What am I doing here?

The move is made

2010-03-21T16:34:00.001-07:00

AFter just over 2 solid years of blogging here, I'm happy (w. a tinge of sadness) to announce that this will be the last post at this address. I've already started blogging over at severebass.com/blog, but there will definitely be no more updates here. To view the archives in a way that will let you still connect w. the new stuff, please visit the archives. Thanks for reading folks and I hope to see you commenting on the new blog!

See ya there!

MOVING!

2010-02-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

No, not physically.

But I am working on some of the shite ahve outlined below n that means moving to a new format. I may keep this blog up and running and use it for a few more personal posts, but for the most part, everything that is new is going to be found here:

SEVERE BASS

Note that it's currently a wordpress site, but soon enuff it should actually be found here:

severebass.com/blog

Not yet tho - but soon enuff!

It's been a long time since I started this blog (the first 10 posts were more of a joke then anything else), but I've been trying to maintain it since moving out here to California and I'm really glad I have. However, it's time to move forward and get things into a format I have more control over (and am happier with). So if you wanna keep checking out the score, start following me over at wordpress. Thanks for checking in and please be aware - things are only going to get better!

I'll eventually archive this blog over there as well, but not yet b/c I still feel like a Luddite.

ONWARD!

Off ta quite a start...

2010-01-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

Altho ah am aware that ah am daein a TERRIBLE job bloggin regularly as ah promised in my last post, ah feel like ahm makin considerable progress in many of the projects ahm hopin ta undertake this year....

First up, ahm werkin on my web presence. Ah am in complete fawkin awe of people who really use thar online presence to engage with people all ovah tha world. How small tha internet is doesn't cease to amaze me. In particular, ahm really blown away with how Amanda Fucking Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame) seamlessly blends her life with her fans. Tha woman organizes ninja gigs via twitter (where she shows up for 30 minutes at a park w. a keyboard, announcing said gig only a couple hours prior via her twitter account), sent us pics from tha woman's room at tha grammys, and makes a personal connection to her adoring fans. Of kerse, it doesn't hurt that she already was a fucking rock start before all this stuff came to play, but it's really inspiring. Through her I've started following a couple other (significantly less known, but still famous/popular in thar own right) musicians and keep seeing one life lead into tha next. This is tha kinda game ah wanna play!

Unfortunately, as it stands ah only use social networking to furtha my own inanity fer tha most part these days. So ahve realized that ah need a comprehensive website that has room fer growth, and makes it easy fer me ta manage my otha online profiles/etc. Thars a ton of musician-related sites out thar that ahm just nawt utilizin - but ah hope fer that ta change. Howevah, ah can't just jump in n git started - in ordah ta maintain control of my presence, ah must create it intentionally. This is a bit bewildering - now.

One of tha reasons ahm gittin more n more excited about daein stuff of this nature is ah believe ahve found a cohort fer Severe Bass. Steve is a very tasteful guitar player I've been jammin w. this month, n he really seems ta git it. We werk well togetha, he puts some very cool (n different then what ahve been hearing, which is great) parts and notes in/on my tunes, n ah think he's havin fun with it too. We're still down a drummer (thanks flakers!), but ahm much more enthusiastic about movin forward w. this stuff now that ahm pretty sure one of tha right people is on board.

Ta prepare fer some of this, ahve been thinkin about long-term n short-term accomplishments that must happen ta make sure ah git all this eventually accomplished, n ta dae that, ahve started usin a self-imposed work plan that is at least a few months ahead of me so ah ken feel like ahm werkin towards it. January's goals were as follows:

Organize Electronic Communications (ASAP)

implement hosting on websites I own (learn from wtb)

look into ways to link existing communications

eventually create facebook fan group

discontinue any wastes of time

Prepare desktop for quicker assimilation to laptop (by MLK Jr Day)

Become familiar with laptop functions and become proficient with the necessary applications (Word processing, html, basic image manipulation, spreadsheet, etc.).
Pick a sustainable OS (Feb 1)

Investigate open office, ubuntu potential

Actually learn some image manipulation

Unfortunately, ah can't say ahve actually done all this stuff. While ahve started on tha organizin electronic communications, n have gawten much closah ta hostin my own domain names, ah haven't gawten down ta any of tha nuts n bolts yet. Ah have slimmed down my desktop, n made sure that pretty much anythang ahma wanta use on both tha desktop n tha laptop have been put on my external drive - but last nite when werkin on my laptop, ah apparently screwed up royally in settin up ubuntu, n ahm currently waitin on my comp ta dae a fresh install - boo.

Howevah, tha point of this is nawt so much ta be on my own internal-schedule (altho that would be nice), but more that ah am thinkin about this kind of stuff in what ah believe is tha rite way. That by takin time ta lay down solid foundations now, ah will nawt end up limitin myself in tha future. Also, ahm daein this as DIY (er at least as on-tha-cheap) as possible, n that is in line w. my work ethic, hah.

Ahm also keepin this thang in mind - this is what ah came up w. a few weeks ago tha nite aftah Deviants Online, in that ah have a "mission statement". Ah am pretty happy w. what both the goals outlined, as well as tha broad range of ways ta interpret said mission statement, n hope that it ken help steer me in tha right direction. Fer those curious:

"My long term plans should be centered around saving the world with as many tools as ah ken utilize, & ensuring that incorporates my personal understanding of how universally positive & accessible musick is as a positive force for change."

Easy enuff right? So let's git started....

First post of tha new year/decade

2010-01-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

Damn, it's already been over two weeks of this new year n ah havent gawten around ta postin SHITE fer ya yet! My apologies...tha new year has kicked off w. a bang n ahm anticipatin it ta be a really busy one.

Ahm havin kind of a hard time figurin out which post it is ah want ta write: tha "heres all tha cool thangs ah was up ta recently, w. a little bit of a new perspective ahm takin towards myself n my environment", OR the "holy shite am ah excited about my potential future n tha steps ahm takin ta git closah to it". Ah feel like ah don't have tha perspective fer the second one yet, so instead ahm gaein ta hafta save all of my evil-genius typed plans fer anutha time when they are a little more articulated. Altho ah do admit that when ah write down goals n what ah wanna dae ta make them happen, ahm much more inclined ta follow thru.

So, what have ah been up ta so far? NYE was kinda quiet, watched some fireworks from my roof. Then my cousin came by for a few more days n we jammed some more (Will try to post a video at some point). Since then it's been logistics n busy-times-at-werk, n band practices, n some dates. Also, a really killah punk rawk show last weekend for Agnostic Front kicked some freakin ass at thee Parkside fer thar 25th anniversary tour.

As a lil precursor to what ah mentioned above, ah also attended a very inspirin n illuminatin session of Deviants Online, hosted by the truly wondahfull Sarah Dopp which gawt my thought bubbles churnin out some ideas of what ah want Severe Bass n my web presence ta look like this year. Supplemental to that, ah bought a laptop which ah have spent almost no time playin w. just yet. Ah think ahm still gittin used to tha idea...

Anyway, expect some more info from me at a latah point in time. This week is SUPER-CRAZY-BUSY, as ah have two band practices today, a Wee the Band show tomorrow w. a new vocalist, more band practice on Wednesday, n then a late night Tando show on Thursday w. a new guitarist (Anutha berklee cat!)

Ah also have gawten some more drums on loan that look n sound pretty sweet - pics will be comin latah.

Will be back once that's all taken care of (n will try nawt ta slack so much on postin blogs!)

Goals for 2010

2009-12-31T20:00:00.000-08:00

Ahve prolly said it before on this blog, but Ah Don't Believe in New Years Resolutions. Ahm all about personal improvement, n appreciate that it does facilitate many people examinin thar lives n makin conscious efforts to better themselves. Howevah, ah always have thought that if thar was somethang you should fix about yerself, you should implement it as soon as possible, hopefully immediately upon realizin this. Ahll admit, ah can't always implement change immediately myself, but think that ahm relatively good at fixin my bad traits (if ah wish ta dae so at least).

However, 2010 seems pivotal to me, n ah think that havin some concrete goals to work for (n hopefully accomplish) will be helpful in reachin more of my potential this year. These are subject to change, howevah, tha initial spirit will try ta be kept if edits are made.

So here's Severe's List of Goals for 2010:

Put together both a video and written solicitation to approach potential sponsors with (ie, bass guitar and amplifier manufacturers). Research the best way to go about initiating contact

Related to above, have done at least preliminary recording for Severe Bass w. band, if not having recorded EP (hopeful)

Continue attending Bikram yoga at LEAST 2 x per week, hoping to create an average that is closer to 3. Do at LEAST one double - preferably back-to-back if attainable.

Attend bike maintenance course

Garden with as much available space as possible in Spring/Summer 2010, paying attention to conditions and recommended crops

Get a raise at work

Take a vacation for myself

Finish reviewing every taqueria in the Mission for Burrito-Quest!

This list is a work in progress

2010, Comin round tha bend....

2009-12-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Holy shit wow 2009 is almost done with. Whoo-wee! Ahm lookin forward to tha new year, THA FUTURE!

Ahve been in a fight w. December - ah figured tha only way ta make it thru this month was ta come out fists blazin. First thang first, ah took a day off, n gawt sick. As ah was recoverin, ah scouted ta nova (see below - man, ahve been slackin this month on writin journal posts). Work was nutso, n ah mae sure ta keep every second ah had outside booked w. auditionin a new WTB vocalist (hopin she works out - sings real nice n knows her shite!), auditionin my own band (Drummers already flaked - we'll see if tha guitarist sticks around), musick, sfbc outreach trainin (so ah ken werk tha sweet places), xmass gift shoppin, cutting off my goatee, n of kerse, tha holidaze in Buffalo.

Tha turbulence before tha Great Lakes was one of tha worst ahve evah experienced, but ah made to n from BNIA without much problem. Buffalo was a mixture of sleep, food, family, and booze. Ah believe mom counted 35 er so people overall - 5 of which were between tha ages of 3 months n 8 years, which were (ahem) uber-cute n hella fun.

Sadly, nawt a single fawkin picture was taken as far as ah know at this Xmass, which was a really really good one.

December has pretty much backed off, altho ah did throw up aftah yoga fer tha first time evah (wtf), n ahm feelin pretty good about everythang. Thar was anutha surprise, from my alma mater....ahll extrapolate at a latah time.

Tomorrow is tha last day of 2009. Ah can't say 2009 was a bad year - plenty of good stuff happened (n nawt much bad). Just that ahm supah fawkin excited about 2010.

Instead of new years resolutions, ahma set some quantifiable goals fer myself in 2010. Expect me ta be postin/editin them soon.

2010 is when it all comes togetha people (altho maybe ah said that last year, hah!)

Good times in pictures

2009-12-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

My trip home was nawt all emo reflection howevah - ah did have a rawkin time, despite tha logistics....

Ah left my house at 5:45 AM on Thursday mornin ta catch a 7:30 flight, n arrived about when ah was supposed ta. Then ah went out fer way too much veggie food at my favorite NOVA veg restaurant Sunflower. Aftahwerds ah gawta margarita w. my boy Damian - Damian is actually one of my newer friends in NOVA, even tho we've been hangin out fer ovah a decade now.

Friday ah was off ta lunch w. some of my old SUUSI girls, n then ah swung by my organizations DC office fer a couple hours ta speak geek n databases. Ah met up w. tha fabulous Jen Hitt fer some musick, n then it was off ta a party consistin of a bunch of my friends n burners. Well, Jen n Todd had SOME non-burner friends ah guess :)

Tha party was a good time...it lived up to it's West Coast promises, which wasn't entirely my fault. My homeboy E. Jay brought a djembe which facilitated hippy dance-times, n all tha burners brought thar open-minds n crap. Howevah tha burner world did turn out two wondahful surprises as well.

Oh yeah, pictures:

Ah made sure ta eat seth before he left

Ah must've had a grand experience howevah, cuz ah even freestyled near tha end of tha nite, somethang thas only happened a half a dozen times at most. It requires a very particular blend of intoxication n comfortability, as well as feelin like ah have somethang ta rap about.

Tha guy next ta me was cool but also a lil obvious in how much he was tryin ta git laid, n also needed more songs ta sing at parties

Then it snowed. Ah fergawt ta git pictures, but ah didn't like that. No sir, ah didn't like that bullshit. Howevah, ah gawta cute pic of me w. Todd that mornin:

He just looks so happy ta be next ta me

Finally ah went back ta NOVA n had dinnah w. E. Jay n my rents:

N then ah wrote tha previous post when he left.

Ah did indeed stay up all nite my last evenin in NOVA. Grabbed some Z's on tha plane, n tha second ah gawt back ah was in full-motion. First thangs first, ah werked my usual shift at tha yoga studio. Then ah went home fer a couple hours, had some food, n went back to tha yoga studio ta finish up. Aftah some (result-less) shoppin, ah was back w. enuff time ta snack, showah, n git dressed fer tha SF Bike Coalition Winter Fest. Ah like tha SFBC, n ah like pourin beer fer them (partially cuz ah always end up gittin a few free ones that way). W. tha combination of everythang, ah gawt apparently really hammered.

Ah remembah havin a good time, but ah don't remembah who these people are

Then ah rode home in tha rain. Awesome, really it was.

Whew! WTB is auditionin vocalists this week, ah am meetin w. two guitarists n one potential drummer fer Severe Bass, n gaein to tha Symphony on Saturday. Also our new roommate moved in. N it's been cold as shit (in tha low 40s!)

December, ahma kick yer sorry ass! You'd bettah git outta here before we git intae it....

Reflections

2009-12-05T22:33:00.001-08:00

I'm in my dad's office of the house I grew up in. I came back to visit for a few days because my rents are in tha process of fixing up their house so they can move intae one thar havin built fer them in Buffalo, NY. (Note: My father is from Buffalo n much of his family is still thar - hence movin TO Buffalo). It was sort of a spur-of-tha-moment decision...basically ah realized that my last chance ta see this place before it's gone is whenevah ah make it happen.

It's fucking weird. Ah admit - ah don't really like this feelin. Partially ah think ah didn't give myself enuff time here - altho what would anutha day er two actually have done? Part of it is also that ahve been so busy since ah landed (intentional) visitin w. friends (pics from a rawkin party ta come). So who knows if ahd be able ta come ta terms with this in a bettah way if ahd been here more. Ah sorta doubt it - especially w.o a bass here ta write with.

But man, it's hit me. Ahm nawt even sure whar exactly its hit, but it has. My oldest friend came ovah earlier, n we went out ta dinnah w. my folks, which was great. Then he came back n showed me facebook photos from tha 10 year high skool reunion ah didn't even git an invite fer (but certainly wouldn't have come back here for), which was interesting, altho nawt especially nostalgic - almost none of tha folks ah would be really interestin in connectin w. were thar, n plenty of them that ah had nae interest in were.

Howevah, tha second he left, thar was nae more distractions. Ahm lookin at tha hallways of my childhood rite now - freshly painted n void of tha pictures ah remembah growin up with. Thars a single box of stuff that ah didn't take ta SF w. me in my closet - my room also freshly painted a nice bright color ah nevah would've chosen. Ah went thru that box a lil bit - old heavy metal t-shirts, SUUSI mug books. high skool yearbooks, n a photo album my mom put togetha fer me a few years back.

Tha photo album was hard man. Ah hate lookin at pictures ah know ahm in n nawt bein able ta find me. But seein tha walls of this house in all tha backgrounds - seein how happy ah was in many of those pics - relivin certain faded memories n piecin togetha othas - that was hard. Ah can't remembah tha last time ah cried that much - n ah certainly can't remembah tha last time ah cried this much without bein able ta articulate what it was ah was cryin about.

It's nawt just tha house - ah mean, yeah, thas part of it. But ahm really sayin goodbye ta this area, this part of my life. But this is the part of my life. Yeah, ah spent 4 years in bawstan, a few months in Australia, n have been out west fer a couple years. Compare that to tha house ah grew up in, tha house ah returned to time n time again, its nawt much. Further compare that to tha life (lives!) ah created out here, it's naethang. This area, fer bettah er worse, is who ah am, er at least who ah was. Tha world ah lived in out here defined me, continues to dae so, will always be my hometown.

Ah think thas what it is - without this place ta come home to, who am ah? That seems trite to write, but if ahm nawt whar ah came from, ah hafta be whar ahm gaein. N ah don't know whar ahm gaein. Ah have some ideas, n ah like/love whar ahm at most of tha time, but tha long-term plans, tha next step, it's just nawt thar.

That scares tha shite outta me. Ahve been spendin so much time makin sure tha life ah was actively livin was one ah want, ah haven't had my sights set on tha future in a while. It's like once ah gawt intae SF, ah stopped plannin - n that was somewhat intentional. But ahm losin my roots, ahm losin tha connection to whar ah came from, n it's frightening.

Especially b/c ahm nawt gawna regain them. Visitin w. old friends out here is amazin - but many of them won't be here much longah anyway (Which is good fer them). N ah couldn't move back here even if ah wanted. Tha scenes that have been created, er at least that my old cohorts have been recruited fer, aren't mine. Ah don't want them ta be. It's nawt just b/c ah ken be a snob er suspicious of new thangs - it's b/c they don't represent who er what ah want ta be. So what daes?

Ah love San Francisco. Ah love my day-ta-day fer tha most part out thar. Ah cherish tha good friends ah have made out thar (tha few of them). Ah dig my job, my bands, my house, my routines, my space. But they are all NOW. They are not 2 years from now. Some people would prolly say "Fer fawks sake man, all you evah dae is plan, can't you just enjoy????" N ah can't say "of kerse ah can just enjoy" w. enuff certainty ta actually believe it even. It's nawt really how ahm wired.

So what next? WHAT THA FAWK NEXT???

Ah don't know. It's nawt that ahm worried about it per se, ah just don't know. Fer tha first time in many many years, somethang is endin, n ah don't know tha next steps are. N ah don't need em eitha. Ah could prolly keep daein what it is ahm daein fer a couple more years (more er less) w.o any negative ramifications. N then ahd be fawkin 30. It's nawt that ahm afraid of 30 so much that it is ahm afraid of nawt havin a plan.

Ah also think that part of this emotion comes from that ah have nae control ovah this change. Ah haven't been able ta say, yes, this step is ovah, n onward to tha next one. This marker has been created for me n it's caught me way-tha-fawk-off-guard, n ahm nawt especially good at bein caught like that. So nawt only am ah dealin w. a big scary unexpected animal of a life-changing-moment, it's nawt one ahve made n have come ta terms with just yet.

2010 has come early for me. Ah feel a great desire/need to mark this change on me in some way. Part of it will be gittin rid of this goatee (that ah actually really dig). Ahm also ready ta start plannin my next tattoo - which will be SF-themed. These things help, but thar all superficial. So whas tha real thang ah need ta dae ta own tha next phase of my life? N how dae ah know it's tha rite one?

Ahm nawt exactly afraid of failin - you learn from mistakes n ah pride myself on bein able ta recognize those that ah have made in tha past. But ah sorta feel like ahm blindfolded, w. a big stick, n they tell me thars PROBABLY a big pinata up thar in tha air, n ah just need ta hit it, but b/c ahm nawt sure if ah believe thar even is a pinata, ahm just standin thar, thinkin, tryin ta hear tha wind, n determine if ah should start flailing in tha air, when ahd ratha hang out n hold on fer a clue as ta whar that pinata is. But would ah even believe them if they told me?

Ahm also standin thar thinkin, "why tha fawk dae ah need this blindfold in tha first place?"

Ah hafta leave my house at 530 this mornin, n its 2 am so far. Ah think ahm just gawna hang out at my dads comp, drinkin his beer, thinkin these thoughts, n cryin tha occasional cry until my body gives up n my brain shuts off. This would be a MUCH bettah plan if ah didn't hafta act like Sunday is any otha Sunday when ah git back west - meanin, ahll have cleaned tha yoga studio before ah even git home, n will then be volunteerin at anutha San Francisco Bike Coalition fundraiser by pourin beer.

My life is pretty awesome - why am ah so scared? Why daes thar hafta be a plan? Why daes it hafta git bettah?

Any of you who know me will also know tha answah ta at least tha last two questions - it's just tha way ahm fawkin programmed. But if anyone ken help me deal w. tha first one, well, ahm all ears.

Kickstarter!

2009-12-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

I really like this website Kickstarter. It's a very cool way to raise money for your projects, and there is some awesome stuff on there.

In a nutshell, someone posts their project with a minimum amount of money they need to raise, and a time frame to do it. They offer different rewards at different contribution levels, and if the project hits it's goal, you're billed. If not, no one gets billed. It's pretty easy to do if you have an account on Amazon as well.

I get a good feeling by supporting a project on Kickstarter - I know that a small portion of the sales goes elsewhere, but I'm helping someone accomplish what they are trying to do, directly, and I get a cool perk from it - and I get to decide how much I'm willing to support something.

So far I gave $5 bucks to a struggling community garden in Philadelphia in exchange for some herbs, and totally snagged a killer piece of art by John T Unger, an artist who's work very much appeals to me. His project completely took off as when he jumped into twitter and started raising awareness for some evil corporation that is ripping off his ideas and trying to sue him in addition. I was lucky enough to feel like I got in on the ground floor and am really happy to help, make the connection, and have a fire imp displayed in my room.

I have to admit that knowing a website like this exists is very encouraging. In fact, I've started brainstorming if I would be able to raise some 800 - 1000 bucks for a new computer, the promise being that I would use said computer to do something?

Brainstorming.....

More pics!

2009-11-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

I finally got my camera back from Saimhein - unfortunately I thought I had at least one full-body shot taken that night but I can't find it. So you don't get to see my make-shift hooves (boots I taped faux-fur to). But here's me and Dee (from think13):

N here's me w. her albino king snake, Adam:

(total cuddle-bug)

We went to some massive halloween party that was held in the house Jimi Hendrix lived in on Haight/Ashbury, and ate some fungus. That was one of the most incredible rides home ahve evah had.

Last weekend my cousin Zak (who has snowboarded in the Deaflympics on the USA team twice) was in town for a conference so we got a chance to hang out. It had probably been about 20 years since we'd seen each other. We had a blast - tha highlight fer both of us prolly bein on Friday when I took him to my practice space and he banged around on my drums/played my bass. He can't hear anything, but he could feel the vibrations and it was a very cool experience:

Then ah took him to all tha bars in my immediate neighborhood that ah frequent (4 of them). Aftahwerds we ended up at some random house up on a hill and stayed up way too late drinking even more.

Good times.

Ahm headed back East fer a short spell ta come ta terms w. tha fact that my folks really are sellin tha house ah grew up in. N ah will be hangin out w. some good people who ah dont see much anymore (cuz none of them have come to visit yet, grumble grumble).

Oh, n here's anutha pic of tha backyard - thars still some junk that needs ta be cleared out but it's really comin along!

Thoughts on being a Musician/Being in Bands

2009-11-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Bands are weird. When I was a teenager, I just thought that bands were a combination of talented musicians who rocked - and that it came naturally to them ("that" being kind of an unknown to me - I didn't start thinking about the songwriting process until I was actually in school. Even when writing songs as a teenager, I didn't see it as a process - it just happened.)

Nevermind the concept of ego and personality. Or drug abuse. Or not doing a damn thing for the band. All this stuff didn't exist - people in bands were just better at playing their instrument or singing or something then I was. At least when I was a teenager.

Howevah, as ah gawt oldah, more experienced, more perceptive, ah started realizin that a band is a family. N like any family, thar are always issues. Sometimes thar minor, sometimes thar nawt, but tha big thang is you have no control over them.

You don't - who knows where yer drummer is coming from? Who knows what the lead singers 2nd grade gym coach said to them? Who knows what yer gawna hafta deal with next? N is it even manageable?

From these kinds of points, ah started to piece togetha that a successful band is nawt just a combination of a few great musicians. It is also tha example of a great fit (or lack thereof) of personalities and vision. The bassist might be the best damn funk bassist on the planet but if he's stuck playing rap-metal, it's likely tha band won't make it above tha local scene. Or even last, especially if tha drummer keeps going through shit w. his girlfriend and/or methamphetamines. It's a total crapshoot!

This ties intae somethang ah also noticed in musick skool - that many of tha cats ah met were intae individuals, nawt bands. Ah've always liked bands - ah think ah responded ta meldin of tha minds, tha group effort, n tha combination of them all bein great playahs who in some instances had been rawkin out togetha fer decades.

Individuals have a great chance in many ways - once they've been established as someone worth working with. Also bein hot n makin money on tha tour circuit doesn't hurt.

It's as all these pieces were startin ta come togetha that ah started double-thinkin my initial plans as a musick student. Originally, ahd wanted ta be a professional musician. Howeveah ah was beginnin ta realize this meant one of two thangs: 1)Find a band that works and stick with it (meanin, git a shite job ta pay fer it) er 2)Find someone with connections n gae on tour/in tha studio w. them (which means givin up a lawt of control ovah tha type of musick as makin).

Neitha of these were thangs ah COULDN'T dae, but ah realized (ratha quickly) that ah DIDN'T WANT TO! Apparently ah would ratha have a standard, borin job of some sort that did nawt feed me emotionally, musickally, spiritually, etc., so that ah could keep my musick as personal n somethang ah cared about.

This is all pretty idealistic in my opinion now - especially cuz ah've realized ahm STILL playin intae one of those two paradigms. Findin musicians ta werk with is NAWT EASY. At least good ones that ah like hangin out with AND enjoy tha musick we're creatin. N even in my best case scenarios, ahm still comprimisin.

Ah play in two pop-ish bands rite now - n ah like em. Ah like it a fair amount actually - but a part of that is that as people, we mesh. Logistically, it is doable fer me (ah git rides n borrow amps n git cheaper rent - it's sorta ridiculous tha measures they gae thru fer me), and ah dae like tha musick. Howevah, ah think tha people almost outweigh that in many places fer me (while nawt entirely). Ahm currently searchin fer my own backup band - n ahve already started comprimising. It's a big pain in tha ass, this makin musick w. otha people. But ah like tha alternative less - makin musick by myself. Borin n hard.

Thars nawt a point ta this blogpost - ah haven't figured it out. Ah just have a lawt of thoughts n especially perspective on musick/bands/band dynamics/tha musick biz n every once in a while need ta express them apparently. Thas why ah have a blog. Git yer own!

Wee the Band plays a Festival!

2009-11-13T18:54:00.000-08:00

Nevermind that it was fer a snobby neighborhood and we were billed as an "all-ages rock band", meaning all our songs about sex, drugs, and ritualistic murder had to be stripped. It was still a festival, n we gawt paid motherfuckers. So deal.

Anyway, our kickass sound guy Tim snapped some snazzy lookin photos of us, so ahma share. Again, nevermind that this gig was like 4 weeks ago. You still git pics. Of me in wearin a felt tie. Aren't you lucky motherfuckers?

Tha band!

Tha band n some kids who danced!

Ah sing!

Tha (leavin) Crowd!

In sad news, one of our singers Ashante is no longer singing with us. We are gaein ta be playin w.o her in a few weeks, n then tryin ta replace her as soon as we ken - but they hafta be good.

Ahm kiddin, that news isn't sad at all, she drove me absolutely crazy n ahm actually really really glad she's nawt with tha band anymore (Altho ah will say that a)she could sing like a muthafawka n b)girl had some good bizness sense that we certainly profited from).

Totally Posthumous Cleanse/Detox Wrap

2009-11-10T22:40:00.001-08:00

First off - ah quit a day(ish) early. Thar was a halloween party @ my work on the 29th, n ah totally drank a beer n ate some junk. But ah still made it four weeks.

Tha big thang(s) ahm takin from this experiment is a) it DAES make you feel bettah but b) it's nawt a way ah NEED ta live my life just yet. Also that ah don't like havin ta spend all my time thinkin about what ahm eatin, what ahm gawna make, what needs ta be bought, etc.

Ah dae like that a few newer ingredients gawt introduced ta my routine: quinoa, flaxseed, etc. Ah also am very thankful it inspired me ta attend my local farmers market (or markets sometimes) n try ta git tha majority of my foods thar. Ah realized at some point that ahd basically been cookin entirely from scratch in many cases, minus some spices, n that tha most cheatin ahd done was some beans er grains (specially durin my cleanse phase), otherwise it had all been bought at a local market.

It also forced me ta stop dependin on a few non-local products: especially bananas. Ah love bananas - thar easy, tasty, cheap, n good fer ya. Ahd basically been eatin a banana every mornin fer a long time - it was a jump-start to my day, ah could eat it while waterin tha plants, it gave me just a lil energy ta ride ta werk. But thar nawt native. Those bananas come from far far away. So instead, ahve been eatin an apple er pear er persimmon bought from a local vendor. Nawt quite as easy, but bettah fer everyone (specially tha local vendor ah suppose).

So ah believe thars compromises ta be made. Ah love bread n cheese n eggs - thas fine. Ah currently dont eat TOO much of eitha, but ah should be more mindful about those products. Ahve also been good about nawt dependin on tofu fer protein - which is good fer a lawt of reasons. N ahm still gaein to tha farmers market - ah love it. Ah hafta wake up early on my Saturday, but it really is totally werth it.

But ah did miss tha occasional junk food. Ahve definitely snacked a bit now n then since, n haven't felt bad about eatin chocolate er chips er drinkin beer. All in moderation ah figure - n tha more aware of it ah am, tha bettah off ahll be ah think. Right?

All in all, ahm glad ah did it. Ahll prolly dae somethang similar again. Its good ta escape ones comfort zone - specially when you feel awesome durin it. N ah took some good thangs away.

Here's my most recent expedition intae cookin local food:

Attempt at Thai Curry
- Jasmine Rice - cook in cooker

In saucepan, heat olive oil (ah always cook w. olive oil), sesame oil, n soy sauce. Chop 7-8 spicy red peppers (From farmers market of course - $1 a huge bunch ahll nevah use). Sautee in sauce with salt, pepper, brown sugar, and ginger.

Add diced potatos and water. Cover and simmer.

5 minutes or so later, add green beans. stir and simmer. add more ginger.

a few minutes later, added chopped mushrooms and yellow/orange bell pepper. Cook for a few more minutes, then add 30+ thai basil leaves. Stir basil leaves in until wilting, cover for a few more minutes. Squeeze lime over, stir, and serve over jasmine rice.

How'd it come out? Tasty as hell, but a bit spicy. Ahd really thought ah had some coconut milk that ah was gaein ta add, but couldn't find it. Also, ah lost my fish sauce a few months back n haven't replaced that yet either. Ah think w. tha addition of one, er both, of these, it will be pretty fawkin good. Altho all tha recipes ah looked up called fer eggplant, so maybe ah should incorporate that next time.

What happened w. my House:

2009-11-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

Some time ago (end of August), ah reported that my master tenant was movin back. Now this kinda CA rent weirdness is somethang ahm familiar w. (at least by now), but realize many othas are nawt, so ahll explain:

In SF, tha rentin market is very ruthless. We also have a LAWT of people who come by for a short while and then move ontae tha next step of our life. This is partially due to tha large amount of twentysomethangs who choose ta live here. In tha 70s er 90s (can't remembah), laws were passed dealin w. Rent Ordinance. Part of rent ordinance is rent control. Rent control protects tha amount of money you ken raise rent from year ta year providin that tha house doesn't gae on tha market. So a lawt of this happens by having one person sign a lease and be the Master Tenant, (or sometimes Master Tenants). This allows those folks to keep their place cheap and controlled, as well as allows them to change sub-tenants as needed if people flake/move/etc. It's not really a bad thang - except when yer master tenant is a dick.

In many of these situations, the master tenant talks to the landlord and collects money from the rest of the tenants. Technically, master tenants are required to let you know what the total lease agreement is when you move in, AND cannot charge you more then a proportional share of tha rent (as determined by square feet, furnishing provided, services maintained, etc.). Doing the latter is called Rent Gouging.

It's prolly easy to see whar this is gaein. Back in late May of 2008, ah jumped on a relatively affordable, all-inclusive, oral agreement w. some dude ah nevah met, without asking questions like "How much is rent" and "Who's the landlord" and "Do you actually live here?". Ah wanted tha fawk outta El Cerrito, n at 700 a month, w. cable, internet, utilities, n plenty of furniture, it was still a pretty good deal. Especially given tha washer/dryer included, n tha sizes of tha bedroom, kitchen, n backyard. So what if it was a lil sketchy?

It was obvious no one here cared all that much when ah moved in. Howevah, ovah time, it turned intae a bit more of a household. N we started talkin about how it would be nice ta fix some shite up. Namely our back stairs. So we mentioned it ta our maaster tenant, n he blew us off.

We continued ta talk ta each otha, n eventually ah went to tha SF Tenants Union ta see how illegal all this was. Ah learned plenty illegal, but without a copy of tha lease, er knowin who tha landlord was, thar wasn't too much ah could dae. Ah also learned that our master tenant, by nawt livin on tha property, was makin us vulnerable ta a serious rent increase - basically if tha landlord learned Steve wasn't living thar, they could raise tha rent as high as they wanted. N Steve had created an image of a hard ta deal with landlord that we should leave alone.

Aftah tha tenants union, we wrote steve an email (as he had been unresponsive ta verbal requests fer tha lease, er his address, er ta git thangs fixed), requestin all three. He responded sayin he would be movin back in early October, n then we just had ta wait. This also meant he was kickin out my favorite roommate, who had done a lawt ta help build unity in tha household, n that bummed me out. What a dick.

Anyway, ah hadn't brought this up ta really anyone b/c it has been SO dramatastic n unresolved. All of September was a dreadful stressful mess just waitin fer him ta come back...n then he didn't.

On Oct 3rd, aftah Steve failed to meet any of tha roomies when he said he would ta git a key, a new roommate showed up named Trish. I had met Trish before - actually she was tha one who showed me my original room in Steve's absence. Apparently it was a tough time fer Steve n instead of movin back ta SF, he had sent Trish in ta take ovah tha lease. How convenient! AND WEIRD!!

A week er so latah, we had a talk w. Trish n discovered she had nawt yet signed anythang. In this time we'd discovered that Trish was unemployed, n a self-described "Gypsy" who would prolly be leavin fer a month er two at a time in tha future. Also, her second weekend in tha house, my housemates noticed some REALLY strange behavior. Some guy spent tha weekend at our house who didn't recognize Trish's name tha first time someone asked him how he knew her. In addition, she spent tha entire weekend in her room, nawt makin a sound. Apparently she also passed out in tha bathroom, n at one point her door swung open n Oskar said hi, and she appeared drugged out n asleep. Her guest, who was also a wanderer, would leave tha house ta gae in tha backyard every hour er so tha first night before he started sleepin in her room, n when ah went out thar, ah saw a candle lit. Needless ta say, this all was worrisome. Ah gawt naethang against people who don't have a place ta live, but don't need them potentially daein hard drugs in my house.

We didn't bring this potential drug problem up w. Trish because we over tha course of hta discussion, it became obvious that Trish was nawt putting any money towards our rent, was not in a place of authority whatsoevah, n really had nae idea what tha hell she was talkin about. At one point, she even exclaimed "there goes my free rent!". She even told us she had "promised Steve she wouldn't tell us what the rent was." Unbelievable.

So this was tha straw that broke tha camels back fer tha roommie who had been a lil apprehensive about pursuin Steve fer rippin us off. We were finally collectively NAWT OKAY w. payin Trish's rent, and luckily, we had learned n confirmed that our landlord's son owned tha local coffee shop across tha street. Oskar investigated n explained our story.

That would have hopefully fixed it, but instead tha son, while concerned, explained that he didn't have anythang ta dae w. that side of tha bizness. He was actually very nice n sympathetic, but made nae promises. We showed him a copy of tha rental agreement Steve had sent ovah in lieu of a lease when we asked - that was preposterously illegal n gave him ALL tha rites n treated him like tha owner of a place n us people buyin out rooms in his house. Keep in mind Steve hadn't lived here in ovah 2 years - n ah had nevah even met him. In fact, ahd prolly had about 5 conversations w. him via text, email, or phone in tha last year and all of them had led me to decide he was a passive-aggressive drama queen who ah hated.

Tha landlords son said he would talk ta his folks n that we should call him on Monday (whe told us this on 10/21, so that Monday was tha 26 - we'd been dealin w. Trish fer almost three weeks by now) if we hadn't heard from him by then. Instead, on Monday mornin our landlord n husband showed up at tha door - luckily ta meet Melanie instead of Trish. Melanie, while surprised, immediately turned intae a hostess n showed them how great we were. We were especially lucky that tha house was relatively clean that day. Tha landlord had nawt even heard of Trish or received any notice from Steve about him leaving. Tha big news we'd been waitin fer was tha ACTUAL price of tha apartment: $1600. Steve had been collectin 1700 from us SANS utilities (some of which he nevah even paid).

That evenin tha house met (nawt includin Trish of kerse) n we decided it was time ta strike. Tha landlord was gaein ta try n git in touch w. Steve n then git back ta us. We realized at this point tha only card we'd been holdin w. Steve was a "give us tha lease, er git sued fer rippin us off" kinda deal. We sent him an email saying as much, n then went home ta tell Trish tha situation: that we weren't payin rent ta her er Steve, were takin it inate our own hands, n that she would hafta move out since she wasn't payin rent.

Trish didn't put up much of a fight. She said okay, n then we assume she talked ta Steve, n then tha landlord. She came back a lil latah ta tell us "it looked like thangs were gaein in our favor". Then tha landlord called - n we waited a lil ta regroup before callin her back.

Ah only heard one side of that call, but it sounded promisin. Tha end result was that our landlord had ta talk ta "Leo", a name we hadn't heard. We assumed he was tha lawyer, which ended up bein mostly true (technically he's nawt a lawyer, he's a "personal representative & tax/immigration law specialist", whatevah that means).

Leo gawt in touch w. us n wanted us ta come down ta talk ta him - which was right down tha damn street. Honestly, ah sometimes wondah how much time n effort could have been saved by actually gaein intae his office, which clearly read REAL ESTATE LAW on tha buildin, n askin him a few questions. He's sharp as hell (altho a republican), n it wouldnt have taken more then a couple minutes fer him ta figure out whar we were talkin about.

All in all, we won. Tha rent went up, but it's still cheapah fer us (n fer SF in general). We are on tha lease - all three of us. We know how ta talk ta our landlord n Leo is now our property manager. Our landlord is amazing - absolutely loaded, but she, her husband, n thar werkah cleaned up our backyard themselves (wait till you see th apics). She's a lil sweet hispanic woman that is gaein ta give me some tomato seedlins from her garden next summer. Tha back steps are almost completely finished. We kept tha washer/dryer n are replacin tha otha furniture w. our stuff. N ahm gaein ta take Steve ta small claims court - he over charged me 200 bux a month for 17 months AND stole my 700 security deposit outright (he did nawt pay fer November rent). You ken dae tha math.

We signed tha lease on Saturday, October 31st. It was one of tha best days evah. Ahll gae intae tha costumed details in a latah post.....

Massive Update needed

2009-11-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Ahm aware - it's been a lil bit. But really, thars a ton of stuff. So stay tuned n ah will try ta give you all the personal updates on thangs such as:

- WTB photos from a festival
- How my detox/cleanse ended
- What's going on with my housing situation (n how it gawt thar)
- Samhein 2009!

Also, ah saw Valient Thorr at my favorite SF metal club Annie's Social Club, which is a great little dive in the SOMA district. Ah almost missed tha show too - didn't realize it was happenin until two days prior. They were as much fun as ah remembah - n even hairier!

Stay tuned mofos!

Cleanse Update - Almost done w. Phase 2!

2009-10-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

How ya feelin Anthony?

FAWKIN GREAT!

Yeah, who would've thought that all that healthy livin would make me feel awesome? Ah guess ah sorta did....

Anyway, keepin to tha diet has been pretty easy. Ah mean, ah miss bread and cheese (And some mornings COFFEE) plenty, but it's nawt like ahm gaein hungry. Ahve been makin a bunch of great meals such as Vegetable Soup, Yams and Spinach Curry, Quinoa in a variety of thangs, fresh salads w. some ground flax seed mixed in fer protein, Roasted Veggies n Cranberry beans ovah rice, n Amaranth breakfast cereals. Every day ah drink at least once juice, a few cups of mint tea, green tea, and dandelion root tea at night (fer tha liver). Ahm also takin a multi-vitamin, spirulina, and milk thistle supplements every day. So far ahve made it ta yoga 8 times this month (should have been 9 but tha heat was off one day), n haven't had ta sit out of any regular activities like drummin er bike ridin.

Tha downside: This is really time consuming. It feels like almost every wakin moment is thinkin about food: What ah ken eat, what ah need ta make, what ah should buy, etc. This isn't bad - ah fawkin love food - but ah don't really love it consumin my wakin thoughts. Also, gittin ta sleep has been difficult some nites - altho ahm sleepin much more soundly, n wakin up on time is a piece of cake.

As of Saturday ah will introduce gluten, wheat, dairy, and eggs back into my diet, as well as tha occasional sugar. N next Friday or Saturday ahll have my first drink in 4 weeks - gawta celebrate Samhein n all. So while this has been great, it's nawt gaein ta be tha way ah live my life 24-7. Ah just hope ah take some stuff from it, namely:
* Wakin up on Saturday fer tha Farmers Market is totally worth it
* Quinoa is a really easy grain to cook with
* More fresh veggies in my life is GOOD
* Less tofu/processed meat substitutes and more natural proteins from nuts, flax seed, kale, grains, etc.

But most importantly is ahve learned that this kind of livin IS possible, n nawt even too difficult. In fact, in many ways it's almost cheaper - that is, once ah bought tha juicer, n tha supplements, n all that crap. $30 of veggies from tha farmers market is almost all ah need ta live off (plus grains, etc from tha bulk bins at tha hippy co-op).

Howevah, ah really can't wait ta have a big cup of coffee w. some cream and brown sugar in it, w. a breakfast of avocado on toast n some scrambled eggs w. cheese. How decadent!

Tha girls of tha internet...

2009-10-11T19:45:00.001-07:00

So as you've prolly picked up if you read this from time to time, ahve been usin tha internet ta date since gittin out here. It hasn't been tha only way ahve met people, but it has been tha easiest - in it's own way at least. At first it was just some Crazy Blind Dating, but about a year ago ah turned ta both Craigslist as well as popular online datin site that prolly daesn't need ta be named.

Anyway, some of it went fine, some of it was lame, a bit of it was REALLY lame, ah met some cool girls, ah met some crazy girls, n ah gawt some stories. Howevah, ahm takin a break from it cuz ahm lookin back on my experiences n realizin that thar is really very little return from my investment. First off, online datin is extremely frustratin, especially if you are a male, n possibly more if you are, like me, only lookin to date, perhaps more. Tha amount of unanswered messages sent is mind-boggoling. Ahm very glad ah created a separate semi-anonymous email address for it (yes, ahm creepy like that, but really, ah dont want these fools ta know my last name!)

Anyway, even if thar was a response, n some back n forth, ahd guess it ended up in meetin that person about 30 percent of tha time? Maybe more like 40, ahm obviously guessing here, but suffice to say that those ah met n went on a date with were a small select few out of those I'd messaged or responded to.

But if you know me, ah always dae everythang full-force. So despite this annoyance and frustratin, ah believe ah have met at least 20 women from tha internet in tha Bay Area since last October. Thassa lawt. How dae ah know all this?

Simple. Everyone gawt a nickname, ie, _______-girl. N eventually ah started keepin a list of all tha _____-girls ahd actually met. N of kerse ahve separated them intae 3 categories: Fine (as in, these were good people but we didn't have much in common/chemsitry/etc), Meh (one way or another, I was left feeling kind of meh on the whole thing, whether it was a date or a month, this relationship lacked something and I probably could have done without the interaction), and WTF (who is this creep-show and what are they doing on the market!).

For your added convenience, I've ordered them in descending order of WTF. So now, ah present, Tha Girls of tha Internet:

WTF:
eyebrow-girl
writer-girl
pirate-girl
cycle-girl
oakland-girl
giant-girl
psych-girl
late-girl
boring-girl

meh:
geek-girl
lip-ring-girl
cello-girl
boyfriend-girl
boston-girl
bike-girl
camera-girl
guitar-girl
masseuse-girl

Fine
book-girl
midget-girl
phd-girl (Despite us not being a very good match, we dated for a few months, eventually breaking up because we know it wasn't going anywhere)

Maybe if ahm feelin gossipy you ken ask me about one of them n ahll give you tha scoop! (Maybe nawt tho).

Detox Update: Phase 1

2009-10-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

So it's been almost 9 days since ah had my last drink n ate any sort of processed food. Ahve still had cheese n dairy n coffee n my favorite medication in my life, but ah am feelin great. Every day ahve had a freshly made juice from my new juicer, mostly w. veggies from my local farmers market (Which is AMAZING! Yelp it --> Alemany Farmers Market). Ah can't wait till tomorrow mornin ta gae back - n this time ahll bring two carryin bags (altho ah need ta nawt buy so much of stuff that will spoil - will need to plan on stoppin by tha Civic Center one mid-week tha next two weeks ta make sure my shite is fresh).

Nawt drinkin is weird, but easy. N ahve stocked up on tha necessary supplements, teas, etc. that ahll need n have been easin myself intae tha taste n routine of said supplements. Ahve also been lookin at all tha stuff ah CAN eat, n ah think that my cleanse, startin at midnite, will be a piece of cake actually. Plenty of stuff ta eat n plenty of ways ta find it. N ahm lovin my juices - they just taste n feel healthy.

Ah also hit up yoga 4 x since ah started n each class was bettah then tha last. Who woulda thought livin bettah meant feeling bettah? KER-AZZY!

Fresh Veggies

Delicious Juice!

Pics of Stuff!

2009-10-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ahd been holdin off on this until ah had a pic of tha drumkit ahm playin - ah took a pic of it today. N then left tha camera at tha practice space. So here you are, pics sans drumkit:

Edit: ah went back to tha space ta git my camera, so here ya gae!

Edit: N some pics from my garden - color coordinated so you ken see whas growin!

stilt-walkah

ah ran intae this guy at tha folsom street festival tha next day - he n ah had beeb crackin jokes durin one of his performances at the Tour de Fat.

at tour de fat w. josh n kirsten

Josh was the guy who tried ta hire me back in early 2008 but ah took my otha job instead. Ah apparently inspired him ta volunteer at this festival, n we hang out once er twice a month. That is Kirsten, who poured beer w. us, n who Josh thought was really really hot. Ah didn't disagree ah guess....

me n my ride on a cross

Leavin tha park, Josh n ah took a different path n found a huge ass cross. This is one of tha bettah pics ahve had taken of me in a while, so ah figured ahd include it

bike over head

Thas rite ahma rawkstar!

on big cross

Told you tha cross was big - tha platform ahm standin on was prolly 10 feet tall itself!

Detox/Cleanse (aka, what am ah daein ta myself?)

2009-09-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

October is tomorrow n it's a great month. Now that it's fall, ahm thinkin bout tha upcomin wintah, n tha fact that it's been two fawkin years since ah moved here, n otha stuff. N have decided it's time fer me ta try a cleanse.

Ahve gawn on some detoxes, but they were half-assed. N it's nawt that ahm unhealthy, but ah dae drink soda, n eat processed food (usually meat substitute), n thar is tha boozin. So ah started tryin ta find somethang that would fit me well - n didn't.

Tha Master Cleanse is fawkin insane - no way. Ah was thinkin a two week er so deal, but that allowed me ta eat solids so long as they were good fer me. Aftah enuff time on tha internet, ah finally decided ah needed ta put my own program togetha. Ahm still fine-tunin tha supplements ahll need fer part two, but here it is in a nutshell:

Part 1: Oct 1 - 9
- No

Alcohol

Junk Food (candy, chips, etc)

Soda

Processed/Excessively Fried Foods

Street Food (burritos, pizza, etc

Ahm also gaein ta try n sleep earlier n wake up earlier to prepare fer Part 2, as well as git ta yoga at least 4 times.

Part 2: Oct 10 - 23/24th
- No

Drugs, except for Caffeine, and only one cup of Green Tea per day tops

Dairy

Sugars

Eggs

Gluten

Wheat

In addition, ahll be takin supplements for things like protein, my liver, and other health-related things to keep me balanced and healthy.

Ah recently purchased a Juicer and will be spending more time shopping for food, attending farmers markets to ensure I'm eating locally and fresh. My garden may provide some greens, although not likely enough to make much of a difference.

Halfway through this, I'm planning on taking a day where I abstain from solid food altogether, and will likely try to fast as much as ah can.

Ahd like ta git ta yoga 5 times during this time period.

Part 3: Oct 24/25 - Oct 30:
(Tha date is ambiguous b/c there's a Wee the Band gig on the 24th so ah haven't decided if ah wanna end my cleanse tha day of, or tha day aftah)
Similar to Part 1, depending on how I feel, and what worked for me. Ahll likely ease back intae certain foods of kerse. If ah git ta 4 more yoga classes, then ahll have done 12 fer tha month, which is about what ah like ta be - perhaps ahll be more ambitious then that....

Then Oct 31st, it's Saturday n it's Samhein, so all bets are off.

We start in tha mornin, hopefully w. yoga!

Reflections on my Bike Ride to Work #8

2009-09-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

Actually it was last week, but ah keep fergittin ta blog about it.

Ah saw a guy on a segway in tha bike-lane tha otha day n it fawkin CRACKED ME UP!!!

Ah hate segways, ah think they are fer lazy people n they look downright ridiculous. This was some yuppie in his 30s w. his messenger bag slung around his back, headphones in his ear, n a determined n smarmy look on his face. Ah laughed tha first time ah saw him, n then even harder when ah saw how determined he looked.

Even bettah, ah lapped him 3 times between stoplights. Yeah, his piece of shit accelerated faster then my ride, but ah have a higher speed capability, so he would zoom off (takin up tha whole damn bike lane like an asshole), then ah would catch up with him, start laughing AGAIN, n pass him, ta have him behind me at tha next stop light.

Ah can't wait ta run intae him again on my commute, that shite was hilarious. Altho next time ah will prolly tell him ta "ride a fuckin bike, you idiot". Suck on it segway-guy, you are lameballz.

Ah don't even know whar ta start....

2009-09-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, ah know, it's been a while. Unfortunately, ah don't have all tha pics ah hoped ah would just yet fer this update....but ahll try ta give you a quick run-down on all tha awesome shite anyway....

9/12 was Power to the Peaceful a big free hippy festival that features a two hour set by Michael Franti n Spearhead (who is a main organizer of the whole shebang). think13 actually played this festival on tha kids stage last year - which ah shouldve blogged about but didn't. Anyway, it's a big free festival n ah gawt ta hang out w. a bunch of irish people that make me smile n ah don't see that often. Even bettah - ah missed tha acoustic Alanis Morisette set n showed up just in time fer Mr. Franti. Too bad tha weather was cloudy. After that ah went to a basement show at an art gallery ta see my local bike mechanic hit tha skins. Ah think ah gawt pretty drunk that nite in retrospect....

As cool as this was tho, it is completely in tha shadows of 9/15 whar ah saw tha original Bad Brains on a short West-Coast tour tear tha fawk outta Slims here in SF. Opening fer them was my new favorite SF band Sistas in the Pit, a black female power trio. Also this loser rapper POS who was way too emo n whose DJ sucked. But Bad Brains was nothing less then epic AND punk rawk. When they played reggae, ah felt like ah was on mushrooms. Too much fun.

On 9/26 ah partied again like a rawkstar at tha Tour de Fat, a bike festival put on by tha good folks behind Fat Tire. Ah poured beer fer a few hours as a volunteer fer tha San Francisco Bike Coalition (which is full of all sorts of win), n then spent tha rest of tha afternoon drinkin beer n watchin crazy people play musick n walk on stilts. Really. That evenin was topped off w. a (free - awesome!) dinner at the Beach Chalet on Ocean Beach, n then drinks-while-dressed-up fer my friends Bday party in Noe Valley.

Then on 9/27 ah went to tha worlds largest leather/fetish festival, tha Folsom Street Fair, gittin some footage fer an eventual Wee the Band video. Fer tha most part it was a lawt of fun, altho every once in a while youd see some naked dude wankin it, which ah couldve done w.o.

Speakin of my dumb vocal-pop band, we did anutha Ex'pressions video (minus the bass disaster) yestahday n will have new videos up on youtube soon w. our new songs - which are gittin pretty crazy. It's been exactly a year ah think since tha last one - which was our first gig togetha. Despite how weird it is that ahm in that band, ah really continue ta enjoy playin w. them. N they nevah fail ta mention how tha band is completely different since ah joined it (thas what happens when you git a bassist that doesnt suck!)

Anyway, ah hope ta put togetha some pics of my backyard n tha last couple weekends soon n post it fer ya. Howevah, please stay tuned fer my October update - ahm gaein on a detox!

Want some more pics?

2009-09-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ah gawt em - n yes, this is a blog post BEFORE tha weekend, instead of ABOUT one. Ah know, ahm just so crazy none of you ken keep up w. me!

So a few weeks ago WTB played a Battle of the Bands at a pretty nice venue here in SF. It was hilarious - we gawt totally swamped by these two high skool bands. Ridiculous. Luckily ah had my good friend alcohol to git me thru it. Also, we took some more photos w. our kickass photographer Nissa Nicole. Here's one of me and Jamie:

N one of everyone else (we've decided ah need my own riser cuz ah git lost behind all tha fawkin vocalists):

Tha gig was a success ah guess b/c we gawt asked back to play a real show - no battle of tha bands, n while it'll still be an all-ages event, tha adult bands will play later then tha young ones. We'll git some more photos then ah hope....

Food is a big part of my life out here - livin on my own (well, w. roommates, but we don't share groceries or cook togetha - partially cuz they are nawt as good at cookin as ah am, but also b/c our schedules are vastly different). My diet is nawt all that different from what it was back in NOVA (at least since ah went veggie), altho thar are certainly a lawt more burritos in my life. Ahve been tryin ta cook from scratch as much as possible, but it doesn't always werk. Anyway, tha big change is ah gae thru avocados like fawkin crazy - at least 2 a week. Saturdays and Sundays a part of my routine is to make coffee n a good breakfast - here's last Saturday morning:

Those are heirloom tomatoes from tha hippy grocery store up tha street. Mmmm.

Ahll bet you are all interested in how my facial hair is too, right? Well, ah continue ta git really glowin feedback from tha current style, so it will be around fer a while longah. Ahve also started growin tha goatee part out a bit - ah think ahm sorta waitin until people start tellin me it's outta control n nae longah attractive. Fer now, everyone thinks its pretty awesome tho. This is me last week:

Ah also gawt an upgrade to my drum kit fer tha next few months until my buddy comes back to git it. Unfortunately ah totally fergawt ta snap a pic of it yesterday when ah set it up, but ahll try ta remembah ta dae so when ah gae in tomorrow.

Reflections on my bike ride to work #7

2009-09-02T10:31:00.001-07:00

Ah took a slightly different route ta werk today - well, at least briefly. It was interestin seein those streets in tha daytime. Ahd be interested in timin takin some of the few side streets - tha way traffic moves on them is totally different, n ah don't have as many lights - which ken be good, ken be bad. Here's tha first part of my commute whar this is negotiable - once ah git downtown intae tha SOMA (South of market) area, thars really only one smart way ta gae. Altho when they fix up Valencia it mite be werth tryin thar...

Overwhelming Musickal Geekiness!

2009-08-24T12:16:00.006-07:00

So Sunday night ah went to tha first installment of Intersitials, which had a bunch of super-crazy modern nutzo musick. Suffice ta say, ah was quite enthralled.

Ahd originally found out about tha gig by followin tha band mirthKon, who ah MEANT ta blog about a few months ago when ah saw them at a local club, but apparently did nawt. So anyway, they are awesome and you should totally buy thar album "Vehicle" because it's fantastic. Also, they are super-nice dudes.

Anyway, ah can't really explain how great this concert was, so ah've just uploaded tha program w. a few notes ah made about each of tha performers/pieces.

Gawdamm that was some good shit.....

Household Drama

2009-08-24T12:16:00.005-07:00

Let's git tha bad news outta tha way....

We've been arguin w. our master tenant fer quite a while to 1)Give us a copy of the lease and 2)Get our back steps fixed. Instead of giving us a lease, he instead sent us an awful rental agreement that basically signed all our rights away, so we said we couldn't sign it until some other things got resolved. He sent over a friend to look at the steps who said he couldn't fix them at all.

When we pushed back on this he informed us he's going to move back in October. Which sucks, 1)Because he's kicking out a great roommate, and 2)He's a tool and none of us want to live with him.

Also, our trash cans got stolen - my guess is he hasn't paid the bill. Stay tuned for more Drama....you can be guaranteed of that!

Backyard News

2009-08-24T12:16:00.003-07:00

Despite tha bad news about my house situation, ah still continue ta werk in my backyard from time to time. I'll admit, nawt as often as when ah started, fer a couple reasons. 1) The big work is more or less over, so it's more about maintenance, and 2) None of my roommates seem to care so I'm less motivated. Ahve decided to only let one fennel plant live, so here's a picture of tha remainin plant (ah still have at least 6 of these thangs in the backyard, ah just trim them down pretty regularly).

Also, tha plants in tha "garden section" are daein pretty good. That basil that was on it's last leg? Ah put it in tha ground (along w. sage, mint, oregano, n chives) n they are all daein well - specially tha basil n oregano. Also, tha flower ah mentioned in a previous post is daein quite well!

Also, ah had thought that tha wildflowers ahd planted in my backyard had all died out, but apparently a few of them sprouted n are alive. Sweet!

Ah make Ragu that RAWKS!

2009-08-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

Fuck yeah ah dae!

This is a recipe that my mom gave me when ah moved out here - actually she makes twice as much as this when she daes it n then freezes it. I find this makes two big batches, so ah generally make a few lunches with one of them n then freeze tha rest. Every couple months ahll make this - it makes my house smell like my rents place. Ahm gaein ta share in case anyone is interested - this is a watery ragu type of sauce, not the chunky kind that many people think of.

Ingredients
6 oz. tomato paste
28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (ah use the muir glen fire-roasted, they make a great sauce)
28 oz water
~1 teaspoon salt (could add more)
pepper grinds
parsley (at least tablespoon)
oregano (at least half tablespoon)
1 bay leaf
at least ½ tablespoon sugar
veggies
addtl spices (chili)
1 Veggie Bullion Cube

The veggies ah used this time were:
1 shredded carrot
1 Portabello mushroom cap cut into thick-ish chunks
1 Green pepper, sliced thin

Making the sauce is easy - put everything in a big pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for at least an hour (I do it anywhere from 1./5 - 3 hours, although I don't think thars much difference between 2 hours n 3 hours).

Ah was especially happy with tha most recent batch, which was full of flavor. Also, even tho tha sauce is somewhat watery, it has plenty of consistency because of tha big chunks of veggies. MMMMM!

Gala UU Event of the Year

2009-08-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

So August 8th was the weddin of my great friends Erik and Kimberlee, two Continental UU Rawkstars who eventually figured out that they were madly in love w. each otha n they should git married. Ah was at tha influential Opus 2003 where they met fer tha first time - two years before they hooked up.

Tha weddin was a great time, partially b.c it was an opportunity fer me to ta see some folks who ah usually don't see (especially w.o attendin a continental conference this summer). People like Danny:

Danny has a crush on me but is threatened by my masculinity

N here's tha obligatory FUUSE Sexy Admins pic:

Jonny always looks like a girl

N then here's me with tha wonderful couple:

Oh, n ah brought some California Cookies (recipe ta be posted eventually):

This is why you want me at yer weddin

Updates are necessary!

2009-08-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

So I've had a pretty busy/awesome last couple weeks and I really need to document everything - so the next few posts might not be chronological, but they are all important!

Reflections on my Bike Ride to Work (#6)

2009-08-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sean Paul on a cloudy day really brightens my mood apparently.

Also, my new softshell jacket ah daresay is almost exactly what ah was lookin fer - warm, cozy, water-resistant and wind-proof. Ah git ta werk less sweaty then ah used ta as well!

Reflections on My Bike Ride to Work #5

2009-08-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

There are few bettah ways ta start tha day then eatin a banana in tha backyard, waterin tha plants, then hoppin on my bike fer a 4 mile ride in tha sun, without the need for a protective layer on top of my t-shirt.

Of kerse, tha fact that church started practicin at 7:30 am (which only happens like once in a while) is a less then perfect way ta start off, so ahm givin today's mornin a 5.5 instead of tha 9 ahd like ta give it.

btw, this is my 200th Post since moving to California n startin my blog back up!

Reflections on my Bike Ride to Work #4

2009-07-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Not really a reflection so much as a anecdote ah guess...

but ah did hit/git hit by a movin vehicle today.

ahm fine, we were both brakin n saw each otha w. enuff time that it was nawt really a crash. Scared tha shit outta me tho.

It wasn't anyones fault really - ah was bikin in a bike lane, n thar was a parked delivery van in tha car lane (ok, ah guess it was tha asshat who parked thar van in tha street's fault). As ah went past it, thar was a truck on tha otha side of tha van who was apparently gaein ta make a right turn when it gawt past tha van. Ah saw him turnin intae my path w. enuff time ta hit my brakes (altho nawt too hard cuz my mechanical brakes ken stop a lil too hard sometimes n tha back tire will skid). Ah wasn't able ta stop completely before ah gawt ta tha hood of tha truck, but ah more used it ta bounce back up n walk to a few feet w. my bike before hoppin back on. Here's the best picture ever for reference:

Tha driver stopped n asked if ah was okay n ah told him ah was fine. He apologized n said he couldn't see b/c of tha truck, which ah unnerstood. Howevah, ah think thar was some asshat old man who actually waved him intae tha intersection - ah saw him givin someone tha okay, but assumed they were across tha street. Now ahm nawt so sure.

Anyway, as far as collisions gae it wasn't very dangerous er threatenin, so hopefully ahve filled my quota fer bike-related accidents this year.

Oh, so my loser friend Danny has decided my original picture wasn't awesome enuff, so he's updated it for all of you 3 year olds reading my blog:

A blog of mostly pictures

2009-07-12T19:20:00.001-07:00

Wow, ah can't believe no one commented on how atrocious that pic of me w. tha mustache is.

In general, I am well, but the fourth brought me some sad news. My friend Katie Tyson, someone I was not close to but did know more then in passing, was killed in a car crash coming back from General Assembly. She was 21 years old.

Katie and I carpooled to OPUS in 2007. I did not know her extremely well, but she has been in my kitchen, I have met her parents, and I easily consider her a friend. My personal belief system tells me that Katie's time in this life was short for a reason, and that she is on to a better place, but it is a very sad tragedy that she is no longer with us in the same way. My apologies if that picture caught anyone off guard.

Moving on however, to less depressing pictures.

A Thai Restaurant on Haight St

My UU friend and neighbor who recently left SF to travel the world teaching drama - ah will miss her Thas her SF boyfriend behind us, who is a good guy w. musical inclinations.

One of the dozen or so yoga mats I painted last week at my studio's work party

Wee the Band's Seedy Release Party is this week!

Look how gorgeous our album is! You should be getting one in the mail soon if I have your address - if I don't have your address, email me! You can also download it on itunes, Rhapsody, andAmazon! Wee made it easy on ya!

Ah inherited a beater bike from an ex-roomie My local bike shop needed just 35 bux to get running decently. The seat post was stuck to hell, but the yoga studio owner n ah manhandled it eventually.

Ah took a video on my phone of me playin tha shit outta tha drums, but neither blogspot nor youtube could handle the audio correctly, so ah can't share. sorry. Ah played them today, spending almost an hour on sticking exercises. It was embarassing that ah had ta practice at 46 bpm n it was still very rough gaein. In time....

Comparatively, ah took it easy this weekend...

2009-06-28T22:58:00.001-07:00

It was Pride weekend here in SF - which means everyone gawt completely apeshit crazy (at least most of those attendin pride events). Ah did nawt attend any such events - nawt cuz ah hate on tha gays (ah freakin love queer folk!), but b/c ah had a gig in a touristy out-stretch of tha city, yoga, n had my best move evah - from one room, about 7 feet down tha hall to anutha room!

First thangs first - ah moved n this is epic. Nae pics of tha new pad yet, but lets just say it is a comprable size, more climate (less cold n less hawt at all tha rite times), n a million times more comfy n liveable (not to mention, no more late night latino bar musick from across tha street!). Here's my old room (that had surprisingly interestin acoustics now that its empty!

Then Saturday ah had my first "tourist gig" - Wee the Band played at Del Monte Square up in tha Fisherman's Wharf. Ridiculous. Tourist central, we played in this outdoor square near fancey shops, a couple restaurants w. outdoor patios, "the best ice cream in San Francisco" n even a weddin reception. From 3:30 - 7, w. two breaks, we were on. Ahve nevah played that much musick in front of people in one sittin. All 20 songs, n we repeated two of em. We made a few bux, had some laughs, n paid our dues. Next time, dues pay us!

Sunday ah went back ta yoga fer tha first time in 3 weeks. Ugh, ah know bettah then this - but it wasn't all my fault. Of kerse, some of it was, ah was crazy lazy in LA, n then since ah gawt back, n then thar was tha Journey to tha End of tha Nite, n then the sickness (what ahm callin tha illness that besieged my house last week). But anyway, ah went back, n my body showed me how much ah really need ta actually stay on that yoga shit.

But what was important is it was my first day bangin on my new fawkin drums!

N of kerse, what ah really learned, is what kinds of thangs ta look fer tha next time ah buy drum equipment. But it was a blast - n tha thang ah love about drums, is ah ALWAYS feel progress if ah spend at least 30 minutes playin them. Ah try ta play somethang in tha beginnin of a session that is too hard, werk on plenty of otha thangs, n before ah end ah gae back to that same thang n ken usually play it. Gittin tha limbs ta werk around each otha instead of WITH each otha is tha hard part, but it's comin along. Tha interestin thang about drums is how it nevah sounds like you think it mite.... (Shows you ahm totally nawta drummah, rite?)

Finally, ah cleaned up my old camera (which ahm usin until ah ken git tha review button fixed on my otha one - hence tha shittier pics recently), n found this photo from my last beard, wherein fer 45 seconds ah have a asymmetrical moustache (before ah even knew hipsters grew em). Hope you laugh!

Thanks fer readin folks - 4th of July is comin up soon. Tha only day of tha year ah actively wish ah was in Washington DC....

Weekend Update - Late due to SEVERE illness

2009-06-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry Henners, it took me a while to post my exploits this week b.c ahve been sick as a dog in and out of bed since the weekend ended. BUT, ahve recovered....

Saturday had me daein a lil bit of gardenin - ahve actually managed to salvage some of the few plants that were dyin left by tha previous owners. Ah don't know what this is but look -it's flowerin!

My basil is nawt daein as well howevah - it hasn't completely kicked it yet, but it's been gittin sicker n sicker:

Then ah went to Dolores Park to try n catch some of tha Bicyle Music Festival but thar was too much confusion about whar it was happenin. One of tha main reasons ah wanted ta check it out is a dude ah used ta know at Berklee Cello Joe was gaein ta perform. Ah doubt he'd remembah me, but ya nevah know.

Howevah, it was nawt ta be, so ah darted off to Journey to the End of the Night, a city-wide street race combined with Adult Tag. It was a blast actually, tha sense of paranoia that overcame you w. every corner you took. It also wore me tha fuck out, sprintin up hills away from Chasers n nawt bein able ta pace my runnin. Ah made it ta checkpoint 3 of 7 - n prolly wouldve made it ta 4 if ah hadn't gawten busted tying my shoe. Note to self - shoes are fer losers.

That night ah watched tha Dr. Seuss trainwreck The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T which would've terrified me if ahd seen it as a child n made me run away from pianos ferevah. Trainwreck in that ah couldn't look away - but man it made me feel creepy. Ah only wish tha scene whar tha kids gae apeshit on tha pianos at tha end had been accurately recorded - that wouldve been fun.

Sunday my legs ached n yelled at me so ah skipped yoga, called my dad, n then headed off to a friend's fancy condo high-rise fer a pool party (Wet Crotches XII!). Ah didn't intend to stay so late, er drink so much, er flirt w. early 20-somethings in tha sauna, but ah did n ah liked it!

Unfortunately, Monday ah woke up w. a cough n feelin pretty undah tha weatha. Ah went ta werk anyway, n then rode my bike all ovah tha gawdam place:

Why? to buy a shitty kids drum set. Why did ah dae that?

SO AH KEN BEAT ON SOME FAWKIN DRUMS!

In retrospect, it prolly wasn't tha smartest purchase - tha kit is a bit shitty, it doesn't sound that great, n my only cymbals are tha hi-hats. but ah don't really care. Ahve obtained use of a practice space on Sunday afternoons until tha end of tha summer - n likely longah - n ah plan on utilizin my sunday afternoons ta git bettah at tha drums. Ah haven't had a set to use since last December, when think13 left our practice space, n ahve been missin them somethang awful. So, shitty drums are bettah then no drums. SWEET!

Of kerse, all this bikin when ah wasn't feel so well totally put me OUT n ah spent Tuesday n Wednesday in bed. Tuesday ah woke up n did werk fer about an hour n a half n then had ta gae back to bed. Ah was late on Thursday n went home early. But

Ah've moved intae my new bedroom!

N last nite ah gawt one of tha best nites of sleep ahve had since ah moved intae SF - thar was nae street noize er bar musick er any of that shit. My new room is a lil smaller (n only has one electrical outlet), but it's gaein ta be a much nicer place ta sleep.

Now, if only ah could git IKEA ta give me a replacement piece fer the lil screw ah broke tryin ta put my bed back togetha, life would be AWESOME!

Oh yeah, n Wee the Band is playin fer four hours tomorrow afternoon up at the Cannery, near Fisherman's Wharf which will hopefully be teemin w. rich tourists who want to throw money and alcohol at us. We shall see...

Punk Rawk N Roll

2009-06-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it. The Mysterious Odors gawt tha fawk back togetha n rawked out fer a killah weekend in Los Angeles.

Thursday ah werked most of tha day n then hightailed it to tha airport. Aftah some traffic n bollox, ah had a rental car n was on my way ta reunite w. some crazy ass dudes. It all took longah then expected, which was expected, but we ended up in tha same place at tha same time w. some instruments n cans of liquid smarties n then thangs gawt stanky.

It was pretty awesome. We practiced Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Saturday ah took a visit to an unlikely museum, The Museum of Jurassic Technology. Ah especially enjoyed tha miniature displays (both of em).

Sunday, it was time. We went to Downey, California, and we blew it up. We tore yer head off. We jumped around, fucked a PA, gawt our sparks on, and basically left that place in ruins. Ah still can't believe we didn't git arrested.

Sometime before all this ah gawt pissed off at tha best dispensary in LA fer needin my original documentation, but still managed to end up samplin some of snoop dogg's private reserve.

We decided tha debauchery wasn't ovah yet since ah wasn't leavin until Tuesday, so on Monday we went n recorded ourselves w. both video n audio in tha practice spot. It is ridiculous. Really ridiculous. All we have now is whas on tha site: EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW!

IF anyone ken tell me of free easy software that allows me to cut and paste sections of audio/video in m4v format, ahll git you some real songs too.

Also, we have youtube videos of us enjoyin ourselves aftah tha debaucherous recordin session. We decided we should follow Upper Deck and Chief Limberger to work. N git drunk. Which is exactly what we did.

(in tha parkin lot on top of a van)

Ah drank prolly 7 sparks that day. That was stupid. My stomach hates me.

Anyway, ahm back in SF now, back ta werk tomorrow. Oh yeah, but before ah fergit:

Wee the Band CDs are in my hot lil hands!!!

You will git to enjoy soon. Just lemme settle back in fer a day er so.

Whoevah thought ahd be this excited about gaein ta LA?

2009-06-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

But gawdamm ah am!!

Yep, aftah a 4 year hiatus, ahll be having a long-awaited Reunion Gig w. The Mysterious Odors, my old Bawstan Punk Band. Ah've had tha opportunity ta hang out w. some of tha Odors this last year er so here in SF, but this time it will be ALL of them, n we'll have guitars!!!

It's been a long time comin, n ah really cannot wait ta touch down in LA tonite n head ovah ta practice w. these guys. FULL SPARKS AHEAD!

You know ahll have some fun pictures from this trip. Onward mofos!

May 13, 2005 - last Mysterious Odors gig in Boston

Ladies n Gentlemen, ah present ta you...

2009-06-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

Wee the Band!

Tha CD will be availabe oh-so-shortly! Ah actually nevah realized how long this stuff took ah guess. But soon - like in tha next 5 days - we'll have some CDs fer people ta git thar grubby hands on (gae ahead n git dirty, thas what we want anyway).

So this was a shoot from a few weeks ago - tha plan was ta git tha city in tha background on a bright SUNNY day. So we set out early - to tha fog. Nae sun, all day, weatha was tha same at 8 am (when ah gawt thar) as it would've been at 3 pm. Well, thas what we gawt. Ah like em plenty anyway.

Here's another from tha beginnin of tha shoot (before some of us took off our jackets despite tha cold [partially in solidarity w. Melody in tha dress]):

N one of us "laughing hysterically" (As directed):

N finally, me almost smilin:

Sorry it took so long! Expect emails er CDs soon! But first, Los Angeles!

Reflections on my (not) Bike Ride to Work #3

2009-06-04T23:34:00.001-07:00

Ahm nawt ridin ta werk tomorrow, as ah need ta BART myself n my bass ta Oakland by 3:30 pm. So ahm stuck ridin tha bus (Muni). Hopefully ah ken catch a L version of tha 14, but even if ah dae, my mornin commute is gaein ta suck donkey balls compared ta what it usually is.

Good thang we're takin a departmental break ta celebrate our boss bein gone ta watch tha new star trek movie! (in tha theater even)

oh, n ah totally owe you pics of weetheband. Comin this weekend, promise dudes!

Weekend (sans pics)

2009-06-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, forgot to have a camera handy. Pics of my less then happy garden comin soon tho (my basil is dyin - HALP!).

Friday night was going to be a low-key evenin of yoga n a movie as tha plans ah thought had been made were in fact nawt, but ah was saved by a text message around 4 pm that read "Let's Rage Tonight." In this context, "raging" means "biking around the city, breaking for alcohol from time to time" and this sounded like a much bettah idea ta me. We kicked thangs off w. some noize jammin down tha street, then made fer food n a bottle. Out to tha Embarcadero, we sat w. our friends Jameson and Tecate n discussed my friends upcoming bike-polo/tour of tha West Coast this summer. (Side note, ah now have a place fer a drumset if ah ken find one....)

Aftahwerds, we biked thru tha crazy sites n sounds of a Friday nite in tha city - past tha strip clubs of North Beach, tha trannys of tha Tender Knob, tha strip clubs of Market. Briefly we saw some people who cared very very much about Karaoke at the Mint, and then we were pulled back to tha Mission by way of Zeitgeist (tha quintessential cycle/dive bar w. a monstrous beer garden - it sucks you in). Aftah a few rounds we witnessed a policeman get a bribe as a local pizza shop sold somethang besides then pizza to its otha patrons. Ah was too broke to buy tha promised final drink at tha local irish pub, so we ended up havin a last tall boy at my place before crashin.

Saturday ah woke up early n had a list of thangs to accomplish, which included, but was nawt limited to: practicing bass, making pasta sauce, werkin in tha backyard, n gittin ta yoga. In tha backyard ah tried ta save a newly-bloomin plant that had been left ovah n recently restored ta life, then made some damn good pasta sauce (w. portobella mushies, green bell peppers, n carrots), n aftahwerds gawt my stretch on. That evenin it was my roommies bday celebration so thar was a potluck w. gobs of food n drink (some resourceful individuals brought tha remnants of a pony keg from tha nite before). A handle of knob creek was drank, food was consumed, a mess was made, tha kitchen gawt smoky, n aftah dark thar was a candlelight expedition to tha clubhouse fer tha tellin of ghost stories. Tha mess continues ta exist, as this wasn't my party. Everythang on my list gawt accomplished, except fer tha movin of new musick ta my phone, which was taken care of yestahday.

Sunday had me at yoga again in tha mornin, n ah received some words of praise both on my work-trade follow-through as well as my practice which put me in a good mood. Then WTB had some practicin fer a show this Friday. Finally that evenin ah settled down ta watch "The Golden Compass" - don't judge me. It was kind of weak actually, but thar was a polar bear fight which made it sort of worth sittin through. Ahd be surprised if a sequel evah manifested - it wasn't very well made.

10 days until ah head ta LA fer tha Odors reunion.....

Reflections on my Bike Ride to Work #2

2009-05-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today on my ride through tha SOMA ah hit pretty much every single light. This has nevah happened - ah know in theory if ah gae 25 mph hour ahm supposed ta time it rite, but ah don't actually know how fast ahm gaein. Ahm nawt a particularly fast er aggressive rider - often ah find myself bein passed by people on less snazzy rides then mine. Ah pay a fair amount of attention to tha traffic signs n lights - more so in tha SOMA then tha mission, but ahll run thru thangs if tha coast is clear.

But today once ah passed undah tha highway, it was perfect. My pace was steady, solid, n everytime ah gawt close to a red light, it went green fer me.

Ridin steady is a different feelin then most city ridin - thars a lawt of start n stop. Ah need ta start werkin my endurance more so ah ken start tacklin some longah stretches of ridin. Haven't even been ovah tha Golden Gate Bridge yet!

Reflections on my Bike Ride to Work #1

2009-05-28T11:26:00.001-07:00

Passing under the highway from the Mission into the SOMA is always such an uplifting feeling. While the Mission is generally sunnier and more climate then most areas in the city in the morning, some days it takes a while for the fog to clear. However, the SOMA, being slightly further East is always a few degrees warmer and a touch sunnier pretty much every morning. It's almost exactly halfway between my house and my office, and it feels a little like a reward for biking to work. Often I'll remove my gloves at this point and unzip my jacket now that ahve worked up a lil internal heat.

Also - this is my 200th blogpost. Holy shit, 200 posts. That is includin tha 11 from 2006, but that means 189 of them are since ah moved ta CA. Craziness. Thanks fer readin thru all tha slang folks!

At tha theater? Seriously?

2009-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I found myself at the Berkeley Rep, watching the last showing of a damn good, and especially gory, play "The Lieutenant of Inishmore". The drunk guy in his late 30s/early 40s behind me however did not think the play was quite as good as it could be, and apparently felt it necessary to add his own (stupid) comments fairly regularly (example of said stupid comments, when someones foot was cut off, he loudly exclaimed "Das Boot". a Real Winner). Both the person I was with as well as the person sitting next to him told him more then once to be quiet, and eventually I turned around and told him sternly (like I talk to children who are misbehaving) "I am the third person telling you to be quiet".

Shortly after that, I could have sworn he started calling me a "Dork" although I was focusing more on the gruesome finale of the play in front of me so I couldn't be sure. However, as we started to trickle out of the theater, I was sure I heard him address me as "Guy in the Colombia Jacket", followed by "You're a dork."

A dork? Really? Is that really the best he had? I pretty much figured he would fuck off sooner rather then later, as his heart really wasn't in the confrontation (I can't believe I made him so mad I immobolized him to the point where "Dork" was the only insult he could come up with). However, he followed us through the lobby, and down the hall to the bathrooms. Eventually he had my attention.

"Yes?"

"You're a dork"

"And you're a drunk asshole and you should piss off."

We walked a little further as the mental giant struggled with this extra form of verbal assault.

"What did you say?"

I turned around and looked him in the eye and repeated, louder, "I said you are a drunk asshole and you should PISS OFF."

We turned around again, going further down the hallway to the bathroom. You could hear the gears turning in his head, and then he asked:

"I don't suppose you want to take this outside?"

This kind of cracked me up. In reality, this guy was at least 6" and 40 pounds heavier then me, but hey, I'm a pretty thin guy. In a real fight, he would likely beat the shit out of me. But I just couldn't believe this was happening - in Berkeley of all places. I sort of wonder what kind of response this would've gotten from the theater-attending crowd. But instead I just said:

"No, I don't want to fight you. But I think you should go outside."

We stared at him for a little bit, and then I bent over to take a drink of water from the fountain. My friend continued to give him the death stare, and he walked off. I remarked that I hoped he wasn't waiting outside, as I just didn't want to deal w. this bullshit any longer. My friend told me "well then, he'll have to deal with me if he is".

In retrospect, that could've been pretty funny (my friend is even smaller then me, and female - but man does she hate an asshole talking through a play).

Sunday is full of win

2009-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hey Severe, how's tha backyard comin?

Pretty good actually, thanks fer askin. Ahve cleared out tha majority of my intended garden space (well, except fer tha dirt n concrete n stones, but thar all at least organized), have some lettuce sprouts, n continue ta find large pots fer fun thangs like tomaters. Unfortunately, my basil has started lookin pretty yeller as well as burnt since movin it outside - ah guess it's been gittin too much sun. Ah have made tha waterin process easier (tha hose wasn't big enuff before ta reach out to tha plants area) howevah n am startin ta plan some next steps (otha then buy potting soil). Here's that area ah linked ta before.

N here's tha backyard from tha same angle as about a month n a half ago (second picture).

Tha weatha yestahday was fawkin unbelievable (so nice tha San Franciscans were callin it "too hot"). Everyone n thar mutha was down at Dolores Park, which is just a few blocks away from me, so ah joined tha party briefly. While ah did nawt partake in tha homemade slip n side, ah did sit in half-lotus fer about a half hour (longest ahve done that pose evah ah think) while enjoyin my favorite low-grade medication (gawta save tha good stuff, its expensive!), drinkin an Anchor Steam (gawdam, what a great local beer), listenin ta Pink Floyd's "Animals" album. BTW, this is my favorite place ta shop fer medication - an award winnah (n one ah was tha first ta review on Yelp!). Yes, it really is as nice as tha pics.

Sunday had everythang smilin down at me - first off, ah gawt outta my least favorite part of yoga-studio cleanin b/c thar was an extra private lesson happenin at 2 pm - sweet! Then, ah went ta tha local hardware store ta exchange some "heavy duty" gardening gloves that ah put a hole in aftah just two days - n nawt only did they exchange me fer some new ones, they also REFUNDED ME. at - wait fer it - $3 more then ah actually paid!. Thank you karma!

Finally, ah went to a local thrift store to score some clothes fer tha Wee the Band photo shoot happenin this weekend n ah totally lucked out. My tie is awesome! You can't wait ta see it, trust me

Sunny Days in San Francisco

2009-05-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

The weatha has been freakin unbelievable tha last few days - we had some rain early on last week, which prompted me ta FINALLY BUY A FAWKIN BUMPER FER MY BIKE. What ah really should've done is just gawt tha rack installed like ahve needed ta ferevah so ah ken start transportin shit on my ride, but, ah didn't. Sue me.

This weekend was relatively quiet actually - ah mean, yes, ah did gae to a party on Friday, n then Saturday nite ah supported my UU friend n Neighbor Melanie as she Went to the Other Side, followed up by drinks n UU-typed convo. N of kerse ah werked in my backyard n ah have lettuce comin up n basil in a pot.

But what really happened is Tha Wee the Band debut album "Have Another" is finished! It will still be a few weeks before we have any final product, but tha final mix was made (not-perfect, but close), tha artwork is apparently all done, n we are just about ready ta gae ta print w. this shit. YES! We've also gawt a band photo scheduled for next weekend, thangs are fallin intae place.

Melanie's friend Aaron tipped me off to The Sixty One, a pretty cool website that allows you to upload yer own tunes, vote on others, and track your favorite groups progress. Ah uploaded a few tunes, and highly encourage everyone ta check out tha site (n give Wee the Band some frickin love!)

So - if you would like a free copy of tha CD, please make sure ah have yer mailin address. Ah will gladly send out copies to anyone who wants it - n if you want ta help offset tha cost of shipping on my end, feel free to paypal it to me. However, if you want to buy the album and support tha whole band, ah will refer you all to our itunes site when it is set up.

We already have a bunch of gigs set up this summer, ah fricken LOVE how audible my bass is, and we have been hard at werk writin some very cool stuff that will BLOW YER MIND. This disc is pretty conservative - n ahm glad we've recorded a lawt of these songs cuz it means we git ta move on from them.

Wee the Band - Have Another is COMING SOON!!!!

Rainy/Sunny days in SF....

2009-05-07T19:06:00.001-07:00

Tha title of this post is taken from a Wee the Band song - available soon on CD, and thru itunes! Woot! (even tho ah hate itunes).

Let's see, what have ah been up ta....

Last Wednesday ah went to a bday party for the guitarist in the pop/rock band ahm playin in. We currently don't have a name, so ah refer to us as tha Junk Bumpers. It's a long story how my friend n ah came up w. that, n while ah think its actually a decent name, it doesn't fit our musick. Anyway, tha bday party was at a Karaoke Bar in Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf is a touristy obnoxious part of tha city that you see if you visit (ah don't really know why, except that tha cable car gaes thar), n then ignore completely when you move here cuz it's fawkin lame. Generally, ah dont gae out like that (party started at 11) on weeknights, but when ah told Lavi that, he made such a sad face ah reconsidered. It was a pretty good time, ah sang a Pink song (ah let tha cat outta tha bag about my crush on her), n we took tha first pics of us togetha. Of kerse, ah ruined it by wearin my glasses, so it's nawt very indicative of me. But check out my beard (n tha fact that ahm smilin! Ahm tryin ta git bettah at that in photos):

Howevah, this next picture is much more what yer used ta:

Saturday aftahnoon ah took a Bikram Yoga MASTER CLASS w. head Teacher Trainer Craig Villani and it kicked my ass. Ah balanced on my tip toes in awkward pose until ah fell outta it - twice. N awkwards my GOOD pose!

Then think13 played a set - what tha? Yes, thar was a VAGABOOM! fundraiser featurin us, a performance troupe, a contortionist, some dude on a guitar, a synthesizer jam-band, a dj, and BURLESQUE. And what burlesque - ah was swoonin durin thar brief set (which featured big band versions of "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Baby Got Back"). On a total whim (meanin, ah saw them n made sure our drummer shared) ah snagged a bit of some "truffles" in chocolate form. Ah sorta fergawt about them, n was startin ta git concerned w. how funny everythang was when ah was reminded what ahd ingested, n thangs gawt really nice n relaxin aftah that. Ah spent tha nite laughin w. friends, talkin shit, n bein loud. Finish it off w. a nice bike ride home - aww yeah.

Sunday ah wen ta see Anvil: The Story of Anvil and it was really awesome. Thars a reason this movie has been gittin rave reviews from everywhar - it's fantastic. It's one of those movies you certainly don't need ta enjoy tha metal genre (er even be aware of) ta appreciate, n ta those of us in tha know, its amazin. It's so good, ahma include tha trailer here:

Now, tha rest of my week hasn't been THAT excitin, but yestahday ah bought some organic black beans n bulk n they are currently makin my kitchen smell really really good. Ta self-sufficiency!

Weeeeeeekeeeeeennnnnnd!

2009-04-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

My last few weekends have been truly awesome - not to jinx the ones in my future.

Anyway, Friday night Wee the Band had a half hour slot at the Red Vic hostel/cafe in the Upper Haight. Our percussionist was away on business so it wasn't a full gig, but it still went pretty well. Tha audience that was thar ta watch us (some of whom we know, many were walk-ins) was very attentive and appreciative. Aftahwerds we had some drinks nearby at a friends place. If only tha cd was ready, we prolly wouldve sold a few....

Saturday ah woke up n realized ah was an idiot n my computah was nawt broken - huzzah! Then ah hit tha backyard. While ah did dae a bit of diggin n movin around, what ah really spent time on was plantin some seeds. Ah don't know if they'll take, but ah planted a row of wildflowers on each side of our pathway on tha top level. Previously there had been a bunch of clover growing thar that looked kinda neat, except that half of it had been pulled up. We'll see if anythang grows:

Then ah planted a lettuce mix in some bins ah found in tha backyard - ah was a lil haphazard about all this though, so ah wont be hurt if it doesn't werk out this time:

Ahm hopin ta jumpstart tha growin by usin some worm castings, which ah used tha last time ah had a garden (ah dont know if they actually helped er nawt, but its organic fertilizer - makes sense ta me). Ah bought these direct from this organic gardening site, which I think is a pretty good deal.

Tha tree next door decided it liked what ah was daein w. tha place n gave me a gift from it's branches:

Saturday night my yoga studio hosted "Eat Drink and Be Mary", and annual clothing swap/potluck/talent show that was a total blast. Ah sadly dae nawt have any pictures of tha ridiculous costumes ah was wearin, but ah did spend a large portion of tha nite w. a cape on. Thar was a jam session latah on n ah met a bunch of jazz/jaco folks who want ta dae some woodsheddin, which ahm down fer. Ah made pumpkin bread as well:

This is my moms recipe that I am working on adapting - currently it comes out a little too sweet so ahma keep that in mind tha next time ah make it. When it's finalized ahll post it fer you fine folks.

Sunday ah gawt ta sleep in instead of gaein ta tha yoga studio at 11, which was amazin. Ah did a lil more cookin, went on a very nice first date at a great local dive (and ah mean a REAL dive, nawt a hipster trendy dive. These folks mean business when it comes ta drinkin), n ah hung out w. my roommates when ah gawt home. We made mac n cheese w. this extra special expensive olive oil that lives in our house and it was DELICIOUS. Holy hell, that was some great Mac n Cheese.

Much Love!

2009-04-24T12:29:00.001-07:00

Ah just wanted to take a second n say THANK YOU!!! to tha folks who read this blog n leave comments. It really does make my day ta pull up this ol' thang n see that people are reading it. Ahve been enjoyin chronicling my adventures out here quite a lot, n would prolly keep it up anyway, but it makes it so much more fulfilling ta dae when ah know my friends across tha country are tunin in every once in a while.

If ah wasn't at werk ahd attach a picture of me smilin at ya - perhaps latah this weekend (that is, if ah ken git my computah ta behave....stupid mothafawka....grumble grumble).

Ah know, ah only post about weekends these days....

2009-04-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

First off, HAPPY 4/20!

Anyway, thar were more shenanigans this weekend in tha best city evah. On Saturday I spent some more time in my backyard moving shit around and trying to figure out what kind of gardening is tha best. Here's that spot that until 3 weeks ago was 5 ft tall weeds:

Tha weirdest thang was before ah was out thar werkin, ah saw some smoke. Ah figured it was just a neighbor smokin a cigarette next door, n then my door bell rang. When ah answered it (which ah usually dont dae unless ahm expectin somoene) my neighbors told me they saw smoke comin from my backyard. Ah went out back n found that our stairs had spontaneously caught on fire! Ah don't know what tha fawk caused it, ah couldn't anythang that indicated flame. We eventually smothered it out, but it is a mystery....

My old Mysterious Odors bandmate, Andrews (also a richmond native) was in town with his band Beatnik Jr as well as their friends Mahi Gato which featured Willie (Also of tha odors, n tha guy in tha previous post who was here last weekend) on bass at the Fat City. Drews came by in tha afternoon n we shot tha shite, n then ah met up w. them latah n gave them some California Cookies that came out excellent. Both bands rawked pretty damn hard n then thar was some hangin out....

These guys are all on drugs.

I wanted to be a rockstar w. sunglasses too!

I stayed out until 4 in tha morning in tha tenderloin (NEVAH a good idea), gawt back, had a catnap, n then it was off ta my yoga werk trade. Tha nite of boozin n tha afternoon of shovellin made me HORRENDOUSLY sore. If ah wasn't such a bikram rawkstar, I wouldve probably died in class. Or something.

Then, despite tha fact that it was unbelievable gorgeous outside, ah had WTB practice, which was fun, but nawt as much fun as outside. Aftahwerds, it was intae the Inner Mission fer pitchers of margaritas and local beer w. tha remainin Beatnik Jr/Mahi Gato folks.

Drew's rock star face is almost identical to his non-rock star face.

Before we parted ways, we talked about me comin ta visit LA fer a reunion show. Ah think it's gawna happen. Oh sweet sweet stank....

Anyway, Monday has kicked my ass and it continues to be gorgeous out. Ah am tired as fuck n my stomach is PISSED fer all tha booze. Ah promise ta be nicer ta you fer tha rest of tha month stomach.

I love you weekend....

2009-04-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

This wasn't supposed to be that busy of a weekend, but a lot happened...

The pop/rock band I've been playing with had a gig in Fairfax, California. I got really excited when I saw a big theatre marquee w. "FAIRFAX" in large red letters (I'm from Fairfax, Virginia). The bar, Peri's, was actually a pretty nice scene - it got a lot of foot traffic, drinks were on the house, and everyone was super friendly. Funny enough, we had been concerned about nawt havin enuff songs, so our singer did two on his own. Because of this, we had to skip one of them, hah!

Then Saturday my house tackled more of our backyard - and we even had one willing pair of hands stop by and dig some shit up, awesome! Here we are before:

And this is after:

If this doesn't look like much, it's because you can't see the stretch behind the shed, which was completely overgrown with all sorts of stuff, adn has been laid mostly to waste by now. I was hoping that was pure dirt, but it's concrete as well so the plans to put in a veggie garden there have to be modified. Likely I'll still put some veggies and herbs there, but will have to put them in containers.

Finally, Willie T, singer of The Mysterious Odors was in town w. his friend's Beatnik Jr (who actually feature Odors drummer Andrews) promoting their show next week. Willie and I had a lot of catching up to do - since the Odors broke up he has traveled the world as tech guy with bands like NIN, Alanis Morisette, Incubus, and more. Fuck that guy. Here we are in the SOMA:

The next item on my agenda for the day is one I'm not especially looking forward to, but it's best to just get it ovah w. Catch ya latah interwebs!

Ah wore a tux!

2009-04-09T19:49:00.001-07:00

Ahm pretty sure this is tha first time evah....n it will prolly be quite a while until tha next. So enjoy!

Ch-ch-ch-Ch-ch-ch-Changes

2009-04-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Just a few general updates:

1)Ahve found myself playing in a pop/rock band (What's w. all tha pop these days Severe?) and it's not too bad of a time. Thars a long complicated history behind this band that ah won't gae intae now), but ah was originally asked to fill in on a festival gig they landed, which ahm pretty sure isn't happenin now (tha festival that is). Tha main singah/songwriter is a cat ah know from Berklee, n tha otha two dudes are really good players, so it's holdin my interest fer now. We apparently need ta have 8 songs togetha by next Friday fer a show out in Fairfax. We have 4 that are decent, 2 we've heard, n thars supposed ta be two more. Tah only time ahm practicin w. them between now n then is Monday nite. Ahll let ya know how it gaes....

2)Ahm fazin out my beard - tha plan is every week er so ta slightly cut away at it, gaein thru various stages of different facial hair. Tha only one ahll definitely be avoidin is tha "ironic moustache" as thars too many fawkin hipstahs sportin that in this city. Here's a pic of step 1:

3)Ahm gittin tha gawdamm motivation ta werk my backyard intae somethang passable! Ah spent 3 very VERY productive hours back thar fixin up some of tha worse spots. Tha thang that bothas me is how similar it looks to tha pic of it 10 months ago when ah moved in. Ah fergawt ta git a "before" photo, but rest assured thar was a TON of growth since last June that gawt chopped down!

It's time fer a fawkin showah now!

Tech Support Quote of the Week:

2009-04-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

*drumroll*
"That seems to be one of my biggest problems with computers - there's too many choices."

- A good natured volunteer in Alabama.

Happy Friday - Wee the Band gits it's acoustic on in Oakland tonight!

Last weekend....

2009-03-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Ah trekked across tha continental 48 in an aeroplane to attend tha weddin of one of my best n oldest friends, Crazy Paul. It was a momentus occasion - who tha hell thought Paul would evah snag a lady? Lets just say he owes tha internet BIG TIME fer putting Erin in his life.

Ah was the "best man" fer tha event, meanin my job duties were very specific: 1)Stopping everyone from freaking Paul out; 2)Stopping Paul's mom from freaking his bride out; 3)Organizing a night on tha town in Charleston; 4)Making a toast; and 5)Bringing "California Brownies" to tha event (please see a future post for how to make said "California Brownies" as ahm startin ta git tha hang of it finally).

All in all, thangs went pretty well actually. They gawt married in a swamp (a NICE swamp - Cypress Gardens), thar was good food, good people, brownies, alligators, hilariously un-paul-and-erin-like musick (with a couple awesome exceptions), and dramadramadrama. But they gawt married n nae one gawt hurt. Altho we all had a WTF-moment....

Oh yeah, ah had ta wear a tux too. Friday was my birthday n they brought out a cake at tha rehearsal dinnah fer me, which was sweet. Ahll also let you know this was tha first time ahd evah gawten a professional beard trim, n it was pretty decent!

Aftah all tha to-doin, ah spent Sunday on Daniel Island w. a bunch of family ah rarely see. These are tha folks who don't live in Buffalo so ah was especially glad ta catch up w. them, n meet a few additions ta our family. My cousin Dennis (formerly known as Little Den) is a plastic surgeon in South Carolina and recently bought a humungous house fer him, his wife, n his four (four!) kids. My cousins Ron, Kathy, and their daughter Erica, drove up from Florida so we could all be exhausted by tha chitlins. Here we are - almost 3 complete families (just a portion of my Buffalo based relatives)

Let me try to go through all of em, left to right:
Dennis, Ron, My dad, Lori, Emma, Isaac, Abbey, Julianna, me, Kathy (behind me), My mom, Erica (behind my mom), Uncle Norman.

While my family is weird w. tha whole aunts/uncles actually bein cousins thang, Uncle Norman is EVERYONE's uncle norman.

Then ah gawt stuck in layovah-hell, made only bearable by my "California Brownies". N now it's back ta stupid work. BOO!

Thanks fer all tha b-day wishes!

It happened again....

2009-03-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

I turned another year older. Past the "age of wisdom", and into my definite late-20s, ahm now 28 fricken years old!

BINGO!

How am ah celebratin? Ahm in South Carolina fer Crazy Paul's weddin. Ahm tha best man - shows you tha types of scum CP hangs out with, eh? My rents n Uncle will be thar as well, n then ahm meetin up w. some cousins on Sunday who ah haven't seen in years. N then - lucky me, ah git ta fly back ta tha West Coast n have a busy week of yoga, band practice, n a gig. SCORE!

quittin....

2009-03-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ah didn't gae ta yoga today. Ah really haven't been enjoyin tha last week er so of gaein everyday, n it's started ta feel like an obligation instead of somethang ah dae fer myself. In ordah ta dae tha 30 class challenge, ahd need ta gae nawt only every day through next Wednesday but also gae twice on both Saturday and Sunday (tha only days ah could afford it schedule wise). This also meant on Thursday ahd hafta gae ta 8 am, take tha bus (w. my bass and gig stuffs) to work, work until 6 pm, and then head over to the gig (10 minute walk from work), and be there until relatively late. Then work as normal on Friday - it just isn't all feasible. The only external kind of incentive was if ah could dae tha studio's 30 days (instead of just my personal 28) is ahd be entered in a raffle ta win prizes. N ah refuse ta kill myself just fer some prizes - yoga is about me.

Actually gaein n takin class wasn't all that hard necessarily. But, ah realized ah was startin ta dislike gaein ta class, n that ah was intentionally takin it easy so ah could save my energy (instead of take tha yoga as deep as ah could ta really push myself) because ah wasn't enjoyin class. N it wasn't about gaein fer me - it was about gaein fer some amount of time ta see what it was like, n ta see if ah could dae it. Ah think ah could dae it - maybe ahll try again. But ah didn't want ta - ah didn't like it, it was makin life harder, n ah missed lookin FORWARD ta yoga class.

Tha hardest part fer me was actually quittin. Ah don't quit thangs very often - ah quit tha cello in 4th grade n ah still wish ah hadn't. Ah quit algebra in 8th grade. Ah dropped a few courses at Berklee n ah quit my job at Great Bay. Ah know thars some otha stuff in thar as well, but in general, ah don't quit just cuz shit is hard - er even cuz ah don't like it. Ah've tolerated wrestling in high school, years of shitty waitin jobs, livin at home fer way too long, n a bunch of otha thangs ah didn't like w.o quittin. Ah like finishin thangs, sometimes just fer tha sake of finishin thangs. But last nite tryin ta pass out at 1 am (aftah a day of work, yoga class, n 3 hours of jammin w. some new folks - more ta come on that if it manifests) ah realized ah just didn't want ta gae ta yoga anymore - fer me. N while ah took my clothes ta werk today, ah have forced myself ta quit tha concept of 30 classes - n that ah dont really care if ah dae 28 in a row eitha. Life's just too busy, especially w. Crazy Paul's weddin next week, a WTB gig on Thursday, n practicin w. some new folks.

So ah quit. Doesn't feel good, but ah ken also live w. myself fer daein as much. Ahm still gaein ta gae as many times as ah ken - which will be 25 classes in 28, a numbah ahm pretty happy with. N if latah on down tha line ahm still really dissappointed w. myself, ahll try it again. Which ah wish ah could say about tha cello....

Bikram Challenge continues....

2009-02-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

So this morning I did something really weird (for me): Ah woke up early fer yoga! Yes, ah forced myself outta bed at 7:30 am so ah could gae git hawt n sweaty.

This means of kerse, that ahm on pretty good track ta hit my goal - altho in ordah ta git credit at tha studio, ah need ta dae 30 classes in 28 days. This mornin was #15 - halfway thar. Ah don't know if its gawna git easier er hardah from here on out, altho my schedule is gittin busier n busier. BUT, ahm also committed ta daein this cuz ah said ah would - doesn't sound like me at all does it?

Ta recap:
1st class = awesome!
Next 3 classes = sucktastic!
Next 5 classes = awesome!
Next 4 classes = less then awesome!
Yesterday = pretty good
Today = damn ahm sore!

Updates abound

2009-02-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

Don't know what it is, but February has me writin a lawt of blog entries thus far. Don't git used ta it necessarily...

Yoga - Day 5 was AWESOME. Strongest class probably evah - felt like a champ pretty much tha whole time through, breathin was steady n intentional, n went pretty fawkin deep on some poses (rawked triangle too, hell yeah!). Ah think part of this had ta dae w. more then 24 hours between classes in addition ta otha circumstances (this time ah went ta tha noon n then tha 4:30). Howevah, ahm concerned once ah throw my 8 hours of werk back on top (as well as tha bike ride ta n from werk) tomorrow n tha rest of tha week will come back n hurt.

Pillow Fight - Laughing Squid (a blog I read pretty regularly about fun stuff, specially in SF) compiled pretty much anythang werth lookin at regardin tha pillow fight on Sunday -> It's all right here. Also, San Francisco is so weird.

Finally, ahve recently listened ta both this and this via myspace recently n have enjoyed both artist a lawt - hip hop typed stuff w. guest stars. Altho ah realize tha first one has a lame deal gaein on w. Target.

Yoga Update - 4 out of 28....

2009-02-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

Ah don't know if thars a point in time when thangs are supposed ta even out, but my last 3 classes have really kicked my ass. Friday tha heat was higher then its been in weeks - ah actually really love tha hawt classes, but ahve been gittin used ta 102-104 degree temperatures, and Friday was more like 105 - 109 (my favorite spot is up near tha instructor podium, whar tha heat indicator is). Saturday was even hawter - gawt up ta 111 fer tha second half but tha humidifier wasn't on (n fancy this - ah didn't remind tha teacha ta turn it on this time!). Also, Friday ah took 6:30 and then Saturday ah took tha noon - ahve only done two classes in less then 24 hours once before. Today was tha opposite of my usual problem - usually my flesh is willin but tha mind is weak, but today ah was daein really well w. maintainin my composure but damn every pose hurt n ah even left a few of them early (Ah hate when ah dae that). But, ahm still determined - altho ah hafta admit thar were moments today when ah started wonderin if ah actually hated bikram yoga, n had just convinced myself ah enjoy it. I also biked about 17 miles yestahday w. errands n shit, did a class n went to tha pillow fight, which was freakin AWESOME, but surprisingly tiring on my arms.

Here's a pretty blurry pic of my own (my camera is low on batteries so the night setting is kind of whack), I'll try to link to some better ones as they become available on the web:

I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but it still beat the livin crap out of last year's V-Day.

In other news, I've been listening to a lot of Murder By Death recently and am very much looking forward to their show next Saturday. Check em out - Americana/indie rock w. cello - that doesn't suck (most americana/indie ah could take er leave, but these folks dae it rite).

Yoga OverDose

2009-02-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Think ah mentioned this a few posts back, but ahve decided ta see what gaein ta yoga EVERY DAY fer 4 weeks feels like. My studio is daein a 30 day challenge startin tha 15th but ahve started early as ahll be out of town fer a few days in tha middle of March fer Crazy Paul's weddin. Also, ah miscalculated, so startin today will give me at most 28 days. While daein more then one class a day is allowed, ahll prolly be makin up at least one day a week once WTB starts practicin again, so it's doubtful ahll be able ta pick up tha slack. Ah also will nawt beat myself up if ah dont dae all 28 - if ah hit 20 ahll be pretty fricken happy!

Fer tha record, it's suggested that you gae at least 3 x a week in ordah ta really heal yer body, but ahll admit aftah my first couple months ah sorta petered out ta twice, MAYBE three times each week. Howevah, tha wintah break gave me free time so ah tried ta step it up - n ahll be damned, ah felt much healthier when ah started gaein 3-4 as opposed ta 2-3. So we'll give this a shot.

Wish me luck everyone - today was day numbah 1 n my class was pretty awesome actually!

In addition to this, ahve also decided ta completely cut out any weeknite drinkin until tha weddin as well - this is sorta a health thang - but really a money deal.

Flakes from CL nevah cease

2009-02-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

So perhaps you remembah These Guys from back in August. If you are lazy n don't feel like clicking, in this blog ah chronicled a very long (as in 3 and a half weeks) correspondence whar some dude from craigslist who needed a bass player pretty much flaked all ovah tha place. Specifically, he didn't call me three times on tha days we were supposed toa meet until a couple hours aftah our intended meet time, n then told me ah was too busy ta play in his band. Ah thought ah ended up dodgin a bullet actually n 3 days latah joined Wee the Band, who dae have thar shit togetha as indicated by my previous post.

Anyway, last nite ah gawt an email from this guy sayin he had some gigs comin up n was hopin ah could fill in. Obviously, that answer is a big fat "no", altho ah kinda feel like completely ignorin tha email since this guy is such a flake. Howevah, ah did check out tha myspace he linked me to ta see how his band ended up and well....

Ah'll let you hear fer yerself, but won't post tha name of tha group as ah dont want this blog ta show up on any google searches. Check em out here.

Ok, ahll toss in my two cents - they suck. Hard. As in, ah can't even listen to a whole song of theirs. Tha guitarist/"singer" is tha guy who gawt in touch w. me, n well, you ken listen ta how his vocals are (in his words) "not too bad." Ahd hate ta hear a singer he thinks is no good....

A weekend at tha Recordin Studio....

2009-02-09T19:11:00.001-08:00

Considering tha last recordin session that ah took part in (otha then some solo stuffs in my bedroom) was tha Mysterious Odors - Dead Homies Don't Drink Sparks session in April of 2005, I can safely say that it has been a DAMN long time since ah recorded anything. This isn't necessarily a bad thang, b.c ah pretty much hate recording, but ah think it speaks to how hard it is ta git shit done/play in a band/etc. when you are moving around all tha time (especially if yer stop-ovah includes livin in NoVA).

Howevah, Wee the Band had been planning on recording as soon as possible (meaning, once they replaced their old shitty bass playah n gawt tha new one up ta speed), n that time has come. We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Studio 401 in Bernal Heights laying down rhythm tracks fer tha upcomin album. Tha location was great, as it was literally half a mile up tha street from my house, n tha settin was pretty relaxed. All in all, tha session went about as good as ah could've expected - altho we only gawt through 6 songs (n ah was really hopin fer 7).

Severe in tha studio!

Like ah said, it went about as good as ah could've hoped fer - tha stuff sounds good, tha musick is in time, ah love about 95% of my bass lines, n ah feel comfortable that aftah its all mixed n done, we are gaein ta have a solid first album. N it really feels like a first album - tha tunes we did are tha least ambitious, tha easiest ta listen ta, n tha most borin (in a mostly-good way). It also gave us an opportunity ta see how we werk togetha in tha studio, which again, was pretty good fer tha most part.

Andy(engineer), Sean, and Jamie (left to right)

It also means ah don't hafta play those gawdamn fawkin songs anymore fer at least a couple weeks which is awesome. Time fer tha singahs ta dae some werk fer once!

Also, this picture doesn't capture it very well, but Dan (drums) on tha left reminds me of Dave Smooth (they have similar mannerisms as well sometimes).

Glass of Wine

Then ah gawt back ta werk on Monday n everythang was crazy, n skipped yoga tonite cuz ah don't like tha teacher. But - ah might be gaein fer 30 classes in 30 days startin on Thursday (altho ah doubt ahll actually be able ta accomplish that, but 20 in 30 would still be pretty awesome!)

Ah biked to tha ocean

2009-01-19T19:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone! Also, tha last day of President whas-his-face in office. Tomorrow everythang changes - fer a hawt minute at least.

Anyway, ah was fortunate enuff ta have a paid holiday today, which werked out very well as tha weather was quite awesome. High 50s/low 60s and sunny - perfect for a bike ride! So ah decided ta enjoy it just that way. Ah realized that ah have actually nawt seen tha Pacific Coast of SF since movin to tha area (ah visited briefly back when ah was checkin out tha city in Oct 08). Checkin google maps ah see thas about a 7 mile direct bike ride. Howevah ah took tha scenic route thru Golden Gate Park, b/c, well it's Golden Gate Park!

Ah intentionally took as indirect a route as ah could find, n don't know how long it took. Along tha way ah saw some familiar places ahve visited before, n lawts of back trails ah haven't. This was integral in learnin exactly HOW lil traction my current street tires have on thangs like gravel, mulch, and dirt. Important thangs ta learn. Ah also learned thar are Bison in GGP:

Golden Gate Park American Bison

Eventually ah did make it to tha beach - awesome!

Ocean Beach

A bunch of people were assembled ta form a giant "YES" in tha beach in response to bush leavin tha office. Same people that brought you this:

It was another hour n a half away from tha shoot time so ah didn't hang around. Ah slowly made my way back to thru golden gate park. Briefly ah met a hippy named George who had two tiny barky dogs w. him n a bay dog that he told me was a hampster, haha. I borrowed some fire from him, chatted a bit, and he told me to "enjoy the trees". I assured him I would (And I did).

When ah made it home ah took a stab at some bbq tofu....lemme tweak my process before ah gae intae more detail. This was tha first attempt....nawt bad, but nawt great. Ah know ah ken dae bettah at least.

tomorrow ahm wakin up early ta gae ta werk n watch tha inauguration on tha screens thar. Fingahs crossed fer mimosas, but ah kinda doubt that'll come through.

Oh, n my beard is full - as full as ah think ah should let it git. Here's me at tha ocean today - keep in mind, ah trimmed this w. scissors today so it was even biggah yestahday!

Weird electrical stuff at mi casa....

2009-01-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm in tha kitchen, makin a breakfast-y burrito (at 8 pm, yes, it was also a leftover-y burrito) n my roommate comes to ask if ah turned off my lights. Ah told him no, n then saw that tha whole front of tha house was now dark. Assuming this is a fuse issue, we gae ta look fer tha fusebox - in our storage closet, in tha backyard, n eventually in tha sketchy trash alleyway. Without anythang ta gae on, we finally call our master tenant, who lives in LA. Alertin him to tha problem, he gives me a bad description of what ahm lookin for, n tells me he will have an old roomie give me a call soon ta tell me what ta dae.

She daes, n tells me ta look fer replacement fuses that have prolly been thrown out months ago. Then, aftah a few minutes of searchin, ah think we finally find tha rite fuse box. She tells me she's nevah actually done this, some otha dude used ta. Thangs are nawt lookin up. Anyway, we're undah tha impression that we must flip a switch ta turn off all tha power in tha house, unscrew tha fuse, replace it, n then put it back in.

Ah flip tha switch, unscrew this weird green bottlecap thang, n gae back upstairs. Howevah, upon gittin back upstairs, we see that all that lights in tha house are now on again - even tho ALL of them were supposed ta be off. Ah try ta git to tha hardware store n find out wtf, but they are closed.

Anyway, now ah can't help but think that we mite be fawkin somethang up, er that thar is some weird shite gaein on, er at tha very least we misunderstood some directions, but tha "broken fuse" is on tha counter, tha house elec switch is "off", and we have power. Beats me.

Addendum: Minutes aftah tha power came back, just as ah was publishin this blog, our internet died suddenly fer tha third time in 5 days. Thar sendin a technician out on Friday, but until then, thars nae nets at my place eitha. Gross.

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

2008-12-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

(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

2008-12-21T19:08:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-12-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

- 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!

2008-12-14T01:27:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-14T01:08:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

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....

2008-12-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-26T20:27:00.001-08:00

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?

2008-11-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

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....

2008-11-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

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)

2008-11-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

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....

2008-10-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-10-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-09-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

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!)?

2008-09-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

*grumble*

Bass Amp For Ransom

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

Somethang that is lame:

2008-09-23T18:36:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-09-23T18:27:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-08-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

* 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

2008-08-24T10:13:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-08-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

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.