Testing Testes Testing

First off, thank you everyone for the nice things about Larry. I don't understand how people could say anything bad about such a wonderful person, but some people like to say hurtful things just to hurt other people. Thank you JJ for the song information. I checked out some of their other songs, and they are pretty good too. And thank you for linking to me off your blog as well. That means a lot.

Spys89: At least for the time being, Paul has deleted Larry's blog which had the whole story on it. Maybe someday when he is up to it, he will put it back up, but only time will tell. I don't want to ruin his legacy by trying to remember every detail either. So unless someone else wants to inform you, I'm afraid you will have to wait. Sorry.

So all that aside, this hasn't been a very good week. Ever since I saw that video, I've been in an odd state of mind, but it was worth it to see such love still alive in the world. The cabin was nice, although it rained the whole time I was there which sucked. So I spent the whole weekend watching movies and playing guitar. Could've been worse I guess.

All week since I got back I have been battling with my truck to get my new headlights to work properly. So far the truck is still winning. My dad, my brother (the mechanic) and myself can't figure out the problem. So we took them out and put the stock ones back in. Now we're going to recheck the wiring on the lights while they're out of the truck. It's been a huge headache, because I haven't been able to drive at night. I had to borrow Aaron's (BP) car to go to the cabin last week because I was afraid to drive the truck. At least with the old lights I can drive at night again.

Anyway, so that's been the annoying part of the week. Yesterday, the band started recording our demo. We're doing it ourselves in our practice space with some computer programs, but getting all the kinks out was a pain. I was supposed to lay down drums first, but we had to spend three hours getting all the fine details taken care of first. Finally we could start recording, but we ran out of time pretty quick, so I only got two tracks laid down. But the fact that we are finally making progress is really nice. We're picking it back up on Sunday, so I should be able to get the other tracks down, and hopefully some guitar tracks too.

When I got home from recording, Erik told me to throw my bike in the truck and to go to Demian's. I guess we were going on a big bike ride. So we loaded up and went over there. After getting everything together, we biked to one of D's friend's houses, and had some awesome burritos for dinner. We hung out for a while digesting, and then loaded up the bikes. We had around 15 people with us this time, so I knew it would be intense. D had the trike, I had my cruiser, and Erik had his, and then it was a mix of road bikes, mountain bikes, and cruisers. We ended up biking all over Uptown, down to the river where we hung out for around an hour, and then throw Downtown back to Uptown. All in all the ride was about 4 hours long, and we probably did 15 or 20 miles. I was really tired after because it was 3 AM, and my body was sore from drumming a lot earlier. So I loaded the truck up and headed home. I crashed as soon as I got home and just got up about an hour ago. I really love the sporadic rides through Uptown, especially with that many people. And we get some really interesting stares and comments as we go by too. Probably from the 120 decibels coming from the trike :-P

Today, I decided to go back to the cabin, again. Again I'm going by myself, but I think it will do some good to clear my head. All week I've been in this funk, and I need to get out of it for my own good, and those around me. Unfortunately, since we are recording on Sunday I'll have to come home earlier than I want. I was going to go up last night, but then the bike ride happened and I really wanted to go.

I would really like to offer my condolences to Gabey, who just lost his father last weekend. I haven't lost a parent yet, but I've lost people close to me so I can understand a little of what you're going through. There are lots of people here for you, and I am one as well. Take care of you and yours, and be safe. I'll be thinking about you this weekend too while at the cabin.

And lastly, I would like to wish Rowan a very happy 16th birthday! I don't think he reads my blog, but what the hell, right? I hope you have a great day, and all your wishes come true!

Well that's about it. I'll be back Sunday night, so either then or Monday I should be back here. Everyone take care of themselves and be safe.

-Kevin

Keep On Truckin'

Yesterday, hot. But not as hot as Monday or Sunday. Did the chiro, went and started my allergy shots, which will hopefully help with the migraines, and then went on a bike ride. I got beat down by the bike again, about half way through my thighs started burning like crazy, even when I wasn't pedaling. Just sitting on the bike hurt. But I pushed on and made it home. Grilled some food with the family (no Erik tonight) and then it started raining. It was nice because it really cooled off the air so it was actually quite comfortable. Erik showed up and had to finish up a car in my driveway in the rain. It really sucked, and I felt bad for him, but he got it done pretty quick. Hung out with the rents, and then kicked it with Aaron at the BP for a while. Then just spent the rest of the night watching movies, since I didn't want to be in the rain. Before I went to bed I ordered up some new headlights for my truck, because they got kinda damaged in the accident. They still work, but the aim is off and the brackets broke so I can't adjust them. Hopefully they will be here middle of next week.

Today, I woke up and right after I got out of the shower, Kaija and Ian were standing in my hallway. Kaija remembered my garage code, and when I didn't answer my phone, let herself in. She hasn't done this in probably 5 years, so it was an interesting surprise. I was just glad I had gotten my pants on first. We hung out on the deck for about 15 minutes, but then I left for the chiro and they went home. Now I'm at home slowly getting ready to head to my cabin in Hayward, WI. It's the first time of the year, so I'll have to open it all up and get it working again before everyone else shows up Thursday/Friday. My grandparents and parents are coming up tomorrow, and then my aunt and cousins are coming up on Friday. Should be a good time. Hanging out on the deck, going for boat rides, not being in the cities. I can't wait! That's why I volunteered to go up and open it up, so I could just get up there. Ever since it's been about 45 degrees outside, back in March, I've wanted to go up there. Now I get my wish. It's only about a three hour drive, so it isn't too bad. I've done it many times before, so going up in the middle of the night by myself on a two-lane, dark highway full of deer won't be a problem. I just wish I had my new headlights. Fortunately, my high beams are still aimed right (weird) so when there aren't other cars I'll be able to see fine. I'll probably take some pictures and post them on here when I get back. I'll get back on Monday, so you probably won't hear from me til then. There isn't internet up there, but I can sometimes get shaky internet on my phone up there, so when I get bored at night I might get on. We'll see.

Everyone take care, and be safe this weekend!

-Kevin

My dad, and subsequently my brother, are HUGE Grateful Dead fans, and this was the first song of their's I ever heard. Still one of my favorites. I thought it was fitting.

Roll The Window Down This Cool Night Air Is Curious

Well Saturday started off pretty laid back like I thought. Lounged around the house for a bit and then went on a bike ride. Spent a couple hours outside enjoying the weather and getting some good exercise. Had a nice dinner with the family (Erik was actually home for dinner for a change) and then went with Erik to a buddy's house for a party. Actually, it was his parents' house, because they were out of town, but whatever. Hung out there for a while and saw some people I haven't seen in almost a year which was really cool. Around 2 am we all decided to go on a bike ride around the lakes (seeing a theme yet?) and had a great time biking around and listening to music. Got back to their house and had a bonfire and then finally got out of there around 5 am. Yogi and BooBoo were pretty drunk, so they got a ride from me and crashed at my house.

Woke up on Sunday and gave the bears a ride to their car and headed off to band practice. It was extremely hot so I decided to drive instead of biking. Not a very productive practice though, I think we were all suffering from the heat. Finally we called it quits and went our separate ways. I went home and was informed our air conditioner broke. Great. Just had to happen when it's 90 degrees outside. Had dinner with the whole family again and then biked up to the bp to hang with Aaron. About thirty minutes after I got there, Kaija called me to have a bonfire/bbq at my house. I didn't really want to because of the heat, but they twisted my arm (free food) and I gave in.

We spent about three hours grilling different kinds of food, and by the time we were done, we figured it was too late to start a fire so we just hung out instead. It was the same crew as last time, and they ended up leaving around 2:30 in the morning. Again, when they left I biked to the gas station to get some smokes and then came home and went to bed.

Today I woke up hot as hell, and then remembered the A/C was broken. And it is another day in the mid 90s. It'll be a couple days until it can get fixed, which fucking SUCKS! Last night when I got to the bp I stood in their giant cooler for the pop for like 20 minutes enjoying the cold air. So after taking a COLD shower, I went to the chiro and then came back home. Killed a few hours watching crappy movies waiting for Erik to get home. When he finally did, we went off to see the Deftones play at First Ave. I'm not a huge fan, but I like them enough to be excited to see them live, more so than Korn at least. We missed the opening band since Erik was at work, but got there right as the Deftones got onstage. Since it was 90 degrees outside, it was around 110 degrees inside the venue, but totally worth it. They played an amazing show, and my body really hurts from it. Glad I have a chiro tomorrow. After the show, went home and we did our best to stay cool. Laying low watching tv and eating ice cream pretty much. Now I'm here, and about to go to bed. I have to start getting my stuff together to go to my cabin this weekend. It's the first time of the year, so there is a lot of stuff to bring up. We don't use it in the winter, because it's not winterized, so we bring almost everything home. But I get to drive my truck up there so it's worth the effort. And I just love being there looking at the lake.

Hope you're all well.

-Kevin

Deftones featuring Maynard James Keenan of TOOL - Passenger

Sun Is On My Side

So on Wednesday I went and played some frisbee golf with Josh and Garrett, did fairly well too. Kicked it with them for a while before dropping them off and driving to Demian's house. Got there and helped him put the driver door back on a car he just bought and is fixing up. After that we jumped in the truck and took of to go look at the bike. It was kind of a long drive, so we just talked about random stuff. When we got there, D sat in the truck and I went to the door. They were just pulling up in their boat when I got to the door so I waited for them to dock and what not before they came over. Did the introductions and then we got down to business. I saw the bike for the first time in person and almost passed out. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and looks 100 times better than in the pictures.

After I got over the shock, I took it for a ride around the block, and my only fear was resolved. It was the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. When you look at the picture, you think you'll have to lean really far forward to reach the handlebars, but you don't. I'm just the right height where I can reach everything perfectly, almost like it was built for me :-P. I biked back to their house and then Demian started going over it with a fine tooth comb. Checking the lines, the bearings, everything. The guy said he'd seen people buy motorcycles who weren't as picky ,which I thought was funny because Demian is a huge motorcycle guy. After it passed D's inspection, it came down to price. It turns out there was a lot of interest in the bike, including some guy that wanted it boxed up and shipped to Ohio, so I couldn't talk them down at all. I was only shooting for $150, so it was only $25 so whatever. Paid them $175 and loaded it into the truck. The bike is 6.5 feet long, and it just so happens my truck bed is 6.5 feet long. I couldn't get it in and have the tailgate close, so I had to put it in diagonally. No biggie. Jumped in and took off with both parties happy.

On the way back, we stopped at Demian's parents house so he could grab one of his trikes. He wants to do some more work on it before a festival in a couple weeks, so he figured this would be the perfect time to get it since I have a truck. We somehow managed to get the trike and my bike in the bed and we went to his house back in Uptown. Unloaded the bikes and went on a quick ride for a few blocks just to test things out some more. After that I went home and took it for a ride up to the BP to show Aaron. He was supper excited and started riding it around the parking lot.

Thursday, had a chiro, then band practice. I drove to the chiro, since I don't have a bike lock yet, but biked to practice. The guys were blown away by the bike since they had no idea I was getting it, and all rode it around the block. We played a couple of songs, and then fired up the grill. While that was heating up, we played a small game of badminton, and then ate some brats and ribs. After eating, we played a little more and then called it quits. I rode home and hung out with mom for a while.

I got bored pretty fast so I went for a bike ride. Started cruising around town enjoying the weather and the new bike. After about an hour I went home and got on the computer. Screwed around on there for a bit and then went for one last bike ride, probably for 45 minutes.

Today I didn't have any plans, but I slept later than I had planned. I guess the biking had worn me out more than I thought. Went for another bike ride, and then drove down to Erik's shop to pick up an axle for a car he is working on. Loaded all that into the truck and headed home with him since he just got off. Ate dinner with the rents, and went to help Erik a bit with the car. Once he had everything under control I went inside to watch a little tv. Right when my show ended I decided to go for a bike ride again. Just as I was getting my stuff together, Erik asked if I wanted to go on a ride. I told him that's what I was doing, and we went together. We took off with nowhere in particular in mind, and ended up at some random lake sitting on the shore. We stayed there for about 20 minutes before heading on. We again just went wherever, and biked all over town. Finally we were getting tired so we went home. When we got there I looked at a clock and realized it was 2 am. We had been biking for over three hours. I didn't think it was that much, but explained why I was tired. We made some egg bagel sandwiches and then he went to bed. I got on the computer again and started looking around at bike parts and then came here. All in all a pretty good day with lots of exercise. I'm hoping I'll be able to get in better shape with all the bike riding. We'll see by the end of the summer.

Pretty laid back weekend, probably just a lot of bike rides. We'll see.

-Kevin

Pedal Power

Wow. What a weekend. I guess I should finish telling you about coming out. My cousin, Roger, lives in Utah but he and his family come out here at least once a year to see all the family. Over the last couple of years we have started to get close and last year I drove out to Utah to spend the week with him. It was my first long distance solo road trip and was a wonderful time. We've helped each other out with issues before, and when he decided to get sober, I was the first one he called. He leans more to the 'liberal' side of things, so I was pretty sure he wouldn't have a problem with me coming out. The night before I had been thinking things over for awhile and decided the next time I talked to him I'd tell him. As fate would have it, the next night I see him on facebook. This isn't something I would really want to talk about over facebook, but I was still to scared to call him. At least there is the chat function so no one else could read it. So I start talking to him and getting caught up. We both just finished our first year of college so there were a lot of first experiences to talk about. After getting all caught up, I wasn't really sure how to start the next conversation, so I straight up asked him if I could trust him. He said I could with anything. At this point I'm trying to decide if I want to go through with it or not, since I hadn't told him anything yet. Finally I figured, what's the worst that will happen? I'll lose him as a friend and we won't talk, but he lives far away so whatever. I told him I had something I wanted to tell him, but I wasn't quite sure how to. Right before I told him my nerves really started acting up, so I ran outside and smoked a cigarette as aggressively as I could. It kind of helped, so I jumped back on the computer and said, "I'm not really sure how to say this, so I'm just going to say it." "Ok." "I am gay." No response... All of a sudden I start freaking out, thinking what the hell have I done?!

After what seemed like an hour, but was about thirty seconds, he just says "really?" "Yup." Again silence. Then, "wow." No shit. He finally recovers from shock and says, "you know that's not a bad thing, right?" Thank god. I figured it would be fine, but now I knew. I told him I did, but was still really freaking out. We continued to talk for about an hour about everything and he finished by saying if I ever need to talk about anything, to call him. I thanked him, and then we both went to bed since it was around 4 in the morning. So I was extremely relieved. I had told someone I knew, and they accepted it without a problem, other than the initial shock. That night I slept the best I have in over a month. It felt like a huge weight was off my shoulders and I woke up with the biggest smile on my face. I felt like I was floating for the rest of the day. It seemed nothing else could bother me.

Friday I met up with the crew again and played some disc, and then went to Josh's for the night and just hung out playing cards again. Got home rather late and crashed right away. I was really beat from the 18 holes earlier.

Saturday we went up to my aunt and uncle's house, again, for my cousin Ryan's sweet sixteenth birthday party. We spent the day outside enjoying the weather and I took the kids out on the lake for a while abusing them on the tube. After dinner we started packing up our stuff and headed out. Got home around 9 pm and I had nothing to do. All my friends were already busy and I didn't want to stay at home all night, So I loaded up the truck and went back to Lynn and Doug's. I would have stayed from earlier, but my parents and I rode up together so we had vehicle issues. Got up there a little after ten and surprised everyone there. I brought up my guitar for something to do and entertained the kids with a bunch of different songs, both covers and originals. Around 1 am I headed off to bed.

Woke up around noon on Sunday and took the kids tubing again. When we got back to the house, I realized I had to get going back to the cities for band practice. I quickly grabbed my stuff and headed off. Got to Wyatt's house right when practice was supposed to start and we proceeded to make noise. Again, a rather productive practice, polishing up the new tracks and even wrote another new one. After about two hours we decided it was too nice out to be inside so we called it quits and went to spend the rest of the day outside.

I got home and met up with my brother. He had just gotten back from New Richmond, WI buying an old Schwinn cruiser bike and a Kangaroo. The Kangaroo is a foot scooter type thing, but instead of pushing with your feet, you bounce up and down like a kangaroo. The back wheel's axle is offset, so when it rolls, the standing platform goes up and down, creating momentum. We loaded them into my truck and went off to Demian's place in Uptown. Hung out there for awhile and had dinner, before we went on a bike ride. Everyone had some sort of cruiser bike, except Demian who has a trike complete with a cedar box on the back to hold the sound system. He has a battery and car stereo in the box, with two 6x9s facing out the front of the box, using the whole box as a speaker box. One of the other guys has a normal road bike, with a 48cc motor attached, so he doesn't have to pedal if he doesn't want to. We left D's at midnight and started biking through the city, blasting music and having a good time. We finally ended up at a beach and hung out there in the moonlight for awhile. After about an hour or two, we got back on the bikes and started to make our way back to D's. We bike around the lakes that are right in Uptown, probably a combined total of 10 miles, just around the lakes. We got back to Demian's and watched a movie. I don't remember what it was called, but it was ok. Erik and everyone else decided to sleep there, so I headed home and went to bed.

Today, I went to the chiro and then for another bike ride. I was just biking around town enjoying the beautiful day. I just got back a little bit ago and am relaxing on my deck. Tonight I'm going to see Korn with my brother and some friends. I'm not really looking forward to it because I'm not a big fan of new Korn, but Erik really wanted to go and he bought me a ticket. Can't really complain about a free show. I just hope I don't die in the pit, since I've been having some pretty bad back pain, probably from the biking.

So that's my weekend. Non-stop excitement. Should be a pretty calm week, with another big group bike ride Thursday night. But I thought last week would be boring too. We'll just have to wait and see.

-Kevin