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Yes, I’m still tired. I just woke up from a nap. I’m starting to get back into my normal level of social activity after taking it easy for a little while.

I went to see Muse with Evanescence and Highly Suspect. One of the best concerts I’ve been to.

Yesterday, I went to see a drag show in Pioneer Square. I saw Modest Mouse perform there last summer I think. It was a celebration of drag and trans rights. Lots of great performances and speakers. We may not have any issues with legislation in Oregon right now, but who knows what could change. The event was hoping to raise $3000 for OutMemphis, but it raised over $7000.

We got went into full summer mode weather wise for a few days, but it cooled down tonight. Looking forward to actual summer.

Life is good.

I’ve probably said this before, but here in Portland we say that summer officially begins on July 4. By then we can be pretty sure the rainy season is over. This summer has gotten off to a great start so far.

The gaymer meet up has been fun this month. We’ve had good turnout this month and last and it’s been a lot of fun playing with new and old members. We’ve got some ideas for new events that we want to try soon.

On the 4th, my friend who recently changed his named to Xander (formerly Kysen, formerly Alex) went on a hike/photo taking adventure with his friend David. Xander and I started doing this in April I believe. It’s fun exploring the city on foot and we’ve gotten some pretty great photos.

The following week Xander and I went to see Blondie and Garbage at Edgefield Amphitheater. It’s the first time I’ve been to this venue since I saw Foster the People there in 2012. It was a great show! Both bands sounded great. Shirley Manson is a queen. I’m more of a Garbage fan than a Blondie fan, but I think I had more fun during Blondie’s set.

The next day I went to my first Hillsboro Hops game. I had bought tickets to games before, but ended up not going. I won a ticket to this game from work. Intel had it’s own tent area where we could eat and hang out. I didn’t stay in that area long because I wanted to watch some of the game. The Hops weren’t doing well and I had other things to do that night, so I ended up leaving about halfway through.

The following week I went to my first Portland Timbers game. Once again I won tickets from work. I rode the MAX into town for the game, because I didn’t want to deal with parking at the stadium. There were a lot of Timbers fans on the game. The atmosphere inside the stadium was excellent. I can see myself going to more games in the future. I left at halftime to beat the crowd back home. It was a pretty lopsided loss for the Timbers.

Spider-Man and Girls Trip were good movies. I plan to see Dunkirk and Atomic Blonde soon. It’s been nice having a movie buddy (Xander) so I don’t have to see movies alone and I have someone to talk to the movie about when it’s over.

I’ve starting exercising again on a regular basis. I’m not back up to 6 days a week like I used to do. Most of my workouts are at the gym at work, but sometimes I go to my old gym. I even went on a bike ride with Xander one day. Now I just need to start eating healthy again.

I have so much more stuff that I want to do this summer. I probably won’t get to it all this year. I remembered yesterday how bored and lonely I felt in Mississippi before I left. I’m glad to have so many options for how to spend my free time.

I know I’ve mentioned my good friend John on here before.  We’re both big music fans.  When we first started hanging out back in Starkville, MS, we spent a lot of time introducing each other to new music, mostly songs by Tori Amos and Pearl Jam.  He’s a big Tori Amos fan.  I had heard some of her big hits, but he introduced me to many more of her songs.  I’m a big Pearl Jam fan.  He had heard some of their big hits, but I introduced him to many more of their songs.  I made copies of many of my Pearl Jam albums for him and he did the same for me with his Tori Amos albums.

John has hundreds of CDs.  A lot of time he had to shuffle through his many CD cases to find a particular song that he was looking for.  If we were going somewhere together, sometimes it would take a long time to leave because he had to find the right song to listen to.  I suggested that he  get mp3 player.  He got the idea, but never got around to buying one.  At one point I was researching a Zune (yes, a Zune) for myself even though I didn’t have nearly as many CDs as him.

We became roommates after a while.  When he got a job out of town and had to move away, I got him an iPod as a going away present.  I didn’t get myself an iPod until later that year.  John had to leave pretty quickly, so he didn’t move all of his stuff out of our apartment immediately.  I spent the next few weeks ripping all of his music to his iPod.  I even put a lot of Pearl Jam songs on there.

This is around the time of the year that he started that job 6 years ago.  He  tells me that he still uses his iPod every day at work. Every once in a while I’ll get a text or email with a lyric from a Pearl Jam song that he’s discovered or gotten into lately.  Today he sent me lyrics from a song called “Wishlist” and I immediately starting getting nostalgic.

Man, why are most of my close friends so far away?

This past weekend I went to New Orleans for Voodoo Fest. I met my friend John down there. We’d been looking forward to this since we last met up in Reno back in June. This was the first time I had been to New Orleans and Voodoo Fest since Voodoo Fest 2007.

On Friday, I flew to New Orleans. It is a LONG way from Portland to New Orleans. My first stop on the way there was at L.A.X. My plane landed around the time of the L.A.X. shooting that was in the news. We did sit on the runway for a while before we parked. Maybe the shooting was why. Everything was calm in the area I was in. I didn’t even know about the shooting until I got on wifi and checked Twitter. Once we made it to New Orleans the local news interviewed some of the people on our flight about it. John picked me up at the airport. He was worried because one of the flights from L.A. to New Orleans was delayed because of the shooting. After taking my stuff to the hotel and catching up a little bit, we headed to Voodoo Fest. We missed Macklemore & Lewis, but soon it was time for Pearl Jam. They put on a great show! They are an excellent live band! They played a few songs from the new album, but it was mostly older favorites. They played the songs I would’ve been disappointed if I didn’t hear: “Given to Fly” and “Do the Evolution”. I was surprised to hear “In My Tree”. John’s not as big of a Pearl Jam fan as me. He really likes “Do the Evolution”, so I’m glad they played it. After the show, I think we drank before calling it a night. We slept for 11 hours. I blame it on the jet lag and staying up late.

On Saturday I think we got something to eat and then headed back to the park. While walking around the park, we heard the end of Paramore’s set, but after that it was time for Nine Inch Nails. They started a lot earlier than the schedule said, so I’m glad we got there early. They also put on a great show. I’m not as big of a NIN fan as John. They played the song he really wanted to hear: “Reptile”. I think they played a lot of new songs, or maybe just songs that I’m not as familiar with. I got more pumped up during “Wish” than I did the entire night. They played one of the songs I really wanted to hear: “The Hand that Feeds”. I wish they would have played “Closer”, but it was still a great show.

On Sunday, we skipped Voodoo Fest entirely. We had talked about going to see Kid Rock and The Cure that night, but decided against it. It was too much of a hassle going to the park and back. We did some shopping and then hung out with one of John’s old friends, Elizabeth. She lives in New Orleans. I’ve hung out with her a few times over the years. She’s very cool. We did a little bar hopping and lost some money at the casino. Then we went to a club where Elizabeth’s boyfriend was DJing later in the night. We ended up leaving before his 2:30am performance because we were all tired.

On Monday, I flew back to Portland. It’s always sad coming back after having a great time with friends. I’m grateful that I got to go. Both Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails play in Portland later this month, so I’ll get to see them again. I got sick on this trip like I did at P.A.X. John is suffering the same symptoms I am. I think my next trip will be February at the earliest. It’ll be nice to spend time at home on weekends.

I think I rocked 2012.

• Listen to music more. I didn’t do so well in the first few months of the year, but it picked up after that.  Between new CDs, SiriusXM, and live music, I think I did well.
• Read 20 books. I read 20 books. I might be able to hit 21 by the end of the day.
• Go to a Halloween party. Okay, so I bought tickets to a Halloween party that I had heard about.  A few days before party, I got an email saying that they were going to change it to an indoor party, which meant fewer people could come.  They offered me ticket to a couples only event they were also having, but I didn’t have anyone to go with.  I decided to stay home that night.
• Go to a Christmas party. I went to my company’s Christmas party and had a great time.
• Buy new clothes. I bought new shoes, shirts, jeans, socks, and coats.  I almost bought a new suit, but they couldn’t get anything to fit me when I needed it.
• Meet new people. I’ve met new people at work and outside of work.  I need to hang out with them more.
• Do social gaming. I’ve done more social gaming this year.  It’s been all online.  P.A.X. inspired me to do more board gaming, but so far that hasn’t gone anywhere.  I recently found out about a couple of groups trying to get a regular gaming night going, but with the holidays nothing got off the ground.  Maybe in the new year.
• Start buying collectibles. I’ve been doing a good job of growing my collection of geeky items.  Following Brian’s suggestion, I’ve been documenting them on Facebook, Google+, and Flickr.

What a great year this has been.  I moved across the country to a great city with lots of exciting things to do.  I’ve made new friends and I have a job that I love.I’m not going to make a list for 2013.  I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.

Once again, I looked at my last.fm profile on New Year’s Eve to see what music I listened to the most during the year.

Top 10 Artists
1. Revision 3 [podcasts]
2. Jay and Jack TV [podcasts]
3. Foster the People
4. Fiona Apple
5. Pearl Jam
6. Nicki Minaj
7. The Smashing Pumpkins
8. Rob, Chris, Robin, and Boston [podcasts]
9. nerdist [podcasts]
10. Mumford & Sons
10. HBO Podcasts [podcasts]

Top 10 Songs
1. Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass”
2. Foster the People – “Houdini”
3. Foster the People – “Helena Beat”
4. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
5. Foster the People – “Call it What You Want”
5. Foster the People – “Waste”
5. Foster the People – “Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)”
8. Fiona Apple – “The First Taste”
9. Foster the People – “Life on the Nickel”
10. Birds of Tokyo – “Head in my Hands”
10. Foster the People – “I Would Do Anything for You”
10. The Naked and Famous – “Young Blood”
10. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Monarchy of Roses”

A few days ago, I got to see one of my all-time favorite bands, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, at the Rose Garden. I’ve been looking forward to this concert for about 5 months. Blood Sugar Sex Magik was one of the first albums I ever bought.

I had a great time at this show even though I was in the beginning stages of a cold that is still with me. The cigarette and pot smoke were irritating my sore throat. The opening act was The Rebirth Brass Band out of New Orleans. They were good, but I was really eager for the main attraction.

The Chili Peppers were great! Yes, they’re getting up there in age. They don’t look as good when they take their shirts off as they did 20 years ago. The songs all sounded great. It was a good blend of old songs and new songs. There were 2 songs that I didn’t recognize and I think they were both from the new album. Lots of energy. Great jams and great sing-a-long moments. I will definitely see them again if I get a chance to.

Setlist

• Monarchy of Roses
• Around the World
• Snow (Hey Oh)
• Scar Tissue
• Can’t Stop
• Ethiopia
• Throw Away Your Television
• She’s Only 18
• The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
• Right on Time
• Universally Speaking
• Under the Bridge
• Look Around
• Californication
• By the Way

Encore:

• Chad & Mauro Jam
• Suck My Kiss
• Soul to Squeeze
• Give It Away

Not long ago I saw online somewhere that Portlandia was looking for extras for Season 3. I filled out the online form and included the 2 pictures they wanted: a head shot and a body shot. I didn’t think there was any chance of being picked, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. I really enjoy watching the show. Wednesday afternoon I got a call asking if I could come early the next morning to be in a sketch. Of course I said “Yes”. They told me what to wear and later that night they sent an email telling me where to be and when to be there. I got there super early, but it wasn’t long before other extras started to arrive. Everybody was really nice. I had a great time. I signed an NDA that I didn’t read, so I’m going to play it safe and not go into any details now. Maybe more after the episode airs. Their seasons usually start in January, so I assume you’ll see it around that time. Hopefully, I’ll be on screen and won’t look too bad.

Later that night I went to see Fiona Apple in concert. The opening act was pretty lame. He played nothing but slow, mellow songs and even joked about that. I almost fell asleep because I hadn’t gotten much sleep over the previous few days. Once he finished, we had to wait about 45 minutes before Fiona came on stage. I was getting restless and it was getting late. When she came on she explained that she was late because she had just had her period. Anyway, she put on a really great show. There was was only one song that she didn’t play that I wanted to hear. She’s a weird one, but she’s good.

Fiona Setlist
Fast as You Can
On the Bound
Shadowboxer
Paper Bag
Anything We Want
Get Gone
Sleep to Dream
Extraordinary Machine
Werewolf
Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)
Daredevil
I Know
Every Single Night
Criminal
Carrion
Not About Love

Encore:
It’s Only Make Believe

Here’s my list for 2012. Hopefully I’ll have an even better success rate than I did in 2011.

• Listen to music more. I want to try to get back into music like I used to be.
• Read 20 books. I read 17 this year according to Goodreads. 20 should be doable.
• Go to a Halloween party. I’ve never been to one or even dressed up for Halloween. That needs to change.
• Go to a Christmas party. I’ve never been to one of these either.
• Buy new clothes. I shouldn’t have any excuses not to this year. I want to buy a few nice things while I’m at it.
• Meet new people. I should meet plenty of new people in Portland.
• Do social gaming. Whether it’s board games or online video games, I want to game more with other people. Playing with by myself gets old after a while.
• Start buying collectibles. I want to grow my collection of geeky items. I have Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Dexter-related items, but I want more.

On the last day of the year I like to look at my last.fm profile to see what I was into musically the previous 12 months.  Since I listen to most of my music on my computer or iPod, it gives a pretty accurate account of what I listened to that year.

Top 10 Artists
1. Revision 3 [podcasts]
2. Pearl Jam
3. Michael Giacchino
4. Arcade Fire
5. Jay and Jack TV [podcasts]
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. Murray Gold
8. The Smashing Pumpkins
9. Foster the People
9. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Top 10 Tracks
1. Foster the People – “Helena Beat”
2. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
2. Katy Perry – “Firework”
2. Arcade Fire – “Modern Man”
2. Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
6. The Naked and Famous – “Young Blood”
6. Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
6. Arcade Fire – “Ready to Start”
9. Arcade Fire – “Rococo”
9. The Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Did I Let You Know”