Author: robertjames1971

I'm wicked tall.

Three Hours to Go

Three hours left in the work week.

180 minutes.

10800 seconds.

It’s a long weekend for me too. The company I work for puts a cap on how much personal time you can accrue and as your bank builds up you have to take time off to stay below the cap. It’s not as bad as the Boston Bruins salary cap woes right now, but it will get there if I don’t use time regularly. Because of that, I took two days off next week. Monday and Tuesday. That all means that ol’ Robbie has himself a four day weekend coming up.

Sadly, Jen was not able to take the two days off too, so that means I am on my own for the second half of my super long weekend. That means there will be lots of personal creative project type stuff. I checked the weather at the ocean for the next few days and both Sunday and Monday are looking like good candidates for sunrise photos. At least one of those mornings will be Photography Day where I will grab some sunrise at the beach and then hit a few places on the way home. Film and Digital. Bank on it (weather permitting).

There will also be a lot of music. As much as I can stomach. I plan on making gigantic progress on the 50 songs in 90 days challenge. That includes guitar tracking, vocal tracking in the car (because I have a weird mental block that won’t let me sing when people can hear me unless I am playing guitar with a very loud band), and mixing songs as I finish recording them.

There will also be progress on the current Doctor Who series binge watches. I finished season one of the original show this morning, and I am almost done with season four of the current show. So very many more seasons of each show to go. Progress will be made. I fully expect to move from the 10th doctor to the 11th doctor in the new show but I expect to still be on the first doctor in the old show. Like I said… so much Who to watch.

I am also thinking that I will be back on the couch to 5k wagon next week. It’s been a couple of weeks since I stopped. I want to get back into it, even though I am very doubtful I will ever run that mythical 5k. It’s still a goal, I just don’t know if it’s an achievable goal for me.

I have two days off booked in August too. They are for a weekend trip to Maine for a wedding. Bellana will be joining us for that and I expect lots of photos from Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor. Again, film and digital. That include Cadillac Mountain, which is the first spot in the continental United States that sees the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. It would require a SUPER early wake up to see, but I want very much to see it and photograph it. Now that I think of it, I should replace my broken tripod before we leave for that trip. The broken guy is good enough for this weekend, but for Cadillac Mountain? I’m going to need something that works. I’ll take care of it.

Okay, my late lunch break is over now. Time to get back to work and finish off this work week on a high note.

2023 50/90: One Down, 49 to Go

This stink burger (it really is a crappy song) is interesting for two reasons. One, it’s the first song mixed for the 2023 (faux) 50/90 challenge. Hooray, babie! Second, it’s the first time I’ve ever knowingly played anything in 13/8 time… and the timing issues are EVERYWHERE as a result (especially the guitar lead at the end).

It started out life as a GarageBand file called 2023 5090 01 Mac, and now it is the first completed song of the summer’s challenge. I have not been shut out this year! Call that a win!

2023 50/90 Challenge Day 17/90

Almost but not quite nothing. I started mixing song idea #1 but didn’t get terribly far. The drum track sounds okay, but that’s all I have. I wasn’t feeling terribly well last night so I went to bed early. I actually fell asleep while messing with the bass guitar track. Sorry.

To make matters slightly worse, I have once again failed to get any guitar playing in this morning. I worked on that first mix a little more though. Fortunately we’re one work day away from the weekend, and I took Monday and Tuesday off as well. There should be truck loads of music and photography over the next four days. Fingers crossed on that at least.

Chef Robbie

Daily writing prompt
What foods would you like to make?
View all responses

Cooking is fun, but I am not terribly creative. I learn how to make one simple dish and then I make it over and over again until my beloved bride gets queasy at the very thought of it. I am also traditionally a very picky eater so having the same simple thing over and over again for weeks or even months doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

My wife, on the other hand, is brilliant in the kitchen. She’s very creative and intuitive. She can take a complicated recipe and alter it, upgrade it, improve upon it, on the fly. It always comes out fantastic. I help her when I can but she’s just a natural. It’s pretty amazing to witness.

So I guess the answer to the question is that there really isn’t any food I would like to make. At least not until Star Trek’s food replicators become common household appliances, at which time I am going to make everything under the sun, so long as it doesn’t have sugar in it.

Migraine or Exhaustion?

I got hit with a headache as we were sitting down to dinner. I had a bit of trouble with my vision too. Both symptoms were pretty mild, and the visual aspects passed quickly. I still have a headache but it’s not too bad.

The question then is, is this a mild migraine or am I just completely exhausted?

I’d say the odds are pretty even either way.

Here’s hoping the headache stays minor and passes fast. Fingers crossed.

Sticking with the Cat Theme

Yesterday’s blogging theme was “I hate fascism and fascists suck” and today’s theme is “I love cats.” I much prefer today’s theme.

And sticking with today’s theme, here are pictures I took of both cats just a few minutes ago.

They both let me pet them, but Robin let me pet her belly for a second. That is a gift that she doesn’t often give.

Patches Memorial

I have been meaning to do this for weeks, and I was planning on doing it over the weekend, but I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and did it today.

The Miss Patches Memorial has been placed in the little flower garden spot in the front yard. It doesn’t have any flowers, but it might someday. Now Patches can visit the outdoors instead of just looking through the window all the time.

DSC_1524

Morning Fail

Guess what I didn’t get to this morning before work.

323/365
323/365

I managed to finish my daily exercise, watch this week’s new episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (excellent!), and finish the Library episode of Doctor Who that I started last night but fell asleep during the second episode.

No music though, so the morning goes down in the books as a failure.