Target is dangerous and so is wiffleball.

But for different reasons.

This is one of those months where I get three checks instead of two. Which means extra money. Unfortunately I had a pretty long list of things I needed/wanted to get with that money: Oil change, new iPod car adapter, "Nightwatch" by Sergei Lukyanenko, a new alarm clock, external hard drive, new hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and tickets to the Drive-By Truckers show at Avalon in September.

Out of that list, so far I've picked up:

"Nightwatch". First in a trilogy of Russian fantasy novels. I saw the movie, which came out here in America earlier this year. Great film. Supposedly it was bigger in Russia than Lord of the Rings. Anyway, because of it's popularity, finnaly it was decided to translate the original books into English and the first one just came out. I'm pretty psyched to read it. And pretty psyched that the first sequel film, Daywatch, already out in Russia, comes out here some time in the fall.

Drive By Truckers ticket. I missed thme when they were opening up for the Black Crowes last month, but I'm damn sure going to catch them at Avalon next month. Especially for $15! Side note: If you really want a good guage of how ridiculous Ticketmaster fees are, check out the difference between ordering online and going to an outlet. The DBT tickets were $15.25 at the Orpheum Ticketmaster outlet. Had I bouth them online they would have been around $24. What?

I've yet to get the iPod adapter, but that's just because I haven't found it yet. The oil change will hopefully be sometime this week. But as for why Target is dangerous: way too much cool shit, and cheap too.

I went to Target and picked up my alarm clock ($8), jeans ($20, and they looked cooler and were cheaper than the pair I was originally looking at), and hoodie ($20, and stupidly comfortable). I ended up not getting the sneakers, because they didn't look as good as I had remembered. But I did get two t-shirts and some boxer shorts. And almost bought socks and more shirts. Seriously, way too much good stuff there. I bought two t-shirts there last week, too. I have to stay away.

Now, let's address the hard drive, because it touches upon another point. I want to get a new hard drive because the hard dive on my computer is getting dangerously close to full. And I want something to put my music on. Because, you see I plan to be getting a lot more music soon.

Unfortunately, and despite my tales of extravagant spending this weekend, I don't really have a lot of money to spend on new CDs. My rent went up this year, gas prices are still high, the cost of living is still high. It's hard to squeeze money out to check out new stuff. I get kind of stingy when thinking about buying albums by people I don't really know I already like. And you know me, I like to check out new stuff often.

To that end, I got an invite from my friend Rob to OiNK, which is a bit torrent site based out of the UK. Bit torrent, if you don't know, is a much like a Napster, except that it seems tailored towards albums instaed of individual songs. Now, I'm somewhat conflicted, because there that part of me that doesn't like stealing music, but at the same time, I just can't afford to buy it. I jsut don't have the I don't have the money to experiment as much as I'd like. And let's face it, if I had the money, I would not be spending it on the new Christina Aguilera or Neil Diamond anyway. But if it's free, I'll check it out. (Christina's is a decent double album that, if you took all the best tracks and made it one record would make a slamming disc. Neil's is just straight up badass.)

Other good pickups: Jonny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways, The enire Kyuss catalouge, Eagles of Death Metal - Peace Love Death Metal and Death By Sexy, Bonnie Prince Billy & Will Oldham - Superwolf (Bill, I think you'd dig this disc), Ryan Adams' unreleased Suicide Handbook, Sloan - Navy Blues, Black Crowes - Instant Live disc from a show in London, and Wilson Pickett's greatest hits.

But I need a place to put all these tunes, and my CPU hard drive ain't going to cut it. So I was out looking for an external. I think interanl hard drives are actually cheaper, but I want something I can use with both my desktop and laptop. I just missed a CompUSA sale for a 250GB for $60. In case you were wondering, that's ridiculous. Usuaully that would run you between $200-$250. So, unfortunately, despite the third weeek windfall check, I don't have the cash to pick up my external hard drive just yet. Hopefully soon, though. Because more tunes need to be acquired.
...
And lest I forget wiffleball. I played for a little bit yesterday, maybe half an hour or so, before the slaughter rule kicked in. My team was ahead by something like 173-11. But for a half-hour's play, man are my legs sore today.

I am not a fan of this whole aging process thing.