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Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
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2:13 am - Remodling, New Baby Boy, Rescue Rangers and other stuff...
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Man, I am trying to think where to begin. Per usual, it has been a while.
Well, for starters, I am still out of work. I have to admit though, I haven't really been out looking all to hard. I've had a couple people ask me for an interview, and I take them, but nothing much has stemmed from them. I believe they think I am asking too much. I want to make at least what I made before, but preferably more.
The weekend before last I went up north to Oscoda to do some updates on the house we have for sale. There were a couple eyesores where the person we last rented the house to had a cat that tore up some really expensive weaved wallpaper we had on the wall in the living room. So my Sister Maureen and I worked as a team and fixed the wall all up.
And while I was up north, something very special was happening down south. Dan and his wife Cathy were having a baby! Their son Ben arrived roughly seven weeks early. And what a beautiful boy he is!
Soon after getting home from up north, Denis and I went to visit Dan and Cathy's new little bundle of joy. He was so quiet and gentle. I was in awe of him and couldn't stop watching him as Cathy held him. Birth of a child is such an amazing thing to me. I envy women. I'll never know in my lifetime what it is like to have a child inside me growing. And the ability to give birth and make that first connection.
As the week closed, I saw a sneak preview of "Handcock" with Denis and it was really great. Fantastic acting from everyone involved. I love Will Smith anyway. There is hardly any movie he makes that I haven't liked. I also saw "Wanted" and that was pretty good too. James McAvoy is really coming up. I think this will be a big jump in his career. He really carried the film.
This last Saturday, as Denis and I were getting ready to head out, we had stopped by his apartment real quick for a change of clothing. I noticed as he pulled into his driveway that a racoon had a can stuck on it's head and couldn't get it off. While Denis was getting changed, I tried to assist the small fella with taking the can off it's head. Poor little guy! It was hard trying to grab him on the back to stop him from wandering all over the place. He was all disoriented. Denis directed me to some gloves in the trunk of his car and I put them on. The racoon almost seemed to understand that I was trying to help him. He would sit really still as I would try to pry the can off of his head. He didn't tremble or anything. The racoon was a little young and the neck seemed so fragile to me, I didn't want to hurt the poor fella. So we took him to the police station to see if animal control could help. They were pretty much usless as I very much expected. But I got this snapshot of him in our carrier from my camera phone:
 "Somebody please help me get this can off my head!"
Anyhow, while he was in our carrier and we were talking to the police, he managed to get one ear out of the can. So Denis and I took him outside and Denis held his back down as I twisted the can ever so carefully. After one final tug, his little head worked it's way out! And he paused to look at both of us for a moment. Almost as if to say, "Thank you!". He was so adorable! I wish I could take him home. Anyhow, he walked off into some bushes and Denis and I were on our way. I was so happy Denis and I succeeded. It made my day.
Denis and I went to the Royal Oak Brewery and "Boogie Fever" for a night of drinking and dancing. I had this wonderful draft beer. Something with "Wills" in the title I think. It was mild and delicious. And Denis and I danced our asses off on the crammed floor of "Boogie Fever". I just love dancing there. Gabe was supposed to join us, but he wasn't feeling so well and decided to head home. I'm hoping to hook up with him at least a couple more times before he heads to Taiwan. I wish I could go with him. I love new life adventures. Anyhow, I just escaped to the wonderful 70's and 80's music. Not a care in the world. A fantastic buzz and freedom in my heart. Dancing always helps me escape from everything bad that is going on in my life and in the world. And it's so communal at "Boogie Fever". Bodies tight against bodies, a disco ball above and lit floor from down below. My heaven! Man I wish I was in my twenties in the mid 70's. I would have loved going to dance clubs in the real heyday.
And to wrap things up, I have a goal set on my weight this summer. I have to lose 50 pounds by November as my 20 year class reunion is taking place then. A tough task indeed, but I have done it before, so I will do it again. And this time, I want it to stay off!!
Hugs to everyone!
-=Jarrod
current mood:  chipper
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| Sunday, April 27th, 2008
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11:57 pm - Pizza Freaks!
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So, my coworker Ryan is talking to a client on the phone from Northern Michigan Regional Hospital and Jason and I are talking in the background about the good ol' days of "Pizza Hut" pan pizza. I was going on and on about how much better the bottom crust used to be and how great the sauce, cheese and pepperoni used to be and the lady thought I was rather strange. I grabbed the recording when he was done with the call. This is classic!
Man, do I ever miss the days of the orignal Pizza Hut pan pizza.
current mood: chipper
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| Thursday, March 20th, 2008
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5:03 am - Favorites of 2007 and Some Basic Grumbling
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Hey all! I know it's been a damn long time, but it's difficult to find a moment to do these things. I have been wanting to post my "Favorites of 2007" being music, movies, vacations and concerts, but I am just now getting around to it. Typical of me, I know.
I suppose when I reflect on what a great year last year was, I should have a better overall feeling of contentment in my life. But I never seem to. I'll be so damn glad to get this winter over with, I am downright sick of being cold, having shitty driving conditions and getting sick all the time. I can't wait to open my window and let some damn fresh air in the house. Upon discussing this with Dan the other night, he thinks that both of us were spoiled so badly as kids, that we have a hard time appreciating things and are always left wanting more. I suppose that could be the case. But I am most certain that three big factors are the cause with my regular bouts with depression. For starters, I really hate my job. It's redundant, it's stressful and management is simply horrible at what they do. I just want out. But that brings me to the second factor, I live in Michigan and Michigan is the worst state in the union for jobs and economy. So I take what I can get. Don't get me wrong, there are good things, like the great friends I have made at Caretech. I love the people I work with and often go out and do things with many of them. So that is really great. I would love to transfer us all to some other great place to work. The other thing about Michigan I hate is the damn winters. I'm sick of being sick, my car doors not shutting, my car breaking down, potholes that you could mount diving boards off of, shitty drivers, body aches, dry skin, cracked and bleeding hands and fingers, and on and on... the overall discomfort with Michigan winters. And with this type of weather, everyone drives like shit, so it already makes me later than I normally would be for work and gatherings with friends. And finally, lack of companionship in my life with a member of the opposite sex. It's been almost two years since Tara broke things off with me, and to this day I still think about her. I still dream regularly about her. It's so frustrating! I've gotten some smooching in here and there, but that certainly isn't enough. I'm really tired of being alone. But on the other hand, I seem to be able to get out and do things that most married or dating male friends never seem to be able to do. So I dunno. There are advantages and disadvantages. But I have never had this kind of freedom when I am in a relationship. However, I am also more than ready to have a child of my own. I have wanted kids for years now. I am so behind compared to the rest of my friends in this regard. Anyway, enough of this self indulgence of depression.
Last year was most certainly the year of the great concerts. I saw Billy Joel, Van Halen (twice), Bruce Springsteen, The Police, Pat Benatar, Genesis, Alex Winston, The Gore Gore Girls and The Spice Girls (twice). There are probably even some that I am forgetting. Van Halen, The Police, and The Spice Girls being the best of the best. And I would be hard pressed to decide which of the three groups I liked best on stage. Seeing Van Halen and The Police was monumental! But The Spice Girls put on such a great show and were so engaging and infectious, we just had to see them twice! So for concert going, 2007 was the best concert year I ever had. We already have tickets for The Police again in 2008 for Chicago. So that is going to be fun. I was also hoping to see Alanis as I know she has a new album coming out soon, but it turns out that I am a complete dumb ass and she was at The Palace of Auburn hills a week before Dan and I went to see The Spice Girls. I am soooooo pissed about somehow missing that! I never heard a damn thing about it. I would have had front row for that for sure. I had front row the last time I saw her. It was so damn great! In fact, that was my first journal entry if memory serves me. I could just kick myself.
I also am not much for the new music of today. There are very few artists or bands that do anything for me these days. However, last year I was introduced to two amazing performers that turned out two of the best albums I have heard in years.
Amy Winehouse I came across from while listening to Launch. "Back to Black" came on, and I liked it on the spot. I remembered her name was Amy, and on my first night off was wandering through Meijer looked at the CD cover and thought, "I bet this is her." and I wasn't even sure. The disc was in my car CD player for over two weeks straight after that in a continual loop. I simply loved it! It was so original, fresh and creative. I hadn't heard such an interesting voice in a really long time. She may be a crack head, but she sure made a great album here. We were supposed to go see her in Chicago this last summer, but she canceled the show. I was pretty bummed about that.
Then later in the summer, Dan introduced me to Lily Allen. He made me a burned copy and I was sucked right in! Her music is addictive, it's sassy, she's a smart ass and she is blunt. She sings about the most serious of things with music that sounds like something that would be played on Sesame Street. It's hard to describe, but it was most certainly my favorite CD release of 2007. Hands down!
As for movies, the year had some very interesting releases. I narrowed it down to my favorite top ten films.
10) "Breach"
I love Chris Cooper, so this film was a must! A great film about Eric O'Neill, who is an upstart FBI operative working under Robert Hanssen, an agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union for 15 years. Intense flick!
9) "I Am Legend"
Based on a 1954 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in a future. The book takes places in Los Angeles, California. But the film was shot in New York. Which I think was a much better choice for this movie. Will Smith's character may be Earth's only surviving human not affected by a vicious man-made virus. He works to create a cure while living in a city inhabited by mutant victims of the airborne virus. I tell ya, this movie scared the living shit out of me! I didn't want to walk to my car alone afterwards.
8) "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Seriously, does anything even need to be said about this kick ass film? I didn't think so. Although, it should be noted that when I took Dan to see this, he hadn't even seen the first two films. I couldn't believe it!
7) "No Country For Old Men"
It's no surprise this won best picture of the year. It's fantastic! But I expect nothing less considering the Coen brothers put the film together. They did after all make my favorite films of 1996 and 1998. "Shomer fucking Shabbos!" Anyway, a great film about a drug deal gone wrong and a bunch of parties wanting to have the money. There is a great cat and mouse chase across Texas between the characters played by Josh and Javier. Great stuff!
6) "Lions for Lambs"
Denis and I saw this together when it seemed there was nothing else that really caught our interest at the theater that night. Boy were we ever glad we went to see this! An incredible film with first rate acting from everyone involved. The film takes aim at the U.S. government's prosecution of the wars in the Middle East. The dialog keeps you sucked in for the entire film. I never once looked away or even got distracted.
5) "3:10 to Yuma"
Ok, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and the return of the western to theaters... count me in!! I love westerns, and this movie is one of the best out there. Again, great performances from everyone involved. Hell, the man may throw cell phones at people, but Russell sure is one of my favorite actors out there today!
4) "Broken English"
It had been years since I had seen my girl Parker Posey return to her independent film roots, so this film was very much embraced. I have loved Parker ever since first seeing her in "The Daytrippers". And per usual, this film showcased her talents at playing 'real life'. This was a wonderful chick flick where Parker's character has a hard time finding love in her late 30's. I could totally relate to this film.
3) "The Darjeeling Limited"
Much can be said of this wonderful film about a journey through India by three brothers. This film hits all the emotion centers. I laughed out loud, got choked up, felt anger, frustration and humility. It's a great piece of work by three very gifted actors. I'm glad Owen didn't leave us. He has much more great work to put on film.
2) "Michael Clayton"
Simply fantastic!! Two words... Tom Wilkinson!! I love this guy! I have liked him for years in fact. I was so happy he was finally noticed. He was outstanding per usual. This film is about attorney Michael Clayton who is trying to cope with a colleague's apparent mental breakdown and the corruption within a major client of his law firm. It was edge of your seat stuff! And let me tell you, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton turned in fantastic performances as well. I was thrilled that she had won the Academy Award for this film. She surely deserved it. I have had a hard-on for her since seeing her in "The Beach". Denis couldn't understand even remotely what I saw in her. What can I say... I likes me some bitches.
1) "Juno"
Ah yes! My favorite film of the year! Dan and I were originally going to go see "Charlie Wilson's War". However, we took too long eating our burgers at the "Wheat & Rye". So we opted for "Juno" instead. And boy am I ever glad we were late. Ellen Page was incredible as the title character of a teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy. She had a sharp-tongued wit about her that just made the entire film. Line after line that came out of her mouth was pure sarcastic genius! The film was adorable and I think the cause for Dan now eating so many orange Tic-Tac's.
So there it is. I don't enter a journal very often, but when I do...
current mood: creative
current music: Toto, Africa
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| Friday, February 15th, 2008
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7:39 am - The best Valentines Gift Ever!!
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| Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
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6:39 pm - Say It Isn't So!! - "Actor Heath Ledger Dies At 28" - Oh No Lauren!!
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This sucks!! My niece Lauren is going to be more bummed about this than I am!
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Actor Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday of a possible drug overdose in a Lower Manhattan apartment, the New York Police Department said.
 
The Academy Award nominated actor was 28.
"Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed," police spokesman Paul Browne told CNN.
"This is being looked at as a possible overdose, but that is not confirmed yet."
The pills appeared to be over-the-counter sleeping medication, said police spokeswoman Barbara Chen.
Ledger was unresponsive when he was found by a housekeeper who had gone to wake him for an appointment with a masseuse in the Soho apartment, Browne said.
The apartment is owned by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen, The New York Times reported.
Ledger was declared dead at about 3:30 p.m.
In 2005, the actor played Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain," about two cowboys who had a secret relationship.
The role earned him the Oscar nomination.
Ledger was born in Perth, Australia. He has a young daughter with actress Michelle Williams, his co-star in "Brokeback Mountain."
"He was just so respected in the industry," said Kim Serafin, senior editor of In Touch Weekly.
"It's just horribly tragic. He was just a fine actor and a good person, so this is horribly sad and very unexpected."
Ledger was always focused on his career, Serafin said.
Some of his other film credits also include "A Knight's Tale" in 2001 and "The Four Feathers" in 2002.
current mood: shocked
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| Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
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4:21 am - This One's for Dan! Ho Ho Ho!
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| Friday, October 26th, 2007
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6:16 am - Genesis, Van Halen, Alex Winston, Buffy, Spice Girls... what a month!
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Let me just start by saying that this month has truly been 'off the hook' so far. And there is still more to come. The month kicked of with Denis taking me to see "Genesis" for my birthday. Let me tell you, they were absolutely fantastic! They kicked out jam after jam after jam. Their stage set was sleek and high-tech! An amazing arrangement of lights and a screen behind them that would play various computer graphics, video clips and shots from the audience. Phil Collins sang perfectly and the band was totally professional and didn't miss a beat. What a show!! We had a blast! Thanks Denis!   However, one annoying factor of the month so far is the inability to get to work in Troy without a bunch of bullshit trying to prevent me from getting there in a timely fashion. Look at the ridicules crap I have been going through to even try and get here. Here is an example of driving in on September 25th. I started out leaving my condo and heading up West Road to I-75. Well, I could see traffic backed up forever in front of me just past Allen Road, so I hung a quick right up Allen in an effort to take it to Sibley Road and then I-75 from there. No such luck. Allen was backed up halfway up Allen between King and Sibley. So I did a u-turn to make a right on King in hopes I could take that to Toledo Road and then up to I-75 from there. No such luck, about a half mile of traffic was backed up on King just before Toledo Road. So I drove down the left turn lane as far as I could in hopes of getting some kind of parking lot I could pull into and then make a right onto Toledo Road. As luck would have it, there was an office on this corner I could pull into from the road and... wait, what is this? For no apparent reason there are these two poles in the ground on either side of the driveway leading out to Toledo Road with yellow "Do Not Cross" tape attached to each pole and blocking my exit. Not only that, there are big bricks on the ground preventing me from driving out as well. Hmmmm... Screw this! I reached into my console between my two seats and grabbed a lighter that Suca gave me and melted the yellow tape apart. Then I moved the bricks out of the way that blocked my path, made a right onto Toledo and all was good. Or was it?! I drove up Toledo in what felt like lightening speed, then after crossing Sibley I noticed a bunch of backed up traffic. Leading all the way to Eureka Road. So I sharply made a quick right onto Allen Road again just before Pennsylvania Road and took that to Northline and then directly onto I-75. Whew!! This construction shit sucks!! I got to work, ran up the stairs and in the door and clocked in at 6-PM on the nose. Damn this construction!  Anyhow, back to the great month! So on October 8th, Dan invited me to go see Alex Winston at AJ's Cafe in Ferndale. Man, what a good time that was! She is adorable and her music is infectious! It was a little hot in that place, but I had a great time. I brought Denis with me as well and he loved her too. Not to mention, they have great coffee. I had a non-fat, sugar-free, large vanilla latte. It was yummy! Afterward we got to talk to her a bit and she gave us all her autograph. Charming little lady she is. Not to mention, she has a cat on her website and album cover that looks like my Baba!! Denis pointed it out. It's uncanny!
And then, the most important event of the month has happened. For the first time in 23 years, David Lee Roth has joined Eddie and Alex Van Halen again in a world tour I imagine to be the biggest this year. Eddie's son Wolfie has joined Van Halen on bass in place of Michael Anthony. Denis and I got the 5-Star Package from "I Love All Access" a couple months ago. On top of that, Denis decided to grab a couple tickets in the 4th row of the Joe Louis show, which was added when the Palace show sold out so fast. Two nights of Van Halen! It was unreal.   Our 5-Star Package got us a backstage tour where we got to see Eddie and Wolfie practicing. Denis and I got to say hi to Wolfie and then they showed us his bass guitars and Dave's acoustic guitar he brings out for "Ice Cream Man". We were also given a wonderful catered dinner with the most delicious jumbo prawns. They were huge!! And all the beer and wine we could drink. And Denis and I drank!! We got a cool VIP gift bag with a deck of cards, a bandana, a pin, a Van Halen CD case and 10% off merchandise at the Van Halen store. But most importantly, we got amazing seats just feet in front of the band. They couldn't have been better. We were dead center! You can see photos of both shows we took here. On a funny note, I stopped to take a photo of the Palace sign reading "Van Halen 7:30 Tonight!" and then abruptly cut off this big tour bus behind me. Denis says, "Watch that be one of the band members bus." and sure enough, it was Eddie Van Halen's. LOL! He soon came out and signed some stuff for some people. These two nights were an experience I will never forget.
Days later I got my limited edition signed Buffy poster by artist Jo Chen!   Jo is friggin' amazing. She captures Sara, Alyson and Eliza in pencil form like nobody I have ever seen. There are usually three different versions of Buffy covers with each new season eight volume. I always get the volumes with her cover art as they are simply the best. I'm so geeked to have this as part of my ever-growing Buffy collection. And to conclude this monstrous post, I will be going to yet another another concert in February of 2008 in New York City, as Dan got us two tickets to see the Spice Girls! You could only get these tickets if you registered for them. How excellent for us. Woo hoo! Way to go Dan! This month has just been the best. And I will be closing out the month as Nacho Libre at a Halloween party in Westland. I went to the same party last year and met a bunch of people and had a total blast.
So I think it is easy to say that this will probably be the very best month of this year for me. Man it was great! Hugs,
-=Jarrod
current mood: cheerful
current music: Garbage - Push It
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| Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
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1:52 am - Once More, With Feeling!
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Had just about one of the best nights of my life on Friday night. Some may think that is rather strange based on why, but as bummed as I have been these last few years, this night really brightened my spirits.
Last Friday night Steve was in town and I went to his Mom and Dad's and had their infamous chicken paprikash. It was fantastic per usual. Then Steve and I walked around Gibraltar and got caught up on things. It was really good to see him again. Later we went up to J-Dub's in Riverview to see my friend Robin's husband perform in their band and to have drinks with Steve and hang for a bit before my nights big event.
Flashback to the Friday before last and I had seen a movie called "The Ten" which was pretty damn funny. As Paul, Dan and I were entering the theatre I saw an ad for next weeks show. My jaw dropped!! They were bringing the Buffy musical episode "Once More, With Feeling" to Ann Arbor for a Buffy Musical Extravaganza! Buffy fans (and those who have yet to be converted) were invited to watch their favorite episode on the giant screen, surrounded by a theatre filled with singing, shouting, and laughing friends. I said to Dan and Paul, "I am not missing this for anything!!"
Steve dropped me off at my car and I headed to Ann Arbor. Dan and Cathy were already in line and I dropped my license off with Dan as he was ready to go in and get the seats and I had purchased them with my Visa three days prior, so he needed my license. I parked my car in the garage around the corner and ran down to meet up with them. We had great seats right in the middle of the theatre and the action!
The midnight event was done in "Rocky Horror Picture Show" style, with audience participation encouraged. People interacted with scenes from the episode and responded with shouting and props provided via fun bags you grabbed up before entering the theatre. The bag had party poppers, kazoo's and finger puppets. Before the show, they had trivia and played videos of our favorite Buffy moments to songs like, "Take A Chance On Me" and "Coin Operated Boy" by the Dresden Dolls. As well as a wonderful tribute video to Joyce Summers. It was fantastic. I got all choked up. After the videos, the audience participated in what was known as Buffyoke. People were pulled from the audience and acted out scenes from the show. We all laughed our asses off. It was such good fun! But of course, the entire reason we all joined together was to sing along and have fun to the episode "Once More, With Feeling". And what a good time we all had doing it. I can't tell you how much I appreciate these people putting this together and coming to Ann Arbor. It has been a really bad year for me and this truly was what I needed. This is my favorite show of all time and to see this on the big screen and interact with so many people who feel as passionate about it as I do was just incomparable. Dan (![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) madush69) and the good people at WAAM know how much I love Buffy as well and asked me to do the news spot with McClung on the radio to promote the show coming to Ann Arbor. I couldn't have been more thrilled! I was overwhelmed with emotion and excitement at the show. I laughed and I cried and had the best time ever! I already can't wait until the next time I can share this with everyone again.
current mood: cheerful
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| Saturday, August 25th, 2007
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7:42 am - The Pizza Queens!
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Had a great night out tonight with Amy (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) alevos) and her friend Jennie. Dan (madush69) was away at a wedding in Wisconsin, so tonight it had to be me and a couple fine young ladies reviewing a pizza.
We had pizza at Frank's in Wyandotte and then headed to "Chesley's" in Lincoln Park for some drinks. Jennie introduced me to many a new shot tonight. It was fun. I liked them all. After several drinks, we tried to find a bar that was doing karaoke, so Amy and I could have some fun singing. We headed to what I believe was called "Mirage". There was no karaoke there, but we had fun continuing to drink beer and shots. By the end of the night, Jennie and I were feeling no pain. I think we started driving poor Amy nuts.
We had the bartender make us a couple rounds of his choice. They were tasty shots. We all had fun with the locals at the bar and then Amy took us home.
After Amy dropped me off, I took a leak and then thought to myself, "Hell, there is still an hour and a half left at City Club!" So I hopped in the car and headed to Detroit. On the way I saw that Brandon, Tim and Gabe called tonight on my wireless, so I figured I would call Gabe and talk drunk to him. He was the most likely to be up and willing to listen to my drunk ramblings. LOL! I danced my ass off for an hour and then headed home.
And Jennie put this thought in my head tonight... and it was a quick stop at White Castle before getting to my condo. Mmmmm... sliders!!
current mood:  tired
current music: Peter Wolf - "99 Worlds"
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| Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
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2:40 am - This One's for Dan!
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| Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
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7:53 am - Whip Me 'Till I Bleed, Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Crunch All I Want, They'll Make More! Etc.
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Ok, so what's up with the title? Well, I'm trying to think of all that I have done since my last entry that might be worth two shits to talk about. Well, for starters, Gabriel introduced me to "Mephisto's" a few weeks back, which is kind of an S&M-Lite / Goth bar located in Hamtramck. But they have an 80's night and a gay night, so their rather multi-functional. It's a pretty cool place. There are three floors, all with a small dance floor and bar. The third floor has a deck and a lounge area with couches and chairs. They also play some type of horror flick on the big screen on the third floor. They serve Corona Light, so I am a happy man there. I turned out to be quite enamored by this girl named Lisa who goes by "Demolena". I couldn't take my eyes off her. Gabe saw my fasination and introduced us. Per usual, the cat grabs my tongue when I'm in front of someone I'm taken with, so Gabe said something along the lines of "I think Jarrod would really like your services but is too afraid to ask.". Boy was he right about that. I never would have done it on my own. Well, Lisa broke my cherry and I got quite the whipping!
It was different to say the least. But I must say, I did enjoy it. (I can hear the voices of Denis saying, "What in the Hell is the matter with you?!" and my friend Steve saying, "You sick fuck!".) LOL! The next day, we had all the women at work worried about me. Gregg went out with me that night to the movies and afterwards had a talk where she was instructed to find out if I had somehow lost my mind. I explained to her that all was fine and it was all in good fun. However, I did have an enlightening email conversation with Bethany about it all, and I suppose there is a little bit of deep seeded stuff there. But I think it is a combination of both.
A week later my ex, Susan and her boyfriend Rob invited me to see my favorite little girl, Susan's daughter Emma, dance at the Monroe County Fair. (She is the one in the middle.) My little Pookie Chop!
As you can all imagine, with some of what I wrote in my LiveJournal from 2005, you know how much this meant to me. Afterwards we went back to Susan's and had beers and played board games. Emma sat on my lap after her bath and joined in a bit. She kept putting her head into my chest and hugging me. Well, lets just say that this was the happiest I have been in a really long time. And it looks like I will be able to see Emma more often now too. Which couldn't make me happier.
As many of you might already know, the next day I went to see Pat Benatar, compliments of Dan and WAAM. It was a fun night with his wife Cathy, his son Joe, and our best friend Denis. She did a really good job and still had a surprisingly strong voice.
Afterwards we went to "Dave and Busters" and played video games and had some damn good food!
Great fun was had by all! And the food was off the hook!
Let's see... what else.... Oh, my car took a shit the night before my birthday celebration. It was making this horrible racket when I would start it. I was really bummed as I just got done paying the damn thing off! Lucky for me it turned out only to be the serpentine belt. They replaced it, and while they were at it I had them give my car a tune-up and rotate and balance my tires. It runs really good again. And all for only $300.00. Not too horrible.
Anyhow, on Friday I spent the evening opening presents and hanging with family. Aubrey got me a new shirt and a CD of various Metal artists. It's pretty good. She also picked up some stuff from Hot Topic herself and wanted to go to City Club that night. We met a really cool couple that night and Aubrey mingled with and got on with them well. I look forward to seeing them again there.
I'm looking forward to this weekend and going to City with Dan again as he couldn't make it last weekend and missed out on a lot. Some things for only his eyes to see and ears to here. 
Now onto some really important issues! I finally had Doritos Collisions.
I had the Hot Wings / Blue Cheese on Thursday night when I got home from work at 3AM and I just now had the Zesty Taco / Chipotle Ranch flavour. And to my surprise, I liked the Zesty Taco / Chipotle Ranch flavour the best. My friend Denis was right, it's a ranch flavour not like "Cool Ranch". It has kick. And the combined flavour of the two was wonderful. I couldn't get over how just eating a Blue Cheese chip tasted so much like blue cheese. It was a little overwhelming. Combining it with the Hot Wing chip made it much better. I can't wait to see what other Collisions flavours they come up with next.
And finally, my ex, Tara gave me a heads-up on an IT job opening at Woodhaven School District. I jumped right on it and gave their superintendent of the schools my resume. She didn't happen to be in the office at the time, so I am going to get in touch with her again this week and see what she says. Tara is going to see about any pull she has and see if she can get me in there. That would be awesome as I wouldn't have to drive all the way up to Troy anymore. I would be only seven minutes from work as opposed to an hour and forty seven minutes from work.
We shall see...
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| Wednesday, July 25th, 2007
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3:04 am - Absolute Garbage!
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I love new release Tuesdays!! Denis and Lauren surely share in this excitement multiple times throughout each year as I do. This Tuesday was special to be sure as it was the release of "Absolute Garbage". The latest album by my favorite group second only to "The Police".
I absolutely love the new song "Tell Me Where It Hurts" and even though I have most of the rest of the songs, it's nice to have them remastered and all in one place. I also finally have "#1 Crush" which until now I never had. And I love that song. There is also "The World Is Not Enough" from the 007 movie of the same name and a remix of "It's All Over But The Crying". So it's all great. Not to mention, I got the matching DVD of all the videos as well. I have been waiting for the videos to come out on DVD for years.
But I have a couple gripes... For starters, if I am going to purchase your product, could you please try not to damage the damn thing before I even lay out my hard earned money for it?! There is a crease in the second page of the booklet, and they somehow managed to slide the booklet into the case behind the tab that it is supposed to be slipped in front of to hold the book in place, and there is this stupid dent in the booklet that I just abhor. How stupid!
And of course that stupid security sticker on top of the case left the sticky residue on my plastic case. And a mystery that seems to have eluded me is the fact that the new single "Tell Me Where It Hurts" is not on the DVD, yet there is a new video for that song?! And upon investigation, it is on the DVD overseas. What in the Hell is up with that?!?
Gabe has the same theory that my friend Ben does about trying to get me to purchase the product twice. Not to mention, you can hold hours upon hours of video on a DVD, why not just include every single video they have ever made up to this point?!? I guess that would make too much sense.
Either way, I gotz some new fun stuff from "Garbage" and I am a happy man!! 
current mood:  bouncy
current music: Why Do You Love Me - Garbage
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| Friday, July 20th, 2007
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7:39 am - The Police - 7/17/07 - The Palace of Auburn Hills
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There could never be words to describe this evening. Ever! I don't even know where to begin. For as long as I can remember I have loved "The Police". It started with my sister purchasing "Zenyatta Mondatta" in 1980 and dancing to it around her new house while cleaning. I thought "Don't Stand So Close To Me" and "Driven To Tears" were just about the coolest songs ever. And then I got this "K-Tel" record in 1981 called "Hit Express" and "Spirits In The Material World" was on it. I thought that was now the best song ever. I can't figure out why it didn't click to get their entire album collection at the time, but I was so into "J. Geils" and "The Beatles" that I never thought anyone else could compare. And then came "Every Breath You Take" in June of 1983. I was hooked. Not only was the song amazing, but my first real kiss took place against a tree at Portage Lake with Cathy Hoback while this song was playing from Hot Hits - 96.3 FM.
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Soon after this, "The Police" became my favorite band of all time. I asked everyone in my family for each Police album for my 13th birthday and soon had the whole collection. And as many of you know, it didn't end there. Record show after record show for Police singles with b-sides that I could get nowhere else. And of course, the most important item of all. The first Police single ever made "Fall Out / Nothing Achieving". And not the re-issue on IRS Records, but the original print of only 1000 that Sting and Stewart hand pressed in a studio apartment. Well, that cost me my entire paycheck. But it was worth it. To this day I haven't gotten them all to sign it.
Anyhow, long story short, you get the idea of just how much I love these guys. Well, what better way to see them then with my dearest and longtime friends and my brother. It was a night to remember. And one I wish I could live again and again and again. Denis and Paul had the "Best Buy - VIP Dinner" and I had the "Palace-VIP" pass. Paul and Denis had Moroccan food and some good cheap drinks and while they were making their way to me after their party, I was arriving fashionably late to my VIP party. Which worked out well because I talked the staff into letting Chris and Dan come in with me. Soon all five of us were up at the bar getting hammered, and then a staff member said, "The Police took the stage guys." And we were like, "Shit!"
At this moment we were all running down the stairs and to our seats and at this point, what I consider to be one of the best moments of the night took place. Paul stopped me in my tracks, grabbed my arm and said, "Jarrod, we are seeing The Police!!" and I was overwhelmed. He knew what this meant to me. I said, "I know... I can't believe this!"
As I said, there is just no way to describe this night. "The Police" were spot on. They were perfect. It was everything I ever imagined. There was a moment that Denis describes as absolute synergy where everything just clicked and the band knew it. It all went by so fast. It's almost a blur. Everyone around me was impressed on how I knew every word to every song. My brother Chris was so happy he came too. He said he felt like it was the Synchronicity concert all over again. He said it was like time hadn't passed. He was walking around afterward and per usual, women everywhere were rubber necking to check him out. Lucky bastard. I wish I looked like him.
I will never forget this night. That's all I can say. The best of times with the best of friends.
I saw "The Police"... and now I can die.
current mood: cheerful
current music: "Walking Away" - Information Society
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| Thursday, July 5th, 2007
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7:53 am - Fireworks, Beer, Pizza, a Movie, and One Hell of a Walk!
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So I woke up today and wasn't particularly proud of my eating habits. I started the day with a burger and fries at Culver's. Then my Mother and I looked at some houses in Trenton. Afterwards, I did some laundry and surfing the net until Denis came to get me for the Gibraltar fireworks. They were extra good last night. We had nice close seats too. Afterwards Denis and I dropped his son off at Theresa's house and headed to "Pete's Garage" in Monroe for a couple beers. The place was really dead, but I was happy to see that the Tigers won against Cleveland. It was too quiet, so Denis kicked out some jams on the jukebox. ZZ-Top, Van Halen, INXS and U2. We started getting hungry, so we went to Meijer around the corner and grabbed a couple frozen pizzas and headed to Denis' apartment to watch "Shooter". Which by the way, is a kick ass movie. If you haven't seen it, go rent it. It was a great action flick. Anyhow, around a third into the movie, Denis just couldn't make it anymore and totally konked right out. So after the movie, instead of waking him up, I figured I had been so bad with eating, that it would be better if I just walked home. Yep, you read that right. I walked home all the way from Gibraltar. I estimate that I walked around six and a half to seven miles this morning. And let me tell you, my dogs were barking when I finally got home. I am gonna sleep like a baby today.
Here is the route I took on foot this morning. Am I crazy, or am I crazy?!
current mood:  thirsty
current music: Chesney Hawkes - The One and Only
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| Thursday, June 28th, 2007
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8:36 am - The Man With The Hat Is Back!!
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For the first time since 1989, Harrison Ford dons the familiar costume on Thursday, June 21, 2007, as the upcoming Indiana Jones adventure begins production under the direction of Steven Spielberg. The new Indiana Jones movie is set in the 1950s and stars Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent. The Lucasfilm Ltd. production will be released by Paramount Pictures worldwide on May 22, 2008.
My God! The man looks fantastic!! 18 years later and he still looks great as Indy. Man I can't wait to see this!!
current mood: bouncy
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| Saturday, June 16th, 2007
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3:07 pm - New LiveJournal Friend!
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Hey folks, I told my manager about this place and she started posting a journal here. She is sweet, has lots of wisdom and is a great person to talk to and share ideas with. Please drop by, say hello and welcome tweetiedml to the LiveJournal community!
current mood: indifferent
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| Friday, June 1st, 2007
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3:41 am - Interview, Tigers, Chicago, Pizza, Men Hit by Cars, Pirates and a Buffy Farewell!
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Where on earth does time go?! It's already been a week since I made my way out to Chicago to meet Ben. Anyway, that's what this is about anyway. An update on my interview, my trip to Chicago and various stuff throughout the week.
Well, I believe my interview went really well. Dean Figlioli, who is head of IT did the interview. He was assisted by Kyle Larner who is an IT lead. Dean asked the basic interview questions about why I wanted the job, why I thought I could work well for them and the like. I believe I did really well here and that Dean found me to be really personable and professional. Kyle's job was to do the technical interview. I always choke on this part, but I think I even did fairly well in this area, and I think Kyle likes me as a person as well. At least I hope he does. I could sure learn a wealth of knowledge from that guy. Either way, I should know if I got it before the end of next week. I shall keep you all posted.
I also managed to squeeze in a Tiger game just after the interview. I got my mother Detroit Tigers tickets for Mothers Day. She was more than pleased as she loves the Tigers so very much. And they won the game as well. 8 to 7 against the Los Angeles Angels. You can view photos of the event here.
The trip to Chicago was great. I had a very smooth ride there. Got there really early considering when I left. I was starving when I got there, but Ben and I could not find a pizza place open at this time. So we went to Hooters instead. I was very disappointed with the chicken strips. They are not nearly as good as the strips in the southeast Michigan locations. But the waitress brought me an ice cold Bud Light which tasted so good at the moment. The next couple days we managed to squeeze two pizza places in. You can read my reviews about them here. I had some good food and got some good walking in while in Chicago. You can view photos of my visit here.
After getting back, it was straight to work. I was so tired from being up all day and then driving all the way to Troy from Evanston, Illinois. On top of that, I had to work until 6-AM the next morning. Man I was whipped. And the next day was rather interesting on my way to work. I had jumped on to I-75 and no sooner was I cooking down the highway than I had to stop on a dime. And from that moment, I had sat with no movement for twenty minutes. I had to get out of the car to see what in the Hell was going on. Turns out, some guy jumped off the bridge at King Road and landed on a car in the highway. I got this information from a semi driver behind me who said a driver in front of him saw the whole thing and was giving him an update about it. However, if you read the papers or look online, it says the man was just wandering in the road. Hmmm... kind interesting. It would be difficult to wander around the highway there because it is so heavily under construction. The man would have to climb over cement barriers. And he was over 70 years old. I don't think so. They flew a chopper in for this guy. I had my camera there to take some shots.
The highway was backed up on both sides for miles. A motorcycle cop came around to tell us to try and turn our cars around on the highway, as we were being re-directed to go backward at the West Road ramp to the northbound highway.
Craziness ensued as we all attempted to turn our cars around on the squeezed in two lane highway.
I was an hour and a half late for work that night. But everyone was really cool about it. Wow, I can't say I have ever experienced this on the highway before.
But my work week ended on a fun note. I hadn't seen either of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and Paul and I devised a plan to have a "Pirates" night at his house on his new HD-TV. He rented a Sony Playstation 3 and I purchased a HDMI cable for his TV to watch the Blu-Ray discs in all their digital splendor. The picture was breathtaking. And the movies were really great. Dan came with his wife Cathy and Denis brought his son Dillon with him. It was a really good time. And now I am all set to see the third installment at the theater. I can't wait to check it out. I'm more than sure my niece Lauren has.
Tonight I took my mother to get her front end aligned on her Oldsmobile. We went across the street to Walden Books and I was eager to pick up the latest edition of Buffy / Angel Magazine. I read the top of the magazine and saw the disappointing statement: "Commemorative Final Issue!" Oh no!!
How am I supposed to continue to get my Buffy fix?!? What is a slayer fan to do?!? This cruel world is slowly ripping Buffy away from us! How am I expected to survive!?
Later tonight Dan and I will start a brand new "Any Ol' Fuckin' Thing" CD. A volume of AOFT hasn't been created since 1990! 17 years later the tradition will continue with Volume 21.
Have a great weekend everyone!
current mood: cheerful
current music: Come And Get Your Love - Redbone
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| Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
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3:40 am - Lily Allen - Faces of Meth!
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Made this as a joke for Lily to post in her MySpace photo area. I hope she finds it humorous. With her sense of humor, I figure she will.
Course, either version of Lily is still simply adorable.
current mood: chipper
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12:14 am - Lily, Job Interview and the Windy City
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Ever since Dan (madush69) intoduced me to Lily Allen, I have just been playing her CD in my car constantly. I simply love her style. My favorite song on the disc is "Friday Night". I also love "Everything's Just Wonderful", "Smile", "Knock' Em Out" and "Alfie". Much like Amy Winehouse she is ushering in some new style of music that sprinkles in aspects of the 60's and 70's with a modern hard edge and brutally honest and self exposed lyrics. They are both absolutely fantastic! Where Allen attracts me more than Amy is her ability to dress up cute and adorable like a little girl yet sing about such horrible situations and unhappy feelings. She's a hoot! I find overall that I am really enjoying music from Great Britain. My favorite music artists right now are Melanie C, Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse (Alanis notwithstanding). I can't believe I have her as a MySpace friend before Dan though. How did that happen?! 
Ok, so I have an interview for a Field Support position at the Detroit Medical Center tomorrow. I'm starting to get nervous already. I hate the interview process. I had my phone interview today with Molly Prater who is a human resource generalist and it went really well. She loved my enthusiasm and thinks I have this thing pretty much nailed. But Dean likes things to be very specific and he likes people that always dress super sharp and are lean and clean cut. All of which I am not and I am so not like that. So I have to do a performance in these cases. I also hate technical questions. That's the worst part. I can sell my interpersonal skills with no problem. It's my lack of blunt text book answers to computer questions I am weak with.
I hope I can nail this thing tomorrow. It's closer to home, it pays roughly $5,000 more per year, I will constantly be on my feet and walking around instead of being stuck at a desk, and I will be surrounded by a bunch of hot nurses all time of every shape, size and colour. I really hope this happens. I'll be ironing clothing when I get home this morning.
After the interview, I have to race home to pick up my Mom and take her to the Tigers game. I sure hope they don't lose the game tomorrow like they did today. My Mom will be totally bummed out.
Then I close the week by heading out to the Windy City to see my friend Ben from California. He is coming into Chicago to look at pilot opportunities and places to live. He plans on moving there in a year or so. So I'll have pictures and a journal update for this visit soon.
Geez... what a busy week.
Wish me luck for the interview!
current mood:  anxious
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| Sunday, May 6th, 2007
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4:10 am - Another Great Week!
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Well, as you all know, last week started off great with "Lola Rennt" and "Melanie C". Well this week was "Spiderman 3" and "Billy Joel"! Friday night Denis and I went to see "Billy Joel" at the Palace of Auburn Hills and man did he ever put on a good show!
What a performance! My favorite song of the night was "Only the Good Die Young". The crowd was into it. And sang along strong with this song. "Allen Town" was great and I have always loved "She's Always a Woman". I have always felt that more than anything, this was my perspective on my love for the human female. Perhaps that is why I am often walked upon. And Billy as well.
Denis and I closed the evening with some "Hooter's" in Taylor and then I dropped him off and went home to crash as well. I was so tired. Kinda like tonight!!
current mood: tired
current music: Steve Winwood - The Finer Things
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