For some reason or another, things aren't all good. It is one of those days. I hate those days. I'm sure the fact that this is time report time isn't brightening my mood, either.

Josh leaves for San Fran tomorrow. I have vacation time available, and I wish I could go. I think I could use a week off. Haven't had a real vacation yet since starting this job over a year ago.

Today is bar night. I'm going to go have a beer with Jerry. Have to wake up at a totally unreasonable hour to get Josh to the airport on time, but that's the breaks. Hopefully I'll be in bed by 11.

A few personalized notes:

(e:Paul) - You have my sympathy. I'm sorry you have to deal with this, and I'm sure you're frustrated and upset, but the alternative is considerably worse. You'll be okay, my friend. What other choice is there?

(e:Ladycroft) - I plan on starting the book this weekend. I haven't been in the best of health lately, and haven't felt like much of anything outside of sleep and menial entertainment.

(e:Drew) - Sorry about the Steelers.

HRH Hillary is as disingenuous, ruthless, conniving, manipulative and dishonest a politician as we have in the USA. New York is addicted to celebrity. Brit is right about her negatives. Shit, even if we weren't a sexist nation she would still have severe problems connecting with normal Americans.

I don't think Gore should run. Why potentially ruin your sterling reputation with the Euros and UN Diplomats? Why take the pay cut? I believe he is a far more happy and productive person doing what he's doing. I also just cannot imagine that someone preaching the end of our world would suddenly put that on the back burner for politics. That would send the wrong message, no?

I liked John Edwards compared to Kerry. I think if he gets the nod in 2004, he is our President. Unfortunately people went with Kerry, who inspired nobody. Edwards' voting record is, by comparison, rated as being more moderate than Obama's voting record, hovering somewhere around 60 to 70 percent by the ADA. Instead of making pitiful excuses about his War vote, he apologized. I understand why people like him, even if he does carry the stench of slip and fall lawyer.

Bloomberg - well, he is the dictionary definition of RINO. I think it is possible the game has passed him by this time around. Maybe not. If he decides to run I think it is an interesting footnote, but who will actually vote for him? He can spend and spend, which helps I suppose - one year he gave away over 700 mil and still ended up positive for the year. Yikes.

Me being center-right, I could be convinced to vote for Obama if he were actually center-left. Whether it is the National Journal, Americans for Democratic Action, or whoever, his voting record aligns him with the most Liberal of all of our Congresscritters. Republicans who are crossing over are either uninformed of this, or purposefully are not taking into consideration whether or not he agrees with them on the issues.

There will be a time (hopefully?) when he will have to explain his votes and his stances on the issues, and give us something beyond the political rhetoric and endless platitudes. I think he inspires people. Heck, I enjoyed his most recent speech. Whether or not he is a "uniter" of people outside of the Democratic bubble depends on whether people give a damn about his Liberalism, which will certainly be put under the spotlight by whoever the Republicans run.

Personally, I think people are fed up with the political class in Washington - I read a good article in the Daily Mail about the similarities between ourselves and Britain in this respect. Obama represents something that is probably more important than whether or not he is a Liberal, and I'm not talking necessarily about whether or not he can make history. He represents a shift away from the typical Washington way of doing things. He represents a shift away from bitter, divisive politics. He represents for us a new brand of politician, at least we all hope so. THAT is what is so attractive, and what in my view makes him better than the 60's throwbacks and empty suits.

My "big boy" voice is rather effective.

The thing is now I am SO SICK. I just got out of bed. Yesterday I started feeling funny, and by the time I went to bed I had horrible body pains and couldn't breathe too well. Needless to say, I wasn't able to go to work.

Now it is OJ, ham sandwiches, and rest. Good thing this is the weekend, because I absolutely don't like to take more than one day off at a time.

MONDAY.....I finally will be able to store food again.

(WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE)

You know what I really don't love? Being without a refrigerator for an embarrassingly long amount of time. Having to attempt to use a dorm fridge to live out of, which is ridiculous and maddening. I don't want to pay my fucking rent right now.

I mean, I've tried to be nice, to deal with them honestly, I mean the fucking thing is broken and it is their responsibility to fix it or replace it, just as it's my responsibility to pay the rent. Can you imagine the shouting that would occur if I were to lie and say, well, I just can't afford to pay the rent so I'll just give you $500 a month until you bother the living shit out of me to get the rest?

No, when it is time to pay the rent, and if you don't, if you hold it, they are up your fucking ass, and then say, well, we'll have to do something about that fridge. By the way, did I mention that I have no confidence at all that anything is going to get done with it? I'm just going to get strung along again and again and again, because motherfuckers are too greedy and/or lazy to get the god damned job done and do the right thing.

Oh no, now is no longer the time to be cordial and nice, and politely request that they do what they are fucking supposed to do. I am so beyond my limit that I am bound to do or say something so venemous and nasty that it will fracture my relationship with them.

So, it is time to calm down. I've been as polite as I can be, and I can only be strung along and ignored for so long (which is, by the way, a lot longer than most people). Now is the time to just go get a new fridge and deduct it from the rent. Fuck it. I can't wait to savor the indignation that will inevitably come my way.

YOU try living like a fucking stray animal for months and see how YOU like it, asshole!!!

Well, we were at the VERY FREAKING TOP of the stadium, in the corner, but it was still the best sporting event I have ever attended. It was just such an awesome experience, completely different and new to me. I'm so happy I was able to share that experience with Josh and Dad, as well as my buddy Brandon - all of whom I know had as much fun as I did.

It was just so cool. We weren't even all that drunk. Some Long Trail beer and some rum did the trick. It was a great atmosphere. The fans were all singing and shouting and having a good time. I hope (e:mrmike) didn't have to kick too much ass. Plenty of kids were there with their parents. The Pittsburgh fans were agreeable, and even gave us cups to put our rum and cokes in for the walk up to the turnstiles.

The weather wasn't all that severe. The snow flakes were enormous, and were easily brushed off, but the cumulative effect was that you were wet - which made me thank Dad for those hand warmers. It was as comfortable as it could have ever been. An article I read said that the stadium was like a big snow globe. Definitely. It was GREAT!

Can you see the game from the top of the stadium? Yeah.

Were the Black Hawks loud? That's an affirmative. Loud as all hell.

How much were those sweet retro Sabres sweaters? $175.

And....holy shizz..... Let me tell you, I wanted one SO BADLY. But I didn't pull the trigger. Damn, just when you think the attachment to material goods is gone, it comes right back atcha.

Alright, I have gotten two texts giving me Merry Christmas messages in the last two days, from people whose numbers are not in my phone.

The first one said "Merry Christmas, fools" and had a photo attached to it of Jesus saying "I <3 Cock" which wasn't at all impressive. Clearly it was a mass text to everyone in their phone book. I wish they would take me out of their phone. I mean they don't call me anyway, otherwise I would know their number.

The second text I got just a moment ago, and it was in the phrase of a question, so clearly it wasn't a mass text. The person asked me how my Christmas was - "<3 _lulu_ <3" - now, I don't know anyone called Lulu, so to me it is obvious this one is a wrong number. But what do you do? You don't want to be rude and not answer.

So I answered - just sent a text back saying that I didn't know their number, but Christmas was fine, and that I hoped theirs was great too. I didn't answer the first one - but it really does bother me when I don't know the number of the person. I absolutely MUST know who sent me this crap.

Anyone else suffering through this? Man. I just want to go home and go to sleep today.

I just found out the BBC removed a posting I had made about the Chelsea/Aston Villa match. Some fool said how Chelsea basically had the ref working on their side. I wrote:

"Clearly the ref was biased towards the Chels, which explains allowing the penalty to be awarded for the tying goal. yawn"

Apparently, that comprises "Break the law, or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes defamation and contempt of court." No, really I broke the unspoken rule of being an American.

You know what? I don't even want to listen to your nightly financial news programming anymore, BBC, or watch Little Britain.

It is definitely the most tedious, annoying, and soul-draining experience possible. You have to battle the most ignorant drivers in the world just to get to the mall, risk life and limb just to get a parking spot, sift through tons of stores that never have exactly what you want, and...oh yeah....wait in lines that average 50 people, with screaming, bratty kids that you want to silence with one of those compound bows from Dick's.

What do you end up with at the end? Some socks and an ass warmer for the Ice Bowl, but nothing for the people you actually wanted to shop for. Best Buy has dick for music DVDs, unless you're one of those people who listens strictly to distasteful, shitty music that I would ban in a New York minute (minus The Who's new documentary, and one or two other things). For fuck's sake!

I went to New World to alleviate the pain, trying to forget the racist and offensive "The Chosen Keyboard" sticker set I saw the last time I went. I took a photo on my cell phone, but really wanted to find the owner and squeeze his throat for allowing this in what I used to consider a great store. Yeah yeah, my keyboard won't work on Saturdays - HAHA, funny, you fucking schmucks. I guess Buffalo hipsters really do want to emulate the Euros.

Anyway, New World is the only store I know of that has a good variety of music DVDs, so I was willing to move on with life. When I got there, I found they don't have a DVD section anymore. They are all scattered among the various artists, so if you don't know exactly what you want and just want to browse the DVDs, you are shit out of luck. No DVD section, but they sure as shit made tons of room for action figures, repackaged gum and candy with various "clever" labels, and said racist sticker set. Needless to say I left empty handed. Who buys that shit?

The last refuge for a frazzled shopper is the Internet. Everything you want is at your fingertips, and you don't have to deal with any of the things I've already bitched about. You can be in your jammies, smoking a cig, drinking a beer, and have a much better experience, right? WROOOOONG. Oh no, you have a whole new set of hurdles and problems to deal with.

For example, what if your brother is a soccer fan? Well, you have damn few options if you want something along the lines of a book or DVD. This sums up the experience:

- Look on Amazon for Book (Book Not Available until July 2008?)
- Call various shops in the area (Book Not Available in the USA!!!)
- Look on Amazon.UK (Available, but shipping is 2x the price of book)
- Look on Amazon for DVD (Not Available)
- Go to Chelsea Megastore (They won't ship to the USA!!!)
- Go to USA Chelsea Megastore (Not Available)
- Look on multiple soccer shop sites (Not Available)
- Look on Amazon for another DVD (Not Available in USA, won't play on USA DVD players anyway)

This is the point when you just throw your hands in the air and give up. Now I know why Gift Cards were invented - if I had just did the thoughtless thing and gotten a Gift Card, I might have avoided all of the stress and blood pressure fluctuations. This is about me now, not you, jerks! Now imagine if I had a girlfriend - everything would only be multiplied. Shopping for women is more sweat-inducing than sex. I don't think I've ever worried more about anything than a girlfriend's reaction to a gift, especially if I tried really, really hard to get something she would like. I tend to want badly for her to love what I get. Thankfully, I avoid that drama this year.

When it's all over, and you just want to sit at home with a friend and decompress, and your phone is in a dead spot so you never get the phone call, you realize things just aren't going your way. I am so done with Christmas shopping. God help me if I have to go out and do it again this weekend. Someone will have to give me a tank and mask (pumping herb into my system), and a wheelchair.

It's one of those freaking days. God knows why. I could use something to calm the mind.

Josh is away again, and so what do I do tonight for entertainment? I think the Sabres are on. I could also go shopping for gifts. I'm looking for a good music DVD for my Dad. His tastes are not mainstream and so you cannot find most of what he wants in normal stores. Maybe I'll stop by New World and see what they have.

I don't really think I want anything material. Money is always good, and there are things I suppose I can use (a.k.a. need) but I don't really find myself wanting anything at all. The closest thing is some kind of speaker system where I can plug my iPod and listen at night. Tons of those are available. Even so, I don't really care if I get anything at all.

No, the things I want are intangibles that just aren't on the shelf.

Whatever. I'm rambling.

Now that I've enticed you with the Drudge-esque title, here's a link to the story of a Federal Lawsuit involving Ladies' Night. Some guy is suing because he alleges it is discriminatory to let chicks in for nothing and for their drinks to be practically free:



I have mixed feelings about this.

I don't buy the argument that Ladies' Night benefits guys in "other" ways - it sure as shit isn't a guarantee you are going to go home with a hottie. I hate the fact the bars are trying to disguise their greed. They want to sell drinks, not get guys laid, and who buys drinks? We do.

I also don't think that early bird specials or senior citizen coffee mornings are discriminatory. That's pretty cynical, and what are you going to do, go to Grampa and tell him to pony up the buck for his cup of joe? No, you're not, unless you are the biggest asshole ever.

What motivates a straight man to go to a club? I do think it is mostly to see girls, although nobody is expecting to take one home. That only happens for a small percentage of guys who look and act the part of the cheeseball greaser. Most guys just gawk, although the cheap drinks for the girls will impair their judgment enough to maybe tip the scales in our favor.

MY SOLUTION - Keep Ladies' Night, but force clubs to hand back the entrance fee for guys who don't end up bringing one of the ladies home. You'll still get soaked for drinks, but at least you'll be able to receive your "benefit" both ways. It's less discriminatory, no?