8 months ago?!?

Life is full of changes.  Since my last blog, there have been many, many changes in my life.  So 2 days after my last blog (09/07/2013) I got hired at a company that is an "Authorized AT&T Re-seller" that has over 45 stores spread across 7 states.  I work in the corporate office here in Boise.  It is very laid back, and I have enough screen space that it sometimes feels like Tank (from the MATRIX).  It is a full time gig so it's nice to have a steady income again.  I'm still licensed to sell insurance so if you need a quote, by all means, give me a call!

17 strings, lots of fun

Musically, I have actually been very, very busy.  It is true that I am no longer a part of "the ROXTAR Project", and I'm totally OK with that because I got something better and closer to 'home'.  So the worship team at my church has been going through some transitions, so being available, I have pretty much played something different from one Sunday to the next depending on what's needed.  In this I have started playing bass and realized, I like it! (Through trading and selling I managed to acquire this nice 5 String Ibanez (pictured left)
Of course as you know, I'm a drummer.  I drum.  Drumming is what I do, and it's what I still do.  So a friend of mine asked if I wanted to sit in with her to showcase her album at a small local venue.  Any chance to play, I jump at it.  We played last month, had a blast, and will be playing again this month!
The big deal is a band that I auditioned for.


So I answered a CraigsList ad for a Christian band that was looking for a drummer.  Most of the time these ads are high school kids with a great heart, but not what I'm looking for.  Anyways, I go audition, first sign is a good thing sing the vocal/guitar guy is a worship pastor at the church we practice at, and he has a beard that can go head-to-head with Duck Dynasty any day.  The second thing was the songs I auditioned with were contemporary worship songs that I played at church that morning, or hear on the radio all the time.  It is great to play with like minded Christians that still know how to rock!

I just realized I never posted this, so I'm sorry for the delay, it's only about 8 months late...more to come soon!

Yellow Snow

Good Morning!!! Are we there yet?

So when I last left off, I was enjoying some quiet time in our hotel while Isaac was swimming at the indoor pool.  The rest of the night was very peaceful and relaxing...of course I had a dread the next day and something I really wasn't looking forward to...

...we all travel, some take planes, some take trains, and other by car.  Please don't get me wrong, I love a good road trip, I was raised on them, either with my family in our old Chevy Pickup, or one countless church trips to Mexico and beyond.  There is a down side to road trips, and that comes in the form of weather...more specifically snow and ice.  When you travel by car, that means you wither need 4 wheel drive, chains or cables.  In my case, it was cables....on a new car I've never put cables on before.  I've actually only done cables once before, and that was on my Honda, the tires were much smaller so it was a bit easier to navigate.  As you can see below, after 3 attempts, the cables were finally installed and we set off over the mountain pass.  When traveling you tend to realize the advantages of being a guy...as both Isaac and I took part in the long honored tradition of removing chains from our tires, and creating the colorful yellow snow that is so popular. (Not Lemon)

Best $20 I ever spent to have a professional install these for me!!!

"You'll Shoot Your Eyes Out!" is a phrase I've heard several times, and will probably be hearing for a while.  My Father-in-Law always kept a bb/pellet gun by the back door.  I'm not sure why, perhaps to shoot targets out the back door when he got bored?  It turns out that in recent months, he got a new bb/pellet gun from the local Freddies, but he wasn't very happy with it.  He said if I liked it, I could keep it.  Who am I to say no to awesome weaponry?  It's a long way from my 30-06, and definitively no Glock, but Isaac loves it.  I think it's a great way to teach him gun safety and proper etiquette for handling a gun.  After all, we do live in Idaho!  Turns out that he is a really good shot (after his Uncle Sam taught him how to line up the shot)

The drive home was much easier then the trip there.  For some reason, this is always the case.  Despite the thermometer being much lower than the trip there, the roads were much clearer and chains were not required.  What's funny is that when we stopped in Burns and I took this photo, I thought 19 was cold.  I'm looking at my weather forecast right now and it was it's sunny and 1 degree today...now that's cold!

Speaking of cold, my band auditioned two new people this past week, out in my shop of course.  I have a small oil heater that definitely will not heat up my shop.  Rehearsal was a bit chilly, but we got through.  Sadly neither audition worked out, but that is part of life, we can't always get what we want.