I’m heading out in a few minutes to the airport for a little trip out to Philadelphia to hang out with my friend Bryan.
I’m going to take a little side trip while I’m out there to New York City. Planning to meet up with Pete, Dave, Devin, Bryan (different one), and Javier while I’m out there. Can’t wait to see everyone!
On Friday, I’m going back to Philadelphia to spend the rest of the weekend checking it out. I’ll be coming back to Indianapolis early Monday.
I completely forgot to write about my holiday weekend.
Well! I started out by going to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with my sister Lisa, brother-in-law Jim, and nephew Jake. I liked it a lot.
I spent Thanksgiving with my extended family in Connersville, Indiana. My mother comes from a large family that mostly still lives in that area of the state.
Grandma wasn’t able to attend, unfortunately, as she came down with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital a few days before Thanksgiving. Everyone went up to see her, including myself.
Title: For Grandma
Uploaded By: mattbarton77
Mom decided to get a poster board (pictured above) and have everyone sign it. Grandma wasn’t in the best spirits not being able to be at Thanksgiving and was wanting to fire her doctors when she was told that she wouldn’t be released until Saturday. Hopefully, this made her feel better.
Title: Circle of Lights
Uploaded By: mattbarton77
I spent my evening on Friday with my immediate family. My employer opened up the office that night so that employees and their families could see the Circle of Lights from our building, which is situated on Monument Circle. I’ve gone to this for most of the past six years and really enjoy it. The city’s done it since about 1962, so I suppose I’m just a sucker for community tradition.
The rest of the holiday weekend was spent with the roommates, mostly. I put down the deposit for my new car, went to the gay bar, and saw Rent, but I’ve already documented those experiences.
So, tomorrow it is back to work for me, but only for a few days. I’m heading out to Philadelphia and New York City later in the week. Can’t wait!
Update: I completely forgot to mention that I went over to Angela’s the evening of Thanksgiving with Tony and Jason. Had a very nice time watching Finding Nemo.
Title: 02_1280_1024
Uploaded By: darcythe2nd
This evening I went to see Rent with the roommates. They weren’t really satisfied with it, but I enjoyed it. So, they can just kiss my ass. 
I originally saw the stage performance back when I was at Ball State in 1998 with my friend Eva and this friend of hers who’s name I can’t remember. Anyway, the three of us went up to Eva’s mother’s house in Griffith, Indiana, and stayed the night. We got up very early the next day and went in to Chicago to camp out in front of the theatre. In doing so, we were assured $20 tickets for the first two rows.
I remember being really cold and tired from the whole event, and having a hard time following the entire production. Now I look back at it quite fondly and am so very glad I got to experience it.
We also met several other kids from other universities, including this blond guy from Purdue that I found really attractive. We flirted some and even sat next to each other during the show. I don’t even remember his name. Turns out that Eva knew someone in his family and ran in to him a few months later. He asked about me, but, unfortunately, I got back together with my boyfriend. I wonder where is he now.
Title: Soldier getting some sun and sleep
Uploaded By: dcwooten
This is a sexy photo, but the fact that it is from the 1930s makes it even better. Oh, and he’s European, too. Unfortunately, it looks like he has been stabbed in the stomach with a small sword, but it’s just an illusion. Trust me.
I’ve decided to buy a new car. I’m getting the Scion xB, in Thunder Cloud Metallic, with some nice features, including iPod integration.
The dealership expects to have it in mid-December. Unfortunately, I’m still driving a rental car that my insurance company stops covering on Monday. This works out well, actually, as I will be heading to Philadelphia on Wednesday and won’t be returning until the next Monday. At that point, I can go get some wheels from the dealership, as they promised to provide me a vehicle until my xB arrives.
So, yes, I’m very excited!
A few things have been removed from the sidebar area (the right column) of the blog layout which should result in the entire site loading faster. The worst was the gVisit functionality. It was cool, but costly on load times, as their servers just aren’t very quick.
I also re-ordered a few items in the sidebar and added a “Recent Tracks” section, which is updated by this little AppleScript called iTunesSpy. Essentially, the script runs on my Macintosh and makes an API call to the blog (via the integrated iTunesSpy WordPress plugin) every time I play a new track. Pretty slick stuff.
It’s sure been a long week.
I failed to mention in my previous post about the car wreck that I was starting to get sick that evening. I went to bed Monday night with a sore throat and woke up feeling much worse, with a temperature and swollen glands. Of course, I couldn’t go to work so that is two days of vacation time lost. I’m still getting over it, but I’m feeling much better now.
As far as my car is concerned, it was declared a total loss on Friday. This isn’t necessarily the outcome I wanted because the car has been paid off for a year and it is nice not having a car payment.
On the other hand, I’m pretty excited about getting a new car. I’ve been driving the old Toyota for six years, so I’m ready for something new. I was at a dealership yesterday and test drove a couple of Scions and a newer Corolla. I really liked the Scion tC, but I am feeling very cheap right now and can see myself settling with an xA.
I’ll know about the settlement sometime tomorrow or Tuesday and will then get myself some new wheels sometime soon thereafter, possibly this weekend. We’ll see!
Title: Car Crash
Uploaded By: mattbarton77
I was in a car accident earlier tonight. Everyone is okay, but it is going to be my fault, for sure.
This girl and her boyfriend stopped suddenly for an ambulance. The roads were very slick, so trying to avoid them resulted in my wheels locking and causing me to slide right in to them. I don’t have a photo of the rear of their car, but the damn thing only had what appeared to be superficial wounds. I wish I could say the same for mine.
Song in Head: Car Crash Song by Rabbit in Red
I’m off to St. Louis for Hibearnation tonight with my friend Jason from Columbus. And I ain’t comin’ back to Indiana til Sunday.
Good times will ensue.
Title: Demotivation
Uploaded By: mattbarton77
Sometimes work drives me bonkers.
Title: Snow Plows
Uploaded By: mattbarton77
All of Monument Circle was enclosed in snow plows today.
The blades, as you can see, are decorated by elementary school children. There was also some kind of presentation on the steps of the monument. The mayor was there and I’m guessing the school with the best design was winning some kind of award.
While I find this to be really cool, it just reminds me that bad weather is right around the corner.
Title: WTHR Radar
Uploaded By: mattbarton77
I can’t believe it is storming so hard in the middle of flippin’ November.
Storms don’t usually wake me up at 4:00 AM either.
