Best. Summer. Ever.

Okay, so I'm obviously neglecting this whole blogging thing. I have a few excuses, although none of them are really good ones. My primary excuse is that I simply have no clue HOW to write about what's going on with me -- I guess "straightforward, say what you mean" just doesn't seem to do my insides justice right now. I want some poetry, some gravity or something. Unfortunately I feel thats something I'm unable to execute.

So, in the meantime, while I'm figuring out how to say all the things I don't know how to say, I'll just say what I mean. Luckily, right now I have plenty to talk about. I just got back last night from seeing the Smashing Pumpkins in Asheville. Holy sweet Lord. Definitely one of the best concerts I've seen in quite a while. They played for 3 hours and 20 minutes with only a 10 minute break and covered a very good mix of songs, including lots of new stuff. One song in particular (one of my favorites of the show), Billy informed the audience had been written a mere two days ago! I think he's going through a "down" period right now, as a lot of his new material seemed particularly melancholy, very acoustic and paired down. Although, its not like Billy hasn't written about infinite sadness, so the songs may have seemed sadder simply because they are so new, and he hasn't had time to craft the instrumentation. A single acoustic guitar always makes songs seem more empty and lonesome to me.

I got a bazillion pictures of the beautiful Billy Corgan, as I was only about 6 feet from the stage, which I hope to upload soon. My buddy Alex brought his camera and did an AMAZING job recording most of the show -- both the video and audio are stellar. I hope to link to some of the recordings soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

This summer has been quite possibly the best summer ever. All I've done is hang out with my friends, go to concerts and festivals, chill with my family and go to work when I feel like it. The concert line up for my summer has been ridiculous, and is as follows:

• Ratatat
• SOJA
• Asheville Music Jamboree (which included Michael Franti, Keller Williams, The Avett Bros., Donna the Buffalo, D.J. Williams, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, The Bridge, and about 15 more)
• Abbey Road Live (playing all of Sgt. Pepper's, including a SITAR)
• Smashing Pumpkins
• Disco Biscuits/Umphreys McGee in Raleigh
• STS9 Re:Generation (which will include FIVE sets by STS9, Benevento-Russo Duo, Dubconscious, Telefon Tel Aviv, and about 10 more)
• AllGood (with moe, Keller, Franti, Claypool, STS9, Steel Pulse, Soulive, Lotus, B-R Duo, P Groove, the Bridge, SOJA and many many many more)
• SOJA (my last night hangin' with y'all!!!)
  

*Sigh* If only every summer could be this awesome...

The Suspense Isn't Killing Me

Welcome one, welcome all to my little corner of the internet. Here over the next weeks, months and possibly years you can read all my mindless drivel and keep track of my (mis)adventures in the land of the rising sun. I guess I should start out by catching everyone up to whats about to go down.

In six weeks time I will be moving to Murakami City, Japan where I will be living and working for at least a year and up to five years. Hell, you people may never see me again (unlikely, but possible). I am going as part of the JET program (Japan Exchange and Teaching) which is a pretty sweet program funded by the Japanese government. It will be my job to teach elementary and middle school children how to speak English so as to ensure that Japan will never face a shortage of incredibly broken, inappropriate sayings to put on signs and t-shirts.

Soooo Murakami City is in Niigata prefecture, which is on the west coast of the country. I'm right next to the mountains and the beach, which is pretty sweet. Even sweeter, I'm living within 30 minutes of two different ski resorts, so I plan on doing plenty of boarding in my free time, of which I will have a fair share seeing as I only have to work 35 hours a week. Although I'll be living in virtually the middle of nowhere, I'll be 1.5 hours away from Niigata City, the largest city on the Japan Sea coast and about 5 hours away from Tokyo by car/bullet train. This will be great for those inevitable occasions when simply nothing will satiate me but a Wendy's Classic Double with Cheese.

It hasn't really hit me yet that I'm moving to the other side of the world. I know its gonna happen, and I think about it on a semi-regular basis, but I'm not really counting down the days. In fact I'm not keeping up with how many days I have left at all, I rely completely on my dad for that information. Honestly, I don't think it will sink in until I step off the plane and realize that I understand very little of what's going on around me. Until then, theres a lot of partying to be done (and maybe a little nihongo benkyoshimasu) before I leave lovely Chapel Thrill. If you're reading this you probably know me, so hit me up before I go!