Skip Steps 1 & 3

Exploring that Awkward Time of Life in between Grad School and Marriage.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Cram This in Your Listen-holes! April '06

This month's collection of songs that are new and not so new, but have found their way to my eardrums.
  1. Josh Rouse - Giving it Up
  2. Stereophonics - Dakota
  3. Bitman and Roban - Tatita
  4. Fountains of Wayne - Hackensack
  5. Cities - A Theme
  6. Kelley Stoltz - Underwater's Where the Action is
  7. Arctic Monkeys - Riot Van
  8. Mobius Band - The Loving Sounds of Static
  9. American Eyes - Radio
  10. Bitstream - Eno's Corridor
  11. Ben Lee - Catch My Disease
  12. The Pillcrushers - Everyday
  13. MSTRKRFT - Easy Love
  14. Pretty Girls Make Graves - Pyrite Pedestal
  15. The Raconteurs - Steady, As She Goes
  16. AJ Croce - One and Only
  17. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Parallel or Together
  18. The Bomb Circle - Pushed to the Margins
  19. Rock Kills Kid - Hide Away
  20. Tarkio - Tristan and Iseult

Sunday, April 23, 2006

A Rare Find

As I sat at the table outside the small bar in Riomaggiore, I couldn't help but be struck by the beauty of my surroundings. It was overwhelming. The late day sun reflecting off the red-tiled rooftops created an inviting glow, which was rivaled only by the engaging smiles of the old world shopkeepers peddling their wares in the quaint storefronts along Via Columbo. The only sounds to be heard were those of lively conversation, the gentle lapping of waves on the shore, and the faint sound of some unrecognizable music playing through an open upstairs window across the street. The salty breeze blowing in from the Mediterranean stirred up the scent of lemon from the nearby orchards and also tamed the otherwise sweltering afternoon heat. The entire village nestled cozily between the sea and the surrounding cliffs gave the illusion that the outside world was completely nonexistent.


Although this is wine country, I am urged by the bartender to sample a local beer. Never being one to decline such an request, I obliged and ordered a bottle of the brew. Upon my first sip I found the taste to be slightly different from what I was accustomed to, yet like so many things about this place, the newness invited further exploration as opposed to retreat to the more familiar.

Eventually the sun disappeared into the turquoise waters of the sea, and in due time it was replaced by a full moon that nearly matched its brilliance in the cloudless night sky. I found myself carrying on with those around me like I had known them for decades, despite the fact that most had been total strangers mere hours before. It made no difference. The crowd was comprised of locals, tourists, travelers, and vagabonds. Each had a different story, and all were welcomed.


Church bells sounded in the distance to announce the passing of another hour, but very few seemed to pay it any mind. Only a small group of backpackers from some other corner of the globe appeared concerned with the chimes, as they hurriedly and clumsily maneuvered their bags through the narrow cobbled streets in hopes of catching the evening's last train out of town. Why anyone would ever seek to escape this paradise with such urgency perplexed me. At that moment I contemplated never leaving at all. This was the the Italy of storybooks and fairytales. The Italy of legend and imagination. The Italy I had presumed no longer actually existed until I witnessed it with my own eyes.

And all too soon the moment had passed.

Then it was that I found myself in a supermarket this afternoon, quite far removed from the Cinque Terre in terms of time, distance, and state of mind. After picking out a selection of my usual provisions, I found myself on the beer aisle. It was there that something completely unexpected caught my eye. Sitting among a varied assortment of mircobrews and imports, was a set of bottles bearing a label I had not seen or even really thought about in some time:

Birra Moretti. The very beverage I was first served on that magical night oh so long ago.

For the briefest of moments, I was transported back to that tiny seaside tavern. The salt air, the sound of the changing tide, the hospitable barkeep, the searing sun, the glistening moon, and nearly fifty strangers who suddenly became good friends. All of the memories came rushing back.

Then I put the beer in my cart and made my way to the checkout counter.


(Yes, this post is the result of a serious personal addiction...but to international travel, not alcohol. I only had one beer when I got home, and that was with dinner. Italian food, of course.)

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Random Topics that Don't Warrant Individual Posts

Here are a few topics on which I've been considering posting my thoughts, opinions, etc, but which I really don't have enough to say to justify separate posts for each.

Wow, I Feel Old
As my job requires me to drive a lot, mixing up musical selections in the car is essential. Since I don't have satellite radio (yet) and FM is largely crap, it is up to my CD collection to get me through those long miles. Two CDs that found their way into my lineup this past week were Oasis's What's the Story Morning Glory and Everclear's Sparkle and Fade. In fact, both of those discs ended up in my CD player on the same day.

As I was driving, it occurred to me that I got both of those CD at about the same time. I think "Wonderwall" and "Santa Monica" were both popular within a month or so of each other...early '96 if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, that lead to another realization: with it now being early '06, I have had those CDs in my collection for a decade. Wow. I vividly remember both of those being brand new.

Even scarier, three of my all-time favorite CDs: U2's Achtung Baby, Nirvana's Nevermind, and Pearl Jam's Ten are pushing the 15 year mark. There are now kids in high school that were born after these were released. Yeah.

MLK
Another result of traveling so much for work is that I get to see lots of towns that I would probably never go to otherwise. And what does EVERY town have in common? A major road named after Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now don't get me wrong. MLK was a great man, and this nation is far better off because of his work and his influence, but sometimes I feel like towns name things "MLK" more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. And in a roundabout way, I think it sort of cheapens the honor if the town council only acts because they think they have to.

Dr. King deserves every bit of his tremendous legacy, and he had to overcome an adversity that most of us will never know personally. However, I think when we chose to honor him, it should be out of respect instead of obligation, and the memorial should be something relevant to his life and work...not just a random street only so that the mayor can sleep better at night.

Citibank Giveth, and Citibank Taketh Away
One final thing that's been on my mind lately is the fact that my standard of living has not changed very much from the time I was a student to now that I'm actually bringing home a paycheck. The problem being, of course, that such a large percentage of said paycheck goes directly to Citibank to repay those loans that made possible my 3 year stint in Miami.

I know that when you first take out student loans, there's the little disclaimer about "you should borrow responsibly, yada, yada, yada..." but I sort of wish someone would actually come in, sit you down, and say "no, really...this is gonna be a huge chunk out of your paycheck after you graduate." It's hard to think that way, though, when someone is offering you thousands of dollars for basically nothing in return immediately.

I guess it's sort of like when you make a deal with the mafia (or so I'm lead to believe from various movies and TV shows). Or like on that episode of South Park where Trent Boyett comes back from juv'y. You know you're gonna get your ass kicked, but at the time it seems so far off that you take the "I'll deal with that when it happens" approach.

In an ironic twist, though, I'm pretty sure if I had it all to do over again, I would borrow more money instead of less. Yeah, that's right. The social aspects of law school were freakin' awesome, and with as big of a hole as I already dug for myself, an extra $20 or $30 now to be able to have gone out and done more then would've been totally worth it. So in other words, I'd like to have my cake and eat it too. That was a good South Park episode as well.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Bauer Lives....for at Least 3 More Years!

Came across this on cnn.com this afternoon. Kiefer Sutherland has just signed a sweet new deal with Fox, part of which includes three more seasons of 24.

I'm crying with joy.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Great Weekend

Lately, a lot of my friends have decided to get married. A LOT of them. And while I'm a little bummed that my list of single friends is slowly dwindling, there is one huge upside to this trend:

The bachelor party!

Now most people will usually pick a Friday or Saturday night, get their friends together, do a nice dinner, have some drinks, partake in a little adult entertainment, and finally have another drink or 12. Not my boy Taylor, though.

While each of those elements was certainly present, the group of guys we assembled managed to stretch the festivities out over the course of an entire weekend. One of our friend's parents even gave us unrestricted access to their ocean-front beach house to hold the festivities.

It all started Friday after work, with a little grilling out, some music, and some catching up with several guys I hadn't seen in a while. After eating our fill and enjoying a few choice intoxicating beverages, it was time for the entertainment portion of the evening. I'll leave out the details to protect the innocent, but let's just say it was somewhere in the neighborhood of that scene in Varsity Blues, but nowhere near a Duke lacrosse party. (Come on, you knew I couldn't let that thing pass without commenting)

Saturday brought a chance to sleep late, but no one was awake too long before the Bloody Marys started flowing. Yeah, it was gonna be that kind of day. It also happened to be unbelievably nice for this time of year, so the beach was great. And when the rain eventually rolled through later in the afternoon, CBS's Masters coverage was the perfect way to kill the rest of the day.

Dinner on Saturday was at a waterfront restaurant that served a mean seafood platter, and later the party moved to a great little bar on the beach. They had a great band playing classic rock, and a pretty good crowd overall. There was also a pretty entertaining fight between two frat boy-looking guys. (my inner 13-year-old will never tire of seeing a good impromptu fight).

This morning was pretty rough for everyone, but I think all involved would agree that this was one heluva good weekend. The way every weekend should be, in fact. Actually, no, I take that back...if every weekend was like this one I would be way too broke to afford the inevitable liver transplant.

Congrats, Taylor! Hope you had a great one.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Mixtape: March

Here's what's been playing on my ipod/cd player/radio over the past 31 or so days:

  1. Kelley Stoltz - Ever Thought of Coming Back
  2. Say Anything - Alive with the Glory of Love
  3. Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
  4. Jack Johnson - Broken
  5. Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen
  6. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
  7. Deadboy and the Elephant Men - Ancient Man
  8. The Minus 5 - My Life as a Creep
  9. Okkervil River - No Key, No Plan
  10. 46Bliss - Desire Give Way
  11. Ambulance LTD - New English
  12. Colossus - Thripney Bits
  13. Editors - Munich
  14. Guillemots - Trains to Brazil
  15. Pearl Jam - World Wide Suicide
  16. Nine Black Alps - Cosmopolitan
  17. The Rogers Sisters - Never Learn to Cry
  18. Short Round - Cleansing, Cut, and Scrap
  19. Warren Zane - Ella's Arms
  20. Portastic - Oh My Sweet Carolina