Bringing the Drama

today was kind of crazy. i had a crazy dream last night, so when i woke up i wrote down the highlights. i have two dreams written down, neither of which make any sense to the previous days or related to eating anything the day before. at least last night’s did not involve petty theft and evading law enforcement like the last one did. i got to work a bit earlier than normal and was going to be able to leave at 5:15. i’ve kind of been on a wild goose chase at work to chase down a status on something that really hasn’t changed, but the managers want to know a new and fresh answer. all that drama seemed to be calmed this afternoon when at 4:45 i get a call from my analysis lead that he needs some data from me from stuff i had last worked on 3 months ago and he needs it for early tomorrow morning. by the time i had figured out exactly what i was supposed to do, the people i normally ask for help were gone, including my analysis lead. fortunately one of the analysis guys was there and he was able to help me out by listening me talk out my rationale and helped me get what i needed to do straightened out. after a little trial and error, i walked out at 7:45, 2.5 hours after i was supposed to leave.

on my way home i thought i’d stop at the Quizno’s near my house thinking they stayed open till 9. i called my sister to see if she could call for me. she called me back and said they normally stay open till 9 but tonight was different and they were closing early. i told her in so many words that they had nothing more important to be doing than to feed me after i worked 2.5 hours OT. foiled by Quizno’s closing early, i went to Subway who were staying open till 9 and got a $5 foot long. i quickly devoured the sandwich, caught the very end of the Celtics/Bulls game, and ended the evening by catching a DMB concert on tv. (it’s from a dvd i have but still….)

tonight begins Part 2 of the 2009 Ryan Adams road trip. from the first waking moments of today though i felt spent. it’s been a long week. the drama leading up to tonight’s show was mind bogglingly dumb. my 4th backup person to go with me bailed yesterday. here’s what happened, at least what i was told. on the way back from the BR show last week, i got into an argument with girl X over something about church and youth group. girl Y was driving, but was not involved. apparently in the two weeks since then, girl X has harbored bad feelings towards me, but instead of talking to me about it, has talked to girl Y. girl Y feels overwhelmed. girl Y was going to be my 4th backup for the show tonight, but emailed me yesterday to tell me she didn’t want to go anymore because she feels it would be hurting girl X’s feelings. not that she had too much going on at work, not that she didn’t have the money, it was that she really wanted to go but because of all that’s happened didn’t feel comfortable going to a concert with girl X. i’m not in high school anymore, and neither are girls X and Y. unfortunately, no amount of discussion could get girl Y to put everything aside and go have fun tonight. none of it makes any sense to me. when there’s a bigger picture going on (like carpooling to work, or going to a concert) i can put those things on hold in spite of how i feel to still accomplish the bigger picture.

coming through in the clutch though, Chad’s going to accompany me in the 5th row. expect some badass pictures as a result.

Ryan Adams Road Trip 2009 Part 1, Night 3

early last week CJ told me about this show that was going to be on Saturday for a band called Blitzen Trapper. i had never heard of them, but checked them out on youtube and thought they sounded good. the tickets were $10, so we got tickets right before the show sold out and went. i don’t know if it’s because i’m older now or having been to too many GA shows, but i don’t really enjoy standing in a room for 45 minutes for a show to start. the thing about going to see RA, the shows are seated, and you really don’t have to stand up at all, and i like having the option and it is spoiling me. back to BT though, apparently the venue is known for having their shows start an hour late, which happened Saturday night. the show was supposed to start at 9 but didn’t really start till 10. the cool thing about waiting though was they had a screen in front of the stage acting as a curtain i guess, and they were projecting a movie onto it. the movie they selected was Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. i looked it up after i got home to get the low down on the film. it was a good movie, esp considering we were a captive audience.

the opening band was good, but after the first couple of songs, all the songs sounded the same. after they were done, the screen came down again. this time the dvd got set on an interview with Pete Townshend. we had been standing there for a while, and it was hot, and we were tired, and i looked at CJ and told her “now i want to punch Pete Townshend in the head….but it’s not really his fault!”

finally BT came on about 11. they sounded good. i loved how the drummer had a Civil War beard. it was awesome. they put on a good show, but about midnight, CJ and i decided it was good enough and we said our goodbyes and left. it felt so good to get in the car. the hassle/disappointment ratio was going into the danger zone the longer we stood in the super crowded room with it being hot too. we left at a good time. i bought an EP on the way out. i recommend BT, they were worth the money and the time.

(i have a few entries that i’ve typed already that haven’t been posted for one reason or another. think of them as B-sides. this one was written last week, but i tried to edit it so the tenses and days wouldn’t be confusing.)

during my MG vacation last Wednesday, i watched a bit of the Match Play tournament. i watched Tiger’s first match against some dude that fell into the trap of trying to match Tiger shot for shot. nobody in the world can do that. Tiger hits the ball 500 yards, and generally is better at everything than anyone else on Earth. i hate to see guys play him and get taken out of their game by themselves. golf is a singular sport. you don’t have to worry about another opponent normally, you just have to play your game and wait for the other guy to make a mistake. the second you start trying to play the other guy, you’ll get in trouble. Tiger has such a mental advantage before the first shot is made, it’s almost unfair. so i watched Tiger just go about his business while the guy he was playing sprayed the ball all over the fairway. Tiger won his first match, and all the writers started gushing about how he’s back and blah blah blah he’s going to win again. i read an article on ESPN one morning last week literally breaking down Tiger’s path to winning the entire tournament. coming off a 7 month layoff from knee surgery for an injury caused by his swing, not any other freak injury, Tiger’s just going to come out and win 6 matches in his first tournament back. even writers get caught up in putting Tiger on a pedestal. aren’t they supposed to be above stuff like that? i’m sure Tiger would just like to go play in a tournament and be able to just play, not have to deal with everyone assuming he’d win and anointing him a title without even teeing off on the first hole.

Thursday afternoon though, Tiger lost, to a guy that just went about his business and played his game. the blogger from ESPN stopped live blogging from the tournament, because he said since Tiger’s comeback was the biggest story there wasn’t much important to type about anymore. what about the 16 guys left who had won their first two matches? i guess they were chopped liver to this guy. it’s disappointing. i get that Tiger’s comeback is a big deal, but the gushing was just ridiculous. EVERY #1 seed in the tournament is now out, but apparently the biggest story is not that all four of the top seeds are out, but that one of the top seeds is out.

i was able to catch some of the final match on Sunday, and after it was over, they had a highlight reel of Tiger’s shots from the week. yeah.

also in the news on last Thursday for the NOLA metro area:
some lady traded two kids for a bird (i wonder what she would have traded for a parrot?) and a lady crashed an SUV into a bridal shop. don’t worry though, none of the dresses were messed up!

i’m pretty superstitious about sporting events. i never want anything i do to effect the game. not that i think i actually have anything to do with the final outcome, but it’s just for piece of mind. last year i wore the same shirt to a lot of the Hornets games and they won all of them, but then they lost game 7. i wore the shirt to one game this year and they lost, so i haven’t worn it since. i wore one of my gold shirts we got at a playoff game last year to a game where i thought they’d lose, i think it was against the Spurs. they won. then i wore it to another couple of games and they won those. i noticed when i didn’t wear the gold shirt, they’d lose. also, i didn’t wash the gold shirt during this time period, only wore it to the game and took it off when i got home. other than the shirt this year, i noticed a trend when i’d go to games with my mom. i took her to two games early in the season against teams they should beat, and they lost. so a couple of weeks ago i took her to a game i thought they’d lose and they won. the reverse luck worked.

last night i put both my shirt’s luck on the line and bringing my mom to a game. the Hornets were playing the Celtics, and with all the injuries and how they were playing they were going to need all the help they could get. we got to the game in plenty of time and had the usual turkey sandwiches (it’s the healthiest dinner item in the Arena) and made our way to the seats. i bring binoculars to most games, and scan the courtside seats for celebrities. for games against teams like the Celtics, there’s usually a big name person. last night was Dave Matthews, sitting right next to the Hornets owner. i tried taking a picture with my phone when they showed him on the jumbotron….

i have season tickets, so i sit around the same people every game. last night i had no idea that the people in front of me sold their tickets to The Most Annoying People In The World (TMAPITW). last night for some reason the Hornets passed out Thundersticks to the people in the upper deck. Thundersticks were cool when the Angels were winning the World Series, but now they are annoying, especially inside an enclosed arena. anyway, so about TMAPITW, it was a guy, a girl, their daughter (at least the guy’s), and the girl’s grandma (i guess). the grandma was sitting in the lower deck, and she came up to take her grand-daughter downstairs with her. so the guy and girl are sitting in front of me. the guy brought flags to wave around during the game. he didn’t wave them around that much, but it got annoying when he stood up at random moments to wave it around. the girl had one thunderstick. she’s waving it around randomly during the game, including behind her and at one point just about hit me in the face, so i grabbed at it. she turned around cause she knew she hit me, and i said “seriously, could you stop doing that?” i don’t mind people acting a fool, but don’t hit me with a thunderstick if i don’t know you. she put the single thunderstick down for the rest of the game. then the guy gets inspired by the kids sitting next to him to vociferously beat together some thundersticks himself. so. annoying. later in the 4th quarter, as the Hornets are falling apart, the grandma comes back upstairs with the girl, who now has a bunch of balloon animals and an inflated ballon that must have been blocking the view of people behind me. i haven’t seen TMAPITW at a game before last night, and i’m hoping i don’t see them again.

going into the 4th quarter, i thought all the luck previously mentioned was working. the game was tied at the beginning of the 4th quarter against the defending champions. the Hornets had not been playing very well, and in spite of all that they still were tied. in spite of the pastor praying for a victory before the game, the game was there for the taking! unfortunately the 2nd string stayed out too long to start the 4th, the defense eased up, and by the time the starters came back in the game it was too late, and the Hornets lost by 12. obviously with the result last night i’m going to have to wash the gold shirt. i guess it was time.

- at lunch during the week, i usually go through news articles and keep myself current on the world. the best thing i read yesterday, an article with the backstory on different Muppets. did you know in Puerto Rico Grover is named Archibaldo? did you know in Israel Oscar lives in an old car? i found the article fascinating because i grew up watching Sesame Street.

- i called about my speeding ticket, and was told the procedure for taking the driving class to keep it off my record, etc. the lady at the court (where i called about the ticket) also informed me my license was flagged. she couldn’t tell me why, but that i should get it taken care of. she gave me the number for the DMV. i called this number at least 10 times during the day, and only on the 10th time did not get the “due to our high call volume, please try again later”. when i finally spoke to someone at the DMV, she said my license had no flags.

- did you know Food Network has entire episodes of shows on their website? it was great to finally see the Iron Chef with Bobby Flay, Giada, Rachel Ray, and Mario Batali. i watch a lot of my favorite shows online since i often times am not home to watch stuff, so i had no problem watching on my computer.

- all of the current economy stuff and how the government is handling it reminds me of this IBM commercial.

- yes i am disappointed A-Rod took steroids, and no i don’t believe him when he said it was only for 3 years and that he doesn’t take them anymore. at least he’s admitting it though, unlike only wanting to talk about the future or just flat out denial.

- Clemson scrapped to a great road win last night at BC. i watched the game and it was great to see them claw their way back, then maintain the lead to the end. i knew they’d be better than last year, but they seem to have the makings of a really good team. i mean, i know they crushed Duke and all, but i also look at team’s ability to stay competitive even when their shots aren’t falling and they’re just kind of going through the motions. they didn’t get down on themselves, and they made the big plays when it was most important. i don’t remember Clemson really doing that the past few years, but it sure is good to see now.

yesterday i was able to watch some of the inauguration live. i mainly wanted to see the inauguration address, which i did. i like watching inaugurations, because they are so traditional and dripping with historic significance. i didn’t watch it because Obama’s black and OMG a political rock star. i didn’t even vote for him. it’s a daunting task to give an inauguration address. i was telling one of my friends yesterday i wouldn’t even know what to say. to stand in the same position* as “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” and “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” and try to speak something worth anything is something i’m not sure i could do.

(* i thought the mentioned quotes came from the same physical spot near the Capitol but apparently they did not so ‘position’ in this case means on the steps on either side of the Capitol at an inauguration)

the speech yesterday was okay, but i guess i was expecting something mind blowing. it sounded like a bunch of stuff i already knew. i know we can get out of the calamity of the economy, i know we can overcome the problems in our country, i know America has done it before, i know each person is going to have to make tougher and smarter decisions with their money (which i think got us in this whole mess), i know all of that. i’m confident that things will turn around. i am hoping the speech struck a chord with some of Obama’s supporters, the ones who like to have Bush bashing parties, the ones who thought yesterday was their first glimpse of what America is, the ones who pimped their own political rant blog on a music message board, and the ones who in the facebook chat had no idea there have been more inauguration parades than Presidents. i like Obama’s attitude of trying to unite America again after years of divisive politics, and i want the same end goals, i just think the ways to go about getting there are different.

one of the things yesterday that bothered me is how much hero worship i saw yesterday. not that i haven’t already seen it for months, but it came up again yesterday. i don’t get wearing clothes with a politician’s face on them. i’m not going to put a politician’s name in sequins on a hat. it reminds me too much of Communist propaganda. i think people are too caught up in worshiping the man, and not looking past the man and seeing what the country can be.

then yesterday afternoon i saw this headline and picture. i don’t know who was doing the editing, but i think they could have done a better job. it looks like Bush is getting off the helicopter, who decided to go with that picture? was there not a picture of the new president available?

today was kind of crazy, but overall ended up really good. first off, this morning was the presale for the Ryan Adams show in Baton Rouge. i made sure yesterday of how many tickets to get, etc, so this morning was just a matter of buying the tickets. i loaded up the TM webpage at 10 am and entered in 4 tickets. after the first result of row J, i did everything over and got row N. it was like 10:02 and i knew the tickets weren’t going that fast. Row R. Row N. Row K. then i got row C. with it being my sixth attempt, i bought them, and they look like they’ll be very excellent. looking at a detailed seating chart on the venue website, they’ll be 3rd row in front of Ryan. why couldn’t i have gotten row C the first time? it doesn’t make any sense!

later around lunch time, i was double checking to make sure the local ABC affiliate would be broadcasting the Clemson/Wake game on Saturday. unfortunately what i saw was listed the Kansas/Colorado game. confused, i googled for a coverage map, which is normally only important for football. i found the following:

oh i see, the border of coverage for the BIGGEST GAME SINCE I WAS A FRESHMAN STARTS 10 MILES AWAY! i emailed the station to ask if they could change things up, because the Clemson game is a matchup of top 10 teams while the other game is two unranked teams. who in their right mind outside of KS and CO care about that game when you have a better game? this is the decision someone made when deciding what game would more of the population would be interested in! Hawaii and Alaska are getting the Clemson game.

when i realized the problem, i emailed my friend Chris and told him because he now lives in Houston. obviously we’re both going to hit up a sports bar to watch our alma mater play on Saturday. since the Baton Rouge alumni club was already planning to meet at a sports bar, i wanted to email the guy in charge of the NOLA club. i couldn’t find any previous emails from him or the mailing list, so i looked up his email on the Clemson alumni page. i emailed him the information and told him to pass it along to the NOLA club. he doesn’t respond, but 30 min later i get an email he has sent out to everyone in the NOLA club basically repeating what i said. he didn’t credit me. i guess i shouldn’t have been shocked, he’s a lawyer, but still, he could have been nice. am i asking too much for him to reply and say “thanks”, or maybe say “hey, scott emailed me this earlier, heads up” before you basically repeat what i took the time to tell you? apparently so.

then later this afternoon CJ Spiller announced he was staying for his senior year. i got the video feed of the press conference loaded just in time for him to say he was staying. unfortunately no one else at work really knows or cares, so i kind of had to keep my excitement to myself. it is a BIG deal! it’s been a tough year for Clemson football, but today was a good jolt in the arm.

Tuesday is my dad’s birthday, so tonight we took him out to dinner. on the way home my parents and i (my sister did not want to go drink coffee and eat beignets) stopped at a Fresh Market. i had never been, but i wanted to go look around. i figured they might have some beers i haven’t seen yet. the produce was nice, but now that i think about it very dimly lit. possibly to accentuate the colors? i did pick up a couple of apples that are as big as a softball. walking through the bakery section i spotted something i have been indirectly on the hunt for since April. uncut bread loaves! i know, i probably should not be as amazed as i am but tonight was the first time i’ve actually seen them in a store. ever since i saw that episode of Good Eats where my friend Alton talks about how much better this kind of bread is for sandwiches (short of making your own), i have been unable to find it. also spotted in this new grocery were banana chips and make your own six pack beer. the beer selection was not nearly as extensive or unique as i thought it would be. i did pick up a few that i have not tried (Stella, Lowenbrau) as well as some old favorites (Dixie, Guinness), but i was a little disappointed with my choices.

earlier today as i was pulling into my driveway, i could see the old lady and her dog out near my backyard. i slowed down and stared at her, and i know she saw me. there was definite eye contact. when i got inside to go throw open the blinds she had already gone inside with her dog. i know she knows i know, and i’m going to keep flinging the poo back in her yard until she keeps her dog in her yard all the time!

i was coming home from the gym, where i had my first encounter with CGG in probably a month or two. he scanned my keychain, but didn’t call me by name. he did say “letting your hair grow out a little bit?” to which i said “it’s been busy lately, i haven’t gotten it cut”, and he finished with “it’s kind of cool.” i’ll take that awkward conversation that only lasts 30 seconds over any of the previous ones.

last night was the big Hornets/Lakers game, and i was hoping it would go better than the game last month. unfortunately it did not, and the Hornets looked like they badly missed Peja. the thing that bugged me were the amount of Laker fans. a couple of them in my section or nearby just seemed to want to make people mad. i didn’t really care, because the Hornets’ play brought on the score, and the Laker fans’ joy. one guy a few rows in front of me was trying to argue with the Laker fan in front of me, but i knew it wouldn’t work. you can’t argue the game when your team looks like crap. he should have made fun of the guy for wearing an old (#8) Kobe fashion jersey. what guy buys a fashion jersey? it was pathetic. then the guy in the next section over who was humping the railing during the dance contest had a personalized #95 jersey. who wears a personalized Laker jersey? and #95? lame. the Lakers seem to be the only team that brings annoying fans.

the cool part was seeing Kobe’s new low top shoes. i read about them and how he got them developed by request, after thinking since soccer players wear low top shoes, why wouldn’t a basketball player? maybe he’ll start a trend, because they looked sweet. AND the play he made where he had a spin move then came up and under for a dunk was the #1 play last night on Sportscenter. it was just as awesome in person. i used to really not like him, but after the All Star game last year, and the Olympics, i can appreciate his talent, even if i don’t like his team or fans very much.