(no subject)
How the fuck did I forget about this for so long? I’m not even going to try to organize this; it’s probably going to be all out of order.
+Shortly after the last update, Chet went out to visit Chelsea on his own, and his car died on the way back somewhere between there and here. Why is this relevant at all? Guess who had to pick him up? That’s right. I hitched up the ol’ chariot and took it all five hours to and back out to Greensburg, and spent all of about two hours there before driving back with Chet. I arrived back in L-town at about 6 A.M. and spent part of the morning chasing ducks and thinking of how messed up the future is going to be.
+I took an online Spanish class to catch up with what I’m doing. It worked out in my advantage, even though I thought I was doing terrible at some points. Got the grade and went back to school.
+I went to quite a few shows, all of which were memorable, and hopefully I’ll remember to stick them all in here. One of which I don’t remember was Fear Before, because I tried to get there, and it just didn’t work out. Fuck the rain, and trying to find a place where I’ve never been before in torrents totally did not work out.
+I’d find Eleanor Rigby’s eventually when I went to see Trust Company. Man, I can’t believe those dudes still play. I slipped in for free, and saw them perform in front of about 15 people. Those guys really hate their second album and won’t play much off of it. Weird. Really nice to see these guys again, and they remembered frequenting Allentown back in the day. I tried to get in on the guest list for that show, but arrived too late to do anything with that on the day of that show. They’ll be back, I’m sure.
+Matt started throwing shows again. This comes at a good time, because there’s too much other dumb shit in this town. Too bad he threw it in Slatington, but it was only a small drive. I got to hang out there for a price, and see performances from a bunch of bands that watch way too much Youtube. Nice kids, though. I imagine I’ll find my way back to the fire hall, especially since I started doing the guy a favor and making some flyers for the events. I hope they get used; it’ll be a waste of a design if they don’t.
+ I also went to Bethlehem to see Fight Amp and Asshole Parade perform in a ‘secret’ spot that looked like it could have been in somebody’s basement. There was a giant industrial fan there. Fight Amp was cool. Asshole Parade harkens back to crust punk that was borderline grind, so they were entertaining. The most unique thing about this show? Lots of old-fashioned circle pits, most of which included a completely naked guy running around and saluting everybody. That’s how you know you’re at a good punk show.
+I proved my professional CD shopping skills by going to Philly and hacking it around there. Of course I went there when Noise Pollution was closed (Monday). Also, the economy/downloading sacked the Relapse store from the city. How big of a nail in their coffin is it that Matisyahu posters are hanging in the ex-storefront window? Either way, I hit up Repo and got to AKA a little before they closed and scored moderately. Not enough to my tastes, though, so I hit up Siren in Doylestown the next day and scored huge for the week.
+I didn’t stop here. The following week (I think), I went with my buddy Ryan to the Deck to buy CD’s, and I took him on a bonus trip to Play It Again in Bethlehem as well just so that he could follow around a pro and get schooled in how to look at shelves full of used discs. Had a good run, although I am never parking at the place I parked in Bethlehem again since we spent about 20 extra minutes at Sheetz cleaning explosive avian diarrhea off of my car. Birds can suck my dick. Also, I think Ryan owes me a little for Taco bell, but that’s no big.
+I worked the usual schedule until the end of summer. The guys at work sent me off with a nice pie to the face. Good, clean fun idea. Except they forgot to unfreeze it, so it was like getting hit in the face with a brick that had whipped cream on it. I walked around in the dining room with cream on my face afterwards, so that was my crappy revenge. I wonder how many patrons will return after seeing that pie on my face?
+I’m back in school for another year. Things with housing worked out like shit, so I’m stuck driving there now. Driving to class an hour every day really sucks.
+First day of school, I went to the First Unitarian afterwards to see Lightning Bolt. I got there right when they started, since Dave made me drive all the way back to L-town just to tell me the show was sold out. I should have dragged him along, since the church still had room in the back. Lightning Bolt was cool; they actually played on the stage for the first time in their lives. Their drummer was swinging his head around like a madman. He’s also old. I saw Jason, Harlee and their friends at the show as well. Jason likes Acid a lot now. I walked with them a bit before hitching the train back to my car.
+I am already one parking ticket up on the year. Apparently, I’m just supposed to automatically know that the yellow lines are for staff and not students, even when that important tidbit of information isn’t posted anywhere in the area or on the college website. I had to throw away 15 bucks to that black hole because my appeal got rejected. Fuck me for not being a mind reader.
+I turned into a hell of a party animal during September and October. Not that I really am, but people I knew threw tons of events and I just happened to show up. Somehow, Mark got something big rolling at his house when his mom was out. I attended, and had fun there. Saw some dudes that I haven’t seen for a long time. Dudes got wasted. People named Aaron sure are bitchy about their music; this almost caused a small riot. One of them threw up all over the table, which we threw out in the yard. The Parliaman twins can run across big stones when drunk. Derek started Mark’s yard on fire under the same inebriated state. Kate ended up huddled on a chair with me due to a harrowing experience, but we still had fun because we got to put Rubin and Yogi in fake sex positions when they were passed out. Rubin also ended up with a plastic flower between his cheeks, and not the ones on his head. I hung out at the house until mid-afternoon. Grace left her coat there, and I wore it to college for the next two weeks.
+Ashley threw a significantly smaller party at her house. I showed up and hung out with people who are way younger than me and make me feel like a bad role model. We played that Apples to Apples game, and I lost like a motherfucker. I left this event to pick up O’Brian and deliver him to the mouth of the turnpike in order to meet a girl from New Jersey that was supposed to drive in to meet him. She fucked up or something, and I had to drive back to pick him up at the hotel. I am never taking Joe to a female again. I should also mention that the last girl I took him to got him and Chet lost when they took her back to Wilkes-Barre, and she couldn’t even explain where she lived because she never left town before. What a bitch. I went back to the small shindig and wore Olivia’s bra. Then I passed out on a chair while 15 year-olds tried to make awkward sexual advances or something. They didn’t work out. Poor them.
+I took a trip up to New York City this September. The last time I was in that city was pre-9/11, so it has certainly been a long time. I climbed in a car with Corey, Dave and James, and we drove through New Jersey and then moved at a snail’s pace through the Holland Tunnel. We fought through the rest of the city until we got to our destination in Brooklyn. Dave’s car didn’t get broken into while we were there. Nate’s apartment is small, but inviting. Nick was there, too. Dave E. wasn’t, he was in Pennsylvania. The bastard. Nate’s roommates dress up in 1920’s garb for day-to-day wear. A lot of Nate’s college friends from NYC’s surrounding boroughs showed up, and I met some cool people. Each attendee got a free CD from Nate’s ‘mid-fi’ folk music project. We spent most of the time on the rooftop, and it was a really nice time to reflect on how I treasure times like these, and how incredibly smoky the NYC skyline really is. I felt good up there. Nate cooks awesome vegan meals as well. Three of Nate’s exes came to hang out at the same time, and he said that was mad awkward. When everybody left, we went to sleep after scraping roof tar off of the floor, because we accidentally sat on tar spots on the roof and inadvertently carried them back to the apartment. When morning came, my old friend Neil joined us, and we went to an Indian restaurant for brunch. I had a feta cheese omelet and made Nate’s roommate drink my complementary champagne. We bid our farewells, and drove back through New Jersey, which has the worst gas station restrooms of all 50 states. We also made fun of an overzealous mom at a McDonald’s. I really do have to hang out with Dave, Corey and James much more often.
+The day I got back from NYC, I hit up Croc for the Taproot/Cold show. I already saw Cold, and they did another good job, though they pulled out a lot more songs off their recent release as opposed to breaking out the old hits. I missed most of Taproot, which was unfortunate. They looked good up there, but I think their guitarist forgot some parts to their songs. Has it really been that long? Taproot dudes are mad cool to talk to, so I hope they find the time to head back to Allentown or close by.
+Towards the end of the month, I got to see Newton do a reading in Jim Thorpe. Nate was there. The art they have at that gallery is totally awesome stuff. Mike’s reading wasn’t really a reading; he put it all on an iPod and did sort of an interpretive dance the entire way through. The performance was enjoyable, and it was nice to see Mike in an environment that represents him and his work well. Fitting, since his reading was about Carbon County itself. I took Dennis up there, and we rummaged through the building after the reading. We talked for awhile afterwards. I want to see Mike in Easton someday since he lives there now. I need to hang with Dennis more often, too. I had to take him back, ‘cause he had to work the next day. Good times, though.
+I don’t think I’ll be attending shows at the Sterling Hotel any time soon, considering that they canned two shows that I was supposed to see there. Burst is touring the U.S. for the first and last time ever, and I didn’t get to see them because their van broke down or something. Skinlab was supposed to play the place as well, but must have shown up and left when they saw that the place was a bar. I don’t know. At least I got to walk in for free and see a few locals that wished they were Slayer. What a waste of gas, though. Some curse.
+Jason lives in L-town now for the time being. I took him to a gas station to get cigarettes at midnight one night. The funny thing about this is that I totally forgot where he lived, and I was hanging out in the wrong driveway for about half an hour. What a disaster. I have to remember that he lives at the end of that road in the loop. He told me that he was trying out for Daughters, but I think he ended up missing that due to an acid trip on his friend’s couch.
+Speaking of other things that totally did not work out, I agreed to take Olivia up to Lock Haven to meet her manfriend and take that guy back for Lehighton’s homecoming event. I now know that I should never do favors like this without investigating further beforehand. It takes over two hours to get to where that school is. Alarms rang out in my head when she said she had to call around for this guy since he doesn’t have his own phone. More alarms went off when we got lost, and the sprinklers were spraying full stream ahead when we parked there, and she told me that she had no idea which dorm he was in, or where it was. Of course, she got a call from one of his friends notifying her that the guy spent the weekend in Penn State and wasn’t even there. I need some kind of award for putting up with stuff like this, AND going to class afterwards too.
+Chet turned 21, and Joe and I took him to Ruby’s to celebrate. That bar is right down the street from where I live, and that night was the first time I had ever been there. Lots of people I knew showed up there, and not even for Chet’s coming of age. If I ever get bored, I have to go hang out there because that’s where everyone in this town goes to socialize. I felt like an asshole sitting in a bar stool not drinking, while everybody who wanted to drink had to reach over me to get a beverage from the bar. Actually, no. I felt good doing that. Nevermind.
+I went to a bunch of football games at the high school, and walked around the track while our football team was losing in the background. I reconnected with a bunch of friends again, and acted really stupid. Some cop threatened Joe with his flashlight the one time. What a dick. Go back to directing traffic.
+I hit up the Café for a sick show sometime last month. Loom and Exotic Animal Petting Zoo are two totally underrated bands that are spectacular musicians, and whoever is reading this would do good to check them out. I saw the dude at the Gallery’s band, and they were cool. Talked to a bunch of dudes there as well, and it was a good night.
+Hit up a show in Philadelphia as well. Went really late to see The_Network, Fight Amp and Rosetta play in a really bad section of Philly under the train bridge. Network’s new album is totally bad-ass. I wish I got there on time to see Robotosaurus from fucking Australia. Their singer wore a ‘Rock against ass’ shirt. I have no idea if that’s supposed to mean something else or not, but I want a shirt like that. Rosetta ruled; their songs are Isis-length, so they only were able to fit two of them in a half hour set. Fight Amp had to finish up before 10, so their set got cut down as well. The guy who DJ’s the Kung-Fu Necktie is Billy from Hot Cross. Rad. Amp singer told him to get the fuck out, but they were joking. Really cool night, and I hope those bands get their just due since they’re so much better than average scene bullshit.
+Perry was supposed to go with me to that show, but had to back out since the video game conference he was at was so abhorrent that he left the city way before the show. I shot the shit with Dave and James before I left school that day, and James almost took my eye out while we were hacking a pinecone.
+The day after that show saw me back in Philly to get a Cave-In ticket, since I didn’t make good time the day before. Score. Hit up AKA music for CD’s and finally got around to Noise Pollution. The dude who owns that place made 5 rude phone calls while I did my shopping, including one call that was just him bitching at a guy who sent him blurry porno via e-mail. I love the city.
+After getting back from Philly really late that evening, I hit up Mr. Freundt’s 21st birthday party at his house. DJ spun there and everything. Very nice to see more people that I haven’t seen in awhile, but I wonder why a bunch of my friends have to screw each other over. Who pretends to be passed out drunk just so that her friend can sleep with another dude in the back of his SUV? Seriously. Joe ended that and kind of got what he wanted out of that. Also, I had to step between drunk Rubin, Yogi and Scott after they tried to three-way fight each other due to Yogi insulting Scott’s relationship and Rubin just being pissed off because he didn’t get laid. I was up until almost 6 A.M. making sure dudes didn’t break shit. Billy says there is no more partying in his house, since this isn’t infrequent.
+Grace, and Mr. DJ from the last event, threw a wild shindig at her house. Ben moved out, so there was reason to celebrate in itself. She cleared out the guest house and fucking threw down in there. Holy shit. The DJ set up was upstairs, and I could have sworn that the 2nd floor was going to cave in due to all those people bouncing around up there. I had a good time, despite all the thick tension hanging around in there. Some fat dude puked out the window. Jared jumped out the second story window as well. People stole alcohol before I could steal it for Josh’s upcoming event. Aaron sat in puke, and kicked Rubin’s ass for no reason. O’Brian didn’t get laid, and was pissed off again. Some bitch flipped out at me. I stayed around until past 3, and couldn’t leave because I got parked in. I went to the DJ room (He was still spinning mad late), stole keys, returned them. I had to wait until almost 5:30 before we figured out whose car had to be moved. I’m never parking in the grass lot again. Also, I was about 3 hours late for work the next day, because I worked that weekend.
+Yes, I have worked select weekends during school. I worked the employee party. It’s nice to get appreciated, and steal a ton of free food. Also, if anybody wants to swim for free during the fall months, go to the Rock. There is nobody up there during this season; not even the employees to throw you out. Score! I sure did.
+I also went to Gary’s Halloween party. Holy fuck. I am attending more of those. Tons of people up there in amazing costumes. I felt shitty for not wearing more than a bathrobe to this and Grace’s, but people really dig that robe for some reason, especially Lindsay and Ric, both of whom I took home after this gig. Lots more people I haven’t seen for a long time up there. Two dudes really fought big time over something stupid. There was a bonfire that burned up an old pool table. Aaron is going to get his ass kicked for trying to control all the music at a party one day. This one girl got so drunk that she faceplanted and broke her nose. She was in the bathroom when we kicked the door in. “Shubrick, you can’t use this as a recuperation room.” You can’t get better than that.
+I tried to get my sketchbook from Fall ’08 back, but McCloskey doesn’t have it. I guess my art career is really over. He invited me into the AIGA meeting for free candy, though. I slept in the back of my car for a few days this semester. I really wish I had more to say about school, but there’s nothing to speak of other than being late as usual and putting a notch in my desk for every asinine remark I make.
+Went up north to Embassy Vinyl in Scranton. I’m glad I found a new store to haunt in Scranton, because Electric Mindshaft got bought out and is now a Mexican kitchen. I’m serious. Fuck that. This new ground is good, though, and I hit up Wilkes-Barre on the way back, too. I had a good run, but picked up a bad CD that was too scratched to play. Fuck.
+I went to the Misfits around Halloween. It was cool to finally go to a show with Dave and James. Dave really got into it. We missed out on all the shitty locals, and then saw Jerry Only and two dudes from Black Flag tear it up. It was great to hear Jerry Only start off every song with (song title)…1,2,3,GO! Awesome times. Got a free ticket to Green Jelly from this show and the following:
+Finch appeared at Croc the day after the Misfits. I took Joe there, and we saw Drop Dead, Gorgeous perform much worse than when I saw them with Look What I Did and The Human Abstract. DD, G really lost their punky edge with the years/members gone. I saw Kevin there, dude ended up getting a free hoodie from Finch. Finch got put on before Bless The Fall for some reason, which sucked because I missed the first song of their set due to the fact that I was taking a piss in someone’s yard. Finch was totally cool, and they were ok with me hanging with them after the show because I looked much better than the girls hanging there. Dude in Snapcase shirt (who Finch played with last time they were in Allentown) vs. chicks who are ‘dating the guy from Emmure’ and don’t even know what an actual Finch is. Oh yeah, I rock. Believe you me. I saw Leon and Rob there. I made fun of Rob for being a dumbass and trying to jump the ‘over 21’ barrier. What a retard. Leon was already there somehow.
+ Joe took me to a party at John’s after the show. We didn’t know it was at his trailer and drove around a bit before being told where it was. Ruzicka got pissed and passed the fuck out. Why is it that everybody in Nis Hollow likes to pass out at their own party? Some huge dude threw everybody out, though. We took these girls in my car, and dropped them off at the apex of First St. We tried to take them to O’Brian’s house of partying, but they decided against it while we were driving. One of them left her hoodie in my car. I still have it. I have no idea who the girl is or how to contact her, so I don’t know what the fuck to do with it. Does anybody want it? If you want it, I’ll give it to you. I don’t fucking care.
+The next day, I finally picked up Josh. I hung out with him for the first time in whenever. I met his friend Savannah, and we got followed by shitty mall cops at the mall. Josh kept exposing the free car guy as a scam, which was hilarious. I did more CD shopping in W-B, and returned the botched one I bought earlier on. We also hung out at the store near the mall, and Kevin was working. We had a mad good conversation, and he hooked us the fuck up. I got another Baroness signed poster, and Josh got a bunch of stuff. We rock. This dude is the best new friend I’ve met all year, I swear. We hit up Taco Bell for free black tacos on our way back. I hit up three, two of which were with Josh. He still got more tacos than I did because he stole one of my free ones at the second stop. Dammit. Still had such a damn good time, though.
+Oh yeah, Josh finally got a job as a security guard for a cocoa plant or something. He sits in front of monitors that he doesn’t even watch and goes on some patrols and weighs trucks in. I call him a lot at midnight and we talk about random stupid shit. More ridiculous shit is coming with me and this guy, believe me.
+ I lost my laptop for a week due to the graphics card failing and the screen being burnt out. I sure as fuck hope that doesn’t happen again. Dudes at the Apple store had a good turnaround though, and I got back on my feet within five days.
+I decided to use those free Green Jelly tickets, and the band didn’t even show up. I did, however, see SHAT for free. A dude in a dildo suit singing about kinky sex while three other dudes play ripped-off punk rock riffs behind him. Well worth seeing at that price. Not only was it free, but I didn’t even have to hand the ticket to anybody. Good deal!
+Josh threw a mini-party at his house. It wasn’t meant to be mini, but not too many people showed up. Just the right people did show up, though, and made it a damn good time. I can’t believe that Chet and Savannah did what they did, and I can’t believe Chels drove in from Greensburg to pick his ass up to go to that. Josh shouldn’t shotgun eggs anymore. Roberto and Jim are mad cool. I accidentally stayed there too long the next morning. I have stupid pictures of the party. If you know me, you know where to find them once I get that stuff up.
+Last night, I took Chet and O’Brian out to the Boner to have a small meal and discuss totally inappropriate sexual matter (i.e.-who they fucked that has the best/worst tits) over the meal while other people listened. Then, we hit up Wal-Mart and messed with stuff in the toy aisle. Just like old days.
+Today, my parents went to a wedding, and got a little tipsy for the first time since I was conceived.
That’s seriously as much as I could think of to put in this shit. I bought two Brand New/Glassjaw tickets earlier in the week due to the sheer luck that Kristy had to back out on the show. I’ll be driving to Philly in less than twelve hours to attend it, so I have to quit this and get the fuck to sleep right now, especially since I have other shit to do as well. Hopefully I won’t take five months to remember to fill this space in again.