May 15

For the first time in a while, I had a nice, easy-going night to myself. I got out of work, ate some dinner, relaxed for a bit, did some laundry, and watched the Tigers destroy the A's 14-1 thanks to a couple of grand slams by Ryan Raburn and Brandon Inge. Inge is playing out of his mind (on offense and defense) this year. But...yeah, that was about it. Nicholas stopped by the office today. It was fun seeing him for a short while. Had some MORE last minute videos that were requested and I actually got them out for the most part. I'm looking forward to tomorrow to sleep in and lay back...until I have to deal with my G5 again. Seriously, I'm over Novi.

He got game,

B

May 14

So, yesterday I plugged in my iPod to my computer and as I was starting to fade into a deep sleep, The Beatles "All You Need Is Love" came on. The theme of the night was love. Today I'm about to hit the bed and Okkervil River "John Allyn Smith Sails" is playing. I'm not tired enough to start writing about the death of a fictional character, so I'll continue with the love. Love is good. Done. Haha.

No, but seriously, the big news here is the Red Wings defeating the Ducks with a goal in the last few moments of game 7. A heck of a goal, too. Now we meet Chicago on Sunday. Tigers lost...so that's not cool. But the Wings are headed to the Western Conference finals. Why we're still in the "Western Conference" - along with Chicago - I'll never truly know. Oh well.

Work was relatively calm today, until about half way in, when a client confused everyone and had me working on a spot that had no direction whatsoever. It was fun...for about 3 minutes. Then it got stressful. Then it got over with as I headed home for the day. The game was watched at Brad's with a group of friends, food, and many laughs. Very good times.

The next day I have free I think I may have to take my G5 on a drive to get it re-re-re-fixed. So annoying. I'm not talking about your everyday, person driving too close to me annoying, either. I'm talking...ANNOYING annoying. I rely heavily on technology, which is both a good and terrible thing.

Rhett Miller is now performing "Girl" through my small laptop speakers.

Is there anybody going to listen to my story,

B

May 13

Man, I'm feeling a bit tired tonight. Probably should of went to bed an hour ago, but it's hard when you're not at your house. I haven't actually been back home until right now. Full day of work, visiting a friend at work, food, and the 13 inning Tigers game (which we lost). Crazy. As far as work is concerned, after going pretty smoothly yesterday, you knew something was going to happen. And it did. And it's causing me to go in early tomorrow morning. Basically...people got pissed. Haha. It's funny, really. Some people just don't realize that when you only have 30 seconds to fill for a spot it's hard to find extra time to put 30 more seconds of information. Amazing concept, I know. Also, it'd be wonderful if they gave us more than, oh, the day of to put an entirely new spot together. Again...hahaha. Amazing. On the bright side, Mr. Kennedy stopped on by while we were in a mad rush and checked out the work place. I told him I need to get him in there with another computer next to me. We'd get so much more accomplished and things that go down like today wouldn't be as stressful. Oh wells. Only time will tell on that.

After work I jumped in the car and headed to see Brandon. After a nice shift at work we went out to Buffalo Wild Wings for some grub. It was delicious. Funny thing about that trip was I was starting to get sleepy. In fact, I was on my way home when I remembered Brad had told me to get a hold of him when I finished up. So considering I was almost home at this point, I just drove a little ways down to his place and rang the door bell. We hung out for a bit, watched some NBA action and, like I mentioned before, the Tigers lose. And somewhere in between all of this I saw the Penguins/Capitals end score. Wow. Talk about domination. Sorry Caps fans, but you'll have to wait another year.

I'm lying in bed right now and my eyelids feel like they're being forced open with a fast-weakening rubber band. It's only a matter of time until the elastic is going to give out and I'll be able to rest. I hope it comes sooner than later.

You know how they say love never comes to you when you're looking. Well they're right. It comes to you when you've turned your head to blow away a fly. By the time you realize it, it's too late and love has you in it's cross-hairs. And love isn't using some weak little sling-shot. No, love has itself a semi-automatic carbon-fiber assault rifle, and it's firing round after round into you. But you don't feel pain. You feel...different. And then you look back and see her, and it's game over. Thanks a lot, love. Way to play fair. Sneaking up all unexpected like. How about you give a brother a chance?

Haha. Just to let anyone who's reading this know, the above was completely meaningless. I'm that tired right now. I'm literally writing anything that comes to the top of my head. Nothing makes sense. AHHHHH. I can also guarantee there are a few grammatical and spelling errors above, but I'm too tired to care. No joke, I literally fell asleep for a minute there. I woke up and my right ring finger was holding down the up-arrow key on my laptop.

One sheep, two sheep, red sheep, blue sheep,

B

May 12

Got up for work knowing that a lot had to get done. Finished work around 8:15 accomplishing almost all of it and feeling pretty good about it. In between, went to lunch with the sister at Tropical Smoothie. Also, later in the day I received a text from Brad saying he was having folks over his house to watch the Wings play later, so my evening was full. In fact, I just got back from there. We were down 0-2 after two periods. Hopefully the third will be...better (to say the least). Can we get a clean shot on goal? I'm pretty sure the Tigers lost tonight, as did the Magic against Boston (BOOO) and the Rockets currently are against the Lakers (BOOO). So...not a good sports day.

Maybe things will be a little more eventful tomorrow.

Here's to you,

B

May 11

You know what, I'm going to switch it up a bit. Let's go in reverse, shall we?

The night ended with me talking with Rhett on the phone about what he's been up to in D.C., the Capitals/Penguins series, G5's, render farms, Cornwall videos, lame non-repairs, the new Star Trek, computer screens, and whatever else came up. A good way to end it, indeed.

We got to Buffalo Wild Wings afterwards and caught up. Talked about job prospects, girlfriends, kids, etc. You know, it's funny, but the conversations I find myself having with my friends NOW are completely different than what was discussed in high school. In fact, Eric and I talked about that. High school was all about goofy videos, girls, snacks, what college you applied to, etc. Now we're talking about college graduation, marriage, having kids, 5-year plans, etc. Wow. Time does fly, doesn't it?

Eric actually ended up meeting me at the office. The reason: because I thought I was going to be there a little later then I was. Actually got out around 6:15 today. So we went to my place, changed cars, and headed to the IMAX. Like I said, everyone that had seen this movie over the weekend had been raving about it. In fact, everyone I'd spoken to loved it. I guess you could say my expectations were a little high now. Walking out of the theater, I'd have to agree with everyone. Going into this movie, I admit that I know NOTHING of Star Trek. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were in the original...and that's about all I can gather from this universe. I was happy to find out that the direction of this film (and the supposed movies yet to be made) is heading on a completely separate story-line, so you didn't have to know much about it. I'm sure there were little easter eggs and certain jokes that flew completely over my head, but you can tell it was made for both the obsessive fan-boy and average viewer who thought the trailer looked good. Kudos.

This morning I got into work at the classic time of 10. Everything actually ran pretty smooth today. We received one location right off the bat and a few more later that night. So...maybe smooth wasn't the right word. It ran smoother...but typical of what usually goes on, a lot of information was given to us late. Haha. Anyway, throughout the day I was talking to some of the newly graduated folks and Mr. Eric Strong asked about going to see Star Trek later tonight. I checked times and saw there was a 7:00 IMAX showing, so I text'd him with the info and he was down. Simple. Plans were made and I figured by the way things were going I'd be out of work in time. I mentioned to Shannon about the show for later and she became very excited, as she had seen the midnight showing on Thursday and loved it. That, in turn, got me excited as that was yet another person who enjoyed their experience with the Trek. Speaking of Shannon, she officially made my day. We were working on a new video and needed a "female woo-hoo." She was recruited, came into my office, threw on the headphones, and proceeded to put together quite possibly the cutest/funniest/thoroughly-excited "WOO-HOO" I've heard in a while. Not only that, she let go of a variety of them. Smiles all around. Thank you, Shannon. Thank you. By this time, everything was winding on down. People were leaving work and I stayed to finish up a few more things.

WOOO-HOOOOOO,

B

May 10

I'm not lying, this post will be a short one.

I got up for an early morning work day at the Buy.  Easy and out at 11am.  I grabbed some food and came home.  Things got a bit crazy when my Mom got a call and took my Great Uncle to the hospital, but everything seemed to be fine.  He may have been suffering from a bit of vertigo brought on by, get this, some other medication he was prescribed.  Anyway, that basically took away the entire afternoon, as both her and my Dad didn't get back until 7.  By then my sister had came home for a little Mother's Day surprise.  We both gave her cards and presents, ate dinner, and called it a night.

So, Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready for a new work week tomorrow.  Should be fun.

The American Heritage Dictionary is one thick book,

B

May 9

I was just about to go to bed when I remember that I hadn't posted anything for today.  So here's a rundown:

I left for SVSU at around noon to see Josh, Ryan, and Eric graduate.  The ceremony started at 1:30 and lasted a couple hours.  When I got to the campus, the police had blocked off a lot of roads and were directing people to different parking lots.  It just so happened that the section I was flagged to was one of the farthest from the Ryder Center.  I had a bit of a walk ahead of me.  As for the actual graduation, it was pretty much what you'd expect, with the obligatory yelling of friend's names when they're announced.  The Hockin's were kind enough to save me a seat with the, so I got to enjoy all of the festivities with a good group of people.  After, I even got to see Eric's mom and sister, whom I haven't talked to in a while.  Pictures were taken with everybody, I was dropped off at my car, and we were off to Lucky's for a fantastic post-grad dinner.  It was great.  No, scratch that, it was GREAT!!!

I pulled into my garage with a full stomach and tired eyes.  I still managed to watched the Tigers win another pitching duel against the Indians, though.  Yet another shutout win.

Speaking of Detroit sports, they announced early this morning that Chuck Daly had passed away.  Like I have said before, I was very young when he coached the Pistons to consecutive championships in '89-'90 but I know about the teams and have seen the games on replay.  I'm sure they were running a tribute all day on SportsCenter, but for any local sports fan, it's a sad day.

Lastly, I was able to power my computer on again, only to have it shut off on me 15 minutes later.  Yup, something's dead wrong here.

I'd love to relax for a day,

B

May 8

Today was a great day.  Got up early and left the house around 8:20-ish with the parents to head to State.  We ended up getting there with plenty of time to spare for all of the various ceremonies.  First we stopped by the Breslin Center to pick up Tori's Honors College stole and have some breakfast.  I'll be honest, the breakfast was lacking, but I guess the fact that they had a number of students and family that needed to be fed could have factored into that.  Next we went around MSU's campus and took some pictures (we'll get back to that one).  Then it was off to another building where a little celebration was being held for all of the Communicative Sciences and Disorders grads.  We had some cake and punch, chatted for a second, and left right away to get back to the Breslin Center for the "interlude to the actual commencement."  This included an honorary degree and speech by Desmond Tutu (which was amazing).  That lasted for about an hour then there was a little intermission.  During this period Tori headed back on down to the floor where everyone was getting lined up and a few of her friends arrived in East Lansing.  It's always a good feeling to have friends come to see you graduate.  Forgot to mention, while we were out earlier, my Grandparents got to the Breslin early to get seats.

Commencement started around 3:30 and lasted until 5:45.  Some more speeches - some better than others - and honorary degrees were given out.  This time around, everything was geared toward the Communications field.  I also realized something...MSU has a ton of students that graduate every year.  There will be 2 more ceremonies being help on Saturday and Sunday at various times to finish off the class of 2009.  Wow.  Anyway, nothing too exciting followed.  We were eagerly anticipating the calling of my sister's name while a ton of the other kids were being called up.  Funny story...we got to see Goran Suton get his degree today.  Everyone was trying to pass the time when, out of nowhere, the entire crowd started to cheer.  I looked down and noticed a giant individual walking up to the podium, and then his name was called.  Haha.  He's going to be missed on the basketball team, for sure.  More time passes and, finally, it's Tori's program's turn.  We saw her get up from her seat and stand in line, but she was soon lost when the line turned (she's not very tall).  We spotted her again when the line was weeded down to 3 people ahead of her.  When he name was called, everyone let out a big cheer (or gigantic yell, in my case) and Tori acknowledged her fans.  More time passed, the students officially became MSU alumni, and we headed on out to Outback (with more pictures being taken in-between).

Basically...Outback was amazing because we were all hungry.  Family and friends out to eat is a can't beat situation, especially when you just finished 4 successful years of college.  Cards and presents were given out, food was consumed, and we left.  I can bet that Tori will be having a fun time tonight.  Haha.

Not to end on a F(*&# ANNOYING note, but let me shine some more light upon the pictures comment from before.  I've been having problems with my computer ever since I had it "fixed" the first time.  Even after I JUST took it in to the Apple store yesterday, I was having problems with it.  Well, I managed to get it turned on when I got back from State (a miracle in it's own right) and just as I finished uploading the pictures from today...black screen.  No burning this time.  No smell.  Just a click and a black screen...again.  I tried restarting it multiple times to no avail.  Basically, I'm pretty pissed off right now.  I'm going to leave it unplugged for the night and when I get back from SVSU tomorrow night, I'll try the same process over again.  If it still won't come on, I'm calling and complaining to the Novi Apple store.  This is just ridiculous.  At this rate, I'll never be able to finish any new projects let alone get more time to test new techniques out in After Effects or Illustrator.  Like I said...it BETTER turn on tomorrow.

Let me say one more thing...I've had to open my machine up every single time I want to turn it on.  Hold down the button behind the fan, wait 10 seconds, and let it go.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't...and this was all yesterday.

I really do hate to end on a sour note because, like I said, today was awesome.  So I won't.  If my computer doesn't work, oh well.  I'll take it back, tell them to FIX IT, and won't leave until we turn it off and on at least 52 times with no problems.  And I won't pay for it.  Thank YOU!!!

Congrats again, Tori: Bachelors Degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders with HIGH HONORS!!!  WOOO!!!

Hope you enjoy the camera,

B

May 7

Remember when I said "real quick one" yesterday? Well I meant it for today...but I have a feeling that that's a lie as well. We'll see how this post goes. If it's too long...I apologize.

Nothing exciting happened today besides me finally getting my G5 back in working order. The guy that helped me this time was a good man and explained what had happened. Basically I needed to press a button. Hahaha. So yeah, that's cool. But let's rewind. I got out of work early so as to do all of my running around. Florist first, then Twelve Oaks for computer help and food, then over to Great Lakes Crossing where I was looking for clothing a season too late. Then back to my place where I finished eating some dinner and am now watching the Red Wings game. We're tied 1-1 with 6:21 left in the first period.

Donnell was kind enough to join me on my mid-Michigan journey. Had some good talks concerning everything, especially music.

I'm just happy I can FINALLY finish up a project and get to backing up everything else on this bad boy. I'll be grabbing another hard drive on Saturday.

Big things going on this weekend, though. Tomorrow Tori will be graduating from MSU. We're all extremely proud of her here and are looking forward to seeing her walk. It sounds like we're heading out early to make it to some honors ceremony, then to the actual commencement, then back to Tori's where we're meeting up with a few of her friends to go out to eat for dinner. Basically, it's going to be a long day, but an important one. I'll hopefully have some pictures to post later.

Saturday my pals from SVSU are graduating, including one Josh Hockin, Ryan Trevithick, and Eric Strong. Again, an awesome day and 3 guys I've very proud of.

Sunday I may actually get to relax, but we'll see. I really need to get working on another project. It never ends...but I love it.

You know, one of the main things I missed about not having my G5 operating correctly was not being able to listen to any of my music. I missed that, and am happy to be doing it now.

Hammock makes me smile,
B

May 6

A real quick one for tonight. I got into work and found that no audio had been recorded from the night before, which, in turn, meant I'd be rushing like a mad hound to get all of our commercials out in time. Somehow it all went pretty smooth, sans the process of recording all of the audio. I left work around six - only and hour after I was supposed to - and met up with my Mom and Grandma for some Ruby Tuesdays. After that, I stopped by the Cage to chat with Brandon for a bit. Come to find out he's on the Gmail chat every once and a while, so I gave him my Spencer Production name. On slow days, it'll help to pass the time. Hell, chatting with Meagen has been a blast. She hears my vents in real time. WOOO!!! Surprisingly, I didn't get on iChat/AIM at all today. Hmmm.

The Tigers/White Sox game was postponed tonight; the Capitals and Penguins are in OT, tied 2-2; and the Celtics are - unfortunately - dominating the Magic, 81-59. Slow sports day...besides all the talk about Brett Favre potentially coming back AGAIN with the Minnesota Vikings. Haha...wow.

Still haven't finished Benjamin Button. Mark my words, I will very soon. Very soon.

I can't stand Eddie House,

B

May 5

You know what, I'm going to round up. The past two days I've worked a total of 24 hours. I love it. You know what else I love...being so busy that I haven't even had the chance to take my computer back to the shop. I've been typing these blog entries on my laptop for close to a week and it's getting a little old. I've also determined that I need to get to Ikea and H&M in the next couple days; And by next couple of days I mean tomorrow or Thursday...

While I was working I got to watch the first innings of the Tigers' game which we ended up winning in a shutout, 9-0. My man Curtis Granderson hit ANOTHER home run which gives him a total of 9 for the season - which also leads the team. Cabrera rounded the bases as well. That guy eats babies, I swear. As I type this the Wings are losing 0-1 at the start of the 2nd period. That better change in the next 40 minutes of play. While I'm on this Detroit sports kick, I came across a funny rumor today. Slam! wrote a small article that claimed a source close to Rasheed Wallace was told that if he didn't get a contract worth at least $8 million to play next year he was going to retire. If this is true (and this is a big if) maybe he should have tried to "play" during the last month of the season - especially the playoffs. Let's see...how many points did you score in game 4 against the Cavs? Zero? 0-7 from the field and 0-2 in free throws. Yeah, you go get that contract, Sheed.

I'm done venting for now. I picked up Benjamin Button and am excited to start it. Rhett told me about a video on TED where they talked about the making of a whole new CGI facial tracking and mapping technique that was developed for this movie. As soon as I watched it I knew I had to get it. Wow.

I love me some orange juice,

B

May 4

I just got back from work around 10:39PM. That's 10AM to 10PM PLUS!!! WOOO!!! Created two new spots tonight. Here's the thing...didn't get any of the locations or audio plugged in. The next couple of days should be interesting. I did find out that I get cable on my office TV though. I watched the Tigers' game while I was finishing up in AE tonight. Also, I found out Gmail is fantastic. I'll probably be talking to Meg a bit more often online, now. Well, I'm going to try getting some shut-eye soon. Going into work early. Yea...

Also, here's a nice equation I made up: Rhett + Press-Pass = Witnessing 2 hat-tricks = Awesome.

Come fly with me,

B

May 3

The Good: Justin Verlander looked like the 2006 version of himself again today, pitching 7 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 run, and striking out 11! The Tigers ended up winning 3-1 thanks to a Brandon Inge HR and Curtis Granderson's hitting.  Now...if we could just do something about Dontrelle Willis...

The Bad: The Red Wings went to triple overtime against the Ducks and proceeded to lose it not even 2 minutes in. The worst part is we had a golden opportunity in the first OT with a power play, but still couldn't capitalize. Pretty sure we out shot Anaheim by close to 20 shots, too. Hopefully we can whoop on them the next 3 games.

The Eh: I worked my day at Best Buy this week. The difference was after the restructuring, I'm now "Merch/Media." My new job is to (Rhett, you'd like this) do all of the stocking and tasking for Media. I don't sell anymore. I don't talk to any customers. I stay in the background and task for a few hours a week (although today it was 8). It was easy and boring, but I'll keep it up for the discount. No skin off my back, especially since I changed my availability to JUST be Saturday's now. Haha. If it end up I only work once every few weeks...I'll be totally down. So, to summarize, no more talking to customers (unless someone I know heads up) but time ends up dragging. It's...eh...

The Rest: I got about 3 hours of sleep last night. When I got back home I watched a few Detroit sports games and the Nuggets beat the Mavs. I'm about to jump in the shower and call it a night. Tomorrow starts my first full week going solo at Spencer. I almost don't want to look at what emails await me in the morning...

And so it is just like you said it would be,

B

May 2

The only thing that you need to know about today is that it was spent recharging the batteries and getting ready for a 5:30am wake up tomorrow morning. NOT looking forward to that one bit. Also, the Bulls and Celtics game 7 was nowhere near as exciting as the hype that was building around it. Celtics won...so that sucks. Haha. Oh well, hopefully they'll lose to the Magic in the next round. 5:30am. ARGH!!! So lame.

Banksy be my hero,

B

May 1

Friday, Friday, Friday. It was a good day...until early in the morning when my computer died again. Not joking here, people. I will be taking it back to Novi and NOT paying for any other repairs. It's funny, but things started going haywire AFTER I got it "fixed." I'm pretty sure it's the power source again. And here's the kicker, I did exactly what the Mac specialist who worked on my G5 told me to do. I had been running the machine withOUT the mount in it for the few days it was operating correctly. The 2 hard drives are still sitting in their static-free plastic bag with all of the information (hopefully) intact.

Other than THAT exciting news...today was pretty much par for the course. Realized I need to make a trip to H&M and Ikea sometime sooner. Hopefully before next Friday. Sister is graduating from State, so I'll be busy all day long. Probably should tell someone I won't be able to come in then. Haha.

I was very tired tonight, and here I am still up. Just finished watching one of the Netflix films that was sent during the week: Blindness. Very good film. I recommend it and kind of want to read the book now.

Rhett made it out to D.C. alright, so that's hella cool. As he said, "texting causes me to...die" so I'm happy he waited to respond until he was done driving.

I talked with a great friend of mine today and found he'd been through a rough couple of weeks. It's always tough losing family, even when you expect it (and even more when you don't). In his case, both happened. If anyone deserves some good news, it's him. Karma, man. Some great things will be coming your way.

My sympathies go out to Josh Fordham,

B