9/30/01, 10:07:21 PM
When I first put this site together almost a year ago I never would have thought that anyone would come here more than once. As it turns out, there are those who visit every day... wow. I'm not even sure I find my life that interesting. Nevertheless, I think it's pretty cool that people visit everyday. To be honest, I think anyone who visits with any kind of frequency is pretty cool. Because there's only so interesting that I can be in a site about myself, it's really all for y'all. If there's anything that I can do to spice it up, just let me know. Oh... and if you'd like your name mentioned as a frequent visitor, just use the feedback page. To let me know. Let's phrase it similarly to an AA meeting: "Hi. My name is Santa Claus and I visit Pete's website three times a week." It'll be fun. I'll figure out where to mention you when I get some in.

           9/30/01, 9:42:59 PM
As I prepare to go away for a WEEK I feel the need to reflect...

Friday was ok... I ambassadated at our Family Weekend. Representing the College of Arts & Sciences is definitely cool... I love my red blazer. There was hardly anyone there, so it went very slowly, but I did get to talk to some nice people from the College of Communications. Thanks to my good friends at the phone company, I was able to have a nice (and entertaining) conversation with my favorite UCLA student.

Saturday I headed down to Montgomery for Circle K. The Alabama District was holding it's Tri-K Event, where we put labels on the inside of children's books that were being donated, and did other random work for the march of dimes. I stopped and ate on my way out of town with Kristen and Georg... fun times. Before I left I got to meet Jamie (AKA: The Short, Loud One). It should be noted that although she is short and loud, it is much easier just to say "Jamie" even if that's not quite as funny or descriptive.

Sunday I awoke to find that I had a sore throat. Yuck. Throughout the course of the day my nose began to run, probably due to my throat irritation. I'm determined NOT to get sick before I leave town for a week, so I'll be taking at least two doses of Nyquil tonight after I finish packing, etc. I ate dinner with Abby, who had returned from a weekend seeing her guy (who is really, really cool) and we went to Wal-Mart. I spent most of the time being pushed around in the shopping cart. I'm sure nobody will be surprised that I'm not too mature for that.

           9/27/01, 9:30:00 PM
TUSCALOOSA, AL (AP) – United States Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton confirmed reports of a temporary milk shortage in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Thursday. In what officials are calling a “Punctuated Milk Shortage” the college town was left virtually milkless between the hours of Noon and 4:30pm. Said shortage was first reported by Ry Parker, a Junior at the University of Alabama.

“Well, my roommate said that he was going to get milk some time after noon, and I don’t think he would’ve forgotten.” Parker said. Evidently the milk shortage had subsided when Parker and his other housemate Pete Holiday went to Wal-Mart to buy milk. Holiday explained that there was milk on the shelves when they went to Wal-Mart later that evening, but that there was evidence of a rush on the milk coolers. “Ry pointed out that the handle on one of the doors was nearly ripped off.” Said Holiday. He maintained that this was evidence that there was sudden fluctuation in demand for milk. “Michael must have just missed the rush, otherwise I’m sure we’d have a gallon or two in the fridge.”

Sources say that Michael Alexander finished the milk on Wednesday night and promised that he would replace the exhausted milk the next day between 12:00 noon and 4:30 pm. As of 6:00pm the house was still without milk. When two other roommates went to Wal-Mart later that evening, the milk shortage had subsided and the roommates were able to buy milk. Parker called the scenario “Bizarre” while Holiday commented that it must be a first. At time of print the other two roommates were unable to be reached for comment.

What's the story here? For those of you keeping up with the 6th Avenue drama, not much. A particular housemate, let's call him "Michael" continued his trend of being, quite frankly, an inconsiderate ass. This, of course, not to be confused with just being an ass, which is my job. The above was written after returning to the house Thursday evening only to find that the two gallons of milk that "Michael" promised to buy were, surprise surprise, nowhere to be found. Ry and I stopped off at Wal-Mart on our way back from dinner with his parents and fixed the situation but suffice it to say that Pete wasn't a happy camper. There's just something about pick up slack for people who are rude and inconsiderate that rubs me the wrong way. The AP newsrelease above was taped to his door when he went out with his better half (much better) for the evening.

The reason "Michael" promised to buy the milk was because, on wednesday, after Ry, Abby, and I had bought two dozen doughnuts he walked into the living room, asked for a doughnut and then walked into the kitchen and poured the last glass of milk without thinking about it. It should also be noted that there have been 13 gallons of milk bought. "Michael" has bought 1 of them, yet he drinks 3/4 of every gallon that is bought. Although this isn't an area of contention, it should also be noted that the boy goes through a damn lot of soap... I would ask why, but I've learned that sometimes it's better not to know. It should also be noted that when we returned with the milk he watched me carry it into the kitchen without so much as a "Ooops", "Shoot, I forgot to get milk", or (heaven forbid) "Sorry about that...". After that, as has come to be standard proceedure, he scampered off to his room, not to be seen for hours.

           9/27/01, 5:28:01 PM
That's right, folks...
My 21st birthday is two months away, which makes me 250 months old. That's a pretty neat thing, to me I guess. I'm hoping that we'll be able to throw a nice sized party, maybe even get some ladies over here for the roomies. I guess that wouldn't be a bad birthday wish... of course I've been told that I'm supposed to "Watch out for number one" whatever that means.

I was walking along today when a tall guy dropped his bookbag/backpack and started walking off without it. A girl who was apparently with him started dragging along behind her. The moment he heard the sound of his bag scraping on the sidewalk he spun around: "I know you're not dragging my $150 backpack! It's Abercrombie!" And I thought to myself, YOUR WHAT!? It must be noted that this guy reminded me of an A&F model on growth hormones who had been beaten repeatedly with a duh stick. Let's stop to think about this for a minute... $150 for a bag... that you put books in. This bag didn't even have any sort of distinctive look, but I did notice, after the fact, that it said Abercrombie & Fitch on it. What on earth is the motivation for buying something like that? It makes me wonder if his parents didn't give him enough affection or if he's *ahem* overcompensating. Nevertheless, I just wanted to look at him and say: "Excuse me, next time you feel like throwing money around like that, come see me... I'll beat you within three inches of your life... and then charge you $100 for the service." Some people's kids.

I'm also making arrangements to be gone for a week... I feel like I'm missing so much. Luckily I'm making most of it up BEFORE I leave, instead of after. I'm still not sure what to expect out of my trip to Indianapolis. I'm guessing there's going to be a lot of "pete time" which could be a very good or bad thing. Any of you who feel like rescuing me from myself feel free to call my cell phone: (205) 301-4912 at any point during next week.

           9/25/01, 5:12:43 PM
Sigh...
So much to do, so little time. It seems to happen like that a lot. This week is filled with things to do but some inconsiderate soul neglected to give me extra time with which to complete everything. Oh well, everything will get done and done well enough that it doesn't have to be redone.

This past weekend was fun, Alabama beat Arkansas and a party spontaneously occured at my place of residence. I made a weird derivative of my soon-to-be-famous milkshakes and enjoyed the company of several people I've never met. I made it to bed about three hours before I had to be up to go clean Byrant-Denny Stadium. The 83,000 seat monster gets pretty dirty during the course of a home game and, on two occasions each year, it is Circle K's job to clean it. While it would be a very noble service project, the fact of the matter is that it's a fundraiser. We receive a nice sum of money for each one and it keeps our club from having to do too many other fundraisers or raise dues to something crazy. After that, a few of us went to eat, and I went with Kristi to take pictures at Old Bryce.

I have three rolls of film in to the processor that will either be done today or tomorrow... maybe someday I'll get a chance to scan them, that is, if any of them turn out worth a crap. Of course, that probably won't happen for a few weeks, considering the fact that I'll be out of town all next week (Mon - Sun) at a few Kiwanis Functions in Indianapolis. Keep your fingers crossed that my flights go well.

Classes have gone fairly well this week with the exception of the one for which I have a ten-page paper due tomorrow. I should probably start that soon, shouldn't I? My wonderful idea to use my computer as an alarm clock by waking to a twenty-minute MP3 that starts quiet and gradually increases to full volume has worked well. It still has some tweaking to be done, but believe me... it's a million times better than being violenty hurled into the world of the awake every day by a shrill, high-pitched beeping.

I had my training session for Reading Buddies today, which is neat. It should be lots of fun helping little kids learn how to read... I mean, how else will they be able to take full advantage of my website!? It's not just pretty pictures, ya know. I also particpated in a Circle K Intramural Soccer game last night. All I have to say is that it requires some stamina and more foot-eye cooridnation than I have. We'll see how things progress.

           9/23/01, 9:11:34 PM
I hate stupid people.
This is not a surprising statement from me, in fact I typically account stupidity as one of my Pet Peeves. Over the past year, however, I've seen it demonstrated in an act so incredibly stupid that those responsible should be force to eat a think steak and then shot. Confused? Give me a few paragraphs, you'll get it.

At nearly every intersection in Tuscaloosa that doesn't have a stop light you'll find a stop sign. These are ingeneous inventions that (usually) cause us to come to a (nearly) complete stop before proceding in our large fast cars. They're not really that obtrusive and, really, if you can't take time to stop at an intersection you should probably not be driving. As you can tell I have lost of respect for these devices.

I also like animals. I love pets because they're warm, furry, and good companions. I love cows, pigs, etc... because they're warm, furry, and taste really good. I firmly believe that we're smarter than these creatures for a reason, and that reason is to eat them. I do understand, however, that some people don't like meat. Some people think it's cruel, some think that it's unheathly, and the strange one's just don't like the way it tastes. That doesn't bother me. I don't understand it, but I'm not opposed to it...

What I don't like, however, are the militant damn vegetarians who want to force their beliefs on me. If I want to walk around chewing on a steak sandwhich coated with turkey, ham, and lamb wearing snake skin boots, leather EVERYTHING and a fur coat on top of it all, that' MY business and I'm not going to be told otherwise. What perplexes me, however, is when these MDV's (Militant Damn Vegetarians) decide to deface my beloved STOP signs with stikers that read "Eating Meat". (Hint: Read "STOP" and then the sticker)

What do they think they're accomplishing? I'd really like to meet the person who doesn't realize that meat comes from animals. I would have a great time with that. Basically everyone on the face of the earth knows that meat is the flesh of dead animals. Do they really think they're reaching some hidden segment of the population that doesn't know? Yeah... I bet... I'm sure Frat-Brother-Bubba, driving around in his 20 foot tall, rebel-flag-bearing, gun-rack sporting pick-up is going to look at the sign and think... "Well, I recon I won't be agoin huntin' tonight, seeing as I'd have to kill an ANIMAL."

Likewise, who is the 21 year old female driving a massive SUV that never has and never will go off road who pulls up to the stop sign and thinks: "Wait... you mean my chicken ceasar salad has [gasp] CHICKEN in it?? No more for me, thanks!" Not gonna happen.

I have reason to believe that our University's chapter of PETA (which I think stands for 'We Don't care that people are starving in china... save the whales!') is responsible. I also have reason to believe that they're stupid. I'm convinced that somewhere there are some well educated, rational people who want to look out for animals... but if you're looking for them, Tuscaloosa is the wrong place.

Next week I'll be placing "The Plants Alone" bumper stickers on all of the LEAVE signs in town. That'll teach 'em.