Guten tag!

"There's a whole world out there."

In anticipation of a long plane ride, I wanted to reflect upon the mostly drab experience of the few days before a trip abroad.*
All week before, I came to work each day with fervor, getting things done that needed to get done… before. Thursday, I had completed the tasks and started to post this blog. The title alluded to a list of some kind. It eludes me at the moment. It wasn't meant to delude anyone.
Making lists is a fun way organize things. You could organize pros and cons, people, careers, autos, government offices, disaster areas, catastrophic events, hobbies, carpet samples, paper stocks, airlines, car rental companies, hotels, cities in Austr… Oh yeah!

A list
fashionable clothing
MP3 player
books
shoes
boots
passport
camera
journal
binoculars
money
attitude
German dictionary

Okay, I got sick of the list. I'm still writing though. I am drinking a "revive" vitaminwater for some reason; thirsty I guess. See? Drab. Maybe something will happen tomorrow (Friday).
Still not Friday yet. It is gonna be quiet in this office next week. I will certainly not miss it.
This has become a waiting tactic for me; A time-waster with a cruel intent and a rewarding but just-out-of-reach conclusion. Time can be a cruel som-bitch.
It's quiet in here now. I'm waiting!! Wow, nothing.
I got a lot done this past month. The frustration wasn't as bad as it could have been. I didn't really clench teeth at all. A few "bad" days had me on-edge but mild comparatively. I am learning a lot these days and hope it pays off. I still need to go to AAA and call the bank. It is good to have the weekend to get ready. Diet and rest are the focus.

pills
toiletries
sunglasses
opinions
writing implements
gum
snacks
no drinks
map
a sense of wonder

Sick of it again. I'm going to get up and walk around a bit. Okay, I officially want OUT-OF-HERE!!! It's in the 60s outside. I should get some exercise.
I am now eating a Peppermint Patty and a mini Reese's cup. Yeah, I know, still dull.

I once saw a man with freak lips eating phillip morris gundertons with a spork. He ate them in alternating ascending and descending order with an ascertion of meager magnitude. 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4... You get the idea.
I wonder how it feels to be freak lipped with OCD of this sort. Many would laugh and stare at the lips as if they had pomposity enough to make and publish alternate theories of relative risk taking. I almost vomited when they saluted a venereal beggar. What was he doing there? He was not as odious as I recalled but secreted an attraction that I had to wash my hands of before urinating. A reiteration of the most recent pandemic representing the various peccary illnesses. A gluttonous, communicable disease without attrition, making humanity a laughable suggestion, a bag of miserable, mildly sentient meat.
There is no hope and Deitribe is not here to help. The secret is out. PIG!

Wow, it has been a while. I don't seem to like writing as much as I used to.
Being sick with Crohn's Disease for almost 4 years now has really changed my life.
I have been on medication everyday since the diagnosis, including Humera, Remicade, Methotrexate, Mesalamine, Prednisone, Flagyl, Levaquin, Ciprofloxacin, 6MP, a Pravastatin drug trial, many, many different types of supplements, and lots of Tylenol. I have stopped taking all the immune suppresive medications, as none of them seemed to work very well. I am now on a 2.5 month antibiotic regimen and am feeling much better. I am able to work more regularly and have been able to do more things in the evenings and on weekends.
Work is going well. I am happy to have a job in this economy.
Angela and I are looking at homes this summer and hope to be in something by Fall 2009. There are some good deals out there but a lot of trash too.
I wish I had something more interesting to write about.

Hello,

Artomatic was a big success again this year.
Having already finished (May 9 thru June 15, 2008), artomatic will be back next year (i suppose). Check for updates.
http://www.artomatic.org/

The art that I saw was very impressive. In addition, there was much entertainment and affordable refreshments were available. The 10 floors used included lounge areas, bars, stages, dance and film theaters, classrooms, a store, and a tattoo parlor. A very entertaining happy hour could be had Wed. thru Fri. evening with no cover charge (although a donation is appreciated).

The artwork I displayed showed some of the artwork I have created in the past decade, both commercial and personal. Portraits dominate the illustration work I have done since graduating from VCU in 1997. I have drawn portraits of John Lennon, Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Marie Curie, among others, in pencil and ink for LA Associates and AAPT. Illustrations of Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain represent the fatal effects of drugs and rock and roll. A couple of surreal paintings come out of the mattikai subconscience through written word and stream of consciousness manifestation with Ardie Tyoke and Bi-Polar. At this point I round it off with a particularly nice watercolor-like cow skull and female nude.

I urge you to attend next years event, or participate if you are so inclined. It is an experience beyond that of any art gallery. It is a place to hang out with friends, learn a thing or two about art, get your drink on, get involved, get down, get crazy and have fun. Don't miss it.

See ya there!!
mattikai

There is very little about physics that I could tell you that is not already pretty commonly known, but during the past year I have been creative for AAPT (American Association for Physics Teachers) and have acquired a new lease on life regarding the physical world.


The result of my exposure to popular news items, or academic topicalities and even a few major player physicists, is an invigorated curiosity. It is, however a curiosity that I do not share with enough of the general population. Physics is the science of everything and it is mostly feared as a science of the weird, nerdy, AP student "genius", that is unattainable to the masses. High school students very often are required to take biology and/or chemistry to complete their studies and physics remains an AP second thought at best with elitist pompousness written all over it. Physics First is a curriculum that has students learn physics before chemistry and biology. Students learn about the scientific process and explore real-world phenomena such as photosynthesis and gravity before going on to the often physics dependent chemistry and earth sciences. This reform of the existing science curriculum could help to shed the stigma of the physics student and cause physics to be less intimidating.


As I have found, physics can often be a complex science filled with things from the macro to the micro scale, comparisons of space and time, quantum mechanics, nanotechnologies and with subjects continuing quite literally to infinity. But, basic physics fundamentals are typically easy to teach and learn and prove to be beneficial to the learning of the other sciences.


I wish I had been exposed to physics first in high school. I feigned an enjoyment of earth science and biology and then barely made it through chemistry preparing me for a science free college experience. I settled on art and even though it has been a somewhat rewarding career, I now regret my lack of science education. As I proceed to educate myself with Stephen Hawking, Einstein made simple books and wikipedia posts I still remain intimidated by the ever present equations and computations that accompany any and all significant physics literature. I guess that calculus class proved to be for naught. Just another obstacle on the way to achieving greater knowledge, a goal I wish the rest of us could grab a hold of. Maybe our desire for spirtuality, fame, fortune or NASCAR bellies is too difficult an obstacle for us to tackle in a lifetime.


So, "physics first" before it simply remains physics last.

Things happen.
Things happen all the time.
Things happen as a result of anger, fear, hatred, love, concern, grief, stupidity, wisdom, knowledge, nature and I think the list goes on.
By things, I mean mostly horrible things. A VA Tech rampage, a 9/11, a Pearl Harbor. Shockingly horrible things happen all the time for many different reasons. In fact they seem to space themselves out nicely as if to remind us every so often that they do happen. Every approximately 5-50 years another shockingly horrible thing happens. The more severe, the more time in between. As a result of a real lack of research and my being a stereotypical American I am going to use only American examples. 50+ years between Pearl Harbor and 9/11 (I think you will see the similarity). 35-45 years between the Vietman War and the Iraqi (middle eastern)Wars. 5-10 years between Columbine and VA Tech. 1-2 years between the Indian Ocean Tsunami (okay not really American) and hurricane Katrina. A few hours to a day or so between car bombings, suicidal or otherwise (again not really American).
I offer no solution or place blame, I just want to point out that these things happen and will continue to happen out of no fault of our own.
The most obvious example is the natural disasters. The Tsunami and Katrina are most out of our control and give us a good starting point for proving my point. The Tsunami is quite out-of-our-control as we cannot assume to solve the problem of plate tectonics. Hurricane strength is recently said to be as a result of the global warming trend, however I think we will find that even though human responsibility for this is evident, nature is more in control than we assume.
The human element enters mostly in the event of war. The recent history of the United States, almost a century's worth, lays claim to about 10 wars at varying degrees, about 1 every 10 years. Causes for these wars have ranged from idealistically and politically charged to devistatingly instigated. Yet they are always govermentally or nationally and idealistically executed. The individual has no real choice or effect. Individuals are merely tools used to either support or oppose wars like varying degrees of moisture surrounding a hurricane. Opposing spiritual or political ideals are a natural albeit human occurence. Whether it is a nationalisitically charged holocaust or a capitalistic "freedom" campaign or an islamic jihad, it is out-of-our-control. Whether we correct them or take the path of moral rectitude is merely a result.
Columbine and VA Tech represent the very human element. This element is where the individual becomes most involved. As the motivation turns to mental stability vs. societal implications, two seemingly controllable aspects, the solution remains society's control over the individual. Again, another lost cause for what happens as a result of anger, fear, hatred, love, concern, grief, stupidity, wisdom, knowledge, nature, etc... We are just as out-of-control of what happens inside as we are of what happens globally. And by out-of-control, I don't mean that we should give up and not try to fight global warming or not offer therapy to a tortured soul. I just mean that these things are going to happen whether we make laws controlling guns or drugs or strengthen our levies or boost our warning level status.
So, fear not! The odds of an individual being directly effected by things-that-happen is in direct relation to the proximity of that individual to those things. If you are a soldier in Iraq you might want to be on your guard. If you work in a building that houses information about global economic trade you might want to be very familiar with the fire exit strategy. And now, yes, if you live on a college campus you might want to carry a gun or at least be friendly to the weird guy.
I feel lucky, however, because the war don't scare me. I live in one of the safest countries in the world. A country in which a very small percentage of people die as a result of horrible-things-that-happen compared to the rest of the world. And even though I am not sure why that is, I feel lucky.

What is it that I should like about you?
That is a question that should be posed by religious leaders worldwide. With all of the horrible things that we are hearing about religious fanatics, authorities, martyrs, extremists, etc... I am thinking maybe the masses are to blame more than the guilty partys just mentioned. We are the ones who are in need of the religions. We are the ones sinning and causing the world to be chaotic and disordered. We are the ones who are insecure and in need of atonement.
Religious leaders want to like us but it is very hard for them unless we do exactly what they say. But we can't all be perfect. Most of us cannot find the time to attend church services every Sunday. We can't compromise our decision to support freedom of choice. We don't want to kill "heathens" or become martyrs in the name of god. But I think a majority of us are well intentioned and that deserves a little respect.
What is it that I should like about you?
We all have a little something that can be said about us that would carry us through the apocalypse with only minor scrapes and burns but would spare us the eternity of suffering. Maybe we support the occassional charity or volunteer at a local food bank. We might visit the elderly or stop for potential roadkill. Or maybe we just smile a lot or share the remote control. We could chew with our mouths closed or compliment the chef on a particularly well cooked peice of steak. We could even refrain from the inhumane treatment of others or try to avoid being the harbinger of a mass genocide. Or we might not enjoy exploiting young children or sending young adults off to fight unjust wars as a general rule. I think these things merit a certain wink and nod from up above, if only just for the courage to deny our filthy human urges.
So, what is it that they should like about us?
Apparently they don't really care because they love to tell us what they dislike about the world without a definite or rational solution. And, we know what we dislike about them, as they keep on reminding us on an almost daily basis.
If I wasn't such a misanthrope I would come to a helpful conclusion here. But alas, I just wanted to verbalize my hatred or mistrust of humankind.
That is what us misanthropes do.

I used to try to think of good or silly or just adequate band names with my friends when we were bored. They would usually be gross or weird and have never been used that I know of. An example is "Aborted Fetus Meatloaf" or AFM. Perfect for that humorous death metal band whose purpose it is to offend the offendable. One band whose name I always wondered about is Duran Duran. What is a duran? Why are there two of them? What is that song "The Reflex" about anyway? I thought of some good band names that are take-offs of Duran Duran like Duran Duran Duran or Duran Duran Duran Duran or just Duran or Double Duran. Mix -up the letters a little - Randu Randu. Or maybe its an anagram for something - Run-ad Run-ad!! That's what a classified sales person might say to a client, or what the band Run-ad Run-ad might have to do to get recognized. There is the german version - R und A or A und R. I've been thinking about naming my fictional band Mattikai Mattikai. Not the same. Okay, I know about the Barbarella thing but I don't think that explains it enough for me. I want Duran to mean something. Done Under Really Abstract Negligence. Did U Rock All Night? Dead Useless Remains Already Naked. Or, duran - n. A small coin like disc of metal used for currency in the mythical land of Khanada. Du·ran (d-rn, d-rän), Roberto. Born 1951. Panamanian prizefighter who is one of only four to hold world titles at four different weights: lightweight (1972-1979), welterweight (1980), junior middleweight (1983), and middleweight (1989-1990). Well, I think that explains it enough for now. Go Duran Duran!! You Wild Boys from Rio still really rock! Is that where they're from. Oh, who cares. Innit?

In case you were wondering:
There is a link from my website to this blog now. My portfolio website is at www.mattikai.com .
Also, I am looking for an illustrator position in the DC metro area. So, if you hear anything, let me know.
Enough self promotion.
What do I want to say this time around?
Here goes another summer. It is almost July 4th and I will not be taking enough vacation like always. I will not be spending enough time at the beach. A couple of 3-4 day weekends will be all I can afford. How is that fair?
Independence Day has really lost its allure for me recently. About three or four years ago we would watch the DC fireworks test at Harpers Ferry on the Saturday before the 4th; only the most tolerable crowds and so much fun. The recent administration put and end to that. Republican administrations sure do have a way of screwing up public entertainment. Remember when Reagan's admin couldn't tolerate the Beach Boys playing on the Mall in DC during the 4th? I guess republicans don't want us spreading "good vibrations."
I know it seems to be fading but I can't wait to hear all the national security warnings this weekend. It would be funny to see the Washington Monument launch like a rocket into space during the grand finale. That's the problem with terrorism. No concern for aesthetics.
I think I will celebrate this weekend with a satirically nationalistic attitude. My distaste for ineffectual holidays continues. I start out by seeing comedian Patton Oswalt at the State Theater in Falls Church Friday night. Patton likens the country to a retarded trust fund child on his critically acclaimed CD... classic! I look forward to some more America vs. retard analogies. Saturday we plan to attend a barbeque with some family and friends. I want to bring a small flag and wave it a lot but then "accidentally" drop it into the barbeque, singeing it a little. "Oops, it was an accident I swear. I was trying to spear a hotdog with it. I'm really hungry." Then just have it sticking out of my can of Coors light the rest of the day while I mumble quasi-patriotic axioms drunkenly from the security of a plastic lawn chair.
The rest of the weekend is a wash and the 4th is a Monday so except for getting the day off work I couldn't be less excited about another played out holiday. Oh, I also wouldn't mind seeing someone blow their fingers off with an M80 or something. I've never seen anything like that. That would be exciting.
Happy Birthday (or whatever) America!!
Your independence was not begotten in vain.
The British turned out to be a bunch of pansies, Innit? (that's English for "Isn't it?" in case you were wondering.)

What a waste of time this is. Noone reads this. Noone cares. Why bother. If I have something to say I guess I should notify folks. But I don't have anything important to say and don't care to notify folks as a result. You can decide but who are you?
What do you have to say? Yeah you. You are the only one reading this.
I haven't got time to criticize. No need to praise. No interest in commenting.
Think for yourself. Don't ask me. There is nothing to it but to do it. You haven't got time for this fluff, I can tell. Don't waste your time. It's nothing new.
Wait,
Tell me your secrets, your lies. I can tell you a story but you have to be patient.
Wait for my call. Don't tell them I can't live up to expectations. Communicate.
Carry a burden for someone but try to relax. Don't take it too seriously, but don't fake a laugh. Repent but not in vain. Succumb to what is impossible. Avoid the plausibility of the cynical. Be aware of its doubtful consequences. Open your mind to the idea of nothingness and be persistent about your opinions.
Then,
Ask questions about meanings. Leave time for discussion. Look-up the definition. Fight the powers but accept what is not always obvious. Authority always wins.
Back-up your convictions with a hardy "Iffin yous don't like it..."
And make-up for a life ignored with a passion for obscurity.

—Mattikai, June 23, 2005

Here is a posting that I plan to have resemble poop.
(I would have said s**t but it is a terrible word that some people don't want to hear, or... I guess see here.)
I used to write short stories that were mostly stream-of-conciousness inspired, just for fun. Some came out good. Others were totally incoherent. I want to take another stab at it now.

Mixed-up Condiments Stew (not a recipe)
by Matt Payne

"Made in Mangenese" the label read. I thought mangenese was an element not a place. The object attached to the label was less interesting than the label itself. It was pulled out of an oversized hat box that originally held an unusually large hat. Before we could analyze it completely a small child came into the room eating a multicolored icecream cone.
"hey kid!" Carl exclaimed, desiring the colored treat. "gimme that cone or i'm gonna go buy my own!" "Nien!" the kid shouted. "Oh, are you from the land down under?" I asked. "No, stupid, i'm Swiss. Can't you tell?" "Wait, the Swiss aren't from Austria." I pondered.
I wanted to see if the kid knew where Mangenese was and I wanted to ask him many questions involving cool treats and elusive elemental properties, but I had very little time to spare. I didn't need to know these things but it drove me crazy not to at least try to find out.
Before we put the object away and forgot about the mysterious label, the kid ran up and grabbed it out of our hands and ran from the room. I looked at Carl and smiled before I bolted from the room after the ballsy Australian child. "he's not gonna burgle my-whatever it is-with the label." I thought angrily. I didn't know why I felt so attached to the thing at this point. It was all but unidentifiable still and we were just coming to the conclusion that it was some sort of stuffed doll, which would have been perfect for the feisty foreign kid as a gift I suppose. Except that he rudely decided to snatch it from our probing hands.
"Halt, kleine kinder!" I yelled, thinking it would make me sound more Swedish, so the kid would understand.
"Nein, nein!!" the kid yelled, giggling a little.
"Bring back our... thingy... kid! It's our... thinga-ma-bobbie... you!"
We sprinted full speed down the hallway and around the corner. The Aussie brat exploded through the emergency exit as the alarm sounded. As I approached the exit I stopped and stood in the doorway observing an enormous empty parking lot stretching as far as the eye could see. The kid nowhere in sight.
"What?..." i questioned.
"...in the hell." i finished.
"Surreal," i concluded.
I closed the door, which didn't kill the alarm like I thought it would.
"Carl!!!" i yelled.
"Yo!" i heard faintly.
"Kid gotta way."
"Who?"
"Kid, you know, wunderkind, sticky fingers McGee, sneaky Swiss mister, uberbrat... the freak with the snowcone. You know!!?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Uberbrat?"
"Yeah, he ran out the emergency door out into the huge parking lot. Then I lost him."
"What the heck are you talking about? Help me with this unusually large hat box."
I helped.
"Was there a kid... ?" I stopped, feeling a little uneasy.
"What's in the box?" I asked.
"Hat." Carl said looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Big hat I suppose."
"Yep."
"For a big head."
"Don't flatter me."
What are we talking about? I thought.
The alarm slowly faded and Carl was uneffected by its call and subsequent decline. As if he didn't hear it at all.
"i'm waiting for a call from the main office and then we can head out. You hungry?" Carl inquired.
"I could go for a vegemite sandwich with swiss cheese. Any good asian delis around here?"
"They got a Euro Meat Corp take out place that carries Australian sausage. Will that do?"
"i heard a rumor that place was run by cannibals."
"You're the one that wanted to eat that kid's icecream."
"Nuh, uh; you said that."
"Huh?"

To be continued?
probably not.

I always get overwhelmed with the fact that subjects to write about on here are limitless. I have always felt so small in the grand scheme-of-things but we all want to "make a difference" in the world and I guess I feel the need to go there here if possible. I will work on trying not to expect so much from myself I suppose. Not that I am going to change the world in a blog or at all for that matter.
I am now well into recovering from some medical concerns I have experienced in the past few months and have made a significant life transision (I like that spelling) for the better. I anticipate being able to focus on things better now and look forward to drawing and painting more. This year I plan to have my website up and running, www.mattikai.com, land a job with real benefits, get engaged to Angela (we already had the talk, don't worry), figure out a way to get out of debt, write some music, and figure out a way to relax more but try to exercise more too. Too much to ask?
I suppose I am settling down a bit if you can call it that. I am still very irritated with the country and feel a bit alienated here however. There seems to be a lack of heroes or role models or mentors or whatever here. I heard Gov. Arnold talking to Howard Stern about destroying the moon this morning. Something about erraticating menstral cycles. Aaaeeeaaaeeaaee!!! That's not even a funny joke I don't think. The political and social ignorance has gone surreal in this country and that is what I like about it, but surrealism can often be frightening let us not forget.
Well, I don't know what else to talk about so I will randomly recap the past few days because it was a rare fun weekend. Friday night we watched Dig? a documentary about The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre - two ego driven bands equally influenced by and in sharp contrast (or conflict) with each other. An interesting study but I found the collective personalities a bit annoying and therefore the "genius" factor a bit overstated. Still, Dig? and a couple bottles of wine with friends... fun. Saturday I took part in my third NFC 48 Hour Film challenge (thank you Chris Hale and Todd McCombs of Revolver Films). Briefly we filmed in six hours what is to be a six minute short displaying the superhero genre, with a wine bottle, a character name and a line (both required to be in the short and I can't remember what either of them were). Our superhero was the Mime (a mime) and a ventriloquist villain. I played one of two puppets tasked to rob a bar Pulp Fiction style. Cheesy make-up and the same Revolver Films humor should make for another silly, over-acted, classic short. Sunday, at the Outlet Mall, Friend's one-year-old boy's birthday party, WalMart... fun, fun, fun. I'm looking forward to summer time shenanigans. This certainly was the winter of my discontent if that is a correctly referenced analogy. Shakespeare? I'm more of a Star Wars fan. This was a sleep in the Taun Taun to keep warmtype of winter for me. How's that?
No less limiting this time; but I digress.
mattikai

It's time to get down to what I really enjoy.
Ambivalence and chaos (although I prefer entropy or the less familiar)
be happy, I can't!

It is nice to come across the more deranged, innovative thoughts of those in a more comfortable position in life than most of us.
Check out the radiohead website www.radiohead.com (what else?)
It keeps changing apparently and makes almost no sense at all which is the part I like the best but they begrudgingly are moving into the world wide shopping web status and comment on that within too.

No warning
of the parallel without
seeing is believing
china
middle west
a culture of the deprived

no respect
intentions paralleled
hate hate
no love
love hate
no love

know nothing
know nothing
love noone
care for yourself
commit commit
institutionalize

give up
don't cry
weep for me
weep for those
cry for them
retaliate

vote to kill us all

That was a nice inspiration. Thanks radiohead!

Well, it looks as though i really do got nothin'.
I've received zero response to my first two posts and expect nothin' more.
My grandfather at least asked what a blog was, so I guess that is somethin'.

I am going to change the subject now. The political angle doesn't seem to be very popular. Too Bad! I want to know what the country is thinking. There has to be an explanation for the lack of judgement, or maybe that's it — too much passing of the proverbial judgement. Ahhh.

Well it's that time of the month of December when everyone shops. Woohoo!!! I have to shop too because at this point I have bought one thing (period). Being the pathological cynic I am you would expect that I would hate shopping, however, except for the self serving shoppers always in my way I sort of like shopping. I shop for the holiday like I shop for myself, weeding through all the crap until I find just the right thing. The thing that I know I (they) am (are) going to love and cherish. Unless I have a list I usually buy things for people that I would buy for myself, books, cds, dvds, toys, etc... I guess children are the easiest to buy for. We all love buying toys and children's books like Everyone Poops, or any Dr. Seuss or Disney or whatever Elmo tickling device is featured in any given year. For me, of course, people my age are the next easiest to buy for. Again it's books, cds, dvds, even toys or gift certificates to buy any of those. Then I guess it's the old people that are hardest to buy for. In turn I think they find it hard to buy for us too (not the children though, they're too easy). What do you buy for old people?? They have a lot of stuff already but... You can't buy em adult diapers. That wouldn't be right, and that would be one gift where it might not be the thought that counts. Actually, I guess a subscription to AARP weekly or a membership to the worthless thing-a-month club would be a good place to start so all is not lost here. Don't get me wrong, old people deserve good holiday gifts too but they have read all the books, don't play with toys anymore and don't know how to use cds and dvds, so I have to think outside of the (new world) box for them. This causes a shopping dilemma to say the least. Maybe I need to do more holiday shopping at antique stores. But you gotta get em something cause you know gramma and grampa will be forkin out the dough again this year (the cash I mean, always in those fancy cash holdin cards). Thanks for the cash old folks, we all secretly like your cash gifts the best. It's like getting a gift certificate to the world (or at least any place that accepts American currency).

Well, have fun shoppin everyone. Stay away from the malls cause I think this year you will have to park in satellite parking lots and take a shuttle in. I guess that's better than shopping at the Target Shopping Plaza that only has one entrance/exit and takes a half hour to find a place and a full hour to leave.

Thanks for not leaving any comments and cluttering up my blog with stimulating dialogue.
Hey that last part rhymes.