Oh. Fuck. I am so terrible at this blog biz. My priorities are fucked, but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Hopefully, I can demonstrate how busy I am. I know, I know, it's still a flimsy excuse.

EDIT: I just realized I haven't posted since February. I am *awful*.

First of all, I moved into my new job at work. It's a big step up and it's been stressful, but it is necessary. I believe that I was the best at what I did in my previous role. I've since become the worst in the new role -- if only because I am the only 'junior' in a sea of 'seniors' and 'experts'. I am learning a lot, quite quickly, but I've been having to really push myself. I don't have to carry a pager around anymore, either, which is radical. No foolin', I've had nightmares about missing a page.

Outside of work, I've been living it up. Kim and I moved in together about two months ago. Crazy. Sometimes, I have to take a step back and look at things -- it blows my mind that I've got this girl in my life. Thigns are going famously, though. Much smoother than I had anticipated. It feels really good.

My friend Darrin scored a +1 on the list for the Justice show. It was loud. Very loud. I've never seen the Roseland that packed before. It made me feel quite old, as most of the crowd seemed like kids, dressed all crazy. I'm losing touch. Growing up sucks. Right? The set was pretty damn jammin' -- they encored with a chopped up version of Master of Puppets. Top notch.

Most of the reason that I'm pinched for time is that I took on two decently sized freelance web projects. The first time was a nice venture into PHP / eCommerce territory, but it ran *way* past schedule. It was a good learning experience, but I kind of overextended myself.

This most recent project, though, is serious biz. It's a website for some 'elite' property along the coast, being done by an ad agency in town. My friend, Sam, the photo editor from my stint at The Barometer now works there. Darrin mentioned my current "real job" employment duties to Sam. Sam offered me the project. I'm really making some serious scrilla off of this project, plus I'm learning a ton. Zing! It has been a lot of work, but it's all turning out very well. I plan to come in ahead of schedule and a little under budget in order to score more work. I hope my half-baked plan works.

Why would I need this extra money, you say? Well, I'm working on buying a place of my own and need to parlay a down payment. Corey, of mixtapecollective fame, is selling his place and I'm attempting to pick it up. Big money, no whammy. Let's hope it works out -- I'm sick of apartment living. The thing I'm most excited about is being able to paint the walls, which is silly. I plan to lift a digital projector from work, a nice one, and project some drawings on the wall. I then plan to mask the art and spray it.

In terms of living, the apartment we're in isn't really so bad, but it's inhabited by a lot of 'contractors,' most of which are Indian. Nothing against 'em, but I don't understand how they can do it -- the smells of rich curry, early in the morning, makes me want to toss.

Beyond representing in Little India, I've also made not one, but TWO treks down to the Rogue Valley. Each time accompanied by Ms. Kim and Eli (jumpfighters4life), it's been great. We listen to good music and run through taboo discussion topics. Our games of 'would you rather' are probably illegal in most civilized parts of the world. Such vile shit, I don't even want to post an example.

The lightning trip was for Ms. Kim's debut into the elite running scene. She ran the 10 miler for the Annual 'Pear Blossom' run. She kicks ass -- there's no way I'd run 10 miles. Especially if someone is charging me money for it. Shit, I wouldn't even do it if they paid me. Props to her. She finished with a decent time and some killer motivation. She's hardcore.

Before the run, I met Zac, Tallon and his girlfriend for breakfast. Zac had stayed up all night drinking and playing Halo with a coworker. He was still visibly intoxicated. It's around 8am. We go round-robin and give our breakfast orders. Zac orders a double bacon cheeseburger with seasoned crosscut fries. And eats the whole thing. We then head downtown to mingle with the crowd and hopefully catch a glimpse of Kim. Drunk Zac provides all the entertainment we need. Whenever a bystander would run across the street, in between runners, Zac would yell "THREAD THE NEEDLE". After the 15th odd time, it started becoming really funny. Talon and his lady were in fine form as well -- a highlight of the weekend.

The second lightning trip was for Mother's day. We left on a Friday afternoon and rocked the whole way down to the Valley. My dad's birthday is around Mother's day, so it was a two-stoned-birds situation. I should have called up some of the crew, but Ms. Kim and I just kicked it around my parent's house, drinking tequila and socializing. Wonderful times. My father keeps telling me that it doesn't get any better than this. I'm starting to believe him.

For his birthday, I picked my dad up an ION turntable. It's got a USB port and can be used to rip vinyl. The quality of the actual turntable leaves something to be desired -- it feels flimsy. That said, the actual mp3s turned out decent. I set him up and we imported some cool shit.

The Sunday before I left, I lent the old man a hand in castrating three calves. It is much less fun than one can imagine. I got shit on. Still, it was fun to rustle some cattle with pops.

Before I moved into my new job, for two weeks, I grew a mustache out with two other guys on my team. I don't really know why we started doing it -- but it was kind of fun. We all kept them for around 3 weeks. I looked like a piece of shit. It was great. The only downside is that porn mustaches don't do much for your professional image.

I scored the current freelance gig on fairly short notice and had to go meet with the CEO of the ad agency after work one day. I didn't have a chance to shave before the meeting, so I strut in there with a giant handlebar 'stache -- I felt like a toolbox. I had to be extra charming and keen to offset my dickbag appearance. It apparently worked.

Converse put on a really strange 'employee-only' show with Thurston Moore and Girl Talk. I was able to get a handful of tickets and attended with Kim. Eli joined us as well. Thurston's set was 'meh' -- it was such a strange vibe at the show -- lots of people who clearly didn't know who he was. I drank vodka drinks and waited forGirl Talk, who ended up tearing shit apart. A highly entertaining show. Everyone was dancing like it was on sale for $19.99.

I also had a really strange encounter with Minus the Bear a week or two back. Darrin got me on the list for the MTB show at the Hawthorne (+1 -- yay, kim!) and got in on a dinner with the band prior. There were about 5 people there with the band, myself and Kim included. I sat across from Dave Knudson, one of my guitar heros. It was pretty neat. I'm not all that big of a fan of their new material (MISS U MATT BAYLES), but I got decently lit on someone else's tab and got into a show for free -- life is good.

This past weekend was so fucking hot. Out of nowhere, the overcast skies cleared and the temperatures soared. Saturday was almost unbearable -- I woke up in a sweat. Kim and I consumed some coffee and promptly made the trek to the coast. We ate some mexican food and walked on the beach for a while. We listened to 'Pony Express Record' by Shudder to Think on the way over. Anyone up for a challenge, pick up a copy. It's a fucking gem.

I love you all.