hrmmmmm

Stay tuned. Things may be looking up. But I gotta keep quiet and its killin me. MBDG, I swear I will call, but I absolutely hate, despise, and otherwise loathe the phone.

N.

Boxing Day, not the holiday

I'm sitting waiting for my japanese class to start and I made the mistake of listening to Boxing Day on the way here. All that did was remind how much this life I lead now pales in comparison and set me up for not so great a day. Peachey.

N.

...is this thing on?

My blog that is. I just cant seem to find enough things going on recently that warrant writing about. I've been in a bit of a funk for a while and I really dont feel I need to sound like 98% of the other bloggers who seem to write only about what is wrong with them. I should be ok, but for some reason I'm not, and I can't seem to put a finger on exactly what the issues are in order to fix them. SO, I'm alive, my pumpkins are growing, and I'm gonna keep putting one foot in front of the other til I feel better.

N.

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.

How many gov't employees does it take...

"Mr. Rodgers, we realize you were told that your passport would be delivered before you are supposed to leave the country on 3/9, however, due to the passport change and the fact that we remain understaffed, you will need to pay 75.00 to guarantee your passport is there before your scheduled leave date."

Thanks.

So my lease on non-melancholy blogging has expired.

I've gotta get some of this out.

I decided this evening to clear off some HD space and move a bunch of stuff to my external. Lo and behold, I stumbled across a bunch of old Boxing Day demo's. Not the stuff you've heard a million times from Above It All, but the stuff we were working on for the follow-up prior to hitting critical mass and imploding.

Two of the tracks were the best that ever came out of us. They would beat out some of the Universal tracks - even in their un-produced, un-filtered, demo quality sound glory.

They reside on a few hard drives...3 or 4 to be exact...and will probably never be heard outside of a few people.

Those few words..."never be heard"...make me angry. But I think they make me more sad than anything. Sad that that time of my life is over - that the greatest band no one ever heard of will remain unheard for the most part - that my dream hit the wall and shattered, And I couldn't stop it. All I could do was scrape up what I had left and move on...to school, to growing up, to trying to figure out where I want to end up. To settling for second best, at least for the time being.

I dont know, I even feel like a sap writing this. I probably should have just had a few drinks and stayed away from the keyboard. Theres alot worse things that can happen. I still have my family. I still have Jen and Nemo. I still have my mind and my creativity. I still have my life and nothing wrong with me that I know of. All that said, I still grieve the loss of Boxing Day.

Theres a method to this madness somewhere, and I just have to stick it out to figure it out I guess.

It all seems a bit sharper I guess because I also found out this week one of my favorite bands, Concrete Blonde, has called it quits again after releasing some new stuff a few years back and touring behind it. No chance to for me to hear Wendy live, unless Johnette wanders out to the east coast for some touring behind her solo project.

Thanks to everyone who believed. Thanks to all of you who didnt, you pissed us off and made us work that much harder.

Thank you all, and goodnight.

N.

Pictures...PLEASE PLEASE CRITIQUE

Ok, so I got my first batch of photos processed rudimentarily and out on photobucket. My professor isn't helping much in the way of critiques, presumably because he knows I have no photography background.

I would appreciate it if any of you out there would take a look and critique me via comments here. What you like, what you don't like, even more detail if you wish as far as contrast, cropping, etc. I like what is coming out, I just want to know where I can improve. Feel free to point here from your blogs as well so maybe I can get more. Thanks in advance.

Here's da "pitchers" (as they say down here in the south). Make sure you view the full image so it doesnt look all pixelated.

Thanks a ton!

N.

PS - the photo of the reel is watermarked b/c I am considering a print run of it. I'm in correspondence with Penn via email to avoid any trademark issues. That's the rough version of it to further dissuade thievery.

too...much...stuff...going...on...

Ok, so I actually have some extra time today b/c one of my Prof's didnt show up for class. It's all good, I can work in Photoshop as well at home as I can in a lab. So, heres my shot at a fractured update on the past few months...

December:

- Exams went well. End result? 3.5 for the semester. Holy shit, me on the Dean's List, what is this world coming to? HINT: I have alot more focus now than at 20 or so. Wonder of wonders what a little bit of maturation can do for you. I still have no intentions of growing up.

- Grandmother fell and broke her hip. Surgery ensued, she is now well on the way to recovery. She's down at the hospital my stepdad is CFO at, so he visits her every day. Mom is getting the break she needs, even if the reason behind it sucks.

- Holidays were good. Had a fullhouse at Moms w/ Josh's GF and Charlotte's BF in the house with the other 7 of us (why do we of all people have to be the "normal" ones...I always thought we put the "fun" in dysfunctional, but these kids folks make us look like the friggin Brady Bunch). Shortly after Christmas my friend Matt came up from Florida, Mark came in from Denmark to be with my other friend Angel, and they came down to prepare for the NYE festivities. I can't wait for Matt to get out of the military so we can hang out and fish more, and I wish Angel wasnt having to move to Denmark so Mark can finish school. Programmer income will be nice though once they move back.

- NYE was the usual clusterfuck of bombastic munitions disposal, with a healthy dose of Jager and Redbull for extra craziness. I managed to get a mortar rack setup for 12 simultaneous shots. Sweet. Explosions ensued.

- Post holiday letdown sucked, but before I knew it I was back in school so it went away quickly. The letdown this year was wierd...it had nothing to do with the excitement, it was all wanting to spend more time with my family...taking care of Nanny I've spent the past few years there at least 4 days a week. I cant do that now with school, and it feels kind of empty - It's nice to have Jen and Nemo. Jen and I have spent alot of time back there on weekends helping out with cleaning and making stuff for mom's new smokehouse (homemade smoked breakfast sausage...OH YEAH! Second only to homemade Pastrami on Rye. Or maybe smoked Monteray Jack).

January:

- Nanny is still recovering well. The surgeon says she is healing beautifully. I can't make it to Bamberg to see her as much as I would like.

- Classes: Visual Arts Computing (image creation from scratch in Photoshop), Advanced Audio Art (2nd semester of ProTools), The Still Image (b&w digital photography w/ Photoshop used as the darkroom), History of Jazz and Pop (b/c my previous music courses are all going towards a minor, I have to take this BS to fill my fine arts req.), History of Europe from 1945.

- History prof (Europe) blows. Dropped the class last night. Rambling outlines, rambling lectures, unrelated reading. Went after class to ask him what I was doing wrong, was told "my job doesnt depend on whether you pass or fail, so you just need to figure it out." Game Over.

- All other classes kick ass, even if Music History is a bit dry. Sucks to sit through 4 days of sixth grade theory when you are a former music major. Photography class is AWESOME. I wish I had picked up a camera before. Photobucket will be straining once I get some of my shots processed out of .dng. Stay tuned cause I want feedback.

- New band is good, even if just for fun. Sucks to have to rebuild a fanbase though.

I think thats about it. I am actually writing and not in a pensive/melancholy/nostalgiac mood. Yet another wonder. Then again, I am watching a Woot-off in hopes of getting something good on the cheap. They always make me happy.

Oh, and I am going to Denmark in March for Angel and Mark's wedding. First time across the Atlantic. Should be lots of fun if I dont go nuts on the flight and try to eat a cigarette. Damn I need to quit.

I'll try to write more frequently.

N.

I admit, with much trepidation...

...that there are two christmas songs that, I cannot, no matter how hard I try, stay dry eyed and listen to. Whether happy, melancholy, sad, angry, or even utterly pissed, these songs cut through it all and hit me. HARD.

You've got to wait on the second, but here is the first, as I prepare for all of my siblings to come help me decorate my utterly too large tree. I dont even care if you think the songs are cheesy...I sure do.

Alfie

Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas tree that just didn't want to change the show?
He liked living in the woods and playing with the squirrels
He liked ice cycles and snow
He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears
And critters and creatures that crawled
Why bugs were some of his very best friends
Spiders and ants and all
And that's not to say that he ever looked down on the vision of twinkling lights
Or mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes and a thousand of other delights
And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer
And a jolly old man in a tiny red sleigh full of toys and presents and wonderful things
And the story of Christmas day

Oh Alfie believed in Christmas all right
He was full of Christmas cheer
All of each and every day
And all through out the year
To him it was more than a special time
Much more than a special day
It was more than a beautiful story
It was a special kind of way

You see, some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring
And they've never heard of Santa Claus
They've never heard the story of the son of god
That made Alfie pause
Did that mean that they'd never know of peace on earth?
Or the brotherhood of man
Or know how to love
Or know how to give
If they can't, no one can

You see, life, is a very special kind of thing
Not just for a chosen few
But for each and every living, breathing thing
Not just me and you

So in your Christmas prayers this year
Alfie asked me if I'd ask you
Say a prayer for the wind
And the water
And the wood
And those who live there too

It's In Every One Of Us

It's in every one of us
To be wise
Find your heart
Open up both your eyes

We can all know everything
Without ever knowing why
It's in every one of us
By and by
It's in every one of us
To be wise
Find your heart
Open up both of your eyes
We can all know everything
Without ever knowing why
By and by
By and by

GOOOO COCKSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

That is all.

Went fishing

Being that M reminded me I didnt post a follow up to "Gone Fishin", here ya go.

We hit Pawleys about 3pm, which is my preferred time to start catching bait (preferably pinfish, but any fish I can cut up or use live and whole works). Unfortunately, the pins weren't biting, so I had to start throwing the cast net. Caught a few finger mullet in the net, as well as one pinfish. Kept on trying, still nothing. We had some excess shrimp so I made the command decision to go ahead and head to the surf and see what happened.

Once we got to the beach itself, I set about getting my sandspikes and rods set up, get the rigs on the rods, etc. Once everything was set, I cut up one of the finger mullet to bait the 4 rods. Fortunately the little fish that weren't biting in the creeks were in the surf. We caught an abundance of bluefish and whiting, most of which ended up in my freezer to be ground into chum blocks for next summers shark fishing excursions.

After we had several blues in the cooler, I took one and chunked it out to be used on my "heaver" rods. They are termed "heaver's" because they are designed to cast 8 oz of lead plus bait as far as humanly possible (this human can get 150 yards with a good tailwind...my goal is 200). They're 12 feet long and are quite unwieldy until you get used to them. Enough about the rods.

I walked to the end of the jetty and let fly with one good cast, then another. After I walked the rods back down the jetty to the sandspikes, I settled into my chair to await the sound af a clicker screaming at the top of its lungs to come save it from a shark, red drum, stingray, chopper bluefish, or anything else big enough to eat a piece of bait that is 4 inches square.

It didnt take long and the first rod took off. I ran to it and set the hook, but couldnt do anything to turn the fish and watched it peel off 100+ yards of line, placing me in danger of being spooled. (For those of you non-surf fisherman, you use light line - 14-17lb test - in the surf in order to achieve maximum distance...physics of lower diameter line causing less friction = more distance. It was because of this I couldnt fish a very firm drag) I made the command decision to apply enough pressure to either turn the fish, break the line, or end up somewhere between the two. The line parted. Once I reeled it all the way in, my shock leader (24 ft of 50 lb test to withstand the force of 8 and bait being cast) was frayed 4-6 feet back from the knot, which told me I had a shark on and the skin rubbed through the line.

With this new knowledge in mind, I rerigged with steel leaders, recast, and once again settled in to await my quarry. After about 20 minutes, the other rod took off and I got a solid hookset. This fish again took me dangerously close to being spooled. I very carefully increased the drag, as well as chasing the fish parallel to the water in order to gain back line. Roughly 40 minutes later, a mile worth of running up and down the beach and 2 scrambles over a jetty, J had the spotlight on a 5ft sandshark swimming back and forth between the breakers. Another 5 minutes passed as I waited on the right wave to surf him into the beach on, presumably so I wouldnt get wet (it was cold). Finally got the right wave, surfed him in, and I got a closer look. It was a beautiful shark, no scars, and it was tagged! I committed the details of the fish (sex, size, breed) to memory to report to the taggers upon return home, and finally ended up getting soaked up to the knees getting him headed back in the right direction out to sea so I knew he was ok. I would guesstimate his weight between 60-70 lbs. On 15 lb test. :)

I stood there in the surf with the spotlight and watched him until I couldnt see the dorsal anymore. We didnt catch anything else that night, but it was ok. Fall nights on the beach dont get much better than that, unless of course you fall into a run of big red drum.

N.

Consider this a rant.

Yesterday, as I was pulling out of my driveway with J I noticed 2 police officers walking down my street. We stopped, rolled down the window, and inquired if there was something wrong and if there was anything we could do to help. The officer replied by asking if J was indeed JC. She replied yes, and the officer asked her to put the vehicle in park and turn off the vehicle.

At this point I was well aware something was amiss. After confirming her identity, the officer informed her there was a bench warrant for her arrest due to not appearing in court for a traffic ticket.

J in disbelief explained to the officer she had gone to court for the ticket, not once, but twice. The officer who wrote the ticket called off sick the first date, and then rescheduled the second date (which had been written in red on her ticket by the clerk of court) without notifying her. On the second court date, the judge dismissed the ticket stating "I dont feel it necessary to waste anymore of your time" presumably referring to the officer not showing up nor notfiying her by mail of the second rescheduling.

The officer in our driveway then called into the station and asked if there were any notations on the bench warrant which there weren't. He asked us to step out of the vehicle, and explained to J that she could come down to the station, pay the reduced fine (for the dismissed ticket) and see the clerk of court monday morning to see if she would be required to pay the full amount. She asked several times why this was happening, and why she had to pay for a ticket that was dismissed. The officer stated that the ticket had not been dismissed, she had not shown up for court, and they were simply "doing their job."

At this point I went into the house to get my phone to notify her parents and call mine for advice. When I came back outside, I see her standing there shaking and sobbing, IN HANDCUFFS. She was cuffed while I was inside, as well as in front of the nosy neighbors on our street who were now outside watching. She asked to sit down, and one of the officers was going to make her sit on the ground until the other officer said she could sit in the back of the van we had been driving. Fortunately our roommate had some cash, and I got that from him before they paraded her down the street to one of the THREE squad cars parked there.

I proceeded to follow them to the station, at which point they took her back to talk to some desk jockey. She was informed at this point she would have to come in the following morning to talk to the clerk of court about the remainder of the fine, she would have to make sure her license had not been suspended, and that this would most likely be in her record. All I could do was watch through a window as these officers treated her like she was totally guilty and was doing nothing but lying to them. They let her go with a receipt and a copy of the bench warrant.

We went to talk to the clerk of court this morning. She wasnt even going to see J until her assistant was given the rundown of the situation. Once we finally got her out there, she pulled the same "you're guilty" act until J insisted she check the court docket for the second rescheduled date, and sure enough, in bright blue ink, it read "J C, Traffic Ticket, (officer name), DISMISSED.

The clerk's face blanched. She immediately began backpedaling and explaining how to get a refund of the fine paid the day before, how they would make sure her license was not suspended, etc, how they would make sure it was all reversed. At this point I couldnt keep my mouth shut, and asked how they planned on reversing being stopped in our driveway, handcuffed, and paraded down the street to a squadcar, over a ticket that was dismissed and noted in the docket as so. The clerk offered her "deepest heartfelt apologies." RIGHT.

For the record, J was not even guilty of the traffic ticket. I was in the car with her when she got pulled.

Further:

1/2 day work missed for first court date (because officer couldnt be bothered to show)
1/2 day work missed for second court date (because officer still cant be bothered)
1/2 day work missed to see clerk of court today (because of someone not paying attention while entering the judges notes in the computer)
1/2 day work missed to go to court wednesday in order to get a refund (same as above)

2 days of her work is worth more than simply paying a ticket for something she didnt do.

She will lose more money than she will get back for the refund because of the missed work for that.

She would have lost less money, in either case, had she been guilty. Instead, she will lose more than the ticket was worth, has been arrested, handcuffed, and paraded down the street to be placed in a squad car because she chose to pursue her innocence.

I am virtually certain there will be no internal reprimand for the individual who didnt transcribe the notes properly, and there is no way for us to force the issue due to the cost that would involve.

It doesnt pay to be innocent.

DISCLAIMER: I am well aware this is fairly harshly written and accusatory, and its supposed to be. There are good administrative/police departments out there. At this point though, I dont see how it pays to be innocent when someones clerical error can have these results.

Gone Fishin'

I'm about to head down to Pawley's Island, SC to throw a line in some saltwater. Hopefully the results will be better than the last trip, which reached its frenzied peak as I sprinted down the beach chasing my nicest surf rod/reel (paid far too much for it) as my intended prey on the other end laughed its ass off and just kept on truckin. Only 3 things out there typically could do that, as it was sitting in a firmly sunk sand spike - Shark, Ray, or Red Drum. Hopefully it was the last of the 3 options, and there are a few more waiting on my return. More probably it was a shark, being that this spot produced my biggest from the surf, a 6 footer of the sand variety. Either way, I'm out 450.00 of replacement value and I want some revenge!!! Watch out fishes, I'm a-comin' and I'm pissed off ;)

The Ubiquitous "50 Things"

I figure any random individuals who happen to wander to this blog as opposed to any of the other million-and-one out there may want to know something about the author. For those of you I dont get to see as much as I would like, or havent seen in years, consider this the "Cliff's Notes"

1 - I am indeed 30, and I am indeed in College.

2 - I have been signed to a major record label (Universal Records, may you burn in hell).

3 - The aforementioned signing to a major is precisely why I am back in college.

4 - I have been a music ed major, a computer science major, a media arts audio major, and am currently graphic design.

5 - I get much better grades now that I am older.

6 - I am deathly afraid of spiders, but I will stop my truck to move a snake out of the road.

7 - Speaking of my truck, the total worth of my fishing gear happens to be greater than its worth.

8 - I consistently catch catfish bigger than most 5 year olds.

9 - I do not consistently catch anything in saltwater.

10 - I am equally comfortable running my yap in a tackle shop, hanging out at Dragon Con, running ProTools in a studio, or laying down pwnage at a LAN party.

11 - Normality, Complacency, and Settling scare the fuck out of me.

12 - I'm a computer geek. I even bought a dremel just to mod my case. Yes, it does have lights on the inside just to look cool.

13 - My computer can kick your computers ass.

14 - My best friend has 4 legs and is named Nemo.

15 - Even though Jen likes to think so, he is not named after a cute little clownfish. I named him for the captain of the Nautilus in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

16 - I have a tendency to worry too much about what other people may think of me.

17 - I firmly believe Charles Schultz and Theodore Geisel are some of the greatest philosophers the world has ever seen.

18 - I am more likely to cry at the end of a kids movie or anime than I am at any other genre.

19 - I am a part-time Alzheimer's caregiver.

20 - Alzheimer's and its effect on my family furthered my dislike of the Bush administration for limiting stem cell research. Let him come take care of my grandmother for a week.

21 - Do not mistake my dislike of Bush for being a Democrat. If I had to vote on a party line, it would be the eternally flawed Libertarian. I vote on the issues.

22 - Cookie cutter people offend me on a level I cannot begin to describe.

23 - I am a musical snob.

24 - OK, so I'm a literary snob too.

25 - I am coming to the end of the worst fishing season ever. I'm also considering writing a book of the same title.

26 - I am addicted to the computer game Dark Age of Camelot.

27 - I feel I have lived more in 30 years than most people ever will.

28 - Life is easy. Living is hard.

29 - I have been called a walking dictionary. Its actually just a defense mechanism.

30 - I am terribly uncomfortable around children. I'm afraid I'll screw something up and break them.

31 - I have never been overseas, but that will be remedied in the spring for a friends wedding in Denmark.

32 - My stepfather has been more of a father to me than my biological father ever will.

33 - I'm not happy with my weight, but I cannot for the life of me force myself to do anything about it.

34 - Very few people that have come through my life will ever be considered more than an acquaintance...those of you that are truly my friends, thank you.

35 - I have been an alcoholic.

36 - There is nothing in the world like walking onstage to people yelling your name or your song titles. NOTHING.

37 - Being tall is an asset...people see me as more of a threat than I could ever conceivably be.

38 - I have been with my better half for 12 years. No I'm not married. But I will be sooner as opposed to later. She rocks for putting up with me this long and being there when it all fell apart.

39 - I am not terribly good at writing when I am happy/content. Maybe this blog will fix that.

40 - My most valued possessions in the world are my memories.

41 - Do or do not. There is no try.

42 - I carry around a suitcase of unspoken mind.

43 - 50 things about myself is harder than I thought it would be.

44 - Sometimes I sits and thinks. Other times I just sits.

45 - I probably own more toys than most kids. Have fun with that psychologists.

46 - I have 4 siblings. I wouldnt trade them for anything, even when I want to kill them. I'd hate for someone else to have the satisfaction.

47 - I'm terrible at staying in touch with people.

48 - I think too much.

49 - I tend toward situational ethics, and I really, really, dont like that about myself.

50 - I'm now done with this list. I'm going to bed.

N.