Last day of 2003 … damn hard to believe the year has already come to an end. So, instead of a boring recap of what I bought (music, movies, books) and saw (television and movies) this past year that I thought was the best, I will bore you, my constant readers, with thirteen high points of my past year!

1) Became suicidal during the holidays last year. Got over it around March.
2) Performed in five shows and directed one.
3) Shaved my head in April.
4) Went to New York City and got to meet the man.
5) Paid off the loan on the Jeep. Now it’s all mine!
6) Bought a Powerbook. Whoo-hoo!
7) Bought a house.
8) Visited Mitch and Jen in KCMO. Judy was there too. You guys rock!
9) Learned how to dry wall and mud. Yeah, I’m butch.
10) Bought more dvds than cds this year.
11) Rediscovered the joys of vinyl (as in record albums).
12) Hiked some.
13) Drank more.

If the past week is any indicator, the new year promises to be a lot more interesting. Hope that you (and yours) have had a good 2003 and have a great 2004.

Blargh! What a day. It’s always nice (and a good idea if’n I’m your employee) to warn me of certain jobs that need to be done at least one day before said jobs are due to be completed. Especially, if you (as the boss) plan to be gone all day to Charlotte.

Hey, mom! There’s this book that you really need to read …

The “evil” returns to the mountains today. Whoopie.

Grrr!!! Must. Stop. Being. Obsessive.

Weekend/Movie Update:
A good one for a change … especially after feeling all freaked on Friday.

Friday Night:
Had dinner, watched “Saving Private Ryan” (one of the x-mas dvds), drank some whiskey. ‘Nuff said!

Saturday:
Had a nice hike on Saturday with Tom and Preston from Big East Fork up to the Shining Rocks. The trails was a little steeper and longer than expected, but, … damn! … the weather was so nice. You couldn’t ask for a better day to be out. Alas, all the pounding on the rocks in the trail aggravated the bum knee, so now I am back to wearing the brace and popping ibuprofen for a few days. Watched “Hulk” and was really disappointed. Eric Bana’s nakedness didn’t make up for the weak script and Nick Nolte’s overacting. Bummer!

Sunday:
Napped, went to Wal-Mart, the grocery store and the library. Watched “Lost in La Mancha” about the disastrous attempt to film Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” What a great documentary! Napped a little more, made dinner, drank some beer and then it was off to bed. Whoo!

Two phones calls over the weekend equals happiness.

Subj: romp of the century in real environment.
Date: 12/29/2003 7:03:08 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: “Hallie Couch”
To: Chas.
Reply-To: “Hallie Couch”
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear friend,
have you heard about Paris Hilton? All that has been said about her can be understood by watching her sex tape. Nowhere in the world the real video can be seen for free.Thus, be prepared to pay a small fee to solve the mystery of the century. Hope you will enjoy it.

merry christmas and happy evening at the Hilton!

Ewww! Why can’t someone like Colin Farrell have a raunchy sex tape.
Mmmm! Now that would be sweet!

Mood swings. Goddamn. I hate ’em. Been feelin’ buggy all day if the truth be told. I didn’t get to bed last night until late and then didn’t get to sleep until even later than that. I hope a recurrence of insomnia isn’t around the corner. Nah. Probably an isolated “sleepless” night. Yet, somehow I can’t help but think that the brick wall is right ahead of me … waiting to be slammed into at full speed. Hmm. Maybe I am crazy …

No matter, though. Some whiskey will take care of things.

Eeep. Since PT just called and said he’s game for a hike, I guess I should decide where the hell we are going to go to. Weather promises to sweet with a high around 54 and sun, sun, sun. Snakes and bears here we come!

Mmm. DVDs for Christmas!!! What could be better?

Er … wait … don’t answer that one.

I received “Dead Ringers” on Tuesday (a Christmas present to myself) and, man-oh-man, it is kickin’. Probably Cronenberg’s best movie done up really right by Criterion. Nice transfer of the film with extra “making of” stuff and audio commentary. Sweetness!!!

Lynnette’s present was my favorite of what I got … “Duran Duran: Greatest, The DVD.” Three plus hours of yummy Duran Duran goodness. There are so many nice things to say about this set. Cool packaging and fun extras (four, count ’em, four version of “New Moon on Monday”). My major complaint though would be that it’s a “greatest hits” package and not a completely comprehensive look at the video career of Duran Duran. There’s a great (though out of print) video album released in the early 80’s that has videos for practically all the songs off “Duran Duran” and “Rio.” I love the video to the singles version of “My Own Way” and would love to see it (and the others) make their way to disc as well.

All I can say in closing is … Simon Le Bon in the “Union of the Snake” video … uber yummy!!!

Mmm. Does this mean that BJ is now available for curbside pick-up? Heh. What a great picture!

Yes, yes. I am one of the unlucky bastards that has to work today. I won’t complain too much, ’cause my job is pretty nice. Busy morning … more on the holiday later. Hope you and yours had a good one as well.