Rock and Roll McDonalds

One Hundred Years of Solitude

2007-09-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

I did wake up on time today, but more importantly, man I just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude. Sweet book, espcially awesome last chapter and even more so, last sentence of the book. Man...that's the kind of ending I hope for in every book.

8am

2007-09-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Woke up on time.

Updates

2007-09-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday, woke up at 9:50
Sunday, woke up at 12:30

I don't really care too much about the weekend, but I'd rather wake up before 10 if possible. The weekdays are what I care about.

Monday: Didn't set alarm, woke up at 9:21. Idiot.

Today, Tuesday: Woke up at 8am. Back on track.

Gotta post my failures if I'm going to post my successes.

Good, but not Perfect

2007-09-13T10:52:00.001-07:00

So today and yesterday I hit the snooze once. I was really tired, but its not like 10 minutes was really going to help me more. I'm still waking up at 8am everyday but I gotta keep it up. Last Friday I fucked up and slept in a bit more. Gotta bring back the discipline.

Almost Slipped

2007-09-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was a little slow this morning. I still got up at the right time, but wasn't as ready as usual. Can't fall back to my previous ways.

Fifth Day

2007-09-04T11:17:00.001-07:00

Still kicking ass. Yesterday I didn't wake up immediately, but went and laid down on the couch with the TV on. After that I woke up a half hour later, however I'll accept that since I had the day off. I'm enjoying being able to eat breakfast in peace and no hurry.

Second Day

2007-08-31T09:55:00.001-07:00

Success again. I never wore my moccasins before, but getting them on immediately after waking up definitely helps me be a little more comfortable in the filthy filthy morning.

First Day....

2007-08-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

Success. Woke up at 8, no snooze. Had a bowl of Cinnamon Life, a tasty reward.

A Huge Undertaking

2007-08-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

If I pass this, I can guarantee that almost anyone can succeed. I am going to attempt to become and early riser. I am sick and tired of hitting the snooze and waking up late. When I go to bed, I know exactly when I should wake up, but my morning brain doesn't want anything to do with that. Well fuck that, I'm taking charge. I'm not going to be a crazy 5am person, I more just want to consistently wake up at 7:30 or 8pm with no snoozing. I set the alarm, wake up, get up immediately and start my day. I know it will be better for me in every way. So, starting tomorrow, I'm going to start waking up immediately with the alarm, regardless of how I feel in the morning. I know I will make the right decision at night for when I should wake up. I'll keep my progress on my blog.

Here's the articles:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser-part-ii/

Blogging Is More Exciting Than Maybe One Thing: Working

2007-07-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

July has been a busy, busy month, and so to culminate it, I'll end the month with my first blog post in a few months:

Kickball season ended with a 3-5 season. Not bad, not good. Considering we were rookies I'm decently pleased with it. Maybe Flag Football in the fall, maybe more kickball.

Ikea just opened up here. It was one of those things where I always heard how cheap everything is, and how they have "every single thing you could ever need for your house", and that their meatballs are pretty good, but it still managed to impress me. A lot. Say what you want about cheap modern houseware, but I am a very proud owner of 12 new 25 oz. glasses (I measured the capacity) and 16 wooden clothes hangers. Maybe its just as evil as other big box stores, but they mask it very well.

I'm going to try and come out for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Gloria may not make it but I'm going to do my best. Money shouldn't be an issue so expect me this winter.

I'll write more later.

Backstreet's Back

2007-06-17T20:00:00.001-07:00

Well, after a stupendous weekend, the blog is back. Yesterday my upstairs neighbor had her graduation party in our shared yard, so we had a party very similar to our graduation party. Outside, two kegs, lots of raw meat, loud music, only just top that (not that any party could top that graduation) we even got our live band playing in the kitchen! We played a few tunes and then right when we finished, our next-door neighbors who things haven't been going well with, came over and asked us to play a Happy Birthday song for them! We played Birthday by the Beatles, or so we tried and amazingly, all the tension that was going on between both houses melted away. It did help that they were drunk on wine and loved Grimnak, but I'll credit most of it too good old fashioned rock. The rest of the night went pretty well, however I didn't drink too much because I did not want to be hungover for the next day's event...

Kickball! We just joined a kickball league and it was the first game today. I know its seems like a very hipster thing to do, but jesus, it is the coolest team sport since broomball. Its cool because there's still some definite skill, but just like broomball, kicking the ball hard and not just popping it up is harder than one would think. Long story short, we were down 6-1 with two innings left. We got a 3 run inning and two back to back no run innings for the opponents. It was the bottom of the last inning and we scored three runs to win it. We definitely started off the season on a very high note. I'm not sure if Boulder has a kickball league, but if you're interested you should check it out, it was a surprising amount of fun. I'm definitely doing that, along with flag football and bowling come fall and wintertime.

Maybe next entry I'll comment more about my Colorado trip, but today I'm on too much of a high from winning our game.

Boring Writer

2006-11-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

I just noticed that the only time I write is when I'm calm and settled. Is that a good thing? It definitely does not make for exciting entries, but the introspection is a little easier.

I'm sitting here, at TVG customer call center, its 6 in the morning and the room is silent. Don't get me wrong. Its wonderful right now. Other than having to wake up and get here on bike and train, I get to sit on a computer until the gamblers get jittery for the horses. All in all its a rather decent job. The pros are: I get to sit on a computer so I'm never all that bored, the environment is surprisingly upbeat, and since all the customers are gambling they hurry it up on the phone so they don't really have time to get angry. I guess the cons are that I'm supporting horse racing, something I really have no strong feelings toward, and I'm only taking calls.

Gloria and I completely settled into our new place now. I still have no camera so I can't show pictures of it yet, but imagine us living in Matt's parents' downstairs with less decoration. Its the bottom floor of a Victorian house with vaulted ceilings, so we have a bedroom, living room, and a big kitchen/dining room area. Also we managed to find Zero a yard which is again, very similar in size to the Ocasio's back yard. We really did get insanely lucky finding this place, and I have no excuse to not enjoy myself here. Other than the rain recently starting, everything has been very nice so far. Our neighbors are great (they watch Lost with us and loaned us 5 seasons of the Sopranos) and our Landlord is incredible (he trucked over a couch and gave us a dining room table for no reason except for that we needed them).

We just got an air mattress so we are equipped for anyone to stay. We're slowly figuring out what to do in town so by the time any of you come out this way we'll be ready. To leave you off I'll put some nice pictures of the neighborhood we live in that my neighbor next door took.

Below is our exact neighborhood. We live right across the street from this big building.

Pet #1: Rocky the Parrot

2006-09-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

I'll show these in installments because there are just too many animals.

This is Rocky:

Simply put, the bird is a fuck.

He hates my guts and tries to bite me when I get anywhere within five feet of him. He's never gotten close, but his effort is enough to fear. If it wasn't for the "Rocky Run" he'd be an absolute asshole, but watching him run at me with his small feet and funny wings all pissed off it pretty funny. Its slow and stupid looking enough to love, but his sharp beak keeps me scared and very afraid. He eats food off Gloria's tongue, which aside from being across the board disgusting really amazes me. He's supposed to love boys, but his love for me is none. No one has any idea why, but I stay away.

Now that we've found our place, we've been able to plan for it. The restaurant is going to give us lots of things. Tons of cookware, bar stools, food, spices, everything. Gloria's mom is giving us a futon (so you all can have a place to stay at. Its all for you you know), and the rest we'll get from home or Portland. I'm waiting for something to go wrong because everything seems too perfect.

Pros:
- Right in downtown Portland
- Within a mile of the best music venue in Portland and a Trader Joe's
- The price is under $900 a month (under our budget of $1100)
- Every single Portlander says that our place is in an amazing neighborhood and that it is a good price
- The shower is like a locker room shower. It has the small tiles and you just walk into it. There's no bath, but I hate baths anyway.
- The kitchen is big
- Its a Victorian house

Cons:
- Maybe I'll get addicted to heroin?
- You assholes don't live here
- TBA

Once we get there I'll give you the full analysis, but it seems perfect.

That venue, the Crystal Ballroom is owned some brothers called the McMenamins. They restore old buildings suck as Insane Asylums and Crematoriums, to name two, into Brewpubs and Hotels. Tell me that isn't amazing? Anyway, I'm too excited about our new residence and soon you'll all know. I'll be recruiting each of you personally to move out here.

2006-09-16T02:16:00.000-07:00

Warning: This may actually sound like a normal blog.

Being that I work at a restaurant that has a full bar, when we close, I get the privilege of having a drink or two. Tonight I had a 7 & 7 and a Lynchburg Lemonade and they were fantastic. Maybe it is because I made them myself and felt some pride in them, or maybe it is because I absolutely adore whiskey now. Either way, many questions come to mind: Is this the 2nd step after binge drinking on the path to alcoholism? For that matter, is enjoying whiskey a good thing? Why do I love whiskey so much?

On a more sensible tangent, a former employer of the restaurant got out of jail today. I'm sure you're asking, "Jail? That sounds sketchy Josh..." No, no, this restaurant isn't that bad. He made some bad decisions with some 17 year-old girls and after a drunken night out, found himself trapped in a whirlwind of statutory rape and massive consequences. Bottom line is that he was a great person and many people were simply elated to hear that he was released 25 days early. Whenever anything would go wrong, a reminder was made that yes, "Dane is out of jail" making all worries go away. Gloria was happy and her mom was exuberant. While I had I had only heard stories, I completely understood their excitement and was completely caught up in their happiness. I frequently said to myself "Don't worry, Dane's out of jail!" I suppose I didn't know before jail, or really after jail, but whatever.

Moving to a small town has forced me to find things to hold on to. Dane's jail sentence, backgammon (a phenomenal game), and finding significance in my life has been a strong focus for me. Let me tell you, feeling lost is fantastic feeling. While I am very confident in where I am going, it has been very liberating feeling as disconnected as I have been recently. It is different. It was almost uncomfortable. I work all night. I have little to do but go home and sleep and look forward to the wedding. While my time is somewhat dull, I'm not bored. I'm not sure what to think of this, however it works for me.

I'm excited for the fact that if I can stay happy in Gold Beach, Portland should be fantastic to me. Concerts, movies, events, restaurants, friends, Portland should be a fantastic chapter in my life. Please everyone should come visit if they can and if not, party it up with me while I'm in Boulder from the 28th to October 8th. I'll be at the wedding and at the football game on the 7th. Other than that, I am fair game. I will see you all soon and keep reading on. Possibly next time I'll actually be a little less blogish.

Gold Beach

2006-09-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

After driving five days and through all of California, we arrived in Gold Beach. This was not only the first time I had been to the Northwest, but also the first time in about 6 years seeing the Pacific Ocean. Also I had never lived on the coast so this is completely new to me. The town is roughly 5,000 people, the summer is the tourist season for fishing and there is no entertainment in sight. I work seven days a week at Gloria's mom's resturant (I seriously have nothing else to do, so I'd rather do it) and as does Gloria. Its boring, but its easier knowing that we will soon be gone.

Its great knowing that I've lived in a small town, but they truly are boring. There was some initial charm at first: "Everyone remembers me!" "There are only two traffic lights?" "Everything closes at 6?!" But after about two weeks it really started to wear on me. Other than Portland there was little to look forward to. If you don't fish or go hang out at the ocean, there is little to do but drink, and I haven't even done a whole lot of that. The one benefit is that money is easy to save and we have been doing that like nobody's business.

Anyway, here are pictures of Gold Beach because they will be much more informative than words.

Here is what I drive by everyday. I added the guardrail to show that indeed, the ocean is indeed right there.

Here are pictures of the town, the bridge and the river. I work very close to the river and the bridge.

Next are some pictures of driving through town. The town is only on highway 101 (same as highway 1) and goes for about two miles. Everyone lives up the hills a little bit, but the town is pretty much only in these pictures.

Finally, here is the view from the Riverview, the resturant Gloria and I work at. It really does look like a postcard.

I'll do my best to keep this updated with information on my life. Soon I'll put some pictures of all of Gloria's animals here (9 cats, 1 horse, 1 dog, 1 parrot) and hopefully pictures of our new place.

Intro

2006-09-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

Fantastic, I'm starting a formal blog to show everyone how I live now that I'm away from Colorado. It took me a while to really get my computer setup complete but now its all working. I'll do my best to make it a picture blog because describing Oregon really won't be much fun at all.