It's been a long time since I read a book. According to this blog, the last time I posted about a book was January 8, 2007. This would correspond directly with my last semester of law school, which was concluded with the following chain of events that probably explain why I haven't read a book since:

1. Studying for last semester exams
2. Studying for the Bar
3. Taking the bar
4. Moving to Dallas
5. Starting my job

Plenty of people read books during the above events. I didn't. At least I don't think I did, or at least I didn't blog about it, which means I probably didn't. Though I may have started two books that I did not finish (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Guns, Germs, and Steel).

My manager lent me a book called The Book Thief, which I also started, and also did not finish. The introduction did not hold my attention and I got bored. So it sat next to my bed. For about two years. Last night, I decided to give it another try. I'm glad I did. It's really, really good. The structure was a little odd at first. I didn't know what to make of the occasional "FYI" comments from the narrator in bolded and centered text. But I pushed through the first few chapters and it all started to flow eventually. I think I'll finish this book. The first one in at least two years.

I don't know why i took such a long break between reading books recreationally. Maybe the Bar sapped away any interest I had in reading, maybe the task of transitioning from law student to lawyer took a lot out of me. Who knows. Either way, it feels good to read a story again. After reading contracts and agreements and licenses for two years, I think I'm ready for some reading that does not include the word "hereby."

CK and I saw Rodrigo y Gabriela last night. I think it was the best concert I've seen all year, aside from Paul McCartney which gets automatic 1st place due to historical and musical significance and whatnot. But taking into account musicality, originality, and audience participation, this was the best show all year, and maybe the best show in years that I've been to.

They absolutely owned the audience. It looked like it was their first concert, or their ten thousandth. They looked simultaneously comfortable and shocked to be on stage with everyone cheering for them.

The highlight for me was watching Gabriela beat the shit out of her guitar. It's amazing to see her play live. I don't know how they designed that thing or what kind of microphones and pickups they rig inside of it, but when she slams her wrist down on the bridge the guitar booms like a drum (a floor tom for the musician readers). When she flicks her knuckles against the edges of the guitar, it sounds like two-by-fours banging into each other. She does wonders with that guitar. It's quite a sight, and it sounds like nothing else I've ever heard on a guitar. She creates rhythms that are complex and groovy, and make white people dance. Rodrigo, of course, treats his classical guitar like a thrash metal guitar, and it doesn't sound too far off when he gets to tearing out the barred chords that hit every string. It sounds pretty awesome and I especially enjoyed his solo time on stage without Gabriela. I like his writing style.

Musicianship aside, the show was entertaining and engaging. They both consistently urged the audience to clap to the rhythm, and this was one of the few shows I've been to when the audience gladly obliged - every time. They took turns soloing when the other left the stage for a few minutes. They played a lot of new material, which fans will notice makes use of guitar effects like wah-wah pedals and maybe a phaser. Gabriela swapped her guitar for a small hand-held drum and Rodrigo took his turn on a box drum (the kind you sit on). I liked how they've mixed up the sound on the new songs. I don't think an entire album of bare guitar work would have been as cool as a record of guitar work filtered through some fun effects and accompanied by hand percussion.

It seems that a concert of two musicians playing acoustic guitars would get repetitive after a while. No drum set. No bass. No vocals. No keyboards or pianos. But the advantage for R y G is in their ability to experiment with song structure and dynamics by limiting the number of people and instruments in the group. By restricting the number of possible sounds, they force themselves to invent new and better ways to create drama and excitement with their music. And they've become better at it than many "traditional" bands.

There you have it. Go see R y G if you get the chance. Oh, and they told us they had to choose between playing Houston or Dallas, and since they "fucking hate" the Houston airport, they chose Dallas. Sucks to be you, Houston! Intercontinental, thank you for sending R y G to Dallas.

Today is my 30th birthday. This is kind of weird.

I bought a plane ticket to Argentina last night. I'm going in late November.

That is all.

I'm not one to normally complain about customer service. I know that's how most of these stories start out, but this story is bad. Really, really bad.

I was on a family plan with my parents and decided to go solo. T-Mobile let me apply my two years of loyal patronage and upgrade to a new phone for $50 and keep my awesome rate plan of unlimited minutes, anytime, for $50/month. Not a bad deal.

I called T-mobile and ordered a black Nokia xpress music phone. T-Mobile sent it to my parents house in Houston instead of my house in Dallas. After a few phone calls with T-Mobile and UPS, we finally got the phone to my house in Dallas. Except that someone had to be home to sign for it, and after three attempts, they sent the phone to their warehouse. T-Mobile would not ship to my place of work, where I spend my days, like most people, because they had to send the phone to the billing address on the account. Fine. I go to the UPS warehouse, rip open the package, and instead of a black Nokia phone, I see a white Nokia phone. Wrong color. Great.

I call T-Mobile and explain the problem. They apologize and promise to send out the right phone immediately and that I should expect a text message with the UPS tracking number. The package with the new phone will have a shipping label to slap on the package so that I can send the other phone back.

Days pass. No text message. I call T-Mobile again and ask what the story is. Turns out they misinformed me how their "process" works. The process is that I have to send the phone back first, call them with the tracking number, and they will then send me the right phone. Ridiculous. Why I have to assume risk of a lost phone for their mistake is beyond me. They should send me the phone back and wait for me to send them their wrong phone, and should i keep the old phone, they should then have the right to charge my account for the extra phone. That's how it should work.

I follow their process. I take the white phone to a UPS store, ship it, call T-Mobile again, give them the tracking number and shipping charge which will be credited to my account, and they promise to send the black phone.

The new phone arrives, and this time, I don't need to sign for it. It's sitting on my porch. I rip open the package and see - another white phone.

I call T-mobile (6th or 7th call by now) and again explain the problem. The customer rep again apologizes, and promises to make it right. Except - you guessed it - I have to go to a UPS store to ship the old phone back, though I don't need to so before they ship the right phone.

Let's hope they finally get it right. I never had any problems with T-Mobile until this ordeal. And because of this ordeal, I have to tell you, if you have any plans of buying a phone from T-Mobile that you have not seen with your own eyes, do not bother. Buy your phone from someone else. T-Mobile is awful and this customer service experience has been a huge waste of time. I've heard good things about Verizon. Give them a shot.

I'll keep you posted on any new developments.