Sentimental Valium

I mentioned it briefly yesterday, but have to emphasize it today: I cannot believe how much I love sushi! I had a major craving yesterday and then had a tough phone conversation and needed some kind of "comfort food." I chose sushi. Sitting here finishing my ouyak udon I am remembering how good the unagi was and the spicy tuna rolls. If I could, I would probably have sushi a couple times a week! I feel better after I have it. I never feel stuffed or over-fed.

An interesting conversation this morning. And it began as most good conversations do: with Scott Baio. My friend Naiv Assilem mentioned Scott and his blockbuster hit, Charles In Charge. She mentioned what made him sooooooo hott was simple: he was a maid! I almost choked. Then I proposed to her my theory on the female gender and its expectations of men, and primarily ME. And Scott Baio, along with Ashton Kutcher, is a good example.

OK, let's assume I could get a date. During that date, the inevitable discussion of "What do you do?" comes up. And I let this unfortunate female know: "I am a maid. Picture Tony Danza in "Who's The Boss?" No debating it: 98% of women would not consider me someone they want to continue seeing. Or, let's assume I could get a date. And during the date, I acted like Ashton Kutcher. 98% of women would consider me unbearably immature and nauseating. HOWEVER, find me 10 women and I would bet 9 of them consider Ashton "hott" and would go out with him. (Maybe not true for Scott or Tony anymore, but.. in their day!!!!)

Here's my discovery: women want whatever I am not. I consider myself a pretty sensitive man. They want someone more masculine. If I were less sensitive, (and I have played a less sensitive man on TV before) they would desire someone with a heart. The list continues on and on. And I have come to grips with this and, in many ways, celebrate it. I'm ok with not being a maid or idiotic. I am ok with being sensitive. I enjoy being elusive.

If only I could convince something besides my brain of all this..... Thanks a lot Scott Baio. And Ashton, looks like I have been Punk'd.

posted by -tr0y- @ 10:46 AM

$18.19!!

I have been told before that I have "miser tendencies." There are certain things that I will gladly pay premium green for and yet others still that I want as cheaply as possible. Probably true for everyone, but I have been told that by numerous people in my life, making it sound like I was some sort of anomaly. This weekend, though, I spent $18.19 on something that just completely SHOCKED me and has me thinking.

I understand there are many things that cost at least this much. For example, if Amish Aaron and I were to go to Taco Bell, it would probably cost that much. (He is the most gifted TB eater I have ever known. I told him that this weekend as he placed his order for 4 Club Chalupas and a small drink. He wasn't that hungry...) Or if I found someone (a female specifically) who wanted to go to a movie with me, its not unlikely to spend at least $18.19. (I recently went to see "Along Came Polly"--not worth a review or previous mention for that matter--and paid $9 a person to see it.) And I have been known to dish out that much for good sushi. So I'm not completely cheap and against spending almost $20 at a time. (Along with the fact that I am a musician--that is not a cheap profession in any way!! $20 might get me 2 packs of guitar strings.)

But $18.19..... for razor blades?!?!

As most of you probably know, I need razor blades. For those who don't know me, "thebaldtrain" is not just a clever moniker. It's a pretty accurate description. I have no hair. I shave my head at least every other day. Most of the time, I am shaving every day. (Evidence of my perfectionistic tendencies I suppose.) I can't really go without razors. And on top of that, I can't really buy the cheap disposable kind either. The last place I want a bad razor accident is ON MY HEAD!! You can work with a cut on your chin or jawline. There is no hiding a big gash on top of your head. I'm guessing my head would look like a volleyball with all these stitching marks if I moved to disposable razors.

To try and balance things out, I bought an electric razor for my face. I decided I would use just the blades for my head, making them last longer hopefully. But the electric doesn't take care of my head as closely as I would like. AND that just dulls the blades in the electric sooner. And those are even more ridiculous than blade refills!!

I expected once I shaved my head I would find a few benefits. One would be a growth in self-confidence, since I would stop being a "'tweener"--somewhere in between having hair and being bald. That has sort of happened. I doubt I will ever be "confident." But the other expectation was that I would save money since I didn't need to buy shampoo. WHAT AN IDIOT! How much does a bottle of shampoo cost? Even if you go after the killer kind that has conditioner, body enhancer, moisturizer, fixes damaged hair from curling, coloring, brushing, etc etc etc.... All of those specialties would simply push the price of the bottle of shampoo to $3. And how long does a bottle last? For me, it lasts about 2 years!! When the amount of hair on your head is rivaled by that on your arms (as it was for me before I shaved it off), a bottle of shampoo always outlasted dating relationships and most comedy series that Fox developed.

But a razor blade is a different story. You cannot--and SHOULD NOT--use a blade very long. If it lasts me a week, its a great thing!! I need to buy a pack of refills every 2 months approximately. Compare that to the bottle of shampoo and I am buying 12 packs for every 1 bottle of shampoo. That means, I am dealing with quite a change in my spending for my "looking good."

Bottle of shampoo: 1 bottle @ $3.00 every two years = $3.00 every 24 months.
Refills of razor blades: 1 pack @ $18.19 every two months = $218.28 every 24 months.

What am I thinking?? That money could buy 276.3038 soft tacos for Amish Aaron!!

posted by -tr0y- @ 12:29 PM

Just got back from a great weekend in Wisconsin. We (the band Homesick) had the chance to lead worship for a conference of youth leaders and volunteers on Saturday and for a youth group Sunday morning. It's always a FANTASTIC time with the band but we also come back so exhausted.
The responses to the songs I've written are always humbling and moving. It's an amazing thought that something I have written and believe in so strongly could mean something to other people. I know that might sound naive, but isn't that one of our most basic desires? To know that what we think might align with someone else? That what I think or is important to me isn't completely unique or crazy? For me, it's typically in songs that I am reminded of that kind of thing. To see people connect so deeply with something I have created is unlike any other experience I personally know.

That said, I think we made a decision about a recording. There is a conference we are doing in June and we are going to work on getting a live recording done. After some talking about it, we realized how logical it seemed to move in that direction. So I'm hoping by the end of the summer to have a recording. Keeping our fingers crossed anyway!

Thanks to those of you who keep visiting the site even though I have done a crummy job of keeping consistently adding things for you to see once you get here. I promise that I want to.. But good intentions don't translate too well over a blog.

posted by -tr0y- @ 5:22 PM