This is Rocktober!

I am way to exhausted at this point to write out a whole summary of the last few nights ROCKTOBER moments. Here is a bullet point list:

• Monday I spent in North Hollywood being made fun of for sitting in the front row of a comedy show and then got to watch Jim be awesome. It was worth the jibes.
• Tuesday night ended up eating some tacos, then drinking beer and relaxing in a rooftop jacuzzi.
• Last night I watched some TV with Ashley and Jen and then went and hung out with an old friend at Spaceland (never been before) and saw a band called Buddy. They weren’t half bad. Ended the night with an episode of Glee with Chris and finished catching up with The Daily Haiku.

It’s been a fun last few nights but at this point sleep deprivation is getting to me in a very real way. There have been days where I have almost fallen asleep at my desk and not from boredom. ROCKTOBER is a marathon! I just have to keep running.

ROCKTOBER means savings? NO WAY! IT MEANS ROCK YOUR F@#$ING BRAINS OUT!!!

chrispost:

Stand Up Jim

Great show tonight!  Who’da thought that this was his first time—damn fine showing

Can’t wait until the next one!

(camera ran out of batteries so i apologize for this photochop job)

Damn good showing, Jim. Well done.

Another morning, another ROCKTOBER NIGHT’S RECAP. Sit back in your ergonomic chair, sip some exotic sounding drink that costs five dollars, and enjoy… apparently I am arrogant enough to believe that people enjoy these little recaps. Actually I enjoy writing them so either you can like them or you can stop reading.

That was harsh. Don’t go. Sip some more Chai or Latte or whatever it is you are drinking. I’ll make my beginning now. Here goes.

Prowling down the five freeway after work, the civic and I surprisingly did not have to stop on our way back to the domicile. Not one pair of red glowing eyes impeded our progress. The crisp air cracking through the open windows slapping every follicle of my hair as they burned through it. Arriving home I found that Chris had retreated to his room to fight off a headache with the best remedy, sleep. I dropped my bag and pulled my computer and tablet into the living room. It was haiku drawing time and nothing was going to stop me. A half hour into this I received a call, my old friend Kristy wanted to hang out. I told her I what I was doing and that if she wanted to come over and hang out she was more then welcome to. She took the invitation and soon was over watching me draw. I wasn’t trying to be a bad host but I had to get these done for my own peace of mind. This last week has been so busy with bars and friends and everything awesome that I’ve had to make choices between finishing projects of mine or hanging out. Last night was my catch up night and I planned on taking full advantage of it. At some point Chris emerged and we all began to watch all the awesome TV that comes on on Thursdays. I continued drawing. I have never tried to be snobby about television or hate on what people watch, yes I do do it occasionally without thinking but I consciously try not to. That said, I had to stifle every urge I had to yell at Kristy. She never watches any of the Thursday comedies. No, she watches Greys and Vampire Diary’s. Lost? She hates it. She has never seen an episode but she knows what she doesn’t like. Basically take every amazing show on TV and then have someone tell you they don’t watch that crap but instead focus on shows with real emotions like anything on the CW. It kind of threw me for a loop. Yet during this whole thing I created two haiku drawings that I am particularly proud of. They will be up later today, if anyone is interested. After Kristy left and Chris and I enjoyed an episode of the consistently amazing Always Sunny I threw on some jeans and got picked up by Ashley. Now it was time for the ROCKTOBER NIGHT’s event of the evening.

A midnight screening of Where the Wild Things Are with Jen, Shane, Katie, Ashley and a bunch of their friends. Before I begin this recap I am going to give one disclaimer. At this point during the week I was what some people might describe as sleep deprived. After last night, I can confirm I am. Yet, sleep is what November 1st is for. Anyways, back to point. I didn’t know what to expect from Spike Jonze’s adaptation of a book which meant so much to all of our childhoods. What I got was not what I expected, and I am elated by this fact. I don’t want to give away any of the movie except to say that the Wild Things are a revelation. I have never given much thought to the emotional processes of a child or how it was that only twenty years ago I viewed the world with such imagination and conviction. I identified with Max on an almost disturbing level. Could I have been delirious at points attempting to keep awake? Most definitely. Did that add to the experience? Of course. This is a movie to see if you miss all the memories of childhood and want them brought up to the surface. I had hoped to dream last night after consuming a hot dog, root beer, and large popcorn but I did not. The moment my head reached pillow mountain it descended into the valley of deep sleep. I am so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing people and every night this week has been ridiculous in the joy it’s brought me. Thank you everyone who has come out or even just tried (Dave gets the award for best phone call of the week last night). You are all truly ROCKTOBER!

Tonight’s ROCKTOBER NIGHT takes a different turn the those previous ones. Tonight at midnight I will be going with Jen, Shane, and Ashley and some of their friends to a screening of Where the Wild Things Are. That’s right, I can sleep when it’s November. Before that screening though is laundry and haiku drawing time. It may not sound ROCKTOBER to do laundry but wearing two day old undies is never ROCK in my book. Tonight shall be low key evening with an overture of WILD RUMPUS at the conclusion!!!

ROCKTOBER NIGHT’S ASHLEY!

(Big ups to Ash for being our unofficial photographer last night.)

ROCKTOBER NIGHT’S ME!

ROCKTOBER NIGHTS JIM!!!

Another night, another great experience. As I exited the elevator on the top floor of the Warner Bros parking structure I received a text message from Jim asking if I had eaten dinner and if not, would I want to go to PHO with him. I have never eaten there before, but I had seen the ridiculous crowds of people waiting outside it so I texted Jim back that I would meet him there. Sure enough when we arrived there was already a good amount of people ahead of us in line. We ran into one of Jim’s friends from Lucent, Fernando. He showed us pictures of his dog and we spoke at length during dinner about women and relationships and settling down and other things, at least I believe that was what we talked about. Fernando had a thick accent and at times I had zero idea what he was saying, he seemed to have a lock on life though from what I understood. After dinner I sped home, hopped in and out of the shower and got ready within moments. Putting on my holy sweater I headed down to The Gold Room.

A quick aside. My holy sweater is in no way holy in the biblical sense. It just has a hole in the chest. It is extremely comfortable and screw you if you have a problem with sweaters with holes in the chest.

My parking mojo was in full effect last night. I pulled up to The Gold Room and the spot directly in front was open. I pulled in and parked. Apparently I was extremely close to the curb because a guy outside of the bar commented to me that he was convinced I was going to hit the curb. We ended up having a five minute conversation about how if someone asked I could say I was a stunt driver and that I had hydroplaned my car off of puddles and parked it perfectly in this spot. I forgot how much fun conversations can be with strangers. I sauntered into the bar expecting something completely different then what I saw. From the outside it looks as though the bar will be poorly lit with an interior that hasn’t been changed since the late seventies when it was created. Instead I was treated to an interior designed with the intent of opening up the space as best they could. A long line of tables and small chairs along one side with the bar on the other. Above the table I choose a faux star sky, the kind you think of when you remember back to the prom limo. As I sat there enjoying the ambience, Sexy Paul showed up. Pretty soon Ashley and then Jim also made appearances. I can’t explain the story behind the picture above except to say that it is a conversation I won’t soon forget. After listening to a grouping of mariachi music Jim and Paul’s earlier expedition to the jukebox yielded some positive results. Singing Yelling along with a Dropkick Murphy’s song in a primarily Spanish bar was a blast, as was the next song that came on which I can’t for the life of me remember. As we finished up our drinks we all came to a crossroads. Where will the night go now? Do we just say goodnight and go home to our comfy beds and enjoy these last remnants of an overcast night? Maybe during another month but this is ROCKTOBER!

A friend of Jim’s was supposedly over at The Cha Cha Lounge (another bar I had yet to visit) so we all mounted up and headed on over. I drove over and spotted something I couldn’t believe. There outside the bar was a front row parking space. The second of the night. A small ROCKTOBER miracle, but an appreciated one. We arrived to a bar that not one of us had been in. Inside we found a treasure trove of fun. Paul talked it up with someone from Black Flag who he was a big fan of. Jim and I first played each other at foosball and then were challenged to two epic games of doubles. Well, one epic game we won and one not so epic game where we got our asses handed to us thanks to my lack of defensive ability. The night progressed and finally closed around midnight. We never found Jim’s friend.

Heading home I thought on a conclusion that S. Paul and I had come to during these past few nights. Weekday bars are the best bars. Sunday through Wednesday is the time to experience a bar at it’s best. Sure, bars on the weekends are fun with friends but nothing can beat being able to walk up to the bar and immediately get served (this is more a positive for guys, girls always get served first) or actually having space to spread out or, my personal favorite, having music at a level where conversation can be had without blowing out your vocal chords. These past few ROCKTOBER NIGHTs have been amazingly fun and tonight I am sure will be no different. ROCKTOBER to the MAX!

Tonights adventures in ROCKTOBERING will be taking place at The Gold Room Bar just down the street from Chris and I’s place off of Sunset. I anticipate an 8o’clock arrival, free taco in hand by 8:15 along with a chilled beer. I am excited by where tonight shall take me, especially after the past two nights. Anyone who wishes to experience a bar so close to my place I may actually walk is welcome to join at any point. Just hit me up beforehand to make sure the adventuring hasn’t moved on to a new venue. ROCKTOBER NIGHTS!