Day 03 – Army

Ah, "Army," what a great song.  Ben Folds Five released the song in 1999, and although I was not introduced to it until around 2004, I am always happy to hear it.  In high school I was in a band and upon graduating I got a job at Chick-fil-A.  The song is fun and whiny--plus you it has the word "fuckin'" in it.  The breaking down withe the brass before the bridge just makes me want to sing along.  I will always remember that first summer after high school in my Ford Explorer; blaring the CD with the windows down driving to work and TCC.

Army


Well I thought about the army
Dad said, Son you're fuckin' high
And I thought, yeah there's a first for everything
So I took my old man's advice
Three sad semesters
It was only 15 grand spent in bed
I thought about the army
I dropped out and joined a band instead

Grew a moustache and a mullet
Got a job at Chick-fil-a
Citing artistic differences
The band broke up in May
And in June reformed without me
And they'd got a different name
I nuked another grandma's apple pie
And hung my head in shame, oh....

Been thinkin' a lot today
Been thinkin' a lot today

Oh, I think I'll write a screenplay
Oh, I think I'll take it to L.A.
Oh, I think I'll get it done yesterday

Ah, shit

In this time of introspection
On the eve of my election
I say to my reflection
God please spare me more rejection
'Cause my peers they criticize me
And my ex-wives all despise me
Try to put it all behind me
But my redneck past is nipping at my heels

I've been thinking a lot today
I've been thinking a lot today
I've been thinking a lot today
I thought about the army...




Until next time,


Mike

Day 02 - Daylight

Spring break! Granted this just means I have no homework this week, I am hoping to pump out a few of these posts.


Least favorite song at this time?  Daylight by Matt & Kim.  Why do I not like it?  It is an annoying strain on the human ear.  I don't see how my wife can like this music, considering she has had formal music training.  Although the lyrics and tempo are light and fun, I find that the lack of originality and variation be very droll.  Here are the lyrics:

DAYLIGHT

we cut the legs off of our pants
threw our shoes into the ocean
sit back and wave through the daylight
sit back and wave through the daylight

slip and slide on subway grates
these shoes are poor mans ice skates
fall through like change in the daylight
fall through like change in the daylight

i miss yellow lines in my roads
some color on monochrome
maybe i’ll paint them in myself
maybe i’ll paint them in myself

these sidewalks liquid then stone
building walls and an old pay phone
it rings like all through the daylight
it rings like all through the daylight

chorus
and in the daylight we can hitchhike to maine
i hope that someday i’ll see without these frames
and in the daylight i don’t pick up my phone
cause in the daylight anywhere feels like home

I have five clocks in my life
and only one has the time right
i’ll just unplug it for today
ill just unplug it for today

open hydrant rolled down windows
this car might make a good old boat
and float down grand street in daylight
and float down grand street in daylight

and with just half of a sunburn
new yellow lines that i earned
step back and here comes the night time
step back and here comes the night time

chorus
and in the daylight we can hitchhike to maine
i hope that someday i’ll see without these frames
and in the daylight i don’t pick up my phone
cause in the daylight anywhere feels like home

There you have it, folks. However, before I leave I did want to point out another reason I don't like Matt & Kim. That is that all their music sounds like it is played on something from my childhood:

Until next time,

Mike

Was This My Wonderland?

**I just found this in my drafts--obviously not finished. I have no idea when it was from***

Hello again!

So last night I had a really strange dream. Not entirely sure if strange is the word but at the same time it most certainly is. So, as strange as this dream may have been I am going to try to recall as much of it as I possibly can. There really isn't even a story but more like a series of snap shots. So here goes...

Here are a list of the actors in this story:

Me :P

Allison

Trent

Jenn

A bunch of pirates

A bunch of alligators

3 "Random" guys :P

and a riverboat captain...

I'm in a big city and in a hotel room (morel like a suite) with a large window and patio that overlooks the city. There is a hot tub and in are these 3 random guys: One of them is Daryl and one is Andy both from The Office; the third was Christopher Walken. They were sitting there relaxing and having drink in the hot tub.

Day 01 - Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis

The number of songs that I have collected on my iPod over the years has easily reached the thousands.  There are a number of songs that I could say are good enough to be called my favorites.  But if I had to choose one right now I would have to say it is "Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis" by Brand New.  This is post one out of--what I hope to be--thirty.  I will post the lyrics and then write a little about how I feel about the song. So now for the lyrics:

"Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis"

With one or two I get used to the room

We go slow when we first make our moves

By five or six bring you out to the car

Number nine with my head on the bar

And it's sad, but true

Out of cash and I.O.U's

I've got desperate desires and unadmirable plans

My tongue will taste of gin and malicious intent

Bring you back to the bar

Get you out of the cold

A sober, straight face gets you out of your clothes

And they're scared that we know

All the crimes they'll commit

Who they'll kiss before they get home

I will lie awake

Lie for fun and fake the way I hold you

Let you fall for every empty word I say

Barely conscious in the door where you stand

Your eyes are fighting sleep as your mouth makes your demands

You laugh at every word trying hard to be cute

I almost feel sorry for what I'm going to do

And your hair smells of smoke

Who will cast the first stone?

You can sin or spend the night all alone

Brass buttons on your coat hold the cold

In the shape of a heart that they cut out of stone

You're using all your looks that you've thrown from the start

If you let me have my way I swear I'll tear you apart

'cause it's all you can be

You're a drunk and you're scared

It's ladies' night, all the girls drink for free

I will lie awake

And lie for fun and fake the way I hold you

Let you fall for every empty word I say

I will lie awake

And lie for fun and fake the way I hold you

Let you fall for every empty word I say

I will lie awake

And lie for fun and fake the way I hold you

Let you fall for every empty word I say

And there we have it; the lyrics for my first post.  The song is played almost entirely on a palm muted electric guitar.  Once the song finishes the last pre-chorus it erupts into a distorted rendition of the chorus as it is sung at the top of the singer's lungs.  The beginning of the song shows the uneasiness of the writer and how he uses alcohol to "get used to the room" and eventually how he has "desperate desires and unadmirable plans."  The image of someone who has made it home with nine drinks in their system and their attempt to keep a sober straight face to get a girl out of their clothes.  Although these events never came close to anything that happened to me in high school, they seem to radiate some of my inner feelings.  Those feelings in high school as though I was the only one who understood me and how I longed for a companion.  That feeling of not caring who that companion was. That feeling of desperately wanting to dissociate myself from the world and get lost in the physical contact of another.  The thoughts of saying anything to make someone care about you.  The song hits me the most when it says "You laugh at every word trying hard to be cute.  I almost feel sorry for what I'm going to do.  And your hair smells of smoke.  Who will cast the first stone?  You can sin or spend the night all alone." You can sin or spend the night all alone.  My nights were spent alone and because of that I believe I have become a better man for it.  It doesn't mean that I didn't long for a physical relationship.  I would be lying if I said I didn't.  My eyes would wander from here to there.  The entire time I had a friend who would listen to my thoughts and to who I was crushing on from week to week.  I wouldn't trade that friendship for anything.  I realized that the relationship with that friend was what I truly needed.  A friend that I could trust, to hand over my heavy heart, and place my entire life in their hands is what I needed.  I found that with Allison.  She was always there, even when I was too blind to see it.  And she is there today.  To my dearest friend, Allison--my wife--I owe you everything.

30 Songs in 30 Days

Day 01 – Your favorite song- Me vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis
Day 02 – Your least favorite song- Daylight
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy- Army
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad- Brick
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone- Learning to Breathe
Day 06 – A song that reminds you of somewhere- There Is by Box Car Racer
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event- Standard Lines
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to- Fred Jones Pt. 2
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to- Great Romances of the 20^th Century by Taking Back Sunday
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep- On Your Porch by The Format
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band- Best Imitation of Myself
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate- Sidewalks by Matt & Kim
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure- Till The World Ends by Britney Spears
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love- Graduation by Kanye West
Day 15 – A song that describes you- Seventy Time 7 by Brand New
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate- Always and Forever (BFF) by Raze
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio- Super Bass
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio- Title and Registration by Death Cab for Cutie
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album- The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry- You’re Cute When You Scream by Senses Fail
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy- First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad- Landlocked Blues by Bright Eyes
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding- Rockin’ The Suburbs by Ben Folds
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral- This Song is Brought to You by A Falling Bomb
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh- We’re Finding Something Out- The Early November
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument- Ever So Sweet by The Early November
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play- Borderline by Sufjan Stevens
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty- All of This by Blink-182
Day 29 – A song from your childhood- Colored People by DC Talk
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year- Get Me Right by Dashboard Confessional

Sometimes you just gotta get a little crazy...

...and that is exactly how things have been as of late. I'm not entirely sure what I can do about it, except to just keep living my life day by day.

I've been thinking a lot lately and maybe my imagination is just starting to get the best of me. Sometimes as I'm walking across campus on a nice morning (must like this morning) I get this feeling as if I were to stop and just stand there, everything around me would continue to move as if I didn't exist. At this point you are probably like, oh great someone call the men in white coats.

There are times when I can be standing in a mall and see someone and think, they look out of place, like the actor in a TV show that you know is going to be a returning character, they just have one of those faces; as if all the rest of us in the world are all extras meant for nothing more than life in the background. Anyone else thinking about The Truman Show right now?

I started a new job two weeks ago. I've seen Allison less but seem closer to her. I like seeing her less at CFA because it makes it even more wonderful for those times that we do get to see each other.

Sorry about this rambling, not sure what I am doing, my head is just everywhere today...

Economy is still bad...no surprise there. Maybe we should have elected someone who gives a shit...no, Americans aren't that educated...

So I only need 12 more credit hours to graduate...that's kind of cool. It's about time though. Going to be doing 4 classes that the beginning of the semester and then 3 will drop off and all I will have for the last 8 weeks is my final culminating project...which I am still not sure what I am going to do.

Oh yeah, today is Allison's and mine 2 year wedding anniversary. Wish we could visit Disney again; that would be fun.

A lot of life is staying the same...but a lot seems to be changing at the same time. Now in the sense that you can see it changing but in the sense that you can feel it changing. Not entirely sure in which direction or if it is good or bad. A lot of uncertainty right now. At least I have Allison and Sully (our puppy). We'll make it, I know we will...just been thinking a lot lately...I blame Hemingway.

Until next time,

Mike

I Treat You Like a High School Dance...

So, this is where I am in this journey called life...

I need to submit out vacate notice for our apartment this week because they are raising the rent again but won't tell us by how much...if that makes any sense to anyone else out there. I've been looking for some places for us and I've been trying to get a new job. The one I have pays the bills to an extent but there is nowhere else to move up to and I'll be stuck at this pay forever. I would really like a job that starts me out where I am now and moves up from there. Isn't that what any man wants in this world?

I applied for different jobs at Best Buy...

One of the positions was for a management job and I was told to go in and talk to a certain person...let's call him Thomas...so I go in to talk to Thomas and he is in a meeting. So, I decide to wait...3 and a half hours later of standing/walking around the store I finally meet Thomas. I tell him that I applied for the job and wanted to make sure he had gotten a chance to look over my application. His response was, "Oh, any management positions are decided through corporate. I don't have any say in the matter." So I take my leave...

I really am trying to find a new job and a place for us to live...

Well, what use is a blog post without some song lyrics...here are some lyrics to some songs that I've listened to a lot as of late...

Song one...

Blue in the broad light of day

Your claws are snagged on my face

Say it, I wish we would make it

And I wish that I could take it

When you turn on me

My arms miss you

My hands miss you

The stars sing, i've got their song in my head

Oh, I don't want my words twisted

I don't want you to listen too closely

Or wait for me impatiently

And I hope I can keep seeing you

As long as you don't say you're falling in love

And I can feel you're about to forget

Yes, I can feel you're about to forget...

Song two...

There's still nothing I can say to change

My news for you.

There's still nothing you can do to exchange

My dues to you.

Like you fit on me

To bit on me a bound.

This life that's shut on me

That shouldn't be the grounds

To emulate an epicene

To evaluate the sound,

The live, a winner needs,

A winner needs a want.

Never want to blame you,

Bound you, blame me,

Never want the blame you bound.

And where's the same,

And where's the strong,

and where's the guard,

And where's the one who tries to make you?

------

Anyways, that is what I've been up to as of late. See you all around.

END