Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Why do we spell Wednesday like this, but when we pronounce it, leave out a few letters?

The title has no real meaning today, except to make you think a little... So I had my speech 101 final this morning and wow, was it a doozie... yeah. Brandon and I thought it would be cool and funny if we went before the final and ate breakfast at the bowling alley... We pulled into the parking lot and mutually agreed that it was slightly creepy, so we ventured back across town and dined at the local McDonalds. Today, I find out when I get to go play "Confirmation" for Dr. C and possibly get into Jazz Band, I'm both excited and a little nervous about it. I'm excited because I want to show him that I can prepare a Charlie Parker solo in one day, but I'm nervous because I have probably been missing some important accidental or ornamental thing... I love The Bird, but good Lord! Maybe if I had a little crack to smoke I could pick up my sax and poop out some musical gold... or not. (BTW - I wasn't saying that I'm interested in drugs, just that Parker was known for his drug use and some people attribute his musical ability to his drug intake. I think however, that the drugs most likely hindered his ability if anything. There, I'm done now.) I'm also a little excited for my Music Theory final, probably because I did fairly well on the pre-final test covering everything from midterm until now. I'm one of those weird people who actually enjoys Music Theory, not to the point of wanting to make a career out of writing theory books or anything, but I just think that understanding the mechanics of anything helps me more when it comes to actually performing a task. Finally, I'm excited because I get to see a few people over break that I haven't seen in too long. Mainly Mr. Mike Jacobs. The last day I saw him was July 9th, 2005 when I dropped him off at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport to leave for Biloxi, Mississippi. I'm also looking forward to seeing Ashley, who went to Boston U, and I have not seen since at least August. Oh yeah, that Adam Barrett kid is coming back too.... (Just kidding Adam - I'm gonna be happy to see you too. [I guess]).

Oh yes, I just about forgot... I'm supposed to do this tag thingy:

Ground Rules: The First player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yourself", and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their 5 strange habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says, "You are tagged" in their online journal and tell them to read yours.

1. I'm obsessed with the United States Postal Service...
- From the vanilla-like smell of Priority(R) tape, to filling out customs forms, I really really enjoy mailing things.
2. I like to take things apart...
- Ever since I was a child, I've gotten a thrill out of opening stuff up, especially electronics. I once completely disassembled my saxophone as well, but that story is for another day.
3. I am a "Sticker Picker"...
- I cannot stand a sticker on an object when it doesn't need to be there.
4. In relation to #3, I love Goo Gone(R)...
- After I remove a sticker, if there is residue left over I reach for some Goo Gone. Aside from its delicious orange scent, it removes just about anything from everything.
5. I suffer from acute pyromania...
- Ask anyone who went to the 1st Annual Sheet Guys, Snausages, Convention knows this - I love to set things ablaze. The members of our camping party we probably very close to death multiple times due to improperly handled stove fuel.

I tag... Brandon, Sam, Amy, Ashley and Serena.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Hangin' In A Jury... Good Times.

Today I had my first jury. As a music major, we are required to do these "juries" where you go in front of your instructor and a few members of the music dept. faculty and play a prepared piece or two and some other little things (scales etc.) and the faculty members comment on you. Overall, I would have to say that I did ok... considering I didn't show up when I was supposed to (stupid attack). I know I could have prepared a little better and so on... but overall, I'm glad that it's over with until next semester. Now I just have a jazz band audition. I'm actually a little more worried about this than I was for my jury. Mainly because for the audition material I get handed Charlie Parker's exact transcription of Confirmation.... Jazzers know what I'm talking about. I’ve been listening to that and fingering along to the music... I'm also half way done with all of my finals and not feeling too bad, I only have Speech, Music Theory, and Biology left. After that, I'm officially done with my first semester of college, and officially lots of money in debt. Hooray.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Toe story

Ok... To all of those who didn't hear, I cut my toe - bad. I was sleeping yesterday morning when I kicked the fluorescent light above my bed and thought I stubbed my 4th toe on my left foot. I managed to get over the pain in a matter of seconds and tried to resume my sleep. After about two or three minutes, I noticed that my foot was wet. What happened in the proceeding minutes was a bloody (literally, not the English slang) mess. I jumped off of my lofted bed and tracked lots-o-blood on the carpet and tile. After wiping a lot of blood off of my foot, I realized that I should wash some of this off. I went into the bathroom with a Target brand tissue wrapped around my toe and inspected the wound... It was at this point that I decided stitches were in order. I woke up my roommate:
"Sean... Sean..."
"huh? yeah?"
"I need you to bring me to the hospital."
"what?"
"I cut my foot and I think I need stitches."
looks at the floor – sees all of the blood..."Oh. Yeah. We better go. Oh my God."
etc.

Three stitches later and I'm good as new. For those curious, I cut my foot on the end of the light - where the aluminum is sharp... I didn't break a bulb.

There...

Business as usual...

So I, of all people decided to start a blog. I know what you're thinking - "geez it's about time you get on the whole digital bandwagon." But here's the deal - after seeing countless attempts at online journals (mainly crappy myspace and xanga sites [but I'm not saying all of these are crappy, there are just statistically more crappy ones than good ones]) I thought that I could do a little better and that maybe everyone wants to know what goes on with me on a day to day basis...

Here are three things to expect from my blog:
1. Don't expect a lot of updates...
- I tend to be a lazy person and when it comes to the Internet, I am more sporadic with my surfing than most and may never find my way back to this site. But I'll try.
2. If you read something that insults you, it's probably a joke...
- I am not going to use my blog as a slew for gossip and put downs, but I will throw in the occasional snide remark (all in fun of course) and expect others to do the same to me.
3. I'm not emo...
- Just because I have a blog now does not automatically qualify me as emo status. I do enjoy music... but not usually whiny lyrics put over a totally non-musical background in an attempt to get everyone to feel sorry for me...

Finally, please comment on my posts. Comment if you see something you like, say something if a post pisses you off, or just write something that really doesn't fit and it may just be funny....

- Jack

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