Neoclassical Destiny

http://www.krossmedia.net/NU_Eric_Stadler.pdf

Dallas, TX

I’ve been in Dallas for a little over a month now and have developed some opinions and observations.

The Drivers:

The rudest and most ill-knowledged idiots I’ve ever encountered.  They don’t want to go and they don’t want to stop.  We’re talking: will pull out in front of two way traffic because they’re tired of waiting, and will honk at you because THEY almost hit YOU.  The only good thing is the highway traffic still actually moves during rush hour.

The People:

Are so unhappy.  I’ve never seen more people not smile or be friendly in Texas.  I have to recheck myself to make sure I’m not back in New York.  Even the people I’ve worked with have just seemed more depressed and unhappy with their lives.  Kind of brings you down when you’re trying to look on the bright side.

The Places:

That are cool are incredibly far away.  The closest bubble tea place, which we have not visited yet, is about 30 minutes away.  Decent looking hangouts are way overpriced.  The only coffee shops to chizlax at are Starbucks.  So if you’re a starving student, I guess they just expect you to only hang out at the library.  We did find a dollar theater not too far from work.  Well, it’s 1.75, but still, you don’t find many of those around anymore.  We actually saw Iron Man this weekend on the big screen.  I also got a flyer in the mail for a yoga studio that charges only $5 per lesson.  So I’m going to hit that up.  It’s not too far away.

School:

Everything has been like pulling teeth.  I don’t know what is going on.  Getting transcripts, getting registered, everything has been a big headache.  I don’t know why this has to be so complicated for someone who already has a degree to be able to go back to school.  Maybe it’d just the Dallas community college system.  Just speculation of course.

Apartment:

I’m pretty much convinced we got a lemon.  Our landlord is a douchebag.  We got a $400 electric bill and he’s been trying to tell us it’s our fault.  We’re in a seedy neighborhood.  Things keep breaking.  And we still don’t have a working washer and dryer.

So, there’s my observations.  As you can tell, they’re not all positive.  And we’ve secured ourself here for at least a year.  Zippity do da, I hope something better comes along, and quick.  P.S. I’m going back to school part time and working at Home Depot part time.  Yep.

Warped Tour ’08

We took a break (sort of) from moving in and went to the Warped Tour here in Dallas yesterday. It was BLAZING yesterday, and I mean it was easily over 100 degrees on the blacktop. I have the sunburn to prove it, and lots of people were passing out. But the music was so much fun, and we saw 17 bands total yesterday. I’d say that’s a pretty good day. I forgot to charge my camera batteries, so it was dead before we even started. I got a few pics with my phone, they’re on my flickr if you want to check em out.

My favorite performance was Alesana. They always have so much energy and so much fun during their sets. I couldn’t really see Paramore very well from where I was standing, or they would have taken the top spot, just because I luff them. The band that surprised me the most was Gym Class Heroes. I’d heard of them, but hadn’t really listened to them. They interacted with the crowd, and you could tell they were having fun and grateful to be part of the tour. Fun music too: I plan on listening to more of them.

So! the bands we saw:

Alesana
From First to Last
Say Anything
Norma Jean
Stick to Your Guns
Beat Union
The Devil Wears Prada
Against Me!
Gym Class Heroes
Jack’s Mannequin
The Pink Spiders
Forever the Sickest Kids
The Aggrolites
Angels and Airwaves
The Academy Is…
Story of the Year
Paramore