Archive for the ‘Friends’ Category

The Surprise Party.

Friends | Posted by PantslessJedi
Apr 07 2010

A few weeks ago, my David’s girlfriend contacted a group of us with the idea of throwing a surprise birthday party for David.  My mission, should I choose to accept it, would be to get him out of the house on Saturday so that she could set things up.  We then went on to discuss food, who all should come, and gift arrangements.  (We settled on a 40 GB Solid State Drive, by the way.  He LOVED it.)

So..with the day set and the particulars settled, we secretly plotted to convince David that nobody would be in town.  About a week prior, David said “How about we all go bowling or something for my birthday..sometime this weekend?”  The lies were set.   B33J and Erin would be “busy all weekend with her parents”,  Scott was “visiting his dad” which left me.  I of course, would be free to be around, since my job is to get him out of the house.

We kept up the ruse all week, and he ate it hook line and sinker.   Then something unplanned happened.   He was out driving his car, when *BAM*  the 5th gear on his car caused his engine to stall.  Shitty events make for a terrible weekend, and he planned on moping about.   This would have been especially fortuitous since everyone was ‘out of town.’

So the day of the surprise party arrives.  The morning is spent raiding Icecrown Citadel.  All the while, I’m sending him messages  ”Hey, want to go out later? See a movie or something?”

For hours, I pestered him, trying to get him to accept my invitation.  Nothing seemed to work.   He began looking for an Icecrown raid for his druid.  That would mean complete and total failure.  How do you convince a guy who never leaves his house, to leave his house?   All the while, I’m sending frantic messages to his gf.

Then I appealed to his other exploits.  ”So, I’ve been thinking of picking up a bike..y’know, since the summer is coming, and I’m moving into a better neighborhood in a few months..  want to help me pick one out?”  Bam.  The pretense is accepted.  An hour later, we’re off to Macon to look at bikes.  Half an hour is spent at Dick’s Sporting Goods.  Much useful information was learned about bikes.  On the way out the door, he turns to me and says “Hey, can we stop by the Party Store to pick up some silly string for the people who think this is going to be a surprise party?”

*record-scratch*  ”…Wha?”

Turns out, in order to boost his mood and make him less likely to turn us down, his gf told him about the whole thing the night before.  She also submitted the idea of buying silly string to hit up the guests.  Two-timing backstabber!   I’m in.

We hit up the party store, and send a text message that we’re on the way.   I make a quick stop by the house to pick up my videocamera.  Stairs were climbed.  I open the door for him, and we enter the premises, expecting a mass of “SURPRISE!”

…nothing.  Silence.   I pipe up “Hey guys.”     someone else chimes in “They’re here guys!”  No surprise comes.  Then out pops the silly string.  Four cans of multicolored stringy goodness.

The story was retold, and many jokes were had at everyone’s expense.  The food was delicious.

Then we went bowling.  The end!

Awesome..or Disturbing.

Friends, Games | Posted by PantslessJedi
Jan 30 2010

I don’t often dream, but when I do… the results are either awesome, or vividly disturbing.   In this case, I’m having trouble deciding which.

The day felt like a normal day.  I came home from work, I played some games..  stuff happened.  Next thing I know, some crazy mist shit swells up, and I pass out.  I wake up in a strange room, surrounded by nerf guns and weapons of kid destruction.  Immediately, I stocked up as if it were a freakin’ armory.   Light-up flamethrower, rocket-launcher, assault rifle, shotgun..  I got the nerf or plastic equivalent of it all.  Eventually, the door to the room opens up into a backyard.  Across the yard is this large beastly lookin’ thing.  I pull out one of my guns and shoot.  It dies.    Clearly I’ve won this round.

I head back inside and start investigating my new dwellings.  I find this little kid.  I load him up with guns and we start exploring the house.   A timer appears, signaling our next battle to be in a few minutes.  I try to load him up as best I can, but during the next battle, he takes a nerf dart to the forehead.   Kid drops dead.  I whip out my flamethrower and go all angry Ahnold on the combatants.

A few more of these rounds go by..and more of the house opens up.  A buddy of mine (David) is similarly armed, only he’s got a bunch of nerf swords.  Without needing to say anything, I divvy up some of my guns, because guns are better than swords.  We have no idea what the hell is going on, or why.

Next round involves real people.  Backyard opens up to show to women holding ping-pong ball launchers.   We deftly avoid them and shoot them.  One goes down, but the other gets hit in the leg and drops to the ground screaming “WHY DID IT HAVE TO END LIKE THIS?  ALL I DID WAS BAIL ON MY PARENTS FOR DINNER”..

It was then, my dream self realized, that this arena was no ordinary arena.  It was for people who had done something seemingly wrong, and some greater morals ubermensch brought us all here to redeem ourselves in mortal combat.  Then I woke up with a sense that I had some something deeply wrong..and I have no idea what.

Thanks dream!   Thanks for making my morning just that much more fucked up.

Emotionally Drained.

Friends | Posted by PantslessJedi
Jan 17 2010

Earlier this week, a friend of mine gave me some terrible news.  One of my ex gf’s was rushed into the ER.   Let me start this blog post with the finer details of her.

Amanda had a disease, or something like it, which came in and destroyed her kidneys.  She was on Dialysis.  During one of her Dialysis sessions, her blood pressure got too low and her heart stopped.  She was rushed to the ER.  Some time later, they were able to get her heart functioning again, but by then it was far too late to have a chance of full recovery.  At best she could hope for some mental handicaps.   However, it looked more likely that she would have severe mental handicaps, or worse: No brain activity at all.

After several days of testing and trying things..they found out that her brain was constantly seizing up.  They induced a coma and assessed the damage.   As of Friday, there was a 5% chance that she would come out of this with any cognitive functions at all.  At 10 AM today, the decision was made to take her off of life support.  She may hang on as long as a few days, but she is going to die.

My heart and my deepest sympathies go out to her friends and family during this tough time.   I may not have had a deep relationship with her, but I still cared for her.  She still meant something to me.  We parted on good terms, and remained cordial..if distant.  I figured from the outset that she might die, and I’ve spent the last few days bracing myself and coming to terms with it.  Perhaps it’s for the best, as I would hate to go through life as a burden on everyone..  knowing what I was once capable of..  Maybe that’s a bit selfish thinking, maybe not.

During the last few days, my mind has ran through a million things.  Impulsively, I thought of what I could have done differently, that might have caused this to not happen.   That’s a bit foolish on my part, but sadly, my hero complex kicks on, in a crisis.  “Well, I could have stayed with her..then she wouldn’t have moved away!”  .. that would have been a major inconvenience for both of us.. we just weren’t right for each other.    “I could have given her a kidney!”  No, I probably couldn’t.

My other thoughts are dominated by “What would I do in her family’s situation..”   and “What would I want done if I were in her place?”   It’s incredibly morbid to start thinking that way..though it is pretty practical, I suppose.  I know this won’t really count for a living will and the like, but I do want to get some of my thoughts and wishes out there.. if only for the sake of discussion.

If I’m ever in a hopeless situation, I want the plug pulled, and I want to go peacefully.   If you tell me my body is shattered and I’m paralyzed from the neck down… I don’t want to live like that!  Literally, a burden on the rest of society.  If my brain were so damaged that I was capable of little more than drooling and walking, please save me from that existence.  The body may be there, but if the brain is gone, it’s just a living husk.  Basically, I don’t want to be a burden on those around me, or survive through a hopeless situation.   I’d rather have the plug pulled, than waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on corrective surgery so that I can drool on myself with impunity.

Of course, I hope I’m never IN that position, but that’s how I feel.

Once again, my sympathies go to Amanda and her family.  I feel that they did the right thing in this situation, and I hope she goes peacefully.   I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

Fame.

Friends | Posted by PantslessJedi
Dec 02 2009

Every now and then, I stumble across someone I went to school with. Sometimes they’re doing well, other times..not so well.

For every person that makes it in the world, there’s a hundred others who are at best, flipping burgers.