Public Service Announcement

Visiting an outdoor amusement park (say, Six Flags Great America) on the nicest Saturday of the summer (say, today) generally leads to a whooooooooooole lotta time standing in line.

You'll still have fun hanging out with your friends, but it does become a little annoying to stand in line for 90 minutes for a 90 second ride.

And in some cases (like mine), you'll also burn your scalp where your hair is parted, leading to having to put aloe on your head, making your hair all goopy and weird. And even if you're not fussy about your hair, that gets kind of annoying.

Dumb Things I've Done Today

1. Ran a red light in front of about 15 cops. Fortunately, they were all looking the other way, at a car wreck, so I didn't get pulled over. I hope I didn't blow through all my stored up good Karma on that one...

2. Went to Zephyr's and attempted to eat both an order of potato skins and one of their EnormoSundaes. I made it through the skins okay...finished approximately a third of the sundae.

3. (Actually, I did this a while ago, but the result arrived today) Blew a big bunch of cash on a digital camera and assorted accessories, then realized, "Oh, wait...rent...oops..." However, I've wanted one for a while, and it'll keep me entertained when I'm driving around out West.

Yay!

I love the smell of a good concert in the evening.

I just got back from Fountains of Wayne, and they were awesome. Ben Lee opened for them, and he did a bang-up job, so I got a copy of his new CD, which is not officially out in the states yet.

I'm too sleepy to put up a full review, but if they're coming your way, both acts put on a great show, you should check 'em out.

Lyrically Speaking

For some reason, this has been on a loop in my head since I got the CD a few days ago:

I'm gonna get my shit together
'Cause I can't live like this forever
You know I've come too far
And I don't want to fail
I got a new computer and
A bright future in sales...
-Fountains of Wayne, "Bright Future In Sales"

For the D.C. Kids

Does anyone else find it a little too on the nose that the alleged date sold here is at Chadwick's with tickets to a touring company performance of Mamma Mia!?

Noted

I am really going to regret a) the amount of alcohol I've consumed this evening and b) the order in which I've consumed it.

Beer before liquor, never sicker? We'll see....

Gloat On!

I would like to announce that my tremendous amount of useless knowledge (at least when combined with others' useless knowlege) is worth: 30 bucks.

My team, "Jesus, We're Nerds!" (a name arrived at when we were deciding whether to be Cistern of Justice, then someone asked the spelling of Cistern and the other five of us spelled it at the same time, prompting our titular comment), won Bar Trivia at the 1800 club this evening, to the tune of almost 180 bucks.

Since there were six of us (Drumroll Please: Me, Mark, Ross, Eddy, Tony, and Andrea) it wasn't quite as substantive when we divided it, but we did get the neener factor.

And to Will, Jack, Lummis and Jeremy ("Osato Ate My Baby"), and all our other competitors, but particularly the "Teenage Mutant Nympho Turtles": Mwahahahahhaha! Mwhahahahah! Mwahahah...ha..ahaha ha ...ha?

That is all.

California Dreamin'

California, California
You're such a wonder
That I think I'll stay in bed
-Rufus Wainwright

Well, it's official, I've cracked. I'm moving to Los Angeles.

Actually, it's been official for a few weeks now, I just haven't gotten around to expositing about it because I've been kind of lazy about writing in here lately. So, here goes:

I swore for the longest time that I would never, ever, ever move to Los Angeles. It's a snakepit, full of scum-sucking sycophants and unbreatheable air. It's The Fakest Place On Earth.

It's also, by and large, a one-industry town. That was one of the things that drove me apeshit about D.C.: You could never get away from politics, ever. I've been warned that L.A. is the same way, except its topic is entertainment.

Granted, I enjoy bullshitting about entertainment more than bullshitting about politics, but it's difficult to only have one topic of conversation for a long time without wanting to tear your hair out.

However, it's also the only place I have a chance of getting a job right now. Six months of looking have taught me nothing but a) the only jobs I have a shot at with my experience are in L.A. and b) I have to physically be there to get them.

I also realized after working as a waitress for a couple of months that I really don't like being a waitress. The people I work with are awesome, and if I were working with them at a normal job, it'd be great.

It's the customers that drive me apeshit. I like people, but I like them when I'm not dealing with them on a servant/master basis, which is how most of the people at the location I work at seem to see the staff.

I don't like having completely unpredictable hours and a constantly wavering source of income. I don't like coming home so tired that I don't have the energy to do...anything. I can't believe some of the people I work with have kids. I can barely deal with myself after a bad shift.

I don't care if I have to work 70 hours a week, as long as I have a reasonably good idea of what those hours will be and I have enough money so that I can go blow off some steam at the end of the night.

And if I have to do that, I'm at least doing it in an industry I somewhat enjoy, despite all the sharks and sycophants.

So I'm leaving Chicago in mid-August with my stuff (saving money by moving with someone who wants to be out earlier than I do) and then flying back for my car and taking another of my trademark Ridiculously Long Roadtrips.

If I'm moving out West, then I damn well better knock off the last four of the 50 states I've never been to (North and South Dakota, Montana, and Oregon), and I'm stopping in Idaho to visit my dad and in San Fran since I haven't been there in about 15 years. It'll certainly be fun.

I'm trying to find a place to live that's at least semi-close to the beach. I figure if I'm going to bite the bullet, I might as well at least find someplace where I can go to the ocean on a daily basis.

This leads me to sit around pondering such thesis topics as Surfing vs. Sea Kayaking: Which Should I Take Up?, though I should probably be figuring out things like Begging Parents vs. Whoring: How The Fuck Am I Going To Pay My Rent Until I Get A Job?

I'm not really as excited as I probably ought to be, but I'm quite relieved that I've finally overcome the mental paralysis of the last seven months of my life and actually made a decision about my future.

I joke to people that I'm telling about my move that I decided I needed direction in my life, and decided that West was a direction. Like most of my jokes, this one has a lot of truth to it.

I've also been getting more and more signals that Chicago wants me out. 2 surgeries, 2 jobs that drive me nuts, assorted other maladies and mental issues, all of which have cropped up in the seven months since I graduated.

I realize it sounds a bit, well, fruit loopy to suggest that the Universe has been sending me unconscious signals to get the fuck out of Chicago, but everything that's happened has convinced me further that I just need a change of scenery, so I'm heading out to L.A.

God help me.