nothing like learning some one who was a co-worker and friend has passed suddenly and tragically to make all the bullshit i stress about seem completely insignificant.
that shit is just fucked.
labor day weekend:
friday: picked my bro and his friend up at ogliville at 930pm. went to clark and belmont to eat diner food. walked around wrigleyville, checking out the d-bag bars and hipster clothing stores.
saturday: went to haas park and got down on temptation soy ice cream cones. joined in for a pick-up softball game. i batted three times, and (thank god!) hit the ball three times. grounded out once, on base twice. rbi x 2.
sunday: went to j.misfit's house for a bbq. enjoyed light conversation and vegan potato salad, guacomole/salsa and chips, assorted cut fruits, etc. drank six beers and sat awkwardly by myself not really talking but listening. decided to ride my bike to milwaukee (92 miles one way!)
monday: rode my bike to just north of kenosha. first time in wisconsin by the way. went swimming in the lake. the water was so cold and refreshing!! 103 miles round trip, way short of my (spontaneous/ill-planned) goal. seriously thought for the final two hours that i was going to die in the north shore, and no one would know. got seriously burnt on my arms and slightly burnt on the face. i say i rather look alive with some color for once!
labor day 2007: good...good.
i just returned to my new beloved from a twenty-four hour whirlwind trip to philly. karen and i flew there for a show. we stayed with my cousin mike on the south side.
i should say that this trip was something special for karen and i b/c our last trip together was in 2003, at which point we also went to philly, and we were there in time for the blackout.
on the flight to philly, of all the screaming little kids and foreigners who smelled like spices and B.O. that i could have gotten stuck sitting next to, i was seated by the most precious little hardcore boy with curly blonde unkempt hair and watery eyes blue like oceans that i got lost in for a split second when i turned my head to answer his question of if i was returning home or leaving and he was gazing into mine. we made small talk, but mostly i slept.
mike picked karen and me up at the airport. he took us on a tour of the city and then we stopped to eat at a vegan place on the south side. it was amazing. i ate a philly "cheeze steak", and they also had vegan ice cream, cakes, cookies, breakfast pastries, and other sandwiches. oh, man, we got down on that shit like whoa!!
karen and i went to the show early. the venue was called the electric factory, and it was similiar to pop's in the layout. the first band totally sucked. the ergs played second. they sounded solid, but it was weird seeing them up high on a stage at this huge venue with a barricade. again, i like watching the ergs play their instruments.
lifetime played third. the place went NUTS!! karen was in the front row; i was pushed back a few rows. no prob. karen and dan-o were making some serious eye contact. lifetime's set was the perfect mix of the new material and the older songs.
bouncing souls played last. i admit that i have not gotten into any of their material for the past eight or so years, but they really reeled me back in after that set!! they opened with "hopeless romantic" and "say anything" which are two of my favorites. their set was tight as hell, loud, and contained a lot of the older material.
after the show, karen and i hit up the merch booth and headed over to this little dive called oscar's. it was totally chill. also, in philly, smoking is not allowed in bars. total.
this morning we ate our breakfast pastries purchased before, and peri drove us to center city. we ate some lunch and window shopped, but before we hailed a cab to the airport, we decided to make one last impulse purchase--and went to a parlor and got our septums pierced!!
we were unbelievably nervous and psyching ourselves out, which is silly if you stop to think about just how many holes karen and i already have. we went into the room with the piercer together. i went first and it went really smoothly...i can't believe we were being such babies about it!!
the trip was just amazing. the weather was gorgeous, the show was energetic, family/friends were hospitable. now i'm sitting in my room with my quasi-permanent souvineer, listening to my new cd, already looking forward to the next trip EAST!!
