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The Marc Needham Tattoo Project

101102 - So, the bike commute is fun (what with the racing of everyone else on the bike path [with or without their knowledge, heh] and the overwhelming happiness that washes over me when I've got a bike saddle under my ass) but I've come up with an idea to make it EVEN MORE FUN!
I was riding home last night and I went past a guy that looked pretty fast (you can tell who some of the fast ones are because they shave their legs, have bumpy calves, and wear a lot of lycra). I was quite tempted to tap him on the shoulder, say, "You're it!", and then streak off.
What could be cooler than that? I'd fucking love it if someone tried to start an impromptu game of bike tag with me. I spent the rest of the ride rolling the idea around in my head and couldn't come up with any sticking points. Worst comes to worst, someone doesn't want to play and doesn't chase me.
Did I tell you guys about the time I tried to challenge a couple of bike cops to a race?
I've got a problem...
101002 - Something fun to do this weekend:
Go into a restaurant or store (preferably independently owned) and explain to them that 10 years ago you had something of a heroin problem and were kind of messed up. Then explain that in said "messed up" state you had come into the restaurant or store and stolen their tip jar or an item of value forwith to fund your next "score".
Then go on to explain how utterly horrible you feel about the whole thing and how it would make you feel a lot better if they would take the $10 that you are now holding out in your quivering hand. (at this point extend your hand with a $10 bill in it).
Sure, this one will cost you $10 and it might not be really funny or anything but it WILL test your ability to lie - something we could all do with a bit more practice at.
100902 - So, I'm going to tell a little story now that is going to make me sound like some kind of fucked up pervert. I'd like to remind everyone, before I start said story, that I am neither fucked up, nor a pervert.

... Anyway... a couple of chums and I were out lunching earlier today (around lunchtime obviously) when we came across a couple that seemed to be in the midst of ending their relationship (close stance; moist eyes; guilty expression on the man's face; &c...) Being the horrible, lecherous, emotion vulture that I am, I thought it would be "neat" to sit down within earshot of said couple and listen to their pain.
How wrong was I?
The rest of my (and my lunching pals') lunchtime was spent following the couple around a few blocks getting more and more wrapped up in the soap opera that unfolded. There were tears, there were sad glances, there was even a point where they parted and walked in opposite directions for a block before the girl turned around and ran (ran!!!) back to her spurned (spurning?) lover.
I felt pretty dirty when I got back to the office and was tempted to have a Silkwood style wash in one of the sinks. Of course I didn't because then I would have gotten my clothes all wet...
In other news: most afternoons I pop downstairs to grab myself a Diet Pepsi Twist from the convenience store in my building - it helps break up the afternoon and the caffeine makes the new, smaller afternoon pieces that much easier to deal with. So, yeah, down in this convenience store they've got these strings of scratch-off lottery tickets on the wall, lots of them. One time, maybe 3 weeks ago, I bought one because I'm still under the mistaken impression that making "ironic" purchases makes me cool in some way. So, I bought one - it cost $1, I was all like, "Ha ha, maybe I'll win a million dollars (despite the fact that you could only win up to $3000 with this particular ticket) and can walk into my boss' office and leave a curly stinker on his desk... ha ha" But then when I scratched it off it turned out that I had won $10!
$10!
I had taken my $1 and magically, with a few deft flicks of my wrist, turned it into $10!
I was excited for a little while. Then a few days later I bought another one. Of course that second ticket didn't win anything. Neither did the one after that. Neither did the one after that.
So, now, every time I go down to buy my afternoon pop - I see them there, staring at me with their squirrels and their roulette wheels and their comically exaggerated dollar signs, begging me to buy them, to take a coin to their hard surfaces and flake my way to free money.
I'm trying hard to stop...
In other other news: the redesign of this site (this site that you're looking at now!!) is coming along slowly but surely. I'm going to pin November 1st as a rough target release date. Who knows, maybe I'll finish it before then. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just forget about the whole thing. Maybe I'll win that million dollars and just post a big picture of the curly stinker on my boss' desk.
100502 - Life... man, life fucking sucks.
I can sit around now for hours on end and think about all the stuff I've done in this life already, all of the people I've met and the places I've been, all of the love and happiness, all of the pain and unpleasantness... I can look back at it all and it makes me sad.
Why sad?
Sad because I know there are people I'll never see again and places I'll never visit again.
Then that sadness is compounded by the thought that there's still plenty of life (fingers crossed?) stretching out in front of me. Plenty of time to meet new people, experience new things and new places. A whole new batch of things to miss.
100402 - Something fun to do this weekend:
Go out dressed in weird clothes (maybe an outfit liberally decorated with foil, maybe just normal clothes three sizes too small...) and run up to random strangers with a frantic, alarmed expression on your face. Grab them by the arm and say, "Quickly! What year is it!?" and see how they react.
092702 - Today is the day that my good friend, Daniel G. Harmann, casts off the oppressive shackles of the workaday world. He's living the dream - dropping out to become a rock star. I wish him nothing but luck and happiness.
Visit his site, listen to some of his good music, send him an encouraging note.
Let his trailblazing spirit and profound bravery be an inspiration to the rest of us drones.
P.S. - The webzine I helped out with (first issue) is up now - No East.
092602 - My mate Ben gets here tomorrow afternoon, flying all the way from England with his girlfriend, just to come see me. I'm that cool.
Expect some pics up or something on Monday or Tuesday.
(or an "I'm writing this from a jail cell" blog update...)
092402 - It is a bit cooler out these days which means I am slowly but surely putting some distance between myself and the "that sweaty bike guy" moniker at the office.
This is my new favorite place in the world.
092302 - I spent the weekend in a hotel in Indiana (Radisson, Merrilville) attending Keri's Grandmother's funeral. Though the funeral was a sad (but personal and uplifting at the same time) affair I noticed something whilst wandering the halls of the hotel.
Times I heard people having sex: 2
Times I heard people fighting: 1
This means that love is winning!
Hooray for love!
091902 - I bought some new trousers. Corduroy trousers. More specifically, low-rise corduroy trousers. I really like them but I feel funny wearing them. It feels like my ass is hanging out. Probably because my ass is hanging out.
What are you staring at? You never seen an ass crack before?
091702 - Last night I sent off my citizenship application. I could very well be a "real" American within the year. How fucking crazy would that be?
091502 - Hilarious cat-related incident of the day:
There was a spider in the bathtub this (hung over, sleepy) morning - Keri pointed it out to me shortly after I had finished brushing my teeth. Keri and I are both deathly afraid of spiders so it seemed like a very good thing when Marmite hopped into the tub (he spends a lot of time in there, rolling around, being stroked, sleeping, whatever). Instead of playing with, killing, and ultimately eating the spider as we had hoped he would, he simply lay down next to it. Right next to it. Then he started to roll around. Then the spider was swept up onto Marmite's bum.
*note - this is all second hand information - I refused to go into the bathroom at this point.
Keri and I thought it would be best to lock the new spider/cat hybrid in the bathroom until Marmite did the right thing and ingested his new passenger. Of course, since the bathroom door isn't made of glass (actually wood and paint) we didn't know whether or not the cat had vanquished the 8-legged beasty. Ultimately we had to let Marmite out of the bathroom (he started to meow at the door) at which point the afore mentioned hilarity ensued.
We both figured the spider was still on Marmite and so went to great lengths to avoid having him touching us. Hopping up on furniture, running away, making various "shoo" noises...
... yeah, I guess it is one of those things where you really have to see it for it to be funny. Never mind.
091402 - I've been riding my bike up and down the lakeshore bike path for about a year now. I'm pretty fast and as a result I've only been passed (and unable to catch) or dropped three times. Two of those times were by recumbent bikes.
Now I'm curious about recumbents - are they really fast?
I want to try one out but I'm too concerned about my "image" and my "rep" and my "street cred". Oh well.
091102 - Went to the memorial/anniversary service for 9/11 today in Daley plaza. The whole thing was pretty somber - especially the three minutes of silence. I got all introspective and sad and was tearing up a little bit when I looked up and noticed the sign language woman (who had, a moment before, been interpreting Gary Sinise's words into sign) "talking" during the silence. She had her head bowed and every ten seconds or so she'd look up and make a short, wild gesture. The whole thing seemed really absurd and I wanted to laugh; then I realized she was signing the peals of the bell. I went back to being sad and introspective at that point.
Why Gary Sinise?
090902 - My redesign trigger finger is twitching for this page. Getting so very sick of the layout and the blue and the little scrolly bit for this... To sate myself a little bit, I updated the Micro Portfolio section below. Phew, that's better.
Also, The Marc Needham Tattoo Project is running into something of a glitch - I'm drawing closer to the conclusion that I don't really want another tattoo. I mean, I want another tattoo but I'm just not sure about it. Tattoos are the kind of thing you want to be sure about.
It would almost be worth not going through with it just to piss people off, ha ha. Got tons of traffic to the page and I'm sure one or two people will check back to see what I got come October.
Thinking instead about getting a skull ring (similar to Keith Richards') and wearing that all the time instead of a tattoo.
090402 - I'm developing a Bomber Man II addiction that is slowly, but surely, replacing my Internet addiction. When I got home from work I used to hop on the computer and fart around online for an hour or so - now I head straight for the NES emulator on my Dreamcast. I'm a pathetic loser. Heh.
090302 - I had a long and very involved dream about shaving my legs on Sunday night. Not sure what that was about. I'm thinking (hoping) it was something to do with cycling - on Friday night we went on Critical Mass - the guy that was up front with the walkie-talkie refused to go on the highway. Two of my friends and I really wanted to go on the highway so we cut to the front and hijacked the mass: straight onto I-90/94. It took a lot of screaming but it was totally worth it.

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