deathmetalthunder dot com

I'm sure I haven't mentioned my ambivalence towards Ambien. I don't know if its because the site's been down for months or that I usually don't opine about pharmaceuticals. Either way, I've heard too many stories from people I know about the stuff. Now neolefty's send me this article about a guy in Wisconsin ending up dead. I know Yo! has had issues with the shit and I've always bitched at him about it, but at least he's not (yet) dead from using it.

And then I got ANOTHER article about stupidity while sleeping. Sleep emailing? What the hell.

Labels: neolefty, sleep, stupidity, yo

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I just got off the phone with Yo! I got the recap of his New Year's and Christmas trips. New Year's seemed boring (for me, at least) in comparison to his trip to Stornoway for Christmas. The friend he's staying with in Scotland is originally from there and he accompanied her home for Christmas. It is city located on the Isle of Lewis off the west coast of northern Scotland. He had a nice flight in a plane that would only accommodate 16 people. But the real shocker was that at the parties and bar he'd go to, he'd be one of the soberer ones.

Oh, some people would meet him, realize he's an American and ask WTF?! was he doing there. With the 50 MPH winds being regular and the temperatures under 50°, I can see why. I'm sure it is a great place but definitely not a place I'll be booking my Christmas anytime soon.

Labels: yo

I got a text before I woke up from Yo!; he was boarding a flight to Morocco for New Year's (where he better watch out). He's heading from Glasgow (his temporary home) after already being in the north of Scotland for Christmas. I'm hoping his crazy, drunken self doesn't get himself killed but at least he should be safer than his original NY's destination, Egypt. All potentially, of course. God's speed!

Labels: yo

Last minute things to do before I head off tomorrow morning to my parents' place. I actually need to go by the office to pick up some crap. Packing should be easy, though I need to figure out how many shirts to bring for my mom to iron. She loves it!

And on another travel note, Yo! is heading to Scotland for a couple months. He's staying at friend's place in Glasgow while she's on the continent traveling for work. He's going to be working from home there and hoping nobody notices he's in another country. The breakdown of his plan seems like it'll work. Unless he gets a call in to go to Louisiana then all bets are off.

Labels: travel, yo

Long ass night with Yo! last night. Good thing we have lunch plans because I need somebody to take me to my car. Good thing. I think this is the day we'll take it easy.

Labels: yo

Yo!'s about to break at Lala's. He got into town earlier in the day and its been a bit of bar hopping.

Labels: drinking, yo

My 5 am call's over and now I've got a quandry; go back to bed or stay up. I'd stay up for sure, but Yo!'s coming to town and I'll probably need my rest. Oh, the questions.

Labels: work, yo

I think I got my dad's system all squared away. We yanked off that memory hog Norton and installed some shareware virus software, Avast, and a piece of Windows Defender. It is a Microsoft program but it handles spyware and lets you somewhat easily modify your start menu. Yo! recommended it, so that makes up for it being Microsoft. Now I just need a place for the router to hang out so its not in the way.

Labels: yo

I'm up way too early for my tastes for the second day in a row, but I at least will get to put my final post out there before the cruise. Rumor has it even the internet is a rip-off. We shall see.

Anyway, Yo! has managed to walk out of two different establishments with drinks. I ate way too much (between Turkish food, assorted dips, and pizza). I think this a fine precursor to the cruise.

Let's hope I don't end up swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Labels: travel, yo

 Tai Chi and I have managed a decent day's work between the two of us, but now it is done. He got in a nap after I made some crazy vegetarian stir fry (I know, I can't believe I've done such a thing). Now I've got to wake his ass up so we pick up Yo! in a bit, but here's the final tally (?) of what we're bringing on: two 3 liter boxes of wine, a 1/5 of vodka, rum & whiskey (plus some assorted flasks) and five bottles of wine just to carry on. Jebus, help us! Or, at least me.

Labels: tai chi, yo

I had some early meetings but am now firmly doing cruise stuff. Heading out tomorrow after work down to Houston. Yo! comes into Houston Wednesday night so I'll have a whirlwind starting tomorrow. I wonder how much I'll get packed tonight?

Labels: travel, yo

Today's bearable, thankfully. The network's working, I'm able to work, I'm making some squash and parsnip soup for my mom. She actually thinks I know what I'm doing with this thing. I even got some time to meet up with Yo!'s girl to drop off my old wireless router.

Labels: cooking, yo

Yo! dropped me off for the Amtrak ride down to West Palm. So far, so good, but this doesn't get me there for another four hours. And I didn't bring a darn thing to read. B'oh!

Labels: yo

I've been up since before 9, but we're still trying to get Yo! moving to get to Disney World. Plan is to meet up with my buddy from the UK around 1 at MGM Studios though we might be pushing it at this pace.

Labels: yo

A shit storm of weather greeted me into Orlando, but my reward was meeting Yo!'s live-in girlfriend and the some of the best German food I've ever had. If you're ever in Sanford, Florida, check out the Willow Tree.

Now I've got to get over my sleepiness and get up to Jacksonville to meet up with my college roommate. I'm hoping to stay not too drunk again.

Labels: drinking, food, weather, yo

Yo! recommended this nice box wine. I can't wait to get home to try it out.

Labels: yo

I don't know if Cingular or Blogger are the f'd up ones, but I'm leaning towards Cingular. My phone has been dropping calls, not connecting, erring out on texts, and just overall being difficult to deal with. I got a text from Yo! like five times and there are a few pics that are just now getting to the site (well, yesterday). I need to find some time to fix all them, but now I got to get to the office.

Labels: yo

In this ginormous line at the Orlando airport waiting to be screaned. Damn holiday travellers. Trip was successful, though my foot is still giving me problems. Oh, I saw Yo!'s place; he made the best move of his life buying that model home as it is SWEET. I can definitely see the draw now because he's got barely anything to do. Vegas Hotel and I helped move some stuff around and he is now only some sheets away from occupation (the beds have comforters, but no sheets). He even has the mack daddy tv, a 60 inch Sony Wega. OK, I'm a couple feet closer, I might actually make my flight.

Labels: travel, yo

Thank Zeus that I slept with the window open at Vegas Hotel's place sure did the trick because now I can breathe again (maybe I should go further into a Robert Plant reference, but I won't).

One shitty thing, though is my foot's bothering me. Vegas Hotel's has a new SVU and I stepped out of it funny last night. It didn't seem too bad at the time, but today it's funny. And not ha ha funny. More like limp like an Egyptian funny (and a Bangles reference!).

Yo! didn't make it up last night, so I won't see him or his new place until later today. It should be interesting as he bought the model home. With everything in it. Only Yo! would do something like that. Who knows, maybe he'll start a trend.

Labels: travel, yo

I don't know who I was kidding thinking I'd not put any more posts for a few days. I mean, what else do I have to do besides make posts while my folks get stuff ready to head out? Two hour trip up and my brother's going to grill out some crap for dinner. I'm making up some potatoes au gratin for a side tonight so it'll be ready for tomorrow. And tomorrow my folks head out early, but I'm staying up there and hooking up with Yo! and Vegas Hotel for some trouble Christmas night. Well, as much trouble as you can get in on Christmas night.

Labels: travel, yo

Just got off the phone with Yo! and he just bought a house. And not just any house, the model home! A fully furnished model home, though I don't think this was a tribute to Arrested Development at all. But Yo! did things like only he could do, he bought it all: house, furniture, plates, air conditioner in the garage (so he doesn't get hot playing ping pong in the summer). I can see him walking in and just saying, "I'll take. I'll take it all. And keep the little girl's room as it is." Good work, actually, all he needs is a TV. Oh, and a ping pong table.

Labels: yo

Turns out that Yo! did something to his knee this weekend and is going to need surgery. That, my friends, is why I insist on doing nothing for extended periods of time.

Labels: yo

Crazy bit of time it has been. Back home in the ATX after meeting up with Yo! yesterday. Crazy thing it was as we met at the exact same time at our chosen meeting place even though we left from different places a couple of hours apart. Then we went to see Fantastic Four, then we did the unthinkable: drinking around town (though we didn't close out the bars; that whole 7 am flight threw a wrench in that time honored tradition of getting loaded until they throw us out. Maybe this is a sign that we're maturing but I doubt it. Seriously doubt it).

In the bar hopping we did hit this great place for some grub, Brass Ring Pub, in North Palm Beach. We had awesome service: we had a pitcher of beer at a table with a bag of ice to keep it cool, but the special thing was the bar staff changed our individual mugs to ensure we had ice cold glasses. Add on top of that the chicken sandwich I had. It was very similar to the Triple Crunch Zinger at KFC, but with better quality breading on the chicken strips. Yo! got this bleu cheese burger with the cheese inside the burger (like I had thought about doing for my party). All very good. If you're in the neighborhood, you might want to check it out. Nothing fancy looking, just great bar food.

Anyway, I left his place with about four hours sleep, barely got out of a gas station after being thought to be in the midst of some minor crime, personally willing my flights to Austin, and getting home. And then going for a three mile walk with Chilly. Of course I then took a nap so I won't be able to sleep tonight, but something's have got to stay the same.

Labels: chilly, drinking, food, movies, yo

Man, this is a mess. Just got out of the shower and pretty much left everything at home. No deodorant, no toothpaste. No extra shirts. Just a mess. But plenty of socks. And a pair of dress shoes. That'll help out.

So I made plans with Yo! and am heading out now. It'll be a bit over a twelve hour turnaround on the fixer upper.

Labels: yo

Talked with Yo! and we're meeting up in a couple hours. Compooter's all fixed and I'm ready to go.

Oh, and, apparently, punk is used up in Minnesota, too.

Labels: yo

I think I've decided this weekend to take care of that damn computer problem at my folk's place. I just need to figure out if Yo! can be involved. I think more likely its just if he'll have the time on his end, not if I'm going to leave him out of it.

Labels: technology, yo

Yo! flew into Orlando on Friday and is going to stop by here later today on his way back home. It's like "See Friends Weekend" or something.

Labels: yo

It is official, the Classic City Brew Fest is on. Me and neolefty are meeting up in Hotlanta with incognegro April 14 with hayhem to follow shorly after. Brewfest is on that Saturday in Athens, Georgia. Last time I was in Athens was after I had scratched my cornea back in college (those were the days that Yo! and I would party it up and find out the next day people ended up in the emergency room with blood poisoning so scratched corneas were par for the course). And I can't forget about about the invention of the Supreme Commander shot glass? How many lives were changed as a result of that last trip to Athens, I care not to guess.

And on a seperate note, how the hell can neolefty fly from San Francisco for less than my flight from the atx?

Labels: neolefty, yo

I had this dream that Yo! and I were sitting in some lawn chairs on a side street off of 6th in Austin. Were talking about a party that I had the night before and how several people hadn't shown up. Right about that time people start coming up to my place (yep, the house was off 6th). We go into the house and several people that I've worked with since I've moved to the atx. My place is a very cavernous building, more like a giant studio than a house. It happens to be Sunday and my mom is also there cooking up some food. I make some pseudo grand welcome gesture to all of the guest and start to give out a tour. My backyard is like a Japanese rock garden and the guests go through big glass double doors while I go through one on the right. By this time it has started to lightly rain, but I plan the people have started on their own through the backyard. I run down one of the rock paths and grab my deck shoes (which are in one of the streams) before meeting up with somebody towards the back of the garden. Apparently that's where the race track is. Pretty good race track because you could do those little mini ones (which were being raced) or real cars. Well, that makes sense since Yo! is there. And that's pretty much that. I'd imagine I can get myself committed with that one.

Labels: dreams, yo

Yo! picked me up from the airport and we proceeded to hit a bunch of the bars in the West Palm area. That after two first class flights and some food/drinks at Pappadeaux. Though I had a good time with Yo! and am reminded of what a shit hole South Florida is, especially to go out in. I crashed over here and am heading up to my folks place in a few minutes. First chance to see the hurricane(s) damage!

Labels: yo

Man, I got fucked up last night. Damn you, The Saw! I was on the phone with Yo! priming the writing pump with some of the jug wine until about 10:30 when I finally got to the keyboard. Very little writing on Friday night, either, so I was behind. So I was getting going when The Saw called around 11:30 telling me to meet them downtown. He was with JMVC and Texas had come back from like 28 down, so they were partying it up. Next thing I heard out of my mouth was, "I'll be down there in 45 minutes." Those fateful words still echo in my head. Bad call. Especially after a few pint glasses of the jug wine already in the system. Needless to say, I'm only farther behind the writing curve now. About 1000 words behind and what I'm writing now looks like garbage. I spent a few hundred words describing the Triple Crunch Zinger. Quite the masterpiece I'm concocting.

Labels: drinking, jmvc, writing, yo

Yo! on his last night of drinking. Friday and Saturday were a success, though he sorta wimped out yesterday and just drank throughout the day instead of getting plastered. Tonight's he's "drinking around the world" at EPCOT (at Walt Disney World). I don't think it's a sanctioned Disney event, but I'm sure Walt won't refuse the $50 to get into the park and then a beer at every pavilion.

Labels: yo

OK, hopefully you can here this thing, this is Yo!'s two calls to me last night. You might need to download it and open it with Quicktime. And be sure that you're not offended offended by obscenities.

Chuck Yeager!

Labels: yo

Holy Shit, Yo! called me up and left a message referring himself to be the drinking Chuck Yeager. That in addition to discussing his four past days of drinking and the next three already in the works. Chuck Yeager indeed.

So, anyone know how to get an AT&T voicemail off and onto another form of media?

Labels: yo

I got loaded Tuesday, but I had enough sense to not get loaded last night. Yo! did not have that much sense. The thread:

Yo! (10:29:36 AM): hung over again
Yo! (10:29:57 AM): walkthrough in a couple of hours
thepurveyor (10:30:14 AM): you got drunk again? dude...
Yo! (10:40:35 AM): yes....going away party
thepurveyor (10:40:53 AM): dude, you might want to cut
back on the getting loaded during the week
Yo! (10:41:45 AM): can't stop now
Yo! (10:41:56 AM): only thing that makes me feel better/
thepurveyor (10:42:07 AM): that's indeed sad
Yo! (10:42:20 AM): I am looking forward to it tonight
Yo! (10:42:25 AM): I can't sleep
thepurveyor (10:42:33 AM): sleep, more sleep, and lots of liquids got me over my hangover
Yo! (10:43:12 AM): I agree...but I can't sleep.
Yo! (10:43:12 AM): have to go to the party
Yo! (10:43:17 AM): need more liquor
Yo! (10:43:23 AM): to feel better
thepurveyor (10:43:29 AM): another going away part tonight?
Yo! (10:43:34 AM): I feel like shit again
Yo! (10:43:40 AM): and I have to meet with people
Yo! (10:43:40 AM): yes
thepurveyor (10:43:50 AM): well, if you have to
Yo! (10:43:56 AM): I am trying to make it through the day
Yo! (10:44:07 AM): I don't care what happens today
Yo! (10:44:18 AM): I am a train wreck
thepurveyor (10:45:18 AM): sounds like somebody needs an intervention
thepurveyor (10:45:32 AM): fortunately that's not my job
Yo! (10:46:15 AM): going out friday night to for a party
Yo! (10:46:20 AM): no stopping it
Yo! (10:46:25 AM): out of control
thepurveyor (10:46:32 AM): practice makes perfect
Yo! (10:47:35 AM): I just want to walk out the front door
thepurveyor (10:48:47 AM): go back to the hotel and then show up for the party
Yo! (10:50:01 AM): yes....but long day ahead.
Yo! (10:50:01 AM): walkthrough today
thepurveyor (10:50:32 AM): oh yeah?
thepurveyor (10:50:33 AM): that's no good
thepurveyor (10:50:34 AM): i believe the techincal term is "you're screwed"
thepurveyor (10:50:46 AM): when's the walkthrough? go out and get a whiskey and coke
Yo! (10:50:51 AM): I feel like I"m jumping out of a plane
Yo! (10:51:02 AM): I need that...anything
Yo! (10:51:18 AM): I'm jittery
Yo! (10:51:23 AM): strung out
Yo! (10:51:34 AM): I want to lay on the floor
thepurveyor (10:51:41 AM): you're my idol
Yo! (10:52:34 AM): eyes are blood shot
Yo! (10:52:50 AM): best thing
Yo! (10:53:06 AM): fire alarm when off at hotel at 7:30am
Yo! (10:53:22 AM): I feel like Bill the cat.
Yo! (10:53:27 AM): wrecked
thepurveyor (10:54:35 AM): after this weekend, i'm taking some time off drinking. until PC gets to town.
Yo! (10:58:03 AM): going to orlando
Yo! (10:58:15 AM): to go drinking around the world
Yo! (11:11:25 AM): i have to get some sleep or
it is going to look like, "leaving las vegas".
Yo! (11:11:25 AM): did I mention I don't know
the conent of the walkthrough that I am doing.
Yo! (11:11:25 AM): ?
Yo! (11:11:25 AM): so fucked
Yo! (11:11:25 AM): so, so, fucked
Yo! (11:11:25 AM): so fucked I am giddy
Yo! (11:13:29 AM): I am on my knees in my head
thepurveyor (11:25:03 AM): nice work
thepurveyor (11:25:17 AM): no clue about what you're
presenting? and hungover? i love that.
Yo! (11:28:59 AM): I am lost with the material
Yo! (11:28:59 AM): my hope is that nobody will be paying attention
Yo! (11:29:20 AM): and my bullshit wil go un notices
Yo! (11:29:20 AM): noticed
Yo! (11:29:46 AM): after the walkthrough....I'm that much closer to my next drink'
Yo! (11:30:02 AM): the drink is the only way I will get to sleep tonight
Yo! (11:47:09 AM): I feel like crying
Yo! (11:47:09 AM): I
Yo! (11:47:15 AM): I'm going to crack
thepurveyor (1:27:07 PM): good work!
thepurveyor (1:36:03 PM): how you doing?
Yo! (2:06:11 PM): walktthroug finished
thepurveyor (2:06:20 PM): how'd it go, slugger?
Yo! (2:06:36 PM): stellar
thepurveyor (2:06:55 PM): everyone else hungover?
Yo! (2:07:04 PM): went great
Yo! (2:07:09 PM): I would have bet money it would be a train wrec
thepurveyor (2:07:28 PM): well, your half-assed work is still better than most people's best efforts
Yo! (2:08:23 PM): accidentally great
Yo! (2:19:14 PM): feeling a bit better
Yo! (2:19:33 PM): still strung out....but less stressed
Yo! (2:19:33 PM): still suprised I did not bomb
Yo! (2:19:44 PM): the meeting
Yo! (2:19:51 PM): must have been on autopilot
thepurveyor (2:20:34 PM): you're a good presenter, i'm sure you just hit autopilot
thepurveyor (2:20:45 PM): you ooze bullshit, so that helps
Yo! (2:21:03 PM): yes...autopilot was on
thepurveyor (2:21:12 PM): and, as stated before, you half-assed is better than most's best efforts
Yo! (2:21:26 PM): before I knew it, it was over and everyone was happy
Yo! (2:24:13 PM): and I have time for a nap
Yo! (2:24:13 PM): then back out.
thepurveyor (2:24:28 PM): go to it
Yo! (2:24:45 PM): I have got to shut down for a little while....feel like I'm unravelling
thepurveyor (2:25:27 PM): yeah, get to sleep before you totally unravel
thepurveyor (2:25:41 PM): drink a lot of water or gatorade and pass out
Yo! (2:26:58 PM): agreed

Labels: drinking, stupidity, yo

Yo! went out and got wasted by himself last night. He ran up a $80 bar tab by himself. That's awesome. And it makes me feel less shitty about getting loaded at home. At least I wasn't drinking alone!

The only thing I can take from this is to always have friends that can top you in stupidity. Always.

Labels: yo

I talked with Yo! earlier and he's spending several grand so he can race his new Corvette. I think it was a new set of fat tires and a trailer to pull them. I had hoped his mid-life crisis moment had passed and he had forgotten about this silliness. The shitty thing is I know I'll have to have to speak at his funeral and I hate public speaking. Hate it. Though I do like to wear suits. Well, I don't like it as much as I look good in a suit. So Yo! now has my approval.

Labels: stupidity, yo

After nearly twenty hours of travel and hanging out in airports, I'm back in the atx. Lots of stuff to post on the site, but I've got to work now! Damn me, damn me to hell!

The flight left from Rio to Sao Paulo where we got a few more passengers. Me and Yo! were totally out of place in Business Class, but they can't take a joke, funk 'em. I had a nice salad with scallops and lobster followed by a main course of steak tenderloin with a herb sauce. After port and desert, I watched Confidence and passed in and out of consciousness for 10 hours until arriving in Houston early.

My four hour layover was filled with more sleeping and getting caught up on Sportscenter (in English!). But I did hear some jackass on his cell phone in the bathroom talking to a colleague and having the gall to tell the guy in the next stall to stop flushing. Those American people, I love them!

Labels: yo

The airport lounge has one redeeming quality, free internet access. Unfortunately I'm exhausted and half sick so I can't bore the world with my travails. I'm leaving here at 8:50 pm local time and arriving into Houston at 5:20 am CST. I'm not good at math but that's not going to be a good time. Me and Yo! are on the same flight so that should lessen the burden.

Labels: yo

We're back in Rio, but it was a pretty eventful day. The day was crappy again, but we figured it was best to make what we could out of the situation. We hit a few beaches, did some more shopping, I learned to drive stick, and Yo! tore up the buggies.

After that, we put our lives in the hands of that same crazy driver who seemed hell-bent on having somebody end up dead.

Labels: yo

We had a nice crappy day down in Buizos. Me an Yo! got up early to rent these little buggies to dart around town in. No sooner than did we pick up John than it started raining. So how do you kill the rest of a rainy day? Bar hopping and playing video games. We had an elimination air hockey tournament with the loser buying beers (Yo! "won" the right to buy). There was enough of a break for me to take a bit of a swim before heading back to the house to get Tommy for a nice seafood dinner at Restaurante Do David. I tried the best I could to stay up for the last of the Green Bay-Minnesota game, but I couldn't do it (Green Bay ended up getting a rare win in the Metrodome, 30-27).

Labels: yo

How to spend Halloween in Rio? Let's hit an Irish bar. We did try to hit a club around 12:40 am and the door guy said it wouldn't be happening for a while. I don't care what city or country you're in, if a club isn't happening by 1 am it's not going to be. Halloween was PC and Player's last night in town, so we did our best to get pissed and cause some trouble. It was like a Hollywood premiere all night with all the pictures.

After the Irish Bar, we tried to hit another bar. Unfortunately that was closed. So in the truest Brazilian fashion, we bought some beers out of some guy's car trunk and walked to the beach. This is where Yo! and PC started talking about cars. Specifically, PC was talking about all the cars he's beat off the line with his suped-up Ford SVT. Yo! can't believe that PC's vehicle can beat a Corvette, so they agree to race. PC's Ford SVT versus Yo!'s to be determined car. I've got $500 on PC and they've got $500 bet, too. Within a year.

Labels: yo

The city tour didn't take us to the most well known image of Rio de Janeiro, the Monumento do Cristo Redentor (aka, "Christ The Redeemer"), so we took a couple cabs up to check it out. Elvis, Tommy, and I took the first cab towards Cristo while The Player and John took a later ride. Our second cab picked us up and took us to a side view of Cristo before taking us up to the big man himself. And conveniently we ran into the other guys while up there. I had to have a beer or two to steady the nerves.

We decided to meet up with PC and Yo! and try to make it to Guapo Lopo for the umpteenth time. And got lost and went to a random restaurant where they'll remember us all to well. Then we headed to the beach where it was confirmed that their are no barriers to entry for establishing businesses in Rio. We had chairs brought to us, multiple beer vendors to buy from, people willing to take any trash we could offer, cocktails to be had, and baskets full of hepatitis-causing seafood. But the one thing they didn't have until today was two hairy Gringo's shotgunning beers. Brazil, Welcome to our world.

Labels: travel, yo