Random Thoughts #31 - the "two weeks til B-day" edition

Greetings and welcome to another edition of Random Thoughts from yours truly. Honestly, I've had a rough week, from a computer scare (fortunately resolved) to a car scare (again, fortunately resolved) to anxiety from other stuff. One of the blessings and one of the relieving things I like to do is blog, so here I go with my relief. Oh yeah...enjoy.

 -  On top of the aforementioned anxieties I've been dealing with (which I believe are short term, thank the Lord), I've got those two unresolved issues I'm still dealing with. I'm not gonna go into them too much here, but I do want to reveal what initially led me to start facing them. One major event specifically led me down this path I've chosen to take, and certain people can probably already guess what I'm talking about given the timing of when I started this. That event was the death of my friend Roger. This shook me more than I let on. A lot of thoughts and emotions came to the surface I never conceived of before much less expected to face. I'm not gonna get into all of that here but one particular thought that came was that the Lord has blessed us with only a limited time on this mortal coil and that there really wasn't too time we could waste. To me, that meant I had to stop holding myself back when dealing with certain aspects of my past, present, and future. There was a common thread in all the problematic parts of my life and that was those two issues. Doing this has already led me to do things and stop activities I didn't want to stop, and to those people affected by that I humbly apologize. Ultimately I believe this to be something the Lord wants me to face so that I can grow and hopefully be a better person for doing so. I'll be honest, it may seem like a selfish and possibly even fruitless pursuit to some, but if I don't do anything then instead of me deciding on things regarding my life then those things will be decided for me. Also, I don't know the full impact that Roger's passing had on his other friends (some we shared), but if any good came out of this, it was that Roger has inspired me yet again to be a better person and I can only hope he did the same for many of you who knew him. My prayers continue to go out to his wife Heather and their children.

 -  On a related note, a friend of mine a while back asked me to send her a copy of the remarks I made at Roger's funeral. I've been lackadaisical in getting on that, so I've decided to put them here, for various reasons...one, I can point my friend here so she can read them herself....two, in case my computer decides to go kaput for some reason, I'll have a copy online somewhere....and three, I thought I could share with all of you what Roger meant to me. I've put them in bold below: 

Before I begin, I'd like to pass along my condolences to Roger's wife Heather, their three children, and the rest of his family for their loss. I'd known Roger for about 17 years, and even we hadn't seen each other that much in the past few years, I always considered him one of my best friends. He was one of the most honest and considerate people I have ever known and he was that way to everybody he cared about. We had a lot of interesting times together. One of the most memorable to me was soon after we first met. It was the first time we actually hung out after dancing at Park Alley in the Ohio State South Campus bar area. It was Roger, me, Mike Tutt, and Cory Pariseau. We all went to the McDonald's across from the campus, which was open late at the time. It was busy and it took a while to get our food but we all got to know each other better. While we were there, there was this drunk guy walking in and out of the restaurant with about five feet of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Now here's this guy walking back and forth with toilet paper stuck to his foot and we didn't really have the heart to tell him because, quite frankly, we were just getting a kick out of it. Apparently nobody else in the restaurant had the heart to tell him either because this went on for about...oh...approximately four hours. And as slap-happy as we were, we couldn't stop laughing and Roger actually fell out of his chair at one point, landing in the aisle EXTREMELY close to where someone had apparently thrown up earlier. He didn't land in it, but that didn't matter because it was just as funny. That night made it clear to me that this man, Roger Byrd, was somebody I wanted as a part of my life.

Before I close out, I would like to relate to you what he meant to me. One of my favorite stories in the Bible, and one of the most important to me personally, is the Parable of the Sower. In essence, it's about taking the seeds that you are given...in this case I'm going to use acorns...whether they represent a newly-found faith, a new home, or the start of a new friendship, planting them in the right soil and watching them flourish and grow into tall and mighty oaks which create the forests that represent who we are as people. In the forest that I would call my life, Roger Byrd was, is, and always will be one of the tallest and mightiest oaks in that forest. And it's not just that way for me...it applies to most of us who knew him as a friend and loved him like he was our brother. He helped make us better as people and I'm really going to miss him. Rest in peace, Rog.

 -  Speaking of the computer stuff, it looks like the first chance I get I'm gonna have to get a new power supply and new AGP video card for mine. My computer is okay for now but those particular components are aging and need to be upgraded sometime in the near future...when I have the cash to do so, that is.

 -  Until this weekend, I had a shot of actually picking the Final Four and hopefully the eventual NCAA champion. I was even going to call this particular blog entry the "Elite 8" edition if it came close. Well, in a word, it didn't....my brackets completely fell apart by late Thursday evening and Friday didn't do much better. Maybe next year, I guess.

 -  On a more positive note, there are some solidified plans in place for my and Kevin's birthday celebration. We are having a cookout on Saturday the 11th, a little less than two weeks from now (hence the blog title). We will be having it at the Alum Creek North Park in Westerville (not the state park, but a different one). We haven't set a time for it yet but I expect it to be mid-afternoon. You can bring your families with you if you want...it'll be fun for the kids too so I don't want them to miss out. Later that evening we adults will continue the celebration at the Outside Corner in Gahanna. If there is rain or it's really cold out that day, then the backup plan is a restaurant TBD that night then head to the club. As soon as we get the exact details ironed out this week, we'll "officially" announce it along with how to get there and what time it will be specifically. Remember, it's Saturday the 11th, so clear your calendars that day (the next day is Easter, so that may make it easier to remember).

 -  I've tried to use Twitter now and then and, quite frankly, find it to be pretty useless...a fad at best. It's like crack for social networking. It's basically a public form of instant messaging which serves no other purpose than to waste time on the Internet. I can waste time on the internet with better things than that.

 -  For you wrestling fans out there....get ready for GLOW, Part Deux. Some kid in the South won the lottery and decided to start a women's wrestling promotion called "Wrestlicious", reminicent of the late 80's promotion "The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling." It's got "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart attached to the project, but it's still gonna have the same type of cheesiness that GLOW used to have. This should be interesting, to say the least.

 -  Staying on the topic of wrestling for a moment, the IWA, a local promotion out of Chilicothe, has finally started airing "IWA Carnage" once again, this time on the Internet. You can go to http://iwawrestling.com and watch the latest show anytime from their website. They've been around for over 20 years and I got to meet some of the guys from the promotion last year while watching Wrestlemania at Hooters...really cool group of people, IMO.

 -  Speaking of Wrestlemania, I was going to try to watch it but I'm not so sure now. WWE jumped the price so a lot of people who now cannot afford it are also trying to find a place to watch it themselves. This is the one PPV I usually watch every year and I don't want to miss it, but if it's too much of a hassle I might not. If anybody knows where I can watch it next Sunday with a minimum of hassles, let me know beforehand.

 -  For those of you who send 'multimedia messages' through texting my phone (the ones usually through AT&T via their "viewmymessage.com" website: neither my phone nor my computer can access nor read these messages. This is an issue I've had even when I had Windows, so it's probably either my computer doesn't want to access them or it's server-side. In any case, I suggest using an alternative method of sending those types of messages. Here on Myspace is a good place to start.

 -  Last night at the club was alright with a couple of nice surprises. I was coming in there last night to relieve some stress, but I got knocked out of my zone early on by some girl I didn't know grabbing my towel out of my pocket (FYI, I dance a lot so I sweat and thus need the towel....probably more information than you wanted to know, but anyway...). From the look she shot me, it seemed like she thought it was funny and harmless. I don't know about any of you, but I'm just not into complete strangers grabbing stuff out of my pockets for whatever reason...one of my little foibles, I guess. I hate being knocked out of my zone, but the night was salvaged by some decent music, people I haven't seen there in a long time, and a few other things. Thank the Lord for little things.

 -  I think from now on, I'm gonna start capitalizing the T in the word "thoughts" in the titles of my random thoughts blogs. I do enough of these types of blogs to justify doing so, so why the heck not?

 -  Song on repeat: "Rock" by Lexicon. It's a song that's been out there for a while so it may be mildly familiar to you...it was in the movie "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle" and is a non-typical rap song.

 -  SLP to the following: April, Dani, and Pippen (happy birthday to you all); Stan, Kristin, Holly, my ex-roomie Vanessa, Laura (wife of one of my best friends Todd Clark), Griff, Jay, Marcus, Dark Joey, and Daryl.

That's it for this week. Join me next week as I drop some of my personal specialized wrestling finishing maneuvers on various haters out there (screw the RKO and the Stunner...I got better ones). In all seriousness though....I just hope this week is less harsh than this past one was on me. Until next time....take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #30 - the "spring is here" edition

Greetings once again and welcome to the maze that I call my train of thought. I'm in a bit of a typing mood right now, so let's get to it:

 -  This past winter has been a tough one for me, for different reasons. Now with a new season comes new hope and also better and warmer weather.

 -  As with past years, I decided to do the brackets and make my guesses for this year's NCAA basketball tournament. So far I'm doing better than in past years. I picked 22 out of a possible 32 teams to advance to the second round. The one thing that makes it different for me this year is at this point and time (with two games still to go to determine the definitive Sweet 16), the picks I made for the Elite 8 are all still in contention. That has not happened in the past, so it seems my prognostication skills are starting to improve. Now if I can only get this to work in other areas...

 -  Speaking of basketball, this is the first year I truly believe the Cleveland Cavaliers have a realistic shot at winning the NBA title. Even with injuries, they seem to have all the cogs necessary to finally grab the title. When tournament time rolls around, fear this team.

 -  After some further consideration, it looks like the birthday celebration will have to be on the 2nd weekend of April after all (Saturday the 11th) even though that is Easter weekend. The first weekend of April looks like there is already a ton going on with friends and events such as the Final Four and Wrestlemania (which I plan on watching). It may be a blessing in disguise because it will give everybody an extra week to bring up ideas and possible plans for the celebration. Get in touch with me if you have any ideas (besides the club, of course) on what to do for that weekend, Again, I am also thinking about something for the 10th (that Friday night) as well, so definitely let me know what's up.

 -  Last night at the club was yet another different experience. Even though there was a decent crowd, at times the dance floor was cleared out for the most part and others it was packed. It was only Jay and I representing there, since it looks like everybody is waiting to come out for the b-day celebration (at least that's what I'm telling myself). I wasn't as tired and I was in a better mood so my experience there last night was an improvement over the previous weekend based on that alone.

 -  I am having some issues with my computer right now, either due to my power supply (it seems on the fritz) or some glitch in my system that I haven't found yet. So in the event I'm offline for a while, it may be due to that.

 -  I hate weatherization. At least the severity of the symptoms I've been dealing with are finally starting to let up. On top of that I finally got some good sleep last night for the first time in a couple weeks (which might be contributing to the let-up). I just hope this process passes soon cuz I've got a birthday coming up and good weather to enjoy, gosh durnit.

 -  No, that last statement was not misspelled...I meant it exactly as it was written.

 -  I have finally found family on one of the social networks I frequent (two cousins on Facebook). It's the first time in my entire internet experience that I have found any family online in some capacity. I hope more show up, but at least it's a start.

 -  Song on repeat: "Sexy Lady" by Yung Berg (he's the guy that does backup for Ray J on "Sexy Can I")...a dance song that I wish I heard a bit more often in the club.

 -  SLP to the following: Betsy and Scotty (my cousins), Kristin, Holly, Jay, Carlo and Tommy D

That's all for this week...nothing major and kept to myself for the most part with one exception. I might have more next time I write...I might not...it's fun to keep people guessing. Until next time, America (oh Lord....I'm using Maury Povich lines...somebody hit me with a reality check!). Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #29 - the "inconvenient" edition

Hello once again from the world of DJ and all its vague, complicated intricacies. I have an awful lot to cover, so let's get to it, shall we?

 -  Why the "inconvenient" edition, you say? Well, this past week has been full of glitches here and there going on around me and with me. My sleep pattern was thrown off by the radical changes in weather...my weatherization at work, I suspect. Even though the scratches on my face are healing, it's just annoying to have them. My car's steering has been acting up a bit, probably from too much steering fluid I put in. My computer itself has been on the fritz just trying to start it up, which I suspect is a power supply issue. There's been other stuff as well, but for the most part I've been trying to work around all these inconveniences, so if it seems like I'm being crabby, this is probably why.

 -  I went to the O.C. last night and was happy to see a lot of my friends there, maybe even some potential new regulars. It was crowded and there was a diverse crowd...all types there. However, I was having trouble enjoying it because I was tired before getting there due to the problems with my thrown-off sleep schedule. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy myself, but because I felt tired and a bit cranky it wasn't as good for me as it has been the past few months.

 -  Something that I've recently been keeping an eye on are two incidents reported in the media: the Chris Brown-Rihanna domestic violence situation and the Christian Bale profanity-laced tirade on the "Terminator: Salvation" movie set. I don't need to go into the history of both since they have been in the media for some time now. However, I do want to talk about in a general sense what both situations are at their root: abuse. The abuse found in the Chris Brown situation is probably the most visible and easiest to define. He physically attacked another person and, per reports in the media, previously abused her physically and verbally. The type in the Christian Bale situation was verbal and profanity-laden but no less damaging and actually less obvious than some may initially observe. At first glance, it could have been argued that it was an overreaction and that he was so deep into character that he couldn't help himself. I actually heard the tirade on one of the media sites and IMHO it was far deeper than that.

Even though these particular situations may only appear on the surface to basically be abuse, there are factors underlying both that I think we all have observed or experienced at times in our lives, some of us more than we should have to experience. One factor is the total disregard of the victims as people. I'm not talking about the type of disregard that is accidental in nature like forgetting to include someone in an activity or misremembering a name or just being left out by mistake. I'm talking about an intentional disregard for the victimized person as a human being whatsoever, to the point where they are seen as nothing but an object, a non-entity, or something that is "simply in the way" and taking up space that the abuser/victimizer deems too valuable for anybody else other than themselves. Another factor is that such abuse is learned behavior, not genetic. I have regularly heard that it can be passed down through families and social groups, but to me that seems to be too simplistic an answer. I have observed it more often being passed from abuser/offender to victim, in that the victim becomes an offender themselves at some point and thus creating a cycle of abuse that is hard to break. It doesn't always happen, but it is likely in these situations. A third factor is the impact it has not just on the victims but the offender as well and anybody connected in some fashion to either victim or offender. Such impact includes scenarios such as betrayals of trust, the keeping of secrets, breakdowns and fracturing of relationships, and even outright physical violence. Some of this particular impact is represented in the two aforementioned situations, but any one of these scenarios will be evident in any abuse situation.

I have noticed in myself and others how difficult it is to be involved in any capacity, whether it be as a victim, a witness, or unfortunately as an offender, in an abuse scenario. It's easy just to say don't get involved, just stay out of it and be safe for ourselves, or justify that it's not our business to be involved (that's the one I hear the most). Unfortunately, life isn't that easy. If it's someone that any of us care about, it's already our business whether we like it or not. Something that comes to mind when I think of this involves an experience from my first year of college. A female friend of mine named Jennifer had a boyfriend who was abusive to her. I actually witnessed the boyfriend slug her in the club and she ended up with a nasty bruise on her cheek. A few of her friends and I tried to reason with her to get away from this guy but she stayed with him. Fortunately she eventually dumped him but it bugged me that I couldn't do more for her than that. Now, I have a general idea how to deal with different abuse situations, but each one is different in some respect and I don't have all the answers...no one person does. However, it is not enough to simply stand back and let abuse continue, especially if there is something we can do about it. I think it's important to go out there and learn about how to help those who are dealing with these situations, whether it means reading up or getting on the internet or talking with friends as to how to best help out those we care about. I don't know....maybe letting people hash it out on their own is the best thing to do in some situations...that doesn't count when physical abuse is involved. Like I said, I don't have all the answers. I do want to remind people that there is always risk involved, so it is important to know what to do before getting involved if you choose to be more active. Here's something I want to leave this blurb with for you all to think about: if abuse is offensive to you and you let it happen to your friends or loved ones yet do nothing to help, what does that say about you and your value to others, especially those friends and loved ones?

 -  I know that last blurb was long, incredibly dense and probably could have put it in its own blog, but I did that on purpose for two reasons. One, to see if I could do it, and two, to see if paragraphs will work within individual blurbs. I know there are people who probably need to read that last blurb (again, in some cases), so refer them back here so they can read it for themselves. It may be inconvenient for some (hey, it actually goes with the theme of this blog today!), but I do believe it to be too important not to address.

 -  One more downer-like thing before I move on...I do want to note the passing of the wrestler formerly known as "Test" over the weekend. Andrew Martin, who worked in both WWE and TNA, passed away at the age of 33. Rest in peace.

 -  On a more positive note, the past week in Ohio basketball has been very interesting. The Cleveland Cavaliers have already wrapped up the Central Division title in the NBA. Also, five college teams from Ohio made the NCAA Tournament this year: Ohio State, Akron, Cleveland State, Dayton, and Xavier. I think that is the most teams from one state in the tournament this year, but I'm not certain of that.

 -  Like I mentioned sometime last week, I finally got my Myspace IM back. I can IM again, but I'm using a messenger program native to Linux, so now I can use Facebook Chat on it as well, for those of you visiting from Facebook. I may log on to Facebook repeatedly just to get names into my messenger client so if you see me on there with some frequency, that's me trying to set up the client. Or maybe not and I'll just keep you guessing what I'm doing there. In any case, I have Facebook Chat and Myspace IM again.

-  As you may have noticed, I have changed the background back to one I used before as well as the look of my blog and profile. I hope it is easier to read as some of you have told me you had trouble with that Matrix one.

 -  Birthday celebration update: it looks like the celebration may have to be moved back to that second weekend despite the Easter holiday, at least as far as the club goes. However, I am looking to do something outside of the club to celebrate as well, possibly on Friday the 10th, with anybody who's up for it. All I need are ideas on what we could do that Friday. If anybody has any ideas, shoot 'em my way...and don't be afraid to make them public through the comments, but keep 'em PG-13 at the most. I don't want kids getting weird ideas.

 -  Roasts are fun, aren't they?

 -  Song on repeat: "Don't Talk" by Jon B...just a cool slow song that can be danced to. A fave of mine for years.

 -  SLP for this long blog: all the guys in my crew (you know who you are), Patrick (Happy B-Day, bud), Pastor Cory, Kristin, Cara, Cheryl, Holly, Daryl, Dark Joey, and one of my oldest friends Todd Clark.

It took me a long time to type this up, so I think I'll go get something to eat. I'm happy it's finally warming up, but I'll be even happier when my weatherization is completed for the season. I hope you all learned something from this blog today. Join me next time as I talk about even more random things. Until then, take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #28 - the "almost spring" edition

Hello and welcome once again to another round of random thoughts from yours truly. I've got a lot to get to, so here we go:

 -  First, the me stuff: I'm still working on my issues but I am making progress finding the root of them...what I'm doing about them is yet to be determined. Also, my face got scratched up this past week a little bit, mostly due to shaving and accidently opening up zits in the process. Isn't that a nice thought? No, I didn't think so either. I may be going through my "summerization" (as opposed to winterization) getting ready for the upcoming change in seasonal weather patterns...a little early, but that probably means better weather is coming sooner this year, a prospect that I'm guessing many of us are looking forward to.

 -  Despite the issues with my face, amazingly enough I had a decent time at the club on Saturday night. I thought people would avoid me like the plague but it didn't happen...go figure. Anyway, the club got packed before I got there and was jumpin' the entire night except for a couple of songs. The warm weather played a big factor in why it was packed.

 -  Speaking of warm weather, spring is officially coming up soon and as I implied earlier I am looking forward to warmer days like the one we had here in Columbus last weekend.

 -  For those of you who used or preferred the Project Playlist music player for your profiles...apparently they are working on Myspace once again (and I hope it stays that way). However, due to the upgrade to 2.0 here on Myspace, you have to go back to the Project Playlist site and get the new updated code to put it on your profile once again. I'm listening to mine right now, and since Myspace is monkeying around with its own music player I'm glad my preferred one is working again. If anybody is having trouble with this, give me a buzz.

 -  As a result of the change in my profile music player, I had to change the layout of my profile. I had to remove the animated gif I was using for my background and put a static one in because it was interfering with both my music players. I also did a few tweaks to eliminate as much of the unused free space on my profile as possible. It should be easier to read....at least I hope so.

 -  Before I continue, I want to pass on my condolences to my friends Cheryl and Joe Dawg Brother for the recent passing of loved ones in their lives. I just want them to know that my thoughts are with them as they cope during this difficult period.

 -  Although I am on sabbatical from my church, I have been lax in promoting it. If anybody needs a spiritual home for following their faith, check out Crossroads World Christian Center at "www.crossroadswcc.org". Like I said before, it is ministered by my friend and pastor Cory Pariseau. Give him a buzz and see what Crossroads can do for you, your faith, and your spirit.

 -  I want to say something about personal boundaries for a minute. I'm not gonna go in-depth here about it or why I'm even bringing it up, but simply stated I want to remind people (and myself) to respect the boundaries of others and not violate them if at all possible. I don't think any of us want to have our space intruded upon unnecessarily, so why should we do it to others? Something to think about.

 -  Regarding celebrating my birthday....I found a bit of a monkeywrench regarding that weekend. It recently came to my attention that Easter this year is on the 12th and some have already made plans for that holiday and even the day before, which obviously interferes with the basic plan I had about the club on Saturday night. I was thinking maybe doing something on Friday night instead (the 10th), and I haven't gone out on a Friday night in ages, probably not since the Harry Buffalo days. At least I've got a month to figure out how I want to celebrate and when.

 -  Song I have on repeat: "If You Were Mine" by Marcos Hernandez. The singer of the song has decided to drop out of the music biz for now and serve our country in the Marines. I hope he comes back because he is talented, but good luck to him regardless.

 -  SLP to the following: Cheryl and Joe Dawg Brother (for their respective losses), Griff and Dave from my crew, Pastor Cory, Chad ("alibi breakfast" on my friends list...happy b-day!), DJ Shane and Mike (the two newest additions to my friends list), Kristin, and Holly.

I could say more, but why? Just kidding, I'm done pontificating for now. I can't wait until the warm weather is here regularly, so until the next blog....take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #27 - the "it's March already?" edition

Greetings once again from your friendly neighborhood DJ. Spring is coming soon, so I better get going on finishing out these winter editions of random thoughts (like it really matters what time of year it is, but anyway...). Here you go with another onslaught of randomness from yours truly:

 -  Like this blog entry's title suggests, can you believe that March is here already? This year is going by fast. I just hope not TOO fast.

 -  I want to wish happy birthdays to my friends Daryl, Spirit, Jack, and Kristin. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make birthday celebrations this year (for various reasons), but I hope you had or have fun celebrating them.

 -  Speaking of birthday celebrations, one I do not plan on missing whatsoever is my own. My birthday is next month (April) on the 9th, but I plan on celebrating it on the following Saturday night, the 11th. And even though I'm turning 37 (yes, I'm getting on in years), I'm looking forward to my b-day this year. Last year a friend of mine took me out for dinner (a steak dinner which was very good) and then celebrated and danced at the OC the rest of the evening. Right now I have a very rudimentary idea what I'd like to do, but I'm open to ideas so if anybody here has some, let's talk.

 -  Onslaught....rudimentary....wow, I know big fancy words. Sometimes I even impress myself....sometimes.

 -  Because of the dramatic weather changes over the past few days, I haven't been feeling the utmost in health. However, at the last minute yesterday evening, I decided to go out. It was yet another different crowd at the OC. I went there not in the greatest of moods and feeling somewhat ill but once there I started feeling better (mood and health-wise) and had some fun. I am glad I was close to home just in case, so that may have factored into it a bit.

 -  I have to admit, I did not see the Kellen Winslow trade to Tampa Bay coming whatsoever. I can see compelling reasons for the trade but it did come as a shock. I guess Mangini is determined to put a stamp on the Browns and I can only guess what he's going to do next. I just hope this all works out for Cleveland, but on the surface this looke like a good thing to me.

 -  I finally found a version of the movie "Breakin'" last week, and even though there is cheesiness and a formulaic storyline, I still love that movie. Can you believe it's the 25th anniversary of this movie's release? I can't believe it's been around that long. I guess it's timeless.

 -  Can you also believe that it's not butter? Just sayin'

 -  Song on repeat and possible sign of the Apocalypse: "Little Moments" by Brad Paisley. An acquaintance of mine gave me this song a few years back and I only started listening to it recently. It's actually a pretty romantic song, and even though this may signal the end of the world as we know it with me listening to a country song regularly, I like it regardless.

 -  SLP this week for the following: Pastor Cory, the birthday people from the earlier blurb, Dave, Jay, Art, Curtiss, Holly, Xavier, Trish, Dani (BTW, I hope you're doing alright...sounded like you had a rough week..get in touch with me when you get the chance), and one particular female friend of mine who I want to reassure that things will turn out alright and good things will happen for you (it's Vaughn's friend at the club...I can't remember her name for the life of me and it's on the tip of my tongue but if anybody remembers it, please tell me through the mail here...it's embarrassing enough that I have trouble remembering names sometimes...god, I hate that).

Now, before I lose any more brain cells for using big words, shoot myself in the foot for my embarassments, or ensure the Apocalypse by next picking banjo or polka music to listen to repeatedly, I think I'd better end the random thoughts here for now. Spring will be here soon enough, but for those of you on the east coast in the next few days, please take precautions because it looks like you've got a big snowstorm coming akin to the one we had here last year that dumped a ton of snow here. I'm just happy we're not getting that storm right now. Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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