By popular demand...Christmas Break, Part 2

Christmas this year was...different. For the first time, mom had to work on Christmas day on the day shift: 7AM-3PM. This presented some difficulty in planning our usual family brunch on Christmas morning, so it was changed to a family dinner on the 23rd. Happily, this meant presents two days early.

Dinner was lasagna by Aunt Sue, and it was excellent; I've already requested the recipe for the sauce. Some presents I received that day included Shrek on DVD and orchestra seats to The Lion King (Aunt Sue, you never cease to amaze me).

Christmas Eve featured the traditional River Vale caroling tour, though Buffy the Vampire Slayer was noticeably absent this year. The Golden Goblets were noticeable present.

Christmas day was extremely odd, waking up to no presents for the first time in my life. Amy and I spent the morning at Uncle Willie's, as Tricia got a PS2 and Uncle Willie (not surprisingly) bought himself a copy of Triple Play 2001. By the time 3 PM finally rolled around, we were all at home, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mom.

Opening presents provided me with one of the biggest Christmas Day surprises in my life, as the centerpiece was my very own PS2, with a copy of Gran Turismo. My reaction was "Holy Shit! Oh, I'm sorry!" Later, Mom & Dad opened their DVD player to great surprise, and I helped them set it up as Dan enjoyed the wonders of GT3.

Christmas night was spent at the Weites' for dinner; excellent prime rib. I then went to the Castkas' for cheesecake dessert and a gift exchange with Karen.

The 26th was largely uneventful, save for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse on Rt. 17 and the Devils game with Dad (thankfully, they won).

The 27th began The Road Trip. Below is the account that I sent to Identity. Enjoy.

Thursday, 2001-12-27
---
1200   AJ picks Jeanine (Falinski) up at her house and the road trip
       begins.
1504   Matt (Kramer) is picked up in Storrs, CT
1636   Arrival at MIT campus, where AJ, Jeanine, & Matt will be 
       spending the night at Kim's (Jeanine's sister) dorm room.
1700   Eat dinner (hot subs), randomly see Olympic torch on MIT campus
1730   Get on T
1800   Arrival at Magic Bus.  Jeanine catches up with the boys by 
       having two drinks and doing three shots in 30 minutes.
1845   Jeanine leaves the bus w/ Morg, Val & Paul.
1900   AJ &Matt head inside with the rest of the bus to see Afroman.
1930   Afroman plays "I Got High" to the biggest crowd response of the
       night.  He is never heard from again.
2000   PMB on stage.  No setlist, but it was the shortest show of the
       run.  Highlights include never-before-heard songs & special
       guest Hugh McGee.
2200   Show ends.
2230   Finally get outside after coatcheck fiasco.  Mock Red Sox fans
       chanting "Johnny Damon," but join in on the "Yankees suck"
       chants (every time is the right time for "Yankees suck").
2240   Walk to the blue bus, see Brian outside.  Greeted with "Hey AJ,
       good to see you again."  He remembered my name.  Awesome.
2255   Get on the bus.  Pizza ordered and delivered to "Big red bus 
       on Landsdowne Street."  Morgan pays $10, eats two slices of
       his pizza.
2340   Depart the bus to catch T back to MIT.

Friday, 2001-12-28
---
0010   Arrive at MIT.
0030   In bed.  Jeanine on phone.
0100   Jeanine's still on the phone.
0130   Jeanine's STILL ON THE GODDAMN PHONE!
0145   "Go to sleep, Jeanine!"
0200   Jeanine's off the phone.  "Go to sleep, Jeanine!"
0230   We sleep.
0915   Wakeup call.  Jeanine is still dizzy.  "How was the concert
       last night?" -Jeanine
1015   On the road again.
1145   Dunkin Donuts stop in Storrs.
1200   24-hour mark.  Matt is dropped off at home.
1226   Stop for gas.  Yes, they take American Express.
1455   Back in Woodcliff Lake for shower and dinner.
1636   Jeanine & Kristen pick up AJ.  Back on the road.
1643   Jeanine & Kristen are pissed at each other.
1646   Garden State Parkway.
1647   Jeanine & Kristen seem OK now.
1731   Parkway sign: "Heavy delays on Turnpike between exits 9 and 8."
       Oh shit.
1734   On the Turnpike.
1802   Traffic wasn't too bad.  Moving again.
1804   "No stopping; going!" -Kristen
1822   Reliving 1997: "Semi-Charmed Life" sing-along.  "You'd think 
       that professional musicians could come up with a better chorus
       than 'do-do-do'." -Avi
1828   "How long will we be on 73 north?"
       "About half a centimeter."
1836   Exit 4: the adventure begins.
1840   This looks familiar...oh yeah, DMB @ Camden from June.
1859   We just completely missed the Callowhill exit.
1902   At the Factory.  Where's the bus?
1904   Kristen is naked from the waist down!
1910   On the bus.
1940   Dena & Rene arrive.  They disappear into the back lounge :)
2030   Off the bus.  Where the hell is Afroman?
SHOW NOTES:
-2:50 of music
-She Talks to Angels w/ Hugh
-New stuff rocks.
-Pat mocks Afroman ("Afroman missed the gig because he got high")
-Chardy's own lyrics in Life's Been Good ("It's hard to handle this
 fortune & fame/Everyone is different & Chardy's the same")
-Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer in xmas medley.
AFTER:
-Who locked the magic bus?

Saturday, 2001-12-29
---
0141   Kristen, AJ, Jeanine & Rene in the car, on the way to Rene's
       house.
0152   Kristen shows me around her school (St. Joe's) from the car.
0159   Brief detour at diner.
0207   At Rene's house.
0211   Change in plan: there will be no staying over tonight.  Rene
       is dropped off and Jeanine, Kristen & AJ begin the drive home.
0226   Ohmygoddristenwentaroundacornerreallyfastandwewerelikeweeeee!
0252   "Drive all night to get back home." -Bon Jovi
0300   Back in the Garden State.
0301   45 MPH EZPass?  Rock!
0418   AJ dropped off.  Passes out eight minutes later.
1838   AJ picked up at home by Kristen.  Drive to Jeanine's house.
1840   Jeanine & Rockiss picked up.
1844   Car filled w/ Petrol.
1911   Over the GWB.
1920   Just realized that none of us knows EXACTLY how to get to
       Irving.  Oops.
1925   Left onto 16th street.
1931   At Union Square; now what?!
1941   Still driving around.
1946   Where are we going?
1949   Finally on Irving Place!
1951   Park.
2000   Get on line.
SHOW NOTES:
-Afroman MIA again.
-Quick Step John; pretty good.
-Mayhem when Pride goes beyond its end.  Thought Morgan would crash
 into all three mic stands.
-Pat breaks a guitar, is now officially a rock star.
-NY State of Mind Sing-along.
-Chardy dives off the stack.

Sunday, 2001-12-30
---
0106   Back in the car.  Again.
0116   Drop Sue off at Penn Station.
0118   Pass Visible World (www.visibleworld.com) on 34th Street, AJ's
       former employer.
0126   "I'm so 20th Century; I don't even have a burner!"
0132   Escape from New York.
0138   Stop on PIP for fluids.
0156   Exchanging "First time I got pulled over" stories.
0203   AJ's home again.
1012   AJ & Kristen leave AJ's house in separate cars.
1018   Quick stop at bank.
[No detailed notes.  AJ drove the rest of the way]
"Take the big blue line to the yellow square." -AJ
"Kristen forgot how to swallow." -AJ
1630   Arrive at Holiday Inn.
1700   Erin & Karen pick Kristen, Rene, & AJ up at Holiday Inn, drive
       to 9:30.
1730   Park at 9:30.
1735   On the bus.  "I brought brownies.  My mom made them."
1750   Off the bus.  Avi joins us in Karen's car.
1900   Start to head inside.
SHOW NOTES:
-Avi gives Rene his Mardi Gras beads.  "You've got to earn those!"
 This will become important later.
-Cecilia as good as Avi said.
-Short but entertaining show.  No Hero?
-JACK & DIANE!

Monday, 2001-12-31
---
[No times]
-Driven back to hotel by Karen &Erin.
-Phone call.  "Send him up." -Kristen  "Kristen, who is it?" -AJ
 "I don't know." -Kristen
-It's Avi.  He wants his beads back.
-"That was my face you sat on." -Avi
-"AJ would have protected us."  "No, I was getting ready to run."
-Sleep.
-Drive home.  End of the holiday run.


MUSIC LIST
A partial listing of the CDs enjoyed in mine & Kristen's cars.
---
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
The Concert for NYC
BNL - Stunt
Better Than Ezra - Closer
Blues Traveler - Bridge
Granian - Without Change
Sister Hazel - Fortress
Counting Crows - This Desert Life
Georgia Avenue - Streets Divided
Train - Drops of Jupiter
Paul McCartney - Tripping the Live Fantastic
Third Eye Blind
Bon Jovi - Live
BNL - Born on A Pirate Ship
The Beatles - Abbey Road


To the band: Thank you for a great bunch of shows.  Now get some rest
             and put out another kickass record!
To Jeff: Thanks for everything you've ever done.  Best of luck.
To the Magic Bus: Thank you for your hospitality.  It was amazing to 
                  meet you &be able to put faces to the names.
                  Looking forward to hanging out at future shows.
To my roadmates: Thanks for putting up with me!  You are the reason
                 the past week was so enjoyable.


If, as fetus said, the magic bus found out what it's like to be a rock
star, I discovered what it's like to be the shitty opening act,
driving city to city, getting too little sleep.  That said, I wouldn't
give it up for anything.  The past week has been one of the fabled
"life experiences" that changes your outlook on life and is remembered
forever (I'm getting all choked up :).  Again, to everyone involved:
THANK YOU.

My 13th PMB show was the 9:30 club in DC; here's hoping my 14th is
the release party for the next record!