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Friday, February 16, 2007

Bullet points from the past two weeks.

I don't have time to blog properly right now, as I'm off to Pittsburgh to play at the Jubilee 2007 conference. I have had one of the strangest, most adventure-filled months of my life so far. Here are some of the alternately funny and sobering moments, in no particular order-- and now in bullet point form! In the past two weeks, I:
  • had two separate people think I was British (one because of the coat I was wearing)
  • had three or four different people refer to Tennessee as "the midwest"
  • mugged a thief (more on this later)
  • toured Apple, Inc. headquarters at night
  • played a wine party in California's wine country where, strangely, most of the wine seemed to be from Argentina
  • ate half of the brie available at said wine party
  • repeatedly defended Yuba City against mockery (my argument: YC has great people and great prunes!)
  • was told that I sound like Green Day (note: I do not sound like Green Day)
  • bought a Superdrag record at Amoeba Music
  • encountered several bizarre incidents of automotive rudeness in San Francisco, including a car honking at me repeatedly for sitting in my parked car because they wanted my spot
  • got creeped out by the Haight-Ashbury district (mainly because it seemed that every time I glanced around, people were staring at me-- am I paranoid?)
  • laughed at seeing a McDonald's at the end of Haight (I guess hippies need Big Macs too)
  • found out that people in the Bay Area think they live in "northern California" (though they clearly live right in the middle of the state)
  • played a concert in a Jewish temple
  • experienced the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains
  • ate at a late-night vegetarian restaurant in Reno
  • shared hotel premises with Mel Gibson in Guatemala (though I never saw him)
  • developed an irrational fear of Geoff Moore (I'm not kidding about this) and avoided him at all costs
  • stood in a very small home with dirt floors where two adults and ten children live
  • realized that my hotel in Reno didn't have HBO because watching movies cuts down on gamblin' time
  • experienced how a government agency (the TSA) can practically cripple an organization: the San Jose airport.
  • had dinner and Belgian ale with a Senior Engineer Scientist who is working on the iPhone.
  • had a wireless mic die on me in the middle of a concert after I had left a comment on Bob Kauflin's blog earlier that day roundly condemning wireless mics and praising wired mics
  • stayed in an appropriately leopard print-themed hotel room in Cupertino
  • forgot to refill my gas tank before returning my rental. An expensive mistake.
  • had an amazing lunch in Cupertino with some of the best beef I've had in a long time
Thanks to everyone who came out to these concerts, I had a truly amazing time!

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why an irrational fear of Geoff Moore? Is it his music, his looks or what? Just curious! Love your music!

9:03 AM

 
Blogger Nan said...

Hey Mister, the Bay Area is Northern Californian. I am a displaced native of the Bay Area. More of the state is south of SF than is north... hence it is Northern CA.

I agree about California drivers though. Angry people. Scary people. I almost forget that I used to be one.

Yuba City... How can you defend a place with a name like Yuba City, prunes or sans prunes?

Glad you had a good trip... can't wait to hear about how you mugged a thief.

Nan

10:51 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this list is exhausting! and amazing. what a crazy last few weeks

12:56 PM

 
Blogger D.J. Cimino said...

So... someone thinks you sound like Green Day? He-he. Must of been a kid that isn't allowed to listen to secular music but wanted to sound cool :)

Oh, one more thing... will you be playing the Warped Tour next year?

12:30 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We Californians are a unique breed, Matthew! I'm a So-Cal [Southern California] guy...and there are days I don't get Nor-Cal [Northern California] people at all.

Haight-Ashbury is, well, Haight-Ashbury. There are people who have lived here for 40 years that don't 'get it'!

Amoeba music rocks!

Enjoyed your music in Cupertino.

When did you graduate from Belmont? I had a seminary roommate (around '99-'00) who was a Belmont grad and a big RUF [Kevin Twit] guy.

Your Geoff Moore comment is interesting, especially in light your most recent post about CCM music. One of my best buddies growing up moved to Nashvegas around '95...and ended up touring with Geoff and the Distance shortly thereafter. Totally left a bad taste in his mouth about the whole CCM world. Thankfully, it drove him straight into....PCA church, and they straightened him out! :)

Peace!

11:03 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ound out that people in the Bay Area think they live in "northern California" (though they clearly live right in the middle of the state)

Okay, I see this 07/11/07 but I am still commenting. You must have been abducted by space aliens to think we don't live in Northern California! We do. Central is like Fresno, dude. Just wanted to make that correction. My brother works at Apple but I still refuse to buy an iphone and I do have AT&T which sells it...

-Melissa Hastings aka myspace/evilauntmel

1:17 PM

 

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