What I did on autumn vacation
Yaawwwn. Oh, hello there. I just returned from a week of vacation leave, during which I did nothing. Well, not nothing. Here's how it panned out, as I remember it. Not very exciting, I'm afraid.
Thursday: Thanksgiving was very nice. We had dinner early to accomodate my need to attend the Blind Guardian show at House of Blues. Mom accidentally put salt in the stuffing, but it was excellent as always. My stomach very full, I drove down to the Cumberland Blue Line stop and rode the rails downtown. I was early, and I didn't really care to see the opening band, Leaves' Eyes, so I walked around for a while to aid digestion, enjoying the unseasonably pleasant weather and the ability to smoke (the corporate fucks at HoB not only adopted the city's smoking ban years before it goes into effect, but will not let you come back in after going outside to smoke, either). Eventually, I went in, bought some merch, tossed down some beers with my buddy Jorge and muscled my way onto the crowded floor. As predicted, this was a much more exciting show that their last Chicago gig (Metro, December 2002), since they now have more American fans who know all the words and can sing along during the choir parts. I predicted the set list, too, except for the welcome surprise of "And Then There Was Silence" at the end (well, most of it, about 12 minutes or so). The best song anyone has put together so far in this century, it more than made up for the otherwise obvious selections. And with so many great "must play" songs to their name, I can't complain at all. Afterward, I headed back to the car and to the burbs, where I hung with Patch, Meredith and T-Bone for a while before heading home.
Friday: What did I do with my first *proper* day off? I alternated between TV judges and getting the blog ready for the holidays. Yes, I suppose I'm going to celebrate this year. Forty Xmas-related tunes are now chosen, ripped and uploaded, awaiting their placement in the mp3 player. When I post each batch, they'll be accompanied by commentary text. Taking this approach, a briefer version of what I do on my MySpace blog, will hopefully give me something to write about for infinity. So, back to the TV judges. I remember when daytime TV was all game shows, talk shows and "Beverly Hillbillies" reruns, but sometime during the last decade, Judge Judy apparently kicked off a craze that persists to this day. I already knew Mathis, but all week, I''ve thrilled to the likes of "Judge Hatchett," "Judge Alex," the new "Divorce Court," the new "People's Court" and my favorite, "Judge Cristina." Not just small-claims B.S. anymore, these shows are more like Springer's or Maury's, with skeezy toothless types recounting their horrible relationships and shriek-filled paternity tests ruling the roost. The judges, especially the vaguely Latina Cristina, tend to dish out tough advice with a little love. I can see how people get sucked into this stuff... way better than nighttime reality TV. Come evening, it was time to hang at the 413, where an interstate consortium convened to eat Chili's and abuse The Wizard's new Wii. I was finally taken down in boxing by the iron fist of George W., but I'm still a kick-ass bowler.
Saturday: This one is a blur. I finally saw "Borat" in the afternoon with Patch, Meredith and T-Bone. Otherwise, I know I drank, ate, showered, did laundry and watched some movies (among them "3 Extremes II" and "Kicking and Screaming"). Most of the evening was spent in the ever-familiar scenario of waiting for a friend to call me back, which for some unspecified reason never happened. But I sure got sloppy drunk waiting around, so it was all good.
Sunday: Woke up, cleaned the booze stench from myself and hauled out to Golf Mill to meet Barry and The Wiz for an 11:40 a.m. screening of "Casino Royale." The new cinema there was showing free movies before noon all weekend. We arrived too late, so me and The Wiz just went back to his crib to watch a hilarious direct-to-video Corbin Bernsen vehicle called "Spacejacked" and something else that I don't remember. Amy came by for a visit. Around the time "Family Guy" came on I needed to eat, so I just headed home, baked up some chicken strips and relaxed for Adult Swim. I also baked a tube of gingerbread cookie dough that had been staring at me from the fridge for nearly a week. I might have done dishes that day, too.
Monday: More lounging. I went through some mail. Think I watched Jean Rollin's magnificently Cronenbergian "The Night of the Hunted" that afternoon, or maybe it was Saturday. I'll probably be posting more about Rollin soon, as I think I'm becoming a fan. Anyway, come sundown I swung by T-Bone's crib and we headed down to Mokena, Illinois, the charming site of that evening's free Napalm Death show. The Pearl Room is a cool little joint: adequate sound and standing room, easy parking, cheap drinks, hot waitresses. It's where a lot of the non-mainstream U.S. metal tours are making their local stops lately - I went there in September to see Epica, in October to see Katatonia and in November for this "headbanger's holiday" event. For some reason, the venue decided to let people into this for a mere $2 service fee at the door, although it was possible to buy hard tickets for $20 via Ticketbastard. Whatever, there was no reason for me not to go at that price, and the grizzled grindcore grandfathers put on a typically vehement show. Not that the kids saw it... the crowd cleared considerably once Ozzfest vets A Life Once Lost finished, possibly because the lil' emo shits had no idea that those old guys in Napalm would be way more extreme than their chaos-core flavor of the month. Oh, that's too harsh. ALOL wasn't bad at all. Despite relying a bit too much on the Meshuggah playbook and much obsequious onstage begging for a weed handout, they were better than the overrated Animosity (I'd hoped we'd get there after they played), yet local heroes Dead To Fall wiped the floor with both of them. That Freak dude from Q101(?) was DJing in the bar next door, so me, T and Jorge decided to check it out, taking advantage of the dollar beer special. Freak actually spun metal, as in Testament and Venom rather than the Whitesnake and Wolfmother I assumed he would be toting, so it wasn't too bad. On the way home, I ate White Castle for the first time in years. Bad idea.
Tuesday: It began with lunch at Lou Malnati's, where I met a crew from the office to celebrate a birthday. Despite my intention to show up to a semi-work function in a metal t-shirt and drink beer while they were all on the clock, I only lived up to the first half. However, I was seated across from a former co-worker who brought her young kids, and I accidentally swore in front of them. (I would feel bad, but she was breastfeeding while I was trying to eat.) After that, I went home to a little time with the TV judges. I also enjoyed more flicks that have been sitting here. T-Bone and Sue dropped by just as I was starting "The Reincarnation of Isabel," and before the night was done I had burned through "The Living Dead Girl" as well as caught up on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" for the week. Much hot cocoa and Bacardi was consumed.
Wednesday: By now, the gingerbread cookies were gone. I decided to tinker with my MySpace profile, to change the song to a Skyforger hymn, to post a blog entry about how awesome Skyforger is, etc. I know I watched "The Limey," too, along with more TV judge action. Around dinner time, I rolled to 413 with burrito in hand, where the Wizard and I joined forces and headed out for that evening's performance by Tokyo Police Club, a new-ish indie rock band from Ontario whose lone debut EP has apparently generated enough fans to sell out Schubas. It was raining like nuts, so travel was a pain, and they only played for roughly half an hour - this being a special "extended" set for the sold-out room. I bought a Fat Tire right before they started playing, and I finished it just as they stopped. Despite the brevity, the quartet was really good, playing a sort of college rock amalgam with shoegazer guitars and Casio keys swept up in sweaty dance-punk rhythms. Catchy songs. Good times. Once home, I started watching "Swimming Pool" before stumbling off to bed.
Thursday: It was suddenly very cold and gloomy when I woke up, as if winter had arrived overnight. Finished "Swimming Pool," watched Wednesday's "Daily Show"/"Colbert" hour (I taped it), then started writing this. Breaks were taken for various TV judges and whatnot. Then it was off to Rolling Stones' for a little shopping, then back to Schaumburg. A co-worker is retiring next week, so for the second time in my week off, I found myself at a restaurant with the office gang. This time it was Prairie Rock. Their stout is very tasty, like a glass of pumpernickel. I went through two with dinner, enjoying conversation that only occasionally veered toward The Job. After making my exit, I made a brief visit to 413, then tootled home in a shower of tiny ice chunks that we were warned could turn into 6 to 12 inches. And that, friends, was my pleasingly dull vacation.
Today: Work. Snow. Fuck. At least I have pizza and mini-golf to look forward to afterward, unless I can't move my car...
Thursday: Thanksgiving was very nice. We had dinner early to accomodate my need to attend the Blind Guardian show at House of Blues. Mom accidentally put salt in the stuffing, but it was excellent as always. My stomach very full, I drove down to the Cumberland Blue Line stop and rode the rails downtown. I was early, and I didn't really care to see the opening band, Leaves' Eyes, so I walked around for a while to aid digestion, enjoying the unseasonably pleasant weather and the ability to smoke (the corporate fucks at HoB not only adopted the city's smoking ban years before it goes into effect, but will not let you come back in after going outside to smoke, either). Eventually, I went in, bought some merch, tossed down some beers with my buddy Jorge and muscled my way onto the crowded floor. As predicted, this was a much more exciting show that their last Chicago gig (Metro, December 2002), since they now have more American fans who know all the words and can sing along during the choir parts. I predicted the set list, too, except for the welcome surprise of "And Then There Was Silence" at the end (well, most of it, about 12 minutes or so). The best song anyone has put together so far in this century, it more than made up for the otherwise obvious selections. And with so many great "must play" songs to their name, I can't complain at all. Afterward, I headed back to the car and to the burbs, where I hung with Patch, Meredith and T-Bone for a while before heading home.
Friday: What did I do with my first *proper* day off? I alternated between TV judges and getting the blog ready for the holidays. Yes, I suppose I'm going to celebrate this year. Forty Xmas-related tunes are now chosen, ripped and uploaded, awaiting their placement in the mp3 player. When I post each batch, they'll be accompanied by commentary text. Taking this approach, a briefer version of what I do on my MySpace blog, will hopefully give me something to write about for infinity. So, back to the TV judges. I remember when daytime TV was all game shows, talk shows and "Beverly Hillbillies" reruns, but sometime during the last decade, Judge Judy apparently kicked off a craze that persists to this day. I already knew Mathis, but all week, I''ve thrilled to the likes of "Judge Hatchett," "Judge Alex," the new "Divorce Court," the new "People's Court" and my favorite, "Judge Cristina." Not just small-claims B.S. anymore, these shows are more like Springer's or Maury's, with skeezy toothless types recounting their horrible relationships and shriek-filled paternity tests ruling the roost. The judges, especially the vaguely Latina Cristina, tend to dish out tough advice with a little love. I can see how people get sucked into this stuff... way better than nighttime reality TV. Come evening, it was time to hang at the 413, where an interstate consortium convened to eat Chili's and abuse The Wizard's new Wii. I was finally taken down in boxing by the iron fist of George W., but I'm still a kick-ass bowler.
Saturday: This one is a blur. I finally saw "Borat" in the afternoon with Patch, Meredith and T-Bone. Otherwise, I know I drank, ate, showered, did laundry and watched some movies (among them "3 Extremes II" and "Kicking and Screaming"). Most of the evening was spent in the ever-familiar scenario of waiting for a friend to call me back, which for some unspecified reason never happened. But I sure got sloppy drunk waiting around, so it was all good.
Sunday: Woke up, cleaned the booze stench from myself and hauled out to Golf Mill to meet Barry and The Wiz for an 11:40 a.m. screening of "Casino Royale." The new cinema there was showing free movies before noon all weekend. We arrived too late, so me and The Wiz just went back to his crib to watch a hilarious direct-to-video Corbin Bernsen vehicle called "Spacejacked" and something else that I don't remember. Amy came by for a visit. Around the time "Family Guy" came on I needed to eat, so I just headed home, baked up some chicken strips and relaxed for Adult Swim. I also baked a tube of gingerbread cookie dough that had been staring at me from the fridge for nearly a week. I might have done dishes that day, too.
Monday: More lounging. I went through some mail. Think I watched Jean Rollin's magnificently Cronenbergian "The Night of the Hunted" that afternoon, or maybe it was Saturday. I'll probably be posting more about Rollin soon, as I think I'm becoming a fan. Anyway, come sundown I swung by T-Bone's crib and we headed down to Mokena, Illinois, the charming site of that evening's free Napalm Death show. The Pearl Room is a cool little joint: adequate sound and standing room, easy parking, cheap drinks, hot waitresses. It's where a lot of the non-mainstream U.S. metal tours are making their local stops lately - I went there in September to see Epica, in October to see Katatonia and in November for this "headbanger's holiday" event. For some reason, the venue decided to let people into this for a mere $2 service fee at the door, although it was possible to buy hard tickets for $20 via Ticketbastard. Whatever, there was no reason for me not to go at that price, and the grizzled grindcore grandfathers put on a typically vehement show. Not that the kids saw it... the crowd cleared considerably once Ozzfest vets A Life Once Lost finished, possibly because the lil' emo shits had no idea that those old guys in Napalm would be way more extreme than their chaos-core flavor of the month. Oh, that's too harsh. ALOL wasn't bad at all. Despite relying a bit too much on the Meshuggah playbook and much obsequious onstage begging for a weed handout, they were better than the overrated Animosity (I'd hoped we'd get there after they played), yet local heroes Dead To Fall wiped the floor with both of them. That Freak dude from Q101(?) was DJing in the bar next door, so me, T and Jorge decided to check it out, taking advantage of the dollar beer special. Freak actually spun metal, as in Testament and Venom rather than the Whitesnake and Wolfmother I assumed he would be toting, so it wasn't too bad. On the way home, I ate White Castle for the first time in years. Bad idea.
Tuesday: It began with lunch at Lou Malnati's, where I met a crew from the office to celebrate a birthday. Despite my intention to show up to a semi-work function in a metal t-shirt and drink beer while they were all on the clock, I only lived up to the first half. However, I was seated across from a former co-worker who brought her young kids, and I accidentally swore in front of them. (I would feel bad, but she was breastfeeding while I was trying to eat.) After that, I went home to a little time with the TV judges. I also enjoyed more flicks that have been sitting here. T-Bone and Sue dropped by just as I was starting "The Reincarnation of Isabel," and before the night was done I had burned through "The Living Dead Girl" as well as caught up on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" for the week. Much hot cocoa and Bacardi was consumed.
Wednesday: By now, the gingerbread cookies were gone. I decided to tinker with my MySpace profile, to change the song to a Skyforger hymn, to post a blog entry about how awesome Skyforger is, etc. I know I watched "The Limey," too, along with more TV judge action. Around dinner time, I rolled to 413 with burrito in hand, where the Wizard and I joined forces and headed out for that evening's performance by Tokyo Police Club, a new-ish indie rock band from Ontario whose lone debut EP has apparently generated enough fans to sell out Schubas. It was raining like nuts, so travel was a pain, and they only played for roughly half an hour - this being a special "extended" set for the sold-out room. I bought a Fat Tire right before they started playing, and I finished it just as they stopped. Despite the brevity, the quartet was really good, playing a sort of college rock amalgam with shoegazer guitars and Casio keys swept up in sweaty dance-punk rhythms. Catchy songs. Good times. Once home, I started watching "Swimming Pool" before stumbling off to bed.
Thursday: It was suddenly very cold and gloomy when I woke up, as if winter had arrived overnight. Finished "Swimming Pool," watched Wednesday's "Daily Show"/"Colbert" hour (I taped it), then started writing this. Breaks were taken for various TV judges and whatnot. Then it was off to Rolling Stones' for a little shopping, then back to Schaumburg. A co-worker is retiring next week, so for the second time in my week off, I found myself at a restaurant with the office gang. This time it was Prairie Rock. Their stout is very tasty, like a glass of pumpernickel. I went through two with dinner, enjoying conversation that only occasionally veered toward The Job. After making my exit, I made a brief visit to 413, then tootled home in a shower of tiny ice chunks that we were warned could turn into 6 to 12 inches. And that, friends, was my pleasingly dull vacation.
Today: Work. Snow. Fuck. At least I have pizza and mini-golf to look forward to afterward, unless I can't move my car...
posted by SoulReaper at 8:35 AM
1 Comments:
I hope you've seen "The Limey" before. Because if not, you waited too long.
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