Back-to-back blogging, I'm on a roll here.

I'd like to begin this post with a shout-out to my buddy Jake, who helped me move a metric ton of furniture out of my old apartment and into storage. It took most of Saturday to either mentally prepare for it or do it, and it was cool of him to give up his time for said purpose.

The funniest part was when we were lamenting the insane heaviness of some of the things I own (sofa-bed, I am coming for your soul) and picked up a large recliner I have. When I picked it up by the front end, it seemed much lighter than it should. I remarked, "Oh, this is EASY!" and, with perfect timing, the retractable foot rest part came out. I fell into the chair on my face, providing many laughs.

The other thing that happened was the death of Michael Jackson. I am going to offer some completely unoriginal thoughts on this.

Michael Jackson was convicted in the press for being a freak, a monster, a child rapist, and possibly an alien. Every time he was in the news, it was a punch line. Now, I'm not saying that's wrong. But it just strikes me as odd that he's suddenly a shimmering god in everyone's eyes.

Don't get me wrong. I, like everyone else, enjoyed the hell out of his music when I was a kid in the 80s. I'll never forget the first time I heard Thriller as a really young kid, and the crazy laughter scared the shit out of me, but the song was so awesome I just wanted to hear it again. And then when I saw the video, it was like an even more intense version of that. Crazy, fucked up, frightening, but awesome.

In a way that's the best way to describe Michael Jackson, I think. Crazy, fucked up, frightening, but awesome (in the sense that he was a goddamn creative genius.) Why can't the news report it that way?

I understand the inclination to want to remember someone in a positive light when they die. But that's the job of pastors and funerals. If the media doesn't want to seem like complete hypocrites, they need to be a little more grounded in, you know, what they've been saying for the past 15 years. Why does it have to be one way or the other?

I'm just looking forward to the inevitable biographies that tell more of a realistic version of what he's like in person. Say what you will about the guy, he was a fascinating figure. And "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" is basically the pinnacle of modern pop music. There will be no argument on that subject.

Hey. Well. A lot has changed since last I wrote. I will save the details, because it's not an incredibly interesting story, but let's just say I have a lot more time on my hands these days, and less personal space. I have another semester left to do for my Master's because of some health type problems (see above) and this same situation has left me currently without employment.

It's funny, because it used to be pretty easy to get a job. Maybe a crappy job, but you could still find a job. You'd go around to 20 or 30 places, fill out applications, and you'd get at least a few call backs for interviews. It was a grind, but it eventually paid off.

Let me report for anyone that is still comfortably employed: the economy blows right now. I believed it when I heard reports and stuff, about how things were going downhill, but that was when I still had a job. It didn't seem real. Now it does. It's been a couple of months looking and applying, dropping off resumes, calling numbers from classified ads, and still nothing. I can't even get a call back from Burger King. WTF???!?!

I have been trying to hack it by doing what I like to call, in order to maintain some sort of claim to being part of the intelligentsia, "independent landscaping by contract." That basically means someone asks me to dig a ditch in their yard, I say cool, how much will you pay me, they say literally any number and I accept. Us independent landscapers by contract can't be choosy about rates these days.

As you might imagine, this does not provide a very good/reliable/satisfying income. But as much as I was embarrassed at first about the situation, I have to say I've been in pretty good spirits lately. There's something really nice about putting your body into your work -- something I'm not very familiar with, being a pasty-faced book-readin' type -- it gives you a chance to think about whatever you please, and its a satisfying feeling to see that you did a good job when all is finished.

All that time to think has given me a chance to think about what I want to aim for once I get the M.A., even though I'm pretty sure, given the economy's current state, it's not going to open all that many doors at the moment. But it's also given me a lot of time to think about ideas for my own writing, something I've been getting a lot more involved for some time.

Random, disorganized thoughts:

• Obama is still president. This is awesome.
• The other day, he had a press conference where he got mad at someone who asked if he was still a smoker, in light of his new anti-smoking law. He looked and sounded more pissed than I've ever witnessed -- he's a cool guy after all -- and said something I thought was pretty awesome: "You think it's neat to ask me about my smoking, as opposed to it being relevant to my new law." Seriously? Neat? Excellent work.
• Do you think when he got elected as president, the first thing he said was "Guys, this is really neat." I do. Either that or "Wow! Nifty!"
  
• I still don't use Twitter. I have an account but live in fear of it. Why is there a new thing like that every time you turn around? Can't people just be happy with newsgroups and AOL 3.0?!!?!?
  
• Gov. Mark Sanford, who confessed to an affair yesterday, had a tearful/awkward/painful to watch press conference. He had been flying to Argentina to get with his mistress, while telling his staff he was "hiking the Appalachian trail." While I sort of feel for him and especially his family, the press conference was particularly amusing in places, because he kept saying things that made no freaking sense. Example: "The biggest self of self is truly......... self."
• Having a dog never gets old. The longer I've had her, the more attached I get. I'm not one of those (obnoxious) people that treats a dog like a child, but I'm basically saying if I could only afford a pack of ramen a day, I'd split it with her.
• I'm basically only continuing this list because I think it's fun to put bulleted lists on a blog.

OK, the spell has been broken. I just wanted to update this long-neglected blog. It seems like I always go months between posts, but I think that is going to change now. If anything, it's just fun for me to go back and read posts months later, so I can shake my head and go "What the hell?"

Peace.