I think I like posting blogs where I ramble on and and with nothing really intelligent to say. But I only like the posts when I am creating it. I look back and read over the post and get upset with myself for posting it, fearing that it will portray me as less of a writer. Which puts me in another intense thought process where I argue with myself on why I am trying to be a better writer. I am no writer. I have no desire to be a writer. But I stress it. I shouldn't. And I continue to.So here I sit, late and night, not being able to sleep. I'm watching Good Eats with Alton Brown on the Food Network. Which actually depresses me. I enjoy cooking so much. It relaxes me to be in a kitchen. Since I currently live with my grandma, her small little kitchen wouldn't suffice my desire. But it will be ok. Once I get my own place in the future, I'll be cooking non-stop. And I am not cocky about really anything, but I am a damn good cook. That is one thing I will be confident in. The only person who challenges me, is my mother. And I'm ok with that.
I'm bothered I can't sleep. I randomly took a nap after work today which is now preventing my highly desired dreaming. I have to get up in 6ish hours to go running before work. Definitely trying to become more healthy and more fit. Trying to eat well, exercise daily, you know...typical stuff. Also trying to detox myself. I am currently using those Kinoki Pads you put on your feet while you sleep. They then take out all the toxins in your body. From people I've heard who use them too, one girls skin cleared up after she started using them. So we'll see how they do. Also plan on buying some of those colon clean out systems. As weird as they may sound, they have a good purpose. Also good for weight loss. Your colon holds around 15lbs of fecal matter that is just stored up over time. Gross eh? But it must be done. Anything I can do to help me be healthier.
Mental and behavior health is important too. I would highly recommend to order any product by Tony Robbins. It will seriously help build your mental and behavioral state to its healthiest potential. I haven't taken the chance to sit down and dive into the program like I want to, but already with the bits and pieces of the program I have done....its already made things much more clear.
I think sleep is needed. Thought processing and typing on my little phone here is becoming difficult. Anyway, I'm out.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tour Memories
So I decided to write some memories here and there to make my blog a little more enjoyable. It will also allow me to remember them for a longer period of time.
These memories are just a few that I have from my days touring with a band called The Trademark. I first became friends with them my sophomore year of high school and a few years later after graduation, we set off on their first tour ever. We did a few weekend tours and a few longer tours. But these are the memories from tour.
We were in Nebraska at one show that had a really big turn out for a crowd. It was awesome. The fans loved it, Drew(bassist) did a guitar swing with his bass that broke off from the strap and shot into the wall of the venue. Just an overall good show. We were all on a high, fans wanting autographs, tons buying merch. I was on filming duty, so I was all over the place. Interviewing fans, and just getting a lot of footage for a possible tour diary. I remember these two girls were saying that they would make out and take off their clothes for the band. So a local fan, myself, the two girls, and if I remember correctly, two other fans went outside. I knew nothing would happen but I was mistaken. They made a deal with the local fan that they would if he stripped down and ran around the city block undressed. Funny thing is, he did. We all made fun and laughed. And we went back inside while he took off running.
We were in St. Cloud, Minnesota another night. We got to the show early and had nothing to do. Browsed the Internet, checked the myspace, responded to emails, etc. Across the street was a sex shop and oddly enough, most of the towns we played in, the venue would be right next to a
sex shop. We went to every one. At this particular one I have some awesome memories. I remember holding up a DVD and handing it to my buddy Riley, telling him I was going to buy it for him. He was super excited. He didn't notice that it was a Chicks with Dicks movie.
I also found a giant purple fist dildo. The first one I had ever seen in my life in person. Picked it up, hid in the aisles, and jumped out trying to punch my friends in the face with it as they came around the corner.
The band we were touring with was a band called Offset. Love that band to death. Such awesome dudes. The lead singers birthday was that day and we all pitched in and bought him a penis squirt gun. Gave it to him on stage. Haha oh the laughs.
We had a show in Fargo, North Dakota. Drew played the show dressed up in a batman costume made for someone 10 years younger than him. Quite interesting. After the show we took off for a 13 hour drive from Fargo to Torrington, Wyoming. Quite the drive. We stopped at some gas stations here and there.
Let me take a break and describe to you how we drove from city to city. After every show, we would load up the van, Drew(bass) and Natty(drums) would get in the back seat. Riley(guitar) would drive and I would co-pilot. That's how it was every night. No one else ever drove, I rarely didn't co-pilot. I had some prescription medicine (that I am not going to release the name because it shouldn't be used how we used it) that we took which would keep us awake. You never feel tired. It makes you feel awake. Not on a hyper boost. Its actually a great medicine when used properly. Bad thing is, You are supposed to take one and it will keep you awake for 12 hours. Its made for insomniacs to take when they wake up so when its time for bed, they'll be able to sleep since they didn't nap or feel tired throughout the day. But if you take another pill when those 12 hours are up.....you'll stay awake. Feeling great. Wide awake. After a few days though...you're body will just crash and you'll sleep for at least a day.
Well right before we left, we took the medicine. And started to drive. We drove forever stopping at gas stations. I was 18. Had bad habits of drinking tons of mountain dew, gas station coffee, and muffins. I ate so many damn lemon muffins. Delicious, yet extremely unhealthy.
Well we drove through the night and Drew woke up around 6am and was chatting with us. I decided it would probably be best if he was wide awake for me to maybe sleep a little. So we switched spots. During my sleep, a mighty war rumbled inside me. Between all the crap food I ate and my stomach. My stomach lost. I wake up and we are driving through the mountains. Somewhere in South Dakota near Mt Rushmore.
I say, "Hey...can we pull over...I need to pee."
Response, "Shut up, Fat."
(My nickname was Fat Dan...so I was called Fat for short. That's another story.)
I say, "I need to throw up."
Response, "Liar...you just said you needed to pee."
Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to convince them I really needed to throw up, I opened the door to the van, leaned out and started to vomit.
Cars behind us started honking, Drew had half his body out the window laughing and screaming "SOMEONE GRAB THE VIDEO CAMERA...THIS IS AWESOME!"
I get back in the van, feeling a thousand times better, and went back to sleep. I would wake up 3 hours later to continue the drive. But somewhere near Mt. Rushmore, my vomit is on a freeway.
Once we arrived in Torrington, Wyoming we found out that the venue for the concert no longer could have the show. A fan told us that we could do the show in his garage at his house. And his parents wouldn't mind. But this was so last minute. There was no way to make sure that people knew where the new location would be. School was out in an hour and we made tons of hand made flyer's. Offset was touring in a motor home while we were in a tour van. We parked both in front of the school. School got out and all the kids came out. Brian from Offset put on his wrestler mask and stood on top of the RV. Screaming at all the kids, telling them to go to Jake's house for the concert. All of us handing out our hand-made flyer's. Turns out, it worked. The garage was packed. It was a pretty big garage too. And it was filled. The parents rocked out with us, the kids had a good time, we made bank on merchandise. Good turn out.
One awesome memory I have was doing an interview with DJ Rossstar. They were the first band he had on the show was un-signed. But it was fun. We had a good time. A lot of really big bands had been in his small little apartment and he is rad. We had just gotten back from the beach before going to his show. So we were a little wet. I think I'll tell you about that....now.
We are from Utah. It was April. The weather was warm. It was still snowing in Utah and cold. We were excited to see the sun and be able to go to the beach. Our pale white bodies put on our swimsuits and Drew and I ventured out into the Pacific Ocean. The locals who were running on the boardwalk in parkas and sweatshirts, probably thought in their head "Crazy tourists."
Because who else would be jumping into 50 degree water and having a good time?
These are all the stories I will post for now. Even though I have many more. And you're probably sick of reading by now as well. Hope you enjoyed it.
These memories are just a few that I have from my days touring with a band called The Trademark. I first became friends with them my sophomore year of high school and a few years later after graduation, we set off on their first tour ever. We did a few weekend tours and a few longer tours. But these are the memories from tour.
We were in Nebraska at one show that had a really big turn out for a crowd. It was awesome. The fans loved it, Drew(bassist) did a guitar swing with his bass that broke off from the strap and shot into the wall of the venue. Just an overall good show. We were all on a high, fans wanting autographs, tons buying merch. I was on filming duty, so I was all over the place. Interviewing fans, and just getting a lot of footage for a possible tour diary. I remember these two girls were saying that they would make out and take off their clothes for the band. So a local fan, myself, the two girls, and if I remember correctly, two other fans went outside. I knew nothing would happen but I was mistaken. They made a deal with the local fan that they would if he stripped down and ran around the city block undressed. Funny thing is, he did. We all made fun and laughed. And we went back inside while he took off running.
We were in St. Cloud, Minnesota another night. We got to the show early and had nothing to do. Browsed the Internet, checked the myspace, responded to emails, etc. Across the street was a sex shop and oddly enough, most of the towns we played in, the venue would be right next to a
sex shop. We went to every one. At this particular one I have some awesome memories. I remember holding up a DVD and handing it to my buddy Riley, telling him I was going to buy it for him. He was super excited. He didn't notice that it was a Chicks with Dicks movie.I also found a giant purple fist dildo. The first one I had ever seen in my life in person. Picked it up, hid in the aisles, and jumped out trying to punch my friends in the face with it as they came around the corner.
The band we were touring with was a band called Offset. Love that band to death. Such awesome dudes. The lead singers birthday was that day and we all pitched in and bought him a penis squirt gun. Gave it to him on stage. Haha oh the laughs.
We had a show in Fargo, North Dakota. Drew played the show dressed up in a batman costume made for someone 10 years younger than him. Quite interesting. After the show we took off for a 13 hour drive from Fargo to Torrington, Wyoming. Quite the drive. We stopped at some gas stations here and there.
Let me take a break and describe to you how we drove from city to city. After every show, we would load up the van, Drew(bass) and Natty(drums) would get in the back seat. Riley(guitar) would drive and I would co-pilot. That's how it was every night. No one else ever drove, I rarely didn't co-pilot. I had some prescription medicine (that I am not going to release the name because it shouldn't be used how we used it) that we took which would keep us awake. You never feel tired. It makes you feel awake. Not on a hyper boost. Its actually a great medicine when used properly. Bad thing is, You are supposed to take one and it will keep you awake for 12 hours. Its made for insomniacs to take when they wake up so when its time for bed, they'll be able to sleep since they didn't nap or feel tired throughout the day. But if you take another pill when those 12 hours are up.....you'll stay awake. Feeling great. Wide awake. After a few days though...you're body will just crash and you'll sleep for at least a day.
Well right before we left, we took the medicine. And started to drive. We drove forever stopping at gas stations. I was 18. Had bad habits of drinking tons of mountain dew, gas station coffee, and muffins. I ate so many damn lemon muffins. Delicious, yet extremely unhealthy.Well we drove through the night and Drew woke up around 6am and was chatting with us. I decided it would probably be best if he was wide awake for me to maybe sleep a little. So we switched spots. During my sleep, a mighty war rumbled inside me. Between all the crap food I ate and my stomach. My stomach lost. I wake up and we are driving through the mountains. Somewhere in South Dakota near Mt Rushmore.
I say, "Hey...can we pull over...I need to pee."
Response, "Shut up, Fat."
(My nickname was Fat Dan...so I was called Fat for short. That's another story.)
I say, "I need to throw up."
Response, "Liar...you just said you needed to pee."
Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to convince them I really needed to throw up, I opened the door to the van, leaned out and started to vomit.
Cars behind us started honking, Drew had half his body out the window laughing and screaming "SOMEONE GRAB THE VIDEO CAMERA...THIS IS AWESOME!"
I get back in the van, feeling a thousand times better, and went back to sleep. I would wake up 3 hours later to continue the drive. But somewhere near Mt. Rushmore, my vomit is on a freeway.
Once we arrived in Torrington, Wyoming we found out that the venue for the concert no longer could have the show. A fan told us that we could do the show in his garage at his house. And his parents wouldn't mind. But this was so last minute. There was no way to make sure that people knew where the new location would be. School was out in an hour and we made tons of hand made flyer's. Offset was touring in a motor home while we were in a tour van. We parked both in front of the school. School got out and all the kids came out. Brian from Offset put on his wrestler mask and stood on top of the RV. Screaming at all the kids, telling them to go to Jake's house for the concert. All of us handing out our hand-made flyer's. Turns out, it worked. The garage was packed. It was a pretty big garage too. And it was filled. The parents rocked out with us, the kids had a good time, we made bank on merchandise. Good turn out.
One awesome memory I have was doing an interview with DJ Rossstar. They were the first band he had on the show was un-signed. But it was fun. We had a good time. A lot of really big bands had been in his small little apartment and he is rad. We had just gotten back from the beach before going to his show. So we were a little wet. I think I'll tell you about that....now.
We are from Utah. It was April. The weather was warm. It was still snowing in Utah and cold. We were excited to see the sun and be able to go to the beach. Our pale white bodies put on our swimsuits and Drew and I ventured out into the Pacific Ocean. The locals who were running on the boardwalk in parkas and sweatshirts, probably thought in their head "Crazy tourists."
Because who else would be jumping into 50 degree water and having a good time?
These are all the stories I will post for now. Even though I have many more. And you're probably sick of reading by now as well. Hope you enjoyed it.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Do you hear wedding bells? Do you now?
I'd like to just give a post to my friends Deadmond and Emily. Just recently heard the confirmation that they will be getting married and honestly, couldn't be happier for them.
I first met Emily through Myspace and we became friends and she would always tell me about her boyfriend at the time named Eric. Man, was he a moron. Emily and I became pretty good friends that lasted over a few years. Fondest memories of her are visiting her at her job at Johnny Carinos, and listening to her talk about her younger brother Trace.
Deadmond I met through my friend Tyson. We randomly went over to his house and I had recently broken up with a girlfriend who cheated on me constantly. So when we arrived and he told me that he knew my ex and such, I instantly had hard feelings towards him. Not really sure why, but mainly didn't trust him. That very quickly passed and we became good friends. I remember going to the Orem carnival with him and also going to the park where there was a random 7 year old kid throwing water balloons at us and screaming "Shit" everytime they didn't pop.
Scott and Emily both needed a job and I convinced them to apply at my job at the time. They were both hired, we all became friends, they fell in love. I won't take any credit for them being able to meet each other.......wait, yes I will. Buhahahaha! Jk. But they are two awesome people who truly deserve the best, and I know they are gonna be happy together. Best wishes Scott and Emily.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Chills....
This video gives me chills everytime. I love this version of 'Don't Stop Believin'. Sad, that I can only listen to it on this clip. BUT, I will be watching this show. I am excited.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ea2pMx1lYw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ea2pMx1lYw
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Fire.
Lately, been super excited for life. Never have felt like this before. Can honestly say that it is the best feeling in the world. I honestly feel like nothing can stop me right now. I have never had a more clear view on what I want. The best way I can describe it is feeling, almost giddy 24 hours a day. Every weekend I have been hiking in the mountains, being out in nature, trying to make sure that I enjoy every single day I am alive. For someone who has been depressed my entire life, and been discouraged with things that happen to me, its refreshing. I want it all. And I am going to get it.
Woo! LIFE! YEA!
I need to go buy some new shoes. Recently bought some running shoes. Those have helped tremendously in my exercising. Cardio man. It works. Need new jeans as well. My sevens, as seen a few posts back, have been deemed: un-wearable. Is that a word? Let me know.
Seriously....is Lady Gaga from the future? Where does she get these outfits?
Everyone who deals with her appearance must come from the future. Her designer, make-up artist, hair stylist.......plastic surgeon?
Yep....the future.
Here is one thing I was thinking about when I was at Walmart. There are thousands of Walmarts in the country. Now recently at the one I currently shop at, they have cut back their staff significantly. I think they laid off around 30 employees. That's a huge number when it comes to Walmart. When it's constantly busy and out of the 29 check out lanes they have only 5 open usually. This does not include self-check out. But with as much as we rely on Walmart for our needs and all the statistics that have been out there about Walmart being such a huge chunk of our economy that "if they shut down we would go into a recession" and so forth. Here's my question. What if Walmart (who are more tight with their wallet than George Costanza) just sucked it up, and hired 30 MORE people instead of laying off 30. If every store did that, think about how many people in the country would be getting jobs. More jobs equal more people spending money. More people spending money means the United States is no longer in a recession. I know this wouldn't solve all the problems. Like all the morons on Wall Street and all the bankers who gave out bad loans. But still, do you think it would make a difference? Tell me what you think.
Seriously....cannot wait for the blink-182 tour. But come on.....they're touring with Weezer. Don't get me wrong, old Weezer is tight.
New Weezer can suck it. But they should have done a tour their fans would appreciate more.
But whatever, I'm just glad they're back. It's also rad to have Mark update a lot about practicing and such. Mainly because we fans did not have it before. I remember on their last album they had the webcam playing constantly in the studio, and then the video updates.
I think they were probably one of the first bands to do that. Now bands do it all the time. But I guess the comforting thing about Mark's Twitter updates is that, he comes off just as excited as we are. Yes Mark, we're excited. Post more pictures please. More shenanigans? I don't care. *sigh* I love blink-182.
Anywho, lunch break is over....back to the grind. (yes...my lunch break today was from 4:30pm to 5:30pm...a little messed up? Oh yes.) (Think I could say "seriously"....one more time?)
Woo! LIFE! YEA!
I need to go buy some new shoes. Recently bought some running shoes. Those have helped tremendously in my exercising. Cardio man. It works. Need new jeans as well. My sevens, as seen a few posts back, have been deemed: un-wearable. Is that a word? Let me know.
Seriously....is Lady Gaga from the future? Where does she get these outfits?
Everyone who deals with her appearance must come from the future. Her designer, make-up artist, hair stylist.......plastic surgeon?
Yep....the future.
Here is one thing I was thinking about when I was at Walmart. There are thousands of Walmarts in the country. Now recently at the one I currently shop at, they have cut back their staff significantly. I think they laid off around 30 employees. That's a huge number when it comes to Walmart. When it's constantly busy and out of the 29 check out lanes they have only 5 open usually. This does not include self-check out. But with as much as we rely on Walmart for our needs and all the statistics that have been out there about Walmart being such a huge chunk of our economy that "if they shut down we would go into a recession" and so forth. Here's my question. What if Walmart (who are more tight with their wallet than George Costanza) just sucked it up, and hired 30 MORE people instead of laying off 30. If every store did that, think about how many people in the country would be getting jobs. More jobs equal more people spending money. More people spending money means the United States is no longer in a recession. I know this wouldn't solve all the problems. Like all the morons on Wall Street and all the bankers who gave out bad loans. But still, do you think it would make a difference? Tell me what you think.Seriously....cannot wait for the blink-182 tour. But come on.....they're touring with Weezer. Don't get me wrong, old Weezer is tight.
New Weezer can suck it. But they should have done a tour their fans would appreciate more.But whatever, I'm just glad they're back. It's also rad to have Mark update a lot about practicing and such. Mainly because we fans did not have it before. I remember on their last album they had the webcam playing constantly in the studio, and then the video updates.
I think they were probably one of the first bands to do that. Now bands do it all the time. But I guess the comforting thing about Mark's Twitter updates is that, he comes off just as excited as we are. Yes Mark, we're excited. Post more pictures please. More shenanigans? I don't care. *sigh* I love blink-182.
Anywho, lunch break is over....back to the grind. (yes...my lunch break today was from 4:30pm to 5:30pm...a little messed up? Oh yes.) (Think I could say "seriously"....one more time?)
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