dinner

equals 22 tomatoes. smallish roma tomatoes, but i'm starting to feel sick. got to eat healthy shit, right?

unstable as i am...

tomorrow (actually more like tonight...eh, early tomorrow), i get to drive to grand junction in a mighty ford taurus. it seems nicer than the mighty sable that i cruised in oregon. i think that it's about the same, just slower--altitude seems to make a difference.

anyhow, they trust me with bottles of hydrogen in the trunk (too bad it ain't a pinto), which is probably not the best place for them. my equipment for this trek is as follows:

• two bottles of hydrogen;
• one bottle of methane;
• two packs of smokes;
• my boots;
• one photovac microFID;
• and tapes.

the car apparently is too lame to have a disc player--so i've gone through the cassette archive to find an eclectic mix of tapes as follows:

• jimi hendrix - electric ladyland;
• talking heads - more songs about buildings and food;
• too short - life is...too short;
• man or astroman - destroy all astromen;
• shellac - shellac at action park;
• gruesome twosome - candy from strangers;
• tear garden - last man to fly;
• skinny puppy - bites;
• music from the original motion picture soundtrack "xanadu" featuring olivia newton john/electric light orchestra.

i think that these tunes might at least keep me amused for my driving. the lame part is that i only have about twenty minutes of actual work on-site. really, though, fifteen minutes is calibrating the equipment. oh well, at least i'm not in the office. it seems like mostly they send me out for these sorts of deals. those site visits in oregon totaled 1,500 miles of driving in two days and a total of maybe three hours of actual so-called work (mostly just taking pictures and interviewing maintenance of way dudes).

i love my job.

texican radio

the texas radio station continues to call me. they ought to leave a fucking message. what could jammin' hits want with me?

an old sports injury

or not.

tonight, i have a massive fuck-up of my left thumb. i have a few hypotheses as to its origin:

too much jerking off;

too much keyboard playing;

too much typing;

i actually have busted my thumb at some point, and it's some weather induced pain.

i really don't think that i've busted either thumb. i have broken all my other knuckles via the ol' ultra-violence, though.

i'm glad that i have been able to manage that stuff.

return of the jedi

strikes back.

i was just talking to erich about how i think that tom green is the funniest motherfucker on earth.

tonight, to cap off a fine day of nothing, there's a tom green show marathon on mtv2.

i've got a plan to keep my composition up on the road--there's lots of battery-based machines these days--outrageous. that means that i don't require a travel rock stick or some other queer compromise.

erich and vera are totally neurotic about the hand washing.

not down with the scene

i can't locate my headphone adapter thingy, so the audio hijacking is especially crunchy.

today, i didn't accomplish a fucking thing. that's a lie, though. i spent about half an hour doing my federal and state tax returns on the computer. this year, i'm actually getting money back. fucking government motherfuckers. i didn't bother to manipulate my withholding amount to break even this year--it was pointed out that the game is totally stupid by someone last year. anyway, that was my big excitement for today.

last night, i did some house cleaning, and listened to the new skinny puppy record. basically, it totally dishonored me. it's good for what it is--like post-trance or something. more like it is trance. they're doing those cliche filter sweeps and shit. oh well, i'm still a fan. i decided that i really need to do something cohesive with these fucking synthesizers. it's like wires and computers and keyboards everywhere.

tonight, i'm hanging out with erich and the vero. it'll be burgers and pool in boulder. oh well--who says that i need friends anyway?

i'm checking out sequencing software today, and mystified why my gm sounds ain't working. i need to figure that out.

the volvo died

on tuesday morning, the volvo died pulling into the parking lot at work. this was a serious bummer.

i got to drive a mustang for 2 days. luckily, i have roadside service as part of my insurance (i couldn't believe that). so, i had the car towed to this place nearby that specializes in old volvos.

i had a busted timing belt. what a super serious bummer, i thought.

turns out that it was a super-cheap repair. i even got the door handle fixed (new part and labor) for $5. truely insane, my brothers.

so, swedish motors rocks.

everything is good here

i'm really loving life lately--my ad says so.

really, besides the insane amount of work, everything is good. because of that, i really have nothing to blog about anymore. not many updates from here on.

suicide try triggers california commuter rail tragedy, police say

this rocks

the devo dancing

freaks out the nitwit.

oh well...she'll have to deal tonight.

duty now for the future is a superb record.

i think that wearing coating tyvek this week has me in a devolved mode. so good. i wish that more of my generation got the devo.

97%, bitches.

so i totally smokeed on that test. i was rather weak on the pratical shit, though. i blamed the project manager (classic).

so, now that i've got a certification, i can work on the nasty shit. i still have to do the fit test for the respirators involved. the week was pretty cool, since i really hadn't met john, except when he was a client with anadarko. we sort of bonded in class. he seems pretty cool, and he grew up in corpus, so we have the south texas thing in common.

it appears that i'm in the field pretty much for the next two months. that ought to keep my mind off of the shit storm in denver for a little while. that, and give my lame ass lots of experience.

i might be working on a long-distance recording project via the internet. that's pretty much what i need, i think, at this point. fuck the band thing. i'm so not into it for the time being. i doubt that anyone is reading this, so i'm not disappointing anyone. it wasn't a good deal.

i know that i've sworn that i'd never do electronica again, but it looks like my interest has been rekindled. i don't like how expensive it is, though. i might be resorting to soft-synths and diy to do it. if i never play another show again, though, i won't be broken hearted. i have a particular obsession with modular synths. shit, analog in general is beautiful. wendy carlos and the devo are my heroes. i require some mongoloid tonight, i think.

i thought that my cat was sick. she was acting weirder than normal. tonight, she's back to her bad self. all needy and shit. just the way i need my girls to stroke my ego.

i'm watching the house and the 3 enormous doggs and 3 cats next week. luckily, that's only just down the street.

oh yeah

let the devo rock out commence, bitches.

ahh

so the worst of the training is over--tomorrow is essentially the testing (written and practical).

i realized on my way home that i unfortunately now have really specialized training--must update the resume soon. my plan to get out of town is unfolding. i managed to get out of the band, and now...onto alienation.

tonight, i'm rocking last rights for the first time in a long time. that's one hell of a record cranked on the 4 speakers. unfortunately, my disc is the first pressing, and thus, has the tracks in the wrong fucking places. oh well--STILL a hell of a record. i wish that i had a meaty subwoofer.

training

so, the suicide light bulb went on in class yesterday.

if i'm working with shit that will kill me, that's the easiest way to do myself in and maybe make it look like an accident (so that people get their cuts on the life insurance policies). the only trick would be to not get someone else (the buddy) killed also.

it makes me wonder why they don't have psychological screening for hazmat people.

altogether, the class has been alright. i don't like sitting on my ass for 10 hours a day.

dreams

lots of dreams about the guitar players. and high school. and inventories.

i've decided to keep this blog to myself.

not much to say tonight

but i really don't think that this is a good time to straighten shit out.

all that doesn't even really matter anymore.

the best part was that i didn't even have an opportunity for a rebuttal tonight.

live smog

i totally scored a bunch of live smog recordings. so good.

lab results

wicked...so i got the lab results back from two weeks ago. they don't indicate anything that i didn't know, except that my liver is even more screwed up now than it was in june, when the doctor told me that i have to stop drinking.

the triglycerides and cholesterol are pretty astronomical.

at least i'm not on that whacky angel dust.

more photo fun

tito is getting sick, just like me! i think that mine is a stress-related deal, more than anything. he sent some tour photos, though.


not very graphic. hell of a guy, that matt is, really.


marie looks so little next to me.


that beer hit me, the table hit the mic stand, which in turn broke ross' teeth. crazy shit.


it's always been about you, ventura. thanks for the photos, tito!

last american audio tape maker closes

glad that i don't require 2" tape.

burnt out

i need to get some rest--sunday's running around and yesterday's non-stop action really has worn me out. i think that tonight i'm going to stay in and rest. i still have a couple of items to deal with. all in good time, i suppose.

today, julie came into the office to do a little bit of work for us. she looks fucking great! she's happy to be back in the U.S. i'm glad that she made it back.

i'm feeling like i sort of have my act together (i'm not quite emotionally together, though) for the first time in a long long time.

anti-climactic

dropped off bob's phone thing--looks like he's out of town for a while. makes me wonder about these shows that we're supposed to play. i figure that someone will communicate when/if we're playing again.

after hanging out with bob, neil, and peter...drinks with 4/5 of the ghost buffalo, emily, and josh's girl (can't remember her name). got an assortment of magazines from tito.

not a bad evening at all.

black sabbath

is making my afternoon mood, while i babysit the computer while it does the work.

looks like i'm having a beverage with tito tonight.

work sucks

i hate it.

goals

and i think that i'm quitting smoking for year 30. i need to scale back the booze too, but one thing at a time.

i quit LSD on my 17th birthday. that was because a girl broke up with me because of tripping too much. it seems like yesterday, even though it was 13 years ago.

the cat is needy, and getting on my nerves a lot now.

cats that sleep on their backs

a frantic day today--got lots of shit done. i still need to update the cloud site. maybe tomorrow.

picked up the nitwit at mom's. mom asked about tour, and i think that it was a positive experience, altogether. a learning experience, that's for sure.

and it looks like we didn't lose money. that is, until i get billed for the car. so far, so good, though.

i parked the car at the place today. lots of weird shit was found during the cleaning session--a leatherman, two dirty socks, used band-aids, three dead bottles of ibuprophen.

nitwit is happy to be home. we took a nap together. she slept on her back in my lap while we watched the military might channel--what is with stealth bombers show.

i'm hoping that everyone doesn't hate me. i'm truly freaking about that.

tomorrow at 4:04 am central standard time, i will be 30. that's sort of bothering me. not much, but i think that it's going to be anti-climactic, and i so wish that it would be somewhat exciting. my plans include chillin' at home with the cat, and sleeping.

we made it--wretched laundry and so much more!

today, i'm picking up the nitwit, doing laundry, developing film. i'm saving details for myself, but here's some semi-detailed bullet points. some photos should be forthcoming.

saturday:

• arose at 5:57 to retrieve ross for the rental car pick-up shenanigans 6:15.
  very blurry because of the awesome tavern show;
• drove and drove and drove;
• arrived at american fork, utah, only to find out that the show has been moved (again) to provo;
• played a pretty damn good set (the best pa of the tour, easily), and turned on some hardcore kids to other music;
• turns out that promoters in utah will fuck you harder than the lion's lair--a cup was passed around for gas money.

sunday:

• drove and drove and drove through the night;
• still pissed about the lack of payment in utah;
• attempted to exit the vehicle at 70 mph;
• during the gas stop in reno, the tire chain fiasco unfolds;
• the caravan gets split up on donner pass because i refuse to believe the 'chains required when flashing signs,' while the GB van follows the signs;
• in and out burger (my only fast food stop--pork rinds don't count--that's snack food);
• arrive in SF with only time for a shower and a quick chit chat with our hosts;
• mark allen rodgers informs us that the pa has been flooded, thus, the show must go on at his practice space around the corner;
• much drinking/smoking ensues--the cloud gets shut down;
• saw lots of friends in SF--chatted with heather briefly, and i was loose enough to actually speak to her.

monday

• leave the practice space, chasing down a very drunk mark allen rodgers and erin;
• it takes 20 minutes for mark to unlock his door;
• journey dancing;
• breasts;
• peeing out the window;
• pass out;
• awake in bed with jason heller (who arrived later);
• there's a cat named thug in the sleeping bag with me;
• my incredible hangover is cured by a brew of ibuprophen and bacon and egg breakfast with 3/4 of the cloud, mark, and erin;
• attempt to drive to los angeles--the interstate is closed, so after a twisty 'short-cut' to the 101, it is decided to abort the LA show, and hang in ventura for an extra night;
• drinks, pool, pinball at the only smoking double-wide bar in california;
• sleep.

tuesday

• arise, go to breakfast and meet an amazing girl named Heather;
• the beach, the pier, salad bar, pizza;
• great rock show--bought Heather a drink;
• back to the hosts' apartment;
• tequila drinking;
• long chit chat with Heather;
  
• jailhouse tattoo, courtesy of the mighty JC--kids hosting are starting to freak out a little;
• pass out on floor after mas tequila.

wednesday

• realize that i need to settle down a bit, or i'll do something entirely stupid, although the trip is much less interesting from here out;
• drive--a very uneventful drive to san diego;
• cullen and the jasons are great hosts;
• good mexican food at pokeys;
• pretty damn good set;
• sleep at jason richard's house.

thursday

• drive to phoenix, and take a long-cut;
• dead cows;
• leave the house of matt's sister to find a restaurant--phoenix is creepy and deserted
• play a decent set, with some fuck ups--jason breaks a monitor, ross' tooth, and sends a beer bottle at me;
• everyone besides neil and myself is too drunk to drive, so we drive back to stacy's--going 55 in a 25 mph work zone has never been so much fun, and freaked JC out;
• smoking.

friday

• stacy makes breakfast--super cool;
• we take the scenic route to new mexico--i would've been thrilled on the interstate, but at least it was scenic;
• snow on i-40;
• the atomic cafe has a weird pa--and we play horribly--too much booze?
• anxiety freak out about getting the car back as scheduled--death threats;
• drive throughout NM alone--sleep isn't an option;
• no one at the c-store speaks english at 4 am.

saturday

• return to their motel;
• tense conversation about me being unstable;
• asian man elected the most stable among us;
• 95 mph is right where the car feels best;
• pueblo is weird;
• back to denver;
• back home to switch cars;
• back to denver to pick up equipment;
• hug session with JC;
• the end.