One Year Later & Still Scaling

It's been a year since my last post. Kind of crazy of all the things that have happened in my life the past 12 months. 2011 is finally here, which is what the Drive has been all about, now it is time to act.

Stop... Continue.

Urban Landscape in January

One day you wake up, and you never even knew you were asleep.

Heavy were the words that drifted from my mind. Flowing like a river, but I know, I know myself.

And if you love everybody I want to shout at you and drink your wine and take it away with me. I need the sun to shine its rays upon me.

Flowing through the desolate winding banks, I may not know everybody, but I know myself.

Masochism World

Well it's 2010, nothing much has changed... that isn't bad though.

I've started my second quarter at DePaul, and winter quarter appears it will be more consuming than fall. I feel I will definitely learn a lot this quarter, especially in economics and urban/city development. So I feel good that I know I'm getting an education.

I got accepted today to get to a special seminar in Brussels in March for a week intensive study at the EU headquarters. That's pretty cool and espeically since you had to apply to be allowed to go and I was chosen. Now I just have to finance the trip.

I have 10 gigs between now and the end of March which is the busiest I've been musically in No Exit and the busiest I've been since in American Flag. I got a BIG GIG at the Abbey Pub on the 24th of January. It's my unofficial make or break gig.

I've made some inferences this winter break.

Does the world want to be saved? It surely doesn't seem to act like it.

Can we as individuals do acts that are totally selfless? I still believe in selfless acts, and still try to do them, but the question one must ask oneself is why are they truly doing it. I have given up on the idea of philanthropy, it's not real. Real philanthropy is being anonymous and thus contradicts the defintion and idea of philanthropy in which heroizes an individual for there contributions. Carnagie may have a college, a theatre, a library, and other various buildings named after him, but it still doesn't mean acts were purely utilitarianistic and selfish.

The Framingham Study has some interesting results about happiness. The study after 40 years of research (I won't go into all the research here) that happiness is contagious like the common cold. So thus good deeds can have greater impact on society and individuals than one may think. That is the direction of The Drive To 2011.

Festivus

I had way too much coffee earlier tonite, and now fear I'll never get to bed. Pretty good Festivus except for the lousy weather, which caused the turnout for the Tonic Room show to be down tonight. I have no real complaints though, the show went alright. We did scare a few people out of the Tonic Room when we started playing, but that's rock 'n' roll.

Now back to Michigan...

The Holidaze

The older I get the more and more I don't care and don't really like Christmas. Christmas is just such a superficial time of year, when you're suppose to spend time with people you don't talk to all year. I just feel akward when I go "back home" anymore. I'm going home to Michigan for Christmas and I'm not looking foward to it at all!!

I was back in Michigan the last couple days, but thankfully my band has a show tomorrow night so I'm back in Chicago for the next couple days.

Am I the only one who can't for the 'holiday season' to be over?

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Doing nothing, stuck in the mud, just pumping the blood.
The water level's getting low, something ugly's going to show.

If only I could touch you, I guess you'd be alarmed.
If only I could touch you, I don't mean you no harm.

If only I could touch you, like the wind can touch the sail,
If only I could touch you, now that all my words have failed.
Flotsam still afloat,
Jetsam thrown out of the boat.

Music of the Decade

Since the decade is winding down to an end in a couple weeks, I've been thinking about all the good and bad music that was created over the past 10 years. This is my top ten albums list of the decade.

1. Tool - 10,000 Days
2. King Crimson - The Power To Believe
3. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
4. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
6. Tool - Lateralus
7. Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors
8. Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
9. Radiohead - Kid A
10. Rush - Snakes & Arrows

A to B

Against the run of the mill
Living out our dreams.
Life in a straight line from A to B
Is a mass production scheme.

As I've grown older I understand more
Of the only world that we see.
Perceptions I had only dreamed of,
Now change my idea of reality.

This spacious city that I live in
Still contains the same old me.
I'm no longer a boy searching for
The man I'm meant to be.

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Any fool can play something difficult,
Difficulty lies in what he does not play.
Lakeshore strolls on autumn days,
Endless thoughts eroding away.