cover songs that arent cover songs

What can I say about today? It sucked. It was long. Finally got back to the hotel around 9:30 and I was starving. Diner time. Nachos Supreme. I feel ripped off though cuz I paid 2 extra bucks for the Supreme and it didnt come with the jalapenos as advertised. Duh, salmonella dummy. Bah! As I ate my nachos, I heard a cover version of that not-so-wonderful song, "Life Is a Highway". You know it, "life is a highway. im gonna ride it all night long"bum bum bum bum. Aggggh!!!! Not only is it a horrible song to begin with, but somebody covered it. Then I got to thinkin', "The original sounds like a cover song to begin with". Right? It's one of those songs that is just is so bad, that it sounds like it's already a cover, but it isnt. For a few moments I thought of some other songs that sound like they are cover versions, but arent. The first song that came to mind was "BlackVelvet". You know, "Black Velvet if you pleeeeaaaase!!". I gave up there, but I should have kept going cuz, I shit you not, the next song on the to come up on the diner radio was Black Velvet, by the ever unpopular Allanah Miles (whoa, howd I remember that?). Shocked and awed. It couldnt have been more perfect.

Shellfish Tuesday

Shrimp salad sammich for lunch, lobster for dinner. I havent eaten an whole lobster, ever I dont think. It probably wont happen again for a long time either. Too much work for such little reward. She tasted great though. Yeah, female. I checked. Odd how the day goes. I was reading my free USA Today this morning, and came across an article on how the green shit in lobsters (tomalley) is highly toxic. Apparently it causes temporary numbnesss and tingling in your mouth, throat, and neck. Hell with that noise. I stayed away from that. The story and my lobster dinner were purely coincidental.

Before.

After.

What a difference a state makes. In New Jersey, you can go to a "licka sto" and buy beer, wine, and liquor in a any size available. None of this by the case only crap like I experienced in PA last week. Novel.

I need to bring some more music with me. All I have with me is Grand Funk's "Got This Thing On The Move" so I can learn this for band practice, and this damn song I have been listening to non-stop for the past 2 weeks, "Somebody's Been Sleeping" by 100 Proof Aged In Soul. Who? Exactly. Great song with some funny ass lyrics, "what a shame, what a shame".

Also, my Sunday ritual has come to an end, again. Every Sunday night for the past couple of years, I have downloaded that nights airing of Top Gear from the BBC. Well, I'm not actually downloading it from the BBC, but i think you know what I mean. This season, season 11, was only 6 episodes long. Boo. "Back in Autumn". Heres a great clip of a happy Richard Hammond beating the accountant. It was Britain vs Germany. Give it a try, it's more than just a car show. There is going to be US version (I am laughing inside) that is supposed to air soon. I hope it works, but I have my doubts. No way they can capture the humor and sarcasm of May, Hammond, and Clarkson. More on that later. I need sleep.

Fountains of Wayne

Wayne NJ, here I am. Not so bad, considering I am in New Jersey. Getting here was absolutely horrible though. Thank you again Magellan Road Mate 300. Rental car this week is a Chevrolet Cobalt LT. I think the LT stands for Low Tolerance. As in, it has a low tolerance for any sort of speed. Dear Chevrolet, the narrow pedal on the right makes the car go when you step on it. Thank you. It has XM radio though, which is pretty awesome. Found the station that plays W.A.S.P. and Kiss and Slaughter and Kix and Iron Maiden and some other ridiculous band of the time called Jetboy (who I have never heard). I love that station. Oh, back to Wayne. Apparently there really is a Fountains of Wayne. An actual place, not just a crappy band. Who knew? The roads. Damn the roads here. I need to get used to these damn jug handles. What a mess.
Working in West Milford this week. The ride there from the hotel reminds me of living in CT. Narrow and winding roads cut through the woods along stone walled yards and the random pond here and there. I like it. I wish I had a better car to enjoy the roads, but that isn't why I'm here is it. The site where I am working is real nice too as well as the people. This is going to be a good week.

Oh, and at home, Kira started middle school today. I don't know how that happened. Poof! Last night whe was freaking out about the schedule, and getting up early, and switching classes etc. That didnt seem to bother her when I spoke to her this afternoon. She seemed really excited. That makes me happy.

I am off to bed to watch the end of "True Stories". Odd movie.

Slot machines

Last night in Erie. I will not miss it. I head back home tomorrow afternoon and cannot wait. I got an email from John suggesting I should take a picture of the shittiest car wherever it is visit and post it. John, I have failed, or at least Erie has failed. Most cars here are shitty and most are 'merican. I suppose the close proxemity to Detroit has something to do with that. If it's not American, it's a Hyundai. Strange.

Last night I decided to hit Presque Isle Downs for a buffet and some gambling. It was raining, so there werent any horses racing, so I hit the slot machines. I am not much of a gambler, so I limited myself to 20 bucks. I am a cheap bastard so I stuck with the .25¢ and .50¢ machines mostly. I even played a few .1¢, .2¢, and 10¢ slots. Within 5 minutes I had doubled my money and I should have walked away and enjoyed that, but I needed some entertainment and 5 minutes wasnt gonna cut it. Plus, If I could double money in 5 minutes, what could I do in an hour. Well, after an hour, I walked out with .71¢ more than I walked in with. Woot!!!! WINNER!!!!

Tonight I stopped by the "Beer Store" to get an energy drink and an 40oz of something local. Hell, I hadnt had a beer since the baseball game, I had to deal with a self proclaimed hard ass pharmacy owner, and I am alone and bored in this shitty hotel room. I was gonna drink a 40 dammit. Wrong. I quickly found out that thay only sell beer by the case in this state. WTF? So I walked out with a 24 pack of 10oz Miller Lites. Yes, 10 oz fucking cans. 24 of them. I dont need this much beer. I'm not gonna leave it here and It will be too heavy to pack all of them in my suitcase. I think I know what I have to do. G'night...

Buggies and bricks

Not much exciting going on today. First day of actual work. A long 11 hour day, but the rest of the week should be easy peasy, 9-6. The pharmacy is in Union City. City isn't really what I would call it. Union Pimple maybe. Population 3 thousand something, 97% white. They have a McDonalds which I went to twice today, once for coffee and once for lunch. Yuck. I will be brave tomorrow and try one of the few local places. Problem is, the guy I am training with isnt too adventurous. He got excited about a McFlurry. Nice guy though, and helpful as hell. The highlight of the day was walking out the backdoor and seeing an Amish man parked in his horse and buggy. Wow. He had dropped his wife off to pick up some meds. Culture shock. Odd thing is, I was trying not to stare (and damn I wanted to take a photo but refrained) but he was watching me in amazement as I talked on my cell phone. I think I even heard him say, "Your world frightens and confuse me. My primitive mind cant grasp these concepts." Okay, he didnt say that, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer did.

Tonight, I ate some dinner and took this photo for John.
After dinner, I drove around beautiful Erie and found lots of run down brick buildings.

That is all.

Erie PA

Today I took my first trip with the new job. I was sent to the heart of the Rust Belt, Erie PA. Not a very pretty city to be honest. I got in a bit early today, thinking I was going to need to get a jump on work, but I wont actually be going in til 7 tomorrow morning. That gave me some time to do some sightseeing.

After my ancient GPS got me from the even more ancient Eire International(?) Airport to my hotel, I checked in and Googled the area for some sights to see. Well, that didn't take long. 1 gigantic lake. I have never been to this part of the country and was amazed at the size of Lake Erie flying over it this morning from Detroit. It was below the plane just about the entire flight. Big. And speaking of Detroit, what is with the rave tunnel you have to go through to get from Concourse A to B/C at the McNamara Terminal? Cool, but bizarre.Okay, back to Erie. Not much going on so far. I took a trip to the Presque Isle State Park to take some photos, well camera phone photos as least. I got nervous though, as I was running out of gas in my Kia Sedona minivan, so I didnt stick around long. Nice park though. It has beaches, bike and hiking trails, and some roads that follow the shores of Lake Erie and the Presque Bay. A world of difference from Carolina Beach where I spent this past weekend. On the way in to the park, I stopped for a Smith's hot dog at Sara's. Diner food. After that, I took the minivan, still running on fumes, to one of the 13 beaches at the park. Here is my head in the sand and some photos from Sara's.

After the beach retreat, it was back to the hotel for some sleep, since I woke up at 4 fucking AM. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Ah yes, this evening. Local baseball. Why not? I have been going to a lot of games this season, and the local Erie team is roughly 4 miles from the hotel, so baseball it is. When i get there, I realize it is buck night. Whoa. 1 dollar general admission. 1 dollar hot dogs (more of those damn Smith's hot dogs) , pop corn, and sodas, or pop as they call it here. More importantly, 1 dollar beer. Yes, 1 dollar beer. Luck. I didn't go for the general admission seats, I paid for a box seat. Fancy. 2 hot dogs and a "few" dollar beers later, the Erie Seawolves got obliterated by the Binghamton Mets 12-3. That actually sounds better than it was. 2 of the 3 Seawolves runs were scored in the bottom of the 9th inning when the Mets had used up all of their pitchers. Ouch. One thing I noticed about Rust Belt fans vs Bible Belt fans, they get drunker quicker (maybe it was the dollar beer), they dont cheer, and they give up way too quickly. Although, there was one guy who was pretty positive that the Seawolves could pull it off the entire game, screaming in his Labatt Blue and whatever it is they smoke in the part of the country growl. " Come on baby! Throw it in there! That's it!" etc etc etc. The stands were empty by the 5th inning. Maybe they are just accustomed to losing. Still, I had a good time. Hell, I even bought a hat. Well enough of that. I have to go to bed and work tomorrow. Below are some more photos from not so beautiful Erie PA

(video of rave tunnel in Detroit)

Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center

I really don't miss living in Williamsburg.