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[24 Jul 2008|12:03am] |
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First Ari practice today. It's going to be amazing, trust me. Think Pinback meets Sufjan.
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[21 Jul 2008|01:24am] |
been doing a lot of thinking, and ive been making some pretty big life changes as of the last few weeks:
I'm playing music again, and thats about the best decision I could make right now. I talked to Jason on the phone today for like an hour and it looks like the original Ari Thanos will be playing again - Rex, John, Jason, Jess and myself. No shows or anything, just writing great music and making some good recordings. We're getting together this Wednesday and I couldnt be more excited. I'll also be playing and recording for a project with ex-Red Racer keyboard player Daniel Jordan. He's living in Indianapolis, and I'll be spending a week or so down there writing and recording an album with him and two other musicians. I've heard some of their demos and can't wait to write the drum tracks. Look for links up soon.
I'm not going to be playing poker anymore. The emotional ups and downs are too much to deal with, and its taking its toll on me. I've had a good run playing the last two years, and I've made quite a bit of money, but I can't keep doing it. The lifestyle is just not for me. I'll still play some small stakes home games, but other than that I've got to be done.
I've got a new girlfriend, and she is amazing. Her name is Whitney, we met on our trip to London. She's going to Saginaw Valley Pre-Dental, she'll eventually be an orthodontist. Shes a great girl, extremely smart and has been treating me very well. This is by far the most mature and healthy relationship I've been in. It's funny how you can trick yourself into thinking youre happy as a kid - I'm coming to realize that's what I was doing when I was with Ashley. I heard from her for the first time in a long time the other day, and I must say it was an interesting conversation. ;)
I'll be done at SVSU in about a year and a half from now, and from there it looks like graduate school. I'm not sure where yet, but Purdue and the University of Michigan are both contenders. I'm loving the prospect of my future in the field of Communication.
Other than that, I'm learning to enjoy life a bit more. I suggest you do the same.
Cheers.
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| The First Day |
[18 Jun 2008|10:40pm] |
5.6
The first day we arrived was quite a blur. The overnight plane ride combined with the time change/jetlag made for a sleep-deprived first 24 hours in London. Arriving in the airport seemed as normal as one could hope – most of the signs and features of a European airport are similar to that of an American one. Going through customs was rather intimidating, however, as you enter a screening area where there are armed officers who bear drug sniffing dogs and rifles. This was an intimidating process, as turning the corner to enter this environment was a bit of a shock. I made it through without any complications, not getting stopped to be searched. We’ll see how the process goes on the return trip.
After getting through customs we rendezvous on the other side of the baggage claim with our entire group. Arriving into the country was an interesting experience. Most of what I remember was the plethora of car services with drivers holding up signs with random names on them. This reminded me of the limo drivers from the movies, however seeing these people standing next to many families with “welcome home” and “congratulations” signs made for a different experience. Getting all twenty one people through without any problems was a goal of ours, but alas, we ended up waiting for around a half hour while one of the people on our trip made through the process. The individual in question had gotten lost in the baggage claim and did not make it to the motor coach. We took a tour coach ride around the city, hitting the most important parts and seeing the big sites. During the ride into the city I mostly noticed the chimneys on the surrounding neighborhoods. In the united states one is used to seeing subdivisions and apartment complexes, however in this country one can only see a mental picture which looks like it comes directly from the movie marry poppins movie. Most of the people on this trip were quite cranky and sleep-deprived, so I don’t believe this was a very productive tour.
On the tour we stopped off at Westminster Abby and Big Ben. While at any other time in ones life they would be ecstatic to see these glorious sights, I found myself finding a grassy spot and laying down to rest. We also stopped by hyde park, and walked through the grasses to see the front of Kensington palace. This is really nothing special – the white house is more impressive. What I do remember of the palace is the gates. Kensington palace had very royal and pompous gates painted in gold and black to line the entrance. Again, most of the group is tired by this time, so sightseeing will have to wait for another day.
We took the tour bus to the apartment complex, which seems to be in a wonderful part of town. Pulling up my first impressions were far from content, though. The streets were lined with garbage waiting to be picked up by the trash man, and this smell was the last thing one would like to smell after over 30 hours awake and a 10 hour plane ride. In addition, the entire front of the main apartment entrance was covered in scaffolding; it appeared that some major renovations were taking place in the space we were to be inhabiting for the next month. Several foreign workers sat around sweating in the afternoon sun as we piled off the bus to retrieve our luggage from the outside storage compartment. The workers continued with their work, welding metal pieces to iron beams. The sparks flew all over the sidewalk as everyone scurried to get the correct bags. The workers doused the welding with water to cool the new joint, and hoisted the beam to the top of the building. Our professor took charge, heading into the building to see what was going on with our living arrangement. All twenty one of us students stood on the sidewalk, clinging to our bags, and I suddenly felt very uneasy in this environment which up to this point had seemed very similar to that of home.
Our professor returned a few minuets later with what appeared to be a manager, who took him and his wife to their room, which was the finest in the building. Then appeared a different worker with a list and several keys. Several workers started handing out keys to the students on the trip. My thoughts at this moment were varied… it seemed quite unorganized and shady. The lack of one distinct manager made me nervous, a feeling that was amplified by the lack of availability of a room for the guys on the trip. We were told that the original check in time was supposed to be later in the day, and we would have to wait an hour or two before checking into our rooms. These messages were coming from several different people and there was no distinct voice of authority. Our professor told us we could put our luggage in his room for the time being, until we could get keys to where we would be staying. We lugged what bags we had over some more steelworkers outside of the building and into the hallway of our professors room, only to find out that the manager of the building wanted us to put them in a different, vacant room and wait for until his cleaning ladies were done with the rooms. We obliged, however the owner kept telling us we could get come coffee across the street – this made me nervous as it sounded like he was trying to get us out of the building. There were signs on the wall said things like “do not leave your valuables unattended in your room” and “if anyone claiming to be the cleaning staff tries to enter your room on Saturday, do not let them it.” This made me extremely uncomfortable with leaving my luggage, laptop, and other valuables a random room with strangers. I opted to wait directly in the hallway outside until the room was cleaned.
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