Quite possibly the best band touring at the moment...

I Got Burned

 I found this band from Australia recently named The Bamboos. Really digging them lately, especially this little tune!

And It’s Still Alright

New Year, New Goals... or Things I always seem to say

So here we are in 2012. The month of January has already past in this the year 2012. And I have myself a new computer. One with a ton of memory. Memory I can use to write, and write, and write some more. So I guess then that I should write.

I used to love to write on this blog. The entries weren't long. They weren't profound. But they were consistent. I need to get back into the habit of regularly writing some shit down. Maybe, just maybe, the next great American novel is waiting inside me. Its just waiting to break out.

I'm drinking a PBR and listening to Norah Jones right now. Its late at night and I should be getting to bed. My beagles are snoring on my bed right now. I should sleep. I've got a double ahead of me tomorrow. And then another double on Saturday. And then after that double, Julie and I are driving to Blacksburg to see her twin and watch the Super Bowl. Go Giants! It should be the Saints against the Pats and not the fucking Giants. But what can you do? So, again, I should get some sleep. And since I just finished my beer, I will get sleep.

Goodnight all. I shall make every attempt to do this again REAL soon...

Breakfast Americana

Ringing in the New Year...

Let sleeping beagles lay. Unless of course they begin to snore. And then pick up sleeping beagles and move them to chairs.

I want to get two chocolate labs, a brother and a sister from the same litter, and name them "Scully" and "Mulder." I also decided yesterday that I'd like to name my dogs after jazz musicians. I'd have Thelonious Monk, and I'd call him Theo. I'd have Dave Brubeck, and he'd be Dave. I'd have Miles Davis, and he'd be Miles. I'd have Stan Getz, and he'd be Stan. Then there'd be Herbie Hancock, and he'd be Herbie. We'd have a Wayne Shorter and a Chic Corea. A Johnny Coltrane. I'm going to have to have a lot of dogs...

A quickie, if you like...

Its been awhile. Just thought I'd write something down... you know, maybe get myself back into the habit of putting words to page/screen. Let's see what happens...

New Orleans, pt.1

I guess I should write some things about what's been happening.  I'm actually quite surprised I haven't put "pen to paper," as it were, already, seeing as how that's my medium for expressing my feelings....

The trip to New Orleans was incredible.  Best trip I've ever had.  I left Raleigh on Friday, January 16th and finally arrived back (two days late) on Thursday, January 22nd.  I got into New Orleans around 10:30 am and Julie picked me up at the airport.  I hadn't seen her in something like 13 years, and it was like we had just seen each other.  Absolutely perfect!  Like we had just seen each other, just spoken.  It was very clear from that moment that she and I still had our amazing connection.

So we head back to her house and then go to Le Bon Temps for some drinks.  And that was the beginning of my amazing weekend.  From Le Bon Temps we went to some little Po Boy joint and met up with Eleanor.  More drinks, then Eleanor's house, then Tipitina's for some live music.  Julie and I were dancing and having a good time, much to the dismay of Eleanor.  The evening ended at Julie's house, with Eleanor leaving my luggage in the road and storming off.

I'm not feeling like rehashing the whole weekend at the moment.  Not in the mood.  Suffice it to say, it was the best weekend of my life, so far.  I fell in love with Julie.  Hopelessly in love with Julie.  It was the weekend that began our relationship.  Which isn't to say we have a relationship.  But we do.  We're in love.  We want to be together.  We want to take it slow.  We want to do everything.  We're in love.  And it began during that magical weekend.  Actually, to be honest, it began when we met 16 years ago.  But it was lying in wait for that weekend.  And now we are in it.  And I couldn't be happier.  I'm in love with Julie Bondy.  More to come.........

Hello 2009

No cigarettes for 6 days now.  That was my big goal this year: quit smoking.  So far, so good.  Not all that easy, but not impossible.  Also going to quit going out as much.  Going out=spending money.  Money that I don't have.  And it'll be smoky as all hell, which I'm really trying to steer clear of.  So there's that.

Had a security leak recently.  Have sense tightened things up.  Thought this was a "For Your Eyes Only" operation.  Found out otherwise.  Hopefully the necessary corrections have been made and the blog will once again be all mine.  Its not like I was writing this for anyone anyways.  This blog is for me and me alone.  I'm doing it because I like to type more than I like to sit down and write. So we'll see if I get infiltrated again...

2008...

Goodbye 2008.  Thanks for the giggles.  I'll be glad to see you leave.  But I must admit, you came on pretty strong there in the end and made yourself one of the most memorable years in quite some time.  I'm sure that when I look back, 2008 may well be the year where everything finally started turning around.  I've just got to keep the momentum going into 2009.

A year-in-review is not needed.  A lot happened, but I won't go into it.  Suffice it to say, outside my own little world, it was one of the most turbulent years in memory.  The economy is in the garbage.  The housing market is about to crash.  There is serious unrest in the middle east.  Our nations political arena is still wobbly, even though we have a new man at the helm.  Yada yada yada.

Tomorrow I quit smoking.  Tomorrow I quit drinking for a little while.  Tomorrow I try to  put myself on a path to gain some clarity and hopefully start moving in a new, positive direction.  Tomorrow is the beginning.  And so I say again, goodbye 2008.  Thanks for the giggles.........

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

"Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters"

And now I know
Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say
I thought I knew
But now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City

Until you've seen this trash can dream come true
You stand at the edge while people run you through
And I thank the Lord there's people out there like you
I thank the Lord there's people out there like you

While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light

This Broadway's got
It's got a lot of songs to sing
If I knew the tunes I might join in
I'll go my way alone
Grow my own, my own seeds shall be sown in New York City

Subway's no way for a good man to go down
Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown
And I thank the Lord for the people I have found
I thank the Lord for the people I have found

-Elton John

Thoughts on a Nap...

Ah, the nap.  The glorious nap.  Few things in this world are as special as the nap!  Sound a bit overboard, do I, friends and neighbors?  Maybe, yes.  But can anyone actually tell me that they wouldn't love to settle down for a nice nap during their day?  What a luxury to have the time to stop everything and close your eyes and sleep!

I have valued naps more than most things since my high school days.  My boarding school was a tough one.  We were pushed from early morning until 11PM every night.  Sleep was a prized commodity.  So we slept at every chance we could get.  15 minutes?  No problem.  Lunch or nap?  Nap, damn it.  Bet your ass I'm going to grab some shut eye.

Then came college and naps became important for different reasons.  Classes began as close to noon as possible, so getting up at the butt crack wasn't a factor.  Rather, the hang over became the enemy.  And the nap became the cure.  A two hour nap could recharge the batteries for a repeat performance.  And let's not forget about all the pot smoked.  Nap after bong hits was a given.  Duh!

But the working world was next, and the glorious naps became extinct.  No sleeping on the job.  Work, work, work.  Do, do, do.  Blah, blah, blah.  You can bet your ass, though, that a nap would make an appearance during the weekends, though!  That is, unless you work in the restaurant industry.  Lately, I have taken a 2 hour nap every day for the past 5 or 6 months.  I get up, do a few things, eat lunch, and then sleep until its time to get up and shower before work.  And what an amazing thing to wake up refreshed from a nap and then head to work.  Yes, one of the great perks to working in the restaurant biz and doing nothing else is that I can get 10-12 hours of sleep at night AND take a nap during the day.  Now that's what I'm talking about!

There are nap rules.  Not all agree with my nap rules, but they are important to me and must be obeyed.  First and most importantly, you may NOT get under the covers!  That is the ultimate no-no.  Getting under the covers constitutes going to bed.  And a nap is not going to bed.  A nap is a glorious rest.  A reprieve from the day.  You are supposed to get under a blanket or throw, but NOT under the covers.  You can't break the seal.  The only other rule is that PJs really shouldn't be worn.  You should be dressed, for the all the same reasons as why you can't get under the covers.

And I've saved the best naps for last.  The naps that are far and away some of the most magical experiences we can have: naps with a loved one.  With all the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, with all the bullshit and noise and grief, with all of the crap, isn't it a little piece of heaven to be able to curl up with someone you love and hold them tight and smell their hair and close your eyes and fall asleep with them.  Snuggling, spooning, what have you.  The whole point is to stop everything and curl up and sleep.  Now that's special.  That's one of the things I miss most about not having a girlfriend.

Ah, the glorious nap.  I have iTunes playlists for them.  I make time for them.  I cherish them.  It is one of our little miracles that we can just stop everything and close our eyes and dream.  Ah, the glorious nap...........

Lonely Ole Christmas...

I can't help but feel pains of nostalgia during the holiday season.  I have had some amazing Christmas holidays over the years.  I find myself thinking of my EHS days, in particular.  We would have crushing exams right before we left for break.  And my first year, we were still very much running under the old "rat" system that the school was founded on.  The day we were leaving for home, all the new boys on 2nd McGuire had to go sing Christmas carols to all the seniors on the hall, which basically meant that we had to walk into several lion's dens.  But more memorable than that was the fact that I was going home to see Alice.  We had met over Thanksgiving break, and in one short month I had fallen in love for the first time.  This was the first girl I had ever said "I love you" to.  We had an amazing break together.  I still have a picture of us together during those few weeks together and I cherish that picture like few others.

Another EHS Christmas break was spent with Micki, another girl who I had fallen in love with.  I remember that break as being a very rowdy one.  And then there were the college Christmas breaks.  Lots of Phish shows.  Lots of debauchery.  Lots of great memories.

But these days the fun is all gone.  I have no one special to spend the holidays with.  No girlfriend to buy gifts for.  And the immediate family has fallen into a noticeable rut.  That is not to say that I don't have great time with mom and dad and sister on Christmas.  But is really no different than any other day.  We all have just let it slide into a very casual holiday.

And I dread New Year's Eve like no other day of the year.  It has become the loneliest day of my calendar year.  That feeling started in Aspen and has intensified with each passing year.  While I loathe the night for its "amateur" status, I still long for someone special to ring in the new year with.  I long to have someone special to kiss and the big apple falls.  I long to look into someone's eyes and whisper in their ear, "Happy New Year my love!"  And this New Year's Eve will be no different.  I will be sad and depressed at the thought of entering another year very much alone.  And so I say, "It's a lonely ole Christmas........"

national lampoons christmas vacation - just browsing

Christmas in Aspen...

The season has been pretty mild so far.  In fact, if it wasn't for the decorations in the restaurant, I wouldn't even know we were in the midst of the season.  I guess that is both good and bad.  Good because nothing kills the mood than an obnoxious season.  Bad because this is supposed to be the busiest month of the year.

Christmas in Aspen was the most dreadful experience you could ever wish on an enemy.  Locals who were fortunate enough to avoid Aspen would disappear until the new year to avoid the town.  And it was just the damn people who made it bad.  All the richies who owned the gigantic mansions on Red Mountain would descend on the town for 2 weeks and everything would go to hell.  These people are the rudest, most unpleasant people you could imagine.  Unlike the tourists who would visit during other times of the year, these awful people would look down on everyone around them.  It was truly a miserable experience.  And every local in Aspen will agree.  Granted, it was a big money time.  But we all hated those people.  And we dreaded those miserable two weeks.

But so far, this season is nothing like that.  I know it couldn't be because we generally have all the visitors that Aspen did.  We just get a ton of Christmas parties.  We also get family members coming to visit.  So all in all, its a mild, tame season.  But hopefully the restaurant will make lots of money this season.  I really don't want to look for a job in 2009..........