ohseven

Studio: Day One

Yes.  Finally back in the studio and working with a really great local musician/producer that's allowed me the insight and the opportunity to work with various instruments and styles.  We're still on song number one and just about finished with the piano and drums.  Tomorrow (Tuesday), we'll smooth out the ending to this particular song and start playing with melodies, organ and bass lines.  Sunday we'll do vocals.. and I've got a lot of changes in mind for the melody, as it's starting to have more of a jazzy, soulful feel to it... mm hmm!

No work, all day in the studio and Popeye's for lunch?  Who can say no?

Solid Water

For those of you who were there through the Solid Water days, I just found a list of all our old shows.  Aw:

2002
® 05.00 CDC Music Day, CDC, LNAS

2001
® 11.17 American Festival Akers M.S. LNAS
® 08.09 Hanford Street Fair Main St. Hanford
® 08.03 CDC Picnic CDC LNAS
® 07.12 Hanford Street Fair Main St. Hanford
® 05.24 Hanford Street Fair Main St. Hanford 
® 05.18 The Felix Awards LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 05.16 Talent Showcase LHS Main Gym Lemoore 
® 05.05 Cinco De Mayo City Park Lemoore 
® 04.28 Battle of the Bands - Pizza Fest Lemoore
® 04.13 Easter Hunt Exchange LNAS 
® 01.21 Talent Show LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 01.01 New Years Bash St. Anthony's Fresno 

2000
® 11.17 Jr/Sr Class Play LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 11.16 Jr/Sr Class Play LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 11.15 Jr/Sr Class Play LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 11.14 Jr/Sr Class Play LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 07.07 CDC CDC LNAS 
® 05.19 The Felix Awards LHS Auditorium Lemoore
® 03.15 Talent Showcase LHS Main Gym Lemoore 
® 01.29 Talent Show LHS Auditorium Lemoore 
® 01.20 Battle of the Bands Hanford West Hanford 

1999
® 10.29 Teen Center Hanford TC Hanford 
® 09.04 Evening of the Arts Kings Art Center Hanford
® 09.03 KJEO 47 Live KJEO Studio Fresno 
® 07.18 Parking Lot NAS LNAS 
® 07.17 Parking Lot NAS LNAS 
® 07.16 Parking Lot NAS LNAS (canceled) 
® 06.03 School Dance Liberty M. School Lemoore 
® 05.07 The Felix Awards LHS Auditorium Lemoore
® 04.24 Kids' Fair QOL Field LNAS 
® 04.04 Easter Hunt Exchange LNAS 
® 02.06 Talent Show LHS Auditorium Lemoore

Ikea 2009

All I have to say to that is SQUEE!

So much for all the times I convinced myself that I'd do the retro chic thing and just find hand-me-down furniture and yard-sale-it-up.   Lately, I've been thinking about just how much space I have in this little loft of mine.  I'd really like to section it off and make separate little areas.  I made myself a little library on the steps that I never really use, but every time I walk past it I just smile and think, "How cute!"  Because it's no longer just an empty space... like much of my loft.

This is how I envision it: My living room will be split off into three sections: television, dining and lounging.  I'm going to section it off to the left side of the doorway with shelving.  The whole area where the windows are will be the TV, coffee table and sitting area.

I'll have my coffee table, my invisible flat-panel television, a r gu and I've decided to trade my couch in for two arm chairs and two foot stools.  Either that or one arm chair, one foot stool and one chaise lounger.  Or two chaise loungers.  Or.... you know, whatever I can afford first.  (Crates, at this point.)

The dining area is quite obviously my breakfast bar.  I think four barstools will fit along it quite comfortably and can be moved to everyone's delight.  The sitting area will be everything to the right of the door.  That whole wall of vast nothingess will have shelves against it with books, frames and other things that I've managed to horde over time.

There will be a rug there and two swivel chairs and possibly a desk/table in case I'd like to have a proper dinner with a proper date some night (ahem).

The kids' toys will be there as well.  And by "the kids" I mean the unholy amount of nieces, nephews and God children I've staked my claim on over the past few years.

Those are all the ideas I have for now.  Let's see how long it takes to complete it.

I'm going to make myself a salad. 

The Fresno Metropolitan Museum

I live about three blocks away from this sucker and I cannot wait until it reopens.  Just checked out the website (yes, I'm sooo behind on times) and there's a countdown to the grand reopening: 98 days!

I'll be there!

Still working on getting a new computer as I simultaneously square away the nooks and crannies of the loft.  When I actually have a new computer, I'll have more photography/blogging time.  Until then, you get the lameness that is my once-a-month (if not once-a-season) updates.

For shame.

http://www.fresnomet.org/

Living On My Own.

I've lived with friends before.  I've lived by myself for four months now.  It can be very boring at times, but most of the time I'm just thankful that I can wind down after work (midnight) and not have to worry about anyone else making noise or making a mess, if I feel like peace and quiet.  Nor do I have to worry about anyone else complaining if I feel like working on music at 4AM.. which I've done often. 

Not that my friends complain and not that my neighbors won't.

What I am beginning to notice is that I have no idea how to manage the amount of food I buy when I'm on my own.  I always buy too much food and, unfortunately, my appetite is starting to catch up with the amount of food I'm buying.  I just could not help but ask myself why the hell I feel the ned to buy so much food.  (And buy "so much food" I mean $100 a month, including alcohol for parties.)

And it came to me suddenly... I have younger twin brothers that are 17 years old, 6'3, eat like horses and are STILL just skin and bones.  Every time I would bring food home, I'd have to leave it in my car if I wanted it to last for more than a day ... and if it wasn't a non-parishable food product, my ass had better be hungry.

I lived under the same roof as them for so long that I guess I'm just not used to there being food actually left over and available for me to eat three, four or five days after I've brought it into the loft.

So, it's time to devise a plan to manage my food purchases so that I don't have so much junk left over in my fridge week after week.  Either that or invite my brothers over more often...

Black and White Cleavage Night

Yep, it's as fun as it sounds.

It Starts

I'm working on arranging my loft the way I want it so I can start sorting out paper crafts, songwriting and photography projects.  Getting it the way I want it is sort of my summer project, so don't mind me or my mess.

And work is going great!   Plenty of overtime to fund my endeavor. ;)

May Has Come.

And May has almost gone.

Where have I been?  Busy as a bee.  I went to dispatcher academy for three weeks at the end of April and beginning of May and just returned to work this week for three days, now I'm off for another three days, back on for another four.  I'm nearing the end of my training.  In fact, I'm hoping that this Sunday/Monday are my FINAL days for training.  I pretty much have it down and we're moving to some new CAD system that's going to take ages to get comfortable with, so I'd like to have my training out of the way so I can focus on learning the program.

But anyway, no one but myself and the people I work with know or care to hear about that (and even they probably don't want to hear about it, haha). 

I've been trying to organize this little apartment of mine.  Hell, my entire life needs a little bit of organization.  I've done so few sessions and I know I received some emails from people that I need to respond to, but my internet access has been so limited.  My computer is busted (you would not like to see how I have it rigged right now) - but it's always been busted.  I built it in 2003 and have been keeping it on life support since 2005.  So, if anyone can stand to wait until closer to FALL for sessions please do, because that's probably how long it's going to take me to get all my stuff together.

Also, I have been focusing a lot on my music as of late.  I've written an albums worth of new songs and would like to step into the studio next month to record them so I can do more shows on my nights off.  Music is something that will always be a forefront in my life (yes, even before photography) so I'll probably post more about that than I can about anything else these days...

Unless someone is down for reading the story of my life?  Yeah, I didn't think so.

There's not much else to say right now.  It's been hot but now it's cold.  Today is my "Saturday" and I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  I've been reading and playing piano for most of the day.  Tomorrow, I am being "sworn in" by the sheriff.  (I'm not actually a sworn employee, I think it's just for show.)  And later tomorrow  evening I have a few dinners to attend for friends' birthdays. 

Saturday is Sudz in the City.  From 2PM to 8PM discounted drinks and fun at the Chuckchansi Stadium which is conveniently located about a mile down the street from me.   So all the pals are dropping by and we're going to walk our happy little bums to the stadium, drink while we watch some ball and walk our even happier little bums back to my apartment.

Don't worry, I've got mace.  (Downtown Fresno isn't even that bad...)

That's pretty much all I have to report right now.  As always, I can promise to update more often but it's not going to happen.  After training is over at work, I get to put in overtime.  So, I'll just direct you to my Loft Photos to make up for it:

http://adalen.typepad.com/photos/theloft

(Also features photos from my Loft-Warming party.)

Furniture? Gasp!

I'm working on edits today before I jump head first into another oddly scheduled work week (Wed-Sat, Mon, Fri-Mon).  Thought I would post some updated photos of the loft as I approach the end of my first full month of living there.  New neighbors are coming in every week.

You're probably asking yourself, "What is that crazy looking little piece of outdated tiki house nonsense on the breakfast bar?"  Actually, it is a little napkin holder and the house part is filled with wooden coasters.  My parents had used it ages ago (before I was born) in our home when we lived on base and it's just been sitting in our garage for the past decade ... so I snatched it up.

Yes, free things of semi-historical value.  (Note the George Foreman grill in the background that I also "inherited" from my mother, hehe.)