whatever....don't judge me

in continuing with today's theme of places a little north of maryland, i wanted to mention my excitement for the return of jersey shore. i guess it's equal parts, excitement, shame and lowered expectations. i really got into the show last year and i have spent a little time trying to figure out why it appealed to me. i don't act like the people on the show and if i met them in real life, i would probably want nothing to do with any of them. yet, i am compelled to watch the show and thoroughly enjoy it.

it's possible that the blatant girl-chasing/partying/completely selfish ways that the shore people live by speaks to some buried away part of my sub-conscious. or maybe it's just fun to laugh at ridiculous people and fist pump along. it's mindless television at it's best. let's see...what else?

• jersey accents are fun(ny)
• the situation is a quote machine
• awful house music
• t-shirts tighter than mine
• romantic shenanigans
• nicknames/new terminology
• assy mtv editing

there is also something fun about being interested and involved in a pop culture phenomenon, where you can feel everyone collectively buzzing about it. i know this season won't be the same and as the characters get more popular, visible and self-aware, it will lose it's luster quickly. i am also aware that this show might be garbage and the people involved are awful in so many ways, but i will allow myself to get excited and look forward to watching the premiere in a few days. we might even try to make another run at a jersey shore party...who knows?

"Everybody at the Shore definitely knows The Situation. As far as I know, everybody loves The Situation, and if you don't love The Situation, I'm gonna make you love The Situation."

"There's no way I'm going to Jersey without my hair gel. Can't leave without my gel."

"If you're not a guido then you can get the f*ck outta my face."

"Yo, I mean, this situation is gonna be indescribable, you can't even describe the situation that you're about to get into with The Situation."

"He's a really good guy. That's the kind of guy I need in my life. I think his name is Ron."

"She just doesn't want to feel like a trash bag because she has a boyfriend and she kissed me with her tongue."

"I'm gonna break it down dancing, I love the beats, I got my creepy patent move."

"You better be hittin' the gym and if you're not hittin' the gym for like an hour or so, you know, you may have a problem. Okay, cause I'm at the gym for like an hour-and-a-half... ya know? Workin' on my fitness."

"We're beatin'-up-the-beat, that's what we say when we're doing our fist pump. First, we start off by banging the ground, we're banging it as the beat builds 'cause that beat's hittin' us so we're fightin' back, it's like we beat up that beat."

"Pauly D. was with the grenade ... When you go into battle, you need to have some friends with you, so that just in case a grenade gets thrown at you, one of your buddies takes it first."

"Yo, Pauly D has a little situation on his hands... she's definitely a stage 5 clinger."

"It's obvious that Sammi has a crush on me... it goes back to the days of prehistoric kindergarten."

i was gonna photoshop phil's face onto wall-e's body but quickly realized the time and effort to humor ratio was not good

tomorrow josie and i will be embarking on a quick trip to philadelphia, a city i always enjoy visiting. i am really excited about going and i expect josie to be an ideal traveling companion. because we're only going to be there for a little over a day, we have to just pick a few things we want to do and enjoy. obviously things don't always go as planned and here is a list of trip predictions:

• i will regret not requesting the hypo-allergenic pillows
• you will be able to witness josie's smile fade as she is subjected to picture after picture (flipbook style)
  
• we will drink way too much coffee
• i will run into soulja boy again
• i will find some amazing sunglasses
• bystanders will roll their eyes when i recreate the rocky scene at the pma
• we will skip the veggie cheesesteak
• i will be asked to "please stop making a scene"
• the independent will not disappoint, except for their european breakfast
• we will hit the gym with an intensity that makes the rest of the gym members uncomfortable
• we will be nerdy and write yelp reviews
• i will draw at least one thing
• i will debate someone in john wall vs evan turner
  

we'll see how accurate my crystal ball is. i do really enjoy hanging out in philly and i think we will try to book a slightly more extended trip in the near future to really enjoy the city.

zoom, zoom, zoom!

i am looking for a new car, but not necessarily a mazda...that was written to fool david. while the mazda 3 is in the running, i am also considering various toyotas and hondas (corolla, accord, prius, insight, civic, camry, etc.) unfortunately as i pass 180k miles, my honda accord, aka champagne dreams, looks to be about done. i could spend a ton and get the transmission fixed, but i think at this point, it's time to move on. she has served me well as i commuted 50 miles round trip to work and drove everyone around (because it was apparently "the dad car"). through that I put a lot of wear and tear on this car and as louis terms it, this car has earned it's death.

so now i am in the market for something new that i hope to take better care of and not run into the ground as quickly as c.d. with that in mind, i am slightly tempted to opt for something smaller, thus not automatically being assumed that it will be the limo for the night. maybe something along the lines of....
if the isetta is not really going to be an option, then i do still want to consider fuel efficiency. i am very intrigued by the prius and it's 50 mpg. motorweek awarded it the best overall car of the year. brodie has been anti prius due to the potential battery replacement, so that has swayed me some, though i have been reading that it is covered for like 100k miles or something. i can also potentially get a very basic model corolla for cheap. now i always say i don't care much about how a car looks outside and inside. i'm not a car person. it's just a means of transportation. at the same time, i do appreciate some additions, like a sun roof. i guess i need to figure out where i draw the line and decide if i am fine with the basic model in order to save some money.


i will probably need to go test drive a few of these models and make a decision in the near future before my car dies on 95. i am hoping for a low stress buying experience where i get everything i want at a price that is cheaper than i expect. i feel that is reasonable. otherwise i might just have to give xzibit a call and see what he can do for me.

a new era has begun

so normally around this time i am going football crazy...both fantasy and reality. this year, my not caring that started halfway through last season has carried over. the only football i care about now is on friday nights on nbc.

basketball was looking like it might follow suit in my odd loss of interest in sports. but then things started happening. first off, the wizards won the lottery! yeah, yeah, i know. last time we were in this position we kinda pulled a homer.
well this year, they finally got a no-brainer pick in future superstar john wall. he:

• is lightning-quick
• is an excellent passer
• is seemingly mature
• is fun to watch
• has his own dance

add to this, the drafting of some more rookies, trading for a some new players and basically pressing reset on the roster and you'll have something very close to what i like to do when i play nba2k on my 360. i know this will be a rebuilding year, but i enjoy the idea of potential and promise and look forward to seeing this team learn to play together and improve.

the nba also has a new villain and team to rout against in lebron james and the miami heat. i never liked lebron, but how he dealt with free agency as well as the ridiculous decision show just really cemented my hate for him. i won't elaborate too much more, but will sum up my dislike for lebron and how i will enjoy rooting against the heat for years to come with the following:

hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate

one final story in the nba that is luring me in this season is the arrival of an asian american player who had a great summer league and is not actually a giant. jeremy lin is a point guard from harvard who just signed with golden state. he is fun to watch and who knows...he could get some burn this season. i will follow him and try to reach for him in my fantasy basketball draft, assuming i do that this year.

mudskippers couple's quarrel