The Fifth Sense

I'll be brief - I taste dead people.

This is a huge week for Justinho the J. Riley:

1.) Earlier this week I finally got to talk to HR at my client about becoming a full-time corporate, job-hating, cubicle-residing employee of a monolithic, greedy, global company. Exciting, I know!!! Of utmost importance was the fact that they are offering me twice as much vacation as my current employer. I got no problems selling my soul for that. Time to start scheduling 2007's worlwide trips...

2.) Tomorrow I am departing on 2006's climactic worldwide trip to Germany for the World Cup. I am so psyched!
a.) I downloaded England's World Cup anthem "Come on England" (to the tune of that eighties tune "Come on Irene" or whatever it is) and was bouncing off of the wall and memorizing the words tonight so I can sing it in our Passat on the autobahn to the disgust of everyone else in the car.
b.) Vas, in his tireless endeavor to wreak havoc on our travel plans, finally found a cheap way to get to Germany a weak late that requires me to leave two parties and drive three hours to Munich to pick his ass up. I was annoyed that better options weren't available, especially since no one could seem to tell us where he was going to be dropped off by the bus. Once we figured that out, I was okay and am looking forward to repaying my bottomless debt of being picked up and driven around Eastern Europe last summer. Not to mention other Eastern European eye-candy that Vas payed for last year ;o)
c.) Brazil will be playing their quarter-final match on Saturday, a day after I get to Germany, in Frankfurt, which is where we are staying for the first weekend. This means mad parties in town with my Brazilian friends, who arrive earlier in the day. And they are playing France, so it will be a rematch of the 98 World Cup final!
d.) The epic game of the tournament so far will happen five hours after I touch down in Germany with tournament-favourites Argentina playing the host Germany. Yowser, that's going to be a hot one!
e.) etc.

3.) Oh yea, about that fifth sense: I got my arch expander off today! My mouth is a little sore right now, but I amazed at how cavernous my mouth is and how non-intrusive these braces really are. My ultra-sensitive palette tickles every time I touch it with my tongue, but it was loving life when I got home and treated it to a pack of Newman's Own Peanut Butter Cups (like Reeses) and a big, 0.5 liter Bitburger Pils, followed by an over-spiced pasta dinner. Oh man, I can't wait to eat in Europa!

J. Riley, it's 9:00pm, I better clean up my apartment, start packing, do my dishes, and fold my laundry