Sunday, August 27, 2006
Reunion
I guess it would be nice for me to work in some kind of update for this month. It's been a real whirlwind. The first of the month started off with me heading up to Knoxville for my 20-year high school reunion. I drove up on a Friday afternoon with a cooler full of water and Mt. Dew and a few packs of Chewy Spree candy. As I got closer to my destination, I recognized all sorts of things and got that "I'm almost home" feeling that I haven't had in years. I think it's been 17 years since I've been back there. It was suprisingly easy for me to find my way around and I was at my hotel in no time. I got checked in and found out that I was on a "quiet floor". They had a list of rules for this floor, no kids, no loud TV or radio, no slamming doors, quiet in the hallways, etc. I was in HEAVEN.
I headed down to the waterfront to meet up with a few friends for dinner. Kathy and Dave were already there and I joined them on the balcony outside. Tracy J. joined us soon after and we spent several hours just catching up. It was pretty late when we decided to call it a night so I went on ahead and retired for the evening.
The next morning I woke up early and headed out with my camera to my old neighborhood. I went by one of the places I used to live and checked it out. I made it over to one of my elementary schools to look around. Even though it was Saturday, the head custodian and the current principal were there preparing for the students to return that following week. I talked with them for a bit and they let me have free reign through the building. WOW, talk about having some old memories! Everything seemed so SMALL now. For me, it was fantastic to be walking down the hallways and peering into the classrooms of my youth. The school was in amazingly good shape for its age.
Across from the school was the building I used to meet in when I was in Cub Scouts. My dad was our scout leader. Now that I think back on it, I really appreciate my dad taking the time to work with me and the other kids. That was really cool.
I next tried to get over to my old high school, but unfortunately it's surrounded by a fence and I couldn't get in (well, I didn't try). It would have been nice to get in there and walk the halls again. Maybe for our next reunion that could be arranged. Anyway, the elementary school I attended in first through third grade is on the same plot of land. I learned that it's been converted to a carpentry school. It's in pretty bad shape though. I looked in some of the windows but really couldn't see much.
Next, I headed over to the west side of town where I used to work at a computer shop. The building complex where my office was is gone now, replaced by a strip shopping center. Oh well! I drove around some more and just looked at hom much things had changed. On my way back to the hotel, I drove through the UT campus and went by many of the buildings I went to class in. Sigh... I miss being a kid.
I got back to my hotel and cleaned up for the reunion party. One of my classmates sent her husband to come pick me and LeAnn up from the hotel. When I arrived, it was like we were all 18 again. It was fantastic to see everyone. We all had an awesome time. I don't remember us being quite so alcoholic though (LOL). We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced, we talked, we hugged... it was a fantastic time.
After all that fun, driving back home kinda sucked.
I headed down to the waterfront to meet up with a few friends for dinner. Kathy and Dave were already there and I joined them on the balcony outside. Tracy J. joined us soon after and we spent several hours just catching up. It was pretty late when we decided to call it a night so I went on ahead and retired for the evening.
The next morning I woke up early and headed out with my camera to my old neighborhood. I went by one of the places I used to live and checked it out. I made it over to one of my elementary schools to look around. Even though it was Saturday, the head custodian and the current principal were there preparing for the students to return that following week. I talked with them for a bit and they let me have free reign through the building. WOW, talk about having some old memories! Everything seemed so SMALL now. For me, it was fantastic to be walking down the hallways and peering into the classrooms of my youth. The school was in amazingly good shape for its age.
Across from the school was the building I used to meet in when I was in Cub Scouts. My dad was our scout leader. Now that I think back on it, I really appreciate my dad taking the time to work with me and the other kids. That was really cool.
I next tried to get over to my old high school, but unfortunately it's surrounded by a fence and I couldn't get in (well, I didn't try). It would have been nice to get in there and walk the halls again. Maybe for our next reunion that could be arranged. Anyway, the elementary school I attended in first through third grade is on the same plot of land. I learned that it's been converted to a carpentry school. It's in pretty bad shape though. I looked in some of the windows but really couldn't see much.
Next, I headed over to the west side of town where I used to work at a computer shop. The building complex where my office was is gone now, replaced by a strip shopping center. Oh well! I drove around some more and just looked at hom much things had changed. On my way back to the hotel, I drove through the UT campus and went by many of the buildings I went to class in. Sigh... I miss being a kid.
I got back to my hotel and cleaned up for the reunion party. One of my classmates sent her husband to come pick me and LeAnn up from the hotel. When I arrived, it was like we were all 18 again. It was fantastic to see everyone. We all had an awesome time. I don't remember us being quite so alcoholic though (LOL). We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced, we talked, we hugged... it was a fantastic time.
After all that fun, driving back home kinda sucked.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Ooo look! An update!
You would almost thing I've forgetten about my blog with my VERY infrequent updates. I think things will slow down a little for me to catch my breath in the coming weeks - after my high school class reunion this weekend...
Lately, I've been in touch with old friends I haven't seen or heard from in about 20 years! I'm really very excited to see lots of my old classmates, some that I've been friends with since elementary school. We've already exchanged emails and reminisced about our times together. It's truly amazing the sorts of things that come back to you once you start talking about it. In preparation, I've dug up my high school annuals and pictures from "back in the day". I really wish I would have been more serious in my photography back then to have a better record of all the goofiness that went on with all of us.
Oh, just a little side note that some of you might find amusing. Most of you have heard of Johnny Knoxville I'm sure. Here's my tie-in. Johnny (then P.J. Clapp), was a freshman at my high school when I was a senior. He seemed normal back then. LOL!
Anyway... guess what I still have? My orange safety patrol helmet from 4th or 5th grade. I don't have the belt and badge. I think I had to turn those in. If I have time this weekend, I'm going to get a picture made of me standing at my old "posts". I'll have the helmet with me although it no longer fits as it should. If it did fit, that would be kinda weird.
I'm really looking forward to spending time with old friends. That'll be great!
I have some more exciting news... coming sometime in February '07, I'll be an uncle! How cool is that? I'm very happy for my sister and her husband. This also means I'll get to see my parents around then too as I'm sure they'll be coming back to the states for the birth and then for mom to help her out those first few weeks. That reminds me, I probably need to get my sis the book I get for pregnant friends... the "What to expect when you're expecting" one. From what I've heard, it's THE book to have for first-time moms.
That's all the big news for now. Oh, I did pick up an early birthday present for myself a few weeks ago. A Dunnett titanium snare drum. I looked into one of these a few years ago, but the price of them was prohibitive. Through a friend, I was able to now have one of my own. If you're a Dave Matthews fan and have watched the Live in Central Park concert DVD, then you've see what this snare looks like. Other than being .5" deeper (13X7 instead of 13X6.5), it's identical. Gold hardware, translucent purple finish, black hoops... mmmmm... and a sound to match the looks. VERY "crispy"! When I got the drum, I wasn't particularly enamored with the hoops that were on it. They were more of a vintage style hoop with claws. I changed those out for some more modern style triple-flanged black chrome hoops which I like the looks of better AND am used to playing on. The thing with the claws is that the come up over the edge of the hoop. When I'm playing rim shots, I would somtimes hit a claw instead of the hoop and get a funky kind of tone out of the drum. That's not an issue any more. :-)
Switching gears - Kyle's new home is coming along nicely. I rode by there with him yesterday to check it out. I didn't get to make it all the way through because of a huge storm that came through while we were there. There's no roof yet. Not even close. They are still framing the first floor. From the looks of it, the builder is probably going to start on the second floor soon. To me, one of the nicest features of the place will be the recording studio area above the garage. There will be a control room, drum room and a room for the guitar amps. We talked a little about some of the wiring that needs to be done to make those rooms as easy to use as possible. Neat huh?
Church went well today. Jack did a good job delivering the message and me and the band held the music together - for the most part. Kevin, our lead singer and rhythm guitarist was out of town on a retreat with some of the youth of our church leaving Pam to sing, Kyle on guitar and Jack S. on bass. Jack S. normally plays guitar but can fill in on bass as needed. (Our bassist was on the same retreat as Kevin) Jack had a moment in the first service where he couldn't read the music and the more he squinted, the worse it became. We came close to a train wreck (very close) but managed to keep the train on the rails somehow. I had a bit more to do today though as "Preaching Jack" needed me to assist with some illustrations, one of which involved me playing the intro to "Wipeout".
It looks like another weekend AND month is coming to a close. It's been a good one. I was able to take a nap both yesterday and today. That's always good. It was just WAY too hot and humid to do anything outside.
Time to wind down and hit the sack in a few mins.
Lately, I've been in touch with old friends I haven't seen or heard from in about 20 years! I'm really very excited to see lots of my old classmates, some that I've been friends with since elementary school. We've already exchanged emails and reminisced about our times together. It's truly amazing the sorts of things that come back to you once you start talking about it. In preparation, I've dug up my high school annuals and pictures from "back in the day". I really wish I would have been more serious in my photography back then to have a better record of all the goofiness that went on with all of us.
Oh, just a little side note that some of you might find amusing. Most of you have heard of Johnny Knoxville I'm sure. Here's my tie-in. Johnny (then P.J. Clapp), was a freshman at my high school when I was a senior. He seemed normal back then. LOL!
Anyway... guess what I still have? My orange safety patrol helmet from 4th or 5th grade. I don't have the belt and badge. I think I had to turn those in. If I have time this weekend, I'm going to get a picture made of me standing at my old "posts". I'll have the helmet with me although it no longer fits as it should. If it did fit, that would be kinda weird.
I'm really looking forward to spending time with old friends. That'll be great!
I have some more exciting news... coming sometime in February '07, I'll be an uncle! How cool is that? I'm very happy for my sister and her husband. This also means I'll get to see my parents around then too as I'm sure they'll be coming back to the states for the birth and then for mom to help her out those first few weeks. That reminds me, I probably need to get my sis the book I get for pregnant friends... the "What to expect when you're expecting" one. From what I've heard, it's THE book to have for first-time moms.
That's all the big news for now. Oh, I did pick up an early birthday present for myself a few weeks ago. A Dunnett titanium snare drum. I looked into one of these a few years ago, but the price of them was prohibitive. Through a friend, I was able to now have one of my own. If you're a Dave Matthews fan and have watched the Live in Central Park concert DVD, then you've see what this snare looks like. Other than being .5" deeper (13X7 instead of 13X6.5), it's identical. Gold hardware, translucent purple finish, black hoops... mmmmm... and a sound to match the looks. VERY "crispy"! When I got the drum, I wasn't particularly enamored with the hoops that were on it. They were more of a vintage style hoop with claws. I changed those out for some more modern style triple-flanged black chrome hoops which I like the looks of better AND am used to playing on. The thing with the claws is that the come up over the edge of the hoop. When I'm playing rim shots, I would somtimes hit a claw instead of the hoop and get a funky kind of tone out of the drum. That's not an issue any more. :-)
Switching gears - Kyle's new home is coming along nicely. I rode by there with him yesterday to check it out. I didn't get to make it all the way through because of a huge storm that came through while we were there. There's no roof yet. Not even close. They are still framing the first floor. From the looks of it, the builder is probably going to start on the second floor soon. To me, one of the nicest features of the place will be the recording studio area above the garage. There will be a control room, drum room and a room for the guitar amps. We talked a little about some of the wiring that needs to be done to make those rooms as easy to use as possible. Neat huh?
Church went well today. Jack did a good job delivering the message and me and the band held the music together - for the most part. Kevin, our lead singer and rhythm guitarist was out of town on a retreat with some of the youth of our church leaving Pam to sing, Kyle on guitar and Jack S. on bass. Jack S. normally plays guitar but can fill in on bass as needed. (Our bassist was on the same retreat as Kevin) Jack had a moment in the first service where he couldn't read the music and the more he squinted, the worse it became. We came close to a train wreck (very close) but managed to keep the train on the rails somehow. I had a bit more to do today though as "Preaching Jack" needed me to assist with some illustrations, one of which involved me playing the intro to "Wipeout".
It looks like another weekend AND month is coming to a close. It's been a good one. I was able to take a nap both yesterday and today. That's always good. It was just WAY too hot and humid to do anything outside.
Time to wind down and hit the sack in a few mins.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Weekend fun and games.
Friday night I made it out to see Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest over in Huntsville. A local radio station had a costume contest to see who had the best looking pirate get up on. There were very few "good" ones and then just a bunch of goobers with tattered clothes on. Ultimately, a baby with a bandana doo-rag on won. Geez.
I spent Saturday morning doing stuff around the house including giving the dog a bath and giving my car a good washing and waxing. After my trip to Indy, I had quite a collection of bugs on the front bumper that I needed to get off of there. Packed up my camera after lunch and headed to the annual church picnic (the Pig Out) over on the Elk river. Had a great time eating and relaxing with good friends.
I had drum duty today at church. Besides a minor issue getting one of my drums tuned, all went well. Lot's of folks there today along with some old friends that showed up. That was nice. Tried having lunch at Red Lobster afterwards. Everything was going along nicely when a storm came along (I washed my car, rememeber?) and knocked out the power. Nice. We did get our cheese biscuits and salad though. Even though that didn't fill me up, it was better than nothing.
I had some time today to add a few more photos to my blog from my Seattle visit last month. Hope you enjoy them.
I spent Saturday morning doing stuff around the house including giving the dog a bath and giving my car a good washing and waxing. After my trip to Indy, I had quite a collection of bugs on the front bumper that I needed to get off of there. Packed up my camera after lunch and headed to the annual church picnic (the Pig Out) over on the Elk river. Had a great time eating and relaxing with good friends.
I had drum duty today at church. Besides a minor issue getting one of my drums tuned, all went well. Lot's of folks there today along with some old friends that showed up. That was nice. Tried having lunch at Red Lobster afterwards. Everything was going along nicely when a storm came along (I washed my car, rememeber?) and knocked out the power. Nice. We did get our cheese biscuits and salad though. Even though that didn't fill me up, it was better than nothing.
I had some time today to add a few more photos to my blog from my Seattle visit last month. Hope you enjoy them.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
You know what stinks?
Getting back from vacation...
I was moping around this evening feeling kinda down. After being away from work and having days filled with fun activities, returning to normal day to day stuff seems well, kinda depressing. I tried working on the new song we're playing this week at church and just wasn't getting it like I thought I would. That didn't help my mood. Sigh. I don't get bummed out very often or for very long, so this feeling should pass soon.
On a more positive note, I did get a lot done around the house on Monday and Tuesday. I got my livingroom cleaned up and no longer looking like a suitcase exploded in there. I also sorted through this huge pile of papers on my kitchen table. I can almost see the surface of it now. My drum room is straight as well after looking like the stock room of a music store after an earthquake. Speaking of drums, I rearranged my drums and went back to the conventional way of placing my rack toms directly above the kick drum instead of off to the side like I've had them for a few years. It's just a lot more ergonomic to have them arranged like this. The other way had a cool "look" to it, but I'm over that and more interested in things being easier to work with.
I'm tired. I'm going to bed.
I was moping around this evening feeling kinda down. After being away from work and having days filled with fun activities, returning to normal day to day stuff seems well, kinda depressing. I tried working on the new song we're playing this week at church and just wasn't getting it like I thought I would. That didn't help my mood. Sigh. I don't get bummed out very often or for very long, so this feeling should pass soon.
On a more positive note, I did get a lot done around the house on Monday and Tuesday. I got my livingroom cleaned up and no longer looking like a suitcase exploded in there. I also sorted through this huge pile of papers on my kitchen table. I can almost see the surface of it now. My drum room is straight as well after looking like the stock room of a music store after an earthquake. Speaking of drums, I rearranged my drums and went back to the conventional way of placing my rack toms directly above the kick drum instead of off to the side like I've had them for a few years. It's just a lot more ergonomic to have them arranged like this. The other way had a cool "look" to it, but I'm over that and more interested in things being easier to work with.
I'm tired. I'm going to bed.
