January 1, 2001

HAPPY NEW YEAR

So begins the third millennium: I woke up at noon; disoriented and confused.
I always am for a moment when I wake up in a place to which I am not accustomed.
I had fallen asleep on the couch in Phil Weaver's basement party room. I gathered my wits, put on my glasses, and looked around. A motley collection of other revelers, in various stages of waking (and sobering) up, was scattered throughout the room.
The smell of fresh brewed java tickled at my nose and went straight to my brain. Within moments I was standing in the kitchen: wide awake, hands wrapped around a large cup of hot coffee, talking to Phil's Mom about the party.
(Dear Reader, You may notice while reading this journal, that nearly all of them begin or end with me and/or my friends drinking coffee. That's just the way it is, so deal with it. Or better yet, brew a pot for yourself, grab a cup, and join the fun.)

The Party The party the night before had been a smashing success. The food was awesome. Everyone brought something to eat and all of it was scrumptious. My contribution was a plate of various cheeses and pepperoni. It came in very handy as we waited for Phil to finish cooking his mouthwatering ribs. Phil had marinated the ribs for a week and then cooked them outside, surrounded by three feet of snow, on the patio grill. Every time he opened the patio door we got a waft of the smoke and would salivate. It was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it. They were so tender and delicious. The only reason anyone stopped talking about how good they were was to shove another luscious, tasty rib into their eagerly awaiting mouth. Even Dinosaur BBQ couldn't make better ribs than those. They really were that good. I remember thinking, "It doesn't get much better than this," but I was wrong.

When we were all finished eating ribs, Phil made Bananas Foster for dessert. He prepared most of the ingredients in the kitchen and then wheeled the brazier into the party room, poured the liquor, and set it aflame. We were astounded! It was thrilling to watch Phil prepare this exciting culinary treat. It was even more thrilling to eat it. It was sinfully delicious. I don't care who you are; you can't out-cook Phil Weaver. Rating: Five Stars! (*****)
I was quite proud of my behavior last night. I drank only tea or water and I had a wonderful time. For the first time since being a young teen, I didn't wake up with a hangover on New Year's Day. Different.
As the others got a grip on consciousness and grabbed coffee, we began to talk about the trip. Everyone was anxious; no one wanted to wait. Pete was especially excited, as he had never flown before. I hope that he enjoys his first flight more than I enjoyed mine.

Band Practice I left Phil's house and headed to Manlius. It was a cold clear day and the driving was great. I arrived at Stephan Ilnitzki's house for band practice at 2:15. It was the last practice before the gig and as per the usual; Joe DiRienzo and Bobby Budd were late. (More Info: www. BornAgainSavages.com )
I wrote in my journal until they arrived and we headed into the basement. My throat hurt so I took it easy. I didn't want to blow out my vocal chords three days before the show. Practice went great and I went home. If we play the show half as well as we did at practice it will still be a good show.
January 3, 2001
Happy Birthday to Me!
The first Syracuse New Times of the new millennium came out today and my little shindig is a Pick of the Week! I was very excited and must have read, and re-read the article at least a hundred times. I showed the article to everyone at work. My first gift of the day was a $50 traveler's check from United Radio.

It will come in handy on the trip. Phil Rubenstien dropped it off in person. After finishing work at United Radio I went home, took a shower and headed to work at MacGregor's. I passed out a lot more handouts about the show. Everyone kept asking why I was working on my birthday and I told them "because I need the cash." A lot of the regular customers bought me drinks and shots. It was a lot of fun and by the time I left to go home I left I had a pretty good buzz going on. Thirty-two doesn't seem all that bad. I don't feel much differently than I did when I was a young pup of eighteen. (A bit more cynical, maybe, but not much else.)
January 4, 2001
Today I picked up the XXL and XXXL t-shirts from Multi Image Inc. I also got my shop jacket back. Chuck Westfall screened the t-shirt design on it's back and it looks absolutely awesome. Many people commented on it as I wore it around for the rest of the day.

January 5, 2001
The Syracuse Post-Standard ran a cool article today about the upcoming Bon Voyage Bash. Mark Bialczak did a great job and even gave me the Headline! Thousands of people read the Weekend section and will see the story. I was really HAPPY today. The show is tomorrow and all is in readiness. The 4,000 handouts are all gone. I hope a lot of people show up.

DEEP THOUGHTS by Jack Handy
The memories of my family outings are still a source of strength to me. I remember we'd all pile into the car - I forget what kind it was - and drive and drive. I'm not sure where we'd go, but I think there were some trees there. The smell of something was strong in the air as we played whatever sport we played. I remember a bigger, older guy we called "Dad." We'd eat some stuff, or not, and then I think we went home. I guess some things never leave you.

January 6, 2001
Show Day I picked up Eliza at 11 am and went to the store for last minute supplies for decorating the Lost Horizon. Eliza kept asking when we were going to eat. I kept telling her that we would go to McDonald's after we were done shopping. She looked up and very loudly announced, "Daddy, my mouth is hungry for food!" The girl that worked at the store heard her and began laughing out loud. So did I. It was so cute and funny. I bought her a breakfast bar and she was satisfied for the moment and I finished shopping in peace.
After taking Eliza to McDonald's as promised, we met up with Andy Chick and went to the Lost Horizon to decorate. Becky Boyer was supposed to help but was fast asleep after working all night. I hope that she had sweet dreams.
I plugged in my CD player, put in Hank Williams, and we got to work.
The colors of the French flag are red, white and blue; like ours. So, Andy, Eliza, and I decorated using lots of red, white, and blue balloons and crepe paper, French flags, table clothes, vases, wine bottles, and flowers. Within a few hours the Lost Horizon took on the look of a smoke-filled café in Paris. It was very chic. We finished up and went for food.
We ate dinner, and then went to my house so I could get ready. Andy left to get Emo and Michelle Bintz. I jumped into the shower.

Rub-a-dub-dub, a shave and a scrub, in twenty minutes I was ready to go. I gathered my stuff, kissed Eliza goodbye, and headed off to the show.
When I arrived at the club, the soundmen were there setting up the PA system and doing their checks. I gave my guest list to the bouncers and made sure all the last minute details were taken care of. I put Emily and Jamie Aitcheson in charge of the t-shirts and raffle tickets and they were more than happy to do it. Just as I was finishing up with them, someone called my name and said I had a phone call. The call was not good news.
After a huge advertising blitz, complete with radio commercials, television news coverage, and stories in all the local print media, Neural Groove called at the last minute and canceled.
They gave me some B.S. story that they thought the gig was canceled, but a close friend told me that they did it on purpose and booked a show at Sam's Lakeside for the same night. She works with one of the guys from the band and overheard him tell another co-worker that "there is no way in Hell that we are playing Tom's party." A quick call to Sam's confirmed the story. So, I was down to four bands. No need to panic; I still had Zadoc, Muck, The Flashing Astonishers, my Band, a magician, and a clown.

Rock & Roll

Zadoc & The Nightmare was the first band up. They did a great set. Nathan Angell and his vampire crew tore through their theatrical set of Industrial-Gothic material. They toned down their props a bit to make the transformation between bands a little quicker, but still had their coffin and candelabras. Their sound and show have improved dramatically since the last time I saw them play. www.ZadocNightmare.com
Channel 3 News showed up during Zadoc's set. They filmed an interview with me and taped the band as they did their thing. The clip ran on the 11 o'clock news.
Muck was the next band to play. They were awesome. I must play with them again. I was very impressed with their sound.
Born Again Savages played at eleven p.m. and we rocked! The crowd was definitely ours. I had a great time and it showed. We ripped through our flawless set with a vengeance straight out of the Bible. I was so psyched! Everyone was in a good mood after we finished with our set. www.BornAgainSavages.com
The Flashing Astonishers finished out the night in funky Indie-Rock style, after playing elsewhere at another party. Gregg Yeti and company are really cool guys and don't get all the credit that they deserve for what they do for the Syracuse music scene. I was very glad to have them on the bill for my little gala.
Tress Chapin's magic act could have used a little something…like more of his personality. The tricks were cool, but he didn't talk into the microphone, so no one could hear him. It was a bummer because no one does stuff like this for shows around here and it was very different from the norm.
the Clown worked the crowd during the bands and magic; telling jokes, making balloon animals, and entertaining people on a one-on-one basis. He did a wonderful job of lightening up the very heavy atmosphere that the bands laid down. Almost everyone in the crowd had a balloon animal or hat. Other than Neural Groove canceling, the show went off without a hitch.

DEEP THOUGHTS by Jack Handy
You know what would make a good story? Something about a clown who makes people happy, but inside he's real sad. Also, he has severe diarrhea.

January 7, 2001
Sad News & A Bad Attitude I slept until 10 a.m. and got up and played with Eliza. Katie Epolito (Eliza's Grandmother) called and informed me that her husband Richard had passed away the day before. It made me very sad.
Rich was like a father to me. He was the only one that ever acted like a dad to me. He told me things that I never heard from Bob or my stepfather, Tim (and will never hear from my natural father). Even though I am no longer a member of their family, I still love Angela and the whole Epolito family. Rich's death really upset me. I will miss him greatly.
Eliza is going to take it very hard. She was very close to her "Poppa" and loved him a lot and he loved her too.
At six p.m. I took Eliza home and spoke to Katie about Rich. I told her I was very sorry and that if she needed anything to call me. I left in tears. I went over to Michelle's house. When I got there I was still crying. I told her what had happened, and then chilled with Michelle and her boyfriend, Joe Beckwith, until ten minutes before nine p.m. I left to meet Phil Weaver, Gary Slagle, Mike Shanahan and Pete Zarzecki at MacGregor's.

I arrived at MacGregor's to find most of my crew already there, beers in hand. Gary had called and informed us that he would not be joining us until later in the evening. I got a beer and we grabbed a table. We ordered a plate of nachos for the group. I ordered my nearly famous Tom's B.O.M.B. Burger (Bacon, Onions, Mushrooms, and Brie) and fries for myself.
A lot of the regulars and a few of my fellow co-workers came up to me and asked how the show had gone the night before. It was a sore subject and I was rather snotty to several people that told me they would be there, but never showed up. I did not want to stay because I was becoming increasingly hostile. We decided to go to Denny's and get coffee.
When we arrived at Denny's, most of our usual coffee clan was there. We all had coffee, chatted and had a pretty good time. Becky joined us after getting out of work at IHOP.

Gary eventually joined us and we discussed our plan for the airport. When all was finished, we left. Becky invited me to spend the night at her house and I accepted. We talked until late and then crashed out in her big comfy bed. I slept well.
January 8, 2001
Final Preparations I woke up at Becky's house around 8:30 a.m. I got up, said good-bye to Becky and left. I stopped at Kases & Kegs for a coffee and started my day.
First I went to the bank and cashed the check I got from Gram. I got $200.00 in cash and $100.00 in traveler's checks. The rest of my money was on my Visa debit card.
After the bank, I went to RENTWAY to pay on my computer. I am paid up until the 20th.
From there, it was off to Chris Durney's house see Emo at 10:30. It turned out she wasn't home. I went to Michelle's to see if Emo was there. Emo was obviously not there, because, when I got to her house, I saw Michelle waiting for the bus. I gave her a ride to Shoppingtown Mall and we hung out for a while.
The Rune Stone While at the mall I "acquired" a rune stone for safe journeys. I use the word "acquired" because I didn't pay for it, but I didn't steal it either. The stone is rather small with a Triscalion rune on it. I was holding it in my hand, as we were getting ready to leave the mall. I pulled out my cigarettes and lighter so that I could light one up as we were walking out to the car. I was holding it all in the same hand and just sort of forgot about the stone. When we got to the car, I opened up my hand and there was the stone. I was somewhat afraid to go back to the store with it in case they arrested me. With only twenty-four hours until I left until I was leaving, I didn't want to get into trouble. I asked Michelle what I should do and she had no answer. It seemed as if fate had stepped in and placed the stone in my possession. I decided to just go with it. We left. I took Michelle to her place and went back to Gram's house.
I got home and had a nice meal with Gram. She was very worried about me going off to France. It wouldn't be Gram if she weren't worried. I assured her that I would be careful. I always am.

After dinner I cleaned out the carrier cage to take my pet rat, Mr. Whiskers, to Maria Ilnitzki's. She is going to take him to school and let her students interact with him for the time I am gone. She will love having him and so will the kids. He will love all of the attention that they will give him. I loaded Whiskerboy into the car for his short trip to Maria's house. I gave Maria all of his instructions and his food, said my good-byes and left. I still had stops to make.

I popped over to Chris's at 8:30 to see if Emo was home yet. She was, and so were Chris and Amy. We smoked and chatted until about 10 after 9p.m. I said good-bye and went home.
I met Andy at my house and we watched Natural Born Killers. We drank some wine and had cheese & crackers. After the movie, Andy headed home with a bed sheet. His mom is going to sew it into a sleep tube sheet for me. It is really nice of her.
At midnight I checked my email. At one a.m. I sat on my bed and wrote in my journal.
Tomorrow is the BIG Day and I am very excited. I hope I sleep well.