herrow prease!

i know for a fact that very few people read this, and i guess that shouldn't keep me from wanting to write. so, here i am. been a few months. hi. if you read this, leave a comment so i know you exist.

i'm still at LM doing IT support and it's pretty cool. I always have my eyes open, so we'll see if any new or exciting opportunities arise along the way. for now, it's a good gig, and lots of potential to move up if i decide to stay here awhile.

our little pup, abigail is now about 6 and a half months old and just as adorable as when we first met her. even people that generally don't like dogs think she's awesome. we really weren't sure about getting another dog so soon after jake, but every day we ask each other how we got so lucky to have such a great little pooch. if you haven't met her yet, you'll fall in love. guaran-damn-teed.

because of how poorly socialized MY last dog (RIP Jonah!) was, I made sure that we exposed Abbi to tons of people and situations. She's already been on countless car rides, including 4 that were 3+ hours long, a [mother fuckin!] boat, met about 100 new people (at least) and a bunch of other dogs that she has ZERO fear of. haha. we love her and she always puts us in a good mood, even when she's misbehaving.

finally got the front bedroom painted as the first step of turning it into a computer room/guest room setup. wish i had the money to buy the desk we want to fit at least 2 desktop computers and at least one laptop... and a 32" tv to put in our bedroom. maybe if we stop getting tattoos we could afford it. hm.

speaking of tattoos, i started my maryland sleeve a week ago. so far it includes a couple blue crabs, the USS Constellation with the sun coming over the horizon and the natty boh brew tower. the other half is still being worked through but will probably include the MD flag, black-eyed susans, a bigger natty boh logo, some sort of oriole reference, the 695 sign, and a can of old bay. i'm stoked and i love how it looks so far, and it's only the outline of the bottom half! mandi added a significant amount of material to her back piece to help cover up the one she got for her dad back in the day. very old school, very awesome. CW Ensor is the man.

My musical taste spreads across many genres but i of course have some favorites... some bands have come and gone, others are still around for unknown reasons. taking back sunday was a favorite of mine about 4 or 5 years ago, and since then they have released 3 or 4 albums, none of which i particularly enjoyed. 'tell all your friends' was one of their earlier records, and by far my favorite. for some reason, even though they haven't produced anything that i particularly care for in a number of years, i still just can't give up on them. i got all excited when i learned of their new album, only to be disappointed yet again. maybe next time, guys.

311, however, has long been a favorite band of mine since the mid 90s (i'll admit, i got into them because of 'down', like many others, but once i played that album about three million times i decided to see what they did before that record. to this day, 'grassroots' is my favorite album. (that's the one that was released in 1994, before the self-titled, for all you non-311 lovers who just know 'down' and 'amber'.. die.) so yeah, i learned about THEIR new album and wasn't as excited as i was about TBS, but i ALWAYS love 311's stuff.... weird, huh? this album is no exception and i can listen to it from beginning to end without even thinking about it.

i've recently taken a particular liking to old stuff... er, old-ish stuff. mostly older cars and motorcycles. am i getting old? fuck.

being a car guy and always having tons of respect for the classics, i never really paid all that much attention to them until one day i was hanging out with J, my brother-in law Paul's little brother, and we were just talking cars and looking through the 20+ vehicles in and around the yard. i realized i want an older, stock, original car. something off-beat like an AMC rambler that i can just cruise around in. i also realized recently that i want an 81-87 chevy full size pickup, so i can slam it on dog dish wheels, paint it flat black and cut off the mufflers. i think the fact that i've always had 4 cylinder vehicles (except my beloved CL-S) has made me crave the lopey growl of an american straight 6 or v8. i don't really have the room or money for 'fun' or 'project' cars right now, but at least i can get my ducks in a row for when i'm ready. of course, i'll probably get a real austin mini first. those things are so badass... and i'm still on the fence about if i want to put a honda 4cylinder in it or leave it stock. either way, a classic mini is totally a 'little brad' car.

wedding planning: exciting, expensive, exhausting....expensive... and mandi is doing most of the work!

my job at best buy used to be just for the discount, and it has become more for the money. hm. i finally hooked my mom up with a nice setup for her house. made me feel really good. paul and i installed everything and it looks/sounds great. anything would have been better than her little 19", but still. it feels great to give someone something really nice and know they appreciate it.

i guess that's enough updating for now. i re-joined facebook a few months ago and twitter/fb have consumed much of the short time i spend on a computer at home, but luckily this site isn't blocked here at work. w00t.

till next time.

does anyone really like U2 that much?

i've already made it clear how fucking busy i am at work- but i'm really starting to get tired of arriving before the sun rises and leaving after it sets. it's 57 degrees outside, but i'd never know it, let alone get to enjoy it. meh. the overtime pay is nice- guess i'll just suck it up and pay off some bills while it lasts.

it's been a while since i've gone to bed hoping for a substantial accumulation of snow in hopes of a late opening/closing of anything, but i really wouldn't mind getting a couple extra hours of sleep. i still don't feel rested and my work schedule is rigorous to say the least.

so i was just leafing through the sunday best buy and target ads and noticed a 1/4 page devoted to the new U2 album release. seriously, guys? a 'regular' edition, a limited edition dual vinyl LP, limited edition digi pak, limited edition magazine, AND a limited edition box set? what the fuck. does anyone even listen to you anymore? i personally think your music is fucking lame. sure, there's some decent stuff you did in the 80s but i think i speak for a lot of people in the world when i say '...that's enough'.

it's no mystery that i continue to stay employed at best buy mainly for the discount. i'm certainly not living off the $79 paychecks, that's for sure.

that being said, i finally got around to purchasing the television that i've been wanting; and i couldn't be happier with my choice. i got myself the samsung A67HL750-- 67" LED-powered DLP, 1080p resolution, 120hz refresh rate. it is absolutely stunning. i also picked up a nice denon receiver, and some suuuper nice klipsch monitors and a definitive technology supercube subwoofer to replace the old kenwood/yamaha/JBL equipment i had been running on my previous setup from about 10 years ago. needless to say i got a pretty good deal on it all. :)

our living room has already been named 'm&b theater' by a few friends, but i promise it doesn't look too big for the room. i did my research. ;) if you're feeling adventurous enough, come on up and we'll enjoy a movie or some quality HD programming together. i've got a fridge full of very cold, very tasty beer, too.

godisimaginary.com

...sure he is. sigh.

so long as cancer exists i will never believe in god. i've got a LONG list of reasons why i'm a nonbeliever, but my #1 point is why would an all-knowing, all-seeing and supposedly all-loving being assign such a demise to such amazing people, or in the most recent case impacting me personally, amazing pup?

Miss you already, jakerdog. :(

oh hai. i upgraded your RAM.

i figure anybody reading this already knows me, but just in case, here's a little background.

i grew up in jarrettsville, md; aka j-rock. i lived there with my family for about 22 years until i purchased my first home with my beautiful and awesome girlfriend mandi. we live in southern PA, just outside of york. having a garage is fuckin' sick. i've already performed a number of services on my integra and mandi's civic. also- SO glad to have an air compressor and pneumatic tools in my life again. i've broken enough stuck bolts for one lifetime.

being a home owner is pretty badass. buy now if you still have a job. i wish that 'if you still have a job' part wasn't such a real statement. for my unemployed friends, keep your head up. i got laid off back in october and was extremely lucky to get in where i am now. just don't stop belieeeeeeeeeeevin'. seriously though. don't.

so yeah, i'm officially an IT professional. it feels really fuckin' good to say that i'm actually on point with my career path. i wasn't sure if i was ever gonna get here. still in school at university of baltimore, [and still gonna finish my bachelors!] i've arrived and plan on sticking around for a long time.

i came to the conclusion last night while i was sitting in the student center between classes that i really miss maryland. while i work and go to school there, i don't lay my head south of the mason-dixon line anymore. i don't dislike PA [aside from the SHITTY FUCKING ROADS] but i do miss my friends i grew up with. i've also realized lately that the words 'not that far' have very different meanings depending upon who you're talking to...

i drive a little over an hour [assuming zero traffic- hah!] to get to my job every single day; including saturdays most weeks. it's about 55 miles each way. before that i worked 75 miles from home. anyway, i moved 35 miles north of where i grew up... 'not that far' to me. it's 20 miles less than half of my daily commute, but most people say i'm 'SO far away from home' now and bitch about how long it'll take to get there.

those who have come visit from 'afar', thank you. i truly appreciate it. im sure whatever lord you pray to will bless you for being so awesome. i especially want to thank kusy for trudging through the 'wintry mix' of absolute bullshit on his way to my house from the philly area. you're the fucking man.

to the rest of yas...

wipe the sand from your labias, apply some ointment, and quit whining.

Information Technology Management, AH! AH! AH!

so, kyle indirectly told me he hates me for not owning a blog... he is one of my very most favorite people in this world, so i decided to give this bidness a shot. i have a horrible habit of feeling completely worthless if i'm not busy, so consequently i'm currently working at least 50hrs/wk at my full time job, attending college part time, and also working another part time gig.

that being said- i'm not sure how often this thing will get updated, or what the fuck i'll even say. but i do occaisionally enjoy getting my thoughts out of my mind and into some sort of tangible medium, so we'll see how this goes.

not to say in any way that i should be a therapist instead of an IT professional; but i've been [probably jokingly] told by a number of people that i should write a book. nobody ever says what about though. they usually say it immediately after i tell a crazy story or go off on a tangent about abortion or religion. perhaps this'll help me nail down a good topic.

meh. whatevs. anyway, the professor of the class i'm currently sitting in looks, and more shockingly, acts like 'the count' from sesame street. i shit you not. he even has a crazy laugh!



yeah, dude.