Skype

So just when I get to thinking that Pandora is tha shizzle - Skype goes and BLOWS IT AWAY ~ yes, another transmission from late-to-the-technological-party-Aaron, but I just got to have a WHOLE conversation with my sweet sweet Amber and got to sing Happy Birthday to Johnny Lund and his whole party from here in New Jersey - and it was like I was really there!

Wooooohooooooo ~ seriously a blessing!

It was such an awesome experience I had to capture it on film - so here is the sweetness herself:


NOTE to the Davis fam - I believe some Skype is in order - video conferencing is where it's at. We'll be in touch!

Pandora's Music Box

It's a shame it's taken so long - but I'm just now catching the "Pandora" bug... and I LOVE it!

It all started when my boss last week told me it was okay to listen to music while at work. So I started slow, ripped a couple cd's and then reflected back to my days working for the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility when I listened to Yahoo Launchcast like there was no tomorrow. And it sure paid off! Through Launchcast I learned of Guster, Dispatch, O.A.R., Howie Day, and most important of all: Cool Hand Luke (my melancholy Christian band favorite of all time!).

So I figured I'd look into what was the latest online radio smash and I bumped into Pandora.com and remembered how many people told me I should check it out over a year ago... So, here's me late on the uptake again - but I've got some band recommendations already!

Thanks to my little sis, I have the album "Sun and the Moon" from "the Bravery" (which I love by the by) - so I inputed the Bravery as my "influence band" for my personalized radio station and I found the following sa-WEEEET bands!

- MuteMath
- Radio 4 (Even though I categorically hate bands who put numbers in their band-names: how uncreative)
- Rock Kills Kid
- Ringside
- Flickerstick

and soon to be many many more! So, my recommendation is to cake some gel in your hair, tear some holes in those crisp blue jeans, don some chuck taylors, go to Pandora.com, put "the Bravery" as your influence band, and prepare to have your socks quite literally rocked right off. Yes. No better way to spend a Friday night :)

I'm In!

Well - I left work at 4:45 and arrived at the studio in Manhattan at 6:40 for the audition - and it went real well! I was supposed to memorize two songs and play them for the music directors, but I ended up only making it through two verses of "Solid Rock" before he stopped me and said "okay, you're definitely good enough." HAHA - looks like Nebraska can get it done in the big city!

Anway - but before I get too far ahead of myself, I'm already thinking of not joining the band. I know, I know ... quitting before I start - but the $115 parking ticket I found on my car after having a 3 hr. band practice (ended at 10PM) kinda got me thinking that I don't have the time/energy to get involved like this. Not to mention that I will have to be AT the church (it's a hotel ballroom on 34th street and 7th avenue) by 7AM on Sundays that I play... Very very early for Sundays when it's a 45 minute drive from my apartment - and then I would have to be able to play at any 3 of their locations on any given Sunday (downtown, midtown, or jersey city).

All in all - these guys were great musicians and great people... but I'm feeling like I could burn myself out right quick if I'm not careful.

Little Blog

Well - I apologize for neglecting my blog. I think I got so caught up in making each post an epic-photo-filled story that I hit a plateau, couldn't one-up it, and stopped blogging altogether. So this is me coming back to the basics. No big trips, no fun stories, no pics (...yet) - just me :)

But I did want to let you know that I'm auditioning for the "Journey" church band in Manhattan tomorrow after work! I'm pretty excited to get to connect with some other mid-20's musicians... and from what I've seen over the past few Sundays, they rock pretty hard. Really hard.

Really, I didn't even ask to audition, I just asked the music leader where I could go to connect with some Christian musicians and he recommended auditioning as the best way to do that... So, here it goes

Oh yah - and they're making me memorize two songs to do it: The Solid Rock (which has a few more verses to it than I remembered) and Only a God Like You (which I'd never heard before)

He sent me the mp3's and sheet music on Monday, but tomorrow I hafta do 'em without lyric or chord prompts! Booyah. Let's get to it!

Alrighty I need some sleep - I'll be in touch!

Pics from Puerto Rico

Here's the pool on the roof of the Sheraton overlooking the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean on the northern part of the island. It was so humid I had to wipe my lense and immediately snap the shot because 3 seconds later it was fogged over again!

A view to the North from the roof of the Biosciences facility in Cayey


A view to the South East from the roof of the same facility in Cayey.

I found out that I'll actually be in charge of "Phase 2" of the Cayey facility completion - so I'll be back here often. I asked one of the locals what the coldest temp he'd ever seen there and he said 65, maybe 64 degrees in the middle of the coldest winter night all year. I... just, well... yah can't comprehend that :)

Oh - you may wonder what "phase 2" means: I'll be modifying the existing spaces to accommodate more production than what was originally planned and wrapping up incomplete items like the leaking roof and some insulation damage.

(check out my post below too - it's a newbie)

Short Nights and Free Flights

Well, I have to apologize for not updating for over a week... I tried uploading a bunch of 4th of July pics last week, but got fed up with Blogger and started looking into alternative methods of publishing pics. More on that to come...

But in the meantime, I found wireless connection here at the San Juan airport and figured I'd send a big "HEY-O" from out in the Caribbean! Actually, when I say that I'm in the airport, I should really clarify that I'm in the "Continental President's Club" with walls of rich mahogany, supple leather furniture, and free wireless BOOYAH! How did I get here? Yah, I'm not so sure either - but praise the Lord for such an unexpected treat!

Bill (my boss) and I got up at 4:30 this morning to catch our 7AM flight back to NJ. They offered to give a $300 voucher to anyone who was willing to take a later flight and Bill nudges me and says, "Hey, that's Amber's free flight right there!" - so I go to accept the later flight and find out that I get a $350 voucher, a first class upgrade on the 2PM flight to NJ, and access to the "exclusive" President's Club for the day! Yeehaww! So, what's a Nebraska boy to do from 7:30 - 1:00 but eat free food, read the paper, take a nap, and update his blog! What a treat - I tell ya what, God sure knows the little things that make a huge difference! (And I was really floored that Bill let me miss the second half of the day of work - but I'm really grateful that he did!)

Okay - I'll keep you posted on where I'm going to post my pics from here on out. Talk to ya soon!