a little update

a lot has happened in my life recently - bad things and good things. i recently heard news that my chemistry 20 teacher in high school passed away in a car crash on the way home from skiing in the mountains. a friend at work also had one of her parents pass away. that is something i cannot imagine, and she has my deepest condolences.

in addition to that (but nowhere near as tragic) my family's cars have had a bunch of problems this month. thankfully our 20 year-old cadillac was fine. that thing is in great shape and is built like a tank - and consumes gas like a tank too. it was the last car my grandparents ever owned together, and it has lasted THREE generations of my family. it still drives like a charm, and i definitely prefer it over some of the newer cars we have. i'll have to post a nice picture of it on here.

my guitar studies are going great. i'm drilling one-octave scales and triads, sight-reading (single-note and chordal), improvisation (terribly) and my audition piece. i can play the piece all the way through now, so i just have to work out a few kinks, which i thankfully have two weeks to do. i'm nervous for the audition, but i think i should do just fine. it's the competition i'll have next year that scares me. i've only been playing for a year, so i'll be playing with guys who are light-years ahead of me. oh well. if there's one thing life has taught me, its that lots of pressure and responsibility makes you learn really quick. i might try to record my prepared piece, and will for sure post it on here.

i've also started to work on a solo album of mine. granted, i only have one song near-finished, but i hope that by the end of this year i can compile a cd of original songs i can give to friends for fun. it seems like a fun goal, and i'm sure i'll learn some things about songwriting/recording along the way.

anyways, it was my birthday on monday, and so i've decided for my birthday party that i want to go and see WATCHMEN, the movie. i've read the book - i mean graphic novel - and it's absolutely fantastic. it's a must read for anyone looking into the genre, and is one of TIME magazine's one hundred best books of all time! it's got a very complex storyline, so there's alot of pressure on Zack Snyder - the director - to do it justice. his last movie was the famous 300, which is also a graphic novel adaptation, if that's a good sign at all. there's a bunch of trailers out there right now, but i'll link my favorite one. the music and mood is JUST right for the movie. here we go!



oh gosh, just watching that again has me SO excited. they just look like they've got EVERYTHING perfect. if you've read the book please let me know so i can excitedly talk with someone about it.

oh boy, my hands hurt a bit from practicing. hope that's not a bad sign!

-doug