How Expectation Ruined New Year's

It is a commonly known fact that the higher one's expectations are for a particular thing, the greater the chance for dissapointment. I think this simple fact infiltrated the American celebration of the New Year long ago. The result is a doomed string of mediocre New Year's celebrations. I went to Nashville in search of an off the charts New Year's party. I thought that surely Nashville would have something great to lend toward my enjoyment of the evening. And yeah, I had a good time. If it had been any other weekend, I would have walked away saying, "Man, that was an awesome time!" However, because it was New Year's Eve, there was an unspoken expectation (and maybe it's just me) that things were going to be spectacular. In the early afternoon, Chandler and I went to one of my favorite Nashville establishments, the Flying Saucer. The fly has a bajillion beers on tap and a menu created to compliment their brews. We would have been intent on staying there all day and night, but after about five hours, we were ready to leave. We had dinner at a friend's apartment, and then headed to Broadway to ring in the New Year. We waited in line and went into Robert's Western World. Not my first choice... but I told myself I was going to simply go with the flow. Robert's Western World is the "Home of Traditional Country Music". As a music person, I am able to respect and enjoy almost any genre of music. Traditional Country music proved to be quite entertaining, however it was the proximity to other people that got me. There wasn't even room to shuffle your feet to the George Jones tunes. Drinks were too expensive and I didn't have any cash. We rang in the New Year right after the band finished "A Boy Named Sue". Merriment insued and about thirty minutes later we left. Happy New Year.
Like I said, it was a good time, but just not the blowout bash of a good time I was looking for. Thus, I have resigned to simply not care so much about New Year's next year. Festivities aside, it was really good to see some of my Nashville friends as well as some of my Auburn friends in Nashville. It was really good to eat at some of my favorite restaurants as well. I'll never forget my summer in Nashville, and it's good to go back every now and then and reconnect. I hope you had a good time, however you chose to celebrate.

Jenny the Menace

Jenny is a very sweet, mild mannered dog. She usually responds to vocal commands, albeit very simple ones. She loves attention and usually crashes on the floor or on my bed after she eats. Why then, does she do sneaky mischeavous things when I'm not around? For instance, she chewed the legs off of one of the wise men in my mother's Nativity scene. She also digs huge holes in the flower bed in my parent's back yard! When my friend Eron lived around the corner and I kept Jenny in his backyard, she would chew the collars off of his dogs! Sometimes I feel like I've got a problem child on my hands. She's a perfect angel around me, but gets into trouble when I'm not around! Any dog owners out there have any guesses or suggestions on this behavior?

Me and my Guitar

It's been a busy four days. I enjoy any chance to play my guitar in a performance setting, and this Christmas season saw no shortage of performance opportunities. On Christmas day, we went to my aunt and uncle's house for Christmas dinner. My uncle has a music room full of guitars, keyboards, and sound and recording equipment. My cousin, my uncle, and myself quickly whipped up a few Christmas songs and put on a mini performance for the rest of the family. Cheesy? Perhaps. Fun? You bet. The following day was rehearsal day for the wedding of two very good friends of mine. I was chosen to be a groomsman, as well as perform in the ceremony. I spent just about the whole day at the church on Saturday and the ceremony went very well. Of the various performances I've done in my life, I get the most nervous before weddings. If I screw up, it is captured on film and I'm remembered forever as the guy that ruined their wedding. Fortunately, I didn't screw up and the wedding went off without a hitch. After the reception, I went to my good friend Jake's house for an annual Holiday reunion of high school friends. It was quite possibly the best evening of my break thus far. Yesterday I sang and played "In the Bleak Midwinter" at church as well as directed the church choir. It's been a busy, but fun few days and I'm looking forward to ringing in the new year!

My Favorite Christmas Gift

Merry Christmas everyone! Here's a picture of my favorite gift that I received this Christmas.It's a Barack Obama action figure. The box in which it came read, "The action figure we can believe in." Merry Christmas Mr. President-elect.

So this is how he spreads Christmas cheer...

Apparently, Santa blows snot rockets on the bad boys and girls.

Ready to Run

Today, my dad and I took our dogs to a local school to let them run around in the open space of the track and football field. I expected Jenny to let out a little energy, drink some dirty water, and call it a day. Instead, she ran. And ran fast. It was awesome to see her just dig in, get her head lunging forward, her ears plastered back, and fly. There is something so inspiring about her love of open space. She never gets it. I keep her inside the house, and when I'm at work she is confined to a small backyard. I bet she dreams of being able to just let loose in an open field. It's a sight to see when she does.

The Beard Freakout

When men don't shave for a while, hair grows on their face. This hair, when left unattended for a period of time, is known as a beard. In older times, a beard was a symbol of a boy's arrival into manhood. Apparently now, a beard just makes you a freakazoid. I decided to get a jump start on my Christmas beard this year, letting my facial hair grow since Thanksgiving. Here are some responses I've received:

"What's that on your face?" - a student
"You should get rid of that" - a student
"When we first started coming to this class, you didn't have a beard." - a student
"What do you want for Christmas?" "A million dollars," I replied. "He needs a razor so he can shave that junk off his face." - another student.

It's a beard people. And, for the foreseeable future, it's here to stay. So, quit freaking out.