Stupid Hurts

When one of the first things you see is a six foot tall guy in a children’s big bird [tag]costume[/tag] something should tell you that an interesting night is ahead. [newline]
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Friday night the fan club and I all attended the annual showing of the [tag]Rocky[/tag] [tag]Horror[/tag] [tag]Picture[/tag] Show and costume [tag]contest[/tag] at the [tag]Alabama[/tag] [tag]Theater[/tag]. Even after several people bailed on us we still managed to take up a row and a half. I slipped away from the group early on to get a few pictures of some of the costumed people in the contest. And my favorite part watching a few of them fall off the stage in their ill conceived shoes. [newline]
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I have seen Rocky Horror several times and to this day I still have no clue what that movie is actually about, but I really don’t think thats why anybody ever watches it.

Saturday night found me at work for our costume contest. I think I was the only person dressed mundanely. The bartenders took full advantage of the chance to play dress up.
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We also had a special guest in house. [tag]Porn[/tag] star Wendy Williams which meant the club was a lot more crowded than usual. On a plus side part of that crowd was two of my friends I haven’t seen since college Amy and Justice. It was great to spend some time catching up with them. While sitting outside deciding where we wanted to catch dinner we witnessed a car accident, it was old times all over again.[newline]
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Over heard at work:

“Stop that you are acting unlady like!”
in response
“Thats not surprising considering how much these panty hose are making my dick itch”

I didn’t even bother turning around to see what said that. I just grabbed my drink and walked off.

Some time last week I decided I had gotten tired of looking at the scraps of fabric floating around my room so I started on the construction of yet another another messenger bag. Plus I wanted to address several issues I ran into while constructing my last bag. I cut a few corners due to the size of the bag. And since I know what I am capable of I am unhappy with just settling. So once this one is done I may just give my smaller red and white bag to someone. The only bitch part is the fact it has a much nicer set of nice buckles on it.
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The only thing left to do to the bag is attach the flap to the main body, but before I could do so my machine started really acting up. It seems like the timing is off. So I don’t think I will be able to finish anything until I find time to take it apart and service it. Unfortunately I also need to pull apart two bicycles and do a few other small things on my list, so it may be a bit before I get around to it.
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It is going to be a fair amount of time before I order some more cordura to make a new bag. But when I do I really want to try this pattern from Adam over at Zugster bags next.

I had just gotten my [tag]lucky[/tag] [tag]socks[/tag] on and was tossing stuff into my [tag]backpack[/tag] in an effort to get ready for [tag]work[/tag], and I thought to myself, “I haven’t taken my [tag]camera[/tag] anywhere in a bit.” Well, tonight I am glad I did. (And before anyone even bothers to ask, I really do have a pair of lucky socks, I wonder if my life would be different had I taken them to [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] with me?)
I decided to head into work early. Partly because of the fact I am sick and I wasn’t sure if I was physically capable or getting to work or staying at work, and partly because I wasn’t sure if I even had a job anymore.

Friday night I choose to start celebrating [tag]Halloween[/tag] a little early and went to the 4th annual Witches ball instead of going to work. A bunch of my friends went with me and we even managed to talk my mom into going and having a little fun.[newline]
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I got to see a lot of interesting costumes and well thought out costumes, and a lot of people who were well..just running around half [tag]naked[/tag].
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It was really worth skipping out of work for.

So I went into work tonight and found out due to a scandal that had nothing to do with me directly. No one noticed that I didn’t show up to fill my post last night. I decided there was no real reason for me to point that fact out for anyone.

On the note of upgrading Stupidhurts.org I decided it was best to let well enough be. I looked over the documentation and over the back end code. As my buddy Jake pointed out to me a bit back, this site is held together by spit and love. So if it ain’t broke I really shouldn’t be trying to fix it. Plus I would lose several rarely used but very awesome features like the Stupidhurts map and voicecasting.

The [tag]logic[/tag] behind this decision completely and utterly escapes me. Last weekend the owner of the [tag]bar[/tag] I [tag]work[/tag] at was attacked by a patron while we were understaffed and unable to watch the entire bar, and earlier this week the general manager calls me to tell me they can’t afford to pay to keep the [tag]security[/tag] staff. So they cut the rest of the security team and reassigned me to a different task. But if you have an issue with fights and underage drinkers, gutting your security staff seems like an epically poor choice. I shouldn’t complain on the account I still have a job, but my entire reason for working there was to hang out with my friends on the security team.

Everyone else has already picked up a new assignment and made an offer for me to come with them. It is amazing how quickly these things happen.

This week also included my former roommate Pam’s [tag]birthday[/tag] [tag]party[/tag]. I have to say I had an awesome time catching up with people whom I haven’t seen since I first got out of the hospital.
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Oddly enough I found myself turning down drinks on several different occasions during and having to explain that giving the fact I am prone to [tag]hallucination[/tag] and I still hear voices, it is best that I stay sober in an effort to avoid having a really good post for Stupidhurts.

Lastly it looks also looks like I may have the [tag]flu[/tag]. I got out today in a small effort to run down to the store to pick up a few things and found out I was to weak to effectively stop my [tag]bicycle[/tag]. The intelligent thing would be to postpone the camping trip I had planned for this weekend to a later point in time. So I am thinking that I may take the down time and try to upgrade my wordpress install of this [tag]website[/tag]. Don’t be surprised if I manage to fry Stupidhurts.org or email one of you for a helping hand

Last night I ended up working security by myself. A night I requested 3 people for repeatedly. between several belligerent drunks, a record number of underage drinkers in one night, and someone attacking the owner and an entertainer. I think last night had everything.

I went to the Birmingham Zoo this week and watched the animals do their thing. Well most of them really just looked sorta bored, but a few were really interesting to watch. I managed to spend a good ten minutes watching an anaconda slowly creep up on mice before dragging them down into the water to make a snack of them. [newline]
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There are a loads more pictures up in my gallery from my adventure if you would like a glimpse of some of the things I saw. Just click here Zoo Trip pics!

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The [tag]trees[/tag] were high enough that they towered above me and I couldn’t see the road. The sun played lightly through the branches and painted patterns playfully across the road. The bird songs sounded like symphony. Every [tag]pedal[/tag] stroke rocketed me ahead and my [tag]bicycle[/tag] felt perfect between my legs. But no matter how amazing this scene was I had to accept one simple fact. I was now [tag]lost[/tag].

I was riding to a bicycle shop across town that I never go to because they were the only place in town that had the final parts I needed for my [tag]fixie[/tag]. Instead of sticking to the route I had plotted out on my [tag]map[/tag], I chose to follow the directions given to me by a guy I met on the side of the road on a gorgeous time trial [tag]bike[/tag]. The directions involved cutting across a parking lot and looking for a gate, several really fun hill climbs, and lots of great descents. It turned out to be loads more fun than the route I had originally planned. But unfortunately I had to stop several times and scratch my head while I consulted my map of the area.

I think that road is a secret gemstone among cyclist in the area. Heading back I realized all the signs mark it as a dead end and I think passed more people out on their bicycles on that one stretch than I have seen in the city total.

Eventually I did make my way to the bike shop and my fixed gear is finally built now. I think maybe I will go out and play with it instead of writing more.

So I decided a bit back that I wanted another [tag]fixed[/tag] [tag]gear[/tag] [tag]bike[/tag] to replace my [tag]langster[/tag] that was sold while I was in the [tag]hospital[/tag]. I almost bought another one of the same bike, but they are amazingly hard to come by in this part of the world. So after a bit of research I decided it would be best to [tag]build[/tag] my own [tag]fixie[/tag] this time.

I started by hunting up an interesting [tag]frame[/tag]. I came across a steel [tag]Italian[/tag] time trial frame that was odd enough to make a good start for a build.

I figured while I was waiting for parts to start coming in for it I would go ahead and sew up a top tube pad to match my bag.

Given my predilections for things that are odd or interesting means I have to put up with making things myself or special ordering stuff. This time was was no different than the others. While I was able to pull several parts from my big box of spare parts I keep lying around. Several things either had to be special ordered or found hidden in a box under a self at one of the local bike shops.

But even that being the case, the build has managed to come together fairly smoothly and well under budget. I have had loads of fun doing the research and hunting down the parts. The wheels had to be custom built to keep the overall project cheap.

It almost ready to be ridden. Today I went into my local bicycle shop to pick up my tires. Unfortunately they had to be special ordered as well. When I got there they told me “we are sorry they aren’t in yet, and we don’t know when they are coming in.” After a bit of talking, I found out that the $14 dollar tires I had ordered had no estimated time of arrival but they would gladly sell me some $45 dollar tires to ride on until mine came in. I chose to pass.

While I was living in [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] I had gotten started on a new [tag]messenger[/tag] [tag]bag[/tag] because my daily bag (Seen here) can be a bit too big and a bit unwieldy at times. Unfortunately before I ever managed to finish it I got sick. But looking back at the pictures the color combination was pretty hideous. So it may just be for the best it got [tag]scrapped[/tag]. [newline]
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So last week sometime I started an idea in motion and got started on a new bag. [newline]
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I did learn that basic sewing machine doesn’t really like 1000d [tag]Cordura[/tag]. I ended up breaking 4 needles over the course of making this bag. I still have plans for some art work on the outer flap. I just haven’t gotten around to finishing it yet.
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This one weighs a lot less as well. My other bag weighs nearly 5 pounds empty, this one tips the scales at a little over a pound and a half.