July 15

How could I dance with another when I saw her standing there?

Isn't that what we ALL think every once in a while? (Girls, just trade the "her" with a "him." Or not. Either way.) I...CAN'T...WAIT...FOR 9.9.09.

Now that that's out of the way, let me say that I enjoy Sour Skittles.

Now that that's out of the way, let me say that it's going to take approx. 32 hours to drive from Flint, Michigan to Redlands, California. 32 hours. Oh yeah...

Post number 200 is approaching. It's absolutely crazy that I haven't missed a day yet (although some of the posts barely qualify).

As you can probably guess, the day was relatively slow. I came home and had dinner and am now relaxing. I got REAL tired all of a sudden around 9:30 tonight. So I figured I better get this post out of the way before I fall asleep and miss out.

Jimmy John's two days in a row = normally good. My stomach had something else to say about that. Did you know that they'll deliver from Grand Blanc to the Gateway Center? Me neither...until this afternoon.

Jet Audio's stand alone complex,

B

July 14

Visiting with friends is a good time. I'll say that. Even if it's just for a little bit, it still makes for a good time. A lot of that today.

Now I'm back home and tired. It's crazy how fast things get going on Facebook. I can assume it starts fast...and then slows to a slow crawl. Haha. Oh well. We'll see how long I keep at it.

Curtis Granderson = PIMP.

Live and love,

B

July 13

Well folks, it happened. Hell has frozen over. Pigs have sprouted wings and are now somewhere over the Eastern seaboard. I have a facebook account. Yup, you've read correctly. No need to rub your eyes or splash water over your face. I have a facebook. You can all thank Mr. Sollinger. With 5 simple words, he convinced me. I've heard them all before, but for some ungodly reason, I listened this time. I was on the phone with him and he said, "Dude, you need a facebook." Done. Game over. Why? Why even start? So, if any of you want to befriend me, feel free to shoot me a line. As I type this right now, I don't have a profile picture yet. Haha. This will certainly be interesting to say the least.

Overall a good day. Stopped by Theo and Amanda's to grab my shirt (I left it last week) and chat for a little bit. I shot home to run some errands with the sister, which included getting a new lawn-chair, searching for a GPS, and getting a car wash. We got home, had a nice dinner, and checked out the Home Run Derby (well, I did). Brandon Inge hit as many bombs as I did. Prince Fielder is just a beast. Afterward on ESPN they aired a celebrity softball game with Pam playing left field. Haha. I was a bit surprised, so I had to watch a little bit.

And that was about it. My sister invited some friends over and everyone eventually ended up in my room playing the shock-timing game. Then...facebook. Why do I feel so dirty? Hahaha.

Hold on, there's a hole in my heart,

B

July 12

When you only work at Best Buy 4 hours a week, you tend to miss things that happen throughout the week. When I was changing signs this morning, I noticed one of those things, and it got me quite excited. Apparently on a truck a few days earlier we finally received the pre-orders for...BEATLES: ROCK BAND!!! I plan on revisiting the store and picking one up for 360...which means I'm not getting a 360. Haha. Hey, it's all about extra content with this game, and so far, XBox's is the best.

I left work and got home to relax for a bit. Had some lunch, watched some baseball, then left for Laura's for Sunday dinner and some more chill time. Made it through season 2 of Entourage. I think they're addicted. BOOM!

And for those of you wondering, the Tigers won today, 10-1, over the Indians. Verlander improved to 6-0 at home this season with an ERA under 2.00. Winning your last game before All-Star break is always good, especially when one of your selections - who happens to also be in the Home Run Derby tomorrow night - connects for 2 HR's in the game. So, thanks Brandon Inge.

I'm about to dig into some 4th meal...if you know what I mean.

Is there anybody going to listen to my story,

B

July 11

Filming is fun. Today marked the first day of filming of Ryan's Grandpa at his farm. We set up inside and started rolling as Mr. VanLoon's Aunt started the interviewing process. It went really well and, from the sounds of it, we should be traveling around to some different locations in the next few weeks. Should be a good time. You know what else was a good time? Eating dinner/lunch at Fortune House afterward. OH MAN...I LOVE BULGOGI!!! Jon and Hannah ended up meeting us there and enjoyed a nice meal as well. Can't wait for my next visit to Owosso...and Fortune House. But in all seriousness, we need to get this all shot by the time Ryan leaves for Virginia. Hopefully it can be accomplished.

I got home and relaxed for about an hour and then it was off to visit with the Brandon and Laura again. I had to cut the night a little short because of work the next morning. Man...I wish I could've gotten some guys together to check out UFC 100 tonight. Oh well, I'll find out the results tomorrow. Hell, as I type this, the main event hasn't even started yet.

Tigers lost. Booooooo. Verlander tomorrow. Yay!

I will hug you for free,

B

July 10

Start of what should be a great weekend. Today was just a bunch of overall greatness. Amazing lunch with Shannon. Amazing dinner with Laura and Brandon. Amazing Entourage watching with Laura and Brandon. Amazing dessert break. Amazing continuation of Entourage. Amazing drive home and amazing time typing this blog entry. Did I mention the amazing news that MEAGEN and MIKE are headed BACK TO MICHIGAN!?!?!? If not, I should let you know that talking to Mike on the phone yesterday was pretty...amazing.

Now for the not-so-exciting news: New York may be put on hold. I thought it was a done deal, now it looks like there are second thoughts and money issues. No problem, I'll get out there sooner than later.

Joe, have fun fishing over the weekend. You better catch a few MI records...

Can't buy me love,

B

July 9

First and foremost, I want to say that it's close to official now: Meagen and Mike look to be on their way back to the great state of MIIIIIICHIGAN!!! Mike was on the phone today trying to iron out a deal that would land him a job in Grand Rapids. Everything went fantastic and it looks like, in the next couple of weeks, there may be a nice "welcome home" party to be had. Best news I've heard in a while, and the fact that they're so excited makes it that much better. Wow, that definitely made my day.

As for the rest, a lot of time spent over at Brad's hanging out, going out to eat, and coming back home a little later in the evening. Good times, indeed.

During the day a few other things went down, as well. The Pistons officially announced John Kuester as their new head coach and Brandon Inge won the last All-Star spot for the AL. Not bad, Detroit. Not bad at all.

I'll be seeing you around, Meg,

B

July 8

I am very tired. That's about all there is to it. I came home and almost (ALMOST) took a nap, but I couldn't do it. I did however just relax all night. Watched the Tigers beat the Royals, which was cool. Read about McDyess signing with San Antonio, which wasn't as cool...but good for the Spurs. I'm going to eat a midnight snack now and hit the bed.

Happy 07.08.09,

B

July 7

Another day, another dollar, and more getting together with friends. After work I headed out to meet up with Brandon and Matt to get some dinner. We ended up going to the Buffalo Wild Wings for their 2-for-1 wing night. Laura was shopping at a couple stores near-by and joined us shortly after we arrived. After we had our fill of chicken, it was over to Lo's for a little relaxing and some Euchre. Besides the beginning of the day, everything went by extremely fast. It usually does when you're with friends.

We've already met, let's meet again,

B

July 6

This was one of the better evenings I've had in a while. As I mentioned before, Meagen and Mike were making their way back to Flint today to visit the hometown peeps. They were driving all around until dinner, where they, and myself, met at Amanda and Theo's for a great cookout. I basically drove right from work, and proceeded to pig out on hot dogs, sloppy joes, chips and salsa, and corn from the grill. Amazing. Best of all, I got face time with Meg and Michael. Talking to people on the phone or chatting online is one thing, but when you finally get to see good friends in person, you can't beat it. And...there's some potential that it could become significantly easier to get said face time with said individuals in the near, near future. MIKE, YOU BETTER CALL ME AS SOON AS YOU GET DONE WITH YOUR PHONE INTERVIEW TOMORROW (later today)!!!

It was getting late and Meagen had left to see her brother before the red eye flight back to Jacksonville. Mike, Amanda, Theo, and I were relaxing in the living room and I got another call from Mr. Thibaut. Since things were winding down, I decided it was time to get going. I said my goodbyes and headed over to Brad's. A few episodes of Entourage and a Conan monologue later, we were sitting there and Ari started going crazy. Not just any crazy, it was a sort of cat-nip, late night binge type crazy. It had been full of energy since I got there, but really picked it up during the late night. I hope Colleen was able to sleep with all the noise downstairs.

I'm currently sitting in my bed and watching SportsCenter. Tigers lost today. Lame. Rasheed Wallace is sounding like he's going to be a Celtic. SUPER lame. Rhett still hasn't sent me pictures of his dinner on Saturday. ULTIMATE lame. Hahaha.

I once dreamed I pitched a perfect game,

B

July 5

I'm really tired right now so forgive the small post.  Today started early and didn't really settle down until around 8 tonight.  After work I finally was able to get together with Fred and Alex to catch up.  We met up at Red Robins for lunch and went back to their parents house to continue the conversations.  Throughout the day I had been texting Jon here and there trying to coordinate a time when he could stop by Flint.  Well, as it happened, just as I was leaving to go back home, he called and informed me now was as good a time as any.  So I took a detour and headed back to the store.  After a visit there and to the Guitar Center, everyone headed on their separate ways.  My parents were just getting back from running different errands, so it looked like we all had a busy day.

Not sure why I'm still up right now.  Maybe I'm looking forward to tomorrow, where I'm looking forward to seeing Meagen and Mike - as their tour bus finally stops into Flint.  Cookout?  Could be...

Minute Maid lemonade,

B

July 4

Happy Independence Day to everyone; And thanks for nothing, Great Britain. Normally during this week I'd be out watching the fireworks with friends or at a campsite roasting smores. This year, unfortunately, everyone was either already gone or busy, so I had to nix a lot of the usual plans. Calls were made and a few peeps were talked to, but it's alllllll good. The majority of my July 4th was spent at home helping with the LAST day of the garage sale. All in all we didn't do too bad. I didn't win our pool, but I was awfuly close. If you're wondering the exact amount we procured...well, quite frankly, it's none of your business. So stop it.

We ended up closing a few minutes early and packaged up a FEW boxes for family members to take back into storage until next year. After that we had a nice dinner via the grill and played some more cards. If you didn't know it, my family (Mother's side) loves to play cards. As do I. So a few games o' Pincole later, it was 11:50PM and everyone headed out. And now I'm here, typing about the evening. Didn't see the fireworks in person this time, but I've seen enough to get the gist of what went on. Plus...they were on TV. Haha.

Work tomorrow (LAME) early in the morning, but it is what it is. I think I'm going to fall asleep watching old Flight of the Conchords' episodes.

Bowie's in space,
B

July 3

Happy day before the 4th of July! Yes, it a day filled with magic and sweet cakes and chocolate truffles with cherry filling...

Sleeping in is fantastic, especially if you get woken up at 2:15AM in the morning the night before. SOMEONE (no names being mentioned) called our house phone twice and didn't realize it. "They" were immediately talked to and dealt with.

So yeah, I woke up at a nice time and made a few calls. Unfortunately everyone was either busy or already out-and-about, so the majority went straight to voice mail. I cleaned up and started checking things off the ol' list of errands. Picked up a late lunch and came home for a quick bit. I was hoping to see my friend's Fred and Alex around this time but plans ended up falling through. I did, however, get a hold of Chad who was packing to go up north - Higgins Lake - for the weekend. After we got off the phone I drove out to his house and hung out for a couple of hours. On the way home I got a call from Brad and was about to head over that way when plans were changed again. Haha. A lot of confusion today, but it's all good.

The Tigers were leading 6-0 against the Twins at one point. It's now the bottom of the 9th and the game is tied 7-7. Figures. Freakin' Minnesota always has our number.

Rhett is currently enjoying the company of his parents and girlfriend, Whitney, in the DMV right now. Good for him. I informed him of how much I'm going to be upset if he doesn't enjoy his Ruth's Steakhouse meal tomorrow. He apparently made reservations over a week ago. That's what I call planning ahead.

Meagen and Mike ended up flying back to MI a couple nights ago. They're going to be all over the state until Monday, where their destination has them coming back to Flint. It sounds like that will be the only time I'll have to see them. So Monday's agenda is already set.

Everyone is getting married. It's a bit surreal.

The fireworks are already starting. Haha, classic.

I'm looking for a dead end song,
B

July 2

Today was a nice, easy-going, calm day. Can't ask for much more.

Still looking for TOKYO!,

B

July 1

Well, on the first of July we start with Pistons free agent news. Detroit has apparently come to terms on 5-year deals with Ben Gordon (formerly of the Bulls) and Charlie Villanueva (formerly of the Bucks). Now, players can't officially sign said contracts until July 8 after the salary cap is officially set. Regardless, our team has officially started it's face lift. Now it's time to get a new head coach and re-sign Antonio McDyess (hopefully).

I got home today and immediately had plans to go see Public Enemies. Josh had text'd me earlier on with times and we decided to go to a 6:30 show and get BWW's after. Good decision. The movie was OK. I'm still confused on why certain plot points were even included in the film, but I guess I'll never know. Everytime I felt Michael Mann was going one way with this film, he turned it around. I don't know. It was OK. From the sounds of it, my Mom, Grandma, and Aunt might be going to see tomorrow. I guess I'll see what they think afterward.

I had to get a box for leftovers from dinner. Probably not the best idea, given that we have a fridge full of scraps from the past few days. We've been going out to eat a lot since my Aunt has been in town. Almost every night, in-fact. I really do enjoy a nice meal out, but it's been out of control. Haha. Oh well.

My sister got a new phone the other day - the EnV Touch. For the life I me, I can't figure out how to delete ringtones she put on it from PhoneZoo. They are not showing up anywhere on the phone and when we connect it to the computer it only lets us access the "shared folders." Word to the wise, if you get the EnV Touch...don't use PhoneZoo. For all we know it could be taking over Tori's phone. We'd be none-the-wiser.

Well, it's getting to be a few minutes before midnight and Mr. Kennedy is on his way. Haha. Hey, when friends work 2nd shift, certain accommodations have to be met. In this instance, it's late night hang-outs. Ain't no thang.

Also...Meagen and Mike will be flying into Bishop around 2:00am. They have a TON of stuff to do the next few days, but when they make it back to Flint, you bet your butt I'll be seeing them. Monday...possibly? Haha. Can't wait.

TOKYO!,
B