It’s not that there has been nothing to write (blog) about, just nothing really worth mentioning really.
School is drawing to a close, which means that I need to decide which direction my life will take from this point forward.
Do I keep going to school? Get another job (closer to home)?
Nothing is really standing out – it’s kind of blurring right by.
Today in my Rock and Roll History class, I admitted that I had seen Metallica in ’89 and AC/DC in ’91. Somehow, I was magically transformed from “that old guy who knows a lot about music” into “that cool old dude who’s seen it all”. This one kid who was born in 1990 (!) said that he was sorry that he missed that time period.
I had to remind him that the internet didn’t exist then. That fanzines and magazines were the ONLY way to stay in touch with a band – unless you were lucky enough to like a band that had an active fan club. No twitter, no google, no motor cars, not a single luxury…..
My daughter has plowed through Season 1 of Lost now. She’s got this gurgling thing that she does with her throat when she’s nervous. I can always tell when the tension is ratcheting up because she’ll be making that noise a mile a minute. Pretty entertaining.
I really wish I had something of worth to update.
But I don’t.
I made my daughter give a presentation as to why she should be allowed on Facebook. Her presentation was (relatively) well reasoned and covered enough ground that she convinced us. She’s on there now, and since we told her she couldn’t use (read:get addicted) any of the game apps, she’s managed to manage her time well – she’s only on every once in a while.
I finished my five page paper for my Rock & Roll History Music Appreciation class – found a really cool book.
Used it as a source, but I’m really falling in love with the material. Much like reading the horoscopes, I’m going, “HEY! That’s ME!!”
I have to say, the new machine (and grinder) have far exceeded expectations.
Class got canceled today – I was on campus when they evacuated. They thought it was gas. So, the rest of the day was pretty much spent just driving around.
I need to take a nap.
This is officially my first spring break in about….uh…..nineteen or so years.
I don’t really consider it “spring break” since I still have to do pretty much all the normal crap that I do during a normal week. I just don’t have to go to class.
Today I shall be writing a paper for my Texas Politics class – due next Wednesday. Three pages (no big deal) – but procrastination (much like blog posts) abounds.
My daughter is now officially hooked on “Lost”. After I plowed through seasons one through five on Netflix, I decided to pick up the box sets when I find them cheap. She watched the first episode, and from the other room, all I could hear was, “OMIGOD, OMIGOD! OMIGOD, OMIGOD!”. Normally, I really don’t find myself that interested in network television, but “Lost” is a pretty brilliant show. Since I was able to watch all seasons pretty successively, there was no “lag” between seasons and therefore no letdown when the writing changed direction. It’s definitely a different show than it was in the beginning, and it should be interesting to see how it wraps up.
Oops.
For the first time, I wore my Flat Duo Jets shirt today.
When I picked my daughter up for school, I should have REALLY noticed the imperceptible eye widening……but I didn’t. I just chalked it up to her “normal” not liking whatever I’m wearing.
Off I went to the courthouse to file a Deed on my house. I’m there and the cop at the metal detector motions to the three other officers that are there, “Hey, lookit his shirt!”. Then I went into the clerk’s office. The clerk’s eyes got huge and he says, “You know you’re in the courthouse right?”. I said, “Well, it’s not illegal…..”
He says, “Well, I wouldn’t walk around downtown or anything….”
Kinda funny. I kinda forget that most of the world isn’t on the same wavelength as me. It reminded me of the time in high school when I wore my “School is Hell” t-shirt.
I really didn’t think anything of it, but Mr Strickland (the band director) didn’t take too kindly to it.
They made me turn it inside out. D’OH!
We have entered the culture of lowered expectations – please raise your tray tables and fasten your seat belts, this will be a bumpy ride…..
I managed to get a “B” on my Texas Politics test. I was a little disappointed that it was an “on the edge” B – it was an 80. Although, for the time I put in, I deserved exactly what I got. So, I went to class today and the professor was astonished that our class did so poorly. The class average was 53. FIFTY-THREE. This is a class where we were allowed to use an index card (both sides) with notes for the test!
As it turns out, there were two A’s, two B’s, about 6 C’s, 12 D’s, and the rest were F’s. Freaking amazing. I too was astonished. Just think if I had put some time in on it!
Piano class, I managed to underwhelm myself when I volunteered (too early) for something that I wasn’t really ready for. I thought I was going to get away with not-really-practicing-at-home, but I’m not going to be comfortable doing that. Many of the playing elements are solid, but other parts are not.
For golf class, we went to Mansfield National and hit some balls at the driving range. Now that was fun. Although, I didn’t realize that I was supposed to use my almost-full-stroke yet, so when the coach was saying, “Bring it back more” I’m like, “Huh?”. So I think I’ll be heading to Top Golf this weekend with Rod and hit some balls. Stretch out my aching triceps anyway. Monday was a snowy/wet day so we hit the cardio room. I also hit the weight room and REALLY pushed myself. Ouch.
A student got smart with the RnR History/Appreciation class professor. I couldn’t believe it. He looked like he loved Nickelback and was like, “Duuuude! Why are you talkin’ smack to me?” to the professor. A hush fell over the class.
Stupid kids.
In other news, when in a funk I managed to mangle one of my rims, and I’m in the process of buying another one. Also, got some windshield wiper blades which are Honda year/model specific which is crazy. At least they were easy to install.
The amp showed up – somehow I thought it would be bigger. LOL.
I took a nap a little earlier and I’m feeling better after this weekend. Friday and Saturday night some friends and I went to a burlesque festival – it was a lot of fun. We ate sushi at some place I’ve never gone on Friday. At the show, drinks were plentiful and made merry – and looked at the pretty girls.
BTW – I totally stole these from my friends since I didn’t take my camera. There were approximately 50 performers total over the two nights, so this obviously is just a sample.
“There’s plenty more fish in the sea” is a very quick, glib way of explaining the truth. And the truth is………………
……there are plenty of women in the world that will “get” you. You just have to seek them out.
I’m working on a project again after realizing that life is short. I’ll update as the project gets harder (which it is already hard, but for some reason I chose superbowl sunday to start again)
My piano class is fun – I keep getting included on the really hard stuff. Two tests coming up this week – RnR History and Texas Politics. I’m really not taking this semester seriously (unfortunately) but I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ve been practicing guitar like a mofo and I’m happy to report that I’m very pleased with my progress. Woodshedding (when done right) works.
On the way:
I would say it’s been a pretty eventful week.
Saw the Dex Romweber Duo on Thursday at the House of Blues. Exene Cervenka opened. I wanted to see Dex Romweber live so Terry and I booked it over there and saw a rather intimate show in the Cambridge room. It was a cool show – I enjoyed it. Approached the weekend having hit some golf balls and plenty of homework assigned. My piano teacher is now including me in his Piano II class – which is fine. Guitar has taught me enough eye/hand co-ordination that I can pretty much keep up. I’ll only get credit for Piano I, but at least I won’t be playing beginner stuff. Also applied for my associates degree – I graduate this semester.
Friday saw the Young One get ill – (pharyngitis again AND an upper respiratory infection). Her trip to H-town was put on hold and she’s attempting to burn out the sickness in my bedroom. Been alternately writing papers and taking care of her (and slacking – of course).
Somehow this week I believe I managed to fracture my big toe (doing jumping jacks barefoot – silly boy). I’ve got it taped up and it feels okay now. Thanks for asking.
Set my PS3 to run Folding@home so that I’ve got another PC running it. Again, if you ever have had someone you love get cancer, this program uses your computer to compute protein molecules and how they react – researching cures for cancer. Power of collaborative computing. Go team 169588!
I’m fairly sure, at some point last night that these words came out of my mouth:
“So…. can you shit lottery tickets?”
It’s been a pretty interesting weekend. Last week was the first week of the new semester – which is shaping up to be pretty cool.
Unfortunately, I did make it over to UTA on Friday and discovered that I am much, MUCH further behind than I thought I was in terms of the degree I’m after (or was after).
I’m kind of at a crossroads – so the weekend pretty much mirrored the confusion and chaos that I’m in right now. I’m glad that I used this time to finish up my Associates Degree – but I’m not quite sure where to go from here. Plus, the one year anniversary of my father’s passing is right around the corner – and I finally got around to sending “Thank You” cards to all his friends for the nice cards and letters that I received. It’s nice to get that off my mind – that pile of letters kept nagging at me.
I got my brake pads replaced, and played pool over at Rusty’s Billiards for about four hours (!) while they worked on my car. Got completely schooled by a guy I met there who had such excellent ball control that it put me to shame. It didn’t help that I’m not regularly playing anymore, playing for long periods of time is completely exhausting now – and I forgot to bring my cue.
Went out last night and stayed out until 5am – which actually was a lot of fun. I got to meet some new people, try some new things, and managed to go through half a bottle of vodka in the process.
Needless to say, I took a few naps today.
