I had a visitor today...

So I took her picture. Boo for lo-res images online.

N.

Within Temptation

In 2001, a good friend of mine came back from a trip to Holland proclaiming he had heard this great band I was absolutely going to love. He brought me their cd which I popped in on the way home from picking him up. Heavy guitars? Check. Melodramatic Strings/Orchestra? Check. Catchy Loops? Check. Badass chick singer? Double Check.

The band in question was Within Temptation and I have been waiting since the day I put that cd in my player to have the opportunity to see them live. Until the past few weeks they had never toured the US and I missed them by a few weeks when I went to Denmark. However, Lacuna Coil managed to get them over here, and of all the places in the SE they could play, they ended up in COLUMBIA!!!!

The show was unbelievable. I had wondered how well they would translate to small clubs after regularly playing large venues and stadiums in europe...they didnt miss anything. Hands down one of the tightest shows I have seen, but sequences tend to help that.

Afterwards, I went into fullblown dork mode and sought out the band members in order to get my 2 discs signed. They were a bit taken back since they have had no US released cd's, but gladly signed my euro release discs and spoke with myself, my 2 brothers and Jen. It was my brother Joe's second concert ever (lucky kid, I had to wait til I was 17...he gets to go at 13 since I take him) and he was blown away, particularly after getting to meet them.

Jen even mentioned we had tried to get tickets for the sold out Virginia show and the drummer took my email address so he could let us know if they had a guestlist up there. They did, he put us on it and emailed us, but the email didnt get here til 6pm day of show. No way we could make it in time, even if we had the gas money to drive to Va. and back. I was a little sad, but no regrets since I got to see and meet them 2 days prior. I find it unbelievable that he actually emailed me. This is a band that sells out 100k plus stadiums in europe.

They are releasing their new disc, The Heart of Everything, July 24th in the US. It will be the first cd of theirs released in the states and according to the band will contain some tracks from The Silent Force. Highly recommended, particularly if you like Evanescence or bands in that genre. (FYI, WT pre-dates Evanescence) Please buy it so I get to see them in the states again!

Before you point it out to me Mr. BD, yes, I am a dork. But if ever I cant be a dorky fan someone needs to shoot me.

N.

PS - Those are some of the shots I took from the show.

...addendum...

Tom Waits on Conan. Holy Fuck. Go youtoob it. Now.

Good things...

New Type O Negative album = Great stuff (if you like Type O). I guess Peters stint in jail, rehab, and the psych ward did his songwriting some good. Apparently he is also back to being a good catholic boy as well, who'da thunk it. Better than the schlock that was on the past 2 albums.

My pumpkins are in the ground! After waiting for the tiller to come back from the repair shop, I finally got my patch turned over and have 14 pumpkin hills (as long as all survive transplant). 7 orange and 7 white (got to have the perfect pumpkin to do my annual Jack with). I'm also container growing 4 Jack Be Little's. If all goes well, I may actually get to have my "Great Pumpkin" patch this year. Scary part is I dont like anything cooked with pumpkins. I'm just growing them for Jack O Lanterns.

I also got my okra started and re-arranged the rest of our stuff. Count at present is 4 okra plants, 9 tomato plants, 8 bell pepper, 8 squash, 3 cucumber, 2 rows of bush green beans, and several useless flowers lol. If all goes well I should be up to my ears in fresh veggies this summer. I've never done this before so its been a good distraction.

I figure if I blog whenever something pleases me, maybe I can come here and see that the balance isnt as negative as I percieve it to be.

N.

Who knows..

I may reach the end of this entry and not even submit it. Maybe I will type this and get it all out and move on...at least I can hope for that.

So I left you guys with my first Denmark post a while ago. I'll fill in the rest of that before I launch into the clusterfuck of late.

My trip was good. Am I a world traveler who just didnt know it? Nah. Dont get me wrong, seeing my friends was great, but that was the reason I went and the reason I enjoyed the trip. Even with the neat stuff I did see and photograph, I could have gone my life without those experiences and I wouldnt be lacking anything.

I did not have any cigarettes in Denmark, and I have not had any since I have been back. I've now been smoke free since March 9th, so thats....ermmmm....almost 2 months. It seems much longer than that.

My gf also quit, however, it seems as if the cigarettes were the glue that was holding her together. Upon arriving home, a bout of fairly bad depression hit her for whatever reason, but she signed up for the prozac nation plan and all seems to be well now. I guess I am an asshole for feeling like the drugs have made my generation weak in comparison to previous ones. Maybe its just technology period causing the weakening. Who knows, shes better now, while I walk on eggshells afraid to set anything off. I should probably get with the times and join the brave new world myself.

SO, amidst not smoking and walking on eggshells, theres an ongoing shutout between myself and a certain alcoholic I am related to. Classic case of "you're wrong..." "no, you're wrong..." but its just one of those situations where I feel like I cant give in, otherwise I just continue the cycle that has existed for a very long time. But, if I break the cycle, can the relationship survive? If I continue the cycle, how long before I get emotionally abused again? At least when I did my stint as a professional drunk I was happy about it. This has gone on for the past week...did I mention the conversation that started all of this occurred on the night before my first final for this semester?

Finals have gone fairly well, one more on saturday and I'll be done. I may actually make the presidents list this semester. Yeah yeah, so I should have been doing that a long time ago. It all hinges on me making a good grade on my Jazz/Pop history final. Should be able to pull that one off.

Before this entry gets you too down, let me say 8 hours on the river with your little brother does a soul much good. It's even better when those 8 hours are interrupted by several catfish, from a 35# flathead to a couple of blues in the 10# range like it was tuesday night.

I really really wish I could make some pointless happy post or tell you about the wonderful things I am doing, but it just doesnt work that way. No matter how much I try to "change my outlook on things" or "look at the world from another perspective" the bottom line still sucks. I'm a 30 year old washed up musician who has "(gone) back to school to learn how to lie to you better" (bonus cool points for anyone who gets that reference). Even the band I am in now doesnt serve any enjoyable purpose for me most of the time - it's almost like I am doing it just because it's what I have done for so long. Please dont think this is some outcry for attention or ego building...for fucks sake alot of people in this world have it worse than me...I just need to remember that.

In the absence of hitting the lottery without even playing it, or some wonderful person handing me a million dollars so I can just say fuck it and disappear for a while, I'll do as Mr Band Director Guy mentions, and "Put on my big boy pants and deal with it."

So on that note I'm gonna go and repeat that phrase like my new mantra.

N.

Denmark v1.0

I'm here, in one piece, (halfway to not giving away my stuff - i.e. no fiery plane crash), and have managed to get my body adjusted to avoid as much jetlag as possible.

Interestingly enough, the passport folks here didnt ask me any questions, they looked at the passport and my picture and stamped it, and there were no customs officials on the nothing to declare side. I walked out looking very confused after expecting to answer a bunch of questions about who what when where and why.

Good stuff so far:

- Beer, GOOD beer.
- Fresh bread
- Shawarma (revisited after having the dutch version - Shoarma)
- Cheese...lots and lots of Gouda
- Leverpostej (Liver Pate' thats kinda like a Pate/LiverMush hybrid)
- Danish lunch (lots of open faced sandwiches and tons of stuff to put on them - see fresh bread)
- Fresh Pastries unlike anything I have seen previously

Not so great stuff:

- Nothing, it's all been overshadowed by good stuff
- Ok, so I havent had a cigarette in 3 days. I'm trying to quit and I could eat one. It will be good for me to quit though, I just...I like smoking. Period. I'm only quitting for the health reasons.

Having fun, not too much grumpiness (although it hasnt been grump-free on anybody's part), and trying to figure out how to get a bunch of stuff back into the US to munch on for few weeks.

Cool Stuff I have seen:

- Little Mermaid Statue
- Tons of cool statues on the water front, including an Angel that will make its way into my good photography stuff.
- Queens Castle
- AWESOME old churches and crypts of the kings and queens of Denmark in the original capitol Roskilde
- Way too much water I wont get to fish

Disjointed blog post, sorry. Maybe things will get more coherent in the next post.

N.

Takeoffs and landings...

In a little less than 8 hours I will be boarding a plane headed to Denmark. I don't like flying, at all, but I am excited nonetheless. If I die in a fiery plane crash, the folks get my stuff lol. Patrick gets the silver sparkly G&L ASAT. All jokes about me meeting my maker as a result of the unnatural event of humans flying aside, cross yer fingers I have a good trip. After the news I received today, as well as it's delivery method, I deserve it.

Apparently, Monday of this week, my grandmother Rodgers made a takeoff and landing of her own, and departed this mortal coil. I vastly prefer that phrase to any of the other "nice" ways of saying someone died...niceties tend to annoy me anyway. I was given this news today at about 12:30 pm by my girlfriend who had left work to come find me. She was contacted by my mother who had received an EMAIL from my father telling her, myself, and the rest of his children this news, ONE DAY AFTER THE FUNERAL. Phones of my friends were ringing off the hook because my mother had the good sense to realize this was not news I needed to read in an email, but news that should be delivered by a real person.

Her death was not a tragic accident or unexpected - she had been in ill health for years, although she maintained her sharp mind and wit, even 5 months ago on my last visit down to Florida. I'm not terribly upset at *my* loss for her dying, I am honestly happy that she doesn't have to fight to breath anymore.

I am however, incredibly angry at my father. This was the final nail in the coffin of me changing my name. I will continue to carry Noel, as my grandmothers name was Noelita, in order to honor her memory. I will not, on the other hand, continue to carry my fathers surname, and will be changing it to Krish as soon as possible.

Jen and I had both made certain to set aside enough time to go to Florida for a funeral, even with the Denmark trip, because we knew she wouldn't last long. I wanted the opportunity to pay my respects at her funeral and send off one of the strongest women I have ever known. That opportunity was taken from me.

They didn't even mention the grandchildren in her obituary, and she lived for her grand kids. With this in mind, I am writing my own obituary, in this little corner of the Internet, in hopes she reads it and smiles or gets a good laugh.

Noelita H. Rodgers (more commonly known as Mom, Grandma, or Tadpole), 74 years old and of Trenton Florida, died March 5, 2007.


She lived a long life, touched many lives, and left a legacy of memories behind her. Her life was not easy, and she worked hard for everything she had. Her home was a testament to her devotion to family, with pictures all over the place, names and places written into the still wet concrete of her favorite gazebo and stepping stones in her garden, filled photo albums and still more photos in piles next to her favorite chair.


Her chair was the center of her universe. Within easy reach were books, (especially a well worn copy of the Bible), photographs, notepads chock full of family history or thoughts or pondering, a telephone used to dispense advice (needed or not) to those who called her, tissues, a plethora of bird identification books, a notebook dedicated to the birds she watched, and one window to her left with several bird feeders in easy view.


Her window looked out upon the birdfeeders, her garden, and her gazebo; pleasures she was removed from for the last years of her life, but that no matter what she still enjoyed watching, even if she could only look without actually feeling a summer storm building in the humid Florida air or hearing the hummingbirds wings beating on their way to the feeder.


She worked many hard jobs; from field worker in her youth to convenience store management before retirement, all in order to provide a better life for her children and grandchildren. Even after retirement and into her 60's, she volunteered to help take care of the elderly as they prepared for their own landings outside of this world we know.


She is survived by her husband Eugene, and 3 sons, Joel, Randall, and Michael. She is primarily survived by 2 grandchildren, Brandy Elizabeth and Noel Charles (who were only ever called by both names when they were in trouble or when they made her laugh) who knew her to be a wise woman in all aspects of life and one of the most phenomenal human beings they had ever known.


Funeral services will be held tonight as I lay down to sleep and say a few prayers in her memory.

N.