Sunday, November 9, 2008

Change.


I was playing around on my Macbook yesterday. This was the outcome.

There really isn't much to say regarding the actual election beyond the fact that I am extremely proud that this country used their brains this time and voted for a man who will hopefully bring about the change this nation needs. I'm so excited to see what is in store for the United States and hope the last 8 years are burned alive and served cold and spoiled to the Bush Administration.

While I'm soaking up the joyful democratic waves, there is a huge part of me that has been smacked in the face by not only California, but Florida, Arkansas and my own temporary state of Arizona. I don't understand how the people of these states even remotely thought that it was a good idea to take away the rights of homosexuals and no matter how much I search to find answers there is no response that is sufficient enough for someone to vote "no." This country is built on religious freedom and separation between church and state, so its not even the state's right to ban marriage in the first place and I'm pretty sure that if enough people rallied together to propose a ban on Heterosexual marriage, the front page headlines would be relentless in how unjustified it would be to take away the rights of two people who loved each other. Its extremely heartbreaking to know see that the progress the gay community has made throughout the years has been set back a million years, but I'm holding out hope. Hope that not only Obama will stick to his promise of allowing civil unions but that all of these protests in California will do something. Originally, I thought the ban would be passed and everyone would complain and not do anything so its nice to see celebrities and citizens lashing out so vocally.

Okay, thats all for my political rant. Its on to a normal entry. I cannot stand not walking and getting my exercise in the fresh air. I really wish I would've walked passed that guy in the park and didn't stop to play nice and have a conversation with him. I would've still been able to go there and walk around. I've been thinking of just walking around the block a couple of times but that seems more dangerous than trying my luck at the park.

School hasn't been going too good. The first three weeks of school is exactly how everyone described it. You sit in a room for four hours a day and the instructors throw out a shitload of information at you that you're supposed to remember with minimum hands on experience. I bombed the MIDI test because I figured that I knew how MIDI worked so I didn't need to look it over. The test was pure vocabulary and specifics and I knew next to none of it and I also barely passed the test on different microphones, soundwaves, signal flow, etc. I'm retaking both tests and I know I will pass with flying colors but its a bit disappointing that I didn't do too hot on them the first time around. Its great that these instructors are so understanding and treat you like a real person as opposed to my high school where if you failed a test the teacher automatically added you to their death list and didn't even give you another chance to succeed. I love how all of these extra classes are in place and test retake sessions and feel so extremely fortunate to be at this school right now. We start our next cycle of classes on Monday where the concept of live sound is introduced and the concepts of recording (digitally and analog) are expanded. It seems a lot more hands on so I am ready.

Part of the reason I didn't study and bombed the MIDI test is that the time I had to prepare for the test was thrown off by my first week at my job. For the first two weeks I literally received calls daily that I would answer and they would ask if I would cover someone's shift (which is fine to a point, money is a good thing.) I constantly obliged and it definitely took a lot of time away from me that I needed to ensure I did well on it. My cell phone is still harassed more than Sarah Palin will be for the next two years because she didn't know Africa was a continent, but I've implemented a new rule in my life: "Don't pick up the phone unless you want to go into work." The upside to the job is I still like all of my co-workers and last night I bought a $45 hoodie that was put on clearance for $10.49 for $6.00. I also bought an Amy Winehouse poster and some mints for less than a dollar.

For the last part of the entry I guess I can ramble on about a movie I watched last night for a bit. I rented Dancer in the Dark off of Netflix because it had Bjork in it and I've been wanting to see it for a long time. It had to have been one of the most depressing movies I've ever watched in my entire life. All the reviews I read spoke about how sad it was, but I didn't believe them. I'm a pretty tough cookie when it comes to movies, but this one had me crying like a baby. Poor Selma. She couldn't have had a good day if she tried. :-(

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Exciting Times.

School has been going well for the most part. There have been a lot of days where I have been utterly clueless as to what is going on (do I blog like a guy who would understand how electrical circuits work?) but I can feel my mind opening up to all it needs to know and with every time I go back over my notes and PDF files to re-read what was learned, something clicks in my mind and I'm literally floored at what I just learned. Even if its something little about how AC circuits work or how an XY microphone technique picks up a symphony. It was also weird watching a Saturday Night Live performance from Coldplay and actually paying attention to the microphones and how everything is set up, trying desperately to apply what I've learned in these two weeks to what I've been watching on the TV.

On Monday, our instructor opened a Mulitrack file of one of the Beatles songs in Logic to demonstrate how much hard work went into creating their later albums (Sgt. Pepper in particular.) When he played the song, I do not remember which one it was unfortunately, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All the effects, all of the different sounds..and they only had a four track to work with. I am still astounded just thinking about it. I think it would've been a more exciting time working during that time, but I'm sure its just as exciting with all of the technology we have at our fingertips that allow us to create albums with a lot more ease than it was forty years ago.

I am thinking about just sticking with one job instead of two. The one I have right now has been calling me in for a lot of hours and its literally a two minute drive down the road from my house. I like everyone, I like what I do and I'm sure I'd like working at the other place as well, but right now, I think I can only handle one job with school.

Beyond that, everything is good here and I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. I saw "Saw V" a week ago with someone from school, which was fun..but the movie was the worst one out of the series. I suppose they haven't been good since the third one though. What can you expect? The only thing I am missing about Pennsylvania (beyond the people) is rain. I love the heat here, but I've been begging for just one day when I can open my balcony and see a cloudy day. I don't think their rainy season is coming anytime soon, so in memory of the precipitation, I downloaded a Screen Saver from Apple.com that simulates a thunderstorm on your desktop. The rain gently washes away your desktop/any open applications. I like it.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Purpose: Found

After almost a year of having nothing on this blog I've decided that I am going to use it to update everyone on my ~fantastic~ life in Arizona. I officially get internet on Friday, so I will post the first entry after that. For now, I am stealing net in a Starbucks, sitting 10 feet from some guy who isn't wearing deodorant.

Here's to new and exciting experiences!