i want to be like jeff so i moved here. currently under construction but the lj will be discontinued so that bri-pod industries can provide better, more convenient service with more pictures and links.

more exciting news - i found citron vert perrier on sale today. ah, memories of switzerland.

Date:	2005-06-09 00:02
Subject:	i found cheap beer!
Security:	Public
Mood:	hot

today while shopping for the ingredients for portuguese salad, a perfect hot weather meal, i spotted my first cheap beer since i've been in the city. the few nights i've been out to the bars the absolute cheapest i've found is 3.50 a pint for brookyln brewery beers (not bad outside of the city too) or 5 dollar HAPPY HOUR PINTS. yes, that's right. 5 bucks during happy hour. how i wish for $4 pitchers of pbr or 32 oz tubs of old style for a buck. however, the good news... today i bought a six pack of 'upper canada lager' for 3.99 for a six pack of pint cans! i'm enjoying my first cold one as i type and it isn't half bad. typical micro-macro lager. i'd rate it pretty close to labatt (they even ripped off the can design) and for less than half the price (here) i can dig it.

in other news, i'm drinking a cold beer mainly because i'm burning up. it is currently 83 at midnight. once the city heats up it never cools down til fall i've been told. and it only gets worse. we can barely open our windows because we don't have screens and our cat might jump out the window and the neighbors cat has already come in our place twice. i don't know the inside temp but i've been leaning out the window to cool of in the 83 degree air. august is going to be rough. if i lived with a bunch of guys i'd be sitting around in my boxers but i feel that would be inappropriate here. jesus it is hot.

while walking home the past few days i've been picturing 'do the right thing.' and i'm willing to bet in this town sooner or later i'll see a trash can thrown through a window.

i get paid tomorrow which hopefully means i'll be picking up a camera to document the daily oddities. today in front of my building there were three matching bentley continental gt's in black with blacked-out windows and the black rims pictured backed up with a custom black hummer (the original) with blacked-out windows and matching rims. i bet it was a group of high school teachers and non-profit workers who were finally rewarded for their hard work. well, that or it was the drug dealer of all drug dealers. though if i had a camera i doubt i would have had the courage to take a picture. that would probably be the express train to deadtown.

speaking of deadtown... i heard my first gunshots after a week or so of being here. it was pretty scary and i waited to here sirens and commotion. there wasn't any. and now ever since it got hot, and stayed hot, you can't go long without hearing gunshots. my first sign of settling in was while watching 'lost' tonight (i'm getting hooked a bit late) there was a barrage (no exaggeration) of gunfire i was really annoyed because i missed some dialogue and had to turn the volume up.

this sunday i'm renting a uhaul van and driving to the ikea in paramus, nj to hopefully buy a bed, dresser, desk and who knows what else. this no-furniture thing is getting old.

also, i've been reading of this '8====D boo yah' meme and am proud to report i believe i received the first (or one of the first) from jeff on decemember 16, 2004. i was so amused i permanently saved it which also allows for fast forwarding to others.

speaking of sms - though i don't text much and really dislike it, i have enjoyed google sms service since being in nyc. some handy uses: text 46645 (googl) with "movies 10027" and it will return a message with the locations and phone numbers of the movie theaters within the area, OR search a product name or upc with the zipcode and it can return the prices and locations of the said item in your area, OR let's say you are bar hopping and forgot the address of the next bar you are supposed to go to just text the name of the bar and a nearby zip code and it'll return the address. nifty.

i'm going to check out the city climbers club on the way home from work and start climbing possibly this weekend. if all goes well i think i might join for a regular activity and fun since i missed the signups for the adult kickball. though i'm sure i'd enjoy kickball my major disappointment for missing the deadline is after each kickball game the teams face off in flip cup and the winners of both kickball and flip cup are recorded and advance to playoffs toward the end of summer. flip cup playoffs! can you imagine? flip cup makes me think of fond memories of summer '03 at 'barbecue party.'

this is much longer than i expected and i didn't even cover the deluge from the bathroom ceiling, work updates, stuff i've actually been doing or other funny stories (several about scientology - what could be funnier). oh well, hopefully i'll start posting pictures soon.

open invitation for a place to crash in the city if anybody wants to visit sometime.

Date:	2005-05-25 00:47
Subject:	shameless plug
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake

so you ever check out threadless.com? they've got super slick shirts that normally run $15 or more. now through june 6th they are ALL $10. seriously folks, that's a deal and a half, or perhaps a deal to the second power. plus if you act now they'll cure loneliness, male pattern baldness, herpes a-c, and they'll take out the trash. plus, if you wear these shirts you're guaranteed to pick up that cute barista, indie rocker or brooding artist you've been eyeing. you'll get all that and the satisfaction of knowing you are helping me. you can't lose folks

Date:	2005-05-22 00:38
Subject:	so that was weird
Security:	Public
Mood:	lazy

so i'm leaving work tonight and waiting for the 2/3. it's taking forever so when i get on the train is already packed and there are a ton of people cramming in. i couldn't get a hand hold before we started moving so i staggered a bit and bumped into some people. i turn around and apologize and realize i just knocked into william baldwin. nyc is so strange. end of story.

ps - do you have any idea how much i wanted to say, 'hey billy, do you know what sucks about being a baldwin?'

he would say, 'no, what?'

then i'd say, 'NOTHING!'

and he'd say, 'YEAH!'

Date:	2005-05-19 23:12
Subject:	digital camera opinions
Security:	Public
Mood:	calm

so i'm starting to look into digital cameras and want any advice you've got. cameras you like, brands that disappointed you, whatever. i'm still trying to decide if i want a small camera i can toss in my bag and always carry around or something with more manual options like an slr. right now i'm leaning toward smaller is better..

Date:	2005-05-17 22:19
Subject:	the state of things
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

well i'm back on the interweb. i'm tired (yes, it's only a bit after 10pm) so this won't be as involved and descriptive as i hoped. the past couple weeks are starting to catch up with me. most recently i left oxford about a week and a half ago in the middle of the night after getting off work at steinkeller sunday/monday and throwing my stuff in the car and darting off to chicago (no sleep). saw liz's parents, nigel and emma. oh and liz too. we went bowling and i beat everybody by 50000 points. left the next day, tuesday, for cleveland and stayed at my mom's until thursday morning when i drove to jersey and caught the bus into the city friday morning. by this point i think i had logged practically zero sleep except the night i was at liz's, though that still wasn't much.

friday afternoon i met a potential roommate from craigslist at her office at nickelodeon. the offices were pretty sweet with toys and fun stuff all around. that meeting went well and i killed time in the city reading in bryant park and enjoying the sun and trying to process that i now live in one of the most amazing places in the world.

next up was catching the metro up to the potential apartment in harlem to meet the rest of the girls. that meeting went well too and i left to navigate back to the port authority station to get back to jersey for the night. on the way i got the call that i could move in anytime over the weekend so we set up a time for saturday afternoon. so saturday morning i had one more time packing before the final unpacking later that day. driving into manhattan worried me but it proved to be monumentaly easy, though still frustrating. after unloading and finding parking that was easier than the oxford mile square i went down to brooklyn with the new roommates. i learned where the target is: this could be very useful. as well as a nice little farmers market. that night i met up with foxem and foxj(something) for a really nice dinner and some quality new york walking. sunday was a great lazy day of tv and movies after getting my car back to jersey.

now, even the brief version is getting old and i didn't cover work yet. brevity was never my strong point. so for now, work = good. interesting. mildly intimidating. promising. and i need to learn spanish if i'm going to communicate much there. i should pull 50 hrs in my first five days, including friday from 8am to midnight. and i'm already tired from this new schedule but its all good.

figuring out the password for the wireless here was one major goal accomplished. next up is more useful stuff like getting furniture and hopefully a digital camera so i can post some pics up here for people and make this more like jeff's.

Date:	2005-04-30 22:39
Subject:	i don't *heart* NJ
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

while i've been relatively certain all week, i now officially have the job at 21 club! i tried to negotiate a starting date that isn't likely to turn me into one gigantic ball of stress. that didn't happen. my last day of work in oxford is technically may 11 (though i can probably shift it to the 8th) and i start work in nyc on may 16! during this time i'm hoping to find an apartment before getting to new york to save some stress. this may not be very plausible, we'll see.

this trip back to the city was important to seal the job however it was a bit frustrating to spend aprox 30 hrs in the car over the past few days for a TWELVE MINUTE meeting. so it goes.

new jersey sucks. it really does. i'm not even saying it in the cliche way that everybody likes to make fun of jersey. it really does suck, or maybe blow. i hate it, hate it, hate it. there are so many reasons i hate it i couldn't even begin to write them down here.

in other news, the town 'scotrun' in PA really looks like 'scrotum' while glancing at the highway sign at 80 mph.

in other other news, shade-fest 2005 starring brian crum as himself is about to commence. man, i wish i had a key to my back door (more on this later, maybe).

oh, and i fucking hate new jersey.

Date:	2005-04-26 20:10
Subject:	it is nearly official
Security:	Public
Mood:	confused

so i got a call about the job yesterday. they've chosen me but its not official til i go out this week and meet the gm in person. there was zero flexibility about this and i was told if i want the job i need to be there by the end of the week. being out of money makes this challenging but i've worked out a way to drive out and stay for free to make this as cheap as possible. i still have to miss two nights of work with very little notice to get somebody to cover my shifts. i'm quite happy to not be going in to work though i hate ditching out on responsibilities at the last second. oh well, its for the best.

i'm holding off on celebrating til i get back and its official, plus i'm working every damn night this week. i'll be glad to soon have a job that makes me a resident of the daytime hours where most people live again. maybe next week i'll pop open the champagne i've been saving since december.

Date:	2005-04-21 05:01
Subject:	nyc suckas!
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

the mini-trip to nyc was fantastic. the interview went very, very well. unfortunately the gm was out of town and from the sound of it i'll need to at least speak to him over the phone if not meet fact to face. i can't afford another trip out there but if i come out for a second interview it sounded like they may be able to pay my way! i can't imagine anything better. additionally, the job and advancement opportunity sounded even better than what i had heard before. i'm quite excited about the position and the opportunity to move to new york. i can't say i have a ton of experience there but i love it, love it, love it there. being in nyc makes you constantly aware of how insignificant you are. its oddly comforting. the only thing i really don't like is the constant need for a good nose-blowing which always results in a completely black, scummy snot wad (yum!).

aside from the interview i didn't do anything in particular but walk around, drink coffee, sit in parks, drink good beer and more wandering. after my interview i took the subway downtown and walked up and down streets throughout soho, tribeca and eventually greenwich. i stopped in peculier pub for "a" beer and decided all the walking made it necessary to recover by drinking more than one. while there i struck up a conversation with this hipster kid who turns out to be a u. cincinnati kid in new york for an internship. after talking beer, among many other things, he suggested heading out to a bar in brooklyn 'barcade' for allagash night. it is THE coolest place EVER! laid back, hip (but not pretentious and "trying" like too many places in nyc) crowd in an industrial kind of atmosphere with about 20 or so vintage arcade games such as: pac man, galactica, asteroid and much much more. most importantly though is the amazing, unbelievable beer selection. many bottles but even better is the extensive tap selection of 25 or so beers including: dogfish 90, allagash curieux(!!!holy crap!!!), rogue i2pa. i'm in love. while drinking there i met five (5) more people from cincinnati (wtf) who live in brooklyn now. and they all are beer geeks who work in pr/marketing for the music industry so they have amazing shows to go to all the time. so jealous. after drinking allagash white, tripel and curieux each we decided to stick with the beer-venture (thats a beer adventure) and walk down the road to spuyten duyvil. this mainly belgian bar is in a converted house with an slick bar and even smoother beer garden out back. there current cask conditioned special is the dogfish olde school barleywine (15% ABV, fermented with dates and figs, "a liquid hop-bomb"). then i finished with another beer that i hardly remember having. so fun night. extremely fun.

so you ask what could be cooler than a place with two of the best beer bars in the entire world? how about a neighborhood that also has an adult kickball league. well that just about covers my beer excitement for tonight.

oh yeah. the bars are also open til 4am. crazy

Date:	2005-04-18 05:15
Subject:	i equal the crazy
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

so once again i'm still up past 5am. worked at the stein til close and hoped to get some sleep before needing to wake up at 6:30am! that would be the 6:30 in the morning, ante meridiem, before the sun. not the one i usually barely wake up for when it starts to get dark. i leave for the airport to head to nyc in just over an hour. and though i'm finally tired i'm opting against the hour nap which would make me dangerously likely to oversleep. this will be my second all-nighter within the week. its like i'm a crazy archie again. i'm excited for this little trip and then when i get back i'm likely heading up to cleveland for the weekend, though that is still up in the air. killing time killing time killing time got to stay up.

Date:	2005-04-10 16:48
Subject:	so it is settled
Security:	Public
Mood:	hungry

after securing my interview in nyc i started the painful search for cheap transportation to new york. after much frustration i booked a flight (for $50 more than it was the previous day) from cincinnati to la guardia. if i want to look at the bright side of the searching i can now say i know airport abbreviations for multiple airports in cincinnati, dayton, cleveland, akron/canton, nyc and nj. yes, very trivial. my first choice for a hostel was booked, but it was for the better because i stumbled across a cheaper hostel within walking distance of my interview and cheaper! i'm excited for the interview and to get back to new york for a few days. i'm excited to go to the peculier pub (better review without pics here) after my interview, for good or bad. it sounds like mac n joes with a good beer list! not that i'm dissing pitchers of pbr. by the way, when did mac n joes become THE hotspot for total d-bags? time for breakfast at 5pm. i'm lazy.

Date:	2005-04-07 01:58
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	geeky

saw sin city with dacekam. we have this funny habit of only hanging out when we live at least 200 miles apart. anyway, the movie rocked my socks off. i felt i had something more educated to say about it but my brain is mush so i'll leave my review to 'socks = off.'

like dacekam i got a big kid interview today. off to nyc in a bit less than two weeks to interview for a cellarmaster position. this is a wine related job not s+m, in case you were wondering. it could be a great job though living in nyc will ensure i continue to be poor for the next few years, but it should be worth it.

this cleveland thing is pretty fun so far and i'm no longer excited to get back to oxford for the weekend after a party postponement. now all i have to look forward to is work. boo. in other news, i may meet up with eris_x in akron tomorrow night, thursday, at thursday's. i sprung the idea with little notice so the plan hinges on him finding a ride and being a-okay with getting destructively intoxicated. the former may be a challenge but i'm sure the latter is not.

geek factor increases after first inter-lj linking (and i went all out for the first time)

Date:	2005-04-02 21:53
Subject:	le tired
Security:	Public
Mood:	calm

so i'm sitting here counting down the last hour before i have to go to work. i don't even dislike my job but every night the hour before going in i get a feeling of impending doom, actually more like i'm about to head in front of a firing squad. i'm making an unplanned trip up to cleveland and PA for the week. with this and the trip back up at the end of the month it'll be three trips up to clev in just over a month. i don't think i've been up there that much in the past 4 years. kind of strange.

i've been continuing to enjoy my free month of netflix. just watched solondz' 'storytelling.' i really enjoyed the 'fiction' beginning but i'm a little disappointed with the 'nonfiction' section. partly i think this is because there are only so many times one can watch paul giamatti playing the bitter, unsuccessful adult trying to come to terms with his current life (though he is quite good at this). overall, i think 'happiness' is a more complete take on the same concept with better performances, especially philip seymour hoffman and dylan baker.

also, i'm even more psyched to see sin city soon. i planned on catching a sat matinee but i napped all afternoon. i'm especially impressed because even david edelstein (slate.com) liked it and he is one of the rare film critics with any sense.

well this successfully wasted enough time before work. time to go take care of drunks.

Date:	2005-04-01 20:02
Subject:	i haven't slept for ten days...
Security:	Public
Mood:	hopeful

earlier today when i read mitch hedberg died my first reaction was shock. then it dawned on me it may just be an april fool's joke in really poor taste, but unfortunately it is quite true. i'm not the type to (pretend to) care about people i don't know. the recent schiavo nightmare and even the imminent passing of the pope don't stir any emotion, but i'm truly saddened by the hedberg news. i can't, and shouldn't, attach myself to the personal loss his family and friends must feel. slightly troubling is the thought that another brilliant comic died entirely too young. it sounds dumb, but i guess what makes me sad are the memories i have so closely attached to mitch hedberg. i remember sitting around 343 peabody with foxem, matt and mike (and dozens of others we would later drag in because they just 'had' to hear him) discovering him for the first time, laughing until we couldn't breathe and becoming friends. then for weeks we walked around spouting off our favorite lines and yelling nonsense about tightrope walkers and pringles. who am i kidding, i probably still make a hedberg reference every week. mitch hedberg made so many contributions to the college student lexicon. it is almost shocking how much i've held on to. to this day, after not listening to a mitch album for a long time, i still say "fuck it, cut 'em up." when i make a mistake.



"i'm gonna go shave, too."

Date:	2005-03-22 03:42
Subject:	i am the opposite of smart
Security:	Public
Mood:	sick

decided to go into work tonight even though i was feeling really shitty. i wasn't pleased about my decision at first but it turned out to be a fun night. steinkeller is always a breeze compared to stadium, and monday nights are just plain dead. tonight was a table full of archie kids and bar employees at the bar so all i did was bs up at the bar and eventually get a couple drinks. part of the archie group consisted of several of my 'daughters.' i think my co-workers were quite confused seeing them run up to me yelling 'DAD!!!' though i've learned it does no good to attempt an explanation.

after tonight i came to two conclusions:
1) two demon-ducks will knock out a fever but bring back nausea
2) when somebody says, 'i've got the grossest story ever' they are always wrong because i can top them (yes, it is the story involving two broken wrists (if you haven't heard it, ask. you'll never guess)).


now to why i am not smart. being tired and sick (as well and sick and tired) and getting out of work before 4am i was hopeful i'd get to sleep quickly tonight. i think i had a good shot until chugging a starbucks® "double shot" that mike tossed to me while clocking out. it did soothe my sore throat but upon finishing i immediately realized a) i hate shitty coffee drinks b) i hate energy drinks and c) i don't want a hyper-caffeinated beverage at 3:30am. in the past caffeine didn't keep me awake, but now it does. so it goes. guess it'll be a movie night/morning.

Date:	2005-03-20 17:23
Subject:	march (movie) madness
Security:	Public
Mood:	sick

i managed to stay healthy through the winter but as always managed to get sick after i think i'm in the clear. due to alternating feelings of nausea and chills i decided today would be a nice day to putter around the house and watch movies while organizing my cds.

i have a free month of netflix but my movies won't be arriving until tomorrow so i ventured to the library and picked up 'good bye lenin' and 'the seventh seal.' when my netflix arrive i plan on powering through them to get as many movies in the month as i can. meanwhile, i have eight dvds coming from spun.com for forty or so old cds that have been sitting in a box for years. what a deal. i can't believe i'm getting so much for my junk! a couple highlights are the first two seasons of mr show, shaun of the dead and the soon to be released special edition of orgazmo.

well, duty calls. my cds aren't going to organize themselves!

ps - i'm excited because the oxford library finally had some decent music checked-in. i grabbed about five cds but i'm most pleased with finding some bill frisell and mmw 'the dropper'

Date:	2005-03-14 03:41
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	content

feeling like a loser for not being inspired to write a decent cover letter for the most super-duper job opportunity i've seen (and for once i'm qualified). i've been doing that thing where you write a line of text then backspace over it, repeat. this has been going on for awhile. i'm really frustrated i can't get the right impression of how much i'd like this job onto paper.

also, i need to sleep because my mom is waking me up at 9am so i can get some stuff done and spend time with her during one of the few, brief times i'm here. problem is i'm wide awake and haven't been going to sleep until 7am the past few nights/mornings. argh.

i need to get this cover letter done so this job opportunity doesn't slip away, but i may step away and do some reading. on that note, since graduation i've had so much free time to read and i've found i quite like reading two books at once, alternating between chapters or whatever. and right now i've got quite the fantastic combination: i've been rereading 'the ultimate hitchhiker's guide' (in preparation for the movie (yes this is one of the geekier things i've done recently)) and bill bryson's 'a short history of nearly everything.' aside from both (adams and bryson) being fantastically funny writers, they are both essentially travel writers who are really pushing the boundaries of travel writing. these books go so well together i heartily recommend reading them together (note: though i'm a little past halfway through the six part hitchhiker 'trilogy' i am really just starting the bryson book and have some doubts the later sections will mesh as well as 'part I: lost in the cosmos' for obvious reasons).

i got my first copy of the miamian when i arrived home today. i'm thinking of submitting an update for the 'class notes' in the next issue. it would be something like this: after pretending to graduate in may but not finishing until december, brian crum '04 lives paycheck to pitiful paycheck. he enjoys juggling multiple jobs that pay less that $6/hr and not paying his bills on time. he continues to be cynical and is now bitter as well.

oh and google is still down and posting three times in a night is a sign of not being productive, at all.

and this on the same night! what is a person to do?

and feel free to make fun, though i know most people are just as bad

Date:	2005-03-14 00:17
Subject:	this is trouble!
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

oh no! woke up at 2pm and decided to take a trip home for a few days. after some dinner and drinks it was time for 'fun with taxes' then i pulled out the trusty computer for more 'fun with cover letters and resumes.' before getting down to work i had the urge to google something and check my gmail. neither page would load so i suspected my wireless connection was weak. after a quick check by starting to rock out to global pop conspiracy i realized google's servers are temporarily down!

now this is serious people. how will i find the answers to life, the universe and everything?!?! what am i going to do when i NEED to know something trivial and i only have time for a few keystrokes plus several microseconds? also, until it is working again i have to type the '.com' at the end of everything! what is this, the dark ages? and my entire productivity is certainly going to come to a screeching halt when i NEED to google an actor's name or a movie title instead of doing the extra, hard work of going to imdb and entering it in the search box and waiting for their results. geez!

the only real complication is i use gmail and actually need something from there to continue my work. this whole 'ordeal' so far has taken about ten minutes and isn't any significant problem, but reminds me how much google has revolutionized the internet and i dare say the world. it would be curious to see what would happen if google disappeared for any significant amount of time and every bit of information wasn't instantly available to anyone. their importance and our reliance will continue to grow with their many projects. though i'm one of the biggest opponents of text messaging (i really do hate it) i'll admit to be quite excited about the possiblities (and some of the current realities) of google sms.


AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

ps - i think the funniest part of this 'ordeal' (or possibly, 'the great information blackout of 2k5' or maybe i'll just call it '3-14') was when i decided to try another search engine. my mind drew a blank for several seconds before resigning myself to using yahoo. after several seconds of silent thinking, firefox informed me google could still not be found. google is so integral now that i needed to go back and add the .com so firefox could find yahoo directly instead of redirecting from google.