Last week I was worried that Audioslave had gone soft. Maybe I was too quick to judge. I have spend some serious time listening to the album and a lot of the songs have a great sound with cool rifs and outros.

Tom Morello is an amazing force for Audioslave and proves himself in multiple tracks such as “Drown Me Slowly” and “Be Yourself”.

Give the album a chance. I was too quick to come to the conclusion that it was a soft album and not worthy of the Audioslave name. Listen to the tracks for about a week and you’ll be hooked.

Over the last few days I have received phone calls from a lot of old friends and I feel bad because usually I am at work and cannot stay on the phone too long.

I actually started making a list of people who have called me just so that I can remember to call them back. I hate it when people do not call me back so I really don’t want to be one of those people.

It just feels good to answer the phone and hear a voice you haven’t heard in months or years. E-mail can be a great communication tool but there’s nothing like hearing someone’s emotions and inflections. You learn a lot from the way a single word is or isn’t emphasized. So make a phone call today to someone you have not talked to in a long time. Just see how they are, what they’re up to, and what new things have happened since you last talked to them.

The bloated menus at fast food restaurants are starting to get to me. I have been off of the “fast stuff” for a few weeks now but today I just needed a fix.

I drove to the nearest McDonald’s, walked in, and started reading the menu. As I was getting ready to order I heard the woman in front of me substitute her fries for fruit and her soft drink for milk. What?! Last time I checked this was a fast food joint and healthy food was served somewhere else. I am sorry, but McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Chick-Fil-A are not places you go if you want a healthy meal. I know I don’t. I go for the grease; Plain and simple. That’s the point.

But that’s where we are at as a society. We feel that is the restaurant’s fault for making us an obese nation, a heart-attack nation. It’s not so. We choose to eat at these places even though we know the risk.

It reminds me of the cigarette problem. It’s not the smoker’s fault for getting emphysema, it’s Philip-Morris’. Don’t step in the BS. I don’t care how much tar, or rat poison for that matter, is in those things, there is a warning on the side of the box, the side of the box!! specifically stating that it will cause cancer and is harmful to your health.

Then people bring up the addictiveness of cigarettes. Ok, so maybe they’re addictive, but do people really believe that they are less addictive than they were in the 1920’s? How ’bout 1890? They’ve been addictive forever. The point is moot.

Back on topic. I don’t want to read through 45 “health” menu items before getting to the artery clogging, cholesterol filled, carb stuffed food that I so desperately crave. That’s my plea, take the health junk off the menu, people can get that stuff at home if they want it so bad.

I was listening to the new Audioslave album, Out of Exile and I have to admit that it sounds like they have gone soft on us.

None of the songs really stand out or make a real impression on me and overall the whole album is very timid. When I hear Audioslave I want to hear Tom Morello blaring out Rage Against the Machine style riffs, not soft rock garbage.

I am sure the album will grow on me but I am just taken back that they sissified their great sound.

My internship with Shell has been very interesting. I can tell that there is a lot for me to learn and I think the experience will be great. What I don’t enjoy are the insane commutes everyday. The weird thing is that every day the traffic is horrible in a different spot. Sometimes it is the 59 and Beltway 8 interchange, sometimes it’s the Belt and I-10, sometimes it is just in the middle of 59.

I’ve figured out why there’s traffic though, and the discovery is going to blow your mind. Hold on to your hats…

 

People are stupid

Yes, it’s just that simple. I have seen more idiotic driving techniques in the last 3 days than I have seen my entire life, and I’ve driven in Houston before. Driving in rush hour commutes is a whole different ball game.

Here’s a tip for anyone who lives in a major city with traffic problems, the markings on the road are there for a reason, the signs, surprisingly enough, are there for a reason. If you pay attention to them and try to adhere to them as much as possible things move a lot smoother.

Trust me.

Not being a Star Wars fan I was not too excited to go see Revenge of the Sith. The movie started off with a lot of action and that’s always a good thing. It moved quickly and was not filled with all of the dialogue from Episode I. I was impressed the whole movie with how well the story flowed and the overall feel of the movie. It is definitely on my top 20 movies of all time [theoritically].

Right now I am just at home enjoying the 95 degree weather with 100% that is Sugar Land. The dogs are getting along though they don’t necessarily like each other. Jackson is just trying to get used to the weather…

I arrived in Sugar Land yesterday around 3:30pm after a long but uneventful drive from Lubbock. My truck gave me a couple of scares but everything was ok.

I start work on Monday, May 23rd and today my mom and I drove down to the location to kind of get a feel for what the traffic would be like. It will not be the most enjoyable drive but I’ll manage. If I-10 ever gets completed the traffic may actually die down a little. It’s a rather far fetched dream, but hey, it could happen.

I hate packing, well, not the packing but the actual act of moving. It is too much stress for the process and isn’t worth it. I still have not found a place to live but by the end of today I better have something because I leave for Sugar Land tomorrow morning. Everything is just a little stressful right now and I am ready to get on the road and get home (even though I haven’t decided on which way I am headed).

I received my grades today and my semester G.P.A. is a 3.4 (A’s and B’s). Not my greatest semester but I’m pleased.

I start at Shell on the 23rd of May so I will have a little time between getting home and working to get situated.

I have been listening to a few of the songs off of the new System of a Down album “Mesmerize” and I have to say that I’m impressed. I have never been a big fan of the band’s lyrics, which are extremely left wing but this album has music that just makes it too hard not to listen to.

The new single “B.Y.O.B” (Bring Your Own Bomb) is a great composition but its lyrics leave me wondering whether these guys know what they are talking about. Most of the song has the lead singer asking “Why do they always send the poor [to war]?” and “Why don’t presidents fight the war?” which are a little ignorant. We don’t always send the poor, end of story. Last time I checked our military was made up of volunteers, people who chose to be there. Whether they are poor or rich they chose to join. If it was for the education then I applaud them but they still have to do their service (that they signed up for) to get the benefits. There are plenty of service men and women who are college graduates (commissioned) who do just as much fighting and dying as those who are enlisted. The lyrics to me represent an ignorance to the facts, maybe even a knowing ignorance.

Anyway, I’m rambling… The song is good and the album should be great, check it out.

With school complete and the final grades slowly trickling in the hard part comes. The move itself should not be too hard but I still have to find a place to live for next year. There have been a few houses that I would like but they were either too much money or in such disarray that they weren’t worth renting.

I’ll continue my search today and see if there is any others I can find.

Sorry for the lack of updates, the move and finding a place to live have taken up most of my time.