If it Ain't Baroque...

Been playing a lot of Bach, today. Let me tell you what, that is exciting stuff. Two hands but three melodies at the same time is kind of fun to play! But it's brought back some memories. One memory in particular really stands out.

I was playing piano at a benefit at St. Anthony's Church in Kyle my freshman year. It was an event put in place for a priest who was retiring that year and the church wanted to honor him and his contributions to the parish, and they had asked me to play. I had my keyboard and amp set up on the stage and I played the usual, dry, cocktail piano stuff I always bust out at these sorts of events, but near the end of the night I started to run out of material so I improvised some and played more fun stuff. It was easy money, it was fun, and it was for a good cause. Can't beat that, no?

Well, at some point in the night, the priest for whom them benefit was being held slowly walked up to the stage, being very dependent on his cane to get around, and stood by the amp. He closed his eyes and just stood there, listening. I had never had anybody do this in one of my "performances" before, and it was a bit different then what I was used to. After I had finished the song, he opened his eyes, looked at me and said, "When you walked into the room and set up, I saw you and you seemed so tense. But when you play you seem to have a real joy in what you do. That's God's joy. Please keep playing."

...Yep. That just happened. I had no idea what I was supposed to say or do to that. He just smiled at me and walked away. I remember very little about the priest, honestly, but I do remember what he said to me. Frequently, it jumps back into my mind and kind of haunts me during the times I convince myself not to try. Hopefully this isn't a bust. Hopefully I am actually good enough to get into the school of music. I've practiced so hard, and I'm analyzing my music when I'm not at the piano like I never have before. Yesterday I memorized whole sections of my piece away from the piano, only to return to the piano the next day and play those parts entirely from my study and analysis of the pieces the night before. I need to listen to the recordings, I need to study, I need to analyze more, and most importantly I need to practice. But most importantly, I need to pray. God has answered my prayers more than I deserve. I need to turn to Him entirely and play only for Him. I will make it into the school of music not by my talent or hard work, but only if it is God's will. I realize that now, and I accept that what happens is in His hands.

Because I need a total investment in what I am doing the chorus below is kinda what my life feels like right now. ;)

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

Keyboard win! Weight gain fail! Alcohol!

Hey readers. Currently readers who don't exist, but regardless...

So, I've been working on my keyboard stuff lately. That's been fun. I'll post a picture of it soon. I have two keyboards, one with very few synth capabilities like a piano, and the other can do rhythms and funky sounds and stuff. It's been fun trying to put them together. I've started a couple projects. One is to use my equipment to make covers of famous songs, and the other is to make my own songs. Pretty straight forward, but idea is to just get to know the equipment.

Oh, so guess what! I'm on a weight loss push again. I was doing really good until the semester ended a couple weeks ago, and it's time to get back to it. Thankfully I haven't gained that much weight, but I've made a bigger push to lose weight this time around in that I've actually started running! I had run for a little bit this past summer, but I'm really hoping to get to do it more this coming semester. FROM BEER BELLY TO A...BEER...SIX PACK! Yeah, I had to be realistic. The beer wasn't going anywhere.

AAAAAAAAnd it should be noted that I'm getting back into trying to watch the way I dress. Still can't exactly say that I'm an expert on the subject, but there are certain things I'm trying to stay away from (denim shorts). Really just trying to get myself into looking like I know how to put on clothes before I leave the house. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

...right?

Last but not least, my prayer life! Oh gee. Not been the best lately. I definitely have room to improve. My biggest thing is that I've been desperately wanting to go to Mass, but I keep sleeping in! GOSH DANG IT!!! But that's okay because I found a desperate but workable solution. If I don't sleep, I can't sleep in. So, in order to get to daily Mass in the morning, I've decided to not sleep! That's why I'm awake right now at 7:00 am. I'd normally still be asleep! I figured, "hey, if I put forth some extreme effort and show I really want to be there, maybe in the future God will help me make it work so I can actually sleep!" Sound's reasonable enough to me, but I'm working off no sleep, and my ability to think clearly has been severely screwed up. Also, I'm not very sure I'll be able to stay awake during Mass either. To be totally honest, it wouldn't surprise me if I was asleep right now and dreaming all of this...

And last last and quite randomly, I would just like to say that I'm SO PUMPED TO SEE THE CIVIL WARS IN CONCERT IN JANUARY!!! I'm going to fan-boy like a fan-girl so hard. Just saying.

And with that, I leave you. It's time that I find something to do with myself that requires movement of more of my body than just my fingers, or else I risk falling asleep. Unless I'm already asleep. OR TO KEEP ME FROM FALLING ASLEEP IN MY DREAMS!!! No Inception crap it gonna keep ME from Mass.

Winning streak

I don't know what the hell is going on lately, but it's awesome.

Okay, so here's the deal. This past week has been awesome. My mood is just through the roof, and I think it's partially because I've been getting a full night's sleep lately and actually watching what I eat. Haven't done either of those things since this past summer, and the difference is noticeable. On Wednesday, I actually woke up smiling...at 6:15 in the morning. Who the hell wakes up at 6:15 in the morning with a smile on? Seriously, I don't like questioning good things, but I'm just gonna have to let this one slide.


Anyways, not much to say here other than "I. Am. Happy."

Monopoly ...I want it.

I'm secretly a Monopoly nerd. Maybe not so secretly, and I'm not that good at the game, but I have a lot of fun with it and I'm kind of an avid player on my computer and have been for a little while. I even have some collectible game pieces like a few of the Johnny Lightning truck pieces, just for grins and giggles (although I kind of lost track of all but one at the moment). I like to play it and I enjoy the history and I decided the world can't go on without me sharing this little piece of knowledge.

The most expensive monopoly game ever created is worth $2 million. You're probably like, "fool, you crazy. no board game it that much!", but let me assure you, this exists. It's actually chilling in the Smithsonion (I believe) right now, although it leaves occasionally to go 'on tour'. It was created by Sidney Mobell, and here are the specs.

• The dice are all 18 Karate gold, while the board itself is 23 karate gold wrapped in a rosewood casing.
• All letters on the casing itself are in gold leaf (it's gorgeous).
• The pieces are gold too, of course
• The pips in the dice are filled diamonds, while rubys were used on the board itself, the windows and chimneys of the houses and hotels, and on the tail lights of the car piece (the best piece).
• At the time of production, gold cost $300 an ounce. Today, gold costs $1,300 an ounce

The set itself, as I understand it, hasn't been played on too many times, although the creator of this artwork played a game against the former prime minister of Britain...and lost horribly.

Sydney Mobell is a jewelry artist, and his current work of art is a gold hourglass necklace filled with, not sand, but diamonds. I just checked it out, and it's freaking fantastic. To be clear, I'm an art lover, not a jewelry lover.

The next most expensive monopoly set is worth a mere $200,000. Only one was in production and included actual American currency.