I was thinking in the shower this morning. I do my best thinking in one of three places - in my car, in the shower, or going to the bathroom. I think I might have some sort of epiphany if I drove my car while sitting on a toilet seat and driving with the windows down in the rain.

Anyway, I was thinking in the shower this morning about how my 10 year high school reunion is coming up next year and I’m really just not all that excited about it. I don’t feel like people generally liked me in high school. I was that nerdy/brainy kid that didn’t have any friends and got picked on a lot.

Yeah, you’d hardly believe it now, right? Me being a programmer and all. But it’s true.

I was in the drama club, I was one of the network admins (remember Novell circa 1990?), and my first kiss was when I was a junior. I never went to any parties or [American] football games… but then, I was never really invited to any parties, and I still hate football.

I was also one of the two valedictorians.

(I gave a speech at graduation. Actually, I had prepared two different speeches - one was the sweet and sugary “we are the future” speech, and the other was a lambasting for how stupid everyone out there really was, regardless of what they might think. My counselor urged me to give the attack speech, but we both knew that would probably ruin some peoples’ graduations, so I gave the sugary one.)

I started wondering about why I had such a shitty time in high school, and I don’t know if it was any one thing. I’m not a socialite. I don’t like large groups of people that I don’t know. I’m not coordinated in the least, so school dances were out; besides, if you can’t get a date, and none of your friends want to go, what’s the point?

My mom was ultra-overprotective, so I could never stay out past midnight, regardless of the day (Friday? Saturday?) or who I was with (the entire drama department - probably 30 people) because I was definitely going to be mugged, raped, and killed (presumably in that order). I still have conversations with her about that, and I think that much of the money I spend today is used in an effort to reclaim some of that lost childhood. I understand what her side of things was, and I don’t blame her. I just missed the ability to really have any fun in high school, and I like to believe that was a significant contributor.

Either way, folks didn’t like me. I think that was sort of reciprocated, too - I didn’t like them, either. That makes us even, right?

All that adds up to me not being terribly excited at my approaching 10 year reunion.

So then I started thinking about when the last time I was actually happy in school was.

Fourth grade.

In fourth grade, I was on top of the world. I had friends, I was reasonably popular, and everything was good. Even the teacher (Mrs. Stiles) rocked, which is not something I can claim for later educators I came across.

Fifth grade was pretty good, but somehow I just feel like my interest in education peaked in fourth. I skipped the sixth grade (because I am the smartest man alive), at which point I transitioned directly from grade school to junior high. Of course, that means I left all of my friends behind. Not so cool.

After seventh grade my family moved, so once again, friends out the window. I think this is where the downhill really started as far as education is concerned. These were the years that I think I needed the stimulation that I received in first through fourth grades, but instead got pushed through a slow meatgrinder of learning that taught me naught but that education is not supposed to be fun nor challenging.

This further started me thinking… you know what I’d rather have than a 10 year reunion for high school? I’d rather see where my friends from fourth grade are now. How different they’ve become, what they’ve done with their lives.

Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

I do know where my best friend Phil from those times is… Phil’s family moved to Mexico around the time I was in seventh grade. Phil turned out to be an avid mountain climber, and a few years back I got wind that he died while climbing a mountain - I believe in the Himalayas.

I never really kept up with him too much after he moved to Mexico, but sometimes, just sometimes, I really do miss him.

Last night I got my copy of the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack boxed set. Seven discs of some of the best 80’s music out there. Why the actual 80’s radio stations don’t play this sort of thing is beyond me. It’s hard to put a label on something and say something like “this is the definitive 80’s collection.” That’s a bold statement. So, instead, I’ll say that this is damn close to the definitive 80’s collection.

I noticed on Amazon they don’t list the songs that are on each disc, so I’ll do that here. Again, it’s a seven disc set - each disc represents a radio station that you can listen to in the game. So beyond the songs that are on the discs, they also put parody commercials and fake station ID jingles. They do not overlap any of the songs; the songs exist on the discs in their entirety and aren’t mixed together the way radio stations do. So it’s the best of all worlds. Anyway, here you go:

• Disc 1: V-Rock
  • Judas Priest - You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
  • Motley Crue - Too Young to Fall in Love
  • Megadeth - Peace Sells
  • Rockstar’s Lovefest - Dangerous Bastard
  • Autograph - Turn Up The Radio
  • Twisted Sister - I Wanna Rock
  • Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon
  • Anthrax - Madhouse
  • Iron Maiden - 2 Minutes To Midnight
  • Slayer - Raining Blood
  • Tesla - Cumin’ Atcha Live
  • David Lee Roth - Yankee Rose
• Disc 2: Wave 103
  • Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes
  • Tears for Fears - Pale Shelter
  • Kim Wilde - Kids in America
  • Blondie - Atomic
  • A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away)
  • The Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination
  • Nena - 99 Luftballons
  • The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way
  • Spandau Ballet - Gold
  • Thomas Dolby - Hyperactive!
  • Romeo Void - Never Say Never
  • Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night
• Disc 3: Emotion 98.3
  • Toto - Africa
  • Jan Hammer - Crockett’s Theme
  • John Waite - Missing You
  • Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms
  • Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You
  • Mr. Mister - Broken Wings
  • Roxy Music - More Than This
  • Squeeze - Tempted
  • REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You
  • Night Ranger - Sister Christian
  • Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
  • Kate Bush - Wow
• Disc 4: Flash FM
  • Hall & Oates - Out Of Touch
  • Electric Light Orchestra - Four Little Diamonds
  • Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
  • The Outfield - Your Love
  • Talk Talk - Life’s What You Make It
  • Bryan Adams - Run To You
  • Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days
  • Go West - Call Me
  • Lionel Richie - Running With The Night
  • Laura Branigan - Self Control
  • INXS - Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)
  • Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
• Disc 5: Wildstyle Pirate Radio
  • Herbie Hancock - Rockit
  • Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
  • Zapp & Roger - More Bounce to the Ounce
  • Davy DMX - One For The Treble
  • Mantronix - Bassline
  • Man Parrish - Hip Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop)
  • Hashim - Al-Narfiysh (The Soul)
  • Cybotron - Clear
  • Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force - Looking for the Perfect Beat
  • Run DMC - Rock Box
  • Kurtis Blow - The Breaks
  • Whodini - Magic’s Wand
• Disc 6: Fever 105
  • Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
  • The Pointer Sisters - Automatic
  • Fat Larry’s Band - Act Like You Know
  • MTume - Juicy Fruit
  • Teena Marie - Behind The Groove
  • Oliver Cheatham - Get Down Saturday Night
  • Rick James - Ghetto Life
  • Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King - Shame
  • Mary Jane Girls - All Night Long
  • Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness
  • Rene & Angela - I’ll Be Good
  • Whispers - And The Beat Goes On
• Disc 7: Radio Espantoso
  • Deodato - Super Staut
  • Cachao - A Gozar Con Mi Combo
  • Mongo Santamaria - Me And You Baby (Picao Y Tostao)
  • Machito And His Afro-Cuban Orchestra - Mambo Mucho Mambo
  • Xavier Cugat And His Orchestra - Jamay
  • Mongo Santamaria - Mama Papa Tu
  • Unaesta - La Vida Es Una Lenteja
  • Lonnie Liston Smith - Expansions
  • Irahere - Aguanile
  • Beny More - Maracaibo Oriento
  • Deodato - Latin Flute
  • Tito Puente - Manbo Gozon

Okay, I’ll admit that I don’t know too many on discs 5 and 7, but hey - for $50, that’s seven discs of some of the best 80’s out there. Plus, each disc allows you to go online and get a cheat code for the game. Hey, everybody wins.

On a sort of related note, I got contacted by Amazon customer service via email and they said everything was on track to ship me the game and get it to me by the 7th. Here’s hoping. I’d like to schedule my week off. My cat desperately needs the declawing.

[I have the worst headache right now, and I’m not sure if it’s from a lack of caffeine or too much caffeine. I’m feeding it coffee and Excedrin Migraine to see if it will go away. If anything, hopefully I will shortly be in a better mood.]

Even if you are not a science nut, you should enjoy this report on the electron band structure in Germanium. Trust me, this is the bomb. I couldn’t have written it better myself. Apparently, this guy actually turned this in. I’d have given him an A.

Okay, before I get into this weekend, let me state for the record that I found another poster that I need to get. I don’t know where I’d put it; I don’t have anywhere available in my apartment. But it calls to me. It says, “Buy me! Buy me!” It does this with unrelenting intensity.

Thus far, I have successfully exercised my will against it. I’m not sure how long I can hold out.

This weekend, Jenn and I went to a costume party. I went as a ninja; Jenn went as Mary Katherine Gallagher. Her costume was way better than mine, I think, but only because I ended up making my costume out of a sweat suit.

The party itself was very cool. There were probably 15 people over at my friend Jason’s house playing pool and air hockey and generally having a good time. Great food, too, which I’ve come to expect at Jason’s parties. He and his wife, Tracy, really know how to kick it up.

Other costumes at the party include: a Musketeer, two medieval ladies, a whole herd of army soldiers, and an Oompa Loompa. I was particularly pleased with the Oompa Loompa costume as it probably held the most childhood-memory-value of all of them. (Besides the fact that the movie was great, I dated a girl 4’4” tall a while ago and tried to get her to dress up as an Oompa Loompa, but she absolutely refused. I thought it would have been a great costume. Oh, well. It was reasonably cathartic when one of the partygoers showed up as an Oompa Loompa.)

I’m a still irritated with Amazon. I picked up my email today to find that they rejected my credit card again. I’ve tried two different cards, both of which have been rejected. I called the respective credit card companies and found that the cards haven’t even been tried. Argh. So I went to contact Amazon to find out what’s going on, but you can only email them, you can’t call them. I emailed them, now I have to wait up to 24 hours so that they can tell me (I’m sure) that they don’t know what the damn problem is and I should call the credit card company.

The irony is, you know the card that they keep rejecting? Yeah, well, on Saturday they successfully billed that card and shipped a whole other order I had placed with them. So I know the card’s good. It’s their stupid software. Bitches.