It’s been almost a month now, and I have to admit - I love living in the city again. There’s something about being lulled to sleep by the sounds of civilization that can’t be beat. The low grumbling of a bus passing by, the light sound of laughter from the patrons outside the bar 5 floors down, the occasional rattle of a police or fire truck en route to save the day - it’s all very therapeutic. - especially the soft glow of the city lights coming in through the windows. And with the way these windows are constructed, if I don’t want any of that I simply need to close them - they’re built to completely isolate noise.

It’s also cool that we’re becoming regulars at the farmer’s market - this week we got a free melon from the melon people, since every week we’ve been buying a couple. I’ve always had this secret desire to be part of a family, that’s why I loved truck driving so much. Speaking of which, next February I think I might see if I can’t become an ice road trucker. I’ve been watching the series and researching it and all they really seem to care about is you’re a tad bit nuts, you have a CDL, and a little bit of experience. It’d be a 2 month stint up in Canada’s Northwest territories, and at the end of it all I’d come out with $30,000 or so plus being able to see I was one of the elite. We’ll see though.

Picked up my new desk last week as well - it was from the build-it-yourself desk section at Ikea and is a sexy beast awash in polished stainless steel - it fits the room perfectly! But now I’m trying to get rid of some older computers I don’t use anymore - no one seems to want them at work, so I’ll probably head off to eBay and sell them - I have some high-end parts that would do quite well.

By the way, where in the hell can I buy a Klein bottle - I’m obsessed with them now. Them, and retro/mod clocks. I need to put my small collection up. The

The Art Crawl is coming up soon, I’m working on something to rasterbate and throw up on the door to say ‘Hi’ to people, hopefully it turns out like I have planned

Just some random things on my mind and in the news.

1. Neat little Progressive insurance hack (sort of). Know someone’s name and address, but aren’t sure of what they drive? Progressive will help you out! Simply go to Progressive.Com, enter your target’s zip code and hit get a quote. Enter their information in the box and hit ‘Continue’. Up pops a box of vehicles registered to that name at that address - neat eh? (This worked for sure as of 8/16, they may have changed it).

2. My 31st birthday is coming up soon, about 6 weeks or so. Feel free to get me a present - I have a brand new wish list setup over at Amazon.Com you can check out. I won’t be upset, I promise. Or you can pay for an extra Pro year for me on Flickr, or give me a gift subscription to Slashdot (It’s only 5$ - I’m UID 88435). But whatever you do, please don’t buy me this talking heart shaped USB mouse. As much as I would love hearing ‘I love you’ whispered to me as I mercilessly frag unsuspecting noobs, I already have a pretty nice mouse. You could, however, buy me a new monitor, or the Mac mini I intend to connect to that monitor.

3. Searching Google images for DSC00001.jpg (NSFW) shows you that the first shot of that brand new digital camera is often times a nude one.

4. Foxy Brown likes to beat up her neighbors with a Blackberry. And she’s not the only one.

5. There’s really only 2 websites you need in life - LifeHacker.Com and Instructables.Com.

6. People in Minnesota drive like idiots. It’s a fact. Once the bridge went down, they had to divert traffic down Highway 280. To help ensure less fender benders, where 280 and I-94 connect they have closed off the far left lane about a mile before the on ramp, to allow people from 280 to merge more easily. It’s been this way for 2 weeks now. People still selfishly stay in the far left lane until the very last second before violently cutting over to the next lane, forcing a slowdown that makes leaving work anytime before 5:30pm pointless. I hate those drivers. I hate them very, very much.

7. Happy 25th birthday Compact Disc - may you be around for another 200 billion sales.

8. This is the greatest photograph you’ll see today.

9. It’s a fact: Sex is good for the heart.

10. XKCD is the greatest web comic of all time, and today’s comic proves it.

11. I scored 32 or “Very High” on this Autism test. (People with Asperger Syndrome score 35 or higher, the average for men is 17 - eek!)

A few weeks ago Mishka and I went to Unique. Unique is a thrift store in Burnsville, located inside an old grocery store. As such, it’s quite a large place with an extensive range of items made before Americans realized we need to wage a war on terror.

Both of us absolutely love the not-so-little store, though I think for different reasons. Mishka loves the neat stuff that you can get at great prices - you’d be surprised at how much of the stuff your parents had is now ‘in style’ again and commands a hefty price tag, except in the junk stores.

I love it for that, but I love it more for an entirely different reason. I love the philosophical side of it, the human side. I take my time, slowly going through items and wondering about their origin.
A candy dish made from popsicle sticks - that’s a very personal item, probably the most personal I found last time. Carefully glued together, perhaps given to Mom or Dad as a gift. It represents all of our childhood dreams and wishes - why is that dish here? Who owned it? Why was it made? Was it given to someone? How was it given to someone? I can construct scenarios in my head about the origin of said dish and how it ended up next to steins from the Excalibur casino and a well listened to copy of “Styx” on vinyl. Perhaps a son made it at a boy scout event for his parents, where they lovingly left it on the coffee table for years until junior met his end in a tragic thresher accident, and it just hurt to much to keep it around. Or maybe the parents died, and as the relatives were going through the belongings they found it in some old cedar chest in the attic, mixed in among junior high sports trophies and report cards saying “Johnny is such a smart boy, he really needs to start applying himself”

And then you go further through the items and realize that a majority of these inanimate things were once loved and cherished, but now lie on the cold metal shelves with crude masking tape price tags on them, written in half spanish, half english - the Minnesotan version of Spanglish.

Perhaps I read into things to much - but a trip to a junk store always seems to stir up a lot of emotions for me.

This weekend I’m looking forward to a great new opportunity - a photo shoot with a local young folk-rock singer. We’re meeting tonight to discuss ideas over at the Coffee News Cafe, and I think we’ll get some good shots this weekend.

We’re already thinking about the old Ford plant, Minnehaha Falls (Which, because of the drought, is dry and not a waterfall right now - should make some interesting shots that wouldn’t otherwise be possible), State Fairgrounds, and some other places. She’s looking for promo and album work so it’s your basic portrait + pseudo-live shots. I can’t friggin wait!

It’s interesting - the more I read Rangefinder, the more I begin to see an overall view of how it comes together - and it seems like a lot of photographers never went to school for it. It was a hobby, then they took some shots for a few bucks, that person showed people who in turn called him for a shoot of their own, then those people showed other people who also called for their own sittings and before you know it you need to quit your 9-5 job and open a studio because you have so much work.

I wonder if that will happen with me some day. I’m not saying I wouldn’t mind that, either.

Last night it stormed like crazy in the Twin Cities. Around 11pm it finally hit were we live. I was laying in our large comfy bed, watching the lightning outside, listening to the rain hitting the windows and came to the realization - maybe something bad happening doesn’t always have to follow good things happening. It felt good. Looking out and watching the blurred loglo of America in front of me - the crimson red sign of UBS, the stoic yellow of Wells Fargo, the patriotic Red white and blue of Bremer bank - it all seemed to calming.

Anyway, I’m leaving work early today because I have to get a new desk. I have a desk, it was given to me, but it’s not ‘my‘ desk. It doesn’t feel like me. A desk is almost a religious thing to a geek - we spend a lot of time there, it’s the focal point of our career and our hobbies - it’s our personality. The desk I was given is of steel and glass - quite beautiful to look at, that’s for sure - but it’s not me. It’s all show, no go. I’m going to Ikea, and I bet I can find something there for me.

Then, we have to go to Swank to pick up this mod 70s dresser we bought the other day - they sold to new owners so a lot of the stock is liquidated - all the accessories were 50% off. The dresser, which we sorely need, wasn’t included in the discount - but we bought a few other things there and talked him into letting us have it for $55 less then it had on the ticket - so all in all that was a cool deal.

So after a new dresser, then a new desk, we can finish unpacking and get rid of the boxes.

And be truly, home.

Sorry I haven’t written much - the Fringe Fest started on the 3rd and I had to errrr  a friend had to work on directing his play. It was fun. A helluva lot of fun. Next year will be even better!

 So it’s now official, we’ve moved! We now live in the Rossmor, and even with a few boxes full of (my) stuff lying around, the place looks fabulous - I will upload pictures eventually when I get my office together.
That same night Mishka’s friend Dubya came to visit for the next several days. Well, Saturday she wanted to sing karaoke, so I find a place close by. We get there, it’s fairly dead, and I’m expected to sing as well - so I have some liquid courage in the form of a double gin & tonic. Then I have another, and another, and … well, lets just say I have a date with 2 guys at the Town House tonight, apparently. Yeah, I over did it. Big time. So much so, that only now at 3:30 in the afternoon is my hangover starting to abate. I was essentially carried the 5 blocks home by 2 very hot women, and ended up passing out on the floor.

Don’t worry, I apologized to Dubya, and I apologize once more - I’m terribly sorry! And I really am, I hate losing control. I was drinking to fast, and I hadn’t had anything to eat and they all sort of stacked up on top of each other all at once. Oh well, lesson learned - I will never drink again until the next time!

I’ll write up a more humorous story regarding this event later when my mind has fully healed!

Well, I had my first true night* on the new Sleep Number bed and wow, it was awesome. I was up the second the alarm went off, shower, then Mishka and I went downstairs to Key’s Cafe and had some omelets and then I got to work 45 minutes earlier then normal. I like living in the city
Pickup the U-Haul at 3pm or so, start loading, hopefully get it all loaded since there’s a 70% chance of rain tomorrow - pay the other places rent, get back to St. Paul, unload, unpack, live happily ever after.
Currently, I’m listening to Kimya Dawson and The Moldy Peaches, check em out - Anti-Folk and all. (Also listening to an older Eels and the newest Gogol Bordello)

*Note: This is actually the second night of the new bed, but the first night I didn’t sleep well at all due to the fact that the controller was under my head and during the course of my slumber I managed to hit it enough that my number went from 40 to 85 - so the bed was sorta rock hard by the time I got up heh.

I’m ok, I wasn’t near the bridge when it collapsed, I was at the Target off of University and Dale. No worries.

Apparently, even though I received a phone call yesterday saying my install was good to go, they decided to cancel it. Reason? I owe $233 for service at a place I never lived. Hrmmm. But I do know who DID live there, and once this move is taken care of, I know how to fix it. So I went ahead and paid the back dues. Though honestly, if I do go through and attempt to collect it will be more for spite then actually needing the money. The few hours I’ll be off the clock to go to court is worth more then the suit. But doing things for spite is pretty fun.

So I’m boned inet connection wise, and might not be on at home until Friday unless they manage to escalate this and I get lucky. We’ll see.

Bummer.