Acting like a college kid...

Just a couple of things on my mind tonight after a day spent doing laundry and cleaning my apartment. Or more accurately, a day spent lying on my couch watching old episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 while hoping that my apartment would begin to magically clean itself while the laundry elves attacked the pile of clothes in my bedroom.

In what I consider to be classic EC style, on my way to see Carbon Leaf in concert I roll my ankle while just walking down the sidewalk. Seriously, I’m so clumsy I can’t walk down the street perfectly sober without injuring myself. Didn’t do any major damage (thanks to the fact that I wear hiking boots for this very reason) but let me tell you, it is so much fun to roll your ankle and then stand for four straight hours without moving. Yeah, that was a new type of pain. The type where walking back to your car fills you with dread.

Thankfully, it was a great show. This marks the fifth time I’ve seen the band despite the fact that a part of me wants to hate the band because the lead singer is this good looking guy with a magnetic personality and I find it totally unfair for a guy to get to be all that and be in a rock band. However, the music is really good so that counters the fact that I’m a jealous bastard when it comes to other people being successful.

This was the first time that I’ve ever seen Carbon Leaf headline and you could actually tell that they weren’t used to it. Even the band seemed to grow tired after 70 minutes, like they were so used to being off the stage by that point. They’re a college rock band at heart but on a Saturday night in a college town that is exactly what you want to listen to. Not every band has to sing about saving the world. The highlight was easily the encore when the band did a completely unplugged, unamplified version of “Learn to Fly”. It’s always impressive when a band can pull something like that off and they had the musicianship and presence to do so.

In other news, it’s dawned on me that I do need to figure out what I’ll do on Wednesday night. Right now my options are a) play trivia, b) see Air Supply in concert at the casino or c) settle down with a bottle of Jack Daniels and moan about my existence. Wow, when playing trivia in a bar is the most psychologically sound option it tends to put your life in perception. I know, I know, this is my annual bitching about Valentine’s Day but it just bothers me that we have this one day a year that seems to exist solely to remind single people how alone they are in the world. It’s like a day dedicated to proving how meaningless your life is just because you happen to be really comfortable in your own skin and don’t have to justify your existence based on who you have next to you. Not that I’m bitter or anything.

Still, the number I saw today is that the average American will spend 120 bucks on Valentine’s Day. That’s a lot of trivia games in my book. When you factor in the people like me who spend nothing you wonder what that number really is.

Oh, and speaking of bitterness, is it right for me to be jealous of a cartoon character? On the Simpsons I was upset with Bart for a) not marrying Natalie Portman when he had the opportunity and b) getting to make out with Natalie Portman on general principles. Even though I was nicknamed Bart before the Simpsons ever aired and have viewed Bart as a somewhat alter ego I’m still upset about this. Not as upset as I am about the fact that the show seemed to jump the shark a good six years ago yet it continues to air and ruin its legacy but upset nonetheless.

The five random CDs for the week:
1) Jay Farrar “Stone, Steel & Bright Lights”
2) Alejandro Escovedo “Por Vida”
3) The Insiders “Not for Sale”
4) Jeff Buckley “Grace”
5) Belly “King”