My life... let me tell you it.

I've been on an indefinite hiatus from this blog for awhile and who knows if it will continue after I post this. So I figure I'll start out with a recap of the last three weeks because my life has been a maelstrom of activity and I can't even keep it straight anymore.

- I've put 1,000 miles on my car.
- I worked 35-hour work weeks, split between two nursing homes.
- I trained a girl to do my job at Rosewood.
- I subsequently quit my job at Rosewood.
- I'm taking a week vacation (my first in six years) this week... and spending that time moving the rest of my worldly possessions back to Rome.
- I've hung out with Sheena more times in the last two weeks than I've seen her in two years!
- We've decided to start a band again!
- I've gone to two Saranac Thursdays.
- I've seen Gridley Paige play three times... and realized how freaking awesome they are.
- I've met a bunch of new friends.
- I've talked with a bunch of old ones.
- I went to a dive bar in Clinton for Ryan's bday!
- I cleaned up dog puke at 3am.
- I maintained a garden for two weeks.
- I've been dutifully ignoring the Mets implosion.

It'll be nice ending July and starting August with a vacation after the three hell weeks I've just been through (though, FWIW, it hasn't all been hell... just the driving back-and-forth part mostly). August seems to be shaping up to be a wonderful month...

- NYC (Mets game, Statue of Liberty and Stefan and Wendy!) 31st - 2nd.
- GP at Hollyrock on the 6th.
- GP at the Marketplace on the 13th.
- Chiefs/Bisons games on the 18th and 19th.
- GP at Celtic Harp on the 20th.
- Parent's anniversary party.
- First day of classes on the 24th.
- GP at Hollyrock Sylvan Beach on the 29th.

Please note: my life has apparently been abducted and is currently being held hostage by Gridley Paige and I am honestly perfectly fine with that. Two weeks ago I would have told you that I couldn't stand them... well a lot changes in ten years.

Sheena and I saw them play at KRock's first Jingle Ball and, to put it bluntly, they were Terrible (deserving of a capital T in Terrible). So when she told me over a drunken conversation at Saranac that they were playing at Hollyrock in Sylvan Beach, I balked a little bit... but went, albeit begrudgingly. I was expecting Terrible. I got SUPER FUN AND AMAZING and a guitarist that looks like a mix between Ben Folds and Paul Rudd.

Hi, I don't often admit when I am wrong - and hell, I usually hate when I'm wrong. But I was wrong AND AM GLAD OF IT.

So a week later, they played at Celtic Harp after Saranac and Sheena and I went again. And it's a good thing she drove because I decided I wanted to be Noah and put my beers in my belly two-by-two and perhaps black out a little bit (the fact that I had to drive to Syracuse for my last day of work in the morning was obviously not-withstanding). I had, at that point, developed a booze-laden crush on aforementioned guitarist - aptly nomikered Ben Rudd for the sake of conversation - and decided, because I am chicken shit, to write him a letter and put it on his guitar pedal while they were cleaning up.

(The note read "You look like the love child of Ben Folds and Paul Rudd!" and was written on the back of a cigarette box because it was that or a dollar bill and like hell I was giving away my dollar bill. Also it was barely legible.)

So I called out to the drummer to MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT BEN RUDD GETS THIS IMPORTANT PIECE OF LEGISLATION. He agrees... but I'm still wary. And then Luke pushes me to grab the note back and Just Talk To Him Already. So I did. My recollection of the conversation is as follows....

*Me: HI I TOLD THE DRUMMER GUY TO GIVE THIS TO YOU BUT I WAS AFRAID HE WOULDN'T SO NOW I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU MYSELF YOU LOOK LIKE BEN FOLDS AND PAUL RUDD AND THE NOTE SAYS THAT.
*Him: (Takes note, laughs heartily). I usually get Elvis Costello but I think this is awesome too!
*Me: YES THAT TOO. I REALLY LIKE WHEN YOU PLAY PIANO EVEN THOUGH YOU MESSED UP TONIGHT IT'S FINE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICED. ALSO I WAS AT THE SHOW ON SATURDAY BEING A CREEPER - YOU DIDN'T MESS UP THEN... I'M SORRY I'M A CREEPER.
*Him: (laughs at my drunken rambling). I don't even remember the show last Saturday... it was a messy night.
*Me: TONIGHT IS A MESSY NIGHT TOO.
*Him: Not yet for me! You got a head start... I haven't started!
*Me: WELL GO START THEN. I'LL BE AT THE SHOW ON SATURDAY BECAUSE I'M FROM SYRACUSE AND THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GOING.
*Him: I don't even know how to get there! Give me directions.
*Me: (contemplates giving directions to my apartment instead of Marketplace but gives some semblance of correct directions, complete with standing with my back to his chest and using arm gestures to indicate direction).
*Him: Well I'll see you then!

A few notes: I did speak in capslock. I spent four hours next to a speaker and was drunk as a skunk. I also believe I did the "get it on" gesture as I walked away... something I'm not particularly proud of. Needless to say, those were the only portions of the conversation that I remember... and the conversation went on much longer than what was just recapped.

TLDR: Talked to Ben Rudd, probably made fool of myself. Am a creeper.

(I also then told the lead guitar player that he looked like Dane Cook in "Waiting" and he laughed and said he's gotten that one before... TWO FOOLS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE APPARENTLY).

In an effort to assuage my retardedness, I showed up at Marketplace yesterday armed with a girl's best weapons: cleavage, eyeliner, and more beer (significantly less beer than Thursday, but enough to unwind nerves of steel). The band played only for an hour and, while I would have preferred a longer set, there's only so much fair atmosphere that I can handle, especially when the girls dancing next to the stage were not wearing bras. So they finish the set and I start walking to talk to Ben Rudd when BAM! ATTACK OF THE CREEPY CHAPSTICK EAR MAN.

*Him: I'm Sebastian.
*Me: That's wonderful. Why are you wearing chapstick in your lobes?
*Him: Because I gauge them and I see you do too but I just make my own gauges.
*Me: You need to be hit by a clue-by-four.
*Him: I haven't had sex in a year and a half.
*Me: K, gotta pee.

I seriously paraphrased that conversation - it lasted closer to fifteen minutes and by the time I got back from the porta-potty (oh wonderful) the band was done packing their stuff up and hanging out backstage. And there were bouncers blocking the exit.

FML.

But never fear, beer to the rescue. I walked confidently past the bouncer, who spun around and asked me where the hell I thought I was going, to which I replied "LEAVING." Apparently that was enough for the peanut gallery and he turned his back to me... so I quickly changed my trajectory and headed towards the band and then I hear Ben Rudd go "you DID make it!"

Why yes, yes I did.

And I managed to keep my get-it-on humpy move all to myself, TYVM.

We all introduced ourselves to eachother (Ben Rudd is actually named Matt, and Dane Cook is Dave... whaddya know, people have real names) and I apologized for my creepiness the night before (Utica Club happens, folks, and it's typically not a pretty picture). I talked with them and Walt (the bass player) and their friend Kristie for close to an hour... and was pleasantly surprised with how NOT awkward the whole situation was. I mean, I was standing in a circle with people who have known eachother for years and they just know me as the alcoholic creeper that shows up drunk to their shows - and it was actually more comfortable than hanging out with some people I consider my friends.

(Yeah, the lightbulb went on.)

After parting ways, I went back to Joe's all fired up. We all went downtown to Half Penny - I've been telling Chris Dousharm for months that I'll come see his band and something always comes up when he plays, so I had to make it this time. Once again, I spent a good amount of time just shooting the shit about the old days with him... back when Bill and Mike were raspberry and pineapple and we named our band Part-Time Punk and how we used to go mini-golfing all the time (and allllll that). Joe and his friends all left, but I stayed to watch them play. Then I met some Eagle Scouts doing a bar crawl and went to Kitty Hoynes with them, only to get a free drink from Kristin. It was one last perfect weekend in Syracuse...and a good ending to the last four years.

I'm pretty stoked to be moving home. As much as it sucks that I'm going to be stuck in the sticks, it'll be good for me to get out of this "me me me" city and spend time with more down-to-earth people. I don't think I'll miss this place. I think I've grabbed what Syracuse had to offer and exhausted its possibilities and it's time for something new....

(Ok, now I go get Wendy's chili. Perfect hangover cure!)