The Dude Abides

64 things about me

2006-01-31T07:31:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my brother, Shane. I thought that I would do something like this because I haven’t blogged in a while and I need to do something. I might add more later. Who knows?

1. i have resided in the kansas city area most of my natural life. i spent 1 year in lamoni, iowa at graceland college. then i transferred to the university of kansas, where i spent 6 years. i moved back to kansas city and have been here since january of 2005. i still haven't finished school, but i plan on returning as soon as possible.
2. i graduated high school from blue valley northwest in 1998 and i intend to attend my 10 year reunion in two years.
3. the longest relationship i was in lasted 5 and a half years. we are no longer together.
4. i have a dog. his name is gutter. i named him after jon favreau's character in the movie, pcu. shane claims it was his idea to name him that, but he is lying. gutter is a german shephard husky mix. his brothers are taz (my parent's dog), and dreyfuss, (shane and alli's dog). they look nothing alike. apparently their mother was a dirty tramp.
5. i love the smell of my dog. especially his ears.
6. i go to the same church i was baptized in
7. i have worked for For Rent magazine in lenexa, ks for almost a year now.i am a movie junkie. i love movies. i love going to movies. i love watching movies at home. whatever. it doesn't matter. my brother loves movies too, but his taste in movies is much more girly than mine is.
8. i am a graphic designer at For Rent, but i also do it on the side. shane and i are in the long-going process of getting topFIVEdesign up and running.
9. i own an 17" apple powerbook g4. i love it. i got it for christmas in 2003 from santa claus. thanks, santa. i will never ever go back to having a pc again after having my mac.
10. i am a movie junkie. i love movies. i love going to movies. i love watching movies at home. whatever. it doesn't matter. my brother loves movies too, but his taste in movies is much more girly than mine is.
11. subsequently, my favorite board game is scene-it
12. the last movie i saw in the theater was Annapolis. pretty good. not great, but pretty good.
13. the last movie i saw on dvd was sin city.
14. i subscribe to Netflix, the online dvd rental company.
15. my favorite movie of all time is rounders. it changes alot though, so don't hold it against me. good will hunting is way up there as well.
16. my favorite actor is brad pitt.
17. my dream job is to be a movie critic
18. my favorite tv show of all time is friends. following close behind is seinfeld. then that 70s show.
19. i watch way too much television
20. i'm 6'2"
21. i played volleyball from the age of 11-20. i played at graceland. i haven't played in a long time, but still love playing whenever i can.
22. i drive a black hyundai santa fe.
23. i have 2 iPods. one is a 20gb 2nd generation brick, and the other is a 60gb iPod Photo. i only use the 20gb one as an external hard drive now.
24. i like to think i have a pretty good appreciation for music.
25. i have 2979 songs currently in my iTunes library. i've got tons more saved on disks. the most played song is withered, by atomship
26. my favorite style of music is soft rock, or alternative. (311, incubus, etc.)
27. i love to cook. i'm pretty stinkin' good at it. my specialty is the "jake special," which is homemade potatoes o'brien, peppers and onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, bacon, and cheese. then it is topped off with 2 sunnyside up eggs. it's tasty. i've had no complaints so far.
28. i like golf, but i am absolutely terrible at it. i am actually better at driving happy gilmore style than i am driving normal.
29. if i could, i would eat filet mignon every day for the rest of my life. that and chipotle.
30. the most recent vacation i went on was to tampa and key west with my friends, paul, jenny, lauren, and jasmin.
31. i own a playstation 2 and a few games, but i never play it anymore. i mainly use it for watching dvds.
32. i love texas hold'em. and i'm pretty good at it too.
33. i have been to a couple places out of the US. i've been to jamaica 3 times with family. i've been to paris, london, brussels, antwerp, amsterdam with family. i went to italy and traveled to paderno, venice, sicily, rome, and catania with my friends, michael, chris, emily, and stephanie. oh, i've also been to canada for less than a day. taormina, sicily was my favorite.
34. i don't know if there is any country in the world my father has not been to.
35. i use soft lips and get made fun of it alot. i don't care. it's way better than any blistex or carmex or chapstix
36. i own a blackberry and have t-mobile service. i can't stand my blackberry. it is the biggest piece of crap. apologies to anyone who can't hear me on the phone.
37. i have a tattoo on my upper back, in between my shoulder blades of an abstract volleyball with some tribal lines around it. i drew it myself and got it right after i turned 18. i plan on getting another one, but i don't know what i want yet.
38. i have 7 email addresses. yahoo's my favorite though.
39. i consider myself a good designer. i still have alot to learn, though.
40. i have never had a broken bone (knock on wood), but i have had a cyst removed in my back.
41. i think traffic is one of the most annoying things on this planet. lawrence, kansas has the worst drivers i've ever seen.
42. i go on an annual float trip on the niangua river with a bunch of friends. i'm already excited about it.
43. my favorite book of all time is angels and demons, by dan brown
43. most of the time when i am on my laptop, i am lying in my bed. i'm in bed right now.
44. if someone gave me an hour-long shopping spree at any store i wanted, i'd probably go to best buy.
45. my favorite time of year is winter. summer is fine, but it can get way too hot sometimes. winter is awesome. you can control how hot or cold you are.
46. i can draw pretty good. i hardly do it anymore though.
47. i'd consider myself a pretty good singer. i actually sang in my brother's wedding. one of my favorite things to sing currently is the RENT soundtrack.
48. i can't run worth crap.
49. i can't play any instruments. i want to eventually learn how to play the guitar.
50. i can act alright. i used to be in all my middle school plays and musicals. people are always telling me i should've been an actor.
51. i am terrible at public speaking. i'm actually terrified of it.
52. my favorite smell is barbeque.
53. my favorite candle smell is christmas cookie from yankee candle.
54. i only get sick about once a year. i used to fake it all the time in elementary and middle school.
55. my legs are considerably shorter in proportion to my torso.
56. states I have not been to: washington, oregon, montana, idaho, north dakota, wisconsin, maine, vermont, rhode island, delaware, west virginia, north carolina, south carolina, mississippi, arkansas, alaska, hawaii. That’s 16 states!
57. my favorite website is www.IMDB.com
58. i think george costanza is one of the funniest tv characters ever.
59. my favorite dress clothing store is express for men
60. my favorite clothing store is PacSun.
61. the last dvd i purchased was kingdom of heaven
62. my birthday is march 2nd. it's a month away. i'll turn 26. i'm older than most of my good friends.
63. my favorite cologne is very sexy by victoria's secret
64. i should have gone to bed an hour ago.

Poker

2005-02-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I'm going to get a lot of slack from this post, but oh well. I love playing poker. Mainly just Texas Hold 'Em. The game is so much fun to play, especially if you are playing with friends. I don't even care about the amount. I would rather play in a just a normal $5 game with my friends than play in a $40 buy-in tournament at a casino. 1) Because I am with my friends, and B) Because people at casinos suck and play every hand they have. It's fun to just spend $5 a week in a weekly game with your friends. If you lose your money, "Oh well." If you win, you have another $30-$40 you didn't have before. I know gambling is addictive, and it is bad to play and gamble all the time, but I don't think it's the gambling aspect I am drawn to. It is just the game, and being able to have a good cheap time with your friends.

Mustaches

2004-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sitting here watching Friends, my favorite TV show, and it's the episode where Chandler and Joey start hanging out with Richard (Tom Selleck). Chandler starts to grow a mustache so he can look like the infamous Dr. Richard Burke. I realized how sweet Tom Selleck's mustache is. So I was thinking about all the famous people who have sweet mustaches, so here's my list.

Tom Selleck
Sam Elliott
Will Ferrell in Ron Burgundy
Burt Reynolds
Wilford Brimley

Some good cartoon mustaches are Yosemite Sam and Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Brothers.

TOP 5 Movies of 2004

2004-10-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen very many good movies lately, but there have definitely been some good ones in 2004. Here's my list of my favorite movies of 2004:

The Bourne Supremacy (I thought this movie was great. But you wouldn't have this one if it wasn't for The Bourne Identity. The Bourne Identity was the foundation for the Supremacy.)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell is genius in this movie. Hilarious!)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn make this movie stellar with it's idiocy)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are phenomenal in this beyond creative movie written by Charlie Kaufman. I wish that I had seen this movie in the theaters. If you have not seen this movie, you need to rent it. )
Kill Bill: Volume II (Quentin Tarantino never seizes to amaze me with his films.)

Here are others that didn't make the list but need to be recognized:

Spider-Man 2 (better than the first one)
Walking Tall (The Rock is such a stud)
The Punisher
Man on Fire
The Girl Next Door (not lying, it was hilarious)
The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson is a movie genius)

TOP 5 Fast Food Restaurants

2004-10-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Being a resident of Lawrence, Kansas, I am constantly tempted by all of the fast food joints that are available for munching. Some of these are open 24 hours, and some are open until 2 or 3 in the morning. Being a night owl, I like having the option of late night food. But sometimes you don't need a restaurant to stay open that late, like Chipotle. Anyways, here's my list of my Top 5 favorite fast food restaurants in Lawrence.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (Best burritos ever. Can eat it every day and not get sick of it.)
Pepperjax Grill (Excellent Philly Cheesesteaks!)
Wendy's (Best dollar menu out of any fast food restaurant.)
Arby's (Mmmm. Market Fresh Sandwiches and curly fries. Plus, 5 Roast Beef Sandwiches for $5.95.)
Sonic (Best tasting bacon cheeseburger, except Wendy's beats Sonic out with their price for the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger.)

Here are some that couldn't make it on the list, but need to be recognized.

Long John Silvers, really greasy but tastes great.
Mr. Goodcents, freshest ingredients for subs.
Subway, best prices and deals for subs.
McDonald's, solely for their breakfast menu.
KFC, Colonels Crispy Strips, plus best macaroni and cheese.
Taco Bell, strictly for late night grubbing.
Einstein Brothers, lots of carbs, but they have great bagel sandwiches.
Burger King, 2nd best chicken sandwich, other than Wendy's Spicy Chicken.
Backyard Burger, great burgers and chicken, but way too expensive.
Panera Bread Co., great food, but way too expensive.

And that's about it.

Pit Bulls

2004-10-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'm going to vent my thoughts about pit bulls in this post. One of my best friends owns and breeds pit bulls, and he is a great guy. He has "Pit Bull" in his screenname, so that gave me the idea to talk about pit bulls. I think that the breed gets looked badly upon due to multiple reasons. Some people breed them to fight other pit bulls (which is absolutely terrible). Other's don't train them well enough or give them enough love or attention. Basically, I've been around those dogs, and I don't know if it was because my friend brought them up very well, or it was just in their blood, but I'd be more afraid of my dog hurting someone than his pit bulls.

Movie Critic Time

2004-10-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

I saw the movie, Friday Night Lights, on Sunday. I've got to say that I was not impressed. Basically, it is a movie about a normal football team. It's not really about the underdog, or about an amazing football team. It's just about a normal team. Billy Bob Thornton plays the team's coach, but this role could have been played by any decent actor. The movie was ok, but I wouldn't recommend seeing it in the theater. Wait until it's out on video. The best part of the movie was Tim McGraw's performance as a drunk father of one of the players who suffers with the idea of his son not being perfect. Nuce work, Tim. I could go on and on about this, but I won't.

Top 5

2004-10-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago a group of my friends and I started coming up with Top 5 ideas. I actually got the idea from the movie, High Fidelity with John Cusack, and I started the email list which we called surveys. Anyways, I'll bring that back with a post of my Top 5 favorite actors. Feel free to post your own on here.

1. Brad Pitt (I don't care, he plays the best characters in every movie he is in, and he plays them well)
2. Jason Lee
3. Matt Damon
4. Edward Norton
5. Kurt Russell for his role in Tombstone (yeah right!)
5. Mel Gibson (can't leave him out of the list)

Now, I know there are a majority of young actors on the list, and there are probably many that I left out, but that's my list so deal with it.

Me

2004-10-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

head shot
Originally uploaded by thedude05.