At this moment I’ve got the truck loaded up and I’m on my way to my first drumming gig in a very, very long time.
I feel like I should be nervous, but for some reason I’m not. This band got together in the last week of April and we’ve had 8 or 9 rehearsals so we’re not exactly a well oiled machine, but I think we can at least pull it off without any full-on train wrecks on stage. It’s our first time out, so who knows what will happen?!? I haven’t set foot in this club in a decade (the Quarternote in Sunnyvale, CA) and I NEVER played there before… Fingers crossed!
We’re the 2nd band of the night, playing from 10pm til Midnight and honestly my biggest concern is staying awake… I was up at 5.30am and working in 90 degree heat outside all day has got me more than a little bit whooped!
In “honor” of Daylight Saving Time happening this weekend, I thought I’d bust out some sunny, feel good tunes. My condolences to all my readers that still have snow on the ground!
I myself (and the Mrs.) will be heading out into the coastal woods for some nature time this weekend, hoping the seemingly non-stop rain gives us a break!
Wishing you all fair skies and easy sailing this weekend!
Turn up the volume and let the happy grooves move ya!
I’m feeling a bit neglectful of the ol’ blog these days and I just got back to town, so I figured I’d re-cap the last 10 days or so…
The first week of October was not unlike a big punch in the face. Work was ridiculous and on top of the ridiculousness of the day-to-day stuff, we were also hammering out the operational budget for next year. Now, I wear many, MANY hats in this gig, and do a lot of different things, but accounting is something I simply despise. I recognize that it’s a necessary evil, but I just really loathe that part of the job. A week of eyes glazing over and constant, recurring headaches, it was unpleasant to say the least. The Polyphia show was supposed to be the highlight of the week, but that was a bit of a bust too, so the week was just grueling. There was a light at the end of the tunnel though, an impending road trip, kicking off on Sunday, October 8th.
Sunday, October 8th we hit the road to Anaheim, CA for an out of the ordinary trip. For the last 25 or so years, the Mrs. and I have wanted to experience a Disneyland Halloween, and this year we finally did it. We tried to make this trip last year but our planning started only 3 months ahead of when we wanted to go and there was NOTHING available. Seriously, nothing. So this Halloween excursion had been on the books now for 10 months – a long time to wait! And to be honest, I’ve kinda lost my appreciation for Disney over the last few years, between them gobbling up so many other companies and intellectual properties, putting out crap movies and all their “woke” nonsense, I had considerations of calling the whole thing off. Nonetheless, a Disney Halloween was a bucket-list thing since I wanted to go long before the company started going down hill…
The last time we’d been to Disneyland was for our daughter’s 5th birthday – she’ll be 30 this coming February – it’s been a while!
We were expecting long lines and exorbitant costs for everything, and we grossly underestimated both. I’m a maniac for roller coasters, but waiting 2 hours (no, I’m NOT exaggerating!) for a 2 minute ride takes a lot of the fun out of it. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about the entire thing. When we first got there I found myself grinning ear-to-ear at the “magical” aspect of the place. Part of that was nostalgia, but really if you take in the architecture and the design and the special little touches everywhere, it really is unlike anything else in the world.
But the crowds! Good grief! It was just a non-stop, undulating sea of people everywhere you turned. And let me tell you, after seeing thousands upon thousands of these folks doing their best to make it an awesome day for themselves, I started to lose what little faith I had left in humanity.
This is not to say that no fun was had, there were some fun moments…just hours of waiting in “cattle chutes” in between those moments of fun. The Mrs. and I decided upon our departure that we won’t be back unless we end up with grandkids to take. Even then, it would be a tough sell…
On the bright side, we did get to ride the “Incredicoaster” at the California Adventure park on our last day, and I just gotta say WOW!!! Hands down the best roller coaster I’ve ever ridden – by a country mile!
As for the Halloween aspect, the main reason we went, it was underwhelming. There were a lot of decorations put up for it, some pretty stunning in fact, but overall it wasn’t all that different. Maybe the 80 degrees and sunny weather kept the Fall spirit at bay, I dunno. All I can say is Halloween didn’t seem to make it any more magical than it already is, it just brought in a ton of extra people.
The Haunted Mansion, Halloween Style…
After roughly 48 hours in Disneyland across 3 calendar days, it was back home for a layover/re-pack/car swap and a single work day for the Mrs. (and I got to put in some volunteer time at the school too, while she was working). On the 12th we set out again for one of our favorite destinations, Pismo Beach, CA.
I’ve said before that Half Moon Bay is our “home away from home”, but Pismo is a close second. The fact that one of my oldest friends lives there AND I can always count on him to head out into the surf with me, makes Pismo a very welcoming destination indeed.
This time around we tried out a few new places – the new food destinations were awesome, the outdoor hot tubs at Sycamore Hot Springs, eh, not so much… Nonetheless, we had a really relaxing time and I got to surf two days in a row, which almost never happens!
Pablo (right) and the B.O.M. (left) heading into the Pacific!
The whole reason for this trip was in celebration of the Mrs. and I hitting our 32nd (!!!) anniversary. Still having a hard time wrapping my head around that one… Add to that another 3 years together before we got married and we’re approaching double the years together than years we’d lived up to that point. It is staggering. Heck, our daughter is nearly 10 years older then we were when we got together, how time flies, eh?!?
We got back home late Sunday afternoon and the girls had a spa appointment to go to, so I headed out to my studio for some much needed drum time. I decided before I left on this trip that I wanted to change things up with my kit, and started tearing it down before I left. Last night I got a new, much smaller configuration set up and took it for a test drive. It’s pretty close to a “standard” set up now, which kinda rubs me the wrong way, but I’ll keep messing with it ’til I find a set up I love…Or I’ll go back to the “everything but the kitchen sink” set up, cuz I’m weird that way…
Before…After.
Monday was back to the grind, sadly. Morning commute traffic, 444 emails waiting and back to trying to solve everybody’s problems “yesterday”. Thank goodness for the recharge!!
All in all it was a great week, in spite of the hiccups, and I’m feeling invigorated and ready to seize Fall – my favorite season!
Unlike the late Randy Newman, I do NOT love LA. It’s been a few years since I’ve been here, and I was in no hurry to return but one of those “once in a lifetime” things popped up, and here we are!
Our lodging for the next couple nights…
The trip took us roughly 5.5 hours, not too shabby! On the way we made a pit-stop for fuel and restroom facilities and found an Arby’s, so we had to stop there too. Say what you will about Arby’s… People seem to love ’em or hate ’em, but we love their sandwiches. All their locations in our neck of the woods have closed down, so this was our first time in one for years and we were quite happy with our decision to stop in!
We checked into the Roosevelt Hotel, which has quite the history: the first Academy Awards were held here, Marilyn Monroe lived here for some time…many Hollywood legends have stayed here over the decades. Some say a few are still here, haunting the joint but so far we’ve seen nothing unusual.
The view from our room…
Today we’re just gonna kick about and do some touristy stuff until it’s time to get ready for tonight’s event. More on that later… For now, we’re gonna take our daughter to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars and the Chinese Theater with all the famous people’s handprints and what not… But first, breakfast!
Today was a monumental day- my first time back on a surfboard since December of last year! (That’s right, us crazies out here on the west coast still surf at Christmas!)
2022 has been a rough year for me health-wise. Not only did my 5-day a week gym routine go out the window, but my surfing came to a screeching halt. Over the past couple months I’ve been making strides at the gym, but still haven’t felt I had the strength for surfing.
The conditions weren’t great, but then again I’m not a great surfer, despite my passion for it. But it felt incredible just to be back in the Pacific, paddling out under squadrons of pelicans. And in the end, I did catch a nice wave and managed to get upright for a short but sweet little ride.
It’s been a LONG week, having trouble getting my head screwed on straight this morning… But, its Friday which is nice and a beautiful Spring day out, so how about a few chuckles to get the day started… I am a Dad, so naturally I have some Dad Jokes for you!
#1. I’m really excited for the amateur autopsy club I just joined. Tuesday is open Mike night!
#2. What kind of doctor is Dr. Pepper? A fizzician!
#3. My boss asked me why I only get sick on work days. I said it must be my weekend immune system.
Thank you, I’m here all week. Be sure to tip your waitress!
After missing the festivities for the last few years, today the Mrs. and I ventured out to Kelly Park in San Jose for the 37th Annual VVCA (Vintage Volkswagen Club of America) Spring Meet, and what a great show!
I’ve been mad about VWs, since long before I could drive. My first car was a 1973 VW type III Squareback, later I had a Superbeetle and a ’71 type II bus. The first and only new car I ever purchased was a watercooled VW golf in 1990. So you could say my relationship with, and love for, VWs goes way, way back! I haven’t had one for a while now, but the craving never really leaves. After today the craving for a new aircooled plaything is especially strong!
Today we lucked out and had beautiful Spring weather and an awesome turnout of vintage German automobiles with some great restorations and even more custom, creative rides.
Here are a few highlights:
Gorgeous Single-cab Type IIOne of the finest Things I’ve seen in a long time.Very clean and modern look on this BugThis Ghia was the Mrs.’ favorite car of the day. Simple and beautiful. Ultra rare right hand drive Notchback. The first one I’ve ever seen in person…A stunning interior This pretty thing wasn’t quite finished and the pic doesn’t do it justice, she was truly dazzling in person
My thanks to the sponsors and the fine folks running the meet, we had a great time and look forward to the 38th annual!
April 17th marks 100 days since my first post on this new blog. It’s hard to believe it’s already been 3+ months!
I had low expectations for readership, as I don’t have any social media “presence” (or accounts for that matter!) and I only let a few people know I was doing this. But regardless, this was just something I wanted to do, a small outlet for chronicling my life, sharing some things I enjoy and yes, blowing off steam from time to time.
Unlike my last two blogs, I’m actually having fun with this one and have been pleasantly surprised at the “traffic” I’ve drummed up thus far.
I recognize that I’m not exactly a “writer”, nor do I hold any impressive credentials that make me worth listening to. Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact that so many folks have stopped by for a read. I hope my efforts have put a smile on your face, or turned you on to some new music or books, or just gave you a little kernel of something worthwhile to think about.
As of this morning, I’ve put up 55 posts and my site has received 158 visitors and 271 page views! I’ve got a handful of followers and some have even left a few comments! Sure, this is peanuts compared to establishing blogs, but these numbers exceeded my expectations, by a long shot!
So, a big, BIG thank you, to each and every one of you that have stopped by. I truly appreciate you sharing some of your precious time here at my hangout.
With Spring and Summer right around the corner, I expect a lot of good stuff to share with y’all, so I hope to see you back here from time to time!
The Boring Old Man 