Momentum

Like that cool Aimee Mann song from Magnolia, I have momentum. I'll even post some of the lyrics if you've never heard it:

Oh, for the sake of momentum
Even though I agree with that stuff about seizing the day
But I hate to think of effort expended
All those minutes and days and hours
I have frittered away.

(Side note: It's funny how you're listening to a song you enjoy, and you think the person is singing one thing, and then you actually read the lyrics, and then you go, "Oooohhhhh. well, that's even cooler.")

The momentum I'm referring to is that I have taken steps to (hopefully) better my future self. I have entered into a debt consolidation program, something I was always ridiculously opposed to, figuring I can handle this crap myself. Well, I can't. So, for the next few years, I'll be paying a few hundred dollars a month to get rid of this credit card debt, instead of several hundreds of dollars a month and not see the debt go anywhere. Also, I signed up for a class for the Fall semester: Ancient Greek and Roman Literature, which I am told does not require the student to know Greek (Longtime readers may remember that last Spring I signed up for a Greek Mythology class that was actually in Greek. Like everything Greek. This time I made sure.) Once I complete this, I'll be more than halfway to my Masters degree. This is, of course, coming on the heels of the conversation I had with a friend who said that he makes twice as money as his wife, even though she has her Masters and he has no degrees at all. Makes me sort of wonder why the Hell I'm doing this, but hey, it's free.

I also sold about 150 old comics to a small Asian man yesterday. I felt a little bad because I was pretty sure they were worthless, but he seemed pleased to get so many books for a mere $25. The hook is I fibbed a little and pretended not to know anything about comics when I posted the ad on craigslist, hoping I would lure in someone looking for a diamond in the rough. Looking at it this way, he offered me twenty-five dollars sight unseen. Plus, if he was looking for a hidden treasure for a cheap price, then technically, he was trying to screw me out of it, too. So, I think all's fair, y'know.

Now, I think the momentum ends here. I'm off to the Cape for a week, doubtless unable to post on here. Will you miss me?

Money Matters (It Really Does)

So, I have recently come to the conclusion that just about everyone I know has more money than I do. And I don't mean a few more bucks in their wallet, necessarily (although right now I have $1 in my wallet). I mean they are worth a lot more than me. This was not the case a few years ago. Somehow, I was left behind... again. Interestingly enough, this directly relates to the other aspect of life where I was left behind: coupling.

Being the virtual Last Man Standing has its drawbacks, and I am now discovering one of them. I'm poor. Now, one of the reasons I'm poor is the copious amounts of beer and pizza that I consume, the large DVD collection, and ridiculous other things I spend money on. However, everyone else I know spends money on these things too, and doesn't have the money woes that I do. It really does go back to Keri and our break-up. not only did she charge a lot of crap to my card in the months leading up to the split, but after I was forced to move out of our apartment for my own sanity, I had to charge things just to survive, like food and car payments (I was still only a nine-month employee here back then and making very little money, to say nothing of the whole first/last thing on my new place.) So, interest rates being what they are, I'm still paying for all that, five years hence. It's like paying for the sins of the father.

So, if that wasn't bad enough, I am now one of the few people I know who does not live in some sort of double-income situation. Granted, many of my married and coupled friends have separate bank accounts and all that, but let's face it, they buy each other shit. Plus, they probably split the rent, the electricity, the cable and whatever else. "hey, man," you may be thinking, "Why don't you just find a roommate?" Well, I did, and it was great, but it can't go on forever, and incidentally, the main reason my roommate and I parted ways? Money! She moved out to save money, which was very smart of her. I'm just too damn stubborn.

Finally, let's throw in one more small factor. Very few people I know live in the city, where things cost more. Much more. "So, dude, quit complaining and move to the 'burbs," is what you're saying, right? Good idea, except I'm stubborn, remember? And I'm not really complaining. just reporting the facts. Plus, I'd have to buy a car and pay to gas it up, and I have no desire to do that these days. So, not only do they split the bills, they have smaller bills. if I lived out in the boonies, I'd probably be a millionaire and be able to score with easier women. Well, nice as that sounds, I love the city, I work in the city and am staying in the city.

I think what I can conclude from most of this is that one of the main reasons people couple together is that it's just too damn hard to go it alone. And to that much I will attest.

But I will try.

Let it Rain

Saturday night, I saw Bruce Springsteen and the Heart-stopping, Booty-shaking, Viagra-taking, Pants-dropping, etc., Legendary E Street Band at Gillette Stadium. I had asked my brother to go as a birthday present to him and because I wasn't sure who else I could go with who would appreciate the band's talents. See, he saw Bruce at the same venue (well, in its former life) twenty years ago, in 1988, on what I believe was the Tunnel of Love Tour (TOL was released in 1987. Not necessarily a high point in The Boss' career, but coming off of the success of Born in the U.S.A., there's only one place to go.) Anyway, so he told me it was an interesting way to circle around again, 20 years later. Plus, I don't think he gets out much anymore, so it was definitely a good thing. The one drawback for him: he does not own Magic, and only heard Radio Nowhere the night before the show. Some fan. Hopefully he'll go buy it now and even use my link so we can all be happy.

Nevertheless, I was slightly nervous we wouldn't see a show at all. Lightning and torrential downpours delayed the start by a little over an hour. However, it did not dampen the spirits of the crowd (even Bruce mentioned that "a little rain agrees with us.") This was a really "up" crowd, perhaps the most I've seen since Fenway 5 years ago, and I've seen Bruce 4 times in those last five years. Yeah, I'm a little nuts.

I don't want to just do a review of the show itself, but there were personal certainly high points. I've read online that Bruce fans across the country, with the exception of maybe Jersey, are slightly jealous of us Bostonians (or Foxboro-ans) because a lot of his shows are viewed as warm-ups for us. This is because when he was a nobody in the 70's, he played to appreciative and loyal fans on the local club scene, possibly because we were the only ones who would have him. While I've never seen a show in a different city (and I don't know if I could tell the difference), but the energy at Bruce shows is way beyond any concert I've ever seen. He certainly seems to be enjoying himself out there, and after over 30 years, it may be difficult not to phone it in some nights. I definitely have days where I don't feel like working.

How do they do it? Especially tour after tour, night after night? Some of these songs have literally been played on every E Street tour for the last 30 years (If you went to a show and didn't hear "Born to Run," wouldn't you feel a little funny?) The key may be a little variety in the middle. Springsteen amuses himself between E Street albums with his solo stuff (Devils & Dust and the Seeger Sessions tour over the last few years), throwing commercial success out the window and satisfying his creative hunger a bit. And on this tour, instead of showing their age (as was the case when I saw Duran Duran earlier this summer) the band is taking advantage of their experience by taking requests; fans in the pit area are encouraged to bring signs asking for their long-lost faves. Saturday night, I think he played five requests, including "Little Latin Lupe Lu, " originally by the Righteous Brothers and covered by many, including Bruce ages ago. Weird one, but at least it wasn't, "PLAY AIN'T GOT YOU!"

In all, the requests were kind of a mixed bag; I could probably go the rest of my life without hearing "Hungry Heart" ever again, and "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd St?" is a little too far back for my tastes, but for the encore, Bruce grabbed a few more signs, saying, "We have here the rarely played and even more rarely requested..." and he turned the sign around to reveal "I'm Goin' Down." This song is one of my guilty pleasures. While I see the hokey factor, if you look closer, you can understand that it is about a poor young dude who is in a failing relationship that he can do nothing to save. The girl is just bored with him. It's hopeless. He's goin' down. The funny thing was that Mark and I had a discussion earlier in the day about what a silly song it is, and I tried to explain the sadness of it, and after hearing it live, he was forced to re-think his stance. the requests ended with a birthday present for someone: "Jungleland," which was just awesome.

Not to get too gushy, but here's the clincher. After going way passed curfew for Foxboro, Bruce played the Seeger Sessions' "American Land." After reviewing setlists for months, it seemed to be his closer, except in Jersey, but that's expected. The band all came together and took a bow, and the roar was amazing. Bruce encouraged us to get even louder, and louder, and loude, and we did. He yelled, "Boston, Rhode Island, Connecticut, wherever the fuck we are!" And then he played "one more fairy tale from Jersey:" Rosalita. Yet another song I had assured Mark he would not play, having already played "Mary's Place," the nouveau "Rosalita." The boy was psyched.

I know performers have to make it seem like every city is their favorite and that the fans are special everywhere, but I believe in my heart of hearts that "Rosalita" was not on the original setlist. It was a small reward for sitting on wet seats in wet clothes for over an hour to see him and still being incredibly loud and appreciative for the almost three hour set. And what a reward it was. As Bruce might say, "A Beautiful Reward." People need a Reason to Believe, and I will always believe that he did it just for us, and in this, I cannot be jaded.

How many Bruce songs can I quote in one paragraph?