tonight. I suppose that makes for a good day. Yeah, I'd say it does. Thanks for asking. I'm sure I'll have better stories over the next 31 days. For now, this will have to suffice.

2 games up with 3 to go,
B