Hey, it’s only January and I’ve already finished the first pickabar tune of 2012. Hopefully this means the flood gates are opening and I can outdo 2011’s measly song output. Enjoy!
I grew up in basements and garages
my grandma had to work two jobs
Some people said that I was garbage
but I never begged and I never robbed
It took a long time for me
to learn what Grandma used to say
You pay your own bills boy
you can live your life your own way
Dress well!
Drink Heavily!
There’s not much time left
for drunken revelry
Dress well!
Drink Heavily!
We’re younger now
than we’re ever gonna be
There’s still sunrises
out there for us to see
Why don’t we just go and get loaded?
Had my fair share of hard times
Had a hard time making friends
Sometimes I felt like I was a square peg
in a round world I just never fit in
Well, It took a long time for me
to finally find my way
and now I see the truth is
good times are just a beer away
Chorus
Years have passed and Grandma’s gone now
but she’s still always on my mind
She taught me that a man should work hard
She also taught me to have a real good time
It took a long time for me
to learn what Grandma used to say
Make the best of what you’ve got boy
your life will be more fun that way
[Download MP3]
Two out of our group of six discus passed away during our first thirteen months of discus keeping. Discus live in groups of 300 and even up to 500 in the wild. It makes sense, then, that they don’t do as well in groups smaller then five. We were lucky enough to get two new 4” fish from Discus Hans on December 6th. They are going to live in a QT tank for about two months in order to make sure they are happy, healthy and a lot bigger by the time they meet their new friends in our display tank.
The dumb people I meet are generally certain they know everything, while the smart people I meet are certain they’d like to learn something.
Today I learned how to blend paths in Illustrator.
Inaction is a form of action. Silence is a statement.
Dear Self-
You’ve wasted so much time waiting for a special moment, an external change or some other magical event to make your life change for the better. That’s not going to happen. You need to remember to look inside of yourself and not to the outside world for motivation and encouragement. You need to rush forward towards any opportunity to push your boundaries. You need to rejoice in the pure joy of effort for it’s own sake.
p.s. You are looking sharp. Nice t-shirt!
I went on a tattoo hiatus for a few years, but I’ve been back on the ink bandwagon in the last two years. On Sunday I got my newest piece by Eddia Senzala at Powerhouse Tattoo. Sparrows are a common tattoo idea, but I decided to get a similar tattoo commemorating my new hobby. Without further ado, here are my new Discus fish tattoos:
Eddie worked quickly and the only parts that really hurt were on the collarbone. I barely bled and both pieces are healing nicely. Of course, nothing can assuage the pure itchy agony of chest hair growing back in.
Only when I got home did I realize that we had both forgotten about the pectoral fins! Oh well, what can you do. I’m otherwise delighted with my new pieces and this gives me an excuse to visit Eddie when he’s next in town!
One of the things I miss most about my grandmother Nancy is the little talks we used to have. Sometimes, after a long day working two jobs, she would come home and sit down as if she was letting the air out of herself. As a young boy, I was full of energy and I couldn’t understand exactly how she felt. I understand more and more every day.
Sometimes, after a bit, we would talk. Regardless of my age, she always spoke about life to me as if I were a peer or at the very least someone who needed no artificial sweetening or dumbing down of the harsh vagaries of life. One of the things she always used to tell me was*:
People can’t hide who they really are. If a moment of truth comes and someone shows you who they really are, don’t ignore it or try to convince yourself it never happened. Trust them and thank them for the knowledge they are giving you, good or bad.
It’s something I’ve always tried to take to heart, even if it’s sometimes hard.
*I’m treating this as a quote, but I’m paraphrasing.
We had a fun day sledding in Fort Greene Park yesterday. One of the highlights was seeing the menagerie of snowmen that were being built. As an admitted Star Wars fanatic, this was definitely my favorite:
I asked him to build an AT-AT walker, but I didn’t come back to check on it.
…but there are a few Gerrard Avenues about. No, “Gerard Street” doesn’t count.
Would anyone be kind enough to take a photo of one of those places and send me a copy? I would appreciate it. If you don’t live near any of them, but you have a friend who does, can you email them a link to this page? Heck, email them if they even live in the right state and maybe they’ll know someone. Or tweet it. Or post a Facebook status update.
Gerrard Ave, Indianapolis, Marion, IN 46224
Gerrard Ave, Monroe, Platte, NE 68647
Gerrard Ave, Speedway, Marion, IN 46224
Gerrard Ave, Columbus, Franklin, OH 43212
Gerrard Ave, East Longmeadow, Hampden, MA 01028
Gerrard Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701
Gerrard Ave, Seaside Park, Ocean, NJ 08752
Gerrard Ave, Carroll, IA 51401
Gerrard Ave, Strood, Rochester, Kent ME1, UK
The end of the decade, my third on the earth, is nigh. I guess you know you’re getting older when the dates start sounding like science fiction. Twenty ten? Seriously? Isn’t that like when Buck Rodgers was supposed to be doing his thing? Anyway, time for a 2009 recap.
In January, I posted my goals for the year:
- Get back under 250 lbs. I did. Then I ran right back over it. Then in September I hurt my leg and was out of commission for a while. I’m back to running thought. I’ve run 14 times in the last month or so.
- Play a show. 45 Adapters played 12 shows last year.
- Play at an open mic show. I thought about it a few times, but it’s pretty scary playing music on an acoustic AND by yourself.
- Get published by a commercial publication. I wrote my first story since I was 13 years old, but other than that I haven’t made progress on this.
- Let people know when they have hurt my feelings. I’ve been much more open with people about when they have upset me. In one or two cases it actually worked out and the person I was upset took steps to make me feel better. In most of the cases, it’s meant the end of friendships. I’ve said goodbye to a lot of friendships this year.
- Stop being a hermit. I’ve had a much better year socially and I even went on a few solo adventures.
- Get a job. Yeah, not so much on that front.
So, you know, 3 out of 7. I also accomplished one of my life goals, putting out a record. Let’s call it 4 our of 8, which puts me squarely into my normal “mediocre” category. It’s been a crap year, I won’t be sad to see it go. I end it with a lot fewer friends than I started it with, which is never pleasant. I also gained a bunch of weight.
My most embarrassing moment of the year was probably realizing that I mixed up “there” and “their” on the lyric sheet for the 45 Adapters EP. I really don’t know how I let that slip by. Forest, trees, etc.
On a more positive note, I was able to post 14 songs this year. Well, 13 if you don’t count the remix. That’s 38 minutes of music! At this point, I actually have about 26 songs in my little songbook. That’s not bad. Especially since it doesn’t include all of the songs I wrote for BOTB.
Here’s a list:
You can download all of the songs in a nice little zip, if you like. I would appreciate you giving them a listen.
I’ll post my goal list for 2010 in January. Merry Xmas!
