Never Forget?

Well, this is my obligatory "I'm about to leave for tour" post. 

Today I've been putting things away in my room and trying to neaten it up some before I leave. I'm also packing at the same time. I've never done a tour where I actually get picked up by the bus in the city I live in. Somehow, it's making it harder for me to pack. I'm always worried I'm going to leave something I might want in the next two months. Even though I can literally take something from my room, walk outside, and put it on the bus. 

See, the bus is picking us up from my house. And by us, I mean Kam and I. The guys will be flying to Cancun and Panama City for MTV spring break stuff and flying to meet the bus in Austin. Courtney is flying with them. James will be meeting them in Panama City to mix sound for the TV performance. Adam's band has a show in Denver the night the bus is leaving, so he'll be driving down with his band to SXSW. So that leaves Kam and me.

There's going to be a bunch of equipment and suitcases left at my house this weekend before everyone flies off, and Kam and I get to load the trailer on our own and party our way down to Austin while Johnny P drives us.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not very stoked about the music I'm going to be listening to every night for two months. But everyone in our camp is going into this telling each other that we're going to have fun no matter what. I think it'll work out. And I hear through mutual friends that at least a couple of the other bands are good dudes. We've got some pretty sweet merch this tour. I'm mostly excited about having letterman jacket hoodies much like the four year strong ones (but better in my opinion). I made a public myspace profile to friend kids and post pictures of the merch so they're even more excited about it and so I take away a little bit of the intimidation factor. I think I scare the 15 year olds.

Last night I hung out while Nat was practicing songs at the Oriental Theater with Kam and Adam. Seeing road cases really cemented that it's almost time to go. I learned about our new monitor and wireless rack because I want to be stage managing the guys this summer on warped in addition to doing merch. I don't know if I'm setting myself up to be stressed the hell out or intelligently expanding my skill set.

Giving Up Lent For Lent

I realize I'm not a religious person. I fall squarely in the category of agnostic. I used to consider myself an atheist, but I realized that atheism is just as logically flawed as any religion. There's a leap of faith involved in atheism too.

Anyway. I realized a lot of my friends are giving up things for Lent. I understand the origin of the practice, but I have to say that it really bugs me. I feel like if you think there's something you need to stop doing for 40 days, or something you need to stop doing completely, that you should just do it. Connecting it to a holy day seems to cheapen the commitment to stopping smoking or refraining from chocolate or not wearing white after Labor Day or whatever the hell you're doing. It's like a mental out. I really like frappucinos, but I have to stop drinking them for 40 days because Jesus wandered the desert for 40 days without food and drink while the Devil temped him with the possibilities of earthly delights.

If you really think something you're doing is that damaging to you or that you could improve your life by doing something for 40 days, I have news for you: it's gonna keep fucking you up after those 40 days are over. Or you should keep doing that thing for 40 days, depending on what you're trying to accomplish.

I'm not trying to knock organized religion. I think it's really helpful to some people. I just wish people would empower themselves a little more by taking initiative on their own and really owning their accomplishments.

How I Personally Failed the President

I was super stoked that Obama's White House had a blog feed. I added it to my blog read subscriptions and promised I would always read them to stay informed.

However, every day I get the same blog entries resent to me. Entries from 3 weeks ago are popping up in my reader as new. I would skip over entries because I assumed I'd already read them. I started not reading any of them even when I knew there were new ones. And so, with a guilty conscience, I have deleted the White House Blog Feed from my Google Reader. 

Barack, I'm so sorry.

I really want to get back into stenciling and doing whatever sort of art I can. at the same time, I haven't really had any ideas I've loved recently.

there is, however, a spot that would be perfect for a huuuuge wheat paste near my house. I might put together a design that I lost a long time ago, but I don't really have the ability to print it out in large enough pieces to make it easy to paste.

also, I want to fix my bike and stop driving my car so much.

Gettin' Good

Today I went to the gym for the first time in months. I'm going to try to go at least 3 times a week.

I'm not doing this for any sort of New Year's resolution or anything per se, but I do have a reason to want to get in better shape: I want to wear a denim vest sunglasses and cutoff shorts for all of warped tour. no shirt. all day everyday.

I could ostensibly do this in my current physical state, but I would be embarrassed.  I know I won't be in amazing shape for warped, but I know that I can be in better shape while sitting around in a denim vest covered in black flag patches. 

Back in Denver, and Denver is good.

Being back home is amazing so far. And so far, being home means:

- hanging out with Brandon and Amy at New Saigon and eating delicious noodles and boba tea,

- riding my scooter a little bit (and realizing it was way too cold to do so right now),

- depositing a check (hell yeah getting paid!),

- playing Lego Indiana Jones on my new PS3,

- and watching the Station Agent on the new TV in the basement.

I'll probably be cracking a beer from the new mini bar in a second.

I might never leave the basement again.

Adult as Fuck Holiday Parties

This year I've been to several holiday parties that have made me feel like I'm grown up. I don't know if that's necessarily a good or bad thing. These parties revolve around dressing up nicely, bring alcohol and some sort of potluck item for dinner, and apparently normally mass exchanges of recipes for said items.

Now, I'm all for dressing up nicely. I haven't really been able to dress that nicely for the parties since I haven't gone home since tour ended, but I see nothing wrong with looking good. And I know that some people love the idea, but I think I have to come down against ugly sweater holiday parties.  Everyone's trying too hard and no one looks good.

I'm also all for alcohol and delicious potluck items. I think there's a reason that people always gather in the kitchen at parties, and that reason is deliciousness. At one single party I had a delicious bourbon-bake brie with apple slices, pumpkin hummus, amazing spinach artichoke dip, and mini pumpkin chiffon pies. Last night I had so many different kinds of gourmet homemade cookies that they are probably more to blame for this morning's hangover than the 7 beers and several mixed drinks I had last night. I am not a skinny dude. I like food. Food tastes good.

So, by process of elimination, apparently my only real gripe with grown up partying is the recipe exchanging. Can't we just scarf delicious food and not have to listen to how surprised people are about how easy the delicious thing they made is? Let me tell you, none of that shit is actually that easy to make. If it was, you wouldn't talk about it with such pride. People don't brag about their kids because they didn't have to do anything to raise them. Not once have I heard a mother say, "Johnny's so wonderful! All I did was get laid and birth him from my womb and he's just picked up everything up on his own along the way!"

Maybe I'm just jealous that I've never learned how to cook. Or maybe I'd just rather get to scarf snickerdoodles than listen to someone I've just met tell me the amount of time they spent crushing garlic cloves. Either way, I'm not really complaining about the holiday parties I've been to this year. They've been full of good people and I always end up full of good food, drunk and happy. And sometimes (i.e. last night) I get to spend 10 minutes straight joking about the failed softcore porn "Planet of the Rapes".