So as most of you know, I've been looking for a summer job. I would really like one in a retail position, since engineering internships don't like like they're going to happen this summer. Electronics retail would be ideal. Well, yesterday, I got an email from RadioShack inviting me to attend a hiring fair on Monday. Pray that goes well! I also went up to Winn-Dixie to ask about an application, and I was told to fill out the online application, and they gave me instructions about which links to click to get there. So i get on the computer and follow those instructions. The link doesn't exist. So I search through every page of the site i can find. Still no luck. I eventually had to google "winn-dixie careers" to find it. Then I started the application. Everything looks normal. Then there's the tax credit questions. About 20 questions asking if I'm white or Latino and if I collect unemployment benefits. After that, they want me to complete a 118-question personality assessment (you know, the kind that ask you the same 8 questions so many times that it's unhealthy). That's right. 118 questions. No, I didn't have the patience to count them all. There were just 24 pages with 5 questions on each page, and only 3 questions on the last one. Anyway, I forgot to answer a couple before clicking next, but it wouldn't let me go to the next page without answering those questions. There was no way out of this assessment. So I spent an hour doing this. I FINALLY get to the last question, and I get a pop-up window that says "This completes the voluntary question portion." I don't want to work for Winn-Dixie anymore.
As always, I was up sorta late last night working on music. Found out that trying to use Finale to score and try out parts on a jazzy piece like Timeless is simply not an option. (Don't worry, you'll get a chance to hear that one when I finish everything.) I saw some of the weirdest music in my life when I tried to input the music files that I had played through my keyboard. I was looking at a measure with 128th notes, dotted 64th notes, and double dotted 32nd notes all in tuplets with each other. I played it back, and it didn't sound like the song at all. I tried just entering the notes, but I don't know how to tell Finale "Play this song with this rhythm," so it sounds all wrong. All that accomplishes is getting me to look stupid by talking to my computer. So I went back to getting the music right for Meant for Me. I think I have everything I need now (minus the violin, but that's coming soon). I'll just have to work with the takes and get the levels right, and with a bit of luck and a lot of prayer, maybe it can actually sound like a professionally done piece! =D
When I finish it, I'll probably be re-releasing the video. I'd like to compare the final product to the original recording that I did with my guitar, Audacity and a $10 headset from Walmart. Let's hope the new one sounds a thousand times better lol. If you haven't heard the song, it's here.
To tie things up with the beginning of this post, I finally found the employment link on Winn-Dixie's website. You have to scroll to the right, which I was unable to do before, and it's way up in the top right corner in size 8 or smaller font. Scroll to the right? Really guys? I'm sporting a dual monitor setup with a screen resolution of 1280x800 pixels on each monitor, and I STILL have to scroll right? REALLY?! Great planning there, guys...
Oh well, on that note (pretty sure it was an A#) I'm off. Don't forget to water the dog!
Long road ahead
Well, it looks like I'm one step closer to the one thing I've always dreamed of. Funny...it's not to be famous. I really don't care if I sell millions of copies. All i really want to do is release and sell a CD that sounds good. If one person that I don't know buys it, I've pretty much accomplished my goal. Anyway, after doing a count, I have enough songs for a CD. The only problem standing in my way is actually developing more complete arrangements and recording them lol. I've got a friend who's agreed to help me out and play violin for me. Yay! As for other instruments besides piano and guitar, I don't know where I'll get those yet. Maybe 1-800-SAX-FONE will help...I could always use a mail-order saxophonist! I need instrument players. Unless you're reading this and you play the vuvuzela. If you're a vuvuzelist, please don't call me, because my CD doesn't have room for you. I think I'd rather listen to a walrus and a seal doing a duet of "Toxicity" by System of a Down a half-step off-key from each other than hear one more vuvuzela (on second thought, that might sound better than the original "song"...hmmm...). I have to mute the World Cup...it's so sad. Nothing against South Africa, but I do think whoever decided they'd make an instrument modeled after a bicycle horn and give it to 50,000 people to play at the top of their lungs...was on crack.
Ok, scratch that previous idea...apparently calling 1-800-SAX-FONE (729-3663) gets you in touch with a health food company that sells "cayenne pepper heart food caplets." That is possibly the farthest from a saxophone I can get...
Oh well...back to the drawing board.
In other news, another friend wants to record stuff with me! Awesome! Only problem is we haven't figured out what to record. Any ideas for a good guy-girl duet would be appreciated! Meanwhile, I'll be working on a song to sing as a duet. This should be fun. Maybe even as fun as having someone buy me a steak, who knows! Well, it's almost midnight, and I have to press this orange "Publish Post" button before my computer turns into an eggplant, like my fairy goduncle warned me. Yeah...don't ask...seriously...
Ok, scratch that previous idea...apparently calling 1-800-SAX-FONE (729-3663) gets you in touch with a health food company that sells "cayenne pepper heart food caplets." That is possibly the farthest from a saxophone I can get...
Oh well...back to the drawing board.
In other news, another friend wants to record stuff with me! Awesome! Only problem is we haven't figured out what to record. Any ideas for a good guy-girl duet would be appreciated! Meanwhile, I'll be working on a song to sing as a duet. This should be fun. Maybe even as fun as having someone buy me a steak, who knows! Well, it's almost midnight, and I have to press this orange "Publish Post" button before my computer turns into an eggplant, like my fairy goduncle warned me. Yeah...don't ask...seriously...
Well, well, well...
So i must say I've fallen in love again. Sadly though, I can't afford her. No, not that, sicko. I found a guitar. But, sadly, I have rather expensive taste in instruments. So, first thing's first: get a summer job. I've got a pretty good lead on one right now, but we'll just see how it goes, and if I actually get it. Hope so. But of course, that money will have to go towards college anyway, so I hope Miss Martin can wait for me. We met yesterday, when I made my way down to Ye Olde Guitar Center with my friend. He went to get some recording equipment. All I got were guitar strings. Which got me thinking:
Guitar strings are like soccer players on a team. Unless you get the more-expensive long-lasting ones, they can't go too long before you gotta change em out for some fresh ones. But when you replace the old strings with the fresh strings, they have to be really nice and stretched out, or they're going to sound awful. But then it usually still takes a good 15 minutes of playing time with the other strings for them to perform well, cuz they have to get in tune with the rest of the guitar. Ok, whether it's world cup fever or what, I for some reason developed that analogy, and if you're still reading this, I assume that means you didn't hate it! :D
Speaking of soccer, I'd like to applaud the USA team for a good effort. They played a great second half against Ghana. They still didn't make the quarter-finals, but I can't be upset with them, because no team I've ever played on could have lasted one game in the world cup. So, good job guys! Maybe you can make it farther in Brazil in 2014.
In one of the upcoming weeks, I hope to attend Open Mic night at Playground Music. It could be my first public performance of any kind outside of church and high school competitions. Hey, you gotta start somewhere! I have a song I'd like to debut. I don't currently have a band, so it will just be myself playing piano and singing. Stay tuned and I'll give you more information about if and/or when i do it!
Well, that's all for now. Talk to you later, internet!
Home sweet home!
Well I finished up another year at school. Taking classes post-term was actually pretty fun, for a couple reasons. One was the fact that my class was macroeconomics, which was particularly easy due to the fact that it's pretty much the same course i took in high school AND the tests were so close to each other i never had time to forget anything! I don't feel like typing all the rest of the reasons, so that's all you get for now! Muhaha! But anyway, two years down! But since i changed my major last semester and added a piano minor this past semester (that should be fun), i'll be there for three more years. I made a lot of new friends over the semester, and grew a lot closer to the friends i already had. It's been a good four months.
My room was nice and not too bad when i got home...then i took everything out of my car...now i have a lot of work to do lol. Remember that humble little recording setup i showed yall around Christmas? I might have to rethink the placement of that too. But right now, I just need to finish arranging a couple of these songs.
I got a lot of free stuff at school! It's kinda nice having roommates that graduate and have to fly home...they give you everything that won't fit on the plane! Like a desk, and a cool motion sensor Bug's Life Flick, and a magnetic dart board, and a water purifying pitcher, and a printer, and a laundry basket, and pretty much anything else you can think of that i didn't already have. Oh, and a bag of puzzles that come in clear plastic bags instead of boxes....so I'm trying to put them together, and have NO idea what they look like until I'm finished. I started one this afternoon with my dad. We worked on it for about 5 hours, and still have a long way to go lol.
The only thing about being home is now i have to finish all these TV series i started and haven't finished yet. Like Lost. I hate that show. It keeps making me watch it! I'm still only halfway through season 6. Everyone else in the world knows what's happened, but I haven't been here to see any of the episodes, so I feel so alone in the world! Ok not really; it's just taking a while to finish up. And to make it worse, abc took the first half of the season off, so I can't find the next couple episodes. Stupid show lol.
On that note (it was a C#, in case you weren't sure) i'm off! I'll talk to you later, internet. Maybe next week, I'll tell you how awesome this week was!
My room was nice and not too bad when i got home...then i took everything out of my car...now i have a lot of work to do lol. Remember that humble little recording setup i showed yall around Christmas? I might have to rethink the placement of that too. But right now, I just need to finish arranging a couple of these songs.
I got a lot of free stuff at school! It's kinda nice having roommates that graduate and have to fly home...they give you everything that won't fit on the plane! Like a desk, and a cool motion sensor Bug's Life Flick, and a magnetic dart board, and a water purifying pitcher, and a printer, and a laundry basket, and pretty much anything else you can think of that i didn't already have. Oh, and a bag of puzzles that come in clear plastic bags instead of boxes....so I'm trying to put them together, and have NO idea what they look like until I'm finished. I started one this afternoon with my dad. We worked on it for about 5 hours, and still have a long way to go lol.
The only thing about being home is now i have to finish all these TV series i started and haven't finished yet. Like Lost. I hate that show. It keeps making me watch it! I'm still only halfway through season 6. Everyone else in the world knows what's happened, but I haven't been here to see any of the episodes, so I feel so alone in the world! Ok not really; it's just taking a while to finish up. And to make it worse, abc took the first half of the season off, so I can't find the next couple episodes. Stupid show lol.
On that note (it was a C#, in case you weren't sure) i'm off! I'll talk to you later, internet. Maybe next week, I'll tell you how awesome this week was!
Don't Open the Queso!!!
Ok, so that MIGHT seem a little random. But I can't say that I care!
So anyway, life is hectic. I basically found out I have three days to decide how the rest of my life is going to work, since changing my major to electrical engineering on the off-semester kinda threw everything off, and i now have to add a minor, or become a town student, which isn't as worth it as it sounds. So i decided on a mixture of possibly the most unrelated courses imaginable! Go me!
Oh, I have a new favorite song (of those I've written, I mean). It's brand new, and sure to be on my debut CD. Whenever that gets here. I still plan to have something by the time I graduate. That may be the only thing that hasn't changed.
So let's see. Maybe my blog should include what i actually have been doing. A lot of rock climbing. It's so fun! And to think I used to be scared to death of heights! Turns out rock climbing was made for tall people though, sadly. I just have to be that much more ninja-like, I guess. I've also been writing music, of course. And a lot of engineering...almost too much....And I've been reading Lord of the Rings, since I never actually finished it in high school. Only problem is that I've also been reWATCHING the same trilogy. So things get really confusing at times. One moment Frodo is getting attacked by a giant spider, and the next he's getting attacked by a giant squid-thing. Then he's getting attacked by Gollum. Then he's running from a Balrog. It's hard to keep straight lol.
Although other things on my "what I've been doing" list shall remain unnamed, rest assured, it's all been fun! I'm exhausted though. Maybe too much fun really is possible. That or waking up at 5:30 in the morning is inhumane. It's gotta be one of the two.
Well, as I said, I'm exhausted. Time for a good night's sleep. Goodnight, internet!
So anyway, life is hectic. I basically found out I have three days to decide how the rest of my life is going to work, since changing my major to electrical engineering on the off-semester kinda threw everything off, and i now have to add a minor, or become a town student, which isn't as worth it as it sounds. So i decided on a mixture of possibly the most unrelated courses imaginable! Go me!
Oh, I have a new favorite song (of those I've written, I mean). It's brand new, and sure to be on my debut CD. Whenever that gets here. I still plan to have something by the time I graduate. That may be the only thing that hasn't changed.
So let's see. Maybe my blog should include what i actually have been doing. A lot of rock climbing. It's so fun! And to think I used to be scared to death of heights! Turns out rock climbing was made for tall people though, sadly. I just have to be that much more ninja-like, I guess. I've also been writing music, of course. And a lot of engineering...almost too much....And I've been reading Lord of the Rings, since I never actually finished it in high school. Only problem is that I've also been reWATCHING the same trilogy. So things get really confusing at times. One moment Frodo is getting attacked by a giant spider, and the next he's getting attacked by a giant squid-thing. Then he's getting attacked by Gollum. Then he's running from a Balrog. It's hard to keep straight lol.
Although other things on my "what I've been doing" list shall remain unnamed, rest assured, it's all been fun! I'm exhausted though. Maybe too much fun really is possible. That or waking up at 5:30 in the morning is inhumane. It's gotta be one of the two.
Well, as I said, I'm exhausted. Time for a good night's sleep. Goodnight, internet!
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