Pure Boss has a new song!
Recorded, that is.
We've got lots of new songs, quite a bit fuller and better than our first album, but we've let two summers go by without coming through on our promise to "record the album this summer." So per Brian's idea, this weekend I packed up my PC and interfaces and we set up musicmaking shop in the loft of the Chima's barn. Which consequently became even MORE the coolest place in all of Ohio :-) The rain drizzled outside in the gray chillyness, but up in the loft the light glowed off the warm wood roof and avocado carpet scraps, and we filled the little hunched room with drums, mics, guitars, amps, pedals, and cables cables everywhere.
The plan was to practice Friday night and nail down the song(s) we wanted to record. Instead, we took a long time to set up, and devolved into Brian and Stephen playing X-box and me laying on the floor watching and being tired. We pretty much hit the sack that night, in Brian's now-sweet, Nick-vacated room, with Dora trying to get us to play tennis ball even though it was 1am.
Brian worked on Saturday, so I slept in (a bit too long) and met Jess after her shift at Starbucks for some catching up. Starbucks sure seems like a cool place to work! It's kinda filed away in my mind as a backup plan if I ever get out of my current career and need to find work. Next on the agenda was Guitar Center, where I finally bought the Line6 delay pedal I decided on 2 weeks ago. I met Steve there, and my cell phone finally ran out of batteries (I forgot to bring the charger), and eventually Steve and I ended up back at the Chimas. Steve put on his new drum heads, and I hooked up my new pedals. Steve Gole swung by at 4 o'clock and we got in some good jams with him before he headed to Canton to visit an old friend there. Brian was back by that time, but we didn't really get anything done with the rest of the day 'cause Brian and Steve went to a pumpkin carving party and I went over to Emily's house to hang out and watch a movie.
It was nice to have some chill time with the Fab Four (minus Christin), and by the end of the night Craig, Steve and Brian, Josh, Dave Potter, Jenica, Jess, Jen, Emily and Christin were all there. We watched The Office and Shooter and had some pizza, and by the time we left it was 2:30 and we were all 3/4ths asleep. Good times with Akron folks.
Did we go home and crash like sensible people? No no. We laid in Brian's room and talked about the band, and then Brian was like "Hey guys, we should watch that video of our concert at my grad party!" So we headed down to the basement and stayed up till 4:30 watching and critiquing our last show. Good times indeed :-)
Sunday was work day (how ironic that sounds). After church Brian and I came right back (Steve just slept through the whole morning), we ate a bit of lunch, and then hit the studio. We were up there till 11, minus a break for dinner (yay Mr. and Mrs. Chima for buying us subs!). We got drums, bass and guitar, leads, and vocals down for "City Lights Behind Me," but none of it was tight, and I got increasingly bothered by the flabbiness of it all as we went along. It's a great song--my favorite of Steve's--but the recording wasn't coming together, starting with the bongy, flabby drums and getting worse from there. I have now found peace by considering this our first pass at the song, and mostly our calibration of the new studio setup. We'll come back and record it again after we've done some more songs, and then we'll make it SWEET! But at the time, it drove me up a wall.
At the last, when the song was burning to a disc and Monday loomed ominously on the horizon, I couldn't make myself tear down the studio we had labored two days to set up. So I thought about it, decided everything there could take the cold, and left it all set up, with the promise to return the following Sunday and record another song. I took my guitar stuff with me, but left the rest.
I stopped at Starbucks on the way out to cheer Jess up on her 11:30 closing shift, and found that they had let her go early, which was merciful considering she was opening at 5:30 the next morning. So I ordered a pumpkin latte from strangers and headed home, mulling over the unavoidable mountain of time that lay between me and where I needed to be the next morning. I find it interesting to contemplate the finality of the distance when I'm in Akron. There's no way to weedle around it, bs through it, or save it for later. The miles must be crossed and there's nothing for it but to suck it up and drive. I almost went straight to work and slept in the parking lot, but I figured that was a bit weird, and I'd probably get strange looks when the shift change came in at 6. So I just headed home and did all I could to stay alert. I made it, and another week began.
It was a good weekend. Akron is one of the only areas in my life that I am relatively satisfied with right now. I'm not constrained there by my self-imposed drive to get home, be in control, and do my own things, so I actually end up with some interesting and memorable experiences, and a lot of good time with people. And that's all coupled with the enriching and purposeful band stuff, which is the best thing musically that I have going right now. So, thank You Lord for Akron, and may it serve Your purposes amidst the great fun and enjoyment!
--JPB
P.S. To clarify, my sense of usefulness and satisfaction from being in Akron is NOT because the people in Pittsburgh stink or I don't like them! The difference is in myself: I'm more the person I want to be over there, because I'm removed from home and my habits of laziness and independence. Akron is truly great, but Pittsburgh is home, and Providence is my family.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Speed Dial (and digression)
One of those random bits of life that I'll enjoy remembering 20 years from now:
1. Don't use this one, for whatever reason. I just assigned it to Steve Gole.
2. Brian Chima
3. Dad Cell
4. Mom Cell
5. Home
6. Daniel
7. Hoffmans
8. Steve Hoffman
9. Quinlisks (I forget I have this one assigned)
Notice the logic of the arrangement: Rather than arranging by importance numerically (i.e. home = 1), I arranged it geometrically, since 5 is the most central button.
Incidentally, it's little things like that that will keep me from ever really fitting in with normal people.
That's a thought that touches on what's becoming very obvious at work: I just don't fit in with the "cool crew," the good ol' boys, the hang-out-at-the-coffee-machine crowd. My humor, my actions, my thoughts, my comments, my questions, my mannerisms, are all different. They all kill the mood, or break the conversation, or leave a hanging silence. Most of what I do is more logical and thought-out, or at least more free from the constraints of public-school-bred social conformity, but it still hurts to not fit in.
It has made me grateful for the people at church who let me fit in. I had forgotten what it feels like to be a tagalong, to be in the way, to be awkward, a minute late, missing the point, out of the know. Fundamentally I'm still a homeschooled geek, but I love the Christian people who let me forget that.
Hrm. Way more deeper than I was looking for here. Logic-based behavior vs. public-school-bred social conformity. One of those thoughts that I should compile into a series of essays. Something like "Logical systems and principles of everyday life: You'll say 'Hm, I never really thought about that, but you're right!'"
--JPB
1. Don't use this one, for whatever reason. I just assigned it to Steve Gole.
2. Brian Chima
3. Dad Cell
4. Mom Cell
5. Home
6. Daniel
7. Hoffmans
8. Steve Hoffman
9. Quinlisks (I forget I have this one assigned)
Notice the logic of the arrangement: Rather than arranging by importance numerically (i.e. home = 1), I arranged it geometrically, since 5 is the most central button.
Incidentally, it's little things like that that will keep me from ever really fitting in with normal people.
That's a thought that touches on what's becoming very obvious at work: I just don't fit in with the "cool crew," the good ol' boys, the hang-out-at-the-coffee-machine crowd. My humor, my actions, my thoughts, my comments, my questions, my mannerisms, are all different. They all kill the mood, or break the conversation, or leave a hanging silence. Most of what I do is more logical and thought-out, or at least more free from the constraints of public-school-bred social conformity, but it still hurts to not fit in.
It has made me grateful for the people at church who let me fit in. I had forgotten what it feels like to be a tagalong, to be in the way, to be awkward, a minute late, missing the point, out of the know. Fundamentally I'm still a homeschooled geek, but I love the Christian people who let me forget that.
Hrm. Way more deeper than I was looking for here. Logic-based behavior vs. public-school-bred social conformity. One of those thoughts that I should compile into a series of essays. Something like "Logical systems and principles of everyday life: You'll say 'Hm, I never really thought about that, but you're right!'"
--JPB
Monday, October 22, 2007
Discouraging Poem
I include this poem not because it's how I feel right now, but because it still socks me in my gut with how I felt a week ago. Right now, thanks to a nice talk with Mikey after College Night and a couple days' dose of time, I'm feeling contentedly optimistic. But here's how life seemed not long ago, and how I'm still not convinced it isn't:
Your wings have feathers and here you sit
Watching them folded at your side
You didn't know which way to fly
And so you never tried
You write the songs but never make a sound
You'll spend the rest of your life on the ground
--CA
Your wings have feathers and here you sit
Watching them folded at your side
You didn't know which way to fly
And so you never tried
You write the songs but never make a sound
You'll spend the rest of your life on the ground
--CA
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Good Saturday
That I want to remember.
Because it wasn't the kind of Saturday you'd remember.
But it was the kind of Saturday I seek so often, and I want to remember why I have sought such days, and that they weren't just wastes.
Mom, Dad and Grandma Sweetie all went up to Grove City for the day, from noon till sevenish. So I was by myself. I got up and drove to the church office at 9 to meet with Jeremy and talk about the state of things for awhile. Before going home I went to Wal-Mart for the glamorous purchase of deodorant, work socks, regular socks, and boxers. At home I straightened up my room (at long last), alternating sets of pushups with weeding out old clothes and neatening the beds. Then followed a period of eating lunch, watching Heros, doing laundry, and catching up on email and Facebook.
Daisy was getting bored, so I went out in the delicious cool air and we played frisbee for awhile. I marveled at how well she tracked and caught that little disk, and it was great to see her so happy and energetic.
Now follows the only real wacko, non-ideal part of the day: I was shooting the BB gun at trees and such out back after frisbee, and ended up literally shooting out the window of our motor home, which was parked on the dead end street up from our neighbors! Long story, not *quite* as dumb as it sounds... but pretty much :-P So that was a bizarre diversion as I revisited the foolish 8-year-old days that I never really had.
To close it out, the folks got back home, Daniel's friend Skipper was there, and I went downstairs into one of those rare, wonderful recording times. "College Song" is finally coming together, and the tracks seemed to be uniting as a whole into more than the sum of the parts, which is something I can't make happen.
So: lovely day at home, catching up on life and enjoying it. I may not always be able to recalibrate myself with times like this, and that may not be the highest goal of life, so here's to the relaxing and useful days that have gone by, and here's to what may come ahead; may we all give ourselves to what we know to do.
--CA
Because it wasn't the kind of Saturday you'd remember.
But it was the kind of Saturday I seek so often, and I want to remember why I have sought such days, and that they weren't just wastes.
Mom, Dad and Grandma Sweetie all went up to Grove City for the day, from noon till sevenish. So I was by myself. I got up and drove to the church office at 9 to meet with Jeremy and talk about the state of things for awhile. Before going home I went to Wal-Mart for the glamorous purchase of deodorant, work socks, regular socks, and boxers. At home I straightened up my room (at long last), alternating sets of pushups with weeding out old clothes and neatening the beds. Then followed a period of eating lunch, watching Heros, doing laundry, and catching up on email and Facebook.
Daisy was getting bored, so I went out in the delicious cool air and we played frisbee for awhile. I marveled at how well she tracked and caught that little disk, and it was great to see her so happy and energetic.
Now follows the only real wacko, non-ideal part of the day: I was shooting the BB gun at trees and such out back after frisbee, and ended up literally shooting out the window of our motor home, which was parked on the dead end street up from our neighbors! Long story, not *quite* as dumb as it sounds... but pretty much :-P So that was a bizarre diversion as I revisited the foolish 8-year-old days that I never really had.
To close it out, the folks got back home, Daniel's friend Skipper was there, and I went downstairs into one of those rare, wonderful recording times. "College Song" is finally coming together, and the tracks seemed to be uniting as a whole into more than the sum of the parts, which is something I can't make happen.
So: lovely day at home, catching up on life and enjoying it. I may not always be able to recalibrate myself with times like this, and that may not be the highest goal of life, so here's to the relaxing and useful days that have gone by, and here's to what may come ahead; may we all give ourselves to what we know to do.
--CA
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Life: Revised
I'm gonna tap out the new plan for my life that has just materialized, to represent the thoughts and ideas that have been building up of late:
I work through May at Guardian, giving them a year of service to be fair, and then quit this job for which I am discovering I am not very well suited. I have a chance to do some travel if it works out, plus I can plan and run Youth Camp 08 during the summer, and in the fall I start taking classes at the Duquesne University school of music for a degree in sound recording or some such topic. I flourish in the environment, the formal training fills in the gaps of my homespun skills, and I make connections and build qualifications that lead to a job as a sound engineer in a studio when I graduate in 2 years.
There we go! :-)
And now I'm on my knees crying out to God again, for Him to show the way, step by step, and help me follow Him NOW, at work, and not do anything that isn't His plan.
The world feels open again, and hope scents the air like a delicious smelling salt. (Or a 15-year-old single malt scotch)
Such was the grace for today. Who knows what tomorrow's will be.
--Clear Ambassador
I work through May at Guardian, giving them a year of service to be fair, and then quit this job for which I am discovering I am not very well suited. I have a chance to do some travel if it works out, plus I can plan and run Youth Camp 08 during the summer, and in the fall I start taking classes at the Duquesne University school of music for a degree in sound recording or some such topic. I flourish in the environment, the formal training fills in the gaps of my homespun skills, and I make connections and build qualifications that lead to a job as a sound engineer in a studio when I graduate in 2 years.
There we go! :-)
And now I'm on my knees crying out to God again, for Him to show the way, step by step, and help me follow Him NOW, at work, and not do anything that isn't His plan.
The world feels open again, and hope scents the air like a delicious smelling salt. (Or a 15-year-old single malt scotch)
Such was the grace for today. Who knows what tomorrow's will be.
--Clear Ambassador
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
More free coffee!
Happiness is finding that you have over 19,000 points accumulated in your National City account and redeeming them for $30 of Starbucks gift cards.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
This post may surprise you
To be fair, I am going to post this entry, which I wrote last week. Hm, how the darkness has changed so quickly! I don't know if the light is here to stay, but here's a look into the darkness that has been consuming me for the past month:
***********************************************
Youth camp materials left un-tended-to.
Care package left uncompleted; months and months late; meaningless, stupid and awkward now. Regret sticks through like a thick needle.
Good music coming out of the speakers. Music like I ache to make. Frustration like a straight jacket.
Shaver sitting unplugged on the cabinet since I haven't even unpacked from the weekend yet. Tousled, messy room condemning me from every ugly corner.
Deep piles of mail quietly deriding my negligence from weeks and months past. Have I incurred another overdraft from an unpaid account? Worry like a stab in my stomach.
I read the birthday card from Mom and Dad, and love them, but I just don't agree with their warm words of encouragement. I don't think they're right.
It's 10 o'clock. You're already late. You stupid worthless piece of junk, flopped on the couch doing F***ING INTERNET while your life rolls by you untended into the junk heap and you wring your hands but never do a thing and see the wreck coming but NEVER DO A THING.
I am tired, tired, tired, oh so tired of hating everything I am.
--I am not a clear ambassador. That's a hypocritical signature. I'm a failed launch, hearing loss, an inflammed knee, Applebee's cocktails, and a deserted shopping mall.
**********************************
Just for clarification, the things listed above did NOT make me feel this way. I've finally decided to let a bit of this out, and cleaning up my room just gave some examples to use.
***********************************************
Youth camp materials left un-tended-to.
Care package left uncompleted; months and months late; meaningless, stupid and awkward now. Regret sticks through like a thick needle.
Good music coming out of the speakers. Music like I ache to make. Frustration like a straight jacket.
Shaver sitting unplugged on the cabinet since I haven't even unpacked from the weekend yet. Tousled, messy room condemning me from every ugly corner.
Deep piles of mail quietly deriding my negligence from weeks and months past. Have I incurred another overdraft from an unpaid account? Worry like a stab in my stomach.
I read the birthday card from Mom and Dad, and love them, but I just don't agree with their warm words of encouragement. I don't think they're right.
It's 10 o'clock. You're already late. You stupid worthless piece of junk, flopped on the couch doing F***ING INTERNET while your life rolls by you untended into the junk heap and you wring your hands but never do a thing and see the wreck coming but NEVER DO A THING.
I am tired, tired, tired, oh so tired of hating everything I am.
--I am not a clear ambassador. That's a hypocritical signature. I'm a failed launch, hearing loss, an inflammed knee, Applebee's cocktails, and a deserted shopping mall.
**********************************
Just for clarification, the things listed above did NOT make me feel this way. I've finally decided to let a bit of this out, and cleaning up my room just gave some examples to use.
Monday, October 08, 2007
The Perfect Weekend
This past weekend in Akron categorically ranks among the best ever.
A multitude of things I've wanted to do all happened, and all happened well:
[Mike, you'll appreciate all the free stuff]
- Mini (drumless) Pure Boss show at the Sausage Fest. 2 guitars and bass, and everybody said we sounded the best we ever have!
- Latest episode of The Office in the Chima's basement till about 4:30, with Brian, Nick, Craig, Steve and Jes
- Lovely morning alone at the Chimas: sleep in, work out, shower
- Sitting outside in the perfect warmth, sipping a free iced latte and catching up with Jess before she started work
- Unconstrained hours in Guitar Center, getting all the pesky little things like sticks and strings, and trying out a few pedals for my future rig (EVH Phaser = heaven)
- Deuteronomy and Dr.Pepper in Taco Bell
- Got Jess out of work early :-)
- Helped some Tuminos move Jason into his new office at the church. Finally got to meet the new pastor!
- Seamless transition to hanging with the Tuminos for the rest of the day, which I've wanted to do for ages
- A stop at Zack's. Hangin' with Christin and free ice-cream!
- Frisbee for hours in the Tumino's street, till way past dark
- Silly Ninja Game around the fire!
- Arsenic and Old Lace with Craig and Steve. Whew, what a ride!
- Crashed in the Hoffman's den. No trip to Akron would be complete without one of these :-)
- On time for church!!! *gasp*
- Jason preached. And John Joyce played drums!
- Lunch after church at the grace house. = time to hang with everybody
- Going for a hike with assorted Tuminos, Mallinacks, Potters, and Meghan
- SEBASTIAN!!! Goodness gracious, puppies are so cute! And funny! Ahhhhhhh, finally met my puppy-time quotient, which has been building up for years.
- Ultimate Frisbee after the hike. Yessssss!
- Great climbing tree
- Riding back with Sebastian flopped on my lap
- More hanging with the lively and lovely Tumino family (Collin takes care of most of the liveliness :-) )
- Chipotle and music with Craig
- Another free Starbucks!
- Sixth Sense and a quiet, semi-freaked-out drive home on the dark highway
I think all this weekend was missing was some solid band practice time. Other than that, man.. I'm left amazed that it all actually happened, so well and so enjoyably! Thank You Lord for your kindness.
--Clear Ambassador
A multitude of things I've wanted to do all happened, and all happened well:
[Mike, you'll appreciate all the free stuff]
- Mini (drumless) Pure Boss show at the Sausage Fest. 2 guitars and bass, and everybody said we sounded the best we ever have!
- Latest episode of The Office in the Chima's basement till about 4:30, with Brian, Nick, Craig, Steve and Jes
- Lovely morning alone at the Chimas: sleep in, work out, shower
- Sitting outside in the perfect warmth, sipping a free iced latte and catching up with Jess before she started work
- Unconstrained hours in Guitar Center, getting all the pesky little things like sticks and strings, and trying out a few pedals for my future rig (EVH Phaser = heaven)
- Deuteronomy and Dr.Pepper in Taco Bell
- Got Jess out of work early :-)
- Helped some Tuminos move Jason into his new office at the church. Finally got to meet the new pastor!
- Seamless transition to hanging with the Tuminos for the rest of the day, which I've wanted to do for ages
- A stop at Zack's. Hangin' with Christin and free ice-cream!
- Frisbee for hours in the Tumino's street, till way past dark
- Silly Ninja Game around the fire!
- Arsenic and Old Lace with Craig and Steve. Whew, what a ride!
- Crashed in the Hoffman's den. No trip to Akron would be complete without one of these :-)
- On time for church!!! *gasp*
- Jason preached. And John Joyce played drums!
- Lunch after church at the grace house. = time to hang with everybody
- Going for a hike with assorted Tuminos, Mallinacks, Potters, and Meghan
- SEBASTIAN!!! Goodness gracious, puppies are so cute! And funny! Ahhhhhhh, finally met my puppy-time quotient, which has been building up for years.
- Ultimate Frisbee after the hike. Yessssss!
- Great climbing tree
- Riding back with Sebastian flopped on my lap
- More hanging with the lively and lovely Tumino family (Collin takes care of most of the liveliness :-) )
- Chipotle and music with Craig
- Another free Starbucks!
- Sixth Sense and a quiet, semi-freaked-out drive home on the dark highway
I think all this weekend was missing was some solid band practice time. Other than that, man.. I'm left amazed that it all actually happened, so well and so enjoyably! Thank You Lord for your kindness.
--Clear Ambassador
Thursday, October 04, 2007
More Stories
"What're you guys up to today?"
"Jackin' off."
[ . . . ]
"You know, you're gettin' real good at showing up when the work's done."
[ . . . ]
"You guys doing the left side next?"
"It's already done! That's what I told you about showin' up when the work's done."
"Well I didn't know you guys were doin' this!"
"That's why you gotta come over here and see what's going on!"
"I did! I was here like an hour ago!"
That's the story here at the hot end. Real questions are rarely answered, and [semi-joking] fault is zealously found upon any apparent absence or ignorance.
It's not as bad as it sounds in writing here, though, 'cause Kirb shot a smile as he walked out of the control room after that last exchange, and these brief dialoges don't show you the hours of joking around the office, the real communications that do happen, and the camraderie when everybody's sweating away down under the ports. So don't hate my job ('cause I don't), just.. observe and ponder (like I do).
> <> <> <> <> <> <> <
This morning I got an email with the info for a teleconference at 2pm. I'd been in a couple of these before where we go in my boss's office and listen around the telephone to all the Guardian plants in the area catching up with each other. What I didn't know, and didn't find out till 1:50, was that Earl wasn't going to this meeting, so I was the sole Floreffe representative. And it dawned on me as the first few minutes went by, that I was expected to give a report on what went on in September! I was nervous enough just being in Earl's office by myself, on the phone with all the managers and such. I could feel my brain freezing up and ceasing to recall any of what had transpired in the past 4 weeks, but I hunted furiously through the HotEnd drive for report files and sheets.. anything to jog my memory and give me the yield and tons pulled at least. The first plant's report sorta drifted by my ears as I jotted some notes down and found the report I was looking for. And that was a good thing, 'cause then I heard "OK, so, John, you want to give us an update from Floreffe?"
I'm not real good at talking on the fly, so I probably spoke fast and I know I wasn't as coherent and succinct as the other guys, to whom this sort of info is second nature. They were interested in the new Ashur tweel we put in, and asked a couple extra questions about our cutting and lehr issues with the 10mm Crystal Gray (the ribbon of glass basically shattered apart for two entire days). I held my own, though, and it was pretty cool to be "flying solo" amongst "real people."
In all of this, I just love how I got a wordless forward in the morning, and no mention--not even a hint--that Earl wouldn't be there, that I would be speaking for the plant, and that maybe I should get ready a little bit for that!
Ahh, nobody gives me a thought of help here, but that's what gives this job value. It stands out as the one thing in my life that I answer for unhelped; in failure, growth and success. (I guess I've learned guitar that way, but that's not really a real life thing.)
--CA
"Jackin' off."
[ . . . ]
"You know, you're gettin' real good at showing up when the work's done."
[ . . . ]
"You guys doing the left side next?"
"It's already done! That's what I told you about showin' up when the work's done."
"Well I didn't know you guys were doin' this!"
"That's why you gotta come over here and see what's going on!"
"I did! I was here like an hour ago!"
That's the story here at the hot end. Real questions are rarely answered, and [semi-joking] fault is zealously found upon any apparent absence or ignorance.
It's not as bad as it sounds in writing here, though, 'cause Kirb shot a smile as he walked out of the control room after that last exchange, and these brief dialoges don't show you the hours of joking around the office, the real communications that do happen, and the camraderie when everybody's sweating away down under the ports. So don't hate my job ('cause I don't), just.. observe and ponder (like I do).
> <> <> <> <> <> <> <
This morning I got an email with the info for a teleconference at 2pm. I'd been in a couple of these before where we go in my boss's office and listen around the telephone to all the Guardian plants in the area catching up with each other. What I didn't know, and didn't find out till 1:50, was that Earl wasn't going to this meeting, so I was the sole Floreffe representative. And it dawned on me as the first few minutes went by, that I was expected to give a report on what went on in September! I was nervous enough just being in Earl's office by myself, on the phone with all the managers and such. I could feel my brain freezing up and ceasing to recall any of what had transpired in the past 4 weeks, but I hunted furiously through the HotEnd drive for report files and sheets.. anything to jog my memory and give me the yield and tons pulled at least. The first plant's report sorta drifted by my ears as I jotted some notes down and found the report I was looking for. And that was a good thing, 'cause then I heard "OK, so, John, you want to give us an update from Floreffe?"
I'm not real good at talking on the fly, so I probably spoke fast and I know I wasn't as coherent and succinct as the other guys, to whom this sort of info is second nature. They were interested in the new Ashur tweel we put in, and asked a couple extra questions about our cutting and lehr issues with the 10mm Crystal Gray (the ribbon of glass basically shattered apart for two entire days). I held my own, though, and it was pretty cool to be "flying solo" amongst "real people."
In all of this, I just love how I got a wordless forward in the morning, and no mention--not even a hint--that Earl wouldn't be there, that I would be speaking for the plant, and that maybe I should get ready a little bit for that!
Ahh, nobody gives me a thought of help here, but that's what gives this job value. It stands out as the one thing in my life that I answer for unhelped; in failure, growth and success. (I guess I've learned guitar that way, but that's not really a real life thing.)
--CA
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Short Story
I was at the dentist two weeks ago, to get a cavity refilled after its previous occupant had vacated the premises (I thought it was a popcorn kernel. Not so). Dr. Qualk shot me up with Novacain (Carbocain, actually), and waited the customary few minutes for it to take effect. We talked about college, and chemistry, and organic chemistry, and O-chem lab, and O-chem 2 lab, and the triumph of getting an A in O-chem 2. I suddenly realized that the numbness had passed its apex. He was better than he thought at placing that needle, and I had been numbed up about 5 minutes ago.
I chenched the arms of the chair and said a silent, fervent prayer that he would wrap up his collegiate ruminations. Getting one shot was bad enough. Getting another for no good reason would SUCK.
Thankfully after a couple more sentences he picked up his drill and got to work.
Still, by the time the filling was in and he started smoothing it out, he was basically buzzing into my un-numbed gums.
But I said not a word, for a little tingle at the edge of your gums is much better than another needle rammed up your cheek.
Novacain shots were one of the very few true terrors of my childhood.
--CA
I chenched the arms of the chair and said a silent, fervent prayer that he would wrap up his collegiate ruminations. Getting one shot was bad enough. Getting another for no good reason would SUCK.
Thankfully after a couple more sentences he picked up his drill and got to work.
Still, by the time the filling was in and he started smoothing it out, he was basically buzzing into my un-numbed gums.
But I said not a word, for a little tingle at the edge of your gums is much better than another needle rammed up your cheek.
Novacain shots were one of the very few true terrors of my childhood.
--CA
Messed-up guy
Here's an inventory of my current nonidealities. They seem to have added up to a disturbing plethora at the moment:
- Right thumb sensitive at extremes of motion, and still can't bend all the way in. From crushing it whilst walking on my hands on railings at Kennywood.
- Scratches all over my arms and shoulders from clearing brush Saturday.
- Big beautiful bruise on my right bicep from above.
- Small spots of poison ivy all over my arms, back, ankles, chin, and ears. From above.
- Some weird bruise or pulled tendon on my left bottom quad. Origin unknown.
- Bee sting/stinging nettle on my, well, left behind :-P From Saturday.
- Some crazy swollen gland under my chin. Just discovered that tonight.
- Top of mouth all torn up from eating a massive hoagie for lunch. (Yes, I'm a martyr)
- Some kind of wierdness on my scalp.
- Rug burn on my right wrist from grabbing something jammed under my subwoofer.
- Burn on my right wrist from a piece of 400 degree glass.
- Right patella tendon has been inflammed and sensitive. Worst it's been in a year.
At the moment number 4, poison ivy, wins the prize for most constantly irritating and aware-of. The thumb thing keeps going and going and I wonder if it will ever get better. The scalp thing is disconcerting, the knee is frustrating and discouraging, and the swollen gland makes me wonder if I'm on the edge of being sick. But mostly the poison ivy just itches itches itches ITCHES!
And to clarify, I am not complaining here. This is a status report, not a whine fest.
Good times, eh?
--Clear Ambassador
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