Championship

So nfl.com sucks and took off the video that I had up here but I found it on youtube but it is all the commercials in a row so just watch the first two they are the funniest.

For those of you that don't know there is a competition known as Fantasy Football. Every year you pick from all available NFL players and make a "fantasy" team and matchup against the other teams in your league and eventually have a playoff.

I have emerged from the fray victorious and with much joy and have been crowned Cheese Bowl 2006 Fantasy Football Champion. Unfortunately I had to beat two of my best friends in the process and I will never let them forget it for as long as humanly possible. As I tried to explain the finer points to my sister I mentioned that fantasy football has been one of the few things I have looked forward to and one of the only things that has gone right for me in some time. That is why this year is sweeter than the first time I won. I haven't done much recently and what I have done has not gone the way I would have liked. But in fantasy this year I could do no wrong. As George Peppard's character Hannibal on the show "A-Team" always said: "I love it when a plan comes together"

One Of Us

Cursing myspace was one of my favorite pastimes before I joined and now I kind of like what is has to offer, but secretly I think joining is like drinking the punch at a scientology meeting. Had a reunion of sorts last night with an old friend from high school who I found on myspace which has helped to spur the turnaround in my view of it.

I met Angela at Fred's 62 a trendy diner with the breakfast anytime menu and a wine and beer selection. Talk about best of both worlds. Now I can finally realize my dream of Guinness pancakes....mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Seriously though we had a great time catching up and reminiscing about old times and gossiping about what classmates are doing now. There was something very comfortable about the whole situation despite the 12 years it has been since we have seen each other. Of course I am one of those people that easliy picks up right where I left off the next time I see an old friend. Best of all I have finally gotten together with someone in L.A. that lives here and I know. Not friend of a friend but now my friend, which may sound like somewhat of a possesive statement but I mean it in the sense that I feel more like I have done something for myself and reached out to someone to start establishing new relationships here on my own.

As we left Fred's we walked past a movie theater that she frequents and I told her about my how I went to this weird group interview at a theater where they literally interviewed everyone together. When I mentioned the name of the theater(Arc Light) Angela said "Oh no!" and I wasn't sure what her exclamation was referencing and she told me it is a theater run by scientologists. All of a sudden everything clicked. After the interview when they told me and some others that they we not going to continue the interview process with us and that we could go. One of the others inquired as to what it was they did not like and they said that we did not seem to be listening to the others when they were talking and were not engaged. This pissed me off to no end and I got very defensive not because they did not want to hire me but because he gave a bullshit reason why. He didn't have to answer the question he could have just said that the other candidates seem to be a better fit or something to that effect. But he had to go and say what he did and it just didn't make any sense. The others were not talking to us and sometime while other people were talking I was thinking of my answer to the question they asked, which were all ridiculous, and so I was "engaged" in forming my response and not in giving a shit what the other applicants were saying, especially since they were not talking directly to me and we were not having a group discussion. Obviously I feel strongly about this matter and I have ranted to no end about it most likely incoherently to you poor readers. The point is that I could not figure out what made me no annoyed almost angry about what transpired and when Angela told me that is was a damn scientology run theater it all made sense. How's that for making a long story even more excruciatingly long.

The job search has picked up considerably and I have had several interviews in the last week and a half but still no job. It seems more like a matter of time now as opposed to the despair I felt only a short time ago.

I'm Chester Riddles and I'm just......LIVIN' THE DREAM!

What a difference a day makes

I have had quite the emotional day and a half as I have had to come to terms with my situation here in L.A. and my recent struggles to find work. Coming to grips with the fact that I am here and really can make something out of this move finally hit me. Sitting around doing nothing is not helping me; getting out today and really looking for work in a proactive way and not just filling out applications does help. I still feel pressure but it is different. Lately it has been beating myself up for not doing more and having negative thoughts about who I am. Today it changed, hopefully for more than just one day, to the kind of pressure I used to feel when I had to finish a paper for class in college. Pressure with focus and concentration. Remembering that I am good at starting conversations and knowing what and when to say it.

This isn't even what I logged on to write about but then the words began writing on their own. I wanted to write about how I write. During an e-mail explaining my day to my sister and brother I noticed how easy it was to compose the message. When I try to write well or be deep or funny I handcuff myself by overthinking what I am doing, one of my specialties. Writing with more of a flow happens when I have something to say and there is no effort or intention to do it a certain way. Since I have just started writing again regularly on this blog I think my writing is starting to come back into shape. I had a discussion about my writing with my friend E$. While I am not a brilliant writer who has crafted my skill by reading other great authors I am a natural writer who has his moments when everything comes together and makes me proud that I wrote it.

Soup To Nuts

Finally saw Clerks 2 last night. Any fan of the original or other Kevin Smith work will certainly enjoy this installment. After watching I commented on how the two movies spanned my adolescence in a way. Even though I was only 10 years old when the first movie came out I saw it soon there after and immediately loved it. When the new one came out I was a little weary thinking it was only made to cash in on the now cult classic original. That is certainly a little true but it was still good but maybe a little sappy at the end, and no cool speech by Silent Bob at the end like usual that was disappointing. Overall it was a good and one of favorite parts was the Blues Brothers like musical/dancing number to ABC by the Jackson 5. If you haven't seen it see it! You will like it.

Hollywood Nights

If any event deserves the expression "you had to be there" this is it. Here is my story.

Typical evening out and we are making our way to the last stop of the evening, a karaoke bar on Sunset. After greeting some familiar faces, having a smoke and a beer, it is brought to my attention that certain celebrities are in attendance. Justin Long star of the movie Waiting is present drinking with some of his friends. Another person catches my eye and as my brain clicks away the answer is proposed to me. Part of the entourage is one of the "stoners" from Super Troopers , Joey Kern. "Last Call!". Drinks are finished as the lights are up and everyone is exiting. Once outside no attempt is made to call attention to the celebrities now whooping it up in front of the bar. Departure is eminent and upon entering the car I instruct the driver to slowly pass the entrance of the establishment where the celebs are still congregating. As we roll past them with the window down I shout dialogue from Super Troopers delivered by Joey Kern- "He's already pulled over he can't pull over any farther." A rush of adrenaline surges through my body as I revel in my triumph. Others in the car are rather shocked by my outburst and only the driver fully comprehends the exhilaration I feel. During the drive home I relive the moment over and over again. Once home I try to capture in writing what transpired while the events are fresh in my mind. The rush begins to fade and sleep must come. Just another night in the "City of Angels".

ONE MAN ONE WORLD IN A WORLD GONE MAD

Whatever Happened To...

Good ideas are in short supply these days. Diversity amongst ideas are rarer still. Everyone has an opinion and people feel their opinions are unique for the most part as we are all individuals. One of the tv shows I like watching is "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO. I enjoy the discussion of topics and the exposure to information. As talk shows go this is one of the more enjoyable ones as there are no commercials you can swear and there seems to be less of an agenda. Tonight on the last show of the season I found the panel of guests particularly entertaining consisting of Richard Dreyfuss, some journalist, some artist/activist, Dan Rather, and Norman Lear. Civics was the main focus and they talked about teaching people what our country is and how it works. How we no longer participate in the running of our country and we are mostly distracted by catch phrase politics and whatever else is the flavor of the day in news. When did we forget that representation does not mean let someone run the country while we go about our lives and that it takes actual responsibility to effect change. Although I may not be in a postition to criticize it seems that our country reflects what we are or have become. There may be no hope for utopia but there is hope for another iteration of of our lives. Priority seems to be a source of the trouble we see everyday we are alive. We are all trying to win a race that never ends. By worker better, faster, stronger, we don't win anything. This isn't a gameshow where you recieve lovely parting gifts or a grand prize, although I am tempted to trade it all for what is in that tiny box. Complication of government, religion, and politics make my head spin at times when I try to imagine the start to a resonable soultion to the problems these and other institutions have caused. Is my life a mess because of the world or is the world a mess because of my life. YES. I mentioned in the previous post a passage that I read. The closing of it seems to fit well here and it is one of the things most on my mind. "We have to accept personal responsibility for uplifting our own lives".

FREEDOM!!!!!!

Thank you VesaV. Thank you for being the ispiration for my trasformation for the phoenix to the flame. "A great deal of chaos in the world occurs because people don't appreciate themselves." said a wise man, a man wiser than myself. I have had it all along and known it all along. The passage of which I speak of is from Shambala. Most of you know Shambala from a song by "Three Dog Night". For me it is a reawakening of my spirit to the person I once was an forever shall be! The words expresed made me realize that no matter what I think I must trust in what I know. I must appreciate the thing that I am. I am reborn a man with conviction and purpose. I am he who is called "I am".

M! GO BLUE!

Everything I know about sports started with this game. Its the biggest game of the year in college football. In case you have been oblivious to college sports in your lifetime every year two teams in college football play their last game of the season against each other every year. There are many great rivalries in sports but few have the magnitude of Michigan vs Ohio State. ESPN et all will tell you "this year is different", "this year means more", "this is your national chamionship". For fans of this game the fact that Ohio State is #1 and Michigan is #2 matters and they care, but it doesn't make any difference. If both teams lose every game all season as long as they win this game it was a success. This game can't get any bigger.

A Week of Mondays

Reading Vesa's blog which revolves around the idea of "Monday" helped put into focus the way I have been feeling for the last couple of weeks. Failure to get the job for which I interviewed and already slipping into malaise I have been feeling like everyday of my life is like the first day of school and you don't want to go. Once you get older you can decide for yourself and crawl back into bed. Staying up later and getting up even later has turned my world into a very strange place where every day and week are the same. Feelings do nothing but destroy my will. Motivation to live a life of and on my own gives me regret and regret makes me angry. Willingness to control my emotions and the choices I make eludes me and confounds me as I continue to act in a manner contrary to peace of mind. The later it gets to the next day the more I dread it and when the morning comes distraction takes me to 5 o' clock and pretty soon the day is done along with the week and month. Perhaps I have invented some sort of sadistic time machine where time moves forward but repeats the actions of the past. I think they call that insanity.

Elvis Has Left The Building

I'm back ladies and gentlemen. I here till Thursday don't forget the 12 o' clock show is completely different than the 8 o' clock show. When you are on the floor never gamble more than you can afford and always tip your waitstaff generously.

I have updated my website to make it truly sexy and unforgettable and actually changed a few things to make it worth the while to checkout. Never under estimate the Chester.

No Man's Land

What is it with me and seriously depressing posts? I don't know. But I find myself in the middle of nowhere but somewhere at the same time. The job I was hoping for doesn't seem to be coming to fruition. In the search for a life I am here in L.A. or Hollywood as I like to call it. My only happiness is found in a cigarette or a bottle of some kind of alcohol. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you. Steelers Wheel baby and nothing to do and nowhere to go. Thanksgiving coming up and Denver, CO in the horizon. What to do but finish my drink, smoke the butt of another cig and pray to god as I distract myself from life itself. At least Louisville lost and my fantasy football hopes are still alive. I certainly don't resemble anything alive at this point. Could I be more melancholy, perhaps but it would take more effort than I am prepared to offer. Good night and good luck.

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Been a while since my last post and Holloween has come and gone and for the first year I didn't dress up or go to any parties. My roommate went to Vegas for the weekend so I was home alone. I spent my time playing the awesome game Godfather and finished it in 41:45:39 and became Don of NYC baby. I am sorry the game is over but glad in a way because it means I can stop playing it. It it what the kids call video crack and you don't even need a pipe to smoke it. On a more serious note I finally! have a job interview at Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant tomorrow and hopefully my long job search will come to an end very soon. Other than that not much going on but the same old goings on.

Sweet Victory!

It may not mean much and it certainly is only one small step but today the Packers achieved a victory bringing their record to 2-5 this year with a 34-24 win over Miami. Awakening at 9 in the AM, since I live in the pacific time zone, I rolled out of bed to watch football. The game starts at about 10 which is too early for football and to be honest feels a little unnatural especially since one cannot begin drinking unless you are an alcoholic. This is the first game I have seen the Packers win since their other win came when my sister visited and I chose her over football like a good brother. So I return home safe, sound and a little happier thanks to the outcome of a game.

Beyond Cool

For those of you who don't recognize the picture that is the one and only Chesney "Chet" Baker. He is one of my favorite if not my favorite jazz musician of all time. Renown for his trumpet playing and his mournful crooning he embodies "cool" jazz made famous by the likes of Miles Davis. Miles is perhaps the reason Chet is overlooked by music fans who are only aware of more popular jazz and recognizable names like Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman, etc. As I was burning all my Chet CD's onto my computer I started to obsess a little bit and did a search for him. What I found surprised me. They are planning a movie about him for 2007 starring Josh Hartnett. I am not going to comment on the choice of actor but I am interested to see if they can make an exceptional movie. If you don't know Chet Baker's music then find out.

Check out this link to my webpage where I have an audio clip of Chet for your enjoyment.

My Music

While searching about how to sexy up my blog I came across this site last.fm that monitors what music you play on your computer and makes into a radio station. On the site it describes it as such "Subscribers may listen to the Personal Radio of anyone, but non-subscribed users may only tune into the Personal Radio of someone that is subscribed." So if you don't pay you can listen to people's station that pay but not people who don't pay and if you pay you can listen to anyone's station. Pretty cool I think but I have just started using it so we will see. It also has a feature that you see at the top of my blog that lists the last five songs I have listened to although I kinda screwed up when adding the code cause it turned the info under the chart into part of the link to the station page. But whatever I will figure it out eventually or maybe someone smarter than me will tell me what the dealy-oh-yo! Not much else going on except me being super unproductive today, except for this incredibly important blog work of course, and I also have to mention the unbelievable Monday Night Football game last night between Arizona Cardinals(choke) and the Chicago Bears(lucky as all get out) that came down to the very bitter(if you are a Cardinals fan) bitter end. Peace Out!

One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen?

Today is Friday the 13th and unlucky for some reason which scares people. Perhaps there is a reason why sesame street never counted higher than twelve. I can tell you that today Justin Timberlake is appearing on Jimmy Kimmel; my friends are going to see it live and that is scary as hell. By skipping this event I may escape the wrath of this day or maybe like death it will find me no matter where I run.

Chester's Believe It Er No!

Just in case anybody who knows me and reads this blog wasn't sure I am completely insane here is proof.

Some would say there are no coincidences but those people just aren't paying attention. As I watched tv last night at about 2:30 in the AM I saw an episode of "Becker", starring Ted Danson,(and no that is not why I am insane) and simultaneously on Comedy Central I saw the movie "Back to School", starring Rodney Dangerfield. If that isn't weird enough I noticed something so inane that I almost surprised myself. Almost. The actress Terry Ferrell, who many know from "Deep Space Nine", is in "Becker" and "Back to School". But that is not the interesting part(you are saying to yourself "but how could it get anymore interesting...I am bursting with interest") let me tell you the interesting part. Not only is the same actress in both programs I watched but she is doing essentially the same thing in the movie and tv show. In "Becker" her character had to enroll for a college course and didn't want to wait in the long line so she sends the blind guy, Alex Desert, who must be so happy I referred to him as the blind guy and not the black guy, and hijinx ensued. When I turned to Comedy Central to watch "Back to School" she had just cut in line to enrol for college courses so she didn't have to wait in line, but with Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Downey Jr., and the non famous guy who plays the son. It that irony or what. For those of you that are still reading this entry I know it was worth it and go ahead and gloat about it to those who found this entry boring and didn't finish to find out the incredible twist waiting for them at the end. CONGRATULATIONS.

waondering

the title is not a typo but rather a combination word when I couldnt decide whether I am wandering or wondering and trying to find a difference between the two. Reading vesa has once again gotten the juices flowing in the psyche of my mind even if my vocabulary is lacking. Words words words I find words and speech and thought so frustrating as I am unable to conceive certain things in a more tangible manner and unable to control my word thoughts and unable to express them to my sastisfaction. What is the point anyways since most of the time we think we are communicating or attempt to do so we are really having a conversation within ourselves in the context of "I" and the others who we communicate at are sounding boards to make our thought our min d alive somehow instead of dying in our minds/brains like a hard drive being overwritten. Deal with that.

Day After Day

I did not know what today was, other than Monday, until I woke up and was informed that it is Columbus Day. I am not sure if I have to capitalize the word day but any english teachers out there can correct me. My roommates have the day off as we celebrate guy, possibly itlian, running ashore on the Bahamas and according to wikipedia "Columbus visited San Salvador in the Bahamas (which he was convinced was Japan), Cuba (which he thought was China) and Haiti (where he found gold)." Belief in a man like Columbus can be an example of how some people's knowledge of history is merely anecdotal. As Robert Anton Wilson would say "I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions." And I suspect that words like that suggest an itellect of more depth than those who will follow and believe ideas without perspective.

You Ain't Got No Job!

Yes that is right it is Friday and I ain't got shit to do cause I ain't got no job which leaves plenty of time to play with my new blog. I can hear the screams of joy as you are reading this. I am going to try to update a new feature of what I am listening to although I will probably play with where to put the information so that it is easy to see. I changed my voicemail message today and so far that is the highlight of my day. Baseball playoffs continue, NHL just started, football is in full swing and NBA is going to start in Novemeber. Right now I have three fantasy teams- 2 football, 1 hockey, and 1 basketball. What that means is plenty of distraction to help me forget that I am somewhat miserable right now.

Relaxin on Maxin

Been watching playoff baseball all day and still managed to get a job interview for tomorrow to potentially do some catering. I really hope that I get it since I am out of money, patience, and activities to stave off extremely dangerous levels of boredom. One can only surf the internet, watch tv, and play video games for so long until you are ready to burst from lack of activity. When I lived in Tennessee I had money and nothing to do and now I live in Hollywood and have no money and there are plenty of things to do. Of course it has only been a month but time has a way of creeping up on you when you have no routine.

Distraction

After A rather unsastifying weekend of watching and playing(Madden) football it is almost the end of week four and Monday night-Time for Packers vs. Eagles. GO PACK. Being a rather rabid or at least avid sports fan I follow the trends of the season. This season so far can be summed up by the user added caption to the picture accompanying this entry. Games have ranged from defensive duels to shootouts with a few surprise wins and losses sprinkled about. The Jets almost beat the Colts when everyone thought the Jags would, Kansas city did better with their back up QB, some teams seasons are already over(Tampa) and the Super Bowl champs look like a shell of the team that won it all last year thanks to free agency and motorcycles and I have not even mentioned fantasy football. I can only imagine the excitment(or boredom) waiting for us as the season unfolds.

I have a dream

Lately I have been remembering more dreams than perhaps at anytime in my rather short life. For most of my life especially as a young child I distinctly remember not remembering my dreams. I am not sure what has changed but perhaps the great change that I have gone through and continue to go through is why I find myself awaking to new memories that most consider a random combination of thoughts but I find strangely eerie as I am not used to the sensation.

BANG!

And there was Olaf's blog and it was good. This is the inaugural post on my new blog inspired by my good buddy Erik, who also has a blog on here, where I too can post anything that my heart desires. My own private universe. Enjoy