"Inigo Montoya, your burger is ready."

I've been in Mesa, AZ since late Sunday night and will be here through next Wednesday. This trip is a more typical work trip, unlike my previous trip to Folsom, in which I am traveling alone. It is also my first return since my 2 month stay this past spring. The major difference being that I am staying in a nice Marriott Residence Inn instead of the more hole-in-the-wallish Homestead Suites I was at before. Even though this hotel is much nicer, I still find myself looking down the roads that go back to that old hotel though since that direction still feels more like home to me.

I am also guitar-less on this trip. It's making me antsy. I feel like I don't know what to do with myself after work. What I've done is hung out at the Gold Bar coffee shop a few nights so far. Cool enough place to waste a few hours online. I was saddened to find out the Essenza Coffeehouse that I enjoyed so much this spring has now been closed. I've got really good memories of that place -- mostly the coolest open mic sessions I've been to. I was even all pumped up to head out to this Friday night's session and borrow a guitar and play (heh -- easy enough to say now that I'm off the hook for it, of course). I've also bought a couple of books. One is 'The Piano Shop on the Left Bank' which is pretty good and interesting to me now that I'm learning piano myself. Another is a Kurt Vonnegut novel -- I don't know anything about him or the book but have heard his name enough times that when I saw the book at Borders, decided it was time to give it a go. The last is a story about a guy who walked across Afghanistan a month after the Taliban fell. Should be good reading.

Long blog post -- this isn't my style and these 5 minutes are more than all you readers will spend combined on this, so time to end. And in case you're wondering, the above quote is what I heard tonight over the speakers while enjoying my Fuddruckers burger while the 3 young guys at the next table burst out laughing to go get their burgers. It was pretty funny..

Rex's Blues

Here's me singin' my favorite Townes Van Zandt song...

Rex's Blues

Or to use the online player

Townes Van Zandt: