Revelations

Testing

2009-05-19T01:16:00.001-05:00

Testing out a new blog-posting app for my phone.

Also, fireguard shifts are really boring.

Stars and Stripes Forver by The Muppets

2008-07-04T22:58:00.001-05:00

Argument to Beethoven's 5th

2008-03-24T16:47:00.001-05:00

Big Deck

2008-03-12T17:05:00.001-05:00

That's funny, I don't care who you are!

Danny Boy - Muppet Style

2007-12-30T22:04:00.002-06:00

One of the funniest things I've seen in a long time!

For those of you that might read this on facebook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCbuRA_D3KU

The Democrat NASCAR Moment

2007-11-14T22:02:00.001-06:00

Though I'm not a NASCAR fan myself, I find this quite humorous.

My Blog's Readability Level

2007-11-14T11:42:00.000-06:00

Get a Cash Advance

How about that.

The Elusive Dr. Copleand Finally Found on Facebook!

2007-10-26T17:44:00.000-05:00

End Of Ze World

2007-09-22T14:38:00.001-05:00

Since the other one doesn't work...

End of Ze World

2007-08-27T18:32:00.001-05:00

WTF mate?^^

Venting

2007-07-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

Writer's Comment: This post is mostly for my own benefit, in order to vent out some frustrations. You can ignore it if you wish.

I am so sick and tired of all of the stupid little fights I've had lately with my mother. Nothing I ever do is good enough for her, including the way I deal with situations that affect myself and only myself, and have no bearing on her life whatsoever. As an example, I didn't get my birthday present from my dad until over a month afterward. This may sound bad, but he always, ALWAYS sends birthday and Christmas presents late. I've gotten used to it, it doesn't bother me. It's going to be the same no matter if I get it on my birthday or a month later. But because I didn't make a big deal about it, my mother flipped out and chewed me up and down because I didn't care that I hadn't gotten my present on my birthday. And it's not like he forgot my birthday. He called me on my birthday, my little sisters sang me happy birthday, which was more meaningful to me than the fifty dollars and the Starbucks gift card he sent. Now, granted, Mom could have been drinking the day we had that fight, which has apparently become the norm for her since she quit her job five years ago to "retire" at the ripe old age of 42.

This brings me to another problem. She complains that she doesn't have any money, but she won't get off her posterior and get a job. Her reason? She doesn't want to work in an office, and she doesn't want to get a job that might make her work on Saturdays or Sundays because she might miss a motorcycle run with the American Legion Riders of which she is a part of with my stepfather. These runs, by the way, cost money.

So instead, she spends most of her free time doing volunteer work for her Legion post, and the rest of the time drinking. And in the midst of complaining about not having money, she gripes at me about not having a job. Which I do have a job. It doesn't pay a whole lot, but at least I get paid for what I do. Unlike herself. She says at her age she shouldn't be struggling financially. At her age she should have a dadgum job! The retirement age isn't 42, the last time I checked.

And our last fight, which was today, oh this is a doozy. Let me set this up for you. My mother and stepfather went on a ride to Nashville this past weekend, and asked me to house sit to take care of their 2 dogs, cat, bird, and pig. Yes, I said pig. Anyway, they left Thursday, and that day I had been working on my spare bathroom, repainting and fixing it up. I went over that night to check on the animals, but didn't stay (they live 5 minutes away), instead going back home to work on the bathroom. I went over to the house the next morning at around 11 and took the dogs out and fed the pig. Well apparently this was the biggest sin man could ever commit, because when I told my mother this, she went ballistic. You would have thought I had killed the pig as a sacrifice to Baal and smeared the blood all over the walls of the house. Because I didn't feed the pig at her normal feeding time, which is 8 AM (I wouldn't have been up at that time had I stayed at their house anyway) I could have killed the pig. You can't see me, but I just rolled my eyes when typing that. And then the guilt trip began about how she does everything I ask her to help me with but she asks me to do one thing I don't do it. It was one, count them one, day that the pig had to wait a few extra hours for her food.

All this to say, once I get my music degree, I'm getting a degree in Computer Science, and then I'm moving out to Houston to be closer to my dad and my little sisters. I'm fed up with being blamed for all of her problems, financially, emotionally, etc. It's getting ridiculous, and I've had enough. I have to get away. Otherwise I'm going to be taken away to the nut house.

-END VENTING-

Late Night Musings

2007-06-04T01:54:00.000-05:00

Something happened today that hasn't happened today in a long time. I read a book cover to cover in one sitting. I used to do that all the time when I was younger. But as I got into the later years in high school and early years in college, my love for reading disappeared. I still read from time to time, but usually it took me a few months to read a book as I usually found other things to do. But today I was at Barnes and Noble and picked up a copy of Alan Alda's autobiography, "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned." Alda is one of my favorite actors, and his life story was just as interesting as the characters he's portrayed on stage, screen, and television. And I couldn't put the book down. It was almost like reliving my younger days when reading was what I chose to do instead of watching TV or surfing the internet.

While and Barnes and Noble, I also picked up "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Latin" and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Italian." I figure since I'm taking a summer class I might as well keep up the learning streak and work on learning two languages that are prevalent in music.

It looks like I'll have a productive summer. At least I won't be bored.

I hope.

Testing

2007-05-19T21:16:00.001-05:00

Testing blog publishing from within MSWord 2007.

Dr. Dennis Hayslett conducting Eric Whitacre's Sleep-excerpt

2007-02-20T23:09:00.001-06:00

I thought this was rather interesting...an orchestral arrangement of "Sleep" by Eric Whitacre. It's not the whole thing though, unfortunately.

My List of Things

2007-02-14T22:27:00.000-06:00

So it's been a while since I've last posted, and I thought I would share a list of things that annoy the heck out of me, and things that I find enjoyable.

Top 10 Things that Annoy Me (not in any order)

People who drive slower than the speed limit in the fast lane

Radio commercials that have horn honking or police sirens in them

John Tesh

That Delilah woman that comes on 96.5 at night

Alabama's "Different Season Every Day" weather

When I can't find the droids I'm looking for

People who stop their car in the middle of the road in my neighborhood to talk to another neighbor going the opposite direction when they could easily just use one of several thousand other forms of communicating with them such as a cell phone or e-mail and not block the road so I can't get home

People who do the same thing at Wal-Mart using shopping carts in the already too narrow aisles

Having to pass the piano proficiency exam when the chair of the department probably couldn't even pass it

Nancy Grace

Top 10 Things I Find Enjoyable (not in any order)

Warm pants fresh out of the dryer on a "Alabama decided to be cold" day

Warm days where I don't have to wear shoes and can wear sandals

Watching Scrubs

Hanging out with friends

When the senior adults have a luncheon at church and they make me a plate to eat later

Sleeping more than six hours in a night

Playing XBox 360

Working with kids. They're quite insightful sometimes.

All of the "That's What She Said" moments

Venting frustrations by blogging once every few months

I might add to this later. For now, this is all I can think of.

Spiders On Drugs

2007-01-07T20:37:00.001-06:00

Oh Dear Lord! Bees!

2007-01-03T22:43:00.000-06:00

I was pointed to this thread today on a message board, and thought it was pretty hilarious. Check it out! Bees!.

Wear your Seatbelt

2006-12-09T22:11:00.001-06:00

This was brought to my attention by Andrew. This is why you should ALWAYS wear a seatbelt.

2006-12-04T17:52:00.000-06:00

family guy - deleted scene - stewie vs mr rogers

Because this is just funny stuff.

2006-11-30T16:57:00.001-06:00

For the Phantom of the Opera/Will Ferrell Fans out there

2006-11-12T21:29:00.000-06:00

I can finally go!

2006-10-17T19:26:00.000-05:00

Ok...so that makes it sound like I've been constipated for days...but in reality I mean I can finally go on a choir trip this summer. My mom told me yesterday that it was alright for me to dip into my student loan to help pay for the trip as long as I replace what I borrow. And I plan on doing that.

As soon as I find a second job...

Pumpkins or Kidneys?

2006-09-19T18:18:00.000-05:00

So, I bought some Halloween candy today. Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins. However, when I opened them up, they looked more like kidneys. Which is kind of disturbing. They don't taste like kidneys though, so I'm not complaining too much. It's just kind of weird eating a chocolate covered peanut butter kidney.

Remembering David Angell

2006-09-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Born: April 10th, 1946
Died: September 11th, 2001 aboard American Airlines Flight #11

David Angell was a multiple Emmy Award winner as the creator/executive producer, along with Peter Casey and David Lee, of the hit comedy series Frasier. David was born in West Barrington, RI, and he received a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Providence College. He entered the army upon graduation and served at the Pentagon until 1972. David then moved to Boston and worked as a methods analyst at an engineering company and later at an insurance firm in Rhode Island. David moved to Los Angeles in 1977. His first first script was sold to the producers of the "Annie Flynn" series. Five years before he sold his second script to "Archie Bunker's Place." David virtually worked in every temporary job known to mankind. In 1983, he joined "Cheers" as a staff writer. In 1985, David Angell joined forces with Peter Casey and David Lee as "Cheers" supervising producers/writers. Since then, the trio has received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won 24 Emmy Awards, including the above-mentioned for "Frasier", as well as an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy for "Cheers," in 1989, which Angell, Casey, Lee and the series' other producers shared, and Outstanding Writing/Comedy Emmy for "Cheers," which Angell received in 1984. After working together as producers on the hit comedy series "Cheers" for NBC-TV, Angell, Casey and Lee formed "Grub Street Productions." In 1990, they created and executive produced the hit comedy series "Wings," which received critical and ratings success during its seven season run.

A native of Rhode Island, Angell joined "Cheers" (1982) in 1983 as a staff writer; he'd been with Paramount Network Television ever since. Angell hooked up with 'Peter Casey' and David Lee in 1985 and the trio became supervising producers on the hit comedy. Angell, Casey and Lee then formed Grub Street Prods., which created "Wings" (1990), the NBC comedy that spent seven years on the network. After Cheers ended its run in 1993, the trio were tapped to create and executive produce "Frasier" (1993). Angell won a total of six Emmy Awards for his work on Frasier and Cheers. Arguably his most memorable writing feat was the memorable episode that found Lilith discovering Frasier in bed with Rebecca. This episode had a dose of French farce that subsequently became the foundation for the show "Frasier". Grub Street disbanded in the late '90s, but Angell and Casey were developing new projects together. Angell and his wife were both killed when the plane that they were on, American Airlines flight #11 en route from Boston to Los Angeles, was hijacked and deliberately flown into the World Trade Tower in New York City. They were returning home to California after attending a family wedding in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Cold and Tasty, that's what I am

2006-09-07T19:10:00.000-05:00

Take the quiz:
Which Starbucks Drink Are You? (Great Pictures)

Starbucks Frappucino
Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!

My Speed Test

2006-08-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

Test

2006-08-17T19:40:00.000-05:00

Testing a post on my new pocket pc.

Untitled

2006-08-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

I call, You hear me
I’ve lost it all
And it’s more than I can bear
I feel so empty

You’re strong
I’m weary
I’m holdin’ on
But I feel like givin’ in
But still You’re with me

And even though I’m walkin’ through
The valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I’ve been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
And He will carry me

I know I’m broken
But You alone
Can mend this heart of mine
You’re always with me

And even though I feel so lonely
Like I’ve never been before
You never said it would be easy
But You said You’d see me through the storm

Yo ho, yo ho a pirates' life for me!

2006-07-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by savedbyjc316.

So, I just got back from a week in Florida today. I had a great time visiting my family. We went to Disney world for three days, and, as requested by Katie, I got some pictures of Jack Sparrow in the updated version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I also got pictures of other things, but there are a lot of Pirate related pictures. Feel free to browse through them.

I'm looking forward to choir this year. The things we're going to be doing, while I know they'll be challenging, also seem like they'll be fun.

Long Time No Post

2006-05-23T18:23:00.000-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, so let me bring you up to speed on things.

I performed my first wedding ceremony on May 6th. I believe it was possibly the quickest wedding in the history of weddings. I was so nervous, I just sped through most of it. I was glad when it was over, let me tell you.

Actually...that's about all I've done since school got out besides working, and turning 22. Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday over facebook.

I probably won't be attending the Choir party tonight after all. I've had a long day at work and don't feel very well, not to mention I have a million things to do before my trip to Gatlinburg this weekend. I hope everyone has fun.

I'll probably post again in, oh, 2 months. Until then, be safe, keep it real, and peace out.

Why Sam Jackson? WHY!?

2006-03-30T14:46:00.000-06:00

Click here to see the trailer for Samuel L. Jackson's latest movie... he must be hard up for money since the Star Wars prequels are finished.

Great Job!

2006-03-23T22:42:00.000-06:00

Great job UAB Opera! Everything was fantastic!

Charles and Clay, way to represent the Baritones! You are a credit to us all.

Sam and Erin, incredible job on the duet. Absolutely stunning.

Martin was a stud as always.

Chris J. and David were absolutely hillarious in Ma dov'e ri to stordito.

Ah, everyone was fantastic. You guys and gals represented yourselves, the Opera program, and the Music department very well.

Heaven will smell like Buffalo Wings

2006-03-20T14:17:00.000-06:00

I firmly belive that. There is no greater smell than the smell of buffalo wings (food wise. I'd take a good smelling girl over buffalo wings anyday).

I wrote that to say this: I am happy that I no longer have to travel 45 minutes to get good buffalo wings. A Zaxby's has opened up in Gardendale.

In other news, it's the first day of Spring and the weather does not reflect such. Stupid Alabama weather.

Not much of an update, but I don't have anything to say.

"He was probably here when Charleston was first developed." "It's developed?"

2006-02-25T21:29:00.000-06:00

That was a converstation Charles and I had about Wes while waiting for an elevator at the hotel, lol.

I have mixed feelings about the trip. One the one hand, I think we performed wonderfully for the most part. The biggest highlights of the trip, for me, though, was being able to hear the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir and the Birmingham Boy's Choir perform. I look forward to hearing the BBC sing again in May. I also got to know some people a little better, and Sam and I made a truce. Some people got to see a side of me they had never seen before. Just ask Nick and Whitney about it...on second thought, you probably shouldn't.

On the other hand, I found out some things about some people that I really didn't want to know, and now I won't look at them in the same way I had before the trip. That makes me a little sad. I also discovered that I probably won't be attending the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary...because they're choir was awful.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the trip. It was said at the last gas station we stopped at on the way home, and is about a bin of movies they had. It was between Jackie and myself.

Me: "Oh look, they're only two dollars."
Jackie: "Or you can get five for ten dollars."
Me: "Which is two dollars apiece."

Penguins!

2006-02-18T14:46:00.000-06:00

From www.penguinwarehouse.com

Question & Answer
"Penguin Care"

Q: What do I feed my penguin?
A: Different penguins enjoy different food. Many types like to eat krill, a tiny shrimp-like creature. They also like to eat squid and fish. Penguins prefer to catch live food by diving into water and catching them with their long, pointy bills. We suggest you buy one of our many penguin care books which can provide you with additional information.

Q: Do I need to keep my penguin in air conditioning?
A: A very common misperception by penguin-lovers is that penguins require a cold environment to survive. In fact, most penguin species live in warmer climates and even in jungles! However, you should look into the habitat requirements for the species of penguin you are interested in. We provide many helpful penguin care books.

Q: Do I need to provide a habitat for my penguin?
A: Most certainly! Each penguin species requires unique habitat requirements and your home environment needs to be made suitable for a penguin before purchase of such a pet. Most penguins require a decent sized salt-water non-chlorinated pool set at an appropriate temperature. In fact, some penguin species spend as much as 75% of their life in water. If you are interested in learning more, please look into one of our many penguin care books.

Q: My penguin smells! Can I bathe my penguin?
A: Penguins love a good bath! Carefully inspect any shampoo or soaps used as you do not want to remove a penguin's natural oils.

Q: How do you 'housebreak' a penguin?
A: Like most birds, penguins are difficult (but not impossible) to paper-train.

Q: Can I train my penguin?
A: Of course! Train them well and teach them all the good tricks and amazing mind powers. Someday one of those smart penguins (maybe yours) will become a Jedi penguin, an elite status of wealth, power and strength in the penguin empire.

Q: Can take my penguins for walks with a penguin-leash?
A: Like humans, penguins also love long nice walks after meals. It helps them to digest the food inside. But be careful with penguin-leash when walking your penguin, the cost of going to penguin-doctors is not cheap these days.

Q: Will my penguin try to eat my goldfish?
A: Duh! Penguins love to eat fish, and goldfish is the yummiest type of fish available. So if you own a goldfish, better either give it away or (eat it first) before your penguin get his long pointy bill on it.

Q: Should I expect my penguin to sleep all day?
A: For the first two weeks after you get your penguin, it is expected that the penguin will be some jet lag and will need lots of rest during the day hours. After that however, the penguin should be back to an "Early Bird" and rises before the morning sun.

Q: Why does my penguin keep bumping into walls?
A: Penguins, like humans, are prone to eye deterioration over time. Vision correction may be necessary for your penguin's welfare. We highly suggest laser surgery correction as many penguins do not take well to eyewear.

Q: Help, my penguin keeps collecting items from all over the house and is building a nest with them!
A: Calm down! Let them play and leave them alone. It's a natural habit for a penguin to feel secure when they first arrive at your home. Those items from your house give the penguin a sense of security and belonging. A word of advice, be kind and buy some nice comfy pillows for your dear pet penguin and they will thank you much.

Q: What if my penguin becomes ill?
A: By all means, take him to your local veterinarian at once! Many veterinarians are now accepting penguins as patients and will be able to provide the best treatment for your ailing penguin.

Heart Explosion in a Bag

2006-02-04T00:14:00.000-06:00

I realized today I shouldn't go to Wal-Mart when I'm craving something sweet to eat. I ended up spending almost $25 on sweets, including Starbucks Java Chip Icecream, Starbucks Mocha Popsicles, and Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans (the "Heart Explosion in a Bag"). I also got some Fruit Rollups, Cocoa Puffs, and Strawberries and Creame Oatmeal.

I'm sure you wanted to know my grocery list, so I thought I'd tell you.

Driving Rules of Birmingham

2006-02-03T15:20:00.000-06:00

First you must learn to pronounce the city's name. It's "Bur-min-ham."

Driving Information:

Burminham has its own version of traffic rules... the truck with the loudest exhaust goes next at a 4-way stop. The truck with the biggest tires goes after that. (Note:Blue-haired ladies driving anything have the right-of-way anytime.)

To find anything in the city, it is required that you know where Malfunction Junction is... which is the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. It's maybe one of only two "cloverleaf formation" interchanges in the world. We invented it and only one other city was stupid enough to implement it again-- Atlanta -- making them only a wee bit dumber than we are.

The morning rush hour is from 6:00 to 10:00. The evening rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:00. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning. If the term "merging delays" is ever used by the person reporting the traffic, even in passing, call in to work and tell them that you will
be at least 30 minutes late regardless of where you are in your commute.

If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be (at the very least) rear-ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. This applies to male and female drivers alike.

You must know that "I-459," "I-59," "I-20," and"I-65" are the same road. They just loop around, cutting in and out of each other's path. We think this was a ploy utilized to confuse outsiders and discourage visitors after the War of Northern Aggression.

Always, always, always, find out if it is a race or football weekend before you get on any of these highways to travel somewhere. If it is a race or football weekend, stay home. You won't be pleasantly going anywhere else.

Construction is a permanent fixture in Burminham. The barrels are moved around in the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a little more interesting.

If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them over to the shoulder immediately to let them know -- you can be sure it was "accidentally activated."

The minimum acceptable speed on "I-65" (see above) is 85 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy. This is Alabama's state-highway-sponsored version of NASCAR -- especially during rush hour (see above) and everyone in the city is driving at once, bumper-to-bumper. If you are in the left lane and only going 70 in a 55-65 zone, you are considered a road hazard, and will be "flipped a bird" accordingly.

Do not gawk at the woman in the car beside you in traffic who is applying make-up, drinking a Diet Coke, smoking a Marlboro, and maintaining a steadyspeed of 85 mph on I-65 in rush hour traffic. If she is coming from north of Burminham, she might be packing. If she is coming from south of Burminham, she IS packing and is not afraid to use it.

Weather Information:

If it's 110 degrees, Thanksgiving could be next weekend. If it's 10-20 degrees and sleeting/snowing, then watch out. Burminham residents consider this "demolition derby" day and will be all over the roads (frontways, sideways, etc). Please proceed with caution, as you could be their next target.

Seasonal Information:

If you stick to the seats in your vehicle, it is Spring. If you need to let the car "get some air" standing next to it with the doors open for a minute before you can stick your upper body inside to crank it and get the air going, it is Summer. If you are sweating even with the windows down, driving 55 mph, it is Fall. If you finally turn the AC off and roll your windows up, it is Winter.

General Information:

Do not ever speak during the song Sweet Home Alabama unless it is to sing along with the lyrics. This is a form of heresy and will erupt in a brawl if everyone doesn't show "proper respect" to the band who gave us Free Bird. This is especially true if alcohol is present. (Notice I didn't say
"sold at this event," but "present.")

Yes, we know that Vulcan is mooning the entire city. It's not that funny to us anymore.

If you ask someone for a "coke," they will often ask you, "What kind?" This is not a trick question. Tell them what you want: Sprite, Dr.Pepper, Root Beer, etc., it is all "coke."

All tea is sweet. If it's not sweet, you are in a Chinese restaurant or have crossed the Mason-Dixon Line.

This one's for you, Keith

2006-01-29T22:48:00.000-06:00

Peanut Butter Jelly Time a la Family Guy:

If the video does not display properly
click here to upgrade to Flash 8

The Young Person's Guide to the SATB Choir

2006-01-29T16:18:00.000-06:00

Author Unknown

In any chorus, there are four voice parts: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Sometimes these are divided into first and second within each part, prompting endless jokes about first and second basses. There are also various other parts such as baritone, countertenor, contralto, mezzo soprano, etc., but these are mostly used by people who are either soloists, or belong to some excessively hot shot classical a cappella group (this applies especially to countertenors), or are trying to make excuses for not really fitting into any of the regular voice parts, so we will ignore them for now.

Each voice part sings in a different range, and each one has a very different personality. You may ask, "Why should singing different notes make people act differently?", and indeed this is a mysterious question and has not been adequately studied, especially since scientists who study musicians tend to be musicians themselves and have all the peculiar complexes that go with being tenors, french horn players, timpanists, or whatever. However, this is beside the point; the fact remains that the four voice parts can be easily distinguished, and I will now explain how.

THE SOPRANOS are the ones who sing the highest, and because of this they think they rule the world. They have longer hair, fancier jewelry, and swishier skirts than anyone else, and they consider themselves insulted if they are not allowed to go at least to a high F in every movement of any given piece. When they reach the high notes, they hold them for at least half again as long as the composer and/or conductor requires, and then complain that their throats are killing them and that the composer and conductor are sadists. Sopranos have varied attitudes toward the other sections of the chorus, though they consider all of them inferior. Altos are to sopranos rather like second violins to first violins - nice to harmonize with, but not really necessary. All sopranos have a secret feeling that the altos could drop out and the piece would sound essentially the same, and they don't understand why anybody would sing in that range in the first place - it's so boring. Tenors, on the other hand, can be very nice to have around; besides their flirtation possibilities (it is a well-known fact that sopranos never flirt with basses), sopranos like to sing duets with tenors because all the tenors are doing is working very hard to sing in a low-to-medium soprano range, while the sopranos are up there in the stratosphere showing off. To sopranos, basses are the scum of the earth - they sing too damn loud, are useless to tune to because they're down in that low, low range - and there has to be something wrong with anyone who sings in the F clef, anyway.

THE ALTOS are the salt of the earth - in their opinion, at least. Altos are unassuming people, who would wear jeans to concerts if they were allowed to. Altos are in a unique position in the chorus in that they are unable to complain about having to sing either very high or very low, and they know that all the other sections think their parts are pitifully easy. But the altos know otherwise. They know that while the sopranos are screeching away on a high A, they are being forced to sing elaborate passages full of sharps and flats and tricks of rhythm, and nobody is noticing because the sopranos are singing too loud (and the basses usually are too). Altos get a deep, secret pleasure out of conspiring together to tune the sopranos flat. Altos have an innate distrust of tenors, because the tenors sing in almost the same range and think they sound better. They like the basses, and enjoy singing duets with them - the basses just sound like a rumble anyway, and it's the only time the altos can really be heard. Altos' other complaint is that there are always too many of them and so they never get to sing really loud.

THE TENORS are spoiled. That's all there is to it. For one thing, there are never enough of them, and choir directors would rather sell their souls than let a halfway decent tenor quit, while they're always ready to unload a few altos at half price. And then, for some reason, the few tenors there are are always really good - it's one of those annoying facts of life.. So it's no wonder that tenors always get swollen heads - after all, who else can make sopranos swoon? The one thing that can make tenors insecure is the accusation (usually by the basses) that anyone singing that high couldn't possibly be a real man.. In their usual perverse fashion, the tenors never acknowledge this, but just complain louder about the composer being a sadist and making them sing so damn high. Tenors have a love-hate relationship with the conductor, too, because the conductor is always telling them to sing louder because there are so few of them. No conductor in recorded history has ever asked for less tenor in a forte passage. Tenors feel threatened in some way by all the other sections - the sopranos because they can hit those incredibly high notes; the altos because they have no trouble singing the notes the tenors kill themselves for; and the basses because, although they can't sing anything above an E, they sing it loud enough to drown the tenors out. Of course, the tenors would rather die than admit any of this. It is a little-known fact that tenors move their eyebrows more than anyone else while singing.

THE BASSES sing the lowest of anybody. This basically explains everything. They are stolid, dependable people, and have more facial hair than anybody else. The basses feel perpetually unappreciated, but they have a deep conviction that they are actually the most important part (a view endorsed by musicologists, but certainly not by sopranos or tenors), despite the fact that they have the most boring part of anybody and often sing the same note (or in endless fifths) for an entire page. They compensate for this by singing as loudly as they can get away with - most basses are tuba players at heart. Basses are the only section that can regularly complain about how low their part is, and they make horrible faces when trying to hit very low notes. Basses are charitable people, but their charity does not extend so far as tenors, whom they consider effete poseurs. Basses hate tuning the tenors more than almost anything else. Basses like altos - except when they have duets and the altos get the good part. As for the sopranos, they are simply in an alternate universe which the basses don't understand at all. They can't imagine why anybody would ever want to sing that high and sound that bad when they make mistakes. When a bass makes a mistake, the other three parts will cover him, and he can continue on his merry way, knowing that sometime, somehow, he will end up at the root of the chord.

Stupid Quiz

2006-01-26T18:56:00.000-06:00

Which Peanuts Character Are You?

2006-01-24T16:20:00.000-06:00

You are Schroeder!

Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Might as well face it you're addicted to Starbucks

2006-01-18T23:31:00.000-06:00

For some reason, when I saw this comic, I thought of Dr. Copeland...any guess why?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind...

2006-01-12T16:15:00.000-06:00

I'm not real sure what that has to do with anything, it's just the first thing that popped into my head. I'm sitting in the Jazzman (?) Cafe in the HUC waiting for my next class to start. I should be reading, but I got tired of that, and Katie told me I needed to post again, so I am.

About what, I hear yourself asking?

Well, I have an answer for you... (scroll down)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

I have no idea. So instead, I'll leave you with a line, from a great but short lived show, Sports Night.
___________________________________________________

"You shouldn't think that just because I'm looking at you while you're talking to me, that I'm necessarily listening to or caring about what you're saying. It's just something I do to be polite."
___________________________________________________

EDIT: I've re-enabled commenting. I don't remember turning it off, but it's on again. Comment away!

Sense of...homieness

2006-01-03T18:40:00.000-06:00

Is that even a word?

For the longest time now, I've really hated my house. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice house, but I just didn't feel like it was mine to live in (it belongs to my parents, but I pay them rent). But now, I have it decorated the way I want it, and it feels more like home to me. There are still some things I need to do, but they're small things. I'm happy now and actually don't mind venturing out of my room.

Just some random thoughts.

And if anyone asks me to help them paint a room, they can forget it. I'm through with painting awhile :P

Is it Summer already?

2006-01-02T13:15:00.000-06:00

There is something seriously wrong when it's almost 80 degrees in January.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and I hope everyone has a good year! See all you choir folk on Thursday.

Finally, a chance to relax

2005-12-21T22:40:00.000-06:00

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...

2005-12-07T23:28:00.000-06:00

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

This is just frightening.

Snuffleupagus!

2005-11-19T23:37:00.000-06:00

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

2005-11-18T19:02:00.000-06:00

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

2005-11-14T23:39:00.000-06:00

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

Music Treasure Trove

2005-11-02T20:30:00.000-06:00

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

2005-09-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

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

2005-09-10T17:31:00.000-05:00

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

2005-08-28T23:12:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-08-22T20:03:00.000-05:00

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.

2005-07-17T21:43:00.000-05:00

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.

2005-06-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-04-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-03-22T20:29:00.000-06:00

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.

2005-03-15T21:57:00.000-06:00

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!

2005-03-13T14:32:00.000-06:00

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!

2005-02-27T21:37:00.000-06:00

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

2005-02-19T22:36:00.000-06:00

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....

2005-02-17T21:35:00.000-06:00

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

2005-02-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

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

2005-02-11T15:22:00.000-06:00

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?

2005-02-10T21:14:00.000-06:00

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

2005-02-10T11:20:00.000-06:00

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

2005-02-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

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.

2005-02-02T10:10:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-27T16:08:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-26T22:02:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-26T10:35:00.000-06:00

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.

__________________________________________

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.

2005-01-25T18:30:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-19T20:54:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-10T21:25:00.000-06:00

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.

2005-01-05T21:32:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-05T10:36:00.000-06:00

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.

Tis the season...

2004-12-31T15:19:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Mine was pretty good. I won't bore you with all the little things I got. My main presents were my cell phone (which I actually got in August) and my new 30 GB MP3 player. It's quite nice. Oh, and Dr. C., I got not one but two giftcards to Starbucks. Aren't you proud?

Now here are some pictures of interest:

BackYardSnow.jpg <-- The best picture out of all I took

CarSnow2.jpg <-- Proof of where I was

It actually snowed in Houston, Texas on Christmas Eve. It wasn't much, but it was still cool.

If you haven't already seen The Phantom of the Opera, you should. It's very good. I've seen it twice, and plan on seeing it yet again. Other movies I saw over the holidays: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Incredibles.

Unfortunate Events is a very strange movie, and really isn't appropriate for most children. It was good, if you like Tim Burtonesque type movies. The child actors were excellent in their performances, but the story was quite strange.

The Incredibles was a good movie. I would recommend seeing that one. There are some very funny one liner's in the movie.

I'm not really ready for school to start back. But I suppose I'll get over that once I see all my friends and such again.

Hope everyone has a great New Year!

One down, three more to go

2004-12-10T08:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I've got one exam down. Psychology 101... but at least that's over with. All I have left today is my voice jury...evil buggers. Whoever invented voice juries should be shot and hung. It's not so bad singing infront of the three voice teachers. Even singing infront of Dr. Reynolds doesn't bother me too much. It's Dr. Copeland that bothers me (no offense, Dr. C). He's the one that makes me nervous. I don't know why. Last semester I got lucky and he wasn't in there. So, Dr. C, if you're reading this before juries start, when 2:13 comes around, if you could just leave the room until I'm done, it'd be great.

Monday is the Theory III exam. I think I'll do alright on it. Then Tuesday is Aural Skills. Then I am done for the semester. Praise the Lord. Then it's off to Texas to spend Christmas with my dad, stepmom, and two sisters. I can't wait. My sisters can't either. It'll be my first Christmas to spend with them since my dad and stepmom adopted them.

Anyway, I'm trying to kill time before I meet some friends for lunch at 12...it's only 9:03. I guess I could be looking at my music for today...but I don't really feel like it right now.

Oh, for anyone not doing anything Sunday night, we're having our first actual Christmas pageant at church (we didn't have room to do one until this year with the new sanctuary). It's at Enon Baptist Church in good ol' Morris, AL at 6:00 p.m. If you wanna come and need directions, just let me know.

I think that's it... yeah, that's it.

Finally!

2004-12-06T21:43:00.000-06:00

The semester is over! Well, almost. We still have exams. But after that, it's three (?) weeks off for Christmas. I can't wait. It'll be nice to be able to sleep in, and not worry about classes for a little while.

Oh, yes. I'm typing this on my new laptop. I absolutely love it. Wireless internet is great.

It's a short update tonight. And I know it's been awhile, but there's not much to update about.

I added links to a few good blogs down at the bottom of the page. As soon as I find the links to the other blogs I wanted to add I'll add them too.

I'll leave you with a few final thoughts for tonight:

In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you give, and never pay full price for a late pizza.

2004-12-01T22:31:00.000-06:00

So, yeah, in public speaking yesterday, I got to play with breast implants.

No, it's not what you're thinking.

One of the girls works for the UAB reconstructive surgery department, and she did her final speech on breast reconstruction for women who had breast cancer. She brought in a silicone implant and a saline implant so we could see the difference, and passed them around.

Speaking of public speaking, I got an A in the class...which is surprising for those who know I don't like talking infront of people. But I managed to make it out of there, and that's one less core class I have to take.

My laptop should be here Friday. I can't wait. It's currently in transit from Georgia to Alabama, supposedly.

Let's see...oh! I had a girl tell me tonight that she wanted me to take her on a date. This has never happened before. It's funny too, because I thought she was seeing someone, because I wanted to ask her out awhile back but didn't because she was seeing someone. But now she's not, so woohoo! She said she doesn't want to be tied down, though, and I don't blame her... but we'll just see where things take us, eh?

Um...I think that's it.

Yes. That's it.

Woohoo!

2004-11-28T20:53:00.000-06:00

Well, it's finally happening. I'm getting a laptop. I've wanted a laptop since...well, for a really long time now.

I was looking at them at the Dell website, trying to see how much I would need to save per paycheck to get one, and I saw a thing where you could finance it, so I thought, what the heck, I'll try this. Now see, you have to understand I tried it before a few months ago and they turned me down due to "limited credit experience." This really frustrates me, because you can't get credit experience if NO ONE WILL GIVE YOU CREDIT! But, I decided to try again, and lo and behold, they approved me for $1500. To make a long story even longer, I picked out most of the features I wanted in my laptop (I couldn't get some cause they put me over $1500 on the price of the laptop), ordered it, and poof, it should be here hopefully sometime this week. The website says it's due to ship out Friday, but I don't believe that, because it's in the Testing phase of production right now, and I know it doesn't take a week to test a computer. That's just insane. So maybe it will be here on Friday. That would be nice.

Let's see, what else? Thanksgiving was ok. We went out to eat, because Mom had just gotten back from Boston, so she didn't feel like cooking. We went to a new restaurant over by Wal-Mart called Fire Mountain. If you've ever eaten at a Ryan's, you've eaten at Fire Mountain. Infact, Fire Mountain is actually owned by Ryan's, it just has a different name. Why? I don't know. It just does.

Oh, yeah. I have no heat in my house. It really bites. First, during the summer, the air conditioner didn't work. Now the heat doesn't work. I think when it got struck by lightening, a few years back, more damage was done than the repair man said. Either that, or we just need a new unit. I vote for the latter (later?).

School's almost out! Yay! I'll be glad when we're done with Christmas music in Concert Choir. No offense Dr. C (if you're reading this), but I'm a little tired of Gloria. I admit it's better than the Ceremony of Carols, but I'm just tired of doing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...I think you get the picture. But I like the other Christmas stuff we're doing, especially Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I even took our choir arrangement and transcribed it for our church orchestra. But now I'm just talking to Dr. C, so I'm gonna get back on track.

Actually...I think that's it. It's a long post, I know, but I haven't posted in awhile, so I'm making up for it. Adios!

w00t!

2004-11-18T10:15:00.000-06:00

I get my raise. God love the personnel committee.

It's a grand night for...everything

2004-11-16T21:16:00.000-06:00

Well, how's this for good news. I'll possibly be getting a $2.50 raise this next year, which will put me at making $10 dollars an hour. Not bad for part time work, eh? I'll find out tomorrow if it's for sure, so keep your fingers crossed.

Choir practice was a bit...tense today. I wish some people would realize that Dr. Copeland is the choir director and to let him direct the choir. Some people, who shall remain nameless, were actually telling him what to do, which I think is disrespectful. We'd get a lot more done if there were far less choir directors and far more students.

I can't really think of anything else...

I hate thinking up titles...

2004-11-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

I get my car back tomorrow. Turns out a drainage plug was stopped up (we had been told before that they weren't). So that's fixed, and apparently the problems with the stereo went away when the amp dried out. That's a huge relief. I don't know what I would do without my car stereo. Driving in silence is worse than sitting through a two hour lecture on toenail fungus (I imagine, I haven't actually sat through a two hour lecture on toenail fungus, so I could be wrong).

The parents leave for Boston Saturday, which means I have to get up at the crack o' dawn to drive them to the airport. It'll be worth it though, because then their house will be mine for a week.

I went to see the UAB Music Department production of Amahl and the Night Visitors tonight. The little boy they had to play Amahl was awesome. The entire cast was just awesome.

Alright, that's all for tonight. Peace out, yo!

Grrrrrrr

2004-11-10T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ok...I'm getting a little ticked with the drummer in my Sunday morning worship band. He never comes to practice and doesn't think he needs to. That just hacks me off. I think the rest of the band and I are going to have a little discussion about what steps we need to take concerning this situation Saturday at practice.

It's so hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost here. What's really hard to believe is that after Turkey Day, Jesus Day will be right around the corner. This year has gone be really, really fast. Oi...

Anyways, I'm out (of my mind).

Things are looking up

2004-11-09T20:46:00.000-06:00

My paycheck has reappeared in my checking account. This makes me happy.

Also, with work, turns out I may be switching from hourly pay to salary and getting a raise (this isn't definite, just what one of my bosses has heard from a member of the personnel committe ((her husband))). This also makes me happy.

And, I finally told her how I feel, but she just wants to be friends, which is cool. She'll still be in my life in a good way, and that's all that matters, yes? I think so.

Oh, speech class today was fun. For our last test, we did it like a game show, and the team that won got an A and the team that lost got a B (still not bad, considering the teacher said most of us wouldn't have gotten a B on it anyway). My team won, which was cool. What wasn't cool was the other team getting upset, not because they lost, but because they were getting a B on the test. I would have been happy with the B, but then again I've always been happy with a B. Yes, A's are nice, but B's are still good. Better than an F, eh?

Still no word on my car. That sucks. But I get to drive my mom's car, which only has like 6000 miles on it, which is cool. And it's yellow. Which is also cool. I'll probably be driving it for awhile, since they're going to Boston next week and I'll be housesitting for them (again cool, because they have a big screen TV, digital cable, and a hot tub), and I always drive their cars while they're gone, as payment for watching the house.

Anyway, that's about all I've got for today. Adios muchachos.

Some things are looking up

2004-11-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

Wow...it's amazing what church can do. Just being there this morning improved my mood greatly. My work problems aren't as bad as I thought either. I'm also going to be getting paid to lock and unlock the church now, on top of what I already make. How cool is that? It won't be much, but that every little bit helps, right?

Oh, and I've come to the conclusion that sometimes I worry about things too much...but then again, don't we all?

All the world's a stage...

2004-11-06T20:15:00.000-06:00

And I've been thrown off it.

My weekend hasn't been very good so far. I think I'm slipping into another one of my mild depressions, usually brought on when I worry about things too much.

First, let me start out by saying that I hate my car. I hope they find out where the leak is coming from and fix it. I'm tired of having a swimming pool in my back seat everytime it rains. What's sad is that it's not the top that's leaking (I have a convertible) and the top is about to fall apart. The water's coming in from underneath the seat.

Second, I hate my bank. I deposited my paycheck yesterday morning, and now there's no record of my check being deposited, which caused me to overdraw on my account. They're researching whatever it is they research to find out what happened. If they don't find it, I'm not going to be a happy camper.

Third, I've got some pretty big things that I'm worried about that I won't go into. Let's just say that if I don't get some things straightened out, I'm going to be in deep.

I feel like I'm the verge of a nervous breakdown. Something's going to snap soon, and it's not going to be pretty.

It works!

2004-11-05T22:15:00.000-06:00

Finally, after so many problems with this thing I can post.

I met with my new advisor today. Dr. Ray is so...well...it's hard to describe. Charles describes him as the "nicest guy ever...yeah, ever." I don't think that does Dr. Ray justice. There's just something about him that...well...put him in a room with Osama Bin Laden for 5 minutes and he'd have Osama defending the United States. Anyway, from the way things look, I may have my BA in Music sooner than I thought, which will be nice.

We had our Choral College Festival yesterday. I think we were the best choir there. We had the clinician dancing in his seat during "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."

I find myself constantly thinking about that special someone I mentioned earlier, who I'll refer to as "her" and "she." I don't know what it is about her. She's almost intoxicating. I just wish I could get up the nerve to tell her how I feel. Maybe one day...if it's not too late.

A Rare Thing

2004-11-02T21:55:00.000-06:00

Me posting, that is.

I voted for the first time today. That was interesting. For some reason, we have to vote on admendments to our constitution (it's, if I'm not mistaken, the longest state constitution) that don't even affect us (by "us" I mean Jefferson county, AL). One of the amendments was to start the promotion of shrimp and seafood (I thought shrimp was seafood, but I guess the government knows better). I voted no on that for two reasons: 1) we don't need an amendment to our constitution saying we can promote shrimp and seafood, and 2) I don't like either. Other amendments only affected other counties, so I just voted yes on them. I didn't care either way.

I've been thinking alot lately about my life, and how it's not how I would have pictured it when I was younger. It's actually alot better in some respects. For example, back in the day, I would have never thought I'd be going into Music/Children's Ministry or be the lead singer in a praise and worship band. However, I always thought I'd have someone special in my life. And there is, they just don't know it...at least I don't think they do. I've never been good at sharing that sort of thing. I have a huge fear of rejection. It really sucks too. I've liked this person since I first laid eyes on them a little over a year ago. I know, I'm a sad individual.

With all that said, I bid you all goodnight. Perhaps I'll post again in another month, maybe a few days. Who knows?