10.31.2004

FLetch: hey betty, how about lunch at the in n out burger?

Sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest impression. I called topgun girl last night around 11 or so, and she was driving back from a wedding in mexico with her friend. It wasn’t really a long conversation because she was stopped at a gas station to change back into driving clothes. Anyways, we talked for a couple of minutes, and she ended the call with ‘it was really good to hear your voice’. Now I know I read into things a lot more than I should, but there’s something about that phrase that really struck me. First, she’s never said that before. Second, she said it in a different tone than the rest of our conversation. I’m not sure exactly what to think about that, but it was good to hear from her again as she was approaching san diego. She called about two hours later asking me if I knew of a motel to stay at in eastern san diego. A few things about this: 1) I crash on my friends’ couches. I don’t have a clue where motels are, or what they will cost. 2) I don’t know east san diego at all. 3) there were so many other people she could have called, but she called me. That’s the one that gets me. Hmmm, we’ll see. Last time we talked we said something about spending a Saturday afternoon relaxing. I’m def not sure what that means, but I can tell you all of my previously planned Saturday afternoons just got cancelled. The reason I mention this is because it is starting to hit home that I don’t know anyone my age here in simi. I’m trying not to think about it or let it get me down, but it’s somewhat hard at times.
For example, the cuz and I were in thousand oaks this afternoon. He wanted to stop at pier 1 to see if they had any rugs for our apt. I was looking for an art store to buy stuff to get a few paintings up on our walls. Anyways, I had a run-in with my debit card at the art store, and there was a decent line behind us. Embarrassing to say the least. The girl behind the counter was pretty cute, and we had a little flirting going on. Not like I was going to ask her out, but the kind of flirting that you do just to show that you can. The cuz was chiming in too, and afterwards it really got me thinking. We’re lame. We didn’t even talk on the way home, I really wasn’t sure what to say. I think it hit home for both of us that neither one of us really have it together when it comes to females. Every once in a while this realization becomes apparent, but this is the first time there has really been an awkward silence after a moment like this. Whether or not this is an issue, I think I’m going to make it a point not to flirt with anymore people that are wearing a name tag. Oh yeah, this was already on my mind from yesterday, when this girl from the taco shop asked me what cologne I was wearing, and I responded by letting her know it was snuggle fabric softner. We both laughed, and then I realized I was flirting with the girl from the taco stand. Not that there’s anything wrong with her, it’s just really awkward. And not the kind of fun awkward that I normally live to take advantage of. No matter what, you’re not going to see my profile on eharmony.com
tonight afforded some other good comedy. I was at rubios downing some fish tacos with some of my kids in the youthgroup, when I mentioned something about ‘lime juice in the eye’, and one of the kids (rockstar) decided I wasn’t joking and went ahead and put some in his eye. Needless to say he was in a great deal of pain almost immediately, and seemed surprised that it actually hurt. The rest of us were laughing so hard we were crying along with him. One of those things you had to be there for, but the point is I need to watch what I say around the 9th graders. Oh man, what a good laugh though.
Another fun part of today, was bugging the cuz, who is from texas, about redneck humor. I made my best effort to single handedly kill the phrase ‘git er done’ myself. That phrase has got to go, along with every redneck, nascar, my mom shot my dog country song out there. Nuff said.

Other random observances:

caller i.d. makes calls from topgun girl that much better. I’m not sure why, but I think it gets me more excited to know that when I open my phone I’m going to be talking to her.
That and my phone displays a picture of her that pops up along with her number.

Will ferrel is the funniest person on the planet. Followed closely by dave chappelle and zach galafianakis. David koechner would be up there but he hasn’t been in enough stuff, although he receives props enough for his role as stumpy in out cold.

Every female reporter on fox sports is extremely attractive.

Pimp my ride uses a lot of christian rap for background music.

Razor scooters need to go.

The day before halloween is too early to put up christmas decoration, unless you are clark w. griswold.

Speaking of which, every line cousin eddie has in christmas vacation is funny, except for when he says ‘bingo’ after clark’s sled run.

People at art stores are continuously sizing each other up. You never know if you’re standing next to picasso, or some random community college anime fan.

Reality tv shows that make over peoples’ houses make me glad to live my life as a minimalist.

Pier 1 is way too expensive, and no one needs all the stuff they have there.

Walking into a glass patio door is about the dumbest thing you can do. That and it leaves a wicked bruise. Needless to say, you can now find my forehead print on our door after this afternoon.

There is a media conspiracy against president bush.

All of eminem’s rhyme schemes are the same. (This is why he was booed off stage at warped tour back in 99)

same with the beastie boys, but their music is much more fun, and for some reason I really don’t mind.

As much as I loved my college experience, it would have been nice to at least once have stormed the field after a football game and help tear down the goalpost.

No sports team should ever have to wear purple.

I can’t wait to get my new computer. It may be the coolest computer ever designed.

Scott ian from anthrax is by far the funniest person on the ‘I love the 80s/90s’ series.

Well, it’s bedtime. One love, one heart.

10.28.2004

bob: why is there tape on your nose? dignan: exactly.

i guess this would be as good a place as any to put down some random thoughts.

rap music is in for a big change. rims are the rap equivalent to big hair of 80's metal. throwback jerseys are the equivalent to shredded jeans. what happened to heavy metal was that it go so far removed from the culture that created it with the big hair, pink stretch pants etc, that it totally isolated the musicians from the people. that's why nirvana hit big, they looked like the exact opposite from everyone else that was popular, and they were grounded enough that the songs they were singing hit home. poison had no clue what the people that were buying their records were dealing with, and when you put an 'unskinny bop' on your album, it's time for change. this brings me to lil john and the new crew of rappers. i hesitate calling them rappers because i've listened to their music and i've yet to hear them actually rap. flavor flav from public enemy even had a few rhymes back in the day, even though he was a hype man that was more known for his 'yyyyeaaahhhh booyyyyyyyyyyyyy' than his rymes. even then, he was working with chuck d, one of the great lyricists of our time. ugh. that's why i listen to christian rap. these guys are so under the radar, they don't have to stoop to the 'rims tricks and ho's' stuff that haunts the airwaves today. i guarantee when vh1 does their 'i love the 2000's' airs in a few years there will be a nice two minute section for lil john.

i think it would be fun to be an extra in a zombie movie.

there are a lot of shows out right now making over people's lives. from your house, to your clothes, your hair, even your car. stuff? a) every house/haircut/outfit/car ends up looking pretty similar. 2) why can't i get on one of these shows and get some free stuff.

the red sox b(r)ought in curt schilling to win the world series. hmm, sounds like they have become the evil empire. ironic. all that time they were complaining about the yankees buying championship teams, they were building up the second largest payroll in baseball.

nothing says boston red sox like the phrase 'cowboy up'.

topgun girl saw my print of 'old man and guitar' in my apt and asked me if i painted it. i laughed and explained that it was a picasso piece, but appreciated the compliment.

a few weeks earlier i mentioned to her she needed to do something for herself, to go all out for a day and do something that was unnecessary and involved pampering. my best suggestion at the time was something like a day spa or glamour shots.

i'm glad i'm not smooth.

i love awkward moments. like when your date farts outside and then it trails in the car, but you don't want to say anything to embarass her, but you both smell it.

i have never bought a wig, but somehow i managed to end up with seven by the time i was done with college.

a couple of summers in college i worked on a landscaping crew back in seattle. i was the only white guy on the crew. my first day i showed up to the site late because i had to fill out paperwork. the boss drove me to the site and showed me what to do. i was ready to quit my job by lunch the first day trying to keep up with the guys on the crew. the next day i showed up, and one of the guys figured out that i wasn't the bosses son. that was the easiest day ever. they would bring some sod down, have a cerveza, shovel a little bit, cerveza.... you get the point.
i had to learn some spanish so i could communicate with these guys. one day i repeated a phrase to my boss, and he informed me that i couldn't say that if i went to church. these guys had a pretty good laugh. i had a good laugh a few weeks alter when they asked me how to say cerveza in english. i told them 'cerveza es milk'. a couple of weeks later i had a better laugh when these guys had gone to an english speaking bar looking to order a drink.

90% of youth ministers are overweight, have a gotee, receding hairline, play guitar, golf, bet on poker, and wear polo shirts.

if i could have anyone play me in a movie it would be jack black.
my dad would be bruce willis.
mom... the mom off of malcom in the middle
my sister would be the girl from princess diaries.

japanimation used to be really cool, now it's just creepy.

the best dates i have ever been on were the ones that i didn't spend a dime on. although, that had nothing to do with them being good.

there is something fun about being dressed up in a suit and tie. only for about three hours though. after that it's time to get back to shorts and a t-shirt.

why are ties fashionable? all they are is a piece of fabric tied around your neck. i think it's a sign that 'the man' has got his hold on you.

shaving your head is a last resort. be sure to check for any odd shapes before you do so. that, and make sure not to shave your head at the end of summer when your face is all tan and your head is going to be pale. it looks like you're wearing a helmet.

speaking of helmet, old ladies crack me up with their helmet hair.

weren't we supposed to have flying cars by now?

despite all the innovation they have made with toothbrushes, you still have plastic bristles on some sort of plastic handle.

what drove the first person to look at a pig and say 'i want to eat that'?

i like see what girls look like early in the morning. i think it's a better gauge of what they truly look like, and where their priorities are.

you gotta love girls that look good in baseball caps.

guys shirts always look better on girls. this also goes for jackets and sweaters.

it would take me about almost exactly a month to listen to all of my cds and mp3s.

well, i think i've rambled on enough. more stories and random thoughts to come later, i'm sure.
one love, one heart.

10.27.2004

you can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat...

yet another surreal day. let's just say this rain has put me in the mood to listen to pink floyd. juaner should be here for this. musically this has been an interesting week. I’m really amazed at how the weather effects what I listen to. at the beginning of the week it was really nice out and I was all about 311. Monday got a little cold and windy, postal service took a few spins in the cd player, so did atreyu and taking back Sunday. last night it was buckets, and I ended up buying the new ben harper/ blind boys of alabama cd. today I’ve listened to that, joe strummer, and now pink floyd. I think when I go home it's gonna be some jack johnson.
days like this are hard to enjoy after living in seattle. I was at the grocery store grabbing some lunch, and there were strangers there laughing and talking to each other about trying to not run through puddles. I was quiet, just mad that I had parked in a giant river through the parking lot, and my vans aren't exactly water tight. oh well. at least my feet are staying cool and moist for the rest of the day. regardless, it's weird to see people enjoying the rain.
the worst part of the rain is that I really don't feel like doing a thing. I should probably give my paycheck back for this week cause I’m really no good right now. that, and I had a little fender bender yesterday with a jaguar, and I can feel the days of no money for anything coming up shortly.
the biggest thing that has been nagging me is getting this ministry up and going. I feel like I could be doing so much more right now, but the days really just slip away. part of me is taking the 'rome wasn't built in a day' stance, and then another part of me leans towards 'seriously, what do you do all day'. my newfound addiction to alias really isn't helping either. yesterday I had a kid who had taken a day off of school, struggling with the whole 'finding yourself' thing. man, I felt useless. I can remember so much of what he was going through and I still had no way of telling him what I was thinking. it was like playing charades or something, and I don't think he quite got what I was motioning. I think it's time to call in reinforcements and give 'wild one' (old youth minister in tulsa) a call. once again I’m torn though. I feel like I should be able to go six weeks without having to call for help. well, maybe this is God breaking me down. hope so, stuff like that is a pain to have to deal with for a long time.
personally, there really isn't much to tell. maybe that's why these rainy days are kinda lame. when it's sunny out, at least I feel like I could go out and do something, even if I don't. rainy days serve as a reminder to me of the fact that I stay in my apt too much as it is. last night I made the cuz drive me out to the valley just to get out of the apt for the night. we ended up at best buy, which isn't thrilling in the least. oh yeah, and on the way back we listened to some texas country. sorry, to all my friends out there who swear that is the anti-nashville sound, but I’m not hearing it. I finally talked to topgun girl the other day. it went really good, it even sounded like she was wanting to see me again. I’m trying not to read too much into our conversation, but the more I talk to her, the more I realize I should try and break through to more important stuff. yeah, that's probably the last thing I need to do right now. fortunately, the side of me that wants to wait it out is taking over. at least the waiting isn't due to timidity.
well, the sun just came out, so I think I’m gonna switch cds here and throw on some grits. that, and I should probably actually put some youth events on the calendar.
see you in the mud puddles. one love, one heart.

10.22.2004

robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.

Ugh. I don’t want to hear a thing from any cubs or red sox fans. Being an astros fan is worse, we just don’t get to gripe about it as much because it hasn’t been ingrained in our culture like other teams. Needless to say, the cuz and I are doing what we can to not think about the astros losing tonight. I’m just glad I had the youth group over for a devo, otherwise I would have pulled a ‘derelict’ (yet another former roomate) and punched a whole in the apt wall. Ugh. This is lame. I feel like I’m two steps away from watching a wnba game. Well, not that far... So these past few days have been pretty up and down. The astros and yankees both lost. That hurt. Both of those losses. I’m naming my first ulcer after dan miceli, the astros pitcher that should have been keeping score from home.
Actually, I guess that’s all that has been pretty lame. We started our jr and sr high bible studies the past two nights, and I think they are going pretty well for a start. The kids are really energetic and seem to be into our talks. It’s kind of cool having my own place to invite people over. And, surprising to most of my roomates and my family, our place is pretty much always clean, except for the few hours at a time when I have laundry on the floor. Juaner and the rest of the fellas from 214 wouldn’t believe it if they saw it.
As far as personal stuff goes, simi valley continues to feel more and more like home. I think having the cuz as a roomate really helps out with that. I bought a few cds today for the first time in a while. Today was sort of one of those spending sprees that I really shouldn’t have, and am grateful for the fact that best buy is pretty far away. Either way, here are the cds I bought and a mini review:
atreyu:
yeah, this may be the closest thing to pantera I have ever owned. These guys are right up the middle metalcore, which is exactly what I shouldn’t be listening to driving down the 101. Yeah, it’s that good.
Napoleon dynamite soundtrack:
so this may be the best comedy to come out in a long time. I’ts like hanging out with your nerdy friends for 90 minutes, and one of my fave parts was the soundtrack. The 80's music alon would have been enough, but they throw in a bunch of quotes from the movie to double the track listing. Heck yes! This one put me in a great mood today, and was def what I needed to hear after listening to my other purchase.
Sharlock poems: in God we trust
sharlock poems is from l.a. symphony, the best rap group no one has ever heard of. Why? They’re christian. Actually, the show pimp my ride uses a lot of their beats as background music. Regardless, christian rap is the best underground music out there right now, and it’s only going to get better. Because they don’t have to conform to the ‘rap’ that hits big today, they have creative license to explore new sounds and do their own thing. Unfortunately, I don’t see anyone giving them respect simply because they are christian. Lame, but it keeps the shows cheap and the cds more creative.
What else... I am still customizing my apt. last night I finally fixed my shower curtain issue. The whole clear plastic wasn’t working for me, I’m not really scared of the cuz walking in or anything, but there’s still something creepy about having nothing between you and the outside world when it comes to showering. So I took mine and got some black spraypaint and painted a giant black rubber duck on mine. My shower this morning was great. And I think this may be spurring on a creative streak that may result in a few paintings for the apt. sweet, its about time I did some original artwork again.
I think my guitar playing may be picking up too. I feel like I am playing faster and more precise lately. This should be fun when I get my own mac and can start recording my own tunes. Yeah, this could be one of those things that becomes an expensive hobby...sweet.
Oh yeah, another interesting sidenote, I met the mom from the partridge family today before our youth minister’s lunch. I was waiting outside for the restaurant for it to open and she came up and we actually got to talk for a few minutes. In my effort to not be ‘one of those people’ I didn’t say anything about her being famous, except for the fact the manager opened up the doors early for her, let me in, and I kinda winked at her and said thanks. I think she knew that I knew she was famous, but was really nice and approachable. Either way, that’s three celebrity run-ins in just over a month. At this rate I’ll be starring alongside tempest bledsoe in a lifetime channel movie in no time.
One more thing, when you’re on the freeway, the on ramp is used to accelerate to 65mph. I think I’m going to put a sign on the 405/101 interchange. Either that or I’m going to get a bb gun and start taking out mirrors on bmws that don’t’ know how to merge onto a socal freeway.
Well, before I start to go postal and start rambling... one love, one heart.

10.20.2004

why wasn't i watching alias sooner?

man i've missed this therapy.
things aren't really bad right now, it's just a lot tougher getting this youth ministry started up than i thought. i think i could handle the youth ministry if that was all that was going on, but you throw car troubles, moving, constantly thinking about topgun girl and a few other things in the mix and all of the sudden things are hectic. let's just say with the rain outside it's what my roomate juaner would call a 'surreal day', and then we'd cruise around and listen to pink floyd.
on a personal level, i can't stop thinking about topgun girl, even though we haven't talked in a week. anytime i do have to think about her she's at work, or i'm busy and can't call. i have a feeling that flame has been fizzled out. prob not a good thing, but options are limited when i'm working almost every night.
i'm still spending money on the truck too. fortunately the radiator guy saved me about $200 yesterday. now all that is left is the column, the muffler, the smog check, then taking care of the expired tags. yeah, that one could bite me in the butt. fortunately, a review of my finances says i should be able to afford an Xterra or something like that pretty soon. we'll see how that goes.
me and the cuz have the apt looking pretty decent, although we aren't getting cable until later today, which means we've had to go to sports bars every night of the playoffs so far. check that. the cuz has gone to sports bars every night for the playoffs. i join him when i can. as far as the apt, there's something really nice about not having to worry about your room being clean, or all of your stuff put away in your bathroom unless someone is coming over. tonight and tomorrow night i've got kiddos coming over, so there's my excuse to clean. most importantly, i'm sticking to my minimilistic principles and getting rid of as much as i can constantly.
youth ministry was going to be tough but fun. i can see the fun part coming up quickly, it's just a matter of getting all this other stuff out of the way. right now it's a real struggle trying to remember that whole 'rome wasn't built in a day' mentality. the big thing is trying to find a balance between rolling with the kids' readiness to have fun and still getting things set up so that they are spiritually ready to grow. yeah, i can't wait for this thing to get going either.
other personal news... i got to go to my first usc home game the other day and it was absolutely unreal. the coliseum was packed, and there was just as much excitement there as any big 12 game, w/o all of the unnecessary stuff that drove me nuts living in ok. first, there were no flags on cars. only in oklahoma would three bumper stickers, a magnet, and a license plate holder not be enough to let the world know you were an ou fan, you had to put these stupid little plastic flags on your car. (when i say oklahomans, i obviously don't mean all of them, there were oklahoma state fans there too.) that was the difference at usc, just as many fans, just as much tailgating, just no overdone cars. oh yeah, and it was sunny.
that leads me to my next observation about california. you have to have a pair of decent sunglasses out here. it's not really a style thing, (well, not completely) it's more of a necessity thing. you don't go anywhere w/o seeing people wearing sunglasses. even the homeless guys around here wear sunglasses. it's pretty funny. it's been raining the past few days, and is still pretty overcast, but everyone on the freeway yesterday was still wearing their shades. guess that's the trade off for living in the golden state.
shades are one of the requirements for living here. following closely is the possession of a hooded sweatshirt. not sure why, buy every sweatshirt out here has a hood on it. i don't complain, i grew up with hoodies, and didn't really know sweatshirts came w/o them until i moved to ok. next, you have to have a shortcut for getting everywhere. the bank, dodger stadium, it doesn't matter. there are several ways to get everywhere around here. lastly, you have to know about some little hole-in-the-wall mexican restaraunt that you can tell your friends about. that's how they advertise. if you really like your place then you take your friends there so the place can stay in business. the cuz is halfway there, but he sees the need for a hoodie and some new shades, so its really a matter of finding the time to go. now if he'll just get those texas plates off of his truck...
other random sidenote: i actually took a day off on monday and stayed in the whole day and watched the entire third season of alias. man, i'm hooked.
well, my fuagazi cd is almost done and i'm supposed to meet the cable guy in a few minutes at the apt so i guess i'm out.
one love, one heart.

10.08.2004

You know, you're wearing a striped shirt with a striped tie, you know that, right?

i really haven't felt like posting lately since things are getting busier, but the more i think about it the more i should write when i'm busy, just to clear my head, and so i can look back and see what was going on in my life. the astros actually beat the braves in a playoff series. unreal. me and the cuz are flipping out. we were at a church softball game on mon when they won, and everyone there left knowing we are astros fans. sorry to all you cubs fans out there, but being an astros fan is just as frustrating, w/o all of the hype that the cubs get. whatever. i'm excited, and i'm going to make sure mom watches the playoffs from this point.
last night i officially became one of those guys that has to wear a suit to some random dinner at a college. ugh. never have i wanted to go ride my skateboard more in my whole life. i remember messing with those dinners at oc, and now i'm participating in them. oh well, at least i don't have any homework anymore.
this dinner did allow for some great awkward moments though. first, was the obvious schmoozing that goes on whenever preachers get together. second, i met a preacher there from one of the other churches i interviewed at back in march. this afforded for a classic awkward moment when he started backpedaling about why they didn't hire me. i let him go on for a few minutes about how they were just really adamant about hiring a married man, then he went on to allude to the fact that this newlywed from arkansas was having trouble adjusting to living in the smoggiest city in california. the irony is that we talked at length during the interview about the importance of having someone who knew socal culture heading the youth ministry. it was kind of mean to let him go on knowing he was uncomfortable, but i love awkward moments too much to let an opportunity like that pass me by. i did assure him though that the Lord had provided me with a great fit here in simi, and He just had other things in mind during that interview. classic awkward moment though. i feel bad it had to happen the way it did, but still, i have to sit back and kinda chuckle.
that may have been mean, but i still have one love, and one heart.

10.07.2004

You on the UPN? That explains why I ain't never seen't you.

i had another celebrity run-in at lunch this afternoon. not as cool as jeri ryan, but still one of those things that is unique about living in socal. this time it was debra wilson from mad tv, and a bunch of those vh1 i love the 80's and 90's specials. not exactly an a-list celeb, but still noteworthy i guess.

one love, one heart.

10.06.2004

i ain't got time to bleed... but i do have time for a few top ten lists

top ten things that can make my day

a good stereo
hearing someone with a unique laugh (topgun girl)
jeans just out of the dryer
having a half hour or so to crank out some noise on my guitar
the first sip of a pepsi big slam (i'm not sure why, but they taste better)
finding out the astros shut down the braves in game one of the playoffs
when a kid in the youth group finally gets it
driving north on the 101 towards camarillo
when the phone rings and it's someone unexpected
when you are driving and the song ends right as you turn off your car

and to continue on with this whole sentimental mushy stuff... this comes from a discussion i had the other night with yepshesavalleygirl the other night

top ten movies it's ok to for guys to cry at: (this does not mean i have actually cried during these movies, but the thought may have been there)

10. the passion -if you didn't cry at this one you might want to take a good hard look at your spirituality

9. we were soldiers- something about the ending caught me off-guard, what else can i say

8. schindler's list -i'm good till the gold ring at the end

7. the three stooges -who says crying can't come from laughter

6. my girl -not a movie you want to watch when your best friend is about to have a liver transplant

5. glory -extreme acts of patriotism will get you every time


4. miracle -(see glory)


3. field of dreams -kevin costner isn't much of an actor, but you've got to have a cold heart not to get misty when he's playing catch with his dad at the end

2. saving private ryan -it's really tough to watch when a marine from ny you call family looks like tom sizemore

1. rudy -(see passion)

honorable mentions: top gun, remember the titans, lean on me, dumb and dumber, blackhawk down

top ten movies it is NOT ok for guys to cry at:

10. hoosiers -no one should cry at a movie with gene hackman or dennis hopper in it. ever. one of the great sports movies of all time, but it lacks the patriotism thing that makes miracle acceptable.

9. old yeller -if you're a five year old boy, that's one thing... fifteen i'm going to say is pushing it

8. lord of the rings: return of the king -sean astin may still be know as 'rudy', but that doesn't mean you can cry at the end of all of his movies (encino man for instance...)

7. steel magnolias -no guy should ever watch this movie much less cry over it. although losing a 20 year old julia roberts is a tragedy... oh wait. it's just a movie.

6. father of the bride -any emotional outbreaks should be held in check by martin short's less than stellar character

5. braveheart -he wins in the end. tough it up. that's what william wallace would have wanted

4. the alamo -you already knew they lose going into it. just let it go texans... let it go...

3. stand by me -close, but not quite there

2. tie you've got mail/ any other movie besides top gun with meg ryan in it -(see steel magnolias)

1. lion king -i actually heard that guys cried over a cartoon

call me insensitive or whatever... there are just some times it's not okay to be bawling at the end of a movie. now it's time to go home and watch predator.

one love one heart.

10.05.2004

i want you... to want me...

so our preacher (lawdog), decided to invite me to go see cheap trick in concert last thursday night down in thousand oaks. it was a pretty sweet concert considering i'm not really into seeing classic rock musicians perform live well past their prime. either way, it was a cool show that afforded some good memories. seeing the infamous five-necked guitar was pretty cool, (by the way cheap trick is know for singing 'i want you to want me', the theme from 'that 70's show', and the guitarist having all kinds of crazy, multi-necked checkered guitars) and i got to see some of my other favorite concert going types, but most importantly, i had my first run in with a hollywood celeb since i've moved here. by the way, when you become a resident of socal, you can officially call famous people celebs like you are a part of that scene. anyways, i'm at the concert and the lead singer keeps staring at me. i'm thinking it's because i'm probably the only person in the crowd he can see that's under 30 years old. after a while it starts to get a little weird, then it hits me. actually she hits me. i had been standing next to jeri ryan (the hot chick from star trek) the whole time. she bumped into me and apologized, i made some random comment trying to act like i wasn't pretty stoked i just bumped into my first celeb, much less a very attractive one. so there it goes, i talked to my first hollywood star less than a month into living near los angeles. the thing i have to pat myself on the back for is not asking for an autograph or for her to take a picture with me. call it a soapbox, but there's something kinda goofy about asking people for their autograph outside of an event specifically designed for that purpose. if she had been at a publicity event i probably wouldn't have to think twice. but she's just a fan in the crowd at this point, and i don't want to be that guy that ruins the show for her by making her sign something and miss out on what she paid to see. props to me i guess. let the movement begin, no more autograph demands from celebs. we'll leave them alone and maybe they'll act more like normal humans. now that i've got geri's phone number and address maybe we can make a pact. that was a lame joke. no matter. i met her, i remember, and i don't need any physical evidence to remind myself of this. (although i will probably actually watch star trek now and then start to wonder what could have been if only she had been looking for the 24 year old youth ministry type to hang out with).

on to other notable things about the concert. first, the opening band. opening bands have a tough job. everybody there came to see cheap trick, and these never-was-beens have to try and pump out the crowd that could care less who they are. that being said, these guys were terrible. i can't even begin to describe, but i might as well try. The worst offense was that they killed my number 2 favorite song of all time, ‘ring of fire’. How do you kill a classic song? Ask these guys, they did it splendidly. the bass player looked like he could have been in a punk band about 15 years ago, but didn't learn to play until he was 35. the lead singer was a pretty hefty white guy that wore one of those cowboy hats that are supposed to look really beat up, and he had a lisp that couldn't be missed. there's nothing like having a lead singer singing, 'thith ith the greateth day that you and i have ever theen' to let you know your band is going nowhere. the drummer looked like ted nugent went shopping at a rockabilly store, and the lead guitarist had me in stitches the whole time. i think he was one of the guys' dad. he had a great grey mullet and handlebar mustache, a shiny, oversized cape-type-thing, jeans that were way too short and boots that were too big. it was awesome. his duck walk looked like a seizure, but the best moment came when he started playing guitar while on his knees, and he couldn't get up without taking a hand off of the guitar in the middle of his solo to regain his balance. if you're band hasn't made it my the time you are 30 it's time to recognize that you were meant to be a woodshop teacher, or whatever this guy did for a living.

the most offensive foul of the night goes to the fans though. you are at the cheap trick concert, we can assume you like the band, YOU DO NOT NEED TO WEAR THE SHIRT OF THE BAND YOU ARE SEEING IN CONCERT.

i will give props to the fans who flew out from japan to see cheap trick. that's crazy. more power to you. and def more power to the lady that was at the actual budokan concert (where 'i want you to want me' was recorded in 1979). they can wear whatever they want. sidenote props go to the band for hanging out with them before the show and giving them recognition before their encore.

as far as personal stuff goes... the truck is dying, it's just going to be a matter of time before i'm gonna have to buy a new vehicle. my apt still needs furniture, but it already feels like home. i actually have office supplies now which means i'm legit. i met some people my age last night that are not only attractive, but fun to be around. then i checked my messages to find that topgun girl had called and was very stoked that i remembered her birthday last week. oh yeah, and i just picked up the new social distortion album today and it's got exactly the kind of guitar riffs that make my day.

before i go, i do want to make public something i realized thursday night at the concert. i was standing next to a woman who is eye candy for many guys, has been in many men's magazines, and in real life you realize how much of that is smoke and mirrors. granted, jeri ryan is gorgeous, but i would go as far as to say that i can think of a half dozen girls from college, and plenty from socal that are easily more attractive than she is. kind of weird how someone gets elevated to a certain level of beauty just because she's famous. i like to call it the christina ricci factor. anyways, much love to the girls out there that are jealous of hollywood celebs. you deserve more love, and rest easy knowing it's all camera tricks. well, with the possible exception of jessica alba....

one love, one heart.

10.04.2004

We're no longer Sonic Death Monkey. We're on the verge of becoming Kathleen Turner Overdrive, but for tonight, we are Barry Jive and his Uptown five.

my head may explode in the next few weeks. with the astros clinching the wild card spot in the playoffs, and the ever present yankees making their annual postseason appearance I am torn. I always talk about the yankees vs. astros playing against each other in the world series knowing that is so unlikely, I’ll just be dismissed as a guy dedicated to his teams, nothing more. hmmm, with the realistic possibility of these two teams squaring off I am forced to make a decision of who I am going to pull for in case of my dream coming true. let it be known, that in the event of an astros vs yankees world series, I will be officially going for the ASTROS. my uncle still works for the astros, I have been an astros fan my entire life (my indoctrination into baseball came two weeks after my birth when my mom took me to the astrodome for the first of many trips) and I have suffered for many years as a fan of a somewhat mediocre team. the yankees did not come into the picture until I was in jr high or so when I got my don mattingly autograph, and the neighbor down the street (who grew up in the bronx) became my 'adopted' dad, passing on his yankee love to the son he never had. as much as I love the yanks, this is the time for me to step out and be proud of my years as an astros fan. for the record, I have never NOT been an astros fan, it's just hard to be loud about loving the astros when they choke come the end of the season. (unlike cubs fans who get louder when their team continues to choke). I know I have been very vocal about the yankees in the past, and I still have a lot of love, especially against the red sox... but not enough to go against my roots.

in other news, things are settling down here in simi as of the last few days. my office is finally set up to a point where I can manage hanging out in here, my apt is functional but not really complete, and my truck is to a point where its running well enough that I’m not thinking about the fact that the tags are now expired, and it still needs a new muffler. oh well, I live literally a mile door to door away from work so im not really transportation concerned as of right now.

as far as the new apt goes, I think I’m taking the 'bachelor starting out on his own thing' to a new degree. I have zero furniture in my place as of right now. it's actually empty enough that the apt is somewhat awkward to stay at, so I don't, unless I’m ready to go to bed. yesterday I spread my stuff out across my room so as to make it look 'more full'. yesterday morning was odd, because I had yet to purchase a shower curtain, and I had to throw down some dirty shirts on the floor to act as a bath mat. there's something really weird about showering without a curtain. I know it's a see-through piece of plastic, and there's no one else at my apt for a few days, yet it was still a little unnerving showering without that $3.99 piece of target plastic there to separate me from the world. before any trading spaces fans get all excited and start talking to me about what they want to do to my apt, I did go out and buy a bunch of stuff yesterday afternoon for my bathroom, and it even matches somewhat. I’m not really big into interior design, but having all of these blank walls and rooms is driving the artist side of me nuts. as soon as I can draw out some sketches I think a home depot trip is in order. all I know is that I don't really want any symmetrical design going on. we'll see.

other stuff on my mind... I haven't been able to get a hold of topgun girl in over a week. Friday was her birthday and I sent a card and all that, but zero returned phone calls has me kind of bummed. we'll see I guess, I know she's busy enough to earn the benefit of the doubt, still lame on my end. not a lot going on in simi though, one of the drawbacks of living in an upper middle class town is that not a lot of 24 year olds can afford to live here. a road trip to san diego may be in order sooner than later.

yesterday was the first day that I really got to hang out with a bunch of kids at once and we had a blast. our church is at the base of the mountain where the reagan library is, and after service yesterday a bunch of families hiked to one of the peaks along the ridge where there is a giant cross, and had a devo up there. it was supposed to be an event for the whole church, but it ended up being mostly families with youth group ties. I had a blast hiking with the kids, and I think they had fun too. the one thing they def aren't lacking is energy, and it's so contagious. this is my last week of free dinners with families, and that's going really well so far. it's cool to be able to see what the kids are like around their families, in a non-church environment. even more importantly, I feel like I’ve been able to do some ministry so far that is really going to pay off in the long run. I’m still getting used to that mentality though. I’ve become so accustomed to having an end date in mind that I’ve really had to switch gears from sprint to marathon mode. it's a good feeling though, I realized today that I am planning on being here in simi longer than most of the kids in my group are. kind of a weird feeling, but good to have.

something else I love about simi so far is the weather. the breeze is blowing and it actually feels like fall today. I am still rocking my shorts and a t-shirt, but it's tough to go at nights w/o a hoodie. the school that we are next to provides for the sounds of kids playing all day, which always makes for a peaceful afternoon. as soon as I figure out how to get pix form my phone to computer I’ll try to post a few up.

well, I think I am going to head out and pick up some more stuff for the apt. food isn't an issue yet since I won't have a fridge or microwave till the cuz moves in on sat, but there's all the fun stuff like mattresses, bedframes, lamps, light bulbs, etc... that make for comfortable living.

one love, one heart.