Pete Nickeas

Case in point: I logged about 6 hours on X-box last night.

I’ve just been really tired … we’ve been running around since we got out here and I’m getting to the point where … most of the stuff we need to get done, is done.

We’ve both got jobs: Erin at a design firm in Casper and me at the newspaper, so we’re definitely two steps closer to stability.

But Erin’s parents bought me this nifty little toy so damned if I want to do anything but smoke people in Call of Duty: World at War. Which is why I was playing for like six hours yesterday.

Either way, it means I haven’t been writing as much in my journal (a habit I’ve fallen out of) and less blogging (even though I blog at work).

I’d like to say I’m going to take a break from video games for a bit but as we get settled I just wanna have mindless fun.

Then find said perspective here.

They’re memoirs of a soldier who is recently deceased at the age of 106. There’s five other memoirs in the gallery, I haven’t read through them all yet but I plan on it.

Fascinating, and saddening. I can appreciate someone speaking candidly about those types of situations though … people can’t really speak honestly about stuff that doesn’t matter. And all this, does.

I gotta figure out what kinda music I want at the wedding.

Now, I do understand that it’s going to be more things that Erin wants than me. I never did dream of having a big wedding, but now that I’m getting married, I feel like it has to be a big ass party.

We’ve got some pretty solid ideas about what we’re not playing - no chicken dance, no Macarena, none of that nonsensical bullshit. We’re in solid agreement on this.

And we also agree, The Beatles are going to be apart of the ceremony though we don’t yet know in what capacity.

Past that though, I’m seriously trying to find a way to incorporate Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, and a few others into the wedding. It’s the music that I came up on, it’s been a huge part of my life since like 7th grade. The music means a lot to me, it’s just a matter of finding out how it fits into the wedding at this point.

I don’t think Erin’s going to go for Bitches Ain’t Shit though. In any form.

I can’t even begin to describe how giddy I get seeing a no-no.

But a Sox player doing it? A perfect game no less?

Man, it brings me to tears.

There’s something pure and unadulterated about seeing a masterful pitching performance and I don’t think there’s many more things in life I appreciate.

From ESPN:

Has a Chicago pitcher ever had a better career, pitching only in the Windy City, than Buehrle? Here’s your answer: no-hitter, perfect game, World Series ring, 133 wins and counting at the age of 30.

Today was a good day.

What sucks about Hip-hop is that it’s such a kid’s game that getting back into the music after a few months away from it is difficult.

And, you don’t need to preach to me how you don’t need to be young to appreciate music, or any of that. Because really, there’s no excuse for not listening to music.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have hours each day at school during class to look up new music but I’ve had a hell of a time finding new music. It’s been a blessing of sorts because this People Under The Stairs album basically got me through my last semester of schooling … that just ended about a month ago.

And now, I’m listening to a lot of Pharoahe Monch(o - the head honcho) because, well, it’s dope. That’s it. I know the Internal Affairs album front to back and there’s a sense of familiarity about it.

But I’ve really, really been missing out on that feeling of anticipating a release. It just doesn’t happen. I was kinda geeked about the “new” Atmosphere album but not really before that.

I mean, for a few years there, there was at least one album every month worth spending money on. And that’s just not the case anymore.

There’s all of that … and I haven’t been to a show in years. I miss that. I just became accustomed to going to shows when I was near Chicago but being in Wyoming, and before that, Springfield, made all of that very difficult.

I guess I’m getting old. Shit.

Part of it has to be that I’ve been moving around a lot. Over the next couple months as we get settled in, I do plan on digging through all the releases that have just slipped by me over the past couple years and maybe there will be a gem in there. Who knows.

In the mean time I’m all ears if you have suggestions … but this just came on and I don’t know how soon I’ll get to ‘em.

Stay up. Peace!

It still cracks. It’s weird. I guess it won’t go away completely just yet.

BUT! I have been running about 6 days each week it seems. We skipped last Saturday, then skipped Thursday this week, and the idea is to go every day unless we have other random ass stuff going on.

I know I’ve been slipping on the updates I said I was going to write. This week has actually been astonishingly busy - I’ve got a back log of things to do at work and this week it’s been … go to work, come home, run, clean a little, watch some TV, knock out.

I am settling into a routine though and that makes me happy. More stuff is getting put away, it’s gradually becoming cleaner, and that means in a couple weeks here it will basically feel like home.

Helllll yeaaaa

I’ve been running lately.

Wyoming’s good for running. We’re about a mile high and there are hills everywhere. Plus, there’s wind.

And I do feel better. My chest cracks less. See, I usually can crack my chest like you can crack your knuckles. If I lean back, or arch my torso to the left or right, or spin my upper body quickly, I can feel a crack in the sternum area.

Though I was never quite sure why that was, it’s happening less, so that’s good.

Plus, I generally feel better than I used to and I’ve only been running for about a week now.

Good times.

Last weekend, we got rowdy. And that’s the only way to say it.

First off … apparently, to Marines, the 4th of July is not only an extremely important holiday, but also an excuse to get ridiculously drunk.

I’m not a Marine, but my brothers are. And they both came back to Addison for the weekend. Erin and I made the trip from Wyoming, Mike came from South Carolina, and Jack from Maryland. Grandfather came, uncle too, and other family friends. Tony too.

Plus, D came from Milwaukee. Erin’s parents made the trip up from the south suburbs, and my boy Donald from the south side.

Everyone important in my life was there, except a few PAR folks who couldn’t make the trip up, and a couple family members who stay distant.

It was great. It was amazing. It was probably one of the best nights of my life. I mean, it was what a celebration of life should be. Everyone was smiling.

My father cooked like 10 pounds of Italian sausage with green peppers, 10 pounds of ribs, five pounds of burgers, there was all kinds of chips and snacks and other delicious food. I think there may have been hot dogs.

We started early … before 4. And we went til about 2 before everyone knocked out.

We got left for El Burrito and one of Jack’s buddies was laying on the sidewalk in front of the house, hurling, but he couldn’t stand. He wanted a burrito though so we picked him up one. But when we got back, him and another one of Jack’s buddies were passed out on the floor.

El Burrito was delicious, as it always is. I don’t think I’ve been there during daylight in years.

We had to bounce the next day, and it sucked. Not only did we have to drive back to Denver, then to Casper … we knew that was coming. Lucky for me, the hang over wasn’t so bad so driving to western Nebraska, where we stayed for the night, wasn’t so bad.

But I have no idea when that’s going to happen again.

We’ve all graduated … Mike and Jack from bootcamp, me from school. There’s a good chance they’ll be deployed next year when Erin and I get married.

And that, it’s saddening. For real, it’s something that weighs on me. The positive side of all this is, I was fortunate enough to realize how much my family means to me in time to have big ass parties with them. And now that everyone’s gone - my father is basically alone in Addison - the prospects of us convening again don’t look good … at least for a few years.

It’s not for nothing though. Jack’s career in the Marines is something that’s going to help him when he gets out. Mike is like … a Marine’s Marine, I guess. He lives for his job. It’s who he is. And I love my job. We’re doing well for ourselves. The price of that is, though, being distant.

I like to think that at some point, we’ll be back in the general vicinity of each other. Who knows though.

Oh well. Last weekend was great, was the point I was getting at.

It’s Saturday afternoon, and though there’s “responsible” things to do, I don’t want to. Damnit, I’m tired.

I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a long time … because, probably about a month ago, I knew how the time-line for this move to Wyoming would work.

Drive to Wyoming one weekend, find an apartment, drive back. Later that week, load up a truck, drive to Chicago, pick up Erin’s car and attach it to the truck, drive to Wyoming. Unload the truck, return the truck and the trailer Erin’s car was on. Drive from Casper to Denver, fly to Chicago, party, zpick up my truck, drive back to Denver, get Erin’s car, drive back to Casper.

Home.

Then, three days of work.

Which brings me to this weekend! Had a few drinks last night with some coworkers. They’re funny. Erin just told me that I was farting and apparently, they were too. Which is good, because for a split second, I was worried I was the only one farting. But that wasn’t the case!

Then, of course, there was the hangover this morning. It did hurt. I slept in the hallway on the floor. We don’t have a couch and I snore like a furry beast when I’ve had a drink or two so I just knocked out where there was room.

And now I’m feeling kinda burnt out.

Yawn.

I’m gonna play X-Box, productivity be damned.

I think that, because I’ve never had a real office job before earlier this year, I’m probably a bit too excited about having my own half cubicle.

Before this, I worked as a reporter in Springfield, IL, cut grass and did a bunch of other grounds-related-things at Illini Country Club, worked for Pace Setter Tree Service, did stringer work for a chain of weeklies in the south suburbs of Chicago, worked at a flower shop, owned a landscaping company, worked at a couple convenience stores, and worked at a baseball card shop.

See the workspace? I’m already making it my own. That’s a Dwight K. Schrute bobble-head over there, to the right of my fan.

And yes, that’s Outlook. Not a fan, personally, but what can you do.

Worked on a few stories today, and it was a lot faster-paced than I figured my third day to be. Good times though. OH! ALSO! I did my first blog post. The interface is kinda chunky - probably the only thing ever that doesn’t work in Firefox but works in Internet Explorer - but here it is.

As you can imagine, being three days into the new job, it’s a bit thin.

Check back Monday night for a post about how this job is different from the last one. I gotta get a flick of something hanging in the bathroom. Some of the differences between the jobs? Bathroom signage, the sum of personalities, importance of the internet, and compensation.

This weekend? Got some family stuff in the hopper I’ve been thinking about writing. Definitely a few photos from last weekends wild ass party.

We got goofy, and that’s the only way to say it.

More to come!