Random updates...

Again it has been awhile since my last update. Alot has happened in the last few weeks. Buckle up, this might be a little bit longer than my normal entry.

PetSmart is going great! My managers are a blast to work with. The Inventory manager (my immediate boss) took the stock crew out to Sonny's BBQ today. He said it was in appreciation for all the hard work we have done. It was great. I start my first full day on the register tomorrow. Nothing new, just a little bit different. Everybody has their own way of doing things, Petsmart is no different.

I'm still enjoying Southerners. It's hard to believe that we are already nearly halfway through the season. Time sure does seem to fly. I FINALLY got my chops back this week. I can now play high and loud without getting immediately wore out.


Being in Southerners again has also slapped me in the face. (In a good way). I have seen a few people I was rookies with in '03, and they are already graduated and teaching or in their careers. I'm something like a 6th year freshman. So I did some soul searching about what I want to do with my life. I have always wanted to do musical instrument repair, but there are just not any jobs. Even if I managed to find an apprenticeship somewhere I still would not be getting the pay I want/need. I still would like to pursue instrument repair as a hobbyist not profession.

So after I decided that a career in Instrument repair is a little too risky financially for me I sis more soul searching. I tossed around several ideas. Everything from the Air Force to staying in retail the rest of my life. Needless to say, the air force idea was in my head for all of 30 seconds and the retail idea stuck around until I went back to work for a day(don't get me wrong, I LOVE petsmart, but in order to make decent money in retail, you have to climb the corporate ladder. In order to climb the ladder you have to sleep, eat, and breath retail. The money I'm making now is ok but not what I want to be making the rest of my life.)

Then after lots of crazy cockamamie schemes and other ideas, I came up with something I think I might have come up with something I will enjoy. I'm looking into becoming a Recreational Leadership Major. Don't ask me why I chose to look into this because I honestly can't tell you.

To add to all of the soul searching I have been doing, Amy has been doing a bit of her own. She went from wanting to go to Florida State for grad school, to wanting to go to St. Andrews University in Scotland. SAU has a prestigious Environmental Science program and it would also satisfy her inner need to visit Europe. SAU would only take one year as opposed to 2 years here in the states. So our plan as of now is for her to go over there after she graduates JSU. I will stay state side and focus on getting my degree.

So as of 6:00pm on 10-7-2008 our plan is for Amy to finish up her bachelors at JSU. After She finishes that up she will go over to Scotland for Grad school. I am going to try and start school at JSU next semester. In order to finance that I am dusting the french horn off and I hope to get a music scholarship. That means a few more years of marching(that could be good or bad). After Amy moves across the pond for a year, I plan on moving back in with the parents as to conserve some money. I will finish up my degree at UNA. I will also try to get a music scholarship at tUNA. That means I would have to march POD. Fun Fun... I'm also thinking about trying to get a job at a YMCA or a gym or rec center, so I can make sure I would enjoy a career in that Field.


So there is my long update! Goodnight!

Random updates...

Again, it has been a while since I updated but not a whole lot has happened.

Work is going GREAT! My managers are great to work for/with. Last Friday the GM took the new stocking crew out to eat at Long Horn Steak House. Petsmart has been good to me. They take time to properly train people (unike McDs). It helps the I have worked in a pet store before, but they still have their way of doing things. The ONLY thing I don't like about it is it's location. Amy and I are wanting to move closer to J'ville, and Petsmart is nearly 25 miles away. Other than that it's perfect.

Southerners is going good. We went to our last away futbawl game last night in Chattanooga. (Unless the team makes the playoffs.) We had an AMAZING post game show. I was wore out though. I had to wake up at 2:45AM for work. I then put out cat litter and dog/cat food (all heavy), and then hoped on a bus going to the futbawl game. We got home around 12:30AM. Needless to say it was a long day, but It was a good day. (BTW, JSU won 31-3.)

Well, more to come later.

My new job...

It's been a while since updating my blog-thing but alot has happened.

I FINALLY got a job. Me and Jordan were at McDonald's when I got a telephone call. I did not recognize the number and I was about to not answer. But I answered anyway. It was the manager at Petsmart. He called me in for an interview the next day. I went in and had a job before I left. I am starting out as a stocker. I plan on moving up until I can get the Animal Manager position. So far, from what I have seen, Petsmart is a great company that has their ducks in a row. They are not afraid to invest in a little bit of payroll and trust their employees to get stuff done.

I am still confused on what i want to do with my life. I have recently been throwing the idea of moving up at Petsmart and work retail. Not my number 1 pick but it is an option. Time will tell.

Marching is going well. The show is amazing. I forgot how much I enjoyed marching. This has been a good experience. The memories I am making now will stay with me the rest of my life. Good Times, Good Times...

Good night all...

The JSU/GT trip.

Yesterday was a fun and crazy day. Despite a few minor setbacks the trip went very well. I had forgotten how much I love and hate bus trips. Alot of the time, the bus ride is the funnest part of the trip. Jordan and I rode on the mellophone/sax bus. The trip was fairly uneventful until our bus driver forgot how to use his Garman satellite navigation GPS system (and apparently he forgot how to follow the 7 OTHER buses). We took a 45 min tour of Atlanta. Our little detour made us late getting to our parking area where there was ONE catering truck from the varsity. (The varsity had AMAZING food. But the ONE truck had ONE window with ONE person taking SINGLE orders.) So when the Southerners arrived, all 400 of us (staff and students) had to wait A LOONG time to get food. So after we got food we RAN back to the buses got changed and RAN to the stadium. Most of us did not get to warm up. GT had a very good crowd. It was the biggest crowd I had ever been part of. GT ticket office reported that there were over 45,000 people in attendance. It was Amazing. The half time show went good until the last page of drill. we were supposed to mesh forms. We smushed forms. But nobody really noticed. On the great gate section of music, the entire home side of the stadium was on their feet. It was great.

This game reminded me of how much I love marching. This year is the best year to go out on. I get to march with my brother, and I get to march a great show. Great memories have been made.

A Very Good Sunday.

Today was a good day. Me and Jordan got up and went to church. (Amy was at home is Muscle Shoals visiting and wedding dress shopping with her friends over the weekend). After church we ate at Western Sizzling Buffet. We both ate ALOT more than we should have, but I was having steak withdrawls and I could not pass up all you can eat, flame kissed, medium rare, STEAK. It was Fantastic. After gorging ourselves we went home and passed out while watching TV. I played on Face book for a while, then dozed again. It was a good relaxing, Sunday afternoon. After I woke up from a mini nap, I wrote a letter to Talladega City school system about a teachers aid position they have open. I'm praying to hear something good back from that tomorrow. After I sent the letter, Jordan and I went back to church and had a good time at the youth devo. We got home and crashed. Amy got back from her shopping weekend with her girlfriends safely. I was able to catch up with one of my cousins over facebook chat. It was good to hear from her. Right now it is raining outside. It's the leftovers from tropical storm Fay. If only every day could be as nice as this one!

another good week.

Well, I survived another week of camp. I was a good week overall. I got a good bit of music memorized and we have all the drill learned. (nearly 70 pages) I never knew how much i missed playing until now. After not playing ever since leaving JSU after spring '04 i haven't played much at all. I'm looking forward to getting into a career in music.

As much as I enjoyed camp, I'm Very glad its almost over. I haven't got to spend much time with Amy at all. Luckily, she understands that marching is very important to me, although she thinks it a waste of time. I can't wait to spend more time with her.

I wrote a letter to Gadsden Music today inquiring about an apprenticeship. I hope and pray they have something open. I don't know how much longer I can stomach the idea of working these dead end, piddly, meaningless jobs. As much as I love JSU and Amy getting her degree , a small part of me wishes that we could have stayed in Muscle Shoals. That way I could apprentice at Shoals Band Instrument Repair. I miss the days that I spent the mornings there, then went to Stanfeilds or Petco at night. Good Times, Good Times.

The Southerners are packing up and going to Georgia Tech on Thursday. I am VERY excited about this football season....

That's it for tonight. Goodnight.

It has been a good week.

Wow. It has been a crazy week. After 5 years of not marching this has been a very tiring week. I needed this though. It has taken alot of stress off my mind. I have enjoyed meeting new people and old friends. This years show is simply amazing. Everything from the intense music to the awesome drill is going to be awesome. I decided to march with one of the school owned horns. It is easier to tune with the rest of the section that way.

The job hunt is at a standstill right now. No one seems to be hiring right now. I'm not too worried about it right now. I have 2 more weeks of band camp left. But after that is over I will be VERY pressed to get a job. I'm hoping Gasden Music will be wanting to hire an apprentice. I REALLY want to get my career going. But things are going slow.

Other than band camp, there hasn't been a whole lot going on.