Traffic Lights, Transition and Tour

Today I give you three topics...pretty much unrelated...and without much segue from one to the other...

So, I don't know about you, but I daily bear witness to a strange phenomenon...people standing at intersections...waiting for lights to change. Don't roll your eyes at me. I'm not finished yet. The strange part is, on many occasions, no one pushes the button. And in San Jose, we don't have those fancy infrared buttons like they do at 4th and King in San Francisco. No. You actually have to push the button if you'd like something to happen. Why is this a hard concept? I really don't know, but on many days, I've walked up and watched a group of folks waiting...and waiting...and then, for fun, I go ahead and push the button, and like MAGIC, the light changes. Am I alone in my observation? I do see this primarily around the SJSU campus, so maybe it's a Gen Y thing, and people think they're entitled to have the light change for them without lifting so much as a finger. It is, after all, all about them and of COURSE the light should know they need to cross the street without them taking that ever-so-difficult step of actually DOING something to make it happen. How exactly do these folks get up and out of their houses every day? It must be magic...

And...scene.

So. I'm in my last few weeks at SJSU before moving to my new office at CSU East Bay. I'm not MOVING moving...just changing jobs. I've been all over the place the last couple of weeks starting my transition, so please forgive me if I haven't emailed, called, messaged, carrier pigeoned or Hallmark carded you. I promise to catch up...you know...some time in 2009...you still love me, right?

Next!

In the midst of my transition and watching these random traffic light waiters, I got the great joy of journeying to Wheatland, CA with a friend to see some of our all-time favorite bands at the Music Builds Tour a couple of weeks ago. Can you say awesome? I think you can. Let me just lay it out for you...

1 - Jars of Clay ... have always loved their music; actually met Steve Mason earlier this year; saw them play a number of years ago at The Warfield; really enjoyed seeing them again!

2 - Robert Randolph and The Family Band ... not really my favorite music, but boy could they play! great musicians who had a lot of fun on stage; they definitely impressed.

3 - Switchfoot ... my 8th time seeing them live; yes...big fan...and they did not disappoint; I really do become the 15-year old I always claim to be when I see them live...they just plain ROCK!! and along they way, they always make me think about a lot of interesting things.

4 - Third Day ... my 6th time seeing them, and they were, as usual, pure joy; they rock in a completely different way from Switchfoot and stir my emotions in a way few other musicians do.

At the end, members of all the groups played a few songs together. It's always fun to see collaborations, and these guys were great. I hope some of you had a chance to see this tour...it was truly awesome!

You can check out my photos to the left...click any picture as it scrolls through the slide show and it will open larger...our seats were pretty stinking good...if I do say so myself. And oh yeah, I just did.

Curtain please.