Do You Want Fries With That?

If living in the city has taught me anything it's that Customer Service doesn't really exist.

Case-in-point:

We're moving on Saturday and have taken care of all kinds of ins and outs ahead of time. We changed our addresses on a bunch of important services and bills, packed up a ton of stuff, reserved the truck, gathered friends for help, etc...

We also called the new place to set up a time, in advance, to sign the lease agreement and get keys so we wouldn't have to deal with it on move-in day. Today was supposed to be that day, but when we arrived, the assistant had no clue about our agreement, and couldn't figure out how to log on to their system to get us signed up.

Now, it wasn't this poor girl's fault for the technical glitch, but we're ticked. They've had our deposit since the end of March, and even then we scheduled today as our paper signing. Is it too much to ask for things to be ready when scheduled? Our time is valuable, and a business should bend over backwards to make sure we're accommodated at the agreed upon time.

After being turned away from our apartment signing, we decided to grab Sonic for dinner, and they couldn't get our order right to save their butts.

Frustration.

Grr.

If Nashville Said It...

I finally got the judging sheet back from the contest I entered back in November.

Each category is ranked from 1-10, 1 being lowest, 10 highest.

Completely:
(Score)
(8) 1. Is there a strong opening line that grabs the listener and sets up the story?

(6) 2. Is there a memorable hook?

(7) 3. Are the lyrics descriptive, clear and understandable building on the theme of the song?

(8) 4. Is there a unique, fresh approach to the theme/subject matter with which the listener can identify?

(8) 5. Does the song evoke an emotional response from the listener?

(7) 6. Is there a distinct/memorable melody in the chorus, verse, and/or bridge?

(8) 7. Is there a good marriage between the lyrics and melody?

(7) 8. Is the song format (length, structure, Etc.)appropriate for potential commercial viability?

(8) 9. Rate the "repeat listenability" of the song. Do you want to hear the song again?

(8) 10. Overall, do you like the song?

I still don't know how I feel about contests and my songs, but at least it's input from the industry.

Rant.

Imagine an old, rotten, splintery broomstick handle of large diameter.

Now, imagine said broomstick being repeatedly jammed in your hindquarter.

No lube...just raw, unpolished wood.

And that is precisely what our Internet Service Provider's definition of Customer Service is.

Star Wars and Cuss Words

I'm reading the Star Wars novel, Death Star (thanks, Cassie!), and I'm noticing some funny substitutions for familiar swear words.

In Star Wars Future Speak, some fine examples of swearing:

Fripp. Fripping.

Son of a Raiiitch (or something to that effect.)

It's just amusing.

That's all for today- Just checking in!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's Christmastime at the Lowry house!

Our first Christmas together felt very hurried and we weren't quite settled into our apartment. This year we decided to decorate!

Just a sample of what Katrina and I did:




For more pictures of the Season's Decorations see My Wife's Blog.

Ummm.

At the risk of sounding less than masculine:

Three songs that made me cry this morning before work:

1. Rise Above This - Seether

2. For The Good Times - Kris Kristofferson

3. The Story - Brandi Carlisle

And one that gave me hope that good lyrics are still being written:

Hurt My Baby - John Hiatt.

Just thought I'd share.

Concerts!

My bro, nephew, and I drove to Laramie to see Third Eye Blind on Friday night.

They were friggin' great!

The band did lots of creative arranging of the big hits like Jumper, Losing a Whole Year, SemiCharmed Life, and premiered some brand new stuff coming out this Tuesday.

If only every opening band on the planet didn't suck.

Seriously, every concert I've been to this year has had an abysmal warm-up.

We'll start with the Killers. (Okay, they were last year, but still...)
Opening acts...well...they were so horrid I forgot who they were. Just imagine jangly folk rock with dirty lyrics. And then there was Louis XIV. Like Jet, without the catchy hooks and songs about doing it.

Drive By Truckers' openers The Felice Brothers were a hodgepodge of drunken cajun-country punk songs about being drunk. Add to the mix a drummer who was a ringer for K-Fed.

Collective Soul had a generic Lillith Fair flunky named Hanna Pestle open for them in Boulder. Let's call her a boring solo act with vague similarities to Jewel and Lisa Loeb who murdered a Radiohead song for her finale.

Next up, Black Francis warming up the crowd at Red Rocks for Stone Temple Pilots. I'll describe them as a more "arty" version of the Ramones. Oh, wait, they actually had some talent, whereas BF just sounded like a speed freak muttering nonsense against a background of meandering punk noise.

Thank you Bruce Hornsby for not having an opening act!

And finally, Mark Rose, getting us ready for 3EB. Mark, Mark, Mark. There is already a John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and Jack Johnson. Watering down their styles and forgetting how to write a chorus wouldn't make them any better so why would it work for you?

Anyways, the headliners all rocked and made my ticket fees worth it. Lord help me if I announce an opening gig for a major band. There'd better be a snob in the crowd when that day comes.