Not Much Going On

I've not done a lot in the last few days. I applied to Gonzaga. I filled out a new FAFSA. I still have to write a "letter of intent" that addresses why I want to pursue this particular degree and get two letters of recommendation.

I wrote another new song. In the last two months, I've written three new songs. I mentioned one: "Moonshine Valentine." The others are "Honor Among Theives" and "If The Stars Align." The first two I am pretty happy with, but the last one needs some lyrical work, I think. Just a couple of touch ups, especially in the pre-choruses and bridge.

Stuff

So far today, I've taken a shower, almost finished my Christmas cards, and decided to do something stupid.

Yes, indeed: I've decided to return to school for my Master's degree. I need to do some research very quickly if I am to get started by the Spring Semester at Gonzaga... I originally thought about law school and becoming a lawyer, but that would require me to go to classes at least two or three days a week.

Miscellanea

I spent a few hours recording yesterday. It was frustrating, as usual. I am getting a strange hissing noise, which I think is the guitar cord. I am going to try switching it out and see what happens. My plans for today include more recording and making out Christmas cards.

New Music

I have written a new song. It rocks. :D It is called "Moonshine Valentine," and it is based on a true story from Eastern Kentucky in about 1920. It is a sad story, though. The story is about the daughter of a notorious moonshiner and how she falls in love with a revenue man, even though her father warns her not to see him. It ends badly. But the song is still pretty damned cool!

UGH

Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, WORK.

UGH.

Been Busy

I've been working pretty much non-stop since Sunday. It's not over yet. I've been working on the lawyer's site, but I've got the content almost done in my Word documents, and the design is finished. Just have to insert keywords into the text and then insert the text into the design and publish it. Well, I also have to research how things are uploaded in the UK. It seems that domain name registration in Ireland is different than here: you have to write to someone or other and explain why you want a specific domain name. So, I think there might be differences in how things are uploaded or how you attached a domain name to a certian hosting account.... Also, I have to develop a "Conveyancing Calculator" that runs on the web site and outputs numbers. Also, I have to set up the e-mail accounts. And a "search" feature. And RSS feeds to publish automatically. Lots to do by the weekend.

That's pretty much all that's happening.

Half-Stache The Cannonball Pirate

My cat passed away today. He was 14. Actually, I don't think it was today. I hadn't seen him since Monday night. I found his body underneath the lilac bush next to my bedroom. We buried him next to the aspens in the backyard. I dug the hole and put rocks on the grave.

I'll miss him.

I Am The (Whatever) Whisperer

I started feeling funny last night at about 11PM. A heaviness in my chest, burning in my throat. I tried to deny it, but I was coming down with Kenny's cold. Only, I am not stuffed up. I got laryngitis. I cannot speak at all, much less sing. I know I won't be able to sing by Saturday. And then there's practice! I don't know HOW we're going to practice if I can't sing.

ARG!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Busiest Weekend

Cue eerie music

It was a dark and stormy day. I was feeling lazy as usual. The rain pelted the side of the house like an angry woodpecker with A.D.D. and O.C.D armed with a 12-gauge. This was my Friday. I finally got up the gumption to get ready and drive to Spokane, three cranky kids in tow. It was the start of the long weekend, so the traffic was as crazy as a meth-addled squirrel after a ride on a tilt-a-whirl. People had completely lost all common sense while driving, all seemingly concentrating on what they were all going to do whenever they got to wherever it was they were going off to.

I made my way carefully - with my cruise control set at 60 - to the wedding site for the rehearsal. It was at the rehearsal that I met a woman that I shall call "Controlling Bitch." She attempted to control every aspect of the rehearsal... even the stuff she couldn't possibly know anything about, including how to time my music to the activities of the bridal party. I made my best attempt at ignoring her.

After the rehearsal, I hurried home to cook dinner, but with the traffic and nothing to drink, I decided to swing into the Ram Drive-In on our way home. I am so not shitting you: we must have waited there in the drive-thru lane for over an hour. When we got to the window, I'll bet we weren't there more than 45 seconds. PATHETIC SERVICE. Stupid teenagers. I'd have fired the lot of them, were I the manager. But, hell. I'm not. So, I'll shut up about that.

I got home and started cooking dinner and was helped my aunt work on her new laptop. It was during this that I was looking for my Dreamweaver CD and realized that I lost it in the move. Le sigh. After dinner, I put Cait's hair up in pincurls and put the kids to bed. I had some computer stuff to do, so I didn't get to bed until almost 3 AM.

I got up at 8AM and we drove into Spokane and met up with my aunt, uncle, and the twins at Pizza Hut. After lunch we all went to the wedding site. Me, Kenny, and the kids were the only ones there at first. About 5 minutes later, Controlling Bitch showed up and told us to move our car so "other people didn't park" where we did. No matter how many times we assured her that we would, indeed, move our car as soon as our musical equipment was unloaded, she wouldn't shut up until the car was moved. Finally, we just moved the thing just so she would STFU.

The day was hot, and I spent the majority of the day just sitting in the shade and getting nervous over my piano performance. The ceremony got going after while, though, and I did play pretty well. I started with "In The Garden," just like at practice. And I did the performance just as the Controlling Bitch told me I should: play "In the Garden" until the groomsmen appeared, then play "Ceud Mile Failte (100,000 Welcomes)" (a song I wrote) for the bridesmaids. Only, there was a pretty big delay between the appearance of the groomsmen and the appearance of the bridesmaids. So I ended up playing "Ceud Mile Failte" WAAAAAAAAAY longer. The controlling bitch had told me earlier to start playing the wedding march as soon as I caught sight of the ring bearer because, she said, the bride would be "right behind him."

Well, clearly, "Controlling Bitch" was wrong. I saw the ringbearer, but the flower girl and bride, et cetera, were some distance behind him, so, I started playing the wedding march as soon as I saw the ringbearer... and ended up playing it, like, 100,000,000,000 times. I felt so stupid. Thanks, Controlling Bitch, for the great musical advice. Ha!

After the ceremony, me and Kenny played some music for the guests. After the wedding me and Kenny came home and I made some ravioli and we watched a football game replay on the NFL Network with my Dad until Dad went home, and then me and Kenny watched some stuff Kenny had taped on the DVR. Kenny wanted to get a Pay-Per-View movie, but the phone line hasn't been plugged in for a while to the receiver, so just using the remote wouldn't work. So the kids brought me the laptop to order the movie via the Internet. Well, I hadn't looked at the laptop for some time; I have let the kids use it pretty much exclusively since they moved in. Well, I booted it up and it was then that I realized that Something Had Happened to my laptop. The left click key on the touch pad was sticking down, and something was stuck under the "t" key. After cleaning up the left click key, I kept touching the "t" key, and it spontaneously fell off, revealing a PIECE OF RICE under it. To my surprise, unlike the last time this happened, the key popped right back in place, but I was peeved, so the kids have a week-long ban from all my computers. Hopefully, that will teach them to keep food and drinks away from the Expensive Equipment.

I ended up falling asleep on the couch. Kenny woke me up at about midnight and we went to bed.

I woke up at about 10AM the next day and got ready to go to Spokane... again. Three days in a row of driving in an out of Spokane... arg. Anyway, went in to the studio and traffic (still the long weekend, yanno) made me late by almost half an hour. I told them when I got there that I had to leave by 5:30 PM, but then, at 4PM, they were all, like, "okay, we've got all we need. You can go." And I'm like, "Are you sure you don't want me to do more harmonies or something while I'm here?" And they're like, "No, we're good. Lots of music work tomorrow, though."

So, bewildered, I left. Stopped at Dairy Queen and bought a Moo-Latte. Stopped at Safeway, took a leak, and bought pop and cat food. Came home, and cooked pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, and hash browns for the band and the kids. Then, we practiced. Mom and Dad stopped by.

We had band practice scheduled for the next day at 4PM. The bassist and drummer showed up, and we practiced.

Later, I put the kids to bed, did the dishes, talked to my friends, and then dropped dead (i.e.: slept). I had set the alarm on my cell phone for 9:30 AM, and simply slept through it, so I didn't get up until 11AM this morning.

Made coffee and got the kids started on their school work. They did all right, and were done by 12:30 PM. I ran a scan on my computer, filled out the rebate forms for our cell phones, and sent Cait's check to her savings account. Once my computer scan was finished, I worked on a web site.

I cooked dinner for the family and two of my cousins, and then helped the kids and Kenny make their picks on the band's Pick 'Em League on the forum.

Tomorrow, the kids have school again, and then they have football and cheerleading practice. The kids have games late Saturday afternoon. Sunday, I am going to WATCH FOOTBALL!!!!

Light News

I called the attorney I do web pages for, and he has more work for me. Apparently, he needs a whole new web site. It's good for me. I'll get some money and the work isn't terribly hard.

I have come down with another case of tonsilitis. I first started feeling icky at the football field while Hunter practiced. I feel somewhat better now, but who knows how long that will last?

We have band practice tomorrow. Friday, there is a rehearsal for the wedding that I must go to. Saturday is the wedding. Sunday, I am supposed to record. The tonsilitis may prevent that. We'll see at practice, I guess. Monday, everyone seems to not have anything happening, so we may go to the Legion, and I would like to do an early practice. Tuesday, school starts. Wednesday, the kids all have practices. Thursday, we will have band practice again, and it is the start of FOOTBALL SEASON!!! So, yeah. I'll be watching football. Friday, we should practice again. Saturday, the boys have games and we are SUPPOSED to play at the Burro with Mister Fifteen. Sunday, there is football, but I expect that I will be in the studio for at least part of the day. The Monday after that is the first day that I don't know what is happening other than that the kids will have school.

Update

Went through the kids' school books and got everything ready for them to start school. I must say, I feel sorry for Raven. He is starting junior high, and his school work is heavy, to say the least. He has 4 books over 600 pages. Plus 5 book reports. At least he gets to type everything.

Also, I ran into one of the gals who works at the Priest River Times at football practice today, and I asked her if they'd hired anyone. She told me that they hired an intern that they had brought in after the reporter they were replacing left. Hiring from the inside bites me. I informed her that I was a little ticked that nobody even bothered to tell me, but that I assumed that they'd picked someone else, based on how much time had passed since my interview.

Another Day, Another Project

I took it easy today. I didn't cook. I didn't clean. I didn't talk on the phone. I played piano and learned the Wedding March and "Canon in D" for CJ's wedding, and had band practice later in the day. It went a lot better than the last one. We'll practice again Monday afternoon.

Tomorrow is a busy day. Kenny has football practice with Raven in the morning, and then practice with Hunter and Cait in the afternoon. While he is at practice with Hunter and Cait, I will take Raven up to Sandpoint with me to do grocery shopping. We're out of everything. Except chicken. I still have chicken.

Not sure what's happening Saturday.

Sunday, I am in the studio again. Kenny is coming with me, this time.

Like I said, Monday is band practice. Not sure about the rest of the week.

Finished Working

I finished writing that computer safety article I was commissioned to write. It turned out pretty well, all things considered. Since I was limited to 800 words, I was only able to do a cursory examination of the main problems with people's computer security.

At any rate, I talked about anti-virus software, firewalls, securing your Internet browser, and common sense techniques for avoiding infection, such as e-mail tips and avoiding P2P. I called the article, "Creating a Safe Harbor for Your Computer." We'll see how they like it.

I didn't manage to write anything else today, but I might get an opportunity to do so tonight. I've been thinking about Devil's Handiwork again, and, maybe, enough time has passed since the last time I wrote in it that I might have something new to add that would make it better. I would like to get some beta readers to go over it, but I am scared of that; it usually ends up that people want to edit it until it suits THEIR idea of the story should be. They pick on stupid stuff, too. But that's for another blog post.

Murphy's Law

I had another "Murphy's Law" day.

I had intended on getting up at about 8:30 AM, making coffee, leisurely getting ready to go, warming up, driving into Spokane, picking up files from the cover demo guy, getting Kenny a new cell phone, and going to the studio. My plan also included getting a MooLatte on the way home and watching the Hall of Fame game.

It did NOT turn out that way.

My day started stressfully, as I woke up at 10:30AM. Ran and made coffee, slapped on some make-up, threw on some clothes, grabbed said coffee and ran out the door. Called cover demo guy and told him I would be late. Called producer and told him I would be late. Drove out to the Valley via Highway 2 to Argonne. Got just to the Argonne Street bridge and ran out of gas. Coasted to a gas station on just the other side of the bridge. Barely pulled out into traffic, and I set the cruise control. Things are going good. Then, I see a cop going in the opposite direction. Check cruise control. Perfect at 35MPH. The cop pulls a u-turn and pulls me over. Tells me he pulled me over for my taillight being broken and he couldn't tell if my driver's side rear turn signal worked. I'm thinking, "No, duh. You weren't behind me to see that." But I give him my driver's license, registration and proof of insurance and wait. And wait. And wait. He holds me there for almost 20 minutes. Now, I am really late. I didn't get a ticket, but he then spent another 10 minutes making sure every single light on the car was in working order. Finally, I get back on the road. Get onto Sullivan heading toward the Verizon store, and the cover demo guy calls wanting to know where I am. I told I would be there in less than 5 minutes. I get to the Verizon store, and they made me sign in, and then they made me wait for at least 10 minutes before waiting on me. While I am waiting, the cover demo guy shows up. I get the CDs from him, and talk about his web site. Then, I get my new phones (one for Kenny, one for Dad, and one for me, since I was eligible to upgrade all the phones...) and head out to the studio. Finally get there.

We worked on "Strings." I harmonies for backing vocals. I left the studio at about 5:45PM, and went directly to Dairy Queen to get a Moo-Latte. Got my Moo-Latte, and my day brightened a bit, especially when I found out that the Steelers were winning the hall of fame game. :) I finally got back to Newport and came home because I had to pee like a Russian racehorse (where did that saying ever come from, and what the hell does it mean? Do Russian racehorses pee a lot? Inquiring minds want to know.). So, I peed, changed, and ran to Safeway and dropped off our movie rentals, bought bread and milk and paper towels and ran out to my aunt's house.

The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful. I came home and played guitar for the kids, playing an impromtu game of "Name That Tune."

Kids all have practice tomorrow, and I am drained, both emotionally and physically.

I want to write tomorrow....

Not Much Going On

I haven't been feeling very inspired here lately. I haven't been writing, practicing music seems dull, nothing creative at all. I've spent a lot of time looking for work and not finding very much. I applied for four positions today, and I have an interview with a local newspaper tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

Practiced tonight. Did some original material. We haven't practiced any original material in months. It did not go so well. There's a reason we were practicing originals, but I can't say more about it just now.

Excerpt Time!

Spent some time writing tonight. Not a whole lot I can share at this point, but I did write some "funny" stuff. The term "funny" is relative, I guess. At any rate, here is an excerpt, and then I am, most certainly, off to bed.

Anyway, the excerpt, from Devil's Handiwork:

My head felt like a two hundred-piece drum line playing "Wipeout" on constant repeat had taken up residence inside it. Tequila was so not my thing. Coupled with the headache were the waves of heat radiating off the asphalt at the Reno airport. Jess said he knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy who had a private jet and who owed Jess a favor. Something about erasing IRS debt. Who knew?

Between Jess and me, we’d devised Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. By the time we were planning Plans D through F, though, we had polished off two fifths of tequila. Our grand scheme of taking a few million dollars from the Council and spending it on a chain of Mexican restaurants that only served tequila didn’t sound so good to me today. Sounded like the best plan ever, then, though.

Though You're Probably Not Interested...

I've been both domestic and hard-working today. I started working on the That Bytes web design. I dealt with a client all day. And then, I made baked Mac & Cheese. From scratch. Here's my recipe, which I made up myself:

Boil pasta until al dente.

In large sauce pan, combine 2 cups milk with 1 egg. Blend with a whisk. Over medium heat, stir in 1/2 cup of flour. Whisk until very warm but not boiling. You can vary the cheeses, but I used bags of pre-shredded cheese, including: colby & monterey jack, pizza blend (cheddar, mozzerella, colby, swiss, and jack), and mozzerella cheese. Add cheese to warmed milk mixture by fingerfuls. Continue stirring. Total amount of cheese added should be about 2 cups, plus or minus to taste. When cheese is fully melted, add sauce to drained pasta in a casserole or other baking pan. Top with more shredded cheese, crushed crackers, and parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cheese is browning and bubbly on top. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serves about 6 people.

I'm so, so domestic.

Went into the studio yesterday and recorded scratch vocals and scratch guitar tracks. I did really really well, and, yes, I got a CD of what I did to practice harmony parts. But I am not showing that off yet. Soon.

Et Cetera

I rehearsed for the producer... it went well, but I wanted to change the time I would be going in Sunday from noon to, say, 3PM, so that I could have the opportunity to warm up. Well, it was a good thing I called 'cause he cancelled it.

I also did some writing, and completely re-did Kenny's boss' web site.

Here's some decent stuff from Devil's Handiwork:

I grabbed the beer and made my way around the counter and to the stairwell. I heard the whirring, buzzing, and clicking of a computer geek in his native environment below, and descended into the darkness.

Basements are normally cool and slightly damp, but basements in the desert are only mildly more comfortable than a mineshaft in the middle of August with one hundred percent humidity. Jess’ basement apartment had three rooms connected by a mineshaft-like tunnel. The ceilings still bore pick marks and the burnt scars of blasting, probably the only way of getting through the dense rock. Immediately to my left was a "bathroom," if you could call it that. A manhole-like drain marked the lowest point of the slate-tiled floor, and, behind it, a toilet that probably pre-dated my grandparents sat lopsided against some black pipes. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in sixty or so years.

I Used My Gig Money To...

...buy an armoire. I found it on Craigslist this afternoon. Kenny went and got it. It is cedar. It took a lot twisting and turning to get it into the bedroom, but it is exactly what I wanted. Cost me $250 of my $300, but it was worth it.

Here is the best stuff I wrote tonight, from Devil's Handiwork:

There is nothing but sagebrush, dirt, and rocks in Ione, Nevada. Well, there are a few people to cater to the tourists who come to see the fossils at the nearby state park or one of the numerous "ghost" towns from the mining booms. I had to smile at the thought as I parked the truck in front of the bar. No one knew ghosts the way I knew ghosts.

A trickle of sweat snaked its way down my spine as I exited the truck. The Nevada desert in July was not a pleasant place to be; I couldn’t fathom why Jess had decided to hide out here when there were plenty of other – more temperate – hidey-holes of desolation. I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulder and made my way into the bar. The air conditioning was on high, instantly freezing the sweat to my skin.

"Yellow."

I glanced up at the bartender, inwardly grinning at the accented way he’d greeted me. "Hey," I said. "Got a beer back there?"

"Yup," he said. He reached beneath the counter and placed a can on the counter.

The barstool's vinyl seat immediately adhered itself to my bare thighs.

Shows and Tells

We had some pretty fun shows over the holiday. We played at the Kalispel Indian Reservation and then at a private party later. I got up at about 9 AM on Wednesday and took my time choosing an outfit, getting ready and just generally preparing myself for the show. It was hot out. Over 90 degrees, I'm sure. Anyway, so they load up the drums and equipment and stuff and we head off.

Get to the venue at about 2 PM We find out where they want us to set up, and we get our things all ready to go and whatnot. There is about 1,500 people gathered around. We played a couple of short sets and got paid. We did really well. My Mom (who was watching the kids while we played) said that she could hear every part of the band everywhere on the grounds, and that people were really enjoying it. At 6PM, we broke down all the equipment and headed back to our place. We got the drummer's truck unloaded and he took off. We loaded the PA monitors, one of Kenny's amps, my amp, our cords and things, Kenny's Les Paul and my acoustic guitar into the Daihatsu, and Mom and Dad took off 'cause Dad had to go to bed early 'cause he had to get up at 2AM.

Got our stuff unloaded and set up and started playing. Mind you, all day long, I've had half a hot dog to eat. I'm starving after about an hour of this, and the bugs are eating me. I feel dizzy from my hypoglycemia, and finally take a break to pilfer some food from the buffet. I had half a chicken sandwich before we started playing again. About 20 minutes into our second set, the Priest River fireworks started. We had a great view of the whole valley and all the fireworks, but they looked miniscule from our vantage point, and we all kind of felt gypped out of our 4th of July celebration. Anyway, we finished up our set, got paid by our appreciative hosts, and set off for home.

Came home and ate a little bit of leftover rice while I watched the end of The Patriot on TV. Finally got to go to bed at about 2AM. I took the kids swimming out at McAbee Falls. The water was fantastic, but there was this weird, creepy guy there that was making me uncomfortable, so we left a little earlier than I had planned. On the way home, I got pulled over on Peninsula Road for going 55MPH in a 35MPH zone. I got off with a warning because - the cop said - the kids were all in seatbelts.