Michele Lombardo Rears Her Ugly Mouth

Does anyone remember my trip to the dentist last year when this bi-atch young woman came into my life?  Well she's back.  When I went for my most recent cleaning & check-up, the hygenist referred to me as such when she called me into the office.  I looked at the charts and accompanying paperwork that had been prepared for me, and lo and behold, there was that stupid "o" at the end of what was supposed to be my name!  I found out a few more miscellaneous facts about this person that make her more like me that I care for.  I will not list these things here in order to protect myself & my dentist's office from what would surely be perceived as a violation of HIPAA laws.  Suffice it to say that I'm kind of annoyed that someone is infringing upon my uniqueness & identity.  I'm starting to get a complex about it.  Everyone wants to be me.  You're not.  Deal with it.

Partridge Family

So, you remember the Beat Lab.  Well, it's in full-swing.  We have added some pedals, a fretless bass, a kit to build an electric mandolin, and some additional music.  We even got my dad a new guitar for Fathers' Day since his old one was falling apart.  My dad & I share a love of The Eagles' music, so our first collaboration is going to be the song "I Can't Tell You Why."  My dad has already worked out the melody on his new guitar, I found the music for Paul's bass part, and I have some chords in the works for my keyboard.  It should be quite a show.  I don't know when we're getting together yet, but I'm pretty sure that when we do, it's going to be funny.  I really want a tour bus like the Partridge Family had.  I don't want to go on tour.  I just want a bus.

Mazda the Second

So everyone knows I wrecked my car (and myself) in May.  That's right, my recently paid-off Mazda 6 is no more.  It's sad.  Not only was it just paid off, but I had just put $1000 into the car in the form of new tires, brakes & rotors, and even a detail job.  It was in beautiful shape.  I thought I might actually break my streak of only being able to keep a car for 5 years.  No dice.  Here is what the car looked like after I wrecked it into the back of a semi:

I loved that car, and I hold no grudges.  It's not the Mazda's fault.  So here is my new car:

It's a hatchback.  I don't know why exactly, but I've always wanted a hatchback.  Actually, it will be so nice for scrapbooking weekends when I haul all of my crap to Jill's or a hotel.  I recommend Mazdas.  I also recommend Blue Knob Auto.  You should DEFINITELY go there.  Trust me, it's worth the trip to Altoona.   

The Beat Laboratory

I'm sorry for the bad video, but Step Brothers is one of my favorite comedy movies ever.  And this clip is very appropriate (and the only version I could find), for we now have an official Office & Beat Laboratory.  That's right, Paul & I have converted our plain ol' boring extra bedroom / office into a state-of-the-art music studio! 

No, we haven't lost our minds (completely), so don't call the guys with the rubber truck yet.  Here's how it went down. 

Paul has always liked music that features the bass guitar.  Not just "turn up the bass" hard rock stuff.  He particularly likes eletronic genres called Chill and Trip Hop.  So, he decided he wanted to learn to play the bass.  It's something he's always wanted to do.  Why not, right?  I thought it was genius.  I told him I couldn't teach him anything about guitar, but I would teach him to read music & what I could about music theory.  He also has a friend who teaches guitar, so he could most likely fill in the blanks. 

All this talk of playing instruments started to make me jones for piano.  My dad used to teach piano and taught me to play as a kid, but it's been years since I played.  My piano still sits in my parents' basement, sad & dusty, storage boxes taking up the bench.  That thing is a monster.  Huge & enormously heavy.  The logistics of getting it out of there would make my head spin, and there is really no room for it in our house.  I decided an electronic keyboard might be in order.  We started doing some research, and one day I came home to this...

Paul had gone crazy at the local Guitar Center & bought me all of this...

And set it up in our office.  He added in his new bass guitar...

And amplifier...  (our neighbors must love us)

And we had the beginnings of what has become the Beat Lab...

Come on in!  Now those of you who know Paul know that he doesn't do anything half-assed.  He puts his soul (and pocketbook... haha) into his endeavors.  It's all or nothing.  So, we couldn't just have the instruments.  We had to get all the fixins too. 

So another evening, I came home to this awesomeness:

A mega multi-media computer setup so that we could search for music & such online during our jam sessions & Paul could play his instructional DVDs.  We also have movies & MP3s on it, so we can play along with tracks & try to figure out chords or timing for some of our favorite songs.  He even hid a wireless computer keyboard in the desk drawer (essentially making it a like a keyboard tray) since my musical keyboard was taking up the entire desk.  Clever.

Aside from the series of instructional videos for the bass, we now have lots of music, some of it new and some of it from my old days, accessories (for a sampling, see below), and fun!  We have lessons, practice, attempts at working out songs we like, some sort of playing almost every day.  I feel my piano is still rough, so we might not be great yet, but we enjoy ourselves.  And it is coming back to me a bit more each day.  And Paul is learning the bass really well.  I'm even picking up some bass instruction myself.  We'll be playing cheesy 80's weddings before you know it.  Like a SNL skit! 

In all seriousness, we're not aspiring to be professional musicians here.  We have careers.  It is simply very therapeutic after a long day to sit down & make a bit of music - together or alone, good or bad, rock or classical.  I have always firmly believed that music is good for the soul & the world in so many ways.  This experience is just renewing that belief.

 Subwoofer, of course...

This last item is a recording device.  It allows you to connect your computer to your instrument or microphone (God help us) and record your music.  It's awesome.  We haven't done much with it yet, but theoretically we can record multiple tracks & do some mixin'.  That's right, we're also becoming music producers!  Look out world, this could get crazazy!!!!

I have lots more to tell, so I'll have to continue to blog more about our new hobby in the near future.  Wish us luck.

Updates

I haven't written here in a while.  Truth is, I've been experimenting with other kinds of writing.  I've been doing some creative writing this winter.  It's not great, and I'm really not comfortable sharing it (yet?), but maybe someday.  Anyway, that's why I haven't been blogging on here lately. 

So, to summarize the last few months:

• My brother got engaged!
• My mother-in-law fell on Christmas Eve & was in the hospital for the holiday (as were we).  She has been on FMLA from work ever since.
• I drank a lot on New Year's Eve to try to erase the image of my mother-in-law falling, breaking her back (luckily not the part with all the nerves), & landing unconscious in her sister's front yard.
• Paul has been to 2 orthopedic surgeons & now has an appointment with a chiropractor for crippling pain in his lower back/ hip/ leg area. 
• Paul's car is slowly dying, and we're looking into getting a new one.
• I went to a mega-fun scrapbooking weekend in January with my crop girls.  It was the best!
• I had the flu in January, and I still have a slight cough from it.  It's annoying.
• The Steelers lost the Super Bowl.
• Paul sent me the above flowers for my birthday.  The card says that he thought the arrangement looked creepy & that it would be good for a birthday laugh.  He's so romantic.  He also got me tickets to see Nunsense at the Cabaret Theater in April, which is very exciting!

I'm sure I'm forgetting lots & lots of important stuff that happened, but my memory is bad.  I'm 37 now.  It's also Monday, and my brain is foggy on Mondays.  It's also tired on Fridays.  Sometimes it's even tired by Thurs.  And it is on hiatus on Saturdays & Sundays, of course.  Basically, my brain only works on Tuesdays & Wednesdays.  If need to tell me anything important, please keep this in mind.

Hatred

I used to complain about the weather with everyone else, mostly just for conversation or to have something to complain about.  Sure, it was an inconvenience to have to clean snow off the car, sweep & shovel the steps, sidewalk, driveway.  Yeah, it was annoying & sometimes scary to have to drive on icy & snowy roads, especially at night.  But I grew up with the 4 distinct seasons.  And winter = snow & cold.  Every year.  Big deal, right?  You would think I would get more used to it as time went on.  I am finding that not to be the case.  In fact, with each passing year, I come to dread winter more & more.  Nowadays when I complain about the weather, I really, really mean it.  With all my heart & soul.  I HATE January & February.  Absolutely.  In fact, during the holiday season, when I think about facing a new year & the coming winter months, I actually feel anxious.  Just the IDEA of winter gets me all worked up.  In a bad way. 

It does not help that we live in the 2nd cloudiest region in the continental US (second to Washington state; but they have cute vampires).  In fact, I have had 2 doctors recommend sunlamp therapy.  There is a lot of published data indicating definite health benefits.  So I ordered a sunlamp. I have been sitting in front of it as I eat my dinner for about 2 weeks now.  It feels good.  Like I'm doing something good for myself.  I have no idea if it's going to help my vitamin D levels, immunity, energy levels, mood, etc.  But my cat likes to lay in front of it with me cause it gets a little warm.  And he's cute, and we bond during our sun therapy.  I can't really talk any more about my cat because he's old & now has some health problems.  I have to give him pills & special food.  It makes me very sad.  I feel like Angela from "The Office".  I apologize for this digression. 

Back to the hatred at hand.

The only exciting thing about snow in the weather forecast is the idea of not being able to go to work.  I have no idea why this is should make me happy.  I think it must be left over from my school days.  The idea of a delay or cancellation was so exciting back then.  The difference is that, although we are told to check our local news stations or websites if there is inclement weather, Bayer NEVER closes.  I think maybe once or twice since 1996 do I recall such a thing.  BUT it does become more acceptable to work at home when the roads are bad.  Lots of folks do it for various reasons when it snows.  These are not limited to the roads being treacherous.  When school is cancelled, some folks don't have anyone to leave their kids with.  Some people live far from work or in rural areas, and they physically cannot get out of their driveways.  But I live like 5 miles from my office.  I am just lazy & like working in my PJs sometimes.  I do fear driving on icy roads because I wrecked once many years ago. 

The notion of being excited to stay home because of bad weather used to make sense, but these days, it really doesn't.  There is no longer a reason for it.  Here's why:  1.  Staying home does not mean that I am not working.  Some people equate "working from home" with "pretending to work".  There was a time when this may have been partially true.  But now, on the contrary, I usually get more work done at home & work longer hours.  2.  If I happen to have left my computer at work, I just fret about all of the work that is piling up & how behind I am getting while I lounge at home watching movies instead of just enjoying.  Ok, maybe I enjoy it just a little bit.  But in between those moments of bliss, I am worrying.  I think this is all yet another sign of old age setting in.  Youthful people are not nearly this nerdy & responsible about their jobs.  They are carefree & enjoy getting away with some rule-breaking.

The point to all of this is that with each passing year, I am becoming exponentially averse to wintry weather.  I am not sure what to do about this.  My tolerance wanes.  When other people have talked about relocating to warmer climates when they retire, I've never really thought much of it.  I have always thought I'd like to stay where I am.  With my family & friends.  But lately, I am starting to think all of those old people with their plaid shorts and early-bird dinners in their Florida condos are onto something.

Geeky Things I Like To Do - Number 10

I am an imdb.com junkie.  I can't watch a movie without reading all about the cast & trivia & goofs.  I like to leave my imdb session open to the last movie or actor I looked up.  Then when I watch the next movie, I like to see how many clicks it takes me to get from the page I left off on to the page for the new movie I'm watching (without starting a new search; searching is cheating).  It's kinda like that game Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  It's fun!