Guys, I’m sorry I’ve been distant. It’s been a weird week here in Jersey. Lots of family time (some good, some bad). Lots of friend time. Lots of sleep, too. I guess once you turn 30 you start napping more? That’s about the only difference I’ve noticed since I started my fourth decade on this earth.
What’s new? Let me think…
Thanksgiving was fun. Our turkey came out perfectly. There were side dishes galore (stuffing, sweet potato pie with marshmallows, green bean casserole, truffle mac and cheese, homemade cranberry sauce, biscuits, my potatoes au gratin, Filiz’ buffalo chicken dip). There was ice cream and pie for dessert. I ate like a liberated prisoner of war. I drank a lot of beer. My only regret is that I didn’t set my fantasy football lineup differently this week, as I had to watch both Eddie Lacy and Antonio Brown underperform for me. At the end of the night my sister and I watched “Battle Royale,” which she’d never seen before. She’s now (finally) fully convinced that the Hunger Games books/movies were a huge fucking rip off. It’s about time.
Yesterday I spent the majority of my day with the little lady, who is in town for the weekend. We drove to Princeton to sample some beers at Triumph Brewing Co. and eat lunch at Wegmans. I know, Wegmans again, so what? I had to squeeze my buffalo style chicken finger sandwich in before Tuesday. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if I had to endure another year living on the west coast without one. I’m so happy when I leave that place with a stomach full of of deliciousness. It’s like my own little Per Se at a fraction of the price.
Dinner was at some Greek place in town that wasn’t too good. I asked for a chicken dish that I thought came with a small side portion of rigatoni but it turned out my chicken was sliced and buried beneath a GIANT bowl of rigatoni. Displeasing. Edible, but unremarkable. Afterwards I grabbed a bottle of Weyerbacher Tiny (Belgian-style Imperial Stout) and drove to Ian’s house to see him, his wife, his father, and his sister. She’s getting married today. I might or might not remember her first day of high school. Time, she flies by…
Today revolved around moving things out of my father’s house. It was not the happiest hour I’ve spent in Jersey this vacation.
On the plus side, I found a CD with 14 songs I wrote and recorded during my sophomore/junior/senior years of high school. You can guarantee that’s going to be posted on the blog (in all its cringeworthy glory) upon my return to LA. You can imagine my surprise when I slipped the CD into my laptop and iTunes came back asking me if I wanted to import “The High School Experience” to my hard drive. How it knew the names of all the songs or the title of the CD I’ll never know.
Hey! It’s Hanukkah right now! Christmas is coming! The New York Times [pauses to straighten his tie] just published an article detailing different gift ideas for the music lover in your life. Lo and behold, Enjoy The Experience made the list! Both the album and book are described by the author, which reminded me I need to buy a copy for some family friends who just moved into a 10,000 square foot house and need coffee table books to take up unused space. Even though Amazon has the standard edition for $54 right now (with free 2-day shipping for Amazon Prime members), the Sinecure website has the deluxe edition (with the slipcase) available for $65 now, so I might as well get them one of those, right? Is that a good holiday gift for a couple of millionaires who will use it to garnish a table in one of their two dozen rooms that will likely collect dust?
Sigh. I wish I had money.
Oranssi Pazuzu – Reikä Maisemassa [MP3]
