The liquor clerk at Walgreens was very chatty yesterday. Before I got up to the counter, he was talking about the uselessness of cutting off the leg of a guy dying from cancer. When I got up, he told me my bill was $95.15, about eighty bucks off.

"This drinking thing is getting pricey," I said.

He told me he was saving up for a Caribbean vacation. "Maybe Cuba."

"Give it six months," I said, as this has been my timeline for thawing the Cuba-frost.

And then he went into a rant about how he didn't understand that talking to so-called "enemies" was so bad. In other words, he was expressing a political view in concert with the current administration--as opposed to the fat heads who've been burying their heads further in the sand lately.

Has there ever been a protest against high taxes right after taxes for almost everybody (except the extremely rich) were just lowered?

I get about $25 extra a paycheck now. It doesn't change my life much, but I'm not turning it down either.

My niece was somewhat confused when she saw me yesterday. I'd chopped most of my hair off. I think it took her a while to figure it out. She kept staring at me, trying to piece it all together.

What's with all this change?

Oh yeah, that's what the election was about.

And what do nearly bankrupt car companies change? Their car designs? Make those vehicles more efficient? Anything productive? Nope. They are closing down the factories for much of the summer (to retool? nope, just save money and reduce the inventory). They are "changing the way you buy a car." Changing the way we buy cars? BUY cars? Was that the problem? We couldn't figure out how to buy a car?

More shovels are digging holes for heads to bury.

But more of us are thinking a little differently than before. At least it feels this way.

Maybe it's just the change of seasons. It's been warm around here, which is nice. I started breaking out the shorts last week. I have very white legs.

All the change hasn't been pleasant, though.

A cousin resigned his job because of a DUI arrest.
Multiple people have grabbed a gun and gone on rampages, killing innocent people because they're unhappy with their lives.
A friend lost his job for having a drink on the job.
A few people on my street have been evicted from their homes and cars.
And work, for me, has been a lesson in extreme patience.

But my band will have a four song demo finished up soon. And we're writing new songs, going in different music directions, enjoying being a band again.

The Royals are hanging in there...no April collapse this year.

And a large majority of the country is feeling better about the country's direction. It doesn't fix the economy or cause peace in the world, but it does make us move forward with our heads high.

Except, of course, those people continuing to dig holes for their heads. We've always had these people, though. It's nothing new.

But spring seems to be shaping up pretty well. I'm feeling rather happy about my life situation right now.

And, to top it all off, Green Day is coming out with a new album.

Matt Worley doesn't have curtains in his room because he likes to look on the bright side.