Here we go, after a long hiatus

Howdy! As mentioned in the previous post (the one that I posted nearly a year ago...), I'm not sure who reads this. Furthermore, I don't even know who still writes on Blogger. For me, I've been trying to keep it cool and quiet as well as on a low-key basis. There's been a lot of changes (positive and negative) that have happened since my last post. Perhaps the biggest shocker of them all was when I left SnS. For the longest time, I haven't 'advertised' the fact that I don't work there anymore, just because the way I left was a bit humiliating. I have been telling select people I quit, but truth be told I left on a bad note. I'm not going to reveal on here why I was terminated. But I will say it would be one of the worst ways that someone who has been with the company for 13 years would ever get fired. It's been almost 9 months now, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. My last day was on 8/20/2011. SnS brought a lot up in me, as it helped me build relationships with the workforce, as well as with people. I've had so many memories of that place, and I'll be straightforward honest: I miss it a whole lot. Don't get me wrong; there's a lot of things I won't miss about my first job. I don't miss mopping floors, dealing with drunks and spoiled rotten SIUE kids, drive times competitions among many things. But I miss the people (although some don't work there no more), and just being part of the team. What I miss the most was being the go-to guy among people. After all, I was the veteran, I was there the longest, and I enjoyed being the longevity guy. But it all had to come to an end. The last few years I worked there I was doing mostly overnight shifts. Some may think that it led to my eventual demise. Maybe so, but it kept me busy. On the other hand, it sucked a whole lot of life out of me. Which leads me to the next point.... Right after I was given the ax by the manager, I immediately started applying to places. Mostly places where I knew people who worked there. Target was the first place I walked into and filled out a long questionaire and application. At first I thought it was a waste of time since I thought I wasn't going to be looked at, but I gave it a shot anyway. I also applied to a few restaurants as well. Two days later, I did something what I never thought I would do. I applied for unemployment benefits. Yep, here I thought I sunk to a new low. I was eventually denied those benefits for different reasons. The next day (on Tuesday), I received a call from Target asking for an interview. I'm sure they were impressed with my openness and availability. So I aced the interviews and got drug-tested and I was on. I have been with Target since (for almost 9 months) and its going great. Do I like working for Target? Absolutely. I tell people these days that I'm proud to be a team member there and I'm very loyal. Of course, I was that way with SnS for a long time, up until the company was bought out by an Iranian, and I felt he took the company into the wrong direction. In fact, I still do. And believe me, I'm still very bitter about it. This month marks the 50th anniversary/birthday of Target. We've been doing a lot of things to celebrate the occasion. They've been doing a lot to get team members involved in many things. I haven't been there for a year and I feel like I've worked there longer. I remember when SnS celebrated their 75th anniversary about 2 or 3 years ago. And what did people do to celebrate? Absolutely nothing. The company did not do their part to motivate people. If you would've asked me a year ago (or even 5 yrs ago) if I would be working retail, I would have said NO. Many people believe retail is boring. Not so. Yes it does at times but I stay busy either way. Its certainly a lot stressful than SnS. You'd be saying the same thing if you knew what I have been through. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that I think I could have started at Target a lot earlier. I'm glad I held on to SnS until my time was taken away from me there. But again, I'm still attached to it. On a personal note, it bothers me a lot that a lot of people that rubbed me the wrong way still work there. The boss that fired me is long-gone, and there's a new boss there. A lot of people have told me I've become more of a calm and cool person since I left that place. When I turned 30 a month later (September), I sat down and thought about so much that I missed while living my 20s. From that day forward, I've been living life. Of course, I still work long shifts at Target. But I still make time for what comes and goes. I'll talk more about it in a future blog. As for now, ciao!

so far....

I know, its mid-June and I finally have my first post of 2011 on here. But its been one weird year, not to mention fast-moving! So what do I say after a long time not posting anything? Well, I'll explain in the following paragraphs. I'm not even sure who actually still reads this, so in a way I still feel like I'm talking to myself. Not many people I know are on blogger, so I'll just kind of let it all out.

For starters, back in January I almost got fired from SnS. Because of a lot of complaints going against me this was to be the last straw. My latest victim was a gal who apparently was the DD of a drunken loud group that said I was rude. Sure I was, but that was kind of the beginning of the end for me. Overall, I was showing signs of getting burned out of working overnights. I hated working 5 overnights in a row and 3 of those (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) were our busiest nights. Her complaint almost got me terminated, but since I have a cool boss, she just couldn't fire me. Instead, she put me on dayshifts and I was permanently banned from doing overnights. Truth be told I was very torn up about it bc I felt I had something taken away and it was an odd adjustment. It was like the feeling where you feel like the bad guy (or in this case, the bad girl) won. I should have seen it as a relief. Over time, I spent a lot of it rebuilding my reputation as a hard-worker and after going through a few people to take my place, I was back doing overnights again in March. I'm back to my old 5 night a week shift, and so far its taken a toll on me. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of goods and a lot of bads about it. So that's my update about SnS.

I still got my radio show on Sunday nights (!), and I still sleep a lot over the day. I have also tried to attend as many concerts as I can. Around the time that incident happened in January, I attended Girl Talk at the Pageant. In two words: fantastic, awesome. In March, I went to see the legendary country/rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson. About a month later I got to see Chuck Berry (again) and this time I saw him where he does it best (at Blueberry Hill) and I even got to shake his hand. Unfortunately he wasn't up for taking pictures, but all went well either way.

Over a month ago, I went on a 3-day roadtrip (2nd year in a row) with my friend Anthony to Kansas City and Des Moines. We went to KC's Rockfest and the next day, Lazerfest in Iowa. It was fun, as I also got to hangout at some of KC's Westport nightclubs. In Iowa, I briefly went backstage and helped Anthony with a couple interviews: one with one of the guys of Theory of a Deadman, and the other with My Darkest Days. After the show, I walked backstage and met up with members of Rev Theory and Seether. On Memorial Day, I went to Ribfest in St. Louis. It was a big ripoff, but I did get to see .38 Special and Molly Hatchet perform.

This coming Wednesday, I'm planning on going to see Motley Crue and Poison! I also plan to go to U2 and Sade this summer, but haven't bought tickets yet. Of course, I don't plan to wait that long! Here's to a good summer.

I also have been losing weight the last two months, which I hope I'll get into in a later blog.

its a little late, but my first post of 2011!

favorite songs of 2010

Alright, my last blog of 2010! I'll do what I do every year at this time, and name off my favorite tunes. Some of these are not ranked in any order.

1. 'Dynomite'-Taio Cruz. A song good for any occasion. And I still don't know what ay-oh means! No matter, this song is uplifting for anyone.
2. 'OMG'-Usher. I hate the artist, Usher, the producer, will.i.am, and I definitely hate Auto-tune, but somehow this song still grabs me. Maybe its the crowd cheer or the beat, I dunno....
3. 'The Cave'-Mumford and Sons. My favorite group to break through this year. The Brits, or the Irish, are coming!
4. 'Stylo-Gorillaz. Great album, and who else would include soul legend Bobby Womack?
5. 'The Resistance'-Muse
6. 'How Low'-Ludacris
7. 'Animal'-Neon Trees
8. 'Internet Killed the Video Star'-The Limousines
9. 'Dominoes'-The Big Pink
10. 'Holiday'-Vampire Weekend

As always, I like to critique about how the music industry as well as what radio people are playing nowadays. I'm no fan of Gaga and Katy Perry, because its all about looks and appearance. I still have yet to see their talent, despite of what everyone else says. I have taken a liking for Ke$ha, as she is definitely about the music. I'm also glad that rock radio has finally turned its back on 'corporate rock' bands, and playing more indie. Maybe I'm naive, but its starting to sound like 'alternative' music again. Rap still sucks as long as 'auto-tune' is in. I don't like Glee, so that's why you never saw anything from the 'Glee Cast' on that list.

good times lay ahead

So.....I thought I'd put a positive-themed title for my latest blog. Just the other day I was thinking about my close friends and peers around me and what they went through this year, both positive and negative changes that happened to them in 2010. Was it a good year for some? Probably not, but maybe it was all for the best.

I'm a bit self-conscious about my image to all people, and some people may get the feeling 'I don't want to change' about me. Mostly because I've been working in the same place since high school, and its like I never went to college (despite of the fact I wasted 7 years of my life there). Hey, I keep an open mind, and I practice what I preach, and look towards my options. Everyone is uncomfortable with change. I hope to make a huge step in 2011, so look out.

And speaking of high school, since the last blog I attended my 10th high school reunion. After being reluctant about going for the longest time, I was actually talked into going from a couple of my peers, and I never thought I'd say this, but....I'm actually glad I attended. From what I remember, there was a little over 525 people that graduated out of my class. I would say at least a quarter of those people attended the get-together, with several of them bringing their spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. But it was good times, and I got to catch up with just about everyone. The music, the weird 'fish-eye' photobooth, and the alcohol made it really fun too. I would hate to include alcohol in the mix, but it was the only way to get everyone loosened up! Some people have really changed, while there was the 'other half' that haven't. Some of those people I have not seen or talked to in, well...10 years. Just think, where did the time go? In the end, we all agreed that we shouldn't have to wait another ten years for our next reunion.

Getting back on facing challenges (sorry, I got too carried away with the whole h.s. thing!), I do find myself extremely lucky to be employed. I don't want to talk about the depressing economy, but it has had an effect on just about everyone. You pretty much have to be Amish not to be affected by it. Some of my friends were recently laid off from their jobs. Of course, they were disappointed, not discouraged. The lesson here is to hold on to what you got, until its gone. And of course, have a backup plan. Unfortunately, I was raised more about security over freedom. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, 2010 wasn't that bad for me, fortunately. I admit, I have slacked off on writing blogs. Blogging was more fun when more friends were involved. Now for some reason people are into 'microblogging' or simply statuses on Facebook. As for 2011, on the other hand, will meet tougher, if not greater, challenges. Just remove the 'lle' from that last word, and what do you get?

catching up!

I say this all the time but I'm wayyyyy overdue to write something on here. What I need to do is set a time where I can write exclusively on here. There's so much I would like to write about, its not even funny. Like always, I have been very busy. I mean, extremely busy. I'll explain in the next paragraph.

Most of you know how political of a guy I can be (lol), and thankfully the long-anticipated mid-term elections are over. I spent a lot of time in October volunteering on my days off as well as filling in shifts on my days off from work. What did I do? I was pretty much your worst enemy. I'll put it this way: if you don't like political calls coming to your house, then yeah that's what I'm talking about. My family always hated those calls, especially the recorded ones. But I actually talked to the people asking them: 'Hi this is Jason of the Illinois Victory Center and I was wondering if you can support the Republican team of Bill Brady (GOP Governor candidate for IL), Mark Kirk (GOP IL US Senate) and (local GOP candidate inserted here, mostly John Shimkus and Dwight Kay)?'. What was it like? I had a lot of fun, believe it or not. I wasn't crazy about it at first, because I saw it the same way as telemarketing or selling over the phone, something I never wanted to do. But all I did was ask for support (and their vote!), and it wasn't a problem at all. As for the negative feedback, I got used to it. And believe it or not, I actually came across some conversational people while helping campaigning.

And now the results: I was actually satisfied 70% with most of the outcome for the elections. I always figure: Hey, you can't win 'em all. The only two that disappointed me was the IL Governors race and the NV Senate race. I'll start with the IL Governors race. Most of us already know, because of the highly publicized matter, about the whole Rod Blagojevich thing. I still can't believe we're still waiting for the trial to happen. I just hope this guy gets what he deserves. His #2 guy, Pat Quinn, took over as Governor in Jan. of '09, and by that time the state of IL has plunged into billions of debt, as well as several job losses. These are just a couple of issues that tried to be played in the election. Earlier this year, Bill Brady won the GOP primary and one of my friends Jason Plummer (from Edwardsville) won the Lieutenant Governor race. It was quite a busy year for both of them, as they traveled around Illinois campaigning tirelessly, as well as knocking Quinn. I honestly thought Brady/Plummer would have won. And they almost did, by not even 50,000 votes. It turns out that Pat Quinn only won a large handful of Cook County and Brady won just about every county in IL. It makes a lot of people sick hearing about it, that Chicagoans make some of the decisions for downstate Illinoisans.

I will hand it to IL voters on one thing: replacing a Republican in President Obama's old Senate seat. The national media considered it an 'embarrassment' for our Prez, but to me, just because he had an 'R' next to his name does not necessarily mean he's entirely conservative. I did help campaign for Kirk, but there were a few things that he agreed with Obama on, such as cap-and-trade. But I do hope he does his duty well. As for Quinn, I of course was very disappointed. I was even embarrassed when I heard a national talk radio pundit say 'Illinois didn't want change'. I actually debated with a few people about it too. Many people thought Plummer to be a 'silver spoon', but if anyone can name anything positive that came out of Quinn while he was Governor, be my guest. (lol) I was amazed that Nevada didn't want change either as they re-elected Harry Reid. I don't know much about Nevada, nor have I ever been there, but from what I hear the state has been in financial trouble as well as its flagship Las Vegas.

Well, getting off politics, not much has been new with me. I only attended one show since my last post and that was Vampire Weekend. Great show, and easy to say my favorite band to have come out within the last few years. It was just announced that U2 will be at Busch Stadium in July, and Girl Talk will be in January. I'm very excited, that's all I can say. I almost attended the Suicidal Tendencies show last week, but it was the same night as election night.

I'm also in the process of buying a new car! A girl I work with may sell me her Mustang. I'm very excited about that too. There's a lot of things I'm still eagerly awaiting, but there are still challenges to meet before 2010 is over. I'll be again working Thanksgiving, which I'm not happy about. I'm very likely to spend it with my maternal side of the family like last year, and perhaps taking in Black Friday. Last year was the first time I worked on such day, and it was different watching hoards of people get in line for the big sale. The only thing I'm splurging myself on this year is an electronic reader. I'm definitely torn between the Kindle and the Sony E-Reader. Both have their pros and cons, not even outweighing each other. I definitely can't wait to buy something I can finally take with me everywhere I go, book-wise! On Thanksgiving weekend is my 10th high school reunion. For the longest time I didn't want to go, but a few people encouraged me to go, so I just thought 'Oh, what the hell....'. Truth be told, I'm very nervous about it.

I hope this gives you an idea about my current life. Catch ya all later!

birth days and online social networking

I wrote a similar blog like this on Myspace about oh, 3 years ago, but here's a revised edition. Today is my birthday (I'm IXXX, I think, in Roman numerals, lol). And if you're reading this, thanks in advance (laughs).

But I came on here to relate this special day to online sites like Facebook and Myspace among others. Actually, Myspace is pretty much dead so Facebook we'll stick with. For everyone, birthdays come once in every 365 (or 366) days. Seems like a long time, until we find out how fast we're getting old!!! Everyone has their own birthdays traditions and celebrations. But one thing that always sticks out in my head (and apparently everyone elses) is how many birthday wishes they will get on their Facebook wall. Every year its gets better for me, but every year I also tell myself enjoy it while I can while its still popular. More and more people go on Facebook every day, at least that's what I believe.

I personally don't like to wish people happy birthday on the Internet. If I do, I will make sure they know in person or through text, if I was really good friends with them. There's always that feeling in me that if someone wishes me a happy bday on Facebook, I feel that I have to return the favor and then I have to check the birthday listings day-by-day on Facebook. I know this makes me sound like a snob or bad person, but I hope you get kind of an idea where I'm coming from. I just like being fair and treating people the same way back. There's many different groups of friends on Facebook (family, close friends, people you never talk to, people you never met, etc) and sometimes I divide it that way. I believe we're all guilty of that :). The wrong way of thinking is 'who your real friends are' are the ones who actually wishing you a happy birthday. Some girl at work told me this recently. I can understand that most people are like me, they shouldn't feel the urge to wish someone a 'Happy bday'. I get that way too, all the time.

I'm not saying you shouldn't wish me one, but I will definitely try to do it when your special day comes, that's what I'm saying. Well, what's my plans for today? Maybe catch up on sleep, thinking about City Museum, Lumiere Place and definitely a big dinner! Or organize my music catalog on my computer....

Fall is here....

September has already gone by quick, which I guess is a good thing? Well, closer to summer 2011, lol! I definitely can't wait for Halloween to be overwith. Thanksgiving and Christmas will definitely fly by quick, unless there's a snowstorm. That would be the one thing I never look forward to, weather-wise. But for now, its always about the change of temperature and atmosphere. Usually around my birthday (which is in 9 days) I start catching a real cold, but luckily the last two years it hasn't happened. Maybe I just learn from my mistakes, I don't know :).

I haven't even taken my jacket out of the closet yet. I just don't wanna do it. If it hasn't been mid-September yet, I would definitely say its too early. It has been chilly late at night as well as early-morning here in the StL area. We still usually get great weather during the day. In fact, yesterday it was 82 degrees. Every now and then I do catch allergies, but it don't irritate me that much.

There's plenty of things for me to look forward to this Fall. Last week, was my night with Seether (blog post coming soon!), and I'm going to KSHE 95's Pig Roast Festival this Saturday. Vampire Weekend will be in October, and I'm considering going to see Suicidal Tendencies and Papa Roach. Nothing's written in stone about either one, but they're both a month ahead from now. I also received an invitation to go to Chuck Berry's statue dedication ceremony, but the date is TBA. I also like to watch the Cards play in the last stages of the season, that is if they make it to the post-season. Unfortunately, its not looking good for them :(. And for current events, the first week of November will bring the long-awaited mid-term elections to see if certain Congress people will get kicked out of office. It will also be a thrilling time to witness the battle for Illinois: Bill Brady vs. incumbent Pat Quinn. (Edwardsville-an lumber heir Jason Plummer is running on the Brady ticket for Lt. Governor)

top 80s one-hit wonders

Tonight I'm playing one solid hour of 80s one-hit wonders. As most of us music enthusiasts know, the term 'one-hit wonder' is often controversial. See the wikipedia article about 'one-hit wonder' if you wanna know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I asked my Facebook friends for suggestions, and boy did they come up with some! Here's a sample of the playlist I put together for tonight:

Nena-99 Red Balloons (English language version of her German-language US hit. It's less confusing than you think!)
Benny Mardones-Into The Night
Baltimora-Tarzan Boy (passed away in '94)
After The Fire-Der Kommissar (an English language version of Falco's overseas hit song)
Danny Wilson-Mary's Prayer
Kajagoogoo-Too Shy
T'Pau-Heart And Soul (group named Star Trek character)
Taco-Puttin' On The Ritz (Irving Berlin penned tune)
David & David-Welcome To The Boomtown (I had a guy call me up while I played this song and he says he still listens to his David & David cassette tape! I love hearing memories, especially when they're not mine....)
JoBoxers-Just Got Lucky (one of my Facebook friends posted this song on her newsfeed and said she owned this on 45! Hey, gotta love randomness)
Plimsouls-A Million Miles Away
The Style Council-My Ever Changing Moods
Boys Don't Cry-I Wanna Be A Cowboy


Honorable mentions (but did not play):
Frank Stallone-Far From Over
Stars on 45
Jules Shear-Steady (wrote 2 of Cyndi Lauper's hit songs as well)
Re-Flex-Politics of Dancing
Musical Youth-Pass The Dutchie
Gary Numan-Cars (to many, he's a one-hit wonder, but I like his other song that was a hit overseas, which was 'Are Friends Electric?')
Jan Hammer-Miami Vice Theme
The Blow Monkeys-Digging Your Scene (don't ask about the name! lol. Also contributed a song to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack)
Device-Hanging on a Heart Attack
Opus-Live Is Life
Frida-I Know There's Something Going On (its fair to call her a one-hit wonder, should her previous career with Abba be disqualified)
Toni Basil-Mickey (how could I leave her out? Basil is also well known for her chorerography career as well as playing a prostitute in Easy Rider)
Tracey Ullman-They Don't Know
Living In A Box-Living In a Box
When In Rome-The Promise (most people now know this song as 'that song at the end of Napoleon Dynamite')


....I know there's several to mention but these just come to mind :)

book ideas

Your ideas/comments/suggestions are welcome on this one. I've been wanting to write a blog-type book for the longest time. I've got 2 major ideas.

1. I've always been interested in black history in America. All my life I've always wanted to hear a full perspective from several black people about what it is like living in modern America today. Back in college three years ago, I had to do a project where I interviewed 2 older African-Americans about life in America during the pre-Civil Rights era. Of course, I learned a lot. But I also want to get opinions from several A-A's of all generations, focusing on what their favorite stereotypical views from the majorities are, and what they expect from people in society. I want to interview famous black people as well as lower-class African-Americans. There are several areas to choose from.

2. Another area of interest is the music industry. I've written a lot of blogs about it, and now I want to put it in book form. Everyone has their opinions (mostly negative) about how the music industry is going. I keep up well as a matter of fact. I always like to read blogs from professionals, especially the Lefsetz Letter. But I like hearing it from the artists and bands themselves. I've talked to a few musicians about it and their views were very mixed. I'd like to put all of them in one place.

So there you have it. Let me know what you think!

400!

Yesterday I added my 400th movie to my 'My Movies' list on imdb.com. For those that don't know what I'm talking about, I can explain. I like to keep track of every movie I've seen (within last 15 years) by adding it to 'My Movies'. My Movies is one of imdb's cool features for members. It can be used for anything. In fact, I know one gal who organizes what she thinks are her top movies and worst movies she's ever seen. All you need is an account with imdb, which is free. It happened on the same day Cardinals 1st baseman Albert Pujols hit his 400th career home run. Coincidence maybe, but I was watching 'Intolerance' when it happened.

400 sounds like a big number to some, but I actually know people who have more than 400 dvds in their collection! I'm not sure if I'll ever have a collection that huge, but it would take me a lot of time, that's for sure! I've said in an earlier blog that I believe that the average person has seen an average 200 movies in their lifetime. And I know everyone has their personal favorite (mine? 'Almost Famous') and/or their personal Top 10. It was almost a year ago that I got to the '300' mark and in the last 12 months I had seen 100 films. There are a lot of contributing factors to this. I have been making trips to redbox a lot. Also, I've been watching a lot of movies for free online, such as alluc.org. I don't recommend it, as the site has a lot of unpredictables like viruses on there. I really like internetarchive.org as there are several historical, if not legendary, films on there. And the least thing to worry about are the legal rights since everything in public domain is on that site. You can even download the movies for free off of there. If you're not really a movie historian or know much about movies from 75 years ago, the site may not be for you. Or you can probably learn something new! I have always been interested in learning about the lives of 1920s and 1910s figures like D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin. Even the film that is revered as the 'first real motion picture' Birth of a Nation is listed on that site, as it is in public domain. By the way, if you're wondering what public domain means, that indicates that no company or individual person owns the rights to the work.

I wrote a blog over a month ago about how I feel about people wasting their time watching television. I don't compare it well to watching movies. I feel that watching movies is a better use of time more than watching a show along with commercials. I'd rather spend a good 2-3 hours of my time relaxing with a movie than try to keep up on a tv series. There's many other different ways I can explain that, but I'll keep it right there.

Halloween? really?

It's mid-August, and as we all know, its back-to-school season. Or so we think? Apparently now retailers are rushing Halloween crap on the shelves and putting up pumpkin decorations all over the place. I can remember a time when they didn't do this in August. More like mid-September. I'm not sure what the people behind the curtain are thinking, but why jump the gun more than two months before the holiday?

Those that know me very well know that I hate Halloween. It's not the Pagan, or religious part of it. It's pretty much a holiday where everyone is dying for attention, and its not a holiday where people can be themselves. I don't mind the eye candy where the ladies where risque costumes, but it gets old quick! Like the kid from Hocus Pocus said, 'Halloween was created by the candy companies...'. Truer words have never been spoken. Its a day I never look forward to of all 365 days of the year. And November 1 is probably my favorite day because its all over. There's definitely more I hate about Halloween but its hard to put down in print.

As for the back-to-school part, its never a good thing to look forward to. Yeah, the positive thing is seeing people you've always like to see. But when the 'back-to-school' theme hits stores in mid-July, it always strikes a nerve. I'm not in school, but it always reminds me of those times when we would start those horrifying 9 months over again.

summer concert shows journal; and what's next!

I tried making this my second year in a row for my concert-attending. Nothing was really stopping me; it was pretty much the fact that there were not many shows I was interested in! I mean, sure I wanted to see Tom Petty and the Eagles, but I had to sacrifice them. I was more 'into' seeing acts I've never seen before. Not very many came by my way (St. Louis area), but I managed to see a couple. My only regret was not seeing the Eagles. I always tell myself that every time a legendary act tours that this will be 'their last one'. The Eagles have been around for a long, long time and keeping them together is known to be a challenge. They were at Busch Stadium in June with the Dixie Chicks. I don't care very much for the country trio. I got to see Dave Matthews Band back in mid-June, but it didn't do well for me. I like some of Dave Matthews' radio songs, but I learned quickly while attending the concert that there are two kinds of DMB fans: the die-hard and the ultra die-hard. This is because 85 percent of what Dave played were all album cuts that only true fans know. One of the very few songs I was familiar with that he played was his latest hit 'You and Me'. Dave and the band put on a great energetic show, but that doesn't mean I'll be back at one of their shows anytime SOON!

Last month (July) I got to see Hole and the B-52's for the first time. I got to catch the B-52's on the 4th of July at Fair St. Louis, underneath the arch. It was awesome, although the crowd and the humidity was a tough challenge. The one thing that surprised me was how Kate Pierson has aged bigtime. I'm not saying its a bad thing (lol); but I saw close-up shots of her on the monitor and I couldn't help but notice how she became wrinkled. I also didn't realize she was 62! I thought she was ten years younger, but its easy to forget she had a career as a Playboy bunny before she joined the B-52's. I got to hear their lost 80s hits (Private Idaho, Mesopotamia as well as Rock Lobster) live and to me it was quite a thrill.

I also got to catch Weird Al Yankovic and Hole last month. It was the second time to see 'the king of parody', as I got to go with my sister and her twins. My 7-year old nephews love him, and it was great to see them so excited about seeing Al in person. He did most of his hits as well as all of the songs off his most recent EP 'Internet Leaks'. He put in so much energy into his show and I feel he gave everyone their money's worth. On the other hand, Hole didn't. Lucky for me and my friend Laura, we went for free since I work at my college radio station. A ticket would have cost close to $40 to see Courtney Love and her new band members perform for 50 minutes. Most of us know about Courtney's wild history, from being Kurt Cobain's widow to her offstage behavior and image. She also has had quite a respectable acting career, most notably for 'The People vs. Larry Flynt'. I wasn't much of a fan of Hole, but I do love their classic 1994 album Live Through This. Many rock historians know it as a landmark in her career. I thought this would be my opportunity to see her in person, live. Laura saw them at the old Mississippi Nights back in '94 (or '95?), and according to her it was better back then! When we were there, we literally had to wait an hour before the band hit the stage, which of course ticked off a lot of people. But when she hit the stage, she totally rocked the house performing all of her signature songs. As mentioned earlier the show didn't last an hour as Courtney said the band 'was tired and didn't wanna play anymore'. A lot of people, not surprisingly, were shocked but they went on and took in that they were done.

So what's next? I'm still deciding what to do. I just read that Blondie will be at the Illinois State Fair in a couple weeks. Rush will also be coming back to St. L as well, and they will be performing their Moving Pictures album live in its entirety. I saw them 3 years ago with a group of people, and it was one of the best shows I've been to. I already bought my ticket to KSHE's Pig Roast for September, as it will be on the weekend before my birthday. There will be a lot of 80s hair bands as well as a few current bands on the bill. But it will be a great time as it will probably my last time at Verizon for the year. I also might catch Seether either in Du Quoin or in St. Louis. It's still in question.

Got a concert story for the summer? Let's hear it!

sure, its depressing....

Its been 2 1/2 years now since I've been out of college, and believe me...I still have nightmares about it (lol)! I miss all the people and activities from SIUE, but I surely don't miss the tests, exams, and long papers. For those who don't know, I graduated with a degree in Mass Communications in December of '07. Since then, I have not succeeded to get 'a real job' in my field.

Not very many people know but the last two years I was there I wanted to quit. I wanted to 'try to get rich' by finding some place to make a passive income. I'll get to that part later on. I got really bored with college and I was fed up with the way I thought SIUE was greedy. My parents would always say 'Quit knocking SIUE....they're giving you an education and you'll get your real job'. Well, in reality that hasn't happened. The good/bad part was they made me stay and finish what I started. I'm glad I went to SIUE while at the same time I still have my regrets for wasting 4 1/2 years there. But I still stay on as an Alumni Association member just to keep up with how things are going.

Its now safe to say that the down economy has effected more than 95% of everyone. Including yours truly. One of my best friends, Josh (who sometimes I refer to as the 'black sheep' for not keeping a job), has been unemployed for quite a while and he recently shared some statistics. He pointed out that the 'average person' usually finds a job in 33 weeks or 246 days, something like that. He said he's applied everywhere. I know people who are simply collecting unemployment, have jobs what they hate doing, and I even know people who have succeeded getting jobs they went to school for. At my workplace, there have been a lot of removals, resulting in people getting promoted.

Most of you know that I've worked the same job since high school. (Note: I don't want to mention it because of our media/internet policy) It's not that I like it, but I've been blindly taught that security is better than freedom. And unfortunately for most people, that's how they're taught. But I will change that some day :). Yes, I do feel glad to still have a job, but I am getting sick of being asked the same awkward questions. 'Why do you still work at (my employer)?' 'Why don't you want to be a manager?' 'Is (my employer) going to be your career?' A lot of people would be taken aback when asked such a personal question. But I do think the people who ask me these things don't have a clue what's going on in reality and they think that someone will step in and save them. I'll go ahead and make it clear once again: I've made somewhat of a pact that I will not spend the rest of my life at (my employer). The restaurant business is always stressful, and I do plan on working in a more, relaxed environment, whether it is working for myself or for someone else. If I wanted to make (my employer) a career out of it, then I would have left school way earlier. This time its just to pay the bills. I have been doing other things like my weekly radio show plus writing stuff online in my rare free-time.

why I don't regularly watch television

Its pretty simple; I don't have time. Period. It sounds like an excuse. But seriously, who needs an excuse to watch tv in the first place? What the average person does to make their time useful is their business, of course. I'm just not one of those people.

Most of the television shows that came out after 2000 (reality, drama, dramedy, comedy, adventure, etc) are very hard to keep up with. I have never seen a single episode of Heroes, Lost, Glee, or Bones. In fact, I've said it before: if televisions biggest shows have one-word titles, that tells me that tv is running out of ideas! People have thought this ever since reality television came along. The last show that I tried to keep up with was Survivor. I actually watched the fast-paced, fun reality series until after the All-Stars. After that, it wasn't the same. In other words it jumped the shark (lol)! If I were to turn on Survivor today I would totally be lost. I'm not talking about the ever-changing cast. There's so many lame rules and such they have added since I stopped watching. But more power to Survivor for still staying on the air! I'll be open for any reunions in the future though.

People think I'm crazy for not even watching Family Guy or South Park. One, I tell people 'Do I look psychotic enough to watch South Park?'. Yes, I know its a show thats supposed to poke fun at pop culture. Two, I think Family Guy is a complete Simpsons ripoff that isnt funny. I watched a few episodes trying to get into it but I failed. It didn't grab me or win me over. Its been dubbed as 'stoner humor', and I'm proud to say I'm not one of those people. I even have a stereotype for those people: guys who are overweight, long hair, wannabe geeks/rockstars who get carryout fast food late at night, with their bongs and watch Adult Swim all night. There's only a couple shows I like on Adult Swim: Robot Chicken and Morel Orel, simply because they're funny.

I don't even have Tivo, DVR, VCR plus or whatever its called today. The only time I turn on the TV is if I'm watching a movie, or watching political commentary shows like Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc. There's even some great reruns from the 80s that I still enjoy. Its too bad they're not the same as they were. Since a lot of people are anti-family, its hard to get a true sitcom on the air now. I'll still break out my Full House, Roseanne and Seinfeld DVDs when I get sick in the winter time. Otherwise, count me out. I've already joined the web revolution

whats up summer?! rockfest/lazerfest tales

I say this all the time, but there's times where I have little time to write on here. Work, sleep, you name it. The last two months as well as the next two months are busy, busy, busy. I'm just trying to make the most out of summer.

On my rare nights off I usually take in a concert or just chill or whatever. My summer started in mid-May when I went on a short roadtrip with my friend Anthony to Kansas City and Des Moines for two rock festivals. Rockfest was in Kansas City (at their Liberty Memorial park), and it is a day-long festival they have every year and its sponsored by 98.9 The Rock. Note: in St. Louis, we call it Pointfest, but similar lineup :). Anthony has been wanting me to go for two years and so this year I finally gave in to see what its like. This was Anthony's 4th year in a row, and this was his party event of the year. He described it like a mini-Woodstock, and a hot weather Mardi Gras, combined with friend-making and good music. Welllllllll that day it rained and it was muggy and wet the whole time. It wasn't Anthony's fault, but had the weather cooperated it would have been more fun. It was fun that I got to walk around, hang out with groups, eat, even meet wandering band members. While we were there, we interviewed an up-and-coming group, Airbourne.

We also checked out the Kansas City scene the night before. Downtown KC was awesome, in my opinion. Its nothing like St. Louis. Sure, you have old buildings and all, but no broken windows or graffiti. In fact, I read the following day that KC spent millions rehabbing their downtown scene and needless to say they did a wonderful job. We hung out at a piano bar that was 5x better than The Big Bang in St. Louis, and we also had a few drinks at Kelly's Pub. Kelly's claims to be the oldest establishment in KC. For an old timer, they're doing quite well. They even had a pizza place open til 3am in the back. Where in StL can I find something like this?!

The day after Rockfest we headed straight to Des Moines for Lazerfest, which was very similar to Rockfest's lineup but with Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie thrown in. It took us forever to find a parking spot as we were listening to Lazer 103's instructions on how-to-park close to the field. By the way, the concert was in a balloon field, out in the middle of nowhere. But it was cool though, and the weather was still cold and windy for May. I hung in there though. I got to see bands like Seether, 5 Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace and Papa Roach again. And Godsmack now holds the record for 'the band that I've seen in 3 different cities'. I also went backstage briefly with Anthony, although it wasn't much of a trip. The next day we were looking for something to do in Des Moines before we headed home. I wanted to look at museums (after all, it is the capital of Iowa) but of all things, Anthony wanted to shop. So I gave in. They have a very nice mall, Jordan Pines, which I'd say is twice the size of St. Louis Mills.

And that was all a month ago. Since then, adjusting to reality was difficult but I'm there now. I saw Dave Matthews Band a couple weeks ago but it wasn't anything I expected. I tried organizing a 'radio reunion' but it was unfortunately it was unsuccessful. I'll talk about it in a later blog. Summer's now officially a third over, but there's still plenty of good times ahead.

By the end of the summer, I'm buying my first car. Yeah, I know. I'm 28 and I've been driving mommy and daddy's all this time. So sue me. But its a great change as I drift away out of my parents house soon (I hope!). Me and my co-worker Becca are talking about a Los Angeles roadtrip in August, which I'm skeptical about but I do want something to happen. I'm still weighing the pros and cons. I've already been to Six Flags this year and I might go back again, who knows. Tomorrow I'm going with my sis and my nephews to Raging Rivers. I don't want to go, but I went last year and my nephs made sure their Uncle Jason was along for old times sake.

See ya soon

just browsing, not posting

I haven't neglected this blog or anything. I just haven't posted since its tough to find readers (or what they call 'followers') but I've been getting bored with Facebook and Twitter. I've noticed some more things are changing and rapidly evolving as we see trends come and go. I've also found some great blogs from this site (blogger, blogspot?) so it should keep me busy.

As mentioned before, I believe Facebook has seen its peak. I would hate to go to a new website and start over and add friends and old acquaintances again. I've heard people already say that Google Wave will be the next 'in-thing'. The thought of a 'google wave' sounds pretty scary. (If you've ever seen the Afterschool Special called 'The Wave' then you'll know what I'm talking about. You can watch it here: http://www.xenutv.com/blog/?p=849.) But so many adults I know are on Facebook and I don't really see them doing the same thing I don't want to do, which is again, starting over. Lately, I've been getting friend requests from people I don't even know, and in most cases, I turn them down. Don't get me wrong, I feel bad everytime I do such thing. But if I don't know them, or if they have no mutual friends, or if they have very few friends, its obviously just spam. I would hate to compare Facebook to Myspace, but whats going on here? I've also been getting bored with posting statuses, as I feel that I'm running low on ideas. Usually something poking fun at culture or the news, or a quote here and there. I guess I just feel that I've turned my back on the world, or Facebook society has turned its back on me, I don't know. I still read the newsfeed, so I can easily keep up on my 'friends'. It's always that feeling that by the end of the day, you feel like you missed out on their important moment of the day (lol).

Twitter, on the other hand, I feel I can go crazy on there all the time. My brother-in-law Kyle stated that he's 'totally addicted' to it because that's where he gets his main news from. And I can see that. I do have a few close friends on there, but I wish there were more people I know on Twitter. Some people just don't feel that their lives are important enough, I guess. I do like getting the personal side to some of my favorite famous people (such as authors, politicians, etc).

Well, I have plenty of things to share with you. Mainly, what's been going on the last 3 weeks! And today is my 12th anniversary at my employer's. I was hired here on 6/3/1998 after I finished my soph year in high school. (note: my employer's media policy includes not blogging or sharing certain information about it on socialnet sites.) But I shall wait....

immigration

In the last week or two, what's been flooding the news is Arizona's new law on illegal immigrants. However, also clogging up the headlines now is the big oil spill that happened on the Gulf Coast. I enjoyed listening to conservatives expressing how they felt about what America stands for and what this means to our freedoms. Which brings me to think that this oil spill happened purposely. Think about it, this immigration law is a pretty awkward subject and the news (or lamestream media) doesn't want to shove it down our throats. So now all they talk about is the 130-mile oil spill. Yes, I think its devastating, especially unsafe and wasting so much that could be used on something else. As one pundit remarked, 'Oil spills will probably happen every 20 years or so, (the last major one happened near Alaska in '89).

The illegal immigrants issue has been drawn to my attention for over 3 years ever since then-President Bush gave his speech against it. I've heard views from Arizonans, as well as people who lived in Houston, who have dealt with illegals. There are plenty of ways to solve this problem. One may think that the best way to deal with it is amnesty. But who are we kidding here? Yes, I understand why Mexicans want to cross our border and thats simply because they want freedom, and they want to feed their families. But there's a high cost involved. People pay taxes, and they should too. They need to go by our laws. Other words, its our way or the highway. Its all about fairness.

So far, so many left-wing groups have attacked those who have tried to help prevent this, whether it be policemen or Arizona/Southern politicians. Racist? Okay, that is one thing they will always make an issue. These are the same people who think diversity is more important than anything. I don't care what color, race, religion, or what language you speak. If you don't have citizenship status and you're living here, I hope you get sent home where you belong until you learn responsibility.

prom=overrated

I should be saying the same about weddings, but prom comes the closest of all! I won't make this blog sound like someone who was an anti-social geek without a date in high school. I'm totally way beyond those times. After all, it was ten years ago the last time I went to prom anyway.

I guess because last night Edwardsville High School (my alma mater) had theirs last night (which I consider it to be very early.....its usually in early-mid May). Believe me, I suffered last night when so many people brought their dates in to my workplace as well as come in late after the after-prom party at 4 in the morning. I only attended my senior year, but it was on a scale from 1 to 10, a 4. I remember going stag, and I hung around a certain group for a while, until I connected with another small social group luckily. Later, I went to someone's house and watched 'Dumb and Dumber'. Woohoo. But it could have been a lot worse. And no, I'm not trying to gain anyone's sympathy here.

The reason I say it is overrated is because, in my opinion, so many people (mostly girls) look forward to this one night. I know what its like being young, but there's plenty of things to enjoy while a teenager, and I think prom is not just one of them. Every January I start seeing prom-themed magazines. You know, the ones that tell girls with 'how-to' instructions of setting the stage of their perfect night. There's also the part where your dress has to be perfect, as well as your car, your man, his tuxedo, list goes on and on. Nobody knows the true definition of love, and if there was one, then maybe there would be a true-defined perfect prom night.

To make myself less grouchy on this one, I think prom should just be another social gathering where everyone is meant to have fun. Dress code? Sure. Anyone who threatens to spoil the fun or any person should be ejected immediately. It's not a place for politics or social cliques, but just a joyous time to catch up with everyone you haven't seen in your class. Gosh, this is starting to sound like a class reunion. But I hope I proved a point here.

high school memories, volume 1 (?)

It doesn't make me feel old that I've almost been out of high school for 10 years, but it DOES make me feel weird knowing I'm almost thirrrrrrrty. Sometimes I don't feel bad because we live in different times than ten and/or twenty years ago. More people are getting married and having children in their late 20s and 30s. Sometimes people get their 'big break' or 'the one thing they've been asking for in a long time' while they're in their 30s. But like I said, its a different America now thanks to a different economy.

Probably my biggest highlight in high school came when I was in the Theatre Arts play where I made the whole school laugh. It made me feel popular for a short time, but that was it. I took a Theatre class with Mrs. Motley, hoping I get at least more for my credit and get a little experience. It was fun as me and my classmates wrote plays, organized them and acted in them. We put on a performance for our families, and in front of every class period at the school. One of my favorite teachers, Todd Minichello, even made the comment that I should go into acting one of these days. I still can't believe it was 10 years ago next month that this all happened. Sometimes I wonder where did these years go. I also wonder what stopped me from acting?

Those that know me well know that I went into radio that same year at Lewis & Clark college. To me, that was a 'substitute'. By the time I made it into SIUE 3 years later, I took a written Theatre class, and from then (mostly thanks to the professor) I totally hated it. But I later changed my mind and took an acting class, which was fun. If acting never worked out for me, I could always go into writing of any sort. I've been drumming up ideas for a screenplay I thought of since August. It's a chick-flick that even guys will praise. The reason I say that is it points out stereotypes and moods of some of today's modern young women: they want to get married because they feel life is too short, among other things. More coming soon!