Deep Thoughts By Concert Josh

How Driving Is Like Life

If You ar always looking back, You will never see the oppertunities that open up in front of you.

If You never look back, You will never see what you did to get where you are.

Day 10, and a lot more to go

Today is my 10th consecutive day of working at least 6 hours, plus travel time. I will be pretty much be working every day this month. For the rest of this week I will be in Motor City, supporting ABC's equipment. For the rest of the weekdays I will back in my office fixing stuff. On the weekends I change careers and make cabinets.

I did these this weekend.













Up for next weekend, doors. I am not a fan of making cabinet doors. There is a LOT of work involved.

My next post will be from Detroit Rock City.

Oop's

I forgot, today is a special day.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. 20 years is quite the accomplishment.

[edit:] It was their 21st Anniversary. I was wondering how it could be the 20th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia Explosion, and my P's the day before when I have very vivid memory's of sitting in school, watching the launch on TV. I couldn't figure out why I was in school the day after their wedding.

Who Knew

I learned today that on any given day in Chicago, there is a 33% chance for rain.

The Boss man, and his Boss are coming in to have a meeting today. Time to 'out' my lazy co-worker? Yes, I think so.

Raw fish and two red heads = spectacular dinner.

A few things

Thoughts of the Future
So even the topic on the radio station I listen to during my morning drive was about realizing that I need to think about my future. After listening to the author interview this morning, I think I am going to get this book.


Found
A certain former FM radio personality's new show that is on some sort of subscription service is available here for those of you who know how to use bit torrent. I haven't listened too much of it yet, but it is there.

Sushi
It's what for dinner tonight.

Cake
It's what I'm eating right now. And it's YUMMY!

Happy Birthday Wish

To Tequila Red's boy. I hope your day rules.

R.I.P. Nice Guy Eddie

Actor Chris Penn Found Dead at Residence.

Dinner With My Family

So it isn't every day that my parents come to the city. It isn't every day that they bring my younger siblings with them. And it isn't every day that I bring Tequila family to join us. Everything went great; the kids had their own table with no adults. The adults table was one table over. Close enough to keep an eye on the kids while at the same time giving us some privacy.

Then my Parents and Sister started telling stories. About me. To my girlfriend. About how much 'trouble' I caused as a teenager/young adult. You know, the kind of stuff I try to keep on the down low.

I guess I did get some of the same stories about TR from Thanksgiving Dinner with Tequila Parents and Sister's.

Some things TR learned last night:

-I was grounded for the entire summer between Freshman and Sophomore year of High School.
-I was asked by my parents to just use the back door when I wanted to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night so I would not cause any damage to the windows.
-I didn't turn in homework, even when my dad spent hours doing it with me.
-I was generally a 'bad' kid, that did 'bad' kid type things.

Oh Yeah.....

SO on Saturday at 12:40 I head in from the cabinet shop to order my Clap Your hands Say Yeah tix for a show in April. 40 minutes after they went on sale. They were SOLD OUT. Looks like I won't be going unless they add another show. I see some tix on ebay, and Craigslist going for $85 all the up to $149.

The tickets were $15 plus whatever Ticketbastard adds on.

This Is New

The 'what are you planning for your life' topic of conversation has been a theme to my life recently.

This morning The Boss Man was the latest to let me know that he was interested in knowing if and what my plans for the future are. He is coming out on Friday with another Department Head to talk about it with me. All weekend Concert Dad was grilling me ablut the very same thing, my sister has inquired, and so has my Girlfriend.

I guess it is time for me to grow up a little, and start thinking about these things.

Maybe I'll let you know what I come up with.

My Friends Are Weird

So early this morning I get a call from Drunk Steve. I was sanding cabinets out in the shop so I missed the call, but he left this voice mail:

Hey Concert Josh, I just want to apologize for ruining the Rose Bowl, OK talk to you later.

I called him as soon as I got done listening. Apparently he had some dream the he and I were to face eachother in the Rose Bowl, but he didn't want to play me so he pushed my car off the top of some building. When he awoke to his crying baby, the first thing he thought to do was call and aplogize.

I love my friends.

I'll Play Too.

Four Things Game, or Look How Nerdy I Really Am. Your Call.

Four Jobs You Have Had:
1) Construction Laborer
2) Bus Boy (One Night Only)
3) Bio-Medical Equipment Maker
4) TV Lens Technician

Four Movies You Can Watch Over And Over:
1) Stripes
2) Pulp Fiction
3) Vacation, X-Mas Vacation, European Vacation
4) Jaws
5) Mad Max, The Road Warrior

Four Places You Have Lived:
1) Mokena, IL
2) DeKalb, IL
3) Elk Grove Village, IL
4) Chicago, IL

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:
1) Law & Order
2) Saturday Afternoon Baseball on Fox
3) Anything with Bill Curtis narrating
4) Tom & Jerry

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:
1) New York City
2) Negril, Jamaica
3) Birmingham, AL
4) New Hampshire/Boston

Four Blogs You Visit Daily:
1) Girlfriend
2) Jerry
3) Downloads
4) Random Music I Check Out

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:
1) Chocolate Chip Cookies
2) Steak
3) Egg, Cheese, and Bacon on a Bagel
4) Mangos

Four Albums You Can't Live Without:
1) AC/DC - Back in Black
2) The Beatles - Revolver
3) Guns-N-Roses - Appetite For Destruction
4) Jane's Addiction - Ritual De Lo Habitual
5) Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
6) ZZ Top - Eliminator
7) Ween - All Request Live, Chocolate And Cheese, and God Ween Satan: The Oneness
8) Modest Mouse - Building Nothing Out Of Something
9) Led Zeppelin - Presence

Ok, I'll stop... there are a ton more. Thanks to the iPod, I don't ever have to worry about it.

Four Vehicles You Owned:
1) 1972 3/4 Ton Chevy Pickup
2) Aunt Patty's Red Honda Accord
3) 1997 Red Chevy Caviler
4) The Egg

Four People To Be Tagged:
I don't think four people even read this.

I don't have to go to work tomorrow. But I do have to go to work on Saturday morning, and I just heard that it is supposed to snow... that's right Overnight Friday and Saturday Morning.

I just don't get it.

So as you know I have a Girlfriend. She is awesome. We spend a lot of our time together. We email back and forth during the day sometimes. We talk on the phone at night. There are text messages sent. We talk when we are together.

I'd say we have great communication with each other.

And I don't think we are alone in the world. I see countless couples, some married some not, that share most if not all of these communication traits.

My co-worker also has a girlfriend. He has 2 cell phones, one that is specifically used to talk with her. (Some 'shared minutes' family plan) The other is also used to talk with her, but is his 'personal' phone. So is his office phone. They talk on the phone no less that 5 times a day. Every day. When his office phone rings, 99% of the time it is his girlfriend. If for some reason he is unable to answer his office phone, one and then the other cell phones will ring. If neither of those is answered, the office phone will ring again.

I know, as does every person in the office, when it is his girlfriend on the phone. He answers in a professional tone but quickly regresses into a barley audible tone when he is talking her. It is almost a whisper. It is also very annoying.

I don't know, I just don't get it. How cold they possibly have so much to talk about? How do they not get sick of being in constant touch with the other? How do they wonder about and/or miss the other? What do they talk about later in the evening? Is it only during the day that this happens?

I don't have anything....

Nothing at all to post, so you get to read this sentence:

The yellow monkey tickles the pregnant sloth.

What do ya think of that?

I'm Glad Thats Over

That was hopefully the worst weekend of 2006. It went like this; crappy, to real shitty, to all better, to completely fucked, to I really hope that is all over and done with.

I feel like the NFL's coach of the year award should not be awarded until after the Super Bowl. There is no way Lovie Smith is coach of the year after Sunday's complete melt down on the entire Bear’s Orgnazition. Fuck Next Year, I want to see one of MY teams win NOW.

After taking a nice 4-day weekend, with in the cold ass workshop cabinet work with Concert Dad thrown in, I have a ton of crap to do here.

Note to Mrak; thanks for having your friend apologize to me. If it wasn't a fact that I would have been completely destroyed, I would have punched him right in the mouth. Some of the stuff he said that involved me was just wrong.

Selling

So I have been importing my CD's to my big hard drive and selling them on eBay. I have raked in a decent amount of money so far. Way more than I expected anyway (A few sold for triple what I paid for them). The worst part is actually geting the stuff packaged up and shipped. It looks like most of my day tomorrow here at work will be doing just that. I hope no one notices.

The waiting game.

Sitting in the lobby is not fun.

Waiting for an hour sitting in the lobby is not fun.

Not having anything for me to do except wait in the lobby for an hour is not fun.

Having to drive out of the city after not having anything for me to do except wait in the lobby for an hour is not fun.

Having to drive back into the city after driving out of the city after not having anything for me to do except wait in the lobby for an hour is not fun.

Getting paid for all of that makes it OK.

Getting to the prize after work makes none of that matter at all.

Are you kidding me?

So I just got into my office after an install appointment this morning at one of the local networks. They recently received 3 new High-Def lenses from us. I went there along with the sales person, and a camera rep to set up everything. Well, the first thing said to me was "Did you bring the 3 focus module's?"

-I didn't know they needed them, or I would have at least brought a few used ones from the shop.

A call to the east coast was made; the parts will arrive tomorrow. I have to go back tomorrow too. So for the rest of the afternoon I have to get all my work that I was going to finish up tomorrow done. Looks like a late night here.

[update:]

So it has become apparent to me over the last few years, and last few co-workers that nothing gets done when I'm not actually here in the office. Sure, I spend some time every day playing around on the internet, but I ALWAYS meet my dead lines, or put in the extra time to get my projects done.

This afternoon I came back to my computer on, but only Internet Explorer windows open. No work programs. All the cabinets here were still locked. Nothing that came in was put away or logged in. Nothing was shipped. EBay purchases were made and various Multi-Media PC cards were researched, and personal phone calls were made and received.

Just for that, I asked another busier office to send me a few repairs. I am putting him in charge of all of them. This other office is notorious for nit-picking others work. I hope he fucks at least one of these up.

Relief

Wow.. my ears finally just popped. I can hear!

Can You Hear Me Now?

So I guess my head cold came back, or this is a new one. I don't know, nor do I care. I do know that the pressure in my ears and head in general are bothersome. Everything sounds like it's underwater. I feel slightly unattached to the world. Other than that I don't feel too bad. I just wish my ears would 'POP' so I could hear like normal.

In other events of today, I have had the old bait & switch, then switch back trick played on me by the very funny and always entertaining Concert Dad. See, I was baited by the promise of a kitchen cabinet job, easy money in my pocket. That was switched to the old farm house re-model but we have to tear down all this old plaster first job that I smashed my hand at on the very first day. Today everything was switched back to the original cabinet job. YAY! But at the same time, that means a lot of my time will be dedicated to being at my parents house working out in the shop.

Today, we cleaned, and re-arranged that very shop. It's all ready for us o start next weekend. Part of cleaning out the shop meant burning scrap wood. After a few trips out back to the burn pile Concert Dad gave me a Burnz-O-Matic torch with a self starter tip. I grabbed it and headed in the direction of the small pile of wood. Mere seconds later, my baby was lit. When I handed the torch back to my dad, as we watched my little brother shoot baskets I said "Good thing I didn't have one of these when I was about his age." He looked at me and I could tell he was thinking of the two seperate times the local Fire Dept. was called because of the size of some of the fires I had out back on the old burn pile as a kid.


He cracked a smile and said, "Yeah, you're probably right."

I was thinking "I wish I had those bottle rockets someone super cool gave me for Christmas"

Ahhhhh

The fish tank is crystal clear clean. The first NFL game starts in 20 minutes. The breakfast dishes are being done, when they are I'll start making lunch. I have a mild buzz. I slept until 11AM. Today is only missing one thing.

Finally

Today is Friday.

I am going to work late, then go home and be pretty anti-social this weekend. Tomorrow will be spent cooking, eating the stuff I just cooked, cleaning my fish tank, sleeping, watching NFL games and playing xbox.

Sunday I will be working for my dad again. From the sounds of it, I will be doing the demo work on a porch. I hope I don't hurt myself again.

Is It Just Me?

So last night I was over at a friends place to watch the Rose Bowl and eat tri-tip steaks. There were about 7 people gathered to watch the game. I was pulling for both teams to lose, but more for USC to get beat than anything else. What a great game, minus the constant reviewing of every other play. During the course of the evening I was involved in several conversations that revolved around College's that people attended.

This is where I kind of got a little lost. There was a lot of back and forth action about whose school had the better team currently. Every one of these people has graduated at least 6 if not way more years ago. I don't understand how they could feel so connected to something they left that long ago. Maybe because I didn't stay away at school, but came home and went to Nerd School instead. But even then, one would think I would have some sort of loyalty to that place, which I don't. In the same way I never want to live in the small town I grew up in. I guess I just don't get it. Does anyone else feel like I do? Or am I the weird-o?

2006 Resolutions

1) Gain 30-50 lbs.
2) Just 'coast' at work.
3) Screw up relationships (Girlfriend, Parents, Friends, Siblings, Co-workers, etc.)
4) Lose or Spend all my money.


So there you have it, this year I am setting the bar real low.. My 2006 goals.

News Flash [update]

I smashed my thumb to black and blue, and generally exhausted myself for 8 hours. For what? Can you tell I was even there?




before










after

The Baby

Um, so I guess Drunk Steve's boy's birth wasn't 'normal'.. 19 hours of labor followed by a 9lb. 15oz baby boy named Marley Issac Drunk Steve.

Pic's to hopefuly follow soon.

[update: here he is]

My 2005

Let's see I got a new Girlfriend, a new ipod, a new computer, a nice pay raise for all of my hard work. I went to NASA, prepped the Monday and Sunday Night Football TV trucks. I saw a few people get married, and some break up. I visited friends in states I have never been to before; I made up with friends and angered others, and made many new ones. I gave up something that was a big part of me, and don't really miss it. I saw a bunch of good shows but not as many in years past (I must be 'growing up' or something), had some friends play a pretty much private show for me and a few other fans.

Yep, it was a good year. I think this one will be even better.

New Years Eve in Pictures

The Party guests.


The Girlfriend


Some Guy that remembered me from High School. I had no idea who he was at all.



All and all, a good night out. Loys of Bud's, lots of friends, some fights ended, some started.

I had a great Holiday's. I hope all of you did too. I am not really looking forward to getting up and going to work tomorrow, but who really is?

I want to Congratulate Drunk Steve on the new baby boy.