Post 50. Right here. This is where the groundbreaking shit starts to happen. This is where i stop talking about my somewhat boring life, and start talking about all of the awesome things I've got planned for the rest of the year. This is where the bullshit stops, and the real me begins.
This is actually just another dumb post. I'm going to talk about a few things... actually write. I'm going to write about a few things. First stop, Baltimore MD.
Insubordination Fest is an annual event that I have attended since it's second show. It's a blast. The music almost takes a back seat to all of the awesome friendships formed, the crazy antics, and of course... the beers. We left on Thursday afternoon for MD and enjoyed a wonderful scenic drive down 95 South. Truth be told, I slept from the time we got on the NE Extension to the time we got about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore. We got to our hotel in the Inner Harbor, checked in, paid out the nose for parking the car for 3 days, and then left for the Ottobar.
The Ottobar is in a wonderful part of Baltimore so we parked pretty close to the venue. Upon walking in I ran into Danny, Dave Nobody, Phrank, Nick Valentine and a bunch of other people I can't quite remember right now. I remembered from last year that the upstairs bar was open for happy hour from 6pm to 9pm. After a quick check of what time it was, i noted that it was 6pm, and headed upstairs for some happy hour action. $1 Natty Boh's and cheap shots for 3 hours put me in pretty awesome form for the night. The highlights of this evening, although a little bit hazy, were Short Attention, Delay, The Max Levine Ensemble, Charlie Brown Gets A Valentine and Teenage Bottlerocket. We left the Ottobar and went back to the hotel after the show. I had a little too much fun so I went to sleep in the closet. I woke up in Brian's bed at 4:30am freezing cold, sleeping next to a fat guy who wasn't sharing the blankets. Boo.
Woke up Friday around 11:30am and was pretty sure that it would be the last I would see of the world. I stumbled downstairs and lit a cigarette trying to figure out up from down, left from right, and right from wrong. I figured out all of the above, and went back upstairs and laid on the floor. A little while later we went to the Lexington Market for some crab cakes. They were out of this world. Happiness can be eaten, and it can be eaten in the form of a crab cake. Here we met up with my total mancrush ChrisCrusher, his girlfriend Ali, Elliot from Wilkes-Barre, and Cameron from Seattle. DrewPeabottom and MsPeabottom showed up a bit later and then we left for the hotel room.
It was pool party time. I sat in a beach chair and drank a Natty Boh with my shirt off. There were ladies everywhere. I was scared for my life. I pooped in the hotel, it was awesome. it was the closest I'll ever come to giving birth... I was very happy, a little empty, and ready for Friday night's show.
We walked back to the hotel room to cut the sleeves off of our shirts and then walked back across town to Sonar. This is where we would spend the next 2 days. Walking in I ran into Drew and we went to the bar to get a couple of Boh's. We hung out for a bit and waited for the music to start. Highlights of this day were The Steinways last show, The Copyrights, Boris The Sprinkler, The Dead Milkmen, House Boat, The Menzingers and the Dopamines playing the best set I've seen in quite a long time, probably dating back to the last Ergs! show. PunkRockJeff showed up and it's always nice to see him. He came out from Milwaukee on what should have been a 13 hour drive, but it took him 16. I love this devotion for something as perfect as friendships and music. He told me when he got there he only drove out to punch me in the balls. More on that later. I left pretty sober because I wanted to make sure I remembered the Boris The Sprinkler set. The last time I saw them was 1997 in Duluth, MN on the night of my Senior Prom. They were just as good Friday night as they were when i was 17. Maybe ever better.
Saturday morning. Wake up, clear out the cobwebs and head off to find some cheap food. Nothing is open in Baltimore on Saturday... it's really mystifying. I settled for some Burger King and waited for 12 minutes after placing my order for two Whopper Jrs. Wow. I ate them on the way back to Sonar and met up with Brian and Mike in front of the venue. Saturday was another one of those, "Oh no, I'll bet I fall down" days. Jeff and I were enjoying some bands, knocking back drinks and having a blast. Highlights of the last night of Insubordination Fest were Dear Landlord (so good... again and again), The Measure [sa], Psyched To Die, The Leftovers, Kepi Ghoulie, Dillinger Four, and the Arrivals. We went outside after the show to say goodbye to people we probably won't see until next June and then went to Crusher and Ali's hotel room for a little late night after party action. TahoeJeff played his Uke and we sang along to various songs in different keys. It was awesome. I walked back to the hotel at 4:30am armed with a small pocket knife, and bloodshot eyes and fell asleep safely in the hallway closet of the hotel room. I woke up the next day and decided I wanted to try to stop smoking cigarettes.
Next topic! Stupid fucking cigarettes!
It's not going 100% so far, but I can count the number of smokes I've had since Sunday morning on one hand, and i think that's pretty good. Had this been a "normal" week I'd need about 8 hands to count them up. There are a few times when it's all i can do to not walk up to the store and buy a pack... even if just to hold one, or have the rectangle in my pocket. I'm going to try this time, and I'm going to be strong about it. I don't anticipate that I will fail, but I certainly worry about it. We'll see what happens... if at first you don't.. something something.
I'm done writing now. I'll let you all know how this thing works out. Keep your unit(s) on ya(s).
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Today: Birthday, Fathers Day, Basement Show.
I lied. I said I would update this thing before Friday, and I didn't. I failed. Oh well. I'm going to try and recap what I've been up to for the past week, and maybe I'll search out something to talk about after, before, or during... we'll see how it all works out.
Last night was goddamn awesome. Brian, Mike, Emily (Happy Birthday!) and I went to the Cafe Metropolis in Wilkes-Barre PA to see a show. It was the first time I've dragged Emily to a show, and based on what I can pull out of a situation I think she had a good time. Maybe we'll do this again someday... who knows.
The bill (in reverse order) was The Menzingers (Scranton, PA), The Copyrights (Elgin, IL), Dear Landlord (Minneapolis, MN/Elgin, Illinois), and Highlites (Doylestown, PA). It really was a great lineup and the room was really positive and fun. It's been a while since I've gone to a show and not had a few beers but just stayed in the back of the crowd and watched everything. It's still really refreshing and awesome to me to have all of these people get together in a room where "aggressive" music is played and there is no bullshit. No fights. No trouble. No cops. Everyone came with the intention of checking out some music, and everyone had fun. It was nice to see Elliot, as he is one of the most entertaining people I've met and has the most genuine contagious laugh ever.
Highlites started the show and reminded me of a less tight Ghost Town Trio. I wasn't much for their sound but it wasn't unlikeable. I just found a demo on the Internet and I will download it and listen to it. Sometimes things translate better when they are recorded, and the live show lacks... or the other way around... who knows. I'll give it a shot and see. The worst that happens is the files occupy some space on my hard drive.
Dear Landlord was next. I've been waiting since the Disgraceland show with Off With Their Heads to see them again. They ripped through a bunch of songs on the new record which I hadn't heard, and I'm always stoked to hear new songs live before hearing them on record. They were pretty much untouchable. Best set of the night, easily. Get 'er Done, High Fives, Crashing, I live in Hell were the highlights of the set. It was nice to see a good collection of kids there to check them out, and hopefully this will bring them back to this side of the country soon.
After a short break, the Copyrights were set up and ready to play. They, also, were excellent. I've seen them a bunch of times and typically they're a bit drunk and not sounding so tight. They sounded VERY good last night. Planet Earth 1994, Cashiers, Shits Fucked, 57 North, Thinking With The Lights On were the highlights. I would have been thrilled to hear The Company and Graveyards Down The Street but Luke wasn't playing drums for them and was replaced by Ronnie from the Arrivals. Luke will be back with them in Baltimore (!!!) for Insubordination Fest this coming weekend and I'm thinking I might have a shot at hearing those songs. We'll see. I'm going to ask Fletcher if there's a chance and hearing The Company tonight. That would make my Sunday. My weekend has already been made.
The Menzingers were The Menzingers. I like them live, but I'm not much for them recorded. They can command a room, which is important for a band, and they were playing a record release show in their hometown. It's nice to see the support they get at home. I saw them play in Gainesville, FL last year and the support they got there was pretty excellent. Florida was the first time I had seen them, and I'm happy to see a band of guys from right up the NE Extension do well for themselves. There were 2 highlights of their set for me... the first was Richard Coury and the second was them letting everyone know not to buy records and shirts from them but to support the out of town bands so they could get to their next city. Classy shit, to say the least.
Oh, tonight. Copyrights, Dear Landlord, The Measure [sa], and the Menzingers in a basement in "stab you in the face, take your wallet and rape you" West Philadelphia. I'm REALLY excited for this one. I'm going to have a drink or two and "rage" with some friends. I'm very excited for this. I get to see a bunch of friends and sweat like it's my job in someone's basement.
I thought of it! I know what I'm going to "talk" about for this entry. Punk Rock. How I got into it. My first show. All of that stuff that probably helped shape who I am today, some of the outcomes will be negative, most will be positive, but I'm happy to have the values I have today, and being 100% comfortable with who I am.
Halloween. Duluth, MN 1995. I got a flier for a band called Johnny Pantsless and Matt (best friend in High School) and myself thought we should go check this out. I already had a Fugazi CD and a Green Day CD so I had clearly been around the block and knew exactly was I was getting into. WRONG. I don't remember the lineup for the night, but I remember a band called Flux Skapacitor and Johnny Pantsless (Jesse now plays in a band called Pretty Boy Thorson and the Falling Angels... 7/6!!) were playing. The opening band was dressed up like KISS and played covers. I didn't know very many of them, but something that sticks in my mind is a cover of Screeching Weasel's "Hey Suburbia" but the lyrics were changed to be about the OJ Simpson trial. There were a bunch of kids who were just like me in this old abandoned telephone company called The Receyclabell. It was great. Between bands we'd go outside and hang out with other kids who were just like us. There was never any bullshit. I didn't see a fight at a show until I came to Philadelphia, and never understood the motivation to do so.
We came to this same space over and over again for the next 2 years. I saw bands like Slapstick, The Umpires, Digger, Ferd Mert, Backwards Struggle and the Riff Randells. Then a few other places in Duluth caught our eye. One was a YMCA in West Duluth (I played my first punk show there!), the other was a Ballet recital room above a record store called The Electric Fetus. We'd frequent these places almost every weekend and slowly met friends, girls, bands and collected a disgusting amount of music... all of which I still have, and still listen to. I met my first "real" (kind of crazy when I think about it now) girlfriend at a punk show. Her name was Anna and ultimately taught me several lessons... most of which I'm not sure I learned anything from.
There was a really amazing sense of community at these shows. People you never talked to before were immediately friends and people we would hang out with for the next couple of years. We (John Laney, Matt Olmem, (I don't know who played bass! shit!), and myself) formed a band called The Screw-Ups and we played two shows. One was at the afore mentioned YMCA and the other was at a small coffee shop in downtown Duluth called the Orphium Room. We never got paid. We didn't want to. We wrote songs about being in high school, girls, and we also played a few cover songs. Our set couldn't have been more than 20 minutes long. My parents had rented a house to a couple of lived behind our garage and eventually they moved out. We took the living room of this house and turned it into our practice space. We practiced for HOURS. Hours of practice to play 10 songs to a room of people for 20 minutes. My voice was shot and I remember thinking I wasn't going to be able to sing (scream) when we played our second show... we made it through ok. I wish we could have had these shows taped, or ever tried to record something. It sounds like a trainwreck of bad musicians and screamy screechy 17 year old vocals in my head and I'm sure that's exactly what it was. That is what I had always wanted to do. Write some songs with some friends and play them for a group of people who wanted to hear them. I think I'm glad I got that out of my system when I did, but I still have the crazy desire to do this again someday... even at age (almost) 30. I think it would be different now because I know about more than how I'm tired of jocks, don't appreciate stares from people who hate me based on no reason or the cute girl in my anatomy class who never knew I existed. I know much more now that I did... everything was written to be very straight forward and not metaphorically. I think I could write better now, but I'm afraid to find out I can't... so I don't.
Fast forward to right now. June 21st 2009 1:25pm. I'm typing out this blog, drinking a beer, and waiting to go to a show with my friends tonight. Not much has changed, but the lines on our faces have gotten deeper, life means more and I appreciate the smaller things much more than I ever did before. Looking back on it, if I wouldn't have gone down this path I don't know what I would be doing with myself, but I know in the back of my head I would have never had this much fun.
Thursday - Saturday of this week is going to be the best. Every year at the end of June about 500 kids descend on the city of Baltimore for 3 days of friendship, punkrock, high fives, drinks and then sad "see you next year" hugs. It's so much fun. I've met the majority of the people there through an Internet message board and formed these awesome friendships. I love most of them like family, and I wish we all lived in one city and that every show was this good. I'm very excited for this weekend.
Otherwise, the past week or so has progressed like any other week, so just go back a few entries and read those... I'm a creature of habit. I like finding a formula of what works and sticking to it. I've been spoiled as of late. I know this. I'm completely enjoying every second of it.
My battery is going to die. Oh no!
Last night was goddamn awesome. Brian, Mike, Emily (Happy Birthday!) and I went to the Cafe Metropolis in Wilkes-Barre PA to see a show. It was the first time I've dragged Emily to a show, and based on what I can pull out of a situation I think she had a good time. Maybe we'll do this again someday... who knows.
The bill (in reverse order) was The Menzingers (Scranton, PA), The Copyrights (Elgin, IL), Dear Landlord (Minneapolis, MN/Elgin, Illinois), and Highlites (Doylestown, PA). It really was a great lineup and the room was really positive and fun. It's been a while since I've gone to a show and not had a few beers but just stayed in the back of the crowd and watched everything. It's still really refreshing and awesome to me to have all of these people get together in a room where "aggressive" music is played and there is no bullshit. No fights. No trouble. No cops. Everyone came with the intention of checking out some music, and everyone had fun. It was nice to see Elliot, as he is one of the most entertaining people I've met and has the most genuine contagious laugh ever.
Highlites started the show and reminded me of a less tight Ghost Town Trio. I wasn't much for their sound but it wasn't unlikeable. I just found a demo on the Internet and I will download it and listen to it. Sometimes things translate better when they are recorded, and the live show lacks... or the other way around... who knows. I'll give it a shot and see. The worst that happens is the files occupy some space on my hard drive.
Dear Landlord was next. I've been waiting since the Disgraceland show with Off With Their Heads to see them again. They ripped through a bunch of songs on the new record which I hadn't heard, and I'm always stoked to hear new songs live before hearing them on record. They were pretty much untouchable. Best set of the night, easily. Get 'er Done, High Fives, Crashing, I live in Hell were the highlights of the set. It was nice to see a good collection of kids there to check them out, and hopefully this will bring them back to this side of the country soon.
After a short break, the Copyrights were set up and ready to play. They, also, were excellent. I've seen them a bunch of times and typically they're a bit drunk and not sounding so tight. They sounded VERY good last night. Planet Earth 1994, Cashiers, Shits Fucked, 57 North, Thinking With The Lights On were the highlights. I would have been thrilled to hear The Company and Graveyards Down The Street but Luke wasn't playing drums for them and was replaced by Ronnie from the Arrivals. Luke will be back with them in Baltimore (!!!) for Insubordination Fest this coming weekend and I'm thinking I might have a shot at hearing those songs. We'll see. I'm going to ask Fletcher if there's a chance and hearing The Company tonight. That would make my Sunday. My weekend has already been made.
The Menzingers were The Menzingers. I like them live, but I'm not much for them recorded. They can command a room, which is important for a band, and they were playing a record release show in their hometown. It's nice to see the support they get at home. I saw them play in Gainesville, FL last year and the support they got there was pretty excellent. Florida was the first time I had seen them, and I'm happy to see a band of guys from right up the NE Extension do well for themselves. There were 2 highlights of their set for me... the first was Richard Coury and the second was them letting everyone know not to buy records and shirts from them but to support the out of town bands so they could get to their next city. Classy shit, to say the least.
Oh, tonight. Copyrights, Dear Landlord, The Measure [sa], and the Menzingers in a basement in "stab you in the face, take your wallet and rape you" West Philadelphia. I'm REALLY excited for this one. I'm going to have a drink or two and "rage" with some friends. I'm very excited for this. I get to see a bunch of friends and sweat like it's my job in someone's basement.
I thought of it! I know what I'm going to "talk" about for this entry. Punk Rock. How I got into it. My first show. All of that stuff that probably helped shape who I am today, some of the outcomes will be negative, most will be positive, but I'm happy to have the values I have today, and being 100% comfortable with who I am.
Halloween. Duluth, MN 1995. I got a flier for a band called Johnny Pantsless and Matt (best friend in High School) and myself thought we should go check this out. I already had a Fugazi CD and a Green Day CD so I had clearly been around the block and knew exactly was I was getting into. WRONG. I don't remember the lineup for the night, but I remember a band called Flux Skapacitor and Johnny Pantsless (Jesse now plays in a band called Pretty Boy Thorson and the Falling Angels... 7/6!!) were playing. The opening band was dressed up like KISS and played covers. I didn't know very many of them, but something that sticks in my mind is a cover of Screeching Weasel's "Hey Suburbia" but the lyrics were changed to be about the OJ Simpson trial. There were a bunch of kids who were just like me in this old abandoned telephone company called The Receyclabell. It was great. Between bands we'd go outside and hang out with other kids who were just like us. There was never any bullshit. I didn't see a fight at a show until I came to Philadelphia, and never understood the motivation to do so.
We came to this same space over and over again for the next 2 years. I saw bands like Slapstick, The Umpires, Digger, Ferd Mert, Backwards Struggle and the Riff Randells. Then a few other places in Duluth caught our eye. One was a YMCA in West Duluth (I played my first punk show there!), the other was a Ballet recital room above a record store called The Electric Fetus. We'd frequent these places almost every weekend and slowly met friends, girls, bands and collected a disgusting amount of music... all of which I still have, and still listen to. I met my first "real" (kind of crazy when I think about it now) girlfriend at a punk show. Her name was Anna and ultimately taught me several lessons... most of which I'm not sure I learned anything from.
There was a really amazing sense of community at these shows. People you never talked to before were immediately friends and people we would hang out with for the next couple of years. We (John Laney, Matt Olmem, (I don't know who played bass! shit!), and myself) formed a band called The Screw-Ups and we played two shows. One was at the afore mentioned YMCA and the other was at a small coffee shop in downtown Duluth called the Orphium Room. We never got paid. We didn't want to. We wrote songs about being in high school, girls, and we also played a few cover songs. Our set couldn't have been more than 20 minutes long. My parents had rented a house to a couple of lived behind our garage and eventually they moved out. We took the living room of this house and turned it into our practice space. We practiced for HOURS. Hours of practice to play 10 songs to a room of people for 20 minutes. My voice was shot and I remember thinking I wasn't going to be able to sing (scream) when we played our second show... we made it through ok. I wish we could have had these shows taped, or ever tried to record something. It sounds like a trainwreck of bad musicians and screamy screechy 17 year old vocals in my head and I'm sure that's exactly what it was. That is what I had always wanted to do. Write some songs with some friends and play them for a group of people who wanted to hear them. I think I'm glad I got that out of my system when I did, but I still have the crazy desire to do this again someday... even at age (almost) 30. I think it would be different now because I know about more than how I'm tired of jocks, don't appreciate stares from people who hate me based on no reason or the cute girl in my anatomy class who never knew I existed. I know much more now that I did... everything was written to be very straight forward and not metaphorically. I think I could write better now, but I'm afraid to find out I can't... so I don't.
Fast forward to right now. June 21st 2009 1:25pm. I'm typing out this blog, drinking a beer, and waiting to go to a show with my friends tonight. Not much has changed, but the lines on our faces have gotten deeper, life means more and I appreciate the smaller things much more than I ever did before. Looking back on it, if I wouldn't have gone down this path I don't know what I would be doing with myself, but I know in the back of my head I would have never had this much fun.
Thursday - Saturday of this week is going to be the best. Every year at the end of June about 500 kids descend on the city of Baltimore for 3 days of friendship, punkrock, high fives, drinks and then sad "see you next year" hugs. It's so much fun. I've met the majority of the people there through an Internet message board and formed these awesome friendships. I love most of them like family, and I wish we all lived in one city and that every show was this good. I'm very excited for this weekend.
Otherwise, the past week or so has progressed like any other week, so just go back a few entries and read those... I'm a creature of habit. I like finding a formula of what works and sticking to it. I've been spoiled as of late. I know this. I'm completely enjoying every second of it.
My battery is going to die. Oh no!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thought... something brief.
I don't have time to write now. But I will make time before Friday.
I promise. It's not that I've been busy, it's just that I haven't been busy.
I promise. It's not that I've been busy, it's just that I haven't been busy.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
When you're young, when you're dumb.... when you're something something something...
Bom Bum BOOOOOM! Wednesday. The day which represents the beginning of the end of every crappy thing you've done for the past 2 days. It's day that I welcome with open arms. A day that means you're one day further away from Monday, but one day closer to Friday. I'm making way too much of this. It's Wednesday. Great.
I don't really have any time or anything to day right now. I'm empty.
I watched something pretty awesome yesterday.
I don't really have any time or anything to day right now. I'm empty.
I watched something pretty awesome yesterday.
Monday, June 8, 2009
All these hours I've been sleeping peacefully your imagination has been running wild.
WHOA! I'm some kind of Nostradamus! I spelled that wrong! You'll see in the last post "It's Friday night at the middle school mixer, I've got my eye on you" that i stated (predicted) that I would round out an evening with beer and tacos. I don't mean to get all "Psychic Dude" on you... but see? I'm magical, and there ain't a goddamn thing you can do about it! Ha! Doom wins again! Why? Because Doom always wins! Yay!
Seriously, though? Fuck today.
Let's start back a bit further and try and recap some of the awesomeness that has been every day that has led up to today. Friday? Go ahead. I'm sure you've got some questions from me... fire away. Hey, you... the kid in the back with stupid shirt and the glasses... oh.. what? Oh. You were stretching... i thought you had your hand up. My bad. Fine. Once again, a less that responsive audience... I'll do what I do worst, and just ramble on and try and create some semblance of meaning with all of these words... Check it out.
Friday I went to work, and golly gee wasn't that just the time of my life. No. Not really. I did get news from Bucket that he would be up in our area around 3:30pm. So let it be written, so let it be done... Bucket was there at 3:30pm like clockwork. We went back to my house and I took a shower, and drank 3 beers. 1 of which was in the shower. The other 2 were porch beers. From there we left to meet the usual crew of suspects, misfits, jerks, and friends. We had fun. Well... i don't want to speak for everyone else, but I had fun. I think everybody in Hatfield knows I had fun. Oops. At least I didn't sing karaoke... that would have just put me over the "having a reasonable amount of fun" part and right into "ohboyihopeidon'trememberthisville". Ha. Came back to the house I live in shortly after a stop to the grocery store. Tacos were made, eaten, and eventually (not that same evening [i think]) pooped. Woke up. Walked around and fell asleep on the front porch for a little bit, and next thing I know... it's SATURDAY!
What did I do with my Saturday? Another great question. Any takers? Eh... screw it. I'm talking to myself here. Bucket came over around 4pm and we ate some cookies and devised an afternoon plan of epic proportions. We put it into action... it went like this... (my plan, at least... it seemed others had different agendas)
First stop would be Dairy Queen where I would purchase 1 Chili Cheese Dog. The Chili Cheese Dog was to be eaten en route to McDonalds. Once I had arrived my plan was to get a $1 chicken sandwich, and a $1 double cheeseburger. There was no chicken sandwich, so some improvisation needed to be done. The order was a $1 Double Cheeseburger and a 4 piece Chicken McNuggets. I combined the two, so I had a double cheeseburger with 4 pieces of (creepy) "chicken" adorning the burger. I ate that on the way to Burger King. While at burger king, I "enjoyed" a spicy chicken sandwich, and a Whopper Jr. Only the bread from one sandwich was used, as to not get too filled up. My journey had only begun. I ate my Spicy Chicken Burger disaster on my way to Wendy's. The tank was starting to fill up at this point, but as a friend (Juan) once told me "there's nothing to it, but to do it". I ordered a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and a Chicken Sandwich of some kind, and proceeded to make sandwich #3 for the journey. I ate that on the way to Dunkin' Donuts where I rounded the entire "meal" off with a Glazed Donut. This "afternoon plan of epic proportions" probably took about 3 months off of my life, and I haven't eaten as much fast food this year as I did on Saturday. I felt like a CHAMP (gas, funny poo, stomach pains etc.) until about 3pm the next day.
Sunday? ... to hell with it. Here's what I did. I woke up around 4:30am and hung out for a little bit. Bucket was asleep on the couch and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I went back to sleep. It seemed like the most logical course of action. I finally woke up at 9am and did next to nothing to the next ton of hours. Brandon came over and night and we played pool for a bit, watched some baseball, and ate Chinese food. It was pretty awesome. A lazy Sunday was kind of what the Dr. (me) ordered, and it worked out very stress free, and awesome. Unlike my previous say (Saturday) spent bettering myself and eating healthy.
Today! This one was one for the goddamn books. Someone, somewhere will write about this day in a book titled "Top 100 Shittiest Days Ever". I woke up early so I could get ready for court. Fun. I got ready for court. I left the house at 9:45am and was on my way to what should be my last day of dealing with being jerked around and feeling like a dipshit. I desperately want to move on to something else that makes me feel stupid... this one is just getting out of hand. I love riding the train. I can't get enough of a long local train ride. There's all kinds of fun stuff to look at as you pass through different neighborhoods, there's quality people watching to do and I can listen to music and be left alone. It's kind of nice. I'm enjoying myself doing nothing on the train, listening to Dear Landlord ("Trying To Keep Four Walls From Doing Their Worst" has referenced this band, and an entry in late May. It's not too late to order this record.) as I recall and my phone rings. It's "Joe Awesome Lawyer" and he's letting me know that I'll be there on my own, again, and that there is no need for him to be there. Great. What the hell kind of "return" have I seen on my initial "investment" of $5K for legal defense? Nothing. A series of phone calls that turn out to be a bigger series of fucking letdowns. Once again, and certainly not the last time, Great.
I get to the Criminal Justice Center on 13th and Filbert (or as I like to call it, my home away from home) and waited 1 hour for the mornings work to finish, and the afternoon (Scheduled: 12pm) to start. I walk in, date and sign 2 papers, walk 5 feet, date and sign 1 paper. Give a woman my phone number, and I'm gone. Just like that. Just like I've done several times before. Just like my time means nothing. Just like their time means nothing. Everyone is happy. Someone shows up, something gets signed, people fall asleep in a courthouse, people have shitty haircuts and pseudo-important looks, plenty of money changes hands and nothing else ever changes. It amazes me. I could show up with my underwear outside of my pants, 3 sheets to the wind drunk and carrying a pants load of fresh crap and I would get the same result! I'll never get it. I don't want to get it. I just want to shake this dark cloud.
Then I got on the train (awesome. relief!) and head back to Lansdale. I get off of the train just in time to see my bus leaving. 1 hour wait. Nothing to do. I contemplated eating french fries with gravy at Huey's, but didn't.
Now I'm sitting here, pissed off, and feeling once again like the goddamn fool. Awesome. I hope every part of the American Legal System is this effective, this efficient, and knows how to spend your money and mine just as carefully as they can. I know that this had absorbed thousands and thousands of dollars by now, and it just blows my fucking mind.
Sorry I cursed so much Mom. I'll make it up to you in my future entry "There's a Unicorn in my Backyard. Like... right now."
Seriously, though? Fuck today.
Let's start back a bit further and try and recap some of the awesomeness that has been every day that has led up to today. Friday? Go ahead. I'm sure you've got some questions from me... fire away. Hey, you... the kid in the back with stupid shirt and the glasses... oh.. what? Oh. You were stretching... i thought you had your hand up. My bad. Fine. Once again, a less that responsive audience... I'll do what I do worst, and just ramble on and try and create some semblance of meaning with all of these words... Check it out.
Friday I went to work, and golly gee wasn't that just the time of my life. No. Not really. I did get news from Bucket that he would be up in our area around 3:30pm. So let it be written, so let it be done... Bucket was there at 3:30pm like clockwork. We went back to my house and I took a shower, and drank 3 beers. 1 of which was in the shower. The other 2 were porch beers. From there we left to meet the usual crew of suspects, misfits, jerks, and friends. We had fun. Well... i don't want to speak for everyone else, but I had fun. I think everybody in Hatfield knows I had fun. Oops. At least I didn't sing karaoke... that would have just put me over the "having a reasonable amount of fun" part and right into "ohboyihopeidon'trememberthisville". Ha. Came back to the house I live in shortly after a stop to the grocery store. Tacos were made, eaten, and eventually (not that same evening [i think]) pooped. Woke up. Walked around and fell asleep on the front porch for a little bit, and next thing I know... it's SATURDAY!
What did I do with my Saturday? Another great question. Any takers? Eh... screw it. I'm talking to myself here. Bucket came over around 4pm and we ate some cookies and devised an afternoon plan of epic proportions. We put it into action... it went like this... (my plan, at least... it seemed others had different agendas)
First stop would be Dairy Queen where I would purchase 1 Chili Cheese Dog. The Chili Cheese Dog was to be eaten en route to McDonalds. Once I had arrived my plan was to get a $1 chicken sandwich, and a $1 double cheeseburger. There was no chicken sandwich, so some improvisation needed to be done. The order was a $1 Double Cheeseburger and a 4 piece Chicken McNuggets. I combined the two, so I had a double cheeseburger with 4 pieces of (creepy) "chicken" adorning the burger. I ate that on the way to Burger King. While at burger king, I "enjoyed" a spicy chicken sandwich, and a Whopper Jr. Only the bread from one sandwich was used, as to not get too filled up. My journey had only begun. I ate my Spicy Chicken Burger disaster on my way to Wendy's. The tank was starting to fill up at this point, but as a friend (Juan) once told me "there's nothing to it, but to do it". I ordered a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and a Chicken Sandwich of some kind, and proceeded to make sandwich #3 for the journey. I ate that on the way to Dunkin' Donuts where I rounded the entire "meal" off with a Glazed Donut. This "afternoon plan of epic proportions" probably took about 3 months off of my life, and I haven't eaten as much fast food this year as I did on Saturday. I felt like a CHAMP (gas, funny poo, stomach pains etc.) until about 3pm the next day.
Sunday? ... to hell with it. Here's what I did. I woke up around 4:30am and hung out for a little bit. Bucket was asleep on the couch and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I went back to sleep. It seemed like the most logical course of action. I finally woke up at 9am and did next to nothing to the next ton of hours. Brandon came over and night and we played pool for a bit, watched some baseball, and ate Chinese food. It was pretty awesome. A lazy Sunday was kind of what the Dr. (me) ordered, and it worked out very stress free, and awesome. Unlike my previous say (Saturday) spent bettering myself and eating healthy.
Today! This one was one for the goddamn books. Someone, somewhere will write about this day in a book titled "Top 100 Shittiest Days Ever". I woke up early so I could get ready for court. Fun. I got ready for court. I left the house at 9:45am and was on my way to what should be my last day of dealing with being jerked around and feeling like a dipshit. I desperately want to move on to something else that makes me feel stupid... this one is just getting out of hand. I love riding the train. I can't get enough of a long local train ride. There's all kinds of fun stuff to look at as you pass through different neighborhoods, there's quality people watching to do and I can listen to music and be left alone. It's kind of nice. I'm enjoying myself doing nothing on the train, listening to Dear Landlord ("Trying To Keep Four Walls From Doing Their Worst" has referenced this band, and an entry in late May. It's not too late to order this record.) as I recall and my phone rings. It's "Joe Awesome Lawyer" and he's letting me know that I'll be there on my own, again, and that there is no need for him to be there. Great. What the hell kind of "return" have I seen on my initial "investment" of $5K for legal defense? Nothing. A series of phone calls that turn out to be a bigger series of fucking letdowns. Once again, and certainly not the last time, Great.
I get to the Criminal Justice Center on 13th and Filbert (or as I like to call it, my home away from home) and waited 1 hour for the mornings work to finish, and the afternoon (Scheduled: 12pm) to start. I walk in, date and sign 2 papers, walk 5 feet, date and sign 1 paper. Give a woman my phone number, and I'm gone. Just like that. Just like I've done several times before. Just like my time means nothing. Just like their time means nothing. Everyone is happy. Someone shows up, something gets signed, people fall asleep in a courthouse, people have shitty haircuts and pseudo-important looks, plenty of money changes hands and nothing else ever changes. It amazes me. I could show up with my underwear outside of my pants, 3 sheets to the wind drunk and carrying a pants load of fresh crap and I would get the same result! I'll never get it. I don't want to get it. I just want to shake this dark cloud.
Then I got on the train (awesome. relief!) and head back to Lansdale. I get off of the train just in time to see my bus leaving. 1 hour wait. Nothing to do. I contemplated eating french fries with gravy at Huey's, but didn't.
Now I'm sitting here, pissed off, and feeling once again like the goddamn fool. Awesome. I hope every part of the American Legal System is this effective, this efficient, and knows how to spend your money and mine just as carefully as they can. I know that this had absorbed thousands and thousands of dollars by now, and it just blows my fucking mind.
Sorry I cursed so much Mom. I'll make it up to you in my future entry "There's a Unicorn in my Backyard. Like... right now."
Thursday, June 4, 2009
It's Friday night, at the middle school mixer. I've got my eye on you.
Well... I drank a few beers last night, and ate some late night Chinese food. Needless to say... I'm not feeling so well this morning. I've got demons riding go-karts racing inside my head... I think the direct quote from the almighty Rev. N0rb is "Screamin' Demon Martians Riding Go-Karts In My Head"... whatever. I feel like poop coated in dirt and sweat. Gross. It's really humid in the basement today, perhaps it's time to open up a door... or make a window I can open. I hate not seeing outside. It might be raining fire for all I know right now...
I forgot about this entry for a few days, so everything is going to seem all out of sorts. Whatever... I'll get caught up and make sense of this.. eventually.. probably not. So yeah, Chinese food before bed is a terrible idea. Don't do it... unless you haven't eaten in a while and you're hungry... in which case, you should aim for the stars and have someone feed you Chinese food while you're asleep. Be careful though, i don't want anyone to choke.
People are so stupid, so unappreciative, and so ridiculous. I can't put my finger on what makes horrible people do horrible things, but I'm sure it's something I'm glad I don't understand.
I have nothing to talk about right now. I have to call a bunch of customers and put on my "happy to talk with you" voice... there's a fake smile that goes along with that as well, and I don't know why because I rarely if ever see the people I'm talking to.
Also. I hate it when people say "down the shore". As in... Judy is down the shore. That's just goddamn stupid. I have ZERO patience or time for that kind of stupid. "Judy is at the shore". It's so much more practical. Bunch of idiots. Well... this has been uplifting and positive.
I want to eat tacos. Right now. A beer would be nice too. Right now.
I forgot about this entry for a few days, so everything is going to seem all out of sorts. Whatever... I'll get caught up and make sense of this.. eventually.. probably not. So yeah, Chinese food before bed is a terrible idea. Don't do it... unless you haven't eaten in a while and you're hungry... in which case, you should aim for the stars and have someone feed you Chinese food while you're asleep. Be careful though, i don't want anyone to choke.
People are so stupid, so unappreciative, and so ridiculous. I can't put my finger on what makes horrible people do horrible things, but I'm sure it's something I'm glad I don't understand.
I have nothing to talk about right now. I have to call a bunch of customers and put on my "happy to talk with you" voice... there's a fake smile that goes along with that as well, and I don't know why because I rarely if ever see the people I'm talking to.
Also. I hate it when people say "down the shore". As in... Judy is down the shore. That's just goddamn stupid. I have ZERO patience or time for that kind of stupid. "Judy is at the shore". It's so much more practical. Bunch of idiots. Well... this has been uplifting and positive.
I want to eat tacos. Right now. A beer would be nice too. Right now.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Images of idiocy.
Here. I haven't showed these pictures to my mom yet.
Sorry your son was such a dope. I'll do better, I promise.
We didn't come here to die!
Monday! It was the worst day in a long time. I got to work at 6:45a and didn't escape it's awful clutches until 5:15p. I was not happy. Too much work, and not enough hourly pay to compensate me for that time. I came home, took a shower, drank 2 beers, and walked up to watch a little league game. The day turned around pretty fast. I went to sleep early, and pretty happy. The day started terribly, and ended up pretty darn nice.
Tuesday! This was the BEST day in a long time. The more I thought... it was probably one of the best days this year, workwise. I got a bunch of everything done, I was able to pay close attention to everything because I finally had the time to do it. I still got there and left at the same times (actually 5pm today), but the time passed by pretty nicely, and I left feeling like I'd accomplished something... a feeling I haven't had in forever. I wonder what tomorrow is going to bring... hopefully more good... we'll see...
I wonder how many times I could talk about my cat that ran away in this thing. God. I'm a little crazy about that I guess. Safe-crazy... I think... not cutting myself and spinning in circles to paint some scuzzy public bathroom red "just so I can feel" kind of crazy. But, in talking about my cat today I started thinking about something, and now it's stuck in my brain.
Jaime and I were riding on the bus, and in a typical fit of just saying something to start talking about anything other than work I said "I'm going to paint Jim black and pretend he's Willow". Now, was I really going to paint the cat when I got home? Probably not. Certainly possible, but I would have had to stop and buy paint, and I don't think I could paint him and live with myself in good conscience. But Jaime's response was "You should get a kitten". Hmm... there's something I hadn't thought about. I think I've always considered that as replacing Willow, and if i couldn't hang on to a measly cat for a few years, why the hell should I get another one? Just to lose that one too? Maybe to get another shot at not succeeding and not knowing if the well being of an animal is the prize for the loser? Maybe to try and recreate that love I had for that cat?
Isn't that why we get new pets anyhow? A pet dies, and it's an awful thing. They become as much of our family as the relatives in some other state that you never see, if not more. They become eating, shitting, demanding memories of our families. Don't they ultimately turn out to be almost the same friend as pets past? They all do downright adorable stuff, have similar mannerisms, and depending on the animal could be all but exactly the same as their predecessors.
So, anyhow, I thought about this for about the next 5 - 15 seconds and thought... "Next time, I'm going to rescue an adult cat, and not a kitten." Why? The first thing that came to mind was a child's face when they are given a kitten versus a child's face when they are given a cat. Kittens are all kinds of cute regardless of markings, if they've just scratched the holy shit out of you, if they've peed on your pillow, or if they've eaten too fast and thrown up in their food bowl. They're just kittens after all, and my blood pressure goes through the roof at the thought of anyone who doesn't think a kitten is cute. I can understand not liking cats... but kittens? Come now.... it's just crazy talk.
Rescuing an adult cat would be kind of awesome. I'm sure it's traumatic for the cat, because at that point they've been through who knows what, and might come into the house and never warm up to anyone. Looking at the flipside of that coin, they could sit in a cage, never get to run around a house with no one else home, never get to eat whenever they wanted to, never get selected to live at someones house, and end up being put to death because no one wants them. Which is better? I say having a mangy cat around the house that hates you. Eventually he/she is bound to realize that he/she is dependent on you and possibly rub up against your leg on accident in the kitchen while you're making dinner, or get confused and jump up on the same couch you're sitting on.
Someone ALWAYS wants a kitten. Eventually I'm sure 1 out of 10 of those people who can't live without a kitten gives it up because they have kids, or they can't afford it, or it's tearing their house apart or they're just generally awful people and have issues with seeing something until its end. (This is the part where I regretfully admit that my stupid cat ran away, conceivably because she hated me, and I wasn't attentive enough to her while she was here so I'm a terrible cat owner. Fuck you.) Anyhow, when those people give up their kittens (turned cats) where do they go? They let them loose outside, never to be seen again, or they take them to shelters and hopefully someone adopts them. I could be that somebody!
I'm not decided on this, and in fact I'm months if not years away from choosing to get another cat, but I guess what I'm trying to say is... I realized that today I have a soul... that was mildly refreshing because sometimes I feel kind of dead inside. I can't believe the first thing I thought of was a look on a kid's face... I can't stand children.
I don't have anything else to talk about. I'm all done now.
Tuesday! This was the BEST day in a long time. The more I thought... it was probably one of the best days this year, workwise. I got a bunch of everything done, I was able to pay close attention to everything because I finally had the time to do it. I still got there and left at the same times (actually 5pm today), but the time passed by pretty nicely, and I left feeling like I'd accomplished something... a feeling I haven't had in forever. I wonder what tomorrow is going to bring... hopefully more good... we'll see...
I wonder how many times I could talk about my cat that ran away in this thing. God. I'm a little crazy about that I guess. Safe-crazy... I think... not cutting myself and spinning in circles to paint some scuzzy public bathroom red "just so I can feel" kind of crazy. But, in talking about my cat today I started thinking about something, and now it's stuck in my brain.
Jaime and I were riding on the bus, and in a typical fit of just saying something to start talking about anything other than work I said "I'm going to paint Jim black and pretend he's Willow". Now, was I really going to paint the cat when I got home? Probably not. Certainly possible, but I would have had to stop and buy paint, and I don't think I could paint him and live with myself in good conscience. But Jaime's response was "You should get a kitten". Hmm... there's something I hadn't thought about. I think I've always considered that as replacing Willow, and if i couldn't hang on to a measly cat for a few years, why the hell should I get another one? Just to lose that one too? Maybe to get another shot at not succeeding and not knowing if the well being of an animal is the prize for the loser? Maybe to try and recreate that love I had for that cat?
Isn't that why we get new pets anyhow? A pet dies, and it's an awful thing. They become as much of our family as the relatives in some other state that you never see, if not more. They become eating, shitting, demanding memories of our families. Don't they ultimately turn out to be almost the same friend as pets past? They all do downright adorable stuff, have similar mannerisms, and depending on the animal could be all but exactly the same as their predecessors.
So, anyhow, I thought about this for about the next 5 - 15 seconds and thought... "Next time, I'm going to rescue an adult cat, and not a kitten." Why? The first thing that came to mind was a child's face when they are given a kitten versus a child's face when they are given a cat. Kittens are all kinds of cute regardless of markings, if they've just scratched the holy shit out of you, if they've peed on your pillow, or if they've eaten too fast and thrown up in their food bowl. They're just kittens after all, and my blood pressure goes through the roof at the thought of anyone who doesn't think a kitten is cute. I can understand not liking cats... but kittens? Come now.... it's just crazy talk.
Rescuing an adult cat would be kind of awesome. I'm sure it's traumatic for the cat, because at that point they've been through who knows what, and might come into the house and never warm up to anyone. Looking at the flipside of that coin, they could sit in a cage, never get to run around a house with no one else home, never get to eat whenever they wanted to, never get selected to live at someones house, and end up being put to death because no one wants them. Which is better? I say having a mangy cat around the house that hates you. Eventually he/she is bound to realize that he/she is dependent on you and possibly rub up against your leg on accident in the kitchen while you're making dinner, or get confused and jump up on the same couch you're sitting on.
Someone ALWAYS wants a kitten. Eventually I'm sure 1 out of 10 of those people who can't live without a kitten gives it up because they have kids, or they can't afford it, or it's tearing their house apart or they're just generally awful people and have issues with seeing something until its end. (This is the part where I regretfully admit that my stupid cat ran away, conceivably because she hated me, and I wasn't attentive enough to her while she was here so I'm a terrible cat owner. Fuck you.) Anyhow, when those people give up their kittens (turned cats) where do they go? They let them loose outside, never to be seen again, or they take them to shelters and hopefully someone adopts them. I could be that somebody!
I'm not decided on this, and in fact I'm months if not years away from choosing to get another cat, but I guess what I'm trying to say is... I realized that today I have a soul... that was mildly refreshing because sometimes I feel kind of dead inside. I can't believe the first thing I thought of was a look on a kid's face... I can't stand children.
I don't have anything else to talk about. I'm all done now.
Monday, June 1, 2009
It is now my duty to completely drain you.
Ugh. Last night was a terrible nights sleep. I remember seeing the clock at least once an hour from the time I laid down with the soothing sounds of SportsCenter whispering me to sleep to the time I woke up to the shade in my room banging off of the window frame. My brain has been unable to sit still... it's like a grey half dead version of me.
I did have a pretty solid idea around 3:30am though. I'm going to try and describe myself using ~100 words. It will be in paragraph form, and should be almost a flow of my life... I don't think it makes sense now, but perhaps at the end of this entry it will... let's try something.
Birth. Parents. Screams. Tears. Joy. Vomit. Sounds. Stumbling. Toys. Falling. Walking. Running. Cats. Dogs. Grandparents. Datsun. Laundramat. Donuts. Town. Krogers. Witches Shoes. Moving. North. School. Soccer. Basketball. Duluth. Alone. Trouble. Death. Friends. Outside. Baseball. Theater. Punkrock. Driving. Speaking. Ribbons. Cigarettes. Acknowledgement. Trinka. Graduation. Pride. Moving East. Apartment. Abandoned. Cheated. Melted. House. College. Disaster. Manager. Brian. Apartment. Alcohol. Misplaced Feeling. Indiana. Accident. Mortality. Love. Vinyl. Govervnment. NJ. Shore. Late. Fired. West Chester. Pat. Stereo. Collective. Bucket. Cats (again). Fear. Hate. Bong. Cops. Steve. Idiot. Advancement. Relocation. Knife. Souderton. Promotion. Landlord. Bored. Denver. Implosion. Heartbreak. Home. Lonely. Disolve. Basements. Rebirth. Drunk. Car. Smash. Scared. Friends. Scum. Artificial. Sunrise. Fridays. Hands.
Well, that was fun. I wonder if I did one of those every year if I could eventually come up with 20,000 words to describe my life from beginning to end, and I wonder if I could continue to be able to associate memories with 1 word. I look above at that words I've entered and I could probably talk for way too long about each and every one of those words. It's funny how something that I've experienced can represent hours worth of conversation but can really be summed up with just 1 simple word. Words are fun.
This one is short, but I've got shit to do.
I did have a pretty solid idea around 3:30am though. I'm going to try and describe myself using ~100 words. It will be in paragraph form, and should be almost a flow of my life... I don't think it makes sense now, but perhaps at the end of this entry it will... let's try something.
Birth. Parents. Screams. Tears. Joy. Vomit. Sounds. Stumbling. Toys. Falling. Walking. Running. Cats. Dogs. Grandparents. Datsun. Laundramat. Donuts. Town. Krogers. Witches Shoes. Moving. North. School. Soccer. Basketball. Duluth. Alone. Trouble. Death. Friends. Outside. Baseball. Theater. Punkrock. Driving. Speaking. Ribbons. Cigarettes. Acknowledgement. Trinka. Graduation. Pride. Moving East. Apartment. Abandoned. Cheated. Melted. House. College. Disaster. Manager. Brian. Apartment. Alcohol. Misplaced Feeling. Indiana. Accident. Mortality. Love. Vinyl. Govervnment. NJ. Shore. Late. Fired. West Chester. Pat. Stereo. Collective. Bucket. Cats (again). Fear. Hate. Bong. Cops. Steve. Idiot. Advancement. Relocation. Knife. Souderton. Promotion. Landlord. Bored. Denver. Implosion. Heartbreak. Home. Lonely. Disolve. Basements. Rebirth. Drunk. Car. Smash. Scared. Friends. Scum. Artificial. Sunrise. Fridays. Hands.
Well, that was fun. I wonder if I did one of those every year if I could eventually come up with 20,000 words to describe my life from beginning to end, and I wonder if I could continue to be able to associate memories with 1 word. I look above at that words I've entered and I could probably talk for way too long about each and every one of those words. It's funny how something that I've experienced can represent hours worth of conversation but can really be summed up with just 1 simple word. Words are fun.
This one is short, but I've got shit to do.
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