This was my idea all along! I don't know if there's a very big market for it, but you can count me in!
" The old world has officially collided with the new, the iPod nano-toting city mouse has mated with Victrola-friendly country mouse, and Merge Records has devised a scheme to keep styluses fashionable well into the 21st century. The label has released the Clientele's Best New Music'd Strange Geometry in a format palatable to both vinyl aficionados and micro-music tech junkies. Jeepers! How can this be? Easy. It all comes down to a little marvel of human achievement known as the piece of paper.
Slow down, breathe, and appreciate: all LP copies of Strange Geometry include said piece of paper, which entitles the purchaser to a one-time download of the entire album in digital format, straight from Merge's state-of-the-art website. The label plans to do the same thing to the LP version of the forthcoming Robert Pollard solo record, From a Compound Eye, with both versions scheduled to come out on January 24. If the promotion succeeds, the label will continue with future releases. " -pitchforkmedia.com
Friday, November 04, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
"It's addictive, it's growing, it's free, it's music."
This site is old news to most by now, but I don’t know enough people using it so I thought I would post about it for all of those who are unfamiliar with the service.
You can build a Last.fm music profile using two methods: listening to your personal music collection on [insert music player of choice here...iPod and/or iTunes for me] with an Audioscrobbler plug-in, or by listening to the Last.fm internet radio service, using the Last.fm player. If you allow a song to play until the end using either method, those songs are added to a log that generates your weekly/overall top artist/track charts and calculates the artists for your "Last.fm suggests" recommendations. Your personal user page also displays your recently played tracks, and your neighbors- users with musical tastes similar to you.
The new Last.fm offers the ability to tag music, something that I haven’t really tried out yet. Tagging music takes effort and the beauty behind Audioscrobbler for me was that I didn’t have to do anything but install a plug-in and listen to iTunes as usual. If I was interested in checking out something new I could go to the Audioscrobbler website and it would list recommendations. The Decemberists are one of the first bands I can remember discovering through Audioscrobbler.
I could go on forever about the many other fascinating features on this site, but I don’t have the time or knowledge to do so, so I’ll just have to let you see for yourself. The point is, this is a site you should check out. Download the plug-in and forget about it. Come back in 6 months, look at what you’ve been listening to, and maybe discover something new. If you have the time, listen to Last.fm internet radio - it’s better than any internet radio I’ve ever listened to. It’s amazing how much you can learn about yourself from a collaborative filtering algorithm.
Check it out. Add me as a friend. Join the Clemson Tigers group (if you're a Tiger), or some other group. Do what you want. Let me know what you think.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
The Dickey Wedding
Last night I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep and thinking about everything that has been going on in the past few months. I realized I haven’t posted in forever so now is as good a time as ever to write everything down.
First off...I’m pissed because my wireless card in my desktop isn’t working. Oh, it worked when I took it to the “genius bar” but when I got it home it still didn’t work. So I’ve been using my laptop for a few months now, which is a major pain in the ass to say the least. On top of that, I broke my space bar on my laptop last night so this post is really going to be a pain in the ass. Today I realized that the LCD on my iPod is also screwed up. It looks like I’m going to end up spending the weekend at the Apple store trying to get everything fixed since nothing I own works anymore.
Now that I’m done with my rant...
The beginning of this month I took my first two vacation days since I’ve been working for Donnelley. I flew to Raleigh on the last day in August to stay with Jeff for a few days before we headed down to Ocean Isle for Matthew and Sarah’s wedding. Jake got to say with his doggie park friends Miles and Piper instead of staying in the kennel, which made it a lot easier to be gone for a week. While I was in Raleigh I persuaded Jeff in to driving me to Chapel Hill to see Brian. We went out to Carburrito and then to some hole-in-the-wall bar downtown. I had never been to Chapel Hill before...I know, crazy...and I hadn’t seen Brian since graduation, so it was nice.
Friday after Jeff got out of class, we drove down to the beach. We stayed at my grandma’s house at Sunset, so we drove there first to change clothes. We didn’t go to the wedding rehearsal since we weren’t in the wedding party, but we did show up afterwards for the cookout. Jeff found one of my grandma’s gardening hats that he decided he was going to wear to the cookout. Towards the end of the night someone decided we should go to the beach. Matthew’s brother Chris decided to go swimming, which led to a couple other guys stripping down to their shorts and going swimming, which later led to Matthew and Jeff carrying me into the water fully clothed. It ended up being a lot of fun. The funniest thing was one of the brides maids, Mary Gray, and Matthew’s older brother, Jason, were sitting on the shore with everyone else who wasn’t swimming. After Jeff and Matthew took me into the ocean they went back to get Mary Gray and Jason and they both refused because they were “wearing designer.” Damn Sean Jean and Lacoste.
Saturday was the wedding. It was beautiful. If I ever get married, I could see it being something like theirs – casual, small... I hadn’t seen Matthew and Sarah since before I moved to Nashville so it was great to see them, along with Freddy, Jason, Jennifer, and everyone else that I hadn’t seen in over a year. We also got to meet Freddy’s new girlfriend. She was great, and they both seemed very happy. Jeff and I went to Big Nell’s for breakfast and ran into my Brooke Pullen, one of my old neighbors, and her 7-month-old son. It’s crazy to see people I graduated high school with that have kids.
Sunday we went back to Ocean Isle to see everyone one last time. Most of went to the beach for the morning. Matthew and I went skim boarding and I managed to body slam a little knee high kid into the surf. I felt horrible, but he took it pretty well. Jeff decided that the little bit of lawn that we have in front of the beach house needed to be mowed, so I called my dad to see where the gas can was. He told me where to find it but then proceeded to tell me about how the lawnmower was such a piece of crap that Jeff shouldn’t even bother with it, but it was nice to him to even think about it. I think he won some points with my dad just for the thought. Jeff decided to try the lawnmower out anyway. It didn’t take him too long to figure out how my dad had it jerry rigged and get it to work. My parents and grandma drove down from Laurinburg later that night and we all had dinner together. My dad was more impressed with Jeff getting the mower to work and mowing the lawn than I’ve ever seen him. My grandma seemed better then the last time I had seen her, which was nice.
Before I flew back on Monday, I had Jeff take me to the NCSU bookstore to buy a copy of Tiger with his student discount. I’ve had it for almost a month now. I wish my computer were in better shape so I could fully enjoy it.
The trip back to NC was a lot of fun. It brought back a lot of old memories. I wish I could have spent more time at the beach and with Jeff. It’s really hard seeing him once a month, but it really makes me appreciate what little time I do get to see him. The end of one visit starts the countdown to the next. Fall break...October 5th!
I think that's more than enough for one post. I'll write more later. Until then, enjoy some wedding pictures...
My Pictures
Freddy's Pictures
Karen's Pictures
First off...I’m pissed because my wireless card in my desktop isn’t working. Oh, it worked when I took it to the “genius bar” but when I got it home it still didn’t work. So I’ve been using my laptop for a few months now, which is a major pain in the ass to say the least. On top of that, I broke my space bar on my laptop last night so this post is really going to be a pain in the ass. Today I realized that the LCD on my iPod is also screwed up. It looks like I’m going to end up spending the weekend at the Apple store trying to get everything fixed since nothing I own works anymore.
Now that I’m done with my rant...
The beginning of this month I took my first two vacation days since I’ve been working for Donnelley. I flew to Raleigh on the last day in August to stay with Jeff for a few days before we headed down to Ocean Isle for Matthew and Sarah’s wedding. Jake got to say with his doggie park friends Miles and Piper instead of staying in the kennel, which made it a lot easier to be gone for a week. While I was in Raleigh I persuaded Jeff in to driving me to Chapel Hill to see Brian. We went out to Carburrito and then to some hole-in-the-wall bar downtown. I had never been to Chapel Hill before...I know, crazy...and I hadn’t seen Brian since graduation, so it was nice.
Friday after Jeff got out of class, we drove down to the beach. We stayed at my grandma’s house at Sunset, so we drove there first to change clothes. We didn’t go to the wedding rehearsal since we weren’t in the wedding party, but we did show up afterwards for the cookout. Jeff found one of my grandma’s gardening hats that he decided he was going to wear to the cookout. Towards the end of the night someone decided we should go to the beach. Matthew’s brother Chris decided to go swimming, which led to a couple other guys stripping down to their shorts and going swimming, which later led to Matthew and Jeff carrying me into the water fully clothed. It ended up being a lot of fun. The funniest thing was one of the brides maids, Mary Gray, and Matthew’s older brother, Jason, were sitting on the shore with everyone else who wasn’t swimming. After Jeff and Matthew took me into the ocean they went back to get Mary Gray and Jason and they both refused because they were “wearing designer.” Damn Sean Jean and Lacoste.
Saturday was the wedding. It was beautiful. If I ever get married, I could see it being something like theirs – casual, small... I hadn’t seen Matthew and Sarah since before I moved to Nashville so it was great to see them, along with Freddy, Jason, Jennifer, and everyone else that I hadn’t seen in over a year. We also got to meet Freddy’s new girlfriend. She was great, and they both seemed very happy. Jeff and I went to Big Nell’s for breakfast and ran into my Brooke Pullen, one of my old neighbors, and her 7-month-old son. It’s crazy to see people I graduated high school with that have kids.
Sunday we went back to Ocean Isle to see everyone one last time. Most of went to the beach for the morning. Matthew and I went skim boarding and I managed to body slam a little knee high kid into the surf. I felt horrible, but he took it pretty well. Jeff decided that the little bit of lawn that we have in front of the beach house needed to be mowed, so I called my dad to see where the gas can was. He told me where to find it but then proceeded to tell me about how the lawnmower was such a piece of crap that Jeff shouldn’t even bother with it, but it was nice to him to even think about it. I think he won some points with my dad just for the thought. Jeff decided to try the lawnmower out anyway. It didn’t take him too long to figure out how my dad had it jerry rigged and get it to work. My parents and grandma drove down from Laurinburg later that night and we all had dinner together. My dad was more impressed with Jeff getting the mower to work and mowing the lawn than I’ve ever seen him. My grandma seemed better then the last time I had seen her, which was nice.
Before I flew back on Monday, I had Jeff take me to the NCSU bookstore to buy a copy of Tiger with his student discount. I’ve had it for almost a month now. I wish my computer were in better shape so I could fully enjoy it.
The trip back to NC was a lot of fun. It brought back a lot of old memories. I wish I could have spent more time at the beach and with Jeff. It’s really hard seeing him once a month, but it really makes me appreciate what little time I do get to see him. The end of one visit starts the countdown to the next. Fall break...October 5th!
I think that's more than enough for one post. I'll write more later. Until then, enjoy some wedding pictures...
My Pictures
Freddy's Pictures
Karen's Pictures
Saturday, June 18, 2005
A Fan...
So who are you a fan of?
The Lefsetz Letter
A Fan
by Bob Lefsetz
06 13 2005
Might bitch about the price of the ticket, but goes anyway.
Scours P2P sites for advance music, but buys the CD anyway.
Buys the CD the week it comes out.
Wants every live MP3 of the act he can find.
Hates a bunch of other acts. Non-fans don't give a fuck about other acts.
Doesn't believe in streaming services. He's got to OWN the music so he can show/tell others about it.
Would rather buy the CD than eat.
Knows the name of every band member.
Has memorized the credits. Knows not only who the producer and engineer are, but where the record was mastered. And wonders who the people thanked are.
Will go to the Website every day if the act updates it.
Will pay every last dollar to meet the act in person.
Does not travel without the band's music. Whether it be on CD or MP3.
Believes EVERYBODY would love the act's music if they could just sit down, play them the CD and EXPLAIN it to them.
Buys the next two albums even if they don't have hits.
Has traveled at least 100 miles to see the act.
HAS to go to the show. Just as long as you don't play the same market over and over without new material.
Wants MORE music.
Is not the person radio is programming for. He cringes when the station adds a track they've been listening to for MONTHS!
Will not go to see their favorite performer on a multi-act bill unless they love the other act(s). They fear the set will be shortened, and almost as bad, the audience won't be INTO IT!
Knows where the lyric sheet included with the CD/on the Website is wrong.
When confronted with a date or a gig on the same night will always take the gig.
Burns CDs of the act not to rip the record company off, but to turn OTHER PEOPLE on to the act!!
Not only visits the authorized Website, but the unauthorized ones.
Reads the message boards.
Is an expert on band/act gossip.
HATES when a band member is replaced. They have a relationship with each and every member. You might replace a band member willy-nilly, but it's like a death in the family to the fan.
Will buy the solo album of the frontman and/or songwriter.
Sings the act's songs in the bathroom. Both in the shower and in front of the mirror.
Cares if the act sells out. Ads are for the non-fan, they want to believe the act makes all decisions thinking about THEM first and FOREMOST!
Doesn't want to see the band hosting shows, even appearing live talking on MTV and VH1. For then the act is a slave to the grind, a corporate tool, they want to believe the act ONLY services THEM and their BRETHREN! Videos are all right, just as long as the band themselves are in it, not good-looking boys and girls acting out the lyrics.
Appearance on Fuse is okay. You can appear anywhere that's perceived to be underground or is not truly happening. But once you're in "People" or on "E.T.", watch out. It's all about your SOUL! They want to believe that if they ran into you in the hall at school you'd be who they think they'd like you to be.
Doesn't want his favorite to hang out with actors. Unless they're Johnny Depp, or someone who takes his/her work equally seriously and is cool.
Doesn't want their act to hang out at dance clubs.
Doesn't care if the act drinks or does drugs. Creating art is TORTURE! And, they believe that the normal, well-adjusted are not suited for the role, so they give acts leeway.
Doesn't want to be insulted from the stage.
Wants the live show to be LONGER!
Doesn't care how long the album is, as long as it's GOOD!
Doesn't want the act's inebriation to interfere with the live show.
Wants an autograph, however much you loathe writing them.
Doesn't buy the album because it includes a bonus DVD.
Doesn't have to own the live DVD. It's about the MUSIC, the shows they attended are etched in their MEMORIES!
Doesn't want to be ripped off. Oh, they'll pay exorbitant prices for live tickets and CDs, but they get a bad taste in their mouth if they feel they're being gouged, and ultimately, this causes the fan base to erode.
Probably won't join the authorized fan club. He sees it as a teen magazine group and a rip-off.
Will put a poster of the band on his wall. Younger fans want color, older fans want black and white, they want posters/photos that are dark, with MEANING!
Doesn't want the band's t-shirts sold at Hot Topic or any other establishment. Wants them only sold at GIGS! (Although they'll tolerate online/Music Today sales.)
Wants no t-shirt smaller than large. Preferably EXTRA large.
Would die and go to heaven if he could just get backstage, even if he wasn't allowed to get up close and personal with the act.
Doesn't want anybody listening to the act/going to the show who isn't a TRUE BELIEVER!
Wants to know absolutely everything about the act. Where they were born, how many siblings they have, where they went to high school, whether they were a cheerleader or a loner...
Doesn't believe in anybody without talent. Ashlee Simpson and Hilary Duff might sell records, but they don't have FANS!
Doesn't want to see the act in a fashion show, but DOES want to read a VERY LENGTHY interview with the band/main member wherein history, inspiration, motivation and the SONGS are discussed.
Likes a full-bodied personality. Likes an act that can say negative shit about something/someone.
Is always looking for more acts to become a fan of. But, it's not easy to pass their test, but when you do, fans are LOYAL!
The Lefsetz Letter
A Fan
by Bob Lefsetz
06 13 2005
Might bitch about the price of the ticket, but goes anyway.
Scours P2P sites for advance music, but buys the CD anyway.
Buys the CD the week it comes out.
Wants every live MP3 of the act he can find.
Hates a bunch of other acts. Non-fans don't give a fuck about other acts.
Doesn't believe in streaming services. He's got to OWN the music so he can show/tell others about it.
Would rather buy the CD than eat.
Knows the name of every band member.
Has memorized the credits. Knows not only who the producer and engineer are, but where the record was mastered. And wonders who the people thanked are.
Will go to the Website every day if the act updates it.
Will pay every last dollar to meet the act in person.
Does not travel without the band's music. Whether it be on CD or MP3.
Believes EVERYBODY would love the act's music if they could just sit down, play them the CD and EXPLAIN it to them.
Buys the next two albums even if they don't have hits.
Has traveled at least 100 miles to see the act.
HAS to go to the show. Just as long as you don't play the same market over and over without new material.
Wants MORE music.
Is not the person radio is programming for. He cringes when the station adds a track they've been listening to for MONTHS!
Will not go to see their favorite performer on a multi-act bill unless they love the other act(s). They fear the set will be shortened, and almost as bad, the audience won't be INTO IT!
Knows where the lyric sheet included with the CD/on the Website is wrong.
When confronted with a date or a gig on the same night will always take the gig.
Burns CDs of the act not to rip the record company off, but to turn OTHER PEOPLE on to the act!!
Not only visits the authorized Website, but the unauthorized ones.
Reads the message boards.
Is an expert on band/act gossip.
HATES when a band member is replaced. They have a relationship with each and every member. You might replace a band member willy-nilly, but it's like a death in the family to the fan.
Will buy the solo album of the frontman and/or songwriter.
Sings the act's songs in the bathroom. Both in the shower and in front of the mirror.
Cares if the act sells out. Ads are for the non-fan, they want to believe the act makes all decisions thinking about THEM first and FOREMOST!
Doesn't want to see the band hosting shows, even appearing live talking on MTV and VH1. For then the act is a slave to the grind, a corporate tool, they want to believe the act ONLY services THEM and their BRETHREN! Videos are all right, just as long as the band themselves are in it, not good-looking boys and girls acting out the lyrics.
Appearance on Fuse is okay. You can appear anywhere that's perceived to be underground or is not truly happening. But once you're in "People" or on "E.T.", watch out. It's all about your SOUL! They want to believe that if they ran into you in the hall at school you'd be who they think they'd like you to be.
Doesn't want his favorite to hang out with actors. Unless they're Johnny Depp, or someone who takes his/her work equally seriously and is cool.
Doesn't want their act to hang out at dance clubs.
Doesn't care if the act drinks or does drugs. Creating art is TORTURE! And, they believe that the normal, well-adjusted are not suited for the role, so they give acts leeway.
Doesn't want to be insulted from the stage.
Wants the live show to be LONGER!
Doesn't care how long the album is, as long as it's GOOD!
Doesn't want the act's inebriation to interfere with the live show.
Wants an autograph, however much you loathe writing them.
Doesn't buy the album because it includes a bonus DVD.
Doesn't have to own the live DVD. It's about the MUSIC, the shows they attended are etched in their MEMORIES!
Doesn't want to be ripped off. Oh, they'll pay exorbitant prices for live tickets and CDs, but they get a bad taste in their mouth if they feel they're being gouged, and ultimately, this causes the fan base to erode.
Probably won't join the authorized fan club. He sees it as a teen magazine group and a rip-off.
Will put a poster of the band on his wall. Younger fans want color, older fans want black and white, they want posters/photos that are dark, with MEANING!
Doesn't want the band's t-shirts sold at Hot Topic or any other establishment. Wants them only sold at GIGS! (Although they'll tolerate online/Music Today sales.)
Wants no t-shirt smaller than large. Preferably EXTRA large.
Would die and go to heaven if he could just get backstage, even if he wasn't allowed to get up close and personal with the act.
Doesn't want anybody listening to the act/going to the show who isn't a TRUE BELIEVER!
Wants to know absolutely everything about the act. Where they were born, how many siblings they have, where they went to high school, whether they were a cheerleader or a loner...
Doesn't believe in anybody without talent. Ashlee Simpson and Hilary Duff might sell records, but they don't have FANS!
Doesn't want to see the act in a fashion show, but DOES want to read a VERY LENGTHY interview with the band/main member wherein history, inspiration, motivation and the SONGS are discussed.
Likes a full-bodied personality. Likes an act that can say negative shit about something/someone.
Is always looking for more acts to become a fan of. But, it's not easy to pass their test, but when you do, fans are LOYAL!
Friday, April 22, 2005
Outside!
It’s official... I love Nashville! I miss Jeff, my family, and Clemson, but I’m really loving where I am now. When i first moved here I kinda wished I had found an apartment downtown so I could be in the middle of things. After exploring a little with Anne last weekend and some on my own this week I’ve decided that I made the best choice for me (and Jake). I live across the street from the Warner Parks. Edwin & Percy Warner parks combined are one of the largest city parks in the nation. I found out last week that they are building a dog park in Edwin Warner Park, which should be done in a month or so. So my plan of getting up at 5:30 to work out never materialized, but I’ve started a routine that I hope to stick to of taking Jake on a moderate 3 mile hike/trail run. I’ve been the past two days. It feels so good to be out and active again. Jake is finally a man. He lifted his leg to pee on a tree today for the first time in his 2 and a half years of existence. That’s my boy!
Last weekend Anne and I went mountain biking at Hamilton Creek, which is right by Percy Priest Lake. We had a blast. It was the first time I had ridden in at least 6 months and it kicked my ass to say the least. There were 2 loops, novice and advanced. Of course we decided to do the advanced loop. When I lived in Atlanta Anne came down to visit and go mountain biking once. We also went to a park with a novice and advanced loop. The advanced loop at that park was a joke, the one at Hamilton Creek on the other hand was not. It was a pretty sweet trail, a lot like Issaqueena but more rocky and less rooty. There wasn’t much elevation change, but the rocks made things quite interesting. There were plenty of drops and jumps. While Anne was here we also checked out the Natchez Trace Parkway. The northern terminus is on Highway 100 about 4 miles from my apartment. We drove a mile or so, but it was getting dark. The trace follows the path of an old indian “trace” 444 miles to Natchez, Mississippi. The Warner Parks have dozens of paved scenic drives and paved and dirt trails. Between the park and the parkway there are going to be plenty of places to work on being a roadie.
Last weekend Anne and I went mountain biking at Hamilton Creek, which is right by Percy Priest Lake. We had a blast. It was the first time I had ridden in at least 6 months and it kicked my ass to say the least. There were 2 loops, novice and advanced. Of course we decided to do the advanced loop. When I lived in Atlanta Anne came down to visit and go mountain biking once. We also went to a park with a novice and advanced loop. The advanced loop at that park was a joke, the one at Hamilton Creek on the other hand was not. It was a pretty sweet trail, a lot like Issaqueena but more rocky and less rooty. There wasn’t much elevation change, but the rocks made things quite interesting. There were plenty of drops and jumps. While Anne was here we also checked out the Natchez Trace Parkway. The northern terminus is on Highway 100 about 4 miles from my apartment. We drove a mile or so, but it was getting dark. The trace follows the path of an old indian “trace” 444 miles to Natchez, Mississippi. The Warner Parks have dozens of paved scenic drives and paved and dirt trails. Between the park and the parkway there are going to be plenty of places to work on being a roadie.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Downers Grove Part Deux
Saturday: Angie Aparo & The Infidels!!
Sunday: Pack
Monday: Downers Grove, Doubletree cookies, Taaaa Heels!!
Tuesday: First PF Chang's experience.
Wednesday: Irish Car Bombs!
Thursday: RRD Jeopardy Champions, Selling Skills Graduate.
Friday: I am an official Tennessee resident (driver's license, plates, title & registration)
Anne's coming next friday!! :-D
Oh yeah, and I rearranged my living room...
Sunday: Pack
Monday: Downers Grove, Doubletree cookies, Taaaa Heels!!
Tuesday: First PF Chang's experience.
Wednesday: Irish Car Bombs!
Thursday: RRD Jeopardy Champions, Selling Skills Graduate.
Friday: I am an official Tennessee resident (driver's license, plates, title & registration)
Anne's coming next friday!! :-D
***
Oh yeah, and I rearranged my living room...
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Pink Bunnies!
Lesson #1: When going to a concert in Nashville, buy tickets before the show, not at the door because everyone in Nashville loves music, regardless of the genre or day of the week, and the show will more than likely be sold out. So, I drove to 3rd & Lindsley tonight to check out The Shore & Rachael Yamagata as part of Lightning 100’s Nashville Sunday Nights, only to arrive at the door to find the show was sold out. Luckily, Lightning 100 does a live broadcast of all the Nashville Sunday Night shows, so I can sit at home, write this post, and still get to hear the concert.
Since my last post I have:
I finally received my furniture from Rooms2Go. I still have a little ways to go. I have posted a picture in case you’d like to see what it looks like so far. I still need to get some sort of table for the front entrance and an entertainment center & TV.
I was finally able to experience my first beautiful weekend in Nashville this weekend. It seems like the past few months have been but dreary, but in the vain of London with foggy drizzly skies that make even the nastiest days have their own kind of beauty.
I got a stack of new CDs this weekend. The Arcade Fire, the two new Bright Eyes disks, Wilco, Low, AC Newman, The Decemberists, to name a few. I haven't been able to listen to them all yet. I already had burned copies of The Arcade Fire and Wilco, but I listen to them enough that I figured I should purchase a copy. I haven't had this many new CDs in a while. They all seem to be pretty good, but they are also all very depressingly soft and slow for the most part. I need to find something a little more up tempo without being bubble gum pop or post hardcore or whatever the new genre or choice is.
I went to the mall for the first time this weekend. I’ve been to the Cool Springs area before, but I hadn’t been to the mall. This weekend I decided to go to the mall in Green Hills. Both are about the same distance away, but I quickly realized that I was entering the “wrong part of town,” but not in the usual sense. In Green Hills, I don’t think they’ve ever heard of a small house. I took a different way to the mall than I did leaving, but both routes were the same...4,000+ sq ft houses left and right. The music industry must not be doing too bad, at least not for the executives or whoever lives in Green Hills. The mall was no different than the drive to the mall... hoity toity. But it all worked out because the only reason I was there was to use a gift card for Victoria’s Secret and look for work clothes, and it served both of those purposes fine. There was no teen scene like most malls, just a bunch of uppity people. I’m not sure which is worse. Sometimes I wish I could pull off the whole indy thing with the complicated haircuts, tight clothes, and high musical aptitude. But I'm just not that cool...never have been, never will be there's no use in trying. I think most of them are as much of a sham as I would be, so that makes me feel a little better, but not much.
Mexico was warm, and I got to bring back Tequila. Crawfordsville is in the middle of nowhere. It’s only 30 miles or so from Indy, but I didn’t drive and didn’t have any way to get around so I was stuck in the hotel all week. Illinois was cool because it was “Corporate Training” and I was able to spend the week with 11 other trainees instead of being alone like usual. One of the other trainees was even another Clemson grad who’s working in Greenville. The downside was that we had a regimented schedule and didn’t get to visit Chicago, even though we were only 25 miles or so outside of the city.
That’s about it for this past month. Jeff is flying in on Thursday night...and he’s staying for a week!! I can’t wait. We’re going to celebrate Valentine’s a month late since we couldn’t get together any sooner. It’ll be nice to get out and see some more of the city, and just to have him around for a while. Nashville’s a cool place, especially the music scene; it’s just not as fun when you’re going out alone. My parents are coming up for Easter and bringing my Jakers, so I’ll have him to take to the park on nice weekends like this one.
Since my last post I have:
- Gotten my living room furniture
- Been to training in Mexico, Indiana and Illinois
- Flown on Southwest airlines for the 1st time
- Been to the Exit/In to see Will Hoge (twice)
- Been to my 1st baby shower
I finally received my furniture from Rooms2Go. I still have a little ways to go. I have posted a picture in case you’d like to see what it looks like so far. I still need to get some sort of table for the front entrance and an entertainment center & TV.
I was finally able to experience my first beautiful weekend in Nashville this weekend. It seems like the past few months have been but dreary, but in the vain of London with foggy drizzly skies that make even the nastiest days have their own kind of beauty.
*****
I got a stack of new CDs this weekend. The Arcade Fire, the two new Bright Eyes disks, Wilco, Low, AC Newman, The Decemberists, to name a few. I haven't been able to listen to them all yet. I already had burned copies of The Arcade Fire and Wilco, but I listen to them enough that I figured I should purchase a copy. I haven't had this many new CDs in a while. They all seem to be pretty good, but they are also all very depressingly soft and slow for the most part. I need to find something a little more up tempo without being bubble gum pop or post hardcore or whatever the new genre or choice is.
*****
I went to the mall for the first time this weekend. I’ve been to the Cool Springs area before, but I hadn’t been to the mall. This weekend I decided to go to the mall in Green Hills. Both are about the same distance away, but I quickly realized that I was entering the “wrong part of town,” but not in the usual sense. In Green Hills, I don’t think they’ve ever heard of a small house. I took a different way to the mall than I did leaving, but both routes were the same...4,000+ sq ft houses left and right. The music industry must not be doing too bad, at least not for the executives or whoever lives in Green Hills. The mall was no different than the drive to the mall... hoity toity. But it all worked out because the only reason I was there was to use a gift card for Victoria’s Secret and look for work clothes, and it served both of those purposes fine. There was no teen scene like most malls, just a bunch of uppity people. I’m not sure which is worse. Sometimes I wish I could pull off the whole indy thing with the complicated haircuts, tight clothes, and high musical aptitude. But I'm just not that cool...never have been, never will be there's no use in trying. I think most of them are as much of a sham as I would be, so that makes me feel a little better, but not much.
*****
Mexico was warm, and I got to bring back Tequila. Crawfordsville is in the middle of nowhere. It’s only 30 miles or so from Indy, but I didn’t drive and didn’t have any way to get around so I was stuck in the hotel all week. Illinois was cool because it was “Corporate Training” and I was able to spend the week with 11 other trainees instead of being alone like usual. One of the other trainees was even another Clemson grad who’s working in Greenville. The downside was that we had a regimented schedule and didn’t get to visit Chicago, even though we were only 25 miles or so outside of the city.
*****
That’s about it for this past month. Jeff is flying in on Thursday night...and he’s staying for a week!! I can’t wait. We’re going to celebrate Valentine’s a month late since we couldn’t get together any sooner. It’ll be nice to get out and see some more of the city, and just to have him around for a while. Nashville’s a cool place, especially the music scene; it’s just not as fun when you’re going out alone. My parents are coming up for Easter and bringing my Jakers, so I’ll have him to take to the park on nice weekends like this one.
*****
So the concert is almost over, and it kicked major ass...more than I thought it would...so I'm really bummed I couldn't get in...
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Home
Well...I'm back in Nashville for a few days. I was in Harrisonburg, VA the past two weeks. I flew from Nashville to Dulles Airport outside of DC then rented a car and drove to Harrisonburg. The airport was probably the biggest I have ever been to, or at least the most spread out. There were at least three separate terminals with buses going from one to the next. The buses were unlike anything I have ever been on before. The buses, called "mobile lounges", have passenger compartments that are raised or lowered in order to align one of the terminals doors with another terminals doors or directly to the door of the plane.
Training went well. Manufacturing training was a little boring at times, but I had never seen a book manufacturing plant before so the binding process was interesting. A lot more goes into making a book than I ever expected and I majored in this sort of thing. Pricing training went a lot faster because I was learning a lot. I have more background knowledge in the manufacturing process than in the pricing process so I had a lot to learn. Because I was already familiar with the whole manufacturing process, it made the pricing training a lot easier for me than most. I was done with the training a day early, so I didn't have to go in on the last day.
Harrisonburg was a nice little town. It's situated in the Shenandoah Valley, which was beautiful. There's not a lot going on in Harrisonburg except for JMU. I did end up going to see Carbon Leaf at a small little pub right down the road from my hotel. I liked their live music a lot more than their produced music. The people that I worked with at the plant were all great. They took me to all the good local places to eat that I probably wouldn't have found on my own.
It snowed a few fractions of an inch on a couple days while I was there, and I think the average high for my two-week stint was probably around 20 degrees. It was much colder than anything I'm used to, which made me even more ready to get back to Nashville. I found it funny that most of the people living in Harrisonburg consider Virginia to be a southern state, but every restaurant I went into only had unsweetened tea, if any tea at all. All-in-all the "friendly city" was indeed that, but I was ready to finally get back home to Nashville.
In between my two weeks of training, I drove down to Roanoke to visit my sister & her family at her husband's parent's house. My sister & her family drove up from Charlotte and met me for the weekend. The weather wasn't the best or the worst. They got a little snow and ice, but not enough to have any fun, just enough to make a mess. Overall, it was a lazy weekend. I ended up reading two books and watching the playoffs, but I was able to spend time with other people instead of being cooped up inside my hotel room.
I flew back to Nashville Friday night and Jeff flew in a few hours before me so we met up at the airport and then got a ride with a guy I work with, Kevin, back to my apartment. He drove us down music row, which is on the way to my apartment from the airport. Saturday was rainy most of the day. We went downtown and ate sushi at a place called Koto. We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown in the rain. I’ve driven around downtown once or twice, but I don’t get a very good feel for where things are unless I walk. We walked down historic Printer’s Alley, which is definitely not Printer’s Alley anymore. It’s more like a couple of businesses that look like they should be on Bourbon Street. Sunday we drove down to Cool Springs, which is pretty much just a huge commercialized area with a big mall and tons of restaurants and stores. On the way home from dropping Jeff off at the airport Sunday night, I stopped by the Tin Roof on Music Row to see what time the Angie Aparo show started. It was only 6:30 and the show didn’t start until 9:00, so I didn’t end up going to the show. If Jeff had still been around I probably would have gone, but I’m getting old and getting home at 1:00AM on a work night doesn’t work for me...especially not for my first day back after training.
I was back in the office yesterday to start getting some practical experience. Karl sent me a job to quote Friday before I left Harrisonburg. I quoted it after I got to the airport while I was waiting on my plane to board. Once I came in and compared it to the layout Karl did I quickly learned that the “corporate way” is just a guideline and all the Reps in the office price jobs differently, so I have plenty left to learn. I am going down to Reynosa, Mexico with Karl and one of his customers Sunday and coming back Wednesday.
Then it’s off to Crawfordsville, IN for another week of training. After I get back from Crawfordsville, I shouldn’t be traveling too much more. I’m hoping that mom & dad will be able to bring Jake up in March or April.
My bedroom mirror and a new footboard (to replace the one that is split) will come tomorrow and my living room furniture on Saturday. I’ll post some pictures of the apartment once everything arrives. There still won’t be much in the way of decorations, but at least it will be furnished! Since Friday and Saturday will be my first musical outings in Nashville, and it’s Will Hoge, I’m sure I’ll take pictures of that to post as well.
...I guess I should post more often so these things aren’t so long and boring...
Training went well. Manufacturing training was a little boring at times, but I had never seen a book manufacturing plant before so the binding process was interesting. A lot more goes into making a book than I ever expected and I majored in this sort of thing. Pricing training went a lot faster because I was learning a lot. I have more background knowledge in the manufacturing process than in the pricing process so I had a lot to learn. Because I was already familiar with the whole manufacturing process, it made the pricing training a lot easier for me than most. I was done with the training a day early, so I didn't have to go in on the last day.
Harrisonburg was a nice little town. It's situated in the Shenandoah Valley, which was beautiful. There's not a lot going on in Harrisonburg except for JMU. I did end up going to see Carbon Leaf at a small little pub right down the road from my hotel. I liked their live music a lot more than their produced music. The people that I worked with at the plant were all great. They took me to all the good local places to eat that I probably wouldn't have found on my own.
It snowed a few fractions of an inch on a couple days while I was there, and I think the average high for my two-week stint was probably around 20 degrees. It was much colder than anything I'm used to, which made me even more ready to get back to Nashville. I found it funny that most of the people living in Harrisonburg consider Virginia to be a southern state, but every restaurant I went into only had unsweetened tea, if any tea at all. All-in-all the "friendly city" was indeed that, but I was ready to finally get back home to Nashville.
In between my two weeks of training, I drove down to Roanoke to visit my sister & her family at her husband's parent's house. My sister & her family drove up from Charlotte and met me for the weekend. The weather wasn't the best or the worst. They got a little snow and ice, but not enough to have any fun, just enough to make a mess. Overall, it was a lazy weekend. I ended up reading two books and watching the playoffs, but I was able to spend time with other people instead of being cooped up inside my hotel room.
I flew back to Nashville Friday night and Jeff flew in a few hours before me so we met up at the airport and then got a ride with a guy I work with, Kevin, back to my apartment. He drove us down music row, which is on the way to my apartment from the airport. Saturday was rainy most of the day. We went downtown and ate sushi at a place called Koto. We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown in the rain. I’ve driven around downtown once or twice, but I don’t get a very good feel for where things are unless I walk. We walked down historic Printer’s Alley, which is definitely not Printer’s Alley anymore. It’s more like a couple of businesses that look like they should be on Bourbon Street. Sunday we drove down to Cool Springs, which is pretty much just a huge commercialized area with a big mall and tons of restaurants and stores. On the way home from dropping Jeff off at the airport Sunday night, I stopped by the Tin Roof on Music Row to see what time the Angie Aparo show started. It was only 6:30 and the show didn’t start until 9:00, so I didn’t end up going to the show. If Jeff had still been around I probably would have gone, but I’m getting old and getting home at 1:00AM on a work night doesn’t work for me...especially not for my first day back after training.
I was back in the office yesterday to start getting some practical experience. Karl sent me a job to quote Friday before I left Harrisonburg. I quoted it after I got to the airport while I was waiting on my plane to board. Once I came in and compared it to the layout Karl did I quickly learned that the “corporate way” is just a guideline and all the Reps in the office price jobs differently, so I have plenty left to learn. I am going down to Reynosa, Mexico with Karl and one of his customers Sunday and coming back Wednesday.
Then it’s off to Crawfordsville, IN for another week of training. After I get back from Crawfordsville, I shouldn’t be traveling too much more. I’m hoping that mom & dad will be able to bring Jake up in March or April.
My bedroom mirror and a new footboard (to replace the one that is split) will come tomorrow and my living room furniture on Saturday. I’ll post some pictures of the apartment once everything arrives. There still won’t be much in the way of decorations, but at least it will be furnished! Since Friday and Saturday will be my first musical outings in Nashville, and it’s Will Hoge, I’m sure I’ll take pictures of that to post as well.
...I guess I should post more often so these things aren’t so long and boring...
Saturday, January 15, 2005
It's that time again...
So I'm officially living in Nashville now and working at RR Donnelley. I've only been working a week and so far I haven't been able to do a lot. I'm going to Virginia for 2 weeks for training so that I will actually be able to contribute something. I'm looking forward to going to Virginia but I'm going to miss some good shows in Nashville while I'm gone (Modest Mouse, Ray LaMontagne, etc) plus Ben Folds is doing a lecture at Vandy tomorrow at 7...after I leave. Man I'm so mad. But luckily when I get back in February The Films & Will Hoge are playing at the Exit/In. I wanted to go see Kaki King & G Love at the Exit/In but I couldn't find anyone to go with and I'm not really sure where anything is yet or where to park downtown, but I'll definitely figure it out between now and then. I'm also going to go see Carbon Leaf while I'm in Harrisonburg so I'll at least have one thing to do while I'm there. I have to go to Indiana the second week in February for more training and Ben Folds is playing that Saturday at Wabash College. I'm hoping that I can get there a day early and catch the show. I'll be really disappointed if I can't. I've wanted to see Ben live since I stared listening to Ben Folds Five in middle school.
I miss my Jakers. I don't have him here with me right now since I knew I was going to be going out of town for two weeks right after I stared working. Right now he's staying with Jeff's sister, but hopefully they're going to bring him to me sometime in February.
I have furniture!! So far I have a bedroom set (dressers & night stand), a futon for the guest bedroom, and a dining room set. My living room furniture will be delivered the first weekend in February. It was supposed to be delivered on Thursday, but they came 30 min before the apartment office opened and they were supposed to give them the key, so now I have to wait a few more weeks. After I get the furniture for my living room there won't be much big stuff left to get except maybe an entertainment center, and possibly a new TV.
So, the job is good. The people I work with are awesome, and the company is really taking care of me. I got my own laptop, company card, Hertz gold club membership, and my own office w/ a view. I couldn't ask for much more. I just hope that I can live up to their expectations.
I haven't really met anyone here yet. I did meet my next door neighbor, but I didn't get to talk to her much. She's from NC too and just graduated from NC State, so I'll have to go over sometime and talk to her some more since she's the only person I've met so far that's remotely close to my age. There's always February.
I guess I'm going in reverse chronology here. I should probably say something about the holidays. This Christmas was probably the longest I'll ever be home for the holidays again. It was nice to spend some time with the family, even though we never get along all that well. I got to see Monique. Monique, Jeff and I all went to Raleigh for a couple days after Christmas to go shopping. Jeff "accidentally" ended up in Monique's bed which made for a hilarious story. For New Years Jeff and I met Will and Kelly in Raleigh and we watched Raleigh drop its nut and took the dogs to the dog park and spent some time with some of Will's family.
Melanie came up to Clemson for my birthday. We went to Peppino's for dinner and a bunch of people I know from the bike shop/cycling club and graphics showed up. We went from Peppino's to Sloan Street to TD's. Dr Weisenmiller (Melainie's future fianceeé) showed up since Melanie was there. He ended up buying most of the pitchers the rest of the night so I didn't spend any money, which was great. Best of all, Anne baked me a cake.
I'm sure there's more to talk about it, but I don't really want to take the time to think of it right now. Until next time...
I miss my Jakers. I don't have him here with me right now since I knew I was going to be going out of town for two weeks right after I stared working. Right now he's staying with Jeff's sister, but hopefully they're going to bring him to me sometime in February.
I have furniture!! So far I have a bedroom set (dressers & night stand), a futon for the guest bedroom, and a dining room set. My living room furniture will be delivered the first weekend in February. It was supposed to be delivered on Thursday, but they came 30 min before the apartment office opened and they were supposed to give them the key, so now I have to wait a few more weeks. After I get the furniture for my living room there won't be much big stuff left to get except maybe an entertainment center, and possibly a new TV.
So, the job is good. The people I work with are awesome, and the company is really taking care of me. I got my own laptop, company card, Hertz gold club membership, and my own office w/ a view. I couldn't ask for much more. I just hope that I can live up to their expectations.
I haven't really met anyone here yet. I did meet my next door neighbor, but I didn't get to talk to her much. She's from NC too and just graduated from NC State, so I'll have to go over sometime and talk to her some more since she's the only person I've met so far that's remotely close to my age. There's always February.
I guess I'm going in reverse chronology here. I should probably say something about the holidays. This Christmas was probably the longest I'll ever be home for the holidays again. It was nice to spend some time with the family, even though we never get along all that well. I got to see Monique. Monique, Jeff and I all went to Raleigh for a couple days after Christmas to go shopping. Jeff "accidentally" ended up in Monique's bed which made for a hilarious story. For New Years Jeff and I met Will and Kelly in Raleigh and we watched Raleigh drop its nut and took the dogs to the dog park and spent some time with some of Will's family.
Melanie came up to Clemson for my birthday. We went to Peppino's for dinner and a bunch of people I know from the bike shop/cycling club and graphics showed up. We went from Peppino's to Sloan Street to TD's. Dr Weisenmiller (Melainie's future fianceeé) showed up since Melanie was there. He ended up buying most of the pitchers the rest of the night so I didn't spend any money, which was great. Best of all, Anne baked me a cake.
I'm sure there's more to talk about it, but I don't really want to take the time to think of it right now. Until next time...
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