So much is happening right now. And why should it be? It’s summer! Nothing’s supposed to happen! I moved out of my parents’ house last week and got a job for the first time since I was 16. I finally made time to get the next, more-final-but-not-yet-final version of Turkey in the Straw done, but I’ve still got to layout some of the parts a little nicer, proof everything, and type up program notes. I’m sure MBM has already created their own artwork for the cover of the score, but I’m still partial to my 2nd grade, hand-drawn (literally) turkey. If I could, I would totally put the South Park turkeys on the cover.

Speaking of turkeys, Linh also gave me a small present that she found while she was cleaning her room. How cool is this pin?? Turkey in the Straw… first made famous by Walt Disney in Steamboat Willie (it starts about 4 minutes in).

Things are a changin’. Some for good, some for not so good, so I will stick to the good. A couple of days ago, Kevin and I finished editing the first of two music videos for Darren — a.k.a. D-ONE. Just as I thought, the video turned out AWESOME thanks to me and Kevin tag-team editing. We even had some time for Kevin to teach me how to play World of Warcraft. I am officially a level 4 Draenei warrior — a.k.a. nerd-in-training. Still, it was fun to play for an hour and see what all the hype was about.
Later that night, Linh helped me film a good friend of mine’s ska band. I would never voluntarily go to any kind of “ska” concert, but I admire my friend a lot. And, I guess, on some level, their band is…. alright. So, I brought the whole package, jib and all.
Afterwards, a much needed Filiberto’s bean and cheese burrito, enchilada-style, with a side of lettuce was in order and much deserved. It wasn’t exactly a dream dinner date for Linh, but it sure was delicious.
Later last week, I also finished a short 3-day rehearsal of T.I.T.S. with Dobson’s Symphonic Band. I got my recording and I am ready to make changes which I will probably do tomorrow night after I get home from MY NEW JOB!!! That’s right, I now have a “real” job!!! And tomorrow is my first day. I know. You’re all way excited. Change can be good.

Mom and Dad went out to Safeway to buy some ice cream tonight and brought me home a surprise! That’s right! A pint of Ben and Jerry’s Americone Dream inspired by Comedy Central’s Bill O’Reilly parodist and comedian Stephen Colbert. And I’ve got to say, it was just as good as he makes it out to be on the show (though I don’t think they’ve ever actually shown him eating it…). Hmm…. “vanilla ice cream with fudge covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl.” I wonder what the connotation is… fudge… waffles… caramel. Why those? Fudge covered waffle cone… could this be a metaphor for the Bush administration? Caramel swirl? Caramel? Gold? Money? Democracy? Swirl? Lost in our golden grandeur? Damn you Ben and Jerry’s! I’m not supposed to think about ice cream!
Whatever. It’s damn good. At over $3 a pint, it better be.

Today, Dan and I spent the latter half of the afternoon doing a modest recording project for the Arizona School For The Arts‘ girls’ choir. I will back next Friday to record their mixed ensemble since Dan will be catching rays down in Mexico for a much deserved vacation.

As of a few hours ago, I am free from school for the next 3 months!!! For the longest time, like everybody else, I couldn’t wait for school to get out. But about a week or two ago, after the ASU student film festival and a later film and media production party at one of our professor’s houses, I suddenly started to make all kinds of new friends. At least, I was meeting a lot of cool and talented people. It’s sort of sad; I think I’ve met more people this past week than my entire two years at ASU. I have a feeling things are starting to change and I couldn’t be more excited! So how to celebrate the first day of summer?Play ball with Brown Dude of course!Tiki just watched and went off and chased birds or something. But here are some awesome action shots of B.D. going after his tennis ball:Now you may be thinking, “Who cares. My dog catches balls all the time.” Well, Brown Dude is totally hardcore about his game of ball. He was actually born with birth defects on his back legs — something about his knee caps being on the outside of the joint rather than in front (basically, he’s the opposite of knock-kneed). The fact that he can jump like this and play as hard as he does is pretty cool seeing as he’s hopping on three legs most of the day. More action!The ball had a few encounters with the water which I had to fish out thanks to BD’s fear of all things wet. Damn that pool looks tempting!But we quickly resumed. It’s funny to think that just a little over a year ago, these guys were this big!