Goodbye Todd

Got a call tonight from CVL, the owner of the video store I worked at for 6 years. He informed me that my Wednesday night coworker and friend passed away last Saturday. I had not talked to Todd for a couple of months. The last time I saw him he was griping about his health being up and down. But that’s the way it’s always been for him so I didn’t think much of it. It’s kind of strange because just the other day I was thinking to myself that I needed to give him a call and see what he’s been up to. Why didn’t I follow up on that? And why did he come to mind after not even thinking of him for so long. Not that I’m a big believer in psychic things, but this isn’t the first time something like that has happened.

Irregardless, I would like to take a minute to thank Todd for all the memories and laughs. And boy did we have some, especially when we were working together at Valentine Video. Like the time we got bored and went to the gay porno room of the video store and poured a bottle of poppers in the carpet. Damn, that caused a stink! lol. Or the time we got bored and went to the Chinese liquor store up the street and got totally drunk on the job. Or the time we went to the Brooks and Dunn concert. And all the times we bitched about the crazy customers at the store, we knew those crazy bastards so well. And then there was the time we went to the Habana Inn in Oklahoma City with L and Todd kept bitching about the S&M couple next door to his room that kept him up all night with their constant spanking and God knows what else. Fuck. I’ll miss you Todd. Take care buddy.

Cloverfield

A and I went to see the movie Cloverfield this weekend. This was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a theater in a long, long time. It stole a little too much from Blair Witch Project, but I can put that aside. The special effects were really great and there were a couple parts where I practically jumped out of my pants. Watching New York get the shit beat out of it was great fun. (Not that I hate New York, I just happen to love movies that destroy the earth. I know, call me weird.) The fact that the monster won out in the end was even better. Lets face it, the good guys don’t always win. I’ve been reading about this movie on the Internet and I wish I would have heard about it earlier. I would have loved to follow the marketing of this movie with all the fake web sites and myspace pages. That would have been fun. Oh well, I’m gonna see this movie again later this week.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. I pretty much stayed in my apartment because I slept on my back wrong Friday night and its been hurting ever since. I guess I’ll be limping along for the next few days. It’s been about 8 months since this has happened so I guess I was due. Sucks getting old!

Saturday night A came over for a little bit after he went to a birthday party. We just sat around and watched a little bit of TV. He left and I went to bed. I can’t believe I didn’t go out Friday or Saturday, that’s not like me! Oh well, I spent so much money in Chicago last weekend I need to lay low for a bit. Maybe my back started hurting for a reason. . .

Heading Home

 

Heading home on the Southwest Chief. . .  B and I had a great time in Chicago this weekend. We did the things I always do when I go there. We ran amuk in Boystown, did some shopping on Michigan Avenue, and ate at some new places. As much as I love going to Chicago, I don’t think I could ever live there Their winter lasts too long for me. If I ever move somewhere other than Kansas City, it will have to be to a place with a warmer climate Anyway, as always, the highlight of the trip was the train ride up and the train ride back. I love the city, but its just become too familiar. It’s not like even going out of town anymore. But I keep going back just to get more rides on the Chief. This Spring I would like to take an overnight trip, perhaps to LA. Or maybe even the California Zephyr out to San Francisco. Now that would be a great ride. Spring is still a ways away though I’ve got time to think about it.

Since tomorrow is MLK day, I get the day off work. I’m really glad I have a day to rest up from this quick vacation. It’s been a great three days, and I definitely need some down time before I go back to work.

Amtrak to Chicago

Today is the day that B and I are headed to Chicago for the weekend. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time. Right now its 9:25am and we are on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. We just got back from having a really good breakfast in the dining car. I had my usual railroad french toast with a side of sausage. It hit the spot. Our dining companions were a couple of very interesting folks also headed to Chicago. We had a very lively conversation and B and I really enjoyed the company. Right now we are crammed in our roomette, B’s talking on the phone and I’m typing this. It feels great to be back on the train.

It’s now 1:30pm and we are running about 50 minutes late. But that’s ok with me, I’m enjoying he ride. At lunch B and I sat with a couple older ladies headed back to Ohio. I had some kind of turkey sandwich which really was kinda crappy. Blech. After lunch it was back to the roomette to stretch out and watch the scenery go by. Right now I’m sitting in the observation car and it is packed. A ton of people got on at the last stop, Galesburg IL, and I think its an overflow crowd. We should be in Chicago in about two hours.

11:15pm. It is FREEZING up here. I knew it would be cold but wow, it feels like it must be 10 below. I hate this kind of weather, guess thats why I don’t ever want to move here. We are getting ready to go out right now. Gonna hit some bars and have some fun. The bars are really fun up here, but I dread walking to get to them.

Quiet Evening

This evening I went over to A’s place for a while. I brought over Shrek 3 to watch so we lounged on the couch all evening. I really enjoyed Shrek 3 even though I haven’t even seen the first two. I’ll have to put those on my Netflix que.

B and I leave for Chicago on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief on Friday. The train left Los Angeles on time tonight at 6:45pm. Lets hope it makes it to Kansas City on time. I’ve already started my obsessive checking of the train status, I do this every time. Right now its approaching Barstow California and is estimated to arrive on time. The Chief has been running very well the past two weeks so I’m hoping we might make it to Chicago a little early.

Reunited

I was very happy to learn today that Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez have put their differences aside and will be playing together on the upcoming Rape of the World Tour. I will be seeing Manson in concert for the 5th time next month at the Uptown. Twiggy has always been my favorite band member and getting a chance to see him perform again is great news. Now if only Madonna Wayne Gacy would get back with the band.

Tonight A and I are going to hang out together. Probably see a movie and have dinner. Just a quiet evening together. He’s currently at a meeting and will be calling around 7:00pm. I’m really looking forward to seeing him tonight and think we’ll have a good time.

Sweeney Todd

Tonight W and I went to see Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber of Fleet Street down at the Music Hall.  I have been a fan of this musical for years and was really looking forward to it.  I knew the show had been revamped before I went so I was ready for a totally different experience than what I was used to.  Thank God I was ready, otherwise I would have been very disappointed.  While not a bad show, it just wasn’t what Sweeney Todd should be.  The guy playing Todd, in my opinion, just didn’t have it.  Maybe it was him or maybe it was the shows direction, but I just never really cared for the character.  When he dies in the end it was just, well ok, he’s dead now.  Didn’t give a damn.  I was also very put off by the fact that though much of the show the actors never interacted with each other, they just sang to the audience.  Simply put, there was just too much damn standing around with them not really doing anything.  If I didn’t know the story I probably wouldn’t know what the hell was going on, I’m sure much of the audience didn’t know because I noticed a lot of empty seats that were once filled during the second act.  The only part of the show that really stood out was when Toby and Mrs. Lovett sang Not While I’m Around.  That was really good and I totally got into it.  So to sum up my feelings about this version of Sweeney Todd I say this. . . Meh, whatever.  Still, it was a good evening and beats staying home watching the crap on TV. 

A New Beginning?

A and I met last night for dinner and conversation. I was so nervous about seeing him again and I think the feeling was mutual. We ended up going to Thai Place for dinner which turned out to be a great place for a low key dinner and talk. It wasn’t very busy there so distractions and bad service was kept to a minimum. At first we just talked about superficial things but as the evening went on more serious topics were discussed. I’m not going to go into detail but I will say this. I’m very proud of A for what he has done over the past few weeks. Even if I were never to see him again, I would just be happy to know what he has done.

But. . . I will be seeing him again this Friday. We will be going out for a more formal movie and dinner date and I’m looking forward to it so much. Being with A feels so right. Its scary, but in a good way. A very good way.

In other news. . . .I’m going to see the new Broadway production of Sweeney Todd tomorrow night and I cannot wait. I’m such of fan of this musical from the late 70’s that I’m not sure how my reaction will be to the revamped version. I guess there is only one way to find out.

A Reply

Finally got a reply from A this afternoon via text. After a few rounds of text messages I gave him a call. It was so good to talk to him again. He sounded better than I have ever heard him and we made plans for dinner tomorrow night. Once I got that text I felt such a release, like a tremendous weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully all will go well. I’m so looking forward to seeing A tomorrow night. I’m as happy as I have ever been right now, but also so nervous about it. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but they are up there. WAY up there.

If nothing else, I got the reply message I needed so bad. Going to bed now, wishing good thoughts for tomorrow night.

Hot!!!!!!!!!

Nothing more needs to be said. . .