Winter Slacker

I have been done with the fall semester and finals at University of Houston for almost two weeks and this is my first post.  I told myself that, beginning the day after my last final, I would start blogging about my preparing for a performance at the University Center on campus on February 24th.

I haven’t felt like doing anything at all except lounge around on the computer since finals ended.  I did manage to scrounge up a list of covers I could play.  Some are songs I already know how to play and a couple are ones I would have to learn, but that’s easy enough.  The big challenge is choosing which songs to play and in what order.  Also, I want to fit in a decent amount of my own material in there as well. Here is a few songs I’ve come up with that I could cover.  This is NOT my actual set list.

I only get 30 minutes, so I will have to dwindle this down a bit. But also, I will be playing a couple of my own songs as well.

I will probably use both of my acoustic guitars for the set so I hopefully won’t have to tune during my allotted time.  I’m not so good at tuning and talking… and that tends to create a very awkward silence which is prone to making people lose interest in me. (I learned that the hard way.)

There is one aspect of the event that I am curious about;

 

the acoustics.  I haven’t been told exactly there at the UC the event will be held, but if it is where I think it is I’ll have some work to do with whomever is “in charge” of the sound.  I have found that a lot of “sound guys/girls” actually have no idea what they are doing and they get paid (or are even doing it pro bono) because the person hiring them knows even less.  The problem is that live sound is an ever-changing beast, so you have to be in tune with the acoustics of the room.  So many sound people at small places just make it all sound like muddy slop.  I know it is sometimes difficult to work with a certain space, but with the right EQ settings you can at least make it sound decent.

I’m going to go back to doing nothing for a couple hours.  Well, not complete nothing.  I’ll be internetting and stuff.

Under the Mickey and Dreaming

I just had the weirdest dream.  I was at some kind of Disney inspired water park with my cousins Keith and Brian.  Keith was his current age but Brian was 10 years old.  So we were waiting in a super long line watching people coming out the bottom of the tube.  They were flying out of there pretty fast.  We finally got to the bottom of the attraction, grabbed our tubes, and began to go up the stairs, but then the stairs stopped and turned into a weaving path, which turned into a mountain climbing wall.  There was this group of like 8 year old girls ahead of us that were flying through these obstacles.  I thought, “This is a water park, what’s up with the O-Course to get to the top of the slide, and why are these little girls having an easier time than us?”  After an hour of random obstacles we got to the top of the slide tower and there was a big group of body guards around someone whom everyone seemed to want to get an autograph from.  There was a Hispanic guy in front of me and he said, “El Mickey.”  There was an entire football team, in football uniforms, waiting for Mickey to autograph their jerseys and helmets… I kept trying to get to go down the slide, but everyone was judging me for not wanting to stop for Mickey’s signature…..

 

Then I woke up.

Un-civil Disobedience

I am in no way a fan of hippies or “civil disobedience”, but I did defend that right of American’s to do so.  Other RIGHTS that I believe are implied by our Founding Fathers is to not be forced to be seen naked or in shameful ways by government agents (Let us recall something on the lines of “UNREASONABLE SEARCH AND SIEZURE”).  Where is the probable cause to make someone stand in for a full body scan that reveals every detail of their naked body?  They might have a bomb or parts to a bomb?  I don’t like to have to waste my energy typing something like this.  In fact, I don’t feel strongly about much of anything.  I generally work with the idea of not rocking the boat, even if someone just rocked my boat.  I want to be the obedient citizen, following the laws and rules that have been put into place by the people I trust to run my country.

Well, Transportation Security Administration, you have not only rocked my boat, but you have capsized my ass.  For those of you reading this who have short attention spans I’ll post the links now to get them out of the way. (I think the literature on the links will be more informative and better aid you in forming your own opinion.):

Micheal Chertoff Abuses Our Trust

TSA Employees Want to Grope You

Maybe some pictures of the capabilities of this technology and the possible misuse of the same technology by employees hired by TSA could use against you.

To further explain what you are seeing here, the first two are what can be seen on the screen directly by the TSA employee.  The 3rd picture (I could only find an example of this using a female image. Nobody felt the need to show this procedure with a male image.) is showing what can be done later on.  The scanners are capable of saving the images to USB drives that the employee can insert into the computer driving the equipment.  They can then take the images of the desired bodies they wish to see and think of in perverse manners and use software to invert the colors, thereby viewing the actual skin tones of the person.  As you can see in picture #3, it is entirely possible to view this woman as if she was a freaking Playboy Centerfold.

 

If I wasn’t a smarter man (which I am), or maybe if I was single and didn’t have a family to provide for I might do something drastic… very drastic.  In light of my maturation as an individual I have decided that I will push a movement to have people write their representatives in Congress to settle this matter.  If not, I am damn willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court to deem this Un-mother lovin-Constitutional.  (I’m doing my best to not use profanity here. I’ll admit, it’s difficult right now.)

 

Well, as it is nearly 0200 (that’s 2:00AM for you civilian types) I should be off to the rack.  I shall return tomorrow, hopefully having a plan of attack (civilly, of course) with which to get others on board with this.

 

I took this vow, and I intend to uphold it: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

 

Good Night, and Semper Fidelis!

Baney is King

It's the little things that matter most. Like coming home and Cady being so glad to see me that she sometimes runs to the door (after running to hide when she hears someone at the door,) but she sure does get excited when I walk in. That is, as long as BARNEY isn't on, because then it is as if the world doesn't exist. Of course, it is okay... she is only 15 months old, after all.

I really just want to make her happy, and happy right now consists of watching some shows and the little thinks, like holding her bunny and pointing out that pigs say, “oik” “oik”… it is so cute.  Or when she holds my had to take me to wherever it that she thinks is so important, but then they become important to me.  I will do pretty much any thing for Cady to be…..

 

I never know just what to write in these things. I get fairly  nervous about it.  What does a dad write about? Can anyone tell me? got to go for now.

Not in My Dream

I had the weirdest dream last night… In fact, it was only a few minutes before I woke up.

I was at some school with a trombone in my hands.  I kept walking through what reminded me of some band room I think I remember being in with my mom when I was very little.  People kept telling me to get to my mark for my solo, but I couldn’t find it.  There didn’t seem to be one.  All of a sudden I was outside, trombone still in hand, and I was talking to some girl who seemed to have some affiliation with my cousin, Keith, and some guy that says he is Keith, but I can’t see his face so I don’t believe him.  Then we get in a car and “Keith” gets into the driver’s seat and mysteriously turns into a girl.  The other girl who was already a girl to begin with sat in back and mysteriously had a baby in hand.  She proceeded to put her seat belt on over her AND the baby.  I kept saying that it was against the law and all she could say back was,” Then buy us one from the registry.”  and I was like,” Where the heck is the registry?” ……………………………………………………………………….. WEIRD!

Your High School Teachers Were Wrong

It’s funny to see how education standards differ from high school to college.  In physics, the professor basically stated that all throughout elementary and high school we were taught math incorrectly.  We were taught how to calculate numbers only, when we should have been taught to figure out formulas using only symbols.  So, on his tests, if we plug in the values of symbols into the equation before completely working out the problem using symbols we will get a big fat 0 ZERO! ”Math is a language that you must know.”  I understand why he is doing this.  In the real world we will have many different variables, and a bunch of numbers can become a jumble.  Also, if you only figure things out using symbols, you can use the same formulae for more than one situation and just plug in your numbers for they varying situations.  I think pre-college educators should get on this and try to teach the stuff so that we are prepared for this “revelation” and not caught off guard by having to change the way we’ve been solving problems since middle school.

Sheep, Wolf, or Sheepdog… Which Are You?

 

I ran along this article a few years back when attending TAP/TAMP at Lackland AFB in San Antonio.  TAP/TAMP is a pre-discharge class to help military members get ready to assimilate back into the civilian population.  Many things are taught, including how to search for jobs, create a resume, and various other areas of transition that may prove difficult for someone used to the military lifestyle.  One of the handouts given was this article relating Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves to people.  I had misplaced the paper a while ago, and just stumbled upon it on the inter-web today.  I’m glad I did.  I love reading it. My favorite part is the section discussing a peace officer who even carries concealed to church because of an incident a friend of his was involved in.  I encourage you to read the article.  There are variations on the web, but this is the one I originally read at TAP/TAMP.

I believe I am in the Sheepdog category.  If you can’t read the caption, it says,” Sheep-dogs give me the creeps: I can’t tell if they’re watching me or not…”

I was born a sheepdog, have always been a sheepdog, and always will be a sheepdog; even if I have to act like a sheep.

 

If you are a sheep, there’s nothing wrong with it.  If there weren’t any sheep there would not be a reason for us sheepdogs to exist.  That would only leave wolves, and, quite frankly, they can kill each other all they want.

Which are you?  It doesn’t matter to me what you are (and I’m not actually looking for a response. It’s a rhetorical question.), because I know who I am.  There may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing

next to you right now and you don’t know it yet, but the sheepdog is watching, waiting for the wolf to show himself.  Let them do their job, and maybe give them a pat on the head once in a while.

I found this other page that had the same story, but with some pictures that I like. I think they help with the point. sheep, wolf, sheepdog with pictures

Integrity

So I had a test for Physics earlier tonight.  It was tough. Let us skip all the chit-chat and get down to business.  After handing in my test I walked out the door and began walking to my car.  Just ahead of me (approximately 20ft away) was a group of 5 or 6 middle-eastern guys from my class.  They are always coming in to class late, together, often leave early, together, talk throughout the class, together, and have the stench of “I’m better than you.”  Well, to get to the point… I overheard them discussing the test we had just taken.  I heard one say,” I was texting your brother the whole time,” followed by,” I took a picture of it and sent it to him (I don’t know who the him is or if the guy I heard say this was the same as the first quote).  I’m pretty sure that they were discussing cheating.  I wrote an email to the professor and told him of this.  I know these two “sound bites” aren’t enough to prove that they cheated, but I believe it is highly possible.  Stereotypes are there for a reason. I’m just saying.  Anyway, the professor said I need to name names and drop my request for anonymity.  I don’t really care to get rid of my anonymity, but the idea of these cheating SOBs really pisses me off.  I had to stop myself from making a scene when I heard them talking.  I mean, DO YOU REALLY WANT SOMEONE WHO CHEATED THEIR WAY THROUGH PHYSICS BUILDING YOUR BUILDINGS AND BRIDGES AND STUFF?  I didn’t think so.  Good thing I’ve written the account in this blog so I have a reference of what I heard… (if it comes up later on and I have to remember it.)

Terrorism is a Real, Yet Preventable Disease

It has been well over 2 or 3 months since I’ve blogged.  I don’t know what to write most of the times that I think of writing, so I don’t.  I’m not even sure of what to write now.

How about a tale of summer adventure? A guy I know at school works for Texas Direct Auto at their “production” lot.  I guess that’s in a different location than the sales lot on 59N.  He told me about this guy that showed up to the sales lot on 59, dressed up in a suit and holding a nice little leather attaché, saying he was there for a job interview.  The floor manager told him that they did the interviews at the “production” (I can’t remember what he said the name of this office was, so I’m calling it “production".) office and offered to get him a cab to go there.  After the cab ride the man went into the lobby or whatever and was asked to have a seat and wait to be interviewed.  My buddy, said the guy randomly got up and shouted,”I have reached my final destination!” before he could do anything, some people tackled his misguided ass and got the attaché away from him. Bomb Squad was called in and the guy was taken away by Homeland Security.  My friend said his boss was calling the news stations and everything, but none of them could come out for this attempted suicide bombing… it didn’t receive any coverage or mention at all.  Instead of covering this important subject our news was focused on the ever important story of Nikki Araguz, the widow of a deceased firefighter.  The story was that she used to be a he.  As entertaining a story as this may be, what about reporting REAL news?

I don’t have much else to write about right now. I’ll try to think of more stuff to write, and more often.

Cone

I took Quinn to get her sutures taken out from the “removal" two weeks ago.  She was so happy to not have to wear the cone anymore.  As soon as we got back home she was running through the living room, rubbing her face all over the floor, on the couch, on my legs…  I’m glad she’s in such a good mood.  Now, as long as she doesn’t bark I won’t have to put the bark collar on her.  She mopes so much when she’s wearing it, but I can’t have her barking and waking up Cadence.  I won’t stand for any disturbances while Cady is asleep.  Not much else going on today.  Hooked up the surround sound system Gabby’s parents gave us since they got a new one.  It is a Bose!  So awesome… I need one more cable for it though.  I’ll have to get it tonight or something.  This little apartment is coming together real nice.  I’m thinking I need to begin watching the videos for Calculus I this week… so I can prepare myself for when class starts… just in case the professor moves a bit fast for me.  You can never be too prepared!

 

TTFN

Rockin Daddy, out!

It’s 4:03 and I Can’t Sleep…

Actually, by the time I actually decided to write this it is 0420… that means in the AM, by the way.  We brought Cady home early from Lolo & Lola’s last night, around 2100, because she was acting like she was getting tired already.  This was not the case.  By the time we got her home she was full of energy and wanted to walk around all over the place.  So I washed some dishes and cleaned up a bit while Gabby helped Cady walk around.  She realized very quickly that bending over holding Cady’s hands so she can walk is very bad for the back, so I took over so Gabby could sit down.  It got tiring pretty quick for me as well… seeing as I was still really sore and stiff from moving this gargantuan entertainment center/armour Saturday… that was a doozy, I tell you what.  I’ll be completely honest…. movers moved the thing and all I did was help with this really light piece.  Apparently going up the stairs with said light piece was not a good idea for me, being as out of shape as I am these days. 

Speaking of which… I really need to get myself into a workout routine.  I look at myself in the mirror and do not like what I see.  I see a wimpy guy.  I used to be able to do a lot physically.  Now, you can’t say it is because I am getting old because I am only 26.  That is still very much young.  In the Corps I always had someone to work out with… maybe that would help.  I don’t know.  I really need some sort of physical outlet.

It is non-sleeping nights like this that I am left to think… and I often think of the Corps.  I miss the Corps.  I love my life now, but does that mean I can’t miss the Corps?  I miss MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts) training, unit PT (physical training), hitting the range, and putting on my uniform and lacing up my boots every morning.

 

 

Although I often think of the Corps, it is as a fond remembrance, as one might reminisce of their childhood experiences.  Like when my neighbor Kevin and I would play NES (Nintendo Entertainment System and his mom would yell at him in Vietnamese… haha… good times.

At this point, I have nothing much else to say.  I don’t know what to do right now at 0540.  Cady is finally not stirring anymore.  I changed her diaper at 0330 and again about 20 minutes ago, she drank about 3 oz of milk 40 minutes ago, and I carried her to rock her back to a deep sleep at 0330 and 0445.  Now it’s quiet in there.  Gabby has been knocked out since 0300, when I got up and took over the baby soothing duty.  I didn’t have to stay awake this whole time, but I honestly couldn’t sleep right now if I wanted to… and I do!

 

I’m not sure why I can’t sleep tonight.  I don’t have anything in particular on my mind that I can think of.  I mean, nothing that should keep me awake at this hour.  I guess I’ll play some video games until I fall asleep… I can’t just lay in bed until the sun comes up… if I get tired I know the couch is comfortable… I’ve passed out on it randomly several times.  I think I hear a little voice… maybe she needs some more milk… and maybe I’ll be able to go to sleep for an hour or two… maybe…

Top Brass

There’s this military & tactical supply store called Top Brass here in Houston.  I probably like this place as much as Guitar Center or Sam Ash… and if you don’t know me well enough to know that those are my absolute favorite places to go, now you know.  So we [Gabby, Cady and I] went to Top Brass to get some ribbons for my ribbon rack in my shadow box I’m making.  I’ve seen a lot of different shadow boxes for Marines getting out of the Corps over the years, but I can’t decide on a configuration for mine.  I haven’t decided if I want to put medals and ribbons or ribbons with only the Purple Heart medal, or just straight ribbons.  Something will come to me.  Oh yeah, as I was saying, Top Brass is an awesome store.  They have so much cool……… stuff!  I wish I could win some kind of shopping spree there…  mnmn… tactical gear for no apparent reason… mnmnmn….

I have really been wanting to get Gabby and I our CHLs (concealed handgun license).  I would feel a lot better with Gabby taking Cady out by herself if she had some sort of protection.  I don’t think it is paranoia or anything.  I just want to be prepared in case something happens.  At first I was thinking of trying out a Smith & Wesson .38 Special for her, but I found out that if you get a CHL with a standard pistol then that’s all you can carry concealed.  If you get your CHL with a semi-auto handgun then you can carry either semi-auto or pistol.  The guy recommended trying  a 380-Auto for Gabby because of the size of her hands and it uses a round similar to the .38 (which has pretty good power).  I must do much more research on this and we will have to try some different pieces at the range, but it is definitely on my list of things to do.

Cady has been trying to walk more and more.  Today she pretty much got upset anytime we tried to get her to sit down or just not walk so we could get a break.  She is getting so big.  Can’t believe it.  She wants to eat whatever Gabby is eating.  She wanted my watermelon today.  I love watermelon.  It is recommended that she doesn’t have watermelon, among other things, so she is less likely to develop food allergies.  We are going to err on the side of caution on this kind of thing.

 

That’s all I’ve got for now.  Rockin Daddy, out!

Sugar Land’s Cutest Baby Is In My House!

So, Gabby got an email from the Sugar Land’s Cutest Baby contest people today.  It said that Cady has made it into the TOP 10 Finalist bracket!  We are so happy.  I told you she would definitely make it with this picture.

    I know she didn’t win yet, but I am really confidant that she will.  She has a couple tricks up her sleeves to show the judges to add to her already skyrocketing cuteness factor.  She waves bye-bye, and she razzes a LOT.

 

The final showdown is May 22nd at 0900 at the Sugar Land Town Center in front of Sugar Land Town Hall… or maybe it’s in the back of the SLTH…. I don’t know which is which.

Yesterday Cady also had her 9-months doctor visit.  She was 19 LBS 12.6 oz and 30.5 in long.  She went hysterical as soon as we got into the exam room.  I think she has bad memories from getting her shots the last couple times we were there… poor baby has PTSD about the doctor’s office already…  No shots this time though!  Thank God.

On a side note, I think I totally dominated my history final today… Out of 17 questions and about 50 “Key Terms” that I studied for I got to choose 3 out of the 6 essay topics I knew best and 5 out of the 10 key words I had the most knowledge about.  The stuff I remembered the most out of all those notes and it was the stuff that was on the test.  Good times… good times… Done with History classes, sort of.  In the fall semester I will be taking “The Bible and Western Culture” as my humanities requirement… Time to put the little one to sleep… She is a night owl, just like me! haha…

 

Rockin Daddy, out!

Houston Zoo

We decided to take Cady to the Houston Zoo today.  We had a good time.  When we first got there we stood next to the macaw cage and the birds made their loud “macaw!” sound and Cady got real scared and started crying.

We got the hell out of there real fast!  Then we walked over to the ape area.   Nothing interesting over there except the other children.  Cady is always so interested in what the other children are doing.  I think she wants to join in on the commotion.

Next we saw the Komodo Dragon being lazy.

 

The Giraffes were lounging in their habitat.

And right next to the giraffes was the new baby elephant “Baylor”  with his momma elephant.

Cady was mostly interested in the other kids… it was really Gabby and I that were interested in the animals.  Cady is only 9 months old right now.  She may have not appreciated the animals but I know she appreciated the time being out and about… ours is a baby who likes to pashal pashal (go out and about in Tagalog).  I know for sure she enjoyed the Dippin Dots

She made it a couple hours before she wanted to be taken out of the stroller, too… which was great for mommy and daddy’s backs.  She also enjoyed exploring this seal statue.

It was a good outing for our little family and I must say I look forward to more of them…  Until next time.

 

Rockin Daddy, out!

The Weekend’s Here!!

Oh, wait… I still have finals to finish.  I had my Chemistry for Engineers final today, but the fun isn’t over.  I have my Pre-Cal final on Monday, so i better get to studying for that!  Being the weekend, Cady’s Lolo and Lola (that’s Grandpa and Grandma in Tagalog [the official language of the Philippines]) are watching her.  This is a good time for Gabby and I to relax and get some time to be alone and just lounge.  I know… we’re lucky to have such help in raising our child…  Cady gets to have fun going out with her Lolo and Lola to the mall and seeing people and (if they’re doing what we asked them to) being exposed to the native tongue of her ancestors.  I mean, I’m trying to learn to speak Tagolog too with Rosetta Stone: Tagalog

but Cady really has the opportunity to grow up knowing Tagalog.  Gabby's parents speak English a lot.  Well, they really speak Taglish most of the time… which is still really good for Cady.  Because Gabby said that English is also a primary language in the Philippines.  Good times.

 

So, Mother’s Day is this weekend and I forgot to buy cards for my Mom and Grandma… If you’re reading this, sorry… I’m going to do it today and mail them to both of you… they’ll just be a little late is all.  Another thing coming up on Sunday is the deadline to turn in Cady’s application in the “Sugar Land’s Cutest” contest… Now, seriously, if she doesn’t get accepted into the top 10 in her age category (0-12 months old) there is something seriously corrupt going on… and I just might try to get to the bottom of it! haha… ok, I’m no Dick Tracy, but I will be very sad.

A new development also happened today.  Cady is now able to stand up on her own while holding on to furniture.  She is “cruising” a whole bunch now… it is great to see her grow.  Speaking of growing, she is 20Lbs now… and like 30 inches long.  I love tickling her kilikili (armpits in tagalog) and raspberry-ing her tiyan (stomach in tagalog).

I really need to play my guitar more often, because Cady really loves to dance to my playing.  My fingers have lost their callouses and my hands have lost their dexterity.  I’m half the guitar player I used to be.  Speaking of guitars and music, Gabby found a website called CSN Stores that has small versions of instruments.  My personal favorite for Cady is this 30 key Pink Baby Baby Grand!  She already loves to sit at the piano at her Gabby’s parents’ house and push the keys.  This Pink Baby Baby Grand is for 3 years and up, but I think with proper supervision Cady could play with it starting when she is a year old.  I think a lot of these recommended ages are because of people who think that you can just give a kid a toy and not pay attention to them while they’re playing with it.  You have to watch your children at all times.  They’re just curious about everything there is.  It’s really not their fault when they hurt themselves… they don’t know any better, but you, as a parent, should.

The Crying Game

So this is my first blog and I’ve been wondering how to start it off. What am I supposed to put in it? I guess I’ll start off with the dog. We took Quinn to get spayed yesterday. The vet gave us some pain pills to give her; one a day for 4 days. Today was Day 1. I got up around 0830 (instead of my usual 0600) and gave Quinn the first of her Rimadyl pills. At about 2030 tonight she started whining… and whining… and whining… I thought maybe she wanted to go outside so I picked her up and took her out. She put out a fire and then raced to go back upstairs. Unfortunately her sutures weren’t in the mood for any stair-climbers.

This week begins finals for us at University of Houston (UH)

. My first final is Friday morning at 0830, Chemistry for Engineers. I should really look into peer study groups and tutoring in the following semesters for my remaining science classes (physics, thermodynamics, acoustics, hydro-dynamics, etc….) . There are a lot of them and I don’t want to just pass the classes. Seriously, who wants someone designing and building things who doesn’t really know everything about what they’re doing? Not me…

Now for the namesake of this blog, my beautiful baby girl, Cadence Claire. She has been… inconsistent…. in her “movements” the last couple days. I know how much it sucks to strain when you know what's going on, but it frightens the little one because she has no idea what is happening. We broke out Dr. A’s (Cady’s doctor) recommended 3 tsp of corn syrup to 1 oz of water… you know Cady loves the sugar water! She has made some semi-successful treks into the world of regularity, but still struggling to push it thru.

Baby Cady has brought a lot of smiles to Gabby and I over the last 9 months. Currently, she is working on “cruising” (walking while holding on to stationary objects like the couch) and dancing. It’s the cutest thing to see my little girl bob her head up and down while her feet kick in a wild manner when there is a downbeat. She really loves music already. I whip out my guitar every now and then and Cadence has no problem letting me know which chords and rythms I should and shouldn’t be playing. If she dances while I’m playing it’s good to go, but if she reaches for the guitar it is time to change it up. This girl loves to sing too! If an innocent bystander heard it they would think she was just whining, but really she likes to “whine” to the sound of the music. Not even a year old and she is already making that diaphragm work hard.

That’s pretty much my day today. I’ll work on gathering my thoughts into a more coherent jumble next time. I see things in pictures and sometimes can’t translate those pictures into words.