sooner rather than later.

i just returned from san francisco yesterday. the amount of brake work that has to be done in that city is probably astounding. regardless, i had a pretty decent time and have to admit that it was down right delightful to walk around in a t-shirt. an abundance of delicious vegetarian choices in addition to 62 degree weather is going to buoy my spirits every time. wandering around cities in a kind of shroud of anonymity has a liberating, sobering feel to it. one of my favorite days in san fran was the day that i literally had no idea what to do and just left where i was staying to aimlessly walk around. i ate by myself, shopped by myself, and watched a movie (be kind rewind...it's worth seeing) by myself. i peculiarly felt a little more independent than usual because i just don't think these are things i would've done in cincinnati by myself. i don't know if that's right or wrong. you tell me.

i leave for chicago tomorrow in order to dive into the muscular, beefy arms of zach thomas. that's right, i'm a jet setter. for real, though, chicago's prolly the destination. oh, that lovable midwest feel. san francisco's neat and all, but it doesn't seem to have the same genuine ambiance that i feel the midwest harbors. i'm biased, and i know that, so whatever. however, i also know certain people who live on one of the coasts now and would agree with me in a heartbeat. we was just raised better. that's just how it be.

i will miss the hills of cincy though. god, i love those hills. i'm still waiting to see coates sled down the riddle road hill and make those turns without demolishing that bulbous head of his and leaving bits and pieces of his sexy brain scattered over the snow covered concrete. i just don't see how it's possible.

everything just seems kind of bittersweet right now i guess. but, you'll have that.

top it off.

how about that super bowl? needless to say, my prediction was sorely incorrect. to top it all off, i decided to talk a bunch of shit at the super bowl party i went to and claim that there was no way in all hell the giants were going to pull the game out. if i hadn't been watching the game with a bunch of friends, i may have been spared outright humiliation. complete strangers may have taken some pity on me. friends, however, are so quick and precise in pointing out weaknesses and mistakes. that's why you love them though right? also, since justin and i were the only ones rooting for the patriots, and seeing that i have the bigger mouth, i took the brunt of the jeers.

not much else has happened since the kerplunk that was the super bowl. a good friend of mine lent me the third season of LOST, which i had yet to see (i used to be in this band that practiced on wednesday nights; needless to say, i was torn). i knew that if i watched one episode i would be sucked back in and subjected to an amazing waste of time. of course, i decided to watch an episode. four days later i had watched all 23. ridiculous right? goddamn that show is good though. kate is my wife.

today marks the beginning of my final week or so at good old American Apparel. and boy, i'll tell you what...it is immensely difficult to be an efficient worker at a place you know you're about to leave. i'm just not as inclined to straighten colors and sell people cotton. weird huh? i'm sure i'll miss it in a weird sort of way though. it's easy, and i know how to do everything. while that is comforting, you also have to realize that comfort can be a stranglehold. hamper and hold you back. therefore, i'm quitting without another job. i've done this several times before and always landed on my feet. let's hope it works this time too. a lack of money and/or stability usually makes me even more tenacious to find a new job/location/career (gross?) that fully suits me.

in the meanwhile, i'm bumming around, taking in some culture, and bringing to life a few rambling thoughts. suck it. more to come.

ultimate.

today is like a holiday. the culmination of five months of football. an end to an exhausting two weeks of over-analysis, outrageous bets and predictions, and ridiculous story lines. i honestly woke up really early today in complete anticipation of today's events. kind of pathetic? well...fuck you, i like it and it makes me happy.

i'm a huge proponent of super bowl parties. for the past three years, my roommates and i have thrown some damn good parties. we'd seriously get into it too. reorganization of TVs to maximize the watchibility, an outrageous spread of food that we provided ourselves, and just the general entertainment of our personalities, which is really the most priceless gift. is there really anything better than a sports party? i'd do it every week if people were as into it as i am. a Wimbledon party? you got it. a party to watch the Masters? fuck yes. it's combining great things into one singular, amazing event. friends, sports, food, alcohol, television, cursing, yelling, etc. sounds fantastic. it reminds me of an article i recently read that said krispy kreme makes a hamburger that uses donuts for the bun. america likes donuts right? america definitely likes meat and hamburgers right? well, what the hell...let's put them together to create an abomination of the very essence of what food should be so that we can make everyone fatter but happier. this is what the superbowl party is. for one day, you forget about maintaining some semblance of decency and you get drunk at 2pm, stuff your face with a copious amount of waste until you're full, and then say "fuck it" and continue to eat just for the sake of eating. there are no rules. it's bedlam.

unfortunately, today will be a little different than previous years. the core of the superbowl party planning committee has disbanded, and the venue has changed. my current residence is too small to maintain several rowdy idiots yelling at the TV, so we are taking it to norwood. no better place right? i'm excited though and am actually gonna head to the grocery soon to pick up supplies.

as far as actual football goes, i'm predicting that it'll be the patriots 34-17. the real bets should be on how may picks eli will throw. justin and i say at least two. i could see up to four. god...he's going to crack.

finally, i'm sick of all you naysayers against the patriots. i'm by no means saying that they're my favorite team, but it'll be something to witness history...at least for me. i'm a sports fan, and i've never seen this shit before. and also, are you really going to root for the giants? i mean...the giants? this is the team your putting all your hopes in to slay goliath? i don't think so. no way, no how. 34-17 is being generous. i wanted to say 78-2, and the two points would only come on a freak play in which little wes welker tries to pull a reggie bush and do a front flip into the end zone. unfortunately though, he loses the ball in the process, and it travels out of the back of the end zone, resulting in the giants' two points. but it doesn't matter because the patriots were winning by so much, and the cameras focus on a patriots sideline trying to hold back their smiles and laughter at little old wes. even big bill looks like he wants to chuckle.

do yourself a favor and really enjoy the first half of the game and gorge yourself during the second half because by then the game won't really be as entertaining. and because you'll feel kind of depressed that tom petty looks like he just turned 96 years old. this is what the NFL has to dish up now? tom petty? really?

i mean...it was just janet jackson's boob, and it was gross anyway. don't you think so?

enjoy.

rambo: a link

this past weekend, a bunch of miscreants went to watch rambo. they wore red bandannas and consistently yelled and clapped throughout the movie, which just created a ruckus. heads exploded and body parts flew every which way. it was pure, unadulterated entertainment. this rambo, however, had something more. sly delved a little bit deeper. he had something to say.

instead of reiterating what my good friend mr. bragg already took the time to painstakingly put on the internets for you people, i'm just going to link you to his blog. it may be long, but it's worth reading. maybe you'll begin looking at old sly stallone from a different angle, although that really won't change the appearance of his sagging face. anyway, check it out:

http://justineabragg.blogspot.com/

shit's good.

in other news, i've been contemplating constructing another blog solely devoted to brute sport. hmmm...

cloverfield and fruit.

i saw cloverfield on friday. there was a monster, and shit exploded. i was entertained. the awful narrator finally died near the end. i was more entertained.

next week: rambo.

in honor of john rambo, the shirtless man in this picture is only going to wear a bandanna and some camo shorts to the movie. this time i won't censor his nipples either.

any movie trailer which involves the ripping out of another man's esophagus is going to persuade me to spend 8 bucks (still wielding the student id), and i can only hope to see multiple exploding heads.

i really only want to watch kill em and blow em up movies anymore. pure entertainment value.

while i'm sitting here writing this post, i'm being distracted by this delicious banana i'm eating and have already been completely sidetracked.

so i pose the question: what's the perfect fruit?

bananas - convenient and easy to deal with. i eat them constantly, and the potassium prevents cramps. roger federer (he plays tennis) was practically inhaling them during his 4 hour match at the australian open. and i even love banana flavoring. i'll snatch up the banana runts and banana laffy taffy like its no one's business. bananas do spoil way too quickly though, and i don't like refrigerating them. i buy six and only have the window of time to eat like four.

apples - good but not great. another convenient fruit that is easy to carry around. the apple is that tag-along but dependable friend that you're not always siked to hang out with but still know that you'll have a decent enough evening with. plus they keep for a while in the fridge. fuji apples currently reign supreme.

oranges - a lot of work, but a decent payoff. you kind of need to sit down and dedicate your time to this one though. i'm rarely like "man, i really want to eat an orange!" i drank so much orange juice when i was a kid that i practically drowned myself in it, which hasn't helped me maintain a strong affinity for oranges in general. plus, your fingers get all sticky and you're picking out orange peel fragments from your fingernails the rest of the day. eh.

strawberries - i love strawberries, but i can only find them in something like five pound crates. i'm exaggerating a little, but is it too much to ask to package them in smaller quantities? there's simply no way i can eat all of them in time before they spoil. i did however get a magic bullet for christmas and plan on making several strawberry banana smoothies. so, i guess it won't be that bad to buy them in bulk. but still...

kiwis - i've only just begun buying these but they're delicious. they look more alive than any other fruit because of the fur. the first time i split one open i expected something to fly out of it or for it to begin spilling blood, which is kinda gross. once i got past that though, i realized how great they were. just enough tang to them to make for an interesting taste. plus, i like the color, which definitely counts for something.

pears, watermelon, peaches and other bland fruits - you're too bland. shape up.

tomatoes - i mean, i'll eat them, but they kind of suck. plus they have this androgynous quality to them in which people want to call them vegetables but they're really fruits. i'm really just not going to be into eating something that is having identity problems. get it together. stick to ketchup.

i know there's more to list, but the aforementioned fruits primarily represent the makeup of my fruit diet.

any thoughts or suggestions?

a barrage of resumes.

they're being sent anywhere and everywhere. if you have any leads or know of any home for one of my resumes, then please let me know. publishing, journalism, or writing. i swear that there's a difference.

i have experience and a master's degree. if that matters.

i'll move. really, i will.

and then i'll miss cincinnati.

ladies and gentlemen...

it has finally happened. after two years of tortuous academic struggle, i've finished graduate school. during the run, i probably fell victim to a half dozen stress-induced anxiety attacks. shit's hard. undergrad is a cakewalk. even when i finished my classes, i had to take a five question, six-hour long comprehensive English exit exam. ridiculous. then i had to take a language competency exam in german, which i hadn't studied for something like four years. christ on a crutch. it seemed never-ending.

actually, i almost feel like i'm jinxing it because i have nothing tangible yet. i have to patiently wait for the piece of paper to arrive in the mail so that i can say, "see, i really did get my master's. this is a diploma."

oh, and please stop asking me if i'm going to teach. not happening.

either way, i'm not going to make any more money.