You're scrunching up your face in this picture I found

I've been working on setting up my new computer. I got Windows installed on it, but have been fighting with sound issues in my Fedora install. I may try a couple other distros before I just install a damn soundcard. I have an Audigy2 ZS (old) card that I could install, but because my machine has one PCI slot, I'd have to lose my wireless card...although, I could just use a USB wireless dongle. I hate the word dongle, though. The other option is buying a new soundcard that plugs into the PCI-E slot...that might be the best choice of all.

On a whim, I made a really cute hippo flash drive for Erin on Monday night. I broke the plastic case away from the drive, cut up a piece of cedar into a hippo shape (based on this) but with a cap, instead of a cable that plugs into the hippo's but. I should post a picture of it sometime.

Erin starts school today. I'm REALLY hoping that she likes it.

I made a list of a bunch of CDs that I need to buy. I really want to go back and buy everything I've downloaded...or at least everything I downloaded and actually listened to/kept. So far, the tally is just below $300, though...and there's a lot I haven't added (Mountain Goats, Weakerthans, etc). I predict it will jump to nearly $600 when it's all said and done... I'll likely just do this little bits at a time.

Every day is silent and gray

Working late tonight =\ This is my first crazy release...and I've been here since 8:30am

It's better because I was up til 3:30am today trying to get my stupid new computer up and running. I had a HELL of a time trying to get Windows to install. The thing kept rebooting in the middle...I realized I'd spent about 3 hours (with one spent going to buy a cheap keyboard/mouse) trying to install windows, to no avail, so I moved onto Fedora...there are some driver issues (sound and wireless) but at least I have some functionality...

This weekend is going to be bullshit. I'm driving to San Antonio to pick up my trumpets and guitar body from my brother (San Antonio is closer than Katy) but my mom's going to be there...so that's kinda dumb. I need to install my amp in my car (I won't have music until I do...and you know I don't like that), do an oil change, work more on my computer, and a few other small things. I'm not certain if I'm still playing that show with Kerstan next week, but if I am, it's going to be crazy...we'll need to practice during next week, just to ensure that it won't be a disaster.

My wood-working is just about done, now; I'm happy with the results. I hadn't used a chisel much, so making dovetail joints was kind of scary, but I jumped in and they went alright. I still have some issues (partly due to the fact that I don't have a skew chisel, I'm bad at measuring the depth of the cuts, so they aren't perfectly square (one side sticks out too far while the other is too short) but that will come with practice, I think.

I'm reading The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo right now. It's apparently not copyrighted in the US, so I downloaded it from the Gutenberg Project and have been reading it via my PSP. I was never really much of an eBook reader (the monitor hurts my eyes, plus it sucks to have to sit up while you read...I prefer to lay down) but this makes it almost as good as the real thing. I don't like that I have to page-down so frequently, but it beats having to hold the book open (without creasing the binding...which I HATE). I've been throwing the idea of the Kindle around for a while, but I don't know. It's still really expensive, and I think it's still too big for my needs...the PSP works fine for now.

I'm so sleepy.

homo homini lupus

I've been a bit melancholy lately. I'm really not sure what it is...most things are going well. I'm still coming to terms with exactly how much money I'm making; my job isn't bad; Erin and I are getting along well; and I've had time to spend time working with my hands... Even with all that, I'm just a bit down. It may be due to the fact that I'm driving more than I used to...work isn't just across the street anymore. But, really, that only knocks an hour off my day, at most.

I really just think I'm becoming more and more displeased with the way society, as a whole, seems to act. We're a people of glitter; only worried about ourselves and what looks good. The title of this post is a quote I found incredibly relevant to my current thinking -- man is a wolf to man; essentially, the worst things that happen to people are done by other people. Another Latin phrase I've found that I really like is, "auribus teneo lupum" -- I hold a wolf by the ears; sort of a "tiger by the tail" thing...damned if you let go, but damned if you hold on.

It sort of upsets me because I actually sometimes see myself acting selfishly... I'm trying to stop (or at least do it as infrequently as possible). The biggest place I see so much selfishness is when people are driving. Everyone is just concerned with getting to their destination as fast as possible. All the excessive lane-changing and staying in a lane that you KNOW is going to end just causes further delays -- the same delays that you are trying to avoid...you're making them WORSE for someone else. To some degree, the roads are over-crowded...but I think a very large portion of the issue is that the roads are used inefficiently and improperly.

Enough on all that.

A question: would getting a tattoo that reads "homo homini lupus" be as bad of an idea as I think it would? I mean, having the word "homo" tattooed on your skin in Texas...does that sound smart?

Lately, I've been fightin' Jesus

Today has been an awkward day.

So, I wake up in a pretty good mood...shower, eat breakfast...as per my routine. I make my lunch for the day and brush my teeth. I put my shoes on and walk out the door with just my lunch. I get to the car and realize I don't have my bag...so I go back, get it, then return to the car. When I get there, I realize that my door is unlocked....huh, that's not like me...but I've done it before....then I see the pile of glass in the passenger seat. INSTANT RAGE.

So, I was parked in the street and someone broke into my car last night and the best part is, they didn't even take anything I really care about (they got about $2 in change, my stereo faceplate (the stereo was bolted in pretty seriously...and I was trying to find an excuse to replace it anyway), a battery jumpstarter box (which doesn't really work) and my rollerblades). The rollerblades are probably the biggest loss...and I haven't used them in years. Somehow, that makes the whole thing more frustrating. Maybe it's the fact that they broke my dash...maybe the fact that they busted my window...I don't know. So I send an email to work...tell them I'll be in late, if at all...and call the police to report it. They're pretty lax about it and just take my name, guess that it happened at 2:30am and call it a day. I call around, find the best price on a window (that can install it today) and find that I'm gonna be out $175. The good news is that they'll bring it out to me, and I don't have to drive with all that broken glass in the car. This is kind of nice because I've been very slowly working on some trays...it's hard to explain, but basically a drawer that doesn't go into a dresser. They'll be for when my desk is full of a project that I'm putting on hold, but can't put into a box, for whatever reason. Basically, I'm making dovetail joints for the sides, then gluing in a bottom. I also work a bit from home. I got a lot done...I made two of the trays and the third one won't take too long. Maybe tomorrow afternoon. Dovetail joints are apparently REALLY difficult, and a sign of a person's craftsmanship...mine really don't look all that bad, and they're perfectly functional. I think better wood (read: no knots in it) would make them a bit better, too.

So, I just build and work and wait for the glass man to come fix my car. It' a fairly relaxed morning. After that gets taken care of, I go to a car-wash to vacuum out my truck. All through the day, I'm just slowly getting a bit more sad; not really for myself, or my situation...but more for just the state of humanity. We've got people cutting other people's heads off on buses, child sex rings, and all kinds of other completely ridiculous things. We, as a species, are just getting more and more fucked up. I blame over-population. Crime is often a result of greed. Greed is made worse by the fact that some people have too much and so many people don't have enough. This could be due to the fact that not everyone can be the richest man in the world...the best paying jobs tend to be the most selective...however, anyone can clean shit off of an elementary school floor...

I honestly think I feel sorry for the guy who busted my window. I mean, he might get $20 pawning my stuff...he obviously got cut up pretty decently (a dime-sized spot of blood on the outside of my truck and a smear on the vinyl side of my seat) and was clearly pissed (as evidenced by the scratches on the front of the stereo he couldn't extract from the dash). Odds are, it's just a down-and-out drug addict with nothing to lose. The fact that we have so many people just like him is just upsetting.




Or maybe feeling sorry for other people is my way of coping with anger.

If I see sunlight hit you I am sure that we'll both decompose

The move is progressing nicely. I think we have all of our major furniture now. We still need a dining room table, but Erin agrees it's not incredibly important at this point in time. We may buy a second book shelf at some point in time, but right now, we're okay.

I still need to tidy up the loft area. I have my drums mostly set up, my desk is up, but not everything is on it and I still have several boxes filled with stuff I've yet to find a place for. I may buy a buttload of cheap mousepads to make a soft work surface on my desk, but I haven't made a clear decision on that one yet. I wouldn't go buying a couple of those mousepads, though...as I hear that they make terrible mousepads. I just want the foam underside... As far as the drums are concerned, I played a little bit the other day while Erin was outside...she said you probably can't hear them in another house or anything; they sound like someone's just driving by with the windows down.

---WTF! someone just walked by my office at work with a dog on a leash...dogs are everywhere and it just makes me really want a puppy =\

I've met the backyard neighbor (I don't know if I've mentioned that yet...the original garage to this house was in the back yard...it's since been converted to an apartment and there's a girl living in it...) and she seems pretty reasonable/nice. She also has a 2 month old shih tzu named Echo...so cute. He's basically a ball of black and white fur with a mouth.

Yesterday, Erin's family came over to help with some lawn work. We trimmed some trees (that were encroaching on the power lines), trimmed some vines (that were winding up the house), raked the leaves and did other assorted things. The back yard has two trees that are practically begging for a hammock...

Pretty soon, I'm going to get a bunch of Kerstan's music equipment (PA mixer + speakers) so that we can practice at the house. We haven't practiced much at all over this past summer, so there's no telling how that will sound at first. He played a solo show a few weekends ago with a pretty decent reception.

I lost track of where I intended to go on this entry...