Barely knowing left from right... or anything at all...

I forgot I had one of these... I've been too busy working an hour and a half a night.

For those loyal followers, I am alive and well, here in New Orleans, Louisiana. You know it as the Big Easy, I know it as the Big Teasy - a carrot dangling from the stick to lure us out to Bourbon St. with no ramifications in sight... until a 5am bus call. Do we dare? I'm sure there are some, but I've retired for the night at 10:02 CDT.

And here I bring you another grandeur offering... where did I leave off?

California

Words cannot begin to describe. So perhaps pictures will do its justice.



California, indescribable as once previously noted. A good friend from high school, Paul Franz journey'd the treacherous US-101 for 5 hours just to come see me and pay $25 for parking in San Francisco. We went out an explored the city the first night and took a golden day (The company term for no show/no travel) around the bay. For those who have not experienced San Francisco, it's quite an adventure. There's definitely something for everyone... and we mean everyone. We were fortunate enough to encounter sunny skies and above-freezing temperatures (for once) and blow a whole wad of wallet stuffings on Starbucks.

Tuesday was the San Luis Obispo show, and to get down there (3.5 hours south) we took the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway for you other 49 staters) down the entire way. Talk about the scenic route....


It was the most beautiful scenery that these green eyes have witnessed. I now have desktop backgrounds for the rest of my life. Well worth the extra 2.5 hour detour, although I could've used another windbreaker or two as driving with the windows down and the sunroof open during 50 degree weather wasn't the most pleasant of temperatures. We give and we take...

After San Luis Obispo, our next stop was in Washington for the Yakima show. It was only like... 900 miles away. A two day travel excursion brought us from SLO to Weed, CA. I know... I know.

But it was beautiful...

Err... let's try that again...


That's more like it. I went on a single person hike up to Mt. Shasta. I didn't make it too far as you see that hill a few feet in the distance was a railroad running parallel to Shasta with no path to the mountain. Enjoyable experience nonetheless.

These are just a mere fraction of the pictures, so for those interested in seeing more beautiful $119 camera photographs, I encourage you to check out the following links for their corresponding albums:

"A Drowsy San Francisco"
"A Drowsy Day in the Bay"
"A Drowsy Scenic Route - California, USA"


Washington

George did us well with his namesake state. What was most surprising was the unusually warm springtime weather. Pacific northwest... 77 degrees? Really? I'll take it and run with it. A couple of great shows in Yakima and Bellingham (I'll have you know Bellingham is about as far away from Tampa as I could get. Think... Upper Left Hand Corner of the United States of America country. Wiki it, it's there!)

Montana

Land of the big sky... and not much else. One show in Butte, and then onto Utah.

Utah

Logan, Utah, our only 2 shows, were quite possibly the best 2 of the season. The theater not only catered us a delicious 105-course meal, but they did it twice... and paid for our hotel rooms. In response what did we do? Make fun of them

"And we can all get married in one big clump! That's how they do it in Utah!"

They loved it. And we waited 115 days for it to happen.

We had a semi-golden day in Logan, and I took advantage along with $30 of cab fare out of my brown leather money holder to do some trail hiking in the Wasatch-Cache mountains in Logan Canyon. Will this entice you to see...


the rest of the album? Let it be known to the world, that was one of the best days of my life. Hiking for 6 hours, breathing in the freshest air in the world, and falling 25 feet down a bed of rocks profusely bleeding from both legs. I couldn't have had it any other way. Check out the rest of the album... it's horrendously beautiful.

New Mexico

was probably the worst day on tour as far as "health and well-being" was concerned. We had a 530am bus call to Alto, New Mexico, and a drive in double (two shows in one day), where the elevation was 7000 ft above sea level. I've never felt so out of breath in my life. There were oxygen tanks backstage for the cast -- I wish we had an amenity down there in the pit! Funny thing about Alto - there's nothing funny. Because there's nothing. Alto is home to a theater and an abundance of tumbleweeds. But according to Wikipedia, "The community is most noted as being a thriving artist community and is home to the Spencer Theater of Performing Arts."

Here's a view from the entrance to the theater. No J-Box for miles!

It was quite cool nonetheless. Desolation is eerie. And eerily awesome.

Tejas

11 hours + 1 hour time change to the 'optional "x" somewhere in there' state.... we were in the land of Oil, Cowboys, BBQ, and an abundant amount of cattle... and these crazy things called Farm-to-Market roads...?!?!?

I wanted the freedom to explore Texas on my own, so I rented a vehicle from Dallas since we were performing shows in neighboring cities (Tyler and Waco). I went to go see old high school friends Chuck and Laura who were in the Ft. Worth area along with a drum corps/Durant buddy Tim who was down at UT in Austin.

I visited Chuck and Laura on Tuesday. The brought me to a cattle roundup in the stockyards of Ft. Worth...


That one's self-explanitory... and then to Babe's Chicken, which is supposedly the greatest fried chicken in the galaxy. It nearly edged out Gus's in Memphis... too hard to compare and contrast, but the biscuits were fabulous-o...



Went to get some authentic Dr. Pepper (before the High Fructose Corn Syrup gang came along and found a cheaper alternative to making America obese) and took an obligatory picture.


Boy have we gotten old. Mothers, Fathers, and touring broadway musicians. It was just yesterday we were all sitting in front of and behind each other in band class at Lake Howell HS... and causing mischief all over the place.

Austin -- was weird. They embrace it! Hippies, lunatics, free spirits, and people with clipboards asking you to sign petitions about abortions and greenhouse gases.


What a country we live in. After seeing downtown and the capitol (which Tim claims is the largest capitol in America -- even toppling the height of the D.C. one), we headed to the Worst BBQ in Texas at Rudy's.


This place is attached to a Shell Station. You've got me listening! Buy your Beef Brisket by the pound, specify lean, moist, or extra moist, receive a truckload of bread, and start stacking!


Anyone want in on a road trip this summer? I know a great place to fill up for gas ;)

Ask me next time about the bats. All 1.5 million of them.

After successful stops in Tyler, Waco, Shreveport Louisiana, Orange, and Galveston, we ended our North Mexico adventure in Corpus Christi, home of the late Tejano diva, Selena.


That's me and Sukh out by the rocks. This area was at the discretion of the guests because of damage from Hurricane Ike, but we took our chances as we would... I took my chances at being short. I came out on top.

And on...

That brings us to tonight. As mentioned an hour ago (I can't believe my attention span lasted this long), a 5am bus call leads us to Georgia. Two shows in Columbus and Macon and then to the promised land.



Start.

Your.

Engines.

P 90 Ouch

Don't worry -- I'll explain later. If I can...

THIS my friends, is procrastination at its finest! Nearly one month without an update - don't you hate me? Does anyone even read this thing anymore? Is this thing on?

Coming back into America - a blessing. Back to dollars and cents, pollution, and the land of the free, home of the recession. Brief tour of the Midwest highlighted such places as Elyria, Ohio and Muncie, Indiana, home of Ball State University.

Here's a photo from the Ball State sound check. Ironic that I brought my sunglasses in that day. They sure came in handy (until lighting adjusted the spotlight to the stage).


Ball State, you ask? Ah.... you may remember them from the 2008 football season as the worst fall from grace since USF vs Rutgers. Here's a little spy action of the 2009 scrimmage preview.


Don't ask, don't tell.... don't care. There was a track next to the stadium so I decided to take a quick jog. This was the most perfect day on tour so far... temperature wise. A breezy and balmy 72 degrees -- who could ask for anything more? Well... while we're asking...


Madison, Wisconsin. Welcome home, my friends. Just thinking about it turns the corners of my mouth upward. What a fantastic town. We were in Madison for a full 5 days and I took advantage of every single minute. We arrived there on a Wednesday and I never felt more motivated to see the city (again)... and see it fast. I went for an 8.82 mile, 1 hour and 15 minute fun run down to UW-Madison, up Regent Street, to the Capitol, and back to the hotel on Lake Mendota. Let it be known that I've never run farther than that. Keep that in the back of your mind, for some not-surprising news will come later in this missive.

The next day, did a 9.75 mile, 4 hour fun 'stroll' around the Capitol, to Monona Terrace, down State Street, up Washington Avenue, and back to UW-Madison and its surrounding areas. I'm sure there's a Nike sponsorship out there for me somewhere. Here's me on the 2nd floor of the Wisconsin State Capitol (where amendments are born, and whey is curded)


I'll have you know that the previous photo was taken with my 'new-new' Sony Cybershot III. For some reason, my old one (which was previously my Sony Cybershot II) had to peter out and stop working... 3 months after I bought it. Thanks, Japan. After calling tech support and scoping out Madison on foot for a store that sold Sony Cameras, I was out of luck... UNTIL....we had a show in Wausau, Wis. during the week and it so happened that there was a Sears right next to the theater where we were performing. I had 20 minutes to get from sound check, to Sears, back to half-hour call. Alas, Sony Cybershot III was born, purchased, and became a new member of the digital family. For anyone in the market (ah who am I kidding with this economy), Sony Cybershot I is still at home. 3.1MP, 1x Optical Zoom. $5.79 asking price?

The next day in Madison, my laptop decided to stop working! Just my luck. Turns out the system wouldn't boot into Windows (or even past DOS for that matter). Well, I was in Madison for the next 2 days and HAD to get it fixed. All of my system restore and backup disks were at home, and I had to figure out how to get this to a technician stat. I called up Geek Squad -- 5-7 days max. Great, I'd be in New York by then. After checking with the concierge (how come that isn't i after e except after c?) at the hotel, he suggested Madison Geeks down by Gammon Road. Called them up, explained the issue, and they said they would get it done in a day.

Gammon Road from downtown Madison... 12 miles. Cab fare would've added up to $104 round trip... so I pondered... "If I got a rental car for the day, it would be $30... and I'd have the freedom to drive!". Turns out on a Saturday, rental car agencies were open -- but closed on Sunday. We were leaving Madison on Monday morning, so this presented an issue. But then I thought... "I know a rental car place open 7 days a week, so I can return it on Sunday"


Oh snap... Hotel shuttle batmobile'd be over the Dane County Airport, got the car, and got on the Beltline to Madison Geeks. Long story short, there was a video driver issue that wouldn't load, they reinstalled Windows, uninstalled it, and reinstalled the 'correct version' of Windows (64-bit, for my cheap-o Toshiba), backed up my files, and I got the rental car back just in time on Sunday. In between that time frame I HAD to stop at Culver's. I mean -- this was life or death! Had to take advantage of having wheels to take me to iconic eateries.

Cheddar ButterBurger with Bacon and Custard. Does a body bad.

Did I mention Madison has absolutely the best places to eat? Culver's, Rocky Rococo, Noodles and Co., and a Big 10/Big East favorite, which was recommended to me by some of the band, DP Dough. We aren't messing around here. 39 different calzones, all under $6. What was the Madison favorite? The Buffer Zone of course... Chicken, Mozzarella, Ranch, and Hot Sauce


I've never died happier. This was the most amazing calzone I've ever tasted. Univ of Illinois Champaign-Urbana is coming up and I intend to make the trip to their local franchise to pick me up another one. If you'd like to join me, I'll be there on Friday at 7:00pm. You'll know it's me, I have green eyes.

We left Madison on Monday after a great 5 days and headed on back to the east for Syracuse and Scranton. It just so happens that the rods and screws on my bass clarinet had to bend. Well, add it to the pile, add it to the stack. I'm just an accident waiting to happen (I'm sorry...if you were here, you could punch me)...

A $60 quick fix later, we're back on the road. Ah, March 27th in Scranton, PA. Another day, another day older. But this one marked the anniversary, the 28th to be exact. How embarrassed was I when Roberto made me stand in front of the entire company at the catered dinner...


That embarrassed. Thanks for the slice of strawberry cheesecake. They made me carry that balloon -- so people knew it was my birthday. Thanks Drowsy, you're the best.

Back to the Midwest tour after that -- first stop in Indiana, Bloomington to be exact. I mentioned about a year ago in this entry about some 'not-so-surprising' news? Well, turns out since Madison (you know... that 18.6 mile trek in 2 days) I was having a considerable amount of pain in my knees. I went to the Bloomington Hospital to get it checked out. Let's see the damage:



Boys and girls, welcome to anti-inflammatory-land. No running for 4 weeks either. Well, I already broke that rule. I wonder if knee replacement is covered under our health fund here at NETworks... I guess only one way to find out ;)

I'll be fine. But speaking of exercise, the title post. Evidently there's this new fitness craze sweeping the country (ok, well maybe not sweeping... I think we just saw it on TV in Peoria) called P90X. XTREEEEMMEEEE!!!!

P90X, or Power 90 Extreme is a home exercise system. Sukh and Dave thought it was a great idea to start it to see what it was all about, and he got all 11 DVD's from his brother-in-law in Bloomington.

Here's what it's all about (from Wikipedia)

The P90X system is a 90-day workout routine that utilizes a technique called "muscle confusion" which requires changing exercises over the days and weeks such that the body has difficulty adapting and prevents exercise plateauing. The system include strength training, cardio, and stretching. Notably, in addition to pull-up and push-up emphasizing workouts, the system also stresses overall body fitness by including plyometrics (jump training), yoga, and kenpo.

Well... I've already been doing my weight training and cardio, but they asked me to jump into it with them as well. Ah why not?

All I can say, it's not for the weak-hearted. It's boot camp without the Drill Sergeant yelling at you. We're all thinking of ordering T-shirts and wearing them when we train. We're just that cool.

On the back it says "Bring it", one of the catch phrases that lures you into its lair. We all want it to say "We're gonna get ripped".

3 more days of the Midwest, and then it's off to the Left Coast. As Al Jolson said

"California, here I come!"

See you in PDT...

Dedication... eh?

This one is for my mother -- because I've neglected to update this in eons. Apologies in advance for those following at home...

Left off in Waterbury, Connecticut, didn't we? That began the 2 day trek across the midwest to Peoria, Illinois. Ah, the midwest, just like I remembered it from the drum corps days. Lots of corn and the twang of accents.

Some notable stops in the midwest included West Lafayette, Indiana, home of the Purdue Boilermakers. I hadn't seen a train as a mascot since UCF's Knight helmet. Took a sneak peek into the band hall -- the ever so fabled world's largest bass drum. It's folklore that the rim is still out there, as we could only find the head...

The great part about the midwest was the fact that the layoff was coming. Not to say I'm not enjoying my time on tour, but there's much to be said about returning home. Dorothy was right.

Before ending our tour, we made our obligatory stops in Portsmouth, Ohio and Ashland, KY. Only separated by the Ohio River, the sight was gorgeous. If by gorgeous we mean, "Wherever I am going to be tomorrow, it will be 50 degrees warmer"

Current state: Ohio. That grassy knoll is what we like to call 'Kentucky'.

The layoff couldn't have come any sooner. Unfortunately, mother nature had to rear its ugly face and douse the entire eastern seaboard with a copious amount of the white stuff. My connecting flight to Tampa was in Charlotte, and it was delayed 2.5 hours. Worked a little deal with USAir and changed my flight from 2:30 to 6:30 to accommodate seeing my brother, sister-in-law and my nephew in Charlotte. Fun times had by all - little Cracker Barrel, little hahaGregg, and a mall trip occupied our afternoon. My flight from 6:30 got delayed to 7:00. Then to 7:45, and finally to 8:00. No amount of peanuts or pretzels could forgive this travel folly.

But when we landed in Tampa and it was 50 degrees... not 28, 14, 6, or 22....I could've been content with wearing shorts and a wife-beater (not that I would wear one). Thank you -- thank you life.

While the rest of America was plowing on more firewood, here's a brief summation of my layoff:



Let me elaborate since they sometimes pictures don't explain the full story.

1) Mall
2) Beach
3) Jetski

Of course, long awaited reunions with friends, students, and mortgage/condo/insurance/cable/internet companies filled the rest of the break. I'm glad to report that all of my business was taken care of on the first day.

A bunch of us went to the Rays spring training vs. Puerto Rico down in Port Charlotte. I participated in one of those 'let's fill in this dead time between the middle of the 3rd inning' promotions and played a game of "Let's Make a Deal". Prize: Tampa Bay Rays Nike Hat. Mystery Box: ???

Mystery box it is. Turns out it was a baseball signed by... the guy announcing the game. Wonderful. He felt bad because it was a gag gift and gave me the hat as well. Alright, free hat!

Capped the week off in Pinellas @ BD's and Tilted Kilt and said goodbye to Tampa (and possibly my last glimpse at 80 degrees) for two months.

And now, for something totally different...


Ugh. Canada. Number 1, not a fan of leaving my cell phone on airplane mode for the next week. No texts, no internet, no calls -- no fun. Of course, one could make the argument that you should just pay the roaming fees if you're that desperate, but I think I can manage. I... think.

So Canada -- Number 2, it's cold. Again. We started out in the Toronto airport (all of us of course). Got a picture of the national animal...


anyways... after we all met up, we made our way to Kitchener...

Grace about Kitchener -- GoodLife Fitness. Amazing gym right across the way from the hotel.

Onto North Bay, about 5 hours to the north-north-north. Another bitter cold day and night for Drowsy. Saving grace about North Bay - tried Poutine.

America is missing this one. This French-Canadian delicacy must be implemented on every menu in the states. Fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Really -- who would've thunk? Now I can die happy... and fat.

After North Bay came Brampton. Now here's a town with character! Taco Bell and KFC and everything! Brampton was (is, as I'm currently reporting from the HoJo here in said city) a quaint little town. A hair outside of Toronto, and still miles away from "the states". Here's me in front of the Rose Theatre (that's right, r before e up here).


We ended up in London, Ontario and played an arena show 2 inches above the ice. Funny fact as it was warmer outside than in the arena.

Took some beautiful pictures of London, as you can see, down by the Riverwalk...


And so we end our venture to our neighbor up in the northeast. Began bitter because of the cell phone roaming and such, but all in all, it was pleasant.

Onto the U.S. of A... and... customs. Welcome back to the homeland...

Oops... I forgot to do it again...

Update the blog that is. It's been an exhausting trip over the past couple of weeks up here in the northeast. Lots of travel, lots of cold, and an inordinate amount of snow. Where did I leave off, Burlington, Vermont?

Burlington, Vermont was a city I couldn't spend enough time in. Downtown was absolutely stunning, the lake was gorgeous, and the atmosphere was breathtaking. This city opened up a lot of firsts: My first glimpse of real snow (and I'm not talking about the flurries of Madison, Wis.), the obligatory "snow angel" (which I agreed to be pushed into), and the taste of why people up in the northeast detest Floridians when we think 50 degrees is cold. When your face burns, your lips crack, and the wind petrifies your ears, we have some issues folks.

A 3 degree high and an adventure that may be a little risque (walking across Lake Champlain) and you've got yourself one for the memory books:


Rochester, New York... we could have done without. We had a full week + 1 day in this titletown of sludge and a decent BBQ place about 10 minutes down the road. I'd have to say the most exciting thing in this city was that I got laundry done. Would you believe I didn't take any pictures? It was depressing. Maybe for the fact I spent 9 whole days on the Aerobed in my 'corner' dubbed by many (where I felt it was necessary to go to bed every night at 10pm). I think the only anecdote to depression was getting out of Rochester. We'll always remember the exit music when the crowd opened the door -- as I quote Milhouse's grandma...

"CLOSE THE DOOR - YOU'RE LETTING THE HEAT OUT!"

Elmira, New York had a nice pizza place? Supposedly Mark Twain's gravesite which graced some of the cast's facebook albums. It was a nice change of pace and a good show overall.

New Brunswick, New Jersey, oh heavens. Your only redeeming quality is that you were SO CLOSE to New York City. We arrived to this trashheap of a town passing Rutgers on the way (oh great) only to find ourselves in the HoJo. I did some research, and evidently it's been renovated, I don't know -- 15 times? With every passing renovation I'm sure they've changing their name along the way. I'll have you know it used to be a Days Inn, Motel 6, or Red Roof Inn (don't worry - they painted it).

Enough about that (because that's all there really is to know). NEW YORK CITY! I didn't have enough time even though I left at 6am to get there. It was just AMAZING.

Check out the slideshow of the adventures through Manhattan and beyond!

After I conquered my fears about having to navigate through the subway, I just used common sense, acted like a tourist (by being 'that guy' who sat next to the maps on the train), and got to where I needed to go. Times Square, Top of the Rock, WTC, The Financial District, The Theater District, and a little slice of Central Park. Unfortunately my time (6 hours to be exact) was cut severely short because I had to head back to NJ for sound check. If I have any extra money laying around (ah, who am I kidding) it's going to pay the mortgage.

Then after that... maybe NYC again!

Saturday in New Brunswick was great -- the matinee, I got to see the family! Mom, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Mark, Evan, Rhonda, Todd, Aimee, Ian, Eric, and David. We all went out to Tumulty's and talked about anything and everything. I hadn't seen Mom's side (Sandy/Mark/Evan) since '92 , and the Tremaines since '06 and '07. It was nice to share stories of old and new -- particularly about dad. It was good to hear them -- you'll never get sick of those offerings. They become even more sacred after his passing, so it was nice to relive them for a brief couple of hours.

Binghamton, New York was like a 6 hour trip. Not enough to remember except there was a decent pizza place around the block. It seemed that there were signs of a warming trend... like... around 35... 38 degrees? I suppose it was all in my head, because it wasn't there the next morning.

Erie, PA was the theater that everyone had a story about. Warner Theater, quite possibly 490 years old (a tad overboard, but I just used that to get attention) was the most lavish theater by far. Look at the old ticket booth for instance!


Ah that doesn't do its justice. Look at this -- holy lobby, Batman!


So elegant. I wish I could say the same about the space in the pit. We were stacked like Blue Devils '94 in there (I understand some of you may not comprehend the drum corps reference, but for those of you who do, that one's for you -- after all, I have to try to expand my clientele past the 3 people that read this)

Utica, New York was a twofer two-day. The first day we arrived,,, sunny and Utica-esque. The next day, everything broke loose...

WARNING: ..there's your warning



May not be the most attractive of sights, but when you're being pelted with snow showers, nobody looks good. Especially yours truly. HOWEVER, this gave Dave and I a great opportunity to build the long awaited snowman we were going to build in Rochester. But alas, we were depressed. Onto the parking lot!

Would you expect anything less? Only difference is THIS Matt Grothe can withstand frigid temperatures. We're still waiting on the 'real one' to man up against UConn and WVU. Senior year, next year baby!

York, PA was another wonderful venue, and an even more elegant hotel. Of course, these one-nighters take a toll on you as you don't stay long enough to appreciate the historic value, but still acknowledge. York was great because Melody came down and sat in the first couple of rows -- and then the mass confusion ensued and she didn't get to see me after the show. $65 and an hour of traffic later - I'm sorry I failed you... again :(

Great thing about the York show was all the NETworks office showed up. Got to do the meet and greet game, have fun, hang out, and in between all of that, do more laundry (for free!). I got to wear my new shirt and jeans from AE, since I stopped being Jewish and actually bought something for once on this tour...

Any takers? My favorite drink is water...

So that brings us to Waterbury, CT. I think I can speak for most of the company that the aspect we're most looking forward to is sleeping in tomorrow. I feel like I've had an aggregate total of 8 hours of sleep over the past week. Time to make it 17 (give it take an hour). See you soon!

Trust me

No matter where you are right now, it probably doesn't look as bad as this:


Burlington, VT 1/30/09

All good things must come to an end..

...like one nighters. It depends what your definition of "good" is. We've been without internet (oh no... HOW will I survive?) since Panama City -- 5 days of Facebook Mobile. I wonder what people did before the internet. Oh wait, I was there. Probably just watch reruns of "Legends of the Hidden Temple" and Cosby.

So here's a conversation that I neglected to add last entry:

Dave: "YEAH MAN, SATURDAY, USF VS NOVA"
Jason: "Pffft... dude, no way"
Dave: "Dude, lets GO to the game!"
Jason: "Dude, we have a show in Daytona that night..."
Dave: "Yeah, but what time is call?"
Jason: "530" Dave: "Wait... dude the game starts at 1200pm... it'll be 2 hours..."

.... It was then the entire room started freaking out -- we were going to Tampa. So we needed to rent a car, split gas 4 ways (Gregg, our illustrious percussionist wanted to hitch a ride), and it was decided that we were going to stay at my condo in Tampa Palms. We were going to drive to Tampa after the Gainesville show on Friday, go to the USF game on Saturday, drive to Daytona for Saturday Night, drive back to Tampa, and then drive to Sarasota the next day. Read on to see if it was worth it...

Panama City was nothing short of amazing. Great crowd, great show, great reception. They had these meatballs, Jesus. I must've eaten 40 of them... at once. They had strawberry cheese spread, southwest chicken rollups, and your other typical finger food/hors d'œuvre.

Gainesville on Friday... first of many 'home shows' I have labeled -- if you classify a home show as "I have friends going". Goldberg, Kim, Nic, Phil, Andy, Becky, and other assorted companions were in attendance. We got to Gainesville around 200pm and Nic picked us up from the hotel and brought us to AVIS. Goodbye bus, hello Chevy Cobalt. Really?

Hung out for a little, deposited a check, went to Chipotle, missed Chipotle, went over the Phillips Center, gave Nic the grand tour, shoo'd him out, and got ready for the show. Gainesville was a great crowd - very involved, lots of laughs, excellent response. We all went to Ale House afterwards... Becky and Andy had to bail before the pic was taken... THANKS! :(

After Ale House, my carmates had to take their sweet time leaving the city. Essentially, all you really need to know is we arrived in Tampa circa 336am to a very groggy Harry Freeman. Thanks for the keys to my car/foreclosed condo -- I owe you my life.

Let me tell the world how great it was to be home. Without internet... without cable... without any amenities... just laying there in my bed -- Dorothy was right. There really is no place. I was in heaven -- I can't believe how much I missed it. It will make it all more special when I head back to Tampa on my March layoff.

I decided to forego the USF game to go stop by Tampa Palms. I surprised one of my old chorus parents and her kids by showing up to her house. They were the ones responsible for holding my "going away" party about a month ago, and it's been forever since I've seen them. I was greeted with piercing screams and the ever so predictable "what are you doing here?'


It was great to see them. Boy, I miss Tampa Palms -- those kids were phenomenal. Picked Dave, Sukh, and Gregg up at the game and bolted towards Daytona. Made it just in time. The setup in Daytona was reversed so I got to see the show from the wall of the pit (closest to the 1st row). Mike Livingston made accomodates because I had the large instruments -- how considerate. Went to Friendly's afterwards (obligatory), got back to Tampa at around 1230am, and crashed for the night.

Sunday was a day from hell:

9am - Wake
9am - Missed alarm
1030am - Wake
1100am - Gregg wanted me to drop him off at the Casino
1120am - Hard Rock for Gregg
1130am - Drive to Sam Ash for reeds / Bed Bath and Beyond for AeroBed
100pm - Back home to clean up and pick up the trumpeters
130pm - Drop them off at USF to get reacquainted

... uh oh.... I have to be in Sarasota by 3pm to hang with Ryan and gang.

That just became 4pm.

And call... was at 5pm, instead of 530pm. The window just got even shorter...

220pm - Pick up Gregg at Hard Rock
237pm - Pick up Dave and Sukh at USF
250pm - Pita Republic
258pm - BK Lounge
303pm - Shell
410pm - Sandcastle Hotel in Sarasota

Oh no... this is awful... I got to Sarasota at 415pm amid much of the 'darkness' that occured in the car. Don't worry about that -- I'll explain some other time

420pm - Wings, Carrots, Salad (without forks) Coke, catching up quick with Ryan/Trista/Trista's Family at the Beach park
430pm - Picked up Gregg, Dave, and Sukh
440pm - Finally left the hotel...
456pm - Made it on time for Call... phew

Then I got a text from Gerard (who graced the Van Wezel hall that night with Harry and Dan)

"We can't find Harry's ticket. Is it in the same place."

UGH. I ran up to the box office to go find them, exchanged tickets out, and matters were clear. Hey! Dan, Gerard, and Harry! Good to see those fools!

Quick stop at Publix between the curtain and the soundcheck and we were off.

Sarasota's crowd -- a bit dead. Just like the populous. But having my friends there made it all the worthwhile.


730am Bus Call today... stopped in Gainesville for lunch -- ugh, I really can't escape this gator garbage. Show in Tallahassee tonight -- ARENA SHOW. That was... disgustingly fun. What was better was the fact that the first row was literally 3 feet away from my bari sax. Hope you had fun staring at me, blue haired lady with the well dressed husband.

We ate like kings and queens afterwards -- the "Drowsy Chaperone Celebrity Club" threw us an enormous buffet that could feed a third world county and its neighboring jurisdiction(s). Wings, meatballs, pasta, turkey, ham, spinach dip, pastries, ice cream, dessert shooters, fruits, cheeses, etc... it just never stopped. The ice sculpture was a hit as well...


Taken before the inevitable. Great times, great friends, great food, great ice.

North Charleston, SC tomorrow. Bus leaves at 630am, up at 600! God, help us all. Tomorrow ends our one nighters -- we'll finally be able to wake up after the sun! End of the week, Northeast United States. Get ready :(