'Tis the Season...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
As far as I'm concerned, my holiday season begins tomorrow. Yes, there has already been some gift-giving (see the post below), but the best parts are yet to come.
Tomorrow night, we're going to the Dynamic Duo's place for the annual Yule/Winter Solstice gathering. Many of my best friends and Memphis "family" will be there, some of whom I haven't seen in months. Though not a pagan myself, I thoroughly enjoy the traditional recognition of the longest day of the year as it has been celebrated since long before the Judeo-Christian Hanukkah/Christmas holidays. While there are any number of components to this Sabbatt, the important thing as I see it is being around people you love, giving thanks for the year gone by, and blessing the year to come. The cranberry/orange/vanilla/clove/cinnamon/honey/sugar-infused vodka apertifs won't hurt either :-).
Saturday we've got a party at another friend's home. This one is just a straight up throw down party. My goal is to party in moderation, since I'll be getting on a plane to Washington first thing Sunday morning. But I reserve the right to shake my ass to an Usher or Kanye West song or two (likely part of the set list, if I know this crew).
Sunday evening I'm doing Christmas at Dad's with my two sisters. It'll be really laid back and nice to spend some time with the family. Afterward, I'm going clubbing with a couple of friends, one of whom I haven't seen since 2001. Probably going to be a late night.
Monday, Christmas eve, my little sister and her gorgeous daughter and I are hanging out at Mom's with her and Dave. Drunken Wii boxing is likely. As is Xbox Rock Band. Ridiculousness will ensue, and hopefully I'll have the mind capacity to take some video to post here. No promises on that one, lol...
Christmas day will likely see a big family get together at my Aunt's. I'm most definitely looking forward to her incredibly sinful biscuits and butterscotch. Its a heinously calorie-laden food of the gods that basically makes me forget about all of the other goodies that abound. It'll be good to see the whole family, something that only happens a couple of times a year for me.
Wednesday will be a day of cramming visits to and from all remaining family and whichever friends I didn't get a chance to see earlier. It'll be a blur. Hopefully I can find some friends to hit the club with for a few hours before pouring myself onto a plane back to Memphis. To rest. And hydrate, teehee...
Anywho, there's my rundown for the next week or so, since I'll probably not post again till next Friday or Saturday. Here's to a fabulous holiday season, whichever one(s) you choose to celebrate!
Labels: All Posts, Friends and Family, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 8:44 AM,
Oregonian Sushi, Musical Incontinence, and Drunken Puggies...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Since my last post I did indeed make a brief journey into the Great Northwestern city of Portland, Oregon. I think it had been eight years or so since I'd last visited, and under much different circumstances. The previous trip had been in a caravan of shitty vehicles that were constantly overheating, a trailer without working shocks and packed to the gills with guitars, drums, keyboards, lights, and a really crappy Canadian-made sound system (no offense to Canadian products in general, just to Yorkville, the Peavey of the North), and a handful of fellow wanna-be-rockstars and would-be-roadies that with few exceptions, smelled of cabbage, curry, and pickles and snored at night. Yes, I am referring to the adventure that is a ghetto-style tour with a mediocre rock band. But I digress...
Last week's trip was for work. Things went very smoothly and the client is seeing the value in having us onsite, which is always good. Aside from a very cool little dive of a sushi bar near the office, there's not much to tell for people who aren't officially dubbed "Talent Acquisition Geeks". If you're one of us, well, plenty of stories to drink to in the event that we meet up.
Just prior to leaving for Portland, I was bitten quite hard by a bug that has more or less been comatose, or at least in hibernation for the last several months. 'Twas the songwriting bug. And the bite is visible. Within a few days I had written ten new songs, a feat by my standards. And alas, for the first time in many years, the songs all seemed to be within the same genre. For those of you who know the levels of my creative attention deficit disorder, you'll note that previous writing sprees have generally ended with an industrial metal song, a couple of country tunes, three exceedingly queer dance tracks, a song that is impossible to categorize, and a couple of pop rock tracks thrown in for good measure. Here we have songs that could actually, conceivably end up on a project together. *Insert GASP here*.
Anyway, I got back from Portland and found a nice, big box under (or rather next to) the Christmas tree with my name on it. Since I'll be going to Washington for Christmas and my guy will be going to see his family, we had our Christmas early. For the record, I've got the best guy ever. For what did I unwrap? I extend to the court, Exhibit A:
Oh but yes, I got a new Vox AC15 for Christmas. I was/am giddy. I sold my old one not too long after quitting my last band. I wasn't playing it much and I really wanted an acoustic guitar but didn't want to spend any cash to get one if I could manage. So I sold my baby and bought a killer little Larrivee. Anyway, long story marginally less short, I immediately wanted my Vox back and just haven't found the opportunity to get one. Again, love my guy.
So, a plethora of new material, a gorgeous new amp, and a recently purchased sequencing software for the studio have led me into a stage of musical incontinence like never before. And I'm quite okay with it. For anyone who cares, one of the scratch tracks I've been working on can be heard below. For anyone who doesn't know what a scratch track is, its an unmixed version of a song that has certain components (primarily the vocals, in my case) roughed in, but final (and hopefully better versions) are to come.
Finally, as the title of this post suggests, we are dealing with a sickly pug (yet again). Miss Honey has another cough, and this time the doctor said it wasn't in her lungs, but merely a swollen larynx or pharynx or uvula or some other medically ambiguous term. Anyway, so in addition to a round of antibiotics, he's prescribed a tranquilizer to help her rest, hoping that will stop her from incessant coughing that only serves to make the swelling in her throat worse. One of the both amusing and heartbreaking side effects of said tranquilizer is a seriously drunken Pug. I'd mortify her if I posted video of her in this state, but I'll leave you today with a picture of her stoned little ass sleeping next to my desk. Cheers.
Currently listening to The History of Howard Stern
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit, Music, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 9:35 AM,
Updates, Updates...
Saturday, December 1, 2007
I s'pose a month is a little longer than I needed to recover from the jetlag. Truth is, things have been pretty business as usual since I got home from India. My new client has offices in San Matteo, Portland, and Ann Arbor, so if I blog about biz trips in the immediate future, those will be the likely milieu. I've also got the annual Christmas trip to Spokompton coming up, which is always interesting.
Me and my 30% Friends and Family discount went on an absolute tear at Banana Republic yesterday. I hate to play so hard into the stereotype of "my people", but I really am quite fond of silk and cashmere blends, attractive argyle sweaters, and shopping in general.
On a different note, I hear Lasi's friend Madhu, with whom we hung out when I was in Chennai, is coming to Memphis for a few weeks of onsite client work. Now I guess its my turn to show him around!
Anywho, hopefully something interesting enough to blog about will happen in the next couple of days.
Until then: peace, love, and cashmere ear muffs....
Currently listening to Cansei de Ser Sexy - Music is My Hot, Hot Sex
Labels: All Posts, Friends and Family, General Bullshit, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 11:26 AM,
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