| Few and Far Between |
[Nov. 29th, 2004|12:28 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  first day back at work.... | ] |
| [ | music |
| | that old song that goes "do do do do... do do do do.. ahhh" | ] |
..... referring to my journal entries of course. Again (as I say every time I write here) its been a while since I updated.
I'm sitting here now back in the office after over a week haitus wishing that vacation didn't slip away so quickly. As you might expect, it was all good. Starting on thursday (Nov 18th), Steph and I made an overdue trip to the old Limerick bowling alley to catch up with the old team and the $5.00 pitchers we've missed out on since summertime. It was nice to get to hang for a while and torture the other bar patrons with the new juke box. I don't know the exact nature of how it worked (what server, programs, etc...), but you could search for obscure titles by artist name and it would download available songs. Sort of like a Napster Juke Box. Anyway, Hick and I just started playing all the old Sepultura and Obituary songs we loved so much as kids. Not sure many people we grooving it, but I don't care. They just don't understand real music. :-) So, after a few pitchers, we were off to home to TRY and sleep before we left for Vegas (BABY) early friday morning. The trip out went without a problem and we arrived safely in Las Vegas about 11 am pacific time. We ate and drank like demons on a mission, slept when necessary, and gambled like it was going out of style. We learned 'Craps' (my new favorite) and Steph learned how to give me the 'puppy-dog eyes' to get more money outta me. LOL... I was winning at Craps so it was no worries. We left Vegas exhausted, spent a few hours in the airport on Monday and met a nice lady in the airport bar. Got back to Philly on Tuesday morning, went home, and slept until 3:30 pm. Jet lag does NOT rule. We just kinda chilled on Tuesday, I took care of chores in the afternoon on Wednesday, and took a trip to AC on wed night with the other guitarist in my band. I got the bug... what can I say. I did OK early on, but the Craps tables went to $10 minimum and I couldn't hang with the swings (after dropping so much cash in Vegas). Lost my craps winnings at Roulette and Sic-Bo, but wound up breaking even overall. Turkey day was full of family and friends, 2 full dinners, and lotsa beers. Friday night was "Stay home watch movies" night. Saturday was another day filled with activities..... birthday party/dinner for Jen and Aunt Connie at Heather's house, followed by 9.1% abv (alcohol by volume for you rookies) stouts at Victory's with pool. Sunday was the biggest dissapointment of the week due to the Giants loss to the Eagles (gotta give em props tho... they are damn good team), but it got better as I finally got to meet S&S. Very nice peeps outta nor-cal. I look forward to them moving back to the area next year and dragging them to shows and stuff. And.... *sigh* that's it. It's over. It's Monday. I'm tired. I need a vacation from vacation. Counting down to Christmas week off.... 26 days to go.
Mood: Sad to be back at work. |
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| Monday |
[Nov. 1st, 2004|12:14 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  content | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Crowbar | ] |
Ah, just your standard update....
Weekend was relatively non-eventful. Friday night was chilling at home and watching 2 crappy movies.... Jerry Seinfeld's 'Comedian' and 'The Alamo'. Comedian was about Jerry's return to the comedy club circuit. It wasn't bad, just more of a documentary style film. It gave me a couple of good laughs. The Alamo was just plain boring. We didn't even make it through the first hour before we turned it off and watched 'Pirates of the Carribean' for the 304th time.
Saturday was friendly visit day. My buddy from Trenton came down to play Mortal Kombat for 5 hours, then Steph and I went to Stables to meet Rhys and his friend Spuggs. Got my ass kicked in pool, then won at darts, and it was off to home. Sunday was catch up on chores day. Laundry, removal of air conditioners, dishes, etc. Giants won again (NICE) and so did the Eagles (Booo!!!).
Since I bought the new PC, haven't done much but game every day. Man, Doom3 it the bomb. FarCry kicks ass too even though it's EXTREMELY difficult on the medium setting.
So, that's about it. Getting ready for a long week at work, but our Vegas trip is coming up in just under 3 weeks so I am psyched about that. Not to mention the 10 days off of work that accompanies it. That's about all.
Overdue updates: We played at the Happy Tap Tavern on the 23rd after Stevie G's wedding. It was fun even if there were only 15 people there. Two big shows coming up, one in Milford on the 12th and the one at LaSalle on the 13th.
That's all for now:
Lyrics of the day: "Still Bleeding" by How It Ends
Your time has come
Break the mold, push the limit
Question the world, question the world
Life tried to push you back
Strength is getting up when you just want to stay on the ground
The fight won’t stop
Still bleeding
Fear in the eyes of the enemy
The powerful now conquered
The walls falling form, your, path
The fight won’t stop
Still bleeding
Pushing me through the hard times, is a pain that I hold dear
I’ll never lay down to die, I’ll never give in to fear
Walls that stand before me, I punch with all my might
I hold my fists with pride, still bleeding from the fight
Still Bleeding |
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| Long time again...... I am S L A C K E R |
[Oct. 11th, 2004|11:34 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  energetic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Led Zeppelin - Kashmir | ] |
Well, it's been.... I don't know how long. Got the feeling this morning to spout off some useless information about myself and catch up with my recent past.
I think the last time I wrote, we were talking about the Virginia Trip... so just to reiterate, that was a super blast of a time. September was relatively uneventful although it seemed to fly by. Most of my time was spent either at band practice or at home on weekends watching movies and playing CivilizationIII. Yeah, that game is more addictive than crack (I don't really know, I've never tried crack). I got into the habit of playing for anywhere between 6-10 hours a day on weekends. Weeknights, I've been seeing 2 am regularly (and I have a normal 9-5 job I need to get up for) and sleep normally gets postponed until the weekend. But now, a third of the way through October, my addiction is lightening up. Only playing for 3-4 hours a day at this point.
The band is doing well. We have a couple shows lined up and are getting ready to record a demo pretty soon.
October has been busy with a bunch of stuff. Poker night, Stevie G's bachelor party, the haunted penitentiary coming up, perhaps the PA ren faire, the wedding, our show in Bethlehem. The only Saturday I have left open is the 30th (which is Halloween saturday) so who knows what parties might pop up.
Oh, yeah, and those G-men.... Hell Yeah..... 4-1 and closing in on the Iggles. I am VERY happy about that.
Next up.... Las Vegas and a week off in mid-November. Then we get close to snowboard season.
Dats all Folks. |
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| Sad News |
[Aug. 17th, 2004|03:32 pm] |
Well, I just got a call from my Mom and it turns out that my Grandfather isn't doing so well. I heard from her last week and she had mentioned that he went into the hospital earlier in the week. The doctors weren't sure what was wrong, so they did a bunch of tests. Turned out they found a mass on his pancreas. They weren't sure about the severity of it, so they went in on Friday to do explorative surgury. As it turns out, our worst fears came true, the tumor is very large and has been diagnosed as pancreatic cancer of the malignant form. The doctors say it's a very aggressive disease. Since the diagnosis is only a few days old, all the options haven't been carefully considered as of yet, we are still in the 'wait and see' phase. Unfortunately, knowing my grandfather, he will refuse chemotherapy. So, the early prognosis is that he has about a year left. I will wait to hear the plan to battle this disease.
On the bright side, he's lived a pretty healthy 82 years. He went through a triple bypass surgury last year and recovered quite well. He's a resilient old coot, so no one really knows what the future holds. He was even saying to my mom the other day that he felt like going bowling. So, we will see. |
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| Long time, no keyboard diarrhea.... |
[Aug. 17th, 2004|02:18 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | busy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Some Springsteen song I don't know the name of. Sorry Steph. | ] |
As usual, I have not had time to update my journal (not that anyone other than Steph and Jen read this garbage), so I am just writing to summarize all my unimportant happenings.
Let's see.... work = busy as usual (which is good, the time goes by fast).
Past couple weeks have been filled with practice with 2 bands (one of which is going well, the other is just.... stagnant). Finally got my Rocktron Hush Super C rack mounted Noise Gate which I haven't put in yet. Bowling every Thursday and still losing every Thursday. At least there's good people and beer. Past 2 Friday nights have been PS2 tournaments between me, Steph, and Slifer. Again, good people and beer. This past Saturday was movies and games. I highly recommend the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Jeff Foxworthy is funny, but there were 2 other Rednecks on there that had me in tears. Waste of time: Masked and Anonymous. I don't understand, it had a hell of a cast: John Goodman, Val Kilmer, Penelope Cruz, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater, Cheech Marin, Chris Penn, Mickey Rourke, Giovanni Ribisi, on and on, but the movie made ABSOLUTELY no sense to me. There's 1 hour I'll never get back (I gave up after about an hour).
Things I am looking forward to in the coming weeks: Dennis and Matt, my old buddies from graduate school in Ohio are coming out to Philly this weekend for the ACS meeting. It will be good to see them. Next Thursday is Ozzfest (had tickets since March, so I've really been waiting for this). Took Friday off for recovery. Involved in a couple Fantasy Football drafts that weekend as well. Then Labor day weekend (4 days off) which includes a trip the the mountain house outside of Roanoke Virginia. And in November.... LAS VEGAS! WHOOT!
Well, nothing else to really say. |
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| Long time no Blog |
[Aug. 4th, 2004|10:33 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | drained | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Darkness Falls - Killswitch Engage | ] |
It's been a long time.
Weeks are flying by... can you believe it's August already? We'll be getting ready for Christmas in no time flat. The past week I've been thinking a lot about music and my path forward in that area. I've really sorta got three things going right now. There's Dan and the guys, then there's the acoustic/coffee house stuff that's only beginning, then there's the hardcore band here near work. With Dan and the guys, it's same old story. Getting people to want to practice is a challenge, they never have money, enthusiasm is rock bottom, but we've been doing it for a while and have a feel for how each other plays. We do occasionally write that one tune we all love to unleash on, so that makes it worth it. So, for now, I still go to practice every Wednesday until something definite comes along. Then there's the coffee house band. Me, Shanna, and Mick. It's blooming right now, but I definitely like the way it could go. I never pictured me strumming an acoustic and playing Sheryl Crow's - Strong Enough to be my Man, but it works. So, I definitely will continue with that. Then there's the other heavy band. Last night I got called back for a second audition and I think it went pretty well. They had a second guitarist (auditioning also) and I think we work pretty well together. Worked on a new tune and got it almost finished and it's definitely cool. I still don't feel comfortable yet, but I think it will get there. It's funny working with other musicians because I only know one way to do it... the way I've been working with Dan and Gavin. So, there will be some adjustments to be made. I guess we will see what happens. I thought it went well, since we didn't finish until after 11:30. I think the bass player is diggin it, he wanted me to leave my cabinet there at the practice space (couldn't because I needed it), which led me to believe they'd be bringing me back again. So, there's my minimalistic drama for the week.
Other than the band issues.... had a nice picnic with Steph at Trish and Drew's house with the bean bag toss game and wiffle ball. Got addicted to Halo..... and generally didn't sleep enough any of the days. Doom3 is officially out and I don't own it yet. Maybe tonight after work if it's not sold out. |
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| Welp, it's Monday again. |
[Jul. 26th, 2004|09:38 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Disturbed - Darkness | ] |
Wow. A week gone by. Amazing.
Things that happened last week: Wednesday was practice night, and basically got very little accomplished (as usual). I did get to try my new rig and man o man, it's got ballz. I still have to tweak it here and there, but it's got super potential. Thursday - bowling night - was horrible. I dunno what was wrong. I don't really want to talk about it. Friday night - Poker with my uncle. That's always funny. Especially when Lou has Queens over eights and he bets into me with Kings over tens. Needless to say, he was getting a little miffed because it seems that my uncle always does that to him, so now he's got 2 members of the same family destroying him at the card table. Saturday - slow start, but a good day. Met with Shanna for our initial meeting to see if we could write some music. Now, it's not my style per se, but I do think it can work out. A mix between her bluesy background and my 'edge' style music, will come out somewhere in the Alice in Chains/Evanescence/Jeffery Gains/Tracey Chapman blender mix. Interested to see what might become of it. Later that night, Steph and I went to Heather and Ed's for a 'semi-BBQ' to see their new puppy - a mini-daschund named Tilly. Very cute but oh so tiny. I was worried that she'd scurry under my feet and that 200 lbs of me would squish her. She slept in my lap for about a half hour and I thought how much I miss having a dog. Someday.....
The night capped off with pool at Victory, a surprise showing of what Rhys calls 'leg-gum' (he had too many Monkeys) and a small visit to the Ep. Sunday was relatively uneventful - movies (SWAT, Secret Window, The Perfect Score, then SWAT again, then All I want with Elijah Wood and Franka Potente which was sorta funny and sorta predictable). Then off to bed for work on Monday. That's pretty much it. Nothing mind-blowing. I did get an email this morning from How It Ends, and I am trying to set up a Tuesday practice which means cancelling practice for my other band. We will see what happens. Happy Monday everyone.
Lyrics: Disturbed - Darkness
Don't turn away I pray you've heard
The words I've spoken Dare to believe
For one last time And then I'll get the
Darkness cover me Deny everything
Slowly walk away To breathe again
On my own
Carry me away I need your strength
To get me through this Dare to believe
For one last time And then I'll let the
Darkness cover me Deny everything
Slowly walk away To breathe again
On my own |
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| Stuff since last Entry |
[Jul. 19th, 2004|12:29 pm] |
Well, I've been busy so I haven't updated in a while.
Thursday (Bowling night) was rough as usual. Even though I shot a 648 (226, 208, 214) I lost all 3 games. At least there was beer.
Friday morning: Still tasted the beer from bowling... man, there must be something wrong with that tap. Late getting up and to work. Work dragged. Friday night was fun, BBQ and pellet guns, foosball and laughs.
Saturday was something of a 'shopping' day. I wasn't happy with the sound of my Marshall, so I wound up going to Guitar Center and upgrading. I traded it in on a Mesa Rectifier 2:100 and Triaxis pre-amp. This thing is much much better... the power is amazing and the sound is great. Looking forward to mastering the controls and finding that signature sound I've been looking for. Once I get the Hush Super C and the Midi controller, I will be done with guitar center for a while. At least until I pay off the big mean old bill. Sat night, stayed in (lack of cash for one reason) and watched movies. The Butterfly effect was a great movie, although I am not sure I really liked the ending. That one with DMX and John Arquette was forgettable at best.
Sunday was a return to guitar center for some odds and ends, picked up the new Killswitch CD (good, but not better than the first album), then headed home for more movies. Rainy days are good for that. This time we had, Pirates of the Carribean (for like the 3rd time), The Exorcist, and The Magdelene Sisters.
So, it was a pretty uneventful, restful, relaxing weekend. Back at work right now and wishin' it were Friday.
Lyrics of the day: Slayer "Screaming from the Sky"
Listen to the rhythm of a dead man walking
Silent is the heartbeat of the predator stalking
Hear the sound of air feel the warmth touch your neck
Reality is not fair no time to second guess
Hear the distant ringing of the blade as it cuts your neck
Silent is the cry lying on your mattress of blood
An easy mark for a veteran of execution
I walk step by step with death
Where all bludgeoned bodies lie
You will see my face of rage
Cut your heart out of your chest
Leave impaled the consummation of mankind |
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| Another Bullet Dodged |
[Jul. 14th, 2004|09:28 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | relieved | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Eagles - Hotel California (work radio) | ] |
Another chemistry disaster avoided. The aldehyde was on the column and we have it pure now. This is the second time the LCMS fooled us. Safe... for now. |
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| Fuck 2 Many Beers |
[Jul. 14th, 2004|12:00 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  mischievous | ] |
| [ | music |
| | How It Ends - Crippled | ] |
11:52 by the clock.
Shit I need to sleep. Sitting here wishing I was a rock star. Really. I got an email from a band called How It Ends. Which is what I am listening too right now. They are a signed band on Thorpe Records and it seems from the email I just got that they don't have ANY guitarists. I can fill the role I think. Depends on what track they want to follow. Interested parasites can check out their website: www.howitends.net
Damn it all I just want to put out some music that moves the masses. Blakburn ins't doing it for me.
Lyrics: from my undiscovered song - Poses of Serenity:
Inception of life, incarnation of the human form
Volitile existence, sentenced to death from the day we're born.
Abomination of vitality, anethema beyond it's highest degree.
Disparaging reality, systematic, Poses of Serenity |
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sic_brutality's journal