well, ive finally managed to find my way to a "workable" internet connection here on the Rue de la Pompe in Paris. unfortunately, this keyboard is all sorts of funky, so i'm having an extraordinarily difficult time typing anything.

it's been an entertaining 4 days so far in Paris, though i've fallen into typical Matt patterns where i'm sleeping too late in the day and end up not getting as much wandering time as i'd want. now i've got a dinner with the folks tonight at 7:30, so i really don't have time to go out to Montmartre like i'd planned. Perhaps i'll just postpone it 'til after dinner.

ok, this is taking way too long to type, and i'd like to go out to a cafe for a little bit before dinner. so, unless something extraordinary happens, i'll probably be incommunicado until i return. suffice it to say, i'm having a good time.

what a week.

christ almighty, i'm fragged. just completely mentally and psychologically drained.

but, i'm boarding a plane in … 10 hours or so on my way to France, so a little easy excitement just around the corner.

i'll be out for a week, have no idea if i'll be able to find internet access, but rest assured that if i do, i'll at least attempt to post something to ye olde bipolar.

though i can't promise that it'll make any sense.

since i've obviously been neglecting my "blogging duties", i figured i should check in with a bit of a status report…

first off…it's nappy roots day, here in kentucky. everyone celebrate. everyone feel nappy.

i've been mia because i've been spending an inordinate amount of time away from the computer. you know, work…hanging out in the bar…other stuff. nothing terribly exciting. i'll try to stay a little more frequent whenever i can.

this, ladies and gentleman is where the blogging craze hits the proverbial wall: i have absolutely nothing of interest to say. this is why you're better suited reading cnn.

hrm…last saturday (or the saturday before last…whatever) was pretty nutty. i had a few drinks with john as we wandered about the neighborhood, ending up at cahoots. i had a couple more and then headed over to elizabeth's to see if she wanted to do some hanging out. she ended up declining on the grounds that she was painting her living room. talk about fun. i decided to go back to the bar to grab one last drink and then help elizabeth paint. ahhh…the best laid plans always go completely awry. when i got back to the bar, john was hoisting a bourbon and coke at me, saying "meet my new buddy jason! he works for elektra records!" apparently some guy from elektra was in town due to him having to drive across country in a big rv. he coincidentally parked right across the street from cahoots and wandered in for a drink. and right into our world of drunken insanity…

we spent the rest of the night drinking our asses off on the company's tab (his idea) and laughed as he told us that he sold his soul a long time ago. needless to say i had a hell of a lot more than one last drink. when i got back to elizabeth's…there wasn't much painting going on…just sweet slumber.

this is the sound of excitment building up within me until i literally explode.

i finally managed to score some tickets to the City of Light, so i'll be taking my vacation there IN EIGHT DAYS. !!!! gaaaahhhh !!!!

now i've got to think of all the things i need for the trip. camera, film, pens, paper, oh, uh… clothes, money. yeah. that should do it.

pick-up-lines, i need pick-up lines. if any of you know any good french pick-up lines, leave 'em in the comments. oh, and put an english translation, so i'll know you're not trying to get me to tell some little french hottie that "there's something foul about your body." or some such thing.

oh, and i need to start exercising. now. now. now. now. get at least 10 pounds off (yeah, in a week) before i go.
damn. damn. damn.

too. much. excitement… can't. handle… head. caving. in….

so when they write the textbook on how to have a bad day, the one i had yesterday will figure heavily into the equation. i somehow spaced out and spilled abou a gallon of coffee all over the counter at work, which was a hoot to clean up. then when i went to get lunch, i almost got into a fight with some redneck in the parking lot. he was parked across three spaces, eating a sandwich. ithe only other open spot was right in front of his truck. we exchanged quite a few words. i ended up saying "get out of the truck and we'll deal with this." he didn't. he kept saying "leave that car there and see what happens."

i found out what happens: he let all the air out of my tire. if i ever see that guy again, his head is getting broken open.

other than that, i managed to salvage the evening. i went out to see the red taled hawk and the pine club at this wanna-be swanky place downtown. it was a decent show, mainly because i didn't have to pay to get in. the drinks were astronomically priced. definitely not a place you'll see me in very often. i ran into a certain katie ryan and ended up giving her a ride home when her friend needed to bail.

after that, we ended up at cahoots. $1.50 high life. you can't beat it. somewhere after that…i went to bed.

and now off to work…

slow day at work today. i tend to like these days about as much as i dislike them.

i've spent quite a bit of the day fighting with my jabber client (or more correctly, the jabber server i use), and have had little IM love going on. another big chunk of my day has been spent perusing the "Photoshop Phriday" and "Comedy Goldmine" threads over at somethingawful. if you like stuff that's funny… uh… you should go check it out.

my most recent obsession has become… polishing my boots. for about 2 years or so, i've pretty much never taken a polish brush to my combat boots (my only form of footware), so, needless to say, they were looking pretty rough. very little actual black left on them, and huge chunks taken out of the leather all 'round the heel & toes.

so, about three weeks ago, i broke out the ol' polish kit and gave 'em a quick once over. since then, i've been polishing them once or twice a week. today (i've now dubbed Wednesday as boot-polishing day–since i don't usually eat lunch on Wed. i can polish them on my lunch break.) i actually gave them a quick spit-shine. they seem to like it. i'm actually thinking about maybe taking some time tonight to finish the job… yeah, we're definitely getting to the obsession level with this whole polishing thing, i think.

ah well, never did seem to have a problem finding something with which to distract myself.

so i figured since i haven't been hearing shit about a baseball strike, it never happened. i looked on the espn site and actually had to dig to find a mention of it. nothing like something getting built up so big and then becoming…nothing. a non-issue.

otherwise my life has been pretty boring. i just sit around with scott, discussing our plans for halloween. i'm also spending a large chunk of time on a newly surfaced "girl problem." nothing exciting. just seems to be occupying most of my free time. maybe i'll sort it out and move on to my next big "girl problem" project. maybe that's how i should think of them…as projects. sounds much better, that way.

today is wednesday, but it's not comic day because of the holiday. matt and i are still doing the ritual, just with nothing to read. we may be forced to talk to each other. perish the thought.

i've come to a startling realization: i am pointless. i have no point.

so it's been a pretty packed few days. my friend john went into the hospital with a slight gastro-intestinal issue, we picked him up the next day. he had to spend his entire birthday in the hospital. to make it better, we spent friday drinking our asses off, starting at 4 in the afternoon. we were just wandering around with cups of bourbon, enjoying the day. this took it's toll on john, though…he passed out at 9 that night.

rewind to thursday: your black star played at the rud and we hatched an awesome halloween plan. let's just say that if you're from louisville or live close to louisville…you might want to make your travel plans now. more details to come…

fast forward to saturday: i spent the afternoon eating out with jess who is in town from dallas. we went to ramsi's and had a nice lunch. she invited me to a barbecue later in the evening, but i had already made plans to go to john's birthday dinner at his mom's house. and what a dinner it was…corn on the cob, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, buttered noodles, salad, baked ham…the works. top that all off with cake and ice cream and a few beers, and you have my saturday evening spent in heaven.

we all decided to meet up later at the kilowatthours show. it was my first show with them since we "parted ways," and only their second show with "the new guys." i think i got a little too drunk and told them they sounded like shit. i mean…they didn't sound nearly as bad as i remember telling them they did, if that makes sense.

and then to cahoots. and then to bed.

and now to work…