This Yellow Taxi Cab In Which I Ride

This is me on Halloween. Rather its the night before Halloween. I feel somewhat stupid... And i don't like this stiff on my face... Also, there is aparently a joke from South Park about dressing up as The Crow. Still. I'm off to a costume party. And I'm wearing a costume... Draven

I came across this article titled Four Ways to Sweep Him Off His Feet (never mind that I found it in Cosmo magazine, and nevermind why I read it either). What I find intriguing about the article is that it only mentions "four" ways to get a guy -- only four. And that is because it doesn't really take a whole lot. Truth be told, as I read the list I thought to myself, "if I could find a woman who would do one of these things once a month, I would think I found the holy grail." It's true. These are the four things that a woman needs to do. Just four. Only four things. Four. That's all. Seriously. There aren't any more. Something else that I thought was, "why don't they have 'Four Ways to Sweep HER Off HER Feet'?" And then I answered it. If there were only "four" things that a man had to do to win a woman, life would be easy. Simple. Fun. Enjoyable. However, my jaded self is here to tell you that you have to do a lot mor...

I'm sitting on the sectional couch, which is my bed, in my living room. Cold Case Files is on TV, but I haven't been watching it since it started. I have no idea what they are invistigating... in fact, what they are doing right now doesn't seem to match up with the story I thought I was watching... anyways, I'm wearing warm clothes (sweater, thick jeans) and there are pillows and blankets on all sides. I'm comfortable. My laptop is on my lap and the gentle clicking sound of the keyboard interrupts the TV show as I type. It's gotten cold out... however, it's colder than it should be this time of year. I love October because things die. Leaves... mostly. And flowers and other plants. I don't love the fact that things die -- don't get me wrong. I love the somber tone that accompanies the death. It's a somer time of year. Regarding Somber: I have been using the term quite a lot lately. I use it to describe my songs, the way I feel at times... I enjo...

I'm awake. It's going on midnight. This might not seem very late to some, but to me it's late. I'm typically an early-to-bed/late-to-rise type of guy. Especially when it's a Monday. I decided to give up on trying to talk myself into sleep and logged on the interweb in search of... something... nothing... I forget. I eventually ended up here. I adopted a kitten. Her name is Oreo because she is black and white. She is full of energy and loud "meows." She crawls up things (pant legs, chair legs, stool legs, curtains, walls) and runs from you to the wall to the cat toy back to you to the cat toy to the chair to the wall to the curtain to you to nothing in particular. Repeat multiple times. I have tried to pick her up and settle her down, but have failed. She fights when she gets picked up. I was shown earlier today by a cat enthusiest how to pick her up and prevent her from squirming away. This method has worked for me a little bit since I learned it. I feed t...

Wednesday night. Curled up on my couch with six blankets on top of me (no joke! I'm still freezing!) and I'm downloading music. I saw two great live concerts on the HD channel recently and decided I needed to download the songs. The concerts were Coldplay (don't hate me) and Franz Ferdinand. Listening to Franz Ferdinand as the downloads are coming. I'm going to burn a disc so I can play these bands in the car. I need some new drivin' tunes. This past week at open mic was a good one. I played Endless and Wildflowers by Tom Petty. Here is the video that Jeffrey T. took of my song: At this point, I'd like to have a little discussion about rules. There are a lot of rules that we follow as individuals on a daily basis. Most rules protect us from purposely or not-so-purposely inflicting others with injuries, death, or other not-injury-or-death-related things. For example: when driving and the traffic light turns red, one stops -- which prevents one from running into...

Today, we say our farewells to a comrade who has served well for many years. We salute your service in a lament, Black Band T-Shirt, for being all that you have been. When I purchased you, Black Band T-Shirt, from the internet store of a favorite band, I held no expectations for you other than to fit. And fit you did. Though, you didn't fit like every other small t-shirt that I owned. Nay. Black Band T-Shirt, your fit was far superior. Across the chest, you were loose in such a way that allowed me full range of motions, but tight enough to give the illusion of slight pecs. In the waist, you fit snuggly allowing others to see and envy my thinness. In the shoulders, you were perfectly taught, without pulling on and stretching the neck-hole like lesser t-shirts. Your sleeves were long enough... but not too long... and that was good. For years, I wore you sparingly and to events in which I wanted to look my best. No other t-shirt that I owned, Black Band T-Shirt, would have been up to ...

Took this picture earlier while at the diner after playing at the farmer's market. I am rather unshaven... Not sure how long it will stay this way. Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Your feedback is quite welcome. Beard or No

I played at the Farmer's Market in Gloversville today. It was FREEZING in the shade, which is where I was asked to set up my equipment. I noticed the chill in the air at 8:30 when I got there and thought, "it's a sunny day; it will warm up quick." It didn't warm up AT ALL. I froze the entire two sets. In between, I went and sat in my car, which was warm. However, this turned out to make the returning to the cold shade more difficult. I should have just stayed and played. At one point, I thought, "I'll move around alot while playing and that will keep me warm." It didn't. And I felt rather silly moving about so much. Even so, I did fairly decent with tips and received many good comments and awed looks from children. "When I grow up, I wanna be just like him!! Good looking AND talented! He must get a lot of girls!!!" Kids. They're cute, but delusional. Anyways, previously to me waking up at 7:30 to get to the gig, I slept for a little...

Tonight I decided I would take a walk. Once I had my sneakers on and my hoodie zipped up, I decided I would walk some place that had ice cream. That some place turned out to be Stewart's and the ice cream that I got was cookies and cream. On my way home, which was a different way than my way there, I realized something about my town: it feels like a different town when you are walking it than when you are driving it. In fact, I felt like I was in some one else's town and the people in cars that drove by were people who didn't live in my town and who most certainly didn't know me. It was an odd feeling and the ice cream melted quicker than I thought it would. Interestingly enough, I developed my thoughts about being a stranger in my own town after running into a friend and her tiny, cute dog at Stewart's. So strange that you can go from having a conversation with someone you know to feeling like you are some place other than the place that you've lived for the pa...

Everyone should be forced to work on Labor Day. Then, we should have every other day of the year off... right? Wouldn't that make more sense? I have a three day weekend because of "Labor" day... Regular everyday stuff confuses me. Currently, I am in Uncommon Grounds on Broadway in Saratoga. Had a late lunch. Wandered around a bit. Read. Played FarmVille on facebook. My plan is to go to Gaffney's at 9 to see Bluesology play. I have a few more hours to read or type or whatever. I had a rather horrid day at work yesterday. It was the first really bad day that I've had since working this job, which I have been working for one month short of a full year. I suppose that it is a good percentage of good days to bad ones. My co-workers were incredibly supportive and stopped what they were doing to lend an ear or some advice on how to deal with the situation that was making my dad horrid. I'm really glad for the support and companionship that was offered. Otherwise, the...

I'm at Uncommon Grounds on Sunday. Earlier today, I went to the track. I went with 40 dollars to spend on making bets. I cashed out with 18. So, consider the cost of getting in, the hot dog, the pretzel, the water, and the parade magazine, the whole day was a break-even kind of day. Since I didn't spend anything for five hours worth of entertainment (and excitement: I actually hit TWO superfectas and a trifecta!!! Too bad they were on tiny bets. Rather, I spent a lot on various bets), I've decided to see the Honeycutters play at Caffe Lena tonight. The Honeycutters are based out of South Carolina (I believe) and are fronted by a former Caffe Lena regular, Amanda Platt. Last time I saw Amanda play, she played with the lead guitarist of her band at open mic... maybe... a year and a half ago. She sounded amazing. She well-rounded in her playing and confidence, as oppossed to the rougher and less-confident Amanda that I remembered from open mic's passed. I'm interested ...

I'm walking in saratoga. And texting at the same tome (time... Damn it). On my way to the track. First and probably last time this year. Stopped off at the hat store. Tried some on. Like my current hat best. Bought a new feather for it though. Sucked the old one up in a vaccuum long ago. Here is a pic of the new feather. The old one had more color to it (red and yellow) but this one will do. Stuck a Feather

I hate ragweed. On my way to work every day, I pass this house where there is some ragweed growing in the side yard. Every day, I silently curse this person and swear to return with a flame thrower... At the moment, my allergies aren't bothering me too much. I took sudafed, allegra, clariton, flonase, and astelin. I was in bad shape at work and decided to take some sick time. That's when I came home and popped the sudafed, took a nap, and am now feeling better. People at work explained that the weather was shifting and that could also be a partial cause to my earlier discomfort. My hope is that I am in decent shape for Saturday's famer's market gig... I haven't been practicing because of the allergy problems I've been having, but I have continued playing at open mic. This past week, I played I'm Alive by Jackson Browne. I will probably play that song again this week because my mom is going to be there and she is a big Jackson Browne fan. Not a lot else to b...

On break at work. Cleaning out the camera part of my phone. While in New York City a week and a half ago, i took a quick picture of Mickey Mouse. After snapping the pic, I walked around the corner and was surprised to see... Another Mickey Mouse!! Shouldn't they have gotten together and picked different corners?? Random

Sitting in Grand Central Station. Train leaves in 15 mins. It seems too early to be heading home. My legs, dead tired from all the walking, are making the decision for me. I had a good time shopping in the city. Bought a sweet, hip sweater, and a sexy pea coat. I'll be a slammin' hottie this winter for sure. Saw an interesting ad on a bus: 'Learn English Today. Call 1-800-ENGLISH' and there was a picture of an Asain girl smiling... I had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe -- of course -- and bought two guitar pins for my awesome collection. I should take a picture of the collection and post it... There was also a picture taken of me at the Hard Rock Cafe standing near one of Bob Dylan's old guitars. I'll post that soon enough. For now, a self-taken photo in front of a neon sign: What I Did in New York City.

I had a very late night last night and a very strange dream some time after going to sleep. If anyone has any skill (or not) at analyzing dreams, please take a shot at this one: In the dream, I had just gotten a new job in a busy office area. I have no idea what the job was, but I met many people who worked there (some were people that I actually know). On my first day, I met one young woman who worked there. Her name was Regina Spektor. I kept trying to talk to her and she didn't seem to want to talk to me. At the end of the work day, we walked out of the office together and stopped at her van. She needed a plastic bag to put some stuff in and, so, I went to find one. I returned later (not sure where I had gone) bruised and bloody with torn clothes. Regina hugged me tightly for a moment and pulled away. I wouldn't let go of her. She gave me a weird look and broke away, got in her van. As she started the van and pulled away, I told her that she had a nice body. Later that night...

I'll be heading out in a little bit to attend a friend's end of summer BBQ. Haven't seen the friend in a while. Glad to be invited. A little bit ago, I mowed the lawn. As I was just getting started, I noticed my neighbor with a camera in his backyard. Then I noticed a while string that ran the length of his property. He started moving his mouth (The lawn mower was loud and I had headphones in, mp3 player blasting). I shut off the lawn mower and took out my headphones. He explained that he was considering putting a fence up, which would segregate our backyards. His purpose for the fence was not to separate us (or make him more like Wilson from Home Improvement ). Rather, he is getting old and has cancer and is attempting to make his yard care easier. You see, I have three GINORMOUS (to borrow a hip-high-school-age-kid's word) pine trees in my backyard and they shed pine needles like mad in the fall. My neighbor always cleans them up out of his backyard in the spring so t...

Life is actually full of pleasant surprises. They await in hiding for the right time to jump out at you and make your feelings of unpleasantness disappear. Sometimes, the result is a moment . Moments are more than just moments (note the lack of italics). Moments are little pieces of happenings that occur in your life that you keep with you forever. If you carried around a little jar, you could put moments in it and then them out whenever you wanted to and relive it. What makes a moment different from a moment (besides the italics) is that moments happen when you least expect them to. This past Friday, I went to see Jackson Browne with my dad -- who is a big Jackson Browne fan. I remember hearing most of the songs he played Friday when I was younger. The concert was really quite great and I had a great time. I ran into a friend from a while back, who -- randomly -- was sitting two seats down from me. It was a pleasant surprise. I took a bunch of pictures: Anot...

I'm blogging from my phone. Yes. I got it fixed with Sprint thanks to a customer service person who could actually provide me with service. I'm at crossgates. Waiting for Harry Potter to start. We ate dinner at Panera Bread, except for there wasn't any bread. Again. I often order soup in a bread bowl. Broccoli chedder soup. I love bread and I totally love cheese, which makes broccoli chedder soup in a bread bowl a tasty dinner. However, the last four trips to Panera have ended with me being grumbley because they ';are out of bread bowls.'; As far as I'm concerned, Panera is 0 for 4 and might as well change their sign to Panera Bowls. Panera Bowls

It's been a very crazy week for me at work. With short deadlines and crises rising every minute, I was quite stressed by the time it got to be Thursday night (Open Mic Night!). Typically, I look forward to Thursdays rather than Fridays. There is nothing more refreshing that a relaxing night at Caffe Lena's Open mic. Which makes Fridays a breeze and then it's the weekend. This past Thursday, however, was incredibly hectic at open mic. We had 28 performers on the list, which meant we had to cut down to a one-song night -- which sucks for multiple reasons: 1) the musician only gets to play one song. 2) the host has to run back up the stage every four or five minutes and doesn't get to sit down long enough to relax. And 3) more people on the list, means more people at Caffe, which makes the place quite crowded. I hosted. And I felt like I was running around like a crazy person the whole night. The crowded-ness didn't help either. I get a little anxious in crowded areas....