At last ... in 12 hours I will be jumping on a plane to back home to North Carolina. It really isn't that I hate this place, cause I don't. I enjoy it here. I am just very much looking forward to seeing my family and friends. Plans have already been laid down, as I'm going to a jazz fest in downtown Winston tomorrow evening with my parents, E and Jennifer. My good friend Jon is coming up from Greenville, SC, so we'll probably hit the town that evening. Kahlgirl has already planned one of her infamous deck parties for Saturday night. The vacation is already starting off on a positive note. I just hope my plane takes off on time. O'Hare is always a crap shoot.

And now, for some jaylowe observations:

Does anyone really believe Kobe? Typically, I would side with the guy in this situation. Let's think about it ... he has money, fame and everything to lose. Why would he out himself in this situation? Now I said that is NORMALLY how I would feel. In this case, I do not. Watching his press conference last week made me sick. I saw no remorse. I saw a script. Hell, I've seen better acting on Monday Night Raw. Hey, I could end up being totally wrong, and for his sake I hope I am. But I just didn't see too many signs of forgiveness. And his wife? She's an idiot.

Does it piss you off when you are looking up something in the phone book and it reads, "please see another section." I mean, in the space they take up to type that, they could just put in the damn number. For instance, I'm flipping through the NIU phone book today looking for the number to Document Services. So what do I look under? Yes kids, that's right ... DOCUMENT SERVICES. But there's that little note, "please see information technology." WHAT? So I flip to the IT section, and of course there is the number. But WHY not just list it under Document Services? Is this too much to ask? Without stepping on Marc's toes, it is time for Ken Griffey, Jr, to hang it up. Every time I pop open espn.com, there is a story about this guy being hurt. Wasn't he supposed to be the next Hank Aaron? Obviously not. Sorry grif, but go ahead and retire. Or go play for Tampa Bay. That's close enough.

I think I've started to grow out of my wrestling phase. I know, I know. Most people grow out of it when they are 12, or at least 15. Not me. I've enjoyed it for years. It's always been a distraction from every day life. It's a great way to cheer for the "bad guy." But watching it this past Monday night just made me realize how awful it's gotten. Sure, some of the classics wrestlers are still there. It's just not the same. Flair can still talk with the best of 'em. HHH is always gonna be my favorite. The Rock, when he's not playing around in Hollywood, is the best in the business today. However, the entire product is lacking something. I wish I knew the answers.

Don't you hate it when wonderful people, hurt? I have this friend ... she's amazing. I don't give her enough credit, because we give each other so much hell ... but she is an amazing person. She's the type of person that when you are around them, YOU want to be a better person. So she has this pain that won't go away. It has to deal with that silly thing called the heart. If there were anything I could do to lessen that blow, I would. She deserves better. She deserves the best. She may not believe it now ... I probably wouldn't either ... but good things happen to good people. And she's a great one.

That's it kids. Another installment of The Lowe Down is complete. I won't be back on until August 3rd. I head home for a little over a week tomorrow morning. I simply cannot wait. So for all of you in Winston, see you soon. To my DeKalb friends ... keep my seat at Fatty's warm!

ps - Don't forget about the ARGUS show September 6, at Fatty's here in DeKalb, IL.

SWEET JESUS!

I just checked in my last summer camp earlier today. It's nice to know the summer camps are close to winding up ... still a lot of paper work to handle ... but that also means that the fall is FAST approaching. Which also means, I'm closing in on my one-year anniversary of the move to DeKalb. Oh don't worry, that's a Lowe Down waiting to happen. I just can't give it up yet though. Gotta string it out until August 20, which actually was my first day in DeKalb.

More importantly, has anyone else noticed the NOSE DIVE my Jays have taken? Dear Lord. It was just over a month ago that the Blue Jays were only one game out of first, on the cover of espn.com and were sitting pretty with both a Cy Young and MVP candidate. Now, it's just back to normal. They traded Shannon Stewart Wednesday to the Twins, which is fine. S-stew was gonna leave after the season anyway. I just hope they make the proper moves at the end of this season to get back in contention next year. I'm not totally writing off this year yet, but 11 games out at the end of July is difficult to overcome.

Had a great conversation with E tonight. I swear, you give us five minutes on the phone and we will come up with the most ludicrous bullshit sessions anyone has ever heard. About five minutes into our conversation, we were declaring they rename DeKalb, ARGUSland (in honor of our shows), and that the Corn Queen of DeKalb present us with keys to the city. I was crying with laughter. Of course, none of this will happen, but it just goes to show how easy it is for us to laugh.

Speaking of the ARUS shows here in DeKalb, T-Shirts are being made. Once the design is complete, I'll be sure to pass it along. Needless to say they will be a hot commodity.

So I've got four days this week to bust my ass and get a lot done at work. I head home on Friday to Winston, which I am very much looking forward to. Oh, in our babbling conversation E promised me that he and his lovely wife had made arrangements with the Winston city council, and all roads leading into the city will be blocked off on Thursday in preparation. See what I mean? You give us five minutes ...

I rented "Phone Booth" Friday night. It wasn't a bad flick at all. Not the best, but not the worst. It makes you a little uneasy and is a pretty interesting story, but I'm really waiting on my two new movies to come in the mail. I bought "Punch Drunk Love" and "Adaptation". I've seen both and loved them. I highly suggest you check them out sometime.

My parents finally caught up with the modern world yesterday and bought a DVD player. I'm shocked. I really thought the day would never come. Actually, I'm pissed! I was planning on buying them one for Christmas. Oh well, now I can just replace all of their favorite movies. My mom has a LIBRARY of vhs tapes. I've been telling her for years that DVD is the way to go, but she's been so hung up on the vhs tapes. I love my mother to death and would beat the living hell out of anyone who crossed her ... but sometimes technology scares here. We are talking about a person who took about 10 years to really get a good handle on the VCR. Don't hate me mom! I have to give you a little ribbin'. Then again, Dad and sissy can't be much better. They are all waiting on ME to come home to hook the DVD player up to the TV. Yes, I am the smartest man alive.

But seriously, DVD is so much simpler. None of the rewind crap. I have done away with all of my vhs movies except for Star Wars. Well, that and all of the UNC hoops games and the Blue Jays playoff runs of 1992 and 1993. When I become a "big balla," I'll purchase one of those vhs to DVD recorders and burn those puppies onto disc. That is the one bad thing about no longer owning a VCR. I cannot tell you how many times I watched Joe Carter's home run in the '93 world series ... over and over and over ...

That is it for tonight kids. Time for bed. I was up at 4 am today taking a buddy to the airport. Am I a damn good friend, or what? Yeah right ... these coaches will move on faster in life than I will. I have to stay on their good side!

Had a pretty relaxing, yet cool Monday evening. Got my workout in early, so I could go do some laundry. So I head over to Sue's to do my laundry, and she had prepared dinner for all of us. Sue's great about that stuff. She likes to take care of her boys. After dinner, Flip found out he could get his copy of NCAA College Football 2004. Ok, there are two reasons this was cool:

1) The game wasn't supposed to come out until Tuesday, but the store got their copies in around 8PM Monday night, so we got to give the game a crack a day before most everyone else


2) How often is it that you are buying a game that features a Heisman Trophy candidate, and there he is standing right in front of you? Yes, good ole Michael Turner, # 32 for the Huskies, was there picking up his copy of the game. The few people that were in line, were giving him a hard time about being IN the game. He laughed it off. He's a good kid. Actually, www.turnertheburner.com will be an NIU sponsored web page, but isn't up and running yet. Let's hope all the hype is well deserved.

The game itself is pretty sweet. They've upgraded the game play slightly, and the recruiting aspect is pretty sweet. Having to actually pitch a kid a reason as to WHY he should come to your school is pretty entertaining. Although, it is amazing how all of the kids qualify. I mean, if it's going to be "in the game," shouldn't EA Sports make it more realistic? Lose a couple of kids to academics ... have partial qualifiers ... lose kids in the middle of the year ... have academic scandals ... have kids selling their championship rings. I mean, when I want it all in the game, I want it all.

Oh, I did find out that the new WWE game, "Here comes the pain," comes out October 8. I'm pretty pumped about that, seeing as the last version of the game has brought us countless hours of fun up here in DeKalb. And yes, I'm STILL world champ. I'm running a streak reminiscent of Hulk Hogan's runs back in the 80s. No one can stop me.

In the midst of my drool session over the new football game, Big Red called me and told me Vertical Horizon played their new single at the MLB All-Star Celebrity softball game. Very sweet. Now, if you are interested in hearing the new tune, "I'm still here," I ask that you click here. The only thing I ask is that you not download it and put it into one of the file sharing programs. If you just want to hear the tune, go for it. But let's be respectful of these great artists. And be sure to buy their new album, "Go," on September 23.

Well kids, hope you are having a good week so far.

ps - Don't forget about the ARGUS show September 6, at Fatty's here in DeKalb, IL.

I suppose I could blame my lack of writing over the past week on work, but that isn't entirely true. There just hasn't been much to write about, and before you get your hopes up, there still isn't much to write about. Life is just going right now. No real negatives. No real positives. Things are just kinda bland. I suppose it could be worse, but I'm the type of person who needs some excitement here and there. Not really sure how to explain my current state of mind, but it's nothing for anyone to worry about (mom and day!). I just need a vacation. Eleven days.

So last week I received some great news. My great friend, The ephus, landed back on his feet. Thursday morning, as I was on instant messenger talking with him, he was offered a job. A great job, in a great college town, covering one of the greatest football programs of all times ... and their other sports too. This is something long coming, as he was abruptly and unnecessarily fired from his old job. He is one of two journalists that I know very well, both of which are dear friends. They both are brilliant writers, and I'm thrilled The ephus has found a way back into the game. See you at Dreamland BBQ, The ephus!

Well, I'll go ahead and announce it now since I have nothing else to type ...

ARGUS will be making our Midwestern debut, Saturday, September 6, 2003 in DeKalb, IL. We'll have two shows that day, starting with the Huskie Club tent, before the NIU football game vs. Tennessee Tech. Later that evening, ARGUS will play to a packed crowd at Fatty's Pub. If any of you in the Midwest have any desire to come, just let me know. Hell, if any of you down south have a desire to make the trip up north, give me a shout. I'd love to have you. It should be a great time, and I'm really looking forward to having the ARGUS crew up here. I miss those clowns. Sadly enough though, Donovan Babb won't be joining us. He's taking his excellent drumming skills on tour with Fake Red Seth, his real band. We'll miss him terribly, but my good friend Steve Ekhoff will be sitting in on drums. I'm very much looking forward to this.

A fairly busy week ahead ... I've got to work on football credentials, many facility issues, and I really need to start packing this place up for the apartment move.

Well, since I have nothing else interesting to say, I'll put you out of your misery. Enjoy your week, and hopefully I'll be livelier later on.

Aside from today being the LOVELY Katie Diak's birthday, I'd pretty much like to forget it.

Remember when you were in college, and your professor returned a paper or test to you and on it was the red letter, "F?" Well, that is what today has felt like. So after a wicked storm last night, I wake up and head to work. Sounds normal, but as I am walking towards my car I realize I left my sunroof open last night. I'm typically very good about this and am shocked I let this happen. I suppose I just turned off my brain when I came home last night. Those ominous clouds last night couldn't even help me. I can be so dumb.

Today, I also found out one of our stadium projects has been pulled. This one is really getting at me, because I had told our director of athletics that it would get done. Basically we were supposed to put up some flagpoles on the east side of the stadium so we could fly flags of all the MAC schools. Now, do you think I'm the type of person who would tell his AD this was going to happen if there was any question? No, I'm not. Our engineers told me that this project would just be a "work order," and would not fall under the capital projects. So I went ahead with the order.

I get the phone call today that the project has been stopped. The SAME MAN who told me it would fall under the "work order" status told me it was now a capital project and has to have approval from like 10 million people. Needless to say I was pissed. His explanation: "I did not mean to mislead you, but that is just something we've decided to have fall under the capital projects." Mislead me??? I frickin' ordered over $5,000 worth of flagpoles and flags. Not to mention, I told our AD that this was GOING to happen. Luckily we hadn't given the flag company our purchase order, and we technically do not owe them anything. However, this now puts a strain on the relationship I had with this company. I've worked with them for over three years, dating back to my Wake Forest days. The lady and I have a great relationship, and now I have to tell her I was wrong. It just really pisses me off. I've had several people today tell me, "Jay, this isn't your fault. There's nothing you can do about it." Those friends are right, but it is hard for me to let this kind of stuff go. I'm here to do a job, and if I can't do it successfully, there is something wrong. I have let down my AD, the flag company and even myself.

Oh, but the day gets better. I go to work out, jump on the elliptical machine beside this really cute girl (typically I am never beside a cute girl, so the extra motivation always helps), turn on my mp3 player and ... oh wait, it doesn't work. It was in my car and got soaked from the rain last night. I'm hoping it just needs to dry off, but just something else to add to the board today.

Yeah, I'm bitching. I need to suck it up and deal with it. I just hate the feeling of letting people down. I'm hoping my AD will understand and that she'll back me on this. We shall see.

On a brighter note, I had a great weekend hanging out with Big Red and Kahlgirl. I really adore all the friends I've made up here, but those two people are very dear to my heart. They are great friends, and I'm lucky to have them.

So not that I'm counting the days or anything, but I'll be back in Winston-Salem in 17 days. I'm really excited. I want to see my family, my dog and all my friends. It'll do me some good to get outta here before football kicks up.

OH, also signed the lease on my new apartment yesterday. Flip and I are getting a nice three-bedroom town home. The plans are to turn it into party central and make sure that jackass enjoys his last year of bachelorhood. We got a four bedroom so we could get a third person if we wanted and still have extra space. So let expansion begin. Trust me, we'll handle it much smoother than the ACC did, but we are looking for that someone, that Miami, who would make a perfect fit into our place. It's not easy to do. We'll make site visits, like the ACC did to BC and Syracuse, but the determining factor will be, "what can this person bring to the table." Actually, it really doesn't matter ... but fun to compare the two.

Ok, I'm going to practice a little guitar, eat some dinner and then go to BED! This day needs to be over soon.

For a long time now, not having AC in my apartment hasn't bothered me. It is starting to now. As the temperatures in DeKalb keep climbing and hovering around 90, I've quickly forgotten how nice it is to have AC. Oh, I'll have it in my new apartment, but that isn't for another month.

Don't get me wrong. Sweating isn't bad. The sweat you get in your apartment from cleaning and washing dishes/clothes is not cool. However, there are many types of cool ways to break a sweat:

1. Sport sweat
Who doesn't enjoy runnin' up and down a basketball court or soccer field, or when you work out and are drenched in your own sweat? Maybe it's a sense of accomplishment. Regardless, it is cool to sweat while playing sports.

2. Concert sweat
Going to a crowded bar or club ... standing in front of your favorite musicians ... taking in the music while singing along to every word ... so many people in the place you can hardly move. That is one time where you are sweating, as is everyone around you, and it really doesn't matter. It's all about the music.

3. Making-out sweat
Does it really get better than make-out sweat? No way. Two people, huggin' and kissin' ... snugglin' ... rollin' around on the couch. The best thing about this sweat is, you don't even realize it is happening because you are WAY too into kissing the other person. It is one of the few times where sweat doesn't bother me one bit.

4. ummmm ...
After make-out sweat, I got nothing. There's no other sweat better than make-out sweat. I'm done.

So I hope I've enlightened your outlook on sweating. Cause right now I am typing this and sweating like crazy. Again, not cool.

Something that is cool however is this. I just really miss Athens sometimes, and this article is just a glimpse of how damn cool that town can be.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th! I'm heading into Chicago either tonight or tomorrow to see some friends. I'll be safe, I promise.

So I've been bummin' all week. I'm not really sure what it is. It's probably a combination of things. I'm hoping to break that funk Thursday night when I meet Kahlgirl and Big Red in Chicago. I think seeing some familiar faces might just be the trick. I don't even know what the real plans are for the weekend, but at this point it doesn't really matter. I'll have two of my best friends by my side, and that's really all a simple man needs.

As I type this Lowe Down, I'm chatting with Big Red via instant messenger. He and some of the COSIDA crew in Cleveland hit the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. He brought up the fantastic U2 exhibit they current have there. As I told Red, being his roommate last year really gave me an increased appreciation for the band. He loves those guys and really it caused me to listen to them more so than before. So now I'm going to give you my Top-Five bands I'd like to see LIVE, but never have. These are in no particular order:

U2
These guys have been at it for 20 years. Their music is incredible and timeless. With each new album, they have evolved into rock legends. They will easily be remembered as the best rock band of my lifetime. Aerosmith and the Stones don't count. They were around well before these guys. And not only is U2 advocates of great music, but also humanity. Have to respect their music and their stances on politics, even if you don't agree with them.

James Taylor
I don't think I truly became a James Taylor fan until freshman year of college. I was missing all my family and friends in NC, so over Christmas break I "borrowed" my mom's copy of JT's Greatest Hits. The song I continued to play the remained of my freshman year ... "Carolina on My Mind." That song still sticks with me to this day. Whenever I head back to Winston, rest assured that song is playing in my car or my office or at home. His live double disc is amazing. Thirty songs, all of which are classics. You can't beat that.

Bruce Springsteen
Do I really have to explain this one??? I mean, he's The Boss. I've loved his music since I was a child. From the radio hits, to the obscure tunes about middle class America. This man has been doing it since 1973. Unbelievable.

Billy Joel and Elton John
Ok, so this one kinda doesn't count. My parents took me to see Billy Joel when I was really young. I'm very fortunate for being there, but I don't remember a lot of it. Plus, he's been touring with Elton John recently. I have heard the show these two men put on is amazing. Piano music is wonderful as is, but you add in the powerful, yet sometimes poppy, lyrics of these two gentlemen and you've made for an amazing show.

REM
Ok, so I did live in Athens, GA, for five years. REM started in Athens. Everyone there loved them. For five years, I swore I wasn't going to be a follower, so I never gave their music a shot. Even an eventual run-in with Michael Stipe at the Blue Sky coffee house didn't make me appreciate their music. It took me leaving Athens to really find what others had known all along. Theses guys are all very talented musicians. Even without intending to be at times, the music and lyrics are both very powerful. I'm proud to say I've since made a 2-disc set with all of the REM classics, with thanks to Brickhouse and Ms. Purks for helping pick out the best songs.

Sure, there are some new bands that I'd love to see live ... Cold Play, Massive Attack, Pete Yorn, Radiohead ... but I've had a love affair with the music of the Top Five for quite some time. If any of you out there have seen any of my Top Five live, please share your experience. I'm always willing to talk "shows" with anyone. There's that love for music coming out in me again.

Before I leave you tonight, I'd like to say a very special HELLO and CONGRATULATIONS to a wonderful Athenian, Joanna. She's put up with my shit for several years now, and has always remained a trusting and compassionate friend. Jo got married two weeks ago, and I can honestly say I'm jealous as HELL of Fred. If he wasn't such a great guy, I'd hate him. Oh well. I do wish them well in their new journey of love, life and marriage. I hope to see the newly weds sometime soon.

Enough rambling for the evening. Time for bed.