A Day of Reckoning

NOTE: ANOTHER RUNNING BLOG CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.MUSSOPINI23.BLOGSPOT.COM

So, Im headed back to the Bay tonight. Gonna see my wife for the first time in almost 6 months. I am nervous, excited, and confused. I really don't know how to feel. I am interested to see her reaction to me when we see each other. I keep dreaming about the moment, and I am trying not to get my hopes up. This should be interesting.

Ok, I really, really hate it when a commercial tells you what something costs, and then they tell you how much a multi-unit pack would cost....and it's just that number times the original price! Isn't the assumption that, if you tell me what a group of four would cost me, Im getting a discount? This commercial for a golf outing said, "175 per person, and ONLY 700 for a foursome." Hey, lab partner, that's just 175 times 4. Why not tell me how much a 100some is. Are we all so stupid that they need to do the math for us? I know that whenever I go to a fast food place, I do the math, to make sure the combo meal is saving me money. Go to Carl's Jr sometime. It doesn't. It's just everything added together! It's a joke!

Something really odd I noticed this morning. This guy had a bumper sticker that said "Crohns Happens." Obviously referring to Crohns disease, an intestinal condition. It affects about 1 million Americans. That is about .5% of the population, and this guy has a bumper sticker. Great, that's what I need, one more disease to worry about. Look, Im already focused on MS, Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimers, and about 100 other conditions. Now, I gotta add Crohns, because it happens? Come on man, Ive got too much on my plate as it is. What's next? Gingivitis Happens! Oh no, no, nooooooooooooo!

The Trust Tree

Ok, this weird thing always happens to me, and it just happened again. I don't know if it's me, or if I just notice it more than others. It is hard to explain, but basically, someone will say something, describe something, or whatever, and that something will come across my path right at that minute. Like, a Lexus commercial coming on the radio while driving, and then looking to my left, seeing a Lexus, look to my right, see a Lexus, rearview, see a Lexus. Just weird. Right now, I was entering names into the data base. I was typing the name Tatyana, and at the exact same moment I started typing, the radio show I was listening to informed me of a winner of a tennis match named.....Tatyana. It was just eerie timing, and it happens all of the time. Freaky to me, lame to everyone else, Im sure.

Had a horrible dream last night. I can't even remember it, but I remember one totally blistering part. Right as I am waking up this morning, I am sitting next to my wife in my dream, and she is on the phone. I hear her say, "I love you too." and then I ask who it was. She tells me it was "Joaquin" and I start yelling "Who the f**k is Joaquin!!! Over and over again. Totally odd dream, and totally upsetting. I wish I knew what it meant.....I just hope Im not psychic.

I had the weirdest thought earlier today. I was thinking how although we are all intelligent beings, and we have complex thinking and all that, we are still governed by our primative needs and influences. No matter how evolved we are, we still do what we do to sate our desires to eat, sleep and procreate. So, I was thinking, is it even remotely possible that I chose my wife for primative mating reasons? Is that a weird thought? She is strong, attractive, smart, athletic and caring. She is a perfect mate and a perfect mother candidate. Could there be a subconscious desire to hold on to what I consider a great person for having a family with? It is such a weird, clinical thought, but the more I think about it, the more merit it has. Totally weird.....

Memo to sports announcers: If you have nothing to say, just shut up. Stop filling air time with idiotic comments. Sunday, the Braves' announcer told us, and I quote, "This game is brought to you en espanol. That means, 'In Spanish'." No! Really??? Thank god he slipped that valuable information in there. Listen to these doughheads some time, and you will notice the same pattern all of the time. "He has made 8 of 10 shots........which means, he has missed 2." Damnit, I almost had it! I have my abacus here, just let me do the math...don't help!

We have a great system going in the US right now for what is hot, and what isn't. Trends and fads start in the black and hispanic communities. They go on until they catch on throughout those communities. Then the high school kids get a hold of it, and it spreads across white America, as kids attempt to disassociate themselves from their suburban lifestyles. Then MTV gets a hold of it, and runs it into the ground with mind numbing force. At this point, the trend of fad has reached it's apex. It is like the Product Life Cycle, for all you marketing majors. Mainstream America now ignores it, or pretends to, but meanwhile, TV execs are working it into the next episode of Will and Grace. The word, or trend, slips its way onto the WB and the UPN. Stuart Scott starts referencing it. Then it shows up on prime time. The trend is dying now. A fast death. It starts appearing on the news. Old white people are now saying it. It has become accepted, and it becomes a comedic device. Like, a white guy saying "for shizzle" his a riot. Then it's in commercials, and one day, Tom Brokaw says it. Write the obituary, it is officially as uncool as possible. Think about it, all the things that are now mainstream that used to be looked at like "what?" Raising the roof. Anything -izzle. The high five, and now the fist pound. I could go on forever. But look at Snoop Dogg. I wouldn't even think about buying one of his albums now. He went from a respected hip hop artist, to a joke. He is literally trotted out by uppity white shows to say, hey, we are hip, look, we have Snoop. But there is no seriousness to it.

The big deal now is cops giving tickets for not wearing your seat belt. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Whatever happened to thinning the herd? Since when can we legislate people's decisions to save themselves? It's bad enough we make bike riders wear helmets. It's the same thing as the motorcycle helmet laws. Look, if you are doing 95 down the highway on a Ninja, and you bail, and scrape your skull across a mile of pavement, you deserve it if you didnt wear a helmet. Why are we trying to protect the head that houses a brain so stupid it wouldnt put a helmet over itself? If you are too stupid to protect yourself, oh well. That is on you. And it isnt a safety thing for other people, because going through the window at 75 won't hurt anyone but you. I say it is a joke.

Let's see.....Moron is here...soooooo......

Make sure you visit Pete Nose's blog for the Friday running rant between he and I. Make sure you start at the bottom and work your way up....otherwise it makes even less sense.

Ok, I am an idiot. Tell me if you ever pulled this genius move. I set my alarm for 7 am, thinking, hey, I'll get up a little early tomorrow. I even went to bed at a decent hour, so no problems, right? Wrong! Tossed and turned for two hours, so bam, Im behind in my sleep. Obviously, 7 am is not gonna happen. So, the alarm goes off at 7, and I stare the alarm clock down. Didn't work, it wouldn't back down. So, I get up, and decide, I need 30 more minutes. I set the alarm to 7:30, and back to bed! I think you know what happened. At 9:20 I jump up, and freak out. What the!?!? Where is the buzz-buzz-buzz? Turns out, I didnt reset the alarm, I reset the clock. God is that stupid. So not only did I freak out and jump out of bed, but I wasnt as late as I thought. So I was tripping out, then relieved, but still running late. The worst part was that I had slipped into a dream that seemed so realistic, so I thought I was awake before I got up. There was no rush then to get out of bed. I could have slept all day at that rate....it is a small miracle that I am here.

Great web site for the latest in business world buzzwords. Check out buzzwhack.com, and expand your fake vocabulary. My personal favorite is sarchasm: the gap between the sarcastic person and the target who doesn't get it.

Ok, I'm bored. To annoy you all, I will now quote Jack Nicholson's speech from A Few Good Men:

"You want answers?"

"I think I'm entitled t..."

"YOU WANT ANSWERS!?!"

"I want the truth!"

"You can't handle the truth! Son we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that, Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, though grotesque, and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't wanna know because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall! You NEED me on that wall! We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a lifetime spent defending something....you use them as a punchline! I have neither the time, nor the inclination, to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner, in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I dont give a damn, WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE ENTITLED TO!"

And in the morning, I'll make waffles!

"Everybody have fun tonight. Everybody wang chung tonight."

Someone bought a National Enquirer in this house. I don't know who, and I don't want to know who. You think this crap looks ridiculous from the outside, try opening it once. But the most idiotic thing in this rag is the subscription page. You can actually have them deliver this to you on a weekly basis. Look, if you read the National Enquirer and you say to yourself, "You know, I am really going to need this valuable information on a regular basis!", just check yourself into a clinic, because you are a dangerous freaking person.

I am in such a great mood today. Why is not important. I just want people to not worry about me, because i feel great.

So Saturday, a ton of my friends graduated from law school. I guess it's my age, but most of my friends in school are third years. Next year should be real lonely, because I don't know alot of people from my class. I am sure I will adjust. Anyways, my roommate was one of them, and man, we threw one hell of a BBQ. His family was here, and a bunch of friends. We made food, had beer, listened to music, played games....man, everyone had an incredible time. I cooked, and well, it was good. I just like being the host, you know? Do you think that is an ego thing? It probably is. But at the same time, I love entertaining people. I love seeing everyone have a good time. Nothing makes me feel better.

Finally! Sopranos was sooooo good tonight. It not only made up for last week's debacle, but it made up for every crappy episode ever. The drama was great. I was surprised by Adriana getting whacked. I loved that Tony decided to protect Tony B. And I can't wait to see Phil and Johnny Sack get whacked....and damnit, they BETTER get whacked.... What more could you want? No Meadow. Very little AJ. Tony and Carm get back together. Oh man, Sil made a valuable appearance....

Hmm, speaking of the Tony and Carmela thing. They say art imitates life. Is it weird that I see my self in that whole relationship? Tony coming to the realization that all that matters is the people he loves, and he is willing to make honest changes to ensure being with those people. I think about my wife alot. I am going to see her this weekend. I thought I would be nervous, but Im not. I feel confident. I am gonna see this woman, and I already know it won't be like old times.....it will be better. I feel like all the crap in me has been stripped down. I am down to the root, the nerve is exposed. Nothing but honesty in me.....I am excited. I hope it isnt too depressing.