What It's All About...

Day 3 and I love my family more than ever.  I think that the love I have for them grows exponentially.  It is something with which I've been very fortunate.  They are me and I am them...


A bit cryptic, albeit sweet I guess, but it really is a great thing to have, family love.  The more I see them the better I feel about who I am and from where I come.  My parents came and visited today and it was really special.  I guess every time we have the opportunity to visit is special, but this felt new and more vivid for me.  They were here, and they played the roles of parents and grandparents simultaneously.  Their children, grandchild, and even in-laws were all present at the same time.  It truly was one of the happiest days that I'm keeping for me.


We talked about the women that have climbed K2, discussed snow tires for my car, and shared some pepperoni, cheese, avocado, and apple slices.  Mom tended to the baby and we sat around and just talked.  Simple, yes, but it was something that I'm really going to treasure.  A memory for me, and a great one to start this new year.  Needless to say I'm happy to sleeping warm in my bed and I'm counting my blessings.  It could all change in the blink of an eye and I don't want to miss anything.  So, I'm thankful, and humble.  Remember those that are close to you and thank them, for anything, for everything, for nothing at all and know that it too means something in time.

Ciao!

Productive Days, Baby Visits, and Rehearsals...

Job hunting Sucks...with a capital SUCK!  Okay, so now that I've gotten that off my chest the rest of the blog can continue.


Today was fairly productive.  Any day that I get to hold my new niece is a good one.  Today just happened to be one of those days.  Every time I get her in my arms and she's looking up at me, or staring off into the void which I always misinterpret as her being interested in what I'm doing with my face, I feel like I'm on cloud nine-hundred!  She's so perfect and beautiful I just want to hi-five my sister and brother-in-law for making such a wonderful little girl!


Rehearsals for the show in November and the gig this weekend were really good today.  The big band is making some progress.  I'm excited to see where the Schneider music will go and how it will develop over the next couple of months.  The charts for the gig this weekend are sounding pretty good.  I just hope that tomorrow night's rehearsal will be as productive, if not more so, than tonight.  Keep you fingers crossed...


That's all for now, more to come, sooner rather than later...


Ciao!

The Baby, The Black Sheep, and Some Quality Time...

I'm sure of one thing, that being an uncle for the first time is going to be awesome!

The Labor Day weekend has brought some wonderful quality time spent with family and friends.  With the immanent arrival of my sister's baby, we are all still operating at DEFCON 2, so the tension is high  but it's that good kind of tenseness that makes life exciting!

The rain in the afternoons has been wonderful and it poured freely during and epic storm last night!  The weather was cool and calm and I've always been in love with the aroma of fresh rain off the mountain blowing gently on the cool night air...intoxicating.  Needless to say the evenings have been getting cooler and it feels wonderful.  Last night during the storm some friends, my sister, her husband, and I watched a film from New Zealand.  The film was entitled "Black Sheep".  This quite possibly could have been the best horror/comedy I have ever seen.  The effects were perfect for the setting and the story was so absurd that the entire evening reeked of sheep and horror gore.  Great Saturday night activity for a group of friends.  Check this one out everyone, it's definitely worth wasting a few hours!

Monday is coming and we'll see how far along she is with contractions.  Practice time is upon me and I must heed the call of what Wayne Bergeron referred to as a "coil of torture".  Ciao!

Upgrading From Cloud Seven...

Saturday...definitely one of the best days of my life!  It has been a great Christmas holiday thus far and Friday was excellent.  I spent the day with my parents, lounging around, hanging out, enjoying some time in town searching for a phone.  I ended up replacing my old one with a new one.  It's the same model and everything, just a little newer.  I like the fact that I can see the screen and it's not all whacked out like the old one was.  It was definitely getting a little aggravating, not being able to read the texts and see who was calling.

I had dinner Friday night with someone very cool, very cute, and very amazing.  Needless to say we're hitting it off very well and I'm very happy with the way things are going.  It's going to be interesting to see where this goes.

Today was even more incredible, spending time with said "cute and amazing".  Hanging out, having coffee, walking through a few thrift stores, and then shopping at a scrap booking place.  It was fun, simple, nice, and extremely real.  Something about this day has been very different, and I like the way it feels.  Being on cloud nine is a nice change from the everyday cloud seven...ha ha ha.

Ciao!

Of Crazy Parties, Popcorn, and Snowfall...

As I watch the snow fall gently outside my bedroom window I think about how quiet the world is at this moment. (Well, at least the world outside my window...) It makes me stop and think, possibly ponder my own life at this point in time. Being up this early always scares me a little. Wondering whether or not I should be sleeping, taking this time to reflect on this past weekend, and then trying to live in the moment once more.

It seems that my holiday break has begun without me. I always run around the first few days wondering what I have to do, whether or not I should be at some rehearsal, why I feel so busy when clearly I haven't any schoolwork to which I should attend. Then the feeling sets in and I finally make the switch over to vacation mode. The days are extremely shorter and the nights, while they come earlier and earlier, seem to last forever. I remember commenting just this weekend that it seemed to "feel" like it was nine at night when it was in reality only six-thirty. I suppose that's another thing I still have yet to get adjust in my life. That whole time change thing still freaks me out...

Sunday was extremely relaxing. Enjoying a nice long day of lounging seemed to be just what I needed. Late in the afternoon I found my way upstairs to "begin the day". A quick shower and some clean clothes always makes me feel better. Then off to K's place to hang out with my BAMF. Life is always better, more focused, and safe when I'm with her. She centers me and makes me reassured that life is indeed a good thing! We ended up vegging out, in ever sense of the word. Movies and some empty calories were also what I needed. (Oh, and first time seeing "Lady in the Water"...awesome!)

Saturday morning was frantic, wrought with performances and rehearsals. Though, I do feel that it was more because of the night before and not because of the events of the morning. Bar tending has certainly proven to be much more of a challenge for the morning portion of my day. Getting in early, after tending late, and then getting up to get to a performance was rough! But, it felt good to get some playing time in and enjoy a last go 'round with Tim before he left for his break. I enjoyed a wonderful evening of Tarantino films with my sister and her husband as well as some friends of ours. Family, friends, popcorn, and bloody/puss popping zombies were definitely needed that night.

And now, as the snow falls gently outside my window, I realize that the universe had all of this planned from the get-go. A crazy Friday night, full of alcohol pouring, money flying, margarita drinking co-workers, to a peaceful early Monday morning with a soft and quiet time for personal thought and reflection.

Intense, yes...needed....more than I could have ever imagined.

Ciao!

Something To Fill The Space...

I guess I'm not quite sure about what to write...

It's Thursday, yesterday was Wednesday, the holiday season is here and for all the masses who celebrate Christmas, there's only a week left until the big day.  I guess it's kind of funny how we still, to this day, mark the calendar by big dates.  Regular days probably turned into those world changing moments, altering the lives of countless others and that's why they made the calendar and days like today might not.  (Guess I'll keep my fingers crossed for something incredible!)

Rehearsal yesterday went fairly well and it seems that most of the people in that ensemble rehearse and perform better in a very low pressure situation.  Our professor is definitely a great leader.  Inspiring others and acting as a shining example of how to approach this lifestyle we call "music" is what he does best.  I really look up to him and hope to someday approach the level he has attained.  If you ever get a chance to hang out with him, do it!  It's awesome and he's a great friend.

In other news, the club is holding our annual "Holiday Family Party".  A chance for the kids and their families to come to the club and enjoy some time together.  Games, food, music...you know...all the important stuff that we all should do everyday instead of this crazy bull-stuff that we call "work".  Were the world as great as it is inside our building, everything would solve itself and we'd all enjoy snack-time as an added bonus!

Looking forward to that day...

Ciao!

The Joys of Being Home...

Days like today are few and far between.  I guess that can be said for everyday as we should try to live them like they were our last.  But, having family in from out of town makes days like these even more special.  The first week in December is already checked off the calendar and the skies shown sunny and clear blue.  Though crisp and clear, the days and nights are still very cold and a foreboding winter is definitely on the horizon.  It is simply amazing that there is still lots of sunshine and warm afternoons to go around this late in the year.

I spent the day visiting with family and enjoying stories and conversations over some fabulous home cooked fare.  It was truly a wonderful day.  Working on computers for my parents, and shuffling music around for my grandparents, spreading the love and enjoying each other is definitely my idea of a good time at home.  I'm really fortunate to have them in my life.  Just knowing that they are there makes my days easier and my soul feel good.

I hope that everyone gets to spend some time at home with family, especially during this holiday season.

Ciao!

This Our Day Of Thanks...

Today, a majority of Americans celebrate our holiday called "Thanksgiving". It is meant to celebrate our history, our family, our friends, our relationships, basically the many people in our lives for which we are thankful. Some rejoice in being with good company, some pay homage to their friends and their many blessings.

I think that, after my very short time here on earth, the concept of being thankful has come to mean a great many different things for each of us. The dictionary defines "thankful" as: Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful. I hope that I can express my gratitude for my life, the quality of that life, my family, my friends, my mentors, my education, and each of the many blessings in my world that have become too numerous to calculate.

I do know one thing thus far...it takes more than just one day in the year to truly show how much each of us have in our lives. It takes constant vigilance, determination, and a very conscious effort to remain thankful, to remain steadfast in our humbleness as a family member, as a friend, as someone who can show they are blessed by expressing thanks each and everyday to everyone they know.

My personal gratitude cannot be expressed here in this blog, it cannot be quantified by numbers nor can it be visualized in picture. It can come only from my heart, my words, my thoughts, my work and deeds towards others and that constant unwavering effort to lead by example and show everyone just how "thankful" I am for everything I am, everything I have, and everyone that shares in my life.

Thank you all.

Ciao!