Halloween!

So, Halloween! The time of year when kids decide it's okay to dress up and demand candy. Actually,Halloween is a fun holiday to observe, even if I'm not that big on wearing a costume and participating in it and all.

It is a little bit strange to see how one's priorities towards Halloween shift as you get older. When you're really, really little, it's all about being completely freaked out that your parents have put you in a strange outfit and taken you around to see strange people since you're really not sure what the hell is going on. Once you get a couple years older, you realize that it's kind of fun and you get free candy. Dressing up as something fun and people giving you candy? Awesome! Then you get into those pre-teenage years, where it's all about causing mischief. I guess that's where the "trick" part of "trick-or-treat" comes in. Egging houses, terrorizing other kids, and still getting candy! Awesomer! Then you get into your teenage years and it's not so much about the candy anymore, it's more about the scary movies and the haunted houses and getting your girlfriend to hang onto you because she's scared and you're her big, tough man and all. Besides, candy gives you acne, so why bother with that stuff!? (That's a myth, by the way, but still.)

Now, once you get to college, Halloween is all about one thing: parties. Lots and lots of parties. With almost all girls wearing some variation on the hooker/slut costume. Well, that was what girls wore to most JU parties, regardless of the time of year, but still. There's a reason our Halloween party my senior year was probably one of the best parties we ever threw. And I didn't even have to wear a costume. I still have the eviction warning from it on my post-it board at home. Halloweens in college were probably my favorite. Drunken parties and me pelting people with candy and a SWAT team showing up around 11:30 and riding in the trunk of a Geo Storm to get to the next party and waking up on the floor of somebody's apartment without a hangover and no throwing up the night before. Good times!

Of course, once you're out of school and have a job and a home and all, your priorities shift waaaaaaay over to the other side. You don't open the bags of candy you bought for trick-or-treaters because you know you'll eat it all if you do that. You make sure you're home on time and have good candy like Snickers and Twix and Milky Way and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups so you can avoid your house getting egged or TP'd because you're the old guy that told the kids that anything that lands on your lawn becomes your property and the whippersnappers better stay off your property. I still watch the scary movies, at least. Tonight's feature will likely be Evil Dead 2 (an annual favorite) the 2004 Dawn Of The Dead and probably the original Nightmare On Elm Street. I might do Halloween, but that one's never really been my favorite. No costume party at Maki's house and I skipped two parties this weekend to go on a date, so maybe I am maturing just a little bit. Hopefully the horror movies and leftover candy will regress me a bit. I have been sitting at my desk at work with horns attached to my forehead today, so it's not all mature stuff, thankfully.

Up top is the pumpkin my department (well, one other girl and I, with her doing the majority of the work) carved for last year's pumpkin contest at work. He was designed to look like a football player in an old-school '30s-style helmet (hence, the facepaint and chin strap). Somehow we didn't win, though. Go figure. Rigged, I tell ya. RIGGED. At least it made for a cool pumpkin. Sadly, I did not carve one this year. Much like the blog, I've been a slacker lately. I may just post that picture every year, since I doubt I can top that one.

Happy Halloween, kids. Stay off my lawn.

A sudden lack of nostalgia.

After last weekend's little nostalgia/regret-fest in Orlando, it seems all it took was a little bit of time and space and I'm back to the mode I should be in. Looking back is fun, but really, there's so much more in the future worth looking forward to. And there really are some great things happening for me. I think I need to start more actively enjoying them. Sorry if it feels like I'm being vague, but there are some things I just won't write about on here, considering it's the internet and all. So sorry about that necessary evil. And no, I'm not quitting my job, so wrong guess there, kemosabe.

I will say this, though. I know I don't post as often nowadays as some of you guys would like and frankly, as often as I'd like, either. I could blame it on the change of seasons, I could blame it on a lack of inspiration, I could even blame it on me being a lazy slacker. All of the above apply, sure, but frankly, there are some things that I'm keeping for me. Some things I don't want to overanalyze, some things I don't need your commentary on, and some things I just don't feel the need to share with the world. If you feel like you've gotten to know me through the eight months I've been doing this, then great. But chances are you don't know me as well as you think you do. There's a reason for that. This was never meant to be some tell-all confessional deal. I certainly wouldn't have thrown my name and picture on it if that was the case. I just like to tell stupid funny stories and give myself another creative outlet other than the design work I do on a daily basis (which I actually get paid for, which is kind of nice).

With that said, I am working on something new blog-wise. Not just some little redesign with new colors and a new header, either. A couple of you know about it already, but the rest will just have to be left to guess. I'm not sure what to expect with it since it'll be somewhat of a departure for me... It'll also be a hell of a lot of work for which I'll see no monetary return. It doesn't matter, though, since I'm hoping it will be a lot of fun. Point those last two sentences out to me in six months when I'm bitching about how it's too much work, please. Anyway, we'll see if it goes largely ignored, or if it invites commentary. I expect a heavy dosage of both, really. If that makes any sense. Which it pretty much doesn't. But oh well. At least I'm looking forward to it. Screw you guys if you don't like it. Or something. So if I don't update very often here, it's because I'm working on that. Honest.

I will be funny again, one day. I just need funny stories to tell. Since I don't go around making shit up, well, we're all at the mercy of the fates here, now aren't we? Thanks for sticking around, regardless. Imagine I just put a smiley made of a colon, a dash and a close parentheses if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

By the way, the answers to my playlist lyric quiz are up. Thank you for playing, kids.

Currently listening to: "Restless" by The Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination

Rainy, cold, nasty, random.

I can tell it's cold because the cats are trucking around the house crashing into things. They seem quite happy, at least until one of them smashes his head into the coffee table or something and wanders around crying for a few minutes. Still, they like to run around now, and I think it's because they're actually excited about the cooler weather. When it's hot they just lay on the tiles in the kitchen or the hardwood floors in the living room, getting up only to drink water or eat some delicious Purina One Weight Control cat food. When it's cold, however, they become Hobbes; flying through the air; tackling each other; rolling around on the floor; in general, being the active, entertaining cats they should be. That's one good thing about the weather getting cooler, at least. My cats aren't lazy-ass wastes of space. Now they're active wastes of space!

Electric blankets are another good thing about cooler weather. The only downside to them is that getting up in the morning suddenly becomes about 100 times harder. I have enough trouble getting out of bed after hitting the snooze bar for the 7th consecutive time. Throw a warm blanket magnetizing me to the bed into the equation and my boss should feel lucky I have time to put on deodorant in the morning. Now that I think about it, my whole department should. I guess they all should hate the electric blanket. But I love it. I think I'll keep it.

Today was a rainy, windy day. I hate those kinds of days. I like cold weather, but I like sunny, cold weather. None of this dark, gloomy, rainy, windy stuff. That's just miserable. If I want that I'll move to Detroit or the Yukon Territories or something. I live in Florida, dammit. Get sunny again already, hurricanes or not! Good thing I got that air conditioner fixed a couple weeks ago, though. It's coming in pretty handy now that my house is a brisk 65 degrees.

Last on the random paragraph agenda, my ex-girlfriend informed me that she talked to the subject of my previous post at the reunion and said that despite her attempts at friendliness, she was bitchy towards her. So I don't feel too bad not talking to her. But then again, they never liked each other, so that may not be the best testimonial. After all, the ex was like Lauryn Hill back in the Fugees days towards this girl, all, "bitch, best keep yo ass in check." So maybe the hard feelings lingered? To this day I'm a little sad they never got in a big hair-pulling catfight over me. Oh well. What I really wanna know is how I was in the middle and ended up being the one who didn't end up with either of them? How does that work, again? Probably because I'm the nice guy, and you know where they finish. Life is a box of chocolates, I tell ya.

Homecoming

Every guy has that girl. The one that got away. The one we'll always wonder about.

I saw mine tonight.

I went back to my high school to watch their undefeated football team destroy their homecoming opponent. It was 42-7 at halftime, a score rarely approached in complete games by any football team from my era, whether I played for them or not. After we decided to leave, we kind of mingled around near the entrance to the field, planning our next stop. Being the 10th anniversary of the class of '95, (the class after mine) I saw a lot of kids from that class. I was friendly with few of them that were there. As I scanned the nearby crowd, she popped out, plain as day. She was looking just as adorable as she did the last I saw her, almost ten years ago. She might have put on a pound here or there since high school, but haven't we all? It was definitely her, though. It had to be.

Now, let me give you a little backstory here. When I became friends with her, I was already heavily involved in a very serious relationship. One that I had every intention of making into a permanent one. Of course, I was a young kid and all naive kids think that everything is the greatest thing we'll ever encounter and that it can't get any better. As most naive kids get proven, I was incredibly wrong about that. But I had thrown my heart and soul into that relationship and wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize it.

We met during a retreat through the school. Being in the same group, there was an instant connection between the two of us. We got along fantastically. Now, this girl knew about my commitment to my girlfriend, but never seemed to care. She was always flirting, always excited to see me, always interested. How did I respond? At first I tried to ignore it, as if things between us were never in the realm of possibility. I played the friends card. When that didn't work, I kind of treated her like crap. I'll admit that more than a bit of that was because my girlfriend really didn't like her. Hated her, in fact. HATED HER. But then again, what girlfriend wouldn't? When a funny, attractive, carefree, popular girl shows an interest in your boyfriend, well, you're bound to get jealous. But still, I had to drive her away. I was committed to one girl, and that was that. No matter how attracted to this other girl I found myself. As wonderful as she was, there was always a little bit of sadness there. I never knew what it was. I never gave myself the chance to find out.

Looking back, had something happened, it would have been all passion and poetry between the two of us. It would have been one of those loves that burns just a little too bright... Flaring up and burning out too quickly. Once the initial spark was gone, there would have been nothing left to sustain it. It would have been a beautiful, wonderful thing, at least for a brief period of time. Then it would be tears and resigned regret, but at least it would have been something.

So there she stood, not twenty yards from me. I had run over this moment a thousand times in my head over the past nine years. I had imagined what I would say, what her reaction would be, where things would have gone from there. I had heard she had recently married, but a little piece of me had to know for sure if that was true. The wedding band on her finger confirmed it. She smiled gorgeously in profile, talking to an old friend. I smiled a little bit to myself, glad that she seemed happy. I hoped that the twinge of sadness that always seemed to be there wasn't there anymore. I thought our eyes might have met for a split second, but I wasn't sure. I guess I'll never find out. I left without speaking to her.

Some things are better left in the past.

Product placement

So, I bought the DVD for Batman Begins. I haven't had a chance to view the extras or to test the surround sound on it and all, but I have opened the case and looked inside. What I found seemed rather odd. There is a coupon inside for $20 off of Norton Internet Security. Now, what exactly that has to do with a movie about a guy in a black kevlar suit who beats up criminals is anybody's guess. Somebody didn't really do their product placement research on that one. Still, I'd rather have Norton Internet Security than a lame Batman logo bracelet or ring or necklace like the ones in the other insert. At least the items on the "Random Assorted Crap Like Alarm Clocks And Such With A Batman Logo On It" catalog had some sort of ties to, well, Batman. The best part is that the Batman Titanium Flex Bracelet is only $125! Good thing the catalog entitles me to $10 off my purchase or I might not be able to afford a fucking bracelet. I guess this proves you can never underestimate the dork market. They'll buy anything that relates to their hobby, man. Look for me to start selling random scribblings I made during whatever six meetings I was in today. Some look vaguely like the Batman logo. Each a limited edition. Yours for only 5 easy payments of $39.95. Act now, dorks. I'll even throw in a coupon good for $20 off Norton Internet Security. You know you want it.

Keep in mind, the guy who owns three different versions of Evil Dead 2 on DVD wrote this post.

Bride of... TAGGED.

So, it appears I have been "tagged" once again. This time it was by the lovely Kitkat, and it is the first line of each song in one's workout playlist. Since, strangely enough, I have no workout playlist (despite working out 4-5 times a week) I will go with my 20 most recently played. At least, the ones with lyrics, which it seems Miles Davis didn't tend to use. Odd, I know. Anyway, enjoy. Have fun guessing these in the comments. And no Google cheating, punks.

1. "The afternoon has gently passed me by."
2. "Keys cut, three for the price of one."
3. "Straight in, suck up and go, cool it, swallow, swallow."
4. "Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken, and many times confused."
5. "Sun is up, I'm so happy I could scream."
6. "I'm drunk, and right now I'm so in love with you."
7. "So you been to school for a year or two and you know you’ve seen it all."
8. "Lady, the tremors are my friend." (hardest one on the list)
9. "The heart is a bloom, shoots up through the stony ground." (should be the easiest one on the list)
10. "Goddamn you half-Japanese girls, do it to me every time."(this is like my favorite opening line of any song, ever)
11. "We used to be number ten, now we permanent one."
12. "And if you save yourself, you will make him happy." (much respect to whoever gets this one without googling it)
13. "I sincerely miss those heavy metal bands we used to go see on the landing in the summer."
14. "I think I caught my skull on the way down."
15. "I was hell, sarcastic silver swell."
16. " Spaceships can't tame the jungle and I feel like I'm giving in."
17. "See them walking hand in hand across the bridge at midnight."
18. "Clap your hands everybody, if you've got what it takes."
19. "He's just a hero in a long line of heroes, looking for something attractive to save."
20. "Surprise, sometimes, I'll come around."
21. BONUS POINTS: "And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack."
    

One band shows up twice, that's the only hint I'm giving you. I should set this as my workout playlist, just to see how it works. Then again, #2 would suck to work out to.

Seriously, I want even the lurkers taking guesses here. You know who you are!

Bald-head Maurice

I went to get some Burger King this afternoon because I was hung over and in need of some greasy hangover food. Nothing hits the spot quite like a double cheeseburger and a large Dr. Pepper with greasy french fries after waking up at noon with cottonmouth and a pounding "jackhammer-to-the-brain" headache. My problem is that the closest BK is on the border of a pretty crappy neighborhood, which means the service sucks and there can be some unpleasant characters about. But with the price of gas these days, it's better to brave the ghetto than it is to drive way out of my way for fatty hangover food.

After waiting about 10 minutes in the drive-through (with nobody else in line, keep in mind) I finally get my food. As I'm pulling out, I see a dude in the crosswalk. I can tell he's waiting for me to pull up so he can talk to me. You know the dude. Grimy clothes; backpack is worn and tattered; he's skinny, but muscular from a life on the street. I figure, what the hell, and roll down the window to get the sales pitch.

"People thinks I'm a crackhead because I gots no eyebrows and I'm bald."

"Hey buddy, I never said that."

"I tell you what, I ain'ts gonna lie, I'm hungry, man. If you gots any change you can spare, I could sure use it. I ain'ts gonna spend it on no crack rock or anything, only food. I ain'ts gonna be stealin' from nobody, so I gots to ask people like you, y'know."

"I hear ya, man. I've got a few bucks change here, go grab yourself something."

As I'm getting my wallet from the center console and pulling out the three singles I had as change, he continues to talk.

"I wents to church today. Aks'd them if theys had any money or food theys could give me. Theys says no, but I sees that collection plate go by and it's full of money and I sees that pastor's big house behind the church. But I ain'ts gonna steal from God or nobody else. The world's fucked up, man."

At this point I can't help but think of my boy Steve going off on a remarkably similar tangent about pastors and collection plates just last night at the bar. I hand him the $3.

"God bless you, man! What's you name?"

"God bless you too. Name's Maki."

"Maggie? Ain'ts that a girl's name?"

"Nah. It's Maki. M-A-K-I. And don't go insulting the guy who just gave you some cash, c'mon, man!"

"Ok, ok, thass a new name I ain'ts never heard before. You a good man, Maki. I'm Bald-head Maurice!"

He rubs his head for emphasis of the name.

"You stay strong, Maurice."

"You too, my's main, main, man, Maki!"

He gives me the fist-bump with his calloused knuckles and steps back, smiling. I sneak a glance in the rear-view to see the guy behind me. He's looking fairly annoyed since Maurice is waiting for him to pull up after me. I turn right. I watch the guy blow right by Maurice only seconds later, making a left without even slowing down or looking at the street to see if it's clear. I continue on my way, taking a glance back at Maurice in the mirror. I see him go in the front door of the Burger King and my cynical heart feels a little better about things. I turn up "Beautiful Day" on the stereo and leave the windows down, smiling the rest of the way home.

Lament for the air conditioning repair man.

My air conditioning was broken. I haven't really mentioned that to you guys, but it went on the fritz Sunday afternoon and I've been getting ample usage out of my ceiling fans since then. I finally gave in and called the repair guy today, since I can kite him a check, what with tomorrow being payday and all.

As air conditioner repairman was working on the unit (insert gay joke here, if it makes you feel better) I realized that his job has gotta suck and rock at the same time. Sucks, because wherever he goes there's no air conditioning. Because, well, people are waiting for him to fix it and all. No AC at every stop. That's gotta be miserable, especially here in Florida. Imagine that all day, every day. Ugh. That work truck has got to be a little slice of nirvana when you hop back in and crank the AC on high.

Still, it's gotta rock since people LUV U 4EVAR!!!1!1!! when you've got that unit working properly (again, insert gay joke here if it makes you feel better). Well, they will until they get the bill, of course (insert gay prostitution joke here if it makes you feel better).

The worst part has gotta be people like me making gay jokes at your expense, even if you gave me 10% off the total, bringing it down to a measly $214 for space-age cooling technology. Still, not my fault you're name's Butch, dude.

A new form of worship?

As I was watching the Tampa Bay Bucs play the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon because the NFL hates me and only gives "regional" games, I saw a commercial. Living in Jacksonville, you see a lot of commercials for churches. This makes no sense to me, but the TV stations have to make their money somehow, I guess. Anyway, this commercial was for Bethel Baptist Church in beautiful downtown. This is the "other" church downtown, aside from First Baptist. I guess this is what you'd call the "black" church, for lack of a better term. First Baptist is the "white" church, and counts quite a few city council members as its churchgoers. Bethel Baptist does not. So I guess that's why they need to take out TV ads during football. So the pastor of Bethel Baptist was on, wearing his nice pin-striped vest and encouraging people to come to their Sunday and Wednesday services. At the end he says, and I quote this directly...

"Come on out. You'll have a good time, and we'll all get crunk for Christ."

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "crunk" a combination of getting fucked up and drunk? Seriously. Talk about missing the point. I guess we'll all get stoned, grab a 40 and head to church. This got me to thinking, though. Were churches latching onto other trends before this? Were they all "getting grunge for God" in the early '90s? Were the "jump, jivin' and wailin' for Jesus" during that 6 months when swing made a comeback in '97? "Discoing for the divine savior" in the late '70s? I'm just curious, here.

There are lots of possibilities that don't even need to apply to churches and music. Especially in a religious town like this. Need to drum up some traffic for your clinic? "Liposuction for the Lord!" After all, Jesus had much better abs than Buddha, now, didn't he? Go to Iceman and Mr. Kicks to find "a suit fit for a Savior." Need more traffic to your bookstore? "Barnes & Noble has books besides the Bible! But not too many." Want to get that .005% of the population in Jax that is hip Jewish? Anywhere can use "Kickin' it Kabbalah-style." How about the .002% of the population in Jax that is Muslim? "Mongolian barbecue with Mohammed!" Worlds of possibilities, people. WORLDS.

I really need to start my own ad agency.

Bass-ackwards

I went to sleep no earlier than 2am on Sunday through Thursday this week, despite having to wake up around 7am to get ready for work. Now that it's Friday and I don't have to get up in the morning, what do I do?

I head home early and go to bed around midnight.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Indulge me for a second...

You guys know I rarely talk about celebrities and stuff on here because: A) there are plenty of other blogs that cover that ground, B) I don't exactly keep up with current events, and C) I just don't care anyway. With that said...

I can't be the only one really, really, really hoping Katie Holmes ends up with post-partum depression, can I?

Come on. You know you're all thinking it, too.

MJfM version 2.1 is complete. I think.

Ok, what do you guys think? Be honest. I kind of wish I had done it all at once, but such is life. I got the blog knocked up and that gave me the motivation to finally tie the knot. Or something analogous to that. I promise to post real things soon. Honest. Random thoughts from this evening follow.

Go get Google Talk if you've got a gmail account. The microphone function actually works, unlike AIM or MSN or any of the other ones I've tried. Skype users take note!

Little Brother's The Minstrel Show is as good as advertised. Those in the know best get downloading. Just listen to it in order since it's a concept album type thing and all...

I picked up the new Liz Phair disc, Somebody's Miracle. It was only $7.99, but I am absolutely petrified of listening to it. Please don't let me down like last time, Ms. Phair...

Dualdiscs are a cool idea, even if playing them in the car pretty much ruins them. That's what iPods are for, I guess. That's part of the reason I haven't listened to the new Franz Ferdinand or Fiona Apple's reworked Extraordinary Machine, though. Tomorrow, friends, tomorrow. Again, if you're in the know, look for all of the previously mentioned albums some time tomorrow...

I'm going to bed now. Late. Very late.

PS: If you aren't in the now and want to be in the know, send me a shout at bigmaki@gmail.com. Then you will know.

MJfM version 2.0

As you can see, changes abound. My picture has returned, I have a new layout, and I have a new logo-header type thing.

And I hate all of it right now.

You see, I wanted to do it all at once and be done with it, but I screwed up and posted the changes by accident because I was doing it at 1:15am last night instead of sleeping so I could get up and go to work and all. So now I'm stuck with a somewhat broken layout that it turns out has to be fixed by replacing 500,000 different little tiny elements on the page. And the only way to be sure they all work is trial and error.

Thank jeebus restaurants don't work like HTML coding does. You'd be getting a steak that tastes like it's been rubbed on a salt lick when you first order. Then they'd be like, "sorry, that's not quite right," and then bring one coated in honey. That would taste like crap, so they'd bring one drenched in A-1 Sauce. But you don't like A-1 and end up getting just a plain old steak with nothing on it. But then it's undercooked. Once you finally get it, you don't care how it tastes anymore, you just want it to be over with.

That's exactly the way editing a blog template works. My advice to you is to pay somebody else to do it if the urge ever strikes you. Like a "release" at the massage parlor, some things are worth the extra expense. Just a little tip from me to you.

While I'm busy tearing out hair follicles over this crap, you guys can try to figure out which images you recognize in the header. There's something in there for everyone, after all. Enjoy.

The 1 a.m. Edit: It's looking much better than it was. I'd say it's version 2.05 right now. Still not 2.1, but nobody's perfect, right? You'll get the director's cut super extended DVD edition tomorrow night, I think. I'm too tired to continue and I'll probably just break something else if I don't stop now. That white sidebar is driving me completely insane, though. UGH.

I could slip away in absent minded numbness...

Went to the comedy club last night. Had lots of drinks. Met up with some friends and saw Amy again because she was emcee for the evening. Had lots of drinks. Went to an Irish pub afterwards. Had lots of drinks. Met one of the owners, who had the single most vicious Irish accent I think I've ever heard. Had lots of drinks with her and crew. Saw maple syrup girl again. Saw that she had broken her arm and had a sweet camouflage cast on it that I thought was a jaguar pattern at first. Had lots of drinks. Talked to her for a while, still not sure she even knows my name, though. After all, I am a "black hole of game" as Matt put it. Had lots of drinks. For once in my life, made the right decision and decided to crash on PK's couch instead of braving the trip home. Ate Spicier Nacho Doritos at around 3am. They sucked. Don't ever eat those. Especially if you're going to pass out on a couch and not brush your teeth. Woke up around 6am, shut off television and stereo , which were both on at HIGH VOLUME. Woke up again around 10am and drove home.

On the way home I was listening to 311's self-titled disc and "All Mixed Up" came on. I suddenly had an odd flashback to the summer of 1997. That was the summer before my senior year in college and I was working at Universal Studios (which was one of the best worst jobs I've ever had). I was big in my 311 phase at that time, so there was always a 311 disc in the Prelude. Anyway, we had lockers there since the goofy pocketless uniforms they made us wear had to stay on site. They made us split lockers, though, which was just weird. In one of those odd coincidences I had to split the locker with a kid who went to my high school and graduated the year after I did. His name was Chris Vicente, and I don't think we had ever spoken two words to each other when we were in school. When you share a locker, you tend to talk to the person so that they know you and that makes it harder for them to steal from you or something. At least, you do that if you're like me and you distrust the majority of humanity.

So we would shoot the shit whenever we saw each other arriving or leaving. I'd never say we became friends or anything, but after about a month of working there Chris asks me if I can give him a ride out to a party, since I live on that side of town. I say sure, why not. It's a long drive, though. Universal is down on the south end of Orlando off of Kirkman and my house was way up on the north end of town. So we head out that way and listen to some 311. "All Mixed Up" comes on and he says how much he loves that song because it's about how some girls just mess you up, they have this weird power over you and you can't figure them out, yet you still keep trying. I was like, "dude, what are you talking about? It's one of those 'be true to yourself, stay positive' songs and being 'all mixed up' refers to not knowing what direction your life is headed." We agreed to disagree on that, but we both liked the song musically, even if the lyrics meant completely different things to us. As I was listening to it this morning, I realized that the last set of verses actually does mean pretty much exactly what he was saying. It only took me 8 years to realize that, I guess. What I said describes the beginning of the song, though. So we were both right. I refuse to admit defeat, dammit.

Anyway, we form this brief little friendship on the 40-minute drive out to this party. I can't really remember the other stuff we talked about other than that song, but it turns out the kid was pretty cool, even if I really didn't like him that much in high school. I decided not to go to the party since I'd pulled a long-ass shift and just wanted to go to bed. I probably had to work the next day or something, too. That was the last time I saw him, because I took myself off the schedule and went up to Minnesota for a couple of weeks and then back to Jacksonville and JU a week after that. A few months later I found out Chris died in a drunk driving accident. It's one of those weird things where you wonder if you would have become friends with someone if timing and circumstance had been different. Then you realize that you'll never have the chance, either way. At least we both picked a good song to like.

This post kind of started out in one place and ended in a completely different one, didn't it? At least you get a good song out of it.

311 - "All Mixed Up"

Enjoy.

PS: Yes, I know the post title is from a different song.