The Desert and Beach

Just got back from some vacay in a little place they call Mexico. It was pretty sweet and I am totally not excited about being back home. Or going back to work. Especially going back to work.

I started off in The Cleve and flew to Phoenix, AZ. From there a complete stranger that I met via the interweb picked me and my lady friend up and we drove to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico (aka Rocky Point). There we hung out, drank beers and margaritas and ate tacos. But really the reason we went was to see Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers. They do an annual show there called Circus Mexicus. A little play on words there if you missed it. It was pretty great. Totally chill with hours of music (and I mean hours), drinking, fireworks, flip flops on my feet and sand under them. The next day was a little hangover brunch/gathering with some other bands providing the tunes, the guys from RCPM hanging out with their fans, some breakfast burritos and some beers to make things right again. Really fun. I think I might be doing it again next year so if you want to get on board, start thinking about it. Really. Do it.

After the Mañanathon it was time to hit the road back to Phoenix. And let me tell you, that desert? Nothing to fuck with. It is hot. Jesus. I’ve never exposed myself to that section of the world. My eyes were all dry and my lips were all dry and funky feeling. I don’t know if I could live in that. I did see a roadrunner which was cool. Speedy little fuckers. And there’s about a million miles to bury a dead body. That’s all I kept thinking about.

And let’s briefly speak about the border. On the way into Mexico there was nothing. There were like three speedbumps and four border guys + one dog just sitting at a table. No glances our way, no asking for a passport, no “where are you coming from”, no nothing. And then you get into Mexico and a few miles down the road it’s a “No Hassle Zone” which pretty much translates into “the cops aren’t going to do anything about anything.” So it becomes a racetrack. That’s fun. If only I had a gun. I could have fired it in the sky all wild, wild west style.

Of course, on the way back into the U.S. it’s all a different story. Border guards, passport swiping, quizzing, general attitude and staredowns are all part of the routine.

Anyway, back to Phoenix we went. There we parted ways with our nice car share amigo and spent the night in a motel by the airport. The next morning it was onto a flight to Cancun. Then a bus to Tulum where the rest of our time was spent.

Tulum was a cool little town. We stayed at a place right on the beach. It was a bit “rustic” as there was no electricity but who needs that crap? Actually, it was pretty warm. I wouldn’t have minded a ceiling fan. But whatever! The beach overshadows and cures the warmness. Mostly at least.

Although neither myself of my traveling companion opted to not opt that way, the place we stayed was “clothing optional” meaning I saw more penises than my previous vacations. Probably more than all of my previous vacations combined and definitely more than I needed. I also saw a good number of boobs that I didn’t really want to see. The general rule seemed to be: whoever I would have liked to see naked = not naked. The people I definitely did not want to see naked = very naked.

So beyond the nudity there was swimming, eating, drinking, some site seeing, some SCUBA diving, some meeting new people, some shopping, some napping, more drinking, etc. It was quite nice.

Then from there it was back to Cleveland via Charlotte, NC. Now it’s back to the grind and back to not blogging worth a poo.

Non-Human Sights

This is going to seem like it's from out of nowhere as I haven't posted anything in so long, but sometimes I enjoy Cleveland for its nature. Nature? Well, there isn't a ton right where I live, but it's certainly way more than when I lived in Manhattan. Or Brooklyn.

Tonight I was rowing (I've been rowing again) on the Cuyahoga and in the two hours I was out there I saw two rabbits, seagulls, one great blue heron, one woodchuck, sparrows, and a couple of fish (alive even). I'm sure all of those are around NYC, but I never saw them. Well maybe the sparrows and seagulls, but whatever. Don't rain on my parade. Anyway, the point is I like seeing non-human life. Especially along a river that has been written off as a burning joke for so long.

Keep making your come back, Crooked River.

I Do Stuff and Don't Write Ever

Hmmmm, maybe I should post something. God, this blog really is lame. Honestly it's sort of a sham even trying to call it a blog.

The sad thing is, I've actually done some stuff. I mean nothing making for a great story, but at least something to document for my own enjoyment. Anyway, what to report ...

I went to see Kottonmouth Kings at House of Blues. Nothing great, but it was enjoyable enough. Worth the cost of admission I'd say. KMKs obsession with weed sometimes gets a little tired, but that's their thing so I roll with it. And the kids seem to love it. The crowd was a pretty awful collection of trash. But entertaining, stoned as fuck trash so who am I to complain? Also cool was one of the openers, La Coka Nostra. Pretty much House of Pain with two extras doing all gangsta-themed tunes. Sometimes a bit corny with the toughguy act, but still so much better than all to so-called rap/hip-hop that is out today. As a nostalgia bonus, they even did three House of Pain songs. Dare I say timeless?

Also I went down to Pittsburgh to see the Penguins vs. Rangers. Pretty sweet. Good seats, a close game, some fights, some laughs. I like that Pittsburgh. It's a fun little city. Sort of what Cleveland should be but isn't. Damn this Cleveland.

Also, I had two high school friends visit. Both for one day only and separately. One on Thursday and then another on Monday. One was passing through town and then the other was in town for work. We did some site seeing (such as it is in the Cleve), eating, drinking and had some good laughs. Visitors are always fun.

This weekend Cleveland should be pretty active for once. It's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction. I'm not going because I am an idiot (or maybe smart, I'm not sure) but good for Cleveland. And for Metallica and Run DMC and the rest of the inductees.

That's it. I have to go shower, pay some bills and make some lunch for tomorrow. See you again soon at some point.

Boozing and Bearding

So, as previously mentioned, Saturday was the Y.O.T.B.F.B.! It was quite a success on the charity level and also on the fun level. (read more about the details here) A good time was had by all. Too good a time for yours truly it seems. It's now approximately 42 hours since I last had any booze go into my system and I still feel crappy. This is definitely in the top 5 of my worst hangovers ever. My yesterday (Sunday) went like this:

• 4am (thanks to the EST to EDT change) - Arrived home from bar
• noonish - woke up, decided some breakfast might be good. Went to breakfast joint. Ordered breakfast. Ate one bite of egg, one bite of potatoes, one bite of biscuit/gravy, and one piece of bacon then called it quits in fear of vomitus.
• 1pm - returned to couch
• Napped, watched bad Sunday TV, napped some more, drank some lemonade
• 4pm - cut off beard with clippers
• Returned to couch for more napping
  
• 6pm - ordered Chinese food
• Attempted to eat a little soup. Pretty much had two spoonfuls of the broth. Went back to the couch
• 8pm - Simpsons begin. Fall asleep.
• 9:15pm - wake up, eat a small plate of rice and noodles from Chinese food
• 10pm - in bed
  

So as you can see, a pretty wholesome day. It's always bad when I don't/can't eat. That's never a good sign whether it's hangover, germ or mental related.

Today I woke up, still feeling not so great. I ate today, but my stomach is still less than happy with me. I'm sure there are other organs equally as mad too. They're just waiting to let me know at a later date I'm guessing. Probably with some sort of failure or cancer or something.

Anyway, I may need some time off before doing that sort of thing again. Yikes. But there were some laughs and some ridiculous photos and then additional laughs so maybe it was all worth it.

Saturday Night Game Plan

Of course I was going to mention this earlier, but I didn't so now we're down to crunch time ... this is what I'll be doing tonight: Y.O.T.B.F.B.!

I've got a beard and everything! The beard will probably be gone tomorrow, but I'm pretty confident that a hangover will be taking its place. All in the name of charity. And foolishness.

R.I.P. Macho B

Sadly, the Jaguar in the article I mentioned a couple of posts ago is no more: Rare Arizona Jaguar Euthanized

Stupid kidneys.

A Bunch of Stuff

Not surprisingly I have been absent from my blogging for longer than intended. Again. Oddly, I have actually had things to write about, but just haven't sat down to do it. Why? Who could say? I know I have a list of potential reasons, but none are really valid so F it. I won't even try.

Let's see, maybe a little recap of things that have happened that could have been cool stories, but since I am packing them into one post it will be perhaps slightly abbreviated ...

Number 1, football. I play in a league with some work folk. It's co-ed and two-hand touch. This sounds like a good combination for perverts such as myself, but two things hinder the perversion. One, it's winter and everybody wears lots of clothes, including gloves and two, most of the girls are scary and not really the sorts that I want to touch. And I'm guessing for the most part they aren't into the gents anyway. That's purely speculation, but I'll stick with my gut on this one.

Every week football is a mess. There are (again) two factors that influence this. One, we are pretty awful and two, Mother Nature. Every week the weather and the field conditions are different. Muddy, snowy, frozen, rain, slush, wind, you name it.

Three memorable football events over the last few weeks: One week it was sort of warm. I even wore shorts. BUT, there was leftover snow on the ground. This snow was melting, but not entirely, so we were playing in slushy water the whole game. Water over the tops of my feet. Ice water essentially. Our feet were so numb by the end that it was scary. I was seriously wondering if I had done permanent damage. As it turns out, I'm a overreacting pussy and we were fine. But Jesus that was uncomfortable. Also a highlight of that game, and memorable moment number two, is a girl from the other team gave a guy on my team the hardest slap I've ever seen administered. It was awesome. And really over nothing. His face was red until halftime and she got kicked out. The last memorable moment that I will mention is the game following the slush and the slap. My friend Mike and I were playing defense and guarding our guys, when they crossed each other we managed to run into each other full steam. We both got knocked pretty good, but Mike went down. When I got to him his mouth was a bloody mess and he was looking dazed. He eventually got up and made his way to the sidelines before eventually going home. His teeth were all intact as was his nose. After he had left, another guy on my team asked, "What part of you ran into him?" I said, "I think it was my shoulder but I'm not sure. But my shoulder sort of hurts so I'm guessing that was it." He said, "Oh yeah, it was your shoulder." I look and there is blood spatter and a piece of lip on the shoulder of the fleece I was wearing. Update: Photo now available here. I'm a murderer.

Number 2, I went to a pretty sweet birthday party at a place just east of downtown CL. The bar was great. 100 years old, cool owners/bartenders, good jukebox, snacks, beers I never see anymore (Stroh's?) a dog, a cat and fun times all around. Read these little blurbs about this place here and you'll get the idea: Playboy | Esquire

Number 3, I attended a show at Beachland Ballroom. It was Tim Fite as the headliner with Benjy Ferree and Elephant Bones opening. I had listened to Benjy Ferree online and was sort of looking forward to it live but was slightly let down. I like the more "old timey" sounding stuff (e.g. "Fear" on the MySpace page) but there wasn't all that much of that. They were fine. I guess I was just expecting something a bit different. Thumbs up to local guys, Elephant Bones. A good sound. Solid, gimmick-free rock (other than the singer's hat I suppose.) Fite was odd but good. Certainly entertaining. It's cool to see someone just doing their thing. I'm sure he's not making much (if any) money, but he keeps making weird, non-radio friendly music (art?) because that's what he wants to do. Amen to that.

Number 4, I had shingles. Not the flat, tar/stone sheets that go on your roof. This sort of shingles. My waist along my left side felt weird for like a week, almost like I had dry skin or like my pants had rubbed there or something, but I couldn't see anything. Then one day I woke up and the whole area (especially heading down towards my crotch) was tender and it hurt to sit. When odd feelings start progressing towards my "junk" I get nervous, so I went to the doctor. He knew right away what I had. I got some medicine to decrease the discomfort, I rested up a bit and now I'm pretty much back to 100%. I'm a medical misfit!

Alright, I'm going to go finish a movie I started yesterday and get to bed. I'll try to come back and give you a little update on this coming weekend as well as an update on some communications.