CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  tired

Getting right to it… a couple weekends ago… is kind of a blur at this point, but I remember that I somehow ended up eating at Chevy’s twice in the same weekend.  I also had the longest day I’ve had in a while.  It included selling a pedal board to a church, shopping at Target, a birthday dinner in Oakland, Club Gossip, Delirium, some warehouse, and driving some drunk guy home.  It was nearly a full 24 hours awake, followed by two full nights’ sleep within the next 24 hours.  This bizarre shift in my sleep pattern led to me getting up for work early that Monday.  I stuck with it and arrived early for work all week, which never happens.  I’m trying to ride that wave as long as I can, because it’s got a lot of benefits.  Among other things, I saw a sunrise.  It occurs to me that in my lifetime, I’ve seen more sunrises before going to bed than I have just leaving for the day.  Starting my day that early always reminds me of vacations.  The only time I usually ever start my day that early is when I’m catching a flight or beginning a long drive somewhere.  Something else I noticed… it’s crowded downtown!  Usually, by the time I’m rolling in, the FiDi seems pretty quiet.  But when you’re out there early, there’s considerably more hustle and bustle.  Makes me feel more a part of things down there.  Me gusta!

Oh, and it rained cats and dogs for one day.  More rain in one day than we usually get in the month of October, apparently.  And over 200 car accidents in the Bay Area that day.  Nice.  Luckily it remained clear the rest of the week and most of this last weekend, allowing me to spend a Saturday shopping with Majik, Booty, and Mr. and Mrs. Balls.  Not to mention seeing Dad’s new band for the first time… a great show in Santa Cruz that was followed by a delicious return to Mobo Sushi and its colossal menu.

Surely most of the people reading this will be aware that Morrissey is coming to town.  I’m curious to know if we’ll be hearing some new songs.  I was fortunate enough to have the incomparable Sus locate a pit ticket for me, so that’s where I will be.  I won’t tell you what it cost, but it was a lot.  Way too much.  It’s the fault of those scumbags the ticketbrokers.  I ranted about that once before, so I’ll spare you this time.  But suffice it to say that in the context of luxury problems and as a fan of live music, I consider these guys to be the scum of the earth.

You may also have heard that last Saturday was the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake.  Holy shit, I’m old.  I was living in the South Bay in those days, and I was what, 10?  I don’t have a lot of clear memories about the event, but I think I was playing “Legendary Wings” on Nintendo.  And we spent the night at Jonah’s house.  And the schools were closed for a day or two.  I can’t even imagine what it was like for people living here in the city at the time.  Now that I live here, it’s hard to comprehend some of the damage that San Francisco suffered at the time.  (Do you remember where you were?)

We’ve lost a lot of celebrities these last few months, but I wanted to mention one that may have been overlooked.  Wrestling personality Captain Lou Albano died last week at the age of 76.  He was one of the biggest icons in the mid-80’s when I was into it, and of course the tie-in with Cyndi Lauper and The Goonies.  R.I.P.

We’ve also lost Reno 911, which I’m very sorry to report was recently cancelled.  It’s one of my favorite shows on T.V., not least because it includes ex-members of The State (such as Thomas Lennon, Moz fan and misguided SATH fan).

Watching that Goonies video reminds me that Halloween is coming up pretty quick here.  What are the plans?  I know that Zombie Morrissey night is happening that weekend, which could be fun.  I’m not necessarily jazzed about dressing up, but it’s not out of the question.  What’s going on for Halloween folks?

The quote of the week is one of my favorite horoscopes yet from The Onion:

“You’ll struggle to find a sympathetic ear this week when the FDA lowers its recommended daily intake of your goddamn bullshit.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  hungover

My neighborhood, which is quiet and all but a ghost town for 359 days of the year, is currently in the throes of its annual golf tournament.  I’ve woken up every morning this week to find my street, which is normally empty, instead lined with hundreds of cars, already parked.  Who’s up that early, and for golf?  Supposedly Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton, and whoever else are all around here somewhere.  Word is Obama himself might show up.  Based on previous years of experience, I can look forward to having to show my ID at a police road block just to get into my driveway.  And this morning was no different.  Sure, it’s unusual, but it’s not that much of a hassle.  Though it didn’t help that I was a bit… hungover?  Let me back up.

Last weekend started off with an Ocean Beach bonfire among friends.  Saw some old friends, made some new ones.  It was lovely until the cops came along to shut us down, which I guess they do to everyone around 10pm.  The next night I got to see a couple of bands I’d been meaning to for a while: The Pine Box Boys (not bad) and then the headliners, Denver’s Slim Cessna’s Auto Club (who were excellent).  They were similar to The Legendary Shack Shakers, if a bit less… kinetic.  Great tunes though, no shortage of banjos, and every bit as dark and revival.  Highly recommended.

Sunday, a coworker of mine from out of state came to visit San Francisco for the first time.  I spent the afternoon playing tour guide and doing all the things I only ever do with out-of-towners… the Golden Gate, Pier 39, etc.  Plus some local favorites like Savor, Amoeba, and Cha Cha Cha.  I gotta admit, it was a blast.  And then with someone in town, it was much easier to wrangle other folks for a happy hour last night (which normally just doesn’t seem to be part of our collective culture, though I’m hoping to get more of those going in the future).  Anyway, long story short… I ended up agreeing to a half a shot of tequila near the end of the night (being the first drink I’ve had in a year).  I know that’s not much, and it doesn’t sound possible, but I’m telling you… I felt anxious and jumpy the second I swallowed it, and for the rest of the night.  Then I woke up this morning feeling like dogshit, and for the rest of the day.  It’s probably all in my head, but just the same.  I guess I’ve already lost what little tolerance I had.  Blame in on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol.  Nice experiment, but not sure I’ll be resuming my drinking career any time soon.

I also saw Zombieland this week.  It was fantastic.  Easily one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, which probably sounds silly.  It’s funny and stylish and just really well done.  Maybe even worth seeing again, and how often do you see a movie in the theater twice?  OK, well maybe you often do, but I never do.  As a bonus, there were several great trailers for upcoming flicks, including this one…

OK, I have to admit something.  I somehow managed to go the last year or however long without hearing a single note of Lady Gaga’s music.  Not the least because I’ve made zero attempt to find out, and I don’t exactly keep up on my MTV, you know.  I knew nothing about her, just like I know nothing about a fuck ton of other recently-relevant bands that I only hear about in passing.  Well I saw the video for “Paparazzi” the other day and… I liked it.  It’s dark.  What’s more, I went and bought the album.  I don’t know what that means, and I don’t want to know.

Holy shit, that reminds me… did you hear Rhino Records is going away?  Maybe number one on my list of companies I wanted to work for someday.  I was such a fan of and believer in their vision of resurrecting, remastering, and reissuing great music in vast retrospectives.  I guess it’s another casualty of the economy, and perhaps the move to mp3 culture, but who is going to fill that void now?  Who’s going to unearth and clean up the classics for us?  I am heartbroken.  🙁

A general comment on life lately.  My radar can’t be that far off, can it?  I’m like a blind-folded kid gunning for a piñata.  Swing and a miss.  (And a miss… and oh yeah, another miss.)

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble.  It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

— Mark Twain

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  sore

Well it’s hard to believe, but according to MySpace, this is my 250th blog.  Holy shit.  Can you believe that?  Two hundred and fifty.  Think about that for a second.  Two hundred and fifty times over the last five years — basically once a week — I have sat down for an hour or so and written out some kind of emotional exhibitionism for you, the reader.  In the past, I’ve questioned the wisdom of doing this.  Questioned this dubious use of time.  Again though, it has served me as the closest thing to a journal that I’ve ever had.  And hopefully it’s been entertaining to you on occasion.

What I secretly want to know is: are there people out there that have been reading since the beginning?  Possibly even someone who has read all 250?  You don’t have to fess up.  But to those silent types who read and rarely or never comment… there’s never been a better time to come clean.

I must confess that I’ve looked into moving future blogs off of MySpace.  I love that people can access these so easily and comment and all.  But I also know that MySpace seems to be losing steam, and then there’s always the chance that the MySpace powers that be could delete my blog or even my profile, and what would be my recourse?  More and more, I’m considering continuing on a blog hosted on my own site, where I never have to worry about posting something that might piss the wrong people off.  My virtual mouth has led to stuff getting yanked off here before, after all.  But once I move off onto my own URL, it seems like I’d run the risk of falling off the radar of what few of you actually care to read what I put up here.  And if I’m going to drift further into obscurity, then why keep it up at all?  Not sure what to do…

Well, I celebrate my 250th with a massive headache.  I managed to bonk my head on a garage door on Sunday, hardest I think I’ve ever hit it.  I didn’t lose consciousness, but I’ve had a headache ever since.  And not like a bump on my head, but like a full on headache.  I don’t think I’m all that clumsy, but I have no one to blame but myself on that one.  And in fact, I’m kinda feeling like laying down right now.  Here’s hoping I’m back to “normal” tomorrow.  🙁

The quote of the week comes again from Taxi Driver Wisdom, and it sums up my week, my year, and my 250 blogs.  Good night, kiddies.

“Whatever you become, someone will long for what you were.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  full

First off, it just so happens that it’s Sus’ birthday today.  Go wish her a happy birthday.  Go on, I’ll wait.

It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve had anything meaningful to share here.  It’s been a confusing time for me lately.  Life changes.  Work changes.  My relationship to those around me changes.  I change.  I’ve wasted hours like I haven’t in months.  I’ve coveted like I haven’t in years.  I have thoroughly cleaned my apartment for nothing in particular.  I have considered more thoughtfully what I might want from life and what I might be moving towards.  I’ve been surprised.  I’ve been disappointed.  I’ve pondered: is it better to love or be loved?

Now, in what is maybe not my most traditionally masculine admission, I find myself totally wanting to go see South Pacific at the Golden Gate Theater.  Anyone want to come with?

It can’t be this Friday though, because that would be the night of TCB‘s return to San Francisco (by way of Café Du Nord)!  This is always such a fun show, and you know how swanky Du Nord is.  We’ve got some new tunes up our sleeves, and what’s more: the opening act is Erasure-esque!  It’s no secret that I <3 Andy Bell (and South Pacific?  Hmmm…).  So, I know the economy is sucking, and I certainly don’t want to jinx it for ourselves, but the fact is that all three times we’ve played here in the past have been complete sell-outs.  So if you want a guaranteed spot at this show, don’t wait to buy your tickets!

With all these Beatles reissues lately, I’ve taken it as a sign that I need to finally delve into their extensive catalogue.  You may be surprised to hear that prior to last week, I had never owned a Beatles album of any kind.  I mean, I knew the hits and all, but only in so far as they’ve permeated our culture so uniquely.  I’m now going chronologically through their offerings, listening and re-listening, trying to absorb it all mainly as an exercise in history, but also as songwriting education.  I’m not convinced I’m going to walk away from it all as a “super fan,” but so far, I’m appreciating what I’m hearing.  Incidentally, I wonder if Beatlemania 2.0 is bringing any more work for Beatallica?

Completely unrelated to that (despite what would seem to be an obvious Beatles connection), I picked up a Vox AC30 recently.  I’d had my eye on one for a few years, but the stars just didn’t align for me to pull the trigger.  Well, over Labor Day weekend, there were some exceptionally awesome sales, and while I resisted the initial barrage of marketing (thanks to Wally and I mutually talking each other down off the ledge), when sales were extended an extra day, I couldn’t hold out anymore.  It arrived this week, and I got into the studio this afternoon to try it out.  And it is lervely indeed.  Will it make an appearance at Friday’s Du Nord show?  TBD, folks.

The quote of the week comes from Wally, who, after hearing of my eventual surrender to the Vox, was left to face down his own G.A.S. demons:

“By the way, the sale is still on today.  Get thee behind me Satan.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  restless

Nothing profound to report at the moment, kiddies. I just wanted to point out something that recently occurred to me: Morrissey has written a lot of songs with a certain song title theme. Do you see it?

1. I Am Hated For Loving
2. I Am Two People
3. I Can Have Both
4. I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me
5. I Don’t Owe You Anything
6. I Don’t Want Us To Finish (unreleased)
7. I Have Forgiven Jesus
8. I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
9. I Keep Mine Hidden
10. I Knew I Was Next
11. I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday
12. I Know It’s Over
13. I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
14. I Know Who I Love (unreleased)
15. I Like You
16. I Misses You (unreleased)
17. I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish
18. I Want The One I Can’t Have
19. I Will See You In Far-Off Places
20. I Won’t Share You
21. I’d Love To
22. I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now
23. I’m Not Sorry
24. I’m OK By Myself
25. I’m Playing Easy To Get (unreleased)
26. I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
27. I’ve Changed My Plea To Guilty

So that’s all I had to say, really. The quote of the week, appropriately enough, is an ingenious epitaph Mozzer once proposed for himself:

“Well, at least he tried.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  busy

What is it with August birthdays?  I am not exaggerating when I say that I know four people born on August 22nd.  That shit’s astronomical.  It also happened to be the day I… uh… became a man.  Ah yes, a whole year now it’s been.

Last night was the Deadbolt show in San Jose, and their first NorCal show in years… at least since I first heard about them.  A lot of fun, those guys.  On stage shooting sparks, breaking boards, throwing stuff, and just weird banter.  Merch included nudie magnets, sunglasses, and Tijuana-made beer holsters: worn like a pistol holster but designed to hold a can or bottle.  They were wearing and using them on stage, and come to think of it, the bassist had a bottle-opener screwed onto the front of his bass.  What a great idea!  (If only Mike’s Hard Lemonade wasn’t a twist top, I’d do something like that!)  It was a hell of a show, and you probably missed it.  But you got one more chance.  They’ll be at The Uptown in Oakland next Thursday.  And while the Bay Bridge is going to be closed that day, as your attorney, I advise you to make every effort to be there anyway.  Mayhaps I’ll see you there.

I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a big fan of the $11 organic “milk” shakes at Cafe Gratitude.  It’s an unusual place, no question.  But if you’ve never been, I definitely recommend trying it out once.  And after all, you might spot a celeb there!  (Jamie and I once saw Kirk Hammett there.)  Anyway, I saw this article the other day.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, assuming it’s even true.  Will it stop me from stepping up to the bar and dropping $11 and declaring “I Am Cool?”  Not a chance.

In other news, I sold one of The Twins recently.  So never again will my glorious pair of turquoise Casinos grace the stage together.  Above all else, this alone should demonstrate my commitment to shedding excesses.  This is TCB history after all.  The Twins were (at least in my mind) pretty iconic of the person I was at that time.  And I’m sure some of you early TCB fans remember them, yeah?  Well, those days are gone.  I’ve moved on.  Though what I’m starting to suspect is that my guitar habit quietly transformed into a t-shirt habit.  Yes, t-shirts.  I think I pick up at least two or three a month these days.  It will be years before I ever wear them out.  What could possibly possess me to collect them that way?  Am I that desperate to be regarded as clever?  (Yes.  Yes, I am.)  Most recently, I’ve been narrowly escaping the urge to pick up obscurities like this Road House shirt.  I look at that, and I wonder: will people get it?  Another great site is 80’s Tees… so many good ones.  I’m reminded though of how my Cobra shirt is temporarily ruined by the fact that there’s a meathead G.I. Joe movie out now.  Anyway, what the hell am I saying here?  I need to stop buying shirts.

Well now, speaking of hippy restaurants and t-shirt obsessions, the quote of the week comes from the back of the Deadbolt shirt I bought last night:

“FUCK YOU HIPPY”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  lazy

I had the T.V. on while eating dinner earlier tonight (Friday night alone… rock star!), and just as an experiment, I turned it to Fox News.  I figure, every once in a while, it’s probably good to see what the other side is saying.  Especially with all the madness going on with healthcare town halls and such.

Holy shitake!  I couldn’t last five minutes.  These people are nuts.  Granted, I watch a lot of Daily Show, but when I do, I know that it’s a comedy show.  It’s fake news.  But watching Fox News, it was like I was seeing the exact opposite and extreme view point, only it wasn’t funny, and it wasn’t presented as fake news.  It was presented as “fair and balanced” real news.  It’s no wonder the people glued to that channel are bat shit crazy.  At least the Daily Show occasionally pokes fun at the Left.  I would argue that Fox News is significantly more one-sided in its presentation.

And while their views and reasoning are… incomprehensible to me… I am trying to remind myself that they must all feel the same way about my views.  I want to say that time and progress will be on my side, and that history will look back on them and judge them ridiculous just as it does those who fought for slavery, against civil rights, against women’s suffrage, etc.  People that stubbornly stand in the way of progress, however they try to rationalize, justify, and spin it.  And I think I’m right.  But we gotta survive as a country long enough for that history to be written.  There are a lot of nuts out there, and there’s a lot of money being spent towards keeping them riled up.  Rome didn’t last forever.  Neither will we.

And on that happy note…

I’ve been on another kick of trying to organize my literally thousands of lines of notes I’ve been keeping for a decade… also known as my “to do” list.  It includes little things like this that I’ve jotted down over the years.  The quote of the week comes from a conversation I had with Jared once… from context it must have been 2003, but I don’t remember what Gore had done that spurred this conversation.  I like it just because it’s such a Jared reaction.

Benjamin: “If Gore were that animated three years ago, he would have won.”
Jared: “HE DID WIN!  Oh, you mean he would have won more.  He would have been the winner-er.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  accomplished

Well kiddies, just got back from a pleasant weekend in Anaheim.  The House Of Blues show was our best one there yet, with a crowd that included Moz Krew, Irving, Fabi/Megan, Miles, Couch Straps’ Dan, and many more.  Saw the Lew women.  Met Balls Sr.  Visited Montebello for the first time.  Got some Claim Jumper and some decadent butterscotch pancakes.  Survived the flights.  Researched ungodly piercings with Sus and Paul.  Lost a pillow fight.  A million other things I’m forgetting to mention too.  All in only about 24 hours.  If only every day could be so eventful.  Good times.

I made the mistake of looking in on a bunch of my high school classmates on MySpace and Facebook.  Holy shitake!  The vast majority of them have goodlooking spouses and/or children in their pictures.  WTF?  I guess by now the breeders among us have gotten started.  To be expected, I suppose.  But still shocking.  Am I behind the curve?  Or did I avoid the trap?  Or…?  Meh.

So a few weeks back, I posted that parody AFSCME PSA right?  Weirdest thing… on my flight today were a ton of people wearing AFSCME shirts.  Well in other funny commercial news, who among you remembers this one:

Let’s see, what else?  I saw The English Beat with Shel, and it was amazing!  I’d never seen them before, but I was blown away.  A lot of fun, and Dave Wakeling seems like a nice guy.  Oddly enough, they were opening up for Reel Big Fish.  I don’t know how that works, but whatevs.  RBF was fun too, though we only stayed long enough to hear the one song of theirs I remember from my years with Maya: “She’s Got A Girlfriend Now.”  A while back there was an SF Symphony event where they were playing old Warner Bros. cartoons, but doing the orchestral soundtrack live along with it!  I was so sorry to miss that, but I think I had a show that night.  Am I crazy or does that sound like the funnest date?  Had I a date instead of a show.  Hmmm…

I had just been thinking about that old T.V. show “The State” when I saw on Amazon that the whole series is finally coming out on DVD!  It got me to thinking about a few other of my favorite shows that are now also available in complete DVD sets.  I’m thinking Kids In The Hall… Dr. Katz… Brisco County Jr.  Part of me wants to horde that stuff, but it seems clear enough that DVDs are on their way out in favor of Blu-Ray.  I think about the folks I used to know with massive VHS collections.  So collecting DVDs seems like a similarly losing battle.  I don’t want to buy another DVD.  As rarely as I watch the ones I got, the format will be obsolete before I get my money’s worth.  I suppose that logic applies to CDs too, but I’m much more heavily invested in that, and plus there does not yet seem to be an heir apparent.  But still… I hate to think about that.  *cringe*

If you’ve ever flown out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, then you know that they were long ago pressured to institute a ridiculous noise restriction on flights in and out of there so as not to offend the surrounding communities.  The end result is that pilots have to execute this strange take off procedure where you go nearly straight up in the air, then coast silently for a while, and then the engines kick in again.  The pilot typically explains this process before you take off, and my flight home today was no different.  The quote of the week — nay, the month — comes from the pilot during the “coasting” period of our take off today.  Just as the engines go silent, he whispers to all of us over the intercom:

“Shh… we’re flying over rich people.”

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  lethargic

Last night, I saw Blue Öyster Cult at Slim’s.  Somewhere around 15 years ago, I drove to San Francisco with Jared to see what was my first concert in San Francisco: Blue Öyster Cult at Slim’s.  Even then, I guess you’d say they were well past their heyday.  But it was also way before their cowbell fame, and I don’t mind admitting that “Don’t Fear The Reaper” was among my favorite songs in high school. They did take the stage last night to Walken-infused techno intro music, so BÖC has clearly embraced their new ironic hipness… though why they weren’t cashing in on the obvious merch opportunities (HELLO?  How about a souvenir cowbell with their logo on it?) is beyond me.

I’ve been out of commission here for a month.  It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say, but you may remember that I was questioning the value of spending too much time typing it out.  (I’m still on the fence about that.)  In the mean time, I’ve been doing alright.  Just hanging in there, weathering this shitstorm of an economy, you know.  It hasn’t stopped me from shopping though.  I’ve been shirts, and in doing so, I realized that there are websites dedicated to offering clothing that has appeared in movies.  Despite the fact that I haven’t worn a tank top in decades, I’m awfully tempted to pick up a Jack Burton replica from the insane Wing Kong site, dedicated to all things “Big Trouble In Little China.”  Interesting also (though too corny for me) is The Wanderers replica jacket.  Neato!

Oh, and somebody (anybody) I know needs to buy one of these mustache necklaces.  Almost as good as that mustache finger tattoo I saw.  Imagine being able to hold your index finger to your nose and having an automatic evil mustache.  Genius.

Before we go any further, watch this:

There have been several shows lately.  The big one for me was the birthday show of course.  Thanks to Sus, Ireland’s 32 was decorated with Kung Fu Panda balloons, inflatable guitars, party hats, and three amazing custom picture cakes (with sparkling candles)!  I was thrilled with all the folks that attended… off the top of my head, my mar and par, Sus, Anna and Sean, Deanna, Starla, Hawk, some of the Choir Boys and at least one Melano sister, Jonee (with a girl I knew from high school!), a coworker and her friends, Jen J., The Moons, and the mother of all surprises: Jared himself all the way from London!!!  Sadly, Shel was the glaring MIA, stuck across the country.  Peter was there and joined us on stage for a few songs!  We played a couple of Orlie’s originals!  Even my dad came up and played a couple of songs with us!  We ended up at Sparky’s of course, and I got to catch up with Jared till the wee hours.  I got some of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received.  It was a really laid back and fun show… and honestly, probably the best birthday I’ve ever had.  Thanks again to all of you who made it what it was!

So far, being 30 isn’t so bad.  I don’t feel that different, so I guess that’s good.  Women tell me that men get better in their 30’s.  I’d been dreading that it would be the beginning of my decline.  We’ll see, I guess.

Anyway, then there was Santa Rosa… which was a tough sell again.  At least there was Denny’s.  Then this last weekend was Sacramento and Fresno.  It was fucking hot out there.  But it was fun, as always.  And as always, this particular trip came with its own bizarre stories.  Oh, and did I mention it was fucking hot?  At one point, my car’s thermometer (which admittedly likes to exaggerate sometimes) read 113°.  I’ll note that on my drive home tonight, it read more than 50° cooler than that.  Can you imagine?  50°!  I can’t stand heat like that.  It reminds me of Arizona.  Everything becomes more difficult.  It saps your energy.  And it makes people act crazy.  Believe me.

Man, I need to get out more.  I’ve been having fun lately, but I do a lot of the same things in the same places with the same people.  There’s comfort in that, but it doesn’t give you quite the same room to stretch and grow.  Time to shake things up a little.  Any ideas?

“My heart is on backwards.”

— Morrissey

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  sore

I don’t know why I find this so entertaining, but I do.