Stars, Savings, and Shootouts

So yesterday, I took a page from Liza's book and slept until noon. I haven't done that in quite some time actually. Although it was nice, I didn't actually care for it all that much. I guess I can no longer sleep away my day. I prefer getting up at a semi-decent time. Even if it is just to watch some TV.

Speaking of which, I am on the final season of Deep Space Nine. I got through a disc yesterday, and a disc today. Actually, I may have watched more yesterday. Anyway, I am down to the final nine episode, ten hour story arc. I am really considering trying to marathon my way through all those episodes in one sitting. I think it will be easy to do because they all have cliffhanger endings.

While watching DS9, I started cutting coupons. I am hoping they will save me some money, but I see a flaw in this plan. I cut out coupons for somethings that I don't really need. It was more like "Oooh. I have a coupon for this, so I should get it next time I go to the store." We shall see. The other problem with coupons is that most of them require you to buy two of some items. Is it really worth the savings? I don't know. I guess it is dependent upon whether or not the items are perishable. If it is something like laundry detergent, then I do not see as much of a problem. Thoughts? On the plus side, I am super excited for the KFC coupons I found. Huzzah!

On Saturday, I am going to spend the day visiting someone in Olympia. I am super excited, and I need to finish out the itenerary. I told her I would plan everything out this time, so she won't feel as stressed out. Speaking of Saturday, it is also Derby Day. Luckily, I have talked her into watching the race with me. Now, I just need to find a sports bar in Olympia. I also need to find a place to eat lunch and dinner. Yikes. Oh well, it will be something to do later in the week.

Tonight, I watched Dirty Harry and Magnum Force. It has been about a year since I have seen them, and I was super excited. Both of them are really good movies in my opinion. Harry is more of a suspense oriented action movie in my opinion. It has some action, but it is rather limited really. Still the movie is filled with some great camera shots and scene transitions. I was appreciating it from more of a technical standpoint this time.

Magnum Force, on the other hand, is much more of an action film than its predecesor. In this one, Harry kicks a lot more ass, and I am pretty sure within the first thirty minutes, they double the body count from the first movie. It only goes uphill from there. I have to say that I really like this entry in the franchise. It is filled with action, but it also has a good story. The vigilante cops idea works really well and helps to establish where Harry draws the line with fighting crime. Although he hates the system, he isn't willing to circumvent it. Good movie.

I popped some popcorn tonight, and while the bag was in the microwave, it some how burned a hole in the bag. From the hole, kernels started popping their way out of the bag and shooting around the microwave! It was the damnedest thing. I swear I have never seen this happen before. It was crazy.

My Adventuerous Tuesday

Yesterday, I walked about 6 miles total. I am really proud of myself for that feat. Unfortunately, my feet are now sore from it. I wore my sandals, and I've not worn them since last summer. Thus, I have a blister or two on my feet. It was worth it.

My morning was fairly calm. I tried exercising some in the morning, and then I goofed off online. Eventually, I ate a light lunch and prepared myself for my adventure... to the post office because I had something to mail to someone. If you ask me, that is a perfectly reasonable reason to go to the post office.

I knew there was a post office not too far away from here, and the weather was beautiful. Why drive when I can walk? So I left the apartment, walked down 67th avenue until Powell, and started walking down Powell. Technically, I was walking West which isn't really down. Anyway.

The entire time I tried to walk a little briskly, and eventually I made it to the post office. I mailed my package using quarters, and then I checked out this used media store next to the building. It did not have anything I really wanted, so I saved money which is a plus.

Instead of walking the same way home, I trekked north up 50th until I returned to Division. Then I turned East and headed towards home. Along the way, I remembered that there was a Dairy Queen, and I thought to myself. A Blizzard would be delicious right now, so I got my self an Oreo Blizzard. It was tasty. Unfortunately, I think it negated the effects of my walk.

When I got home, I checked my distance out of curiosity. It ends up I walked about three miles which is about a mile more than I anticipated. I was really proud of myself. To celebrate my accomplishment, I applied for a job with the Beaverton Library as a Circulation Supervisor. Wish me luck on that!

For dinner last night, I decided to experiment with this recipe for Beer Pork Chops I found online. It was pretty simple to make, but I am not sure how much I enjoyed it. The first few bites were really good, but then it seemed rather bland. I could not taste the seasoning I did have on the pork chops which was sad. The beer I used was Pyramid's spring seasonal, Rollick. It is an amber lager. I tried it the night before, and I found it to be about average. Not bad at all, but nothing spectacular. To go along with the pork, I had some roasted garlic potatoes and some garlic cheese bread. I made it all by myself. Go me.

After dinner, I tried reading outside for a little bit, but my roommate and I decided to go out drinking. It was dollar PBR night at North Bar, and both of us wanted to get out of the house. Thus we headed down to 50th.

North Bar is a fairly nice bar. It has a pool table, a dart board, friendly staff and PBR is only a dollar on Tuesdays. I do not always care for PBR, but when it is only a dollar, I can't complain. I had about three PBRS, and I had to pay for the last one with quarters. I am fancy. Anyway, the bar has a great juke box too. They play classic country, classic rock, and good indie rock.

As I mentioned, the staff is nice. When I went to order, the bartender asked "How are you doing?" I responded asking for a PBR. She said sure, but first, "How are you doing?" I laughed, said I was good, and asked how she was. I appreciated that.

While we were sitting there, my roommate and I started talking about how amzingly delicious onion rings would be right then. Unfortunately, North Bar doesn't have deliciously deep fried snacks, so we decided to go to Gators instead. Thus, we walked down to Powell and headed east towards 68th.

Ultimately, my roommate and I walked the reverse of my earlier trek. In my quest for beer and onion rings, I walked another 3 miles. At Gators, I had another two PBRs and half a basket of onion rings. It was amazing. What I love about Gators is that when you get ranch to dip stuff, they don't just give you a little cup of it. Oh no. They give you a condiment bottle of it to use. It is amazing. Gators may not be the most amazing bar ever, but it has good food. I enjoy it because it is kind of a dive, but it hasn't been run over by hipsters yet. Now that it is smoke free I may go a little more frequently... assuming I get a job.

When I got home. I looked around the web and made a quick drunk dial. Luckily, the person had her phone off, but I knew that when I called. I just wanted to leave a nice message. After that I was tired, so I passed out. It was a nice end to a fairly epic Tuesday.

Wally's Americana Mix: Volume 1: No Depression

Recently, I made someone (Liza) a mix of Americana music. I hope this to be the first in a series, and I focused volume one on alt-country bands. Specifically, I placed artists whom I consider to be the foundation of the genre. I shared a few songs from each act. Here is the list.

1. "No Depression" by Uncle Tupelo from No Depression
2. "Still Be Around" by Uncle Tupelo from Still Feel Gone
3. "The Long Cut" by Uncle Tupelo from Anodyne
4. "Don't Wanna Know Why" by Whiskeytown from Pneumonia
5. "Crazy About You" by Whiskeytown from Pneumonia
6. "Two Hearts" by Ryan Adams from Easy Tiger
7. "Box Full of Letters" by Wilco from A.M.
   
8. "I've Got You (At the End of the Century)" by Wilco from Being There
9. "California Stars" by Wilco from Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 1
10. "Windfall" by Son Volt from Drown
11. "Drown" by Son Volt from Drown
12. "Caryatid Easy" by Son Volt from Straightaways
13. "Blue" by The Jayhawks from Tomorrow the Green Grass
14. "Waitin' for the Sun" by The Jayhawks from Hollywood Town Hall
15. "Save It for a Rainy Day" by The Jayhawks from Rainy Day Music
16. "Big Brown Eyes" by Old 97's from Too Far to Care
17. "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)" by Old 97's from Fight Songs
18. "Rollerskate Skinny" by Old 97's from Satellite Rides
    

What do you think? Should I have chosen other songs instead? Those are only a handful of some of my favorite songs by those artists. In reality, I could have made a mix for each of them. The next volume in Wally's Americana Mix will have a more variety of music. I'm not sure of the theme yet. Or maybe there won't be as much of a theme.

Potpourri

This post will just be a bunch of random thoughts. Let us begin.

• Lately, I have been drinking gin more. In some ways, I feel like I am neglecting my relationship with borboun/whiskey. I am not sure how long this tryst will last.
• I took a mini-vacation to see the girl from my Star Trek date again. It was good, but kind of awkward. We are going to work on the awkward parts and see each other again soon.
• Unemployment is kind of lame. You would think I would be more productive, but all I do is watch Star Trek. Actually, that is kind of lame. I just need some income.
• Why am I drinking beer less?
• Reading is reaching a standstill. I am almost done with Three Soldier. Less than 100 pages to go. I just need motivation.
• Hook was better than I remember. Or maybe it was worse. I am not really sure, but I do think it was the first time I have seen the movie since it came out.
• I still think I prefer the first half of Small Time Crooks more than the latter. At least this time, I better appreciated the second half. It made some more sense.
• I've got nothing...
  

Indefinite Weekend

As most of you already know, I am currently unemployed. Instead of letting this situation depress me too much, I am trying to make the best of it. During the past week, I have actually made it a mini-vacation. Mostly, I have taken time to myself to just relax. I have spent this time watching Deep Space Nine. I love this series. Upon watching it this time, I have decided to get back into the Star Trek: CCG. Luckily, Zip has agreed to play it with me. Hopefully, I can find some more.

In terms of the job search, I have not been trying much yet. That will come soon, but I wanted some personal time first. As for the initial jobs I applied for, I have not heard anything yet. Not even rejection letters. It is kind of frustrating. I'll start looking for more towards the end of the week.

Tomorrow, I am heading to campus to take care of a couple of things. I have been meaning to do them for a week now, but I keep sleeping in instead. However, I need to get it done. Since I made plans for tomorrow, there is no backing out of it now. I just have to make sure I wake up in time.

So over the weekend, the real weekend that is, I had a date-type engagement. It was probably the best one I have had in a long time. I mean come on. It consisted of Star Trek, beer, pizza, How I Met Your Mother, and a pretty lady. Does life get any better? Currently, I am making plans to see her again. Time for a bit of a road trip...

I simultaneously like and dislike being unemployed. I have managed to get some stuff done around the apartment with my free time, but I wish I was being more productive and spending some time outside of my flat. I better start the job search soon. Hopefully I have decent luck. Just in case, you better wish me some.