Built to Spill is one of the greatest bands ever to grace a stage, even if they do seem a little masturbatory at times (though not at this most recent show). I mention this, partially, because I am feeling older and older with each show that is listed as starting at 8pm, but winds up lasting until 1:30am or longer. Of course, I got on the road early that morning for an interview at Cheraw State Park, and driving long distances has always taken its toll on my sap budget. However, I think the overt commercialism of such shows has begun to put crinkles in my fries and sort of makes me feel like just getting out of there and away from the obviously well-funded and well-hydrated Orange Peel venue and back to the old skate park, no-stage shows of the past. Something of the love and patience of bands like Built to Spill is lost in a place like the Orange Peel, and I was ready to leave the second the last song was over. Never mind, I tried out the new camera on the auto settings and learned that I need to read up on ISO, so that I don't get such blurry things from future engagements. Oh, and we got patted down at the show entrance...you know those trigger-happy Built to Spill fans...I hear gun rights used to be really big in Idaho.
As for the interview, it sounded like the perfect job (lots of natural resource management and biological inventory work), but the site is pretty remote. There ain't a thing around for miles, aside from the beautiful town-proper of Cheraw (whole town is on the Historic Register!). On the other hand, it was one of those interviews involving multiple paragraphs of set-up before the actual question, so I responded organically, thinking my spontaneity might be impressive. We'll see if they were looking for something else. I'm sure I've got the experience and education, but there's bound to have been a recent graduate in the mix that can point to much more recent examples of having crunched data for analysis, etc.
Surly refused to warranty my frame, regardless of mentioning that they had not seen a rust issue like the one I was having. DO NOT BUY SURLY PRODUCTS! This company may have been something remarkable in the past, and they may still produce some really useful rigs, but this is bullshit. The best I was offered was a 15% discount on a new frame. This would mean much more if I could not get the thing repainted for less, but my biggest problem with such an offer is that it is not sustainable. Would you buy a steel bicycle if you knew you'd have to repaint it every three years (which, by the way, is the proclaimed length of their warranty period for paint finishes...I bought the damned thing in April of 2005!!!!).
We've got an open house tomorrow, so not much more for the moment. I'll be teaching a brief lesson on dichotomous keys for the Master Naturalist course at my former place of employment on Tuesday. Let's hope the students don't act too servile.
No comments:
Post a Comment