Not Your Typical Tuesday Night

I've prepared a short skit that altered the events of last night. It takes place in a Baskin-Robbins at around 5:10 pm and showcases 4 characters:

Trey - main character; enjoys rock music
Clinton - man on the other end of the phone; Trey's best friend from high school
Eve - Trey's girlfriend with him at Baskin-Robbins; enjoys rock music, is sexy
Clerk - girl who works at Baskin-Robbins

As I stated, this is the transcription of the conversation I had with Clinton last night in Baskin-Robbins:

Trey's phone chirps, it is Clinton
Trey [surprised]: Hey?!
Clinton: Hey. What are you doing?
Trey: Eating ice cream. What are you doing?
Clinton: Eating a sandwich. An ice cream one.
Trey: Awesome. Where are you?
Clinton: In my room. At school.
Trey [confused]: All right.
Clinton: What are you doing tonight?
Trey: Just hanging out with my girlfriend.
Clinton: Cool. Do you guys want to go to Depeche Mode?
[pause]
Trey [incredulous]: Are you serious?
Eve [looking interested]: What?
Clinton: Yeah. Tonight.
Trey [to Eve]: Do you want to go see Depeche Mode tonight?
Eve [shocked]: Yeah!
Trey [to Clinton]: How much?
Clinton: Uh. Free.
Trey: Are you serious? [to Clerk] I'll have Truffle in Paradise in a waffle cone.
Clerk: Ok.
Clinton: Yeah, I have extra tickets from some girl.
Trey: Where is it?
Clinton: Allstate.
Trey [disbelieving]: You're telling me you have to free tickets to see Depeche Mode tonight at the Allstate Arena?
Clinton: Yeah, and there's an opening band, the Raveonettes.
Trey: Yeah. We'll go for sure.

So that's the story of my last night. Eve had happened to journey out to Plano, and old friend Clinton called with $75 tickets to see Depeche Mode. Needless to say, we enjoyed our terrific ice creams and hit the road on the way to a fabulous 80s dance party/concert.

The Mystery Friend

This is a condundrum for the ages. Everyone has at least one friend that they do not understand how they are friends with. Maybe this person has completely different interests, or you share no mutual friends, or he eats chicken like a savage off a lunch tray. I don't know. But you have one, and I will never understand the basis for this.

Typically, the mystery friend (MF) starts off as an inocuous acquantinance. For instance, said MF could be the roommate of a friend in college. As freshmen often do, roommates will accompany each other to social events. This is a pathway that could lead you to your MF. Say real friend (RF) brings MF to a party. MF may have a good time and prove to be a socialble person, in which case RF will invite MF to the next get-together. After two pleasant times, it's safe to say that a bond could be formed. Soon the mystery friendship will be cemented by what I like to call the Turning Point (TP).

After MF has joined RF to a number of outings, it is accepted that MF is a part of the crew, and soon the TP will occur. The TP is the first time that MF hangs out without the presence of RF. Just like that MF has formed a real friendship with you, and you didn't even see it coming. In fact, it is usually not till sometime in the future until you realize how bizarre it is that you are friends with this person.

Often times, your MF could be your best friend. This is a somewhat commonplace occurence. You just get so used to hanging out, that the next thing you know you are amazed about who your best friend is. Needless to say, having a MF is not a bad thing, it's just very strange. It is easy to look at people and say, "I could see them being friends." And that is usually the case with friends, but in the MF situation that dynamic is completely thrown out the window.

I don't think that anyone will ever understand the Mystery Friend paradox, but it is indeed a pickle. Think about it, and you will surely be able to think of at least one friend that you have no idea how you are friends.

Here is a Helpful Hint

There is no one better to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with than a Bulgarian, indie-rocking girlfriend. Good luck finding one, because I have the best.

Trey Means 3 (Kind Of)

Three things I don't like:

1. Being cold.
2. Blog comment spam.
   
3. When my girlfriend is sad.

Three things I do like:

1. Being open with emotions.
   
2. Unexpected lunch dates.
   
3. Cheering up my girlfriend.

Three favorite cold weather albums:

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. the Strokes - Room on Fire
3. the Walkmen - Bows + Arrows

Three albums I have been listening to a lot lately:

1. Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die
2. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
3. Animal Collective - Feel

Three things I'm looking forward to tomorrow:

1. Seeing my girlfriend.
2. Seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
3. Rocking with Tyler.

Three things I did today:

1. Went to Subway with my boo.
2. Recorded cover songs on my 4 track.
3. Played basketball.

Things I do when I'm lonely:

1. Pout.
   
2. Listen to "Cactus" by the Pixies.
3. Read the most reassuring text messages that I have saved.

Three songs in my head a lot lately:

1. "Wake Up" - Arcade Fire
2. "Ain't No Easy Way" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
3. "Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)" - Talking Heads

Three palindromes:

1. Racecar
2. Trash Tim Smith's Art
3. Eve damned eden mad Eve

Three things I will be excited for this weekend:

1. Plano vs. Tolono (Unity), class 3A semifinal football game.
2. No Saturday work.
3. Bears game.

Three colors:

1. Orange
2. Burgundy
3. Green

Three things I will do before I go to bed:

1. Look at the internet.
2. Watch some of Stop Making Sense.
3. Read.
   

Good Week So Far

As of yet, this week has been as good is it could have been given the circumstances. Sure I can't see my boo as often as I'd like, but I did see her Saturday and I'll get to see her on Thursday at the latest. The reason I will see her Thursday is that I just ordered us tickets to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, so that's the bomb. Also, Tyler and I have just commenced Feedback Whales sessions, and Ben will be home soon to enhance the rockitude. We've been working out some Arcade Fire, Pearl Jam, Neil Young, and Pixies songs. Needless to say, we've been getting some serious rock sauce flowing. So for a week where nothing outstanding has happened, it hasn't been too bad.

I Don't Hate You, I Just Hate What You Did

Remember a few posts ago when I was wicked excited for the Pitchfork fest featuring Wolf Parade on New Years? Turns out the putzes over at Pitchfork decided to make this a 21 and over event because they think the less than 21 crowd can't appreciate the glorious indie stylings of Wolf Parade. Needless to say, I'm not going and I'm not happy. I refuse to spend the evening away from the thing that saved my 2005, my boo. She is great. No, she's better than great. She's grood -- a combination of great and good. Thinking about her makes me less mad about the fact that Pitchfork is a bunch of idiots on this subject. So instead of Canadian rock-n-roll, her and I will now devise an even more rocking plan to show those jerks who the real indie rock royalty are.

I love her, man!

Be More Awesome

Though I had to work for the 9th straight weekend (no exaggeration), said weekend turned out to be pretty decent. Friday night was, of course, brutal. It seems that my class that is titled Communication Strategies for Healthcare Professionals should really be titled People Complaining About Doctors. In other words, not the ideal way to spend four hours on a Friday night. Saturday, after work, I attended what was easily the most important football game in the last 25 years for Plano. Against the Wilmington Yellowhammers1, the Reapers came out victorious thanks to two Nick Nasti touchdowns, but more importantly, the best defense I have ever seen a high school football team play. I am completely serious when I say that playing that way on defense could win Plano a state title, but we shall see. Sunday, a slow day at work, was made fantastic because I got to see my boo2 for the first time since Wednesday. We attended Saw 2 then enjoyed soup, jokes, and a small kid falling out of a chair at Panera Bread. Saw 2 was better in every aspect than the first installment. The situations, acting, gore, and production far surpassed both my expectations and the memories of the first part. And the Bears won. All in all, a good weekend.

Here are some stories:

• Pitchfork interview with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
• Alex Blagg and the New Sincerity movement. Actually appreciating things for their awesomeness? I'm all for that.
• Pitchfork stuff involving R. Kelly's "Trapped In a Closet." I obviously cannot pass this up.

So yes, you should read those things. I have been impressed with Pitchfork's features lately which is nice because for a while they wrote about a lot of stuff I could care less about. More importantly, the New Sincerity movement needs to really take off. I've been lamenting my dissatisfaction with the proliferation of irony for some time, and if this gets people to finally start appreciating things that are actually awesome then that is ... awesome.

1. Yellowhammers is a derogatory term that refers to the rampant inbreeding that took place in Wilmington in the 1950s and likely continues to this day.
2. Complete with terrific new haircut!

My Lips Are Sealed

My life has had nothing outstanding happen lately. This is not bad. It just is.

Plano is doing well in their football season, they face the inbred Wilmington Wildcats this Saturday night at 7 pm. I will cheer for them, but not like my sister. She is a cheerleader. Therefore her cheering will be far more structured and far less humourous.

Due to this game, my classes, her classes, her work, my work, the construct of time, highways, and of course, the necessity of sleep, I will not be seeing my boo until Sunday evening. This is too long of a time. Nonetheless, we will see Saw 2 because we both heard it is fairly gory and seem to enjoy that sort of thing. Hopefully the acting isn't as comically bad as the ending from the previous installment was.

Lately I have been listening to not new music that I haven't ever really devoted a lot of time to. The latest releases by Sleater-Kinney (The Woods, 2005), TV on the Radio (Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, 2004), and Sonic Youth (Sonic Nurse, 2004) have been the recent choices. These are all very good, but with the exception of TV on the Radio, I hadn't listened to them the whole way through. Furthermore, like usual I have been listening to the Talking Heads a bunch. They are a truly great bands, and easily one of my top 5 ever. While I was listening and reading the liner notes to Sand in the Vaseline last night, my mom came in during "Psycho Killer." She immediately started dancing in what can only be described as a combination of Ian Curtis and the way the kids dance in Charlie Brown. Needless to say, it was awesome.

"When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed."
--David Byrne "Psycho Killer"

New Years Eva

Is there anything better than when things just work out the right way?

Ever since we saw their average performance opening up for the Arcade Fire, me and boo have been saying we would like to see Wolf Parade again, but when they are the main act. To our mutual delight, Pitchfork will be hosting easily my second favorite Montreal based indie rock band.

In the words of Kip Dynamite, that's what I'm talking about. So as 2006 begins, I will be rocking to the art-rock of a band of the lupine persuasion who I greatly adore.

DOBRE! URAH!