Words in a blog...head in a fog...

Well, this is my 3rd blog of the year, but the 2nd in two months -  hmmm...maybe this is happening with some regularity now?  Perish the thought...

I must give a disclaimer:  At the time this is being written, I have to admit that I am a bit, shall we say, altered...so if there is bad spelling or grammar that seems to be less than accurate, I apologize.

In addition, since that is the case, I really, really, REALLY have no idea what I am going to write - or on what topic(s).  However, that will NOT stop me from e-vomiting words into cyberspace...it's the narcissist in me, I guess...and the inebriates.

Ok, so, I am bad when it comes to saving money.  Period.  I find some shiny new 'thing' that I just need to have...and frankly, I have a hard time saying 'no' to me.  As you know, I am in sales, and there is a good reason for that.  I sell MYSELF on reasons to buy things.  Blah.

For the most part, when I spend money needlessly, it is on 2 items - guitar stuff and camera stuff (travel stuff comes in 3rd).  Reason being is that these are the tools for my two greatest passions - Music and Photography. 

This latest, completely non-essential purchase was a 1997 Brian Moore MC/1 Guitar, as seen below:

 

For those that care, the specs on this guitar are:

• AMAZE-BALLS quilted maple top and peghead overlay
• Green (duh)
• Pickups (all Seymour Duncan):  Alnico II (neck), APS-2 (middle), JB (bridge)
• 5 way selector, plus push-pull pot
• Floyd Rose bridge
• Composite, neck thru construction with rosewood fingerboard.
• 24 fret
• Sperzel locking tuners
• all gold hardware

In addition it came with:

• Original case
• Original PAPERWORK including warranty registration card (though it is filled out)
• Original silk drape in case.
• SIGNED and NUMBERED by Brian Moore on rear of headstock. #720!

 Now, I visit 80 or so stores a year, and I have this bad habit of finding and buying very pointy guitars, very cheaply.  Why?  I dunno... I guess I feel like I am the protector of the weird and pointy.  Trying to give them a home...trying to keep them from floating into oblivion! 

Ok, I'm so not that altruistic when it comes to guitars.  I see one, I like it, and if the price is right I will buy it.  That happened here, though this is way more out of my comfort zone as far as price.

But, I got a good deal.  I can sell it more than what I bought it for, so I am in positive numbers on that end.  The thing of it is, I need to get rid of some stuff to pay for this, and most of what I own really sucks and has no worth to anyone else but me.  Or I like it.  Or I just don't want to sell it.  Or all three.

Sigh.  Thus the internal war of smart versus idiocy starts.

So what do I sell to get even on this guitar, exactly?  Do I sell my Dean ML (Dimebag's shape) 35th anniversary #19 of 150?  Not that Dean's are worth that much, but still...

Do I sell my Zakk Wylde Les Paul?  The one I got for such a steal and love playing?

What about my Jackson Randy Rhoads V?  In near mint condition and actually WITH a Jackson hard shell case?

My custom build that looks like a cross between a BC Rich Warlock and an Egyptian's nightmare?

I'm sure as sh*t not selling my camera equipment.  No way.  Just got it together again and I'm NOT selling this time!

 So...decisions have to be made, but being the salesman that I am, I usually sell myself on keeping everything.  AAGH!

I also need to start cleaning stuff out and selling stuff I don't use.  Someone said to me the other day, "Man, you have a lot of...STUFF."   I was annoyed hearing this at first.  I know I have stuff, but at least you can see the floor!

Then I started thinking about it.  I DO have a lot of stuff.  I just haven't had the time to clear a lot of it out.  NOW is that time.  If I can get 20 auctions up in 20 days and sell the Mustang rims and tires that are in my bedroom (!), then I shall have great success!

Hopefully I can update everyone in the next blog...

NEXT!
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Ray Rice is an asshole.  Roger Goodell is as much an asshole for his stupid, ill-conceived violations and punishments.  4 games for weed?  Or a YEAR even?  Wes Welker should never have been punished harsher than Ray Rice.  He needs to be punished, yes, but not even in the ballpark of what Ray Rice SHOULD have gotten.

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A big 'middle finger' to the organizers of RiotFest in Chicago.  I paid WAY too much for your VIP one day ticket.  What I got for my money was a poorly laid out and executed festival that single-handedly ruined Humboldt Park.  The whole place has to be re-sodded.  I never found a VIP tent.  That's because they never handed out maps!  BAH!!! 

It also poured.  A lot.  Yes, I know that wasn't their fault...but that was just on top of all the other issues I had with the festival.

Whatever.

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Faith No More is making a new album, and I think that is severely AWESOME!!  Still one of my favorite bands.

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I'm still single and it's beginning to suck.  Most of the women I meet that I am interested in (and that seem to be interested in me) are married/taken.  Blah.  It seems the window of opportunity for dating divorced women seems to be between the ages of 37 and 40 (give or take a year).  I would venture a guess that 70% of my female friends that got separated/divorced from their first marriage did it between those ages.  Then by the time they hit 40, they have found someone else to move on with...most likely married or otherwise engaged (no pun intended).  

So I missed the the cutoff I guess with women in my immediate age group.  I now have to go outside of my immediate age range and try to find someone that is willing to be seen in public or at least daylight with me that is either 45+ or under 35.  And It's not that I care about age, it's just that I don't need LESS of a chance of a Saturday night date.

Like I have said before, I want to get married so I have a legal reason not to date.  It would be so easy.  Very black and white.  Done.

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Ok, I am done for now.  More to come... this blog was very dis-interesting.  Next time I'll do better.

L8R...

- M

More and more and some more and more and annoyance and more...

Sometimes keeping up with this blog is tough - I'm a really friggin' busy person...and I am not trying to sound self-important by saying that - I really AM super busy!!!

For instance...I have been home (and I now consider SAN DIEGO home, as I love it there...WHEN I'm there) a total of 3 full days since July 26.  It's August 18.  I finally go home tomorrow and will actually be there until September 6th I think...that's almost 3 WHOLE WEEKS!

Then again, I will probably do something stupid like go away on a last minute trek for Labor Day weekend...or not...

All that said, things haven't been awful overall.  I know in my last blog I said that I was holding off on photography until I was in a zero debt position.  However, fate dropped some ree-donk-ulous deals in my lap, and I am now up and running again.  Eyealone Photography is back in biz!  Not that I made any money off of it...but I like it.  So whatevs...

That being said, I was able to sell off some music gear that I thought I would be using, but I guess not...  It was awesome stuff, but I have an apartment, not a house, and it's kind of hard to do recording in that environment.  So, I faced up to reality - photography is quieter!

I'm really looking forward to shooting my next show - whenever that will be.  Indeed, I will be asking for favors from people I know to help get this done...and in turn I'll be more than happy to share photos with them if they would like to use them for whatever purposes they need.  Also looking to attach myself to a publication where I can shoot for them as well - pass on my info ;-)

Ok, enough about me...

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So, I have a couple of friends that have been having a really, REALLY rough go of it.  Both are/were in abusive relationships, and are having issues either getting out of it or dealing with life since being out of it.

Let me tell you something - if you are a male (notice I didn't say MAN) and you hit your girlfriend/wife/etc, you are an absolute coward.  End of story.  There are no chapters left to be written, you are a big, gaping, prolapsed asshole.  There is an exception if she is chasing you with a knife, gun, other violent weapon and attempting to take your life.  I can almost understand that.

But really, if your solution to a problem or your aggravation is to hit a woman, I don't want to know you.  Frankly, I don't believe I am friends with any woman-beaters (or at least that I am aware of), so I feel good about this.  I DON'T know the beaters of my friends.  If I did, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble, because I would most likely do something to them that would hurt way worse than how they hurt my friends.  I'm here for you D and S...you know who you are...

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Back to me...

My back is absolutely killing me.  I think I really need to seek medical help soon.  I hurt constantly.  This sucks.  I also need to lose more weight (I've lost about 10 lbs), but more will help, I am sure.  The rub is, I can't do any impactful exercise that may tweak it worse than it already is.  UGH!  Anyone have an extra spine I can use for transplant?

I think it's these sneakers I wore all this week.  Not very cushion-y.  I'm giving it a week with new sneakers and we'll see.  Blah...

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Instead of the ALS ice challenge, why don't you all just donate the money?  I think that awareness has been raised, so stop dumping buckets of ice and water on your head and just donate.  And then call out others to donate...  Your video should be of you writing a check and dumping it in an envelope.

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I don't really get political in my statements here or on FB or any social media, but...  I am tired of BOTH sides going all 'black and white' on every issue - both in color and in concept.  Nothing is black and white in this world.  Guns, the economy, Obamacare, whatever...NOTHING is absolute.

For example, this Michael Brown shooting:  We have video of all this happening (shooting of Brown, and Brown robbing and assaulting a store clerk prior to being shot), but YOU WEREN'T THERE.  So don't claim that you KNOW what happened - no matter WHAT side of the argument you land on.  Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.
The police probably used excessive force on a guy that was probably no good - BUT WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.  Everyone is most likely wrong in this case, yet everyone is looking for someone else to be 100% accountable.  And again, NO ONE CAN SAY WHO because they weren't there. 

The only 'black and white' part of it is this:  all the pundits are morons on both sides.  They are getting paid LOTS of money to choose a side - much like politicians - except they lack the power to actually DO ANYTHING besides cause more trouble.  All of you, shut up and stop feeding the fire.  This includes the media that ALSO wants to fan the flames on everything.  Every news show is turning into TMZ.  Ugh...

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Conspiracy theorists are annoying me with this whole 'don't download Facebook Messenger' because the terms of service state something like FB can use your phone to make phone calls, or turn on your microphone, or whatever. 

GUESS WHAT???  You have a better chance of putting yourself in danger by using your GPS - that is a LOCATOR.  If someone wants to find you, they'd just tap into your GPS, or track your number by seeing what cell towers it's pinging.  This can be done at ANY TIME.  If you are so worried about this crap, get a flip phone and call it a day.  We complain about our cell phones and all this 'crap' that we have to download to use it and be productive, yet tons of people have 32gb of 'angry cat' meme's clogging their phone. 

You have the entire knowledge base of the world in your hand, and you use it to look at ALS ice challenges and pictures of puppies!  I'm not against either one of those things (well, maybe the ice challenge), but if you are going to do that, do NOT complain ONE MINUTE about an app that does what a phone is supposed to do in the first place - CONNECT PEOPLE TO EACH OTHER.

Wow, this took an angry turn...

I need sleep....

L8R!

 - MV

Year One - reflecting on the big move and where I am...

So, April 15th marked my 1 year anniversary with Taylor Guitars, and just about a year since I moved from NY...  It's been a whirlwind for sure.  Went by really quick, and left me largely ignoring this blog...

I am thinking about changing the name of this blog to "The Accidental Blogger".  That is what it feels like what I do when I blog - I seem to do them with such IRREGULARITY that it seems like it is on accident!

I guess that just means that either A) I am incredibly busy - which is true...B) I don't like blogging - which is false...C) I am a lazy bastid when it comes to this - ALSO TRUE!

Really, though, life has been pretty good for the most part.  Work is going well, it seems.  I had a strong showing in the First quarter this year (though I am still not satisfied...).  Financially I am no longer toeing the line between 'credit nightmare' and 'what is wrong with you?' - that is a nice feeling.

Not everything has been sunshine, candy canes, and faerie dust, though.  I got rewarded for my sales efforts in Q1, but then about HALF of that got wiped out by my transmission needing a rebuild.  I was so, so, so angry and disappointed.  F*ck you, Ford!

The only good thing?  I had the money to pay for it...so that is the ever so thin silver lining.  Plus, I know that everything else is good on the car (for now), so it's one less thing to worry about (again, for now).

Let's see...what else...

Well, renewed the lease on my apartment for another year.  The goal is to stay there another year, get the debt gone, and hopefully in another 18 months I will buy a place.  I'd love a house, but it seems like the price of real estate is so high where I want to live...I just can't do it.  Plus, some of the condos around me are pretty damn big, affordable, and nice!

Travelling has been off the hook this year.  I have been home only 10 more days than I have been on the road so far this year.  Freaky.  I joke that I pay a lot of money for a furnished storage space with a pool (my apartment)...  But hey, it's part of the gig.

Frankly I DO enjoy the change of scenery.  I complain about it but let's look at the facts:  I wake up every day and get to sell some of the best guitars on the PLANET.  My stress level is lower than it may have ever been.  I think I have the respect of my co-workers.  So if the price for that is travelling, so be it.  I am sure one day it'll get more under control and regulate itself.  Maybe?

I started doing more recording again...the Jimi Hoffa Experience is up and running again!  Working on a cover of "Hey Bulldog" by the Beatles, and then next I think I may destroy "I'm Not in Love" by 10cc.  After that, I was thinking something REALLY stupid like a punk version of "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant.  I'm also writing some original stuff...just not too happy with it all at the moment.  It'll get there.

My gear collection has expanded again.  Have about 10 guitars now and a couple of basses, picked up a second-hand Axe-Fx again, a Bad Cat Cougar 5 amp that sounds AWESOME, and some cool mics and stuff.  NOW I just need the time to use all of this stuff!!!

Last thing I need to do is really, really work on diet and fitness again.  It's been really difficult the past year with injuring my back and stuff.  I haven't really been able to run - I wind up being out of commission for a few days after I try - but it is improving and the recovery time has been better.  I have been walking...I'm just not doing enough though.  It's such a hard balance to achieve...  I'll get there - like everything else, it just takes time.

Photography is definitively on the back burner until I achieve a zero debt position.  That will be my gift to myself when I hit that point.  I sold all my stuff to pay down some bills, and really, it was the right decision at this point.  I'm sad that I haven't gotten back to it yet, but I WILL and it will be fantastic.

It's funny...the hardest decision I'm having to make recently is where to go on vacation in the summer.  It feels good! 

Bottom line, things could be way, way worse for me.  I guess that is another big reason why I haven't been blogging - I use this blog to vent and throw my emotions out for all to see (though not many read it).  It's a very cathartic experience for me.  I keep saying I need to do it more - I guess I just need to DO IT like everything else I have to work to achieve.

That's all I got for now...I am up way too late and need to do sales training with one of my accounts in the morning.  'Til next time...

 - M