Thursday, March 5, 2009

Taking a couple days off...

I am pretty much finished with school for the next 10 days, and have done as much as I can on all my clients' sites until I hear back from them, so I am taking a few days for myself.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

I Am Bitchy

Ever been bitchy? For me, it usually takes several days of dozens of things piling up on me for me to get this way. Here's a list of what I am dealing with:

So, a few days ago, I found this gorgeous, red velvet, curved-back, sectional sofa for sale on Craigslist. This gal was selling this couch because her carpet in her new house was pink. I really, really wanted that couch. But, today, after a week of trying to set it up so I could get it, she informs me that she lost it in her divorce; the judge awarded everything in the house to her ex-husband. So, I don't get this couch I want, which was only going to cost me $100 plus a U-Haul rental to move it. Similar couches sell for nearly $3,000 on the 'Net; more on showroom floors. ARG!

The insurance company for the gal who hit my parked car says that my car being parked there made Kenny 25% to blame for the accident (even though failure to yield for road obstructions makes it always 100% your fault), so they only want to pay 75% of their damage estimate: $1,600. Meaning, I would only get $1,200 for damage that, according to several sources and quotes, may cost as much as $3,000 to repair. My insurance company, meanwhile, is doing.... NOTHING!

I have heard nothing about my recording.

Last Sunday, I had an appointment to meet with a client about his web site. Not only did he not call and cancel, but I haven't heard ANYTHING from him since.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from another client wanting to know if she could get in trouble for her book having the same name as another book. I told her, "No, you can't copyright titles." I swear, I am going to institute a $25 per question policy.

When Kenny wrecked my car, he was serving an eviction notice for a client of his. That client has still not paid Kenny the $190 he owes Kenny. So, Kenny called him today, and asked about it. The guy was all, "Do you take credit cards?" Kenny said, "Through PayPal." The guy says, "Screw it; I'll send a check." And hangs up. Douche.

Today, I found out that my student loans for Gonzaga, which I had contract through US Bank for, were unceremoniously sold to ACS. Almost two years ago, this same company bought out my old undergraduate consolidated loans from another company and then refused to release them to a new company when I reconsolidated with new loans. In both of these cases, I was not informed that my loans were being sold until after the fact, and, regardless of the fact that I don't owe anybody anything until I graduate with my Master's, this REALLY pisses me off. How can they just sell something that you signed a contract for? Shouldn't they at least have to let you know that they are planning to sell the loan and let you get one with a company of your choosing rather than a company who has already dicked you over once? Cheese'n'rice!

On Friday, the chimney repair guys came over, and they demanded that we rip out part of the carpet and extend the concrete pad that the stove sits on. They said it was "code."

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Video, School, Work, Recording, etc

The video is complete. It is 26 minutes long, and that download is 115 MB. Just so you know. Let me know if you'd rather have a DVD. I thought I did a good job with it. I even layered music with the voiceovers that Kenny did for me... and I synched in little video clips, too. :)

Recording went well. We got all the drums and bass tracks for all the songs finished. We're going to get a rough mixdown now and then the engineer is going to work some magic. We're finished recording for now while the engineer makes adjustments.

I just have a couple things left for this class to do and then I am done. One of those things includes subjecting people to my video. And then another class starts up a few days later.

As for work, I have two web sites that I need to work on on Saturday, at least for a while, as this video has sucked up most of my time.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Why It Takes Women So Long To Get Ready

I bought a new torture device. Okay, okay. It's a bra. Actually, it is a strapless convertible bra attached to a bodysuit. In any case, the thought behind the garmet is a good idea. Not so hot was the execution of the idea.

Let's start with the obvious: if you're going to make a bra/underwear thing like this you have to make it so that the woman can fasten the damned thing herself. I opened the package and looked at it. It's sleek black, glistening fabric. It is very pretty.

I slipped the thing up over my hips and up to my boobs, and then I tried to attach the clips in back, because, unlike a normal bra, you can't fasten it in the front and then pull it around. It simply don't work that way.

You'd have to be a damned contortionist to get this thing hooked up by yourself. After several fruitless minutes of trying, I finally unsnapped the crotch (yes it has a snap-closed crotch), hoisted it up, and tried again from a different angle. No luck getting the hooks fastened in back, again.

So, I tried to re-snap the crotch. After fiddling around with it for probably 5 minutes, I got down on the floor and tried. Nope. Not gonna work. So, I bent WAAAAAY over to have a look down below. And damn it all if they weren't BLACK snaps on the damned thing, so you can't even SEE them to get them re-snapped.

So, fine. I take the whole thing off and examine the snaps. They're not even real snaps. They're more like little plastic blobs with corresponsing little plastic holes surrounded by fabric. They are not even close to being a design with which a woman could feasibly fasten herself while wearing it... which brings up the question: what if you did - miraculously and theoretically - manage to get the thing fastened in the back by yourself and then you went out somewhere in it... what if you had to pee???? You'd NEVER get that thing snapped back up without an assistant, which, now that I think about it, opens up a new job title in the personal assistant marketplace: Bodysuit Crotch Snap Fastener Assistant. Probably pays AT LEAST $10 an hour.

But I digress. Even when you're not wearing the thing, getting the snaps hooked back up is no small feat. it requires the use of a vise, pliers, both hands, and the gravitational pull of Jupiter to snap back together.

After a few minutes of dinking with it, I finally have the crotch re-assembled, and go in for another attempt at fastening the back. After tilting this way and that and bending my arms in ways they were never intended to bend, I finally got it put together... kind of. I got the bottom one hooked up just fine, but then I got the top one hooked onto the second rung, leaving the second hook without a place to go and strange bulge in the hook and eye system in the back. Bollocks.

But I left it for a while, because it was on, and I did look CUTE in it. After about 10 minutes in it, the back started irritating me, though, so I undid the hooks and gave it another go.

Again, you have to be a contortionist to get this damned thing hooked up! My shoulders popped, my elbows creaked, and I bent myself almost completely backward trying to fasten the hooks and eyes in the back. I only managed to hook the top hook into the bottom eye, which was even worse than missing the second one altogether previously, so I tried again.

After about 10 more minutes of fiddling with it, I gave up and decided that I would need help is I was ever to wear the thing properly. Then again, if I ever decide to wear it anywhere, I will need a peeing buddy.

Perhaps, though, there is a method by which one could hook everything up BEFORE putting it on? I doubt it.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Recording!

Tuesday we were in the studio, and managed to capture drum tracks for five of the 11 songs. I had hoped to get more done, but, it is what it is. Looking back, things didn't go as badly as I perceived them as going while it was happening. I had to remind myself this morning that this is how recording sometimes goes; no band - professional, indie, major label or not - comes out with a finished CD in just 8 hours.

So, we're on the right track and will be back to recording next Thursday!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Your Media, Your Airwaves, Your Voice

You'll notice that, in the sidebar to the left, that I have put in a new widget. It is a poll to give our opinions about the most important aspects that need to be addressed by President Obama's FCC chairperson.

It iws important that you vote and let your voice be heard. If you're tired of the pro-corporate bias in the media that has nothing to do with your real concerns for this country and what matters to you... if you are tired of the spin and propaganda that make these things that are only good for big business look like the benefit you and your concerns... if you would like to keep the Internet free for all to use without preference to which corporation can pay the most ('Net Neutrality), then please, take this poll. The airwaves are yours. They do not belong to the government, any media owner, or any corporation. They belong to the American people. Let's take them back.

It Doesn't Rain...

...but it pours.

(Yes, I am re-using the title from my MySpace blog. Because I am being lazy.)

Anyway, so after the awful events of last week, one might think that nothing else really bad could happen here, but IT DID!

This morning, my cat, Cajun, demolished my brand new bag of bagels right in front of the bedroom door. Cajun had bounded through the bedroom, over the bed, and back out. Well, Cajun NEVER comes in the bedroom, so I should have found that odd.

Well, I got up, went to the bathroom, and then went into the kitchen to get the broom to clean up the bagel carnage off the dining room floor, where, apparently, the bagel destruction had started. I had just finished sweeping it up when I smelled heat and heard some crackling. My eyes were instantly drawn to the chimney, and, sure as shit, the wall around the chimney was on fire!

The fire started in the chimney, apparently from the bricks getting really hot and catching the drywall on fire. At one point, I guess, the stove was on the other side of the partition between the dining room and livingroom, but the chimney access was closed off by a metal (aluminum, maybe?) plate when they moved the stove to the livingroom side of the partition. Where the plate was in the wall was where the fire was burning.

Sprayed the fire with a spray bottle, putting it mostly out. I called out to the kids and got them to get dressed and go out to the car where they would be warm with the heater and all. Then, I called 911. For whatever reason, I got a hold of Pend Oreille County, and they had to re-route me to Bonner County. I reported the fire, told them that it was pretty much out but that we didn't know if it was in the walls or not. So, they were on there way. Then, I unloaded everything off my piano (my 121-year-old player piano... you know, the one my Dad bought me) and went outside myself to wave the firetrucks into the house. It was a good thing I did, because they were all over the place, completely lost. But they finally got here and looked at everything with a thermal camera to make sure that the fire was out. (Apparently, this thing is sensitive enough to see footprints on carpet when you're wearing shoes.) The fire was out, but they pried off the paneling and drywall where the fire had been.

While the firemen were here, I was in the car with the kids, getting worried and wondering how much damage there would be when I got back inside. Luckily, the firemen had moved my piano out of the way, so it only got some soot and a little water on it. Soon after, the firefighters left, and I got to clean everything up. Some of the family came over and helped move the piano back against the wall, but away from where the fire had been so that repairs could be made.

So, now, we have to wait for the chimney repair guy to come over and decide how much it'll be to repair it. We can't run the pellet stove until then, so it is pretty cold in here. Dad may come over later and take the kids to his place until we have the heat back on.

I had to cancel a meeting I had scheduled for a web site, and who knows how practice will go tomorrow without any heat. But Cajun was today's hero. If he hadn't eaten my bagels and acted like an idiot, the fire might have spread to the ceiling (the kids' rooms' floor) and we might all be dead. So, I gave Cajun a can of tuna. He earned it.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

LTD Damage

I am tired and I don't want to be doing anything...Monday afternoon, Kenny went to serve some papers up north of where Mom & Dad live... somewhere on Jackpine Flats or something. Anyway, so he serves the papers (and he had taken Dad with him), and he is heading back out when he comes to this hill on the one-lane road. Two cars are stopped in the middle of the road, so Kenny stops and waits for them, and then the cars leave. Kenny goes to go up this hill, and the road is icy. He can't get up it, so he starts to back down. The car slides sideways in the rear-end, and Kenny gets my LTD stuck. Yes, he is driving MY car.

So, they try to wiggle the car back and forth for a few minutes, and finally decide that it is well and truly stuck, so Dad goes walking to a nearby house to borrow a shovel. As Dad is walking away, Kenny keeps trying to get the car moving by going forward and then backward. While he is looking backward, a car comes over the top of the hill, starts slipping on the ice and hits my car head-on.

Now, nobody is hurt, I should say that now.

No BODY is hurt, except the body of my car.

The lady who hit the car was driving a two-day-old Suburban. You slide a lot faster than you roll, especially downhill, and, rather than take the ditch, she hit my car right on the passenger side front fender's corner. It DEMOLISHED the fender, the headline rim, the bumper, and all the chrome and lights around the fender - except the headlights... those still work. The impact crunched the fender over the hood, so the hood can't be opened, and jammed the fender back into the passenger door, so that can't be opened, either. Here are some pictures of the damage:
(click for larger views)

















So, I am very upset. Kenny did not get the woman's temporary license number. He did not get her VIN number or her driver's license number. At least, with his P.I. business he could look some of that up, but he didn't even walk to a nearby house and ask to use the phone. He did walk to a nearby house and get them to pull the car out.

The only semi-bright side to this is that she REALLY damaged her Suburban by hitting my car. Apparently, it mashed the radiator into her engine and broke oil and fuel lines and it was not driveable.

Kenny talked to my Uncle Rick (who fixes car body damage), and he talked to our insurance company, and the woman's insurance company, and made a police report. We looked up the blue book value on the car - which, I figure, is somewhere between "average" and "excellent" condition - and my LTD is probably worth somewhere between $6,500 and $9,000 with the 429 in it. But I still figure that her insurance company will lowball it and total my car for what I paid for it: $1,400. I am GOING to get SCREWED on this; I know it.

So, that pretty much ruined my week.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Projects

Today, I finished a pain-in-the-keister project, got most of my school books for the "B" semester that starts in March, and bought some awesome chocolate scented body scrub and body wash. They are The. Awesomest.

I am so looking forward to recording and FINALLY working with TRUE professionals who know what they're doing and FINALLY capture MY awesomeness and my songs' awesomeness and my band's awesomeness.

Because we are AWESOME!

Monday, February 2, 2009

STEELERS WIN!!!

HEY!!!! The Steelers won the Superbowl!!! I'm not going to Disney World, but I am happy!! The first team in NFL history to six Superbowl titles!!! Too awesome for words!!!

About half the people I invited ditched me at the last minute, but, oh, well. Life goes on. I have a ton of leftovers. Heh.

Anyways, not much going on other than that... now, I have to go do school work and some real work. Tomorrow, I start exercising again (oh, joy). Also tomorrow, I am getting my new desk, so, no more painful neck spasms and stuff. It should be awesome!

I sent the kids away to Mom's for the week so I could get all my school projects done and out of the way so I can focus on the recording. Should be a peaceful, if busy, week.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Today...

...I read Fahrenheit 451 for class (not bad, but leaves a weird taste, so to speak), had a business meeting, and registered some of my songs with the copyright office. I also practiced the keyboard parts for the songs that have piano for the album.

Right now, I should be sleeping, but I am debating staying up to get back on a day schedule.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Not Much To Say

Been working, been doing some school stuff (did postings last night and have to watch a video and do more postings tonight), been working on the songs (changing a line here or there as I verify the songs' complete uniqueness by typing lyrical lines into Google with quotes to make sure nothing comes up), and I went and bought a new keyboard.

Not a typing keyboard, but an honest-to-goodness, 88-key, weighted hammer-like keys, digital piano keyboard. I found it on Craigslist for a steal, and went and got it from Post Falls today. I also went shopping for stuff for the SuperBowl party. But I have to do one more thing for that.

Anyway, that's about all that has been happening. Must go do school work now.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Despite There Being No Football On...

... I had a pretty good day. I didn't get to bed until about 6 this morning, and got back up at noon. Got my shit together, and made some soup for the band. We had band practice, and it went really well. We sounded almost perfect, to be honest with you. There are a few more things to tighten up, but I think we might be ready to record by the end of February! Yay!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I Am Tired

I am tired. I went to bed at about 4:30 AM, but couldn't sleep. I laid in bed, awake, until after 7 AM. Then, Dad came over and woke me up at 10:30AM. I don't really mind so much, but I am tired, and that makes me nauseous. I might go take a nap; I am supposed to have company tonight.

Yesterday, we pretty much got the book project wrapped up, and I talked to my lawyer client in LA about his site, which I am supposed to finish up by tomorrow.

I got my tax stuff put together, and I wrote a new song yesterday. It's actually pretty good, but I don't think that it will make the record. It's called "Discontent," and is a blues song that would - mostly - be a guitar instrumental. It plays off of Richard III's famous soliloquy by Shakespeare. If this gets recorded, it will probably be for the next record, along with "Fine Fools," "Troubles," and a few other new ones I have written here recently. Unfortunately, many of them sound the same, so I may have to re-work them and make one or two songs out of the lot.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Well...

Went over "Fine Fools" with the bass player, and then I worked. Been a long day.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

HERE WE GO!!!

The Steelers are going to the Superbowl!!!!!

One for the toe!!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

I Had The Cops Called On Me...

I went out to pool leagues with The Usual Suspects on Wednesday. So, about three-quarters of the way through the pool league games, this Priest River cop comes in. I don't think anything of it. I even walk right past him to go get another drink. Eventually, the cop leaves.


At the end of the night, the bartender calls me over and asks me if I knew why the cop had come in. I said, "no." She proceeded to tell me that the cop came into the bar to throw me out because someone in the bar (a patron, most likely) had called the police complaining that I was "indecent." Apparently, this person reported me as not wearing anything under my shawl. Is that ridiculous or what?!?!?


Verifying photograph (sorry for crappy quality... cell phone picture):

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Fine Fools

I was writing again, and wrote a new song. I've titled it "Fine Fools." It's a funny story about the title: I was sitting the car outside a gas station, and looked to my right at a nearby bar. On the wall of the bar was this neon sign that was supposed to read "fine foods," but part of the "D" was out, so it read, "Fine Fools." I had to go with that.

The choruses - I think - are really catchy. Kenny hates it already. I showed it to him, and he said it was "too pop-py." I see it as a commentary on people knowing things are screwed up but don't do anything about it. Will show it to the band at the next practice.

Five Years

So, I guess I have been writing this blog for five years as of the 12th. Heh. Pretty cool.

I was beseiged by phone calls today, mostly work. Classes started again today. I began my fifth course in the master's program, but, at least, this class looks like it will be fun. We're going to watch James Burke, after all! That makes everything better.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Miscellaneous Detritus

Had band practice tonight, and things are really starting to come together. Just a few more weeks, and I think we can get this CD recorded and be on our way.

My neck goes through good hours and bad hours. It really fluctuates that much. Playing guitar tonight really hurt. My guitar weighs 14 pounds, so that stands to reason. When I wake up in the mornings, my neck is really stiff and hurts a lot. An ice pack on it for 15 minutes followed by a warm shower or a warm towel kinda works. Working makes the back of my neck all tingly. I am trying really hard to sit up straighter and not sit on my leg and not sleep on my stomach, but I tend to do it anyways. School starts on Tuesday. That should be fun. (Not.)