There was this crazy night at shotz wherin it was very crowded. I was dancing, it was fun, pretty girls said I was cute. Anyway the cops came around, they have cute hats here, they were looking around. I was waiting for beer at happy hour for most of the hour (crowded bar) I said to ben "this place is way over maximum occupancy I suspect"
This Kid James took all his drugs when he saw the cops (that was pretty funny)



Ben then told me about a video they'd watched in his restauranting course that day wherin a pub just like shotz was intentionally burned for the purposes of this particular educational video, it burned much more quickly than they expected (in fifteen minutes . . . nothin)



Anyway, so shotz is a deathtrap. So the next week the bouncer was no longer sitting at his usual table smoking cigarettes doing nothing, he was instead waiting by the door with a bank style line guider.



The Sad part is, now there is a maximum capacity for shotz, so one really wants to go with friends because one can't necessarily hope to run into cool kids and one doesn't want to feal awkward.



Also, there is something really gross and icky about shotz, I mean that's really part of its charm, but It just doesn't feel right waiting in line to get in. So anyway since shotz is basically my life and I haven't been there really properly for more than two weeks I'm going a bit crazy. And there's no sign of the situation really fixing itself for a while. So I'll have to find a new dive.

It has taken several days more than we had planned, but we are going to visit Amie tomorow. However, we are now in Berkeley, in the house of Jamie, who you may remember from the previous blog entry, and his wife Jayne.

They have flown to the Southern California, so they are not here, but in the region where we will be tomorow. Wacky, eh?

To explain, it has been good to visit here.

Furthermore, I am looking forward to seeing Spy Kids 3D.

Additionally, I apologise for the ridiculous transitions. On the other hand, I thought that forced transitions would be funny and very much like the writing of seventh graders. To explain, I will talk to you all soon.

Hi! This is Joe's friend Jaime. Joe and Dianna and Neville are here in Berkeley, and we're getting drunk and thinking about watching Star Trek. Earlier we went and saw Pirates of the Carribean, and all agreed that Johnny Depp is hot. Bye Bye Now!

[ the big move! ]

yay! joe can drive! and passing with a 93! very impressive!

i remember when i took my driver's test... i did so horribly, that by the time we got back to the DMV, i was sure i failed! i was so jittery that i crashed right into the wall when i parked the car. i was on the verge of hysterical laughter when my testerperson announced that i passed with a 80!!!

dianna, joe and i have plans to go to disneyland this monday!!! i'm pretty excited! i'm still trying to find ways to drive over to carson city with them, but it's looking kind of grim. i've had a string of three-day weekends the last month (mom's graduation - seattle, fourth of july, san diego comic convention...) and i don't want to push my luck!

Vroom vroom!

I am officially a licenced driver! My big, lifelong no driving rule has been permanently broken. We drove to the D.O.L. in Kelso, because it was the place where we could actually schedual a test for Tuesday morning. When we got there, everyone was so friendly! The lines were very, very short. The area was rather rural, which made the driving easier.

Yesterday, I was going to have my final driving lesson with Kirshner at 9:00 am. At 10 I started trying (unsuccessfully) to call them. When I had totally given up on the lesson happening, I got a call from them telling me that they hadn't even written me on to the schedual. Bah, Humbug!

So after the loss of the last driving lesson, I was a little bit worried. I was expecting to have somewhere between 5 and 8 lessons. I ended up only having three. Had I stuck it out, I could have taken my test in their driver's ed. car, complete with passenger side break pedel and top mounted sandwich board sign. Prior to the test, I would have a chance to practice for an hour with a trained instructor.

My score was 93, which is not bad. I only needed a 80 to pass. I wonder if my score could have been perfect had I had those last few lessons. I further wonder if I would actually like driving, or at least feel confident driving with them.
Well, I am quite sleepy. I will try to update again soon.

Here is a picture of Nevelle, our new van. Actually the van in the picture is a totally differrent van, though it is the same type. Nevelle has fake wood paneling peeling off of the side.
Vroom vroom!

Ubilupusest: on august 27th, Mars will be only 35 million miles from Earth. closer than it has been for 60,000 years. closer than it will be for another 60,000 years. i think that's pretty cool.
tmnt18: wow
Ubilupusest: yeah. put that in your blog man...

The t.A.T.u. website had nothing about the band's rumored break up, but it did have this.

Morissey Calls t.A.T.u.'s Version of 'How Soon Is Now?' "Magnificent"

Morissey, former singer of The Smiths, who originally wrote and performed the song "How Soon Is Now?" in 1984 had this to say about t.A.T.u. in the U.K.'s Word Magazine:

Word: Did you hear t.A.T.u.'s version of "How Soon Is Now?"

Morissey: Yes, it was magnificent. Absolutely. Again, I don't know much about them.

Word: They are teenage Russian lesbians.

Morissey: Well, aren't we all?

Jamie sent me this link. It is a pretty funny and may be worth the 25mb download.

[I don't think I can ever believe in anything again.]



From Pravda.ru:


The situation in the notorious Russian pop duo is getting tense

Until recently, the Russian pop duo Tatu was doing fine. The two girls have just returned from their promo tour in Japan - album sales in Japan have reached the level of two million copies. Tatu went to Japan with a commercial visit, getting ready for a future tour. The visit was rather entertaining: Lena Katina arrived with her mother Inna and sister Katya. Julia Volkova came with her boyfriend Pavel.

Ahh, well. No van yet. I guess that we will just have to walk to Nevada.
Why doesn't anyone sell working cars? Why is every used car for sale a scam?

Hey, I haven't posted in a while. They Might Be Giants has a song about Nevada. Or I guess it's just John Linell. It Goes

"Nevada Nevada, the dream of every gall/Nevada Nevada is every boy's pal"



That's all for now

[ jell-o shots ]

i felt like a twentysomething this weekend! i actually went out and had social interaction! three of my seattle friends converged at my place and we headed off to a party. we danced around and had lively (un-sober) conversations until past four in the morning. woke up early (well, 9am), slightly headachy, in a panic because i had a baby shower to cook for. i managed to make fried rice for forty people before noon. now, experienced cooks would scoff at this because fried rice is superduper easy to make, but, with a kitchen the size of half a pool table, and no large pots and/or pans, i had to prepare the rice in a dozen small batches...

came home late, after the LAPD shut down the freeway for an hour to clear an accident (all the lanes were literally blocked by cop cars, amazing really, but this is the second time i've been stuck in one of these). i chatted with dianna, got the tentative dates of our big trip to disneyland (yay!), and now i'm going to read in bed... 'night!

Joe: we may have found a van

Jamie: yeah?

Joe: it's actually a minivan

Joe: but without seats

Jamie: what kind?

Joe: 1992 DODGE CARAVAN CARGO VAN

Jamie: nice. how many miles?

Jamie: how much? 3500?

Joe: 147,000 miles. They are asking $2000, it is pretty beaten up inside and out, but it seemed to run well. Dianna is going to take it in to her mechanic tomorrow.

Jamie: damn...

Jamie: beaten up matters not.

Joe: nope.

Joe: Damn?

Jamie: damn?

Joe: I was wondering why you wrote damn.

Jamie: cheap...

Joe: very good if it works for us

Joe: it is a whole lot less space than we were planning, but the AC works

Jamie: yeah... good luck... I'm taking the vw to a mechanic Monday or Tuesday too.

Joe: Oh, and it doesn't have a second seat.

Joe: I mean third

Jamie: you can put stuff on top.

Joe: yeah

Joe: and I don't know if it is possible to get another seat in there

Joe: which would only be a problem because our friend Amie may come with us

Jamie: ooh.

Joe: Yeah

Joe: so an additional seat would be important

Jamie: why would it be hard to put another seat in? if you can find one.

Joe: I don't know. IT was sold as a cargo van

Jamie: Dianna should ask her mechanic.

Joe: yeah

Joe: I know, it's lame and super early, but I think that I may head off to sleep in the next couple of minutes

Joe: Something odd,

Joe: it was sold as a cargo van

Joe: but it has windows

Jamie: windows are good, though.

Joe: I know

Joe: I like the enough visibility to drive thing

Jamie: how's driving coming?>

Joe: I did some today

Joe: nothing scary happened

Jamie: that's good.. city streets?

Joe: and Dianna quit the more morally corrupt of her two jobs so we will have time to drive every night this weekend

Joe: my neighborhood

Joe: and auburn

Jamie: gotten on the freeways yet?

Joe: yeah

Joe: done some of that

Jamie: I like cities better... but eventually merging gets less blood-curdling.

Joe: I really prefer freeways

Jamie: yeah?

Joe: except when there are tires, ice cream trucks and ninjas in the roadway

Jamie: the ninjas can be a bit rough.

Joe: it is so much easier just going, not having to remember who's turn it is to go, not having to watch out for pedestrians

Joe: except for the ninjas

Joe: but they can take care of themselves

Joe: when things are going as expected, freeway driving is a lot easier for me

Jamie: yeah... just remember, you're more afraid of them than they are of you.

Jamie: I like cities. there are distraction, but it's all slower.

Joe: yeah

Joe: I can enjoy that

Joe: I hope I can get this driving down in a week though

Joe: because if not, I may have to get licensed there

Joe: and that would suck

Jamie: why?

Joe: But I like the idea of having a car soon so that I can practice more.

Joe: Because I don't think that I could do the drive

Joe: Do you know if it is legal for me to drive outside of the state with just my permit?

Joe: If Dianna is in the passenger side

Jamie: jeez... I think it is.

Jamie: she's over 21...

Jamie: should be... but I'm not sure.

Joe: and has been driving more than 5 years

Joe: Yeah, that is sort of vague

Jamie: that's a quick phone call away though.

Joe: because if I could, I would have had the practice to almost certainly pass once I got there. IN theory anyway

Joe: to whom?

Joe: DMV?

Joe: I mean DOL

Jamie: yup.

Joe: Well, if I fail my test, I will just have to give them up a call

Joe: and I should remember, that even now there are much worse drivers than me licensed and on the road

Jamie: definably.. and less conscientious.

Jamie: one piece of advice--be really obvious about checking your mirrors.

Jamie: don't just look--turn your head.

Joe: I think that I do already

Joe: but I will work on that

Jamie: yeah... the only thing I lost points for was 'striking an object.'

Jamie: but the guy didn't fail me.

Jamie: so hey.

Joe: that seems like something that you would loose several points for

Jamie: yeah... eight I think... fewest possible.

Jamie: just bumped the curve when I was parking

Joe: When I was taking driving lessons he would always tell me "That's an automatic fail right there"

Jamie: yeah... most of those are optional automatic fails, at least in California. all automatic fail means is that they can fail you for it... they don't always.

Jamie: 'striking and object

Jamie: was one...

Joe: Yeah

Jamie: but you'll do fine... and some of the best drivers I know failed their first time.

Joe: I have never failed

Jamie: a test?

Joe: and I don't really have time to fail.

Joe: Oh, no

Joe: not a driving test anyway

Joe: Dianna sends love

Joe: I have failed calculus tests and such

Jamie: oh--hi dianna!

Joe: but not very often

Jamie: I think I'm going to do the sleep thing. very good luck with the van.

Joe: you too

Jamie: thanks. g'night.

This blog entry makes referance to Andrew's most recent one. Go here and read all about it.

Roger Ebert has mentioned Dave Eggers.

Okay, Go to google Type in weapons of mass destruction without quotes and click on I'm Feeling Lucky. It's cool. I heard about it at thismodernworld

my god. barry white is dead.

Here is the Ron Wood Family Resource Center, Carson City, NV.

Joe, post this?


Freelance writer Lynn Ferrin offers a vivid description of Carson City by quoting Mark Twain:
"By and by Carson City was pointed out to us," wrote Mark Twain in Roughing It. "It nestled in the edge of a great plain and was a sufficient number of miles away to look like an assemblage of mere white spots." The mountain summits overlooking it, he noted, "seemed lifted clear out of companionship and consciousness of earthly things."