Slipknot

I decided to drive to Greensboro tonight to see Slipknot, a band I worked for back in 2001. They were the first band I worked for as a Tour Accountant. I had just quit being a Tour Manager and was trying to decide if I would continue my road career. I was pretty stressed out and ready to kill me some rock star assholes, so it was either quit the road or find something else to do. Their TM at the time was a buddy of mine and he offered me the accounting slot. I took it and never looked back.

It was like my eyes were opened for the very first time. Suddenly, it was fun to be on the road. As a TM, I'd never really had days off – there's always something you need to be doing. Most TM's will tell you, there are show days and non-show days, but no days off. But as a TA, I could do what I wanted on days off. Trust me, that changed everything. Sure, the job didn't pay as well, but the stress just disappeared.

Now, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world and I love my job. A wise man once said, "Find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life."

Anyway, a bunch of my roadie buddies are on the crew – Sol, Martin, Ernie, Gary, Shirt, Drew, and Gio – so at the very least, I needed to go hang out and say hello.

My friend Paige likes heavy music, so she humored me and went along. Heavy is one thing, but Slipknot sounds like a bunch of jackhammers and chainsaws. Not sure exactly how much she might have enjoyed it.

After an hour or so of socializing with my friends backstage (thanks for the beers, Sol), we watched their set from the soundboard area out front. Only stayed for about 30-35 minutes of the 'Knot before heading up the road, home to Raleigh.

The 2009 Krispy Kreme Challenge

It's that time of year again. Today was the 5th annual Krispy Kreme Challenge, a student-operated race here in Raleigh benefiting the NC Children's Hospital. First run a few years ago with a mere 10 participants, it has grown exponentially to a whopping 5,038 runners in this year's race.

Beginning at the NCSU Bell Tower, each runner runs 2 miles to the Krispy Kreme store located on Peace St. in Raleigh. After downing a full dozen of the famous Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts, the runner must run the two miles back. All in one hour. And without throwing up, which will disqualify you.

Nutritionally speaking, those 12 doughnuts total 2,400 calories and 144 grams of fat. That shit would make me sick even without the run.

I sent out an email a few days ago to more than 20 of my friends, but the only person brave enough (crazy enough?) to join me was my old buddy David Johnston, who was also my roommate back in the very early 90's.

We met up about 2 blocks from Krispy Kreme and walked over, arriving a few minutes after 9am. Mostly just volunteers and a couple dozen spectators were there at the time. We stepped inside for a doughnut breakfast and started killing time while waiting for the runners to arrive.

I was intrigued by this family and their sign. Is it in support of Elvis, or does it mean death to Elvis, or Elvis is toxic, or are they (as David suggested) a group of Elvis Pirates? Arrrrrr…

Scattered all over the parking lot were many tables of doughnuts, manned by volunteers:


Also, multiple water stations:

The race started at 9:30, so the first runners started arriving just shy of 9:45:


Grab yer 'nuts, fellers:


Time to choke 'em down:

Looks like a stomachache:

After a few minutes, the parking lot was full:

Lots of runners, lots of techniques. Some people ate their goodies delicately, followed by sips of water; others were dunking them one at a time into their cups of water. Quite a few took 3 to 6 doughnuts at a time and smashed them down into a doughnut pancakes. We saw one guy pour 3 cups of water into his box of doughnuts, and then smash 'em and eat 'em in handfuls. Another guy stacked his on the surface of the parking lot to smash them. I wonder if he picked up any gravel bits and broke a tooth or anything…

This girl had a double handful:

This guy didn't seem to be feeling too well.

One runner puked all over a piece of plastic, then kinda bagged it up as a souvenir:

Caught this guy in the act:

The odor of bile wafted over parts of the parking lot. Not surprising.

After about an hour of the festivities there, we bolted for the Bell Tower to catch some of the finishers. There was a faint odor of bile hanging in the air there, too.

Talked to his guy briefly after the race. He was running for the third year in a row in a full gorilla costume. Nuts:

The NCSU Bell Tower is directly across the street from Sadlack's, a slacker dive bar, so we hit the patio there and had a few beers while waiting for the finish announcements to be made over the PA in the finish area. The winner had finished the race in less than 30 minutes, including the four-mile run and the time spent choking down the doughnuts. Pretty impressive.

After the crowd disbursed, I drove David back to his car downtown, then I headed home to watch a couple of basketball games. I was gonna take a bike ride today, but not with a buzz, no thanks.

The 2009 NASCAR racing series started tonight with the Bud Shootout from Daytona, a 75-lap non-points event. Unlike the regular races during the season, this one's an All-Star event. Twenty-eight drivers in the field, and Kevin Harvick won it by passing some steering wheel holder on the last lap. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. got caught up in a wreck and didn't finish the race. Bummer!

Around 10:30, I headed out to go see my buddy Bert's band, who were playing downtown at Deep South. Got there just before they went on, only to find out that Barry, the singer, had completely lost his voice. They tried to play, he tried to sing, but they packed it in after two songs. After they loaded out, Bert came back in and hung out for a couple of drinks. Next thing I knew, it was 2am and time to go home…

Warming Up

We've had some pretty cold weather (for Raleigh) this week. So naturally, this is the week I broke out the bike and started riding. Not much will wake you up as effectively as riding a bicycle 18 or 20mph in 35-degree weather with winds gusting to 25mph.

I got in 65 miles over 4 days this week, pretty light by last summer's standards, but a good way to start up the season. Bike riding has kinda taken the place of running while I'm waiting for my hamstring to start behaving again.

It's supposed to be warming up around here for the next week or so, starting this weekend with highs in the upper 60's or low 70's. Now THAT will be some great biking weather.

Super Bowl, Schmuper Bowl

I had to stop running for a few days after Tuesday. I still walked about 4 miles each morning, hoping the walks would help ease the hamstring problem. But I can tell it's still too tight to try to run on.

Watching the Duke game this afternoon got boring pretty fast. They were kicking the shit out of Virginia, up by 25, when I finally turned it off.

I stepped outside and it was such a pretty day that I decided to break out the bicycle. Didn't really have a plan, just wanted a little fresh air. Wound up riding about 21 miles. Bet my ass is gonna be sore tomorrow.

Watched the Super Bowl, but didn't really care about it. My team was pretty good all year, but were "one and done" in the playoffs, getting bounced out. Even the commercials weren't very good this year. Or was it me?

Raleigh Underground

Once a year, there's a charity event that features local area bands performing as tribute bands. The event used to be called the Great Raleigh Coverup or something like that, and was held at King's, a nightclub that closed sometime in the last year or so.

The event is now called Raleigh Underground (I think), and this year it's being held this weekend at Tir Na Nog, an Irish Pub downtown that has to be one of the worst places in town to see and hear a live band.

In spite of that, I found myself standing at the soundboard at 10pm, hanging out with my buddy Robbie, the house sound engineer. First band was on, covering My Bloody Valentine, a band I didn't like then and don't like now. Things got better right after that when the next band played a set of songs by the great British glam band Slade. THAT was pretty rocking.

Next up were my buddies Santa Monica '72 with a set consisting of all Thin Lizzy covers. Well done, too.

The next band covered Bryan Adams and weren't bad, either. But when I heard that the last band was gonna be doing the Beastie Boys, that was my cue to exit.

Went next door to the Pour House to hang out with Jac Cain, that club's sound engineer. He had a hip-hop show going on, and the place was packed to the walls. I only stayed for one beer, then headed home.

Crowleys? Oh, Hell, No...

Met up with Foy late this afternoon and we wound up over at the Ale House for a few cold ones. It didn't turn into an all-evening affair because I'd promised some folks I'd meet them to see a band at Crowley's later on. It was my buddies The Nevers, but performing as their alter-ego cover band, Santa Monica '72. They play 70's rock covers like Grand Funk, Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, etc. I'm all about some 70's rock.

I can't stand going to Crowley's – the smoke in there is fuckin' horrible. I managed to stay through a couple of sets, but finally gave up. It was so bad in there that when I got home I had to go out to the laundry room and take off all my clothes. Pew!

Damn Ham

Damn left hamstring is killin' me. I have no idea what's up with that, but it's pissing me off.

Stretch, stretch, stretch and stretch some more.

Hoping tomorrow will be better…

Running Along...

Damn left hamstring is killin' me. I have no idea what's up with that, but it's pissing me off.

Stretch, stretch, stretch and stretch some more.

Hoping tomorrow will be better…

Whew!

So I decided last night to just stay in, watch a movie and enjoy a bottle of wine. About halfway through it, my neighbor Regan called and said she was building a fire out back and having a few folks over and that I should join them. I politely declined, but changed my mind about 20 minutes later.

So of course I got home at nearly 5am.

Damn!

I didn't wake up until nearly 1:00 this afternoon. Hated that, because I had some stuff I wanted to do before all the ACC basketball games started coming on. Oh, well.

Later, I met Paige & Greg, Jeff & Kim, and Ossie at a restaurant called Firebirds for dinner. It was pretty decent.

Then I was off to Tom O'Keefe's 45th birthday party at Slim's, one of my fave bars downtown. There were 4 or 5 bands playing, including Lustre, who were doing a reunion gig just for Tom. He had been their road manager back in the mid-90's when they were signed to A&M Records. They only put out one album before getting fucked by the label (didn't everyone?), and to this day it's one of my favorite records.

They only played 6 songs, but I was in seventh heaven.

I also walked around the corner and stuck my head in to see my buddy Jac Cain, the FOH guy at the Pour House. He was mixing Kevn Kinney, the dude from Drivin' & Cryin'. Stayed there for a couple of beers, then headed back to Slim's to see Tom's band play.

After that, headed home…

Happy Birthday To Me (sort of) (ok, not) (but sort of...)

Today I'm 50½. Maybe I'll go out for a beer after all…

Snow!!!

Finally!

One of the reasons I love my job is because it's kinda seasonal. There might be years when I'm on the road during winter, but usually I'm off and at home, which I prefer. Winter is my favorite season. Always has been, always will be. There's just something about it – the sights, the smells, the memories.

Last year, I was out from mid-October until mid-February, and it totally bummed me out. I had two days off in between the R. Kelly tour and my flight to New Zealand to start the Rage Against The Machine tour, but to me, those didn't even count.

There was no measurable snow here last year, so I guess I didn't miss anything. Come to think of it, other than a very light dusting two years ago (I think?), I haven't had snow since buying this house 3 years ago next week.

Don’t get me wrong; I'm not looking for a blizzard or anything. All I ask for is a few inches of snow, a couple of times each winter. Not enough to cause major problems, just enough to enjoy.

So today was finally my day. Looks to be about 4 inches or maybe a bit more on the ground right now. TV weather staff said it was gonna taper off about noon, but it's an hour past that now and it's still coming down. The temp isn't supposed to go over freezing today, so I'll get to enjoy it all day and into tomorrow.

7am, just starting to accumulate:



The snow was blowing up onto the porch, too.

My Toyota snowmobile:

Took my run a little later than usual today. I was enjoying sitting by the window and watching the snow fall, and the time just kinda slipped by me. Decided to take my camera with me and I stopped a few times to snap photos.

The greenway:

Crabtree Creek, which the greenway runs beside:


Railroad trestle near Atlantic Avenue. Note the original trestle base structure to the right:

I even stopped as I was running by the Carolina Ale House, thinking I could get a shot of the pristine, snow-covered deck that we spend so much time on:



Your humble author, self-portrait:

It was fun to run in the snow, I've always liked to do that. Not that I would move up north to do it more often, but still.

After I got home, I piddled about the house, not really getting anything done. Foy called mid-afternoon and we made a plan to hit the Ale House deck for a few cold beverages around 4 o'clock or so. After picking his wife Terry up from her office, they swung by here and snagged me.

The deck was still undisturbed when we got there. I mean, come on, who on earth else would want to sit outside in the snow and drink beer?



Bob and Foy:

The way a Budweiser should always be served:

I even played the ring toss game in the snow:

Joel, the GM, when told by our waiter that there were crazy people outside, even came out to take a photo of us with his phone. Poor Joel, he's used to us sitting outside year-round, but this was a bit bizarre, even by our standards.

The icicles before the sun started going down:

And as the sun was going down, with the neons turned on:

After 90 minutes and a few rounds outside, the sun finally set:

The temperature plummeted from a very comfortable (WTF!) 32 degrees to something we didn’t want to sit around in, so we moved inside to the bar.

While we were inside, several members of the staff went out and built a snowman on the deck, and staged a meal in front of him:

Foy, Bob and Terry partying with the Ale House Snowman:

Further adventures awaited us at both Northside Billiards and the High Park Bar & Grille, but those details are currently being withheld to protect the guilty…

The Comeback...

After a few days off from running, the comeback began today. I need to not go overboard, just take it a day at a time. Decided to limit the runs to 20 minutes until I'm absolutely certain the knees can take it. Today went just fine.

Happy 40th birthday, Jen!!!

Race Day At The Rock!

Got in bed last night right at midnight. I was reaching for the lightswitch just as all the neighborhood fireworks (and maybe a gunshot or two) were going off.

Woke up at 3:37 because I had to pee – damn those beers at the party – and never could go back to sleep. Finally got up around 5:30 to start the day.

Foy pulled up out front about ten minutes to 7. Long day ahead of us. Today is the inaugural running of the Polar Bear 150 at Rockingham Speedway and yes, we're just crazy enough to sit outside for six or seven hours in the cold to watch loud cars go around in circles.

The high for today was forecast to be 42 degrees, so I got totally layered up – two pairs of running tights, topped with artic pants. Up top, 2 base layers, topped with an artic shirt and a jacket. Hat and gloves as well.

Due to the pounding sunshine, by 2:45, I had peeled down to a t-shirt up top. Had to take off the hat, gloves and jacket long before then.

The race was a blast. There were 61 cars at the start, and 31 running at the end. In between, lots of wrecks and downtime as the safety crews cleared the track of debris from the wrecks. Although it was only a 150-lap event and had started just past 1pm, it didn't finish until about a quarter after 5, just after the sun went beyond the horizon. The Rockingham track doesn't have lighting for night-racing, so they wouldn't have been able to race much longer.

After driving back to Raleigh, we hit a couple of our favorite spots near my house for a frosty cold beverage. Foy's wife Terry joined us at High Park Grill at some point. After that, my memory's a bit murky…

New Year's Eve

My left knee - yeah, the battle of wills. Right. Common sense won out instead. The knee's still hurting, so I walked instead of running today. Don't want to screw anything up.

After meeting Foy & Terry at Cozumel for (Mexican) dinner this evening, we headed over to Paige & Greg's NYE party. There were about 30 people there and it was so much fun that I hated to leave. But I couldn't stay too late because Foy and I are going racing in Rockingham tomorrow.

This was the first time I'd been ANYWHERE on New Year's Eve in at least 8 or 10 years, maybe more. I really don't care for this holiday. It's Amateur Night and there are crazy people (who don't know how to behave) everywhere, just getting in the way. I'll do my partying on the other 364 nights of the year, thanks.

Home and heading to bed right around midnight.

Hello, Knee

Made it 20 minutes into my run this morning, and then all of a sudden my left knee decided the run was over. Fucker!

Tomorrow, the battle of wills begins...

Christmas Day

Ran for 23 minutes this morning. It's getting better. If I can just keep it going…

I hate to sound like Scrooge McGrinch, I'm just not into Christmas. Between the religious whackos, crazy shoppers, and unadulterated commercialism, it's just not a holiday I enjoy any more.

I've spent the last 31 Christmas Days in Charlotte, NC with my family. Not this year. Pop died back in 1987 and my Mom passed away in July of this year. I love my sister Donna (who lives in Charlotte) and my brother Bill (Richmond, VA), but I just can't get motivated to go to Charlotte one more damn time right now. I know I'm probably selfish here, but I ain't budging from Raleigh this year.

I lived in Charlotte for the first 7 of those 31 Christmases. Since then (1984), I've been driving down every year. Enough! I need a break.

The last Christmas that I was not in Charlotte for was the Christmas of 1976. So here's a funny (or sad) story about that year:

I was 18 years old and mad in love (so I thought) with a girl named Cheryl. My parents had moved back to North Carolina a few months earlier, but I stayed behind in Maryland (suburban DC), where I rented a room in the basement of a former neighbor's house. Other than being my landlords, I didn't have anything to do with the married couple who owned the home. My family was 500 miles away and Cheryl's parents didn't like me. I certainly wasn't welcome in their home, so I spent the entirety of Christmas Day 1976 at a 7-Eleven I frequented nearby, playing game after game after game on the store's Captain Fantastic pinball machine. I was there every bit of 12 hours, but as I was pretty good on that particular machine, I don't think I spent more than two dollars in it all day. Back then, pinball was usually 10-cents per game or 3 for a quarter. I was bangin' it all day for free games, so the day passed pretty quickly. Finally, after her parents had gone to bed (which was usually around 10pm), Cheryl snuck out and we got to spend a little quality Christmas time together.

Today's Christmas was spent just the way I wanted it – completely alone. And I don't mind a bit…

Christmas Eve

Managed a 21-minute run this morning.

Baby steps, fucking baby steps.

As I'm writing this, it's 9 degrees in Chicago. I'm running my air-conditioning in order to cool my house to under 65 degrees so I can go to sleep in an hour or so.

Paige wanted me to go to Total Wine & More with her today, which I was happy to do. I needed to pick up a birthday present for a buddy's birthday tomorrow, and I was bored anyway.

After we shopped there for a bit, she was suddenly craving a glass of wine (imagine that), so we went and sat outdoors at Vivace, a restaurant nearby. It was about 68 or 70 degrees with a slight breeze, perfect for me. We each slapped back a glass of Valpolicella and split a Caprese Salad. Good times…

After she dropped me off back at the house, I ran to grab a few things at Costco and came back home to chill. No plans for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I usually go to Charlotte, but not this year. I'm home alone and don't mind a bit.

Paige and Greg dropped by with their 2 dogs Sophie and Buddy/Nutley/Nelson (they can't decide what to call him) during the evening and we all sat out on the back deck in the "harsh" NC winter weather. It was still 68 degrees, go figure. Paige and I were enjoying a lovely bottle of Cote du Rhone, while Greg had a Ginger Ale as we watched the dogs run around my back yard.

Unfortunately, the dogs managed to push the side gate open and escape the yard. Five minutes later, they were rounded up and back on the deck – this time, reattached to their leashes and not allowed to run around on their own. They both had looks on their faces that said the freedom had been worth the punishment. Oh, to live a dog's life…

P and G bailed a little after 10. I watched the news, blogged this, and soon I'll be headed to bed. Not staying up to wait for Santa.

Baby Steps

I'm pathetic. Getting better, but still pathetic. I've been pretty frustrated these last couple of years. I really miss running – it's a high you can't get any other way. But it seems that every time I try to establish a running routine, something happens. Either I blow out a knee (gee, Bob, being heavy will do that…) or get injured in some other way (usually due to running too fast or too far before I'm ready for it). Sometimes, I get a gig and have to run out the door for the airport.

I decided when I got home from the last tour that I'm STILL the most stubborn person I know (when I wanna be), and that this time I would be patient. I would start slow and very s-l-o-w-l-y add distance, just a little at a time.

So far, so good. My first run was back on November 26th, and I'm not embarrassed to say that I was so out of shape that I ran for 1 whole minute. Yep, in only 60 seconds I was a-huffin' and a-puffin' like the 50-year-old, out-of-shape, beer-swillin' redneck that I am.

You'd never know that I had ridden my bicycle 1000 miles during the summer, a feat I accomplished in only 33 actual days of riding (30.3 mile average per ride, he said, beaming). Since that last day on the bike back in August, I've put on 10 pounds due to the shitty tour food in catering, the lack of exercise while touring, and the, a-hem, overindulgence on The King at every opportunity.

I trust you know that when I say The King, I mean Budweiser. The King is now out, except on weekends, although I will enjoy the occasional glass of red wine during the week.

So, long story short, it's time to rededicate myself to my love of running. I get up and run every morning, Monday through Friday, and take the weekend off -- by the time I've run 5 days, straight, I really need to rest my joints. Haven't missed a run day yet, and even threw in a 17-mile bike ride with the Beals one Sunday morning.

I add a minute here, a minute there whenever I can. This morning I managed a 19-minute run, about which I'm pretty happy. The greenway has mileage markers so I can track my distance and pace. I'm getting miles between 9:00 minutes and 9:05, so I'm finally up to 2 miles. Of course, that sucks compared to the days of old when I'd slap back a 7-miler (at an under 8 minute pace) before breakfast, but at this age I guess it's gonna be baby steps.

I fuckin' hate baby steps…

AC, Then Heat...

We have some STRANGE weather sometimes here in Raleigh, NC. There's an old saying, "You know you live in North Carolina if you have to use both your air conditioning and your heat on the same day."

At least four, and maybe five days during the last two weeks, I've had to do exactly that. Call me fussy, but I like it 70 or 72 degrees in the house during the day (because I don't like to be chilly if I'm sitting around) and I like to sleep with it around 62 or 63 (because I think you just sleep better if you're breathing cooler air).

So it's AC, then heat, then AC, then heat…

A Day Of Too Much Fun...

OK, maybe not TOO much fun, but it sure was a day of fun.

I went to someone's birthday party last night, but I was a good boy and left early, in time to be home and get some sleep. I was up at 7 this morning, read a bit of the paper and had breakfast, and then started piling on layers of clothing.

Foy and Terry Beal swung by at 10 sharp to pick up me and my bike - off to Chatham County we went. About 35 minutes later, we arrived at our destination, the American Tobacco Trail. With the temperature hovering around 40 degrees or so, we rode off on what would eventually be a 17-mile ride.

I was kinda surprised that I was only cold for the first ½ mile or so - totally comfortable after that. I sorta wished I'd brought heavier gloves, but after another mile or so, I would have been coming out of them. The fleece ones I had on worked just right.

We rode for almost 2 hours, not killin' it pace-wise, just steady on, with the occasional break to check things out along the way.

After the ride, we headed to our home-away-from-home, the Carolina Ale House deck. It was a helluva lot colder to sit there since we just sitting still. By now it was probably 42, maybe 43 degrees. And we were downing cold beers, too. Except Terry, with her Bloody Marys.

Paige and Greg swung by for a bit, so we could get the final "Twelve Months Of The Ale House Deck" photo made. This little bit of lunacy started back in January. The photo taken during each month this year will be the accompanying photo in the 2009 calendars that Terry is gonna have made. I missed 3 or 4 (maybe 5) months during the year due to my touring schedule, but Greg "Photoshopped" me into them. Using retarded pictures, of course. Can't wait to see the final result. Some of the staff at the Ale House want copies of the calendar, too. Funny!

Came home and watched football for and hour or so, then took off to pick up Laura and go to the Carolina Rollergirls double-header at Dorton Arena. The CRG are Raleigh's all-female, flat-track roller derby team. It's as much fun as you can have with your clothes on, and I always try to see them when I'm in town.

After dropping Laura off at her house, I made it home by 9 or so for more football.

Like I said, fun day…

Saturday Night - Buckcherry in Greensboro

No run this morning, needed to take a break. Watched NC State win their 6th game of the year this afternoon (and become bowl eligible). Glad they did that, but the whole college bowl game thing confounds me. There are probably 3 times as many bowl games as there really should be. I think you should win at least 8 games (not 6) to be eligible to play post-season.

Hoped that Duke would beat Carolina today, too, but it didn't happen.

Went to see Buckcherry in Greensboro tonight with my friends Paige and Beth. Buckcherry's tour manager Stephen Shaw is an old buddy of mine and he hooked us up. We had a blast – the girls drank all the way down the road and were quite tipsy and funny by the time we got there. I was driving, so I had to be the "responsible" one. Boo!

The show was good and I ran into a few roadie buddies – guys I'd toured with before, like Kevin "Za" Zazzara and Bruce Danz, and guys I only knew from online, like Aaron Dilks.

Had a good time, and after dropping the girls off at Paige's house, I got home around 1:15am. I wasn't ready to be home, but they were pooped and I didn't feel like going out anywhere by then…

Party at Jack's House!

Ran twice as far this morning as I ran yesterday. No issues yet. Hope to be getting in some decent runs within a few weeks.

Went to Jack Cornell's annual Day After Thanksgiving Party tonight with my friend Laura. Had a blast – always do. This was probably the fourth or fifth one I've made it to in the last half-dozen years. Good times…

While there, Terry and Jack played me about 5 tracks from the upcoming OAKTeam record. Amazing! They just keep getting better.

Home before 1am…

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

I got up at my usual 7am and spent far too much time reading the morning paper (damn sales flyers). Finally got out of the house around 10 to take my walk and my pathetic attempt at a run.

Down by the greenway entrance, there were about 75 cars and a couple of taco wagons. Getting the scoop from a guy and his son, I found out that there would be an entire day of soccer games going on in the park here - ten different teams in this casual T-Day tournament. If I was more bored, I might have come back and watched a couple of them.

Did much of diddly all day. After my walk/run, I never left the house. Did some online shopping, watched TV, read. It was a very relaxed day. I only wish that I had my gas logs already – it was that kind of day.

I was gonna get Chinese takeout for my Thanksgiving dinner tonight, but both of the restaurants I like were closed. Looks like it's gonna be a home-cooked meal for me tonight. Damn!

--------------------------------------

It's a day of remembrance - it was one year ago today that my dear friend David Enloe passed away. I miss him and the world is a less fun place without him in it…

The Rascal that was David Enloe:








These three photos from Terry Anderson's blog:




Terry was David's best friend for most of his life. They were even born on the same day, Christmas Day 1955. The music made by the two of them was and is so special to me.

David and Terry:


Check out Terry's blog HERE.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today would have been my mother's 79th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! Miss ya!

Hanging Out at Home

I'm home from the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour.

OK, I'm an asshole. I finally got around to posting a few blog entries that had been just sitting on my computer. So sue me - I haven't really felt like blogging in a while. Don't know why.

Monday past was the last show of the tour. Gonna miss some of those fine folks I met out on this one. Some. Others, not so much.

We had another end of tour party at the hotel after the show. Problem was, it started at 1:30am and I had a loooong day in front of me the next morning.

I guess I never mentioned the official end of tour party we had in Miami this past Saturday night. It was OK. Not great, just OK…

I didn't fly home; I rented a car and drove home over the course of two days from Tampa, FL. I had rented a Cadillac CTS, but because they had a vehicle they needed to get closer to NY, they gave me a free upgrade to a Lincoln mkX, which is a size down from the Navigator, but very well-appointed. It's a sweet ride, for sure, but I can't wait to get in my Toyota and drive around.

Yesterday, I only drove as far as Columbia, SC. Got up this morning and visited my father's grave. I'd like to get there every September to chat with Pop and drink a beer with him, but some years, I just can't pull it off.

We chatted for a while, enjoyed a beer together (at 9:15 in the morning, no less), and then I headed home to Raleigh.

Now that I'm here, I have no idea how I'm gonna spend the next few months. I have a few things I want to get done to the house, and I guess there will be a few movies to see, and some friends to hang out with, and some dining out, and some bars to hit, and well, you get the idea. I don't have any plans until at least February. So, if you wanna do something, hollah…