Experience Points

A Few Minutes After

 

How I busted my forehead?  I already got that question a handful of times and it is already bothering me.  We do dumb things in life and sometimes the consequences are more noticeable than other times.  I figure I might as well write it out and redirect anyone who is curious to this blog.

I went over to my best friend Juan's house to weight lift like I normally do two or three times a week.  This time I took my new resistance bands.  After finishing half my workout I wanted to work on my latissimus dorsi muscle (a back muscle).  Since we only have free weights I wanted to try something new to really target the area.  I sat on the ground with my legs straight out and my back at 90 degrees.  I wrapped the bands around my feet and pulled to simulate a "seated pulley row".  When I tried to pull the bands back I realized there was too much slack and I wasn't working anything out.  Before my friend left me he warned me to wrap the bands around the tree he had or the pole.  Of course I figured out a more inventive way.  I just needed more distance between my feet and the bands.

After walking around for a bit I found two buckets.  I placed the first bucket at the bottom of my feet and wrapped the bands around the other side.  The bucket was too large and I couldn't pull the bands properly.  I tried out the second bucket and it was perfect!  I did 8 reps for the first set.  It was too easy so I clipped on the other two bands.  That put the resistance at 90-105 lbs.  The next set felt perfect.  Occasionally the bucket would wobble at the highest point of tension but I would adjust my legs to compensate.  On my very last rep of my last set I was finally getting tired.  I didn't notice that the bucket was wobbling and suddenly the bucket toppled over my feet straight towards my face.

I imagined it came at me around 100 m/h.  I have a good idea what it feels when a baseball player gets popped in the head with a fast ball.  It wasn't fun.  Eventually I got to my feet, called my friend and he quickly took me to the local clinic where I received seven sutures.  This morning I woke up and didn't recognize myself.  It's a strange feeling having such a drastic change.  I remember when I cut my 5 inch beard off.  It's like a different person is glaring back, but at least I know I could always grow my beard back.  This scar is staying with me as a reminder.  Experience Points +100

Morning After

 

Sci-Fi Caper show at C.A.F.E. Infoshop

My re-entry to local music has been part nostalgia and part shock.  I am partial to old venues I have performed at years back, but equally surprised at new venues that are getting solid acts.  On Monday, 14 Nov, our show at Infoshop was part of the latter.

As I drove up I noticed it was only a few doors down from Chinatown Youth Center (CYC) another all ages venue.  I was not sure what to expect when I showed up.  I knew we were going to be performing in a basement.  Having performed in a cafe's basement in Stockton almost nine years ago, I was relishing the opportunity.  However this basement was nothing like the one in my memories.

The cafe is not really a cafe. I was sad about that because I was hoping to grab a cup of coffee.  We noticed an old espresso machine under all the dust and concluded it was a real cafe in the past.  Surviving in downtown Fresno is hard, even for businesses.  There was word we might perform upstairs but that idea was quickly put down.  After scoping my surroundings I decided to descend.  I had already been warned by Emelia of the strong odor of mold and marijuana.  Still, I had hoped for the best.  Usually I am calm about most situations (I believe I was in this one too), but I was freaked out.  There was a hole in the ceiling once you arrived at the bottom of the stairs that contained all this gooey stuff that I believed to be tiny eggs of a bug just waiting to hatch.  At any moment they would burst open and fall on the floor - or someone's unsuspecting head - and begin to mate again.  So I opted for the other side of the basement.  Perhaps if all the matresses, bikes, old bed headboards and other junk was removed it would be a more comfy place to perform.  The junk itself took up half the room.  The junk did not bother me, I just thought it would make the place more hospitable.  I got worried again when I saw "dnt pit ull kill us all [sic]" and noticed the makeshift beams with old rotten wood holding them up. Hearing some discussions about, "Oh yeah, the whole place would probably cave in."  Good thing I do not play music that requires pitting to enjoy.

The thing that probably annoyed me the most was the pot smoking.  I really do not care if you want to smoke, just do not do it in such a closed in area.  Take it upstairs and I would have been fine.  I thought it was a bit rude; but if not for these few people, the whole crowd was super nice and responsive (albeit I was even offered a hit on the pipe if I choice to... thanks but no thanks).  I could not have asked for a better crowd.  Whether they wanted to be in it or not was never a choice.  A few people got up and demanded everybody get up.  It was awesome because it helps to really enjoy the show.  Never harsh words but only love seemed to emanate from this unruly bunch.  Then from time to time I would glance at somebody leaning on a pillar and I had to suppress the urge to stop the show and shout "GET THAT MOTHERFUCKER OFF THE BEAM MAN!!"

Regrettably I had to work that same night so I had to leave immediately after our set.  I heard Boom Boom Kid (all the way from Argentina) was fantastic.  I was tempted to call in, but with more shows coming up this week could not risk losing more hours of work.

Venue: 2 out of 10 (at least they had a PA system & the place still hasn't collapsed)
Crowd: 9 out of 10 (if not for those few people)

Here's a video of our closing song Broken Sleep.  Our friend Elizabeth did the honors of recording the whole set for us with excellent video commentary by our friend Malahyeka.  It is very nice to have awesome friends who come out and support.  The sound quality is not that great and I am working on that for future videos.

Because I love it.

The other day while grocery shopping with my mother she asked me the question, "How can you do things like play in a band or do a podcast and not get paid?  I wouldn't do things that make me spend money, waste my gas, if I wasn't making money."

It didn't take me long to articulate a good response.  I already knew the answer from the first time I committed to all these projects, "because I love it."

Currently I play in two bands and record a podcast with long time friend Hector Gomez.  Plus I have a full time job.  Aside from that I also help out in other projects whenever the opportunity arises.  I learned a long time ago that the chances of getting paid good money for any of my endeavors was slim.  Did I want to stop playing drums just because I wasn't going to get paid?  I did stop for a few years in my life and it did not make me any happier;  in fact, I felt restrained when I wasn't allowed to release my creative side.  I'm much happier now.  Here is a typical week.

I regularly practice one day a week with Kinship.  I have been with that band for almost two years now.  I love it because two members are like brothers to me.  We've been friends since I was around seven years old.  Our first band was together until I decided to venture out.  I'm glad there was an opening in the group after so many years and they happily let me back in.  If we have a show late in the week, we will still throw in a practice earlier in the week to refresh our memories.

I also practice with Sci-Fi Caper at least once a week prior to upcoming shows.  We tend to start two months in advance to prepare and work on any new material.  That includes possible cover songs for upcoming shows.  I got asked by high school friend Sam to join back in July.  Originally it was a two piece; which included guitar, bass and vocals.  After an acoustic show with other full bands they asked me to join in on the drums.  I was ecstatic and now it's three months later.

Recently I started the Screaming Rebels Podcast with long time friend Hector Gomez.  It just sort of came together by accident.  I mentioned a podcast but he didn't want to do it.  Several months later he sends me a message saying he's being doing research and is ready to partake.  He did all the hard work, so I drive an hour and twenty minutes every time we are going to record.  Although it's a bi-weekly podcast, I do need to research the topics we are going to present.  That is why we decided to make it bi-weekly as opposed to weekly.  I spend at least one hour everyday if not more trying to get the right information.

At least three full days go to my creative projects.  Sometimes more when the need arises. e.g. The third week of November has three shows with Sci-Fi Caper and a live podcast.

With these major projects taking up so much time, other projects will wane (e.g. this blog, my personal reading, video games).  The way I see it is, I spent too much of my life saying, "I don't have time for that," or not having enough ambition to do something.  Finally with others helping me, I can honestly say I am living life to the fullest.  On the days when I think I am not living life as if it were my last day, I just get up and do something about it...

because I love it!

Books that make you go hmmmm......

I am an avid reader, so I read just about everything from cereal boxes to novels.  If you catch me in read mode there is no stopping me.  Usually I will finish one book and pick up a new book to read within a few minutes.

However, every so often a book comes along that is so profound that I cannot pick up another book to read for up to a month.  Recently this happened to me again.  The book this time was Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

I bought it during Border's closeout sale.  I bought a lot of books during our local Border's bankruptcy, but this was the first of the novels I got to read.  I had already read Snow Crash by Stephenson years back and loved it.  I just never took the time to read anymore of his works.  I picked Anathem for the synopsis in the back.  Really it was a poor description of the book I was about to immerse myself in.  I will say that Anathem is not an everyday book.  It says it was on the bestsellers, but I wonder just how many people read it all the way through.  It gets into some heavy metaphysics, epistemology, chemistry, quantum physics and more of the sciences.  I myself was not sure if I could finish this book.  I would describe the world, but the almost 1000 page novel spends a few hundred pages just explaining in what world they live in.  It is not earth and it is not a parallel world.  It is almost like a better world, a more pure world.  Whatever happens to them trickles down some sort of ether into the next world and next.  Earth is among the list of worlds (but certainly not the first nor the last).  The book states several hypotheses of how many worlds there might be and how they are all connected.  In fact, there is an appendix and a glossary to help understand this novel.  Just writing this out reminds me how confusing it can all be without a good and proper explanation.

Still, I was entranced by the storytelling and the adventure I embarked upon.  Profound? Yes.  Enough so to write a blog about it.

Day One

I doubt I will write everyday but I know I will write often.  Finally I have the comfort to type as many characters I want without feeling inhibited by the social network restrictions put on forcefully or socially.  Instead of having notes in the background with tags to certain people, the notes themselves have become the forefront.  Maybe I could be like Warren Ellis?  Highly doubtful yet still intriguing.  Enjoy reading as much as I enjoy spewing my thoughts onto screen.