year of a thousand roommates: late morning breakfast

i'm sorry i had to leave so abruptly yesterday. also, i realize my lack of capitalization while typing on my computer coupled with my horrible spelling and punctuation when using my iPhone is probably driving you batty. i apologize. if i ever have the time to go back and edit all of those previous posts, i will do so. but this is meant not to prove my amazing ability to write beautifully, but more to get down many of the things i'm experiencing as closely to when and how they happened.

with that, i'll pick up from where i believe i left off:

two nights ago after leaving the bar and heading over to scotty's friends' place i was met by three new friends, lynne, nelson and ruben. immediately we took to each other, each offering a great deal of interesting insight and fun into one another's lives. later yis showed up and we had some great talks about art and creativity. it's so funny and amazing to me how i can just show up at a house where my character was vouched for and make wonderful new friends in minutes. from my perspective there was no awkwardness, just jumping right into conversation and friendship. i know full well that there are going to be really tough times on this trip, and i know full well that there will long periods of darkness and despair. but for now, that hard times are short lived and fleeting, while the overarching feeling is one of warmth, acceptance, positivity and fun. color me impressed.

after finishing off the remaining beers and letting the conversations peter out, everyone went to sleep except for nelson and me, who stayed up until 4 am talking about a variety of things related to gender/sexual issues, social acceptance and peoples' overall views of these things and how they relate to one's makeup. it was really nice to have an interesting, meaningful conversation with someone after the many late night silly ones i've perpetuated. i take full blame for late nights turning into ridiculousness, so i appreciate that this night turned into something else.

i had to wake up early because the cable guy came, but nelson let me go sleep in his bed. i woke up a few times marveling at the fact that a mere 12 or so hours before, this kid didn't even know i existed, and now we knew intimate details about each others' past, and he was letting a stranger sleep in his bed while he dealt with the cable dude. again, people constantly amaze me. when i finally got up i met the one more roommate and then headed out with everyone as they went to the diner. i decided to leave for jersey so i could get back in time for the wake, which i'm glad i did, as i ended up being a bit late for the first one. i know there's no specific time you need to go, but i wanted to be there to show my support and love. as i referenced yesterday, i didn't bring any "nice" clothes on this trip, so i had to run around new brunswick to finally get my brother's "nice" outfit. it fit me well in a socially acceptable way, but looked silly on me, and as far as i was concerned definitely made me look ridiculous. but, that's the way it goes, i suppose.

in between the early and late services i went to barnes and noble to write on my phone about the day. see yesterday's poor excuse for an english major. from there i headed back to the funeral home and at the later service i saw the people i expected to see, all the kids from around the area, the punks, the old friends. it's a weird place to reunite with old friends, and since none of us were particularly close to our friend's father, it further confuses things. of course we all feel a great sadness and love for our buddy, but it's not the same as feeling a direct sadness for the person who passed. that mixed with it being nice to catch up with old friends is a weird feeling, though i'm sure this is not the first time something like this has happened. i talked to everyone i could and we all made sure our friend knew we loved him and felt greatly for him. afterwards trevor, jess, corey and i went to get food. i haven't hung with these three in a while, so it felt warm and like home to be able to just be back with kids i love. corey, trev and i will be headed out this summer for a few weeks when i tour with their band, Let Me Run. i'm super pumped for that, as i know those dudes will be a blast and i haven't done a DIY van tour in three years or so. i can't wait. part of me has a feeling that i'm stepping on toes with them though, so i just want them to know i love them and will do my best to be a good van/tourmate.

after supping on chips and salsa, salad and veggie burger, i headed to the secret bar/late night liquor store to get some beer. new jersey has really odd liquor laws, or at least weird to me, in that almost every state but ours and a few others let you get beer at almost any hour at gas stations. here, if it's after 10 pm, you have to buy "packaged goods," from a bar. but, this genius little place is a liquor store that has a bar, and they just keep the hard alcohol behind the counter so after 10 you can still use the beer coolers but they just don't let you touch the hard stuff. genius! it's saved many a late night new brunswick party. and, 24 oz miller high life for 99 cents? can't beat it. took my beers back to my brother's place and we hung out, had some laughs, some drinks and finished a few things on my record. the recording/mixing phase is just about finished, so mastering and artwork are all that's left. mastering should just take a day, so if i can get the art done soon, i'll be laughing. can't wait, it's going to rule. this new record is really good, and i feel great about saying that.

now i'm sitting on my brother's couch sending emails for tours and hoping somehow beyond hope i can keep convincing the world i deserve to play music and travel around. the next step is to have someone book me full time. that, my friends, is the beautiful kicker. i have no clue what the coming days will hold, and i'm ok with that. on monday i fly to atlanta to start the butch walker tour, and that's the start of almost 2 straight months of tours, which is amazing. sure, i have a bunch of holes to fill, which i'll be working on continuously, but it feels great to know i'll make some money on the butch tour and have a blast for 2 solid months. sounds good to me.

by the way, it's 4 pm and i'm still in my underwear. but, for what it's worth, i've done a decent amount of work today. onward and upward, i suppose.

such a pretty pup.

new philly friends rule!

a new friend from my afternoon lunch in the park.

this was the hallway to the sweet underground apartment.

just a photo of my buddy dave for good measure. last night at the hub i suggested joose to two unsure buyers. they bought 10 24 oz cans. dave would be proud.