Episode 9: Rock All Over Ya

New problem with the truck, it will cost me a little more but the destruction caused actually saved my ass. It was only by the grace of God that I got here and the Angel sitting where all my shit was piled into my passenger seat kept me on the road and out of a hospital or the grave...which is definitely where I would have ended up.

"I kept wondering how the hell that wheel stayed on," Al said, "Then John pulled your right side apart and there it was...the whole spindle had mushroomed to keep the bearing on."

Again, I felt the blood leave my brain and my heart drop into my ass. To think that the whole goddamned thing could come apart was too much to bear. I needed to sit down. Imagine, if you will, flying down the road with Van Halen playing and then CLANK, SCRAPE BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOOMBOOOM! FUCK YOU and it all goes away. Me, in the middle of fucking nowhere and busted up, bleeding, nowhere to turn, no one on which to call for for help. I'd have never made it. Night City would have been without my ass. The destruction of my spindle saved my life.

As I talked with my mechanic, I put forth my "crazy" idea to complete an A.I. Project for the truck, what unsettled me most was that he didn't write me off, he didn't call me or the idea crazy, he actually had a way that it could physically be done and proposed that I go for the five million dollar purse that our government offers to complete an off-road navigation challenge. That sounds vaguely like the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Off-Road Challenge that I'd heard so much about. If Pearl goes the way I hope that she does, I'll definitely go for it. Five million and alls I gotta do is drive. Fuck, just give me that chance.

Pearl should be done by Friday. I can't wait to see how she handles once the suspension/shock work is done.

Now, on to the gaming front. The new PSP's really kicking ass. Now all I need is that damn Skype headset and I'll be able to make calls from it. Now, check this out. Let's take a little trip into another world...

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Boston, Massachusetts

Dead Man Walking took the stage. Steven 5 sported his new fauxhawk and strapped on his new Jackson Bass. Rikki Roxxorz had ditched the Nikki Sixx hair in favor of leaving it hanging in it's natural waves and took his seat behind the drums wearing skellies that made him look more like a member of the Misfits. Jon Black took his mic from the micstand and stood there, ready for the music to start and Angela Lockwood had lightly strummed a chord from her Jackson King V.

Then, it started. Steven 5 opened with the bass solo to Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer as Rikki lightly tapped a beat. Angela opened up with her guitar riff as Rikki jumped into a beat that pounded of raw power that was to come and then Jonathan started to sing in none other than Jon Bon Jovi's voice.

(Look everyone, it's Rock Band, the game. You can create the band but the problem is you can't control their sound. Jon's even had the voice of Michael Jackson as a child singing with The Jackson Five. It's a New Jersey Thing, fuggedaboudit)

Each time the song built up, Dead Man Walking's flawless playing kicked the whole song into overdrive. The fans cheered and the heat was turned up. Each throbbing bassline was pronounced, each of Rikki's punishing beat blasted and each of Angela's chords became blistering. Then, as it's crescendo was reached, the band kicked it into overdrive again, their energy undying.

"Oooooooh we gotta hold on," Jon sang as the final buildup came after Angela's perfect solo, "Ready or not...you live for the fight when that's all that you've got!"

Then, the overdrive kicked in with explosive fury and Jon howled into the mic as though the music wasn't loud enough to hear of Tommy and Gina's plight. He wanted the pain to be felt and sympathized with. He wanted everyone to know the story of two people living in tough times. He wanted all of us to know...that we weren't alone.

Whooooooooooooooooa, we're halfway there
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA-OH LIIIIVIN' ON A PRAYER,
TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL MAKE I SWEAR,
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA-OH LIIIIIVIN' ON A PRAYER

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOA WE'RE...

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Right there, in Dead Man Walking's most perfect moment...the FUCKING BATTERY ON THE PSP DIED!

I wanted to howl and shake my fist at the gods for doing this to me. HOW FUCKING DARE YOU! A great rock anthem like that that remains poignant to this day and you couldn't wait until it was finished and the autosave kicked in! YOU BASTARDS!

I couldn't believe it. I have never done this well and the fucking battery had to go right there at the high point of the song. If my percentages get fucked, I'm gonna hit GameStop to snag a Pandora battery pack for this bad boy. It's disgraceful and sick to die in the middle of a song like that. Fuckin' emo battery.

In other gaming news, I got back one of my most beloved games...Wipeout: Pure. This game is the best racing game on the market. If you have a gaming system and you remotely like racing games, get this one, fly right and you'll end up in some type of cybernetic ecstacy. Then, I went a little old school and snagged a copy of Midway Arcade Treasures. This disc has about 20 older Midway Arcade games including Paperboy, Rampart, Rampage, Xenophobe, and Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3.

Imagine that, me in arcade Nirvana. Not bad if I do say so myself. Although I did find out how rusty I am at Mortal Kombat today...as ashamed as I am to admit that, I did better at Spy Hunter than I did Mortal Kombat.

Anyway, I'm outta here. Once my battery is recharged I'm going to see if I can't finish out the set and get my Merch Girl hired. I got a band that needs money to tour.