RR: Red Cars, Real Music, Ridiculous Dreams, and Random Requests

Welcome to another edition of RR (Random Ramblings for those of you who are new here). I've got a lot to get to today, so lets get started.

Ridiculous Dreams

So, a few weeks ago I told you about a rather weird dream I recently had. Well, about a week ago I had one that makes the other dream seem normal. I was in McGregor (which is weird enough, since I very rarely go to McGregor) and I was looking to buy two things: A bag of fifty hamburger buns and a cannon to launch said buns.

o_0

Don't ask me what that was all about. It seemed to make perfect sense in my dream. The only bad thing was, I woke up before I could test the cannon, so my question is...Is it possible to launch hamburger buns with a cannon????

Red Cars

I've driven the 2001 Silver Chevy Cavalier since my senior year in high school. In other words, I drove in that same car for six years, and it was starting to show. The car had obvioulsy seen better days.

So, I bought myself a new car. The picture to your right is what I now have: A red 2005 Dodge Stratus. So, if you see me driving this car around town, be sure to wave! :)

Real Music
The movie theater where I work has over the last few months been playing the most god-awful music during the pre-show. It doesn't even count as music. All it did was make you feel like you were trapped in an elevator. Forever. Never ending.

My bosses have finally, however, given us back "real" music. As in the kind of stuff you hear on the radio. Plus, last week when we were playing "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" (good movie by the way) I found myself a new favorite song, thanks to the credits. Enjoy!


Random Requests
Finally, I'm taking your requests!! What do you want me to ramble about? Give me a good topic and I'llramble randomly on it. Leave your requests below, as well as any feedback you may have. I look forward to it!

Until Next Time...:)
W.

The Poet Within...

Someone asked me
to take poetry
and make a post
for them to read.

I knew it'd be hard
to rhyme the whole post
so I decided I would
rhyme the whole thing...almost.

So, poetry. It was my senior year in high school, when I discovered a hidden talent of rhyming words. I know, its hard to believe a guy like me would write poetry. I was sure I had no talent in this field, but that quickly changed. All because of a Creative Writing assignment, that I took to the next level...

Writing a poem
Is as painful as heartbreak
I must stop soon
For goodness sake

I remember a poem
We had to write for Ms. Stott
I told her 'I'm not a poet!
No, I am not.'

That didn't stop the assignment
We got it anyway
So now I sit and wonder
Do you think I got an A?

So please, enough of this
I'm tired of poems and rhyme
It's time to move on
I'm tired of wasting time.

This was one of the first actual poems I wrote that I can be proud of. But it is not, in my opinion, the best poem I've ever written. That honor would probably go to this next poem, which appeared in the Clayton County Register, and was also published in a poetry collection as part of a contest I entered.

Read the Headlines
to see the news.
Look inside, and you may see
an ad for brand new shoes.

See political cartoons
that make you scratch your head.
Turn to the Obituaries
and see who all is dead.

Flip through the sports
to see who the winners are.
Head for the classifieds
and find your dream car.

The puzzles are dandy.
The comics are funny.
Turn to the weather
to see if it's sunny.

Twenty four, seven
three sixty five
Read the newspaper
every day you're alive.

After graduation, I continued to write poetry every once in a while, including some heartbreak poetry. Yes, I went there. :p Most of these came after the events of "The Most Personal Blog Post I'll Most likely ever write." Here's an example:

There's one wish
I wish was real:
Sometimes I wish
my heart was steel.
It'd never break.
It would always shine.
Unlike the heart
that's currently mine.

Of all the heartbreak poems I've written though, (and bekieve me there has been a few) This next one, my most recent effort, has to be one of my favorites. It just seemed to come out near perfect:

Here’s a dollar for the memories
That you and I have made.
Here’s a dollar for the love we had
That now has gone away.
Here’s a dollar for the man
Who now gets to hold you.
Here’s a dollar for everything
We put each other through.
There’s one more dollar, I’d like to exchange:
For the remnants of my broken heart:
Here’s a dollar, keep the change.

Well, there you have it readers. As requested through Facebook, a blog post about my poetry. I hope you all enjoy it, and if you want to hear/read more, just contact me at my place of work, or leave a comment down below.
I leave you now, with one more short poem that sums up the whole blog post you've just read:

Tell me now
Is it a crime
to write a short
and pointless rhyme?

Until Next Time...:)
W.

A Little Bit Weird

People say I'm weird.

They're not lying. I'll be the first to admit that I can be a little out there. Aren't we all though? Anybody who says they are normal, is obviously not. Normality is weird. Imagine that.

Everybody has weird things happen to them. It just so happens, that the last week (or so) of my life has been more weird than usual, and getting weirder by the day.

For example, the book I'm currently reading ("Last Call" by Tim Powers), is epically strange. Im currently 200 pages in, and I'm just as lost as I was on page one. Apparently, the main character lost his soul during a poker game, and now they are coming to collect. And apparently, they can switch bodies. That's not weird at all though, right?

Last night, I watched the movie 'Snow White and the Huntsman.' This too was a rather strange experience. It's a very different telling of Snow White than I remember. It was still a good movie, but just weird.

Dreams have been another thing lately. I've been waking up to the strangest dreams the last few nights. For example: On Sunday night I woke up from this dream: I was walking down a gravel road to a mall. (Don't ask me why the mall was located on a gravel road, I don't know.) When I arrived at the mall, it was fairly empty, and I don't mean just people wise. The stores had nothing in them. They only had a few items. (The Best Buy, which is where most of the dream took place, only had four TV's for sale, and nothing else o_0)

Apparently, a murder had taken place in the mall, and the detectives (played by my theater co-workers Kari and Renee) were attempting to solve it. All in all, another bit of weirdness to my week.

To wrap it up, a song's been stuck in my head all week as well. What makes this strange is that this song is from the 80's movie 'Short Circuit.' Nothing against 'Short Circuit,' but I haven't seen the movie in years. Why would this song all of a sudden decide to enter my head??? Check it out below.



Until Next Time...:)
W.

23 Random Facts About Me

This past June, I turned 23. Yes, I am indeed that old. I decided to take this blog post and list 23 random facts about myself, since I never really introduced myself like all these other blogs I read now. So, here goes...

1. I REALLY am 23. That means, that when I go to Wal-Mart and buy an R-rated movie, you don't need to card me. I'm older than 17 people. You're just embarrasing yourself when you ask me to show you my ID.

2. I had two older twin brothers who died as infants. One was stillborn, the other died about three months after he was born. They would be 26 now if they were still alive. But since my Mom and Dad only wanted two kids, if they were alive, I probably wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be reading this blog.

3. When I was in high school, I participated in one sport: Track. I have great respect for anybody who can run Track (I couldn't). I'm not that athletic, and I'm guessing thats why Track seems like one sport too many in high school.

4. I have an exceptionally good memory...for pointless information. On a good day, I can tell you what movie was playing at the theater a year ago. Sometimes longer.

5. I like to read... A LOT! Regular readers of my blog already know this, but I figured I'd share it with you here anyway. I mostly like the 'Urban Fantasy' or 'Thriller' genres.

6. At home, I talk to myself quite frequently. Some people would say I'm crazy. I say it's because its the only intellegent conversation I can have on some days.

7. I'm not a night person. Never have been. This past year I didn't even stay up until midnight on New Years Eve. The main reason for not staying up late, however, is...

8. My social life sucks. My old friends from High School only want to go drinking. The people I call friends now probably think I'm just an acquaintance, but whatever.

9. Thanks to the Creative Writing class I took in my Senior year, I found I have a talent for poetry. I just need to find someone to read it now...

10. Besides poetry, I also write longer stories/novels. I'm currently sitting on a manuscript for a novel, but haven't worked up the courage to send it off yet to a publisher. Maybe I will, someday soon.

11. Ever since i got my job at the theater, I've had a great love for movies. I have seen so many movies that were better than I thought they'd be, and I've seen a bunch that were, in the words of Stephen King: "Cinematic Dog Vomit."

12. I don't eat Pizza or drink Pop. I know. There's something wrong with me. Believe me, I've heard it many times.

13. I've had nine stitches in my life. Four under my eye from a barbed wire fence, and five down my forehead from a car door. That's right, I have a scar on my forehead. I guess I must be Harry Potter. :p

14. Speaking of Harry Potter, I loathe the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Harry Potter movies, because in my opinion, they're horrible adaptions. The 5th movie especially pisses me off, but we won't get into that.

15. Also about Mr. Potter, When I was younger, it took me nearly two months to read the first Harry Potter book. When the seventh book came out, I read it in two days. Somewhere along the line, I became a faster reader.

16. I grow a garden, but my garden mostly consists of green beans because they're really easy to grow. Hey, I didn't say I was an expert.

17. I don't enjoy Public Speaking. It's not really my thing. Obviously, they hated me in school because they put me in the Public Speaking class my senior year. With no other place to go, I was stuck. Yep, they hated me at Central.

18. When I was younger and stupider, My cousin and i got the genius stupid idea to try to play Quiditch (yes, another Harry potter reference) on bicycles. It didn't quite work. Who'd have thought throwing a ball at eachother while riding a bike would be dangerous?

19. Abed Nadir is my role model. No, I don't care if he's just a character from a TV show. (A very funny TV show called "Community." More on that in a future post.)

20. I collect rocks. Yes, you read correctly. Rocks. Don't be hatin'. Don't forget that with said rocks, I can stone my haters to death. (Not that i would do that, but you know what I mean.)

21. I do this little thing once a year called the Epic Quest. It's pretty much just a hike through the woods near my house with others I don't know all that well, but it's a good way to get to know people.

22. Music wise, I used to only listen to country music. (Yes, I'm one of 'those' people) In the last few years, however, I've really opened up to other kinds of music. I'm not really as picky anymore.

23. I still don't really know if people are really reading this blog. That's what the comments section is for! Let me know what you think people, or if theres anything you think I should ramble on about.

Until Next Time...:)
W.

RR: "Dark Knight Rises" Reaction, FUBU, and Home

Hello, and welcome to another exciting edition of Random Ramblings! (Or RR as I like to call them) Now that I think about it, maybe this post isn't 'exciting' or maybe not even an 'edition.' (Not sure if a blog post classifys as an edition, but whatever.) Anyway, Here we go!

'Dark Knight Rises' Reaction

It's been just over a month since I saw "The Dark Knight Rises" at midnight in the theater in my hometown, where I work. (There will be a post about my job some day readers. For those of you who have worked with me at the theater, you've been warned.) My heart goes out to all the families who lost someone in the Colorado Theater shootings. What that guy did is just sick, and he deserves to get his ass kicked by...BANE! (haha, you thought I was gonna say Batman :P)
As for the actual movie: Bane was awesome, it was long, and didn't live up to the hype of it's predecessor. I know, I'll probably make some enemies with this statement, but it is NOT the best movie I've seen this year. That title still goes to The Avengers. All in all, if you haven't seen "The Dark Knight Rises," Go out and see it at least once.
Notice how I didn't leave any spoilers for you?

F. U. FUBU

In early July, I was in need of a pair of tennis shoes, so I went to Wal-Mart, where an awesome pair of shoes caught my eye. The photo above is said shoe.
I have come to the conclusion that this shoe is the cheapest made shoe in the history of footwear. It's sad when said shoes is coming unstitched after only two weeks of wearing them.
That is why I warn you all: Do NOT buy shoes with the word FUBU on them. They are a waste of your hard-earned dollars (or welfare, if you don't have a job.)

Home
In conclusion for this R.R., I'd like to give a big shout out to all the High School Graduates who are now leaving for college. I know a lot of you have been counting down the days. I've heard it many times: "I can't wait to get out of this town!" I heard this line myself in my senior year, from the guidance counselor of all people. (When I said I had no plans for college, she responded with "Don't you want to get out of this town?")
At the time, I didn't think Elkader was really all that. Five years later, I've decided that Elkader is, and will always be, my home. I was born here, and chances are I will die here,and I'm OK with that. Elkader is my home.
So I say to all of you seniors that are leaving now, so glad that you're gone, you'll all want to come back. Someday when you're at your job in some big city, you'll decide to move back out here. Back where you came from.

Until Next Time...:)
W.

Buried in the Books

For those of you who don't know me that well, There's something you need to know. I have this really bad habit. They say the best way to deal with a problem is to talk about it, and admit you have a problem. So, here it goes:...

I read way to much, and when I get my paycheck, I tend to go and buy a book. Seriously, whenever I'm in Wal-Mart, you'll most likely find me in the book section. (Or Movies/Music, but that's a very different story.

I know, reading is supposed to be good for you, but I only have so much space for books in my current living space. The stack of books in my closet is getting taller, and more unsturdy, with each purchase.

And don't even get me started on the Library. I check out too many books from their too. According to the receipt that prints out when I check out a book from the library, I've saved $561 so far this year.

And the year isn't over yet, folks.

Now, I'm sure I could blame different people, but passing blame doesn't work. (At least, it never has for me.) And if I was going to blame people, where would I start? Do I blame the numerous English teachers I had throughout my years in school? Or do I blame the authors of some of my favorite books for keeping me too interested?

But I think the one thing that really need the blame is this. My enabler:

Borders Stores.

Whenever I went to Dubuque, this used to be my paradise. I'd tell my family I'd only be a few minutes, and an hour later, I'd still be wandering amongst the shelves, with a stack of paperbacks under my arm.

When all of the Borders stores across the country closed about a year ago, I felt like I'd lost a friend. Where was I going to get my fix? Where, oh where?

Well, for those of you who know Dubuque, a Books-a-Million store took Border's place. This is not helpful to me, however. Maybe I'm just picky on the books I like, but when you go into a bookstore with a list of twenty different books, wouldn't you hope to find more than just one of them?

This morning, I finally broke down, and found a new dealer. They have what I want, the only problem is, I have to wait for the delivery by mail. Hurry up, Amazon! I'm counting on you to deliver!!!

For those of you who are interested, here's a link to my GoodReads profile. Think of it as Facebook for book lovers:


http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8381844-matthew-wilke


Until Next Time...:)
W.

The Most Personal Blog Post I'll Most Likely Ever Write

Last weekend was our county fair. What I'm sure is often a fun time for a lot of the young people around here has been more of a downer for me the last couple of years. I never see anybody I know, and when I do, they usually don't want to talk to me.

And then, there's her...

I'm not going to tell you all who "she" is, because I know it would embarass her. She may even be reading this right now for all I know. Some of you know who "she" is, and you know that we were really close at one time.

So, when I was contemplating what my next post should be about, I decided it was time to delve into my own life, and share a story that was personal. Maybe too personal, but I'll let you all be the judge of that.

I first met "her" when she was dating a friend of mine. They broke up not too long after we got to know each other, and we didn't really talk to eachother much after that...for a while.

One night, I was at work when she came in. Work was pretty quiet, so we talked for a while. An hour and a half later, we were still talking! We quickly realized after that that we could easily be friends, and over the months that followed, we became very good friends.

About a week before the 2011 county fair, she got a boyfriend, which didn't bother me because we were just friends, but when I saw her with him at the fair, something just didn't feel right.

Sleep began to elude me. She filled my thoughts every day, and I knew then, that I had fallen. Hard. I'd had crushes, but had never felt like that before.
Not too long after the fair's end, she broke up with her boyfriend. I swore to myself that I would tell her exactly how I felt. I waited about a month before I finally came clean about it.

We were driving just for the heck of it when I told her I had to talk to her about something, and I shared my feelings with her. My speech was met with silence, and shock if I had to label an emotion to her face. But she took it all in stride, said that I was one of two guys interested in dating her at that time.

I was still miserable for a while after that. Especially when she chose the other guy, but I tried not to let her see how much it bothered me. How depressed I really was.

All of a sudden, the other guy was out of the picture. I was in, and we became an "Impromptu couple." In other words, we weren't publically official, but kind've, if that makes any sense.

For those next couple months, life was great. We hung out nearly every weekend, either taking a drive or seeing a movie. Sometimes both. We began sharing all of our secrets. We were closer than ever before.

They say that all good things must end, and this unfortunately did too. To this day, I'm not quite sure what happened. We were on one of our usual drives when she said we should slow things down. I asked her if there was another guy. She said there wasn't.

Two days later, Facebook said she was in a relationship. No other guy, huh? I have to say, that one hurt a lot. It bugged me for weeks. It still does every now and again.

Since then, our conversations have grown less and less frequent. The message we'd been sending back and forth on facebook for a year stopped. She purposely avoided me whenever possible. At the fair this last weekend, I made four attempts to talk to her, and never even recieved an acknowledgement of my presence. Supposedly, we're still friends, but she won't even respond to a text message half the time, even if all I say is "Hi, How are you?"

I'm sure most of you, if you're still reading this, are thinking "Grow up and move on." I know, I'm a hopeless romantic, and I should have known that it wouldn't have worked out. I know. I get it.

The thing is though, even after all of that. After the really long summer where our conversations have been few and short. After all the tears I've cried and the pain I've felt. After all the blame I've cast, I still can't move on. I still think of her every day. She still is always on my mind, and she will probably never leave. Part of her will be with me forever.

Until Next Time...:/
W.

The Power of the Song

Last night, I was sitting at the Restless Heart concert at the county fair, singing along with almost all of the songs they sang. I became a huge fan of the band years ago, and have played the Greatest Hits CD I own to near non-working order.

It's funny how a lot of these songs strike me in different ways. Theres the slow love songs that describe my own feelings for a special someone (more on that some other time), the songs of love lost that also pertain to me, and the upbeat songs that always put a smile on my face no matter what kind of mood I'm in.
And that's just one CD by one band. I have a lot of favorite songs that describe various feelings or, as they say, they have a good beat and you can dance to it. (Not that I can dance, but you know what I mean.)
I usually know if I'm going to like a song after I've heard it for the first time. If I start singing along with the refrain halfway through, or if my feet are tapping alon with the beat, chances are that I'll soon be playing the crap out of the song on my computer. If a song doesn't agree with me, chances are I'll be running from the room every time the song comes on the radio. (Trust me, this has happened before.)
Chances are, your taste in music is nothing like mine. I used to be a stright-up, country hick(and not afraid to admit it.) Now, my taste covers numerous genres, but country is still at the center of it all.
Working in the movie theater has actually helped broaden my horizons when it comes to music. Sweeping up after the numerous movies I've worked, I've heard almost every type of music possible. And theres been times, that it has been almost impossible to sweep during the credits. Take this tune from "Sherlock Holmes" for example:



Catchy, no? That whole week I had to wait until the credits were done before I could sweep, because the song was just to catchy.
Now it's stuck in my head. I'll have to go and sing it through now and try to get it out. ;)

Until Next Time...:)
W.