What I Did So Far This Summer
Fuck, I barely know where to start. Good shit, bad shit, fucked up shit; there's all types of shit going on here.
SHOWTIME!
BIG BUSINESS-About four days after the last update (which is why I should get my shit together), I went to The Note in West Chester to check out Big Business. Bam Margera owns this place, and it actually does look straight out of '99, so I felt kind of at home even though I almost got locked in the bathroom and was relegated to watching the NBA playoffs on TV 'cause they didn't start the show until around 11. See, this is why I never show up for anything on time, because this shit happens. I went on a coupon run at Arby's beforehand for this big drive.
Tweek Bird was kind of cool, albeit a tad too obviously hippie-ish for my tastes, and probably on mad psychedelics as well. Big Business came on and totally destroyed with bass riffs heavier than a semi-truck full of sumo wrestlers. Coady Willis is an awesome drummer, and their new guitarist is totally awesome because he's Japanese, so you know he's going to play the guitar any way but the regular way. Jarred Warren even threw dollar bills at the crowd for out-of-towners to cover gas costs. He exclaimed that "you can never say that Big Business doesn't give back". Honestly, I can't. This band was awesome. Even better, I was talking to some 40 year-old English teacher dude from Virginia who bought me a drink and a poster after the show. Even in a recession, Big Business brings good people together for a fun night.
-------------
FRODUS-Didn't happen for me because I took the late train to Philly for this one and missed out. Dammit. Missed out on wrestling at Liam's house, too. Liam must be my bad luck charm or something; read on TDEP show for what happened there.
----------------
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM-I was pretty excited to see this band with about 30 others before they hit big, because big name mags like the whole black metal/ambient combo for some reason. Krallice opened, and they had several really big names in underground technical music among them (not well-known stuff; try Orthrelm and Behold...The Arctopus). Their old-school blackish metal music was a good open.
A Storm Of Light played next, and they have the same dude who does visuals in Neurosis, so while they played their heavy drone style, they had a projector screen imagery on the back wall. The black paint dripping from shark teeth was the best one, and there were tons of trippy shit on there. Amazing. People on drugs would have flipped their shit, most likely.
WITTR played at the end, and they lit a lot of candles to get the 'black metal' mood just right. I thought it was a huge fire hazard, but they didn't drag their cords through them like I thought they would. Their blend of material was a little big for the Cafe Metro sound system, but it still sounded all right. Their singer was almost as tall as I was while he was onstage. Short dude. Good times, though, and it was nice to get back up there.
----------------
ISIS-In Philly again. I had no problem taking the train to and from this one. South Street looks a little intimidating, but I made it through. I caught the end of the Tombs set, and they looked like they totally threw down. I wish I had been there on time because unlike the Cafe Met. show, it sounded like they got the full use of their gear to give them their signature sound. Cool stuff.
Pelican was up next, and I never thought a fully instrumental band could slay so hard, but they gave their all. They did a cover in addition to material spanning most of their albums. It was kind of hard to decipher which was which without memorable lyrics, but the performance still measured up.
Isis headlined, and really slayed...slowly. It was a little different getting used to how that band can fit as many of their progressive anthems into one set as a normal opening band can fit into a 30 minute set. Isis has long songs, but they moved along with the rhythm and proved themselves not boring, but instead, as interesting as their albums.
----------------
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN-It was great to go back to the First Unitarian. This show totally went off the hook. Knife The Glitter opened; they said they were a cross between Enya and Mudvayne. Funny. They had humorous clips of Phil Anselmo (not really) doing drunken rock gig bullshit between songs. No singer, but this band still pulled off the instrumentals. If DEP ever needs replacement musicians, they know where to look.
The Number Twelve Looks Like You hit the stage next, and they pulled off a set that was far better than any previous show I've seen from them. Much more movement from these guys, new material, and possibly one of the most hilarious spectacles I've ever seen at a live show. They asked a dude that they were talking to before to come up onstage since he had noted that he never kissed a girl. They brought this dude (Chris) up onstage and auctioned his virgin lips off to the first girl who raised her hand. The fattest scene girl in the audience took the bait, and they were forced to make out during the next #12 song. I say forced, because even though they were going at it pretty hardcore, they would get pushed back together every time the dude broke away. This happened for awhile, but when they got a good break, the dude took off and stage dived away. The girl followed suit, but everyone on the other side of the stage bailed on her and she bombed the floor. That really made my night, in addition to the already intense sets.
Dillinger Escape Plan hit the stage to headline, and they did not let up. People stage dived as if it was old school hardcore, and Greg (DEP singer) wasn't going to attempt to slow down the flow. He climbed up on the PA towers and drove the mic into the PA system, creating a totally bad-ass feedback wave. The band did their part to piece together an insane performance of tons of DEP material, older and newer. They even pulled off some of the Patton material (including their Aphex Twin cover), and ended the set with the piano song off of Ire Works (Ben played the keyboard, and bought the KTG guitarist for his string parts; see, I told you they knew where to get the other musicians). I had an incredible time there, and spent some extra time shooting the shit with Greg, which led to an unfortunate error that I'll discuss later.
------------------
OTHER SHIT
*Shortly after college ended, my brother's college career actually did end since he's been on the same track for 4 years and running. I got to go down to Philly with my parents to see him and about 3,000 other people walk the graduation line. My mom was stoked; my dad was pissed 'cause he hates being around more than 3 people at one time, and I was just bored as all hell. It was nice to hang down there for a little and see someone in my family find his way out of a higher learning institution. Good luck to him in whatever he's doing.
*Grace had a party and I went to it. Sat around a fire with drunks as usual. Met good people, and saw others I knew. Saw Ben as well; he's going to fall over from heroin addiction. Dude's totally drained these days. I'd help him out, but, ehhhh....you know.
*I'm sure I hung around Double Decker one day and made mad purchases. Hit up a bookstore and got a book that I'm still about halfway through because I read almost as slow as I eat. You don't even want to know what happens when I attempt both at the same time.
*Dan's got a new house in Palmerton, so I was hanging around there. Jammed, talked about some shit, even played Mario Kart 64 because he has an N64 somehow. Great times, and I'm sure I'll be down there again since parking is good and it beats being around Lehighton all the time, which I would know about.
---------------------
NASTY SHIT
`-- Kutztown isn't putting up with my shit any longer. I had to drive down there several times to help register for a summer course at my old alma mater (this begins next week, I think) and I also had to pay a fee for room damages. Fuck that. I hope you enjoy the busted shopping cart I left behind.
`-- Oh yeah, in addition to sucking on a variety of fronts, I'm not as good a driver as I used to be. I clipped/rammed a guardrail on my way to work one day. Wet roads suck. This put me out of some $2000 in repairs, although in all fairness, the car looks better than ever (even got rid of the ice damage, says mom as I roll my eyes 'cause she's dumb enough to believe my brother when he says ice falls off of jet planes).
`-- Cops can suck it too, since I lost another $159.50 on a speeding ticket, which also happened on my way to work. Gained another 4 points, though. I wonder if those are redeemable for anything good, 'cause I probably have a bunch stockpiled.
`-- Had to go through a rental process. I got Brandon on the phone (nice) and he stuck me with a KIA (dammit) that I got used to eventually (ok).
`-- Dillinger Escape Plan was crazy, but my night would get crazier since I missed my return trip on the train. I should have slept with the homeless in the station since I decided it would be superhuman and a total credibility booster if I walked the tracks back to my (rental) car in Lansdale. Bad move. I walked it through some of Philly's worst ghettos until I got to the next station, which led me to walking tracks and dodging night freighters. I eventually took the wrong fork in the tracks and ended up in the middle of fucking nowhere in hard rain. I swear this kind of shit only happens to me. I bailed on the tracks and walked through north north Philly until I got to a convenience store at 4 AM. I had to take a bus back in to center city, and the driver kicked me off with a transfer ticket in another glorious ghetto. I hopped another bus, and got to a station, and hit up the railway to get back to my car. This was after 6, and I didn't make it home until 8:30, and I had to take the rental back right away since my parents were all pissed off about it. For the record, I am never missing that train again, or finding somewhere not too bad to park at.
--------------------
WORKIN' MAN
Not too much to say here. I'm back at work at the Rock this summer with about 4 others from last year and a whole cast of new people. Rick, Freddy (of course), morning Joe and Kenny are the only people already there when I got there last year that came back for this year. Andie quit for some reason about a month ago. Chris and Eric are still there, too, and ready to show people not to show up at the last minute or stick around to complain and order stuff after we close. Most of the wait staff is the same as well. Anthony keeps coming back to fuck with Freddy using a laser pointer. Other notes:
+Worked the Galleria once. Took 11 hours and a table collapsing under the weight of all the plates on top of it. They have crazy stuff going on up there. I was kind of pissed 'cause that was the day I got pulled over on my way up there. I scored free "University of Scranton" glasses though, because that was for the function and the Rock couldn't keep those. So I did. Score for me.
+Big Jake works up there now as a dishwasher for dinner shift. Nice. I shoot the shit sometimes if I'm still around when he comes in. I have tons of good conversations with everyone I work with. Nice atmosphere.
+Oh, most of the dudes I work with are "deadbeat" dads, as in they could be and probably are responsible parents, but got fucked by divorce lawyers and their wives are hoarding their kids. There's a reason I don't do much in the way of relationships, kids.
+Still use the pool/hot tub/sauna facilities like always since I'm the craziest employee ever. Haven't met anyone cool though except for this weird Christian convert couple that's mad relaxed about their stances, but also kind of sorcerer-ish. And some kids. And why the hell do all these kids have to crowd the pool every time I try to get exercise in there? Dammit.
+I ended up inside of a biking event up there, too. I took my usual walk up past the Galleria, and when I came back, they had set up fences and I just happened to be in them. Saw stunt bikers and a bunch of stereotypical black leather bikers. It was ok, and so was Winefest, but I didn't get in on that.
+I find frogs up there every now and again. Tadpoles, too. I wonder if I could start a tadpole farm and sell frogs?
-----------------------
BUSY DUDE
I shit you not. Here's some activities from the last week or so:
16: Picked up Grace and hit up Stroudsburg. Picture booth, mallratting, and fast food. We should be too old for that stuff, but we're not. So much for aging gracefully.
17: Hit up Stroudsburg again by myself to do a necessary round of CD purchasing at Main St. Jukebox. Drove down scenic route 611 to Easton, then cut over to A-town to see my friend Chris come out of karate. Except I did not see him at all, so I went into our meeting place alone, and got hit on by a gay server. Of course...
18: Hooray for college buds! I met several back in Allentown today. Sarah, Erin, Matt and Chris. I jammed out at Guitar Center since I arrived earlier than they did (very unusual). Saw Mark and Chris there looking over studio gear. Nice. Hit up the mall when my fellow collegiates got in. We had a good time that was cut short since security guards don't think I can effectively conduct myself in public. So what if I wanted to climb up the escalator hanging onto the mobile handrail and then walking up the steel side. Plus, Matt did it too on the other side and didn't have to talk to security. I call profiling. Fuck that. Fortunately, they didn't ditch me, and we just moved to the diner on the corner and finished up there.
19: I finally got to see Josh. I drove up to his development in the back woods and hung out there for a bit. We talked massive amounts of shit, and I saw him wrestle his brother like, 1200 times. I also assisted in ripping the carpet off his floor as well. Hopefully he finds an actual job so that he can hang around more and not be relegated to lame shit like that. After Josh's, I drove north and hit up some Gallery of Sounds, the last of which had me talking to the dude behind the counter. The one near the mall is getting my business more often now because of this encounter, and I'm probably hitting up one extra show this summer. Can't resist discussing new Coalesce and the Isis show with a dude who is in the know.
That's not the end, either. I hit up Catasauqua to see an old friend and meet a bunch of new ones while they were drinking. Some people couldn't believe that I didn't drink like they did, but I still fit in there. Saw Johnny and Stewie's older brother there. Unusual reunion. Awesome, though.
20: Thank God I didn't have work early the next day because I totally spent the night there. Worked late, though.
21: Worked early. I hate back to back shifts.
22: I made a deal. I would drive out to Greensburg and pick up Chelsea. Let me inform you that I had no idea what I was in for in terms of distance. Gburg [near Pittsburg] is some 5 hours away from here. No wonder I never went to the other side of the state. went on an Arby's run beforehand with the same coupons I used before the Big Business show (they were now expired...oops). Picked up Limeade as well. I drove over 10 hours on this day, and arrived there at 11 PM.
23: And got back at about 5 AM and was talking to Harry outside of Reverse Midget at that time. Shit. Not bad, but I have to plan this better next time.
24: More work.
25: More work. Also, today was the day where I was supposed to meet Chris in A-town since he forgot that first time, but this time I forgot. Let's hear it for neither of us completely having our shit together!
26: I spent some good quality time with O'Brian today. After work, and driving through a riveting hailstorm, I drove Joe up to meet some chick he met off the internet. We found her in front of the Cafe Metro, and she was legit. We walked to the liquor store so Joe could purchase some stuff, and I felt bad for not parking where I usually did because that was right across from the store. Instead, we had to walk through the car show in the diamond park, and then we hit up a McDonald's and a Wal-Mart for some stupid fun, and then I drove them home while Joe kept my car on the road since I was totally drifting off. Dropped them off. Joe owes me money for the trip, but I'll get it Friday at his house. He had a good time, so it's all good.
27: I hung out at D. Rubes' grad party tonight. Man, his parents bought all that beer for all those kids. I wish I had parents that had a loose grip and didn't live in town, but I have the cards I've been dealt. They're ok. Plus, everyone there knew me and I could talk to them, so it's not that bad. I was hanging around and saying a lot of retarded things, as usual. Some of those kids were sooooooo drunk though, what the fuck? It's ok; good luck to everyone there. Better luck to me in terms of being on time; I haven't been less than an hour late to work all this week. At least no one really cares about that, plus, I didn't have that much to do early on.
That's it for this. I have to sleep soon so that I can go back out west for a day or two and then prepare for more people that I haven't seen at all this summer as well as other activities and such.
Sigh.
Fuck.
Ok.
SHOWTIME!
BIG BUSINESS-About four days after the last update (which is why I should get my shit together), I went to The Note in West Chester to check out Big Business. Bam Margera owns this place, and it actually does look straight out of '99, so I felt kind of at home even though I almost got locked in the bathroom and was relegated to watching the NBA playoffs on TV 'cause they didn't start the show until around 11. See, this is why I never show up for anything on time, because this shit happens. I went on a coupon run at Arby's beforehand for this big drive.
Tweek Bird was kind of cool, albeit a tad too obviously hippie-ish for my tastes, and probably on mad psychedelics as well. Big Business came on and totally destroyed with bass riffs heavier than a semi-truck full of sumo wrestlers. Coady Willis is an awesome drummer, and their new guitarist is totally awesome because he's Japanese, so you know he's going to play the guitar any way but the regular way. Jarred Warren even threw dollar bills at the crowd for out-of-towners to cover gas costs. He exclaimed that "you can never say that Big Business doesn't give back". Honestly, I can't. This band was awesome. Even better, I was talking to some 40 year-old English teacher dude from Virginia who bought me a drink and a poster after the show. Even in a recession, Big Business brings good people together for a fun night.
-------------
FRODUS-Didn't happen for me because I took the late train to Philly for this one and missed out. Dammit. Missed out on wrestling at Liam's house, too. Liam must be my bad luck charm or something; read on TDEP show for what happened there.
----------------
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM-I was pretty excited to see this band with about 30 others before they hit big, because big name mags like the whole black metal/ambient combo for some reason. Krallice opened, and they had several really big names in underground technical music among them (not well-known stuff; try Orthrelm and Behold...The Arctopus). Their old-school blackish metal music was a good open.
A Storm Of Light played next, and they have the same dude who does visuals in Neurosis, so while they played their heavy drone style, they had a projector screen imagery on the back wall. The black paint dripping from shark teeth was the best one, and there were tons of trippy shit on there. Amazing. People on drugs would have flipped their shit, most likely.
WITTR played at the end, and they lit a lot of candles to get the 'black metal' mood just right. I thought it was a huge fire hazard, but they didn't drag their cords through them like I thought they would. Their blend of material was a little big for the Cafe Metro sound system, but it still sounded all right. Their singer was almost as tall as I was while he was onstage. Short dude. Good times, though, and it was nice to get back up there.
----------------
ISIS-In Philly again. I had no problem taking the train to and from this one. South Street looks a little intimidating, but I made it through. I caught the end of the Tombs set, and they looked like they totally threw down. I wish I had been there on time because unlike the Cafe Met. show, it sounded like they got the full use of their gear to give them their signature sound. Cool stuff.
Pelican was up next, and I never thought a fully instrumental band could slay so hard, but they gave their all. They did a cover in addition to material spanning most of their albums. It was kind of hard to decipher which was which without memorable lyrics, but the performance still measured up.
Isis headlined, and really slayed...slowly. It was a little different getting used to how that band can fit as many of their progressive anthems into one set as a normal opening band can fit into a 30 minute set. Isis has long songs, but they moved along with the rhythm and proved themselves not boring, but instead, as interesting as their albums.
----------------
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN-It was great to go back to the First Unitarian. This show totally went off the hook. Knife The Glitter opened; they said they were a cross between Enya and Mudvayne. Funny. They had humorous clips of Phil Anselmo (not really) doing drunken rock gig bullshit between songs. No singer, but this band still pulled off the instrumentals. If DEP ever needs replacement musicians, they know where to look.
The Number Twelve Looks Like You hit the stage next, and they pulled off a set that was far better than any previous show I've seen from them. Much more movement from these guys, new material, and possibly one of the most hilarious spectacles I've ever seen at a live show. They asked a dude that they were talking to before to come up onstage since he had noted that he never kissed a girl. They brought this dude (Chris) up onstage and auctioned his virgin lips off to the first girl who raised her hand. The fattest scene girl in the audience took the bait, and they were forced to make out during the next #12 song. I say forced, because even though they were going at it pretty hardcore, they would get pushed back together every time the dude broke away. This happened for awhile, but when they got a good break, the dude took off and stage dived away. The girl followed suit, but everyone on the other side of the stage bailed on her and she bombed the floor. That really made my night, in addition to the already intense sets.
Dillinger Escape Plan hit the stage to headline, and they did not let up. People stage dived as if it was old school hardcore, and Greg (DEP singer) wasn't going to attempt to slow down the flow. He climbed up on the PA towers and drove the mic into the PA system, creating a totally bad-ass feedback wave. The band did their part to piece together an insane performance of tons of DEP material, older and newer. They even pulled off some of the Patton material (including their Aphex Twin cover), and ended the set with the piano song off of Ire Works (Ben played the keyboard, and bought the KTG guitarist for his string parts; see, I told you they knew where to get the other musicians). I had an incredible time there, and spent some extra time shooting the shit with Greg, which led to an unfortunate error that I'll discuss later.
------------------
OTHER SHIT
*Shortly after college ended, my brother's college career actually did end since he's been on the same track for 4 years and running. I got to go down to Philly with my parents to see him and about 3,000 other people walk the graduation line. My mom was stoked; my dad was pissed 'cause he hates being around more than 3 people at one time, and I was just bored as all hell. It was nice to hang down there for a little and see someone in my family find his way out of a higher learning institution. Good luck to him in whatever he's doing.
*Grace had a party and I went to it. Sat around a fire with drunks as usual. Met good people, and saw others I knew. Saw Ben as well; he's going to fall over from heroin addiction. Dude's totally drained these days. I'd help him out, but, ehhhh....you know.
*I'm sure I hung around Double Decker one day and made mad purchases. Hit up a bookstore and got a book that I'm still about halfway through because I read almost as slow as I eat. You don't even want to know what happens when I attempt both at the same time.
*Dan's got a new house in Palmerton, so I was hanging around there. Jammed, talked about some shit, even played Mario Kart 64 because he has an N64 somehow. Great times, and I'm sure I'll be down there again since parking is good and it beats being around Lehighton all the time, which I would know about.
---------------------
NASTY SHIT
`-- Kutztown isn't putting up with my shit any longer. I had to drive down there several times to help register for a summer course at my old alma mater (this begins next week, I think) and I also had to pay a fee for room damages. Fuck that. I hope you enjoy the busted shopping cart I left behind.
`-- Oh yeah, in addition to sucking on a variety of fronts, I'm not as good a driver as I used to be. I clipped/rammed a guardrail on my way to work one day. Wet roads suck. This put me out of some $2000 in repairs, although in all fairness, the car looks better than ever (even got rid of the ice damage, says mom as I roll my eyes 'cause she's dumb enough to believe my brother when he says ice falls off of jet planes).
`-- Cops can suck it too, since I lost another $159.50 on a speeding ticket, which also happened on my way to work. Gained another 4 points, though. I wonder if those are redeemable for anything good, 'cause I probably have a bunch stockpiled.
`-- Had to go through a rental process. I got Brandon on the phone (nice) and he stuck me with a KIA (dammit) that I got used to eventually (ok).
`-- Dillinger Escape Plan was crazy, but my night would get crazier since I missed my return trip on the train. I should have slept with the homeless in the station since I decided it would be superhuman and a total credibility booster if I walked the tracks back to my (rental) car in Lansdale. Bad move. I walked it through some of Philly's worst ghettos until I got to the next station, which led me to walking tracks and dodging night freighters. I eventually took the wrong fork in the tracks and ended up in the middle of fucking nowhere in hard rain. I swear this kind of shit only happens to me. I bailed on the tracks and walked through north north Philly until I got to a convenience store at 4 AM. I had to take a bus back in to center city, and the driver kicked me off with a transfer ticket in another glorious ghetto. I hopped another bus, and got to a station, and hit up the railway to get back to my car. This was after 6, and I didn't make it home until 8:30, and I had to take the rental back right away since my parents were all pissed off about it. For the record, I am never missing that train again, or finding somewhere not too bad to park at.
--------------------
WORKIN' MAN
Not too much to say here. I'm back at work at the Rock this summer with about 4 others from last year and a whole cast of new people. Rick, Freddy (of course), morning Joe and Kenny are the only people already there when I got there last year that came back for this year. Andie quit for some reason about a month ago. Chris and Eric are still there, too, and ready to show people not to show up at the last minute or stick around to complain and order stuff after we close. Most of the wait staff is the same as well. Anthony keeps coming back to fuck with Freddy using a laser pointer. Other notes:
+Worked the Galleria once. Took 11 hours and a table collapsing under the weight of all the plates on top of it. They have crazy stuff going on up there. I was kind of pissed 'cause that was the day I got pulled over on my way up there. I scored free "University of Scranton" glasses though, because that was for the function and the Rock couldn't keep those. So I did. Score for me.
+Big Jake works up there now as a dishwasher for dinner shift. Nice. I shoot the shit sometimes if I'm still around when he comes in. I have tons of good conversations with everyone I work with. Nice atmosphere.
+Oh, most of the dudes I work with are "deadbeat" dads, as in they could be and probably are responsible parents, but got fucked by divorce lawyers and their wives are hoarding their kids. There's a reason I don't do much in the way of relationships, kids.
+Still use the pool/hot tub/sauna facilities like always since I'm the craziest employee ever. Haven't met anyone cool though except for this weird Christian convert couple that's mad relaxed about their stances, but also kind of sorcerer-ish. And some kids. And why the hell do all these kids have to crowd the pool every time I try to get exercise in there? Dammit.
+I ended up inside of a biking event up there, too. I took my usual walk up past the Galleria, and when I came back, they had set up fences and I just happened to be in them. Saw stunt bikers and a bunch of stereotypical black leather bikers. It was ok, and so was Winefest, but I didn't get in on that.
+I find frogs up there every now and again. Tadpoles, too. I wonder if I could start a tadpole farm and sell frogs?
-----------------------
BUSY DUDE
I shit you not. Here's some activities from the last week or so:
16: Picked up Grace and hit up Stroudsburg. Picture booth, mallratting, and fast food. We should be too old for that stuff, but we're not. So much for aging gracefully.
17: Hit up Stroudsburg again by myself to do a necessary round of CD purchasing at Main St. Jukebox. Drove down scenic route 611 to Easton, then cut over to A-town to see my friend Chris come out of karate. Except I did not see him at all, so I went into our meeting place alone, and got hit on by a gay server. Of course...
18: Hooray for college buds! I met several back in Allentown today. Sarah, Erin, Matt and Chris. I jammed out at Guitar Center since I arrived earlier than they did (very unusual). Saw Mark and Chris there looking over studio gear. Nice. Hit up the mall when my fellow collegiates got in. We had a good time that was cut short since security guards don't think I can effectively conduct myself in public. So what if I wanted to climb up the escalator hanging onto the mobile handrail and then walking up the steel side. Plus, Matt did it too on the other side and didn't have to talk to security. I call profiling. Fuck that. Fortunately, they didn't ditch me, and we just moved to the diner on the corner and finished up there.
19: I finally got to see Josh. I drove up to his development in the back woods and hung out there for a bit. We talked massive amounts of shit, and I saw him wrestle his brother like, 1200 times. I also assisted in ripping the carpet off his floor as well. Hopefully he finds an actual job so that he can hang around more and not be relegated to lame shit like that. After Josh's, I drove north and hit up some Gallery of Sounds, the last of which had me talking to the dude behind the counter. The one near the mall is getting my business more often now because of this encounter, and I'm probably hitting up one extra show this summer. Can't resist discussing new Coalesce and the Isis show with a dude who is in the know.
That's not the end, either. I hit up Catasauqua to see an old friend and meet a bunch of new ones while they were drinking. Some people couldn't believe that I didn't drink like they did, but I still fit in there. Saw Johnny and Stewie's older brother there. Unusual reunion. Awesome, though.
20: Thank God I didn't have work early the next day because I totally spent the night there. Worked late, though.
21: Worked early. I hate back to back shifts.
22: I made a deal. I would drive out to Greensburg and pick up Chelsea. Let me inform you that I had no idea what I was in for in terms of distance. Gburg [near Pittsburg] is some 5 hours away from here. No wonder I never went to the other side of the state. went on an Arby's run beforehand with the same coupons I used before the Big Business show (they were now expired...oops). Picked up Limeade as well. I drove over 10 hours on this day, and arrived there at 11 PM.
23: And got back at about 5 AM and was talking to Harry outside of Reverse Midget at that time. Shit. Not bad, but I have to plan this better next time.
24: More work.
25: More work. Also, today was the day where I was supposed to meet Chris in A-town since he forgot that first time, but this time I forgot. Let's hear it for neither of us completely having our shit together!
26: I spent some good quality time with O'Brian today. After work, and driving through a riveting hailstorm, I drove Joe up to meet some chick he met off the internet. We found her in front of the Cafe Metro, and she was legit. We walked to the liquor store so Joe could purchase some stuff, and I felt bad for not parking where I usually did because that was right across from the store. Instead, we had to walk through the car show in the diamond park, and then we hit up a McDonald's and a Wal-Mart for some stupid fun, and then I drove them home while Joe kept my car on the road since I was totally drifting off. Dropped them off. Joe owes me money for the trip, but I'll get it Friday at his house. He had a good time, so it's all good.
27: I hung out at D. Rubes' grad party tonight. Man, his parents bought all that beer for all those kids. I wish I had parents that had a loose grip and didn't live in town, but I have the cards I've been dealt. They're ok. Plus, everyone there knew me and I could talk to them, so it's not that bad. I was hanging around and saying a lot of retarded things, as usual. Some of those kids were sooooooo drunk though, what the fuck? It's ok; good luck to everyone there. Better luck to me in terms of being on time; I haven't been less than an hour late to work all this week. At least no one really cares about that, plus, I didn't have that much to do early on.
That's it for this. I have to sleep soon so that I can go back out west for a day or two and then prepare for more people that I haven't seen at all this summer as well as other activities and such.
Sigh.
Fuck.
Ok.