The Good Stuff: Welcome, December!

I just needed to give an official welcome to December! Look at that weather forecast! I think we can finally wave goodbye to sweat-inducing afternoons and evenings and finally look forward to sweater weather. I don’t think it can get any better than that. No rain in the forecast, and highs in the comfortable 70s! I can live with lows of 40 for a few days… as long as the afternoons are crisp and beautiful!

Aside from the weather, with December comes Christmas and New Years. Of course, it’s always great to get a few days off of work, but I am looking forward to just being with everyone. Friends will be in town and we will go out. Then there’s shopping, cooking and eating! And let’s not forget seasonal beers! (I will be picking up a strictly seasonal six pack this weekend for future Beer Corners!)

But alas, December has only become so special for me only as recent as last year, when I started falling for the most incredible person in the world, my best friend and future wife. So of course, we’ll always have our special time in December when we fell in love and she came to surprise me, and our first date!

So as 2010 winds down, we’ll keep the writing momentum going here at The Heap. We’ll keep the tweeting, and we’ll keep living life and enjoying every little aspect.

FTDO: “Wait Till I Get My Money Right”

Pandora: The Music Genome Project.

Perhaps one of the greatest cyber-inventions available on the internet, Pandora allows the average Joe to expand their musical horizons. To those who aren’t familiar with this revolutionary music player, the process is quite simple. After registering an email account, you pick an artist- any artist, and more often than not, the first song is by your chosen band. After this, Pandora (as it actually explains this to you) plays artists of similar music style! As you like stuff, you can hit the like button to ensure it stays on your “station” or dislike to ban the song (and even artist) alltogether. The online software then learns your preferences and chooses songs that you might enjoy.

My favorite stations are the “Gym Class Heroes” station, playing an awesome mix ranging from Kanye West to Lupe Fiasco and reaching as far out to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the “Maroon 5” station. Also, if you are into rock/alternative stuff, the “My Chemical Romance” station is pretty sweet as well. Bachata lovers will enjoy the “Aventura” station.

The songs do end up getting a bit repetitive, and if you listen on different days, you end up hearing a lot of the same songs, just in a different order. But free music is free music. Anything is better than hearing the constant ringing of phones and the resounding clacking of keyboard strokes.

Register at Pandora so you can experience this! Feel free to share your favorite stations so that I can give them a listen. Be on the lookout for the Pandora Widget on the sidebar soon!

FTDO…: “Happiness is Just a Tear Drop Away!”

All’s well that ends well. I guess all that was needed was a little bit of time, and just to get things out. We just needed to get out of each other’s hair for just a little bit. When faced with possibly losing something so dear to you, oh, you’ll find a way to make changes. I need to watch myself and what comes out of my mouth. And I need to quit being so damn anoying and needy and naggy. I will.

What a good talk last night.

What an affirmation of feelings. She missed me all day :).

Well now that that is settled, it will be business as usual here at The Heap. I’ll hopefully be able to find some time to write a quality post this weekend, some sort of review would be nice. I have a list of things I want to get to!

I haven’t had a TTMC (The Trashman Chronicles) entry lately, so Renaissance Festival adventure stories and pictures will surely be shared this weekend!

The Good Stuff I

Happy September and Happy Labor Day. No days off here at the heap., as I took enough time this past weekend! Plus, Labor Day means more of you are at home, so you all can read! Before I begin today, I just want to wish the best to those in Louisiana, our prayers are with you!

This new the heap. segment is unofficially sponsored by Kenny Chesney, since his song is the inspiration for the title.

Obviously, The Rant serves as an outlet for my (or Roger Ebert’s) negative feelings. But there are so many happy and good things that happen as well, even if they come in small packages, or in an unconventional form. Thus, my rays of sunshine, the revelation of various sources of positive energy in my life, whether it be through observation, experience, or something I read or listened to, will be read and experienced by you heapsters right here! First, I’ll probably have what I’ll refer to as Good Stuff Shout-outs. These will be just little things which are quite noteworthy sources of happiness… things which are just doing it for me. The afterward, I’ll go into my positive raving!

Today’s Good Stuff Shout-outs go to: The Rays, being in love, sleepless nights because of excitement, September, college football, going to Texas, life… in general, slowly figuring out what I want to do! Angel.

Last night, hunger struck unexpectedly. Or perhaps that was just me forgetting to eat dinner again. 11pm is always an exciting time around where I live, because there is a decent selection for a late night meal. Sonic is open 24 hours with a full menu at ALL times. There’s nothing better sometimes than a blast or some mozz sticks after a fun night out. Checkers (Rally’s) has recently joined the foray by finally opening until 1 and 3 on the weekends. 2 Buffalo Chicken sandwiches for $3 hits the spot without hitting the wallet. Taco Bell is the late night veteran, and is often my first choice. So was the case last night, though I was motivated by the newest marketing gimmick on pseudo-Mexican food, the Volcano Taco! I fell in love immediately as I saw it on TV basking in its red shelled glory. I was stoked to try it out, and maybe get a chalupa. My life changed forever as I drove up to the menu. Everything my cholesterol-loving heart could desire was contained in a BIG box. 1 Volcano Taco. 1 Burrito Supreme. 1 Crunchwrap Supreme. An order of cinnamon twists. 32oz drink. 5.99. Let the unnecessary late night calorie consumption begin! Unbeatable deal… and it was delicious! Caution: the next stat is not for the weak of heart… or anyone who’s had a few of these big boxes in the past couple of days. 1500 calories. Yikes! In any case, I HIGHLY recommend the Volcano Taco, and the Big Box deal! It shall please you! (But beware of your messy fate!)

To think that I actually turned on the TV this morning. I happened to stumble upon USA’s Labor Day Monk marathon. I had never really given the show much of a chance, to tell you the truth. I decided to see what was the big deal with it, as it was either Monk, infomercials about foreclosures, or getting way too up close and personal with Hurricane Gustav than I cared to be. So Monk it was. The episode I happened to catch was from the first season, titled “Mr. Monk and the Airplane,” and it was absolutely hilarious. The show is much like the popular Criminal Minds, in that small observations lead to bigger and bigger revelations, just without the grave, intense mood of the CM episodes. And of course you have to add Monk’s OCD and general awkwardness. Certainly a good way to start off the day.