Tag Archive for 'music'

so much time, so little music

Published
by
iAN
on April 14, 2008
in army
. 2 Comments

In the Army world of guarded, monitored and firewalled computers, it’s difficult for a guy to just sit and listen to some music while doing the day’s work (But you’re not working, you’re blogging, you say?  True, but you’re not my boss, so BACK OFF!).

I trudged through attempted installations of my usual top three for media players in a feeble attempt to get something up and running.  MediaMonkey: No-go, must be administrator to install.  iTunes: Yeah, right, just TRY and install iTunes on a Government computer.  Winamp: Yes!  Holy crap it worked - for three days.  And then, the following friendly message:

The “problem” with Winamp was not necessarily playing music files, but its submission of played tracks to Last.FM - WHAT IS THIS NETWORK TRAFFIC THIS IS NOT ARMY CANCEL CANCEL DIE DIE DIE!

Determined to continue rocking out, I tried a few other tricks, to no avail.  Apparently government computer + music = violation.  Period.  Here’s the kicker, though.  I can’t listen to music locally, but I can stream music from Yahoo!’s LAUNCHcast.  And here’s the real kicker: I can’t listen to truly excellent streaming sites like Pandora or Jango; both are blocked by our firewall.  So that’s it.  Yahoo! music.  And Yahoo! seems to think since I like bands like Morphine, Sufjan Stevens, and the Pixies, I must also want to enjoy P.O.D. and Clay Aiken and … ugh.  Absolutely terrible suggestion engine.  (Mental note, maybe Joel can do something about this!)

I may just revert to the trusty old iPod and portable speaker solution.  Honestly, do I really want Army to know how much I listen to Pat Benetar?

no longer alone

Published
by
iAN
on April 10, 2008
in army
. 3 Comments

Two officers have finally straggled in, but I’m not turning down Queen!

I’m burning through the skies, Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That’s why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I’m trav’ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you!

I like this.  I think I’ll close every post with lyrics.

alone in the office

Published
by
iAN
on April 10, 2008
in army
. 2 Comments

Let’s see, the officers are all still … somewhere, doing “Officer PT”.  My boss is out getting his vehicle safety inspection, then spending some time at the DMV.  The other two Master Sergeants are out of the office all day, doing whatever it is you do when you’re a Master Sergeant about to PCS and have no job until you clear.  All the NCO’s in the office next door are either in class or at medical appointments.

This leaves me.

And only me.

The only other guy in the office just left to “do some shit with that ammo”.  I hope that goes well for him.

So … I guess I can turn the music up!

I didn’t know where to shake my butt
Walked backwards, fucked like a fox
I was more fucked up than your sister’s tackle box
Three AM at 5 o’clock

… what the hell am I listening to?

on children

Published
by
iAN
on December 30, 2007
in general musings
. 0 Comments

To anyone whose primary source of information about me and my life is this weblog, I must seem an awful tit. I’m constantly bitching about work, daydreaming into the future, and fretting over the behavior of my kids. Honestly this isn’t the whole story. True, I have found myself a much more temperamental person since returning from Iraq, and I frequently find plenty to [legitimately?] complain about, but that negativity does not own me.

And my kids are amazing.

Mr. R is just about the most creative and imaginative little dude I have ever known.  He is so smart, and picks up on everything.  He corrects himself when he knows he’s said or done something wrong, and makes an effort to teach his baby sister all the things he knows (when he’s not busy beating her, that is).  And he has the best taste in music of any three year old I know (They Might Be Giants, Sufjan Stevens, Rick Moranis …), and even knows most of the words!

Ms. R is absolutely beautiful.  She’s tough, spry, and so ready to walk!  Her record so far is four steps, and I think she only stopped because she got so excited she fell over!

Mr. E is on the honor roll for like the hundredth time in a row, and has been his little league team’s starting pitcher for a season and a half.  I burned him some CDs a few years ago, and he told me on Christmas that he’d found them in his closet, and had been listening to them for the last week or so.  Modest Mouse, the Shins, Morphine - he rivals Mr. R for best taste in music :]  He’s grown up so fast, and it saddens me to know it will still be some time before I see him again.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and get stationed on the east coast next tour so we can be closer to him.

There’s so much more to say about these kids and my wonderful wife, I just don’t often have the time.  I wake at 4 to be out the door by 4:30 to beat the traffic and be to work by 5:30 to stand around until 6:30 for PT formation, then return at 9:00 to “start” the work day.  By the time I head home, it doesn’t matter what time it is, I’m exhausted.  Humans are not supposed to wake up so early, period.

Nobody wants excuses, though, so I’ll just keep on doing what I can to write when I can.

watching them grow

Published
by
iAN
on November 9, 2007
in general musings
. 2 Comments

Aside from tantruming and hysterical behavior, spending time with the kids has been awesome. It is amazing to be able to watch them grow, even in so short a time as I’ve been home. Raden has the most vivid imagination, and while he doesn’t always involve his little sister in his play time, he is often very good at “teaching” her things. And MAN how he learns! He sees and hears and remembers pretty much everything going on around him. It is imperative you watch what you say around Rad, because he will absolutely repeat it!

Not until very recently have I started feeling really parental. The more involved I get with the kids, the more I realize how little I’ve done in the past; how … disconnected I have been from the whole parenting experience. It is not my intention to outline my shortcomings or the troubles of my past. To do so would, no doubt, suck me down to a place I do not wish to visit. Rather, the more I think and talk and write about my present and my future with the kids, the easier it becomes to deal with, and beyond simply “dealing”, it becomes enjoyment.

And did I mention Rad loves the Rick Moranis album?