Save The Day.

Today was a God-awful day. My customers and employees both were all fucktards. It was one of those days where I was on the verge of doing something. Nothing dramatic, just freaking out on someone or something. My neck hurt, my eyelid twitched, and my side ached all day. Crazy what stress can do to you. I had been planning on hitting happy hour with a couple buddies, but with the weather getting shitty and our moods spiraling downward we opted to just head home.

My incredible wife had been texting here and there throughout the day asking if she could meet us at our decided watering hole after work. After my day had turned to absolute shit, I let her know that I had planned on just coming home and staring at the wall, or something equally as brainless. She was cool.

On my way home, in the white-out snow and rush hour traffic, I decided that the bar was probably the place that I needed to go in order to salvage this horrid day. It's a shame to just wad up an entire day and throw it in the trash, so I texted April and we went to The Old Man. The Old Man is literally two minutes from my house, they have ridiculous bbq, and they always have 80s metal playing. Three things that are good, right there.

Today was Rib Tip Thursday. Yesterday was Wing Wednesday--or Wingsday, as some folks cleverly call it. Didn't make it there yesterday. But we did indulge in the $5 Rib Tip Tray and a few cold Coors.

We bitched about how stupid people are as a society, how we miss our friends back home, how our jobs were waring us down--all against the background of Guns 'N Roses, Bullet Boys, and KISS. Then some guy puts money in the jukebox and the music changes!...

It was a noise I had never heard before. It started out sounding like a Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings tune...then it quickly got faster and started sounding like Glen Danzig singing over Testament and Motorhead...still with a bit of Cash and Jennings. I was intrigued.

I asked the fellow who put the nickel in the jukebox who we were listening to, and he told me a band I had never heard of. Volbeat. I thought that to be a stupid name, especially considering the mood I was in. But the longer it played, the more incredible it became.

This song became the savior of my day. It was exactly what needed to be played to salvage my piece of shit day. It was like God invented a song that sounded like Waylon Jennings, the Misfits, Johnny Cash, and Motorhead, all in one just to palpate my tender, frailed mind that stupid people had nearly destroyed. Classic country combined with punk-driven metal is the only thing that will cure a day like I had today. Trust me.

If you have had a bad day, please listen to this song. Don't bother checking out any of their other songs, they all sound like Godsmack.

Please enjoy.

I Like to Party.

Wow, I've really been slacking on the writing lately. That's okay, though. I've had a lot on my mind, just really nothing that I feel like sharing with the universe. Some business ideas are in motion, some party planning, and a few travel plans have been floating around in my brain.

With the enormous success of Dokken Day 2010, I have decided that not only will DD be celebrated every January, but more epic shindigs need to be thrown. It makes everyone happy. When you get to be 30ish to 40ish, just hanging out at someone's house and getting liquored up is not considered a party like it was when you were 17ish to 25ish. You really need a reason to peel yourself away from your job, your kids, your house in the suburbs, and make the effort to not only go to a shindig, but participate to the fullest extent. That's why I've decided to start throwing larger than average, epic shindigs a few times a year. My buddy, Bryan and I have decided that it's good for the soul.

And why not? Parties nowadays consist of either a couple couples going over to another couple's house and drinking beer and wine while the kids play in the other room. Or a kind of "date night", where said couples meet at a semi-fancy restaurant for cocktails and dinner. All fun, I guess in their own way. But let's be honest, they aren't parties. Sometimes a party just "happens", but not too often at my age. So they have to planned. And to plan a party at this age takes a very strong, determined effort. Dokken Day, which initially was an idea that my sister and I had, was planned out amazingly by my buddy Bryan whom we offered the responsibility to, and he ran with it. It couldn't have turned out any better.

So with that said, there's a new party in making. Everyone that was invited to Dokken Day will be invited to this one. It will happen in the summer, and it will happen outside. It will be very big, and very fun. Trust me.

The way I see it, everyone that I associate with, for the most part, likes a good party. So why not provide good parties for the people that I associate with? It gives us all something to look forward to. The parties are always going to be fantastic. And when they're over with, you have fantastic, blurry memories that make you grin everytime you think about them.

So, my good friends and participants of Dokken Day 2010, please consider yourselves cordially invited to yet another fantastic get together happening this summer. Please trust me when I say that it will be good times.

And just to let you in on a little secret, I've been throwing around plans for a fall shindig as well. If it ends up happening the way I'm thinking it will, it will also be an epic shindig for all of us to savor...

I like to party.


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And The Winner Is......

There were a lot of winners at Dokken Day. My friend Shannon rocked out so hard that she broke her foot. Some of the guys actually got their guitars and learned some sweet 80s metal ballads that we all sang along to. My brother and sister-law traveled three hours to party with people that they had never met. Very, very strong effort from everyone.

But my buddy Jason, he actually wore a pink cod piece with an iron-on of Don Dokken on it. To me, that's the big winner. To me, that's not fucking around. Jason did not fuck around when it came representing DD...he didn't have time for it. Neither did his wife, Kristy, who brought it full bore. They both showed up ready to kick ass. They were about to rock...and I salute them.

To you, Jason and Kristy, I have to say...fuckin' a. fuckin' a.

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A Look Back at Awesomeness.

My last two weeks has been odd. They have included a death in the family, an incredible party, another death involving acquaintances, two trips to Missouri, extremely strange funeral-goers, and a bunch of work stuff.

I don't feel like getting into all the death and the unpleasantries. I'd rather just talk about my party.

I've posted several times on this website about Dokken Day 2010. It's basically a day that the mayor of Los Angeles proclaimed back in 1987 for the 80s metal band, Dokken. He gave them the key to the city. Really. It's hilarious and ridiculous, but also an incredible excuse to celebrate the ridiculousness and throw a gigantic party. So we did. I contacted my good friend back home and he set up the entire thing; kegs, heavy metal kick contest, full bar, catered, RockBand...the whole nine.

Well, it went off without a hitch. It was more fun and more ridiculous than I ever could have imagined. The coolest thing to me was, that almost everyone showed up that I was hoping would, and then some...and they all brought their A-game. Everyone dressed up in 80s metal garb, drank their faces off, left all inhibitions at the door, and participated fully in the best party I've been to since my wedding.

So, for everyone reading this that attended...you fucking rule. For those that couldn't make it...we'll catch you next year.

Here are some wonderful visuals. Enjoy.

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Dokken Day helps warm the soul...like soup.

With Dokken Day quickly upon us, I have been diligently prepping my pipes, stretching my hamstrings, and polishing up my playlists. It will be a momentous occasion. And the timing couldn't be better for rock.

In a few of my recent posts I've expressed how the retail industry at holiday time has slowly chewed away at my soul. It has exposed me to people that I don't care to ever cross paths with again. People who yell and curse like spoiled children if they don't get their way; if they don't get their jacket. It has not only continued into the second week of January, but has actually progressed.

Lately, I have walked a fine line between keeping my mouth shut and accommodating this hellish beast...and losing all regard for maturity and planting my index finger firmly into the beast's chest while lashing out verbally at this creature to the likes I'm sure it has never witnessed before. Luckily, for my mortgage's sake, I've been able to balance toward the former.

I have recently gotten help, though. Help in the form of music.

As medication to fight this retail disease that is the customer, I have dabbled in classic jazz and various acoustic music to sooth my mind and lower my blood pressure. This disease has somehow powered it's way through my jazz-cooled mindset and forced my blood to boil again. I have tried a completely different drug in punk rock, but have experienced the opposite effect of putting me in a frame of mind that is detrimental to my job.

So with Dokken Day on the horizon, I have been compiling playlists on my iPod that put my mind at ease and make me want to get drunk.

Yes, that's what 80s Metal does. It makes you want to get drunk. And when I want to get drunk, I'm usually pretty calm and in a good mood, have a tune in my head, whistling perhaps. This is proving to translate well when dealing with assholes. I've got the "fuck you" mentality going, but with 80s metal it's a much cooler vibe than with punk. Punk makes me cross that fine line we discussed earlier. 80s metal helps me deal with shit in a "whatever" frame of mind and in a good mood.

The result is lower blood pressure and stress levels, being in a good mood which in turn reflects well on my employees and customers, and having a tune in my head that makes me laugh because it's so ridiculously great.

80s metal is so bad it's good.

So let us get an early jump on the Dokken Day celebrations with a song that makes us all want to get drunk.

Enjoy, my friends.

Poison - New Music - More Music Videos

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"Do more shit you will, hmmm?"

Today marks a new year. Not for America or the Earf, but for me. Today is my New Year.

On real New Year's, I never make resolutions or swear to stop doing this or swear to start doing that. In fact, I do not like New Year's. Something creepy and discomforting about it. But my birthday, now that's a different feel. It's when my mileage rolls over and I get a feeling of freshness, hope, determination, appreciation, and excitement.

I am 36 now. That's basically 40, which is fine. And age has never deterred me from doing what I want...it's just a number, right? But this year it's a little different. I don't necessarily feel like I'm running out of time to do certain things, I just feel like it is time to do certain things.

My personal feeling this year, my personal resolution, is to not be afraid of failure. I'm sure that there are a hundred old sayings out there by Ben Franklin or Teddy Roosevelt or Albert Einstein about "failing being the next step to success" or someshit, and that's cool. But this year it's the truth.

There are a lot of things that I want to do. A lot of ideas that I want to pursue to see what they might hold. And in the back of my mind, there is this little "something" holding me back a bit. Sometimes I break through that "something", but more times than not it holds me back. And more times than not, that "something" is me being afraid of failing. So I play it safe and don't even make an attempt.

So, during my thirty-sixth year on this planet I plan on being a failure.

I am really looking forward to the attempts, the roadblocks, the steps, the realizations, and the successes. There are going to be some transitions; some changes. There will always be balance. But most importantly, there will be the excitement of learning. Yea, it's cliche', but you don't know until you try.

When Yoda said, "Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.", it really made me think...

I totally see where he's coming from. When becoming a Jedi, there really isn't much room for failure. And I realize that is a great mindset to have no matter who you are. But in an everyday Earthling's life, when we decide to embark on a new career, or attempt something that we've never tried before, there is definitely room for failure. And I think "failure" is a pretty harsh term...

I suppose it applies to things that you know for a fact you want to do. Like, for instance let's say I want to be a school teacher. It's been my life long dream to become a school teacher. My mom is a school teacher, my dad is a school teacher, all my brothers and sisters are school teachers, I know that I want to be a school teacher...but I have all this college to go through and I have to work while I'm going to college and I just don't know if it'll ever happen! Well, that's when you have to listen to Yoda. No try. Do. And if you don't listen to Yoda and you give up, then you have failed.

But let's say that I want to open my own business. I don't know exactly what it is that I want to do, but I've got a great business sense, fantastic ideas, funding for start up, and the intelligence and ambition to succeed. So I think about opening my own store. I dig into it deeply and find out that the cons are starting to outweigh the pros, and that this idea probably isn't the right move for me. So I back away from it and re-evaluate. I don't really consider that a failure.

In the same vein, let's say I start up said store, run it for a couple years and eventually go belly-up. I tried, but it just didn't work. I made some mistakes, misread the market, didn't advertise myself well, whatever. That, I suppose could be classified as a failure. Or, you could just refer to it as a "learning experience", because essentially that's what it is. Yea, your business failed, but it could be the precursor to an enormously successful store on down the road. All the "bad" things that happened with your first store you apply to your new one--just do them the right way this time.

So, each "failure" is actually fuel. It's education. It's experience. It's balls. And it all gives you fuel for your next endeavor; fuel to succeed.

But what's success? Fuck, I don't know.

For the longest time, I wanted to be a fly fishing guide. I grew up fishing, became pretty good at it, and with my constant over thinking about doing what I love for a living, it made sense to be a fly fishing guide. So I cleared out a little path in my life that eventually led to becoming a fly fishing guide. Once I decided that was the direction I wanted to go, it took me about two years to finally get a taste of what it's like to get paid to take people fly fishing. I quickly learned that I didn't really care for it. So obviously, I didn't pursue it much farther.

I guess that I succeeded--or did I fail? I did what I had always talked about. Just because I don't live in a log cabin alongside the Henry's Fork, spending 300-plus days on the water with strangers doesn't mean I have failed at becoming a fly fishing guide, does it? I didn't try to do it, I did it. But after I did it, I realized that I didn't like it. I guess you could say that I "tried it", or maybe more accurately; tried it out. It depends on your definition of "try".

Now, if I were to set a personal goal of writing up a business plan to open my own shop instead of just opening my own shop, that would be a much more realistic goal. Setting short-term goals and achieving them...at least until you realize you've "tried" enough to know you if you're going to like it or not. But have you tried it long enough, or have you just quit?

Well? What is it, Yoda?

Bottom line is, do more shit. Don't be afraid of failing, or not trying hard enough. If you want to do something, do it. If you decide you don't want to do something, don't do it. Just don't do it based on fear. "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

So, in a nutshell, that's not my New Year's resolution...it's my birthday promise. To do more shit. And not be scared.

"Try there is...sometimes. Always do, unless one does not like do. Then don't. If try, succeed you will, unless quit you do."

WTF, Yoda. WTF.


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Deletion followed by Cancer Rant

I decided to delete my last post about how I felt over the New Year.

One: It's boring. Who cares how I felt or what I did? If I were a new reader, and that was the first post that I read, I would judge the entire blog page based on that one post and would not continue to read any of the other posts. And that would be a shame, seeing as how I have so many other interesting thoughts........(insert sideways smiley face...perhaps winking).

Two: No offense to any other bloggers or writers or whatever you call yourselves, but if I wanted to know what you were doing or how you spent your NYE or if you are sick or well, I'd be on Twitter. I already ignore the Facebook as much as I can, due to the fact that I don't care about the above-mentioned. Basically, if I want to know how someone's doing, I'll ask them. But it doesn't entertain me, nor is it the type of thing I like writing about.

On to a much more serious thought.

I don't like cancer. It makes me angry. It makes me angry because it has fucked with way too many people that I know. Some beat it, some didn't, some are trying.

The most recent victim to be exposed to this horrid creature is a great friend of mine's mother. It's found her lungs somehow, even though she is not a smoker. The realistic part of this is, that another great friend of mine's mother just lost her battle with it a couple months ago. It just doesn't stop.

Everyone that I know has been affected by it in one way or another. Me personally, I lost an uncle and a cousin. Now my Granny has it. If she could, she'd kick that cancer in the ribs because she's very mad at it.

I have friends and relatives who are currently fighting it, refusing to give in. But it's got to take it's toll on you. You've got to just keep living through it and not let it take control.

Hmph. I'm talking like I know what it's like to have it. I have no idea. I don't know the mental anguish you must go through, the physical torment, what's it's like to face death, or what it's like after supposedly beating it. All I know is that it sucks.

My brother-in-law, Pat, lost his brother to cancer a year ago. It was difficult for me, and I didn't even know his brother. I can't fathom what Pat and his family went through.

My cousin, Robert, lost his wife to cancer a couple years before Pat's loss. I can fathom perhaps a fraction of what Robert went through.

But you know what? And maybe I'm overstepping my boundaries here because I have not gone through what many of you have gone through...but with the battles lost, maybe there is some good. Believe me, I'm not saying that cancer deaths are good--or that heartache, mental rollercoasters, seeing a dear one confined to a hospital bed, or someone you love being victimized by a mysterious, deadly disease that is gradually draining them is good. But if...and that's a big if...if everything happens for a reason, then maybe, just maybe it is a good thing to savor life after a loss. Or before, for that matter.

Maybe we should realize more often that life is fragile, but it is filled with infinite possibilities. I'm not talking about living it up "extreme" style or a "bucket list" or anything. No skinny skiing or going to bull fights on acid, just enjoying and appreciating things more; trying to get the most out of your time here; focusing on things that are important. I realize that's an awful large loss just to make one understand the joys of life; it doesn't really even out. But I still believe it's good. If one of my parents or wife or sister were suddenly gone because of cancer, I'm sure that I wouldn't immediately see the good in everything. But I know that after the smoke cleared, I would be trying to make the most of my time here. We should all probably be doing that regardless.

Cancer is weird. Obviously, I don't know much about it. But you'd think that with all the scientific advancements that we would be able to cure it. We can clone. We can go to Mars. We can send robots seven miles into the deepest canyons of the ocean. We can make electronics that are smarter than humans and smaller than your thumbnail. But we can't cure cancer.

Maybe cancer is more mysterious than we think. Maybe it happens for a reason. That's hard to imagine, but maybe it does. And if it doesn't, we need to find a reason within ourselves. A good reason. Because that's the only way you and I are going to be able to deal with the battles and the the losses, by trying as hard as we can to find some sort of good to come out of it.



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