The Filing Cabinet of my Brain

"It's just kind of about being away from home for a long time, being busy, then coming home, sitting down, having everything come to a halt and wondering what to do next. When you become really occupied, there are so many things that happen to you, so many great moments, nights out with your friends, that just slip through the cracks, that you don't remember. And then you'll run into that person, and it'll hit you all at once, the memory of that happy time which was lost in the filing cabinet of your brain. And that feeling you get when you remember, it is so great."----Pete Yorn

This is one of my fave quotes of all time by my favorite singer/songwriter. The other day I tweeted about it being nice to have my car back (I had to get a new transmission) and to see that WP sticker. That brought about a tweet convo between the dearest Mrs. Lacey and I about WP. In case you don't know, that WP sticker stands for Widespread Panic. Her husband is a big fan as am I.  WP brings back a time of my youth when I young in college and grad school. I would listen to them ALL the time and went to shows. One Summer, I even followed String Cheese Incident around for awhile. It was one of those if you paid for a ticket to a show, you could use your stub to get into the next show in the next city free. I probably went to about 4 shows before I had to bring my broke a$$ home. Although, now, I couldn't tell you one song they sing. So, as we were having this convo, it came to me that I had forgotten all about the best tip I'd ever received at the restaurant (if you're a new reader, I work at a restaurant doing to-go a couple of nights a week). There's this couple that has been coming to the restaurant for as long as I can remember. One night he ordered to-go, and when I brought it out to him, we got into a conversation about Panic. I have no idea how it started, oh yes, wait a minute, we were discussing a kid I used to work with who loved Panic that the guy happens to know. One thing about SpreadHeads is they are pretty giving people. The guy gave me a cash tip and three cds from a live show back in 96'. They've been in my console for like FOREVER. I don't listen to WP that much anymore due to cds being scratched and lost throughout moving in college and because my taste in music has changed. I popped those babies in and have been jammin ever since. But, my and Mrs. Lacey's convo reminded me of a time in my life that had gotten lost in the filing cabinet of my brain. The nights out with friends, and the time where I left a pizza in the oven for a whole night. Yes, I sure did. After a Panic concert one night, my girls and I went downtown. We stayed out til the wee hours of the morning. They decided to go home, and well me, I was enjoying dancing and wearing this cowboy hat. I can't remember why I had a cowboy hat, I know it wasn't mine, it was one of my girlfriends', but still I digress...The whole night all I could think about was this pizza. It literally had been on my brain for hours. See, when I was in college, after a night on the town, my girls and I would come back and cook these:

I mean come on for a buck at Kroger, not so bad. The line at Krystals (our version of White Castle) was always outrageous, and it seems there would always be that person who would fall asleep at the wheel waiting in the drive thru. So, yeah, I'd been thinking about this pizza ALL night. My friends dropped me off home, and I came in and put this pizza in the oven. I remember laying on my bed as my eyes started to get heavy. I contemplated setting my alarm in the case should I fall asleep. However, the little devil told me something completely differently. It said that since I'd been thinking about this pizza all night I would most def NOT fall asleep. I decided to listen to the little devil on my shoulder. I had laid on my bed fully clothed, I'm talking all my clothes, shoes, and toboggan included. Yes, it was the dead of Winter, December, by the way. I literally closed my eyes for one second. Then, I immediately jump up screaming "My Pizza, My Pizza must be ready". It was one of those times where you wake up thinking you just dozed off a minute, but instead, you've been asleep for hours. Yeah, needless to say, my one bedroom duplex was very smoky. My pizza was burnt to a crisp. Think small black rock. I know you're wondering why didn't the smoke alarm go off. The batteries had gotten low who knows how long before this night, and I just couldn't take the beeping noise anymore. So, I took the batteries out. My logic was that buying a pack of batteries for 2 or 3 bucks was a beer or drink I would be losing. Needless to say, after this night, I went and bought batteries for my smoke detectors. And, I had to shiver for a couple of days while I opened my windows and doors to get the smell out. My neighbor was a big hippie so he was cool with it. I look back and think, gaw, I was stupid. But, you only learn from your mistakes. I have never left another pizza in the oven to this day...

Here's the lyrics to my fave WP song!

Widespread Panic - Ain't Life Grand lyrics

Watching people roll by
Wonder where they're going
Hey, what's your job?
What're you knowing?


Driving to the grocery store
Pull my money out
Passing by the liquor store
Throw my money down


Ain't life grand
Ain't life grand


My wife's got the blues
Now I've got them
Gonna bring her a kiss
Make those blues run


Ain't life grand
Ain't life grand


The sun came out the other day
Through those dusty clouds
And in my mind I was a child
And it felt good!


Ain't life grand
Ain't life grand
Ain't life grand
Ain't life grand