Avatar *Spoiler Alert!*

Ok, so I finally watched Avatar this last weekend. I wasn't necessarily avoiding watching the movie, it just was never particularly high on my list for whatever reason. eventually, I found out what this reason was. It wasn't bad, but throughout most of the movie I felt like I already knew what was going to happen next. I couldn't put my finger on it until...

I was hit by a wave of inspiration. Avatar: Pretty much the grown-up, sci-fi version of Disney's Pocahontas. It's true! The more technologically-advanced people travel to a new world in search of precious minerals. These people consider the natives to be savages and don't seem to have any problems with destroying them or their world in order to get what they want. A soldier (John Smith) attempts to get to know them and understand them and finds out that they have their own technology by way of their connection with the world around them. The natives answer to a tree spirit (Grandmother Willow). The soldier falls in love with one of the natives and eventually ends up taking their side. Don't get me wrong, the underlying message, if taken in this way, is good. Respect others, respect their lands and way of life, respect nature, etc. I know that it's been forever since I've seen it, but this just might also line up pretty well with Ferngully. Seems like it would.

Had I not seen these movies as a child, I may have enjoyed Avatar a little more-- or maybe not; I don't know. As it was, the plot "just ok" and I was really sad that my little TV wasn't able to give me the 3-D effects that would have made it a little better.

Anyway, that's just my take on it. It was a very symbolic movie, and there were several different ways to interpret it. I've heard a few other interpretations, but they aren't nearly as nice!

Inception: Now THERE's a GOOD movie! I just saw it the other night at the theater. Amazing! Go watch it.

Here's to Days Just Packed watching movies like Inception and not Avatar (even though you have to watch a few crappy movies too just so you appreciate the really good ones!)

More than 31 flavors.

I guess I should officially declare August to be "Music Month." It seem like music is always on my mind lately, or at least it has been the only 'blog-worthy' thing on my mind. In the middle of last week I managed to exceed my 40-hour monthly music quota on Pandora. This would have been around Aug. 10 or 11. At any rate, it was a new record. Forty-hours of music in about 7 days if you take out the weekends.

I often show up to work in the morning, fire up my computer, pour a cup of coffee, and start up Pandora. Pandora can be summed up in one word:

greatmusicplayinginthebackgroundandIdon'thavetomesswithithardlyever

Yes, I love my Pandora account because I can go there, pick a station I have custom made to fit a certain style of music, and then just let it play in the background as I work. The only times I ever really have to mess with it is to pause when someone comes into my office to talk, to tell it I really don't like the song it picked out (not likely), or to tell it that it should play more songs like the one it just played (I usually only do this enough times for it to get the idea).

I have 18 different Pandora stations. I know that my title said "More than 31 flavors," but I lied-- 31 sounds better. Anyway, picking a station to listen to in the morning is like asking myself, "Hmmm...what flavor should I pick today?" Like picking out ice cream, it really depends on my mood and how I feel. For example, this week's menu included dixieland/jazz today, gypsy punk/ska on Thursday, the kind of stuff you hear at Starbucks on Wednesday, "old vocals" like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Perry Como (<----odd one out?) on Tuesday, and Monday was 80's music. I'm surprised that the musical side of my brain hasn't been turned into blended mush with all the different kinds of music I throw at it.

For the curious, my current favorite is the Starbucks blend. It's really catchy, but still relaxing. I can tap my foot, but it's not hard-driving rock or chair-bouncing jazz. I give it my "Best Flavor for the Workplace" rating. Speaking of work...

Here's to Days Just Packed with the many flavors of music! (just not all mixed together at once, because a "music blendie" may be a horrible, horrible thing).

*Sigh

This week is the first week of Band Camp for the CSU Marching Band (CSURFVMB) <----A gold star if you figure out the acronym. This week is also the first week in five years that I haven't been in it and, I have to admit-- I miss it already. The Band was big part of my life at CSU, and no matter how many times I said I was glad to be done, I can't help but be a little sad that I am.

I know that this past March I finished off that chapter in my life, and I even made a blog post about it. I "turned the page" so to speak, but I also "didn't close the book." The best stories are the ones that continue to be told even if the following chapters follow a different direction. I know it sounds geeky, but this week was one of reflection for me. I flipped back a few pages and looked back at some of the greatest memories I had while being in the band-- friendships I made (many of which have continued), the long, hot days I complained about but secretly loved (a far cry from my new life in the air-conditioned office), losing my voice and hurting my hands as I yelled commands and clapped the cadence time and time again until the new marchers "got it" (maybe I don't miss that as much!), and the feeling of successfully running through the entire show for the first time with music and drill (one of the greatest feelings of "mission accomplished" a band member could feel at the end of camp). *Sigh (typically the rest of the alto section would respond in chorus with another, even louder sigh).

Yes, I miss band, and yes, that makes me a band geek. As I said in my last post, music is still a big part of my life, and I'm sure it always will be. Even though I'm a little sad this week as I look back at my memories of band, I don't see this as a bad thing. For one, I have something to miss, which means that I was once involved in it. And secondly, I miss it, which means I enjoyed doing it. So, as always...

Here's to Days Just Packed with some very fond memories!

Return of the Muse

I have always loved music. From the time I was a little kid I loved to sit down with an instrument and just let the music flow out. I admit that there were, and are, some times when what was flowing into the air was more like pollution rather than sweet music, but I still loved doing it. It was a form of expressing myself, a way to make others smile, and an outlet to step outside of reality for a moment.

Although only a handful of people have ever heard my pieces, I also love to compose music. Just sitting and creating a piece that is completely fresh and new is something that I can spend hours doing and days agonizing over in order to get the sounds "just right." Writing music is a big outlet for me when words just won't do. Sometimes l like to think that there is a muse sitting next to me and softly humming the melody into my ear. This becomes even more fitting since the file extensions on my Finale program are ".mus" (nerdy, yes, but I have to feel like the muse is getting some credit with every music file I save on my computer).

Unfortunately, until a few nights ago I haven't been able to compose a decent piece of music for the past 8 months-- and how I did try! I would sit and look at a blank staff and wait for that soft whisper but it just wouldn't come anymore. I feel like this boils down to the fact that I had linked my muse to a specific person in my life. I felt that when she left, so did my inspiration, and this became extremely problematic for me. At a time when I felt like I needed the musical outlet the most, I felt that I had been abandoned by my muse. In reality, I had really been pushing the muse away.

This last Thursday, I heard the whisper again (metaphorically speaking, of course). I had just finished watching a movie when I started humming a tune I had never heard before. In pure excitement I ran to my computer and started writing. Four hours later I had finally managed a piece that I could consider "mostly finished." This small event was exciting for me for a couple different reasons. First and foremost I could finally write music again! I had worried that my muse would never return. Secondly, this helped show me that I am continuing to move forward with my life and that my muse is something that cannot be taken away. I refuse to allow past hurts to prevent me from doing the things I enjoy or things that define who I am. Life is too short and some things in it are too wonderful for me to spend my time living under a rock. Besides, the underside of rocks are dark and smelly--and there are spiders.

Here's to Day's Just Packed with music!

Shiny Happy People

So I've been living in Greenwood Village for about a month now, and I figured it'd be a good idea to make an update to the old blog since my last post was...about a month ago, go figure!

One of the big stereotypes I have had since growing up about people living in Denver (or the Denver area) was that they aren't typically the friendly sort. No passing by on the sidewalk with friendly smile and a warm hello. Of course I have family and friends from Denver, so this rule never applied to them--only those "other"people. Now it's time for me to swallow my pride and eat a big helping of humble pie. Okay, I may be exaggerating a little, but I've still been pleasantly surprised.

The people around where I live are really friendly; that's one of the first things I noticed when I moved in. Usually when I get home from work, Tim from across the way and Kevin from upstairs are outside with their sons Liam and Kai in the midst of a never-ending squirt gun war. They always smile and ask me about work or how I'm getting settled in, if I've been watching the World Cup or if I'm planning on going to another Rockies game soon. Sometimes Jack from next door will be out on his patio watering his flowers, or Gay (yes, her name is Gay) from the other next door will be out riding her "trike" with her dog Ralphie. Nice people.

My new church, Our Father Lutheran, is great! I feel really welcome there, and the people are really nice. A few weeks ago they convinced me to "Ride the River," a 30-mile bike ride along the Platte to benefit their youth ministry, and last weekend I joined in on Sunday night volleyball. More nice people.

About once a week I hop a train to Downtown for a ball game. I usually find myself in some sort of conversation. Whether it's a girl wanting to take a picture of my CSU Rams hat (weird?), a guy who wanted me to help him start train-wide "Go Rockies", "USA", or "Yankees suck" (again, weird?) cheers, or just a random group of people who decided I needed to be in their conversation, I don't find myself terribly bored on the train. Granted most of the people riding back from Downtown are a bit tipsy, but their still really nice--do we see a pattern?

Here's to Days Just Packed with shiny, happy people! (and yes, I did turn on the REM song when I wrote this).

Blastoff!

The countdown has finished its slow march down to "zero" and the ignition sequence initiated successfully. The rocket thrusters provided liftoff, and I was launched into a whole new life! Although it kinda feels like I've blasted off into outer-space (with the whole change of scenery and all), I know that I've only gone about 80 miles south of Fort Collins!

I moved my last load of boxes and things into my new digs in Greenwood Village yesterday and had my first day of work today. Right now I'm sitting on the clubhouse patio stealing the free Internet connection since I haven't gotten around to getting Comcast to swing by yet. I actually DID need the Internet to check on my email and bills...and Facebook, but I figured I'd make a quick post while I was here. I've been really lousy about keeping this thing updated over the past month or so.

Anyway, I'd have to say it's not too bad so far! I think things will turn out just fine. All I need to do now is get settled into my new job, do some things with my apartment, and find some friends to keep me from becoming TOO much of a workaholic (I don't know too many people up here, but everyone seems really friendly!).

Oh, and remember that stupid train I was complaining about a couple months ago? Ever since the "new" engineer stepped in at the engine it's been a much better ride. He has everything in His control.

"Price check on happiness"

Ok. I haven't written on here for awhile, and I was planning on "easing" back into my blog with something light, but I guess that's just not how I do things. Instead, I decided to talk about the "cost of happiness." Deep-- I know, right?

If you're thinking to yourself, "Duh, you can't buy happiness," then you're on the right track, but that's not really my point. Let me explain: I had a conversation with someone today who told me, "I just want to be happy." Although I didn't share it, a thought popped into my head--"Even happiness can have a pricetag." This thought bothered me a little. Am I really that cynical?

The conclusion I came up with was slightly more uplifting. We live in a world driven by action and reaction, cause and effect. We can't be happy with every situation that life throws our way, so we seek out ways to make our lives better--happier. In some of these cases we find that sacrifices need to be made in order to achieve the happiness that we want. To put it bluntly: if you want to make an omelet you're going to have to break some eggs. That's the kind of cost that I'm talking about here. You can still have your cake and eat it, but you can't always expect to have every single piece. I know I haven't been very uplifting yet, but bear with me.

Prepare for liftoff! Happiness is a wonderful feeling, but we can't expect it to be a constant feeling. God wants for us to be happy, but why does it seem so hard sometimes? Maybe it's because we're trying to "buy" the wrong brand of happiness. Worldly happiness isn't always a bad thing, but we need to read and understand the fine print on the label: "Effects temporary. Re-dose as needed." Eventually after enough "doses" of worldly happiness you're going to need to go pick up some more and, in keeping with my price check analogy, this can become a bit expensive. This is why we can't completely rely on that product to keep us happy. We need the "good stuff!" Luckily God has already provided the solution--and it's free!

True happiness is the joy found in the love our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, yet even this true happiness came at a price. For our salvation (and true, eternal happiness being the result) God sacrificed His Son on the cross to pay for our sins. With this we were given a source of true happiness and joy that surpasses any kind of happiness that Planet Earth Inc. may try to sell us. This kind of happiness will never run out and we won't have to go looking for more. Best of all, it comes free of charge to us. The debt was paid in full through the death and resurrection of Christ. Here's to days just packed with the true happiness which comes by way of God's love for us!