well...i gots me wilco tix! for the saturday show on sept. 20...not bad seats either...orchestra level...we'll see how worth it they are...



tonight i'm gonna go see modest mouse @ the house of blues...they're pete's favorite band so i got him & amy tix for his bday which is coming up soon...i've never seen modest mouse, but the show's sold out so it'll be a nice crowded intro...



tra la la...rawk on...

so last night was my one celebrity encounter...teddy & i were eating at a thai restaurant a couple blocks away near milwaukee & north ave, and we sat down next to a couple...except the couple wasn't sitting across from each other...the first thing you noticed was that the guy had moved his chair over so that he could be closer to the girl...it seemed all very sweet or whatever...for a split second, i thought to myself, 'i should know who this guy is...' but i didn't really think too much of it and i sat down and started perusing this huge menu...the menu was covering my face, and i could hear the next table's voices, and suddenly a lightbulb went on over my head as i recognized the voice...it was the voice of a local NPR radio show host who will go unnamed at this time...i turned my menu just enough so that only teddy could see me and i mouthed the phrase, 'THAT'S __ _____!!!!' and he whispered back that he'd thought so...i could not believe it! i was sitting next to the table of a radio personality whose show i've admired for years...someone i'd always wanted to meet...someone i always thought i'd immediately have a crush on if i ever got the opportunity to meet him...



well...the rest of the meal was spent with this overarching thought in my head that i was sitting next to ___ ______ and his girlfriend...but that wasn't it...we must've gotten to the restaurant just after they had gotten there because they left right before we did...and as we walked down milwaukee so i could go to filter and spill the beans to teddy's roomie joe who is also a fan of this same radio show, i spied ___ _____ hiding in the shadows of a huge pillar at the entrance of a building...and he was passionately making out with his girlfriend (i'm assuming it's his girlfriend but frankly i didn't ask)...we couldn't believe it!!! so we go and tell the story to joe and then we walk back out of filter and i take a peek down the street AND THERE I SEE THEM NECKING AGAIN way in the distance!!! like that's a lot of making out!



like nuts man...well, i didn't actually meet the dude, but i can say with confidence that i don't have a crush on him, and last night's little encounters are enough to assure me that i never will...not because of anything i heard him say or saw him do...it's just that...the chemistry just wasn't there between him and me...



and i'm just being silly here...



today i drove to franklin, wi near milwaukee to do some interviews for a new plant there...like not all that exciting...coming home, the traffic was just a bear...there was a serious accident on the tristate just south of town line road where our offices our located, and all the lanes were closed so a helicopter could land and carry out the injured...it wasn't pretty...i went to my mom's to recuperate and had dinner there...



well, tomorrow is modest mouse w/ pete & amy & teddy...i don't know modest mouse all that much, but pete loves them, and i've been told i would too...



oh...i tried to get wilco tickets online yesterday...i failed...well, i was able to get tickets, but i had forgotten my card and had to call teddy and by that time, ticketmaster had relinquished my decent seats and all i could get were crappy ones...and i just didn't want to spend all that money for crappy seats, ya know? so i'm not gonna go...oh, they'll probably add a 2nd show or something...maybe...



well, i'm just chillin' here...not really...the a/c's not on so it ain't chill at all...but i'm not up to too much...



been listening to--

to the rooftops--watchers

last broadcast--doves

quiet is the new loud--kings of convenience

wish--the cure

kiss me kiss me kiss me--the cure

head on door--the cure

pretty we ain't--the sex pistols



p.s. i just checked my email and sure enough, i've been notified by wilcoworld.net that they've added a 2nd show...they're becoming way too predictable...

the following was written (by hand) circa 5:30pm:



happy bastille day!



so i am out of reading material for my commute home, which leaves me no choice but to write...as if that's a boring or tedious chore..tedious...hmmm...i propose that the spelling of that word be changed the TEADIOUS cuz i don't thing that 'TED' should be the first 3 letters of a word like TE(A)DIOUS...that's my personal bias though...anyways, i digress...



so remember my depressing little post from a few days ago regarding how all you can trust people to do is to let you down? well, interestingly enough, the last few chapters of high fidelity, which i finished this morning, talk about the narrators fear of commitment as being a result of his fear of losing someone to death, which is still quite inevitable for us humans...i have to admit that i can relate to this fear...having witnessed my mom go through the pain of losing my dad doesn't give me too much hope that i'd fare any better were i to face the sudden loss of my better half...



anytime you choose to love or to connect to another human being, you risk injury to your heart...there's no insurance you can buy to protect you from the arrows in this life that are a guided missile to the heart...so why this need to connect, to love, to be loved? well, i dunno WHY we need it, but i can guess why we risk such damage to the heart to get it...my guess is that those who do take that risk do so because they know that the rewards can far outweigh the pain...and yes, after years and years of joy when you do lose that someone, the more you loved that person, the more it's gotta hurt...but i tend to believe that the joys present in such a relationship in light of eternity, can transcend the boundaries of time, and years after you've lost that someone, the joy you had can revisit you and remind you why you put your heart on the line...it's gotta be worth it..or else i'm in trouble...



now here's something i wonder about...i was raised for years on borderline fundamentalist evangelical christianity, and from what i can remember, i was told, or believed i was told, again and again, that you can't depend on human love because it will fail you, that only god's love is unfailing...i also remember a lot of the behavioral restrictions being grounded in god's knowing what's best for you and wanting to protect you from the consequences of your own lack of wisdom...ok...i understand that god's the only entirely trustworthy being in all of eternity & that he probably does know what's best for you & that he's got your best interest in mind & all that...but really, what's wrong w/ experiencing some of the sorrows of human life? i'm not a masochist by any means, but i'm leaning more and more towards the belief that it's the sorrows & hardships in life that make it possible for you to fully appreciate the joys and triumphs...so you do something stupid and have to deal w/ the consequences...if you learn through that experience why you shouldn't have done that in the first place and actually internalize it, isn't that better than mindlessly obeying orders out of fear of something bad happening? like i understand that there are somethings that you just wanna take other's people's word for...like if you jump off a 20 story building, you may not survive...but i think sometimes we just need to feel that pain, so that next time we don't do something even stupider out of mere curiosity...i dunno...i just can't bring myself to obey for the mere sake of obedience, or even out of love...i have to question...that's just where i am at this stage...

well, believe it or not, i walked a cat...on a leash and everything...and there's the photo to prove it...it took a lot of coaxing, and abby was really nervous, but teddy & i got him to walk about 10 houses down, give or take a few...he was doing just fine until the neighbor down the street turned the corner w/ a big old dog...abby made a mad dash back to the apartment...but i thought it was a success...it'll be cool if he gets to the point where we can actually go around the block...and then who knows...maybe he'll start jogging or something...but i'm not holding my breath...



so sunday night was teddy big bash at the boys' apt...it was the longawaited rooftop bbq...pete & amy & little elliot made it out, which was cool...pete immediately went to work helping ted cook...that's all he's ever done when he's come to teddy's parties...cook...i think teddy loves that about him...it was a huge elaborate ordeal, preparing for this party...first off, teddy worked a six a.m. shift, so he was already exhausted by early afternoon, and then he made this really nice pasta salad, cleaned an entire kitchen top to bottom, and hit the grill...we had all sorts of guests there...from siblings...to sibling's significant others...to siblings' posses...to ex-roommates...to current roommates...roommate's friends...teddy's best friend brian...to trader joe colleagues...to total strangers...it was loads of fun!



quite honestly, we were such slowpokes w/ the grill, that there were no veggie burgers or dogs ready until after 10pm...we started out w/ some lovely side dishes though...i'm talking gourmet...teddy's pasta salad was a beauty...w/ a fresh basil sprig for garnish and everything...and his sister lauren made this elaborate fruit spread w/ these dips that were to die for...me, i made my killer guac...everybody loves my guac...i have a secret recipe...and i made veggie kabobs...and shrimp kabobs marinated in a pineapple curry sauce...ted & pete roasted corn in the husk...that was yummy...and that was about all i got off the grill until probably 10:30 or so...



folks stood around on the roof, and as the night set in, we brought out the japanese lantern my friend john made and we gathered around it as if it were a bonfire and drank, smoked, chatted up a storm...it was amazing how all the different camps of people got along and mingled together instead of just sticking to the familiar folks...and the weather was absolutely perfect...it wasn't hot or sticky at all...even a bit cool for a july night in chicago...



mikey v and teddy started drumming around midnite on teddy's two drum kits...boy, is that loud...i think there were more drummers at that party than any other instrumentalist...we could've totally had a jam session...ted's brother dave brought his bass & huge amp...we had the two drum kits, and a bunch of other percussions including the biggest thumb piano i've ever seen, my two guitars are there, ted's roomie joe's guitar...but we kept it at the two drum kits going at it...



i was exhausted by the time i made the taxi rounds and went home by 2:30, but it was definitely fun and a night to remember...i really love teddy's siblings and friends...and even his siblings' friends...it's all good...



been listening to--

murray street--sonic youth

tromp le monde--the pixies

the execution of all things--rilo kiley

loveless--my bloody valentine

reading writing and arithmetic--the sundays

in aeroplanes over the sea--neutral milk hotel

went to see miranda stone @ the last garden of the season...miranda & mike choby rocked and made us laugh for a nice long set...here are the pictures yo...



mike choby is the awesomest bass player in all of chicagoland...he's awesome on the gee-tar too...and miranda...that girl is a ROCKER...and her lyrics make me think that she'd relate to the mess that my life is without judgment or condescension...



chris langill wasn't supposed to be there due to the scheduled birth of his 2nd child...but little aaron got a head start and birthed himself on sunday, so langill showed up, proud papa, photos in hand...



been trying to clean the apartment today...not very successful...



i bought a leash for aberdeen...i am going to attempt walking a cat...call me nuts...



headache...



ugh...



been listening to--

VOL--VoL

some braid

david bruce's stuff

7 deadly sins--miranda stone