A Note I Got From My Grandma Today

I had to use Rosetta Stone: Grandma to try and read this:

Dear Aaron,


Grandma had some luck at bingo. I am sending you a check for $45.00 to share the wealth. I won $331.00 dollars. How are you? We had 4 inches of snow Saturday. Did you get any? Is everything going okay for you, Aaron? I miss you. Aaron send in all your resumes now so they get them early on, so you have some good luck. Take care of yourself. May God bless you. 


Love You,
Grandma


Let me know when you get the check.

God, I love that woman.

My grandma is better is better than your grandma.

I Am (Still) Lucky

You know, I am lucky.

I am not the luckiest, but I am lucky.

I am 19 in college, going for a degree in something I love to do, have my family support in that. Hell, I have a family to support me.

I am lucky.

It is not everyday that your son says that they want to pursue a degree in Creative Writing and as a parent you say, "Go for it!" as opposed to saying, "What kind of doctor did you say?" But, nevertheless I have parents who actually support me in that. I have parents who are curious about what I write, who actually say with a degree of confidence to other people that I am a writer, and I have a grandma who always asks me where I come up with all that stuff.

I have a brother who is my role model and best friend. A guy who has a kidney surgery and one of the first things he tells me is that the only thing he was worried about before the surgery was me. I have that type of person in my life. Someone who I can talk to on a daily basis on the phone while I am at school, hang up afterwords and realize that I just spent 45 minutes with him talking about Ghostbusters, Batman, and Nelson Cruz.

I have a mom and dad who would do anything for me. I know that because I am at SVSU. I do not have to be, and I really shouldn't be. But, because of them I am.

I have a dad who I can spend simple father and son time with watching a George Harrison documentary or by talking about how we would have handled Custer's Last Stand if we were George Custer. A dad who has a subtle humor and can teach a person the importance of bow-sawing techniques... even if they come after a half inch gash has occured. Someone who I tricked into saying, "I love you" first today before I hung up. Gotcha, dad.

I have a mom who works her ass off. Never for herself though. Always for someone else. Who is there with something to make me laugh even if I do not want to. "Here do not forget my handicap sticker... I guess those do come in handy, get it?" Someone who always just happens to have planned all my favorite meals when I am home. Someone who posts Facebook statti bragging about me. Making me actually feel like I am doing something right.

I have a family on my dad's side and on my mom's side that I love dearly. Who believe in me too. Who I can go garage saleing... excuse me, junking with. Who post songs on my Facebook wall just because they think I might like them or try to convince that the Lions are good. Who offer me rides to go see my brother. Who help keep me inspired.

I have a girlfriend.

Yeah, me. I have a girlfriend. And god, is she beautiful. She has a smile that makes me fall into an endless loop of love with her. And I do not even care. She likes Louis Armstrong. She sends me individual bags of candy with little notes that would be the cutest thing ever, if not for her. Who looks over at me while I am driving and smiles and thinks I do not see it, but I do. Who texts me exactly as I am writing this about her and says she does not want to ruin my creative flow. Yeah, that girl is mine.

How did I get this lucky?

I have no clue.

I Guess I Am Going To Start Doing This Again

Look, it just snowed.

I am in college. It is mid-winter. I am bored. So I might as well start this up again. I got a fancy new layout and Tweets and everything.

Still do not know why I am doing this, but I am.

Eh, I give it till tomorrow until I forget about this again.

You Look Like You Need Some (More) Music

Spotify, man.

1. Tom Waits- Closing Time: Listen to this when it is a cold day. Once you do that, I only have one thing to say to you. You are welcome.
2. AM Gold Comp CD's- Various Artists: I got a bunch of these at the library here at SVSU today. I got every one from 1965-1969. So much good pop music.
3. Steve Martin- A Wild And Crazy Guy: Possibly, no. It is my favorite comedy album of all time. Quite a bit of it still holds up today. It is just very smart-stupid humor. This is when Steve Martin was like the most popular comedian in the world.
4. Neutral Milk Hotel- In An Aeroplane Over The Sea: This album should be more important than Nevermind. Boom. I just said that. I love this album. My friend John showed this two me last year and it is one of those albums that changes your life.
5. The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow: I have listened to the Shins catalog since I listened to them perform a cover of Breathe on Late Night. It left me speechless. I listened to this album first, because sometimes when I listen to the Shins I do not want to hear New Slang or Caring Is Creepy. If that makes sense.
6. The New Pornographers- Twin Cinema: I vividly remember one morning when I was in 8th grade. I was on the way to school, I was listening 89x, and the song Use It was on. There was a pen in the car. So, I wrote New Pornographers- Use It on my hand. Therefore, I had the words "New Pornographers" on my hand all day. Gotta love going to SIJ.
7. The Kinks- The Kinks: Every time I listen to the Kinks I get a new favorite Kinks song. This time it is Beautiful Delilah. Why does this band not get its rightful due? It is baffling.
8. fun- Aim & Ignite: I l-o-v-e this band. Brendon Urie (lead singer of Panic! At The Disco) said that fun. was the most appropriately named band ever. And that is the truth. I saw them last summer by shear happenstance and they absolutely blew me away. They have a new single called "We Are Young" that is now being used for Chevy commercials now too.
9. Bill Burr- Let It Go: Probably one of my favorite comedians right now. He was used sparingly in the today show. He was one of the announcers for the "World Series of Dice Throwing" sketch and his stand-up is amazingly hilarious. Very Louis CK-ish. Just a normal fella talking about his crazy day to day thoughts.
10. A Tribe Called Quest- The Low End Theory: This album is absolute perfection. One of the greatest hip-hop albums ever created. The. End.