Entry Thirty-Six.
Friday 2006.09.07, 8:05 AM CST.
Crazy Bread and other assorted topics.

So...  Again, it's been a while.  Sorry for the lack of updates.

I have some big news, but first, I want to talk about Crazy Bread.

Crazy Bread.
For those who aren't familiar Crazy Bread is a type of breadstick, coated in garlic butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.  It's made by the Little Caesar's pizza company.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, my fiancee found out that we had a Little Caesar's open up a few miles away.  So, we went and got pizza and Crazy Bread.  Usually, getting pizza isn't such a big deal.  However, Crazy Bread and I go "way back" - it brings back really good old memories.  Please allow me to "Tarantino back" about fourteen years for a brief flashback.

Back in early 1988, when I was just a lonely computer dork suffering my way through my sophomore year of high school, a friend of mine named Dave asked me to make some special printed "passes" on my computer (an Apple IIe, which was pretty much "big pimpin'" for its day) for a church party at which he was going to DJ.  So, I printed them up, and he was impressed, and I asked if I could come hang out at the dance, assist with the setup, etc.  Mainly, I was very bored, very shy, and just wanted to get out and do something.

Obviously, that experience was one of the most pivotal events of my lifetime, and changed the course of my personal history.  Dave became my mentor, I started learning the basics of the DJ industry, and it really helped me to "break out of my shell" and become more self-confident.

Well, back then, a short while before that church gig (maybe the weekend before), I was lucky enough to make a run to Tulsa with DJ Dave, along with his friend/DJing assistant Gerard, to purchase some music.  I think that I had seen 12" vinyl singles before at a local department store, but I didn't understand what they were, nor did I know much about remixing, nor did I know anything at all about beat-mixing between tracks.

If I remember correctly, when I went to Dave's house, he had already acquired the 12" single to Salt + Pepa's "Push It," and I think he was about to return an unopened cassette single of Keith Sweat's "I Want Her" in favour of getting the remix on a 12" single.  So, we hopped into his old reddish-coloured Monte Carlo, and made our trip to Tulsa.

We ran out to a mall-based Camelot Music as well as Buttons (a now-long-gone music store that used to be at 51st + Sheridan), and I think Dave and Gerard picked up the 12" singles to M|A|R|R|S' "Pump Up the Volume," S-Express' "Theme from S-Express," and the Bangles' "Hazy Shade of Winter."  They didn't have a lot of money, so that was about the extent of their music purchases for the day - and that was back when domestic 12" singles cost less than $4.00!

However, I had even less money, so I couldn't buy any music that day.  I had enough to eat lunch, and we all went to Little Caesar's to grab something to eat.  For the first time ever, I got to try Crazy Bread (a treat of which I'd never heard until that point).

In retrospect, at the time, I was incedibly stressed about school, I didn't have much money overall, and I had never even kissed a girl... but I still remember it as one of the most special, enjoyable days of my life.  Obviously, I had more Crazy Bread after that, but until that point a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't tried it for over 10 years.  Obviously, it brought back some major memories.  To this day, every time I think of Crazy Bread, a little part of me rushes back to that day in 1988.

And now, we'll return from Memory Lane to give you a bit more up-to-date news.

I quit my day job.
I won't go into it much, but a little over a month ago, I put in my notice and left my day job.  That job had become such a source of stress in my life that I was experiencing stomach pains almost every morning before I went in.  I have since been staying home, working on developing more skills in the Web development area and trying to find a different job.  Wish me luck.

A special event is coming on Saturday, September 30th.
I really can't say a lot more about it, but odds are it'll be a major event of the "retro party" persuasion, and it will likely be the dawn of a whole new era for me.  It will not be like the last couple of DJ gigs that I've performed, and it will not be held at the Gypsy Coffee House.  It's definitely worth marking on your calendar.  I'll post much more info about it soon.

Until next time, take care... now, go get yourself some Crazy Bread!

Badger