ManicRobThrill

Sunday, September 30, 2007

The beginning of the end again

Not to sound too joyful, but with the end of September, it only means that our move home is exactly a month away with a lot to take care of. I've done most of the legwork--booking movers, cable and contacting the DMV, Geico as well as Toyota, but I do have to call the gas and electric companies. I also wanted to get started on packing as time is limited and I don't want to do a rush. I also need to get back over to the new apartment to make sure all is well and in tact and to map out where we're going to put things. Exciting, to say the most. Detailed, to say the least. Stress hasn't entered into the picture, as of yet.

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Would someone please tell those arrogant, whiny assholes from "Grey's Anatomy" to shut the fuck up already? Big news flash--no one gives a shit that T.R. Knight is gay; no offense, but Katherine Heigl isn't interesting and the show itself (in the few times I've seen it) is just lame. Talk about a non-story. Lump them in with Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and the rest of the marginal "explain to me how you became famous" crowd. Jesus.

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Until we move and are settled in, I'm not going to continue working on new songs. I don't want to be distracted from the move and I don't want to be distracted from completing good, strong material. I've waited this long, you know?

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Out of the tunnel

After all the tension building up about the new apartment, I have the new lease, signed by all parties, a moving company booked and cable arranged for November 2. I have the necessary forms from the New York DMV and now I can regain my old identity as a New Yorker. Relief? Absolutely. I just can't wait for the month to fly by and we can be home again.

Work has been good--busy, but good. It's been a settling-in period in the new offices, but I'm very proud of how things have turned out.

Been in touch with a lot of friends, especially old friends who had been out of the orbit a while. Good to have the line again.

Buy this on October 15th.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

In the tunnel

Been making music again; a nice change of pace. It's not with any sense of urgency or ferocity, but after finally finding myself with the spare moments necessary, I've picked up the guitar and been able to find the chords and words with no loss. Interesting. A lot of the songs are the things I wanted to move towards before the end of The Punch Line and in retrospect, I think the band was only ever going to be able to do one album. I say that with this view: all the songs that had been geared towards the first Punch Line album were just that. And it isn't just the last configuration of the band; I think it would have been the same if the album had been released in 1988. Also, the songs that I had geared toward a second album were less a collection of songs; what would have been the next album would have been as seamless as possible since they were all written at the same time--unlike the first. I may be wrong, but I think a second Punch Line album would have been (inevitably) a disappointment. Yet, no matter how old these songs I've been playing are, they have a greater sense of staying power than the first album. Not wanting to meander too far from my original point, it's nice to play these songs and feel their warmth. And I think my singing continues to be rich, especially at 42 and not singing all the time.

We received the lease for the new apartment in our old building, which we've signed and sealed and I'm personally delivering tomorrow. Of course, there was a blip in that the 6th floor apartment we wanted leaks when it rains, so we're taking a 1st floor apartment instead. The great thing about it is it's in the same line as our old apartment--we were in 603, now we'll be in 103. For once, good fortune is smiling down on us.

Beyond the now-planning for the move, not much else. I could go on, but I'm in the middle of several household things and trying to not spend too much time diverted from my duties. Perhaps later this week, I will sit down and share more of my latest bits and pieces.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Weekend rewind/weekend in progress

Finally took a day off last week--Liz and I went down to Atlantic City last Friday for a night of fun and unwinding at The Borgata. No show; no agenda--just a getaway that was long overdue. Had a great time at the casino (nothing wrong with breaking even); a good meal and a night of endless laughs at the hotel, where we managed to lose track of time. Saturday was an early and enjoyable breakfast at the hotel's Continental breakfast buffet with a no-traffic drive home. Greatly refreshing to get a good night's sleep and wake up with the sun shining off the water. Saturday night was Opie & Anthony's Traveling Virus, which although the comics were fantastic, was missing the "fun" vibe it had last year. It seemed too rushed; too professional and the crowd was hostile, drunk and overheated.

Another busy week at work, but in trying to keep my head clear and my vision focused, I managed to get as much caught up and completed as possible before the start of this weekend, which began great. Saw "Superbad" Friday night, which if you haven't seen it, go; it's hilarious. Jonah Hill, who is in two of my favorite comedies of the last year ("Grandma's Boy" and "Accepted") is a star on the rise.

More importantly, yesterday we saw an apartment--a 2 bedroom with new appliances and cabinets in Staten Island. The most poignant things about this apartment:

a) it's a 2 year lease starting at $1091

b) it's a top floor, corner apartment with no neighbors and a perfect view of Manhattan

c) it's our old building on St. Marks Place

We spoke with the broker who showed it to us--no fee--and our old super, who will try to push the re-application/acceptance process through, so it seems we're on our way. We're going to look at another place today, but Liz and I are hopeful we can just get this done quickly and start to solidify plans, which would mean we'd move in on November 2 and have the cable and gas company come on November 3, which is a Saturday.

So here's hoping for even more positive reportage in the days/weeks to come.

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In reading back over this blog, I realize how foolish I was to ever want to leave Staten Island to begin with. I know change is good and necessary but I definitely know I was wrong with the move to New Jersey. I'm glad I saw the folly and we're going to put this right. It certainly gives me a sense of clarity and comfort that I didn't realize until we were gone.