updating life things. not much to really update.

went to minneapolis tuesday-wednesday, as there was some sort of intern recruiting fair on tuesday night before the twins games. coworker greg and i each got tickets, plus a hot dog/pop voucher (woof!). we then finagled (sp?) two more for former coworkers in the area (although one's car broke down - he didn't make it.)

greg and i created four folders: already graduated (G), graduating in december (DG), graduating this may (MG), not yet graduated (U, for undergrad), and hot girls (HG). sadly, we never used the hot girls file (though we could have...), although greg later changed it to the 'crap' file. however, he didn't write 'crap' on the tab, instead choosing to cross out the HG text.

also saw a fine performance by johan santana, joined by 8,123 of our closest friends. the royals have several players with invented names on their roster; "paul phillips" and "matt diaz" are the two that most prominently come to mind. what an embarrassment - on every level - the royals are. (worse than tampa, by a lot. at least tampa doesn't always blow their draft picks. [though it appears like the royals hit with billy butler in 2004 and alex gordon - signed today - was the best hitter in the 2005 draft.])

also got to spend quality time with coworker chris. he came to the game at about 715, we went out afterwards. one of the good people, truly.

negative 1 of the trip: a speeding ticket. in charles city, iowa. 81 mph in a 65 zone on an empty stretch of road. i guess 81 is excessive, but it's a ticket that i'll chalk up to the 'yellow car' factor. there's no information on the ticket on how to avoid getting it on the record. and floyd county added a five-dollar processing fee.

negative 2 of the trip: while zipping up a slightly-overfilled duffel bag on tuesday morning, i apparently strained a muscle on my left arm. on the front, the upper pec. on the back, well, the shoulder blade. hurts to raise my arm. moving my computer from lap to desk causes pain. nothing four advil can't solve.

anecdote regarding the trip: wednesday morning, i wanted to get a walk in before we departed. we weren't going to work on wednesday, so we just wanted to leave by 1130 or so to get back in time for softball (which was later rained out.) it was bitter cold. awful cold. raining. and the downtown minneapolis ramada has got to be the only hotel left in the world without a treadmill in a closet that serves as a 'workout room.' i know. i wandered every inch of the hotel. and then i found a wing on the second floor (very european-ly, called the 'first floor.' the first floor was the ground floor) which directed me to the 'cabana' rooms. open air, but covered entries. overlooking the pool. i wandered around the elevated cabana level. then went to the ground floor cabana level. i was covered, mostly shielded by the rain. i took a lap around the ground floor, partially inside, partially outside. when i went outside...i couldn't access the inside. wrong key. so i was locked out. (although only 30 yards from the main hotel entrance.)

i wanted to get a walk in. i didn't want to get rained on. so i continued to walk outside. back and forth. from locked door to locked door. (an idea of how small this area was...each 'lap' took about 45 seconds. i walked back and forth lots.) i sang what i knew of gbv's do the collapse. then started on isolation drills. and i was almost to 45 minutes. i had planned for 30, but got to 37, and decided to keep going. but at moment 42, somebody stepped out of one of the rooms. this embarrassed me. i kept my eyes low, and walked back inside. wow.

this was poor description, but you get the idea that i was completely and utterly ridiculous.

i also purchased two cd's with my discover-related borders gift card while in minneapolis. the wolf parade record got fantastic reviews and i've enjoyed it the six or seven times i've been through it. i've not bough many records by new bands on a review-only basis recently. last one was architecture in helsinki. that one didn't work out. this one will.

i also bought the new blackalicious record, which is sample-free and quite groovy. download "rhythm sticks" now, because it's fantastic.

pitchfork gave wolf parade a 9.2. they haven't reviewed blackalicious yet, which is odd considering that blazing arrow was so well-regarded.

also, they reviewed neutral milk hotel's in the aeroplane over the sea, the greatest record ever, which was recently reissued. the review is here. my favorite part is the last paragraph, which emphasizes what i think makes the album so incredible: jeff mangum doesn't really make much sense throughout the album, but he really, really feels something. and that's notable.

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seriously, nothing else has happened lately. phase three of operation cleanup happens this weekend. i can now walk from one side of my living room to the other without tripping on anything. next step is repolishing. a few weeks ago, a job opening came up for a sales-high school sports radio position. it seems intriguing, and i've even found my old college tapes, but i've not acted on it at all. i think i'd be good, and i think a change of scenery would be fantastic. but i've been pretty lethargic. now that it's october, i shouldn't be.

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in other music news, the guided by voices the electrifying conclusion dvd is now officially available for purchase. get it here, and get a gbv shot glass. woof.