The Sweet Up and Down

I've decided to stop posting in my LiveJournal because there's really not much for me to talk about anymore. I used LJ to rant and complain about life but my life is actually pretty good right now so I feel the need to get things off my chest is over. At least for right now.

New stuff before ending this thing: I got my mom all moved in to her new place. It was a huge pain in the ass because I almost had to do it all by myself. Luckily my aunts helped so we were able to get a lot of stuff and actually clean the old place. Her new place isn't exactly in the best area of Lawrence but it's what she can afford. Meanwhile, me and Audrey are living pretty good together and Cameran seems to be enjoying being cared for by Audrey. Audrey and I have also set a date for the wedding. October 24, 2009 and we plan on having it at the Stony Point Banquet Hall just south of Lawrence in the Vinland Valley.

Crystal had her baby on the 17th. Shawn Allan (or some variation of the spelling). It's good to know she now has her own child to take care of that she can ruin and turn into a miniature version of herself that's no relation to me. Yay!

I'm also really getting into my website, www.tauycreek.com, which I actually post on a regular basis and do my Born Loser and comic strip mocking, some writing, news and anything else I find on the Internet and want to show. For next week, I plan on trying to find a lot of Halloween stuff to post so if you want you can find me over there. No subscription or account necessary.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

I move on Saturday. I move to my own house with my fiancee and son. I am freakin' excited and am anxiously waiting for Saturday to get here so we can get our stuff into that house. I've been thinking a lot recently about growing up, having responsibilities and basically being an adult and whoever said that high school are the greatest years of your life is an idiot and needs to be shot. High school sucked compared to this moment in my life. (In all honesty, high school sucked period.)

I'm not a big fan of MySpace although I use it constantly and check it everyday because somehow MySpace always seems to draw drama and I am not a fan of drama because it's usually associated with someone else and I want to keep your drama away from me because drama is contagious. I'm proud of the few friends I have on MySpace and occasionally attempt to acquire more. Especially if they don't have a Facebook profile. From about July to August 2007 I was friends with this girl, Vanessa who was my ex-girlfriend's roommate. After she discovered I was friends with her Vanessa quickly deleted me and we both moved on. Well, I contacted her again because I like the girl. She was nice and I would listen to her life story which reads like a modern-day Dickens tale. She accepted my request and for a month everything was fine then inexplicably she deleted me again. No warning. No explanation. Nothing. I don't know what happened there but I figured two times your out. But when it happened my brain just kept asking "Why do you care?" And aside from the reason cited above, I had no other reason. I wasn't going to send a message asking why or anything but I found it very strange.

Also, way too many people are getting married and having babies. I keep forgetting that I have entered the prime marrying age but it still unnerves when I see someone I know getting married. Or, what I really hate, when I just discover it without being warned. I tend to handle change better when it's within my own spectrum but when it's change adjacent to me and I either have to deal with it or interact with it, I don't do so well. I guess what I'm saying is that I want things to change, I just want them to be gradual changes that don't amount to much right away. Or just ask me for my Change Request Form and I will email one to you. You can just fill it out and I will either approve or deny it.


The final Calvin and Hobbes strip always makes we long for the days of childhood but when I really think about it, "let's go exploring" is probably how Randy and I will end our time together if it should ever come to that and with kids, house stuff, work and family, there is no time for exploring and out of everything from my childhood, that is what I miss most of all but I'll get into that tomorrow.

~Brian

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

Senator Robert Collyer paced around the small holding cell as he waited for his lawyer and the assistant District Attorney. It had been a bad week. The door buzzed and a young lawyer with a mop of brown hair on his head came in and sat his suitcase down on the table. He clicked it open and looked at the Senator.

"Senator Collyer. How are you today?" the young lawyer asked.

"Like you really care," Collyer scoffed. "Where's my regular lawyer? Where's Herb McDuffie?"

"He refused to take the case. Citing a conflict of interest for some reason. I was sent to replace him and defend you," the young lawyer extended his hand to Collyer. "Justin Thaves. Pleased to meet you."

Collyer looked at Thaves then down at the extended hand. He relunctantly took it. "We're gonna be eaten alive, you know that, right, Justin?"

"I will defend you to the best of my ability, Senator."

"You've been a lawyer for, what? Twenty-three seconds?" Collyer chuckled. "I had the third best lawyer in the best law firm in Philadelphia up until ten minutes ago. Why do you think that is?"

Thaves just stood, looking at the Senator. "Senator Collyer, he had a con..."

"A conflict of interest, I know. And the reason he has that conflict is because if he didn't, he'd be standing in the same predicament as me."

The door buzzed again and in walked Stephen Landsman, the assistant District Attorney. Landsman was up-and-coming, had a good political future ahead of him and had a beautiful family. He sat his briefcase down on the table next to Thaves' and sighed exuberently.

"Senator Collyer, it's a pleasure to meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances. You really helped Pennsylvania during the last eight years," Landsman gushed. "Is this your lawyer?"

"No," Collyer quickly replied. "My lawyer is distancing himself from me because of what I know."

"Senator..." Thaves tried to interject with Collyer's talking.

"What do you know? You should have one of the finest lawyers in Philadelphia but instead you have a public defender?"

"I work for the same firm as Mr. McDuffie..." Thaves said.

"No one cares, junior. Mr. Landsman, can I talk with you privately?" Collyer asked.

"I would highly discourage..."

"I'm damned anyway, junior. Mr. Landsman, you just said that I have done many good things as Senator for Pennsylvania. I'm one of the few that truly works for the people. How do you explain my career tanking, the fraud charges and my wife leaving me happening all in one week?" Collyer insisted.

"I figured just bad luck," Landsman shrugged.

"It's all a conspiracy. Whenever a high profile person threatens to reveal the secret, something happens to quelch it. Whether it's someone like me whose life is just ruined or someone like John Kennedy who was murdered, it's all part of the same lie," Collyer explained.

"That's a pretty elaborate lie. What is it?" Landsman asked, curious but not taking the Senator seriously.

"The Earth, Mr. Landsman, is flat."

I Googled myself this morning. I wanted to see what was the first thing that came up about me. The first thing came up on page ten and was a link to my short stories on AuthSpot which is cool because those are things I could get paid for (which brings me to an advertisement: Read My Stuff). The next thing was my Blogger profile which was on page 15 or so. My name is a lot more common than I originally thought because there are quite a few people with my name out there. Search on MySpace and there are two in Lawrence alone with profiles. I also share a name with a member of Monty Python who passed away in 1997, an author who wrote The Saskiad and I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company and a lot of graphic designers and photographers. I only went 39 pages into what ends up being roughly 1,170 but you know as you get further the results just turn into pages that just happen to have my name in them but do not result in anything important.

I noticed the "writer's block" section of the home page asked "Which of your five senses could you live without?" How would you choose which to get rid of. You certainly wouldn't voluntarily give up sight or hearing but touch and taste would be equally tough to give up. Smell would more than likely be my choice mainly because it's one sense that I think I could live without although I would relunctantly give it up. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't live without sight or sound because those are what make the world beautiful. While olfactory senses gives us smells like roses, steaks cooking, gasoline and smoke it also gives us poop, burnt popcorn and burning rubber but it's your choice which sense to give up. I've made my choice and I stand by it.

Also, I ended my comic strip blog for a while as I focus more on writing for both money and for my LiveJournal (I want it to be something more) plus get more involved with packing and moving (which happens September 15th). The blog will be back on September 20th which is also the day we should be completely moved in so I am looking forward to that. I'm hoping to update my LJ more frequently and am considering using it to post drafts of stories I think of but am unable to flesh out until I get my mandatory two a month written. I have a couple doozies I've been itching to write so they may appear here pretty soon.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Cameran really seems to enjoy his new school. He had to move from Sunflower in the southwest part of town to Sunset Hill in the central part because I have residential custody of him. When we actually move into the new house, we'll be closer to school and I plan to walk him there instead of drive so that may be an adventure.

He went to Sunflower for one day before they ordered him out and to Sunset. So while Cameran had to get readjusted, he seemed to do it rather quickly, which I knew he would because he's had to readjust a lot in his short life and kids that age are so resiliant. Oh to be six again.

I'm debating on whether I should volunteer for stuff since I am closer to the school but I don't know. I think I'll wait and see what all they have coming up and see what peaks my interest. I went to parent's night about a week ago and they had a sign-up sheet for all the stuff that's coming up and if you are going to bring anything or volunteer. I'm sorry but I don't want to commit myself to something that's not happening until November. I want to be involved but my laziness tends to try to override anything I try to do. And that's fine for some things but I sometimes feel bad for working and sleeping all day.

I know that if I volunteer there's no way in hell I'm gonna get my name on the marquee sign as Volunteer of the Month but maybe there's a kind of "We Got 'Im" honorable mention or something that's more my speed. I have plenty of time to figure out what to do.

I beat and surpassed my previous record of having sex in a 24-hour period. The new record: 5. Six times if you go for a 36-hour period. It was all just amazing, including some things I'll tell you about when you're older.

This weekend seemed busy even though it really wasn't. Audrey and I made pizza Saturday morning when I got to Topeka after work, then we woke up early the next morning to eat breakfast at Perkins which was delicious even though they forgot to give us silverware which I thought was very odd. Afterward, we looked around Best Buy just to kill time then went back to her place for awhile and watched "Little Miss Sunshine" before we went out to a fancy restaurant called The Brick Oven which was so damn delicious I can't even describe it.

After dinner, we got some ice cream and went back home. We watched "Sonny", a movie directed by Nicolas Cage. We would've watched "Saturday Night Live" but the Olympics were on. Then we started watching "Juno" but Audrey got tired and went to sleep, I stayed up to finish the movie then went to bed with her. We woke up a little later this morning to grab some Mexican food at Tacos El Sol, ate and watched some of "The Office". I, of course, didn't want to leave but I had to go pay rent, mow, pick up Cameran and do some slight yard work.

It was a good weekend, one of the best in a while. On a side note, I need boxes. If you know anyone who has good boxes for moving, let me know. I'll take them off their hands.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

2008 has shaped up to be a really good year. After the massive disappointment 2007 came to be, I needed a good year. First, I met Audrey. I had originally intended to just test the waters with her, make sure I could sustain a relationship, get back into the flow of dating but no real attachment. I ended up falling in love with her and proposed to her back in June. We're moving in together on September 1st, finally being together all the time in Lawrence. Audrey is really the only major change in my life and I am so happy to be with her. She is the first girlfriend I have ever had where there is not a Jason, Matt or Dan also vying for her affection. I think I finally know happiness in relation to the person I'm dating and I could not be happier.

Elsewhere, I'm making it a goal to get two stories written every month. Hopefully I can follow through with it because I've been stuck on the same two stories (The Kings of Framingham and Seven) since about May or so and I have all this other stuff that I want to start getting down. But as for my other things such as my comic strip, it's slowly becoming more popular and I am actually starting to get more views on that than on my MySpace. But MySpace tends to be a huge disappointment anyway especially since I haven't gotten a message/comment/friend request in months. The same happens with my Facebook but at least other stuff happens on Facebook...MySpace just sits there.

Postings here my get even more scarce as I fill extra time I have with packing and getting ready to move but hopefully around moving day I'll let you all in on how that's going and maybe get some picture of my new abode.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

For the last--over a month--I've been living in Topeka with my fiancee Audrey. I've never really liked Topeka because for a capital city it seems really dirty and crime-ridden (and I'm not talking the politicians). Well, it's true. There's been like seven murders in seven months in Topeka and probably other stuff that I don't really keep tabs on because I don't want it to scare me. Audrey lives in a really decent neighborhood so I didn't fear for my life while I was there but we're anxious to move in together here in Lawrence. While I was in Topeka, I missed Lawrence a lot because I know Lawrence and it knows me. Although what canceled out my pseudo-hatred of Topeka was being with Audrey constantly. I was able however to be a part of the crime statistic in Topeka as my car was vandalized. When I went to get my tags renewed I discovered that someone had ripped off a quarter of my license plate. All they got was the last number but they also got the month and year on the plate and badly damaged the rest of the plate. I was mad because I loved that plate and I don't like the new ones Kansas has.

The commute to work in Lawrence from Topeka was a pain on my gas tank especially when gas prices hovered around $4.00 earlier in the summer. I didn't mind the driving because I like to drive but I didn't like leaving at 2:30 and the drive back after work was excrutiating because I just wanted to get back home to Audrey. But that's over now and within the next month, Audrey and I should be living together. While in Topeka I was pretty much incommunicado because while Audrey did have Internet, I rarely used it and it didn't work with my computer (although it could've). I used her computer mainly for email and social network checking but not much else. I tried updating my Born Loser blog but in late July I kind of let that go. My online writing became scarce and I worried that I would have trouble getting back into the groove of blogging.

I was right. I was able to figure out what to do with my new website but wasn't able to post anything because it's based on writing and other things I could really only do at home. Hopefully I can start getting it updated and get some people reading it like people do my Born Loser blog (which is moving over to my new website on August 15th). I finally feel I can start writing on it now so maybe writing this entry will get the juices flowing.

In other news, Crystal and I have finally worked out an agreement on custody for Cameran. We got it all done Tuesday morning and hopefully a judge will sign the parenting plan before the end of the week. Basically it says, I am the custodial parent, she gets him every other weekend during the school year, Christmas, Mother's Day and alternating birthdays and Spring Breaks. Plus June and July. I get him during the school year, Thanksgiving, Father's Day, one weekend of my choice in July and alternating birthdays and Spring Break. We split winter break and any thing else we have talk over and agree upon. There were also other things in there saying that both parents have to know where Cameran is at all times. Hopefully this will make everything easier in the long run especially when Audrey is permanently in the picture.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Audrey actually took me around Waterville and showed me some of the big houses, where her grandpa lived and the cemetery. The reunion was held in the community building and meeting all those people whose names I don't remember was very nice. After about an hour or so, it was time to eat and all the food that I had was very delicious--even the lasagna (and I am very particular about my lasagna). After we had all finished eating came a raffle-type thing where everyone was given a number and given a bag corresponding with that number. In that bag was something that belonged to Aunt Alice. Even I got something which made me a little uneasy but was happy that they accepted me into the family. I got a teacup.

It's a pretty simple cup. I want to say it's handmade because of the way it looks and that it doesn't have a copyright or company name anywhere on the cup. I'm proud of it but I was even more impressed with what Audrey got. She got an old-fashioned hair curler, a necklace that was given to her aunt by her husband back in 1954 and ceramic tiles from the Irving Bank. I think we got a pretty good score.

We stayed a while and looked at photos that were set up and looked at what everybody else got then headed back. We stopped in Blue Rapids to get gas and something to drink and I saw what I think was the only gay person in Blue Rapids. We seemed to get back to Wamego faster and stopped at Kreme Kup to get some ice cream because this girl at work used to work there and said it was really good. Which it was. I then directed Audrey to turned north on Onaga Road so we could see the Louis Vieux Family Cemetery and Elm Tree. The elm tree, once the largest in the state, has now been cut down to just the trunk and a protective shelter placed over it to protect it. While I hate to see the tree damaged, I'm glad the state is trying to preserve it. Also, the state put up signs for the Cholera Cemetery near the tree so you can actually find it and take a look at it.

The grave markers (such as the one above) are protected by a huge chain-link fence and only three markers remain despite over 50 people buried there. I wouldn't recommend viewing it during the summer--go in the winter, less bugs and things to attack you and attach themselves to you.

It was the best weekend I've had in a while and was very happy that Audrey's family literally welcomed me with open arms. Next weekend, it's Lecompton's Territorial Days and dinner with her parents. I shall have pictures of Territorial Days as well.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Even though I don't think it was a busy weekend, when you actually lay it all out, it does. On Saturday, the whole family got together to finally clean my grandparent's (now uncle's) place in Baldwin. It was the city wide clean-up so we loaded up an air conditioner, a bed, a small desk/table thing, a huge wood paneled TV and a big screen--Oh, and let's not forget a washing machine and refridgerator--into a U-Haul and drove it down to the dump (which isn't really a dump anymore).

I had to leave early because I had made plans with Audrey about a month ago and I figured I had already missed the wedding and that if I missed the reception I would be fired from being her fiance. The wedding was for people I don't know, which are always fun, but I got free food and it was held at the Kansas History Museum so that was kind of cool. However, I sat diagonal from this girl whose voice literally drove itself into my skull. It was so annoying that I probably would've paid for someone to shut her up. At least the wine put me in a decent mood... The next morning, Audrey and I had to get up early so we could make our way to Waterville, Kansas for a family reunion.


First of all, the drive there is amazing with beautiful rolling mounds in the background and lots of trees and acres upon acres of lush green farmland. I should've taken some pictures of it but, well, I'm an idiot. And I didn't think of it until just now. While Google takes you west on I-70 and north through Manhatten, using the K-99/K9/U.S. 77 route is a lot more interesting as you pass some very interesting areas. After passing through the Topeka 'burbs of Silver Lake and Rossville, you come to St. Mary's which is essentially known for the massive Catholic school they have. Then you pass through Belvue and make your turn onto K-99 in Wamego. K-99 takes you through Louisville, Westmoreland, Blaine (with their beautiful church pictured above) to Frankfort where you turn onto K-9.

You take K-9 to U.S. 77 which doesn't really pass anything good except the landscape. At the intersection with U.S. 77 is a historical marker for the Oregon Trail campsite, Alcove Springs which is just north of Blue Rapids and features many rock carvings inscribed by people travelling the Oregon Trail. We were to meet Audrey's parents in Blue Rapids so we could go to a memorial service for her Aunt Alice who had recently (November '07) passed away. Her ashes were to be interred at the Greeenwood-Irving Cemetery a couple miles south of Blue Rapids. Not knowing much about her aunt, I do know quite a bit about Irving, Kansas.

In the autumn of 1856, Irving, named for 19th Century author Washington Irving, was settled by a small group of residents from Lyons, Iowa. Almost immediately, the town was plagued with disasters. A drought then huge storms in 1860, grasshopper plague in 1866, another in 1875, two tornadoes in 1879, flooding in 1903 and several fires between 1907 and 1916, the latter destorying the north side of Main Street. Finally in 1955 plans to build the Tuttle Creek Dam did what fire, storms and insects couldn't do: brought an end to the town. Oddly enough, the site of Irving is not underwater so demolition of the town may not have been needed. It was a nice memorial for a woman obviously loved by everyone who knew her and we all lucked out that it was a beautiful clear day for once. After the service, we all left and began the relatively short excurison to Waterville to start the reunion which mean that this is...

...To be continued.
~Brian

I thought the night was eventful.

After listening to various songs (Outside by Staind from the Family Values Tour, Drive by Incubus and various Bloodhound Gang) I got an urge to go to 87, an old abandoned house just outside of Baldwin. Randy, too, wanted to go so after I got off work and called Audrey, Randy and I headed out to Baldwin. We knew we'd have to park a ways away and ended up parking about a quarter mile away and walked down the dark gravel road to the driveway to the house. We hopped over the fence and trudged up the driveway which is also quite a walk. The house still stood at the top of the hill, decaying, like it has since the 1850s.

We followed the driveway along the southern part of the house and checked the graves to make sure they were still unbothered. Although the small rock wall that surrounded the headstone was a bit more ransacked, the stone was still there--in six pieces--but still there. Randy hadn't been up to the house in over five years and I haven't been since the summer of 2006 but time is started to show on that property. Only a couple barns remain, and two have collasped. All the windows to the house have been broken which could be a sign of vandals or just time itself. A brief storm came through, getting me and Randy rained on but it soon passed and we decided to up to the house and see if we could get in.

With all the rain that has passed through the area, the grass around the house was up to my hips and may have been crawling with God only knows. We got to the porch and noticed the northeast side of the house has settled more and is noticably detached from the rest of the house. While the house was wide open, Randy and I were unsure about the safety of the house so we just glanced inside then went back to the car. We were talking about why we seem drawn to the house and while neither of us really believe in it, we began wondering if somehow, in a past life, we were someone in the family that used to live there. While we know we're trespassing, we don't cause any damage and when we actually get there, we feel really comfortable there. It's almost like a home away from home.

For more information on 87, you can read the entry on it in Watch This Space to get a better idea of the history, house layout and what I would do with the property.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Anybody ever seen that British television series Red Dwarf?. Well, I had a dream that was the main character, David Lister. My cousin, Dustin, was Holly; Randy was Rimmer (apparently my subconscious really wants Randy dead) and the Cat protrayed himself. Audrey was in it too but not as any clear character. I guess she could've been Kochanski or maybe Kryten if you wanted to get technical.

I fell asleep watching Red Dwarf which is probably the reason I dreamed about it but it made me think that I really like the plots and storylines of the series. I wish America would produce a viable adaptation of the British series. Sure, we make copies of The Office, Coupling and All In the Family (adapted from the British series Till Death Do Us Part) and we've attempted to get a Red Dwarf pilot (starring Craig Bierko and Jane Leeves). But I digress. I'm just venting.


View Larger Map
Last week when I was driving around with Audrey, I noticed that one of the abandoned houses I seem to always take notes on was torn/burned down. The house was located on West Union Road in Shawnee County near I-70 and while I never actually approached the house because it looked like a great place for meth labs and crack addicts, I was hoping the house would be standing a little longer.

I figured it'd be torn down sooner or later because of it's proximity to I-70 but what strikes me as odd was the chimney and fireplace was still standing leading me to believe it wasn't knocked down but either burned down or destroyed by one of the many, many, many storms that have passed through the area. If anyone really knows what happened, let me know so I can punish those who did it.

Also I made this (with thanks from scrwtape) and it looks eerily like me, my fiancee and son that it kind of scares me. Although the dogs are not to scale.

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

And did I mention I was engaged? Well, I am. But more on that later.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

I’ve purchased the domain name www.tauycreek.com. I’m not really sure why but I’m hoping to do some things on it with my writing, mapping, opinions and possibly even start my own webcomic. I’m still adding some things to it but I should be able to update in the next week or so. It just depends on what I want as my return post because I’m using my abandoned blog, Watch This Space. Hope I can keep it interesting because it certainly wasn’t before.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

The Pope was in Lawrence for some reason that wasn’t clear to me and was staying at the Eldridge and I was working for the catering company handling the huge dinner the Pope was throwing at the hotel. The dinner went really well and actually being able to see the Pope that close up was really cool and everyone had a really good time. I even got reacquainted with several people I haven’t seen in a while and finally got closure from a couple girls.

This dream was the longest and most convoluted dream I’ve ever had and the best thing was that I was able to control it. Just about everyone I’ve ever met was in the dream from old school friends, to former co-workers to acquaintances. It started out as your typical work dream. I was working catering for Baker as I was wont to do and it was going great. The food was delicious and the other people working the event were all having fun without being overly inappropriate. After the dinner, the Pope spoke which seemed to take a while but I was off talking with friends and ran into a couple of girls from my past who I never got definitive closure from.

I ran into Kate who I had a crush on when I worked overnights at Pearson. I attempted to stay in touch with her but failed in my endeavor but recently ran into her again thanks to Facebook (which I am using a lot more than MySpace these days). We talked and just got updated on what’s been going on in our lives. Then I ran into Heather. We talked, but mainly argued about who was the wrong one in our relationship. I eventually had enough and told her that I had moved on and found someone who loves me and who does love only me. Plus I don’t have to vie for her affections (unless you count her dogs but 9 times out of 10, I win) so I feel I finally got my closure in that area and the best thing was that I didn’t have to see her in person.

After getting my closure, I ran into a couple more old friends who I haven’t spoke with in a while and had a couple of drinks with a couple others. Then it got to be that time when the Pope was done speaking and we had to clean up the food tables. After that was done, I was ready to head home and get back to Audrey. I said good-bye to everyone and left the hotel, waking up.

So I feel that this dream is a springboard to better things. On Monday I start a new job and get away from Affinitas, I plan on proposing to Audrey sometime during the summer (I know when but I want it to be a surprise) and we should be moving in together roughly around September. I was worried that 2008 would end up just being an extension of 2007 and while it seemed to start out that way, 2008 has gotten so much better. It’s been the best year I’ve had in a long time. Here’s hoping it stays that way.

Until next time, I remain…
~Brian

Things are looking up. I'm leaving Affinitas--found something much better that pays more. I'm still dating Audrey and still really in love. I'm looking at engagement rings for her and we'll probably start looking at houses here pretty soon considering we plan on moving in together in September. My comic strip blog is actually starting to take off and I'm trying to think of ways to promote my book so I can get checks bigger than $0. Things seem to finally be going my way and because my schedule and time away from home has been so wonky, I've been posting here less.

After I grabbed the two week notice form and sat down at a desk, I noticed I had a really bad scrape on my hand. It was really bad: skin was peeled back in three big places and I was bleeding. Is that your revenge Affinitas? You'll have to do much better than that. I'm leaving whether you like it or not. And you can keep my soul.

I'm getting over yet another cough leading me to think I've been sick just about the entire year of 2008. I hate being sick and until I started working at Affinitas in May 2006, I rarely--if ever--got sick. Stupid work ruining my immune system. I'm also having problems figuring out something to write about. It's been awhile since I've done any posting outside of my comic strip blog.

Another reason I haven't posted as often is because all I have to talk about is the God awful people I talk to on the phone at work. New Orleans people are stupid, Kansas people--for some reason--feel entitled, Omaha people are slow, Gainesville people are jerks and Las Vegas people are always in a hurry. I expect New Orleans people to be stupid ("There's a hurrican a-coming! Why didn't you leave when they told you to?!") but the other characteristics baffle me. When a huge storm flooded the Baton Rouge office, the emergency plan was to route call to us and not say anything so for three days we are taking Baton Rouge calls and either telling them to try again or transferring them into a queue that reroutes them back to us. Thanks Baton Rouge! That's providing good customer service.

I just didn't want to whine about work. And the only dream I've had of interest lately was one where I was dating Carrie Underwood and she dedicated and gave me her music award. What a sweet girl.

So I will be back on the 25th with a Lazy Sunday blog but until next time, I remain...
~Brian

I had a two-part dream last night. I don't understand it but that's nothing new. It started out with my cheapskate of a landlord selling my house to someone new. I really wasn't all that thrilled about having a new landlord but my attitude changed when I found out who it was. Kansas University's basketball coach Bill Self. Yeah, I don't get it either.

I'm not a sports fan so I don't know why I'm dreaming about Coach Bill Self. Turns out Coach Self, in my dream, is a douchebag. He raised our rent $200 and wouldn't come fix anything. Then one day, this Korean man and wife came to our door wanting to buy a car from Coach Self and wanted to know where he lived. I drove them to a small neighborhood near 31st and Kasold despite the fact I know Coach Self lives near The Yankee Tank on the west side of town. With me standing there, Coach Self gave the kind Korean man a very good deal on a 2006 Mercedes. Everything seemed all nicely wrapped up in a neat little package.

Until part two...

On a stormy night, I was busy throwing pots and pans under leaks Coach Self refused to have fixed, or reimburse us for fixing when the nice Korean man came back and was complaining that Self raised the price of the car $1,000 over Blue Book value. I had finally had enough of the Coach Bill Self and his National Champion douchebaggery and drove back to his place and complained. For some reason, Coach Self was getting ready for Christmas and was dressed like Santa Claus which made it hard to yell and be mad at him. He gave me a candy cane. It was really fun watching the Korean man tear into Bill Self dressed as Santa Claus. I awoke to the phone ringing so didn't find out if the Korean man got the car but I honestly don't know if I'd really want to find out.

I'm pretty sure Bill Self is one of the nicest guys in collegiate sports because on TV he seems a lot more approachable than a lot of the others so I have nothing against him. I'm just saying Bill Self may be a bad landlord.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

I originally wrote this in January but it was in a private post. I've decided to bring it out into the public because after some recent developments, the point of this post has been even more proven and I still don't regret a thing.

I believe in the concept of a soul mate. Someone who knows and understands you as much, or more, as you. Two people who have an unbreakable bond of love and trust toward each other. I've often wondered who my soul mate was and figured I obviously hadn't met them considering everyone I've ever met in my life has inexplicably vacated my life. But I finally sat down and figured it out and the answer came as a surprise to me. After Heather, I went to the two people who I always go to: my best friend Randy and my cousin, Dustin. Essentially what I got from them was "I never liked her. Girls lie. Girls cheat. She wasn't right for you. " Still that doesn't account for the fact that I wanted to marry her and loved her with all my heart. It wasn't until I talked with an old girlfriend, Cassandra, that everything was put into perspective. The things she said actually made sense and helped me figure out what possibly happened in the relationship. I'm still not all right with how everything went down but taking what Cassandra said is making everything seem much brighter.

I met Cassandra when I still worked days at Pearson for 1-800-Medicare. It was November I believe and I saw her walking down the aisle toward me and everything on her just moved in perfect rhythm. It was like in movies and TV shows where the girl just walks slow and there's a hazy aura surrounding her while her hair whips back and forth. From the moment I saw her I just knew I had to have her. I had to sleep with her. We struck up a friendship and reverted back to our high school days and passed notes to each other because we didn't want other people to know what we were talking about. I still have all those notes in a lockbox and actually made a book of them for her for Valentine's Day. We actually grew closer which was dangerous for both of us considering she was living with her boyfriend at the time.

When we finally did sleep together, we both knew it was wrong but I don't think we regretted it because we seemed to compliment each other nicely. I fell in love with her and I know she fell in love with me. It killed me being away from her and basically having to share her. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone for any reason. We eventually parted ways and she stuck it out with her boyfriend, moved near Leavenworth and got married back in August of 2006. From what I can tell they are happy and I can actually take a little bit of that happiness for myself because I think it was being with me that made Cassandra realize how much she truly loved her boyfriend and I had found my soul mate.

Cassandra and I are more alike than I had ever thought about while we were dating and she was truly my first "adult" relationship. I am so glad I know her, worked with her, continue to talk with her on occasion and that we were able to express our love to each other even if it was "wrong" and short lived. She's the only girlfriend I've forgiven for being "like all the others". She was different. Because of her advice I was able to move on and now I'm dating Audrey who I am talking about marriage to. This relationship is the least stressful of all of my relationships, Audrey is loving and caring and I know she only loves me.

Cassandra is also only one of three people who wished me a happy birthday. While I don't broadcast my birthday like on MySpace or Facebook or at all, those who know it should still wish me one. No one in my family did. Cassandra remembered and that makes me smile.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

The Devil House was once located at the intersection of 93rd and Paulen Roads in Shawnee County. Rumor had it, a family used to live there who practiced Satanism. One night, their daughter snuck out and rode to Topeka on a white horse and was beaten and raped. She was able to make it back home but discovered she was pregnant. When the baby was born, the mother, ashamed of the bastard child, took the baby and drowned it in a nearby pond. The girl snapped, murdered her parents and then rode away on the white horse never to be seen again.

While that's a good story I do find some flaws in it. 1)Why would Satanists really care about a "bastard child?" That's more of a God-fearing, Christian thing. 2)But when this story would've happened (1890-1927), Topeka would've been a good distance away and would've taken most of the night to ride there and back. 3)A murder like this would've made the Topeka paper and even the Richland paper, a small town near the House but no verification has been found. While I do believe this all could happen, I think it's pieced together from different legends.

When I first saw the Devil House (part of the Kansas Devil's Triangle of Rochester Cemetery, the Devil House and Stull Cemetery), it was very imposing. The house was all boarded up and one small NO TRESPASSING sign was nailed to boards on the second floor. When me and a group of friends went to the house in the daytime, we explored more of the grounds. We saw the foundation of what we figured was a barn or stable and several watersheds. As we walked down a trail through the woods, we actually came across a pond which tied in with the story. Unfortunately, Randy got scared and ran away so we didn't explore any further but came back at night and explored the house.

At night, the house seemed much more imposing. Since the exterior wall were a yellow color, the house really stood out in the dark. All the doors and windows had been boarded up so we walked around to the back where the cellar door had been busted down. You could see remnants of previous visitors littering the small staircase to the door. The basement was completely made of dirt and dirt basements are creepy. We could see a couple of mice roaming around and two good-sized holes were made in the above ceiling for access into the actual house.

We were able to climb into the first floor fairly easily and could see the damage inflicted by vandals and time--mainly vandals. We calmly walked around looking in vain for some evidence of what supposedly transpired at this location but found nothing and were unable to gain access to the fabled third floor where the Satanic rituals and killings took place. Sadly, the house was torn down and replaced with a newer house. So any mystery associated with the Devil House will remain a mystery, only a memory to those who know the truth.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian