Slave to the Sound

Another extremely talented musician is no longer with us. Chris Cornell. Throughout my years of listening to music, his voice was one I could identify easily. Maybe not which era or band he was fronting, but I knew it was him. While he wasn't in my top favorites, I knew he was tremendously talented and considered a rock god by people who follow the grunge and/or rock genre.

Now, while I say he wasn't in my top picks, there are still songs that I absolutely love and will always blare when I play. Those are:

1) Like A Stone by Audioslave. The first song of his that I fell in love with.

2) Be Yourself by Audioslave. Such a great mellow rhythm. 

3) Say Hello 2 Heaven by Temple of the Dog. His one-album project created as a tribute to a friend.

4) The Day I Tried To Live by Soundgarden. Shows his amazing vocal range.

5) I Am The Highway by Audioslave. My sister can attest, I played this song on repeat for a good length of time. Probably my favorite of his. I won't share a video because it's best experienced without any visual additions. To this day, I stop what I'm doing and close my eyes when this song comes on. Now there''ll be a pang of sadness mixed in.

As you can probably tell, these songs are the more mellow side of Chris Cornell. And apparently, I was more attached to Audioslave than I was Soundgarden.

Definitely a tremendous loss. Hugely unexpected.

One more to follow up this tribute post. Seems a bit fitting, perhaps. Another favorite Audioslave song, and a fantastic music video. Mashing up the band's car chase with the movie Vanishing Point.

Audioslave - Show Me How To Live

Goodbye Chris.

Consistently Inconsistent

Hello! I'm still around. (ound... ound...)

Ah, echo. It's just as empty here as before I took my unprecedented leave.

Jolly good.

So, my last post was... October! Wow. Four months ago.

Over the holidays, we received enough money to give our kid the choice between a train ride into the city, or a short vacation to a beach. He chose the latter. So we're combining this year's family vacation with Eric and I's wedding anniversary and all going to the gulf.

Still at my house cleaning job. The schedule is great, and time off is almost always given when requested. But, a lot of times, it's difficult to work with basically a girls club, all of whom are younger than me, and not fitting in. It's gotten a bit better, but not entirely.

Also, five months of being the bathroom bitch is about 2 months too long.

Ah, an interesting development. Assuming plans don't change, I'll be officiating a wedding in October. Looking forward to it, since it's a) something I've never done before and b) helping out someone I work with. I'll do the proper arrangements to be their minister soon - getting certified and all. Ha, and the other day, another girl I work with came up to me asking if I'd be willing to do her sister's wedding. I said I'd prefer to get to know the couple I'm binding, but I could probably do a cold ceremony. (Y'know, like a cold open, yeah?)

I've been binge watching Falling Skies now that it's over. Enjoying it. I like Noah Wyle, and I think he fits his character pretty perfectly.

Something else I've done in the span of my unnoticed absence, I painted a couple things as Christmas gifts. One for someone who loves otters...

And the other for someone who practices Reiki (a healing technique based on the principle that the therpist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient's body and restore physical and emotional well-being).

They were pretty well received. Pleased, was I. Been wanting to paint something else now, but not sure what. Maybe it's time to get back to Poison Ivy, to match the Harley I did.

If you need new-ish music to listen to, try Post Pop Depression by Iggy Pop, The Getaway by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Act One by Marian Hill. The Marian Hill album isn't my usual flavor, and isn't my favorite, but I appreciate it for its artistry. (Also, the artist name comes from the two main characters from the musical The Music Man.)

Crafty Carvings

Finally carved jack-o-lanterns yesterday. This year may be the latest I carved them. Less than a week before Halloween. At any rate, here's the result:

The smaller is Devon's. He chose that design, and I carved. (Has a totally lopsided grin, but sometimes those are the best!) The larger is mine. Not my favorite design. I didn't put as much thought and effort into it this year. But, I tried making up for it a bit afterward with a bit of creativity.

Cannibal Pumpkin says "You're next, Gourdo..."

I plan to make up for it next year. Maybe have a design that matches the intricacy that my Beetlejuice required. Or, if all else fails, just do the Ghost with the Most again...

Been at my housecleaning job for over a month now.

Oh! And I made one of the two recipes I posted about awhile back. Pappardelle alla Lepre. Ribbon pasta with rabbit sauce. While it could've had more sauce to it, it had a very good flavor and it went over pretty well.

Time To Gore The Gourd!

Hey there. Hope this finds you well. I met my newborn nephew over the weekend. Quietest baby I've ever heard. Barely cried. One of the first things he and I did was sit down and watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Good times! Nerdy aunt for the win.

Currently in the middle of my fourth week at the house cleaning job. While there are some elements I dislike, as you'll find in almost any job, I'm quite liking it. Perfect schedule, and I've already gotten a 25¢ raise. I get paid weekly, which is a big difference from the once-a-month that the school system had. But... I'm making about $200 more, monthly, than they were paying me.

Also over the weekend, we caught most of "Autopsy: The Last Hours of Phil Hartman" on tv. So now I'm getting ahold of the show NewsRadio, all 5 seasons. He died in between the fourth and fifth season.

Bought my yearly pumpkin today! Haven't sketched out a design yet, though.

Actually... just drew one up. We'll see whether or not something better comes along.

Excited it's October. Though once again, not getting in my quota of scary movies. I'll work on that the next two weekends.

Here's to many scares, fewer cavities, and fantastic autumn days... and of course nights!

Break It Down, Now...

Five days ago, I was employed by a hotel, working 2-3 days a week for very little money, half an hour away. Not very satisfied with how things were, but unwilling to return to unemployment, AKA Square One.

Four days ago, I received a call from a local business I'd applied for some time ago, and given up on.

Three days ago, I went in and talked to the manager/owner of this business, and agreed to start the next day. I left that meeting, went home and grabbed my hotel uniform, and drove the half hour to return it.

Two days ago, I started my Monday-thru-Friday day job cleaning houses. And I'm much more satisfied with where I am now.

So... Yay!

I keep listening to the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album. Really like it. The last song is currently playing. I like the rhythm to it. But also, cool beginning, cool title... "Dreams of a Samurai." Reminds me of "Death of a Martian" from their Stadium Arcadium album, which has been a favorite of mine for some time.

Alright, so... "Death of a Martian" just got more meaningful. Apparently, the band's bassist, Flea, had a dog who died during the making of Stadium Arcadium. So, the song is about and dedicated to Martian the dog. Now that I know this, certain lyrics make more sense. "Make room for Clara's bare feet"... Clara is Flea's daughter. "Chase lizards, bark at donkeys"... "She caught the ball"... And to be honest, I never appreciated the last part of the song - it seemed out of rhythm to me - but now that I know it's intended to be a poem, I appreciate it a hell of a lot more.

Here's a bit of background on the song...

Hope this finds you well. Happy belated first day of autumn/Autumnal Equinox! I'm excited, but apparently the swarm of mosquitoes outside my front door hasn't received the memo. Beat it, bloodsuckers.

Oh, and I'll leave you with one last note, and it's in regards to the Chili Peppers. It's not so new, so you may have seen it before. If so, I hope you liked it enough to enjoy watching it again.

Tis What Tis

Third day of Front Desking (yes, desking, why not?) under my belt. There are still ropes I don't know the threads of, but I'm getting there. There's a lot more to Front Desking (yep, deal with it) than I ever knew. Like I told the manager training me, I'm good til a curve ball gets thrown. Which happens frequently.

I miss being a paraeducator.

First day of fall in just a few days! Time to start thinking about Halloween and baking my pumpkin chocolate chip bread. Gotta get my playlist of season-appropriate movies lined up. Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, Trick R Treat, Halloween... the original, not the remake. Speaking of scary movies, if you enjoy scary and/or creepy, watch V/H/S. It's from 2012. I watched it last year, I believe, and it freaked me out a bit. (Maybe more than a bit.) Some may find it more weird than scary, but I found it creepy, disturbing. If you're into that stuff, get ahold of it. See what you think.

And now I'm re-acquiring it. Glutton for punishment, this one.

So uh, not sure how legal it is to not have a lunch break but... yeah. Manning the front desk for 8 straight hours is how it goes. Guess it's great for getting paid a couple dollars more and maybe losing a few pounds... Shrug. Snackage it is.

I started a new art project. A jukebox in colored pencil. I'm discovering a few things. Colored pencil is great for precision, but not for shading or blending. The color isn't very solid, a lot like pastels. As opposed to oil paints. Kinda stuck right now, because the chrome... joints? plating? not sure what the right word for it is... is difficult to achieve. Might have to find a way around it for now.

Anyway... Here's what I've done so far:

It's not sellable quality, but it's not bad, I guess.

Tonight's playlist includes the RHCP album I mentioned in my last entry, the soundtrack from Rescue Me, and now the Strangers To Ourselves album by Modest Mouse.

One perk of my new job, I have half an hour of music each way. It's pretty enjoyable to be driving down the highway/freeway to music of your choosing, and not only listen to a song and a half. Either my trip to the interview, or my first day there, I looked through the CDs I had in the car, and put in Limp Bizkit's Results May Vary. GREAT album. And when I tire of it, I have CDs I burned over the summer for the vinyl-seeking road trip I went on. John Grant, Queens of the Stone Age, Metric, Massive Attack, Glitch Mob (ooh, they'll be next), Elbow... Oh yes.

Well, hope this finds you well. I'm working on a rum & cola, certainly not my first of the night, and trying to adjust myself to the 3-11 shifts I have this week.

Oh! Quick addition: A song from the Modest Mouse album I'm currently listening to was in a Season 3 episode of The Blacklist! That was pretty exciting. And not only that, but it was my favorite song from that album, "Wicked Campaign." The rhythm to that song is the perfect mix of fast, yet smooth.

Agents of Red Hot Picture Shows

Had issues with my last post. For some reason, the font is way tiny. And every time I try to increase its size, it either stays the same or gets smaller... So I apologize if it's unreadable. We'll see how this one turns out.

Update: I'm employed! But don't get excited. Not sure if it's going to work out right now. Little pay for a job 30 minutes away. Gonna see how it pans out. I enjoy the work, and they seem pretty flexible on my schedule... We'll see.

How it happened: I got interviewed two days ago, and received a call about 2 hours later with a job offer, and a request to come in the next day to start training. Which I agreed to. So yesterday and today were my first two on-the-job-training days.

The position is Front Desk Agent at a hotel. And the whole time I'm there, I'm waiting for my moment to make Tim Roth proud. (Watch the movie Four Rooms. So great!)

Red Hot Chili Peppers came out with a new album a few months ago, and I just heard about it in the last week or so. It's called "The Getaway" and it's pretty good. What really got my attention was that it was produced by Danger Mouse. Danger Mouse was one half of Gnarls Barkley, with CeeLo Green being their other half. You probably know their song "Crazy" if nothing else. He also produced the Demon Days album by Gorillaz, which has Feel Good Inc on it. Great album (I like to listen to it when I mow the yard). But, what made him popular before all that was when he released The Grey Album. In it, he combined Jay-Z's vocals from his album The Black Album with the instrumentals from The White Album by the Beatles.  Anyway, this album marks Danger Mouse's first time with the RHCP, and he replaces the band's former producer, who had been with the Chili Peppers for 25 years - and 6 albums.

By the way, typing RHCP is dangerously close to RHPS (Rocky Horror Picture Show), so if I ever slip up either way, you now know why.

Listening to "Feel Good Inc" now... great song to groove to.

Tis all f'now. Ta-ta.