not much doing...
Tuesday, June 1, 2004 09:45 a.m.

So...the weekend...

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday... basically stayed indoors... my neck was so sore...I must have slept wrong or something...and I just conked out for most of the weekend..

Watched a lot of TV... Buffy and played Buffy video game...got pretty far... and watched most of "Chance Pop Session"...talk about soap opera-y anime ! Not only do the girls become a singing group...but they are separated orphans... all sisters !!! RIDICULOUS>..but why can't I stop watching... man...need to get the soundtrack!

Hung out with Chirs...Fred came over with food... played Buffy etc...

Monday...felt inspired...more guilty...for not doing anything productive over the weekend...so I started recording...

And lo and behold...I'm basically done with "Deal With This in The Morning"....wow...that was fast...took maybe 5 hours total...and it's finished ? WOW...guitars, bass, vox, keys... sweet ! Need to mix it down...

I might be on cable tonight... channel 67 in Manhattan...if anyone gets it..c.an you tape it at 6:30 ? Eh... hopefully, someone is around...

WOOOT...it's TUESDAY... gotta love the short week.

well...that was an experience...
Saturday, May 29, 2004 03:26 p.m.

So work was quick and I got a lot done...

I got a bootleg copy of "Day After Tomorrow" before I went home at 2...it was pretty decent. I shouldn't be buying bootlegs...but it was spur of the moment.

Went home and showered and practiced a little before heading to Chinatown for the Teabag Open Mic thing..

I posted pics up: here

The trains were all messed up so it took me awhile to get in...but I set up and looked around...teh set up is pretty nice...they tape everything and they have that cable broadcast...hopefully I will make it on to the shaow...we'lll see.

A bunch of people wer eon hand as staff... Telly, the founder, William, George, and Albert...they were all helping out. Set up stuff and I went on at 8:30...some of the acts were horrendous...ugh. I'll be kind and not say much...

Anyhooo... opened with a snippet from "Sober" by Tool and launched into "pinioned' and "reveie"...I was a little nervous and messed up a chord or two...but no one noticed... I tried to work the crowd a little..Chris and his friends were there... so I mainly did it for him. It was a bad weekend to do it...sicne everyone is busy for the long weekend...oh well.

All in all it was a really good performance...the crowd seemed to eat it up...and I might play there again...but truth be known...I'm used to playing more than 2 songs now...and it's so far...it would only be worth my while if I got to play in there featured monthly concerts...the staff seemed to like my stuff...so who knows.

So I left at around 9ish and it took me forever to get home... long story short... watched the rest of the movie...played some Buffy and passed out.

I woke up late today and I'm feeling tired...it's nice and cool out and all I want to do is watch tv and be lazy. :P

short day... long weekend...
Friday, May 28, 2004 10:34 a.m.

Another one of those 2 hour train rides ... what a morning...

Yesterday.... ran another tech meeting...and did some more manuscript writing up...ugh... boring.

Justin had an audition for Gerber...and then I took my Mom and Justin to Kenka in J-town (St. mark's) and Dad came later...it was good...but the service there is terrible...and the cotton candy machine was busted !

Went to get Justin a video game at Gamestop...ok this really pissed me off. The guys said that if I renewed my card it would be 6.50 ...but then it came out to be 10 dollars anyways...and he couldn't figure it out... so he voided the transaction...but then he didn't give me a copy of the voided receipt! I talked to the manager and he said "corporate" needs all the receipts...so he wrote some gobbledygook on the real receipt and said it was ok... in anycase...I called my credit card company and let them know that it was a fishy transaction... grrr.

Home...tired... played some of the Buffy game I got...and then watched the Lakers beat the Wolves...I don't even know who to root for...but Karl Malone and Gary Payton deserve a ring... man...

Tea bag open mic thing tonight... try to make it !

I'm outta here at 2 ! WOOOOT !

TGIF...have a great weekend.

I got top billing !
Thursday, May 27, 2004 09:44 a.m.

...but it's in alphabetical order... :P

http://www.teabagopenmic.com/

Anyways...loads of work yesterday...ran a tech demo meeting and just didn't do much of anything else...

Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-men is AMAZING...can't wait for the next issue...

So tired...went home to rehearse and watched ROTK...I really liked this movie...I loved it... I thought the first two were good...but ROTK sealed the deal for me. Consider me a fan...and a big dweeb.

I don't know if it was the cool weather, the allergy meds, or the fact that I took RoboMist3000 home ...but the humidifier and the other stuff meant...no headache last night...wooo! But why am I still so sleepy...sigh...

Anyhooo...I get out early tomorrow...out at 2! Gonna go home and get my gear and then head out to Chinatown to play the open mic thing... ok...seriously...I need to start recording again... enough with the gigs!

Thursday...this week was odd, no ?

why won't these headaches go away?
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 10:19 a.m.

Yes...another one...I think I have to move my bed around or super clean my room or somehting... I can't take much more of this. UGH.

Not much going on yesterday...work is revving up again ...arrrgh !

Had lunch with Gloria in K-twon... haven't seen her since the winter! She's doing well and fresh back from Korea...

Home... rehearsed...watched some of the special features on the LOTR disc...and finished the last disc of SCRYED(-o)...and some of the Laker- Wolves game...

I love the Wolves...but seriously...on paper...the Lakers are unstoppable...and when people are on fire... whoooo...look out... there are like 4 Hall of Famers on that team! Sheesh.

Ugh... must get new job... must get nice girl...

Same old , same old... :P

OH YEAH... FEAR DOOM ! HEIL LATVERIA!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/903919/posts

sigh... more allergies.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004 09:38 a.m.

I feel like such a sniveling nerd... complaining about my allergies and my migraines... sheesh... allergy meds make me so groggy...and even though I was unconscious before midnight...I still got up late...

Anyhoo... not much going on...work has slowed a little bit...but I expect the torrent to return any minute.

Went home and rehearsed fro Friday...so ...it's "pinioned" and either "reverie" or "scent of you"...I think "scent of you" is the better song...but it's probably the most difficult to remember...if you really looked at the lyrics ( I know you didn't...:( ) then you'd know how hard it is to remember...in any case...it's one of those.

The Inferno is over...and Road Rules won...sheesh...Real World is just a bunch of suckers... but I have to admit...I like Katie...she was such a slacker loser and she really tightened her belt and proved everyone wrong... chalk one up to low expectations!

Blah... sick of being sick!

TUESDAY !

weekend...but full of headaches.
Monday, May 24, 2004 09:30 a.m.

Saturday and Sunday were basically the same... crazy migraines... meds...sleeping at odd hours and watching tons of movies and anime...

"Somethings Gotta Give", "Master and Commander," and "Runaway Jury" were all excellent.... wow...Diane Keaton is hot... (though kinda wrinkly) ...I hope my wife looks that good in her 50s...

Funny mini-psychic moment...I learned a curse word in Cantonese it's like "DUE LAY" ...and I was thinking...wasn't there some guy named "Dule Hill"... I forgot where I heard the name...anyways...I was looking at Entertainment Weekly and there was an ad for Celebrity Poker Showdown...and Dule Hill is playing !...he's an actor... I've seen him before...in anycase... mini-psychic moment.

AAAAND...I'm playing the TEABAG OPEN MIC on Friday ! I might even be on tv on Tuesday after... go here for details: www.teabagopenmic.com

Eric came home on Sunday... and Shelb brought pizza... family was over...and Nina... so we watched Chris' bootleg of "Mean Girls"...

AND SOPRANOS... *SPOILERS*.....

Poor Adrianna... we knew it was coming...the paper gave it away...but it was coming... sigh. ... on to JOEY ! All out war is coming...but I gotta wait two weeks ???

AND... Do As Infinity are playing free concert on June 7th!!! At the Cutting Room....right near where I work...but it's a 21 and over concert...so I can't bring Justin...arrrgh...he loves them... what to do...maybe my Mom can sneak him in... Anyone want to go with me ?

AND... Justin had his Disney Channel audition yesterday... went pretty well...see what happens.

AND... it's evident that I am back at work... the fire damage is contained upstairs...so things are ok here for now... man...I wish we could have had at least a day off... sheesh.

Urrrgh...Monday already ??? Long weekend coming soon !!! *sigh. I need a girlfriend... who wants dibs ?

ok...so I'm a hero.
Saturday, May 22, 2004 11:38 a.m.

Ok...so this is what happened...I went outside around 4:00 yesterday...and when I went back into the buildng... the fire lights were flashing and the building maintenance guy said "disregard"...but when I got in the elevator I smelled smoke... so I got out right away...and another elevator came down and it was ok...I decided to risk going up to my floor (3rd) and I heard water rushing down one of the other elevator shafts...so I knew it must be a real fire..

So I went around my floor and told people to get out...even if I wasn't positive it was a fire...all signs indicated that it was something... so I got everyone to go...some people were reluctant...but once everyone strated going...it was apparent that it was real...

So we all went across the street...and we could see the smoke from the 16th floor...the firefighters came and put it out... but we might not be able to go back int he building on Monday... we'll see.

People were very grateful that I got them to go out...but honestly, they would ahve figured it out sooner or later, right ?

Anyways...went to LIVE BAIT for a beer with Zakhar and KS... and went to meet up with Serena and Ming...

It was pretty normal after that...

Serena's tattoo healed really well ...and I have to admit that it does looke pretty darn good. We went to Spice and had some good thai food...it's been a while since I was there...and then went down St. Mark's... Hollywood Video has the best sales...I'm only getting my DVDs from there from now on... mostly. '

SO Serena bought two HUGE Bearbrick thingees...wow...and I got a Transformer keychain...Ming says she likes hanging out with older people who are young at heart... and I act like a teenager and Serena is like 5. HAHAHH.

Ran into Moses and Joe at Ink City...Moses was getting his first tattoo and we waited around for him... I love St. Mark's place. Just a bit too crowded... couldn't find anywhere to go after that...so we just went home... I was pooped..

And no...not black and blue...though Serena and I beat on each other enough... it's not a love/hate relationship...it's more like hate/hate...HAHHAH...kidding. I love that kid.

Home... Inuyasha binge...and migraine... so I'm up on Saturday at around 7...ugh...tried to sleep ...but was up around 830...oh well... up early... need to do laundry, clean...if I have the strength...maybe record.

Whew...it's humid. And I'm HOT. :P

this week was heck-ish...but it went by quick
Friday, May 21, 2004 09:35 a.m.

Whew... still have lots of work to do...but I feel a hundred times better ....not looking forward to next week...but we do have a long weekend comin up....wooo.

Not much going on besides...I left work and rushed home... where my Morrissey CD was waiting for me...

This is one of his best albums...I love it... YOU ARE THE QUARRY, my dear...

Eric came home... Ricky and Michelle are getting married... so he's here for the weekend...

Really not much to talk about ... just tired and complacent.

Still waiting for something good to happen... as in MAJORLY good.. I've been saying this all year... sigh.

But thank God for the little miracles. He's been good all along, right ?

TGIF, kiddies. Brush that dirt off your shoulder.

hectic day...and some news...
Thursday, May 20, 2004 09:44 a.m.

Cindy is moving to London in 6 weeks.

I knew she was planning to move there next year... but her transfer went through early and her company wants her there this summer.

It's funny how we became to be such good friends...her sis, Jen was my big sis when we were up at Boston...and when I had dinner when I was back in NY with jen, Mark...they brought Cindy...and after that.. Cindy's been one of the people I confide in...we've had a lot fo good talks and a lot of fun...

It gives me another excuse to go back to London.

FInished up collection one! And yet...I feel no relief...6 more to go...and collection 2 is 250 pages... oh man... I may flip out...

Home...tv... the end of Angel...I liked th elast episode...and it tied in a lot of stuff...but I missed like 3 seasons of Angel...and probably would have enjoyed the finale more... needless to say... it left it wide open for more stuff int he future...poor Wes... :(

INUYASHA! Why aren't you watching this ?

Anime is my friend...

Laura called last night...we talked a little bit... we both *do* kind of miss each other...and yet... it's still a little weird if we hang out... but ... maybe next week... we'll see.

Back to the grind...wow...this week flew by.

the frustration mounts...
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 09:35 a.m.

I'm on the verge of quitting...just the stress of so much work...and not getting a long overdue promotion...and people not owning up to their mistakes and making convenient excuses or shifting blame...it's ridiculous...

We had a meeting to discuss our goals and plans to evaluate our performance...and I'm doing the work of people two levels above me...I need a promotion and soon...or I'm just going to quit...I keep looking for stuff...but there isn't much out there...or I'm overqualified...or I make too much money in my current position...ugh.

Anyways...home...Inuyasha spree....

Cleaned my oven with Eaze Off...I am so domesticated.

I would make a great house husband.

I'm sick of waking up pissed off.

Pray for me, will you ?

I
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 09:34 a.m.

Work has been a hullabaloo... it's just been a hectic week and a half... busy stuff ends around tomorrow...but that means I gotta get cranking today...

I got my 3 year service award yesterday...and at the cross-site meeting...my supervisor was like "Without Abe...none of our stuff would be on time...I'm surprised he hasn't quit..." AHEM... I wonder if that was her way of poking at our boss that I should be getting a promotion and a raise...hmmm.. I haven't been in one place for more than 3 years since elementary school....wow...time for a change, huh?

After work...killing time before meeting with Serena (cousin-version) and her friends...so wandering around...picked up some Eva figures, some dvds, InuYasha game...and got to gamestop where they had LOADS of used anime...for like 10 bucks and I had another 10 percent off...so I went a little nuts...man... good thing I just got paid.

So I met up with Serena, Jignasa, Cathy, and Sheri...at H and M... went shopping a little...took the girls to Azaleas and said hi to Cindy Kahng..then went to St. Mark's ...got a slice at Stromboli's and then went to Kenka... for cheap eats...and Veneiro's after for LOBSTER TAIL !!!

Jignasa said she was doing "Neurology" ...and I heard "Urology"...so I said... "It burns when I pee!" ...HAHHAHAH... that was the funniest moment.

I love my cousin...we don't see each other often...but when we do... it's just ...well...you know...

Pooped ! Loads of work to do ! Pray for me !!!!

why am I so tired?
Monday, May 17, 2004 09:32 a.m.

This weekend flew by... I'm beat.

Friday: after another busy day of work... went in for my gig... set up and had a decent showing for a Friday show... Sunjoo, K, Laura cmae...my cousin Serena, her bfriend Shang, friend Sheri, my folks, Justin, my mom's friend, doris, elisa, Serena and her two friends...joe and Moses.

Pretty decent show...went 2 hours non-stop and thought I was going to pass out... the bar gives me 60 bucks now and I got maybe 15 bucks in tips...and I broke a glass when my music stand toppled over, finally played the Darkness (Bonnie's fave song) and dedicated "Your Love" to Lindsay Lohan!

Afterwards...family went to Chinatown for dinner since we couldn't find parking in the Village... it was a long ass night...but fun.

Saturday... cleaned up and babysat Justin since my folks went out to a wedding...I was beat....but I updated my website! Complete overhaul...so it looks ...ahem...somewhat familiar...but a lot better.

Check it out: www.geocities.com/abechangrocks

Sunday: Was supposed to hang out with my cousin...but she was out with her friends and they didn't decide what to do until almost 4...and I was still cleaning up and exhuasted...why am I so tired and unhappy?

I guess the whole spring fever thing works in reverse for me now... brings back an awful load of bad memories... of late night phone calls...that just end in disaster, now that I look back on it....

Anyways...I digress...

So Serena got a tattoo and a red streak in her hair... so that means I won't be getting either...hahahah.

Hanging out with my cousin and her friends tonight... yet... I just want to go to sleep.

Another Monday... *collective groan.

short day...
Friday, May 14, 2004 11:37 a.m.

...thanks to the stupid broken rail at 34th street...I was stuck on the train for almost 2 and a half hours this morning... AND with all my gear...had to walk up and down stairs to transfer and all that...crap!

Yesterday was another busy, busy day... big thing was ...my supervisor was snooping around and was finding things out about my promotion...she says she will talk to our boss about it... we were supposed to be getting promotions throughout the year...but so far none...in any case... if someone else gets promoted and I don't...I'm just going to quit.

Home... practiced and watched Survivor... RUPERT !!! wooo hooo! He deserved that bonus million...and dang...Amber IS hot.

Scary Movie 3 was pretty good... extra feature...an alternate ending...that was like 20 mins. long...completely different story! WOW. ... I liked it...dumb, fun...and Anna Faris is adorable.

Gig tonight...oh man... lots of family coming...and other people who've never seen me before... so it will definitely be a new experience... hope I do well...

New gear, new setlist, new songs... sigh.

TGIF...kiddies. Let's rock.

tired...and migrainey...
Thursday, May 13, 2004 09:56 a.m.

Ok...another migraine...wasn't too bad... but still...I was in bed by 10...asleep by 1130...and woke up at 1:00 with a headache ...AGAIN.

Yesterday was pretty eventful...I talked to my supervisor about being unhappy with not getting a promotion in all this time... the amount of work and the level of work I am doing is way beyond my job description...and it needs to be recognized... I was stressed out about talking about it... because...people are going to talk...that is a given...and I hate how gossipy this place can get... arrgh. In any case, I will still be on the look out for other jobs...hopefully...something will come in...

My cousin Serena (the only other Serena I know...oh wait...one of 3) is in town...she'll be at my gig tomorrow.

I'm not very practiced. I don't feel very practiced... I have one more night to get cranking...arrrgh!

So busy...so tired... don't you want somebody to love?

another migraine... why !??!
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 09:38 a.m.

Yesterday was stress filled as I got the ms markups and other things ready for the Coll. 1 intro...arrgh. But it's done...onto Gilgamesh.

Didn't take lunch...so was tired ...dropped off flyers for the green room...and then went home... bought some groceries.

Practiced... watched tv...and sweltered in the humidity...

Not much else... Kaleido Star has been really good...I never thought I'd like an anime about the circus (not animals...more Cirque du Soleil type) ...

Then...another migraine...I was asleep by 1230...up at 130 ish and had to get the hot towel, advil, and used some Ben Gay on my sore neck...I've tried everything...why am I still getting these...and my allergies are pretty bad today...ugh.

In any case...not feeling the best...trying not to think of the past either...but spring makes it hard... so many memories come drifitng back...to bite me in the ass! hahahah!

I'm over it...proof...I can listen to Dashboard Confessional again...and I won't get all sobby and emo and try to slit my wrists or anything.

Girls are evil... guys are dumb. Let's just face facts.

Ugh...wednesday is hump day. (* not that kind...you pervert. )

sick day... bleh...
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 09:44 a.m.

So...I was home all day... decided to get the luggage rack so I can move my gear... and it was nice out... bought the luggage rack...and the bungee cord. snapped and smacked me in the mouf.

SO...now I have a split lip...great. It hurts...can't really see it...but still... just what I need.

I've just been really scatter brained lately... the allergies, the weather changing, stress at work...arrgh.

Anyways... not much to talk about... just got a ton of work to get through... must get cracking!

I really shouldn't be using my sick days...
Monday, May 10, 2004 11:50 a.m.

...but I was in SOOOOO much pain this morning. The migraine was back and the only thing that makes it go away are sleep, advil, and a warm towel... dang allergies! My sinuses are swollen and make me feel like crap. I feel ok now...but I dread going to sleep if it causes more of these migraines.

Anyways... I'm quickly burning up my sick days... not good...but what else can I do ?

Weekend recap. Friday: Just getting stuff ready for my gig... learning the new songs and just chilling at home.

Saturday: More gig stuff... Doris came over and we watched Friends... and then Michelle came over to drop off bridesmaid dresses (Tiffany blue? Looks like "seafoam green" to me...) and then went to get a watch for Doris' mom... make a long story short... went to Macy's and Ikea (where I got a kick ass frame for my Morrissey poster) and then just went home.

Sunday: Wen tto folks place and helped my Mom with some gardening...mainly...uprooting this dead tree. It was a lot of work... and I was scratched up and exhausted...and if that wasn't enough. I cleaned up my folks room... it was insanely dusty (I think that's what planted the seeds of my migraine) and watched the Survivor finale..

I knew Amber was going to win...but I was rooting for Rupert....and the fact that Rob and Amber are getting married...I just don't believe that. Insane! She could do so much better.

But now the tiwst... you can vote for someone else to get another million...vote for RUPERT !!!!

And then ... the migraine... and I'm still sneezing... man...it's the allergies I tell you... the ALLERGIES !!

great day all around...except for the stress.
Friday, May 7, 2004 01:14 p.m.

I took a vacation day today! wooot! yesterday was mostly great, except for work stuff... finished up the art annos I was writing...but only discovered that things were going to change again. I hate how disorganized things are at this company... it annoys the hell out of me...inefficient and work and rework...and I'm always cleaning up someone else's mess and poor planning.

Um...ok...that didn't sound so great...and neither will this.. Doris slipped and fell and hit her head the night before...she seemed a little out of it...more forgetful than normal... hope she went to see the doc.

So I had to scramble and find someone to go to Morrissey with me... I WAS NOT GOING TO LET THIS RUIN THIS! I've been waiting 7 years to see morrissey again... anyways... went through a bunch of people...and loath as I was to do it...I called Yvette. (I'm still pissed at her) because of our pact to see Moz together (circa 1997) in any case... Eunice ended up going with me..

Killed some time before the show... went into the Gap and heard Twilight Singers playing! WOW...

Met with Eunice and headed to Harlem ...for Showtime at the Apollo. Some highlights of an incredible evening with the MOZ:

Eunice can be really funny sometimes she called David Johansen (aka Buster Pointdexter/ founder of the New York Dolls) "Jacob Shanandoah"... he was ok... but I'd rather Moz had a better opening act.

She also thought that Morrissey was the lead singer of the Cure (no, that would be Robert Smith, dear) and that "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" was a song he did (no, that would be U2 and "Everyday is Like Sunday" is the Morrissey song)

In any case... here's the setlist:

The First Of The Gang To Die / Hairdresser On Fire How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? / Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice / Shoplifters of the World Unite / Subway Train [into...] Everyday Is Like Sunday / Now My Heart is Full / A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours / All The Lazy Dykes / Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference / I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday / No One Can Hold A Candle To You / Jack The Ripper / I'm Not Sorry / Irish Blood, English Heart // There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

There were a few points where I thought I could just pass out and float away because I never thought I'd hear these songs live: Shoplifters, Everyday is like Sunday, A Rush and A Push, Jack the Ripper, and There is a Light...

The way they ended the show was excellent...Moz chucks his shirt into the audience (he's gotten pudgy) and There is a Light fades.... and the band leaves one by one...until only the keys are left...if you know the song you know the part...it was ethereal.

Only dissapointment... I heard the Shins are opening for Moz tonight ?!?!? is that true ?!?!? NO WAY ! I love them ! crap. And no celeb sightings... but we saw Matt Chi AGAIN! I saw him when I went to see Kill Bill 2 with Eunice last time... how odd. He's stalking me !

And for posterity's sake...here's the major Moz fansites board for last night's show: http://www.morrissey-solo.com/article.pl?sid=04/05/02/1734236
One of THE best concerts I've ever been to. Eunice liked it too...and she looked really cute with purple-y lipstick on. She's my angel... so what if she doesn't know the Smiths from the Cure...she's still cute and doesn't bail on me.

On the way back...we heard a bunch of white kids telling this story of how people in Harlem were going "there goes the neighborhood" when they saw all the pasty faced Anglophiles going to see Morrissey...HAHAHAH!

Trian ride home: transferred to the F...but before...I amde Eunice buy me a Seventeen with Lindsay Lohan on the cover... hahahah!!!!! Seventeen totally sucks though. LAME. WEAK. Bad article and dorky pictures.

I clutched my Morrissey poster and stumbled home by 1230 and Chris and Fred were watching Leno ... and they taped Friends...

So I stayed up until almost 4 to watch the finale... it was quite satisfying...and yet... I found it really sad too. I can't believe it's over...but there is the consolation that Joey will be a good show (with Drea DeMatteo...ooooh Adriana is so trashy hot!) and that the other Friends will guest star.

Oh...another thing... signed up for a free seminar by CUNY for the Sopranos... "Johnny Sack" and some of the directors and producers will be speaking... WOOOOOO !!!!

So...it was one of the best days I've had in a long time.

MORRISSEY!!!!! go buy the new album.

TGIF.

CARBS! YES!
Thursday, May 6, 2004 09:34 a.m.

Ok...I'm not doing the South Beach diet thing anymore. I almost snapped at my boss yesterday...so with the combination of a stressful work environment, me not being very happy lately, compounded by my lack of energy due to the negative carb and sugar intake... I decided to have pasta for dinner. And you know what, I feel a hundred times better.

The South Beach diet isn't for everyone...and like my brother said...any time you give up ANYTHING ...you'll lose some weight... which I have. So...what have we learned kiddies?

Well, I'm definitely more aware of what I eat...and I loooove sugar. Hard candies and chocolate are evil...but they are a necessary evil. Portion control is important...and not being bored.

So what's the next step? Easy. Eat less...workout more...and apparently I got conned into running a 5K with people from our company... so I will need to get into shape for that... a month to go... yipes.

Yesterday... just work... and more work... I can finish it up today before I take tomorrow off. I've been exhausted...and I really do need a day to rest and to rehearse...

Anyhooo...went home... worked on some gig stuff... Re-learned "Hey Jealousy" ...by the Gin Blossoms...anyone remember that song? Me and Eric played that at the Battle of the Bands my senior year at Stuy...hahah...I still love that song. catchy as all get out.

Stayed up to watch Lindsay Lohan and Jonathan Davis on Jimmy Kimmel. Seriously, Lindsay needs to get a boob REDUCTION. They are out of control...I am afraid.

And Jonathan Davis... he has gotten super-pudge... KORN cannot be cool with a roly poly frontman.

Anyhooo... Doris' bday celebration continues...and I get to see MORRISSEY tonight !!!! I am straight as an arrow...but I have a mancrish on the Moz... he's been my hero for years. I wish I could be as cool, diffident, and contradictory as he is... I've got the abstinence thing down though... HAHHAHA!

Man, I haven't kissed a girl in ages... this needs to change. COME ON! SERIOUSLY! ...to quote Eric Cartman "This is lame. WEAK!"

Moz night...no work tomorrow... life is good.

bad mood continues.
Wednesday, May 5, 2004 10:02 a.m.

Ok... I'm giving this diet one more day. It's gotten to the point where it's affecting my performance at work. I really can't do this if it's going to affect my mood to the point where I'm snappy and short tempered. I've lost some weight already... and I think that's what I needed... something to jump start me into working out more regularly. I've got an elliptical at home and I've got a gym membership... so there really is no excuse.

In any case... work has been super hectic... writing A LOT about art...and then meetings amongst other things.

Got my mom a Moonstruck dvd for Mother's Day and the Last Samurai for me... and went home.

Got some practicing done... looks like I will be having a gig next Friday... which I hope will be good since my cousin from LA will be in town...

Cleaned up some... need to get a new cover letter edited so I can apply for other jobs.

Got no money, got no woman, can't take this crappy job anymore... man... it's a downer, huh?

On a good note... Happy Birthday, Doris! A happy Doris means a happy Abe... I'm glad things are going well. School is almost over ! Hang in there! Morrissey TOMORROW !!!!

ugh...migraine again.
Tuesday, May 4, 2004 09:34 a.m.

Woke up at 2:30 with another onset... it was ok... I think it's a combination of allergies and sleeping in a weird position that cricks my neck. Arrrgh. I'm exhausted and not happy.

So, I decided to subscribe to the New Yorker... if you've been reading the papers... the torture of Iraqi prisoners. If you've seen the pics, you know what I'm talking about. If you want to give the Arab world another reason to hate the US... you've done a good job. Ridiculous. Barbarians on both sides of this war. Lord, help us. Sin is universal in any religion, when it comes to torturing, maiming, desecrating bodies... all of that. Inhuman.

Ok... lighten things up... work has been super hectic...and it's building steam...I'm writing art annotations all week...and we'll see what happens next week.

This diet is seriosuly pissing me off. I think I'm going to end this on Thursday when we have our pizza party at work...hahah aren't we a little old to call it a "pizza party"? Anyways, pizza is always better when it's free.

Home... Chris took a sick day and played Onimusha 3 all day long. The last of my store credit from digitaleyes was used up... and I got my last batch of anime goodies...lucky that I sold another batch...so I can orde stuff next month...woooo.

Cleaning up... I have a lot of odd socks. Was that too much information?

And I was thinking... about what a lot of girls have said about "if only he did this..." or "if only he were..." but aren't you lucky to have someone that is halfway decent? Seriously, I've been on the single side of the fence for awhile now...and it's good in some ways...but I think a lot of it's bad. Suck it up... things either get better or worse....but the "princess thing" needs an expiration date. I'd rather work through an "ok" relationship ...than not to have one at all... but I'd rather a "crappy" one just burn away on a pyre.

Ok... I'm making no sense...back to Egyptian art...then onto Biblical stuff...oooh.....Blake. Creepy.

OH NO!!! Try to escape...AGAIN!
Monday, May 3, 2004 09:57 p.m.

The VIRIDIAN ROOM is here!

http://www.fasco-cs.com/works/viridian/index_e.html

It's creepier!!! I can't get out yet! I have some ideas... HELP ME !!

WOOOHOOO! Lindsay Number 1!
Monday, May 3, 2004 02:55 p.m. TAKE THAT, Hillary "no talent, dumbass" Duff !

HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo) – Mean Girls' estimated $8.6 million opening day likely reduced most grown box office analysts to declare, "like, ohmigod!"

Paramount's $17 million teen comedy ended the weekend with an estimated $25 million playing on 3,159 screens at 2,839 theaters. That marks the top bow the usually moribund final frame of April has ever seen. Mean Girls always looked like the only movie of this weekend that would register more than a blip on the box office radar, but for it to not only dominate but out-open the mega-hyped, "pre-destined sleeper hit" 13 Going on 30 makes it the big success story of an already record-breaking April.

A whopping 75% of Mean Girls' audience was female, while 50% was under the age of 18, according to Paramount's research. Over 90% of moviegoers rated the picture either "excellent" or "very good" and even those outside the target demographic, such as men in their 30's, were over 80%.

Even Paramount was somewhat surprised by how successful Mean Girls was. "I thought we were mid-to-high teens ($ millions)," the studio's head of distribution Wayne Lewellen told Box Office Mojo. "The appeal with older females came on strong in the last few days, which seemed to be the difference." He expects word-of-mouth to broaden the audience further.

To that end, Paramount will try to boost the theater count a bit in the face of Van Helsing and New York Minute. "We're opening Mean Girls up to anyone who want to come in," Lewellen said. "I expect we'll add a couple hundred screens."

"We had moved the picture around a bit because of all the other teen pictures," Lewellen explained about the decision to go out on the last weekend of April. They finally zeroed on this frame despite going up against 13 Going on 30's second weekend, because "it was the last shot in spring before the big summer movies."

Being the last teen release of the season ultimately gave them more time to build buzz. "We at one point were considering sneak previews," Lewellen noted. "Rather than that, we did about 500 invitational screenings for college and high school students, and tried to include older females and young males."

Viacom-owned Paramount had its classic corporate synergy firing on all cylinders this time, typified by star Lindsay Lohan's appearance on, of all places, Paramount TV's syndicated hit Dr. Phil. What made that stint seem relatively organic is also what gave Mean Girls an edge over 13 Going on 30 and other recent, fantastical movies targeting young women. Like many "surprise" youth hits, it was based in a real life phenomenon that kids relate to if not live everyday – in this case, the vicious social dynamics of high school girls. (To Paramount's credit, their other teen pictures this year, the far from Perfect Score and the modest success The Prince and Me were also more grounded than other studios' offerings.) The punchy marketing and good reviews enhanced the picture's stature and likely broadened the demographics.

For Lohan, Mean Girls stands as her first No. 1 debut, cementing her status as the new teen movie queen. Last August, Freaky Friday (also directed by Mean Girls' Mark S. Waters) opened to $22.2 million and closed with $110.2 million. February's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen was less successful with its $9.4 million debut en route to $29.2 million, but it performed well above expectations as it was strictly for young girls and lacked the broad appeal of her other movies.

Paramount scored an encouraging success with Mean Girls after essentially going hit-free since School of Rock last October and in general being rife with misses these past few years. But it remains to be seen whether the studio's current strategy of remaking famous movies from its history (upcoming The Stepford Wives, The Manchurian Candidate, Alfie, just announced Bad News Bears, etc.) will reverse its fortunes in general.

archived...and crazy, long weekend.
Monday, May 3, 2004 09:57 a.m.

Archived.

What a crasy weekend. I am sooo tired. Chris actually took a sick day today. In any case...here's the recap:

Friday: Not much going on besides finishing up with Greek and Romans...had lunch with Kaori. She was trying on her wedding dress. I got to see pics. *tear. We had a nice chat... made me a little depressed...but what the heck... one day I'll get married too. Not much after that... just went home and watched tv...

Saturday: A rush and a push...and I'm out the door. Went to Chinatown to meet up with Cindy and Jen... had lunch at Fuh leen...and then back to the village...went to Sephora. I'm thinking about gettign CLEAN next time...and then off to see MEAN GIRLS.

I'm a little biased...because we all know I love Lindsay Lohan... but that movie was genuinely hilarious. A few cliche moments...but on the whole...just a lot of fun and witty moments. Tina Fey is my ideal woman... man... she's the total package... brains, beauty...sigh.

Came home to hang out with Eric at my folks place... Shelb came over... and just hung out until they went back to my place... Roseann came over too...but then I had to scoot off into the city.

Went to Happy Ending lounge for Doris' bday jammie. Lots of people... I actually know a lot of Doris' friends now... we actually had stuff to say to each other! It was fun...even though I couldn't drink anything. Jen, Ken, Stephanie, Wes, Karl, Charles, Alex, Mike, Leslie, Aileen, Cathy, Victor... and other people... loads more. Fun.

Home.. watched a little SNL... meaning...MORE LINDSAY... the show wasn't very funny...but the Harry Potter sketch... OMG. I felt uncomfortable... my love for Lindsay is pure! I don't need to see that! NOOoOoOoooO...ok...yes. hHhahahahah.

Sunday: Justin and Eric slept over...and Justin had to share the bed with me... he's gotten so big ...and he just kicked me in the head a couple of times... my baby is all grown up!

Went to Flushing... Sheraton Hotel...for the ceremony for outstanding mothers... which was honoring my grandma (my aunt wrote an essay) ...long ass ceremony...weird singing troupe...former Beijing Opera singer (flaming!) ...and a raffle in which we won the GRAND PRIZE! It was a COBY dvd player and surround sound speakers... in any case.. the Ambassador of Taiwan donated the prize...and on two other separate occassions... my mom won prizes from him too!

Anyways... my grandma was very happy to get plaques and flowers and all this other stuff... and I ...almost fainted.

I didn't eat all day... and nearly passed out. This South Beach thing is tough... but I'm still sticking with it...at least until the end of the week. But it was scary... My vision got blurry and I was cold and almost keeled over.

Anyways... home and stuff. Eric went back to Boston... Chris and I watched Sopranos...and wow...that little bit about Vito...came out of nowhere.

Ok...enough blogging...back to work ! Writing art pieces this week. Should be fun.