Sunday, July 18, 2010

I guess I haven't written in a while

First post in a mini series.

I am in the middle of restoring a Fender guitar. Years ago, like 1993, my brother found this old Fender guitar laying in the street. The body was carved like a butt. No joke. Being 19-20 at the time and an avid musician, I took it around to local music shops and basically got laughed at what I had.

It was a Fender Mustang. It was worth nothing. Probably made in the 1980's and no one played them: EVER.

Then Cobain blew a hole in his head. Kurt played Mustangs.

So I was bored once and I got some alder and "made" a new body for this guitar. It was playable, it looked unique but really, I did nothing with it. It basically sat in its (what is the original, I later found) case for the last 12 years or so.

Well... I stated a few months back that I would restore or build a Fender guitar this year and I am.

Started last week by buying a body on the internet from an original 1966 Fender Mustang. I then was researching the neck. I was searching the headstock out and everything on it said 1967-1968 when you looked at it but something was off on it. The tuners were from an older Fender. So I did the obvious thing this morning and took off the neck. I found I had a 1964 Fender neck. Why I had not noticed or convinced myself it was younger was beyond me. A nice little find!!

So now I have this neck that I have refinished. I am getting a new Fender decal for the headstock. All the hardware is clean and in good shape. The next step is to get paint for the body. I am going to go either the Fender Surf Green or Light Blue from 1964. I plan to tint the clear coat with a bit of yellow to "age" the look of it. I can't wait until this is done.

It would be something to say that I finished it. Hopefully then, I can move to the next one.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Week with the Boy

I love this guy. He is so awesome.

I took a week off work and spent most of it so far playing with Elijah each day. We went and saw Shrek Forever yesterday and he acted like an angel. The best he could for a 3 year old at a movie.

He saw the preview for the new Karate Kid and was completely mesmerized by it. I think I might break the rule and take him to it since it has a bunch of kids in it. I was a big fan of the first two back in the day so maybe adding Jackie Chan to it might make it something cool.

It's gonna be tough to go back to work. I will see Elijah again though next weekend.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Been Awhile...

Scarlett is now 7 months old, working on 8. Has a double ear infection which sucks.

Remember back when I say I was out of pain? It all came back with a vengeance the past week and a half. Hard to stand some days and work in my big yard. Which I did anyway. Pain sucks!

I logged in to blog because eventually I will start writing more again. But for now, I just don't want some hacker taking over my page. I could write tomorrow.

I am off the next 10 days. Maybe I will post photos from my iPhone or something along the way. I need the 10 days off. It will be good. Probably finish painting and find a real doctor that can help out.

What do you think?

Friday, April 09, 2010

It all seems to be working out

Friday and it is an Elijah day.

Need to find something to do tomorrow before the rains come back, but what?

Nice day today... wish I could golf. More later...

Friday, March 05, 2010

Friday...

Get to play with Elijah all day.

So much fun...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Post #725

Yeah... it's been 6 weeks since my last post and I should really get back to this blogging thing.

What gets me tonight is a startling revelation: Something changed.

I gave up any and all pain medication about 10 weeks ago (Except of course Tylenol or Motrin which seems to help a little at night).

I just freaking stopped. Or if prescriptions ran out... I just didn't refill them. I just quit. I was tired. Done.

Where am I at?

I hurt like a son of a bitch, yet feel sort of empowered but in an almost remorseful way. Like I feel an episode ended, I don't know what really happened and well... something changed.

How did I come up with this one?

Well... I was playing my guitar the other night and staring at my daughter Scarlett. Reactions from her and my guitar playing seem different and new. And I saw something in my playing I hadn't seen in probably 16 years; I saw invincible enjoyment. Like hey, "I am doing something and you fuckers can't take it away from me."

I have wandered a lot the past 3 or 4 years. I get pure enjoyment from finding something that makes my ass laugh senseless but I do so in my own private way by myself. I love staring out at the oak tree that is on my property that I bought recently. It's all gnarly, crooked and old and probably one of the most ugly things you have ever seen but I feel like I see past it and it is usually the sky that I see. The leaves some comeback on it in a few weeks now so I wonder...

So what are you saying?

Perhaps I finally see the dawn of a new day on the horizon. Perhaps I was or am sick and crazy with some ailment but my body is teaching me how to deal with it. Or have I come up for air and now want to stick my head out and enjoy the sunshine...

I don't know.

I painted my dining room this weekend. It is weird moving into a new place. The look of it is never yours no matter how you fill it with your things from your past life. It is a different place. But putting a new coat of paint, simple just changes the game or the mood or the ambiance or perhaps where you are at in your mind.

I've got a tough road ahead of me still.

There are now 5 individuals counting on me on a daily basis. I aim to be there but sometimes I just miss. I have important roles with each one of them and I need to balance. I also need to spend a couple of hours a week killing computer images on my XBox. Along with getting a decent amount of practice time.

My iPod has been shut off for 4 months.

I packed my apple computer in November and have yet to unpack it. I need a new one but all my music is on it. I have not bought a new piece of music since November. Probably the longest period in my life I have not bought music. I want the new Johnny Cash album, American Recordings: VI. I got some catching up to do... but I am making my own music too. Recalling a song I heard on the radio. We have XM in the Jetta and it is awesome.

My garage is a mess.

I love cars a lot. And I want another one. I need a kid hauler. We need to take four kids out somewhere for fun once in a while. And that's just it, once in a while. But I cannot and will not do it in a mini van. It's gotta be big or it's gotta be able to haul other shit... like a trip to Ikea or gravel.

My new neighbor annoys the shit out of me.

I can't stand this mother fucker. He likes to physically show me where the property line is with strings, stakes, utility markers... All kinds of SHIT. Let's think about this:

We live in the country and we have 1/3 acre to 1/2 acre parcels. Okay, that is a big piece of residential land yes, but the neighborhood is built like your standard cookie cutter suburb. We just have deer and snakes prancing around. And the soil is so GOD Damned hard most people just use rocks.

Between my house and the neighbors house is basically a sharp ravine. My property ends midway down the ravine and this fucker owns the rest of it.

I put my mailbox about 4 inches too far on his side. I shit you not I got pics. And it was a fucking accident.

Instead of telling me to move the box, he gets his Tommy Junior Surveyors kit or what have you and goes exploring for the property markers. And then has the utilities paint all these markers.

And shit... there are no sidewalks and technically where I put the box is not under our control anyway.

So... This jack ass never specifically tells me why he is drawing the lines either. He actually never asks me to move the box. He just sat out there like a jack ass "showing me the line".

I actually had to call him an idiot.

Where was I going with this?

I am still the same angry white dude...(lol) but man, I sure feel different lately. I cannot put my finger on it.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

New Year's Resolution?

Is it too late...?

My New Year's Resolution is to create something from thin air with all my skills. I am going to build an electric guitar.

Right now I am scanning sites for the right wood and things. I hope to start on this project mid February with a summer completion and then a fall, "play it live" performance of said guitar.

This all stems from a dream I have had. I have a complete vision of this thing down to the color of the wires in the pickups. I hope to post this project as time goes on. Still costing things out. My budget is $500 and if I price the materials out now, I am at roughly $690. So I need to do more scanning of of Ebay and Craigslist for parts.

Wish me luck...

My reasoning behind this resolution is that I have not created anything in years. I am generally a creative person and well, I have not been able to connect to that side in a long time. I want to get back to that.

Back to where I once belonged...

Friday, January 08, 2010

Free Ride...

So like... I am coming home from work. And I was going down this road near my house. Not payin attention. Listening to talk radio...

The rode is a country two lane highway and it is really dark.

About 200 yards ahead of me, I see these brake lights come on on the side of the road.

"Huh", I thought.

And then... As I got closer a couple seconds later... "Shit..."

CHP... I looked down at the speedometer 70 mph.

Crap...

I went past... lights went on.

I just pulled over like a helpless animal. I was dust.

He comes up to the car... "Hey... why were you going so fast?"

"Um... I simply was not paying attention."

"How fast were you going?"

"Maybe 65...67."

"69!! It's 55 through here, license and registration please."

He looks it over. "Do you live at this address?"

"Nah... I just moved..." and I start reciting my address.

He goes, "Listen... slow down alright?"

And that is that... adverted probably a $250 ticket, traffic school and huge expense in insurance.

Sweet... My life is average.