Charlotte, Migraines, and Mellow Mushroom

The Radiohead show in Charlotte was awesome. They really rocked it out, and did two encores. They even did Paranoid Android, which I didn't think could be done live (in my face). Met up with some friends-of-friends who were fun folks, and did some pre-gaming. I am in general a beer snob (fuck you, budweiser) but was able to slum it with some miller light (still not my favorite, but drinkable). Although the show was great, the prices were extortionate at the concessions stands. A 16oz can of Miller light - $9. A tour t-shirt - $40. A 16oz bottle of soda or water - $5. And the restrooms facilities were not sufficient either, I had to wait in line to take a piss. Guys should never have to wait to pee, it is one of the laws of the universe. And my final complaint, apparently they haven't figured out how to direct traffic out of there (the Verizon Ampitheater) because my car did not leave it's parking spot for a full hour after we got back to it, being blocked in by immobile cars front and back. Which is a bit ironic, because Radiohead had hired a consultant company to make sure they were touring as "green" as possible. I'm guessing that 10,000 cars idling for an hour were not conducive to that. The venue is set up so that it is only accessible by one road. Very poor planning.

We got into town early, and decided to kill some time in a sports bar in Concord, right down the road from the Speedway. By the way, that thing is fucking massive. Obviously, it has to be, but I was dumbstruck how those bleacher sections just keep going and going. Anyway, if you are ever in a redneck sportsbar in a redneck nascar town, let me assure you that you will draw some mystified stares by playing Magic the Gathering on the table. Also, while we were there, a group of Harley biker guys came in (no surprise) and with them was a dude with both legs amputated. He was on an electric gurney-looking thing (not a wheel chair, he was laying face down). we didn't think twice about it, but when we walked out later, we saw a pack of Harleys out front, and with them was this big tricycle thing with a big open compartment. Then we realized that this thing was that amputee's motorcycle! How cool is that that he didn't let it stop him? He just rolls his gurney-mobile onto this platform and rides. That is fucking hardcore, son!

So we finally rolled out of the venue at about 1am, went to a friend's house and drank and shot the shit until about 3. Woke up around 10 and went to this awesome greasy-spoon diner called Sammies and had an amazing turkey-sausage omelet, grits, biscuits, sweet tea (one of the best breakfasts ever) for about $6. Rest of the weekend was uneventful and went by too fast. Played a bunch of games with mom and sister for Mother's day.

Tueday I woke up with a splitting headache. To me, there are few things worse on earth than waking up with a headache. There is zero chance that my day will go well if I wake up with a headache. It was bad enough that I called in sick to work, and that turned out to be a good choice because it got progressively worse as the day went on. By the afternoon, it was pain so intense that it made me queasy and dizzy. It felt like someone had driven a nail into my left temple and then proceeded to thump it every few seconds. I have been to several doctors and neurologists about my headaches, but they have never been able to do anything about them. There seems to be no pattern as to when I get them, and having taken about all there is to take for headaches, nothing seems to alleviate the pain (I took some morphine on tuesday and got nothing. what the hell is stronger than morphine?). I am considering using a power drill to create a pressure vent in my forehead, but am not sure how safe that would be. Guess there's only one way to find out.

I ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom last night. If you have never been, it is a chain of hippie pizza places across the south. They have great beer selection, great food, and typically friendly (if slightly stoned) servers. They have one of the best selections of pizza toppings anywhere, including meat substitutes like tofu and tempeh, several kinds of mushrooms, and my personal favorite, spicy jerk chicken. They have a semi-sweet pizza sauce and they bake parmesan cheese into the crust (which is also slightly sweet, almost like flaky pie crust). I highly recommend the chain in general, but in my experience they vary significantly by location. The one in downtown Raleigh blows. The one in Boone is nice and cozy and has a super friendly waitstaff. But if you ever have a chance to go to the one in Asheville, do it. Best service ever, huge bar, a big interior with lots of crazy crap on the walls, and a really nice arbor outside to eat out when the weather is nice. And one of the dudes that works ther hand-crocheted his hairnet, that is one hippie dedicated to restaurant hygiene. Also, my personal favorite, because I am apparently 7 years old, the signs leading to the bathrooms say "Mellow Flushrooms". teehee. If you ever want to see a 250 pound man giggle like a little girl, show me one of those signs.

Top Chef comment for the week - ugh. Dale wins a challenge for cooking - surprise! - asian food. Like he has for every single challenge. Such a well-rounded chef. And Andrew, one of the arrogant asshole guys got booted. *sniff*. He struck me as beign a total wigger, he could never complete a sentence in the "confessionals" without dropping a series of tourette's-like cursing. I won't miss him. And I hope Lisa has something horrible happen to her, what a B.

The Office this week was one of my favorite episodes ever. I have always felt that the supporting cast are the best parts of the show, and this one was very background character focused. The storyline where the new HR lady thought Kevin was retarded - fucking genius. There was one of the best Creed monologues ever. And it even started out with a classic Jim prank on Dwight, like the old days. I do think they are getting a little more dramatic than I care for, with marriage proposals, pregnancies, and Angela cheating on her new fiance. I am glad that they seem to be writing Ryan out of the continuity, they really turned him into a miserable, unlikable character.

Props - Radiohead; Sammies Diner; The Earl finale; the Office finale; me, for not gaining any weight since moving down here, despite all the stress, good food, and general lack of exercise. The sequence is: obesity, alligator mouth, me.

Slops - anyone remotely related to the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater design, parking, or concessions; The Office for putting out so many crappy episodes this season until the finale; My Name is Earl for putting out so many trippy, bizarre, or just plain bad episodes before the finale; migraines; fish oil capsules; the new McDonald's Insult to the South Southern chicken fillets.