TMNT

Well, tonight was movie night at karate. They were showing the new TMNT movie, the one that was in theaters just a couple months ago. Now, it's a great idea, but I managed to discover a minor flaw in the plan. You see, you've got a bunch of little kids constantly standing up, moving about, and making noise during the movie. Now, this wouldn't be much a problem, except that the little buggers kept blocking my view. And it's an action movie. You see where this is headed?

Still, even when you can't see the movie, there are certain things that are hard to miss. For example, one of the main antagonists, Winters, was voiced by one of my favourite actors, Patrick Stewart. And the fact that the animation style is very similar to that of Shrek. And just how much one tends to fidget when he if forced to stand up the entire movie just to see what's going on because some brat in a football shirt won't sit down. You know, just for example.

D&D Blues (and greens)

As some of you may know, a good friend of mine, Orion, hosts a D&D campaign from time to time. Unfortunately, since he's leaving for college in a state halfway across the country in a few days, yesterday was his last session. So, in tribute, allow me to give you, the reader, a recap of our last campaign.

[The rest of this post is presently reserved for this information, as soon as I can type out the details. Hey, I can't remember every single name I hear! Besides, it's late here, and my bed calls to me.]

Party Time, Take 2

No, this is not another "Charles River" incident. I actually did get to go to a party last night, a sort of "back to school party" me and the 'rents were holding. Actually, it was more like a "going off to college dinner", but why quibble over details? More on that later. But first off, a small piece of good news.

My computer's working again! Well, not quite working, perse, but I have managed to access my comp's Safe Mode. And, as you can see, it even has net access. All the comforts of home, no? Even moreso, actually, because it's way faster. Now if I can just get the screen back to the right size, it seems to be stuck at 800 x 600 pixels....

Back to the party. You see, me and two of my friends are going off to college in September. Dan, Orion, and me, to be exact, though just a couple classes in my case. So Dan, his brother Josh (another friend of mine), Orion, and his brother Chiron (see "Josh") came over, and Dan brought his DDR pad. We ended up spending the night playing DDR, surfing the net, and playing Star Fox Assault. And eating dinner, of course.

Today, I got behind the wheel of a car for the first time (well, on the east coast, at least, I've had plenty of practice on the west coast). Me and my mom went out to Ayer, so I could practice my driving skills. On the way there, I got a little carsick, teaching me a valuable lesson: never read in a new car. The nauseating smell plus me reading the car's owners manual? Motion sickness, holding on line 1. Still, once I got behind the wheel, all of that evaporated. Well, mostly. I did feel a tad bit outta sorts, but I think it was just a relapse of my previous carsickness. Still, I'd like to think I did quite well.

Well, that's it for today. I'll try to get those underwater photos scanned, so I can post them here, by tomorrow. Until then, au revoir, amis!

Spiderman, The Lucky Star

Spiderman, spiderman, breaking it down like a spider can....

Actually, the spider wishes he could dance this well. It said so in an interview. Anywho, I got a kick out of this, I hope you do too.

Party Time?

So I went to a party last night. It was a good party, with music, dancing, and a great view of the Charles River. Sounds great, right? You're probably guessing I had a good time, right? Except for one tiny little flaw: they wouldn't let me in. Apparently, it was a 21-and-over party, because there was alcohol. Duh, me. Read the fine print next time. So, I didn't have a chance to eat BBQ, or dance until one in the morning by the Charles River.

But the night wasn't totally wasted. After we left the party (even I couldn't muscle my way past that bouncer), we drove to a Japanese restaurant near our place called Ginger's. I had just ordered my meal when my neckache returned with a vengeance.

Okay, let me back up and explain. Just before we left the house, I began to develop a minor neckache. It wasn't anything bad at first, but then it got worse, and traveled to that little space right between my neck and right shoulder. You know the place. So, back at the restaurant, I tried to find some advil, but came up empty. Now I was beginning to get irritated. My mom said she'd find it, and asked why I couldn't just relax, which made me even more irritated. So, just FYI, let me list the reasons why I couldn't "relax":

1. I've just been turned away from a party which I've been looking forward to for two weeks.
2. I've just been cramped into a car for nearly two hours straight, with no food or water.
3. It's 9:00 PM, and I haven't eaten anything since noon. And I've been swimming all day, mind you.
4. I still haven't had a chance to drive the new car.
5. And, oh yeah, my neck feels like The Incredible Hulk is using it as a punching bag.

So you see how I might be a little irked.

Oh, and as for today? Nothing special. Rode my bike a bit. Read more Maximum Ride, grabbed a drink down at Starbucks. My computer is still on the fritz, so I'm typing this on my 'rent's computer. How they function with this keyboard is beyond me though, so forgive any typos. Spellchecker can only do so much.

Walden Pond

Well, my computer is on the fritz again, so these first few posts will be brought to you live from my local library. Ugh, I feel like throwing my computer into Walden Pond.

Speaking of Walden Pond, me and my 'rents* went there today. We spent most of the day there, so I ended up getting home about two hours ago, hot, dry and pruney. It was a fun time though. We got there early this morning, set up our chairs, and I sat down to read a book (Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports) for a while.

It didn't seem like that long to me, but when I finally looked up from my book, the 'rents were setting up lunch. So I ate, then pretty much frittered away the rest of the day in the pond. I did manage to get some underwater photos, I'll try to post them here as soon as I get them scanned ... which I won't be able to do until I get my computer fixed.

*'rents /prun/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rents], -noun: short for parents

And the lord said, "Let there be light!"

.....and he got this. His "Free Rewards" card must have expired, or something.

Welcome to Mad Cow Diary, the blog devoted to bringing you the latest from the world's greatest lunchmeat. My name is James Erin Gruenzner, and here I will post everything of interest that happens to me, day in and day out, sanity optional. So, if you don't like reading about Walden Pond, our new car, and my oftentimes insane day-to-day life, feel free to navigate right away from this page. Otherwise, stick around. I have a feeling it's gonna be one hell of a ride.