Category: Celebrations

Well, Holli turned 21 on Sunday. It was a much anticipated day for her, not so much in that she finally gets to drink, but in that she finally has the option of being able to drink, if she wants. I’ll let her tell you about the day we had, but I think she had a good birthday, and I did everything I could to make it special.

Check out my Holli’s 21st Birthday photoset.

At Certus, our boss-boss-boss is coming to visit, so us guys in the office have been getting all dressed up, ready to impress… only to have him cancel and reschedule. Then, it happens all over again. It’s like having a crappy boyfriend. You love him (and he loves you!), so you keep letting him do this to you. Hopefully, Thursday. Fingers are not crossed nor is breath held.

Strange band names, you say? Can you list some, you ask?

• +/- : Makes using any search engine to find information a little difficult
• Arcade Fire : Sounds like an 80s video game geek’s worst nightmare
• Death Cab for Cutie : Death – bad. Cutie – good. Cab – draw. The band does it all
• The Decemberists : Are there fan groups for months of the year?
• Hot Hot Heat : Redundant and repetitive much?
• In Ink Please : It’s a sentence; no, it’s a band name! (from North Dakota, at that!)
• The Long Winters : You guys would love The Decemberists
• Menomena : A name was chosen for “the way it rolls off the tongue, sexually, or something“, it really sounds more like a disease
• OK Go : For those who need a band to tell them what to do, but are tired of Marilyn Manson
• The Postal Service : While not expressly weird, it can be confusing if you want to mail one of their albums to a friend
• Rilo Kiley : It sounds like a name, but it’s not one that I’ve ever heard, and it doesn’t seem to belong to anyone in the band
• The Secret Handshake : If you stray too far into Google search results, you’ll enter a world of limp wrists and rainbows
• The Shins : Perhaps the most overlooked body part in music
• Snow Patrol : Who are we kidding? Snow needs no one to look after it
• Sufjan Stevens : It’s actually a name!
• Sunset Rubdown : You’re gonna do what to what??
• Taking Back Sunday : I know that Tuesday’s Gone, but I hadn’t heard of Sunday being misplaced
• They Might Be Giants : Who is? And are they, or aren’t they? And what are we going to do unless they are?
• Unicorns : Bryce and Tony have worse names for this band. I’ll let them explain that
• The Weakerthans : Nothing says “indie” like a self-deprecating name. At least, I think this is self-deprecating
• Weezer : see above
• Wolf Parade : A very funny visual image that quickly turns into a very horrifying visual image
• YasBM : Is it an acronym or just a desperate grasp at an untaken band name? If the BM means what I think it does, then that explains the quality of the music

If you do like indie music, and you want to see some acoustic concerts, check out these awesome Take-Away Shows. Do you guys have any weird band names you want to add?

It’s my birthday(.com)! To celebrate one year of MilesRausch.com, I’ve decided to share some of the major changes in my life so far.

“MilesRausch.com” Has Been Rebooted

The redesign (and redevelopment) boasts some new features. Along with an entirely redone design, you might spot:

• New favicon
• Four colored versions (which change on special days)
• Asides, Quotes, and Lyrics in the sidebar
• Improved “Archives” page
• Better support for Internet Explorer and Safari (but IE doesn’t work fantastic yet)
• Fluid-width layout

“The Car” Has Been Rebooted.

I traded in my POS (previously owned stupidcar) for $995 and got a brand-new (used) 2001 Chevy Impala LS for a decent sum. This was a huge step for me, and a huge amount of stress.

• Heated, leather seats
• OnStar (maybe)
• Trunk big enough to fit four dead hootchies in it
• Remote control
• Power sunroof
• tape and cd player

This is quite the story, so grab a snack. Actually, that’s what we were doing. It was Saturday, noonish, and Holli and I were going to get some beverages for our frozen pizza. If you haven’t had it, Coke with Lime is one of the greatest beverages out there. It’s got the hard, chrome-flavored kick of Coke with a hint of refreshing lime (note: you won’t get the same taste by mixing Coke with Sierra Mist).

Anyway, it’s hard to come by in Madison, so we decided to try every gas station in town. When we got up to Classic Corner, Holli noticed the marquee in front of Prostrollo’s read “Used Car Sale until 5:00 Today” or something. We went in to get our beverage (which they didn’t have!), so I totally trashed the place and left in an anger. I suddenly wanted to buy something expensive, and I wanted it to take a very very long time.

We drove around the lot, and I looked for any cars I thought I’d like. I didn’t see anything with “007 Stunt Vehicle” on it, but I did see some interesting cars, and we got out to look at them. Without warning or prompting, a salesman was upon us. I gave him my range, and the first car he showed us was a 2001 Chevy Impala. He said his cousin, Adam Pauli, owned it before and had traded it in for a pickup. He said he was originally from Summit. Then he said I could drive it.

This concept sorta blows my mind. They give you keys to a car and just let you leave. He didn’t sit with us. In fact, he used to time to find out how much my car was worth. Holli said that they use your current car as collateral (and as a reason to make you come back) but I had nothing attached to that car. We could have driven to Canada and found a better life amongst the ice-frosted stars.

Anyway, I eventually decided to get the Impala. We walked in and began the process. There were some awkward questions, mostly about work, like what does my employer do and what is my job title. Because I don’t have a job title, I just kinda explained what I do and we made something up with the word “manager” in it. Then he passed the paperwork off to the business manager guy, and we sat in the customer lounge.

We sat there a long time. We watched, like, 10 “Trip My Truck” episodes, and I got increasingly panicked about my purchase. It’s a lot of money for a long time and my old car was still running. Oh, man. Why did I agree to this? It got worse and worse, and then we talked to the business manager.

So, for a car they don’t take credit card. They take cash or check, which means you have to have that money, which means if you don’t, then you have to get a loan, which I hadn’t yet, which they were going to find for me, and without this loan, you can’t get a car. So, the long wait was because “It’s not that you have bad credit; it’s just that you don’t have enough of it.” Right. So, the only loan he could find me was 16.99% interest. I didn’t know what else I could do, so I accepted it, but I didn’t have insurance yet, and I said I was going to research that over the weekend, so the loan was put on hold because they need that info.

Eventually we were allowed to leave with the car, uninsured and unpaidfor, and I drove it to my apartment. I was in a daze the rest of the day, placing calls to dad, Bryce, and sending pix, plus getting calls from mom and Tony, and Holli calling her parents, I was just kinda numb to all of it, and still am a bit. Dad keeps saying, “You just have to do it” and “Are you smiling yet?”
There are pictures of the car and the free swag I got from the dealership in my My New Car – 2006 photo set.

P.S. It appears that Coke with Lime isn’t sold in Madison; we ended up getting Pepsi with Lime, which isn’t even the same thing, don’t get me started.

“The Job” Has Been Rebooted.

I’m full-time at Certus Managed Hosting Solutions of which, CRESH is now CRESH.NET, a division of said company. Some of the high points of that are:

• Decent salary
• Decent Benefits
• Commute to Sioux Falls 3 days a week
• Head or manager or whatever of something or other

I’ve also decided to pursue writing as a career. I’m not quitting my day job, yet, but I am working on getting into festivals and contests and stuff. This means that:

• Writing “table”
• Joined The Dramatists Guild of America (and got a card)
• Currently working on: 3 novels, 12 short stories, 1 poems, 1 screenplays, 0 short films, 0 music videos, 3 one-acts, 3 three-acts, 5 sketches, 1 musical, 1 television show, 1 mini-series
• Currently completed are: 0 novels, 1 short stories, 20+ poems, 1 screenplays, 3 short films, 2 music videos, 11 one-acts, 1 three-acts, 2 sketches
• Currently published: 1 short story, 2 poems
• Currently performed/recorded: 3 Newsbleeps, 2 Off the Records, 4 one-acts, 3 songs, 1 poem, 2 prize-winning speeches, 1 short film, 1 sketch
• (numbers may be adjusted for inflation of ego)

It seems fairly overwhelming when you list it out like that, but I try to work on one thing at a time. Holli’s been very supportive, helping to keep me on track when I start things, and helping me to not get all crazy even after finishing things. An interesting development has been that the new Tech Director at DSU has a master’s degree in playwrighting, and I hope to talk to him soon (as soon as I have time).

So, romp! I hope you guys enjoy the new theme. I really like it.

I ordered a poster-sized version of this photo, and it came in the mail the other day. Here’s what it looks like hung up.

Also, this past weekend, right after the wedding, we had a surprise party for Uncle Tim. Boy was he surprised, I think. We weren’t actually there at the time of the party because we had to try to track down a bottle of wine that mysteriously disappeared on our way back over to the hotel. It seems that they forgot to tell dad that he had a package.

Anyway, it was mostly sitting around, talking, and eating. Some family members came up for it, some of the great uncles and their families, so that was neat. The occassion was also kinda solemn since this would mark the last time we would see Bryce and Lindsey as occupants of South Dakota. I can’t be for sure, but I think Bryce was crying.

So, Tim: Happy Birthday! Pictures are here. And, Bryce and Linds: if you made it okay, give us a sign!