burgettstown warmup...

man, what a show...

i couldn't believe my good luck to see this show. i barely made it; i had a really good job interview in manhattan on thursday, and was so sure i was going to need to make a day trip down there that i almost didn't go to PA. of course, i didn't get the job, but before i knew that i decided it was important for me to go to this show.

when this setlist first started coming up on the rhombus, a number of people surmised it was a fake. never before had phish busted out with so many rare tunes.

07/29/03 Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
Set I: Daniel Saw the Stone, Camel Walk, Gotta Jibboo, Cool it Down, Scent of a Mule, Fee> Timber> When the Circus Comes to Town, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Golgi Apparatus
Set II: Crosseyed and Painless> Thunderhead, Brother, Harpua> Bittersweet Motel, Harpua, I Fooled Around and Fell in Love> HYHU> Harpua, David Bowie
Encore: Farmhouse

this was the first time i got to see Camel Walk, Scent of a Mule, Fee, McGrupp, Brother, and Harpua, all tunes i had wanted to see for a long time, and all at one show!

what a fine warmup for IT!!!

workin' for the man...

i had the beginnings of the interview process today with american express financial advisors. i'm rather torn over what to think about it, because it's not the kind of job i ever imagined myself doing. it's basically very much like a medical residency; you don't get paid shit to start, but if you get through the first two-to-three years, you'll be making around 100k.

i'm not concerned about the money. it's very exciting to think about making that much, but the part that kills me is that they told us straight out, "plan on working 60-65 hours a week for the first two years."

i really don't like working, and i especially don't like working 10 hours a day, six days a week. furthermore, doing so will make it very difficult to work on my music, or even look for another job. i feel like i should take it just because i need a job so bad, but i just don't think it's going to happen.

this is a career-type position, and it's set-up with the idea that it's only worth going through all the bullshit at first if you're going to continue in the industry. i really don't want to do this, because that means my career path will have to change from wanting to be in I.T., to being a financial advisor.

and shit, who really works 60 hours a week anyways? i did that at american music for six weeks and it nearly killed me. granted, you're making overtime, but sheeeit....

<sigh...>

let's go phishin'...

i'm pretty stoked about phish's evolution lately. it's kinda funny; they have so many side projects going on, and it just seems to make them better and more solid as a band. look at their latest show:

07/15/03 West Valley Amphitheater, West Valley, UT
Set I: AC/DC Bag, Ya Mar, Theme from the Bottom, Saw it Again, Poor Heart, Two Versions of Me, Secret Smile, Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove
Set II: Mr. Completely> Low Rider> Big Black Furry Creature from Mars> Buried Alive> Big Black Furry Creature from Mars> Ha Ha Ha> Big Black Furry Creature from Mars> Mr. Completely> Spread It Round, Walls of the Cave, Golgi Apparatus, Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Sleeping Monkey

i was blown away when i first saw Mr. Completely come up, since it's definitely one of my favorite trey band tunes. from there the set just went into outer space.

which brings me to my next thought, which is whether i should try to go to the Burgettstown, PA show on the 29th. i'm sure i could pick up a ticket on lot (there are many around on the extra ticket boards, and it may not even be sold out yet), but the issue that is going to decide this is primarily financial.

i have a couple of job interviews coming up (one today, actually), and i'm hoping i'll have a job within the next two weeks. if i don't, i'll pretty much have to move back in with my parents (seinfeld was right; there is nothing about moving back home that indicates that your life is going in the right direction). however, if that does happen, i won't need to pay this coming month's rent, so i'll be a little richer from the unemployment cashish...

i guess this is something i'll decide on the 28th...

getting the fuck outta dodge

sometimes, i admire vagrants. syracuse seems to have quite a lot of them downtown. i guess i don't think of this place as being that big, even though i guess it is. the truth is, nobody wants to be homeless, or otherwise forced to panhandle. but the prospect of only having one thing "to worry about" is alluring, at least in theory.

i've known various types of vagrants. there's the most obvious kind, aka the bums. but there's a few other variants, such as the lot trash that show up at every jamband concert, squatters in more metropolitan areas, or a more positive kind...maybe i'd call them hobos. the kind of person who drops everything and just decides to wander the earth ("like cain in kung-fu").

i find the idea enticing, especially since i really feel like i'm only a few steps above hobodom myself, what with the unemployment and all. of course, i'd want to wander like that only if i had a big enough fund so i could not have to worry about eating and stuff.

but then again, i guess that's the difference between hobo and traveler.

to blog or not to blog...

...that isn't really a question, since it's obvious what was my decision. i'm not sure if blogging is really for me, but i figure i'll give it a try...

i tried LiveJournal for awhile, but i just didn't like it. maybe it's because i couldn't think of anything to put it in. i figure running my own will let my customize it and maybe do some cool things. i'm not even sure what to focus on; probably music will be my focus, since that's about all i care about. maybe occasional posts about other things i'm thinking. we'll see...

one thing i don't want is some stupid blog where i talk about shit that no one would ever want to read, which may be unavoidable.

i really hate the word 'blog.'