Word Association?

My last blog go me thinking a lot about the mind and how it works, I know each person would respond differently to what I am about to propose.  I'm going to 'google' a phrase, and go to the first results, and see where that leads me.  Before I begin I would like to point out the scientific research community is NOT in support of this and I am responsible for any outcome that may ensue here on out.

Random Phrase: 'Random Thoughts'
1st Google Result: www.randomthoughts.ws
Page Entry: "Jealous of what."

On Your Marks

 GO!!!!

When I hear the work 'Jealous' the first this that comes to mind is the song 'Hey Jealousy' by the Gin Blossoms.  In that song there is a line, 'we could drive around this town, and let the cops chase us around'.   Given I have never been chased by cops, I have spent time just driving around.  One memory is back in my high-school days when we would hang out at 'Neon Lyons' and then go TP someone.  A few of us would throw toilet paper all over Joan's house, while Mark would be in his little white truck with the bed open, and engine on....it was inevitable that someone would come out, we would bolt to the truck and take off before we could be identified.  And these were my church friends...classic. (/br> This one time I was out with another friend from school, let's call him Mason.  A friend of ours was moving away and we through we would give them a send off with TP.  It was S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure) for this kind of activity, except for two small details.  

1. This was is Clayton, CA.  Small town with bored cops.
2. Our friends dad was a prominent figure in that city, and not a fan of exterior decorating.

We were teenagers, what did we care, right?  Right?

Just as we were about to fling the tp into the trees a cop pulls up.  You know TPing someone's home is an art.  It not some Frat prank where you just toss paper wherever.  Great care should be used, with an artistic flare.  I learned how to properly TP a house from my parents.  How many people out there can say that?

I love my parents.

Rabbit (errr duck) Trails

Have you ever been sitting at a table with a group of people and find yourselves talking about some random topic like the "size of duck footprints in the snow".  During that conversation, have you ever stopped to think what got you there?  It's the middle of May and a group of grown adults is in a deep conversation about the shoe size of a mallard who obviously lost his way and forgot to fly south for the winter.  Maybe it went something like this....

While eating dinner you noticed the vibrations in the glass of water everytime someone 'bumped' the table.  This was obviously an impact tremor.  "Woooosh", you can see and hear Dr. Ian Malcolm talk about impact tremors and his 'Chaos Theory' that we all learned about back in 1993.  Of course now that you are all on the topic of Jurassic Park, footprints would seem like a logical direction, however that would be too simplistic.  "Woooosh"  You focus on the word Chaos, which produces images of Captain Chaos, the alter ego of Victor Prinzim from the movie Cannonball Run.  Played by the lovable Dom DeLuise, Captain Chaos was a classic super hero from a split personality.  This movie had an extensive cast from Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Jamie Farr, etc, etc. "Woooosh" 

You know Weird Al has a song that mentions Jamie Farr.  "And soon I was abducted by some aliens from space Who kinda looked like Jamie Farr" (1:37 you'll hear and see the reference)

I've always been a fan of Mr. Yankovik.  The guy has been doing music for over 30 years, and no sign of stopping.  He's covered the best, and also done a lot of originals.  On his more recent albums he makes a point of putting one song that is at least 10 minutes long...that is a great feat of musical aptitude...even if it's about nothing, except going to the drive-thru, where his wife wanted a chicken sandwich instead of a cheeseburger, that's just crazy talk.

"Woooosh"

The other day I say a chicken crossing the road, no seriously, it was over on Pine and Locust Grove...oh wait, that may have been a duck.

"Woooosh"

Dude, that last snow storm a few months ago, I saw duck foot prints on my drive way....

There may have been a few variations in there, but this all happens in a split second, and that is how my mind works.  Now there could be variations in there, say, I could have opted from Jamie Farr and leaned toward Jackie Chan, which could have left me wanting some Dim Sum.

We never know where the mind leads us, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.  But please remember to leave breadcrumbs so you can find your way back.

-Brian

(no ducks were injured in the making of this blog)

Jack's Roommate, moved out...

An update on "Jack's Roommate"....Jack's Roommate had become deceased.  Due to personality conflicts and the fact that awesomeness was too much to bear, the band formerly known as Jack's Roommate has been dispatched.  During the grieving process (which lasted about 30 seconds), all former active members of the band formerly known as Jack's Roommate felt a surge of even greater awesomeness and took the name of "The Roxtar Project".

Why would anyone make such a drastic change?  Why does anyone do anything?  In this case we had our reasons...for one, no member of the band has a roommate by the name of Jack.  We feel strongly about being truthful and honest, no sense in  false advertising.  Roc Treese has had 'ROXTAR' on his license plate for years and they always said that would make a cool band name.  After extensive market research and random testing accross several Western States it was determined that the name ROXTAR on it's own resembled to closely a webdesign company, and an Alternative hair band of the same name in Wisconsin. 

Then, without any warning, Roc said, how about "The Roxtar Project?"...and a band was born. 

We got off to a really good start as a three piece doing mostly classic rock stuff like Cream, CCR, Kravitz, ZZTop.  We wanted a 4th member to play keys, and possibly vocals....instead we got a choir teacher from Nampa, who ROCKS!  Here's the final line up of 'The Roxtar Project'


Lisa Marie - She comes to us with 30+ years exp.  She actually made a full time living fronting a cover band.  Rumor has it, she's very popular in Germany.  Her 'skills' include vocals, guitar, bass, keys, and drums.  in R.T.P. she is our primary bassist and sings lead on most of our songs.

ROC - Our founder and guitarist.  He keeps us in check, mostly tempo wise.  He brings amazing guitar talent, vocals, and the license place that our band was named after.  I don't think he's very popular in Germany, but rumor has it he still takes baths with his little rubber ducky.  We still love him!


Cynthia - Not a lot to say about Cynthia at this point as I really haven't gotten to know her yet.  I know she loves music, teaches a choir at an Arts school, and plays lots of instruments, including keys, guitar, bass, flute, and a lute.  For us, she plays keys primarily, rhythm guitar, bass, and vocals. Seriously, how many people do you know that play a lute?  Or know what a lute is for that matter...


Brian - I'm the rookie in the group, and the youngest of the bunch.  I'm enthusiastic to say the least.  Once I got the band name, I've created accounts in Facebook, Myspace, ReverbNation, and you can follow us on twitter @ProjectRoxtar.  I guess I'm gonna be a Social Networking / Marketing guy.  Besides that I play the drums and sing.  I'll probably play the guitar and bass too, but that's not for today.  I know, I'm singing, weird.

So for fair warning to you, this project is my new hobby and I'm sure I'll be writing more.  If you want information on booking us for a party, that's what we do best, send an email to theroxtarproject@gmail.com


-b

Standby - Part 3

Tell me they don't look like family...

...it seemed like no time had past since they last say each other, except they have all grown a little.  I was really a treat to watch these two play together.  Running back and forth all day long.  Good thing my brother has a big house.

We got treated to Pizza at Melo's in Pleasant Hill.  I have to say it was nice having the good stuff again.  Good Pizza is a luxury and not high on my priority list.  But when Nana & Papa are paying, I'm sorry to say, I think I ate too much.  Seriously, the pizza is on this lift things and it's right at eye level...to my left I had the Pepperoni, mushroom, black olive....and to my right was the Veggie, with artichokes, garlic, spinach, tomatoes...too good.  Bonus: My Nana & Nanu were there too, and Nana got to ride home in the corvette.

Lunch at El Faro is a given and almost a requirement....no trip to California is complete without it.

Those of you at Hope Center that I had a chance to run into, but not a lot of time with, it was good to see you...just a quick shout out to Jess, Scott, Dean, Tammi, Tom, Carol, Dave, Bill, Jeanne, Danger, Sharon, Karen, Hannah, Marco, and many others.  Thanks for being part of that extended family that always welcomes me when I'm there.

The trip home was much less uneventful then the journey there.  To be honest, I started this blog a month ago and because I didn't keep up on it, I lost steam...sorry about that.  On the bright side, only 7 months and 13 days left.

Stand Back! It is time for a quick vaca (Part 2 of Standby)

So now that the "Standby flights" are done, and I'm back from that quick vacation, I can tell you all how it went...

Mmmm, a bagel from Boise...

My first experience of flying standby was a little nerve wracking, especially when the terminal was as full as the one I was in. Before I went to the airport, I had to pick up my travel buddy, Isaac.  He had no idea we were taking a trip to see his cousins.  When we finally told him, he was kind of in shock, no real reaction.  When we showed him the packed bags in my car, the squealing began.  Needless to say, he was very excited.  So off to the airport, hoping to get on a 5:30 flight to Seattle.

It turned out that another flight had been cancelled due to weather, so they were re-routing people that had connecting flights.  As a "Standby" flyer, all I could do was stand by and wait.  Turns out we didn't make that flight, then panic ensued.  I stood in line for 15 minutes before getting some help.  Turns out they were in the process of boarding another flight that was also going to Seattle, but it was connecting through Lewiston.  She asked me what my "final" destination was...I first thought eternal life with my Father up in Heaven, but then I knew that wasn't so soon, so I said Oakland.  She then told me that if I made this flight (which I did), they could get me on a connector that night to Oakland.  Please keep in mind I'm running on 3 hours of sleep and a 5 hour energy from 8 hours ago.  I just wanted to get to Seattle, go to the hotel, and get at least 6 hours of sleep.  We got on the 6:20 connecting flight and we're off.

Almost there...

After we left Lewiston, I kept thinking about the connecting flight to Oakland, so I asked Isaac what he would rather do.  Of course he wanted to see Nana and Papa as soon as possible, so I knew once we hit the ground in Seattle, it was going to get complicated.  I quickly put together a mental 'to-do' list.

• contact parents and confirm they can pick up from OAKLAND airport at 11:00
• contact AlaskaAir to make sure we could get on the 8:30 flight to Oakland
• contact hotel in Seattle to confirm that reservation can be cancelled
• contact hotel assuming reservation can be cancelled
• contact Becky to cancel reservation since I could not locate number to Expedia
• contact Becky to contact parents to confirm pickup since they did not answer their phone
• try and find some food before getting on the plane (FAILED)

Aside from the food, all the above tasks were completed within 10 minutes...we got on the plane and relaxed a little.  Turned out we could order some food on the plane, once we took off...we landed in Oakland around 10:40, picked up at the terminal by both my parents, and it was time to relax...sort of.

(Public Service Announcement: If you travel with your child, and he has a tendency to kick in his sleep...make sure he sleeps in some other location not occupied by you.)

The next morning we went to "Nana C's" to see my Aunts, my Nana, and Nanu.  The one thing you can always count on when you go to "Nana C's" is being fed.  It's almost like she's not happy till you're eating some of her delicious food.  In this case, she had some in the oven when we got there.  I don't want to offend, so I had to say yes...to my cousins who may be reading this, you know exactly what I mean, but how could you say no?

I found it very entertaining when my aunts said, no thank you, they didn't want any...at least till the plate hit the table, then it was the in home kitchen version of a feeding frenzy once the Għaġin il-Forn hit the table.  It was good to see the family though.


Finally made it to my brother's house and Isaac couldn't of been more excited to see his cousin Addison.  We ended up having lunch at a bakery called Boudin's in a local shopping plaza.  The food was good and the weather was nice so we ate outside, and it was 'LOUD'.  We managed, we always do.  It wasn't till later that day that Isaac's other two cousins, Olivia and Josh finally made it home...they the fun really started.

Since it's late, I'll finish this up in "Standby, Part 3".  Till then... goodnight, and only 8 months and 18 days till the HOBBIT.

-Brian

Standby

For many people a feeling of nostalgia overcomes them when they hear the words, "Standing by".  For myself, when ever I hear these words, I immediately place "Red 5" in front of it.  And sometimes, "Lock S-foils in attack position" afterwards.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please stop reading this post.  If you know what the Battle of Yavin is, you may punch your geek card, and continue.

Of course, this blog has nothing to do with Star Wars, I'm just a sucker for rabbit trails and will tend to sway of course during my thought process.  This blog will be dedicated to the many travelers in the sky who choose to not commit to any specific schedule.  Those that live on the edge and can depart and arrive at any time.  Those individuals that see the lines in the road, not as bright yellow, but faded shades of grey.  People that see a STOP sign as a suggestion, and not a rule.  People that throw caution to the wind as they stand in line at CINNABON.  Someone who has heard a weather report and believed it. (you know who you are).  Very soon, for the first time in my life, I am flying standby...

Flexability is the key.  It all started off that we would leave on a Thursday and come back on a Sunday.  Because nothing is guaranteed, except I need to be at work on Sunday we chose to book flights home on Sunday evening, leaving the trip there, to chance.  All flights Thursday were booked, only one flight on Wed available...for several days it was 'good to go' with 9-12 seats available.  That number dropped sharply so we seeked alternatives, as I don't like travel to be uncertain.  After a couple hours of research and comparisons, contemplating a car rental and driving one way (which is still an option), the following solution was created.

BOI - SEA - several flights leaving Tuesday night, some have more seats available than others, so it is highly likely we'll get one one...

because it's a late flight, accomidations have been made for a night stay (close to the airport)

SEA - OAK - first flight leaves at 6:15AM, we'll be there by 5AM to assure that we can get on the plane, if not, there are several other flights that day, but the next one isn't till after 3PM, so that means an afternoon in Seattle (not a bad thing)

Still, I prefer knowing that I have secured seats on a plan, but for the price, you really can't beat it...assuming your 'flexible'.  If this trip does pan out as planned, I owe a big thank you to a friend who made it all possible.  I'll post a follow-up blog on how the trip really went.

Till then, may the next 8 months and 25 days be peaceful and relaxing, till the HOBBIT comes to a theater near you.

Thinking about fruit

I find myself thinking about things a lot...it's a dangerous pastime, I know.  I saw a headline today that said, "New iPad".  I'm thinking to myself, didn't they just release a new iPad a few months ago?  Or was that the iphone?  or the new, iWasher (finally a mac product that does the dishes.  I would personally wait for the iWasher2, that model has the "no-spot rinse"!)

Why do I pick on mac, simple...I'm a PC.  So I'm thinking that every other month there is a new Mac product and all my "Mac" friends are running out to buy it. (Lemmings)  Even if there isn't that much difference from the previous model.  So here is my theory.

Sometime after Apple took the idea of a tablet from Mr. Gates (he came up with it back in 2001).  They sat down and came up with this big laundry list of features.  But being the marketing genius that they are, they only put a few of them in on the first launch.  Why?  Why? Why?  My theory is the 'lemming' factor.  Knowing that they can do a new version every 1 or 2 years, they can keep pushing out new 'improved' models.  Thus a guaranteed stream of income.  Brilliant!

....This is just a theory....

Don't get me wrong, I have an iPad and I love it...yes, it's version 1.  And my friends who are mac users, no hard feelings.  You know I got nothin' but love for ya!

...and there is 9 months and 7 days till the HOBBIT hits the theaters....as you were citizens

-Brian