Sober as a judge

I've taken a self-appointed sabbatical from drinking. Yup, I'm on the wagon. I'd had multiple social opportunities recently that afforded me the environment within which to drink excessively, and to be honest, I've gotten a little bored of it. So for the last week, I've been off the sauce.

Now, there are plenty of weeks that I've gone longer without social lubricants, but those were during far less popular times. It's a completely different story when you find yourself at a popular Mexican restaurant for a friend's birthday and no less than three tequila shots - FREE tequila shots (Don Julio, too!) - are passed under your nose at the urging of your friends. I passed on all of them. Where's my medal?

It was strange to sit there without a drink in my hand, the familiar anchor I'd grown so accustomed to. It's not that I feared I'd lose my social skills or be unable to carry on a conversation (hell, I was even able to flirt somewhat adeptly with the cute guy sitting next to me toward the end of the night). I think it's because I've felt that alcohol brings out the best parts of my personality: my humor, my charm, my bravado (wow, listen to me). Without something to wash down the initial awkwardness of any social situation, I'm left without a crutch, the sloppy veneer that I could hide behind.

What the hell, it's only 'til tomorrow.

Cheers!

Follow the beat...

I spent a large part of my long Thanksgiving weekend searching for used CDs and stumbled across two new bands (well, new to me):

Platinum Pied Pipers offer danceable hip hop (as opposed to crabby, thug hip hop), but what caught my attention is their groovy, jazz version of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". I love it when something so familiar can be remade by an unexpected genre.

Breakestra is a funk/soul group from L.A. Be sure to listen to "Hit tha Floor".

Seriously people

Answer the Proust thing in the comments section. It's not up there only for my own narcissistic tendencies.

In dreams...

Here are a list of some of the things I've dreamt about in the last week:

Big spiders in my house

Making out with a girl, who I think represented a guy I actually did go out with recently

Keith Richards asking if he could feel me up

Swimming with dolphins

Anyone wanna help me figure out my psyche?

Even better

Yup, still drunk. A glass of wine and five scotches, four of which were in the last two hours of the night. It beats a hangover.

Saw Spoon last night. Maybe not as rockin as past shows, but still fucking good. Total originals. Check em out at www.spoontheband.com .

Proust Questionnaire

James Lipton be damned, this is the real deal (please post your own answers - I reserve the right to change mine on any given day):

Your most marked characteristic?
Humor
The quality you most like in a man?
Chivalry
The quality you most like in a woman?
Support
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty
What is your principle defect?
Jealousy
What is your favorite occupation?
I'm lucky enough to do it
What is your dream of happiness?
Laughter and respect with those I love
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
Regret
What would you like to be?
Me, with a little more patience and security. And money.
In what country would you like to live?
I love France, but I'm so American I belong here.
What is your favorite color?
Blue
What is your favorite flower?
Rose
What is your favorite bird?
Cardinal
Who are your favorite prose writers?
Hemingway, Hawthorne, Salinger, Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney
Who are your favorite poets?
Ugh, poetry
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Holden Caulfield
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Phoebe Caulfield
Who are your favorite composers?
Shostakovich, Vaughn-Williams, Tchaivoksky, Copeland, any of the minor Russians
Who are your favorite painters?
Rembrandt, Klee, Basquiat, Kandinsky, Hockney
Who are your heroes in real life?
Uncorrupted leaders, philanthropists, my grandparents
What are your favorite names?
Charlotte, Caroline, Zephyr, Ryan
What is it you most dislike?
Elitism
What historical figures do you most despise?
That's pretty obvious
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Better discipline
How would you like to die?
Better than I am now, and old and loved
What is your present state of mind?
Anxious
What is your motto?
Choose your battles

Irony

Irony is when you take your car to the fancy car wash, the kind where they vacuum and dust and polish everything by hand, and then back into a guard rail just hours later and fuck up your bumper.

Feelin Kinda Patton

Check out Patton Oswalt sometime, either on TV (he's all over Comedy Central, both on his special -"No Reason to Complain" and his new road show "Comedians of Comedy"), or online: www.pattonoswalt.com (you can get live dates there, too). He's priceless. Hands down, my favorite comedian. No one touches my funny bone the deepest (NOT dirty). I picked up his CD last night (even my jaded ass will put down money for it) and laughed until I cried.

Jasmine Ong is a rock star

I was ruminating on my way to work today about the mission statement of this blog, and among the many points I came up with (which I'll go into another time, some even involve NOT talking about my hangovers), I decided for this instance I'd do a shout-out to a good friend of mine.

Some of you were lucky enough to have met Jasmine either when she was my roommate or while she was out here visiting a couple of years ago. I missed her birthday last month, so what better way to make it up to her than in a public forum.

Jasmine and I lived together for a little over two years, and she's by far been my favorite roommate. We shared enough in common to hold each other's interest (midwestern born, art lovers, music freaks) in addition to being different enough to make it interesting. Of all the memories we shared, my favorites involved the times we'd hang in the living room and bullshit and crack each other up. I was privileged to bear witness to her terrific talents as a friend, and have since been fortunate enough to be included in that group.

Travel took her away from LA in 2003, and she's now found a good place in Dallas to pursue her career in jewelry making (some of you have seen the awesome stuff she's made and given me). By the grace of technology, we've managed to keep in touch sporadically.

Anyway, congrats on another year, dude! I hope it rocked.

Brgunmdhft...

...is about how I feel right now. I went to see this really great band, Tim (yes, Tim) in the South Bay and they played until almost 2 AM. Check em out at www.timtheband.com. They were worth staying up for.

Random thoughts on a Thursday

I'm really getting into Death Cab for Cutie (or as my mother calls them, Bad Baby Caps - this from a woman who refers to Jane's Addiction as Alice's Revenge). They fulfill the inner angst I didn't feel enough as a teenager. Based on this logic, I guess I should revisit My So-Called Life, since I didn't like that back then, either.

By the way, NEVER get the Chinese at the food court in the mall on the promenade, unless you like chicken knees. Blech.

Listening to: Brendan Benson

Tonight: happy hour, then seeing a band in the southbay.