Gotta Crawl Before You Walk

I’m in the middle of the slow dirge towards the end of an era.  Just over 16 weeks before I have to move out of my beloved South Lake Union apartment.  And, for the record, that’s all but official.  Word around the grapevine is the new owners are trying to charge $3,000 per month for a 1-bedroom.  Forget the fact that absolutely no 1-bedroom apartment in this area is worth $3,000 per month (closer to $2,000), but this is an older building!  Renovated apartments or not, if I can get a 1-bedroom in a new building for a thousand dollars less, why would I live here?

The answer to that is:  I wouldn’t.  The new owners don’t expect ANYONE to pay that amount.  They want to get rid of people, probably so they can turn the building into condos.  So, slowly but surely, they’re purging residents.  Parking spaces are vacant.  They’re storing entire apartments-worth of furniture in the garage for reasons unknown.  And, come June 30th, I’ll be another casualty.

It’s been particularly dour around here with my buddy moving out of the building at the end of February.  He had the parking spot next to mine and an apartment on the 4th floor; we’d go to the gym around the block fairly regularly; I guess that’s over.

The Anti-Academy Awards Brouhaha

I don’t know why I keep bumping these posts around to different sites; seems to me it fits perfectly here.  Check out last year’s edition HERE, and the post-Oscars recap HERE.

Long story short, I didn’t watch any of the Best Picture nominees from 2016.  It’s not that I never will – indeed, I’m quite interested in a few of them – but in the big lead-in from the announcements to the ceremony, I was in a pretty bad movie funk.  For starters, there just weren’t that many good movies last year.  I know I probably say that every year, but 2016 felt like a real abyss.  No big-name directors, no mind-melting premises, and of course the usual comic book/remake/sequel/kids movie crap.  On top of that, even the indies that ended up being nominated didn’t look that good!  They looked depressing.  2016 was a shitty-enough year, I don’t need to go to the movies and want to blow my fucking brains out!

And then, like a shiny turd, there was La La Land.  I fucking can’t stand musicals, so that right there is a huge knock against it.  It’s not like I haven’t given musicals a chance, but they’re just not for me.  On top of that, we’re talking about ANOTHER movie about Old Hollywood, or otherwise the process of making entertainment in America.  I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t handle another Hollywood Circle Jerk.  When it looked like La La Land had all the momentum in the world and was going to win everything, I just checked out.  Not again.

My Grandma Passed

Well, the clusterfuck that is 2016 finally encroached upon a member of my family; I can’t get out of this year fast enough.

This is a tough one for me.  She was my grandma on my dad’s side, and she’s lived in California my whole life, so I very rarely got to see her.  But, every time, she was a total sweetheart.  Just a lovely, kind, loving woman; someone you feel lucky to call your grandma.

I keep trying to remember the last time I saw her, but it’s tough.  I know she was up here, I think visiting my uncle and aunt; I maybe saw her for a few hours.  I seem to only really remember events where we made a point to take lots of pictures.  I want to say 10-12 years ago my whole family from California came up here, and we spent the day at the Point Defiance Park at the beach and whatnot.  Before that, it was when I was a teenager, when our family had our big multi-week road trip down to California.  I want to say we spent a week with her and the rest of my Cali relatives, swimming in pools, going to San Francisco, and doing it up big, before heading down to Disneyland.  Nothing much really comes to mind before that, but I’m sure I have a bunch of old photos down at my dad’s in an album.

I Gotta Move In 7 Months

Word just came down tonight that my apartment building has been sold.  Up to this point, it’s been owned by this little old lady or something, who has abided by a policy of keeping rents locked in until a tennant moves out, then bumping it up to market rate for the new tennant and keeping them locked in until they move out, and so on and so forth.  Presumably, whoever bought the building will not have the same policy.

I live in South Lake Union.  I’m right next to the I-5 exit off of Mercer Street.  I moved in here at the beginning of July, 2011.  It’s a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom, with all the kitchen appliances, an in-unit washer/dryer, and a little balcony with sliding glass doors.  It’s big, it’s spacious, it’s got lots of storage space, and with an extra-long 2-car parking space inside a garage, I’ve been paying a total of $1,260.  If you’re not familiar with this area of Seattle, that probably means nothing to you.  But, you see, South Lake Union – in the 5+ years I’ve been living here – has been completely bought-up by Amazon.  What hasn’t been bought-up by Amazon has been demolished, with fancy condos and apartments put in their place.  It’s the fastest-growing area of one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.

A safe estimate for what the market value is for my apartment is around $1,900, not including the parking space.  If you spruced it up with hardwood floors, new cabinets and appliances, you’re probably talking anywhere from $2,100-$2,200.  Plus probably another $100-$150 for the garage parking spot.

Suffice it to say, I’ve gotten a tremendous deal on this place, considering where the market has gone, particularly over the last 3-4 years.

Getting Through Thanksgiving Eve

In what’s become a tradition – now four years running – I’m home alone for Thanksgiving.  Same reasons every time:  gotta work on Friday, so there’s no sense in driving down to Tacoma for a day.  On the Wednesday (today), I get off work early, come home, make a grocery list, and head over to the madhouse that is the Capitol Hill Safeway.  I load up on food for my pig-out-fest tomorrow, come back home, and fill my evening with Christmas music and holiday movies.

This year, I got a jumpstart on the holiday season.  After the election, I just needed a break.  From everything.  From reality.  I ended up muting almost all comedians on Twitter, and really anyone who even rarely referenced Donald Trump or the election or anything politically related.  I just can’t handle all the negativity, you know?  And, believe me, my entire Twitter feed is one huge echo chamber; we’re all on the same team.  But, I just can’t right now.  If you thought the bitching and the outrage was bad leading up to the election, I couldn’t imagine how bad it would be for the next 8 years (and, make no mistake, this thing is going to take at LEAST 8 years to shift back).  It’s not fun, you know?  It’s sickening.  So, I unplugged, and in its place I’ve filled my little world with endless Christmas music in hopes to get back in some semblance of the spirit.

And, I gotta tell ya, it’s been okay!  It helps that I have a motherfucking SHITLOAD of Christmas music, to the point where I could listen to it at my usual pace and not hear the same song twice for the next two months (if I really wanted to).

Temple of the Dog & Feeding My Nostalgia Addiction

It’s been a productive couple of years when it comes to crossing off bucket-list bands to see live in concert.  In 2015, I got around to Faith No More, Motley Crue, AND Alice Cooper.  This year, a couple more biggies with the (mostly) original lineup of Guns N’ Roses and last night with Temple of the Dog.  I suppose it’s hardly fair to lump Temple of the Dog in with those other bands, as they never had an official tour in their “heyday”.  Regardless, though, even if they had, I still wouldn’t have been able to see them because I would have been 10 years old.

Of course, when I really think about it, I don’t know if I’ve EVER seen a band at the height of their initial popularity.  I saw Aerosmith in 1994, which was really more Second Wave Aerosmith than Classic Aerosmith.  I didn’t go to my first Pearl Jam show until 2005, Beastie Boys in 2004, The Flaming Lips in 2006, Stone Temple Pilots in 2008, Jane’s Addiction & Nine Inch Nails in 2009, Ween & Public Enemy in 2010, The Melvins in 2009, Phish in 2011, Butthole Surfers in 2011, Radiohead in 2012, Primus in 2012.  As I got into college, and more importantly after college when I actually HAD some money to throw around, my taste in music started to shift, as the rock n’ roll landscape started to really sour.

So, now it’s been an endless string of electronic music acts and 25th anniversary-esque reunion tours, or the dreaded Last Tour Ever tours.

I Spent $500 To See Guns N’ Roses, Part II

I’m just waking up after five and a half measly hours of sleep.  Oddly, I’m not all that tired, but my feet are sore, my legs have been cramping all night, I’m dirty, I’m starving, and I’m probably a little dehydrated, even though I drank about a half gallon of iced tea before I went to bed last night, at 3am.

I saw Guns N’ Roses play CenturyLink Field last night.  It was fucking insane.

Something I Didn’t Know I Wanted

July 20th UPDATE:  see at the bottom of the post.

I generally don’t like talking about work.  In most cases, work stories are only interesting to other people in your field.  Yeah, I can probably relate to your story about that crazy day at McDonalds, but the impact of the story isn’t really going to hit home unless you’ve worked in the fast food industry, and I’ve unfortunately never had the pleasure.  Other than potentially boring my friends and family, I don’t like talking about work because I just don’t like working.  It’s a necessary evil.  It keeps me from having to live at my dad’s house, constantly worried that I’m being a burden, and it affords me a lifestyle I’ve grown accustomed to, so in that sense work is a positive.  But, it eats into so much of my week, of my LIFE, that I constantly find myself wondering if any of this is worth it.  Work is more than 40 hours a week.  It dictates all of your actions for the entirety of those five days, leaving you with but a mere weekend to relax and do what you REALLY want.

I’ve always said I value my time over money, and that hasn’t changed.  That will never change.  Now, there’s obviously a threshold – I could be a bum and have all the time in the world, but obviously I’m not willing to take it to that extreme – but if I were ever able to find a way to live comfortably, do a job I’m good at, and only work 3-4 days a week, that would probably be my ideal life.  But, a 3-4 day work week doesn’t provide for any kind of future.  Whether I’ll even be around for that future is another discussion for another time, but suffice it to say, there’s a part of me that wonders if I’m not wasting my time with 401Ks and whatnot.

Anyway, like I said, I don’t like talking about work, but I have to now, because it’s on my mind and it won’t stop being on my mind until I put it out into the universe.  This is my curse.

I Spent $500 To See Guns N’ Roses, Part I

Various shows happened earlier this year, but the tour started in earnest on June 23rd in Detroit.  I read a review by someone after that night’s show, and it was overwhelmingly positive (something I wasn’t totally expecting).  Then, a little over a week later, they played Chicago and I caught the AV Club review; same deal.  The band sounds good, it’s awesome having so many of the classic players involved, they tear through the hits like they haven’t missed a beat, and if you just sort of lose yourself in the moment (hat tip to Eminem), it’s like you’re back in 1992 or 1988 or whatever.

I’ve known all along that they’re coming to Seattle in August, but I honestly had no intention of going.  I already saw them in 2011 in Key Arena, and I know what you’re saying, “It’s not the same!  It’s just Axl and a bunch of Hired Guns!”  Yeah, I get it.  But, for starters, it’s not like those guys were terrible musicians.  If you think Axl is going to stake his reputation to a bunch of amateurs who don’t have the chops, you’re mistaken.  I found them to be quite talented and the show overall to be better than my wildest expectations (which, admittedly, weren’t all that high).

So, would I be getting a remarkably different or better experience this time around?  With the addition of Slash & Duff and that’s it?  We’re still talking about at least half of the performers on stage not being the original core members of the Appetite For Destruction-era GNR, so what’s the big fucking deal?

Fun With Depression

I’m in a pretty bad place right now.  Maybe it’s because I’m sick this week.  Maybe it’s because I’m grotesquely overweight again.  Maybe it’s because I’m sitting up late on a Saturday and I know I have to go to bed so I can get up early tomorrow to meet up with friends at a bar before the Seahawks game, but I’m nowhere near tired because I’m in such a bad place.

A lot of it’s probably that.  But, it all comes back to this incredible loneliness I’ve been feeling lately.  Loneliness, for me, comes and goes.  It’ll hit me hard, and then I’ll wake up and it won’t matter one bit anymore.  When it hits, it sucks, because it’s all-encompassing.  It’s all I can think about as I walk through this empty fucking apartment, trying to find ANYTHING I can watch or read that will distract from the fact that I’ve got absolutely nothing going on in my life and no one to share that nothing with.  And, it’s not like I’m even pining away for a specific someone like is usually the case.  I’m pining away for an abstract idea of a companion.