These recordings were taken from the February 5, 2010 performance of the Comal Community Band concert for the New Braunfels Music Study Club held at Cross Lutheran Church. Please note that I was not able to record the entire performance due to technical issues (remember, I still need to be able to play….).
Standard Disclaimer: These songs are from my perspective in the band. So note that they are low-brass and percussion heavy. This would be what the concert would sound like if you were a performer.
If you haven’t noticed, the photo gallery is currently under massive reorganization. I’m still importing data so all MVP Summit trips after 2005 and this year’s Las Vegas trip still needs to be reposted. However, I am importing the full photos instead of the condensed ones previously posted. As a result, the full original quality of the tulip festival, waterfalls, and foliage color is available for download.
I’ll post more tomorrow night with a status update. Once I’m done, I’ll add some rewrite rules to get the photo redirects to work from the old URLs so I don’t get so many 404 errors. However, I seriously need to crash right now.
The following files were recorded from my perspective (and directly behind the french horns) from tonights concert at Stage Theater in Bulverde, TX. This was from the first (non-Christmas) half of the performance. The Christmas songs will be posted tomorrow. Enjoy.
UPDATE: I have re-uploaded the MP3 files needed for these to play. Sorry for the interruption.
Here is another set of recordings from our concert yesterday. Please note that these songs are for personal use only and are mainly intended for friends who could not attend the performance. I will remove the links upon request.
Song Notes: These songs are from my perspective in the band. So note that they are low-brass and percussion heavy. This would be what the concert would sound like if you were a performer. Also note that the IPhone has a good dynamic range, but some of these songs exceed this range from time to time. Also, the first two songs were recorded with the microphone in the wrong direction (sorry). Also note that these songs were performed after a maximum of 4 rehersals since restarting for the fall.
The server migration has been (mostly) completed… I’m now running the CentOS x64 webserver in a Hyper-V virtual machine on Windows Server 2008 R2 (i.e., the server side of Windows 7). If you are planning on a Linux install on the R2 version of Hyper-V, I would recommend skipping the RC of the new Linux integration components. I get better performance without them… So I’ll wait until they are properly in the kernel sometime in the December/January timeframe…
I still need to do some Apache optimization that I was sorely lacking before.
Enough geek talk for now.. I’ll try to keep that over at the network blog…
I am now back home from my weekend trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Tommy’s upcoming wedding. We left at dark oclock on Thursday morning and arrived home late Saturday night. A total of eleven people went including some fellow co-workers and even my overall boss. As some of you may know, I had decided after my 2003 Las Vegas trip vowing never to return. It would take a lot of convincing or a special event to get me to reconsider going. So in the end, I finally relented and agreed to attend towards the end of April. My reasons for going back are varied and many, but I will address some of them below. Before continuing, I want to assure my fellow sojourners from the trip that I will abide by the “What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas” saying. I have posted a few photos here (and will be adding more once I unpack my camera) of both the sights (and in some cases, sounds) and people of Las Vegas. Now as for my thoughts:
Travelling with other people is much more fun.. This is probably one of the things that got me started on the wrong foot with Las Vegas in my 2003 trip. When I went last time, I was with people that I hadn’t met before in person (we all got to know each other pretty well as time went on), but we were still total strangers with each other. This time, I went with four coworkers, one ex-coworker, one person I knew fairly well, two people I’ve met before but didn’t know too well, and two other new people. There is comfort when traveling with people you know. Thus I was more apt to be open and trying to broaden my horizons. In the end, I got to know three of my non-coworkers much better and was at ease in talking and interacting with all (that’s a new one for me in two days). I’m always up to travel and would be overjoyed to travel with anyone that I know (and if I can get off of work, but I have plenty of time off to use). Travelling alone sucks.
I started my trip more on the depressed side (not due to the trip, but I’m just describing my general state of mind pre-trip), but I leave with hope. Hope for relationships. Hope for what could be. Hope for changes. Optimism is not something that I have an abundance of. This is something I could have accomplished anywhere, but Las Vegas is like an alien nation compared to the comfort and familiarity of Texas. I had experiences and saw things that showed me that anything is possible.
One of the things others can tell you about me and this trip is that I was more open to getting out of my comfort zone. I still wasn’t as open as I could have been, but then I went a bit more open that what I had planned to in the first place. Again, this openness is caused by me feeling a sense of comfort and safety that point number one provided.
I did generally enjoy myself. I regret not taking the time getting to the swimming pool or staying up later like some of the others were able to do. But it was as much a learning environment for me as it was entertainment/vacation. If you were one of my sojourners, I took at least one (but probably much more) nugget of wisdom away from our interactions. Thank you for that.
This one seems out of place, but I do feel like I’m getting in better shape.. I walked all over the strip each day (even in the Las Vegas heat). I did the equivalent of the Tropicana to Bellagio Loop (about 3 miles round trip) multiple times each day and didn’t struggle at all. That is something major for me.. Plus I was easy in comfort on the airplanes (although the last flight did have a mighty short seat belt, but I still fit it). So I no longer need to fear flying.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the trip. Some people had better gambling experiences than others (I ended up $45 dollars, but I also hardly spent anything – I love the electronic lady blackjack machine at Binions). A lot of great food (I love Brazilian Steakhouses – Texas de Brazil and others liked Emeril).
The bad thing about the trip was how expensive everything seemed. Las Vegas needs to solve the traffic gridlock problems. I was able to walk from the Tropicana to the Bellagio while making a quick stop in Walgreens for a water in the same amount as a cab took on the same journey. That is unreal. The traffic makes all cab rides at least eight to ten dollars and an average of 20 dollars. Also the city should consider extending the monrail to the downtown area (i.e., Fremont Street).
So yes, that is the answer to my question about whether I enjoyed the experience. Will I go back? If someone else will come with me, yes. But then let me say I am willing to travel and do anything that is physically possible for me (so no mountain climbing YET) and with enough notice to be able to get off. I’m even willing to try new things (would I have gone to a Brazilian steakhouse by myself? not on your life…).
More individual stories later as I will be VERY BUSY the next two days to make up for being gone the end of last week…
Again, thank you my fellow sojourners for an awesome experience….
I tried recording our Summer Concert held today (June 28, 2009) at First United Methodist Church using my IPhone 3G. The results actually turned out pretty good – way better than my original Fuze. Please note that the perspective of these audio tracks is the same as one would get if you were actually sitting in the band. So the songs are pretty brass heavy, but everything can be heard. This also is a test of the Audio Player Plugin for Wordpress:
Please note that some songs have a delay before starting. Remember that I need to handle my instrument before starting the recordings…
I have made small updates on many of the pages of this site. I’ll continue to update more things and add more content as time allows. I’m expecting to have much more free time in July to get caught up with things both off-line as well as on-line.
In other news, I have been working on a few projects the past few weeks. House-wise, I’m trying to keep everything OK. As I am expecting houseguests in July, I’m trying to get things cleaned up as much as possible. Also, if anyone (in the New Braunfels area) has any recommendations for a plumber, I would be grateful. I’m having difficulties with two bathroom appliances in need to replace both sooner rather than later. Yeah, I know, I’m a guy and I should be able to do these things. However, I’m squeamish when it comes to working with mechanical (i.e., vehicles, engines, etc) and plumbing. I’ll work with anything electrical, technological, or structural, so I don’t have to turn in my “man card”.
As for the other things affecting me in my life, I am still battling my old nemesis – fear. The fear of the unknown. The fear of the new. This inner demon that torments me. I’m getting encouragement, but I backslide into behavior I abhor because it fees this fear and loathing. For those of you who are around me, let me apologize for all of the things that I might (and probably did) say or do.
I thought I would title today’s post “What’s New”. My last posting here was on May 17th, but the last real posting was the First Year Thoughts posting on April 14th. Well, the first year has come and gone. I’m still attempting to cope the best that I can. I’m still battling the problems listed in that last posting.
The positives, thusfar:
I’m trying to not be scared of talking to people. As I have said on Facebook, during the Memorial Day weekend, I actually went out and tried to talk to people – both at the church function on Sunday and at the concert in Boerne the following Monday. My problem – I can only seem to feel at ease talking with other guys. I’m still too intimidated by women. However, a start is a start and I won’t criticize myself for that.
I’m actually going to take a trip this summer. Not my cruise to Alaska (I’d like to do that in the fall if the prices are still down – I don’t want to go to Alaska in the summer), but to a place I have already been once before that I had no intention of ever visiting again. This trip will push my limits somewhat.
I also have actually gone out and done things. I went to the first baseball regional game up in Austin last weekend (and watched/listened to the marathon 25 inning game on Saturday night at home), reminisced with friends, and generally had a good time. This is something I am accused of all the time – not ever having fun. I do, but my concept of fun is different than most other guys or gals.
Exercise – I still try to walk my 2.5+ miles a day. Today I added a bicycle ride around the neighborhood, but I am still not in shape enough (and the bike doesn’t exactly suit me as I need the handlebars raised about 5 inches to be comfortable) with the hills around here to do that on a daily basis. I’m going to intersperse that with my walking and my occaisonal jog/walk combo. I also now have a Wii at the house and have been playing the activity games and started using “My Fitness Coach” to get in better shape. My goal is to be down 40 pounds by the end of the year.
The negatives?
The “self worth” or esteem is still an issue that I am fighting a losing battle on. I’m trying to stand up for myself and think positive thoughts, but I have been in this quagmire for so long that I think this is something I will never conquer to the extent that I need to conquer. This has been a long time issue for me and solving it will be one of the hardest and most emotionally gut-wrenching experiences that I will need to go through.
Women. Why do I feel intimidated? I know much of it is from the previous statement. I need to conquer this in order to get into any type of meaningful relationship. Due to my set of values and my life compass, this will likewise be one of the most difficult taks I will face. However, I’m not getting younger, and if I ever want to have kids of my own, I need to “take the bull by the horn”, so to speak.
Depression. I still have it. Partially from the two issues above, grief, and stress. The two issues above are self explanatory. Grief is something I will face for the next few years. It isn’t as bad as it was during the first year, but I still feel it tugging at me from time to time. Guilt is also directly tied into the grief. Stress is from the job. There is not much I can do about that one and I don’t know how to tackle that one. But then work has been depressing me on and off for the past 13 years, so it is something I’m used to having an issue with.
Getting out more – I had this listed as a positive, but it still isn’t enough. I need to be around people other than my coworkers to help rebuild my social skills, which will in turn help with issue #1 and #2 above. Plus, I have had an aim to go camping sometime in this past year, which I have yet to do.
So as you can see, there has been some progress and some regression.
All good books have dedications. So should blogs..
I want to dedicate this blog to my parents who raised me and shaped who I am as a person. I love you guys and miss you terribly and am looking forward to when I will be able to see you again.
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