Since my last post, my wife and I had our son (Johnny), purchased and moved into a house, and finished up my first full year of teaching. Top five things I did today:
1. Fed my son with a bottle. It was his first bottle, and he ate like a champ. No surprise there.
2. Organized my first real garage. It has a lot left to do, but we are able to pull the car in.
3. Found out I have the NFL network. Digital cable forever!
4. Bathed my son for the first time in our new house.
5. Started to learn Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" on the guitar. Part of our digital cable has guitar lessons. Digital cable forever!
In honor of yesterday's NBA draft, if I was starting a team with draft picks of my generation (debatable, but I will say 1982 on), here are my picks:
1. Patrick Ewing
2. Xavier McDaniel
3. Karl Malone
4. Tim Duncan
5. Charles Barkley
Now I am just like the Sonics, no point guard and too many 4's. I am okay as long as the Seahawks don't go to Oklahoma City.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Top Five Willies (or Will or William) in a movie
Left a rambler of a message today, threw in the above top 5 off the top of my head.
1. Will Hunting
2. William Miller
3. William Wallace
4. Willy Wonka
5. Willie "Mayes" Hayes
I used to work with a guy who would talk about how time moved faster as you got older, because it was all relative. When you are a year old, one day is 1/365th of your life. When you are 30, one day is 1/10,958th of your life. It is an exponential equation that no one wants to learn about. It is just the bittersweet symphony that is life. I am going to go play some music at T.C.'s tonight. That is sweet. One more top five for today...
Top 5 bass players I have ever played with (in order):
1. Willie Eseltine
2. Patrick Laducer
3. Craig
4. Bart-o
5. Nick Anderson
1. Will Hunting
2. William Miller
3. William Wallace
4. Willy Wonka
5. Willie "Mayes" Hayes
I used to work with a guy who would talk about how time moved faster as you got older, because it was all relative. When you are a year old, one day is 1/365th of your life. When you are 30, one day is 1/10,958th of your life. It is an exponential equation that no one wants to learn about. It is just the bittersweet symphony that is life. I am going to go play some music at T.C.'s tonight. That is sweet. One more top five for today...
Top 5 bass players I have ever played with (in order):
1. Willie Eseltine
2. Patrick Laducer
3. Craig
4. Bart-o
5. Nick Anderson
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Chimpanzee that, he's written it down...
When I think of a blog as an online diary I think of the most famous diary I have read (or heard someone read), and that is of course the Diary of Karl Pilkington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Pilkington). And then I figure, whatever I write won't be too boring.
Sarah and I are about to have a baby. A little Wuj. Sarah is due May 29th, and time is moving much faster now. I mention this because when babies do things, like hold your hand or say your name, it will (I imagine) give the dad goose-bumps. Which brings me to the next top five:
Top Five scenes in a movie that give me goose-bumps.
1. The end of Hoosiers, when they do the little montage, and you hear Coach Norman Dale say, "I love you guys." Good lord, I got shivers just typing that!
2. A very, very close second oddly enough also involves Gene Hackman. Near the end of Royal Tenenbaums, when Chas and Royal have a heart to heart...
Chas: I've had a rough year, Dad.
Royal: I know you have, Chassie.
Then the end, with the ride in the ambulance. What a great movie.
3. The end of Good Will Hunting when Will heads out for California.
4. This is a tie. There are two scenes in Almost Famous that get me, mostly because of the music. When Russell gets electrocuted and they leave the gig early, crashing through the gate. After they turn the corner, "That's the Way" starts playing. And the scene is then driving towards a sunset (sunrise?). Awesome. Also, at the end when Penny comes to the steakhouse and Russell ignores her, and William goes after her. "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" is playing, and it gets me every time.
5. The funny thing about top 5 lists, the hardest is always #5. With the others, there are always more you will be able to come up with, but with #5 you are not so much picking one, and cutting all the others. Anyway, near the end of the movie Breaking Away, after they win the bike race. "Go you Cutters!" You're not a cutter. I'm a cutter.
Honorable mention: Garden State, Rushmore, Return of the King, Scent of a Woman, Stand by Me, Little Big Man, Glory, and Good Will Hunting.
Sarah and I are about to have a baby. A little Wuj. Sarah is due May 29th, and time is moving much faster now. I mention this because when babies do things, like hold your hand or say your name, it will (I imagine) give the dad goose-bumps. Which brings me to the next top five:
Top Five scenes in a movie that give me goose-bumps.
1. The end of Hoosiers, when they do the little montage, and you hear Coach Norman Dale say, "I love you guys." Good lord, I got shivers just typing that!
2. A very, very close second oddly enough also involves Gene Hackman. Near the end of Royal Tenenbaums, when Chas and Royal have a heart to heart...
Chas: I've had a rough year, Dad.
Royal: I know you have, Chassie.
Then the end, with the ride in the ambulance. What a great movie.
3. The end of Good Will Hunting when Will heads out for California.
4. This is a tie. There are two scenes in Almost Famous that get me, mostly because of the music. When Russell gets electrocuted and they leave the gig early, crashing through the gate. After they turn the corner, "That's the Way" starts playing. And the scene is then driving towards a sunset (sunrise?). Awesome. Also, at the end when Penny comes to the steakhouse and Russell ignores her, and William goes after her. "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" is playing, and it gets me every time.
5. The funny thing about top 5 lists, the hardest is always #5. With the others, there are always more you will be able to come up with, but with #5 you are not so much picking one, and cutting all the others. Anyway, near the end of the movie Breaking Away, after they win the bike race. "Go you Cutters!" You're not a cutter. I'm a cutter.
Honorable mention: Garden State, Rushmore, Return of the King, Scent of a Woman, Stand by Me, Little Big Man, Glory, and Good Will Hunting.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Movie Quotes
Top five movie quotes that crack me up:
1. "This aggression will not stand, man."
2. Beanie: "Don't say sorry to me, Frank. Say it to the baby."
Frank: "Sorry, baby."
3. "What did you think Mr. Littlejeans?"
"Best play ever, man."
4. "My little Roy-toy."
5. "Littering and..Littering and..Littering and..."
Can you name all 5? What am I forgetting?
1. "This aggression will not stand, man."
2. Beanie: "Don't say sorry to me, Frank. Say it to the baby."
Frank: "Sorry, baby."
3. "What did you think Mr. Littlejeans?"
"Best play ever, man."
4. "My little Roy-toy."
5. "Littering and..Littering and..Littering and..."
Can you name all 5? What am I forgetting?
Thursday, February 01, 2007
A ratio is a comparison of two parts. A fraction compares a part to a whole.
So I teach seventh grade math for a living. I used to use seventh grade math when I was working as a stone mason and a stone mason's laborer from 2000-2005. Here are the top five things I miss about working construction:
1. Talking about music with my co-workers. This often involved top-five lists (which I love), discussions about who is the greatest guitarist (vocalist, frontman, bassist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, etc.), favorite album of each decade, and so on. I talk about music as much as possible with my classes, but it is just not the same.
2. The physical nature of the work. This at times was a negative, but at times it felt good to be working hard physically. I don't sweat when I am teaching, and I don't have the same back strength that I had 2 years ago. That's a damn shame.
3. I miss the hours. I would get to the jobsite at 7am, we have a 15-20 minute break at 10am, we eat lunch for 45 minutes to an hour at noon, and off at 3:30. Like clockwork. Teaching, I show up at 7am, eat lunch for about 25 minutes at 11am, and leave around 4 pm. Don't get me started about the lack of bathroom breaks.
4. Bathroom breaks. Whenever you wanted. Of course the honey buckets were disgusting. I cannot believe this is #4. Probably part of why I am glad I quit.
5. The inside jokes and nicknames. Shafe, Deuce, Little Nick, Garcon, Keck me in the Shimmy. "What do you know about reality?", "Was he eating a banana?", money in the kitty, Seibert sighting, old Indian trick, "That's what they're gonna get", stacking phonebooks, "Well, at any rate", "Can I s*** in your bucket?", "Play with more feeling", Nathan-voice, "Time and materials" as first words, etc. I will add more as I remember. I know that these don't mean much to those who read them, but trust me, they are hilarious.
Oh yeah, top five things I don't miss:
1. Rich homeowners.
2. Working outside in the rain, hot sun, or in the really cold.
3. The backaches, fingeraches, armaches, legaches.
4. Mortar dust, or the stone dust from cutting with a grinder. Filthy.
5. Architects. Not you Ginj, but the rest of them.
Overall I am ecstatic that I quit my job, got my master's degree, and started teaching. Today I yelled too much and my throat hurts; but I laughed a lot, saw 5 students lip synch The Spice Girls during the auditions for the upcoming talent show, and I got 130 kids to rub a piece of purple paper and smell it because I told them it would smell like grape. I also put a picture of Built to Spill on their assignment sheet, and offered a prize to the first student who tells me who they are. It is weird, when I was working construction I felt like I was aging faster than time was moving. When I spend my days with 13 year olds, I don't think I am aging as quickly. I think it will make me a better person, husband, parent, and uncle. That probably makes up for the short lunch.
1. Talking about music with my co-workers. This often involved top-five lists (which I love), discussions about who is the greatest guitarist (vocalist, frontman, bassist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, etc.), favorite album of each decade, and so on. I talk about music as much as possible with my classes, but it is just not the same.
2. The physical nature of the work. This at times was a negative, but at times it felt good to be working hard physically. I don't sweat when I am teaching, and I don't have the same back strength that I had 2 years ago. That's a damn shame.
3. I miss the hours. I would get to the jobsite at 7am, we have a 15-20 minute break at 10am, we eat lunch for 45 minutes to an hour at noon, and off at 3:30. Like clockwork. Teaching, I show up at 7am, eat lunch for about 25 minutes at 11am, and leave around 4 pm. Don't get me started about the lack of bathroom breaks.
4. Bathroom breaks. Whenever you wanted. Of course the honey buckets were disgusting. I cannot believe this is #4. Probably part of why I am glad I quit.
5. The inside jokes and nicknames. Shafe, Deuce, Little Nick, Garcon, Keck me in the Shimmy. "What do you know about reality?", "Was he eating a banana?", money in the kitty, Seibert sighting, old Indian trick, "That's what they're gonna get", stacking phonebooks, "Well, at any rate", "Can I s*** in your bucket?", "Play with more feeling", Nathan-voice, "Time and materials" as first words, etc. I will add more as I remember. I know that these don't mean much to those who read them, but trust me, they are hilarious.
Oh yeah, top five things I don't miss:
1. Rich homeowners.
2. Working outside in the rain, hot sun, or in the really cold.
3. The backaches, fingeraches, armaches, legaches.
4. Mortar dust, or the stone dust from cutting with a grinder. Filthy.
5. Architects. Not you Ginj, but the rest of them.
Overall I am ecstatic that I quit my job, got my master's degree, and started teaching. Today I yelled too much and my throat hurts; but I laughed a lot, saw 5 students lip synch The Spice Girls during the auditions for the upcoming talent show, and I got 130 kids to rub a piece of purple paper and smell it because I told them it would smell like grape. I also put a picture of Built to Spill on their assignment sheet, and offered a prize to the first student who tells me who they are. It is weird, when I was working construction I felt like I was aging faster than time was moving. When I spend my days with 13 year olds, I don't think I am aging as quickly. I think it will make me a better person, husband, parent, and uncle. That probably makes up for the short lunch.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Top five uses for a time machine...
Give me a minute to get to the point.
Since New Year's I have been trying out something called an elimination diet. This is a very restrictive diet to see if you have food allergies or are sensitive to certain foods. You start out eating a very limited diet. You keep a diary of what you eat and how you feel, and after two weeks you add things one at a time and record any negative reaction. So far, I have added eggs to the okay list. I have lost 11 pounds so far, which is good, which brings me to my point...I started thinking: if I had a time machine, at what point in my life would I want to go and regain my physical appearance? At 19 I was able to play college basketball in that body, but I was skinny as hell and sick all the time. At 25 I was working in a stoneyard, riding my bike all over Seattle, and living next to a gym that I worked out at 6 days a week (I was also in an unfortunate living situation, but we are talking about physical body not mind). At 27 when I met Sarah I was working my ass off as a laborer for a stone masonry company and running marathons. Now I am ashamed of my pictures from the polar bear swim, but as Willie asked me, "How many sit-ups do you do?" Well played Eseltine.
Here is my point. If I had a time machine I wouldn't worry about my abs. I would go back about ten years and buy a couple of footlong cold cut combos from Subway and sit around talking with my Dad, the original Wuj (back east they spelled it Wuge. Think of a Philly accent saying "huge"). We could talk about sports, music, his growing up, what he did in the service, and we would have plenty to talk about. We would not talk about body fat, and thinking about this makes me feel very shallow for worrying about my pictures from the polar bear. I did not notice that I am surrounded by my wife, sister, brother-in-law, and niece, and we are all smiling, laughing, and healthy. Things are pretty good right now, and I am not sure why that is so easy to ignore.
I honestly only planned to use this blog for top fives. In response to Housman, here are my top five "contemporary" bands:
1. Built to Spill
2. The White Stripes
3. Deathcab for Cutie
4. The Shins
5. My Morning Jacket
Do any of these count? I realize that the top 3 have been around a while. I was proud of myself for not putting Pearl Jam on the list, because that is one of the more current bands I listen to regularly, and their first album came out when I was a senior in high school. How about top 5 Seattle(area- Aberdeen is not Seattle) Groups:
1. Soundgarden
2. Alice in Chains
3. Pearl Jam
4. Nirvana
5. Mother Love Bone
Since New Year's I have been trying out something called an elimination diet. This is a very restrictive diet to see if you have food allergies or are sensitive to certain foods. You start out eating a very limited diet. You keep a diary of what you eat and how you feel, and after two weeks you add things one at a time and record any negative reaction. So far, I have added eggs to the okay list. I have lost 11 pounds so far, which is good, which brings me to my point...I started thinking: if I had a time machine, at what point in my life would I want to go and regain my physical appearance? At 19 I was able to play college basketball in that body, but I was skinny as hell and sick all the time. At 25 I was working in a stoneyard, riding my bike all over Seattle, and living next to a gym that I worked out at 6 days a week (I was also in an unfortunate living situation, but we are talking about physical body not mind). At 27 when I met Sarah I was working my ass off as a laborer for a stone masonry company and running marathons. Now I am ashamed of my pictures from the polar bear swim, but as Willie asked me, "How many sit-ups do you do?" Well played Eseltine.
Here is my point. If I had a time machine I wouldn't worry about my abs. I would go back about ten years and buy a couple of footlong cold cut combos from Subway and sit around talking with my Dad, the original Wuj (back east they spelled it Wuge. Think of a Philly accent saying "huge"). We could talk about sports, music, his growing up, what he did in the service, and we would have plenty to talk about. We would not talk about body fat, and thinking about this makes me feel very shallow for worrying about my pictures from the polar bear. I did not notice that I am surrounded by my wife, sister, brother-in-law, and niece, and we are all smiling, laughing, and healthy. Things are pretty good right now, and I am not sure why that is so easy to ignore.
I honestly only planned to use this blog for top fives. In response to Housman, here are my top five "contemporary" bands:
1. Built to Spill
2. The White Stripes
3. Deathcab for Cutie
4. The Shins
5. My Morning Jacket
Do any of these count? I realize that the top 3 have been around a while. I was proud of myself for not putting Pearl Jam on the list, because that is one of the more current bands I listen to regularly, and their first album came out when I was a senior in high school. How about top 5 Seattle(area- Aberdeen is not Seattle) Groups:
1. Soundgarden
2. Alice in Chains
3. Pearl Jam
4. Nirvana
5. Mother Love Bone
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Street Corner Wuj
Today I am home because the icy roads in the Seattle area have shut down many school districts, including the one I work for. It gives me a chance to practice harmonica without bothering Sarah. Listening to someone try and figure out a song on the harmonica ain't no trip to Cleveland. Today I am working on "My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)".
One of the things I would like to do in my life is take my guitar and harmonica down to Pike Place Market and put on a little show for money. Now, I am not expecting big dollars, but enough to buy a Subway for lunch. Not a fancy subway, just a Cold Cut Combo or a Meatball. Foot long, not 6".
This is my street corner set list. I would of course take requests, but would probably not know any of them unless they are on this list...
Wish You Were Here
Only Living Boy in New York
Needle and the Damage Done*
Going to California
Time
Razor Love*
Down By the River*
Cortez (duo with Willie)*
Heart of Gold*
Old Man*
The Promised Land
Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Jane Says
An Alice in Chains acoustic medley
Pocahontas*
My My Hey Hey (by the end of today I will have it)*
All songs with * will be sung with Willie Eseltine, and his beautiful falsetto.
One of the things I would like to do in my life is take my guitar and harmonica down to Pike Place Market and put on a little show for money. Now, I am not expecting big dollars, but enough to buy a Subway for lunch. Not a fancy subway, just a Cold Cut Combo or a Meatball. Foot long, not 6".
This is my street corner set list. I would of course take requests, but would probably not know any of them unless they are on this list...
Wish You Were Here
Only Living Boy in New York
Needle and the Damage Done*
Going to California
Time
Razor Love*
Down By the River*
Cortez (duo with Willie)*
Heart of Gold*
Old Man*
The Promised Land
Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Jane Says
An Alice in Chains acoustic medley
Pocahontas*
My My Hey Hey (by the end of today I will have it)*
All songs with * will be sung with Willie Eseltine, and his beautiful falsetto.
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