Pining for the fjords

Voted "Cutest Couple"??

No - I'm not dead.  Just busy.  But, rest assured, if I were dead, I would be haunting, and I would be haunting you.  And since you're dying to know (pun worthy of capital punishment), here is what I'd do to haunt you:

- Hide your keys, specifically right when you're about to leave the house to work or other such important pre-engagement;

- Flush the toilet whenever you hop in the shower;

- Undo your shoelaces entirely at random intervals.  Should you switch to velcro straps, I'll dip 'em in sand, because there's nothing more annoying than that;

- Make sure there is an odd number of pieces of bread in the bread bag;

- Make the toilet paper float just slightly out of reach when you need it the most;

- Fill your house with the catchy tunes of the Spin Doctors;

- Flick your ear periodically;

- Hit the "next chapter" button on the DVD remote right before every important part of every film should you bring home a DVD not from your DVD collection, which I have replaced entirely with episodes of Peewee's Playhouse;

- Add soy sauce to whatever you're cooking;

- Lock the bathrooms from the inside;

- Hog the covers in your sleep;

- Undo all the socks in your sock drawer and just mix 'em up, or, on exceptionally cruel days, steal one sock from each pair;

- Drink from the same cup you are;

- Have your clothing float around and do spooky reenactments of Archie and Edith Bunker... when you're trying to get to sleep, of course;

- If you ever do get to sleep, I'll rearrange all your furniture to surround your bed;

- And I will also use a sharpie marker on your face;

- Litter the floors with banana peels in unexpected places;

- Litter the halls with trip wire in unexpected places (ie. at eye level);

- Rehinge doors in unexpected places (ie. in front of another door opening towards the new door, the ceiling, and windows);

- Replace your mints and aspirin with moth balls;

- Fill your shoes with honey;

- Unscrew light bulbs just a little so they don't connect;

- Invite other ghosts over for recorder orchestra rehearsals.  We do mostly Super Tramp covers.

This is another list that can go on forever, which is good 'cause I'll probably be stuck roaming this earth for that long.  Essentially, it's a list of things as a mere mortal I can't quite do that I would like to.  None of this "friendly ghost" crap - I am Neil: that sonuvabitch ghost.  And this is a more immediate-notice list of things.  Not included are things like plucking the straws from your toothbrush few by few, or stealing a piece of your underwear one-by-one, or adding a sliver of rubber to the soles of your shoes day by day until they're massive platform shoes.  These are acts of jackassery requiring so much time, discipline, and sheer dedication it's something you gotta respect.

Man, I don't know about you, but I can't wait to die!

Year of the chimp!

A bit late, but here it is anyway...

THE [OFFICIAL] LIST OF PEOPLE NEIL WILL MOST LIKELY WAKE UP NEXT TO ON JAN 1ST!

Listed from best case scenario to worst.

1. Johnny Greenwood

Obviously, being a Radiohead junkie Johnny is a shoo-in to the sack.  His guitaring is enough to work up a hypnotic trance, and he probably has a pocket Thom Yorke to lullaby me to rest.  Combine that with the rock/groupie cred to be gained, this wouldn't be too bad,.. besides waking up with the inexplicable desire to grow my hair out and mope around the house.

2. The Burger King King

Downright creepy.  I imagine this guy works in some pretty sketchy ways like - I dunno - slipping me a roofie, then using a Whopper to muffle my screaming.  There is absolutely no sympathy or humanity in those eyes, and that smile reeks of unrelenting sadomasochism.  Plus side: waking up with extra cash in my pocket, just like the commercials.

3. Mickey Rourke

Yeah, not much good going on here.  The man is what a dead cigar would look like if it was reincarnated as a human.  I take consolation in the fact that eons ago he looked pretty good, and that at least his career in on the upswing.  With enough alcohol in me, that's probably what I'd be focused on.

4. Ursula

Power always wins.  Drunk or not, a 300 pound woman with tentacles will have no trouble taking advantage of me.  In addition, assuming I was in her company, we'd probably have to be underwater.  Something about me not being able to breathe probably works to her advantage.  On the upside, at least something can be said about bedding with someone with that high stature.  

"All-powerful evil cartoon sea witch?  Yeah, I hit that."

5. Any combination of these fatties

Presented in Wide Screen.  At least it's cinematic, dammit.

6. Encino Man

What's worse than waking up from a frozen coma that's lasted thousands of years?  Maybe waking up next to Brendan Frasier dressed louder than his acting.  He probably stinks like Paulie Shore.

7. Any diabolical form Christopher Lloyd can conjure

Okay... maybe - maybe - if this were the early 1990's this would be a crazy set up for one of his many movies.  Zany antics to follow, with a highly improbable but convenient ending.  But no.  It's not the 1990's.  Waking up next to this guy means I've somehow volunteered my living residence to him after his Californian home burned down.  No antics here, just a lot of creep.

8. Pancho Villa

Resides in a bottle of tequila.  Once I drink him out of his home, he invades mine.  I wake up with a nasty hangover, traded on the sex slave market, and with 50% less organs.  I hope he at least leaves that wacky hat.

9. Of course...

'nuff said.

Happy 2009!

This is my house, I have to defend it.

This is how I spent my two weeks of Thanksgiving break (the first of which I spent in total isolation) - the "Things You Do When Really Bored When Home Alone" list. Otherwise known as "The List of Ultimate Boredom".



Translation:
"Exercise (yawn) 4 checks
play guitar + sing really loudly [obnoxiously] 4 checks
nap? 4 checks
Dance around -> includes air guitaring 1 check
- in boxers only 1 check
photographing 1 check
comicing 4 checks
emailing 4 checks
calling 6 checks
thesis work (booo!) 4 checks
thinking of ways to sabotage friends and well wishers 2 checks
read 10 checks
watch movie 6 checks
-TV 8 checks
write 4 checks
drive somewhere 6 checks
talk to my sock puppet monkey [heir to the throne] 2 checks
Buy stuff I don't need 4 checks
work 7 checks
Go insane/scream a lot 2 checks
Drink 5 checks
Break stuff (includes living things) 3 checks
NFL Blitz 2000 3 checks"

Sadly, I neglected to include chasing squirrels on the list. Of course, this is tentative - I've still 2 and a half hours left.