So, a few folks have been e-mailing me this week, for whatever reason, wanting an update from my world. Here it is.
Tribe:
Gosh. It’s like I died and went to Heaven. The truth is that I have a stepdad with two tickets to each playoff and World Series game played at the Jake and a mom who refuses to go to any of them because she thinks she’s bad luck (and she might be — considering that the Indians are 0-6 in the post-season games she’s attended since 1995). Of course, the Tribe’s 3-0 in the post-season games I’ve attended over these same dozen years.
My stepdad did the only responsible thing he could under the circumstances and offered me his extra seat for all/any of the games I want to attend. And, stuck working here at a new job in Pittsburgh, I explained that I just couldn’t justify taking days off work to go to baseball games. So yeah, while my team is beating the crap out of the two highest-payroll franchises in MLB, exposing the lame-ass national East Coast bias and the entire city of Cleveland is partying, when I’m lucky, I get to watch in my hotel room — in peace.
That said, I notified everyone at the office that the World Series is another story. When the Tribe takes the pennant, I’m scheduling some vacation and going to root, root root for the home team. And drink downtown, heavily.
Pittsburgh:
After a month, I love this city. Downtown, where I work, is clean and beautiful. My office overlooks the Monongahela River, Incline and the Gateway Clipper fleet, which is also cool. Land/city/river-scape aside, though, I can’t get over how pleasant nearly everyone I meet here is. Not just at work, either. I mean bartenders (who tend to warm up to patrons gradually, if at all, in Cleveland) and folks you just run into at the beer distributorship and Shop-and-Save. And finally, NO! For the last time, I will not root for the Stillers in this lifetime.
Music:
I immersed myself in Okkervil River for a solid 10 days or so. If you don’t know already, their new album, The Stage Names, is very possibly the best I’ve heard in 2007 (2005’s Black Sheep Boy is no slouch, either). Since then, I’ve been mostly making my own kind of music, now that I’ve got my guitar here.
I roll in from the office or a bar every night and work on my acoustic set, which goes something like this:
- “Wreck of the Old 97″ – Woody Guthrie version with some lyrical improvising and an 8-note intro.
- “How Can I Love You (if you won’t lie down)” – Silver Jews with more improvising.
- “Atlantic City” – Springsteen, pretty much by the book.
- “Back on the Chain Gang” – Pretenders, but no key change at the end.
- “Ball and Chain” – Social Distortion, fun and easy to play.
- “New Slang” – Shins, except not as whiny.
- “Streets of Fire” – New Pornographers, still trying to get it right.
Other:
Complete physical tomorrow. I can only imagine the places I’ll be poked and prodded. And my last (fired) doctor’s parting shot, “Sure, you’re in great shape for a guy that smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and has a family history of every disease of the heart, liver and kidneys known to modern science.” Lucky me.
Wilco at A.J. Palumbo Friday night, wife coming for the weekend. Gonna drive around potential neighborhoods Saturday morning, make lunch plans with old friends and dinner reservations with new ones. We’ll see how that goes.
I am feeling pretty haunted by my past in ways that defy explanation. For the last week, every time I read a newspaper online, I see a familiar name in the marriage, birth or death records. Every time I sit down at a restaurant, I see the face of an old classmate or ex-friend and dread the awkwardness that would surely result if they recognize me and want to talk.
- “Sure, it’s been a few years … I really meant to keep in touch.”
- “You look great.”
- “You have how many kids? And pictures of all of them?”
- “That’s a really interesting [job, tatoo, scar, whatever]. Really cool.”
- “Sorry to hear about your [divorce, parent's illness, unemployment, etc.].”
- “No, I didn’t realize [random classmate] lives here too.”
- “Sure, we should all meet up for coffee sometime.”
- “Oh yeah, I’ll be in touch. Thanks for your business card.”
I’m really not a horrible person. There are some people I have kept in touch with over the years, and some who I’ve purposefully avoided. It’s not either of those groups I fear. It’s the ones in-between that freak me out. Seriously.
And because I love it and it fits, here’s some Okkervil River on YouTube. Rock on.
