Finally, a chance to relax

It's nice to be able to relax now that the busiest part of my Christmas holiday is over. All the pageants at church are done, we're through with Handel's Messiah at school, and we're out for Christmas. There's not a whole lot I have to do at work, as we're caught up to the first of January in running off the music for our church services, the sets from the pageants are down and put away, and I'm no longer working with the children's ministry (by my own choosing, but that's anonther post all in itself, or if you want to know, just ask and I'll tell you).

Now I get to just sit back and relax for Christmas. It'll be nice a nice break before things pick back up again with school.

I'm looking forward to getting back to doing our normal choir music in January, and working towards improving it for the ACDA convention in February.


On a final thought: Have you ever had a close friend tell you something in confidence that you really didn't want to hear, and then it bugged you for days? How do you get it to stop? Because I can't, and it's driving me nuts.

The things people will buy...

http://www.stupid.com/stat/PIGY.html

This is just frightening.

Snuffleupagus!

Snuffleupagus You scored 60% Organization, 55% abstract, and 57% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables. First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean. Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type. Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself. You are somewhat organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted. I bet you didn't think you were Snuffleupagus. Let's find out why. You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Alloyius Snuffleupagus (and all Snuffleupagus') is not sloppy by nature, but he moves so incredibly slowly that it is impossible for him to be totally organized. You both are about equally concrete and abstract thinkers. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course. Snuffy generally has very basic interests, but he explores his abstract sensitive side when he plays his snuffleflute. You both are somewhat introverted. Originally Snuffleupagus was very shy and was only Big Bird's invisible friend. However as he has aged he has started to build new friendships with new characters. Like Snuffy, you probably like to have some time to yourself. However, you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations. The other possible characters are Oscar the Grouch Big Bird Cookie Monster Ernie Elmo Kermit the Frog Grover The Count Guy Smiley Bert If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 61% on Organization You scored higher than 63% on concrete-abstra You scored higher than 39% on intro-extrovert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Getting a head start on Christmas

Well, even though I detest Christmas starting in November like it has this year, I am sad to say I've already started decorating for Christmas. I put my tree up last night, and still have a few things to do.

"Why did you do that if you don't like Christmas starting in November?" you might ask.

Well, that's easy. I'm leaving Tuesday for Texas to spend Thanksgiving with my dad, so I won't be home to do it the Saturday after, which is when I'd usually do it, and once December hits I won't have time period to do it. So, despite everything, I put the tree up yesterday. I probably won't take it down until Easter, which is what I tend to do, but that's ok. I'm actually considering just leaving everything on it and sticking it in the closet until next Christmas. It would be so much easier.

On a side note, congratulations to Adam Pinson of UAB who came in 2nd place in the Jeopardy College Championship games. Way to represent our school!

Congrats UAB Opera

Congratulations to the UAB Opera Department on two fine performances tonight. Everyone did a wonderful job. Bravo! Bravo!

Music Treasure Trove

If you want a good place to download music that's LEGAL (good, right?) I highly recommend Napster or iTunes. Now, I haven't used iTunes, but I've been using Napster since it's beginnings as an illegal song sharing service. Now it's fully legal and has buttloads of music (buttload being the scientifical term for "more than you can imagine").

Among the songs I've found on Napster are the arrangements of Michelle, Can't Buy Me Love, and the song we did two years ago, And I Love Her; Water Night (Unfortunately it's the only Eric Whitacre piece on there); Britten's Ceremony of Carols from Christmas at the Alys from two years ago; and a really nice arrangement of If I Can Help Somebody by the Irish Tenors (not our arrangement, but still nice). I also have all of Bizet's Carmen, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem, all nine of Beethoven's symphonies, and scores of other songs, classical and not. Very much worth the $9.95/month subscription fee for unlimited listening.

I also have Rutter's Gloria, but I won't say where I got that from.

And now for something completely different, pictures from Halloween.



From left to right: Blake my roommate (Some Japanese thing), Kelli Ann (Greek Goddess), Me (Phantom of the Opera), Josh (Dilbert), Bev (A bee), Scott (Um..he stole Bev's crown), Kelly B. (Baby Kelly W.), Kelly W. (Her twin sister Baby Kim W.), Matt (A guy wearing a Batman Mask) and on the floor, former UAB Tenor Ross (an old hobo). Kelli Ann's boyfriend Brent is behind the camera. He was dressed as a Greek God.



My face with out the Phantom mask. Scary huh? Not really, but it's really gross looking.

I can tell you this much...I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. A lot of good food and time with family. And this Thanksgiving I get to see the Nutcracker Ballet in Houston. Should be fun.

Anyway, that's all I've got to say.

Meanings

After our long discussion about "If I Can Help Somebody," I got to thinking about the song and what it means. I felt bad though because I couldn't really relate it to myself. I did, however, relate it to foreign missionaries who go to parts of the world where spreading the Gospel is illegal and punished by death. These missionaries don't care about their own lives. They only care about one thing: pointing people towards Jesus and telling them how he can wipe away their sins. They don't care about their worldly possessions, or if they have to sleep in a hut. And if they lose their life in the process of sharing God's Word, then they have died following Jesus's command to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...." Matthew 28:19a(NKJV).

I don't know if any of that makes any sense. It did in my head.

Anyways.

On a final note for tonight: I eat at Subway too much. I no longer have to tell them what I want when I go in there.

The Quiz

3 Things you like about yourself:
1. I'm good with computers
2. I can cook
3. Um...that's it?

3 Things you hate about yourself:
1. I get paranoid when people whisper in front of me.
2. I procrastinate too much.
3. Sometimes I'm too shy.

3 Parts of your heritage:
1. French
2. Scottish
3. Cuban

3 Things that scare you:
1. Idiots who can't drive.
2. Losing a loved one.
3. Rollercoasters, but that's why they are so much fun.

3 of your everyday essentials:
1. Sandals
2. Trident Tropical Twist Gum
3. Mocha Frappuchino (summer) / Caramel Macchiatto (winter)

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Clothes
2. Clothes
3. Clothes

3 of your favorite musical artists:
1. Mark Schultz
2. Rockapella
3. Frank Sinatra

3 of your favorite songs at present:
1. Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
2. Rockapella's version of Amazing Grace
3. The Show Must Go On - Queen

3 things you want to try in the next 12 months:
1. Go on a cruise
2. Blog more often
3. See Phantom of the Opera on stage

3 things you want in a relationship (besides Love)
1. Communication
2. Honesty
3. Trust

2 truths and a lie:
1. I'm lead singer for a praise and worship band called Thorns to Throne.
2. In the summer I get natural red highlights in my hair.
3. I drive a ferrari.

3 Physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
1. Smile
2. Eyes
3. I'll admit it, a nice butt.

3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. Chatting online
2. Listening to music
3. Playing Texas Hold'em

3 thing you want to do really badly right now:
1. See Kelly again
2. Go back to the mountains
3. Have the Prize Patrol show up at my door.

3. Careers you want
1. Children's Minister
2. Music Minister
3. High School or Elementary School Choir Director.

3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. Hawaii
2. Australia
3. Germany

3 kids names
1. Alannah, after my late niece
2. Michael Christopher, what my mom wanted to name me originally
3. Not really sure for the third

3 things you want to see before you die.
1. Sydney Opera House
2. A DCI competition in person
3. Better shows on TV

3 people who have to take this quiz or else:
1-3 Don't care.

Creativity and Hurricanes

So, I was watching Trading Spaces yesterday because there was nothing better on TV, and it put me in a creative mood. What did I do with this creative mood, you may ask? I turned my unused fireplace into a nice little DVD/CD storage area. After cleaning it out, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some little shelves to put in there, then to Lowes to get a light so that one could see inside. I must say it turned out rather nicely.

Now on to hurricanes. I'm tired of them. This next one is supposed to be pretty bad, though I somehow get the feeling it'll turn out like the last two that were supposed to be really bad, alot of bark and no bite.

Anyway. That's enough of that.

Look! A Post!

Yes, that's right, I'm posting!

Classes have started up again, and I think I'm going to like this semester. Biology seems like it will be an interesting class, as does Spanish. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my easiest days load wise. I just have Concert Choir. We're going to sound great this year. It just saddens me that so many of the old choir are gone. It feels like there are only a handfull of the choir members from last year, with the rest all new people.

Since we have so many new people, I think we should have another one of those "Get to know you" parties like we had last year. That was fun. First time I've been swimming with pants on instead of a bathing suit.

Well, that's all for now. I think...yeah. That's all.

R.I.P. Jerry Trimble

07/17/2005

You were a great member of the church and a great friend. You will be missed.

~~Chris

It's been a while.

It's been a while since I've posted, but I really haven't been in a blogging mood.

First, I'd like to say congrats to the UAB Concert Choir for their accomplishments in France. I wish I could have been there with you guys. Also, love the TP award, Dr. C.

Second...well, there is no second. I'm still not in much of a blogging mood.

Look! A post!

It's been awhile since I've posted. I've had a lot of things going on, so I haven't really had a lot of time.

Spring break was kind of boring. I spent most of it cleaning. Fun stuff right? Our big children's weekend at church was awesome. It finally got us recognized by the higher ups in the church and we're finally getting support from the church, which is good.

Only two weeks of school left to go. I'm so happy. I'm ready for the summer. I wish I was going with the choir to France though.

Wow...a whole three weeks with no posting and I still have nothing exciting to talk about.

It's a twister! It's a twister!

Yay! Tornadoes!

*Ahem* Anyway...

Went to driving school last night for my speeding ticket. Let me tell you, it was the longest four hours of my life. But it was worth it, because the ticket won't go on my insurance, and I'll actually get a discount on my insurance because I took the class. I learned some interesting things, mainly the fact that you can be arrested for DUI for drinking too many caffeinated beverages. Go figure.

3 more days and Spring Break starts. I can't wait. I need a break.

Got to put the top down on my car today. It was nice.

I think that's it.

So I went to court today for my speeding ticket. Luckily I have connections at the clerks office. I have to go to driving school, and the judge is going to try and get the fee waived if I can bring a letter from my church showing I've completed at least 10 hours of community service. Which, I believe, means I won't have to pay a thing. Mental note to myself: Give Linda Creel a hug when I see her tomorrow night. So next Monday, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm, I'll be sitting in driving school, probably bored out of my mind. But, it'll be worth it if I don't have to pay anything and it won't go on my insurance.

For anyone that's seen the TV show Night Court, the judge kind of reminded me of the judge from that show.

That's all for now.

Grrrrrr!

I hate meetings sometimes.

Why you ask? Because a meeting today is keeping me from going to see the Opera, that's why! I was going to go Friday, but decided to go today because things are usually better on the last day. Well, when I got to church today I found out I had a meeting at four...which meant I would have to miss the Opera.

Stinkin' meeting. I hope you all did a great job. I guess I'll just have to watch it when it comes out on DVD.

But ya gotta have friends!

I have some really good friends.

Clay's not one of them. He said he was coming to my licensing service and didn't. He's a loser.

I kid. Clay's one of my best friends.

I did get a nice surprise out the evening. My friends offered to take me out to dinner next Sunday night after church. We would have gone tonight, but some of our friends couldn't be there, and we wanted them to go. So we're going next week. I just gotta pick where we go. Unfortunately, there's not much choice here in Gardendale/Fultondale.

On less positive note, I'm tired of the Children's Ministry at my church getting overlooked and getting the shaft on everything. It's been happening a lot lately. I'd go to church council about it, but when I get angry or frustrated I tend to say things I shouldn't. And then I'd lose my job. Which I need. And I love working there, don't get me wrong. But it's like the children don't matter to the rest of the church. They're more focused on the youth. Which is great, but the children are going to be youth eventually, and need spiritual guidance as much as the youth do, if not more. This is the time when they're more likely to make their decision reguarding their spritual life.

Anyways, to sum up, I have good friends and an overlooked ministry.

I'm out.

First time for everything

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today was probably one of the the worst days I've had that didn't involve someone close to me dying.

First, at worship band practice, the amp (the thing that powers the sound equipment, for those who don't know) blew. This was no big deal, because we have two older ones that I could use, so I set up a temporary fix using a smaller sound board and the two older amps. It was just a hassle to have to disconnect everything and reconnect everything. I figured the amp would blow eventually, as it's being used for something it wasn't originally designed to be used for. Several electric guitars and bass guitars running through it at various times when it was meant for just merely microphones and CD tracks just did it in. I tried to get the financial committee to let us buy new sound equipment to eliminate this problem from the the start, but they turned us down. Can we say "I told you so"?

Then I come home, everything fine for the next day, when my roommate, who's our piano player, comes home and tells me he's taken the little sound board for the keyboard in the new sanctuary and that we can just plug the amps into the big soundboard in the old sanctuary. So I put my shoes on and head back up to the church (it's about 9:30 pm).

I'm driving along to church, going a little over the speedlimit because I'm in a bad mood, and I get pulled over. My first speeding ticket ever. So now my day has gotten worse. (It's at this part of the story where I tell Dr. Copeland that I need to leave choir practice early on the 15th of March because I have to be at court at 3:oo pm.) So after I get my ticket, I continue on to the church, which is just 2 minutes from where I got pulled over.

I get to the church, and not only has Phil (my roommate) taken the sound board, which is fine, but he's taken just about all my cables that I need to connect the guitars and bass to the sound system. So now I have to run between three buildings searching for enough cables to use, ending up with the bare minimum, (not to mention having to disconnect and reconnect things again).

So now I'm home, dreading telling my parents about the ticket. I know I'm gonna get yelled at, but hey, it's my first one in the five years I've been driving. Other people I know have gotten multiple tickets in one week, so they really can't complain. Maybe tomorrow will be better. At least I hope it will.

Mem'ries....

Like the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories....

It's amazing how doing the most menial task can bring back memories from your childhood.

I was making a PB&J sandwhich the other day, and noticed that I was putting a lot of peanut butter on the bread. I then realized that I do this because everytime I would go to my grandmother's, she would let me make my PB&J sandwhiches, and she would always tell me to put a lot of peanut butter on it because that was the best way to make it. Then I realized that I got most of my cooking skills from my grandmother and grandfather, because they always let me help out with making meals when I was at their house. I remember when we would have grilled steak for dinner, my grandfather would always cut a piece off at the grill and let me eat it before taking it upstairs for dinner. Ah...those were the days. Life was easy then. I miss those days.

I also came to the realization that each time I've had someone I love pass away, I've had a dream about them after the funeral in which they are still alive and I get to hug them one last time, then I never dream about them again (except my grandmother, who was in my grandfather's "last hug" dream). I guess it's a subconcious way of having closure, because I always wake up from the dream with a warm feeling and with a smile on my face. The best one was the dream I had after my niece passed away. Hugging her and telling her I loved her just made me feel really good. Oi...I'm getting teary eyed just writing this.

On a lighter note, I'm currently watching "The Cosby Show." Just thought you'd like to know that.

Oh, I found the tombstone I want when I die.

It's not there

Well, I got some good news today.

My bloodwork came back, and there were no indications of that little bacteria (this is a good thing). So I just have to keep taking the Prevacid the doctor gave me, and if I don't start feeling better, then I'm to go back to the doctor. Hopefully it won't come to that.

I'm not looking too forward to tomorrow when everyone starts talking about their wonderful Valentine's Day with their significant other. Maybe I'll just stay home tomorrow. If I didn't have choir I probably would.

Oh well.

Now I feel old

I went to the doctor today. I possibly have a stomach ulcer. They're doing some blood tests to see. In the meantime, I'm on Prevacid. That makes me feel old. I'm too young to get stomach ulcers. Next thing you know, I'll be breaking a hip.

This, my friends, is why I need a vacation.

Is there a doctor in the house?

I think it's time for me to go to the doctor. My stomach has been hurting off and on for about two weeks now. If I eat something, it goes away, but it comes back a little later. I'm a bit tired of chugging Pepto-Bismal. I worry that maybe I have an ulcer caused by stress. I realize it could be something worse, but it's probably not and I don't want to think about it. That will just cause me to be depressed for no reason.

On the plus side of things, I actually went grocery shopping today. Now, what you have to realize is that usually, when I go "grocery shopping," I get just the stuff I need for what I want for supper that night, nothing else. But no, tonight, I bought enough stuff to last me a good two or three weeks. I'm going to try to not eat out as much (this may be a cause of my stomach problems) and eat at home. We'll see how long this lasts.

Anyways, I think I'm gonna go lie down.

Choir Overload

I wonder if I experinced what I'd like to call a "choir overload" this morning. Let me elaborate.

At 4 am this morning, I woke up singing Richte Mich Gott in my head. Once I finally got that out of my head, I started singing one of the songs we're working on in children's choir at church. Once that song got out of my head, it was Redz Kur. This process kept going on for about two hours. It was rather annoying, because I value my sleep. It also didn't help that I had about twenty things running through my head involving work either. I hate nights like that.

Oh, speaking of work, if anyone has a fly rod or a really really really tall ladder that we could borrow to get something down from the ceiling in the old sanctuary, I'd appreciate it.

I need a life

Topic says it all. I have no life. I'm either at school, at home, or at work/church.

And I have a question... where are my friends when I need to talk? Maybe I just don't let my feelings out enough. I'm always keeping them inside so that I can be the strong person in the group. I know it's not good for my mental health, but I feel like I have to do so. If I don't, something bad will happen, like I'll say something I'll regret, or tell people how I really feel when they're being stupid and doing stuff they know they shouldn't. (I'm not talking about anyone, just general examples.) All throughout high school and even now, if a friend needs advice on something, I'm the one they come to. No one ever asks if I need advice on something, or how I'm feeling...it's really kind of depressing sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if I should become a psychiatrist...or a bartender. Both make good money and are known for listening to other people's problems.

Anyway, enough self pity for one night.

Let me start off by saying that I hate it when my 9:00 class is cancelled and it's the only class I have before my 12:20 class. Well, that's not so bad. What's bad is that I got up at 7:00 for no reason. Had I known the class was going to be cancelled, I would have slept in. Sleeping in is always good.

If you didn't go see the Candian Brass Sunday afternoon, you missed a great show. Not only are they very talented, they make classical music interesting. I had a friend, Scott (not the one that ran over the cat in Clay's yard), with me who's taking Music Appreciation. He has to do a paper on a concert, so I told him I was going to this one, and he said he'd go, too. His girlfriend, Bev (one of my best friends), and I play the trumpet (well, I don't anymore), so she came too. Now, you have to realize that Scott's not very big on classical music. When we got our tickets, he asked me if they were worth paying $26 dollars (the price of a non-student discounted, balcony ticket) to see them . I told him I thought they were, but I'm a little biased, being a lover of classical music and the Canadian Brass already. When we left, he said he would have definitely paid the $26 dollars to see them. That's how good they are! The best part of the show was their re-enactment of Bizet's Carmen, with costumes and all. A good time was had by all.

So I'm beginning work on re-designing the Children's Ministry site for my church. It's a little...blah right now, and in serious need up updating. I'm toying with the idea of making it completely in Flash, but if I do that I'll have to make a non-Flash site as well, and update them both. I'll probably end up just doing the sidebar and top in Flash, with some little Flash things thrown in for effect. I'm even considering incorporating a Blog into the design to make posting announcements easier. Anyone with web design experience, if you have any ideas, I'd appreciate your input.

I believe I've run out of things to say.

Humorous Stuff

Now this one's a classic

BY DAVE BARRY

Week 3, and Dave's still not returning our calls. Even when we leave messages as Booger T. Jones from the Institute of Nasal Technology. This would almost *always* work. So for now, here's another classic Dave Barry column, originally published on March 6, 1994.)

Why don't regular people like classical music? This is the question that was posed to me recently in a letter from Timothy W. Muffitt, the music director of the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, which has gained international acclaim for its rendition of ''Achy Breaky Heart.''

No, I'm sure it's a fine orchestra that plays a serious program of classical music featuring numerous notes, sharps, flats, clefs, bassoons, deceased audience members, etc.

Anyway, Mr. Muffitt states that he has been asked to conduct a series of concerts for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. The goal is ''to get people into the concert hall other than those who usually come.''

He asks: ''What would get the average Joe into the concert hall? Do you go to classical music concerts? Why or why not?''

Mr. Muffitt, those are important questions, and before I answer them, let me state that I really like saying ''Mr. Muffitt.'' I think ''Mr. Muffitt'' would be a great title for a Saturday-morning children's cartoon show, wherein Mr. Muffitt is a super hero who, accompanied by sidekicks representing every major minority group and gender, goes around kicking villain butt. I have not worked out the details of the plot, although it would definitely involve a Magic Tuffet.

But getting back to Mr. Muffitt's questions: Our first task is to define exactly what we mean by ''classical music.'' When I look in volume ''M'' of my son's World Book Encyclopedia, I find, on pages 838-9, the following statement: 'Mosses grow and reproduce in two phases 'sexual' and 'asexual.' ''Not only that, but during the ''sexual'' phase, the moss develops ''special organs,'' and when the time is ripe, ''they burst and release hundreds of sperm cells.''

Do you believe it? MOSS! Growing organs! Having sex! Probably smoking little one-celled cigarettes afterward! Parents, this could be going on in your community. I think we should alert the Rev. Pat Robertson.

But we also need to define ''classical music.'' A little farther on in the World Book, we come to the section on music, which states: ''There are two chief kinds of Western music, classical and popular.'' Thus we see that ''classical music'' is defined, technically, as ''music that is not popular.'' This could be one reason why the ''average Joe'' does not care for it.

I myself am not a big fan. I will go to a classical concert only under very special circumstances, such as that I have been told to make a ransom payment there. But until I got this letter from Mr. Muffitt, I never knew why I felt this way. I've been thinking about it, and I have come up with what I believe are the three main problems with classical music:

1. IT'S CONFUSING. With ''popular'' music, you understand what's happening. For example, in the song, ''Long Tall Sally,'' when Little Richard sings, ''Long Tall Sally, she's built for speed,'' you can be certain that the next line is going to follow logically (''She got everything that Uncle John need''), and then there will be the chorus, or, as it is known technically, 'the 'Ooh baby' part.'' Whereas in classical music, you never know WHAT will happen next. Sometimes the musicians stop completely in the middle of the song, thereby causing the average Joe, who is hoping that the song is over, to start clapping, whereupon the deceased audience members come back to life and give him dirty looks, and he feels like a big dope. It would help if there were an electronic basketball-style clock hanging from the conductor's back, indicating how much time is left in the song. Speaking of which:

2. IT TAKES TOO LONG. The Shangri-Las, performing ''Leader of the Pack,'' take only about four minutes to tell a dramatic and moving story -- including a motorcycle crash. A classical orchestra can take five times that long just to sit down. There needs to be more of an emphasis on speed. There could be Symphony Sprints, wherein two orchestras would compete head-to-head to see who could get through a given piece of music the fastest. There could even be defense, wherein, for example, the trombone players would void their spit valves at the opposing violin section. This would be good, because:

3. IT NEEDS MORE ACTION. When I was in college, I saw the great blues harmonica player James Cotton give a performance of 'Rockin' Robin'' wherein he stuck his harmonica into his mouth, held his arms out sideways like an airplane, and toppled headfirst off of an 8-foot stage into the crowd, where he landed safely on a cushion of college students and completed the song in the prone position.

That same year -- I did not see this personally, but I have friends who did -- the great blues guitarist Buddy Guy gave a club performance wherein, while taking a solo, he went into the men's room (he had a long guitar cord), closed the door, apparently relieved himself, flushed, reopened the door and came back out and never stopped playing.

You do not forget musical experiences such as those.

I'm not saying that classical musicians should do these things. It would be difficult to get, say, a harp into a restroom stall. I'm just saying, Mr. Muffitt, that until the average Joe can expect this level of entertainment from classical music, he is probably going to stay home watching TV, stuck to his sofa like moss on a rock. But with less of a sex life.

_________________________________________________

Dave Barry is the man.

On a less humorous note, if you don't use Firefox as your web browser, you should. It's much better than Internet Explorer. The tabbed browsing is great for switching back and forth between sites while keeping your taskbar clear of clutter. I was skeptical at first when told how much better Firefox was, but now that I've started using it, I wouldn't use anything else. For those of you worried about having to rebuild your favorites list, you shouldn't. Firefox will import all your settings (favorites, stored passwords, cookies, etc.) from Internet Explorer.

Enough of that. Dr. C, if you're reading this, we're gonna miss you next week. Have fun in Los Angeles.

Stuff

So I found out today that as of last week's church business meeting I'm already licensed for ministry. The licensing service is more of a presentation type deal. So how about that? I could have married people for a week now and didn't even know it.

Let's see...how about this, three posts in one week. Don't get used to it. I probably won't post again for another month or so.

Well, since my attention is torn between posting here and watching Family Guy, I'm gonna go.

Cya!

Ode to the Nice Guys

Ode to the Nice Guys

This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal.

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.


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I found this on a friend's livejournal and thought I would repost it here. I know what the article is talking about, because I seem to be in the "nice guy" category.

I've been told I need to post...problem is, I don't have much to say...

Choir concert last night went really well. I felt like my left arm was going to fall off at the end of it.

Valentine's Day is coming up...probably won't do anything, as usual.

Let's see...we finally had a regular choir rehearsal today, which was great. It was nice to be singing with the girls again.

I think that's about it. Like I said, I don't have much to say.

Updates

I haven't posted in a few days, because, well, there's not been much to post about.

Had church tonight, along with our monthly church conference. It was decided tonight that I will be licensed for ministry. Go me! This means, as my dad likes to put it, that I can "baptize, marry, and bury."

In choir practice today, Dr. Reynolds sounded just like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons at one point when he cut us off and said "Excellent." It was really kind of funny. I think I'm the only one that caught it, but as we all know from our personality tests we took last year, I am the most unique person in the music department. Go ISFP!

Anyway, that's all. About to go play Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.

Peace out.

On Dreams and such

So, I had my first dream within a dream last night. It was kind of an interesting experience. Especially since I woke up thinking I had done what I did in the dream.

Dreams are a funny thing. Sometimes they seem real, other times they make no sense whatsoever. It's amazing how a dream can seem to last for hours, yet in reality only lasts for a few seconds.

On another topic, while flipping through this month's issue of Choral Journal, I saw our beloved Dr. Copeland's picture. He's speaking on how "Simplifying the Conductor's Lifestyle: Making Technology Work For You" at this years ACDA Convention in L.A. I think this means he's become the new Blogging Spokesperson, but I'm not sure.

Perhaps he can clarify for us.

Classes went well today. My cold seems to be going away, which is a good thing. My vocal range is getting back to where it used to be, which is another good thing. Yesterday I was having to sing in my head voice on notes that are in the middle of my range.

Oh, about that relationship stuff...I think I've got it all figured out. I'm just destined to be single for the rest of my life. Fun stuff.

Beginning of a new semester

Classes started yesterday. They would have been fine, except apparently my cold medicine decided not to work, so I felt like crap all day. It was good to see all my choir friends again, though it did seem rather small yesterday without all the people that used to be in it.

Today's classes started out ok. I got a 91 on my Theory III exam. I was surprised, I thought I would have gotten lower. But I'm not complaining. The two hour break between classes is crap though.

Yeah...so lately I've been confused about some relationship stuff. I won't go into details, because I'm still trying to sort things out. I'll give you more details as I sort things out.

That's all for now.