ManicRobThrill

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Checks, balances, checking balances

If it's Sunday, then my clothes must smell of Maxwell's... Spent a good evening out last night with Bob at Maxwell's, ruminating on matters of the mind (mine) and heart (his); the now and the future of The Punch Line and the power of certain music in our lives. Made it an early night so I could get a good night's sleep in anticipation of...

The lease signing... say YES! Done; we have the keys and had the chance to look around and map out the new place at our own leisure. Got my parking permit and laundry room card as well. Sweet relief. Was that enough? No... as soon as we left Mill Run, took a chance at trying to find Image Planet gym--found it with no wasted moves and 45 minutes later, left with a one-year membership paid in full. It's a complete facility; local and has everything I need, plus meeting with a nutritionist and personal trainer. Stopped at Target to get a new sofa cover and cushions and for a quick bite.

Okay--go back to my posting of January 2. On that checklist were the following:
a) sign the lease -- DONE
b) join a gym -- DONE
c) take photos for the album cover -- DONE and then some...

Three of the four complete; I'm going to call our accountant tomorrow to see if he can do our taxes next weekend--fingers crossed? You bet.

Friday, January 27, 2006

All in your mind

Strangely enough, I've felt quiet and mellow all week. Work is work; nothing more nor less. Haven't anything to say about it.

Taxes and signing the lease this coming Sunday are the only two things that have kept swirling around in my head. Now that the album is complete and we're going to manufacture in about three weeks, I don't have much to ruminate on there, either.

Maybe it's the mid-winter doldrums? Or maybe I need a new toy (thanks, Bob, for the inspiration).

Monday, January 23, 2006

Weekend rewind (knock me over with a feather...)


What can I say? I think this captures it all, really.

The long vision; what had been in my mind for ages is real and done and looks fantastic. Pride, much emotion and a sense of some disbelief that the art matches the music perfectly and best of all, this was a group effort.

Elaboration: the intention yesterday was for us to get together and drive to this abandoned train station Chris told us about in Harriman, New York; it was just to have something and maybe be able to come up with some ideas. After taking the pictures (which took about 15 minutes in all), we headed back to Chris' house and didn't even realize we were working on the design until we pulled the templates and laid out the entire package. Then it became a case of doing it all--the credits, the photos for the inside--all of it.

Now we can send this off to be manufactured and let the music speak for itself. As I feel with the songs, so do I feel the same about the presentation. It's a complete package and I absolutely love it.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Loose ends need tying

Since it's been several days (a week?) since my last posting, I'll dispense with the weekend rewind. The week itself was busy, work-wise; spent a quiet and relaxing Friday night at home, just talking and watching T.V. Saturday morning and into the afternoon, it was all about getting chores done; a quick burger and then home to unwind in front of the gogglebox again. Sunday was grocery shop and then to Hoboken to buy the furniture for the new apartment--success! The items we wanted were in stock; the finish we wanted was available for all the pieces and they'll deliver the day after we move in, which is already reserved for the cable and gas companies. Afterwards, a great lunch at Pita Grill and down to Target to get the rugs for the living room and bedroom. All that's really left to do is now wait until the 29th, which is the day we sign the lease. That, and a new coffee table, which we saw and will be getting next week.

The band should hopefully go back to the rehearsal studio next week; I would love to see us keep up the impetus that we seem to be rebuilding. I know Chris is working on the website; I'm looking foward to seeing the changes. I'm as guilty as anyone else, dragging my feet to shoot the cover photo, but I'm fairly certain that by the end of the month (maybe the same weekend I sign my lease), I'll find the "right" train station and take the damn photo! My bad--I'm responsible for art execution, so I need to kick my own ass. Actually listened to the album in its' entirety for the first time in the car while driving home from work. It's about ten times more powerful when you hear it in surround sound as oppposed to on a Discman. It still leaves me shaking my head with some disbelief and a great deal of pride. At the end of the day, it's what I always hoped and felt The Punch Line should strive for--pride and quality going hand in hand with the solid base of the music.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Weekend rewind plus (strange thing)

The birthday was great (see previous post); Sunday was spent chilling out alone at home. The perfect contrast to the raucous good music on Saturday night. Busy with both work and things around the house--got the new phone number and gas service taken care of today. All that's left to do is sign the lease on the 29th. Took the car for a sorely-needed transmission oil change, which, thankfully, didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Got an e-mail last week from a former girlfriend; it's an interesting thing when you haven't had contact with someone for X amount of years and suddenly they get in touch. When I first read it, I was creeped out; then I was ambivalent and thought about blowing it off completely. I eventually wrote her back a perfunctory "you asked all these questions--I don't know why you sought me out or what you want, but here are your answers" reply and I'll hope that's the end of that. When someone from the past tries to reconnect but your prior history wasn't worth the time that was invested in it, it's disturbing. You know: it ended; I have no cause to get in touch with you; I don't think about you--so what's the deal? Even more curious is that half of the crew said (as the general consensus) "I hope you didn't write her back at all" and the other half said "just be polite and answer her questions", which is what I did. So I reiterate, I hope this has been laid to rest once and for all.

Strange things will happen one day... indeed

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Gift



If anyone asks, "what did you do for your 41st birthday?", I can simply say "see above photo". Apart from spending a quiet Friday night with Liz and taking care of the morning chores, the latter half of my birthday was spent with The Punch Line, doing work. I couldn't have asked for better. Chris and I worked on the initial stages of overhauling the band's website; we went to the studio and not only rehearsed the regular set but added the first new song since the album's completion, "The Sweetest Revenge" (which came together faster than I would have ever imagined). We also took some fresh photos to add to the various websites we have. For a change, I actually like the photos we took; I'm quite fond of the one above. As the evening wore on, we just got better and harder and more powerful and I loved it.

Big shoutouts of thanks to Val, Marc (especially for the awesome birthday surprise), Brian and the Rangers for winning a game on my day!

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Clearing up the inconveniences

I like the new look of the blog page and the even-newer hit counter. Finally on pace and counting the visits to this page (again). One thing I'm even more pleased with is the absence of advertising underneath the counter. If you visit my favorite blog-buddy, the wry and witty Le Fig, you'll see she also needed a new counter; more importantly, you should just visit Clementine's Folly as her latest entry is a laugh (would you expect any less?).

Looking forward to seeing Bob on Saturday night; he just e-mailed and it looks like we'll be at Maxwell's to celebrate my 41st birthday; since I haven't heard from Chris, I'm presuming Saturday is a wash for The Punch Line. It would be nice, actually, to have some studio time as was originally discussed, but we'll see.

I realize this may be a cheapskate posting, but I wanted to seal getting this new layout all wrapped up and now it is!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

New year, new look

Just wanted to point out the new template (got tired of the original one) and the new web counter at the bottom. The problem is, I set it up for 2100 hits (the last guess-timated count) and it set itself at 7. This is a temporary counter and I hope to have this sorted out somehow by the weekend.

Let me know what you think of the new layout!

Monday, January 02, 2006

The end of the beginning of the end...

So it's back to work tomorrow. Pleased to say that if nothing else, I'm ambivalent about it. I feel fairly well chilled out and am looking more forward to this upcoming weekend--not because it's my birthday but because The Punch Line begin '06 at work. We just received an invitation to play this year's International Pop Overthrow festival, being held in Nashville. That's quite an honor, to be sure, but unfortunately, since the album isn't out yet and I'm first moving next month, the timing isn't right. I did get back in contact with the show's promoter and he could not have been nicer and more understanding; hopefully, they'll have a slot for us next year. A great way to start this year, though.

Had a nice, calm New Year's Eve with Liz; spoke to Brian, Bob and lovely cousin Val and did some more packing--goodbye to even more of my old "Mod" clothing; a good way to end the year. The passing of time with the purging of a former life (style?). Had a few glasses of wine and an early night--just after midnight. Ran minor errands yesterday and today and here I am with the first entry of the new year.

Resolutions? I have none; however, I do have resolve. The plans have been made and laid out; the wheels are in motion. To be brief, I'll share:

a) move to New Jersey - complete as of 2/13
b) join a new gym - upon moving to Union, join Image Planet (early March)
c) do the photoshoot for the album cover - end of this month?
d) have the taxes taken care of as soon as all forms are in (the one inconvenience--the waiting for the 1099's)
e) release the album in time for the spring

There are other minute elements: i.e. lose some weight; return to Sahaja Yoga practice, etc. I think it will be done in no time simply due to maintaining focus.

So that's my opening salvo for the new year. No doubts in my mind.

Happy New Year!