Aaron Riveroll | Photographer

Well folks, the DMB concert was awesome, as expected. Had a blast with Susan and Danny too…and didn’t get the “third wheel” vibe too much. =) But the concert was amazing. So much fun. Words cannot describe. Would have been better if “dude with big head” would have sat down through at least one song. And I could have done without the pot smoking “dancing hoes” in front of me. They must have thought they were so hot…when in fact, their girth was actually impeding my view. But it was still a good time. The highlight, of course, was when they played Crash, which I haven’t seen them do live in a while. Here’s the set list:

#41
Joy Ride
One Sweet World
Best of Whats Around
Crazy Easy
Fool To Think
Hello Again
Everyday
The Stone
Sugar Will
Drive In Drive Out
Typical Situation
Crash
When The World Ends
Too Much < -- *awesome song, by the way*
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Rapunzel

Lots of new stuff I haven’t heard, which was cool. Camera’s “weren’t allowed” in the ampitheatre, although there were lots of people with cameras. Irritating. What’s even more irritating is that I couldn’t have my camera, but the fat hoes in front of me got their pot in. How does that happen? Go figure?!

I’m still sort of weird in the head…I had a sinus headache before the concert…and the noise and smoke added to the festivities. So needless to say, I went to bed with a song in my heart and my head pounding. I feel sort of funny right now. Don’t ask me how I got to work this morning. haha.

I haven’t posted in a while…things have been pretty busy. I had a long weekend…which seemed even longer with the vacation day I took on Monday and the sick days I took yesterday and today. I tried to make it through the entire day today, but left at one because my nose was running and my stomach hurt. I tell you…what a wuss! That’s the reason why I went to work this morning in the first place…I hate acting like I’m sick when I’m sick. Even if I feel like death, nothing is that bad. So yeah…I didn’t make it through the day today…but after much needed sleep, juice, and some soup, I am feeling ten times better. Not twenty times yet…but getting there. My grandma has also been in the hospital, so I’ve gotten used to hanging out with sick people (not my g-ma, of course). Actually, she went in because she had a mild heart attack last week…but she is doing much better. She goes in for surgery tomorrow for her hip, which we come to find out was broken and we didn’t even know it. If everything goes well, she will be walking around in no time…better than me, probably.

Tomorrow, Danny, Susan and I are going to the Dave Matthews Band concert at Coors. Should be a good time. Well, I have to blow my nose, so more later.

Congratulations to Carly Patterson, who won the gold in the Women’s All-Around. She beat out Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina (a.k.a. Chick with a ‘Tude) and is the first American woman in 20 years to win the all-around, since Mary Lou Retton in ’84. Ahh, Mary Lou… =) That’s what I like about our girls…they get the job done and look good doing it. That is the motto of the Nice Guy Society, after all. Her floor routine was nearly flawless and her performance on the uneven bars was an amazing difference from the night of team finals. She nailed it…and she deserved it. =)

It was also a good night for Amanda Beard who took the gold in her event, the 200m breaststroke. Very cool. Michael Phelps also took another medal. We have some pretty amazing athletes…makes me proud to be in the red, white and blue .

Here are some stories on tonight’s activity:

• Union Tribune – Patterson overcomes low vault score to win all-around gold
• MSNBC – Patterson wins women’s all-around

Laundry and sports for me tonight. Our girls brought home the silver in the Women’s Gymnastics Team Final. With a score of 113.584, we finshed just 0.699 of a point under Romania, who was really strong this evening. For some reason my girl, Carly, just wasn’t sticking it tonight…although, her floor routine was excellent. Carly Patterson owns the floor. Courtney Kupets was amazing on the uneven bars too. But it just wasn’t enough to defeat the Romanians. Still good, though. It will be interesting to see how we do in the all-around.

I always get excited about women’s gymnastics (specifically women’s because it’s weird watching the dudes…but they are just as good, don’t get me wrong.) They have an amazing ability to fly and to balance. I would fall on my head. I also love watching the water sports…because it’s just so cool and refreshing. USA swimming hottie Amanda Beard placed 2nd in the women’s 200m IM Final…and the men’s team got the gold in the 200m freestyle relay. All in all, it was a great night for sports. Also watched a bit of the Padres game…an excellent first half. San Diego was just racking up the points against Atlanta, with back-to-back homeruns by Brian Giles and Phil Nevin. They let a few points slip in the second half of the game, but they took it with an 11-6 win.

I went home for my lunch break yesterday. As I was driving down the street in front of my apartment, I saw a really cute girl walking the other way, so I decided to turn around to get a second look. As I flipped around, I saw smoke coming from the distance. I also heard the sirens from fire trucks. I sped over to where the smoke was coming from and saw that a house near Dana Junior High was on fire. Police and fire trucks were coming from all directions and there were a lot of looky-lous about. I joined in and took a few pictures with my Palm Pilot (it’s the only photographic device I had with me).

When I got back home, I turned on my scanner and heard some talk about the fire. Later, I heard them dispatching narcotics detectives out to the scene of the fire to collect some “questionable plants.” Here’s the Union-Trib story:

Pot plants seized after garage burns – UNION-TRIBUNE
August 17, 2004

OCEAN BEACH – A fire caused an estimated $70,000 damage to a Mendota Street home yesterday but did not damage any of 12 marijuana plants found hidden in a garage, authorities said.

The plants were seized by narcotics investigators.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque said investigators have determined someone set fire to a carport adjacent to the garage. Flames and smoke damaged the garage, the house and another garage.

The fire was set just after noon and was put out a short time later.

Well, I’m back. I’m here back in my cubicle, and already I have three files on my desk. It’s like I never left. Can I have another week, please?!

Well, it’s definitely strange being here on a Thursday, and with only three files, about a hundred or so emails to respond to. Lunch Buddy ain’t here, but his hacky-sack and sword are.

Well, I gotta get back to it. Well, since I haven’t really done anything, I guess it’s just I gotta get to it. Late.

It’s always rough, sleeping in on a Monday morning. But someone’s gotta do it. However, my precious sleepy time was interrupted by the song, “I wish I was an Oscar Meyer wiener.” I thought that it was a dream…I thought that maybe I was replaying a commercial in my head. But no, it was not a dream. The Oscar Meyer wienermobile was really outside my window…in the Stumps’ parking lot. Weird.

It’s so nice to finally have a few days to relax and chill. Vacations are great! Wednesday, I spent the day with the family, took them shopping and what-not. Thursday, I cruised up to Hollywood and spent the entire day with Keri at Universal Studios. It was nice to hang out with her again, since we are both so busy at work and stuff. Can you believe I almost forgot how cool she was? Anyway, pictures are posted in the gallery .

Friday, I went back to work (yes, I am crazy) because it was my buddy, Mike’s, last day at the bank. He’s moving back to the east coast, so to wish him well, the department went to Giovanni’s for lunch. We split a pizza pie for old time’s sake, and then went snapping photos with everyone at the office. Those pictures are in the gallery as well. Good times…gonna miss that guy.

Friday night, went to a awesome Padres game. We played Pittsberg…and creamed them. 13 to 1. It was a great game…here are some pictures.

And then yesterday, did absolutely nothing. Was nice. I’m looking forward to the next four days. I finished Regina’s recital DVD today, so that’s yet another project completed. I begin work on the Madrigal Dinner starting tomorrow…or maybe tonight, who knows. But I’m going to chill for the rest of the day now. You take care.

Well, I have officially finished Sara’s DVD. It only took 4 months. Not bad, huh? Actually, it’s pretty darn pathetic (I substituted another “D” word for our younger viewers). But I’m glad it’s done. I blame it on UBOC, of course, for working me like a dog and not giving me any time to do any of my projects.

I was a little worried since the footage we shot was kind of crappy…but we made do with it and I was actually pretty surprised with the way it came out. I had to work around a lot of errors, but I had nice results. Very happy with how it turned out. Now, on to other things….onward and upward.

Out of all the things in the world that I hate doing, this is probably at the top of the list. Saying goodbye. I don’t deal with change very well. I hate to see people go, people move away, etc. I like things the way they are. I understand that change is good sometimes….sometimes, you have to make changes, switch things up a bit, because they tend to get stale. Or better opportunities come up. Doors open. But it just sucks having to say goodbye to cool people. Recently, I have been hit with two at the same time. Megs, for one, is leaving for Sac. I guess PLNU wasn’t the right fit…but she’s been a good friend to the NGS and a good friend to me for the past few years. I really didn’t get to spend the kind of time I wanted to with her…but she was always there to hang with when we needed a tennis partner, or someone to act in one of our deranged movies. She was there when my girlfriend at the time(whose name I won’t mention) wasn’t. The relationship wasn’t great and neither was the person I was in the relationship with…but Megs was there through the whole thing, ups and downs. I have never told her how much I appreciated her or what I thought of her through the whole ordeal, but it meant a lot to have her as a friend to me and a friend to my now ex-girlfriend, especially since she really needed someone like Megs in her life. There was a birthday extravaganza that was planned for me…and although my girlfriend was the catalyst, Megs did everything — food, guests, etc — a lot more work than was let on. I don’t think I really ever told her how much I appreciated that. And finally, the dramatic breakup…when I pulled the plug on my disfunctional relationship and there were some dramatic moments that were sparked…Megan was there to diffuse them and make me see that it would be alright. And she continued to be a friend to my ex-girlfriend all the while, which again she really needed. Megs is a good friend, and it will be hard to see her go. And guys, she is the very textbook definition of what a girl should be…in my humble opinion. I am, after all, a seasoned nice guy and know what to look for…and Megs is it. Cute, funny, adventurous, smart, sweet, sexy, dedicated, athletic, talented…and I’m running out of adjectives. So you Sac guys, be on the look out for Mini Megs…and treat her well.

The second person on my list of goodbyes will be my good UBOC comrade, Michael Mackay. From day one, Mike showed me the ropes, taught me screens, and was basically a cool guy to work with. We had fun chilling in the back of the office…watching people pass by us all day…and trying to find ways to make it look like we were working. Eventually, our skills and talents were recognized when we both were hired by the bank for full time Underwriting Assistant jobs. And after Bruce left (another sad goodbye), Mike and I were the only two dudes in our whole department (and the youngest too). Mike and I always did lunch together…we became well known at various hot spots along Clairemont Mesa Blvd…our favorites include Souplantation, Deli Stop and Sorrentino’s (where everybody knows our name), and Wendy’s, to name a few. We made many a random trip to Target and the newly opened Walmart (a place we cannot seem to leave without buying anything). We made very few breakfast burrito runs whenever we could sneak past the boss (I can always use a good breakfast burrito). All around, he’s been a good guy to work with. I don’t think he knows this, but I’ve appreciated him too…he’s been a good friend and a genuine nice guy. It will be sad to see him go when he heads back home to New York. But it’s been a great two years at the bank working with him.

I can never say enough about the important people in my life, so I will always feel these goodbye “tributes” are inadequate. But like I said, it’s just sad sometimes to see people go. Call it a flaw, if you will, that I don’t deal with change very well. Even though I’m always certain I will keep in touch, it’s never the same as it used to be. That’s why it’s called change. But that’s just the way I’ve always been. I have a tendancy to hold on to things…lots of different things…and I guess if I could teach myself not to hold on so tight, it would be easier for me to let go. Just a few random thoughts before bed.

I’m about 98.4% finished with Sara Weldon’s DVD. I’ve been such a procrastinator with this one…and UBOC hasn’t been much help either! I will start work on Regina’s later this week and then the Madrigal Dinner during my vacation later this week and next. I’m slowly getting things done!

Riveroll out!