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November 30th, 2009
01:08 am - So far..
This break is just what I needed. It's pretty crazy, actually.
I am currently hanging with 80% of my old band now.
Hell, might as well say the entire band.
Jaleesa was damn near part of the band, she was so active in supporting us.
So I'm here chillin' with the guys.
It's nirvana; this is what I've always wanted to feel in friends.
People that, despite little to no communication with these guys,
the friendship thing is still the same...if not better.
One thing I noticed is that we all know more what we're in to.
Chris is still searching, per his words.
He's not quite sure. But last we had a sincere talk,
I suggested that he take his time. Don't rush into anything.
Especially for love.
He loves his ex dearly and would really want to be with her.
[sorry for puttin' your biz out there, my dude]
But he also doesn't want to do something just to do it.
He wants to actually KNOW what he's doing with his life.
Acquired Taste fell through, so we were all
sort of like.."well, what do we do now?"
I encouraged TK to continue following music.
Ozzi had his school medical thing going.
Pooles had his family company thing.
I had my excuses.
And sKuLLy had Home Depot.
So it all worked out in the end, because I moved and now I have my own sound.
TK has a sound that could come out now.
It sort of makes me envious, but I know it's not my sound.
My sound takes much more time to really craft.
The results are beautiful, but the work is long & hard.
And joyous all the way.
I need to get better at finishing the songs though.
I finish very few. I have many ideas,
but cannot find the inspiration to finish them quickly.
I'm chillin' with my dudes, so I'll cut this here.
Current Location: - Jerz -
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November 28th, 2009
07:32 am - A little time off..
So I hadn't said anything before abou~
Wait, yes I did.
Anyway, I am at the airport heading to Philly.
The internet here gives 20 minutes complimentary.
That's all I'll need =)
It stops at 7:37 - my flight's at 8:10.
AND I HAVE BOOKS.
I got on Pandora because it has a few stations I created that are SPOT-ON.
So I'm just vibin' out right now, updating you guys on where I'm at.
Even when we wake up at 4am, we have alot to talk about.
I love my family.
Particularly my mom and my uncle.
I gave my mom a tour of her own house yesterday.
She'd been drinking, so her mood went downhill.
I got tired of hearing crying each & every time she drinks alot.
So I said "mom, them tears better be joy"
and proceeded to take her around the house
Explaining to her that there is nothing but love in this house.
We eradicated the house of hate, greed, pride, and envy.
She continued crying.
But she stopped shortly after.
I love my folks...
I'm gonna go ahead & cut this short. The internet's going to cut off in 6 minutes. =\
L8r guys!
I'll be out here for a FULL week & some days.
Current Location: - Airport -
Current Music: "The Way [live ft. Mike Phillips]" - Jill Scott
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November 24th, 2009
12:26 pm - Today is NOT your day..
I woke up this morning.
I wish that was the end of today's story. But nooooOOOOooooo....
I'm already in vacation mode, but I still have work! And yet another day at work tomorrow! FARK!!!
I don't feel like it. I don't even feel like playing Assassin's Creed. I have been on a guitar kick..well, really a bass kick. I've just been feeling music alot recently.
One of my coworkers did comics for a time. It's so funny that you can search his comics [using Half Life 2's Garry's Mod, might I add] and it's on LOTS of sites - IGN, to name a big one. And it's QUITE CAPTIVATING! He was only breezing by the story, but because I really took to loving this story it really held me. NOT TO MENTION he seamlessly interwove [is that a real word?] it with the actual game story. Almost like "Enter The Matrix" was to the movie "The Matrix". Yeah, the gameplay wasn't great, but you could NOT deny that the story was NOT a great backdrop story of what was happening while Neo was making his happenings.
Anyway, this coworker showed me a plugin called "BFD". It stands for "Big *something* Drums". This plugin....SHIT. That's what I almost did in my trows. Every single fucking thing I heard, I did not believe it was digital. I could not honestly put my head around the fact that the drums I heard were NOT acoustically recorded; that they were, in fact, done through a program on a computer. It was just mind-boggling. I forget the website, but if you google 'BFD', it's the FIRST thing to come up [FX-something, it says]. There are samples on the website [with downloadable mp3's, one of which I have because the first song is quite dope] where the drums were created with the program. So after I heard about 3, he told me none of those were done with real drums. Then showed me more information about BFD. In short, I left work at 9pmCST yesterday...
I get off work at 7pm.
I think the smallest package for this plugin costs $300. There are so many kits, so many choices, so much sound and variety put into each kit that they have to come on DVDs; NOT cd-roms. You get 4 DVD's in the basic pack. For that sound quality, though, it's DEFINITELY WORTH IT. I think it supports MIDI input as well, so I could program an electric drumset and actually rock it out if I felt like it. I think I'd rather that, too, because I'm going to be in an apartment on the ground floor for some time and I consistently practice playing the drums just about everywhere...even while driving.
Aaaaand I think I might've found my electrics...
I just don't know if the dbl kick response is good. Besides that, this seems pretty in my range.
Musician's Friend
So...yeah, uhm. Lemme get back to work. I'm growing tired, and there's nothing but busy work to do.
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" - Frank Sinatra
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November 23rd, 2009
06:35 pm - Glazed Eyes
I forgot something.
You know when you don't see someone for a long time and then you see them and they have changed drastically? Yeah - I had one of those moments this weekend. A girl I used to dance with in Orchesis Dance Club from frosh to junior moved across the alley from my old house before I moved to Philly. So this was like 06-07. I was cool with her & her mom for some years now, so it tripped me out that she lived across the way. She was cute. Nothing spectacular, but she wasn't average-looking.
Well I was doing some lawn work this weekend on my house, playing with my Unc's lawncare equipment, when Britt returned home from church with her mom. I'd seen Uncle talking with her mom, then I heard my name as I turned around & saw Britt scuttling towards me. I went & hugged her as well, but after the hug my mind was blown. SHE'D GROWN INTO HERSELF SO WELL. She was looking like a modern woman. She used to dress more casual, so although her face was pretty I could never take more than a basic interest in her. So when I saw her dressed as such, alongside her more laidback yet "upright" [...I don't know the word.] persona, it was just like..."wow, this is you!" and it made me have to take a step backwards.
My guy Curtis [known as Snoopy to us family] is that same way. He was a half-chubb. He's now tall, muscular, and starting his facial hair now. He has form. For him to be so beast at basketball, yet to take such an interest in biology, seems kinda like...WOW.
Mom admires how I choose my friends. This is proof of that fact. He looks like your stereotypical 'of/by/for the streets' black guy. Basketball, rap, and flyy clothing. But not the cheap stuff. This guy is big time, and not on his mom's money. But he likes biology and is in school studying that. His mom is his charm, and he admires her for all she went through with dad. So he wants to help the both of them get a taste of the good life. I don't blame him; she's a soldier and went through hell to keep Snoopy growin' up and not seeing the bad that came of her marriage. Though they're separate, they still equally show him love and encouragement. I've never heard Snoopy speak down of his father or even remotely negative. They've always had a great family. I just guess the parents couldn't stay in the same household for reasons I don't need to know.
Uhm...I'm really diggin' Jigga's album. I was into it before, but now I'm slowing down and listening to the lyrics. Wordplay is pretty dope, though it's generally always been.
I still think the way Lil Wayne uses words is top-notch. Might not be the most positive message, but he's been changing his lyrical stride in more songs nowadays. I respect him even more because of how he works, what he does, and how he has a 'walk first/talk later' sort of 'tude about him.
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: "Hate" & "So Ambitious" - Jay-Z
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01:07 pm
Yesterday [Saturday, 11/21], I had so much fun. Though I got a bit frustrated because we were running late [partially due to me once mom said she was on for coming], things were great. We got here, I got to meet my new grandson. I have condemned my friends to a life of head-rubbing, because once I got to rubbing this kid's head [a pasttime favorite for my mom to do to me] then he did not wanna go long without one.
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current-day
So yeah, I apparently didn't finish my last post. I musta fell asleep or something while I was writing it. ANYWAY...
I am on 1 of my breaks, so I decided to visit here for the time being. Lots of exciting things happening! First off, my mom went ahead & put in for the money for my iMac. I'm going to be getting a 27' iMac with Logic 9 Express installed. I'm still going to be paying fully for it, but now I don't have to wait til my birthday [at the earliest if I skip over paying for my CC loan]. I spoke with a dear friend Adrian who is a pretty dope producer [on the side] about Logic, because he LIVES there. I told him about what I plan to do, how I plan on using recording interfaces, MIDI controller, digital instruments, etc. He told me to go ahead & get Logic 9 express preinstalled on it. Though it will be huge when I start out, it is everything that I would need while I'm making music on my own. It's definitely not as big as the $500 version of Logic, but it has everything I'd be using.
I should officially have my Mac by early/mid December, which is very exciting.
Secondly, this upcoming weekend I will be flying out to Philly for over a week! That'll be sweet. I kinda miss the atmosphere, even though I didn't get out too much. I'm taking at least one day and getting lost on the trains. Just gonna GO. I miss when I used to do that on the CTA out in Chicago. Maybe instead of sneak-buying my mom a TV on black Friday, I might do that.
Or I'll do both. If I can get my mom a 30-something inch TV, I'll be happy because she can watch her "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" on a better TV than her 16-18 inch CRT. It's not bad, but when you're watching from across the room, 16 inches is SMALL. Besides, ever since the PS2 was at E3 for the system to be released soon, mom always gave us the bigger TV's. She would take the smaller one and roll with it. At the very least, besides rent, she deserves that much. Easier on the eyes, word?
So I guess I'll do both, then.
Well I spent more than 15 minutes writing this [slowly], so I gotta get back to work now. TTFN, loves!
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: "Blame It On My Youth" - Jamie Cullum
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November 18th, 2009
06:59 pm - It returns...and it gently pokes now.
I put on Dwele just now at work.
"Weekend Love".
And it made me feel lonely. I haven't spoken to people recently. Justin was possibly the only person I spoke to in the last 2 weeks...and this was just yesterday because he just got a game Tuesday afternoon that I got this past Monday/Tuesday at midnight; Assassin's Creed 2 for anyone interested in knowing. Anyway, I hit my friend Tandra up with one solo text on a subject she's fluent in a day or so ago. After no response with that text, I didn't do anything else to contact her. I tried to hit up LaTia today, but I don't know what all she has on her agenda so I got nothing there either. My friend Krissy hits me up daily, but it's almost 2nd nature. If I don't hear from her in 2 days then I would get a bit worried. Besides her, I've been spending more time returning the same 5-6 pokes from Facebook than actually texting or talking to people.
It hadn't hit me until now.
Earlier today, I'd commended my coworker for having an exciting life. He is finally ready to go back to school, but he...well, let's just say he "spent the last 10 years as a sophomore/junior in college"...minus the education part. He said I really got it. I drink socially ONLY [which equals about 1-2x a year]. I don't have hangovers, I get to save more money than him, and mommy's taking care of me [I'm the baby in this H.R. problem child we call EOPM].
I miss being stupid & carefree.
I'd forgotten about tax returns. I think I might put off the Columbia College bill for some time, or at least try to work out a sort of payment plan with them, because I still want my iMac. I want it soon. After my iMac, I'll get an actual recording interface [which will lead me into getting either electronic drums or a MIDI keyboard. I would love to have the drums so that I can actually do it myself since I 'play drums' while at work, driving, or sitting in front of my computer [I literally sit, analyze the sounds to find out what they're hitting, and practice..much more than bass or guitar, actually]. But having the precision given by drumming programs sometimes works for me. But for soul, having that imprecise snap of the snare also works it VERY well for me. For a program, grabbing that 'soulful lateness' is harder because it's meant to be precise. From what I've heard from a friend of mine, however, is that they have drumkits now that are made SPECIFICALLY for that. It's nothing new; it's been around for years now. But they had to make drumkits that were for late hits because it's a growing thing in hip hop [soulful, underground, TRUE-TO-ROOTS modern hip hop]. Overseas, they are killin' on the genius in hip hop. But ANYWAY...interface...yeah. After my iMac, I'll research interfaces, though I'm pretty sure I'll be using a sort of physical board. I could just use the digital EQ and use an M-Audio interface [great compatibility with Macs].
Random thought - I might try & see what positions are available at the Apple store. Apple gets discounts on M-Audio stuff.
I am so envious of Dwele. He, Ben Kenney, Ashley Mendel - these guys are the creators of all their music. They play all the instruments, do all the sounds, do all the singing. Dwele sometimes collabs with someone vocally. He once collabed with Boney James on a song; that was ONE SEXY SONG. But yeah, I need a friend who's love of music surpasses their skill in playing it. Those type of people are ambitious, and if someone like me were to give them an opportunity to make great music and get it recorded, they will continue getting MUCH better just to feel the sensation of "studio time".
I'm telling you, even if it's a home studio..the studio feel is exciting to me. Anytime I'm near all that configured equipment I am overly anxious and watch almost every second of the drums getting set up. Once I put the big headphones on, I am AMPED. If at a home studio, seeing all the wires going about in a not-so-organized manner. Watching the computer screen move forward and show soundwaves that have documented my every audible movement...one of those "greatest feeling" moments for me.
Aw man, the more I read about Logic Pro 9 the more excited I get. Tatsu & I are going to be insanity...
I gotta get out of here. I haven't saved this entry the entire hour & something I spent slowly typing it.
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: "Without You" - Dwele
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November 11th, 2009
08:13 am - The Boy Is Mine
Well I talked to a dear old friend yesterday. He actually called my phone, which was odd. I am not used to seeing his name on my phone for a call, and VERY RARELY see his name as a text. We don't think down of the other [besides the fact that he's a fruit-booter], and it's just pretty cool to get to talk to him from time to time. As I already know, he's grown MUCH. Though he's still the same 'Xander' I know & love, Justin is exactly what I thought he was; an ADULT.
We talked mainly about music. He knew I grew intensely with my desire and love for music, to the point of being admired for my love and sincerity for music. He loves music as well, but he never knew how to grow in skill. Never really understood the method I used to get better; it was just wasn't something for him. But he signed up for classes again. This time, an actual person [not pages, what I used] will help him to brighten his musical skill; both instrumental and vocal. He's never disliked music or only liked it for a time. He's been just like me, except his manner of learning just wasn't the same as mine.
But he's so excited now. Our conversation was supposed to be a half hour at most so that I could go to sleep [I left work early because I wasn't feeling even half-great]. It had to have been at least double that. Talking with him, I felt as though I weren't ill [besides the occasional pains above my stomach/below my chest I felt when I stood up]. After talking with him, however, I felt so...rejuvenated. Not physically, because I ended up passing out til 3-something this morning. But I felt good...really good.
For years, I'd felt that he was my guitarist. That some time in the future, we would join up again with our skills acquired over the years and just do lil shows here & there. I, recently, told my girl that I still feel this is the case. That she'd be my pianist, that Justin would be my guitarist, and that Jonathan would be my drummer. I never envisioned a vocalist because I'm not big on vocals, nor have I met anyone that truly stands out [besides my old vocalist, sKuLLy.] enough for me to believe that they're MY vocalist; someone's voice that demands my attention. But then again, my musicians have voices. Jonathan & I know not to touch a mic, but we still would anyway. The other two have the actual talent, so I'd never have a problem if I never met that one that I describe as MY vocalist. So...now that I'm done ranting, ahem. Because of what we talked about, I still feel strongly that he is. I have yet to really DO anything with him musically since we've learned more than what we did during the first 1-2 years. So I'll be patient.
Sometimes, responsibility blows. I need another weekend FAST. I wish this was my vacation weekend. How the hell do people live normal lives? I still want to be a wanderer sometimes. No responsibility, no bills, no money, no guaranteed food/shelter, no unwanted weight, varying scenery, and possibly dying in Arizona. Alot of the times, I like the sound of that.
OH! Guys, I recorded another song. It's quite beautiful, given the quality. This computer suxx ass, so I could only do so much with recording this. My computer couldn't handle much, and I broke my left mouse button in the process of my frustration. So I finished it as quick as possible once it got to the last 2 tracks before my computer decided to BSOD on me & make me curb stomp and/or drop a Cleveland steamer on it. If you want to hear this song, send me a private message [if you want to keep privacy] or leave a message on here w/ your email address or AN email address to which I can send the song. I'd love to hear your feedback! The little bit that I did get back [2 people] was just amazing. I could use your feedback to make sure that it's not a fluke! =)
Plus, I like hearing that what I create is something that more people than myself would like to listen to. It makes me feel as though I really am learning.
Current Location: - Home -
Current Music: Bob Marley - Caution | Powered by Last.fm
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November 9th, 2009
08:59 am - The More You Know... *insert shooting star*
The more I let life happen and express myself, the more I learn about HOW to live.
"How do I live? It seems like everyone else knows how to live." This sounds like an emo question. In truth, it is. But it's not the way you would think. It's like...how to describe it. "Everyone else knows how to react in this scenario. Everyone else knows how to talk to girls. Everyone else can do things." From small interpersonal reasons to external reasons.
So I've been focusing on myself alot. Generally, just to keep me sane seeing that I'm in a relationship. If I recall, I actually did write about Phylli & I alot. I don't know if it was on LJ or not, but she was a lesson that I needed in my life. I can't completely ignore myself.
What I'm learning now is that I can't completely ignore anyone else, though. It's an interesting balance. I can still focus primarily on myself, but sometimes my attention IS needed elsewhere. Walk lightly, and don't press buttons that shouldn't be pressed.
I'm in a semi-long distance relationship. With me, I sorta believe that I can't do long distance relationship. Mostly, I can't. I almost have to be able to SEE the person I'm with to consider them a friend, let alone my mate. Now this may surprise some of you, but did you know your actions CAN affect others? Even if you're not around them? YEAH, I DIDN'T KNOW EITHER! [hope you caught the sarcasm].
I've never had the will to see things through as much as I do now. Though there are people that want to see us fail, though they won't openly admit it, I won't give them the opportunity. I love her, and what I go through is no different than the next man with his woman. The difference I can make is how I handle it. Dad never made good choices in how he handled things, and look at him now. Living w/ mom again. At his age is unheard of in my ears. But his family is just...how can you and most of your siblings be so condescending? I think only one of his brothers actually KEPT his original marriage. And that same brother is the only one that was doing good. Atlanta police force. Though there was some serious drama that just fractured his image to the law and to his family & friends, 99.9% of his character is something I love in a male adult.
I'm done jabberin' - I gotta get ready for work.
Current Location: - Home -
Current Music: "Break The Silence" - Killswitch Engage
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November 4th, 2009
07:39 am - I'm now officially saddened...
By my birthday, I will have $2500 at least in my savings that..well...WAS going to go towards my 27' iMac.
I just remembered that, since 2006, I've had an outstanding loan bill of $3300....
I don't want to be selfish, but I've wanted an iMac for a few years now.
...responsibility sucks, sometimes.
Current Music: Coheed and Cambria - The Velourium Camper II: Backend of Forever | Powered by Last.fm
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November 3rd, 2009
01:46 pm - LIGHTNING STRIKE!!!!
I just had an AMAZING idea.
This goes along with my lifelong idea...that I never told you guys.
Alright, so I'm a music-head. I love making music, creating alongside other musicians, and listening to my results in someone's car or my stereo. So then I sat back & thought. Okay...I can't do music directly. I don't WANT to do music directly. Do I?
Well, I want more TIME to do music. Not directly as my solo thing, because I like being a businessman. But one thing I do want to do is work less and still get paid more than what I'm making now. So here's my thing. I want to own property. Instead of investing in my music equipment, I can still make music without the latest gear. So instead of investing in my music, I'll invest in owning property. People will pay me to stay there, and I'll take their money [after paying what I need to in order to keep the property] and get my equipment that I want to use. So, in short, the residents will pay for my equipment. I'll buy my gas, my rent, my food, etc. But the residents will pay for my music equipment and the rest of the money may leak into other stuff. The main things I need to consider is having internet ready in the building, is cable run for video, do the residents have to get their own, internet/video/phone, or will those be amenities that I will defer the costs over to the residents? Either way, I'll be in the bigger money arenas.
Long story short, my short-term [really, midterm] goal for now is to keep working and invest my money into this venture. My long-term goal is to work less. I don't want it to be a priority that I work a bangin' job. I liked working at Target as cashier. I would want to be able to work some sort of smalltime customer service job at, like, Guitar Center or something, but still have great money coming in. I'd have to find people to upkeep the lawn, but besides that everything else is sort of self-serve. I wouldn't get into bigger properties until I've gotten used to owning, managing, and maintaining the 1-2 properties I plan to own in about a decade. After I get used to that, I might even be so bold as to try and own a property that I don't live near. That would be a bit of a challenge, and I would need my wife's [cuz I know I'd be married by that time] help with keeping tabs and documentation on the property. Literally, if I get in good enough, she could officially become a secretary. I'd have to find out how, if possible, to set up taxation for my teensy weensy little firm, because I wouldn't want to have to manually pay them.
But yeah, this has been my idea since my father first spoke of how his friend is living now that he owns property. He started with one building, used the money he earned from that to invest in another. He, literally, owns an entire block in a town nearby my own [Maywood for those that know]. Wife doesn't work, he barely works [besides managing his properties and a barely-there side job, last I heard], and...well, last I heard of the kid...one Christmas he got like 50+ games. Got mad at one and smashed them all. So...I'm not gonna say he's spoiled, but....*wavy hand*....ehh....yeah.
So uhm....I gotta register some computers in our server now. TTFN
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Ohh.....I didn't hit the 'post' button....
Hmm....this is interesting...what to do, what to do...
*slowly moves to post*
Current Music: "Du Und Keine Andere" - Draa [that's me!]
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October 30th, 2009
02:40 pm - Look Ma! No Excuses!
I'M SEEING HARD WORK PAY OFF!
Okay, this is the whole scenario made small.
1. I now work at an ISP that pays WELL for my age. Not in the higher ranges of well, but I could definitely start living on my own with this pay.
2. I FULLY PAID OFF 1 OF MY 2 CREDIT CARDS!!!!! After killing it off, I'm now preparing to put my loans onto auto-debiting my credit card and just keeping that up to date. It's only $50 a month, so I'm really thinking that's the best idea.
3. I have been planning with two of my friends 2 completely different vacations, one of which I envisioned coming to life. Well with this job, that one is feasible. So now I'm making plans [possibly 2 years early] to go on vacation with her. Hopefully by that time, my girl can come as well. It's quite expensive [GREAT hotel, roundtrip tickets, and spending money] and neither of us are the greatest at saving, so right now [literally right now] instead of putting the money in my savings when it pops up there, I'm making my savings my 2nd direct deposit account so that I'll never see the money, yet my savings will "gain massive interest".....that won't really be interest.
The only sad part about that is that now my checks will be smaller. But hey - they're that way anyway because I send that money over immediatly anyway. I like seeing the numbers get bigger. =)
Well yo, I'm about to roll out for lunch soon. See ya later luffmuffins!!!!
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: "Lover, You Should Come Over" - Jamie Cullum
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October 27th, 2009
04:46 pm
I didn't wake up this morning because my phone alarm was going off. Or because I heard my mom leaving this morning. Or even because a ladybug crawled up my nose [no, that didn't happen]...I woke up because my brother was having a seizure.
It was the weirdest thing. 7am CST, I hear something...someone. Speaking loud, but choppy like a skipping vinyl. My brother is standing in my mom's doorway [vacant room] trying to say "mom". But because of him having a seizure, he can't even finish that. This is the first time ever that it seems like he tried to reach out for help while he was having a seizure. Usually the seizure is in complete control of him. I didn't let him have an option to go anywhere but on mom's bed. After he finally gave in & fell on the bed, a few seconds later it vibed out. He went to his room & laid down for a little bit. After a few minutes, he was busy as a bee. He was trying to do everything. Take out the trash, started dishes, joking with me [he knew I was shaken & scared], etc.
Currently, I'm about to get into auditing contracts at work. It seems exciting, solely for the reason that I can put 'audit contracts' on my resume. I'm sure it's long & tedious, as I'm told it is. But hey; I look at it positively. I like doing billback for us in executive offices. so dealing directly with the contracts will make it easier for me to know 'what is and what isn't' in reference to the properties we work with.
But yeah...my break is done in a few seconds, so I gotta get back to work.
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: "Find the Words" - Mad At Gravity
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October 19th, 2009
10:35 am - I'm sooooo tired..
I'm at work right now.
Wishing I'd have went to sleep four hours earlier.
Waking up an hour & a half before work with an unintentional "hangover" is NOT fun.
I didn't even drink anything!
[-_-]
So now I'm at work and the coworkers just got done speaking about how they don't do shit for like the first 2-3 hours unless it's necessary.
Today is OBVIOUSLY not a day we're going to be doing shit until we wake up more.
...well, at least for me.
Everyone else is still droopin' along, so with me having this sleep-hangover I'm going to be low-profile all day.
I just wish I wasn't in a small room with only 2 other people. Kinda hard to stay low-profile if we're a major point of contact for the places we do business with.
Hmm...
At 10:46, the first call comes in since I got here at 10. I'm hoping today passes by this fast.
...damn...work is starting. I'm not quite energized enough for this, even after eating my apple.
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October 8th, 2009
06:20 pm - Remake my head without auto reverse or rewind..
Ben Kenney and Ashley Mendel...
Bandmates....buddies...
Most of all, my top musical inspirations. Ben Kenney's obtuse usage of chord progressions and changes, vocal stability, and "rockout"ness on drums were unparallelled to me. Though he wasn't the best drummer ever, far from the most soulful bassist, and not the fastest shredder to exist, he's A MUSICIAN. This guy embodies the statement, "it's all about the music". It's not about how fast you can play bass and not sound muddy, it's not about double-bassing every 16th note for a passage and your arms pretzeling to do everything and nothing all at once, no. This guy makes MUSIC. Music that he likes. Music that I didn't know I liked.
Not to mention for his past 3 solo cd's, it truly was solo. This guy recorded 2 guitars, bass, drums, AND vocals in the comfort of his home. His credits page? Smaller than an introductory paragraph. In short, "I did everything except master this cd" is what it says.
Ashley Mendel....this guy is the bassist for Ben Kenney when Ben would tour and play his solo stuff live [cuz, obviously, Ben isn't going to play everything live]. Ashley has a pretty unique voice. When every singer thinks it's sexier to sing high or low/sensual, this guy is MY vocal range. He CAN get high, don't get me wrong. But that's the result of KNOWING where you can sing. After so long, I finally stopped trying to go high. I started relaxing more when I sing. I found that I'm more around alto tenor level. This guy is the FIRST guy that's more than 60% in my range. Like...I can sing EVERYTHING of his. I've never had an artist I felt more comfortable singing.
This is his debut cd. And you know what? He did it just like Ben; COMPLETELY SOLO. There's one song, however, that Ben does the drums for him. But on the REALLY GOOD SONGS on his album, he does everything. Vocals, 1-2 guitars, bass, and drums.
....every song on his album is AWESOME. One song is good. So that's a 90% perfection rate for his album...MUCH better than any other album I've ever heard. And I put Kanye's "808's & Heartbreak" up there.
My style of music is....weird. It's not that I don't like other music, other genres, other types. But in terms of an entire album, I've never heard one that TRULY fits me. Like...P.O.D. albums were good. I loved em; they were my thing. The message and the weight of the metal was GREAT to me. But there were songs that I was prone to skipping. With Ashley, there's only one song that I usually skip. THAT SONG ISN'T BAD. But once you hear the entire album, it's the only song that sticks out like a sore thumb. It's a good song - trust me. But then you hear the rest of the album and you're like, "...well this song was really good. The rest are great" and then you move on to the great.
But anyway....this guy QUICKLY became my top inspiration. Over Ben Kenney, and Ben was a dude that I listened to for enjoyment, ideas, breaking out of the box, vocal tests, and to help me better define what I will make DEFINITE - "soul rock". I love the groove of soul music, but love the excitement of rock. I often find myself bouncing between the two. So I am actually working on a song that does JUST THAT.
It rocks, but at the same time the drums have a hip hop groove to them. But they get metal-style as well. In short, if you made all the instruments synth sounds & whatnot, this would bang HEAVY in someone's trunk. And they'd enjoy it. But I'm doing it live, betch. Haha!
Well, work is over. I'm heading home. OH! ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) saemiligr and curlybits , you two made me feel SO special! I didn't know anyone actually kept up with me! When I posted last, you two made me smile SOOOOO big! Thanks for that, loves!
KISSES!
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: Ashley Mendel's album, "Auto Reverse or Rewind"
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October 6th, 2009
04:50 pm - Life has its perks..
SOOOO...
Update, update, update!
Uhm...well, first off numbers are dwindlings...in a good way. My credit hard has not been lower than $1100 for the past 2-3 years...and it's an $800 limit. So yeah...credit is JACKED UP right now. Though that will affect me harsh in the future, that doesn't affect me now. But my actual credit card is, as of this moment, down to $350 balance! And next....Wednesday?
*goes to check*
Next Thursday, I have that balance scheduled to be fully paid off. That will be SUCH a relief. Then I'll take the next two checks to kill off my Guitar Center credit card and close that out. I will give my credit card a bit of action so that I can try and work on my credit score, but nothing huge that'll take good amount of time to pay off.
Looking at my work situation, I'm growing comfortable with the work environment. Yeah, buncha bull. But with having to work @ 10am each day, I grow used to doing what I do. The closest I came to being late, I was up till 2am. I still woke up at 9:15 and got to work unnoticeably late [one minute, clocked in 2 minutes late]. Work environment is VERY cool, so something like that is dismissable at any time. So yeah...jazzy.
Also, in a few minutes I'm going to leave work. Instead of going home like usual, I actually took initiative and said "yes" to my coworker's offer of going to grab some pizza at this place called "Jupiter's". I like these guys - they tease & poke fun at me anytime I mess up, but it's not in a bad way. I'm not naive, thinking their teasing is constructive. Like - they joke with those that can joke back. Though I don't know how to joke back, I'm not offended by anything they say. So it's sort of the same token. But yeah - I like these guys. I think I might actually like them outside of work, too.
Well that's about it for this episode, kiddies! Tune in next time when Draa fights Sharks in Space!
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: dead...silence....not even ringing phones.
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September 2nd, 2009
07:09 pm - Thought Process
So...I've been in quite the limbo about my current job.
I love it. I hate it. I enjoy it. I despise it. Excited. Bored. Just...everywhere about it.
One thing I have to admit is that this is the greatest experience that I'll ever get. This place is so unorganized that it's amazing we know how to find information that we need. The program we use to document is one we've had to manually edit time & time again once we found something we should have to make documenting easier. But still, it's so haphazard and terrible that it's a miracle there's organization at all. So if I were to get into the callcenter of a place that is SUPER organized, then I'd be like....SET. Stuff would almost be TOO easy. Per Chris' statement, I'll actually prefer it here because there's so much lee-way in terms of how to accomplish a goal. The way he described it made sense, too. All in all, Chris really is about the best thing to happen to this job and my career.
In other news, I think God is passing me notes in class. I have a direction I think I might try & pursue in order to get closer to Chicago. I have so much stuff that, all of a sudden, is popping up for me as more people learn that I've been at this dang thing for more than 5 days. I have an offer from a guy I once choreographed a dance for. He's about to audition people [that which I probably won't end up in, but still...opportunity] for when he starts gigging. Next is something that's definite - an old friend of mine from when I used to play in church is starting something of her own. Soon she'll grasp onto getting a band and already alerted me that she's going to start that soon & wanted to know am I still in. THEN we got the big one [not big, but still - it's big to me]. The guitarist of my favorite band, MEQQA, wants me to be a part of his recording project. His main thing is to get something going that's hella experimental. He is grabbing people who are interested in MANY genres - not just one. So like I'm metal, soul, gospel, jazz. He's Metal, electronic, the singer's alternative, r&b, or something. And he wants people interested in WHATEVER. Not just rock...or not even rock. Wants to try & get something different going. Also, he wants to pull some new faces. For a few bands, people are multi-banded up. So like...he knows people already in the music game that could easily lend their services to his project. But he'd like some new faces. At least get some people started [such as me]. The reason this isn't big is because it's just an idea. It's just a recording project. We're not looking or planning to gig. If it looks feasible, we'll try it out. But right now that's not in our books. So this is DEFINITELY for the music heads that want to have FUN with music again. Try something different, ya know? So yeah, that one excites me. It's not a priority - we're not out to sell t-shirts & make money. So it's relaxed. We don't HAVE to meet up if we can't. But we would still love to make some noise, ya digg?
In other news, Adam [bossman] just decided to let me stay an extra 3 hours at work. He was like "you can stay til 7? how about 8? you know what? if you want you can stay til 9" - conversation OVER. Hahaha - that was awesome. Literally, we can't do too much while we're here. We can handle some resident issues, but unless something serious comes up we're limited to sittin' on our asses or playing darts. It's just a bunch of sitting. I guess they have available overtime and he just threw it out there. I'm like "psh...YEAH." It isn't until tomorrow that I'm going to see Ellen & we're going out for Sushi, so tonight was perfect timing for this. I'm going to go home & do nothing anyway. So at least the evening will feel like it's moving slowly. It's been 2 hours already, so for this last hour I'm expecting ONE resident to call me back so I can troubleshoot with her. If she doesn't call by 8:30 I'll try & call her back. See how things are doing and if things started working for her. Her issue seems small, but it'd be bogus if it WERE that, added on to the fact that she might have a legit issue on her walljack [I work at an independent internet service provider].
Well I'm going to try & turn something into work for myself right now. I guess I'll update on life and all it's twisty-ties later. Toodles, kids!
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: Last.FM from work [OnTheFront radio / MEQQA radio]
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August 21st, 2009
04:25 pm - 180
He was the main person that I liked there.
He was the most neutral man.
Yeah, some of his opinions were closed-minded (to me).
But he was the guy I preferred speaking to.
I get REALLLY bitchy when one of my faults are targeted; faults I can't repair nor get better at. Faults that make me..ME. I am QUITE tough to take down. I let any & all amounts of damage get done from whomever wants to deal it. But if you find a weakspot, then I am NOT the friend I was 2 seconds ago. It's like playing ping pong against a wall, and your only chance of winning is to hit it into one of three ping-pong-sized holes spread about randomly [to you]. So not only do you have to find what bugs me, but you actually have to attack it for it to sink. You can't just mention it, then I'm done. Just like you can't just hit the wall in the vicinity of the hole and gravity help you get it in.
Needless to say, I'm a bitchy little kid for the rest of the day. Speaking is kept to a few, as my words are to those few. This is just protocol; follow procedure...thank you.
Current Music: Meshuggah - "The Mouth Licking What You've Bled"
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August 7th, 2009
01:34 pm - Mo' Money, Mo' Problems...
My mom has been talking about babies alot lately. And it got me a lil worried. She hasn't been talking about them for her...she's been talking about them for everyone else! Particularly me!!!
Alright, here's the thing. I talk to my mom alot. One of the biggest subjects is 'LaTia'; my girl. So...we were talking at some period of time surrounding work, as usual. We stumble upon talking about LaTia again. We got to speaking of grandchildren for her. I told her of what we're doing [aka, waiting til we got our own] and she was glad. But that didn't deter her want for a grandbaby. We joked, we laughed, and we shared another moment.
The thing is...this has been happening more often recently. Like...within the past...2 weeks? I want to say 2 weeks. And it makes me think of one of those things like...mother's intuition or something. It just kinda is creepin' me out a little bit. In a good way, I mean. But still...kinda eerie like, "where is this coming from?".
In other news, today is quite boring. I'm waiting for next week to come so that I can get PAID...only to give half my check away to my credit card. I'm trying to hurry & pay it off because by the time that this probation period ends, I wouldn't have paid off anything if I keep at the rate I'm going. So since I don't have any other obligations yet, I'll focus on one card at a time. At the very least, I'll be able to kill off the Chase credit card. Since I paid the minimum for Guitar Center, they won't be looking for $100 everytime now. I'll just hit them w/ $50 a check & keep them happy. By the time probation period ends, I'll be under my limit. By how much, I don't know. But I'll be under the limit. That card is easier to handle. Less interest rate, and easier for my mom to handle for a little bit if I don't get this job.
[-_-]
I have to preplan EVERYTHING...
It IS fun; it's a challenge to see how well I can stretch & organize each dollar.
But still...it shows me just how little money I still have, even with this banging job.
"More money, more problems."
Current Location: - Work -
Current Music: keystrokes...key...strokes...
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August 3rd, 2009
09:34 am - QUITE the interesting weekend.
Vijeta, Eric, and Daz are okay with me.
We all met up this...Saturday? It was a four-year long dispute that was 100% caused by me. I just stopped talking to them. No reasoning behind it but solely believing that they were utterly mad at me. So...they caught me off-guard. I was about to stay at LaTia's for the night. Getting comfy with the thought of laying down in the living room. Then I got a text & a call from Vijeta. LaTia took me to my house in Bellwood, where they were, to talk & bring things back.
Long story short, because I'm at work, we made up. It felt REALLY good. And to add onto that, I got to see ALFREDO. Alfredo disappeared after freshman year. I thought he went to a new school & just bounced. But nah, he had an interesting live in the past 4-6 years. Up & down through SERIOUS trials. But anyway, it was so trippy. He looked the same. He was the one that initially got me into rock back in 7th grade. Let me hear some of Metallica's "...And Justice For All". Even started teaching me to play "One" on guitar because the beginning was simple enough to give me a feel of it. That effort alone got me into playing instruments and rock/alternative/metal/etc. So Alfredo means alot to me as an old friend.
Uhm...What else..? So all that happened. Then...there WAS something else. OH! I bought clothing! Went shopping & whatnot! I bought clothes on my own! REAL CLOTHES! It felt amazing to be able to shop, window shop, and plan when I'll come to retrieve it. =D
It's hard for me to spend money. I have $430+ left that I don't quite know what to do with. I'm so used to being restrained with a check. This is actually the most I've spent out of a check, and 2/3's of it was bills. I spent $350...$255 of it was bills. $100 was spent on clothing, food, chillin', and a bit of spoiling. Bought this fly hoodie for LaTia that she was gonna return next week & get. It felt good to help her out in that aspect. But yeah, I bought this outfit randomly cuzza price and how I liked it. I didn't buy it trying to make an outfit. It was more random. It surprisingly fit together in a way that I really like. In the words of LaTia, "It's natural". For those that know me, I prefer natural. To actually have randomly put together an outfit that reflects my preference is pretty dern sweet. =) Also I finally have a hoodie. It's a lazy type of pullover shirt hoodie, but still it's a hoodie. I'm wearing it at work right now, despite having a grass stain on the right from Saturday night. =) I like it alot!
Alrighty, I'm gonna cut this here. I wasted an accumulated 1/2 hour here. Maybe. I doubt it got that high. But I'm still wasting time. So lemme get back to work. Got calls to make! =P
Current Location: - Work -
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August 1st, 2009
07:31 am
Okay, so I was on the CTA. When the train started, there was a HUGE gravity pull. And I was almost thrown. I had forgotten that when the CTA turns around, the cab has to do rapid...RAPID 360 spins while the wheels slowly go the way they're supposed to go before everything's right & ready for the train ride.
While I was on this train, I saw this cute...somebody. I can't quite remember how they looked. But part of me wanted to talk to her, but the other part of me was scared because of spinning cabs. So then B.Rob was SOMEHOW comfortable in a corner of this train. Him & a friend were just CHILLAXIN' hard; laying on the floor of the car & playing Yu-Gi-Oh. So I started to walk over there...OH! I forgot a whole part of my day!
So I wasn't on the train yet. I was in....who's backyard....FART! So I was in someone's backyard. While there, I think Jehovah's Witnesses came to me & told me that they bought me this badass bass. It was FAR from a regular bass. Then I turned the page of the magazine they showed me & saw a pic of Slash playing a Gibson bass. So after that, I jumped privacy fences and ran to the train to go tell people. [insert 2 paragraphs above]
So I started walking over to B.Rob and the train glitched, so I ended up on my side....SLIDING over to them. They wondered why I can't handle the trainride. Then I showed him the magazine pic of the bass that I was getting. We stared for awhile.
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Yeah, so I woke up because periodically I couldn't breathe in my dream. Which translated to me not being able to breathe in real-life because the windows were open & it was a chilly night. I think it rained a bit or SOMETHING last night. I want to believe that, because it never got that cold outside.
Secondly, I'm starting to like this job. But I'm going to be SO SAD if they don't hire both of us. THEY HAVE 2 SPARE DESKS! WHY ONLY HIRE ONE OF US?! [T-T]
Morgan is cool peoples, and we work together alot. Like...not even joking. It's supposed to encourage a little competition, but we're helping each other do our work & stuff. Once she gets more comfortable, I think she got this job though. Yeah, I got the technical aspect of it..but I don't quite know if that alone will get me. She's a natural on those phones. Her previous job had her on them lots, and quite frankly that's more important than us doing the troubleshooting. We're mostly like customer relations. Except we don't deal with bottom-end customers. We talk to property managers. Property owners. Executive branch members. And we keep THEM happy...or at least satisfied enough to keep giving us money.
But yeah...
I need to stop procrastinating & do the stuff I said I was going to do during this past week. There are some opportunities that are now a little more opened to me because of this job. So I'm trying to do things bigger now. I'd love to be at home, but I don't know if that'll be possible without consequence. There's nothing for me here but closer access to Chicago, the music scene, and bars. Friends, obviously. But the ones I care about are doing their thing. The ones I don't care about are...well half of them...are doing their thing. The ones that want to hang with me aren't doing their thing yet, haha. That shows how important I am =P
Peace, love, & unity amongst humanity.
I felt like sounding inspirational. That obviously didn't work.
Current Location: - Home -
Current Music: "Hate This Place" - The Goo Goo Dolls
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