Road Trip Blues: A Diary for the Musically Inclined

So where to begin  telling the story of the weekend?

yeah, I'm officially a player

Another road trip, this time two states north to Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Casino. A weekend of gambling... I think not. As usual, it's about the music. This time to see some old friends play and do an interview with one of the band.  For this adventure, the Drum Mama was riding shotgun... the best partner-in-crime on the planet.

We met up before 10 in the morning, both of us antsy to get the weekend started. Now, being from Jersey, we don't pump gas... ever. I've mentioned before that even with traveling through a hell of a lot of states, I've never been the one to actually fill the tank. Didn't plan on it Saturday either. What I did plan was to pick her up and fill up the tank right before we left Jersey and have plenty of fuel for the round trip.

The only problem is when we get together, we tend to talk a little lot and... well the best laid plans and all that. When I actually looked at the gas gauge and saw I had a quarter tank, I was just about over the Connecticut state line. As traumatizing as that was, I knew I had no choice but to keep driving, knowing full well my lifelong record of never touching a fuel pump was about to end.

Well, that wasn't the only first that day. I had also never been to a Casino before. Never had any interest even though we do have a town called Atlantic City a little south of here. I still don't have any interest, and I actually didn't even touch a slot machine until after midnight on Saturday. Working from home, I don't have a lot of outside influences in my day-to-day life. The noise and visual stimulation of the casino were way more than I needed, especially with the bit of drama occurring with the interview. For a while, I thought it might not happen, but in the end it all worked out and was more than what I could have hoped.

Anyway, if it was up to me, I probably would not have put a buck into the machines, but the Drum Mama would not hear of it. So, we played, I watched the machines quickly suck my cash and I was only too happy to go back upstairs, unwind, digest the whole evening and have a drink.

All in all, the show was terrific, the working end for me was very gratifying and the company as usual, couldn't be beat. It's always fun when your traveling companion has a bartender's license, not to mention manages to think of everything. BTW, we don't travel light, we travel prepared.

As beautiful as the hotel and casino were, I don't think I'll ever be a fixture at the slot machines. I can't tell you how disappointed my mother is in me.

There's a lot more coming about the weekend: a review of the show and the interview will be posted, hopefully in a few days. And look at the Music blog for a post called Almost Showtime for a preview of both.

Soup...Is It Really?

Not feeling 100% today. Woke up at 3 with a sore throat couldn't fall back to sleep so at 4, I took a shower. Welcome to the life of an insomniac. After the shower, I was able to get another hour of sleep...better than nothing.

Several cups of tea always helps. Funny when you don't feel well your cravings get weird. Soup of course heads the list of "make me feel better" foods. But I never end up with nice homemade soup (who really has it just waiting for the day you really need it?) No, I go with the cheap shit...Cup 'o Noodles. Though in looking at the cup, there is no "o"...just Cup Noodles. You know the dehydrated crap in a styrofoam cup...yum.

It's probably the massive amount of sodium (1060mg to be exact) that does it. It makes you so thirsty you end up drinking gallons of water and poof...your body start to kick ass again. But have you ever looked at the ingredients in it...seriously not a good idea. Chicken soup right?  Well number eight on the ingredient list is powdered chicken...WTF is that? Powdered...as in talcum, pampered chicken; I think not. And quite frankly, I don't think I want to know. I gotta tell you that is one ugly ingredient list.

Now that I have consumed a host of ates, iums and things that are yzed...yes I am beginning to feel better. A cure for what ails me... all it cost was 44 cents and with all the chemicals I've just consumed...a year off my life.

I live in Jersey, you think a little cup of toxic brew is gonna scare me?

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