Valentine’s Day Looming, and Bread Broken

Well, last night was Brian’s 27th birthday. Hard to believe it. I remember when the little bastard (and I mean that endearingly) turned 21. It was really surprising, as I figured I had been to my last 21st bday as an active participant. But Brian was in a unique position, of being one of the few of his gang that turned legal drinking age, and yet working in an office where everyone was over 21.

I’m pretty sure that at the time, I never expected Brian and I to become good friends. But I think at that point I did think the guy was decent enough. (rather than the punk I had already tagged him as)

The boy has come a long way, that’s for sure.

We all went out to Banzai, one of those Japanese Grill places, over on Quakerbridge Road. Let’s see who was there. Ed & Michelle. Jules & his wife. Brian & Kara (obviously). Kristen and her husband (can’t remember his name), Nate, and that friend of Kara & her husband.

Before we left, Brian called me up to tell me that Hector’s father passed away on Sunday. I felt bad for the guy. I do like Hector. We get along fine, but he’s not the type to make new friends. But still, you feel bad for any of that. His dad had been suffering for a while, but still, that’s rough at 27.

We went to Banzai. Was a lot of fun. But I remember having better food at the last place, Mom & I went to. But I’m guessing that’s just memory, and that it was fine. Or at least would have been except Jules’s wife said that she was alergic to garlic. UCK… That might ahve ruined the whole thing.

Afterwards we went to Fezziwigs. Always fun at Fezzi’s. Good beer, average food. Hector met up with us. He looked alright. As well as can be. I’m sure it’s a bit of relief.

Well, that’s it for now. I’m going home to Mom’s tonight to go for her surgery. And I have to get all of my Valentine’s Day gifts in order. I’m gonna get Suzanne the Sarah McLaughlan CD, and make her a CD (or two) of WXPN stuff. Last night I gave her a cute Garfield doll, wearing boxer shorts, and holding a heart of chocolate, as well as a single red rose.

She seemed to like it. We’re supposedly going to go to Carlucci’s Grille for dinner on Saturday and then back to the house for Chocolate fondue.

Anyway, that’s it from me….

Cheers,

RJ

Current Status of Entertainment

On February 11th, here’s what I’m watching, reading, listening to:

Last CD I listened to: Dixie Chicks: Fly

Last new CD I bought: Southern Culture on the Skids: Mojo Box

Last video I saw: Casablanca (deluxe DVD)

Last new movie I saw: Shit, can’t remember…. fuck!

Last time in the movie theatre: Return of the King

Last time in the theatre: RENT on Broadway

Current Book: How to be Good – Nick Hornby

Current Audio Book: The Last Precinct – Patricia Cornwell

Current Video Game: Ratchet and Clank – PS2

Current Favorite TV Shows: Angel, Alias, 24

Best Recently: Angel (100th episode with the return of Charisma Carpenter, very very VERY good episode.)

Ciao,

RJ

So what else is going on with life….

Hi there…. My name is Robert, and I’m a comic book addict…

HI ROB!!!!!!

I think I’ve actually become a reformed addict. I owe apologies to all of the people who I called all sorts of nasty names when I heard that they stopped buying comic books because a serious relationship was in their life.

I said all sorts of nasty things. Usually when they weren’t there, but so be it.

For me it comes down to the following things:

First off, I don’t have the money. My gf/fiancee/future wife said to me once, when you bought your house, you didn’t adjust your spending to follow. So, you still spend money as if you have all this disposable income.

That’s very true. I had too many years where I could buy whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and still be able to go out on the weekends, and spend a lot there too. Well, I can’t do that anymore, can I? And the truth is, there’s cheaper entertainment available, the income I have for fun & games is much more fun when spent on fun that I can share with my gf, and I don’t have the leisure time to read 10 or so comic books in a sitting.

Second, I had been thinking about a move towards trade paperbacks anyway. They fit better on my shelves. I can loan them out much easier to people. I prefer keeping the stories in one neat package. Now, I’ve avoided this in the past, mostly because I enjoyed going to the comic book store, once every week, or so….

But I get to the comic book store less often. And the stuff that I read is popular stuff anyway. I’m not in love with any small market indy title, or any superhero title that isn’t getting a lot of press. I’m not saying that I won’t miss anything, but I’m not sure that I would miss what I’m missing.

Third, I’ve been losing my passion for comic books. Not that I don’t enjoy reading them. But for the cost, I don’t know that it’s worth it. I can buy eight comic books at $20.00. For that price I could buy a DVD or a PS2 game (not that I have time to watch or play those either). Or I could even rent about 4 movies. Or even go to the movies.

Now, if I have pasison for a comic book, that’s different, but the financial burden and the loss of passion has certainly slowed me….

Most of this is a money issue. With a slight nod towards wanting to go the trade paperback route. If I had an additional $100 each month, after other expenses and fun, I would buy $50.00 worth of comics a month, and two trades.

But….

I don’t… unfortunately…

I haven’t been to the store in like 5 weeks.

**Groan**

Hopefully, I’ll figure it out….

RJ

Sometimes I don’t know what this is supposed to be…

I shouldn’t worry about this stuff, I know…. Being in your early 30s, you see the technology booming around you. Well, not the technology per say, it’s the knowledge. And I’m falling waaaaay behind.

Take LiveJournal for a moment. Everyone has these cool pages, and I’ve got the industry standard with a few unique colors. Whoopdie doo. I barely know how to create an icon. Let alone how to post a different one each time.

For me, in my early 30s, it’s a simple question. Do you try (and most likely fail) to keep up with what’s cool (music, internet, etc), or do you simply go on with your VH1, Greatest Hits, I love the 80s, niche and be done with it.

Jeez, honey there’s just too many people in this place, and the music is just too darn loud. Maybe we should go home. Let’s swing by the Howard Johnsons. They have a nice early bird special that allows us old cheap farts to eat at a time much earlier than everyone else.

Just put my cultural impact and awareness in the ground and bury it. We’ll make a nice gravestone for it, and pluck the weeds.

Give me my Def Leppard Greatest Hits CD, an old game of Centipede, and a collection of Terry Brooks original Shanara series while reruns of Cheers are shown on the television screen.

UCK!!!!

Rob

And We’re off and Running, I guess……

Okay, this is the first entry…. Who knows what’s going to happen…. whether this turns out to be a permanent thing or just a temporary one…..

Just read on 411Mania.com, that at the WWE No Way Out PPV, that Kurt Angle, The Big Show, and John Cena will be in a match to determine who faces the WWE Champion (currently Brock Lesnar) at WrestleMania XX.

Ladies and gentlemen, this means that Eddie Guerrero is going to defeat Brock Lesnar at No Way Out!!!!!

Unless the WWE has totally scrapped its plans to have Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg face each other at WrestleMania, that’s what this means. You can see it playing out before our very eyes. Goldberg causes a distraction that allows Eddie Guerrero to defeat Brock Lesnar at No Way Out, setting up Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle for the WWE Title, and Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg.

I thought Chris Benoit might get a shot at the title, but I never figured that Eddie Guerrero would get one. Especially considering where Eddie was at one point in time in his life. I mean, WOW.

Now, I’m not even sure if I expect Eddie to make it past WrestleMania with the title. (Actually, I do, because they probably want Brock to take it back). But to have Eddie Guerrero listed as a WWE Champion, that would fill my heart with joy.

Okay, that’s it for now…