Reading is the best

Since I'm stopping by here like once a month now, I figured I should do something. Here's one I stole from various spots.

I'm at 51. Really, they think most people will have only read six of these? Do people not go to school? I'm pretty sure at least half of those in bold were read before I was in tenth grade.

Granted, I read A LOT when I was in school, and still do. Reading is awesome. But still, only six?

***

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here. Bold those books you've read in their entirety; italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

6 The Bible - Author/s in Debate

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22- Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger

19 The Time Travellers Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch – George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchel

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath- Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina –Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis

34 Emma – Jane Austen

35 Persuasion – Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Berniere

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Willaim Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne

41 Animal Farm – George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving

45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

47 Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martell

52 Dune – Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

60 Love in the time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

66 On the Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72. Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson

74 Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal – Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - Charles Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte's Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare

99 Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Easy like a Sunday morning (I think I finally know what that means)

(For some more frequent updates from me, be sure to keep an eye on Chris Goes Hoggin', and check out this newer blog from a group of miscreants, the Bare Knuckle Writers. I know I've said this plenty of times, but I'm going to try to do a better job around these parts.)

Football is here. Baseball playoffs are about a month away. Cooler weather is starting to creep in. I love it all. This is my time of the year. Soon Woodyard Bar-B-Que will have their burnt ends chili. Pumpkin flavors will be appearing everywhere. The stout beers are going to sound more appealing (really, you can't drink one on a hot night). What's not to love?

My last few weeks have been, eh, uneventful. I did go to Vegas for a weekend, for a buddy's bachelor party. It was awesome, but the Friday-Monday I spent there was probably enough. My liver couldn't take much more, neither could my wallet. I actually didn't lose much in the casinos, but everything else added up. We did all of the usual Vegas stuff, short of seeing a show. Bellagio fountains? Check. Downtown/old strip? Check. $4.99 steak and eggs at 5 am? Check. Strip club? Check. What more do you need? Oh yeah, I could have cashed in the chips that were in my pocket. So if anyone's heading out that way, I have $22 between the Monte Carlo and the Fremont, I'll sell it to you for $20. You're already up for your trip! One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend? No open container laws. Getting a gin and tonic to go was exhilarating. Oh yeah, and I drank beer out of a boot.

The boot adds a second chin. I swear.

So that was a good time. Since then, I've been taking it easy, saving money, and playing video games. Yeah, I'm basically awesome. I really wish I could come back here with tales of exciting nights out on the town, or to tell you about the romance of the century, anything! I'm not saying that I haven't had awesome nights, because I have, they just don't make for good blog posts. "Hey, went out, had some drinks, did a little dancing, went to some apartment and drank some more!" Yeah. One thing that has been consistently excellent, however, has been brunch.

Sunday mornings are brunch mornings. Some friends and I have been trying to go to as many brunch places around town as we can. It's a nice little tradition we have. Our meal is usually followed by a movie and/or drinks, sometimes just strolling around the Plaza or hitting a park (occasionally with some wine). Sundays have become nearly perfect days. This last Sunday was one of the best. (having Monday off for Labor Day might have swayed this, but still, Sunday was DAMN good.)

I met up with my friends Blake and Maggie at a newer place in town, Westport Cafe and Bar. I'm pretty sure it became my favorite place to go in Westport. Sure, it's a little pricey, but holy cow. I got a couple brunch cocktails (a pink peppercorn and a Tom Collins - both FANTASTIC), and the Eggs Norwegian - english muffins, 2 poached eggs, smoked salmon, hollandaise. OH. MY. Unbelievable. My total was just over $20, not too bad. Worth it, for sure. Maybe not a place for every day, but wow.

Next, we headed to the Plaza to catch an early showing of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Yes, it was my third time seeing it. Yes, I still loved it. I'll try to write something up about it soon. But go see it now. SO GOOD. Anyways, we had a little time before the show, so Blake and I stopped at Blanc Burgers + Bottles to get another drink, while Maggie shopped. An excellent deal. Another excellent deal - after the movie, Maggie did a little more shopping, so Blake and I headed to another bar, and got a few $2 gin and tonics. Oh me oh my. That is how you spend a Sunday afternoon.

But wait, it got even better. Some other friends o' mine were having a little get together at their place, for some drinking and board games. Yes, I needed to have some more gin, it was the middle of a long weekend! So we played a few games, had a few drinks, and had an awesome night.

Good gaming, good drinks, good food, and excellent friends? Really, do I need anything better?

Innovation strikes

Not sure this song exactly fits with this post, but screw that, it's awesome. A new song from Stars - "Fixed" (Live on KCRW)

Exciting times ahead, for both me and all of you. Well, I should say the one of you reading. Some new projects, some personal goals have been set, and the release of NCAA '11.

One of my new projects finally has some content posted. Lady and gentleman, I give you both, Chris Goes Hoggin'. This will a place where I put up some reviews of barbecue joints from around town or wherever my travels might take me. There's not much there right now, a look at Hayward's Pit Bar B Que, but keep checking back. I'll probably bet a link up somewhere here soon. If you like barbecue and me, you'll like this.

For some goals, well, there's the usual get in shape. Yeah. And play more music. The big 3-0 is just about 6 months away. Some things are floating around in my head that I'd like to get done by then. Nothing really major, but yeah. Just your typical stuff that I think most people my age feel. Good times.

Here's one goal that I accomplished tonight. My own creation (I'm claiming the invention of it until I find otherwise, I've already got people working at patenting it at Panchero's), the Quesarrito.

Step 1, make a quesadilla, using two tortillas

Steps 2-6 (repeat as necessary)

Step 3 cook up some steak, mushrooms, onions, rice, and red peppers. Place on top of quesadilla, with some salsa

Step 4 Roll into a Quesarrito

It was delicious. Of course it was. This is something I'll make, oh, once every six months. If that. But damn, it was tasty.

So mark that one off the list. I'll let everyone know more stuff as it comes up. Until then, make yourself and your friends a Quesarrito, but don't forget where you heard about it first.

Reflections on 23

I've been going back through some of my older posts, just checking stuff out, reading stuff from a time when I would somehow write kind of decently, years and years ago. I might have been funny at one point. No idea where that came from. Anyways, I realized that while I've gone over the drunkest I've ever been, I don't think that I've discussed the first time I imbibed to the point of intoxication.

It was the halcyon days in the year of 2004. I was... in college, the second time around. I was a little bit of a late bloomer, which is just a nice way of saying a loser. My 23rd birthday was approaching, and I had never had a drop of alcohol. Not for any real reason, just didn't want to. (At first I thought I was straight edge, because why not? Then I saw Ian MacKaye speak, the man usually credited with coining the term "straight edge," and he said that he didn't want it to turn into a movement, so to speak, and that he didn't consider himself "straight edge." Not that this was the reason I eventually started to have drinks, but it was something that stuck with me. ANYWAYS, that's neither here nor there, just an aside.) This all changed, as many things did, my first year in Iowa City.

So, for my birthday, I decided to go out, and break my seal, so to speak. The bar is long since gone, being shut down multiple times for serving minors. Ahh, every Iowa City bar. My first drink? A Long Island Iced Tea. I heard it was a good "bang for your buck" drink, and had it in my mind that it tasted like iced tea. Damn, was I disappointed when I found out it tasted like fucking lighter fluid. I powered through like a champ, and had others order drinks for me all night. People were too nice, I only did one shot the whole night, and it was something like "oatmeal cream pie." It was delicious, I'm sure.

Most of the night is sort of a blur, if you can imagine. But for the first time in my life, I was drunk. I can remember the moment I realized it. I was sitting at the table, had gone through a few drinks, and was sort of let down that I wasn't feeling anything. Then, I got up to use the facilities. It hit me. It was awesome.

Of the drinks I had, I can only recall a few. The Long Island. Something called "The One" (I asked the waitress if it was The One as in Keanu in the Matrix or Jet Li's The One. I am hilarious.) An amaretto sour. The oatmeal cream pie shot. And an Alabama Slammer. (There were other drinks, I swear. But, early off, I'm afraid that I was a girl drink drunk.)

Other happenings from the night that were pieced together:

• Our waitress may have been hitting on me. She also may have been in her 40s
• I offered to prove to my ride home that I wasn't gay. She was pregnant.
• I made my first drunk dial ever, to Bob Ley. Outside the Lines was on at the bar, I called and left a message, saying that Dennis Erickson was going to return the 49ers to glory, and would join Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson as the only coaches to win an NCAA championship and Super Bowl (what can I say, I was drunk)
• I blamed society for driving me to drink
• I vomited. It was red, because of that damn Alabama Slammer. I was really theatrical about it, loud, since some roommates were watching a movie within earshot
• I cleaned up said vomit immediately, laughing the whole time
• Came out of the bathroom and said "Never again. Never drinking again."
• That lasted less than 24 hours.

Obviously, it was a GREAT time. The best part was not being hungover at all the next morning, even when I had to wake up around 8 to head to my mom's and celebrate my birthday with her. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I had been introduced to my first liquor crush that night - whiskey. But alas, that's probably another story for another day.

I've got 100 resolutions

well, not really. I've got about 0. Not my thing. But I do like reminiscing, and this song brings back some memories of my DJing days at Iowa State.



So, in the next few days, there will probably be more reminiscing, and, since everyone else is doing one, and it makes for an easy post, I'll probably have my top 10 albums of the year. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow or Friday. Yeah. This was a pretty good year as far as albums released goes.

Of course, in the next few weeks, I'll be preparing everyone's favorite, The Flenkys! So if anyone would like to make any nominations, or if you have a good category in mind, send them my way!

This year was a very transitional year for me personally, you know, with moving and getting a real job and my first apartment on my own and a dog and what have you. Things are looking up, though, I've made some great friends, and still have some excellent friends from my past, spread all around the country. (and isn't it funny that my friend that lives the furthest away is making her second trip already, and the rest of you have yet to come. . .) So things are going alright. I'll look back more on the year in the future. A lot happened.

Until next time, enjoy your day, make the most of the leap second (it already passed, but I think you can observe it in any second over the next few hours) and be safe out there. I will try to be safe while spending New Year's in my apartment. Which will be infinitely better than my New Year's Eve last year.

And everyone, cheer on the Hawkeyes tomorrow morning as they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Outback Bowl! It should be a good game, and here's to hoping that Iowa rings in the new year with a WIN!!

I'm really not a crotchety old man yet. I promise.

Yeah, it's been 2+ weeks since I last wrote posted. And I'm ok with that. You know why? Because no one wants to read about me sitting on my behind. There hasn't been much action in the past few weeks (not like there was really much action in the weeks/months preceding that, but I digress), though there has been some plans made for action in the future. Like a January visitor to help celebrate 28, and possibly a springtime trip to New York City. oh, and I'll be getting a dog in a few days.

But I'm still trying to figure out what, if anything, I'll be doing on New Years. Part of me wants to just sit at my place alone, struggle to make it until midnight, and fall asleep. (in actuality, I give this the highest odds of happening.) I'd like to make a trip somewhere, since I now have the 2nd off of work, but don't know where to go. Maybe Tampa for the Outback Bowl, or Chicago to see some friends, or elsewhere. who knows?!

Otherwise, things are quiet here. I have yet to do any Christmas shopping, but have an outline of what I want to get for most people on my list. It will just be a matter of getting the items in an orderly fashion, without inflicting bodily harm upon myself or others during the act of acquiring said items. I would consider doing my shopping online, but I'm getting to the point where I'd have to pay more to get the packages in time.

In sports news, Iowa's Shonn Greene received the Doak Walker award, given to the best running back in the NCAA. I was hoping he'd be invited to the Heisman presentation, but knew he'd have about a 0.3% of winning, since he's not a QB that plays in a league that barely plays defense (I'm looking at you, Bradford and McCoy). The Royals signed Kyle Farnsworth. great. awesome. He can throw 97 mph. And tackle dudes (see video below). That's about it.



Umm, what else. . . Oh, the weather is kind of ridiculous. Monday, it was 60 degrees. Tuesday, we got an inch or two of snow in a decent-sized snowstorm. Last night it was raining, this morning I had a layer of ice on my car (and some on the parking lot, which I found and promptly slipped on), and then the temperature got into the mid-40's. Now there's this forecast for the weekend/early next week


Taken from wunderground.com. Yes, the high is supposed to be 61 on Sunday. And the high on Monday is forecasted to be 16. That's gonna be hell on my joints.

Dear History,

Click here for more videos from Vote For Change

Here in Kansas, us voters are able to go to the polls early, and lucky me, one of the early voting locations is about 4 blocks from my apartment. I voted last Monday, during one of the "down times" they had - I only had to wait in line for an hour. And while some people around me were kind of talking out their ass about things, some facts just straight wrong, and things that just plain didn't make sense (example, word for word - "You can get cancer from having too many genetics." WHAT?!?!? I don't even know where to start with that, let alone what it's supposed to mean), everyone was pretty positive about things, and seemed to be on the same page, everyone was hopeful. It was pretty great to see that in a state like Kansas. Of course, I don't imagine it's the same west of here, the exception being Lawrence. I mean, Sam Brownback is a senator here.

Anyways, this is just a reminder for everyone to go out and vote on Tuesday, if you haven't already via absentee ballot or early voting.

Also, sorry for the infrequent posting. I've been kind of "busy," insofar as I've been "doing stuff" and not "writing blog posts." Like playing guitar. Or going to see TV on the Radio, for free, on Halloween night (pretty sweet, I'll probably have to do a post on it). Or other things that I don't quite want to go into detail on here yet. I feel bad, though, I'm not just neglecting one blog, but three. And today's laundry and football day, so I don't know if I'll get any more done than what I already have. Life is hard sometimes, you know?

Stars concert and stuff

Things have been going well around the life of Flenker lately. I guess I should say as well as they can go when the Hawkeyes aren't playing very well, my ceiling occasionally leaks water, and the nation headed towards an election that somehow is still so close that it makes me really nervous.

(Obligatory note: If you are the legal age to do so, please please please make sure you are registered to vote. If you're a college student away from home, make sure you change your registration site or vote absentee. If you've moved recently, update your information and find your polling place. The election is less than a month away now, so time is running thin. And please, make an educated decision, read up on the candidate's stances, and VOTE!! There will be more to come. . .)

So in spite of all of that crap, I've been doing pretty well. I've only spent one night at home in the past 2 weeks, just hanging out a friend or two, getting dinner, watching TV, going to see Michelle Obama speak, and went to see Stars!

My friend Dominique and I went to the show, hitching a ride to Lawrence with a couple of friend who were heading there to see the Dandy Warhols. The venue's website just listed a time of 7 for the concert, so I assumed that was when doors opened (especially since it was a Friday night in a college town), and thusly decided to join up with friends for dinner. We ended up getting to the Granada around 8:15, just in time to see the beginning of the second song by Stars, having totally missed BellX1. Kind of a bummer. I think this was probably the most prompt show I've ever been to. The show was excellent, though, almost all of my favorite songs were played (the only one I was hoping to hear but didn't was "The Night Starts Here," and that could have before we got there).

The place wasn't packed, but there were a lot of people there, mostly couples. Definitely glad that I went with someone, otherwise I would have been the one lonely dude there. I take that back, there was another guy there by himself. We could have been lonely together. Thankfully, I had company.

The band put on a good show, throwing roses out into the crowd between most songs (of course they would, have you heard them? They definitely fit the "melodramatic popular songs" genre listed on their myspace.) Lead singer Torquil Campbell introduced a song (one I didn't know, so I can't recall the name) as being about "fucking yourself and your lover to death." Pretty intense. Later Amy Millan cutely prefaced "My Favourite Book" as being "just a love song." There was a little talk about the presidential debate that was taking place at the same time, with Campbell saying "Obama is giving his plans for change, and McCain is scaring everyone." Good stuff.

A good time, though, with great music, in a pretty good venue. I hadn't been to the Granada for over 8 years, when I drove down from Ames to see Weezer.

Ok, I just a quick search and found the setlist for this show. And wouldn't you know it, "The Night Starts Here" was in fact the first song they played. Dammit. Here's the list:


Taken from the flickr page from the concert, found here.

So yeah, it was fun. We were out a little after 10, but our friends' concert didn't finish until nearly midnight. So Dom and I had a lot of time wandering around Mass in Lawrence. For it being Friday night before a football game, the town was freaking dead. I guess these Kansas kids don't know how to do it up like Iowans. But we still had a good time people watching.



ugh, I've spent too long on this post, and am still not completely happy with it, but oh well. I don't know what I don't like, but whatever. It'll have to do. I'll put a better effort into the next one.

East Coast Swing

Well, I've got about 10 hours to catch my flight to DC. Barring any alarm malfunction (set for 6:30 am, just checked), I think I'll make it.

Here's a quick rundown of what I'll be doing out east:

Thursday

• Get into Baltimore tomorrow around 4:30. (Hopefully) catch the 5:08 MARC train to DC.
• Meet up with Marin, eat, hang around, go see Vicky Cristina Barcelona sometime in the evening. (I haven't been this excited about seeing a movie in like a month!)

Friday

• Get up, go to delicious bagel place down the street
• Take a tour of the XMU studio
• Head to Philadelphia
• Eat cheesesteak
  
• Go to Phillies/Dodgers game

Saturday

• Get up, go to Vermont
• Go to wedding
• Go to reception, hope for open bar
• ...
• Profit
  

Sunday

• Get up, start heading south
• Maybe stop at a beach
• Maybe meet up with a friend in Balitmore
• Arrive in DC

Monday

• Wake up really early
• Catch MARC to BWI, again really early
  
• Fly back to KC
• Go to happy hour for a girl leaving company
• sleep

Tuesday

• Back to normal life

See you all in a few days!

This band is unstoppable! | I should be on the KC tourism board

65daysofstatic - "Retreat! Retreat!"
(website | myspace)

When 65daysofstatic first came up on XM, I knew I had recognized the name, but couldn't place it. A quick Google search showed me where I had heard of them - they were on tour with the Cure, a tour that came through KC, a tour that made me struggle with the decision of buying a $60 ticket for a concert in a venue bigger than I would have liked, for a band that I would have rather seen 10-15 years ago. Not that I don't love the Cure, I think their shows back then would have possibly been sweet (not to mention a little cheaper, and hopefully smaller). Had I known how much I would come to love the opening act, the decision would have been that much more difficult (I still think that Poor Flenker, especially in those early KC days, would have passed on it, but I would've been much more upset about it at the time).

"Retreat! Retreat!" was the first song of theirs that I heard, it grabbed me by the face showed me an epic, lush soundscape (holy shit I should write for Rolling Stone). As soon as the song ended, I was on their site, listening to everything posted, going to their myspace, and taking it all in. If you want some epic instrumentals that occasionally straddle the border of noise, electronic, and progressive rock (emphasis on ROCK!!), this is your band. I recently picked up their album The Fall of Math, their first full-length, released in 2004. How have these guys gotten unnoticed by me for so long? Damn, ain't that a thing. They kind of remind me of a less math, more electro version of Dillinger Escape Plan, pre-Mike Patton. Whatever the hell that means.

***

In other news, things in the life of Flenker have been good. Very good, in fact. It'd be a little better if the Royals would play well more consistently, but I'll be content with what I've got. The weather's taken a nice little dip into the 80's, I've been to a good number of Royals games, I've had friends and family visit, and have some plans for the future. Next weekend (21st-25th to be precise), I'll be heading eastward, to a mini-tour of the East Coast. I'll be flying into Baltimore, taking a train to DC, then heading to Philadelphia on Friday with Marin, catching a Dodgers/Phillies game, then we'll be continuing onward up to Vermont on Saturday for a wedding. Then back to DC on Sunday, and KC on Monday. It'll be quite the whirlwind trip!

The weekend after that, Labor Day weekend as we call it here in the States, I'll be heading back to the lovely state of Iowa, to see more friends and family, and, almost as important, as I feel like they're part of my family, the Iowa Hawkeyes!! It's the first football game of the season, against the powerhouse of Maine University. Tickets are all set up, I'm ready to go!

So yeah, things are going well. I'm making new friends around town, running into old ones from years ago, getting some travelling in, and fitting in some sports. Plus, I've been playing my sax and guitar more, the little sausage shop that I'm falling in love with is going to be out grilling some cheddar bier brats tomorrow, I've got some hell of good beer in my fridge ($18 for a 4-pack, but freaking worth it, possibly my most favorite beer ever), and found an awesome place to check out downtown.

Yesterday, after some $1 tacos and a $2 margarita in downtown KC, I was driving home, stopped by a record shop and picked up 65dos's album (as well as MGMT's album, pretty solid all the way through, I must say. It was cheap and I love their song "Electric Feel," so I feel like it was worth it), stopped by what has become my favorite coffee shop (unfortunately it's about 10-15 miles away, not super convenient for me to go to all the time), and thought "goddamn, I love this city." Everyone should come here and check it out. I mean, we've got the second most fountains in the world, behind Rome (I had thought it was Paris until tonight, so for everyone I've told Paris was #1, I apologize), some parks, some awesome sections of town, amazing barbecue joints, and best of all, FLENKER!!!

So let this serve as an open invitation for anyone and everyone to come down! I've got a futon and an air mattress, and lots of room!

Things that have happened to me in the past week-plus

• Went to 6 Royals games in 8 days
• Ate at a few different BBQ places
• Got my ass handed to me at an office poker tournament
• Went to Lawrence for Taco John's
• Ate probably the best bratwurst I've had in my life at a tailgate
• Drank lots of beers at a tailgate (including a smoked beer)
• Got a visit from pops Flenker
• Managed to work out twice
• Ate near my body weight in popcorn
• Have listened to a lot of pretty excellent music
• Didn't do laundry

This post brought to you by the band Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players, the planes of Midwest Airlines, and the letters NIN

First off, if you're a fan of Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor has made his latest album available as a free download, just go to this link:

http://theslip.nin.com/

I'm giving it my first listen-through right now, and am liking it a lot. And you can't beat the price.

This past weekend was a quick, but very fun, time spent in Minneapolis. And while my camera sucks, (not to mention I forgot to put in fresh batteries), H and Whiskey snapped off a few. Check out their blogs to see some of the action, and check out H's post at Three Pints for more about Kate Nash.

The Kate Nash show was great, I really enjoyed the opening band, the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. The family (dad Jason on guitar/keyboard/vocals, mom Tina on the slide projector, and 14-year-old daughter Rachel on drums) basically goes to estate sales, buy old slide photography, and write songs based around them. A lot of bands use a video aspect to their live shows to supplement their sound, (like the Faint, the previously mentioned NIN, Project Jenny, Project Jan, to name a few I've seen in concert), but this is the first instance I'm aware of where the band uses the audio and video in such an intertwined level. To get the full enjoyment out of their performance, here's a couple of their videos

Look at Me (from Conan, with a few slides removed for network TV purposes. I'm not sure if it's better or not. . . )


Don't You Know What I Mean?


Now these videos are a few years old, so Rachel is a few years older now. And Jim still didn't want me to go get her number for him.

These videos don't really do them justice, I was blown away by them, it was awesome. At first I didn't think I'd buy their schtick, but damn if they didn't win me over.

I flew (yes, flew) to Minneapolis, after finding tickets that were cheaper than it would have been for me to drive, and saved me about 13 hours driving (round trip), and a lot of wear and tear on my car. Rudy can't put up with too much more, so I gotta take it easy on him while I can, until I find a new ride. But don't tell him about that.

Anyways, I flew on Midwest Airlines. Holy crap. It was amazing. When I got on the plane for my first flight of the day (Midwest is based out of Milwaukee, so I had a stop there each way), there was classical music playing on the speakers, and (relatively) large leather seats as far as the eye could see. They were incredibly comfortable for plane seats, and even left me with a couple of inches on either side. Plus a middle armrest that was about 5 inches wide. No elbow fights with the neighbor for space! And plenty of legroom.

My favorite part, though, was getting freshly baked cookies. Not just one, but two on each flight! And on my first flight, an older lady was sitting next to me, didn't want her cookies, so she gave them to me! AND everyone got a little bag of pretzels. And drink service. C'est incroyable! I would definitely recommend this airline to anyone if it's available (and comparably priced to other airlines). Lucky for me, KC is one of their hubs. Rock.

So it was an awesome weekend, all around. Played some Wii (Mario Kart is lots and lots of fun) and some XBox 360 (NCAA Football still rules, and the new Grand Theft Auto game is kind of fun), saw a good concert (even if Kate Nash got everyone to say they hated me and I'm pretty sure called me a dickhead), at somewhere near my body weight in pizza (Old World Pizza's buffet is delicious), had some cocktails (most gin and tonics, with a free Jameson and something thrown in for good measure), had a wonderful time meeting and chatting with WhiskeyMarie (however nonsensical and incoherent it may have been), and just really enjoyed myself. If only every weekend could be so fun-filled! Now I'm waiting for visitors to come to KC. There's plenty of room, everyone's welcome! And of course, I can make the airport pick-up, so check out Midwest. It's worth it!

A final missive from Iowa

I had a little "going away party" last night, which basically was my friend Chris coming over and watching "Trapped in the Closet" while drinking some gin and tonics. Plus some Wii bowling. It was a pretty good time. Seeing as how spring break has started at Iowa, and I didn't figure anyone would want to make the 20-mile trip north to Cedar Rapids when they could be out getting wasted in Iowa City, I wasn't planning on much. But we had a good time.

I really should start packing my car. I'm not taking a whole lot of stuff, just some clothes, a few books, some movies, of course my Wii, and my computer, along with an air mattress, but I should tidy things up around here before I go, get stuff situated so I can easily sort through them should I decide I want something, or when I get a place of my own and want to bring it. That was a long sentence.

Our dad is coming up to take Travis and me out to lunch, we're going to Zoey's Pizza, probably my favorite pizza in the area. I can't remember if I said that on here before, but it's delicious. Then I'm going to be hitting that dusty road. Ooh, that reminds me, I need to get some windshield wiper fluid. I'm out.

Alright, I guess it's time to start loading up junk. It's been fun, Iowa. I won't be too far away, I'll be back plenty of times. You can't get rid of me. I'm like the Terminator.

Right on

Yesterday was a pretty exciting day around these parts. Well, more exciting than usual, I guess, which doesn't really take a whole lot. Like, if I saw a firetruck going down the street with its lights on, that would qualify as an exciting day. Or if I saw a dog with a curly tail. Exciting. But yesterday was exciting in a way that makes me feel like things in this crazy world aren't so bad.

It started in the morning, as days usually do. I've been battling a cold for the past few days (quick aside: something like that happens every time when I hang out with the Minneapolis crew; regardless of where we meet up [Ames, Iowa City, Minneapolis, Cedar Rapids], someone gets sick. Last time Jimbo ended up with mono. H has had her fair share of sickness, alcohol related or no, Bill's felt under the weather once or twice, and last St. Patty's day I was a party pooper because I was coming down with a cold), but I woke up feeling better. Seeing the snow falling made me feel very relaxed, enough to fall asleep again. That was nice. I've never really been one to sleep in, I usually am up and ready to go around 9 every day. Yesterday, I slept all the way until 10:30! Very nice.

After a lunch at McDonald's (I can't resist those Shamrock Shakes. They're too good.), I had decided to read for the rest of the afternoon. But I hadn't even turned a page when my phone rang, a call from Kansas City. With a job offer. Awesome. I start the 17th, so I'll be heading west soon. I had been told that I was going to get the job offer, but didn't want to mention anything here until things had been more cemented. Now I feel like I can talk about it and not jinx it or whatever. So yeah, I'm basically rockin' out.

Later that night, my bro and I went to a friend's place and played Guitar Hero. Any time I can showoff my excellence at video games, I just at the occasion. It makes me feel like the last 20-odd years of my life weren't a total wash. It was a good time, with some good home-brewed beer. Something I need to get into, once I have the money to do so.

When I returned home and checked my email, I had a message from Lee Klein, author of the Flenky-winning "All Aboard the Bloated Boat." I was excited. He pointed out that his piece was more of an essay than a short story, which I had meant to mention, but just plain forgot. So thanks again, Lee, your prize will be on its way shortly! And, as I mentioned here before, I'll do a bigger write-up of the essay. I'll just say it was incredible. And getting that email was a good way to end my day.

*****

Now it's time to play a little catch-up with a few things. First off, Bill's Countdown to Opening day!

From two days ago, here's a special salute to those going after foul balls.

Real Men of Genius

In a slightly related story, one time, years ago, Bill and I were at an Iowa Cubs game with some friends. They have this "hot dog cannon" that comes out once or twice a game, shooting hot dogs into the stands. Well, Bill must have really wanted a hot dog, he sprinted after one that was probably 3 sections away, I swear he pushed a few kids out of the way, and grabbed it. He may have been jealous of me- I was thrown a ball by right fielder Angel Echevarria. To this very day, I think he throws his hot dogs in the air, just to get that "airborne" taste.

Here's yesterday's update, ten reasons why baseball is better than sex:

1. It is legal to play professionally.
2. You can count on it at least four times a week.
3. You have a coach to tell you when to advance.
4. When you are tired, you always get relieved.
5. When you strike out once, you always have two more chances for a hit.
6. Up to four people can score at once.
7. Pop-ups are frequent.
8. 30,000 people cheer when you score.
9. After seven innings, you get to stretch.
10. You can get a home run without any foreplay.

Thanks Bill!

Now for a quick music recommendation, I'll present to you Bishop Allen (site | myspace), with the song "Click, Click, Click, Click."



I really liked the song "Rain" when I first heard it, and was pleased to hear that the other songs are just as good. A fun band, they released a 4-song EP at the end of each month of 2006, each put out by themselves. That's productive, and a great idea.

It's been one of those years

Well, I'm still waiting for the New Year to stop shitting on me. Really, any time now would be nice.



Tuesday night I went to my Erin and Travis' place for some delicious soup and beer and fun board games (isn't that redundant? I've rarely played any un-fun board games) and some PS2. Good times, with some good people. I stayed there, since they live in North Liberty, and I was meeting up with my mom the next day in Iowa City (for those of you unfamiliar with the area, North Liberty is between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, closer to IC than CR by about 10 miles, so instead of backtracking to CR and then back to IC, I just made it easier on myself. So I thought). Plus, I was a little drunk. The plan was that I would get up the next day, hang out a little bit, then meet up with my mom.

Here's the thing about plans: they're nice to have and all, but when one little thing throws everything off, I get pissy. That one little thing yesterday was a flat tire. Flat flat.

Travis was kind enough to drive me to Iowa City where he joined us for the lunch buffet at Old Chicago. Then he took me back, helped me take my tire off (since he had coveralls, I wasn't going to get my jeans and sweater dirty!) in the snow (did I mention it was snowing and balls cold?? It was) and then drove me to the tire shop. They said that they'd call me if there was a problem with the tire that they couldn't repair, otherwise I could pick it up sometime before 5.

Of course you know they called me about 20 minutes later. We had barely finished the front 9 on our game. Tire ruined. Bad. They could get a new one, but it wouldn't be there until the next morning. Plus, there's the whole thing about paying for it ($100 for the tire alone), and, as some of you more dedicated readers may know, I have no job, just moved, and ergo, have no money. Like none.

After some calls were made, the plan was to put on the spare, drive to Muscatine where my mom would help me out with a tire, and I would stay for the weekend. I was going to be coming down anyways to help watch the dogs, so it kind of worked out.

Apparently I should stop making plans, because they just give me flat tires.

As I was leaving North Liberty, after picking up my rim and old tire, I noticed that my car was feeling a little funny as I was driving. I pulled off into a shopping center, and wouldn't you know it, my spare was a little low on air. Since there were a few gas stations in the area, I figured I'd try to make it to on and then air it up. After 3 gas stations with no air pumps, I found one in working order, and started pumping. With no results. My spare was absolutely flat by this time, and not taking any air. Yeah.

More calls were made, this time I found a place that had one of my tires in stock (p205/55 R 16 tires aren't easily accessible, I guess, and expensive. Also, I will not say the name of the place that I got them, because I don't want to admit to spending money there. But it was cheap, so I don't feel too bad. And it wasn't my money). Then I called upon my gracious, amazing sister to pick me up, take me to the place, pay for the tire until she can be paid back, drive me back to my car, then stand outside with a flashlight while I changed out the flat spare with the brand new tire. At least it wasn't 0 degrees out. It was 6. And dark.

Finally back on the road, I head towards Muscatine, to sort of collect myself and lick my wounds. While driving, I realized that I didn't really have anything with me for my weekend. No phone charger, no clothes, no toothbrush, no deodorant. I had picked a car charger for my phone when I was waiting for the tire, but it was missing a part, and was useless. Did you expect any different?

Today, though, I'm a little bit back on track. Still in Muscatine (I'll give you a call soon, KP), I got a new car charger so my phone is functional after dying last night at a very inopportune moment, my tires are looking good, I'm warm, I'm well-fed, and only a little stinky. It turns out I had some clothes in my car, so those are being washed and soon enough, I'll have something to change into after a shower. I even had a pair of underwear in there! Don't ask me why.

Thanks for putting up with all of this bitching. I promise I'll be back soon, this time with some interesting and entertaining posts. A couple of landmark posts will be coming in the near future, so don't miss out on those!

My birthday trip out east, part 2 (DC and food)

I've decided to combine these two, to keep myself from writing about every little thing I did, no matter how insignificant, and to talk about the food, which was amazing.

When we got back to DC on Saturday night, we just took it easy. We found out that the Hawkeyes beat #6 Michigan State, played some Mastermind (a birthday present for Marin), made Scotcheroos, and just sort of hung out. It was a good night.

The next morning I met up with one of my friends from Muscatine and her boyfriend, and the 4 of us went out to for a delicious brunch (more below), and a little catching up. I had just seen her around Christmastime, but a lot, as you know, has happened since then. It was nice to see friends, though.


More friends came by later that evening, for my (soon to be) World Famous Pizza. I make a mean pizza, my friends. We played some Settlers of Catan (awesome game, for anyone who likes fun and has a few friends that like fun, and have like an hour, get this game and play it!!). Good times!



The next day was a Chris day, since Marin was at work. I went to a few museums, including the postal museum (more interesting than you'd think!), the Air and Space Museum (always fun for me, I like planes), the National American Indian Museum (my favorite, the architecture is beautiful, I have a little Cherokee blood so I've always loved learning about them, and the cafeteria is amazing. Seriously, if you're in DC, on the Mall and looking for food, go there), and the Holocaust Museum (very good, but sobering). I felt good about how I spent my day.

Later, Marin and I had reservations at Ceiba, as part of DC's restaurant week. Two weeks a year, a bunch of nice restaurants offer a smaller menu for a little cheaper price, $20 for lunch, and $30 for dinner, including an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert. And it usually happens that it occurs during my twice a year visits. It's like I planned it or something. Again, this will be covered in the food section.

I left on Tuesday, and spent A LOT of time in airports. I took the MARC back up to BWI, and got there a few hours early. No problem, I started reading Love is a Mixtape (excellent!) and napped a little bit. The flight was on time, and trouble-free. Then I arrived in Detroit. For 3 hours. I ate a chili dog (and accidentally forgot to leave a tip. I felt pretty bad about that), finished Love is a Mixtape, and read a few short stories from books I had. And still had some time. My flight was delayed about 45 minutes for whatever reason. Tends to happen to me. Oh well!


Now, onto the food.


First night (Thursday), we went to some place that had Burrito in the name. I don't remember. Anyways, I got some Mexican dish. It was alright, but as you can tell, it didn't make a big impression on me. Especially compared to the meal that we had Friday night.

John's Pizzeria was amazing. It could have been because we hadn't eaten since the expensive Burger King, but it was seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. It was a simple sausage and mushroom pizza, but everything tasted so fresh and delicious. Plus, while we were waiting for a table, we sat at the bar and I got the most delicious gin and tonic I've ever had. I don't know what they did, but it was amazing. Marin even thought so, and she doesn't like that drink normally. Same thing with her and sausage. She normally doesn't go out of her way to eat it, but she enjoyed the pizza. The building is an old cathedral, so they have a pretty awesome stained-glass ceiling. Check out some photos on their website. The prices were pretty good, too!


Breakfast the next morning was provided by the hotel, and like I mentioned in the last post, it was good. I'm a sucker for waffles, so that may have put it up a couple of notches in my book. We had a snack in Little Italy at a coffee shop, that was probably about the Starbucks equivalent of coffee shops in Little Italy, but it was still good. I had an espresso, Marin had a hazelnut coffee (that didn't really taste that hazelnutty), and we split an eclair. It was sweet and good. Our lunch on Saturday was the prosciutto and fresh mozzerella sandwich, assembled in meat shop in Little Italy, and eaten at Central Park. One of my favorite meals, it was so simple and so delicious, and in a wonderful setting. Dinner was back in DC, and was leftovers. A couple slices of pizza from Friday, and some tacos that Marin had made a few days earlier. Yum!

Brunch at the Banana Cafe was good, very tasty, and came with unlimited mimosas for just $4 more. What a deal! They had the usual eggs and potatoes and some great pound cake, as well as some rice and chicken, and beef. I liked it all a lot. Maybe the mimosas had something to do with it. That night we made my pizza, with Canadian bacon, mushrooms, and onions. I was very proud of how it turned out!

Monday I had some leftover pizza, and a Mexican hot chocolate at the American Indian museum. DE-licious! Dinner at Ceiba was good, but for me it peaked with my appetizer - a Cuban black bean soup. It had some ham and manchego cheese, mmm mmm. The main dish was pretty good, grilled shrimp, but there's not a whole lot that can be done with it. And I was jealous of Marin's dish, pork shank with black beans. For dessert I got flan, which was good, but not overly impressive. I would still recommend the restaurant. They had an amazing sangria, and the food was very, very good!

So that's my trip! It was a great time, I'm glad I was able to do it, and very glad I have such great friends! I really like having friends to visit in different places. I'll visit anyone that wants me!

the politics of lonely will return to its regular posting soon. Oh, and pictures will be shown when they arrive.

It's like the song "Two Of Us," only by myself - or - I'm on my way home

So I'm back. Back in Iowa. Yes, Iowa. Things sort of fell apart in Texas, I ended up unemployed and homeless. Basically the place where I worked didn't let me have the days off that I needed for going home over the holidays, and didn't tell me about it until I had already missed a day, which they took as a no call, no show type of thing. Which was awesome. I went and talked with them and explained things, so they got over it. But then I wasn't going to be able to get the days off for my trip that I took this past weekend, so I had enough and just left. The best part is that I told them about both trips when I was hired, they said it wouldn't be a problem. Good business practices. It's no wonder they constantly have signs up looking for new hires. So, that was a determining factor in my move back north. There were other things, too, but not having a job and being really frustrated with things there anyways made up my mind.

I drove back in a couple of days, with a car full of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

I stopped along the way a few times. First, this rest-stop to call Captain Crab and tell him my sails were taking me north:

All I know is that this was somewhere in Kansas. I drove through Oklahoma while it was dark, so I didn't have many opportunities to take pictures. I was afraid I had taken a wrong turn when I came across this watertower:

I walked around a while to try to find Jad, but apparently, there's a different Ottawa!

I made it to Kansas City in the afternoon, where I stayed with Charczuk and Rhiannon. There will soon be video evidence of this. Should be exciting stuff!

The next morning I got back on my way, but not before stopping for a delicious breakfast:

And in case you were wondering, yes, that is my passenger seat, full of stuff. The XM Radio reciever, shown in the bottom right corner of the photo, was a life-saver on this trip. I heard so much good music, but that's a post for another time. It saved me the trouble of digging for CDs every hour, especially since the CD cases were somewhere on the passenger side floor area.

I made good time, made it back to the Iowa City area right in time for my mom's shift meeting (a.k.a. a bunch of paramedics get off of work and go get drunk). I stayed a night or two in Muscatine, before heading up to Cedar Rapids, where I'll be staying with my brother for the time being. I knew it was a good place to be when I saw this off of the front porch the first morning I was there:

Such a pretty sight. Then, later in the day, I was searching for something to eat for lunch, when I came across the ultra-rare cabinet dwelling cat!

I only had a few days at home before I left for my trip out east, but it was definitely a huge improvement in attitude (and lattitude, ha!) for me. And my trip was wonderful, but that'll wait for another day. Or later today. We'll see. I think I'll break it into a few parts: NYC/Conan, DC, and food (which includes the best gin and tonic I've ever had). It was a good time.

should old acquaintance be forgot, yada yada yada

I hope everyone had a good holiday season, and that the New Year is treating them well so far. After a little bit of a rocky end to 2007, I'm ready for the new year. I always liked even-numbered years better anyways.

New Year's Eve was less than great. I got back to Austin around 5:30, then had to wait for my luggage, then took a bus home. After walking for nearly a mile from the last stop to my place, I made it into the apartment around 8:30. I was a grumpy Flenker. I actually ended up going to be at like 11:15, then woke up when my brother called at 12:05, then I got a couple of text messages, and another phone call at 2. Happy New Year. Had I actually known anyone in Austin, I'm sure I would've enjoyed it more. But I've never been a big fan of the holiday. You would think I would be, seeing as how it's basically an excuse to stay up late and drink, then do nothing but watch football the next day, but for some reason, it just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I've only had a midnight kiss once ever. Who knows.

My trip home was excellent, though, I got to see a couple of decent snowfalls, and was lucky enough to get go shovel and use the snow blower!

The view of my house from the back, during one of the periods of snow. It was great. Also, this was the only picture I took the whole time I was home. Oops.

Christmas treated me well, I got some clothes, lots of books, and, maybe best of all, XM Radio. I'm way pumped for it, I just installed it into my car today, and drove around for a little while, just to listen to it. (Something I didn't get was a laptop. I wasn't really expecting one, seeing as how I didn't really ask for one. But, I thought that it could be a good gift for my loyal readers to all chip in to get for me! I don't want a fancy one, just one in the $300-400 range for now. So if every loyal reader chipped in, it would probably only be about $100/person! What a deal!)

It was so nice to be back in Iowa, even if I felt like I needed another week to do everything and see everyone that I wanted. I was able to make it to a Hawkeye basketball game, against Southeastern Louisiana University, a team which features two players at 5'5". That entertained me, even while the Hawks were losing. They ended up coming back and taking control of the game, but it was a little frustrating for a while there. Of course I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures. But our (Marin accompanied me) seats were awesome, right at center court, row 14. Maybe the best seats I've ever had for a game at good old Carver-Hawkeye. Afterwards, we met up witha couple of my friends at the Fieldhouse. Now, if I had to make a list of bars I would go to if I had one night to go out in Iowa City, the Fieldhouse wouldn't be last, but it'd probably find its way into the bottom 5. (off the top of my head, Vito's and the Summit would be fighting it out for the last spot, with Old Capitol Brew Works possibly taking the top spot.) But, since my friends were there, with free beer, I felt alright going there.

The rest of my time was basically spent with family. KP stopped over for a little while, with beers in tow, which was nice. And any time that was not spent talking or traveling was spent eating. I ate a lot of food. A lot. It was awesome. But now I'm pretty sure I've gained a few pounds, so now it's back to not eating a lot. Which is not awesome. Oh well.

My flights all went smoothly, if sitting around waiting for a pilot for 3 hours can be considered smooth. I don't quite understand how we can sit there for that long with the plane sitting just outside the window, looking in, mocking us, while there's no pilot to take it. Then, once that flight left (going from Dallas to Moline), I had the worst trouble with my ears not popping. Or not popping. I don't remember, but whichever it was, sucked. I've never had a problem with it before, but I think since I was in the middle stages of a cold, it made things worse.

All in all, though, it was an awesome trip. I'm back in Texas for the time being, but a week from Thursday I'm taking off again, this time for the east coast. I'll be going to DC to meet up with Marin, then we'll be taking a bus to New York City on the 11th, which just happens to be my birthday. I will be celebrating the 27th anniversary of my birth by going to a taping of Conan O'Brien. I am super excited for this. Then, it happens to work out that I'll be in DC for their "Restaurant Week," a biannual event where all sorts of fancy restaurants have special menus made up for those who go, where a 3-course meal can be had for $30 a person. Not a bad deal. I'm really excited for the whole trip.

That's all I got for now. As you can probably tell, I'm still a little disjointed from the past week, and haven't gotten my thoughts straight, but I felt like I should do some sort of summary of the goings on around Flenker. More (potentially big) news will come soon. Until then, I'll be out enjoying the perfect weather here. And watching USC absolutely throttle Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

1 post, 4 parts, all fun!

Good news: those involved with the Great Blogger Mix CD Exchange will be getting something from me very soon. Well, soon after tomorrow, when I get the packages in the mail. You all better like it, I spent way too much time on it, as well as too much money. But, it's a small price to pay to delight everyone, you're all worth it! Plus, I really like the way things have turned out, and I had a lot of fun doing it.

I've been impressed with the mixes I've gotten so far! Derek, Marin, feisty, and KP have all sent theirs out, and they've all been very, very solid mixes. I think all of them have had at least one song on them that I considered using, but any doubling has been averted.

* * *

The weather took a turn for the colder yesterday, and will last until about, oh, tomorrow. It was near 80 yesterday, then a cold front came through, and the temperature dropped by about 30-25 degrees. This happened literally in the course of an hour, of course the hour while I was sitting on the outside patio of a restaurant, enjoying some enchiladas, in a t-shirt and sandals. Pants, too. (I'm still looking for an establishment that will let me frequent them without trousers. Believe me, you'll know it when/if I find it.) I thought the logical choice would be to continue sitting outside as long as I could, so in order to prolong the meal, I ordered what I thought was a slice of tres leches cake. What was brought to the table, however, was best described as a slab of tres leches cake, seriously about the size of my face. I think they did it on purpose, to rub in the fact that I was eating there alone. Well I showed them, and ate the whole damn thing. After my tears of loneliness subsided, I paid the bill, and went back inside, stopping by the bar quickly to see what the scores of any football games going on were. As luck would have it, I was just in time for the very end of the Cowboys game, and stuck my head in just as they were scoring the game-winning touchdown with only seconds left in the game. I don't know if many of you know this, but the citizens of Texas like the Cowboys, a lot. I don't like them especially, so I turned and started for the door. As soon as I took my first step, the bartender, apparently in a stupor from such an ending announced that there would be free shots for everyone. I'm not really sure exactly how it happened, but before he had finished his sentence, I found myself perched atop a stool at the bar. Weird, huh?

* * *

I'm pretty sure people who see me in a grocery store think I'm losing it. I don't know how many times I've caught myself talking to myself, trying to figure out what I do and don't need to buy. Like earlier this evening, I discussed with myself, aloud, if I needed to buy cookie dough (yes - macadamia nut with white chocolate chips), make tacos and lasagna this week (yes and yes), buy frozen pizzas (no), and get a bottle of Mexican Coke (yes). I would also have conversations with other people I would see in the same aisle, only both parts would be played by yours truly. And for some reason, I would always use a goofy voice, not just for the other characters, but for my own voice as well. I think I need a hobby or something. Or at least a friend or two.

* * *

In this post, I mention that The Christmas Song, as done by Nat King Cole, is one of the best Christmas songs, ever. Well, here's another contender for the title.

O Holy Night - from Studio 60


(Again, this claim only relates to this particular version.) I first heard this recording last year, on the Christmas episode of the unfortunately now canceled show Studio 60. The lead trumpet is played by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, of New Orleans. In fact, the group performing the song is made up entirely of musicians who are survivors of Hurricane Katrina, in one of the more moving (at least to me) moments in network TV history. I loved this song from the moment that I heard it, and the back story made it mean so much more. Basically, on the episode, there were a group of musicians from New Orleans in LA, looking for jobs so they could send money home for Christmas. The guys running the SNL-like show on the show (how meta!) wanted to help out, but since these musicians didn't have SAG cards, they couldn't put them on their show, or something like that. Anyways, the regular band members call in "sick," allowing these guys to get on and what not. I did a terrible job of paraphrasing everything, sorry. Here's a little better synopsis, from this site:

Andrews plays a displaced New Orleans trumpet player subbing for a member of the house band on the show-within-the-show. When a producer discovers that Andrews' character is working because L.A.-based musicians have been surreptitiously calling in sick so that relocated New Orleans musicians can earn some extra cash near the holidays, he cuts a sketch and replaces it with a performance of "O Holy Night" by a band of the trumpet player's hometown peers.

The episode-concluding sequence, in which the band performs in front of projected photos of post-Katrina flooding and snapshots of recovery, struck an appropriately emotional chord with many fans.

It was a feel-good moment, one that really reverberated for me. So do yourself a favor. Check out this song. It's nearly perfect. And, if you have the means, do something to help out in New Orleans. I know it's been a few years now since the tragedy, but there's still a lot to be done. I have some things planned myself, but I'll get into that at another time. For now, enjoy the music!

Yep, seems about right.

Today started off innocuously enough, I was able to sleep in, then lounge around a little while before I had a job interview. I made it there on time, missed the turn the first time but had enough time to loop around and find the place. I was looking like the money, wearing a decent button-down shirt and tie, some slacks and nice shoes. The interview was fine, just the preliminary stage of their hiring process. I'm not sure it's a job that I want, but it would be a start. And who knows, I may not get hired anyways, so whatever.

Anyways, I turned in a couple applications, changing from the shirt and tie to a sweater over the shirt, sans tie. A little more casual, if you will. This fits in later.

I decided to stop by a bookstore, both to turn in an application (because I think working in a bookstore would be amazing), and to buy a new crossword puzzle book. After the transaction, I headed to my car, making plans to stop and get some sushi, kind of enjoying the dapper look I was sporting. Then, much to my chagrin, I realized that my keys were not in my pocket. They were sitting on the passenger's seat. I called everyone that I knew in Austin, and when she didn't answer (get it? I only have one friend here! Ha!), I started walking. Luckily, this place is only about 2 miles from my apartment, so it wasn't too bad. And also, it was a beautiful day, around 77 degrees. Stupidly, I left my sweater on for most of the walk, not realizing that I could take it off and carry it with me. I guess I was too engrossed with my Jamba Juice that I got to cool myself off (with the energy boost, of course) and the copy of The Onion that I had picked up. When a couple drops of sweat hit the paper, I wiped my brow with the sleeve of my sweater, the one I was still wearing, not connecting the two at all.

I made it back to the apartment, got a spare key from the office and got my spare car keys that I miraculously remembered to bring with me to Austin, and made it to the bus stop with perfect timing to catch a ride to the Arboretum, where my car was parked. Why didn't I take the bus to the apartment in the first place? I'm pretty sure it would've taken about the same amount of time, since the bus would have to make almost an entire loop before getting back to my apartment, it just seemed really inefficient to me. Plus, the exercise was nice.

So, this just adds to the past month I've been having: with my bank screwing up one check deposit - not once, but twice; working at a job that I don't really like, not being able to find a job that I do like, having computer issues, and just being in a generally grumpy mood.

As stupid as it sounds, I think the weather is having an adverse effect on me, it's too nice. I see the weather back home getting snowy, and I miss it. I want big flakes of snow to fall here. I want the ice storms. I miss them. And ever since I've gotten here, Austin has had unseasonably warm temperatures. When I first got here, everyone was saying that it was such a mild summer, it never reached 100 degrees. But then, there have been record highs each month that I've been here. And I can't find it now, but I thought that I heard the average temperature for each of the past 3 months (September, October, and November) have all been record highs. Guess when I moved? Yep, early September. I bring the hotness. On the news, they always say how a "huge cold front" is going to be coming through, then the temperatures drop to the mid-60's. Which is almost perfect for me, but people here freak out. Or it misses us entirely. (we have another "front" coming through this weekend) I know all three of my readers, who all happen to be extremely, extremely far north of me, are cursing my audacity to be pissed about warm weather. H has many times, each time that I bitch to her about it being too warm here, when she's wearing gloves while she's inside her office, working.

Wow. Sorry, I didn't mean to make this a diatribe on the weather. But be sure to tune in next week when I bitch about how the Dr Pepper here tastes too good.

Quick edit/addition:

I almost forgot the best part to the whole story!! While I was walking home to get the spare set of keys, I got a call from a place to which I had applied earlier in the week! I explained that she had caught me "out on a walk," but talked with her a little while. It was for an elementary music "permanent sub" position (I think covering maternity leave), which would've been fun. By the time I had gotten home, I had already received an email from her, saying that she had found someone else with more experience. I thought I should throw this in, just to add to the mood.