Sick to my stomach

I have a "thing" on the horizon. It's something that has became a prospect in my life just within the last few days. To achieve this "thing" there were numerous steps in between. At first I figured well if it happens it does, if not no big deal. A kind of pie in the sky deal.

Well as it's working out, the situation has blew through nearly all those steps. The few remaining seem like a pretty sure deal. HOWEVER...there's one little dark gotcha. It's something that I cannot change and everything in me wishes I could change it...but i can't.

It may be the one thing that stops me from getting the "thing" I'm talking about. Just knowing that all the other steps are falling in line quite perfectly with the "dark gotcha" hanging over it like a threatening thunderstorm to a child's day outside makes me sick to my stomach. My emotional state has come through my physical state. I'm dark, weary, tired...my stomach is in knots...and I'm very to myself and moody.

If I end up on the other side safely...I will be basking in pure emotional sunshine. Life turns a new chapter. If I don't I will have to deal with an extreme dose of regret.

Amazing how much contrast there is going on inside this soul these days... *sigh*

PS - I promise to blog the outcome either way.

SLO Triathlon

"The San Luis Obispo Triathlon is one of the oldest short course triathlons in the country. Entrants participate in a 1/2 mile pool swim (start times are staggered throughout the day in groups of 40), 15.3 mile bicycle ride and 3.1 mile run. Teams are welcome along with individuals with the emphasis on completion not competition."

[26th Annual SLO Triathlon]

The event is on Sunday, July 24th. This is something that I think I have could have enough time to train for. I've always wanted to participate in one. Anybody else interested?

Oh, the appealing aspect: "the emphasis on completion not competition."

Indie Bands

Here's a small list of indie bands that I love listening to:

Joose
Saxon Shore
The Album Leaf
Aspects of Physics
The Trouble with Sweeney

Things that make you go....whoh!

Things that make you go....whoh!

Funk up the Code

This morning I was programming to the funk of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Funk is all about the groove...lay down something that has good repetition of rhythm and human feel. Now having been playing bass I really appreciate Flea's work!

Needless to say, that along with a STIFF cup of coffee and the code was flowing.

Passion

Sharron just wrote a little something about what she may enjoy doing. Aymiee says she sometimes feels guilty about following what she enjoys. That's something that I'm familiar with. Having two children of my own and being a single father, sometimes I feel like I should cut out a majority of what I enjoy and am passionate about.

Here's a little post that touches on the subject:

occupational adventure

"MYTH: PURSUING YOUR PASSION IS SELFISH AND SELF-INDULGENT

Wrong. Pursuing your passion is quite possibly the best thing you could ever do for your loved ones.

Imagine the difference between someone who grinds through their day in a job that sucks the life out of them, and someone who actually gets energy from the work they do. Which one would you want to be around at the end of the day? Which one is going to be a better wife, husband, parent, friend?

The positive ripple effect on your family, on your co-workers, and even just random people you encounter is substantial."

The cool thing is when I share with my son what I've been doing he actually shows genuine interest. And really for the most part it's reciprocal. He loves to show me what he's working on and I'm definitly interested. I think long term things like that are relationship builders.

Blues at the Pit Stop

Last night Mercury Blues Band played at the Pit Stop in Paso Robles. It was a whole lot of fun to bring blues music to the place. The crowd seemed to really dig the music which makes it even more fun to play.

Pictures from the Gig

We have ampage in sight

I'll be picking up one of these this afternoon for the gig tonight. Doug over at Damage Inc in Visalia is going to let me demo a 300 watt head for it but recommends 400+ watts for future expansion. The gig he recommends is a stack of 8 10's with at least 400 watts pushing it.

I demoed the difference between 100 watts, 175 watts, and 300 watts. The difference in tone and sound was profound. Anything under 300 watts and you're pushing it too much.

We'll see how it all works out tonight!

Bohemian Night

After a near-no-go start, the open mic last night turned out really well.

The shocking opener: When we got there to setup we asked one of the staff where to setup. She responded with, "Ummmm...I don't know anything the open mic." No problem we thought. We just need to speak with "L" the owner, "No prob, could you get 'L' for us? We'll get setup with him." Her eyes opened, "Ummm...'L' doesn't own the coffee shop anymore. He sold it back to the original owners yesterday". DOH!

We just confirmed with "L" a few days prior and had no idea he was selling it back! Turns out the original owner was really cool about whole deal and the staff offered to stay later to make it happen. So that was really cool.

We had four acts show up with one of them bringing a pretty large crowd. We all played for around 2 hours and at the end I think everyone enjoyed it. We're hoping for another soon!!

(A link to all the pictures)




These guys were the most popular by far!



Aymiee did her first live performance. She did a really good job!



Peter on bass, Tyler on lead, and myself on rhythm. We did a Pink Floyd cover in this shot.



This guy was just hanging out at the shop and lucked out! He came up and asked to play a few songs. I loaned him my guitar and sat back and enjoyed. He did some country originals and covers.

Blog Power

So Pamela Anderson has a blog. Currently she's blogging about her new show "Stacked". I think for fans it's a great way to interact. For her it's a great way to get feedback...no matter how harsh (here's a quote from her comments):

"I thought it sucked, you still have little to no talent whatsoever."

What would you say to that?

Musical "Notes"

Just got back from Tyler's place. We were going over a small set for an open mic this week. Aymiee is kicking off an open mic at Cafe Vio's in Paso Robles this Wed. It should be a blast.

Later this week, Friday night, I'll be heading back to Paso for a blues gig at the Pit Stop. This will be the first gig with Mercury Blues Band. I'm looking forward to playing some strait ahead Chicago blues.

By the way, I've been working on the band's website. I still need to flesh out the details but you can find the basics at:

http://www.mercurybluesband.com

Playing with my Friends

Although I've put riding on the bottom of my list this winter I was easily convinced that riding with the boys would be a must. For the trip we all headed to Miami Trails in the sierras. The conditions were perfect with overcast and moist soil. The trails were great! We had tight lines with lots of trees, rutted uphill climbs, and great elevation changes. Photos are available.

Life 1.0

That's a great summary of my life version 1.0. LOL. I'm currently in version 2.0 with a little more insight and knowledge. We'll see how it goes. =)

The guy from gapingvoid.com has many more of the business card art. He's talking about selling t-shirts of them. There are a few that I like and will be buying.