Why You Should Nevah Give Yer Numbah Ta Someone At a Yoga Studio

(Even if you both werk-trade thar).

Ah was awkwardly "picked up" yestahday mornin (it's in quotes b/c her actual intentions ahve yet ta decipher) by a fellow werk-trader. We exchanged awkward pleasantries in tha mornin, she laughed at my jokes, n then ended up stayin fer a second class ("because it was rainin - a lil weird, but ah was maybe flattered?). She also moved her mat rite next ta mine which was also strange. Actually, she asked fer my numbah before all that - she asked what my cell was n when ah asked her why, she stammered "so ah ken put it in my phone." Fair enuff, n ah like women who pursue thangs/people they like, so ah gave it ta her. Ah asked "So what happens now" n she told me "you'll see." Ah guess ah saw, but ah definitely don't unnerstand (please note that ah have paid tha utmost attention ta detail in recreatin these text messages):

Crazy Yoga Girl (11:30 am - just after giving her my number): may i Plz hau That Nmbr?

Me (3:28 pm): Welcome to my phone book, cyg, mission accomplished. How are u spendin the rest of this Sunday?

CYG (4:10 pm): TxtualRelationz1drfl (this translates to "Textual Relations -- see Urban Dictionary, Wonderful (1drfl - ah had ta look it up too).

Me (4:27 pm): Yer textin is more advanced then mine but ah ken find online translations. Nae such reference guide exists fer mine yet.

Me (5:13 pm): Longest nite! (in case she was shy or whatever, I'm at least trying to encourage conversation...nawt fer much longah tho)

Me (6:38 pm): *fizzle* (as in my interest)

CYG (1:07 pm): WutLiz@TBTOfTOcnNShAks?GiuUp?ANerusWrek (eventually this was deciphered as "What Lies at the bottom of the ocean and shakes? Give up? A Nervous Wreck." I'm getting tired of this by now)

Me (1:41 pm): Unsubzkribe

CYG (1:46 pm): IDGI (I don't get it)

Me (1:55 pm): Nae mas porfa. Gratzi n ciao

CYG (1:57 pm): GratzUhurtMyFelngs.DoYQMe? (Great, you hurt my feelings, do you question me?)

Me (2:50 pm): The recipient of this message will no longer accept texts that require translation from your number. Please reformat and try again.

CYG (3:48 pm): ThatWuzAJOk.DoUNoAboutTheCarpets?Thnx4kpnquiet abt it. (I have no idea what this is)

Me (3:52 pm): Message undeliverable, the recipient is bored w this.

CYG (4:24 pm): AUI?WutzFizle? (beats the hell out of me)

Me (4:41 pm): Totally lame, im blocking all texts from this number now. Really (this was her last chance...)

CYG (4:44 pm): QL:QuitLaughingAUI:

Me (4:45 pm): That was the last one

and then I blocked her on Sprint.

Ah can't help but thank its nawt actually a person who was daein this, some fawked up computah thang, but eitha way:

Don't Evah Give Yer Numbah Ta Someone At a Yoga Studio - even if they are cute and flexible.

Da Bitches be KERAZZY this weekend

somethang about tha end of tha year maybe? Ah dinnae. But somethangs gawt intae tha women of SF this weekend. Ah've been:

-affectionately verbally assaulted on tha web by someone ah hadn't met
-written by thrice my usual amount of females on tha internet datin site ahm (kind of) usin
-made plans w. someone that sounded very enthusiastic about what looked like a lawt of fun n then canceled on me last minute w.o an explanation, via text.
-ignored by one of tha few people ah am interested in n subsequently gawt bumped intae "maybe we'll hang out next year" despite her claimed interest
-kissed on tha mouth by an unattractive mostly-stranger
-picked up at tha yoga studio only ta be texted inane lolcatz-typed slang n then ignored (ah think this last one is messin w. my head tha most)

Anyway, whatevs. Couple more days ahll be outta here n by tha time ah come back ahm hopin ta have a great week, hopefully sans too many of tha nutzos (altho ahm sure ah won't avoid em all - that would be borin). Maybe it's tha beard?

All ah really want fer xmass...

- Bike modifications (specifically, fenders and a carrying case that won't interfere w. how ah lock it up. Ah rode my bike in tha pourin rain today (how pourin? Ah was tha only cyclist on valencia street. Apparently ahm more crazy then tha rest of tha San Franciscans) n about halfway thar ah noticed my back tire was sprayin water all ovah tha ass-part of my jeans. Luckily ah dae have some bike pants donated from a friend of my old landlady.

- Down time to play my bass (likely ta occur).

- A new computer (hahahahha)

- An Ampeg SVT-410HLF. Ahve wanted one of these fer ages n was able ta play on one last week at tha think13 gig w. my current head n it sounded phenomenal. Ahm hopin by my birthday ahll have enuff? Eh, maybe more like June.

- Tha Rockit Room ta gae out of bizness - WTB had a gig scheduled but b/c our bookin agent couldn't guarantee more then 80 people (pretty good fer a shitty club on a Wednesday tha week before Xmass ah think), they shut tha gig off (they wanted at least 125. Fawk that place.)

- My wrist to completely heal

- A vaporizer. Oh wait, ah bought myself one of them last month.

Happy Yule ta everyone. Ah hope you spend tha season warm w. people you love. Ahll be in just-gawt-ovah-a-foot-of-snow Buffalo, NY fer a few days, n then back here fer a stay-cation. Just in time.

Rate my quiz high! Hate tha otha one!

I wrote a quiz on Hello Quizzy and entered in their "The 80s" contest. Not only was writing the test a lot of fun, but I'm actually in 2nd place in both categories (quality and amount of test takers). Usually I don't get all that competitive, but the test that is beating me in quality SUCKS! It's a 16 Candles Trivia test, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the writer doesn't even score your results. I've spent 7 hours or so on making mine as good as possible, and this loser took 80 minutes and then stopped short.

SO! HELP ME WIN!
Take my quiz - What Kind of 80s Metal Are You? and give it a rating!

Then, take the other quiz - 16 Candles Trivia and when you realize it sucks, give it a rating!

And let me know what kind of heavy metal you are - the results still need some tweaking ah think.

Godspeed!

Fawkin Prop 8

Prop 8 forced the state of California to only legalize marriages between a male and female (I wonder what CA's official status on a heterosexual marriage between two transgendered (or just one) people would be. My guess is it might just be totally legal....but ahm makin that up). Anyway, tha point is, that Prop 8 passed, n that proposition was so inhumane n evil n christian it made me swear at high skool students from a bus window. N ah like, NEVAH dae that anymore.

Anyway, ah made a friend in 9th grade on my skool bus. We had lil in common, expect fer likin booze n hard punk. Somehow, we've maintained contact and friendship all these years. We disagree on pretty much everythang, as hes mostly conservative n ahm, well, you know, me. But we've maintained a friendship and respect for each otha despite all that.

But ah was just chattin with him, n he told me he opposed tha backlash ta proposition 8 because it was voted on. N ah can't hang w. that. Yes, his point is that if voters vote on it then its law - but somethangs are rite, n some are fawking wrong. Ah git democracy n all that shite, but if you can't take tha blinders off n recognize that people are fawkin idiots n mite vote ta support bullshite, then fawk off.

Ah blocked him. That might be tha booze ah drank at tha event ah just catered (hippy uu medievil gothick weddin), but really, prop 8 is so evil n stupid n ugly enuff that ah have lil problem cashin in a friendship of 13 years fer.

Seriously CJ - we knew this time would come. See ya on tha otha side....


I'd love to title this caption "asshole" but I'm not queer so think it doesn't totally werk, but my said friend IS married

Cracks me up/WTF

In the last month or so, I've had a few "dates". Some were actually "not-dates", as in, the person had specifically stated that they were not interested in dating, but still interested in meetin me. Ahm generally okay w. this, altho ahve resolved nawt ta dae it w. anyone who doesn't have obvious similarities with me anymore. Cuz, Ahm So Vain....

Tha thang that cracks me up tho, is only two of those "actual dates" have resulted in me bein interested in seein tha person again. N both of thar names is sara(h). How bout that?

(haha, at least none of them spell it all stupid like!)

Anutha weekend in the Mission....

I love love LOVE the mission. Today I went out for a couple hours, bought a suitcase (thats small enuff fer carryon but big enuff ta hold stuff!), a new backpack (old one died n tha ones from werk are junk), a soft zippered hoodie (from a thrift store), a tamale, a belt, and some socks for 60 bux. I almost bought a grinder but it was too expensive - next paycheck tho!

Last night was a fun night - I went to this work/live/artspace studio in the lower Haight where a bunch of bands played and they had a bake sale to raise money to get tubes to bring light from outside into their work space and not to spend money/energy powering the tons of lights they have in there. But the really cool part was actually the journey to/from. About 9 of us met up at a local bike shop, had a beer, and then biked there together. While not Critical Mass it did give us the presence of a vehicle. We stuck to traditional bike routes so we didn't really fawk up traffic that much, but it felt really awesome to be part of a temporary bike gang as we all made our way to alcohol and musick.

Oh, and this is my 3rd week anniversary of my near beard. here I am in my new hoodie!

Aww yeah, blogger love

Last weekend an old SUUSI friend (and if you don't know what suusi is, then I'm going to ask you how you found my blog....) was in Berkeley for the holidays. Her and her drunk (but very nice) friend met me for hipster pizza in the mission. Laughter ensued!



See how much fun we're having? NOW COME VISIT ME GADNABITT!

in case anyone cares about southpark...

Ah've watched south park faithfully since its inception. Ah very vividly remember thinking that show could either be truly awful or amazingly great. I don't think I really pictured it making 12 seasons worth of television, but I give it props for being one of the smartest (although mostly b/c it's so current) things on tv.

I don't really laugh at south park anymore. I find it amusing, and sometimes clever, and often stupid, but I don't really laugh out loud all that much watching it. That doesn't bother me. And because it's creators are internet friendly, it's had a stable net presence for a few years (although I do remember back in college when I made friends w. some admin on a fileshare site, who made episodes for me so I would share them).

Anyway, you can always watch any southpark episode at the following places:
South Park Zone
South Park Studios

Other places that have caught on to the online video tips (in case someone isn't aware)
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
NBC.COM (I watch Third Rock, The Office, and My Name is Earl)
Fox.com (New Simpsons episodes aren't always awful, and who doesn't love to hate House?)

Anyway Turkeys, happy day!

Why, what are yer Saturdays like?

Yesterday was a good day. Ah went to see particular type of doctor about my Carpal Tunnel problem. This doctor actually doesn't treat Carpal Tunnel, but he does make it so that my life is a little bit easier despite tha Carpal Tunnel. He's not cheap, and insurance doesn't cover him, but ah only hafta see him once a year. N now ah feel pretty confident that each visit from now on will be nice and easy, just like ah want it ta be (tha one ah saw last year was a total dick). Then ah went n renewed my membership here, making my pursuit of my doctor recommended medicine much easier. Ah really am part of a special club.

And then ah dropped my bike off at tha shop fer a free tune-up. Tha place ah bought it will give it free tuneups for life, which is, "hella" sweet. They don't always remembah my name, but they remembah my bike. Good stuff.

Finally when ah came back this was happenin outside tha BART stop (this is nawt tha first time):



Later that evenin, at tha same BART stop (otha side of tha street), thar was what looked like an "impromptu dance party" happenin, as thar were all these early 20-year olds dancing to House of Pain's "Jump Around."

Skip to tha end of tha nite when ah walked all 5 miles home cuz ah wasn't timin tha busses rite. awesome.


(b is actually the starting point)

Just a few SF observations

1) It's 72 degrees today. While that is great news for my warm-weather lovin self, it does make tha holiday-themed coffee drinks (eggnog lattes, peppermint mochas, and pumpkin pie chai) seem a little strange and unappealing.

2)SF has an abundance of people in wheelchairs. While that's not surprising, as it's a very handi-accessible city, ahve noticed that a LARGE majority of these folks actually push themselves with their feet. I'm not trying to be unsympathetic to their problems, but ah can't help but think that wheelchairs were designed with people who CANT USE THAR FEET in mind.

3)When tha Board of Directors are in town (fer my jobby job) thars 50% MORE people wandering around my floor talkin to themselves.

Fired up

So, about a month or so ago, ah decided it was time ta bite tha bullet. Yes, ahd tampered w. Crazy Blind Date in tha past, but that was easy, nae commitment, lil effort. But ah surveyed how my datin experience had been werkin within my limited circle out here, n decided ah needed ta branch out. In daein so, ah embraced tha concept n practice of online dating.

Skeptically (my first real girlfriend found me on myspace - oy), ah first went to tha LIST, figuring that at least tha list would be desperate, so ahd prolly git a few decent stories out of it. Ah thought (incorrectly) that by usin craigslist, ahd be cutting through tha bullshit. Ah was wrong. Those craigslist girls don't write back, at least nawt more then once er twice. Hah, tha most response ah gawt was to my two RANTS in which ah posted an ad, but really bitched about how shallow they were. That sure taught em!

Aftah that mishap, ah ended up signin ontae one otha datin site (won't link it, but ahll give so many hints its impossible ta ignore - it's free, it's nationwide, and it's got all these personality tests) n have met w. ups n downs. Originally, ah felt class-a ignored, but recently thangs have turned around a lil bit. In fact, tha online datin thang has resulted in 4 dates in 4 week days. It's almost a little daunting.

Anyway, don't expect too many juicy details, but ah dae promise ta try n let people know about how this particular social experiment is daein in vague n quantitative terms.

Oh - and I'm growing a beard next week. Git excited fer my next beard!

Sweet!

Sometime in the last two weeks my phone's microphone died. I'm not sure when exactly, but it was sometime before my friends couldn't hear me using the handset. So I went to tha Sprint store, expecting some of thar legendary anti-customer service. Instead, ah was told that they would try to fix it fer 35 bux, or they could give me a replacement (even though my phone isn't insured anymore, and nevah was w. them!).

They couldnt fix, n my phone is out of stock, so they said they would check ta see if it was backordered because ah didn't want tha "similar replacement" which from my understandin is still a musick phone, but sucks royally in comparison ta tha one ah have. They hadn't gawten back ta me, so ah came back today expectin ta just suck it up n git tha shitty phone, ta find that my phone had come in. They suped it up, n were so distracted by how long it took, fergawt ta charge me!

Shhh!

All Gimped Up....

so my spill is slowly gittin diagnosed by doctors who will actually talk ta me.

In good news, thar almost positive its naethang worse then a sprain.

In bad news, ahm wearin a gimpy wrist splint n cant play bass er bike fer a couple weeks.

Lesson: Don't git cocky when you are drunk on a bicycle.

3 thangs (in non-chronological ordah)

1) Holy Shit, BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT! Makes me feel like all tha time ahve spent supportin his supporters online n siftin through nasty anti-obama emails was nawt in vain. SF is rippin shit up outside, whoopin n hollerin n dancin. Haven't heard anythang like it since livin in Bawstan near fenway park. All in all, I'm glad, but really ahm more relieved then anythang - relieved its ovah so werk ken slow down, n relieved that sarah palin wasn't a heart attack away from bein president.

2)Last week marked my 1-year anniversary on tha "left coast" as my east-coast friends keep referrin ta it. Monday, Oct. 27th actually. Thas a lil crazy ta think about.

3)ah need ta stop readin too much about wrist injuries online yet keep readin enuff so an incompetent/negligent docktah doesnt mis-diagnose me. Ahve recovered from all parts of my fall except thars still pain in my left wrist, n if thars somethang that needs ta be done about it, lets dae it now!

I fell....

These days whenever I have a good weekend I seem to pay for it in physical pain/soreness for another week. Example 1)Bruised tailbone a la weddin in NC. Example 2 occured this Saturday.

It had been a DAY. Boozin w. tha band since 3 in an effort ta relax a bit while we play (they need it, nawt me), then to a bar fer a quick veggie sausage (ah love tha gestalt house). Aftahwerds, we hunted down a party er somethang - nawt that we really expected ta find one. This led us first intae tha Haight ta bother our new guitarist, then intae tha Richmond ta bother our otha one. Unfortunately, our richmond based guitarist passed tha hell out, n we eventually found ourselves at a bar that made us feel like we were back in College. Ah dont remembah what piece of 80s bubblegum pop made us leave eventually, but it was time.

This then began tha best bike ride of my life. Tha richmond district is a bit elevated from tha part of tha city ah spend most of my time in, n by followin my SF native on his bike, ah discovered tons of great back roads that had awesome slopes and were completely void of cars. Tha temperature was about 65 degrees and it felt amazing - a lite fog and mist in the air. Ah was really enjoyin tha ethereal summer/fall that was Saturday.

Of kerse, this led to some cockiness on my part. Roundin a turn, ah remembah feelin my momentum gaein forward. Ah knew ah was leanin forward, but didn't realize tha extent of it - until ah hit tha ground. Luckily tha left half of my body broke most of my fall - ah did have my helmet on but didn't dae anythang ta my head.

This resulted in 6 - 8 scrapes on my left hand, hip and leg. My wrist is sprained - nawt fractured. All this did was prompt me ta gae intae tha nearest convenient store in my daze n git some band-aids. Tha drummer had neosporin - n we were off again.

Just as we were about ta pack it in that evenin, we ran intae this girl he'd been tryin ta find all nite. This turned intae a nite whar we crashed two parties - one in a warehouse, one in a closed bar. Tha latah was an industrial dance party (meanin no one really danced, hah) where they kept givin out free shots of shitty tequila. Finally around 4:30 we dragged my buddy's drunk friend back to our bikes. Thas whar ah discovered my flat tire (tha second in as many days)

So ah walked 4 miles home at 5 am - took about an hour. W. a bruised leg, meanin ah favored my right foot a bit too much. Ah did nawt make it ta yoga tha next mornin.

Ah think ahm on tha mend - took class yestahday n gawt a massage today (serendipity inspired my masseuse ta offer a 20 bux off discount that ah cheerfully took advantage of). Ah played too much bass on Sunday n am takin it easy fer tha BIG ASSED HALLOWEEN SHOW that think13 is playin this Friday (nevah mind that tha flier says our name is Vagaboom) w. dancers n fire n lights n all sorts of great shit (nae juggling or stilt walkers like tha website says tho - we don't dae that).

Anyway, here's tha pictures of just some of tha scrapes ah endured:

Left Hand


Left Hip


Left Front Thigh (my favorite - check out tha spiral in tha scrape)


Good times....

Oh yeah....

Ahm totally in a new band n we have videos n stuff from our stint at Expressions College of Digital Media (see et tu bass?) You can find all 3 of the individual videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/weethebandsf

But since ah love ya, here they are:

Postman


Rise


Glass of Wine


Note: The audio came out very quiet for all of them so you'll probably half to crank it.

Unfortunately, our favorite song had some technical difficulties. BUT, you can listen to Absolution on the Wee the Band website. You can even download it - for free.

Keep in mind also that I'd had all of 4 practices with these folks over the course of 5 weeks before playing this. Nawt too shabby. Tha whole video is also watchable from tha website itself.

We played last nite at tha ReTox Lounge in tha dogpatch to a bunch of very nice asian people who were thar ta watch thar friends. Ah managed yet again ta make it through tha nite w.o payin fer a single drink!

Just a taste

I went to North Carolina for a Scottish beach wedding. The UUHC threw a party and everyone was invited (well, almost everyone). I might try to put a couple more up here when ah have time, but thought ahd just dae a small chronicle. How much has changed in 8 years (holy shit, 8 years).

July 2000


Same crew, different poses this past weekend:


Ah think we know who would win in a fight.....altho tha latter crew can probably outdrink tha first bunch of misfits by now.

Green Butter

My cooking experiment yesterday turned out just shy of 2 cups of green butter. Lets hope it changed that color for a reason!



(aka, I'm getting excited about North Carolina.)

I am a financial moron

Well, nawt exactly. Ah have a fairly decent handle on unnerstandin finances, savin, puttin money whar it needs ta gae. Actually ah ken be really good at it. Ah wouldnt say ahve been daein absolutely amazin since movin out here (as thars still a pretty good hunk of credit ta be paid off n nawt all that much in ye olde bank accounts), but ah at least THINK ah have a handle on everythang (nevahmind that ah keep sayin "in a couple more months ahll be out of tha red").

Howevah, things break er ah need new stuff er x, y, and z. Ah just blogged about my bass breakin at tha gig - tha cheapo bass that has all sorts of ugly buzzes n hums. Ah took it ta git it looked at at one is obviously le creme de la creme of guitar stores (36 yelp reviews, 35 of them 5 stars). Ahve wanted ta supe this baby up fer quite some time - n hoped that ahd be able ta dae so fer about 200 bux (maybe plus some 70 dollah pickups).

Tha verdict: It would cost $25 ta git tha White Devil (ah know, its a horrible name, but shes a total bitch) back to functioning. Ta dae tha overhaul ah know it needs - 350 dollars. Possibly a smidge less - we'll see if my small talkin helped. Ah did nawt drop tha "B" word (berklee) n maybe ah should've - er maybe nawt.

He felt obligated ta let me know ah could EASILY git a BETTAH bass fer this much money n then have two basses. Ah let him know ah knew what ah was daein, that me n this bass have some real chemisty togetha n ah really love it. He unnerstood, but ahm sure he was crackin up internally b/c this thang would prolly git me 50 bux at a pawn shop. N has a serious problem w some strings - which ah wont gae intae cuz ah fergit tha terminology n its borin.

Ah mean, ah agreed. Ah also really hope that my amp wont run me anymore then 80 bux so ah ken put tha remaindin 320 from tha sale of my carvin acoustic/electric towards tha upgrade. What really stinks is ah still need ta drop 300 - 600 n git a new cab. AND ah still want a new 4-string, but a really really badassed used one.

anyway, it will be worth it. But its nawt tha soundest financial move, especially w. tha markets n all that crap, ta invest so much in so little. But fawk it. Ahve gawt friends ah ken couch-surf w. if shite gaes down (at least ah hope so).

Altho - My 401(k) kicks in this month. That cracks me up fer SOOO many reasons.

Howevah

Todays nawt all shite, ah went to a grad skool fair today n gawt a lil bit bettah of an unnerstandin of what it means ta actually gae ta stupid grad skool.

Namely:
* Decisions, decisions, DECISIONS (what to major in, where to go, how to actually dae it)
* How tha fawk will ah pay fer this?
* How exciting!

Which really boils down to a recognization of two solid facts (both of which ah shouldve been aware of already):
1) If ah want ta git a decent Masters in Non Profit Business Administration, that means eitha an MBA er a MS. Ah could possibly manage a MPP (Public Policy) but don't think thas what ah want.
2) Ta obtain eitha, ahma hafta git MUCH SMARTER. That means tha GRE n possibly tha GMAT. Ahm nawt supah-great at tests.

Maybe ahll just apply internationally whar tha standards are less rigorous.....

Et tu, bass?

So we know ah trashed my bass cab, which is good n bad.

Yestahday ah went out to Emeryville to Ex'pressions College for Digital Arts to do a free live recording w. my new band, Wee the Band last nite. It was webcast n recorded by some students n we gawt goodies ta promote w. - everyone wins.

Howevah, my bass was not werkin. Ahd played it tha nite before, same as always. This is my cheapo 4-string, featured in most of my solo-pics on myspace. Ah love this bass, picked up fer an even hundred bux off a student of my old teachers, complete w. gig bag, strap, cord, n stand. It plays a lil rough, n doesn't sing like a bird, but man ah love ta beat tha crap outta it. N while a lil shaky, it has been thar fer me - tha only repair ahve needed in 7 years was when ah dropped it n broke a piece of plastic off tha top of it, which cost 50 bux to fix. And some input jacks, which is normal.

Tha problem is one ahm nawt familiar w., n ah cant place tha problem. It just emits loud hum, independant of tha volume knob. Tha show was saved, one of tha students had a bass in her car (that looked, altho did nawt play, almost exactly like mine), so it went on, n went pretty well. Ahm werkin on gittin some of tha videos uploaded, etc. tonite.

This sucks tho, cuz ah love my bass, AND b/c ah need ta buy a new bass cab. Also, ahd planned on givin my baby a checkup at tha geetar docktah anyway, but was postponin that until ahftah my amplification problem was ovah, n ah had some time ta save up fer a real tune-up: new pickups, new bridge, pickguard, cleanin, maybe even some fretboard reshapin. You know, drop some cash but have a geetar that would still be useful in 10 years (Even tho what that will cost could easily buy me a much nicer bass, used, or even new).

Ah hafta git it fixed, n mite as well upgrade it now so it doesn't hafta gae undah tha knife again anytime soon. Ahm just bummed.

Please nuthin else ah need ta use break on me soon?

Guess who needs a new bass cab (again!)?

*grumble*

Bass Amp For Ransom

At least now I have City Car Share to get around when needed.

Somethang that is lame:

Also, ahd like ta gae on record right now n say that if you:
1) Have a date w. someone and it gaes pretty well
2) Follow up using myspace (even tho you have said persons phone number) ta make plans, n then
3) Do not return tha message about plans

You are lame.

Especially if yer message via myspace is breakin potentially established plans, n tha response message offers two otha alternatives. If you don't want to gae out again, then don't. But using myspace ta set up (er nawt set up) a time ta meet somebody when you already have thar contact info, is just lame.

So if any of you readin this (does anybody read this?) have recently done that, it was lame, don't dae it again.

(ahll own up a lil bit by sayin that postin somethang such as this is a touch passive-aggressive as well, but it's my blog n ah ken say what ah want ta. So thar)

More Bakin!

So ah wanted ta make brownies from scratch. Ah did this as sort of a trial run - ah won't gae too far intae it, but lets just say ah wish ta make delectable brownies sometime in October n would ratha screw up now then in tha future.

So ah tracked down a recipe that looked, ta be frank, totally overindulgent. Here it is.

A whole cup of butter and 8 oz. of bakin chocolate. 5 eggs. Yes. This is going to be soooo good for me.

Ah gawt ta use tha house standin mixer (in case ah haven't explained, my house is totally overrun w. kitchen and yard gadgets that don't belong to anyone. We don't even know whose dishes we use. We just use them. It's that kind of house). N it was fawkin sweet. This is tha mixer before thangs gawt sweet:



Ah kinda messed up on tha actual bakin - nawt sure what happened. But ah took them out of tha oven aftah 50 minutes, instead of 40, n let them cool - only ta find tha inside was still underdone (n nawt fudgy, doughy). So ah stuck them back in fer 10 er 15 more minutes - some of em came out a bit overdone (nawt quite burned, but close) n some of em were perfect. Many were neither. Here they are:



(note: ah tried 3 times to upload it n blogspot wants ta keep rotatin tha picture. Fine. Be that way. Fuckface).

Ah will say, tha recipe is pretty much tha bomb. It's more butter then most of them, so ahll hafta take that intae account. But those of you who will be in North Carolina should be quite happy w. tha way they turn out....ahm lookin forward to that.

Sweet - Nick Cave tonight!

Somehow ah missed that my buddy from Berklee (tha The Mysterous Odors' former guitarist) is in SF b/c tha band he is daein sound fer is openin fer NICK CAVE AND THA BAD SEEDS! Ah had nae idea - thought it was gawna be anutha low-key affair w. some instrumental rawk. Altho that does explain why thars two nites at tha Warfield....

Ahm nawt tha biggest Nick Cave fan you've evah met, but he does some very cool stuff n ahm excited ta git ta unexpectedly see a big, professional act w. a fellow musick geek.

Wow - THIS IS SAN FRANCISCO!

So thars this massive fortress of a structure rite on Mission St. between 15th n 14th (near tha highway). It is HUGE and sturdy - looks like a prison. Or a self-contained monastery. Ahve biked past it many times n only realized when ah was almost past how big n scary n mysterious it is. Heres a pic from tha bus:



Anyway, ah just found out that this is tha SF Armory, a building dedicated to filming porn as well as havin parties ta promote porn company Kink.com n its many affiliates (includin "Men In Pain" and "Whipped Ass"). Apparently tha buildin used ta be a church n was sold way discreetly.

Tha ownahs claim ta want ta plant trees around tha perimeter. Ahll let ya know.

Okay, shut up already.

Ah live above a church - a loud church. Some days its just a keyboard (those ken be pretty bad as tha woman singah is off-key and tempo 60% of tha time), but often thars also drums n bass. It's definitely audible, but usually has faded away by 9:30 pm. Some nights thars rehearsal a lil latah, but 10 is generally as late as ahll hear it.

It's 11:05 n thars nawt just practice, but continued full-on church downstairs. Ah ken hear tha muffled commandin voice of tha pastor, distorted and compressed by a pretty big PA system, speaking spanish ah prolly couldn't unnerstand without considerable practice, n ah wondah what tha fawk he's sayin.

But really, ah want it ta be ovah. It's late n ah hafta be at tha yoga studio at 8:30 to start tha laundry n then kick my ass w. a 9 am class (labor day schedule is CRAP).

no mas amigos, POR FAVOR! yo necessito dormir puntas!

Altho, if they did shut up ahd still have tha bar across tha street, tha busses, tha motorcycles, tha drunks, tha car alarms......but at least they wouldn't be downstairs!

FINALLY!

jammed w. some people from craigslist who didn't suck n who have thar shite togetha (ah hope ahm nawt speakin too soon). These folks play some sorta poppy, catchy, vocally driven, mostly acoustic stuff, n they think ahm tha bees knees (nawt tha actual term used), prolly cuz ah could play 3 bars of 5/4 and then one of 4/4 w.o hesitatin. Hopefully this'll turn intae some regular gigg-age fer me - think good thoughts, ah need a stage (er 6...)!

hahahah

perhaps, its nawt tha most productive way ta spend my time, but here is a summarization of what happened w. those guys ah nevah jammed with (thanks gmail!).

augsut 1st - forwarded myself this posting:
Rock / Metal Guitarist and Drummer Seek Bass Player ...

Experienced rock guitarist and drummer seek a bass guitar player with some chops.

Originals with a few covers and also looking to write new material.

Sound is very crunchy, melodic, hard, and dynamic.

Reply for more information ...

8/3 - email to poster:
car-less, in mission, looking to be busier

8/3 - email from poster:
looking for bassist, practice all the time, will call me.

8/6 - email to guitarist:
down with meeting, have a gig that evening. Had seen a
repost so I'd emailed again b/c he did not call

8/6 - email from guitarist:
rehearsals wed n sat @ 6:30. they are flexible

8/7 - email to guitarist:
lets jam on Saturday (2/9), what should we play, amp situation

8/9 - phone call from guitarist:
can i jam today still, i can't, he will send me some songs
for me to listen to

8/11 - email to guitarist:
never gawt an email, can jam on tues

8/11 - email from guitarist:
mp3s

8/12 - email to guitarist:
acknowlegement, have drummer call me tomorrow

8/13 - email from guitarist:
drummer can't make it, saturday at 6:30?

8/13 - email to guitarist:
Can probably do that, referenced my other band.

8/16 - home by 6, emailed.

10:15 pm - email from guitarist:
got stuck at work, shooting for Monday or Wednesday.

8/19 - email from guitarist:
will let me know on wed if it will work

email to guitarist:
wednesdya wont work. Sat is a gig. Can do monday.

8/21 - call from drummer
monday lets do it. I will call him.

8/25 - voicmail for drummer at 5:30.

7:30 pm - voicemail from drummer:
forgot to call, maybe tomorrow

7:40 pm - voicemail to drummer:
tuesday is no good, busy this week, will give next week a
try if they still want to.

8:15 pm - convo w. guitarist
they're moving on b/c im too busy.

okay, next please?

Gripes by Humble Observer

* pickin up whar a previous post left off, think13 needs a new guitar player. Ahm saddened that Christoph has left, but tha way he did it n his motivation have left me significantly more pissed off then sad. He was literally going to play a show w. us on Saturday night, quit the band, and then drive to Burning Man overnite. Luckily, fate wasn't going to let the coward have his "graceful exit" as ah think he saw it, n we found out two hours before tha show at tha practice space. So we at least gawt ta show him how lame he is. Ahve nevah shared a stage w. someone ah didn't even want to talk to before - good thang he wasn't on my side. Then ah gawt drunk.

* Tha guys ah bitched about a week ago flaked on me again - will ah nevah learn?? Tha drummah called to apologize n we set up a time today ta git together. Ah left werk n gave him a call, as was tha plan. He left a voicemail w. me minutes ago (at least 45 minutes AFTAH we were supposed to START jammin) sayin he was sorry but maybe tomorrow. Ah responded by leavin a message lettin them know ah MITE be willin ta try it again, but phrased it in a way that ah doubt they will call.

* Ah haven't seen any mosquitos, but ah have gawten 4 bug bites this weekend. Fricken annoyin.

* Apparently Warren Teagarden would rather play without me then have a bass player, at least thas what his Thursday guitar-n-drums show seems to indicate.

Okay, ah think ahm outta thangs ta bitch about (otha then my finances, which could be in slightly bettah shape). Thanks fer lettin me git off my chest (whoevah you are, if you are indeed out thar, faithful readers).

drinkin

evah notice how some hangovahs manifest themself gradually ovah tha first hour er so ya wake up?

Ahm blamin tha cheap tequila shot.

BAND DRAMA!

Tha best kind of drama, rite?

So ahll gae intae details(ish) (maybe) when its nawt 3 am, but today we dealt w. a pretty a somewhat-expected surprise.

A long, weird day, consisting of more drinks then usual, n said drinks hittin my blood stream earlier then is tha norm. Fer some reason, karma wanted me ta walk tha 3+ miles home (which took way longah then ah thought it would - almost an hour! must've been one of those contemplative walks....)

anyway it was frustrating. ahll sweat it out in bikram tomorrow at noon.

Ah BAKE!

At my job, Thursday is Snax day. Every week, a different employee prepares/buys a snack of some sort and those who are interested snack and chat together for a half hour or so. This week was my week (Actually, two weeks ago it was my week b/c ah double-booked myself, but that week was slammin w. gigs n crap so ah just bought some day old cookies from a local bakery).

Ah was determined ta actually make somethang, n wanted ta make somethang savory as opposed to sweet - nawt that ah succeeded. Ah ended up gaein w. pumpkin bread and zucchini bread b/c my moms pumpkin bread is one of my favorite thangs in tha world, n ah wanted ta give some selection as well (in case people didn't like pumpkin bread). So, ah bought a ton of ingredients n went ta werk (these days, whenevah ah use a new recipe it requires a lawt of purchasin b/c ah dont have many ingredients in my house. Also, anytime ah have a new spice ta play with ah insist on buyin it in bulk at Rainbow Grocery, which while pretty cheap fer organic spices ends up bein a bit more expensive b/c ah also buy a shaker fer every spice. But thas my problem.)

Anyway, this is one of my first solo bakin experiments so ah hoped it would come out good - even tho ah couldn't find a teaspoon ta measure (seriously, ah couldn't find a teaspoon in my house. Mixer yes, but teaspoon, nope. We have a spoon problem ovah here). Ah really enjoyed it actually (except fer gratin tha zucchini) - somethang very cool about werkin fer a solid half hour er so, n then throwin it in tha oven ta dae its thang - thinkin "well, my werk is done, we'll see how it comes out."

Ah think it came out pretty damn good actually. Sure, both breads were a bit sweeter then ah wanted, n ah couldve given tha zucchini bread anutha 10 minutes in tha oven, but ah enjoyed them, n they tasted similar ta my moms food. Whas really important tho is that werk loved it, n ahm pretty sure most of thar praise was genuine. Check it:



Tha best thang howevah is that ahm startin ta gain a lil confidence in tha kitchen on my own. Even tho ahve cooked fer myself pretty much tha whole time ah lived w. tha rents, n definitely before then, ah didn't dae much branchin out (minus tha whole gaein-veg thang). But knowin ahll be able ta continue some food traditions in tha family one way er anutha feels good. Ah wouldn't say that cookin necessarily runs in tha family, but ah dae feel ahve inherited some good instincts from my rents - instincts that'll make some lucky lady very happy one day should ah evah become a stay-at-home-husband!

Tha Universe

also sent me an email today about grad-skool-fairs specifically fer non-profit-orientated-majors. Of kerse, one of em was takin place in SF in tha end of Septembah when ahll be in tha city, so ah guess ahm gaein. 1st real step towards gaein back ta skool - excitin but scary.

Ah give $30 to tha local musick scene

Most of my contributions to tha SF scene is by way of bartendahs - ah don't gae to all that many shows except tha ones ahm playin at as of these days. But on Sunday ah went ta see my friend Brian Ostreicher's band Geographer have thar CD release at tha Cafe Du Nord at tha bottom of tha Haight. Tha venue is very nice, excellant sound (sounds like a cd playin from tha outside, until you git rite up to tha floor), chill, decently priced drinks (red strip fer 4.50 but thars a $10 covah? Deal.), etc. Wasn't really intae tha opener (altho it apparently included membahs of bright eyes n tha botticellis, as well as tha closin band, which ahll git ta), but Geographer sounded great. So ah paid tha covah n bought an album from them n tha closer.

Real quick - Bri is one of tha best drummers ah know n an old Berklee friend whos place ah spent MUCH time at. He actually helped tha Mysterious Odors come about, altho he wasn't directly involved. Tha band is also comprised of his friend (my Berklee acquaintence) Nathan, a nasty cello playah (sometimes playin 6-string electric cello), n thar friend Mike Deni, principal writer/singer/guitar/keys. They used ta have anutha vocalist/keyboardist, Kasey, but she left ta pursue her own thang. At tha CD release they had a session basist sit in w. them. What this all means tho, is they have a very interestin n different sound, playin intae tha indie-electronic thang, which is big now. N that seein Brian have tha CD release fer one of his major projects just felt good ta me, cuz ahve known tha guy fer so long.

So, ah plug downloadin thar tracks - when else when you git indie electronic w. cello? n harmonies?

But, ahll admit that tha real draw was tha headliner Judgement Day who ahve already plugged in tha BG, a metal band made up of drums, cello, and violin. And they totally rawk. Ahd checked them out before tha show n knew ah was gawna be buyin thar album Dark Opus. N they made a zombie video.

Part of me meant ta hang out aftah tha show just ta know them how much ah dug what they were up to, but it was late on a Sunday n ah was drunk n ah knew tha bike ride home would be cool, so ah split. Ah did myspace them w. adorin messages n comments so they know ahm creepy like that.

OH, tha FLAKES

Anutha addition to tha list of flakin SF musicians:

Rawk guitarist n drummer w. some rough (sometimes downrite ugly) demos from craigslist that ah contacted specifically b/c of tha close proximity. Amgiguous email sent a week n a half ago about potentially jammin last Saturday - ah git a call last Saturday afternoon n say next Wed would be bettah, nae problems). That Wednesday, cancellation b.c drummer can't make it, nae big deal. He suggests this Saturday at 6:30 or 7:30, n ah let them know ahm cool from 7 pm on today. Ah hear nuthang n send anutha email this mornin lettin them know ahll be available even a lil earlier. It's 9:15 n ah haven't gawten any word from eitha.

Ah will take part of tha blame, in that ahve been if nawt flakin, nawt followin up too hard w. any of tha folks ahve been in contact with that have seemed unlikely. But this is tha 2nd guy this week who's scheduled or almost scheduled a meeting but haven't heard from in 3 days.

Ah guess what else should ah expect - this is San Francisco - N THESE ARE MUSICIANS!

Best Damn Movie Ah've Seen in a LONG TIME!

Network

Holy shite, how have ah nawt seen this before?

A truly great film that delves intae tha world of news shows, corporate greed, fanaticism, shock-tv, n even a touch of interpersonal relationships. Released in 1976, this is tha story of Howard Beale (who is "Mad as Hell" and "Not Going to Take This Anymore!" - a soundclip familiar ta many, er at least me) who tells his television audience he's going to shoot himself on tha air b/c he's been fired. This sends of an eventual shockwave through tha television audience, n ah won't say any more about tha plot.

Ah was turned ontae this a while back when watchin Zeitgeist - The Movie which is scary, thought-provokin, n also a bit off tha deep end. Howevah ah dae recommend it - n it had me interested enuff ta search out Network, so its gawt that gaein fer it.

Seriously, Network rings almost yesterday-true despite bein ovah 30 years old. Quick dialogue, fast-moving shots, and excellent acting take this movie intae tha realm of "timeless". It suffers from a flaw here and there, but is a convincing, and subtley shocking, piece of cinema that will stick with you. This will possibly be tha first movie ahve netflixed n then ended up buying (n ah don't even remembah how long its been since ah bought a dvd - certainly more then a year).

Netflix it!

WE COOK!

Yes, ah forced my house ta have dinnah togetha. N they LIKED IT! Gawta love message boards.....

Ah stepped in ta make tha main course - stuffed shells a la my mom's recipe. It might've smelled like mom's cookin, but it has a way ta gae - both in terms of texture (ragu was too watery) n taste (BLAND stuffin - even w. spinach!).

Howevah, ah feel prety proud fer takin tha first step - cookin my mom's ragu from tha get-gae. Ah can't share her recipe (nawt that it would help much) but here's a glimpse at tha ingredients used:



That was mostly fer tha ragu - which ah multi-tasked on n also made lunches fer a few days. An ol' throwback to my bawstan/nova days, some SUPAH MAC N CHEEZ. This time includin:



At one point in time ah was simmerin tha ragu:



While ah was also steamin broccoli, fryin tofu/peppers/zucchini, n boilin macaroni:



Thas rite, ah ken multi-task.

Anyway, tha shells came out passable - lookin nawt TOO shabby:



Altho a lil shabby, ahll admit it.

We had tons of food, n people came ta visit! Then tha roommates posed (Cuz it was tha first time we've evah been in tha same room togetha, nae joke).

Say cheese Roommmates!



Finally, ah was extra happy cuz ah found Gallo, a Guatemalean beer ah enjoyed greatly, sold in my favorite container - tha LITER Bottle. Out here they call it Famosa, but it tastes tha same as cheap....



Updatin ken be fun!

Location is....

Putting on slippers ta gae to tha liqour/convenience store. When yer in a t-shirt n pajama bottoms. Sweet.

Yes, ahm in on a Saturday

It's been a long couple weeks. So ahm takin a nite off. At least ah am as of 10 pm. We'll see if ah stay here.

So - thar was an awesome fundraiser fer VAGABOOM! last week n a bunch of bands played great musick n we didn't raise enuff money. It did give us a great stage to play on tho n we met some fun people. Some of them mite even have lawts of money ta give us! We also rawked Kimo's on Wednesday nite w. our friends Dirty Orange Sun n a metal band from Concord which was a suprisingly good nite.

In otha news, my hair is gittin kinda crazy now that tha red is washin out - which is part of tha point. Here's a shitty pic from my phone while ahm at werk - check out tha view in tha background from my cube (of tha office buildin across tha alley).



Also, here's a shot of tha sweet truck that brought our gear to tha House of Shields gig in mid-July:



Our crew has style, eh?

Today was a VAGABOOM free event in Golden Gate Park, which ended up being a good learning experience but took a lil trial n error. All in all tho, ah think we pulled it togetha pretty good - just weren't promoted er high profile enuff. Tha vibe is captured pretty well by tha front sign (of which ah was partially responsible fer puttin togetha - altho NAWT paintin)



Finally, anutha reason why SF is so much fun - nawt only was tha weather in tha Mission fricken AWESOME (especially aftah a cold cloudy mornin in tha park), when ah met up w. my buddy in Delores Park in tha afternoon, a funk band was playin thar fer free. From time ta time, youd see/hear a crew of bicyclists passin by, one of them pullin a speaker blastin 80s musick. Eventually they ended up at tha park, n a bunch of people dressed in 80's club gear (Especially tha girls) showed up w. beer, drinkin n dancin like it was 1988 on a Friday nite in a club n thar was blow fer everyone. Check it:



Ah apologize fer tha crappy phone-pics, but thar all ah have as of recently. Bettah then nuthang tho, rite? RITE!

Finally, ahm in a good mood cuz at my organization my roommates n ah are supposed to ahve a house dinnah this monday - tha first time we've all been in tha same room talkin to each otha. Could be good....could be AWKWARD. We shall see.....

Goodbye, Beautiful

Tha picture doesn't dae her any justice, but this instrument is a phenomenal creation that ah dearly love(d). Yes, ah finally sold my carvin AC40 to a good home, but it hurt a lil bit.

This bass is (was) one of my most impressive possesions. An excellent example of solid craftmanship, woodworking, delicate balance, and playability. A common problem w. many (all) acoustic basses (and guitars in general) is that because of the size of the body of the instrument, it's hard to play too far past the 12th fret. Not a huge issue, but somewhat limiting. The Carvin AC40 allows you to play all 24 glorious frets w/ relative ease, b/c instead of being a full-on acoustic, is actually a semi-hollow bodied electric guitar. This means you can get great acoustically sounding notes, with all 24 of the frets. But, you have to plug it in.

Unfortunately, at least for me, this was (And is still ah believe) billed as an acoustic/electric bass. N thar mite be some fine print explainin all this - ah bought this before ah knew how ta research thangs on tha internet (er even cared). What this means tho, is a naive 20 year old me spent oodles (less then a thousand, but nawt by much) of cash on a bass that didn't dae what he thought it would. Namely, be an acoustic bass that you could also plug in.

These days, acoustic/electric basses are much easier ta find - everywhar. N craigslist has hooked it up in terms of findin them at an affordable price. Back then, ah didn't know tha first thang about shoppin n bought a brand that ah knew was solid (as ah did fer pretty much everythang back in tha day). It wasn't until ah put out some REAL money fer my 6 string that ah started lookin intae RESEARCHIN potential buys n found ah ken be quite a picky bastard. Of kerse, that bass doesn't git much love either, but ah won't be sellin it anytime soon (providin ah keep tha jobby job at least).

So, ah imagine one of these days ah will buy a real acoustic/electric - n hopefully spend less then 400 fer a pretty decent one (cuz ah know bettah now). But tha demand is nawt large enuff at tha moment ta necessitate an immediate buy. Ah will prolly put some money intae fixin up my current 4-string w. new pickups n a minor overhaul, n then start up a "real amp" fund (btw, did ah resolve tha blog? ah found a bass cab online that was bein sold by tha guys who we rent our practice space from. It's nawt a great cab, but it does tha job fer now n ah gawt it fer pretty cheap. Too easy).

Tha bass itself is actually semi-custom. While ah picked it out from a catalog, ah had ta call Carvin themself and order it. W. it's fancy color (called Greenburst. It's current owner "isn't all that crazy about green" actually). N then they made it n shipped it ta me. That bass was made fer me, literally. but now it belongs to, n will git played by, Chuck. So it gaes.

All in all tho, ahm glad its gawn off to a new home, n ahm glad ah gawt my bare minimum askin price (almost half what its werth new). Ah will miss it though - ah nevah played it, but ah sure did appreciate it. An hour before ah sent it away, ah wrote a song on it (sorta). One that ahve just realized ah can't actually play on my current 4-string - cuz that one only has 20 frets n ah need 21. :-(

Goodbye Greenie. It was nevah meant ta be.....

Awesome thang about tha Food Co-Op

Is bulk dried hummus (aka chickpeas n prolly some dehydrated tahini type thang) fer like 4 somethang a pound. A lil watah, some olive oil, spices (paprika n ground chili this time around) n you have cheap tasty spreadable goodness. Let tha experimentation begin!

News Flash: Health Care sucks

Fer those of you who haven't seen Sicko, health care is lame. A brief background that ah may nevah have typed out:

In sept of 2005 ah overused my hand rite hand (Thas what she said) while werkin at the United States Patent n Trademark Office (as a proofreader - ah really ken spell actually) to tha point whar ah could barely use it. Ah saw a PMRT (Physical/Preventative Medicine and Rehabilitative Therapist) doctor who treated me fer pain w. gizmos like mild electric shock, heat, n ultrasound. This made it feel sorta bettah er a lil while.

Since then this has gawten bettah n then worse n then betta n then worse, etc., until now it pretty much hurts my whole arm/shoulder from time ta time. Weird unhealin n overuse (hello computahs n bass geetars) n compensatin fer injury has screwed up most of my right arm - altho nevah at tha same time. Every day, every hour sometimes, a different part of it hurts - w.o much method it seems. Most disturbin, is sometimes a fingah twitches - most recently these days is tha middle one on my rite hand. This bugs tha FAWK outta me n freaks me out. Since Feb. of this year it has appeared 3 times, most recently this week. Tha last two times it has eventually just kinda disappeared but ah don't know exactly why.

Ah started yoga n acupuncture n some exercises when ah moved here cuz ah finally had tha time n willpowah. Thangs have gawten much bettah - tha wrist itself rarely bothers me, mostly just pain in otha parts of my arm/shoulder, sporadically. N finally ahve been gittin "proper" medical treatment - gaein thru tha rigamarole of a general practitioner referrin me ta a specialist, who referred me ta hand therapy. Hand therapy is nawt blowin me away - n they want me ta wear a splint at nite. Whatevah, fine. But ahm startin ta think ahm best just daein what ahve been daein n spendin money on a massage from time ta time.

Today my follow up visit to tha specialist was pretty blah. He told me ah definitely have mild (very mild almost) nerve problems in both hands givin me Carpal Tunnel. Most of my pain is nawt actually from that. B/c its mild, he cannot recommend anythang but a splint n hand therapy, but wants me ta nawt fergit about eventually gittin surgery - he guesses ahll need it in 15 er 20 years. Ta stop tha twitchin he recommended Aleve - as an anti-inflammatory. Wonderful.

Tha most obnoxious thang about this is ah needed a day off werk sick ta just git to tha general practitioner fer tha original referral. N b/c ahm in an HMO, ah am stuck to my location - my specialist could only refer me to hand therapy in tha east bay, n my gp could only refer me to a specialist in my group. So ahve been travellin ta oakland durin work hours (thank you sick leave) cuz its tha only place/time ah ken git treatment. If ah switched groups, ahd hafta see my new gp AGAIN, git referred to ANUTHA specialist, n then FINALLY therapy. WHACK!

Excitin stuff, huh? Is this what grownups blog about? How awful ta be growin up - at least ah live in a slummy apartment ta feel young!

Mid-July? You are SO full of shite...

it's nawt actually July 21st. Fer one thang, it hasn't gawten above 60 in a week. Coldest wintah indeed.....

It bein mid-July means that GA was like almost a month ago already n that is just hard ta fathom - it feels like way longah then that.

Ontae otha thangs tho - ahm actually kinda comfortable in my crazy house. Doesn't mean ahm nawt kinda lookin fer a place ta live that doesn't have church downstairs every day, er buses gaein past it 24-7, just means that ahm adaptin a bit bettah then ah may have expected. Ah mean, ah still have serious furniture issues (a real dresser n a decent lamp) ah haven't figured out yet.

Tha boys from that jawbreaker cover band emailed me today - 3 weeks aftah ah last wrote them. Since then ahve seen them repost thar call fer bassist/vocalist at least twice. Bottom line? nawt interested in werkin w. people who don't follow through. Nawt ta mention at tha last practice tha guitar playah couldn't play half tha tunes we'd talked about daein (n ah dont mean ta be a snob, but if you don't know whar whats F n whas F#, ahm nawt sure if we should be werkin togetha). It would've been nice, but me n flakes don't git along too well, so it's fer tha best.

Today it rained a lil bit, which was especially awesome b/c ah nawt only biked ta werk, but gawt thar n realized ahd left my lunches on my bed. Ah don't mind payin fer lunch from time ta time, but if ahd let tha poor tupperwares hang out in my hawt room all day, they would've gawn bad by tha time ah gawt home (mac n cheeze). So, ah spent my lunch break pedallin back to my house n then back ta werk. Thas about a 9 mile roundtrip. Ah might nawt've minded if it wasn't so grey n cloudy n borderline rainy.....

N ah watched Combat Shock last evenin, a Troma movie from tha mid-80s. This movie is on tha list of "Most disturbing movies ever made" that ah have in some horror movie book from my teenage years - from it ahve learned about such classics as Eraserhead, In a Glass Cage, n Maniac ta name just a few. Combat Shock was nae dissapointment - low-budget of kerse, but incredibly grim n disturbing. Franky is a Vietnam vet who may er may nawt have slaughtered tons of his fellow men (yes, a la Jacobs Ladder, although ah think this is oldah) with an ugly wife n mutated baby (a la Eraserhead, yes), living in run-down NYC where life gets worse every day. It's convincing in its grimness however, and obviously a labor of love - tha final scene is depressing as hell but hard to turn away from (Although it ends pretty much exactly how you mite think). Fer those who share my appreciation fer twisted art - please give this one a test drive. But ah can't imagine many actually enjoyin this......

Anyway, ahm home early, nawt gaein ta yoga cuz tha extra bike ride set my whole day off n now ahm grumpy. Hmph. Perhaps ahll make somethang tasty ta make up fer it....

Back in RED!

TA-DA!

Great idea, far from perfect:

We've gawt these pretty handy filters here at werk called tha MiniMinit One Cup Coffee Filters that werk great fer tea when yer on tha road, campin, etc. Observe:



Ah have some awesome coffee that ah bought from my buddy Arpie at General Assembly. Arpie sells Fair Trade Coffee (note tha coffee cup chalice) that is some of tha best coffee ahve evah had. Ahve brought in a small bag of this ta werk b/c tha house blend french roast is a bit gross here, n want to make my own brew.

Tha MiniMinit werks okay - granted, its hard ta git as strong a cup as ah like, n thars potential spillage problems w. tha coffee grounds, but tha jist is thar. Tha downside - by tha time yer coffee has finished "steepin" (cuz its nawt roastin), its lukewarm. N heatin up a freshly made cup of coffee is lame.

Ahm sorry ah dont have anythang more interestin ta blog about at tha moment, but am sworn ta secrecy.....

Ah should be asleep....

but ahm nawt cuz tha mexican bar across tha street is playin musick really loud. Ah think they have live bands on Sundays, but haven't checked it out as of yet. Tonights bass player is a bit more interesting then most nights.

My brutha Marc and his new fiance Kelly came into town this weekend which was awesome. They were pretty much just in time fer dinnah n then tha think13 show at tha House of Shields, which totally rawked. My old Berklee friends The Tand kicked off tha nite w. some killah blues-rawk, promptin everyone ta tell me "They're really good!" They seemed ta enjoy themselves as well, n think13 played a rawk show ta a pretty decent crowd, considerin that tha only folks thar REALLY wanted ta see us. Tha HOS has a very strange set up - tha band plays on a 10 x 10 (ish) balcony above n to tha back of tha main bar floor, n thars a projection screen that shows tha downstairs crowd whas happenin. So unique, but has its sound issues.

All in all though, a great nite - we definitely had a blast n ah was very glad ta hang out w. my old buddies, new friends, n my brutha n his girl. Like we're adults n all that. Today we checked out tha Stern Grove Festival n saw a decent rock/funk/middle eastern band in a ridiculously cool outdor venue. Very minimalistic backing, and then log-seating up some relatively steep california park slopes w. huge trees everywhar - FOR FREE! Only in San Francisco. Aftahwerds we briefly looked at what may be tha most schmancey chinese restaurant in tha city, n then ate at one a lil less extravagant (while still on a roof) n shared a bottle of wine ahve been keepin chilled since ah fawkin moved here in my BACKYARD (cuz ah totally have one!).

Here's me n tha bro at tha Chinatown entrance (yes, ah need ta chill out more in front of photos, n yes ahm temporarily blonde, full update on that coming):

Ahm SOOOO Old....

Ah just turned down a booty call. Cuz ah just gawt home, haven't showered, n want ta have all my energy togetha fer tomorrow.

On tha otha hand, ah started my new work trade at my bikram studio n that is supah sweet.

Sleepin alone,
Mr. Humble Observer

yep

click to enlarge (thats what she said)

more graph humor and song chart memes

thanks graphjam!

Review from a while back

Ah fergawt ta post tha Soilent Green review from Metal-Realm.net when they posted it. Here's the link:

Soilent Green - Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction

N here's a sneak preview of the Opeth review ah just finished while ahm at it (cuz ah don't know how long it mite take fer them ta put it up):

Opeth – Watershed

Opeth’s best and worst attribute is that their albums come with a large amount of anticipation and generally high expectations. They are some of the most technically skilled musicians in the modern metal scene as well as some of the most diverse and subtle, so there’s a reason they are pretty much the only progressive atmospheric metal band out there that can tastefully and effectively blend beautiful instrumentals with pounding rhythms, guitar pyrotechnics with lush melodies, etc. etc. Watershed starts off as one would expect – a soft acoustic song exploring the differences in Mikael Akerfeldt and guest vocalist Nathalie Lorichs vocal styles and setting you up for the crunch of “Heir Apparent,” which is a great transition – the first time you hear it.

With every other song clocking at over 7 minutes, there seems to be a lacking of original parts in some of them. “Heir Apparent” and the following track “The Lotus Eater” sound almost identical when one ends and the other begins, which might be the point, but when you’ve only got 7 tracks (and one of them is “Coil” the acoustic intro), I kind of expected a little more diversity. The songs do switch up the vibe rather effectively, and some of the best moments are when switching back and forth from driving angry musical blasts and the fast but still well played acoustic moments. But contrast is not necessarily enough to make a strong album, and after the second listen, this album begins to drag. Especially obnoxious is the last minute or so of “Burden,” which features out-of-tune acoustic guitar and then some smarmy laughing at the end of it. Hey Opeth – when Type O Negative plays a joke on it’s listeners, at least they don’t make it last more then 20 seconds. The production is great, although the bass is a bit behind the mix then I like (but I’m a bassist so that could just be my opinion), and the overall sound is air-tight, although anything less would be a monumental disappointment.

Finally, for an album that screams to be digested in one sitting, the last track “Hex Omega,” is completely unnecessary. The second-to-last track, “Hessian Peel,” puts pretty much everything out on the table and leaves you feeling somewhat satisfied. By throwing another track on the end of what is already a 48 minute album, it gives the whole thing the feeling it wasn’t completely thought out. Not to mention that “Hex Omega,” doesn’t explore any musical territory that hasn’t already been done (almost to death) in the preceding 5 tracks. There’s also a large amount of self-indulgent guitar playing that I noticed after I’d digested the album as a whole.

It’s not a bad album by any means – there are some great riffs in this track, some very cool progressions and phenomenal guitar playing. But when you expect a little bit more from a band that is as polished and professional as Opeth, it leaves sort of a bad taste in your mouth and seriously takes away from it’s ability to be revisited over and over again. The determination in “Watershed” is obvious, but some of the focus is lost, and that makes for a more-then-slightly uneven album. Which is a shame, because there’s hints at greatness spread throughout.

Rating: 6 out of 10

oh tha mission....

Just as ah finished my last post, a group of street musicians started up some mexican musick in close proximity ta my street. ah hear upright bass n accordion, altho ah can't see them (othawise you would totally git a picture).

How ahve usually done my "year in review"...

Those of you who know me mite think ahm a pretty introspective guy. Ah won't argue w. that - ahm especially intae anniversaries n thangs along those lines. Fer many MANY years while ahve appreciated tha new year as a new beginnin, whar ahve REALLY gawten my "new beginnins" from is summer UU hippy-type conferences. This started at SUUSI, as ah came back from my first year thar a changed person. Tha years that ensued, ah noticed growth. Summer is often more of a time ta reinvent yerself then January anyway, n as SUUSI became constant (more so then otha thangs in my life), ah started feelin like that was my way of markin 1 more year.

Eventually, SUUSI turned intae opus. Ah remembah tha first year ah missed a summer conference - n it felt like stagnation. It was hard ta git a new handle on my life n whar ah was gaein w.o trekkin off ta some campus er woods n spend in a few days w. engagin, challengin, n unconditionally lovin people. Tha next year ah was determined - so determined ah spent 2 days in a dyin car w. someone who drove me absolutely nuts.

But, it werked. Ah came back from these thangs a new person - n many times w. a completely different take on bass playin. Ah was able ta judge myself n whar ah was gaein (n wanted ta be gaein) so much bettah fer those days of isolation n (at least sometimes) relaxation.

N now, thars this year. Now, ah did indeed gae ta a summer UU conference - tha largest one out thar actually. But GA happens in convention centers in cities - nawt relaxed college campuses er idyllic wilderness retreats. N GA is bizness - while thar is definitely a social aspect, n thar are some workshops n worships that are more spiritually enlightenin then othas, GA makes nae qualms about bein about tha bizness - so thas what you git outta it.

Don't think ahm complainin - ahve had some really good times at this GA n GA's past. Highlights from this year included naked Atlantic swimmin past midnite in watah unbelievably warm - somethang ahve nawt always found at otha more social conferences. N GA challenges ya ta evaluate yer UUism, somethang you ken git away w.o daein at otha conferences. But it didn't recharge me in tha same way - especially w my volunteer position endin when it did (which is a blessin in many ways, but still leaves me a lil sad).

So ahm left in a place whar ah dont quite know how ta proceed - ah feel ahm on tha cusp of some really great thangs here in SF (altho my room is totally a mess n ah cant imagine bein here past october), but ah dont have that same place ta come from whar ah feel renewed n ready fer action. Instead, ahm almost in a place whar ahm just daein tha same thang since ah left off. While thas nawt entirely true, its also nawt entirely false.

While thars still a million ways ah ken re-engage w. myself n tha communities around me, thar is one fact - as great as GA ken be (n ah really enjoyed this year), it's nae Opus er SUUSI. N ah dont know exactly what ta dae about that.

Runnin a stop sign in El Cerrito

Costs $93.

Before ah gae....

offta sweaty pretentious Ft. Lauderdale, ah thought ahd make a brief update:

-Ah gawt my 50 dollah haircut today - we'll see if it was worth it in 2 weeks.

-Lawts of potential w. tha jawbreaker cover band, depending on many factors out of my control. But gawdamm did it feel awesome ta sing n play w. a band backing me. Maybe thars a frontman in me still.....

-Takin tha bus on Friday, it began to speed off while an angry patron ran aftah it. He knocked on (more like straight-up punched) tha plastic part of tha front side door n actually broke it. What surprised me is that tha driver still stopped, told him he broke tha window, then LET HIM on, while tha guy mumbled an apology. Tha guy gawt off at tha next stop, n ah think tha driver made a phone call but thar was NAE follow-up. Maybe ahm naive, but that surprises me.

-think13 rawked kimo's pretty good on Friday, fer tha first time it felt like we were a band, nawt provin ourselves ta be a band. AND we gawt a real soundcheck. and drunk. and late-nite supah burritos.

ah guess ah need ta pack. ah dont really think ahm ready fer tha next 7 days.....

Haircuts n Punk Rawk

Even back in tha day, ah did care about my hair. Just cuz ah grew it out all crazy-like didn't mean ah didn't like it ta look good from time ta time. That became both hardah n easier when ah finally gawt rid of it all - easier in tha showah, hardah ta git a QUALITY hair cut - you know, tha kind that looks good a month latah, doesn't grow out all funky, n is maintained pretty easily. Gradually ah began to discovah thar certainly are differences between tha free girlfriend-cut, tha 15 dollah cut at tha cheapo place, n tha 30+ dollah cut at tha salon.

Ahve been makin dae w. tha 15 dollah cheapo cut cuz ahm broke, but General Assembly is next week, then it will be July, n ah want ta look good. Ahm also bringin back some red-dyage soonish, n want a bangin cut ta gae w/ it. But ahm findin in SF thar is nae such thang as a 35 dollah haircut - thars a 12 dollah cheapo, a 20 dollah-decent, n then it skyrockets to at least 45 bux. Findin this was tha case EVERYWHAR (n that many places cuts started at 60) ahve bit tha bullet (baby) n have an appointment fer a 50 dollah haircut on Sunday. This bettah look AWESOME (ahm daein tha dye job myself - ah dont have a hunnered dollahs ta gae red).

This evenin ahm also supposed ta meet w. some dudes ta play some jawbreaker tunes n ah hope they gawt thar shite togetha - in tha last week ahve learned 7 tunes n am ready ta rawk tha hell out. Ah need somethang else ta keep me busy now that my involvement w. Warren Teagarden is potentially ovah....

Fuckin hell, Ft. Lauderdale n a big bag of UU mess next week. 2 fricken years ago ah was inspired enuff ta git voted intae this mess. Full-circle, next stop....

best grocery store evah

is Rainbow Grocery at Folsom and 13th. Of kerse, if you live in SF, this is prolly nawt news in tha slightest. Fer those of you that aren't - this is a great reason ta move out here.

First thang off tha bat, ah found some bamboo stir-fry handle thangs that were really similar to tha ones ahd been usin (n gawt used ta) back in el Cerrito, so supah bonus points thar. It's also a worker-owned coop (of kerse), n gives discounts to members of tha SF Bike Co-op (of which ahm nawt - yet. ah will be aftah next paycheck).

But really, its tha fact that they have everythang - it's huge (largah then most whole foods, yet bettah organized). It carries everythang you'd expect from a natural food store, but tha real treat is in all tha bulk goods they have - 3 full aisles of bulk pastas, proteins, rice, beans, snacks, bath goods, you name it.

Of course ah was overwhelmed tha first time ah went in n spent too much, but thas ta be expected ah think. As ah slowly git used ta how great this store is, ah think ahll figure out a routine.

If anyone is still nawt impressed, they have naked people on tha mural near tha cash registers. Naked people n groceries - does it git much bettah?