When 'Do Not' Is Not An Option

It's time for me to really start doing things. I've relaxed for long enough, and now it's time to get things done. Here we go.

The Neverending Story

Here's a story. The beginning actually happened, and was all I ever planned to write. The weird end occurred by itself.

Autumn's car was finally ready today, so right after work we went to Pulera to pick it up. On the way there, it began to snow. As I put on the new The Stills record and set course for home, the street was covered and it was coming down nicely. By the time I got to "Snakecharming the Masses" (track 3), it was evident how different roadways look when blanketed with snow. By track 5 ("Everything I Build"), my mind definitely went on autopilot, the staccato guitars lining up with bumps on the road. I was now noticably off-course, turning off the highway miles earlier than usual, resulting in a way home I had never gone before. "Hands on Fire," the eighth track saw my hands leave the wheel entirely. The Monte Carlo now steering itself, I turned to look outside while the snowflakes desperately tried to hide the perferated yellow line that was no longer guiding me home. As the arpeggiated chords of the last song began to play, my car oversteered a turn on the slippery pavement, and I found myself sliding into the snowy white.

Shortly after, my car coasted to a stop among the pure blankness. I got out and began walking, still able to hear the final chorus of "Statue of Sirens" escaping through the open door of my speakers. I am walking still, surrounded by nothing. I can hear the last lines of the song repeating in my head, even now.

. . . and all this because I lost my mind when it mattered most.

My New Restaurant

Welcome to Tooth House and Dine! It's time for a list! Someday I might invite people to read it.

Here are some of the best records that came out this year. They're kind of in the order of how much I liked them.
Jukebox the Ghost - Let Live and Let Ghosts
The Heligoats - The End of All-Purpose
Pas/Cal - I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura
Lydia - Illuminate
The New Frontiers - Mending
Ben Folds - Way to Normal
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
The Little Ones - Morning Tide
Thrice - The Alchemy Index, Vols. 3-4
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
Relient K - The Bird & the Bee Sides

Honorable mentions/new ones:
Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Number One Gun - The North Pole Project
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Weezer - Weezer (Red Album)

And this is the new love of my life:


Let's everybody do some good this year, and get married/move out/move in/get a job!

Noah Elrod