WII blogging...

this is the slowest form of blogging ever!

Road Trip: St. Judes

So I just got to St. Judes Children's Hospital with my wife, brother, and mother. We took the 6 hour drive from Shreveport Louisiana to Memphis Tennessee to see my niece Abby. Abby was diagnosed with leukemia over a month ago and has been staying at the Ronald McDonald house. This was the first time that my wife and I have been able to get away from work. I'm proud of my niece for handling all these changes so well. It's so impressive to see such a young girl to handle this grown-up situation. Its also great to see so many people helping Abby and her mother, my sister. I'm actually typing on a computer that her teachers from her home gave her. My church gave a gift card to help living expenses. There is a facebook group with hundreds of members for Abby. There is even a local restaurant donating 20% of their make to help Abby.

So why am I blogging while I'm here? Because shortly after we arrived my wife, mother, sister and niece all left to go shopping. They left us here to figure out why this computer was not connecting to the Internet. Obviously we fixed that problem. On the plus side, Abby computer has Photoshop Elements 8. I might have some fun knocking around with that. 

Oh well, I guess me and my brother will just wait here watching John Wayne movies. I have to say, I didn't expect to be watching old westerns at St. Jude's this weekend.

Steady as She Goes...

I know that I haven't been the most frequent blogger as of late but I'll try to do better.

Back to work today. I'm not looking forward to it, but its how I make the money these days. If anyone know how to make money without work then feel free to let me know. Even when you do something that you enjoy it is still work. For right now I will take the job that I can stand and pays the bills over enjoying myself until I'm homeless. I'm actually avoiding going to work right now.

Its amazing how much blogging will increase the traffic to your blog. I mean, I've been getting 1 hit a day maybe, then I blogged and I got 10, go figure...

Man, Do I Suck As A Blogger

Sorry to anyone who reads this blog on the regular. I don't know what happened. Ever since I've become a professional blogger (the title of this blog now seems extremely ironic) for place of employment my personal blogging has all but stopped. There is so much that has gone on since the last time I blogged. Oh yeah, I'm a professional blogger. I mean, I guess I am. I get paid to blog, so doesn't that make me a pro. I also do other things at my job, so does that mean I'm semi-pro. Still, I like that fact that my job now requires to do the things I do on my day off. I don't think I should mix business with pressure so I am not going to post a link to my "job-blogs", although if you're crafty I bet you can find my other blogs.

Let me get you up to speed with what's happened. I now have dates to go to basic training. It took long enough. I'm cutting it close to the birth of my baby girl, Caroline, but it should be fine. My wife is more and more mentioning how much she will miss me when I am away. I tell her to enjoy the time we have before I leave, but I know that its tough for her. I have to be the tough one and reassure her, but it will be tough for me to be away as well. My wife and I plan to take a trip to memphis. My 11-year-old niece has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. She's been in St.Jude's Hospital for about a month now. The whole family was shocked. I never thought that our family would have something like this happen, but I guess there is no predicting something tragic like this. She is receiving the best treatment and care. I just hope that she gets well and this all becomes a memory of a hard time very soon.

Today is a welcome retreat. I have a weekday off. I am supposed to take one saturday a month but this month has been very mixed up. I now get to take my tuesday off and although my wife still works, I enjoy a day of rest.  I honestly have mixed feeling about these days. I know that it might sound selfish but I like the quiet time that I can have by myself. I can do things that I can't always do when we are together. I have played my guitars for hours already this morning. But after a while I always find myself waiting for my wife to get home. I start to miss the conversation and the attention that I get from her. I know that if I had to choose between a lifetime of singlehood and "freedom" to do whatever whenever, or one where I have my wife by my side always, I would most certainly choose the one with my wife. All the guitars, time, and quiet in the world are no substitute for the close, intimate relationship I have with my wife.

Frustration and Neglect.

Sorry to all the people that got used to the idea of my blog being a regular thing. This is just like most other things in my life. I start and then my interests wains. Obviously I have not blogged in about a month and for that apologize.

So what has been going on in the silence? A lot. I can't really break down everything thats been going on but there are some highlights. Something that I've been missing is church. I hate missing, but I have managed to miss three weeks in a row. Inventory at my work place, Family matters (not the TV show), and my friend wedding (in which I was a groomsmen) have all taken me away from my regular place of worship. I miss meeting with that particular body of believers and playing with the band. My guitars have been all scattered about our extra room, but I haven't given them much attention. I'm looking forward to this Saturday and breaking the streak.

Me and the Misses have also began enjoy watching TV Series via our Wii. We should be spokespeople for Netflix. We don't have Cable here at the apartment so that means we don't get to watch episodes of new show, but that leaves time for us to enjoy the shows that we've neglected to watch when they were aired. We started with Arrested Development. Most recently we've started watching Pushing Daises. I've saddened by the fact that PD only ran 2 seasons. I guess a murder mystery with a supernatural twist has a limited lifespan, but I wouldn't mind another season or two. I hear that there is going to be a comic book or graphic novel.

So I have been struggling with a pedal and a modification of said pedal. Its been a long struggle with no avail. I'm struggling to find something that I did wrong. The most frustration thing is that it worked before I messed with it and now its nothing but a bunch of frustration. Not to mention the fact that I paid $30 for the mod. Frustration.

I'm Obsessed.

So me and Jen are sitting here eating our frozen sorbet treats when I jump on the computer to look at my new hobby, ebay. I am not a newcomer to the world of online auctions. I have had bouts with ebay several times. I don't use it very often but I'm trying to locate some good deals on some pedals. I want to round out my pedalboard with a reverb and eq, but I don't want to spend the big bucks. Actually I wouldn't mind spend a little bit of money on some nice effects, but I have a tight budget since being married means sharing everything, even fiscal responsibilities. I'm trying to make anything I purchase a "minor" purchase. The definition of minor is under $50. Any major purchase is discussed and agreed upon before execution.




Ever since I was alive there has been a piano in my house. My mother learned piano as a young girl, and her father bought her a piano and she has kept a center piece of our home since I can remember. I've always had a fascination with the keyboard. Its so simple to play yet amazingly difficult to master. I'd like to devote more time to learning this instrument further, but as I don't have one, (or the time) this is very difficult. As you may know, I have chosen to develop my guitar skills, but the keyboard still nags at my consciences. It may be some dumb whim, but its an amazing breed of instrument that I know about as well as I know spanish.

Side 2:

I have moved around as a young boy. My father in the Air Force, we got stationed several places growing up. My mother piano came with us of corse, and every time I believe it got heavier. I do want to a keyboard but I think if I were to have one it would not be a piano. If you were to ask someone who knows what type of guitar I play then they would tell you, Fender Telecaster. Well, Fender just may be the best musical instrument maker in the world. If I were to have any type of keyboard, it would be a Fender Rhodes. Possible the most imitated piano sound in the world. It would be amazing to own the genuine thing

Look What I Did...

So I like to make pretty pictures. I spend a lot of time in photoshop for my job. I like to sharpen my skills and deepen my knowledge of the far reaches of photoshop. This tutorial I got from hongkiat.com. Its a pretty good place to find anything you need to know about PS. The tutorials are easy to follow and they have pictures.

When I came home tonight me and my wife cooked some healthy dinner. That's a salad we had for dinner. On top are some onion rings and a jalapeno. We also fried up some squash. We've been on a frying  spree. Everything just tastes better when its dipped in batter then put into boiling hot grease.

My Life Thus Far.

... is a bit anticlimactic.

I just got done watching the movie "W." The one about George W. Bush. I was prepared for a all out attack on the man, but it was a little more far that I imagined. You can't take everything you see in a movie for the truth, but it did play to both sides. It ended in an unexpected way. It actually paralleled his terms in office. I enjoyed the first half. The explanation of  Bush's past and relationship with father, and troubles that he faced were acted in a way that, if not factual, seemed believable. The administration did make mistakes and was very unpopular at the end, but the movie emphasized a key point that I admire about George W. He was not a politician. Had he been one, then he would have done better in the rating and probable would have done a impudent effort in the middle east. I'm a happy with the how, why, when and where the war has taken place? As an airman in the Air Force, I can say I'm not exactly thrilled. I can't help but to think about all the men and women that have paid for this war with their life. The war has cost untold billions of dollars but my thoughts always drift to the fact that before a decision to go to war is made, the cost in lives is estimated. Thats why I don't want to be the president.

I'm actually really encouraged in my workout. I ran a mile and a half in 11:30. That is my best time yet, not to mention that it is also within graduation req's. My push-ups are the only thing that I haven't gotten there yet. 25 Seems to be my wall. That is in a minute. I've gotten 35 in two minute, which is what I need to do before going to basic, but 45 is the number to do in a minute for graduation. I've grown complacent with set-ups. After fulfilling the 50 in a minute in only a few tries, I let that become a back burner issue. These are the lowest standards for graduation. Lately I've been entertaining the thought that I could bump up to the next level of graduation. I have no idea if there is any real incentive to do so, but It would be some great bragging rights.

I have tomorrow off. Man, do I need it. It really doesn't feel like a day off. It really took me by surprise. I usually have a plan for the day, but tomorrow is a little void. I may go to the gym, or take my guitar to the shop. I need to restring one. I also planned to do a little DIY work on a pedal. Me and the wife actually have this mid-week day off together. Neither of us knew till this afternoon when she called in to her work. Evidently the kindergarden is still ironing out their summer schedule.

Oh well, my woodchuck is about gone and its getting about that time.

Laters

The Bike.

... otherwise know as my butts worst nightmare.

I know that the exercise bike is suppose to work the legs but I'm not sure if it works the but muscles or if 20 minutes of sitting on a near rigid piece of plastic makes your bum ache. I found myself sitting every-which-way you can on the seat. That wasn't the worst part. I try my best not to look like a total novice when I go to the gym. I most likely fail measurably at this, but I try. I climb on the bike and start a program. I know that these are designed to give you a good workout but never really give them much thought until now. I selected "hills" and as I thought, it simulated going up and down a series of hill. The parts that were "up hill" nearly killed my. My only saving grace was the fact that there is a manual level selector. I was able to dial down the grade if I found my self too in-over-my-head. The levels were 1-20. I started at 15. I spent most my time at 10. Those hills were tough!

I was starting my cool down when my father showed up. He got on a treadmill so I joined him. I didn't anticipate this part of the workout. I planned to just bike. My dad doesn't run much. So I matched his speed and walked briskly beside him, trying to maintain a conversation. I walked a mile, jogged a mile, and then when for another mile and a half or so. I'm trying to keep it low-impact and work on endurance and stamina.

I made one important mistake today. I didn't tell my wife that I was going to the gym. I did mention it, but not as firm plans. Sorry Jen.

Kind of a boring workout blog, sorry guys.

later

The Base Gym

So I finial went. My father has been wanting to go with me for a while. For those of you who don;t know, my father was an officer an the Air Force for 20+ years. I think he is kind of excited about doing "air force" stuff together. Me and my father went after work. It was rather spur of the moment but it worked out. The gym was about the same it has been for the last five years. I went some right after I got out of high school. The only thing that my father and I did was run on the treadmills. I had planned to run so thats what I did. I was actually excited about have an accurate measurement of my run times. 1.5 miles in 13:30. I wonder if I'm that fast on the street now. That was about the time I ran right before I took a break for my legs. Pretty stoked about going to the gym more. I like the fact that the treadmill doesn't pound on my legs as much.

Cutting it short, I have to go hang out with the wife and friends. Actually excited about having a night out.

Later

Love, Say it with Magnetic Decals.

So me and the Mrs. went down to the base today. We were getting are military ID's. This is pretty exciting and actually a little against the rules. See they don't really let you have one of these until just before you leave for basic, but I have no basic dates (I won't be leaving until after july most likely) and I still got one. I didn't do anything backhanded or anything. I need an ID to be able to enroll in Tri-Care. I need to enroll in that cause there is a baby on the way. I had to shave and put on a BDU Jacket for the photo. I miss my beard. We ran around the office building going up and down the stair trying to find the place, and when we did we had to go back up stair to print a document out. (super awesome fun.) But we did it. We are now card carrying members of the Air Force. Well, Jen isn't in the Air Force like I am, but really it is a commitment that we have both made.

We also went to the BX and did a little shopping while we where there. We also had our first meal as a military couple right there in the food court. I was surprised to find that the base had a starbucks. The only thing better than a tall moca latte is a tax free moca latte.

Utterly and Completely Shameful...

... I'd like to take a break from blogging about babies and take this opportunity to update you on something.

If you've read my blogs before now, then you know that I'm joining the Air Force Reserves. Thats all fine and dandy, but in order for me to graduate basic I have to do something that I have no talent for. I most display strong displays of athleticism. I must do 50 set-ups and 45 push-ups in a minute, and run 1.5 miles in 12 minutes. Running is the biggest obstacle facing me at this point. I've just come off a break from running. I know that it is not good for progress to take time away from running, but I had such great pains in my legs I thought that I may have stress fractures. The only way to get better was to take time off. So after my break I went back to running. My first times were unmentionable. Over 20 minute for two miles. Today I was able to get under 20 minutes, and my 1.5 miles time was 13:30. Not great, but closer to the times I was putting down before the break. I was closer to  12 minutes three weeks ago. I am gaining in leaps and bounds now, but I'm still struggling, and the familiar pain is back in the legs. Oh well, no pain no gain. I have to go finish up the workout.

Laters

Newborns...

... are really small.

I recently had a chance to hold a newborn baby. (is a baby still a newborn when its a week old?) A couple of my friends have been trying to adopt and just a few day ago they were able to bring their new baby home. Being brand new parents, they stay home most of the time and they were wanting visitors. So me and Jen, and two or our other friends went to see them yesterday. The baby was so tiny. I was afraid to hold it. I guess I need to get comfortable with baby holding because I'm going to be doing a lot of it come december. Little baby Jaden was pretty calm for the entire visit. I think he just slept though most everything. Every now and then he was stretch or yawn, but then he would nestle down and go back to sleep. I hope our baby is that passive. Adoption is a long and hard process and we will be praying for that whole family.

...man, I'm going to have one of those...

This Is The Latest I've Been Up Since...

...my bachelor party. Which was actually just me and my groomsmen at the apartment playing video games and drink a bunch of Mountain Dew.

So why so late tonight. If your mind has gone to the gutter, then you should you should be ashamed. My darling, beautiful, and pregnant wife has been in bed since we got home from dinner with our friends. It takes a lot out of you when you're grow another person. What was I doing?

Me and Jen have a spare room the houses, for the most part, the extra junk that we've brought with us to our home. My musical things live in the guest room, as does Jen's crafty (and other assorted) things.  Lately, and frequently that particular room is a particular mess. I pull things out and play around while Jen adds to her assortment. Other than more space, that room was in much need of some organization. Hopefully I accomplished some of that. I basically just separated our things. Musical things here, and crafty-ish things there. Jen will most likely hate it. Oh well, I tried. In addition to cleaning, I also worked on a guitar, rearranged my pedalboard, and wrote a lullaby for my soon-to-be born baby.

Night has come, look where we are

I just want to say that I love you

1000 times brighter than a star

and so close I can hug you

Go to Sleep my baby

Go to sleep my baby

Close your eyes and sleep tight

You are in good arms tonight

Go to sleep my baby

Go to sleep my baby

Everything is gonna be alright

When  you close your eyes and sleep tonight

Not ground breaking or anything, but I want to write some simple lullabies and record them. When we find out if we are having a girl or boy I want to use our baby's name in the songs. I want them to have some unique and personal. I can't wait for this little kid of ours.

The DEP Call

So for all those that don't know, I've enlisted into the Air Force Reserves. Although, right now I am in the Delayed Entry Program (or DEP). Basically I'm waiting to go to basic, but I get called out to the base on things called DEP Calls every month so I can sit in a room with others in DEP and listen to people talk about whatever. So Tuesday I go to one of these things. I was actually looking forward to it because it meant that I didn't have to go straight into work that day. The catch is that now I have to make up those hours. But anyway, I sat in a room with five other recruits and I found out something, I was the oldest one. Having just turned 24, I felt like grandpaw. The two other guys there were right out of high school. I listened to a guy explain that even if I "decided to eat a bullet", my life insurance would still pay. So that was great. Then there was the imposing, yet sensitive, black man that told us how he cried when he was in basic. I find out however that apposed to what I've recently learned, I will be able to get an ID and enjoy the benefits of actually being in the Air Force before I go to basic. Which reminds me, I need to talk to my recruiter.

Later guys

Is The Hammer and Sickle Turning Into the Apple and Sickle?

I'm not much for conspiracy theories but it seems to me that Apple, the newly reborn computer giant, is pushing a liberal agenda...?

First off, let me say I hate politics, and I don't really know what to think. It seems that all streams of media preach one extreme or the other. To tell you the truth, I'm sick of it. I actually have no cable at my apartment and it's great. The longer I spent without it the more other people idea's about "trending topics" seemed to be amazingly strange. I'll be honest, I grew up in a conservative home. My father watches Fox News and likes O'Reily. I can't stand anyone who thinks by raising their voice and spouting one sided facts can change anyone's opinion on anything.

Down here in the south you get a lot of Johnny Reb Republicans that think Jesus must be coming back soon because there a democrat in the White House and low and behold, he is a black man. That man is the Whitest "Black Man" I've ever seen. All that aside, I know there are lots of differences between the Right and the Left, but all you see and hear about is Abortion and Gay Marriage. I hate abortion. I wince when I say it, I also hate to bring it up in a blog that hardly anyone will see. It is a point that has many opinions, but I found it hard to find any reason to knowingly end a life thou be it dependent on another person. I've heard it agued that as Christians we should be against abortion, but law is not based on morals, it is based on justice, therefore we are not charged to make the act illegal, but to care for the ones that have the abortion, or want one. To be honest I don't see how it could become illegal. It would take would take an amazing turn of direction for this country. I guess the same could be said for Gay Marriage. That the act is still a perversion, but the person is still loved by God and we are compelled to Love people no matter our differences.

I have friends that think very different than me. One in particular is a very liberal thinker. If gay marriage were legalized by federal law then I could imagine her smiling, clapping and giggling while saying "Yay gay people!" And if Pot was Legalized, again she would say, "Yay, Pot-heads!" She'd be thrilled that these people would no longer have to be suppressed by laws. But what if it were drunk driving that was legalized, or robbery, or arson. But I guess that some issues are not moral absolutes. That was kind of a skewed point.

Back to Apple. Apple is a company that has an image. One that is attracting many people. They have rose from the ashes to once again be major competitors in the computer and technology market. I'm thrilled that there is a platform that is pressing forward in a new direction. It gives hope that we will not have limited technology monopoly. Apple is seeing huge favoritism from younger consumers. Younger consumers are typically more liberal thinkers and swing more to the Left. So, Apple tends to promote a more Liberal image and please their customer base. Apple wants to be cool and hip, but they really just want your money. So all the image is a thin guise to cover up the truth. They want to sell more product to make more money. Capitalism... hmm maybe they're Right-winged...

(sorry for the lame graphic, i hate gimp)

Blogs Have Taken Over My Life

... no really.

I have three blogs. And maybe some of you out there have more. Well congratulations to you, you win. For me, one blog is enough to post on regularly, but I decided to branch out. I have this one of corse and it is my main one. I just post my random thoughts on here, you basic everyday stuff. Then you have my music blog. I like to post about my gear that I use and what I'm doing and listening to musically. Then there is a story I'm writing. I'm doing that bit by bit (or post by post) on another blog. Thats a project all on its own, because I want people to input and make suggestion of how things should happen in the story, kind of like a collective effort. I've made links to all the other blogs, plus my wife's blog, other on the right. Feel free to check them out if you'd like. Three blog really don't take over a life.

It's everything else that takes over your life. My wife started blogging first. I just went with the flow. Started posting stuff on my own blog just to practice my creative writing and whatever. After a little while my wife asked me how does she know if anyone is reading her blog. No one had left any comments. So I looked into it. Google and there many tools came to the rescue. There is Google Analytics for keeping track of the visitors to your sight. It tells you how many visits you have and how many clicks on different pages you get. It keeps track of it so you can see how well you are doing compared to yesterday or the week before and so on. So that was good enough for her, but then I found Google Adsence. That puts ads on you blog (or website) and when visitor click on it you get a small monetary compensation. Then there is Google Webmaster Tools. Oh my, that is a beast in it's self. It tells you how google sees your blog (or site) and tells you what keywords or showing up the most and other useful, although boring and time wasting.

But even then there is more. You can use services such as dlvr.it to post to all your social media outlets. When I blog here it shows up on twitter, Facebook, and tumblr, and something called linkedin. So I have a lot of plates spinning with this whole blog thing. But you want to know something that just blows my mind. I do all this and my wife, who doesn't use any of this crap, still blows my blog away in visits.

(Mind Blowing Image)

Its My Birthday!

B-Day quote, "Super-Size that jumbo mofo".

My dear wife got me a wii for my birthday. I've mentioned this before, but today we got it set up with netflix. Its pretty much awesome. You can watch movie online on your TV. We actually watched some of season 6 of King of the Hill. Its was pretty exciting. We watch a ton of movies at the Apt. This is mostly due to the fact that we don't have cable. Netflix is amazing and even more so now that we're aren't stuck watching movies on our tiny laptop. I recommend Netflix for anyone not wanting to get cable but still wanting to enjoy movies and even some TV shows. Not to mention the fact that you can receive movies by mail.

Now that the shameless plug is over. I'm a little nervous about going back to work tomorrow. I got into a little altercation with a "boss" and it may have long lived consequences. I'm not terribly worried, but the co-worker is rather unreasonable at times. Its a good thing she really doesn't have much authority over me.

My wife found these guys and I have to hand it to them. They are pretty cool.

Manchester Orchestra

So my friend showed me this band. It changed my life. I haven't heard the entire album, but I'm pretty sure it's amazing. I'm buying it on Itunes because of one song. "The River" in my opinion is the best track. He's folky but there is electric guitar and some pretty grungy parts mixed with some heartful lyrics and sweet melodies. Full review later. Put I'm pretty stoked about the CD.

Laters

(I've listened to most of the CD now. I can't recommend for all ages. Some lyrics may be offensive.)

Oh The Cheese!

So when I was a young lad I, like many others, was a GI Joe fan. I watched the cartoon and the feature length animated films religiously. So naturally I was really excited to hear that there was going to be a live action film being make about the "Joes". I was excited until I saw the trailer. Seriously? It looked more corny than squirrel terds. The review confirmed my fears. Both new comers and old school fans agreed that this film was covered in cheese. To be honest, I forgot about the movie until I started looking for titles that I've missed in the theater and haven't bother to pick up. So my netflix que finally got around to G.I. Joe. I was actually excited to see it. I had forgotten what crap I was convinced it was. Well the film was a great reminder. Super-suits? Pulse Cannons? Nanobots? Its like they took every lame gimmick from Jackie Chan movie's and combined them into this one. I know I'm being harsh and there are some really neat parts. Snake eyes was probably the best part of the entire movie and he didn't have any lines... I am glad that they got "knowing is half the battle" in there. Oh the good 'ol days.

Oh well,

Cobra!

Wii!

So I wife got me a Wii for my birthday. Its actually Sunday, but she let me have the Wii early. I'm pretty excited. I'm not much of a gamer. I prefer things that have real physical outcomes to ones that just serve to taunt you when you fail. So why would I get a gaming system. All they actually serve to do is an exercise in the futile. But the Wii can be used for thing such as real physical exercise. So can weights and dumbbells but the Wii also has fun games. I like Mario Cart, so sue me. You can also browse the internet on a Wii... Thats cool. Oh, and you can watch movies from netflix on the Wii. I've been meaning to hook that up with our laptop computer. The one that I'm actually on right now, but then we'd have to be plugging and unplugging it all the time.
Moving on. We are coming ever so closer to the launch of the Davis Blog. I probably won't link it to here just because I don't want something I say to this audience to spread to another audience. Work has been such a chore lately. I used to enjoy much of my job, but now it just seems like a drag. I go through phases like this from time to time. Every job has it's ups and down and you have to get through the bad to get to the good and all that. I think a lot of the unrest comes in the not-knowing of my Air Force details. I still don't know basic dates and I should be getting my ID soon. Hopefully that means I can start Tri-care.

I sometime feel like I start a day planning on doing something, but often that thing is the very thing I neglect to do. Like today, I planned to get fitted for my friend wedding. I have to wear a tux and there is a certain day that I have to be fitted by. I don't know that day. It may have already passed, but I know that I still need to be fitted. I planned to do that today, but when I got home that is where I stayed. I've also lost a ID card for the bank I use. I'm sure it probably go lost in the laundry or something, it's just a piece of paper with some numbers on it, but those are important numbers. I think the last two weeks I"ve told myself that I'd get a replacement, but I've yet to go down to the bank. Oh, and the workouts, they've almost all stopped. Today was going to be that day that I stated back running, but I didn't take it off so I didn't go. I need to snap out of this lull... Sorry guys, that was kinda heavy. Maybe I'm tripping out about being 24. It's not old, but it is older.

Oh well, Heres a picture.

I'm Gonna Party Like It's My Birthday...

...because it is my birthday. Actually it's my birthday in a week, but I still plan to party.


So anyways, Earlier today I asked my beautiful wife what she was going to get me for my birthday. She gave a quick thought and then she told me that she knew, but she wasn't going to tell me. I begged for a hint. So she started telling me things like it was something that was available for more than just a particular store. My first thoughts are to musical things because most of the time my thoughts go to musical things by default. I ask her questions about what she has in mind. Her answer blow my mind. I can't think of anything that fits the description that she is giving me. I am racking my brain what could this thing be. Long story short, I'm pretty stoked about what she intends to get me.

What is it? I don't know... Maybe this will help

Coffee Night...

So the group of guys I play music with got together the other night and discussed playing a set at a coffee night here is town. I actually got excited about playing out of our regular Saturday venue (our church). So tonight I got my things together and headed to the local BCM. I should have expected the scene. Young, college kids filled the building. This was somewhat of an "open mic" type event so there were a few sets before us. When my wife and I arrived, there was a couple of guy rapping to a track. I was completely surprised to see a friend of mine up on stage. We used to work together at the Lifeway store in town. I knew he did Hip Hop, but I had no idea he'd be there. I have an album of his, It the single greatest Hip Hop CD I own. (that not really saying a whole lot, but it really is a great CD) But after him (and Mr. A-1 Bold) This was a Hardcore hopeful guitarist. The kid had guts getting up there just rocking out, but he need to work on his fundamentals. There was a singer-songwriter type with long hair. He was solid but nothing amazing. A girl played the guitar and sang, she had potential. Then there was Luke, who played electronica originals. Lastly it was our turn. All in all it was fun. It was the closest thing to a gig that i've played in years. Fighting a sound system brought but some "fun" memories. Me and the misses got back close the 11pm. I can't remember the last time we stayed out that late. Oh well, Tomorrow is another day... of work.

Till Then.

Off To Work...

So I just jumped on here to check some things before I head to work. This whole Google Analytics can really suck your life in. I've check my hits about a half dozen time yesterday only to realize that it updates once a day. But now I'm using even more Google tools because when I checking my stuff on analytics I saw Webmaster tools and now I've started that. Partly because it may help out at work, but most because I was kinda board.

Off to work for me, Later friends!

Mmm Lutherans...,

Happy Tuesday everyone! Tuesday are great days because they are my off days. I know that most of the free world gets Saturday and Sunday for their weekends, but I work in retail. I am fortunate enough to work in a store that is closed on Sunday, but we are open every Saturday and that means I work, for the most part, every Saturday.

If you were thinking to yourself as you read this blog, "I wish I could know more about His morning routine.", then today you are in luck. This morning was like many other mornings. Jennifer woke up about 6 this morning. I laid in bed motionless. About a quarter till 7 Jen comes in the room telling me to wake up. I told her that I had no intention of getting up. Although I didn't say so eloquently as that. It probably sounded more like a long grunt. She persisted that I get out of bed. I told her that there was no reason to since I was off. She then proceed to whine and moan for a minute. (she doesn't enjoy the fact that I get a day off while she has to go to work. She gets off at 1:15 by the way, just saying...) So after this I explain that its the same difference when I go to work on Saturday. She didn't seem to think so. She leave the room and I continue laying in bed. She's back a minute later asking me about her outfit which was cute and I told her so. She then climbs into bed to pest me some more when I notice she's crunching something. I ask her, "what are you eating" and She replies, "oh some Lutherans." (first of all, let me just say, poor lutherans, I mean... what group of Christians are more looked over in America then the Lutherans. It took me 13 years to actually see a lutheran church.) So I give Jen a hard time about saying that she is eating people when she is actually eating a Ludden's cough drop.

I'm Having A Baby!

... ok, let me back and say that my Wife is having a baby.

We had our first ultrasound two days ago. I have to say that it was a major relief to hear that baby Harris is doing well. I've actually never seen the baby in a ultrasound picture before. I always just got lost in the black and white, but I was able to spot my baby right away. He already looks so much like me (just kidding). By the way. I like the rule in English grammar that if the gender is unknown then "he" can be used as a pronoun besides it. I can't stand referring to my baby as "it". Having a little person forming is extremely personal and human. I'm still blown away by mere fact there is a tiny person inside my wife, and in six and a half (give or take) month we get to meet this little  person.

Hoping for a boy (typical) but so it Jen, so we are for sure having a girl.

Boy name: Jonah Brice
Girl name: Caroline Brice

Either way, I can't wait to meet baby Brice.

Laters

My Life, As Of Late...

Two weeks ago I ordered a pedal. I mentioned it in one of my earlier blogs, I thought I would have received it by last weekend, but alas, it did not come. I actually email the company (onenationelectronics) telling them that I didn't have what I ordered or a tracking number confirming they had even shipped it. I guess I just trust a company thats solely based on selling thing online, not just online, but over amazon. They have no independent internet store. Anyways, Three days after I email them asking for information or tracking number for my order (yesterday) I get an email saying they have shipping my item next day air. It arrived today. But the kicker is, it was shipped to my in-laws house because I use my wife's amazon account and we don't ship things to our apartment. Frustration!

On a much more positive note, I saw a movie. A old movie I guess, since we picked it up in the 5 dollar section at target. It is called Once, I've never heard of it., but I think it may have won some film festival awards or something. Basicly it's set in Ireland and this guy and girl musician meet. They become friends and whatnot, and then they want to record an album. So they guy a group of street musician the round out the band and they make a demo. Then the guy leaves for london, the girl stays in Dublin and the rest of the band or never heard from again. Kinda random, but the music in the feature is great. I think I'd enjoy the soundtrack more than the movie, but the recording studio scenes are neat and some of the line or clever. That with great music make the movie worth what we spent.

So Now I want to take one of the songs from the movie, "falling slowly", and record it. The last thing I recorded we me and Jen singing "Forever and Ever Amen", by good-ol Randy Travis. We slowed it down or corse and made it into a ballad, but it was really fun.

Falling Slowly:

Squirrel In The Box...

So at work there are some... interesting people. This morning I am going about my normal duties and I notice my co-worker coming in with a nike shoe box. I have learned not to question the workings of Chris. The less I know the less legally liable I am for any thing she does. (believe that will come in handy one day) So later in the day I hear her making baby talk. Why was she making the nonsensical babble? Like I said, "The less I Know..." So I ignore her. She started to gather a crowd around her. Strange questions are being asked. To make a long story short, she has found a baby squirrel and is nursing it. The idea is complete idiotic to me. Why would you want to help a rodent survive. If I see one in my house I set a trap, not leave it milk and cookies. The second thing is that the thing is insanely ugly. (think shaved weasel ugly, I mean, U G L Y you aint got no alibi kind of ugly) I don't even know how she recognized it as being a squirrel. It honestly looks like a rat that is going through chemo. The kicker is that she has brought this thing into the work place and interrupts work when she whips the sucker out. It boggles the mind...

The Newest member of the Davis Team... Nunu (some may say it sounds like what a child might call its privates.)

Rockin Awesome Life...

...is now the name of this blog. I only thought it appropriate because it is the address of the blog. I actually started a web page with the same name, but have pause development on that. I barely have time it keep up this blog much like a website right now. The name came about because thats what I lead. I pretty Rockin Awesome Life. It also had a kind of hidden spiritual meaning. The word awesome actually means to be other worldly, to be not of this universe. So if something awesome is other worldly, maybe even 'holy other', then a awesome life would be life from this other world. I like to think of it as the life that we have given to us by God. It's kind of a stretch but work with me.

Today at work I kept thinking about blogging. I don't know why but it seems that I get into blogging sometimes more than other. Obviously I can get out of the habit and skip a month in between blogs. But I hope not to repeat that. But now there is a new twist. I think I've mentioned my second blog. The one that I intend to write a store in. I think the url is www.undeadlovestory.com if that link doesn't work i'll try to fix it later. Now there is a third blog. One that I hope to discus  musical things. I enjoy reading about music gear and what works and what doesn't. I would like to contribute to the conversation by making a place where I can voice my honest opinion about the tool of the trade that I use on a nearly daily basis. This url should be www.theuglyguitartruth.com check it out if you think you may have interest. I like to talk technical, or as technical as I can get. Hopefully I explain everything understandably well.

Can't wait for Saturday at 4pm. I'll be off work and head to Church. Oh, and I'll have a new pedal in my arsenal. Its just a volume pedal, but its something that i've wanted to add for some time. The pedal is a modtone. I have one of their wahs and a chorus by them. They haven't let me down yet and they are reasonably priced. I bought it over amazon. One of the best places to check prices. (shameless plug I know, but its the truth)

I think this is enough rambling for one blog. I'm slightly distracted because I have pizza sitting just a few feet from me and I can't eat and type. Let me remedy that.

Later...

So, for all of those that care. I started (again) reading a book by Rob Bell... I am a fan of this guys writing. I like his style. I think I enjoy his books because they make me think that he looks at thing the way I do. So there you go. If you think like me I'll enjoy what you have to say. Is that kind of sad...




Thought I'd let you know the title, Jesus Wants To Save The Christians. Its kind of big picture(y) but I'm only half way done and recommending it. That should tell you something... Plus I want to try out this Amazon linking thing.



Check it out...

Babies Are Like Santa

So I have been a terrible blogger and haven't done anything in weeks. I don't think that I'm really letting down the masses but if by some reason you like to check in on my life, then sorry I have been unforthcoming of any new of late. Actually to be honest, I'm not really sorry. Blogging about one's self is not normal or mandatory.

Life has been interesting to say the least for me. I will now give you a brief overveiw of the last chunk of my life.

Jen and I are having a baby. We don't wait for anything I guess. I certinly didn't wait to ask her to marry me, and she didn't wait to tell me we are having a baby. I know that Jen is the one birthing the child, but I like to use the pronoun "we" because its a team effert. I'm just more like the left fielder, and Jen the picher.

We found out the we were to be parent the same night the I became violently ill with a stomach bug. I couldn't count the number of times I empty the containts of my stomach, and then heeved after there were no more containts left. It lasted for about 36 hours. Jen got it too. We were a sad sight.

Next came telling our parent the we were expecting. That was fun. There was much disbelief and congadulations. Its a very complex emotion you feel when you hear the news. I guess its much like the first time you hear about christmas. Its terribly exciting, but theres that wait. You hear about all the wonderus thing that are going to happen on this day, but the day seems so far away. And for the time being you prepare for the coming of that day. First you mind your mannors because you have to be good for santa, and then you decorate the house, read books about whats going to happen. So in some ways, Babies are like Santa.

Oh yeah, I'm going into the air force. Don't forget about that. My dates for basic have not been set, but they may be moved. I told my recruitor that I would like to move the dates back so that I can go to school this fall. He told that it shouldn't be a problem. He also said that getting insurance shouldn't be a probem either, and oh my...

The insurance... So Me and Jen thought that it wouldn't be a problem at all to set up insurance being that I am in the air force. Well, Its about to drive us up the wall. I guess it is a little early in my offical air force career, but this is one of the benifits of joining the armed services. I signed on the dotted line, so where are the rewards. I went shopping on base... don't get me started on that. They gave me the run-around about that too...

So I bet you thinking to your self that this is a rather long post. That may be due to the fact that I'm not only blogging but also procrastanating going running. And speaking of my phyical exploits. My running has gotten a little faster. I run a mile in just over 8 minutes. A mile and a half is still hanging around 13.5 minutes but I'm working on that. My set-ups are holding steddy at 50 in a minute, and my push up have incressed to 25 in a minute. Rather inpressed with that last stat. I've gone from maybe doing 10 to 25. although Its been a long road. Its still a long road to 45, but I have hope. I have to keep at this crap, and I'm not really getting anywhere by sitting on my coatch typing on the computer...

Untill Next time...

Enlistment Day

So today was the big day. I took an oath saying that I will do what ever Obama tells me to. I'm not too into the political mess, but I did pledge my allegiance to the man. I did score an awesome Airforce Reserve sticker! The best part of the day was the fact that I didn't have to go into work until noon, from which I promptly left. I know this is a rather sort blog, but I just can't think of much else to say.

Oh, check out the new blog. http://undeadlovestory.blogspot.com/

Laters

So I Have Been Busy

Ok not really...

Just life in general and the occasional ailment have kept me away for blogging for the last month. I'm sure there were so many disappointed by the lack of my post. I'm sorry for bot informing you on what's been going on in my life. Hmm. I am going in to the Air Force Reserves. I know that there are many opinions on the military, and I believe that I've heard them all in the last few weeks, but the benefits are substantial and I don't mind serving my Country and protecting our freedoms. The pay isn't bad either. Not to mention that I get paid to go to school, score. The only down side is that I have to get in shape. Run a mile in 12 minutes, do 50 set-ups in a minute, and 40 push-ups in a minute. That doesn't sound like much, but try to do it. It isn't a piece of cake. I have been running regularly but this last week i've been sick. I've been coughing up stuff and congested. This is not conducive for running.

So there is another adventure the team Harris is going on. We are writing a story. I'm super excited about working on it. We are planning on blogging the story as we write it. We encourage criticism and comments. We'll be starting a new blog just to host it. The story includes zombies, and love. Kind of a boy meets girl kind of thing. As soon as we get it up and going we will post links on each of our blogs.

Laters.

Pay Day

Usually this is a good day but today was no so joyous. I've been told not to work any overtime. This coming after a time of 6-day weeks and 9-hour days. There is a big difference in my checks then and my checks now. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

I plan to make some pretty major change in the near future. I don't really know what all may change, but I'll keep you abreast of what happens. Now there are just plans, plans that are to prone to change to commit to posting.

Maybe its just the weather, but its kind of a down day. There's not a whole lot to get excited about. I even plan to hang out with one of my good friend later on. This is something I haven't done in a while and I was pretty excited about doing that, but its cold and raining and that pretty much sucks the fun out of everything.

Tuning and Intonation

Chapter 2 of "The Guitar Cookbook" is about, of corse, tuning and intonation. The principals covered in this chapter are no mystery, but I would like to stress a couple of points it made. First, the last direction made while tuning a string should always be a tightening motion, not loosening. This will help the string stay in tune longer. Second, and this one was new on me. When intonating a guitar, one matches the pitch of the open string to the 12th harmonic of the same string. I've personally have been matching the open string to the 12th fretted note of the some string. So for the last 10+ years that I've known how to intimated a guitar, I've been doing to incorrectly. I now have a project before me. I will intonate the 4 guitar that I have with adjustable bridges.

On another note, I've been trying to increase my upper body strength. So far my workout consist of 50 sit-ups and 10(ish) push ups. I timed my self doing the sit-ups this morning, 1:48. Not bad if I do say so myself. I lost some steam there at the end. Bet I can that down to a minute thirty if I keep at it. I also have to find a way to do pull-up in an apartment. Jen and I don't want to install a permeant pull-up bar anywhere. To be continued I guess. I'll let you know how all that is going later.

I don't know if this is bad or not, but I want another guitar. I love all of my instruments, but the qualities that make them great also set them apart from other instruments. Then I recognize the qualities in the other instruments and I wants those. No one instrument can contain the whole spectrum and now it has come to me wanting another. Sorry Jen. I know that I've exhausted my budget for musical thing for the next several months, but I have some gear that I can not use at the moment or in the near future and this wishful acquisition is for immediate use. Plus, I know this hard to believe, but I've been want this (or at lease a model very close to it) for a very long time. I sold a guitar to an young musician that needed a quility instrument, and I've been pining for something with similar features. That was a Seagull guitar and this is a Seagull guitar with a great pickup system. An acoustic guitar with L.R. Baggs Ribbon and Mic. You can use a mounted mic in your guitar and blend it with a traditional ribbon style acoustic pick-up. Thats awesome. Better yet, the guitar sounds like a dream unplugged. I want it bad, but I can't have everything. I'll have to do some soul-searching. But I think I can make a trade for it with no money down.

Heres hoping.

The Washer

Yes. The Washer.

My parent did a great thing and gave us our first set of washer and drier for the apartment. We were thrilled. We finally didn't have to go to one of our parents houses to wash our clothes. It was a very exciting day. I felt like a man because I hooked up the driers power cable. It was a little more in-depth than I would have thought. You have to put wires on terminals and whatnot. But it works and I can't be more proud. The washer on the other hand just need hoses to be attached. I did that no problem, but there was a problem. After running the washer for the first time, we noticed a strong smell. Something like burnt rubber was filling the air. Not a good sign for a brand new large appliance. So we took the washer back to the store with the aid of my father and his truck. I hooked the new, new washer up (a little less pride and achievement this go-around) and the same results happened. After some consideration. Jen and I decided to exchange the washer for a different one. My father and I did so today. We came back, the washer was installed and the problem for now is fixed. If there is any malfunction with this washer then we will consult the warranty.

My Wife blog has inspired me to do a little post of my own. I just acquired "The Guitar Cookbook" by Jesse Gress. By the way, Jesse if you are reading, Please don't sue my or anything. I promise I'll Share any revenue that the Google Ads are generating if I break a million dollar with the mention of you book. So far the Google Ads have brought in a whopping $0.00 to our household. So, Here is what I plan to do. I am first going to read "The Guitar Cookbook" Cover to cover, and then I will go to town implementing my learned knowledge in practical form, informing all the way. Today I read the first chapter. The first chapter really explains the basis of music and how it relates to the guitar. I have been playing for the past 11 years. I've played in many different scenarios and have learned a great deal the hard way. I really didn't learn anything new in this chapter, but it's always good to reinforce the basics. The better foundation you have the stronger your skills you build upon that foundation can become. So here is to much more learning and progression in the way of my musical ability with the guitar.

My Morning

This morning I fully intended on being at work at 8, although I recently had a meeting with my bosses reinforcing the fact that they do not want employees to earn overtime. oops, I've been making about 10 hour of OT a week. Silly me, I though they wanted to get work done, oh well. So Yesterday I left at 4. It felt weird, but I'm not really complaining, except for the fact that I won't be paid what I have been getting paid. ...bummer. Oh, so why am I sitting at the house not going to work at 7:48? I decided to get in at 8:15. I spoke with my GM yesterday about this. She said that it would be Ok to come in later, but I like coming in before the store opens. I can get more done that way. But today I will get the at around 8:15 and leave at 4:15. 8 hours a day from now on. It just doesn't seem like a full day's work if I'm not complete sick of the place at the end of the day. Oh well, maybe this will be a positive experience.

Day Off

I know most people would be excited to have a day off during the week, but I am kinda forced to take a day off now. I actually enjoyed making the overtime, but it probably for the best that I only spend 4o hours of my week there. Honestly, I think that place can drive a person mad. In my opinion, it already has. (not me of course)

What am I doing on this glorious day with no work related obligations? Well, So far I've woke up, showered, drank a cup of coffee, (jen if you are reading this, we need to get better coffee... the target stuff is not cutting it) and spent a good deal of time looking up scales and various other techniques for the guitar. I think that is what I'm going to focus on during my days off. I'm going to better myself at the guitar, my instrument of choice. I guess since I own 6 (six) guitars (and three basses) I should invest time into bettering my skills. I know that six guitars sounds like a lot, but each one has characteristics that make it unique. I have a tele with thin-line humbuckers, another tele with p-90s, another tele with humbuckers, an SG with humbuckers, a guild jumbo acoustic, and a washburn acoustic. I still pine for gear and whatnot but I try to keep the toll of my interest to a minimum. When your money goes for "my money" to "our money" you have to check yourself. I'd have no problem buy a pedal for a hundred or two hundred dollar, if it were really the one that I could not live without, but jen would not see the value in that. I admit there are just as many cases that I don't see how you can spend what she would on her crafty things or other nic-nacs that fills her heart with flutters.

In order to constructively spend my time on my off days, I will devote at least one hour to learning a new skill on the guitar. Although I have no material and most of the material online is on a purchase basis, or poorly written in a wiki format. Perhaps I will keep an eye out for a book to advance my skill. I have been playing for 11 years and maybe my learning curve has plato-ed. Hopefully I can teach this old guitar-dog some new tricks.

My Wifey

I know that I've Told you a little bit about my wife, but you can here it from the source. She has her own blog at blogger, http://jencreary.blogspot.com/ . Check it out, or not, your choice. But you should check it out. Just saying...

Ha?

Today has been good. I don't really know why today was good. I didn't take a shower or really get ready much, but sometimes thats how I like to start my day. Work was a blur. I was very busy all day. I never would guess that I would be busy for a solid nine and a half hours. No joke, I don't really stop the entire time I'm there. What all do I do? Well, I manage a website, but what does that boil down to? I take pictures, Lots of pictures. Our product doesn't always have pictures so I have to make the pictures. At the beginning of my work at Davis' Men's Store, I took pictures of clothes laying on a large piece of foam-board. (for a background) Now I dress mannequins with pins in a type of studio that I've constructed out of a dressing room that we use as a storage closet. We still use it as a storage closet but now it just has a photography light and some foam board. I've taken a photography class and a photoshop class. After a year of doing both I've gotten pretty good. (and pretty darn fast) It's like pulling teeth sometimes, because I have these big and tall clothes that have to fit of the awkward body forms. Taking the pictures, then editing, then posting, then describing, is very involved and I've pretty much gone pro. Still Learning, but I come a long way from a year ago and I can wait to see what the next year will bring. Maybe I'll go into buisness for myself and start taking picture of big and tall clothing free agent... or maybe not...

Who Dat!

The Super Bowl is coming up and being down here in LA its important to show some support for the local team. Actually, I've been a fan of the black & gold for as long as I've been here in Louisiana (12 years). It feels good to finally be going to the Super Bowl. I know there have been some waiting a much longer time. It almost feels like winning the Super Bowl just getting this far. Farther than we've ever been. Like back when we took the NFC for the first time. One step at a time, and now its time to take the SB!

So let me let you know what's up. I work for a small company that owns a local store and websites. I manage these websites. I've been at this job for a little over a year now. We hit peaks just before Spring and Fall, when the new styles roll out. My job includes getting pictures for our products, assigning to the correct places in our online store, and writing descriptions among lots of other things (thats right, I have to write and type in my job). So this season they implemented a new strategy. They basically divided my job in half between me and another worker. That's not terrible except that it is. Product that I could normally add in a day now takes several days. Not good when profit is more likely when you have the product sooner than your competitors. Oh well, hopefully they will realize this is a bad idea and also note that I didn't like it, thus reflecting well on me.

Yeah, so I got a little stressed over the new situation at work, but as long as I do my job then it all be fine. In fact I get to focus on the part of my job that enjoy the most. I now want a deep-fried-twinky. Thats about it for now...

-laters

Woops... Its Been a while

So its been a couple of days since I've been on here. Why? you ask, well, I've been busy getting my life is order after the honeymoon. Work has also kept me busy. Although I've been enjoying the almost daily escapes for work to run to the DMV or band to set up joint accounts or getting the information changed on our drivers licenses.

Let me catch you up to speed. I ended up buying the SG in the music store in Springfield. Yes, Its nice. We are still driving my mother-in-law's (thats still a funny word to use) car around. Work still drags me out of bed way to early in the morning. and I still love the fact that me and Jen are married. Thats about all thats going on right now. We are just adapting to married life and all the treasures and terrors that may include.

Super Stoked about the Saints in the Super Bowl this weekend. Hope the Saints Win! WHO DAT!

Snowed In...

So we were in our room at the Walnut Inn and we know that the snow is coming. The morning will bring several inches of snow. So, we decide that we won't wait for the snow to get out of town. We will get out of dodge before the snow comes. Well, just before we left the inn keeper tells us that the weather is coming out of the south. (the direction that we are going) Honestly? Snow coming out of the south? We decide that if we leave early enough then we will beat the weather and it will just rain by the time we meet up with it. Um.. thats not really what happened. About an hour and a half into the trip we hit snow. We press on as long as we can, but when we see a motel we decide it's better to stay the night and see what happens in the morning. So thats where we are. Hanging out in a motel room with snow falling around us in Harrison Arkansas. Thank God for wireless internet access. If the roads are at all passable then we will be home tomorrow. If not, then I guess we'll see what all that Harrison has to offer. Woot.

What many wonders Springfield has to offer.

Springfield is a wondrous land with many sights and sounds to behold.

The day began with a breakfast at the Walnut Street Inn again. The food they serve here is nothing less than grummet. I knew that we were getting fed, but I had no idea that we were getting this kind of tasty treats. We had Ham and Cheese Crepes, Banana Muffins, and Fruit. Everything was perfect to a "T". The breakfast this morning was rivaled only by the breakfast from the morning before (some type of fruit infused french toast made with english muffins). We are both extremely excited to see what the morning has instore for us tomorrow.

I visited the last of the known music stores in the city of Springfield. One called Hoover Music. Despite the name, it did not suck. I actually came very close to making a purchase. I saw a Gretch guitar that was calling my name. It was unique and red so naturally I was drawn to it. But there was one that peaked my interest a little more. Surprise of surprises it was not a Fender or anything of the like, but a Epiphone SG. I know right, I, the critic of all things Epiphone and most of all the SG line (literally a slab of wood with a baseball bat split down the middle for a neck). It was set up just to my liking. I was impressed as much as I was surprised by my liking. The next thing that caught my attention at this shop was something that I've fiddled with before but never really seriously looked at. A Fender Supersonic amp. I have to say that the features and sounds that come with this amp are impressive. Gretch was a little too simple for the price, the Epi was a fluke, and the Fender was a little more than I was willing to commit at the time, so I walked out of another music store empty handed. That is probably for the better.

Next on the list of things to do was to visit Red Velvet Art. Its a little store started by this crafty girl with a lot of ambition. Jen has been a fan of her art and blog for sometime, so we used this little trip to meet the lady behind the blog. She was as portrayed in her blog; very bubbly and a huge fan of, "That sooo cute". I think I heard that fifteen times while we were looking in her little shop. Her little shop contained some very neat little things. We picked up a few vinyl stickers (probably my favorite thing) and when we asked about a print that we had been interested in she looked for but couldn't find it. She had a sample hanging on the wall so she took it down and gave it to us free of charge. So Elsie, if you are reading (fat chance) thank you very much, this was the highlight of my day. You made Jennifer extremely happy.

Honeymoon Day 1

So I didn't intend to blog from my honeymoon suite in the historic Walnut Street Inn, but I find some free time in the moments that Jen is getting ready to go out. We have big plans for the day. Mall, Music Stores, Red Velvet Art Studio are all on the agenda. The first night we spent we did something undeniably Jennifer; we went to Target. We continue our shopping today with the mall. An obvious choice but its first to get it out of the way. Are main attraction is the local shops and fun eateries that Springfield has to offer. Man, this is sounding like a review that you find in a visitor's guide.

On our way up to Springfield, we passed Branson. It's somewhat like a baby Shreveport. They have large billboards advertising no-name acts and impersonators. Reminds me of the good-ol-days back in 2001. The worst part of the trip has been the navigation of the new surroundings. It took an hour to find the Inn. But we are learning the lay of the land quickly. Maps in hand we about to set out to concur Springfield. It won't know what hit it.

January Wedding

...and in January, we're getting married.

So, I'm married. You wanna know something? The Wedding was really fun. I enjoyed the service. I didn't think that I wouldn't like it, but I've heard that the groom just waits the whole thing to be over with so that he can run back home with his bride... and count all the gift cards...

I picked the right groomsmen. I was actually kind of surprised that they got along as well as they did. Only 2 of the groomsmen knew the other, but it seemed like the guys that didn't know each other got along the best. I guess I just have crazy-dorky friends, which probably makes me a crazy-dork as well. I'm fine with that.

The service was beautiful. The songs were perfect. The vows, written by our pastor, were great. I almost cried. She almost cried. It was, without a doubt, the greatest wedding ever.

Quick side note: as my best man took the ring out of his pocket, a dollar fell out of his pocket. Not knowing how to handle the situation he quickly step on the dollar to keep it from being seen. It was too late and the happening caused the entire attendance to chuckle. Classic Trent.

Dead is the old single man and alive is a union that will last forever.

Six (6)

So this is it. The week of the wedding has came at last. Pretty excited to say the least. I catch myself thinking a lot more about the wedding and everything around it. I thought about when we first met. It was at the BCM here. I met the guy that led the worship there on a mission trip, he asked me to play and I did. Shortly there after the BCM was taking a mission trip. I went. I remember thinking that I hope the cute girl was going. She didn't. It was Jen.

Jen really is the greatest match for me. I look around and a lot of our friends are getting married. There is two ways to look at it I guess. I can either think, "man they are getting screwed." because they didn't get Jen. (go me) Or the way which is probably better, "They are a match like me and Jen are a match." And I hope they are. But its hard to imagine other people as perfect as me and Jen are for one another. Don't get me wrong. We don't agree on everything, like, how many times to use a towel before washing it, or what size television we should have. But you can't escape things like that i guess.

Am I excite? Yes, if I wasn't, then there would be something wrong with me.

Away We Go, Weezer, Step by Step or Tastes, Pink Triangles, Pickles

So, the tittle of this blog and a little random and it is, but there is kind of a relevance to what this blog pertains. Today is Wednesday and that being what it is, me and Jen go to a bible study, or as we refer to it, our Lifegroup. Lifegroup is always interesting to say the least. Just the people that attend are a great collection of people that attend our little church. So, as always, after the study we stood around and talked with one another. I spoke with one of the other members. He is always ready with advice and words of encouragement. Except tonight he pretty much blew my mind.

Its no secret that I'm getting married in little more than a week, and I get advice about as much as I am asked "are you excited." Tonight was no different with this particular friend, he was ready with a word. Some of the details escape me at the moment, but was I really take away from our conversation was this little tidbit. He told me that, when married, the man is pregnant with his wife. I didn't stutter. "A man is Pregnant with his wife." These were his exact words. His point made a little more since, but still the concept is a little hard to imagine. He spoke about the love and support that a husband gives to his wife.

So yeah, a man is pregnant with his wife... that's definitely not what I expected to hear tonight... or ever.

Hello, Only Sorce Of Entertainment.

So I dont spend much time in my apartment by my self. Really I just get ready in the morning and when I come home jen is here for the most part. When she leaves I go to sleep so really I have little time to do much by myself. I not complaining. I love spending time with jen and people in general. I also enjoy my job. My point is that I don't know what to do with myself in my apartment all alone. As you can see, I blog. I feel a slight animosity towards computers just because I have to work with them at my place of employment. constantly being on a computer at work makes one not want to jump on a computer first thing when they get home, or on their day off for that matter. But here I am. Sometimes I feel like I should get paid for doing this.

The weather has been uncharacteristically cold here. (as it has been for the rest of the country) It hasn't been above freezing in three day here. It actually hase been a little nice. I mean, it's cold as junk, but the air is so crisp, and the skies are blue without a cloud. It really feels like winter. Maybe its the nodak (person from north dakota) coming out in me.

We have less than two week twill the wedding now. I'm excited. I ready to be married. I don't think it will be much different than it is now. There will be lots more of jen's things in the apartment, and she will start spending the night and getting ready here, and that's about it for the changes. We already spend the mass majority of our time with one another. I don't think there will be the weird getting used to the other persons idiosyncrasies. Super excited about the honeymoon. Getting away for a week would be great and spending that week with jen exploying a new city sounds like a perfect way to start our marriage.

The Big Day?

Today I blog to you ("you" most likely meaning jennifer) from a new location. A location that I have never before blogged from, a suit. Although this may not be a actually location, the fact remains that I am still dressed in better than my "Sunday Best". Why am I so dressed up on a Saturday? (do I even have to say?) A wedding of course. What else of significance happens on a Saturday that calls for a suit (other than a funeral.) Who is getting married. Not I, not yet, we still have three week. (exactly three weeks, rather excited about that) It is none other than my very own sister. She is tying the knot three weeks prier to myself. But I won't really get into that.

This morning, before donning my suit. I started assembling a desk for a 2nd room. We have a desk but in order to separate the computer/music/record things and the things of a crafty nature, an addition of a second desk is needed. The construction is scheduled to end sometime is early 2012. Nothing much else to report. I look amazing in my new suit. (thanks Jen) We bought over a hundred dollars in groceries. (Thanks for the WM giftcards)

Oh, just remembered, If you ever have the thought cross your mind that you may want to see the movie "the last kiss", do yourself a favor and don't. Go watch "the village" or "lady in the water" but whatever you do, don't see "the last kiss" Its pretty much about people screwing their already messed of lives with amazing acts of stupidity. (I just made it sound way more exciting than it actually is)

New Years

Happy 2010. I don't really get into new years traditions. I think its the way that black-eyed-pea and collared green farmers try to sell more peas and greens. I do however like the new year resolutions. I've come to find that they are less resolutions but more like things that you try to do for a while. I have a couple things that I'd like to do more of in 2010.

1)Read more bible.

I'd love to really get into and start learning more of what it says on a personal level.

2)Work out.

I don't really care if its at the house or in a gym, but I'd just like to be more active and physical.

3)Eat out less and learn how to cook more things.

I enjoy cooking and I alway feel better about eating what I make and not getting something fried. Although I don't doubt that canes and chic-fil-a will still be present in my diet. Hopefully on a much less frequent basis though.

Speaking of eating out. I've placed a ban on all fast food for the next two weeks. I've bought a desk for the apartment, but in order to afford it I have to tighten down on all extra spending. I hope that I'll stick to it. Food is kinda my weakness. I do it almost everyday. I wouldn't mind working it out of my diet completely. I am a firm believer that you can taste the love with which the food is made. It doesn't taste the same when its not made with love.