• “Bicycles are almost as good as guitars for meeting girls” Bob Weir

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Those bastards laugh at the green hair, until all the pretty girls come talk to ME

    Muaaaahahahahaha!!!

    All part of my evil plan.

    Now that I’ve got an all day Chemistry class on Saturdays, I probably need to be sleeping right now….uh….yeah….sleeping.

    Oops.

    Going back to school…….makes me have so much in common with the young folk of today.

    Example:

    My teacher (who is probably only 10-15 years older than me)

    Teacher: Does anyone know why the death of Michael Jackson is so important?

    Me: Anyone who was alive in the 80’s knows why Michael Jackson was so important…

    Dude (kid) sitting behind me: Man, if I was alive in the 80’s I wouldn’t be listening to that – I’d be listening to Testament. Metal!

    Me: Uh….only in the late 80’s.

    This kid was probably born the year I graduated high school. Now THAT is depressing.


    📂This entry was posted in School 📎and tagged

  • “The reactions from people when they see our stuff is always positive. Wherever we go, people seem to be drawn to us. It feels so good. It makes me feel like maybe I’ve made the right choice,” Sharon Hill

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    I picked up my Chemistry book today – again, I’m relieved that I made the right choice.

    Reading through it, it’s more “interesting” and I don’t have that sinking feeling.

    I’m still waiting for three books that were ordered from a separate campus last week – and have yet to be delivered. I’ve already ordered them at textbooks.com, so I should get the remainder in tomorrow.

    My guitar shipped today, and I should be getting it in a few days. Hopefully I can request a pickup at the UPS hub on Tuesday. *crosses fingers*

    I need to update my guitar page – I’ve acquired a bit of gear.


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar School 📎and tagged

  • “Before you try to convince anyone else, be sure you are convinced, and if you cannot convince yourself, drop the subject.” John H. Patterson

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Alright – my first class dropped.
    I was able to sneak into a Saturday Chemistry class (one of my core requirements) and drop the logic class. The logic class was probably going to be interesting, but I could tell that from the first two chapters that I would be pretty buried. It didn’t help at all that the teacher was not tremendously orgainized. Quote, “I’m not going to be a teacher, but more of a coach…..well, I’ll teach also but….”  Nothing was really laid out too well (at least not to my liking) so that I could expect relatively what was going to happen.  After experiencing this, my history and government classes seem very easy. So, I did manage to find the Chemistry class – while I’m not super excited about it being on a Saturday, it just means that I only have to take four more classes for my Associate’s degree – then I can transfer into University of Texas Arlington.

    Having had the previous experience of bombing classes, I know better now when to cut and run. There’s a difference between sighing because of the workload, and having a horrendous sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that you’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake.  Last night was one of those nights in the Logic class. Since I was taking it to fill an elective spot (foolish me), I did visit with the academic counselor yesterday so that I could fully understand what I was doing.  I pretty much just jumped into it all without looking too closely, but that logic class was a little too close to the edge.

    Maybe if I had been in school more recently, I could have handled it, but having not been in school in about thirteen years,  overwhelming myself is not a good plan.
    All in all, I’m very happy with the choice I made – I did it before it was too late, and I’m still on my way.
    The music class should be fun.


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar School 📎and tagged

  • “Education is the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty.” Mark Twain

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    SO – How was the first day at school?
    Not as nerve wracking as I expected it to be.  While it is assumed that I’m some punk “kid” because of my green hair (which did go over very well by the way) I know that I’m a little less than twice the age of most of these kids. It’s definitely nice to have this kind of perspective – every single class had a “get to meet you” and the majority of the kids in there sounded just like me when I was their age: “I don’t know what I want to do/be”

    [UNDECIDED]

    So it’s nice to at least kind of know what it is I’m going to do.

    Current plan: Xfer to UTA and get a degree in music production/recording.  Couldn’t hurt.
    My classes seem pretty straight forward. The “Concepts of Physical Education” I’m kind of looking forward to. It’s being taught by a track teacher and he said we can work out however we want to. I’m already working out four times a week – so this should bump it up a bit. Not sure how the information is being graded though in his class. The other two classes are pretty self explanatory.
    Sooooo…..I probably need to be practicing guitar right now, but unfortunately, I’m not. I made a semi-mistake on eBay and ended up snagging a J Yuenger sig model Ibanez…..that will be pretty much like the guitar that I’m having custom painted right now….to look like a sig model J Yuenger guitar. My “custom” won’t have a floyd rose, but the sig model probably needs to be repainted anyway.  Apparently it was damaged when being shipped to the current owner and he had it airbrushed. You can see it in the photo which looks a little blue/green right by the knobs and the stars are a little more shiny – which is probably why I got such a good deal on it.  Depending on how well my “custom” is coming out,  I may send the sig model to him to redo the entire front. We’ll see when it comes in.

    !BYs4Ou!B2k~$(KGrHgoOKisEjlLl5Pu2BKi-gT!fog~~_35

    *sigh*


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar School 📎and tagged

  • “May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart” Eskimo Proverb

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Sundays appear to be good days to update. Again, I’m not sure why.

    I’ve got a student coming over in about an hour and a half – and I’ll be giving another guitar lesson.

    Yesterday, my brother picked me up and we went to a small get together with some of his friends from school – I’m a at good place in my life, and didn’t feel as …..inferior….. as I normally do. Over time, I’m finally getting to the conclusion that as long as I’m happy with what I’m doing, then the rest falls into place. We drove around a bunch in Ft Worth and went to the stockyards. My green hair went over pretty well there – in a lot of ways it was like being in Houston. The really “square” folks stared – everyone else pretty much ignored me. It was definitely a fun time – Ross’ buddies are all pretty quick on the draw.

    School starts tomorrow. All my credits have been accounted for. After I finish this 13 hours this semester, I’ll only need four more classes to get an Associates Degree. I’m not stopping there though – I’m going to transfer into the college around the corner and go for a degree in Music Business/Recording. Not quite sure of all the different parts of it, but that’s the plan. Having the plan is good enough right now.


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar School 📎and tagged

  • “It’s a labor of love,” Mark Franz

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    I managed to get my hands on some material that I’ve been looking for – for quite a while.

    Originally, I had only caught two columns in print – then ran across them while running some searches. I thought, “I’ll get back to them”. I never did and they pretty much disappeared.
    Rescued, reformatted and reposted.

    “So You Wanna Join a Band? by J Yuenger”


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar 📎and tagged

  • “I’ve never let my school interfere with my education.” Mark Twain

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Holy crap.

    I’m glad I delved a little more deeply into all the school stuff…..

    I just ordered all my books online (!), checked a message board for one of my classes (!) where the entire class syllabus, exams and study guides were posted (!).

    Unbefreaking—- anyway.

    “Back in the Day”….this was ALL manual. The stuff was stored at the library….registering for classes was a bitch, then you had to get your “book list” the first day of class…..THEN go buy them.

    These kids don’t know how good they have it now.

    At least I’ve got SOME computer skills, the setup is good (not great) and so you end up having to manuver around a bit to find everything.

    I did finally pick up my parking permit – got to go back Friday and pick up all my boooooks.

    Little nervous about it all.

    I’m sure I’ll do fine…..


    📂This entry was posted in School 📎and tagged

  • “How many people make themselves abstract to appear profound. The most useful part of abstract terms are the shadows they create to hide a vacuum.” Joseph Joubert

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    I wish I had something interesting to report.

    Things are kind of slow when my daughter isn’t around, and my green hair only entertains me so much. I hear from my lawyer that I will need to go back to blonde before the probate hearing. Yay me. Then it’s back to green.

    Being unemployed is a little surreal. It will be good to go back to school, giving me a daily goal (wake up, go to school, repeat).

    I’m using a book that teaches fretboard logic – and it’s working very well for me. I’m really happy with it.

    Picked up a ton of $2 bills at the bank today. I wiped them out. Why? Why not? It’s legal US currency – it’s time to reintroduce it into circulation. C’mon people! Do your part!

    Going to have a parent/teacher conference tamale. Little one made “student of the hour” last week – of which I am extremely proud. The things you do for your kids…..

    She’s enjoying the whole process which is awesome. This is exactly what she needed. I can enthusiastically endorse Sylvan Learning Center.

    Am considering doing the P90X program – my insurance agent/guitar teacher does it and he loves it.

    I’m trying to use every Category that I have…..here we go – I’m close.

    Installed a new toilet the other day – life is so much better with a new toilet. Don’t underestimate the power of a new toilet.

    Speaking of humor….just kidding. I honestly have had more conversations with this hair than I can count. People say the oddest things. Which is great, because it’s sharpening my response skills.

    “Which came first, the chicken? Or the egg?”


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar School 📎and tagged

  • “I shot the sheriff” Bob Marley

    Posted on by The Thousand Yard Stare Comment

    Not sure why Sunday has turned into such a peaceful day….

    It used to be because most of our customers were least busy, so I would get the least amount of phone calls. I was jolted earlier today when I thought, “Where is my work phone?”. In some ways, I’m still getting out of “work mode” – in other ways, I’m way, way gone.

    Right now it’s quiet, the TV is off, my daughter is still asleep – I’m thinking about pattern one scales in the way that this one book is telling me…..and wanting to write a song.

    There was a police officer across the street – and knowing my neighbors are out of town, I went to see if everything was ok. Everything was fine – including the officer. *wink-wink-nudge-nudge*. I could have easily crossed over in our tiny insignificant conversation and asked for her number, but I passed that tipping point where it felt natural, and just let it go.

    Also, I never feel comfortable doing that kind of thing when my daughter is within say, 500 feet?

    Sunday is supposed to be a religious day. I was definitely thinking about the big “R” the other day when someone asked me if I used to be a priest.

    These days, I consider myself a non-theist. I’m a practicing non-theist. LOL.

    Atheism, to me, prescribes a kind of knee-jerk reaction to whatever religion is being presented.

    The only god I pray to is the porcelain kind – and speaking of which: I was replacing the wax seal (again) because I undertightened the bolts on the toilet, and ended up breaking it (the toilet). Bummer. My new one is in route to get here in the next hour or so – then I can install it. I’ll be kind of glad since I’ve been meaning to replace the disgusting seat that’s been on there since we moved in.

    I gave my first guitar lesson on Friday – and I think it went well. I don’t know how the student thought it went, but overall we covered some things, and started down the path.


    📂This entry was posted in Guitar 📎and tagged