I Blame Mike Gordon...

To say the past 24 hours have been interesting would indeed be an understatement. In an effort to squelch my boredom (see previous post-"Boredom=Creativity?") I have been playing silly games during the workday with the help of Monks. Actually, I don't know if games is the right word; we've been setting up tasks and accomplishing them is more like it. Not only has this kept me relatively distracted, it has been pretty entertaining taboot. For example, two days ago we solved the problems in my love life. A direct quote from Monks:
"When you see [name withheld] just pretend you don't even remember kissing him. In fact, if he brings it up, flat out deny the whole thing."
Great advice, by the way... I'll let you know how that works out.

Anyway, yesterday the task at hand was not nearly as simple. We made it our goal to get Mike Gordon to give out my number on his hotline (that number, by the way, is 212-330-9092). So, with the help of some tenacious friends and family members, we bombarded the hotline with calls outlining the reasons why Mike Gordon should give out my telephone number. This was quite entertaining, and really did keep me distracted for most of the day. Well, by the close of business, we had persuaded ten or so people to put calls in to Mike. I knew he would be giving my number out; even though I don't know Mike personally, I knew in my heart of hearts that no one would be able to deny that kind of tenacity. Yet, I was pretty sure that this would be a relatively slow process; I mean, Mike has better things to do then check his voicemail numerous times a day, right? Wrong! When I called the hotline back later that evening, there was a new message greeting me (ed. note-I just tried to call the hotline and write a transcript of the message, but due to my extreme lack of sleep, I was unable to keep up with Mike... Call and check it out yourself). Lo and behold, a few minutes later, my phone began ringing. There were a few constants with the calls I received for the rest of the night:

1. Every single one of the callers was male
2. Everyone who called was quite friendly
3. Many of them wanted to know if I was single

Well, I spoke to too many people last night to give individual shout-outs, but there are a few people I need to mention:

Hey Peter from North Carolina! Of all of the folks we at the Aqualounge spoke to last night, you were by far our favorite! If you ever make it up to DC, please make sure to call us-we would love to chill with you!

Kid from NJ (sorry, but I stopped liking you the minute you announced that fact)-GET A JOB! When Blue asked him what he did for a living, his response was something along the lines of, "well, I went to college and I traveled a lot, and now I party a lot." What?? Wrong answer, dancer!

To the folks who failed my musical tests so horribly-why are you calling Mike Gordon if you don't know Phish. We played the "Brother" from Providence, 98, for one of them (sorry, I think it was you Peter) and his response was, "this recording is too early, I need something from 98 or above to know what it is..." WRONG AGAIN! Then, when I sang "Harry Hood" for someone, he told me he didn't know that song. Also, another caller couldn't identify the song that is now playing during the beginning and end of my voicemail... It's "Sneakin' Sally"! I recommend upping your game before you call me, folks-I am a plethora of Phish information (and yes, I am a big loser).

Wow, I've gotten really ahead of myself (once again, probably due to the lack of sleep). Before this insanity really began, while catching a little buzz from some Makers at Cus' house and high off of the excitement of a mission accomplished, Cus informed me that he had ganked Andy Gadiel's number from a mutual friend of ours, and, now with the cache of being on Gordo's hotline, would be the perfect time to call him and talk about how much his old site is missed and how much Jambase is appreciated by all. So, fueled by the booze and Cus, I got on the old phone and called up Andy. There was just one condition to this phonecall, I was not to mention the mutual friend who Cus had ganked the number from, but instead, I was to tell Andy that I got the number from Mike Gordon. Done and done. So, I call up Andy and lo and behold, he answers after the second ring. We shoot the shit for a while (by the way, what a nice guy!), talking about music, etc., and I do my job and tell him that Mike had given me his number. This surprised him and he inquired, "why is Mike Gordon giving out my number?" to which I responded, "don't worry about it, Gordo and I are old friends." Anyway, we talked for about ten minutes (Andy, if you do happen to be reading this, please, please, please-GIVE ME A JOB! I am sorry I "punk'd" you so to speak, but Jambase rocks my world and I know I could do the same in return) and then we ended our conversation. About 5 minutes later, another Jambase employee, Tanner, calls me to talk about the hotline and the message that Gadiel had just left for Mike. Then and there, I confessed my sins (I had no choice, the truth was coming out whether I wanted it to or not), Tanner and I had a good laugh, and proceeded to talk for a long while about music (and Tanner, if you are reading this per chance, it was great talking to you last night---see you in Vegas!) and life in general.

Wow, this is really turning in to a monster of a post, but I think Cus would kill me if I didn't write about the adventures last night... So anyway, off to the Aqualounge Cus and I went, to spend some quality time with Blue/Bird/Fink/Monks and to field hotline phonecalls. Come midnight, I was ready to go home, but Cus persisted and we didn't end up leaving the lounge till 1:00 am or so. Tired and hungry, I dragged my ass home and was psyched to eat some watermelon, get in to bed and watch Sunday's episode of Entourage on demand. As I am getting in to bed, with Entourage playing in the background and delicious watermelon finally hitting my lips, I hear "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"-my ringtone-begin screaming loudly. Keep in mind it is about 1:30 at this point, I am tired and cranky and hungry, and the only thing I want to do is watch Entourage. But, not wanting to disappoint, I pick up the phone and prepare for a brief conversation:

Rook: Hello?

Caller: Hi, can I speak to Rook?

Rook: This is her... [keep in mind, I instantly recognized the voice of the one and only, one of my major musical hero's, Michael Gordon].

Caller: Hey Rook, this is Mike Gordon.

Rook: [trying desperately to play it cool, while still a little pissed that he was interrupting my watermelon and Entourage] Hey Mike, how you doing tonight?

Anyway, we proceeded to talk for a few minutes about what had been going on, etc. Then, out of nowhere, he asks me if I had spoken to Gadiel that night... Shit! I began to back-peddle... "Mike... About that, it's all taken care of..." Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc., (and Mike, if by some random chance you are reading this, I am really sorry that I involved you in my web of lies, I promise, it will never happen again). Anyway, Mike and I talked a while longer after that, but I am pretty sure Mike is pissed at me now (seriously, to all who are involved, I feel like a total ass, I am SO SORRY)!

Well, the phone rang all night. In fact, my wake-up call was some dude from Milwaukee at 6:45 am asking me what I was doing awake... You called me, dude! I realize I am not going back to sleep at this point, finally watch the episode of Entourage and drag my ass in to the shower. I put on the newly downloaded Island Tour, 4/3/98, disc 1, to try and get me pumped for what is going to be a VERY long day, and the first notes of "Mike's Song" fill my home... Isn't that ironic, don't you think?