it was cold, but refreshing

if you've been wondering, more specifically, where i've been spending my time, this is where i sleep. they're referred to as "coffin bunks," and while this is obviously far from the case, if you want to be alone, this is where you go. oh, and there are definitely times i feel like i'm going to die in here, but i suppose that's nothing new for someone who travels like i do.

holy crap. i guess that hat had money in it.

i found this sign and these flags humorous and ridiculous. oh, mormans.

butch got passes to go see no doubt and paramore. this is the view from the limo. so wild. sometimes i'm amazed at the situations i find myself in.



man, arena shows are fucking crazy. before no doubt played i hung out on tony's bus (the bass player) and met adrian (the drummer). both dudes were incredibly nice. tony was amazingly kind and welcoming without there being a feeling of it being a farce. i'm sure that there are people of his stature that pretend to be nice but are thinking negative thoughts behind it all. while i don't pretend to know a man i met for a half an hour, i will say that i like to think i'm a good judge of people, and he seemed like someone incredibly down to earth who knew that he'd earned success but still really appreciated it. i think that's wonderful and wish all the best for him.

the mess that is my bunk, complete with the daniel johnston documentary. it doesn't help to watch this while drunk and in a bad mood. doing so made me think a lot of terrible things about where i am in my life, the decisions i've made and where i'm headed. but, i think these are good things to worry about. i think we need to remind ourselves of the paths we're on from time to time. plus, while some of it is ridiculous, daniel wrote some amazing songs.

you ever see when an alcoholic beverage blows up a plastic bottle? well somehow i think these chips fermented and gassed this jawn up. weird.

i'm still trying to figure out the math behind this. is there a law in lake tahoe against things being over 8 feet, and someone felt this was a way around it? not sure.



i also need to apologize for being lax with my updates, but this is really the main reason why. days off in amazingly beautiful places are to blame. the rest of the guys went out on a boat ride and apparently there wasn't room for me. so, i made my own fun. i found some locals, well one local and a friend that was visiting. ann and i dropped amy at her job (had a happy hour beer there) and then went to some swimming in lake tahoe. i've driven past tahoe before but never gotten this close or swam in it. the water was the clearest, most beautiful water i've ever seen. this is what i think of when i imagine the caribbean. actually, i've been there, but i was young and forget it for the most part. anyway, i have a better picture of the amazing blues and greens but ann is in them, and she asked that i not post pictures of that. i'll respect this.

i have to tell you, this whole meeting people randomly and then making friends thing, it totally rules. even when you meet someone you might not normally hang out with "at home," i like to think that you find new and wonderful friends who can teach you a lot about the world and yourself. i definitely suggest you go out and try it. i know it's not easy, trust me, but the payoff is amazing and bigger than you'd ever expect.



i woke up this morning and all i wanted was a coffee and a PB&J. well, we were out of bread and coffee, so i had to venture out into the world. fair enough, that's how it goes. so, being half lazy, and half adventerous, i wandered into the nearby vietnamese area and into one of their more prominent sandwich shops. i ordered the vegetarian baguette sandwich and got something that was both quite odd and rather tasty. the "meat" base of it was tofu, noodles and yam, all stir fried i think. then the veggie topping was carrot, dicon radish, jalapeno and cucumber. the tofu part was a little weird, very "asiany." i quite liked the vegetable part, it was cool and refreshing. overall, the experience was interesting and i suppose for the most part enjoyable. i'm specifically happy with myself for trying something new, something different. if i'm lucky enough to go to other countries my boundaries will be pushed even further, so i'm glad that i got to do a bit of that in the comfort of my own country.

my reason for living and my biggest downfall.



i love things printed and written backwards. at the top of the stairs at the great american music hall in san francisco this is written so you can read it in the mirrors. amazing.

this is one of my best mates from college, nick. he and his now wife, emily, took an amazing road trip a few years ago looking for a place to plant some roots. i think that's so cool and always applauded it, even though it bummed me out that their roots ended up finding soil 3000 miles away from me, in california. still, i love the idea of my friends going out into this crazy world and making it their own. and this lovely couple did so. luckily i got to meet up with nick, catch up, get made fun of by a bartender (pay for your own drinks, what is he, your girlfriend?) and generally feel better being in the company of someone i really love and miss. sure, it's not always in the forefront, but i had a great year living with nick in college, we put out my first proper record together (which i was subsequently signed on) shared loss and love, had drinks, met great friends, just generally were great mates. sometimes you forget about these things when you don't see people for a while. sure, you remember you love them, but it's not so active a love, so pure and powerful an excitement as it is when you get to be in their presence, see them, hug them, laugh with them. i am a very blessed kid to have had so many incredible people in my past, present and i'm sure future. it definitely catches up with me at times, and occasionally i need to pay the piper. but, here is nick in front of an impressive structure, and for that, i'll count myself lucky.

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