Gotta Get Over It

How I feel!

School has started back and I'm looking for a way to redeem the time. The truth is I could hammer out a good rough draft for this sputter-and-put writing gig in just a couple of weeks if I could get over this THING that keeps me from moving forward. I don't know why, but I HATE everything these ten little digits pound out on the keyboard. I try to tell myself, "It's not THAT bad..." I read Twilight back-when. Trust me, as much as I had fun with that series, the art-bar really wasn't set that high. Not that I'm trying to make the next Twilight. I just want to get something not disgusting on paper... or screen as it were.

Yeah... I think that's all I have right now.

Here I go.

Later!

-Simpson

The Weeked That Was

Birmingham, AL

I had an A-MAZING weekend. What started as a simple plan to attend an Atlanta Braves baseball game turned into an entire weekend of fun-a-palooza!

Friday night started things off with a fun little trip to Chuy's. A cool little Tex-Mex place. I have to say thanks to my Dad and his wife Judy for watching the G man. I hadn't planned on doing one of "my" nights, but they offered, and the opportunity was there, so I took it since I don't get many. I know G-Man loves spending time with Grandpa and "Gigi," especially their iPhones.

After that was a trip to The J Clyde where I tried beer I can't even begin to remember the names of, one of which was a "chocolate beer." Holy crap it was amazing. Next time I'm insisting it be garnished with either Hershey squares or a Peanut Butter cup... or both.



German Flag

 Once beer was had it was off to German Bar. Now where do I begin about German Bar? The name of the place actually is Freunde Deutscher Sprache, but once you've had a couple it's just easier to say "German Bar." I love this place. The host, and one of the owners, Tristan is a German-American who is the host of host. He knows how to make you feel welcome, inform you on the intimate qualities of certain drinks, including absinthe, and in the end is the guy who keeps the party going into the wee hours. He is an inspiration, and he drives a badass mini cooper. What else can I say about German Bar.. but that it's different from any other bar I've ever been to. Think 90's Prom setup. White linen table cloths with votive candles burning atop disco squared placemats, there's a dancefloor and DJ, and you'll find people wrapped around the bar playing dice games or singing Disney songs with a friend of mine.

Cocktails and Dreams?
Maybe!

Friday night as we finished the evening at German Bar Tristan sat down and told me and my friend (a guy known at German as the guy who danced on the table... long story there) about some employee woes he was having, and then looked right at me and said "You belong here."

My response was an affirming and confident, "I do!"

At which point he kind of offered me a job. I'm pretty sure he was serious, and I even confirmed with my friend the table dancer who felt like he was. My guess would be that I would get to bartend, and perhaps even event plan in the absence of the employee in which Tristan spent half an hour discussing about why she had to be fired. There's not much I would rather do. Did I mention I love that place? Plus one of my life goals is to run a bar. It's in the Bham, which I love, and now as I write this, and look at my current situation that continues to hold me in Montgomery and Steak-World, I'm absolutely sick to my stomach that I can't work there. I know it's not all sunshine and rainbows, or in bar-speak: martinis and skirts. But, to have a chance to be the "events" guy, to be the host at a place that catered to something besides rednecks, hood-rats, and geriatrics would be AWESOME. But most of all to be somewhere I was wanted, and where I would want to be, seems beyond a hope after these many years of hated steak slinging.  I just want to be in a place, "where I belong."

There will be more about this future post I'm sure. But to move on.

Saturday G got to see his mom for the first time in many years. She made some bad choices and as such is part of the reason I'm in the situation I'm in. However since she has made great strides into putting her life back together, and has started acting responsibly, I decided it was time for them to have a little reunion. Things went very well and I was super happy with the first supervised meeting, and while the road to recovery and forgiveness is still long and hard, it is my hope that the future will be bright for G and his needs. There was clothes buying, Lego shop visiting, lunch, and picture making. He and his mommy had a good time.

Turner Field
"Braves Country"

Once that was done it was off to see the Braves play in Atlanta. It was hot, but fun! Thanks to Jacob again for the tickets. You rock.

Sunday Grandpa and Gigi took us to lunch and then to see Smurfs. GREAT movie. We had a lot of fun. I can't wait to add that one to the DVD library. Once the movie was over it was time for a nap, and then we tried to head out of town, but we weren't quite ready to leave our beloved Bham so we made a trip to the Galleria where we got some new sunglasses, checked out the Lego store (again), ate some Cindy's cinnamon sticks, and I bought a Smurf and him an Angry Bird at Build A Bear.



Gutsy Smurf

 We finished off with a meal at the 119 Applebees which was the spot back in MC days. Made me a little nostalgic.

Finally home. It was a long weekend, but it was one of the best ever. Again, thanks to everyone who helped make it special. G and I both had a blast!

Yo!

-Simpson

Braves, Man Cave, Losers.

This will be my and G's
first pro game.

Weekend! It's here for me. If there's a bright spot about the job you've heard some negativity about on here, it's that my weekend starts on Friday. This one's going to be a long one! I'm super pumped about spending some time up in the Bham! A big thank you to my friend Jacob who has planned a trip to the ATL for me and the padawan to watch a Braves game!!!

Procrastination be my name. I need to do some laundry. I need to leave at a halfway decent time tomorrow, but I've yet to do laundry or pack. Plus, as you may have read earlier about the new sister from China, this involves a slight location change for me, and it's been suggested that while I'm away some of the family peeps might be here relocating me, which means I should at least try to make my stuff presentable so it will be easy so move my gear across the homestead.

Dude... It's a cave.

The new spot has been deemed "The Man Cave." I'm not really sure how cavey it's going to be. It's the old Play Room, which originally had been designed to be a Dining Room, which I think had been used more for storage before that. There will definitely be more room, but I think Man Caves are supposed to have super big screen TV's. Mine will not. Maybe I'll put my Christmas Lights in there. I love Christmas lights. What color should I get? Of course there's Green which seems to have become my signature color. But I'm thinking maybe a blue. Or a nice white could be kind of interesting for a alternative light source. (I've done it before.) Something around the corners of the ceiling?

I would like a cork wall. I would like to chop up some comic books and plaster all over it. I like pictures and I find them to be creatively inspiring.

I'm thinking I might need a boxing bag?

Give me some ideas. What should be in the Man Cave?

The Man
Post Torch
Pre America

I need to go do some stuff, but The Losers is on. I love that movie. Chris Evans is my hero. He's always awesome. Okay, Push kind of sucked, be he was still cool. This is my favorite part: Click Here.  My sister has a thing for the guy who played Clay. Does anybody know where I can get Jensen's pink Petunias shirt?

Watch out for anally ravaged telekinetics!

-Simpson

Random Nugget. Then Christmas Lights. Then Mead and Wenches!



I'm like a moth to a flame
when it comes to bright colors.

 Work. It was an interesting night. Glad it's over. I've got to figure out why the heels on the bottom of my feet are so sore. I'm pounding Advil everyday, but it just kind of dulls the pain, it perseveres. Perhaps inserts? New shoes? Definitely wouldn't hurt me to drop about a buck-fifty if you know what I mean... I'm blaming that first and foremost. I'm a big hunk of man-love. I think my feet are mad at me for being so "hunky." Anybody want to be a workout buddy?

Made a grocery store run. I hate that place. I spent a hundred bucks and feel like I really didn't even get anything. I'm just glad I ate a big lunch before going, otherwise the damage to the wallet could have been really catastrophic. Never, never, never let me grocery shop while hungry, especially after work. It's bad... real bad. Things end up in your cart that sit in the pantry until the school food drive comes around.

Came home to find that room had been ransacked by a little guy. If you learn tomorrow I'm suddenly childless... you'll know why.

And Finally...

I've decided I don't have enough Christmas lights in my life. I need Christmas lights strung like EVERYWHERE. I need them all year. Back in the Bham apartment, since we didn't have a yard, we decorated the walls and ceilings with Christmas lights (only during the holiday of course). It would have brought a tear to Clark W Griswold's eye. We didn't have to use normal lighting... nor run the hear for that matter. It was the greatest thing ever. Hmmm... maybe I'll find the staple gun tomorrow. Mwa Ha Ha Ha!!!  (Just Kidding Mom!)

Well, there's a few random tidbits about the day.

Tomorrow I challenge you to enter somewhere... anywhere... and proclaim at the top of your voice: "I've come for your wenches and your mead!!!" 

It's a hit. Let me know how you fare.

Later!

-Simpson

Sunday sucks!

The Bangles
The group responsible for
that dumb song.
(Manic Monday)

Whoever that singer chick was, who said, "I wish it were Sunday because that's my funday," needs to be smacked.

It's such a weird day for me. I feel the upcoming week, and all that will ensue, start to weigh down. Then I feel the loss of the weekend-gone sink-in, this is particularly painful. Plus, for whatever reason, Sunday seems to be a day of high undesirable content in the customer department at work, which has me sighing when I first wake (usually around 11ish). I do feel bad for not going to church because mornings aren't really my thing, and as it's been snarked "well you stay up all night Saturday" the truth is I stay up all night every night because I EFFING WORK AT NIGHT!!! My internal clock is massively screwed up. So as you can see.... Sunday is just plain ol' mentally exhausting and morally berating. At least in my little corner of life-hating psychosis.

Maybe it's the solitude and disappointment in life in general that makes things seem so much worse. When you have an active imagination an nobody worth a damn to temper it with distraction or perspective, things get to be blurred and seem more overwhelming than what they actually are, I know this. But, here in Montgomery, AL... (the shallow end of the gene-pool) I'm not really expecting to spark any hope in that particular department anytime soon. I miss my Bham peeps, and while little Birmingham isn't the be-all-end-all... I find it curious that the most interesting people I met this past week were all from the Magic City.

So I'm here, and I have to deal with it. I think this week I will try to find something new to increase my social sphere. Perhaps a new post-work watering hole? Something to do during the day? (I would go to church, but they only care about catering to the 9-5'ers and are unavailable during the weekday.)  Would you think me weird if I said I thought Zumba looked kind of neat? I need an endorphin boost. Maybe I could do a session or something. Wouldn't that be a sight? Maybe I could video and youtube. Mwa ha ha ha!!!

Stay tuned.

-Simpson