Random Musings

It's been nearly a week since I last posted. It's not like I have nothing to say, because I do. It's just that work, school, and family have a way of pushing the blogging aside.

• Apart from the blogs I mentioned two weeks ago, another Bathysphere alum has entered my Google Reader radar. Kiernan Maletsky gives a full rundown of his daily listening habits along with some insight as to what may have led him to such choices. Read All Day Long.
• Speaking of my shout-outs to the local blogosphere, Pete Bland returned the favor via Twitter and Facebook.
• I listened to Wilco (The Album) this week and think they are returning to my good graces; Modest Mouse's new EP made me revisit This Is a Long Drive...; the selection of the opening track for the Monsters of Folk debut is confusing to me; and I got a lot of responses to a Tweet/Facebook status update concerning Nebraska.
• I don't really know what all the hub-bub is over the new Facebook interface. Just jump around between the news feed and the status updates. It's not that hard.
• Geocities closed its "doors" this week. I thought they did that years ago.
• Kids at Paxton-Keeley have been snorting Smarties. Really. I blame hipsters.
• Although I don't really report on the beering at this particular blog anymore, I did brew my third batch this past weekend (yet another reason I'm not blogging). It's a barley wine with bourbon-soaked wood chips for a little oak and vanilla flavoring. It should be good and potent.
• College football rolls on. I will not write about my team until they redeem themselves. Of course, at least they aren't 0-3 in their conference after getting shellacked on their homecoming night. Oh, and I'm predicting everywhere that Iowa will win the national championship. Write it down.
• I spent my first two nights alone with Lucia. We both survived.
• Not only am I not blogging, but I have not been able to attend many happy hours at the 'Tag in recent weeks (and won't make this week's either). Still, you should go and have a Lion Stout for me.
• There was other stuff, but I've already forgotten. I promise to do better.
  

#100

To commemorate my 100th post, I have decided to countdown the top five moments of living in misery history.

5. My First (Real) Comments - When I first started this blog, I thought that you posted some writing and people from all ends of the world wide web would somehow Google their way to your blog and leave amazing comments about what an insightful writer and modern-day Socrates you are. Well, that didn't happen. Instead, I got SPAM on my comments. I soon learned that you have to (1) set the security on your comments section, (2) read other people's blogs, (3) comment on those blogs, and (4) promote yourself endlessly. Eventually, bloggers and laypeople alike began posting their comments on this here blog, now 100 posts old.

4. Local Celebrity Status - One day in early June, I received this random email that included the following...

I ran across you on Flickr and then linked to your blog. I like what you are doing and hope you will share with the rest of us. We can list your blog under “local blogs” on our site and even take posts from it to feature in MyMissourian. Right now, I am looking for photographers willing to share their perspective on the Twilight Festival. No rules, just perspectives. Interested?

To make a long story short, I said that I was interested. Since then, the Missourian has run at least two posts and I've earned a mention in the Vox. I know that ain't much, but I'll take it.

3. Honorable Mentions - Thanks to all the networking and the blove (blog love), I have had some nice shout-outs from my fellow bloggers. The networking continues as a friend is planning on having me conference electronically with his college class to discuss blogging, web 2.0, and citizen journalism. I sometimes feel isolated here in Misery, but blogging has helped fill some of that void.

2. Spin-offs/Life-changing Effects - This one is odd. I recently started and ended a rather controversial blog about a local radio personality (and NPR in general) that ended in one friend being asked to leave and helping to create an untenable working environment. It certainly helped to change their lives and it affected me as well.

I've also begun other blogs with less-disastrous effects. My oeuvre blog dedicated to Pavement earned a mention on Fluxblog and is linked to several other oeuvre blogs. While it won't change any lives, it has given me a chance to write only about my favorite band in the world, Pavement.

1. 100 - #1 is lame, but I am kinda proud that I've made it this far. I've come a long way since my first post in August of last year and I plan to continue...as long as I can find time outside of my real job.

TLC Moving = Total Lack (of)Care

We have finally moved with no help from our moving company, TLC Moving. TLC Moving made our move of 6 blocks way harder than the 533 mile move we made here two years ago.

(I tried to up the Goggle count for "TLC Moving" by repeating "TLC Moving" several times in this rant against TLC Moving. TLC Moving.)

Actually, our experience with TLC Moving began on that move that brought us to Misery. After showing up 4 hours late, the movers promptly unloaded the rental truck. It was the hottest day of the year, and there was little surprise when one of the movers for TLC Moving passed out from heat exhaustion. (Of course, it didn't help that the guys were drinking beer between each job that day. This was their fourth.) The manager did show up and provided us a refund and his workers more beer.

Despite that debacle, R and I wanted to give our business to a local company, and TLC Moving had the lowest price. Besides, we were only moving six blocks. What could possibly go wrong? So, R made the arrangements about two weeks prior to the move. TLC Moving would pick up our stuff on Saturday, store it on Sunday, and unload on Monday. Easy.

Being the smart person that she is, R set up the move with TLC Moving several weeks in advance after carefully comparing the prices of other local companies. She had settled over the phone on a price that was hard to beat, or that's what we thought. A office assistant from TLC Moving called R on the Friday before the move to make sure that R understood that she misunderstood that the fee for storing our stuff was $100 a night, not the $100 total that was agreed upon.

Now, if you know R, she is sharp. She did not happen upon her PhD in a box of Cracker Jacks or attended the University of Phoenix. (No offense. I'm sure it's a fine institution.) R is also very, very careful with money. She is certain to know exactly what she's paying for. R did not misunderstand TLC Moving. TLC Moving goofed and tried to change the agreed upon price a day before the move. This left us with no other option but to stick with TLC Moving.

We tried to get another company to move us. Every company we spoke with said that TLC Moving pulls this same shit all the time. One guy offered to call around for us just so TLC Moving would not get the business. Another told us that TLC Moving is pushing for legislation that would prevent any other smaller companies from breaking up their monopoly. Screw those guys!

Well, the Saturday of the move rolled around. I made a run for some breakfast thinking that we had plenty of time to prep our stuff for maximum packing. Upon returning, R informed me that TLC Moving was on its way...about 5 hours earlier than expected. I frantically ran around the house trying to prep our things.

TLC Moving arrived and got right to work. The driver offered to cut an hour off the bill, if we agreed to give a bigger tip. This only proved to be evidence that he was not the most honest guy working for TLC Moving.

The tip deal was not so strange, but several other events during this portion of the move were. First, the driver didn't want any plastic wrap on R's dressers. No big deal, but why not any of the other furniture wrapped in green plastic? Second, he didn't fit any items from our garage (including a new dining set) or the patio (grill, furniture), but he offered to come back on Monday after he unloaded to fix this problem free of charge. Third, the driver had to buy a lock for the truck. Shouldn't the truck already have a lock?

Then, the boys from TLC Moving tried to leave. The driver backed out of our steep driveway and rammed the back end of the truck into the street causing the truck to be lodged into the asphalt. The TLC Moving driver had no problem calling a tow truck and charging it to TLC Moving. "TLC (Moving) won't be making any money off of this move!" he snorted.

Thankfully, we have some good friends here in COMO. On Sunday, a bevy of our community gathered leftovers in their cars and trucks and carted it over to the new digs. What really helped was that a former co-worker of mine knew the sellers from high school and arranged for us to drop stuff off the day before we closed. I don't think we would have made this move without the help of several friends. Thanks for showing us some real TLC...Moving.

The closing on both houses went exceptionally smooth. There was a light in our basement that did not work, but the buyer (a colleague of R's) said that we would work it out instead of prolonging the negotiations. Nice guy. The closing on the new house went just as smoothly. this was the best part of the move by far. Monarch Title and Boone County Bank were extremely friendly, professional, and efficient. They'll get our business again...unlike TLC Moving.

The movers showed up Monday afternoon without Saturday's driver. Apparently, he had called in sick despite promising to take care of our extra stuff like he had promised. Luckily, as mentioned above, we took care of our things. This is more than I could say for TLC Moving.

As the movers unloaded, we noticed that several of R's clothing were strewn throughout the truck. We later discovered that her drawers had been emptied. We discovered later that all of her nice unmentionables had been taken. So, somewhere in Misery, there is a 40-something year old, possible meth addict wearing lacy women's underwear and a TLC Moving t-shirt. (BTW-A TLC Moving rep said that this gross invasion of privacy was akin to rape. Now that's some TLC!)

Monday's driver who helped load the truck on Saturday revealed to us that TLC Moving called him, looking for the truck with our things at 10PM! The truck didn't show up until the next morning. Panty raid! Woo-hoo!

In addition to the underwear, several of our pieces of furniture were badly packed and slightly damaged. The worst was the leather couch that was not wrapped at all. The result of this negligence was a giant gash in the sofa's back. We're still waiting for that leather repairperson promised to us by TLC Moving.

The move was finally complete, and we have little intention of paying TLC Moving. I guess the moral of the story is that you get what you pay for. I thought we were paying for TLC (Moving), but we got a total lack of care instead.

(BTW-The count for mentions of "TLC Moving" is well over 30. Be sure to click on a few of the links to see how I really feel about TLC Moving and for other moving companies.)

Avoid This

I'm going to avoid the confusing mess that is my life to write about my new love...Daytrotter.

I'm sure that unlike most indie geeks on the interwebs, I am the last to discover Daytrotter. It's this great indie rock website of reviews, features and gossip about all your fav indie bands. However, what sets this site apart from the Pitchforks of the world is its regualr offering of free MP3s.

Now, these are no ordinary recordings. Artists stop by Daytrotter's studio, AKA Futureappletree Studio One in downtown Rock Island, Illinois. The bands lay down some live tracks of what they're playing at the time. some of the songs are old favorites while others are brand new songs they're trying on for size. The tracks are all high quality and unique. They have that great live feel. One can listen and choose to download if they like. My iTunes is quickly filling up.

So far, I've enjoyed sets by Eef Barzelay, Someone Still loves You Boris Yeltsin, Jolie Holland, and Tokyo Police Club. I'm looking forward to a future set by Grizzly Bear in early May.

In addition to the free music, Daytrotter's artwork is primarily provided by illustrator Johnnie Cluney. His simple drawings in what looks to be Crayola markers add a DIY theme that runs through the website.


Additional art in the form of a comic strip is contributed by Joe Sayers. I love simple, off-the-beaten-path comic strips. There appears to be a new one each week, but I've only seen two in the week I've visited the site.



Like any self-respecting music site, Daytrotter provides insightful features, interviews, and record reviews. I've really enjoyed their series of week-long record reviews that record the musings of a music fan 's first week with a new record. I know this feeling of picking up new things as you listen and liking totally different part each day.


Bonus: Daytrotter usually covers the French "Take Away Show Series" so that you don't have to search through a website totally written in French. The "Take Away Series" follows a band while they walk through the streets of Paris playing their music to the locals. The Arcade Fire and the Shins were definite favorites.