Last night we had a fun night out, over the hill in Santa Cruz. This was sort of a “bucket list” thing for me, so it was an extra special occasion, in that the family indulged me!
I was never much of a horror movie fan, but The Lost Boys was one of the few that I really liked back in the day. I’m sure the fact that it was primarily filmed in Santa Cruz, my home-away-from-home at the time, made it extra special to me and my friends.
The Mrs. and I, along with our daughter and her BF, as well as my BIL Capt. Karel loaded up the wagon with blankets and such and hit the road to Santa Cruz for the somewhat surreal experience of watching a movie on the beach (and Boardwalk) where the movie was filmed!
We indulged in the Boardwalk’s “Monster Corn Dogs” and had a good old fashioned family night watching a classic horror movie on the cusp of Halloweeen, it was a lot of fun!
Sure, the movie is a bit dated and cheesy, but it still brings a smile to my face. And I can’t remember ever having a bad time on the beach! A big thanks to the family for making it a night to remember!
Last night I had a fantastic experience and I’m still riding the “high”!
For the first time in literally decades, I got a chance to sit down with one of my oldest friends for a songwriting session, and it was like a spigot was turned on – the music just flowed like it hasn’t in years!
This was just what the doctor ordered, it’s been way too long since I was able to just create and I missed it even more than I realized.
In the matter of just a few short hours, we planted the seeds of 6 new songs right outta the gate. It was remarkable and thrilling to say the least.
Remember to feed your soul folks, it’s good for your health and your spirit!
I saw this comment recently in a drum forum I frequent, and it really struck a chord with me…
<QUOTE>The best definition of anxiety I ever heard was, “Anxiety is starting rumors about yourself in your own head, and believing them.” Don’t listen to that lying asshole who lives in your skull. He’s a dick. He’s always trying to ruin your fun and deprive you of anything good with his bullshit. I’ve got one of those living in my own skull myself. What an asshole.<END QUOTE>
I’ve most certainly had my run-ins with anxiety over the years. Sometimes it was near debilitating. Sometimes it’s just enough to make you act like a jerk towards people that don’t deserve it, or make stupid, rash decisions that make matters worse, sooner or later.
I have yet to find a circumstance in which anxiety produced positive results.
What’s worse, just as the commenter suggests, it’s all in YOUR head. We do it to ourselves.
Clearly, I don’t have any answers to combat this as it’s a condition I’m all too familiar with, but the next time it flares up I’m going to do my best to remember this sage (if off-colour) advice. I suggest you do the same, should you find yourself in a state of anxiety. It just might work!
It’s been a weird week… We got back from our road trip late Thursday night, then it was back to the office Friday, which was a whirlwind of activity and turned into a 10+ hour day. Saturday was spent unpacking and fun stuff like laundry…then back to work Sunday for another full day…
And now it’s Monday and again and I’m smack dab in the middle of the real world. Drats.
BUT! I did manage to drag my lazy butt to the gym this morning before work though, so at least I’ve got that goin’ for me. Now if I can just keep it up for the rest of the week!
And I’ve got plans to meet up with one of my oldest, nearest and dearest friends tonight to catch up, so here’s to hoping Monday is painless and quick!
Take care of yourselves out there, and do your best to have a great week! Find something to be grateful for!
Today we ventured further north to Gold Beach, Oregon. The town is small and not unlike many other sea-side towns, but we’ve been enjoying it very much.
The view from our room.
After checking in to our spot for the night, we actually took to the road again, driving up as far as Port Orford, OR, just for the heck of it, to see what’s what.
Today is out actual anniversary – 31 years ago today, we tied the knot – so today is the day we spoil ourselves. Very swanky accommodations, unbelievable high end dinner (so good, words fail me) and just cruisin’ around enjoying each other. There are much worse ways to spend the day, let me tell you!
Tomorrow we’ll goof off a bit, then we’ve got a long haul ahead of us to get home. Sadly, both of us have to work in the morning (and I, this weekend also).
Oregon has been delightful, it most certainly won’t be another 40 years before we return!
This is a trip looooooong overdue! I haven’t been to Oregon in roughly 4 decades, but it’s a place that I’ve held a strong fondness for since the last time I was here. The Mrs. had NEVER been to Oregon, but finally we’ve made it, and it couldn’t be more breathtaking!
Gorgeous, just gorgeous.
We’re staying at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast, right on he water, for a couple days, then heading slightly further North tomorrow.
So far, it’s pretty much been perfect. The weather, the beach, the inn…honestly couldn’t be more content right now.
The waves have not been conducive to surfing, but I don’t mind in the least. It’s been a minute since I’ve been this relaxed, and I’m just gonna soak it in!
This week the Mrs. and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary, and we decided to go somewhere we’ve never been just for the adventure of it. Our first stop, Trinidad, California is roughly 6 hrs north of home, so not too bad of a haul to get there.
We got a late start, and it was well past sundown when we arrived, so we didn’t get to see much of anything upon arrival. However, we were greeted by an astounding chorus of sea lions hooting and hollering from the shores below.
As it turns out, that was kinda the highlight of our stay.
Foggy but gorgeous here.
The area is stunning and if we had time to dilly-dally, there were several places worth exploring but this was just a layover…
Tonight was our second time catching Lyric Born’s live show, but our first venture into Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz.
Opening act was Mak Nova, a female rapper from Santa Cruz whom we’d never heard of. I listened to a few of her songs beforehand and wasn’t terribly excited for the set, but luckily she had an outstanding band that gave up an excellent performance. Mak’s performance was ok…nothing really grabbed me. To be honest, she seemed too well ‘rehearsed’, as in every move seemed calculated and not exactly genuine. But like I said, her band killed it – I especially liked her bassist – so overall I’d say it was a decent set, but I wouldn’t go out-of my way to see her again.
Anticipation was high for LB, his last show was spectacular and we were hoping for a repeat of the awesomeness. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
His band was scaled way back from the last time we saw him – just drums, bass and guitar – and while his band is stellar, it just wasn’t nearly as fantastic as the last time around.
Don’t get me wrong, he was still good. Just not great.
Nonetheless, it was a fun night and a chance to see some musicians at the top of their game, which is always a good time! Beats a night of Netflix, hands down!
Alllrighty then, it’s been a while since the last update, but we managed to get out Thursday night for some great laughs in San Jose.
Anthony Jeselnik has been doing comedy for 20 years now, but he’s not exactly a household name. I myself just heard about him in the last couple years, in fact. But he SHOULD be wildly famous for his act. The man is hysterically funny! That is, if you like “dark” humor. And we (my family) absolutely do!
His opening acts were forgetful, so much in fact I can’t recall their names. The show opener did have one funny bit about her day job as a teacher for inmates in a correctional facility, but other than that it was m’eh. The featured comic up next was another lady whose name I forget, and her act just kinda fell flat. One punchline elicited a smile from me, but honestly I don’t think I laughed once during her set. It was a heavy dose of ‘cringe’ as the kids say…
After the dull second act, I was really anxious for some laughs, and boy did Jeselnik deliver! I was laughing so hard at times it was hard to catch my breath!
His writing is really clever and his punchlines are so unexpected, it’s really something to behold. Like I said, his comedy is dark, ‘gallows humor’, and is most definitely NOT for everyone. Avoid him if you’re easily offended, or you think comedians should censor themselves and maintain political correctness. If you think political correctness and comedy is a match made in the deepest pits of hell, then Anthony Jeselnik may be the comedian for you!
In all, it was a super fun night, great to get out with the Mrs. and our daughter and her bf. Lots of laughs all around!
Jeselnik is on tour right now, if you have the opportunity I HIGHLY RECOMMEND his show!
Roughly 15 years ago I became involved with my local C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) and while I considered myself to be living the Boy Scout’s motto “Be Prepared”, after going through the training for C.E.R.T. and working with our local LEOs and EMS/FD, I recognized that while I was better prepared than most, I was not even close to where I needed to be.
This lead me down a very long, twisted, sometimes horrifying rabbit hole in the world of preparedness, survivalism, resource depletion, world events and politics.
In the course of study, I ran across a website by the name of “BisonPrepper” and was immediately intrigued. This guy was unlike EVERYBODY in the “preparedness space” on the web. He was living proof that “conventional wisdom” could be thrown right out the window, and survival could still be possible on next to nothing financially. All you had to do was unlearn everything we’ve been taught was ‘necessary’ and learn to embrace frugality. How was he living proof? He was doing it, living off grid on ‘junk land’ in the wilds of NE Nevada, living without an automobile, without plumbing, without ‘utilities’, basically living without most modern conveniences that the majority of people in “first world” countries deem essential to life. Like refrigeration, for example.
I followed his blog for years and would comment frequently, and James and I would exchange emails occasionally on things that were too big to discuss in a comments section. I bought (almost) all of his books, and while I didn’t agree with him 100%, I enjoyed his point of view and his out of the box thinking enough that I kept coming back for more, year after year. And besides, he was funny as all get out (unless you’re easily offended, that is).
Fast forward to June 2020 and Lord Bison (as he was affectionately called by his loyal minions) announced he was going really off grid, discontinuing his blog and moving to a monthly subscription newsletter via snail mail, so naturally I signed up.
It was at this point Lord Bison and I became friends. We used to correspond frequently via the Post Office, and I’d send small gifts and holiday greetings and what not, anxiously awaiting every new monthly installment. Then suddenly it stopped.
I’ve sent a few letters, sent a few emails and all have gone unanswered. I tried the phone number I had for him and got the old “this number has been disconnected” recording. His last newsletter was in May of this year, or maybe it was April, with a May electronic update (he started doing one post a month after a year or so of Mail only, but I digress) and not a peep since then. Not even a comment on my blog here, which were frequent before his disappearance.
Have you seen this man?
It’s a weird feeling, not knowing what in the world happened to someone that you “talked” to almost daily for a dozen years or so. It’s unsettling to say the least. It’s difficult to wrap my head around how someone important to you can suddenly be gone without a trace…
Jim, you magnificent bastard, if you’re still out there, know that your presence (and your majestic hair!) is missed. Sido mentioned your disappearance a while back, and a few of us chimed in (including Wilder) in concurrence that none of us had heard from you, which is worrisome.
My hope is that you’ve ‘gone to ground’ out in the BiPOD you told us all about, but it gets harder every day to convince myself of that. My pessimism, so finely honed under your tutelage, keeps telling me otherwise. Six months is a long time for someone with as much to say as you do, to keep quiet.
If you’re reading this, let me say ThankYou once again for everything you did for me and the greater collection of Minions. Living through these crazy times we find ourselves in is going to be a bit less frightful thanks to you and your life’s work. I agree with the notion that nobody is ever “fully prepared”, but I can say with 100% certainty that I’m miles beyond where I was when I found you, and my fear of the unknown has DEcreased by 90%, at least. And that is because of you.
Whether we meet again in this life or the next, your next jelly-filled donut is on me Buddy!
The Boring Old Man 