catch up

alrighty ... so, winter quarters has long been done, and with that, followed a period of decompression. i think that period just completely drained everyone, and even just now do i feel recovered. it feels more like we're touring again. our first few cities after WQ were all in Florida, a state which, is nice but not when you only see the state fairgrounds and train and that's it, that's it!, that is IT!!!

the plan is to travel up the east coast - as of now, we're in Virginia - norfolk, to be exact. but we'll get there . first, some 2008 highlights

this was my first new year's in a train yard - and it turned out not to be so different from a regular train yard party - and f.y.i. there really AIN'T no party like a train yard party. no fireworks though ... i know, it sounds like a such blasphemy, but it's true. there was lots of music and wonderful cookies from a very special friend. (thanks again!) however, so, all in all, i give it a thumbs up. remember, new year's was not only new years it was also one of VERy few days off, so everybody was really just too exhausted to get really crazy. we did 6 day weeks and 10-12 + hour days .... yada yada yada, did i mention the bisque?

right, so new years... good.

then.... there came something called my birthday - this occured circa February 7th - that was a thursday, but i started celebrating around Feb. 3, a Sunday, as SOON as our last show for the city was over.

i completely skipped out on load out and load in. load out was right after the show sunday night. load in was, i believe, on tuesday. the point is, we had from sunday night till wednesday when sound check was scheduled at 1:00pm.

plenty of time for
1) Super Bowl Watching - i'm not a huge fan, but it Was a great game.
2) Karaoke House Party
3) aMAZING food
3) cool house with a porch swing and
4) hiking in the Appalachians



these first few are from the house of John's stepmom's side of the family's house .... they were having a Super Bowl party
and were most accomodating.


now, i've never been much of a karaoke guy, but, as you can see, that's exactly what took over the evening after the game. they also had a pool table in the garage and a BBQ grill out there, so you really couldn't escape the food.




Some folks got down with some songs in Tagalog, which we didn't really understand, but enjoyed fully, nontheless. Joon (someone PLEASE correct me if i spelled that wrong) got stupid on the mic to a song that i dubbed Tagalog Tool! He was rockin' That's him in the orange shirt.



everybody got their turn on the mic, but when melissa played MC and started doing the robot to Technotronic's big 90's hit : "Pump Up The Jam" it's safe to say the party got crazy. Admittedly, i got in on the action when i found Radiohead's "Creep" on the playlist. and we all brought the house down with Ace of Base's "I Saw The Sign" simply ... NUTS!












a great homecoming for fulk, and a great start to my birthday week.

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here's a shot of Fulk's house in Boone, NC. it's so cozy it's ridiculous. we got there the day after and recouped from the Super Bowl madness. I mean, just LOOK at this place! How could you NOT relax?! And what better place or hosts to show us around North Carolina?

just look at this lovely living room and porch. John grew up in this house and another in the same area. the mountains around here are beautiful, it's the start of the Appalachians - the Blue Ridge, I believe.

I'll put all the hiking Pics in another post, so ... don't fret!

no excuses

but, really, there are some good excuses why i haven't posted in far too long. my woes with electronics seem never ending - but isn't that the way with em? so, as people may or may not know - i lost my lil' sony camera back in Boston, circa last october. i've been making do with photos from my camera since then, but my search for a new photo taking device started promptly and i'm happy to say i'll be purchasing the Canon S5 camera this upcoming friday! i'm quite excited about it and have already purchased a camera bag and accesories!

anywho, my computer is the next victim - my laptop has lived a long and glorious life and i fear the end is near. the screen has started to black out and some applications don't like like they oughta ... with help from my good friend, Eli and his "radio shack in a bag" i'm able to use my comp, vie my magnavox TV screen, which ..... works, though it's annoying, and certainly compromises the mobility of said laptop. it does buy me time, though, and i'll still be getting the camera and back to taking wonderful photos and making more stop motion movies, which is really quite fun.

again, i aplogize for the lack of posts, there are several great stories, involving characters with names such as Terrell, Heather, Kevin, Boone and events such as birthday pies, appalachian hiking and phillipino karaoke. no joke :)

please be patient.