Current iTunes U Course I’m Listening to
Right now i'm listening to an iTunes U course on The American Revolution. It's actually REALLY interesting! I mean I wasn't all that sure when I hit the download button if I would like it. But now i'm actually really, really getting into it! I'm on class number 8.
The course talks about all the things that lead up to the revolution. I'm not so sure it really discusses war and actual fighting... it's mostly the little storyline and chain of events of things that went the way they did and how they went to lead into a revolution.
It's seriously extremely interesting to know a lot more detail on how our country actually got it's roots! I mean it kind of gives a broader perspective. Especially living in such a historic area such as where I live.
I absolutely love historic things. I love old buildings and houses and fields and farms and things like that. I just love all the tales they could tell! It's like you can feel something alive about it. I really just do love history and the historic significance of things.
It's fascinating too how things can change and change again and change again and... it's that you know... winds of change thing. And with the history of this country it's a very windy place!
It's funny, I almost didn't end up even listening to this course because the download for the whole thing was like 11 gigs! I didn't really have the space on my iPhone since I have a couple other course and things on there. So what I did was... I took the files and removed the video so it was just audio. Then I just loaded the MP3's onto my iPhone. That makes for a much smaller file size. I used to do that and then I just started loading videos on my phone... but they take up soooooo much space! I'm going to go back to the removing the audio and just loading that up. I only ever listen to the audio part and not so much watch the video part since I listen to the course while i'm doing other tasks.
Ok well if anyone is interested in checking out the course or wants more information on it... here is the link:
A productive last few days
I've really had a super productive last few days! I've kind of just been staying in a bit and just knocking things off the to-do list left and right. I figure since I'm going to be gone for two weeks in June I might as well just take it easy on the going out places and just keep it low key and work on things around my apartment. I've really just been enjoying spending time relaxing and getting things done that I've been meaning to take care of.
One of the things I did that I haven't done in a while was list something on ebay that I wasn't using anymore. I've also been just re-organizing things into keep/sell/fix/donate containers.
So yea I always feel so accomplished when I make to-do lists and then knock things off as complete. I love that feeling. It's just an awesome accomplished feeling!
I'm kinda only doing a little bit of writing lately and trying to work on music more because while I'm in Maine I want to try and use my free time up there to write a lot. It's tough to do music when I'm up there so I figure I'll do lots of music stuff in the next couple weeks and then write a bunch while I'm there for the couple weeks i'm there. Then i'll work on lots of video stuff when I come back! So that's the plan!
Well I think I'm going to keep this post a little on the short side and go make my lunch for tomorrow and then get into bed. So good night and super swell dreams to all.
Dream I had last night
So I had this dream last night that had me wake up in the middle of the night with tears in my eyes. Yea... it was THAT intense. I mean.. it was just really emotional.. kinda sad but... I mean... well... not bad really but just like really tugged at my heart kinda dream...
Ok so the dream started out that I kept getting these voicemails saying I had won a chance to play one inning with the Phillies. And they would leave a number to call back at. But the number of the voicemail was never the same as the number they said to call back. So I was like well that's weird.
I was on the train and talking to this random stranger and I was telling this guy on the train how I don't like baseball (which is also true in real life... I'm not into watching baseball or sports really) and I don't want the prize. I was saying how they won't stop calling me... I think maybe the train part is from all the train riding I've been doing...
OK well the random dude was like "Oh yea, it's a hoax they won't stop calling you ever! Just call back and tell them you forfeit the prize. That's what I did and I haven't had a call since."
So then I called back the last number they left right then and there... I told the person I forfeit the prize. They then asked who I forfeit it to.
I turned to the dude and I told the guy on the train they wanted to know who. He just shrugged his shoulders and said "they didn't ask me that."
Then the doors opened and we were infront of the pull up/drop off place for the Hospital of the University of Penn where I sometimes drop my mom off for medical doctor things before I go park and pick her up when she's done after I go get my car. I said to the guy... "I didn't know they had a stop here."
The guy was like "I didn't know they did either."
Then the phone person was like "we still need to know who you forfeit to."
Then I thought to myself CHOP is next door. I'll go over there and maybe they can give the prize to one of the kids that would be well enough to go play an inning of baseball.
So I get off the train and walk over to the front desk at CHOP. The phone people are like "we're still waiting to know who you are going to forfeit to...."
I say hold on give me a couple minutes into the phone.
Then I go to the front desk and I explain that I have a prize I want to donate to one of the kids and if there is a kid that is well enough to be able to play an inning of baseball with the Phillies.
The front desk person picked up their phone and called someone... then a kid came out through one of the doors in a wheel chair with a doctor next to him.
I said to the person on the phone "Ok I have someone and I handed the phone over to the doctor."
Then all of a sudden I was on the field with the kid and the doctor and the kid was in his wheel chair at third base.
All the players were playing really easy and they hit a ball really soft right to him and he bent over and picked it up as it rolled and stopped in front of his chair.
Everyone cheered. Then the kid started coughing and we went up to him. He started crying and said thank you to me and the doctor and everyone... but that he wasn't feeling well.
Then the doctor said "would you like to go back to the hospital?"
And everyone was listening for a response... the players... the fans... everyone was silent.
And the kid just said... "No... I just wish I could go back home."
I started crying.
One of the players started to say he would be able to do that soon.
That's about when I woke up. I had tears in my eyes when I woke up. I felt really like... sad when I woke up. It was a really vivid and emotional dream. Sometimes I have dreams like that and it takes me a little while to snap out of it.
But yea I just felt like sharing that. I hope it didn't make anyone else cry! Usually my dreams are just silly and funny. That one was pretty sad and really emotional. I'd been thinking about it all day so I just finally decided to post about it. I guess if I ever win anything like that in real life since I'm not a baseball person I'd definitely do something like forfeit my prize to a kid from CHOP that might like something like that!
I kinda did something a little related to that a while back... I won tickets to Hershey park but couldn't use them so then I put them on craigslist for free... a mom and a kid responded and I dropped them off. The kid was just the most excited kid I've ever seen. Maybe it's like that saying... it's better to give than to receive. I think that's true.
Almost that time of the year again – Maine time.
So it's almost that time of the year again where I make my yearly trek up to the woodlands of Maine. It's become as regular as that whole fish swimming up stream thing that I hear so much about. Or the migration of the Canadian geese. How come those geese don't have Canadian accents? Or maybe they do have accents but we just can't understand them because we don't speak Canadian? Or I GUESS we don't speak geese talk either. It could be either one. It's tough to tell.
Well anyways... Yes it's that time of the year again. I'll make the nearly 500 mile journey from Wayne to Maine. The camp owners used to make the same journey with a GIANT U-Haul truck every year with the entire contents of the winter office packed in it. Used to... but they moved to Maine a few years back. Yep... they used to live right here in Wayne just minutes from where I live.
Well... in the past I have usually needed ALMOST a U-Haul to get my stuff up there. I USED to pack my car to the brim. And then after 2 weeks I would return home using pretty much only a 1/10th of all the things I brought. So this year I'm going to try and do things a little different. I'm going to try and only bring the bare minimum of things that I ABSOLUTELY need. See in years past I always bring some kinda crazy awesome new fun toy thing-a-ma-jig that I've recently bought. Like 3 years ago I brought my Dyson vacuum. Yes... I'll admit... that wasn't the best idea. A broom works just fine and they supply them at camp. Then, 2 years ago it was my folding bike. I think more people ended up riding it around the place than I did, although I did use it to get my car serviced so that was useful... And last year it was... hmmm... what was it? I know I bought the bike last year and the year before. I'm pretty sure I brought something else last year. Oooooh that's right I brought my cool little DJ thing that I had bought AFTER camp the year before. But I never used it. It sat in my cabin the whole time. I was going to try and DJ one of the dances I think?
Well... this year... I actually will be bringing a cool new thing. A few months ago I found out about this awesome towel that they sell at LL Bean. I know... a towel? Yes... but this isn't just a normal towel... it's a super amazing super quick VERY fast drying towel!
Check it out...
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/36971?page=aquis-adventure-towel
It's pretty awesome. I might buy two even.
Even one of the reviews says it makes a great towel for a dog!
"I always think "outside the box" i.e. another uses for products. So I purchased the Adventure Towel for our "adventures in doggie drying". We have a Cockapoo, Zoey, her curly hair takes forever to dry. With the Adventure Towel, she is dry & ready to go in just a few minutes, instead of a few hours with only One towel needed, the Adventure Towel!"
Soooo if it can dry a wet dog off... it can dry a wet Kenny!
I haven't bought one yet but I plan on buying one before camp... or like I said maybe two of them even. Usually I bring like 3 or even 4 towels because they take forever to dry. I use one for the lake and one for showering. But since I need them the next day or even sometimes twice in one day I need multiple towels! Since they take upwards of 24 to 48 hours to dry sometimes. Then when I pack them again to come home they smell like wet towel and it's just gross.
Hopefully this new super mega awesome towel will fix that problem! And I'll only need one or two of them... ANNNNND they take up WAY less space!
Soooooo yes... speaking of less space that's my plan for this year.
I plan on only packing one big duffle bag, my guitar, and my backpack. That's going to be it. I'm going to see if I can do it. I was playing around with the idea of taking the train even instead of driving. But I think I'm still going to drive. I'll get my car all checked out and serviced before I leave for camp. Right now it's running like a champ. So hopefully it will stay like that.
Oh I never said what was wrong with it! So it wasn't the clutch. Turns out the clutch is still going strong... knock on blog... instead it was something about the spark plugs were misfiring. So they replaced the spark plugs and the wiring for the spark plugs. Then they had to replace some gasket thing that had blown out. I wrote it all down in my little car service log that I keep. My next service is just an oil change. But I'll also have them do a check up and make sure everything is all A-OK for the long drive there and back.
The trip is about 3 weeks away so I've got time yet. But anywho that's my post for this fine Saturday evening. Last night and today I just spent time at home working on chores around my apartment and also working on new creative things. Tomorrow I don't have my comedy class because it's the holiday... so I'll most likely only go to church and spend the rest of the day just hanging out here some more. I'm just enjoying a very low key weekend. Sometimes it's nice to just stay in and keep things chill and relaxing. I think I'm gonna get to bed so I'll say goodnight! Sleep well and dream of nice things.
Million dollar idea – potty humor
So I'm probably giving away a million dollar idea here... but I've already got waaaaaaay too many projects going on to work on something like this. I figure I'll post it up here and if anyone wants to help me make this a reality that would be pretty sweet. If not then perhaps one day I will create this.
I think it would be super duper neato cool to make a website where people can upload pictures of funny things written in public rest rooms. How many times have you sat down on the john to do your business and there's something super crazy funny written on the stall door or wall or whatever ? And you WISH you could show the entire world but instead you just laugh and do your thing and go on your merry way.
Well... I want to make a site like superfunnybathroomwallstalldrawingsanddoodles.com
I checked... that site isn't taken... yet. So it could TOTALLY happen.
The idea of the site could just be so that people can upload pictures snapped in on their phones of funny things written on bathroom walls. Users can be all anon about it, or they can actually create an account and go on massive roadtrips and try to upload a funny bathroom pic from every public restroom from the brooklyn bridge to the golden gate bridge.
I would sooooooo click on that site every day to see what kinda funny stupid bizarre things were found! I mean I know I've seen some REALLY weird things written on bathroom walls over the course of my lifetime. Imagine if I had people all over the world reporting bathroom wall pics!
And there would be a rating system to let the cream of the crop rise to the top. That way you could get the best bathrooms around the world.
And that's my next million dollar idea. So who wants in? Let's make it a reality!
Roadside assistance is the most awesome thing ever
Soooooo my car went south tonight. But actually... it kinda worked out. Here's the story:
I'm pretty sure it was my clutch. I'm just soooooo glad and thunkful that I'm home safe and sound. This could have happened to me on Friday night when I was in the city! Could you imagine?!?!? That would have been no fun at all.
This was probably the best case scenario ever for car problems. Here's the setup...
So I went to church tonight then after church I went for a nice awesome run in Valley Forge park. Then I got in my car and started driving my way to get gas at the cheap gas place on Valley Forge road that I normally fill up at. Then from there I was going to go write at Iron Hill and chow on some food.
Well about maybe somewhere just after where valley forge and valley creek road meet I started to hear a not good noise. It was very grindy clicky ticky something or another noise.
Then allllll of a sudden... the lights all started coming on... check engine and oil light and seatbelt light and what have you.
Then they flashed and blinked and the noises got worse... then the car started going and then not going and then going again... I put my flashers on and kept going looking for a good spot to pull over. There really aren't a lot of safe spots to turn off on that road.
Well... my little car chugged and huffed and puffed and made lots of little clicky grinding sounds and then finally I saw the perfect little place to turn into. A little strip-mall plaza. I turned in and JUST as I was turning my car in...
It gave out. All the lights came on, the engine died and all the power assisted stuff gave out. I had to REALLY turn the wheel hard! And the brakes basically didn't work. I just kinda coasted it into one of the spots. I had to push pretty hard on the pedal to even get it to slow as I coasted into the parking spot. I actually had to use the parking brake to get it to stop!
That was a little scary. Anywho so there I was in front of My Favorite Muffin. Parked. And my car was not going anywhere without some help.
The first thing I did was call my progressive road side assistance. They dispatched a tow truck. They said it would be there in about an hour (it showed up in 45 minutes). I decided to head over to the little VF Pizza place.
I always thought it was a little pizza shop... turns out it's a pretty nice little italian restaurant. The service was great and the food is pretty tasty too! I'm actually eating my left overs now. I ordered a burger and fries and sat and wrote.
When the tow truck guy showed up he just lifted my little car up onto the bed and whisked us away to the chevy dealer. I decided it's best to just have them do the work. I know I'm going to pay a premium and that it's going to cost a pretty penny already because well... if your car needs to be towed it's definitely not a cheap little fix.
So hopefully they can get it all fixed up and back on the road. I left the key in the dropbox and I'll await their call.
I walked from the dealer to the closest train station and then ended up being able to get the VERY last train back to wayne from Paoli!
And here I am.
I am just soooooooo very thankful that things went the way they did. I couldn't imagine if my car had click clacked and tick tacked and huffed and puffed and grumbled to a stop on the side of the road while driving into the city! Or if it had done that while driving to Maine! I leave for Maine next month and that would have just been VERY scary for this to have happened anywhere else than it did.
The car is at about 80 thousand miles so it's about right for the clutch to go. According to how stuff works clutches can generally last anywhere from 50k to 175k. So I'm on the lower end of that... buuuuuuut I will say that A: my car is definitely not a higher end sports car. Soooooo I'm guessing it's a cheapy clutch. It was 11 thousand dollars off the lot brand new in 2004 when I bought it. The clutch and the car are 8 years old. And then... B: This was my very first stick shift car. Sooooo I mean the very first year of me driving that car or at least the first 6 months... I really most likely did a number on it. I'm suprised it lasted as long as it did! I kind of wish there was a warning system of some sort for a clutch to go out. They say sometimes it starts to do this slip thing... which I think I kind of felt actually pulling out of the parking lot valley forge but I'm not entirely sure.
One thing it made me realize is that things can fail at any moment and so you have to be prepared for things to fail! I've had this roadside assistance but never had to use it. It definitely came in handy tonight. All the towing was covered.
Hopefully the new clutch won't be a super duper expensive fix. But we'll see. Anywho so I'm hoping it won't be more than a few days in the shop...
Well my plan is to take the train to work and back home tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. All I know is that with the way this happened... I'm pretty sure there's someone up there watching over me and helping out. That's for sure.
My Next 2 Songs On The Way
I've got two songs neck and neck to the finish line being worked on. It's close and I don't know which one I'll finish first.
Here's my dilemma:
The first song is a bouncy little jazzy tune that's all awesome clean fun ness... but I can't seem to focus on working on it. I try to go back to it and then I work a little bit on it but then quickly exit out of it. It's super G rated with the lyrics and it's about just all awesome goodness wholesomeness with the family and all that. It's like something you'd play for your parents or grandparents and they would nod and say it has a catchy beat.
THEN... there's song number 2. I like this song WAY more. I can't stop singing it in the car or when I'm showering or running or wherever. I also can't stop wanting to work on it. I keep opening it up and working on it more. So it's getting more and more done and catching up and passing the other song. The problem is it's not as wholesome awesome goodness.. it's like rocker anthem more PG rated. Not that it has like profanity in it or anything like that... it's just not as warm and fuzzy awwwwwwww feeling. It's more like.... "Oooooooo SNAAAAAAP! HOMEBOOOOOYEEEEE... THAT'S MY JAM!" And then it jams.
Since my last two songs that I finished were super squeaky clean wish, and whatever it takes... I feel like doing a not so super squeaky home boy jam song next and THEN doing another squeak squeakums clean one will be ok.
Soooooo I just wanted to prepare everyone... the next song I finish might be more jam out rock anthem like. And then the one AFTER that will be all about the G's.
Hopefully I'll finish em up soon! I've just been super busy with my comedy class and getting started with writing my book. Which by the way I'm starting to dream about scenes and ideas and dialogue. It's weird. I wake up and jot stuff down into my little notepad and then fall back asleep.
Lots of works in progress! I wish I could just put it all up now! Buuuuuuuut good things come to those who wait. Sooo just hold on and hang tight!
Work Hard, Be Supportive
So from all the things I've been doing in my life I'm really starting to form an idea of how I want to change the world around me. From improv class to church to just the people I've been spending time talking to and work and camp and family and well just everything I've kinda been forming this picture.
Never punish anyone no matter what. No matter how much someone does something wrong. It will never benefit anyone or society as a whole if we punish. That just makes that person go and take that negativity out onward to more people and more people etc.
Instead be constructive and critique and supportive and positive and always be helpful and willing to go the extra mile. Work hard, if you are work hard, work harder, if you work harder others to work harder and motivate them. Motivate friends and family and peers and coworkers and even strangers to be helpful and hard working and if they do something wrong just have a converstation about it and move on and correct the behaviors.
Sometimes it takes some people longer than others to get into the green zone and on to the next level. The thing about life is that we're all this together. All of the things we use every day are part of a global community. We're all helping each other and we wouldn't be able to exist without other people! So be nice and be positive and be loving and be caring and be understanding and be supportive and just be awesome!
Because eventually that awesome favor you pay to someone or that awesome compliment or helpful guiding you give will come back and THEN some!
Help out friends and take care of friends but also just take care of everyone in general!
This is just another random thought...
Another good idea to help make the world go around is:
15 minutes early is on time and on time is late. I think that's a good one to keep. There's nothing worse than someone being upset with you from the get go because you showed up late and then everything is all up in the air!
I'm going to make it a point from now on to be at LEAST 15 minutes early to everything. It shows determination and dedication and that you really have passion and care about what you are doing.
Let's all be dedicated and passionate and really all about ANYTHING we do! Make the world an even more awesome and supportive and positive place to be in.
A Threatening Situation
So today I was helping to do the AV stuff for graduation. It was a good ceremony... everything went pretty well... then at the VERY end when the graduates were walking out for some reason they designed the tent and seating arrangement that people on the far side of the tent couldn't leave during the walking out of the graduates. There was only one entrance and exit on the near side. Since the graduates were in the middle and the stage was in the middle front and the AV equipment where I was was in the very back of the middle... this basically meant EVERYONE on the far side of the tent got stuck in during the end until all the graduates left.
Well let me tell you this angered a lot of people. And they were expressing it. Lots of people were just walking through where our equipment was without any sort of notion of how close they came to knocking over some very expensive camera's among other equipment. The security guards were around the perimeter so they weren't really paying much attention to the people just walking on by. Well I was instructed to block people from coming through. So I told the next lady that tried to come through that she would have to wait... she got very upset and just huffed and puffed a lot and then tried to go another way around and got told she couldn't by another guy I could see and it looked like she started to become very angered with him. Then more people saw that we weren't letting her out and they started to try and get out and say "well how come we can't leave!"
I didn't have a reply to this because I didn't design the setup and I didn't understand either why they would have any period of time especially a good 20 to 30 minutes where people would have absolutely no exit available. It was beyond me! But I was pretty stuck too.
Well so then one guy stated motioning to me and saying "hey buddy, come over here."
Then he said "How do we get out of here. I'm ready to leave, where's the exit."
I said "Well you can go around in front of the AV as soon as the gradutes leave, it should only be about 5 more minutes."
His reply to this was "5 Minutes! That's BULLS#@T, that's BULL F#$KING S*#T!"
I was kinda taken aback... He then started to move the rope out of the way and come in any way... so I got one of the nearest security guards and the guard came over and talked to him and he went back behind the rope.
Then about a minute later the guard left... and the guy said "Hey Buddy" again and then I turned around and saw him start to move the rope again... then he motioned with his fist punching it into his hand and then pointing at me. He moved the rope aside and came inside. He kept looking over at me and making other gestures... that were not polite and more of the balled fist into the hand and then finally one with his hand across his neck. He kept slowly moving closer to me in the confined space.
I just panicked and then said to my coworkers "I gotta get OUT of here before that guy kills me!"
I grabbed my stuff and ducked under the rope on the other side and pushed my way through the gradutes walking out and then pushed some chairs out of the way. I brushed past a couple people and finally made it to the exit and then booked it back to my car. I mean I was SERIOUSLY booking it. I've never run as fast in my entire life!
I got to my car and jetted out of there and drove around for a while to make sure he wasn't following me.
It was pretty crazy. I thought maybe I might have to call 911... but I've never had anyone make those gestures to me! It's not fun at all.
So I seem to have escaped it ok.
Now I'm back home. I took my mom out for an early mother's day dinner because tomorrow I have my comedy improv class downtown and then I'm going to come back here and then head up to church and then go a run in Valley Forge and then hit up Iron Hill and get a burger and write and work on my book. I now know that they stop serving at 9pm sharp. SO I have to be there before 9pm if I want to order a burger! I'm also thinking of stopping on down at the open jam since I don't have work on Monday. I might just come home after writing.
I've decided to just keep going church at the original place and just stay there and make it my home church and just try to go as much as possible. I like the people, I like the teachings, I like the music, I like it all. Plus it's the first one I started going to... so it feels like I have history there now. So I feel more connected to it.
Anywho so that's yea... That was my very threatening situation. It was scary! But thankfully here I am and I made it home safe and sound.
Candy Weakness and Crazy Straws
For those of you wondering I didn't end up catching a glimpse of the super moon because there was mad cloud cover. But I did catch a glimpse of the moon last night and it looked pretty spectacular! It may not have been 100 percent super to the max but it was seriously super to me! I thought it was spectacular anyways. It put a smile on my face and I just thought wow yes the world and live and everything in it is just beautiful and awesome and something to have a very humble appreciation for.
I suppose sometimes I like to just have an appreciation for the simple things in life. Today my appreciation were crazy straws and M and M candies. I had a random urge to buy some crazy straws to drink with. Because EVERY drink is way more awesome to drink when you're using a crazy straw! They are neat. I got a pack of 10 at Party City. I don't really think I need 10 but that was all they came in. Soooooo I have 10 AWESOME crazy straws. I will say that place is SOOOOOOOOO coool! They have everything you need to throw any kind of party. I almost want to think of little theme parties to throw just to be able to go buy neat stuff there.
Although, I don't really throw parties. But I could help throw a party for someone! Anyone throwing a party want any help?
Ok my other thing that I did was buy some M and M's. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Oh I also bought an umbrella because my old one of a couple years finally just went south. So I got a nice new one. But I'll say M and M's are my secret candy weakness. I can't stop eating them once I start. They are just so bite size and tasty! I love em. So if anyone wants to trick me into doing something just leave a trail of M and M's and I'll follow along the trail. Although, I don't know about the whole eating candy off the ground thing. That doesn't sound very safe. But you get the idea.
Anywho today has just been another very awesome day. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment! So don't tell my dentist that I bought a bag of M and M's! I'll have to just brush my teeth a little extra double-time before bed tonight and when I wake up tomorrow morning. Speaking of which I think I'm going to go brush my teeth right now and get to bed! Goodnight everyone and have a satisfying slumber.