That question I try not to ask myself has been hop-scotching through my thoughts quite frequently as of late. I'm a few days away from being done with my fall semester of my fourth year at Youngstown State University and I have zero emotion about it besides glad it's going to be a break.
The thing is this semester was easy and I'll be the first to admit I didn't try as hard as I should have. I breezed through some classes and spent all my time focusing on Fiction Writing. I wrote more stories than necessary and focused more on finishing obscure flash fiction stories about fucking in public places than I did doing important "upper division" work. So, I have this proposal due which is the first assignment that truly relates to my major and as I've suffered through it all I can think is, "I hate this."
I was writing a proposal for a non-profit Youngstown based organization that I truly believe has some good projects going on, yet all I can think about is how I do NOT want to be doing it. I'm starting to retreat and think moving away and finding a job somewhere is more appealing than having a degree. I clearly understand that not having a degree is not a smart decision to make, but with connections and opportunities I've had lately I think working my way up somewhere is almost smarter than me continuing to BARELY get by with Cs in school. The people I've been meeting and experiences I've been having are teaching me more than I've been taught at school ( I know obviously education is important and things I learn in school I won't learn in the "real world", but right now that seems irrelevant.)
I've been hanging out and playing music with a kid who buys antiques and re-sells them. That is literally ALL he does. He buys things and sells them. Some years he has made almost a six-digit salary. What the shit? I'm going to be going to school til 2013-14 (hopefully) and here's a kid who didn't go to college and is making enough money to own a house and music studio, because he buys things and then sells them.
Everything I feel accomplished about from this semester has almost nothing to do with school, besides the fiction stories. I have been involved on some project building and made some relationships that have been more beneficial to me than anything I've got since 2008 when I started attending YSU.
What am I doing with my life? I wish I could tell you, but I know that you're not going to tell me. I'll smooth talk my way into somewhere.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Public Display of Affection
9:00 p.m.
White Shoes – check.
White Shirt – check.
Light colored pants – check.
Popular men’s cologne – spritzed.
I walk out of my basement level condo. Step up four stairs, open a door, and I’m outside.
Twenty-one and a quarter steps and I’m in my garage. Three more steps and I’m in my car. Five-minute process max, depending on if the garage door is closed, meaning I need to put the code in.
Little things can add up.
9:15
A twelve-minute drive and I’m right on time. I like catching the previews. After the ticket booth, snack line and waiting on popcorn, two drinks, and a pack of Twizzlers, I’m in a good seat. Seven minutes max.
9:30
The previews go and she always shows up right after. She finds me and sits down, reaching straight for the package of Twizzlers. She is aware that I am watching her sensually eat the red vine of odd compounded non-toxic chemicals and sugars. She ever so softly coughs as an excuse to lean over and expose her cleavage as she takes a drink of her diet soda with no ice.
The movie begins after the cinema’s short bit on the rudeness that comes with using your cell phone during a motion picture.
10:15
Half an hour is the time a movie plays before a clerk comes in with his orange-coned flashlight. He or she walks up and down the aisles and then over to the exit for who knows what reason.
I’m convinced it’s to look for contraband. Contraband being food from outside the cinema’s dark carpet covered walls. Where Twizzlers are two dollars instead of eight.
We always see the movie that’s been out the longest, the one that is most likely to be empty.
10:17
The clerk walks out.
She. The one sitting next to me un-buttons her sweater, carefully slipping it off and placing it onto the back of her chair. The popcorn is then removed from my lap. The fly on my pants is un-zipped. Her mouth, loosened up from the Twizzler, breathes air into the open fly of my lightest of light brown corduroy pants. Light brown because the white creamy stains don’t sit as noticeably on them. Dark brown pants are the difference between going unnoticed or getting dirty looks while walking out.
10:47
Only take a half hour maximum.
Someone could come back in. A lot of times clerks check theatres every half hour.
So, if you’re on a date in some girly romance movie, pay attention to how many times the clerk checks the theatre to find out how long you’ve been suffering in there. Then you won’t have to look rude checking your watch or phone in-between every scene.
For a situation like mine, remember a half hour or you could get caught. An establishment like this doesn’t take too lightly to public displays of affection. And this goes way beyond tonsil hockey. This is flesh-smacking flesh. This is holding our hands over each other’s mouths so the moans aren’t audible.
11:58
We say nothing. She puts her hand in mine and lifts it to her face. She pulls out my middle finger. Deep throats it and releases it with a suctioned pop. She places her jacket back over her torso and walks out right before the credits roll.
I’ve been told, “You should do that at a porn theatre.”
I always reply, “Porn theatres always have people in there late,” I laugh and add, “and the movie we choose to see is always terrible anyways, so we aren’t missing anything.”
They say something along the lines of, “I just don’t get it. I could never do it in public, that’s nerve wrecking and kind of freaky.”
Once again, I always reply, “That’s exactly it.”
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Happiness is only real when shared.
If I have learned one thing this summer, it's that my friendships are better than I've ever realized. You live and you learn. I had anticipated the end of July for one major reason... camping. A weekend with all my best friends and a time that would undoubtedly be the best time. The group consisted of:
Myself
Jake Moyers
Jason Wang
Matt Kleiner
Mike Starr
Chris McClelland
Andrew Katz
Tyler Barnes
and last but certainly not least, Sarah McCree
We were ready. A lot of times we all come up with great ideas and never actually pursue doing them, but this time was different. We all got hyped up and got a camp site at Salt Fork State Park and made that shit go down. We all had a mental countdown for when we were going to be leaving. Friday morning came and I was awake like it was Christmas morning, I felt like I was five years old again. I texted everyone I was picking up before I jumped in the shower. Chris was the first to respond and ready to go. I got him, went to the bank, grabbed Wang, grabbed Matt, and then Jake. We just had to wait for Tyler to bring Sarah and Katz to bring Mike.
My group was so hype we worked up an appetite and due to our obvious punctuality we had time to get Page's while the others were going slow, or so we thought. When leaving Pages, as Tyler and Sarah were on there way to my house I got a call from Mike Starr. It went something like this:
Mike: Where the fuck is Katz dude? Have you fucking talked to him because I've been waiting for two fucking hours?
Me: I just talked to him and I thought he already picked you up.
Mike: No dude, he fucking talked to me hours ago and hasn't fucking answered since.
Me: He said he was almost to your house and then said you guys needed gas.
Mike: What the fuck, he isn't here. I'm gonna flip out in ten fucking minutes.
Me: Well he has to at least be close, he is the slowest person ever.
I was glad to see Mike was pumped up and wanting to leave. I still assume Katz was having a threesome with high class hookers since he has a lot of money and an expensive car. (ladies: he is single.) My group arrived and Tyler and Sarah pulled in shortly after. We had a ton of shit to load and had all of it packed and ready to go before we heard from Katz. He may have taken a long time, but all in all who gives a fuck. We got there on time.
We got a sneek peak at the Kid Detective songs on the way up. Tyler drove Sarah, Matt, Chris, and myself. We made that car ride go quick. There was a little confusion over a parking situation at Tyler's house, but that road bump was passed over in a heartbeat. We had no clue what was happening in the vehicle Katz was driving, but we knew oral sex was involved. About 45 minutes from our destination I got a call from Katz that went something like this :
Katz: Hey man, you guys go ahead because I have to pull over and go piss in the woods.
Me: Are you serious? You can't hold it?
Katz: I've been holding it for so long, just go ahead and we'll catch up.
About ten minutes later I got a text from Jake of a picture of Katz peeing. As we got closer we could see the red canoe strapped to the top of Katz' Suburban catching up to us. We were ready to roll in to that state park like the gang of hooligans we are.
It was hot. I stepped out of the car and felt the sweat beads gather on my forehead. Sarah ran around looking for a place to pee and was unsuccessful. We got parking passes and directions and where to go and were on our way. The park was huge, but gorgeous. The campsites weren't too personal, but we had two of them and plenty of room. It looked like the perfect weekend was ready to start, but mother-fucker nature had different plans for us. We got out and started to put up the giant 12 person tent that Tyler's step-dad gave us. Turns out one set of poles had gotten damaged. Half the group went for fishing licenses while the other went to Walmart for groceries and string to fix the poles. Tyler stayed back at the camp to wait for the fishers to come back. Chris already had his tent up.
I was in the grocery group with Wang, Chris, and Sarah. We came to find that we underestimated how much food 8 dudes could eat and drink. We spent over $200 easy on groceries and beer and liquor for the long island cooler. We spent even more on charcoal, fluid, and ice. Once again, who gives a fuck, it was money well spent. In the middle of grocery shopping I got a call from Matt...
Matt: Where are you guys? Is the wood all right?
Me: I'm not sure what you're talking about..
Matt: It is pouring rain...
Me: Shit, the wood is uncovered in the back of Tyler's truck. Try to cover it.
Matt: You guys have the truck.
Me: Oh damn.
After that we started to hear thunder and then started to hear Sarah say, "Aw Tyler is at the campsite alone!" and it did make me sad. We checked out and as we started loading groceries the sky opened up. It was an onslaught of rain. Huge, cold drops were being blown right at us. We all jumped in the car and as we drove even the highest setting for the windshield wipers could not keep the roads visible. We pulled in to a liquor store and debated actually getting out or not. Me and Chris manned up and jumped out of the car. Instantly drenched.
We drove back to the site and the sun started to peak out. The remaining men were back in the grass trying to set up the camp. The whole place was soaked and our wood followed suit. Tyler managed to save Wang's bag and also Chris' tent. Our optimism had started to get spent after the spending at the store, broken tent, and monsoon.
The lunch meat that was once questioned as to if we really needed it was the first thing open and sandwiches were made. Matt Kleiner used some Greek power to fix the tent poles... without the tent repair kits that we spent $15 on. The camp looked like a camp. Optimism was rising and the cornhole started... I won't say much about that, except Mike Starr and Myself are virtually unbeatable.
Before I go on I will credit Sarah for putting up with eight tight knit dudes that have fucked up conversations and do a lot of odd, fucked up things. She kept our shit together between cleaning and getting us going in the morning. Even thought it was earlier than any of us wake up, we would've wasted precious hours without us hearing, "It's 9 o'clock when did you guys want to get up?"
After the rain set back and extra hours of setting up camp and drying everything out, Matt, Mike, Jake, and Wang went fishing and the rest of us went swimming. We were within walking distance of the lake and it was beautiful. Good scenery and warm ass water. We changed behind some port-a-potties that smelled like absolute shit, I to this minute still question how Tyler could have possibly pissed in the shitty smelling toilet and by shitty, I mean an absolutely awful shit smell. I opened the door and in .07 seconds gagged. Anyways, the lake was refreshing. It felt good to be outdoors and just out of Youngstown.
We finished up and walked the hill back up to our campsite. We got some charcoal going for hot dogs and waited for the fishers to come back. They came back empty handed, Mike and Jake would have to wait for their chance to fillet a fish. The arrival of the fishing group meant it was time for Matt to do his thing with the ground beef. We got a fire going as the smoke dried the wood out. We all grabbed burgers and started to chill. We had dug into the beer and long island cooler a while prior to the sun setting, but there was plenty left. Jake got ahead of all of us at some point. He was falling on the grass. Stumbling everywhere. and eventually passing out in his chair.
The MVP of the camping trip was Katz by a landslide. He didn't come under prepared, he came prepared to rough it. Dressed only with his Garth Brooks T-shirt and swim trunks, no deodorant, no toothbrush, no towel. Chris McCandless would've been proud.. besides the iPhone. Katz was full of witty comments and took shit from no one. The wilderness brought out the beast within the proper young man that we all know as Master Katz. One of my favorite Katz quotes from the weekend happened while we were hiking a trail to the old stone house..
Mike: Katz I keep looking down expecting to see your mom on her knees.
Katz: Yeah, praying that you'll leave her alone.
Day one had turned around from the gloomy start we had and we all went to bed ready for a full day.
The tent. That pain in the ass to get up tent was also a sauna, but none of us were aware of that. I would've rather slept above the fire on a spit than in that tent. I woke up the next morning and looked down at the light gray shirt I put on last night and saw now a darker gray shirt, soaked with sweat. Our pillows had sweat marks from our heads and the hot sun felt better than the inside of that tent.
My shoes had vomit on them. "Did someone puke?"
"That was me." Tyler grunted from the tent.
We started the day off by showering and all that civilized bullshit. Katz kind of showered.. he didn't bring soap or a toothbrush. Katz idea of showering while camping was rinse off, use Mike Starr's towel, and then put back on his Garth Brooks cut off and the same pair of swim trunks. Post showering we started a fire and made eggs, toast, and bacon. Jake's $26 pan got used a little bit at least.
Chris was a huge asset to the group and also the newest "recruit." He is a great dude and also has a vast knowledge of Salt Fork, which came in handy. He knew the cool trails and what we should see and also knew how to get us around.
We needed to swim. It was extremely hot. I knew we would end up sun burnt despite the attention we gave to sunscreen and our shoulders. At first we tried the pool, just to have some clean water, but it was packed. We agreed, 'fuck it we're camping, let's go to the beach.' We went to a beach farther away from our campsite, which turned out to be a bad idea. Some weird sperm looking, mosquito shells littered the water and they were just creepy looking. We all decided to leave and go to the beach near our site. It was a good decision. The water was warm, almost like people are constantly pissing in the water. We threw around a Frisbee and football and just chilled. That's what it was all about, a group of best friends, all being together and loving life.
Katz, Jake, and Mike took away the joy of canoeing, so everyone else went back to make some lunch and kick it. More hot dogs, except this time Sarah ate a vegan hot dog, which I was interested in trying.. I will try one later, you'll see. Katz, Mike, and Jake showed up as we were gonna drive back to the pool and count that as a type of "shower", chlorine kind of cleans you up. Katz jumped in and Mike and Jake stayed back to do what we all know they always do.
The pool. Another shining moment from the wild beast within Katz. We get there and Katz decided he wants a pina colada, the problem was they only would charge the drink to the room. This was a problem because we didn't have a room and really weren't suppose to be there. Katz tried to play it off cool, but they were on to us. We then went inside to find everyone who went in to find bathrooms. Me and Katz got slightly lost due to the inefficiency of their floor maps. We eventually found the indoor pool and I noticed that you needed a key card to get in. I informed Katz of this, but he still shook the handle hoping to get in to the pool. People were giving us the stink eye. Katz then turned around and noticed an ice cream bar.. I don't think he wanted ice cream, but he did want to know if they also only charged to the room.
Katz: Hi, I was just wondering if you guys took credit cards or what..
Lady: No, we can charge it to your room.
Katz: Ahhh, interesting.
He doesn't say anything else, turns around, and walks away. Everyone knows we are intruders. We do end up in the pool. Katz ended up with Pina Coladas after he macked on some rich cougar. She tried to take him up to the room, I think it was the Garth Brooks shirt and his natural scent from saying fuck it to cleanliness.
We all got back together outside of the lodge. Mike and Jake got in Katz's Suburban (without katz) and everyone else piled into Tyler's truck bed, because that's American as fuck. A fun drive ensued. Mike and Jake were on our ass and Wang finally said, "Hey am I allowed to throw something at your car Katz?" Obviously it was going to happen so we unloaded everything that couldn't damage the car on to them and then we hit a stop sign. Mike brought a container of cookies that ended up not being eaten, but balled up and thrown at everyone in the back of the truck. It was an all out roar, straight fire fight. I think Mike and Jake won. One of my favorite Katz one liners happened on the drive to the trails, Tyler had on a country station and Katz raised his fist and punched towards the sky. He only did so for about five seconds before saying, "Hey, got any Garth?"
Mike and I tore apart all comers in cornhole. Fuck them haters.
Before we started a fire and chilled for the night we went to check out a few trails, which were very cool. Sarah didn't climb the cave, which is allowed because she is a girl. Wang didn't climb the cave, which isn't okay because he is NOT supposed to have a vagina. The top of the cave was incredible and definitely pretty high up there. It took the camping to a new experience for me, it wasn't just hanging out and cooking and swimming. I was somewhere I hadn't been, somewhere that took some work to get to and had made it to the top.
The last night consisted of more beer and Chris chugging a bottle of pineapple rum, which was a great decision, one of the best decisions. We ate and drank and just hung out. We played bullshit and drank. We drank and talked. We got drunk. One by one people fell like flies. The last three standing were myself, Tyler, and Chris. I did assume me and Tyler would usually be up the latest. The three of us just kicked it, literally.. we kicked everything that remained in our coolers. We ripped through everything and chucked stuff in to the woods, including my broken chair. We shook beer cans and punted them far in to the trees. Then I pulled Sarah's vegan dogs out of the bloody water and ice, and I decided I wanted it. I bit into it raw, and started gagging. I kept the vomit in, but bless that girl, because I don't know how she eats the shiiiit. Steak > vegan dogs.
As I sat there with Chris and Tyler deciding if we should put the fire out and try to sleep, we all talked about the weekend. How it was amazing to get all of our friends to go together and that we should do it more often and I hope that happens. I hope all of us go once a year until our lives just don't allow it. Katz once said to me outside of Denny's at 3 a.m. "It's weird to say, but I go to bars around here or in Hubbard and see older men like fifty plus and they sit there and talk about high school and all that and I really think that's cool and kind of hope that I'm friends with people for that long." I've never considered who I'll be friends with in thirty years, but I can only hope it's the same friends I have now. It's completely unrealistic to think all of us or even myself stays here. The thing is if it did happen, I would be completely content, because as I've said many times before, I have the best friends. Positive people that don't get involved in shit and back up each other with anything. We don't make issues and we don't add to any problems. So, here's to being old bastards together and having a beer after work... most likely at Shakers.
I love you all.
Myself
Jake Moyers
Jason Wang
Matt Kleiner
Mike Starr
Chris McClelland
Andrew Katz
Tyler Barnes
and last but certainly not least, Sarah McCree
We were ready. A lot of times we all come up with great ideas and never actually pursue doing them, but this time was different. We all got hyped up and got a camp site at Salt Fork State Park and made that shit go down. We all had a mental countdown for when we were going to be leaving. Friday morning came and I was awake like it was Christmas morning, I felt like I was five years old again. I texted everyone I was picking up before I jumped in the shower. Chris was the first to respond and ready to go. I got him, went to the bank, grabbed Wang, grabbed Matt, and then Jake. We just had to wait for Tyler to bring Sarah and Katz to bring Mike.
My group was so hype we worked up an appetite and due to our obvious punctuality we had time to get Page's while the others were going slow, or so we thought. When leaving Pages, as Tyler and Sarah were on there way to my house I got a call from Mike Starr. It went something like this:
Mike: Where the fuck is Katz dude? Have you fucking talked to him because I've been waiting for two fucking hours?
Me: I just talked to him and I thought he already picked you up.
Mike: No dude, he fucking talked to me hours ago and hasn't fucking answered since.
Me: He said he was almost to your house and then said you guys needed gas.
Mike: What the fuck, he isn't here. I'm gonna flip out in ten fucking minutes.
Me: Well he has to at least be close, he is the slowest person ever.
I was glad to see Mike was pumped up and wanting to leave. I still assume Katz was having a threesome with high class hookers since he has a lot of money and an expensive car. (ladies: he is single.) My group arrived and Tyler and Sarah pulled in shortly after. We had a ton of shit to load and had all of it packed and ready to go before we heard from Katz. He may have taken a long time, but all in all who gives a fuck. We got there on time.
We got a sneek peak at the Kid Detective songs on the way up. Tyler drove Sarah, Matt, Chris, and myself. We made that car ride go quick. There was a little confusion over a parking situation at Tyler's house, but that road bump was passed over in a heartbeat. We had no clue what was happening in the vehicle Katz was driving, but we knew oral sex was involved. About 45 minutes from our destination I got a call from Katz that went something like this :
Katz: Hey man, you guys go ahead because I have to pull over and go piss in the woods.
Me: Are you serious? You can't hold it?
Katz: I've been holding it for so long, just go ahead and we'll catch up.
About ten minutes later I got a text from Jake of a picture of Katz peeing. As we got closer we could see the red canoe strapped to the top of Katz' Suburban catching up to us. We were ready to roll in to that state park like the gang of hooligans we are.
It was hot. I stepped out of the car and felt the sweat beads gather on my forehead. Sarah ran around looking for a place to pee and was unsuccessful. We got parking passes and directions and where to go and were on our way. The park was huge, but gorgeous. The campsites weren't too personal, but we had two of them and plenty of room. It looked like the perfect weekend was ready to start, but mother-fucker nature had different plans for us. We got out and started to put up the giant 12 person tent that Tyler's step-dad gave us. Turns out one set of poles had gotten damaged. Half the group went for fishing licenses while the other went to Walmart for groceries and string to fix the poles. Tyler stayed back at the camp to wait for the fishers to come back. Chris already had his tent up.
I was in the grocery group with Wang, Chris, and Sarah. We came to find that we underestimated how much food 8 dudes could eat and drink. We spent over $200 easy on groceries and beer and liquor for the long island cooler. We spent even more on charcoal, fluid, and ice. Once again, who gives a fuck, it was money well spent. In the middle of grocery shopping I got a call from Matt...
Matt: Where are you guys? Is the wood all right?
Me: I'm not sure what you're talking about..
Matt: It is pouring rain...
Me: Shit, the wood is uncovered in the back of Tyler's truck. Try to cover it.
Matt: You guys have the truck.
Me: Oh damn.
After that we started to hear thunder and then started to hear Sarah say, "Aw Tyler is at the campsite alone!" and it did make me sad. We checked out and as we started loading groceries the sky opened up. It was an onslaught of rain. Huge, cold drops were being blown right at us. We all jumped in the car and as we drove even the highest setting for the windshield wipers could not keep the roads visible. We pulled in to a liquor store and debated actually getting out or not. Me and Chris manned up and jumped out of the car. Instantly drenched.
We drove back to the site and the sun started to peak out. The remaining men were back in the grass trying to set up the camp. The whole place was soaked and our wood followed suit. Tyler managed to save Wang's bag and also Chris' tent. Our optimism had started to get spent after the spending at the store, broken tent, and monsoon.
The lunch meat that was once questioned as to if we really needed it was the first thing open and sandwiches were made. Matt Kleiner used some Greek power to fix the tent poles... without the tent repair kits that we spent $15 on. The camp looked like a camp. Optimism was rising and the cornhole started... I won't say much about that, except Mike Starr and Myself are virtually unbeatable.
Before I go on I will credit Sarah for putting up with eight tight knit dudes that have fucked up conversations and do a lot of odd, fucked up things. She kept our shit together between cleaning and getting us going in the morning. Even thought it was earlier than any of us wake up, we would've wasted precious hours without us hearing, "It's 9 o'clock when did you guys want to get up?"
After the rain set back and extra hours of setting up camp and drying everything out, Matt, Mike, Jake, and Wang went fishing and the rest of us went swimming. We were within walking distance of the lake and it was beautiful. Good scenery and warm ass water. We changed behind some port-a-potties that smelled like absolute shit, I to this minute still question how Tyler could have possibly pissed in the shitty smelling toilet and by shitty, I mean an absolutely awful shit smell. I opened the door and in .07 seconds gagged. Anyways, the lake was refreshing. It felt good to be outdoors and just out of Youngstown.
We finished up and walked the hill back up to our campsite. We got some charcoal going for hot dogs and waited for the fishers to come back. They came back empty handed, Mike and Jake would have to wait for their chance to fillet a fish. The arrival of the fishing group meant it was time for Matt to do his thing with the ground beef. We got a fire going as the smoke dried the wood out. We all grabbed burgers and started to chill. We had dug into the beer and long island cooler a while prior to the sun setting, but there was plenty left. Jake got ahead of all of us at some point. He was falling on the grass. Stumbling everywhere. and eventually passing out in his chair.
The MVP of the camping trip was Katz by a landslide. He didn't come under prepared, he came prepared to rough it. Dressed only with his Garth Brooks T-shirt and swim trunks, no deodorant, no toothbrush, no towel. Chris McCandless would've been proud.. besides the iPhone. Katz was full of witty comments and took shit from no one. The wilderness brought out the beast within the proper young man that we all know as Master Katz. One of my favorite Katz quotes from the weekend happened while we were hiking a trail to the old stone house..
Mike: Katz I keep looking down expecting to see your mom on her knees.
Katz: Yeah, praying that you'll leave her alone.
Day one had turned around from the gloomy start we had and we all went to bed ready for a full day.
The tent. That pain in the ass to get up tent was also a sauna, but none of us were aware of that. I would've rather slept above the fire on a spit than in that tent. I woke up the next morning and looked down at the light gray shirt I put on last night and saw now a darker gray shirt, soaked with sweat. Our pillows had sweat marks from our heads and the hot sun felt better than the inside of that tent.
My shoes had vomit on them. "Did someone puke?"
"That was me." Tyler grunted from the tent.
We started the day off by showering and all that civilized bullshit. Katz kind of showered.. he didn't bring soap or a toothbrush. Katz idea of showering while camping was rinse off, use Mike Starr's towel, and then put back on his Garth Brooks cut off and the same pair of swim trunks. Post showering we started a fire and made eggs, toast, and bacon. Jake's $26 pan got used a little bit at least.
Chris was a huge asset to the group and also the newest "recruit." He is a great dude and also has a vast knowledge of Salt Fork, which came in handy. He knew the cool trails and what we should see and also knew how to get us around.
We needed to swim. It was extremely hot. I knew we would end up sun burnt despite the attention we gave to sunscreen and our shoulders. At first we tried the pool, just to have some clean water, but it was packed. We agreed, 'fuck it we're camping, let's go to the beach.' We went to a beach farther away from our campsite, which turned out to be a bad idea. Some weird sperm looking, mosquito shells littered the water and they were just creepy looking. We all decided to leave and go to the beach near our site. It was a good decision. The water was warm, almost like people are constantly pissing in the water. We threw around a Frisbee and football and just chilled. That's what it was all about, a group of best friends, all being together and loving life.
Katz, Jake, and Mike took away the joy of canoeing, so everyone else went back to make some lunch and kick it. More hot dogs, except this time Sarah ate a vegan hot dog, which I was interested in trying.. I will try one later, you'll see. Katz, Mike, and Jake showed up as we were gonna drive back to the pool and count that as a type of "shower", chlorine kind of cleans you up. Katz jumped in and Mike and Jake stayed back to do what we all know they always do.
The pool. Another shining moment from the wild beast within Katz. We get there and Katz decided he wants a pina colada, the problem was they only would charge the drink to the room. This was a problem because we didn't have a room and really weren't suppose to be there. Katz tried to play it off cool, but they were on to us. We then went inside to find everyone who went in to find bathrooms. Me and Katz got slightly lost due to the inefficiency of their floor maps. We eventually found the indoor pool and I noticed that you needed a key card to get in. I informed Katz of this, but he still shook the handle hoping to get in to the pool. People were giving us the stink eye. Katz then turned around and noticed an ice cream bar.. I don't think he wanted ice cream, but he did want to know if they also only charged to the room.
Katz: Hi, I was just wondering if you guys took credit cards or what..
Lady: No, we can charge it to your room.
Katz: Ahhh, interesting.
He doesn't say anything else, turns around, and walks away. Everyone knows we are intruders. We do end up in the pool. Katz ended up with Pina Coladas after he macked on some rich cougar. She tried to take him up to the room, I think it was the Garth Brooks shirt and his natural scent from saying fuck it to cleanliness.
We all got back together outside of the lodge. Mike and Jake got in Katz's Suburban (without katz) and everyone else piled into Tyler's truck bed, because that's American as fuck. A fun drive ensued. Mike and Jake were on our ass and Wang finally said, "Hey am I allowed to throw something at your car Katz?" Obviously it was going to happen so we unloaded everything that couldn't damage the car on to them and then we hit a stop sign. Mike brought a container of cookies that ended up not being eaten, but balled up and thrown at everyone in the back of the truck. It was an all out roar, straight fire fight. I think Mike and Jake won. One of my favorite Katz one liners happened on the drive to the trails, Tyler had on a country station and Katz raised his fist and punched towards the sky. He only did so for about five seconds before saying, "Hey, got any Garth?"
Mike and I tore apart all comers in cornhole. Fuck them haters.
Before we started a fire and chilled for the night we went to check out a few trails, which were very cool. Sarah didn't climb the cave, which is allowed because she is a girl. Wang didn't climb the cave, which isn't okay because he is NOT supposed to have a vagina. The top of the cave was incredible and definitely pretty high up there. It took the camping to a new experience for me, it wasn't just hanging out and cooking and swimming. I was somewhere I hadn't been, somewhere that took some work to get to and had made it to the top.
The last night consisted of more beer and Chris chugging a bottle of pineapple rum, which was a great decision, one of the best decisions. We ate and drank and just hung out. We played bullshit and drank. We drank and talked. We got drunk. One by one people fell like flies. The last three standing were myself, Tyler, and Chris. I did assume me and Tyler would usually be up the latest. The three of us just kicked it, literally.. we kicked everything that remained in our coolers. We ripped through everything and chucked stuff in to the woods, including my broken chair. We shook beer cans and punted them far in to the trees. Then I pulled Sarah's vegan dogs out of the bloody water and ice, and I decided I wanted it. I bit into it raw, and started gagging. I kept the vomit in, but bless that girl, because I don't know how she eats the shiiiit. Steak > vegan dogs.
As I sat there with Chris and Tyler deciding if we should put the fire out and try to sleep, we all talked about the weekend. How it was amazing to get all of our friends to go together and that we should do it more often and I hope that happens. I hope all of us go once a year until our lives just don't allow it. Katz once said to me outside of Denny's at 3 a.m. "It's weird to say, but I go to bars around here or in Hubbard and see older men like fifty plus and they sit there and talk about high school and all that and I really think that's cool and kind of hope that I'm friends with people for that long." I've never considered who I'll be friends with in thirty years, but I can only hope it's the same friends I have now. It's completely unrealistic to think all of us or even myself stays here. The thing is if it did happen, I would be completely content, because as I've said many times before, I have the best friends. Positive people that don't get involved in shit and back up each other with anything. We don't make issues and we don't add to any problems. So, here's to being old bastards together and having a beer after work... most likely at Shakers.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
And love's always been the message..
I was perfectly centered where I slept because that's what an air mattress does. Starts as a bed on a cloud and then you wake up partially on the ground. I felt like I didn't sleep at all, but you know how anticipation works. I staggered to the shower and turned the hot water on while I brushed my teeth. No time to make coffee so I turned the water up until it seemed like my skin was a step away from blistering. There's plenty of ways to awake your senses.
"Let's make a move," I told Jake and Joanne who were sleeping on the floor and couch, "Conor can't wait all day."
We stopped and got cheap breakfast and filled ourselves up. One pancake, side of bacon, side of home fries. Chew, swallow, sip of coffee, repeat. Since I couldn't make coffee when I got up our server gave Joanne and I a cup to go. Then it was on to Cleveland.
On the way there Jake theorized that our waitress roofied the coffees, because she was "undoubtedly a secret service agent." That is why he refused her offer for a free coffee. I continued to drink the coffee. The drive down was flooded with Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Monsters of Folk, and The Mystic Valley Band. My outlandish movements and singing caused Joanne to feel the need to switch to something different as we got further into the drive.
Expecting to drink more than we should an arrangement had been made to stay at a Hotel downtown that was only blocks away from the Concert venue. We ate at the House of Blues to get benefits to get in early. Which worked out because we were close enough to catch sweat droplets from Conor's hair. (we didn't really do that, just saying.)
After eating lunch the three of us went back to the hotel room to split a bottle of rum and an 18 of bud. We started drinking at 4:01 and Jake threw up at 4:56, I guess that summarizes the success of pre-gaming. We walked down to the venue and met some cool people. Played bullshit and drank $1 budweisers with the people near us. At one point Joanne and I walked out the back doors and happened to see Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott walking down the alley we yelled "Hey!" and walked over to them. Nate waved and we walked around the corner where we talked to Mike while Nate was in Lola. Mike was rad. He was a nice dude and talked to us about everything. He seemed excited to be playing again. At the end of our conversation I said, "Alright, well we'll let you get back to doing what you do." and Joanne and I turned to walk away and he said, "Well let's walk back together cause I'm going that way and I hate that awkward good-bye when you think you're going separate ways and then you creep back behind them and I'd watch you in front of me." I laughed because I knew exactly what he was talking about. We walked back and stood there for a second, he shook my hand and hugged Joanne and looked at us both and said, "See you later."
The concert was, for lack of a more creative and in your face word, incredible.
The opening band was The Mountain Goats and I was not too familiar with them. I was pleasantly surprised and they put on a fun show. During their last song the lead singer jumped down towards the crowd. The lead singer's eyes met my eyes and said, "I terrorize people with iPhones." He proceeded to grab my phone and record himself singing.. a great start to the concert.
After an agonizing 20 minutes of waiting for Bright Eyes to be set up, they walked out. I was initially disappointed that they didn't open up with Firewall, but the set list was perfect. They played so many great songs that I couldn't have been disappointed. I got chills when I heard Gold Mine Gutted. I got chills during many different points. Their extended, more intense version of Road to Joy was flawless. The whole concert was great.
After Conor Oberst said something along the lines of, "This is what happens when people depend on computers," and continued making a point, "we aren't computers and we're all still working."
The overheating of the equipment led to two of my favorite moments of the show. Conor and Nate on stage performing Lua and June on the West Coast. Conor stumbled over some of the words during June on the West Coast but it just added to how genuine the song was. He seemed completely invested into us, the crowd. The show crept on and every moment got better. During their last song of the encore, the concert was thrown into another level.
"One for you," Conor sang as he touched his own chest,
"and one for me," he sang as he pointed out to all of us.
"You and me, you and me, that is an awful lie, it's I and I."
Hands rose like swords being raised by warriors waiting to attack, which is what everyone did as he took a leap of faith into all of us. Me, along with everyone grabbed his hand and cheered. Could there be a better way to end a song with a message of togetherness? He landed right by me. Right by everyone and he continued singing and smiling and just enjoying the moment.
Earlier in the day two girls chased him through traffic towards the Arcade. While I did walk over and peak in, I felt bad for the two girls who had put themselves in apparent danger, especially someone like Conor who stays out of mainstream just to hopefully avoid being completely taken over by the media. I thought about this as Conor was on top of us, touching us, connecting to us and I felt a different side of Conor, because all I knew was his music, but the connection that show brought made me feel about him, how I think he wants us to feel about him. I'll leave you to decide how that is.
"Let's make a move," I told Jake and Joanne who were sleeping on the floor and couch, "Conor can't wait all day."
We stopped and got cheap breakfast and filled ourselves up. One pancake, side of bacon, side of home fries. Chew, swallow, sip of coffee, repeat. Since I couldn't make coffee when I got up our server gave Joanne and I a cup to go. Then it was on to Cleveland.
On the way there Jake theorized that our waitress roofied the coffees, because she was "undoubtedly a secret service agent." That is why he refused her offer for a free coffee. I continued to drink the coffee. The drive down was flooded with Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Monsters of Folk, and The Mystic Valley Band. My outlandish movements and singing caused Joanne to feel the need to switch to something different as we got further into the drive.
Expecting to drink more than we should an arrangement had been made to stay at a Hotel downtown that was only blocks away from the Concert venue. We ate at the House of Blues to get benefits to get in early. Which worked out because we were close enough to catch sweat droplets from Conor's hair. (we didn't really do that, just saying.)
After eating lunch the three of us went back to the hotel room to split a bottle of rum and an 18 of bud. We started drinking at 4:01 and Jake threw up at 4:56, I guess that summarizes the success of pre-gaming. We walked down to the venue and met some cool people. Played bullshit and drank $1 budweisers with the people near us. At one point Joanne and I walked out the back doors and happened to see Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott walking down the alley we yelled "Hey!" and walked over to them. Nate waved and we walked around the corner where we talked to Mike while Nate was in Lola. Mike was rad. He was a nice dude and talked to us about everything. He seemed excited to be playing again. At the end of our conversation I said, "Alright, well we'll let you get back to doing what you do." and Joanne and I turned to walk away and he said, "Well let's walk back together cause I'm going that way and I hate that awkward good-bye when you think you're going separate ways and then you creep back behind them and I'd watch you in front of me." I laughed because I knew exactly what he was talking about. We walked back and stood there for a second, he shook my hand and hugged Joanne and looked at us both and said, "See you later."
The concert was, for lack of a more creative and in your face word, incredible.
The opening band was The Mountain Goats and I was not too familiar with them. I was pleasantly surprised and they put on a fun show. During their last song the lead singer jumped down towards the crowd. The lead singer's eyes met my eyes and said, "I terrorize people with iPhones." He proceeded to grab my phone and record himself singing.. a great start to the concert.
After an agonizing 20 minutes of waiting for Bright Eyes to be set up, they walked out. I was initially disappointed that they didn't open up with Firewall, but the set list was perfect. They played so many great songs that I couldn't have been disappointed. I got chills when I heard Gold Mine Gutted. I got chills during many different points. Their extended, more intense version of Road to Joy was flawless. The whole concert was great.
After Conor Oberst said something along the lines of, "This is what happens when people depend on computers," and continued making a point, "we aren't computers and we're all still working."
The overheating of the equipment led to two of my favorite moments of the show. Conor and Nate on stage performing Lua and June on the West Coast. Conor stumbled over some of the words during June on the West Coast but it just added to how genuine the song was. He seemed completely invested into us, the crowd. The show crept on and every moment got better. During their last song of the encore, the concert was thrown into another level.
"One for you," Conor sang as he touched his own chest,
"and one for me," he sang as he pointed out to all of us.
"You and me, you and me, that is an awful lie, it's I and I."
Hands rose like swords being raised by warriors waiting to attack, which is what everyone did as he took a leap of faith into all of us. Me, along with everyone grabbed his hand and cheered. Could there be a better way to end a song with a message of togetherness? He landed right by me. Right by everyone and he continued singing and smiling and just enjoying the moment.
Earlier in the day two girls chased him through traffic towards the Arcade. While I did walk over and peak in, I felt bad for the two girls who had put themselves in apparent danger, especially someone like Conor who stays out of mainstream just to hopefully avoid being completely taken over by the media. I thought about this as Conor was on top of us, touching us, connecting to us and I felt a different side of Conor, because all I knew was his music, but the connection that show brought made me feel about him, how I think he wants us to feel about him. I'll leave you to decide how that is.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Just the smell of the summer can make me fall in love
Summer started off strong. Bonfires. Swimming. Ya know, what I was expecting the summer to be like. Things change, momentum shifts and all of a sudden what was happening no longer could happen.. No exact details necessary. Anyways after what could have been my worst day of summer had begun, I decided that it wasn't going to be my worst day. New found freedom can be taken as loneliness or opportunity. I hate moping around and being disappointed/negative/anything like that. I don't like to be down in the dumps, I'm social. I have fun no matter what the situation is and can hold a conversation with anyone, hate them or love them. I'll find good in anyone, and anyone that wants my company must at least be interesting enough for me to talk to a little. Why live life assuming the worst and trying to avoid everyone?
Anyways, my "worst" day of summer... I take a nap and shake it off and head to the bar for the Indians game. As the bar tender continued slipping us drinks and as I confidently felt my smooth talking abilities climb up inside me I knew I would be fine. Which was proven to be true.. once again, no exact details necessary. But I got home the next day at about 7 am, on no sleep, just thinking "Damn.. life is crazy." So cliche and simple and whatever else you want to say about it. But after something so negative happened all I can think is that I've had the best summer I've ever had.. if there's such a thing as too much fun, trust me I could say I have..
I've got some of the best friends that could be found.. legit. There is a wide range of us as well.. and about a core 8-9 people that are practically a brotherhood. We never say it or try to break down how we all became friends and how we all became so tight, but it happened. And there's no other group of people I'd like to be bullshitting with til 5 in the morning every day. Our times are great times because they are. Some other people may not understand our humor, or what we do, how we act. But we all get it and that's what counts. There's no bullshit, it's all good.
And this Summer is not yet over.. there are more fires to come. more beer to drink. more crown to throw up. more camping. more everything. and after everything I've realized that a bad thing is only a bad thing if you let it be bad. I woke up and smelled the summer and that was enough to make me fall in love. I've met and hung out with more people in the last month or so than i have in the last 18 months and having these experiences and figuring out where I'm going and what my strengths are has made what could have been a disastrous summer into something much, much more worth while.
Anyways, my "worst" day of summer... I take a nap and shake it off and head to the bar for the Indians game. As the bar tender continued slipping us drinks and as I confidently felt my smooth talking abilities climb up inside me I knew I would be fine. Which was proven to be true.. once again, no exact details necessary. But I got home the next day at about 7 am, on no sleep, just thinking "Damn.. life is crazy." So cliche and simple and whatever else you want to say about it. But after something so negative happened all I can think is that I've had the best summer I've ever had.. if there's such a thing as too much fun, trust me I could say I have..
I've got some of the best friends that could be found.. legit. There is a wide range of us as well.. and about a core 8-9 people that are practically a brotherhood. We never say it or try to break down how we all became friends and how we all became so tight, but it happened. And there's no other group of people I'd like to be bullshitting with til 5 in the morning every day. Our times are great times because they are. Some other people may not understand our humor, or what we do, how we act. But we all get it and that's what counts. There's no bullshit, it's all good.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
For the Kite Flyers
I just went on iTunes and bought Korey Dane's album, "For the Kite Flyers" and in one word it's amazing. I just recently found out about this guy (within the last 48 hours) and the first song I heard hooked me in. He has turned his simple, soothing guitar style into something different than what's common these days, he looks like he's straight out of the 50s or 60s. His voice is great and his lyrics are equally as good. If you're ever looking for someone new and easy to like, download, listen to, or buy anything of his you can find. I won't go through a song by song review of the CD because I love them all. I'll throw some videos of his that I enjoy down below.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Bunnies lay eggs?
Today is Easter, a day I typically don't care about. I want to get to wherever I'm going for lunch or dinner, eat with my family and leave before the Indians game is over. This year is a little different, my girlfriend's family is joining my family and I'm slow to say I'm a bit excited. I have never had a girlfriend that I've brought to Easter or even any holiday related family gathering. I can't wait to load my plate with ham, turkey, potatoes made different ways, deviled eggs, Easter bread, salad, corn casserole. It's a holiday, fuck calorie counting. We have this banana cake from one sick bakery and I'm going to stuff my face with it. Cream cheese frosting that coats your mouth with a sugary glaze. I ate light the last two days, dropped an extra 1.5 pounds and I'm gaining it all back today and I'll deal with diet and exercise starting tomorrow. Eat on Easter. I remember once, I was in the 6-8 year old range, I ate a two pound chocolate bunny on Easter. My family was amazed, not because I ate the whole thing, but because I ate dinner, the whole bunny, and didn't throw up. Bring it on Easter, I've got your number.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Horror Screenplay Contest
After the Indians TERRIBLE loss, I started thinking about a project I've been working on. There's a "Horror Movie Screenplay Contest" that runs twice a year and myself and a friend have been working on a screenplay. I can't really give away details of the script and story, but we're both psyched on the idea and compared to winners of previous contests, we're confident that a superior writing job could definitely get us recognized as one of the top three scripts. If you win a spot you get a cash prize and your script gets sent to movie studios that specialize in horror movie making. I just started sketching out our main character and I'm impressed with what we came up with. It's got a classic "slasher" feel, but isn't simply a run and kill movie. The story and little twists within our idea create something elevated past a simple horror movie. There will be blood. There will be anxiousness. There will be loving characters and hating characters. The tough part is finishing out the next few weeks of school and having the whole scene summary, character analysis, and 100 page script typed and revised by July 30th. There is time, but script writing is tedious and the "correct" way of writing a script has a lot of rules. Spacing, line breaks, tabs, etc. It's tough. Luckily I have taken a script writing class and have already written one script. It's nice to have something you're excited about and want to finish and the fact that my friend is a horror movie maniac and has scene probably 90% of horror movies ever made really helps with developing ideas and deciding if we're going to add in something that's over done. It's 2011 pretty much everything has been attempted, but we do have a fresh idea and are just hoping to have a solid project. well written script. and sell the idea to whoever is judging ours. We'll find out in a few months.
Cleveland Indians & Baseball
I'm so psyched on being a Tribe fan right now. We haven't been off to this good of a start since the 90s and it is great. The only other team with our record is the Rockies leaving us in a tie for the best record in baseball. It's so fun to watch the Tribe play and I've been looking forward to every game, even ones we lose are good games. There's no complete shit baseball going on when the Indians have been on the field and I know it's early, but I can't wait to see how the Indians are doing in a couple months. I'm hoping they're still at top or near the top of their division.
The only negative about baseball lately is the fact that I miss playing like crazy. I played since I was 5 and stopped when I was 18. Played in tournaments all over from Columbus to Cooperstown, New York. After my sophmore year of High School I started gathering notice from colleges, but already had decided I wasn't going to continue playing in college... I wish I did. My sophmore year was the year that I threw my shoulder out and was forced to DH on junior varsity because I wasn't allowed to throw for a full season. The up side was that I hit like .600 and had at least on hit in every game except for one. I cooled off junior year and came back strong my senior year. I still remember my last game, I was one hit away from a cycle. Playing catch and hitting balls today is almost painful because I miss it that much. I went to watch my old team play a couple weeks back and I was regretting not chasing a longer baseball "career." What can you do though? There isn't much, but I have decided that I'm going to join a double A league next year and just get back out on the field and get some more out of me.
The only negative about baseball lately is the fact that I miss playing like crazy. I played since I was 5 and stopped when I was 18. Played in tournaments all over from Columbus to Cooperstown, New York. After my sophmore year of High School I started gathering notice from colleges, but already had decided I wasn't going to continue playing in college... I wish I did. My sophmore year was the year that I threw my shoulder out and was forced to DH on junior varsity because I wasn't allowed to throw for a full season. The up side was that I hit like .600 and had at least on hit in every game except for one. I cooled off junior year and came back strong my senior year. I still remember my last game, I was one hit away from a cycle. Playing catch and hitting balls today is almost painful because I miss it that much. I went to watch my old team play a couple weeks back and I was regretting not chasing a longer baseball "career." What can you do though? There isn't much, but I have decided that I'm going to join a double A league next year and just get back out on the field and get some more out of me.
Monday, February 7, 2011
the wild hunt
I was going to begin my homework and reading assignments that need to be done, but instead i decided to learn to play 'the wild hunt' by the tallest man on earth (ttmoe). It sounded pretty simple, so i thought it wouldn't sidetrack me too much. I was wrong. It was in CFCFCF tuning, which i am completely unfamiliar with. the chords were simple, but everything felt so odd as it strayed from everything i've taught myself over the last few years. After an hour or so of practicing I got the chords and little runs he does down and memorized half of the lyrics (i have been listening to it non-stop for a week or so). I'm proud of being able to learn TTMOE songs, simply because his guitar playing is superior to a lot of musicians out there and it's only been about 2.5 years since i taught myself how to play.
After i strayed from homework, i lifted, biked, and showered before i went to my girlfriend's house. We try not to have too many routines, but monday we always watch intervention and heavy. Heavy is a newer show that focuses on morbidly obese individuals that want to make a lifestyle change. Since I turned 21 i've gained too much weight for my taste. shows like Heavy and MTV's I Used to be Fat has really motivated me to stop my steps backwards. The last three-ish weeks i've worked out practically everyday. lifting three times a week and running and biking 5-7 times a week. i've also been making healthier food choices and my love of food and cooking has played a helpful roll in that. I like getting fresh ingredients and making something that i personally like and that is good for me.
wish me luck.
After i strayed from homework, i lifted, biked, and showered before i went to my girlfriend's house. We try not to have too many routines, but monday we always watch intervention and heavy. Heavy is a newer show that focuses on morbidly obese individuals that want to make a lifestyle change. Since I turned 21 i've gained too much weight for my taste. shows like Heavy and MTV's I Used to be Fat has really motivated me to stop my steps backwards. The last three-ish weeks i've worked out practically everyday. lifting three times a week and running and biking 5-7 times a week. i've also been making healthier food choices and my love of food and cooking has played a helpful roll in that. I like getting fresh ingredients and making something that i personally like and that is good for me.
wish me luck.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Melt Bar and Grilled
I woke up today and saw the tattoo on my left thigh; a grilled cheese and crossbones. I've caught a lot of grief about putting that on my body, but I don't regret it at all. Why? you ask.. because I get 25% off every meal i eat at Melt until I DIE and that is well worth getting a tattoo of a grilled cheese. Melt is a locally owned restaurant in Cleveland, there are two there and zero everywhere else. They have sandwiches like:
"The Parmageddon" which has cheese and potato and cheese pierogies, topped with grilled onion and napa vodka kraut.
"Westside Monte Cristo"- honey ham, turkey, two kinds of cheese, beer battered and deep fried, dusted with powdered sugar and served with a mixed berry preserve.
"The Big Popper"- Herb cream cheese, sharp cheddar, fresh jalapeno, deep fried and served as one giant jalapeno popper
They have wayyyy more sandwiches than that and if you're ever in the Cleveland area don't miss going there and don't miss getting there early. If you get there too late you may have time to try every one of there beers while you're waiting. Which brings me to the point THEY HAVE A TON OF BEER. Pages of beer.. no miller light, bud light, light yellow wimp shit. Full flavor, greatly brewed beer and a lot of them are on tap.
Each month Melt has a special sandwich and I've been there in three separate months and each month's sandwich sounded great, unfortunately i never tried one. I plan on going this month and getting "The Dude Abides" one, because i love the Big Lebowski and two, because the sandwich sounds amazing (and really fattening)
It's lucky i don't live in cleveland, because i'm trying to get my 21 year old weight off. five months of being twenty one, going out drinking, and then eating shitty food at 4 a.m took it's toll on me. i'm currently lifting monday, weds, and friday, running on tuesday, thursday, and saturday, and riding the bike and doing the p90x ab ripper video on sunday. In the past couple of weeks i've lost 6 pounds. It's been tough, but i feel a lot better eating healthier (besides Melt) and exercising. Which I'm about to go do right now. Farewell.. I hope somebody finds all this someday. and maybe enjoys it.
"The Parmageddon" which has cheese and potato and cheese pierogies, topped with grilled onion and napa vodka kraut.
"Westside Monte Cristo"- honey ham, turkey, two kinds of cheese, beer battered and deep fried, dusted with powdered sugar and served with a mixed berry preserve.
"The Big Popper"- Herb cream cheese, sharp cheddar, fresh jalapeno, deep fried and served as one giant jalapeno popper
They have wayyyy more sandwiches than that and if you're ever in the Cleveland area don't miss going there and don't miss getting there early. If you get there too late you may have time to try every one of there beers while you're waiting. Which brings me to the point THEY HAVE A TON OF BEER. Pages of beer.. no miller light, bud light, light yellow wimp shit. Full flavor, greatly brewed beer and a lot of them are on tap.
Each month Melt has a special sandwich and I've been there in three separate months and each month's sandwich sounded great, unfortunately i never tried one. I plan on going this month and getting "The Dude Abides" one, because i love the Big Lebowski and two, because the sandwich sounds amazing (and really fattening)
It's lucky i don't live in cleveland, because i'm trying to get my 21 year old weight off. five months of being twenty one, going out drinking, and then eating shitty food at 4 a.m took it's toll on me. i'm currently lifting monday, weds, and friday, running on tuesday, thursday, and saturday, and riding the bike and doing the p90x ab ripper video on sunday. In the past couple of weeks i've lost 6 pounds. It's been tough, but i feel a lot better eating healthier (besides Melt) and exercising. Which I'm about to go do right now. Farewell.. I hope somebody finds all this someday. and maybe enjoys it.
Bright Eyes
Every Bright Eyes album I've listened to always ends up, in some way, amazing me. "The People's Key" is no different. At first listen I instantly knew that there was a lot to love and take in, so I gave the cd multiple repeats before I came up with a conclusion. That conclusion is.. it is nothing short of incredible. In some way, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcot show that they are an untouchable mix of musicians. Everything they are a part of ends up to be pure genius. When I heard Oberst was starting a project, which ended up to be The Mystic Valley Band, I was honestly a little upset. Then when I heard the album and didn't recognize the familiar shaky voice and raw quality I was even more upset. I continued listening and started to fall in love with songs like "Cape Canaveral", "I don't wanna die", "Lenders in the Temple", and "Souled Out", which inevitably led me to love every song on the first record. I abused listening to it. Shortly after they released "Outer South" and this took four songs to fall in love. I learned about new musicians, mainly Taylor Hollingsworth, who had two of my favorite songs on the album, being the obscure love song titled "Air Mattress" and the folk noted "Snake Hill". Every new voice and new song on that record created the album that will be the first album that i hope my children will like. I hope the songs on that CD never get lost. I saw them live a couple summers ago, needless to say it was an awe striking concert. They just jammed. It was unreal, if someone was on a roll they just went with it. Oberst puts everything into his live performances. Hollingsworth outrageous guitar skill blew me away. and everyone else doing their thing just overwhelmed me with a feeling I'd never experienced with any concert.
Anyways, this train of thought was all brought on by some great news I found out tonight...
BRIGHT EYES 2011 TOUR IN NEW YORK AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL! MARCH 8TH! HELL YES I'M DRIVING 6 HOURS TO SEE THEM!
Anyways, this train of thought was all brought on by some great news I found out tonight...
BRIGHT EYES 2011 TOUR IN NEW YORK AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL! MARCH 8TH! HELL YES I'M DRIVING 6 HOURS TO SEE THEM!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Hello, I'm Dave and I like to party.
This isn't the first blog I've created. It just so happens that I never posted on my other one and now I don't know what name or password I used when I signed up. Case in point: I can't use that one. This site seems much better anyways.
Anyways, today I was faced with a problem.. Lay around all day or go and fall on the icy Youngstown State University sidewalks. I of course chose to stay home. I accomplished a lot. I learned "Where do my bluebird fly?" by Tallest Man on Earth on guitar. Besides that I watched the movie "RED" while my girlfriend slept on the couch. Not only did she sleep, she drooled all over my shoulder, which was covered by a brand new sweater. Now I'm rocking a striped sweater that looks like it took a load on the arm.
Before my girlfriend went to work we got Antones and relaxed a bit.
After she left I picked up Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max and was once again impressed. His writing is nothing special, but the stories are nothing short of hilarious. I re-read a story today that he wrote about doing a clown crawl, i won't go into detail about his story, but it reminded me of a bar crawl that i did...
The Zombie Crawl
It's a new tradition of Youngstown and it is insanely fun. A couple hundred people show up at a cemetery downtown and get all zombie'd up. Blood squirts. dead looking makeup. tear some clothes. get a limp and forget how to speak English. only grunts and yells allowed. I went down with a few of my friends. Myself and two kids, Josh and Brian split a case of Arnold Palmer Hard's (we drank them because they were new and were completely aware that they are kind of gay) and for some reason josh had a $25 jug of paint thinner wine. Which we put in gatorade bottles and chugged while we were getting bloodied up. The crowd of hundred lined up and prepared itself for a mile long walk to the bars. On the way drunk zombies were yelling at kids and parents, trying to climb walls, and even attempting to stop oncoming traffic. They didn't pay attention to the list of rules we got, because number 7 was " Remember you are NOT actually dead so do NOT get in the way of moving vehicles." lucky for them the vehicle stopped moving. Throughout the night nothing that notable happened besides a ton of drinks, more drinks than usual. One noteworthy drink was a mixture of Dutch Caramel Vodka and White House Farm's Apple Cider, easily the drink of the night. I wasted $30 dollars on those alone. We end the night at a bar called precinct who's bar crawl special was a "zombie bomb" aka 151, cherry liquor, pineapple juice. We hadn't suspected 151 and all did a couple zombie bombs at last call. After the crawl came to an end our friend Josh, who likes to eat, decided we needed taco bell. Myself, Rocky, and Jake were in my car, following Katz's car who was also holding Ray and Josh. In the taco bell drive-thru a black cobalt (i agree gayest car for a male) cut off Katz's audi. Ray, who just had gotten back from the navy, was not having this. He got out of the car and yelled "You better back the fuck up." the kids replied with some smart comments, apparently underestimating the rage of drunk zombies, caused Ray to walk up and kick the passenger door of the car. Josh got out, who was dressed as a dead Cleveland Browns coach, and the driver of the cobalt yelled, "Browns suck." That is the worst thing you can say to Josh. He instantly flipped the switch from hungry and irritated to disgusted at the people inside the cobalt. Josh yells and swears in a way that nobody could make sense of. In the midst of the yelling a black girl comes up and yells at the top of her lungs, "First off go Browns, second off I WANT ME SOME FUCKIN TACOS IGHT?". It was then that i looked back and noticed about 8-10 cars wrapping around behind us. The two kids got out of the cobalt and said, "Listen you three, just quit your shit and let's get food because we don't want to hurt you." That was when I heard rocky speak up in the back of my car, he said, "three of us?" proceeded to climb out of the passenger window and let the two kids know that we had a second car of zombie power. The cobalt bitches would not quit their rant. Ray realized there was one thing to do, which was go and punch one of them. The passenger and driver jumped in the car before ray got to them. He hit the car and they hurried up and drove straight through the drive thru. Katz's car get food. My car ordered and when we pulled up to the cashier i said, "that was some crazy shit." and she replied, with what was the win of the night, " yeah it was but those two skinny dudes in the cobalt woulda got they asses handed to em by the other guys. they was way bigger." oh sweet success.
Anyways, today I was faced with a problem.. Lay around all day or go and fall on the icy Youngstown State University sidewalks. I of course chose to stay home. I accomplished a lot. I learned "Where do my bluebird fly?" by Tallest Man on Earth on guitar. Besides that I watched the movie "RED" while my girlfriend slept on the couch. Not only did she sleep, she drooled all over my shoulder, which was covered by a brand new sweater. Now I'm rocking a striped sweater that looks like it took a load on the arm.
Before my girlfriend went to work we got Antones and relaxed a bit.
After she left I picked up Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max and was once again impressed. His writing is nothing special, but the stories are nothing short of hilarious. I re-read a story today that he wrote about doing a clown crawl, i won't go into detail about his story, but it reminded me of a bar crawl that i did...
The Zombie Crawl
It's a new tradition of Youngstown and it is insanely fun. A couple hundred people show up at a cemetery downtown and get all zombie'd up. Blood squirts. dead looking makeup. tear some clothes. get a limp and forget how to speak English. only grunts and yells allowed. I went down with a few of my friends. Myself and two kids, Josh and Brian split a case of Arnold Palmer Hard's (we drank them because they were new and were completely aware that they are kind of gay) and for some reason josh had a $25 jug of paint thinner wine. Which we put in gatorade bottles and chugged while we were getting bloodied up. The crowd of hundred lined up and prepared itself for a mile long walk to the bars. On the way drunk zombies were yelling at kids and parents, trying to climb walls, and even attempting to stop oncoming traffic. They didn't pay attention to the list of rules we got, because number 7 was " Remember you are NOT actually dead so do NOT get in the way of moving vehicles." lucky for them the vehicle stopped moving. Throughout the night nothing that notable happened besides a ton of drinks, more drinks than usual. One noteworthy drink was a mixture of Dutch Caramel Vodka and White House Farm's Apple Cider, easily the drink of the night. I wasted $30 dollars on those alone. We end the night at a bar called precinct who's bar crawl special was a "zombie bomb" aka 151, cherry liquor, pineapple juice. We hadn't suspected 151 and all did a couple zombie bombs at last call. After the crawl came to an end our friend Josh, who likes to eat, decided we needed taco bell. Myself, Rocky, and Jake were in my car, following Katz's car who was also holding Ray and Josh. In the taco bell drive-thru a black cobalt (i agree gayest car for a male) cut off Katz's audi. Ray, who just had gotten back from the navy, was not having this. He got out of the car and yelled "You better back the fuck up." the kids replied with some smart comments, apparently underestimating the rage of drunk zombies, caused Ray to walk up and kick the passenger door of the car. Josh got out, who was dressed as a dead Cleveland Browns coach, and the driver of the cobalt yelled, "Browns suck." That is the worst thing you can say to Josh. He instantly flipped the switch from hungry and irritated to disgusted at the people inside the cobalt. Josh yells and swears in a way that nobody could make sense of. In the midst of the yelling a black girl comes up and yells at the top of her lungs, "First off go Browns, second off I WANT ME SOME FUCKIN TACOS IGHT?". It was then that i looked back and noticed about 8-10 cars wrapping around behind us. The two kids got out of the cobalt and said, "Listen you three, just quit your shit and let's get food because we don't want to hurt you." That was when I heard rocky speak up in the back of my car, he said, "three of us?" proceeded to climb out of the passenger window and let the two kids know that we had a second car of zombie power. The cobalt bitches would not quit their rant. Ray realized there was one thing to do, which was go and punch one of them. The passenger and driver jumped in the car before ray got to them. He hit the car and they hurried up and drove straight through the drive thru. Katz's car get food. My car ordered and when we pulled up to the cashier i said, "that was some crazy shit." and she replied, with what was the win of the night, " yeah it was but those two skinny dudes in the cobalt woulda got they asses handed to em by the other guys. they was way bigger." oh sweet success.
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