buster moneybags

guess what? ive come into some money. maybe not come into some money, more along the lines of, dont have to pay rent anymore in boston. this means i have $850 more in my pocket every month from here on out. given that im making more than i ever did at the bank, and my cost of living is way down, this translates into some substantial savings over the next however long. wait, did you say savings? are you kidding? im already plotting the best way i can blow it, but i need some help. here are the options:

1) wheels: i need a new car. if anyone has seen my car youd know this. i have two in mind. the first is dad's 300zx convertible. its red. its fun. its got low miles. it is unreasonable, but not so unreasonable that i wouldnt buy it. he is moving next year and wants me to buy it from him. cost: $5000ish. the other option is a bit more unreasonable, a saturn sky. its fun, it can be whatever color i want. it will be new. also means more financing and interest and blah. cost: $25,000ish.

2) european vacation: im thinking the uk, france, germany, and austria. i have no idea what it will cost, but im thinking somewhere between $5000 and $10,000. if that seems high to some of you, what can i say, i like to do it right. if that seems low to some of you, what the hell type of vacations do you go on? of course, europe isnt going anywhere and i can do this at any point really. the car is beating out europe at the moment.

3) bad ass aerobatic flying: i can guarantee you that this will happen as early as this fall. i need to go fly upside down a bunch and do rolls and loops and hammerheads and a bunch of crazy stuff that no one else will ever want to do with me. ultimately i want to teach this stuff, so i should probably start doing this soon. cost: $2000 to $5000, depending on how far i want to get into it.

4) Cessna 140: yup, an airplane. the 140 is a postwar Cessna, two seats, cruises at 100kts, taildragger, and beautiful. ive been shopping for one already albeit a bit premature. id love to have something that i can take out to the vineyard or up to nh or someplace whenever i want. its old enough where it looks like a classic but is still completely functional. ive seen the prices as low as $15,000, as high as $36,000, i figure id spend somewhere in the low to mid 20's on it. no financing here either, id have to pay cash, so this is at least three years away.

so there ya go. those are my choices. thoughts? comments? donations? all are welcome.

in other news, my sister got a dog. my boss is getting a dog in the next few weeks. things are good.

blah blah woof woof

$10 to the first person to figure out where the title to this entry comes from.

ive always been a why person. its never been enough for me to know something, i need to know why it happens. airplanes go fast and then they lift off the ground. yeah well why? leo fender built the first telecaster (actually called the broadcaster) in 1948. yeah well why? klemens von metternich was responsible for the modern layout of europe. yeah, well....you get the point. and so, in my never ending critique of who i am and what i do the all important question has always been why. tonight an answer popped into my head. i think i may have ranted about this one at some point, here we go anew.

i saw a picture of someone i used to know, someone i thought was beautiful. my immediate reaction was to grab a guitar and turn it up loud and just play at them. soooooooo why is that my normal response and what other implications does it have. to put it plainly, guitars make you cool, if you can play it well which i can, usually. so lets explode this up a little bit. why did i get into music. well it is fun, it can be incredibly lucrative, you get famous, people think youre cool, you never have to work. do you hear this? isnt this all complete bullshit? answer: yes. i never had the right reason for wanting to do music. i think people like stevie ray vaughan or jeff buckley, or even dave traver have the right reasons, i dont think i did.
a disclaimer: just so you know, every guy that ever picks up the guitar is doing it for the same reason, girls. if they tell you otherwise they are lying and trying to be dark and mysterious. they just want to get chicks. where it goes from there though, sometimes it morphs into real artistic understanding and development. other times, like the 1980's, everyone just wants to get some.
do i love playing and miss being in front of a crowd? of course i do. i even miss packing up the car and driving 4 hours to a gig. it sucked at the time, but i miss it all the same. so is what i am doing now any different? oh hell yes and i can prove it. okay, if youre gonna get big as a rockstar where are you gonna do? in front of tons of people, lit up like the fourth of july and going out every night in a blaze of whiskey fueled glory. if i am going to be the best pilot in the world, where am i going to do it? up in a teeny little plane, all by myself, 7000 feet above anyone where you have to strain your eyes to see me and ill probably just sound like a mosquito. ill be off in my own little world, spiraling down and pulling up and rolling over and loving every second of it. i am doing this for me, which is something ive never been able to say. as randall would say...schweet.
okay lets lighten the mood a little bit. A headline on the onion.com today:

College Freshman Already Loves It

BOSTON—According to roommate sources, 18-year-old Lauren Frand called her older brother, Jason, 24, just hours after being dropped off at her co-ed dormitory Sunday to tell him how much she already loves being a college student. "I was just in the dorm across the hall and we were all listening to this kid playing James Blunt songs on his acoustic guitar," said Frand, who also expressed excitement at hearing that professors rarely take attendance. "My schedule is really great because it allows me to wake up every morning at 9 a.m.—way later than I had to in high school." Frand added that she's stoked to finally be an independent adult without anyone watching out for her.

This of course is dedicated to Tim, my original flight instructor, as he ventures off to UMass for the next year. everyone wave bye to Tim as he heads out to the wonderful world of drunken nights, ramen noodles, and herpes. have fun. dont burn the couch.

here's to tailwinds my friend. (gulp gulp)

chick a go

i went and visited the glyda and the jakers out in chicago this weekend. they invited me out for the chicago airshow which takes place right out over the water of lake michigan. it was great. i got a sunburn. on my foot. my right foot.
it was great to see my friends. glyda is one of those people that you always want to be around, even if you arent doing anything. she just makes everything a little sunnier. jake is funny just because he puts up with her oddball stuff. also, i got to meet brad, jakes new mini cooper S. i was greated at the airport by jake, glyda, brad, and the soundtrack to top gun. its hard to find good friends isnt it?
we cruised around a bit saturday night because, although ive been to chicago before, i havent spent much time downtown. we swing by katie patella zeller's place late that night. check out the view from her place:

excorcised demons

you all know i love flying more than anything. well a funny thing happened recently. i started getting anxiety about going up alone. i havent done it in so long that i was a little nervous, and the type of flying i have been doing lately believe it or not helps you forget how to do the easy stuff. so there i am, nervous about flying...sort of. there is only one thing to do...go up and have a good time and relax. so tonight i took a 152 out to nantucket and to chatham and back to providence. i had never been to the ACK before, nice place; clean air. i took some pictures along the way.

approaching the vineyard




cool sand bar just outside nantucket
its smaller than it looks
it doesnt get better than this
i said i needed to have some fun

superman(s)

tonight i sat and watched the final installments of Band of Brothers, steven spielbergs miniseries of the campaign fought by Easy Company in the european theater of WWII. i have been captivated by this for the better part of a week now. the film is brutal in its honesty, thoughtful in its depiction, and sincere in its message. sitting in the comfort of my living room watching a tv is a world removed from the reality that the film attempts to portray, but you cannot help but try to break down that barrier and place yourself in their world. would i have survived? men were shot because they looked in the wrong direction for half a second. would i have made that mistake? would it have broken me? i am not sure that i could answer any of those questions, and thankfully, i dont have to. the gentleman that lived this didnt have to answer it either. they didnt have the choice. they were immersed in the hell of war for 434 days, normandy to VE.
i cannot fully express the admiration, respect, and pride i have for these men; our grandparents. i think that their contribution to mankind has fallen on many deaf ears and eyes in this country, mainly amongst people my own age. too much is taken for granted, too much is abused and far too much is expected without having made a single compromise or sacrifice. no one owes me anything. i owe every single soldier of that war a thank you and a promise to make my days worthwhile of their service. if you ever meet a veteran from WWII, listen to their story, look in their eyes as they tell it to you. ive had the fortune to be able to do this several times. they are not reading a script, or remembering a book that they read. they are remembering the color of their buddies blood on their uniform and the smell of their airplane as it burnt up over germany. you can see a hallowed flame flicker in their eyes and you know it hurts them still 60 years later. what have i done to deserve that? what have you done?
it is hard to hold the world in contempt, or find a voice for cynicism behind every turn when you can appreciate every day that you have. never make the mistake of thinking that any of those days are free. a great cost has been paid to provide everyone with the chance to witness the glory and grace of the world.