4:15AM

Good morning sunshine.

It’s quarter past four in the morning. I am up and at ’em. My cameras are packed in a backpack (I don’t have an actual camera bag big enough to fit three camera), the cats’ food bowl has been topped off, I have a full water bottle and a protein bar in a lunch bag, I am finishing off my morning vitamins as I type this, I’ve checked the weather forecast for both Hampton Beach and Salisbury Beach and it’s the same partly sunny for both.

I guess the only thing left to do is decide which beach to drive to and hope the horizon is clear there. Fingers crossed. Also, where do I want to stop for more pictures on the way home? I’m thinking of the Plumb Island lighthouse again. It’s not very impressive as a lighthouse or as a lighthouse setting, but it is a lighthouse and there are some interesting places to stop on the way there and back.

Okay then… I am making the call. We’re going to Salisbury Beach. Time to load up the car and head out. Wish me sunrise luck!

Ocean Visit Tomorrow

The sunrise at Salisbury Beach will be at 5:27 AM tomorrow. Same with Hampton Beach. The forecast is calling for partly cloudy conditions at both locations. Given the horrid luck I have had with sunrise conditions on days when I don’t have to go to work, I think this is good enough to take a shot.

The battery on my Z5 is charged. There is film in both the K1000 and the FG-20 and I have all three cameras and a couple of extra rolls of film in a backpack all ready to go. My broken tripod is packed up too. Google maps says the drive to Hampton Beach takes 34 minutes without traffic. That means, if I want to be on the beach before the sun comes up with enough time to get everything ready, I need to be on the road by 4:45, which means I need to be out of bed by 4:15 or so.

Holy shit that’s early. I am planning on trying this, but there is a better than even chance that I will sleep right through it and then be mad at myself for the rest of the summer.

We’ll see how it goes.

2023 50/90 Challenge Days 20 and 21/90

I’m a day late for the day 20 post, and probably a few hours early for the day 21 post. Not that any of this crap matters though, right?

Yesterday I put rhythm guitars onto two songs and lead guitars onto two other songs. I also mixed two songs, bringing the total number of complete songs up to five.

Today I put rhythm guitars onto two songs and lead guitars onto two other songs. I still might try to mix a song or two tonight but I think I will probably spend the rest of the evening on season two of the original Doctor Who. I just started the serial The Romans, which is episodes 12-15.

As it stands right now, I am still holding on 20 songs in progress. I have five songs done, six songs ready to mix, two songs ready for vocals, and seven songs ready for lyrics and melodies. I currently have zero songs needing guitar tracks, which means my goal for tomorrow is to pick off a couple of vocals and maybe start a new song idea or two. Or three. I have seven days left in July. It would really be something to have half of the songs underway in the first month.

21 days down. 69 days to go.

Monday is Okay: So Far

After a tough couple of days, it’s almost 10:00am on Monday morning and everything is okay.

Stomach issues are normal for gastric bypass patients. At least that’s what everyone tells me. Every once in a while I am going to zig when I shoulda zagged and my new little redesigned mini stomach is going to let me know about it. That’s all the last couple of days were.

I’m on vacation today and tomorrow so I slept about an hour late (ahhhh). When I went to sleep yesterday is was feeling okay. No pain but maybe a little gassy discomfort. I didn’t hit my water or protein goals until maybe half an hour before I fell asleep. I feel good about that. I thought I was going to fail on both counts. I did miss my exercise goal and I’m upset with myself over that, but given the circumstances it’s okay.

This morning I woke up without any pain or issues. I was a little nervous that something might crop up, but I did my 30 minute fake jogging in the cellar (pronounced “yogging” with a soft “j”) and I ate a normal protein bar breakfast. It’s been a couple of hours and all is still well.

Is that optimism I’m feeling? Maybe. It might just be me wanting a grilled hamburger and fries for lunch. it could be either one

Background Noise

Daily writing prompt
What do you listen to while you work?
View all responses

When I am working from home I almost always have some audio something or other playing in the background. I think of it more as background noise than anything I am actively listening too. When I am in the office I sometimes try to do the same thing with headphones on but somehow it’s harder for me to do that. I feel like I need to be more aware of what’s going on around me when I’m with my staff. Sometimes I give in and pop in some ear pods and add some background noise.

That’s not the question today though. The question is, what do I listen to? More often than not it’s podcasts. Podcasts recapping TV shows I’m actively watching, guitar playing and guitar gear podcasts, podcasts about playing in bands, podcasts about photography, podcasts about politics. Lots and lots of podcasts.

Given all of the posts here lately talking about music, you’d think I would listen to music while I work. I do sometimes, I just find it more distracting. Every now and then though I feel the need to put on an album or a playlist and let it run. I can’t give a percentage of podcasts vs music or anything. I don’t think about it that analytically. It’s just podcasts most of the time and music some of the time. That’s all.

Fascinating story, eh?

Bad Stomach Evening

Remember that post from earlier where I was talking about bad stomach issues? They cleared up quickly enough back then, but they came roaring back after the little protein bar dinner I had.

It was really bad for a couple of hours but I think it’s clearing up again. My one question to my little re-wired stomach pouch is:

What the fuck, bro?

My evening is a pretty screwed up mess, you know? Here’s hoping it stays away and I can rejoin society. I was planning on sunrise-over-the-ocean photos tomorrow but now I’m afraid to even think about getting off the couch. It’s just me and Doctor Who season five for now.

Four and Five of 50

I have mixed two songs this afternoon. They are the fourth and fifth songs completed for this year’s 50 songs in 90 days challenge and you know what that means, right? It means I am 10% finished! Math, babie! That’s how you do it!

Neither of these songs are terribly good, in terms of writing and recording and performance. This first one is probably the better of the two. I had some fun putting lead guitars on this, even if what I ended up with is brutally sloppy.

This second song is just a great big pile of meh.

Five songs down, 45 to go. No one said they had to be good, they just have to exist.