Jason

comestomind @ 2009-08-30T16:58:00

2009-08-30T18:13:23Z

I'm surrounded by beautiful-looking people, all my age. All Jesus kids. They're making my skin crawl. They're having some talk about ways that Jesus saves and how to spread His word. Before I left Pittsburgh there was a Crime Thinc convergence -- a few hundred smelly anarcho kids with bad ideas about what's there's and why they deserve it, whether it's given or taken. I think that's what they believe, honestly, I'm not sure. They were everywhere for a week. These kids were hated, mocked. It was hard to not jump on that shit-talking bandwagon. But eventually I realized something: these kids, though misguided and not showered, are probably happier than I am. These pretty Jesus freaks, including one blonde I can't take my eyes off of, gathered in this coffee shop early on Sunday morning, are probably happier than me. They have friends, beliefs. Right now, I have neither.

comestomind @ 2009-08-15T18:27:00

2009-08-15T19:31:47Z

Great job at the Milk race! I saw Steve and Ryan finished Top 10. I must admit I'm a little jealous. Babes love upgrade points! My excitement to race 'cross, which seems surprisingly popular on the left half of the state, is building. Only six weeks to go! In January and February, Steve and I created "Friday Night Fast," thirty-plus-mile Friday night rides in the cold, the sun had already been gone for an hour. The night would usually end with a sprint from the Glenwood Bridge down dark East Carson to the Hot Metal Bridge. Such stupid fun, all to calm our nerves between then and that first Mingo Creek race ... only six weeks away! I wish I had someone to share that excitement with here. I have an interview in Kalispell on Monday. Kalispell is a town of a little more than twenty thousand, huge by this state's standards. It's far north, cold, only thirty miles from the Canadian border, not far from Glacier, actually. It borders a little ski town called Whitefish, a village of mostly twenty-something yuppies. Seems like it would be a perfect fit for me! Any fleeting feeling I had about being "punk" has quickly disappeared. I spent an hour in the Patagonia store yesterday ... To love this state you have to love the outdoors, but the outdoors are two-fold: in Dillon, it's hunting and fishing; in Whitefish, it's skiing and biking. I miss Pittsburgh for one reason only: friendship. It's harder to start over at twenty-six than it was at eighteen, a college freshman six hours from home. Then, I could meet kids in class, the dorm, at shows. I guess my new approach will be hanging out outside the bike shop in full kit, putting out the vibe: You wanna go fast? Yeah? Well let's ride! I have high hopes for this job. Experience and educationally, I'm more than qualified. And, when applying for any teaching position, especially one with kids under age five, being male puts me in that one percentile of employed educators. Also, there hasn't been much for me to apply for. School starts in less than two weeks. I feel imposing being on my friend's couch and I'm sure her boyfriend agrees. I'd like to get out of here as soon as I can, not because I hate it, but because I want to. In a twisted way, I desire to start over completely, know noone. It was forty-five degrees when I woke up this morning. Fall is already here ...

comestomind @ 2009-07-07T02:26:00

2009-07-07T03:31:59Z

I'm moving out to Dillon on July 29. Excited, a little scared.

comestomind @ 2008-04-27T20:23:00

2008-04-28T00:34:00Z

One more presentation to go and I'm done. It's at six tomorrow night, Monday -- it's 8:30, Sunday night, and I haven't started yet. But I'm at the library, so that's a start. Like everything else, it will get done. I'll be in New Jersey for about a week, getting everything in order to spend the summer out West: car inspected, new driver's license, new bike rack, ect. I'm excited to go. Scared, but excited. The older I get, the less I'm inclined to try new things. There's a comfort in being able to tell someone how to get from Point A to Point B without having to look at a map. The friends that love you, the bands you love, knowing where to get the best slice of pizza in town.

comestomind @ 2008-04-22T18:52:00

2008-04-22T23:08:49Z

Soon I'm going to have four degrees: undergraduate degrees in journalism and sociology and master's degrees in elementary and early childhood education. How about that. My walls will be as decorated with diplomas as they will be with punk show fliers. I'm going to New Jersey for a week next week. Me and Elizabeth -- the girl I was once engaged or not engaged to -- are planning a camping weekend at Seven Lakes. I don't think anything good can come out of that. I'm leaving for Montana around my twenty-fifth birthday, May seventeenth. I'm into it. I wrote a Montana, future co-worker an e-mail that said, "Montana, dude! See you soon, dude!" She didn't reply. When friends ask me what I'll do there I pretty much say drugs, hiking, and hanging out. Again, I'm way into it. I'm throwing a rager at my place before I leave. There's going to be a keg and everyone is going to do keg stands. Not optional. Way sweet. Steve wrecked his bike -- I watched it in slow motion; it was brutal -- at the Boulevard Oval and was carted off in an ambulance. His head's cool, but he broke his collar bone -- now we got no drummer. Our last two shows before I go are canceled -- lame. I was amped to play with Under Pressure and The Bananas -- way sweet bands. We also had to cancel our plans to record. More lame. But I'll be back in a few months and we'll get it all together. Glued-Up and pop-punk for life. Bikes and Montana -- fuck yeah!

comestomind @ 2008-04-01T17:44:00

2008-04-01T21:48:55Z

Good weather's always put a damper on my "productivity" -- after six years of college, it's worse than ever. I put off papers to do thirty miles with Steve yesterday and messengered instead of studied this afternoon. Last night, around seven, before the Pirates season-opener, I walked down to the Quick Stop to get some milk to make a protein shake and it was raining in Downtown, but the sun was shining above Polish Hill. Sometimes I never want to leave, but then I think about how corrupted my kids are and how I want to teach innocent country kids whose parents love them. All I want to do is ride my bikes and drink beer in moderation.

comestomind @ 2008-03-31T13:42:00

2008-03-31T17:52:53Z

So road racing is the new cool thing for me. Me, Steve, and Ted raced the Cat. Four/Five Mengo Creek Rally yesterday. Thirty-three rolling miles in Washington County, south of Pittsburgh. Steve crushed it and finished second. He made a crazy break less than five miles in and held it. Sick. I finshed fourteenth out of forty. I'll take it for my first road race. I had some good moments and some bad moments. Chasing and catching that one guy was good; getting dropped off the peleton that ended up finishing sixth through eleventh sucked. Ted finished around twentieth, so that makes me feel even better. Some kid on an Orbea with Zipp wheels on the Trizilla team passed me with a quarter-mile to go; I was bummed. I feel good. Tonight is opening night for baseball. Sweet!

comestomind @ 2008-03-26T17:53:00

2008-03-26T21:55:17Z

Lynn,
The haircut doesn't look ... half bad. You only need four-five hours of sleep, mix it with a sunny day on the bike, and, shit, you'll feel fine. Maybe not Montana-fine or Oregon-fine, but fine-fine. Good talks about this West thing. This is the grand process of regaining some of my former self -- the non-Pittsburghized (bikes, Iron City beer, etc.) me that zoned-out and got excited about shit most people don't know about and don't care to know about (the greenest fucking pine trees you've ever seen, clumps of bear shit, mossy rocks, Big Sky bully me, etc.). You'll know it all soon enough. Get excited! I haven't written like this in years -- two, three. It's like a regression in the most wonderful way, a recapturing of something more innocent and good. Love Pittsburgh, but fuck it! Buy the tickets, wave goodbye, and when you get there write cryptic post cards that only say things like "I'm happy," and "Yup, yup, yup." Your friends will hate you for it!
-- Jason

comestomind @ 2008-03-25T15:41:00

2008-03-25T19:56:15Z

I got in a pretty shitty bike wreck on my way to work on Friday at 6:15 in the morning. I sprained my right ankle, right wrist, and bruised my left knee. I thought my bike, the Cervelo, of course, was going to be in three pieces -- it flipped about thirty feet down Brereton Avenue. My only explanation for this crash is that I think I fell asleep while riding. One second I was riding, the next I was heaped on the pavement. They let me leave work at eight, though, which was good, so I spent the rest of the day in bed and then enjoyed "Free Pizza Friday" at the Pub with Steve. Free pizza and $1.50 Iron City pints -- Is there a better way to spend a Friday evening? I took enough pain killers that I was still able to race on Saturday afternoon. Steve and I won the "Bros. 'n' Bikes" over a lackluster, at best, field. We got $15 each and bought cases of Augustiner and burritos from Taco Bell. Glued-Up and Speeding -- yeah, that's our band -- played the after-party. I played awful; though, in my defense, my wrist was killing me and scum fucks -- our word for homeless crust punks -- fucked with us throughout our set. At one point they somehow managed to pick their passed-out buddy up off the couch, put him in a computer chair, roll him across the room, and dump him at my feet onto broken glass. His leg got tangled into my bass chord and every time I tried to unravel it, it just got wrapped tighter around his leg. Three people had to help me untangle the chord and the dude still didn't wake up. Punk as fuck, I guess. Red Fox (myspace.com/redfoxpgh) played after us and embarrassed us. God that band is good. I spent Sunday hobbling around on crutches and didn't race the Steel City Showdown like I had hoped to. Though I did manage to go to Gooski's with Matt and get really drunk like I have done every Sunday for the past three months. Bloody Mary's, at $3 a pint, are going to be the end of me. I'm leaving for Montana on my twenty-fifth birthday. I can't wait.

(Side note: I'm at the computer lab finishing up a paper. Elise's old best friend is sitting in front of me. She's supposedly in a full-blown affair with a married guy who has a kid. The guy swears he's going to leave his wife, too. I bet she doesn't know that I know that. Oh, the secrets we tell ...)

comestomind @ 2008-03-09T00:11:00

2008-03-09T05:13:07Z

Back to Montana! Bellhop! By my birthday! So drunk! So high! At Matty's place! Elise is dating some fucking joke! Matty and I can only laugh -- that's what I tell me!

comestomind @ 2008-02-07T13:53:00

2008-02-07T18:54:35Z

Back to Glacier! Over to Israel! Pittsburgh? Fuck it! I've got next year.

Me boozin' wine and doing "new" things: myspace.com/bearthugpittsburgh

comestomind @ 2008-01-04T13:39:00

2008-01-04T18:40:11Z

Shit's confusing and weird and I can't wait to go but I don't want to go without her. I said, "Sobriety's on the horizon," and she laughed. "Sober is the new drunk in 2008," I said.

comestomind @ 2007-12-10T12:48:00

2007-12-10T18:03:56Z

1) DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR: Matty.

2) LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD (longest friend): Chris.

3) NEWCOMER AWARD - COOLEST NEW FRIEND: A few.

4) HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR: Not sure. Messengering?

4) LOW POINT OF THE YEAR: Definitely Elise. Maybe messengering?

5) BEST HOLIDAY: Not sure.

6) YOUR SONGS FOR 2007: "Tornado Children" by Tiny Hawks. "Time Bomb" by Billy Bragg.

7) MOVIE FOR 2007: Not sure.

8) WHO DID YOU SPEND VALENTINE'S WITH?: Elise. I can't remember what we did. Or if we did anything.

9) BEST RELATIONSHIP: Not sure.

10) WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN: Winnie the Pooh. It was fun for a little while.

11) RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR?: Any good homemade meal I made.

12) BOOK OF THE YEAR: "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck.

13) BEST DECISION YOU MADE THIS YEAR: Not sure.

14) WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR: Ireland definitely. Maybe Montana. New shit.

15) MOST STUPID IDEA WHEN DRUNK: Smashing my cell phone off the side of my parent's house. Or letting Elise continue to sleep on my couch after she broke up with me. I suck.

16) TV SHOW OF THE YEAR: None.

17) MOST LOYAL FRIEND: Matty.

18) BIGGEST CHANGE OF THE YEAR: Elise.

19) BIGGEST DOUCHEBAG AWARD: Me?

20) NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: Get out of Pittsburgh.

21) HARDEST PERSONAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Elise.

22) BIGGEST FIGHT: Elise.

comestomind @ 2007-09-26T13:11:00

2007-09-26T17:12:47Z

Cut class, go to the rope swing on the North Shore alone. Go to the Pirate game with Matt. Have a few beers, pet your cat, make some popcorn, be in bed by 11:30. That will make your Wednesday much easier.

comestomind @ 2007-03-13T12:49:00

2007-03-13T16:55:30Z

I got word today that I don't have to take summer classes. Hallelujah! The "Summer of Fun" is almost upon us!

I wrote Elise an e-mail asking her to come down and collect the last of her belongings and she wrote back that she's been putting it off because it makes her sad. Why does she keep dragging this out? I'm sick of looking at her stupid, impractical shoes. Two days before she dumped me we bought a gallon of ice cream -- I finally finished it last night. I feel like that was the last of it.

comestomind @ 2007-03-06T13:25:00

2007-03-06T18:26:05Z

I decided today that I'm quitting my job the Friday before Memorial Day and either going back to Colorado to hike the east side of Rocky Mountain or going up to Acadia, Maine, to hike and bike for a week. That was my big revelation of the day; I like it. I think I'll probably go by myself. I've been thinking a lot about how I went to San Francisco by myself three years ago and why, now, I feel so needy and desperate for constant companionship.

We've got this new girl Isabella; she can't speak English. I can't speak Spanish. It's hard and I feel guilty that I can't even ask her what her favorite color is. She sits on my lap and holds my hand during story time and learning time. I do the best I can to comfort her and to help her stop crying. I can't imagine what's going through her head: three years old, a new school and twenty new kids who don't speak her language and teachers who don't understand what she wants. It makes me feel like a fuck-up that I can't help this kid; it breaks my heart, too.

comestomind @ 2007-02-18T14:31:00

2007-02-18T19:32:03Z

Everything's getting much better -- much better than before -- already.

comestomind @ 2007-01-27T21:00:00

2007-01-27T23:08:02Z

Does anyone have a bootleg for the 9/11/2005 date in Philadelphia on the "Devils and Dust" tour? The videos are all over YouTube -- "Thundercrack," "Santa Ana," "One Step Up" -- and they are absolutley amazing! If anyone has this, I would love if you uploaded it! Thanks!

comestomind @ 2007-01-11T18:00:00

2007-01-11T22:00:21Z

Random shit:
- My job is slowly rotting my mind. If you spend forty hours a week primarily conversing with four- and five-year-olds, you're going to start talking to your friends and your girlfriend the same way. Elise got mad at me last night when I told her she needs "to do a better job using her listening ears."
- Speaking of my job, it's okay; some days up, others down. Working with a for-profit educational center is frustrating when profit is primary and a child's educational experience becomes secondary. Today, twenty-eight, three-year-olds were packed into a twenty-by-forty-foot room. NAYCE -- the National Association for the Education of Young Children -- suggests that, for a child to be comfortable, a daycare center should provide thirty-five-square-feet of space for each child. You can do the math. Today was a down day.
- I may be sued by an insurance company for the receipt of about $2500. We'll see. Anyone know a good lawyer?
- Elise and I spent a drunk Saturday night at Gooski's, getting down with the ass-moving, get-up-on-yo-feet, ten-piece Eastern European-by-way-of-Brookyln brass band Slavic Soul Party. It was the first time I've danced in two/three years; probably the first time since those infamous Ophelia Street parties. It was real fun; in fact, the most fun I've had in awhile.
- For the first time in my life, bills are piling up. Gas, electric, cell phone, rent, tuition. Without my parents help, I'd either be doomed or up to my neck in loans. Thanks mom and dad. I think I need to move in July, though. I love my place, but even the $400 a month -- rent, gas, and electric, plus or minus $20 to $50 -- is becoming too much now that I'm back in school. (Note: Hey New Yorker, just so you know, $400 a month in Pittsburgh is a pretty big chunk of change.)
- The other night this girl in one of my classes -- she's real cute, French-looking ... and married -- politely asked me, "Are you an anarchist?" I couldn't help but feel a little flattered.
- Finally, Elise and I are hopefully going to Punxsutawney for Groundhog's Day. We've got it all planned out except for a place to stay. The day involves Sparks, coffee, polka, whiskey, beer, and a captured groundhog and his infamous shadow (or lack of). I requested the day off, a Friday, but my boss told me I need to give at least thirty days notice to guarantee a day off -- I submitted the request twenty-seven days before Groundhog Day. I better get that day off ...

comestomind @ 2006-12-23T00:27:00

2006-12-23T04:27:14Z

1.) Where did you ring in 2006?
California, Pennsylvania. Long story short: Elise's friends don't like me now.

2.) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Taken.

3.) Were you in school this year?
I went back to school ... I got a job in a school ... all I do is think about school, really.

4.) How did you earn your keep?
"Earn" and "keep" are vague terms when you're making $5.50 an hour "improving the community." I'm doing better now, though, financially and mentally.

5.) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yeah. It sucked. $2000 is a big bill for a wrist that wasn't even broken. Assholes.

6.) Did you encounter the police?
Yeah, when I got hit by a car. But that process also involved an ambulance and a fire truck. Oh, it was a scene.

7.) Where did you go on vacation?
Colorado for a week. D.C. a few times. Ohiopyle weekends. Good times.

8.) What did you purchase that was over $500?
Too many bikes.

9.) Did anybody get married?
Andy Badac? Whaa? Yeah!

10.) Did anybody pass away?
Nope.

11.) Did you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
Long story. Ask Sunny about it. It was funny, but mostly it was sad. 0-7-Double-4-6 for life I guess.

12.) Did you move?
Moved from Herron to Dobson, about a block and a half down the Hill. I'm a little happier now but my wallet's much lighter.

13.) What sporting events did you go to?
One Pirates game.

14.) Did you vote?
Nah. I took the year off. Politics were my apathy this year. Who needs it?

15.) Where do you live now?
Polish Hill!

16.) Describe your birthday.
I honestly forget. It probably involved the Rock Room.

17.) What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006?
Become a teacher! Whaa? Yeah! Go back to school!

18.) What is one thing you regretted this year?
Nothing.

19.) What's something you learned about yourself?
I can teach!

20.) Any new additions to your family?
Nah.

21.) What was your best month?
July to August. My Pittsburgh summer was the jam.

22.) What from pop culture will you remember 2006 by?
"Truthiness."

23.) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (shitty) to 10 (excellent)?
Not too bad.

comestomind @ 2006-12-19T19:10:00

2006-12-19T23:10:44Z

The only thing I've learned this holiday season -- and it sure wasn't "The Meaning of Christmas" -- is that I'm never getting laid again if I don't buy my bitch a Kay diamond. But there is a double standard: if you don't get me the Verizon V-Cast phone I've always wanted, fuck you. And chances are, due to time constraints and my melted banana brain, you're probably getting a forty of Iron City wrapped in scrap paper or a $15 gift certificate to Cold Stone Creamery under your plastic pine tree.

comestomind @ 2006-11-25T01:34:00

2006-11-25T05:34:00Z

Home is where the heart is. Pittsburgh.

comestomind @ 2006-11-09T18:44:00

2006-11-09T22:44:43Z

Here's something awesome.

I caught the tail-end of "Wheel of Fortune" last night.

Here's the clue: Event.

Here's the puzzle (which has basically been solved): S E T T I N G _ _ B E A C H C H A I R S .

The woman, seemingly, goes balls to the wall and decides to spin instead of solving the puzzle. She spins and lands on $700.

The letter she says? F. She chose F.

What an asshole. S E T T I N G O F B E A C H C H A I R S .

People are dumb. At least people voted Santorum out. That's good, I guess. Except now we've got Bob "Droopy" Casey, Jr. which is about as reassuring as ...

comestomind @ 2006-10-26T17:43:00

2006-10-26T21:49:00Z

I got a job, dudes! No, for serious, I got a real for serious job! I'm going to be a teacher's assistant in a kindergarten class at the Magic Years Day Care and Educational Center in the USS Tower. I get health and dental and a retirement plan and a 401K, whatever the hell that is! Get pumped, dudes!

comestomind @ 2006-10-13T12:13:00

2006-10-13T16:19:00Z

I took a job at the Children's Museum working with Reading is FUNdamental as an assistant to the director/after-school program coordinator. My old boss at Beginning with Books set it up so props to her. I'll be making $6 an hour and getting health insurance. The ride to the North Side is a little more scenic than my old ride to East Liberty. In other developments, it snowed yesterday.