this post is not long but very very very important. i reek completely of deli meats, most specifically pepper steak and smoked turkey. it can be smelled all over my body, especially on my hands. that is all. 10 bucks an hour to be a butcher for 8 hours straight. Awesomeness.

Don't think twice, it's alright.

OK.
Recent Purchases:
Sonic Youth Tickets!
Constantines Tickets!
Shellac Tickets!

Life is looking pretty awesome.

In addition, I started working at Whole Foods, and I like it a lot. It's a little strange working for a business that has 560 employees. I do realize that I will never the names of many of my co-workers, and this could add to the impersonal feeling that Austin gives me. And, I'm pretty much OK with that, due to the full-time work, the pay, the benifits, and the general friendly nature of my coworkers. I'm still on an emotional comedown from the New Orleans trip, which was an amazing, memorable experience.

In addition, I have decided that my life needs discipline. I am generally an epic example of disorganization. My room has more assorted items on the floor than carpet showing. My van is a lot worse. I am great at arriving to events (like work, shows) on time. However, I can never find anything, and am often tired and scatterbrained.
Due to this, I stopped drinking about a month ago (except for those few beers i had playing minigolf a couple of days ago.)

Now, a new idea to improve life. I will not use the computer more than three days a week.

(*GASP*)

Seriously. I do actually plan to do this. I don't think people can understand how difficult this will be for me. I just remember a time where my friendships weren't crafted out of blogger (..kali, you don't count, you're cool), myspace, livejournal, or AIM conversations. And I do believe that there is a great place for these interactive online communities. They do help me keep in touch with old compadres. They help me advertise my band. But I can do all of these things three days a week. From now on, I will primarily keep in touch with those that matter to me most by the telephone, a noble invention.

So I will get real stringent, and actually make a large chart in my room reminding me of the days that I logged on to the computer. Day one is today.

Today and Tonight. Tonight and Today.

Today, I vow to be as unabashedly lazy as a human can even hope to be.

Tonight, I will post a general retrospective on the last week, which was incredible fun.

Megan, where did your blog page go? I can't read it.

The harsh realities of post-college life.

So I have to cancel a wonderful one-week trip to Wyoming for work. You see, I just acquired a full-time job as a deli worker at Whole Foods...a place that offers EVERYONE full-time hours with benefits! And the job offer was excellent but the timing was not, because it occured during 2 long-planned-out vacations.

What this does mean is that I can spend the full Tuesday the 16th through Saturday the 20th in NOLA (so for Megan and Kali, this means I can hang out saturday evening)..........because I only have to rearrange my Office Depot schedule....I now don't start at Whole Foods until May 24th.

I'm pretty excited about this job, because not really having money issues is very stress relieving, and quite a change. I also do get to see 2 great bands that are coming to Austin when my Wyoming trip would have occured. From June 9th to June 23rd, I will have seen Shellac, The Constantines, and Sonic Youth, which means I should have no complaints.

In ADDITION..( I'm still attempting to paint missing this trip in a positive light) even though we would be in Yellowstone, there would probably be very little camping and a lot more "dude ranch" style stuff going on. Personally, I'm not a big fan of horses or roping cattle........I'm just a big fan of camping and hiking in quiet places. But I do need to go to Yellowstone at some time in my life.

Either way, I'm missing out, but my family definitely understands, and they're very happy now that they don't have to cover my health care costs anymore.

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I quit drinking...at least for a good while. By many accounts, what I was doing was not all so terrible. I was, for at least a few weeks, drinking every night (usually in social settings), and enjoying the social benefits that accompanied the alcohol. However, waking up every morning lethargic and depressed is not a good way to live. When this began to happen, I decided to not drink. I should continue this, at least, until June. I do realize the majority of my NOLA friends will attempt to get me drunk next week, but I will graciously decline. Now, I might get them drunk, laugh, and point! But I will not do the same thing.

I just felt like I was truly going a little nuts, seeing the negative side of every possibility, which is completely not my nature at all. I like smiling, idealism, and life. I do not like headaches at 7 AM while on the bus for work.

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So wednesday night I'm playing a show at "The Chaindrive", a gay bar that has late night orgy parties. We're discussing costumes, and covering "Fashion" by David Bowie.

If you don't know the song "Fashion", it goes something like this.

There’s a brand new dance but I don’t know its name
That people from bad homes do again and again
It’s big and it’s bland full of tension and fear
They do it over there but we don’t do it here
Fashion!
turn to the left
Fashion!
turn to the right
Oooh, fashion!
We are the goon squad and we’re coming to town
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Listen to me - don’t listen to me
Talk to me - don’t talk to me
Dance with me - don’t dance with me,
no
Beep-beep
There’s a brand new talk,
but it’s not very clear
Oh bop
That people from good homes are talking this year
Oh bop, fashion
It’s loud and tasteless and I’ve heard it before
Oh bop
You shout it while you’re dancing on the ole danceFloor
Oh bop, fashion
Fashion!
turn to the left
Fashion!
rightFashion!
We are the goon squad and we’re coming to town
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Listen to me - don’t listen to me
Talk to me - don’t talk to me
Dance with me - don’t dance with me, no
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
La-la la la la la la-la
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
La-la la la la la la-la
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
La-la la la la la la-la
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
Oh, bop, do do do do do do do do
Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion
La-la la la la la la-la

Peace.

Hey blog land.
Had a good weekend, but a tiring one. And now I'm pretty lethargic. I really can't wait for this New Orleans trip in a few weeks. My heart is obviously still there.

I have been riding the bus this week and have met some interesting people.....I really believe that riding the bus is liberating, to a degree. I do enjoy modes of travel being more social. I enjoy being put in situations in which i'm nearly forced to converse with people. Seriously. I like it because it's easy for me to become a hermit while in Austin....and the bus thing actually helps me continue a pattern of social interaction that keeps me wanting to go out and experience the town.


So I believe that I'll continue to ride the bus to work even when I have the van. The bus will be way cheaper, and saving gas seems like the affordable and right thing to do. Also, I'm doing my (very) little part to help the environment. I've also been listening to Soul Coughing's "Bus to Beelzebub" every day, and the line "get ooonnnttooo da bus....that's gonna take you back to beelzebub" enters my head every morning when I actually "get onto the bus".

Maybe I'm crazy, but I guess I'm listening to the soundtrack to my own life in my imagination. And music does stick to my head in such a way so that i can be imagining songs while i'm not actually listening to them.

By the way, i've recently noticed that the news is really depressing, but everyone already knows that.
After a soul-devouring 8-5 shift at office depot, it was even more draining to turn on NBC news and hear "Bird flu.....little progress after katrina......still no solace for the families of west virginia miners......immigrant protest did little...(yes that's editorializing, which is not good journalism..but NBC cares not..)...gas prices will continue to increase.....

Since TV is a very simple release after a long day at work, it is also very influential on the mind when the mind is not working at its best. So I will make a recommendation, not only to myself, but to everyone on earth. No TV after work.

Go for a walk. If it's raining, go for a walk and get wet. The rain isn't that bad. Really.

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Last thursday, I did play an incredibly fun, and somewhat drunken show. While the first 2 bands played, I drunkenly befriended random people who seemed interesting by offering them sunflower seeds. I had a few friends show as well, and we had a great time together.

Since Parks + Wildlife, Sally Krewe, and The Guise always play with us, I want to put out a 4-way free promotional EP, and have each band cross-promote. 2 songs for each band. Its gonna be like all the monkeygrinder cds that chris and I put out. I want the spirit of DIY music promotion to continue in austin.....even though the music scene is very strange here, and there is uber-competition, i think the idea could merit everyone some new fans.

I always have these kind of musically unifying ideas, and many people don't seem to care, so I lose faith. I'll try again, though.

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Oh.....and is it a little strange that the document that I miss on my old computer the most is my "brandon's favorite 100 albums of all time list"?

you don't have to answer that. I just dread that I have to "make it up" again. However, just as a teaser, Bruce Springsteen made the list, and The Cure did not.

Lists are great.



that's all.