2004-04-07 - 10:16 a.m.

Over the last few weeks, I'd been afraid that I might just have to call it quits with this whole diary mess. I'm working close to 35 hours at the Student Health Center wach week, then adding another 35 hours at Cody's at night, then trying to balance working out, playing in a cover band, and enjoy a somewhat normal love life.

Whereas relaxing in the wee hours of the night and writing in my diary used to be the norm, lately I've been passing out from exhaustion around 11ish (when I don't have to bartend), and definitely not giving the slightest thought to updating my diary.

But, as is alaways the case, I somehow find a way to crack the electronic spine on this diary, blow the cyberspace dust off the cover and take up the cause of relating my everyday adventures to you, my faithful (and possibly non-exisistant) readers.

Where did I find the time to write you might ask? At work of course. But before you go calling my supervisor, it should be noted that I've justified my 15 minutes or so of diary time everyday. It goes like this: I don't smoke. Plenty of people in this office do. And they get 2 or 3 15 minute smoke breaks. Case in point, I should be allowed 2 or 3 15 minute diary breaks.

Any objections?

So now I have two weapons against the grueling crush of the workday. With my trusty Ipod (packed with 2463 songs, which occupies only a mere %38 of its storage space) and my diary breaks, I think I just might be able to overcome the "9am-5pm in a cube, go-home-for-an-hour and then bartend from 6:30pm-2:00am blues."

Since I am constantly hooked up to my Ipod, and it's set to random, I'll let ya in on what I'm listening to as I'm writing my entries.

Song that was playing when I started:

"Head over Heels" by Tears for Fears

Song currently playing:

"Smackwater Jack" by Carole King

I can tell this is gonna be fun. A return to my daily diary entries, a return of the guestbook signings of yore, and much more sarcastic banter between me and you.

So I'm calling for a complete revival. Bring yourself down to the river, dressed in white linens, and lets babtize ourselves in the river of Diaryland. I have seen the promise land, and it is a beautiful Blue background upon which rediculous tales of day-to-day life unfold.

Ahhhhhhhmeeeennnnnn.

On with the show.

Current song: "Don't change your plans" Ben Folds Five

Last night I jumped into Stephen's truck with my future roomates and headed to St. Louis to see the Coheed and Cambria show. Even with the thought of an early morning at work lingering overhead, I decided that my desire to see C&C outweighed the inevitable exhaustion I would suffer at work the next morning.

Now, of the 4 of us (Stephen, Neil, Rob and I) I'm prolly the tallest. Stephen could give me a run for my money but I think he's about 5'10"-11", whereas I stand at a majestic 6'. Yet somehow, it was decided (prior to picking me up) that I would occupy the seat in Stephen's truck directly behind the driver. This meant about 10 inches seperating the back seat from the back of the front seat. I had to sit in an accordion like position for close to 2 hours! WTF mates.

The ride down was fairly uneventful as we careened down I70 on our way to good ole "Pop's." The beauty of "Pop's" is that it's located right on the other side of the IL border and it's snuggly nestled between to A-Plus strip clubs. As we pulled into the parking lot, the familiar and comforting pink neon glow invited us to forget the show and enjoy a good crotch-in-the-face. Rob even commented as we got out of the truck, "Ahhhh, the smell of stripclubs."

Current song: "Somedays are better than others" U2.

Fighting the urge to give in to gyrating crotches, bouncy silicone and suede couches, we headed towards "Pop's." Neil's friend was the lead singer of one of the opening bands "Brazil" and he was able to get us in for free.

As we waded through the crowd of acne faced indie kids I felt a slight longing for easier, younger days. The guys were dressed in typical emo garb, black t-shirt complete with obscure band reference, gap or other tight fitting jeans, 2 or 3 solid color wristbands, huge gauged plugs in ears, and black messy hair. The girls (oh god bless them) were wearing pigtails, and...pigtails...and...

Current song: "Mona Lisa" Wyclef featuring the Neville Brothers.

"Brazil" took the stage and rocked in typical emocore fashion. Overall a pretty good band that had descent stage presence, but won me over completely with their weird time signatures. No shit, at one point they were playing in 9/8 time.

"Funeral for a Friend" was the next band. I'd seen them once or twice before. Nothing special, just harcore with a little bit of crooning.

The next band was named "---- Maria" (I can't remember their name.) All that was memorable about their performance was that they had a chick bassist who liked to skip. Every song sounded like a track from a 90's coming of age comedy (think Empire Records.) It was decided amongst the four of us, that yes, we would do her, but we wouldn't tell anybody about it.

Mercifully, their set finally came to an end, and I anxiously awaited the coming of Coheed and Cambria. I think that of the four of us, I was really the only one excited to see Coheed. These guys take "Rush" like complex arrangements and rock the shit out of them.

Current song: "It's Our Job" Sondre Lerche.

Every song they played was from either of their two phenomenal cd's and somehow they didn't miss a beat. It's been a while since I've seen a band playing such complex riffs, rhythms, vocal lines, etc... and manage to pull it off flawlessly live.

Current song: "This is It" Ryan Adams.

Next song cause I accidently hit the skip button: "Naked in the Rain" Red Hot Chili Peppers.

After the show was over we stuck around for a lil while so Neil could visit with his buddy. Then it was back into the truck (due to a loss in Karate, Hunter, Bear, I was once again resigned to sitting behind the driver seat) and back towards Columbia.

We made a quick stop at the infamous exit 225, home of not only White Castle, but the Denny's where the Nonstop 3 last supper took place. A couple of sliders later, we were back on the road.

Am I destined to play music in a band like I dream every day? Prolly not. I just don't put enough time or effort into it. I can't. I don't have parents who would let me spend my energies on being in a band, and that is in no way a slam at my parents. They know what's important in life. They understand stability and what it takes to live a happy, comfortable life.

But that doesn't mean I won't try.

Final song: "More Than it Would Seem" Gabe Dixon Band.

"There is something I must tell you girl, it's been building up so long. See all the times I served as your love consultant, I wanted to be there myself..."

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