the final word before 2009

Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.
– Kurt Vonnegut
–
i’m going to do my best to make this my last post until 1.2.09. i love and miss kurt vonnegut. he seemed to me, and i guess still seems, like a weird, old uncle who would entertain you for hours on end with stories of adventures he had and the people he met. you know, the sort of stories you couldn’t tell mom and dad, so when they asked what you talked to kooky uncle kurt about, you’d just make something up like, “oh, he was just asking about school and girls.”

thank you, mr vonnegut. goodbye, blue monday.

see you guys in a bit. happy christmas. be safe, be merry, and be kind to one another.

the stars at night, are big and bright…

damn i love me some peewee herman. admit it, you had to stop from clapping when you read that, didn’t you?

the trip to deep in the heart of texas was fantasmo. the weather was mostly okay, the food was (for once) veggie friendly, and i had the opportunity to get video footage of my grandmother (one of the great loves of my life) telling stories about our family & her childhood. on top of that, my aunt had some pictures of me, my brother, and my mom that she’d found at my great aunt’s house while going through everything after she (my great aunt, who was like a second grandmother) died a few months back.

i’ve realized over the past few years that one of my great personal losses due to my mom’s death is or will be the lack of stories of when my brother and i were kids, and trips we’d take and different adventures that we’d go on. on top of that, i don’t have all that many pictures of myself or my mom from when i was growing up, mostly because alot of her stuff went to seed a little bit between the time that she died and the time that my stepdad sold the house. i’m not angry about it, it’s just how it is.

back to the trip. as to not bore you with a travelogue of the weekend, i’ll just say that the trip was exactly what the doctor ordered. i got a little (and i mean just a little) much needed work taken care of, bwe & i had ample time to spend with each other and to reconnect a little bit, and i got some much needed time with my family, who i only see once a year, barring any sort of funeral or emergency. on top of that, we got to go to urban outfitters, where i found a handful of things that will make my life better: an ipod dj mixing table, a banksy book that i absolutely must have, big lebowski action figures (they tie the room together), and the discovery that, not only does urban outfitters’ house brand (bdg) now makes & sells corduroys, but they sell them for less than $30/pair. that’s big news for a guy that wants to be buried in cords, and who still has a goal of having at least one pair of cords for every day of the week.

the return trip was not without a christopher guest movie’s worth of shenanigans: we missed our exit to the airport (my fault), our shuttle bus from the rental car drop off to the airport was hit by a mercedes (not my fault), bwe forgot the present we bought for my brother in the bus (again, not my fault), we had to go back to said bus to get the present (because it might just be the best sub-$50 christmas gift ever), the militant bitch at the security check point wouldn’t let us proceed with more than 2 bags despite our insistence that we were gate checking one bag each, our flight was delayed due to sharing a gate with an unrelated delayed flight, and the microphone at the gate/ticket stand was broken, so we didn’t hear the boarding call until almost too late. other than that, mrs. lincoln…

so now i’m back in the land of rhinestones & h2’s, enjoying a glass of four roses small batch bourbon (you should try some. thank me later.), and trying to work up some miniscule amount of enthusiasm for hitting the grind tomorrow.

whether you’re new to this little slice of paradise known as (insert name here) or you’ve been awaiting my napoleonic return, have a happy merry wonderful safe christmas hanukkah festivus holiday, and make sure to leave a little extra eggnog out for ol’ sainty clause. in case you haven’t noticed, he’s gonna need a little bit of ’spirit’ual help to make the rounds this year.

(ps – guns ‘n’ f’ing roses album appetite for destruction has my official endorsement as best “doing some graphic design on a 2 hour flight” album ever.)

truffle shuffle 12.19.08 – bringin’ it all back home mix

in just a few hours bwe & i will be boarding a friendly continental mini-jet to head down to texas for a weekend with my family. i’m a little apprehensive about the trip, seeing as how i’ve been sick non-stop for almost 2 weeks, and still can’t shake this 24 hour headache. aside from that, its all lollipops & rainbows: the staff at the crag is “all hands on deck” to give me a weekend off, the mother-in-law is dog sitting for us, and i have a “straight out of 1964 prep school” haircut to show off to my grandmother. this is significant because i haven’t had anything resembling a “normal” haircut for 16+ years, and just recently purchased the first comb i’ve ever owned. i’m pretty sure i might have to pack the aed to get everyone jump started after i walk in the door.

in celebration of what i hope is a fantastic weekend, here’s a new truffle shuffle:

1. life is short – butterfly boucher (flutterby) – yes, my friend, yes it is.
2. thickfreakness – the black keys (thickfreakness) – this is travelling music if i’ve ever heard it.
3. wooden heart – elvis presley (30 #1 hits) – not sure about this one, but who can argue with the king?
4. that was me – paul mccartney (memory almost full) – a reintroduction.
5. tinsel & sawdust – jason collett (idols of exile) – sounds like texas & tennessee to me…
6. metropolis – pogues (if i should fall from grace with God) – i’ll never disagree with a pogues song showing up.
7. eclipse – pink floyd (dark side of the moon) – weird…
8. the girls on the beach – the beach boys (endless summer) – weirder…
9. blue and wonder – richard buckner (bloomed) – sounds like flying.
10. touch the sky – kanye west (late registration) – as does this.

truffle shuffle 12.12.08 – too blown out to name a mix, mix.

what a week. let’s recap:

sunday: feel like doodoo. think i have the flu, strep throat, or the most bizarre hangover symptoms of my life.

monday: feel like same pile of doodoo. go to doctor. confirm strep throat. get steroid shot & zpack.
tuesday: sleep. go to the crag around 2p to finalize the pre-clinic & routesetting work. friend, all-star routesetter & clinic giver arrives at 8.45. discuss logistics. friend’s rental car gets hit in parking lot as he leaves for hotel.

wednesday: nothing crazy happened wednesday. spent 9 hours at the crag, setting routes for saturday’s competition and learning tons of stuff about routesetting.

thursday: spent 2 hours driving from home to day job (normally a 20 minute drive) due to a massive, deadly wreck that shut down the interstate and clogged every road leading to cubicle-ville. spent another hour (normally 10-15 minutes)driving from cubicle-ville to the crag because of 18 wheeler that ran out of diesel on a two-lane road, due to aforementioned traffic problems. bwe accidentally forgets to shut off headlights on mobile grooming van during appointment. send an employee to jump car off because i can’t leave the gym. cue big freaky unexpected snow dump. aforementioned routesetting guru is involved in SECOND car accident in 48 hours, hit by another car who was turning across a lane that went straight. get home at midnite, make list of all that has to get done today. realize that its two pages long. single spaced. pour second drink.

today (friday): spend an hour twenty driving to cubicle-ville. apparently remnants of snow in turn lanes require that EVERY F’ING DRIVER ON THE ROAD DRIVE 3 MILES A F’ING HOUR! arrive to cubicle-ville at 9.50 to find out that all three meetings scheduled for this morning have been cancelled. go get a fresh cup of coffee. decide to pretend to work until noon, at which time i head to the crag to finish setting & prepping for the comp. i’m assuming that i will be abducted by aliens on my way across the parking lot, so let’s see what my potentially last truffle shuffle has in store.

1. rock ‘n’ roll suicide – david bowie (ziggy stardust)
2. red shoes – elvis costello (my aim is true)
3. rise – josh rouse (1972)
4. tiny dancer – elton john/ryan adams (vh1 crossroads bootleg)
5. sit down by the fire – the pogues (if i should fall from grace with God)
6. over the hill – chris & rich robinson (brothers of a feather: live at the roxy)
7. all of me – willie nelson (stardust)
8. makin’ whoopee – frank sinatra (songs for swingin’ lovers)
9. gauzy dress in the sun – richard buckner (bloomed)
10. no need to worry – yeasayer (all hour cymbals)

its good to see the cosmos lining up for my first truffle shuffle in months. everyone have a good weekend, and if you’re free tomorrow afternoon, drop by the crag between 3 & 6 to watch our logic defying, bug-eye inducing, kick-gravity-in-the-shorts competition: Winter Uprising.

shuffle on…

turn, turn, turn

i’m trying to decide what direction to take this here blog. you see, i don’t have loads of time to compose posts, which usually means i resort to lists, or to chest-thumping about things that are wrong with the world (ex: taylor swift posts. yup. they’re still getting comments).

on the other side, there are tons of things going on in my life right now that i think could benefit people from reading. dealing with anxiety & depression, managing a small business, music to seek out & music to avoid (put the gaslight anthem in the first column, and taylor swift in the second), small biz books and resources, all sorts of things.

so, if i took the blog a little bit deeper than its been lately, and seasoned it with some good natured soapbox-standing, would you guys still read it? don’t worry, i’m not gonna go all serious on you. i just have different things on my mind lately, so that’s what i wanna talk about.

(did i really just ask permission from my handful of readers to discuss what i want to discuss on my own blog? sheesh. go ahead and add codependence to the list of things i need to work on…)

no one here gets out alive

first, allow me to clearly state that i am NOT a fan of the doors. i just recalled the title of the morrison bio book.

lately i’ve been realizing that i’m getting older. here’s a quick list that i’ll allow to serve as my entry back into the world of the bloggers.

i know i’m getting older when:

-i can’t mix my browns and clears without serious consequences the following day.
-a nite on the couch, reading a book and listening to opera sounds delightful.
-i chastise teenagers’ musical sensibility because they only know dave grohl as “that guy from foo fighters” and not, “that guy from foo fighters who played drums in nirvana”.
-i have to explain to a high schooler how to use a fax machine.
-i recognize samples in current hip hop music because it was shit that i listened to when i was a kid.
-things i said, listened to, wore, and watched in elementary and middle school are either considered retro, are being remade or are being sold for shit tons of money on ebay.

so that’s my list. what’s on yours?