Brave New Face

Someone decided that my work is going to “have” a font.  So, there will be this one font that everyone is supposed to use for everything hotel-related.

A fine thought in theory, but that same someone decided it wasn’t going to be something simple, like “Arial”, or “Tahoma”.  Oh no.  They had to go out and find a custom font that requires actual purchase and installation.

Now, I shall be spending my week installing this font on to every computer in the building, configuring all the various Microsoft products to use that font as the default, and rising/repeating for each of the 60+ users.

Fan-smegging-tastic.

Being around a bunch of millionaires for an evening has the effect of adding some perspective to the life we lead.

I’ve learned that a douchebag with money is still a douchebag.

The house had a really nice view.

The weather on the weekend was it’s typical schizo west coast potpurri of sun, rain and crazy.  At least it didn’t snow this time… I think.

There was barbecuing and brunches to go to, as well as shopping for bike accessories and work clothes.  I somehow managed to spend $300.00 on work pants, plus one shirt and tie.  Perhaps it’s time to look into a clothing allowance at the job?  Yeah, probably not going to happen.

We both got sweet bike helmets, mine; a flat black Bell that looks like a futuristic army helmet, hers; similar, but gun metal gray and with sweet skulls on the front and back.  I’ve got some skull envy, I’m not going to lie.  I also picked up some shorts for riding… just waiting for the bike to arrive now and I’m set to go.

A word on barbecues:  if you’re at one, please keep in mind that others want their food to cook too.  This is best accomplished by keeping the lid closed, so heat can build up and properly make one’s chicken breast non-lethal to ingest.  Even after closing the lid about ten times, I ended up tossing the questionable breast and opted for salads.  Yay.  Salad.

As for the previous entry (see below), I’ve had a weekend to think about it, and I think it’s a greedy, selfish, self-serving, bullshit way to handle things and I’m not happy about the situation.  There are far better ways to split up the rewards and not alienate those people who you claim not only to be friends with, but also who you admit are bailing you out of a situation.  Not certain how I’m going to voice that feeling, however.

I was called, in a panic, about an upcoming gig… corporate and well-paying.

The singer wanted to be “up front” with me, so he told me that the gig pays $6000.00 total, but myself, the guitar player and the bass player would only be getting $660.00 each.  This leaves $4000.00 for the two singers to split up.

I’m not sure how to feel about this.

I dropped off my car to get the hood replaced today.  I didn’t bother asking if he had actually ordered the hood this time.

I managed to get a decent discount on a car rental through my work, and so I’m now driving an 07 Mazda 3 for the next couple of days.

They’re pretty sweet cars and I’ve been wanting to try one for a while, however, it’s an automatic, which I kind of  hate, and it’s got power brakes and steering, which I’m completely not used to.

The minutes are ticking by at work and I’m considering skipping out a little early so I can go test drive a mountain bike.  Tee hee.

The weekends fly by at the speed of light. Before I know it, I’m back in a tie and sitting in my concrete box listening to server fans as they lull me to sleep.

Caribou as alright. I pretty much hated the opening band, “The Fuck Buttons”. Random noise that was too loud, to repetitive and wholly uninteresting. Apparently the 2nd drummer from Caribou broke his arm or something mid-tour, so another guy came in to fill his place. I found him to be sloppy, technique-wise, and usually out of time with the rest of the band. He seemed to get it together when the singer would sit down at the second kit and they would play together. I dunno… it was alright, but I’m really looking forward to Death Cab and The Decemberists in May.

Saturday morning greeted me with a fantastic back spasm that grew into debilitating pain by the middle of the day. Massage places were called and an appointment for that day was made. Lucky for me the masseuse had been trained by my previous muscle molder, and was just as brutal to the knots in my back. I’m still messed up but it’s only a dull pain rather than something that’s in the realm of OHGODOHGODITHURTSMEWHYDOESITHURTSOMUCH of pain. The price was also reasonable, so I made another appointment for next weekend and will probably make it a regular thing. I also checked out a bike store near the clinic that has some bikes I’m interested in.

Today before work, I went to the auto body shop, as scheduled, to drop off my car so the hood could get replaced.

The guy who I had booked with two week prior stared at me blankly and then told me that he hadn’t ordered the hood yet. He then proceeded to ask me, (for the third time in as many visits), what year my car was, etc. Needless, I don’t have high hopes that this is going to end well. I’ve done some more price checking and found that everyone else is at least double what this guy quoted me. Since this is fully coming out of my pocket, I’m willing to put up with him being a fucking idiot for a while longer.

I’m curious as to what fantastic nuances of pain I will experience when I play drums tonight.

This year is a busy one for musical journeys.  I’m seeing more concerts this year than I think I have over the last six years total.

We just saw Wintersleep last week.  They were great, thanks for asking.  I didn’t dig the opening band, The Most Serene Republic, mostly because I found the music too manic.  It was like ADD Rock, three songs being played at the same time.

This weekend we’ll be going to see Caribou.  I haven’t seen them live yet, but I hear it’s an amazing show.  Two drummers and lots of craziness.  I’m interested mostly because the recorded songs I’ve heard from them have all been pretty mellow, and apparently their live show is pretty lively.

Beyond that, I’ve got a lot more shows to look forward to in the coming months.  Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Death Cab for Cutie and The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, The National and The Breeders, and of course, Radiohead.

I’m still working on the whole “updating your blog often” thing.

I find I’m not as good at it as some others who can be found in the column to your left.

Here’s some stuff that has happened lately:

I still haven’t got the hood of my car replaced.  The gentleman who is going to do it for cheaper than the others appears to be a busy man, and so I’m waiting until the last part of April before I can no longer refer to my car as “Smashy”.  Because the price is so significantly lower than other shops, I worry that it’s either going to be really shitty work, or it’s actually going to cost twice as much.

I made it back from a two week tour with a band from Vancouver.  The tour wasn’t very fun.  The singer was pretty pissy on stage to pretty much everyone in the audience and the band didn’t really bother to practice or learn any new cover songs from the last time I played with them.  All in all, I’d say I’ll probably not play with them again, if possible.

The whole ordeal, combined with a shit night at my regular cover band gig when I returned prompted me to question the whole drumming thing and, for about five minutes, I considered quitting all together.  That hasn’t happened, so don’t worry… ’cause I can see that look on your face that you’re worrying.

I’m using my tax return and the extra money I’m getting from an additional night of drumming every week to purchase a mountain bike.  I’m pretty excited about that.

Alright.  You’re basically up to date again.  Sorry about that.  I’ll do better from now on.

Now that I’ve paid off the guy whose SUV I hit, I can deal with my own damages.

The last time I had to replace my hood, (someone decided it was a good place to fight/dance/fuck/something), it cost about $800.00. This time, since I’m not going through the insurance/deductible end, I did some shopping around and found a guy who will replace my hood for a mere $400.00.

Unfortunately for me and my poor crumpled car, he can’t do it for another two weeks, during which I will be on tour and my car will be living in a driveway in Vancouver for the duration of the tour. I plan to visit a couple more shops and see if anyone can match this guy’s price, but I think I’ve pretty much resigned myself to driving an eyesore for another month.

Last weekend I got into a car accident.

This is after 16 years of safe driving and the title “Road Star” given to me by the insurance company.

It happened pretty fast. I was going into the left hand lane on a one way street. There was a brand new SUV type thing up ahead that was also going to turn left. I checked my mirror for a second, maybe two, and then the SUV was no longer moving, but stopped in front of me.

I wasn’t going very fast, and since I drive a little car, I ended up basically going under the SUV’s rear bumper.

Pretty embarassing.

I quickly got out to check the other driver. She was very very pregnant. And also shaken but completely fine. That didn’t stop the stink-eye I got from onlookers for hitting a pregnant lady.

The top of my hood was munched pretty good, but I couldn’t see a scratch on her SUV. We exchanged information and went on our way. What a great way to start your day!

Since then, I’ve talked with her husband and paid him cash for the repairs to his SUV… some scratches on the plastic cover of his bumper. His wife is totally fine and they’re being pretty cool about the whole thing. My neck was a little messed up for the last week, but I’m feeling better. Now I just have to get my poor little car fixed.