Author: John Bollwitt

I love baseball. Those that know me understand that I’m not a sports fanatic by any means. I can’t sit here and repeat stats. I don’t talk about all my high school sports experiences, for which there are none because I didn’t really do much at all in those areas. I don’t know who all the superstars are. I can barely tell you a lot about any of the teams that I claim to like. I might be able to tell you about some of the really cool baseball cards that are somewhere in my old bedroom of my parent’s house, but even those memories are fleeting.

Last night, I watched the Braves play the Mets. I don’t like either of those teams. I could care less about how they do for the rest of the year. It’s just the pure enjoyment of the game. I can’t explain it. It’s not too fast, yet slow enough to stay within the sanity of my mind. If I look away for a minute, I won’t miss too much. Bathroom break and you might miss a home run, but that’s what instant replay is for.

When it comes down to it, I think back to the baseball game that I saw in Yokohama, Japan. The Yokohama BayStars. Memory fails me on who they played, but the whole stadium was nothing short of electric. I loved every second of it. All I could think, “This is what baseball is supposed to be like.” I guess every time I watch a game, I kind of feel that moment reliving itself all over again. Thinking of the time where I got to enjoy a Sapporo and a beef bowl at a baseball game.

And yeah, I cut myself today doing the Java House. Mic stands have pinched my fingers before, only leaving blood blisters. This time, it ripped a chunk of skin out of my index finger. It might be high time that I think about switching up to coffee from my usual, weekly hot apple cider.

Tired. Congested. Sinus pressure. Plugged up ears. Scratchy throat. Squeaky to talk. Kleenex after kleenex. Kansas was a wonderful time, but what I have been left with is less than enjoyable. Colds are annoying.

Eric was a great host and tour guide. My first time to his neck of the woods these days, and I enjoyed it as much as I could, minus the health. In all actuality, it was nice to just relax. It appears Muffin will be moving in with him in August, so I’ll have double the pleasure, double the fun to make additional visits. That might be mooching to you, but I’m some one who can cook. A meal or two has been promised, and that’s an offer to anyone that allows me to make their home mine during any of my adventures. I am already thinking of a return, but this summer is going to be pretty action packed.

Muffin has picked out the last weekend in June for the camp out, so that solidifies my trip planning for NYC. Brian has given me the green light to stay with him, so hopefully everything works out with lining up the flight. That’s a whole week in the city. I’m flipped about that. Then the Valadez family reunion in July. Bill and Erin’s wedding in August. So much going on, and I know that I need to get on top of the other stuff that I’m forgetting. I won’t even go into the list of projects at the station.

I got my new glasses and contacts in the mail today. Very swank. I’m very happy.

Everything is packed up and ready to roll. Muffin called me today to make sure that I have directions, so I’m all set there. There is still this feeling that I’ll get lost and walk in to his musical a little late. Have faith, right? On top of that, it has been reconfirmed to me that the musical he has a roll in is Grease. Now, burn me at the stake all you want, but I hate that movie. Nails on a chalk board. I can’t stand it. If you are saying to yourself right now, “How can you not like Grease?”, there’s a quick clue. Based on the absolute, moronic aspect of that question, I respond, “How can you not like early 1900’s, russian, silent, non-narrative, expressionist films?” I rest my case.

I’m struggling with the apartment hunt. Right now, I’m sitting on my decision. It’s coming down to a matter of location and affordability. Ok location, great apartment, moderate rent, or great location, lacking apartment, better rent. Then you start breaking down all the other pieces of the puzzle. The cost of utilities, the neighborhood, what winter would be like, etc. It’s not easy, but I’m finding myself becoming in tune with this art form.

Tomorrow, I’m leaving town, so we’ll see when the next time you’ll hear from me will be. If I get access, I’ll see what I can do. Hopefully, I’ll have some good pictures of the mischief we get ourselves into.

And I’m telling you, Absolution is a great album. Muse is just amazing me. Talk to my nephew Ben about it as, “it’s not weird at all, Uncle John. It’s really, really good music.”

Gorgeous. Beautiful. Wonderful. Those are words for a day like today. Sun shining. Barely a cloud in the sky. Warm. And me, sitting in my office, playing with servers and computers. Well, from my perspective, it’s playing. From the outside looking in, it’s work. I can’t go into real details yet, but I had my first experience with major donors to the station today. It’s not even a deal put to paper at this point. However, a new toy looms on the horizon. Hopefully this time it won’t take five months of preparation and twenty-seven hours to install it.

And today is the last day of stuffing my face, as well as raising money for the station. Just to spite me, they brought in a box of freshly made, oatmeal raisin cookies. Some one thought I hurt myself I gasped so loudly. Oatmeal raisin has got to be my absolute favorite when it comes to cookies. I’m not a big sweets fan in general. Now, oatmeal raisin? I’m an addict.

I’m getting anxious to do some cooking again. Baked some chicken in a mole’ sauce about a week or so ago, but it seems like a lot longer than that. Need to find some good recipes. Then again, winging it is fun.

Finding a new apartment has become quite the adventure. Just like my women, I have become more picky than ever before. I’m not sure what comparison you can make, but efficiency is greatly outweighing anything else that goes into my next home. The place I live in right now is tiny, so the time is approaching to get myself out of that situation. Living alone is where I want to stay. Now it’s a battle of nice, cute neighborhoods against nice, cute apartments in those oddly sterile developments. At this point, sterile is winning. It’s time for me to find a home that is great on the inside. I’m not against getting out of the house and going for a drive to find those great places outside of my walls.

I’m taking a little break from work right now. I’m pounding my head over office server issues and a busted printer. These are the not so glamourous sides of radio. If it sounds like I’m complaining, I’m not. I enjoy this type of work, no matter how grueling or mind numbing it can get. I’ve done my fair share of on air type stuff back in my KRUI days. I consider this a natural progression of my talents. I’m not saying I want to be just like the guy, but Art Bell started out doing the same stuff that I am. He became the number one, late night talk show host in the nation for a hand full of years until retiring in his prime. I can only wish to be so lucky, but in the meantime, I’m having fun getting paid for what I do.

Getting excited for the trip coming up with Muffin. And yes, just me and Muffin. Still, a good time.

For the past two lunches and single dinner, I have had chicken tacos furnished by the station. Oh so yummy and they fit so nicely in my tummy. Fundraising week rages on. I’ve done better about the cookies though. There’s so much sugar, it’s so easy to get a rush. Along with that is the come down. Why do I know that? Let’s call it first hand knowledge. And they just brought two pans full of enchiladas through the door. None of this recent mexican food can compare with the likes of my mom or grandmother when it comes to this particular type of food, but it’s pretty flippin’ tasty. I’m going running in the morning, I’m going running in the morning, I’m going running in the morning…

My apologies to those of you who are trying to understand where you are at this point. No, this is not an April Fool’s Day joke. Welcome to my new home. Hopefully the redirect wasn’t too painful. I won’t get into specifics on the reasons why or anything because you probably don’t care that much to know. If you truly want to know, ask me.

As some things stay the same, I have to say that The Mars Volta have put out a fantastic album. I miss At the Drive-In, too, but this along with Sparta makes me quite happy.

You should understand that I work at a radio station. It’s something that I have wanted to do since I was in the neighborhood of twelve years old. I can’t tell you how or why the bug bit me. It just did. And I had one of those things happen today where I remember being a little kid and having that moment reflect on where my life is today. How I grew up in a small town with probably the best hardware store on the face of the earth. Still housed to this day in a early 1900’s building, it’s run by some of the most incredible people you could ever meet. It’s that aspect that makes it great, not the selection. Odd to speak so highly of a store like that, but I’m sure there are things that you became attached to in your life that you can relate.

They always had the radio on when you walked in. It just gives the place an atmosphere. It’s hard to describe. Often, it was tuned to the AM side of the dial, usually to the local NPR affiliate. A flash of my memory and I can recall running up to the store just as a horrible thunderstorm was rolling into town. Dad and I had to grab something from them before they closed and get home before we were caught by the weather. The radio was crackling like a sparkler when we walked in. The AM band tends to do that when the sky is about to release. To this day, that still sends a chill up my spine to hear that over the speakers.

Somehow, I can remember thinking, “What causes that?” I wanted to know more. The announcer alone can tell you about the impending weather, but other garble and whistles within a frequency can add to the impact of what the atmosphere is doing above your head. Dad would always do his best to explain it to me, and some times I got it. I truly believe that was the day that it bit. I just didn’t know it. Oddly enough, I now work for the same station that they listen to all the time at that same little hardware store.

I can feel the mass quantities of food that I have taken in over the past few days begin to make a home inside the fat cells of my body. Yogurt covered raisins, chocolate covered pretzels, quiche, monster cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate bourbon pecan pie, chicken this, vegetarian that, pizza, pizza, and more pizza. Food is apart of my job this week. I’m one who is in charge of bringing in the goodies. I know exactly what I’m getting myself into when I get the arm loads of cardboard containers and put them into the car. When I go to the place of pick up, I swear that I’m not hungry. I dare you to drive that vehicle back and not have your stomach start to speak up. Thank god I’m going running in the morning.

In about a week, I’m heading south. The plans are pretty much finalized. Road trip with Mary and Muffin. As funny as that is to say, the trip is going to be that much better, I can already feel it. On top of that, I get to see Muffin in a play the day before we depart. If I’m not mistaken, it’s a musical. Ok, now I’m laughing and really looking forward to see this thing. I even get to go to the cast party afterwards. I feel so special.

I got Year of the Rabbit! I’m so excited about this one. Ken Andrews is an incredible musician. This is his first band since Failure called it quits. Loving it already. And if you don’t know about it already, check out ON, Andrews’ solo project. So good!

Another guilty pleasure in my life: documentary television. More importantly, those things dealing with history. It always seems to rope me in. For instance, tonight, I watched a special about Nostradamus. To this day, the guy still freaks me out. Granted that in hindsight, anything is possible with his prophecies. Did he predict Hitler? The World Trade Center? The moon landing? On and on. I get a little spooked out about it when I stop to think about it. This is just a taste of my addiction here. Lately, Roman history has been sucking up precious hours of my life. My never ending adventure of feeding my brain goes on.

I surprised myself when I went into the station today. One of the volunteers starting asking questions about the broadcast signals of the two stations. I should mention that we have one station running on AM and the other on FM. Understanding how this all works in the technical sense is something that I have come to understand over years of feverish passion. Today was the first time that I was asked to explain it to some one with slim knowledge of this nearly one hundred year old technology. I think I did pretty well. At least, I surprised myself. I’m no expert, but I think I’m getting pretty close to being a professional.

Muse is a group that has captured my attention lately. I hate getting into the details of how or what they sound like. To me, it’s just good. And might I add, Matthew Bellamy has a tremendous voice.

I think it’s safe for me to say that I am not your average, ordinary “guy.” I do some typical guy things from time to time, but I’m not the burly manly, man type guy. As the heat rises, I can hear the masses gather outside to take advantage of the warm weather. The herds of stupidity are swarming out there. It’s almost as if I should stay inside until they are gone for the summer. Afraid that if I get to close, I will be affected by their lower intelligence. I feel like Gollum. “Stupid, fat hobbits.” I can hear their laughter with the windows open. It’s like nails on a chalk board.

The first, really good thunderstorm blew through town last night. It woke me up, and I was happily surprised. The lightning was the most impressive thing about it all. It didn’t matter if your eyes were open or closed. You knew it was there. Thunder. Wind. Pouring rain. I turned over and fell asleep faster than I could have imagined. Sleeping well has been bit of a struggle these recent months. The storm was what I have been looking forward to. With it brought some of the best sleep ever.

It’s been another rough day, but the week is over. A cut on my hand and some stomach aches, but I’m glad the weekend is here.