Moving the Blog

I found one of my old blogs again. I am going to go back to using it over this one. You can find it at:  http://dimensionaltear.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there!

Dave

Business, Busyness

It's been a rather busy couple of weeks for me with no end in sight really; the business will simply have different sources for a while. 

Tailgate season has officially started here in central Michigan and with MSU having mostly home games in the first half it will make for a very busy few weeks at Troppo. ESPN has started their catering for the season which brings us a lot of business and goes straight through Basketball season as well. Things are starting to pick up for the school year in the dining room as well. We have 4 or 5 private parties tomorrow night and a fair amount on the books aswell. Good to be getting hours again.

I've also been helping move my Church to a new building for the last couple weeks which has been a huge project, especially since I am in charge of the a/v stuff there. For the most part I can keep it all to just the sound people taking care of things, but needing to procure a few new things has made it a much longer process than it needed to be. 

It's one of those things where we are a younger Church with not a whole ton of liquid assests so we try to get things donated when possible and that takes loger than just going out and purchasing it. On a positive note my cousin has donated a CD duplicator, which I had wanted to make the prduction of cd's for our workers easier. These things typically cost from $500 to $1000  so getting it donated is a life saver as I probably would not have been able to get one otherwise.

On top of all that I have spent the last week or so trying to wrap my head around why Rob is doing what he is doing in a lesson, but it's just not quite making it in there.. Hopfully soon I will have an epiphany there...

Sausage Fingers?

I've been playing guitar for what seems like ages now. I started when I was 12 or so, took a break until I started college. I've been playing since then (2002,) but it's been mostly simple chord progressions for praise and worship with various religious organizations I have been associated with.

About a year or so ago I decided I wanted to maybe try and actually get good at it, then I took a job as a chef here in Lansing for the company I work for. That put a damper on things. I have again decided, as I have more free time now, that I am actually going to do it God willing.

I've been studying with a gentleman by the name of Rob Bourassa, when I do have time, via his youtube videos. We've talked a good bit since I started and he's a great guy and awesome instructor, I just need to be able to apply myself. It's been going well for the last week or so, but I've come to a couple of conclusions: I have really big, boney fingers and I either need a new guitar or serious work on the one I have.

My fingers are an issue as my guitar has the smaller of the two normal nut widths (1 11/16") which makes it hard to play some of the normal chords (such as A, which is three strings right next to each other on the same fret) properly with the broom handles attached to my hands. The problem comes when I try to fit about 2 inches of finger in 1 1/2 inches of space. The classic 10 pounds of crap, five pound box scenario. I suppose this means I need to find a way to play them barred, which means I need to work on barring with the side of my fingers more and not the relitivley fleshy pads of my fingers. This should be either fun, or painful, or maybe both. We will see.

Happy Picking.

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas is almost upon us, and I'm still busy as all get out at work. It's a good thing though. Keeps my mind off the economy and how unhappy the rest of my family is becuase of it. I guess I don't think about it as much because cooking is something that will almost never decline in it's demand. People have to eat, many people are too lazy to cook for themselves, we both win.

This week is pretty busy, large parties and just as large catering proposals everywhere. Next week it tames a bit then it's New Years! That should be fun. First holiday season at a new place always is and it keep life interesting. In my off time I have been playing a lot of Diablo II. If you want to play with me I am on the america east gateway my handle is 'appleswitch'and I am almost always in a room named 'warkitten' If you read this and play swing by sometime and we shall kill things together!


Thats it for now. Time to turn in for the evening!


Dave

I'm Back!

Well, it's only been nine months to the day (no that was not planned) since my last entry. Many things have happened since then. My wife and I have moved, I quit my job at the pub and got another one in Lansing. My wife is still with out a job in her field, we have bought a cat. I have picked up my guitar again and am re-learning it and learning many new things though a set of lessons on you tube from a very talented man by the name of Rob Bourassa. The lessons start here with a tutorial on how to view and use the lessons and the lessons start here with the C Major scale. Very good stuff, if you play guitar check it out, even if you thin you are good I am sure you can learn something. Beyond that we are pretty much surviving. I go back and forth whether I am happy just about every day. Depression kinda runs in my family so it worries me a little, but I try to keep a handle on it and the wife does too so yeah. For the most part I think I am happy, I am just really touchy lately. I will get through it I am sure. I think that is about it for now, but I will be back again soon I am sure.


Dave

Jobs, Jobs & Education

Well, lets see.. what's going on lately? Well, my wife, Lucinda, is currently in the application process at Woods charter school in North Carolina. She is applying for an elementary teaching position. Quite frankly the process is going way to slow for me, but then again this is usually a quick thing in my business. You send in your resume, if they like it they call you, you do a cooking test and if you are the best applicant you fill out the application and figure out pay and when you start etc. For her though, she sent in her resume and educational philosophy, then the principal sent it to the director of the elementary division, who then contacted her and had her look at some websites and respond with what she thought about them as they pertain to the school and how it is run. She has done all this and is now waiting for a reply from the director of the division about it. It's been four days now and I and starting to wonder what the deal is. I know she really wants this job and would do anything for it and to get it. I know they are really interested in her too. There website is actually very slow unless you are on a fibre channel so I wonder if it is just that there email server is down. I don't know. If she doesn't hear from them tomorrow she will be calling the lady she is in contact with so that is good.

As far as me, I am ready to move out of Michigan. The state, and the state of the state, pretty much depress the hell out of me. I also want a new job. I love what I do, just not where I do it. At the same time how many people are going to pay me what I make as a first cook for only a few months of time. It's not likely to happen so I am very leary of going anywhere until we move. Hopefully that move will be to North Carolina. I have been there before and I think I would like it. The job that Lucy is looking at is in the Chapel Hill area, well, actually in Chapel Hill.

Also, I have found out that even though I graduated in December (Dec. 17, 2007 is the offical date) I won't be getting my diploma until June after comencement. What College does that. Every institution I know of gives you your diploma after you graduate, maybe it takes a month in the mail, but it gets there.. it doesn't take 6 freaking months... I still am looking into who I can twist to get it because this is just wrong!!


I think that's is..


Later