The Blood Brothers - Cecilia

I’ve been telling myself to blog, but just didn’t want to, even though the week has been slightly more interesting than usual. It’s funny though, because now I don’t know how to launch into it all. Maybe I just won’t

There’s been an abundance of noise and general annoyances in front of our apartment building all week. We live on Main Street, and they’re doing road construction this spring/summer, fixing it up all nice and everything I guess… anyway, when I’m bored, I stare out the windows and watch the big machines. I could go for a walk or something, but leaving the house would pressure me to spend money, and I’m saving for Justin’s birthday on May 28th. He’ll be (gasp!) 23.

I’m getting my wisdom teeth out within the next month. Also, I’m going to look into getting braces (again) because my bottom teeth are crooked from the wisdom teeth coming in and me not wearing my bottom retainer for years. I got my braces off when I was in 9th grade, and now I’m 21 and thinking about going through that horror again. Do you know anyone who got braces in their 20s?

Lou Reed - Dirty Boulevard

We just got back from having dinner with Justin’s parents. I was sort of nervous, because I don’t see his dad very often since he works so much, and he’s really quiet and shy, so it’s awkward for me. I just don’t know how to talk to people like that. We went to this place I’ve been to a few times – it’s an Italian pub/restaurant type of thing…

Yesterday, Justin went dumpster diving with Chris and found a shitload of cupcakes in back of Aldi’s, along with some other things that are still good. Whenever we’re out of “junk food”, I crave it, but now that we have nothing but sweets, I am sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

Anyway, the heat has been a combination of pleasant and annoying this week, and I won’t leave the house. I saw all these girls today wearing skimpy clothes like spaghetti-strap camis, flip-flops and tiny shorts, and I was thinking… “Wow… a couple days with weather in the 70s, and people in Buffalo think it’s a heat wave.”

Saetia - Becoming the Truth

On Saturday, we took our placement tests for college. We both did awful in the Algebra category, yikes! I guess I thought I really had that down, so I was surprised when I found myself skipping entire math problems. It is understandable though, since I haven’t attended high school since late 2003. That’s over 4 years just hanging around with no academics whatsoever.

The tests were taken on the computer and were riddled with so many technical problems that we didn’t get out of there until over two hours later. Afterward, we walked around and took pictures of Buffalo, got something to eat, visited the library, and headed home. Justin went to the bike shop where a couple of his friends work and picked out a brand new bicycle he’s getting with his tax return. He’s so obsessed with bikes, it’s hard for me to imagine spending over $500 on a bicycle, but somehow he managed to explain it to me so that it sounds somewhat sane. I think he’ll be getting involved with Critical Mass again this summer.

I made a new theme for my gallery, but I sort of half-assed it and am not too pleased. It is better than the default theme, though. Anyway, I added some pics, but there are still more to be uploaded sometime this week. I have a few appointments this week (including one with the dentist!) so I don’t know when I’ll have time. Thanks for everyone’s comments, by the way.

Combatwoundedveteran - Lead poisoning and distortion

Thanks for the concern, guys. I have things pretty much back to normal after the malware incident (the cdpuvbhfzz hack), I just have to redesign my gallery. Coppermine was the cause of the problem, although I’m not sure exactly what it was. Anyone using the Coppermine Gallery script should check out the support forums as soon as possible, because even those with up-to-date scripts are being hit with this thing and you need to get the fix (if they even have one yet).

There was a straight edge documentary on National Geographic two nights ago and it was hilarious. Apparently, straight edge kids are classified as “gang members” in certain cities, and are monitored by the Gang Unit of the police force. This is only in lame places like Salt Lake City and Reno, but still – it is unacceptable the way the cops treat them. Instead of singling out the hardline guys who kick the shit out of drunks and frat boys, the cops just grouped all straight edge people together… as if straight edge, by itself, is a violent idea – and then to actually classify anyone with an X on their hand as a potential terrorist!? It’s just absurd.

The documentary was especially funny because of the way they narrated it, referring to straight edge kids in odd ways that I’ve personally never heard, even though I’ve been drug free since I was 15 years old. I am embarrassed to think that others will watch this doc and base their opinion on straight edge on what they saw.

Anyway, it wasn’t just a bunch of “bad press” like I made it sound (though there were a lot of morons interviewed). They remained pretty objective, and it had some interesting parts like when they were filming in Boston, which has an awesome hardcore scene, of course.

and he can dance! Actually, the dancing is questionable since it’s more or less fellatio, masturbation and pelvic thrusts set to a beat, hence his title:

GayTourettesIntergalacticHipsterMan!

This is a cop out, because I’m out of blogging material. I dragged this video from the depths of my hard-drive: never before seen footage of Justin in a retard trance, moving to Lightning Bolt in my mom’s short-shorts circa 1975 and a few other donated items that make up GTIHM’s costume. Brandy is holding the camera (and laughing) and Chris says something in the beginning and my only contribution can be heard at the very end when I tell him to “like do more kicks and shit”. Originally this started as a mockery of scenesters at hardcore shows, but I rebranded it because I’m so funny like that.

Joshua Fit For Battle - Dreams

Last night’s show was awesome. Converge played a lot of songs they haven’t played in years. I got some cool videos, but very few photos, due to the fact that I was not in a prime location and the lighting sucked worse than usual. This was the first show I attended at this particular venue, so I got to feel it out and see how Buffalo does hardcore (pretty well, I must add!), and I scouted a few spots along the front where I can get some better photos next time around.

Anyway, this venue is basically a tiny old theater that was gutted, and they still have a tiny strip of elevated seats in the back, and I managed to snag one of them. It was really odd, because I’ve never sat down at a show before… and while it was cool to have a seat, I will definitely be standing along with everyone else next time. I felt too disconnected.

Justin and I have been talking about buying a house within the next year (Buffalo has the cheapest houses I’ve ever seen!). A house below market value that needs cosmetic work or maintenance would be perfect to fix up and live in until we finish college. For instance, buying a $20,000 house and putting $15,000 worth of renovations into it is about the same as renting this apartment for 4 years straight. The money we spend renting will never come back to us, but by buying a house, we have a great chance of getting every dollar back, or possibly even make a profit when we need to sell it. It’s an exciting idea, but we have a lot more to think about.