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friday, september 8
moonlight over valentino's
Tonight's another night at Valentino's Restaurant, performing with Donnie. I'm going to bring the digital camera and try to take more pictures behind the drumset.
4:50 PM
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only in dreams
The band rehearsed in my garage from 12 noon to 1pm today. We had to finalize the tune by Weezer called "Only In Dreams". Nathan sang it beautifully, and the band kicked major ass! This is going to sound good tomorrow at the wedding reception. The couple wants us to play this song as their first dance!
Last night I rented a DVD at Blockbuster and looked at the neon sign across the street. Now you tell me that doesn't look like some other word that begins with the letter F. Okay, I thought so...
2:08 PM
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a finale to a turbulent day
We had to buy more school supplies yesterday. So we made the commute to a nearby Staples store and noticed that there were more people like us with these "lists" from school, running around trying to find colored pencils, erasers and stuff. I'm convinced it's a scam set up by the schools and the office supply stores!
Well, at least we were blessed with this magnificent sunset on the way to buy school supplies.
Yesterday seemed to be a turbulent day in more ways than one. Cyn seemed to show her darker side in her recent entry. And Teri mentioned the thunder and lightning as well. And Pat noted that "traffic sucked" yesterday. As a matter of fact, in the past 3 days he's mentioned that traffic sucked! Dude! L.A. traffic sucks in general. But, thank God it's Friday, eh?!
Cami seemed to have a better day than most (I'm glad), so I found sanctuary in her writings. I noticed she took the Spark Personality Test. So, I took it too. Here's how I did:
Like just 11% of the population you are a HELPER WHO FINDS MISSING CHILDREN OVER THE INTERNET (SICF). You are very tentative in the world and introverted with people--which means you are the shy and silent type. Hence the Internet. But behind your reserved exterior lies a dedicated person with a passion for the concrete truth who wants to, in his heart of hearts, help find missing children. God bless you.
Okay, so I'm a finder of missing children on the Internet... just dandy!
9:26 AM
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thursday, september 7
more thunder and lightning
Some very strange weather going on in San Diego today. Lots of thunder and lightning, yet it's sunny, hot and a bit on the humid side.
Other than that, all is well.
4:20 PM
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upgraded to stable condition
I'm almost certain the following message brought a sigh of relief to the blogging community today. Last week her site was Blog of the Week at Blogger.com:
Kaycee was upgraded to Stable condition at 5 a.m. CST
The following message was written by Kaycee and passed on to her grandmother.
She wrote: "Tell Mom I love her!! I feel great. No worries."
12:25 PM
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dark clouds looming overhead
The weather was strange and eerie this morning. I could hear thunder in the distance. It looked like the sun was trying to break through the dark clouds hovering above. There had been a distinct change in the weather this week, signaling the change from summer to fall.
It was beautiful in its own way.
10:45 AM
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thoughts and prayers
at approximately 1 p.m. CST kaycee suffered a seizure due to a blood clot. she is in critical condition.
When I read these very words, my heart skipped a beat... I couldn't quite believe what I was reading. I had been following Kaycee's weblog for a couple of weeks now. Apparently, someone had intervened to post the message to her readers.
I don't know her, but my heart goes out to Kaycee and her family. I can imagine what her family must be going through, because I had experienced the same anguish when my wife's mother had passed away from cancer ten years ago.
Kaycee started her online journal as a means of coping with what she was up against at the young age of 19... leukemia. And her mother started a companion site entitled, "Journey Toward The Rainbow".
This is a tough read for me. I get tears welling up in my eyes every time I read their journals. The pain is real. The story is very real.
I've emailed Kaycee a couple of times. I don't mind not getting a response. Kaycee made a general reply, thanking everyone for sending her email, e-cards, etc... I'm sure she's been overwhelmed by messages.
I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers. And per Halcyon's request, "Pray for her. Send love. Please do whatever your spirit can do."
12:21 AM
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wednesday, september 6
Gawd, I am tired!!!
8:33 PM
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It's A New Frontier Out There
This week's schedule is totally hectic because of the beginning of a new school year, but I'm already starting to get used to it, mentally, that is.
The band had to learn a special song for the bride and groom for this weekend's wedding reception. They requested us to play "Only In Dreams" by Weezer. We've never done this before so it should be interesting for a swing band.
Here's another mirror photo that I'm thinking of submitting to Heather. This was taken at the Juke Joint Cafe in the Gaslamp Quarter, featuring me in my black zoot suit:
4:09 PM
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Rushing Toward The Setting Sun
- Looks like Caterina has her permalinks working, so here's a link to one of them. Cute haircut. Thanks for the email.
- Cami mentions me in her September 5th entry. Thanks, Cami. Yep, I worry a lot... I'm a worry-wart!
- I can really relate to Cyn's rationalizations about not getting into parenthood right away. Aside from what females go through physically, parenthood is a great thing if you're ready for it, but newlyweds want to have fun first, and should.
Starting That Christmas Wish List
This little item has been on my wish list for quite some time now. I've been wanting to work with video digitizing for doing the band's demo tape. Hmmm... perhaps a letter to Santa is in order.
1:18 PM
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The Aftermath And The Allegory
Last night I crashed hard. In other words, it was such a busy day for me yesterday that I was already falling asleep early, too tired to take my contacts off. I remember dozing off on the couch in our master bedroom, then transferring to the bed and poof, off to dreamland.
Yesterday, my new neighbor showed me the scorpion he'd caught in his garage. We sort of live out here in this foresty part of town, and so it's sort of a natural habitat in our neighborhood. I even saw a family of deer strolling behind our house once.
But the scorpion, that's a bit different. And I'm sure we should be careful because we always keep our shoes out in the garage. That's a scary thought, slipping into your shoes and getting stung by a scorpion. As my neighbor shook the plastic container a little, its legs were scrambling about and its stinger continually stabbed left and right. What a scary sight. Watching it sort of reminded me of the first "Alien" movie, with the multi-legged organism latched onto its victims head, covering the entire face.
Today's another busy day. I have my own business, so it's always "on the go" for me. And taking the kids to and from school, karate and soccer can be a bit much. I guess we're all busy. There's always something that needs to be done. Life is too short and sometimes I feel its a race against time. Odd, that as children we view the world and life in general as one big wide open space and that we think our lives are long. I guess I should be thankful that I've lived as long as I have. And lately I've realized the true meaning of living life from day to day. Everyday should be viewed as one self-contained day.
9:15 AM
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tuesday, september 5
The Juke Joint Cafe
The band loves to play the Juke Joint Cafe. And the last time we played there (last month) we brought my 12 year old niece who insisted she go.
It was a great experience for her. Instead of listening to pop covers she got a dose of 30's vintage swing and some modern jazz. Maybe she'll thank me later for it, who knows... but yo-yo, it's cool with me. Here's a photo of my niece with some of the band: (L-R) Matthew, myself and Tonee.
9:06 PM
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The Homework Situation
Now if your a parent with elementary school aged children, please email me if you can relate to this phenomenon.
Nowadays, elementary school kids get a TON of homework! I mean, when I was in middle school I didn't get any homework, and only when I reached high school did I see any signs of homework.
But now, it's a TON of homework and we'll just have to deal with it. Maybe it's the school system getting back at ME for not having enough homework when I was a kid. And so they "get even" by giving my KIDS all the homework! Anyway, today was the first day of school... and both boys received homework. Sheeesh!!!
8:49 PM
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I'm Wiped Out!
It was a busy day today for me. First day of school, on the phone all day, picking up my older son from school to go to the orthodontist, then going to soccer practice, washing the car, cleaning the kitchen, etc, etc...
I crashed out for awhile, and I just woke up from this nap while trying to watch "The Greatest Show On Earth" on AMC.
"Helloooo... time to buy more school supplies..." I think NOT!!!
8:16 PM
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First Day As A Sixth Grader
Boy, I remember sixth grade with fondness. It was a good year for me academically, sports-wise, and socially as well. It was the year I almost got straight A's. I think I had the one B that kept me from that goal. Then there was sixth grade camp... what an adventure. I remember one of the kids fell down a ravine and broke his leg. The poor kid was saddened when he found out he had to leave camp early.
Here's Cameron. Ready for his first day as a sixth grader!
4:19 PM
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Welcome To The Third Grade
My wife and I took Jordan to his new classroom this morning. He was very excited to get started, and his new teacher is very nice.
Here is Jordan getting settled into his new desk at school. He had lots of his friends and classmates from his second grade class, so he was quite happy about that.
1:48 PM
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Seeing Stars
Could this be the ultimate site for Seeing Stars In Hollywood?
Find out where they live, dine out, shop...
6:31 AM
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Store Your Bookmarks Safely Online
Here's a very useful site that will store all your browser's bookmarks online so that you won't lose them in the event your computer crashes on you.
Backflip.com is a very cool site that also categorizes your bookmarks, lists your most recent bookmarks, lists your top ten bookmarks, etc, etc...
Boy! This may turn out to be one of my most favorite sites.
6:20 AM
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monday, september 4
More Eye Candy
Looks like Cyn and M spent the day in
Balboa Park, a beautiful, sprawling park that once was home of the World Exposition.
I love the pix, Cyn! Funny... the last time I was in Balboa Park was during "Christmas On The Prado", the annual Christmas celebrations held every year. I performed there with a jazz band, and it was so crowded that we had to set up earlier in the day and come back later at night. The traffic was horrendous.
9:39 PM
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Getting Ready For School
Geez! How quickly the time flies. What was once the summer break of 2000 is now the beginning of the Fall School Season for the children.
We bought new clothes, lunch bags, backpacks, school supplies and ironed clothes and prepared their lunches. And now it's the eve before the beginning of a new school year. And it's going to be a very hectic week for us.
We relaxed after we pretty much did all our chores to get ready for school. Our two boys relaxed tonight, but they are looking forward to getting back to school.
Here's our younger son, Jordan, playing one of his favorite games on the computer, "Age of Empires".
So, now that they're getting back to school, they'll be giving their ol' Dad more computer time. Well, let's hope so... but, yes... we're planning on getting them a new computer for Christmas. Here's hoping...
9:07 PM
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Patrick Begins To Blog
My good friend, Patrick started "blogging" today! *wooo hooo* Good for you, my friend!
We just got back from picking up my older son from his grandparents. Of course, his grandparents aren't there... they went to Vegas, baby! So, he spent the time with his aunties and cousins.
I took the following photo yesterday on our way to the movies. The little dots in the sky are hot air balloons. Too bad they didn't come out too well. Next time I'll try the telephoto feature.
6:15 PM
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Early Morning Travels
My wife and I picked up our youngest son from my parents' house. Both our sons were sleeping over, and the younger son woke up crying around 2:00 in the morning, so we set out to drive the 40 minute round trip in the middle of the night in order to pick him up.
I took this photo before I closed our garage door. It's a pic of the streetlamp just outside our house.
2:10 PM
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Happy Labor Day!!!
My weird sleeping habits have gotten the best of me. I'm awake early again! And I slept around 2AM this morning, after watching the video, "Any Given Sunday". I liked it. Not that I'm a football fan or anything, but I liked the behind-the-scenes-look of the football star, and all the dynamics and politics that get in the way of winning a game.After going to a Greek restaurant, my wife and I watched "Space Cowboys" last night and we both really enjoyed the movie and thought it was VERY good. We were pleasantly surprised, especially coming into the movie not knowing what to expect. We try to do that now... to not become influenced by the reviews, and try to avoid any sort of feedback from others who've already seen the movie. I feel it's best that way. Okay, readers. Now I must get some serious SLEEP!!!
5:13 AM
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sunday, september 3
Dreaming Of Nothingness
Again, my weird sleeping habits perplex me, as I find myself awake early Sunday morning... something I don't usually do after performing a gig the night before.I had some bizarre dreams, but upon waking I couldn't for the life of me remember those dreams. Maybe they'll resurface.
I took the following photos of Donnie and Roy from the Friday gig at Valentino's. And now I am intent on getting those Yosemite photos up on the site, being that I have all the free time in the world to do it today... here's hoping they go up soon!
5:59 AM
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