Vacation

Yeah. So I just got back from my vacation two days ago, and I'd like to recap what happened throughout my stay in Omaha.

Me and Kaylena depart Dubuque at about 10:00am on Tuesday 7/24. We stop at a gas station to get some snacks and ice and we hit the road. Five minutes later, I realize I forgot the ice, so we decide to stop at a gas station later in the day. The ride from Dubuque to Interstate 80 was pretty smooth. We ended up listening to some Dane Cook standup while driving, and eventually throw in Radiohead's 'The Bends,' which we listen to 4 times before the trip is over. We try to find a nice Chinese restaurant to eat at, but my GPS is fuckin' up, and we basically just get lost in Des Moines. So, we decide "fuck Des Moines" and we get back on the highway.

We eventually stop in West Des Moines to get gas, and spot a TGIFriday's across the road. We decide to eat there. Me and Kaylena both order a strawberry lemonade slushy, and surprisingly the slushies were free-refill. That's a fuckin' win. I order a mushroom & swiss burger, which is pretty much my new favorite burger. Kaylena orders some chicken dish, alfredo, something, I don't remember really. She said it was good. My burger was good, our waitress was great. It was a great start to our trip.

We finally arrive at our hotel, the Settle Inn in Council Bluffs, IA. First thing I notice is that our hotel is in the business district of Council Bluffs. Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Appleby's, and other great restaurants within walking distance...that's a score... We settle in at the hotel, watch some TV until dinner time.

We decide to eat at Red Lobster for dinner. I had the Ultimate Feast and Kaylena had Snow Crab. The Food was spectacular, as Red Lobster always is, and again, the service was great. I was getting pissed at our great service because it cost me a lot of money in tips, but it was worth it. After dinner, we head to the pool area and enjoy some hot tub and pool action. We go upstairs and watch TV until going to sleep.

We awake the next day, the Zoo day. We get ready, and head to the Zoo. I add another state to my "states I've visited" list as we cross into Nebraska. The Zoo is right next to the border, and was easy to find. We enter the Zoo and spend a couple hours enjoying the animals, get some nachos to eat, and finally go and see Deep Sea 3D at the IMAX theater within the Zoo. Great time had by both Kaylena and I.

After the Zoo, we head back to the hotel and eat turkey sandwhiches to hold us off until dinner. We hit the pool again and relax for awhile. We come back to the room and I use my laptop to find other cool shit to do in Omaha. I find the "Old Market" downtown area, which seems cool, so we decide to go.

At the Old Market, there were tons of shops, restaurants with patio seating. It's everything I'd want in a city, for real. We walk around, visit the hippy shop, where Kaylena buys a tanktop, and we visit Drastic Plastic, a record store which had some cool shit, such as Sunn and Boris shirts, and Homer's, a record store where I found gold in some Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, and Zozobra CDs.

After shopping, we head to Famous Dave's BBQ in Old Market, where Kaylena and I attempt to devour the "feast for two." Needless to say, we failed, but the food was good. My stomach seemed to disagree, as I got a minor stomach ache, but got over it after taking some Tums.

We hit the pool, again, and just hang out for the rest of the night. We watched some of "Final Destination 3" which was horrible, and just reflected on how good our vacation was going. Little did I know, at the time, I was jinxing myself.

On Thursday, we pack our shit after enjoying a good continental breakfast at the hotel, and leave. We're about 15 minutes out of Council Bluffs when the unthinkable happens...

I'm cruising down the interstate at a modest 74MPH (normally I'd be going about 80, considering it's a 70MPH zone.) I'm following a semi in front of me, and I glance into my rear view mirror. Sure enough, there is a state patrol car behind me. I slow down a bit, but just as my foot rests on the break pedal, the cops lights begin to flash. Speechless, I just look over to Kaylena and said "uhh...I think we're being pulled over..."

The cop pulls us over and walks up to the car. He asks me for license, registration, and proof of insurance. I hand over the license and registration, but do not have proof of insurance. I'm not driving my car, but my mother's, and there is no proof of insurance to be found. The cop, surprisingly, did not seem to mind that I didn't. He asks me to get out of the car and walk back, and take a seat in the passenger seat of his patrol car. He questions Kaylena and returns to his car to question me. I get interrogated - "Where are you coming from? Where are you going? Do you have any drugs in the car? Any open alcohol containers? Any Marijuana? Meth? Cocaine? Heroin? Weapons? Large sums of cash?"

After answering his questions, he tells me that he pulled me over because I was speeding (74 in a 70, mind you) and because my mom's license plate holder was illegal (no idea...). He lets me off with a warning and I return to my car. Me and Kaylena get back on the road and head home. I can't help but laugh over the irony of the entire situation. A perfect vacation followed by a run-in with a state trooper. Would only happen to me...

I returned to work (and reality) on Friday...


The album is almost done. Only minor tweaking and artwork remain. We're setting up a record-release show sometime in August hopefully. I'll keep you posted.

Ceremony Ek Stasis

Originally intended to be posted on 7/15:

So yeah... I'm bored and all of my friends are working...except my computer of course. I thought I was going to have something useful to post on this blog, but I don't think I am.

I am, however, going to see Weedeater and Minsk tonight in Iowa City. Should be a good show.

The album is nearly completion. Two songs done, need to be mixed and mastered, a third is about 7/8 done, and the remaining two need guitar tracks. After this, we're going to have them mass produced and you're going to buy one.

Anyone got any money they wanna get rid of for a good cause? Let us know...

It's Been Awhile

So yeah...It has been a LONG while...

First and foremost, I'd like to tell you about how life has been. Most of my time lately has been focused on the band's album. We've finally got all of the drums tracked and 3/5 of the bass. "Scumbags..." has been completely tracked and I just need to make a few minor adjustments and it's ready to go, you can preview the track HERE. Other than that, the band has been taking it easy as far as touring goes, which is good, because I'd like to focus on the album only until it's finished.

I've been starting to get the studio organized. I just bought a new storage cabinet for all of my shit, and it's beginning to feel like a real studio. Our friends from Between The Eternities will be joining me in the studio soon, hopefully before summer is out.

Summer is finally beginning to feel like summer.

The real point of this blog (it's 4:20am...smoke up Johnny...) is that I am stuck awake because when I get into an organizing mood, there's really no stopping me. I'm not tired right now, but I have to be in the studio again at 11am. Oh well, life goes on, I suppose. It's not like I have to work tomorrow...

Speaking of work, I really wish I could get some more hours, but I have been enjoying the time off, I won't lie to you. Work is work, and I need the money.

Blah blah blah.

I went canoeing last week and it was good, minus sunburn and having to jump into the creek to get our canoe unstuck. The fireworks were good, I enjoyed myself. I must admit, I even enjoy the massive downpour immediately following the conclusion of the fireworks...things like that make life a bit more interesting.

I'm ready to go back to school, which I know sounds stupid to most of you, but I really want to get school over with, get my degree, secure a real job, let the money start flowing, and begin my life.

Who knows what life holds for me after I finish school. I've considered continuing school and getting a Master's degree, but who knows. I also considered studying abroad, but at this point in my life, I really don't feel like leaving the country for an extended period of time. I'll probably end up finishing school, moving to a bigger city (not Chicago big, but maybe Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, or Madison big) and getting a job as a software developer. Ah well, I've got about 3 years to worry about that...so I won't get into it now.

Life is swell over all, and to anyone who reads this, I wish you the same...

Until next time...

-Cody