Garage Band Music Podcast

It's not what you may think from the title. But it kinda is. Back in the day, a friend of mine and I put together a small band. It was just him and me but we had a computer and imagination. He had a studio program on his computer and some recording equipment and so we decided to record a couple songs. Then there ended up being a competition setup by a local jazz station that we wanted to enter and so we got some friends together (since the two of us couldn't actually play all the parts at once) and decided to enter. Check out my podcast for more information!

Lady

Here are some pictures of my beautiful puppy!! She used to be so tiny, and now she is so big! They grow up so fast. lol.






Here ya go Kelly!!! :)

Success at Tiger Claw

It's Sunday and I'm back from my busy tournament weekend. I spent the weekend at the Tiger Claw Championships in Orlando, FL in which I competed in multiple divisions that I qualified for at previous tournaments. I qualified in Traditional Japanese/Okinawan forms, Traditional Korean forms, Traditional Japanese/Okinawan Weapons, Traditional Open Style Weapons, and Men's Lightweight sparring. I won each of those divisions, and grand champion in fighting. I also was runner-up in both the traditional forms and weapons grand championships. It was a fun time. I also competed in a team event with my partners in Team Traditional and Creative Forms, and Team Traditional Weapons. We did well in those divisions as well. Over all it was a very successful weekend. Here are a couple pictures of the crystal trophies I received. The first and second pictures are of the trophies that I won just this year. The third picture is of the various crystals I've won over the past 3 years. Pictures, future venues, and results are available at Tiger Claw Elite. Check it out sometime to better understand the competitive world.

Blogging Update

Ok so....I'm totally addicted to bloggin now. I never thought I would get this into blogging, but it has happened. Its not just because we have been assigned to maintain a blog, but I genuinely enjoy writing about myself. I understand that that is a completely narcissistic, but I never wrote in journals as a child. Had I kept a "diary" I may not enjoy this as much; or maybe I would be more addicted, but then I would think it would be a little more private. I enjoy telling people about my adventures and big things in my life and what better way to do that then a blog. I really think that I will continue to use this once the class is finished. In a sense, Dr. Dawson has created a monster!!!!

Baby Fever

Sooooo....my wife is REALLY bad about babies. She wants one really bad. She is going to be a fantastic mother. It doesn't help that my younger sister recently (5 months ago) had a beautiful baby boy (whom she named after me!!! :)). We go see him as often as we can, and of course, we never want to leave or put him down. He is just precious. We keep telling ourselves that we have to wait until after we get our degrees. She is working on her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and as stated in my biography, I am getting my Master's in Music in Music Education. Honestly, and my wife will admit this, I am the one keeping us from having a child. I am the strong one who says we need to wait. But deep down inside, I want a baby just as badly as she does. I love children, which is why I teach martial arts and music and why I have chosen my profession. Anyone in this career who does not like children is in the wrong place. But I keep remembering that I need to stay strong. It's so hard sometimes though. Especially when I'm holding "my baby". lol. No, he isn't mine of course, but he is such a cutie. But that's because he takes after his uncle! ;)

Training, Training, and more Training

This weekend was not supposed to be a strenuous training weekend. I have a tournament coming up in the next two weekends (I'm going to miss Florida-Georgia and homecoming!!!! AHHHHHH!!!), so I want to make sure I'm not exhausting myself. However, my fraternity decided that they wanted to play sports on Saturday, so obviously, bein athletically minded, I attended. I didn't realize we would play for 4 hours straight and cover 4 different sports. We played ultimate frisbee, tackle football, beach volleyball, and basketball. Needless to say I was tired. Then, one of my teammates from Orlando come up on Sunday and she and I trained for the tournament this weekend. We are performing in a team forms division for creative styles which will be fun. Because we are champions from the previous year of this particular circuit, we were asked to return and participate in the nighttime showcase on Saturday night, which of course requires extra training the day before we compete in our individual events. Here is the production we did last year, can you find me??? I look forward to participating in this this year.

Blogging???

Soo...I'm not so used to this blogging thing, but I imagine that it is something like a journal. I know it can be used as a resource for information too, but I'm not representing any large orgainzations or anything, so I'm gonna keep it as a place to share my thoughts and experiences. I work as a staff member of the Fighting Gator Marching Band - The Pride of the Sunshine. We are planning an 80s show for the homecoming game and the week to follow - against Kentucky and Georgia respectively. Within that show there is a medley, and within that medley is the song "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. I have been instructed to choreograph the dance for the vamp section. I LOVE to dance so this was very fun. I get the opportunity to teach it today so I have spent the last couple hours determining how I am going to present this to over 300 people all of which are not blessed with rhythm. But that is the great thing about being an educator, the challenge of communicating an idea so that everyone can understand, benefit, and demonstrate the information being distributed. We'll see how it goes. I will keep you all posted. Wish me luck!