They have squirrel proof feeders, but really I don't mind feeding the squirrels too.

Fridays are turning out to be long days. Thankfully my mom said she would watch Lucy today, so I got up early to take Lucy over. She is always so excited to see Molly. I stopped at the bank on the way to work. I've been seeing alot of Wells Fargo info inside Wachovia lately, which has made me wonder if they will change the name eventually.

Work today consisted of alot of cleaning up. There was a bunch of lighting paraphernalia I had to put away and some things I had to clean up on the stage. I also finished writing the light cues. Lighting is just not as exciting as sound to me, but I think I'm going to try to start working on it throughout the week instead of just on Fridays.

On my lunch break I bought some drum accessories with some of my birthday money from musiciansfriend.com. I needed a new cymbal stand and I also bought some other small items like cymbal felts, sleeves, and some moon gels. I actually wasn't planning on getting the moon gels, but when I was originally ready to check out the top of the page said, "You only need to spend $0.83 more to get free shipping." It was a pain trying to figure out what 2-3$ item I could buy that would be useful, but settled on the moon gels, since my old ones are losing stickiness. I was thinking though...why couldn't they just charge me $0.83 for shipping? That makes a ton of sense to me...maybe I should write them and give them the idea.

After lunch I finished up more odd jobs and then left for tutoring. I have been enjoying meeting with Jake the past few times. He is a pretty bright kid and I think talking through the biology stuff has helped him understand it a good bit better. I am also amazed at how much biology info I still have floating around in my head...I guess all those ridiculous classes are doing me some good after all.

I stopped at the Tractor Supply store in Mauldin on my way home to get some bird seed. Kristi and I bought our first bird feeder yesterday at Lowes, and I am so excited about it. My mom told me I should just put black oil sunflower seeds in it and then also get a little finch feeder to put thistle in. So, I bought the thistle and sunflower seeds at the Tractor Supply place and then stopped at Lowes to get the finch feeder on my way home. Every time I run and take Lucy for walks I see tons of birds in the woods on our streets and I think, "these birds should be in our back yard eating out of a bird feeder." That and I think Oliver will really enjoy watching them from the back door. He already likes looking out the window, I can only imagine how much fun the birds will be for him. I am going to hang the bird feeders tomorrow and will be sure to post pictures.

I got home and then Kristi and I left right away to meet with a couple form Northhills. We are going through a series by Mark Driscoll on the Song of Solomon with them, and it has been a good time for Kristi and I. Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle.

Kristi and I stopped by my parents' house to get Lucy on the way home, and then got straight into bed from there. I am feeling pretty tired right now, but I hope I feel better tomorrow morning. I was planning on trying to bump up to 6.5 miles, but we'll see how that goes. I'm going to have some good pictures to post tomorrow too, so be sure to tune back in!

"Life is not what I thought it was, 24 hours ago"...

Well, I'm back. It's been quite a break, I know. You would think that there would be mass chaos when I stop writing about my life...but I guess not.

I usually stop blogging when I'm busy or feeling a little down, both of which have been true lately. Adding tutoring to my schedule, while it is only two days a week, has made me feel that much more like I am always doing something. That translates into feeling tired when I'm at home, which translates into going to bed early and not blogging. I haven't even been watching "The Daily Show" lately. Sometimes I make it through the first 5 minutes before my eyes start refusing to stay open.

I've felt a little down lately too. The period of my life I'm currently in just feels weird. I'm constantly confronted by the fact that I'm not really doing what I imagined myself doing, although at the same time I'm not exactly sure what I thought I would be doing. God is also showing me more and more that I am not at all the person He wants me to be. This seems like an obvious fact, but I think that in my mind I always have this hunch that deep down I'm not too bad of a guy. I think the new frustrations and responsibilities in my life have brought out the ugliest in me, and I don't like seeing it and dealing with it.

I realize this is a little abnormal for my blog, but since I know only a handful read it I'd go ahead and write down some of my thoughts. It's apparently pretty unanimous that I am better at expressing myself through written word anyways, plus I think writing things down in an organized manner helps me work through what I'm thinking and feeling. I remain encouraged by the fact that I know God is faithful and not only has me right where He wants me, but that He has promised to continue growing me to be more like Him.

So today was my birthday, in case you didn't know. I currently am listening to "Twenty Four," as I feel it is a very appropriate way to end my day today. I asked my parents for the Jesus Culture CD/DVD which I was very excited to receive. I watched most of the DVD after I got in bed tonight, and I can already tell it is going to be one of the most incredible CD's ever. How are these songs not all over the place? Anyways, there is this one song called "You Won't Relent" that really had an impact on me. I am still deciding how I feel about some of the words, but the song really affected me so I thought I'd leave you with the words to the bridge/chorus...here you go:

"I don't want to talk about You, like You're not in the room
I want to look right at You, I want to sing right to You

You won't relent until You have it all

My heart is Yours"

You'd think after 20 pages of stock photos there'd be a good one...

So I've been waking up earlier and earlier, which I think is good. I got up at 8:30 again today, although like usual I spent some time watching Sportscenter. Since it was an off day for running I got ready right away and took Lucy for a walk. The weather was amazing again today, but it reminded me how much it is going to really stink not having AC in my car this summer. I'll have to keep deodorant in my car or something. Just don't get too close to me on particularly hot days.

After the walk I spent some time working on some stuff for my sister's wedding. I am supposed to design a palm tree deal for a koozie as a gift for the guests, but all the stock photos of palm trees I found I didn't like...which was tons. I talked to Joe about it later, and he said if I draw one we can scan it, trace it in photoshop, and then convert it to a vector image in illustrator. I am pretty excited about that. I also made a monogram type deal of her and her fiance's initials. I think they are doing a big cupcake tree instead of cake, and the monogram will go on the cupcakes. That didn't take long, although I have to check and see if they like it.

I played drums for a little while after that. I have switched to just playing one crash for now and utilizing my ride more as a crash when I have to. I think using less stuff forces me to be more creative and incorporate hi-hat stuff more.

I made lunch next...have I mentioned I'm tired of eggwiches? After that it was time to leave for work, so I got the pets settled and took off. Work today was pretty tiring. I ended up getting some 2" black PVC pipe and running video cables through one and power cables through another in the control room. We've had issues with ground loops and interference and Joe thought this might help, which it did end up helping some I think. I had to drill some holes along the pipes as entry points and then run tons of cables and re-wire everything. I'm not sure why it wore me out, I think just all the thinking and crouching down on the desk in there. It looks pretty good, and I think Joe is going to put some pictures up on his blog, so go over there and check it out.

That took me most of the day, so after that I just ate dinner and then helped Dan with stage setup when he showed up. We didn't change much around this week so it only took a little bit, and most of that was cleaning up the closet. I love not having to move all those huge platforms, they are so incredibly heavy. Sometimes on weeks where I have to move most of them on or off the stage by myself my arms and back are sore the next day...sad I know.

I got home a little earlier than usual and was able to watch part of American Idol, which I always enjoy. Kristi had went to visit her grandmother so she didn't get home to a little later. Tuesday night just ends up being a big TV night because American Idol, Fringe, The Office reruns, and The Daily Show are all on back to back. Fringe really is such a good show. I was a little upset that I couldn't find the Clemson game anywhere on TV, but I'm following the score online and it looks like we're going to win, which should make us 20-3 I think. Amazing.

Tomorrow is my last relatively non-busy Wednesday for a while. Mrs. Ringger asked me if I was interested in tutoring someone in Biology a few weeks ago, and the details finally came together. I start on Friday and will be tutoring every Wednesday from 11-12:30 and Friday from 3-4:30. I feel bad for Lucy, I may have to take her over to play with Molly sometimes again. I guess that means I'll have to get up earlier to run also...bummer. Of course I could always move my run to Thursdays....hmmm....

Never before has Miyabi's had competition for the birthday dinner...but this year the decision will be tough!

What beautiful weather today! I woke up a little after 8, and after watching Sportscenter and facebooking went for a run. It keeps getting easier, but legs still feel really tired and tight alot of the time. My lungs are good, and I think it has to be all the huge hills. I know I repeat this alot, but it is just bugging me. Usually this far into running my legs would feel pretty good...but maybe it really has just been that long.

I took Lucy for a walk right after I got back and then took a shower and got ready. After that I debated whether I should eat hot dogs or an eggwich for lunch, but the eggwich ended up winning out. Does anyone have other good ideas for things I can make quickly at home? I am getting tired of them since I eat at home most days now. Other things I am tired of include pizza and frozen pot pies.

After lunch I spent some time working on the mastering of the song I recorded. I really don't know anything about mastering as it isn't something we covered in school too much, and pros are pretty nebulous about it on forums, so what I do is just trial and error. Today I used a multi-band compressor into an EQ into a limiter. I use a spectrum analyzer too which helps me see if I have any out of control frequencies. Here's a screenshot of my mastering setup, in which you can see all the different components I was talking about at work:

Another interesting note about this mix is that other than the multi-band in the mastering setup, I didn't use any compression on anything in the mix...only limiting. I read this interesting thread on http://www.gearslutz.com/ by a producer (sketchy name, but some of the biggest names hang out and post there) where he talked about seeing compression as changing the envelope and limiting as not changing the sound and just evening the waveform out. While that idea has some holes, because limiting is definitely changing the feel and sound, it also really makes sense, and ever since then I have used alot more limiting and alot less compression. You can listen to the newer version of the song here. It's alot better, so you really should.

Anyways, I had some extra time before class when I was done with that so I played drums for a while with Hillsong stuff. It has been awhile since I played along with some of the songs, and the fact that they were so much easier makes me think I must be getting better.

Around 1:40 I left for class. I had a really hard time paying attention today, and so I ended up drawing most of the time. I always wonder if my teachers think I am taking very detailed notes or if they can tell I'm doodling. I think I would go crazy if I couldn't doodle during class...that's probably why I never sit in the front.

After class I decided to run a few errands, and called Kristi to check in. She reminded me that she had a school function and wouldn't be home for dinner, which left me wondering what I should eat. I thought about just picking up Zaxby's, but since I had to stop at Petsmart at Greenridge anyways, I decided to call Joe and see if he wanted to eat at Oriental House. Sure enough he and Tim didn't have any plans, so we met around 5:30. I love Oriental House...pretty much everyone I have introduced it too loves it also, so if you haven't been you are missing out.

After that I came home, played with the pets, talked with Kristi, and then it was time for bed. I did eat my last piece of cheesecake tonight, which was a little sad. I think I am making in another in a few weeks for community group though, so hopefully there will be some extra.

That's it for today. Tomorrow should be pretty uneventful. Let's hope the weather is as nice as it was today!

I wonder if there is limit on how long you can sit there and get free refills on fries?

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days...it was just one of those busy weeks. To make up for it, I'm going to make this post extra awesome...do you know how? That's right, I'm going to post a link to a little song I recorded over the weekend. Here it is. It's a pretty raw mix, with no automation or anything, but I think it sounds good.

I'm pretty proud of it, especially the bass lines and the overall sound for what I work with. One thing I did which was cool was sample my toms and add them later. Since I only have 2 inputs, I used an SM57 on the snare and an LDC out in front of the kick to get the kick plus some cymbals. This meant that while I used the toms sparingly, when I did you couldn't hear them at all. So, after I was done I sampled a tom hit on each with the 57 and then pasted them in new tracks where the toms should have been. It turned out sounding pretty OK, actually better than I thought.

Unfortunately I am not a great lyricist, so I don't have any words yet. The other day I was playing that cool little riff on my newly tuned piano, and decided rather than laboring over words that probably wouldn't turn out that well, I would just record it instrumental and try to be extra creative with the parts. Anyone want to write some lyrics and melody for me?

So that is what I spent much of my free time doing this weekend. Saturday was very relaxing as I was able to run and then work on that most of the afternoon. I saw Trenton Stokes walking down the road in Heritage Park while I was running, which was fun but very random. Apparently one of his kids had baseball tryouts or something. I just know that as this guy and his son kept getting closer I kept thinking, "that looks alot like Stokes."

Today proved to be an interesting one. This morning's service was probably the most diverse service I have ever been in. Starting out for the prelude the band did a medley of classic love songs. My favorite was definitely Matt's Aaron Neville imitation, which was hilarious. Then, Joe had produced a video with the pastors sharing some things they liked about their wives for video announcements. Some of the things were serious, some of them were funny. Instead of the usual band stuff after announcements, today Matt played did the doxology and "Holy is the Lord" with just him and the piano. I really enjoyed it, and it was also interesting to hear how he changed chords up from service to service since he didn't have to stick to a chart. I know my favorite thing about leading acoustic is being able to do whatever I want on the guitar.

After the songs we had a guest artist play 2 songs. His name was Rodrigo Rodriguez, and he is an extremely accomplished classical guitarist. Apparently his world travels brought him through Greenville, SC and he and his wife liked it so much that they decided to live here. He likes to play in churches as a way to worship with his musical gift, and somehow ended up coming to do a few songs at Southside. Normally things don't make me nervous when it comes to sound, but I did feel a little anxious about working with him knowing that he has probably worked with many people who have much more refined skills than I do. I thought it ended up sounding great though, and he was an amazing guitarist.

So then Brian taught, and after that the band came up along with 11 singers, and closed out with 2 worship songs and then a gospel feel special for the closer. Just a really diverse Sunday. Something about hit love songs, to stripped down acoustic piano, to classical guitar, to a couple regular band songs, to a gospel special seems crazy. I loved it though. The diversity in the music at Southside is one of my favorite things about the music, and today was definitely that at its finest.

We ate at Red Robin after church, came home for a little bit, and then went to community group. We've been on a break for a little bit, so it was good to see everyone again. Some of the conversation was very interesting also. Jay talked about his friend who keeps asking him, "Why can't I heal someone. Jesus says that with faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains, so why can't I heal someone who is sick? Do I really not have that much faith?" It was a really hard question for any of us to answer, and is a question I think I might ask a few wiser people about.

I had some cheesecake when we got home, we watched some TV, and then got into bed. I did finish working on a lab for class so that I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow morning. That leaves me open to run, eat a nice brunch, and then get some other things accomplished. I wonder if I'll see someone I know in Heritage Park again?

Let's just hope nothing gets stuck...

So Lucy likes to eat pretty much anything. Last night this meant a cloth toy and the stuffing inside. Lucy also has a sensitive stomach, and these two things were a bad combination, which made for an interesting morning. It's OK though, because I had to get up early to study anyways.

I took my online sociology test last night and it was easier than I even imagined. Looks like all I'll need to do is write down the page numbers of everything on the review sheet the day before the test, skim the chapters, and then take the test. This is my kind of class for sure.

Today I got up a little after 7 and started studying for Physiology. I usually make notecards for my bio classes, but since this teacher reviews constantly, I figured I would just read the chapters again and make a list of important terms and facts. I tried to finish the first chapter last night, but I was too tired, so I had 2 1/2 chapters to do today.

I took Lucy over to my parents' house at 9:30. Sam Smith was coming to tune the piano, and I assumed it would be hard to tune a piano with a dog crying and/or growling constantly. I told mom to keep an eye on her since she had been pretty sick and came back to the house just in time for Sam to arrive. It took him about an hour and a half to tune it, and I just studied the whole time. I think the piano was so flat that he couldn't raise it all the way up to A=440 for fear of breaking strings, but at least it is in tune with itself now. It was pretty awful before.

After he left I made a quick lunch, studied some more, and then left for class. I left a little early because Oliver kept wanting to play. I guess he gets bored when Lucy isn't around to mess with. I studied in my car for a little bit when I got to Tech and then went in.

Note to myself - when you are taking a test and have to stick around for lecture, and you happen to be a very fast test taker, bring something to do after your done. Unfortunately I didn't do that today, and after I finished my test I had to sit in my chair doing nothing for at least 45 minutes. Oh the things I could have accomplished during that time. I thought that I had over prepared for the test, but found out later I got a 93, which seems about right. I think this next section is going to be more difficult though.

After class I stopped by Best Buy to see if they had the new "A Day To Remember" CD. They didn't, but that was OK because I had made arrangements to meet Joe at Oriental House right next door, so the trip wasn't wasted. See when I make plans to eat with someone, I don't cancel and then go somewhere else without inviting them...Joe...

Dinner was delicious as always, and afterwards we went back to the church for rehearsal. They had vocal callbacks tonight, which meant no team meeting, which meant lots of sitting around before rehearsal. I have been practicing drawing a good cartoon dog during class (it's just what I do during class), and so I drew my latest version on the board in the office. Joe took a picture later and I am hoping he posts it on his blog, because it is a pretty good drawing.

Rehearsal went really well tonight. Things sounded very good with very little work. They even have 10 singers with individual mics, but it really didn't take much to have them sounding great. I think I do so much mixing with orchestra and other random instruments that any week not involving tons of condensers on stage seems easy.

I left work around 9 so that I could catch the second half of the Duke vs. Clemson game. I figured we match up better against them than we do Wake or UNC, so I figured we had a shot, but I don't think anyone was prepared for the outcome. We demolished them...it wasn't even a game...it looked like we were playing a high school team. I think they only scored 21 points in the first half. It feels pretty awesome to beat the #3 team in the country by more than 20 points. I only wish we would have been this good when I was there.

That was my day. I skipped running because I had so much to do, but I think I'll go ahead and make up for it tomorrow. It's going to need to either be warmer or less windy though...I don't think I could handle running in weather like today's...

I'm still waiting for Zaxby's to have "Free Wings n' Things" day...

I am finding out that I am typically very tired on Monday mornings. It surprises me because I don't work all day on Sunday like I used to, but I guess just waking up very early with a full day gets to me.

This morning I woke up at about 9, and laid in bed for a few minutes deciding how to start my day. I was going to study Sociology in bed for a little bit, but my mom called and asked if I wanted to go to lunch, so I decided I had better get moving to be able to leave on time. I got up and ran a new route through Heritage Park that I measured out on Saturday in my car. It's a little over 4 miles, and less repetitive than my old route. It was OK, but it is a rough start because the first mile is mostly a big uphill. I hate starting with long uphills, but there really isn't any way for me to go downhill first. It just makes my legs feel tight for what seems like the remainder of the run. I've never stretched before running, but maybe if I started doing that it would help. Either way I figure whenever I run an event that doesn't have such serious hills it should be a breeze. I think I am running the Reedy River Run with my dad in March, but that sounds like it could be pretty hilly.

Anyways, I got back, took a shower, and then took Lucy on a walk. It was a beautiful day today, hot enough to wear a t-shirt, but cool enough to still get goosebumps every now and then. Lucy has really been enjoying this one part of the neighborhood where there are a bunch of deer hoof prints. I think she could stand there and sniff all day if I let her. There are also signs of rabbits, but I'll let you imagine what those might be.

When I got back with Lucy I went ahead and prepared 2 steaks again. With the grilling failure last week, I wanted to try again immediately, so I decided to grill tonight. By the time I was done with that it was almost time to leave, so I gathered my things and headed out the door. Mom and I ate at Mauldin Deli. It was fairly good, but I felt like I could have made the sandwich myself at the house...it was a little plain. My soup was great though!

It was fun to talk to mom, and I stopped by my parents' house afterwards on my way to school. Physiology is hard to sit through for 3 hours and today our professor mostly reviewed. I guess it will help me on my test, but I'm the type of person who just wants the teacher to lecture and then let me leave. She also kept us a few minutes late which frustrates me. I guess I've always felt like if a teacher requires that I be there on time every class, then it only makes sense that I should be let out on time as well. I didn't have anywhere to go, so it didn't matter, but I remember that type of thing being frustrating at Clemson when I had a really tight schedule.

I came straight home after class and started on dinner. Last time I made baked potatoes, so this time I made these roasted potatoes that I put garlic, basil, pepper, parsley, salt, and olive oil on. They are delicious. It was raining outside, but I decided I would grill anyways. I used more lighter fluid this time, and then held the umbrella over the little grill while the charcoal burned. When the flame died down I went ahead and put the lid on with the vent open. I figured this might help with the heat thing. I let the charcoal burn longer this time, about 30 minutes, which seemed to help. Some of the charcoal on the outside of the pile though didn't seem to burn well. I don't know if it's the cold weather or just how it works, but I think I might try buying one of those little charcoal chimneys. Anyways, the grill was hot enough this time and the steaks were awesome. I wreak of charcoal from holding the umbrella, but I guess it's not too bad of a smell. I'm sure Lucy enjoys it at least.

After dinner Kristi and I watched AFV and I studied for Sociology some. I am still skeptical about how hard this online test is going to be, and with all the other stuff I can place importance on in my life I wouldn't really mind getting a B in this class. The only reason I'm taking it is because USCU would require it if I continued on to get my BSN after I finish my ADN at Tech, and I don't even know if I'm going to do that. Sounds like a recipe for no motivation to me.

Kristi and I got into bed after a little bit, and I am thinking about going to sleep earlier tonight. I am excited about tomorrow because Denny's is serving free Grand Slams to everyone until 2 pm! How awesome is that? I got some confirmation from Joe that he is going around lunchtime, so I am definitely in. If not I might have had to go by myself or something. I mean, I just can't pass up free eggs, right?