Hey hey, Kinzie Benefit concerts finally posted the pictures for the Violent Femmes concert. You really have to appreciate a band that has a drummer that uses almost exclusively the snare drum, and that also has other band extras that make use of a gong, bongo drums, washboard, saxophone, trombone, and several other random instruments. Not to mention an acoustic Better than Ezra, which was also pretty awesome. Just pointing out how y'all missed a hell of a show, again. All the pictures can be found here. Hmm, I have other news as well. Yesterday I got the best postcard ever in the mail from Amber, which of course had Indiana Jones' face plastered on it. You can tell that it's from right after Henry Jones Sr. takes out a plane with an umbrella and some seagulls. I saw it, and I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne. Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky!
On a sadder note, I'm pretty sure I killed a chipmunk yesterday morning. It wasn't my fault though, the little thing ran into the street before I could swerve, and even I didn't actually kill it myself, I scared it enough to stand petrified just long enough for the truck behind me to hit it. It was a sad day, I think it was a baby too.
Becky, Matt and I also hit up the 400 Block Rocks last night. This years show was.... questionable. I think I would have enjoyed the earlier bands more if I had made it to them. Not to mention it was pretty poorly planned.
Lastly, I've decided that one of the best things to do on the planet is to sit with good friends. Nothing compares to just having a really good conversation. I've been doing that a lot lately with many different people, and it's part of what is making my life really enjoyable right now. It really helps show you who the most important people in your life are, and which people are truly your best friends. I'm glad I have so many people to talk to.

Hello all again... I've been pretty busy with work and other whatnot, but not enough to stop the regular few updates with random pictures. Since the last post I've invested in a pair of proper bowling shoes, and although they tend to look like shoes my grandma had, I think they're pretty sexy... Plus I'll have them paid off by October by avoiding rental fees. Otherwise I've been doing a lot of aimless hanging out. I tried out Guitar Hero, and although I pretty much sucked it up, I think I could get the hang of it with practice. I also watched Closer and Boondock Saints; Closer was questionable, Boondock Saints amazing. Watching The Usual Suspects sometime soon is a must as well...
Yesterday I managed to stumble to the Lincoln County Fair with Matt. It's especially nice because it's free to get in, and as usual it was always fun to see the animals and other randomness. Plus a little girl tried to give Matt an animal cage, and looked pretty hurt when he didn't have the heart to actually take it from her. I also noticed that the Lincoln County Fair has a Zipper that has almost no rust on it, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what you'll get around Marathon Park during the Fair days... Those Merrill kids must think they are real hot stuff riding on a Zipper that is probably safe, while at least the Wausau folks are actually risking life and limb when riding our rickety old thing...
Later last night Becky, Casey, Matt and I wandered over to see Lady in the Water, by the usually amazing director M. Night Shyamalan. Sadly, the movie was definitely a disappointment, just like the last one. What happened to movies like Signs and the Sixth Sense? Gah. Afterwards Kim, Casey, Matt and I played on the swings at GD Jones, and in general caused trouble like we usually do, which would explain the second picture. The first, by the way, is the Wisconsin River, taken from directly behind the new Wausau Tower around sunset. Yay for Wausau being pretty.
I think that will be it for now... perhaps more soon.

Hmm, it's been awhile, but lots has happened. The 4th of July was happy, as usual. Shortly after the 4th Casey, Matt and I headed down to Madison, hung out there, and then went to Summerfest with his sister and another friend... but it definitely wasn't my best Summerfest experience. I still like Panic! at the Disco, but I don't think I'll be seeing them anytime before they come out with another CD or two, and then they can perhaps play for at least an hour, heh. But there was an interesting incident with a drunken mom, but that could be a post all by itself. The cow to the right is one of many that are on display on the Madison campus... they are all very pretty. On Sunday we came back to catch the last bits of Chalkfest. I'm pretty sad I was gone for the Balloon Rally and the start of Chalkfest, but I guess the weather wasn't ideal for the balloons anyway... But the chalk was awesome as usual, the man falling through in the left picture is my favorite.
Hmm, since then Matt and I went to the Carbon Leaf, Better than Ezra and Violent Femmes concert in Marathon Park. SHAME ON YOU to everyone who missed it! It was awesome... considering that I wasn't extremely familiar with any of the bands, I still really enjoyed myself. I think that marks a truly amazing concert, because while I usually get bored when I see an artist that I don't really know, all three of them were just jamming most of the time, and it was definitely worth seeing. So all of you... save your pennies now and keep your calendars open, because we are definitely going to another concert in the park when another one is announced. Marathon Park is actually an awesome venue for concerts, as no matter where you are you can always see the stage, which always makes in enjoyable. I would have pictures of it, but they requested no photography, so I'll just post a link when some are posted at the Kinzie Benefit Concerts website.

I think that's it for now, all I did was post lots of pictures in the gallery. Enjoy the ridiculously hot weekend that's coming up.

Alright, so it isn’t often that I post a completely angry, spur of the moment rant. But I feel like that now. Apparently it’s been getting around that I’m some sort of drunkard, and so are several other people that I’m very good friends with. It really pisses me off to find out that people have made some assumptions about my life which can in no way be based off of any facts whatsoever. So first of all I would like to set the record straight so that if anyone else wants to know exactly what goes on, they’ll realize that any other hearsay that they’ve either heard or have been saying is absolute bullshit.

I have no problem admitting that I choose to drink. In high school I found it to be a much bigger deal and I was clearly against it, as a personal decision. I’ll admit that I made judgments on others that drank, so I can’t say that I’m not being hypocritical. But just like almost every other college student on the planet, my attitudes and feelings toward a lot of different things changed. But that’s not to say that every time that I drink I’m drinking like every other college student. So apparently, contrary to what some people think is popular belief, I have NEVER been drunk to the to point where I can’t remember what happened, NEVER to the point of throwing up, passing out or having any sort of hangover or ill feelings the next day, and NEVER have I put myself in a situation that I have not been completely comfortable with. It also goes without saying that the people that I have drank with, in every case, have been in just as much control as I have been. Although, obviously, people respond differently to alcohol, I’ve never been uncomfortable with how those who I am with have acted. It also goes without saying that I have in no way reached a point where I “cannot have fun” without alcohol, just incase that becomes a rumor about me as well.

So, I guess what I really want to say is that I’d appreciate if you have something to say about my personal decisions, come and talk to me about it, instead of telling other people what you think happens. It’s ridiculously rude to tell other people that I make bad decisions or that I can’t control my drinking, and it pisses me off to hear from someone that they have been told things that are so far from the truth. It also pisses me off to hear that people have apparently said the same things about other people that have made the same decision as I. No one that I know cannot control their drinking, and every time that we do drink it is not as an excuse to get drunk, but instead it is simply a way to sit around, say silly things and have fun. There is a HUGE difference between drinking to get drunk and drinking socially with friends and apparently some people don’t know which side of that I’m on.

I also don’t want it to seem like I’m bitching at people who don’t drink, because I think it’s a completely personal decision and I don’t have anything against not drinking. I’d just appreciate not hearing from other people that I’ve been called some sort of alcoholic, when that is very far the truth. I just thought everyone had gotten over the high school drama and bullshit and grown up a little bit, but I guess not.

Sorry about the language and anger. It won’t happen again too soon.

'Ello again. As usual, it's been awhile, but only because I've been around doing lots of randomness. On the 24th a group travled down to a tiny little town called Freedom to celebrate three birthdays. That was very interesting and lots of good fun, and it was happy to see some old friends and meet some new people in the meantime. Since then not a whole lot has been going on except for work... As usual Matt and I have been doing lots of wandering downtown, as it's a great place to be in the summertime.
Ah, one very major event that I forgot to mention was that Amanda got married on the 23rd. It's pretty crazy seeing a good friend from high school get married, as it makes you realize you really are entering a new part of your life that is very seperate from your childhood. I'm very happy for her and Tony, as they are a very nice couple... Although I definitely know that it will be awhile before I take that turn in life. Otherwise not a whole lot has been happening. The 4th is coming up, as well as Summerfest and the Violent Femmes/Better than Ezra concert. I feel like this summer is going very fast already... as it's almost half over!
I posted lots of pictures in the gallery, including shots of Becky's birthday party in Mosinee, Jessica's party, baby chickens and random wanderings downtown. I will have to get around to posting Maxi's wedding pictures soon as well, but that's for another day. Have a happy 4th!