Update for Everyone IV - Hungover

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Just saw Dylan for the third time. He was very high energy. His voice was better than ever, he played more of the older songs in the same arrangements as we are used to, and he played continuously with no intermission unlike the last two times. The best part is that I got the best seats of any concert I've ever been (in the nosebleeds but smack dab in the middle in a medium sized auditorium) for the cheapest price yet. $150 for the two tickets (not counting the $10 extra for ticket insurance) added an extra sense of awesomeness to the experience.

He performed a lot of Sinatra standards that I didn't hear last time as the new album was still weeks away from release, and they were surprisingly pleasant. I was hoping he'd only play one or two. Now I wish he played more. "Tangled Up In Blue" was performed as always and was particularly solid this time, and the audience gave him a minute long standing ovation for it. When he started playing the harmonica during the song I thought I'd go deaf; the roar was that loud. My only complaint was the performance of "Desolation Row", which he seemed to rush through and at times he somewhat garbled some of the lyrics. That was the only moment of the concert that I didn't enjoy 100%, and even that was still amazing. I was really struck by his performance of "Soon After Midnight," which he played at the previous two concerts (2013 and 2015) but only recently has become one of my favorites by him. His encore of "Stay with Me" brought tears to my eyes.

I didn't go with my friend who I mentioned in the thread. I took my other friend Josh. And I'm glad I did. Thanks for the advice and support Virginia! I'm glad I didn't experience the concert with an unnecessary albatross of guilt weighing me down. Best night I've had in a very long time.

Since this is Atlas, I should note the weight of the election on the audience: I saw a few people in "Finks Trump" shirts and I saw a few people in various Trump gear (the "Les Deplorables" shirt seemed to be a favorite of the Trumpers). Also, some dude I was talking to on the way in mentioned Roger Waters and some old guy in a Grateful Dead shirt started screaming about how Waters is a neo-Nazi creep. I didn't realize the Howard Stern/Roger Waters feud was this well known, but I think public opinion is overwhelmingly against Waters. And it should be, because regardless if he is an anti-Semite or not (he is), he still is a hugely overrated douche. Bobby Zimmerman doesn't make many statements about his faith or politics these days but I can only imagine that he is probably in agreement with me and the King of all Media.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

FWIW, I love, love, love Dylan's strict no filming/photography rule. Cannot state that enough. Yes, I was a hypocritical asshole and snuck in one quick picture since the Broward Center is staffed by elderly volunteers who enforce the rules, but it was nice to see the audience watching him with their eyes instead of on their phone screens.

I heard at other venues that even the sight of your phone can get you kicked out. That is a bit extreme, but the threat was powerful enough to keep most of the phones down. I've found that at major events like this (or political rallies like the Trump rally I recently attended too), I see more people using their phones to take pictures than I see watching with their own eyes. What is the point of taking pictures to remember the event if you don't allow yourself to fully experience it? That is why I just took one quick picture during his final encore and left it at that.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

We usually eat around 4:00. My youngest brother is home for the night, middle one still is in North Carolina digging ditches on a mountain. My aunt and uncle from my mom's side are working but my dad's sister, her husband, and son are coming. My grandma, her younger sister, and her brother-in-law are here this time too.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

My 13 year old dog had three seizures during dinner and another four afterwards. We had to put him down tonight. I almost lost it as they injected "the Michael Jackson juice" (that is literally what the nurse called it! Made me laugh though) but he went peacefully. Even in death, he still made me laugh when he pissed on my shoe as he took his last breaths. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but my youngest brother has been crying on and off all night and every time I hear his choked sobs in the other room I start crying too.

On a lighter note, Roseanne Barr retweeted me. I guess we have a Twitter correspondence now? This is like the tenth time. I love her.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'm sorry to hear that, Sanchez.  This is a really awful time for that to happen.  I'm glad you're taking it okay, though.

Is there ever a good time to be retweeted by Roseanne Barr?

Yes, of course: always.

(I took a peak at her Twitter feed and it's full of pro-Trump/right-wing retweets.  Is Roseanne trolling us or something?)

She's still a leftist but she's apparently a super Zionist now and she hates Clinton (and especially Jill Stein) more than anyone.

Thanks for the kind wishes, guys. My youngest brother, one violent temper tantrum that resulted in him clawing me something fierce aside, since calmed down and returned to the group home yesterday evening practically unphased. We're hoping he'll be ok on Sunday but I'll be in Tallahassee anyway by then.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

My apartment has apparently been the victim of a medium sized act of vandalism. I'm not in town to deal with it and am barely awake anyway.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I meant to respond earlier. Just got home from the "five hour" drive. The shorter trip from my Aunt and Uncle's place was actually an eight hour nightmare, the worst drive yet. The good news is that the window my friend reported as broken was barely even scratched. That at least is not nearly the problem I was lead to believe it was. Thank God.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I literally went through the same thing a few weeks ago. I think I'm on a upswing at last but I'm not fully back to where I want to be myself, Scott. I'm sorry you're going through this. My period like that was plagued by basically the same symptoms: boredom with everything, lack of energy or motivation, and on top of that, random rages at the slightest problem (like losing my keys in the apartment). I didn't talk to anyone or try and go back on the Abilify (which didn't do anything anyway), and just waited it out.

My advice is to avoid places of great stress; my trip home was hit and miss (I saw Bob Dylan which I think sustained me through the rest of the week having to deal with my parent's attempts to convince me to go back on the Abilify and my dog dying) and try and go off somewhere new if you can. I used to take long walks that'd last me all day in past episodes like this or take drives like Crumpet's mentioned. Anyway, it'll get better soon enough (and trust me, I hated hearing that trite, empty statement everyday from everyone I talked about it with during late October-mid November, but it is slightly true-I am, slowly but surely, crawling out of this one).

I tend to get depressed in the fall. It's a seasonal thing. Every year, for four or five years now, each one longer and worse than the last. Do you experience anything like that?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Broke down at work today and got sent home for the rest of the week. FML.

I have pretty obvious issues at temperament as most here know. If you burn bridges, you burn bridges. You hated it there anyway, look at this as a blessing in disguise.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The publisher just accepted my novel (the one I wrote in English).

Best news I've ever received.

May I ask whom is publishing it and was the process arduous?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

i'm so happy today (and no I'm not on ecstasy)

Never done it, never will. Too risky. I recommend you go searching the cow fields close to you if you want a good case of the giggles

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

My novel will be released sometime in the spring. They decided to split it into two volumes.

Dude you have no idea how freaking excited I am for this!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I guess I'll need to make some order in my workspace

[img]

Quit the cigarette smoking.

I'm sure you're not the first person to impart this brilliant, insightful, and original piece of wisdom on Kal and I.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I just experienced ego annihilation. I was in my garage and I died. My heart burst. It made a popping sound. The most important question of all time is the existence of God: I answered it. I love you guys.

Edit: Oh and he said Ayn Rand was right. Kinda.

Edit Edit: She said. She's a big, black woman and boy is she sassy. Who would have guessed Afleitch of all people got it right.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I just experienced ego annihilation. I was in my garage and I died. My heart burst. It made a popping sound. The most important question of all time is the existence of God: I answered it. I love you guys.

Edit: Oh and he said Ayn Rand was right. Kinda.

Edit Edit: She said. She's a big, black woman and boy is she sassy. Who would have guessed Afleitch of all people got it right.

Acid or shrooms?

The latter. I knew the night would be special when I realized I was eating them without gagging or reacting to the taste. Then the effects kicked in stronger than usual for these things, and I began to get overwhelmed and thought a bad trip was coming on. My mind within ten minutes disintegrated. Thought I had gone insane or fried my mind. I couldn't read anything and couldn't even know the time or try and put some music or TV on. I was gripped by pure terror and trembled violently on the couch, trying as hard as possible to not scream and wake my parents. I tried to smoke a cigarette in the garage when I just went black. I don't think I was unconscious but when I came too at least 30 minutes past and I was in the same chair. The experience was incredible. I usually prefer the electric mayhem of acid but I went green and did the wholistic thing for once, and I'm not disappointed.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I just got mugged at gun point on the street outside my unit. All I had were my keys and cigarettes. The guy who did it said he was just "punking" me and that he filmed it as if he walked off laughing. I think it's just plausible deniability seeing as I had nothing but four cigarettes on me to steal. I'm definitely going to smoke in my buildings courtyard for now on considering this.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

No, it's not worth calling the police because nothing was stolen, even the cigarettes. I think he was 100% serious, but at the same time I've found that calling the police will have little effect and the scariest people I've encountered usually tend to disappear. I'll never see him again, but I'm keeping my late night smokes to the interior courtyard of my building, even if it is somewhat of a hike up the stairs and down the hall .

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I went into the store across the street to get a pack of cigarettes and low and behold, the guy who mugged me comes in and starts talking to me. That was the most bizarre moment of my life.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I went into the store across the street to get a pack of cigarettes and low and behold, the guy who mugged me comes in and starts talking to me. That was the most bizarre moment of my life.

*lo

Pretty surreal though, haha. Did he seem aware that he'd met you before?

Oh yeah, he flat out asked me if "I was the guy from the other night" and then said something to the effect of "oh shyzzzzz." I stuttered awkwardly, both terrified and about to burst from laughter in a weird sense of nervous euphoria, before deciding to wait him out. I abruptly started to ignore him, attempted in vain to get the clerk (whom I know very well) to make eye contact, and then started to make really jilted, shaken small talk about my phone's SIM card breaking (haven't been able to make any calls since Saturday afternoon), before leaving in a rush.

I came home, collected myself, laughed my ass off, went and told my neighbors upstairs whom I hang out with all the time, and then returned to the store to tell the clerks and see if it was worth still calling the police. I decided not too, though we have video of the guy. The clerks were wondering why I didn't break a bottle over his head.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I found out today that my brother overdosed and has been shipped off to his half-way house again last week.