I'm Unemployed-ish

Hi friends and faithful readers. Today's content will surely make my parents and you other parental-types cringe and tell me I should not do such foolish things. However, I probably passed that point a long time ago. Like when I got tattoos on my forearms and moved to California. Just so you know, Momma I tried to call you twice to tell you the news in person. Anyways, drum roll please: I quit my job at Starbucks today.

A quick story so you will sympathize with me. Friday night I was driving home from my friend's house around 10:30 pm, which was waaaay late because I had to wake up at 4 am on Saturday to get to my opening shift. Yuck. During that shift, I was asked to take over the drink-making after my break. There is a ridiculous line, the bar is a mess and I have two large cappucinos. For those of you who work at coffee shops (Melissa Turney), you know that the worse thing to have during rush time is a cappucino. And two large cappucinos? Even worse. So I finish the drinks, and go to hand them off. At this point I realize they should have been non-fat cappucinos; I used whole milk. I turn around, dump them out, and spin back around to make them again. As I spin, I knock over a full pitcher of hot 2% milk all over my apron and pants. Then a lady asks, "Excuse me, what is taking so long? Is there a nonfat latte back there?" I almost just quit right then. But I replied, "Sorry ma'am, it's all over my apron. It will just be one more moment."

Later in that same shift, a man comes in with a UNC hat. I am cleaning tables in the dining area and yell, "GO HEELS!" Turns out he is a 1996 grad. When I told him I was a grad from 2007, I realized that I need to move on. My parents didn't spend their hard-earned cash for me to come make minimum wage at 4:30 in the morning. So I quit. When I told the manager, he was cool with it. He actually said he was expecting this soon, because I "have got swagger and can probably do something better." So that was encouraging.

If your like my brother, you will ask: What are you going to do now? I'm not totally sure. I was already planning on quitting in late May, so that I could fly home to NC for a few weeks to visit and hang out with the hope that I would have found a job to come back to in the middle of June. That is still the hope, now I just have a lot more free time (and sleep) to find that new job. And I'm not totally cash-less. I got a recording gig and am DJing a wedding in May. Through those two avenues, I will actually make about 3x the money I would have if I stayed at Starbucks. I will also try to get two ore three subbing gigs during that time, so I feel pretty good about it.

For those who are still working the coffee shop grind, I will always have love for you. And I will not care if my latte doesn't have exactly a 1/4" of foam on the top. Or if my shot was 13 seconds old. And I will tip you well.

We Got A Kitten!

To answer a common question... yes I like dogs better. But cats are way easier, so that is the trade off here. Plus, we aren't supposed to have pets and cats are easier to hide / clean up after. Here is a video interview with our new friend "Rockstar."




By the way, that is my guitar amp he jumps up on. What a rockstar.

Over The Hill

I spend lots of time looking at bands' websites. Not only the "big bands" that I like, but every time I hear of a local artist I go to their MySpace. Each of these sites is linked to hundreds (if not thousands) of other bands' sites. Most of these are groups you have never heard of, and will never hear of. The majority of these groups have some type of merit; you may not like them, but somebody does.

On one hand it is encouraging to see so many groups out there chasing "the dream" and going on mini-tours and being able to make music. On the other hand, it is a little discouraging for me, because most of these jokers are young. Lot of teenagers, lot of early 20's. It makes me feel old, I am in my mid-20s now, and still haven't even got a full band together yet!

Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like I'm "too old" to make it. And it is nice that I have a college degree while alot of these kids just have their high school diploma. And I am really excited about my music. I have gotten some really great feedback from my friends out here in California. Most of them have never heard of Nine PM Traffic or any of my other musical endeavors, so it is always nice to see them surprised at my stuff, whether it's the recording quality achieved in a tiny bedroom or the song writing itself.

In other news, all the music is done for the album. I had vocals done on about 4 of the 5 songs, but I just bought a nice condenser mic for recording, so I might go back and just re-record them all to up the quality a bit. We shall see. At any rate, I should be able to meet my projected "release" date of middle to late May. Right in time for my visit back to NC. Awesome.

The Cross = Foolishness

Christianity is absurd. It has taken me a long time to accept this fact. I think that while I was in school, my subconscious MO was to be a "cool guy." Thus, being a Christ follower would become cool by association. Maybe "cool" isn't the right word, "weird" is probably a better term. People think that Christianity is weird; they think that is is foolish. I believe Christianity, but do not want to be seen as weird or foolish.

This Easter I had a bit of a breakthrough. Perhaps you have already noticed, but Christianity is weird. It is foolish. It is crazy. At its core, it revolves around a man who was really God who was killed and rose again. That's absurd. I think that in the past I have often avoided discussing faith or other folks' belief systems because I didn't want them to think me foolish.

Being a Christ follower is foolishness, at least to those who aren't. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." The reality of the matter is this: if the Bible is truth, then it stands on its own feet and doesn't need any help defending itself. So what if people think it's crazy? Often truth is crazier than non-truth.

we're so good!

Last night, UNC beat Villanova to advance to the NCAA national championship game against Michigan St. If you recall, UNC beat Michigan State in the same arena in December...by 35 pts. This DOES NOT mean UNC will win by default tomorrow night. But it also doesn't mean that somehow Michigan State is a totally different team and will beat UNC by 35.

Those backing MSU are pointing out several facts about the December game: MSU was coming off a long streak of games and was very tired (4 games in 7 days I believe), and was missing several players due to injuries, including key bigman Suton. Now that they are rested and healthy down low, they are going to be a totally different team, right? Probably.

Here is what ESPN and other places don't mention: UNC was also coming off a streak of games (5 in 10 days, including a trip to Maui). The December game was only Hansbrough's 4th or 5th game back from an injury (a stress fracture? I can't remember...), and we wer also without Tyler Zeller, who was contributing double digit points up until his injury right before that game.

Michigan State will definitely be a different team. They have already knocked off some big names and the defending champs. They are the "underdog" and will play like it, not to mention the game is about 90 miles from their campus. They won't get beat by 35. However, UNC is also coming to play. This is the game Psycho T has dreamed about for 4 years, and it is the last chance for some of the other players to showcase their NBA potential (anyone see Green's 3 pointers from a few feet behind the arc last night?). UNC will not beat MSU by 35. They will beat them by 8.

You heard it here folks. UNC: 84 MSU: 76

Awesome

Crazy Sheep

My Biggest Fan

Everyone knows that imitation is the highest form of flattery. With that in mind, I would like to present you with some pictures. First, myself back in 2004:



For those who know my brother Chase, you know that he is also a crazy guy. Even so, he normally restrains from the "crazy hair / facial hair" tendencies that I exhibited through out college. But a few days ago, this is what he looked like:




Awesome.