Just coastin', how I do. Em's is sleeping beside me and I can't explain how excited I am that in just a little more than a month I will be married to her. Plus, Jamaica will be warm! We used the heat for the second time this season. I thought that the house was so well insulated by mold and old cat hair that we wouldn't even need it at all (after all, we never used it last year in the shoddy apartment). But apparently having one neighbor catty-cornered to us in the apartments who DID use heat was enough to get us through. Here we have no such heat sharing neighbor. The two of us freeze while Cornbread just looks delighted and fluffy. Stupid bunny. Emily suggested we try finding an energy efficient space heater since the house has baseboard heat with controls in every room. The heat works okay, but it only really warms up the bedroom. In the rest of the house you just have to huddle over it to get any real effect. I think some of the enjoyement is just psychological. We had spent evenings at the gym, or barnes and noble or the library, but they don't stay open that late (except the gym and who can stay there more than a couple of hours!).
I worry a little that my frugality is trending toward miserliness, but am not too concerned as we are still being dutiful little consumers.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Forever Wandering :)
So it has once again been forever since I wrote anything, but I will admit I am beyond feeling any sort of self imposed guilt about it! I am lyin' in bed sick from some stupid virus that I got at the accursed mall. To be completely honest there isn't really going to be anything of much interest in this post, so for the three people who read it you may now consider yourself warned. First off let's mention how wonderful archive.org is. I love it. Free media is sweet. I'm currently listening to a soundboard recording of a August 27th, 1972 Grateful Dead show, and the quality is amazing. Jerry's guitar on "Sing Me Back Home" almost makes me weep. That dead guy just blows me away. I've been playing guitar just around the house but haven't really been playing with anybody. I would like to start playing with Mitch more, but it just seems like time gets away from me. There's a dude at work I may try to jam with but that may or may not happen. So that's the music update.
I just got skype (i know, behind the times huh?) so hit me up if you want. The skype profile name is turtlepaw1. I really enjoyed chatting with Abby on the skype calls she and emily have. It is crazy talking and looking at someone in China. I suppose that although I consider myself fairly up on what is happening technology wise, I am pretty slow to adapt or use it much myself. And even when i do it is sporadic at best, but I thought I would give the skype thing a try.
What else have I been up to? Mostly work and raiding the library. I doubt that many people check out the reading list off to the side, but it has been reliably updated and changed (way more than the actual blog itself!). This year I've had a bit more time for reading than the last couple of years. Being out of school does that for you! I've had lots of time for reading since I gave up the ebay/craigslist addiction. Less time on interweb=more time for reading. Not that I'm not online still, it is usually on my phone though, and that time is pretty much exclusively email and wikipedia. I'm a wiki junkie and not ashamed to admit it.
Emily is finishing up her semester and ready for it, with wedding plans looming over her and the death house of moldy mcmolderson providing us some constant fun. She is a little stressed, but I have no doubt that she is going to rock all of it, as she usually does. Not much she can't do!
Pretty soon we will be winging our way to the land of rasta and ting to pledge our lives to each other in irie bliss for eternity (or at least most of it) and nerves are starting to set in. I think that we both feel unprepared for the reception family thing that has slowly been pushed back month by month. It is good because Abby will definitely be here, which is uber important to Ems, but it is a little nerve wracking to not really know what's going on (although really I just put that for Emily because I figure that it will all work out and I can't really do much about it now if it wont then, see? But united front and all...). The ease of Jamaica makes the reception seem all the more difficult to worry about. I can't wait for the sand and sun as the weather dips colder and colder here.
Work is going well and the season of hell is upon us. It has been a little busy and I will admit to having those terrible dreams at night where I am still serving obnoxious customers. I maintain my smile against all odds at work, but have no stomach for rudeness outside of work. Emily got cracked up because I went off on a rude diner at a restaurant we go to. Sometimes I wonder how people can treat other humans so rudely. What a sense of entitlement some people have. All rules of civility are lost when there is a counter or apron between people.
On another topic, I am considering going back to school this spring! It depends on how I can swing financial aid/just out and out money stuff. I may need to sell some guitars (lol).
I'm using the eee pc that I gave emily because she doesn't really like it and I missed the slow little bugger. It is jumping and flickering oddly, and I am still adjusting to the keyboard, so please excuse the atrocious typos. I doubt I will correct them.
Love
I just got skype (i know, behind the times huh?) so hit me up if you want. The skype profile name is turtlepaw1. I really enjoyed chatting with Abby on the skype calls she and emily have. It is crazy talking and looking at someone in China. I suppose that although I consider myself fairly up on what is happening technology wise, I am pretty slow to adapt or use it much myself. And even when i do it is sporadic at best, but I thought I would give the skype thing a try.
What else have I been up to? Mostly work and raiding the library. I doubt that many people check out the reading list off to the side, but it has been reliably updated and changed (way more than the actual blog itself!). This year I've had a bit more time for reading than the last couple of years. Being out of school does that for you! I've had lots of time for reading since I gave up the ebay/craigslist addiction. Less time on interweb=more time for reading. Not that I'm not online still, it is usually on my phone though, and that time is pretty much exclusively email and wikipedia. I'm a wiki junkie and not ashamed to admit it.
Emily is finishing up her semester and ready for it, with wedding plans looming over her and the death house of moldy mcmolderson providing us some constant fun. She is a little stressed, but I have no doubt that she is going to rock all of it, as she usually does. Not much she can't do!
Pretty soon we will be winging our way to the land of rasta and ting to pledge our lives to each other in irie bliss for eternity (or at least most of it) and nerves are starting to set in. I think that we both feel unprepared for the reception family thing that has slowly been pushed back month by month. It is good because Abby will definitely be here, which is uber important to Ems, but it is a little nerve wracking to not really know what's going on (although really I just put that for Emily because I figure that it will all work out and I can't really do much about it now if it wont then, see? But united front and all...). The ease of Jamaica makes the reception seem all the more difficult to worry about. I can't wait for the sand and sun as the weather dips colder and colder here.
Work is going well and the season of hell is upon us. It has been a little busy and I will admit to having those terrible dreams at night where I am still serving obnoxious customers. I maintain my smile against all odds at work, but have no stomach for rudeness outside of work. Emily got cracked up because I went off on a rude diner at a restaurant we go to. Sometimes I wonder how people can treat other humans so rudely. What a sense of entitlement some people have. All rules of civility are lost when there is a counter or apron between people.
On another topic, I am considering going back to school this spring! It depends on how I can swing financial aid/just out and out money stuff. I may need to sell some guitars (lol).
I'm using the eee pc that I gave emily because she doesn't really like it and I missed the slow little bugger. It is jumping and flickering oddly, and I am still adjusting to the keyboard, so please excuse the atrocious typos. I doubt I will correct them.
Love
Monday, September 21, 2009
More Than Nothing
So it's been forever since I've put anything on here and I've been real busy. This isn't really an update. Mostly I just can't sleep. I was out of work all last week with an ear infection, bronchitis, and "flu like symptoms." Today (in about 3 1/2 hours actually) is my first day back at work. Tonight I mostly just read in bed, waiting for sleep to catch up to me. It didn't. So here I am, working on this thing. So what's been going on since the last post?
-Dad had his surgery, and is having a difficult time in recovery.
-Jed quit his job (hurray!)
-Emily started back at school
-The band kind of dissipated
-I'm still doing guitar stuff, working now more on construction and ebay doodling than technique.
-I got obsessed with reggae (the whole going to Jamaica thing)
-I read bunches (see the reading list for specifics)
-I saw bunches of great movies (Outlander, Band Slam, and Ponyo are the faves that spring to mind)
-Emily has been busy with knitting, sewing squishy monsters, keeping me healthy, and learning (slowly) to love the Star Trek!
-The library must hate me because of my constant use of their online queue system (did I even spell that right?). I didn't think they even noticed my use of it until two of them at different times made a comment about it (I was a little embarrassed!).
-I joined the gym!
-I quit smoking, again! (brief explanation: I quit smoking last year, taking a drug from the doctor that made me terribly sick. I swore I would never smoke again just so I wouldn't have to quit. Months rolled by and I began my final semester at school. I won't say I was driven to smoke from the stress, mostly because that would be a lie. I did it because I liked it. And I'm sure some chemical part of me was still hooked on it. There was no smoking of normal ciggies for me though, I only smoked cloves, believing at the time-erroneously-that they were less harmful. I never really smoked them that much or that often, but I would definitely say that they were a habit. Now I'm trying to kick them, without drugs or anything that makes me poo/puke.)
-I like to find guitars for cheap on Craigslist and ebay and buy them. I get too many and sell some. Then I cry and buy more. Overall I don't lose that much money, but it is an annoying little trend that I think Emily may strange me over. My current faves are a Xaviere tele, a Regal acoustic, and a super cheap First Act. Total price for all three combined? $135!!!
-Emily and I are moving to a new house and performing the slowest paint job in the history of mankind. We have a nice brown stove. And yellow ceilings.
-I bought a mower!!! Emily has already named it "Grasshopper."
That's it for now. I'm tired.
-Dad had his surgery, and is having a difficult time in recovery.
-Jed quit his job (hurray!)
-Emily started back at school
-The band kind of dissipated
-I'm still doing guitar stuff, working now more on construction and ebay doodling than technique.
-I got obsessed with reggae (the whole going to Jamaica thing)
-I read bunches (see the reading list for specifics)
-I saw bunches of great movies (Outlander, Band Slam, and Ponyo are the faves that spring to mind)
-Emily has been busy with knitting, sewing squishy monsters, keeping me healthy, and learning (slowly) to love the Star Trek!
-The library must hate me because of my constant use of their online queue system (did I even spell that right?). I didn't think they even noticed my use of it until two of them at different times made a comment about it (I was a little embarrassed!).
-I joined the gym!
-I quit smoking, again! (brief explanation: I quit smoking last year, taking a drug from the doctor that made me terribly sick. I swore I would never smoke again just so I wouldn't have to quit. Months rolled by and I began my final semester at school. I won't say I was driven to smoke from the stress, mostly because that would be a lie. I did it because I liked it. And I'm sure some chemical part of me was still hooked on it. There was no smoking of normal ciggies for me though, I only smoked cloves, believing at the time-erroneously-that they were less harmful. I never really smoked them that much or that often, but I would definitely say that they were a habit. Now I'm trying to kick them, without drugs or anything that makes me poo/puke.)
-I like to find guitars for cheap on Craigslist and ebay and buy them. I get too many and sell some. Then I cry and buy more. Overall I don't lose that much money, but it is an annoying little trend that I think Emily may strange me over. My current faves are a Xaviere tele, a Regal acoustic, and a super cheap First Act. Total price for all three combined? $135!!!
-Emily and I are moving to a new house and performing the slowest paint job in the history of mankind. We have a nice brown stove. And yellow ceilings.
-I bought a mower!!! Emily has already named it "Grasshopper."
That's it for now. I'm tired.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Making Plans
Today Emily and I put down the deposit on our wedding, and we are sailing forward with all due speed. Please excuse the nautical crap, I just read a book about a guy who sailed a raft everywhere. Stuff like that kind of sinks in! We ended up deciding on Jamaica, and are staying at Tower Isle (formerly Ocho Rios, which was formerly Tower Isle...). We are having a beach wedding (I think) at 10 AM on Jan. 12. Hurray! Tomorrow is going to suck because my pa's having surgery and I just can't imagine how scared he must be. We will be heading up as soon as I'm off of work to check in and see how everyone is doing. Sorry to end on a sour note, but I'm all bushed. Okay, here's a few happy things:
-I saw my beautiful niece today and she looked a little like a pumpkin. Up until today I didn't know that we could pick our "nicknames," but now I do. Though they may try and call me JJ or uncle JJ I'm pretty sure that it won't take too much convincing for Audrey to call me my Uncle Name of choice: Uncle Butt. It makes me smile just to write it!
-A friend of mine has just reentered my life recently and I had a great conversation about the more spectral aspects of our world this afternoon. It was fun.
-I got 4 cds from the dollar store today that should have cost a lot more. I got the last two phish cds, the last Bjork, and one other that I won't say in case it embarrases Emily (the first name is a city in France, and the last is a hotel chain). I'll just say that the artists name rhymes with Flaris Bilton and leave it at that.
Here's some recent photos: 2 from turtle paw practice, the Decemberists show, the tree of life in animal kingdom, and the summer solstice.
-I saw my beautiful niece today and she looked a little like a pumpkin. Up until today I didn't know that we could pick our "nicknames," but now I do. Though they may try and call me JJ or uncle JJ I'm pretty sure that it won't take too much convincing for Audrey to call me my Uncle Name of choice: Uncle Butt. It makes me smile just to write it!
-A friend of mine has just reentered my life recently and I had a great conversation about the more spectral aspects of our world this afternoon. It was fun.
-I got 4 cds from the dollar store today that should have cost a lot more. I got the last two phish cds, the last Bjork, and one other that I won't say in case it embarrases Emily (the first name is a city in France, and the last is a hotel chain). I'll just say that the artists name rhymes with Flaris Bilton and leave it at that.
Here's some recent photos: 2 from turtle paw practice, the Decemberists show, the tree of life in animal kingdom, and the summer solstice.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
All This and All That
Hi again! Today Emily and I went to check out our options for a destination wedding, and it sounded really cool. So far I think our favorite is Jamaica. At first I was sort of anti-Jamaica, wanting to see some ruins and stuff south of the border. But the travel guy told us how much more difficult it was to get married there (whereas Jamaica is super worry free). The resort is all inclusive and it looks like the best deal financially. Emily was super excited.
In other news, we went over to my sweet niece's house the other day for a fun cookout (we kind of crashed it), and saw my dad and meyka after they had gotten back from their retreat. The retreat sounded fun and it seemed to have done them good, which is really all you want from something like that I suppose. It was the first time I had seen Dad in forever, so that was really nice. Mitch got me some new guitar strings put on, and Audrey bit my finger. A very satisfying evening.
Some people from work and I have been just messing around and jamming in the living room on some evenings. It is really fun and collective-y, less stressful than trying to be "in a band." My chops (never that good to begin with) really deteriorated after my surgery, so it has been a long road even getting back to where I was. The nice thing is that no one is really a virtuoso, so we all just have fun with it.
Speaking of music, I have run into an old high school friend a few times in the last week or so--Justin Hanna! He is doing well and it's really a kick in the pants to see someone that takes you back so much. Those may have not been the best years of my life and I was extremely unhappy (and also a little snotty as Anna remembered the other night!), but it makes me feel good to see people and realize how far I have come just as a person.
I'm heading out to the library now to return some books and a cd I could have sworn I returned (but then found sitting on top of my computer). More later!
If anyone is out tonight come to the Blind Tiger to see the Brand New Life. They're a really great band and super fun. Plus it's free.
In other news, we went over to my sweet niece's house the other day for a fun cookout (we kind of crashed it), and saw my dad and meyka after they had gotten back from their retreat. The retreat sounded fun and it seemed to have done them good, which is really all you want from something like that I suppose. It was the first time I had seen Dad in forever, so that was really nice. Mitch got me some new guitar strings put on, and Audrey bit my finger. A very satisfying evening.
Some people from work and I have been just messing around and jamming in the living room on some evenings. It is really fun and collective-y, less stressful than trying to be "in a band." My chops (never that good to begin with) really deteriorated after my surgery, so it has been a long road even getting back to where I was. The nice thing is that no one is really a virtuoso, so we all just have fun with it.
Speaking of music, I have run into an old high school friend a few times in the last week or so--Justin Hanna! He is doing well and it's really a kick in the pants to see someone that takes you back so much. Those may have not been the best years of my life and I was extremely unhappy (and also a little snotty as Anna remembered the other night!), but it makes me feel good to see people and realize how far I have come just as a person.
I'm heading out to the library now to return some books and a cd I could have sworn I returned (but then found sitting on top of my computer). More later!
If anyone is out tonight come to the Blind Tiger to see the Brand New Life. They're a really great band and super fun. Plus it's free.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Mobile
Today has been a pretty busy day so far. Emily and i woke up late and went to do laundry, then she went out to lunch. it looks like my battery is dying so thats all for now!
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Sent from AT&T's Wireless network using Mobile Email
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Big
Wow, I don't even know where to begin. I suppose the biggest news is that Emily and I got engaged. I was pretty relieved when she said yes! We have decided to try and get into peace corps as a married couple, and we are looking for a new apartment. Also I am hunting for jobs and selling stuff on craigslist/ebay/amazon like crazy. I work some (not enough hours) but it feels like it eats a lot of time. Emily is back in school. I got a new phone. That's all I can think of right now, but will try to (at some point) get back on a regular schedule of blogs. This absence is pitiful!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wow (again)
So I know it has been forever since I have posted anything and tons has happened. I graduated, went back to work, cut off my beard, had a yard sale, found a great local band I like to go see, started getting another band together with some friends, and much more. But I'm not writing about that. I'm writing about how I can't sleep because I am so excited about going to Disney World tomorrow! I have the first leg of the drive and I know I should be sleeping, but I'm just too nervous and excited. I hope everyone who sees this has a nice week because I'm going to have a great one. When I get back I hopefully will be able to write a little more, plus I will add a link to the band's myspace (ooooh).
Love,
J.
Love,
J.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Huh...
I just finished a really interesting book called As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial. It is a little extreme, but very thought provoking. I don't think the writers would care much for me, but I respect what they stand for. Definitely food for thought. Here are some of the quotations that really stood out to me.
"Why do you hate violence that frees the victims of greater violence, even more than you hate the original violence?"
"When someone is 'well-adjusted,' it means that they can tolerate whatever the norms of their society are, without being constantly upset and angry, right?"
"You're too afraid and too small to even feel outrage at the system turning you into a drone."
Conversation in the book...
"Do you love God?"
"Of course."
"Do you love him so much that you would like to meet him tomorrow?"
"Now that you mention it, I don't love him quite that much. I, er, I prefer to love him at a distance."
"The grain required to make enough ethanol to fill your tank just once could feed a human being for an entire year."
"No Bunny Left Behind"
"You think economic expansion needs to stop? Why do you hate America?"
"Break all the addictions that are strangling your people. Unbrainwash them. Decolonize them."
"People believe that bunnies are furry and cute and harmless. Why do they believe this? Because they are they've been told it over and over, in stories from Peter Cottontail to the Easter Bunny. It's all propaganda. Flopsy and Mopsy indeed. It's the Big Lie. Bunnies are not furry. They are not cute. They are not harmless. They are killing machines. They are terrorists. They have big legs for thumping. They surprise people."
"Here's one more thing you must understand. You, like everyone else, are an instrument, a tool, a tiny cog in a big machine. We all need to do our parts to keep this machine running. If too many gears get out of alignment or stop working altogether, the machine falls apart. What would happen if the crankshaft in your car started thinking for itself, started thinking it didn't want to be part of a car, didn't want to drive you someplace? What would happen if the sparkplugs started thinking for themselves, decided that they didn't want to fire if you were going someplace they didn't approve of? The machine would break down. Don't you see? You carry a gun. That gun is an instrument, a tool. That's all it is. What would happen if the gun decided not to shoot someone you wanted it to shoot? You need for that gun to do your bidding. And you are just like that gun. You are an instrument of those who wield you. Your job is not to think about how you are used-and this isn't just police officers: this is everyone-but do your job. They tell you who to aim at, and they tell you when to fire. You are expected to do that. You pull the trigger, and you expect the gun to fire. You do your job. The gun does its job. You are all part of the same machine. Do you understand?"
"Why do you hate violence that frees the victims of greater violence, even more than you hate the original violence?"
"When someone is 'well-adjusted,' it means that they can tolerate whatever the norms of their society are, without being constantly upset and angry, right?"
"You're too afraid and too small to even feel outrage at the system turning you into a drone."
Conversation in the book...
"Do you love God?"
"Of course."
"Do you love him so much that you would like to meet him tomorrow?"
"Now that you mention it, I don't love him quite that much. I, er, I prefer to love him at a distance."
"The grain required to make enough ethanol to fill your tank just once could feed a human being for an entire year."
"No Bunny Left Behind"
"You think economic expansion needs to stop? Why do you hate America?"
"Break all the addictions that are strangling your people. Unbrainwash them. Decolonize them."
"People believe that bunnies are furry and cute and harmless. Why do they believe this? Because they are they've been told it over and over, in stories from Peter Cottontail to the Easter Bunny. It's all propaganda. Flopsy and Mopsy indeed. It's the Big Lie. Bunnies are not furry. They are not cute. They are not harmless. They are killing machines. They are terrorists. They have big legs for thumping. They surprise people."
"Here's one more thing you must understand. You, like everyone else, are an instrument, a tool, a tiny cog in a big machine. We all need to do our parts to keep this machine running. If too many gears get out of alignment or stop working altogether, the machine falls apart. What would happen if the crankshaft in your car started thinking for itself, started thinking it didn't want to be part of a car, didn't want to drive you someplace? What would happen if the sparkplugs started thinking for themselves, decided that they didn't want to fire if you were going someplace they didn't approve of? The machine would break down. Don't you see? You carry a gun. That gun is an instrument, a tool. That's all it is. What would happen if the gun decided not to shoot someone you wanted it to shoot? You need for that gun to do your bidding. And you are just like that gun. You are an instrument of those who wield you. Your job is not to think about how you are used-and this isn't just police officers: this is everyone-but do your job. They tell you who to aim at, and they tell you when to fire. You are expected to do that. You pull the trigger, and you expect the gun to fire. You do your job. The gun does its job. You are all part of the same machine. Do you understand?"
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Today Is Gonna Be a Good Day
I know I should be sleeping, but the promise of tomorrow (really today!) makes me quite excited. I'm grooving to live Animal Collective, planning recording stuff, polishing my resume, and procrastinating on finishing homework that's due tomorrow. But I feel good. Life huh? Sometimes it sucks, and sometimes it's awesome (even if you're screwing up). I've been reconnecting with music, with people, and with just the world around me a lot more lately. It's nice.
Oh yeah, AND THIS!!!
Oh yeah, AND THIS!!!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sweet T (shirt)
How awesome is this shirt!!! The cool dudes at Topless Robot found this and I couldn't be more excited. You can check it out here.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Promised Meadow
So, it's been forever since I wrote anything on here, but it's not like a) anyone reads it, or b) it won't be forever until I write on it again. So here's what's been happenin'.
-I got a sweet guitar.
-Emily and I saw Monsters versus Aliens and it rocked.
-We saw Unknown Hinson
-Emily is still in school, got cool internship at Guilford College Library
-I'm about to graduate (Aaaack)
-Cornbread ate some food and then pooped (and then ate it)
-I beat Emily at Monopoly
-I beat Emily at Life
-I beat Emily at Monopoly (again)
-I read a little (then kicked Emily's butt at Monopoly)
-I've been visiting the library a lot recently and scoopin' up them good free musics cds. The last two trips have been sweet, but the most recent one was a bust. Except for the Journey two disc essential greatest hits. Don't stop believin'.
-Emily got a cool new camera
-New camera and new guitar put us far into debt. Selling of blood will commence shortly.
-In a crazed desire to do something dramatic and fun to celebrate my graduation we booked a week long Disney trip. Yeah, I know it's crazy, but when else would we do it? After this I just spend the rest of my life paying off debt that we will gradually accrue that will choke our creativity and joy until Emily and I are just dried bags of skin, greasy fast food fat, and numb-minded television educated slobs who have trouble caring if the diabetes gets them before the most likely fatal chocking on a Rock Ola cheese fry. So we're doing it now. I'm more excited than Ems even knows (and she's pretty excited too, as is the travel agent who booked it for us). Of course this means that I will probably have to finally cash in on all those lovingly collected plastic bits, like my Star Wars legos (pew pew laser). I think that this is the perfect time to be selling high dollar Star Wars collectibles. Everyone just has money to burn, and what better investment than a 1" high lego Yoda?
Tonight we went and saw Hope for Agoldensummer, a sweet band from Georgia. Emily hadn't ever seen them and they are DEF a band to see live. I've decided that the Green Bean is the perfect venue for live music. I usually don't want to see a band that could play a larger venue. Unless it is outside. That's different. The band that opened for them was Our Horse Jethro and they were awesome. I had heard of them, but hadn't heard them until tonight.
Anywho, I should go to bed.
-I got a sweet guitar.
-Emily and I saw Monsters versus Aliens and it rocked.
-We saw Unknown Hinson
-Emily is still in school, got cool internship at Guilford College Library
-I'm about to graduate (Aaaack)
-Cornbread ate some food and then pooped (and then ate it)
-I beat Emily at Monopoly
-I beat Emily at Life
-I beat Emily at Monopoly (again)
-I read a little (then kicked Emily's butt at Monopoly)
-I've been visiting the library a lot recently and scoopin' up them good free musics cds. The last two trips have been sweet, but the most recent one was a bust. Except for the Journey two disc essential greatest hits. Don't stop believin'.
-Emily got a cool new camera
-New camera and new guitar put us far into debt. Selling of blood will commence shortly.
-In a crazed desire to do something dramatic and fun to celebrate my graduation we booked a week long Disney trip. Yeah, I know it's crazy, but when else would we do it? After this I just spend the rest of my life paying off debt that we will gradually accrue that will choke our creativity and joy until Emily and I are just dried bags of skin, greasy fast food fat, and numb-minded television educated slobs who have trouble caring if the diabetes gets them before the most likely fatal chocking on a Rock Ola cheese fry. So we're doing it now. I'm more excited than Ems even knows (and she's pretty excited too, as is the travel agent who booked it for us). Of course this means that I will probably have to finally cash in on all those lovingly collected plastic bits, like my Star Wars legos (pew pew laser). I think that this is the perfect time to be selling high dollar Star Wars collectibles. Everyone just has money to burn, and what better investment than a 1" high lego Yoda?
Tonight we went and saw Hope for Agoldensummer, a sweet band from Georgia. Emily hadn't ever seen them and they are DEF a band to see live. I've decided that the Green Bean is the perfect venue for live music. I usually don't want to see a band that could play a larger venue. Unless it is outside. That's different. The band that opened for them was Our Horse Jethro and they were awesome. I had heard of them, but hadn't heard them until tonight.
Anywho, I should go to bed.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Bong Tang Nag Toe, and the Delights of Massy La La: An Exploration of Themes Intrinsic to an Understanding of Cupsters
I don't know why it has taken me so long to get back to writing anything for this blog. I suppose it was a combination of fatigue with writing anything with all the work I am doing for school and the pressure to write anything as nice as the last blog. It completely breaks my heart that I haven't been able to see Audrey as much as I want to. As I sit here and frantically try and get a handle on all the writing I have to do, I feel like the minutes and hours and days are just ticking by. I'm scared that I will miss her growing up. Hopefully once the fast track course is over I will have more time.
So what else is new? I suppose it would be important to mention that I have been playing guitar for the first time in a long time. It is incredibly frustrating that skills don't really stay with you that well. In all honesty it seems like I didn't quit playing for very long, but it was about 3 years. I'm taking the time now to re-learn some things in a better way. The guitar playing can be directly linked to a resumed interest in music. For the past 3 or so years I just haven't been into music that much, which is funny considering how important it was to me for so much of my life. I would go through little fads of liking things, but I never really listened to it like I used to. No band or artist really excited me. This resumed interest owes its thanks to Parke Puterbaugh, a pretty awesome music journalist who teaches my History of Rock class at Guilford. He just comes at it in such a way that everything you hear has a new edge. It really makes you appreciate it. I suppose that's why he is such a great writer! He really knows how to present material.
I had a cool moment in class today when I was angrily chewing on a book by Gary Nash. My professor and advisor (sidenote: I never really knew why you sometimes used “adviser” and sometimes used “advisor.” The clearest explanation I can find is that the “English language is changing whether you like it or not and evolution does funny things to spellings,” and also that “advisor” usually has a little more weight) Alvis Dunn was saying that this book wouldn't make as much of an impact if the reader did not have a clear base of knowledge that they could mix it up with. He then pondered if current high school students were receiving that knowledge base anymore, and referenced one particularly great teacher at NW Guilford High that he had spoken/met with. I felt so great to say, “Oh, you mean Mr. Parrish right?” Even though I was a TERRIBLE student in Mr. P's class. I think I used the “My driveway was iced up” excuse for not being in class all the way to May. But anyhoo, Alvis thought I was cool. He didn't say it. But you know he did. I hope he reads this...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
MY NIECE!!!
I met my niece on Jan. 28th, 2009.
This is on the way to the hospital.
Japanda was very excited.
Here's some doctor stuff.
Here's some doctor stuff.
This is Anna getting ready to pop.
This is Emily being excited.
Anna wants me to take a picture (I did).
Mom was nervous.
Emily was too.
In fact, everyone was nervous (and excited!).
Mitch was glowing when he strolled out to tell us the baby was here. Mom cheered.
We watched a video of the sweet lil baby
The first time I met my beautiful niece.
This is how pretty the sky was on the day Audrey was born.It seemed like it was pretty just for her.
Everyone was thrilled to see the baby get washed up.
Tha's a clean baby!!!
It doesn't get any cuter than this.
I was wrong...much cuter. 
It was truly a magical day, and love at first sight. We walked into the room and saw Anna cradling the baby to her chest, spent and exhausted after a long hard day. Anna looked up at Mom, then looked down at Audrey and started to cry in happiness. She said, "We made it!" and smiled through the tears. I don't think I have ever seen Anna look more beautiful. It was one of the happiest days of my life. Welcome to the world baby Audrey!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Happy Birthday Emily!!!
The love of my life turns 25 today. She is amazing and awesome and angular and other "a" words that I can't think of now. I wouldn't be where I am in life if it wasn't for her (that applies mostly to the good things). I hope that she has a wonderful day today and that this year is even better than the last!
Friday, January 16, 2009
What I've Been Up To
There's so much to say, and some of it will undoubtedly be left out, but here goes:
Jed, Emily, and I went to the Transportation Museum forever and ever ago. I would put up some photos but it takes forever and I have a ton. I set up a photobucket account that I'm probably going to link to more often in the coming year. The first set on there is the Transportation Museum photos that you can see here. We went to the scariest diner in the whole world on that day and got yelled at. The good part was the wonderful soda that Jed and I had that seemed to be a mix of the maraschino cherry juice and soda water. It was delicious. There were lots of cool things at the transportation museum including steam cars, trains, and an awesome old balloon basket. The best part was the "ride" on the train turner arounder thingy. The Christmas version of the regular train ride was scary. Overweight country chicks in short skirts and a Santa giving out hugs and sticky touching made it memorable but not enjoyable.
Christmas for the Mann-Paddock house was a time of great joy. There were multiple parties and I saw Nana. Also, I got tons of great loot. I am still sorting some of it! Emily almost gave up knitting after having to work so hard on presents for people (she had an adorable little yarn blister on her finger where the yarn rubbed!).
Emily and I went to Seattle this New Year as a little vacation before school got back in swing for the two of us. On Mon. Dec. 29th we hopped a plane to Seattle, land of rain. The little exit row seats (which used to be big and are now even smaller) were cramped for the flight there, and made the backseat of Emily's Dad's Prius seem huge. On Tues. we went to the Gas Works which is very Steampunky and cool. Some little goth kids were having their own photo shoot which was fun to watch. The whole thing was emblazoned multiple times with a stenciled sign that said, "Stay of Stucture" which was absolutely hilarious. Then we went to the Seattle Art Museum and took in the sights. The next day Emily, her sister, and I went down to Pikes Place Market to scope it out and then hit up the Seattle aquarium. The captive octopus were sweet and looked incredibly cool. Also, they had otters and seals swimmin' around all over. That night was New Years Eve, and we were thinking of going down to the space needle where the festivities were being held. Initial reports that 11,000 people were going to be there made it seem less attractive. Instead we went up to Kerry Park and watched with hundreds of other people as the fireworks were shot off the space needle and off of boats in the sound. It looked amazing. Emily's sis left the next day to hang with her friends in another part of the state. Em's and her dad and I went to the monorail and rode it downtown and back to the EMP. It was my favorite day because we got to go to the Sci fi Museum. There were a few new additions since last time I went, most notable the flying ball-tree thing from The Fountain. It was incredibly fun and I think that Emily enjoyed it a little more this time. I loaded up on loot at the gift shop and had to be carried away by Em's before I maxed out my credit card. That night we watched Murderball, a really good documentary about paraplegic rugby players. I didn't want to watch it at first, but it really drew me in and was great once it started. Friday was the holy day. We ate at Lunchbox Laboratory where I had a Dork (duck and pork) burger with thick slabs of bacon and a Nuttela malt. It was the best meal I've had since Mom's Christmas Eve dinner, and I haven't topped it yet! Then we went to Archie McPhees, where I redeemed my gracious Christmas present from Emily's Dad and his girlfriend. We needed a wheelbarrow to carry my purchases out. That night we all went to the massive REI that had see through holes in the floor and lots of other crazy stuff. The next day we went to the Pacific Science Center where I got to see Lucy!!! It was the chance of a lifetime and was really cool to see. The whole display from the Ethiopian government was cool, and afterwards we had Ethiopian food. I ate a whole lamb. The last day in Seattle we got to check out the Locks and see a sailboat go up. It was capped off with dinner at Poppys and a drive home in the snow. Seattle is great and every visit is more fun than the last.
I'm back in school now and enjoying my classes so far. Some I think will be killer, but some are just gonna be fun. I have been riding my bike to class despite the weather. This changed the other night when my pedal fell off on the way to school. It was night time and freezing and Emily brought me some tools after class to fix it. I thought I had done well (was in fact pretty proud of myself) when the pedal fell off again when I was crossing Friendly at the light. I have worked on it at home and think it's fixed, but want to test it some the weekend before lighting out for class one day and risking it breaking again. That damn bike is great, but I'm almost ashamed to take it in for repairs. My own little "fixes" are so makeshift that I'm embarrassed! The stem has kitchen utensils in it, the seat is nonadjustable (broke the bolt), and the whole thing looks like a little Frankenstein monster! I love it though and it has been working out great. If the pedal stays on at least!
The new apartment is working out okay, with the exception of our power bill. Emily and I have not used the heat since we moved in (I'm typing this in gloves!) and have been really conscientious about turning out lights and unplugging appliances. The bill has been massive, and the apartment complex says it isn't right. Duke Energy has been a really but about it, and even though they had to replace the entire rack of meter readers when they came to investigate, they still say that there was nothing wrong (I wondered what they were fixing then!). The power company's stance has been that we are lying liars and actually are using the heat. Hopefully this will just sort of work itself out, but I foresee more problems in the future.
I've been spending a lot of time watching old Gundam and Ghost in the Shell animes on Netflix and YouTube. Also, plenty of sci-fi short stories. These forms of entertainment really fit the bill in being a)cheap, b) short, c) easily accessible. I did see a pretty good movie the other day online. The sequel to Appleseed is actually pretty good. It's not Slumdog Millionaire by any means but it is really entertaining and action-y. Emily is over her knitting woes and is working again, this time on a hoodie for yours truly! I'm pretty excited about it. Especially since we aren't using the heat.
Emily's birthday is on Tues. and we are mostly going to celebrate this weekend, and Anna is probably going to have her munchkin sometime soon so there are lots of future topics looming.
That's all for now, hope that this catches us up and I wont fall so far behind again.
Jed, Emily, and I went to the Transportation Museum forever and ever ago. I would put up some photos but it takes forever and I have a ton. I set up a photobucket account that I'm probably going to link to more often in the coming year. The first set on there is the Transportation Museum photos that you can see here. We went to the scariest diner in the whole world on that day and got yelled at. The good part was the wonderful soda that Jed and I had that seemed to be a mix of the maraschino cherry juice and soda water. It was delicious. There were lots of cool things at the transportation museum including steam cars, trains, and an awesome old balloon basket. The best part was the "ride" on the train turner arounder thingy. The Christmas version of the regular train ride was scary. Overweight country chicks in short skirts and a Santa giving out hugs and sticky touching made it memorable but not enjoyable.
Christmas for the Mann-Paddock house was a time of great joy. There were multiple parties and I saw Nana. Also, I got tons of great loot. I am still sorting some of it! Emily almost gave up knitting after having to work so hard on presents for people (she had an adorable little yarn blister on her finger where the yarn rubbed!).
Emily and I went to Seattle this New Year as a little vacation before school got back in swing for the two of us. On Mon. Dec. 29th we hopped a plane to Seattle, land of rain. The little exit row seats (which used to be big and are now even smaller) were cramped for the flight there, and made the backseat of Emily's Dad's Prius seem huge. On Tues. we went to the Gas Works which is very Steampunky and cool. Some little goth kids were having their own photo shoot which was fun to watch. The whole thing was emblazoned multiple times with a stenciled sign that said, "Stay of Stucture" which was absolutely hilarious. Then we went to the Seattle Art Museum and took in the sights. The next day Emily, her sister, and I went down to Pikes Place Market to scope it out and then hit up the Seattle aquarium. The captive octopus were sweet and looked incredibly cool. Also, they had otters and seals swimmin' around all over. That night was New Years Eve, and we were thinking of going down to the space needle where the festivities were being held. Initial reports that 11,000 people were going to be there made it seem less attractive. Instead we went up to Kerry Park and watched with hundreds of other people as the fireworks were shot off the space needle and off of boats in the sound. It looked amazing. Emily's sis left the next day to hang with her friends in another part of the state. Em's and her dad and I went to the monorail and rode it downtown and back to the EMP. It was my favorite day because we got to go to the Sci fi Museum. There were a few new additions since last time I went, most notable the flying ball-tree thing from The Fountain. It was incredibly fun and I think that Emily enjoyed it a little more this time. I loaded up on loot at the gift shop and had to be carried away by Em's before I maxed out my credit card. That night we watched Murderball, a really good documentary about paraplegic rugby players. I didn't want to watch it at first, but it really drew me in and was great once it started. Friday was the holy day. We ate at Lunchbox Laboratory where I had a Dork (duck and pork) burger with thick slabs of bacon and a Nuttela malt. It was the best meal I've had since Mom's Christmas Eve dinner, and I haven't topped it yet! Then we went to Archie McPhees, where I redeemed my gracious Christmas present from Emily's Dad and his girlfriend. We needed a wheelbarrow to carry my purchases out. That night we all went to the massive REI that had see through holes in the floor and lots of other crazy stuff. The next day we went to the Pacific Science Center where I got to see Lucy!!! It was the chance of a lifetime and was really cool to see. The whole display from the Ethiopian government was cool, and afterwards we had Ethiopian food. I ate a whole lamb. The last day in Seattle we got to check out the Locks and see a sailboat go up. It was capped off with dinner at Poppys and a drive home in the snow. Seattle is great and every visit is more fun than the last.
I'm back in school now and enjoying my classes so far. Some I think will be killer, but some are just gonna be fun. I have been riding my bike to class despite the weather. This changed the other night when my pedal fell off on the way to school. It was night time and freezing and Emily brought me some tools after class to fix it. I thought I had done well (was in fact pretty proud of myself) when the pedal fell off again when I was crossing Friendly at the light. I have worked on it at home and think it's fixed, but want to test it some the weekend before lighting out for class one day and risking it breaking again. That damn bike is great, but I'm almost ashamed to take it in for repairs. My own little "fixes" are so makeshift that I'm embarrassed! The stem has kitchen utensils in it, the seat is nonadjustable (broke the bolt), and the whole thing looks like a little Frankenstein monster! I love it though and it has been working out great. If the pedal stays on at least!
The new apartment is working out okay, with the exception of our power bill. Emily and I have not used the heat since we moved in (I'm typing this in gloves!) and have been really conscientious about turning out lights and unplugging appliances. The bill has been massive, and the apartment complex says it isn't right. Duke Energy has been a really but about it, and even though they had to replace the entire rack of meter readers when they came to investigate, they still say that there was nothing wrong (I wondered what they were fixing then!). The power company's stance has been that we are lying liars and actually are using the heat. Hopefully this will just sort of work itself out, but I foresee more problems in the future.
I've been spending a lot of time watching old Gundam and Ghost in the Shell animes on Netflix and YouTube. Also, plenty of sci-fi short stories. These forms of entertainment really fit the bill in being a)cheap, b) short, c) easily accessible. I did see a pretty good movie the other day online. The sequel to Appleseed is actually pretty good. It's not Slumdog Millionaire by any means but it is really entertaining and action-y. Emily is over her knitting woes and is working again, this time on a hoodie for yours truly! I'm pretty excited about it. Especially since we aren't using the heat.
Emily's birthday is on Tues. and we are mostly going to celebrate this weekend, and Anna is probably going to have her munchkin sometime soon so there are lots of future topics looming.
That's all for now, hope that this catches us up and I wont fall so far behind again.
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