so I've been on vacation for the last ten days....didn't really do anything exciting though. I went and saw a couple of movies-'Adaption,' 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'. They were good. I bought myself 3 DVDs-'AI', 'The Royal Tenenbaums', and 'State and Main'. I liked them all-I ended up watching 'The Royal Tenenbaums' like 5 times. I also rented 'The Slums of Beverly Hills,' which was really good. It kind of had the stink of a coming-of-age story, which I ususally dislike, but this was ok.

Tonight I'm having a party and I will be swapping gifts. I got most of my friends neon signs. They should be pleased.

whoever reads this and wants to come let me know. you're welcome to get drunk at my place. just don't puke on my nice white carpet.

I got a new music disk last week-a Sonic Youth record-it's titled "SYR-1." It's from their Sonic Youth Recordings company which is where they release their more experimental stuff. Anyways, I highly recommend this disk. I spent much of Saturday and Sunday sitting around, trying to play in the style. Came up with some cool stuff, I think. I felt like a real musician :-).

buy what inspires me here .

I went to go see Star Trek last night with my father. I understand a lot of the gripes people have with it-it is somewhat of a retelling of past Star Trek episodes/movies. I can see Rick Berman (the current head of the Star Trek legacy) going to the script fast food restaurant and telling the kid at the register, pointing to the sign behind him, that he wants one of those Khan burgers, but hold the mayo. But you know what? I think the story is a good one and worth retelling. The only thing I'm kind of disappointed about is that they were so ham fisted in foreshadowing what was going to happen next. It kind of felt like they were treating the audience as complete idiots who were totally unfamiliar with the conventions of Star Trek.

But to be honest I'm going to go see it again. Maybe next weekend.

one of the 4 college age people missing is a fellow johnny. find his site at

this site

on a side note, the machine this is hosted on is one of the machines I used during college. Superwarm fuzzies. maple.computing.csbsju.edu is the host.

oh, saw the two harry potter films. kinda embarassed to say I liked them. also saw 'Eyes Wide Shut'. That's weird, but in a pretty good way.

it's been *way* too long since I made an entry here. I've been busy-I went on vacation (just sat around my house, read books, slept) and launched a site for malt-o-meal that helps them spam more effectively. Important shit for the operation of the world.

About that meeting at St Thomas, the people I met with there say I should just apply to law school right now, that I shouldn't waste my time getting another undergraduate. I think I'm going to ignore that. The peace studies program they have sounds interesting so I'm going to at least dabble in that for a while.

an article from the christian science monitor



for all who know, the csm is a very reputable daily news magazine-it's secular, despite it's name.

this article talks about how people are focusing on living rather making a wage. kind of interesting, considering I've got a meeting at St Thomas this evening for getting the whole wheel spinning for some type of post grad stuff ( law school, I've been thinking so far )-I'm going to a meeting about evening classes. They've got a peace studies program so I've been seeing if that would be interesting at all.

"The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past."

"Requiem for a Nun," William Faulkner

currently listening to Paul McCartney/Wings---frustration for women decreasing, need for warm gooey love increasing.

I need an email with 'XOXOXO' on the bottom. That would be nice.

As bad an idea dating men would be, dating girls is almost as bad. Yesterday I went out with that girl that I met 3 or 4 weeks ago(and commented about on 10/25/02)....didn't have a better time.

While I'm not the most timely person I know, I don't fuck with people's time schedules by like hours. Unlike her. Last night, we had planned to go see '8 Mile' (which was good-kinda like 'Rocky' + 'Purple Rain') and we went to the mall of america. Well, we ended up walking past the T Mobile store and she decides that's a good time to figure out about getting a new phone. Which would be all fine and dandy had I not told her I was planning on eating dinner with my parents....anyway, that took like 45 minutes. By the time we got done with that, we went to the movie theater to buy tickets. Let it be known that we missed the 6 o'clock showing because it was time to check out the phone. Long (part of) the story short, I dropped her off at home and get back to my parents place by 11. Which sucked. I hadn't seen my Dad in 3 weeks since he had gone to Oklahoma for work.

Then again, I'm kind of pissy in general, and if she was more fun to talk to and willing to make out with me at the movie (just kidding-I didn't want to make out with her) I might have liked her more.

I hate Norm Coleman SOOOOOO much.

what a pompus ass.

After yesterday( election ) and the day before ( the mondale/coleman debate ) I'm going to start calling him Senator Norm W. Quimby

Norm, because that's what is mother calls him.

W., because he's now a Bush clone.

Quimby, because I used to call him Mayor Quimby, from the Simpsons.

bask in my liberal glory you flag-on-lapel-better-the-tone-in-washington asshole.

Last night I went to go see the Donnas. Not bad. I could have jumped around a lot. So that was fun.

But it wouldn't have been a full night if I didn't feel like a dufus at least once-I'm sure I was as annoying as hell to the person I went with-Meghan, so that's stupid zone 1. And then, as I left to go back home and continue the idiocy at home, I ran out of gas in downtown Minneapolis. I sucessfully parked the car on it's last shrudder, then I took out my trusty gas can and wandered around, looking for gas. I ended up going to the gas station on Broadway and Central. Exciting.

so it was a full night for me.

Last night I really wanted to go to the Wellstone memorial...but I ended up getting stuck here at work until 8:30 finishing a project we're launching today. I listened to it on my radio and it sounded awesome.

Yet another reason to hate spam.

Wellstone!
from salon.com, an article titled 'A Mighty Heart'

This actually really ruins my week. If one could love an elected official one didn't know, Wellstone was loved by me. I feel really fortunite to have seen him a few months ago at my sister's commencement speech.




Oct. 25, 2002 | Win it for Wellstone Our country lost a hero today. Paul Wellstone personified the progressive tradition at its most hopeful and humane. He was a tough but never bitter competitor, a passionate but always pragmatic advocate -- a smart, fearless, dedicated politician who stood up and fought for ordinary people. The sadness of his sudden death, along with his wife, daughter and staff members, is overwhelming.

What a mighty heart Wellstone had. To continue the struggle that defined his commitment, he had surmounted serious illness and was on the verge of winning yet another election that he was expected to lose. Despite a truly vicious campaign against him this year, and even though he started his third Senate campaign as a decided underdog, the Minnesota Democrat was pulling ahead on the day he died.

Ever since his first stunning victory in 1990, the former Carleton College professor has endured relentless attacks by conservative bullies who seemed to think his small stature and earnest demeanor made him an easy target. But those who trifled with the former wrestler learned how mistaken they were to underestimate him. He was the very rare politician who always felt that even at moments of political defeat, there was victory in holding onto principle. During the past decade there was simply no politician of greater integrity in this country.

In a time when Democratic leaders seem to value caution over courage, Wellstone proved that fighting back leads to victory. He risked a vote against the war resolution, knowing that he would do better defending what he really believed. That conviction is his legacy.

He had much to teach the left as well. His patriotism was the profound love of country that emerges as deep, passionate concern for the people and the land. His lack of pretension and his dedication to healing the injuries of class belied the stereotype of the "limousine liberal." File footage running on the networks today showed him being welcomed into the union halls of his state by big, burly men who knew that this liberal intellectual was their best friend.

When nine miners trapped in a hole became a national news story, politicians and pundits suddenly asked a few questions about mine safety. They found Wellstone already there, demanding better funding and exposing the deficiencies in the federal mine safety bureaucracy. Mine safety wasn't a hot issue until that moment, and it quickly lost its momentary cachet once the miners had been saved. That didn't matter to Wellstone, who pursued the issues he cared about -- mental healthcare, minimum-wage increases, the lobbyist gift ban, national health insurance -- not the fads and fashions that attract TV cameras.

Wellstone's Senate colleagues in both parties mourn his passing. Democrats will miss him, of course, but so will many Republicans. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., was so choked with grief for the Wellstones this afternoon that he was literally unable to speak; Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., issued an astonishingly warm statement of condolence.

Those conservatives, who had regarded him from the beginning as a rather dubious radical, came to know a quintessential American, the son of immigrants who loved sports and married his high-school sweetheart. His own heroes were Eleanor Roosevelt and Robert Kennedy, who like him represented an idealism that is our best national tradition.

Foolish critics could be heard in recent years saying that Wellstone had compromised himself by learning the ways of the Senate and by befriending his ideological adversaries. They didn't begin to understand what he had become -- the happy warrior whose enemies could not help but love him. He wanted to get things done, and he did.

There were moments when Wellstone's liberalism seemed anachronistic, even to sympathetic observers. He wasn't always right. Although his instincts were usually correct, he sometimes resisted changes that made sense. Yet on the fundamentals of compassion and fairness, his insistent voice was indispensable.

This fine man cannot be replaced, but in 11 days there will be an opportunity to honor his life and work. Facing difficult odds, as he always did, the Democrats should pull themselves together, pick up Paul Wellstone's banner, and win this one for him and his family.
[2 p.m. PDT, Oct. 25, 2002]

You know, I've been analyzing my whole date thing. And I've been thinking that I actually didn't have that much fun-at least not as much fun as I have with girls that I'm not on a date with.

For example:
Most of my girl friends are *really* funny. This girl wasn't.

My girl friends aren't self absorbed. This girl talked mostly about herself. Boring.

My girl friends don't have a confidence problem. This girl had no faith in herself....and she liked talking about it. Which is just depressing. When you just meet someone you should be modest, but you shouldn't appear deflated. And you know, if she needed support for something, like encouragement to do something I'd provide it but if she's too scared to do anything it's....pathetic. And this is coming from a guy who considers himself pretty supportive.

But I'll see her again I think. At the very least to get my Frank Zappa compilation back, which I borrowed to her. But I'll allow myself to get to know her a little better-it's tough to evaluate someone in just a 5 hour span.

But to note-we didn't sleep together or anything. She slept on my couch. I'd feel really guilty about having these fundamental relationship issues with someone I slept with.

Oh, last night-saw the Samuel L Jackson movie "Formula 51." Ok, definite guy flick. And if that guy had some warm fuzzies for high school chemstry it was kind of fun.

What a wild life I lead!

On saturday, my birthday, I went to go play football with nick eiden and a bunch of his peeps. Spent the day with all of them. We won the game. After the game I met a girl. She was a waitress. She asks me about my national poetry slam t-shirt, and next thing you know we're talking and stuff. She and I hang out most of that night. When I give her the ride home from Nick's place on Sunday we set up something for last night. Fast forward to last night. After I go to see 'Pedro the Lion' at first avenue, I pick her up at her bar(she's a waitress). I then proceed to make her an excellant soup at my place. We then talk (really! We talked!) for a few more hours-till 4 or so. Then we crash.

Anyways, it was a good time. I so thought this week would suck. Which it does in a major way because of work, but hey. At least it doesn't suck royal wank (which is the worst grade of sucking, in my opinion. at least 4 orders better than 'sucking in a major way' which is what this week is).

Confused yet? Then go smoke my hot ass.

it's my birthday tomorrow. 24. Who cares.

Last night instead of doing the whole gym thing Joey called and we went to go see 'I Spy' with Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy....and the sultry and hot Famke Janssen. Really funny, I'd see it again. It had action, comedy, reasonably smart humor, plus a decent plot. I thought.

After that Joey and I ran into an old waitress that worked for Joey. We ended up going to Old Chicago (in Har Mar) and I was a real nice guy and picked up a 50 dollar tab. Which proves once and for all I'm a real nice guy.

Went to the Minnesota Wild last night.

They won 4-1, scoring 3 goals in the first period and the final one in the last 10 seconds of the game when the opposing team had pulled it's goalie.

They played against Florida. I took my Dad. My sister called me this morning asking me why I didn't take her as Florida's Pavel Something-Or-Other is her favorite player. As you might guess, I didn't know this fact.

Tonight I'm going to do the whole gym run. I haven't gone since Sunday.

Looking forward to game 1 of the world series on Saturday.

I think I pissed off this girl I was talking to online a few days ago. She's a bass player I I got all jazz theory on her. Oops. I think she might have thought I was mocking her or something. I wasn't. She seems neat so I might try to fix that whole thing.

I've delayed this story long enough:

The 6th of October I went to Zack's girlfriend's party-I figured this would be a pretty tame event-she's a pretty calm person and in a year of knowing her I'd never really seen her go wild. I figured her peeps would be pretty much the same. So I drive out to her place and go in.

I feel pretty well validated when I first walk in. My friends Joey, Matt, and Sarah (the people I swam with the previous weekend) were there and we just kinda surveyed the scene. Kept to ourselves. But eventually this one really cute blonde in this fake leopard skin jacket (she looked like a Trailer Park honey--and I mean that as not a bad thing). She had been doing some drinking. Well, we start talking and she eventually talks about wanting to play a game. I forgot my cards and then she asks me if I have any change and I don't. For the moment she kinda disappears. I talk with Joey and Matt. Talk about the same old shit. Eventually she comes back. With a handful of change. And her jacket off, and she's pretty hot. And she puts forth some rules. With your eyes closed, someone places change in your hand. Guessing completely by weight you have to determine the value of the change. For every five cents off, the person guessing gets spanked. It ends up she guessed 50 cents off. So I spank her. 10 times. She complains I didn't spank her hard enough. So I spank her 10 more times, harder this time. Still not hard enough. So Joey, completely ruining this for me, decides to hit her really hard. He left welts. Needless to say the game ends and I don't get spanked at all.

I talk to her a little bit after that, she's a nurse. Works with kids with cancer. Good soul. Next time I have a party I'm going to make sure she's invited.

This last week has been boring-I watched the baseball playoffs, and when I didn't do that I went to the gym. Last night I had dinner with the fam-they gave me my birthday present early( $160! I wasn't expecting anything, honest ) because my little brother was home for the weekend from school.

On Saturday I saw 'The Transporter'. Ok movie for an action flick. Wouldn't see it twice unless I had an opportunity to get spanked though.

I've been really busy this week but I want to put out there that I've got a great story from last wekend-basically, it involves me spanking a really cute nurse about 10 times at a party.

It will come out....this is one I have to share but not now as it's kind of bad here at work.

I really want one of these-a Johnson J-Station.

I've even put one on hold at guitar center, and while I can't afford it I think I might get it. They're 150 in Guitar Center, about $100 on ebay. So I might try it out in GC and then actually buy online. Who knows.

ahhhh, I'm succombing to gear porn.

Gear porn is the term Matt Wilson and I have for those music magazines trying to sell us stuff that we really *do* need. Like a hole in our crotch. Or head. Really, the same thing.

Went to a job fair last night-it was depressing. The only types of jobs that I could have gotten were those in the fast food industry or like, UPS or something.

Then I went home and actually played my electric guitar for the first time in months at my own home. It was nice.

Also, my buddy Joey and I talked about him moving in-he'd pay me a hundred or so a month, plus get cable and dsl...he said he could sleep in my dining room area-he'd hang up some sheets or something. I'm kind of torn...I don't want to live alone but I also don't really want to live in a one bedroom condo with someone I'm not boffing. But it would be nice to have a hundred bucks a month and cable/dsl. I've got until the end of December to decide so I have plenty of time to think about it.

It's been a while since I put up an update.

So-this is what happened this weekend. Mostly what happened at my party.

Friday: boring. I took out some chicken to defrost, I ordered a keg, cleaned my place a little bit. Went to the gym, then feel astleep by 10:30. Good clean living.

Saturday: more exciting, kinda nervous. Kinda naked. By 4:00 I was kind of worried no one would show up as I discovered that weekend was SJU homecoming. But Joe, Matt, and I managed to get all our alcholic friends to come out. In all, about 20 people. Plus my sister and one of our childhood friends came out. For about 3 hours people were content with talking and drinking and complementing me endlessly. Then at about 10:30 people decided they wanted to go swimming. Needless to say, most people forgot suits. So a couple guys borrowed some of my shorts. And the girls swam naked.

(Dear Penthouse:)By 11:30, everyone was swimming naked. On a related note, one of my friends girlfriends said that I was bumped up a number on the whole "backup list" because of my ugh, natural gifts. After that we went to perkins, I had a shake and I was in bed by 1:00am

Sunday: The bitch upstairs came down to yell at me by 10:30 or so, I talked to the caretakers and they couldn't hear anything. So I don't really give a crap. And I ended up going to my parents house, watched Ken Burns' "Civil War" on PBS, fell astleep, ate some wild rice soup, laughed at the Vikings, and then fell astleep again.

and then I woke up and came to work.

I just got back from the Who concert-lets just say I really enjoyed the show.

But I'll say I really dislike the Excel Energy Center. The place just seems to absorb sound...plus we were so far away.

I'll also is a disappointment for me about the fans. Way less jumping around than other concerts. Most people just sat around or just stood up. Of course, the layout of the place hurts movement so that's understood.

more info in the morn

I got in at 7:30 this morning...so I'm going home right now.


I love being able to leave before six. I can take a nap so much earlier.

I should note that I didn't really go up and talk to her during our near-meeting. Just saw her.

I should also note we did part on pretty good terms.

And if I have several "templates" of girls that I like (you know, types of girls I like) she was one of them. She was a runner, she was smart, she was nice.....you get the picture.

This weekend was a good one-and if it could have two themes, they would be:
1) Perkins is at it's best between 2am and 5am(spent Friday and Saturday nights there with Joey and Matt)
2) Is it ok to call someone who hasn't seen you in like, 5 years?

Theme #1 hardly needs explaination...if you roll with the K-Dog you already know this to be fact. There ain't much better than the fly early am Perkins waitstaff. They be as hot as their griddles.

But theme #2 does. Ok-in high school there was this girl I knew....we dated senior year of high school and I tried to keep in contact with my freshman year of college till it just got too hard. Well, I'm pretty sure I saw her this weekend, for the first time since then. And damn. She looked exactly the same, seemed to act the same....everything about her I liked was there. Anyways. This makes me want to call her up. She's listed(in fact it's the same number as in high school). Is that cool, or just kinda stalkerish?

I'd appreciate some counsel.

with my new lamps, which I'm really excited about by the way I've been doing a lot of ebay window shopping.

this is what I like right now. click the links to get more info. don't steal them from me too, please.

coffee table
end tables

or this set would be nice.

my birthday is october 19----any takers? you'd be in the good book for a long time.

the last couple of days salon.com has been running this series of articles about what it's like to be "young" today versus in the past-what are lives are like, what it's like to deal with each other, how our sexual relationships are different from those in the past.....blahblahblah. but's a good read. better than porn.


here's a link to the first in the series

I had a dream last night where I was Ted Beck (formerly of MarketingBridge) and the building was being filled with water, like it was sinking.

also I stopped by my Aunt and Uncle's house in Champlin-my Aunt Maryann like to go to garage sales and stuff and she found these really kick ass lamps for my condo. They're these vintage solid brass jobs-they totally go with my decor. They totally enhance the couch, the wood trim on the walls, all that. All I need now is a nice old coffee table, a few end tables, and someone to paint my walls :-).

feelings of self doubt dropping, dropping, so that's good.

it's been a shitty week so far. I'm suffering from a major case of self-doubt about my abilities both professional and personal.

In my professional capacities I'm having a great deal of trouble being interested in what I'm doing and I feel somewhat smited for being the lowest man on the totem pole. And it feels like some people are almost hostile to me on an almost personal level. Like yesterday when after 3 people stopped my my cube and asked me if I was going to get this component of a site done (which I did, within my own estimates by the way). By the last person I just came out and asked them if they thought I wasn't....they seemed somewhat suprised by my query and they had a nice diplomatic answer. I guess the reason they thought I wasn't going to get it done was I had to make some minute architectural changes within the existing site to get what they wanted to work (which I might add they failed to plan for, though it's their job). The other thing is, if people don't like the way I work why don't they give me an actual employee review? I've been screaming for one for the last year, and in that document they could highlight my problems. Of course, if it felt that it was bad overall, I might just quit and go be a bartender somewhere or something.

And on a personal abilities, I feel like I'm not as well liked ( or respected ) as I once thought. Because I guess I can be kind of goofy. I guess I know on a conscious their friendship isn't that important, because it's unequal. So if these people don't like me, then that's ok. I'll just stop emailing them or inviting them over. But it really bugs me because for some reason the validation of these people is important. Why?



Oh, on a happy note the date of my party is scheduled for Saturday Sept 28th, to start around 9pm. I'm making this really kick ass bbq chicken, I'll have the brew, I'll have the plates and spoons and forks, and I'll have the party room/pool/sauna. If anyone is interested, email me at yahoo.com, username is mwkohout. I'm hoping a lot of babes will show up. It'd be good for my ego.

I can't sleep tonight-so I decided to go to Perkins with Joe. He went out with these people from his work to the 90s. Afterwards, we met up at a Perkins in St. Paul. I guess his girlfriend dumped him because he didn't want to move in with her (to be honest, she's a really horrible mooch-she really wanted him to move in to defer her costs). I guess this wasn't even something even discussed before.

So anyways we meet at Perkins. He tells me his sob story. He tells me of these girls he just met. He tells me his (now) ex-girl doesn't want to be an ex anymore (she pulled this little stunt on Sunday morning, fyi). So he asks me if he should forget her little mistake and take her back. I say no, that there really isn't a future with this girl, that ultimately she's just trying to use him, and that he shouldn't go over to her place after we leave perkins. I explain that I don't think it was unacceptable for her to ask him to move in, but it was unfair to hinge this to the continuation of their relationship (a kinda young relationship at that-about 4 months or so). After all that he decides he's going to go over to her place (she invited him over) and get the last fuck then leave her spare key on the dresser. I think it's a bad idea. But oh well.

Now I'm kind of tired so I'm going to sleep. I'll update the whole situation with the cousin wedding on Saturday later today.

last night I had a dream where my dog died......really vivid.

tomorrow is my cousin's wedding. I'm kind of bummed-I'm not taking anyone so I know I'll just end up sitting around with my Uncles and my Father, talking about the same old crap, listening to the same old stories, the same old jokes (I think he "duck joke" is still a real knee-slapper for some of them)......

my sister wants me to leave after the wedding to go hang out with her and one of her old friends(Kelly--the girl who was up at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin 4th of July weekend). That may be better-we'll see. Both of them are kind of reckless (yet still, while being reckless my sister is boring. Don't know how she does it) and that kind of frustrates me.

I'm giving my cousin a set of salt and pepper shakers. They'll eat it up.

I had a school dream last night. I was in the book store at St John's, looking at a classes books trying to decide if I should enroll. Murph was teaching it, it was a book on the economics of government-Keynesian economics, I think, and how governments use Keynes.

Even in my dream I was fretting because I knew there would be a lot of reading(Murph was famous for assigning 300-400 pages to be read over 2 days)....but I was really excited to do it.

I've been waiting for a sign for when I'd be ready to go back to school...this may have been it. So tonight I'm going to send in my app for St. Thomas.

On a related note St John's called me last night asking for money. Donations. I said I'd think about giving them some. But I don't know if I really feel like it yet.

I got my camera back from the shop (aka Dad, in spare moments at the old post office), so now I'm kind of looking forward to taking some picts.

on an unrelated note, I'm guessing by Dec 1 I could be out of money if I don't get a raise. Who thought I'd work for the same company without a single raise, for a year and a half. Wonder if lil mike c has this problem.

In about 2 weeks, my cousin is getting married. I still need a date. Everyone says that I should try to meet someone there (which I suspect is a nice way of saying "Don't invite us to your cousin's crappy wedding") but I don't want to.

Anyway, I went to the YMCA last night-it's the first time I've actually gone to the gym vs going bikeriding or rollerblading in a couple months. It was nice, kinda. I'm hoping I can take care of the gut before the wedding so I look all hot in my 6 year old suit (which I still fit, after an alteration :-) ).

I'm going to go back tonight I think. It's a cheap way to entertain myself.

Last night was the first night this weekend that I've slept at my place. I've been hanging out a lot with my buddy Matt Michels-who tomorrow morning is going home to Guam for three weeks. Friday night I helped him buy a portable MP3 player (he wanted the iPod but I talked him down to something that was $150 less and could hold twice the amount of data)....we did that until like 4am and I slept on his floor.

The next morning I told him he owed me $75 dollars more because I spent the night. And that my pimp would beat the shit out of me if I didn't bring it to him. That night, we went grocery shopping and watched "Entrapment". I fell asleep on the couch, right as Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean Connery were about to start their final mission. I'd like to see the ending sometime-it seemed like an ok movie.

Yesterday, I slept until 2pm then I got up and went on a bike ride. 20 miles or so-I went around Calhoun and Harriet a couple of times. I like the new rims so far. Then Joey called and we went and saw "Undisputed" with Wesley Snipes and Ving Rames. OK movie, but the leading characters seemed really one dimensional (especially Snipes'). Considering the story occurred in prison, and both men had been convicted of pretty heinous crimes(Snipes-murder, Rames-rape) , the movie totally failed to expose some of the men’s vulnerability, their shame (Rames managed to expose this a little bit), or their fear.

After we saw the movie, Joey and I went over to Matt’s place where Zack, Angie, Sarah, and Matt were. And we watched some of the “Lord of the Rings”. I left home right before the climatic battle where Aragon dies.

Today I’m going to go on another ride. Then eat at my parents.

If I've got one problem with my lovelife it's that I really like smart, funny women. In fact, if I'm going to be interested in them at all for more than a week they have to be as smart as me or smarter.

If I liked dumb girls I'd get laid nonstop and I'd be in a relationship. As it is, I hardly ever do and I almost never am.

With my friends in their relationships it seems to vary. Joey and his girlfriend have very different educational backgrounds. He finished college, she's just got her high school diploma. Zack and his girlfriend Angie are both college grads but Zack is quicker (in my opinion). Angie is kind of like my mother-slightly lost in the world (like me, I guess). Matt and Sarah are a near match-both college grads and they're identical as far as their accomplishments go. I look at my parents and I see they are both of very different levels of achievement. My mother, while she has her nursing degree isn't as outwardly smart as my father. He's got a really good deductive mind.

In the past, in college I'd always date really flighty girls...the weird ones. I liked them-they were smart, funny, kinda kinky :-). But they were also used to just being carried along. Plus I think they liked to use dumb guys :-).

Now I think I'm attracted to(and date) girls who are more emotionally stable but maybe my expectations about them being really bright and funny are too high. Maybe I need to date girls like my sister, who are good nice people, but aren't someone I can just talk to for hours.

I think I was a little whiney last night after I got back from the fair. I've looked at what I've written on one of my friend's blogs (www.irish-girl.com) and I was kind of negative. I feel kind of stupid about it right now.

Luckily I've got a gigantic ego so I'll soon recover.

another reason I'm glad my friends liked it was because they were involved in radio like I was in college so they can view quality.

I think I've figured what genre what I write seems to fall into: geek folk- it's a combo of 60's/70's brit pop, pinch of jazz, olde tyme country.Al a Old 97s, but with the jazz.

last night some of my friends came over and I ended up playing them some of the stuff I've written in the last few months. They liked it, and unless they've all of a sudden decided to say things because they're polite (because they've always given an honest opinion before), I'm pretty stoked.

Played about 4 pieces, plus a few sketches of things I've been toying with.

Before that I went to a appleby's and hung out for a few hours with this girl. She's a Pole and a waitress. mmmm, waitress.


today I left work at about 5 and went to the fair with my sister Melissa. She's thinking of going out with this guy who's rumored to be a coke fiend. I think I gave some good advice when I told her she didn't really want to have anything to do with this guy. Hopefully she'll take it.

I'm going to leave work early...going to go enjoy the day.

Last night I was all set up to go to the fair with this girl I met-some things happened and it ended up not happening. Oh well, we'll go some other time.



So instead last night I went and hung out with Joey and we played Spades(the game was close), then we met up with Jordan we went over to Joey's girlfriend's place(she's Amy) in St Paul. Zack showed up, then Jordan, Joey, and Amy bought some illicit material that they proceeded to use. I didn't.

We then went to a bar till close, I went home, then I went to sleep.


As a note, my friends sure a stoners. They all watch SpongeBob Squarepants (a cartoon loved by children and stoners alike), they really know how the weed is processed (I suppose this makes them kinda smart stoners), they always seem to carrry papers, and they kinda smell like weed all the time.

We then watched the Breeders on a conan rerun, then went to the neighborhood bar for a while.

fyi, I got my new wheels. Haven't tried them out on my bike yet. I hope to tonight.

but I will say this-they seem much lighter than my old wheelsets. So fatty's going to go a little bit faster from now on.

I went up to Chris Kosel's girlfriends place on Saturday. It was fun....I tried his kayak-it was fun. It could develop into another sick hobby :-).

On Sunday I went with my Uncle Tommy and my Father to a ultralight fly-in....kinda fun, but it's not my sick hobby of choice. Belive it or not, it's a little too risky for me. And expensive, and the aircraft are a little too difficult to store.

I guess the neighbors upstairs have been snooping around about me a little bit....they've asked the caretakers if I've bought a new amp yet. If I haven't, they wonder why not. I could buy ones with headphones for only $75! Obviously, I'm not about to box up my ultra-cool, ultra-super sounding Fender Champ for some $75 Crate amp, and I'm kind of pissed off that these people think any of my shit is their business. I'm going to schedule a meeting to talk to the boad president about harassment. They fired the first shot, I'm going to finish it.

I think I might be kind of needy right now.

There's this girl at work, Kelly, and while there's not like anything going on I really have this deep desire to be reassured and told I'm special. This feeling is general to all women, I think.

It's not that I never get told these things, but it seems like people who tell me I'm good and fun and smart and stuff are those people who throw around those words so often it feels like they've almost lost their meanings. They tell you you're great like your mother always will-because even if you were a heroin addled prostitute you're mom would tell you you're awesome and stuff.

so I need a mean girl to tell me I'm super. is that too much to ask?
my email address is mwkohout at yahoo dot com.

This weekend the plans are I'm going to go to Chris Kosel's girlfriend's house tomorrow. I'm going to help him move a couch or something. Then on sunday I'm going to a air show.

on saturday sometime my rims and stuff should arrive, so I'm looking forward to a long ride on monday or sunday....or even saturday if I get home early enough.

This week is boring. The only exciting thing I've done is go with matt michels and joe reilley to the uncommon grounds to play cards(of which I won, if you care to know). And all I did last night was go home and (very quietly) play guitar and eventually go to sleep.

Today, even though it was raining and looked really crappy outside I just yearned to be outside....but what do I do instead, once I get off work? I go to my parents house and eat dinner and vege out. And update this thing, and play guitar for a little while. I'm a shut-in, I guess. Or even worse, a shut-in that kind of misses living with their parents.

I think I need to find a girlfriend, or get a dog. If I get either one of those things, I think I'd have more motivation to do things, and to sleep at my condo. I could take the dog out...the area is filled with great places to go. Or I could take the girl out.....the area is filled with great places to go. But alas, I can't have a dog in my building and I only have a marginal chance of meeting a girl that fits my needs. Plus, it seems I'm working so much I wouldn't be able to take good enough care of the dog or spend enough time with the girl.

Hopefully everything will change for me once my new wheelset comes in....I know it will. Girls will love me more, work will cease being a chore, and I'll get a raise. Or, I just be able to fill more time riding. Which would be ok, at least for right now.

This weekend I'm going to an airshow with my father-he wants to get an ultralight aircraft and I guess this one is filled with 'em. Should be fun. And cheap! Which is good because that wheelset cost me more than I could really afford. It blew like a month worth of fun money.

I'm going to bed now. goodnight.

I think guitars and music is a cheaper hobby.

http://bikenashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=121&subcategory=1085&brand=&sku=4566&storetype=&estoreid=



got these tires too.

http://bikenashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=6894

just bought this, for $150.

I got these rather than get my wheels rebuilt.

This is how the slam works(or as I understand it):

a poet(or a group of poets) goes on stage and has 3 minutes to recite a poem. They can't have any props or nonvocal accompyment. Then they are scored-5 boards are distributed to the audience and the 5 people holding the boards judge them olympic style(1 through 10, ten being the best). Then other people from their team go, and the numbers are tallied up.

Then the winner is raised up on crowd's shoulders and one finger(or toe) is removed from each member or the loosing team and given to each winner to put on their keychain.

Simple, gruesome, fun!

tonight I timed another slam-I also did one last night.

This one was pretty good-as good as the one last night.

A lot of the poets really try to reach their audience. I think that's the key. The ones I'll remember the least are the ones that didn't really have a broad ranging topic, something everyone could grab hold of.

My favorite so far has been a poet who spoke about his wife and about the decreasing condition of their cars. He called it the "Shitbox Mistique." It was funny, and also aligorical for the increasing decay of their bodies( the fellow was older--early to mid sixties ).

Another good one I saw last night was a group presentation. It was presented as a do-op. To be honest, I can't remember the subject so well....I think it was a love poem.

Another good one that I saw tonight was done by this woman who talked about how she's white, but to her family, to her inner circle, she's irish. It delt with how the greater world tries to simplify us, make us generic. But we're not.

I wish I would have taken better notes, as I would have liked to decribe these things in greater detail. Anyways, I might get called tomorrow to do some stuff, maybe I'll bug Meghan and see if I can help her, but if this was my experience with the National Poetry Slam of 2002, I'll be very satisfied. I would also enjoy seeing stuff here, locally, during the year.

who knows, they might be able to talk me into doing something. I just have to find something twisted enough, fun enough, or sexy enough to talk about.

well, to sleep I go. have to get up in 5 hours.

the web site I've been working on for the last while is going live tomorrow at noon-I've been pretty busy. Hopefully that will excuse my lack of posts lately

So I'm off to go do the time for the national poetry slam. It should be fun, and I look forward to hearing the participants, but I was really hoping to use this as a way of hanging out more with my friend Meghan....oh well. She knows my email/phone/sign. She can reach me if she wants.

Last night, one of my friends(Joey) talked me into going clubbing (well, he didn't have to try very hard. I was bored, and I didn't want to sit around like normal). If you're a regular reader of this blog (if there is such a thing) or you actually know me, just about the worst way to describe me would be to describe me as a person comfortable in the club. Which is the way it was, until I got a little bit of the liquid courage. Then it was better.

After the club closed Joey and I met up with Zack at Little T's-I think I had the enchalada and a malt. I also complemented the waitress (and the entire wait staff) on their impressive street cred on their paper tablecloth (they give you crayons and stuff to write on it).

Ended up kinda screwing around until 5 or so, then I woke up around 11 and just screwed around all today. Read some mail, paid some bills, went rollerblading.

Tomorrow I'm going to look over my old usability notes for our usability meeting at work this week. I might also bring in the rear wheel off my bike-it needs to be rebuilt. Maybe-but I might also see about upgrading the hub to something a little lighter.

I'm listening to cheap trick. God, they're a great band.

I feel so guilty and dirty now, for saying that.

oh well. If a top shelf cool person can like britney spears (they exist! or at least one does, right Meghan?), I can like cheap trick.

Worked until about 7:00 yesterday. When I got home the old-timers in my building had decided to have a bbq, so I ate some of their leftover brats and hotdogs and corn on the cob. Then, after an hour of cleaning my place I decided to go rollerblading.

Ended up going for about 2 hours. It was nice.

Then I went to bed.

this would be fun to go to:


Beck
• Next: 8/8,
The Fitzgerald Theater
10 Exchange St E
Saint Paul, MN 55101
651-290-1200
• Click here for a complete schedule

# Buy tickets for Beck at AOL Box Office.

He’s shared the stage with everyone from the Olivia Tremor Control to Devo, lent voice to slackerdom with 'Loser,' survived the new pollution, unleashed a flock of midnight vultures and lent new dimension to the term "funky;" in short, Beck has breathed new life into the realm of popular music. Ever the one-man groove patrol, he’s a technical wunderkind whose imaginative studio trickery and natural songwriting prowess bridge the gaps between rock, hip-hop and techno sounds. Whether he’s stepping out as a lounge lizard or a young MC, Beck's a captivating performer, even if he’s strapping on an acoustic six-string for an unplugged set (as he will be for his current cross-country jaunt) or heading up his own groove armada. Between live dates, he’s putting the finishing touches on his next full-length album, due out September 2002. -- Susan Moll

Yesterday I had another really strange dream-I was getting married. And it didn't make any sense! I was getting married in this ruined church, It was all white brick(which I don't even think they can make), and most of the walls were in piles on the floor. I know the woman I was getting married to, but not in any romantic way. It wasn't anyone I'm related to, but I won't go into that any deeper. Because it would be weird.

I think I was having a good time though. I was wearing a nice suit... and before the ceremony my lady and I snuck away for a quickie. Cool.

Today is awesome. I'm going on a bike ride then I'm going to make some homemade minestrone...I haven't made it in a while so I should really enjoy it.

I had a really strange dream last night. It was strange in a number of ways. First off, the dream was a college dream. Second, the dream was that I was in a dancing musical (I think it was "The Music Man") that was a class assignment, and third, fat old Marlon Brando was in it.

While the sleep may have been strange, the day wasn't. Another work day, except I'm kind of frustrated about the planning of several people at whore-k(work! isn't that a funny alternate spelling?) who make several times what I do. It seems that they know nothing about software development, software engineering, project planning, or working with others. The seem to like the words, and I think they think the words sound neat, but they have no idea why they are neat or how to do them. They're like daddy's little kid. He may like diamonds and know they're expensive but he has no idea where they come from or what their physical properties are.

This weekend was cool. I went to a picnic with a bunch of friends (most of whom used to/do work for www.bitstream.net), and on Saturday went to Milwaukee to visit a friend and see "Jimmy Eat World." The drive ended up being about 6 hours, the sound quality was shitty. And I had to leave by 8:30 Sunday Morning to make it to Brunch with the family. So that stuff could have been better.

I had a date type thing last Wednesday. I was polite, I thought I was funny (I even brought out the good stories--not the crappy ones I waste on the average person), and I was even cute (my sister said so!). But when I called her on Friday to go to the Uptown Art Fair and left a message she never called her back. Too bad-I thought she was neat. I'll call one more time and talk to her or leave a message. If I don't get a reply, oh well.

I know a sunburned, sore redhead that's got a date tomorrow!

God I'm a stud.

I din't get to updating the blog on the end of my trip, but now I'm back (sitting in front of my parent's computer, eating their food, enjoying their air conditioning).

so these were the tangable totals of the ride:
516.26 miles,
in 41 hours and 25 minutes,
with a max speed of 41.4 miles per hour (down a hill),
and an average speed of 12.4 mph.

How much did I spend? Too much. About $450 when you include the Greyhound down, the cab, the food, the bike fixes, the cost of the actual ride, and my ride home.

But I think it was worth it-I feel more superior than a vegan at the Republican National Convention. And that analogy makes sense 'cause you know a vegan would feel very self-rightous in that environment. I also feel more fit-right now they're sore, but my legs feel better overall. I also feel tan-even though I wore sunscreen all week I still got enough sun to turn me from slightly Minnesota pasty to a slightly golden brown (though I'm a little red too).

anyways, next year I'm going to take some more people along with me, if they'll go. I think my Dad is sick of the Oshgosh air show, so he could skip that and come along. Plus I'd like to get my sister plus a few friends to give it a shot. Who knows.

well, back to squirting out software tomorrow. oh well.

This morning I woke up in Charles City, at about 5:30 to discover my sleeping bad and pillow had been drenched with rain. Got on the road by 7:00 after a shower. Ate a pork chop for lunch, talked to a bunch of people, learned about recumbants, saw a guy that had the type of bike Chris Kosel has, but newer (He bought it used for $600! What a steal). Drank some Nestea(did you know it's manufactured in Iowa? It is!). Got into town by 5:30 and ate some spaghetti from the Knights of Columbus. Not bad food.

I broke a couple spokes today-luckily I was within blocks of a repair shop both times. Cost me $23 though-which adds up. Since I have so much trouble with the spokes in my rear tire I need to figure out how to do stuff with my rims myself-with the money I'd save I could buy some nice stuff, like better rims.

Anyways, I'm going to bed now. Only two more days and then I can become clean.

I saw my first instance of decorated Mardi Gras road kill. Just outside of Nora Springs. Brought a tear of joy to my eye :-).

Right now I'm in this little town named Fenton, pop about 350...about 22 miles into the day. This is the first town of the day, after our overnight.

This morning one of the coolest things so far happened...I was re-organizing my bags, and I noticed this chirping sound. As I dug, I found this little cricket. It was nice knowing that I may have had company all this time, all these miles.

They say tomorrow's wind is going to be from the east. We're going east. As my Dad would say, "Ride with your Nuts."

RAGBRAI, Day 2 (Cherokee to Emmetsburg, IA)

I'm just wiped.

The ride today ended up being about 85 miles, about 35 or 40 in a really severe northernly headwind. Including all the stops, it was about 13 hours of riding.

I woke up this morning and I was crusing, at about 14-15 mph, for the first fifty or so miles. The weather was good, not to warm, not raining, not really windy. I was kind of discouraged by my breakfast-I stood in line for about half an hour for 3 small pancakes, and 2 sausages. Five bucks. And a part of my life I'll never get back. Though the eats did improve-I found an "All the Watermellon You Can Eat" place, so I chowed down there for a while (like--an hour. This was into the headwind...I was tired, hungary, and though not unique to this event, horny). I also found a place serving gigantic brats for 3 bucks. Score.

Overall, the thing I'm enjoying the most are the stops. I've talked to different people whenever I've wanted to and I think I've learned. But I'm kind of lonely. Next year if I do this, I won't do it alone. And I'll have a really cool recumbant bike. They are way nicer on your ass (I'm sure mine is all brused up by now) and not so hard on your back (mine just kills).

RAGBRAI, Day 1 (Sioux Center to Cherokee):

I rode 57 miles today, about 40 before noon (when temps were running about 104 degrees). The last 17 were killers-I was so hot, I don't think I averaged more than 8 or 9 miles an hour. Before noon, I think my average was about 15 or 16 mph.
I wore one of my St John's t-shirts and shorts and I heard "Hey Johnny! Blah Blah Blah" all day. It was nice-I felt as though I kind of existed :-).

I ran into the Chickenman today. Who is the Chickenman, you might ask? He's this guy that wears a wrap (and *ONLY* a wrap, you can tell when he sits down) covered with chickens who owns a big huge keg on wheels-and every day he parks it somewhere along the route. Today I had this wheat beer (kind of like "Blue Moon", but not as sweet) and a darker ale. It was fun.

By the time I got to camp I was just about ready to pass out. I ended up eating some watermelon and had a can of pop, then I started to feel better. After I get done typing this I think I'm going to eat at an all you can eat spaghetti dinner at one of the churches.

I think one of my favorite teams from last year, Team Road Kill is now defunct. Last year, they "dressed up" the road kill in bead necklaces and stickers--this year, road kill went unaltered. Bummer. Though I did see "Big Earl's Girls" and Team Bad Boy(members of this team have tricked-out bikes...one person has a portable bar on their bike, and I think someone else has a toilet bowl).

Tonight it might rain and tomorrow it's pretty hilly so it's going to be a tough 68 miles tomorrow.

I'm outta here. Going to go get something all-you-can-eat. MMMMMM barf-et.


By

Just watched a show of fireflies. cool. g'night.

So I arrived at camp, today at about 6:00....about an hour and a half later than I thought. Thanks to the combined stupidity of of Greyhound (mostly their web site) and myself.

The short story is that the starting camp was at Sioux Center, and the ending destination of my ticket was Sioux City. They aren't the same city.

I think what happened is I typed in Sioux City as my ending destination but Greyhound's site is kind enough to select the city with the closest spelling if the destination city you typed isn't found. Try it yourself--enter minneapolis, mn and sioux center, ia as the starting and ending cities on www.greyhound.com .... then watch the magic!

If I remember, there was an error message but I guess I missed it. My fault.

Anyways, I got a cab for about $80 from Sioux City to Sioux Center and now all is well, just I'm now $80 poorer.

I also met a few people from the cities today-so I've got a ride home.

More updates (if possible) after tomorrow (or the next day, or the next day ......) which will refer to the actual ride.

I'm sweaty, tired, and dirty. And I'm getting up at 5:00 tomorrow to start riding.

Last night I went and hung out with the 'rents. I went to the bike shop to get a box for my bike (for my trip). I also went hunting for a new hockey/duffle bag, to hold my stuff. My old hockey bag, after years of abuse finally died after last year's trip and now I need a new one. By the time I got home, about 8:30, the only thing open was SportMart. What a crappy store. I kid you not-this place, despite acres of floorspace had virtually no hockey equipment. I guess they needed all the space for their shitty running shorts and crappy huffy bikes.

I was thinking of trying play-it-again sports or Letterman's ( old school hockey/sports store ). They'll have what I need.

Well, this is the last post before my trip. I'll update in route if I can but if not I'll keep a written journal which I'll then post afterwards. If I'm motivated.

if I can get on-line, I'll also check my email@ yahoo. username: mwkohout server: yahoo.com. My ass and I would appreciate any documented incidents of good wishes/love/promises for sex (but only from girls) or money .

Last night I invaded Meghan McInerny, Nancy Lyon, Linda Shull's girls night out......well, it was only kind of a girls night out because Dave Mehl was there too. And he's only kind of a girl.

It was the most fun I've had all week-this week at work has been really trying...I have some serious doubts about the project I'm working on and the work in the project isn't interesting. Yesterday I cut and pasted all day. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it just wears on me.

This morning the caretakers informed me my shower is leaking. Hooray! I also got my new biking shoes. Hooray! Guess which hooray is sincere.

On Saturday at 7:30 am I leave for my bike trip. I hope I can update this site while I'm on it. Last year a couple places let us use their school's computers so I may be able to.

It's been almost a week since my last update. I've been filling my time with biking and work mostly.

Saturday I went on a 20 mile ride on my road bike with Chris Kosel from work-a good ride. The trail was all gravel, and my ass was pretty sore from it yesterday. Afterwards, I ended up hanging out with Joe, Zack, Matt--typical Weekend stuff. Cards, Coffeeshop, and the required amount of bitching and moaning about the week.

Sunday, I went for another ride in uptown and around the lakes(Harriet and Calhoun)-also spent way too much time in the music store checking out amp modellers. Then I worked most of the night, from about 6 pm on till about 3:30.

This morning I got up at 7. I'm kind of tired now.

for anyone who is interested, my email is mwkohout@yahoo.com--send all your customer inquiries there :-).

So last weekend I went up to my Aunt's cabin. Kinda interesting-I don't think I've ever spent so much time with my cousins all at once in so concentrated a time.

I got up there on thursday afternoon-everyone had beaten my sister Melissa, her friend Kelly, and me up there. So my Uncle Tommy and his 12 and 11 year old girls were there, my little brothers and parents were there(Ryan, 18 and Patrick, 15) along with Ryan's girlfriend( also 18). And my cousin Doug(35) and his wife Stephanie was there along with his parents(Maryann and Dean, 60). The cabins we were staying at were Doug's and MaryAnn and Dean's and were pretty nice.

The first night we watched all the fireworks going off all around the lake--some were pretty good. Not Aquatennial good, but pretty fair for fireworks purchased at grocery stores or Wal-Marts. We fired off a few of our own (Patrick, my pyromaniac brother naturally took charge of this), and my younger cousins ran around with sparklers.

Friday my Mother and my aunt Maryann went to the liquor store, much to the delight of my brother Ryan and his girlfriend who then enjoyed being liquored up for much of the weekend. We played Bochi(SP?) Ball, I went for a walk with my sister and her friend Kelly (who is an old friend from elementary school and is now a super-buff and super-cute hockey player). We ended the night with Doug proudly showing us his Digital Satellite Porn Channels. Kinda funny.

Saturday, I went for a bike ride much of the afternoon. I found one of the cemeteries and looked at it for a while. When I got back, I ate dinner then went with Kelly for a walk back to the cemetery. We didn't make out. Oh well.

Then, Kelly, Melissa, and I left for home. And we had to deal with the torential rain where (naturally) my sister's windshield wipers stopped working. It kinda sucked, but we got back by 1:00 am on Sunday.

good weekend up at my aunt's cabin. will enter in later today, but for now I'll give my little rant about street cred.

I don't got any. At least I don't have any that counts compared to people that work or hang out at Pizza Luce, Little T's, Terminal Bar, or people that live in Uptown, Downtown, Etc, or people that have funny colored hair, tattoos, or body/face piercings.

That's why I'm going to go shopping at the Gap to see if I can find anyone there that could sell it to me. Or I'm going to make nonstop passes at those who have some, in hopes that my association with them will pass some on to me.

Will it work? I don't know but I'm really interested in that second path--I want to be that guy in the sweater vest with his arm around a cool girl.

mmmmmmm, cool girls.

I felt so uncreative last night.

Every once in a while, when I sit down to work on stuff that I've written (either to edit or extend existing stuff or to write whole new stuff) I get into a funk and feel really bored with what I'm doing. Although I haven't felt this way since I moved into my new place, and I never really felt as bored as last night since I got my new Telecaster last December.

I think it might be environmental, because with those old people above me I don't really feel disconnected with the real world-the whole time I was concerned with my noise level...what I was playing felt forced.

Tomorrow morning I'm going up to my Aunt Maryann's cabin north of Lake Melax(sp?) so most likely this will be my last post until next Monday.

went to buffalo wild wings last night....then went over to where a few of my friends live(Zack and Joey)....ended up staying up until 3am.

I tried to get up to do my morning ride at five, but man, it was weird. Every once in a while I have these really intense dreams that just kind of follow you out of sleep-like the kind where for that brief second you really believe you parents are dead, you dogs are dead, that you're back in high school, plus some good ones like you reach across the bed, expecting someone else to be there.

Anyways, I ended up having this wierd dream that I was in the Army......except it was like the 'Full Metal Jacket' type-Army(although "Full Metal Jacket was about Marines, right? Well, we can't expect my dreams to be totally fact-checked) and I think I was dreaming that I was on leave.

I think it could have been triggered by me thinking that I spotted one of my old roommates from college last night-he was ROTC, and every morning at 5am he'd wake me up as he got ready for his morning runs. He really pissed me off, and when we graduated I laughed my ass of as they stationed him in Alabama, as an MP, when he thought all through college they'd station him in Germany and allow him to go directly to law school(so he could serve as a JAG).

Of course, I also laughed at how my sister shot him down, every time, when he tried to impress her with his silly Army shit. I swear to God, every time he saw her(or any girl for that matter) he'd take out his uniform and explain how he'd gotten his pseudo-medals he got for his training.

Although to make it perfectly clear I didn't think he was an asshole for these things, but he most certainly was(he tried to physically threaten me a number of times). And I viewed these things as nice little ways to get back.

wow, did this post not really have a point.....oh well, it's not like anyone reads them.

I've decided girls are absolutely nuts if they don't think I'm smart, ok looking, and kind of funny....but in a good way.

And I've also discovered that girls that complain and think their lives are boring are kind of a turn on for me.

So....I ended up spending the entire weekend at my parents. Kinda fun, don't have pesky neighbors that tell me to be quiet, get to eat for free(plus the grub is pretty good), and I don't have to wake up in an empty house.

When I got home last night, I found a letter from my condo manager in my mailbox-I guess the people above me have used some time in their last years to chew off the ear of that guy, about my music. It's a pain in the ass, and I don't understand these people's problems. The only ones complaining are the people above me, neither the people right next to my living room nor the people on the other side, to where my amps are aiming are complaining. In fact, I asked them if I was bothering them and they said they couldn't hear a thing. It blows me away that this one person could totally ruin this place for me. Then again, while some of the (old) people that live there are nice, many are nasty mean old people.

Anyways, wrote another song last night. So far, I figure I've got between 7 - 9 good tunes that I enjoy playing. Although I haven't quite gotten around to recording them yet....maybe soon though. Although I don't know if the final count of this batch will be 7-9, I've been toying with combining them(they all kinda float around in the key of C) ...sometimes it seems as if they are kind of simple and I'd like them to be a little more stimulating to play and listen. Now I've just got to find some vocals....shouldn't be that hard. I've got 6 years of poetry saved up(ends up being around 5 or 6 filled notebooks, a single poem to a page).

oh, it looks like after the death of John Entwistle The Who are still going on tour. So I'm still going to take the old man to see that. Should still be interesting. I hope they won't alter the tour taking it out of Minnesota.

if there has been one band which has just blown me away through one performance it's been The Who.

I remember when I was in high school my father has a cassette copy of their concert album "Live at Leeds"....if I remember correctly, I wasn't necessarily impressed.

But as time has gone on, I grew more and more impressed with their energy, their musicianship, their passion. Partially because of their records I came to believe that those three values are the cornerstone of Great Music, and whenever I've listened to music I've used those values as a system of evaluation. And on my own music, while I hope I don't just play to emulate The Who's interpretation of those values, I always tried to push myself to play at their level.

I went on a bike ride this morning and last night. 20 miles, combined. Some of you may say "WOW! Kohout's a stud! 20 miles on a bike! Wow!". Well, in about 3 weeks I'm doing RAGBRAI-the (Des Moines) Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa....it's 60-80 miles of riding, 7 days straight. I did it last year and while it was one of the best things I ever did(it was so empowering....if you can ride your bike across a state, you think you can do anything) it almost killed me. And last year, I did far more training. By the time I left last year, I had rode about 450 miles. This year, I've only rode about 200 miles.

I don't think my ride is entirely hopeless, as I think I'm a much smarter rider. Last year, I rode as hard as I could, as fast as I could, and I was really hurting by the third day. This year I'll ride at a much easier pace.

Oh, I decided to get my mother a really nice picture frame (eventually) to be used for a family photo. I can't remember us having a portrait since I was 7 or 8, so she should enjoy it. At some point, I'll go to Dayton's or somewhere and pick one out. Or I could go to my uncle who does interior decorating and maybe he could hook me up with a deal.

see you later campers.

Last night, for all the help my parents have given me this last month, with my moving, my car problems, and for allowing me to come home when I can't stand going to my empty condo (I don't think I was ment alone. It's sad. It's boring.), I got them some gifts.

For my Dad, I got him a guitar. An Epiphone 6-string(a 350-S, to be specific). Nothing really nice, it only cost $130, but a accoustic with a solid wood soundboard. He used to play a long time ago, and he's wanted a new guitar for a long time, so I figured that it would be nice if I helped him with that. Now I just have to reteach him how to play...I figure by the 4th of July, he should have enough knowledge to play some basic stuff.

For my Mom, I don't know what to get her. I'd get her jewlery, but I couldn't get her anything really amazing. I guess I could get her a bunch of little nick-nacks, like a number of those adorable "Little People" dolls they sell at Hallmark or something. If any ultra-fine, ultra-tasteful ladies can think of an awesome $130 gift that a momma would like, please send me any ideas.

up till now, so like the last week, I've been writing this primarily for my own enjoyment. well, today I decided to let the cat out of the bag and let my small world know this was something I was doing.

continuing on my entry from yesterday, about dressing nicely:
Today, I intentionally dressed like a slob. Didn't comb my hair, didn't shave, wore jeans that were pretty sloppy(and hadn't been washed after 3 wearings), and picked out one of my old st john's work study shirts (which has held up pretty well for almost 6 years, but is still 6 years old). No one said a word. I guess I am a slob.

I guess I need to go to JC Penny's and get some more sweater vests(maybe I could hitch a ride with Tom Bell! Get fashon tips from him). Suave myself up a little bit for the whole office crowd.

Or not.

So, today to liven up the mix a little bit I wore a nice shirt, a nice pair of slacks, and a tie. EVERYONE has asked me how the interview went. While I'd like to say that it went well, I didn't have an interview today.

I guess I must be a real slob if when I dress nicely everyone thinks it's an event.

I have really good friends...often, and normally I bitch about them pretty hard core. But they're really there for me, in the ways they can be.

Yesterday, and today, as soon as they got off work they called me begging me for my company. Playin' the cards, livin' it up at Uncommon Grounds.

For the most part, I never spend time around people I don't like. The people I work with? I like those who are my peers. The people from school I still see? Yup, they're pretty high on my list.

The Funeral for my Grandfather was pretty nice-it was the first time in a couple of months that the who extended family came together. After the funeral, my parents, and siblings, and I went to my cousin's place to go on a boat ride down the river(he and his wife own a house on the Mississippi in Champlain). We ended up watching old family videos, one was a tape of my cousin Doug getting married, about 12 years ago. I think the whole mess really hit. I realized my grandparents, who were alive and attended my cousin's wedding would never be able to attend mine. Pretty sucky.

well, off to Uncommon Grounds and a fine game of cards and second hand smoke.
kohout

So-it seems like this is the thing to do, and I'm not afraid of jumping on(and subsequently breaking) the bandwagon.

plus, I do have interesting things to say (as long as I don't all of a sudden get shy), and I might even have people that would read it. we'll see, won't we?

As a first post, yesterday my Grandfather died. My family wants me to say something for the wake. I was kind of thinking about saying something about how he really is here, alive, as much as he was before Tues at 8:30-because whenever I look in the mirror, or look at my family, or listen to how they and I speak and think, we've all got traits of his. Often his best...so, really, if you look it in the right way(MINE, of course), he really is now a perfect human being.

The wake is on Thursday night, 5-7 and the Funeral is on Friday. Hopefully none of my relatives that have less-than-perfect traits will do something stupid.