Backyard camping

Last night, in an effort to prepare for the few nights that Preston and I will be camping on our roadtrip and in an effort to simply switch things up, I set up my tent in the backyard and camped out. The tent is of the small, backpacking sort, so it was not designed for roominess. Honestly, it didn't need any more room than it had; it was quite cozy, and will be all the more so with a svelte J.P. Lennon sleeping soundly, adjacent to my Marmot bag.

I was a little timid about the whole thing at first, but as soon as I got out there, I knew that I would be just fine. But just to be sure, I set up camp in the area of my backyard that was bathed in spotlights fixed to the gutter of my house. You never know.

Supply list for this particular night was as follows: My iPod, which I ended up not even using; A Walk In The Woods, Bill Bryson's classic that I am having trouble finding at the moment; Two blankets, one sheet, two self-inflating "Thermarest" mattresses, and a cushiony down pillow that proved to be a bad decision as far as neck support went as I tried to read Bryson with the help of the artificial light pouring through the meshy outer of my small nylon home.

I read a few chapters, sipped a couple pale ales, and finally drifted off. From what I can tell, it was a great sleep. I awoke refreshed this morning, but much to my dismay, my dog had decided to urinate on the side of the tent and as I had not put the raincover on, urine had permeated the meshing, and puddled not an inch from my left ear. Yikes. But still I lay there for a bit, thinking that it was perhaps the spilled dregs of a Sierra Nevada.

And I tasted it.

Nope.

Ran inside, got some sort of cleansing product and a paper towel, disinfected the joint, and I was golden (pun..?)

I think I am going to head back out there right now and set up for another rousing night.

Away from the lights this time.

Davey

Wow. Just got back from Dave Matthews, and as usual, I am very impressed. For the next month, nothing but dear Dave will be coming out of my upgraded Pioneer sound system. And that is the way I like it.

At least as far as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre goes, there is really no concert that can top Dave. The most common complaint about the venue is its lack of sound, as evidenced in Radiohead a couple months ago. Not so here. All of the instruments more than make up for what is obviously not a very acoustically-sound venue (a pun hidden in there..?). I can only imagine what it would be like to see Dave in an actually decent setting. Quite certain it'd blow me away.

I managed to weasel my way down to the front, and then from there hopped a small fence and got into a damn good section of seats right behind the pit. They were definitely the best seats I've had at Verizon, although all my prior experience comes in the Lawn. But even so, it was the dankness.

The song selection was good. I would have liked to hear a couple more classic songs, but that's just me. I must admit that I haven't been keeping up with Dave that much lately, and I didn't recognize a couple of his newer tracks. They were good though. Just wish I could have sung along to them, which I did to every single song I knew. When a song comes along that I know by heart, I like to sing it very loudly and proudly, sending a message to the rest of the people in the crowd, "Yeah, I'm a Dave fan. A big fan. Look at me, I know every word. EVERY FUCKING WORD! FUCK YOU IF YOU DON'T! YOU MUST NOT BE A REAL FAN!" But then the next song comes on and I don't know it and I just swerve around and maybe open and close my jaws a couple of times to give the effect that I may be singing. It's an endless cycle.

This concert was definitely better than Radiohead. And now, I shall set about downloading more Dave Matthews. Night.

....bwog?!?

I went to sleep at 10:30, but ended up waking back up at 1:30 and have been up ever since. I can't complain though. At least I got some sleep, which is more than I can say for many nights in the past week. Plus it gave me some time to chat with the fellow insomniacs online. However, even those have now crumbled; my Facebook tells me "No friends are available to chat." How sad.

I suppose I will try to sleep for another hour, but I believe I will be heading over to the J in about an hour to get a good workout in. 

I guess that's all for now. I thought I wanted to write something, but that notion was obviously incorrect. Oh yeah, well I am pretty sure this has nothing to do with me wanting to write something, but the Dave Matthews concert is tonight. That should be good. Dave is always good, despite the poor acoustics of Verizon. 

And now, hopefully one more hour of shut-eye before dawn. Goodnight.

I forgot to mention that one of my friends and old swim team buddies, Scot Robison, was in the Olympic Trials today, and he fucking balled it up. He was seeded around 40th going into the 200 free this morning and just destroyed his heat in the prelims. He qualified fucking 12th! So he was on NBC tonight. That was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen. He ended up adding a bit tonight, but it was still fucking amazing. I think he will make the team in 2012. During the prelims, the announcers were amazed, they were saying "This Scot Robison guy is not that big, but he has a beautiful stroke." True on both counts.

Goodnight.

Movie and a bike ride

Tonight has been a very good night.

It started off with a visit to Crown Point Theater. I watched Wanted. If you haven't heard of it, I'm sure you've seen the previews. Yes, the one where that guy who I have never seen in a movie before flings a gun around his waist and casually shoots a bullet that whizzes right by the sexiest woman in Hollywood's face and hits the bull's eye of a target. Yes, he almost kills Angelina Jolie.

The movie was very fake, but still pretty good despite being completely unbelievable. Because it has an R rating, there is a ton of gore. There is some comic relief in a friend who continually bangs the main guy's girlfriend. And, like every great action movie, there is a twist at the end. All in all, not bad.

After the movie, I went home with the intentions of sleeping at my dad's house. I packed up the fresh Osprey pack I bought with my two $50 REI gift cards and set off on my bike. But I had a couple errands to run first: cash a $25 graduation check and return a movie to Blockbuster. 

But when I got to Cotswold I started getting really hungry and thirsty. I know Petro Express could fix that. I purchased a XXX Vitamin Water and some "starbite" peanuts. I may be the only person who buys those things because I always get two packs when I go to Petro Express (2 for $1) and when I come back the same number is always there. Strange.

Anyway, I came out of the store and stood around for a bit eating and drinking. This black guy pulled up in a really busted car. He had no shirt on, and as he emerged from the car he revealed multiple tattoos on his rather large gut. In short, the man gave me quite an impression, and as he struggled to put on his sweat-stained shirt and walk inside, it wasn't a chuckle that came to my lips but rather a silent utterance of one word: "Wow."

The guy came back out and headed toward his car. But then he stopped and turned toward me. "How you doin man?" He said enthusiastically. I paused for a second, not quite believing that this awesome man had graced me with words. "Uh...not bad. How are you doin?" I replied. The man stopped for a second, scratched his head, and then replied bluntly: "Drunk!" He gave me a toothy grin that revealed one gold tooth and several sizable gaps. Probably one of the sweetest face I'd ever seen. "Iz too late to be out on ya bike. Ain't safe," said the man. An excellent point, considering that he was the symbol of safety as he got behind the wheel of a car heavily, and admittedly, intoxicated. But I replied "I know, I know. I'm headed home," as if I had really taken his concern to heart. "Well dats good." After that, there was a not-so-awkward silence for about five or ten seconds. Then, the man gave me some excellent advice: "Get fucked up tomorrow!" The statement was quite shocking, but it did make me laugh. "Hell yeah, will do!" I replied adamantly. He laughed. "Hehe, alright." And just like that, he was gone.

I really cherish this small conversation. I wish these more often. Perhaps this is a sign that I should do more late-night bicycling around the Cotswold area.

...and the insomniac returns..

Man, my schedule is ridiculously fucked up. I hit the sack around 2:30 am, and I may have slept a little. I'm not sure. I just know that I have been going to sleep later and later every night, and I am pretty damn tired of it. Then again, it provides some time to catch up on my summer reading for next year. I won't bore you with the details, but the book is called "Never Let Me Go," and if you are one who enjoys reading, you should definitely check it out. Get at me if you care for a synopsis (good to page 119 currently) and/or would like to borrow the read when I'm done.

I feel like maybe going for a run. I bet that would knock me right out. My legs are pretty sore from all the running I've been doing lately. Hmm...maybe a walk. Okay, actually, I don't think I'm going to go at all. I would much rather remain in my father's cozy apartment. Speaking of which, this thing is damn cozy. I was sleeping in the back room, and the door that opens to the back porch was opened, although the screen was closed to bar insects from entering. It was raining outside. The whole things was very serene, what with the rain and the crickets...and my dad's occasional snoring...and yet, I still could not sleep.

So here I am. Maybe I will watch some TV. I need another season of The Office to come out so I can memorize every word in it like I have done with the past four seasons. After watching episodes in which you can pinpoint when every single word is going to be spoken, when every hand gesture is going to be made, even sometimes (and more often than you would think..scary) when a character is going to blink, it gets a bit repetitive. Still, the episodes are sitting there in my iTunes, should I choose to view them. 

And of course, I have several Weeds episodes. I really liked that show for a time, but now I am wondering if it was a bit of a fad. The storyline is weak. The actors are not spectacular. And, most importantly (and most disappointingly), I am finding that after I view an episode I have no desire to re-watch it several days later, contrary to my feelings toward The Office. Here is where the, and I have discussed this issue with Preston, probably under a different term, but maybe not, "ReViewability Factor" comes into play. On The Office, I could watch those shits all day for awhile. Sure, now they are getting a bit old, but I wore those things out. I don't think iTunes intended their buyers to watch those episodes as much as I did. For awhile, the only way I could get to sleep was to watch a fuckin Office episode (hmm...thinks to himself, "maybe work now...? **sigh** ah, dunno."). Weeds is certainly not the same as far as this goes. I don't really laugh when I watch Weeds either, although I am pretty sure it is a comedy. Wow, as I write this, I am really finding out that I wasted about eight bucks on Weeds episodes!

Let's back up for a minute, because I am pretty sure I wrote a couple blogs that highly touted the show. I need to clarify; nay, null and void those opinions. Weeds is an extremely average show. It should be watched if a random DVD is spotted on a friend's coffee table and there is no pussy nor alcohol afoot. It should be viewed only under the condition that A. it doesn't take a lot to make you laugh and/or B. you DO NOT smoke marijuana, coupled with C. you like milfs. If you're only meeting C, do not watch. But any combo of A and C or B and C and you're good. A and B certainly. A, ok. B, ok. Not just C. Go online for that.

Fuck it, I'm going to watch The Office. Night all (greeted by no one; everyone's asleep you insomnia-suffering fuck).

And now, I shall drop a deuce of faults...

There are many things about me that no one knows. I will reveal a few.

1. I am a hopeless romantic, but not in a healthy way. Now, don't get scared. I'm not a stalker or anything. But sometimes, I will become attracted to a girl so much that I literally convince myself I'm in love with her. I will spend my hours writing poems to describe her features. Usually, nothing within her personality is of note, so the poems will probably be directed at "pretty eyes" or "gorgeous hair." Part of my curse, I guess; I frequently "fall" for girls who are less-than-interesting.

2. I hide my feelings very well. If I feel this way about a girl, I can usually suppress it very well around everyone else. I'm pretty honest with the actual person, but if you're an outsider, even if you're a fairly good friend, you wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Each of these things has gotten me into trouble in the not-so-distant past. To all those who have been affected, I apologize. Today, I have finally admitted to myself that I am not nearly as guarded about love as I should be. I need to reserve it for those who truly fit the criteria. I apologize to some that I have proclaimed my love to in the past, for I do not love you. 

But as for you (and you know who you are, I am quite certain of it (and if you need confirmation, just check your cellphone for the text you received at 12:59 am)), I cannot tell a lie.

Time to step it up

Today I came to the realization that I was getting fat. Actually, that is not true. I have realized this for the past few months. Ever since I have been out of the pool, I have slowly had this feeling that my body is becoming a sort of massive, gelatin-like item. I don't like the feeling.

This isn't to say that I haven't gotten any exercise. I've been ridin the bike and going to the gym occasionally. But not much.

All this changes, starting today.

I went to the Y with Nick this morning. I got up at 8:40 am. This is a lot better than 3 pm, which is when I have risen every other day for the past couple weeks. And although it is currently 2:20 am as I write this, I have plans to wake up at 8:40 am and run to the J in the morning. 

It just isn't fun to be fat. Okay, I am not fat, but I am a lot bigger than I have ever been. And I do not like it. I love to eat, and I am not going to stop eating shitty foods. So, my only alternative is to work out like a fucking maniac. This beats the hell out of giving up Krispy Kremes and Jack in the Box. Therefore, it is what I shall do.

P.S. Finalized plans on the road trip tonight, but that is for another time...

Solid Night

So I figured my night was over. 

There was a party going on somewhere, and initially I had wanted to go. Virginia was going to sneak out and I would then pick her up and take her to the party. But I was really tired, so I said that I was just going to call it a night. I dropped Virginia off at her house and then headed to my dad's apartment. I was just settling in when I got a text from my boy Jeff around midnight. Apparently there was some nightswimming going on. And you know me. I am not one to pass up a rousing night of sneaking into a pool and taking a refreshing dip.

So I was out the door. I headed to Alex's house where I met up with the whole crew, and from there we walked to Rama Swim and Racquet where we spent over an hour just hanging out in what was surprisingly really warm water. It was a very serene experience. As we were walking in, Jeff and I spotted a mysterious four-legged animal walking across the parking lot. Although we couldn't quite make out what it was, we assumed it was a deer. I was a bit fearful, for there have been coyote sightings in my neighborhood recently. And what's more, this animal rounded a bend and started walking right toward us.

It was a deer. I think I knew all along. I guess I just like to scare myself. 

So now, it is 3:14 in the morning and I am sitting on a couch in my dad's living room. I really ought to go to sleep. I have been on one horrible sleep schedule lately. Goodbye.

Seattle, Friday (fuck creative titles)

8:14 am

So, it is official. The Seattle trip has concluded, three days earlier than planned. For reasons I won't cite here, it was decided that this was "for the best." I have mixed feelings about it. I was really starting to enjoy the city, but at the same time, it will be cool to see all of my friends. Even a few days away from home can be a pretty large change. Mix in a time exchange of negative three hours, and you might as well be on a different planet.

I didn't get much sleep last night, maybe about two hours. We ate at this Mexican restaurant and I think that was the cause of my insomnia. I woke up and had that feeling like I was shaking and I was about to throw up. Fortunately, I didn't. Just had several violent burps, sat on the pot for a spell, and felt a lot better.

The conclusion to the trip actually did have a sweet note in the form of a "free" box across the street from my cousins' house. It was a box loaded with free stuff that someone had simply put on the side of the street for anyone who was interested to pass by and take. I found a couple good items: a "Ballard Hoops" tee, and a "Stealth Like Ninja" shirt. Not bad. There were also some corduroys in there, and a baseball bat, as well as a few random other items, but I figured I probably would never use those.

My sister thinks she is a total BA, being a bitch to my mom. Doesn't she realize that I am the only one allowed to do this job? Bitch betta recanize.

I bought another couple episodes of that Weeds show. I bought the second episode from the first season, but I also bought the fourth episode from the third season. Yes, I know that this is random as fuck. When I was buying it, I thought it was the fourth episode of the first season. But still, why number four you may ask? Well, I had watched what I presumed was episode three, season one with my cousins, and didn't want to buy something I had already seen. Hence, I bought the fourth. I fucked up.

I bought my Dave Matthews tickets last night. Used my Ticketmaster gift card, along with rewards points on my credit card. It said I had 25,000 points. I don't know how that's possible. I wonder if that includes my parents' account. Regardless, I used 16,000 of them so I didn't have to pay a cent for the tix. Sweet deal. Hopefully they don't get pissed.

8:14 pm

Back in the QC. Off the plane, in the car, on the way home. Thus concludes a family trip full of highs and lows. Certainly it ended on a bit of a sour note, but what can you do. Just roll with the punches, I suppose. Now it's time to see what's going on in my city tonight. Bye.

Coldplay still rox me sox

Seattle, Thursday

11:36 am

Just watched the first episode of that show, "Weeds." I like it. It certainly doesn't compare to The Office as far as humor goes, but it is decently funny. And it has a pretty good storyline. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the stuff in that show was actually going on in affluent neighborhoods across the nation. 

No one is in the house right now. It is kind of weird. I have been surrounded by family all week, and now I am the only one here. It is peaceful, but strange. 

I think we are going on that ferry ride in a little bit. I'll bring the video camera. I finally got my iMovie to work on the Mac, so I put the videos that I shot yesterday on there. I still haven't even checked to see if I can put vids on the blog. I am in no hurry to do so regardless. 

I think I may buy another episode of Weeds. It's definitely got me intrigued. Maybe I'll try to BitTorrent it. Gaga.

4:03 pm

We went on a ferry tour around the city of Seattle. It was okay. The tour guide was mildly entertaining, and as a result seemed to garner a large amount of tips at the end. I offered none, and in turn got a "Thanks, buddy," from the guy as I left the ship. He was kind of an asshole.

I know that I need to go on a run right now, but I am just feeling dead tired. I really want to go get a cup of something with caffeine. Yes, I mean coffee, but with all of the coffee flavoring disguised, so that I get the effect of caffeine but not that horrible coffee taste in my mouth.

I think after that we are going to Archie McPhee's, a local legend among joke shops and the like. Perhaps I will find something interesting to purchase.

7:21 pm

Shit's gettin rough...may be comin home earlier than expected...

12:36 am

Trip didn't end well. And yet, some good in it, for me at least. Want to know more, buy the book. This is above blog material.

Seattle: Wednesday (I think this post is extremely boring for the most part, may get more entertaining toward the end.)

9:00 am

We're on the way out the door to breakfast. I am pissed because my dad woke me up out of what had become a very solid sleep. Today we are hiking Rattlesnake Ledge. The video cam will be with me; apparently it's one of the most scenic views in Washington. If it can compare to Rainier looming up above the sound, it has to be pretty close.

10:37 am

Just got back from breakfast. The place was known for its cinnamon roll french toast. Frankly, I was underwhelmed with the product. It was decent though, and got me fairly full. Now we are leaving for the hike. I am taking my backpack; hopefully it doesn't become to cumbersome.

A quick update about the roadtrip: the route has now changed to a jaunt up the east coast, and the departure date has been moved back to July 5th. Details will come later, but I will say that now I'll be able to attend the Dave Matthews concert. So that is a plus.

I really love this Coldplay CD.

4:40 pm

Wow, what a hike. It was four miles round-trip. The first two were all uphill, but the view was well worth it. You can't see anything like that in the North Carolina mountains. Snow-covered caps as far as the eye could see. And below, a lake that was nearly as blue as the Pacific. 

There was this bird up there, I think it was an eagle, and it kept sweeping down at all the people. I guess there was some sort of nest up there. 

I am so fucking tired. We are now about to go to dinner. 

9:28 pm

Dinner was pretty solid, and at the $400 price tag that it carried, it was quite necessary for it to be. We ate at this place called Tilth, which is so hXc organic that most of the stuff has been deemed "wild." But the food itself was extremely good. We tried a bunch of different dishes. My personal favorite was the duck burgers, which is the staple item on their menu. 

During the meal I got one of the worst headaches I'd ever had. The waiter brought me a couple pills, and at first I was a bit skeptical about taking them. But I did, and that thing kicked the headache. I guess it might have been some sort of organic aspirin. Whatever it was, it did the trick.

Just got off the vid chat with Virginia. The built-in iSight on Macs is a very nice feature. I think I am going to read a bit of my book right now, the one mandated by the Dean at UNCW for every incoming freshman to read. I believe it is called "Never Let Me Go." It seems to have a plot along the lines of 1984. I am not sure yet if that is correct. I'll let you know.

11:05 pm

I am about to hit the hay. Still listening to this Coldplay. Shit is gettin more and more legit by the listen. It's that shit that you hate to love, but it is just too damn good to hate, or even be apathetic about. Makes me want to make very passionate, yet very beautiful love all night long. Preferably to two girls at once, although Virginia has repeatedly told me that she does not approve. Yikes, hope she doesn't read that. TMI? Oh well.

I read another chapter in that book, Never Let Me Go. It is getting mildly interesting, and I was pretty sure that I had a good lead as to where the book was going. Sure enough, I was right. These kids are clones, and they are merely being used for their organs so that their "possible," or the person they were cloned from, can live longer and healthier. Got the synopsis off of Wikipedia of course. I think I spoiled the book for myself in a way. Dammit. Oh well, at least now I will know exactly what the fuck is going on.

Man, I love this MacBook. I hate knowing that I have scratched it up a bit. I am so OCD when I get something new, especially some piece of technology. Why, I don't know. I probably won't care about it in about...a year....

I just want to sit up here all night and listen to Coldplay.

This random dude I used to swim with randomly IMed me a couple of minutes ago. It is 2:10 am where he is, so that in itself made it quite a surprise that I got a message from him. But the true shock was what he said: he told me that my swim coach was gay. He said that he had met a girl who knew his "partner." Sounds like a crock of shit.

I may try to get some sleep now. I really wish my iMovie would stop freezing up. I am not sure what is wrong with it. 

I wonder what is in store for tomorrow. Hopefully nothing too strenuous. I know that I will not be able to handle another four mile hike up a fucking mountain. I think tomorrow's events involve a ferry ride. Should be nice and relaxing.

Some song just came on that I do not know. The Coldplay CD ended, and now I am listening to...."It's You," by Annie Stela. I like it. This is not something that I would typically like. I think in any other setting I would not like this song. But tonight, I am in the zone. Man, this is some baby-making music, and I don't know why. I just know that I want my first born to be conceived as my ears digest the notes of Stela's aforementioned "It's You." Goodnight, Seattle. Chad Thomas, hopefully not sleepless for long.

And goodnight to you too. You know who you are. (I hope that does not sound queer, cliche, etc. That mystery person probably does not know that he or she is the person I am directing this comment to. Yes, you.)

Washington, the end of day 2

I am sitting here listening to the new Coldplay album for the second time. I am lying in bed on this Aero mattress next to my father, who is probably the loudest snorer I have ever heard. It is fucking ridiculous. It seems like he hasn't snored as much since he lost a lot of weight (I was told there was some sort of correlation) but tonight he is back on his jock, if you will. I think I am going to bust out the video camera, night vision intact, and record some of this.