Water Ride

So, where did we leave off with the story of Rick's new boating purchase? Oh, yes. Last we heard, the original shipper was arrested and making arrangements to get the boat up here through a secondary shipper. To get the first part of the story, click here. And click on his official title for a great picture of Capitan Rick.
Anyway, about two weeks ago, Rick finally got his boat up here. On the first day, he offered to take me aboard. So, we cleaned up a bit here and there and then noticed that there was a scratch on the port side of the boat. The boat had gone through so many hands in the past few days, you would think that it was a dollar bill. So, who do you blame?
But, why focus on that when you have a sweet yacht at your disposal?! So, we gave it a quick spit polish and then went off to get the license sticker. Much like a car, you need a license sticker in order to operate it.
So, we go to one place that is closed. Then another where the guy didn't seem to
know what he was doing. Finally a third place where they told us that Rick needed a registration card. In order to have a registration card, he needed to prove that he had paid the taxes on the boat. In order to prove that he needed to contact his next of kin, do the Hokey Pokey and guess how many beans there were in the jar on the counter. (That's an actual picture of the boat on the right!)
We were told that Rick needed to move the to a different spot, because the spot he was in at the time was for loading and unloading boats in the water. So we turned the keys. Nothing. Other engine? Nothing. Maybe the batteries needed to be charged. Nope they were both dead. So, with no stickers and no batteries, we were not going anywhere that day. But, at least things were cleaned up nicely and it looked pretty sweet.
Rick eventually bought new batteries and got the boat up and running. Moved it to the appropriate parking space (slip) and things were groovy. After waiting about a week and a half, Rick found out that the paperwork that he needed for the sticker, he had all along. The lady he had talked to about getting the sticker was just an idiot.
But, back to the fun stuff. Just this weekend, he went up there on a Saturday, spent the night and showed his relatives his new investment on Sunday. They were quite impressed.
So, yesterday, there were a few things that Rick wanted to get taken care of on his boat, so Andy, William and I offered our services to Rick. As soon as we got in, we untied the boat from the dock and were off. First things first, we needed to fill up the tank with gas. So, Rick dropped $500 in gas alone (Pretty rough, huh?!) while we helped by buying some beer, soda and whiskey. After we were stocked and set to go, it was time to open 'er up to see what she could do. Rick pushed the throttle and we took off. If you weren't expecting it, you could be pushed overboard. The force was that great. The pictures that you see were taken yesterday from the boat.
While the speed of the boat was being tested, I played Isaac and made drinks in the downstairs area. William was busy inflating the raft that he was about to enjoy. I took one look at the wake that was being made behind us and began to wonder about the safety of taking a raft out in it, but William was all about it and assured us that he was not insured, but of sound mind and body.
So, we slowed down. Dropped the raft in the water and tied it up to the boat. William jumped in, and it was go-time. The video here is an actual video taken yesterday with my phone of what happened. It is a bit deceiving because William did stay with the raft for quite a long time before the video was taken.

After two rides, that was about it for William, so Rick decided to just circle around the lake at high speeds and then began looking for a bar to dock at. The first one we came to was closing. The next one looked as if it were closed. We were well into the evening when we smelled something from the engines. They were over heating. So, William, being the trooper that he is, popped off the radiator caps and filled the radiators with water. Both were bone dry. Rick tried it again. We went a little way and then had to stop. This became our method of travel. Go about 2-3 blocks then stop. Have William fill up the radiators then wait. Once the temp. went down a bit, give it another shot.
Soon, probably out of frustration, William jumped out of the boat and tied a rope to his chest and began pulling the boat. The water wasn't that deep and he could touch bottom. This worked for a while and proved to be a quick solution to our problems. But, there is only so far that one can pull a 5 ton boat. I'm surprised that Rick didn't have oars for us in the cabin for us to row with on the way back in.
It was probably a good thing that William didn't pull it all the way in because, where Rick is docked, the water is pretty stagnant, and not the best to be wading in. It was 3:00 in the morning before we got the boat into the harbor. It was about 3:30 before we hit the road. We stopped to get some iced tea and once more for McDonald's and made it in about 4:40 this morning. I had my McGriddles and passed out around 5:00.
But, on the list today - buy swim trunks for the next ride on the raft. That looks like a heluva lot of fun. Who's with me?!

Mancow - The Story & Speculation

I didn't know much about Mancow leaving Q101. I had heard the day of that he was no longer employed there. But, with me being in Effingham, I didn't get the full story. The radio insiders that I have didn't have a great deal of info either. But, I found this video of an interview with Mancow from the week of his release. Take everything that he says with a grain of salt. He is Mancow, by the way.

I am aware of what Q101 has in store for it's morning show come Sept, but I shouldn't say anything. I am also aware that Mancow is renting out WLS studio space to continue his syndication. Whether or not that is true and whether or not he will be back in Chicago on another station, I don't know.
He doesn't really fit anywhere. The Loop? Owned by the same company that has Q101. WCKG? They just got Opie & Anthony and they won't get rid of their pathetic looser of an afternoon drive host - Steve Dahl. (Especially if he's back with Gary as Friday seemed to suggest. With it not being a ratings period, it could be the real deal and not just a stunt.)
You'll note that Mancow bashes radio stations origionating from outside the Chicagoland market. Perhaps this is fore-shadowing where he plans on going. KISS FM is a station out of LA, but it has good ratings and a local morning show (I think...) The new Jack FM on 104.3 isn't doing so well and neither is the new Oldies format on 94.7. Both are stations that are 100% music without a DJ. (Wonder why they are sucking so much?!)
99.9 FM has been a waste of space since day one, but it is still pulling in enough ratings to stay afloat. Especially after it has just obtained the tossed around frequencies of 92.5 & 7 which were once used for Energy and then went Spanish and now "Everything."
XRT is too trendy. The Drive is too busy being more about the music and keeping their DJ's on seditives. The Mix and B96 will never get rid of their established morning shows. I doubt Cow will go to AM. I think we are out of options, aren't we? Unless a Spanish station flips. And I doubt that because Spanish radio is the fastest growing format!
So, where is Cow going? I think very few people know. The question come the end of the month will be "will very few people care?"

Video Tour Of My Home

Ok. I have to admit. I am REALLY digging this YouTube.com website. I wanted to see if I could post one of their videos on my blog. I can. This website is great. I just type in a subject, and there is a video on it. I tried getting a video on Effingham, but to no avail. I was hoping for something that really spotlighted the city, but there was nothing. At least nothing of substance. Just some dumb band playing at Ichabods (a bar in Effingham.)
So, I tried my home town up here in Chicagoland. Nothing there, but a train going past our train station. No one finds that interesting. Not even train conductors. So, I broadened my search and found a relatively well done tour of Chicago. The main reason I chose it was because of the great song that went along with it. The only problem was that the tourist that visited our great city video taped the wrong baseball stadium AND left out the most important field - Soilder Field. But, what can you expect from tourists?
The girl in the video is probably the videographer's daughter or something, but I found it to be a good representation of the best major city in all of the world – Chicago.
If you have 4 minutes to kill in order to appreciate the greatness that can be found up against Lake Michigan – click the video.

Then go to YouTube.com and let me know what great stuff you come across! I await your reply soon. In the meantime, I will be watching The Sox beat Min. And flib back to the Cubs loosing to the Cards.

Inhumane Treatment

One thing that always saddens me on TV is the unnecessary destruction of cars for ourentertainment gain. It is so inhumane and cruel. Oh, sure it starts with something small like the car door falling off in the Victory Auto Wreckers' commercial. We laugh, he gets $60 for his old car so someone else can fix up their car with used parts (Victory has ten acres of used parts – starters, transmissions, batteries for all types of cars!)

Little do most people know, the guy in the commercial gets injured. When the car door falls off, it hits him in the chest. He injured his ribs and eventually sued Victory Auto Wreckers, allegedly. They continue to run the same commercial for the past 30 years. And we continue to look the other way about the true crime here – the damage of an innocent car.
On Home Improvement, a beautiful 1956 Nomad was driven by the character Jill Taylor. Her accident-prone husband, Tim, took it to a construction site. What happened to this beautiful car is difficult to talk about, but I feel it is my duty to show the true side of this awful tragedy. The script called for Tim to accidentally drop a steel girder on the car. Sure enough, the show dropped one on this remarkable machine. And it wasn't just side to side on the cabin, but instead the full length of the car. Rendering it nearly impossible to be re-built and saved. Another American classic killed in order to achieve a small laugh from the sick fans who would find humor in such tragedy.
I began thinking about other instances of this occurring and thought about the one movie where the second most cars were destroyed (behind only Will Smith's ID4), “The Blues Brothers.” Cop cars piled up taller than the Prudential building, yet, I don't feel as bad about that as the Nomad. This I find interesting. It is almost comical to see John Candy stuck in the back of a semi's trailer. It was then that I wondered if I had a problem.
Was I prejudice against certain types of cars? Do I assign value to one car over another? How could I be that way? I blame society. Namely, Kelly Blue Book. This underground rating of every type of car ever made rates cars based on their use, condition and age. How could we let some arbitrary group tell us the value of the car that we drive?! Can they put a price on what some would say is a direct extension of the self? I say if you are trying to sell your car, put a price on it that you think it is worth without looking at these car racists! Boycott the blue book. Boycott it.
What a sick world we live in.

What Does Accepted Reject?

Time now for a movie review. I know that you count on me for all of your non-biased film reporting, and I thank you. Last night I saw the film “Accepted” (click on the movie poster on the left for the IMDB site) with my friend Kate. While this will not become the next “American Pie” franchise, it was decent. The premise is that the main character, Bartleby Gaines (played by Justin Long who you will recognize from “Dodgeball”) has been rejected from every college that he has applied to. So, he creates his own fake college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology" to attend in order to make his parents proud. (note the innitials of his college. That's as creative as an early 90's Van Hallen album.) After creating the first elements of his creative fraud (from a website to even renting out an old psych ward as the school) he has his parents fooled. One thing he didn't expect was for other students to apply and get accepted via the fake website.
The movie is about Gaines keeping his head above water and fighting off things going completely wrong. This film has a PG-13 rating which also means that it isn't as raunchy as a Van Wilder, but does all that it can to get as close to pushing the envelope. Other notable characters in the film are the stuffy dean played by Anthony Heald (who I enjoyed in Boston Public and Red Dragon) and Lewis Black who many know from The Daily Show and stand-up specials. Black plays essentially himself – a bitter man upset with the world and willing to share how frustrated he is with anyone who would listen. Black plays Dean Lewis, the only adult on the staff of the fake college.
The friends of Gaines that assist him with the college are all relatively unknowns. For this being their first major motion picture, their acting abilities were quite good. You even have the fat friend, Sherman Schrader (Played by Jonna Hill). For the first time in a long time, he isn't the stupid, clumsy butt of jokes, but instead Schrader is a smart, loyal friend of Gaines. This was a refreshing change from the standard big, dumb, fat guy routine.
While this movie had it's funny moments, I would recommend it only as a strong rental. It's PG-13 rating may have limited it in where they could go. They probably went with this rating to bring in the standard high school student and increase their movie-goer base. For the high school student, this might be a good appetizer to the greats in college-based movies like “Animal House” and “Porky's,” but it is no where up to their caliber. I am very sick of every movie with a keg and co-eds being said it is the next "Animal House." While it is a new twist on things, it is still the same tired movie of a bunch of college students getting together to fight the system. This route may be a bit more creative than most, but not enough that it isn't something that you haven't seen before. I would not expect a sequel from this film, despite the open ending they gave it. (Don't worry, I won't give away the ending, incase you want to see it.) While this film may reject big crowds in the theaters, it would be a good rental. It is worth it only there. I give this one 2 out of 4 stars.

(Oh, and for the record, the Robin Williams movie “The Night Listener” that was discussed in a previous post only gets ½ a star, because that is the lowest I can give a film according to the AMA rules I'm bound to as a professional movie reviewer. The acting in that film from Robin Williams deserves ½ a star. Everything else keeps it from being a movie worth your time... and your $8.50.)

Call Center Hell

Ever wonder what it is like for those folks that work in call centers? The people who take your phone calls to assist you with your cell phone, internet access or so you can order those dirty girls on the beach videos. (You perv!)
Here is a great example of what it's really like on the other end of the headset:

http://tinyurl.com/s30v

The acting isn't great, but it is VERY true to life. Trust me, I worked for one once. I got out, though. For that, each day, I am thankful.

The Week In Review

It has been a while since I gave you an update. I appreciate the e-mails asking for me to write a new post. I will get to the continuation of Rick's yacht in a day or two. We will focus on something more important today – me.
Ha, it's great to have your own blog where you're always right.
A week ago I had my official “F Effingham Party.” It was quite the wild time. There we grilled pork products (because it's Effing-HAM) and drank. I was impressed by the amount of people that were there. There was somewhere between 40 and 50 people there. Nearly everyone who was asked to be there was. It was quite humbling, actually.
The only problem is I can only remember about half the evening. I have never been that bad before. So, I have decided that will be the last time that will happen.
Isn't it strange that in those circumstances, no problem. However if someone were hit on the head in such a way that they forget a portion of the day, they would be run immediately to the hospital? However, with too many beers, we just shrug it off and move on with life.
Oh well. Thanks to everyone who made it out. If you didn't make it out, you can make it up to me later.
Sunday I saw that new Robin Williams movie with my friends Tim & Sara(h). I don't remember how I was talked out of Talladega (sp?) Nights, but we saw “The Night Listener” instead. Tim summed it up best by saying “I can't think of a movie that I disliked more than that one.” I have to agree. It was Disney on Ice mixed with “Reno 911” wrapped in Steve Guttenberg's last 3 movies. (That includes home movies, by the way.)
The rest of the week was spent looking for jobs on the Internet. Each day I would search Monster.com and a few other websites for job listings in the area. The only call-backs I get are from marketing agencies that want me to sell newspaper ads to major corporations like The Hilton, Porsche and The Ionic Breeze. I don't want to do that. That isn't something that really fits me. But, it's coming to the point where I might have to pretend like it's something I want to do until something better comes along.
I have decided that what I'm going to do is this:


Get a crap job like being a waiter. Something to bring in extra cash.
Hit the radio industry heavy once I have the funds to make the demos.
Apply at the Improv Olympics in the city and take a class a week.
Look for a more permanent job with benefits.
Be a millionaire.

I think it will work out perfectly. The time line is about 3-5 weeks.
Monday I caught the season finallie of Hell's Kitchen. Yes, I know, it doesn't seem like a show I'd get into, but it caught me this season. I don't even know how I got into it, but Heather won, and I was pretty happy about that.
Tuesday my friend Andy stopped by and told us of his adventures in Canada. I wish I could have gone with. It sounded like a fun time.
Wednesday Rick told me that a friend of ours was going to be at his Wednesday bar with one of her attractive single friends. I decided to go to meet her. Well, both of them, of course. Instead, her friend was attractive, but living with her steady boyfriend. So, when I was considering the evening to be pretty much a wash, I ran into someone I never expected to run into. The younger sister of my high school friend. Last time I saw her, she was 8 or something. Now she's 22. I guess I knew that she'd grow up, but never realized it. So, that let me connect with my old friend and I should be meeting up with him sometime soon.
I applied at an airlines recently. I thought about being a flight attendant. (No, I'm not gay.) Figured, why not get paid to fly around the world and meet interesting folks, or at least go to Kansas or something for a day. Plus, my co-workers are known for being very attractive ladies. Got an interview with them on Sept. 6th. I would much rather be a bar tender at the Bears bar across the street. It seems easier and is obviously closer, but I will take nearly whatever I can get at this point.
Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 27. It is a generic birthday. Doesn't mean much. From here on out, it is decade birthdays that only mean something. I have already celebrated the 21st birthday (which is the king of birthdays) and the only one left in the 20's is the 25th birthday. And the only reason that is anything is because you can say “Quarter of a century!” But, from here on out, it is decade birthdays. 30 is big, 50 is huge and then 60 and 70. Once you hit 75-80ish, each year is an accomplishment. Not dying becomes worthy of a few extra presents.
So, I celebrated with the folks and my sister. The other sister called in from the East coast and we caught up for about a half hour. She told me that she is going to a Washington Redskins pre-season game this weekend. I am getting concerned. The guy she's dating out there is a Redskins fan. I don't want her to convert just for the relationship. At least he's Catholic, so I don't have to worry about her converting to something else in that arena. But, the number two concern is maintaining the Bears fan base.
Priorities. Always maintain priorities.
Last night we went out to Friday's. Rick, his girlfriend Deb, the other roommates William and Dan with Dan's girlfriend Missy and Tim and Sarah. They have karaoke there. I was set to do at least 3 songs. Got there in the beginning. Put in my stuff early. Got to do one song. The DJ did about 3. He also played regular music in between the singers. Time effectiveness was not one of his strong points, so that will be the last time that I go there.
And that brings us to today. I have a few minutes before the next Bears pre-season game starts up, so I have to get going. I will fill you in on more stuff and the random thoughts that I have over the weekend. Just, don't beg me for loans when I'm a millionaire.

Update: Faith & Money

Well, I think it is time that I gave you a more personal update on my current situation. As I have stated, I am living at my friend's place in Bolingbrook. So, no, I'm not homeless just yet. In the past few weeks, I have applied at countless jobs. I have gotten a few call backs from the jobs that I don't want. Stuff like Marketing Agencies that would have me call big corporations like Hilton and stuff to see if they would like to run a newspaper ad.
I don't want to do that. I don't think that I would enjoy that at all. But, another part of me says “beggers can't be choosers.” I still have the Djing work to fall back on for some extra cash to add to my IL checks that are coming in. But, that won't keep me a float for too long.
I'm just glad that I don't have any debt from credit cards or car loans or something else that would really put me under.
But, I'm at a point where I have the opportunity to do something different. Don't think I will be going back into radio for a while. Might be a few months. But, that isn't to say that if a major station in Chicago called me up tomorrow and asked me to start there that I would turn them down!
Here is my plan so far:

Get a job. Preferably something like being a waiter or bartender. Nothing too stressful, but something that will pay my expenses.
Start looking for a radio job more hardcore than ever before. Send out a package to each Chicagoland station about once a week.
Save up a bunch of money to put down on a condo.

Hopefully I can stick to that. Heck, hopefully I will have some sort of a job by the end of next week. Otherwise, I might be in big trouble!
So, things will work out soon. Of that, I'm certain. Gotta have faith, right? Sometimes that is the best ally to have on your side. Faith that I will find work. Faith that I will figure out why I was screwed over in Effingham. Faith that God will provide, as long as I continue to try.
Don't worry about me. I'm still in great spirits (surprises me too!) and optimistic about what is before me. I have a great deal of opportunity right now. I can do pretty much whatever I want. I'm not bound by much of anything. Job wise I can go anywhere in the country, if it's worth it. I could even teach English in Japan if I wanted to. I don't have a wife or kids. I don't have a lease here that I need to be mindful of. I'm free. But, at a price.

Castanza

For those of you who don't know, I am now living in Bolingbrook with my friend Rick and a few other roommates. (I'm sure there will be a few stories about them in the future. But, now it's Rick's turn. Click on his name for a photo.)
So, a few weeks ago on EBay, Rick bought a boat. A nice one at that. 34 feet and he's planning on putting it on "The Chain of Lakes." If you have never been to "The Chain of Lakes," it is a chain of lakes. Everyone following so far?
Well, when you purchase something that big on EBay, you obviously can't send it through the mail. So, you also have to hire a shipper. After weeks of searching for a great price, Rick found a guy in Florida that would move his boat up to Chicagoland. But, here are some of the red flags from the very beginning:

It was this guy's first time ever assisting in a shipping.
The guy bought a new truck for this move.
The guy barely speaks English and communicating what is necessary for the move proved difficult.
He kept pushing back the date that he was going to pick up the boat.
We are not possitive if this guy is insured. He says he is but...

So, all that aside, he picked up the boat yesterday instead of on Wed. Although, with determination, it should be in the water up here by this evening. At least that was the plan until Rick got a phone call this morning - from the Georgia police.
It appears that this guy was arrested just South of Atlanta in Mason County. His truck is not legal to drive, and he doesn't have the proper license to be transporting such large cargo. The police wanted to know if they should impound the boat or leave it on the side of the road. What a great wake up call!
So, Rick opted to have it impounded with hopes that this would be the safer option. The guy spent the night in jail and then walked across the county to get his truck and boat out of the impound. But, he still can't drive either of them. So, no boat tonight, the guy is hiring ANOTHER shipper to take it the rest of the way. All at his expense, of course.
I told Rick that it sounded like he was living in a Seinfeld episode. Based on his luck, I'm assuming that he would be George. And I'm sure, based on the title of this blog, you can figure out who I would be.

A New Strain

So, I did something today I haven't done in a while. I have recently been working out here and there to stay in some degree of shape. I am not going over board and becoming some meathead, but lifting here and there, walking when I can and as of today, I've begun bike riding. I checked my brakes and tightened those. I somehow remembered the combo to my lock. I finally wiped down the dust that had collected on my bike and started out.
The trip wasn't far. Less than a mile. Probably roughly a half mile. But, it was only a few blocks into my voyage that I realized that I was now using muscles that had gone unused for the past 10 years. I thought one mile round trip wouldn't be a problem. After all, in high school I was a part of a 30 mile bike trip and felt great the whole way through.
Nope. My leg muscles were ticked at me. They kept asking "What did we ever do to you? Why such pressure? We promise no more charlie horses for two months. Just make the biking stop." But, I was already in the thick of things and kept on going.
Got to the store. Now it was time to go back. The uphill battle (literally) that I had endured at the beginning of my trip became a downhill coast. I peddled about twice as my bike reach speeds so great I heard a sonic boom. Dogs, children and compact cars were ducking and dodging out of my way as I rounded the corner.
But, I made it back before the rains came and I think I am done with any kind of physical activity for today. (Gotta pace yourself, right?)