Dear Diary....

NINTENDO 64!!!!

2009-01-21T00:41:00.001-06:00

I just bought a Nintendo 64 off of ebay and I hope that I am as excited as this kid when it arrives:

2009-01-19T14:35:00.002-06:00

I've tried to write like 3 different posts but all of them just suck. I don't think I am going to write in here until I actually have something to talk about. I do want to see this movie though:

It's that WHOOOO WHOOOO!

2009-01-14T19:35:00.002-06:00

I have been trying to save a lot of money so I don't do much anymore. It does allow me time to watch all my favorite tv shows though! 2 more new episodes of Scrubs last night and new 24 have made me happy. I'm still waiting for Jack Bauer to get back into terrorist-killing mode. I also can't wait for him to kill Tony Almeida. The guy is a terrorist for 3 years and all of a sudden comes back to the good side and we're supposed to like him again? Snap that bitch's neck Jack!
There are many things I am excited to leak. There is a band called Two Tongues which I have been listening to a lot lately. It's half Say Anything and half Saves the Day so it's a pretty sweet combination. Their cd comes out February 3rd so it should leak at any time. New Found Glory's new cd doesn't come out until March but I am still hoping for a new song in the near future.
I usually love watching college basketball but it's so hard for me this year since IU is terrible. There really hasn't ever been a team in their situation though so it's hard to get too mad at them. They are bringing in a lot of good people next year and should be a lot more competitive.
I finally talked to my dad about moving out and he took it pretty badly. He does take everything badly though so I expect him to calm down in a few days. There really isn't anything he can do about the situation so I guess he'll just have to deal with it.

New Year, New Start

2009-01-07T22:38:00.002-06:00

That's been my motto so far in this week old year. I've been thinking about my life a lot lately and really want to get things back on track. I plan on taking this semester off school and working full time and moving out of the house soon. I do realize that moving out is probably the worst idea for saving money but I do think that it will be the best thing for me since I really need to grow up and mature a lot. I've been running through the numbers and do think that I will be able to save a decent amount of money as well but as long as I get by I don't really care. My goal is to move out in about 5 weeks and it appears pretty attainable. I should have enough money by then and my family seems very supportive but I have still yet to talk to my dad about it. I'm sure he will eventually be ok with it but it still won't be a fun conversation to have. I tried to bring it up and he wasn't having it and wanted to talk later but he hasn't brought it up yet?

I've also decided I'm going to get back into shape this year. I have been playing a lot of basketball lately and my stamina is already so much better than it was like 3 weeks ago. I also lost over 10 lbs so I'm very happy about that! On days I don't go play basketball, I decided I'm going to try to run. Now I hate running with a passion but I'm tired of being chunky!

Things I have been liking lately:

New Scrubs! There were 2 new episodes of Scrubs last night! I felt that the first one was too much like last season's episodes and that really worried me about how the rest were going to turn out but the second one was golden. It reminded me so much of older ones where I would laugh out loud and still get caught up in the dramatic moments. ABC wants to save money though so some episodes cut out some regulars so there were a few characters that didn't even make an appearance. That makes me really sad since this is the last true season of Scrubs and I feel like they should get to go out with a bang!
Thieves and Villains: One of the most underrated bands out there and I think they have a ton of potential. I loved their early demos they posted on myspace but I felt their debut was a little lacking. There are still some killer tracks on it and I think "Worlds Apart" is a beautiful song which I can totally relate to.
The Wackness: I downloaded this movie about 3 months ago and loved it back then but have been playing it a lot lately. It's set in 1994 in New York City so you get all the cool slang from back then and I just think it was really well made. Seeing Sir Ben Kingsley take a huge bong rip as a stoner shrink is also pretty entertaining as well!

Well this has been horribly long but it's been a while and I have had a lot of stuff on my mind! I'll talk to you later Diary.

Love,
Ryan

New Years Recap

2009-01-02T16:34:00.002-06:00

It's hard for me to find a suitable way to sum up my New Years. It can be described as disappointing, sad, or really fun. I was supposed to go to a party at one of my friend's house which I was actually excited about. I've been to a few parties there and it's always a nice environment there. So on Tuesday, a bunch of my friends told me they were going down to Indy and invited me. I had to work til 7 and already made plans to go with Charlie so I said know. I even double checked with Charlie to make sure we were still going and he said yes! So I worked all day and actually had a nice shift at Family Video. I made a shitload of commission and was in a great mood. As soon as I get off, I call Charlie and ask him what's going on tonight. "Oh, well I just got down to Indy," he says.

I'm pretty pissed at this point. I don't care if people have other plans, I just want to know so I can make different plans. I knew I had to work so traveling wasn't really an option for me and I was ok with that. So now, it's like 7:30 and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I get on the phone and talk try and talk to everyone I still communicate with from high school and everyone is already out of town. Then luckily, my friend Louie calls. Now, Louie is one of the most unreliable people I know. He'll be hanging out with you somewhere and just disappear and never come back. So at first, I was very worried but it actually turned out to be a fun night.

So we decide to go down to the Registry which I figured would be packed. We walked in around 10:30 and it was dead. Some more people showed up later but it was the most empty I've ever seen the place. Luckily, I knew one of the waitresses there from the Joe so she kept hooking us up. Around 11:15, after about 5 pitchers of beer, she starts bringing us bottles of champagne. Now, there was about 8 people at our table but 5 of them only wanted one cup. So between Louie, myself, and our friend Matt, we shared about 4 bottles of champagne. I can vaguely remember the countdown and then blacked out around 12:30ish. The next thing I can really remember is waking up on Louie's couch while cuddling with his dog. Not a bad end for a fun New Years Eve!

New Years Day kind of sucked though as I still felt like shit during an 8 hour shift at the Fam Vid. Did enjoy the time and a half pay though!

Well I hope everyone else had a fun night and wish everyone a great 2009!

Til next time,
Ryan E. Hall

Always a classic video

2008-12-31T00:43:00.000-06:00

Random Thoughts

2008-12-24T12:49:00.002-06:00

My back has been seriously bothering me lately. The past two days have been a lot worse than the usual pain.
It's almost Christmas so I'm in my usual Scrooge mode. Call me crazy, but I'll be pretty happy when this week is all over.
Thanks to my work schedule I am now busy for like the next 5 nights. It actually is kind of a good thing because I did have a nice little streak of nights where I would drink very heavily. It just seemed like every night was a new reason to celebrate! There was Christmas bonus night, Ashley's grad party, ummmm it was Thursday? Ok, so maybe I just like to drink!
I'm very tired of working, especially with people I don't like. Just schedule me to work with the 2 people I like at Fam Vid everyday and I'll be a happy, productive worker.
It looks like I have to work until 9 on New Year's Eve. So what fun things can I do that night?
A while ago, I downloaded a file called "The Top 100 Rap Songs of All Time." It might be the coolest thing I've ever downloaded. I'm a huge fan of old-school rap and this has basically every song I could ever want to listen to. It has been dominating my (broken) iPod recently!

I need to get a Green Man suit

2008-12-19T12:59:00.000-06:00

The future freaks me out

2008-12-18T00:58:00.004-06:00

When my sister was home last week, we had a long talk and of course my life plan came up. She was asking about when I was going to graduate and what I wanted to do and I kept drawing blanks. She then asked, "Well, what are you passionate about?" Since then, that has been one thing that has constantly been on my mind. As sad as it is, I can't think of one thing that I could truly be passionate about. The only thing I could think of was music but I can't sing or play an instrument or anything. I always loved listening to music and downloading new bands to find new music I loved, but I just can't think of a way to turn that into the rest of my life. I saw an ad online for internship for a company that manages bands based in Chicago, but I doubt I'll get that.

I just wish I could figure out some way to get my life going in a direction that I know would work out. For the past few years, I keep trying to decide what I want to do and where I want to be but I can't find any answers. Honestly, I don't care if I'm rich and have this successful career. I don't need that. All I want is just to be happy. If I end up poor in a small house with a meaningless job, I'll be ok with that as long as I can wake up everyday and be happy. For now, I just want to try and figure out a way to somehow see the country and find my own little niche.

Sorry if this post was pointless and a waste of time with you, it's just something that has been on my mind for a long time now.

One Love,
Ryan

P.S. If you have never heard the song Aqueous Transmission by Incubus, I think you should find a way to right now. It has become my new favorite song and no matter how I'm feeling, it always cheers me up. It just makes me want to float down a river with Brandon Boyd in a very bromantical way. Maybe one day....

Trip to Ball State-tonia 2008

2008-12-15T17:04:00.002-06:00

Well this past weekend was my annual trek down to Muncie, and as usual, it turned out to be a shit fest. By shit fest, I do mean unbelievably awesome but I drank enough to kill many small animals. I will now try to recap the finer moments...

Why do we not have a Pita Pit up here? For those who don't know, Pita Pit is kind of like a Subway-type place but instead of sandwiches, it is all healthy food in a delicious pita. Now normally, I stay away from healthy food like the plague, but during my 20 hour stay in Muncie, I had 3 pitas and brought another one home for later. If you ever see one of these in your travels, I demand you stop there and try it out yourself.

I also love being in college towns. There's one bar right off campus where you pay a 3 dollar cover charge then get a pitcher of beer for a "penny." When I say "penny" like that, I mean free. But bars can't just give away beer so they call it penny pitchers. So, for 4 hours every Friday, large amounts of college kids go there and get TRASHED. We brought some cards and played some drinking games which picked things up a notch as well. We were playing kings and I drew the last king, which means I had to chug the pitcher of beer in the middle of the table. Now while it wasn't a normal sized pitcher, it still had maybe 2 or 2 and 1/2 beers in it. So I was already wasted at that point so I was just going to drink it but then all my friends had to be cool and start chanting my name. Naturally, everyone else started looking over and eventually started chanting too. So here I am, wasted, listening to maybe half of a pretty large bar chanting my name, so I start drinking. About halfway through, I thought, "Man, this is easy!" So I downed it like a champion and the crowd went crazy. I was pretty pumped up. Now, at that point, I should've slowed down the pace a little bit but drunk Ryan didn't realize that. 20 minutes later, I threw up underneath a table. :( Rather than quit though, I still drank like a champion, just a champion who made pukies in a very public place.

After that, we went to a different bar where a band with a couple of my friends were playing. First, there was a really cool ska band playing and tons of people dancing so my friends and I joined in. Normally, I don't dance and my friends don't listen to ska so it was a nice combination of odd things. After that, my friends' band played and they were really good as well. Lots of dancing went down with mostly unattractive girls and everyone had a splendid time.

After that we returned to my friend's apartment where I passed out on a couch where someone peed on it 2 weeks ago. Even though I was assured many times it was cleaned, it still made me uneasy. Even with that minor buzzkill, it was still an amazing weekend....

Love,
Ryan

My fascination with hand written letters

2008-12-05T14:42:00.002-06:00

Over the past few months, when people get angry, I have found I make the suggestion of writing an angry, hand written letter. I don't know why, but just the idea of this brings great humor to my little life. You might ask, "Ryan, why can't an angry email or voicemail accomplish the same thing?" Voicemails and emails are just the easy way out in my opinion. There's just something about an angry, hand written letter shows that you really care. This post will take you through the anatomy of a perfectly executed angry letter.

I. The Letter Itself

When you find yourself angry enough to actually write this letter, the setting has to be right. A dark room and some hardcore emo music would probably do the trick. You should also outline your ideas so your letter comes across with just the right amount of craziness. Venn diagrams are also very useful in your angry prewriting. Now when you are writing, make sure you use capitalize key words and use lots of underlining on all the crazy parts to drive your point into the person mind. Also, repeating single words that don't relate to the point also brings the crazy up a couple notches. Oh, and if you include diagrams backing up your crazy statements, you should get bonus points. Bonus points for what you ask? (I have no idea)

II. The Hard Part

In my life, the hardest part would be the envelope. I'm sure I could find the address, I mean you can find anything on the internet nowadays! The hard part for me, however, would be the stamp. If some stranger busted into my house right now and held a gun to my head while demanding a stamp, I'd be dead. Do they even make stamps anymore? My family just handles everything online so I don't even know if we have any! If I couldn't find any stamps, I guess I could just deliver it to the person's house which would borderline stalker-ish. I don't advise taking it to this level.

III. The Reaction

An incident this intense has to bring up some sort of response. If not, just keep sending more letters. Sooner or later, you will get slapped with a restraining order which is sad but it is a response anyways! You win!

In conclusion, this was the weirdest blog post I've ever made. If I didn't spend a long time thinking of this and typing it all out, I'd delete it. Hopefully, there will never be an in-depth look into my mind ever again on here.

Love,
Ryan

Awkward Family Video Moment

2008-12-04T00:01:00.002-06:00

I think I am going to chronicle some of the weirder stories from Fam Vid because I think there are some really interesting tales from that place.

Last week, I was at the store by myself during the day when a man and his 3 year old son come up to the counter. It was a normal transaction until the kid came all the way around the counter and up on the little platform I stand on. When kids do this, it annoys the hell out of me and it's even worse when the parents just stand there. So, I am already irritated and then this little kid comes up and hugs my leg. Now this may be considered cute to some, but not this guy. I don't know this kid or where he's been. For all I know this kid just pooped his pants and rolled around in it. So anyways, I look back at the father and he just smirks and shrugs at me like there's nothing he could do. So I shrug back and want to say, "Why don't you get your fuckin kid off my leg?" He eventually tells the kid to "Let go of the nice man's leg," after about 20 seconds of awkwardness. Totally an afternoon killer for me.

When/If I ever have kids, you better believe they will be well-behaved. When I was a child, I knew if I acted up in public, I would get spanked at home. I hope I can strike that fear in my child's eyes one day...

Until next time,
Ryan

Nameless blog

2008-12-03T12:22:00.002-06:00

Well it's just after noon in beautiful Highland and I just woke up for the day. I have such an odd sleeping schedule but morning is overrated in my opinion. What have I been doing lately? Ummmm..... well there's been school! Besides that, all I have been doing is work. Weird, right? My sister is coming home in a couple days so that is something to actually look forward to!

Time for the "What is Ryan listening to now" update. Lately, I have been listening to demos from bands I like. I downloaded an old cd called An Excellent Attempt at Next to Youism by The Early November and it's been dominating my iPod recently. I think part of me thinks it's cool because I doubt there is anyone in the world listening to it at the same time as me so it's kind of like my little secret. Everything is a lot cooler when it's only yours.

Another thing I have been listening to is So Young, So Insane by You, Me, and Everyone We Know. Their first ep was totally pop-punk which I loved but this one is pretty impossible to label. It seems like each of the 6 songs is a totally different type of music. I like it a lot. It also features Max Bemis on one of the songs so how could I not love it?

Today, I have school 2-8 then no plans! I'll probably do something fun such as watch IU get slaughtered and scream at my tv and be miserable for 2 hours. That sounds like my perfect night.

Well, I'm sure I'll fill this with more pointless thoughts at a later time.

Ryan

Lames-giving Break 2008

2008-11-30T23:02:00.002-06:00

So this "break" has gone by way too quickly. In fact, I worked so much that it just seemed like a regular week. I'm just so tired of working hard and not seeing any benefits from it. No matter what I do, things just seem to always get worse. Lately, I have been going through my past and thinking about all the decisions I would have made differently. I know it's useless and kind of pathetic, but I just can't stop imagining what my life could have been like had I just made a couple different choices.

But anyways, this is my last full week of school. After this, I have a week of finals then a month off to do nothing but work! My sister is also coming home in about a week so I am kind of excited about that. Is it sad that those are the only two things I am excited for???

I've been listening to a band named XO recently and I have really been liking them. It's 2 of the members of Say Anything's side project and I think they're good. It's more of a straight-up rock sound but I do enjoy some variety once in a while.

That's all I have for now. I'm sure I'll update with more random points here in a couple days!+

Where's the break at?

2008-11-25T22:38:00.002-06:00

So I realized my Thanksgiving break is lacking one large thing: the break! I originally had to work everyday but talked my way out of a shift on Wednesday. Good news, right? Well I get home and tell my dad this and then he says, "Well that's good, now you can help me clean the whole house tomorrow." Not exactly my idea of relaxing! *sigh*

In other news.... I don't really have any other news. Sports, which usually are my go to source of entertainment, have been horribly disappointing this year. Notre Dame football sucks and IU is one year away from being decent so expect a lot of swearing and grumpy moods for me. And now my XBOX 360 is broken too so I'm out of video games and a dvd player in my room for like 6 weeks!

I really like the album The Room's Too Cold by the Early November. I've always loved it but have really been listening to it more lately. The song "Everything's Too Cold... But You're So Hot" has been one of my favorite songs to listen to lately. It's so slow and sad that I just think there is something really nice about it. I also read that Ace Enders sang it all in one take right after he got off the phone with his girlfriend so all the frustration at the end of the song is so genuine. I also heard he stormed out of the studio and threw his headphones against the wall and broke them! Pretty intense but I think it's a good story! The album is a lot less punky than the stuff I usually listen to but I think it's an all-around solid album and don't have to skip any songs on it. I've been really big into listening to albums all the way through lately. Even if I don't like the song that much, I keep it on the keep the flow of the album going.

That's all I have to say for now. I hope all 2 of you can wait a few more days for my random thoughts!

Sincerely,
Me

Tom Green still slays me

2008-11-24T01:33:00.001-06:00

So it's been a while

2008-11-24T00:55:00.002-06:00

I'm bored and online a lot so I figure I can throw some of my random ideas in here once in a while:

I really love scrolling my iPod by album covers. I always thought it was so lame on tv but it rocks in real life. Also, finding band pictures for live albums is highly entertaining.
I recently downloaded Enema of the State by Blink-182 and was surprised to still know all the words. I still listened to some of the songs via live albums but I still knew the words to Mutt and the Party Song and I haven't heard either song in at least 6 years. Why can I remember these words but not remember to take out the garbage?
How come I haven't won the lottery yet? My life would be way cooler with like 10 zeroes added on to my bank account.
I'm so ready for school to be over.
Another reason the lotto would be killer is because then I would never have to work at my shitty jobs again!
I really wish Midtown and The Early November would reunite. Maybe even reunite and then tour together!?!?!? I'll just pay them an obscene amount to play in my basement when I win the lottery!
Why do my life's plans revolve around winning the lottery?
Bullets were a silly idea for this blog entry.
I still need more old-school rap for my iPod, any suggestions?

That's it for now.

Love always,
Ryan

Mini Bar Crawl 2k8

2008-08-03T14:22:00.002-05:00

So after another typical shitty day at work, I went out with the one and only Jason Douthett. Despite temptations to hit up Rodney's, also known as the coolest bar in the world, I decided to get saucy and go elsewhere. Our first destination was Rocco's. Located on the Highland/Griffith border, it is a relatively new bar and I've never been there. We walked into a packed bar that was blaring death metal music. After waiting a long time for a beer, we stood there awkwardly as a girl was wished happy birthday by a chubby man jumping out of a box in boxer briefs. At first, it was kind of funny until the dude stood around in his underwear drinking a beer.

Next up was The Getaway. This was the only bar I've been to on our destination and also where we decided that we were going to do a bar crawl. We also realized that since I didn't get off of work until 12:15, we got a late start. The Getaway was definitely the nicest bar we attended but that's not saying much. We drank our $1.50 Michelob Ultra and left rather quickly.

After there, we went across the parking lot to the V.I.P. Lounge. I was kind of excited since I used to work for the owner at a previous job so I was hoping for a free beer. Unfortunately, he wasn't there so we had to pay for our beers then stand awkwardly again as half of the bar consisted of drunk, unattractive girls grinding on each other. Luckily, there was only 8 people in the bar so it wasn't too big of an orgy. I did get to see one of my fave Fam Vid customers Rick! He calls me Hot Rod based on my love of that movie so I didn't really want to talk to him in public.

Next, we went into the heart of Griffith for a bar Jason and I always wanted to go to: Mojo's. Unfortunately, at 1:30 it was already closed! We decided to get dangerous and go to the Griffith Tap. We walked in to a huge bar and a large amount of people. I guess there were multiple bands there and they offered all you can drink beer for 10 dollars. Normally a bargain, we decided against it since it was a sketchy crowd at best and we were only going to have one beer. I did get rather excited when I saw the $1 High Life everyday signs but they didn't honor that for some reason so I left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Once we escaped the biker bar, we went next door to The Depot. This appeared to be more of a dinner/lounge place and there was only 5 people there. Good news did come to us quickly when the bartender told us that the credit card machine wasn't working so we finally did get our free beers! Unfortunately, I think she wanted more as she kept eyeing me creepily. We eventually left and tried to make one more bar for our night. As we drove around though, it looked like every bar in the nearby area was already closed which brought Mini Bar Crawl 2k8 to a close.

Review:
90 minutes
5 bars
5 beers
lost $6.50
1 decent buzz

Let me know if you want to attend the next attempt at a Region Bar Crawl!

Love,
Ryan

2008-08-01T12:21:00.002-05:00

So I haven't updated in a while but I feel like only like 3 people might read this anyways, so I don't care! It's been a pretty typical week. Summer school is over though! No more school for like 3 weeks!

I also saw Step Brothers this week and I am about to give up hope on Will Ferrell. I feel like his comedy is him coming up with one funny idea then just repeating in different, dirtier ways. I really enjoyed him in Stranger Than Fiction and I wish he would take on more roles like that.

One downer from this week is that I still have yet to win the Powerball. I bought two tickets on Wednesday and I realized that both of the powerball numbers were the same! I was originally mad but I realized if 32 hit on the powerball, I would be $6 richer. Unfortunately, 13 came and I'm still dirt poor.

I did find a neat website that lets you stream tv shows, some of which haven't even been released on DVD yet. I was about to download the new season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia but thanks to Fancast, I was able to just watch them all there!

It's Friday which means I should be pumped up because it's the weekend, but in reality, my weekends suck. I have to work the next two nights from 4-12:30 and then Sunday 12-8 so I won't have practically any free time. Boo hoo Family Video is such a hard job.

I love you,
Ryan

Lame Lionel Richie Reference #1

2008-07-25T01:43:00.002-05:00

Hello blog, was it me you were looking for?

Sorry for the long delay between posts, I've been busy. Busy doing what you ask? Just still going to school (bleh), working a lot more (BLEH), and playing on my old man softball team (most of the time bleh).

I did get to see The Dark Knight tonight with Scott. Out of four stars, I would definitely give it one and a half thumbs up. Heath Ledger was really good in it but it was all just too hyped up for me. I'm sure if I hadn't heard anything about it that I would like it more but I am glad I got to see it in the theatre.

I've been pretty down lately due to too much school and work. I wish my life was just more fun but I guess I'll have to wait til I win that powerball!

I'll write back soon diary.

Regards,
Ryan

Can't Sleep Recommendations #1

2008-07-21T01:29:00.002-05:00

Well I must say this is a very short wait for my 2nd post. I can't sleep at all so I decided to let everyone reap the benefits of my boring life and I'll let you know what I've been listening to/watching lately:

Californication- It's a Showtime series starring David Duchovny as a writer who is an alcoholic and addicted to sex. I must say it is one of the better shows I have seen recently.
N.E.R.D.- Seeing Sounds- I have heard and enjoyed a couple songs from their first 2 albums but this one actually surprised me a lot. They mix so many genres of music on this album and "Sooner or Later" might be my favorite song of 2008.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia- TV show about an awful group of people doing awful things. I can't remember a show that makes me as hard on a constant basis.
Hit the Lights- Skip School, Start Fights- They got a new singer and somehow I like them even more now. This reminds me of old school pop-punk like New Found Glory's self-titled album or Take This to Your Grave. I have been listening to this almost non-stop since I downloaded it.

Well that cured my boredom for a little bit. Thanks new blog!!

I love you,
Ryan

First entry

2008-07-21T00:38:00.001-05:00

So I've decided to start my 300th blog! I think I might actually write in this one. I spend so much time online I might as well.

Today was a typical shitty day in my life. I woke up with a pretty wicked hangover which I had to hide of course from the parental units. I lounged around for a while then got a phone call from the Fam Vid and they told me I could come in an hour late! Even with that extra hour to do nothing, I still showed up late. I worked from 1-8 but it definitely felt much longer than that.

After work, I grabbed some leftover pizza and took a nice little nap. Later, I came across a blog online which has a ton of live recordings and B-sides from bands I like so I downloaded a lot of those. I also spent a little bit of time cleaning up my iTunes since it was a mess. Now, I'm just trying to overdose on Mountain Dew and listening to Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New. You can make fun of me if you want for listening to pop-punk but this album is fucking genius. Speaking of pop-punk I have to get out of work for the 2nd and find someone to go to Warped with.

Goals for tomorrow:
1. Clean my room
2. Actually go to class
3. Not kill myself at work.

We'll see how soon I post in this again...

Hugs and kisses,
Ryan