07/07/2003 - 12:43 a.m. | starting today, we're on holiday

Wow. Three days at U of I, and I feel completely rested. It�s like a crammed a complete vacation into a weekend. The trip to Savannah wasn�t this mellowing; there was almost this pressure to try and get in as much as we could while we were actually down there. At UIUC, though, no one was gonna stop me if I spent time sitting around on my ass doing nothing. It�s good to do that now and again. Tomorrow it�s back to welding, and I have an econ test that I should really study for, but I think I�ll leave all that �til tomorrow and end on a good note.

I don�t remember any of the stats or junk for work on Thursday; I made about $55, left pretty damn early, and listened to my usual bullshit. I don�t really bother telling anyone that I�m leaving unless I get caught trying to leave, which is what happened then. Harve bumped into me, and I made conversation (yes, I am capable, albeit for brief periods) and then told him something or other about why I had to leave. He seemed more disappointed than annoyed, which I am taking as a good sign. I mean, I made more in my 5 hours there than most people do in a full day. Not to boast, of course. Once I wasted just as much time as the others; more even possibly. But I have my damn act together now, don�t I? Yes.

Drove to True Value (as per request) to get copies of keys made for the wagon. I got cute blue and green ones made for me, and boring shit black ones for home. The girl there was really nice, and I have this weird suspicion that she was checking me out. Actually, I�ve been noticing this more and more lately. Or perhaps I�m getting cockier, not sure. But, the Tropical Sno girl kept stealing glances, and then True Value chick, and at the elevator in Presidential Towers on Thursday night, same thing. Now, seriously. Not boasting at all here. I am just confused, is all. This is an entirely new development. I mean, these girls weren�t disgusting monsters by any means, and they kept covertly trying to look at me. Now, logic says that they thought I was cute. NOT POSSIBLE. The recent addition of a backwards No Fear hat and my pseudo disgusting pube-like goatee were designed with the distinct purpose in keeping people the hell away from me. And frankly, I�m not working with much to begin with. Zit head. I refuse to believe any one would look at me with more than pity. I can only assume I frequently have snot hanging out of my nose and no one bothers telling me. Do me a favor and let me know next time, OK? Moving on�

While I was there, I also picked up some mango air fresheners for the car (it smells like the elderly or something; now it smells like really strong mangoes) and yet another attempt at a compass. This time I got the little junk keychain kind, and it seems to be working the best of any I�ve seen. Stupid get what you pay for. Also got Doritos (Gross, Nate. Gross) to enjoy with my hot-as-hell bacteria-infested samich and fruit. Not dead yet.

Arrived home all ready to go. The rest of the world, however, was not. Dad had some junk to do with the car, so I watched this kickass movie on Lifetime: Co-ed Call Girl!!! Tori Spelling (blech, the wretched big-eyed fish monster who can�t act� but with big boobs!) played a college student who became a prostitute to make ends meet and then ends up shooting her pimp because he was abusive (is there ever an unabusive pimp?) and won�t let her quit. I don�t know what happened then, though (she was in jail, and Matt Camden from �7th Heaven� was her boyfriend or something � conjugal visit) because it was about time to go. After numerous warnings not to crash the car. You�d think they thought I was clumsy or something. We got those little deer whistles for the car, by the way.

The drove down was pretty relaxing. Took it slow (lots of cops out) and rocked out to CDs. I�ve discovered that the right front speaker is blown out (or something), so that it�s all static-y and annoying most of the time. So, lots of time is spent fiddling with the balance and fader knobs to try and make it less noticeable. I might have to get some new speakers (and the back window stays open the tiniest crack), but otherwise, it�s an awesome car. I hope I can keep it down at school at some point, but insurance would just be death then.

Arrived in town around 6:30. Took the long way to PT (not because I�m stupid � nostalgia!) and went inside. I thought I had a vague idea of Kyle�s room (turns out I didn�t), but I figured they would have a phone so I could call and ask (they didn�t). I walked over to the Colonial Pantry and had one of those aggravating phone conversations where nobody can hear anybody. Kyle eventually came to get me, and I walked towards him. Smart. I park my car at Brytne�s, whom we then drive her to Schnuck�s for work (Kyle is in total bitch mode until Brytne gets her new car), and then head back to his ice cave of an apartment. That is my one true complaint about the weekend. Yousaf appears to be some sort of polar bear and requires the entire apartment to be subzero. It was nice coming in from the heat, I guess, but hypothermia threatened if you hung around too long. And going back out was like entering hell.

While we waited for Spritz and Frankie to arrive, Kyle and I watched �Zenra Challenge.� Hint: �Zenra� roughly means �naked� in Japanese. In short, it was like the Olympics for various naked Asian women. They ran a marthon, tried to run through styrofoam barriers (in helmets!), rode bicycles on narrow platforms over water, and tried to piss off a crane into a cup far below. I love you, Japan. Unfortunately, it got deleted in the process of Kyle, I dunno, doing something to his computer, which made it unusable for most of the weekend. This was probably for the best. Spritz arrived and after much deliberation (we were gonna cook homemade pizzas, then Hamburger Helper � with turkey burgers >:O then everyone just sat on their computers), he, Yousaf, and I went out for Thai. I missed you, pad woon sen. Also, the long-awaited bubble tea fix. Even though it took forever (stupid slow, inefficient white guy working there!), we just made fun of the two beached whales on the couch. God, I missed this. We walked through the post-apocolyptic warzone that is Sixth Street and rented some movies from Rentertainment. Kyle and Yousaf are in the process of doing the �100 movies for $100,� except you can�t do that if you have late movies, so Nate got screwed. That�s OK. Spritz managed to, uh, acquire the weird ass bunny doll they have there. His name is �Manager,� according to his nametag.

After more screwing about (we�re not about productivity here � I think we visited Schnuck�s again, but I�ve really lost count by now), we started watching the first of our two films, that old classic Westworld. Well, that loser Spritz went and played �Starcraft� on Yousaf�s computer, but he doesn�t count right now. If I can�t explain the charm of robot cowboys going nuts on everybody, I don�t think you should keep reading. That mustached protagonist is an annoying little prick, though. I was rooting for Yul Brynner to kill that horse�s ass frankly. And more soundtrack please.

UPDATE: Holy crap

We went to go pick up Brytne from work at 1 (worst schedule ever) and then got coffee and Jimmy John�s and came back to the apartment. Then, the drinking began. Actually, despite Kyle�s claims that the fridge was full as hell, most people were stuck with box wine. Ha ha. Over the next 5 to 6 hours, the topic somehow turned to hypnosis (when not on Mario 3, which was this weekend�s official game), and what with my book on it and the tape I have (�Psychic Powers Through Hypnosis�), I figured I could fudge my way through a session with everybody. Besides, everyone knows how sleep-inducing my voice is. Heh � I dunno if I actually crammed any suggestions into anyone�s mind, but I do think I got everyone pretty damn relaxed. Not that the social lubricant didn�t help. But yeah, you just have to keep talking in a calm, peaceful voice about simple things, which can sometimes be harder than it seems. Especially since I managed to cut my foot on the, uh, foot of Kyle�s bed while on the way to turn off his closet light. Cursing, I turned around and scraped the other foot. So it�s bloody death now. Whopee.

Anyway, I made everyone conk out, which I think is cool, and I think further attempts should be made throughout the school year (I�ll reread and junk so as to not be so stumbly). Frankie, Brytne, Spritz, and I took a walk around the neighborhood, which is a refreshing change for me. It�s nice to just wander around and do nothing, but trying to get a drunkard to do anything specific is damn near impossible. Arrived home at around 6 naybe and most people were up for bed. Sleeping arrangements were a little askew: Spritz and Frank got Yousaf�s bed, Yousaf got the couch, and I got like 4 random chairs that I kept moving back and forth from until I settled on the floor. I didn�t really have a bad night�s sleep, though. Because of the cold and my surroundings, I woke up quite a bit, but I happen to enjoy that because it means I can remember my dreams better. And boy, did I have some bizarre ones. But no need to discuss, right?

OK, this covers Thursday. Still have to make it up �til today, but it�s getting late, so expect maybe Friday through Monday tomorrow? Ick � that is quite a bit.