I'M BACK!

Hello, old friends! Happy Spring! It's been a while since I've visited my blog. I know... I've been negligent. How could I keep away for so long? The truth is that I've been a busy man. I've been cleaning my apartment and getting ready to move, although I'm not sure where. Anywhere but here. Someplace on the bus line. My neighbor and I are looking into sharing a 2-bedroom apartment. It will be easier on both of us because we can split the rent and utilities. He's a good, trustworthy friend, and also the CLEANEST person I know. He's very neat and orderly, which is a good influence on me.

I've put my music project on hold in the meantime until I can get some things done and get into a better place with more room. I couldn't possibly make music here. I barely have enough room for my guitars as it is. Also, Stacy has moved yet further away, making it difficult for us to get together. I miss her, although she is doing well. I talk to her occasionally.

I've also started dating... SSH! Don't tell anyone! My friend Jon and I have started seeing each other again. We're taking things slow and casual. Rushing into things with high expectations, and going way too fast, head first, will only lead to disaster. So I want to keep things fun and lighthearted. No pressure, no stress. It will be nice to have a companion, since my *other* companion is so far away.

Music Project: Part One

The idea of some sort of music project has been lurking around in my brain for years. I've never played in a band, and I really don't have the connections to join or start a band. I am not a great singer and I could never be a "solo artist." Nevertheless, I love music, and I love guitars. I've been playing for almost 10 years now, and I'm confident enough in my playing to want to share it with others in some way. I've written several songs over the years and I would like to record some of them.

When Stacy visited over the holidays, she and I discussed making some recordings for fun. This idea completely makes sense because Stacy and I have the same taste in music. She listens to everything I listen to and more. We enjoy singing our favorite songs together. Most of the musicians and singers we admire are female, and I always had the idea that if I had a band, I would have a female singer. But this is not going to be a band. It will just be a fun recording project. It will be mine and Stacy's lovechild. The whole experience will be worth more than the actual music created.

I've never done any serious recording, just some noodling around on a cheap karaoke machine when I was a kid. My brothers and I used to make tapes of us doing silly commercials for fake products and singing ridiculous jingles. We also pretended we were radio DJs and played songs in between our nonsense ramblings. Despite all that, I never really attempted to record music, except for two occasions I can remember. One time I hooked up my keyboard to the karaoke machine with an adaptor Robert gave me and recorded a song and listened to the playback. Another time I stuck the microphone inside my acoustic guitar and recorded some riffs over the song "Angel" by Fleetwood Mac (from the Tusk album).

My neighbor Chris is also a musician as well as a computer geek (I use the term affectionately). I'm discussing with him some ideas about music recording, in which he has experience. I'm also going to ask my cousin (who is also, coincidentally, named Chris) and see if he has any advice or recommendations.

I plan on getting a small home recording device of some kind, one that allows me to record multiple tracks (guitar, keyboard, vocals, etc.) and mix them. I'm also going to need some sort of music software that allows me to mix the songs on my computer. Once the recording process is finished, I plan on making some CDs. That part will be easy. I have a long way to go...

I'm currently browsing through homerecording.com and trying to soak in as much as possible. I have a feeling this idea is going to be expensive...

Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I've done any blogging. The holiday season kept me busy. Even though I anticipate it every year, it was still quite strenuous, yet fun. Actually, it seemed like one big, continuous holiday. It started at work. I got nice gifts from a couple of the agencies at work. It was so kind of them to think of me, and I know it is an expression of their gratitude for keeping their agencies clean and for being so friendly and sociable. I appreciate their thoughtfulness and generosity. I'm grateful to have a good job with such nice people. That same evening I went to a Holigays party at a Youth Center where I used to attend a youth support group when I was a teenager. It was nice to see some people I haven't seen in a while. I took a swing at the piñata and sang gay Christmas carols (which has now become a tradition at the Youth Center). I also gave one of my paintings as a gift to the Youth Center, and the facilitator was thrilled. She said she would find a special place to hang it. At the end of the week we had a little party at work and it was a nice, relaxing day. My neighbor, Skip, also gave me a nice gift. I'm also fortunate to have such a nice neighbor.

I spent Christmas Eve with my mom, Don, and my brothers. I had dinner with my family and brought a few small presents for everyone. My parents didn't have the money for presents or a tree this year, but at least I brought them some Christmas joy. I worry about my youngest brother especially, because he's still a kid. It's unfortunate that he cannot experience the fun and magic of the holiday season as I did when I was a child. I think it's my duty to bring a little of that magic to him, to keep the spirit alive in is heart. I know he appreciated it. I overheard him talking on the phone to one of his friends who asked him what he got for Christmas, and he told them. Imagine telling your friends you got nothing at all... how horrible that would be! For me, it's not about the presents; I would still be happy if I got nothing at all, but Donny should be able to enjoy the holidays and be allowed the simple pleasures of being a kid. I'm glad I went over there and spent time with everyone, because all I really wanted for Christmas was for my family to be happy together.

The next day, my dad picked up Robert and I and we went over to Nonna's house. We had a great dinner (of course) and opened presents. My cousins had a good time playing with their toys. Tony got an animatronic parrot that moves and repeats everything you say. Nonna was teaching it to say words and phrases in Italian. I've never seen her laugh so much. We also watched the movie Ratatouille, which I missed when it was playing in theatres. After another great day at Nonna's house, I came home with a lot of food to fill my refrigerator.

That evening I got a call from Stacy. She was at her mom's house and wanted to know if she could come over that night instead of on Saturday. She came over and I got to spend Christmas with her, as well. She stayed with me for a week and a half. It was a different experience living with someone, even for a short amount of time, but it was fun. Stacy and I have a lot of fun when we're together. We stayed up late at night and listened to music, watched videos on YouTube, and sat around and talked. On New Year's Eve, I had my best friend beside me. We cruised through a 12-pack of Smirnoff, watched the ball drop, and at midnight, she was the one I kissed. I wouldn't want to ring in the New Year with anyone but Stacy. She is the love of my life. She went home yesterday, and now it's awkward not having her here. But we had a blast, and now I'm recovering and resting from my extended holiday!

Wonderful Weekend

My best friend Stacy came to visit me this weekend. After a crazy week at work, I was looking forward to an enjoyable weekend. Friday night after work, I went down to the Regional Transportation Center to meet her there. She rode the Greyhound Bus. When I got there, I got a call. Stacy told me that her bus was running late. It wasn't going to be in Cortland for another hour. So I waited in the station for an hour and a half for her to arrive. I sat there and drank coffee from Dunkin Donuts and ate junk food from the vending machine. She didn't get into Syracuse until 11:30 pm. Then we had to wait until 12:15 for the next bus to pick us up at the Regional and take us downtown. Unfortunately, by the time we got downtown, there were no more Centro buses running. The last James St. bus was at 12:30, and we didn't get downtown until 12:35. So we took a cab home. We didn't get back to my place until 1 am.

Despite the unexpected delay, the rest of the weekend was great. We had a great time together. We hung out, ate, watched movies (Spirited Away and Fern Gully), and listened to music (Stevie Nicks, Heart, Siouxsie, Tom Petty, Bob Marley, and a band that Stacy likes called Broken Yoke). We also went next door to visit my neighbor Skip and hung out over there for a while.

After that, Stacy had me put highlights in her hair. She brought the kit with her. I'd never done anything like that before, so it was a new experience. I told her that I'm not a beautician and that I really didn't know what I was doing, but she was happy with the results. I told her she looked like a punk rocker, not only with the additional blond highlights, but also with the pink and blue she had put in her hair beforehand. Plus she got a new haircut (the word "bob" comes to mind) and also a lip piercing, so Stacy looked like a whole new woman!

It was nice to spend time with my best friend. I hadn't seen her in months, since she moved to Cortland. I'm glad she came to visit me. She plans on visiting one more time this year, hopefully before the S-N-O-W (a bad four-letter word) hits us real bad! Although we had a wonderful time, we didn't get much sleep. We stayed up half the night anyway, and since I had to set my clock back an hour, we lost another hour of sleep. So now I'm tired, and now it's time to retire for the night, because tomorrow I go back to W-O-R-K (another bad four-letter word)! Good night!