Wasn't I just sick? That's totally unfair!
Well, okay, no. I scrolled back through my Blog posts, and it was at the beginning of August. Still, it sucks. We went to dinner with D-- and K-- and N--, it being Wednesday, then D-- came over with Rock Band 2 and we made new characters and learned that, even without a bass drum, I can get through most of the starting songs with 3 or 4 stars just from hitting the pads. There's a few that just can't be beat, though.
Then D-- went home, and I mentioned to T-- that I might be a little feverish, but I wasn't too sure. Took about 20 minutes before I realized that, yes, I was definitely sick. Then I had the long, terrible night.
Back in August I had this to say:
"I couldn't sleep, though. I didn't sleep. My fever raged all night. I was burning up -- I felt like I was on fire -- and that was just constant.... But, on top of that, I would go through cold spells where I shivered as though I were having seizures, and that was even worse. So, during the night, I went through cycles. I would feel so hot that I threw off the covers and the blankets, and it would take 10 minutes or so until I started shivering. Then I'd pile the blankets back on and spend 10 minutes or so regaining my core temperature, until the shivering stopped. At that point I had about 10 minutes of rest before I got so hot I had to throw the blankets off again.
"I got up every two hours, through the night. Each time, I took whatever medication I could (as doses were constantly expiring). Finally, after I got up at 5:10, my fever must have broken because I went back to bed, piled on the covers, and before I stopped shivering I fell asleep and didn't get up until 1:00."
So it was pretty much that last night, although the shivers weren't quite as bad, and unlike last time, I wasn't feeling queasy. That's a big improvement right there, but still, I'm getting sick, and I don't like it. Also, unlike last time, I went ahead and got up at 7:00 and came to work, instead of sleeping until 1:00. I can't say with any confidence that I made the right choice.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Journal Entry: September 17, 2008
Yesterday, I made a To Do list, and crossed everything off it.
The most important items were synopses for each of three finished novels that I have ready to submit, and generic cover letters to go with those. I finished that over lunch yesterday, although the King Jason's War synopsis still needs to be redone.
That's a pretty big deal, though. I think the Taming Fire one turned out best, and that's where I'm going to focus my main efforts to start off.
I got home and played with AB a bit, chatted with T--, and then sat down to work on the prologue to Sleeping Kings: Golden Age. Obviously, it's going to be part of any submission package, and there was one thing I'd decided I really didn't like about it. When the sleazy reporter goes to Chicago for the prankster's funeral, he meets with the prankster's stoner college friends, gets them all drunk, and then they take him to the prankster's old apartment and he's able to get the scoop he needs to write his bogus story that turns Hiz'ammat into a real thing.
Problem is, the book is all about a tight-knit group of college friends, and I never really intended to have that parallelism in there (and I didn't much like it). I already had him meet with the prankster's parents before the funeral, arrange an interview, and then go meet with them (off-camera) in the middle of his getting the college kids drunk. I think at the time I was working on it, I wasn't prepared for the emotional aspect of that interview (between the reporter and the parents). I've had some time, though, and decided that was exactly what I wanted to do.
So I dismantled everything after the funeral, took out the college kids completely, and put the parents into that role (including the bit where they get manipulating into opening up their son's sordid life to a reporter). I didn't bother being maudlin with it, but if you take the time to think about what's going on there, it's much sadder this way. I think it works better, though.
I was working on that until 9-ish, then I spent a little time poking at Chapter 1, but without much enthusiasm. I need to get the first three chapters of all three books spic and span before I can start submitting them, so that's my short-term goal. I also still have to get Golden Age down on paper, but the work on the synopsis will give me good direction, I think, and help make that happen.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
The most important items were synopses for each of three finished novels that I have ready to submit, and generic cover letters to go with those. I finished that over lunch yesterday, although the King Jason's War synopsis still needs to be redone.
That's a pretty big deal, though. I think the Taming Fire one turned out best, and that's where I'm going to focus my main efforts to start off.
I got home and played with AB a bit, chatted with T--, and then sat down to work on the prologue to Sleeping Kings: Golden Age. Obviously, it's going to be part of any submission package, and there was one thing I'd decided I really didn't like about it. When the sleazy reporter goes to Chicago for the prankster's funeral, he meets with the prankster's stoner college friends, gets them all drunk, and then they take him to the prankster's old apartment and he's able to get the scoop he needs to write his bogus story that turns Hiz'ammat into a real thing.
Problem is, the book is all about a tight-knit group of college friends, and I never really intended to have that parallelism in there (and I didn't much like it). I already had him meet with the prankster's parents before the funeral, arrange an interview, and then go meet with them (off-camera) in the middle of his getting the college kids drunk. I think at the time I was working on it, I wasn't prepared for the emotional aspect of that interview (between the reporter and the parents). I've had some time, though, and decided that was exactly what I wanted to do.
So I dismantled everything after the funeral, took out the college kids completely, and put the parents into that role (including the bit where they get manipulating into opening up their son's sordid life to a reporter). I didn't bother being maudlin with it, but if you take the time to think about what's going on there, it's much sadder this way. I think it works better, though.
I was working on that until 9-ish, then I spent a little time poking at Chapter 1, but without much enthusiasm. I need to get the first three chapters of all three books spic and span before I can start submitting them, so that's my short-term goal. I also still have to get Golden Age down on paper, but the work on the synopsis will give me good direction, I think, and help make that happen.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Journal Entry: September 16, 2008
What a game....
Yesterday afternoon I got home from work, took care of some chores around the house, and returned some borrowed lawncare items to the neighbor across the back fence. He, in turn, gave us a gift for AB that he and the wife had found while out shopping. It's a pretty cool little alphabet toy. Noisy, but cool.
Then T-- and I packed up the baby (with her new toy, to keep her happy) and headed to K-- and N--'s place for dinner. N-- made Polish sausage and veggies, and T-- brought pulled pork sandwiches, and it was a delicious meal. Then afterward we retired to the living room to watch the Cowboys/Eagles game.
It was spectacular. If you didn't see it, you missed a good one.
I also got Julie's wedding poem done yesterday, which is a pretty big deal. I'm closing out items on my To Do list, and hope to keep that up this week, by putting together submission packages for three of my novels and preparing some material for our writing convention next week.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Yesterday afternoon I got home from work, took care of some chores around the house, and returned some borrowed lawncare items to the neighbor across the back fence. He, in turn, gave us a gift for AB that he and the wife had found while out shopping. It's a pretty cool little alphabet toy. Noisy, but cool.
Then T-- and I packed up the baby (with her new toy, to keep her happy) and headed to K-- and N--'s place for dinner. N-- made Polish sausage and veggies, and T-- brought pulled pork sandwiches, and it was a delicious meal. Then afterward we retired to the living room to watch the Cowboys/Eagles game.
It was spectacular. If you didn't see it, you missed a good one.
I also got Julie's wedding poem done yesterday, which is a pretty big deal. I'm closing out items on my To Do list, and hope to keep that up this week, by putting together submission packages for three of my novels and preparing some material for our writing convention next week.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Journal Entry: The Rest of September
I hate getting this far behind, because it means most days I don't have time to write a catch-up post, but then that just means the next day I have even more stuff that needs to be caught up on.
Basically, I've got to cover the XBox party at church, and then last Saturday's wedding in Wichita, but me being me, I'll make twenty-five pages out of it. If you don't want to read all that, then let me sum up: On Saturday the 6th, I went to an XBox party at church and played Halo and Rock Band with D--, K--, Jeff, and a bunch of church people. On Friday the 12th, K-- and N-- and D-- came over to play Rock Band, and we broke the bass drum pedal, so I'm not drumming anymore. On Saturday the 13th, I drove up to Wichita and spent the evening at T--'s oldest brother's wedding, and then came home last night in time to have dinner with K-- and N-- and D-- and watch Tron, bringing us within a Ladyhawke of finishing round two of our 80's movies thing.
And...y'know what? Screw it. There's my update. T--'s dad came into town to watch AB on Thursday, and we learned that the Goldie's in Edmond is just an empty lot now, and that's really it. I actually would have made 25 pages out of it, but that's everything that happened.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Basically, I've got to cover the XBox party at church, and then last Saturday's wedding in Wichita, but me being me, I'll make twenty-five pages out of it. If you don't want to read all that, then let me sum up: On Saturday the 6th, I went to an XBox party at church and played Halo and Rock Band with D--, K--, Jeff, and a bunch of church people. On Friday the 12th, K-- and N-- and D-- came over to play Rock Band, and we broke the bass drum pedal, so I'm not drumming anymore. On Saturday the 13th, I drove up to Wichita and spent the evening at T--'s oldest brother's wedding, and then came home last night in time to have dinner with K-- and N-- and D-- and watch Tron, bringing us within a Ladyhawke of finishing round two of our 80's movies thing.
And...y'know what? Screw it. There's my update. T--'s dad came into town to watch AB on Thursday, and we learned that the Goldie's in Edmond is just an empty lot now, and that's really it. I actually would have made 25 pages out of it, but that's everything that happened.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Journal Entry: September 5, 2008
Okay, imagine if the Trans Siberian Orchestra got a lead singer who was really angry.
That's Coheed and Cambria, in case you've never listened to them. The drum part of "Welcome Home" is amazingly fun.
So, yeah, as you can see, more of the same. Wednesday night was a lot of fun. We got together with K-- and N-- and D-- at Jersey Mike's for dinner, then went back home because T-- wasn't feeling well. D-- came over, too, and we played with AB for a while, then pulled out Rock Band. As soon as AB went to bed, T-- joined us, and we tore up. D-- and I stayed up until 11:30 playing.
Then yesterday D-- got sick, so he couldn't join us. T-- and AB met me for lunch at BWW yesterday, for the first time, and that was cool. Kind of the high point of my day, because work got pretty frustrating yesterday afternoon. So by the time I got home, I was in no mood to go work out, and T-- was still feeling pretty down with her allergy attack (or whatever it is), so we stayed home. I played with AB for a couple hours, trying to teach her how to drum on her little turtle drum. She just bangs. Whatever.
I also dug out the old "How to Drum" book that I'd gotten way back when I was taking lessons in college, but by the time I thought of that it was AB's bedtime so I just played the game instead of reading.
As I said, T-- wasn't feeling too well last night, so I just played the Solo Tour. I kind of like doing that because if I have trouble with a song I can try it two or three times until I get it right. D-- and T-- are usually more in it for the entertainment value, and prefer to skip the brutal songs and go on to something we can handle.
Anyway, I'd cleared 10 songs on Solo sometime last week, and last night I did 19 more. Then the 20th kicked my butt. My goal for the Solo games is to get through them all with 4 stars on Medium (there's 93 total), then go to Hard and do the same thing. I figure by Expert I'll just be trying to complete them, but who knows. I've been making some impressive progress.
So, yeah, since they're arranged in increasing difficulty (specifically for the drum part), and since patterns you learn in one song tend to show up in harder songs (only faster, or with minor variations, or whatever), I can generally just burn right through the Solo songs. Almost every one I get 4 stars on the first try. Out of those 19, I had to retry 2 of them, because I'd only gotten 3 stars on the first try (and I got 4 on the second). Then there were 4 or 5 that I got 5 stars right off the bat, so you can see how awesome I am.
Then I got to that 20th song (30th overall), and it was 10:15, and I told myself, "I'll complete this one, see what the next 5 songs are [because it reveals them 5 at a time], and then go to bed." I knew that to be a lie, but that was my plan.
Then I started the song, and the intro was a nightmare. 30 seconds into the song, I almost got booed off the stage, but it transitioned into the verse and then I was fine. Then about six minutes into the song (SIX minutes into ONE song), it goes back to the fast drum solo, and it lasts for two solid minutes, and I just didn't stand a chance. I got booed off the stage. First time that's happened to me on the solo.
So, ugh, I started it over (because that's what I do), and I did the first fast solo pretty well, but I got to the second one and it trashed me again. But, as I said, I had just played over six minutes of perfect drums before suddenly getting booed off the stage.
Then, on the "You Failed" screen, I noticed that it also showed the amount of the song that I'd completed before failing -- 65%! The song is damn nine minutes long! And I have to beat it to go on with the game.
So I switched to practice mode and spent a while just practicing those two solos, trying to get the rhythm down, and I could do the first one but the second one is tough, and it goes on forever. I tried and tried and tried, and figured I had it down well enough to at least finish the song (even if it wasn't graceful), so I tried again. Seven minutes later, I failed. Then I tried again, and by that time it was 11:30. I spent over an hour trying to just complete this song, and never did. Never even got close. I could have played an entire "Blitzkrieg Bop" in the time left between the farthest I got and the end of the song.
Bah! And I didn't want to end on that note, so I switched to the "Bonus Set" and unlocked four songs before I went to bed. Two of them were 4-stars and the other two 5-stars on my first attempts, so that gave me some of my confidence back.
Yeah, yeah, that's a lot of drum talk, but it's what's been going on. In spite of the frustration, I'm having a good time, and I now have all of the songs from the game on my mp3 player, so I can practice even when I'm not home. Awesome.
I'm listening to that song right now, by the way. "Green Grass and High Tides" by the Outlaws. I like the lyrics, but I kinda hate the song, in case you were curious.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
That's Coheed and Cambria, in case you've never listened to them. The drum part of "Welcome Home" is amazingly fun.
So, yeah, as you can see, more of the same. Wednesday night was a lot of fun. We got together with K-- and N-- and D-- at Jersey Mike's for dinner, then went back home because T-- wasn't feeling well. D-- came over, too, and we played with AB for a while, then pulled out Rock Band. As soon as AB went to bed, T-- joined us, and we tore up. D-- and I stayed up until 11:30 playing.
Then yesterday D-- got sick, so he couldn't join us. T-- and AB met me for lunch at BWW yesterday, for the first time, and that was cool. Kind of the high point of my day, because work got pretty frustrating yesterday afternoon. So by the time I got home, I was in no mood to go work out, and T-- was still feeling pretty down with her allergy attack (or whatever it is), so we stayed home. I played with AB for a couple hours, trying to teach her how to drum on her little turtle drum. She just bangs. Whatever.
I also dug out the old "How to Drum" book that I'd gotten way back when I was taking lessons in college, but by the time I thought of that it was AB's bedtime so I just played the game instead of reading.
As I said, T-- wasn't feeling too well last night, so I just played the Solo Tour. I kind of like doing that because if I have trouble with a song I can try it two or three times until I get it right. D-- and T-- are usually more in it for the entertainment value, and prefer to skip the brutal songs and go on to something we can handle.
Anyway, I'd cleared 10 songs on Solo sometime last week, and last night I did 19 more. Then the 20th kicked my butt. My goal for the Solo games is to get through them all with 4 stars on Medium (there's 93 total), then go to Hard and do the same thing. I figure by Expert I'll just be trying to complete them, but who knows. I've been making some impressive progress.
So, yeah, since they're arranged in increasing difficulty (specifically for the drum part), and since patterns you learn in one song tend to show up in harder songs (only faster, or with minor variations, or whatever), I can generally just burn right through the Solo songs. Almost every one I get 4 stars on the first try. Out of those 19, I had to retry 2 of them, because I'd only gotten 3 stars on the first try (and I got 4 on the second). Then there were 4 or 5 that I got 5 stars right off the bat, so you can see how awesome I am.
Then I got to that 20th song (30th overall), and it was 10:15, and I told myself, "I'll complete this one, see what the next 5 songs are [because it reveals them 5 at a time], and then go to bed." I knew that to be a lie, but that was my plan.
Then I started the song, and the intro was a nightmare. 30 seconds into the song, I almost got booed off the stage, but it transitioned into the verse and then I was fine. Then about six minutes into the song (SIX minutes into ONE song), it goes back to the fast drum solo, and it lasts for two solid minutes, and I just didn't stand a chance. I got booed off the stage. First time that's happened to me on the solo.
So, ugh, I started it over (because that's what I do), and I did the first fast solo pretty well, but I got to the second one and it trashed me again. But, as I said, I had just played over six minutes of perfect drums before suddenly getting booed off the stage.
Then, on the "You Failed" screen, I noticed that it also showed the amount of the song that I'd completed before failing -- 65%! The song is damn nine minutes long! And I have to beat it to go on with the game.
So I switched to practice mode and spent a while just practicing those two solos, trying to get the rhythm down, and I could do the first one but the second one is tough, and it goes on forever. I tried and tried and tried, and figured I had it down well enough to at least finish the song (even if it wasn't graceful), so I tried again. Seven minutes later, I failed. Then I tried again, and by that time it was 11:30. I spent over an hour trying to just complete this song, and never did. Never even got close. I could have played an entire "Blitzkrieg Bop" in the time left between the farthest I got and the end of the song.
Bah! And I didn't want to end on that note, so I switched to the "Bonus Set" and unlocked four songs before I went to bed. Two of them were 4-stars and the other two 5-stars on my first attempts, so that gave me some of my confidence back.
Yeah, yeah, that's a lot of drum talk, but it's what's been going on. In spite of the frustration, I'm having a good time, and I now have all of the songs from the game on my mp3 player, so I can practice even when I'm not home. Awesome.
I'm listening to that song right now, by the way. "Green Grass and High Tides" by the Outlaws. I like the lyrics, but I kinda hate the song, in case you were curious.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Journal Entry: September 3, 2008
I had been planning to write up a post about how I first got started writing for today's journal entry, just to preserve it for posterity (by which I mean my own, given my flaky memory), but I don't feel up to it. Remind me to get to that sometime, though.
T-- and I are sick. I would not be at all surprised if AB is too, because she's been wicked cranky for three or four days now. We had just put that down to the 18 hours in the car, though.
Anyway, it's mostly just stuffy nose and scratchy throat, but it's enough to wear a person down. Sometimes I feel feverish, but that could just be the hypochondria talking. It has never been bad enough for me to check a thermometer on it.
Lame, though. I was just sick! Ugh. Anyway, T-- and I are both on zinc, and with any luck it will pass quickly.
Last night on the drive home T-- asked me to pick up some stuff for dinner, so I ran to Crest and got some soda, potato soup (and some new potatoes because the potato soup is always too thin), and some bananas for AB. D-- called after work and asked if I wanted him to bring over a snowcone or grab something for us for dinner, but I missed the call. Alas.
Soup was good, though, and afterward we went ahead and bought a bunch of the songs we'd picked for Rock Band (and by "we" I mean D--), and then a little bit before AB's bedtime (which was probably a mistake) we broke out the instruments and started rocking. I'm definitely seeing major progress, but I have a hell of a time with off-beat bass drum. One of the songs we were doing last night had tons. That, and bass drum/snare, snare, bass drum, rest, all at a rapid tempo. Every time I try I just make a big noisy mess. T-- and D-- managed to save my performance most of the time, though, and I'd get into the chorus and then I'd be back up to a full Crowd Meter.
I bet nobody will understand all of that last paragraph, but that's okay. The short of it is: drumming is hard. For me, anyway.
I got to talk with B-- last night, and that was fun, and then (as I said) we rocked out starting around 8:00 and, in spite of our best intentions, we didn't get done until 11:30. Fun, though. Quite fun.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
T-- and I are sick. I would not be at all surprised if AB is too, because she's been wicked cranky for three or four days now. We had just put that down to the 18 hours in the car, though.
Anyway, it's mostly just stuffy nose and scratchy throat, but it's enough to wear a person down. Sometimes I feel feverish, but that could just be the hypochondria talking. It has never been bad enough for me to check a thermometer on it.
Lame, though. I was just sick! Ugh. Anyway, T-- and I are both on zinc, and with any luck it will pass quickly.
Last night on the drive home T-- asked me to pick up some stuff for dinner, so I ran to Crest and got some soda, potato soup (and some new potatoes because the potato soup is always too thin), and some bananas for AB. D-- called after work and asked if I wanted him to bring over a snowcone or grab something for us for dinner, but I missed the call. Alas.
Soup was good, though, and afterward we went ahead and bought a bunch of the songs we'd picked for Rock Band (and by "we" I mean D--), and then a little bit before AB's bedtime (which was probably a mistake) we broke out the instruments and started rocking. I'm definitely seeing major progress, but I have a hell of a time with off-beat bass drum. One of the songs we were doing last night had tons. That, and bass drum/snare, snare, bass drum, rest, all at a rapid tempo. Every time I try I just make a big noisy mess. T-- and D-- managed to save my performance most of the time, though, and I'd get into the chorus and then I'd be back up to a full Crowd Meter.
I bet nobody will understand all of that last paragraph, but that's okay. The short of it is: drumming is hard. For me, anyway.
I got to talk with B-- last night, and that was fun, and then (as I said) we rocked out starting around 8:00 and, in spite of our best intentions, we didn't get done until 11:30. Fun, though. Quite fun.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Journal Entry: Labor Day in Houston
Last Thursday night, after I got home from work, T-- and I spent a while talking, and I played with the baby, and I wrestled with my inner demons and finally settled on watching the entirely insignificant final Cowboys preseason game instead of playing Rock Band. Then, after the game, I played Rock Band.
Friday morning we woke up at 7:00, loaded up the car, and headed out of town. We were in Dallas by 11:00, and we met Grandma and my aunt Darlene for lunch at El Fenix -- a family favorite in the area. Then Grandma, who had taken the afternoon off, watched AB for us so T-- and I could go to the museum just the two of us.
That was fun. We had to drive an hour across town to get from Dallas proper to the museum in Fort Worth, but on the way we passed the new Cowboys stadium, and it was amazing. Worth the drive just for that.
Then the museum itself was beautiful. It was part of Fort Worth's cultural district, with a massive park our front and quiet fountains all along the front walk. We went to the Impressionists Exhibit first. On loan from the Chicago Museum of Art, that exhibit was the only reason we'd gone to the museum. After looking through all the Monets and Manets and Van Goghs, T-- went to look through the gift shop while I sat down on a bench and did my PT stretches, because my back was killing me.
While T-- was shopping she discovered that the museum had, in its permanent collection, one of her favorite paintings by Caravaggio, so we went ahead and strolled through the museum's permanent collection, and there were some amazing paintings there, too. After spending forty-five minutes in the Impressionists, the stark colors and sharp lines of the older realist paintings really stood out.
Anyway, we were there for a little over an hour, then headed back to Dallas and discovered along the way that the charger for our GPS had exploded inside the cigarette lighter, so we were without GPS for the rest of the trip. That was a bummer.
After we got back, Grandma and I ran out to pick up some barbecue and Darla and Jason came over for dinner. We ended up watching the last ten minutes of Ella Enchanted and then the last fifteen minutes of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, and I finally decided enough was enough and went to bed.
Saturday morning we got up early and left by 8:00 toward Houston. T-- had been smart enough to print out directions everywhere we were going (I'd have just relied on the GPS) so we weren't completely helpless. Saturday morning AB was a little fussier about being stuck in her car seat than she had been Friday, but it wasn't too bad, and we made it in to Perry's place a little bit before noon. He gave us the tour of the house, we chased AB off the stairs, and followed her around while she chased the cats from room to room. Then my sister showed up with her family, and Mom and Dad showed up with Granddad, and we all had sandwiches for lunch.
Dad and I ran up to the grocery store to pick up some supplies, and that became a longer ordeal than it needed to be (but it gave me a time to provide some advice on his book, for which he was grateful). Then I got back to find T-- and AB in the pool. It was so hot that I didn't hesitate to change into my swimsuit and join them. I was only out there about half an hour before my uncle announced dinner was almost ready, and we all headed in to get cleaned up.
Dinner was steaks, and was fantastic. After that, Jeff and I spent the evening getting Civ set up on his laptop and Dad's, and the three of us played until late into the night. There was a Sooners game on -- first of the season! -- but it was pay-per-view and Dad couldn't talk us into chipping in to order it. Civ was sufficient to entertain us.
We were up too late, so church at 10:00 the next morning came way too early. We made it, though. They attend a pretty progressive church, with a five piece rock band for the praise team, so I spent most of the service watching the drummer and about half of it tapping along on my knees. It was quite educational.
Actually, even though I had to leave Rock Band behind in OKC, I spent the whole weekend practicing. I did most of the driving, and whatever music I could find on the radio, I would try to pick out the drum rhythm and follow it -- at least the way it would be presented in Rock Band. There's a particular combination of high hat, snare, and bass drum that is incredibly consistent in the Rock Band songs (at least at the easier difficulties), and which I'd had a lot of trouble with all of last week. While I was driving, I spent hours at a time practicing that specific pattern, until the independent movements of left hand, right hand, and right foot all made sense to me. I didn't know how much of it would be useful, and how much I was just being silly, but I did get much better at recognizing and picking out the drum part of songs just over the course of that first drive from OKC to Dallas.
Anyway, Sunday afternoon after church we left my uncle and his family and headed toward Galveston for a day at the beach. We stopped at a Mexican place there in Tomball (the little town outside Houston where my uncle lives), then drove the hour-and-a-half out to Galveston. Granddad rode with T-- and AB and me, and he entertained us on the drive with stories of trips to the beach, from throughout his life. A surprising number of them involved hurricanes, too, which was topical. All weekend the TV stayed on the Weather Channel, tracking Hurricane Gustav.
In Galveston, we drove along the beach for a bit then stopped at a Wendy's to change into our swimsuits. While I was changing, I put my cheap Wal-Mart sunglasses on top of a hand dryer, and some dude ended up snatching them and walking out the front door with them before I had a chance to go back and grab them. Whatever. I walked over to the Surf Shop next door and bought a new pair for $7.
Then we finally got out into the ocean. In spite of all my grousing about having to spend a whole hour outdoors, I really had a good time. At water parks, my favorite spot is always the wave pool. This time we got to take AB out into the waves, and she loved it. Jeff had little Sophie, too, and she stayed with us even when we went out deep. It was fun.
Fourth wave that hit me, though, ripped my new sunglasses off my face and hid them somewhere in the bottom of the ocean. I spent about five minutes trying to find them, but after about ten seconds they were already lost to me. Argh.
I had just as much fun anyway, though, and I was disappointed when Mom and Dad called us back to the beach and said it was time to go. We drove up to a gas station that turned out to have only one bathroom, got changed back into dry clothes, and then headed back for Tomball, this time with Mom riding in the back with AB.
Just as we were getting into Houston, AB's stomach rebelled at the cereal Mom was giving her (and, much more likely, all the saltwater and sand she'd swallowed while playing in the waves). She made a huge mess in her car seat, and I was trying to follow Dad through dense traffic, at high speeds, in an unfamiliar town (and without directions or a GPS). That was no fun. Mom and T-- between them got her cleaned up, but the whole car smelled like vomit and I have a sensitivity to that. It was not a fun ninety minutes....
We finally got home, though, and Perry had some fantastic fajitas ready for us for dinner. We were all exhausted after the day's events, too, so after dinner we fell to talking and Dad and Jeff and I played some Civ and it was all very low key. Around midnight we gave up on our game, and headed to bed.
Then we got up fairly early Monday morning, but with all the chatting and saying goodbye, it was nearly 10:00 before we got out of town. We made good time, though, and got to Dallas right at 1:00 where Grandma and Darla and Jason met us at Chik Fil'A for a quick lunch, then an hour later we were back on the road.
We got home at about 5:45, unpacked the car, looked around the house to make sure the cats hadn't made any messes (and silently blessed B-- and E-- for taking care of the litterbox over the weekend, which was the reason they hadn't), and then set the table for our dinner guests.
K-- and N-- showed up at 6:30 with some P F Chang's, and D-- got in about fifteen minutes later with soda. We had a delicious dinner, then watched An American Tail (as part of our 80s Movies thing), and then rocked out for an hour or so before bedtime.
Y'know, I wasn't too excited about spending my holiday weekend on the road, but I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. I always forget just how cool Perry and his family are, especially the kids, and then it was a much quieter weekend (in terms of schedule) than most such family get-togethers are. Maybe it's because Labor Day doesn't have the same traditional demands associated with it as a Thanksgiving or a Christmas.
But, yeah, it was awesome. And then while I was playing Rock Band last night, that particular drum pattern that I had been practicing in the car on Friday kept showing up, in song after song, and every time it came up I nailed it. Bah-DAH! So that's awesome. I also learned that the intro to "Enter Sandman" can kick my ass, well and truly, but I'm working on that next.
Now I'm home, and I'm pretty sure I'll be home until October. I'm grateful for that.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
Friday morning we woke up at 7:00, loaded up the car, and headed out of town. We were in Dallas by 11:00, and we met Grandma and my aunt Darlene for lunch at El Fenix -- a family favorite in the area. Then Grandma, who had taken the afternoon off, watched AB for us so T-- and I could go to the museum just the two of us.
That was fun. We had to drive an hour across town to get from Dallas proper to the museum in Fort Worth, but on the way we passed the new Cowboys stadium, and it was amazing. Worth the drive just for that.
Then the museum itself was beautiful. It was part of Fort Worth's cultural district, with a massive park our front and quiet fountains all along the front walk. We went to the Impressionists Exhibit first. On loan from the Chicago Museum of Art, that exhibit was the only reason we'd gone to the museum. After looking through all the Monets and Manets and Van Goghs, T-- went to look through the gift shop while I sat down on a bench and did my PT stretches, because my back was killing me.
While T-- was shopping she discovered that the museum had, in its permanent collection, one of her favorite paintings by Caravaggio, so we went ahead and strolled through the museum's permanent collection, and there were some amazing paintings there, too. After spending forty-five minutes in the Impressionists, the stark colors and sharp lines of the older realist paintings really stood out.
Anyway, we were there for a little over an hour, then headed back to Dallas and discovered along the way that the charger for our GPS had exploded inside the cigarette lighter, so we were without GPS for the rest of the trip. That was a bummer.
After we got back, Grandma and I ran out to pick up some barbecue and Darla and Jason came over for dinner. We ended up watching the last ten minutes of Ella Enchanted and then the last fifteen minutes of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, and I finally decided enough was enough and went to bed.
Saturday morning we got up early and left by 8:00 toward Houston. T-- had been smart enough to print out directions everywhere we were going (I'd have just relied on the GPS) so we weren't completely helpless. Saturday morning AB was a little fussier about being stuck in her car seat than she had been Friday, but it wasn't too bad, and we made it in to Perry's place a little bit before noon. He gave us the tour of the house, we chased AB off the stairs, and followed her around while she chased the cats from room to room. Then my sister showed up with her family, and Mom and Dad showed up with Granddad, and we all had sandwiches for lunch.
Dad and I ran up to the grocery store to pick up some supplies, and that became a longer ordeal than it needed to be (but it gave me a time to provide some advice on his book, for which he was grateful). Then I got back to find T-- and AB in the pool. It was so hot that I didn't hesitate to change into my swimsuit and join them. I was only out there about half an hour before my uncle announced dinner was almost ready, and we all headed in to get cleaned up.
Dinner was steaks, and was fantastic. After that, Jeff and I spent the evening getting Civ set up on his laptop and Dad's, and the three of us played until late into the night. There was a Sooners game on -- first of the season! -- but it was pay-per-view and Dad couldn't talk us into chipping in to order it. Civ was sufficient to entertain us.
We were up too late, so church at 10:00 the next morning came way too early. We made it, though. They attend a pretty progressive church, with a five piece rock band for the praise team, so I spent most of the service watching the drummer and about half of it tapping along on my knees. It was quite educational.
Actually, even though I had to leave Rock Band behind in OKC, I spent the whole weekend practicing. I did most of the driving, and whatever music I could find on the radio, I would try to pick out the drum rhythm and follow it -- at least the way it would be presented in Rock Band. There's a particular combination of high hat, snare, and bass drum that is incredibly consistent in the Rock Band songs (at least at the easier difficulties), and which I'd had a lot of trouble with all of last week. While I was driving, I spent hours at a time practicing that specific pattern, until the independent movements of left hand, right hand, and right foot all made sense to me. I didn't know how much of it would be useful, and how much I was just being silly, but I did get much better at recognizing and picking out the drum part of songs just over the course of that first drive from OKC to Dallas.
Anyway, Sunday afternoon after church we left my uncle and his family and headed toward Galveston for a day at the beach. We stopped at a Mexican place there in Tomball (the little town outside Houston where my uncle lives), then drove the hour-and-a-half out to Galveston. Granddad rode with T-- and AB and me, and he entertained us on the drive with stories of trips to the beach, from throughout his life. A surprising number of them involved hurricanes, too, which was topical. All weekend the TV stayed on the Weather Channel, tracking Hurricane Gustav.
In Galveston, we drove along the beach for a bit then stopped at a Wendy's to change into our swimsuits. While I was changing, I put my cheap Wal-Mart sunglasses on top of a hand dryer, and some dude ended up snatching them and walking out the front door with them before I had a chance to go back and grab them. Whatever. I walked over to the Surf Shop next door and bought a new pair for $7.
Then we finally got out into the ocean. In spite of all my grousing about having to spend a whole hour outdoors, I really had a good time. At water parks, my favorite spot is always the wave pool. This time we got to take AB out into the waves, and she loved it. Jeff had little Sophie, too, and she stayed with us even when we went out deep. It was fun.
Fourth wave that hit me, though, ripped my new sunglasses off my face and hid them somewhere in the bottom of the ocean. I spent about five minutes trying to find them, but after about ten seconds they were already lost to me. Argh.
I had just as much fun anyway, though, and I was disappointed when Mom and Dad called us back to the beach and said it was time to go. We drove up to a gas station that turned out to have only one bathroom, got changed back into dry clothes, and then headed back for Tomball, this time with Mom riding in the back with AB.
Just as we were getting into Houston, AB's stomach rebelled at the cereal Mom was giving her (and, much more likely, all the saltwater and sand she'd swallowed while playing in the waves). She made a huge mess in her car seat, and I was trying to follow Dad through dense traffic, at high speeds, in an unfamiliar town (and without directions or a GPS). That was no fun. Mom and T-- between them got her cleaned up, but the whole car smelled like vomit and I have a sensitivity to that. It was not a fun ninety minutes....
We finally got home, though, and Perry had some fantastic fajitas ready for us for dinner. We were all exhausted after the day's events, too, so after dinner we fell to talking and Dad and Jeff and I played some Civ and it was all very low key. Around midnight we gave up on our game, and headed to bed.
Then we got up fairly early Monday morning, but with all the chatting and saying goodbye, it was nearly 10:00 before we got out of town. We made good time, though, and got to Dallas right at 1:00 where Grandma and Darla and Jason met us at Chik Fil'A for a quick lunch, then an hour later we were back on the road.
We got home at about 5:45, unpacked the car, looked around the house to make sure the cats hadn't made any messes (and silently blessed B-- and E-- for taking care of the litterbox over the weekend, which was the reason they hadn't), and then set the table for our dinner guests.
K-- and N-- showed up at 6:30 with some P F Chang's, and D-- got in about fifteen minutes later with soda. We had a delicious dinner, then watched An American Tail (as part of our 80s Movies thing), and then rocked out for an hour or so before bedtime.
Y'know, I wasn't too excited about spending my holiday weekend on the road, but I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. I always forget just how cool Perry and his family are, especially the kids, and then it was a much quieter weekend (in terms of schedule) than most such family get-togethers are. Maybe it's because Labor Day doesn't have the same traditional demands associated with it as a Thanksgiving or a Christmas.
But, yeah, it was awesome. And then while I was playing Rock Band last night, that particular drum pattern that I had been practicing in the car on Friday kept showing up, in song after song, and every time it came up I nailed it. Bah-DAH! So that's awesome. I also learned that the intro to "Enter Sandman" can kick my ass, well and truly, but I'm working on that next.
Now I'm home, and I'm pretty sure I'll be home until October. I'm grateful for that.
Other than that, it's just things and stuff.
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