"I have many Calvin and Hobbes comics memorized" probably should have been on the list...

Just as I thought, today was quite a busy day, yet also productive. I wasn't successful at waking up before 9. I thought about getting out of bed at 8:30, but the rest of the family was all sleeping so peacefully beside me that I just couldn't do it. I ended up getting out of bed at 9:45 instead.

I was just going to take a shower to get started, but I discovered that there wasn't really any hot water. Kristi had taken a bath instead of a shower, but I guess that tub takes a good bit of hot water to fill up. Since there was no way I was going to take a cold shower, and no way I was going to start my day without one, I decided to run first. I felt really good running today...in fact I felt so good that I decided to run through Heritage Park after my first loop. We live right by the rear entrance. I wasn't sure how far I ran, but I measured later on in my car and it came to right under 4 miles. I think I may make that my normal run from now on, and then when I am up to it start doing longer runs on the weekends.

I took Lucy on a walk right away when I got back and then took a nice hot shower...hot being the important word. After that I left for Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping. Kristi had a hair appointment this morning, so I told her I didn't mind doing it by myself. The trip took a long time, partly because I had to spend a good deal of my time reading birthday cards, and partly because Wal-Mart is so freakin busy on Saturday afternoons. I did get some free food samples though, which was a nice treat.

After unloading the groceries I made an omelet for lunch and then played drums for a few minutes. I have been playing around with the tuning on my new snare, and am not sure what suits it best yet. You can hear a clip of it here, and here are some pictures I took:

Pretty sweet, huh? A really woody, thick sound...very different from my Ludwig and Yamaha.

After that I studied Sociology for a while. This test is online, and open book, so I am not sure how detailed I need to be in my review. The teacher has also been bad about explaining what the tests are like, so I really have no idea what to expect. Surely with the book in front of me I can do great though with minimal studying...right? Lucy slept with her head on my leg while I studied and Oliver slept at my feet...it was so nice.

At 4 I went ahead and started making a cheesecake for the super bowl party tomorrow. We are going to the Southside worship team party, which I am fairly excited about. When talking to Dawn about what we should bring, she mentioned dessert as an option, and I couldn't pass up making the cheesecake...it is just too impressive. Once it was done we left it in the oven to cool while we went to Moe's for dinner. I haven't been to Moe's in over a month, and I enjoyed it. The ingredients always seem so fresh, and they never feel heavy in my stomach.

We stopped by the house after Moe's to put the cheesecake in the fridge and then left to meet my parents at the theater. We went to see "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" tonight, quite a different movie than "Taken." It was even dumber than I expected, but it was pretty funny, and especially had some great one-liners. I think they should have made Paul's love interest look closer to his age...that was my only complaint.

After the movie it was just home and into bed. Before writing this post I finished up my "25 Interesting Things" note for Facebook. I had an extremely hard time thinking of 25 random things that people would find interesting about me, but I think it turned out OK. It definitely isn't nearly as interesting as Robbie Wisnewski's, but we all know he is a little insane...right Robbie? I personally thought my last point was pretty interesting to know, but you'll have to friend me on Facebook in order to read it. I just verbed a word...eat your heart out Bill Watterson. As Calvin would say, "Verbing weirds language."

Tomorrow is Sunday, and we all know what that means. Hopefully I can get the orchestra sounding good, because I didn't even touch their mics on Wednesday. I knew they were going to be moved around though, so there was really no point. Joe if you're reading this, start getting excited about the cheesecake...

My excellent soldering streak comes to an end...

What a good Friday. My morning consisted of getting up and going to work. I wonder if Lucy gets confused on Friday because her walk gets moved to later in the day. She seems to take it in stride at least.

Work was pretty relaxed today. Other than doing the light plots and cleaning up the stage, there wasn't much I absolutely had to get done. I spent part of the day working on this old Shure SM91 microphone I found in the closet. All the info I find on it lists it as a kick mic, but I'm pretty sure it's similar to a boundary microphone. I am interesting in velcro-ing 2 boundary mics on the piano lid and closing it, to see how the technique sounds. Assuming that it sounds pretty natural, it would provide much better isolation from other instruments, as well as cut down on feedback issues even more. I decided to test it out with just the SM91, but unfortunately the mic didn't work. I tried taking it apart and re-wiring it, but I think I might have messed up the capsule with the soldering iron. The solder point were extremely tiny. When I was done, it sort of worked, but had all kinds of noise that was just as loud as the signal. Oh well, I'm sure I can find boundary mics somewhere else that I can borrow.

I left work on time today and came home to take Lucy for a walk. We did the short route instead of the long route, partly because there were kids on skateboards down the long way, and partly because I was cold. I made sure to play with Lucy extra when we got back to make up for it though.

After that I played around with the tuning on my sparkly snare for a little while and then recorded some clips with it. I plan on posting them, but I ran out of time today, so I'll do that tomorrow. I'm not sure I chose the right heads. It is an extremely open drum with ring that is a little out of control, so I bought an Evans EC2 Reverse Dot. It's OK, but I'm not loving it. I think I may want to try a Remo Powerstroke III Coated next on it...but I can live with the Evans for now. I was also wondering what diecast rims would sound like instead of triple flanged. It still sounds great as it is, I think you will agree when you hear it.

Kristi got home a little while later, and after sitting around (well me sitting around and her ironing) for a little bit we left for dinner with Diego and Melissa. We did end up going to Oriental House, which was delicious as always. I wonder if I will ever get tired of the place...probably not. There had been some debate over which movie to see after dinner. Diego and I were up for "Slumdog Millionaire," but the girls weren't that into it. No one was excited about "Defiance" and "Benjamin Button" was a little long. Diego and Melissa had already seen "Gran Torino" and "Valkyrie." After some discussion we settled on "Taken," which everyone seemed satisfied with. We had some time to kill, so we went shopping across the street at Greenridge for a little bit and then drove to the theater. It was good that we got there early, because the movie was a packed one.

I didn't enjoy the movie, and I wouldn't really recommend it. It had it's interesting parts, but overall I would say it just made me feel sick. I couldn't keep up with the body count, and I honestly couldn't have cared less about the lead guy's relationship with his daughter after all the crap that went on in the storyline. That's the short explanation, I don't feel like going into detail, plus I don't want to spoil it for somebody that wants to see it. We saw a friend from NHCC on the way out from the previous showing that loved it, and Diego seemed to like it OK, so maybe I am just weird. I don't think Kristi liked it too much either though.

After the movie it was pretty late, so we came home and I pretty much got straight into bed. Tomorrow I have much to accomplish, such as grocery shopping and studying for some tests, so I want to get up hopefully before 9. Tomorrow night we are going to see "Mall Cop" with my parents. With the expectations I have for movies like that, I'm pretty sure it would be impossible to be disappointed....

I would put a picture of the "Chris Sligh Band" up, but I didn't have a digital camera back then...

I think Wednesdays wear me out. This morning I woke up very tired, and so I didn't get out of bed until 9:15. My friend Jon says my life is ridiculous, and I guess he's right. First things first, so I took a shower and then took Lucy on a walk. I've been working on my technique of getting her to walk without pulling on her, and things have been improving. She tends to get distracted by anything on the ground other than dirt, grass, or concrete. I've actually read some Jack Russell forums for fun, and I'm pretty sure that there is ultimately nothing I can do about this.

When I got back I gave Lucy a quick bath (she got a little muddy), and then tidied up around the house a little. I also started tonight's dinner. I was planning on grilling on my miniature Weber grill, and so I went ahead and marinated the steaks. I think what I do is more like a rub I guess...there is some liquid involved though, it's just that I made it up and so I don't know which it is...you decide:

Anyways, after that I made lunch and then got to putting heads on my blue sparkly snare...that's right, I paid it off and was finally able to get it out of the closet and start using it. I took a few pictures, but I want to record a quick clip of it, so I will wait for that to post any of them.

By the time I was done with that I had to go to work, so I put Lucy in the sunroom and took off. Actually, right before I did that I burned songs from "The Summer Set" onto a CD to listen to in the car. Kristi's got the Ipod, and I keep forgetting to charge the Zune, which meant I needed a CD. I have been getting into The Summer Set more and more. Sometimes I feel guilty because they are so "teeny-bopper" (as my wife would say), but I've always known I'm a sucker for anything pop, and their songs are just so catchy and downright good. I enjoy the individual parts a great deal too, which I guess is mostly production.

On that musical note, I am a little stressed because there are quite a few CD's I would like to purchase this month, but that would mean severely cutting back on lunches out. The first one I want to buy is obviously the "Jesus Culture" one. Also important is the new "Fiction Family" CD. We've already established on this blog that Jon Foreman is pretty much my hero, and along those lines I typically love anything musical he does, and the thought of a Nickel Creek/Switchfoot duo makes me extremely excited. The other CD I am excited about comes out next week and is from "A Day to Remember." Warning: if you do not enjoy intense music, it is best that you skip that link. Kristi for instance is not a fan of anything in their genre. I on the other hand don't typically get into screaming, but some bands are just so good that I can appreciate what they do. Another similar band which I love that comes to mind is Blindside, although they have evolved into a slightly more tame type of sound. Underoath is another great band in that genre that is also Christian, but they are so intense sometimes that it is a little scary. You know who loves bands like that? Daniel Peek:

Also on a musical note, I found out this morning from my friend Tim Wadsworth...
...that Chris Sligh wrote Rascal Flatts new single, "Here Comes Goodbye." How cool is that? I always did think Chris's greatest talent was his songwriting ability. In case you are unaware of the connection, Daniel, Tim, Joseph, and I used to play with Chris in the "Chris Sligh Band," and then I also played in "Half Past Forever for a little while. It's fun for me to be able to say that I played in his band for several years...come to think of it, it's probably my influence that got him where he is...right.

So where was I? Oh yeah, work. I spent most of the day cleaning up and rearranging today...not really my favorite things to do, but someone's got to do them. Orchestra weeks aren't my favorite from a logistical standpoint because it is so much work to set up the stage and so much harder to mix. I know from a musical and congregational standpoint it is awesome though, so I try to keep everything in perspective. I left work right before 5, which was nice. Thursday seems to be the day I can consistently leave on time with my new schedule.

When I got home I got started on dinner. I put the potatoes in the oven and cleaned up the grill. I have grilled many times before, but always on a gas grill, so I called a few people for advice and read some instruction on Google. When it was time I put the charcoal in the grill and lit the pieces. I waited about 20 minutes like everything said, and the briquettes looked ashed over, so I went ahead and spread them out and put the lid on, letting it heat up for a few minutes before starting the grilling. Unfortunately something went wrong. When I started grilling the steaks, they just weren't cooking. I left them on for like 8 minutes, and it wasn't really going anywhere. I don't know if I let the charcoal burn too long, not long enough, didn't have the vents set right, or what. I was pretty frustrated, especially since my cooking has taken a serious downturn as of late. I ended up finishing the steaks on the trusty George Foreman. Everything tasted wonderful, but I am pretty frustrated that I didn't do the grilling thing correctly. I will have to try again next week.

After dinner Kristi and I cleaned. Kristi was doing some laundry and noticed the washer leaking onto the floor. This obviously did not seem good, so I looked up on Google (man, what would I do without it?) what to do, and learned how to take the cover off and watch for leaks...so that's what I did:



We never did see a big leak, and think that it might even be that the machine gets too full with too big of a load and spills over some. I'm not really sure, but we'll keep an eye on it.

After all of that we watched some TV, and then I did some homework. I haven't really studied for Sociology yet, and my first test is next week, so I'd better get on that. Story of my life with online classes.

Tomorrow should be a good day. I work in the morning, but then should have an enjoyable free evening afterwards. I think we might go see a movie or something. Mostly I'm excited about going out to eat for dinner...maybe we can go to Oriental House!

You know, I almost didn't write this post, but I'm glad I did...it turned out pretty well...

Good thing I left my soldering iron at the church...

Frustration, frustration, frustration...today was a frustrating day. I woke up a little before nine, got ready, and then got my things together for a meeting with my advisor. It was a struggle getting this set up, but today was the day, so I left the house a little before 10, deposited a check on the way, and then was early for my 10:30 appointment. My advisor was ready a few minutes later, and we talked through my application for clinicals. She didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, but I think it was probably good to talk through it anyways. I think I was under the impression that we could complete it and turn it in, but I guess I will just complete it before I have to go to class tomorrow.

After that I came home so I could eat lunch and take Lucy on her walk before I had to go to work. The walk was not very enjoyable. Lucy has become really talented at slipping out of her collar if she wants to. She has loose beagle skin and a small Jack Russell head, which is a bad combination. Today she just wouldn't settle down. She found a small pond of water in the woods and kept slipping out to go run around in it. Finally I gave up and gave her the old "I'm just going to walk home trick" When I got about half way up the street she got nervous and came running after me.

Lunch was fine, and I headed straight to work after eating. I finished soldering an XLR cable when I got there, and then Joe gave me to stage setup plan and I got to work. There was alot to do, so I knew I would have to get a good bit of it done before Dan and Tim got there if I wanted to leave before 8, the time I'm supposed to go home. Things were going fine until I knocked over Matt's Aviom. I typically unplug them all and then pull the cables, except somehow I didn't see his and I pulled it over since it was still plugged in. Buttons popped out, which isn't usually a problem, except this time two of them broke the button part on the plastic piece that attaches to the circuit board. I spent a little while trying to fix them, but it wasn't going to work. At this point I figured my only shot was to remove buttons from the older broken Aviom and solder them on to the circuit board of the one I was working on. It made me a little nervous as I haven't ever worked with circuit boards, but after an hour or so of working I got everything together and it worked great. I guess I could have taken pictures of the process, but I wasn't really in the mood.

By the time I had all of that done I had significantly cut into my stage setup time, which meant I didn't have much done when Tim and Dan got there. We worked pretty efficiently, but I still only ended up getting out of there at 9. At least I made it home before Kristi got in bed, and I got to see most of Fringe too.

Tomorrow is another day, and should be a good one. I am going to turn in my nursing application, and I should find out 2-3 months from now if I am accepted. It is a point system though, and I should have plenty of points. I am a little apprehensive about clinicals, but I know I can do it, it's just a matter of whether I will enjoy it.

On a brighter note, I found a drummer on YouTube that is incredible:

I mean, are you serious? Not only is he great, he has so much style. You definitely should at least watch the last minute or two. His "Tripping Billies" cover is great too...and really so are all of his other ones. I also really enjoy this cover of a PlanetShakers song:

In other news, I've decided to quit trying to play drums. Just kidding...