And now for something completely different

Oh do I have a doozy for you guys...but be patient. Good things come to those who wait.

So I guess you can tell I did some ar-tist-ing. Gotta shake things up a little bit.

On a less lighter side, New Englands football season is possibly hanging by a thread after an injury to Tom Brady's left knee at about the 1/8th mark of the first game. So right now Tom Terrific* has played roughly 1/152 of the season and we don't know if the remaining 144/152 of the season will have ol' number 12 or Matt Cassel who to his credit played like a superstar at some points of the game. Take a deep breath everyone, this one could leave a mark.

Do you ever wonder if people that get nicknames like that actually like them? Does Tom lie in bed at night thinking "Tom Terrific is good, but I think of myself more as a Tom Tremundus, or how about Touchdown Tom" These are the toughts I have people.

So 1 week at Commonwealth VW down. So far its been pretty slow. I got a good idea of my escape routes in case of a fire. I think however now I made the right move. Potential for much more volume, which means much more $$$ (cha ching! - sound effects are part of the experience at TKS. Be sure to tip your waitresses) The drive hasn't been that bad, but winters coming. It's pretty much the same drive just going in the oppisite direction. People have been good. Just scarey going from what is normal and comfortable to something that is the unknown.

Peace out lake trouts

Jimi

Its like christmas...

Original Post date 6/30/2008

I was checking my inventory and was aghast to find what we had here. I NEVER posted my Happy Dave Day blog. In light of recent events, I toyed of just deleting it, but rightly decided against it as much of a tribute to Leroi as well as not wanting to waste several backbreaking hours of research for this blog posting. That makes me wonder if I can somehow write off my ticket costs as research funds. More on screwing the IRS later. Kidding, just kidding. I would never dream of not fulfilling my obligation as an American citizen and not paying taxes. Or are I?



Now without further ado and nearly 2 1/2 months late...



So yesterday was Dave day. That is the day every year where my group of 28-34 year old friends act like kids on Christmas morning. So without further ado, I give you my complete review of all things Dave yesterday.



First and foremost, let me say that every year I hate Mansfield/Great Woods/Tweeter/Comcast/enter new corporate sponsorship here Center a little bit more. I know that its always a few bad apples blah blah blah, but we have always been able to get in early afternoon start grilling and get our drink on. Well this year we get there around 3:30 because of rumors of a 4:00 gate opening time. Good thing we waited a little bit because rumor was true. We had to cruise around until 4:00 to get in the gate.

Once inside, BAM. 5-0 on bike patrol. NO BEERS ALLOWED!* So this year the seemingly "out of sight..."attitude no longer applies. Any alcohol found anywhere, in solo cups, in cans, in a puddle on the ground, all coolers will be searched and seized. Happy Dave Day.

*Just a quick random thought here. When I was a kid growing up, my brother and I used to love watching cartoons of all sorts. Some of my favorite were the Charlie Brown cartoons. 1 in paticular was when Snoopy was trying to get to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. The MAN was always putting him down because everytime he wanted to call a cab,** or catch a bus or hitch hike or whatever there was a sign and a very deep voice saying "No Dogs Allowed!" So now whenever the MAN is trying to put me down, I think about Snoopy and forget whatever it was I was upset about.

**Is it me, or was Snoopy the most human like dog in existance. That dog could do more things than I can do. He was a star baseball player, he was the Flying Ace in WWI beating the Red Baron, he was a master organizer. I mean really, how much stuff could he really have in that dog house?


Well I am friends with a bunch of hard core drunkies and the thought of a little buzz kill like getting kicked off of the property and missing the show or jail would not stop the itchy livers we brought with us.*

*No secrets will be revealed as this is a public blog and a certain group of law enforcement officials in a certain southeastern Mass. town may someday access this site looking for god knows what. P.S. All names have been changed to protect the guilty. From now on my wife will be known as Hector.

Well after a shortened grilling session, we decided to proceed into the show. Thats where the magic happens.



Don't Drink the Water

Good song to start off the night with. Pretty much everybody knows whats going on. The whole band is involved. No complaints.


#41

"Since it was the fourty first song we wrote, it is aptly titled #41" I love this song. Really great poetry and great everyday outro at the end that the crowd took over on.

Crash into Me


Three early songs in a row. The band is really grooving tonight. Very nice Dixie Chicken outro.


Lousianna Bayou

I think that this is one of my top 5 Dave songs live. They get so into it and it gets the whole crowd going.

Loving Wings

If Hector and I ever get married, this will be our wedding song. Such a treat to hear tonight.

Cornbread


"I wanna go down on you...I wanna go down on you..." Dave you're so dirty;)

Jimi Thing


This is the song of the night that I called. The Dave started talking bout how good we all smelt so I figured he was gonna sing us a song bout gettiing high. I was right. Probably would have been best song of the night, but you must read on.

Money

Have I told anybody how much I love it when Dave covers songs. Well I do. Some bands cover songs and you're like "ok well whatever" Dave covers a song and now whenever I hear the song on the radio, I need to turn it because its not Dave playing. I'm not sure this is one of those, but very cool nontheless.




I am not so famailar with this song, so I kinda sit back and take it in. Has a very Eddie Vedder/Last Kiss sound. I dig it.

The Idea of You


I think this could be the next great Dave love song along the lines of Crush.

Where Are You Going


Honestly, I could do without this song live. I've heard it. It really feels like its taking up space that could be used for a song I haven't heard in a while.

Seek Up


Seriously. I love this effing song. This is the Dave song that made me realize so much more. Great long intro. Total Jam. Great long outro. Like 18 and a half minutes. Just incredible. Still not the best song of the night. Stay tuned.

Two Step

I get the vibe that the show is starting to wind down, which sucks because I always want Dave to play until the sun rises. However Dave played this song like it was the last song they were ever going to play. Absolutely fantastic.*

*By this time, it has become apperant to me of 3 things. 1) The show is winding down. It is now encore break. B) I am pissed at the cops because I don't have nearly the buzz I should at a Dave show. D) I am much too old to do this goddamn lawn thing anymore.** I am spending money on pavillion seats next year, no questions asked.
** I am also spending the extra $$ on premier parking. I am sick of having to wait until 1 am to get driving and coming home. I didn't get home until 3 am and I had to work the next day. WTF over.***
***What happens when everybody catches on to the premier parking thing. Are they gonna have Super Premier Parking for $80 instead of $40?

Sister

This was alright. I really have no connection to this song not having a sister and all. It was quite humorous watching the Wastys dancing and making up their own lyrics.

Thank You (fallettenme be mice elf, agin)

I did not know what was going on with this song, but let me tell you. This song was effing amazing. I am not sure I have seen anything like that or this.

Until next year Happy Dave Day.

Good memories...

I was terribly saddened by the news of Leroi Moore's passing. As most of you know, I am a borderline rabid Dave Matthews Band fan. No take that back. I have passed the line. I am rabid. I have almost sworn off all other music other than that of the Dave. I refer to the entire band as the Dave. When you talk about them as much as I do, it just saves time. Anyways when I got on the official DMB website last night to check the setlist, it hit me like a freight train. I was shocked. I called Annie over so she could verify what I was reading. I went looking for my phone to call people. It was like one of the family had died. My friend Cyn had not called me. This was big. She must not know. Telling her Leroi was gone was like telling her one of our near and dear friends was gone. She started crying. I started tearing up. All these crazy thoughts came to me. Are they now gonna break up? If they stay together, will they replace him? Did they still play tonight? To their credit and a fitting tribute to their friend and brother they played on. They played a setlist that is reportedly filled with Leroi's favorites. I love the music. I will always refer to them as the Fab 5. Heaven must have needed a horn player. God knows he got the best. RIP Leroi. We WILL forever miss you.

Saddened by life sometimes,
Jimi

Ch Ch Changes

So its been a while cyber fellas. Keeping up with the blog has been very difficult. Everything I see, I say to myself "oh, I could blog about that" Alas I never do. Well sometimes I don't. Sometimes I do. Well there has been alot happening here lately. Annie is trying to seek gainful employment for the school season. My friend George from work is leaving to take a new job at a dealership far south from us. I am very disappointed only for selfish reasons. George and his family have become best friends with my family. Having George work with me has been really fun for the past 3 years...on and off. I wish him well in his new/old endevor.

Well I decided to keep the earlier part of this post together, even though it is roughly 3 weeks old and I haven't updated it, because it suddenly is very relevent to whats going on in the land of Jim. I too have decided to leave my post at Lakes Region VW and have joined George in Mass at Commonwealth Motors. I have cherished my time in Gilford. It has afforded me the ability to pursue this job in Lawerence that even though there will be quite a commute involved, I think will in the long run be better for my family and my bank account. Actually the commute is only approx 10 miles further, although I assume with traffic it will probably be about 30 mins each way longer.

I guess the really scary part of all this is that I am starting a new job. No wait. Thats not the scary part. The scary part is that I have never given a 2 week notice anywhere. This was the first time ever. I usually either get fired (only once or twice) or just say "eff it" and just not show again (maybe a little more often than is called for) or just get squeezed out (oddly the way I have most often lost employment). Anyway, Lakes Region has been very good to me in the 6+ years I have worked there so I really needed to give 2 weeks. I suddenly feel like a lame duck. Kinda like Clinton in 99-2000 minus the BJ's from the office girls (yikes where'd that come from?) Well now I know what playing for the Kansas City Royals is all about. Just playing out the string.

Well suddenly Aug 15 has come and gone and I am now on the back side of 30 years old. It really doesn't feel any different. My pants still go on 1 leg at a time. Just a few more gray hairs and a sudden realization that all the advice my father gave me through the years will now need to be dispensed to my ever growing 4 year old. I am really looking forward to the cars/girls conversations as opposed to the spongebob/remote losing conversations.

I promise I will do a better job of leaving this rubbish for people to read more often.

Until then, peace out girl scouts

Jimi

5 to 1

I have decided to kill some time and give an obnoxious amount of top 5's that I'm calling 5 to 1. So here goes

Top 5 Doors songs
5. 20th Century Fox Like it cause its a kool play on words.

4. The End I loved this song long before I saw Apoclypse Now. Just a kool trip through somebodys dimensia.

3. Light My Fire How can you not like this song if you like The Doors at all.

2. 5 to 1 The inspiration for the format of this paticular blog. The name of the song is the chance of coming back from Vietnam unharmed, but no matter what you're screwed. "5 to 1, 1 in 5. No one gets out alive"

1. LA Woman I firmly believe that Annie and I are the only people I know that actually like The Doors. This song is just good rock n' roll. I would say most people that I ask hate The Doors because of Ray Manzerik playing the keyboards for the bass line.

Top 5 former Red Sox jerseys that I would like to own

5. 1986 23 Oil Can Boyd The Can is probably the greatest nickname in Red Sox history

4. 1975 19 Fred Lynn I wasn't around for this era, but I bet that if I was, Fred Lynn would have been my favorite player

3. 2003 11 Bill Mueller This guy was a pro's pro. He came to work almost everyday he didn't have to share playing time with Shea Hillnebrand. He batted 8th in the lineup. He won the fricking batting title. In Theo I trust

2. 1939 9 Ted Williams The greatest player in team history. Nuff said.

1. 1999 34 Rich Garces The second greatest nickname in team history. How could you not love El Guapo

Top 5 Dave Matthews Band songs to hear live

5. So Much to Say>Anyone seen the Bridge>Too Much I love both of the "much" songs ecspically when they throw the little ditty in between

4. Tripping Billies Such a crowd pleaser. A great way to end a night with Dave and the boys.

3. One Sweet World I love the way they have added to trumpet to this song. Has totally moved up the list of most desired songs to hear live.

2. All Along the Watchtower I can not tell you how much I love this song when The Dave plays it except that when I hear another version come on the radio, I turn it.

1. Dancing Nancies>Warehouse Pretty Much why I love The Dave. I have heard this 1 time at Fenway. Maybe top 5 moment of my life. I know its sad.

(Honorable Mention:Ants Marching, Seek Up, Say Goodbye, Lie in our Graves, Louisiana Bayou)

Top 5 TV shows from the 80's that I haven't been able to watch in a long time
5. Cheers Cheers used to be on every channel all the time. Now its more like a rumor.

4. MacGyver True story. When I was in 4th grade, my friend Matt and I tried to write Richard Dean Anderson and see if we could hang out with him for a day. I look back on this and think what was I thinking. Then I watch MacGyver and laugh.

3. Dukes of Hazzard Would have been 1 with a bullet except a little run on CMT about 5 years ago.

2. ALF I loved this show. I still know that the cats name is Lucky. He was from Melmac. Why isn't there a Boomerang channel for shows from the 80's. Isn't that what TVLand is for. How come they never let me choose the shows they show. Jerks

1. Mr. Belvedere I don't remember much, except that Bob Uecker was the dad, and he was a sportscaster for a tv station in Pittsburgh? How is it that he was able to afford and english butler on that salary?

Top 5 places I want to go that I have never been to

5. The Virgin Islands "When I get done with them, they'll just call them The Islands." Chuck Norris

4. Japan/China I love Sony too much not to go.

3. PCH Drive This is more like an adventure but I have always wanted to take a month and drive up or down the west coast.

2. Ireland/England I think I still have free room and board if we can get there in time.

1. New Zealand I want to go somewhere new where up was down, summer was winter, and people drive on the wrong side of the road. I've already been to Mass.

Top 5 ways to get pizza

5. Meat Lovers Besides my wife, who doesn't love the meat. (Ha Ha. Very funny. My wife if a vegiterian. Jerks)

4. Peperoini Just in case you need to spice up cheese a little bit.

3. Cheese Just in case you need to spice down peperoini a little bit.

2. Chicken and Brocolli Must have as a white pizza. Sauce makes it taste yucky.

1. Bacon and Pineapple Yes I am that guy who eats pineapple on pizza. And you know what? I love it.

Top 5 sodas that I dislike the most

5. Crystal Pepsi This illfated attempt at making a clear soda (something to compete with Sprite?) was about as bad as it sounds. I of course had at least 6 of these liquid asses.

4. Caffene Free Mountain Dew Should be called Mountan Don't.

3. Moxie Reminds me of my younger days when I used to drink mud puddles.

2. Diet Pepsi Jazz Seriously, what is the deal with adding flavor to colas. Isn't cola flavor enough.
1. Bubbulious Soda From the files of worst older brother ever, I one time made my younger brother buy a bottle of this flavor of nausea because I wanted to try it. Needless to say I was very happy that I could wash the nasty taste of pink soda out of my mouth with a crisp refreshing bottle of Pepsi.

Whats up peeps?

I know I've been slacking. I can't even call it being busy. I've actually been lazy. I have several unfinished posts coming out very soon. I have to do some finishing touches on them and I will meet my adoring publics outcry for more nonsense. Until then I bid you adeau.

they tell me me seat cusion can be used as a floatation device/pray to god they aint lying

So I am flying to Ontario California Monday morning at the ass crack of dawn. My flight takes off at 6 am from Manchester. I land in Ontario at 2pm their time which for all you math majors out there is 5 pm NH time. That my friends is 11 hours of travel for some VW thing that was cool last year and gets me out of work for 3 days this year, but I'm wondering is it worth it?

Last year, I ended up in the national finals which were held in Ontario. The first round of "testing" was held in Atlanta in August. It was 100*F when I got off the plane. Man that was effing hot. This year, I have to fly across the country for same first round. Me thinks that I would rather go back to Atlanta this time but I digress.

I guess what worries me when I go to places unfamiliar is that fear of the unknown. What if theres an earthquake and LA falls off into the ocean? Does that meat that the Celtics automaticly get game 5 and the championship because the Staples Center is floating somewhere near the Mexican coast?

Last year I flew to Cali on 9/11. Now I'm not a doomsdayer kinda guy, but I couldn't help but notice it was a little creepy to fly that day. I suppose that probably would be the best day all year to fly due to the tragic date, but it still came into my head as weird.

What it really comes down to is I am not a fan of planes. I know they say it's the safest way to travel, but it's still a little scary. I am not a religous man, but I pray to something when that bird takes off and lands. I don't think that there is anybody who really likes plane rides. Maybe the pilots do. I'm pretty sure flight attendents don't. They are pissed all the time. Don't ask for extra cream in your coffee, the may throw it at you.

So as I finish up, wish me luck and in the words of the band moe. song plane crash "...they tell me my seat cushion can be used as a floatation device/pray to god they ain't lying.." Only problem is, I'm going across land.