The Change-Up  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

For my birthday last Thursday, Tessa baked me a batch of strawberry shortcake cupcakes that were divine!  I brought them to work to share and the response was tremendous!

When I got home, she had gifts waiting for me: the Fact or Crap board game and the Resistance Twin Pack for PS3!  So, no, I didn’t go out and party for my birthday….I stayed at home and played games!

Friday after I got off of work, Tessa and I hit the mall for tax free weekend!  I picked up a new pair of just standard black Chucks and a couple of tees – as if I need more shirts!

Saturday we rode up to Tessa’s hometown of Spindale, NC to visit her mom and grandfather for the day.

Tessa had to work Sunday so I had plenty of time to play Resistance: Fall of Man all day on PS3!  Life is good!

Captain America: The First Avenger  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Sunday morning we got up and actually made it to church for the first time since I can remember when!  After church, we grabbed some lunch then made our way to 7th Inning Splash in Piedmont, one of the three Greenville Rec waterparks offering free admission from 4 until 5:30 pm each day this past weekend due to the intense heat.

We got in and went straight towards their bowl slide being the most exciting ride there.  When we got in line, a kid told us we had to first take a swim test before riding the ride.  Being a poor swimmer, I was disappointed although I knew I could have completed the test just didn’t want to embarass myself with my pathetic doggy paddle swim style!  So we splashed around in the kiddie section for about an hour then called it a day.  Hey, at least we got to cool off for free!

And I have to say that the film definitely delivered indeed!  I’ve never read the books but I have seen all eight films in the theater and I know a lot of the stuff the movies miss because I know numerous people who have read them and have even dated a few and this truly was the chapter fans of all interest levels have been waiting for!  Many questions are answered and many characters, both beloved and despised, meet their ends.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Tessa and I actually went to see the film twice this weekend – both times in Spartanburg as we met her mother Friday night then her best friend Krista on Sunday.  Before the movie Friday, we met her mother and Darlene at Longhorn for some grub and did the same on Sunday when we met with Krista and her fiancee Brandon….only substitute Longhorn with DQ!  Lol!

On Saturday, Tessa and I had some errands to run and then I met up with my old bandmate Chris Moon and cousin Ray at H&H Storage in the Five Forks area of Simpsonville so the three of us could all jam together for the first time in 11 years!  From ‘98 until 2000, the three of us were in a band called MINDPHASER and, when it disbanded, had not played together since.  Granted I have worked with both Moon and Ray on different projects individually just never all together.

The session went really well once we got started after having set everything up.  We jammed and Moon showed us both some riffs he had been working on and, after a couple of hours, had at least half a song written.  After another couple of hours last night we pretty much have it finished.  Keep in mind, Moon has a knack for writing some pretty challenging guitarlines to follow!

So far, things seem to be going well after just a couple of jam sessions….all we need now is a singer and a name!

So, we did just that and first hit the Georgia Aquarium Friday morning hoping to avoid most of the impending holiday weekend crowd.  However, it was still a mess as I’m sure many people had the same idea in mind.  But it wasn’t bad so we made the best of it and conquered the World of Coca-Cola as well since it’s right next door!

We managed to finish touring both spots by mid-afternoon so we started to make our way down to the Masquerade which was, conveniently, just a few miles away.  We paid our parking fee and made our way out into traffic when Tessa suddenly realized her cell phone was missing!  I’m not sure who freaked out worse: me or her?!

After the freak-out session was over, Tessa could only think of one place the phone could be: in the restroom of the commons area outside of the World of Coca-Cola.  She kept her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and it must have slipped out while she was relieving her bladder of all the 60+ soda flavors from around the world!  Thankfully there was an attendee in the restroom so she approached her and inquired about her phone which is a nice Samsung Droid Fascinate just like mine.  Apparently the woman was rather fond of the phone she had found because, according to Tessa, she was rather reluctant to hand it over.

After she had reacquired her electronic device, we got back out into Atlanta traffic and made our way to the Masquerade.  Once we found the venue, we went back to the Burger King we had passed on the way and grabbed a quick bite.  Quick is the key word since the Masquerade is kinda in the ghet-to!

We got to the venue shortly after five and waited outside for a couple of hours before the doors opened.  While we were out there, we meet up with some South Carolina friends who were also attending the show and even made a few new friends including Big Troy from 95 Rock in Augusta, GA.

When the doors opened, Tessa and I immediately hit the merch table and picked up a shirt each as well as some stickers (including old school CIRCLE OF DUST and BRAINCHILD) and a CD!

A couple of hours later, the opening band INVIOLATE started the show and featured a bona fide bellydancer on vocals!

After their set, it was time for me to FINALLY get to see Klayton live and in person after being thwarted from seeing CIRCLE OF DUST back in college because some jackass at a Charlotte venue had told me the show was postponed when, in reality, the venue had been changed.  No, I’m STILL not over that!

When CELLDWELLER took the stage, their sound and set-up was absolutely AMAZING!  My only complaint about the show was that the entire set was comprised of remixes and new material which I have yet to hear.  I have their only straightforward album: the 2003 self-titled debut.  They have numerous compilations of remixes and instrumentals however I am not as familiar with those.  So, on that note, I was somewhat disappointed but I did enjoy the overall experience of finally seeing Klayton perform live and in person!

After the show, Klayton and his touring partner, Blue Stahli, met with fans back at the merch table to take some pics and sign some autographs….

When we left the venue, we met up with Kenny at North River Tavern in Sandy Springs and I drove his inebriated ass home while Tessa drove my Jeep back to his house to crash for another night.

We slept in a bit the next morning and then made our way out to the Chattahoochee River and drove around parts of Alpharetta where I used to work and frequent.  We then made our way to Buford, GA to check out the Mall of Georgia and surrounding shops including the new Museum Replicas store which had some kickass geek souvenirs such as Star Wars and Harry Potter memorabilia as well as some steampunk apparel!  I picked up a Cthulhu bobble-head!

After roaming the entire mall, Tessa and I grabbed some food from Chic-Fil-A before hitting the road and heading home.  When we got back into town, we hit Yogurt Mountain and then Bi-Lo for some groceries and went home.

Sunday we relaxed and went over to my Uncle James Ray and Aunt Tina’s house for some cooking out and swimming.  Outside of that, we didn’t do much of anything else except for laundry!

Monday was more of the same as we celebrated our independence and freedom to be lazy!  We did, however, manage to make it out to meet my mom and her boyfriend Mark at Hollywood 20 to see Cars 2.  I have to admit that the sequel to the Pixar original was a bit disappointing as I was expecting since they turned it into an animated spy movie.  That’s not to say that there wasn’t any redeeming qualities to the film because there were some very funny moments and the plot was better than I had expected although it did get a little ridiculous toward the end.

Cars 2  \m/  \m/  \m/

Unfortunately, Tessa had to go to work after the movie and I had to spend a few hours in my office getting caught up from the 4-day weekend so I could hit the ground running today!

Green Lantern  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \

After work Friday night, I made the trip up to scenic Sunnyview/Mill Spring, NC to catch Gerbstock III at the Ultimate Basement.  I got there just in time to catch up with an old friend from high school, Chris Buice and introduce his band EDGE OF ETERNITY.

I left shortly after their set and crashed with my friend Ron from the band MAY LAY.

I got up late the next morning and went over to Tessa’s mom’s to meet her and her mom for her mom’s birthday and to go visit her grandfather.  As we were ending our visit with her grandfather, we got caught in a nasty little storm that seemed to end just as we pulled back up at her mom’s.

Shortly after getting back to her mom’s, Tessa and I left to head back to the Ultimate Basement for day 2 of Gerbstock III.  Unfortunately, I got there right as the UPSTATE DRUMMERS group were tearing down but I still got to see SIX & TWENTY and SISTER TRISH although we didn’t get to stay for all of the latter’s set because Tessa had worked all night the night before and got very little sleep – and she had to drive home separately!

Needless to say, we didn’t do ANYTHING Sunday!

Once again, Spielberg presents another alien movie only this one seems like The Goonies meets a pissed off E.T. with the kids making a low budget zombie flick as opposed to seeking buried treasure.  The film was well made and had one of the best train wreck scenes in a film – one that makes the one in The Fugitive look like the special effects from the silent film era!

Super 8  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

After the screening was over, Tessa and I grabbed dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s then went to the Simpsonville and Woodruff Road Walmarts trying to find the Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock, the concert video that influenced me heavily in my early days as a budding adolescent metalhead.  I was excited because it was the first day the 1979 concert of the band in Paris had been available in digital form.

Unfortunately, we could not find the limited edition at Walmart despite the fact it was on their website whereas it was not on Best Buy’s.  However, it turned out that Best Buy was, indeed, the place we found it despite the product’s absence from their website.  Regardless, I now own it and got to watch it last night since I could not attend RUSH’s Time Machine Tour which kicked off at the BI-LO Center in Greenville.  Hate I missed it but I got to enjoy a killer show right in my own living room!

AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (Limited Collector’s Edition/Blu-ray + DVD)  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

I went with her to Coop’s and we discussed getting together with her personal trainer and friend of mine Mike Baehser later.  He agreed to cook us a late lunch in return for our offer to take him to the movies.

So, after our workout, we went and grabbed a few things, took showers and went over to Mike’s.  He cooked us some tasty chicken and pasta with stuffed mushrooms which we devoured then went to Hollywood 20.

We caught the 5 o’clock showing of X-Men: First Class which I thought was pretty good despite being extremely Hollywood.  Plus I’m a fan of James McAvoy (from Wanted) and Michael Fassbender (from 300 and Inglourious Basterds) and, I gotta say, I’m now a fan of Jennifer Lawrence as she is my favorite new set of blue boobies!

X-Men: First Class  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

I think once we got home, we didn’t leave the apartment again the rest of the weekend despite my good intentions of going to church Sunday morning which proved to nothing more than such.  Lord, I will get back in church!  As soon as I stop worshipping St. Mattress!

We then went down the road to the Irish Pub for our cornhole tournament as a part of Test Fest.  The turnout was fantastic despite the heat….and the fact that Tessa and I can’t play cornhole worth a crap!

After getting our butts kicked by two different teams (one being the station’s own team of Tyler and Shelley from promotions who sucked almost as bad as we did where we’d go several rounds without either team scoring any points) we moved on down the road again to the Carolina First Center for the Top of the Hops beer festival.

Before even hitting any of the beer stands, my eye caught the Weather Channel booth where you could do your own on-site weather report….FOR FREE!!!!  Needless to say, I could NOT turn that down!  Check it out!

Ok, I know it’s bad so, don’t worry, I’m not giving up my day job!

Saturday night I met up with my best friend Kenny and his friend Colleen since they were in town from Atlanta.  We ended up returning to the Irish Pub since we used to always hang out there back when it was called Woodchuck’s.  They ended up crashing at our apartment and we went and grabbed brunch together Sunday at IHOP before they headed back to Atlanta.

We then went down to Hollywood 20 to catch Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in RPX!  I gotta say that I was very impressed considering I wasn’t thrilled with the second and third films in the franchise.  As a matter of fact, I would dare say that it’s the best installment yet since it was at least as good as The Curse of the Black Pearl!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Tessa and I went to go see Priest after work on Tuesday night and it was pretty much what I had expected.  I wasn’t bent on going to see it but Tessa really wanted to see it so I took her.  If you’re fan of the Matrix and Underworld films, you should enjoy this one.

Priest  \m/  \m/  \m

Now back to this Doomsday nonsense, let me be clear: the Bible (Jesus Himself) says that no man will know the day or the hour regarding the Second Coming of Christ (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32).  So, rest assured, if someone claims an exact date, they are full of crap.  Period.

Returning again to Hollywood 20’s RPX theater and in 3D to boot, I got to observe the spectacle of Marvel’s Norse gods in all their splendor!  Besides the fact I had to pee from the moment it began, I enjoyed the film immensely!

Once again, the film is yet another piece in the puzzle of the story of The Avengers which will unfold in theaters next summer.  Let’s not forget that we still have Captain America: The First Avenger due out in July!

Anyways, make sure you stay through the credits for yet another insight into The Avengers film!

Thor  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/