so-called profundity

a new use for post-it notes

2008-08-01T17:39:00.003-04:00

The great, ongoing countdown:

Going...

... going...

... almost gone.

2008-06-12T20:11:00.002-04:00

I have been successful in making Russ snort gin.

It's what I do.

... and it serves him right.

Incidentally, after my last post, I noticed a lot of traffic on my site report showing up from Charter's corporate domain. Uh, if you're reading this guys... yeah, I still don't have a DVR. But we did get the bill from you today, so thanks for that.

2008-05-27T14:54:00.002-04:00

It's official: Charter Communications gets the "Eat My Shorts" award for the most inept customer experience in recent memory. Now, for the fourth time, we have scheduled an appointment to have a DVR box installed, only to learn from the technician on the day of the appointment that there is in fact no equipment for them to install in our home due to a backlog on DVR orders.

Color me pissed.

2008-05-25T10:01:00.008-04:00

profundity theater presents:

Scenes From Our Garage

A couple of nights ago Bean and I hopped in my car to go hang with some friends over drinks and TV. When I turned the key, sounds of mechanical anguish erupted from under the hood. After a few failed attempts at starting the car, coupled with a lot of cursing, we gave up and took Bean's car instead. I've yet to take the car in in for repair (like I need anything else to deal with), but in the meantime there has been housework to do which necessitated moving the car from the garage.

Yesterday, around noon, in our garage...

DAVE: (Yells up the stairs) Honey? Can you come help me for a second please?

BEAN: (Enters garage) Sure - what's up?

DAVE: I need you to steer the car while I push it out of the garage.

BEAN: (Somewhat surprised, partially annoyed) What?! You're gonna break your back trying to push this car by yourself!

DAVE: (Frustrated by her apparent lack of faith his abilities) No, I won't honey - it will be fine. Just get in, please.

(BEAN sits in the driver's seat while DAVE steps to the front of the car, hands on the hood and bumper, preparing to push. DAVE hears the gear shift click and gives the car a hefty shove - it moves nowhere. Not an inch.)

DAVE: (Confused) Do you have the car in neutral?

BEAN: No, I have it in reverse.

DAVE: Please put it in neutral.

(The gear shift clicks again. Pushing with all his might, DAVE cannot get the car to budge.)

DAVE: (Getting irritated) So - you have the car in neutral, right? With your foot off of the brake??

(...a mechanical thud is heard... and the car begins to roll backwards.)

DAVE: (Curses under his breath and looks up into the windshield.)

BEAN: (Flashes a beaming smile back to DAVE.)

(Hearty laughter ensues.)

2008-05-20T06:56:00.002-04:00

So, in brief, here is a rough list of home improvement skills now under my belt as of the last two months:

some basic carpentry & electrical
priming/painting/caulking
wallpaper removal
drywall repair and patching
wood prep/staining
cursing (already had this one down, but skills have been honed)
installing electrical outlets
demo of all sorts (really no skill involved here)
refrigerator water line installation
installing vinyl tile
replacing locks/deadbolts
building/running coax cable

And today - by no choice of my own - I will add to this list: toilet repair.

2008-04-11T20:23:00.006-04:00

Man... I need a nap.

There has been so much shit going on the past few weeks that I can barely see straight. Serena and I have been working way harder than those punks on the DIY network. We've painted, we've sanded, we've mudded drywall, we've scraped wallpaper, we've cleaned, we've scrubbed, we've pulled up old floors, we've taken down cabinets, we've spent way more money than I ever thought some of this stuff was worth. When not engaged in one of the above mentioned tasks, we've each been trying to find time to do our actual jobs - you know, the ones we get paid for. We haven't even packed a thing. And we're moving on Monday. Nice.

In all of this commotion, some unseen force of nature decided to provide us with some levity. Let me describe our backyard landscape situation: imagine a partially overgrown kudzu-fest with random weeds and brush, with various sizes of pine and oak trees scattered throughout - some living, some... well, past their prime. We know that we'll have to remove some of these trees (i.e., put them out of their misery) before they decide to make our lovely new home an unexpected duplex. There is one in particular - a scrawny looking, dead-ish pine, probably about 50-60 feet - that I've had my eye on for several weeks. I keep looking out the window, checking out its precarious degree of gangsta lean. It seemed like every time I looked it was leaning more and more - but I eventually chalked it up to my eyes playing tricks on me. Paint fumes, you know.

Now, I told you that story to tell you this story. We were at the house just the other morning waiting on the floor guy to arrive, and my curiosity got the best of me. I walked through the yard, tromped out into the brush, and inspected the lean of the tree in question. Sure enough, it was all up in the business of a nearby perfectly good tree. I surmised that the only thing holding up the deadd (two d's used for effect) tree was the resistance provided by one or two branches of its living neighbor. I said to Serena, "We should get that removed soon - it's only a matter of time before that tree falls." Have I mentioned yet that the tree is leaning towards the house?

The floor guy arrives, we leave, and return later that afternoon to check out his handiwork. We're walking through the house wide-eyed at our brand new floors and carpets, giddy with their shiny new look. My eyes pass by a window and I notice something funny. I take another look... I shift my angle... I move to another window to double check... and yep - the leaning tree is definitely no longer there. I wondered for a fleeting moment if Tony's tree fairy had paid us a surprise visit and removed the offending tree out of the goodness of his heart. Then I - oh... nope - there's the busted tree lying on the ground.

I wish I could have seen it fall - it must have been something. The tree evidently splintered on the way down, cracking into multiple pieces before landing in the yard and thankfully NOT on the house. It crushed a fence that was in the yard, but said fence is destined for the trash heap anyway so no love lost there.

In the "things-that-could-have-gone-terribly-wrong" department, here is a final shot looking up the fallen trunk towards the direction of the house.

1) Wipe brow; 2) curse a bit; 3) thank lucky stars.

Check, check, and check.

2008-03-12T08:17:00.004-04:00

I realize that I don't usually write about things that would be topically relevant to my career, since most people probably won't really care to read it. But screw that, 'cause it's on my mind and I feel like writing, so this is what you get. Besides, if I'm worried about the art form being relevant, but am hesitant to discuss it in public, then what does that say about me?

Most people have heard of the "Mozart effect" - roughly, the idea that listening to a dead Austrian guy's music makes you smarter. You may recall that as a result of studies about this phenomenon, the former Gubna of Georgia once proposed a plan to buy every child in the state a CD of classical music. I'm not sure if that plan ever got off the ground, or if any tiny Georgians were ever presented with a CD or not.

What really would have been hilarious, however, is if the execution of that plan ended up being dumped in the hands of some state house intern who, in a moment of ignorance - or a college transcript lacking a music appreciation course - instead of Mozart, actually supplied the children of Georgia with CDs of "Charles Ives' Greatest Hits" or "The Complete Works of Milton Babbitt". Okay - not hilarious. But funny. To me.

In all fairness, Mozart is far more than some dead Austrian guy. He was an extremely important and prolific composer - and in simpler terms, a fucking musical genius. That may be a tough pill to swallow for some people - without historical perspective it's hard to really comprehend his music as being "innovative". Most people would probably assume that in the last 50 years we have seen more musical innovation than in any other time in history - and that may very well be true. But that doesn't mean that past innovations, to those experiencing them, were any less revolutionary. (Clarinets in the orchestra? Gasp!)

I don't know where I read this, but recently I read an article describing the journey that music has taken in the last 100 years or so... that in the relatively recent past, "classical music" did not exist as a genre per se - it was just music. That's all there was. Then Les Paul invented the electric guitar, and since then it's been on like Donkey Kong. Whereas "classical" music was once the music of the people, it has taken a back seat to rock, pop, and hip-hop, and has now become viewed as the music of only "some people."

I heard on NPR a story relating to a different kind of Mozart effect. This is old news (2006), but interesting nonetheless, and really the inspiration for this post. It was a letter from a listener in response to a story about shop owners using high-frequency sounds, audible to kids but not to adults, to keep kids from loitering at their stores. The response goes:

"Well, our story reminded listener Doug Wisecoff(ph) from Cincinnati of an incident a few years back while he was filling up his car with gas. 'As I stood there holding the gas nozzle,' he writes, I suddenly realized they were playing a very enjoyable Mozart symphony.

'When I went inside the mini-mart to pay for my gas, I complimented the man behind the counter and his choice of music. He laughed and informed me that it was because the students from the high school across the street used to hang out in front of his store being obnoxious, being loud and constantly littering. He tried playing classical music to see if it would influence them to behave better and he found that it actually drove them off instantly.'" (National Public Radio, All Things Considered, June 1, 2006)

Perfect! Glad I chose this great career I have.

For a while, classical music was the only musical art that felt compelled to try and reinvent itself. It is a mantra that can be found in almost all arts media that exists, and permeates trade publications and arts blogs. There are folks on both sides of the coin - those championing the great strides being made in new art forms, and those taking their seats to witness the final snorts of the dying corpse in the throes of its demise. I prefer to be an optimist on that point, though I've not always been.

Regardless, it is interesting now to see the major record labels being forced to reinvent themselves. Imagine it - multi-gozillion dollar global corporations facing the same types of issues as the poor little non-profit arts world. Not nearly the same scope, mind you - not even close - but the same concepts nonetheless: how to make themselves relevant to an increasingly changing market/population.

They've seemingly started to pull out of the nose-dive of suing 17-year-olds for downloading illegal music, and began to focus their efforts on real solutions their very real problem - the fact that they no longer have control. Brett turned me on to Bob Lefsetz recently, and I've really enjoyed reading his perspective on issues facing "popular" music - a term I actually kind of despise, since it presumes that any other type of music is "unpopular".

At any rate, the pop world is not really in danger of dying, as some believe classical music to be - the economics behind it won't allow that to happen. However, pro rata, there are just as many (if not more) pop musicians trying to squeeze out a living as there are classical musicians. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Read about Mozart's life, and tell me if it doesn't read like a 1700's version of "Behind the Music". The parallels between these worlds are there, despite all of their differences.

2008-02-14T10:13:00.006-05:00

More indications that your industry has a bizarre business model:

Violin Breaks Record for Purchase Price
By Dalya Alberge
quoted from The Times
February 14, 2008

"Pinchas Zukerman will be the first contemporary professional to play the Giuseppe del Gesù violin purchased yesterday at a Sotheby’s auction for between three and four million dollars by a 35-year-old Russian lawyer and musician.

“Viktorov has a world-class collection of violins at his home in Moscow and regularly lends them to performers,” reports the Times of London. “They include a Bergonzi made in Cremona in the 1720s that he bought at Sotheby’s in 2005 for $1.05 million.”

Viktorov set a record when he paid “well in excess” of $3.54 million for the instrument, whose past owners have included composer/violinist Henri Vieuxtemps.

Zukerman performs March 22 in the Grand Hall of Moscow State Conservatory."

2008-01-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

My watch battery has been dead for several weeks, and I've been putting off getting it replaced for no reasons other than forgetfulness and laziness. However, I'm doing a lot of traveling over the next month, and when doing so I really prefer to have my watch and not have to dig my cell phone out of my pocket whenever I want to check the time. Deciding that this might be the catalyst I've been waiting for, while packing for my current trip to New York I stuck my watch in my luggage with the hopes of finding a jeweler who could replace the battery.

Upon leaving the hotel this morning I walked around the corner and quickly found a watch and jewelry shop. I walked inside the crowded and cramped shop, and left my watch at the counter with an employee. As I waited for him to fill out the repair order, I saw a framed photo of who I assume is the shop owner, posed smiling next to a younger Sly Stallone - who, according to the caption, is a long-time customer of the shop. The caption continued (paraphrased), "Mr. Stallone is an example of our ideal customer profile, someone with great net worth and a large amount of disposable income." Clearly I was in the wrong store.

When I returned in the afternoon to pick up my watch, I stood at the counter and waited for an employee to run my credit card for the repair cost. While I waited, two men standing next to me were haggling over what looked like gold and platinum coins or medals, the seller complaining that $18,000 being offered by the buyer was not a fair price for this loot. I decided to quickly take my watch, complete with a new $15 battery, and get the hell out before they tried to charge me rent.

2008-01-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

I am an avid Firefox user. I am also a big fan of the Weather Channel. For some reason, however, the Weather Channel home page does not display correctly in my Firefox browser. It does this funky thing where it displays the graphic header at the top, but the rest of the page is stuck in some frame thing that is only partially visible when you click in the search field in the header. Thus, I must turn to IE7 to view the weather reports on their website. Extremely annoying.

Things I've done lately:
shopped for a house with Bean
gone skiing
drank beer with friends
celebrated New Year's Eve on stage with Funkles
some other stuff

I had my one of my first big "over-30" moments a few weeks ago. Bean and I had planned to visit some friends in Denver on the last day of our ski trip - the plan, roughly, was to grab dinner and drinks and then crash at their place overnight. We talked with them mid-week over the phone, and learned that there were several of their other friends who intended to stay with them that evening as well.

They said, "It's cool, though - we've got a couple of couches and plenty of floorspace... it'll be fun! Like a big party." We busted out the credit card and sprang for a rental car and a nearby hotel room. My floor sleeping days are officially way over.

2007-12-14T18:41:00.000-05:00

An unfortunate marketing campaign...

2007-12-11T23:13:00.000-05:00

Trina has snuck back in to the internets, apparently under the radar of most - including myself - to reclaim his rightful place in the digital world. In his most recent post, he asks: "Is there somewhere you would rather be?"

Well, I'll tell you. Exactly.

I would pack a small carry-on bag with some essentials, including warm clothes and a light-but-decent jacket/pullover. I would proceed to Hartsfield and board the next flight to Boston. Upon landing at Logan, I would grab a cab and head into town, specifically Beacon Hill. I would walk into the Hill Tavern, claim a seat at the bar and take off my coat. Once seated, I would order a Sam - maybe a Harpoon - and an order of steak tips, medium rare, with the sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes. Regardless of the day, in my fantasy world there would be a football game on the TV and my favorite bartender there to trade quips with and laugh at the stumbling drunks that he occasionally gets to remove from the bar. Good times.

Invariably, there will be a few other folks there for similar purposes... good food, cold beer, TV diversions, and impromptu conversations with interesting and friendly folks. After a hearty meal and a few (too many) beers, I would say my farewells, don my coat and head into the cold, windy night to walk back home to the apartment - only I no longer live there, so I suppose I'd be heading back to Logan to fly back to Atlanta. This fantasy assumes, of course, that I have expendable income.

I guess what I'm saying is the place I'd rather be is Boston about 10 months ago - but only for a night.

I doubt this will have the same feeling, the same je ne sais quoi, to most people who read this. But if you think of your same "where I'd rather be" place, it's likely the same sort of thing. Joy, comfort, being at ease - even in a foreign place.

I wish you could have been there... it was a lot of fun.

holy crap, an update

2007-12-06T10:44:00.001-05:00

Ok, so it's been nearly three months. I guess it is time.

Apparently the internet is no longer interested in humping, but instead people have found this site by some new exciting search strings, such as:

wedding dj do it yourself script
profundity is a game
funny flourescent
did Samuel Adams have a lucky hat

Who knew such a wide range of helpful and pertinent information could be had here?

As recently reported by Bean, our search for a house has indeed begun in earnest. Day One with the realtor provided much insight, not the least of which I shall chronicle in...

How To Know This House Is Not For You

Rule #1: (and really the only rule you need to know) If the garage door is tagged with gang signs and graffiti, this house is not for you.

Obviously, we didn't even get out of the car. I really couldn't back out of the driveway quickly enough. Color me stupid.

It was a nice house, too... recent construction, lots of curb appeal, nice interior - we knew all of this from the listing and photos we reviewed. However, the listing doesn't mention the crack deals going on just down the street. Shame on us, though, because we didn't know the neighborhood and didn't drive through it before our appointment with the realtor. Obviously, had we known the situation beforehand, we would not have made a point to visit the house. Chalk one up for experience.

There is a lot of travel in my future, some business, some pleasure. In the next three months I will see the likes of Greensboro (3 times, lovely), Louisville, Denver/Vail, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. I generally enjoy traveling - maybe I should get into the travel business? - but it will be stressful trying to deal with all of this house hunting stuff while on the road.

There's nothing I can say about the Dawgs/College Football/BCS/bowl matchups/the SEC/Sanford Stadium/Mark Richt/etc. that hasn't already been said. So I'll jest shuddup.

And in other news... there is no other news.

2007-09-10T10:33:00.000-04:00

Working from home can be very challenging. I'm trying to make my "office" as much of an office as possible, to give myself the illusion of being in a little nest of productivity. It's tough, however, when there are plenty of potential distractions. It doesn't help that this time of year is a slow one for me anyway. I will have to create a routine to follow in order to really stay on top of things.

However, the ability to be flexible with my time while still getting paid is, shall we say, veryverykickass. For instance, I granted myself some "comp time" last Wednesday to go here:

It was the first time I've been to a weekday matinee game that I can remember, and it was a lot of fun. Thanks, Cat, for the tickets!

Football: Kit is right - GATA is definitely missing. BIG time. Without getting into a game dissection, all I have to say is that I'm still proud to be a Dawg and can't wait to see us redeem ourselves.

2007-08-14T09:31:00.000-04:00

Being that the festival was blissfully concluded about two weeks ago, I really have no excuse not to write something. It was really nice to take some time and not do anything for a few days... no e-mails, no phone calls, no constant decision-making required. I had two fabulous interns this summer, as well as another excellent employee who was pseudo-under my charge - I would have been sunk without them. It was a new experience for me to have help. Real help, mind you... I've always had helpful colleagues (some of them, at least), but helpful in the "if I have an extra minute I'll give you a hand" sort of way. No, no - real help is the best. I've never had the opportunity to delegate before, and damn it is the greatest thing in the world.

My greatest challenge now will be to stay disciplined with working from home. (Case in point: I am blogging now instead of working.) We are really looking forward to moving in a couple of weeks, and I think being in a place where I can set up a bona fide office will be a huge help. Having the right kind of workspace will help encourage my diligence... should be much better than what I have now, which is unfortunately not even as good as what I had in Boston (which is still not saying much). We have a sunroom in our new apartment that will serve as my office - I hope it works out to be a good arrangement.

I think it will be a really enjoyable way to work if I can make myself stay on task with what I have to do, and balance that with doing everything else that I want to do. The scary part is that I've never really been good at that...

Flashback to college: I need to practice. But, I want to go drink beer on the patio at Steverino's. Hmm... a dilemma...

I know that will be the biggest challenge for me, so I look forward to tackling it and staying on top of things.

Speaking of tackling (chuckle chuckle), football season is upon us. (!!!) I caught a few short bits of NFL pre-season this past weekend, which was enough to kick my football appetite into a veritable frenzy. Our moving schedule is likely to have us schlepping stuff into our new pad on the day of the UGA home opener (BALLS!) but I'll see what tweaking can be made to the schedule to avoid that all-important event. I am particularly looking forward to this season, because last season was a bit of a dry spell for me. Spend your autumn in New England and you'll understand - when BC is the hottest game in a 500 mile radius, you've got problems.

2007-07-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

Currently sitting at a rickety table backstage in Boone (yes - another runout) listening to the orchestra play American in Paris... one of the pieces I heard umpteen times on the last Pops tour. It's 63 degrees here tonight, by the way. Global warming, my ass.

I'm glad to report that I was offered full-time, year-round employment by the festival earlier this week. They met my requests on compensation, benefits, and - most importantly - my ability to work at home from Atlanta. Setting my own schedule for 9 months out of the year will work quite nicely, thankyouverymuch. I'm looking forward to it.

I've 6 days left after today, blissfully coasting down the home stretch. Sleep, alcohol, and a massage are high on my list of post-festival priorities - not necessarily in that order.

2007-07-11T13:27:00.001-04:00

I am officially over the hump - two and a half weeks left, and things are looking good.

The runout show Sunday was uneventful as I had anticipated. In my line of work, no news is always good news.

Serena fantastically surprised me with new clothes yesterday, after she was inspired to do some shopping. The new pair of pants I am wearing today are extremely comfortable, but my pocket has spilled my cell phone 3 times now. Gotta keep an eye on that - would be a very bad thing to lose. I've sent/received so many calls on it lately that scrolling through my list of recent calls only produces about 24 hours worth of results.

Yep. That's all I've got.

2007-07-08T13:10:00.000-04:00

We have a runout show today in Boone, NC. A runout would defined as an out-of-town gig where you drive to the venue on the day of and return home after the concert - as opposed to an overnighter (which hopefully needs no explanation). These both differ from a residency (more than one or two overnighters in the same location), and a tour (a string of overnighters all in different locations). I've been involved in each of these permutations, and have a lot of experience with runout concerts in particular, so this is a little old hat for me. However, folks here seem particularly nervous about the whole affair. I'm really not concerned. (I really hope I'm not going to jinx myself with that statement. Cue prayers to the gods of travel.)

The one thing I *am* concerned about is getting home at 12:30am and having to be back in the office at 8:00am tomorrow morning. grumble...

Have to finish getting my ducks in a row now before hitting the road.

2007-07-07T09:25:00.000-04:00

In sifting through my site meter report, I've noticed a startlingly large number of people who are finding this blog by searching for the word 'humper' and subsequently finding this picture.

2007-07-06T08:54:00.000-04:00

Oh, what the hell... I suppose I can try to write more often than one every six weeks. I don't know about every day, but we'll see.

I'm exhausted. My last day off was June 10, and I won't have another for 24 more days. Yes, I'm counting. We have a pretty tough weekend ahead, but after that I'll be over the hump with the light growing brighter at the end of the tunnel.

It's still a bit early and the rest of the staff hasn't trickled in yet - my last blissful moment of solitude and quiet for the next 10-12 hours.

The first concert of either of the student orchestras was last night, and by all accounts was quite a success. I heard some say it was the finest performance by a student orchestra in recent memory. So that's good... obviously we have a solid talent level this summer. In addition, the faculty orchestra plays very well - and our hall is surprisingly good, which is nice. (If you saw it, you'd be surprised too.)

2007-07-05T23:35:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a quick moment to pop my head out in the midst of my summer seclusion. I've been working solid for the past four weeks, and will continue to do so for the next three. But after that, there is an extremely good chance that many good things will happen. Not to jinx myself, but the list of those good things - in no particular order - are as follows:

- the festival, and the 70+ hour weeks that accompany it, will be over
- we'll be moving back to Atlanta
- I'll still be employed by the festival
- I'll be working from home on a pretty flexible schedule for the next 8-9 months or so

So, in short, I can put up with being totally consumed by this job for a brief period of time if it ends up with a payoff in the long-term. It has been and will continue to be tough, but all told things are going well and the end is not terribly far away. Hopefully I'll have a chance to post again before six more weeks pass - either way, I look forward to coming up for air before too long.

2007-05-24T22:57:00.000-04:00

Furthermore, I miss walking. I'd really rather walk most places than have to deal with driving and traffic. It's not so much driving itself, but rather the other people who are driving on the same roads as me. That and the $50 bucks I dropped on gas the other day. As a wise man once said, "Shit ain't right."

It sounds like the upstairs neighbors have set up a bowling alley in their living room. I have never heard so few people make so much noise.

New moneymaking scheme: roam around New York City and stalk the Cash Cab. The City is roughly 300 square miles, and there are about 13,000 cabs. I think I've got a shot.

2007-05-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

I'm usually pretty quick to sniff out the local brew.

Yes, Russ - I'll bring you some.

2007-05-16T12:11:00.000-04:00

In fairness to the land of the bean and cod, here are a few things I miss about Boston:

sirens
car horns
the T
proximity to water
taxis
the near ubiquitous presence of Dunkin Donuts

Seriously.

2007-05-15T21:51:00.000-04:00

I love being badgered into writing. Motivation is a wonderful thing.

I posted a comment on Brett's last post, in response to an article he linked to which outlined the author's personal interpretations of the definition of art. In my comment I noted my disagreement with basically all of the author's points, and was considering writing a rebuttal - not necessarily for the sake of argument - but more for the intellectual exercise. I'm really interested in the topic and have thought about it often, maybe because of its relevance to how I earn my paychecks. But after re-reading the article, I realized I had overlooked an important point made in the opening paragraph:

I have given much thought as to what distinguishes art -- meaning anything an artist produces -- from Art (which I capitalize here) meaning that which has the 'magic', so to speak. I have subjectively concluded that for a work to qualify as Art, among other things it must satisfy these criteria...

Every human being experiences art on their own terms, choosing to enjoy and appreciate those things which are most meaningful to them. By defining "Art" (with a capital "A"), the author is making a personal statement of those very things. This is different than asserting a definition of art that would be applicable to our society and culture as a whole. While I am interested in the objective discussion of what is or is not art, my rebuttal is somewhat pointless since obviously I can't argue with the man on what he likes and/or doesn't like. Maybe you're reading this and thinking, "Well.... duh." Sorry... I guess I failed the reading comprehension portion of this exam.

I am glad to be back in the south. Boston was great, and I do miss it, but I'm grateful for the following:

Y'all
waving, nodding, or otherwise sharing a greeting with people you don't know and have never seen before
the Braves on TBS
buying beer in the grocery store
Chik-fil-A

But I still miss Publix.

This is the strangest thing I've seen recently:

Yes, of course there is a story.

2007-04-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

I mean, really... REALLY...

Where the hell this came from I'll never know, but from out of nowhere we have spring weather. However, we're indoors packing up our apartment and preparing to leave. Dammit.

2007-04-18T11:37:00.000-04:00

I really do hate writing subject lines to posts. I suppose it is the only way to differentiate between "that thing you wrote that day" from "that thing you wrote that other day." However, when your posts are as infrequent as mine have been lately, I suppose it's a miracle just to see new content that it just doesn't matter. Hence, there is no subject for this update. As if you cared.

I've been working from home for the past couple of weeks, dealing with initial preparations for the festival this summer. I do enjoy the ability to have a conference call in my pj's if I wish, but I find it hard to focus at times when the environment of an office is not imposed upon me. (Hence, I'm writing this blog post instead of working.) Even if there were a separate room that could be considered an "office", it would help with the distractions - but in the current setup, I am relegated to the kitchen table, dangerously close to the couch and TV.

Behold: the office. Very posh - I know you're jealous. Notice our sad-ass white walls with tiny pictures in the background.

I like to keep the TV on low levels during the day while I'm working, not because I enjoy needlessly wasting energy but because the white noise is helpful to maintaining my concentration. I feel more like I am in the company of other people, sort of like the background buzz of some office environments. I usually set the clicker to CNN or Fox (why doesn't Boortz do TV??) and let it ride, although the incessant VT reports are starting to get to me. There's only so much reporting of this that I can listen to. Yesterday we were assisted by the building maintenance staff performing demolition of a kitchen and bathroom in the apartment upstairs from ours. A mere distraction to me but an extreme roadblock to sleep for Serena, who worked last night, the night before, and will clock in again this evening. CVS earplugs seemed to do the trick, plus lots of pillows and perhaps the telepathic "Eat Shit!" comments aimed from her brain to the workers. Hey - every little bit counts.

We're getting prepared for our move from Boston - or trying our best, at least. Our date of departure is set for this Sunday. Packing has not really commenced yet, but will probably start in some form today. It shouldn't be a monumental task... everything we have fits into a van, remember? I will admit to being ready to move on for the past couple of weeks, but I will truly miss Boston. It is a great place that I've really grown to love, despite the weather and lack of Southern-ness. We've had a great place to call home for the past 6 months, but I am ready for the next step in our bizarre backward-migration: moving South for the summer.

Here's a nice before and after.

i wanna new phone: update

2007-04-12T15:00:00.000-04:00

In related news, "Sweet!"

Inventors Rule #1: When inventing something, make sure somebody else hasn't already invented it.

i wanna new phone

2007-03-27T19:09:00.000-04:00

If you've read this blog for a while, you'll know that I periodically become fascinated with some new technological product/service/gizmo and proclaim it to be the coolest thing I've recently seen. So far we've had Netflix, Zipcar, Peapod... that's all I can think of. Probably a few more in there somewhere.

In starting my new job, I have two months worth of work that has to be done now while I'm hundreds of miles from the office. I've worked from home in the past, but I've never been in a situation where I worked exclusively from home. It's a pretty cool experience so far, being able to go through the entire business day without showering if I don't feel like it. Thankfully, internet technology helps me stay connected to the office network and e-mail, but I found myself having to make a significant amount of phone calls. Not wanting to rag out my cell phone minutes, I turned to a different kind of internet technology for a solution and thus discovered my newest fascination: Vonage.

If you've always scratched your head wondering exactly what the hell Vonage is, it's pretty simple: VoIP ("voice over internet protocol") is a technology that allows you to send/receive voice data over the internet. To the user, the results are exactly like using a normal telephone line - with the exception of better sound quality and lower monthly cost. It's used with any standard telephone, which connects to the VoIP signal adapter, which connects to your internet modem or router. There is a slightly more complex step which allows you to convert all of the existing telephone jacks in your home by rewiring your home telephone system, but the process still seems doable by the average do-it-yourself-er.

I have to say, the TV commercial testimonials are true: the voice quality is pretty incredible, and the installation was really simple. Placing my order was a quick and simple process on their website, plus all of the basic hardware offered an instant rebate - as did the first month of service - so it's pretty inexpensive to get started... just the normal account setup charges and bullshit fees. Since the service is not location-based, you can get a phone number from any area code that has available numbers - I picked an area code that was local to my office, so that colleagues could call me as a local call. There is no differentiation between local and long distance, but regardless the $24.99 a month package includes unlimited amounts of both.

When you login to your account on their website, you get access to some other cool features, like viewing your complete call history and managing your voice mail. You can even opt for e-mail notification of voice mail messages, where a new voice mail message is e-mailed to you as an attached sound file. Pretty crafty. The only drawbacks I see are that network outage or power loss would mean no phone service. However, you can set your cell phone number as a backup number to which your calls will be forwarded if your VoIP service is unavailable for any reason. If you miss having a "landline" phone, but hate the phone company, you should definitely check this out.

and what an excellent week it has been

2007-03-25T14:52:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I've had the flu - and I was pretty happy about that until earlier this week, when I came down with the flu. When Serena woke up on Monday, she discovered me, lying on the couch in some altered state of consciousness, with 103.4 temperature and enough mucus to drive a small snot-powered city. Since then I've been coughing, sneezing, snotting, medicating, hydrating, and otherwise clawing my way back to the living world - with a sizeable amount of care, feeding, and patience from my Bean. At the risk of sounding opportunistic: when you're sick, living with a nurse is really cool. New Englanders might even say it's wicked cool. Honestly, she has been fantastic and I'm glad she takes such good care of me. At any rate, the fever is gone, and now I'm trying to kick what's left of the cough and congestion. With any luck, I'll be back to normal in a few days. At least I hope so - being sick is really damned boring.

Unfortunately Beer Pong and Georgia Girl had to cancel their trip to Boston that was scheduled for this weekend, which in light of everything was the right call. We would have been an exciting bunch, what with all of the snot and back pain. Nonetheless, we hope for a quick recovery for her and look forward to seeing them - and many more of you - in the very near future.

Russ' humping obsession seems to have made a psychological imprint on my blog. Recent search terms that found this site include:

hump
humper
humping

No shit.

news for sale

2007-03-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

I've been pretty out of touch lately. Some of you know that I have news to share, but most of you are in the dark. Allow me to illuminate.

I have recently accepted a job as the Operations Manager of this festival, which is held during a five-week period each summer. I found out about the opportunity through a job posting on a trade website, and was instantly prompted to apply for it since the job description read like a bullet-point version of my resume. I sent my cover letter and CV... after a few discussions, negotiations were complete and I was hired.

The festival is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, on this college campus. The gig basically entails overseeing the day-to-day operation of the festival, including concert production, artist logistics, and facilities management. It's a seasonal gig, with initial preparations starting, well, immediately, and continuing through a few weeks after the conclusion of the festival. For the time being, I will work remotely from Boston; after Serena's contract ends in late April, we will relocate to the G-boro area until my employment is over in August. She is looking for a nursing contract in the immediate area to coincide with my job here - so far no big leads, but we have high hopes that something great will work out.

If you've been in touch with me, you know that I can't seem to sit still lately. I was home for a week after the Florida tour, then we spent the weekend in Atlanta hanging with friends and playing some incredible shows with Modern Skirts. I was back in Boston for a day, but this morning I hopped a Dark-Thirty A.M. flight to Raleigh, grabbed a rental car and drove to Greensboro. Today was my first meeting with the CEO and staff; I'm blissfully enjoying 65 degree weather after leaving a 7 degree morning in Boston. The day was spent in the festival office, knee-deep in familiarizing myself with their programs and processes.

The people I have met thus fare are blissfully as organized and seemingly as anal-retentive as I am. I was presented with an introductory volume of information about the festival... a huge binder - completely indexed and tabbed - with copies of documents from last year's festival season, detailing all sorts of topics, materials, meeting agendas, notes, and post-mortem discussions. In addition to the hard copies, I was given a flash drive with all of this information in digital form. It was even labeled with a neatly printed "Operations" sticker on the side. Seriously - I think I'm in love. Check out exhibit A:

If you only knew the lack of information I received upon beginning my last gig in Atlanta, you would understand how excited I am about having this tome dumped in my hands. I'm very encouraged by my first day; the CEO has told me a few times today how happy he is to have me here. Everyone in the office seems very capable and kind, and I'll leave here Friday morning, able to return to Boston with plenty of things to work on.

At the moment I'm in my hotel room, a "quaint" spot in downtown Greensboro. By quaint I mean an old restored hotel building that Has Character. Most of the time, when a place Has Character, that means it is old, stuffy, and in need of repair. The property has in fact been well cared for - but while the room is in pretty good condition, it is poorly lit and decorated in dark hues, with frosted windows that are covered with shutters which are screwed into the window frame. When I first walked in the room it seemed like the kind of place you would come to hang yourself - I felt a bit like Brooks Hatlen walking into the halfway house in Shawshank Redemption. I had to get out and go for a walk.

Thankfully I found a brew pub just down the street with several of their own concoctions for me to quaff. I had a couple of nice Pale Ales with a helping of fish & chips. The food and beer has seemed to make the hotel room a bit more enjoyable. Now it's off to sleep so I can face a new day of information overload tomorrow.

Y'all sleep tight.

Big Hands

2007-02-26T20:12:00.001-05:00

A little musical humor to start off the week.

... and that's not all

2007-02-24T12:25:00.000-05:00

I put my contacts in before I went out last night. When I woke up this morning, I realized that I had forgotten to take them out before I went to bed.

I need serious help. A string around my finger, or maybe the buddy system... something.

momentary lapse of dumbassedness

2007-02-23T18:22:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning with my head in a Robitussin-induced fog. I shuffled around, completing my normal morning routine a little slower than usual, but was trying my best to hurry out the door to get to work. This wasn't because I was overjoyed at the prospect of being in the office, but rather because I slept a lot later than I had intended.

I got to the train station and purchased my hot cup of Dunkin' love, stepped over to the platform and waited for the next train. I was on the Green Line - one of the four subway lines on the T - which itself runs four different routes. As a train rumbled into the station, I looked to the green-lit LED sign on the front that tells you which route that particular train is running. The problem was that I couldn't read the sign... it was exceptionally out-of-focus, and no matter how hard I strained I couldn't see the letters. Eventually, the train got close enough to me and I could finally see that this was indeed my train. I hopped on and took a seat, still confused at my sudden visual impairment.

As I sat down, I looked around at one of the many ads posted on the wall of the train, and found those equally difficult to read. And that, my friends, is when it hit me:

I had completely forgotten to put in my contacts this morning.

My vision is just bad enough to need correction, but not so bad that I can't handle life without it. Dealing with spreadsheets today was a bit of a challenge, but I was able to make it through the day without too much trouble. Needless to say, I was very glad to get home and put on my glasses.

Wow.

homeward bound

2007-02-17T15:34:00.000-05:00

I had intended to keep up a daily log of posts while on tour, but the schedule proved to be too hectic. By the time I had a free moment to sit down and write, all I wanted to do was sit back with a cold drink or go to sleep. It will likely not surprise you that I usually I opted for the first. All in all, the tour went very well and problems were few and far between. My last post was written in Miami; from there we hit Daytona, Vero Beach, Palm Beach, West Palm, and Fort Myers. If you know anything about the geography of Florida, you know that these places are generally nowhere near one another, which made each day a recurring succession of wake up, eat, get on the road for 2 - 4 hours, eat, go to the venue, do the show, back to the hotel, change, eat, drink, sleep. Very little free time, but just enough to be able to relax a little and enjoy the warm weather. At the risk of being a giant ass, here are a few pictures from paradise:

Sunset behind our outdoor stage at Vero Beach

View of the marina outside my room at Sanibel Harbour

Another Sanibel Harbour view

Our return home was a little challenging (read: shitty). We were scheduled to fly to Boston on Wednesday, but bad weather in the northeast got in the way of those plans. The airport arrival and check-in was the smoothest I have ever experienced in traveling with orchestras. Security was no problem, and upon arriving at the gate we experienced only a brief delay until our plane arrived. We waited to board... and waited, and waited... finally learning that there was no point in boarding yet because Logan Airport in Boston had temporarily suspended operations in order to clean off the one runway they were currently using. This of course spawned the "Logan is closed forever" rumor, setting off a tizzy of questions and speculation. After a while, the airline had better use for the empty aircraft that was sitting at our gate, and reallocated it to service another flight. Our bags were removed, and sat outside on the tarmac while we continued to wait. Eventually Logan reopened, but now we had no airplane. "No problem," said the airline, "we're bringing another plane here for you."

Where was this airplane coming from? You guessed it: Boston.

At this point, we were waiting to see when and if said airplane could depart from Boston to reach us, and then assessing the probability of whether or not it would be able to return to Boston. There were meetings, there were phone calls, there were conferences... and we finally said, "Screw this, we're staying in Florida." Great! We had no hotel rooms, and had dismissed our buses after they dropped us at the airport - but other than that, things were great. Luckily our travel agent craftily got us back into the paradise of a hotel we had stayed in just the night before (and is pictured above, the Sanibel Harbour Resort), and I had enough petty cash on hand to get the group back to the hotel by a number of taxi vans. An unexpected extra night in luxury, but bittersweet since most of us were really counting on being home that night.

The next day we tried again, and this time met no resistance. The flight back was fine, got bags, sent the group on their way, and walked outside to get a cab, when BAM! - "Holy mother of Xenu shitpisscock&balls!!!!!!"

Welcome back to New England. It was 10 degrees, -5 degree wind chill. Wow.

Unfortunately we had not brought the tropical weather back with us. What I did bring back was a nice chest cold, likely a product of long work days, not enough sleep, crappy diet and too much booze. It has been a delightful way to settle back in to the cold climate. I haven't done much the past day and a half, just trying to rest up, feel better, and resume normal life. Life on tour is not a realistic existence - even with a short trip like this one. You're completely disconnected from the real world, in a different city nearly every day, doing a show every day, and in my case working at least 12 hours each day. It takes some time before you feel like a normal person again. But next week begins the task of clean-up: paying the vendors, reconciling petty cash, turning in expense reports, issuing travel reimbursements... all of the stuff that provides a big buzz kill to the tour afterglow. Either way, it must be done and it's what they're paying me to do.

The primary motivation for our move to Boston was of course Serena's job; however, we both had some personal reasons and inspirations for the move. One of those reasons for me was my professional life stealing a little part of my soul. It's funny to me that I'm right back doing the very thing I was running away from. However, there are some exciting potential developments that I'll share as they progress. All this to day: I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

not in kansas anymore

2007-02-08T23:55:00.000-05:00

I darted awake this morning, jolted by the jangling ring of the phone. It's a pretty harsh way to wake up, which is why I usually don't like hotel wake-up calls. Therefore, my first waking moments were full of confusing thoughts, such as:

Where am I?
What time is it?
Who the hell is calling me?
... and where is Serena??

Then I picked up the phone, heard the wake-up call message, and remembered where I was. It's tough being woken up from sleep so immediately, with no time for your brain to catch up.

At any rate, today consisted of a morning of complete boredom followed by an afternoon and evening of total chaos. I searched for things to do this morning; went through my checklists, made follow-up phone calls to confirm things that were already confirmed, even took some time to sit out by the pool and read for a while. However, since I was already at the hotel, one of my primary tasks was to advance the tour's arrival at the hotel - NOT one of my favorite things. It went well... there were a few bumps that brought up some unpleasant memories of past hotel check-ins gone bad, but all in all things were fine. The show went well tonight, had a few drinks with new friends at the hotel bar, and have now retired to my room for the evening.

Today, incidentally, is John Williams' birthday. If you know who I'm working for right now, you understand the significance. (If not, embrace Google.) Before the show, many of us gathered around a telephone and sang/played Happy Birthday for him over the phone. Pretty cool.

time to thaw

2007-02-07T23:14:00.000-05:00

In a total climate reversal from my last post, I bid you greetings from sunny south Florida. I arrived in Miami today for the tour I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm enjoying a blissful 70 degrees with sunshine and a few clouds... much better than the current 19 degrees in Boston.

Our hotel is not downtown, but that's no big deal to me. Here's a bit of the view...

I can't say much about the Miami airport - at least, not much of anything positive. I usually don't carry my suitcase on the plane, especially since the more recent restrictions on carry-on items and the whole process of going through security. It just seems much more convenient to check my bag as soon as I show up and forget about it until I arrive at my destination. I've never lost luggage on a flight (knocking fervently on wood), so it's never been that big of a deal to me. However, today was the day I would have loved to bypass the overcrowded baggage claim carousel where I waited 45 minutes to retreive my one suitcase. Following that, I took a spot in line at what was most disorganized and poorly-run taxi stand I've ever seen. Other than that, it was perfect.

A nice plus to the day was the amenity provided by the hotel's preferred membership club. Most hotels offer you a comp room night after spending, oh, $400,000 at their hotels in a year. But this particular hotel chain offers a perk to their members in the form of a *free* snack and beverage of your choice that is placed in your room upon check-in. This could consist of wine and cheese, beer and peanuts, fresh fruit and soda... you get the point - whatever you want given a decent list of choices. The cool part is that it costs you nothing to join and nothing for the perk. Nothing. Free stuff rocks.

bleak midwinter

2007-01-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

Sunset over the Back Bay and the frozen Charles River.

I PREFER SYRUP

2007-01-26T18:55:00.000-05:00

But mom, all the other kids are doing it!

It's on sale, too -- what a deal!

anatomy of a sandwich

2007-01-25T13:14:00.000-05:00

My sweet and lovely Serena so awesomely ordered a big ole' heap of groceries for us last week through a website called Peapod, where you shop for groceries online, schedule a delivery time, and they bring the stuff to your door. Pretty cool idea. I'm really glad we have food around, since my broke ass is not buying very much these days.

I broke out the deli supplies to make a sandwich for lunch today. All of the groceries that Peapod brings you come from Stop & Shop, which I suppose is the yankee answer to Piggly Wiggly. Now, you would think that a grocery store deli would understand the logistics behind making a sandwich, but I was confused and dismayed when I opened the package to find completely incompatible cuts of turkey and swiss that are supposed to neatly match up with the size of my bread.

Photo evidence, with a standard-size slice of bread for purposes of comparison:

I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do with this??

Jesus... I'm too OCD to even make lunch.

it's been a while

2007-01-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

About a year ago - almost to the day - I was in a hotel bar, having a Jack & Coke, watching ads for SuperTuesday basketball games on ESPN. Tonight, strangely, I was doing exactly the same thing. Last year it was a rainy day in New York City, advancing a tour for the ASO; today, a rainy day in Palm Beach, advancing a tour for the Pops. How exactly did this happen?? One great thing, though: it was 80 degrees here today... and in Boston it is 23 and snowing. Eh, I'll take it.

In the mother of all ironies, I was asked to work an upcoming Florida tour with the Pops in February - just two weeks before the Florida tour I would have done with the ASO. I guess, in a way, the more things change the more they stay the same. The past month has been something of a blur... New Year's, friends, family time, skiing, traveling, work - I feel like I haven't stopped moving. Luckily I have recovered from the 24-hour bubonic plague I came down with over the weekend, which induced near sharf-like episodes as in Tony's Vegas post.

In closing, there have been a few recent search strings on my Site Meter report that made me chuckle:
"cheese doodles make little caesar crazy"
"roommate "drops on the floor" piss"
"swear to penn"
and last but not least, "stacy galarza"

Golden slumbers fill your eyes

2007-01-09T00:48:00.000-05:00

Did you give up on me?

Nah... I'm still here.

About to crash on this fine Monday night, but I decided that I MUST post to the ole' blog. Some folks might like to know that I'm still alive and kicking. Had a great Christmas/New Year's celebration in Atlanta, with a ton of people who I've missed greatly and really enjoyed seeing & having a drink with. (I used the ampersand because in my slightly drunken brain it seemed to help me avoid a run-on sentence.)

We're headed to Colorado in a couple of days for the annual ski trip, and I'm very excited. The weather might turn out to be a bit brutal, but being on the slopes in that eternal winter wonderland is awfully fun. We'll take pictures. I may even post them for you if I remember to.

That's it... 'til next time...

unoriginal year-end recap post

2006-12-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Russ and Galarza for the idea. I heart lists.

Where did I go in 2006? Seems to have been a record year for travel.

State I visited (i.e., actually slept in overnight):
California
Colorado
Georgia
Illinois
Kentucky
Maryland
Massachusetts
New York
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
South Carolina

... and other states I saw while passing through...
Connecticut
Delaware
New Jersey
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia (it's for lovers, or so I hear)
Washington, D.C.
West Virginia

What did I do in 2006?
Quit my job to go on an adventure with my favorite person in the world
Played a farewell gig with the first band I have ever been a member of
Lived somewhere other than the south for the first time ever
Quit smoking
Met many challenges head-on, despite self-doubt and/or heartburn
All of the other things that you were either there for or read about here

What did I learn in 2006?
I realized how difficult yet vital it can be to find the appropriate balance between your personal life & relationships and your professional/career life
I learned how to play the bass
I realized how important my friends and family are to me

What beers did I drink in 2006?
Miller Light
Budweiser
Heineken
Rolling Rock
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Samuel Adams Winter Brew
Samuel Adams Brown Ale
Samuel Adams Black Lager
Samuel Adams Scotch Ale
Magic Hat Number 9
Magic Hat Nearly Pale Ale
Tremont Ale
Harpoon UFO
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Paulaner
Hoegaarden
Sweetwater Summer Hummer (ooh.... shudder)
Sweetwater 420
Sweetwater Blue
Blue Moon
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Narragansett
Guinness
Bass Ale
Harp Lager
Boddington's
Ipswich IPA
Dogfish Head IPA
Red Stripe
Long Trail Harvest Ale
Shipyard Prelude Special Ale
Demon’s Hop Yard IPA
Probably a few others that were too good to remember

duress

2006-12-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

I was drunk dialed last night by a crazy monkey man who implored me to "Blog More, Dammit!" So, here you go.

I worked this past weekend. All weekend. For an orchestra. It reminded me why I didn't like working all weekend for an orchestra. However, once I got over the loathing of having to do it, the gigs were not that bad. This experience has been a very good one for me, and I think if nothing else this trip to Boston has illuminated certain facts that I would never have seen otherwise.

1) Regardless of the size or scope of something, the way it operates is generally the same no matter where you go. The people are the same, the personalities are the same, the idiosyncracies are - you guessed it - the same. (I'm sure there is a proverb or fable along these lines.)
2) Being in an organization that represents the pinnacle of your field is definitely very cool - but that still would not inspire me to sacrifice my life for a job.
3) I'm actually pretty good at what I do, but that doesn't necessarily mean I enjoy it. I know I have the potential to learn a lot more and improve, but I don't really want to do this forever. Maybe not ever again - but don't hold me to that.

So all in all, I'm left with the psychobabble you see above, and even more unanswered questions.

In other news, I managed to ice skate over the weekend without injuring myself, thanks in no small part to my extreme athletic prowess.

It was the dog, I swear...

2006-12-06T08:38:00.000-05:00

Another moment of pure brilliance in modern-day air travel.

Glad I didn't know this before

2006-12-05T18:02:00.000-05:00

Did you read Bean's post about our trip to NYC? If you didn't, then why the hell not? Get going.

Anyway, it seems the bus ride she chronicles could have been much worse. I told my friend Chris, a fellow trombone player and bartender at my favorite local watering hole, that we had caught a ride home on the bus. He said, "Are you serious? Those things catch on fire and flip over and shit... happens all the time." Great. I just saw a news story on TV about a rollover involving one of these buses that took place earlier this year. Wow... the train suddenly seems much more appealing.

I saw a girl on the T today wearing flip flops. Today's high temperature was about 35 degrees (wind chill in the high 20's). No - I'm not kidding.

Cheese Doodles Make Little Caesar Crazy

2006-12-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

I know I am extremely delinquint in updating this little digital tome. I have quickly gone from the undisputed leader in available free time to being a little more like the rest of the world. My new job - which is going very well - is basically a "do-whatever-you-need-to-get-it-done-in-under-40-hours a week" job, so I actually worked 4 of 5 business days last week. Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

So, there is much to tell you... therefore: Bullets. (Or, if you prefer, an unordered list.)

I must give a belated shout-out to Gunner, who road tripped it down to Beantown last Saturday for a New Englander's version of Techfast and the ensuing triumph of the Dawgs over the NATS. There was food, beer, football, much texting with Russ and Georgia Girl, a drunk-dial from Brett, Gunner's first ever subway ride (it was touch and go there for a minute, but we succeeded), a walk across the Common and Beacon Hill, more food, more beer, and drunken aikido demonstrations (yes - in the bar). Good times, friends... good times.

Thanks to Russ, my newest obsession is the Penn Jillette radio show podcast. I've been catching up on past episodes, and there is plenty of material there. Generally, I can get through the first half of the episode on the train ride to work, and finish it on the way home. It's great for eliciting strange looks from people on the subway as I chuckle along with the show. The show is very entertaining, the callers are usually very witty and Penn and producer Mike Goudeau feed off of the callers, and each other, rather well. If you can handle a peculiar monkey fetish, you'll love it.

We went to New York last Wednesday to hang out with Cat and to generally fart around town on an unimaginably nice late November day. Bean chronicles our adventures here, where incidentally she also received her very first comment spam! Welcome to the club, honey!

Sweeping changes in the weather: the other day Boston set a record high temperature that has been in place since 1881!! Now, we're expecting to receive the first snowfall of the year overnight tonight. Here it comes...

Mmmmm... beer. Do you like beer? Me too. I'm discovering a lot of really great brews up here, and based on a brilliant suggestion from my bald, beer drinking friend, I am devising a method to share some of them with a few of you lucky souls. I'll be creating a collection of my favorites to bring back to Atlanta with me... the current idea is to buy one six-pack each of my top 6 beers, make 6 mix-match six-packs out of them, and find 6 people who really enjoy beer to share them with. We'll call it the 666 party. Devilish.

I have received a handful of very cool phone calls, e-mails, and texts lately, along the lines of "miss you, hope you're well, wish you were here." Trust me - the feeling is mutual for all. We are having a great time here and really love Boston, but we do miss home and all of our friends and family. We'll be in the ATL Dec 28 - Jan 2, and can't wait to see y'all then.

And in the style of the Notorious one...

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Oh yeah...

2006-11-23T13:16:00.000-05:00

As a little aside inspired by Oob's latest post, I'd like to say for the record that I haven't had a cigarette in 7 weeks. I stopped wanting one about a month ago. Feels good.

Dear Fine People...

2006-11-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all. It would be great to have a beer and a turkey leg with y'all, but at least the absence makes me even more grateful for the friends and family that I'll miss spending the weekend with. Cheers to all of you!

Had a nice visit last week with Whitney and her friend Cheryl. It was good to catch up with a familiar face... Serena and I met them out for lunch and a bit of afternoon shopping. This really meant that the girls shopped in quaint boutique stores while I drank coffee and read magazines on the obligatory "man chair" in each shop. Fine by me.

My big news.........

I am officially employed. That's right - gone are the days of bon bons and pajamas at 3:00pm. By whom, you ask? Think Arthur Fiedler. If you don't know who that is, excercise your Google chops. My duties fall into the same category as my last job, although the scope is much more narrow and I'm not the boss of anything. Sweeeeeeet. As of now, it is slated to last only through the Christmas season, but we'll see what else may lie ahead.

Serena, who recently is always beating me to the punch on the whole blog thing, outlined our recent touristy moment, that being a trip to Plymouth, Mass. Yeah, we saw the rock. The hype of Plymouth Rock is ridiculously overstated compared to the actual stone itself. Either way, it was pretty cool to see. During our time in the town I noticed many foreigners visiting the various historic sites. I wondered what their impressions were, and how they might differ from those of a natural born American citizen.

I heard there was a football game on Saturday. Anybody know anything about that?

Be cool, bitches.

things, and stuff

2006-11-16T13:01:00.000-05:00

I knew I needed to charge the iPod this morning, so after turning on my laptop I retreived iPod from its normal resting place near the stereo. I plugged iPod into the USB port, but nothing happened. I tried scrolling through the menus, but I could see by the lack of response that it was frozen. "Oh no!", I said, "wake up, iPod! Wake UP!!" I was on my way to panic, racing for the paddles yelling "charge 200!" - when I realized that regardless of Apple's cutesy way of personifying their products by giving them proper noun status, it's just an electronic device. I Googled how to reset the thing, then did so, and all is fine. Cool.

Bryan and Meredith successfully converted me to a Netflix subscriber, and now that I've had their kool-aid I can say that Netflix is officially my newest favorite really cool idea that I wish I had though of first. (Sorry, Zipcar. You've been bumped.) If you're a subscriber, send me a request to be Netflix Friends, which is a really gay way of saying "tell me what movies you've liked so I can watch them, too."

The first selection I made, unfortunately, was Ocean's Twelve. I am a big fan of Ocean's Eleven so I expected good things, but the sequel just didn't do it for me. I wonder if Soderberg was watching The Italian Job when the lightbulb went on for this one. The unfolding of the "scheme behind the scheme", if you will, was too cumbersome to me. There were a few scenes that I felt were useless; the scene in the train station where Clooney reacts to comments about his character's age, for instance, while mildly humorous and well played they didn't seem to serve any purpose. The Julia Roberts quasi-cameo thing was well done. The continuity of Matt Damon's character between 11 and 12 was a real failure; in 11, he may have been naive, but he appeared confident and had some balls. In 12, his character was a blubbering, inept wuss. I didn't get that. I did enjoy the scene where the crew was first reunited, and they argued over the trivial fact of what their previous heist had been called. It made me LOL, in fact. All in all though, the flick was just okay.

Last night we watched Hotel Rwanda. I don't recall it getting a lot of press, much like the conflict it portrayed, but holy shit - what a powerful film. If you are unfamiliar with the story, it chronicles the acts of a hotel manager in Rwanda during the genocide that took place there in the mid-1990's. The manager (played by Don Cheadle, who = awesome) took great risks to harbor over 1,000 refugees under extremely dire conditions before their ultimate exile from the country. I haven't been this affected by a movie in a long time. It is very well done, mostly historically accurate, void of a lot of Hollywood bullshit, and tells an incredible story. It draws on many emotions: sorrow, fear, anger, hope... there are some lighter moments - even humorous ones - that help keep the characters grounded in realism. I was a disappointed in the generalization of all westerners as racist and uncaring for the plight of these people... not sure what to make of that. If you haven't seen it, you should. Be prepared to be a bit depressed, if you have a soul.

More phone tag being played on the job front, so nothing new to report there. My stir-crazy factor is reaching new levels at times, but I'm managing to keep myself occupied. Bean has an upcoming stretch of 5 consecutive days off (wow!) so that will be great. We're going to try to plan some fun activities before the snow arrives and it becomes less appealing to be out and about. We've been very lucky with the weather here... a lot of rain lately, but temperatures have been well above normal levels for this time of year (60 degrees today).

I'll leave you with some pics from the Arnold Arboretum... you can read more about our visit here.

Randomness

2006-11-10T11:16:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Bobby on the birth of their baby!!

I wore shorts yesterday - SHORTS, people. The weather was awesome. Unfortunately that's probably the last gasp of autumn weather before we get our asses kicked by the cold. Oh well.

It gets dark here really early... sunset is around 4:30pm, as opposed to 5:30 - 5:40 in Atlanta. So by 5:00pm or so, it's DARK outside. That combined with the recent daylight savings time change has totally screwed my perception of time.

This is an old story, but more astounding proof of the pussification of America.

Shmoston Symphony gig may not work out, but I have another meeting tonight about another possible gig. Am looking forward to the possibility.

Not that I necessarily want to see the carnage tomorrow from ~~Sanford Stadium~~ Jordan-Hare Stadium (Ed.), but there is no Lincoln Financial affiliate in New England. I'll probably get stuck with some crap like Pitt vs. UConn.

Yup... that's about it for now.

he's just tryin to get a nut

2006-11-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

A couple of Asian tourists, busily taking photographs on Boston Common.

Of the landscape? Of the surrounding architecture?

Nope. Squirrels.

meet me on da blog... it's goin down

2006-11-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

I'm behind with posts, but not for any great reason. We've been having fun and doing some cool things, but I will admit to being a little down lately for a number of reasons. I haven't been able to spend as much time with Serena as I'd like. She usually gets home around 8:30am and almost immediately goes to bed, just after exchanging some sleepy greetings with me. I usually wake up shortly afterwards, get out of bed and start my day. I fill my day with whatever I can come up with, and if I'm home I do whatever I can do without disturbing a sleeping Bean. If she is working again the same evening, she will wake up around 4:30pm and shower, dress, and eat before leaving for work at 6:00pm. At least we have that short amount of time to catch up and have dinner together before I'm left to my own devices again until the following day. Granted this is only three nights a week, but when those three nights are consecutive I get an awful lot of rarely interrupted Dave time.

So what am I doing with all of this time? I try to be as constructive as possible, but there are only so many times you can do laundry or take out the trash. I've also been exploring our new surroundings, but there are limits to what you can do without blowing a lot of cash. I have been trying since before we left Atlanta to schedule a meeting with a company that rhymes with "Shmoston Symphony". It has been frustrating because while my conversations with them have been positive, getting them to commit to scheduling a meeting took some doing. I was starting to get pretty disappointed about the whole thing until I did finally manage to get a meeting with them last Friday. I feel good about the meeting, and the gig would be a great opportunity to work with and learn from some real pros. I should know something by mid-week, and will of course post any news. The department I would be working with is in a restructuring period, and they just don't know exactly what their needs are at this point. Hopefully they'll decide that I could be an asset for them in the short term. It would do great things for my state of mind to have something to focus on.

So, Dave -- enough with this touchy-feely emotional crap. Didn't you say something earlier about doing cool stuff??

Yeah... right. Well, if you noticed that I sneakily placed a link to Bean's brand spankin' new home on the internets, then you've probably read about our Halloween adventure in Salem. It was a crazy scene, and one we were way too sober to properly experience. It would have also helped if we were 10 years younger and pretended to be all into Wicca... but regardless it really was a good time. As you probably remember from grade school times, Salem was the site of the big witch hysteria in 1692, a fact that has been magnificently exploited by the local residents. I counted at least 16 attractions that are in some way related to the supernatural, not to mention the large handful of shops that cater to your inner witch. We took in some of the sights...

“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist”

Be afraid... be very afraid.

We failed to get any photos of the insane crowd - probably because we were too busy looking around and thinking, "Who the hell ARE these people??" Things were pretty tame early in the evening, but when it looked like the crowd was on the edge of erupting into violence we decided to head back to the train station and catch our ride home.

(Since you will ask - no, we did not wear costumes. Why, you ask? Remember this? Yeah... Halloween costumes were not high on my priority list when we packed.)

Last Thursday night we caught the Death Cab For Cutie show at the Boston Opera House. The venue was beautiful - a very ornately decorated proscenium theater in the style of the old vaudevillian theaters that rarely sees the performance of an actual opera, and instead is booked with Broadway touring shows and the occasional rock show.

The band played a great show, but it didn't quite have the energy level of the last show we saw them play at the Tabernacle in Atlanta. There's something just sort of raw and dirty about the Tab that probably invites that kind of energy... whether it's that strange quasi-stale beer odor of unknown origin, or the fact that you don't really know if and/or when the balconies are going to collapse, or the fact that this-used-to-be-a-church and we're-rocking-it-the-fuck-out-and-that's-cool. Either way, last Thursday's show was great, but not the best. Check out some camera phone pics of the Opera House...

iBliss

2006-10-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

I have officially joined the 21st century.

My new iPod arrived today.

I got a great deal on eBay on a refurbed 30GB video iPod, and holy crap is it sweet. I can't believe being the music lover that I am that I have waited this long to get one. (Incidentally, it turns out I spoiled Bean's plan for a Christmas gift for me... oops.)

Even more cool than the iPod itself is the fact that I paid for it with cash I made by selling old trombone mouthpieces on eBay. I'm stoked.

Let Russ begin the comments about how wonderful Apple products are.

That's something

2006-10-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

Here's something you don't see every day.

ummm.... and another.

just........ damn.

2006-10-28T19:22:00.000-04:00

That is all. Goodnight.

sic 'em

2006-10-28T15:24:00.000-04:00

Beer #1: open.

Go Dawgs!

NOT a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2006-10-28T12:58:00.000-04:00

The clear, sunny day that was yesterday has been royally shat upon by the forces of nature. It's not so cold here today - only in the 50's - but rainy and windy. Gusts up to 30 mph and they are predicting 1-2 inches of rain. Ugh.

I was going to trek down to an Irish pub that happens to be the official spot of the local Boston UGA Alums to watch the Dawgs play, but unless the weather clears up I may just hang on the comfort of my own couch. I know, I know... "come rain, snow, sleet...", dedication to your team, yadda yadda. But it's wet, cold, and just plain crappy outside; so instead of playing "What Would Herschel Do", I'll just crack a beer and bark my ass off right here.

Hope ya'll do, too. And don't forget to fall back.

teh internets!!!!1

2006-10-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had my first encounter with the urban car sharing phenomenon known as Zipcar, alluded to by Whitney in a comment on an earlier post. In a word: Kickass.

It takes a membership to Zipcar, which requires a nominal fee, in order to receive a Zipcard, which stores your personal info and any car reservations you make. Zipcar owns cars that are parked in strategic locations throughout the city. When you need a car you visit their website, view the cars that are available for use nearest to you, and reserve a car for the date and time you need wheels. At said date and time, you stroll to the location where the car is parked, take your handy Zipcard and flash it over a sensor mounted inside the driver's side windshield, and poof! - the doors unlock, you hop in, and go. When you're done, you park the car where you found it, grab your stuff, swipe your card once more to lock the doors, and walk away.

There are some very cool things about this process that beat the normal car rental outlets with a stick. The whole premise is the ability to rent cars by the hour, something you generally can't do at a normal rental agency. Zipcar has daily rates as well, and while they are not really competitive with daily rates from your traditional rental joint you do make up for that extra cost in convenience.

More often than not, renting a car can be a pain - it's not an end-of-the-world situation, it's just not the most convenient thing in the world. You could either schlep yourself to the airport, or go to one of the rental counters located in town which are usually 1) not convenient to get to, and/or 2) have shitty cars. Once you get to the rental counter, there is usually a line, a bunch of paperwork, and a salesperson trying to hit you up for extra insurance that you don't need because the dimwits don't understand that YES, MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY COVERS MY LIABILITY. Harumf. You may reserve a top-of-the-line sedan, but you'll probably end up with a car of the same size, stripped down, and made by Joe's Import Car Company. You'll have to fill it up with gas before you take it back, all on your dollar.

On the other hand, when you reserve a Zipcar, you know exactly what you're getting because you are reserving a specific car that is stored at a specific location. They're not lemons, either; recent model-year cars with power locks, windows, etc., XM radio in every car, cruise control, the whole deal. For obvious reasons, I won't reveal things like "where are the keys" - let's just say it is painfully simply to obtain the key to the car you have reserved. Gas and insurance are also included in your rental, which goes for an average of $9 an hour. It is an extremely cool and hassle free way to rent a car, and it is spreading quickly to other cities in the U.S.

Yet again, another chance for me to smack myself mightily on the head and exclaim, "Why the HELL didn't I think of that?!??"

autumn leaves

2006-10-24T15:31:00.000-04:00

another monday

2006-10-23T10:33:00.000-04:00

Had a great time this weekend - thanks to all who came to the show Friday night, and thanks to the great friends who let us crash in their homes and who schlepped us back and forth all weekend. It was hard to leave on Sunday.

Take a look at what we missed this weekend... I'd definitely say that is something.

Twiddling my thumbs at the moment, waiting for the cable guy. There are 30 minutes remaining in the three-hour window I was given for my installation appointment - meaning someone has 30 minutes to hook up my cable before I go medieval on their corporate ass.

disco dies... again

2006-10-19T18:25:00.000-04:00

That's right, folks... we're putting a lid on this disco inferno.

Check out the Funkle Ester farewell show, Friday night, October 20, at the Melting Point in Athens.

UPDATE:
This pretty much says it all...

it's the little differences

2006-10-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

There seem to be some hotly contested seats in the upcoming statewide election here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (From what I can tell, "Commonwealth" is just a fancy word for "state".) There is also a big ballot referendum that is getting a lot of airtime. It is known as Question 1. Appropriately, as it is the first question on the ballot. Question 1 asks whether or not grocery stores should be allowed to sell wine. Now, if you're like me, you're probably scratching your head and thinking, "Okay.... so, what's the big f*kin deal?" However, it is a big debate here, so much so that both sides have launched campaigns, websites, and even TV commercials aimed at exploring (or exploiting) the topic.

The situation here, as I understand it, is this:

liquor, beer, and wine are available only in state-licensed (but privately owned/operated) liquor stores.

Grocery stores can in fact sell wine under current law. However, any individual or corporation is limited to holding a maximum of 3 liquor licenses statewide; that restriction falls to 2 for a city and 1 for a town. Thereby your big supermarket corporations can only sell wine in three of their stores statewide.

Also, the state (ahem, *Commonwealth*) places quotas on how many licenses can be issued in each city or town, based on population.

As a footnote, booze on Sunday is in some cases subject to local restrictions, but it is largely prohibited statewide. There's also a weird law about allowing sales on Sundays that fall near major holidays, namely Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. (weird because, if you're going to allow sales on those days, why not every Sunday?)

The proponents of Question 1 would like you to think that package stores have a "virtual monopoly" on the sale of alcohol. Well...... yeah -- that's why they call them "liquor stores". This of course limits competition and allows liquor stores to increase profits at the consumer's expense. Now, don't be fooled by the apparently altruistic concerns of the supermarkets on behalf of your anti-trust rights. Corporate interests obviously have their dog in this race in order to go after the same profits they claim the liquor stores are piling away. Furthermore, the way the proposed bill is worded, only "food stores" could sell wine - not convenience stores. By definition, a food store must sell "meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fresh fruit and produce, baked goods and baking ingredients, canned goods, and dessert items." Tough shit, 7-11 - time to re-fill the slushy machine. Also, as craftily noted on the Blue Mass Group website, vegetarian or vegan grocery stores (who would most likely NOT be corporate entities) would be prohibited from wine sales under this law, since they do not sell meat, poultry, or possibly dairy products.

On the other end, there is a big scare campaign that claims a threat to public safety should the scope of alcohol sales be broadened. Their argument is a huge slippery slope, where allowing grocery stores to sell wine will eventually lead to the heathen masses - both adults and minors - stumbling through the streets drunk to find their car, where they will ultimately careen off of the road at 3am and collide with your house, killing your entire family. Furthermore, I find this funny because the "Vote No" campaign is likely supported heavily by the liquor lobby who, in an attempt not to lose market share to supermarkets, is touting the horrors of the sole product that they distribute. So, I say, what's up wit dat, yo?!

The real deal behind all of this has nothing to do with the morality of it, although I'm sure there are some in the area who feel that is the strongest point of the argument. This is, after all, where the Puritans landed. The issue is obviously corporations vs. small business. The Wal-Mart model will show you that it is entirely possible for corporations to push out small business, and the goverment allowing this to happen is a sort of intangible form of eminent domain... the property in question is only market share instead of real estate. Except that the small businesses wouldn't be compensated by the government, so I guess that really makes it theft.

It is interesting to draw a parallel between these arguments and the real world experience I've had in Georgia. It's true that if I'm in Atlanta, shopping for groceries and also in need of beer or wine, I'll buy it all there in the supermarket. However, if booze is my sole purchase, it's far more convenient to go to a liquor store or convenience store - even if only to buy a six-pack. The choice between those two obviously depends on what you intend to purchase based upon the scope of inventory. Also, there are a huge number of prosperous liquor stores located within the same shopping center as major supermarkets.

Clearly I can see both sides of the argument, and honestly it makes no long-term difference to me. I'm just pissed off that while I can walk roughly 100 yards from my apartment to the grocery store, I must then walk across the street and down a couple of blocks to the liquor store if I want beer with my dinner.

Movin' in

2006-10-16T12:13:00.000-04:00

We moved in to our apartment on Saturday morning, unloaded the van of death and unpacked all of our boxes. It was nice to get settled in. I couldn't have seen or heard the Dawgs play Saturday, and it sounds like that was a good thing. We have a nice place that seems to be in a good area of town. No cable or internet at home until next week, so I'm basking in the free wi-fi hotspot at a local cafe, engaging in my newfound occupation - drinking coffee and surfing the internet.

The decision not to bring our cars up here seems to have been the smartest thing I've ever done. It is really easy to get around by foot or by Subway, and the drive we made from between the hotel and our apartment on Saturday was all of the Boston driving I want to be a part of. New York driving? I'll take it in a heartbeat over this place. First of all, the layout of the streets in most parts of the city makes no sense whatsoever. There are not enough street signs, so many times you're doing Jedi driving. Roads that appear continuous on your map will suddenly split or divert, forcing you to change direction when you thought you could continue forward. Lanes disappear without warning - that is, if you're lucky to be driving on a street with marked lanes. Yeah.

So, to celebrate our moving in and successfully navigating the streets without injury, we walked to a nearby brew pub to sample some of the 16 brews they have handy.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

travel update

2006-10-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

Lack of reliable internet connections have kept me from posting this, but we did make it to Boston safe and sound on Tuesday afternoon. Here's the scorecard:

Total states visited: 12 plus D.C.
Total miles driven: 1,111.1 (no shit)
Near-death experiences with tractor-trailer: 1
Near-death experiences for Taco Bell employees attempting to toy with my emotions: 1
Best road sign: "Do Not Stop - Correctional Facility Area"

We left Sunday morning as planned and stopped for the night just past Baltimore. On Monday we drove to Providence to stay with Bean's sister. Tuesday we finished off by driving the few remaining miles between Providence and Boston to our hotel just south of downtown. We'll stay here until Saturday when our apartment is available for us to move in.

In the meantime, we'll take some time to see some of the city, figure out how to get around, and just hang out. Today we went downtown to check out our apartment building and see where Bean will be working. We also had some kick ass pizza at a little cafe. Tonight we're going to hang out with Modern Skirts and see their show here - it's the first show of their first east coast tour. Very cool.

Check out this TV commercial for an independent candidate for the upcoming Mass Governor's race...

Movin' out

2006-10-07T21:48:00.000-04:00

The original plan for getting our stuff up to Boston was to rent a trailer and tow it with my car. I've never been totally comfortable with that plan, because not only does my 4-cylinder sedan lack what it takes to tow much of anything, but towing, in general, blows dead bears. I've done it once before - I did okay with it, but it can be a pain in the ass.

After further consideration and some really good advice, we nixed the towing idea all together. I was advised that towing the trailer would basically kick my car's little Japanese ass, and that after towing a trailer for 1,200 miles my brakes would be toast and the transmission would need servicing. You can figure a few hundred dollars for that, plus the rental of the trailer at around $150 for a week, plus $260 to purchase and installation of a trailer hitch... likely in the neighborhood of $600-700 bucks, all said and done. We chose instead to spend that money on renting a minivan to make the trip.

Aww yeah... ridin' dirty, bitches.

We get a comfortable ride AND tons of storage space in a vehicle that can handle that kind of load. Actually, we've probably overloaded it just a weeeeee bit...

That's right - Cat's Pride, baby. We're gonna roll up looking like a couple of freakin gypsies. Remarkably, yes - I can still see pretty well in all directions from the driver's seat. I think I'll duck into a truck stop early on in the trip to use the scale - it would be nice to know in advance if I'm trashing the brakes or overworking the engine. Yeah - it's a rental, but I'd rather not boil the engine and end up somewhere on the side of the interstate.

Your next question - cars? We're leaving both cars in Atlanta, because our apartment is downtown and within a block or so of all four subway lines. We'll be able to get around pretty easily in town, and if we need a car for a side trip out of town we can just pick up a cheap rental for the day.

You dig? Cool.

Departure is scheduled for early Sunday morning.

We'll keep you posted.

Almost...

2006-10-04T16:55:00.000-04:00

HEY! DUDE!

I am unemployed - I know this. I know that because of this you have expected much more from my blog output. However, a whole helluva lot has been going on the past couple of weeks. Here's a list:

1) We moved out of our apartment and put all of our stuff in storage
2) We figured out where Bean's job would be, and we got our apartment in Boston
3) Since we can't move in until the 14th of this month, we're shacking up with him and her.
4) We've packed in as much time with friends as we could, with a few days still to go
5) We've made the rest of our arrangements for how and when we'll get from here to Boston, which has proven to be a constantly evolving set of plans

We'll be hitting the road early this Sunday, October 8, and I'll keep you up to date once we hit the road.

That's $32.51, in case you can't tell from the glare

2006-09-21T18:04:00.000-04:00

Weekend hump day

2006-09-19T07:28:00.000-04:00

Each day our plans for the move come more into focus, but still no final resolution. Serena's move to Denver was much more simple than this - she had her contract and housing all settled by 5 or 6 weeks before she left... we're still trying to figure out details for both of these. It is frustrating, but there's nothing we can do about it except to keep moving forward, one step at a time. Negotiations are time-consuming and cumbersome when you have to go through a middle-man. With any luck, we'll have confirmation on both either today or tomorrow. In the meantime, we're starting the arduous task of packing - anything we can live without for the next several months is going in storage... anything we can live without forwever is going on ebay.

My bass did arrive about a week and a half ago, but whoever packed the thing was a complete moron and it arrived damaged... marred finish, scars, cracks. Sent it back, and hopefully will receive a safely shipped replacement soon.

It just goes to show - if you're going to get busted, do it in a place where the jails are already full.

Also, this is ridiculous.

the last day

2006-09-15T20:06:00.000-04:00

Well, that's it.

I am officially no longer gainfully employed.

Today I packed up all of the personal items that have resided in my office for the last few years, said some goodbyes, turned in my keys and took my name off of the door. The experience was liberating, frightening, and nostalgic, all at the same time. I know that there will be other things, and better doors will be opened. I am glad for the work I have done and the things I have learned, and looking forward to moving on.

In related news, things are progressing with Bean's job and our moving plans. Interviews have been done, offers are being made, and I have even had some positive early conversations about a potential job. Slowly but surely, the pieces are falling into place.

I've had two fantastic farewell events thrown by colleagues the last two nights, where I laughed a lot, ate enough, and drank too much. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend and another Dawgs win.

rock the bass

2006-09-07T06:57:00.000-04:00

Still trying to help my muscles recover from Monday's kickball fiesta... yesterday the soreness in my legs was making me walk like a 70 year old man. I know -- weak.

A lot of my internet activity the past couple of days has been spent tracking the progress of my new toy as it makes its way across the country into my waiting hands. There will be much rejoicing upon its arrival, which should be today since the tracking website tells me it is in Norcro$$ at the moment. It was an early birthday gift from the Bean, who continues to be the most awesomest in so many ways.

Speaking of which, it seems like Providence is totally out for us as a potential destination, and the focus has shifted completely to Boston and the surrounding towns. ("Beantown"?? Apropos, no?)

Monday I get the pleasure of attending traffic court to try and get out of a really stupid ticket I got for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I quasi rear-ended someone - by quasi, I mean that I actually didn't hit the guy from behind. I was behind him in traffic, and I almost managed to evade him completely and ran along side his vehicle... but struck him nonetheless. There were multiple cars involved - the folks in the rear got tickets, the folks in the front were sent on their way. $1,000 insurance deductible later, here I am. Balls.

I also have to assess anything that could be potentially wrong with me (shutup) before September 30, when my Ivory Tower health insurance policy ends and my new Here's-A-BandAid-And-That's-All-We-Got-For-Ya policy begins. The short-term policy that I plan to purchase will not cover pre-existing conditions. The bitch of it is, I'm afraid I have a number of pre-existing conditions that no medicine will ever cure... whew.

big winner!

2006-08-31T19:52:00.000-04:00

As he pointed out in an earlier comment, Russ was the 15,000th visitor to this site. Fine people, a milestone like that can only win you the finest gifts. Like this.

ahh...

2006-08-30T23:07:00.000-04:00

so fresh and so clean clean...

Lookie -- NEW POST!

2006-08-29T14:48:00.000-04:00

The funny thing is: I actually had the urge to post yesterday, for the first time in a long time. But when I tried to sign in, the site was down for maintenance. Go figure.

Russ is right - I do suck at blogging. At least lately... or maybe I always have. Who knows? Some of you have an opinion, I'm sure. I'm thinking this page needs an upgrade... a new look and feel. I'll mess around with some new templates to see if I can find one I like. What do you think? What does this site need that it doesn't have (besides new posts, of course)? And no midget strippers - please... gotta draw the line somewhere.

My one current event comment of the day: while maintaining respect for the deceased and her family, I must ask why anyone still gives this much of a rats ass about the Ramsey murder. Sounds insensitive, for sure, but please... how can this really matter to anyone other than the families of the victim and perpetrator? Have the Ramseys not lived in the media circus long enough that we must subject them to more attention and scrutiny over the loss of their child? I just couldn't be less interested.

Now... on with the chlorophyll. And NO YELLING ON THE BUS.

We're still waiting to figure out where we'll be living a month from now. Kind of scary to think about, but I'm trying to take this all in stride. Part of this whole experience for me will be a sort of self-discovery of what happens when I am completely out of my normal comfort zone. Who knows - maybe I find that I will thrive in a different kind of environment. Maybe I'll hate it and regret making the move. Either way, I won't know until it happens so I'm making a conscious effort not to obsess about it and face things with an open mind. It's an affront to my normal self to not have any plans made, but what the hell - you only live once.

Honestly, I am really looking forward to the move and think that I will handle things in stride - it will just take an adjustment on my part to be able to go with the flow a little easier and not have to feel so in control of things. Strange words for a control freak, I know. I hope that I find I enjoy letting go. I think I will.

Stomach... full... of... Moe's... burrito....... ugh..............

why interns are sometimes just not worth it

2006-08-10T14:06:00.000-04:00

Today I had to leave the office for a meeting, so I left an intern with a task to complete during my absence. I left him with a stack of manila envelopes and some address labels. The task was simple: get a list of names & addresses from location x, make an address label for each name, stick a label on each envelope, alphabetize the envelopes when finished.

When I returned to the office he proudly stepped through my door and handed me the stack of envelopes...

... alphabetized by *first* name.

hmmmf

Another one bites the dust

2006-08-04T13:55:00.000-04:00

If you've not yet heard, the Atlanta Ballet has decided not to renew their contract with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, thus disbanding the orchestra in favor of performing with recorded music.

Please view and signthis petition to voice your concerns over the degredation of an important art form.

sunday in the park

2006-07-31T11:11:00.000-04:00

to sum up the most exciting part of my day

2006-07-20T17:53:00.000-04:00

A haiku:

Fluid in ears - that
damned plane ride did it. Shot in
the ass will fix it.

i hate subject lines

2006-07-12T08:32:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I'm actually going to post - not some bullshit one-liner that I can plop up here from anywhere via Google toolbar... I'm actually going to *write* something. (Shock!)

The summer is going by so fast... it's been over a month since I went to California and promised you pictures. They are coming - trust me. Incidentally, the clip I posted earlier was a video from Athens indie band Of Montreal that won a film award at AthFest this year. I think the song and the video are both catchy as hell... maybe some of you feel the same way? (Obviously not GeorgiaGirl...)

Hopefully ya'll are following along with Becky's adventures across asia. Haven't heard from her in a few days - hopefully because of lack of internet access and not due to abduction by elephants. Also, make sure you take a guess at the sex of E-liz' baby. She has to be one of the cutest moms-to-be that I've ever seen, and no doubt will be a great mother when the special day finally arrives. Still, though... when I remember band parties, drinking keg beer with her in someone's backyard at 18 years old, I say to myself, "WTF?! A baby!?!" Good for you, E. :)

Plans for the "big move" are starting to take shape - I'm hoping that our drives can be more leisurely than the mad dash to Denver. It would be nice to take our time, maybe only drive 6-8 hours in a day, and be able to stop at a few places along the way and actually *see* some other parts of the country en route... other than the inside of a Wendy's or a BP station. As soon as the onslaught of summer activities is over in August, I'll be able to spend more time thinking about that next step.

The move is bceoming more real to me now than it has been before. I'm now at the point at work where I'm working on a project and consciously realizing that I will not be around to see the results of what I've started. I've also gained a sort of nonchalant attitude about a lot of things at work - mainly because, although I always knew this was true, I'm letting myself realize that this is not the end of things to come. As I've started to explore what other opportunities may exist, it has opened my eyes to all of the possibilities that are around. It's refreshing. Life is also a lot easier when you don't take everything so damned seriously. (Another lesson I'm hoping to conquer - haven't gotten there yet, but I'm working on it.)

Speaking of which - it's 9:00am and I'm still at home... suppose it's time to hit the door.

R.I.P.

2006-07-11T17:36:00.000-04:00

Pink Floyd Co-Founder Syd Barrett Dies At 60

on the road again

2006-06-06T15:40:00.000-04:00

Got your bags packed?

Packing my trunk today - leaving for California on Thursday, back on Monday, out to Chicago on Wednesday, returning Thursday, drinking heavily Friday.

I'll try to remember to take some pictures while we're out... ya'll have fun, and we'll see you on the flipside.

appreciation

2006-05-25T19:08:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all for your kind words and comments... am very grateful to have you all as friends, and I'm looking forward to the next opportunity I have to see each of you, trade a handshake or hug, and share stories of what is new in our lives.

Spent my dinner time at my desk in the concrete bunker, chatting with Serena on the phone and eating take-out food out of a styrofoam box. I've done it countless times before, but tonight I had the conscious thought that perhaps I wouldn't have to do that every week for the rest of time. It was a nice thought.

The powers that be scheduled a program for this weekend that actually only has 75 minutes of music - score! I'll be home before 10pm, and that rules.

Now that the word is spreading, it's funny to hear people approach me and say, "Wow, I'm sorry to hear that you're leaving." What do you say to that? "Well... I'm not sorry." (?!?)

I hope everyone has fantastic Memorial Day plans in store. Cheers!

changes afoot... get on board

2006-05-24T08:10:00.000-04:00

I saw a colleague of mine yesterday - I had recently heard that she was leaving to take a new job in Nashville. I congratulated her and asked if she was excited about the move. She replied that she was excited, but was balancing her excitement with her fear about the change. She said, "You know, it is scary to think about, but at some point you just have to take the plunge."

No doubt.

I quit my job this week. Yes, you read that correctly - no need to refresh your browser. I tendered my resignation, as they say, effective at the end of August of this year. I did not come to this decision easily or quickly, although the news of it may seem abrupt. It should not be a surprise to many folks that I have been unhappy in my work for a while now. I don't want to get too far into it here - let's just say that for my mental well-being, it was time for me to explore a change. In approaching this change, a really cool and unique opportunity has come into light for me and Serena.

Remember Serena's trip to Denver? The impulse behind her three-month trip out west was the desire to follow a dream she'd had since she first learned about the opportunity in nursing school: to work contract jobs in different cities around the country, traveling to a different place every so often. The idea has always seemed so cool and exciting to me, but having an office job like I do doesn't really lend itself to that kind of transient lifestyle, and with us not wanting to be apart it kept Serena from following this dream. She is very understanding of the fact that my career doesn't allow me the flexibility to move around, but nevertheless she has remained enamored by the idea of traveling, and was struggling to come to grips with the fact that she may never have the opportunity to do something that she so badly wanted to do - if only for a few months.

We went out for dinner one evening; I didn't need to tell her how frustrated I had become with work, or how I longed to work fewer hours and spend more time with her and our families and friends. The hours I was spending at work were starting to take their toll not only on me, but on our relationship, and on my relationships with my family and friends. I felt motivated only by work, and even then the motivation was driven more by fear than inspiration. I felt that I was distant from everyone - I couldn't really deal with normal life in current time because my mind was constantly focused on other things. Serena's realization that she might miss out on the chance to travel was weighing heavily on her mind. I did not want her to miss this opportunity - to have the chance for regret or resentment. I realized that life should be spent by enjoying living, and that if you have the opportunity to follow a dream, you should take it.

I told her that I wanted to make a change, and that I thought we should take some time to travel. It seemed like the perfect time to do it: there would be nothing to hold us down to any one place - no job, no house, no family. If we wanted to do this at all, this would probably be the only chance we'll ever have. As her expression of surprise turned to joy, I described to her what I thought to be a reasonable plan: I would work until the end of the current season, which would coincidentally land at the end of our current apartment lease. After that we would go to one city for three months, then another for three months, and then relocate - perhaps Atlanta, Athens, or Charleston. We talked it over, and agreed that we would set out to do just that.

So there you have it. At the end of August, I'll be done with work. Early September we will move, likely to Providence, RI. We will stay there through mid-December, then return to Atlanta for Christmas and New Year's. After that, it's off to San Diego from January through March, at which point we plan to move to Athens. It's a very exciting thing to contemplate, albeit a bit scary... but just as my co-worker said to me, sometimes you've got to take the plunge. I've thought a lot about this and have explored (and continue to explore) different opportunities for not only what I'll do while we're away, but what I'll do when we return.

Regardless, I'm now beyond the first step into the great unknown. I didn't want to post this until the decision was final, and since I've had "the talk" with my boss we can't turn back now. The plunge has officially been taken.

And the water's fine.

Damn those Chinese!!

2006-05-23T11:19:00.000-04:00

In honor of last night's impressive display of carnage, ass-kicking, and general mayhem, I give you the Jack Bauer Kill Count. Enjoy.

Thanks to Kit and Jeb for the hospitality and year's supply of noodles.

Honorable mention to Russ' ass for providing some humor during the show.

Listen up

2006-05-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

Alright, bitches and ho's... you are all cordially invited to eat a bowl of dick.

Carry on.

Are you kidding?

2006-05-16T16:34:00.000-04:00

Do you think I'm going to read comments to that last post until after I watch the episode?

I'm not even reading any of your blogs until after I watch it.

Not a word from any of you about 24

2006-05-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

I taped it last night to watch the Grey's Anatomy finale.

welcome back...

2006-05-11T08:26:00.001-04:00

E-liz is back in the blogsphere. Ya'll say hello - she's blogging for two these days...

I guess it's that kind of day for everyone

2006-05-08T12:27:00.000-04:00

I just spoke with a colleague of mine... he is running an audition today for an upcoming vacancy, and it is apparently not without its challenges. Our exchange, verbatim, was as follows:

"So, how is it going so far?"

"Well, at the moment, not very well at all."

"Oh... is there anything I can help you with?"

"You can shoot me."

Sweet.

Ponderous

2006-05-07T15:16:00.000-04:00

"What Sarah Said"
(Death Cab for Cutie)

And it came to me then that every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time
As I stared at my shoes in the ICU that reeked of piss and 409
And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself that I'd already taken too much today
As each descending peak on the LCD took you a little farther away from me

Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines in a place where we only say goodbye
It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend on a faulty camera in our minds
But I knew that you were a truth I would rather lose than to have never lain beside at all
And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground as the TV entertained itself

'Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news
And then the nurse comes round and everyone lifts their heads
But I'm thinking of what Sarah said
that "Love is watching someone die"

So who's gonna watch you die?

CINCO DE FUNKY MAYO

2006-04-21T16:22:00.000-04:00

Rumor has it...

2006-04-19T19:56:00.000-04:00

... that on this night, the Skirts will play "Catalogue..." in album order, from start to finish.

Who knows? You may have heard it here first...

All you "Tonight, before you are sleeping" fans might get the moment you've been waiting for.

APRIL 28 - THE FABULOUS 40-WATT CLUB

2006-04-14T16:50:00.000-04:00

The Funkle is free, but the Ester's gonna cost ya

2006-04-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

Felt like posting some more pics - I'll write an actual post at some point. This blog is just too image-bare. Who likes words anyway?

Hey DB - I'm diggin the shades and the cloud of smoke...

And by the way, what the hell is happening here?

We're a lively bunch, aren't we?

"can you keep a secret, that I'm a bitter man?"

2006-04-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

Think we could just do this all the time??

Here's to you, my man:

Cheers!

In all the glamour that is a 40-watt dressing room...

show review & whatnot

2006-04-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

Completely forgot to post my thoughts on last Thursday's Death Cab for Cutie show at the Tabernacle. To my experience there is a bell curve with live music, to which the following categories apply:

Average: applies to about 70% of bands. It sounds good enough... whether it is bearable, toe-tappable, or pretty close to what you heard on the album, at least you enjoy listening - if only for a few moments.

Bad: horrible. wretched. deplorable. makes you cry to think of the fact that you paid a cover charge to be subjected to it. Applies to 25% of bands.

Good: makes you say, "holy shit - these guys can PLAY" (or girls, as it were). Only 5% make the cut. No matter what you heard on the radio or the album, they actually sound *better* live.

According to this rude scale, DCfC rates in the GOOD category. These guys rocked our faces from start to finish. They have nuance, dynamics, groove... totally subtle one moment, then kicking your ass the next. Good lights, good sound. They write fantastic songs. What's not to like? I seriously have nothing bad to say about it.

Now, on to the whatnot...

Not to be "that guy", but I'll go ahead and be deep and introspective. I've got a lot on my mind right now. I am trying to deal with coming to resolution with some of the many issues that have kept me preoccupied in recent months. I have wondered lately whether my life as a blogger was finished, or simply on hiatus. When you don't feel like you have anything interesting to say, it's a lot easier to keep quiet. But there is much brewing inside that needs to get out. Let's just say if I could write songs, I'd be set for a while with material. Hopefully I'll be able/willing to share more soon. As the light bulbs keep coming on in my head, I get more inspiration to say what is actually on my mind.

I'll tell you one thing, though: it is springtime, bitches! Did someone say cookout?

Ahh, memories.

2006-04-02T20:02:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, this guy taught me how to play darts. Time passed, and many a dart game was played. So many, in fact, that we decided to enter this tournament (see April 5th). There were many, many competitors in the tournament, and with only a limited number of boards in play we had to wait quite a while before our play-in game. The problem here is that when left unattended in a bar for any length of time, Russ and I will drink... a lot. I know - I've seen us do it.

We finally started playing and were smoking the competition, making our way through to the semifinal game. This particular night (and, well, more often than not), I had a few more drinks than Russ did. By this point in the evening, it was probably not wise to let me hold the darts, much less throw them. After I failed miserably at my final attempt, we lost the game and were out of the tourny. I announced to Josh, who had tagged along for shits and giggles, that he would be driving my car home that night... which was not only news to him, but a bit of a concern since he was apparently almost as drunk as I was. We dropped off Javier, who had also come along for the festivities, then as we pulled up to my apartment - I threw up in my own car.

It was a proud moment.

Two in a row, damn!

2006-03-31T13:58:00.000-05:00

To put to rest any suspicion my last post might have raised: no, yesterday's post was not ghost-written by Becky. That was all me, baby.

HEY - TONIGHT:

ATLANTANS:
Modern Skirts
Roxy
9:00pm

ATHENIANS:
Funkle Ester
Tasty World
11:30pm

If you're in between, pick one. Go out and support live music.

okay..... fine.

2006-03-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

alright, goddammit... I'm blogging.

I haven't felt at all like myself in the past six weeks. Work has been hellishly stressful for me, and although I have had tons of thoughts and anecdotes to share I just haven't been compelled to put them to words. I was sitting at a party last weekend surrounded by great friends whom I haven't seen in too long, and I could not find a single thing to say... that is, not until after several pints of keg beer. Between lack of sleep and being totally overwhelmed with work and other activities, I have become somewhat disconnected from myself. Not good, not healthy. Quite shitty, actually.

I narrowly escaped living hell at dinner earlier. The restaurant was empty when I entered at 5:00pm, all ready to sit down for my pre-work evening meal. I plopped down at the corner of the bar, far from everyone else, ordered a drink and my food and busied myself with the newspaper that was strewn across the bar where I was. There must be some sort of sorority convention in town at the hotel near where I was, as I noticed several of these types trickling in. Two sat down at a table to my left, immediately engaging in their own individual cell phone conversations. One of the pair took much longer than the other, finally finishing her 10-minute call to hear her friend teasingly plead, "gosh, like, get off the phone!" The reply was, "Sooorrrrry!! My sister's cat ran away! Like, can you believe that?!"

No sooner was this bomb dropped than out of nowhere two pencilneck fucks show up to enjoy a happy hour cocktail at the bar. Plenty of seats at the bar - but they of course choose the two directly next to me. They order margaritas: "frozen... no, wait - on the rocks." "Salt?", asked the bartender. "No - sugar please."

Sugar? Please tell me who the hell puts sugar on a margarita glass? Could you PLEASE find your balls somewhere?

After they are served, the conversation consists mostly of:
"Man, I was pretty fucked up last night."
"Yeah, you really were."
"I'm gonna try not to get that fucked up tonight - I mean, I still wanna get fucked up, but not like that."
"Yeah."

Pure genius.

The cell phone rings. "Whas up, dawg?" Conversation ensues, at the usual I'm-on-a-cellphone-so-I-have-to-talk-louder voice. On my left, the bopsy twins are being served their beer - without a doubt the lightest hue of any malt beverage ever created. They announce a proud "Cheers!" and proceed devour a cheese quesedilla.

The weather in Atlanta always does this. It is as if some weather deity is awakened from a slumber, realizes that it is spring, and flips a switch - then BOOM! Warm temperatures, sunny skies. I think the same dude flips another switch in June, when thunderstorms erupt every afternoon like clockwork. At least we can enjoy spring for the two weeks that it is here.

Pessimism? Bad attitude? Sharp-tongued sarcasm? Try overworked and underpaid, with a girlfriend who spent the afternoon at the pool while I sat underground in a cinder-block room and tried to feign interest in projects that I could give a shit less about.

Think I need a vacation? Good - that makes two of us.

Success

2006-03-14T10:40:00.000-05:00

I'm back, in one piece, and no one was lost/injured/maimed in the process. Thanks to all for calls and texts of support. I will write a complete missive later, but wanted to post that all went well. There were, of course, some bumps in the road - nightmare hotel check-in, concert tickets purchased but missing at will call, flight cancellations, and the like. It's hard out here for a Dave.

But regardless, the concert was a great success and I have heard several positive comments about the weekend. As a colleague of mine put it, my tour cherry has officially been popped.