Might Fadeaway…

Well, it only took me two weeks, but here is the last bit of video from our BoDeans jaunt. Enjoy, folks…

Oh, Yeah – The House

Click the pic below for a whopping 9 pictures of the new abode. Dawn wasn’t real crazy about me taking pics yet, especially because the rooms upstairs still need to be painted, but I have put this off long enough.

New House

Oh, Yeah – The Blog

Sure, I have neglected this little piece of cyberspace.  I did have good reason, however, as sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day.  Also, sometimes I just don’t have any good stories to tell, or at least that is the way it seems until Dawn reminds me of some stuff that we have done that people might find interesting for whatever odd reason.

But now that I have a steady schedule at work that is pretty close to the hours I worked during my blogging heyday, I think it is safe to say that you can expect more updates whether you like it or not.

So be prepared for anecdotes regarding cutting my fingernails, buying milk, and vacuuming.  After all, I have an office now at the new house and I find myself looking for any excuse to ensconce myself in front of my desk to spit out words.  And, should I find myself stuck, I can always look up at my little hodgepodge of collectibles for inspiration:  My Ticket bobblehead dolls (yes, including Greggo), my miniature replica of The Temple (aka Rangers Ballpark in Arlington), my Ian Kinsler statuette, an empty can of Hudepohl Beer that commemerates the 1975 World Champion Cincinnati Reds, the baseball from my first high school homerun, and a little not that Dawn gave me entitled ‘To My Husband (and Very Best Friend)’.

And, should that fail, I am sure I have scraps of paper around here with ideas for the blog that I have jotted down.  One that I found during the move was so old, though, that I had absolutely no idea where I was going with it.  Four phrases were written down that were so obtuse that I ended up just throwing it away, sadly.  I recall that one said only “8 out of 10 dentists” and another was something along the lines of “speed bumps” or somesuch.

Sounds pretty effing interesting, doesn’t it?

Stay tuned because this is going to be one of those marathon, three-entry days.

You have been warned.

And, just for the heck of it, today’s song of the day is Lucinda Williams’ “Hot Blood”. Leemer sez check it out.

Oh, Cutter, Where Art Thou?

We thought of a lot of things before moving to Austin (and now Round Rock). Electric provider, housing market, job market, scenery, “things to do”, and Hippie Hollow. However, it is always the little things – the simple things – that seem to blindside people after a move.

And, no, I am not talking about the fact that Keystone Light is sold by the case here as opposed to the DFW 30 pack.

I’m speaking of a freaking haircut.

We have lived here for five and a half months now and I have only had my hair cut twice. I had no idea that hair cuts would be such an issue here. Then again, I had a great situation with my “stylist” (yes, I call her that) in Burleson. She first cut my hair when I was 19 years old. I am twice that age now. You do whatever is remaining of the math. It shouldn’t be that difficult.

After all, I am nothing if not loyal. If you treat me well and I feel comfortable, then you can count on my business. For an example, Dawn and I have used the same movers in Austin four times: When we first got the apartment, when we needed the kick-ass couch delivered, when we moved to the house in Round Rock, and when we had the washer and dryer delivered. In fact, I have had so much interaction with that guy that we now consider ourselves friends. (He likes to make me the last stop of the day so we can drink a beer together.)

Enough about moving, though. Let’s talk about mop tops.

Dawn and The Boy both got their hair cut by a guy who just happened to be gay and they both swore by him. Now I am not homophobic at all, but I kind of have a thing when it comes to the cut – I am MUCH more comfortable with a female doing the snipping. However, I let Dawn talk me into trying this guy out (not in that way) and she scheduled an appointment for me. I showed up about five minutes early and ended up sitting there for 30 minutes while he kept taking other clients. Enough was enough. As shaggy as I was, I was not that desperate. Taking walk-ins over an appointment? Needless to say, I walked out.

So then I tried a local Sports Clips. Underwhelmed would be a good word for that experience, if that word could be multiplied by 10.

That led to several months of trying to manage a bad haircut. Then, in mid-February, Dawn and I made a trip back to our old stomping grounds. While there, she called my old stylist, begging for her to squeeze me in so I would quit complaining. Although she was booked solid, she promised to call if anyone cancelled.

Alas, no call. It was back to Austin with my shitty look. And, like the title of this entry implies, I felt like I was on a dead-end journey while being tempted by sirens of all sorts in regards to a haircut. What is that music I hear? Plasma TVs showing college basketball games that I could care less about? A disinterested stylist? A dude who disregards scheduled appointments? Oh, so tempting!

But then we moved into our Round Rock house and I noted that a quarter of a mile away was a place called Guy Trendz. They specialize in haircuts for men, so I decided to give them a shot.

Blessed be those that, um, do whatever… because this was the coolest place ever.

The one bad thing is that the cuts take a little longer because the girls are very precise. But that is only bad when you are waiting. When you are actually in the chair it is appreciated. Finally, though I was the only one waiting, I got called.

The woman cutting my hair was very good – thorough and precise, as I mentioned before. But the coolest thing, the thing that sets this place apart from all others, was when the other girl finished with her client and then asked me if I wanted a beer. I thought she was joking.

“Are you serious?”

It turns out that she was. Apparently, they keep a mini keg of Heineken in the back room for the guys that like the lager. The next thing I know, I am being served that German greatness in a plastic cup. They also promised to remember me the next time I am there and will have a drink waiting for me. Suddenly I was contemplating weekly haircuts. After all, Heineken is expensive (and best served luke-warm, to be honest).

Now the free beer was all well and good, but the bottom line is that I was very happy with the cut. I will definitely be back, and not just for the suds. Plus, my new stylist gave me a free bottle of their own brand of shaving cream. Evidently it comes with every “deluxe” cut. I’m not sure how much I will use it because I do have a beard now. (The one on my face, not a chick to make me look non-gay.)

Carry out the plan of the day.

A Good Friday Following A Great Friday

Where was I?

Last Thursday, I got a call from my old boss/buddy JP. He was in town for meetings and wanted to know if I had some spare time to hang out, especially since he brought his guitar. Sadly, I had to decline because Dawn and I were in the process of moving and the apartment was a wreck – not to mention the painting and cleaning we were doing at the new house.

He understood, and I chalked this up as another failed get-together. JP was on his way to Jeff Albert status: failed meetings, etc. Then that afternoon, as the wife and I were driving The Boy to Burleson so he could spend spring break with his friends and time with his dad, I got a text message from JP. To paraphrase, he asked if I was sure that I was busy because he just got VIP passes to SXSW for either Thursday or Friday night. Free food, free drinks, free show all from a VIP tent sponsored by Fuze, Miller Lite, and HEB.

(For the unitiated, SXSW is a yearly music/film showcase in Austin featuring 1600 or so bands including some that I would have really loved to have seen. REM at Stubb’s BBQ would have been great, as would The Lemonheads, Billy Bragg, and The Weakerthans just to name a few.)

I told Dawn that I didn’t feel like I should go because of everything else we had going on. However, she talked me into it. I let JP know, and he told me that he could get a third pass for her if she’d like. I told him to go ahead, even though she had been sick for days. Better safe than sorry, you know?

On Friday, I called JP and we realized that the passes were for an auditorium on the lake on the edge of downtown and the headliner for the night (at the very reasonable time of 8pm) was The BoDeans. I had actually seen them before, way back in 1989, when they opened for U2 in Fort Worth during the Joshua Tree tour. Back then, they only had one “hit” (It’s Only Love) but I became a fan. When they released ‘Home’, I was hooked. After that, they didn’t do a whole lot until, of all things, the TV show Party Of Five brought them back into the spotlight thanks to the theme song of the show (Closer To Free, not to be confused with the Indigo Girls’ Closer To Fine).

When we met up at the park (and, yes, Dawn decided to tough it out thanks in large part to the new BoDeans song that is getting a lot of airplay in Austin on the greatness of KGSR) there were not many people there. We milled about at the HEB booth for a few minutes, picking up some swag in the form of a pen, a bag, and a couple of HEB Rocks! bandanas, before heading to the VIP area. Once there, we realized that we had special seating at stage level just to the left of the stage. We were just a few feet from the band when they hit the stage. And by then, the lawn was packed. Talk about feeling special…

There isn’t a whole lot I can say about the show other than that they were even better than I remembered. They didn’t play a couple of my faves, but they did manage to squeeze in several that I really dig (including Naked and Good Things, which is one of “our” songs). The highlights for me were the new song (Everyday, which can be heard on their website that I link to above) and Fadeaway, which featured a lengthy jam session in the middle.

Finally, Dawn got a ton of great pics and video from the show. If you want to see the entire library of pics and video, then this is your link. Be prepared for a self-portrait from JP as well as lots of cools views. Two bad things, though. First, the video quality got lost in the upload. They look better when played straight from my hard drive. Second, the above-mentioned jam session from Fadeaway could not be included because it is over 100MB. After posting this, I am going to look for other options to get it online because it is pretty effin’ cool.

Thanks, JP, for the invite. Not only was it good to see you, but we had a much-needed blast.

Keep turning ’round, so very hard.