My hair is getting to that point where I’m getting a bit attached to it. It’s just too long to be manageably curly, but it’s fun to play with. You know those people that have really aweful hair, but they keep it because they’re way to attached to it? That can’t be me. gosh. I also can’t bring myself to pay for haircut. Maybe I’ll buzz it.

yeah right.

In other news, this past month has been wonderful for new music.
Checked out:
Say Anything – Say Anything
Relient K – Forget, and Not Slow Down
Sherwood – QU
We Shot the Moon – A Silver Lining
The Swell Season – Strict Joy
Freelance Whales – Weathervanes
Paramore – brand new eyes
Weezer – Raditude
This Is My Suitcase – The Keys to Cat Heaven
Cartel – Cycles

All come recommended by me. especially Freelance Whales and Sherwood.

So let’s tally the score. Shall we?

Pretty sweet job? [check]
Married to a pretty girl? [check]
Dog who plays fetch? [check]
House that’s way to big to keep warm? [check]
New car? [check]
Powerful shower head? [check]
Get to take public transportation? [check]
Dying birds? [check]

Life is pretty good.

So this week is the G20 summit, and what better city in the world to have it but Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Weird, but entertaining to say the least. Over the past couple of weeks, the media has tried to prepare us for what is to come. You can’t turn on the news without them talking about who’s coming to town, what roads are closed, and how dangerous the protesters are going to be. My office closed today at noon and won’t open again until Monday. I’m working from home tomorrow. I’m not complaining.

I understand that protesting can get out of hand at times; that there are a bad apples in every bunch, but seriously. Most protesters want to get their voice and ideas out there. They’ll do over the top stuff. I just saw a news story about Greenpeace repelling off of the West End Bridge holding a sign that said something about global warning. The police even commented about how they meant no harm. Let’s not create a state of panic because of these people. Some stuff will go down. I promise you that. But passion is far better than apathy.

I got this email at work (and Candace did too from her place of employment) about the protesters. I’m not going to copy the whole thing. It talks about the different targets the protesters are aiming for. According to this email from the Highland Park Community Council (with help from the zone 5 police force), there are 81 targets. Apparently, grocery/retail stores are not safe this weekend because protesters will throw bricks through their windows and stink bomb the shoppers. Because coroporate entities are evil. The final targets are:
“And,
-Bridges
-Tunnels (they will stop a car in the middle of a tunnel, flatten the
tires and set it on fire) “

Yes, that is right. Protesters will stop your car, slash your tires, and set the car on fire.

Watch out.

So here’s a “my blog exclusive.” I don’t even think our families know. Candace and I got a new dog tonight. We had to put Tucker to sleep last week because he wasn’t eating anything, and the vet thought he had cancer. So, yeah. It’s a little early, but we found him on Craigslist and he seems to be a really nice dog. He’s whining right now in his crate. Candace and I aren’t too big on the crate idea, but it’s how he was being trained, so we’ll keep it up a little bit for now. He’s about a year old. He’s black

What should we name him?

So lately things have been going pretty well.

First, the job is pretty sweet. I’m getting to the point where I can fill up a full work day with things to do. That’s pretty cool. Being busy is good. And I get a paycheck on Friday. Neat.

Also, I picked out some new glasses yesterday at the eye doctors. I had borrowed them for a few days to see if I liked them. I’m not sure if thats really allowed, but the woman let me. ha. Anthony saw them, he didn’t say anything about them. Ben I saw them. He really didn’t say anything either. I’ll assume that their silence is not a bad sign. They’re sort of different looking. Big, plastic, brown. Not Kenny Wu big, but still a force to be reckoned with.

Our dog, Tucker, hasn’t eaten anything in a few days. We took him to the vet. They gave him some shot and pills. He’s supposed to be eating today. No dice. O, well. I hope he doesn’t die. I like him. He is really old though.

Penn State started classes on Monday. I don’t really miss it. ha. I sound like Anthony.

Good day.

So the new job is going spledidly. Today we had a free day at the zoo. Not too shabby. I handed out a lot of magnets. Busy week ahead. Definitely beats sitting around the house not doing anything.

I really haven’t been able to much much ‘new’ music lately. This is no good. There’s a bunch coming out later this year, but thats not till later. Let’s see what you guys got. What have you guys been listening to thats exciting?

Recent aquires:

Mutemath – Armistice
fun. Aim and Ignite
POS – Never Better
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Owl City – Ocean Eyes
Anchor and Braille – Felt

So I have an extra ticket to the Pirates game tonight.

It’s sad that after only 2 phone calls, I’m out of people to invite.

I need some new friends. and not friends that like baseball. Baseball’s silly.

Swedish swing/ hip hop? yes.

Last week, one of Candace’s cousins passed away in a car accident. It was tragic to say the least. This isn’t really the point of the post. As I was sitting in the hospital, the church, and Candace’s aunt’s house, I thought about extended families.

There I was surrounded by this girl’s aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, first cousins once removed. Candace’s family is quite close. My family – not so much. I had a hard time putting myself in Candace’s place. If any of my cousins passed away, I’m not even sure if I’d go to the funeral. Maybe a few, but we’d have to see. I had an easier time putting myself in her uncle’s shoes or her friends’ shoes or her brother’s shoes. If I lost any of my friends, nieces, nephews, or siblings, I’d be devestated. Cousins? not so much. I just never had an opportunity to be close to them.

So after the funeral today, we were leaving the church to go to the cemetery and the parking lot was a mess. Since we were family, we got to leave a bit early, but not by much. At one point, I was getting annoyed that all of these non-family members were cutting us off in the parking lot. We’re family, what are they doing? Who do they think they are? Then we get to the cemetary, and we can’t see anything because non-family members were in the way. Then I thought about it. I’m just her cousin’s husband. I met her a handful of times. Any other person there deservded to be closer to her than I did. And if I was her I’d probably rather have other people closer than me to her at that time. I’d rather have a smattering of my friends around me than a smattering of my extended family.

Then I thought about how weird it is that we can’t choose our families. So I have these people related to me, that I have met a handful of times. I don’t even see them for holidays. But they’re part of my “family.” Then I have this mess of people around me that I care so much more about, but they’re just “friends.” Weird.

p.s. I got a job. I real one.

So apparently from the front porch of the new house, Candace and I can see approximately 2 professional firework shows and a slew of inebreated neighbors with matches. Awesome.