M E M O R Y L E S S N E S S

after almost 1.5 years of doing the show, i finally got around to making an intro for domestics. check it out.

here’s the new promo for my radio show. mick and i recorded this yesterday, and with any luck, it should be put into rotation today on the station.

PROMO

i bought the new Fantômas album the other day, and i’m finally getting around to listening to it. it’s bizarre, but pretty good. it’s called “Delìrivm Còrdia.” the liner notes are nothing but a bunch of pictures of surgeries. close-ups. and there’s only one track on the CD. it’s 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 16 seconds long. it’s either called “Svrgical Sovnd Specimens from the Mvsevm of Skin” or “Like the Svrgeon the Composer Slashes Open the Body of His Fellow Man Removes His Eyes Empties His Abdomen of Organs Hangs Him on a Hook Holding Vp to the Light All of the Body’s Palpitating Treasvres Sending a Bvrst of Light into Its Innermost Depths.” no real songs, just a bunch of different noises and instrumental-type-things interspersed with medical sounds (doctors being paged, beeping machines, scraping sounds, etc.) strangely enough, i’m really enjoying it, though i think i like “The Director’s Cut” better. this album reminds me more of their first (self-titled album). hrm.

today, i went to the eye doctor. it was FUN. okay, maybe not. but that’s okay. monday night, at about 10pm, my glasses decided to break. one of the arms broke off. weird shit. anyway, i went today to get new ones. yes. i’d been planning to call this week because i needed new glasses anyway. weird timing. yeah. i also got new lenses for my old-ass prescription sunglasses and i got contact lenses, too. quite an expensive day, all in the name of steev being able to see. worth it, i guess. it’s weird to be able to see without glasses on. someday, i might like to get laser vision correction. but i’m a little skeptical about it. they perform it at my eye doctor’s office, but the doctor wears glasses. that seems a little odd…he’s confident enough to recommend it for other people, but not to get it done for himself.

yes. monday was, of course, domestics. i think it’s working out well with mick. if you’ve heard us this semester, let me know what you think. we went on a few minutes early because the one of the regular hosts of the show before our’s was/is in the hospital and the other host was going to see her. substituting for the sick host was brian (aka fiddles, though i have no idea why people call him that, so i call him brian), a high school classmate of mine. ‘twas good to see him, he’s a swell guy. he’s apparently back from the navy. you can see him in this photo from 1997.

aww yeah.

one of my classes is pretty cool. the other one is not so cool. in fact, it sucks. but that’s okay. the professor really bothers me…i can’t quite figure out why, but he just seems too odd or something. (the fact that when i asked him for help in understanding the material on the recent homework, he told me to “go through the readings and work out the examples and see if you can figure it out.” what the fuck did he think i’d been doing before i asked him?) he uses incorrect grammar, also. that’s forgivable, i think, if the person is not a native english speaker, but this guy is. he does it in the written notes as well as in his lectures. for instance, “stimuli” is plural. he seems to know that sometimes, since he sometimes uses “stimulus,” but other times he refers to a “stimuli.” also, he mentioned pavlov’s dogs and he kept using the word “salivatating.” that’s not a word. it’s “salivating.” alas.

blargle.

so i haven’t posted in a while. so what?

last night was the first “Domestics” show of the semester. it was also the first time i worked with my new cohost, DJ Webster (aka Mick, for those of you in-the-know). ‘twas cool. since i know him already, we had much wittier banter than matt and i ever did last semester. i also know that i’ll be able to trust him to show up all the time (or damn close to it), unlike matt. matt’s not a bad guy, he’s just not somebody i would have picked as my cohost. anyway, it was a good show and all went well, i think. yes.

so classes started a few weeks back. this time, SERIOUSLY, i’m taking my last 2 classes. at least for this degree at this university. they’re okay. one is pretty interesting, the other is pretty lame. of course, the lame one is the one that has oodles of reading (2 textbooks + lots of articles we have to download). reading is not bad if it’s interesting, but this shit is boring as hell. an article referenced in one of the articles we had to read was by someone named “boring.” that’s funny. anyway, yeah, the semester’s shaping up okay. in my interesting class, we have a “group” (2-person groups) project. this girl in my class declared that i’m her partner, so i guess i am. that’s okay, because she’s quite obsessive about always doing perfect work, so i know i can trust her to not slack off. at least, i hope so.

at 2:00, i’m going to meet with my (former) thesis advisors to discuss my independent study “courses.” basically, as i said, i’m going to try to finish up what i can of the thesis and turn it into a publishable journal article or conference paper. we’ll see…i’d like to turn it into something, but i don’t need the credits i’ll get for this, so i’m not sure how much time i’m willing to devote to it…i’ve gotta find a job, folks. HIRE ME, PLEASE.

i’ve been somewhat (for me) actively job-seeking lately. i’ve sent out more résumés in the past few weeks than i care to count. i had an on-site interview in austin last week. the work seemed interesting (basically consulting, though the company makes a proprietary software package, so most of the consulting is to companies that buy their software), the people seemed nice (really small company - something like 12 employees total). i met the president and the 2 vice presidents, and everybody seemed to like me. there’d be more travel than i’d care for, and the benefits aren’t spectacular. also, they wanted me to start no later than feb. 23. that just ain’t feasible, since i’m in class and i’m trying to finish up this schmesis stuff, too. when i’d thought i was doing a thesis, i’d hoped to be done with it around now (or, if i wasn’t, to at least not be in class so i’d be able to take a job and finish the thesis up in my “spare time”); that didn’t happen, though. i think they were ready to give me an offer if i could start right away, but i can’t, so i doubt if i ever hear from them again. oh well. it was an interesting experience. long goddamn day, though. especially since my flight coming back from austin got cancelled for no discernible reason. took a later flight and got home, obviously, but that kinda blew.

anyway, sunday i submitted a résumé for a position at the corporate office of the company that i used to work for (and i do again…i work at the new store in the same department i most recently worked in at one of the old stores…don’t give me no shit, they asked me to come back…they pulled me out of retirement…same boss, almost the same job, and i even got a raise). anyway, i submitted my résumé on sunday, and i got a call yesterday to set up a phone interview for today. the guy who called seemed really nice (i’ve never heard of him, despite my years with that company), and he seemed interested in me. he said that he didn’t think i really fit the job that i was technically applying for, given my lack of experience in the field, but that they’re planning drastic changes for the part of the company for which i was applying and that (especially with my master’s degree), he was almost sure they could find a use for someone with my background. he said he had to talk to some people and that he’d be back in touch about an on-site interview. sure, i’ve complained plenty about this company, but i’m also quite familiar with it, so i wouldn’t have to learn about a new company. i doubt they’d pay super-well, and i’ve heard that their benefits aren’t excellent (i’ve never been full-time with them, so i don’t know the details), but the kind of work he envisions someone with my background doing sounds interesting. a lot can be said for that, i think. also, since it would be a new position, i’d sort of be able to define my own job, which would be cool. we’ll see. at this point, i just want a job. i’m very flexible about everything that comes with it, such as pay and benefits. and this job would require a move to amarillo, which wouldn’t be that bad.

speaking of amarillo, i applied at pantex right before i got my undergrad degree. i had an on-site interview, but i’m glad i didn’t get a job there, since apparently they tape explosives together when they’re cracked.

also speaking of amarillo, liz and i went there last weekend. on friday night, we saw the Burden Brothers here in town. IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THEM, YOU ARE MISSING OUT. DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND BUY THEIR ALBUM. IT’S REALLY CHEAP, BUT AMAZINGLY GREAT. anyway, we saw them and got the album cover autographed and whatnot, and all was well. they seem like nice guys, and they all seemed to think that my Baboon shirt was cool (which it is). yeah. so anyway, saturday night, liz and i went to amarillo and saw them again. just a quick trip up and back, but well worth it. the bar/club/whatever in amarillo had an actual stage, unlike where they played here, but it was about 7’ off the ground, so it was weird. we were near the front, but they were far away. anyway, this show reminded me of how stupid some people are. for instance: not every band/song is “mosh-worthy.” this band is really fucking cool, but they aren’t a mosh-type band. some lame-asses will most to anything, though, i guess. it reminded me of my friend jason’s list of things to do/know when attending a show:

1. If you ate Greek, Italian, or Indian before the show, chew some fuckin gum.
2. Wear a shirt with sleeves. Leave the shirt ON.
3. Take a shower and wash your hair at least once in the week prior to the show.
4. The pit != “Fight Club” (although this one is arguable). Really though, I just can’t understand why somebody would pay a ticket price to basically roam around throwing elbows and fists and generally trying to fuck people up, all the while ignoring the show. Save some money and find an alleyway.
5. If you’re tired, my shoulder is NOT a place for you to rest. My shoulder is not a convenient holder for your devil horns. My shoulder (or hip or leg or face) is not part of some magical crowd surfing ladder.
6. Pushing a crowd of people forward at full strength is retarded. Similarly, pushing a crowd of people backward at full strength is equally retarded.

that being said, here’s a picture liz and i took with the band. check it:

WE ROCK BALLS
Steev and Liz in the back, with the Burden Brothers: Casey Orr (bass), Corey Rozzoni (guitar), Vaden Todd Lewis (vocals/guitar), Casey Hess (guitar), and “Taz” Patrick Bentley (drums)

we’ve got a photo gallery, too…this picture is there along with lots of other steev and/or liz pictures. WIGGEDY WIGGEDY WORD.

i think that’s enough random crap for today.

there’s not much in this entry of any import, but it’s been a while since i’ve written, so it’s kind of long…also, after writing it, i see that it’s come out sort of Memento-esque, with the most recent events at the beginning, and then sort of skipping around through time…well, not exactly going in reverse order, but sort of.

fine, it’s not really Memento-esque. it’s just out of chronological order, forward, reverse or otherwise.

———

today (so far):

okay, so the phone rang at 8:15 today, waking me up. ugh. i went to bed after 1:30 (because of the whole late radio show thing)…then i couldn’t get to sleep right away, then i woke up when the alarm went off for liz, then again when she left right before 6. that’s pretty normal, the multiple wake-ups, so i’m not complaining…but coupled with the late night, it makes steev a tired fella. i know, i’m whining…

anyway, i got up after the phone rang, because i remembered last night that i have a job interview tomorrow (with a petroleum company) and that i had to fill out an application and submit it to them electronically. i also have to bring a signed copy to the interview tomorrow. if they have an electronic copy, can’t they print it out themselves? alas. i also have to bring a resume and a transcript to the interview. that’s odd, since the resume is basically repeated, word-for-word, on the application. the application also lists my school status (though not particular classes, so i guess the transcript makes sense). anyway, i filled out the application when i got up. yeah.

the company is having an “information session” tonight at 6pm. attendance is “strongly encouraged” for those of us interviewing.

this is the job for which the career center-lady overrode the system and let me apply, since i’m “more qualified than what they state that they are looking for.” at the job fair a few weeks back, the people from this company told me i should actually apply for a different position, but the career center website wouldn’t let me because my major wasn’t correct. alas.

———

last week:

speaking of jobs and interviews and whatnot, the shipping company i mentioned finally called me last week. in fact, the guy called tuesday at 5:45pm (he’d said he would call the previous monday — not the day before he did call, but a week before that — or the friday before that…i’d pretty much given up on ever hearing from him). anyway, at 5:45 on tuesday, he said “can you be here for an interview at 3pm on thursday?” at the time, i said, “sure,” not thinking about the fact that he’d given me less than 48 hours notice to make arrangements for the 6+ hour drive (my car wouldn’t make it, i think, so i’d have to borrow one of my parents’ cars or fly and rent a car…neither option was practical because of the short notice…if i’d had more notice, liz could/would have come with me, and we could have taken her car) to the company’s facility on the east side of the DFW area. i called him back and asked if i could reschedule it for sometime this week and he told me that his boss was actually the one doing the interviews and that he wanted “to do all of them on thursday afternoon,” but that he’d ask him and call me back in the morning. the next morning at about 9am (i had places to go; i couldn’t wait around for his call), i called him and asked if he’d heard yet about whether or not i could reschedule. he said that he hadn’t talked to his boss yet, but that he would right then and that he’d call me right back. i waited around until almost 10am, but i had to leave, so i did. when i got home later, there was a message on the machine from 10:45am…it was him, saying that he hadn’t been able to “track down” his boss, but that he’d keep trying, and that i should just plan on being there at 3pm on thurs. i called him back at about 5pm and asked if he was ever able to talk to his boss, and he said no, so i told him that it was impossible logistically for me to get there the next day. he then asked me if i was still interested in the position and if i’d like for him to try to reschedule the interview. uhh, yeah, that was the whole point of our conversations earlier where i asked you to reschedule it…alas.

———

last weekend

last friday, liz and i went to see the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. it was pretty gross, i think, but not nearly as scary or as raw as the original.

saturday night, we took the cushion off the futon (which is broken) and put it on the floor. we put the kitchen chairs around the sides of it and draped our comforter over it, so we had a tent. that was fun…i used to do that when i was little, and so did liz, apparently. anyway, we drank a lot of vodka that night. i didn’t do that when i was little. heh. it was fun. yes.

sunday, i spent the majority of the day doing homework. eight problems. two of which were pretty easy. the other six of the problems were actually the same problem, but they had to be solved by different solution methods. five of the problems weren’t that bad, since the solution methods are heuristics. but one problem took hours. y’see, it’s an enumerative algorithm, so the solution is optimal. that’s all well and good, but given a ten node problem, it took 110 = 2 * 55 = 2 * (10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1) calculations. ugh. after all of that, i don’t think i got the right answer. i likely made a small calculation error, as i often do. also, the procedure for the calculations is straightforward, but i don’t exactly comprehend how the solution comes from the calculations…my lecture notes didn’t help much, and neither did the book’s explanation or its four node example. after turning it in yesterday, i remembered that i’d actually learned this algorithm in an undergrad class, and had actually done a similar homework problem then, so i could have possibly checked my work that way. oh well.

on sunday, liz and i had our weekly pretzels at the mall, too, and i ate dinner at my parents’ house.

———

last night:

last night, i had the radio show. at about 9:45, my co-host called me and asked if it was okay if he “skipped out on the show.” he said he had a lot of homework, and that he’d just woken up from a long nap he’d needed to recover from the weekend. “sure,” i said.

i don’t have anything against the guy; he seems nice enough, but i’m wondering why he even signed up for this. he said a while back that maybe he’s just too busy for two hours a week. maybe he is. we’ve had…uhh…seven shows this semester, and he’s been there for 3.5 of them. one of the times he was there, he spent the whole shift doing his homework (i can’t say much, since i’ve been known to do homework up there from time to time).

i’m not complaining, really; i enjoy doing the show by myself (though i know i’m not an expert on local music and i’d rather be sleeping during the hours its on). when he is there, the time passes faster because there’s someone to talk to (though we have to share a microphone, which sucks). however, it would be nice to know if he’s going to be there consistently or not so i can maybe take a week off sometime…also, it would be nice to have a cohost that i actually know so we could possibly have better on (and off) air conversations…

oh yeah, and last week he kind of pissed me off by referring to me on the air as “spongebob steev.” what the fuck? scumdog <> spongebob…it doesn’t even sound similar, i think. same number of syllables, but that’s about it.

———

next:

blah. maybe i’ll go back to bed now. i don’t know. i have shit to do; i have a take home test to work on, and i have to work on my thesis…i’m waiting for an e-mail and/or phone call related to that, though…but i could probably do something while i wait. yeah.

———

and that’s what’s been going on since the last time i wrote in this thing.