This Yellow Taxi Cab In Which I Ride

There wasn't enough milk this morning for both a bowl of cereal and a hot chocolate. I had a difficult decision to make. On the one hand, hot chocolate is smooth and warm and tasty. Plus you get to sip hot chocolate and you don't have to use a spoon (except for the initial stirring, of course). On the other hand, Fruity Pebbles (yes, I eat a kid's cereal) have a great texture and, obviously, taste "fruity." I opted for the hot chocolate and it was a good decision. I am sipping the warm, smooth drink in between typing and watching the Foo Fighters concert that I DVRd from the High Def music channel. I also DVRd an Oasis concert will most likely watch that tomorrow. I don't know why, but the Foo Fighters have steadily crept up into the fictional top ten list of favorite bands that I pretend I have. Since late last year, I haven't been able to escape the band. The radio stations that I like have played a few of their newer songs and I couldn't help but lo...

I said last time that I would post photos of my dining room if the painting job came out good. The painting did come out good, but the room isn't quite photo-ready yet. We purchased the wrong size blinds for one of the windows (three windows in the room -- two different sizes... go figure), and the curtains need to be shortened (we found great curtains for the room at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they were on sale and too long). I will post photos. The room really looks a hell of a lot better. Currently, I am in bed. I am enjoying the heated mattress pad, which is on the second level of heating. I believe there are nine or ten levels. I am feeling quite cozily warm on level two and can't imagine what it would feel like if I cranked it up to the highest level. I'm sure it would burn the house down. I'm listening to WEXT 97.7 . Right now, Echoes is on. It's a mellow, mostly instrumental segment. It's very relaxing and, as it turns out, great to blog to. So, is the h...

I'm taking a break from painting (the dining room -- I'll post pictures if it comes out good...). The house smells disgusting... I also smell disgusting. Anyway, there is an article in the Leader Herald (Fulton County's local newspaper) about me and Inside the Open Mic. I know it. Two articles in one month! Craziness. Here is the link: article . I feel like there was something else I was going to say, but what that something else is, I cannot recall. So, I guess that is all for now. Oh -- open mic night. Yes, I often blog about open mic night at Lena's. I have the list of performers folded up right here next to my laptop. The paint fumes must be getting to me (we do have a window open, and a fan going, but not all fumes get sent outside). Well, I will blog about open mic later. Now, I must get back to painting.

Normally on a Saturday (or Sunday as it happens to be), I would be typing away, much like I am now, about my Thursday night at Lena's -- what I played, anything interesting from the night, etc. Unfortunately, however, I didn't attend open mic this past week, because I received a phone call from my dad just as I was about to grab my guitar case and start the car. It was one of those phone calls that stop you from doing whatever it is you were planning on doing and go to see your dad instead. You see, he told me that my uncle Bill had died earlier that day. He was 51 and had a heart attack. My uncle, like most of my dad's side of the family, lived in Florida for much of the time that I knew him. He came to visit often when I was younger and less so as I grew older. We visited him and all Florida family on occasion. The last time I saw him was when he was up with his wife for a ski-trip. That was at least five years ago, if not more. The time that I saw him before that was bac...

It's New Year's Day. And this posting is going to be a predictable thinking-about-the-past-year type of posting. It can't be helped. I just re-read my posting on this day last year . I was surprised by what I read. I really wasn't expecting to find any differences between my current self and my last-year self, but I did. I grew, in certain ways. And that is promising. For starters, I was having a lot of trouble last year with my live sound (PA system, reverb, etc.). I had received some pedals for my birthday and I absolutely could not get them to sound right at all. Recently, however, I have had no trouble setting up my live sounds for gigs and, in fact, have been quite pleased and confident with the way my live sound turns out. It feels good to know that I've grown in the past year and am moving in the right direction. Getting better at things is definitely promising. 2008 was a pretty good year for me overall. I worked steadily for the entire year, which is someth...

I wrote a song earlier this year called Lost in Boston . It's not a particularly good song and so I don't play it much. Tonight. I am in Boston. Earlier today, my dad got totally lost and we waited for him to be found for over an hour. At any rate, I'm bored in the hotel room and thought I would quickly put up some pictures that I find to be entertaining to look at. Jenn, Josh, Stephanie, and James not lost in Boston: The same as above, with the exaggerated super hero-hanging-out-in-the-park pose: @ Hard Rock: Stephanie @ Hard Rock: Stephanie at the hotel wearing duck PJs and not giving me back my laptop even though I asked nicely: It's Sunday and I've had a great weekend. Visited my brother in New Hampshire. Opened some gifts. Played some games (Apples to Apples and Cranium Conga). Then came to Boston earlier today to see Jim Brickman in concert (a gift from my dad). He is a great pianist. His instrumentals are soothing and great for relaxing background music. His ...

I was planning on posting the following video on Christmas Day. However, I expect that Christmas Day will be busy with me needing to be at certain places at certain times and available to various people when they want me to available, and as such, I may or not have a free five minutes to do this. So. Please enjoy this song by Aimee Mann. NOTE: I don't particularly like the video, but I love the song. The song is 31 Today and is very appropriate for today for that very reason. That is all. Except for: Merry Christmas!

Not a lot of time to blog. My friends are on their way over (yes, even in the snow storm -- perhaps they are coming by dogsled) with Rock Band 2 -- even after my insistence that I'm sick and won't be able to sing (oh alright, maybe I'll do that song... and, okay that one too... and... ugh... that one too). I wanted to say that last night at Lena's (I didn't play -- too sick), I interviewed Kyle Miller for Inside the Open Mic. And while I did that, I was followed around by a photographer and Brian (the Gazette reporter -- who, earlier this week, had interviewed me about Inside the Open Mic). It was quite odd at first -- being photographed and all -- but I warmed up to it. Brian says that the story will be in the Sunday edition of the Gazette (which more people receive than the weekly edition I can safely assure you since I used to deliver the paper WAY back in the day) some time after the first of the year. I suppose this means I will have to start editing some video...

It is incredibly cold out. Actually, it's incredibly cold inside too... I came home too early and the digital thermostat didn't kick on until about the time I got here, which means that it's only 62 instead of 68. So, I'm sitting on the floor of the bathroom with the laptop on the toilet (seat down, of course) with the space heater on high. (This of course being the most efficient use of the space heater as the space that it is required to heat is smaller here in the bathroom than, say, the kitchen or living room or computer room). Thursday night did not go as planned and the wicked storm that passed through (mostly lots of snow and icey-rain, but LOTS of icey-rain in Saratoga) caused me to postpone the interview for Inside the Open Mic and the interview with the guy from the Gazette. That will be happening this coming Thursday instead. I went Christmas shopping today -- just grabbed a couple things quick for my brother and siter-in-law. Stores and places to eat were w...

I should be going to bed. It's 9:20 and I am usually in bed at this time reading -- especially over the past two weeks in which I have been relentlessly reading The Well of Ascension , which is part two of the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. I am enthralled by it and I would be reading it now if it wasn't for the fact that I finished the second novel last night. Now, I am jonesing for more and the third novel, which is titled Hero of Ages , is unavailable at my local library and on reserve at Barnes and Noble in Saratoga for me. I'm going to Saratoga tomorrow, which doesn't help me at all for tonight. The other worry is that I am meeting Brian McElhiney from the Schenectady Gazette tomorrow before open mic to be interviewed about my Inside the Open Mic thing and I might not have enough time to go to Barnes and Noble first and pick up the book. I'm hoping the weather will be in my favor. It's supossed to not be in my favor, however -- which is the cause o...

I was driving home from Albany where I was at a training today and I noticed that the moon looked cool. It was a sliver of a moon -- like a fingernail that was clipped and fell on a dark carpet. There were also two stars -- one under and one just to the right of the fingernail moon. It really looked cool in the steadily darkening sky. After arriving home (I wasn't home for more than five minutes) my dad called and reminded me that he likes cool things in the sky (which he very much does -- I often get emails from him about satelites passing by at certain times and planets and such) and told me that there was a very cool looking moon with two lights near it that looked like stars. I stopped him and told him that I saw it and I agreed that it was cool looking. He then explained that the "stars" were actually planets: Jupiter and... (damn, I can't remember what the other one is...). We again agreed that it was cool looking and that was all he really called to talk about....

It's Thanksgiving and I am feeling quite tired from the turkey and the wine. I stuffed myself with mashed potatoes and gravy and pillsbury cresent rolls and it was well worth it. I have taken a little flack for not wanting any pie. I'd rather fill myself with carbs than sweets. I just don't like sweets. I retreated to upstairs after a watching a few episodes of House , which apparently is on a marathon today. Now, the kids and some adults are watching Home Alone while other adults play dominoes at the now empty kitchen table (I was invited but I turned it down). Others are sitting in another room talking about one uncle's recent trip to Russia. I can hear all of their conversations (and the moving ochestral theme song to Home Alone . I'm having trouble enjoying any of this holiday this year. My cousin, Ryan, died two days ago. He lived in New Jersey with my uncle on my mom's side, my aunt, and his two brothers. He was seventeen. He died of brain cancer and I ju...

This has been a very busy week for me. So much so, that I slept until about 11:30 this morning and still feel exhausted. It's a little after 1pm right now and I am eating lunch, which seems to be rejuvenating me. So that's good. Finally. All of the busy-ness started Monday when I checked my email in the morning and found a brief message from Mike Guzzo, who runs Crumbs.net , a local music website. I visit his site quite often and enjoy his Crumbs Cafe internet radio show, which features interviews and performances from local musicians and songwriters. I also visit and some times reply to posts on the Crumbs.net blog, which is a part of Albany's Times Union News Website. The reason for Guzzo's (as many people refer to him as) email was to have me call him. I called him later that day and he asked me to contribute to the Crumbs.net blog and, in particular, post my Inside the Open Mic episodes there. I enthusiastically agreed and my first post can be read here . Soon, I...

I'll be "emerging" this coming Wednesday (the 19th) at Caffe Lena's Emerging Artist Series. The show is at 7pm and features me and my guitar and my songs. I'm pretty excited about it. I've been playing at Lena's open mic for years and I love it there. The atmosphere is wonderful. It's not always easy to get a true gig at Lena's, however, because there are just so many songwriters and performers and genres and only certain of those are tested to bring in an audience. I'm hoping I get a decent crowd. I've put up flyers at the Caffe and Borders and Uncommon Grounds. I've also handed out some small flyers at the Caffe during open mic last week. I invited some co-workers and put up flyers at my job. I'm also planning on bringing my guitar to my training next week and trying to get a few other trainee's to come. And, of course, I sent out emails and bulletins on myspace. Perhaps, I'll send out another round of each. I started work...

Wi-Fi frustrates me. Or at least, hooking my computer up to wireless connections at any place other than my house frustrates me. Last night, I went to Starbucks and spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out why, when I do everything I'm supposed to do to hook up to Wi-Fi, I couldn't hook up to the Wi-Fi. I discovered something else that I can try after I had left Starbucks. So, I'm going to try to find a local hot spot later today and try again. Earlier that night, I frustrated an exasperated Gap employee. This occurred after I had sat down on a display of corduroy pants. I had a headache and I wasn't really into shopping (besides the fact that I had just been at the exact same Gap one week ago), so I sat down to rest while I waited for Stephanie to try on some jeans or something. Soon after, I noticed a Gap employee walking towards me pushing a cart. She stopped when she saw me. Turned around and walked toward another Gap employee. She threw her arms up and shook her...

I voted about fifteen minutes ago. I took a picture of myself with the "I Voted" sticker on my forehead. I'd be writing ten minutes ago if it wasn't for my attempt to put the sticker on my cat and take a picture of her, too. Note: there is no and will never be a picture of the cat with a sticker on it -- so says the cat. Anyway, I am way too excited about being able to vote today. I shouldn't be, but I am. It's not because I am hoping that my vote will change the world. Or that my choice in candidate is actually going to be able to fix everything that the last President fucked up. I'm just glad I got to vote in this election. You see, I have been unable to vote in the last one and the one before that and the one before that. I registered to vote (by filling out the proper registration card) four times in that time period and it still meant nothing to the board of elections. That is because my name comes with a "II" after it and the geniuses over ...

It was Halloween. Four young children dressed up in exciting costumes (a bee, a princess, a storm trooper, and a teddy bear) walked the streets in search of candy. Their parents were only a short few steps behind them. They found a house with a light on. It might have been the 10th house on their excursion. It might have the 12th or so. Either way, it was certain to have someone handing out candy (hopefully peanut butter cups or twix -- not hard candy like the old people give out. The good stuff.) They made their way up the walk to the brick steps. The house was white. The bee rang the door bell and their anticipation rang along with the chime. Soon, a youngish looking man, wearing a checkered grey scarf and a black hooded sweatshirt, came to the door. He stuck his head out and then stepped down on to the porch. He didn't have any candy. "I am so sorry," said the youngish looking man, "we totally ran out of candy and we don't have any left to give you. We forgot ...

Emack & Bolio’s . It's an ice cream shop and coffee shop rolled into one. And there is a little stage for musical performances. From their website, you can tell that they are a chain of shops. S I M P L E Theory , an acoustic folkafied soul duo, was playing at the Delaware Avenue (Albany) location last night. Stephanie and I attended. It was the first time we had been there and I hadn't known that it existed until this past Thursday at Lena's. Maurizio (of S I M P L E Theory) told us about his gig there. Stephanie loved the place -- she does love ice cream after all -- and she is excited about me playing there some day, which I would like to do. I didn't have any ice cream though. It's freaking October and it was cold last night. I took the laptop with me and I was planning on blogging with their Wi-Fi, but I couldn't for the life of me get this thing to connect to the webernet. Dan, who was there, tried to hook me up too, but to no avail. Here are a couple ...

Hello. Just writing to inform you that I am blogging in bed (as I mentioned in the last posting that I would soon be able to do). I am not quite ready to actually go to sleep since it is only 4:18pm. But I wanted to test out the new wireless router and it seems to work just fine. The end.

I have no idea where more leaves are going to go after they fall from the two trees in my front yard. I just spent a half an hour or so raking and tidying up the lawn with Stephanie. We put the leaves in a pile at the curb (we don't have to put them in bags like I've noticed a lot of other places have you do). The pile is ginormous and there is still about half a tree's worth of leaves in each tree. I am typing excitedly from laptop because 1) I'm typing on my NEW laptop and 2) I'm hooked up to the webernet here at my desk. In a little bit we are heading to the new Target that opened in our area last week to pick up a wireless router so that I can use the laptop anywhere in my house. I'll be able to blog from bed! Or order CDs from Amazon while I'm on the potty... potty shopping... actually, that kind of grosses me out... I promise not to bring the laptop into the bathroom. I haven't had a chance to test out the Wi-Fi yet. I have training this week for m...