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as it happens, when it happens....news that effects you in no

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okay at some point this month i released this much anticipated site, and made many promises to get those photos up as soon as possible. what you didnt know was that i had my fingers crossed behind my back THE WHOLE TIME!! HAHAHAHAHA!! no, really... ive tried. i even went over to one of my bosses houses in order to get drunk and use her scanner. to no avail, damn thing downloaded all the photos in the wrong format. note to self : get technical jobs done FIRST, then drink.

phase two was the lovely and talented emily carpenter acquiring a scanner via the internet. when it finally arrived i drove 90 miles an hour to get to her place and set the sucker up. this is what i do for you people... just so you can see yourselves... bunch of narcissists.

the "easy one-touch scanner" FROM HELL didnt work out to our expectations. so im still in the dark as to when those pictures will be up. the next idea i have is to manually glue them to all of your computer monitors just as soon as i get me some time.

the olympics - wow. yup. olympics. wowsa. yippee.

the most surprising event (ha ha ha - cue six shooters) that happened to me during this time was that , while on a day off, i casually flipped on the t.v. to find the Rosie O'Donnel show blaring away... in horror i realized that i MISPLACED THE CHANNEL CHANGER, and was screaming towards the t.v. to save my eyes from the damned when suddenly, one of the best looking men ive ever seen flashed across the screen... she was doing a "tribute" to apollo ohno, who i had not seen or heard of before because I LIVE IN A CAVE. Despite the fact that gay-ass rosie o'donnel was playing "when you wish upon a star" throughout her whole gay-ass photo "tribute," i then fell in love with the speed skater apollo ohno.

who i will meet and marry.

on february 22nd (my dearest) matt ryan got on 105.3 fm talk radio programming:

"my friend won free VIP admission to a strip club on this show, we hung out with strippers and the radio guys and they invited us back to the station...

plenty of Clark Kent, Weezer, Buddy Holly jokes aimed my way" said matt.

"hey, that clark kent is very sexy," said me.

matt, doing that thing he does

on february 24th i will be seeing Alien Ant Farm at the same venue that i saw The Strokes at, the name of which escapes me at the current moment...

oh yeah, the Webster. duh.

so what if they're going on with 6 other bands?

i will just patiently wade through the crap and the 14 year olds and wait silently at the bar until dryden mitchell takes the stage. at said moment, all else will cease to exist. and then he will come home with apollo ohno and i.

on march 9th i will be going back to Texas for the first time in over a year - which is something i am very happy about. gonna finally see all those faces that i have to get on this damn site cause otherwise thats all i will hear when i get there

"why am i not on the site yet? didnt you forget me on the credits page??"

my review of the alien ant farm show:

( after i posted it on their site...i was drunk, okay!)

okay, so i was one of the TEN 21+ people in line outside of the webster last night. thats cool, i can handle that... a bit embarrassing, but what i wont do when theres good music involved.

i did watch a local radio show interview the lead singer and bass player of Apex Theory, who are extremely talented and played an amazing set.

okay, so im safe and snug in the bar area with the 9 other people, watching the sea of kids having fun. after the first three bands, im pretty happy to be there and sublimely happy that i am about to see alien ant farm, who i have been anticipating since i got their record 4 months ago. mind you, ive actually listened to it EVERY DAY for that entire time.

and they take the stage....

TO LAUNCH INTO THE FASTEST, SHORTEST, MOST RUSHED SET I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY HISTORY OF CONCERTS.

not only were the songs, oh id say about HALF the original length on the album, but TYE was a complete asshole before they'd even gotten to the third song. after dryden mumbles through something about the nutmeg state (i appreciate the studying up, dont get me wrong) and how he is surprised at how many people showed up, tye flips the audience off and says "FUCK YOU!!"

YEAH, REALLY FUCKING COOL. THANKS TYE, you ass. *i bet you still expected us to cheer you on as you cavorted like a jackass about the stage for the rest of the show.* come to our state, have us buy tickets and then abuse us. rad.

after this magical moment, i see three sets of parents escourting their teenage kids out of the theater. well shit, maybe tye should have thought about the market that alien ant farm is so willingly playing into. when you've got 600 links to TRL on your site, you should probably be aware that the demographic which is the breeding ground for the enitire MTV network is now 7-17 years old. hmmm, maybe you shouldnt spout cuss words at the fans you've worked so hard to pry away from brittney and justin timberlake.

less than 45 minutes later, dryden leaves the stage looking very happy to get the fuck out of the nutmeg state. no encore. no nothing. i can appreciate the comments from the guy in england, same fucking thing.

its hard to support alien ant farm if you are not 14. i am all of 21 and i can barely hold my head up and say "yeah, they kick ass" after the totally disappointing show last night. for all their high tech bullshit, like this web site for example, (its nice to know that whenever you contact "the band" you're actually writing some schmuck at dreamworks...)they are proving to be as uninvolved with their careers as the corporate-sponsered-assemble-your-own-plastic-band trend.

this impression,paired along side the mad race to get mtv sponsership in what is probably the worst time for music in the last 10 years, pretty much makes it clear to me that the band could care less about playing for the fans who bother to show up AND NOT JUST SIT AT HOME, DIALING IN THEIR VOTE FOR "MOVIES" ON TRL. it appears that those are the kinds of fans that get the special treatment from a.a.f.

and they are also the same ones who have never heard of hall and oats in their entire 14 year old lifetimes. which i guess gives you permission to sound pretentious when you're fan base has no fuckin clue what your talking about.

ahhh march, finally time to take my vacation and what not.

emily just picked up the Phantom Planet c.d. for me, bless that girl. please check out the

phantom planet page for info and more great commentary. cause i know thats what you visit this site for, the commentary. not just to see if you've been mentioned or if your picture is up, right? not to read all about yourself, right? but to catch up on all the latest music. i know. god bless you. there should be more people like you out there.

uhhh lessee.... i dont listen to alien ant farm as frequently. ive been spending a lot of quality time with http://www.buddyhead.com, even though they give minus the bear a less than fantastic review.

i bought a c.d. on a whim by a band called "something corporate" lets just say i should've known not to do it because of the name. its the soundtrack to every teen movie that you wasted your $5 on.

ive been getting back into archers of loaf lately - cant wait to get matt wasted and have him play me a few ditties by them and some OLD 97'S - RAWK!

and uhm yeah. i'll get back to you.

march 25th - i had a nice time in texas, my apologies to those i didnt have a chance to visit. it was a whirlwind week and i really wanted to spend as much time with my dear ole pal ben as possible.

but that doesnt mean that my dear ole pal matt had to

FUCKING DITCH ME.

i've changed my email address to

wildboysrocks@hotmail.com

but im not gonna make it a link cause my last one was bombarded with junk mail to the extent that stupid hotmail erased a lot of my emails. which sucks. so you'd think i wouldnt go with hotmail again, right? but we've been together for so long...

i hope to go back to texas sometime in the october/november area in order to take the last week of paid vacation that barnes and noble owes me before i quit.

yup. up to my usual shit. got a raise and a bonus for being so kick ass at managing a coffee shop. thats sure to make rock stars sit up and take notice.

went to see kids in the hall with miss emily carpenter. it was amazing to see how many different people turned up for that one. dave foley has gotten a bit round, its surprising. but emily and i deduced that we both would still willingly roll around in the proverbial hay should he ask.

with him, not each other.

got front row tickets to see belle and sebastian may 4th in boston. there is no reason why i should live any longer after this show. it will complete me. i have never had front row tickets to anything, much less something that has had such a cataclysmal effect on my taste in music (and, therefore, my life) as belle and sebastian.

got a boy, somewhat. its crass of me to mention it. but hell, no one ever accused me of not being crass. just another pseudo relationship, all of you nod your heads - you know the kind i usually get into. why do all the good guys have to be gay, taken, or recently heartbroken?

why do i have to be such a sucker?

hey, i cant help that i am so rad.

but i am getting a lot better in pool and i can probably drink all of you under the table so, you know, it aint all bad.

i got all the pictures back and am putting together packets to send to a couple of you. i know i speculated on coming back to texas in october, but im leaning towards possibly going to L.A. to spend some face time with an old friend of mine, one Jason King. but i should probably check with him and the missus first. top notch fun, eh?

if you are hurting to look at some hot naked chicks, please leave playboy on the shelves and pick up the greatest british publication around, (except Q - but thats music)

my life goal list has now extended from trying out for saturday night live to writing for this magazine.

but seriously, this is some boring crapola. im shocked you're still here. this is very voyeuristic of you. hahaha, stupid girl on the real world just cried cause her boyfriend pinched her waist. shes flipping out cause she thinks shes fat. doesnt she know that if she was indeed a healthy girl with enough body fat to allow for normal development, mtv would have never let her through the door much less on the show? after all, it is a real world portrayal they are going for, right?

oh, what a world. sad sad twisted place.

in an act of incredible maturity, the boy and i are now just friends.

and i actually mean it this time. my god, am i old?

check out this new addition!

1. n*e*r*d - in search of...

3. kylie minogue - i cant even think of the name of this album

4. ed harcourt - here be monsters

5. belle & sebastian - waking up to us

6. radiohead - i might be wrong

went to the belle and sebastian show with emily last saturday in boston.

fucking amazing, especially cause we were RIGHT THERE. the only downside to this was that isobelle seemed to be totally resentful about being there. i dont know how she normally is during a show, but there was a lot of heavy sighing and long faces. they had another girl up there with her who sounded EXACTLY like her - i think this was cause isobelle had recently been sick. the other girl stepped on her foot or nudged her a couple of times when her part was coming up. it was odd. but stuart murdoch was hilariously brilliant. i mean, the guy had the whole audience in stitches. props to the kid, ben, who sat next to me for having the balls to get onstage and dance. that was killer. stuart also invited a girl onstage to do a cover of the pixies "gigantic." this chick was awesome - a phrase that very seldom comes out of my mouth. i guess b&s do this at every show, so she was kinda planing on it, but it looked like she did it every night of the year. even stu was a bit blown away by her. and she was an albino to boot! i love those damn brits!!!

(on a side note, this ended up being isobelle's last show with belle&sebastian. she flew back to england after the boston set, saying that b&s "wasn't really a part of [her] life anymore" MY GOD, THAT BITCH)

a nameless representative of alien ant farm has gotten around to writing me a letter telling me he would forward some email i had sent long ago to (bassist) Tye. i sent this person the review of the show i had written and expressed that i would rather tye read that. now the nameless representative is totally offended. so offended in fact, that he wrote me a 2k email all about it. hey, this is how i got my foot in the door with the strokes... we'll see how this one goes.

oh yeah and by the way,

LAUREN ROCKS!!!!!!!!

i'm taking a class. the first one i've taken in almost 2 years... it's intro to philosophy and i hate it. i'm only doing it cause its a required credit for Boston University... bastards. people who like these classes are crap people. they take them so they can say they are intellectuals. or, at least, my first roomate in college did. and my own twin brother is a philosophy major!

dont get me wrong, its all legit and whatnot, but i cant get the image of a bunch of fat, lazy jerks (in togas...hee hee) getting drunk all day and talking about bullshit instead of getting jobs... thats terrible. im obviously not an intellectual.

(on a side note, i got an A. cause i can fake being inellectual when i really need to.)

i just saw the bourne identity. not bad.

but i liked undercover brother better.

i turn 22 in a couple of days...

im goin to the casino for the weekend and livin the high life. actually, i just plan on wearing a robe the entire time and wandering around the lobby with a bottle of crystal (bling bling?).

but i'll get back to you on that one.

i've got a scanner, so i'll do that picture thing this month. if i haven't been tackled by hotel security and suffer a broken wrist or arm (gasp!) like winona ryder.

check out the newest installment on the currently spinning page

i never got to the casino. what the fuck did i do on my birthday? oh yeah, i went out to eat with emily, mark and my parents. i insisted we all wear robes.

yes, I am aware that I have skipped a couple of months... the funny thing is, YOU are all aware of it too. It cracks me up when any of my friends tell me "hey, you haven't updated your site in like FOREVER!!" since I always figured no one looked at it. or since you made fun of me for being a nerd and thinking people might care about my opinions on music and what not. Oh but now I see that you love me.

well, maybe not love...maybe it's more that you like to see what tragedies have befallen me now.

the reason why I didn't update the site was simple: I was in the process of moving back to texas and i couldn't let a few key people know about it. thus I didn't have much else to say or time to say it cause moving takes up every ounce of strength and dominates all of your thinking processes. But now I am here. in Texas. in September, which is disgustingly hot.

I also can't seem to get the damn pictures to download correctly. I have been working on the structure of the pictures page, but am still trying to figure out the sizing issues I keep having with my scanned pics. forgive me. But seeing as I am now unemployed (for the first time in, oh about 4 years...sweet Jesus I need a job, why the hell am I wasting important job hunting time doing this?!?!) and don't have a car, I just might be able to find the time to try and figure out the quantum physics of picture scanning.

I think I want to get an Escalade. do you think I can get one for like $7000 ?

what am I doing in Texas?

a lot of you are asking me this question and my gut reaction when I pulled up to our new house on the outskirts of Roanoke, TX. was something along the lines of

"wasting a year of my life"

and since that happened just a couple of days ago, I have yet to change my mind. But we'll see. Maybe I can open up a trendy new cafe here in Roanoke, the "rising star of the metroplex," TX,

"what the hell is a latte (pronounced LAY-TAY)?? i just want me a BEER!"

you know how I wanted to go to Boston University for journalism?

yeah well, I found out that University of North Carolina has a better program and costs much much less, so I'm gonna go check out that campus in October with my boyfriend.

and yeah, I have a boyfriend.

and he's fuckin HOT.

p.s. shannon hoon rocks the party. please check out the latest installment

if you feel the need to see who im dating, you may do so

okay so, i've been here for what, about a month and a half, and i still have no job. yes, thats right - i am jobless. i've been on a couple interviews but to no avail - it appears that i must make restaurant management my life goal in order to be hired anywhere. which makes sense i guess, seeing as that is what restaurant managers are supposed to do. and, to be fair, i would be leaving my job in less than a year (something i conveniently left out of my interviews) but COME ON...

but it's all right, don't worry about your old pal michelle just yet. you see, i had a revelation...

one morning i woke up and realized

hey - i dont HAVE to be a restaurant manager. i dont have massive bills, i live at HOME (cue weeping...thats enough) i was just under the mentality that because i was a manager, i have to be from now on. BUT - if i was just a regular kat with no serious "managerial" responsibilities, i could do more of the things i want to do! so im gonna apply for regular ole barista-like jobs and take some classes this spring and count the days until i get the hell out of texas.

i do have a car now, so that's rad. its a 97 honda accord, dark green.

i got to see minus the bear LIVE, and they're comin back next month.

i have the most amazing friends ever.

im in the best relationship ive ever been in.

things are looking up.

even if i have to work for starbucks...

alright alright, got me a job.

when and if (in the next 8 months) you get off a plane at the DFW airport, i will be in terminal A, waiting with a fresh cup of - thats right - STARBUCKS COFFEE!!!!

oh, i know it sounds like a totally shitty job, but wipe that smug look of your face. i get the same amount of $$ (plus tips, nice) i got at barnes and noble, but without the hassle AND a free spanish lesson at every turn. Sure i gotta be at work at five in the morning, but i've just never realized how beautiful the sunrise is when you're not painfully hung over and/or still drunk.

it's a remarkable thing, people.

its that time again - college application season. Lynda - where the hell is my letter of recommendation?? here are my top schools:

yeah, not you. but those kids at University of Washington better watch their asses.

uhhh lessee what else?

tonight i was almost killed by the comedy of will farrel...

i was fool enough to be sipping some wine while listening to (mind you LISTENING, not even WATCHING - that is how powerful this man is...) the "gynecologist" skit, and when he said

"well, you can look for another doctor, but no one knows their way around your 'gyney town like me"

seriously, i choked harder than i ever thought possible - enough to induce vomiting.

i highly suggest you download that skit.

i get to see all those connecticut punk asses at the end of this month.

i'm so excited, i may very well choke until i vomit.

okay, looks like WWE Tough Enough 3 is on, so thats my cue.

it makes me sick, my job. Literally.

I just got back from the doctor and I have bronchitis coupled with a sinus infection.

I try to flush out these bad thoughts, but its hard when you ride a malfunctioning "train" to work everyday with unwashed people who have little or no teeth. only to work eight hours nonstop, serving up decaf soy lattes to every anorexia-thin-big ole rock on her finger-flight attendant.

and during this time you dont talk, except for "can I help you?" because everyone you work with is spanish, every employee that orders anything is spanish, you begin to think you are in mexico - if not for those bloated middle aged tourists with loud hawaiian shirts ordering venti caramel frappuccinos.

complete with obese pre-teen child who cuts in line to order a venti caramel-brownie frappuccino with extra caramel sauce. of course.

december. the holidays. the joy. the love.

i hate america. the wretched hallmark holidays, the wretched marketing schemes,

the constant need for more.

if indie bands didnt sound so stupid when they sang about the underbelly of america, perhaps id be

more politically active.

maybe im just supposed to grow up and write more of this shit.

one of my friends asked me what i was going to do with my life

go to school, get a degree in journalism.

yeah but after that?

and i felt like hitting the wall cause i dont know.

all i want to do is get more records, analyze them, compare and contrast them,

find more bands, do the same,

stay safe in the world of music. maybe write an article exposing some un-named major corporation that breaks so many state laws regarding its employees its not even funny. yeah, that real hard core "you gotta live in it" journalism gets to me. but it doesnt change the world. it barely changes anything. you still have people reading cosmo.

until those people are eliminated, nothing is safe.

ive been sick for the last couple of weeks. ive taken the last three days off and i will take tomorrow off too.

my job makes me want to drill holes in my head so i dont have to think about how mindless it is.

my stomach is curled up in a tight ball, every time i cough it feels like its gonna catapult itself across the room in retaliation for me not taking better care of myself.

for the next two weeks or so i will have to take eight pills a day.

after the antibiotics are gone i will continue taking five pills a day.

for as long as i can imagine,

i have completed two years of college.

i cannot enroll in a college course in texas because it will cost an estimated $1140 that i didnt count on.

it is harder to get into school now than it was when i graduated from high school.

i didnt want to go then and i still dont want to go. so the difficulties i encounter really just make it all that much more hilarious.

every day i spend in texas takes up more time, more space for my undeclared but much anticipated future.

my teeth are getting shittier because i dont have any dental insurance.

i have already outgrown this place and my friends are finding it too cramped as well

but my sides are itching and i feel useless.

i have a relationship

but ive got to buy a plane ticket to access it.

'you sure do like those long distance relationships'

but every day we talk and i feel my feet sinking deeper into this nothing here and he says

i should go live with him but we both know i wont cause it makes no sense and so

my relationship stays a part of my future while i sit here and

wait for my present to

(please check out the ugly casanova segment at currently spinning)

(happy one year anniversary to my site!!!!)

January and February went on and on without much change. i pulled myself out of my funk after i realized i was tired of my own company.

i appreciate everyone's concern, seriously - it meant a lot.

you know who you are, ya big lugs.

Good things come to those who wait!

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!

So there i was, at the Starbucks three minutes from my house, ordering a coffee. No make-up, no attempt to look pretty - i'm getting a coffee from the place that didnt give me a job when i begged for one a couple of months previously.

it had come to my attention that the joint had been taken over by new management. a spunky young lass named Terri (yes, with an "i"). i had seen her on a few of the mornings noah and i stopped by to grab a cup of joe. she was tiny and loud, but funny. and everyone seemed to like working for her. how i hated those happy happy workers.

after ordering my grande two-pump hazelnut latte (dont hate me, i have enough self-loathing for the coffee snob i have become), miss Terri turned to yours truly and asked how my valentines day was going. since she was the first to bring the holiday to my attention, i replied with complete honesty

"pretty crappy, my boyfriend lives in south carolina"

to which she responded

"where do you work?"

after i told her "starbucks" she and the cute punky girl barista exchanged looks of confusion as to why i hadnt requested my "partner" discount. i told them i worked at the faux starbucks in the airport. turns out Terri knew my boss's boss - which was, i'll admit, slightly disturbing seeing as i hated going to work, and i didnt want any aspect of it leaking into my every day life. it was terrifying to think HMS Host had their fingers in so many pies. but it's okay, she just worked for him for extra cash.

Terri then told me she had a job opening for a shift supervisor and

the seas promptly parted.

Starbucks in Trophy Club, Texas. full benefits. dental (thank God, you know how shitty my teeth are), medical, the works.

i even took a $2 an hour pay cut to work here, but it was totally worth it.

i dig the kids i work with and the angst-wrinkles that were forming around my mouth and eyes seem to be smoothing out.

so thats pretty cool.

i mean, i know its starbucks and all, but "in this economy" - they treat their employees pretty darn good.

may i take some time here to plug Pricleline.com

i got one $200 a night hotel room for $75 and another $150 a night hotel room for $50

one more month until i find out who will accept me -

either University of North Carolina or University of Connecticut.

i'm not at all sure if either will take me, but i'm trying.

For all of you who are chuckling to yourselves, remembering me defiantly saying

"i will NEVER go to UCONN, are you kidding?!"