Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

It's not just the title of a Brian Eno/David Byrne collaboration, it's the state of my existence. *sigh*

I may be required to move out of my house sooner than expected, trying to buy a house in the next few months, starting a new (possibly temporary) additional job and playing somewhat regularly with a new singer/songwriter. That's just the new stuff. I've still got the radio gig, shows and albums to record with 3 other bands, and general life stuff that's got to be lived.

Anytime change begins to happen in my life, some unknown force has conspired to pile on additional change to the point that, when the dust settles, my new life seems to be rather distant from the old. This happens approximately once per year.

Can I get either stability or gradual change? I'm finding it hard to keep up.

UPDATE:
- Temp job secured.
- Move out date set at Sept. 1st
- Show with Singer/Songwriter this Saturday
- Mortgage lender info acquired, hopefully we'll meet next week...

$11 Absolutely Free!

Yesterday, I received in the mail a survey from the CDC. It's a survey about immunization, but that is far from the most important thing about it. The most important thing about the survey is that they included a dollar in the envelope. Not a check for a dollar. Not a promise to pay me a dollar at a future date. A real, honest to goodness dollar bill paperclipped to the survey.

To good to be true, right?

It turns out it's even better than that! Not only did they just send me a dollar for the trouble of removing it from the envelope, but the survey says that they'll send me ten more dollars if I fill out the survey and send it back to them. OK, I'll bite and fill out your silly survey for ten dollars...

Question 1:
How many people live in this household?

Question 2:
How many of these people are 18 years of age or older?

Question 3:
How many of these are children under the age of 3 years?

And then a simple set of instructions on how to continue...

If your answer to question 3 is "0," You are finished. Please return the questionnaire in the postage paid envelope.

Easiest $11 I ever made.

The Lies We Tell

As you may or may not know, I am currently suffering from constant lightheadedness. A visit to the doctor was inconclusive, but it appears that I have either this, or this.

But that is not really why I'm posting today.

Yesterday, I decided to venture out and try foraging for comfort foods at the local food jobber. Popsicles were my main motivation for going out, but if I'm buying comfort foods, that almost always means goldfish crackers. I picked up the largest box I could find of the "whole wheat" variety.

Now due to my dizziness I am very easily distracted, and normal human interaction has been made more difficult than it usually is. I avoided getting in line with the crazy checkout girl and was willing to try my luck with a woman who appeared far less chatty. Even still, I guess the sight of an oversized box of goldfish crackers is enough to start even the most timid of checkers talking.

Lady: "Oh wow, that's a big box of goldfish crackers!"

Me: "Uh, yeah..."

Lady: "Gonna put those in a big bowl?"

Me: "... ... ... ... Yes."

I just didn't have the heart to tell her I'd be ripping open the box and consuming at least half of it in bed while passing out watching episodes of Mythbusters.

Some things are better left unsaid.

In Boston

Once again, a long time between posts...

Right now I'm in Boston for a dear old friend's wedding. I got in after very long and complicated travel arrangements, including a nasty delay in the lost city of Atlanta.

Most of today was spent preparing food for the rehearsal dinner and folding origami flowers. I also saw lots of old friends, many of whom I haven't seen for a long time. (Hi Megan!)

Time for bed now. Maybe more posts soon. Maybe pictures if I remember my camera.

Act II

Alright, it's been quite a while since I've posted. That past few months have been very crazy between the move, 2 new roommates and lots of musical projects.

One of them will be finishing up tomorrow night. vee device will be performing Act II of Love Will Tear Us To Shreds at Everyday Joes. The show starts a 7pm.

If you missed Act I two years ago, you won't want to miss this one. If you saw the last show, you know how amazing it will be. We've got an 8 piece orchestra and several guest vocalists! We've got a party scene that is incredible! We've got Russian propaganda cartoons! We've printed programs! We've got me playing accordion and harmonica at the same time!!

If you're in the Fort Collins area, you have no excuse not to come. What, would you rather beg for sugary treats door-to-door? Halloween is once a year; vee device will perform this concert only once a lifetime!

Go West Young Man!

Ok, not very far west, but in that direction at least a little ways...

I'm moving out of my place at the end of the month. In my original plan, I was planning on staying in the place I'm in now until I had enough money to buy a house. With my half time hours, this is looking like it will be much farther in the future than I anticipated, and I can no longer really afford to live here any more.

I think I'm gonna miss this place. In reality, it's not very nice. It's got a funny smell, old carpet, angry dogs and annoying people who live below me; but still it's home. It's the first place that I've ever lived in by myself and I've loved almost every minute of it.

Living with a roommate means no more mostly naked afternoons. No leaving the bathroom door open. No option to let the cleaning slide for a bit.

Ah well, at least I'm moving in with someone who is pretty laid back. He's a local musician, and hopefully we'll get along reasonably well.

But still...

Bye bye house :(

Bachelor Food

... or Practical Posta Dishes for the Frugal Man

Let me preface this entire post with the comment that I am not a good cook. Oh sure, I can aspire to mediocrity in my chef-ing skills, but I'll never be as good as the majority of my friends and relatives when it comes to actually preparing a meal.

I'm also incredibly lazy when It comes to cooking, and without a dishwasher at my current place of residence, it usually involves far too much clean up time for my taste. Seriously, I once made instant mac and cheese in a pyrex measuring cup...


Still, cooking is far cheaper than eating out, so I find myself doing it more and more. I've tried to keep myself to a strict $25 a week grocery budget, and mostly succeeded. But as they say, necessity is the mother of strange bedfellows, and my dishes towards the end of the week tend to start becoming increasingly "creative."

So now I present to you what might possibly be the most incredible bachelor recipe of all time:

Tri -Color Pasta With Red Pepper and Steak-Umms

What you'll need:

1 Bag Cheap Tri-Color Pasta (Wacky Mac brand preferred)
2 Red Peppers (Lazily sliced, nice and big)
1 Can Pasta Sauce (Not a bottle. What are we, the emperor of France?)
4 Steak-Umms
1/2 Tbsp of Moms Red Chili Powder

- First off, take off your pants. You won't be needing them for the actual cooking process and you'll be far more comfortable without them. Are they off? Good!

- Wash all the dishes you'll need. They're probably encrusted with filth and sitting next to your sink. You may need to dig around in the pile to find them all.

- Get your pasta water boiling while you cut up the red pepper. Remember, slice them nice and big so you don't have to spend so much damn time. If you "dice" them, you have wasted valuable minutes you can never get back.

- Cook the Steak-Umms according to the instructions on the box. Try to stop yourself from eating them right when they come off the pan. Delicious Steak-Umms...

- Once the Steak-Umms are done, use the grease in the pan to fry up the red peppers. This infuses them with steaky goodness.

- If you forgot about your pasta water, it's probably boiling over at this point. Throw your pasta in and boil it according to the instructions on the bag.

- While the pasta is cooking, open your can of pasta sauce and add it to the pan with the red peppers. Shred up your Steak-Umms and throw them in the pan too. Add your chili powder, mix everything up, and let it heat up on the stove while the pasta finishes.

- When the pasta is done, strain it. A real professional can do this without the use of a collinder.

- Throw the sauce over the pasta, mix, and serve directly out of the pot. If you have a guest over, be sure to have 2 forks ready, and maybe a bowl if they're squeemish.

This dish will probably last you for a few days worth of eating. While you're chowing down, be sure to check out the Streak-Umms FAQ so that you can rest assured that "Steak-umm® Sliced Steaks are made of 100% beef."

Enjoy!