Trees

I go to run at Parvins all the time. I run the same trail every time but it never gets old. Sometimes I have a hard time finishing my one lap of 3.1 miles but the other day when I got to the end I just kept going and went around a second time. Some days I just feel like running forever. I was listening to music and I just wanted to keep listening and moving so I did.

I feel like running there is cathartic, like writing.
I get to leave a part of myself behind.
All of my old thoughts are stored in those woods and its comfortable there.
It's where the living meet the dead.
Why do I always think of you when I run downhill?
I can go there to think and solve problems.
I'm reminded of other times I've been there doing the same thing and that helps.
Ghosts of old ideas, worries and friends surround me.
Some days I just need another lap to get the help I need.

We won't be saved

Isn't it great how clear things become at night?
It's like enhancement of senses.
When it gets dark, you lose some of your sight, but your vision becomes so much better.
I've received all your letters but I still can't make any words.
Come back to your senses.
It's the last exit before a toll.
The price you pay is repeating the past.
Will you stand by and wait, assuming the worst?
Make a move, make a call.
You never could take the first step on your own.
I'll be here.
Even when autumn drives you up the coast.

* * *

Tomorrow/tonight is Argyle Gargoyle's second show at Memories. I hope some of you can make it out, but it was a short notice show. I'm looking forward to just being up there to play again. I want to get lost in the moments that I'm on stage, even if there isn't a real stage. I'm feeling kind of sick, like the weird I-should-be-asleep-since-it's-5am sick. My eyes are making my stomach turn.

Am I just a fictional character?

What do I do?

I'm waiting to go out tonight. It seems like it's been a long time since I've been in a bar. I don't really have money to spend on beer but I'm going to anyway. I managed to book Argyle Gargoyle a show in September at Bridgewater Pub. Unfortunately it's 21+ but anyone who meets that criteria should come out and see us. It's Punk Night, so I'm not sure if we really fit the bill, but we'll still play it. Come watch us get booed by the real punk bands, that could be more entertaining to watch anyway. You can actually have beers while you're watching the bands at this place too, which will be a nice change. We've been working on our three (maybe four?) new songs and we'll definitely have two ready to play at our next show. We might still change things up in them, but they're good enough to let you guys hear. If you can't make it to Memories next Thursday, we'll be playing there the following Saturday also. Hope to see a lot of people make it out.

Besides the band, I've been trying to get together some of my solo stuff to do some home recordings of. I have a lot of lyrics with no music and some music with no lyrics that I'm going to try to put together into full acoustic/bass songs for your listening pleasure. And my own listening pleasure. I love writing things and posting my lyrics and poetry but some of the things I write really come across better as songs and I want to put them out that way. Hopefully that will happen soon.

I want to write more short fiction stories before going back to Rowan. They have a literary magazine for poetry and prose that I'd like to get into. I don't know in what way yet, but I'd like to get published somewhere. I don't really ever feel like my stuff is good enough to be put in print, but other people have told me it is and I'd like to see what I can do with it.

I have an idea for a film short also. It would be a pretty brief, one idea type of recording. I like the idea I have and I want to shoot it all in black and white (or transfer it to black and white later, however digital works.) When I get that started I will try to post some pieces of it if possible for criticism.

**I realize this has become a long list comprised of what I have been thinking about and doing on a daily basis.. but it's almost over.

I have been learning Russian over the past few weeks and doing pretty well too. I can only form one complete sentence so far but I can recite numbers up to ten, some of the alphabet (there are like ten more letters in the Russian alphabet, some of them are silent but still pronounced.. how does that work??), a few colors and my favorite, most of the human anatomy. The normal stuff I mean... hands, feet, elbows, hair, eyes, lips.. etc. I don't know how to say appendix or alveoli. I'll get there eventually, but I started with anatomy and it's my best area. It's a lot of fun learning another language, if for no other reason than being able to say things right in front of people without them knowing what you're talking about.

I think that's pretty much everything. I need to organize my pictures and get an online portfolio or my own website. My photos are pretty scattered around on different websites and folders on my computer. I'm bad at organization. I should also probably start drawing again to get ready for the onslaught of it I'll be facing in less than a month. Yikes.

Leopard

I got this done today. I was going to do it bright red but I like the way it ended up like this. I get very bored quickly so I always want to change my hair. I let it grow long for a while, then I cut it short and change the color and then I let it grow long and start over again. Katie said I should dye my "beard" blue. I don't know about that.. what do you think?

Baby pictures

I got my first (sort of) real photo job completed today. A while ago, I took pictures of Diebra's son, Pollock, instead of her going to a studio. She really liked the product and these are the three photos she picked to make prints of:



I think she made good choices. I took a lot of shots, but these ones came out really well. It was hard to get him to smile, but every once in a while he would laugh and I would get a handful of good shots. I really like the second picture, he looks very introspective, if that's possible for a baby. I had fun doing it and I look forward to doing more photo shoots, hopefully with older people next time.

I'm kinda flabbergasted when you say things like that...

When I woke up yesterday morning (or was it afternoon when I woke up?) I knew it was the day that my tuition payment was due at Rowan. I hadn't made an effort to find a loan on my own because one of the people I talked to assured me that my classes wouldn't be dropped until later and my loan information should be available by a few days after the "deadline." When I went there yesterday, the deadline had been pushed backed a week, giving me more time. I checked the site today just for the hell of it, finding, to my surprise, that my financial aid award information was posted!

Fed. Direct Subsidized Loan	Accepted	$5,500.00
Fed. Direct Unsubsidized Loan	Offered	$7,000.00
Federal Pell Grant	Accepted	$4,731.00
Federal SEOG	Accepted	$250.00
Total		$17,481.00

This is the first time I have ever been offered any money at all to pay for school, so seeing a number like 17,000 with a dollar sign next to it is pretty crazy for me. The best part of all of it is that $5000 is in grants that I don't have to pay back! That's awesome. I'm happy and it feels good for once. The subsidized loan I accepted will take care of all but about $300 of my tuition bill. So I'm set for this year! I was ready to go through a bunch of shit with the financial aid office and late fees and dropped classes but this went perfectly! Let's hear it for waiting until the last minute to do things! Hooray!

Now, on to less important matters: my "new" blog! This is it.. I'm sure for anyone reading this, it's probably not a surprise that I've started, say it with me, ANOTHER blog, but this one is somewhat of a consolidation of others. This will be more of a community blog where I'll post pictures, comments on things I've done and just general things I like. Hopefully you can get involved too and post a comment every now and again. If you're at a loss for things to post about, tell me what you think...

Is the background too bright?

Do you like the banner? I just made it.. and yes, it's one of my pictures, I didn't steal it. I may have borrowed some lyrics for the title though.

I went to the drive-in tonight to see Step Brothers (again) and Pineapple Express. I enjoyed Step Brothers more this time around and Pineapple Express is a must see, especially for Seth Rogen fans (and honestly, who isn't a Seth Rogen fan? The man is a genius.) It reminded me of Bulletproof, genre-wise anyway. It's a lot more action than I expected but it's hilarious at the same time. The parts that I saw in the previews twenty times were still funny in the movie.

The other night I happened upon a few shows from my childhood that made me really happy to sit and watch. They were still really entertaining now... I did have a few rum and cokes before I watched it though.. just like when I was a kid.



What happened to Gambit when they made the movies??? He was always my favorite and I can imagine he would make a great screen character. Watching the cartoon made me realize they did a great job at casting the rest of the X-Men characters though. Kelsey Grammer was a good choice to play Beast and the rest is obvious. I also remember how much I hated Jubilee.



This made me want to go see The Dark Knight again, not that I really needed another reason. Harley Quinn was in it! I completely forgot about her.

I've said enough. Keep checking back as I'll be updating frequently I think. Leave soon, but first leave comments!

dm