Day: March 26, 2003

He Ain’t Just My Friend, He’s A Moo-Zish-Yan

Today has been a much better day than I expected. Lots of good news and good new music. I’ll document the other new music later, but I want to tell you about my friend Mike. See, he was my boss for a little while a couple years ago and is an all-around swell guy. I didn’t find out until recently that he’s something of a musician (something of because I didn’t know how good he was). All that changed today when, while I was meeting with someone in my office, Mike ran in, dropped something on my desk without saying a word and ran off. It was a CD, and it had his name on it!

I popped it open, threw it in the UberMac, ripped it (don’t worry, Mike, I won’t share), and began listening. Holy crap. He doesn’t suck! I’ve had one other good musician friend in my life, and the experience was a lot like this. I got this huge swelling of pride. My friend has created something beautiful, and I know him (not Biblically… I swear… although he did offer to take me hiking). All of the songs on the album are good, but there are some that are honest-to-goodness pieces of art. Waltz for Brooklyn is a gorgeous song that almost made me cry, partly because my friend created this and was kind enough to share it with me, but mostly because the song is just that good.

So, if you’re in need of some acoustic guitar happy-sweet-goodness, go pre-order Half Pint today. Tell him Kevin sent you… and no, I don’t get anything if you buy it. It’s really just that good.

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Categorized as music

Two Great Tastes

Yesterday was pretty brutal as far as work and stress levels are concerned. I spent a lot of time in meetings, writing documents and dealing with money stuff (we’re refinancing the house, which means lots of paperwork and finding old documents). My general stress level hasn’t been good lately with a bunch of new responsibilities at work on a new top-secret project and a lot of swirl around other stuff. It’s a whirlwind that follows me home every day.

Jen suggested I take a bath last night, and I love her for it. It kept me away from the TV, allowed me to finish reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and introduced me to a great new mix of flavors. Before I get to that, I have to confess something. I’m addicted to Bloody Mary Mix. Being Mormon and all, there are never any spirits in the mix, just the spicy goodness of Mr & Mrs T’s Bloody Mary Mix (the normal stuff, not the super spicy version). I usually drink it in a mug full of crushed ice. It’s kind of like super-chilled gazpacho (the cocktail that eats like a meal). I think you know where this is going, or do you? The other thing I have to tell you is my obsession with good gummi bears (yes, I spell it the German way, because they’re German and that’s where I first had them). Jen bought me a big bag of Black Forest Gummi Bears (the original and still the best, no gummi worms or coke bottles for me – give me the little squishy bears and watch me smile like a doofus) for my birthday. Ok, on to the story. So, I take my mug o’ mix, a bowl of multi-colored edible bears, a bottle of water (in case I get lost and dehydrated) and my book up to the giant tub in our bathroom.

I was a little apprehensive about mixing gummi’s and bloody mary mix, but you know, they’re pretty good. I wasn’t dipping them or anything, but I’d take a sip then eat a bear and I didn’t throw up. It’s not quite chocolate and peanut butter (but what is?), but it’ll do. I spent an hour up there nursing my mug and my bears, reading the final chapter of Mr. Eggers’ book (the last ten pages really are heartbreaking and genius).

I feel a little better today. I’m still not sleeping well, but I haven’t broken down and run to get a forbidden soda, and work doesn’t seem so helpless today. I’m whittling away at the pile of documentation I have to write, and dealing with the constant flurry of interruptions without killing people. I think this skipping CNN thing is working.