Trippy Sky

You can see Jupiter, Venus and the moon right next to each other right now.

Wow! Thrilling week ahead, lots of travel and some exciting fun.

Elijah and I had a killer 4-day weekend where we got a Christmas tree, a train ride and a pony ride. Pictures to follow on that stuff.

The tree is up so it now feels like Christmas time. Should be a fun season this year with a lot of cool stuff.

New Day, Different Song

I probably spend at least 2-3 hours a day playing music, practicing guitar or whatever instrument I feel like putting my hands on. (Wait! That last one does not sound so... um, like it was supposed to) What I mean, not only is there a bunch of guitars laying around, there is a harmonica, a trumpet.... and a few other brass instruments laying around (missing mouth pieces for the moment) so I always have something to make a tone out of.

Everyday though when I wake up there is a different song in my head. And it ain't just a snippet it is the full version in stereo in my head.

Sunday for example, the Beatles "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was in my head and I hummed it all day long.

Monday was an odd one... George Michael's "Faith". Why this song, which I probably hadn't heard in years is beyond me.

Tuesday... The Killers "Sam's Town"

Yesterday... "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane... which is really weird because I barely know what the verses sound like and those were in my head in full vivid detail.

This morning, "Well All Right" by Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly being one of my all time favorites isn't such a shock.

It's weird because lately I am compelled to pick up my guitar and start playing along. I learned the song Surrender by Elvis this way being able to hear it in my head and just know, it was in the key of G. This is something now I am concentrating on more and more. I wish I had this when I was say 20 and not, gulp! 35 when it could have been a more useful skill when I was getting my degree in music while nearly being tone deaf. I remember the teachers playing a chord on a piano and hearing a harmonic echoing in the room with them going, "Can you hear that?" and the rest of the class going, "Yeah.." and I would have a stupid look on my face. But it is weird, 12 years from the end of college, with a degree and music and I can finally hear it and pull the notes right out of it like they were colors as easily definable like red or blue.

Match Me...

I am off to the nearest homeless shelter with a hundred dollar check... This kid touched my soul this morning and I cannot stop thinking about him.

It's That Time of the Year!!

Sunset out the back of the new house in the country.

When people starting searching for those who have a sucky birthday on Christmas Day... The searches get more intriguing every year.

Of course all the funny comments people left year after year are gone unless I re-install haloscan.

The house is almost finished. I still have all my tools to move. But I got Elijah's bed up so he can sleep elevated and not on the mattress on the ground when he comes over this weekend. I have put up all my shelves and music bullshit everywhere. I put up some decorative shelves in the dining room and I put up my trumpet and the trombone I fished out of my mom's attic. She also gave me her great aunt's accordion for a decoration too. It still plays. I have some cool stuff up including this poem about this old violin for sale that no one would buy until someone picked it up and played something beautiful out of it. That is how I feel sometimes.

Anyhow... with the 6 dozen placemats my mom gave me... I am pretty set here now. Just some tidying up. 2000 sq feet is a lot for a single dude but it is cool. Now I just need an old Chevy truck. I think that is what I am after this spring. A '68-'72 Chevy pick up. Something I can restore like the Porsche. It could be cool.

All They Got To Rule The Nation...

...when all I've got is precious time

It is happening in 2008 too, which means we are all getting free Dr. Pepper. Free Dr. Pepper!!! I pre-ordered my copy because I am a big rock fan, as you all are aware. And, if you pre-order off iTunes you get the first single, Chinese Democracy.

Think about all the crap that has happened the last year with the first black President, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays making it to the World Series, and Keith Richards still alive.

If the album is anything like the first single, this thing is going to be big on rock radio!!

Remember I predicting this thing was going to happen this year with my post labels. Check out the label below that says "Guns and Roses Chinese Democracy release 2008"

Add Coffee As Needed...

Wow... it has been two whole weeks since I moved out on my own. The dead silence of the new neighborhood is so relaxing. The quiet around here is relieving. Yet I have been gone 5 of the days on the road.

I got in from Kansas at 1 AM yesterday and it was my first full day in my home office. I got a lot done. The doors were wide open all day because it is unusually warm here right now. The expected high is 78 today which is absolutely crazy for it being November already. You would expect 59 and foggy with lows around 39 and a chance of rain every week. I am a weather freak because of my career path.

I get to enjoy Elijah this weekend. He is coming down and we are going to have some fun. I need to go find some train place or something to take him to for fun. Jamestown has a whole train thing so I think I am gonna head up there. Or maybe up to Placerville (so I can sneak a wine taste or two in as well). Should be fun stuff, just the two of us hanging out.

I bought a huge bed for him that I still need to put together for him from IKEA.

I have been feeling great pain wise until today. Hard to move my left arm easy and I am limping hard. Plus I am out of medication because I thought I was needing less and less. Suddenly... WHAM!!! Big pain.

Mouse Hunt

So Sunday... I went down and borrowed my dad's truck to get all of my cardboard out of my garage from the move. I decided to burn it all instead of recycle because the county has yet to drop me a can and I needed to burn something as my form of non-violent protest to Obama winning the election. Heh Heh

While loading the truck up I notice this little puffy thing come hopping into the garage. Okay, it was like 2pm so the sun was out and everything was bright. Aren't mice nocturnal? This guy comes hopping right up to me looking for food. I started shoeing it away with cardboard and stuff since I didn't have a shovel handy to whack it over the head. But the thing wouldn't move!! I chased it trying to kick it out of the garage. Still... it kept sitting there looking at me, taunting me... It seriously must have been looking for food because it ran everywhere. I am thinking the little dude knew exactly what he was up to and discovered a hole into the crawl space.

This house is interesting because it has a huge walk in crawl space and that little guy could have been anywhere.

I gave up though trying to get the thing.

I did what I could do... Now there is a nice box of DeCon for him.

Eh... So I changed everything...

New Home... New appliances... New life...

New blog template...

Not done yet. I need to put my links back on.

I'll still write the same but after 4 years tomorrow... I think it was time to rehash this whole blog thing.

All my old posts... and if like reading by labels, check out the bottom of this blog. I think I need a smaller font down there.

I'll edit this from time to time throughout the next month.

You can thank Selina at Lingo Slinger for the creation of my blog header. Check out her blog.

I eliminated all the links and cherry picked what I still actually read that was not a dead link. A lot of the links were dead or hijacked.

I am also going to create a new section for all the Stumble links I find for the latest funny or gross shit on the internet. I have archived over 100+ links for my own mini "Stumble" for the my kicks.

4 Years Ago This Saturday

I started my blog 4 years ago next Saturday. Can you believe that? Four years? Wow!

Now I am ready for a redesign... Gonna spend some time working on my template, purging dead links and adding new ones. I am going to make a Stumble page of shit I pick up on Stumble and bookmark so you can share in my sense of humor.

I am going to 86 the banner.

It is time for an overhaul. Especially since I have overhauled everything else in my life.

Something I read on the back of a Starbucks cup today while sitting with Elijah, eating breakfast in my new neighborhood coffee place, 9 miles away from my new home:

You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all-your time? Vacations and special events are nice but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters.

---The late Tim Russert from Meet the Press.

Something about that, my new life and having Elijah sitting in front of me made me feel special.

The Lowes called and said they couldn't deliver my washer and dryer because it wasn't in stock. I called bullshit and called my bro... the store manager. Ah... the power of who you know.