Let's be honest, this won't be an update of the past 12 months. More like an update of the past couple months. My memory isn't what used to be.
Work:
Still with Microsoft, still at Southcenter, the most horrible mall on the West Coast. Fights, shootings (fake, mostly), theft, homeless, we have it all! However, our little store is doing just fine. I am and have been in charge of business sales, and if I do say so myself, I've been killing it. Getting on people's radar and making a name for myself at SC. Loving what I do and seeing where it goes.
Music:
Still with the Navins. Still working on the recording we did last April. We played a show in November, then nothing until last week, when we opened for two punk legends, the Dickies and the Queers at El Corazon. That was highly entertaining. Not a lot of people there for us, maybe 30? But we played pretty well and they enjoyed it. The Dickies were pretty cool, just a 3/4 piece and it was PUNK all night. The Queers were an interesting crew, very diverse, but they came in to Seattle and SMASHED ALL OUR FACES. SUPER tight and just on top of it. I really enjoyed them.
I was asked late last summer to think about joining Gregg's band, Service Animal, as they were going to dump their excellent bassist, Jordan. As great a player as he is, i guess his personality was quite challenging. I started playing with them late last year at Andrew's house on Cougar Mt. Only about 15 minutes from home, but out in the sticks. Fun fact, his wife Amber manages an Instagram account for their awesome dogs, a husky named Ripley and a retriever named Ozzie. 300k followers!
I digress. I started playing with them: Gregg, Andrew, Emma and Justin. It was pretty cool. Music was very challenging, definitely trickier than anything I'd played in a long time and their musicianship was all top notch. Trouble is, as tight and polished as we got, the only shows we could get booked were for weeknights. As I played on, we got a gig at the Sunset (good) on a Tuesday (not good). Just this week, we played the Lo-Fi, with some up and coming bands (of which we are one). However, a few weeks ago, I just realized I wasn't into this band as much as I thought. They liked to rehearse on Sunday afternoons, and though I could make that work, it was cutting into family time. Plus 3 of them smoked and we'd end up taking 2 smoke breaks per rehearsal, which I wasn't super excited about. But mainly, it was the music. I didn't hate it, or even dislike it; I just wasn't feeling awesome about it. In the end, I broke up with them last weekend and we'll be playing one more show at the Sunset in early May, unless they have someone else lined up.
And in the meantime, I reached out to Robb from the Stereo Embers in February. Me and the Scheme played with them in 2017 and I thought they were really cool. I remember the guitar player, Tim, and what a stud he was. Just overall, a really sweet old-school ROCK band.
Anyway, fast forward to this year. I saw Robb mention that they would be seeking a new bassist soon. I hit him up on Facebook, thinking, "why not?" He got back immediately, saying he remembered me and thought I was a great player and he'd keep me in mind. About a month later, he asked if I could come out to his house in Lake City to try out with the guys. Before that, I went and checked them out at Slim's, with Stag and Surf the Pines. All 3 bands were excellent and there was a pretty full house there. I really enjoyed it and got to talk to Tim and Robb in person for the first time. Both dudes were quite nice and down to earth, easy to talk to.
The audition came up and I also got to meet Cass, the drummer. We started playing and even though (after listening to my recording) there were some rough spots, we all knew it was good. The guys were all generous in their praise and afterwards, I knew it went well. They were complimentary and excited.
The following days, Robb and I stayed in touch. We bro'ed out over FB messenger. He told me he was surprised at how different it was having a fingerstyle player vs a picker. It gave me pause, but in the end, he said to don't worry about it. Also, he mentioned they had some other guys that they wanted to try out.
After a week or so, he got back to me saying that they had tried someone else out, but that it wasn't great. He asked me to come out again, with a few more tunes. So I practiced, and then we hooked up last night.
I felt more in the pocket last night, for sure. I was focusing more on Cass' drumming and kick to try to lock in with him. I also overplayed a bunch, to see what they might say. Mainly, it was awesome! I think their previous bassist was solid, but not too flashy; there wasn't a lot of sizzle to compliment Tim's guitar. It was pretty evident after each song that the guys were pumped up. And, like last time, they were all super easy to relate and chat with.
After we finished playing, they asked me to join and we sealed the deal with handshakes and hugs. Super cool! So for now, we go on break. :( Cass and Robb will be going on vacation for a week or so, so we're not gonna get back together for a few more weeks. We've got a gig on the books in August playing the Tractor (!) in between Pearl Jam shows. We will be playing to full houses; these guys have people that come out. This is gonna be fun.
General life:
I decided this year I needed to go to the doctor. Had a physical for the first time in years. Everything checked out ok, but my blood pressure was high. Normal is considered 120/80. I was about 140/100. I started exercising and eating better. This was end of February. It's been a month now and I've lost a few pounds and been RUNNING of all things. Last week, I did 8 miles. This week has been less as my knees have been hurting, but I've tried to get Bella and Marci out with me regularly. It's been good for all of us. My BP is down, but I've been supplementing it with medication (I tried w/o but it was going slower than I and the dr. wanted). And it's cool to exercise, believe it or not. Running and/or walking (even at work), doing some push ups and planking. Nice to feel sore for good reasons. Though instead of walking this morning, I've been writing this epic blog. I will walk at work today!
Life of Riley:
Everyone is healthy. Well, except for Riley. He may have broken his hand. Again. This dude broke his hand on the last day of 6th grade. He was in a cast for like 6 weeks? Maybe longer. Then he broke it again in 7th grade. And now, he fell down at school the other day and may have fractured it yet again. This dude...
He is still a treat, though, and sometimes I think I give him too hard a time. He is eager to please, but we are on his case a lot because all he seems to do is watch tv and videos. On the plus side, he does help around the house (when we ask), he is compassionate and he is still quite loving.
He also decided to audition for next year's play at Newport. It's Jeckyl & Hyde, or something like that. He sang and "acted" and got a role being Man #3 or something. He's gonna be the only freshman male with a singing part. Pretty cool! He's dropping band, though, as he needs to take choir or drama. I don't know. But I told him he may not always play trombone, but he can always sing.
Current obsessions: saving money for a Switch; watching superhero shows (current fave: The Flash); Guy's Grocery Games; reading books. You know, boy stuff.
Life of Haley:
Time management. I think the biggest thing in her life right now is time. There simply isn't enough of it. She goes to school, then has 2 hrs of track practice. Sometimes she has double practice, with her club crew also. Then there's dances, pep band, band festivals, friends, homework, track meets, etc, etc. She's so busy. She stays up late, usually to midnight or later, and has to be up around 7-730 to get to school. Overall, though, she seems to be doing ok. Grades are good and she's getting the balancing act down.
She has turned into quite the little athlete. We went and watched her track meet this week and she was frickin' epic. She won her 400m sprint, then 4th place in the 200m, then on her leg of the 4x400m, she smashed and built up a big lead for her team. She got PRs in 2 events and is just doing so well! Love watching her compete and learn how to accept the accolades afterward.
I went to see a counselor last summer because Hay and I had a hard time last year at times. I had to let her grow up and come to me, instead of being the hand's on dad all the time. I had to keep emotion out of things and try not to micro-manage her so much. But there were also times I had to be able to be a dad and do dad things. I tried to get her to come with me to counseling, but she never would. Overall, though, it's gotten better and we do still have our moments, but it's clear we're maturing and progressing and getting through things better.
Marci update:
Last August at work, I was helping a customer of ours that runs a private school. I'd mentioned that Marci was a preschool teacher and he asked me if she was happy. Long story short, he needed a pre-k teacher and Marci got an interview the next day. She was offered the job a day later and started the following Tuesday. She wasn't looking for a new gig, but the $$ was double what she was making so we had to make the change. It has been a challenge, for sure, but she has been soaking up the knowledge and learning and is really impacting her kids, as well as our family as a result. Super proud of what she's done!
Her health is doing as well as it can be. She's been managing her MS with Plexus and eating right and exercising with me. MS is not progressing as her dr. thought it might. She's been doing her best managing her time at work, as it's more than she's been used to doing. Likely over 40 hrs, when we include the work she does at home.
Overall:
People ask me how things are. I say I can't complain. And I really can't! Unless it's about traffic? Or stupid stuff like that. Things are good and generally moving in the right direction. All right!
