Thanks Mom for everything

My mom and I don't see eye-to-eye on a number of things. Sure, we may have similar beliefs when it comes to Christianity, but I take a more liberal approach to it than my mom does. Yeah, we're both outgoing, but her social circle is her church, while my social circle is...well...my social circle consists of many different circles. My mom has her view of who I should marry, while I already have my idea of "the one" would be for me (if you must know, Momma wants me to marry an Indonesian girl, but all of you know what I prefer). And yeah, we argue about all the stupid basic beliefs we each hold.

But regardless of the differences, my mom has always supported me. She hated the fact that I went to DC for college, but she let me do it. And when things went south down there, she told me to head back home up north so she could offer her own bailout package, and she did bail me out. Recently I told her about my last relationship, and she kinda objected to it, but she let me go ahead w/ it only because I was truly happy. For the most part, she supports me and we get along in our own unique way.

In all earnestness, without her, I dunno where I would end up today. So happy Mother's Day, Mom.

Making 4 hours go by seamlessly.

I love it when there are shows I can go to away from NYC on a Saturday. Just so long as I can get back to the City by Sunday afternoon. And as of late, I've been hitting up quite a few shows in the place I once called my Second Home for a few years. DC was where I honed my concert whoring skills and thus deepened my appreciation for good music. Music that I could connect with. Music that could end up being the soundtrack to my life.

The only hassle about doing these DC trips is all the travelling! Get to/from DC can sometime drag me down physically. Let's list all the ways I've gotten to and from DC.

--Amtrak. Expensive as all hell. But sometimes I need to get back to the city uber early (mainly to take care of church obligations), so I'll take the 3:15am train from DC, which gets me back to NYC around 7am. I once did an Honor By August show on a Saturday night, got on the Amtrak at 3:15am, made it to NYC around 7am only to take a disco nap and then get ready to lead a worship service by 4pm (w/ rehearsal at 11am). Never again.

--Ghetto Greyhound. At the time I did this, it was a bit cheap, but not as cheap as the Chinatown buses. Sure, Greyhound was relatively clean, but almost every bus was crowded and filled w/ people I wouldn't trust my life with. Those 4 hour rides seemed like an eternity. Oh yeah, doesn't help that the Greyhound terminal in DC was in a sketchy part of town. Never again.

--Aeroplane. I once flew from DC to NYC for a Michelle Branch show, and then took a Greyhound back afterwards. At the time I did this, it was some time after 9/11 and people were still afraid to fly. Airfares were uber cheap (yes, even cheaper than Amtrak!), so I took advantage and made it home in less than an hour. Holla! But in this economy, never again, unless it's an emergency.

--Chinatown bus. I did this ONCE. The bus smelled, and again, filled w/ people that I couldn't trust or were downright annoying. NEVER AGAIN.

--Megabus. It's probably the cheapest of the lot, but everyone takes it now and the wifi didn't really work. I rode their double-decker one time, that was interesting.

So yeah, basically all these methods of transportation to get to my weekend getaway destination just wasn't doing it for me. At least until Bolt Bus came around. It's relatively cheap and has fairly reliable wifi. On my way to DC yesterday (Will Hoge was playing in Annapolis, MD), I rode the Bolt Bus down and didn't even realize I was on the bus for 4 hours. I didn't pay much attention to the road, as I was facebook and twitter stalking. It's a comfy ride and the service is pretty darn good. The people that ride Bolt are friendly people that I could have convos with or whatever; mainly they're like me, facebook/twitter stalking along w/ me on their laptops and macbooks.

Anyway, I'm heading home now on Bolt. Back to facebook/twitter stalking. I'm in Baltimore as I'm writing this.

Quick updates time!
--Won almost $200 on the Kentucky Derby!
--Happy Birthday Emma!
--Julie, here's to closure!
--And I'm still working hard and playing harder! This weekend: three nights up, three nights down. Last weekend: same deal. Karaoke included. Yes my friends, please welcome back The Fabulous Life of Riz!