And one other thing
03.29.06 (6:46 am) [edit]A song called Parachutes, music written my Stone and lyrics by Ed........is AMAZING!!!!!
Shhhhhhhh!!
03.29.06 (6:42 am) [edit]Don't tell anyone, but I have been given 5 of the new PJ songs.......other than the single you can dowload off their website. I figure that I can listen to these since I have already pre-purchased the album that will be delivered to my doorstep on May 2nd!
Ben KC bound!!!
03.28.06 (11:18 am) [edit]Yeah, that's right......go to his website www.benharper.net to read all about it. I have my tickets already, man I can't wait! It's going to be a good summer.....between the boston trip, pearl jam trip, and seeing ben.....
A world united by pancakes.....
03.27.06 (11:46 am) [edit]So Friday, while having a drink with a good friend, and on the drive up to Nebraska I came upon a revelation. Here goes. I believe that IHOP is the place where all of the world's problems should be discussed by leading figure heads. It is my belief that IHOP, and any other place that serves pancakes for that matter, serves a spectrum like no other. There was a time a few years ago in between jobs that I was was given a weeks paid vacation, so I took a few days off, and just hung out and observed. Here was one of the observations. I had two meals at IHOP during this time and both times I watched people wearing suits and people sporting mullets sitting down for a pile of pancakes. All races, religions (maybe, I couldn't tell without questioning), and sexes were represented here. I strongly feel that if Bush invited the powers that be in Iran to IHOP I think the whole nuclear issue would be snuffed out over melting butter and your choice of flavored warm syrup. IHOP, bringing NASCAR fans and golfers together for the common good of steaming pancakes served with a half toothy smile from some lady named Betty.
This weekend we had out basketball tournament, and for the first time in ten years, we actually played a few games on Sunday in the winners bracket. We won both of our games on Saturday, one against the class of 98, and the other against a team who once won it all. Needless to say it was very enjoyable, and a good time was had by all. However, I might one of the few on my team in decent shape, as I played 155 of 160 total gametime minutes. I was needed for my defensive play, as I am still decently quick. I was even sneaky enough to deliever on a fast break every now and again. I scored 4 points in the first game, 10 in the second, 4 in the third, and 4 in the last. My legs were very tired on the second day of play. The last game we played, we were matched up against the mereged classes of 2002-2005. They had about 9 people on their team, we.....had only 5, so yea, no substitutions. It was 40 minutes of hell trying to run with these kids. They were playing man on defense, and they stuck this track star on me that I couldn't shake the whole game. His shirt read that he went to state for track, the kid was quick. We played a 2-3 zone, which seemed to work for a while.
All in all it was a great weekend! I spent some quality time with my mom which is always important. She came to all of the games to support the team, she is our biggest fan. Saturday after the second game, a good friend of mine Hoaky decided to stop by. So my best friend, Hoaky and I all got together and hung out for the rest of the night. Heck Hoaky and I even talked my buddy into going to the local bar in town called "The Hitchin' Post". By buddy doesn't drink, but Hoaky and I do, so I was buying the rounds of beers and water until 11 or so. I couldn't drink to much because I had to play again at 9.
Oh yeah, one thing I haven't talked about yet, the pain. I have a jammed finger, sore calves, and a nice bruise on my hip that I was given by my own teamate as we were jumping for a rebound. I think that the finger is probably the most painful of the three, and will cause me to miss a workout or two I am thinking.
So there you have it, pancakes and swollen fingers.
I have a second....
03.24.06 (9:45 am) [edit]I am really anxious to drive today. I'm going to Nebraska, and it is about a 2.5 hour drive something like that. I am going to purchase Ben Harper's new CD crank it, and drive all by myself for some music therapy. I am so excited I love it. There is little to no cell phone coverage where I am going, I can completely shut myself off to the complexity of the grind. Which really doesn't get to me any more, feels good. Heck, I may or may not even bring my lap top, I dunno yet.
Heard this song today, Norah Jones (I love you) the song is called Humble Me off the Feels Like Home album. Song kinda makes me think of what could have been relationships.......I dunno, you be the judge. ENJOY and have a good weekend!
Went out on a limb
Gone too far
I broke down at the side of the road
Stranded at the outskirts and sun's creepin' up
Baby's in the backseat
Still fast asleep
Dreamin' of better days
I don't want to call you but you're all I have to turn to
What do you say
when it's all gone away ?
baby I didn't mean to hurt you
truth spoke in whispers will tear you apart
no matter how hard you resist it
it never rains when you want it to
You humble me Lord
You humble me Lord
I'm on my knees empty
You humble me Lord
You humble me Lord
Please, please, please forgive me
Baby Teresa she's got your eyes
I see you all the time
When she asks about her daddy
I never know what to say
Heard you kicked the bottle
And helped build the church
You carry an honest wage
Is it true you have somebody keeping you company ?
What do you say
When it's all gone away ?
Baby I didn't mean to hurt you
Truth spoke in whispers will tear you apart
No matter how hard you resist it
It never rains when I want it to
You humble me Lord
You humble me Lord
I'm on my knees empty
You humble me Lord
You humble me Lord
Please, please __ forgive me
Better Yet....Ben a Sox fan?????
03.23.06 (7:37 am) [edit]Off the same CD....
Get it Like you Like It by Ben Harper....
throw your hands up to the sky
and scream out loud i'm free
'cause wrong is the new right
so we can cut loose tonight
it costs a lot to look this cheap
fire makes it burn and water makes it turn
we must still be here living on earth
they keep telling me jesus walked on water
he shoulda surfed
in 1918 the great bambino
kicked a piano into willis pond
but johnny damon swung a bat
grand slam that was that
an 86 year curse is gone
throw your hands up to the sky
and scream i'm not alone
is it irony or fate
don't become what you hate
we've all got stardust in our bones
get it like you like it
I can't get enough
03.23.06 (7:33 am) [edit]Of this new Ben Harper CD "Both Sides of the Gun." Run do not walk to your local record shop and get this! It is amazing.
Better Way by Ben Harper
i'm a living sunset
lightning in my bones
push me to the edge
but my will is stone
fools will be fools
and wise will be wise
but i will look this world
straight in the eyes
what good is a man
who won't take a stand
what good is a cynic
with no better plan
reality is sharp
it cuts at me like a knife
everyone i know
is in the fight of their life
take your face out of your hands
and clear your eyes
you have a right to your dreams
and don't be denied
i believe in a better way
My daily drive
03.22.06 (11:21 am) [edit]So 5 days a week I drive nearly a total of 360 miles to and from work. This totals up to nearly 3.75 hours a week. My point is this....and I am sorry I might cuss here and there in this entry, but sometimes you just have to, especially when dealing with idiot drivers.
I see a lot of assholes everyday.......and not in a doctor sort of way, but asshole drivers. My favorite are the people who like to smoke, talk on the phone, pet their dog, do their make-up and oh yeah.....drive at the same time. Now I know if I were to confront a person how likes to do this, they would say "I can do all of these things at once, I have been for years."
My response would be this....
stop smoking, because it is people like you who don't read the warning on the lables that say "these could kill you", it is your fault that health insurnace is so expensive!
next, what were you doing 15 years ago when you weren't able to talk on the phone while you were driving? Oh, waiting til you get home??? At least get a hands free set, and try not to be so animated with your hands when you are talking on the phone while driving, it looks like you are doing the robot to whatever it is I am listening to in my car, which is usually Pearl Jam. So you my friend look like an ass-clown.
Take your dog for a walk, not for a ride. Oh this would require you to get off your ass and walk somewhere, and I am aware that a lot of places now require you to pick up your dog's poo. Boo hoo, I feel for you. But I have a question, do you have kids? Ever change a kid's diaper? Well, guess what poo is poo.
Hey you Cindi make-up artist. Wake up an extra 15 minutes earlier and put on your face at home.
I say all of these things because yesterday I kept a tally of all of those catagories of people, who more often than not were doing multiple things at once. Here is the running total...I only counted smokers if they were talking on the phone at the same time......
Smokers = 4
Phone = I lost track after 15 people (I only counted if they were doing the robot)
Dog = 3 (Perhaps I just don't understand the infatuation of taking your dog for a ride, unless you have a truck, then you can throw it in the back). You just never know when Fido might want to take a hold of the wheel while Johnny Multi-tasker is driving.
In car make-up artist = 5.......YEAH 5!!!! (I even counted the dude that I saw using his electric razor, who will be showing up to the meeting in 10 minutes with a lap full of facial hair dust). Idiot!
Now I am not counting people who cannot drive period....ie, people who cut others off, no directionals, and my favorite Mr. Inconsistant speed.
All in all, I just wish people could drive more....well like me. I am kidding. I can judge because I fall under a catagory that I haven't written about yet. This is the sing to the top of your lungs to the point that at times you totally forget that you are driving. YUP guilty as charged. The other day I got home after a day of mindless data entry in excel and decided that I would liven things up on the drive home. So I stuck in Yield by Pearl Jam in the cd player.....cranked it, and let loose. I got home and didn't remember one single thing about the drive. Ehhh.....what are you going to do?
So that being said, I listened to this song over and over again that day....
MFC by Pearl Jam
Sliding out of reverse into drive, this
We will be turning right, then straight
Off in the sunset she'll ride
She can remember a time denied
Stood by the side of the road, spilled like wine now
She's out on her own and I'm high
There's no leaving here
Ask- I'm an ear
She's disappeared
They said that timing was everything
Made him want to be everywhere
There's a lot to be said for nowhere
There's no leaving here
Ask- I'm an ear
He's disappeared
There's no leaving here
Ask- I'm an ear
Fuck it- we've disappeared
Oh yeah.......
03.21.06 (1:47 pm) [edit]Forgot to share the song of the day.....By Pearl Jam of course.....here you go. Take that Dubbya!!!!!
Gimme Some Truth.....
I'm sick and tired of hearing things,
from uptight, short sighted, narrow minded hypocrites,
all I want is the truth,
just gimme some truth,
I've had enough of reading things,
by neurotic, psychotic, pig headed politicians,
all I want is the truth,
just give us the truth,
No short haired, yellow bellied, son of tricky Dicky is
gonna mother hubbard, soft soap me with just a pocket full of oil,
money for oil,
money for oil.
I'm sick to death of seeing things,
by tight lipped, condescending, mommy's little chauvinists,
all I want is the truth,
just gimme some truth,
I've had enough of watching scenes,
of schizophrenic, egocentric, paranoia prima donnas,
all I want is the truth,
just give us the truth,
No short haired, yellow bellied, son of tricky Dicky is
gonna mother hubbard soft soap me with just a pocket full of oil,
money for oil,
money for oil,
No short haired, yellow bellied, son of George-Porgy is
gonna mother hubbard soft soap me with just a pocket full of oil,
it's money for oil,
no blood for oil,
I'm sick to death of hearing things,
from uptight, short sighted, narrow minded hypocrites,
all I want is the truth,
just gimme some truth,
I've had enough of reading things,
by neurotic psychotic, homophobic hypocrites,
all I want is the truth,
just give us the truth,
all we want is the truth,
just give us the truth,
we can handle the truth,
just give us some truth,
share with us the truth,
we'll give you our truth.
High School
03.21.06 (7:05 am) [edit]My best friend sent me this this morning, by no means is it the best picture ever taken, and it's certainly not clear. But I will tell you this, the memories that it brings back are very clear and bright. Ahhh...nostalgia! That is my senior class picture.
So yeah, I'm a small town boy. That is Big Al down there front and center. He drove the combine there that day.
This weekend is the annual men' s alumni basketball tournament. I am excited, it is always a lot of fun to see everyone and talk about the good old days, etc. What's even better, I am in decent shape this year. I don't think I have been in this good of shape since my freshman year in college, with the exception I am a lot stronger, and not nearly as wirey. I am decently bulky now, but by no means pudgy. Pretty lean I would say. To the point that my gf has to put a pillow down on my chest to lay on me because she tells me my chest is to hard. That makes me feel good!
Anyway....here you go....the pic...
May 2nd
03.20.06 (10:30 am) [edit]So....Pearl Jam is coming out with a new cd May 2nd. Here is what I have done to prepare. You can pre-order your very own copy with a cd of the NYC '92 show. http://pearljam.com/goods/" title="http://pearljam.com/goods/" target="_blank"http://pearljam.com/goods/ Also, you will be e-mailed the cd in digital form, as well as have a copy of it waiting for you when you get home the day it is released. Tell me, do other bands do this for you? Maybe I am biased, but I haven't heard of one. I dunno. I am counting down the days, just waiting. Ben Harper is even coming out with a new cd tomorrow. I love Ben, he is an amazing musician and song writer, but he picked a wrong time to come out with a cd. Gomez as well. They come out with a new cd on the day that PJ comes out with theirs. Do I care. NOPE. I imagine that I will listen to the new self-titled cd for the better part of a month straight, while totally ignoring another band even exists. I will banter back and forth with my buddy, diving into the meaning of every song.....which I don't think will be very hard this time around. I think that Ed is very angry about the state of the good ol' US, and it's corporate driven government. I am willing to wager that about 80% of the lyrics will have something to do with that very subject.
My life from high school to the present can be divided up by Pearl Jam records. I have some very fond memories of the years of VS. through Yield. After that my life has been a hodge podge of pain, rejection, new love, and love lost.
I could go on and on about how much PJ means to me personally. My girlfriend has a hard time trying to figure it all out, and I don't think that there is anyway a person could understand unless they have been there from the beginning or was at the first PJ show that I ever saw. So to my girlfriend, I simply said....well we have seen the movie Fever Pitch.....just replace the Red Sox in that movie with Pearl Jam, and there you have me. Which is funny, because the show already reminds her of me because I am a Sox fan as well. I live very much like Jimmy Fallon in the movie when it comes to the Sox, except I don't have the "inconvenience" of not having Red Sox season tickets.
But you get the point......
Pearl Jam song of the day.....I Am Mine
The selfish, they’re all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind
The north is to south what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine
And the feeling, it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide,....
We're safe tonight
The ocean is full cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at high tide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine
And the meaning, it gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide,....
We're safe tonight
And the feelings that get left behind
All the innocence broken with lies
Significance, between the lines
(We may need to hide)
And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
Get ready NYC!!
03.17.06 (1:46 pm) [edit]As a Red Sox fan I once took a vow never to set foot in NYC. I think I said something like this, there isn't anything in the world that would get me to step foot in that place, I wouldn't go if someone paid me.
Well, I am going. I am flying on on the 3rd of June and leaving on the 4th, just long enough for me to see a Pearl Jam show and get the heck out. Nothing against you NYC, I am sure you are a great place, but you are also home to the Yankees.
I will be less than 15 minutes from such sites as Times Square, and other NYC-ish type places......but am I considering of visiting a single one of these places....? NOPE!
Once again, Pearl Jam has broken me of something that I vowed never to do. I once vowed I would never buy a DVD player, until Pearl Jam started to make DVDs.....then I got one the very day I purchased Touring Band back in 2000.
So here I come NYC, and I am bring my buddy with me. Two small town Nebraska boys are coming in to town. Not to take in your sites, not for culture. But for Pearl Jam. Then we are flying back, and maybe, just maybe I will come back. It depends on if you impress me or not. Maybe I can come back and pee on Yankee Stadium!
I suppose I might get some hate tmails or comments or something. Well, that's not going to get me to want to stay or come back. So convince me, explain to me why NYC is a neat place, and I will try to keep an open mind.
Pearl Jam song of the day.......DOWN
Down,… Fell by the wayside
No getting out
Down,… Cry me a river
Dried up and damned
The names,… Can be changed
But the place,… Is still the same
I am loaded, told that alls for naught
Holds me down
Rise,… Life is in motion
I’m stuck in line
Rise,… You cant be neutral
On a moving train
One day,… The symptoms fade
Think I'll throw,… These pills away
And if hope could grow from dirt like me
It can be done
Wont let the light escape from me
Wont let the darkness swallow me
Where were you 10 years ago?
03.13.06 (7:38 am) [edit]Tell you where I was, I saw pictures last night that gave me a flood of times gone by, very good memories that gave me a revelation of where i am now going in life.
There were about 20-30 pictures in all, during a time where i was a freshman in college my girl friend was in high school, and i would drive down nearly every weekend to come down to see her and her family. However, little did i know but i was extremely involved with the youth there as well. I was a member of the high school age youth, though i probably shouldn't have been however, those are the perks of dating the PK. The first picture i saw was of a room that we painted, it was our youth group/sunday school room, i had long hair, it was in a pony tail, and i was wearing my PJ "Choices" shirt, where on the back it had the saying of 9 out of 10 kids prefer crayons to guns. I was painting the peace sign over the happy face. this was also the same day that my converse chucks were painted over. my favorite shoes of all time.
next pictures were of the youth trip to des moines. first pic we were standing in front of the church van (that later in the trip would be involved in a hit and run in a Cracker Barrell parking lot. "you have plenty of room......crunch........hurry drive away........." good times. Anyway the group photo was Sarah, Angie, Cindi, Kelly, and myself. dee was wearing a Troy Aikman jeresy, and i was wearing my white high school football jersey. this picture made me smile and a tear form in my eye. very good times.
next pic, we were somewhere on the interstate in iowa in the church van. angie and sarah were in the back seat, i was sitting in the seat with dee. she had her mickey pillow on my sholder, she was had just woken up from sleeping on me.....she liked to do that. i was wide awake with my tongue hanging out, and my eyes crossed with my hair all long etc.......again, fun times.
there were several more pictures, including a picture of our group laying on finished deck that we had built for some people. it was a shot of us laying in a circle, looking straight up at the camera. a picture of the group taken the night after the sleep in where we watched the Shining. we had sat in the back of the sanctuary the following morning and had cindi cracking up in the choir while we were making redrum motions with our pointer fingers. There was a picture of Kelly and I standing up on ladders painting the pavillion red pavillion. I wore dee's volleyball shirt that day....got it all red....."sorry!!!" and i used my back pocket of my jeans as my paint brush holder. it looked like i were a butcher by the end of the day all splattered with blood. kinda gruesome.
sunrise service, will, ian, dee, janine, and myself all with our heads bowed down leading the congregation in service at the cemetary.
all of these pictures while bringing a mixture of emotions of happiness and sadness, in the middle of it all i realized, that this thursday i will have an interview with my current church for the youth coodinator position. i will be coordinating with parents and other people, to organize these types of events for today's youth. i wonder if it will have the same impact on them as it did me, i look back on it all, and smile, as it was a great time, some of the best days of my life. great friends, lots of respect and love was shared by all. i pray that i can provide this same opportunity for the kids of today. maybe 10 years from now, i will read a letter much like this, from a person telling me how great it was to share experiences like these with others.
so where were you 10 years ago today? i can tell you where i was......building for today, i just didn't know it at the time. God works in ways we can't even imagine!
Wish I had more time.
03.10.06 (8:10 am) [edit]Well, here is what is going on with me....for those who care.
I am glad that HTI is back, and can share a little. I can't imagine how this can affect one's life, but I am glad that HTI is back. I missed ya, and days weren't the same for a week without hearing something from you. I hope I helped.
Work is super busy, I will probably have to spend most of my weekend going through a 340 page tutorial so I can meet with a client next week and know what I am talking about.
I have an interview next Thursday for the Youth Coordinator position at my church, I am SO excited for it.
Pearl Jam announced the first leg of their worldwide tour this week. My buddy and I usually go to a show on both legs of the tour in North America, so we decided that we would go to the East Rutherford NJ show on June 3rd. I might have to fly into NYC, a place in which as a Sox fan I made a pact with myself I would never EVER step foot in, I would sooner trek across hell. Well, only for Pearl Jam, but I night have to.
I think that is all....wish I could write more....BUT.......can't, not enough time.
It feels like Christmas for a 28 year old.
03.01.06 (11:06 am) [edit]I am so excited. My favorite band has announced the release date of their first album with J Records. Pearl Jam will be releasing a new self titled CD May 2nd. They will be releasing their new single to the airwaves March 8th called Worldwide Suicide. I have heard 15 seconds of it, and it is a very angry sounding song that has a punkish feel to it, something along the lines of a mixture between Satans Bed and Brain of J. I am so excited! Not to mention the single and CD release, but also, my buddy and I will then break out our calanders to see which show we would like to travel to see them. Our traditional Pearl Jam road trip! Last tour we went to Oklahoma City, Chicago, Omaha, Saint Louis and of course KC. Who knows where we will end up this year. But anyway.....HAPPY PEARL JAM DAY!!!