Geometric Wallpaper Design Patterns
4 years ago
December 24, 2010
December 22, 2010
Falling
Have You Ever
So Grandpa came home today. He seems to be doing good, which is nice. We'll see how things go.
For the last couple of weeks, my mom has been asking me what I want for Christmas. Other than the obvious, cloths, drumsticks, and some truck parts that need to be replaced, I haven't had much of an answer for her. Just stuff I need. What I really want to say to her, is that I'm gay, and I want your continued love and support. I think that would be the greatest gift ever.
I'm still pretty sure both my parents will be fine with me being gay, but it's still an unknown, and I hate unknowns. I'd love to just know what they're reaction would be, before it happens. Over the last few months there have been plenty of opportunities to tell them, or at least my mom, but I've always chickened out. I would be sitting there thinking about it, and I could feel myself getting physically nervous. My hands would start to shake, and I'd start to sweat. Not to mention the erratic thoughts going through my head. What should I say? How will they take it? Do I really want to do this? Do I really NEED to do this? So in the end I always backed out.
The one thing I'm really excited about this Christmas, is that my cousin Roger, who I came out to earlier this year, will be coming to town for about a week. He flies in the day after xmas, and leaves New Years Eve. I can't wait to see him, and give him the biggest hug EVER. There were times right after I told him, I thought about driving the 11 hours to see him at school, just to hug him. Then I realized that would cost about $500 in gas, so I didn't. I want to thank him, tell him how much he means to me, and how grateful I am that not only is in my life, but that he didn't reject me after I told him. I think it's going to be an emotional time for me, and I better plan it so we're not surrounded by the rest of the family at the time.
So that's what I'm most excited for about Christmas. Yes, the rest of the family stuff will be fun, but with the recent gloomy events, this is a great way to help pick myself up.
If I don't talk to you guys before, have a wonderful and safe Christmas, however you choose to celebrate it. That is, if you celebrate Christmas. If not, be well, and still be safe.
143
_Kevin
After my more sad song at the top, let's get the festivities started! What better way to celebrate Christmas, the holiday recognizing Jesus' birth, than with Bad Religion. (I'm horrible, I know.)
So Grandpa came home today. He seems to be doing good, which is nice. We'll see how things go.
For the last couple of weeks, my mom has been asking me what I want for Christmas. Other than the obvious, cloths, drumsticks, and some truck parts that need to be replaced, I haven't had much of an answer for her. Just stuff I need. What I really want to say to her, is that I'm gay, and I want your continued love and support. I think that would be the greatest gift ever.
I'm still pretty sure both my parents will be fine with me being gay, but it's still an unknown, and I hate unknowns. I'd love to just know what they're reaction would be, before it happens. Over the last few months there have been plenty of opportunities to tell them, or at least my mom, but I've always chickened out. I would be sitting there thinking about it, and I could feel myself getting physically nervous. My hands would start to shake, and I'd start to sweat. Not to mention the erratic thoughts going through my head. What should I say? How will they take it? Do I really want to do this? Do I really NEED to do this? So in the end I always backed out.
The one thing I'm really excited about this Christmas, is that my cousin Roger, who I came out to earlier this year, will be coming to town for about a week. He flies in the day after xmas, and leaves New Years Eve. I can't wait to see him, and give him the biggest hug EVER. There were times right after I told him, I thought about driving the 11 hours to see him at school, just to hug him. Then I realized that would cost about $500 in gas, so I didn't. I want to thank him, tell him how much he means to me, and how grateful I am that not only is in my life, but that he didn't reject me after I told him. I think it's going to be an emotional time for me, and I better plan it so we're not surrounded by the rest of the family at the time.
So that's what I'm most excited for about Christmas. Yes, the rest of the family stuff will be fun, but with the recent gloomy events, this is a great way to help pick myself up.
If I don't talk to you guys before, have a wonderful and safe Christmas, however you choose to celebrate it. That is, if you celebrate Christmas. If not, be well, and still be safe.
143
_Kevin
After my more sad song at the top, let's get the festivities started! What better way to celebrate Christmas, the holiday recognizing Jesus' birth, than with Bad Religion. (I'm horrible, I know.)
December 21, 2010
Update
Well we got the call today. At 5:39 PM central time, Uncle John died. I'm sure he went peaceful, the way we all hoped. He will be missed.
His wife and kids will be joining us for Christmas this year, so it'll be nice to catch up with them, although it'll be kinda crowded.
My grandpa's 'numbers' didn't do what they wanted, so he's still in the hospital and will be starting dialysis tomorrow. They'll implant a catheter type thing into his neck in the morning, and then in the afternoon he'll get his first dance with it. It takes about 6 weeks for the thing in his arm to heal, so 3 days a week he'll get the dialysis in his neck. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with it. We're hoping/expecting him to come home from the hospital on Wednesday, and rested up for Christmas come Friday.
It will definitely be a gloomy Christmas, but I'm going to try and stay positive. Honestly, I can't wait for this year to be over. 2010 wasn't my best year. It even started off wrong. 2 hours into the new year, and my car got towed. Not my idea of a fun new years eve, or day at the impound lot.
Here's hoping 2011 is better!
143
-Kevin
I realized this is my 50th post. Not what I would've wanted it to be, but that's life. I'd just like to thank all the people who follow my blog, and all the anonymous readers who haven't made themselves known. I'm very grateful for all of you, and I'm glad you are in my life. I love you all.
His wife and kids will be joining us for Christmas this year, so it'll be nice to catch up with them, although it'll be kinda crowded.
My grandpa's 'numbers' didn't do what they wanted, so he's still in the hospital and will be starting dialysis tomorrow. They'll implant a catheter type thing into his neck in the morning, and then in the afternoon he'll get his first dance with it. It takes about 6 weeks for the thing in his arm to heal, so 3 days a week he'll get the dialysis in his neck. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with it. We're hoping/expecting him to come home from the hospital on Wednesday, and rested up for Christmas come Friday.
It will definitely be a gloomy Christmas, but I'm going to try and stay positive. Honestly, I can't wait for this year to be over. 2010 wasn't my best year. It even started off wrong. 2 hours into the new year, and my car got towed. Not my idea of a fun new years eve, or day at the impound lot.
Here's hoping 2011 is better!
143
-Kevin
I realized this is my 50th post. Not what I would've wanted it to be, but that's life. I'd just like to thank all the people who follow my blog, and all the anonymous readers who haven't made themselves known. I'm very grateful for all of you, and I'm glad you are in my life. I love you all.
December 20, 2010
Free Your Heel...
...Free Your Mind.
Hey guys.
I've been a downhill, or alpine, skier my whole life. It's something that I've always loved, although have neglected in the last couple of years. I think a lot of that is because I've skied out west in the mountains, and nothing here can compare, so it's rather boring. But every year I make a trip up to a place called Lutsen, in northern Minnesota, and that's always a blast. The best skiing for hundreds of miles.
My family are big skiers too. Both of my dad's brothers moved out to Utah in their 20's to become 'ski bums'. They worked at a ski resort in the mountains, and skied in their free time too. My dad's middle brother is still out there doing it, and it's pretty much his whole life. Eventually, my brother Erik wants to move out there and follow in their footsteps.
One of the things my uncle picked up out there back in the day, is telemark skiing. In a nutshell, it's like downhill skiing on cross country skis. Your heels aren't attached to the ski, and you turn differently.
You don't have to watch the whole thing. It gets kind of redundant and boring after a couple minutes, but you get the idea.
Well, my dad saw his brother do it, so he wanted to as well. So he's been telemarking since his 20's too. As a kid I would watch him do it, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. So of course, I wanted to try too.
I figured we just got a buttload of snow last weekend, so why not go skiing this weekend. I talked my dad and brother into it, and we started preparing. Now, like I said, skiing gets kind of boring around here, so I figured what the hell, why not try to learn to telemark. So I talked with my dad, and he said he would try to teach me. Fortunately, our feet are pretty close in size, so I could use all of his equipment, since most ski places don't rent telemark stuff.
So we loaded up the van and drove an hour south on Saturday morning to Welch Village ski area. Not a great place, but fun all the same. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea I did, so the place was pretty busy. We got geared up and headed out to the slopes. Right away I knew this was going to be hard, as even walking with the skis on is different and weird. But I got on the chair and was determined to make it work.
My dad gave me some pointers, and then basically said, go. I set off, and things were going well to start. Then I realized that I needed to turn wider than I'm used to, and that created some traffic problems. The other skiers weren't expecting me to go so wide, and things got tight. I was doing about two turns, then having to stop and wait for people to go by. I was starting to get used to the skis, and how they work. I did a couple of runs like that, but then decided it was too busy to keep trying. So I gave up and skied normally, while still on the telemark skis. Which in itself was a new and different experience.
So I've decided I like telemarking, but it's a lot of flippin work. I think I need to go to a local ski place around my house on a weeknight, when it's not busy, so I can take up more of the hill to learn. But I definitely want to keep learning. I've caught the bug, so to speak. Hopefully one day I'll be like this guy.
As far as my grandpa, he's still in the hospital. His kidneys still aren't working right, and whatever numbers they're watching, keep going up, when they should be going down and stabilizing. I don't really know what it all means though. Tomorrow, he'll either be released, if his numbers calm down, or they'll have to start dialysis through the neck. I don't really understand that, but it's worse than through the arm. Something about increased risk for infection and some other stuff that isn't good. So I'll know more tomorrow.
Somehow, his brother John is still alive. They moved him into hospice, and he's pretty much waiting to die. My mom said today he became non-responsive, so it's just a matter of time. My grandpa took the news better than we thought, but he's still sad. He really wants to see him, but it just can't happen. John's wife offered to have John's kidney transplanted into my grandpa, but my grandpa isn't stable enough for a transplant. But it was still a really big gesture for her to offer. Family is a wonderful thing.
So that's about it I guess. Christmas is almost here, but it's kinda hard to be excited with all the drama happening. I think it will be a more subdued Christmas this year. But it makes you appreciate what you have in life.
Hope you guys are well.
143
_Kevin
Three videos in one post? Yeah, why not? Be on a Fugazi kick lately.
Hey guys.
I've been a downhill, or alpine, skier my whole life. It's something that I've always loved, although have neglected in the last couple of years. I think a lot of that is because I've skied out west in the mountains, and nothing here can compare, so it's rather boring. But every year I make a trip up to a place called Lutsen, in northern Minnesota, and that's always a blast. The best skiing for hundreds of miles.
My family are big skiers too. Both of my dad's brothers moved out to Utah in their 20's to become 'ski bums'. They worked at a ski resort in the mountains, and skied in their free time too. My dad's middle brother is still out there doing it, and it's pretty much his whole life. Eventually, my brother Erik wants to move out there and follow in their footsteps.
One of the things my uncle picked up out there back in the day, is telemark skiing. In a nutshell, it's like downhill skiing on cross country skis. Your heels aren't attached to the ski, and you turn differently.
You don't have to watch the whole thing. It gets kind of redundant and boring after a couple minutes, but you get the idea.
Well, my dad saw his brother do it, so he wanted to as well. So he's been telemarking since his 20's too. As a kid I would watch him do it, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. So of course, I wanted to try too.
I figured we just got a buttload of snow last weekend, so why not go skiing this weekend. I talked my dad and brother into it, and we started preparing. Now, like I said, skiing gets kind of boring around here, so I figured what the hell, why not try to learn to telemark. So I talked with my dad, and he said he would try to teach me. Fortunately, our feet are pretty close in size, so I could use all of his equipment, since most ski places don't rent telemark stuff.
So we loaded up the van and drove an hour south on Saturday morning to Welch Village ski area. Not a great place, but fun all the same. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea I did, so the place was pretty busy. We got geared up and headed out to the slopes. Right away I knew this was going to be hard, as even walking with the skis on is different and weird. But I got on the chair and was determined to make it work.
My dad gave me some pointers, and then basically said, go. I set off, and things were going well to start. Then I realized that I needed to turn wider than I'm used to, and that created some traffic problems. The other skiers weren't expecting me to go so wide, and things got tight. I was doing about two turns, then having to stop and wait for people to go by. I was starting to get used to the skis, and how they work. I did a couple of runs like that, but then decided it was too busy to keep trying. So I gave up and skied normally, while still on the telemark skis. Which in itself was a new and different experience.
So I've decided I like telemarking, but it's a lot of flippin work. I think I need to go to a local ski place around my house on a weeknight, when it's not busy, so I can take up more of the hill to learn. But I definitely want to keep learning. I've caught the bug, so to speak. Hopefully one day I'll be like this guy.
As far as my grandpa, he's still in the hospital. His kidneys still aren't working right, and whatever numbers they're watching, keep going up, when they should be going down and stabilizing. I don't really know what it all means though. Tomorrow, he'll either be released, if his numbers calm down, or they'll have to start dialysis through the neck. I don't really understand that, but it's worse than through the arm. Something about increased risk for infection and some other stuff that isn't good. So I'll know more tomorrow.
Somehow, his brother John is still alive. They moved him into hospice, and he's pretty much waiting to die. My mom said today he became non-responsive, so it's just a matter of time. My grandpa took the news better than we thought, but he's still sad. He really wants to see him, but it just can't happen. John's wife offered to have John's kidney transplanted into my grandpa, but my grandpa isn't stable enough for a transplant. But it was still a really big gesture for her to offer. Family is a wonderful thing.
So that's about it I guess. Christmas is almost here, but it's kinda hard to be excited with all the drama happening. I think it will be a more subdued Christmas this year. But it makes you appreciate what you have in life.
Hope you guys are well.
143
_Kevin
Three videos in one post? Yeah, why not? Be on a Fugazi kick lately.
December 14, 2010
R.I.P.
So my grandpa went into the hospital today. He's been having kidney problems for a while, and it's inevitable that he will go on dialysis, just depends on when. His kidneys are working at about 10 percent, which is just about as low as they want to go. So he went in today to get some tests done. Tomorrow he is getting a special tube thingy implanted into his arm for the dialysis. He was only supposed to be there for today, and then go to the doctor's on Wednesday, but he didn't respond well to something they gave him and they want him to stay til Wednesday. The doctor said he would show up tomorrow instead of Wednesday too for some reason.
We all knew it would happen sometime, just didn't expect it to be this soon. The best case scenario on dialysis I think is 2 years. Pretty shitty. He's only 78, so not too old either. He should be fine for the immediate future, but no one knows for how long.
If all that wasn't bad enough, my grandma got a call today, saying my grandpa's brother is in the hospital with pneumonia, and has 24 hours to live. There were some complications with his Alzheimer's, and for all I know, he could be dead as I type this. I think the 24 hours started around 2 or 3 this afternoon.
My grandpa doesn't know this yet, and my mom, her sister, and my grandma are going to tell him in the morning. Although he may be dead by then. It really sucks, because my grandpa can't see his brother one last time, or say goodbye, because he's in the hospital too. Too bad they aren't in the same one.
I didn't know John (my grandpa's brother) real well, as I haven't seen him much since I was a kid, but what I do remember of him he is a great man. My mom really loves him, and is really shook up about all of this. It all happened so fast, and the timing with my grandpa isn't great either. My mom wants to go see John, but her main priority is to be with her father, to tell him, and in case something goes wrong with him.
So all in all, it really fucking sucks. I've got some weird thoughts going through my head, and know I won't sleep, so I took some sleeping pills to help. The right amount, not half a bottle, so don't worry. I can feel them starting to kick in, which is good.
I'll know more tomorrow, and I know tomorrow is going to be a hard day for everyone. John lived a good, full life, and I hope he is able to find peace.
143
_Kevin
We all knew it would happen sometime, just didn't expect it to be this soon. The best case scenario on dialysis I think is 2 years. Pretty shitty. He's only 78, so not too old either. He should be fine for the immediate future, but no one knows for how long.
If all that wasn't bad enough, my grandma got a call today, saying my grandpa's brother is in the hospital with pneumonia, and has 24 hours to live. There were some complications with his Alzheimer's, and for all I know, he could be dead as I type this. I think the 24 hours started around 2 or 3 this afternoon.
My grandpa doesn't know this yet, and my mom, her sister, and my grandma are going to tell him in the morning. Although he may be dead by then. It really sucks, because my grandpa can't see his brother one last time, or say goodbye, because he's in the hospital too. Too bad they aren't in the same one.
I didn't know John (my grandpa's brother) real well, as I haven't seen him much since I was a kid, but what I do remember of him he is a great man. My mom really loves him, and is really shook up about all of this. It all happened so fast, and the timing with my grandpa isn't great either. My mom wants to go see John, but her main priority is to be with her father, to tell him, and in case something goes wrong with him.
So all in all, it really fucking sucks. I've got some weird thoughts going through my head, and know I won't sleep, so I took some sleeping pills to help. The right amount, not half a bottle, so don't worry. I can feel them starting to kick in, which is good.
I'll know more tomorrow, and I know tomorrow is going to be a hard day for everyone. John lived a good, full life, and I hope he is able to find peace.
143
_Kevin
December 9, 2010
November 29, 2010
Gifts For Larry
Hi guys.
I don't know how many of you followed Larry's blog, or knew about his story. But his cousin Paul has decided to keep one of Larry's greatest traditions alive. Please visit Larry's blog for more details, and do your best to donate as well.
R.I.P. Larry.
Hope you all are well.
143
_Kevin
Larry
I don't know how many of you followed Larry's blog, or knew about his story. But his cousin Paul has decided to keep one of Larry's greatest traditions alive. Please visit Larry's blog for more details, and do your best to donate as well.
R.I.P. Larry.
Hope you all are well.
143
_Kevin
Larry
November 23, 2010
I Don't Want To Be Dismal, But I Don't Want To Rot In An Apathetic Existence Either.
Hey guys.
Well the trip up north was a good time, for the most part. We left Thursday morning, around 11 I believe. Got up to the place around 1. It's pretty much an empty house, with some couches and some mattresses on the ground. But it worked just fine for what we wanted to do. So we spent the next half hour or so unloading the van, and then setting up all the equipment. This is when I hate being the drummer. It takes FOREVER to get everything set up, and in just the right place.
After it was all set up, we ate some lunch, and then started playing music. We started off working through our current songs, just getting warmed up. Then we started working on Wyatt's new song. We had a couple ideas floating around, but within an hour or two we had the whole thing mapped out and ready to go. So we spent some time going over to make sure it was all flowing, and we knew where we were supposed to be. After that we ran through the old songs again, and took a break.
Wyatt had brought two of his guns up, so we spent some time shooting in the back yard, just shooting at cans and paper targets. His place is in the middle of the woods, but he still has neighbors next door, but not behind. After that we went through all the songs again, and then had some dinner.
After dinner we did some free jamming, just goofing off. Some interesting stuff was created there, but I doubt it'll become anything. Since it gets dark so early now, we thought it was getting pretty late, but after checking the time we realized it was only about 7:30. They had all been drinking throughout the day, and were running low on beer, so we made a run into town to get some more.
When we got back, we went over and hung out at the neighbor's place for a little while. They said they couldn't really hear the music, which was a good thing. We spent a good hour or so over there, before we invited them over to the house to listen to us. We played them our songs, and then started jamming with them. The dad kind of knew how to play guitar, and his son played bass, so we made it work. They had to work in the morning, so they left around midnight.
By then we were getting kinda tired of playing music, and Wyatt suggested we go to the casino. Now, I'm not a big fan of gambling, most likely because the few times I have, I lost. But I didn't have extra money, so I figured it would be a good way to kill some time. We loaded into the van, and off we went. It was about a half hour drive, and we got there around 1 AM.
Wyatt went off to play some slots, while the rest of us wandered around people watching. It's entertaining, yet rather sad to see some of the people at casinos, always hoping to win the next big jackpot. Wyatt gambled for about an hour before calling it quits, and we went back to his place, promptly going to bed since it was about 2:30 in the morning.
Friday we slowly woke up around 10, and just sat around for a while. The rest of them weren't feeling too well from all the drinking the night before, and I was still tired. We sat and bullshitted for a while, and then made some food. After which, we went to play some more music.
This time, we started off with the old songs, and then started work on my new song. The guys really liked the lyrics and guitar parts I had, but had a little bit of trouble reading the lyrics while playing. I offered to do the lyrics until they got the feel of the song some more, but they were determined to do it, and they slowly got the hang of it.
We took a break after that, and were just sitting around talking when there was a knock on the door. Wyatt got up to answer it, and saw a cop at the door. We assumed it was because of the music, but since it was only about 6 at night, weren't sure why. Turns out, there had been some reports of shooting the area, and they were wondering if we had heard anything. Wyatt told him we had been playing music all day, and hadn't heard anything. So the cop left and went to ask the neighbors. Fortunately, we hadn't done any shooting that day, so we were confidant it wasn't because of us. But the guns were still out in the open, and there were shell casings on the deck, so we went and cleaned those up, and put away the guns, just in case the cops came back.
We decided to do one more run through of the songs before packing up. About halfway through, we stopped and my phone rang. It was Kaija, so I answered it. About halfway through the conversation, Aaron decides he needs to tune his guitar. But his tuner is broken, so he turns his amp back on full volume. Since I can't hear Kaija anymore, I asked him to wait until I was done. But since he was drunk, he harshly replied that he had to tune. Again, I asked him to wait, but he kept saying he needed to tune. So I asked if he could do it without the amp, to which he informed me that he couldn't, because he 'wasn't that good.'
He's always had this thing where he thinks I'm better than him at guitar (which I disagree with), so he said it like, "I'm not as good as you. I can't do that." Which is total bullshit. If you can tune a guitar by ear with an amp, then you can without one. It's just quieter. So I told him to shut the fuck up, as did Wyatt, and he still wouldn't listen. He said, 'You're on a cell phone, right?' 'Yeah...' 'Then go somewhere else!' I had been sitting behind my drums the whole time, and said no, I don't have to go anywhere. He got all defensive at that, and started making more noise. Unfortunately, I dropped the call right then, since I had spotty service. So I sent Kaija a text explaining what happened, and she was cool with it, other than call Aaron an asshole.
So now Wyatt and I are pissed off at Aaron for being a dick, and we both walk away. He went to his room, and I just started cleaning things up. It was about 9, and we wanted to leave no later than 11, so we were going to start cleaning soon anyways. Aaron got all pissed off just started playing the guitar. So I spent the next half an hour doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Then I went and got Wyatt, and we started tearing down the equipment. We didn't say anything to Aaron, I just went over and shut off his amp and kept cleaning. He whined a bit, but then started cleaning. We finally got everything loaded into the van and the house cleaned up, and did a last check to make sure we didn't forget anything.
I was starting to cool off from the incident with Aaron, and he was drunk, so he didn't really care, other than me and Wyatt not really talking to him. Since everyone else was drunk, I was the designated driver. We left right around 11 and headed home.
One the way, Aaron was drunkenly singing along to the radio, which was really annoying. Wyatt was trying to sleep, since he had to work at 8 AM, and I was trying to focus on driving. Finally I yelled at him to shut the fuck up, and again he got defensive. He claimed that if he couldn't enjoy himself, why should we be able to? To which I replied, we're not. Then he told me to find something better to do with my time, besides bitching. So I told him, I am. It's called driving your stupid drunk ass home. He didn't like that, and just said 'bitch bitch bitch.' So I turned up the radio and tried to ignore him.
We finally got back to Wyatt's house, and decided to unload the van the next day, since it was a little after 1 AM. Aaron and Nate got into their car and offered me a ride home, but since they were drunk, I declined. I didn't want them to drive at all, but they live 20 minutes away, and then I wouldn't be able to get home if I drove them. And Wyatt was pissed off so he didn't want them sleeping over. So they drove home drunk, and I was left to walk home in 20 degree weather, with a 100 pound pack on my back. It's about a mile and a half walk home, and took me about 45 minutes. I had on my leather jacket and a sweatshirt, so my upper body was warm, but my legs and face were numb. I tried calling Erik for a ride, but then remembered he had lost his phone the weekend before. I didn't want to wake my parents up, so I just pushed on through the cold and made it home about 2:30 AM. I jumped in the shower quickly to warm up, and then went to bed.
So that was my trip. It had its ups and downs, but I would say on the whole it was a good time. Since it's thanksgiving this week, we won't have practice, and I think the extra week in between will be good for us.
This seems long. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be so bad. But if you made it this far, I applaud you. Thanks for sticking through it all. I wanted to say more, but I think I'll wait until another time since this got so long.
Hope ALL of you are well, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, however you are spending it.
143
_Kevin
Well the trip up north was a good time, for the most part. We left Thursday morning, around 11 I believe. Got up to the place around 1. It's pretty much an empty house, with some couches and some mattresses on the ground. But it worked just fine for what we wanted to do. So we spent the next half hour or so unloading the van, and then setting up all the equipment. This is when I hate being the drummer. It takes FOREVER to get everything set up, and in just the right place.
After it was all set up, we ate some lunch, and then started playing music. We started off working through our current songs, just getting warmed up. Then we started working on Wyatt's new song. We had a couple ideas floating around, but within an hour or two we had the whole thing mapped out and ready to go. So we spent some time going over to make sure it was all flowing, and we knew where we were supposed to be. After that we ran through the old songs again, and took a break.
Wyatt had brought two of his guns up, so we spent some time shooting in the back yard, just shooting at cans and paper targets. His place is in the middle of the woods, but he still has neighbors next door, but not behind. After that we went through all the songs again, and then had some dinner.
After dinner we did some free jamming, just goofing off. Some interesting stuff was created there, but I doubt it'll become anything. Since it gets dark so early now, we thought it was getting pretty late, but after checking the time we realized it was only about 7:30. They had all been drinking throughout the day, and were running low on beer, so we made a run into town to get some more.
When we got back, we went over and hung out at the neighbor's place for a little while. They said they couldn't really hear the music, which was a good thing. We spent a good hour or so over there, before we invited them over to the house to listen to us. We played them our songs, and then started jamming with them. The dad kind of knew how to play guitar, and his son played bass, so we made it work. They had to work in the morning, so they left around midnight.
By then we were getting kinda tired of playing music, and Wyatt suggested we go to the casino. Now, I'm not a big fan of gambling, most likely because the few times I have, I lost. But I didn't have extra money, so I figured it would be a good way to kill some time. We loaded into the van, and off we went. It was about a half hour drive, and we got there around 1 AM.
Wyatt went off to play some slots, while the rest of us wandered around people watching. It's entertaining, yet rather sad to see some of the people at casinos, always hoping to win the next big jackpot. Wyatt gambled for about an hour before calling it quits, and we went back to his place, promptly going to bed since it was about 2:30 in the morning.
Friday we slowly woke up around 10, and just sat around for a while. The rest of them weren't feeling too well from all the drinking the night before, and I was still tired. We sat and bullshitted for a while, and then made some food. After which, we went to play some more music.
This time, we started off with the old songs, and then started work on my new song. The guys really liked the lyrics and guitar parts I had, but had a little bit of trouble reading the lyrics while playing. I offered to do the lyrics until they got the feel of the song some more, but they were determined to do it, and they slowly got the hang of it.
We took a break after that, and were just sitting around talking when there was a knock on the door. Wyatt got up to answer it, and saw a cop at the door. We assumed it was because of the music, but since it was only about 6 at night, weren't sure why. Turns out, there had been some reports of shooting the area, and they were wondering if we had heard anything. Wyatt told him we had been playing music all day, and hadn't heard anything. So the cop left and went to ask the neighbors. Fortunately, we hadn't done any shooting that day, so we were confidant it wasn't because of us. But the guns were still out in the open, and there were shell casings on the deck, so we went and cleaned those up, and put away the guns, just in case the cops came back.
We decided to do one more run through of the songs before packing up. About halfway through, we stopped and my phone rang. It was Kaija, so I answered it. About halfway through the conversation, Aaron decides he needs to tune his guitar. But his tuner is broken, so he turns his amp back on full volume. Since I can't hear Kaija anymore, I asked him to wait until I was done. But since he was drunk, he harshly replied that he had to tune. Again, I asked him to wait, but he kept saying he needed to tune. So I asked if he could do it without the amp, to which he informed me that he couldn't, because he 'wasn't that good.'
He's always had this thing where he thinks I'm better than him at guitar (which I disagree with), so he said it like, "I'm not as good as you. I can't do that." Which is total bullshit. If you can tune a guitar by ear with an amp, then you can without one. It's just quieter. So I told him to shut the fuck up, as did Wyatt, and he still wouldn't listen. He said, 'You're on a cell phone, right?' 'Yeah...' 'Then go somewhere else!' I had been sitting behind my drums the whole time, and said no, I don't have to go anywhere. He got all defensive at that, and started making more noise. Unfortunately, I dropped the call right then, since I had spotty service. So I sent Kaija a text explaining what happened, and she was cool with it, other than call Aaron an asshole.
So now Wyatt and I are pissed off at Aaron for being a dick, and we both walk away. He went to his room, and I just started cleaning things up. It was about 9, and we wanted to leave no later than 11, so we were going to start cleaning soon anyways. Aaron got all pissed off just started playing the guitar. So I spent the next half an hour doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Then I went and got Wyatt, and we started tearing down the equipment. We didn't say anything to Aaron, I just went over and shut off his amp and kept cleaning. He whined a bit, but then started cleaning. We finally got everything loaded into the van and the house cleaned up, and did a last check to make sure we didn't forget anything.
I was starting to cool off from the incident with Aaron, and he was drunk, so he didn't really care, other than me and Wyatt not really talking to him. Since everyone else was drunk, I was the designated driver. We left right around 11 and headed home.
One the way, Aaron was drunkenly singing along to the radio, which was really annoying. Wyatt was trying to sleep, since he had to work at 8 AM, and I was trying to focus on driving. Finally I yelled at him to shut the fuck up, and again he got defensive. He claimed that if he couldn't enjoy himself, why should we be able to? To which I replied, we're not. Then he told me to find something better to do with my time, besides bitching. So I told him, I am. It's called driving your stupid drunk ass home. He didn't like that, and just said 'bitch bitch bitch.' So I turned up the radio and tried to ignore him.
We finally got back to Wyatt's house, and decided to unload the van the next day, since it was a little after 1 AM. Aaron and Nate got into their car and offered me a ride home, but since they were drunk, I declined. I didn't want them to drive at all, but they live 20 minutes away, and then I wouldn't be able to get home if I drove them. And Wyatt was pissed off so he didn't want them sleeping over. So they drove home drunk, and I was left to walk home in 20 degree weather, with a 100 pound pack on my back. It's about a mile and a half walk home, and took me about 45 minutes. I had on my leather jacket and a sweatshirt, so my upper body was warm, but my legs and face were numb. I tried calling Erik for a ride, but then remembered he had lost his phone the weekend before. I didn't want to wake my parents up, so I just pushed on through the cold and made it home about 2:30 AM. I jumped in the shower quickly to warm up, and then went to bed.
So that was my trip. It had its ups and downs, but I would say on the whole it was a good time. Since it's thanksgiving this week, we won't have practice, and I think the extra week in between will be good for us.
This seems long. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be so bad. But if you made it this far, I applaud you. Thanks for sticking through it all. I wanted to say more, but I think I'll wait until another time since this got so long.
Hope ALL of you are well, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, however you are spending it.
143
_Kevin
November 18, 2010
Dance Of Eternity
Hey guys.
Tomorrow the band and I are driving up to Wyatt's 'cabin' for a couple days for a nice long jam session. I say 'cabin' because his mom bought a house about an hour and a half north, but hasn't moved in yet, so they use it kinda like a cabin. Hopefully we'll be able to finish writing a few songs, and maybe even write some new ones. I finally brought 'Dixie' to the band, from a few posts ago, and we're working it into a song. I wrote the guitar parts and drums, and now we just have to make it work and get the lyrics to fit right. Since I wrote it as a two vocal song, I might end up singing, or 'rapping', the other part. Our guitar player Aaron was going to do it, but doesn't feel confidant about doing it on top of playing the guitar. So we'll see what happens with that. You guys might get to hear me some more. I just hope it turns out better than the chorus that I sing on.
So I'll be back Friday night sometime.
Last Saturday I went to see a career counselor for the first time. My parents saw him about 5 years ago, and it helped them out, so they thought it would be good for me. I'm not sure if I want to keep going to school for addiction counseling, so this might give me another option or two. I don't know how long it'll take, but probably a couple months, meeting once a week. Should be interesting though.
Not much else really going on, life's pretty boring right now. I'm just not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm bored all the time, and feel like I'm wasting my life, but at the same time, there isn't any drama going on. Oh well. That's life I guess. Ups and downs.
Hope all of you guys are well.
143
_Kevin
The Glass Prison
Tomorrow the band and I are driving up to Wyatt's 'cabin' for a couple days for a nice long jam session. I say 'cabin' because his mom bought a house about an hour and a half north, but hasn't moved in yet, so they use it kinda like a cabin. Hopefully we'll be able to finish writing a few songs, and maybe even write some new ones. I finally brought 'Dixie' to the band, from a few posts ago, and we're working it into a song. I wrote the guitar parts and drums, and now we just have to make it work and get the lyrics to fit right. Since I wrote it as a two vocal song, I might end up singing, or 'rapping', the other part. Our guitar player Aaron was going to do it, but doesn't feel confidant about doing it on top of playing the guitar. So we'll see what happens with that. You guys might get to hear me some more. I just hope it turns out better than the chorus that I sing on.
So I'll be back Friday night sometime.
Last Saturday I went to see a career counselor for the first time. My parents saw him about 5 years ago, and it helped them out, so they thought it would be good for me. I'm not sure if I want to keep going to school for addiction counseling, so this might give me another option or two. I don't know how long it'll take, but probably a couple months, meeting once a week. Should be interesting though.
Not much else really going on, life's pretty boring right now. I'm just not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm bored all the time, and feel like I'm wasting my life, but at the same time, there isn't any drama going on. Oh well. That's life I guess. Ups and downs.
Hope all of you guys are well.
143
_Kevin
The Glass Prison
November 5, 2010
I Am Not Worried That Your Son Will Grow Up To Be An Actual Ninja
A friend of mine posted this story on facebook, and I thought it was too good not to pass on.
My Son Is Gay
I wish there were more people in the world like this, and less hate or 'concern'.
Hope you're well.
143
_Kevin
My Son Is Gay
I wish there were more people in the world like this, and less hate or 'concern'.
Hope you're well.
143
_Kevin
November 4, 2010
FAGGOT
Hey guys.
Gabe posted a thing about not being bothered by words like queer, faggot, and whatnot. It reminded me of an article I had read a couple years ago about local punk band Faggot. Their singer, Tim Carrol, is gay, and in the article he explains on why he chose the name Faggot for the band. It's an odd story, as is the band, but I think he makes a good point about the name. If you'll bear through the more obscene, radical descriptions about the band, I think you'll find a good message. I'm sure the rest of the article you won't care about, so his story about this is on page 2.
Out Loud
I'm not a huge fan of their music, but I like the idea of trying to 'take it back'. Although, I think a lot of it is for shock value.
FAGGOT
Tim had something horrific happen in his life, and while he let it get to him for a while, he finally decided not to let it anymore. He is using that experience to try and make a difference, even if it involves wearing taco underwear and painting FAGGOT across his forehead.
What do you guys think about words like faggot and queer, and their offensive meanings?
143
_Kevin
Gabe posted a thing about not being bothered by words like queer, faggot, and whatnot. It reminded me of an article I had read a couple years ago about local punk band Faggot. Their singer, Tim Carrol, is gay, and in the article he explains on why he chose the name Faggot for the band. It's an odd story, as is the band, but I think he makes a good point about the name. If you'll bear through the more obscene, radical descriptions about the band, I think you'll find a good message. I'm sure the rest of the article you won't care about, so his story about this is on page 2.
Out Loud
I'm not a huge fan of their music, but I like the idea of trying to 'take it back'. Although, I think a lot of it is for shock value.
FAGGOT
Tim had something horrific happen in his life, and while he let it get to him for a while, he finally decided not to let it anymore. He is using that experience to try and make a difference, even if it involves wearing taco underwear and painting FAGGOT across his forehead.
What do you guys think about words like faggot and queer, and their offensive meanings?
143
_Kevin
October 23, 2010
Breaking The Rules
Hey.
Now, I'm sure some of you know that I'm not a very religious person. I went to church as a kid, but only because my parents made me. I got confirmed, for my mom. I don't have a problem with religion, it's just not really for me. I'm more of a spiritual person, than a religious one.
'My' church is one of the more liberal ones. They let you interpret things as you want, not how some 70 year old white man does. I've met the ministers, and they are very loving, caring, and accepting people. One of them is a lesbian, another gay, and for a time there was a trans-gender as well. For the most part they were welcomed with open arms. Of course, the religious media had a few things to say, but fuck them.
Anyways, my mom was telling me about a sermon from the 10th, by one of the gay ministers. She said it was really heartfelt and emotional. And according to my grandfather, the first time he remembers a minister getting a standing ovation after a sermon.
So obviously I was intrigued. I was able to read it online, and I must say, I am blown away. I can't believe these words are coming from a man of God, spoken at a church. Granted, there is some bible content thrown in, but still, I am truly amazed.
So I ask of you, religious or not, to give it a read. It will only take 10-20 minutes of your time, but the impact will last forever.
Breaking The Rules
It's in PDF, so you might need Adobe, if you don't already.
Or if you prefer, you can listen to an mp3 file.
MP3
I listened while I read, which I would recommend, because not only does he phrase things slightly different, it allows you to get a deeper impact of what is being said. You can hear the emotion in his voice.
Do as you wish, but I would highly suggest checking it out.
Hope you are well.
143
_Kevin
Now, I'm sure some of you know that I'm not a very religious person. I went to church as a kid, but only because my parents made me. I got confirmed, for my mom. I don't have a problem with religion, it's just not really for me. I'm more of a spiritual person, than a religious one.
'My' church is one of the more liberal ones. They let you interpret things as you want, not how some 70 year old white man does. I've met the ministers, and they are very loving, caring, and accepting people. One of them is a lesbian, another gay, and for a time there was a trans-gender as well. For the most part they were welcomed with open arms. Of course, the religious media had a few things to say, but fuck them.
Anyways, my mom was telling me about a sermon from the 10th, by one of the gay ministers. She said it was really heartfelt and emotional. And according to my grandfather, the first time he remembers a minister getting a standing ovation after a sermon.
So obviously I was intrigued. I was able to read it online, and I must say, I am blown away. I can't believe these words are coming from a man of God, spoken at a church. Granted, there is some bible content thrown in, but still, I am truly amazed.
So I ask of you, religious or not, to give it a read. It will only take 10-20 minutes of your time, but the impact will last forever.
Breaking The Rules
It's in PDF, so you might need Adobe, if you don't already.
Or if you prefer, you can listen to an mp3 file.
MP3
I listened while I read, which I would recommend, because not only does he phrase things slightly different, it allows you to get a deeper impact of what is being said. You can hear the emotion in his voice.
Do as you wish, but I would highly suggest checking it out.
Hope you are well.
143
_Kevin
October 21, 2010
Start Wearing Purple
Hey guys.
So today was the 'wear purple to remember the young souls who committed suicide' day. I forgot about it originally, and then remembered about halfway through the day. I got my hair cut about midday, and when I was in the shower getting the hair off myself, I remembered. So when I got out, I grabbed my 'Start Wearing Purple' t-shirt. It's for the band Gogol Bordello, but I thought it was the perfect shirt for today. Not only is it a vibrant purple, it tells people to wear purple too.
I'm not sure if my mom knew about the purple day, but when she saw me come out of my room with the shirt on, a small smile popped onto her face for a few seconds. Could have been nothing, or the fact that she thinks the shirt (and song) is funny, or maybe she knew what it was for, and was proud. Either way, I thought it was cool.
A while later, I was hanging out with Aaron at the BP, and a younger lady, probably 23 or so, came in to prepay some gas. She saw my shirt, and the first thing she said was, 'high five for wearing purple!' and gave me a high five. Thought that was pretty sweet. I'm pretty sure Aaron didn't know about the day, so he just laughed when he noticed it was a Gogol shirt. Oh well.
I hope today has had some effect on society, and people will finally start to realize that something needs to be done about the bullying. Not just against gay kids, but bullying in general. To quote a Bad Religion song:
'You might not think there's any wisdom in a fucked up punk rock song. But the way it is cannot persist for long, a brutal sun is rising on our sick horizon. It's in the way we live our lives, exactly like the double edge of a cold familiar knife.'
Anyways, I don't want to rant at you guys. You all know things need to change, so why tell you what you already know?
I hope everyone is well.
143
_Kevin
What else?
Oh, and Rowan, you're a bastard for stealing my song!
So today was the 'wear purple to remember the young souls who committed suicide' day. I forgot about it originally, and then remembered about halfway through the day. I got my hair cut about midday, and when I was in the shower getting the hair off myself, I remembered. So when I got out, I grabbed my 'Start Wearing Purple' t-shirt. It's for the band Gogol Bordello, but I thought it was the perfect shirt for today. Not only is it a vibrant purple, it tells people to wear purple too.
I'm not sure if my mom knew about the purple day, but when she saw me come out of my room with the shirt on, a small smile popped onto her face for a few seconds. Could have been nothing, or the fact that she thinks the shirt (and song) is funny, or maybe she knew what it was for, and was proud. Either way, I thought it was cool.
A while later, I was hanging out with Aaron at the BP, and a younger lady, probably 23 or so, came in to prepay some gas. She saw my shirt, and the first thing she said was, 'high five for wearing purple!' and gave me a high five. Thought that was pretty sweet. I'm pretty sure Aaron didn't know about the day, so he just laughed when he noticed it was a Gogol shirt. Oh well.
I hope today has had some effect on society, and people will finally start to realize that something needs to be done about the bullying. Not just against gay kids, but bullying in general. To quote a Bad Religion song:
'You might not think there's any wisdom in a fucked up punk rock song. But the way it is cannot persist for long, a brutal sun is rising on our sick horizon. It's in the way we live our lives, exactly like the double edge of a cold familiar knife.'
Anyways, I don't want to rant at you guys. You all know things need to change, so why tell you what you already know?
I hope everyone is well.
143
_Kevin
What else?
Oh, and Rowan, you're a bastard for stealing my song!
October 18, 2010
Fruity Loops
Hey guys.
There is hardly anything going on in my life right now worth mentioning, which kinda sucks.
I had a migraine earlier tonight, so I took some Excedrin for it. Got rid of the migraine, but the problem is that the caffeine keeps me up. So here I am at 5:30 in the morning, and not tired. So what am I to do? Make music.
I decided to be more like DJ this time, and do it all myself, instead of with the band. So I checked out the free demo of Fruitly Loops, spent some time figuring it out, and make a beat. Then decided it would sound better with some guitar, and it kind of escalated from there. Not my best work, but it was fun doing it differently. Hope you guys enjoy!
143
_Kevin
There is hardly anything going on in my life right now worth mentioning, which kinda sucks.
I had a migraine earlier tonight, so I took some Excedrin for it. Got rid of the migraine, but the problem is that the caffeine keeps me up. So here I am at 5:30 in the morning, and not tired. So what am I to do? Make music.
I decided to be more like DJ this time, and do it all myself, instead of with the band. So I checked out the free demo of Fruitly Loops, spent some time figuring it out, and make a beat. Then decided it would sound better with some guitar, and it kind of escalated from there. Not my best work, but it was fun doing it differently. Hope you guys enjoy!
143
_Kevin
October 8, 2010
Now Entering (The) Kiester
Hey guys.
So the funeral was last week, but I decided not to go. Just wasn't feeling up to it. But I'm starting to do better with the whole situation, which is good.
Anyways. Last Friday Aaron and I went to go buy him another car. He thought it would be nice to have a winter car, so his current car will last longer. Whatever, it's his money. So he found a Honda CRX down in Kiester, MN, which is about 120 miles from where we live. The car looked great in the ad, so off we went.
Since we were going to the middle of nowhere, we were smart and told our parents where we were going, what we were doing, and when we thought we would be back, just in case something bad happened. There have been a fair amount of stories in the paper about people being killed when they meet people on Craigslist.
The farther we drove, the more worried we got, because everything just disappeared. We were about 5 miles north of the Iowa border. Finally we pulled into a small, little town with a sign saying "Welcome To Kiester" (And yes, it is pronounced like keister.) So we knew we were there. After having a few laughs over the name, we called up the guy to tell him we were there.
A couple minutes later he pulled up, and we followed him to his house. He seemed like a decent guy, but I was still a little on edge. We pull onto this random dirt road off of the highway and start driving through corn fields. At this point, I actually started to get a little scared, not knowing where the hell we were going. I had my knife in my pocket, but didn't think it would do much. But it's always nice to have some sort of protection.
As we came over a hill, we saw his house and pulled over. He and his friend went and pulled the CRX out of the garage, and then we started the business of looking/buying a car. Aaron and I both have a good amount of experience in this field, since we are always buying and selling cars.
So we went to town looking the car over, and asking questions. The car wasn't as nice as it appeared in the ad, but still nice enough. So Aaron decided to buy it. They haggled on the price a bit, and then we drove off into the sunset (actually, into the rain that was headed our way). Aaron drove his Civic while I drove the CRX back to the cities. Pretty boring drive, since the radio in the car didn't work, but we got home without any problems.
After saying goodbye to Aaron, I jumped into my truck and drove home. I went up to the BP the next day to see him, and he had driven the Civic to work. I was a little confused, but figured it was because he hadn't changed the title yet. So I went inside to see what was up, and he told me he wanted to sell the CRX already. My jaw dropped, and I just looked at him with a 'what the fuck?' expression on my face. He said he didn't really need two cars, and it was a mistake to buy it. I was a little annoyed because of everything we had gone through the day before, so I told him to give it a week and then see how he feels. So far he still wants to sell it, but we'll see.
That's about all the exciting stuff going on right now. Tomorrow Aaron and I are going to take our dogs down to the river to play around for a while, which will be fun. Erik is off to the cabin for the weekend, and my mom is going out of town with some friends, so it'll just be me and my dad for the weekend. On Monday I'm going to the cabin with my mom, for the official last time of the year, since they close it up next weekend.
Been spending a lot of time lately writing and working on new songs. It's been helping me deal with everything that's going on lately. I brought the song 'Dixie' to the band today and they liked it, so we're going to work that into a song. Now I just have to come up with some good music to go with it. I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not happy with them yet. I just need some inspiration.
Well I've rambled on long enough for one night. Hope you all are well!
143
_Kevin
So the funeral was last week, but I decided not to go. Just wasn't feeling up to it. But I'm starting to do better with the whole situation, which is good.
Anyways. Last Friday Aaron and I went to go buy him another car. He thought it would be nice to have a winter car, so his current car will last longer. Whatever, it's his money. So he found a Honda CRX down in Kiester, MN, which is about 120 miles from where we live. The car looked great in the ad, so off we went.
Since we were going to the middle of nowhere, we were smart and told our parents where we were going, what we were doing, and when we thought we would be back, just in case something bad happened. There have been a fair amount of stories in the paper about people being killed when they meet people on Craigslist.
The farther we drove, the more worried we got, because everything just disappeared. We were about 5 miles north of the Iowa border. Finally we pulled into a small, little town with a sign saying "Welcome To Kiester" (And yes, it is pronounced like keister.) So we knew we were there. After having a few laughs over the name, we called up the guy to tell him we were there.
A couple minutes later he pulled up, and we followed him to his house. He seemed like a decent guy, but I was still a little on edge. We pull onto this random dirt road off of the highway and start driving through corn fields. At this point, I actually started to get a little scared, not knowing where the hell we were going. I had my knife in my pocket, but didn't think it would do much. But it's always nice to have some sort of protection.
As we came over a hill, we saw his house and pulled over. He and his friend went and pulled the CRX out of the garage, and then we started the business of looking/buying a car. Aaron and I both have a good amount of experience in this field, since we are always buying and selling cars.
So we went to town looking the car over, and asking questions. The car wasn't as nice as it appeared in the ad, but still nice enough. So Aaron decided to buy it. They haggled on the price a bit, and then we drove off into the sunset (actually, into the rain that was headed our way). Aaron drove his Civic while I drove the CRX back to the cities. Pretty boring drive, since the radio in the car didn't work, but we got home without any problems.
After saying goodbye to Aaron, I jumped into my truck and drove home. I went up to the BP the next day to see him, and he had driven the Civic to work. I was a little confused, but figured it was because he hadn't changed the title yet. So I went inside to see what was up, and he told me he wanted to sell the CRX already. My jaw dropped, and I just looked at him with a 'what the fuck?' expression on my face. He said he didn't really need two cars, and it was a mistake to buy it. I was a little annoyed because of everything we had gone through the day before, so I told him to give it a week and then see how he feels. So far he still wants to sell it, but we'll see.
That's about all the exciting stuff going on right now. Tomorrow Aaron and I are going to take our dogs down to the river to play around for a while, which will be fun. Erik is off to the cabin for the weekend, and my mom is going out of town with some friends, so it'll just be me and my dad for the weekend. On Monday I'm going to the cabin with my mom, for the official last time of the year, since they close it up next weekend.
Been spending a lot of time lately writing and working on new songs. It's been helping me deal with everything that's going on lately. I brought the song 'Dixie' to the band today and they liked it, so we're going to work that into a song. Now I just have to come up with some good music to go with it. I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not happy with them yet. I just need some inspiration.
Well I've rambled on long enough for one night. Hope you all are well!
143
_Kevin
September 29, 2010
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye
Hi all. I got back from the cabin last night. Was a pretty relaxing week, which was nice.
I woke up today with a call from Kaija informing me that our friend Cindy committed suicide on Monday. She was one of Kaija's mom's friends, and was living in an apartment above their garage. Monday morning, Deb (Kaija's mom) went in and found her dead. Apparently she took a bunch of Deb's anti-depressants. Deb said there are about 100 missing.
I met Cindy earlier this year at one of my BBQs, but she became one of the family almost instantly. She was a wonderful, easy going kind of person with a heart of gold. None of us thought she was suicidal, let alone depressed. So it came as a big shock to all of us. She will truly be missed. After my chiro today I'm going to go hang out with Kaija, Ian, and Garrett. But it will be a sad day I'm sure. Not exactly how I wanted to wake up.
I'm still having trouble believing she is gone. I don't know when the funeral will be, but hopefully I'll find out today.
143
_Kevin
I woke up today with a call from Kaija informing me that our friend Cindy committed suicide on Monday. She was one of Kaija's mom's friends, and was living in an apartment above their garage. Monday morning, Deb (Kaija's mom) went in and found her dead. Apparently she took a bunch of Deb's anti-depressants. Deb said there are about 100 missing.
I met Cindy earlier this year at one of my BBQs, but she became one of the family almost instantly. She was a wonderful, easy going kind of person with a heart of gold. None of us thought she was suicidal, let alone depressed. So it came as a big shock to all of us. She will truly be missed. After my chiro today I'm going to go hang out with Kaija, Ian, and Garrett. But it will be a sad day I'm sure. Not exactly how I wanted to wake up.
I'm still having trouble believing she is gone. I don't know when the funeral will be, but hopefully I'll find out today.
143
_Kevin
September 22, 2010
I Pretend That It's All OK, Til On The Brink Of What Can't Be Endured
Hey guys.
Not a lot happening right now. I've been sick all week, so just lying low, trying to get better. I'm finally getting back to normal, so hopefully things will become less boring. I just thought I'd let you guys know what's up, and that I'm alive. Hopefully going up to the cabin this weekend, possibly the last time for the year. If I go, it'll probably be next week when I make a new post, assuming I have something to say.
I hope everyone out there is doing well.
143
_Kevin
Billy Howerdel, the guitar player and major song writer for A Perfect Circle, started a side project called Ashes Divide. I think it's pretty good, and it's interesting to hear him sing.
Not a lot happening right now. I've been sick all week, so just lying low, trying to get better. I'm finally getting back to normal, so hopefully things will become less boring. I just thought I'd let you guys know what's up, and that I'm alive. Hopefully going up to the cabin this weekend, possibly the last time for the year. If I go, it'll probably be next week when I make a new post, assuming I have something to say.
I hope everyone out there is doing well.
143
_Kevin
Billy Howerdel, the guitar player and major song writer for A Perfect Circle, started a side project called Ashes Divide. I think it's pretty good, and it's interesting to hear him sing.
September 9, 2010
The World Won't Stop For You
First off, I would like to say thank you to Brian, Mind of Mine, DJ, Paul, and Tman for your comments, and R.Jimlad for his email. Your words of understanding and courage meant a lot to me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I feel almost bi-polar the last couple of days. Some days I feel great, and I love every minute of it. Then the next day, everything sucks, and I want out. But I try to think of the good times, and surround myself with people I love. Almost all last week I spent every day with Kaija, Ian, the baby, and Garrett. Not really doing anything, just being together. It's been nice to get me out of my head, and not dwell on the negatives. They don't know what's been going on with me, but just being with them has helped.
On Wednesday I went to the state fair again with Erik and D, as well as some people I didn't know, to see Trampled By Turtles. They are a bluegrass band from Duluth, MN, and if you haven't heard of them yet, you will. They are blowing up. I've never been a fan of bluegrass, but there is something about them that I just love. And I respect anyone that can do amazing things with their instrument. I have their newest album and loved it, so I jumped at a chance to see them live. I can honestly say, it's the first time I've even heard of crowd surfing at a bluegrass show. Their energy is unbelievable. So that was a huge distraction. Everything in the world was perfect for that hour and a half.
Oh yeah, as a side note, my friend Aaron who works at the BP, went to high school with the banjo player. I thought that was pretty cool.
Thursday, went to band practice, wrote a new song on the spot, and everything fell into place almost instantly. The whole band was surprised. After, I drove up to the cabin for the long weekend. My mom went up Wednesday, and my grandparents were already up there. I got there around 3 AM and crashed instantly. The only bad thing, was I had a long, lonely 3 hour drive up there by myself. So my mind wandered, and some not great things came into my head. But I did my best to drown them out with music, and made it there alright.
Friday afternoon my aunt, uncle, and 2 out of three cousins came up (Ryan had to work). It was pretty rainy, so we just hung out inside playing gin. A little after dinner my dad showed up and we had a huge gin tournament, guys verses girls. As always, the guys won. I went to bed pretty early, since I was so tired from the night before.
Saturday we all went to play golf, but because my back is still giving me problems, I didn't play. So instead I drove my grandpa in the cart. The rain had cleared, but it was still rather cold, but nice to be outside nonetheless. Went back to the cabin and had a huge fish fry (my mom and grandpa had gone fishing on Wednesday, fresh walleye). After dinner we all watched a movie and hung out.
Sunday, rain. Some people went into town to go shopping, and the rest of us hung around the cabin. Late in the afternoon the rain stopped so my mom, dad, and I went out for a boat ride. We spent a good two hours lazily putting around the lake looking at the wonderful scenery. Went back, had dinner, and another movie.
Monday was nice. Lynn, Doug, and the kids had to leave right after lunch, so afterwards my parents and I went on another boat ride. It was nice, since most people were packing to go home, so the lake was almost empty, except for the die-hard fishermen. After a few hours on the lake we went back and slowly started to pack. We left around 6, and got home around 9. I went to bed pretty early again since I was tired from driving.
Although hardly anything exciting happened, it was a wonderful weekend full of relaxation. I think that did a lot for me. But now I'm starting to struggle again. My parents are going out of town this weekend, as well as Erik, so I think I'm going to have Kaija, Ian, and Garrett over for a bonfire. Hopefully that will help pull me out of my funk some more.
I ended up emailing a link to my last post to my cousin Roger, the one who I came out to. I figured it would be good for someone I actually know in person to know what's going on. But I never got a response from him, so I'm not entirely sure what to think. Oh well. I tried.
Well I guess that's about it for now. I'll keep you guys posted. Hope everyone is well.
143
_Kevin
Here is the video for one of the singles off of Trampled's new album. For some reason, I really like this song. It starts so mellow and sad, and then turns into a fire that can't be controlled. You can't see it too well, but their fiddle player is a beast, and does incredible things. Wait So Long
I feel almost bi-polar the last couple of days. Some days I feel great, and I love every minute of it. Then the next day, everything sucks, and I want out. But I try to think of the good times, and surround myself with people I love. Almost all last week I spent every day with Kaija, Ian, the baby, and Garrett. Not really doing anything, just being together. It's been nice to get me out of my head, and not dwell on the negatives. They don't know what's been going on with me, but just being with them has helped.
On Wednesday I went to the state fair again with Erik and D, as well as some people I didn't know, to see Trampled By Turtles. They are a bluegrass band from Duluth, MN, and if you haven't heard of them yet, you will. They are blowing up. I've never been a fan of bluegrass, but there is something about them that I just love. And I respect anyone that can do amazing things with their instrument. I have their newest album and loved it, so I jumped at a chance to see them live. I can honestly say, it's the first time I've even heard of crowd surfing at a bluegrass show. Their energy is unbelievable. So that was a huge distraction. Everything in the world was perfect for that hour and a half.
Oh yeah, as a side note, my friend Aaron who works at the BP, went to high school with the banjo player. I thought that was pretty cool.
Thursday, went to band practice, wrote a new song on the spot, and everything fell into place almost instantly. The whole band was surprised. After, I drove up to the cabin for the long weekend. My mom went up Wednesday, and my grandparents were already up there. I got there around 3 AM and crashed instantly. The only bad thing, was I had a long, lonely 3 hour drive up there by myself. So my mind wandered, and some not great things came into my head. But I did my best to drown them out with music, and made it there alright.
Friday afternoon my aunt, uncle, and 2 out of three cousins came up (Ryan had to work). It was pretty rainy, so we just hung out inside playing gin. A little after dinner my dad showed up and we had a huge gin tournament, guys verses girls. As always, the guys won. I went to bed pretty early, since I was so tired from the night before.
Saturday we all went to play golf, but because my back is still giving me problems, I didn't play. So instead I drove my grandpa in the cart. The rain had cleared, but it was still rather cold, but nice to be outside nonetheless. Went back to the cabin and had a huge fish fry (my mom and grandpa had gone fishing on Wednesday, fresh walleye). After dinner we all watched a movie and hung out.
Sunday, rain. Some people went into town to go shopping, and the rest of us hung around the cabin. Late in the afternoon the rain stopped so my mom, dad, and I went out for a boat ride. We spent a good two hours lazily putting around the lake looking at the wonderful scenery. Went back, had dinner, and another movie.
Monday was nice. Lynn, Doug, and the kids had to leave right after lunch, so afterwards my parents and I went on another boat ride. It was nice, since most people were packing to go home, so the lake was almost empty, except for the die-hard fishermen. After a few hours on the lake we went back and slowly started to pack. We left around 6, and got home around 9. I went to bed pretty early again since I was tired from driving.
Although hardly anything exciting happened, it was a wonderful weekend full of relaxation. I think that did a lot for me. But now I'm starting to struggle again. My parents are going out of town this weekend, as well as Erik, so I think I'm going to have Kaija, Ian, and Garrett over for a bonfire. Hopefully that will help pull me out of my funk some more.
I ended up emailing a link to my last post to my cousin Roger, the one who I came out to. I figured it would be good for someone I actually know in person to know what's going on. But I never got a response from him, so I'm not entirely sure what to think. Oh well. I tried.
Well I guess that's about it for now. I'll keep you guys posted. Hope everyone is well.
143
_Kevin
Here is the video for one of the singles off of Trampled's new album. For some reason, I really like this song. It starts so mellow and sad, and then turns into a fire that can't be controlled. You can't see it too well, but their fiddle player is a beast, and does incredible things. Wait So Long
August 26, 2010
How Fragile Is The Flame That Burns Within Us All To Light Each Passing Day?
Somethings not right. I don't know exactly what it is, but I don't like it. For the last week or so, I've been having thoughts of suicide creep into my head. I've never been suicidal, and don't want to end my life. But lately, I've had these thoughts of how much easier things would be, no more bullshit, to just be at peace. But then I start thinking about it, and I know I don't want to die. But the thoughts keep coming back. I don't know what it's all about, but it's freaking me out. I know a lot of it has to do with being gay. Having to hide my true self from every single person that I know sucks. I'm surrounded by people, yet totally alone. I hate it. I feel like I can't be myself, ever. I'm living two lives. The one the world sees, and then the one here in the blog world. So I spend my nights on here, and end up staying up until 4 or 5 in the morning. Then go to bed, get up between 12 and 2, and put on a new face again. I know it's not healthy, but fortunately, I don't have many responsibilities right now, since I can't go to school. But soon my parents are going to make me get a job, and I just don't know what to think. I'm getting incredibly uneasy, and really want to get away. But the cabin is occupied, and Lynn and Doug's is too crazy for what I need right now. So I feel trapped not only in my mind, but in my location as well. I don't think it helps that Erik is leaving this fall, and all he is doing is getting the camper and stuff ready to leave. I would love to pack up and go with them, but I can't. Plus I'm going to lose my brother for at least six months. Over the past couple of years we've become really close and I like that. We didn't have a very good childhood together, but we've gotten past that now.
What sucks, is that the only person I actually know in person, that knows about me, lives in Utah and is going to school in Indiana. I don't want to bring any of this up to my parents, because I can't without explaining everything and coming out, which I just can't do yet. And I can't really seek help elsewhere without my parents knowing. So I'm turning to you guys, yet again, to help. I don't know what I'm expecting, or if there is even anything you can say, but I needed to get this out of my head and into the open. It feels like my head is going to explode soon, and it's driving me mad.
I don't know. I'm not going anywhere. But I'm scared.
This sums up a lot of it. http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/offspring/haveyouever.html
143
_Kevin
What sucks, is that the only person I actually know in person, that knows about me, lives in Utah and is going to school in Indiana. I don't want to bring any of this up to my parents, because I can't without explaining everything and coming out, which I just can't do yet. And I can't really seek help elsewhere without my parents knowing. So I'm turning to you guys, yet again, to help. I don't know what I'm expecting, or if there is even anything you can say, but I needed to get this out of my head and into the open. It feels like my head is going to explode soon, and it's driving me mad.
I don't know. I'm not going anywhere. But I'm scared.
This sums up a lot of it. http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/offspring/haveyouever.html
143
_Kevin
August 25, 2010
Your Car Did What?!?
So Saturday, I get a frantic call from Kaija telling me to get to Garrett's place with my truck and a tow strap as soon as possible. She said Ian's car was stuck on a boulder. Now I was pretty confused, but she sounded pretty shook up, so I jumped in the truck and took off. What do I find when I get there?
Apparently, Ian had parked the car, left it in gear (it's a 5 speed), but didn't set the emergency brake. It popped out of gear and started rolling backwards. It came within an inch of hitting a tree, and then rolled right off the retaining wall, taking a rock down with it. The rock got stuck under the car, and there is sat.
A neighbor had lent them a jack, but it wasn't tall enough to lift the car off the rock, so I had to go home and grab my jack. Got back, jacked up the car, but we couldn't move the rock. The thing was just too heavy. So we got creative. I wrapped the tow strap around the rock, hooked it to the back of the truck, threw it in 4 low, and pulled. Popped out no problem.
The front bumper was still stuck on the wall, so I hooked the strap up to the back of their car and pulled it out too. It was an ordeal, and the police, as well as some annoying neighbors sticking their noses into things that they shouldn't, showed up. The neighbors were accusing us of doing something stupid at the time, and not taking the situation seriously and whatnot. The cop was cool though.
We were all just glad that no one was in the car at the time, especially the baby. After all the drama, we went inside and watched some tv, having some low-key fun.
That night, Erik and I went to the Slayer/Megadeth concert. Neither of us were incredibly excited about the show, but Erik won two free tickets from a radio station, so we figured why not. We both like Megadeth, but can only take 2 or 3 Slayer songs at a time, because it's pretty intense.
The show was actually really good, other than one stupid girl a couple rows in front of us. She was a small white girl, maybe 5'4". White wife beater, and a short mohawk to the top of her head. The rest of her hair was shaved, except at the very back of her head, she had her hair cut into a swastika. I can not figure out for the life of me why you would want to carve that into your head, and wear it like a badge of honor. That's not what the music is about, and just gives metal a bad name. We were pretty pissed off at her, and wished she was on the floor in the pit, so she could get her ass beat. But that didn't happen, so we tried to focus on the show instead.
After 3+ hours of really loud metal, and LOTS of headbanging, the show ended, but I ended up with a migraine (go figure). So I dropped Erik off at a friend's house for the night, and went home to bed. Woke up feeling much better though.
On Sunday, I hung out with Wyatt and a his friend Joe from work. Joe is currently in a band, and looking for a drummer. So Wyatt was talking me up really big, making me sound like the worlds greatest drummer. Now, I know that I am a pretty decent drummer, but I'm by no means the best, so it gets rather annoying when people do that. I don't like being put on a pedestal like that. So Joe and I jammed in Wyatt's room for a while. He was trying to teach me some of his songs, and was really impressed with how fast I picked them up and the stuff I was coming up with.
So after jamming for a bit, we went to their work, a bar, and hung out. They had some drinks, while I had a couple cokes. Joe and I got to talking, and he really wants me to audition for his band. So he gave me some cds of his songs, only guitar parts, and told me to learn them and to come up with some beats. I was really excited, because his music is a lot like Deftones, which is really fun stuff to play on the drums. Heavier than rock, but softer than metal. Somewhere in between. So I've been listening to those and trying to make some stuff up. It's nice to be challenged again. The stuff I play in E.M.P. is fun, but not too difficult. Hopefully things work out with it.
That's about it for now really. Pretty laid back week ahead, at least I hope so. The Minnesota State Fair starts this Thursday, which is ALWAYS a blast, and I think I'm going Saturday with Kaija, Ian, and Garrett. But I usually end up going at least 2 or 3 times, so I'm sure there will be more.
Hope you all are well.
143
_Kevin
For those of you who don't know, Dave Mustaine, who is the guitarist/vocalist for Megadeth, used to be the lead guitar player for Metallica before being kicked out of the band. He wrote a lot of their early material, and I think he did an amazing job. After being kicked out of Metallica, he created Megadeth, and this is what we got. This was one of their more 'radio popular' songs, but still bad ass.
Slayer, is just intense. But if you've ever played Guitar Hero 3, you've heard this song. While I'm not a big fan of the vocals, the drums are sweet.
Apparently, Ian had parked the car, left it in gear (it's a 5 speed), but didn't set the emergency brake. It popped out of gear and started rolling backwards. It came within an inch of hitting a tree, and then rolled right off the retaining wall, taking a rock down with it. The rock got stuck under the car, and there is sat.
A neighbor had lent them a jack, but it wasn't tall enough to lift the car off the rock, so I had to go home and grab my jack. Got back, jacked up the car, but we couldn't move the rock. The thing was just too heavy. So we got creative. I wrapped the tow strap around the rock, hooked it to the back of the truck, threw it in 4 low, and pulled. Popped out no problem.
The front bumper was still stuck on the wall, so I hooked the strap up to the back of their car and pulled it out too. It was an ordeal, and the police, as well as some annoying neighbors sticking their noses into things that they shouldn't, showed up. The neighbors were accusing us of doing something stupid at the time, and not taking the situation seriously and whatnot. The cop was cool though.
We were all just glad that no one was in the car at the time, especially the baby. After all the drama, we went inside and watched some tv, having some low-key fun.
That night, Erik and I went to the Slayer/Megadeth concert. Neither of us were incredibly excited about the show, but Erik won two free tickets from a radio station, so we figured why not. We both like Megadeth, but can only take 2 or 3 Slayer songs at a time, because it's pretty intense.
The show was actually really good, other than one stupid girl a couple rows in front of us. She was a small white girl, maybe 5'4". White wife beater, and a short mohawk to the top of her head. The rest of her hair was shaved, except at the very back of her head, she had her hair cut into a swastika. I can not figure out for the life of me why you would want to carve that into your head, and wear it like a badge of honor. That's not what the music is about, and just gives metal a bad name. We were pretty pissed off at her, and wished she was on the floor in the pit, so she could get her ass beat. But that didn't happen, so we tried to focus on the show instead.
After 3+ hours of really loud metal, and LOTS of headbanging, the show ended, but I ended up with a migraine (go figure). So I dropped Erik off at a friend's house for the night, and went home to bed. Woke up feeling much better though.
On Sunday, I hung out with Wyatt and a his friend Joe from work. Joe is currently in a band, and looking for a drummer. So Wyatt was talking me up really big, making me sound like the worlds greatest drummer. Now, I know that I am a pretty decent drummer, but I'm by no means the best, so it gets rather annoying when people do that. I don't like being put on a pedestal like that. So Joe and I jammed in Wyatt's room for a while. He was trying to teach me some of his songs, and was really impressed with how fast I picked them up and the stuff I was coming up with.
So after jamming for a bit, we went to their work, a bar, and hung out. They had some drinks, while I had a couple cokes. Joe and I got to talking, and he really wants me to audition for his band. So he gave me some cds of his songs, only guitar parts, and told me to learn them and to come up with some beats. I was really excited, because his music is a lot like Deftones, which is really fun stuff to play on the drums. Heavier than rock, but softer than metal. Somewhere in between. So I've been listening to those and trying to make some stuff up. It's nice to be challenged again. The stuff I play in E.M.P. is fun, but not too difficult. Hopefully things work out with it.
That's about it for now really. Pretty laid back week ahead, at least I hope so. The Minnesota State Fair starts this Thursday, which is ALWAYS a blast, and I think I'm going Saturday with Kaija, Ian, and Garrett. But I usually end up going at least 2 or 3 times, so I'm sure there will be more.
Hope you all are well.
143
_Kevin
For those of you who don't know, Dave Mustaine, who is the guitarist/vocalist for Megadeth, used to be the lead guitar player for Metallica before being kicked out of the band. He wrote a lot of their early material, and I think he did an amazing job. After being kicked out of Metallica, he created Megadeth, and this is what we got. This was one of their more 'radio popular' songs, but still bad ass.
Slayer, is just intense. But if you've ever played Guitar Hero 3, you've heard this song. While I'm not a big fan of the vocals, the drums are sweet.
August 23, 2010
Drop The P From Pride And Hop In My Car
Hi guys.
So I ended up going up north to baby sit like I thought, although just Wednesday night til Friday night. They didn't need me Wednesday night, but I had to take Ryan to her drivers test at 8:30 Thursday morning, so we thought it would be easier if I got there the night before.
So I tried my best to go to bed early, which almost worked, but I kept waking up. So by the time my alarm went off at 6:30 I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep. Not a great start to the day. The test was about an hour drive away, so we had to leave by 7:30. I got up, made the ever important coffee, and went to wake up Ryan. She got up rather easily, but said she felt really sick. I just figured it was nerves, so I told her to get over it. Maybe 2 minutes later, she ran into the bathroom and threw up. OK, maybe it's not nerves. But she was determined, and I was already up, so we jumped in the car and started driving south.
She slept the whole way, and I struggled to stay awake. When we got close to the area, she called to get directions, since their website didn't have an actual address on it. Well the stupid lady on the other end gave us the wrong directions, so we got lost. After trying to regain my bearings, Ryan called back and got the right directions. We were getting close to her appointment time, but we made it just in time.
So I drive up to the window to check in, and they ask for all the paper work. I give it to her, and she says the insurance card is expired, and they need a valid one. Fuck. So I go park, call up the insurance company and explain the situation. Unfortunately, since I'm not on their policy, I'm not authorized to be given a card, so they can't fax one to the DMV. I tried explaining that both her parents were flying for work, and that I was babysitting them, but they wouldn't budge. She said she would try to call their agent and see if they would authorize it, but didn't sound to hopeful. Ryan and I spent the next 15 minutes pacing around smoking cigarettes, pissed as hell, and finally the insurance company calls back. The agent was nice enough to authorize me, and they faxed a new card over to the DMV.
So we go inside to get it, get back in the car, and off she goes on her test. Surprisingly, she passed. But since her parents weren't there to sign something, she couldn't drive yet. So she was still pissed off. And since her parents weren't coming home until the weekend, she has to wait until Monday before she can drive. Oh well.
Drive back up to their house, and I crash for a few hour nap. Woke up feeling much better, and hung out with the kids for the rest of the day.
Friday was pretty much the same, hanging around the house watching movies. It was REALLY humid outside, so we didn't want to go out.
I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to wait to post the rest of the weekend. But let me tell you, some interesting things happened, so be sure to check back.
143
_Kevin
So I ended up going up north to baby sit like I thought, although just Wednesday night til Friday night. They didn't need me Wednesday night, but I had to take Ryan to her drivers test at 8:30 Thursday morning, so we thought it would be easier if I got there the night before.
So I tried my best to go to bed early, which almost worked, but I kept waking up. So by the time my alarm went off at 6:30 I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep. Not a great start to the day. The test was about an hour drive away, so we had to leave by 7:30. I got up, made the ever important coffee, and went to wake up Ryan. She got up rather easily, but said she felt really sick. I just figured it was nerves, so I told her to get over it. Maybe 2 minutes later, she ran into the bathroom and threw up. OK, maybe it's not nerves. But she was determined, and I was already up, so we jumped in the car and started driving south.
She slept the whole way, and I struggled to stay awake. When we got close to the area, she called to get directions, since their website didn't have an actual address on it. Well the stupid lady on the other end gave us the wrong directions, so we got lost. After trying to regain my bearings, Ryan called back and got the right directions. We were getting close to her appointment time, but we made it just in time.
So I drive up to the window to check in, and they ask for all the paper work. I give it to her, and she says the insurance card is expired, and they need a valid one. Fuck. So I go park, call up the insurance company and explain the situation. Unfortunately, since I'm not on their policy, I'm not authorized to be given a card, so they can't fax one to the DMV. I tried explaining that both her parents were flying for work, and that I was babysitting them, but they wouldn't budge. She said she would try to call their agent and see if they would authorize it, but didn't sound to hopeful. Ryan and I spent the next 15 minutes pacing around smoking cigarettes, pissed as hell, and finally the insurance company calls back. The agent was nice enough to authorize me, and they faxed a new card over to the DMV.
So we go inside to get it, get back in the car, and off she goes on her test. Surprisingly, she passed. But since her parents weren't there to sign something, she couldn't drive yet. So she was still pissed off. And since her parents weren't coming home until the weekend, she has to wait until Monday before she can drive. Oh well.
Drive back up to their house, and I crash for a few hour nap. Woke up feeling much better, and hung out with the kids for the rest of the day.
Friday was pretty much the same, hanging around the house watching movies. It was REALLY humid outside, so we didn't want to go out.
I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to wait to post the rest of the weekend. But let me tell you, some interesting things happened, so be sure to check back.
143
_Kevin
August 18, 2010
Jose Bove
Well I was telling DJ about a local Minneapolis band that some friends of mine are in, called Jose Bove. It's rather hard to explain what they sound like. Basically, it is two drummers, playing on the same set, going bat-shit crazy. And then some white noise thrown in the background for some reason. Seeing them live, you are bombarded with a wall of noise that shakes you to the core, and you don't exactly know what happened until it's over. It takes about 20-30 minutes for all of your senses to start working properly again.
Here are two pictures, so hopefully you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.
I doubt it will be anyone's cup of tea here, but I'll put a link up to their myspace so you can hear a track. But be warned, it's crazy. And it's better live.
http://www.myspace.com/josebove
Also, anyone know why I can't get the links to work? I click on blogger's little link button, insert the link address, but when I post it, there's nothing there. Not even text.
While I'm at it, I'll throw out some other good local bands that you guys could check out, if you want.
Mojo Spleens. Totally forgot to mention this one DJ. Surf punk. That's all I'll say.
http://www.myspace.com/themojospleens
One of my favorite bands of all time, Morris. And not Morris Day and the Time.
http://www.myspace.com/morrisblows
And lastly, The Big Wu. A great jam band, that puts on amazing shows.
Let me know what you think.
Oh yeah, the riddle of my last post. Brian, you said you figured out the meaning, but didn't share your idea. Oh well, I'll tell you anyways.
The first persona is basically the collective America that is sick and tired of the politicians making all these promises, and then not following through. They just mess things up worse, and then turn tail and leave. The second persona is that of the politician. He showed up, tried to do right, failed, and now has to face the destruction and hate. The chorus, I actually borrowed from a Bad Religion song. I doesn't exactly fit, but I liked it, and thought it worked. And it's also a little tribute to Bad Religion as well.
As for the title of the song, I'm not that surprised no one got it. Paula Ticks - politics, was the hint. If you sound it out, Dixie - Dick C - Dick Cheney. I got rather tired of everyone bitching about Bush in their songs, so thought I'd change it up. The song is about politicians in general, but I thought the name worked.
So that's it. Potentially babysitting tomorrow until Friday, I'm on call, so I might not be around too often. I get internet up there, but it depends if the kids are driving me out of my mind or not.
Hope you guys are good.
143
_Kevin
Here are two pictures, so hopefully you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.
I doubt it will be anyone's cup of tea here, but I'll put a link up to their myspace so you can hear a track. But be warned, it's crazy. And it's better live.
http://www.myspace.com/josebove
Also, anyone know why I can't get the links to work? I click on blogger's little link button, insert the link address, but when I post it, there's nothing there. Not even text.
While I'm at it, I'll throw out some other good local bands that you guys could check out, if you want.
Mojo Spleens. Totally forgot to mention this one DJ. Surf punk. That's all I'll say.
http://www.myspace.com/themojospleens
One of my favorite bands of all time, Morris. And not Morris Day and the Time.
http://www.myspace.com/morrisblows
And lastly, The Big Wu. A great jam band, that puts on amazing shows.
Let me know what you think.
Oh yeah, the riddle of my last post. Brian, you said you figured out the meaning, but didn't share your idea. Oh well, I'll tell you anyways.
The first persona is basically the collective America that is sick and tired of the politicians making all these promises, and then not following through. They just mess things up worse, and then turn tail and leave. The second persona is that of the politician. He showed up, tried to do right, failed, and now has to face the destruction and hate. The chorus, I actually borrowed from a Bad Religion song. I doesn't exactly fit, but I liked it, and thought it worked. And it's also a little tribute to Bad Religion as well.
As for the title of the song, I'm not that surprised no one got it. Paula Ticks - politics, was the hint. If you sound it out, Dixie - Dick C - Dick Cheney. I got rather tired of everyone bitching about Bush in their songs, so thought I'd change it up. The song is about politicians in general, but I thought the name worked.
So that's it. Potentially babysitting tomorrow until Friday, I'm on call, so I might not be around too often. I get internet up there, but it depends if the kids are driving me out of my mind or not.
Hope you guys are good.
143
_Kevin
August 16, 2010
Dixie
So I wrote another song. I think this one is better than the last that I wrote, however, dealing with a different subject. Trying to write discretely about being gay is rather hard. So for now I've abandoned that idea. But to make things slightly more complicated (here I go again), there is a double meaning behind the song. I'm sure the first one, or the surface meaning, is pretty easy to figure out. But I think the deeper meaning is harder to get, which is what I wanted.
Let me know what you think. And if you're wondering, the title is a play on words. I'll give you a hint though, Paula Ticks. And if you're a little confused, the first 4 lines of the verses are one persona, then the next 4 lines are another persona. Hence the conflicting view-points.
DIXIE
~~~~~
Deception, corruption, we follow with blind faith
You led us through the storm, left us all with empty plates
For months on end, you built up these lies
Now I can't wait to see the light leave your eyes.
When I came here I was looking for acceptance
I tried my best so you'd like me and we'd be alright
Now that the dust has settled you want me dead
But I don't know how I lost this fight
So where is the justice when no one is at fault and a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all to light each passing day?
We tried to help you out and to make things work
But you kept building the lies like some self-righteous jerk
Left to pick up the pieces of our shattered place
While you go back to fuel your fucking face
Was it really that bad? Did I do so wrong?
I did my best to stay all so strong
You look at me and see a dirty old clown
Acting like I wore a big jeweled crown
So where is the justice when no one is at fault and a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all to light each passing day?
oh I get it, you want sympathy from us?
Well then here, I'll give you a clip full of pity.
You pull the trigger, watch as it spins
Wait for the impact and don't make a fuss.
Well you're in luck, it's time to go
I'll get out before you throw that fatal blow
Say all you want in your stupid little flow
But know when it's over, I stole the show.
So where is the justice when no one is at fault and a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all to light each passing day?
So again, let me know what you think. Good, bad, ugly, whatever. I look forward to hearing your feedback, and who can figure out the title.
I also put my email address in my info section. Shoot me an email, hit me up on MSN, whatever's clever.
Hope all is well.
143
_Kevin
Oh yeah, we got some pictures back from the photographer. This is my favorite so far. I'm in the lower left.
Let me know what you think. And if you're wondering, the title is a play on words. I'll give you a hint though, Paula Ticks. And if you're a little confused, the first 4 lines of the verses are one persona, then the next 4 lines are another persona. Hence the conflicting view-points.
DIXIE
~~~~~
Deception, corruption, we follow with blind faith
You led us through the storm, left us all with empty plates
For months on end, you built up these lies
Now I can't wait to see the light leave your eyes.
When I came here I was looking for acceptance
I tried my best so you'd like me and we'd be alright
Now that the dust has settled you want me dead
But I don't know how I lost this fight
So where is the justice when no one is at fault and a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all to light each passing day?
We tried to help you out and to make things work
But you kept building the lies like some self-righteous jerk
Left to pick up the pieces of our shattered place
While you go back to fuel your fucking face
Was it really that bad? Did I do so wrong?
I did my best to stay all so strong
You look at me and see a dirty old clown
Acting like I wore a big jeweled crown
So where is the justice when no one is at fault and a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all to light each passing day?
oh I get it, you want sympathy from us?
Well then here, I'll give you a clip full of pity.
You pull the trigger, watch as it spins
Wait for the impact and don't make a fuss.
Well you're in luck, it's time to go
I'll get out before you throw that fatal blow
Say all you want in your stupid little flow
But know when it's over, I stole the show.
So where is the justice when no one is at fault and a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all to light each passing day?
So again, let me know what you think. Good, bad, ugly, whatever. I look forward to hearing your feedback, and who can figure out the title.
I also put my email address in my info section. Shoot me an email, hit me up on MSN, whatever's clever.
Hope all is well.
143
_Kevin
Oh yeah, we got some pictures back from the photographer. This is my favorite so far. I'm in the lower left.
August 14, 2010
Character Zero
This has been one of those weeks where it feels like I've done nothing, and everything at the same time. I can't believe it's already Friday night either.
Last weekend, I went up to Lynn and Doug's house to hang out. They were both in town, so I didn't need to baby sit. I went up Friday night and then came home Saturday night. Just a quick little trip to clear my head. It was around this time that the whole JJ/Richard thing came to light, and I just couldn't process everything. So I did what I always do. Jumped in the truck and got out of here as fast as I could.
Not a whole lot happened up there, just some relaxing and time to think, which is what I wanted.
Sunday, my family went over to my grandparents house to celebrate Erik's and my dad's birthdays. We started off with some water skiing and then had a nice salmon dinner. My grandpa's boat motor broke earlier that week, but one of his neighbors was nice enough to let us use theirs. Unfortunately, it was a wake boarding boat, so it had a huge wake. Made it rather difficult to cut across, but we managed. But the next day Erik, my dad, and I were all feeling the extra strain on our muscles from having to work harder. Pretty low-key weekend which was nice.
Monday night Erik asked to borrow my truck to go pick up a camper. He and Demian are going to travel around the country for a few months starting in October, and have been looking at campers for a while. They finally found one they liked in their price range, so they bought it. It's a 1972 19 foot tow camper. I wasn't too excited about it when I first saw it, but now that I've been in it and gotten used to it, I really like it. And they've made it really nice inside considering they only paid $800 for it. Although, it does seem to be a hippie mobile. Lots of band stickers, black lights, tie-dye, and whatnot. But their dirty hippies, so I wouldn't expect anything less.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty boring, same old stuff.
On Thursday the band went to a photo shoot that Wyatt's ex-girl friend had paid for as a christmas gift to us last year. We weren't really excited, but it was free so we went along. It was rather awkward for us, trying to pose in the pictures, but we made it work. I think we look better when we're playing music instead of standing in a dark basement next to a brick wall. Oh well. We should get the pictures back Sunday or Monday, so we'll see how it turned out. If they don't suck, I'll post some on here.
Today I went and played a round of frisbee golf with Cory, but when we were about half way through, it started pouring. So we ran back to the truck and headed home. Cory went home, and I started helping Erik and Demian get the camper ready for the weekend. They are currently on their way to East Troy, Wisconsin to go see Phish play. They're playing Saturday and Sunday night, so Erik and D thought it would be a great test trip with the camper. So we were getting the finishing touches ready. Installing a stereo and speakers, last minute cleaning, stocking the fridge with beer, all that kind of stuff. 5 or 6 of their friends were going with, so once everyone got to my house and had their stuff loaded, they took off. I think they finally left around 10:30. And since it's a 6 hour drive, they should be getting there around 4-5 in the morning tomorrow. But they're young and resilient, so it shouldn't be a problem.
They had to take my truck so they could tow the camper, which means I originally got screwed out of a vehicle. They also took the mini van to fit all the other people. But then Demian said I could have his 1979 El Camino for the weekend. Which is AWESOME! I know it's kind of a redneck car (sorry Gabe), but I love this thing. I don't have a picture, but it's a deep purple, almost brown color. It has a fuel injected 350 from a 90's camaro, and a 5 speed manual transmission, so it's really fast and powerful, but still gets good gas mileage. D said he gets between 25 and 30 mpg on the highway. Pretty good for having 350ish horsepower.
So that gets to be my toy for the weekend. I think I'll find ways to entertain myself :-P
Not much going on around here, so I think it'll be low-key again. Might play some more disc tomorrow if the weather is nice. We'll see.
Well that's about it. I hope everyone is well, and things are going fine.
143
_Kevin
I couldn't find a good enough quality live version, so here's the studio version instead.
Last weekend, I went up to Lynn and Doug's house to hang out. They were both in town, so I didn't need to baby sit. I went up Friday night and then came home Saturday night. Just a quick little trip to clear my head. It was around this time that the whole JJ/Richard thing came to light, and I just couldn't process everything. So I did what I always do. Jumped in the truck and got out of here as fast as I could.
Not a whole lot happened up there, just some relaxing and time to think, which is what I wanted.
Sunday, my family went over to my grandparents house to celebrate Erik's and my dad's birthdays. We started off with some water skiing and then had a nice salmon dinner. My grandpa's boat motor broke earlier that week, but one of his neighbors was nice enough to let us use theirs. Unfortunately, it was a wake boarding boat, so it had a huge wake. Made it rather difficult to cut across, but we managed. But the next day Erik, my dad, and I were all feeling the extra strain on our muscles from having to work harder. Pretty low-key weekend which was nice.
Monday night Erik asked to borrow my truck to go pick up a camper. He and Demian are going to travel around the country for a few months starting in October, and have been looking at campers for a while. They finally found one they liked in their price range, so they bought it. It's a 1972 19 foot tow camper. I wasn't too excited about it when I first saw it, but now that I've been in it and gotten used to it, I really like it. And they've made it really nice inside considering they only paid $800 for it. Although, it does seem to be a hippie mobile. Lots of band stickers, black lights, tie-dye, and whatnot. But their dirty hippies, so I wouldn't expect anything less.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty boring, same old stuff.
On Thursday the band went to a photo shoot that Wyatt's ex-girl friend had paid for as a christmas gift to us last year. We weren't really excited, but it was free so we went along. It was rather awkward for us, trying to pose in the pictures, but we made it work. I think we look better when we're playing music instead of standing in a dark basement next to a brick wall. Oh well. We should get the pictures back Sunday or Monday, so we'll see how it turned out. If they don't suck, I'll post some on here.
Today I went and played a round of frisbee golf with Cory, but when we were about half way through, it started pouring. So we ran back to the truck and headed home. Cory went home, and I started helping Erik and Demian get the camper ready for the weekend. They are currently on their way to East Troy, Wisconsin to go see Phish play. They're playing Saturday and Sunday night, so Erik and D thought it would be a great test trip with the camper. So we were getting the finishing touches ready. Installing a stereo and speakers, last minute cleaning, stocking the fridge with beer, all that kind of stuff. 5 or 6 of their friends were going with, so once everyone got to my house and had their stuff loaded, they took off. I think they finally left around 10:30. And since it's a 6 hour drive, they should be getting there around 4-5 in the morning tomorrow. But they're young and resilient, so it shouldn't be a problem.
They had to take my truck so they could tow the camper, which means I originally got screwed out of a vehicle. They also took the mini van to fit all the other people. But then Demian said I could have his 1979 El Camino for the weekend. Which is AWESOME! I know it's kind of a redneck car (sorry Gabe), but I love this thing. I don't have a picture, but it's a deep purple, almost brown color. It has a fuel injected 350 from a 90's camaro, and a 5 speed manual transmission, so it's really fast and powerful, but still gets good gas mileage. D said he gets between 25 and 30 mpg on the highway. Pretty good for having 350ish horsepower.
So that gets to be my toy for the weekend. I think I'll find ways to entertain myself :-P
Not much going on around here, so I think it'll be low-key again. Might play some more disc tomorrow if the weather is nice. We'll see.
Well that's about it. I hope everyone is well, and things are going fine.
143
_Kevin
I couldn't find a good enough quality live version, so here's the studio version instead.
August 5, 2010
Sea Of Sorrow
Wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted.
Really the only thing worth mentioning since then was my brother's birthday. Last Saturday he turned 23, so we and a group of friends went up to the cabin to have a party. It was me, Erik, Demian, Yogi, BooBoo, and Gander. Yes, our group has weird choices in nicknames. Others, not related to the story, include Tripper, Stormy, Swamp-swamp thing-or swampy (my brother), and Mmmmmmbop (me, reluctantly). Anyways.
Erik took Friday off from work, and we were going to head up later that night once everyone else got off work. So we spent the day running around doing errands and whatnot, and also looking for a present for him, from me. I didn't know what to get him, and he said he wanted a new hat, so we looked at a few different stores trying to find a good one. Sadly, we couldn't, so I still owe him something. He wanted a fedora type hat, but couldn't find one that was right.
Six o'clock rolled around and everyone was done working. We picked up Demian, while the bears met at Gander's house. One of their friends is in the hospital in a drug induced coma from a brain hemorrhage, so we made a stop there first to go visit him. Since I didn't know him, and we didn't want to pay for parking, I stayed in the car and drove around while they were inside. It was pretty sad and hard for them, but we continued on. We met up with the other guys and started the drive north. It was me, Erik, and D in our van, and then the bears and Gander in his car.
After all the dicking around, we finally got to the cabin around midnight, and then the party commenced. We unloaded everything, started playing some music, and the alcohol and other 'substances' started flowing. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say, they know how to have a good time. We played a couple games of Farkle, an interesting dice game, and then went outside and had a bonfire. It was great to just hang out and shoot the shit with everyone and have a good time. Since I only had caffeine to fuel me on, I went to bed around 5:30 in the morning. I don't know how much longer they stayed up at the fire.
I woke up around 11, and heard a lot of noise upstairs. Somehow, they were all up and cooking breakfast, looking relatively good. I was expecting them to be slow going that early, but they were in better shape than me somehow. We ate our eggs, bacon, and sausage, and then went to get the boat working. We still hadn't put it in the water since we re carpeted it, because the lights didn't work right. So after Erik ripped it apart, we went into town to get the parts we needed. Got back to the cabin and wired everything up. Got them working pretty painlessly. Next, we had to drive the boat to the landing and put it in the water.
Since it was his actual birthday, they had already been drinking for a while, so I became the designated driver for the whole weekend. OK. Except I had only driven with a trailer once before, and it was in my truck, not the mini van. Erik's directions to the landing weren't exactly right, so I had to make a fair amount of u-turns with the trailer. Trying to turn around a 25 foot pontoon boat on a trailer behind a mini van on a road that's only 1.5-2 lanes wide sucks. But needless to say, I got very good very fast at backing a trailer. We finally found the landing, and got the boat in the water. Erik and D went in the boat back to the cabin, and I drove the van back.
Once there, we loaded everything up on the boat, food, pop, beer, brandy, cigarettes, and the ever important stereo setup from Demian's trike. I can't remember if I've described that yet, but it's a nice cedar box he made, with a car battery, car cd player, and two 6x9 speakers. It is louder than most cars when on land, and even more so when on the water.
We set off, with nowhere in mind. We spent an hour or so just cruising around enjoying the beautiful weather and good music. We decided to go to the island and go swimming. The island isn't really that big, just big enough for one campsite. We beached the boat and jumped in the water. Surprisingly, the water was really warm, around 70-75 degrees. Normally the water is around 60, so we were pleasantly surprised. We spent another couple hours there, before slowly making our way back to the cabin for dinner. After dinner we had another fire, but they were all struggling from the night before, so we went to bed around 2.
Sunday, again they were all up before me making breakfast. After that, we loaded up the boat and went fishing. We didn't catch a single thing, but just being out there was fun. Although, I'm sure the loud music and drunken singing didn't help. We ended up going to Famous Dave's for lunch. Now normally, that isn't a big deal, but the first, original Famous Dave's is on the same lake, and has a wonderful view of the lake from the patio, so it was a great experience. My family doesn't usually go there, because we like to cook ourselves, but every once and a while we'll go, and it's great every time.
Not my picture, but the same view.
After that, it was more fishing. Still didn't catch anything, but we were too full to care. Around 6 we headed back and started cleaning the cabin up. The bears and Gander had to leave early, so they left around 7. We stayed up a little longer and enjoyed the rest of the day. We finally hit the road about 9.
Since Erik and D had been drinking, doing other 'things', and not sleeping much, they slept the entire car ride home. Leaving me to listen to music, drink Mountain Dew, and try not to hit any deer or anything else on the way back. We dropped D off at his place, and then went home. We got there a little before 12 AM. We quickly unloaded the car, and then went inside and straight to bed.
Overall, it was a great weekend full of great times and memories. I can't wait to get the pictures from D.
Now just to clear things up a bit, Erik and his friends aren't huge druggies, or addicts. They like to smoke pot, and occasionally do other things, but only on special occasions like this. So I don't want you guys freaking out about all the drug use or anything. I'm comfortable with it, and they all keep it under control.
Anyways, that's about it. The only other thing I wanted to say is that it seems like my body is falling apart. For the last 2-3 weeks my migraines have been getting worse. I've suffered from them my entire life. For a while we had them under control, where I was maybe getting one once a month. But these last few weeks it's been every 2-3 days I get one. So that is driving my out of my fucking mind. Also, one of my fillings fell out last night, so I have to go to the dentist to get that fixed, which sucks.
I haven't been on good terms with him since January 2009, when I had my wisdom teeth out. He gave me vicodin after, but it wasn't working. So then he gave me percocet, right after the vicodin. I had 4 pills of vicodin in my system after 6 hours, and then 20 minutes later he gave me 2 percocet. Well that didn't end well. I started throwing up, and continued to 8 times over the next 5 hours. It got to the point where my mom was force feeding me teaspoons of warm water, and I couldn't keep it down. My dentist said if I couldn't get any amount of water in me within the next half an hour, I would have to go to the hospital. Great. Finally I was able to start keeping minuscule amounts down, and he wasn't worried. I still probably should have gone to the hospital though.
Of course, since I was throwing up so much, I got dry sockets. Where the blood clot in the socket of the tooth comes out, and it is extremely painful. But I couldn't keep any pain pills down. So I went through the next 48 hours with no drugs, hardly any water, no food, horrible sleep, and LOTS of pain. And I lost 15 pounds in 3 days. Was not what I wanted to do. So after I recovered from all that, I went in, he took the stitches out, and I haven't been back since. But now I have to. So we'll see how that goes. I'll let you guys know.
I still have a lot of back pain, although it's slowly getting better. And it feels like I have no energy the last couple weeks. So I think my body is falling apart, and with the headaches, like I'm dying. It hasn't been fun, but fortunately, I was fine over the weekend. I started to get a headache Sunday night on the drive home, but got to bed early enough where it went away.
Wow. That was a lot. And I feel like I just did a lot of complaining. Oh well. It's my blog, and my life. Sorry if I just bored the hell out of you.
Well it's almost 4 AM, so I should probably get to bed. I had a headache tonight, so I took some Excedrin. Usually works pretty good on the headache, but the caffeine keeps me awake for a long time. Which is funny, because caffeine in pop and coffee doesn't really affect me, unless I drink a LOT. Well coffee does more, but whatever. Either way I knew I'd be up late, and figured I'd jump on here.
So I'll leave you with some AIC, or Alice In Chains. Besides the music as a whole being awesome, I love the way Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell's voices harmonize with each other. If you don't know them, I highly suggest checking them out.
What the hell, I'll give you two.
This was from one of their last shows with vocalist Layne Staley. No Excuses.
I hope everyone out there is well, and those having difficult times can get through them. And remember, there are people here who care for and about you. You are not alone.
143
_Kevin
Really the only thing worth mentioning since then was my brother's birthday. Last Saturday he turned 23, so we and a group of friends went up to the cabin to have a party. It was me, Erik, Demian, Yogi, BooBoo, and Gander. Yes, our group has weird choices in nicknames. Others, not related to the story, include Tripper, Stormy, Swamp-swamp thing-or swampy (my brother), and Mmmmmmbop (me, reluctantly). Anyways.
Erik took Friday off from work, and we were going to head up later that night once everyone else got off work. So we spent the day running around doing errands and whatnot, and also looking for a present for him, from me. I didn't know what to get him, and he said he wanted a new hat, so we looked at a few different stores trying to find a good one. Sadly, we couldn't, so I still owe him something. He wanted a fedora type hat, but couldn't find one that was right.
Six o'clock rolled around and everyone was done working. We picked up Demian, while the bears met at Gander's house. One of their friends is in the hospital in a drug induced coma from a brain hemorrhage, so we made a stop there first to go visit him. Since I didn't know him, and we didn't want to pay for parking, I stayed in the car and drove around while they were inside. It was pretty sad and hard for them, but we continued on. We met up with the other guys and started the drive north. It was me, Erik, and D in our van, and then the bears and Gander in his car.
After all the dicking around, we finally got to the cabin around midnight, and then the party commenced. We unloaded everything, started playing some music, and the alcohol and other 'substances' started flowing. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say, they know how to have a good time. We played a couple games of Farkle, an interesting dice game, and then went outside and had a bonfire. It was great to just hang out and shoot the shit with everyone and have a good time. Since I only had caffeine to fuel me on, I went to bed around 5:30 in the morning. I don't know how much longer they stayed up at the fire.
I woke up around 11, and heard a lot of noise upstairs. Somehow, they were all up and cooking breakfast, looking relatively good. I was expecting them to be slow going that early, but they were in better shape than me somehow. We ate our eggs, bacon, and sausage, and then went to get the boat working. We still hadn't put it in the water since we re carpeted it, because the lights didn't work right. So after Erik ripped it apart, we went into town to get the parts we needed. Got back to the cabin and wired everything up. Got them working pretty painlessly. Next, we had to drive the boat to the landing and put it in the water.
Since it was his actual birthday, they had already been drinking for a while, so I became the designated driver for the whole weekend. OK. Except I had only driven with a trailer once before, and it was in my truck, not the mini van. Erik's directions to the landing weren't exactly right, so I had to make a fair amount of u-turns with the trailer. Trying to turn around a 25 foot pontoon boat on a trailer behind a mini van on a road that's only 1.5-2 lanes wide sucks. But needless to say, I got very good very fast at backing a trailer. We finally found the landing, and got the boat in the water. Erik and D went in the boat back to the cabin, and I drove the van back.
Once there, we loaded everything up on the boat, food, pop, beer, brandy, cigarettes, and the ever important stereo setup from Demian's trike. I can't remember if I've described that yet, but it's a nice cedar box he made, with a car battery, car cd player, and two 6x9 speakers. It is louder than most cars when on land, and even more so when on the water.
We set off, with nowhere in mind. We spent an hour or so just cruising around enjoying the beautiful weather and good music. We decided to go to the island and go swimming. The island isn't really that big, just big enough for one campsite. We beached the boat and jumped in the water. Surprisingly, the water was really warm, around 70-75 degrees. Normally the water is around 60, so we were pleasantly surprised. We spent another couple hours there, before slowly making our way back to the cabin for dinner. After dinner we had another fire, but they were all struggling from the night before, so we went to bed around 2.
Sunday, again they were all up before me making breakfast. After that, we loaded up the boat and went fishing. We didn't catch a single thing, but just being out there was fun. Although, I'm sure the loud music and drunken singing didn't help. We ended up going to Famous Dave's for lunch. Now normally, that isn't a big deal, but the first, original Famous Dave's is on the same lake, and has a wonderful view of the lake from the patio, so it was a great experience. My family doesn't usually go there, because we like to cook ourselves, but every once and a while we'll go, and it's great every time.
Not my picture, but the same view.
After that, it was more fishing. Still didn't catch anything, but we were too full to care. Around 6 we headed back and started cleaning the cabin up. The bears and Gander had to leave early, so they left around 7. We stayed up a little longer and enjoyed the rest of the day. We finally hit the road about 9.
Since Erik and D had been drinking, doing other 'things', and not sleeping much, they slept the entire car ride home. Leaving me to listen to music, drink Mountain Dew, and try not to hit any deer or anything else on the way back. We dropped D off at his place, and then went home. We got there a little before 12 AM. We quickly unloaded the car, and then went inside and straight to bed.
Overall, it was a great weekend full of great times and memories. I can't wait to get the pictures from D.
Now just to clear things up a bit, Erik and his friends aren't huge druggies, or addicts. They like to smoke pot, and occasionally do other things, but only on special occasions like this. So I don't want you guys freaking out about all the drug use or anything. I'm comfortable with it, and they all keep it under control.
Anyways, that's about it. The only other thing I wanted to say is that it seems like my body is falling apart. For the last 2-3 weeks my migraines have been getting worse. I've suffered from them my entire life. For a while we had them under control, where I was maybe getting one once a month. But these last few weeks it's been every 2-3 days I get one. So that is driving my out of my fucking mind. Also, one of my fillings fell out last night, so I have to go to the dentist to get that fixed, which sucks.
I haven't been on good terms with him since January 2009, when I had my wisdom teeth out. He gave me vicodin after, but it wasn't working. So then he gave me percocet, right after the vicodin. I had 4 pills of vicodin in my system after 6 hours, and then 20 minutes later he gave me 2 percocet. Well that didn't end well. I started throwing up, and continued to 8 times over the next 5 hours. It got to the point where my mom was force feeding me teaspoons of warm water, and I couldn't keep it down. My dentist said if I couldn't get any amount of water in me within the next half an hour, I would have to go to the hospital. Great. Finally I was able to start keeping minuscule amounts down, and he wasn't worried. I still probably should have gone to the hospital though.
Of course, since I was throwing up so much, I got dry sockets. Where the blood clot in the socket of the tooth comes out, and it is extremely painful. But I couldn't keep any pain pills down. So I went through the next 48 hours with no drugs, hardly any water, no food, horrible sleep, and LOTS of pain. And I lost 15 pounds in 3 days. Was not what I wanted to do. So after I recovered from all that, I went in, he took the stitches out, and I haven't been back since. But now I have to. So we'll see how that goes. I'll let you guys know.
I still have a lot of back pain, although it's slowly getting better. And it feels like I have no energy the last couple weeks. So I think my body is falling apart, and with the headaches, like I'm dying. It hasn't been fun, but fortunately, I was fine over the weekend. I started to get a headache Sunday night on the drive home, but got to bed early enough where it went away.
Wow. That was a lot. And I feel like I just did a lot of complaining. Oh well. It's my blog, and my life. Sorry if I just bored the hell out of you.
Well it's almost 4 AM, so I should probably get to bed. I had a headache tonight, so I took some Excedrin. Usually works pretty good on the headache, but the caffeine keeps me awake for a long time. Which is funny, because caffeine in pop and coffee doesn't really affect me, unless I drink a LOT. Well coffee does more, but whatever. Either way I knew I'd be up late, and figured I'd jump on here.
So I'll leave you with some AIC, or Alice In Chains. Besides the music as a whole being awesome, I love the way Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell's voices harmonize with each other. If you don't know them, I highly suggest checking them out.
What the hell, I'll give you two.
This was from one of their last shows with vocalist Layne Staley. No Excuses.
I hope everyone out there is well, and those having difficult times can get through them. And remember, there are people here who care for and about you. You are not alone.
143
_Kevin
July 23, 2010
Demolition
So my band finally got our demo done. I'm hesitant to put it up here, because I think it sucks, but I know you guys want to hear it.
http://listn.to/ElectromagneticPulse
Although, I must ask, if you decide to 'Like' it, or whatever the hell facebook calls it, please don't mention anywhere how you know me. Just leave it up to chance that you found it and liked it.
Thanks guys.
The song 'No Justification' is the one where I co-sing the chorus with Wyatt, if you're wondering. Otherwise, I'm on drums and bass.
Let me know what you think!
143
_Kevin
http://listn.to/ElectromagneticPulse
Although, I must ask, if you decide to 'Like' it, or whatever the hell facebook calls it, please don't mention anywhere how you know me. Just leave it up to chance that you found it and liked it.
Thanks guys.
The song 'No Justification' is the one where I co-sing the chorus with Wyatt, if you're wondering. Otherwise, I'm on drums and bass.
Let me know what you think!
143
_Kevin
July 14, 2010
Over Thinking, Over Analyzing Separates The Body From The Mind.
Thanks everyone for the comments on the last post. I've thought it over some, and I am going to tell my parents. Now I just have to figure out when/how. I'm going up to the cabin this weekend by myself, maybe my brother, so it'll be after that. I'm hoping to plan out how to approach them. Not so much how I want the conversation to go, because I can't predict that, just how to break the ice.
JJ, like I told Rowan a couple of months ago, age is just a number. I don't care if you're 10 or 100. If you have knowledge I can learn from, I want to hear it. And you definitely have knowledge. I remember reading your post about when your parents caught you and Mike. Not how I would want them to find out, but it could have been worse. You were lucky enough to have very loving parents who are very supportive.
Jimlad, well they know it's not drugs, because I've been sober for over 5 years, although I guess they could suspect a relapse. Talking about sex with parents sucks, but at this point I see it as a necessary thing. And your right, I think it will be a lot better to tell them, and then ask for help with my situation. Instead of just saying I'm gay, and walking away.
Time will tell. But I'm sure it will be fine. I just have to get the courage to tell them.
The last couple of days I've been putting a lot of this energy into my drumming. It helps me to clear my head, and feel better about myself. Over the weekend I was drumming so much, and really, really fast, that when I stopped and stood up, I couldn't put weight on my right leg and I almost fell over. I guess that's what happens when you do 2+ hours of 200 bpm (beats per minute). Gotta love punk.
But the last couple days has been more intricate. TOOL has always been one of my favorite bands to drum to, but it is some of the most complicated stuff ever. The little accents and nuances are ridiculous.
The last month I've been working on their song, Schism, and I've finally gotten down to where I don't even have to think about it. It's my current favorite song to drum too.
This week has been the song Lateralus, from the same-named album, and I'm about 97% there. I'm not sure if anyone here is familiar with time signatures, but most music is in 4/4. Four beats per measure, quarter note gets the beat. Well to start Lateralus, it is in 4/4, then the chorus goes one measure of 9/8, one measure of 8/8, and one measure of 7/4. It's really confusing, and if you don't understand me, I apologize. Then the verse is in 5/4, which isn't really too bad, because it's consistent. There is a breakdown about half way through, where the bass, guitar, and vocals are in 6/8 and the drums are in 5/8. Not only is it a confusing drum part, when you play with the song, the rest of the band is different and it gets really confusing.
Here is a breakdown of the 5/8, 6/8 part. (not by me)
I figure it's a great way to pass the time, and put my energy into positive things, instead of worrying what's going to happen with my parents.
And finally, if you want to really get crazy, there is a mathematical equation called the Fibonacci sequence. If you don't know what that is, basically you start with two numbers, 1 and 1. You add them together and you get 2. Then you take 1 and 2 together, and you get 3. Then 2 and 3, 5. You take the last two numbers and add them together. It goes on and on and on (like me right now) :P. When graphed it creates an indefinite spiral.
Anyways, TOOL likes to mess with your head a bit, so the lyrics in the song are delivered in the Fibonacci sequence, according to syllables. It is really rather interesting, although annoying at times because I can no longer just listen to the song. I have to sit there and analyze it. Which is also funny because the chorus starts with, 'over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.' This video does a better job explaining everything. And it has cool pictures from the Hubble telescope.
I don't know if anyone will find any of this interesting, but hey, it's my blog.
Again, thank you everyone for your comments.
Be well.
143
_Kevin
JJ, like I told Rowan a couple of months ago, age is just a number. I don't care if you're 10 or 100. If you have knowledge I can learn from, I want to hear it. And you definitely have knowledge. I remember reading your post about when your parents caught you and Mike. Not how I would want them to find out, but it could have been worse. You were lucky enough to have very loving parents who are very supportive.
Jimlad, well they know it's not drugs, because I've been sober for over 5 years, although I guess they could suspect a relapse. Talking about sex with parents sucks, but at this point I see it as a necessary thing. And your right, I think it will be a lot better to tell them, and then ask for help with my situation. Instead of just saying I'm gay, and walking away.
Time will tell. But I'm sure it will be fine. I just have to get the courage to tell them.
The last couple of days I've been putting a lot of this energy into my drumming. It helps me to clear my head, and feel better about myself. Over the weekend I was drumming so much, and really, really fast, that when I stopped and stood up, I couldn't put weight on my right leg and I almost fell over. I guess that's what happens when you do 2+ hours of 200 bpm (beats per minute). Gotta love punk.
But the last couple days has been more intricate. TOOL has always been one of my favorite bands to drum to, but it is some of the most complicated stuff ever. The little accents and nuances are ridiculous.
The last month I've been working on their song, Schism, and I've finally gotten down to where I don't even have to think about it. It's my current favorite song to drum too.
This week has been the song Lateralus, from the same-named album, and I'm about 97% there. I'm not sure if anyone here is familiar with time signatures, but most music is in 4/4. Four beats per measure, quarter note gets the beat. Well to start Lateralus, it is in 4/4, then the chorus goes one measure of 9/8, one measure of 8/8, and one measure of 7/4. It's really confusing, and if you don't understand me, I apologize. Then the verse is in 5/4, which isn't really too bad, because it's consistent. There is a breakdown about half way through, where the bass, guitar, and vocals are in 6/8 and the drums are in 5/8. Not only is it a confusing drum part, when you play with the song, the rest of the band is different and it gets really confusing.
Here is a breakdown of the 5/8, 6/8 part. (not by me)
I figure it's a great way to pass the time, and put my energy into positive things, instead of worrying what's going to happen with my parents.
And finally, if you want to really get crazy, there is a mathematical equation called the Fibonacci sequence. If you don't know what that is, basically you start with two numbers, 1 and 1. You add them together and you get 2. Then you take 1 and 2 together, and you get 3. Then 2 and 3, 5. You take the last two numbers and add them together. It goes on and on and on (like me right now) :P. When graphed it creates an indefinite spiral.
Anyways, TOOL likes to mess with your head a bit, so the lyrics in the song are delivered in the Fibonacci sequence, according to syllables. It is really rather interesting, although annoying at times because I can no longer just listen to the song. I have to sit there and analyze it. Which is also funny because the chorus starts with, 'over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.' This video does a better job explaining everything. And it has cool pictures from the Hubble telescope.
I don't know if anyone will find any of this interesting, but hey, it's my blog.
Again, thank you everyone for your comments.
Be well.
143
_Kevin
July 12, 2010
Help
Ok, I'm having a dilemma and I need some help/advice from you guys.
This past spring was when I finally came to the conclusion and acceptance that I am gay. Obviously, this took up quite a bit of my time, spending hours late at night thinking things over and whatnot. Then I found the blog world, and I spent even more time trying to learn as much as I could, and help me figure out what the hell was going on with me.
I was going to school at the time, and didn't do too well. I had to drop a class for medical reasons (unrelated to anything), I passed one, and I got an incomplete on another because I need to finish my paper (still). Well the school says that because I didn't 'pass' 2/3 of my classes, that I am on academic suspension. So basically I can't register for classes in the fall. I can for next spring though.
As you would expect, my parents weren't too thrilled to hear about this. Now they want to know what happened, and why I didn't pass my classes. They understand about the dropped class, but they don't get why I got an incomplete. I told them about the paper, but they still want a reason.
So basically, I'm wondering if I should tell them the truth, that I'm gay, or make up something else? I don't want to lie to my parents, but this is huge. And not exactly how I want to come out. I'm 95% sure they will be fine with it, although maybe surprised, but there is always a chance of something going wrong. I don't know what to do.
So I've come to the one place I can talk about this and ask for help. So please, give me some feedback on what to do. I'm freaking out and am scared shitless and don't know what to do.
Thank you all.
143
_Kevin
This past spring was when I finally came to the conclusion and acceptance that I am gay. Obviously, this took up quite a bit of my time, spending hours late at night thinking things over and whatnot. Then I found the blog world, and I spent even more time trying to learn as much as I could, and help me figure out what the hell was going on with me.
I was going to school at the time, and didn't do too well. I had to drop a class for medical reasons (unrelated to anything), I passed one, and I got an incomplete on another because I need to finish my paper (still). Well the school says that because I didn't 'pass' 2/3 of my classes, that I am on academic suspension. So basically I can't register for classes in the fall. I can for next spring though.
As you would expect, my parents weren't too thrilled to hear about this. Now they want to know what happened, and why I didn't pass my classes. They understand about the dropped class, but they don't get why I got an incomplete. I told them about the paper, but they still want a reason.
So basically, I'm wondering if I should tell them the truth, that I'm gay, or make up something else? I don't want to lie to my parents, but this is huge. And not exactly how I want to come out. I'm 95% sure they will be fine with it, although maybe surprised, but there is always a chance of something going wrong. I don't know what to do.
So I've come to the one place I can talk about this and ask for help. So please, give me some feedback on what to do. I'm freaking out and am scared shitless and don't know what to do.
Thank you all.
143
_Kevin
July 6, 2010
Hell Week
I just had the worst week in a long time. Some good things, but mostly bad.
I suppose start with the good.
Last Sunday I recorded the bass tracks. It was a lot of fun, but really hard at the same time. I've never been a great bass player, and I wrote most of the parts on guitar. But when it came time to play them on bass, they were a lot harder than I thought. The strings are thicker and harder to press down, the frets are spaced farther apart, and the neck is longer. So after about 30 minutes of warming up, I got to work. Got most of them down in one take, including Anthem (the video from a few posts ago), which was the one I thought I would never get in one take. There are some quick changes that I thought would screw me up. But once my arm got loosened up, it was no problem. I listened to some rough cuts of the songs all put together, and I can honestly say I am happy with the results. Wyatt wants to redo one of the vocal tracks, and then we're done. We sent Aaron's dad the other tracks and he is working his magic on them. I think we're redoing the vocals on Thursday, and the rest of the tracks should be done on Friday, so it shouldn't be too much longer.
Lynn and Doug ended up needing me from Monday to Wednesday, so it didn't interfere with the recording, which was nice.
However, on Sunday (well it started late Saturday) the transmission went out in my truck. No first gear at all. GREAT. I worked it out with my brother that I would take his car on Monday and he would take my truck to the shop to look at it. So I load up his car and head up to Lynn and Doug's house. Get up there with no problems, but when I get there I see Doug's car is still there. OK. Maybe I'm early and he leaves in a little bit. Well I go inside and he informs me he isn't flying and they don't need me. GREAT. AGAIN. SO now I'm pissed off. I reworked my plans to be here, drove an hour up here, and now I'm not needed. I wasn't sure what to do, so for the time being I hung outside in the sun listening to music with the cousins. Again, I decided I had nothing else to do, so I stayed up there until Wednesday.
Around nine that night, Erik calls me and says my tranny is in bad shape and not to drive it. OK. But he needs his car back for work the next day. GRRR. So I drove home at about 10, dropped off his car, and then went to the BP to talk with Aaron. He said I could borrow his civic again, which was awesome. So when he got off, we went to his house, grabbed the civic, and I took off back to Lynn and Doug's. I could have just gone home, but I was in a shitty mood and wanted the drive to think. Finally got back up there around 2 AM.
Tuesday was no better. Hung out during the day, and then went to James' baseball game in the evening. He's really good, but I've never seen one of his games, so that was nice to see. His team was annihilating the other team, which was great, but then my uncle called the other team a 'bunch of slack-jawed fagots'. WHAT!? It took all the self control I had not to throw an elbow in his face. I was pissed. So I walked away and smoked a cigarette.
During all of this, I was texting Paul talking to him about his car. It hasn't worked for about a month, and we've been trying to schedule a time for Erik to look at it. Well Paul is getting pissed at Erik, because he isn't finding time to look at it. Erik has had a lot of side jobs lately, so he would tell Paul maybe Friday, or maybe Sunday kinda thing. Well Paul didn't understand the word maybe, and is all worked up about it. So he starts bitching about it to me. After a little bit, I said, I'm not going to sit here and defend my brother for something he has no control over. He just says, LOL it's no biggie. HUH? He just spent the last 15 minutes saying how angry he was at Erik, then he says no biggie? I just said whatever, but then he comes back and starts bitching about me. Saying the next time I need help with a stereo or whatever, he'll be busy. Seriously? So now I'm being punished for something my brother did, when he didn't even do anything! He just kept bitching and bitching, and finally I just said I don't know why we're fighting, but I'm done. So now Paul isn't talking to me. I figured I would give him a couple days to cool off, but he still won't answer my calls. Urg. So I was in a shitty mood for the rest of the night.
Wednesday nothing exciting happened, so I came home. My mom left for the cabin a little before I got home, so I was home alone. My dad was leaving from his job site in Wisconsin on Thursday to head up to the cabin, and I was going to go up on Friday.
Erik said there were some bad sensors in my transmission that needed to be replaced, and that should fix the problem. So he ordered them and it became a waiting game. Aaron said I could keep his car for the weekend which was very nice of him.
Thursday night I went to see TOOL. They're one of my favorite bands, and this was the fourth time I've seen them. Erik, my friend Josh, my friend Matt and I all went. We had floor tickets, so we got there a bit early to get a good spot. As we're walking into the arena, we see seats on the floor. OK? Turns out, it was assigned seating on the floor. We checked our tickets, and we were 8th row, dead center. Sweet! Turns out it was still worth it sitting outside for 6 hours to get tickets. We missed the opener, which was fine, and about 30 minutes later TOOL came on. I can honestly say this was not only the greatest TOOL show I've ever seen, but it was the greatest concert I've ever seen. The lighting was new and amazing, and they played a lot of songs that we've never seen live before. It was definitely the best thing to take my mind off my shitty week. After the show, we dropped Matt and Josh off, and went home.
Friday, loaded up the car and went up north. I was about a mile from Lynn and Doug's house (it's on the way) when I started to notice a brown mist on my windshield. I was close enough to their house, so I stopped there to check it out. I lifted the hood and see oil EVERYWHERE. SHIT! Then I noticed that the oil cap was gone. Nowhere to be seen. Now it's 3 PM on the Friday before the 4th of July. Trying to find parts might be a problem. So I borrowed one of their cars and went to NAPA. Nope. They could have one shipped by Saturday morning, but nothing today. Crap. So I went to O'Riely's (would have been my first choice, if I knew where it was first) and luckily they had one. So $5 later, drove back and put it on. I checked the oil, and I didn't loose as much as I thought, so I topped it off, and then sprayed down the entire engine bay with brake cleaner to get rid of the oil. All in all about an hour delay.
Oh yeah, when I was up at Lynn and Doug's earlier in the week, I lost my license, but didn't realize it until Wednesday when I got home. I only used it once at the gas station up there, but Doug went and checked and they didn't have it. I stopped there to clean my windshield, and figured it couldn't hurt to ask. When I did they said someone had already been in and they didn't have it. But then another cashier asks what my name is, and then she holds it up. YAY! Turns out they looked in the wrong drawer. Oh well. At least I got it back.
The rest of the drive was boring, just how I like it when I want to think. Got up there around 6 PM, and we went out for dinner. It was me, my parents, and my grandparents. Erik doesn't really come up anymore when everyone else is there. He'll usually go up with friends when it's empty.
On Saturday, Lynn and the kids showed up. Doug had to fly. James also brought a friend, Jay. Then all hell broke loose. Our cabin isn't huge, and having 10 people there, 4 of which are high energy teenagers, is intense.
Over the weekend, my dad and I re-carpeted our pontoon, because the old carpet was 26 years old and rotting away. Was a huge ordeal, and we both got covered in the high strength adhesive. We could barely move our fingers when we were done. And since it's outdoor carpet glue, it isn't water soluble. So we had to bathe in gasoline. It's a good thing I like the smell of gas, because I smelled like it for the rest of the day. The rest of the weekend we hung out and had a good time. It was great to watch the fireworks over the lake too. I would have liked to have been out on the boat, but we had to let the glue dry. So we watched them from the deck instead.
On Monday everyone went home, and it was nice to have some peace and quiet again. No problems getting home this time, and at 11 I met up with Aaron to give him back his car. We both drove to his house, left one car there, and then he drove me home. Erik got the sensors for my truck over the weekend, and got them installed. Fortunately it fixed the problem, and my truck is as good as new.
I just got a text from one of my cousins saying they might need me tonight/tomorrow, depending on if Doug can get home or not. So now I'm just sitting around waiting to hear from them. I really hope if they do, they actually need me.
Well that's about it. My week from hell. But I survived it. Hopefully Paul will get out of his funk and answer his damn phone. God, I hope this week is better than last week.
143
_Kevin
TOOL - Schism
I suppose start with the good.
Last Sunday I recorded the bass tracks. It was a lot of fun, but really hard at the same time. I've never been a great bass player, and I wrote most of the parts on guitar. But when it came time to play them on bass, they were a lot harder than I thought. The strings are thicker and harder to press down, the frets are spaced farther apart, and the neck is longer. So after about 30 minutes of warming up, I got to work. Got most of them down in one take, including Anthem (the video from a few posts ago), which was the one I thought I would never get in one take. There are some quick changes that I thought would screw me up. But once my arm got loosened up, it was no problem. I listened to some rough cuts of the songs all put together, and I can honestly say I am happy with the results. Wyatt wants to redo one of the vocal tracks, and then we're done. We sent Aaron's dad the other tracks and he is working his magic on them. I think we're redoing the vocals on Thursday, and the rest of the tracks should be done on Friday, so it shouldn't be too much longer.
Lynn and Doug ended up needing me from Monday to Wednesday, so it didn't interfere with the recording, which was nice.
However, on Sunday (well it started late Saturday) the transmission went out in my truck. No first gear at all. GREAT. I worked it out with my brother that I would take his car on Monday and he would take my truck to the shop to look at it. So I load up his car and head up to Lynn and Doug's house. Get up there with no problems, but when I get there I see Doug's car is still there. OK. Maybe I'm early and he leaves in a little bit. Well I go inside and he informs me he isn't flying and they don't need me. GREAT. AGAIN. SO now I'm pissed off. I reworked my plans to be here, drove an hour up here, and now I'm not needed. I wasn't sure what to do, so for the time being I hung outside in the sun listening to music with the cousins. Again, I decided I had nothing else to do, so I stayed up there until Wednesday.
Around nine that night, Erik calls me and says my tranny is in bad shape and not to drive it. OK. But he needs his car back for work the next day. GRRR. So I drove home at about 10, dropped off his car, and then went to the BP to talk with Aaron. He said I could borrow his civic again, which was awesome. So when he got off, we went to his house, grabbed the civic, and I took off back to Lynn and Doug's. I could have just gone home, but I was in a shitty mood and wanted the drive to think. Finally got back up there around 2 AM.
Tuesday was no better. Hung out during the day, and then went to James' baseball game in the evening. He's really good, but I've never seen one of his games, so that was nice to see. His team was annihilating the other team, which was great, but then my uncle called the other team a 'bunch of slack-jawed fagots'. WHAT!? It took all the self control I had not to throw an elbow in his face. I was pissed. So I walked away and smoked a cigarette.
During all of this, I was texting Paul talking to him about his car. It hasn't worked for about a month, and we've been trying to schedule a time for Erik to look at it. Well Paul is getting pissed at Erik, because he isn't finding time to look at it. Erik has had a lot of side jobs lately, so he would tell Paul maybe Friday, or maybe Sunday kinda thing. Well Paul didn't understand the word maybe, and is all worked up about it. So he starts bitching about it to me. After a little bit, I said, I'm not going to sit here and defend my brother for something he has no control over. He just says, LOL it's no biggie. HUH? He just spent the last 15 minutes saying how angry he was at Erik, then he says no biggie? I just said whatever, but then he comes back and starts bitching about me. Saying the next time I need help with a stereo or whatever, he'll be busy. Seriously? So now I'm being punished for something my brother did, when he didn't even do anything! He just kept bitching and bitching, and finally I just said I don't know why we're fighting, but I'm done. So now Paul isn't talking to me. I figured I would give him a couple days to cool off, but he still won't answer my calls. Urg. So I was in a shitty mood for the rest of the night.
Wednesday nothing exciting happened, so I came home. My mom left for the cabin a little before I got home, so I was home alone. My dad was leaving from his job site in Wisconsin on Thursday to head up to the cabin, and I was going to go up on Friday.
Erik said there were some bad sensors in my transmission that needed to be replaced, and that should fix the problem. So he ordered them and it became a waiting game. Aaron said I could keep his car for the weekend which was very nice of him.
Thursday night I went to see TOOL. They're one of my favorite bands, and this was the fourth time I've seen them. Erik, my friend Josh, my friend Matt and I all went. We had floor tickets, so we got there a bit early to get a good spot. As we're walking into the arena, we see seats on the floor. OK? Turns out, it was assigned seating on the floor. We checked our tickets, and we were 8th row, dead center. Sweet! Turns out it was still worth it sitting outside for 6 hours to get tickets. We missed the opener, which was fine, and about 30 minutes later TOOL came on. I can honestly say this was not only the greatest TOOL show I've ever seen, but it was the greatest concert I've ever seen. The lighting was new and amazing, and they played a lot of songs that we've never seen live before. It was definitely the best thing to take my mind off my shitty week. After the show, we dropped Matt and Josh off, and went home.
Friday, loaded up the car and went up north. I was about a mile from Lynn and Doug's house (it's on the way) when I started to notice a brown mist on my windshield. I was close enough to their house, so I stopped there to check it out. I lifted the hood and see oil EVERYWHERE. SHIT! Then I noticed that the oil cap was gone. Nowhere to be seen. Now it's 3 PM on the Friday before the 4th of July. Trying to find parts might be a problem. So I borrowed one of their cars and went to NAPA. Nope. They could have one shipped by Saturday morning, but nothing today. Crap. So I went to O'Riely's (would have been my first choice, if I knew where it was first) and luckily they had one. So $5 later, drove back and put it on. I checked the oil, and I didn't loose as much as I thought, so I topped it off, and then sprayed down the entire engine bay with brake cleaner to get rid of the oil. All in all about an hour delay.
Oh yeah, when I was up at Lynn and Doug's earlier in the week, I lost my license, but didn't realize it until Wednesday when I got home. I only used it once at the gas station up there, but Doug went and checked and they didn't have it. I stopped there to clean my windshield, and figured it couldn't hurt to ask. When I did they said someone had already been in and they didn't have it. But then another cashier asks what my name is, and then she holds it up. YAY! Turns out they looked in the wrong drawer. Oh well. At least I got it back.
The rest of the drive was boring, just how I like it when I want to think. Got up there around 6 PM, and we went out for dinner. It was me, my parents, and my grandparents. Erik doesn't really come up anymore when everyone else is there. He'll usually go up with friends when it's empty.
On Saturday, Lynn and the kids showed up. Doug had to fly. James also brought a friend, Jay. Then all hell broke loose. Our cabin isn't huge, and having 10 people there, 4 of which are high energy teenagers, is intense.
Over the weekend, my dad and I re-carpeted our pontoon, because the old carpet was 26 years old and rotting away. Was a huge ordeal, and we both got covered in the high strength adhesive. We could barely move our fingers when we were done. And since it's outdoor carpet glue, it isn't water soluble. So we had to bathe in gasoline. It's a good thing I like the smell of gas, because I smelled like it for the rest of the day. The rest of the weekend we hung out and had a good time. It was great to watch the fireworks over the lake too. I would have liked to have been out on the boat, but we had to let the glue dry. So we watched them from the deck instead.
On Monday everyone went home, and it was nice to have some peace and quiet again. No problems getting home this time, and at 11 I met up with Aaron to give him back his car. We both drove to his house, left one car there, and then he drove me home. Erik got the sensors for my truck over the weekend, and got them installed. Fortunately it fixed the problem, and my truck is as good as new.
I just got a text from one of my cousins saying they might need me tonight/tomorrow, depending on if Doug can get home or not. So now I'm just sitting around waiting to hear from them. I really hope if they do, they actually need me.
Well that's about it. My week from hell. But I survived it. Hopefully Paul will get out of his funk and answer his damn phone. God, I hope this week is better than last week.
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_Kevin
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