Trios

A week ago, I got to see a trio that I have seen many times before. It's always a treat to see Sleeping at Last play. They seem to get better live every time I see them. The Keep No Score songs have really grown on me quite a bit since I last saw them. The crowd was the biggest they have drawn any time I have seen them in Dallas. The venue still is one of my least favorite, but at least they weren't trying to compete over a screamo band this time.

Last night, I got to see a trio that I had never seen before. They broke up shortly before I turned three. I know quite a bit of music from The Police, but I would never consider them one of my favorite bands. I was interested in seeing the reunion tour though. After buying, then selling a pair of decent tickets for the concert, yesterday morning, I jumped at the chance to get some cheap tickets for the show.

The crowd leaned to the old side, and the band was even older. The music was great though. Sting's voice sounded good, but it wasn't quite up to the high notes that he used to be there. Watching Stewart Copeland on the big screens was worth more than the price of admission though in my book. All in all, it was a fun show. Some great songs performed by aging legends who don't really like each other. I was glad I got to see them.

Recent Playlist:
The Books - Lost and Safe
The Police - Syncronicity
Richard Swift - Dressed Up For The Letdown
Iron and Wine/Calexico - In the Reins
Lassie Foundation - The El Dorado LP
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Pedro the Lion - It's Hard to Find a Friend
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Half Handed Cloud - Learning About Your Scale
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
Dosh - The Lost Take
Andrew Osenga - Letters to the Editor Vol. 1
The Choir - Circle Slide
New Ruins - The Sound They Make

Andy O

There are certain songwriters that I love and seem to rediscover every so often. I don't really forget about them, but they do sometimes leave regular rotation on my ipod. The albums sit there waiting to be found again, and I always make it back. More so than just great music, great lyrics draw me back in and remind me of how much the writer's words have impacted me at different points in my life. The songwriter that I rediscovered today was Andrew Osenga.

I discovered his old band The Normals early on in college. A buddy recommended Better Than This to me, so I ordered it through the BMG club I was a member of back then. I loved the songs and gave the disc a lot of listens. I picked up Coming to Life not too long after it came out and gave it a couple of listens. It spent about 6 months on my shelf after that gathering dust. Somewhere along the way I dusted it off and started listening to it again. I had no idea how much that cd would be used in my life sophomore year of college. I was beginning to really know what God's grace meant. The songs put into words a lot of what I was feeling and trying so desperately to really understand. I can still listen to that album and have it touch me in new ways.

I got to see them perform three or four times after that album came out before the next one came out. The spring of my junior year, I had some cash to spend for a concert at the student ministry I was involved in. A handful of other devoted Normals fans and I were able to make it it happen. We promoted the heck out of the show and were so excited. The night finally came and they lived up to the expectations. Aside from an extremely short conversation about the Vigilantes of Love shirt I was wearing, I didn't talk to him much at all. I didn't want to babble to this guy whose words had meant so much to me. In the promotional items we were sent, we received some copies of A Place Where You Belong. Quickly another album of Normals songs was a part of my soundtrack. Those last two Normals albums were easily the best "Christian" music to come out of that time. Sadly, it wasn't much longer until the Normals were done. Much like that concert of ours, not enough people gave the Normals a chance.

The next memory I have of Andrew Osenga, and the last time I saw him perform, was a last minute trip to Austin with a buddy to see him play. It was a long trip for a tall guy in a small truck. That show at an Asian student ministry, and a couple of white guys wearing A&M gear stuck out in the room of Asian Longhorn fans. We may have seemed a bit out of place, but it was definitely worth it. The songs were still there. There were a bunch of new ones that I didn't know too well, but we enjoyed every minute of them.

I've kept up with his solo work over the years. I never make it through an album without having to go back to listen to a song again because it has hit me differently than it ever has. Even this evening while thinking about writing this, I was floored by House of Mirrors and When Will I Run. Again, they put into words things that I could not define.

Today I downloaded his latest solo ep. He has it available for download at his site here. I'm already loving these songs. I really needed them today. It is a great story behind the ep too that you can read on the site. Go download it and give it a listen. Send him a few bucks to help him keep making such great music.

"one day I believe
I will open up my eyes
to see the good work that was begun
I'll be the only things I've ever wanted
to be
and I'll know I belong"
Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates - Andrew Osenga

Single Life

I've got another week of bachelorhood ahead of me. My wife has had a lot going on lately, which has left me here by myself much more often than I am used to. When I found out that she was going to be gone, I had grand hopes of being productive. I wanted to get stuff packed for our upcoming but undefined move. I wanted to get rid of some junk. I wanted to read. All in all, I've pretty much wasted a lot of time so far. I did have shredfest 2007 where I finally got rid of all those old bank statements and bills that I had for some reason decided to save. I don't know what good I would think my 1999 bank statement would do me aside from adding to the junk that I have had to move twice now. They are all confetti now thanks to my new trusty shredder. Starting today, I've got five nights that I can use to hopefully get some of these things done. We'll see what I can accomplish.

Playlist:
Get Him Eat Him - Arms Down
A Northern Chorus - The Millions Too Many
The National - Boxer
Damien Jurado - And Now That I'm In Your Shadow
Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche
Pedro the Lion - The Only Reason I Feel Secure
Mewithoutyou - A->B Life
They Might Be Giants - Lincoln
This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain
American Music Club - Love Songs for Patriots
Mice Parade - Mice Parade
The Violet Burning - Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder
Joy Electric - Unelectric
Bloomsday - The Day The Colors Died
Jacobstone - Chambers and Volumes
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
Randy Newman - The Randy Newman Songbook

I'm Not Going to Become a Vegan But.....

I make it out to fewer concerts than I would like to sometimes, but I usually have a good excuse. Yesterday, knowing my wife would be busy all weekend, I decided at the last minute that I would buy a ticket to go to a show of an artist that I was only a moderate fan of. I didn't know what to expect at all.

Morrissey was in town, and there were some tickets up on ebay selling pretty cheap. I decided it sounded like an interesting way to spend my evening. I listened to the Smiths albums I had on my ipod to get myself a little better prepared. I knew that some of those songs would probably be played....How Soon is Now?, Panic, The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, The Queen is Dead and a few other possibilities based on some recent setlists. I had my arsenal of songs that I know ready, but I wasn't at all prepared for how much I would enjoy that show.

Part of the draw of me to go to the show was the people watching. Morrissey and The Smiths have some rabid fans. They were a band that I had always known of, but all in all, I didn't listen to them that much. I guess I'm really a bit young to have connected with them when the music came out. I have picked up some of the classics over the years, but I had really only listened to them a few times. Aside from the one song that became a hit in my pop radio days of middle school, I had only heard one of his solo songs, and it sounded like that one doesn't really ever get played anymore. It seemed like everyone there last night knew every word to most every song. They were jumping up and down and fighting over his shirt that he throws into the crowd every night. You won't see me doing that ever, but I guarantee that you will be seeing a lot more Morrissey and Smiths in my playlists.

I was amazed at Morrissey's command of the stage. From the minute he came out in a suit in tie until the last song he played, he had the crowd in his hand. His persona made him seem larger than life. I've heard he is quite an ego manic, but boy did it make for a fun show. He had a five piece band set quite a ways back from him, and he spent the show working the front of the crowd into a frenzy. Lots of poses and hand shaking and even a little bit of rolling around on the stage, but it fit the personality he put out there perfectly. It was hilarious to see twenty and thirty somethings getting hauled off by the stage security for trying to get too close to the stage.

I'll never completely relate to the angst of Morrissey of the lyrics of most of those songs, but I had a blast last night. Not being a huge fan lent itself to just getting to enjoy a great show. I didn't go in with high expectations and must-hear songs. I didn't have past shows to compare it to. I just didn't have anything to do and thought it would be fun to go see a "legend", and I wasn't disappointed at all. I came home a much bigger fan than I was when I got there and added all those old Morrissey albums to my want list.

A Giant Apple Pancake

I go out to breakfast with the guys from my community group at church just about every other week. We had planned on this morning as our morning, but as the week progressed, it ended up that we weren't able to get it worked out. I decided that since I had to drive in to work anyway today, and I was pretty psyched for some Original Pancake House, I'd go have some breakfast by myself. As always, the food was great. Breakfast people watching is a lot of fun too. Breakfast places have their regulars, and it was interesting to watch them. Probably half of the small crowd of folks came in there enough for the waitresses to know who they were and how they took their coffee. If it wasn't such an expensive thing to do, I'd love to start off my mornings with that sort of breakfast.

Knowing that I was going to be alone, I brought myself a book to read. I have been reading a book called "Searching for God Knows What" off and on for the past month or so. It has had me thinking quite a bit. The chapter I was reading today as I sat there in between visits from the waitress keeping my coffee full was about morality. It was probably the most interesting/convicting chapter I have read so far. The idea was presented that we like morality because it is easy when compared to loving and honoring. If we have hard and fast rules to live by, we easily know where we stand. Rules are much easier to break than to betray someone we love. I've still got a lot more to thing about from that chapter.

Daniel Smith and Vic Mackey

There have been plenty of ups and downs in the past two weeks. A couple of really sad things, a couple of really good things, and all in all quite a blur of time. I'd say that life has been moving at a good pace, but I could still use some rest. It isn't much fun knowing that I don't have vacation days at work at my disposal. It is nice to finally feel a little more settled in there though.

In other news....
- I have been really sucked in by The Shield again. I don't watch much of anything on tv on a regular basis, but The Shield has become the only show I don't miss. If I don't get my fix of violent male soap opera every week, I feel somehow incomplete. I find myself going to The Shield forums on Wednesday and reading what people have said the episode the night before. Yes I am more of a dork than I even thought I was. I can't wait to see how it will all end.

- Daniel Smith is very intriguing to me. I have been watching a documentary about him, Danielson: A Family Movie and have been even more fascinated than I was before. He makes some weird music that certainly isn't for everyone, but his vision and passion for everything he does can be admired by anyone. I would highly recommend the documentary to anyone whether they are a fan or not.

Now concludes a very random post. Even though I didn't have much to say, I really wanted to write something today.

Playlist:
Shearwater - Everybody Makes Mistakes
Lost Dogs - Gift Horse
Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man
Voxtrot - Biggest Fan
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives
The Mountain Goats - The Coroner's Gambit
The Gravity Show - Fabulous Like You
Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise
Cursive - The Ugly Organ
Mogwai - Mr. Beast
Page France - ...and the Family Telephone
Wilco - A Ghost is Born
Br. Danielson - Brother is to Son
Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister
Sufjan Stevens - Enjoy Your Rabbit
Low - The Curtain Hits the Cast

Or Not

At least I'll get back to a semi-normal sleeping schedule.

Baron Davis' Nasty Beard and Boris Yelstin's Thugs

The west coast basketball schedule is keeping me up way too late. The Mav's playoff run has gotten off to a pretty rocky start, but the games have certainly been exciting (though frustrating). Hopefully they can pull it out tonight and stay alive. It's pretty funny the amount of hatred that you can get for an opposing team over the course of a 7 game series. Getting sucked into basketball fandom wasn't something I would have ever guessed I would give into a few years ago, but now here I am with a late night of nervous watching ahead of me.

The past few weeks have been really good. They have been somewhat of a blur with a whirlwind trip to Nederland by way of a Nickel Creek concert in Houston, a lot of rain, a midnight trip to the art museum, with an early morning of finally helping out at church the next day, plenty of days sitting at work coding away, and of course basketball. I haven't had much time to sit down and do some things I was hoping to do, but I can't complain at what I feel has been time well spent. That is a nice thing to be able to look back on a couple of weeks and say.

Playlist:
Danielson Famile - Fetch the Compass Kids
Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Danielson Famile - Tri-Danielson Alpha
Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
Low - Things We Lost in the Fire
Woven Hand - Mosaic
Over the Rhine - Films for Radio
Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I
13 & God - 13 & God
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Ease Down the Road
Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly
16 Horsepower - Secret South
Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
Menomena - Friend and Foe
Beulah - Yoko

I Finally Jumped

Rather than spending all my time tonight sitting here tonight writing about things, I wrote an e-mail about finally finding somewhere to serve at my church. It is something that I have been putting off for no good reason. I have a ton of excuses, but none of them are worth typing. I had a good conversation with a friend tonight and was reminded of a couple of things. The conversation was quite rambling, and I'm sure my friend wondered where some of what I was saying was going. Through the conversation, I remembered that it is a joy to serve. It is a privilege that I have been a part of in far too long. I used to want to serve to a point that I didn't have time for much else, but it is something that I have resisted the whole time I have been in Dallas. I guess you could call it burnout, but that is a poor excuse for 3 years of nothing.

I don't know if what I e-mailed about doing will be what I end up doing, but I was excited to hit send. I will be glad to be doing something for someone other than me. Along with that, I can only skip phone calls and questions about serving for a little while. They know I need to serve. I know I need to serve. I wish I could explain why I have waited so long to jump.

Playlist:
Hem - Rabbit Songs
Sigur Ros - Takk
The Six Parts Seven - Casually Smashed to Pieces
The Clientele - Strange Geometry
Beruit - Gulag Orkestar
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - S/T
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Muse - Absolution
Sleeping at Last - Ghosts
Lillium - Transmission of All The Good-byes
Great Lake Swimmers - Bodies and Minds
Robert Gomez - Brand New Towns
The Innocence Mission - We Walked in Song
The Magnetic Fields - Holiday
Will Johnson - Vultures Await
Wilderness - S/T
Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies

My Forgotten Holiday

I have taken a few shortcuts since my last post. There have certainly be some tough days since that post. I'd give myself an ok for the course though. I haven't done great, but I haven't fallen completely flat on my face. If that isn't a sign of God's grace, I don't know what is.

Easter, God's best picture of grace, is a holiday that always seems to sneak up on me. This year wasn't much different. I went to church, and made up an Easter basket for A, but other than that, I ended up paying more attention to golf than I did Easter. I don't even like golf that much. I'd call it a shortcut to calmness. It is very soothing to fall asleep to golf on TV on a Sunday afternoon. Rather than connecting, I withdrew. It is a frustrating cycle. Even still, I have a God, a wife, family, and friends that love me. I don't honor them as much as I should, but they all give grace whether or not I want to see or accept it. That's a nice thought to head off to bed on.

Recent Playlist:
Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
John Hiatt - Walk On
Blonde Redhead - 23
Lassie Foundation - Pacifico
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Damien Rice - O
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yelstin - Broom
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Caribou - The Milk of Human Kindness
Menomena - Friend or Foe
Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels to Be Something On
Trespassers William - Different Stars
Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

Milestones

25 years and 11 months ago to the day, my life here began. It would be a while before I had memories of my own, but I am told (and there is photographic proof) that the day I was born, I kicked my twin sister leaving a inked footprint on her face. Life was easy, and I am told I was a calm baby.

2 years ago to the day, after a performance of Swan Lake, I drove a girl that I love to a building with a lot of fountains and asked her to be my wife. Never mind that the fountains were turned off due to high winds; she said yes, then we headed to get some cheesecake. Life was getting more complicated, but things were good.

4 months ago to the day, I sat at this same desk and started writing. I decided that I would write here every day for 25 days chronicling that short period of my life. I succeeded in writing at least something everyday, and I listened to a lot of music that I listed out, but I didn't do so hot with staying deep into the Word or memorizing scripture like I was planning on. I'd call the experiment about a 40% success. Life was complicated, but the music was good.

Today, here I am again. I was challenged by a simple sermon at church this morning, was disappointed by a poor out of the Mavs against the Suns, and I filed our taxes. Life is more complicated than it seems, and I find myself a bit lost sometimes. I get caught up in the troubles and politics of home and the office and relationships with people in general. I want to be a good husband and worker and friend, but I find myself much more interested in getting to the next day than putting effort in when the time arises.

My challenge this morning was in a sermon titled "No Short Cuts." The sermon was delivered under the premise that the message was simple, and the truth in it would be in the application. I have made it these 25 years and 11 months coming down a path that includes many shortcuts, many roundabout trips, and a few straight paths. I look back and see some things I wish I would have done differently, but all in all I can't complain about the grace and love that I have been given. I have a great life filled with a wife who loves me in spite of me being a jerk sometimes and more often than not I fail at loving in a way that she needs to be loved. I have a job that affords me some growth in knowledge and pays the bills along with some extra money that I waste more than I should. I have other friends and family that love and support me even when I am not open to letting them in, with all of this in spite of the fact that I don't call enough or give much back sometimes. I have a God who loves me in spite of the fact that I too often care more about myself than serving or

I'll turn 26 one month from today. I'm not going to write here everyday because I don't know how productive that would really be right now, but I am going to set some goals for the next 30 days, and I will be doing some more writing here for similar reasons to why I did in December. The card that was handed out after the sermon today outlined 3 things to make your prayer this month. Talk to God Daily. Read the Word daily. Pursue relations with other who can encourage me in my walk. These three are a good start. The first two are much more of a struggle than they used to be. The third is hard too. I have people in my life who can and do encourage me, but I need to be much more open to their encouragement and do a better job of being an encouragement to them.

I have been very drained by being too self involved. If I am going to be drained this month, I want it to be because I have spent my energy on being a better husband, worker, and friend. I want to make sure that at least every day, I am saying or doing something to encourage my wife. A goal for work is a bit tougher. I don't know how to quantify being a better worker, but I know that I haven't been as diligent as I should. I would also like to make a better effort to get to know my co-workers. With friends and family, I would like to do a better job of staying in contact. I would like to make sure that at least once a day, I am doing something directly related to encouraging or helping them be it e-mail, a call, or something else.

Withdrawing isn't working. It hasn't been my plan at all, but in the terms of this morning’s sermon, the shortcuts have led me here. It seems like probably once every couple of months, conviction reaches this point with me, and I'll make some sort of grand statement of intent. Sometimes that statement is verbal. I've written it. I've thought about it and held it in. Time after time, I have made it to this point and still not been able to make it over the hump. I don't know what is going to separate this time from others over the last couple of years, but I can do nothing but read, pray, and make efforts to engage.

Recent Playlist:
A ton of Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline, Blonde on Blonde, Hwy 61 Revisited, Love and Theft, Time Out of Mind, John Wesley Harding, Slow Train Coming, Blood on the Tracks
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People.
Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
The Paper Chase - Now You Are One of Us

Down To His Last Guitar

Bill Mallonee is one of my all time favorite song writers. He's the epitome of everything everyone says about a lot of the greats. Great stories, amazing with words, heart on the sleeve. I've seen him perform probably ten times over the years, and he has always had something new to wow me with. It has been quite a while since I have seen him. He hasn't made it anywhere close to me in a couple of years, and I hadn't given him much attention in my listening for a while. About a month and a half ago, I started a rediscovery of sorts with his music. I was again wowed by how good the songs were. I was floored by Judas Skin just like the first time I had ever heard it. He is able to convey hope, love, and pain in song better than anyone else I have ever heard. I decided to try to catch up a bit with what he was up to.

I was a bit disappointed to find that things hadn't been going so well for him. So many of the amazing songs of love were about his wife Brenda. He wrote songs that I'm sure made her blush. His songs were honest and fearless. There was always "Another song for Brenda, Another tune for Josh and Joe, Another postcard from the highway." Here was a guy who was out on the road a lot, but you could tell he loved his family. Sometime over the past couple of years, Bill and Brenda split up, and not too long after, Bill married another woman. Knowing that makes it a bit hard to go back and listen to some of the songs. It makes you a bit sad for everyone involved. I don't know the story, nor do I feel like I should, but it certainly changes the way you listen.

He isn't playing as many shows as he used to. From some post of his I read on his mailing list, It doesn't sound like it is necessarily by choice. About three years ago, I saw him play his heart out in front of twenty people in a storefront in Huntsville, and then two months later, play it out again in front of several thousand in a field in Illinois. He didn't seem to care how big the audience was, he just seemed to love being out on the road sharing what he was good at. Now he is struggling with no booking agent and having to sell equipment to pay the rent. He was trying to sell a beautiful Rickenbacker that I saw him use a couple of times. Once it was sold, this amazing songwriter would be left with one playable guitar as his last instrument.

The tools of my livelihood are not as concrete as a guitar, but I like the analogy. Wherever I go, they'll always give me a computer to bang away on. I don't have to prepare what I do to go to work and make a living. I go, sit down, code away, then come home and don't have to worry about it. I complain about it sometimes, and wish that life was more exciting, but this is what God has for me right now. My hope for this week is that I can go into it with a less distracted mind. There is always something going on to keep me unfocused on whatever it is I would like to be focused on at the time, be it work, relationships, or just life in general, but at least I am not down to my last guitar.

If you are interested in Bill Mallonee, click on the link to the side of my blog. If you have heard him before, give him another chance. He has the album Summershine available for a free download at www.volsounds.com. It isn't necessarily representative of everything else he has ever done, but I still love it. If you like what you hear, buy something from him.

On the Downhill Slide

At least Wednesday made it a bit more quickly this week. I can't believe how long these past few weeks have seemed. Things have settled out a bit at work by way of drama, which is a good thing. The days are very slow though. It is strange to go from working on so many things at once to one specific thing all day. I am learning a lot of new stuff, and as I am getting to know people a bit better. I am liking the job, but I'll be ready for the days to start feeling shorter.

Things are still far from in order. Life is moving at a completely different pace than I am. Today seemed like maybe a step towards getting in sync, but who knows. I can't believe I have been so exhausted by moving at such a slow pace.

Still listening to tons of music during the day, so I'll list it out for my interest.

Even More Mostly Mopey Music:
Low - Drums and Guns
The Violet Burning - Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder
Beruit - Lon Gisland EP
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
The Velvet Undergroud - The Velvet Underground and Nico
All Things Bright and Beautiful - Love and Affection
Antony and The Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
The Cure - Pornography
Havalina Rail Co. - Russian Lullabies
Why? - Elephat Eyelash
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call
Suffering and the Hideous Thieves - Rats in Heaven
Cursive - Domestica
The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Don Peris - Go When the Morning Shineth

Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder

Listening to it again as I wandered around town this evening reminded me of why I love the album Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder by the Violet Burning so much. I think I would have to stay out of a bad mood for a very long time for it to fall from a list of my all time favorites. I know I have written about it before here when I was listing my favorite albums, but I can guarantee that it hit me completely differently today than it did when I wrote that. I didn't want to be comforted tonight, but like always the album again had me close to tears.

The album is very dark, but with enough hope that it doesn't go over the edge. I love swirling guitars, and this album is full of them. There are so many layers of sound to each song, and such desperation in Michael Pritzl's voice. I don't know the whole back story, but it would be safe to say that things weren't going too well for him at the time he was writing these songs.

I came here
looking for love
reaching for your love in the dark
but you were fading
and I'm blind
stone blind
and I can't reach you
- from Blind

Have I gone too far?
lately, it's more than just a little bit hard
cause I'm caught underwater breathing
breathing is hard
- from Underwater

Things are rough right now, but there's some hope.

Today's playlist:
The Violet Burning - Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder
Smile Smile - Blue Roses
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Sound Team - Movie Monster
Devotchka - How It Ends
A Northern Chorus - Bitter Hands Resign
Jens Lekman - You are the Light EP

The Week That Wouldn't End

To say it has been a hard week would be quite an understatement. It has been a long time since I have had a week reach close to how bad this one has been. I won't go into details of everything that has happened, but I'll hit a couple of the high (well really low) points.

On Tuesday afternoon, I got word that my cousin had been killed in a car wreck that morning. She was driving down a pretty bare road in foggy weather, and broadsided an 18 wheeler. There were 7 other people in the minivan with her, a mother and her 6 kids who my cousin babysat. Everyone else made it out alive thankfully. I can't imagine the grief that my aunt and uncle are going through. My cousin was only 22 and was my aunt and uncle's only child. She had just finished up her training to be a massage therapist and was saving up money to get her license. Everyone was very proud of her, and she will be very missed. We will be heading up to my aunt and uncle's hometown tomorrow for the funeral. Please pray for my family, especially my aunt and uncle.

Additionally, in what amounts to a much smaller, yet still stressful problem, Thursday morning at work, my big boss was fired. Similar circumstances were what started the ball rolling on what led up to me leaving my last job. I couldn't believe that after only three weeks, things looked like they were starting down the same path. Thankfully things cooled off a bit after another meeting this morning. Hopefully they will continue going in a good direction, and things will be better off, but it is hard being new and not knowing.

There has been plenty else going on adding to the stress. Yesterday when I got home from work all I could do was lay around for a while. On even less important notes, I was pretty bummed to miss a show I had been looking forward to for a long time (and had tickets to) with Page France, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, and Denison Witmer. Hopefully they will all make it through again soon.

Tomorrow will be a tough day, but I am glad the weekend finally made it. I hope that even in the midst of a lot of sadness and stress, I will have some peace and rest.

Recent Long Playlist:
Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat
Tacks, The Boy Disaster - Oh, Beatrice
The Twilight Sad - The Twilight Sad
The Violet Burning - Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Page France - Tomato Morning Tour EP
The Violet Burning - Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder
Nourallah Brothers - Nourallah Brothers
LN - Dirt Floor Hotel Pt. 2
Califone - Roots and Crowns
Denison Witmer - Philadephia Songs
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
The Innocence Mission - Birds of My Neighborhood
Robert Deeble - 13 Stories
Over the Rhine - Drunkard's Prayer
Pedro the Lion - Control
The Choir - Kissers and Killers

A Slow Start

Things have started off pretty well at the new job. The days are quite slow at the moment though. I don't really know too many people, and I have zero responsibility so far. The long days sitting there slowly converting code lends itself well to a lot of music listening though. I have made it to a bunch of stuff I hadn't given much of a chance yet along with a bunch of old favorites. Here are the discs I have been listening to.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
White Whale - WWI
Mates of State - Team Boo
Robert Earl Keen - Picnic
Cocteau Twins - Victorialand
Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
Josh Ritter - Hello Starling
Film School - Film School
Ben Kweller - Sha Sha
Grizzly Bear - Horn of Plenty
Prince - Purple Rain
The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse
Richard Swift - Dressed Up for the Letdown
Woven Hand - Consider the Birds
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - The Dust of Retreat
Frank Lenz - VileLenz and Thieves
Fishboy - Zipbangboom
Fields - 7 From the Village
Hem - Funnel Cloud
The Smiths - Meat is Murder
Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
Gileah - The Golden Planes
The New Year - Newness Ends
Voxtrot - Biggest Fan

Wow, that was more than I had thought I had listened to. I really have been sitting there for a long time. I guess I should enjoy these days while they last, and get around to a few more discs that have been sitting there hidden on my ipod.

Skee Ball and New Ties

After a skee ball death match to determine who would take over my duties as floor fire marshall, my time as part of the team my old job officially ended. Today was my first day of unemployment, but it was nice to get a chance to meet up with everyone after they got done for the day. As much difficulty as I had with work over the past few months, the folks I got to hang out with today were almost never part of the problem. They are a great group of people who I had a lot of fun with. We did a lot of good work and had lots of laughs over almost three years.

Tomorrow will be my last day of unemployment before starting in a new place. As I have said before, it will just be a couple of blocks away, but it will definitely be a big change. I spent some time the day preparing for my transition in the being sharply dressed. My wife is very excited about that change, but I'm not thinking it will be much fun. It all begins at 8:00 on Monday morning though.

Today's Playlist:
Explosions in the Sky - All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone
Lassie Foundation - California

Oh The Times They Are A'Changing

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. When I started this blog, I made a conscious effort to try not to ever start a post with those words. I don't think I have done it so far, but even still, I decided to break that rule with this post. The reason I haven't posted isn't that I haven't had time, or I haven't had anything to post about. Mainly, I didn't post because the overarching theme of the new year so far has been my search for a new job. Since I didn't want to screw up things with the job I currently have, I didn't think that posting about that would be wise.

Not feeling like I should talk about that changed last Thursday when I formally accepted a job with a new company, and subsequently gave my two weeks notice at my current job. It has been an odd but exciting past several days. I am looking forward to making a change that I think will be a good one. The last several months have been really toxic at work for me. I have felt like I should probably go for a while, and events over the last few weeks have really confirmed that as the correct decision.

The job is still in the financial world, this time at an investment bank, and my new building will only be two blocks away from my old one. I will have to step it up in the dressing up department, which is one of my bigger fears about the new job. I'll have to see what I think of having to wear a stinking tie every day. The people at the new place have been great so far, and I think the work will be interesting. It will be tough to leave behind friends at the old place though. At least we will still be close by, and hopefully they will still be up for a La Fiesta Fruits run now and then.

I'm going to go for now, but I do have tons of things to post about when I finally sit down to write some more later this week. Here's a list of potential topics:
- The Michael Roe vs. Michael Pritzl show I saw Friday night
- The way that community is really starting to feel a bit more real to me, and God is using that in me
- The genius of Bill Mallonee
- Current listenings including the new Patty Griffin disc
- A really sappy post

If there are any of those topics that you want to read more than any others, let me know, and maybe I'll write about it first. I have a lot to say at the moment, but realistically, I won't get the words all down before I decide to start writing about something different.

Day 28 - The End of the Season

Well, the Ags just ended their season with a wimper. The game was a pretty bad loss, and coupled with an Okie State win, and UCLA's loss last night, my bowl pick'em ranking is going to take a big hit. At least the Mavs had a good win tonight. Sitting there during the game thinking about what I was going to write tonight, I decided that I'd end my season with a wimper tonight too.

It has been 28 days of posting. Some post have been rants, some have been decently thought out, and some (especially these last couple) have been thrown together at the last moment just to get something up to meet a requirement I set for myself. I am glad that I have posted a bunch, but at least for now, I am going to take a break. I'll be back posting in a few days, but probably I'd doubt I'll be back to posting one a day. Thanks for reading, and the encouragment I have gotten from comments both on here and outside of here.

Today's Playlist:
Hood - Outside Closer
16 Horsepower - Low Estate
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Facing Future
Joseph Arthur - Come to Where I'm From
Isis - Oceanic

Day 27 - Back to the Grind

I spent most of today with my head down coding away at my project at work. Days like today usually feel pretty short, and today was no exception. I get a lot done and spend less time looking at the clock, but I don't like being so disconnected. There are going to have to be a lot more days like today between now and January 16th though.

For tonight, I am going to keep on with the trend of mindless short writings and go watch some football. The UCLA/FSU game is looking pretty interesting from the score. I hope UCLA wins. My bowl pick'em ranking depends on it.

Today's Long Playlist:
Sound Team - Movie Monster
Julie Miller - Broken Things
Justin Rosolino - Wonderlust
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives
The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Danielson - Ships
Patty Griffin - Living With Ghosts
Nirvana - Unplugged in New York