But I’m not going to talk about the hats and boots…I’m here to recount an amazing story that will passed down from father-to-son as one of the greatest pseudo-sport achievements of all time.

one night while exploring the downtown area we came upon a bar with a quintessential aspect of cowboy culture…or quasi-urban cowboy culture: the mechanical bull. tucked in the corner of a bar that had an overpowering stench of bleach (it was it’s first night open since the flood) lay the bull–waiting to be broken.

I had no intention of riding said bull but was “roped” into it as someone else in our party didn’t want to be the only one to make a fool of themselves. Having rid myself of shame years ago I happily agreed to test my mettle against the metalic beast from hell.  So i signed the waiver, paid my fee and contemplated what the next few minutes would hold. Because i’m slightly retarded i immediately start thinking about John Travolta in ‘Urban Cowboy’ and how I don’t have a hat, tight jeans or even a stormy relationship to bolster my performance…i would have to rely on the one thing that has gotten me through many a tough situation–heart.

before I knew it I was throwing my leg over the hydrolic beast, doing my best Luke Perry impression ala ’8 seconds’ I raised my hand and signaled my readiness to begin the dance. 

…I could try to explain what happened next, but words would fail to capture my display of raw athleticism. I did so well that even a few of the old salty dogs at the bar shed a tear and tipped their hats out of respect.

now I’m not one to tell a tale er nuthin…but shucks–I sure beat the hide off that bull…i swear ta god i did.

i may have won the battle…but this war is far from over…

Music. I love music. I love everything about it and can find redeeming qualities in most genres…i come from a musical family, although both my parents are decidedly handicapped in this area, not being able to carry a tune but they love it as well. My Dad has a record collection that must have been the envy of everyone back when vinyl was the new ipad…and now he has a CD collection that, no joke must be 1000 strong…and it’s all over the place…it’s great. My mom, she has the rhythm and likes to rock out…I can remember listening to the Pointer Sisters ‘Jump in’ back in the day, dancing around like a fool…Steve Winwood, Roxette, Paul Simon’s Graceland…just incredible stuff.

Then there are my brothers: Seth and Josh. Both musical. Seth is a musician, he plays slaps da bass for a living and does so quite well: www.sethsbase.com He was there to introduce me to Parliament and to buy me Dr. Dre’s ‘Da Chronic…’ a debt of gratitude I may never be able to repay.

Josh, well he’s been a bit of a mystery in terms of his musical tastes…I think he’s kinda all over the place, like me.

But we can all sing, and did so throughout high school and into college and we all like to do it.

Music continued to be a big part of my life while I lived in NYC, I had a couple blogs that would give me the dirt on who was playing where and introduce me to new music…and then when I lost a steady routine my thirst for ‘the new’ or different kinda fizzled. i still sing…not as much…and i definitely don’t go out and see enough live music. Which is funny because every time I go to a show, afterwards I feel a little more alive, a little happier, it’s weird…but music is definitely a part of my life that I have been neglecting and I think its high time to feed that side again…

so in that spirit here is a group called Pomplamoose. The name just makes them all the cooler in my eyes. i’m not sure if these two are dating, married, just good friends or what…but they work so well together. She has a sexy voice…think smokey bar lounge-esque and he can play anything and I pretty much want to be his friend. They exist solely on the interwebs, rarely performing live and are magnificent.

http://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic

Take some time and explore…you’ll be happy you did. they also have solo projects which are pretty kickass…I particularly like Jack’s…gulf song is so very sweet. Again, would like to be his friend.

so yeah, I heart music. i think it’s pretty rad..and I think this might become a new “theme” for my blog to weave amongst the other randomness that is my life.

night.

so yeah…it went really well and I believe lots of good opportunities to prove how capable we are as an organization will come out of it…starting….NOW!

From the conference we went straight to Nashville, TN where we are currently setting up a work flow coordination project to help the groups on the ground be more effective and get more done for the people who were flooded out a few weeks ago…should be good.

So yeah, that’s the update: I’m working a lot and living in a church again.

ok, so now onto the other piece of goodness…they’re called pomplamoose…check them out on youtube–they rule.

I believe this product is genius; however, what does it say about fishing?

with that said, I have a birthday coming up mid-july…and I’ve never needed a floating cooler more than I do right now.

Pass me a beer.

Magic has never looked creepier.

There was a community magic show at the church where I’m currently living (I’m back in Iowa finishing up a rebuilding project) and I had the good fortune to stumble upon this 81/2 x 11. Truly amazing. I imagine that he was going for the “mysterious man in a tux” magician look. Instead, the intensity of his steely gaze suggests that he is about to crush the dove, a symbol of freedom, with his bare hands if we do not submit to his will.

]]> http://jeremeyhoran.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/eat-your-heart-out-david-copperfield/feed/ 0 Jeremey IMG_0372 http://jeremeyhoran.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/wtf/ http://jeremeyhoran.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/wtf/#comments Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:49:26 +0000 Jeremey http://jeremeyhoran.wordpress.com/?p=175 ]]> It certainly does….

You see, I like food–all food really. What’s more is that I enjoy eating food…a lot, and wouldn’t you know it, I can pack it down like no other. So trying to be more conscious about what I eat and how much, has taken some adjustment. This doesn’t mean that I’m a vegetarian or a super calorie counting freak, but it does mean that i’m not going back for thirds…

However, I’m getting hungry and I want this for lunch–sensible eating be damned!

Just looking at it makes me think I’m having a heart attack…fried chicken, zesty mayo, bacon and melted jack cheese. Everything that makes most people say ‘no’ to this is causing me to drool all over my keyboard.

it will be mine…oh yes. it will be mine.

I’m here for the month of April doing a rebuild/refurbish project of sorts. We have groups coming in with construction skills and we’re going to hang drywall and basically take homes that are close to being “good as new” and actually getting them there…so it’s pretty exciting. It’s also a little strange…to come from Haiti where things were so royally fucked that it’s going to take a lot of $$ and a lot of time before life returns to some semblance of “normal.” And here in the “developed” world I’m back in a community that was affected by major flooding 2 years ago and still life hasn’t returned to normal, whole neighborhoods are vacant as if the waters receded a week ago…and the government still doesn’t have a plan for how to prevent this from happening again in the future. Apparently it doesn’t matter if you’re the richest country in the Western Hemisphere or the poorest–when you’re fucked–you’re fucked…how uplifting.

During my brief respite in San Francisco I discovered something new about myself–I enjoy rock climbing. How I came to this revelation is quite simple: One of the volunteers in Haiti brought down a slackline and set it up. I had briefly encountered a slackline while in Peru a couple years ago and remembered liking it…so I eagerly played on it until I got the basics down. This most recent encounter was enough to prompt me to buy the materials to setup my own. In the process of researching I discovered a rock gym that had lines setup so I went and played around. While I was there I figured I might as well give this whole “climbing” thing a try…and I’m certainly glad I did. I love it, I love it so much that I purchased some shoes and a chalk bag and am mildly obsessed. So yeah…no interests, all good things.

So here’s to sore forearms, calloused hands and dry skin!

Beyond this afternoon, my time in Haiti is coming to a close…it’s coming up on a month and half (which seems hard to believe) and things on base are coming together quite well…which was the main purpose of me joining the assessment team. By the time I leave we’ll be at about 70 volunteers on-site, enough continuity will have been created so that I can hand off my responsibilities and slip out.

I’ve rather enjoyed my time here thus far, the first time was overwhelming, this time seems to be a bit more normal and I feel that my creole has come along a lot quicker this time than previously…so all is well.

more soon.