Joe_Simp's Xanga

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Wed, 31 May 2006 18:12:41 GMT

Contrary to popular beleif, I'm not dead.

My motherboard on my computer gave out a week or so ago and it's tough getting around to getting a new computer.

There is so much to talk about. I've graduated. I will miss so many people. Not seeing all of you every day at school is tough. It is sad, but I have to move on.

Here soon I'll have some pictures up from some memorable events. Hopefully Victoria will lend me a few of the camping trip.

I have to run off to work soon, but I will return.

Peace out.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 01:23:48 GMT

Third time is the charm.

I had a great time at prom with Sydney. We danced quite a bit and I showed her the magic of Techno music.

Nothing like pretending you're on ecstacy (sp?).

We went in the RV (The cool decorated one) with Victoria and Eric. We got a few looks with our sweet banners. My dad was really cool to us for driving us there and back.

Mini-fridges are mini-heavy. I was pretty glad I won that AFTER I HAD RECENTLY SAT IN A POOL OF WATER SOMEONE SPILT IN A CHAIR (bastards). I also won two free movie tickets and a free dinner. Sweet...

Then I took Sydney back to her house and crashed. Her mom was pretty cool about letting me take a little nap.

My only regret is that I didn't get to say hello to a few people, and that I didn't get to dance with Bobbi. Overall though, taking Sydney, someone I really care about, made all the difference.

I'm in love with a... BRICK

I went and saw Silent Hill with Brad. Movie is really freaky/good.

I feel bad, I haven't made much time for him recently. It's been tough finding time with this new job.

First pay check: $210.10

Better than a poke in the eye.

Lastly, a visual memory from Prom 2006.

Peace out.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 03:53:47 GMT

So much to write about.

Work has been taking up a lot of time, especially since Kevin (Damm) has been making me come in every day this week. I get $5.25 an hour, but my discount is sweet (cost +10%).

Sydney and I are wonderful.

I didn't get Bobbi a birthday present. But don't worry; I just recently received my Christmas present from her. I've got a few days to go.

Her surprise birthday party was a hit and her notebook PC is straight up sexy.

Gotta get:
Tux
Flowers
Senior Pictures printed
Prom plans finalized
- who is going with Sydney and I in the RV (my dad's driving us)
- where are we going to eat dinner and with who if anyone else
- are we going to go to afterprom
Decide what I will spend my money on
Research paper finished!

Bleh. That's all I have to say about that.

Peace out.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 02:14:08 GMT

I really need to update. Get ready for a big one.

I ended up going to the concert with Jonathan and my dad. It was absolutely spectacular. There were fewer people there than I had expected, so Jonathan and I were able to get really close to the front of the stage.

Dredg - Absolutely great. I'm just a big fan in general, and their performance was right on the mark. The guitar player did some crazy pedal switching.
As I Lay Dying - Incredibly intense. They'd start a really heavy break down and then the strobe light would come on. Totally nuts.
Atreyu - They were alright. The lead singer brought the mosh with him on stage. The crowd got really intense.
Story of the Year - They threw their $3000 dollar PRS guitars in the air. That made me cringe a little bit. Singer cursed a lot, especially for a band I considered slightly girly. I was proved wrong though, they were as hard as the rest (excluding Dredg of course).
Thrice - I had never really listened to Thrice, but I want to more now. They were powerful and eloquent.

Deftones - I was actually kind of dissappointed with their performance. Rx Queen was off pitch and Chino didn't sing very well at all. When Hexagram started playing though, all hell broke loose. Badass.

That concert was great.

Nine Inch Nails didn't suck either. This rapper (Saul Williams) opened up for him and he threw it down. His beat man did the beats right up on stage, which is rare... or at least I think it is. Anyways, on to the main attraction.

The first thing I noticed was the stage. The light carriage could move up and down, so an indoor effect could be produced when it was lowered. The lights were just sick.

The performance great too. They did all of their good 'ole songs and their popular new songs (regrettably, they did Everyday Is Exactly The Same, my least favorite NiN song ever), but they didn't do The Becoming. Darn.

Other big news:

-I helped Victoria and Bobbi pick out their prom dresses.
-I got a job offer at Damm Music.
-I bought a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor high-tops.

Most delightedly though, I'm back with Sydney.

Life is great.

Peace Out.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 16:26:07 GMT

Looks like I'm heading off to the Deftones concert here soon. My dad relented and said he would take Jonathan and I.

Thanks dad. I really appreciate it (no sarcasm).

I'm not sure if Jonathan realizes what he's going to. It's not only Deftones, but there are a bunch of other even more aggressive and thrashy bands there. I'm thinking it's going to be a mosher's paradise.

He's big enough to withstand it, but I'm more experienced. It just reminds me of the Tool concert when I went with Luke and Jacob, his older brother.

We're sitting down on the floor of the Colossium (sp?), and Jacob says,

"When they say, 'Everybody up,' you get up as fast as you can, and run straight forward, alright?"
"What?"
"Everbody up!"
*sprint* *squish*
"I wasn't exactly ready for that, Jake"

The show starts at 5. It's Deftones, As I Lay Dying, Atreyu, Dredg, Story of the Year, and Thrice.

Should be badass.

I've made big mistake I think. I hope it's not too late.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 03:30:05 GMT

Spring break is here... and it's rainy. Awesome.

Anyways, I've encountered an impasse perhaps with the parentals. First though, a little background information is necessary.

There are five bands I have to see perform before I die.

Tool
A Perfect Circle
Nine Inch Nails
Queens of the Stone Age
Deftones

So far, I've got three in the bag, with Nine Inch Nails coming up next Monday (I asked Shauna to go with me), and Tool and A Perfect Circle were amazing.

I have a chance at seeing Deftones. They are coming to Kansas City this Thursday, but transportation there is proving to be kind of difficult. It would be really easy for Jonathan and I to just go by ourselves, but my mom is incredibly opposed to the idea. I know this, not because we talked about it, but because I know, because she's always been like that.

The fact is, here in a few months I'll be eighteen years old, a legal adult. If my mom is having serious objections to me going to a concert with a friend out of town, I don't know what she's expecting me to do.

It just makes me want to move out, even though that's very unrealistic for me at this point.

All I know is, seeing the Deftones will be really, really badass. Dredg will be there too. It's perfectly good fun. Traffic might be lame getting out, but I know we can handle it.

I'm seventeen years old for crying out loud.

Peace out.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 12:04:01 GMT

So what does Joe get to do on his day off?

Well, if posting at 7 in the morning wasn't clue enough, I'm actually going to school. Yes I'm going to school so that I can get the damn paper out.

There's a few hours of work to be done on it. I'm waiting on Victoria to call me so that we can go to McDonalds and then head out there together. I'm hoping no one questions us on our way in, but if they do, I'll just tell them my name and that I have diplomatic immunity.

That might work.

I went to a show in the basement of Parrot-Fa-Nalia last Saturday. Ad Astra Per Aspera was truly great. Raptorkill!?, like I expected, was intense.

...

Well shit, my parents are argueing about tax stuff. Money sucks. When I'm older, I never want to argue about money.

I don't think that's possible though.

Peace out.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 03:22:45 GMT

The right thing and the easy thing to do are rarely the same.

Break-ups are always sad if the other person means anything to you. This case is no exception.

Sydney is an amazing person and a great friend, but (it's even hard to type) I know we're not right for eachother. It would be wrong to get deeper into a relationship and still feel this way.

One day we'll look back on this and be able to laugh and look fondly on the memory. I'll still be the same friend you always had.

Peace out.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 03:20:39 GMT

That post was getting old. Time to update.

Sydney gave me my Valentine's Day present, a giant fleece blanket. It's nice and fleecy. I only got to see her tonight. Being sick recently and other things got in the way.

Being sick has also put me behind on my newspaper stuffs. I really need to kick it into gear this week.

I did, however, get to interview For The Record. They were pretty tight sounding. I need to start writing their story.

I need to write the other bands too, which I have yet to do the interviews for. I also have to do senior in the spotlight. This time, she won't bail on me, and no, I'm not going to tell you who it is just yet.

Counter-Strike is still a lot of fun. So is Day of Defeat. I also played way too much Diablo II. Old bad habits are okay sometimes. I'll let them slide, since I played a lot of guitar too.

I might be addicted to eBay. My dad is selling this steam engine kit he bought at a garage sale on there for about 250 bucks right now. It still has 5 days left to go. Oh yeah, he's splitting the profit with me. There's a lot of nice pedals out there to be had as well. I think that's what I'll spend my eBay profit on.

Modified Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal.
MXR Smart Gate Noise Gate pedal.
Digitech DF-7 Distortion Factory pedal.

And then maybe a pitch shifter or chorus.

I'd love a Boss FZ-2 Hyper-Fuzz, but they are consistantly going for high dollar amounts. I'll have to wait for a really beat up, but functional one, to come around.

Yep, it's addicting.

Peace out.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:24:32 GMT

I've genuinely come to the realization that I messed up, during the events of my last post. Basically, this sums it all up.

(21:14:00) j03: rawr
(21:14:21) Kellie Bartlett: hey
(21:14:24) Kellie Bartlett: whats up
(21:16:36) j03: talking to sydney on the phone
(21:16:46) j03: and i just apologized to her the way i should have
(21:16:54) j03: because i was wrong
(21:16:58) j03: and i didn't apologize right
(21:17:13) j03: and i told her that if i ever do something like that again, she should go boyfriend shopping
(21:17:25) Kellie Bartlett: good job, joe
(21:17:36) j03: next time, don't wait to give me advice in the form of a xanga comment
(21:17:37) j03: just call me
(21:17:48) j03: because you and rochelle helped me come to that realization
(21:18:05) Kellie Bartlett: yea
(21:18:06) Kellie Bartlett: well
(21:18:19) j03: and i don't want to argue about what happened
(21:18:22) Kellie Bartlett: i was verry upset with you, but i think you are really sorry and you mean it
(21:18:22) j03: it was wrong no matter what
(21:18:45) j03: w/ kirstin or shauna, because i didn't think of how she would feel about it
(21:18:49) j03: even though it meant nothing to me
(21:18:52) j03: that was my error