Short Takes (Part A Lot)

• Last Friday, I got paid. I also finally got to pick my car up from the shop. $297. Everthing is fixed now, except for the fuel sensor. It's not working for some odd reason. So I had them order a new one and I'll take it back in a week or so. For now, I will take it in next weekend for an oil change and ease it through a carwash one of these days. Car issues are becoming bearable... The bank account, well that's another story. Other bills paid off on Friday... $350.
• The next day -Saturday - I drove across the state to Tri-Cities... more specifically, Pasco. A good friend of mine (Rob) whom I hardly ever get to see had a surprise birthday party planned. So his wife Adriana had invited me long ago and I was happy to go. It was great so see them again, and the party went very well. Rob's other friends, Brian & Kristi, also came down from Coeur D' Alene (Idaho) for the party. Saturday night, we had a drinking party which was fun as hell and very refreshing for me. Sometimes I forget how fun it can be to have friends I can physically hang out with. And when I get that chance, I sure as hell enjoy every single minute of it. (Many pictures were taken, and many drinks were downed, so there will no doubt be some interesting pics headed my way soon. For any of you who are curious enough, I'll have to share some of them.)
• Monday - My dad took me downtown to the Moore Theater to see Toad The Wet Sprocket! I swear, I have the best dad ever. We both think they are a great band, and they were. Two words quickly come to mind: fucking & amazing. I actually got my dad listening to Toad a few years back, and we've been enjoying more and more of their stuff as time goes by. We have even tried playing a couple of their songs in jams too. He's convinced I sing quite a bit like Glen [Phillips, Toad's lead singer]. I consider that a huge compliment of course. Though, we haven't even really had a chance to record any Toad stuff yet. When we do, I'm sure the first one will either be Something's Always Wrong or Stupid, two of my personal favorites. More on that later... Oh, and for those of you who are still curious, the opening act was a talented guy by the name of Matt Nathanson. He was pretty entertaining, and a hell of a good singer. His voice reminded me of a cross between Glen Phillips and John Rzeznik [of Goo Goo Dolls]. At one point he led a crowd sing-a-long to a cover of Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. Very cool! I have a feeling he's going to make a name for himself down the road...
• Skip ahead to today... the next Saturday. I have been cleaning my apartment for the past couple days, and moved into the master bedroom. I'm finally all situated now, and I'm enjoying having a bit more room to spread out in. The cleaning and moving is all done now, and that's a good thing, because I'm out of energy and need to relax for awhile. I will be meeting with a potential roommate tomorrow afternoon and will show them the place. If all goes well, they will like the place and decide to move in. If that happens, my life will suddenly get back on track and in a much better place. That's a lot of stress that will lift from my mind. So at this point, I'm trying to remain optimistic about the whole thing. I'll keep you all updated on that.
• Among everything else on my mind lately, I have also come to a couple other decisions. I have decided to cancel any plans I have been meaning to make for a Vegas trip in the near future. As badly as I probably need a vacation, now is frankly not a good time to have that on my plate. All thoughts and considerations on that are hereby postponed until further notice. However, I am still planning on purchasing that treadmill once I get back on my financially stable feet. Most importantly, I am seriously considering checking into hypnotherapy as soon as my living situation is stable. I have always been interested in hypnosis, and I would love to explore my childhood traumas, or lack thereof, and really get inside my seemingly deep and impenetrable mind. I figure the more I can learn about myself and who I really am, the better. Especially while I have my good medical insurance...