I'm back! Hey!

Hey, where did all the people go?

I hope you had a very merry Christmas. Here's hoping the new year is equally as merry. Well, I mean, we can hope...

Right?

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired

Hello everyone.

I'm sorry I didn't write you in the last week or so; I haven't felt up to it. I still don't feel up to it. Actually, I probably won't be feeling up to much of anything in the foreseeable future. A few days ago I was diagnosed with a rare, terminal illness known as "infectious mononucleosis," but I think the doctor made a mistake and it's just mono.

Anyhow, in order to prepare for death in case the doctor was right, I have composed a list of things I want to do before this tragic illness takes me to the pearly gates or the flames below:

1. I want to go to Germany, Italy, Japan, Ireland, Poland, and maybe a few other countries.

2. I want to live for about 55 more years, give or take a few.

Alright, so that was easy. In other news, I've got six new books to read, the In Rainbows discbox from Radiohead, and a lot of medicine to take. There's also been a lot of movie-watching going on around here, suspiciously.

"Your Confidant"

My top-secret plan to be tired when I finally stop sleeping

Because the ticket industry is probably the single most evil of them all, save what I like to call the "intellectual property" industry or Big Brother, I happened to return empty-handed from the first Wilco pre-sale. In case you didn't know, Wilco are playing 5 shows in a row at the Riviera and while doing so they will attempt to play every song in their entire recorded library. So in other words, each of these shows will be completely unique. Also, I decided I want to go.

The ticket empire beat me to it, though, and the first pre-sale was sold out in seconds. Now, in a matter of hours (10am CST) I will be back for round two. The problem is, I'm still awake, writing this, so I probably will be getting less than seven hours of sleep, since I sleep terribly in the first place. And less than seven hours just doesn't cut it for me.

Oh, and after a few days of finally being back to normal, my mouth thought it would take things for an unexpected turn and start swelling up again. So I also have yet ANOTHER dentist appointment tomorrow.

When you lose your wisdom, it really comes back to bite you with a vengeance.

"Your Confidant"

Fracture

Today (Thursday) I am heading to Day 1 Studios in Chicago to playtest a new game they are developing called Fracture. I am pretty excited for this. Apparently the appointment is going to take about an hour: 30 minutes to play the game, and another 30 minutes to give feedback. Earlier in the year, Day 1 Studios made a presentation in one of my classes and gave us a preview of the game. From what I could see there, it looked pretty fucking awesome. If I remember correctly, there is this crazy new physics engine that they're using. It looked insane.

Anyway, I have to wake up a little early for that (11:30am is really early for me).

Signing off,

"Your Confidant"

----------------
Now playing: Wilco - Let's Not Get Carried Away
via FoxyTunes

On the Assembly Line

Today, I visited the workplace. I folded some bags. I packed them into boxes. Then I sealed the boxes and put them into larger boxes. Here's the way it all works:

20 bags go into one smaller box.
Eight smaller boxes go into one larger box.
These larger boxes are contained in the "factory."
Then, they are shipped off to some hungry consumer, most likely some sort of medical institution.

My wages are decided by the number of smaller boxes I complete.

I am Faceless.

"Your Confidant"

Get me away from here, I'm dying

I have spent too many hours inside this house lately. There's nothing wrong with it. But it's there, and it's been eating away at me. I can't stand it. I need to get out. I feel stupid saying it, but "I need to get out more." Really.

I've got twenty or so more days here in this pad, and I want to make them all good, every last one. Anyone want to help? Let's plan an appointment for tomorrow, the next day, or the one after that.

Crazy thing is, I know when I leave, I will feel happy that I spent so much time at home with family. It's something that crossed my mind often this past autumn, how I felt so detached from them.

Not really homesick. Just fond.

"Your Confidant"

Losing Control

Yesterday, driving home, the ice on the streets attacked me. I was driving, and the next thing I know, the ice was driving me. What the heck? I didn't know that's how it worked. Anyway, I guess the ice doesn't know how to drive very well, because it drove the car into the curb. I say, good thing the ice chose to drive when there were no other moving vehicles around. Ohh, how lucky. I can almost say, "An airbag saved my life." But not quite. Now I'm nervous. Would the airbag have been there for me if I needed it? I don't think so. I don't trust my airbag.

Signed,

"Your Confidant"