Hooray

When I got home tonight, I did some dishes.

Usually, this is not a reason to celebrate.

But tonight was a good dishes night because I live alone, which is, oddly enough, also not always a reason to jump up and down. But the good thing about living alone and doing dishes is that you can put your mp3 player on, close the door to the kitchen and know that not even the neighbours can hear you sing.

So I put my mp3 player on, closed the door, and sang.

I sang lead. I switched over to harmony and back - mid-phrase - as the urge took me. I sang low, I sang high. I sometimes sang almost high enough. And it was all good.

And here's the thing - not only was it much, much funner than the regular kind of dishes-doing, but my range is getting better. Except for the top couple of notes where she goes into her head voice, I can comfortably sing all of Natalie Imbrouglia's "Counting Down The Days". That's pretty cool.

And my dishes are clean, which is also cool. It's going to be a good night.

Blue Rodeo

While we're on the Canadian music kick (am I ever really off it?), I'd like to quote a classic Blue Rodeo tune:

And, if we're lost... then we are lost together

Well, except for the "together" part being a bit spotty, that seems to sum up my life. I get lost a lot.

The little chick and I went to Germany to visit friends this weekend. It was a wonderful visit, great to see them - it had been more than a year and a lot has gone on in all our lives since then - and TLC was very, very well-behaved in the car.

Until we were on the way back.

As we drove, I could see this mist rolling over the hills in the distance. It was amazing. And it was one of those things that I thought, you know, the pictures will never look like that looks. But then I figured, hey... I'm here, it's beautiful, it doesn't look too far from the highway, and the little chick is in good spirits. So, I pulled off towards a little town called Estaveyer du Lac and started chasing the light.

Well, in the end it was tough to get a good spot... there were trees at most of the good vantage points, and between having to find a place I could drive to and park at (or near), as well as make sure TLC was happy and safe (wandering along the side of the highway is okay if it's just me... different rules when she's along...), I'm not sure if I got the shots I wanted.

But I did learn an important lesson: looking for a way to get good sunset pics means two things:

1. Time is not on your side - if that sun is going down, you better already be where you need to be
2. Finding your way somewhere during sunset means finding your way back in the dark

So, between the fact that I was driving all over trying to find the perfect shot, the roads in the Swiss countryside are anything but orderly and the signage is... well, let's say of limited use (great if you happen to want to go to one of the towns on the sign... completely useless if you're trying to find a specific road), the little chick and I spent a bit of extra time driving around.

And there was one point where, after I turned around, she actually said, "No, Daddy, not this way." She's not even three years old. I don't know if she actually had a better feeling than I did of where the highway was (unfortunately, not out of the realm of possibility) or if she was just tired of her car seat, but it kind of freaked me out. Eventually, she did just get tired of sitting, not being able to reach her toys... so I did what a man should always do when faced with an unhappy, frustrated woman: I gave her some food and rubbed her feet until she was happy again.

Anyways, we're home now... safe and happy after an absolutely wonderful weekend. Lost, maybe; but, at least, lost together.

I'm A Soul Man

[EDIT] Version 2 is online. Same link, much better arrangement, I think.

Okay, my music collection reads like a stereotypical white-boy playlist: a lot of rock, some metal (for nostalgic reasons only, really), and a bunch of country and bluegrass (note to self: don't invite Ozzie friends and Rascal Flatts friends over on the same evening, again). The only thing I'm missing is Ice-T. Yeah, it's kind of sad, and I know it.

But I learned this week that the coolest Canadian band of all time (with The Hip falling in a close second place), The Philosopher Kings, have a new album. Okay, maybe not new - it's from 2006, but it's one that I didn't know about and haven't gotten yet. So, it's new. That's exciting.

They are fantastic. I've never heard anyone else mix jazz, pop, soul, and funk like they do. And those boys can play... oh, it just about makes me cry. And their music has soul just oozing out. Very, very cool. So, to celebrate, I wanted to sing with them.

Now, this isn't my usual procedure. Usually, if I decide to doctor a track and add some vocals, it's because I've listened to it and thought that something was missing. There isn't much missing on their stuff, and they use a lot of interesting chords that are so, so cool to listen to, but don't always invite a lot of additional vocals. Anyways, I decided to take a song I love - Lay My Body Down - and see what I could do with it. If you're going to buy one of their albums, I prefer this one, which is self-titled, to their second, Famous, Rich, and Beautiful, even though that's one of the best album titles of all time, as far as I'm concerned.

It's a bit different than any of the other stuff I've done... not much twang here. In fact, it's almost all falsetto. This is the first mix, and since doing it last night and listening to it on the train this morning I've already heard a couple things I'll change and a line or two I'll just take out, but I figured I'd give you the link and if you're interested you can check it out. Oh, and there were already some BGV's on the chorus, so that's not all me.

Oh, and for those of you who know him, I think my voice kind of came out sounding like Charlie Peacock. Could do worse, I guess.

Hope you like it. You can download it here.

Speakerphone

It is okay to use speakerphone when multiple people need to be involved in the same conversation, and you're not in an office where they can simply all be conferenced in on their own handsets.

It's not okay to:

1. Keep trying a number that's busy
2. Use it just because you're too lazy to actually reach down and pick up the phone
3. Pretend that the dialing sound is like music, and everyone will be happier if they can hear it
4. Share a fabulous "your call is very important to us..." on-hold message with the entire office

This is what triggers workplace violence; I just don't want to be the guy who illustrates the point.

The Highest Compliment

... in the little chick's arsenal is, "nice". It may not sound like much, but when she says "Awwww, nice Daddy..." it melts my heart. It's not a descriptor I would particularly welcome from the world at large, but from her... it's different.

We had a couple wonderful daddy-daughter-days this weekend. A lot of playing and singing, a lot of laughing, but my favorite part was a lot of cuddling.

One of the things I'm enjoying about this age is that she rarely stalls when I'm putting her to bed, and when she does, it's pretty transparent. "Go out there? Play with toys?". She hasn't yet decided to use the "I'm thirsty" weapon, and I'm glad.

So last night, when she told me she was still hungry, I was happy to get her a granola bar just to fill in any cracks left by dinner. And, while she seemed to enjoy the granola bar, I don't think it's what she really wanted. She cuddled in on my lap, and, as she ate, turned her head right into my shoulder and put her arm - granola bar still in tow - around me. And she just stayed there. And I don't know how it may impact her sleeping habits, long-term, but making my daughter feel beyond any doubt that she is loved and treasured is a whole lot more important to me than getting her to bed 15 minutes sooner. So I cuddled her, and it was good for both of us.

It made me wonder - what is it in that physical proximity that is so powerful, that she seeks it out and longs for it and that I want so deeply to give it to her? And how is it that, in the love I have for her, and she has for me, holding and being held can be so similar and yet so different from how it is in romantic love? I don't understand it... but I know it's important. And so does she - I can tell, that's part of what "nice Daddy" means.

The Wedding, Part II

Well, I had a chance to show the wedding pictures I took to the bride and groom this week.

They liked them. That makes me happy.

I was reflecting over the last couple of days about the joy I feel in creating, but how it is amplified so much when I can share it. It's funny - I used to think I was in introvert; I used to feel pretty content living a very internal life. But I've discovered that even a very solitary kind of experience - taking pictures of wildflowers at dawn in a deserted park - is not truly solitary for me.

I love the sight that inspires me to try and capture that beauty in the first place, even when my eyes are the only ones that see it. I love the activity of waiting for the light, finding the angle, getting the focus, and making the shot. I love the feeling that comes when I look at it and know that, somehow, what I have is more than a reproduction of what touched me, but that the beauty is truly there, and that, sometimes, it's even magnified in the act of being captured.

But what I love the most is sharing it. I love it when a picture or song or piece of writing moves someone... I want to be a creator, but not just a creator. I want to be a participant in people's lives, and whether it is through a talk, a meal, or a piece of art, that's what I'm really longing for.

And sometimes I'm lucky enough to get it.

Once Again

I didn't make the list.


I think I may need to do more sit-ups.

Infiltrated

I've been infiltrated.

I don't know if Apple specifically planned it that way, but a covert agent has been working on me, trying to get me to buy an iPod.

And it almost worked.

I got to thinking - 160 GB would be pretty cool - I could put all my music on it at a pretty high bit-rate. And even some movies. And the new ones have a battery life that a lot of people are pegging at 40+ hours on a charge for music. And there are programs other than iTunes that you can use now to manage the music you play... meaning you can actually move it around however you want, without Apple telling you which computers you're allowed to use to listen to it.

And then I started to read.

It turns out that Apple has changed a few things with the new ones (called iPod Classic, or sixth generation/6G). They have a new algorithm that they're using for the digital/analog conversion. And the hardware has changed, too - the DAC is coming from another manufacturer. And in the hi-fi community, people are not happy.

Turns out the sound is, to a critical listener, nowhere near as good as it was for previous incarnations - less natural, less punchy and vibrant, with harmonic overtones missing. Which is all I need to know for now, until either a firmware fix or a version with better hardware (or both) is released.

Whew.

Close call.

Would You Like Fries With That?

I went for fondue with a couple of colleagues today. As we were eating, I decided that it would probably be pretty tasty to chop up some jalapeños and spice things up a bit.

Other things that I haven't tried or seen that might be good in fondue:
1. Beer
2. BBQ sauce
3. Bacon Bits
4. Fresh dill
5. Apple sauce

Any other ideas?

Cover Me

This morning I was playing with the little chick - we were playing catch with a balloon. She came over and bonked me on the head with it, so I tumbled over onto the floor. She started giggling and came over and jumped on me, giving me a big hug. "Oooohhhh" she said in a voice that I can't hope to capture in writing, "Daddy-daughter day!" (that's what we call it) and just snuggled right in.

After a minute, she got back to her feet and looked a little concerned... then walked over to her little pink chair where Mrs Cow (who is almost the same size as she is) lives. She pulled her out of the chair and brought her over to me; lifting my head, she pushed Mrs Cow underneath. "Daddy needs pillow," she explained. I'm not sure how it was for Mrs Cow, but it was a whole lot more comfy for me.

Then she realized something was still missing - she ran off to where all her supplies are for her baby, and came back with a blanket... a blanket that is more symbolic than functional, even for her baby: it's about one foot square. "For Daddy's feet," she said. She stood by my feet and considered. Then, straddling my legs, she decided against the feet and waddled up until she was at my belly, and spread the blanket out over me. "Now," she said, sitting herself in her pink chair next to me, where she could keep an eye on my condition, "close eyes and go to sleep."

Well, the sleep only lasted about 15 seconds before it was time to play again, but it was wonderful to see her learning to stop and get outside of herself, to think about what I (or anyone) might need, and to want to care for those needs. That's the kind of little chick I want to raise.

I'm a pretty happy guy.

I Am A Political Activist

Okay, I'm not really. But I did have my first picture published, in an AIDS-awareness advent calendar put out by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.

You can see it here.

So, I wasn't completely aware that it was an AIDS-related calendar when I agreed to let them use the picture. Actually, I was just kind of stoked that someone had noticed and liked it enough to want to publish it. I guess, though, that it's good that it's being used to draw attention to something important.

I use the word "publish" loosely, in the sense that someone is putting my picture on paper and making it available... the monetary aspects that one may associate with publication don't really come into play, but I do know that the creative designer makes a killer raspberry trifle, and I'm hoping that will become part of the equation at some point.

Anyways, I'm pretty excited about December, now: especially the 4th. Hooray!

I Have Something To Say

So why won't they let me say it?

I was at a retreat this weekend with a group from my church, and the speaker started out one of the sessions talking about an idea he had... and how we may have a different perspectives, and he wanted to hear about them.

Only, I don't think he did. Because he started to talk, and then he didn't stop. He didn't even slow down.

You know, I don't have a problem with people just doing their thing. But it pisses me off like you wouldn't believe when they say, "let's have a discussion" or, "I'd like to hear your thoughts on this" and then refuse to actually stop and listen. I mean, if you want to get my input, then I'm happy to give it. But if you don't want it, don't ask for it and then just refuse to listen to it.

Please.

Faces

Okay, for Lori and anonymous, here are a few more of my favorite shots from the wedding. You can see the full set (not all 400 I took, but the ones I like the best) here.




Not the groom, but a friend of mine, and I like the shot.




I love this one.




One that's actually wedding-ish. The bride.




At the aperitif







The dress.




The bass player. Not Chuck, the MNB bass player, though.

Too Bad

It's only Wednesday. Still, they're all over the soundtrack to Starter For Ten and I almost got Nathan to play it for the offertory on Sunday. So, sing along wherever you are...

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday i don't care about you
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...

I don't care if Monday's black
Tuesday Wednesday heart attack
Thursday never looking back
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can hold your head
Tuesday Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday watch the walls instead
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...

Our Father

I've been thinking lately about God as our Father. I'm teaching at one of our church groups next week, and this has been on my mind, so that's what I'll talk about.

But you get a sneak preview while I find my way through.

The first thing I think of is that it's such a deep, rich analogy.

The second is, what if it's not an analogy?

Something C.S. Lewis talks about a lot (and Aristotle before him, but with different conclusions) is the way that the temporal often reflects the eternal... not because what we can't see right now is a shadow of what we can, but because what we have now is a shadow of what is to be.

I guess a good example of this is our desire to belong - to be part of an ethnic group, a nationality, a political party, a club, a church, or even a family. We want to be known, to be loved, to belong, and those are all good and natural longings. But we don't find their fulfillment in the here and now - to be deeply entrenched in the republican/demorcatic/green/whatever-Nader-is party will never begin to approach the kind of complete acceptance and "home" of being known and loved by our Creator. The means we have at our disposal now are temporary and inadequate, but the desire itself is much deeper, more permenant, and truer.

So here's the thing: becoming a father has changed me. What I know of love, of faith, of patience and care and hope are all worlds apart from what I knew before. And my understanding of how God relates to me and I to him has changed in very deep and dramatic ways, too.

But what if what I'm experiencing is not the final reality of what fatherhood is. What if this is the shadow - the analogy - and what my Father is to me is the reality.

What if?

Humo(u)r

I've realized that I've become afraid to use the "humor" label on my posts. Part of it may be that, in retrospect, I'm ashamed of using the American spelling (no offense, Americans). But I think that most of is that I'm a little concerned someone will get onto my blog and do a search on it.

Then they'll sit back, cross their arms, and read.

Unimpressed.

"I don't see what's so funny about that," they'll say, reaching for some more lemon rind. "Hurrumph."

On the other hand, if they're not expecting anything to be really very clever, even just a little bit of wit can be rather impressive.

So, if you've searched and just found this, I'm sorry. But if you keep digging, you never know what you may find.

Please Wait

I take a lot of relatively small aircraft - my usual commute to Lugano is on one that seats just over 50 people. As a rule, they let you put larger carry-on stuff outside the plane as you get on.. .then they load it up and unload it for you at the other end.

It's a pretty good deal. You don't have to carry it (or find space) on board, but you also don't have to wait for it at the baggage belt at the other end. But every time we land, they say the same thing, usually in three languages:

"We kindly ask you to wait patiently while your hand-luggage is being unloaded."

Now, I'm glad that they're willing to unload it. Really, I am. And from what I've seen, they do a pretty good job. I haven't heard of them missing any.

But why the announcement? I mean, if the stewardess would just stand there for a minute before opening the door, would people spontaneously rush forward? Would the guys at the front push her into the cockpit so we could figure out how to get that door open and the stairs down, to tear wildly across the tarmac? Or maybe people who had given stuff to the luggage guy at the other end would just not remember, "hey, it felt... heavier, before. Nah, I must have been imagining it..."

I like to talk - any of my friends will tell you. I even like listening. And, with people who are special to me, I can even talk about/listen to a whole lot of more or less nothing, and still be quite happy just to have the time and the contact, especially if snack are involved. But my relationship with the Darwin stewardess is (perhaps regrettably) not exactly in that category.


I wonder if I should say something?

British Nathan

He's back, and it's cool. For never considering myself much of a room-mate kind of guy, I sure like it when Nathan's in town. I drink more tea. I have more good conversations. I get an appreciative audience to show my progressing mix-downs to. The little chick likes to get him to read stories to her. And every once in a while I get to hear him play.

Very nice.

And I can't wait for the weekend. I know it's only Thursday, but I'm ready. I was ready yesterday, in fact.

In other news, I've installed a tea station at our "office" (in the client offices) in Lugano. There is a coffee machine on our floor, but it's one of those ones with terrible instant coffee - absolutely brutal. A kettle, a few cups, the hotel is kind enough to leave tea in the rooms that we can bring with and - voila - instant team spirit. It's cool.

Ummmmm.....

You know when you get to that point in a phone conversation where you don't really want to hang up, but you also don't have anything else to say? That's kind of where I'm at, now.



So, I guess, talk to you later?

The Wedding

Well, it was a busy weekend - insanely busy, actually. The little chick and I slept through most of a friend's birthday party on Sunday, even. But I have a full report on the wedding:

The ceremony was 90 minutes. That would seem like a long time, and since it was happening in three languages (not all in three, but it does add up). Here were the highlights:

1. The Bride (Priska) wore a red dress, and it was just stunning. At first, I couldn't believe it, but it really suited her... very dramatic, and with the flower-girls' orange dresses the color was really rich and deep. I loved it.

2. The music - we had a full band, a mix of French and English players, all of whom I have had the pleasure of playing with before, so it was a lot of fun. The acoustic drums were okay in the end. There were two things that made it just wonderful for me. First, Fred, the groom, told me that he loved it, and that he was really moved by the music. Second, I could hear this beautiful little voice from the back of the room after the songs were done... "Daddy?". *sigh*

3. The cortege - or something like that... it's a procession, where everybody drives slow and honks. You guessed it: two of my favorite things. Between having to tear down and pack up my drums, and wanting to get to the reception site early to be ready to shoot, I decided to skip it. Don't worry, everyone said, it's really easy to get to, and really simple to skip around the cortege route and take the highway directly. Yeah, right. John decided to join me, and we made a quick stop for a couple of burgers (music makes you hungry, in case you were wondering), took a good close look at the map, and decided that odds were pretty much certain we were going to get lost if we attempted it. So we turned around, headed back to the church, and found a family still there who was going to be heading up after stopping off at home to get their passports (welcome to Geneva... ceremony in one country, reception in another!). They let us follow them, which was good, because we would have been really, really lost.

4. The great part of the Swedish-style reception. Richard and Dorothy had kind of prepared me for this, but I was not ready for the full extent of it. There were some really fantastic speeches: my old friend Harald did his usual bang-up creative job, as did Mo (but it barely counts, since all Irish people are funny), and Fred's sister who is very much like he is... very tall, very thin, very smart, and very, very dry in the humor department - just brilliant.

5. The other part of the Swedish-style reception. It turns out that, at a Swedish wedding reception, everyone has to participate. Richard figures it's because they're very sentimental (so they usually end up talking about visits to great-aunt Clauthilde's house when they were 6, and other stuff that the rest of us had always wondered about but never thought to really ask about). I figure it's because of all the pickled fish. I mean, it has to take its toll somehow, right? Case in point: one of the couples that came up to "present" was made up of a woman who sang two Abba songs - one because the bride sings, and one because she just likes it. Then the man said that since the groom's sister is a doctor, he would do a skit about the Swedish medical system. He proceeded to mime (yes, mime) a kind of sloppy operation, apparently a parody of how good Swedish doctors - like the aforementioned groom's sister, sitting 8 feet away from him - are at their profession. Has nothing to do with the bride or groom, their marriage, or even weddings in general, and manages to offend the immediate family of the groom. How could that possibly go wrong? Thanks to this, the dance didn't even start until after 1. And that, kids, is past my bedtime, especially after spending the whole day playing, moving drums, taking pictures (see below) and pondering getting woefully, wonderfully lost in the French countryside.

6. The pictures. I took quite a few, and after editing out the dogs, I still have more than 400 usable shots. Here are a few I like...

Sound Check

So we had the sound check tonight for the wedding tomorrow. I carted my drums up out of the basement (for those who haven't experienced it, drums + stairs = bad combination), loaded everything into the car, got it over to the church, and unloaded and started setting up.

The sound guy came over and looked at me. "Do you have electronic drums?" he asked.

"Uhhh, yeah..."

He looked at my kit. A rather solid, maple, decidedly acoustic drum set. I decided to elaborate:

"These aren't them."

He looked really, really unimpressed. "I was told you had electronic drums. I don't have mics for these."

"Well," I said, "I do have electronic drums. But nobody asked me to bring them. So I'm playing these. Besides, the room isn't that large, I doubt we're going to need mics on the drums."

He continued to look unimpressed. "How long would it take you to get them?" he asked.

"You mean, on top of the hour and a half it's already taken me to get these? I guess about an hour and a half more if traffic cooperates. More like two and a half after I get these all back and put away."

I could see him calculating: bedtime - sound he wanted / what he had been told was going to happen (this is Switzerland, after all) * how much he actually really cared = "okay, don't bother then"

So I didn't. I'm going to go tomorrow and play my acoustic drums. And I will have a good attitude. And I'll enjoy the wedding. And I'll be nice to the sound guy, cause he was probably just feeling stressed out.

But, for now, I'm going to bed. Happy weekend, all.

I Should Have Known

As I was taking off yesterday with a colleague, we both noticed the plan dip a bit on take-off... a bit more than usual. We looked at each other. "I didn't feel any wind..." I said. And as we continued to climb, it got worse - sudden-ish turns, overcorrections.... some of it felt like wind, but some of what felt like the result of a rookie pilot.

When we landed and walked down onto the tarmac after saying good-bye to the stewardess and pilot, she started to laugh. I didn't get it, but I hadn't really engaged my brain to get from my seat out of the plane... it was just business as usual.

"Didn't you see?" she said.

"Uhhhh......"

"The pilot. It was a woman... now it all makes sense!"


Well... she said it. But I didn't argue.

It Doesn't Mean I'm Fussy

I cleaned out my bag this morning - the one I carry my PC in and (when I'm traveling for work) more or less everything else, too. It wasn't that messy... I had a couple old chocolates in the bottom, a few pieces of paper I don't need any more, and some stuff to put into different pockets, but it felt good to get it organized. Really good, actually. And I realized that the amount of pleasure I derive from organizing something insignificant like that is completely disproportionate to either the amount of effort required or the real-life impact of the activity.

That's pretty cool. It's like some kind of vending machine where you put in a buck and it spits out three.

Plus, now I know how to plan my weekend.

I'm Still Here, Wearing A Suit

Sorry for the big gap. I've been pretty busy, had guests, been a little sick, and looking after a little chick who has been more sick. I've been thinking about you, but haven't been writing.


I was in a meeting all day today with clients from the bank I'm working at, people from our project, and people from our R&D department. Our people - who usually dress casually for work at our own offices but dress up to go to the clients - brought the dress code up a few notches for the meeting.

The bank people, who are always in suits at their own office, dressed casually to come see us.

And yeah, I know: I talk a lot about clothes for a straight man. I've learned to accept it. But I think that next time, somebody really should coordinate this. I mean, is this the kind of meeting that requires a tie or isn't it? And how is it that we can't even agree on the "when I'm at my office I'll wear jeans and when I come to yours I'll dress up" thing? Aren't there rules about this somewhere?


And here's the other thing I think about suits in general: unless there are some of us who don't feel competent in choosing a non-uniform set of clothing in the morning, no one is going to feel more comfortable working in one than out of one. Yet we all wear them. Why? We wear them to impress them. They wear them to impress us. In the end, no one is really that impressed. Except my dry-cleaner.

I think suits should be saved for nice dinners; wearing them should be a special occasion. Work is everyday. It's normal. Why not go ahead and dress like it is? Otherwise, we men have nowhere to look to take it up a step other than a tuxedo.

And that's a pretty big step.

Blades Of Glory

Some say it sucks. I say it has Will Farrell.



Hector: "Hey, Jimmy"

Jimmy: "Hector? What are you doing here? You know I have a restraining order against you..."

Hector [laughing nervously]: "Oh that thing? [pauses]... You look great, Jimmy. You look amazing, and your hair rocks..."

Jimmy: "Thanks"

Hector: "You look so good... oh my gosh. Do you look at yourself? I totally want to cut off your skin and wear it to my birthday... it's coming up"

Jimmy: "Yeah, listen, it's good to see you Hector, but I'm really busy right now"

Hector: "I'm sorry, I'll cut to the chase. You've got to start skating again, Jimmy."

Jimmy: "What?"

Hector: "It's embarrassing stalking a has-been, you know what I mean? Look, I almost gave up on you. I started stalking that Ukrainian skater, you know, the one that looks like Elvis? I moved to the Ukraine. It was cold, and everyone had guns and smelled like soup."

Jimmy: "I sympathize with you Hector, I really do, but there's nothing I can do. I'm banned for life...."


You should see it. Preferably with me.

Ciao, Bello

I had a guy I work with in the bank pass me in the hall today. He winked and gave me the thumbs-up.


I love Italians.

The Jura

Here are some pics I got on the weekend. It was beautiful.

You can see the others here.

What A Great Weekend

The little chick and I went to a retreat with about 130 other people from our church this weekend, and it was fantastic. Amazing weather... eating comfortably in a short-sleeved shirt on a terrace in the mountains is pretty good for Switzerland in October. I got some good pictures, I think, but they are of the amazing fall colors, and so I'm pretty sure that none of them are going to really approach what it was that was forcing me to pull into every single lay-by to pull out my camera. Still, I'll get them up soon and you can take them for what they are.

Mostly, though, it was amazing just to know, once again, what a wonderful "family" I have here - so many people with nothing but love for me. It's amazing, and I hope I never forget.

The Set List

For Troy.

Set 1

1. Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer) - good tune, maybe a bit slow for a starter in retrospect
2. Somewhere Only We Know (Keane) - it rocks
3. Everybody's Gone To War (some Australian chick) - it really, really rocks. Love this song
4. Who Knew (Pink) - solid tune, maybe not the best fit for us, but fun to play
5. King of Pain (Alanis Morrisette acoustic version) - nice backup part for me to sing in this
6. Shiver (Natalie Imbrouglia) - kind of mellow, but it's a nice one
7. Life For Rent (Dido) - not my favorite tune, but I do get to sing in it
8. Torn (Natalie Imbrouglia) - nice, and people know it
9. What Took You So Long (Emma Bunton) - yes, former Spice Girl. But it's a hauling song
10. Radio (The Corrs) - nice guitar in this one

Set 2

1. I Don't Want A Lover (Texas) - good, straight-ahead rocker
2. Since You've Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson) - decent tune, I LOVE singing the "yeah, yeah" in the chorus
3. Sk8r Boi (Avril Lavine) - moves along pretty good, but makes my arms tired
4. Bend and Break (Keane) - another fun one to play, even if there aren't any BGV's
5. Starting Today (Natalie Immbrouglia) - why is it that I want to describe all of hers as "nice"?
6. Sand In My Shoes (Dido) - rocks pretty good, for Dido
7. Ironic (Alanis Morrisette) - people seemed to like this one - easy to sing along, I guess
8. Hunter (Dido) - not my favorite, but it has a nice grooving drum part
9. She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5) - love this tune, plus there's lot's of singing for me
10. Satellite (Natalie Imbouglia) - well... yeah, it's nice, too
11. So Young (The Corrs) - love the ending... nice harmonies on "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"
12. Leave Me Alone (P!ink) - another rocker

Set 3

1. Behind These Hazel Eyes (Kelly Clarkson) - pretty fun to play, the drums are all over the place
2. Breathless (The Corrs) - hard not to love this tune
3. Wishing I Was There (Natalie Imbrouglia) - very groovy, with a fun gang backup in the chorus
4. Adia (Sarah Maclaughlin) - great drums in this one, plus lots of singing. Hooray!
5. White Flag (Dido) - okay tune, but I get to sing in the chorus
6. Counting Down The Days (Natalie Imbrouglia) - fun, but feels like I'm trying to hold back a team of wild horses to keep the tempo steady
7. Thank You (Dido) - not bad, but I think my BGV needs a bit of polishing in this one
8. Only When I Sleep (The Corrs) - slow, but it rocks. We skipped it, I think to move on to something quicker
9. Black-Eyed Boy (Texas) - motown-ish rocking kind of tune, not bad...
10. Steve McQueen (Sheryl Crow) - love this one... the drums haul, and I get to sing my heart out in the chorus... it's just right for my range - low enough that I can hit all the notes without having to worry about it, but high enough to make it feel like I'm working for it. I could play this all night...

So there you have it. There were a bunch of people taking pictures and video, so I'll see if I can get some of that up for your viewing pleasure...

Tonight's The Night

The Cover Story (you may know them as the MNB) debut. It's going to be good, I hope. And fun. Fun to play, fun to listen to. The songs will start at the right tempo; the backup vocals will be so on pitch you will find yourself wondering where the CD is hidden; the guitar will be neither too loud nor too quiet, with an aggressive yet pleasant tone. It will all go well.

And I will not - NOT - drop my sticks.

Thanks to all of you who have decided to come and cheer us on. I'd love to buy you each a drink, but I'm afraid we're not getting paid quite that much. And thanks, also, to those of you who weren't able to get flights lined up (yes, I'll try to give you more warning next time) and so have been encouraging me from a distance. I appreciate it, and promise good seats to all when the world tour rolls around...

They Make Me Proud

To be Swiss.