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...
